don't want to lose (don't want to lose you this way)

by Anonymous

Summary:

The aftermath of the fight between Jax and Pomni.

Or...

Jax is sick of losing people he's close to, and hurting others by pushing them away. What? He still does it anyways.
Meanwhile, Pomni's wondering why she even tried. Deep down, she knows that Jax deserves friends. And she won't stop trying to help him.

 

---

A very slow burn fanfic centered on both Jax and Pomni!
ー Written before episode 7 is released! I will likely ignore the events of that episode and continue writing this the same way in my version.
also i am not good at writing interesting summaries

Notes:

This is my first fanfic for this fandom! I'm trying to break free from writers' block and write chapters that aren't 500 words.

...

No, I don't have an outline for this lmfao-

Edit: now I have an outline but it isn't the best !

Chapter 1: tired of hearing 'sorry' (kiss and make up)

The floor was swimming.

 

He rushed into the bathroom, eyes already stinging from almost-tears. He turned a faucet on. staring at the water pooling in the sink. It seemed real. Very real.

 

Except it wasn't.

 

Thisー This was just a parody of the real world. A broken copy hidden underneath flashy RGB lights. A broken copy beyond all repair.

 

He was spiraling beyond control, beyond rational thoughts. He could barely recall the details of who he was.

 

Who was he?

 

Why was he here?

 

He barely noticed his surroundings as he gasped for air, feeling like a fish out of water. 

 

He knew he was spiraling, having a panic attack, all because of a fight. He'd had them often when he was still... him. In the real world. F[%#&]k, what even was his old name? His hair color? His family's names? 

 

A panic attack could lead to abstraction. Who knows what could happen here?

 

His vision was blurred and dark spots threatened the edge of his sight. His rising anxiety did nothing to curb the wave of darkness. Quite the opposite, actually.

 

And even through all that, he kept remembering one person.

 

One.

 

Pomni.

 

The female jester who cared even when Jax tried to desperately convince everyone he didn't care about anyone.

 

His mind drifted back to the conversation between them. His heart ached thinking about it, yet he had no idea why.

 

 "What would you do if I abstracted tomorrow?"

 

Jax remembered that bout of silence before he spoke, uncertain of himself. He had forced that indifferent mask on, to his regrets.

 

"I'd move on. And probably forget about you."

 

Oh, if only that wasn't so d[£¢€§]n far from reality. If Pomni abstracted...

 

He'd come to care about her, and everyone else in the circus. If anyone abstractedー

 

He had lost Ribbit before.

 

He had vowed to never lose anyone close to him ever again.

 

And he couldn't lose people close to him if they weren't close to him. Right?

 

So...

 

That was why he tried to push people away. He had put on that 'funny one' facade. He had hurt people on purpose.

 

He put centipedes in Ragatha's room. He broke Gangle's comedy mask on purpose. He teased people endlessly and insulted them. And for what? It was to ensure that... he wouldn't get hurt, and he wouldn't hurt others. It was a win-win. No, it wasn't, a little voice inside him said. You're still hurting others by your jokes.

 

The pushing others away wasn't that simple.

 

Pushing others away led to him hurting Pomni, this time.

 

And now he was hurt. Well, here he was, having a panic attack in the bathroom at a favorite character award show! What a d[$&@%]k he was.

 

Jax splashed some cold water onto his face, and it cleared his thoughts, yet not enough. He lifted his head wearily to look up at the mirror in front of him.

 

He took in everything.

 

Everything.

 

His tired amber eyes and the non-existent grin, and his purple fur. His drooping ears.

 

He looked like he'd been in a car crash. Well, what happened wasn't emotionally far from that, not at all. He sure felt like s[$&%]t. 

 

"God, you look stupid," Jax scoffed at himself in the mirror, before forcing on a tired smile.

 

Did it look forced? Absolutely. Did he give a d[&%#]n? No.

 

Before he slipped back out of the bathroom (after an encounter with Disappearing Guy) he wondered for a second if anyone had missed him.

 

...

 

Eh, definitely probably not!

 

The thought was final, to him.

 

Little did he know, a certain red and blue jester did notice that he had been gone.

 

---

 

Sooner than later, Pomni had realized that Jax wasn't present in the room at the favorite character awards.

 

Her first thought was one of horror. 

 

What if...?

 

Pomni didn't try to finish that thought. Her eyes stung as if they were threatening her with a cascade of tears.

 

She drew in a shaky breath before she came to a conclusion. 

 

No, Pomni, he wouldn't do thatー He wouldn't go and abstract on us.

 

I hope.

 

Drawing in a second shaky breath and forcing herself to focus on Caine at the stage, she tried to draw her thoughts far away from anything that would involve Jax possibly abstracting.

 

She only hoped her fight with him hadn't hurt him that much.

 

If it led to him abstracting, Pomni didn't know if she could ever forgive herself for that. Maybe she'd end up abstracting from the grief.

 

As soon as the favorite character awards were almost over, Pomni heard the bathroom door opening and someone stepping out. She looked up. Jax.

 

A fresh wave of relief flowed over her fuzzy mind, soothing her earlier anxiety, before worry took over.

 

He didn't head her way; quite the opposite, instead. It tugged at her heart like a loose thread. At least she had the comfort of knowing that he was okay from afar.

 

But what if he wasn't okay? 

 

Small thoughts kept nagging at her until they weren't as small.

 

Pomni exhaled with an audible sigh. Ragatha tilted her head slightly to show that she had noticed.

 

"...You good, Pomni?"

 

F[@!?&]k. Pomni had forgotten that she was sitting next to Ragatha. The red and blue jester cleared her throat. "Uhmー Yeah..! I'm fine."

 

Ragatha's gaze revealed her doubt, but she nodded. "Alright, if you say so." Then she added, almost hesitantly, "I'm here if you ever wanna talk about it!"

 

"Thank you." Pomni allowed a small smile to curve the edge of her lips.

 

"You're always welcome. I mean, I do try to take care of the others, haha!" Ragatha scratched her arm nervously, the skirt of her dress swaying slightly from the movement.

 

Pomni chuckled. "Yeah, I get what you mean."

 

Neither of them tried to continue the awkward conversation, simply stepping out of their seats after the award show had concluded, and finding their way back to their rooms.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, Pomni spotted Jax staring at her almost forlornly. The sight would have been funny if it wasn't with the current circumstances. She was pretty sure that she wasn't looking at him directly, but Jax looked away quickly as if he had sensed her gaze.

 

Pomni inhaled, then exhaled before averting her gaze. I'll talk about this with him sometime later, but not now.

