Chapter Text
“What did you just do?”
-Jax tensed as he slowly turned towards them, eyes wide. The red button was flatter than the blue, and his fist throbbed; the room had donned a blood-red hue. His breath caught as he faced those behind him.
“I….I…”
-A sudden clang resounded through the hall, the dark red hue disappearing in favor of the bright white space that lighted the room.
-And then Caine, the leader of their constant torture, appeared, looking as wacky as ever. The ringmaster swung his arms around, unaware of the horror that sunken into Jax’s core.
“Congratulations, my little cattywumpus cucumbers! You picked THE GOOD ENDING, where you realize you’d rather stay with me than go back to that pesky old Macroverse, or whatever we decide to call it! I knew you’d make the right choice!”
-Jax felt his heart sink so low it could’ve reached his toes; horror mixed with shock within him as he heard Pomni’s shaken voice.
“You…you mean this was all…”
“An adventure! Yes! And one I’ve been cooking up for a good while!”
-Caine snapped his fingers, and none other than Abel, the one who led them here, appeared. Caine gave a good-natured shoulder bump to the mannequin.
“Great job playing your part, ‘Abel’!”
-The two of them started to laugh in such a natural way everything spoken was mere noise in Jax’s ears until Caine snapped his fingers again, turning Abel into confetti.
-Just like he had done with the stupid alligator Pomni had brought way back.
-An NPC.
-Bits of confetti fell to the ground, along with a locket that seemed to have belonged to the mannequin, which was revealed to hold an image of a hot dog.
-Ragatha spoke up from behind, sounding as shaken as Pomni had.
“None of that was true? The C&A stuff, the pods…the way out?”
-Caine flicked a piece of confetti away, looking as proud as ever.
“A fabrication of my incredible world-building skills.”
“I was right?”
-Jax’s fingers twitched and tightened against the console, realization striking him as he bent slightly over the console, maniacal laughter slipping out. His body shook slightly as he did; after a moment, Jax straightened up, hands gripping the sides of his head as hysteria bled into his voice.
“I can’t believe I was RIGHT!!!”
-Jax threw himself on the ground, laughing in such a hysterical manner that felt out of place with the heaviness that all this had caused. Anything spoken was unheard over his fit of delirium.
-His sides ached as Jax pulled himself up, still laughing manically as he realized midway tears of laughter had formed in the corners of his eyes. Hysteria still bubbled out as Jax heaved a big breath before abruptly slamming his fists on the console, all traces of laughter replaced by rage. Even Caine was startled by the change as Jax snapped his head up at the ringmaster, rage bleeding into his voice with minor traces of his former hysteria.
-But insanity was in there too.
“You dirty liar! You scumbag! You…you made me…” Jax dropped his hands over his eyes as he hissed through his teeth before lowering his hands and looking at them.
“You got in my head, you just…” Jax looked up at Caine again, fury in his eyes.
“You just lie about everything, don’t you?!
-Caine looked offended before it shifted into confusion.
“I, uh…huh?”
-Jax repeatedly gestured to his temple, anger rolling off of him as he accused Caine.
“You can mess with our minds too, can’t you?! The Stupid Sauce, the Vegan thing, God knows what else!”
-Jax felt like he was borderline insane, but he couldn’t even be bothered; he knew all he said was true; Caine had done those things; was he hiding…
“Our names?”
-If Jax had been human, he was certain his heart would’ve stopped in shock, horror, and red-hot rage.
“Now, now, hold on guys! Wait wait wait! I MAY have the ability to add temporary modifiers to make adventures more interesting, but that's it! If I did any more…” Caine gave a nervous laugh.
“... trust me. It would not end well.”
-But that was the problem.
-Jax didn’t trust him. Maybe he never had, but had only realized it now.
“Scratch. The first abstraction.”
-Jax’s ears twitched at the surprising awareness in Kinger’s tone.
-But who was Scratch?
-Whoever it was, they were linked to the mess Caine had caused for entertainment, meaning Jax’s anger instantly surged.
