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It started out like any day in this circus. Though today was a bit.. Different.
A loud, piercing horn echoed through the circus walls, startling Pomni awake from her sleep. She accidently hit her head on the canopy part of her bed. “Oh god, what now…” She muttered under her breath. She grabbed one of her pillows and pressed it over the sides of her head. Her avatar didn’t have ears, but that didn’t mean her hearing faltered.
Bubble, ever the faithful assistant, suddenly appeared right in front of Pomni’s face, startling her the second time in that one morning. “Get up, get up!” Bubble’s loud, gleeful voice made Pomni’s ears ring. “Caine has a wonderful new adventure for you all!” Pomni’s expression didn’t seem to match Bubble’s energy, resorting to popping him like Caine does every now and then. Pomni flopped onto her back, staring at the canopy above. She sighed, getting out of bed and shuffling out of her room. The persistent trumpet the alarm emitted only worsened as Pomni stepped out into the hallway. She rubbed her eyes as the rest of the cast shuffled out of their own rooms. “Oh god.. Make it stop!” Jax shouts, pulling his ears down. Ragatha groaned loudly, dragging her hands down her face. Gangle held her comedy mask firmly, fearing it would break with the alarm going off.. Zooble’s eye twitched. They ripped their head pieces off their head, looking at the pieces in their hands. “I don’t know what I expected to happen..” They muttered. Kinger just falls out of his room onto one of his pillows, perhaps still asleep. “What’s happening right now?” Pomni asked Ragatha, shouting over the alarm. “I don’t know! I think it’s for an adventure or something?” Ragatha guessed. “If this is for the %$!# Adventure, there’s no way I’m gonna go.” Zooble commented.
The persistent alarm stopped as soon as Caine appeared in the hallway. “Ah, good morning my birds and babettes!” He greeted the crew excitedly. “Well, I can see you’re all awake, so we have no time to waste!” Caine said, snapping his fingers. In an instant, the crew was teleported to the main area of the tent, a mug of coffee in their hands. “You gave us coffee?” Zooble questioned. “I got hot chocolate?” Gangle asked, mostly to herself. “It was the least I could do after that ghastly awakening!” Caine replied in a dramatic tone, his hand flying up to the equivalent of his forehead, which would probably be the middle of his upper gum, head thing. “Anyway.” Caine said, returning to normal. “I have a special adventure planned for you all. An adventure that includes six people.” Caine began explaining, one of his eyes shooting out to stare directly at Zooble. “What.” Zooble said out of instinct. “Yes Zooble, it’s time for you to get your head in the game, because today’s adventure is a game of itself!” Caine continued, his eye retracting back to its original place. “A board game, to be precise!” Bubble added on, somehow spawning out of nowhere. “Exactly right, Bubble!” Caine said.
“You’ll all be–”
“Yeah, I’m not doing this.”
Caine’s explanation of today’s adventure was cut short by Zooble, ever as negative as they were. Caine sputtered. “Wh-.. What? What?! Why not?!” Caine demanded, his voice sounding whiny. “Your ideas of games aren’t exactly what I call.. Fun.” Zooble explained. “Besides, I uhm…have plans.” They muttered, eyes flicking towards the ground. “What plans can someone have?” Jax questioned, genuine confusion in his tone. Caine crossed his arms in a pouty manner. “Hmph! Well fine! I still have five people, that’s still good!” He began. Just as Caine was about to snap his fingers to open the portal to the adventure, Gangle shot her arm up.
“Uh, Caine?”
“MMMMmmmyes Gangle?”
“I was.. Actually gonna sit this adventure out as well..”
Caine’s jaw clenched. “Eheh.. And just why is that, Gangle?” He asked, getting very close to Gangle’s face, which caused her to take a step back. “Well, uhm..” Gangle began, fidgeting with her comedy mask. “It’s just that.. My comedy mask always breaks on these kinds of adventures and well, I just wanna have one day where it doesn’t break, y’know?” She explained, glancing over at Zooble.
Caine took a sharp inhale through his non-existent nose. “Alright! Okay!” He exclaimed, his voice higher. He clapped his hands together. “This is fine! It’s still four people. This can still work out!” Caine yammered to himself, his voice getting higher with nervousness. “Oh! That reminds me!” Kinger suddenly spoke up. “I actually volunteered to be reference poses for Gangle and Zooble while they draw together. Is it okay if I sit this adventure out, Caine?” He asked in a kind tone. “Kinger!” Zooble snapped. Caine’s eyes glitched for a moment. “I can expect this kind of behaviour from Zooble, but Kinger? Gangle??” Said Caine, who teleported down to Gangle’s level. “You’ve never missed one of any adventures before!” Gangle looked around awkwardly. “It was just gonna be for today..” She whispered. Zooble stepped in between Gangle and Caine. “Yeah, and you’ve never had an issue with me skipping out on most of the adventures.” They added on. Caine soared up above them. “Well of course I do! I put a lot of effort into the adventures just to not have you go on any of them!” He shouted. Zooble’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Are you kidding me?!” They shouted back. “You know, Silvy’s been in their room for god knows how long, and I’ve never seen you once try to drag them out or sing daisy bell in front of their door for an adventure!” They snapped, freezing as the words spoken were processed.