 

Her legs carried her to her room from pure muscle memory, and she didn't even notice Gangle in particular glancing at Pomni with slight concern. She didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment.

 

But, soon enough, the door to Pomni's room was opened then closed, and the jester found herself collapsing on her own bed.

 

It was slightly uncanny how the fluffy digital blankets felt, but Pomni didn't mind. It was the closest thing to what she had enjoyed in the real world; she had taken pride in her room and how she decorated her bed with comfortable blankets. She buried her face in a pillow, closing her eyes to savor the moment.

 

...

 

She didn't know when exactly it happened, but Pomni found herself sobbing into her pillow.

 

The weight of the day hit her tremendously, without warning.

 

She just missed the real world.

 

And she missed the almost-friendship she had thought that she had with Jax.

 

She just f[@$&?]d up everything, didn't she?

 

Pomni found herself crying herself to sleep. She didn't try to muffle her sobs, with some twisted hope that Zooble or Ragatha would hear and yell at Jax for whatever the hell he did.

 

He doesn't deserve it, though, was the last thing she thought before she fell into the uncanny abyss of sleep.

Chapter 2: you were clever (knew when to deliver your lines)

Summary:

Jax lashes out when he's confronted, and Pomni doesn't know why everyone's acting so odd.

Notes:

this was so time consuming to edit omg
nothing beats writing for a tadc fanfic over multiple 1000 word essays!! <3
Edit: changed chapter title to a more interesting one

Some odd but familiar emotion guilt swamped over him as he saw Pomni limping to her room, her footsteps heavy and head tilting forward slightly.

 

Did he really hurt her that badly, emotionally?

 

Guilt swarmed his mind, his well-built facade of a smile slipping for a split second. Shaking his head, he pretended to have coughed.

 

He noticed Ragatha and Gangle talking, all while casting their gazes towards where Pomni had gone every now and then. As a wave of uneasiness went over him, Jax strode forward, yawning dramatically. "Rags and Ribbons, what are you two talkin' about?"

 

Ragatha let out a pointed sigh and turned to stare at Jax. "Well, better now than never... What happened between you and Pomni?"

 

Jax's smile quickly faded. "Uh, I don't know what you're talking about. She's just fine, isn't she?" I f[$&@!]ed up.

 

Gangle spoke up with a timid tremor in her voice. "Weren't you her teammate on.. that gun adventure?"

 

Zooble added to the conversation, as they crossed their mismatched arms. "I'm not trying to be pushy, but, what happened after you killed Zooble and you and Pomni won?"

 

A small hint of rage crept into Jax's tone as he crossed his arms. "Look, nothing happened except we fought. But she's fine now. It's not like she's gonna abstract or anythingー"

 

As his voice trailed off, Jax realized that it had definitely been the wrong thing to say. Three pairs of eyes (not counting Kinger, who had gone to his pillow fort) were staring at him out of shock.

 

"...Lookー" Jax began.

 

"That's exactly what we're worried about." Zooble snapped at him, having fully joined the conversation. "If she abstracts, the blame is on you, and you alone. At least tell us what happened so we know how to help her and what to say."

 

His breath began to come in short, panicky breaths. "Shut up."

 

She's okay. She's okay. She's okay. She's okay. She's notー

 

Ragatha's sickeningly worried voice cut into his broken thoughts. "Apologize to Pomni. For whatever the h[$&!]l you did."

 

"Yeah..." Gangle added quietly. "We're not forcing you or anything, but... Yeah."

 

Jax exhaled sharply. "Well, f[$&@]k. It really feels like I'm being forced over here! Why don't you three take your sorry a[$!?]es away and jump into that digital lake? Huh?" 

 

All of his rational emotions were far overpowered by the pure rage and panic. 

 

Before he could stop himself, he stomped over to where Gangle stood. "I'm only going to say it one more time. Leave. Me. Out. Of. This."

 

Gangle's eyes widened trembled as she held up a ribbon hand to try to defend herself. "Don't- *Don't break my mask!*"

 

Zooble let out an enraged cry and tried to get to Gangle in time, but failed. Jax didn't think before he shoved Gangle to the ground in a way which he knew would break that oh-so-treasured comedy mask of hers.

 

There was a shattering sound and an angry gasp from Ragatha as Gangle lay sprawled on the ground, the pieces of her shattered comedy mask on the floor. He could feel Zooble's glare burning into his head. 

 

"Jax, what the f[$&!]k?"

 

There was complete silence except for the sound of Gangle's quiet sobbing and Jax's sharp breaths.

 

"I'm going." Jax turned around.

 

No one tried to stop him.

 

There was pure silence before Zooble drew in a breath. "I'm going to find Caine to fix Gangle's mask."

 

---

 

Pomni opened her red and blue pinwheel eyes, her head pounding and her neck aching. She vaguely remembered crying herself to sleep, but couldn't clearly recall what had happened before that. Then it hit her, the full memory of the fight, and the memory of seeing Jax staring at her.

 

I hope he's okay.

 

Peeling herself off of her pillow, she sat up to look at the mirror.

 

Dang, she did look like s[@!?]t. 

 

Pomni rubbed her eyes to try to take away the burning sensation, but failed.

 

What time was it, anyways? She assumed that it was early morning (only Caine knows how time worked in this hellhole and even then maybe he didn't) and it would almost be time for one of those odd adventures. 

 

Pomni sighed, before she opened her bedroom door an inch to see if anyone was in the hallway. 

 

No one was there, thankfully.

 

She stepped out, smiling to herself unconvincingly. Maybe there'd be an actually relaxing adventure, one where she could just... exist. Honestly, she did kind of need a distraction.

 

Her footsteps barely made a sound as Pomni walked through the hallway. She kept an eye out for any of her friends. Even Jax.

 

Well, I don't know if he even considers me a friend anymore. She shuddered at the memory of him shoving her to the ground when she tried to hug him. But, maybe, he hated being touched just like she did? 

 

Yesterday had taken quite the emotional toll on her. She could only hope that everything was okay now, that everything would be back to normal.

 

That hope was disproven as she walked into the middle of the circus, spotting the breakfast table. 

 

Ragatha and Zooble specifically glanced at her, seeming worried. Gangle only kept her head down.

 

Whatever. Pomni sat down in her designated spot, noticing that Jax hadn't arrived yet. A small spike of worry took over.

 

In an attempt to distract herself, she began to eat her 'food,' which were very low-quality blueberry pancakes that tasted nowhere near how actual pancakes tasted. She wondered if it would possibly be a good idea to skip all meals, as they didn't really need to eat? Then, Pomni brushed that thought away. It could possibly cause problems in the future.

 

"So, Pomni," Pomni looked up to realize that Zooble was speaking to her. "You okay?"

