The Amazing Digital Spa Day

by Imposter_Syndrome

Summary:

Caine has recently stumbled across a new inspiration source for a wacky new adventure! An absolutely drama-inducing location sure to be stock full of the creepiest crawlies and sharktastic-est sharks!

"What qualities make a shark 'sharkier'?"

Not now Bubble, I'm giving a sensational overview to our readers about the mysterious DLC sure to get their hearts racing!

"You mean the spa content we found behind the door labeled spa content?"

...yes Bubble.

"Oh boy! Sounds... Foamy"

Would you just get out of here!?!

TLDR : The Circus citizens actually get a nice adventure while Jax is undergoing "dad therapy" from Caine (aka Caine just tries to play catch with Jax while talking about feelings)

Chapter 1

"So how do you guys eat without a mouth?" Pomni asked, looking back and forth between Kinger and Zooble.

The cast was currently hanging out in the familiar sitting area they tended to gravitate to between adventures. It was one of the few places in the circus tent that actually had normalish furniture, aside from their bedrooms. Pomni sat in one of the more rendered armchairs. Zooble, Gangle, and Ragatha sat on a long blue sofa with Zooble closest to Pomni. Jax, looking unbothered as usual, laid sideways across his armchair, legs stretching over the arm of the seat. Sat in the middle of the 'living room' space was a pillow igloo containing Kinger, who peaked out occasionally to participate in conversation. Zooble looked between the fort and Pomni, seeing if Kinger would respond first. After a brief second they sighed and answered.

"Well for me I kinda don't think too hard about it. I just hold food up to where I think my mouth is and eat. If I think too hard about it I kinda lose my appetite." Zooble explained, pointing to the location of their 'mouth'. Gangle gave an acknowledging "huh" and Pomni a polite nod before her eyes drifted over to the fort. Kinger's voice followed shortly after.

"Huh, maybe I've always thought about it too much. From a coding standpoint I think about eating as a command to be executed once parameters are met. Or I think of the code of the food being downloaded and incorporated into my code." Kinger popped his head out of the fort to thoughtfully answer the question. He paused for a second before a worried look got in his eye. "But then I think about how much junk code is in our digital food and what that can do to my code. What if someone gave me an apple with a worm in it? It could crash the system and spread throughout our world!!" His hands came up and grasped the sides of his head in a panic. A centipede crawled out from the fort causing Ragatha to scream "Get it away, get it away!" while climbing up onto the back of the couch.

Jax gave a laugh. "Hey Kinger, let me know if you ever have a few extra of those laying around." Kinger's eyes locked onto the critter separately before they upturned in joy. "There you are ya little devil! We have a tea party to get back to!" Kinger removed his hands from his face and scooped up the chitinous creature before returning to the depths of his fort. A silence fell over the rest of the group. Ragatha was the first to speak up, finally stepping down off the couch.

"Well. That was quite the informative session. Thank you for your thoughtful answers! Oh, and thank you Pomni for asking!"

At that Zooble gave a nod of acknowledgement, still occasionally glancing at the fort as if also processing whatever it was that Kinger said. Pomni looked like she was also lost in thought before she blinked a couple times at her name being said. "Oh, uh, yeah no problem. It was just something I was thinking about."

"Snorefest! What's with all this kumbaya bull*honk*!" Jax stretched his arms out over his head in exasperation then readjusted to a sitting, more accusatory position. "Let's ask the real questions here! Ribbons? Are you actually a girl?" Jax sat forward with a shit eating grin. Gangle gave a shocked 'wha!!!' from her drawing pad before Zooble sat up with a new rage in their eyes. "What the *honk* is your problem!?" They said, anger simmering like a pot about to boil over.

"Easy Mx. Potato Head, I have my reasons alright! Think about it, we have two guys, three girls and one you."

"And I'm a what." Zooble glowered.

"You're non-binary. Or agender. Or you just don't like labels. All I know is you don't really give a *honk* about fitting in boxes and I don't really give a *honk* about you in general."

Pomni cut in. "Jax, why do you know so much about gender labels?"

"Cause I'm a performative feminist. Chicks love guys that know labels. And it means I can insult people more deliberately so it's a win-win. You're getting me off topic Pom-pom. Back to Ribbons and my theory. It doesn't make sense to have things uneven. Pomni and Ragatha are clearly women, me and Kinger are peak masculinity, and that leaves Zooble and Gangle. Both of you have replaceable parts, don't look particularly one way or another, and that's not to mention Gangle's whole thing with the Ragatha doll-"

"Jax!" Gangle cut in, leaping up with embarrassment and panic, mask blushing the same shade as her ribbons. Before anymore words could be said a certain ringmaster made a sudden appearance.