“Wait.. Who’s Silvy?” Pomni spoke up amongst the chaos. “Silvy? Oh gosh, I thought they’d…” Ragatha commented, but her words fell short. Caine was quiet for a moment. “Who again?” He asked. “Oh my god, really?! Did you seriously forget about them?” Zooble asked in a frustrated tone. “Seriously, who’s Silvy?” Pomni iniquried again, her direction pointed more at Ragatha. “Oh, you’re asking m-me?” She answered Pomni’s question with another question. Pomni nodded in response. “Well, uh–” Ragatha began. “It’s a scary monster!” Jax responded, wiggling his fingers in a manner as if he were telling a spooky tale. “Jax!” Ragatha exclaimed. “You can’t just say that about Silvy!” Jax brushed her off, stepping behind Pomni. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned his head down to hers. “It’s a freakish beast.. That lives in the walls of the circus..” He explained in a quiet tone. “Beast?” Pomni repeated. “Oh yeah,” Jax replied, straightening his posture and stepping in front of Pomni, hands on his hips. “You don’t wanna be in its presence at night..” He whispered in a mischievous manner. “Don’t call them an ‘It’, Jax!” Ragatha scolded. Jax’s smile only grew wider. “Oh come on, you can’t tell me I’m wrong here, right rags?” He asked in a jeering tone. “I just think you shouldn’t bad mouth someone that can’t defend themselves! Silvy deserves to be treated with respect too, you know!” Ragatha continued, crossing her arms. “You mean ‘doesn’t defend itself’.” Jax replied, using air quotes and twisting Ragatha’s words.
Pomni watched from below, her eyes flicking between Ragatha and Jax. She glanced back at the hallway where all the rooms were situated. Looking back at the commotion, Pomni decided to slowly step back, little by little. Once she was far enough, Pomni turned around and walked back into the hallway. As she walked, Pomni watched the profiles on the doors carefully. She just needed to find a face she didn’t know without a giant red X on it. Seems simple right? Well, it didn't seem so. “Come on, who is this??” Pomni said to herself. It seemed the more Pomni walked, the lights got dimmer and dimmer. Soon, Pomni found herself in near darkness. She looked to her left, several claw marks that left the wall paper hanging out. On Pomni’s right, a shattered mirror. Pomni then stops in front of a door she’s never come across before. She tilted her head, trying to make out any image in the darkness. The profile on the door where someone’s avatar was seen, it looked like it was scratched out, with some of its textures missing. Pomni felt a shiver go up her spine. She looked back from the way she came, then back at the door before her. She already regretted her decision. But.. she already came here. Might as well make the best of it. Pomni raised her hand up and softly knocked on the door. She waited for a moment, only to be met with silence. Pomni then pressed her face against the door. The force caused the already open door to creek further out. That caused Pomni to fall into the room. She scrambled to her feet. The room was just as dark, if not more than the hallway that surrounded it. Pomni squinted, trying to make out any shapes in the suffocating darkness. As she stepped deeper into the room, Pomni could make something out. In the corner.
A figure.
It seemed the figure could sense Pomni’s gaze on it. It turned its head, and Pomni could see a flash of pink staring back at her. “What the-” The figure spoke, its voice sounding not too distinct from being female or male, essentially androgynous. The pink in the darkness shrank, so the figure must’ve been squinting as well. “What in the.. Who are you? How did you get in my room?” It asked with an accusing tone. Pomni cleared her throat. “Oh uh, I’m Pomni. And uh, your door was open?” She explained sheepishly. The figure probably tilted its head, with the pink in the darkness moving slightly. “Pomni? I haven’t heard of that name.” The figure went silent for a moment. “Wait. Are you.. A new-comer?” They asked. “Oh, uh yeah. I joined the circus like… I think a few days ago? I forgot how weird the time is here..” Pomni replied, slowly muttering to herself about how the time works in the circus. “A new person joined.. And no one told me?” The figure questioned in a soft tone. Pomni looked around awkwardly. “Uh, well, no one told me about a sixth person at the circus.” She added on with a nervous smile. “Wouldn’t I be the seventh?” The figure asked. “Oh, yeah, I guess you would be,” said Pomni. The two shared a small chuckle, and that’s when Pomni remembered why she was here. “Oh right! Uh, Caine needed people for an adventure and uhm.. You got brought up in the conversation about never going on adventures.” Pomni began explaining, pointing behind her towards the outer hallways. “So I decided to try.. Seeing if I could find you myself. You.. You are Silvy, right?” Pomni asked, just to be sure.
“Uh, yeah. I’m Silvy.” Silvy confirmed. They sighed. “I guess it has been a while since I went on an adventure,” said Silvy, their voice softening. “I think you should give it a shot. It would be nice to get to know you.” Pomni reassured, even extending her hand towards Silvy. She’s honestly gotten so much better at being a bit more comforting and reassuring than she was when she first came here. “I don’t think you know what you’re asking, Pomni.” Silvy began, averting their gaze. “I’m.. not the best to look at.” Pomni pursed her lips. “Well, I don’t think anyone’s avatar is really..ideal.” She reassured, further extending her hand out toward Silvy. She waited for a moment before feeling contact with Silvy. “See? Not so bad, right?” Pomni asked. She took a step back, allowing Silvy to fall into step with her. Little by little, Pomni coerced Silvy into walking just at the door frame. “You really don’t wanna see me in the light.” Silvy muttered. “Hey, come on..” Pomni began, slowly walking backwards out into the hallway. She looked over her shoulder as she walked. “Everyone here looks a little weird. I swear, there’s nothing wrong with how you loo–” Pomni turned her head back once the two were fully out of Silvy’s room. She trailed off because, well, she didn’t know what to expect Silvy’s avatar to look like. But it was such a far cry from what Pomni was actually seeing.