 

"Uhm, yeah." Pomni smiled reassuringly. "Why?"

 

"Is everything okay between you and Jax?" Ragatha cut in.

 

Oh, dang it. Pomni really didn't feel like talking about that right now. She just ignored the question, stabbing the pancakes on her plate with a fork ungraciously.

 

"Pomni?"

 

Pomni gave in, letting out a sigh as she shoved her plate away. "Yeahー I meanー I don't know." She admitted halfheartedly. "I don't wanna talk about this right now."

 

"So, something did happen?"

 

Pomni ignored the question, spotting Jax emerging from the hallway leading to the rooms. She could guess that he wouldn't enjoy this conversation early in the morning.

 

"What's up?" Jax sat in his chair, grabbing a plate of pancakes as he prepared to stab one with a knife and a fork. So, he was just gonna act like nothing had happened? Huh?

 

No one replied. Gangle purposefully kept her head down, Kinger was too absorbed in counting the blueberries on his pancakes, Zooble looked away, and Ragatha just ignored Jax.

 

Pomni cleared her throat. "I wonder what adventure Caine will have for us today," she spoke tiredly.

 

"Shush, you'll summon him." Zooble rolled their eyes. "To be fair, I dunno. I just want a day off."

 

"Did someone say... AN ADVENTURE????" Caine poofed into existence above the table, and Pomni spit out her mouthful of pancakes from surprise. 

 

"Uh, no...?" Zooble sighed.

 

"WELL, TOO LATE!!!" Caine spun in a circle. "Today, my cat-eared cantaloupesー"

 

"...Whatー" Jax deadpanned.

 

"ーWE, will be having, a WONDERFULLY SCARY ADVENTURE! Filled with MURDER, SUSPENSE, AND HORROR!!!"

 

"So, a murder mystery?" Ragatha asked. 

 

"Yep, that's IT!!" Caine grinned, or seemed to. "And, no one can opt out of it!!!"

 

"Awh, shucks," Jax rolled his eyes. "I was planning on sitting this one out but it seems cool. I wanna have a knife. Can I be the murderer?"

 

He was just acting like nothing had happened, wasn't he? It somewhat annoyed Pomni. Then again, it didn't involve the others. At least, she thought.

 

"Holy s[&@!]t, dude," Zooble gave Jax a side eye. "Caine, do not give this man a knife."

 

Caine twirled around again. "WE'LL SEE!!! Bubble, what do you think of the adventure idea??"

 

Bubble, the bubble NPC, opened his mouth to speak. "It's so [$&?@!@$(!$!!$(!$&!@$!?$$@!$(?$@!$&!?$$@!?$&@!&]!"

 

Everyone stared at him, even Gangle, who hadn't spoken the entire time.

 

Caine shot Bubble a worried look. "Oh, that's not... AHEM!!! The adventure starts now!!!"

 

Caine snapped a portal into existence, and Pomni's eyes widened as she got levitated into it. 

 

"Waitー" Jax tried to complain, but it was too late.

Notes:

HAHAAahahhhaa
Anyways
Next chapter has an adventure that's totally not a copy of inspired by Flicker on Roblox

Chapter 3: tell me if i'm dead (or if i'm just going insane)

Summary:

Maybe this one adventure won't be so terrible after all!

Notes:

Okay so it may seem a bit rushed but i promise i know what i'm doing
theyre gonna apologize like sane normal adults
…eventually!!!!

Jax rubbed his eye as he fell onto some rough cement floor. Ouch. That hurt.

 

So, where was he...?

 

A small note of paper was in his hand, and he opened his palm to try to read it in the dim light.

 

You are: Innocent. You are on the good team's side. You may have no significant powers, but you will help the detective to find out who's on which team, and eliminate the evil team.

 

Great. He didn't even have an interesting role.

 

As he finished reading the note, it vanished and in its place was a stack of sticky notes, a pen, and a journal.

 

Well, what do I do with the journal? Or the sticky notes? Jax sighed inwardly. Maybe he'd write some dumb stuff.

 

Write your role and anything you know in the journal. You may pass notes to others, but there is a twenty-five percent chance of it dropping.

 

....

 

"Whatー" Jax stared as he saw the floating text appear before him. "Okay then."

 

Jax stood up, being in complete darkness, before deciding to try to find any source of light.

 

He stepped forward, and...

 

Into some very foul-smelling water.

 

"Oh, ew, I'm in the sewers?" Jax recoiled physically as he felt the cold and slimy water around his legs, waving his arms wildly from the shock.

 

It was unusual how real this adventure felt.

 

Oh, well, he already had the sewer water all over him. He'd have to just... keep walking. No time to ponder over all this!!

 

There was the splash from his footsteps and occasional metal creak, as he trudged through the sewers ungracefully, wincing with every step.

 

Every now and then he saw faint rays of polluted light trickle through from the cracked ceiling, but it did near to nothing to actually help.

 

Jax let out a sigh.

 

First it was guns, now it was a murder mystery. Could this week get any worse?

 

He had enjoyed the gun adventure, but that didn't turn out very well. Who knows how this adventure would turn out, this time? I mean, maybe it would be okay.

 

Jax barely noticed that he came to a dead end. He exhaled sharply before turning around, the water making an odd sound. 

 

...

 

It took forever, but he finally ran into Ragatha.

 

Nevermind, it was Ragatha. Jax turned around to walk away before he heard Ragatha calling back to him.  "Wait!"

 

He turned around with a glare. "What?"

 

"Uh..." Ragatha crossed her arms. "We should just stick together until we find the others. I thinkー the adventure can't start until all six of us are in one place."

 

Jax pondered over it for a second, then begrudgingly replied. "...Alright."

 

Nope, he still hadn't forgotten when she and Zooble had confronted him the day before, along with Gangle. His eye twitched slightly from the memory.

 

There was complete silence as they continued to navigate the sewers.

 

Jax gazed up at the ceiling then at the path ahead of him, trying to find anywhere that the others may have gathered.

 

"Oh, hey, Pomni!" Ragatha spoke suddenly. 

 

Jax didn't look behind him as he heard Pomni's small voice greeting them. Why should he? He didn't want to speak to her, and he didn't want to make her think that they were.. 'friends.'

 

And she doesn't want to speak to you, anyways. Oh, how he hated that toxic little voice in his head.

 

"Hello, Ragatha!" Pomni's voice was far from cheerful, with a hint of some negative emotion. "Jax?"

 

Jax didn't reply, instead continuing to walk stiffly.

 

Pomni let out an audible sigh, before beginning to speak to Ragatha again. Jax didn't bother to listen to their meaningless conversation.

