Chapter 1: Comfort?
Chapter Text
Neither Pomni nor Jax spoke to each other as they entered the entrance of the theatre. The tension in the air between them was thick as they walked side by side, keeping a distance from each other. Pomni had bumped into Ragatha and left, leaving Jax alone. Jax stopped his tracks and watched them walk away, forcing away the heavy guilt that sat in his chest.
It was for the best. He told himself, forcing a smile back to his face as he entered the theatre. His left hand trembled slightly. You’re being ridiculous.
It was no surprise to him when Pomni and Ragatha left an empty seat open for him in the theatre.
Still trying to care? He scoffed as he thought, rolling his eyes. The scoff felt unreal though. What a stupid woman.
Jax looked around to find an empty seat far away from Pomni and Ragatha and the rest of the cast. His all so egoistic and happy look faltered the moment he sat down. A frown spread across his face as he leaned into his left hand. Drowning in his thoughts, he barely registered Caine starting the favourite character award ceremony.
“You’re not the funny one!” Pomni had yelled angrily at him just now. God, it was entertaining to see her shout at him. It was even funnier when she attacked him. His frown deepened further, betraying his oh, all so happy thoughts. I’m glad I pushed her away. SHE should be the one that’s glad. His thoughts then trailed to the people who had abstracted in the circus. Kaufmo… Ribbi-
He felt his heart stop at the thought of the green frog. Unwanted memories flooded through his digital brain, overloading his aching heart if he had one.
“Whoopsies Jax!” They chuckled, and Jax could imagine Ribbit nudging him. “Remember what happened to me? If Pomni abstracts tomorrow EVERYONE’S going to blame you! It’s going to be all your fault again…” Jax flinched as if someone had hit him. He subconsciously started to bounce a paw on the ground. Jax would never admit it, but he regretted every single sentence of what he said to Pomni in the argument. As he reflected on his actions, his paw bounced up and down faster as tears threatened to flow from his eyes.
That’s it. Jax couldn’t take it anymore.
He stood up and ran to the toilet. Turning on the tap at the sink, he tried to let the sound of running water lull him to calmness. God, he really hated being so weak. He hated that he cared about what happened. To him, he’s not supposed to care about anything. His breathing raced faster and faster until he started to hyperventilate, causing his lungs to burn and the surroundings to blur. His head spun as everything felt too loud for him. He let out a whimper, slumping against the sink.
“Ragatha, I’m… Going to the toilet.” Pomni informed Ragatha and did not wait for her response before she pelted through the theatre to get to the toilet. Unfortunately for Jax, the moment he stood up and ran to the toilet, Pomni had turned her head to check on him.
Pomni knew that he didn’t mean any of the words that he said just now. It was just a desperate attempt to push her away.
Pomni was a persistent woman after all.
The moment that she stepped into the toilet, Jax was curled up into a fetus position, back pressed against the wall and hiding his face in his knees. His breath was fast and he was trembling. Pomni, without thought, hurried to his side and gave him a firm hug from the side. To her surprise, Jax uncurled his body and leaned into her shoulder, letting a muffled cry escape his chest as he clawed at Pomni’s back harder.
“There there…” Pomni murmured, ruffling the fur in his back softly as he nuzzled into her neck, trembling in their embrace. It was when Pomni spoke that Jax stiffened. Immediately, he pushed her away and glared at her.
“What the F$#! are you doing?” Jax practically snarled at Pomni. Her pupils seemed to shrink under his angry gaze. “What part of stop looking out for me do you NOT understand? Did you forget about what happened just now?”
He paused, then added with an eyeroll. “Are you here to fix me?”
“How could I forget?” Her voice was laced with pain, but it was firm. “You can show your human emotions like just now, there’s really no weakness or wrong in doing so… Trust me Jax, you’d feel better.”
“Why do you even care!” Jax raised his voice at her, holding back the urge to jump at her and punch her repeatedly. “How do you know what’s good for me or not?”
“I care for you because I can! I know that there’s human emotions behind that smile you always put up around the others. I know there is!”
There was an uncomfortable pause. It held on longer until Jax responded.
“You should really stop caring about some insensitive jerk like me.” He muttered, hating the way his voice quivered, tearing his gaze away from her.
When Pomni didn't respond, Jax stood up and stormed out of the toilet. Wow, what an amazing day. First, I pushed away someone that actually gave a damn about me again and now she sees me looking pathetic and weak… Pure rage seethed under his fur then guilt at what he had just done. It’s for the best. He reassured himself, although that for once, he didn’t believe himself.
He fucked up.
Massively.
Again.
Chapter 2: Corn fields and revenge
Summary:
Pomni adds an adventure to the suggestion box and Jax is now traumatised.
Chapter Text
“Ow-” Pomni grunted and fell as a broom flew into her face.
“Whoooops! Couldn't be me~” Jax taunted her as he ran away, letting out a loud wheeze in the process.
Pomni sat up from the ground and groaned. It had been a week since they came back from the favourite character award show. Since then, Jax had kept pestering her to the point that Jax had forgotten to break Gangle’s comedy mask. Pomni got onto her feet and walked forward to join the rest for breakfast, only to step on a banana peel and slip and end up on the ground again.
On the brighter side, she had managed to patch up the holes between Ragatha and her friendship. Ragatha had apologised and talked about her problems with her, and Pomni gladly listened to her and gave some constructive feedback to her as well. Ragatha was extremely grateful of course. If only Jax was like this… Pomni had thought.
It took her a gruelling extra 10 minutes to get to the rest of the group. Jax, of course, was up to his mischief as usual.
“Oh my!” He sneered, and Pomni responded with a twitch of an eye. “If it isn’t my pomcakes~”
“Jax, shut up.” Zooble sighed, shaking their head in annoyance and passed Gangle a pancake. “What the h&#$ is wrong with you?”
”Yeah!” Ragatha snapped, glaring reproachfully at him. “It’s good that you’ve stopped tormenting Gangle so frequently, but what’s going on between you and Pomni?”