"It's time for an adventure!"

"Caine, can't you see we're in the middle of something!" Zooble said exasperated, halfway to strangling Jax.

"Yes Zooble, I can see you're in the middle of something. Stressing! I can tell all of you have been less than excited with my usual adventures and have been more and more upset lately. So I've been hard at work building something for you to enjoy. Something to get your blood pumping! Your mind racing!"

"Your guts churning"

"Bubble I swear to *honk*" Caine's hands balled into fists before pointing accusingly at the soap bubble pest. The sound of Jax being choked out was now the background noise, signifying Zooble had succeeded in their mission. Ragatha cleared her throat and spoke up. "So, uh, Caine. What adventure did you have in mind?"

"I'm glad you asked Ragatha! I appreciate your inquiry. Gold star for participation!" Caine snapped his fingers and a gold star appeared on Ragatha's dress like a badge. "So, I reached into the archives and painstakingly searched every file for something you humans seem to enjoy. Something to keep you guys... Less feral."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zooble bluntly asked, still shaking Jax.

"It means I'm built to ensure your happiness but not your temperaments! You are quite the lively bunch and IIIIII," He stretched the I syllable for a solid few seconds, a number of his all seeing eyes appearing as he held it. "Cannot deal with that constantly!" All the eyes turned and blinked at the group. "So!" In a moment they all vanished. "I found something in the depths of the circus sure to help you deal with this! Something that's supposed to be relaxing to you that I can spice up with some wacky hijinx. So whaddya think?"

The jester spoke. "Honestly, that doesn't sound all bad. We could all use a little time to relax and ease tensions." Gangle nodded in agreement, still quiet from their earlier conversation. Zooble finally pulled off of Jax, walking back to sit on the couch. "Before I say anything I want to know what this 'adventure' is." Caine blinked, almost surprised that Zooble didn't just dismiss this outright. "The adventure is 'Spa Day on the Mountain!' you will be trapped on a frigid summit in an all inclusive resort with only one exit! You must traverse each room, all holding terrors and challenges never heard of before. Bathtubs filled with mud! Torturers known as masseuses will place hot stones on you and pierce you with needles! Not to mention you will be blinded by cucumbers! Oh the humanity! My sources say that doing an adventure like this can be seen as relaxing but by golly I worry about your sanity after a horrific adventure like this."

Ragatha and Zooble shared a look before jumping at the opportunity. "But isn't that just a spa-" Ragatha quickly covered Pomni's mouth, causing the small jester to look at her with shock. "We're doing it" Zooble demanded, "when can we go."

Caine's jaw was on the floor. "You- you don't hate this adventure idea? No kicking and screaming? No disagreeing or anything?!" Caine asked incredulously, eyes wide as he stared at Zooble. "No. I actually want to do this adventure." Caine started crying. Full on tear streams. The floor of the circus started flooding with water, everyone now floating on their armchairs and sofas, Kinger's fort drifting away to reveal him still having a tea party with the centipede. Caine gave a couple more exaggerated wails before slowing his tears. Bubble brought a tissue over, which Caine used to dab at his eyes. "I just- It's just- I never thought I'd see the day!" He blew into the tissue comically before throwing it over his shoulder. "If you're all so excited then we can get going right away!"

"Hold on a second, what if I don't want to go on this adventure?" Jax said with his usual contrarian smugness. "Oh, I can take his place!" Kinger piped up.

"What?"

"That sounds perfect to me, let me know how the adventure is when you get back Zooble!" Caine placed the portal below those going to the adventure and pulled the plug on a drain that manifested on the circus floor. The remaining water from Caine's tears swirled the drain, lowering the floating furniture through the portal, save for one lonely recliner holding a certain purple rabbit.

"So, now that we're alone Jax we can finally have a one on one therapy session! I think we should start with a game of catch. I feel like you didn't have a strong father figure in your life."

"...what the *honk* just happened."

Chapter 2: Girl's Day Out

Summary:

A short chapter introducing the general start of the adventure.

Notes:

I plan to do at least 3 more chapters, likely more but they my not be super long. Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful day!