 

He hated this adventure already. And it hadn't even officially begun.

 

---

 

Pomni felt like facepalming when Jax continued to ignore her.

 

Of course! Of course he'd ignore her. Why wouldn't he?

 

She drew in a slow breath, clenching her fists. Maybe he would apologize. Maybe he wouldn't.

 

Pomni knew that Jax likely wasn't in the best mental state, but it had hurt greatly to hear those things he'd said.

 

"I get joy out of making. You. Suffer."

 

Ragatha's voice brought her out of that state of overthinking. "Pomni? We found Kinger."

 

"Huh? Oh!" Pomni looked up, realizing that she had been so caught in her thoughts that she'd been walking around mindlessly.

 

Kinger...? I mean, it is dark here... Maybe I can tell him about everything and he'll have some advice.

 

Pomni dared to look ahead, where she could see Jax and Kinger walking side by side. Ragatha had dropped back to inform Pomni, and Pomni had been lagging behind in the state of overthinking. She sped up a bit, finally walking beside Kinger. She didn't look over at Jax, knowing that he'd look away or simply ignore her.

 

"Well, hello, Pomni!" Kinger seemed lucid in the darkness of this adventure. Pomni smiled slightly. "Hello!"

 

"Nice adventure, isn't it?" 

 

"Oh, uhm..." Pomni looked at her surroundings. "It would've been better if we weren't in these sewers."

 

"Good point," Kinger spoke before jumping idly. "Oh, look, there's Gangle and Zooble!"

 

"Huh?" Ragatha craned her neck. "I see them...! Gangle! Zooble!"

 

Pomni saw the mask with ribbons and the mix-and-match toy, waving from a section with adequate lighting. Zooble had somehow found a lantern, and Gangle held a small journal and was sketching in it. She was pretty sure that drawing wasn't the purpose of the journals, but, who cared?

 

After a few more moments, they were gathered in a circle, and floating text appeared above them. 

 

There are three on the good team, two on the evil team, and one neutral.

 

Of course, Pomni already knew her role. She smiled, just barely enough to be visible.

 

There was a buzzing noise and the lights went off. 

 

"Aw, come on, man." Zooble sighed. "Whatー"

 

They directly shut up as strange noises were heard. Ther was a shuffling noise, then the sound of a knife.

 

"Holy s[$&@]t," Pomni heard Jax mutter under his breath. "Who got killed?"

 

The lights flickered back on, and there were now five of them. 

 

Ragatha was frantically counting. "Okay so, me, Pomni, Gangle, Zooble, and Jaxー" 

 

"No! Kinger!" Gangle stared at the floor. Pomni noticed that her comedy mask was gone. It had likely broken in the fall...

 

Kinger has been killed by the murderer. He was drowned in the sewage.

 

A journal was floating in the water, and Pomni, being the closest to the sewage, reached out for it. She had no idea how it wasn't damaged.

 

She opened it to read from it. "I, Kinger, was the good detective. At least one of these are evil: Pomni, Jax, Gangle."

 

"Okay, what the h[$&@]l." Jax audibly spoke. "Who's the murderer?"

 

Zooble glared at him. "Why are you acting concerned?"

 

"Hey, I'm not, I just don't wanna die."

 

All five of them froze as more glowing text popped up.

 

Debate on who to vote out. They will be counted as killed. If skipped by all, a random person will be chosen.

 

Ragatha exhaled. "Okay, soー"

 

"I'm skipping the vote." Pomni interrupted.

 

"Honestly, I'm going to vote out Jax." Zooble sighed. "It'll be better off him than anyone else. We did see Kinger's journal, didn't we?"

 

"Whatー No!" Jax's eyes widened as he crossed his arms with visible indignance. "I'm an innocent. On the good team."

 

Ragatha looked at Pomni guiltily. "I'm going to have to vote you out. You haven't said anything much. And you're also in Kinger's journal."

 

Pomni stared at Ragatha from disbelief. "But my role isー"

 

"Is it bad that I believe Jax was telling the truth?" 

 

Both Ragatha and Zooble stared at Gangle with disbelief. 

 

"Actually, I'm skipping the vote as well." Jax interrupted.

 

Time to vote!

 

Pomni sat back, ignoring the voting icons. It was gonna be either her or Jax. She hoped it would be her, so she could talk to Kinger in his pillow fort.

 

The thirty seconds were up.

 

It was a tie. A random person will be chosen as the tiebreaker.

 

"F[$&@]k," Jax muttered under his breath.

 

Pomni has been voted out.

 

Pomni then realized that she was floating, and looked at her now translucent hands. "Huh?"

 

"Welcome to the place of the dead!" She heard Kinger's voice, and she turned around.

Notes:

Okay ts feels so rushed i might edit it later

Chapter 4: just tell me (what you're scheming)

Summary:

Part two of this hellhole of an adventure!

Notes:

yes I am procrastinating on studying for my exams

Jax stared at the place where Pomni had formerly been standing. She just... vanished.

 

"What the h[$&@]l?" Zooble was visibly unnerved as they leaned down to pick up a journal that had fallen from Pomni's spot in the circle. "So, this is her journal."

 

Ragatha took it from Zooble's mismatched hands, opening it then beginning to read out loud. "Hi, this is Pomni!! I was the jester role, and I'm neutral. My ability is that I can kill someone of my choice if I'm voted out." She looked up. "Uh..."

 

Jax's eye twitched idly as Gangle just stared at Zooble and Ragatha. "What??"

 

"We. Are. So. F[!?#%]ed." Zooble facepalmed.

 

---

 

Meanwhile, as Pomni and Kinger were spectating as ghosts, Pomni giggled. "Did you see Zooble's face?"

 

Kinger just stood there for a second staring at nothing, then jumped back into lucidity as the lights blinked off. "Huh?"

 

"Uhm... Nevermind." Pomni floated around in a circle. "Dang, this is fun, and I'm going to kill..." She inaudibly whispered the name to Kinger, even though no one was around. "I guess."

 

"Any particular reason as to why?"

 

Pomni thought about it for a bit. "I just have a feeling, that's all."

 

As Pomni began to select who to kill off, digital hands hovering over a floating icon above her, she spoke to Kinger suddenly. "So, I kinda need advice?"

 

"Hm? For what?" Kinger tilted his head.

 

"I had a fight with Jax yesterday. He won't talk to me." As the lights flickered on and off then back on for a split second, Pomni hurriedly added: "Let's continue this conversation later, alright?"

 

"What were we talking about again?"

 

Sigh. "Nothing. Talk to you later!" Well, it was worth a try!

 

Pomni turned to Zooble, who had fully become a spectating ghost. "So... What was your role? Sorry about killing you, by the way."