“Hey! Hey! Hey! I didn't say anything like that! Come on, guys! You know I'm just here to have fun! I…”
-Jax glared up at the ringmaster, not bothering to disguise his emotions now; Caine deserved to know how he’d infuriated him, betrayed him, infuriated and betrayed them all. After a moment, Caine finally stopped trying to come off as the good guy, abruptly creating a basket in the air beside him.
“Uh... Questioning's over! Your prize is this lovely gift basket of soaps and lotions! Stay fragnant, have a good light— Fragrant! Night! BYE!”
-Caine swirled and disappeared, the basket dropping with a clunk to the floor, the sound the only noise in the room; no-one had the desire to speak, or the words to say. Jax’s hands twitched again against the console, a number of emotions rushing through him with a speed he couldn’t comprehend. His ears drooped at the tips, a reflection of the defeat that hadn’t left since he’d seen everyone in a red tinge.
“The {$#^*} was that?!”
-Jax didn’t answer Zooble’s question; no one had the answer. When silence was all they received, Jax’s eyes drifted to look at the two buttons.
“I asked you a question, you {$#^*}ing {%@@}hole!”
-Zoobles claw abruptly dug into his shoulder, causing him to internally flinch.
-But he did nothing to show it.
“Do you realize what you’d done?!”
-Jax turned his head slightly, not bothering to smirk or tease or demean; any effort was too callous even for him; he’d been fooled just as they had; he had no energy to shrug it off, even if it was fake.
-Zooble’s eyebrow quirked up.
“What? Nothing? No insults or ‘you deserved it’? Nothing to say in your defense?”
-Jax’s gaze lowered to their grip on his right shoulder with the speed of Caine’s first NPCs before he slowly lifted his arm and tugged to get the claw off. In response, Zooble only tightened their grip.
“Do you even understand what you did?! What button you pressed?!”
-Pomni suddenly ran into Jax’s field of vision, grabbing at Zooble’s elbow.
“It wouldn’t have mattered! Caine said it himself; pressing the blue button would’ve sent us to ‘Shrimp Town’ or something. At least now, we know more than we would’ve then.”
-Zooble’s head spun to face Pomni, and Jax could see Pomni take a stumbling step back at the fury in their eyes.
“Are you defending him?! Defending both of them?!”
-Pomni’s grip on Zooble’s arm went slack as she pulled her arms to herself and lifted her hands in a sign of peace.
“No! No, of course not! What Caine did was horrible, and I agree with it just as much as any of you. What I’m saying is that we know more than we would’ve if we’d made the other choice; let’s…let’s not argue amongst ourselves over this.”
-Pomni extended her hand and gently laid across Zooble’s free arm, her expression one of peace.
“We need to stick together; now more than ever.”
-She squeezed Zooble’s arm again before letting go and taking a step back. Zooble sighed.
“Whatever. I don’t care about Caine any more than before; what I care to know is why this {$#^*}er pressed the red button!”
-Jax didn’t answer. His throat felt like it’s been coated in peanut butter from the inside out, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to speak without his voice cracking.
-Pomni gave the slightest frown, but then it turned thoughtful, and she turned to him.
“Come to think of it, why did you? Did you…know it was fake?”
-Jax tensed, no strength in him to say no I hadn’t, I just couldn’t handle the thought of going back, don’t make me-
“See?! He didn’t! He did it with the intention of keeping us here!”
-Pomni tensed, but no anger surfaced.
“I’m sure that wasn’t it-”
“Oh?! You got proof?!”
-Pomni bit her lip, hesitation flickering in her eyes.
“We all thought this was a way out of all we’d been through.” She gestured to the others behind her.
“You all have endured far more than I have, and I was still desperate to leave; for all his faults, Jax would never do something like that.”
-The confidence, the certainty, the absolute assurance Pomni had made Jax feel like he’d rather be stabbed to virtual death; she was so confident he would never do something like that with such selfish intentions.
-And the knowledge of why he’d done it made nothing better.
-Zooble shook their head.
“But he would. ‘Cause he did.” They gestured to Jax with their free hand.
“Come to think of it, why don’t you ask him? Since you’re so sure he’s innocent, I bet you’d be able to force him to talk.”
-Pomni frowned, not seeming to be in agreement.