An abundance of black and pink. Pointy horns, a long striped tail that was just about as long as Pomni herself. A jagged black mark stretched across Silvy’s face, tainting their paper white skin. Silvy’s eyes had the same style as Pomni’s, but instead of red and blue, the colours were pink and black, plus there was the lack of a mouth too. But the most shocking thing; claws. Pomni looked down and realised she was holding onto pitch black claws with a pink outline. The fingers had sharp points for ideal scratching. The realisation of what Silvy actually looked like caught Pomni off guard so badly that she let go of their hand. “%$!#. I knew it.” Silvy muttered. While their avatar appeared to have no mouth, it seemed whenever Silvy spoke, a sort of mouth would form within its face. “I’m sorry you saw me. I’ll just..” They trailed off, already turning around to head back into the comfort of darkness that was their room. “Wait, no!” Pomni cried out, grabbing onto Silvy’s claw again. The touch alone caused Silvy to stop in their tracks, looking back at Pomni. “You shouldn’t be apologising." Pomni began, glancing down at their intertwined hands before meeting Silvy’s gaze once more. “I was just..caught off guard is all.” Silvy averted their gaze. “Do you think I’m.. scary?” They asked sheepishly. Pomni’s eyes widened slightly. “Scary?” She repeated, really taking in Silvy’s look.
“Well, it’s..It wasn’t expected.” Pomni began. “But honestly? You don't seem scary to me. More like, unique? If that makes any sense.” She continued, studying Silvy’s expression. Silvy was quiet, processing Pomni’s words. “Really?” They asked quietly. “Yeah, really.” Now, for the second time that day, Pomni had to remember what she was doing. “Oh right! The adventure!” She exclaimed. Pomni ended up dragging Silvy from the hallway to the main area of the circus, where the rest of the group were still doing their thing when Pomni left. “Hey uh, I have our fourth player!” Pomni announced, getting everyone to look over at the two of them. “Oh! You brought..Silvy..” Ragatha said to herself. “Alright, four players! Good enough!” Caine shouted, immediately opening the portal to today’s adventure. “Alright, get in there, right now, right now!” He kept yelling, shoving Pomni, Ragatha, Jax and the new accompanied Silvy inside the portal.
The scene opens on a large tropical island. The bright blue ocean surrounding the greenery on the island. Palm trees, nurtured grass. It was all so beautiful. The group for today started in front of a stone arch, standing on a sandy area. “This feels..oddly familiar.” Silvy comments. Caine and Bubble suddenly materialise in front of the group. “Welcome everyone to Island: The Game Board!” Caine announced, with Bubble playing a little tune on a trumpet that spawned with him. “You are to traverse the grand island using the spaces below, with the roll of your dice to determine how far you’ll go!” Caine explained. “Hey, that rhymed!” Bubble said. Caine snapped his fingers to summon a few pairs of dice, plus one lonely dice. “During this adventure, you’ll partake in mini games that’ll determine the order of who’ll roll.” Caine then picked up the gold pair of dice. “The gold dice is for whoever wins first place in aforementioned mini games. The second dice contains the numbers one to six.” Caine then picked up the silver dice. “The silver dice is for whoever wins second place, the second dice has the numbers one to three.” Caine picked up the bronze dice. “The bronze dice is for third place, the second die only has one and two on it. And for fourth place, well, you’re not special enough to get anything cool! So it’s just a regular dice.” Caine flew up above the group. “Your goal is to reach the end of this game board, where you’ll reach a vault full of riches beyond your wildest dreams!” Caine exclaimed, breaking into maniacal laughter. “Anyway, good luck!” And with that, Caine quickly disappeared.
“Riches beyond my dreams, eh?” Jax repeated, stroking his chin. Silvy stood aside, watching as Pomni and Ragatha interacted with one another. They were honestly feeling really out of place, in this bright and colourful cast and scenery. Pomni looked over at Silvy all on their own. “Hey, Silvy!” She called out. Silvy’s gaze snapped back to Pomni, who was now beckoning them over. Silvy hesitated, taking a small step forward, then another, then another. Soon, Silvy reached where the two were. “You shouldn’t be on your own today.” Pomni said. Silvy had a smile in their eyes. Ragatha looked around, feeling a bit awkward. “Uhm, Hi Ragatha.” Silvy greeted, slightly startling her. “Oh! Uh, Hi Silvy. It’s just uh, it’s been so long since we..spoke.” Ragatha said, immediately becoming silent. Ragatha took in a breath. “Can I just say? I’m so - and I really am - I am so sorry that I haven’t actually put in the effort to talk to you. Really,” Ragatha apologised. She twiddled her thumbs. “I think we all should’ve treated you better when you arrived, and it was silly to not give you the comfort you needed. You…” Ragatha trailed off, trying to find the right words. “Hey, Ragatha. It’s okay.” Silvy reassured her. “I don’t really blame you, to be honest. I would be scared of myself too.” They said in a self-deprecating tone. Ragatha smiled in response, but it felt sadder.
The words PLAY FOR POSITION flashed above the island, and the group was teleported to what seemed like the complete opposite than a bright and sunny tropical island. The group found themselves in an eerie yet small graveyard, shrouded by darkness. The fences of the graveyard overgrown with dusty looking foliage. The group heard a rumbling noise, and they all looked over where the noise was coming from.
