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Pomni’s shoulders slumped as she walked through the portal, following everyone else except for Jax in a single-file line.
“I promise I’m not mad at you or anything, but, uh, we’ve had kind of a long day, so… Is it okay if this waits until tomorrow?”
Ragatha’s words echoed in her mind, now taunting her. Ragatha and Gangle had to carry a very stupid-sauced Zooble back to their room (and Ragatha had confiscated the sauce itself), and by that point it was late enough that everyone decided to go ahead and go to bed. Pomni ended up being the last person up the next morning, and, of course, Caine had popped out of nowhere and announced the day’s adventure the very moment everyone had gathered, rushing them off right back to one of the first sources of misery after she arrived in the circus.
Pomni looked around at the bright pink and tan scenery, a familiar crowd of multicolored mannequins cheering and clapping at the gang’s arrival as they slowly made their way towards the Candy Canyon Castle. She shook her head, putting any thoughts of particularly familiar gummy gators out of her mind. She turned her gaze back to Ragatha in front of her, and picked up her pace until they were side by side.
Pomni cleared her throat and gave a small, somewhat weak smile. “When we get a few minutes—”
She was interrupted by the loud resounding of trumpets, followed by Princess Loolilalu starting to give a speech to them. Pomni immediately tuned her out and tapped on Ragatha’s arm to get her attention, and Ragatha turned her head to listen.
“When we get a few minutes, can we talk? I haven’t forgotten about yesterday.”
Ragatha smiled and nodded. “Of course.” Both of them focused on the princess again.
“...We hold this tournament as a show of strength from all brave knights across the land, as well as a method of deciding who is best suited to defend our wonderful kingdom from all perils…”
Pomni looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers and clenching them into fists multiple times. The NPCs did not, and would not, remember them. It sucked, but there was no point in trying to get close to them. More importantly, they could rely on each other.
She looked back up when she realized the mannequins were clapping again, and one particular mannequin, dressed in a suit with a pile of whipped cream and a cherry atop its head, gestured for her and the other humans to follow. Pomni started walking again, lost in her thoughts, as they were led into the castle and through its halls. Eventually, they reached a set of six doors with their faces plastered on them just like their circus dormitories, but with a sweets-themed redesign. Pomni’s was on the far right, featuring an image of her with ice cream cones stuck to her head instead of her jester hat. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, as did everyone else.
Beyond the door was another hallway lit only with dim lights on the ceiling, this one veering sharply to the right and continuing for some time. Pomni walked, and walked, and walked; eventually she came to a left turn, and only a few steps away was another door. She turned the handle and cracked the door open, recoiling as she was immediately blinded by the light outside. She squinted and pulled it open completely, walking back out into the heat.
Pomni glanced around, realizing that, while she was outside, she was surrounded by high, lemon-yellow colored brick walls; above them was another crowd of mannequins clapping and hollering. Her gaze darted to the opposite side of the large circle, spotting a pink mannequin spotting a full red-and-white tuxedo, twirling a sword in its hands.
Pomni had walked out into an arena.
She nearly smacked herself in the face for not paying better attention sooner—she would have if she hadn’t noticed her hand looked a bit different before it made contact with her face. It was now a pastel shade closer to pink, and her other hand took a similar shade of blue; the puffballs on her clothes were a warm golden hue. She reached up and touched the hair sticking out of her hat, pulling it away from her body enough to see that it had turned into what seemed to be melting ice cream. Pomni thought back to the doors just a few minutes ago—
A clatter on the ground snapped her back to reality right as she put two and two together. At her feet lay a shortsword, with a tan hilt and a long rose gold blade. She picked it up, carefully touching the shining tip with her free hand, and looked back up at the mannequin across the way.
Princess Loolilalu’s voice rang out across the arena. “All contestants are ready! Fine citizens, we now begin round one!”
The mannequin charged at Pomni.
Pomni’s heart slammed against her chest, and she studied the arena again. A perfect flat circle with nowhere to hide—no choice but to fight.
She braced herself, waiting until the mannequin grew close and leapt at her, raising its own candy-cane striped sword up to the sky, and Pomni turned her blade horizontally to block the blow.
The mannequin staggered back, and Pomni took the chance to rush forward and slash right across its chest. It raised its hand just in the nick of time, but still cried out in pain, a spray of electric blue bursting from its arm. Pomni darted to the side, sprinting towards the other edge of the arena as quickly as possible, and glanced over her shoulder once she’d reached the center.
The mannequin was hot on her heels, and this time it swung its sword right at her head. Pomni dropped to the ground, barely missing its swipe, and rolled onto her back, slashing up at it again. She was rewarded with another spray of azure, and a pained shriek to match.
