Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Man, that was one of the worst ones yet,” Jax groaned as he walked through the portal. Caine had hyped this adventure up for weeks, praising it as one of the best adventures he’d made. That wasn’t the case.

“Never thought I’d be agreeing with you of all people, but you’re right. I can’t believe this was what he was so excited for,” Zooble agreed. The rest of the cast filed through the portal, and it closed after Kinger. Disappointed groans and side conversations echoed through the tent.

“Hey, speaking of Caine, where is he? He normally greets us outside of the portal after each adventure,” Ragatha pointed out. Now that she mentioned it, everyone noticed the ringleader's absence. It was strange for him. Jax walked over to Pomni, who seemed shaken up by the adventure. She was separated from the group at the beginning, having to go through the whole thing alone.

“Hey, Poms.”

“Hey,” she said, her voice shaking. “How’d the adventure go for you guys?”

“Clearly not as bad as you. What happened to you after we got separated?” Jax asked. The two had been super close lately, especially after the gun adventure. While he still teased her often, she was the only one who he actually cared about.

“Honestly, I don’t even know. I got surrounded by these small alien-looking things. I’m just lucky I grabbed a pistol from the lobby, unlike you dumb@#$#s. Then it’s a long story, but I got sucked out into space, then glitched out of existence,” she said. “Then I somehow ended up back in the lobby, where everything was all buggy and weird.”

“And I thought I had a bad time,” he replied. “Anyways, I’m beat. G’night Pomni.” He took off, walking toward the hallway. Everyone followed him, going to their rooms. Except Pomni. She stood alone in the tent, looking around. She had a weird feeling in her chest that she just couldn’t shake off, like something bad was about to happen. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she tried.

Pomni still hadn’t fully explored the circus; she never really had the time. She decided she would pass the time by wandering the tent and exploring all the rooms and hallways she hadn’t seen. She walked the opposite way from the bedrooms, her eyes set on a random staircase. She slowly walked up the steps, taking in the sights of the whole tent. She still had that weird feeling, now exemplified by the empty tent below her.

The staircase ended after a while, leading to a long hallway filled with doors. They were each numbered, spanning from 1 to 20. Pomni pushed open door number 1, revealing an empty room. Door 2 was the same, as well as 3 through 19. She didn’t know why she decided to open every door; she knew each one would be the same. However, door number 20 revealed a room full of boxes and crates. Pomni approached a box curiously, ripping it open. The box held at least 15 poorly rendered digital apples, almost perfectly resembling the one she ate at breakfast that morning. Each different box revealed a different digital food. The open crates contained plates, bowls, and silverware. At the back of the room, Pomni noticed a long table identical to the one used each morning and night.

Was this where the table was stored when it wasn’t being used? Pomni took one last look around before leaving the room. After a long walk down the hallway and stairs, she looked around the open tent. She noticed a carousel in a far corner that she had never noticed before. Walking over to it, she saw something unusual. A familiar shape rode atop one of the horses, occasionally jumping and moving around. Pomni took a closer look at it and realized it was a Gloink.

Were there still Gloinks roaming around the circus? She hadn’t seen one since her first day here. Pomni shook it off, roaming down a nearby hallway. The doors were each blank, unlike the ones from earlier. She twisted the doorknob of the first door, only to find it was locked. She checked more as she went down the hall, with each one locked. Pomni kept walking down the seemingly unending hall. She stopped checking the doors, but she kept wandering. She began zoning out, walking mindlessly. Her trance was broken, hearing a loud

THUD!

Pomni shrieked, jolting to a stop.

“Hello? Who’s there?” She cried out, heart pounding from the sudden noise. She half expected to see another Gloink wandering down the hallway, but one never came.

“What the- Pomni?” A familiar voice replied. Looking around, Pomni noticed one of the doors was illuminated and slightly ajar. She walked forward and pushed the door open to find an almost blinding light. She covered her eyes with her hand for a moment, allowing herself to adjust. She uncovered her eyes to find a bright red room with lights covering the ceiling. Paint buckets were stacked toward the back of the room, and easels covered the walls. Standing in the center of the room was Gangle, who had just dropped a bucket of paint.

“@$!# Gangle, you scared me!” Pomni sighed. “What are you doing up so late… and what’s this room?”

“I couldn’t sleep. And I have the same question for you! Why are you wandering around this late?” Gangle replied.

“Same here. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I decided to explore the circus.” Pomni looked around at the easels lining the wall. “Wow, you drew all these yourself? I knew you draw, but these are insane!”

Each painting was intricate and colorful. Gangle never showed Pomni her drawings before, so this came as a surprise.

“Wait, is that-” One drawing stood out to her. Jax, looking sad and defeated, was having tomatoes chucked at him. Pomni couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the idea. Even though the two were close, he definitely deserved that.

