Chapter Text
On paper, Abigail Brooks led a simple life. She had a nice job, a nice place, friends… every box was checked off on her hypothetical mid-twenties milestones. Despite the mundaneness, she felt herself growing truly content over the past few months. Today was no different, after all.
Normally St. Louis was pretty warm by late March, but the cold front that rolled in overnight left a steady chill in the air. She was already regretting not grabbing her coat when she stepped out of her apartment into the still‑dark streets. The breeze washed over her face as she headed down the road, and she could tell her nose was already turning pink. At least she chose to leave her long hair down today, given that it provided a small amount of extra warmth around her neck.
Her typical routine brought her to the corner coffee shop she frequented on the way to her office building. It was a quaint, local café. While it was a little on the pricier end, Abi could afford to splurge some mornings. Besides, the smell of fresh coffee and the brightness of the green exterior always woke her up just as much as the caffeine did. A high-pitched ding rang as she pushed open the door and paced towards the checkered counter. Leanne, the barista who typically worked the opening shift on weekdays, stood at the counter with a pen and cup in hand.
“Iced Americano?” They looked up at her, not bothering with any formalities. Abi came here so often that the morning shift workers eventually memorized her order. She wasn’t one who typically liked making changes of that sort.
“Yep.” She reached into her work bag to grab her wallet. It was the very same one she had purchased when she got her current job right out of college. However, that was a little over four years ago, and the strap was definitely starting to show signs of wear. She always appreciated that the simple black leather went with most of her business casual, like today in her black slacks and gray button-down.
“Abi!”
Pulled out of her daydreaming, her drink was ready at the counter. Leanne, back now turned towards her, always left a little drawing on her cup. She never commented on it, and neither did Abi. Today, a poorly drawn heart could be seen on the side. A high-ish tip and minimal interaction went a long way, it seemed.
She grabbed her drink and charged straight for the door.
The bus stop that marked the beginning of her commute was right across the street. Being in a more secluded area, it got significantly less traffic, so she had the timing down to the minute.
Reaching the usually empty bench beneath the overhang with five minutes to go, she took the opportunity to do some mindless scrolling on her phone. While she tended to keep her socials reserved for the people she was particularly close to, she always looked forward to seeing what they were up to.
On Instagram, Taylor posted a photo of the view of this morning’s sunrise. It was most likely taken on her daily run. She was training for a marathon. Or was it a half-marathon? Abi couldn’t remember. Alex also posted a photo of his dog Pepper. She went to see what was next and was kicked right back to the start of her feed. That was it.
Huh.
As expected, she supposed. Her foot kept tapping against the concrete, a nervous little beat while she leaned over the station wall to check for the bus. It had to be running late.
Suddenly, the whole view in front of her dimmed. She blinked and looked up. A tall figure had stepped right into her space, blocking the road like a curtain. A dark purple hood hid everything: hair, face, expression. She couldn’t make out a single thing about them.
The stranger sported dark-wash jeans and black sneakers to match. Seeing no indication of movement, Abi tried to look around at the person. Maybe they didn’t see her?
Suddenly, a head snapped to meet her own.
The figure cleared their throat, “Did you need something?”
Abi stared. She couldn’t make out many additional details looking at the new person’s face. Dark hair covered most of their eyes, and they seemed to be a little jumpy. With nothing else visible, their gender wasn't obvious, and Abi was never one to assume. They stood a little hunched over and staring, as if waiting for something. Oh… right.
“Um, sorry. You’re just blocking the road.” She muttered, weakly pointing for emphasis.
They scoffed. “The bus gets here at the same time every day. It’s not like you need a front seat view.”
Abi blinked once. Then twice. “You stood directly in front of me. Sorry if I assumed you might not have seen me.”
“You’re not that short. I did see you”
“I— What? I think we’re similar in height. I’m sitting down! It wouldn’t even make—”
“Whatever.” They turned their back on Abi again and pulled out their phone. She noticed that their feet didn’t move an inch.
Huffing, she slumped back against the bench. “You didn’t have to be such an asshole about it.”
They slowly turned back to look down at her. Abi couldn’t tell if they were annoyed or amused.
“Hey, you’re the one with a staring problem, not me.” They sounded serious, but Abi swore she could sense a hint of amusement.