 

Zooble sighed. "I was the evil fortune teller. Or whatever. Don't worry, you're good. I... kinda thought we'd just die then respawn back at the circus's normal grounds."

 

Pomni started laughing. "Evil fortune teller?"

 

"Yeah," Zooble confirmed. "Jax was indeed innocent, by the way. Alsoー"

 

Oh, no. Pomni could tell where this conversation was possibly heading. She instead focused on where she could see the final three standing. 

 

The floating text popped up to interrupt Zooble's dialogue just in time. Zooble has been killed by the clown. They were pushed headfirst into the cement then strangled.

 

Pomni's eyes widened from shock. "I hope that didn't hurt?"

 

Zooble shrugged. "Nah, it didn't hurt. I just started floating and that's it. I mean, my head did sting a little bit."

 

Pomni felt relieved, exhaling. "That's good...!"

 

---

 

Jax opened the water-stained journal of Zooble's, preparing to read it out loud. "Flip y'all. I was the evil fortune teller or whatever." He snorted. "Damn, evil fortune teller?"

 

Jax continued to read out loud. "I can see if abilities have been used on people. Gangle's ability was used on Kinger."

 

Ragatha and Jax slowly turned to look at Gangle.

 

"No, not me! I swear I'm not the murderer! I- Uh..." Gangle pleaded.

 

There will be no voting round this time.

 

"Oh, thank goodness," Gangle sighed. 

 

Jax glared at her. The tragedy (Or comedy? Depends on the day, but Gangle didn't have her comedy mask. That was a small detail that he noticed) mask mildly annoyed him.

 

Then, it went dark. Again.

 

Jax felt a stinging feeling around his throat. He was being strangled.

 

He couldn't breathe. Can't breathe, can't breathe, can't breatheー Help...

 

Jax tried to claw at his throat to remove the invisible rope that had tied around it. Then, as soon as it had appeared, it was gone, leaving an ache. His eyes stung. 

 

No, he was not going to cry. He was better than that; he had to keep that facade. In front of the others, at least.

 

The lights flickered back on, leaving Jax gasping for air. "What the h[#%©]l was that?" He just barely managed to choke out.

 

Nobody died tonight.

 

"Huh?!" Gangle stared at the floating text? "Butー I swear..."

 

Ragatha spoke softly. "I'm the medic. I saved Jax. Which means..."

 

Debate on who to vote out.

 

Jax was still heaving for his breath, his eyes panicked.

 

The failed attack had mirrored exactly how he felt during a panic attack.

 

---

 

"Oh my gosh, Gangle was the murderer." Pomni stared at the sight before her. Though, she couldn't help but notice Jax gasping for air.

 

...Had the failed attack actually hurt?

 

Caine had randomly spawned and was chewing on popcorn. "Hello, MY MYSTICAL MYSTERY SOLVERS!!! You want some digital popcorn?"

 

Pomni looked up. "Uh- sure?"

 

"Oh, me, me!!!!" Kinger waved his detached hand in the air wildly.

 

As Pomni and Kinger munched on their own boxes of popcorn, Zooble gave Caine a side eye. "Are you sure you came up with this adventure on your ownー"

 

"WELL, YEAH!!!!" Caine grinned or seemed to. It was difficult to tell. "IT'S NOT AS IF I GRABBED THE ASSETS OF SOME RANDOM GAME AND SWITCHED ONE OR TWO OF THE ROLES WITH DIFFERENT NAMESー"

 

"I thnk that's exactly what you did." 

 

Caine stared at Zooble indignantly. "Gasp.... How DARE you!!! I- WELL- UH-..."

 

"Why are you saying 'gasp' out loud?"

 

"WHA- Shut up." Caine summoned a bucket of sewer water to dump on Zooble's head and muffle their complains.

 

---

 

Jax slowly but surely tapped on Gangle's icon for the vote. Ragatha did the same, and Gangle tapped on some unknown icon. Probably Jax's.

 

The lights flickered as Gangle vanished. Jax glanced at Ragatha. 

 

No people are left in the evil team. The good team has won the round.

 

Ragatha cheered quietly. "Yes!" Then, she looked down, panicked, as the ground fell out from under her.

 

By now, Jax was semi-used to this possibly happening during adventures. He closed his eye to be prepared for it.

 

He blinked open his eyes to see he didn't want it to be familiar the familiar circus around him.

Notes:

okay so it SEEMS like everything's just fine, but don't be too fooled.
sorry this is on the shorter side but yeah

Chapter 5: you're lucky to have what's left (of your sanity)

Summary:

You'll try to find a way out
But you're stuck here
Day after day.

---

The murder mystery adventure has ended, Jax's still attempting to ignore Pomni, and a certain red-and-blue jester seeks advice from Kinger.

Notes:

OH MY PRECIOUS ANGST HOW I MISSED WRITING YOU
as if i never stopped writing angst /silly
i like adding little bits of angst in scenes that have lots of fluff
this chapter is like,, the (almost) fluff between the angst scenes
okay if kinger feels out of character js try to read his dialogue in his voice from the episodes (same with like,, any other character)
trust

Pomni found herself back in the circus, weariness clinging to her. It had been a somewhat fun adventure, yes, but now she was exhausted. 

 

Jax had landed beside her, and she looked up with hope that he would talk to her. The lavender-colored bunny did look slightly winded from the fall, and Pomni wondered if he was okay.

 

...That hope of him speaking to her was quickly disproven, once again.

 

Jax quickly strode away, not even acknowledging her, to her disappointment.

 

Why am I still doing this? Anyone else would have given up already.

 

...

 

I need to make him talk to me. He can't keep pushing others away.

 

Kinger headed straight for his pillow fort, and Zooble was busy comforting Gangle. Ragatha headed to her room, most likely. As to where Jax went, Pomni didn't bother to look.

 

After a few minutes of just standing there in thought, Pomni trudged to Kinger's pillow fort, eyes beginning to sting once again. She stood next to it, calling inside. "Kinger?"

 

"Hm?" A pillow was shoved out of the way to reveal a pair of blinking eyes. "Oh, hi, Pomni!"

 

"So, yeah, I still need that advice on what to do!"

 

"Huh? Alright, come on in!" Kinger pushed aside a few pillows. "It's a bit small, though."

 

Pomni bent down to crawl into the pillow fort, eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness. "Okay, I may have to just stand outside..." Pomni backed out quickly.

 

"Alright, that's fine!"

 

Pomni put the pillow back in place. "So... I told you this already, but I fought with Jax."

 

"What exactly happened?" Kinger's tone became serious, voice muffled by the pillows.

