Chapter Text
“Last one!”
“Got it.” Jax reached down, carefully balancing on the ladder so he could pluck the butterfly-shaped bulb out of Pomni’s hands. He found a place for it on the pillow wall before him, the item sticking instantly as if he’d had a nail to hang it from. He gave the whole design a quick look over, reaching out to shift another that was slightly off angle. “Alright, what do you think? Does it get the Pomni seal of approval?”
“Hmm…” She squinted up at it, before offering him a thumb’s up. “Stamped and sealed with no chance of appeal.”
“Pff, you lame-o.” He mocked with no heat, planting his feet on the ladder rails and sliding down them. He bounced down on the pillows covering the floor. “Where’d you hear that? Some corny cartoon?”
“No. My dad used to say it.” Pomni admitted, a tinge of nostalgic sorrow shadowing across her face. “I used to think it was dumb too.”
It did have that dad-joke energy. Jax glanced around the pillow fort that was three-times larger than normal, mostly trying to lighten back up her mood when he snorted and said, “Hurry Poms, I think this place is infectious. We gotta get out before you start watching ESPN and wearing cargo shorts.”
She pinched his leg. “Very funny.”
He was pleased to find her smiling. Mission accomplished, he turned to set away his ladder, folding it in half then squishing it like an accordion. He’d just gotten it small enough to drop into his pocket when a new presence made itself known.
“Oh wow! You both already finished?” They both glanced back, seeing Ragatha standing in the entrance, arms full of folded blankets. She gave the walls an appraising eye. “It looks great!”
Caine floated in over the doll’s shoulder, grumbling, “I could have done it faster.” It seems he was still pouting.
“Yeah, but this way we all get to contribute.” Pomni reminded. “We all want to be part of making today special.”
“She’s right.” Zooble agreed, stepping in next alongside Gangle, both of them also carrying loads of bedding that they set down. “Besides, you still get the best part. Light ‘em up Caine.”
The ringermaster peeked at them through his teeth huffily, then looked up, raising his hands and uncurling his fingers. As he did, dozens of little lights escaped, dancing through the air like fireflies. Each one quickly found a home in the bulbs strewn about the structure, slowly revealing Jax and Pomni’s work.
About mid-way up from the trim of Kinger’s fort, lifted about as high as the jester was able to reach, she had strung a series of lights shaped like various small bugs, the shapes alternating between beetles, ants, scorpions, worms, ladybugs, silverfish and spiders. The only place the string didn’t fall in line was at the doorway where she’d instead looped over it like a wedding arch. Directly across from the entrance was Jax’s little project - a set of larger bulbs composed entirely of winged insects, the butterflies, moths, locust, mosquitoes, crane flies, wasps, and dragonflies all arranged into the shape of a heart with an arrow piercing through.
(Early on, he’d added a few extra parts to make it look like the arrow tip had blood dripping from it. Pomni had beat him with a pillow.)
The finishing touch was the one they’d had to do together, Jax standing on the top of his ladder, Pomni on his shoulders, giving her enough height to hang the nest-shaped lamp, little glass bees clinging to the outer structure. Despite so many lights in the normally pitch black structure, they remained dim, giving the whole room a soft, candlelight feel. Or like a night sky full of s-
Nope. Not going there.
“It’s so pretty.” Gangle expressed.
Her partner nodded in agreement. “I’m honestly surprised you two pulled it off.” They paused, then amended, “Well. One of you at least.”
Already knowing he was the call out, Jax placed a hand on his chest with a flourish. “Such doubt Zoobie! Or is it jealousy?” He shot the pair a grin. “You two might need to move over, there’s a new artist in town.”
They both shared a look, and then Gangle waved a ribbon upwards, delivering with surprising bluntness, “The right side’s crooked.”
“Huh?” His head jerked around, finding out she was correct - right at the top of the rightmost curve some of the bugs had fallen out of line, creating a noticeable indent. “Ah damn.”