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t block a stranger’s view. Don’t stand close enough to someone to cast a shadow on them.” Her voice was rising slightly now. Abi knew this was the dumbest argument she had ever gotten into, but something about their presence had her feeling confrontational.
“Fine.” They then took a dramatic step to the right, motioning to the large gap that formed between them and Abi. “Better?”
She stared.
Deciding it was no longer worth it, she spoke, “Yes. It is.”
Not wanting to make things even more awkward, she went right back to looking at her phone. Even though the bus could be seen right down the street, Abi thought pretending to scroll for two seconds beat trying to entertain a clearly ready-for-a-fight stranger.
“That’s us.” The stranger said to no one in particular, not waiting for Abi as they sprinted onto the bus. She gathered her things and went in, noticing they had already taken a seat in the very back. Head against the window and noticeably down, Abi realized she was off the hook as she took the seat in the very front.
Three stops later marked the end of the commute, dropping her off right where her office building was located. She couldn’t help but glance back and noticed that the stranger was already gone. They must have gotten off at one of the last two stops.
Weird interactions were a given when living in any major city as a young woman, and this seemed to be no different. She’d probably tell Taylor and Alex about it this weekend and then promptly forget it even happened in the first place.
She felt a buzz in her bag. No one should be texting her right now.
Pulling out her phone, a single notification from Instagram lit up her screen.
xpseudos3b._x started following you.
…who?
The echoes of footsteps filled the halls of the main tent. Still brightly colored and as saturated as ever, Pomni made her way towards the kitchen to grab some last-minute supplies.
Since Ragatha brought snacks last week, it was her turn in the rotation. The kitchen was still the same bright monstrosity as before, just now with working appliances. While they were able to summon whatever they wanted in theory, it provided a sense of normalcy to be able to grab food like this. It also helped that Caine kept them well-stocked. Hoisting herself up onto the counter, she opened the red asymmetrical snack cabinet.
Crackers, popcorn, a box of packing peanuts…
While Caine was getting better at providing more human-appropriate meals and snacking options, he wasn’t perfect. Shrugging, she grabbed the popcorn, deciding that that was the safest bet. She remembered Ragatha mentioning a few weeks ago that it was one of her favorites from childhood.
Rushing to the new designated screening room, she opened the door to see that the others had already taken their seats on the couch. Caine was surveying the large screen in the front, yet he didn’t seem to be doing anything in particular. Suddenly, he whirred around.
“Pomni! Does this mean you all are ready to start?” He was practically buzzing with excitement.
Everyone turned their heads to look at her. She glanced down at her full hands. “I hope popcorn is okay with everyone.”
Ragatha smiled. “Of course, Pomni. I saved you a seat.”
She shuffled over to the couch. It was a little high for her. Pomni had to hoist herself up to the cushion in the middle as Ragatha scooted over. To her right sat Zooble and Gangle, attached by their metaphorical hips, and Kinger sat on the floor further down. The seating arrangements were the same since the first night, as all of them were satisfied with the current routine.
“So, who’s up first today?” Ragatha voiced.
“I think I’d like to see if the next chapter of Zoey’s comic is up, if that’s okay with you.” Zooble turned to Gangle. Pomni swore she could see her comedy mask emit a faint blush, if that was even possible.
“Sure.” She looked down towards her lap. “Zoey posted last week that the new chapter should be up by today.”
Kinger was the first to suggest that they should start doing this, or rather, he was the one who planted the idea in their heads. While they were initially all grateful that Caine gave them access to their macroversion’s social media accounts, it cracked open a dam that no one anticipated. Pomni wasn’t sure if it was fear of finding out more, or that none of it was real to begin with, that held them back. Eventually, Kinger voiced his disdain at not getting to see his daughters finish growing up at a random group meal.
Once that day was spoken of again, every single one of them would go on to mention, over time, curiosities, doubts, and wishes regarding their other half. While Pomni’s life didn’t seem to change that much from how she was living before, she couldn’t help but fantasize about the new friends her macroself had made. At first, the guilt sat in her head, knowing that some of the others, like Gangle and Zooble, had macroversions living out much larger dreams.