 

Pomni hoped that Jax wasn't around to hear. "Well..." She lowered her voice. "You know in the adventure with guns? After I won with Jax, I made a dumb joke about saying one would betray the other, and I refused to shoot him, then it just... escalated."

 

"Did anything else happen?" Kinger queried. "It must have been worse."

 

D[#%©]n, how was he actually correct? Pomni let out a sigh. "Yeah... I asked him what he would do if I abstracted."

 

Kinger went quiet for a bit, probably pondering over it, before replying. "And?"

 

"He said..." Pomni's voice died off, her eyes stinging. How many times was she going to almost cry today? 

 

"Take your time." Kinger sounded unusually sympathetic. 

 

"He said that he'd move on and forget about me. Then, I kinda attacked him, haha..." Pomni scratched at a loose thread on her jester hat. Wait, since when did loose threads exist here? 

 

"You? Attacking Jax?"

 

"Yeah, he didn't fight back. Then he went on and on how he got joy about making us suffer." Pomni's voice sounded small.

 

It hurt emotionally to recall the set of events. 

 

"I don't think he meant that. Especially since you said he didn't fight back."

 

He didn't? It was a surprise to Pomni, and at the same time, also not. 

 

"Yeah?" Pomni's voice carried a hint of hope. 

 

"You do know about Ribbit, don't you?" Kinger's voice sounded somber.

 

"Huh? Who's that?" I have never heard of anyone named Ribbit before.

 

"Jax's old friend. After she abstracted, Jax became like this. That girl was a nice person."

 

...

 

Well, that explained why he was always trying to push others away.

 

It made perfect sense now. Pomni exhaled.  "Was it... Jax's fault that she abstracted?"

 

"I don't remember everything, but from what I can remember, no. Ragatha took it quite badly when Ribbit abstracted, and lashed out at Jax multiple times. If you want to know anything else, you'll have to ask Jax yourself."

 

Alright. She could do that! In a million years, maybe.

 

"Just talk to him, then give him space. He'll come around eventually." 

 

Kinger's words of advice echoed in her thoughts even when she spoke a hasty goodbye, then proceeded to try to look for Jax.

 

---

 

Jax wanted to be anywhere but the main grounds of the circus, right now.

 

He had seen Pomni look at him, from the corner of his eye. The hope in her eyesー it was sickening. Why did she expect him to speak to her or apologize, anyways? He didn't care about anyone and she knew that.

 

Or, so he tried to convince others and even himself.

 

His feet carried him to the digital lake before he could stop himself.

 

It looked eerily calm. No waves spread out across the lake, and the digital wind failed to stir the water.

 

Jax sat down, curling one arm around his knees, and giving the water an experimental tap with the other hand. 

 

The water finally stirred, an unnatural ripple of waves flowing across it. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forthー

 

Jax looked up. The digital sky had multiple stars, despite it being the afternoon. At least, he thought. He didn't know how long the adventure had actually taken.

 

The sound of gravel being dislodged from the digital lakeshore struck his ears. He turned around quickly. Pomni?

 

"Jax." The red and blue jester stood at the lakeshore, probably about ten feet away. "We need to talk."

 

Jax put on that all too familiar facade. "Oh? And why's that?" He scoffed at her. Pomni's voice was too caring, it was nearly sickening. 

 

"You know, about what you said when we fought? You can't possibly mean all that. And I knowー"

 

Oh, here we f[$&!?]g go again. Why could she see through his facades? She shouldn't be able to do that.

 

Jax interrupted her. "I meant all that s[$&!]t. End of conversation." He turned around, keeping his gaze on the lake. "Leave me alone."

 

"What happened with Ribbit?"

 

Jax froze, his thoughts racing a mile per second. What. "How the h[#%©]l do you know that name? Who told you? Ragatha?" He managed to spit out those few sentences.

 

"No, not Ragathaー" Pomni didn't get to finish her sentence as Jax stood up, shoved her away, then continued walking.

 

Why does she know that name. Why. Why. Why. Why.

 

He didn't want to remember. Not right now.

 

It had been terrible enough when he had seen Ribbit's crossed out door only a few days before.

Notes:

hey pomni why did you go and give jax a panic attack again
(probably) the last chapter ill post before next week btw
i dont wanna fail my exams!!
AGAHAGGHAHAH NINE MORE DAYS episode 7 and the dandys world christmas updates r on the same day.

Chapter 6: scared to lose myself here (you say there's nothing to fear)

Summary:

She shouldn't have said that.
She just made it worse.

---

It's not a good idea to try to force someone to apologize, intentional or not.

Notes:

AHAHAHAAAHA I'M BACKKKKK I SURVIVED MY EXAMS HHDJFHDJCKXBVKXHCJX
i cringe every time i try to reread something that i wrote
proofreading is pain.
no jax pov this chapter for a change, i think it'll get to be too much if every time he has a panic attack i descriptively write it
im trying to make ts actually interesting yay

---

did yall see the new trailer of ep 7. its so peak yet so damn ominous
someone's gonna abstract. i js know it
spoilers for the trailer ALSO RIBBIT JAX AND KAUFMO CONFIRMED AS FRIENDS???? PEAKKKKK (from the picture in jax's room)

Pomni picked herself up from the ground, staring at where Jax had been just minutes ago. She did it again.

 

She hadn't meant to make Jax feel cornered. But, she did. She hadn't thought, and this was the result of her actions.

 

...

 

She felt guilty.

 

Why did she mention his abstracted friend, of all people? What was wrong with her?

 

Slowly trudging back to the main circus grounds, Pomni's head ached and she reminded herself to ask Caine to reset her body if the headache wasn't gone by the next day.

 

It was whatever the equivalent to night was in the circus, and Pomni figured that she should get some sleep, even though she didn't feel like it in the slightest. She could just get some water from the kitchen then go to her room.

 

Yeah. That was what she'd just do!

 

After she drank a cup of digital water, she headed for her room. Pomni could see a faint light drifting from the edges of some doors.

 

After she opened the door to her room, she stepped in, the childishly chaotic colors staring back at her. 

 

Honestly, the brightness hurt her eyes, but she had gotten used to it after a while. Various trinkets littered the floor. She just ignored them and collapsed on her cozy bed.

 

After a few minutes, she fell asleep.

 

---

 

Pomni fell victim to a few different nightmares that night.

 

It definitely wasn't the first time she had experienced a nightmare here, and she wished that nightmares had been left behind just like the rest of the other... normal human stuff.

 

Was it weird that she couldn't remember the nightmare by now?

 

Pomni sat up from her bed with a small sigh. She sincerely hoped that the adventures would not be too chaotic. She would barely be able to handle them.