Undead versions of Zooble, Gangle and Kinger began crawling out of graves, all looking disfigured and rotted. Pomni felt a shiver go up her spine. Ragatha gasped in horror. Jax tensed up from the sight. And Silvy only watched in unnerved silence. ZOMBIE TAG flashes upon the graveyard. “What the heck kind of mini game is this?!” Pomni yelled out. Slowly but surely, the zombies began shuffling around the group, heading straight for them. Jax took one look at Ragatha, and immediately pushed her towards the zombies. “What the– Jax!” Ragatha exclaimed as she fell in front of them. Zombie Gangle only touched Ragatha on the shoulder. A cloud of dark purple smoke surrounded her, and Ragatha began a zombie herself, stumbling around, her arms raised as if reaching for the rest of the cast. “Eugh! So that’s what happens..” Jax comments. “Run!” Pomni shouts, running to her left, with Silvy following behind her. Jax opted to run straight through the graveyard, leading to zombie Gangle and Kinger to chase after him. Zombie Zooble and now zombified Ragatha go after Pomni and Silvy as they run around the graveyard. They found themselves cornered with Zombie Zooble on their left and Zombie Ragatha on their right. “We’re surrounded!” Pomni exclaimed, taking a step closer to Silvy. Silvy looked straight ahead, seeing an opening. “Come on!” They said, grabbing Pomni’s arm. Their grip was surprisingly gentle. Silvy dragged Pomni across the graveyard, narrowly avoiding the grasp of zombie Zooble and Ragatha. “Phew, I think we’re okay!” Silvy called out. That earned a shy smile from Pomni, a smile that quickly turned into panic. “Look out!” She warned. Silvy turned around to see zombie Kinger right in front of the two.
“Oh mother%$!#” Those were Silvy’s last words before becoming zombified. Pomni had no choice but to run away, managing to collide with Jax. They both shook their heads to regain focus. Jax looked behind him and saw zombie Zooble, Gangle and Ragatha approaching, while zombie Kinger and Silvy came after Pomni. Jax glanced down at Pomni, with a slight apologetic look in his eyes, he grabbed Pomni, using her as a human shield when Zombie Ragatha got close enough to touch her. “Jax!” Pomni shouted, gritting her teeth. As soon as Pomni was zombified, the sun rose over the graveyard. A puff of smoke went over the zombified cast which turned them back.
Soon the cast teleported back to the start of the supposed board game island. Caine snapped his fingers, and dice appeared in the hands of the cast. Jax got the gold dice, Pomni silver, Silvy bronze, and Ragatha had the one normal die in her hand. She sighed at the sight. “Alrighty!” Caine suddenly appeared. “Because Jax was the last survivor, he gets to roll first!” Jax looked down at the pair of gold dice in his hand. “Oh, sweet.” He said with his signature smile. “Uh, no hard feelings with the human shield part, right pom pom?” He asked Pomni, who had been looking at the silver dice in her hand. “Huh? Oh, uh sure.” She replied. Jax’s smile faltered a bit. He rolled the dice in his hands and threw them out into the air. The dice grew to about the size of Pomni’s head so everyone can see what Jax rolled; a three and a six, so nine. Jax went ahead six spaces, stopping at an open pit with a vine hanging down before him. “What the?! Ugh, fine.” Jax muttered, grabbing the vine. He took a few steps back before swinging. A normal dice appeared in his hand as he hung onto the vine. “Wait what? I gotta roll again?” Jax asked aloud. He sighed annoyingly, throwing the dice up in the air. He rolled a two. Jax them faceplanted on one of those blank spaces. He got up and made the rest of his way to his ninth space.
Pomni took a bit longer to roll, managing to roll two threes. “Oh! Pomni has rolled doubles!” Caine exclaimed, summoning a normal die. “You get to roll one more time!” He said, giving the dice to Pomni. “Oh, that’s uh..cool!” Pomni said, rolling the extra dice. That extra dice boosted Pomni’s six to an eight. She dashes through the first six spaces, jumping onto the vine. She quickly rolled the dice for the vine and got a three from it. She swung on the vine and landed perfectly on a particular space with a grey X across it. The space she landed on had an image that Pomni couldn’t tell what it was for. She shrugged and continued the rest of her roll, landing her in the same space as Jax.
Silvy was about to roll when they noticed Ragatha looking dejected. “Penny for your thoughts?” They asked. Ragatha seemed a bit startled when being addressed. “Oh! Yeah, Silvy..” She said, looking back at the one dice in her hand. “I can’t believe I got last place, and I barely played..” She muttered to herself. Silvy tilted its head slightly. “Hey, it’s alright.” They said, offering a hand on Ragatha’s shoulder. The touch caused Ragatha to flinch slightly. “It was just one game, plus you don’t have to blame yourself for not doing anything. Jax is just an %$!#hole.” Silvy reassured in a comforting tone. Ragatha had a small smile. “Uh, shouldn’t you roll?” She asked. Silvy looked at the pair of dice in their hand. “Oh yeah.” They said innocently. Silvy rolled their dice, with it rolling a one and two. “What.” It said in a deadpan tone. Silvy took in a deep breath, advancing the three spaces. They didn’t even leave the starting point. Ragatha looked back down at the one dice in her hand. She took a deep breath, rolling it long enough in hopes of a good number. She managed to get a six, which made her happy a bit. Ragatha walked past Silvy, reaching the vine part. Given the extra dice, Ragatha was disappointed to discover that she rolled a one. However, once she jumped off the vine, Ragatha landed on a space that read “+6” on it. A blue spring platform formed beneath Ragatha’s feet, and it launched her six spaces ahead, putting her in the lead. “What?!” Jax exclaimed. “Are you kidding me?!”
