Chapter Text
Caine reuses NPCs from time to time.
This is a known fact in the circus. Everyone learns this within their first few days.
Pomni discovered this at Spudsy’s, when Gummigoo came in and ordered some forgettable breakfast combo.
She tried to talk to him, but, well…
There is a second known fact. The NPCs don’t remember past adventures. People tend to learn that fact right around the time they learn the first.
It makes sense. The NPCs are blank character templates, reset and reused between adventures. When one is needed again, a new copy of that template is generated.
In other words, that wasn’t her Gummigoo. Of course he didn’t know her, or anything that had happened to them. This was a new copy of the template.
Pomni made her peace with this fact.
On the other hand, It isn’t abnormal for NPCs to know about the cast members.
They can have implanted memories, opinions, biases, whatever, usually to further the narrative of the adventure.
For example, the Evil Big Tops had names and minor intel on them all; Princess Lolilalu understood that they were sent by Caine to solve her issue without them telling her; and weirdly enough, the souls of the damned knew about Kinger’s wife somehow. The more adventures Pomni went on, the more examples of this she saw.
Whatever context or knowledge Caine thought was important for them to know, they knew.
…
Pomni stood in front of a knockoff Greggs.
She had been to London before, once, back in reality. There had been a Greggs right outside her hotel. She’d bought a coffee and a sausage roll every morning she was there. So, despite the sign in this adventure reading “Croggs”, she recognized the pastry store pretty instantly. How Caine knew anything about England was beyond her.
Smelling the phantom scent of reheated goods, more memory than actual simulation, Pomni pushed the door open. It jingled as she walked in.
Pomni immediately glanced at her surroundings. Table, chairs, shelves, fridges… surprisingly normal for a Greggs. There wasn’t a single gloink.
She glanced at the register and did a double take.
The cashier was… Jax? Well, it looked like Jax, but it was clearly not him, given the fact that Jax was still somewhere outside, to her knowledge. Also, this… character had spiky red fur (instead of Jax’s smooth purple) and a name tag that read ‘Thomas.’ Huh, I guess he’s named Thomas. It wouldn’t be the first time there’s been a knockoff Jax, she supposes. Evil Jax was red too, albeit a lighter shade. This didn’t seem like Evil Jax, though. This was, well… Thomas, apparently.
Thomas groaned as he pressed the cash drawer button on the register absentmindedly. It was admittedly a very Jax-like fidgeting action, something that weirded Pomni out even more. The typical Jax scowl on his face didn’t help at all.
What is even the point of this NPC? Pomni wondered. He is literally just a cashier. There is no reason for him to look like Jax.
She sighed and walked up to him. He glanced up wearily as she approached, head slumped onto his hand, elbow on the counter, slouched so much he was at her eye-level. Stress lines marked his under-eyes, something Jax only had when expressing his more negative emotions. To Pomni, he looked… depressed, honestly.
“Whaddya want?” he drawled out.
Pomni startled, shaking out of her thought. She raised her finger to point at the menu. “I’ll have a… uhh…” Her finger faltered. “What in Caine are these menu items…?” she muttered, dropping her hand all the way.
Thomas blinked wearily in response.
“Umm, okay, well, uh- do you guys have… the… sausage rolls?” she asked tentatively, forming what she hoped was a friendly smile but which probably looked more like a grimace. When he didn’t respond for a moment, she added, “Or... just a… coffee.”
He sighed loudly, punching her order into the register. “That’ll be $4.57.”
“Oh- yeah, ok thanks,” she fumbled, reaching towards where her purse would be only to remember that she was a jester in a VR headset with no form of personal belongings or currency. “Arghh,” she said casually. Thomas didn’t acknowledge her, reaching instead for the tongs to grab her sausage roll.
The silence was awkward.
“So, umm….” Pomni began, not doing a great job at making the silence any less uncomfortable. “Y’know- I have a… friend, who kinda looks like you,” she offered.
Thomas was still for a moment, still hunched over by the pastry display case. Then he let out a loud, heavy sigh, and his demeanor shifted, smiling bitterly before suddenly going on a long-winded rant. “I knew someone who looked like me once, too, back when I was in school. He was funny, and friendly, and smart. He was the coolest. He did everything right. He was my friend, and he thought I was cool, too. And then something happened, and he left. I think I care more about him than my stupid wife. He was my… everything. And man, I still miss him. Every day. Oh god, I miss him right now.”
Unannounced, Thomas reached under his apron and pulled a photograph from the pouch of the yellow overalls he wore. From where she stood across the counter, Pomni could catch a glimpse of it. He moved his hand to show her.
In the photo, a “younger” Thomas (without the ‘Croggs’ apron or stress wrinkles) sat on the floor next to Jax, looking normal as ever, both of them holding slices of pizza and soda cans. The photo had tear stains on it. Oh god…
Pomni laughed awkwardly. “Oh… okay… cool,” she replied, because what the #!$% else was she supposed to say?? This NPC was meant to be old friends with Jax of all people, from childhood, and be blatantly depressed about Jax having left him. It seemed like the kind of weird throwaway gag that the circus would hold, she supposed, but it was still just… odd. Not to mention his behavior, being all quiet and moody before suddenly infodumping his life story. But that was more explainable; NPCs were just weird like that sometimes.