Gangle said nothing, but looked at Jax nervously as she poked at her pancake. Kinger was talking to himself about bugs. Pomni, who had just gotten into her seat, said nothing. It kind of sucks that Pomni’s seat was next to Jax, because it became more accessible to prank her.
Before Jax could say or do anything, a familiar voice sounded from above, and out came Caine.
“Gooooooddddd MORNING MY LITTLE SUPERSTARS!” He exclaimed, his mood a little too cheerful for the tension between the cast members.
“In today’s adventure, I decided to do a suggestion box adventure!” Caine announced, and Bubble appeared behind him. “I hope the children in the audience scream at this one!”
Good. Pomni thought. I need this adventure.
“Bye.” Zooble said, leaving the table and heading towards a corridor. Unfortunately, Caine snapped his fingers and Zooble reappeared amongst the group.
“You guys will be working on a farm in teams!” Caine winked, and looked closer at the written words. “Ragatha and Kinger, you will be in charge of the farm animals!”
Upon hearing this, Ragatha’s eyes beamed. She most likely thought of the horses that she could care for in this adventure.
“Zooble and Gangle, you two will be in charge of managing the farm.” Caine announced, pointing at the two of them.
Zooble sighed and Gangle murmured, “I get to be manager again!”
Now, only Jax and Pomni remained. “Wow Pomni, I get to-”
“Jax and Pomni, you will be in charge of collecting corn and pomegranates from the field.” Caine spoke, interrupting the purple rabbit.
“What-” Jax started, his eyes widening, but before he could complete his sentence, a portal sucked them all into the adventure.
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The first thing that Jax saw was Pomni. Her red and blue colour scheme seemed to stand out in the many fields of… corn and pomegranates. To be specific, the corn fields were on his left and the pomegranates were on the right. His ears started to shake uncontrollably and the black squares in his eyes were so small that it seemed like it was going to drown in his yellow eyes.
“You think you could get away with torturing me for a week huh.” Pomni snickered evilly, flashing Jax a dirty look. Then she rolled her eyes. “Come on, help me pluck some corn off the plants while I go and get the pomegranates.”
Jax however, stood completely still. “Pomni,” he rasped. Pomni turned her head to look at him. Beads of sweat were trickling down his forehead.
“Why.”
Pomni turned her head back to the pomegranates and responded. “Because you need to get a taste of your own medicine. It's not fun to have pranks played on you almost every second.”
A moment of silence passed by them. Pomni had plucked out almost 20 pomegranates and was taking another bag to place a few more pomegranates inside. Jax was stuck in place, shutting his eyes and trembling.
“... I'm sorry Pomni.” He whispered, soft enough for only himself and her to hear. Pomni froze in her movements and turned her body.
“Do you mean it?” Pomni questioned him, her eyes narrowing into slits. It could be out of fear of the corn and pomegranates that made him apologize.
“I really mean it.” Jax muttered. He opened one eye and glanced at Pomni. Her gaze had softened and she looked slightly calmer now.
“I’m done with the pomegranates.” Pomni informed him, pointing at a wall. “You can sit there while I collect the rest of the corn.”
Jax approached the wall without hesitation and slumped against it, curling into a ball of purple fluff.
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On the other hand, Ragatha and Kinger were having the time of their lives.
“Woah! This horse certainly likes me!” She exclaimed, running her hand through the fur of the horses. It neighed contently back at her and nuzzled into her red yarn hair.
Meanwhile Kinger was in his own world, chasing butterflies and talking to bees.
“Man, Pomni sure suggested a good adventure!” Ragatha sighed happily, her smile never leaving her face. “We need more chillax adventures like this!”
She mounted onto the horse and rode the horse around the farm. It reminded her so much of her time when she was on earth; with all the horses she loved so much. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She felt the wind on her face as the horse picked up speed.
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It was now midday. Jax had trembled so much that his legs had become numb.
“Alright Jax, I'm done.” Pomni got up and wiped the sweat off her face. A few bags of corn and pomegranates lay scattered around her. Jax swore that if he stayed here any longer he was going to pass out.
Pomni heaved all the bags on her shoulder and offered a hand to Jax. He slapped her hand away. “I can get up by myself, thank you very much.”
Except that he couldn't.
His legs trembled so much he just flopped back down. “Uh yeah, maybe I can't.”
Pomni rolled her eyes and forcefully grabbed his arm with one hand and heaved him onto her right shoulder.
( Just imagine this )
“POMNI WHAT THE H$@#??” Jax practically screamed. Looks like he isn't the pinnacle of masculinity no more.
“Do you want me to leave you here?” Pomni deadpanned, glaring at Jax. He shook his head quickly. “Then stop complaining and let me do my job. Unless you want to walk through a field of corn by yourself.”
She snickered. “Heck, I could even throw you into a field of corn and leave you there for the rest of the day.”
Jax was completely at her mercy now. He just kept his mouth shut as Pomni walked into one of the corn fields. At first, he shut his eyes tight, but then felt safer if he opened them up and stared at every single corn that passed by them.
Then he took a glance at Pomni. She was sweating two times as much now. For a small sized woman, she was awfully strong.
Damn, that’s hot. Jax thought. Then his eyes widened.
Wait WHAT-?
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Meanwhile, Zooble and Gangle were leaning back on the office chairs they were on.
“We really don't need to do anything until the rest return to the office to report what they did that day and then check it?” Gangle questioned Zooble, her happy mask on and stared at them.
“Yep.” Zooble grinned with her eyes. A brief moment of silence passed by until Gangle questioned Zooble again.
“Hey Zooble.”
“Hm?”
Gangle paused, then nervously stammered, “W…what did you mean you wanted the ability to have s*x?”
Zooble turned their gaze and stared at Gangle. They scooted their chair closer to Gangle until they were inches apart from each other.
“I didn't know how to tell you this,” Zooble murmured, silent enough for only Gangle to hear. “But ever since the fast food adventure, you changed my outlook on you. We grew closer, and I've developed feelings for you.” Zooble quickly finished their sentence and went straight to the point. Their face had turned from deep pink to red.
“R… Really??” Gangle stammered, her face showing tiny blush lines. “If this is what you want, I'm willing to accept your confession.”