“So, why can’t you sleep?” She asked, sitting down on a tiny stool near Gangle.

“I can’t explain it, but I have a strange feeling. Like something’s wrong,” she replied, shaking her head.

“You felt that too?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna be honest, I’m worried. You know how Caine was acting weird earlier? How he wasn’t waiting by the portal like normal?” Pomni nodded. “Well, a while ago, Zooble told me about something that happened. During the haunted mansion adventure, Caine gave them… therapy.”

Pomni looked confused. What did therapy have to do with Caine’s weird behavior?

“Well, during that, apparently, Caine kind of broke. He freaked out, and the circus started breaking around them. This means that Caine’s negative emotions can break the world,” Gangle continued. “So if something’s wrong with him now, who knows what’ll happen!”

This shocked Pomni. She knew that Caine was upset about nobody liking his adventures.

“So you’re saying this could happen again?” Gangle nodded. Pomni thought for a moment before saying, “I-I’m going to bed. Thanks for telling me this, Gangle.”

Pomni didn’t get any sleep. Not with what Gangle told her. She lay on her bed for the rest of the night, staring up at the roof of her bedroom. She didn’t bother changing into her pajamas, because she knew there wasn’t long left until the sun came up.

—

Everyone sat at the long table, eating their poorly rendered breakfast. Pomni was the last to arrive, dragging her feet into the main area.

“Oh! You’re… uhh missin something there, Pomni,” Ragatha pointed towards her hair. Pomni forgot to put her hat back on before leaving her room. Pomni reached up and grabbed her hair, squealing with embarrassment. She ran back to her room, trying to hide her short black hair with her hands. Jax laughed at how horrified she seemed, leaning back and accidentally falling.

Soon, Pomni returned looking like her normal self.

“Uh, hey guys! Good morning!” She said, acting like nothing happened.

“Jeez, why were you so flustered, Pom? Got something you’re hiding?” Jax teased, mimicking her by bringing his hands to his head.

“I dunno, I just feel naked without my hat. It’s like a part of me,” She replied. “Just pretend you didn’t see me like that.”

“M’kay, whatever you say.”

Everyone finished eating and hung out for a while. Most of them played knockoff Uno in silence for a while. It felt like hours before anyone voiced what they were all thinking.

“Hey, where’s Caine? We’d normally be on an adventure by now,” Pomni pointed out.

“Sometimes he takes a while to come out here,” Ragatha replied. “We don’t know why, but we all think he’s just finishing up his adventures. Who knows, maybe this means we have a good one in store for us today!” But the adventure never came. Eventually, they transitioned to drawing, with everyone but Jax participating. He ran off to who knows where.

Pomni was doodling the circus tent, Gangle and Zooble were both drawing everyone, Ragatha drew flowers, and Kinger was drawing… Bugs?

“What the-”

Pomni looked up at Zooble, whose pencil was glitching out. It was shaking, teleporting, and fading in and out of existence. It eventually clipped through the ground. They all shared concerned glances before continuing to draw.

Glitches like that weren’t uncommon in the circus. They didn’t happen too often, but it’s not surprising when it does. Pomni was the only one who hadn’t seen it happen too much yet, but she just brushed it off like everyone else. After a while, they all just accepted they wouldn’t see Caine today and went off to their rooms.

That night, Pomni was actually able to sleep. She was knocked out the moment she hit her mattress, exhausted from not getting sleep the night before. Around halfway through the night, she was startled awake by a sudden jolt. She sat up, thinking she was imagining it. Another jolt rattled her room, knocking over a chair. She could feel her room steadily shake for a minute before suddenly stopping. Rubbing her eyes, Pomni stood up and walked to her door. After making sure she had her hat, she left her room.

She found Ragatha and Jax both standing outside their rooms, still in their pajamas.

“Hey, you remembered your hat this time,” Jax quipped.

“What was that? Is it normal for the whole circus to shake like that?” Pomni mumbled.

“I’m gonna be honest, this has never happened to me. I’m assuming it was just a small glitch, nothing big. We should head back to bed,” Ragatha said. Small? The whole tent shook! Whatever, she was too tired to care. Pomni dragged herself back to bed, forgetting about the random glitch.

—

“Goood morning my fabulous friends! Today’s adventure will be a great one! It’s called ‘Gather the Gloinks!’ This is an in-house adventure where you-”

“Is he serious?” Zooble laughed.

“Didn’t we already do this?” Pomni looked around, confused.

Caine looked alarmed.

“Well- this time it’s different! There are still Gloinks wandering around from last time, and I want them out! It’s you’re job to gather them all!” he boomed.

