Work Text:
Knock knock
Ragatha was worried about Jax (honestly Zooble kinda was too. Only kinda.) and Caine asked gangle or them to check up on him… for whatever weird reason.
Zooble wouldn’t let gangle take the fall like that. So of course they sighed and said they’d do it.
Knock knock!
Zooble hit the door a little harder. They didn’t hear anything from inside the room. Fine. If he wants to be like that he can be like that! It’s not their [%$!#]ing responsibility to take care of the [%$!#]hole.
They turned away from his door.
(But his words intruded in their mind ‘I’m sorry Caine. I love you’ it was barely a whisper but they had heard it all the same. They’re sure some of the others did as well, he wouldn’t stop saying it.
4 months huh? That’s a long time.)
Regretfully they stop in their tracks. Looking back at the door with Jax’s dumb [%$!#] cocky grin.
And they moved back and knocked again.
“LISTEN!” They said, looking around kinda cluelessly “can we talk?”
Nothing. UGH! Here Zooble is trying to do a nice thing and they get nothing! Of course. That’s why they pranked him in the first place.
(Last adventure before the prank was a fantasy one. Gangle was so excited for it. And Jax tossed her in the moat)
And how do they know if this is one of Jax’s pranks back? He would pull a stunt like this, make them think he’s in need of help and then laugh them off.
Jax didn’t need to get babied! He was a grown man! Why were they walking eggshells at his door, if he needs to talk with someone he should just do it himself! He’s had so many chances too!
Knock knock (just so Zooble can say they tried.)
“Zooble…” a muffled voice comes from the door.
Obviously. “Yeah?” They say.
“Just leave me alone…”
…
“Okay.” They shrug.
At least they can say they tried.
.
.
.
.
“GEE WIZ WHERES JAX?!” Caine shouts.
The morning was like any other, but without Jax which means it was 10 times better. (Caine was still there though, and they were still stuck in this hellhole, so that brought it down of course.)
“I tried talking to him!” Zooble says “he said he didn’t want to talk.”
“You… don’t think he’s mad?” Gangle says “or upset….” She mumbles.
He’s definitely upset. “It’s not our problem” they say quickly, not wanting to watch gangle cry.
“I mean… it kinda is, we decided to prank him” pomni then says.
“He pranks us all the time!!! How are we supposed to know this one would backfire!” Zooble says “Caine was the one in control of most of it!!”
“WOAH woah woah” Caine sweats nervously “I’ll have you know my prank was going wonderfully!!! It’s just the time that messed it up a bit!!! You all were so slow on the adventure I had to pad out some of the drama, but in the end it went swimmingly!!! Here let me ask Jax!!” Caine snaps his fingers.
Jax falls to the ground, his ears dropped and his eyes squinting at the bright light.
“JAX!” Caine screams and Jax scrambles back, before smiling (nervously). “We missed you!!!” Caine claps his hands, speaking with a light expression “and We were all just wondering how the prank went? You feel very pranked?”
“Uh… yeah.” He then says “very pranked.” He nods awkwardly “so pranked in fact I have to uh-… think about how much I love the prank in my room! For the whole day! If that’s.. that’s allowed.. to” Jax looks at them (right at Zooble, why did he do that?) “give it the appreciation and time it deserves?”
“WOWIE!!! Look at that!!! A whole day to appreciate me!! You love me, right Jax”
Jax nods frantically “yes- so I can go into my room now??” He laughs, clearly nervous.
Caine thinks “is it really a good idea? You’ll miss the adventure?”
Jax just looks at him with wide eyes “I-… I mean…” Jax looks at the ground, still smiling “I just really needs time-“ he was so obviously uncomfortable, anyone here (whose not Caine) could tell that.
“To think of your love for me?” Caine pushes.
They left him with this for 4 months.
“yes” Jax says with a stressed smile “i love you Caine. Please can I go to my room” why does he keep glancing at Zooble.
Should they do something?? They should do something.