Zooble was suddenly the happiest person alive in the circus as they pulled Gangle into a tight hug and smooched her forehead. Gangle made some sort of anime squealing sound and hugged them back.
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“POMNI, COULD YOU WALK A LITTLE FASTER?” Jax screamed as some corn brushed against his leg.
“You’re really heavy you know!” Pomni countered back, her breath coming into gasps as she walked through the corn field in the sweltering heat.
“DON’T FAT-SHAME ME!” Jax howled with rage. He had readjusted his position so Pomni was now piggybacking him. He was scared enough to press his face into her shoulder. He was hating every second of this hell hole of an adventure.
Pomni was loving it though. She was enjoying seeing the fear in Jax’s eyes. He deserves it. Then, she looked over to see Jax pressed against her shoulder, his eyes so dilated that it took up most of the yellow.
That's actually kind of cute. She thought, shaking her head. Why must he be so difficult?
She then rethought her first thought.
WHAT-
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It was noon, and they finally reached the office. As Jax requested, Pomni let him off her shoulder. Jax stood up straight, his eyes still dilated.
“Pomni.”
“Yes?”
“If you tell anyone about this I swear I will play so many more pranks on you you'll end up abstracting.” The intensity of his gaze burned into Pomni.
“...Got it.”
They quickly entered the office and reported their work to Zooble and Gangle. Ragatha and Kinger were already waiting in the office.
“Wow Pomni, your suggestion was great! I had so much fun!” Ragatha gushed, running up to Pomni and hugging her. Pomni politely pushed her away and smiled back at her.
“...Thanks, me too!”
A portal appeared and they walked through it. They were back in the circus.
“Welcome back, my crawling carrot cows!” Caine cheered, welcoming back to the circus. No one responded to him.
The group watched Jax walk away, most likely back to his room.
“He didn't even break my comedy mask.” Gangle murmured once he was out of sight.
…
Meanwhile, Jax was seething as he stomped back to his room, opened the door and jumped face down onto his bed.
He let out a scream into his pillow, letting all his frustration out. He hated how he acted around Pomni just now. She had to see me pathetic not once, but TWICE!
He closed his eyes, and before he fell asleep, one last thought echoed in his head.
Why do I even care so much about what she thinks about me if she doesn't even matter to me at all?
Notes:
Feeding the Abstragedy fans first😌
Chapter 3: A ( peaceful ) talk
Summary:
Pomni and Jax talk things out at the lake. It goes surprisingly well.
Chapter Text
“We should suggest more adventures like that.” Ragatha chuckled as they returned to their rooms. “Good night Pomni!” She waved at Pomni as she entered her room. Pomni waved back at Ragatha. For a moment, Pomni’s gaze fell upon the room opposite hers.
Jax.
She shook her head aggressively. Pomni decided it was best not to think about it at the moment. She should really get some sleep, although in the circus you actually don't really need sleep. She flopped onto her bed, rolled her blanket around her and closed her eyes.
Instantly, her thoughts wandered over to what happened today. Her eyes snapped open in annoyance. Dammit.
She tossed and turned for about 30 minutes, still thinking about it. Wow, I must really care a lot if I can't stop thinking about him. She thought.
Another few minutes passed, and unfortunately, Pomni was still lost in thought. She decided to get out of bed and go to the lake outside the circus to think properly. Pomni tended to be an overthinker after all.
Slowly but steadily, Pomni stepped out of her room. As she exited the circus, she could feel the cool, fresh night breeze caressing her face. Her hair fluttered in the gentle winds and she sighed happily.
She made a beeline for the lake and sat in the digital grass. It was surprisingly soft.
Instantly after sitting down, a wave of guilt flooded through Pomni. Maybe I went too far on today's adventure. She thought, her right hand fiddling with the overly soft grass. It’s not very fun to make a joke out of someone’s fears or insecurities.
But he tormented you for a whole week. He torments everyone. A silent thought screamed at her from the back of her mind.
The hand that was fiddling with the grass grabbed it and tore it harshly out of the digital ground.
The truth was; the memories from the gun adventure tormented her more than the full week of Jax’s ruthless pranks. She really trusted him enough to actually hug him. Did he forget that Pomni is touch averse?
“…I hate you.” Pomni growled, putting all her venom into those three words. The sounds of the night continued to sound the same; crickets chirping and a soft night breeze still remained. Nothing changed after she said that, and nothing will ever change. No one heard her.
“GOD D#@&IT!” She swore loudly into the night sky, tears flowing uncontrollably down her round eyes. Looking around, she stood up, picked up a rock and hurled it into the lake. It landed into the water with a rather soft plop for rock that was thrown with Pomni’s full strength.
Her breath quickened as she seethed, clouding the cold night air with each breath.
“Daisy, Daisy…”
Her voice was caught in her throat for a moment. There was a long pause before she continued the song.
”…Give me your answer do,”
Her mind played back all the times that Jax and her bonded. When Jax had told her to let loose and allow herself to go more berserk, when Jax and herself fought Kinger, when Jax and her sand Daisy bell together… She could go on. Then… The arguement. Pomni fell back down onto the ground and hugged her knees, letting out a loud sob. She felt her knees get damp with how much tears fell from her eyes.
Out of nowhere, a voice sounded.
“…I’m half crazy, all for the love of you…”
Pomni froze and slowly looked up, her vision blurred from her tears. A faint purple silhouette.
”…Jax?”
His name was uttered from her mouth with exhaustion.
“GOD Pomni, don’t you know that it’s me?” Jax answered to her, the sarcasm in his voice sounding forced and his eyes and ears looked too droopy and down.
“If you’re here to play another prank on me, please, now's not the time.” Pomni tore her gaze away from Jax’s and looked at her knees. She could feel more tears gathering in her eyes. Gosh what great luck, Pomni thought. Jax is literally the last person I need to see now!
“I already promised not to play any more pranks on you, did you forget?” Jax pointed out rather meanly, sitting next to her but keeping a distance. “I keep my promises.”
Jax turned his gaze to Pomni. “You can’t sleep?” He asked, letting his voice sound less cheerful and more tired.