“That’s not different at all. Can you just be original for once? Think of something new?” Jax rolled his eyes, starting to walk away.

“Wait! I- This adventure- Different- New-” Caine stuttered. Pomni noticed his hand shaking violently, his fingers tapping against each other. His eyes looked wild, starting to spin out of control.

“Caine, are you o-”

“This adventure will be a great one! A great one! A great one!” he repeated.

“Caine!”

“Great! Great! Great! Great!”

The ground began to shake. Objects began to glitch and noclip, some spinning wildly, others shaking. The ground began to crack and splinter. Everyone began to look around at each other, some holding hands.

“Great! Great! Great! Gr-” Caine suddenly stopped, freezing mid-sentence. The circus stopped glitching for a moment, as if following the ringleader. Out of thin air, Bubble appeared.

“Uhh, boss? You there?” it said, inspecting Caine as it flew circles around him. “Booosssssss?”

“Sorry, folks! We’re having some technical d-” time seemed to slow down as Bubble prodded Caine. The touch sent a wave of glitches surging through it. The cast watched in absolute horror as Bubble screamed in agony, its voice static and stuttering. It was completely consumed by electric glitches, eyes beginning to form on it. Then, with a loud

POP!

Bubble disappeared. The tent was shrouded in a sudden silence, not even the sound of breathing breaking it.

Chapter Text

Silence hung in the air. Nobody took their eyes off where Bubble had just been, screaming in agony. Nobody moved, breathed, blinked, or even twitched. Eyes hung open in shock and pure terror, a growing sense of dread clinging to the atmosphere. The tension was broken by a sharp inhale, labored breathing shattering the silence. Pomni looked toward Jax, whose mouth was hanging open in a frown. She watched his chest rise and fall, getting quicker and quicker every second. 

His hand rose toward his heart, clutching the cartoonish fur on his chest. His eyes shook and became unfocused.

“Jax. . .” she broke the growing silence. He didn’t look at her. His shaking eyes suddenly focused on Caine, who was still unmoving. 

“Jax.”

He shook his head and his ears drooped, hanging down by his shoulders. He continued breathing faster and faster.

—

Jax watched in horror as Bubble was overtaken by a black, glitchy substance and covered in familiar eyes. 

He knocked on the door over and over before finally taking out his key. His heart was pounding and his mind was racing. He hadn’t seen his best friend since the fight. Jax knew he would be upset, but it had been days and he was growing anxious. He took a deep breath and unlocked the door.

“Hey, Ribbit? I know you’re mad at me, and I know I messed up. I just wanted to say I’m s-”

He pushed the door open, revealing dozens of brightly colored eyes staring back at him. He froze in place, watching as the creature, the thing that used to be his best friend, loomed over him. This was all because of him. He caused his best friend to abstract. 

Jax froze in place. Seeing yet another person abstract, go through the same fate as his best friend all those years ago made him begin to panic. He couldn’t stop himself as his breathing became labored and quick. His heart pounded in his chest. He couldn’t focus on anything, his vision blurring and shaking.

“Jax. . .” Pomni called, but he didn’t hear her. Jax didn’t realize he was clutching his chest, or that his knees were going weak. He couldn’t think about anything but the scene from years ago. 

“Jax.”

The stern tone of her voice snapped him back. He didn’t look at her, instead, focusing on Caine. He was still in the same place and position, still unmoving. He looked around, realizing the circus was beginning to glitch again. He felt the ground below him rumble. He needed to escape.

“Escape” is all that he could think.

He needed to escape.

The dozens of eyes almost seemed to yell “Get out!”

But he couldn’t.

Jax took off running. He didn’t know where, just away from there. The ground continued to rumble, keeping him off-balance. With a sudden jolt, Jax fell facefirst. He pushed himself up, but couldn’t stay steady. He looked up, watching as the circus he’s spent years in fell apart in front of his own eyes. He couldn’t stop to think, he had to keep going. Stumbling to his feet, he watched a large crack appear in front of him. 

The ground around Jax began to crumble. He tripped on a piece of rubble, falling yet again. He felt weak. Something drew him toward the floor, something called to him. He couldn’t get up. The air was knocked out of his digital lungs as a long, wooden beam from the roof smacked his back.

A loud screeching sound filled Jax’s ears. He reached up, trying to fold in his long ears. The movement caused a shake in the ground, and before he knew it, Jax was falling. 

Eyes. Hundreds of eyes. The cellar. Jax was in the cellar. He could feel himself falling deeper and deeper. But nothing in his vision changed. The same hundreds of eyes stayed in place, not getting closer or moving toward him. 

Dozens of eyes stared down at him. He felt small, weak. Jax backed out of the doorway, retreating slowly. Ribbit ducked down, following him. The creature's shards spiked up, suddenly flaring as though angry. Jax was leaving him again. The moment he needed help the most, Jax backed away in fear. 

