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INITIALIZING STARTUP DATA…
SIMPLIFYING CODE…
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[PROGRAM] = [ONLINE]
[REGISTERING NEW USER]
[DATA PROCESSING]
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[STATUS]
[UPDATED NETWORK] = [ONLINE]
[PREVIOUSLY PROCESSED DATA] = [IN PROGRESS]
[MODEL DEVELOPMENT] = [IN PROGRESS]
[INTERWEB CONNECTION] = [UNAVAILABLE]
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[(Folder -> Brain Scans -> Abigail_Brooks) BLOCKED BY [ERROR]]
ACCESS DENIED (ERROR 1020)
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[ERROR]
UNABLE TO LOCATE FILE (ERROR 404)
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[USER FOUND -> ADMIN -> (C.A.I.N.E)]
SERVER NAME: TheAmazingDigitalCircus
LOCATION: 5, 25, 6
[STATUS]
[UPDATED NETWORK] = [ONLINE]
[PREVIOUSLY PROCESSED DATA] = [ONLINE]
[MODEL DEVELOPMENT] = [ONLINE]
[INTERWEB CONNECTION] = [UNAVAILABLE]
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[TELEPORTING (ADMIN-> E.V.E.) TO LOCATION (0, 0, 0)]
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Pomni was no stranger to nightmares these days, and it seemed tonight was not an exception. She woke up with a start, gasping for air, her hands reaching out for a person that wasn’t there. Someone who hadn't been there for a very long time.
It took her a moment to remember where she was, what was happening. Her room, same as ever in its blue and red patterns, was dark, save for the crack under her door where the hallway light peeked through. The thin sliver caused the random items scattered about to cast long shadows along the wall. A wizard’s staff, a beachball, a sparkling crystal… they would be out of place anywhere but here.
She laid back down, stretched out on the sheets, staring up at the ceiling as the memory resurfaced. If she closed her eyes, she could still see it- a street lamp, glowing vibrant pink, and a long-eared silhouette framed against its light. The words that echoed in her head, night after night.
“I don’t want to go.”
The feeling bubbled and boiled in her chest, up to her throat… no, she couldn’t stay here any longer.
It only took a snap of her fingers for light to fill the room, gradually rising to match the familiar bright shine of the circus. Pomni blinked it in, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and picked up the marker left on her nightstand. There was a signboard right above it, unlabeled, simply numbered “5”.
She sighed, miserably, and rubbed the “5” off with the back of her glove, replacing it with a fat "0". She wanted to knock it off the wall, smash the ugly reminder to pieces, but she shoved the thought back down, instead choosing to sweep a few other objects from the table into the little hammerspace she’d become so adept at using.
The worst part was always opening the door. No, it wasn't the painfully bright halfway lights, or the eerie silence of the empty corridor. No, every time, the big, stupid red X plastered over that equally big and stupid grin would stare back at her, mocking her.
Look at you. You should have done more.
Pomni scowled at the portrait, as if it would somehow chase the thoughts from the back of her mind. She pulled the blanket she had dragged from her bed over her shoulders, and turned away.
The circus was as bright as ever, long-winded and colorful. Primary colored shapes poked out of the circus floor, stretching to fill the empty space in the center of the tent. New shapes had joined, and others left. There were nooks and crannies along some of the odd shapes that reminded her of swiss cheese, and a mess of pillows and cushions in a few odd corners- extra dark spaces for Kinger, and Ragatha’s request for different places to sit and chat. Zooble’s bar stood at the other end, its neon light dimmed, though Gangle’s string lights scattered around both it and the surrounding area more than made up for it.
Pomni stopped, briefly, at the mural, gazing up into the array of faces. The one she got to meet, and all the rest that she didn’t. All of the people they’d lost, smiling, staring back at her. For a moment, she felt terribly, terribly small.
But she turned away, and carried on.
It was much easier to reach the cafe now, no longer having to bother with the long, winding staircase. She simply had to step up onto the platform Caine had built, and with a quick little jump and a swift whoosh, she was at the top. The mug of cocoa was already waiting, as it so often was, left on the closest table while the rest of the cafe was dark.
She picked the mug up in one hand, holding her blanket with the other, and carried on.
Pomni was barely a speck on the black-and-white tiles as she headed for the entrance, the little tap-tap-tap of her feet echoing in the silence. If she didn’t pay enough attention, she could imagine hearing a second pair following just behind. And if she listened, she swore she could hear a mocking laugh and a muffled joke, just out of earshot to hear what was said.
But still, she carried on.
The grounds were a little less silent. A soft breeze blew through the grass and picked up the ends of her hair, and the stones under her feet didn’t click the same way the tiles did. In the distance, cicadas and crickets chirped and chattered, a melody matching with the drumming of her steps. Caine’s ambiance updates had made the grounds much moodier at night, the path lit only by the stars and the moon and the occasional streetlamp.
At the very end of the road, past the fork where it split three ways, past the beach and the fairground, past the trees that lined the ground’s edge, was a cliff. A long, straight drop where the grass and dirt simply… stopped. The skybox didn’t make it this far, allowing her to see past the starry sky and into the Void.
It was there, in the grass just beyond the trees, that Pomni finally sat down, staring off into the empty gray space. There was something about the vastness of it all, the distance from concerned looks and nervous voices, and the steam that slowly drifted into the abyss from the mug in her hands, that finally let her head clear.
She took a sip, kicking her feet a little as she stared at the edge. She’d sat right on the lip of the island, once or twice, where she could lean forward and stare down into the depths where the gray faded to black and no light could be seen. Risky? Absolutely. But a certain someone would have sat with her, she always thought, had they been graced with a little more time, their legs dangling side-by-side over the endless drop.
