Chapter Text
Pomni
I can still feel the bittersweet taste on my tongue that crashed hope usually leaves. And it doesn’t matter how many of us there are for each other, all of us are trapped and Caine just made fun of it. I know everyone probably feels the same, even Jax that for once looks startled, after Zooble’s words. But his true self disappears a second later, as he crashes back on the couch, closing his eyes.
“Heh, you think I’m capable of abstracting?” he scoffs. “You guys worry too much!”
He carefully opens one eye looking at our reaction, and I give him a little smile. I worry too much. I worry a lot about him. He looks aside from me. We haven’t exactly talked or spent any time together since our fight. I hear Zooble sigh.
“We need a vacation.”
Suddenly we hear a loud pop from the stage. Jax’s ears fly up and he jolts up.
“No way!” Zooble says quietly as we all go toward the stage.
“I know!” Jax says, grinning. “New meat is always so exciting!”
“Be nice to them!” Ragatha says.
“Um… guys!??” A girly voice sounds.
We step in front of the stage watching the newcomer. Her skin is the same as Jax’s, and she’s also a rabbit but lower than Jax, and her ears are wider and shorter. She is wearing a plain salmon dress, with yellow buttons at the end of straps and a pocket at the center, she has green, long curly hair. Her eyes are half circles the same shape as her irises. And her legs are intertwined with neon green ribbons as she tugs at her head.
“I can’t get it off!!” She starts hyperventilating.
“And you never will!” Jax smirks.
“Jax!” Ragatha hisses, and takes a step toward the newcomer. “Hey, it’s okay!”
“No, it’s not f***ing okay!!!” The girl shrieks.
“Ooh, feisty this one,” Jax comments.
“Should I remind you how you were when you first arrived?” Ragatha hisses, putting both hands on the girl’s shoulders.
“Stop being a d**k,” Zooble says.
Jax’s irises go tiny before he shrugs. “Eh, whatever.”
I glance at him before approaching Ragatha who tries to calm the shrieking girl down.
“She just won’t listen!” Ragatha helplessly says.
“Hey…I know it feels awful… but eventually you’re going to be okay.” I try to convince her, but really I’m still convincing myself.
The girl seems to start paying attention.
“We’ve all been through it.” Ragatha nods.
“It sucks a lot at first, but it sucks less later,” Zooble shrugs.
“Wow, what a cheerful speech, Zooble,” Jax drawls.
The girl’s sobs quiet down as she looks at Jax.
“There, there,” Ragatha smiles softly. “It’s going to be alright.”
Suddenly everything shakes and glitches. I flinch, and it stops as fast as it started. Caine, as always, pops up in the air.
“WELCOME TO THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!” he exclaims. “I’M CAINE, YOUR AMAZING RINGMASTER!”
Anger raises in me, but for the sake of the girl, I suppress it. I notice that I’m not the only one who tries to erase him with their eyes; Jax, Zooble, and even Ragatha don’t look really excited to see him either. Kinger doesn’t count because he doesn’t remember what happened, and Gangle… I’m not really sure she is capable of being angry. I once saw her shooting from a Tommy gun, but she was happy rather than hateful. The memory of her maniacal laughter still gives me chills.
“What is your name?” He asks, flying up close to her.
“Caine,” Zooble grumbles. “Give her a few f***cking seconds.”
“My name is…” The girl’s irises become tiny as she searches for her name. I remember that feeling of trying to grab the memory but it slipping away immediately. “AAAAHH WHAT IS MY NAME?!? WHY I CAN’T REMEMBER IT??!”
“No one can remember their name when they enter!” Caine cheerfully explains to the poor girl.
“She looks like a bunny, why don’t we just call her that?” Jax asks.
“But you’re a bunny,” Gangle half-asks.
“Excuse me! I’m a rabbit! I don’t know who would ever call me bunny,” Jax acts offended.
“I’m sorry,” Gangle whispers.
“Bunny is the same thing as rabbit,” Ragatha says, looking at Jax.
“Okay, farmer girl.”
I glance at Jax, trying to stop him. He glances back, his eyes asking me what he did wrong. He knows what he did wrong. He looks aside, his ears dropping a bit down.
“I like that name!” Caine exclaims.
“We’ll name you Zaika!” Bubble flies to Zaika.
I frown.
“What does Zaika have to do with bunny?” Ragatha says my thoughts out loud.
“How do I leave…?” Zaika lifts her gaze at us, desperation shimmering in her big eyes.
Caine glitches.
“WHY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE?!” he yells, glitching and grabbing the girl. “YOU JUST GOT HERE!!”
“Caine, stop!” Ragatha exclaims.