The mannequin dropped its sword in shock and fell to the ground as Pomni sprung to her feet, breathing heavily.
She looked back up at the arena seats, realizing that her end of the pit had a sort of scoreboard, showcasing her candy portrait with three full pink candy hearts next to it, and the mannequin’s below with only one heart remaining.
Ah.
Pomni turned back to the mannequin as it was slowly regaining its footing, regretting not listening to the instructions even more. Swiftly, she stabbed her sword through its chest, then pulled the blade back out and watched it fall to the ground with a pit in her stomach. Human or not, she didn’t like this.
She didn’t have time to think about the consequences of her actions, though, as the princess’s voice rang out from nowhere yet again. “And that’s it for round one! Everyone give it up for Pastel Parfait Pomni!”
The audience erupted into cheers as music blared from trumpets built into the bleachers, glittery confetti swirling in the air around her. The door on the mannequin’s side swung open. Pomni sighed and slipped her sword into a loop at the hip of her outfit, walking towards the inviting darkness.
Well, if today’s adventure was just a whole lot of this… That wasn’t so bad. But it did add some difficulty to her plans of talking to Ragatha in the hopes of making up with her for… Everything.
She’d get this over with as soon as she could, and hope the others would do the same.
Pomni placed her hand on the door handle at the end of the next hallway, but didn’t open it quite yet. She’d only had a minute or two to think more about what she needed to say to Ragatha.
I’m sorry for abandoning you for the exit on my first day. And ignoring you in favor of the NPCs. And not communicating with you sooner about how I don’t like being touched. And…
And, and, and… She had so much to say but no clue how to connect her thoughts.
She sighed and puffed her chest out. The words would come to her when she needed them—they always did. Besides, this was probably better off being a conversation, not a speech. She turned the handle, stepping out into the bright daylight again, ready to put the whole thing out of her mind until later, this time paying more attention to the announcement.
“Ladies, gentlemen, Zoobles, and children of all ages! Our contestants this round are the victors of round one—on the east end, let’s give a round of applause for Pastel Parfait Pomni!”
The crowd went wild again, and Pomni rested one hand on the hilt of her sword, turning around to look up at the scoreboard—oh no.
“To the west, we have the Licorice Lady of the Longsword!”
Pomni whipped her head around, squinting across the sand pit.
Her periwinkle dress had gumdrop buttons going down the chest and dotting the hem, connecting with loops of white icing; her bow appeared to have been dunked in the same icing, and both it and her skirt were decked out with baby blue and pink sprinkles. Her skin was tanned to the color of gingerbread, her button eye had been turned into a chocolate chip cookie, and, of course, her hair looked more like licorice than yarn.
Ragatha looked… Aghast. Terrified. Upset. Bewildered. Rather pretty, in this lighting. A dozen more words crossed Pomni’s mind, but were interrupted by the princess yet again.
“Round two! Fight!”
The crowd roared, deafening Pomni. She hadn’t drawn her own weapon yet, but Pomni could see Ragatha across the way, clutching the kind of plastic sword used for skewering small bits of fruits and cheese; it shook in her hands, glinting red in the sunlight, hanging below her waist.
Pomni walked towards Ragatha, slowly, trying to call out to her over the din, but Ragatha was either too out of it or too equally deafened to hear her. Ragatha simply watched her approach, and Pomni stopped about halfway across, gesturing for Ragatha to come closer.
Ragatha didn’t move.
Neither of them moved.
The crowd died down, the massive herd of mannequins simply watching the two women in silence.
Pomni cleared her throat. “Ragatha… I don’t plan on fighting you, okay?”
An “Aw, what?” rang out somewhere in the distance, but it was immediately shushed. Ragatha stared at Pomni for a moment longer before sheathing her blade at one hip, and Pomni realized Ragatha actually carried one on either side. Ragatha grabbed her skirts and ran towards Pomni, breathing heavily once they were finally face to face again.
Pomni smiled and warily offered her hand. “It’s alright. Look—"
The trumpets blared again, a single, loud tone, completely interrupting her. Pomni covered her ears with her hands, groaning at the noise.
Princess Loolilalu spoke again. “If you two don’t battle each other, then you’ll simply have to fight any volunteers from the crowd. And by any, I mean any and all volunteers.”
Pomni huffed. She didn’t remember Loolilalu being even remotely rude last time. “Fine.” She grabbed the hilt of her sword.
Ragatha flinched, taking a few steps back and tripping, falling onto the ground behind her. “W-wait, Pomni!” She held one hand up, blocking an imaginary blow.