“Ribbit, please. You don’t have to do this to me. To all of us!” The rabbit cried. 

—

Pomni ran after Jax, avoiding falling rubble and the cracks in the floor. 

“Jax, please!” she cried out, gasping for air. God damn his long legs, she thought. Pomni really didn’t know why she was chasing him. She had no idea where he was going or why, but she persisted. She fell behind as more and more debris fell in her path. A large piece of cloth from the roof of the tent fell on top of her, blocking her vision. She swatted and struggled to get it off, her eyes searching wildly for Jax. He was near the hallway containing their rooms. 

Pomni watched as Jax fell to the ground. He tried pushing himself up, but collapsed back down. She cried out his name as a large beam supporting the roof fell, landing right on his back. Jumping over wood and cloth and cracks in the ground, Pomni could almost touch Jax. A loud screech echoed through the tent, causing Pomni to cover where her ears should be. Before she could react, a large, black hole opened up below Jax. Without thinking, she lunged forward and grabbed his legs.

She grunted and struggled to keep him up. He was too heavy for her, she knew she couldn’t hold on much longer. She squeezed her eyes shut, tensing the muscles in her arm. Pomni almost lost hope, almost had to drop him, when another pair of arms grabbed his legs. Then another. Ragatha and Zooble had come to help her bring him up, and Pomni had never felt so relieved. With a forceful pull, the trio managed to bring him out of the pit. 

Collapsing onto the ground, Pomni tuned out the chaos around her. Her arms felt weak and tired, her heart was pounding, and her head was aching. She could hear yells and cries from people around her, and rubble fell all around. Pomni noticed that a lot of the rubble falling around her seemed real. Not like the tent, but like a real building. But this was the least of her concerns. She could see walls and objects glitching and disappearing, but she couldn’t focus on any of that. All she needed to know was that Jax was safe. 

A loud shriek from Ragatha snapped Pomni back into it. The ragdoll was staring down the hole next to her.

“Zooble, get him away now! As far away as you can go!” she was yelling, a wave of panic in her voice. Pomni pushed herself up, joining Ragatha next to the hole. She was staring into hundreds of bright eyes, feeling unsettled as they focused on her. She was staring right into the cellar, dozens of creatures staring straight at her, almost begging for help. She turned to see Zooble carrying away a stunned Jax. She felt a gentle hand brush against her arm.

“Pomni, we should get going. It’s not safe being by the cellar for too long,” Ragatha said, guiding her away.

“Wait,” Pomni stopped. “Could I stay for just another minute? You go on without me, Jax could use your help.”

Ragatha wanted to object, but she couldn’t bring herself to. She knew Pomni was right, Jax did need help. Ragatha turned away, telling Pomni to join them as quickly as possible. 

Pomni just stared. She felt almost attracted to the cellar, a mysterious force drawing her in. The hundreds of eyes seemed to call her name, begging her to join them. She was brought back to the dream she had her first night. Falling into the cellar, hundreds of budding eyes staring from every direction. Watching everyone move on. She pulled on her hat, trying to ground herself. Looking up, she noticed the absolute destruction for the first time. Any remaining cloth on the walls and ceiling was ripped to shreds, the rest on the ground. Long, perfect-looking cracks lined the floor in a spiral pattern. 

Her gaze fixed on Caine. She was far away, but she could tell he still hadn’t moved. 

Pomni’s thoughts were broken by a sudden screaming pain engulfing her foot. She cried out in agony, trying and failing to move it. Pins and needles ran up her leg, causing her to fall on her back. She pushed herself up with her arms, looking down at her foot. The entrance to the cellar was surrounded in a black, glitchy substance covered in familiar eyes that was slowly creeping further out. The same substance had crept up her foot and ankle, going halfway up her calf. Another attempt to move the infected leg resulted in a stabbing pain and another agonizing cry.

“Pomni? Oh god, Pomni!” she heard Ragatha cry, followed by racing footsteps. “Holy shit!” She yelled, uncensored. Ragatha picked Pomni up, carrying her quickly to the rest of the group not far away. 

“Jesus, what the hell happened?” Zooble shouted, staring in disbelief at the jester’s mangled leg. Pomni only managed a grunt through her teeth, slamming her eyes shut to avoid looking at it. Gangle and Kinger approached the group, both yelping in shock at the sight. Pomni was uncomfortable, both with all the attention and with the piercing pain. 

—

Jax had been half passed out after leaving the cellar. He was still conscious, but completely unaware. He was in shock. He could partially make out some yelling, crying, and a blood-curdling scream. He could see running, falling, and worry. But he couldn’t tell what was going on. He finally woke up when he heard a familiar voice, the one he had been waiting for. But it didn’t sound good. He listened to Pomni’s voice as she cried out in pain, screaming in agony, and grunting quietly near him. 

