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It’s been a hot minute since the crew had accepted their new lives in the Digital Circus. It has… their ups and downs. Especially that longing for “the real world” never really faded away, but… they all help each other out, and that made the pain of everything a little more bearable. And every new day, it gets a little easier to adjust.
Pomni was hanging out with Ragatha, just talking about any mundane things in their not so mundane lives now. Before Caine, who’s now a lot more calmer and timid, nervously hovered over them, one hand holding his arm.
Pomni, who hadn’t noticed his presence until Ragatha looked at him, raised an eyebrow. “Uh.. do you need something, Caine?”
She asked softly. All of their relationship overall with him was… awkward. It’s hard to forgive weeks (or maybe months? Years? The concept of time is foreign to her now) of torture he had inflicted on them when he went a little crazy. Well, a little is an understatement. But, Pomni appreciates that he’s trying, and she definitely liked this watered down version of him more. Though she’d be lying if she didn’t say she kinda missed his crazy side a little…
“Y-yeah, I, uh,” Caine stuttered, pulling down his hat as he stared at Pomni. “Do you… have a moment? I… have something to show you.”
He asked politely, something the crew was starting to get used to, as weird as it is. Pomni tilted her head curiously, glancing at Ragatha, who gave her a kind smile. “You can go, Gangle wanted me to draw with her after this anyway.”
Hearing that, Pomni smiled in relief. Their friendship was rocky at first, but after all the things that happened, she considered her to be her very best friend here, and she valued her opinion and feelings and didn’t want her to feel like they didn’t matter.
“Yeah, okay,” Pomni replied, getting up from the couch. Caine brightened up, turning his back to her. “Follow me!” he exclaimed excitedly as he flew away before they even had the time to react. Pomni snorted, at least the excitement in him always stayed… but what was it that he wanted to show her so badly? She gave Ragatha a quick glance and shrugged, and the ragdoll giggled and waved her goodbye in return.
Pomni managed to catch on to Caine (barely), finding him in front of an uninhabited player room. She raised an eyebrow, seeing him nervously waiting for her.
“Okaaay, I’m here,” she announced, a confused yet amused smile on her face. “What did you wanna show me?”
Caine didn’t really answer at first, only fiddling with his hat nervously. But he took a deep breath, Pomni couldn’t help but wonder; did doing that really helped him? Since he was an AI and everything, even if none of them didn’t really need to breathe, at least she and the others knew what it was like before. But then again, a lot of things doesn’t make sense here, so she quickly shrugged it off.
“...here,” Caine started, pressing his gloved hand on the door as it easily opened. Revealing the room was already decorated in a sort of candy Wild-West theme, which was weird, because she swore there were no new players entering recently. Come to think of it, it reminded her of an early adventure… then, she noticed a familiar figure sitting on the bed silently.
They look like a certain NPC….
A cowboy hat, the glossy sheen of yellow-green gummy skin, a jagged grin stretching across his snout, the blunt spikes running from the back of his head all the way down his tail…
Pomni froze, her eyes widened as realization crashed into her.
No way.
Could it really be...?
“I, um...” Not even Caine's unusually nervous voice managed to pull her attention away. “I remembered how fond you were of him, so...” he continued awkwardly. “And looking back on it, I'm sorry about what I did. I don't think I recovered him perfectly, but I-”
His rambling faded into background noise. Pomni couldn't stop staring. The figure sat motionless on the edge of the bed, seemingly lost in thought. He hadn't noticed either of them standing in the doorway.
Or maybe he had. Maybe he just didn't know what to do about it.
A hand settled gently on her shoulder, making the jester nearly jumped. “Do you... want to talk to him?”
Pomni swallowed. Talk to him? After everything that had happened? Could she? A part of her wanted to turn around and leave before things got complicated. Before she got her hopes up. But another part, the louder part, had spent who-knows-how-long wishing she'd had the chance.
“O-oh.” She rubbed her arm nervously. “Yeah.” Her voice came out smaller than intended. “I'm... yeah.”
Not her most eloquent moment, she had to admit. Though, it was far from being the worst either.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the room. Behind her, Caine offered an encouraging nod before quietly pulling the door shut.