“Say it one more time!!!” Caine says excitedly.
“I love-“ (And almost immediately Jax’s mouth moves. That sets Zooble off more than anything. How quick he is to say he loves him. In front of everyone too? Their Jax would never.)
“JESUS [%$!#] CAINE! Just send him to his room?!!” They feel a bubble of anger in their gut, it still simmers even as they finish yelling.
Caine frowns (or does his best frown equivalent).
But Zooble eyes are locked onto Jax. Now breathing heavy staring at the floor. What the hell did Caine do to him.
“I’ll go on the adventure!” Jax then said.
Caine smiles again, now looking at Jax, completely forgetting about Zooble. “YAY!! Now onto the ADVENTURE!!!”
He floats to the middle of the room, and Jax doesn’t move from his spot.
Zooble can’t help but look at him. Why did he keep glancing at them? Why did Caine tell them to check up on him? They have a sinking feeling in their body (but looking around it seems that everyone else does too.)
The portal opens up politely, and hesitantly they walk through it with the others. They really didn’t want to do any adventure, it just didn’t seem like the right time to say anything.
God this is all so [%$!#]ed.
Jax doesn’t say anything, but they glance back to see he followed them in with a bit of distance between him and the group.
They only take two steps into the world before a woodland npc shows up.
“WHO DARE PASS ON THE GREAT FORREST.” Despite the creature being pretty small (they look like a cross between a squirrel and a bug??? Ew)
Zooble doesn’t interact. Just rolling their eyes.
“Oh!! Uhm.. we’re…. I don’t really know?” Ragatha chuckles.
“Could it be?” Squirrel bug asks “are you the warriors that will go and fight the witch?”
“Oh!!! Yes!!! Right?” Ragatha says, uncertain. Clearly wanting someone else to pop in.
“Which witch?” Kinger asks.
“The evil one!!! She lives in the evil Forrest, just west from here, there are two paths you can follow! The dangerous path and the restful path!!!” The squirrel shakes its head, looking at the group “be warned… only 5 people may travel on one path”
“Where are the paths?” Pomni asks, looking around.
“Past the bridge!!!” The squirrel points ahead.
“But which one tells the lie?” Kinger asks.
“No lies friend!!! The path will be conveniently labeled for you” the squirrel smiles.
“And what happens if more then 5 people take one path?” Pomni asks
The squirrel shakes it head “a fate worse then death.”
Gangle gasps sadly behind them. “Which…. Is?” She then asks.
“BEING TORTURED IN THE FOXES DUNGEON.”
Yeah. Got it. Of course.
“Bye!!!!!” The squirrel Scatters away.
Only 5 people huh. Obviously gangle and them are taking the relaxing route, no way they’re not going to do that.
Kingers crazy, ragathas… well they wouldn’t leave her behind, and pomnis the newest… but Jax has been… not doing well to say the least.
They need to stop thinking about it as in who’s going to go, and more so as who’s going to get left behind.
Multiple people could take the bad route, would that be better? It would probably be worse wouldn’t it?
Ugh why do they even care! As long as gangle and them are safe Zooble doesn’t give a [%$!#] who gets left behind.
They make their way to the bridge.
On it a troll like creature stands.
“Welcome to my bridge” they say. “You will need to answer my riddle 3.”
Weirdly enough Jax still doesn’t say a thing, not even trying to poke fun, or kill the troll, or knock them off the bridge (he gets intense about pranks. He gets cruel about them too. They won’t throw away the suspicions that Jax is just trying to get them back. But they won’t accuse him of anything either. It’s not Zooble job to microanalyze Jax!)
“What is brown… and sticky.”
“3!!!!!” Kinger says excitedly.
The troll nods, and stands to the side.
“Good work kinger!!” Ragatha pats him on the back.
“Oh yes! The bridge is very nice! I did that?”
Zooble frowns.