Pomni laughed, walking past him. “I think it adds to the charm.” She stopped in front of her own partner, taking some of the blankets from her. “Everything done outside?”
“Yeah, dinner’s all ready and the decorations are up. All that’s left is the beds.” Ragatha answered.
“Let’s hop to it then.”
Jax ignored the way his stomach seemed to drop at the innocent wording. Just took his share of sheets and got to work.
Between the six of them, it didn’t take long at all to set up their beds, each of them making their own first before building a grander one right in the middle that took up the majority of the floor space. They made sure it got the softest layers and the majority of the pillows, until it looked like a structure made for royalty. Ragatha placed a pair of smiling plush snails, one yellow with a purple shell and one green with a red shell, on the center pillows.
Then, there was nothing left to do except head back to the common room.
They could tell things hadn’t changed much over the past hour when they discovered crying was still emitting from inside the Abstraction tent.
“Sooo…” Gangle twiddled her ribbons. “Do we just wait for them or-?”
Jax draped himself longways across one of the couches. “Sure. We can all chat about the weather. Seems rainy today, huh?”
“Jax.” Zooble shot him a glare.
“Relax, I wasn’t starting nothing.” He knocked his head back across the armrest. “Just breaking up the tension.”
They gave a sigh, but let it go, dropping down on the couch adjacent to his with Gangle. Pomni and Ragatha took up the one next to that one with Caine occupying the fourth, mimicking Jax’s lounging pose.
“I’ve been thinking about that, actually.” Pomni started, sending a curious glance the ringleader’s way. “Can we simulate weather? Like, not in the adventures, but here? Outside the circus?”
“I suppose it’s doable.” He considered. “I would have to ask Moon if she’d be okay with being obscured though. What were you all thinking?”
“Oh, I’d love some thunderstorms! Just make the lightning the non-hurting kind, please?” Gangle requested eagerly.
Zooble predictably piped up next, “That could be nice. Personally, I’d kill for some rain to sleep too.”
Even bracing for it, Jax still wasn’t ready when someone finally said-
“I miss the snow.” Ragatha piped up. “During the heavy storms, we’d get these huge sheets of icicles coming off the patio. I used to think it was really magical, like it was a cave just for me.” The scoff left his lips before he could bite it back. He didn’t have to look to know she was frowning at him. “What?”
“Nothing.” Jax grumbled. “Just sounds like you.”
“And that means…?”
He didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Pomni, either sensing it or just wanting to prevent a brewing argument, cut in, “What would you want back, Jax?”
A tornado to get me out of here. He shrugged. “I’m fine with anything.”
“You must want something…?”
Jax rolled his eyes as annoyingly as possible. Frowned when he realized what he was doing and ran a hand down his face. Thumped his toes along the opposite armrest, focusing on that instead of the words coming out of his mouth. “I miss sunrises.”
“That’s already programmed.” Caine lent forward, cupping a hand around his teeth and stage whispering, “And I wouldn’t imply Sun isn’t doing her job unless you want her to burn you to a crisp.”
“No, like. Ugh. With all the color changing and stuff, Caine. Non-permanent overlays that come and go every day.” Jax explained, shifting on his side to face him. The new position made it easier to notice how the ladies and Zooble were all giving him a look of surprise.
It made him feel exposed.
He turned the other way, facing the cushions. “Tch, nevermind. It’s dumb.”
“No!” Pomni asserted. “I… I think that’s nice.”
“Yeah Jax. I think that would be really pretty.” Ragatha added.
He was glad he had flipped, because no one could see his blush. “Whatever. Throw in some shitty rainbows too for all your queer needs.”
“You always got to ruin it, don’t you?” Zooble deadpanned.
No one saw him flinch, either.