“She didn’t do anything!” I try to push Caine away from Zaika. I fly away straight into Jax as I get to rip Caine off Zaika. Jax holds me for half a second before letting me fall. I shoot him an irritating look as I get up.
Caine’s cheeks are angry red as he opens a new adventure portal for us.
“Here is your new adventure!” He announces.
“Caine, she just got there!” Zooble tries to reason with him. And none of us really wants to go to another adventure after the last one.
“That’s okay!” The girl’s voice shakes as she jumps into the portal.
“Zaika, no!” Ragatha says.
“Who’s Zaika?” Kinger asks.
“The new one,” Jax drawls. “She’s crazy.”
“She sounds so young…” Gangle says.
Ragatha is already in the portal as I approach it.
“You need to come too,” I say, watching Gangle reluctantly agree, and Kinger step inside the portal. I step inside it too, and a second later I appear in a dark, crooked, dusty old room.
“…so he sends us to these adventures so we won’t go crazy…” Ragatha explains to Zaika, as Zooble falls on the ground along with satisfied Jax.
“The mo********er pushed me!” Zooble growls.
“At least you’re with me.” Gangle smiles faintly.
“We all have to make the new girl feel welcome!” Jax grins. “Right, bunny? How old are you?”
“I’m 16,” Zaika whispers.
“I was 17 when I came here,” Gangle says. My heart plummets down. So young?
“Oh, Zaika, I’m so sorry,” Ragatha says.
“Ah!” Kinger shrieks, making us all jump. “Who are you!?”
Zaika’s eyes widen and her eyebrows fly up.
“I’m… Zaika?” she says carefully, as if tasting the name.
“Oh, well, it’s nice to meet you, Zaika!” Kinger shakes her hand.
“That’s Kinger,” Jax says. “He’s crazy too.”
“Oh, hey, look!” Kinger points at something on the other end of the dark hall. “There is a weird doggie!”
We look at where he points, and our eyes go wide. The doggie in question is huge, with sharp fangs, and red eyes.
“What is this?” The girl asks Jax, hiding behind him.
“This is our cue to run!” Jax says, turning and running into the opposite hall. Zaika follows him, and I follow Zaika. It’s not a good idea for Zaika to get stuck with Jax on her first day. I hear Ragatha and Kinger running behind us.
The monster runs after us, and we reach the end of the hall, with a closed door. I hear the creature’s growls echoing through the house.
“Jax!” Ragatha shakes him. “This is the perfect moment for you to have the key!”
“I know!” Jax growls, trying different keys from his pocket.
“Jax!” I say, watching the creature become bigger in my vision.
“Give me a f***ing second, Pompom!” He yells. “F**k!”
“Your name is Pompom?” Zaika, who is pressed to the wall, asks.
“No…” Ragatha answers for me. “Her name is Pomni.”
“Huh,” Zaika says, glancing between me and Jax. “Jax… the monster is really close!”
I look at the monster, who is probably less than a meter away from us.
“Jax!” Ragatha’s voice raises.
“Jax, come on!” I glance between him and the drastically approaching monster.
“Jax…” Zaika whispers.
“STOP PRESSURING ME!” Jax yells, as we hear the lock click. “YES! HAHAHA! I’m a f****ing genius!”
“Stop praising yourself and open the f****ing door!” I yell back, swinging forward and turning the handle. We fly into the room before that monster reaches us, but it tries to push into the door as we hold it from inside.
“Was wasting our time worth it!?” I ask him, as the door hits me again and again.
“Wasting your time is always worth it, Pompom.” He smiles viciously.
“Hold the door,” Zaika orders as she runs toward a drawer.
“What else could we be doing?” Jax asks her.
“Jax, could you shut up for a freaking second?” Ragatha says.
“Nope!”
“Ugh!” Ragatha rolls her eye.
I hear Zaika grunt as she pushes the drawer toward the door, and then against it. Kinger helps her. We step away from the door, watching the drawer stay tightly against the door. We look around the eerie, dusty room. Jax walks toward the closed door and tries to open it. Zaika follows him.
“Do you have a key for this room too?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” he answers, trying the keys again.
“Where did you find so many keys?” She steps closer.
“It’s a secret.”
Ragatha takes a step forward, probably to pull Zaika away from Jax.
“How deep is your pocket?” She leans very close, and he pushes her away.
“God! Why are you so clingy?” he snaps.
“Jax!” I hiss, walking toward Zaika.
“She’s only 16!” Ragatha says, helping Zaika stand up.
“And? I didn’t ask to be her babysitter,” he grumbles, throwing his arms around. “I f****ing hate kids.”
Hurt flashes in Zaika’s eyes, and she coughs to cover it.
“I’m sorry, dark always unsettles me, and I talk when I’m scared.” Zaika explains.