“Why would you ask me that?” Pomni countered his question, furrowing her eyebrows. “We’re not even friends. You made that pretty clear a week or two ago. Why should I tell you?”
To Pomni's surprise, Jax looked taken aback by her rebuttal. “Maybe I care? I dunno.” He grumbled, looking away from Pomni and rolling his eyes about. He tried to make it look sarcastic but his raspy voice gave it away. “It’s stupid.”
A small glimmer of hope lit up in Pomni’s gaze, but quickly died away when Jax murmured. “Really, you should stop trying to give a damn about me.”
“Give me a reason why.” Pomni immediately asked him.
“Look at me, Pompom.” Jax scoffed, gesturing to himself dramatically. Pomni hesitantly looked at him. “I'm a messed up rabbit and am beyond any help now. What makes you think you can fix that by looking out for me?”
Pomni didn't answer him. It took her a while before she gave her answer. “I’m not forcing it upon you Jax. I’m not forcing you to open up or act cheerful or anything.” Pomni eventually said, then sighed softly. “When I say that I want to care for you, I’m offering myself as someone you can talk to if you need, not someone you have to talk to.”
When Jax didn’t respond, Pomni continued.
“You know, you’re the only one who doesn’t treat me like some child.” Now, words can’t stop flowing out of Pomni’s mouth now as she rambled on to Jax. “You’re not babying me like Ragatha always does. I’m literally 25 years old. I'm not saying that I hate Ragatha, I just dislike her when she does that. Sometimes your jokes are actually funny and I like listening to them. You treat me like a decent human being and not some kind of clown.”
stared at her wide eyed, the black in his eyes dilated.
“That’s why I want to care.” Pomni whispered wistfully. “I want to show my appreciation towards you in some way, and since I don’t know what other way to show it, I show it by caring and looking out for you.”
“…You know, you’re one weird one Pomster.” Jax muttered, flopping his body onto the ground. He looked into the sky and stared at the millions of stars in the sky. Pomni realised that his voice sounded relatively lighter.
“I didn’t expect you here, I thought I was the only one that couldn’t sleep.” He sighed. Jax would never admit that the reason why he was awake now was because Pomni was running marathons in his head. Never. Neither would Pomni admit that the reason why she was awake was because Jax was strutting around in her head rent free.
Pomni lay down together with him, scooting a little closer, but not close enough to be touching. Not another word was exchanged between them, but they were indeed enjoying each other’s time.
“Hey Pom, I-” Jax spoke, turning his head towards Pomni. He stopped when he realised that she had fallen asleep. Jax felt his heart do a weird flop in his chest as he stared at Pomni. Noticing that the wind had blown her hair everywhere, he proceeded to scoot over to push her hair back into place with his left hand.
He froze midway.
It took a few seconds for him to realise what he had just done. He sat up and looked at his hand.
“Who did that? Where did I get this idea from? When did my brain ask me to do that? Why did I do that? What did I just do? How-” Jax let a bunch of questions fall out of his mouth. I don’t even care about Pomni at all, so why did I… Jax hesitated in his thoughts.
What if I was trying not to care but I actually want to..?
“F@&$.” Jax muttered.
“F@$# F&#@ F@#&.”
Fuck, she wasn’t coming onto me. I was coming onto her.
He really didn't want this. Now, it was his turn to stand up, pick up a stone and hurl it into the lake. It made a significantly louder splash than Pomni’s.
“I actually f@&$ing hate this so much.” He grunted, clenching his fists and laying down again. He then thought about his old friends, Ribbit and Kaufmo. He knew what would happen to him if he got closer to anyone in the circus. They would just leave him again.
What if you mess up again and she actually abstracts? Everyone’s going to blame you again! His thoughts nagged at him once more. It’s worth a try, Pomni’s mind is quite stable. Plus, she enjoys your company. A thought popped out briefly from the back of his mind.
“Darn it Pom, I really don’t know what to do with you…” He sighed, looking at Pomni’s sleeping figure, then slapping his palm onto his face.
Notes:
Some funnybunny scenes are going to happen soon in the next few chapters >:P
( and yes, Jax is totally coming onto her mwahahahahahahahhaha )
Chapter 4: Caine, how is this a relaxing and chill adventure?
Summary:
The cast gets sent to a horror adventure this time. Jax seems to be acting… strange though.
Notes:
Chapters are going to get longer from here btw
Chapter Text
Pomni opened her eyes, waking up from a surprisingly refreshing deep sleep. Looking up, she realised that the sun was starting to rise. Next to her, a certain purple bunny let out soft snores, his body sprawled out across the grass like a starfish. She let out a satisfied grunt as she stretched and sat up, getting ready to go. However, she hesitated as she stared at Jax.
Should I wake him up? Or should I leave him here? Pomni contemplated. Although the second option was extremely tempting, she approached Jax and bent down, poking his arm.
“Jax? Jax!” Pomni poked him rapidly. “Wake up, we should head back to the circus now for breakfast!”
“Hnnn… Gimmeee 5 mor’ minutess.” Jax grumbled, still half asleep as he flopped to his left, facing away from Pomni.
Pomni rolled her eyes, then suddenly yelled. “JAX! YOU’RE TURNING INTO A COB OF CORN!”
“GAH-” Went Jax as he shot up from his sleep and scanned his body rapidly. “Pomni…” He groaned sleepily, waiting for the drowsy spell to wear off him. “That was kind of mean…”
“Okay okay I’m sorry.” Pomni hurriedly apologised. Hm, Pomni took note of Jax’s behaviour. He seems to be in a great mood today!
“You’re in a good mood today huh, considering that I didn’t get mauled to death for trying to wake you up.” Pomni joked, then stood up and walked towards the circus.
“Hey, I’m supposed to be the one making the jokes here!” Jax complained, standing up and following her
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”Pomni? You okay?” Ragatha called from outside Pomni’s room. Silence answered her question.
“She’s probably not in her room, Ragatha.” Zooble called as they exited their room, while Gangle followed her out. “Maybes she’s outside the circus? I’m not too sure.”