“It’s his story to tell; whatever reason it was, we can’t force him to say.”
-A small crack of glass interrupted them; all three looked up to see Gangle looking at a brand new comedy-mask, with a single crack right down the middle to break it. Gangle had slumped to the floor, looking at it as if she’d never seen it before.
“It suddenly appeared in my hands. He…wanted to make me…”
-Gangle pressed her ribbon hands to her tragedy-mask eyes. Jax felt Zooble’s grip on his arm loosen significantly before they let go. As they moved to Gangle, they spun and jabbed their claw at his chest.
“We are not finished here.”
-With that, Zooble rushed to Gangle’s side, kneeling next to them. Jax could feel Pomni looking at him, but he didn’t return it as he shoved his hands into his overall pockets before moving to leave the room.
“Why…why did you do it?”
-Jax froze right at the door. His hands clenched in his pockets, but he made no move to answer Ragatha’s question.
“If…if that had been real…you…you would’ve trapped us all here! Why?!”
-Jax turned his head slightly to see Ragatha facing him, tears in her good eye before she crumpled to the floor, as limp as her name sake and avatar. Kinger laid a hand on her shoulder.
-Ragatha had Kinger; Gangle had Zooble; and Pomni…
-She was still watching him.
-Which propelled him to leave without a word.
-He had nothing to say anyway.
- -*-
-Pomni watched as Jax sauntered off, leaving everyone else behind.
-No; she couldn’t think like that.
-He just….needed space. Time.
-They all did, after all.
-Zooble had grabbed onto one of Gangle’s ribbon hands, whispering something Pomni felt was too personal to try to listen to. Ragatha was on the floor, the only one crying as Kinger knelt next to her.
-But all Pomni could think about was how both Zooble and Ragatha had blamed Jax.
-Pomni didn’t blame any of them; she didn’t blame Jax for hitting the red button(for whatever reasons he had), or Ragatha for telling Abel Jax had keys everywhere, or even herself for listening to Abel.
-No. The only person she blamed was Caine.
-But Zooble and Ragatha seemed to blame both Caine and Jax.
-And Pomni couldn’t just do nothing while watching whispered conversations.
-With a small sigh, she headed after Jax, words running through her head.
-You…you made me…you got in my head, you just ... .
-You just lie about everything, don’t you?!
-You can mess with our minds too, can’t you?! The Stupid Sauce, the Vegan thing, God knows what else!
-Our names?
-Trust me. It would not end well.
-Pomni walked down the long hallway, her footsteps sounding impossibly loud in the otherwise silent area. It felt like a lifetime ago since she and the others had walked through here with confidence and excitement at the prospect of leaving.
-Now, Pomni walked alone, the knowledge of it all being fake pressing down on her.
-She doesn’t have to walk far; Jax is watching the same snow-globe-thing as he had before. His ears are slightly drooped, and he looks on the verge of giving up.
-Pomni walked next to him just like she had before and stood to his right. She looks up at him.
“Jax?”
-Jax doesn’t respond. After seven whole seconds(yes she was counting), his right ear twitched. He didn’t turn to look at her, but his eyes dropped from the globe to her. She didn’t look away.
“You okay?”
-The words felt like cardboard; she’d said the same words when they’d been here; when they’d all thought they had a chance. Now the words rang hollow, stained with the memory of standing here.
“You….you didn’t seem like yourself back there.”
-Jax didn’t answer. His gaze drifted back to the globe. Muffled words are leaking out, memories that she didn’t possess and for the life of her couldn’t understand. But the pained look on Jax’s face showed he knew exactly what was being said.
-Without a single word, he spun on his heel and kept walking, leaving Pomni behind. She saw him hide his overall pockets.
-But the motion didn’t hide that his hands were shaking, or that his ears had drooped even further.
-He wasn’t okay.
-Then again, no one was.
-So why was she inclined to help the one person who’d pushed her away.
-Stupid question.
-She knew exactly why.
-There’s nothing more to me; so please, just stop looking.
-I won't. I promise you; I won't.
- -*-
-Jax couldn’t remember the walk to his room ever having been so quiet. There was always someone, somewhere, talking whenever he had.
-But not this time.