Pomni dropped her voice, slowly pulling out her sword. “We can just pretend to fight for a bit. If we make it flashy enough for them, I think we can get by without actually hitting each other, right?”
Ragatha stared for a moment and slowly got up to her feet. “B-but… One of us has to move on. One of the six of us has to win to complete the adventure.”
“Right…” Pomni dropped her gaze, thinking for a moment. “Tell you what—once we’re finished, one of us can just forfeit. But I think we can cross that bridge once we get to it.”
Ragatha nodded, drawing one of her swords again. “Okay. That… Sounds like a plan.”
Pomni cleared her throat. “How did the last match go for you? I know you’re pretty gentle…”
“I only fought back because…” Ragatha lazily swung her sword. “Pomni, this does hurt. And…”
Pomni nodded, clashing her blade against Ragatha’s. “I promise I’ll be careful, okay?”
Ragatha smiled at her, then took a step back and slashed her blade in earnest, though she wasn’t close enough to hit. Pomni fought back, their swords ringing as they clashed against each other. The crowd started rearing up again, a chorus of hoots and whistles starting up all around them.
“Pomni… There’s a lot I’d like to get off my chest, if you don’t mind?”
Pomni nodded. “Sure thing.”
Ragatha cleared her throat, twirling her sword before delivering a stab that flew right past Pomni’s head. “First of all… On your first day here? I really wish you hadn’t run around for so long before finding Caine.”
Pomni nodded. “I’m sorry about that. And also, for running off after we found Kaufmo. Really. I know it was my first day and all, and I was freaking out over a lot, but I still feel bad for abandoning you. I didn’t mean to.”
Ragatha was silent for a moment, slashing mere inches away from Pomni’s chest. “I know, and I know it’s wrong to still be upset about it, especially considering the circumstances. But…”
“I won’t hold it against you if you’re still upset, I promise. I can only imagine what it was like.” Pomni darted back—it surprised her how good Ragatha was at this.
Ragatha drew back, holding her hand against her blade, blocking a slash from Pomni. “I… Thank you. And thank you for apologizing. I already kind of forgave you for it, but it means a lot to actually hear you say it.”
Pomni nodded, smiling.
“I just wish you hadn’t ignored me so much.” Ragatha countered with her sword, and Pomni had to dodge to the right to avoid getting stabbed in the arm. “I know, I know I’m weird and clingy, and I’m not trying to force myself to be ‘the mom friend’ or anything, but I just—I wanted to get to know you better.”
“I know, I realize that now—”
“And I didn’t mean to talk down to you or treat you like a kid the first time we came here. I just…” Ragatha spun her sword in the air before delivering a sharp slice right above Pomni’s head. “I just wanted you to feel included. I don’t know how to do that properly since the last time someone tried to do the same thing for me—I mean, I don’t even know how long ago it was!”
Pomni took a few steps back, gulping and quickly blocking another hit. “I know you did, and I appreciate that. I know you’re not really close with Gangle, or Zooble, or…”
“Why would I be?” Ragatha pulled her second sword out, slashing towards Pomni repeatedly. “We have nothing in common, and I don’t know where to start with either of them, so all I can do is smile and nod when they begin a conversation, and I don’t even know what they’re talking about half the time! And it’s been years since they joined! And I can’t ever tell what other people really think about me, and I have no clue if I come across as condescending, or fake, or, or—” She cut herself off, yelling in anguish and bringing both of her swords down from above.
Pomni barely managed to roll out of the way, grunting and nearly dropping her sword.
“And then there’s Jax,” Ragatha hissed his name, gripping her swords tighter and glaring at the ground. “He used to be so much nicer, would you believe that? There was a time here when the worst prank he’d pull would be cracking someone’s door open and balancing a bucket of water on the top.” She slashed at the ground, kicking up the sand. “He and Kaufmo and Ribbit were so close and had so much fun together, and the rest of us were having fun along with them! And then Ribbit, she—and Kaufmo—” she stabbed one of her swords into the ground, screaming a swear that was censored with a loud horn.
Pomni stood still, watching Ragatha’s chest heave.
“I failed them all.” Ragatha’s voice was shaky now. “I couldn’t keep them from abstracting. I don’t—I don’t want Jax to die, I just want him to be nice again. But he hates me. Completely.”
“Ragatha,” Pomni’s tone was calm, offering comfort, “That’s… What I wanted too. I thought, yesterday, when I was with him—”
“You shot me.”
Pomni was silent for a moment, her stomach twisting with guilt. “I-I know,” she stuttered—
“Both of you shot me!” Ragatha pulled the sword from the ground, running straight at Pomni with both raised. “And you were laughing the whole entire time!”
