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Pomni looked into the magenta tinted void of Jax’s inner mind. She then sensed Jax behind her, so she turned around.
She looks at Jax’s form, his back turned to her. “I didn’t know you could play the piano.”
Jax didn’t turn around. “I only know like two songs.” He said as his voice quivered a bit. Pomni starts walking towards Jax. He clenched his gloved fists. “Why are you here?” He asked.Pomni stopped mid step. “You know everything now. So why are you here?” His voice got more emotional as he went on. “Just to rub every mistake I’ve ever made in my face?” Pomni starts walking again. “I’m a terrible person. Is that what you want me to say? I already know I am. So why does anybody still care about me?” His voice started rising. “You’re not supposed to care. You’re not supposed to miss me. You’re not supposed to love me.” He sniffled. “This is not how this is supposed to go!” He sniffled harder. Pomni started speeding up towards him. “Please…” He wept, “Leave me alone!” He sniffed hard and tears started falling down his face. “You’re making this so much harder!” She hugged him from behind. Jax looked surprised. “You’re making this… [sniffle] …so much harder.” He sniffed hard.
Pomni was crying too. “You should have just talked to me, man.”
Jax sniffed. “It’s too late. I did this to myself. [sniffle] There’s no coming back from this.”
“[sniffle] Th-Then talk to me now.” She said emotionally.
Jax walked out of her hug, turned around, kneeled down and hugged her. She hugged back. “I hate you. You know that? [sniffle] You always have to go and complicate things.”
Pomni chuckled tearfully. “It’s what I do.” She sniffled hard and sobbed.
“I don’t want to go.” He said, starting to breathe heavily. His life in the circus was flashing before his eyes.
“Stay with me.” She said, hugging tighter, rubbing his back.
[Outside his mind, Jax’s abstracted form was stumbling around. Just barely missing the flashbangs Zooble left in the hall]
“Shh… Shh… calm down… I’m here…” Pomni tries to comfort.
It takes a while, but Jax regains his composure enough to stop panicking.
[Outside his mind, Jax’s abstracted form calms down. The rest of the cast try to get Pomni off of him, but she is wrapped on tight.]
“Pomni… You should leave… This has to be hell on your body…” Jax said, trying to help her for once. “Thank you for this, but I’m gone…”
Pomni sniffled and shook her head. “Not without you. I don’t care what happens to me, I’m not leaving without you.”
“Pomni… Please…” Jax starts, only to be interrupted by Pomni kissing his cheek.
“I love you dumbass…” She cried. “Whether that’s as a friend, a sister or a lover, however you want… I just need you back!”
“Pomni… It’s too late.” He said, but wouldn’t let her go.
“We don’t know that… We don’t know anything about abstraction, all we know is Caine couldn’t, or wouldn’t, fix it…” She sobbed. “M-maybe if you face everything, you can be helped… It’s worth a shot to try…”
“But how Pomni… I’m stuck here, even my masks are gone…”
“Not all of them… there was one door earlier that was boarded up that I couldn’t check for you in… Maybe if you confront that, accept it, you might be savable…”
“But how? Me, the real me, can’t travel to that part of my mind like this… I tried getting out of here when I first abstracted…”
“Maybe I can help with that.” She said. “Kinger taught me conjuration… Maybe I can conjure a door here back there that you can go through?”
“Conjuration… Like when you were trying to fix the floors when Caine was deleted?”
“Exactly. I was able to conjure the exit door I saw on my first day to get Kinger that computer. Maybe I can conjure one back to that hallway.”
He sighed. “Okay, I’ll try this… But if it doesn’t work, you have to give up on me… I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have…”
“Deal…” She said through a sniffle. They let go of each other.
She grabbed his hand, and he blushed a bit. She started concentrating, her hand out in front of her. After a minute, a door materialized.
“P-Pomni… You did it…” Jax said in awe.
She smiled and led him through the door, which opened up to the room she was in before with all his masks. No one was there. She led him through the room to the hallway.
He looked around, seeing all the different versions of him plastered on the doors, then his eyes landed on the boarded up one and his breaths quickened again.