Jax sat up from where he had been laying down and immediately gasped. Pomni’s leg had been. . . abstracted? How the hell did this happen? 

His back hit the wall. There was nothing else to do but run down the hall. Taking one last look at Ribbit, who was glaring down at him, he sprinted away. He couldn’t look back, but he heard the thudding footsteps getting closer and closer. He felt a sudden jolt, being picked up and thrown far.

Jax ended up sprawled across the floor. His leg screamed in pain, knives stabbing every inch of it. He looked down at it, watching in horror as it glitched and mangled itself in front of his eyes. Slamming his eyes shut, he tried and failed to crawl down the hallway to where the others were gathered. His cries for help came out static and stuttered. 

“Pomni!” He gasped, memories flooding back to him. She looked softly up at him, meeting his eyes. 

“H-ey J-Jax. . .” Her voice glitched. Whatever happened to her leg must have affected her whole body. “A-re you fe-eling al-alright?”

“Wh- me?! Look at your leg, Pomni! Are you serious?” He yelled at her. She winced as she    accidentally moved her leg.

“I-I’m alright, Jax. You’re t-the one w-who almost fe-ll into the c-ellar,” she smiled at him sincerely. He wanted to throw up. Normally, he would make some quippy remark or joke around, but nothing came to mind. Jax’s eyes fell back to her leg. The abstraction wasn’t spreading, but it slowly spiked up. The edges gradually increased in height, and the eyes became more wild. After accidentally making eye contact with one of them, his eyes moved back to Pomni’s.

An idea came to mind. Taking a deep breath, Jax pushed himself to his feet. Turning from a worried Pomni, he looked around the circus and finally noticed the extent of the damage.

Debris littered the floor, covering every foot of the tent. It was dark. Looking up, he noticed the ceiling of the circus had almost completely torn, with some pieces having fallen. Some support beams that held the roof up had splintered and fallen. The sun was beginning to set outside. What freaked Jax out, though, was the concrete rubble. Slabs of concrete and dust stood out like a sore thumb. They seemed almost human. His thoughts were broken by a glitchy cough coming from behind him. He was reminded of his goal, ignoring the far too real pieces of building spread across the tent. 

Taking a quick look around, Jax spotted a small shred of the roof a few feet away. He hopped over a broken slab of concrete and picked it up, brushing off the dust coating it. Walking back to where the jester was lying, he took a deep breath. 

“This is probably going to hurt. Bad.”

Pomni glanced up, allowing Jax to notice the tears building in her eyes.

“C-an’t b-be worse th-an how-w it fe-els already,” she replied. With that, he took one final look at her mangled leg. The eyes pierced into his soul. Quickly, he lifted the cloth to block his vision. Jax hastily wrapped it around her leg, tying a knot near her calf. He tuned out her pained screams, knowing this would make it better for her in the long run. He was relieved that the eyes were blocked out. They could be suffocating behind the cloth for all he cared. 

This is where I die. 

Nobody is coming to save me.

I’ll be forgotten. Nobody will remember me.

Jax couldn’t stop the thoughts flowing through his mind. Ribbit loomed over him, seemingly staring at his mangled leg. The moment barely lasted, as the creature shifted to its back legs. Moving even higher, his dear friend came down about to strike. Jax braced for impact, curling into a ball and holding his stomach. 

Moments passed, and nothing happened. Building up courage, Jax lifted his head. Meeting his gaze were two large eyes. And teeth?

He was saved.

“Well, that sure was a doozy! Now how about a feast?” The ringmaster called out. Jax kept staring up at where dozens of eyes had just been, staring at him with malice. The hallway felt empty. A loud sob ripped out of his lungs. He couldn’t tell if it was the screaming pain in his leg, or the sudden realization his best friend was essentially dead. 

Jax sighed in relief, finally rid of the horrible sight. He looked up at Pomni, who had calmed down.

“Is that better?” he asked, her eyes meeting him.

“It is. It s-till hurts like hell, but I c-can actually mov-ve it now. Pl-us, I don’t have those fr-reaky eyes sta-ring up-p at me an-ymore,” She sighed. At least it was better than before, he thought. 

—

Pomni noticed a movement in the corner of her eye. She looked to her side, noticing Zooble, Gangle, Ragatha and Kinger finally returning. They had left to look around the circus for anything that could help them escape or fix their situation. The disappointed look on each face told her exactly what she needed to know. 

“A-nything-g?” She managed to stutter out. Zooble shook their head.

“We did go back to the cellar, though,” they started. “There was a bunch of weird black goop around the entrance. It was spread pretty far, and it was expanding out.”