Gangle peeped up a small, "Those would be kind of nice too though” that had something fierce and ugly rearing it’s head through him; a sudden compulsion brewing to just do anything to get them to shut up, to stop taking him seriously, to stop looking at him and oh god he had to get out of here-
“Guys. Guys!!” Pomni’s sudden insistence cut through the noise in his brain. He sat up, immediately seeing what caught her attention.
At the entrance of the fort stood two robed chess pieces, both slowly making their way down the pillow barrier. Pomni was the first up, hurrying over to greet them, though Ragatha and Gangle weren’t far behind.
Zooble lingered, shooting Caine a look when they noticed he was trying to duck into the cushions like he wasn’t capable of just apparating away. “Come on Caine, she’s got to get used to you.”
“Caine is not in the building!” The A.I. panic screamed back. It was kind of funny, watching Zooble fish their once fearless digital God out of the couch by his collar like they were wrangling a cat not wanting to go to the vet.
Once they had him secure, they looked back and said, “You too Jax.”
“What, you gonna pull me by my ears if I don’t?” He grumbled as he picked himself up off the couch, shuffling his way towards the happy reunion.
Zooble stopped him short with a hand on his shoulder. “And talk to somebody already. You’re being more insufferable than usual.”
Unintentionally, his eyes darted to Pomni. She was smiling widely as she talked with the couple, an excitement thrumming under the surface to reveal the surprise they had in store. She’d been sitting on the plan for weeks, getting them all participating with more ferocity than a soccer mom on a field trip. She deserved to enjoy the fruits of all that labor.
Fix your face idiot. He berated, taking a deep breath. Offered Zooble a smile that was entirely fake. “Not today.”
“Jax-”
“Today’s a good day.” He insisted, waving to the rest of the group insistently, begging them to get it. “Great, even. So I am going to go and celebrate and pretend I’m not fucking miserable for a few god damn hours, okay?”
They regarded him for a time, but thankfully didn’t push more. “I can’t decide if that is self-destructive or surprisingly mature of you.”
“Hell if I know.” He threw his hands up in a shrug before clutching them behind his head, strolling towards the others. “Now come on already. I want some cake.”
Ragatha was saying something as they approached, but switched topics the moment she noticed them, “And - oh! Queenie, this is Jax and Zooble. They were also there when you, um, woke up.”
“Heya.” Jax said casually.
“Nice to meet you.” Zooble offered.
Queenie nodded to both of them, though her gaze lingered on him longer. He didn’t mind, because it gave him the excuse to stare back.
She reminded him of Old Oakley back in middle school - a giant, century-old oak tree that had been the centerpiece of the facility. It was a favorite hang out spot, all sorts of friend groups fighting for space underneath it during lunch time. Almost everyone had at least one acorn they’d plucked from the lower branches. Jax’s favorite spot was right in the notch of her base, the large, rolling roots able to hide even his lanky form from sight.
One night, Old Oakley had gotten struck by lightning during a terrible storm. The blast had stripped the bark right off the trunk, going in a near perfect line from the treetop down to the very base of the roots. Jax remembered walking into the quad to see almost the entire student body surrounding it, trying to take their turns touching the bleeding cambium or collecting the bits of burnt bark that littered the grass, the cool kids claiming they were good luck charms. He hadn’t gotten a chance to do either before the proctors were shooing them off, but his best friend at the time broke hers in half for him.
There had been a lot of rumors at the time that the tree was going to be cut down. Their principal had reassured them they were doing everything they could to keep Old Oakley alive but only time would tell if she’d heal. Jax moved onto high school before he ever found out what happened to her.
Looking at Queenie, a similar scar running from her crown down to her base like she too had been split in half, gave him a childish hope that that dumb, old tree had survived it too.
Ragatha spoke up again, smile turned nervous. “And you remember Caine of course.”
Caine tapped his index fingers together, still curled in a scruffed cat position. “M-Milady.”
“Oh, yes.” Queenie said as her eyes landed on the A.I., giving him such an angry mom look that even Jax felt cowed. “I do remember.”