Pomni squeezed his hand. “You’re doing good.” She soothed. “Whatever is behind there, I’m here for you, no judgement.”
He looked at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes. He took a deep breath and led her over to the door. They both started prying boards off the doorframe, with Jax willing to do it, Pomni was able to too.
When the last board was removed, he took a sharp breath at the scuffed up, barely there picture of him, he knew what was behind this door.
Pomni squeezed his hand gently, reassuring him it’s fine. Jax, with Pomni’s reassurance, built up the courage to open the door. The room was dark and all you could hear was a feminine voice crying. Pomni guided him into the dark room, gently squeezing his hand again.
When they entered, there was a frightened gasp to their left, they looked over to see a version of Jax, but different. First and foremost, she was female, had long black hair, and eyeliner wings. Her outfit was a pink and black striped sweater that hung off the shoulder, and Jax’s normal overalls under but with the legs only going to her knees, she wore Ribbit’s bow on her left ear.
Pomni’s eyes widened and hugged Jax. “It’s okay… If this is who you are…” She whispered.
Jax started crying and hugged Pomni back. The young girl version of Jax noticed the development through her tears and stared.
“Is this who you want to be?” Pomni asked gently. “Who you wish you were?”
“Yes…” Jax sobbed into her shoulder.
“What your mother laughed at?”
Jax nodded. “Y-yeah… I-I’m trans…” She admits nervously.
Pomni hugs her tighter. “I’m glad you trust me enough to show me…”
Jax’s true self got up and hugged them both before disappearing, replacing Jax’s outfit and hair with hers now that she accepted who she was.
The mindscape started trembling and it scared both of them, they held on tight as it crumbled around them.
---
Pomni groaned as she woke up, she was sore as hell. She opened her eyes and hissed at the bright light.
“Oh! Pomni!” Ragatha ran over, kneeling next to the couch she was laying on.
“You gave us quite a scare there…” Kinger said from under his bucket.
“Yeah, what did you think you were doing?” Zooble said, sounding more worried than angry.
“Yeah… I can’t lose you…” Gangle said, crying.
“I-I’m sorry… I… I couldn’t leave…” She jolted into a sitting position. “Where’s Jax?”
“H-They’re over there.” Zooble said, pointing to the couch on the opposite side of the lounge area.
Pomni just stared, Jax’s model was that of her true self. She started tearing up and shakily got up from the couch, her glitching body not fully cooperating.
“Pomni, don’t force yourself… You’re barely stable enough to rest…” Ragatha said, but she ignored her.
She started stumbling over to where Jax was, reaching her, she collapsed to her knees and just started hugging her tightly. Pomni starts crying into her sweater.
---
Jax groaned, as she woke up. She felt someone hugging her tight. “P-Poms?” She asks without opening her eyes.
Pomni gasped. “Jax!” She exclaimed. “Y-you’re alright, you’re back…”
“Back?” She asks in a feminine tone. She froze and opened her eyes. She saw the others just watching them and started hyperventilating.
Pomni hugged her tighter and patted her back. “Shhh… You’re alright…. No one is going to laugh at you… I won’t let them...”
“Come on guys. Let’s leave them alone for a minute.” Zooble said, leading the others away.
Pomni looked at them and nodded thankfully. Jax started calming down now that everyone was gone.
“Shh… You’re fine, no one is going to laugh…” She reassures again.
Jax regained enough of composure to hug Pomni back tightly.
She looked at Pomni and flinched at her glitching form. “I-I’m sorry Poms… I did this…”
“No, I did.” She responded. “You couldn’t help the effect you had on me?” She joked with a wink.
She groaned. “That was bad Pompom.” She said with a small chuckle.
Pomni chuckled. “Made you laugh though.”
After they finished laughing, they stared into each other’s eyes. Slowly, Jax leaned in, and Pomni did the same, they met for a short kiss.
As they separated, Pomni smiled at how Jax was blushing, sure she was too. “I’m glad you’re back, Jax.”
“No… Please, call me Daisy.”