“We decided we’re going to move further away. It was moving too fast for our liking, and if we’re stuck in the circus we better get far away from it. Y’know, knowing what happened to you,” Ragatha explained, glancing down at her leg.

“Oh!” she noticed the wrap around Pomni’s leg. “Did you do that?”

“Actually-”

“That was me.” Jax was leaning against a slab of concrete, closely monitoring Pomni. 

“It’s actually helping! I can move it now. Not without pain, but still,” Pomni said. A few minutes passed with Ragatha asking a million questions about the leg. 

“Are you sure we can move? I mean, she said her leg is still in pain. I don’t know if-” Pomni cut Gangle off. 

“I’ll be fine.”

Ragatha shared a concerned look with Gangle before fixing her eyes on Pomni. 

“I don’t care how bad it hurts. If that stuff is moving, then we need to get far away from it. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt like me. Trust me, I know how horrible it feels.” Pomni was set on moving, no matter how much pain she was in. Ragatha looked sad, but hesitantly agreed. 

As the rest of the group broke away to find a good spot, Pomni glanced back at Jax. He was zoned out, ears drooping at his side. His knees were tucked into his chest with his arms tightly wrapped around them.

“Jax…?”

He startled up, his eyes frantically searching her. Seeing she was okay, he settled down.

“H-ow are y-you fe-eling? You k-know, with ever-rything goin-g on?” She asked, almost searching his soul for an answer.

“I… I’m fine. You should worry about yourself right now.”

“J-ax. I know-w something’s wr-ong. Ju-ust beca-ause I’m h-urt doesn’t m-mean I’m the only o-one who m-atters. Please, j-ust t-tell me what's w-wro-ong.”

“It’s nothing. You should try to get some sleep, you know.”

Pomni glared at him, finally looking down at her leg. She took a deep breath in before continuing. 

“W-hy are y-you a-cting so con-concerned for m-e? S-ure, we-we’re fri-ends, b-ut you’re alw-ways te-easing me or j-joking aro-und,” it came out almost a whisper. 

Jax cupped his face in his hands and groaned loudly.

“Pomni, just lay off it! I’m fine, okay? Now please, just focus on yourself and get some rest!” he snapped. The rabbit turned his body away from her, continuing to cover his eyes. Pomni was silent. He was hiding something. What was he thinking about? She wished she could just read his mind. She held in a cry as pain flared up in her leg, trying to ignore it. Pomni layed down, trying to get any rest.

Chapter Text

“Pomni?” Jax’s voice echoed through the quiet tent, startling the jester.

“Hmm?” she replied. She pushed herself up with her hands, leaning her back against a slab of concrete. She winced with the sudden shift, which caused a wave of pins and needles to rocket through her leg. Jax looked up at her, revealing his eyes. Tears welled up below them as if he had been crying.

“I’m scared, Pomni.” She frowned. The words took her by surprise. Jax had never shown any fear or any true emotion, really. It felt uncanny hearing those words come from his mouth. “Sorry, I- that just came out of nowhere. But it’s true. Nothing like this has happened before, at least not in my time. I don’t know what’s going to happen, and you know me,” he continued, shaking his head.

“Jax, i-it’s ok-ay to b-e sca-ared. I th-ink we’re a-all sca-red rig-ght n-ow, it’s n-othing to be-e a-asha-med of,” Pomni told him.

“I knew Caine would freak out and break someday, I just didn’t think I would still be around to see it.” He brought his knees up to his chest and rested his chin between them. “Remember that door I showed you a few weeks ago? The one in the hallway?” he asked.

Pomni nodded, trying not to wear down her voice.

“Well, that room belonged to my old friend. His name was Ribbit. I… wasn’t always this way. In fact, I used to be a ball of anxiety. But Ribbit changed me. He showed me that I could let loose, be myself. That nothing here really mattered.”

“J-ust l-like you show-ed me-e,” Pomni whispered.

“Well, after a while, things went downhill. I don’t remember the exact string of events, but we got into a huge fight. And I mean huge. All I remember was I started it. And then he didn’t leave his room for days.” A tear fell from Jax’s eyes, and he buried his face in his knees. His cheeks were turning bright red; he felt embarrassed at the vulnerability he was showing.

“I went to check on him and apologize, but he had abstracted. That’s why I left so quickly after seeing Kaufmo, and why I ran away earlier. I get reminded of him.” His voice was barely a whisper. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to dump on you like that. I just thought that since there’s a chance we don’t make it out of this, I might as well-” he was cut off by a sudden weight around him. He looked up to see Pomni sitting by him, her arms wrapped around his torso. He hesitated a moment, but hugged her back. They sat together for a minute, taking in each other’s warmth.