Jax’s shoulders stiffen as he tries to open the door. Then I hear him scoff.
“Still afraid of the dark, huh?” he taunts. “What a baby.”
“Jax!” Ragatha growls.
“Stop this!” I order him, knowing that he never listens.
“You’re overdoing it,” Zaika says quietly into his back.
He tenses for a second, then half turns to us. “I don’t understand what you mean, Whiny.”
But I know that he understands.
“Don’t let him get to you, Zaika.” Ragatha says. “He’s always like this. Just ignore him.”
“And miss me in all my glory?” Jax asks, taunting.
“I think she’ll survive it,” I say sourly, glaring at him.
Ragatha sucks in a sharp breath.
“And I’m so, so sorry, Caine lashed out on you,” she laments. “We just… didn’t exactly like his latest adventure.”
“Why, what happened?” Kinger asks.
I hear Jax taking a deep breath.
“He… nothing,” he says quietly.
“He made us believe we could leave the circus, and then at the end, Jax pressed the wrong, or rather… right button. And we… weren’t exactly happy when we found out it was an adventure.” I tell her the shortest version.
“I think he’s a bit mad at us,” Ragatha sighs.
“He has no right to be mad!” Jax turns to us. “What did he expect? That we’d be happy about it? I told it was an adventure, but did anyone listen to me? No!”
“So… there is really no way of leaving?” Zaika whispers.
“No, but… it’s not that bad!” Ragatha swings her hand. “Just don’t get too stuck on the idea of leaving, or… it might end badly.”
“Oki…” Zaika drawls, braiding her green hair.
The door clicks, and we all turn towards it. Zaika steps behind Jax, who deliberately steps away, pushing her forward—right into Zooble that enters through the door. At the impact, Zooble breaks into pieces, while Gangle enters crying. Her comedy mask is broken again. Zaika jolts up from Zooble, as Jax’s laughter echoes through the whole room. Zaika glances at him and back at Zooble.
“I’m so sorry!” She helps Zooble to build back. “Jax pushed me.”
“Could you give us a moment of peace?” Zooble grumbles at Jax, putting an arm around Gangle.
“Oh my, what happened?” Ragatha presses her hand against her mouth.
Gangle cries harder.
“We got into some room… it showed our worst fears…” Zooble shudders. “We got this key though.”
They extend her hand out with a key on their palm. Jax immediately grabs it, his ears pointed, and eyes excitedly wide. He shoves it into his pocket.
“I’ll keep it safe for us!” he announces.
“Look, guys!” Kinger exclaims, pointing at the drawer. “The drawer stopped shaking.”
“Maybe the monster left?” Ragatha asks, hugging her forearm.
Me, Zaika, and Zooble move the drawer aside and open the door. The hall is quiet, but we can hear the echo of the creature’s movements. Fear lives in my bones almost always, though I’m not sure if I even have bones. I look at my arm moving it for a bit, then turn to look at the others.
“We should probably try to find the exit,” I offer, stepping out of the room and flinching as it creaks beneath my foot.
“How I hate these games,” Zooble sighs, as they step out of the room.
“Me too…” Gangle sobs, but she’s calmer now.
We quietly walk through the house searching for some kind of exit. It feels like a mockery from Caine. Trying to find the exit out of one prison just to come back into the one without an exit. Suddenly I feel an arm around mine, I look down at the pink gloves holding my hand, and up at Zaika who carefully waits for my reaction. She is just a bit taller than me. I give her a small smile, and squeeze her hand.
“Finally!” Jax exclaims, as we enter another long hall of this labyrinth house. “Are you coming out, Pomni? I thought you were into me!”
“What?” I look at him as Zaika yanks her hand away, looking embarrassed. “Zaika…”
But she blushes, and walks forward to Ragatha.
“Whiny baby…” Jax sing-songs quietly.
“Could you stop?” I whisper so no one but him whispers. “It’s her first day, you’ll have plenty of time to make her hate you later.”
He scoffs and opens his mouth to answer but is interrupted by a loud roar behind us.
“Oops,” he says, before running toward the other end of the hall along with everyone else.
The door is locked, but Jax gets to open it before the creature reaches us despite all of us screaming and shaking him. All of us run out of the house, straight back into the circus where Caine and Bubble are.
“How was the adventure, Zaika?” he cheerfully asks. “Still want to leave me?”
“It… it was fine,” Zaika replies carefully.
“Amazing!” Caine makes a somersault in the air. “The next one will be even better!”
“Caine, wait!” Zooble yells, but he disappears.
“I don’t think we’ll be getting that vacation, Zooble,” Ragatha laments.
I don’t pay attention to the rest of the conversation, watching Jax leave the room. Alone. As always.