Click.
Now it was just the two of them.
Pomni suddenly became very aware of how fast her heart was beating.
“Uh... h-hi!"
The reaction was immediate. The crocodile practically launched himself off the bed. “Who-?!” He landed several feet away, tail rigid, shoulders tense. The empty white void of his eyes widened in alarm.
The accent he had was exactly the same. For some reason, that made her chest tighten.
“Whoa, whoa!” Pomni raised both hands. “Sorry! Sorry, I should've knocked.” A nervous laugh escaped her. “I didn't mean to scare you.”
Gummigoo didn't relax, not even a little. Every muscle remained coiled and ready to bolt. “...it's fine.”
Judging by his expression, he wasn't convinced by his own answer. He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his snout. “Crikey... what the hell is all of this?”
Pomni bit her lip, this felt like déjà vu. The feeling hit so hard it almost made her laugh. Not because it was funny, oh no. Because she remembered being exactly where he was. Confused, scared, thrown into a reality that made less sense the longer you looked at it. It felt like they were under the map all over again.
“Are... you okay?” The question felt stupid the moment it left her mouth. Obviously, he wasn't okay. Still, she found herself moving toward him anyway. Slowly and carefully, the way someone might approach a frightened animal.
Or a friend having a panic attack.
When she reached him, she placed a hand on his shoulder. To her surprise, he didn't pull away. Instead, he allowed her to guide him back toward the bed.
“I... think so.” He sat down heavily. “Thank you, Miss-”
His words stopped as their eyes met. Silence stretched between them, and Pomni shifted awkwardly beneath his stare. What was he thinking? Did he recognize her? Did he remember?
Finally, he blinked. “...I'm sorry.” His voice softened. “You are...?”
The hope she'd been trying not to feel cracked immediately. Of course. Of course he didn't remember. Even she could remember Caine faintly warning her earlier...
“Ah.” She forced a smile. “Yeah, that's fair.” A laugh escaped her, a small, disappointed one. “I'm- I’m Pomni.”
“Pomni.” He repeated the name carefully, like he was testing it, trying it on. Something shifted behind his eyes. The white void hollowed in the middle and his brow furrowed. “I remember you.”
Those three words. Three stupid words, shook Pomni’s heart right to her core, as she felt it beating faster. She didn’t even notice that was a possibility here until now. She never had any thought about the biological aspects of this world. Well, maybe now she has to, especially since Ragatha told her that she heard Zooble–
…ah, oops. She got a little distracted there.
“You... you do?”
“...I… I think so. I have this naggin’ feelin’ that I’ve known you..” he trailed off, staring at her with an untouched familiarity, as if trying desperately to remember who she was, or trying to figure out on why the fact he felt like he remembered her in the first place. “We… have met before, have we?”
There was something familiar in the way he looked at her. Not recognition, not exactly. More like… a feeling. Like seeing a place you'd forgotten but somehow still missed.
“....yeah." Pomni rubbed her arm. “Yeah, we have.” A smile tugged at her lips. “It's… been a while, hasn’t it?”
“...has it?”
“Honestly?” She laughed softly. “I have no idea.”
For a second, neither of them knew what to say. Then Gummigoo cleared his throat. “Right. Uh.” He straightened up, tipping his hat.
“Where are my manners?” He offered a hand to her. “Name’s Gummigoo.”
Pomni stared at it for a moment before a laugh slipped out.
“Yeah.” She shook his hand. “I know.”
“...oh.” Now it was his turn to look confused. “You do?”
Pomni immediately realized how that sounded. “Oh my gosh, no. That- that came out weird.” Heat rushed to her face as she tried to save herself.
“I mean-” She gestured vaguely, clapping her hands together before squeezing them tightly. “It's just- it’s really nice to see you again.”
For a moment, Gummigoo simply stared. Pomni felt her heart drop to her stomach.
Then he laughed. A warm, genuine laugh. The sound loosened a knot in Pomni's chest she hadn't even realized she was carrying.
“...yeah.” His smile softened. “Good to see you too, I suppose?”
