Chapter Text
Gummigoo followed behind Pomni in an uncertain stride, eyes fixed on the shimmering portal to his new life. He had no idea what to expect from this Circus. It was terrifying to think that he was leaving behind the only life he ever knew. Almost as terrifying as the realization that that life didn’t matter in the slightest. So, then, what were the consequences of him leaving? Would his friends remember him at all? Would he be replaced by the chilling duplicate of him that he had found in that cold, black space? Would they cease to exist as soon as he left?
Nope! He’d had enough of thinking about questions like those for one day. It was already starting to make him sick.
Suddenly, Pomni stopped him. She was trying to tell him something. Gummigoo leaned in to listen to her. It was a welcome distraction from the maddening dread and the questions that got worse the longer he thought about it.
“I’ve been thinking, Gummi,” she whispered. “I don’t know how Caine would feel about an NPC like you joining the Circus.”
“Oh.” His heart fluttered. “What do you mean?”
“Well!” she continued, flustered. “Not that any of us feel that way! But…Caine is used to hosting humans. I don't know if this is…exactly allowed…So could you just, um…maybe stay behind me, and not talk too much until we sort that out? I’m sure he’d let you stay if you explained yourself.”
“Huh.” He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Was it really safe for him there, if Pomni thought they had to be that careful? Why did she feel the need to bring that up? “Okay,” he said to her, unsure.
“Hey.” She reached over to grip his arm, smiling warmly. “It’s gonna be okay.” She seemed so earnest that Gummigoo decided to believe her. He wanted to trust what she was saying, and to be her friend. After his world was shattered, she was the only one to offer some sense of stability to his life.
“Hurry it up, nerds! Let’s get going!” A pair of hands shoved Gummi from behind, sending him toppling through the portal. After struggling to get his bearings, Gummigoo looked up to the new environment awaiting him.
The Circus was utterly unlike anything in the Candy Canyon, although Gummigoo supposed that was to be expected. The only similarity was the bright colors that defined both. It…wasn’t too bad, really. Perhaps it was a little…sparse, but he could get used to living here. He looked to the others, but they had their eyes on something else. Some one else.
A man floated in the air, sharply dressed and with a head made up of a large set of jaws. He knew intrinsically that this was the Caine that Pomni had mentioned. Gummigoo recognized him. Anyone from the Candy Canyon could. This was the man they revered as God.
He must have created me, he realized. Me, and everything I know. That was horrifying to think about. But Pomni and the others weren’t like him. They were from “somewhere else”. What role, then, did this god serve for them?
Pomni tugged on his arm, urging him to stay near the back of the pack. Hat in hand, Gummi followed suit.
“Welcome back, my superstars!” The god’s voice boomed. “How was your adventure?” Gummigoo tried not to say a word, trying to make himself as small as possible.
“Well…” Pomni took a sheepish step forward. “There’s something we need to tell you about. You see, I–”
“Wait one second.” Caine raised a hand to his bottom jaw, mismatched eyes narrowed as he looked over the group before him. Muttering to himself, he pointed to each of them, eyes suddenly widening when he got to Gummigoo. “Wait one second!” he shouted, shooting up like a rocket with the interjection. There was a dreadful moment of silence.
“The count’s off,” Caine said simply. “I’m pretty sure only five humans went to the Candy Canyon. That’s right! Last I updated my server data, there were six humans, so excluding Zooble, that’s five. Now–” He paused to count them again. “There are six of you!” Slowly, he lowered to the ground to be level with the group, his body not moving at all as he did. “What’s going on here?”
Everyone glanced at each other in silence. No one seemed to want to give Gummigoo away, which was a relief. No one, that is, except for the tall purple one, who grinned at him menacingly with yellow teeth.
Caine began to pace back and forth on the air, his arms folded behind his back. “So the count is wrong. This means two things. Er, one of two things. You know what I mean. Either there’s a new human in the Circus…”
With a sudden sharp motion, he pointed his walking stick aggressively at the group. “Or one of you sneaky rascals brought in an NPC and didn’t tell me!!”
Pomni visibly gulped. They were being put on the spot, but still nobody spoke up. Gummigoo appreciated it, especially since he was becoming more and more concerned about what Caine would do to him once he was discovered.
The purple one slinked to Caine, a devious look in his eyes. “Well, Caine, why dontcha use those all-seeing eyes of yours? Is there anyone who looks…y’know, new? Out of place?” Oh, god, what was he doing?
Caine moved up to be even closer to the circus members, with the hidden Gummigoo standing right in the middle of it. Standing still as a statue, Gummi tried his best not to hyperventilate. It was difficult. The horror that had rocked him not an hour before was still fresh in his mind, like he was still trapped in a nightmare. So he was not handling this added stress very well. In a subtle movement, Pomni’s hand slid over to his and squeezed it tightly.
The circus god’s eyes passed over each of them, as if examining every detail. All the while, the thought of what would happen if he got caught circled Gummigoo’s mind over and over, until it was the only thing on it. He was full-on panicking now.
“Aha! Found it!” Caine snapped up, causing Gummi and everyone else to flinch. His heart dropped in cold horror. Something utterly horrible was about to happen. He had never been more sure of a fact in his life.