-He shut the door to his room, legs buckling as he crumpled to the floor. Tears started to form in the corner of his eyes, but he wiped them away, hating the sniffle that came as he did.
“Wow. You’ve really let yourself go.”
-Jax’s head snapped up at the voice, at her voice. Ribbit was kneeling on the floor to his left.
“What happened to make you this upset, huh?”
-Jax looked away.
“Nothing.”
-Ribbit snorted.
“Right; and you’re mentally stable.”
-Jax fixed a glare in their direction. Ribbit shrugged.
“It’s logic. You don’t almost abstract if you’re sound up there.” Ribbit reached over and gently tapped Jax’s temple, and the touch was strangely welcome.
“Soo, you gonna stop pulling your ‘funny guy’ nonsense on me anytime soon?”
-Jax sighed. Ribbit had always seen through him; no point in trying.
“Caine…set up this adventure; made it seem like there was an exit. He….got in my head; made me..remember things I’d rather forget.”
“And you pressed the red button.”
-Jax didn’t bother asking how Ribbit knew; he was just relieved he didn’t have to explain. He leaned his head against the door, not looking her in the eye.
“Yea.”
“Must’ve really sucked to find out then.”
-Jax’s head dropped, and he looked Ribbit in the eye.
“Caine can mess with our minds.”
“Well of course he can.”
-Jax lifted his head, brow crinkled.
“He’s the ringmaster, Jax; what’d you expect?”
Jax slammed his hands on his knees.
“I..I didn’t…”
“You didn’t expect it at all, did you.”
-Jax should’ve felt embarrassed, but he couldn’t have been bothered.
“No.”
-Ribbit nodded.
“Figures. He can be clever, that guy.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call him clever-”
“He only meant the best for you Jax; he just wanted to have fun; why did you? You’ve claimed to be the funny one, haven’t you? So why isn’t it funny to you?”
-Jax felt a pull on his thoughts, like they were nothing more than clay waiting to be molded. Fury abruptly ignited in him, and he launched to his feet, glaring at the illusion of Ribbit with unrestrained hatred.
“GET. OUT.”
-The illusion of Ribbit wavered before dissipating into smoke. It wafted to the bed, where it swirled before shifting into Caine; the ringmaster sat on the bed, facing Jax with a thoughtful expression. Jax walked over till he was directly in-front of him, itching to launch him out.
“She’s got some good points, there Jax-”
“GET OUT YOU PIECE OF GARBAGE!!”
-Caine startled at the venom in Jax’s tone, but it shifted quickly to pity.
“Now Jax; do you really think she’d like to hear you talk like that?”
-Jax felt another tug on his mind, filling his anger-fused brain with a sudden dousing of self-deprecation and conflict. He grabbed at his mind, stumbling back until he smacked into the door. He sank to the floor, ears drooping as he looked up at Caine.
“Stop that!”
-His words were weak, spoken in a tone that was all too cheerful, as if he was being mercilessly tickled. Caine floated over, grinning.
“But don’t you see Jax? I can make you happy!”
-Jax dropped his head, laughter bleeding out.
“That’s what Gangle meant…you gave her a happy mask to force her to feel what you wanted…”
-Caine cocked his head.
“I prefer to think of it as a simple nudge in the right direction; encouragement to what’s best.”
-Jax’s head snapped up, and Caine floated higher in fear at the unbridled resentment in Jax’s eyes.
“‘ENCOURAGEMENT?! You tried to manipulate her….you’re….” Jax dropped his head, his grip tightening as a headache pounded in his mind.
“You’re manipulating me…”
-Caine floated closer, resting a hand on Jax’s shoulder. Jax tensed instantly, but Caine didn’t seem to notice.
“Now, Jax, you’ve been an amazing participant in all my adventures these past seven years; you love all the craziness and weren’t all for the normal adventures; your suggestions were just like something I would’ve come up with! But it seems this adventure didn’t help you see just how similar we are.”
-Jax glared.
“I am nothing like you.”
-Caine cocked his head again.
“Really? You’re the one who claims he isn’t human; you’re the one who causes chaos, and you’re the one who pressed the button!
“Because you got in my-!”