(Ragatha was sweet, and kind. And kinger was crazy and clueless. They don’t deserve to go on the dangerous route. They tried to shove the emotions down. It wasn’t their choice. They had a choice, and that was to let them and gangle stay safe. And that was all Zooble was going to control.)
Just like the squirrel mentioned tow paths showed up. One with an arrow pointing too it that said ‘relaxing route’ the other that said ‘dangerous route’.
Before anyone could say anything they walk to the relaxing side, of course gangle follows behind them.
“Yeah.” They say. “I’m not doing the dangerous route.”
“Uh….” Gangle tries to say something but cuts herself off, then nods.
“That’s alright!!! We still have 3 more people that can go on the relaxing route anyways!!! Should we uh…” ragatha looks around “well… kinger should definitely go on the relaxing route! You should too pomni.”
“I agree that kinger should” pomni then says, looking at him “why don’t you go down there?” She asks.
“Oh? Yeah! The sticks over there are almost all 5 feet long!” He rushes over to the safe area.
Pomni smiles (Jax doesn’t do anything. He’s not even looking at them. He’s standing off in the back like he’s ashamed to be near them. Like always. The only saving grace he has is that he’s not actively torturing them at the moment.)
“I think you should go ragatha, I could take the uh….” Pomni looks at the dangerous route, face souring, but she doesn’t take it back. (Jax doesnt say anything. He’s not like pomni, he won’t take the pain from them, he won’t try to make sure they have a good experience, most of the time he’s trying to make their experience worse. Just because he’s too sad to be mean to them doesn’t mean he’s not rude.)
“No no!” Ragatha says “you’re new here!!”
“Both of you can go on the route.”
(Pomni looks at Jax worried. But Jax hadn’t looked at her like that when she offered to go down the dangerous path.)
“If you’re sure.” She’s still looking at him, he’s not saying a word.
“Yeah.” They say.
Ragatha takes a step forward, and then pomni follows. “I know you like relaxing adventures pomni, maybe this will be good” ragatha smiles.
Pomni doesn’t say anything.
“He’ll be okay.” Ragatha then says to her with a soft smile. Pomni smiles back.
The moment they cross the path a little fence pops up. A silly voice announces “5 people have crossed the path!! No more people can come in without CONSEQUENCES”
The fence is small, they could all easily step over it if they wanted too. A pang of worry shoots through them the moment Jax takes a step.
Zooble expects him to step over the fence, make them all get brutally tortured by the fox or whatever that squirrel said.
Instead he walks to the other side. And picks the dangerous path.
Huh…
The others are leaving, ragatha and pomni and kinger, they’re talking to him about finding magical bugs in the Forrest.
But Zooble stands there for a moment. Unsure how to feel.
“Zooble.” Gangle is crying. And that breaks them from their frozen state. Did Jax do something while they weren’t watching?!
“Yeah…?”
“We shouldn’t have…” she sniffs “I didn’t….” She sniffs again, and tears fall from her mask, only to pop back in existence from her eyes. “Jax should be here.” She said in a whisper.
Zooble looks back beyond the fence. It’s empty now.
“Jax can handle himself. Worry about you for once.” Zooble says.
She looks at them. Then smiles… there’s the gangle they know. “c’mon.” They take a step back. They should catch up to ragatha and pomni.
But gangle takes a step forward, outside the fence.
“…gangle?”
She wipes a tear from her eye “I’m going to join him!” She says with a sudden confidence.
“The [%$!#] gangle? That’s… that’s nice, but” they look back “you know Caine” they say hushed “if he says it’s dangerous, it’s going to be dangerous”
“I can handle myself, worry about you for once.” She almost smirks at them, before rushing off.
Zooble frozen. Unsure where this sudden change in gangle came from. Not that being more confident is ever a bad change… they just didn’t see it coming.
They think about leaving. Going over the fence and joining her. They also think about catching up to the others. But they stay frozen.
Gangle might get scared. Maybe she’ll come rushing out that dangerous path any second, and if she does Zooble wants to be able to help her.
So they stand there.
And wait.