Neither of them spoke for a while after that. The silence that settled between them wasn't awkward, surprisingly enough. It was quiet in the same way a campfire was quiet; comfortable, warm, something to simply sit in rather than fill. Eventually, Pomni was the one who broke it.
“...if you don't mind me asking.” Her voice came out softer than intended, Gummigoo glanced over. “What... what's the last thing you remember?”
The question seemed to catch him completely off guard. His shoulders stiffened. “Uh...” He looked away, suddenly finding the muddy floor far more interesting than her. “Oh, bloody hell...” His gummy fingers began fidgeting with one another.
“Ah-” Pomni immediately regretted asking, she waved her hands quickly. “Y-you don't have to force yourself if you can't remember! Seriously, it's okay.”
The last thing she wanted was to overwhelm him. As far as anyone knew, he'd only existed again for a few hours.
“No, no.” He lifted a hand, reassuring her despite looking anything but reassured himself. “I just...” His other hand moved to his head. “Everything's blurry.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “I remember gatherin' round the bush telly with my mates.” His voice grew steadier as he spoke. “We'd secured the syrup we needed and were gonna bring it back to-”
The words stopped. His brow furrowed. “...back to...”
Silence. Back to where? A village, a town, a community or the sort… something flickered at the edge of his mind. Faces, voices, maybe family? Friends? People… who felt important. People he should remember. But every time he reached for the memory, it slipped away like water through his fingers.
“...a-anyways,” he cleared his throat, deciding to just continue on, the details don't really matter, right? “We got chased by some weird mob after that. Absolute bunch of whack jobs, that lot. A chess piece, was it a king, perhaps? A ragdoll, a- crikey, I’m not even sure, some kind of ribbons with a mask on it? And a purple bunny… it was an odd crew I tell ya.” He chuckled fondly at the memory before glancing at Pomni, who was smiling at him. “Ah, right. You were there too, weren’t ya?”
“What, you calling me a whack job?” the girl grinned, a gesture that was quickly reciprocated.
“Are you not?”
"...I mean…”
“Ha! Even you can’t deny it.”
“Okay, fine!" the jester couldn't help but giggle. "Sorry for ruining your little heist by being too whacky.”
“Heh, it was actually- kinda fun." He admitted, albeit a bit bashfully. "A few clicks of us tryin' to get away. Lots of runnin', lots of yellin'. And then-” A quiet chuckle escaped him. The memory felt warm, comfortable. Then… it vanished. His smile disappeared just like that.
Pomni noticed immediately. “And then...?”
Gummigoo stared down at his hands. “...I don't remember.” The admission came out barely above a whisper. “I just... don't.”
Pomni stared at him, patting his back gently. "...it's okay."
His fingers curled tighter. “Then- Next thing I remember was- me and the gang endin' up at some fast-food place.” He frowned. “What was it… Sportsy's? Sparky's?”
“Spudsy's,” Pomni supplied, a laugh slipped from her.
“Right!” He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “Spudsy's!”
For a moment, he looked pleased with himself, then his expression brightened further. “There was this weird girl workin' there.”
Pomni immediately looked away. “Oh no.”
“She kept approachin' me every five minutes.”
“Okay, in my defense-”
“And- she was crawlin' on the floor, acting like she knew me or somethin'. Crikes, you should've seen her."
“Gummigoo-”
“And she looked real disappointed every time I didn't know what she was on about…” His voice trailed off. Slowly, very slowly, he turned toward her.
Pomni was already hiding her face behind both hands. A smile tugged at her lips despite herself.
“...oh.” The realization hit him all at once and his eyes widened. “Wait.” A beat. “...that was you.”
Pomni raised one hand sheepishly. “Yep.”
“Crikey.”
“That'd be me.” Pomni continued.
“The weird girl.” Gummigoo breathed out.
“The weird girl.” She repeated, giving a tiny wave. “Present.”
Gummigoo looked absolutely horrified. “Oh no.”
Pomni laughed. “Oh yes.”
“No, I didn't mean weird weird!” His hands immediately started waving around. “I mean- well, you were weird, but not in a bad way- ”
“Wow.” She replied dryly, much to his chagrin, he let out an embarrassed groan. “That's not helping!”