-Caine’s grip on Jax’s shoulder tightened, and the headache worsened. Jax hissed through his teeth, his fingers grabbing at the base of his ears.
“Alas, it seems I have no choice to elaborate. I’ve come to the realization that your emotions come in conflict with your enjoyment of my adventures, so I have to take matters into my own hands.”
-Caine brandished a small purple, blue, and white pendant on a simple pink chain. Jax recoiled.
“This is what I like to call the Fantastic-Feelings-Filter. It’ll keep your emotions in check so you can enjoy yourself; don’t look so scared, it’s not a manipulator; it’ll just nudge you towards better feelings if it detects intense negative emotions! You’ll be back to your old funny self in no time!”
-Jax’s hands started to shake as Caine flicked the pendant, causing it to light up. His breaths came short.
“H-Hang on; you can’t just-”
“Oh, but I can!”
-Jax’s entire body started to shake, his ears drooping. Without giving a single moment’s hesitation, he swung his door open and stumbled into the hallway. Caine floated over him, now holding one of Jax’s books.
“Now Jax, I know this is a lot, but I want you to-”
“H-Hey Caine! Ragatha abstracted!”
-Caine startled. Jax felt his stomach sink at his lie, but upon seeing Caine be hesitant, he jumped for it.
“What?”
-Jax jabbed a shaking hand on Ragatha’s door.
“I-I can hear her!”
-Caine looked at the door.
“You sure?”
-Jax nodded.
“T-that’s why I stumbled out..?”
-Caine nodded.
“Okay; I’ll check and come back to you.”
-The moment Caine floated down the hall, Jax pushed himself to his feet and ran down to the main hall as fast as he could, his ears twitching, waiting for the moment Caine would pop up out of nowhere.
-He swung his arms out to pull himself to a stop when he saw everyone on the couches, looking at him like he’d just sprouted a dinosaur tail. Jax looked behind him to make sure Caine wasn’t behind him when Zooble got to their feet.
“Ragatha abstracted? Really?”
-Jax tensed when he saw Ragatha, perfectly fine(in the physical sense), staring at him in confusion and horror. The look sent a shock of guilt down his system. Pomni got up.
“Jax?”
“OOHHH JAX!!!!”
-The words were tinged with impatience, and Jax’s breath hitched as he spun towards the hallway. Zooble cleared their throat.
“He’s over here!”
-Jax looked at Zooble for a split second before he turned on his heel and ran towards the digital lake.
- -*-
-Pomni looked past where Jax had just run, looking at Zooble.
“Why’d you tell Caine?”
-Zooble turned towards her.
“He lied saying Ragatha abstracted; I get you feel bad for him, but that’s too far.”
-Pomni frowned.
“He never mentions abstraction; ever. He seemed like he was….running from Caine.
-Zooble snorted.
“Well then, sucks to be him.”
-Pomni shook her head and jogged over to where Jax had run; she found him by the digital lake, staring at the water like a bunny face-to-face with an unrestrained bear.
-A bear with the bunny’s mother in its teeth.
“Jax…?”
-Jax startled, spinning toward her so fast he tripped on his own feet and crashed into the sand.
“What’s going on?”
-Jax didn’t answer. He looked behind her for a moment before his pupils flicked to scribbles before he launched to his feet and bolted. Pomni could then feel a presence behind her get closer.
“Hey there Pomni!! Where’s Jax?”
-Pomni spun, but Caine waved a hand.
“No matter; I see him.”
-Caine suddenly glitched out.
-What was that about?
-It’s nothing; who cares?
-I do.
- -*-
-Jax looked behind him as he bolted across the beach, occasionally looking behind him. As he ran further and further from the tent, he failed to spot a Shrimp NPC in the sand and tripped over it, crashing to the ground. Caine floated next to him, pendant in hand.
“Now that wasn’t very nice Jax; hold still; this will only take a second.”
-Caine reached for his neck; Jax’s hands trembled.
“Hang on, wait-”
-Jax could feel the instant the pendant’s clasp was secured around his neck. His thoughts felt muddled and clouded over as a splitting headache rang across his entire skull for two seconds before he collapsed into the sand.