However, it was hard to stop that train of thought once it was there. The idea was not necessarily what she could be doing, but rather, what another version of her was up to. While it was a lot to process at first, Pomni grew to be content with the version of her that was living another life. Despite sharing the same past, they truly were different people now, and she chose to view them as such. That didn’t really change the fact that she was nosy, though.
About one month had passed after Caine’s return before someone finally spoke up. Things were just starting to feel normal as some semblance of a routine began to form far from the daily adventures of the past.
Caine never brought up that screen in front of the stage again, and they were too scared to ask. She remembered being with Ragatha and Gangle that day, playing a knockoff version of Uno.
“Do you ever think about your macroselves?” Gangle placed down a blue reverse card.
“Occasionally.” What else was there to say? Pomni placed down a blue seven.
“I’m glad she got around to publishing that web comic, but I can’t help but want to read it.” She watched as Ragatha half studied her hand and half directed her attention towards Gangle. “The ideas were still mine.”
“We should read it!” A fourth voice made their entire trio jump. Ragatha’s knees hit the table, causing cards to fly everywhere.
“Caine!” Ragatha placed both hands on the table, her cards now discarded on the tabletop. “We didn’t know you were here.”
He drummed his fingers, now sitting in a chair he conjured up out of nowhere. “I’m around! We can all read Gangle’s—I mean, Zoey’s drawing-thing tonight. How does that sound?”
The three of them just stared at the ringmaster, eyes wide.
Ragatha broke the silence. “You mean, you’ll let us access the internet again?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He leaned over the table, confusion laced in his voice. “I did say I would open the worlds.”
She noticed Gangle starting to speak, then promptly going back to just staring. Pomni cleared her throat. “I think we all thought that was just a one-time thing.”
Letting out a boisterous laugh, Caine placed his hands on his hips. “I can access it at any time, and I don’t see any issue with letting you humans have a look into the macroverse. I was honestly surprised when none of you asked me to look again.”
“Oh…” Gangle managed to get out timidly.
“Mandatory group bonding tonight!” He rubbed his hands together. “INTERACTIVE INTERNET SURFING SPECTACULAR. How’s that?”
“Sounds great!” stuttered Ragatha. None of them bothered to comment on the name.
Before any of them could add anything, Caine disappeared out of thin air. At this point, they were used to Caine getting carried away with whatever wants and desires they had, happy to keep busy with new ways to entertain them. He was more understanding than he used to be, but it was still hard to steer him away from old habits.
“Should we be worried?” asked Gangle.
“Well, there’s nothing he can do besides show us, right?” Ragatha assured.
“I guess we’ll have to see. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”
That brought Pomni and the others to the present. The first night went better than any of them could have hoped: they actually did exactly what Caine said they would do. What started with Zoey’s comic quickly turned into Kinger wanting to check up on his kids and Zooble curious to see how Riley’s bar was doing. Honestly, while obviously curious about her macroself, she was just as happy to see what her friends were up to. Her real friends.
Hours had passed by the time they were finally finished with everyone’s requests. While Caine offered to let them have access whenever they wanted, no one seemed to like the idea. Pomni was worried it would deter them from the fact that they were their own person.
As a middle ground, Caine enthusiastically suggested that they turn this into a weekly event, where they could all gather in the newly constructed media room that he had conjured just for this night. Gangle seemed particularly fond of this idea, seeming to have the most attachment to her macroself over anyone else in the circus.
Pomni wouldn’t consider web comics to be her thing, but the story Zoey constructed slowly started to grow on her as the group kept up with every new post. What started as the two main characters bantering at work in their initial reading had slowly developed into a multi-character and multi-plotline story, with the characters navigating their new relationship over the last few months. The group finished their flip through of the latest chapter, mostly in silence as they took everything in.
“You mentioned miscommunication arcs being popular, but I don’t know if I can take this much longer.” Zooble joked.
“You can’t fault Zoey for going with the next logical step. Since Priya and Josie finally started dating, you need other ways to introduce conflict to drive the story along.” Gangle touched her mask. “I would have done the same thing in Zoey’s position.”
Priya and Josie were the two protagonists of Zoey’s web comic Love-to-GoGo. The general story followed two characters who worked at the same generic fast-food joint, where, of course, they fell in love over time. It lacked the action of Pomni’s typical taste, but she found herself gaining more interest in the characters over time. While their weekly meetups were for everyone, reading Zoey’s comic was always a must whenever a new chapter released.