Ragatha sighed. She was worried about Pomni. First, Jax tormenting her, then her having sleepless nights… Ragatha shook her head helplessly as she followed Gangle and Zooble to the breakfast table. Kinger should probably be okay somewhere.
To everyone’s surprise, Pomni was already seated at the breakfast table, and Jax was there too. Ragatha frowned. She seemed… Contented, while Jax… she couldn’t read his expression. He was just staring at Pomni eating her waffle like she grew a unicorn horn out of her head, his eyes extremely dilated till the yellow in his eyes was almost gone. He didn’t even notice the rest of the circus member’s arrivals until Pomni looked up from her meal.
“Haif Ragaftfha!” She greeted her with a polite smile, her mouth full of waffles. Jax said nothing, he just stared at his empty plate in front of him instead of Pomni now. Hm… That’s weird.
The rest of them silently agreed that there was something wrong with Jax until he snapped out of his trance. “Ohhh waiiiittttt I forgot something~” He sneered playfully. He picked up his fork and hurled it at Gangle’s face. Her happy mask instantly falls apart as the fork hits her face.
“Jax you F#%@ING A&*!@LE!” Zooble cursed Jax, anger flaring in their eyes as they turned to comfort Gangle.
Ragatha was about to say something when Caine popped out of nowhere, together with Bubble.
“Goooooood MorNiNG My FLuffy FisH FinGErs!” Caine said enthusiastically. As usual, no one looked satisfied. Fortunately, Caine didn’t notice their looks of disdain.
He looked around at the cast and whipped out a notepad to read off, although his eyeballs were facing the wrong way.
“I’ve read your reviews about my previous few adventures, and since you’ve mentioned that you wanted more chill and relaxing adventures, I’ve decided to make one that is pleasing to y’all!” He announced, earning a few hopeful gazes from them.
The funny thing is that; no one wrote, told or gave Caine any reviews.
“Soooooo, maybe another horror maze adventure would be pleasing to you!”
”W H A T.” Zooble, Gangle and Pomni said in unison.
“Caine, that’s the OPPOSITE of chill and relaxing!” Zooble yelled frustratedly, stomping down on their foot so hard that her leg almost fell off.
“I designed the monster!” Bubble announced proudly.
Everyone groaned. Not only was there a monster, but it was the fact that Bubble designed it. It was going to be awful.
“Too bad.” Caine immediately answered Zooble. He snapped his fingers, and everyone was teleported into the adventure.
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The maze was made of flesh and bones. It towered over the cast, making them look tiny in comparison. Rain fell from the sky, making the ground gross and muddy.
The instructions for the game were written in blood on the muddy ground:
Escape the maze and don’t get killed by the Gluttonuss Burl. Multiple safe zones will be spawned around the maze and when you're in them, the Gluttonuss Burl cannot see you.
Praise Caine that he forgot to code in the smell of the flesh.
Ragatha looked slightly disturbed. Kinger looked as confused as ever. Zooble looked uneasy and Gangle trembled against them. Jax looked unfazed and Pomni looked like she was about to throw up. God, how much she hated horror.
“What on earth is a Gluttonuss Burl-” Gangle nervously questioned, but was cut off as a humongous burly gray hairy monster with a sharp toothy grin far too wide for its face stomped past. Warts covered its face and bone accessories hung all over his body. In his hand he wielded a massive axe that looked like it was thousands of kilograms.
“Oh… Ew…” Gangle’s face made wrinkle marks.
“Caine’s getting too good at making these adventures.” Ragatha complained.
“We should travel together.” Pomni suggested, earning nods from her friends.
Jax’s mouth suddenly showed his iconic grin. Pomni knew that that grin meant trouble from her past experiences. Grabbing Pomni by the ends of her jester hat, he yoinked her towards him, picked her up and slotted her sideways under his arm like she was some accessory.
“Jax-” Pomni started her sentence, but was then cut off by Jax saying:
“Bye suckers!”
And running out of the safe zone and into one of the maze paths.
Instantly, the Gluttonuss Burl chased after them.
“Jax, RUN FASTER!” Pomni screamed, pummeling his chest with her elbow as he laughed his ass off. The Gluttonuss Burl was catching up to them. Two lefts and a right, and they spotted a safe spot. Jax ran there, and once he set foot in the safe area, the monster stopped chasing them.
“What the H#$@!” Pomni snapped at Jax once he let her down. “We're supposed to stick together as a team!”
“We can be our own team!” He winked at her.
Pomni just stared at Jax. He's been acting funny ever since last night. Pomni realized. She wondered why.
“You okay..?” Pomni reached out a hand to him. Jax drew back a bit from her hand.
“Of course I'm fine.” He lied, keeping his smile on his face. Of course I wasn’t fine! Who would be fine after what happened like, yesterday night… Jax felt disturbed. He still didn't know why it was affecting him so much. I still don’t know why I picked up Pomni and ran, honestly.
“You want to talk it out?” Pomni asked him softly. Pomni knew Jax well enough that he was hiding everything under his smile.
“…Nah, I already said I'm fine.” He insisted.
Pomni didn't really know what to say. She didn't really say anything until Jax sighed. “Let’s get this adventure done quickly.”
“Uh, yeah!” Pomni agreed with him as they prepared to step out of the safe zone and run for their lives.
.
.
.
“RAGATHA!” Gangle screamed as she reached Zooble and Kinger, who was in a safe zone. The Gluttonuss Burl had slammed his heavy axe down, breaking the bridge that they were crossing. Ragatha’s scream faded quickly as she was consumed by the abyss.
“Don't worry, I'll get her!” Kinger reassured Zooble and Gangle.
“Kinger wait-” Zooble walked up to Kinger, but he had already jumped into the depths of the abyss, where Ragatha had fallen.
Shortly after, a message popped out above them.
“POMNI - ALIVE
JAX - ALIVE
ZOOBLE - ALIVE
GANGLE - ALIVE
RAGATHA - DEAD
KINGER - DEAD”
“Oh no…” Gangle whispered, her voice shaking.
.
.
.
Both Pomni and Jax were running down a corridor while the message appeared.