Pomni turned and started to run, sprinting as fast as she could. Her legs were aching now, but she didn’t slow down. She could hear Ragatha behind her, gradually catching up.
Pomni spun around, deflecting a blow from above, sparks flying from the blades grinding against each other. “Ragatha—”
“Do you have any idea how long the rest of us have had to put up with him?!” Ragatha jabbed her other sword at Pomni’s side, forcing Pomni to roll away to avoid getting stabbed. “Do you have any idea what he does to us? He’s run me over with a car, crushed me underneath a giant boulder, shoved me underwater and nearly drowned me; he constantly pushes me around, he puts centipedes in my room and especially my bed and dresser all the time,” Ragatha continued stabbing at Pomni every few words, “Was seeing me get decapitated twice not enough?!”
Pomni was running out of breath, stumbling out of Ragatha’s way as best as she could. “I know! I know and I’m sorry, he’s hurt me too, I just thought if I could see things from his point of view I’d be able to change his mind!”
Ragatha threw one of her swords like a javelin, sending it flying over Pomni’s head. “Pomni, you can’t fix him! Nobody can! Every single one of us has tried! Everyone! He hates all of us, and he especially hates me! And so does everyone else!”
Pomni gasped and fell to the ground when something pierced her back, pain spiking through her torso, neon violet bursting from her stomach. She collapsed onto the ground as the audience roared in excitement, blindly reaching behind her and yanking the sword out.
Pomni pushed herself back up to her feet, and braced herself for another attack, but saw Ragatha had dropped to her knees, her one eye brimming with tears.
“Oh my god… Pomni, I… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…” She covered her face with her hands, shaking from head to toe.
Pomni took a few careful steps towards her, gently patting Ragatha’s shoulder. “Ragatha… I forgive you.”
“You…?” Ragatha looked up, bewildered.
“I forgive you. And I don’t hate you.”
“What do you…”
The crowd had died down, watching the two women in awe.
“I’ve… Done a lot of things that have hurt you, even though I didn’t mean to. I never took the time to properly address or apologize for that, and… I’d like to say right now, from the bottom of my heart, that I’m sorry.” Pomni sank to the ground, wiping a few tears from Ragatha’s face. “That’s the reason you were so mad at me, wasn’t it? I wasn’t treating you fairly. Honestly, I haven’t since I got here. I think you have every right to be angry with me. So, I forgive you.”
“Pomni…” Ragatha blinked a few times, covering her mouth.
“And I’m especially sorry for the gunfight. I… Tried to do what he does. Pretend none of this matters and let go of control and just enjoy it. But that… Seems like it only made things worse.” Pomni stood back up, offering Ragatha her hand. “I’m sorry.”
Ragatha sniffled, taking Pomni’s hand and slowly standing up. “I’m… Sorry, too. For rejecting you yesterday. I-I’m kind of responsible for all of this…”
“You don’t need to apologize for that, and it’s not your fault at all, I promise. Honestly… I couldn’t really blame you after the whole lightning round of adventures.” Pomni sighed, looking up at the bleachers, at the hundreds of mannequins leaning in to hear their conversation better. Apparently the melodrama was sating them as much as the bloodshed. “From now on… I’m going to put in as much effort into our relationship as you do. I want to be your friend, just as much as you want to be mine. And, really,” Pomni smiled at her, “you deserve it. I think you’ve been through enough in this place.”
Ragatha wiped her face off again, choking back a sob. “You really mean that?”
“I do.” Pomni reached up and cupped Ragatha’s cheek. “Now… How about we finish up here so we can go home and forget about this?”
Ragatha nodded, smiling. “That sounds like a good idea. Pomni… Do you mind fighting the rest of the way?”
“No, it’s fine.” Pomni glanced over her shoulder, seeing all three swords behind her. “You should take a break. Although, if you can… Do you think you can cheer for me from the bleachers?”
Ragatha sniffled. “Definitely.”
Pomni pulled away and turned around, heading to retrieve all three swords. When she had all three, she turned again to see Ragatha, kneeling on the ground with her eyes closed.
“Uh, Ragatha…?”
“I’m… Bad with needles,” Ragatha replied.
“Ah.” Pomni slipped both of Ragatha’s swords into the loop at her own waist and slowly walked back towards her. “I’ll make it quick, I promise.”
Ragatha nodded, her tanned forehead glistening with sweat. She looked gorgeous in the light out here.
Pomni held her own blade deliberately, gently tilting Ragatha’s chin up. “Where should I…?”