Pomni laughed uncomfortably. “I promise he’s changed. A lot has, actually!”
Just like that, she softened, sweeping a gaze across them, orange pupils on green, like zinnias in a summer field, seeming to take them all in. “It certainly has. My husband hasn’t been short on stories. You lot have made quite the stir taming this one,” She waved to Caine, “and finding out how to reverse Abstraction. Things we never thought possible.” A piteous sigh. “Things I certainly gave up on.”
There was a short, unsure awkwardness, as Kinger placed a hand on her back, the rest not really knowing what to say. Except for Jax of course, so he just waved his hands out like a mascot at a Disney park and said, “Welcome to the Life Forsaken Club, acorn top.” That garnered him various looks of ranged irritation and concern. “What? We’ve got to do this like seven more times. You all are going to have to get used to the fact us former drama llamas are all a little suicidal.”
“Do you have to put it like that?” Ragatha argued, like tiptoeing around the subject wasn’t part of the problem.
“Just ‘cause it makes you uncomfortable doesn’t make it untrue doll.”
Pomni opened her mouth, ready to intervene, but Queenie beat her to it. “He’s right.”
“He is?” Oh thanks Gangle.
Like Kinger, her eyes seemed to smile at them. “My mama passed something on to me a long time ago. She’d tell me ‘Destiny, you take that name of yours and carve your future right. That means fixing problems as they come and no running from mistakes.’ I used to live by it like it was my Bible. …I forgot that, somewhere along the way. But not anymore.” She seemed to radiate confidence. “Looking away from what I did, it won’t stop it from happening again, only create a fester of shame. Facing my mistake head on, accepting it, and turning my pain into something that will help others is where I can really make a difference in this life. So that’s what I intend to do.”
Another silence but it lacked the tension from before. Jax somehow found it more uncomfortable than before, crossing his arms and grumbling, “Well I didn’t say all that.”
A hearty chuckle, and though she came no closer, one of her detached hands flew over to him, rubbing his head like she was trying to ruffle his hair. Like she was his mom or something. He fought the urge to bite her, shying back instead. “My husband was right. You are quite a card.”
“Tch. Best ace up everyone’s sleeve.” He joked. “Now are we gonna stand here and chat all day like old bitties, or are we gonna get to the fun stuff?”
“Oh right!” Pomni lit up all over again, waving them onwards. “Yes. We have a surprise!”
Kinger gave her a fond look as they followed after, towards the dining room. “Oh you guys didn’t have to-”
“We wanted to.” She cut in, smiling. “It’s nothing too big.” She glanced over at Kinger’s pillow fort still towering over the room like it never usually did. “Well. Metaphorically speaking at least.”
“What in the world did you all do?” He asked, impressed.
“Oh we’ll show you that in a little while. First, let’s have dinner. Caine?”
The little A.I. had taken to hiding behind Zooble for the majority of the interaction, but at the call for his cue, he seemed to unwind a bit into his old self, floating backwards towards the area completely shrouded in darkness. “Yes, yes, of course!” He cleared his throat, “Welcome my cherished souls to the Royal Regalia Banquet! Feast your eyes and taste buds on a handcrafted meal lovingly made by-” Here he grabbed Ragatha, spinning her around. She giggled as a fancy Victorian style dress fluttered into place. “Lady Ragatha!” He reached for Zooble next, a similar transformation taking place, though their garb was more reminiscent of a battle armor statue from a European castle, sword and all. “Knight Zooble! And last but not least, Princess Gangle!” A criminal amount of ruffles appeared, the garment giving Disney Princess vibes all over. Ribbons seemed absolutely giddy.
Jax beat down his spark of jealousy, straightening as he and Pomni were brought over next. “Featuring some light entertainment for our resident jesters, Jax and Pomni!” Caine continued, giving two claps. Pomni didn’t change much, only getting an added coat with a train tipped with bells that seemed modeled after Caine’s own. Jax’s getup was therefore modeled after Pomni’s, though his colors were more a pastel pink and blue, either meant to match his eyes or be a softer version of Pomni’s deep hues. He couldn’t help but stare, unsure if he hated it or not.