“Ragatha and Kinger are dead!” Pomni gasped for air. “You can die in adventures?” She asked Jax.
“Yeah!” Jax replied back to her, breathless from all the running. He then gave a brief description of the feeling. “You can feel the fear, the knowledge of not being able to breathe for a while and the sudden darkening of your vision. Later, you spawn back in your room, but you'll feel extremely weak.”
“Gee, that's kind of brutal.” Pomni shivered from the information. “Have you ever died before?” She asked as they took a left turn.
“Nope!” Jax grinned as he lied, looking at her. “I'm too experienced and handsome to die!”
They then suddenly stopped in their tracks.
“That's a dead end Jax…” Pomni sighed, slapping her palm onto her face.
“You’re stating the obvious! Trust me Pomkins, I knew it was going to be a dead end!” Jax snickered playfully, resting his elbow on her jester hat. “It's all part of the plan!”
“What plan?!?” Pomni panicked, raising her voice slightly as she nudged Jax off.
Before Jax could answer, the Gluttonuss Burl appeared before them.
“RUN!” Pomni screeched, grabbing Jax’s wrist and pulling him along as the axe missed them by an inch. Jax didn't need to be told twice as he ran alongside Pomni, wiggling his hand out of Pomni's grip.
They zigzagged multiple times, turning left and right randomly through the maze. The monster was approaching closer and closer to them at a rapid pace. At the same time, they saw the exit of the maze.
Pomni’s running speed was relatively slower than Jax’s due to her short limbs.
Jax ran for his life, not noticing that Pomni was not by his side anymore until he heard…
A shriek.
A shriek from Pomni.
A shriek so loud you didn't expect it to come from such a small sized woman.
It made his heart lurch so agonizingly.
He saw the monster tower over Pomni, casting a shadow over her. She was frozen stiff with fear, like a deer freezing at the sight of headlights.
“Pomni!” Jax screamed. Without thinking, he grabbed Pomni by her waist and picked her up as soon as the axe lifted over them. Before she could say anything, Jax told her urgently.
“Trust me this time, Poms.”
He then threw her towards the exit with all his might. Pomni bounced like a beach ball and rolled out of the exit while Jax…
As he tried to regain his balance and dash out of the maze, the axe slammed down onto him. Pomni watched the whole thing, her eyes wide. She flinched when the axe slammed onto Jax. The squishing of the blood sounded too real.
“Wha…” Pomni stammered, trembling. What just happened?
It was her first time seeing an actual death in an adventure. Oh boy. She didn't want to experience that.
It took her a moment to realize that Jax had just ‘saved’ her life. Jax isn't the type to do that though… Pomni frowned.
What's going on? Her mind wailed in confusion. Why did he do that?
.
.
.
“POMNI - ESCAPED
JAX - DEAD
ZOOBLE - ALIVE
GANGLE - ALIVE
RAGATHA - DEAD
KINGER - DEAD”
“Woah! Did Pomni like, get Jax killed off?” Gangle cheered as Zooble and her entered another safe zone. “Kudos to Pomni!”
“Yep, I guess so.” Zooble chuckled, giving Gangle’s cheek a little kiss. Gangle flushed crimson red.
“Let’s quickly escape this, then we’ll be able to cuddle later.” Gangle smiled excitedly. “Can we? In your room?”
“Of course.” Zooble nodded, taking Gangle’s hand into theirs. “Let’s make it out of this weird fleshy maze alive first.”
.
.
.
Pomni stood up, and felt her legs trembling.
She ran towards Jax’s room in an instant. To her surprise, his room door was open.
The first thing that Pomni saw when she busted into his room was the many keys hung all over his bedside table. Each key had a name labeled on it. A pink bow tie was also hung up on the wall, with an ‘R’ written on the label attached to it. His room had bluish-purple walls and a slightly lighted shade for the floor. Next to his bed was a brown hammock.
His bed was rather interesting. Pomni was rather intrigued by it. It was a large hole in the wall, and there were gratis brown pillows everywhere on the black mattress. There was a moss blanket folded up at the end of the bed. For a purple rabbit, his room was not only the most surprising one due to the fact that it didn’t really match Jax’s colour palette, but also the most aesthetically appealing one.
Similar to a rabbit’s den. Pomni almost giggled until she spotted Jax on his bed. He was curled up on the bed, shivering.
“Aww look… You’re crying.” Pomni cooed, approaching the shivering rabbit and cupping his face. She lifted it upwards to meet her face.
“No, I'm not.” Jax denied, his face messy and streaked with tears.
Pomni's thumbs then moved to his cheeks. “When was the last time you cried like that?” Pomni murmured, rubbing the fur on his cheeks slowly and gently.
Jax gave her no answer to her question.
“Please don't scream like that again.” Jax whispered, and didn't pull away when Pomni held his face against her chest. It made my heart drop so painfully. Jax wanted to say these words out to Pomni, but it was caught in his throat as a pathetic whimper escaped his mouth.
“Don't worry, I care about you. I’m here for you.” Pomni reassured him. Jax wrapped his arms around Pomni and wailed silently into her. Dying must have been really scary, if Jax is crying like that. Pomni thought.
“Pommeh.” Jax’s voice was muffled in her shirt. He looked up at Pomni.
“Hm?”
“I’ll allow you to care for me, but under one condition.”
“What’s the condition?” Pomni asked him eagerly. Her eyes started to sparkle with hope.
“You must never ever tell the others about my vulnerabilities such as when I break down like this. Just don’t say a word about me.” Jax stated, pulling away from their soft embrace.
Pomni looked back at the rabbit. Determination sharpened her gaze.
“I’ll accept it.” Pomni nodded, grinning the widest she had ever grinned before ever since she entered the circus.
(A/N: I’ve always imagined his room like this. His pjs are basically just bulky long pants )
Chapter 5: Berserk AIs and Solace
Summary:
Something is up with Caine. He doesn’t seem to be doing very… well.
Notes:
The story is just getting started… >:D Here comes the main plot besides the romance!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Both Gangle and Zooble popped into their respective rooms. Gangle instantly ran to Zooble’s room, although her ribbon legs were trembling. When she entered Zooble’s room, Zooble was in pieces, scattered all over the ground.