PLAY FOR POSITION appeared above the group once more. It was time for another mini game. Instead of a spooky graveyard, the cast found themselves in what appeared to be a nursery. With everyone holding a random baby that just wouldn’t stop crying. “Why do they look like this?” Silvy asked. The “babies”in question were really just miniature versions of those wooden mannequins used as NPCs for adventures. “I would like to mention that this thing is not mine.” Jax joked, holding his baby by its leg. “Jax, don’t hold it like that!” Ragatha scolded. “Are we supposed to sooth them or something?” Pomni asked, holding her baby in an awkward manner. Ragatha held her baby gently, softly rocking it. “You’re good with kids.” Silvy comments. “Oh! Yeah..” Ragatha replied, looking down at the baby in her hand. She kept up the rhythm of rocking it. “I would always carry around baby dolls with me when I was little. I dreamed of being a mother someday..” The mood went somber real quick. It was only interrupted by Jax’s panicked screams. “AH! It can bite!” He screamed, running around with his baby hanging onto one of his ears by its non-existent mouth. Pomni and Ragatha chuckled at the mishap. Silvy glanced down at the baby in its arms. Kinda hard to smile when you don’t have a mouth. And it seemed no matter what they did, this baby just wouldn’t shut up.
Ragatha manages to soothe the baby enough where it was laughing instead of crying, and Pomni follows up soon after. “Huh, wasn’t as hard as I thought..” Pomni comments, looking down at the baby. “Yeah! I knew you would get the hang of it, Pomni.” Ragatha added on. SIlvy tried their best rocking the baby, but their claws would always poke into the baby’s swaddle, and the way Silvy held the baby would be either uncomfortable for them or the baby. Eventually, when Jax pried his baby off his ear and shook it aggressively, it somehow counted as soothing the baby. The group was teleported back to their respective spaces in the board game. “Oh! I got the gold dice!” Ragatha exclaimed with glee. The group each rolled, Ragatha, Jax and Pomni had crossed a rickety wooden bridge, while Silvy had now passed the first area at the start. They were on the space that was just before the bridge.
Another PLAY FOR POSITION above the group. This time, they were brought to a dark arena lit up with neon lights. The cast members all found themselves in their own large plastic ball. “Oh! This is uh…” Ragatha comments. “How are we supposed to do anything?” Silvy asked. Just then, Jax had crashed straight into Silvy. “Wha– Jax!” Ragatha exclaimed, tugging on her hair noodles. Silvy sighed annoyingly. “Jax! You piece of %$!#!” They stood up, heading straight for Jax. A loud repetitive beep echoed through the empty stadium. Four gaping holes opened up at the corners. Jax narrowly escaped the wrath of Silvy, but Pomni wasn’t so lucky, as Silvy crashed into her, sending her down into one of the holes. “Oh crap, Pomni!” Silvy cried out. Jax didn’t focus on that too much, already scoping out his next target; Ragatha. “Oh Rag dolly!~” He called out, already rushing towards Ragatha. She stood there at first, watching as Jax was getting closer. But.. she had to do something. Ragatha formed a determined look on her face, and soon, she was now running straight at Jax. In fact, she was faster than him. Ragatha collided with Jax, knocking him off balance. “Ow!” Ragatha ran again, her teeth gritted with determination. Jax slowly stood up, his body tense as he stood his ground. Ragatha crashed into him again, but Jax had gotten up quicker than she expected him to. Jax ran around along the wall in order to catch Ragatha by surprise. However, Jax’s plan wouldn’t work as well as he planned thanks to the variable he missed; Silvy. They knocked right into Jax, sending him into the wall. “Thanks..” Ragatha muttered. “Of course.” Silvy replied. Other balls started raining down from above. The beeping from before is heard again, a much larger hope opening up in the center.
“Oh my god, this is rich!” Jax said in a gleeful, yet sarcastic sounding tone. “We got the pushover and the freak working together! How sweet!” Ragatha pursed her lips. “Hey.” Silvy suddenly spoke up. “Let’s kick this guy’s %$!#.” Ragatha was quiet for a moment, then her lips curled into a smile. The two nodded, their attention shifting back over to Jax, who seemed more than entertained. Silvy and Ragatha ran directly towards Jax, slamming right into him. The force made Jax hit the wall and bounce back towards the two. He hit Ragatha, causing her to roll around, dangerously close to the hole in the middle.
Luckily, she regained her balance. Ragatha ran over as Silvy was repeatedly crashing into Jax. He rolled backwards to make some distance between him and Silvy. Ragatha came in on his left, crashing into him with all her might. The sheer force had launched Jax straight into one of the holes in the corners. Silvy joined Ragatha’s side, both breathing in ragged breaths. “Wow..” Ragatha breathed in. “We did it.” Silvy took in a breath themselves. “Yeah.. Now, we just gotta figure out who’s gonna be first?” The two shared a look, debating internally. Who should take the crown for this minigame? Ragatha sighed, beginning to walk towards one of the holes. “Wha– Wait, Ragatha!” Silvy called out, running over to block Ragatha’s path. “Are you just forfeiting?” They asked. “Well, yeah. Basically.” Ragatha replied. “Silvy, you’ve not had the best luck, I just want you to catch up with the rest of us.” She explained, looking slightly panicked as her words sank in. “I mean! It’s– It’s not like I’m taking pity or I feel the need for you to catch up, it’s just that–” Silvy quickly cut her off. “No no, I get it. You want all of us at the same pace. I can respect that.” Ragatha smiled shyly. She walked over to the giant hole in the center. “Welp, might as well,” she said. Ragatha then did a two finger salute, falling backwards into the hole.
