Chapter Text
As soon as she opened her eyes, she noticed that what she was seeing in front of her was different. Not in the sense of seeing a highly polished, artificial image produced by a virtual reality headset. No. This was different. Just as artificial, yes, but it didn’t feel like an image. It felt like a new environment, a new setting—physical and tangible. That thought made her feel uneasy, and she tried to calm herself by taking off the headset.
When she brought her hands to her head, the headset was gone. She touched her hair, but for some reason the texture felt unfamiliar to her hands. As if it were something new. She felt her heart racing, and without thinking, she pulled hard, trying to remove something that wasn’t even there anymore. Instead of the comfort of returning to the room she had been in before, she only felt pain as she pulled. She experienced the opposite effect, as the pain made the colorful, strange environment surrounding her feel even more real.
Her breathing grew more ragged with every passing second, and guided by instinct, she began to walk quickly around the place. The floor had a checkerboard pattern, black and white, which made the colorful walls, neon cubes, and gleaming circular staircases stand out. She chose to focus her attention on the details of the place; perhaps that way she would think less about what had just happened to her. And, who knows, maybe with a little luck, if she looked closely at the place she was in, it would begin to fade away little by little, just like it does in a bad dream.
Yes, that was all it was. A bad dream.
Then, suddenly, she heard voices—or rather, screams? —and what sounded like a motor, and when she turned around, she just caught a glimpse of a golf cart heading straight toward her. She was so surprised that she didn’t even try to move. The hard impact knocked the wind out of her, causing her legs to leave the ground and her face to slam into the hood of the car. Then she heard a man’s voice, in a cheerful, slightly high-pitched tone.
- Oh, Ragatha, I think I found a butterfly! Hello, little butterfly!
She looked up, and when she saw who was driving, she found herself face to face with—a chess piece waving happily at her as if him didn´t just hit her with that car?! This was getting weirder and weirder… his big blue eyes looked at her, squinting them, and he added with intense curiosity, yet at the same time as if his thoughts were racing by so fast that he couldn’t catch a single one.
- Although I don't think butterflies are that big... maybe it is an unknown species, or one that is endangered!
She was about to speak—probably just to say “What?”—when the car disappeared with a cartoonish sound, and she fell backward onto the ground. Her head was starting to ache from all the blows… but when she sat up, she saw a set of teeth staring right at her, and she jumped, startled. Those teeth talked in a dramatic, enthusiastic voice.
- Well, well, well, it seems like we have a new addition in the Amazing Digital Circus!
- Oh, yeah, a new addition to the Circus! We need to celebrate it!
This comment was from a purple rabbit, who was saying that with a very sarcastic tone. The denture didn't seem to understand the tone of his words, taking them literally. She looked at the others. A rag doll, a comedy mask with ribbons, a clown in a yellow suit, and the chess piece that had run her over. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was the king’s piece. They all looked so strange…
Wait.
Did she look like that, too?
She looked at her hands. They weren’t her hands. In front of her were cartoonish hands, with only two fingers and a thumb. They were the color of a green leaf and seemed to be made of rubber. Before she could bring them to her face, the set of teeth spoke, grabbing her by the shoulders.
- Well, let me show you around!
She felt him swiftly carry her through the air, out of the room they were in. Since they were quite high up, she felt dizzy.
- I’m Caine, I’m the one who runs things around here. And this is your new home!- N-new home? I think, ahem, there must be a mistake…
- There’s no mistake, dear! You’re now at the Amazing Digital Circus, a digital space where you can do whatever you want and where your imagination is the limit.
- B-but I don’t…
- As I was saying, here we have The Big Top, and surrounding it are The Grounds, where you’ll find The Digital Lake and other things. Day or night—it makes no difference here; you decide! And well, now that I’ve shown you around, we can take you back to the others. You humans love the company of your own kind.
He quickly led them back inside the tent, where those same strange individuals were still standing in the same spot. The rag doll was the first to approach, but before she could say anything, Caine spoke again.
- “Oh, I almost forgot! You don’t have a name yet. Well, since I have to go prepare an adventure to welcome you, we’ll make this quick.”
Just then, a huge machine dropped right in front of her, startling her. Caine pulled the lever, which bore the letters “MSBAK.”
- So, what do you think?
- U-uh, I-I don’t…
- Right, that sounds awful. Let’s try again!
The wheel spun once more, and the letters “SRUTY” appeared.