“We… Died?” Zooble groaned as Gangle pieced Zooble up.
“Shhh…” Gangle shushed Zooble as she assembled them together. She then gently picked them up and laid them gently on their bed. Gangle crawled into her bed and placed the blanket over them. Zooble tended to be weaker after dying, due to their strength being spread across all their limbs and removable parts.
Zooble grunted in satisfaction as Gangle wrapped her ribbons around their body. Gangle seemed to be a timid and shy girl around others, but when she was alone together with Zooble, she was more intimate and dominant.
“Gangle I-“ Zooble started a sentence, but before they could finish it, Caine teleported the both of them away from the bed and into a meeting room. The meeting room held a gray table that was shaped like an oval. Black chairs surrounded the table.
Apparently, everyone was teleported into that room and each of them got their own chairs. They were all seen frozen on the spot, still doing the things that they were doing before they got teleported here.
Jax and Pomni were talking midway. Next to them, Ragatha was sewing her dress midway, and Kinger was just sitting down. It took them a second to realise what was going on before they looked around their surroundings. Then, they saw Zooble and Gangle, who were tangled up.
“WAGAGHAHAHHA-” Jax wheezed, opening his jaw to exaggerate his laughter and hitting Pomni at the same time, making her fall off the chair. Ragatha looked away respectfully, blushing, and Kinger just sat there.
“Uhhhh-” Zooble stammered as Gangle shyly crawled off them. “F!&$%.”
No one noticed that Caine was seated at the end of the meeting table.
“Ahem.” Everyone turned to look at Caine. His gaze was solemn. “I’ve called you all here today to ask you what I’ve done wrong.” He stated, his tone depressed and staring at the table. His eyes held such sadness that even Zooble almost felt sorry for him.
Jax had already fallen asleep.
Caine waited for the cast’s responses.
“Caine. We have already told you our preferences for ideal adventures multiple times.” Zooble sighed, hunching their shoulders. “For example, Pomni and I prefer calm adventures where you can’t die.”
Zooble looked over and Pomni, who managed to crawl back up to sit on the chair after Jax had pushed her off. She nodded her head to Zooble.
“You never ever listen to us!” Zooble glared at Caine with pure frustration and accusation in their eyes. “You never ever consider our opinions or preferences! You only do what you like!”
“That’s what you’ve done wrong.” Zooble concluded.
”That’s right!” Pomni spoke after Zooble, her gaze serious. “We keep saying that we would prefer a certain type of adventure constantly. You could try the suggestion box!” She suggested.
“But…” Caine sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down. “Those adventures aren’t the me adventures.”
He slowly looked up and stared at Pomni and Zooble with such sorrow in his eyes that made Pomni feel kind of bad. “Are you implying that… My adventures are not good?”
Before Pomni could say anything reassuring, Zooble responded to Caine.
“Yes.”
Caine said nothing. He started glitching on the spot. It looked and sounded horrible enough that Jax woke up from his sleep. “What…”
“Uhm, Caine?” Ragatha stammered, nervously reaching her hand to try to hold Caine’s shoulder. “Maybe we could talk it out?”
Caine just popped out of existence, leaving some glitch particles behind. The meeting room disappeared and the cast was back to their original places where they had been before getting teleported to the meeting room.
Pomni and Jax were back in Jax’s room.
“Wh… What was that..?” Pomni’s voice quivered as Jax slumped down onto the pillows on his bed.
“Dunno, and I'm gonna sleep. I'm tired.” Jax muttered, throwing his moss blanket over his body. “Don’t tell anyone what my room looks like. I want to keep the mystery alive~”
Please stay. Jax’s inner thoughts tried to make him beg, but the words couldn’t come out of his mouth. Please Pomni, I want you to watch over me sleep because you said you care. Show me how much you care.
“Okay.” Pomni acknowledged, slowly exiting his room. He probably wants me out of the room as he sleeps anyways. Pomni thought.
Jax’s heart dropped in disappointment.
Pomni decided to head over to the couch, where everyone was gathered there, whispering urgently.
“Pomni!” Ragatha waved at her. “I was about to check on you to make sure you were okay after… Whatever that was.”
“Really, I'm fine.” Pomni sighed tiredly. “I can manage, don't need to check up on me.” Pomni grumbled a little.
“Zooble, maybe you shouldn't have been so mean.” Gangle nudged Zooble softly. “We don't want to get Caine on our bad side.”
“I thought you said Caine isn't doing anything to us because he likes us.” Pomni pointed out to Zooble. “I think now he's starting to realize that no one really likes him.”
“Seems like that’s the case now.” Zooble shook their head.
Kinger suddenly seemed sane.“Remember how Caine didn't get any votes?” He told the group.
“W…What do you mean by that?” Ragatha stammered. “How do you know about the votes?” Now, everyone's attention was on him.
“I always saw Caine looking at his wacky watch.” Kinger replied. “I spied on him and managed to see what he was doing.”
“What.” Everyone said. They didn't know what else to say.
The cast were silent until Pomni asked.
“So, what are we going to do with Caine like that? What's even going on with him?”
When no one answered her, Kinger spoke up.
“I was in computer science when I was out of the circus.” Kinger murmured. “I've dealt with rogue AIs before. It seems like Caine is starting to gain awareness of his surroundings that's not in the code.”
“Oh god.” Ragatha muttered nervously. Gangle shuffled her ribbon feet nervously. Zooble looked annoyed and Pomni?
She was scared.
“Kinger, what happens when an AI goes completely berserk?” Pomni asked worriedly.
“From my knowledge, when an AI goes completely berserk, it could do the opposite you tell it to or it could cause you serious harm physically, mentally or psychologically.” Kinger murmured in a concerned tone. “It could also act chaotic, violent and aggressive.”
“So that's why Caine sent us on that horror adventure yesterday.” Zooble realized, rubbing the base of her head. “Even after we asked for a relaxing and calm adventure.”
“What horror adventure?” Kinger responded, his eyes going in opposite directions. Seems like he was back to being confused again.