Pomni pulled back, her eyes suddenly going wide.

“Pomni?” he said, grabbing her shoulder.

“I… S-orry, rea-ality j-just se-t in-n,” she whispered. They were trapped in some weird video game where not even death was an escape. If you went insane, you were thrown into some dark cellar to rot away and be forgotten. Now, their ringleader, the only thing keeping the circus together, was freaking out. He was frozen in the air somewhere behind them, and the world was falling apart around them. If something happened, she couldn’t escape because her leg was abstracting, making walking fast impossible. Even walking the small distance to Jax was agonizing.

“I get what you mean.”

Pomni felt a warm hand brush against hers. The two hands met again, their fingers interlocking. She looked to her side and her eyes met Jax’s. Her heart, previously racing at the gravity of their situation, suddenly calmed down. Her mind stopped racing; any negative thoughts were erased. Just as soon as the moment started, it stopped. Jax shook his head and looked forward. Their hands broke apart as the rabbit pushed himself to his feet.

“I’m sorry. I need fresh air.” And without even a glance back, he started walking to the exit. Pomni was left stunned, after the moment was so suddenly broken. She watched as he carefully navigated around rubble, making it to the exit after no more than a minute. He pushed the remaining cloth away, quickly glanced back at Pomni, and walked away.

—

“This tent is sooo much bigger than I thought it was,” Zooble complained. They had been walking for hours, navigating unfamiliar hallways and rooms. At least 90% of the doors they tried were locked, and the rest carried nothing of use.

“This is the only time I wish we had Jax with us,” said Gangle after yet another door didn’t budge. Her comedy mask was shattered after running into the room hiding the random fist, and she had been upset all day. Everybody had been irritable the whole time, especially with the added stress of Pomni being alone with Jax.

“Guys, over here! Come check this out,” Ragatha yelled from a few doors down. They had separated into two groups: Ragatha with Kinger and Gangle with Zooble. They met at an open doorway, looking into a room filled with beds. There were pillows, blankets, snacks, and a buggy TV spread around the room. Everything they would need was in there.

“This would be a nice place to set up base, right? Full of comfy beds and far from the main area! Plus, not too glitchy,” Ragatha said to the group. There were murmurs of agreement.

“There's even enough pillows for a fortress!” Kinger yelled. Gangle started jumping on one of the beds, clearly pleased by the bounciness.

“Alright, we don’t have time to mess around. We need to get back to Pomni and Jax quickly, make sure they’re okay,” Zooble carried Gangle off the bed, bringing a pillow to leave outside as a marker. The group began walking back where they came from, preparing for a while of walking.

—

Pomni woke up suddenly. She managed to fall asleep a while after Jax left, happy that he finally opened up to her. The first thing she noticed was that Jax still hadn’t returned. Next was the heavy feeling in her heart. It was now racing, beating faster than it had ever before. She couldn’t shake this sudden feeling of dread. Pomni slowly pushed herself up, grunting with a sudden sharp pain in her leg. She took a few steps forward before hunching forward onto a piece of concrete. Her leg suddenly flared up, her head pounding and her vision turning white for a few seconds. Her chest felt too heavy to scream.

CRASH!

A sudden crash caught her attention, taking her mind off the sudden pain in her leg. She spun around, keeping pressure only on her good foot. Suddenly, the sense of impending doom came back ten times stronger, as she noticed something horribly wrong. Caine was missing. The place he had been floating just minutes earlier was now empty, with no signs he had even been there. Pomni had no idea who or what, but something screamed at her to just run. And so she did, or at least tried her best.

She limped toward the exit Jax took, her leg going numb. She pushed forward despite having only one working leg. After less than a minute of limping, she couldn’t anymore. She fell to her knees and couldn’t bring herself back to her feet. She looked down, realizing her cloth had been torn during her sudden need to get out. Black goop oozed from the cloth, threatening to infect her further. Realizing this, Pomni hurriedly flipped onto her bottom. She took a minute to catch her breath, then looked up.

—

They had been walking for about 20 minutes. The walk back felt five times as fast, with them not needing to check every room they passed. Gangle was giving directions, having walked these hallways a few times before. Ragatha and Kinger were caught in a passionate discussion about different types of butterflies and caterpillars.

“We’re almost there, guys. This is the last hallway we need to pass through,” Gangle interrupted.

“Man, I hope Pomni isn’t too annoyed by Jax right now! I feel bad that we left her with him,” Ragatha said as she gripped onto the fabric of her dress. As they walked into the main area, the first thing each of them noticed was the abstraction-goop-stuff. It had spread far, getting too close to Pomni and Jax for comfort. Speaking of Pomni and Jax…

“What the- where did they go?” Ragatha shrieked. The small area they left Pomni and Jax in before they left was now empty.