The group are then transported back to the island. Pomni gets the last dice, Jax the bronze, Ragatha the silver, and Silvy the gold. “Ugh. Lame.” Jax muttered. Silvy rolled a nine, which allowed them to join up with the rest of the group; standing in front of a stone wall thing. “A wall?” Pomni asked, tilting her head. Ragatha rolled next, she rolled a six. She advanced one space to be directly in front of the stone wall. That’s when Caine popped out of nowhere. “Challenge time!” He exclaimed, startling Ragatha. “Uh, what?” She asked. Caine then handed Ragatha a normal dice. “You must roll a three or higher to proceed!” He explained. “What the heck is up with these challenges?!” Jax exclaimed, though Caine paid him no mind. Ragatha quickly rolled a five. “Oh hey! I did it!” She said, proud of herself. “You did indeed!” Caine added on. “Now you get to use some generic kung fu moves to break the wall!” Ragatha looked at the wall and approached it. She raised her fist and punched the wall lightly. The wall then proceeds to shatter into little stone bricks. “Or.. or that works too.” Caine said, his voice softer with slight disappointment. Ragatha progressed the rest of her roll, moving five spaces ahead. She glanced over and saw two blue golem looking statues. “Huh.. those are.. Hm.” She whispered. She stopped on the fifth space she needed. Though a hole opened up below her feet, causing Ragatha to fall in. It was notable that this specific space had a purple skull and bones on it. Pomni, Jax and Silvy watched the scene with wide eyes. “Did.. Did Ragatha just get sent to hell?” Pomni asked, pointing at the empty space Ragatha had left. “Correction!” Caine replied. “Ragatha has been sent to THE VOLCANO.” He explained, his voice bass boosted at the end. Silvy looked up, pointing at the aforementioned volcano. “You mean that one?” They asked. “Precisely!” Caine responded. The group all exchanged an uncomfortable look. “Anyway!” Caine then disappeared. “Alright, soo…” Pomni began. “Don’t land on the spooky skull space then.” Silvy nodded. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.” Jax rolled next, rolling a six. “Phew! Close one there.” He muttered under his breath. He skipped through the various spaces, landing on an ominous looking space with some kind of blue statue thing on it. Jax glanced to his side, seeing actually two of the statues before him. “Uhh…”
Before Jax could really form a sentence, the eyes of the statue before him glowed green. Its large, stone hands being presented before Jax, palms out. He hesitates for a moment, cautiously taking a step onto the hand. The statue then gently—though powerfully—proceeds to launch Jax into the air. “Holy %$!#!” Silvy exclaimed, while Pomni only watched in shock. Though, that throw from the golem had launched Jax all the way over the giant pond that was up ahead, putting him in the lead. “Oh come on!” Pomni complained. “Now that’s just unfair.” Silvy added on. Once Jax landed, he looked over his shoulder back where the other two were, making an L shape with his hands before facing what’s in front of him. Pomni just rolled a seven, leaving her in a blank space.
Ragatha landed on the hard stone with a harsh thud. She groaned, rubbing her head in slight pain. She looked around, taking in the stony walls and boiling lava below her. The lava seemingly keeps large boulders up in the air with some kind of lava geysers. “Uh, Caine?” She called out. Caine appeared in front of her in an instant.
“Why yes Ragatha?”
“A-Am I gonna be stuck in here for the rest of the game?!”
Caine gasped dramatically. “Ragatha! Do you take me as a monster?” He asked in an offended tone. “Uh..” Ragatha averted her gaze. “THE VOLCANO is supposed to be a hiccup in the road of the game!” Caine explained, ignoring Ragatha’s hesitance. He pointed to a glowing spot up ahead. “There’s your ticket out of here! Since you can still roll when in THE VOLCANO.” That tidbit of information gave Ragatha some hope on the current situation. “Oh, well. Okay then..” She muttered. “Oh, and don’t worry,” Caine added. “You won’t be in THE VOLCANO during the minigames."
PLAY FOR POSITION flashed above and just about everyone knew what to expect. This minigame had everyone sitting in little carts settled on tracks arranged in a certain pattern. The carts were suited with large targets on the back of them. “Oh, he wasn’t kidding.” Ragatha whispered, finding herself inside one of the carts.
“Ohohoho!” Jax laughed deviously. He pressed a button in his cart, launching some kind of orb thing at some random NPC. The impact of the blast made the NPC soar up into the air. “Oh, a shooting minigame. I wonder how this’ll go.” Silvy wondered sarcastically. Pomni chuckled. “You should’ve seen him in the gun adventure we had.” Silvy cocked her head. “You guys had a gun adventure?” It repeated after Pomni, who nodded in response. “Yeah! We all had to find guns around the circus and shoot each other with—” Before Pomni could continue further, Jax groaned loudly. “Hey! Can it with the reminiscing crap before I target you!” He complained. Pomni rolled her eyes. A countdown from three played as everyone readied up in their carts, determination etched on her expressions.