Stiffening upright, Thomas shoved the picture back into his pocket. “Sorry, I got… carried away. Forget about it.” He moved quickly to shove her sausage roll in its paper bag, then turned even quicker towards the coffee machine.
Pomni watched him with an air of slightly amused, slightly confused curiosity. What was this guy’s deal? Honestly, it was pretty funny. She’d have to tell Jax about it when she found him again. He’d get a kick out of knowing he had an NPC admirer. She wasn’t sure if bringing Jax to meet this guy was a good idea, given Thomas’s emotions on the matter, but maybe Jax would think the joke was worth it anyways. Now that would be funny to watch. Oh god, I really am acting like him.
“Here,” he said lowly, a slight tremor in his voice, as he set her coffee on the counter. Pomni startled and moved to pick it and her pastry up, then gave a small wave and turned around.
She walked quickly to the door.
Outside, Ragatha and Gangle sat at a tea shop across the street. They sat giggling over fancy teacups, probably talking about Gangle’s art or something. Or her crush, given the blush marks on her mask. Zooble, meanwhile, investigated a band shop next door, taking time to inspect the rack of drumsticks on display. Kinger clung onto a streetlamp, seemingly entranced by the moths floating around it.
Pomni decided not to interrupt any of them. Instead, she started to walk across the street, heading towards a yarn store. It looked neat, and she used to crochet; maybe she could pick the hobby back up to pass time in the circus. She raised her coffee to her mouth and took a sip. The simulated warmth tingled on her tongue.
As far as Pomni could tell, this adventure was just… London. She was pretty sure Zooble had suggested it, because it so far seemed way more laidback than anything Caine could dream up. They didn’t seem to have an objective here. Or maybe there was one, and I zoned out. Whatever, she was just going to enjoy the peace while it lasted.
“Hey, Pomni,” came a voice to her left, drawing out the words with a playful lilt. Well, there goes the peace I was talking about. Pomni turned to face the voice, which was, of course, Jax. He held a police baton in both hands.
Pomni squinted. “How did you-“ She cut herself off. Was there any use asking?
“Oh, y’know, I have my ways.” His grin stretched ear to rabbit ear, eyes squinting like waning crescent moons. Ah yes, the shit-eating expression, she thought to herself. She knew it all too well.
“I’m not even… gonna ask. Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “Oh, by the way, I have a funny story. So, the knockoff Greggs over there- you know what Greggs is, right?” She tilted her head at him.
Jax snickered. “No, of course not! I’m not British, Pomni, God! Unlike you, it seems.” He poked her forehead. “Fancy a spot o’ tea, innit Poms?”
Pomni glared at him, a smile creeping up on her face despite herself. “Yeah, Jax. Of course I’m British. Anyway-“ She rubbed her hat- “So the cashier in that fake Greggs is an NPC, right? Weirdest thing, though- he looks just like you, but he’s red with spiky hair. And he was-“
She faltered. Jax’s grin had lessened in its strength, and one of those stress lines she always noticed had creased his under-eye.
Shaking her head, she continued. “The NPC, right. I mentioned how he looked like you and he went ranting on about how he used to have a friend who looked like him, and how he missed that friend every day, and he sounded really obsessed with this guy, honestly, and get this— he pulled out a picture, and the friend was you!!! Isn’t that…”
Pomni trailed off this time. Jax’s pupils had contracted into tiny rectangles, brow furrowed and a few more stress lines visible. His mouth was a flat line. “You, uhh… you good?” she asked gently.
Jax shook his head abruptly, smile snapping back into place. A couple stress lines still remained. “Yeah. That's odd.” His voice was sharp.
Pomni faltered. This was… well, this was how Jax acted when he thought about bad memories. Which implies memories at all. Which, really, would be interesting for him to have about this NPC, considering the NPC also seems to remember him.
“Jax…?”
“What?”
“Did you… meet this NPC before? Thomas?”
Jax flinched at the name. Huh, she thought.
Suddenly, Jax tsked loudly, putting his hands behind his head. “Wooo man. Y’know, that sure WAS a funny story. Glad the people have good taste, doncha think?” He gestured to himself and winked. “Well, Pompom, we’ve been talking for a while. Don’t wanna keep blabbering for too long, now do we? This adventure is only so long, and I have at LEAST 3 fire hydrants to blow up before then. Plus, you still have your… uh… pastry thing, to eat,” he added, gesturing vaguely toward her paper bag. Turning on his heel, he gave her a wave. “Later, Poms!”
And with that, he bounded away.
…Even by Jax standards, that conversation was kind of odd. Pomni noticed how his reaction to hearing about the NPC made it seem like he remembered Thomas. Which wouldn’t be impossible on Jax’s end, but the fact that Thomas seemed to remember Jax, too?
That was the part she had trouble figuring out.
NPCs don’t remember past adventures.
With a furrowed brow and a huff, Pomni turned back to ‘Croggs’.
She had an NPC to question.