- Does “Sruty” sound better to you?
- I-I guess so, but…
- Perfect! Well, Sruty, while I’m working on a much more elaborate adventure to welcome you properly, I invite you to join the one that was already underway in the meantime, since there was an odd number of participants and one of them wasn’t playing. Enjoy your round of golf, my colorful little honey candies!
The set of teeth vanished in a cloud, and finally she spoke.
- W-what’s going on?
The rag doll hurried over, her voice kind and sweet.
- Okay, first, take a breath. It’s always hard to say this to newcomers, but…
- Buggie would have been a much more fitting name than Sruty. You looks like an insect. You even has mandibles.
The rabbit had said this, leaning over her. She let out a sound of horror and brought her hands to her face, alarmed, feeling the insect-like mandibles where her mouth should be. The chess piece approached upon hearing the word “insect,” leaning over her as well.
- It’s true! It also has wings, and antennae, and mandibles.
- Uh, Kinger, I already said the last one.
- Oh! Really?
She began to feel everything spinning around her. The rag doll seemed to notice this, and said:
- Hey, give her some space. Relax, everything’s going to be okay…
- Everything’s going to get worse.
Everyone turned to look at the clown, who simply shrugged and said in a casual voice
- What? I’m not lying to her. I’m just being honest.
- Kaufmo, y-you’re not helping. Look at her…
The girl with the ribbons pointed at Sruty, who was sitting on the floor, softly whispering, “I just need to sit down for a moment,” and lying down on her side on the floor. The chess piece kept looking at her curiously, while the rabbit said mockingly to the girl with the ribbons.
- And the prize for the quickest abstraction goes to…
- T-that was rude, Jax…
- Your mom didn’t say the same thing last night.
- Okay, okay, stop it!
The rag doll said this, looking worried. Then the clown approached Sruty, held out his hand to her, and said in a neutral but kind voice.
- Come on, get up. We’ll explain everything on the way to the field.
Sruty hesitated, but finally took his hand and stood up with the clown’s help. As they walked, almost everyone explained the general situation to her: that they were trapped in a digital space, that Caine was an AI who ruled the place, and a few other things. Although being trapped was overwhelming, it comforted her a little to know she wasn’t alone in this.
Finally, they walked through a door. Although they were supposed to be in an enclosed space, inside this room she could see a wide field of grass and a clear blue sky with clouds. Upon closer inspection, the less natural details became apparent, but Sruty found the place strangely comforting.
The rag girl cleared her throat, and the insect girl snapped out of her thoughts.
- I don’t think we’ve told you our names yet. I’m Ragatha, he’s Kaufmo, and next to him are Gangle and Jax. Oh, and that guy over there—the one who, ahem, accidentally ran you over—is Kinger. The only one missing is Zooble; they’re easy to spot.
- Did you guys also arrive with the, uh, the helmet?
- Oh, yeah, it seems it was the helmet’s fault. And believe me, heh, we’ve tried everything to get out, but, well, we’re all still here, aren’t we? Well, almost all of us. Some of us, I should say. But no one has been able to get out—of that we’re certain.
When Ragatha said that, Kaufmo seemed to want to say something, but glancing sideways at Jax, he just let out a sigh and crossed his arms, as if resigned. That struck Sruty as odd, but Ragatha spoke again, sounding more enthusiastic and cheerful now.
- But hey, we’ve got each other! And we’ve got these little activities, these adventures, to help us relax and keep our sanity. We’d already started the adventure before you arrived, but you can team up with Kinger so that the two of you can play too.
Sruty turned to look at the chess king, who waved at her cheerfully with a distracted glance. She returned his waving, somewhat hesitantly, and whispered discreetly to Ragatha.
- Uh, he doesn't seem to remember the car thing…
- O-oh, that. Well, the thing is, uh, let's just say his mind isn't quite with him anymore. Kinger's the one who's been trapped here the longest. He's a sweet guy—he wouldn't run you over on purpose—but like I said before, his mind isn't quite with him anymore. Sometimes it takes him a while to recognize us, or he does things like what happened with the car…
- Come on, Raggy, just say it like it is—he’s completely nuts!
That last comment came from the purple rabbit, Jax, as he laughed. He looked at Sruty as if expecting her to agree, but instead the insect girl shrugged, saying.
- And I’m supposed to laugh?
Jax looked genuinely surprised for a couple of seconds, but then he smiled broadly, speaking again in that sarcastic, indifferent tone.