Pomni, Ragatha, Kinger, Zooble, and Gangle found themselves in the center of a spaciously luxurious room. It looked like the lobby of a very fine establishment, walls a mix of green and white inviting patterns, a leather sitting area facing a roaring fireplace, and the few windows scattered around the area showed a heavy snowstorm roaring outside. An antler chandelier hung overhead and a thick rug blanketed hardwood floors. The scent of eucalyptus drifted through the air. Overall, this place looked like a mix between a health clinic, a log cabin, and something nostalgic.

Ragatha realized she was still covering Pomni's mouth, pulling back immediately like she'd been shocked. "Sorry Pomni! I just- I didn't know if Caine would change the adventure if he knew it wasn't torture." Her hands fidgeted, hovering as if she couldn't decide between reaching out to Pomni or keeping to herself. Pomni rubbed her jaw and looked back up to Ragatha. "Hey, no worries. Just, maybe give me a little heads up next time." Pomni gave a smile and a hesitant punch to the shoulder. Ragatha seemed surprised at the playful slug, stiffening and sitting up straighter. "Yeah, yeah, of course!" Her non-button eye darted between Pomni and the reception desk at the head of the room.

This time Gangle spoke up. "There must've been something you were really wanting from the spa day, um, if that's not too rude to say." Zooble put a reassuring hand on Gangle's shoulder, just another way to reassure her that she is safe.

"Oh, uh, yeah I guess you could say that. It's just, it's been a while since I've gotten a spa day. It used to be the one thing me and my mom could do without her being... Well, enough about that. I honestly just want a nice mud mask and pore cleanse! Or as close to it as I can get." She looked to the side in embarrassment. Gangle spoke up again. "I honestly never had a spa day before. Or a girls night out. In my free time I mostly just stayed inside and watched anime. Do you think this could call this adventure 'A Girl's Day Out'? Ah! If it's ok with you and Kinger! We don't have to call it a girl's day!" Gangle quickly amended herself after remembering Zooble and Kinger were there.

"It's fine! A girl's day is about the vibe. As long as I don't kill the mood I'm happy to be part of it." Zooble shrugged, looking a bit happy at Gangle's excitement for a girl's day and her care for their comfort. Kinger finally looked away from a green and white butterfly mural on one of the walls.

"I think a girl's day is a great idea! I love it!" Kinger's hand did a swooping motion before stopping clenched in front of his chest. He then looked confused at himself as he continued. "Though, I might not fit in the best."

Zooble looked down at themselves with an idea in mind. They pulled off their chest accessory they tried for the day, a purple bow, and gave it to Kinger. "Here, now you fit in." Kinger held the bow in his hands before placing it atop his head like a hat. He walked over to a glass coffee table and looked down to see his reflection.

"I'm gorgeous."

Gangle and Ragatha giggled while Pomni helped him fix it (it was a little lopsided, Kinger sat down on the nearby leather couch so Pomni could properly reach). "You look great Kinger, I mean it." Pomni said after straightening it up. "Well I'd hope so. I wouldn't want to look a mess at the slumber party!" He said with upturned eyes and a flick of the hand.

Zooble had walked up to the reception desk manned by a mannequin with a funky hat™. It spun on its heels to greet the guests face to face.

"Welcome to Wooly Mountain Lodge! Your dome away from home. And no that wasn't a typo! As you can see in this picture we are inside of a giant snow globe." Funky Hat™ turned to point at a picture of themselves pointing at a snow globe. "But don't spoil the twist to the guests!" Zooble glanced back and forth in sheer confusion. "Uh, yeah, I won't." "Gotta pinky promise!" FH™ stuck their pinky out. Zooble's eye twitched but they relented, sighing and sticking their pinky out as well. F™H seemed pleased at that and continued the spiel. "As you can see, you are all trapped here until you find the exit. In order to find the exit, you must wander these halls looking for the door that leads outside. But be warned! Open the wrong door and you will have to endure-"

"Yeah, yeah, got it. No time limit?" Zooble cut to the chase.

"Just your sanity and willpower!" Funky™ Hat™ replied, giving an ominous wave of their fingers. Zooble just turned and walked back to the group, the newest circus resident already looking a little caught in her own thoughts.