The god snapped his fingers, and with a POP! of confetti, Pomni was gone.
No one screamed or made a sound. Everyone simply stared at the spot where Pomni was no longer there. Even the purple asshole was in shock. After a moment, the ribbon-like one threw up on the floor. Gummi would have thrown up, too, if he didn’t feel so numb. As if everything had been drained out of him. A single colorful streamer found itself hanging from his shoulder. He picked it up and stared at it idly.
Caine was completely unbothered. “Well, that’s that!” He brushed his hands together. “No more bringing NPCs into the Circus, everyone! Now you are all free to retreat to your rooms. You earned your rest for doing such a good job helping the kingdom!” He patted each one on the head, but none gave the impression that they had heard him. Then with a cartoony sound effect, he zipped off.
“S-S-S-So…” One of them said, pushing back her red licorice-like hair. It seemed to be all she could say. “That was…” The one who had thrown up was sobbing now, fat tears dripping down her face in a catastrophic rhythm.
“Something else.” The tall purple one interrupted her. “How’s it feel to not get the other end of that?” he asked, patting Gummigoo’s shoulder condescendingly. Gummigoo said nothing. Then he turned tail and walked away, hands on his head like it didn’t concern him at all. “Well, see you guys later. I’m not sticking around to deal with the…” He pointed at the NPC frozen in horror. “That.”
“How did this happen…” The crying one blubbered. She was now in hysterics. Another taller circus member with a crown-shaped head seemed to be zoning out, his eyes moving slowly away from his face. Meanwhile a strange spell seemed to fall over the other girl. Her face shifted, and she turned her eyes from the pile of confetti in front of her to her distressed friends.
“Guys…” she began, her voice shaky. “I know this is really, really bad. But we still need to support each other through this, right?. And Gummigoo…” She placed a hand on his shoulder, although it still didn’t snap him out of his shock. “I’m glad that you made it here. E-Even if Pomni…” She choked back a sob.
The crowned one suddenly jerked out of his dissociation, pointing at a spot on the ground. “Is that a ladybug?!” he shouted in a volume that clashed with the rest of the conversation.
Nestled among the confetti and streamers that lay like dead leaves was a small object that glitched and jittered slightly against the ground. Slowly, Gummigoo reached over and lifted the object to him. It was a tiny button-like thing in the shape of a disk, made up of alternating red and blue triangles. He realized he had seen this shape before: Pomni’s eyes. His hand shook as he silently held the tiny thing up for his companions to see.
“O-Oh my god.” The ribbon one had stopped crying and stared at the thing in horror. “Is that–”
“–Pomni.” The other girl finished. “It’s Pomni.”
“A little piece of her, anyway,” the king added, running his finger gently across it. They all didn’t say much after that. Gummi held Pomni’s pupil up against him, his chest heaving with long, shaky breaths. It seemed strange to grieve over someone he had only just met, but that was exactly what he was doing. What else could he do?
“Um, Gummigoo?” The red-haired woman placed a hand on his shoulder. “I can show you to your room now. That is to say…I guess you’re taking Pomni’s room now.” She made a small, nervous chuckle that died immediately. “And as for…that…” She gestured at the piece of Pomni he was holding. You can keep that. Okay?” He nodded.
“Hey. We’re going to make sure that you’re safe here. No matter what.”
Gummi nodded. “Thanks for that.” She took his hand and led him to a different hall of the circus. This was a long hallway of doors with faces emblazoned on each of them. Many of these he recognized from Pomni’s crew, but a few he didn’t know had their faces crossed out. He shuddered to imagine what happened to them . Was it just as horrible as what happened to Pomni?
Eventually they reached a door with the jester girl’s face on it. The sight of her face…Only a few minutes ago she had been here. Now all he had left of her was the tiny button of her eye.
“It’s Ragatha, by the way.”
“What?” He turned back to the girl standing behind him.
“My name.” She smiled shyly. “It’s…nice to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances.”
“Um…” He tipped his hat slowly. “Same to you.”
“Good night. We can talk more tomorrow, okay?” She waved, then turned and walked to the room with her own face on it, leaving Gummigoo standing in front of Pomni’s door. He took a deep breath and opened it carefully, as if he was afraid of disturbing her.
Pomni’s room was made up of similar reds and blues, adorned with elegant curtains and blocks that littered the floor. A four-poster bed was in one corner of the room. Gummigoo climbed up into it and lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling above. For the first time all day, he had time to think, and all the thoughts itching at the back of his mind were thrust to the surface. Everything he’d ever known had been a lie. He wasn’t a real person. And the only person who had given him the smallest sense of stability had exploded before his eyes. It was enough to make a bloke lose his mind. Give up, and retreat so far that the outside world completely disappears from view! So why wouldn’t he?
Well…Perhaps he felt a small ray of hope. Pomni wasn’t all gone, was she? He held a piece of her in his hands. Perhaps, if they found all the pieces…they could get her back. Yes, Gummi decided, resolute. Tomorrow he would begin searching for all the pieces of his friend.
Perhaps…things might end up okay after all. But not yet.