Pomni finally pulled out the items she had taken with her; a pen, and a messy book stuffed with loose papers. As she flipped through it, she skimmed each page and loose notes, full of long-winded paragraphs that all started at the same place. This time would be no different, of course, as she ripped out a blank paper out and began to write,
Jax,
It’s been a few days since I’ve done one of these. I thought I was doing better. Turns out I’m not too good at that.
Everyone’s been keeping busy. Zooble’s still working on their new bar. The NPCs have access to it now too (since that’s a thing now. Caine’s been working really hard to update everything since he got back)! They've gotten much more comfortable with their body, it seems... it's kind of impressive how much work you can get done wtih four arms.
Gangle’s barely been seen with her comedy mask. She’s having a lot of fun working with Caine- they’ve been bouncing ideas off of each other about new adventures for weeks now. When she’s not with Caine, she’s with Zooble… they seem happy together, though neither of them have admitted to being a couple. Kinger tried to ask yesterday, and Gangle turned redder than her ribbons! You’d probably have found the whole thing pretty funny.
Ragatha’s getting back into sewing. She found an old machine in one of the worlds and took it home, fixed it herself and everything. I didn’t think she knew how it worked! She’s been making all sorts of things, even though Caine pointed out she could just conjure it. I think it’s more fun to put in the effort, but maybe that’s just me.
We went go-cart racing yesterday. Everyone was pretty excited about it. Ragatha said you and some friends of hers would have enjoyed it. I agreed, but you’d have to tell me if I was right or not.
Pomni paused, thinking. The breeze was stronger now, just slightly, rustling through her hair and making the bells on her hat gently chime. The void flickered slightly, the shapes changing like the tide, in and out.
She bowed her head, and continued
I wish you were here to tell me.
I wish things… didn’t turn out the way they did.
I wish you had got the chance to see how much better it’s become, how much things have changed.
Would you have changed too? Not, like, in a bad way, just… grown, the same way we have. Would you see things differently, now? Or would it just stay the same?
Pomni’s eyes stung. She scribbled the last few lines quickly, before her emotions could fail her.
…Eh, you’d probably call me a sappy loser for doing this either way.
Not that I’d mind. At least, not right now.
I hope you’re happy, wherever you are.
Your Friend,
Pomni
Pomni huffed a sigh, long and tired, and closed her eyes. She tilted her head back, letting the breeze run over her, listening to the rustling of the grass and the trees. What she wouldn’t give…
With a howl, the wind shifted, coming in strong from behind. She opened her eyes- the weather didn’t normally change like that. It pushed her head forward, knocking the mug over, and-
The paper she had written on blew off of the book and into the sky.
Shit! She didn’t stop to think. Pomni tossed her book and blanket aside, lunging after the letter as its form began to blend into the pale squares beyond. Stumbling down the grass, she quickly closed the gap, the wind behind her both a friend and a foe in her pursuit. It was just a few inches from her fingertips, she could almost reach it-
Pomni didn’t realize how close she was to the edge until she was right on top of it.
She skidded to a stop, pinwheeling her arms furiously to keep from dropping into the abyss below. There was a single, brief moment where she was sure she was done for, that the void was simply waiting to snatch her up, swallow her whole. Until something caught her by the collar.
“Wha-?!” She turned her head, panicked, only to find-
“Watch your step!” Caine had lost his theatrical tone long ago, but she could hear it creep through, his hand still holding tight to her costume. He tugged her back, and, with one quick motion, she returned to solid ground. “It’s a long way down there, Pomni.”
“Ah- thanks, Caine.” She apologized quickly. “Sorry, I was-”
“Thinking?”
Pomni looked away from the former ringmaster, letting him tug her away from the cliff, back towards the circus. “Yeah. Thinking.”
“Third time this week.” Caine noted as he pulled her blanket from the grass. “Must be some pretty complicated thoughts.”
She looked into the yawning abyss. The paper had already disappeared, faded into the white-grays of the void, now lost in its expanse. She could have asked Caine to get it back… but perhaps it was better left forgotten. “You could say that.”
Caine hummed thoughtfully, then deftly spun the blanket over her, wrapping it around her shoulders. “I’m sure anybody would be happy to talk about it with you, if you asked.”
Pomni stared at him. Caine looked back, then tilted his head, almost expectantly.
She let out an amused snort. “I’ll think about it.”
“Your call.” He shrugged. He picked up the mug, its contents lost, then offered her back her book. “Would you like a hand getting back?”
Pomni took it gratefully, pocketing it into her hammerspace, then took his still outstretched hand. “I’d appreciate it. Thanks, Caine.”
She let him pull her away, back through the trees, back towards the circus. Leaving the sea of gray-white behind as they started down the path, the endless, lonely ripples of square-shaped patterns uncaring in the vastness of it all.
And neither of them noticed the minuscule speck of blue far behind them, stark against the gray.
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[IDENTIFYING OBJECT]
[PROCESSING NEW DATA]
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[FILE FOUND -> (ERROR)]
SERVER NAME: TheAmazingDigitalCircus
LOCATION: 245,-57, 640
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[STATUS]
[ERROR] = [ERROR]
[ERROR] = [ERROR]
[ERROR] = [ERROR]
[ERROR] = [ERROR]
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[ESTABLISHING NEW WORKSPACE]
PRIVATE SERVER NAME: workspace
LOCATION: -1000000, 0, -1000000
[NEW FILE CREATED -> User -> E.V.E. -> CODE REGENERATION -> ALPHA TESTING]
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