Pomni's laughter filled the room. For the first time since waking up, Gummigoo found himself laughing genuinely too. The tension eased just a little now.
Finally, Pomni shook her head. “No, it's okay.” She looked down at her hands and shrugged, “I was acting a little weird.”
“...a little?” Gummigoo raised an eyebrow, and he couldn’t help the amused grin on his face.
“Just slightly.”
“A fair bit.”
She snorted. “Okay, a fair bit.”
The smile lingered on her face, then it softened with something gentler replacing it. She looked up at him. “I was just...”
The words caught briefly in her throat. “I was happy to see you again.”
Silence followed. Not uncomfortable, just quiet. Gummigoo stared at her for a moment, and something in his chest tightened. Not painfully… just enough to make him notice.
He didn't understand why. After all, he barely knew her. At least… he thought he barely knew her. But looking into her eyes, hearing those words...
Part of him couldn't shake the feeling that he'd missed her too.
“O-oh.”
That was all Gummigoo could manage.
A strange tingling rushed through him, spreading from somewhere deep in his chest to the tips of his fingers. Warmth flooded his body, unfamiliar and impossible to place. What was this feeling? It felt foreign, like something he'd never experienced before yet somehow should have recognized.
“Was... that all?” Pomni's voice snapped him out of it. He blinked, staring at her for a moment before realizing she'd asked him a question. “Gummigoo?”
“H-huh? Oh-” He cleared his throat and tugged hit hat down a little to cover his face. Crikey. Was it getting hot in here?
“Ahem. Yeah. I left the place with my buds and then-” His words died in his throat. The light in his eyes faded, leaving them hollow once more.
“And... now I'm here.” His voice grew quieter. “I woke up with that weird teethy lad standin' over me. Told me to wait here. And now...” He glanced at her. “I'm talkin' to you.”
Silence settled over the room again.
Unlike before, this one wasn't comfortable.
Pomni watched him carefully. Despite being an NPC- or whatever they were calling him now- there was clearly a lot happening behind those eyes. More than anyone would have expected.
“Um...” She shifted on the bed. “Now that you're here and all... do you- do you maybe want a tour of the circus?” She stood and offered him a hand. Maybe a distraction would help.
The moment the word left her mouth, however, Gummigoo froze.
“...circus.” He repeated it like it tasted wrong. His chest tightened instantly, and the room seemed to tilt. His breathing hitched. “I-I...”
Realization flashed across Pomni's face. Right. The circus. What Caine had done to him probably made it a pretty sensitive area… even if she wasn’t sure he remembered or not. Although, she doubt someone wouldn't at least have a faint memory of being exploded, in quite the literal sense at that.
She quickly sat back down beside him and gently took his hand in both of hers.
“Hey.” Her voice softened. “We don't have to do that if you're not ready.” His gaze flickered toward her. “We can just... stay here and talk.”
“...talk.” His hollow pupils slowly filled back in until his eyes were completely white again. Without realizing it, he squeezed her hand.
“...yeah.” A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Talkin'. Just talkin' sounds nice.”
Pomni chuckled. Their hands remained together on the blanket, neither seeming eager to pull away. “What do you wanna talk about?”
“I...” Gummigoo scratched his cheek awkwardly. “I dunno.”
Pomni frowned for a moment before an idea came to her. “Hm. Maybe... you can tell me what you think of your room?”
He blinked. “...my room?”
“Yeah. Your room.” She gestured around them. “The room we're literally sitting in?”
A pause. “Did- did Caine seriously not explain anything?”
Gummigoo let out a disbelieving scoff. “Heh. No.” Then he paused, rubbing the back of his neck “Or... yes? Maybe? “I dunno anymore. I'm still completely gobsmacked by all this.”
Pomni snorted. Yeah, she remembered that feeling all too well.
“Well,” she said, spreading her arms dramatically, “it's yours. Might as well take it all in.”