"Ok, so to leave we need to find the exit. So if we don't find the exit we are stuck here. We just have to find the exit eventually. This is just just a fun temporary thing. We will find the exit." Pomni started talking to herself, something clearly bubbling on her subconscious. "We already can't find the exit to the circus so I don't want-"

"Pomni!" Ragatha gave her a polite shake. "It's ok. Look." Pomni followed Ragatha's finger to the signs just outside the doors and hallways. All of the halls and doors were labeled. In fact, the exit was right behind them as they were literally standing in the lobby of this resort. They could leave anytime. Ragatha had Pomni lock eyes with her. "It's ok. We're ok. We can take as long as we need. We're ok." Pomni held the hand Ragatha put on her shoulder. "Thank you." Ragatha looked down at Pomni holding her hand and blinked once in surprise before nodding."Yeah, of course! Let's maybe find the room where they're doing facials. We could use a good mud mask. Kinger? Do you want to join?"

"I'd love to! I wonder if they'll let me take some of their cucumber slices for tea sandwiches?" Kinger pondered aloud, already wandering deeper into the resort.

Ragatha, Pomni, and Kinger went down the hallway that read spa treatments (the other hallway reading rest areas), the shortest of the trio already seeming calmer. That left Zooble and Gangle in the main lobby.

"So... Wanna sit in the hot springs for a little bit?" Zooble asked the masked figure next to them. Gangle, blushed for the second time that day but didn't try to hide this time. Her comedy mask being unbroken gave her a bit more confidence. It gave her enough confidence. "That sounds wonderful Zooble. Let's go." The two set off towards the spa area as well.

Chapter 3: The Horror of Mud Masks - Pomni, Ragatha, and Kinger

Ragatha strolled down the hallway getting more and more giddy with each passing sign. "Deep tissue massage?! Hot stone massage!? Swedish massage!? They have so many different types of massages alone! It's going to be tough to choose." She rested her chin in her hands while walking, anguished by the thought of missing other choices. Kinger and Pomni followed her lead down the hallway both of them trusting her judgement on spa treatments. Kinger piped up with slight relief in his voice. "Well at least we can eliminate Swedish massage from the list. I'm not swedish so I can't go! Though I have been to 'nam." He squinted his eyes as if thinking really hard. Pomni and Ragatha both snapped to Kinger in attention.

"You went to Vietnam!?"

"I went to Vietnam?!"

Kinger blinked twice before just staring off into space. Pomni and Ragatha just looked at each other then back to Kinger. "Well, alright then." Ragatha commented slowly turning back to look at rooms. "More reason why we need a spa day."

It was only a few more rooms before they found the facial section. Ragatha was practically beaming. "Pomni look! They have cucumber masks, mud masks, clay masks, electrical pore cleaning, chemical peels, platelet creams, goodness this list is endless!" There were stars in her eyes. Well, ones in her normal eye. The gold star she earned earlier floated up to her button eye to make it match. "Pomni, what do you think? What room do you want to try?"

Pomni's head was swirling from all the choices, many of which Pomni had barely heard of. "Platelet huh? Electrical what? If it's ok with you Ragatha I might stick with something a little simpler."

"Yeah, that's fine Pomni! In that case maybe just a normal facial, a clay mask and a face massage? Does that sound good to both of you?"

Pomni gave a thumbs up. "That sounds perfect to me." Kinger didn't say anything but he did walk through the door with that label. Another mannequin behind a desk greeted them inside.

"Welcome! What torture will you be participating in today? We have slugs, bloodletting, mud-" Kinger interrupted the mannequin by slamming his hands on the desk. He held a steely look in his eye as he raised his finger like a well seasoned 'Karen'.

"Listen here! We are going to be getting whatever they- *points to Ragatha and Pomni* want! And we aren't leaving here without it!"

Pomni whispered to Ragatha "Why did he say 'astrick' out loud when describing his actions?" before Ragatha spoke up. "Yes, we'd like a skincare package for 3. Includes regular skincare routine, clay mask, and face massage."

"You heard the young lady! We are going to have all that face stuff done in a thirty minute appointment!" Kinger demanded. The mannequin argued back.

"Two hours!"

"Forty minutes!"

"One and a half hours!"

"One hour and I get one of the cucumbers you have in the back!"

"Deal!"

The two shook hands as a well dressed masseuse mannequin guided them back. "Sorry I couldn't get it shorter but that guy was a tough negotiator!" "It's ok Kinger, in fact, an hour is perfect! We'll have plenty of time to get everything done." Ragatha patted Kinger on the hand, lifting his mood from his "failed negotiation".