“Please enjoy the food,” The lights in the dining room came to life, revealing the tablespread, “And performance,” Another light, a piano and microphone stand illuminated just a short distance away. “Fit for our fine royalty.”
Kinger looked seconds away from crying. There was always a risk that this might be too much. But he bravely soldiered forward, bringing the two closest to him - which happened to be Pomni and Zooble - in for a hug. “This is amazing. Thank you.”
As he went for Ragatha and Gangle next, Jax slipped away to his spot at the piano before he could be brought into the hug fest. As the rest got settled in their seats and Pomni came to join him, he faintly heard Queenie say, “They really love you dear.”
“And I’m so blessed for that.” He replied.
Was this what love was meant to look like? Jax wasn’t sure. But as he got the okay to start from Pomni and played the first notes of the couples’ wedding song, he hoped maybe he’d get it one day.
Later, after the food and fun, they’d all convened in the pillow fort, laying in their beds around the couple where they’d keep a quiet vigil over Queenie. It filled Jax with the same feeling he’d gotten when they’d done the same for him, all of them spilled around the checkered carpet in the common area, with him in the center of the pile.
It was a feeling that said ‘You’re here and we’ll keep you safe’.
Despite the turmoil the future was going to hold, Jax fell asleep easy that night.
Kinger had warned them that his wife had a determined streak that would rival Wonder Woman, but even he seemed taken aback when she demanded to go to the Abstracted Aquarium the very next morning. Jax had started to suspect that might be part of the reason pulling her out of her own Abstraction had gone so much easier. Unlike him, where they’d had to basically yank him out of a tar pit, every inch agonizing, for Queenie, hers had just burst all at once, like a coat she didn’t want to wear anymore and leaving her to fall right into Kinger’s arms. She didn’t seem the type to half-ass anything.
“Are you sure about this?” Zooble broached as they approached the entrance.
“Yeah.” Ragatha chimed in. “We don’t mind letting you rest for awhile before we, um, get into it.”
Queenie shook her head - which was more like shaking her whole upper body. “I appreciate it, but no thank you. I’ve slept enough.”
“But honey, a break wouldn’t hurt.”
“I’m fine Kinger dear.”
“But well, you see, um,” Gangle spluttered.
Jax studied the group in the corner of his eye as he strolled beside them, trying to appear casual even as tension lingered underneath the surface. Pomni hadn’t said much to dissuade this course and he could tell from her own gungho expression that she was just as down to get back into it as Queenie was. There was just one little detail they were failing to mention, and with how she was shuffling forward, she probably wouldn’t pause long enough to listen anyways.
He sighed, lengthening his stride. “Calm down, if she says she’s ready, then she’s ready.” He whirled on his feet, standing right in the doorway like a dragon guarding a lair.
“But shouldn’t we warn her about-” Gangle tried again.
Jax cut her off. “I think it’s better if we just show her.” His eyes darted to the chess piece, his smile teasingly cruel as he started to back up into the room. “Brace yourself, checkmate. And don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt.”
He knew the exact moment he was under enough light of abstraction for it to happen, because Queenie made a surprisingly distressed noise. Along his body, only where the abstraction residue had been left behind, dozens of little eyes had opened up, all of them swirling with erratic colors. He stopped in the center of the room and held out his forearm, pressing his palm against the eyes. There wasn’t even a sting like he might feel poking his actual eye. “See? Doesn’t hurt. It’s more like it’s part of you.”
Queenie hesitated, looking to her husband uncertainly. He took her hand, voice gentle, “It’ll be okay.”