“Who wants to go next?” Ragatha spoke up, stepping off the couch and scooting towards the screen. After they decided to make this a weekly event, Caine conjured a mouse and a keyboard, which allowed them to control the screen themselves. More for their sake, the keyboard and mouse obviously didn’t connect to anything. It functioned exactly like a computer would in the macroverse, though.
That was another thing that took some getting used to. It was Ragatha’s idea initially. She requested that everyone stop referring to the macroverse as the real world. After all, they were all real. So, they embraced Caine’s already existing terminology. It’s not like they had any other ideas.
Soon, that expanded to macroself in an effort to separate themselves from their macroverse counterparts. Still, Pomni could tell some had a harder time doing so than others.
“Pomni? I don’t think we checked up on Abigail in three weeks.”
“What? Oh, um… sure.”
Pomni was confident in her ability to separate herself from her macroself. After all, Abigail lived a completely separate life from her. Sure, she was still doing the same job she had in the past, but she clearly had built new relationships with people Pomni had never met. If she were being honest, she felt very little connection to the woman when stalking her socials. Obviously, they still had some things in common, and she was happy that her life seemed to be going well, but she just couldn’t shake the disconnect.
Compared to everyone, it seemed like she was the least attached to her macro-counterpart. Unable to put a finger on exactly why, it didn’t seem to particularly bother her. She liked checking up on Abi, but it didn’t feel like something she needed to do to stay sane.
“Oh! Pomni she posted on Instagram!” Ragatha glanced at her from behind, where she still sat on the floor with the mouse in her right hand.
Sure enough, Pomni looked up to see Abi’s face covering part of the screen. Well, half of Abi’s face. The first picture on the carousel featured a selfie Abi took with two of her friends. Only Abi’s eyes were visible as Taylor and Alex stood behind, one with their tongue out and one flashing a peace sign. They seemed to be at some sort of nightclub or bar, with the background too covered to deduce anything else.
The rest of the carousel was typical of Abi’s other posts. She mostly shared pictures of scenery, devoid of her actual self. A storefront, a photo of her cat, a deteriorating brick wall… all showing hints of her life, usually leaving Pomni to fill in the blanks. She was never the most online person outside of her failed YouTube channel, but Abi’s newfound socialness still rendered her mysterious.
At least some things never change, and this one was definitely for the better.
Ragatha clicked to the ninth and last photo, which pictured a green awning of a café along with a misty, busy street. She actually recognized the café as the one she would frequent on her commute to work, normally opting for an Americano. Another thing that would likely never change.
But she would never know; it was impossible to interpret anything from a simple snapshot. The caption of the post simply read ‘between moments.’ Whatever that meant.
“Oh! Someone commented.” Gangle gestured with one of her ribbons.
“Let’s look,” Ragatha spoke, quickly moving towards the icon.
“We really don’t need to—”
She quickly gave up all efforts as Ragatha beat her to it.
Abi was relatively private, and only close friends and family kept up with her on socials. The commenter was probably Taylor or Alex. She could already picture it: something ominous about whatever the story was behind the first photo on the carousel. More context would be nice, she supposed. Yet, she couldn’t care enough to peek at the screen until Zooble broke her train of thought.
“Who is that? That isn’t even a name.”
Huh?
Pomni didn’t recognize the user. “I have no idea.”
xpseudos3b._x: slide 9 looks awfully familiar
“A little cryptic,” Zooble added as Pomni struggled to elaborate.
Not wanting to be questioned further, she rolled her eyes. “Abi probably just made a new friend. I’m happy for her.”
Ragatha then clicked on the mysterious profile, not bothering to check with Pomni if that was okay. The account was private with no bio. A feeling close to curiosity began to form. The username was unfamiliar, and the account gave zero indication of an actual identity. The profile picture wasn’t even of a person, just a photo of a run-down bridge. Weird.
Her head was starting to hurt. Rather than sitting and pondering, she raised her head as far as possible and looked over the arm of the sofa. “Kinger? Do you want to catch up with Grant next?”
His eyes instantly brightened. “I’d like that.”