The “GO!” was announced and.. The carts moved at a snail’s pace. Jax’s devious smirk vanished as his mouth formed into a straight line. “This is a joke,” he deadpanned. Silvy and Pomni shared a glance before chuckling to themselves. The carts drove slowly along the tracks, further irritating Jax. “I wonder if they’ll be this slow the whole time..” Pomni pondered. Jax groaned. “Oh god, no! I thought this minigame would be fun!” he complained. As the game progresses, Ragatha spots a glowing coin thing with an S on it. Curious, she drove over it. Her cart’s speed increased, allowing her to drive faster. “Whoa! Hey!” She exclaimed. Her eye landed on Jax, a determined grin forming.
Jax rested his head in his hand, sighing heavily with how slowly he was moving. He looked into the cart, hoping he just missed a pedal or something. That’s when Ragatha’s voice broke the silence. “Hey Jax!” She greeted, startling him. Jax whirled around to the direction Ragatha’s voice came from, only to find her right behind him. “Uh oh–” Ragatha launched the strangle projectile at Jax’s cart and he was launched into the air. Much like that NPC. “Oh %$!# Ragatha!” Silvy cheered. Ragatha beamed, it was an exhilarating feeling. This was probably how it was for the others during that gun adventure. Ragatha then advanced towards Pomni and Silvy. They all drove around the track, picking up various speed boosters to hasten their escape. Not to mention all the times they crashed into each other. Silvy managed to grab one more speed booster than Ragatha, giving them an advantage.
Silvy zoomed through the tracks, taking one of the alternative routes to conveniently end up behind Ragatha. Long story short, it was now down to Pomni and Slivy. They were situated on the opposite sides of the tracks, slowly driving around, just barely in each other’s paths. Pomni swerved into the middle tracks, snatching two speed boosts right in her path. Silvy notices her advancement, so they make a U-turn on the tracks, facing Pomni head on. The two’s carts crashed into each other, reversing their directions as they drove in opposite directions. It was around this time they realized the speed boosts wear off, and their carts returned to the snail’s pace at the beginning of the minigame.
Pomni noticed a speed boost situated on the outer tracks. She glanced at Silvy, who spotted the same thing. They locked eyes, their gazes intense. Pomni squinted, pointing at her eyes then at Silvy. Silvy narrowed their gaze, focusing their attention on the speed boost ahead. They wished these carts had pedals to step on dramatically, though wouldn’t that defeat the entire purpose of the speed boosts? Anyway, there wasn’t time to think about that when there was a minigame to win.
Or at least, they thought they had enough time to win. Because apparently there was a time limit and the two were just straight up dilly-dallying. Pomni and Silvy had to figure that out the hard way when their carts just stopped moving altogether. “What the?” Pomni exclaimed. “Oops!” Caine’s voice cut through the silence. “It appears you’ve both run out of time on the mini game. So we’ll have to settle this in a different way!” Caine snapped his fingers, and a simple, ordinary dice appeared in the hands of Pomni and Silvy. “Whoever rolls higher wins the minigame.” Caine explained before disappearing away as he normally does. Pomni and Silvy exchange a glance before rolling their respective dice. Silvy ended up with a four and Pomni got a two in the end.
The two were brought back to the tropical landscape, where the game continued on. Silvy rolled an astounding eleven, which put it right on Jax’s tail. Pomni rolled a six, not putting too much distance behind but still being relatively close to Silvy. Ragatha rolled a four, which happened to be the lucky number she needed to get out of THE VOLCANO. And since Jax had gotten last place, he rolled a two.
PLAY FOR POSITION appeared once more. This time, the group found themselves on a plain field, the ground tilled down. There’s a sign posted up with 10 ft written on it. “So.. what’re we supposed to do here?” Jax questioned, looking around the area. Pomni glanced at the sign, noticing a little note written in the corner. “Walk to seventy ft to win!” The note stated, signed off with a bee doodle. “Walk to seventy feet to win?” Pomni read aloud, turning to the rest of the group. “Well, can’t be too hard, right?” Ragatha asked with a hopeful tone.
The group all began running through the field. Some faster than others. Jax took the lead, dashing past Ragatha and the others. He glanced at the signs, seeing he passed 30 feet already. Man, this was the easiest minigame there was. Jax kept his eye out for the 40 and 50 feet signs.
But he never saw them. Only the vast plains of the field laid ahead. “What the..” Jax muttered under his breath.
When the others went past the 30 ft sign, they noticed what Jax did. “Wait, where are the other signs?” Silvy inquired. Ragatha placed her hand above her eyes, squinting in the distance. “Hm, that’s odd,” she muttered. “Should we just.. Guess?” Pomni suggested. Ragatha shrugged. “I mean, there’s not much else we can do.”
They continued on, and Ragatha sped walked ahead of the others. That left Silvy and Pomni to their own devices. “So.. what other adventures did you guys have when you got here?” Silvy questioned. Pomni thought for a moment, grimacing slightly. “Well uh, my first adventure was going through a candy world and stopping bandits, I think. I kinda.. Got trapped under the map and bonded with an NPC.” She recalled, memories of that adventure replaying in her mind. Silvy nodded along.
“Definitely sounds a little intense for your first adventure.”
“Yeah, and then I went through this like, haunted house with Kinger. I didn’t like that one very much.. Not so good on horror.”
“Aw man, I don’t exactly mind horror, but that actually sounded pretty cool.”