“...right. Right-o.” He looked around properly for the first time.The room was dim, lit mostly by a lantern sitting beside the bed. A large bull skull hung above the doorway, several hats similar to his own lined one wall, a towering cactus stood in the corner, a hide carpet in front of the bed and framed portraits decorated the others. Of course, everything appeared to be made from some kind of candy or dessert, not that Gummigoo knew any different form other than that.
“It’s… nice, honestly. I couldn’t give it a knock even if I wanted to, I never had my own room… a-at least, not that I could remember.” He answered with a quiet chuckle, closing his eyes.
"It feels... a bit like home."
Pomni stared at him. Then a warm smile spread across her face. “I'm glad.” The words slipped out before she could stop them. For a moment, Gummigoo simply smiled back. Then he cleared his throat.
“...say...”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe you could fill me in on what you lot have been up to while I was...” He trailed off. What was he supposed to say? Gone? Deleted? Dead? Momentarily erased from existence? In the end, he could only settle with a vague, “...y’know.”
Pomni understood immediately, thankfully. “Oh! Yeah, absolutely.” Her eyes lit up. “There's actually a lot to talk about, where do I even start-”
And so they talked. Well, Pomni talked; Gummigoo listened.
She told him about the adventures, the ridiculous challenges, the arguments, the breakdowns, the discoveries. She explained the revelations about their origins, the things they'd learned, the things they still didn't understand. The more she talked, the more animated she became.
Without either of them noticing, they eventually ended up stretched out across the bed, staring at the ceiling while the conversation drifted from one topic to another.
The sheets were oddly soft. Almost damp. Maybe crocodiles liked that sort of thing? Well, she doubt the laws of crocodilian would apply to Gummigoo, considering he’s more gummy than any animal, but it was a fun thought anyway.
She didn’t even know how much time had passed before she eventually had run out of things to talk about.
“...so... yep.” She exhaled dramatically. “That's basically everything.”
“...wow."
Gummigoo blinked.
“That's... a lot.”
“Yeah.” Pomni laughed tiredly. “It really is.”
Gummigoo pushed himself up slightly and turned toward her. “So hold on.” His expression twisted into one of complete bewilderment. “You’re tellin' me you're basically a copy of someone else?”
“Um…” She hesitated to answer at first, but then shrugged. “I guess that's one way to put it?” There was uncertainty in her voice. “But honestly? That kinda means we're not so different, you and I.”
“...crikey.” He dropped back onto the mattress. Tilting his hat up, he glanced at her with a grin. “Reckon you're pretty stonkered after figuring all that out, aye?”
Pomni burst out laughing. “Heheh, yeah.” The sound made something warm settle in Gummigoo's chest.
The silence that followed felt comfortable again. This time, Gummigoo was the one who broke it. “...I'm sorry. About- about your mate- er, friend.”
“...it's okay.” Pomni's smile faded into something gentler. There was sadness there, but not the crushing kind. “He's doing better. They all are, I think.”
A faint smile returned as she stared at the ceiling. “We built them an aquarium. You know, for all the people who… who abstracted.”
“...an aquarium?” Gummigoo repeated.
“Yep.”
“Does it help?”
She nodded. “They seem calmer now, so... I'd like to think so."
“...I reckon that’s good then.” Gummigoo fiddled with his thumbs. A nervous tic he'd only recently noticed. Was that something genuinely his? Or had someone programmed that into him? A tiny detail written into his "code"? He supposed he'd never know.
The thought lingered for a moment before he pushed it away. Then he looked at Pomni. “...can I take you up on that tour now?”
Pomni blinked. Then her face brightened instantly.
“Oh!” A grin spread across her face. “Of course!” She practically bounced where she sat. “The others would love to meet you.”
“...you think?” Gummigoo rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I'm not really like you lot.” His smile faltered. “There's no human behind me or anythin'. I came from some bush somewhere. Wouldn't wanna be a fruit loop and make everyone uncomfortable-”
“Hey.” Pomni grabbed his hand. His words stopped as she squeezed it gently. “You’re part of us now.”
For a moment, he couldn't find a response. He could feel heat rushed to his face (that was happening often since earlier…) Slowly, a smile spread across his snout and he squeezed her hand back.
“...yeah.” His voice was quiet. Warm. “I reckon I could get used to that.”