Slowly she walked in. After a couple of steps, as predicted, the same happened to her, lighting up the space further. She didn’t react as dramatically as Jax had the first time - which was to fucking run out of the tent and have a panic attack by the lake. She only looked down at the scar, familiarizing herself with the bizarre sight.
“God I’m never getting used to that.” Zooble commented, filing in with the others.
“So it’s like a reflection from them.” Queenie quickly deduced. “I don’t recall that happening to Jax when I started becoming more aware in the fort though.”
Pomni gestured upwards. “We think it’s just the sheer amount of them. Like… a spirit energy transfer? Is that how you put it Gangle?”
“Yeah! Though, I don’t think she’d get the reference.”
Jax clicked his tongue a few times, drawing the attention back to him. “Ready for the best part? Shut your eyes and look up.”
Queenie did and he followed suit.
Immediately his vision changed, becoming hazy around the edges, shimmering with a rainbow of shifting hues. It was a little disorienting, because he was actually seeing the entire room now, a perfect 360-view that made him feel like he might stumble even though he was standing still. He imagined hers was probably different since her scars didn’t go around her body, but he didn’t doubt it was still overstimulating.
“How is it?” Kinger asked her nervously.
“It’s… beautiful.” She breathed, following Jax’s second piece of instruction. “Oh.” She opened her normal eyes. Shut them again. “Oh my God.”
Jax chuckled, seeing exactly what she did. Above them the Abstractions had changed; they still had their camelid-like forms, but all their eyes had disappeared from their bodies, and in the center of them, were white outlines of the avatars they used to be, the non-descript forms mimicking swimming motions. Floating just to his left, doing an excellent mimic of a water snake’s slither, was a string-on-a-worm creature he knew was called Wormo. Above him, a toy mouse paddled; Rattie. There was Kaufmo, doing silly somersaults in his body. And at the furthest end of the tank, the place she always fled to whenever he came in this room, was a lanky frog, curled up on themself.
He fought the urge to stare too long. “Crazy, isn’t it?”
“So, you can see them just like Jax can?” Pomni asked, seating herself down on one of the nearby benches next to Ragatha.
“Oh my - Yes.” Queenie pointed, somewhere to the left at a dogpaddling retriever. “Scratch!” A shift to the dinosaur and plump jester floating together on their backs. “Oh darling, there’s Spike and Bizco.”
Kinger laughed warmly. “Those two did always get on well, didn’t they?”
“Like butter on toast.” She said in a way that seemed like she was making a playful implication. “Oh, we should really-”
A sudden thumping noise halted her, and startled all the rest. Jax frowned, opening his true eyes, watching Wormo smack gently into the glass next to Rattie, both of them floating there like gigantic black towers. A cry, like a whale’s call, emitted from the fuzzy snake and suddenly the other four were torpedoing over, some of them landing on the glass overhead. Surrounding them.
Pomni had jumped up on her bench. “What’s going on?”
“What are they… doing?” Gangle backed away from the glass. “Should we get Caine?”
“No. They don’t seem violent. Just curious.” Zooble observed, though bringing their girlfriend close. “But why? They didn’t do this with Jax.”
Ragatha gave a thoughtful hum, “You don’t think… they recognize Queenie?”
“Wait. That makes sense.” Pomni agreed, eyes darting from one Abstraction to the next, then to who their hundreds of eyes all seemed to be staring at. “They never knew Jax abstracted or spent time with him while he was. But they did spend time with yours. They must recognize you shouldn’t be out here.”
Queenie opened her normal eyes as well, giving a nod. “We were all always kind of aware of each other in that… cellar.” She spit the last word a little bitterly. “It was like we were ghosts to each other.”
Thump.
Jax turned his head to the left, seeing one of the Abstractions had shifted away from the others, now intent on him. He shut his eyes - sure enough it was Kaufmo, the clown’s hands pressed to the glass like he was giving him an intense staredown. Even in that hazy state, was he putting together what must have happened?
He waved a hand weakly. “Hey man.”