Ragatha raised one hand and drew an X over the middle of her chest with her finger. “Critical hit. Whatever that means.”
“Okay.” Pomni pressed the tip of her sword to Ragatha’s chest, ready to send the blade straight through. Oddly, Pomni felt the urge to kiss her.
She hesitated and the sword wobbled, harmlessly catching on a button on Ragatha’s dress.
Ragatha opened her eyes as the crowd started kicking up again. “Pomni? Are you okay…?”
“Yeah, fine. Just—” Pomni sighed, her face growing warm. She had a good idea, though. “Bear with me for a second. And close your eyes again.”
Ragatha did, and Pomni drew closer, readying her weapon again. Pomni carefully slid her thumb over Ragatha’s lips, then pressed her own mouth to her thumb—a stage kiss earning the wildest reaction she’d gotten since their return to this setting.
A second later, Pomni drove the blade through Ragatha’s chest. Ragatha let out a small cry when it pierced her, a bubbly sunset orange spraying out from the wound. Pomni looked up at the scoreboard and saw that all three of Ragatha’s hearts flashed for a moment, then disappeared.
Pomni yanked the sword out and dropped it, as Ragatha started to fall backwards. Pomni caught her, one hand on the small of her back, one propping her head up. “Ragatha! Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
Princess Loolilalu’s voice called out from above again. “Congratulations again, to Pastel Parfait Pomni!” The applause and praise from the NPCs still roared in both of their ears, so loud that it nearly drowned out even the princess. “Please exit, and leave your felled opponent and her weapons behind!”
Ragatha stared at her, dazed. “I… I’m okay, uh, as okay as I can be.” She looked down, putting one hand on her chest.
Pomni looked down as well and gasped, seeing a ton of stuffing and a red fabric heart had popped out of Ragatha’s stab wound. “Oh my god. What—”
“I’ll just put that back inside,” Ragatha said weakly, reaching for it.
“Here!” Pomni pulled Ragatha closer, picking up the stuffing. “Let me.”
“Thank you, Pomni.” Ragatha smiled, but placed her hand over Pomni’s when she grabbed the heart. “Actually, you know what? Take it. As a good luck charm.”
“What? Wait, but shouldn’t this stay inside…?”
“It’s just a gimmick,” Ragatha said, “just like Gangle’s comedy mask. It doesn’t happen often… But I know it’s safe with you. Just trust me.”
“You…” Pomni was quiet for a moment, then she smiled back at Ragatha. “Okay.” She gently laid Ragatha on her side and picked her sword back up, sheathing it, holding the fabric heart close to her chest.
“See you soon.” Ragatha gave a small wave from the ground.
“See you.” Pomni waved back, then turned and headed for the door to the next arena.
During her walk to the next fight, Pomni carefully tucked the stuffed heart into her own clothes, right over her own heart. She fought through the rest of the gauntlet without any further hesitation, taking down every candy-themed mannequin that stood before her, all the while carefully guarding her chest. Every time she looked up to the arena’s scoreboard, she saw Ragatha, and later, the other candy-coated humans with her, waving and cheering for Pomni. When she reached the end, Princess Loolilalu held a celebration knighting her, crowning Pomni as the champion of the tournament.
Once it was time to return home, Pomni was ushered back to the castle courtyard by the princess, seeing all five of the other humans were already gathered, and the portal already open.
“Farewell, brave soldiers, and may we meet again!” Princess Loolilalu called out to the group as they left, one by one.
As they stepped through the portal, their appearances changed back to normal, one by one. Pomni had once again ended up behind Ragatha, and once they were in the circus tent again, she patted her chest, feeling the fabric heart was still securely inside her clothes.
Pomni pulled it out and tapped on Ragatha’s arm. “Hey, Ragatha?”
Ragatha turned to face her. “Yeah?”
“Do you feel okay? Here’s your, uh…” Pomni trailed off, realizing Ragatha’s chest had already healed.
“Oh, thank you, Pomni,” Ragatha said, “Caine actually just fixed me up. Um…” She patted her chest. “Normally if it’s still outside, it just… Disappears?”
“Huh…” Pomni was a tad confused. “Well, now you’ve got two, I guess?”
Ragatha chuckled. “You know what? Why don’t you just keep that? I feel like it’s safer with you.”
Pomni smiled, feeling her face grow warm again. “Alright, but, are you sure you want me to…?”
“Well, you kept it safe for the rest of that adventure. I think it’s better off in your hands.”
“If you say so.” Pomni tucked it back into her clothes, and she could swear she felt it beating against her own chest.
“Well, now that we’re home… Do you want to get dinner together?”
“Definitely.”