 

After she sat there blinking aimlessly for a few minutes, she finally decided that she should go outside and get some breakfast, if that odd bubble NPC had already AI generated into existence cooked it.

 

Walking through the hallway was a routine at this point. She opened her bedroom door and, yes, walked down the hallway to the main circus grounds.

 

It looked like her guess was correct, breakfast was already served. For the second time in a row, Jax wasn't present, but the other four people were.

 

Pomni pulled out her chair and sat down, taking a plate of some... digital scrambled eggs? That looked suspiciously glitchy? Yeah, nevermind, she grabbed some digital fruit instead.

 

"Hey, Pomni." Zooble didn't look up from her meal. "You seen Jax around?"

 

Not again...

 

"Uh... no, not today." Pomni didn't elaborate further on her answer, which technically was the truth. I mean, how the f[$&!]k am I supposed to say that I mistakenly brought up his technically dead friend and possibly gave him a panic attack? And I haven't seen him today.

 

"Alright." Zooble curtly replied. They weren't being rude, but Pomni assumed that they simply didn't have the energy for a long reply.

 

"ARE YOU READY FOR AN ADVENTURE, MY LEMON CHEESECAKES???" Caine popped into existence, confetti getting everywhere.

 

...He held a dramatic pose above the breakfast table.

 

No one bothered to reply, instead continuing to eat the digital food.

 

"I see!! WE'RE ALL ADVENTURE READY!!!" Caine snapped open a portal and began to forcefully levitate the five into it.

 

"What about Jax?" Pomni found herself asking as she tried to fight the levitation. She couldn't say that she wasn't worried about him.

 

"OH!!! HE ASKED PERMISSION TO SKIP THE NEXT TWO OR THREE ADVENTURES. NOW IN YOU GO!" Caine shoved Pomni into the portal very ungracefully.

 

Pomni landed on some grass, eyes widening as she gazed at her surroundings.

 

"Wait... Caine allows that?" Zooble protested as they stood up, reattaching their left arm to their body. "He's always on my a[$&!] for skipping adventures."

 

Gangle's voice sounded softly from Pomni's right side. "I mean, hasn't he allowed it a few times?"

 

"Yeah, and those people almost always ended up abstracting." Zooble sighed. "Not all of them, of course."

 

Great. That was just such a good addition to Pomni's anxiety.

 

"Do you... think that Jax might abstract?" Ragatha's normal eye widened. 

 

The five people began to walk through the grass, no one answering that question. Not even Pomni.

 

"...We didn't do the right thing to confront Jax, did we?" Gangle shuddered. 

 

Pomni's head whipped around with visible shock in her expressive eyes. "Huh? When?"

 

Zooble's voice responded. "I'll tell you when we finish with this adventure. Or, Ragatha can." Ragatha nodded in response.

 

"Uh..." Pomni spoke as she stopped in front of two forks in the grass. The grass had become dead at the beginning of those two paths. Totally not ominous, right???

 

"We need to split up." Zooble exhaled, or seemed to. "Gangle, you wanna go to the left path with me?"

 

Gangle looked up, her ribbon hands fluttering faintly with the wind. "Actually... no. I think I'll go with Pomni. You can go with Ragatha and Kinger."

 

Zooble looked slightly sad, but it was hard to tell as it flickered away in an instant. "...Alright. Have fun."

 

Kinger screamed suddenly. 

 

---

 

The sky was proceeding to become darker and darker as they trekked down the path, and it unnerved Pomni. Please tell me that there won't be a monster for this adventure.

 

Pomni was walking side by side with Gangle, neither having a conversation, until Gangle spoke first. "I think I should explain what happened with Jax."

 

"Yeah?" Pomni looked up.

 

"Ragatha noticed that you'd been looking upset after the end of the gun adventure, and Jax was acting off. Zooble and Ragatha confronted him, and it didn't turn out very well."

 

"What?? Why did no one ask me?" Pomni's voice wavered.

 

Gangle continued. "He broke my mask. Zooble and Ragatha were upset about that. And then... he started ignoring you."

 

"I asked him what he'd do if I abstracted." Pomni found herself saying.

 

Gangle didn't reply, just processing the sentence.

 

"He... he said he'd move on and probably forget about me." Pomni's voice broke. "Then I attacked him, he said some s[#%©]t about how he enjoyed making others suffer and told me to stop looking."

 

"I'm sorry that he said all that." Gangle stared at Pomni. "I may not like Jax, but... you should apologize first. Don't wait for an apology from him first. Let him know that you care and won't br leaving."

 

"...Thank you." Pomni let out a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding in.

 

...

 

"Well, I guess we'd better finish this adventureー" Pomni stared at the trees. "I think I see a pair of eyes."

 

"WHAT?"

Notes:

okay so i have full detailed outlines up until chapter 18 (gonna add more maybe) what is wrong with me
honestly? idk how I'm gonna end this fic if i even get there, but I'm thinking about it

constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!!!!! /ref /srs (i need tips on how to make my writing of the characters more lively. im okay at describing stuff but NOT WRITING REALISTIC EMOTIONAL SCENARIOS)
okay thank you for reading through my yapping
also point out any typos i didnt proofread this enough

Chapter 7: you drew stars around my scars (but now i'm bleeding)

Summary:

Why can't everything be this way?

---

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of self-harm. Please skip this chapter (or at least Jax's part) if you are sensitive to that! <3

Notes:

i got massive burnout from writing essays for my schoolwork-
updates may be later than usual
but im trying !!
pomni angst in this one (theres still jax angst!!)

THANK YOU FOR 28 KUDOS lowk thought this would have like 10 kudos at max

His arm ached.

 

It hurt. Not physically, but emotionally. The memory of pressing a piece of broken glass to his arm in a broken state, the skin or whatever it could be called repairing itself instantly. Carving feverish shapes deeper and deeper into his skin. Repeat.

 

He'd only done it a few times before. When... When...ー

 

He didn't want to think about that time. At all.

 

Well, he had done it again. In a panicked frenzy, he had searched for that piece of glass, desperate to feel something. Anything.

 

Finally, Jax opened his eyes to his familiar dark room, eyes resting on the picture of him with...

 

No. Don't think about it.

 

It was too early in the morning to have a panic attack, anyways. He needed something to take his mind off of everything.

 

Everything.

 

He did not want to think about Ribbit. Or Kaufmo, for that matter. Or even Pomni.

 

He hated how much Pomni reminded him of Ribbit.

 

Jax forced himself to sit up, practicing slipping that indifferent facade over his face.

 

"You're fine." Jax murmured to himself unconvincingly. "...You won't freak out the second you leave your room."