- You’re so serious, new girl! There’s something called humor, you know? It wouldn’t hurt you to have some. But anyway, you’d better go be with old Kinger. He needs some company.
And so Jax left, heading off with Gangle. Ragatha said in a friendly voice, handing her a bag containing various golf clubs that looked rather strange:
- Don’t take it personally, Sruty—he’s like that with everyone since… ahem, he’s just like that with everyone. Well, I hope this adventure at least helps clear your mind after we gave you so much information in such a short time… you’re lucky—this one’s pretty relaxed compared to the usual ones. Don’t worry if you lose; nothing will happen to you. As we said before, this is just for fun and to help us get to know each other. So have fun!
And so she left with Kaufmo, leaving Kinger and Sruty alone. At that moment, “Kinger/Sruty = 0 points” appeared on a small scoreboard below the scores for “Ragatha/Kaufmo = 35 points” and “Jax/Gangle = 50 points.” She cleared her throat and said in a hesitant voice:
- It looks like, uh, we're a team now.
Kinger blinked slowly and turned to look at her, not seeming to have understood her. Just as she was about to repeat what she'd said, he said, in a distracted but cheerful voice.
- Oh, yeah, a team! We're playing golf, right?
- Uh, y-yeah, golf.
They walked toward the first section of the mini-golf course—small, winding paths leading to the hole—but in the distance they could see the other circus members and the more complex levels. These featured much more interesting shapes, such as a pirate ship, a windmill, and a castle, as well as a small bridge spanning some water hazards.
Sruty grabbed one of the clubs, which, instead of being straight, was a strange spiral. She tried to hit the little ball with some hesitation, but she missed, so the ball stayed in the same place, defiant. Kinger walked up beside her and said in a voice that sounded a little more focused than usual.
- Okay, let me try…
Sruty watched as Kinger grabbed a stick—which was bent in a zigzag pattern—and positioned himself, looking quite focused. For a few seconds, she thought he really knew what he was doing, until, after a dramatic swing and strike, the ball remained in the same spot. He crouched down to look at the ball, then said in a soft voice.
- We’re not very good at this, are we?
The insect girl couldn’t help herself and laughed softly. He looked at her in surprise for a few seconds and finally laughed too, even though he didn’t know exactly what had made her laugh. She said, in a softer, more relaxed voice:
- Uh, maybe we should switch sticks. These don’t really suit us.
- Oh, right. Good point, Sruty.
They spent a while rummaging through the bag for sticks that weren’t quite so odd, until they finally found a pair that was somewhat more decent than most. With those, it was a little easier for them to play and make progress. Although it was still difficult for her, Kinger quickly got the hang of the game, scoring the most points for the team.
On a specific shot at the windmill—where the ball had to go through a small door that opened and closed, only to come out the other side—Sruty couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated when it didn’t go through, instead bouncing off and landing practically in the same spot. Then she felt Kinger’s hands on hers, and heard his voice say in a casual tone:
- Just wait for the exact moment when the blades move…
They stayed like that for a few seconds. Kinger wasn’t exactly behind her; he’d just crouched down to be at her level, one of his “shoulders” gently pressed against one of hers. His gloves were over her hands, and then, carefully, he guided her hands to hit the ball, sending it through the windmill gate just before the blades blocked it.
Kinger straightened up, stepping away and saying something positive or incoherent in a cheerful voice. Sruty didn’t hear him clearly; she was still processing the sensation she was feeling right now. It wasn’t exactly romantic—at least not yet—but it was a feeling of lightness in her new digital body. She wouldn’t know how to name what she was feeling, but it was strange and… not at all unpleasant. She simply muttered a nervous “thank you” and walked to the other side of the castle to continue the game.
In the end, they tied with Jax and Gangle. Caine simply congratulated them in a rather dramatic way and sent them off to get some sleep. As they walked, she was about to thank Kinger again, but she noticed he wasn’t there anymore. Ragatha smiled and said in that kind voice of hers.
- Are you looking for Kinger? Don’t worry, he’s fine—he probably went to his fort to rest. You two got along pretty well! But anyway, now you need some rest too. Let’s go show you your room…
Ragatha and she walked down a hallway until they finally reached her room, which featured a picture of her new insectoid appearance. The rag doll said a friendly goodbye, and Sruty entered her new room, still processing the fact that she was trapped in this digital world.
Although, well, things could be worse.