“Then there was one where we all worked at some burger restaurant. I uh, actually saw that NPC I befriended there.”
“Fast food? I thought Caine’s adventures were more fictional, in a sense.”
“It was from the suggestion box, actually.”
“Oh? Neat.”
The conversation fell silent after that as the two continued walking. Silvy ended up breaking the silence with a chuckle. “Y’know, I’m just imagining Kaufmo as those kind of restaurant mascots, you know the ones with the huge signs they spin around?” They snickered, glancing down at Pomni. She wasn’t laughing, though. Just staring at Silvy with this.. Somber expression. “Oh, you.. Knew Kaufmo?” She asked. Silvy tilted their hand. “Ehh, we aren’t close, but we get along during the adventures.” It explained. Pomni pursed her lip, glaring down at the ground. “Say..” Silvy spoke up. “How come you got me for the adventure and not Kaufmo? Did you not want him and Jax to team up or something?” Pomni clenched her fists at her sides, her expression tense. “Silvy..” Pomni paused, glancing up at Silvy’s oblivious expression. “Kaufmo, he.. He abstracted.”
Silvy stopped dead in their tracks, startling Pomni. “What did you just say?” They asked, tone low. Pomni averted her gaze, fidgeting with her hands.
“Did.. Did no one tell you?”
“No?? No one told me anything!”
Silvy’s voice boomed through the field, catching the attention of Ragatha nearby. “Uh, guys?” She called out. When not receiving any reply, Ragatha ran down towards the others. “Hey, are you guys alright?” She urged. Pomni opened her mouth to respond, but was quickly cut off by Silvy. “I can’t believe you..” They hissed through their non-existent teeth. Its clawed hands clenched tightly and shook.
“You didn’t bother to tell me.?”
“What? T-Tell you what?”
“Tell me Kaufmo abstracted!”
Silvy’s shout caused Pomni and Ragatha to take a step back. “W-Well, uh.. I-It was all really sudden. Kaufmo abstracted right when Pomni first got here!” Ragatha explained, nervously gesturing to Pomni. “You could’ve still told me! I wouldn’t have minded going to his funeral!” Silvy snapped back. “So what else? Who else abstracted and none of you told me?” They demanded in a low growl. Pomni glanced at Ragatha expectedly, and she could only stammer in response. “Go on, tell me. Tell me how many adventures I missed out on. Tell me how many funerals I missed! Tell me how many people abstracted while I was in my room because you couldn’t be bothered to include me in anything!” Ragatha’s expression soured. “Silvy, I get you’re upset, but.. You could’ve gone out on your own accord. No one was stopping you from leaving your room and including yourself!” She raised her voice in frustration. Silvy tilted their head, but Ragatha kept going. “And yeah, sure. Maybe none of us exactly wanted to go out of our way to interact with you, but you could’ve just tried including yourself in the adventures.” Ragatha turned her body, crossing her arms.
“If you ever left your room..”
“The %$!# did you say, rags?”
Pomni quickly stepped in between the two of them, arms outstretched for furthest distance. “Whoa, whoa, hey..” Pomni exclaimed, eyes narrowed as they flicked between Ragatha and Silvy. “Let’s just.. Let’s just take a breath, okay?” She suggested. Ragatha closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and exhaling rather tensely. Silvy’s eye twitched. “Alright.. Fine.” They muttered, closing their eyes tightly. Silvy took in a breath, but Ragatha and Pomni never heard an exhale.
Something glitches on Silvy’s avatar. It started on the arm, then both of their legs. One by one, one part of Silvy’s texture shifts into pink and black squares. Soon, its body changes before their eyes, covered in pink and black squares. The textures lost and broken.
Silvy sank to their knees, digging their textureless claws into the ground. The pink and black squares start spreading out from Silvy’s hands and out onto the ground, growing with each passing second. Pomni and Ragatha huddled closer, watching the green scenery and the plains change into pink and black squares. “Uh, Caine?” Pomni hesitated. “Caine!” Ragatha shouted.
The dentured ringmaster spawns soon after. “Why hello my little– Oh my! What in the world is going on here?” Caine inquired, taking in the scene before him. He zips past the others, coming back just a second later with Jax in tow. Caine snapped his fingers to summon the portal. He tosses Jax inside and lets Ragatha and Pomni run in soon after. Caine wiggles his fingers before grabbing Silvy by the tail and tossing them inside as well.
The crew landed on the circus floor with a hard thud. Zooble and Gangle had been on the couches nearby, drawing Kinger in a fabulous pose. “That was a short adventure..” Gangle muttered to herself. Pomni groaned, clutching her head in slight pain. Her eyes followed Silvy’s form stomp away. “W-Wait!” Pomni called out, scrambling to her feet. She followed after them, pushing her body to keep up. “Silvy, wait! We can still talk!” Pomni reached out, barely grazing Silvy’s claw. They didn’t look back. Just kept walking.
Pomni chased them down until getting the door slammed in her face. She stared at the broken image on the door, gritting her teeth. Pomni braced her shoulder as she pressed it against the door. “Silvy, please!” Pomni called out once more, pressing her head against the door. No reply. “Silvy?” Pomni tried again in a quiet tone.
“Leave me alone.”
A dejected Silvy replied softly from on the other side. Well, at least they were talking. Pomni sighed, closing her fist against the door. “I-I’m gonna give you space, but we are gonna talk, okay?”
No response. Pomni took a step back, letting her arm drop to her side. She turned on her heel, and walked off.
Alone.