They were led to a back room that had cool lighting and an assortment of different bottle on the back countertop. There were three spa tables that had an attendant at each one. Each attendant had a towel with their corresponding guest they were tending to. None of the attendants spoke but they did guide each of them to take a seat at their table. Kinger laid down at the table closest to the door, Ragatha took the table by the wall, and Pomni took the table in the middle. A spark went off in Pomni's head as she turned towards Ragatha.

"Wait. You wanted a mud mask, not a clay one." She searched Ragatha's face for an answer. "Why did you just get a clay one? Aren't they, you know, different? Or are they the same? It's been a while since I've been to a spa." She leaned back on the table as one of the mannequins started applying some tropical facial scrub.

Ragatha looked over, looking surprisingly shocked that Pomni brought that up. "Well, um, ah, yeah they are different. At least they were at the places I went. But you wanted something simple and I figured a clay mask is much simpler and easier to explain than a mud mask."

The mannequin turned to grab a steamed towel for Pomni giving her some time to respond. "Isn't it just, you know, mud?"

Ragatha answered back, arms sort of working out motions of what she was trying to talk about and her own lotion starting to be applied. "There are some subtle differences mostly dealing with the type of material used, with mud usually being sourced from-" the mannequin working on her wrapped a steamed towel around Ragatha head like a mummy. Ragatha didn't seem to notice, too wrapped up in her now muffled explanation of mud vs clay. Even though Pomni couldn't hear her she could tell Ragatha held a great deal of enthusiasm about the topic, her voice comforting as Pomni enjoyed her own face steaming. After about ten minutes of mumbled words and pore opening, the towels came off.

"-so that's why some people started using apple cider in their homemade clay masks but because my skin was always more dry than greasy I always preferred mud over clay." Ragatha wrapped up. *Record scratch, freeze frame, run publicapologyandinforationalpanel.exe [pun approved and licensed under the TADC brand, C&A studios will not be held liable for improper use or injuries in an attempt to recreate this pun. Viewer Discretion isn't advised but highly appreciated, side effects of hearing this pun include nose drainage, sweaty socks, and a sudden urge to address any elephants in the room]*

Both women watched the backwards letters above them roll like a Star Wars opening sharing a confused look.

"Why did a content warning pop up for me finishing my rant on mud vs clay?"

"I don't know." Pomni gave one final glance over to Ragatha before continuing with the point. "Anyways, it sounds like you're super passionate about this and you know your stuff. So that brings me back to my point of why are you getting clay. We don't have to get the same thing." Pomni gave her a warm smile of reassurance. Ragatha felt like she was caught in the open, a little more seen than she'd like, especially in front of Pomni of all people.

"I dunno. It's just, it was easiest. I don't really want to ruffle any feathers by switching something up last minute. And besides, at the end of the day it's not really that big of a deal. What I want isn't really something I'll die without. This adventure is supposed to be torture anyways so I don't think I really have room to complain." Her eyes never met back up with the jester. Pomni frowned at her words and reached out.

"What you want does matter. It's not small or silly to want something specific to make you happy. You don't have to make your opinions and thoughts smaller just to make us happy. You're allowed to want nice things without feeling like you're, I don't know, being too much. This could be our only chance to just enjoy an adventure, you should do whatever it is that you want to do." Pomni asserted, looking at the mannequins walking over to prep the masks now. Ragatha was still avoiding eye contact, now for a different reason. Her non-button eye was glassier than it had been and her mouth was trembling. She swallowed thickly before speaking up again.

"I'd... I'd like a mud mask please." Her voice trembled with the weight of a conversation that was not just about spa treatments preferences. She felt a hand hold hers, a smaller gloved hand that gave a few squeezes. The mannequins returned with two separate bowls, one for each preference. She gave a sniffle, choosing her last words to say before the mask was applied. "Sorry Kinger, this must be a little uncomfortable for you to sit through."

Kinger, who was being treated this whole time, looked over across the two of them. "It's no worries Ragatha! I thought your explanation of masks was really compelling. You remind me of someone who I know would also be so proud of you." Ragatha cried silent tears at those words leaving a watery trail down her cheeks to where her ear canals would be. Pomni felt better after having that heart to heart with the doll, smiling as everyone got the correct masks they desired. She glanced over at Kinger for the first time, figuring he'd be enjoying the clay he "paid" for. She was slightly shocked to see his face and bow covered in cucumber slices. Kinger used one of his hands to remove an eye and floated it around his face to see if it was suitably covered. He pointed to a piece of uncovered bow fabric with his other hand. "Missed a spot." He stated, not relaxing until the last cucumber slice had finally been placed.