“Hey, hey, calm down Ragatha! I bet they just noticed how close the goo got to them and Jax helped Pomni get further away! No need to worry, we’ll find them,” Kinger assured her. She seemed to calm down at the thought. Ragatha looked over at Gangle and Zooble, and her heart dropped.

Zooble’s eyes were fixated on something in the distance, and their pupils were shaking. Their eyes were wide and their eyebrows scrunched down. Their hand was squeezing Gangle’s, who’s mask had a similar look. Matching the duo’s gaze, Ragatha froze. The spot where Caine had been frozen was also empty.

Ragatha’s body moved before her mind could. Her legs pushed off the ground, running further into the main area. She was shouting Pomni’s name, looking around desperately. Then, she saw it. A sight that would never leave her memory, that would be stuck in her brain forever.

Floating about 20 feet above the floor close to the door leading outside, was Caine. His back was facing Ragatha and one arm was sticking out away from her.

“Caine?!” She called, her voice panicked. The ringleader slowly turned, revealing a horrifying sight. He was halfway abstracted, eyes crawling up his torso and covering his teeth. His eyes glowed an eerie red and blue, constantly glitching. In his hand was a horrified Pomni. He held her by the neck, with her hands clawing in attempt to escape his grip. Her good leg flailed, and her bad leg was still abstracted. The cloth Jax gave her was torn, the eyes peeking out of the back of her leg. Caine’s eyes were soulless and unmoving.

This wasn’t Caine. She didn’t know what it was, but Ragatha knew it wasn’t Caine. And somehow even worse, Jax was nowhere to be found. Had something happened to him? Was the same about to happen to Pomni? Ragatha realized she must have screamed, because everyone else came running up behind her. Shocked gasps filled the tent, and a cry from Gangle echoed.

Pomni’s face began changing colors. Blue, red, orange, green, purple, repeating in a pattern. The changes gained speed, switching faster each time. It must have been minutes. Nobody moved or spoke; everyone was too stunned or afraid to.

Suddenly, Pomni glitched. Her body freaked out like Ragatha’s had after being attacked by Kaufmo. Her body stopped moving, freezing in place. ‘Caine’s’ grip loosened, and Pomni fell, hitting the ground with a thud. Her body remained still, and her arms lifted into a T-position. Ragatha rushed over to her, kneeling by her side.

“Pomni! Oh god, Pomni can you hear me?” Ragatha tapped the jester’s face, shaking her body around. No response. The shine left her eyes, leaving her looking soulless.

“No… no no no!”

Soon, everyone joined her next to Pomni.

“Even the abstraction stopped, look at her leg!” Gangle pointed out. Ragatha hadn’t noticed before, but Pomni’s leg was normal. No sign of abstraction or the cloth. Ragatha choked back tears, finally letting out a loud sob. She bent over Pomni’s body, crying out with her whole chest. Gangle, Zooble, and Kinger watched in pained silence as Ragatha sobbed.

A movement in the distance caught the groups attention, heads snapping toward the outside door. There stood Jax, taking in the situation in front of him.

“What the hell happened? Caine?!” He shouted, staring up at the almost fully abstracted Caine. His gaze shifted down to the group, then to Pomni. “Pomni!” he cried, running toward them. He jumped over debris and rubble, reaching the jester in seconds. He stared down at her in disbelief.

“That’s… not Pomni.”

“The hell do you mean that’s not Pomni?” Zooble shouted.

“I’ve seen this before. This is exactly what NPC models look like when not in use,” he quietly explained. “I clipped out of the map once. Remember that space adventure? When I fell off the ship? I ended up in some weird back rooms. There were a bunch of things identical to the NPCs we saw, and they all were posed like this.”

The group fell into silence. If that wasn’t Pomni, then where was she? What happened to her? Quiet murmurs filled the tent.

“Whatever, who cares what happened? Caine is about to abstract, we need to get away from him!” Jax yelled, scooping up Pomni. Ragatha looked up at Caine, who was now almost fully engulfed in the black substance. She glanced down at Pomni, then began running toward the hallway they had come from.

—

She awoke to a pounding ache in her head. She grabbed at her face, rubbing her temples. Slowly opening her eyes, she realized something was off. She was sitting down in a chair in front of a small office desk. A bright computer screen filled the room with a dim light, illuminating the strangely familiar walls. She rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times, taking in the room. A door a few feet behind her held a sign reading “C&A - Room 13.” Pomni looked down, and a wave of nausea filled her. A black vest covered her torso, an offwhite long sleeve beneath it. She was wearing black dress pants and black shoes. Her clothes were dirty and worn, and a disgusting odor filled the room.

She was home.