Chapter Text
Ragatha quickly weighs her options as she stares at the floating timer.
This gun adventure isn’t exactly how she wanted the day to go, especially after getting shot in the face a few moments prior, but there really isn’t anything that she can do to change it. All she can do is hope to stay out of Jax’s way and help the most vulnerable circus member do the same.
Her feet begin to carry her towards Kinger’s direction, until a voice calls out to her and makes her stop.
“Hey,” Pomni waves at her and smiles, “you wanna be on my team?”
Her stomach flips. Gosh, she wants to. She really, really wants to. She wants Pomni to be comfortable with her, and a team-bonding activity would be perfect for it. The jester even approached her herself.
However, this isn’t just about what she wants, there are other factors too. Kinger has done so much for her, she simply can’t leave him at his time of need for something like this. That would be selfish.
“O-oh! I’d love to, but well- I really don’t want Kinger to get stuck with Jax?”
Pinwheel eyes fall on the aforementioned chess piece, who is trying to catch a mosquito.
“Ohhh, yeah.” Her gaze goes back to Ragatha. “Well, I could be on Kinger’s team. He and I were together once and it wasn’t too bad.”
“Uh, hmm.” That sure is an option. Ragatha can barely get the words out for a response. Glancing to her right, she sees her prospective partner facing their direction with a rifle in tow, only to turn away when he is spotted.
“And… have me-? Um-”
Despite the inarticulation, Pomni catches on quickly.
“Oh. Um, yeah, just forget I asked,” she assures her. “I’ll be on Jax’s team.”
With the matter seemingly resolved, Pomni splits off to join the rabbit. Ragatha watches as she walks away, her own thoughts running a mile a minute.
This is for the best, isn’t it? There is no way that Jax can be trusted with Kinger’s fragile mental state.
As for the two of them, she’d have to be blind not to see how much he hates her. Her thoughtless comment during the lightning round destroyed any shred of amicability that was left. They barely even talk nowadays. What little interaction they have is also marked by an uptick in hostility, like how he shot her just before without any prompting. He can’t stand her.
He’s bonding pretty well with Pomni, though. Certainly making better progress than her. They engage in casual conversations in the downtime between adventures and take walks to explore the grounds. Not that Pomni is spared from being messed with for Jax’s amusement, but it almost seems lighthearted within the context of their ‘budding friendship’. Pomni does share a similar sense of humor with him after all. Soon enough, he’ll be able to convince her to see things his way, and she’ll become someone like him.
Someone that Ragatha couldn’t reach.
Hm.
“Wait!” she blurts out.
Her exclamation catches the jester at the halfway point, prompting her to turn around.
She continues, “I-I changed my mind. I’ll go with Jax. You can go with Kinger.”
“Are you sure?” Pomni asks, eyebrows furrowing. “You don’t have to force yourself. I can handle him just fine.”
Of course she’s doubtful, Ragatha already showed her true feelings in her initial reaction to being paired with the bunny. It isn’t going to be a pleasant arrangement for herself or Jax. That much is obvious. Still, it’s a small sacrifice to make if it means keeping Pomni away from his negative influence.
“I’m sure. Maybe this can help us get along!” she smiles, though it feels more like a grimace.
Pomni looks at Jax, then back to her, holding her stare. It takes every fiber of Ragatha’s being to not look away and to keep her grin plastered on her face.
“Okay, I’ll go,” she relents. “Just, take care of yourself, alright?”
The sentiment warms her heart and she gives the jester a thumbs-up.
“You got it!”
Both of them separate once again to head for their partners, which is easier for one than the other. For Ragatha, it’s like the cottony physics of her form have been replaced with lead. Each step growing heavier and heavier the closer she got.
Regardless of her efforts, she can’t stall the inevitable. Jax is too busy playing with his gun to even notice her approach, putting the onus on her to call attention to their situation.
She clears her throat. “I guess it’s you and me for this adventure, huh?”
The stretch of time between her statement and him moving to face her feels agonizingly slow. When he finally does, he beams at her in that uncanny way that takes up half his face, yet doesn't reach his eyes.
“Raggy! What brings you here?” He twirls the gun with a flourish. “I expected you to pounce on the chance to put Pomni on your team.”
Wow, he makes her sound so forceful. She bites back a reply about how Pomni was the one to come to her first and that, regardless of his efforts, Ragatha still maintains some of her trust and goodwill. More than what she can say for him and everyone else.
“Well, I wasn’t going to leave Kinger with you,” she responds huffily.
Maybe she imagines seeing the corners of Jax’s mouth twitch at that comment. The action is gone in a blink, if it was ever there at all.
“Please, like there’s anything worth doing with that nutcase.”
“Don’t talk about him that way,” she snaps, her hands balling up into fists.
That grants her an eyeroll. “Come on,” he pushes, “you can’t tell me you actually enjoy counting eggs and collecting pillows for him.”
Ragatha cradles her arms and averts her head.
“There’s…more to him than that.”
“Sure there is,” he snarks.
Deciding it’s the end of that conversation, Jax resumes aiming his gun who-knows-where, shaking his arms to mimic the recoil. Regret washes over her. The adventure has barely started, if you can call this a start, and it isn’t looking promising. Would things be better if she partnered up with Pomni after all?
She’s literally pulled from her thoughts by Jax grabbing her arm and dragging her.
“Time’s almost up! Let’s go to the pile.”
“Hey!” She wrenches her arm from his grasp. “I can get there myself!”
“Okay,” he shrugs, “keep up then.”
He speeds towards the mound of firearms, leaving Ragatha to follow behind. Everyone else is making their way there too. Checking the timer shows that they have about twenty seconds before it reaches zero.
When she gets there, Jax is crouching down, the barrel of the rifle resting on his shoulder and his finger by the trigger. His stance reminds her of a coiled spring.
Their eyes meet and he tells her, “I’d pick out something now if I were you.”
She glances around at the other circus members.
“Nobody else has taken anything yet.”
“Ugh, nobody else complained about me doing it,” he mutters petulantly. “We’re out of time anyway.”
They all watch as the clock counts down.
3.
2.
1.
0.
SCHWOOP.
When the timer blinks out of existence, the guns come with it.
PING.
Red hearts pop up over their heads to indicate a Life mechanic. Notably, one of Ragatha’s hearts is grayed out. Oh no, is that because of what happened before?
“Huh? Wait, what– that counted?!” she exclaimed.
To her right, Zooble calls to Caine, hovering above in a beach chair, for an explanation.
“What? Oh, yeah,” he drawls with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. “The guns have been teleported to random spots in the circus. Go find them champs.”
A beat passes before the frenzy starts. Everyone else is scrambling to get their bearings, but she remains stuck on not starting with full health. The AI hasn’t even bothered looking down to notice it.
“Wait, Caine!” She points at the empty heart. “I’m still missing a life!”
It’s to no avail. Their ringmaster is resolutely ignoring them as he sips from a coconut. This is so not fair.
“Forget it, Rags,” Jax runs past and yanks her by the forearm. “We can’t wait all day when there’s people to shoot!”
Screw the cartoon logic of this world. With her model and his speed, she’s left flailing in the air, her feet unable to touch the ground. It’s in times like these that she’s struck by the aptness of her avatar. A ragdoll to drag around and toy with.
Over his shoulder, she hears Jax yell out, “It’ll be my pleasure murdering all of you!”
An awful feeling settles in the pit of her being. Things are definitely not going to end well.