Chapter Text
Everyone started living happier lives in the circus. Now that Caine handed them full control of it. It seemed like they could actually build lives here. And even better, Kinger finally reunited with his friend Scratch. Thanks to Caine reversing the abstraction process. Which gave Pomni an idea. She had been spending a lot of her time next to Jax in his small tent. She didn’t want to leave him alone again.
But knowing the abstraction process can be reversed, she approached Caine one day with hope in her heart. “Hey Caine? Can I ask you for a favor?” She said rocking on her heels.
Caine turned around and faced her. “What is it, Pomni?”
She nervously wrung her hands together. “Well, you were able to bring back Scratch. Could you do it for Jax too?”
Caine rubbed his chin. “I suppose. Are you sure that's what you want?”
Pomni quickly nodded. “Yes. I know he suffered a lot, but I want to give him a second chance. Nobody deserves to be left behind.”
“Well okay. I'll repair his file.” He then quickly vanished.
Excited, Pomni rushed to go tell everyone. She found them in the lounge area, next to the small tent they made for him. “Guys! Caine said he's gonna bring Jax back!”
Everyone widened their eyes in surprise. “...Really?” Ragatha said as she stood up. She lightly chuckled as tears filled her eye. Despite everything, she still missed Jax terribly. And she was determined not to mess up this time.
The others smiled as well. “Well, we better give that jackass a proper welcome back.” Zooble said, their eyes filling with tears as well.
They all gathered in the makeshift tent. Jax was currently asleep. They all waited with bated breath. Pomni’s mind was racing. She was determined to not let this happen ever again. She will not give up on him.
As she thought that, there was a sudden bright light shining through. A moment later, the real Jax appeared again. He was still asleep, curled up on the floor.
Gasping, they all carefully approached him. Looking at him up close, he still seemed very peaceful. He seemed pretty sound asleep.
Pomni turned towards everyone. “I'll stay with him. I'll let you know when he wakes up.” They all agreed and left the tent.
Pomni sat next to him on the floor, unable to take her eyes off him. She couldn’t believe it. Jax came back to them. He was here. With everyone. And she's going to make sure he doesn't suffer anymore.
As time passed and she looked at him, there were times where he'd shift his head a bit or one of his ears would twitch. She felt weird just staring at him, but she couldn’t deny how cute it was.
About two hours went by and it seemed like Jax was finally waking up. He stirred and slowly opened his eyes. His vision was really blurry but gradually cleared up. He saw Pomni staring at him with tears in her eyes. He looked pretty disorientated. Like he was still dreaming. He didn’t say anything and just stared back at her. “Welcome back, Jax.” Pomni said with a tearful smile.
He blinked a couple times, still processing everything. He slowly raised an arm and looked at his hand, inspecting it. When the realization hit him, he patted his head and face. “...Wha-” He shifted and looked at his legs. “What…?” He looked at Pomni.
She kept a smile on her face as tears came flowing out. She reached out and held his hand. “You’re not dreaming. I’m here.”
His eyebrows furrowed at this. “I…” When it finally processed in his mind, he collapsed into tears.
Pomni hugged him tight and quietly shushed him. “It's okay. I got you.”
“W-Why?” He spoke between sobs, his voice wavering. “I don’t deserve this…”
“That doesn’t matter. We want you here. We all care about you.” She said gently.
“I-I’m a terrible person. You’re not supposed to care…” He hiccuped.
Pomni gently rubbed his back. “Don’t say that. I don’t want you to feel unwanted or not loved. Just trust me, okay? It’s gonna be okay.”
Jax wanted to push her away, but just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he relented and finally hugged back. He sobbed for a long time, his body shuddering from the adrenaline. It was like he was finally releasing all the pain he was feeling. And yet, he felt like he can breathe a little for the first time in years. Like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.
After a while, Pomni pushed him a bit to look at his face. He was still a sobbing mess, but she couldn’t be happier. “Jax, listen to me. I promise I’m never letting go of you again. You can tell me anything, okay? And I’ll help you as much as I can. Can you do that for me?”
Jax stayed silent for a moment and sniffed. “You won’t laugh at me?”
She shook her head. “Never. Whatever you say, I’ll never make fun of you for it. So…promise you’ll talk to me?”
He nodded. “Okay. I promise.”
Pomni chuckled. “That wasn’t so hard, right?”
He lightly chuckled back. “Shut up.”
She hugged him one last time before standing up. “Do you wanna see the others or is that too much?”
Jax anxiously rubbed his arm. “I dunno if I can face them right now. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Yeah, sure. You wanna stay here or go to your room?”
Thinking about his room and all the pictures of Ribbit he has on his wall was too overwhelming. He wasn’t sure if he can face that right now. “I’ll just stay here for now. Can you cover the tent? I don’t want anyone to see me right now.”
“Okay. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.” She said as she closed the entrance to the tent, leaving Jax in total darkness.
Now alone in the dark, it felt kind of soothing. There was a comfortable silence in the air. He wasn’t sure how to feel, but he was calm at least. He layed on his back with one of the pillows under his head. It took a while, but he drifted back to sleep.
Meanwhile, Pomni went back to tell the others. She ran up to them. Ragatha spotted her in the distance. “Oh Pomni! Is Jax awake?”
She replied as she approached. “He was, but he doesn’t want to see anyone right now.”
“...Oh.” Ragatha sounded a bit disappointed. “I understand.”
Zooble let out a quiet sigh. “Asshole. But understandable.”
“I hope he feels better.” Gangle said as she fidgeted.
“He will.” Zooble put a hand on her shoulder and reassures her. “Just give him time.” Gangle nodded in response.
“Keep us updated, okay?” Ragatha said with a soft smile.
“Of course.” Pomni replied.
They all went to their respective rooms. Everyone except Kinger. He walked up to the jester. “Pomni? Let me know if I can help. I sorta know what it’s like to make choices you regret.”
Pomni smiled back at him. “I will. Thanks Kinger.” There was a brief pause before Pomni suddenly hugged him. “Thank you. For everything.”
Kinger returned the hug, tearing up a bit. “You’re welcome Pomni.”
They let each other go and went their separate ways. Kinger to his room, and Pomni back to the tent.
She went right up at the entrance and peeked inside. Thankfully Jax was fast asleep. She smiled and closed it back up.
She placed a pillow behind her to lean against right next to the entrance. She finally feels like she can breathe again now that Jax has returned. Now her next goal is to be there for him and support him as much as possible. She’ll never let go of his hand again.