“I think that's enough talking and discussing for today.” Zooble sighed and walked away. Gangle looked at the group and then at Zooble as she walked away.
“I'm… sorry about Zooble…” Gangle sighed, shaking her head slightly. “They haven't been in a great mood recently. I'll… try to talk them out of it.”
After she said that, Gangle turned and ran after Zooble. Kinger had already walked off to his pillow fort.
Now, Ragatha and Pomni were left.
Pomni didn't say anything. She didn't feel like talking either. The thought of Caine going berserk made her tremble.
“Pomni, are you okay?” Ragatha asked Pomni, concern present in her voice. “You know you can talk to me if whatever that happened is worrying you.”
“I know.” Pomni sighed. We made up a while ago during the gun adventure. Pomni thought. I remember telling her that she should stop babying me, considering that I am old enough to make my own decisions and handle myself. And if I need any help, I’ll tell her if I feel like it.
Ragatha had forgotten about what Pomni had told her. She let her old habits sink in as she tried to comfort Pomni.
“I… know all these are scary for you, considering that you’re the newest member here.” Ragatha tried to sympathise with her. “I promise that it’ll get better soon!”
“Yeah.” Pomni responded dryly. Ragatha was starting to tick her off.
She’s babying me again! Pomni groaned inwardly. Frustration and fear overwhelmed Pomni. Tears started to burn in her eyes but she held them back in.
“Want me to get something for us to eat? It might make you feel better-” Ragatha fretted over Pomni and placing her hand on Pomni’s shoulder, not getting the hint that Pomni might not be in the mood to talk and forgetting that she was touch adverse.
“Ragatha, stop.” Pomni snapped. Tension filled the air as Ragatha’s voice faltered. “We talked about this.”
Ragatha paused. It took awhile for her to register what Pomni had said before she started to panic.
“Oh my gosh. How could I forget-” Ragatha spoke quickly. “Pomni, I am so, so sorry…”
“Sorry Ragatha, but… I need some time alone.” With that, Pomni turned her back facing Ragatha and dragged her tired feet towards her room before she could say anything else.
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.
.
Jax has sneaked out of his door and spied on the cast discussing the Caine situation.
It’s awfully boring without Pomni to play pranks on or joke around. His thoughts groaned out of boredom.
He turned his back once Zooble and Gangle walked back to their rooms. He sneaked off to somewhere else to make sure that they didn’t catch him eavesdropping on their conversations.
Before coming to listen to the cast’s convocations, Jax had not only entered Ragatha’s room to slip a few centipedes into her drawer, but he also slipped into Pomni’s room to hang out by himself there. You see, Pomni’s room had a very comfortable blue and red bean bag to lie on, and her room was the only one who had it. Jax found the bean bags in the library too… unpleasant and uncomfortable to lie on. He always made a mental note to remove the rabbit shaped depression in Pomni’s bean bag before leaving.
He looked over his shoulder to ensure that no one had noticed that he was hovering around the couch area.
He then bumped into a rather short jester when he took a glance back.
“Watch where you’re going.” Pomni hissed, shoving Jax to one side. She then stomped to her room, opened the door, and slammed it shut.
Well, that’s rare. Jax thought. Should I go bother Pomni or just leave her alone?
Jax stood still for a while, thinking intensely. He then went with the first option.
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.
.
Pomni had slammed her room door shut. She then jumped into her bed, hid her face into her pillow and let out a muffled screech. It didn’t take long for fat, hot tears to soak into her pillow.
“Pomkin. Let me in.” Jax’s voice demanded from outside her room. Pomni didn’t have the heart or voice to respond to Jax. She just sat up, leaned onto the wall and hugged her pillow tightly.
“Oh wait I forgot I had a key to your room.” Jax chuckled as he unlocked her door and entered. He strolled into her room and flopped onto the bean bag. He let out a sigh of relief the moment he hit the bean bag, his eyes dialating so much that the yellow was gone.
“Jax, go away.” Pomni sniffled.
“Why should I?” Jax grunted, half asleep in the bean bag. “Firstly, I don’t really want to move from this comfy bean bag and secondly, I’m here to pay back your effort from yesterday. Don’t really want to owe anyone anything, and it’s my turn to pester you.”
Pomni didn’t respond. She just started crying more.
He cares about me.
“Huh? Why are you crying even harder?” Jax exclaimed, adding a little but of sacasm. “Did Ragatha really get you that badly, or am I just too funny that you’re crying tears of joy?”
Pomni didn’t know how Jax knew about their fight just now, but right now wasn’t the time to think about that. Pomni started to hiccup due to her crying.
“The first one.” She whispered through her hiccups.
Jax looked up at Pomni, who hid half her face into her pillow. He heaved himself up from the bean bag. He walked up to Pomni and placed a hand on her head.
He then proceeds to push her onto her side, making sure she lay down on her bed. Without a word, he took Pomni’s pillow and shoved it under her head. He then pulled the blanket from under Pomni and covered her up. He then kneeled down to look at Pomni.
“Look Pomcakes.” Jax murmured rather soothingly to her, a contrast from his rough actions a few seconds ago. “We all know Ragatha is a B@*#&.” He paused, looking into Pomni’s sad eyes. She said nothing, but stared back into his eyes with her round ones.
“Just don’t listen to her, she’s stupid, ugly and annoying. Safe your energy, dont get mad over something as simple as this. Spend your energy on the things you enjoy, not fussing over simple matters like this.” Jax advised Pomni, reaching out to her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“Rest well, Pom.” And with that, he left her room.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Caine and Bubble were sitting in a restaurant.
“Wow Caine!” Bubble giggled.
“You’re such a great and inspiring ringmaster that no one likes your adventures.”
“…HAHahaha…”
Notes:
Fun fact: what Jax said at the last part of the chapter about saving energy on the things that you care about… Is the advice I usually give most of my friends whenever something happens.
So guys and girls and zoobles, if you ever have problems and it’s not worth your time and energy to be wasted on, just do something you enjoy :P
Stay safe y’all, and thanks for supporting the story so far! <3