The quiet interaction was going mostly unnoticed, the others suddenly in a deep conversation.
“If they understand that, then that means they must be realizing it’s possible to reverse it. That’s good right?” Ragatha’s hopeful cheer was almost grating.
Zooble shook their head. “Uh, no. It kind of creates a fucking problem, doesn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean we had a plan. Now it’s kind of shot to hell isn’t it?”
Queenie turned to them. “What kind of plan?”
“We were going to start with the people we knew.” Pomni admitted guiltily. “We weren’t really sure how easy it would be to reach the others since we hadn’t met them and it didn’t seem fair to let it fall on only you two. That way at least we’d have a few more people to contribute. But we were operating under the idea that they were all… not fully sentient?” She tipped her head back. “This complicates things. No one deserves to know they’re being left behind.”
“Fuck it. We’ll just bring them all up.” Zooble rebutted.
Ragatha jumped to her feet. “What? No!”
“I’m not even sure the fort can fit everyone.” Gangle said, cowing back at having to argue with them.
“Then we’ll turn off the lights to the whole tent.”
“That sounds awfully dangerous…”
“Right.” The doll affirmed. “What if something goes wrong? Then we’ll have half a dozen Abstractions wrecking havoc at once!”
“We have Caine for that!” They argued fiercely.
“Yeah.” Pomni defended. “And we know what we’re doing now. Mostly, at least. We can make it work.”
Ragatha whirled on her, having that same stricken look Gangle had. “Pomni, that's crazy! You just want us to live in the dark for months?”
“It’s the right thing to do!”
“Now, now, everyone take a breather.” Kinger said, sliding forward some. “You all have very altruistic intentions, but stretching ourselves thin to help everyone won’t help anyone.”
Jax, who had mostly been watching the proceedings like one would a pingpong ball match, head turning to and fro to each new speaker, finally decided to step in with his own two cents. “Hey, circus freaks!” His booming tone had everyone looking his way. “Why don’t we cut the difference and bring up two? We can start with someone we know and someone these yahoos know.” He gestured between Zooble and the ladies, and the old couple. “That way we can still keep up the fort and be doubling our output without giving ourselves early onset burnout.”
“I think that’s a perfect compromise.” Queenie conceded.
“But-”
“Face it Poms,” He interrupted before she could even start. “After we get back Ronald Mcdonald and Princess Tiana, the five of us are virtually useless anyways beyond holding a rope. So why don’t we let them decide the pace?”
The dispute seemed to settle after that, the jester finally giving a sigh. “No, you’re right. Sorry, everyone. I guess I’m a little overeager.”
“Yeah. Me too.” Zooble admitted. “It just sucks to have to make anyone wait.”
They seemed to calm further when Gangle wound a ribbon on their spring arm. “It won’t be forever. Who knows? It might even encourage some of them if they see more of their friends on the other side.”
“Then I suppose there’s only thing left to decide.” Pomni turned to the chessmates. “Who do you want to start with?”
“Scratch.” Kinger replied, setting an arm on his wife’s back. “I think he’ll be the most responsive, considering his abstraction wasn’t by choice.”
She nodded. Looked to them. “And us?”
Ragatha looked ready to reply, when her eyes went wide.
Thump. The noise behind him, loud and sudden, made Jax jump.
“I think… she may have decided for us.”
Even though he didn’t have to, Jax turned around. Heart racing and lungs tight, he stared up at the Abstraction, furious judgment seeming to strike him from every last eye. Apprehensively, he shut his eyes, looking through his sub-vision back at the floating outline of the frog just mere feet from him, arms crossed and towering over him.
Moving with incredible care and slowness, worried he’d screw up this chance, Jax lifted his left hand and placed it on the glass.
Nothing happened for several excruciating moments.
But then they dove a little, coming level with him instead.
A hand rose back.
Jax wasn’t sure he’d ever felt more exhilarated.
Or terrified.
“Hey Ribbit.”