 

It ws unusual for his voice to seem soー for lack of a better answerー tired. Exhausted. Burned out.

 

He figured that he should get some food, as a distraction. Everyone would still be on an adventure, right? He had no chance of running into anybody. Only that night, he had gone to Caine requesting to be excluded from the next two or so adventures.

 

Sure, Caine hadn't been pleased, but after a couple of back-and-forths, he had begrudgingly allowed it. A few more days of peace for Jax, hooray!!

 

So, he worked up the courage to leave his room. He opened his bedroom door slowly, slipping out then closing it. He carefully crept through the hallway.

 

As he thought, no one was to be seen in the main circus grounds. He stumbled to the kitchen, grabbed a few slices of digital pizza from the refrigerator without bothering to close its door, and ate the food. Without heating it up. Because, for some unknown reason, there wasn't really a sense of temperature when it came to food in this digital hellhole.

 

That, and he didn't give a f[$&!]k whether he should heat it up or not.

 

After sitting on the kitchen floor eating the sad leftover pizza, he abruptly stood up and headed back to his room. Time to lock myself in there for another several hours!

 

He was at the hallway when he heard the unmistakable sound of a portal opening. Specifically, Caine's portal out of an adventure. He wanted to just leave, but a part of him was curious.

 

He carefully looked out of the cover of a tall plant, spotting Gangle clutching her shattered comedy mask, Zooble trying to reattach an arm to their body, Kinger screaming nonsense about flying centipedes, and Ragatha looking very much traumatized.

 

He almost snorted at the scene.

 

Deliberately last of all, he noticed Pomni.

 

She looked tired. So tired.

 

Jax tried to convince himself that he did not care. He knew he was desperately failing.

 

He heard Pomni's voice. Not directed at him, obviously, but to the others.

 

"I think... I'm just gonna go to my room. That adventure was a bit too tiring. Goodnight, everyone!" 

 

Her tone felt fake. It was too... Yeah.

 

Jax squinted. Was it just him or was Pomni trying to keep a mask over her true emotions?

 

See, this is why you don't get close to anyone. Anyone.

 

He willed that toxic voice in his head to shut up.

 

He heard Ragatha and Gangle's goodbyes to Pomni, before footsteps told him that the jester was heading his way. He raced down the hallway, locking himself inside his room, just in time.

 

...

 

He was indeed avoiding Pomni, whether or not he'd admit it.

 

---

 

The rhythm of every day was unsettling.

 

Wake up, eat the digital food that provided no sustenance, go on an unpleasant adventure, survive it, then repeat.

 

Pomni couldn't recall how many days it had been since she first joined the circus. She couldn't recall her name, couldn't remember what she really looked like in the real world, couldn't remember her family's names.

 

Remember, remember, remember, remember...

 

The days had grwn increasingly bland as Jax kept ignoring her. Or, rather, avoiding her and refusing to even acknowledge her mere presence. But now, he hadn't even shown up today. Her worry clawed at her heart.

 

Well, Jax wasn't the only one good at keeping a near-flawless facade.

 

Pomni would joke around like her heart was in it. It wasn't. Not the slightest.

 

Why had all of this broken her? She shouldn't be this worried about a bully. Someone who made others suffer without regret.

 

He wasn't pushing others away for no reason. After all, something must have happened before. Right? 

 

Why else would he be acting like this?

 

Before she reached her bedroom door, she swore that she heard a noise. Like, a door being closed hastily yet carefully.

 

Eh, probably not.

 

Well, whatever it wasー she was glad that it snapped her out of her dissociating state.

 

She reached for her doorknob, opened it, went in, and slammed it shut behind her.

Notes:

FOUR MORE DAYS UNTIL EMOTIONAL DAMAGE!!

Chapter 8: i swore my loyalty to me, myself, and i

Summary:

Almost.
Just almost.
What if someone past saving can be saved?

---

It's not every day that there's an adventure that's actually good. Or, at least good according to Jax's standards!

Notes:

Some (kinda) fluff because I think y'all will need this after the... angst from last chapter!! :D whaaaat of course i didnt sneak any angst in this chapter why would i

"TODAY, MY ATHLETIC MANDARINS, WE WILL HAVE AN ADVENTURE INVOLVING TEAMWORK!!!"

 

Caine twirled his baton in the air idly.

 

Bubble hovered over to Caine and made chirping cricket sounds. Meanwhile, five pairs of eyes stared at Caine, the very epitome of unimpressedness.

 

When no one spoke up, Pomni decided to be the first to do so. "That sounds great!" Her tone was far from cheerful, but, honestly, who cares? 

 

"ALRIGHT!!!" Caine was about to snap open a portal. "Wait, WHERE'S JAX?"

 

More cricket sounds from Bubble.

 

"I thought you said he was gonna skip a few adventures," Zooble objected. "He's only skipped one."

 

"UHー WELL!!! WE NEED EQUAL TEAMS FOR THIS ONE!!!" Without a second word, Caine forcefully teleported Jax into the circle.

 

"What the fー" Jax looked like he had been startled awake. It was to be expected, Pomni supposed. She tried to look anywhere but at him. "Caine, I thought I was allowed to skip the next few adventures?" He snapped at the floating dentures, slipping into that facade easily.

 

"Oh, Jax!" Caine grinned. "No one can opt out of this adventure. NO ONE." He stared ominously at Zooble for a second.

 

Maybe it'll be best if we don't talk at all. 

 

Yet, another part of her protested that she couldn't give up that easily. She was relieved that Jax seemed okay, after not showing up for over a day.

 

Bubble's high pitched voice broke Pomni out of her thoughts. "D[#%©]n, Jax, you look like s[@!?$]t."

 

"Well, thanks for stating the obvious," Pomni heard Jax mutter in reply.

 

"...What did I say about swearing, Bubble." Caine deadpanned.

 

"Wellー"

 

Before Pomni could hear the unhinged bubble finish that sentence, Caine hastily snapped open the portal and shoved the six people into it.

 

---

 

Jax rubbed his eyes as he landed on firm ground.

 

Looking around, there was... a long stretch of grass with a line across it horizontally, with bleachers on every side containing mannquin NPCs. On one side of the line, Jax stood there, before whirling around as two others landed beside him.

 

"AHHHHHHH!!!! Oh, hello, Jax!"

 

Great. He was stuck with Kinger andー he looked just past Kingerー Zooble.

 

"Oh, brother. Now I'm stuck with hoo-ha and Zoobling." Jax scoffed.

 

"Not too pleased to see you either," Zooble snapped back at him with a roll of their eyes. 

 

"Whaaaat? Little old me?" Jax acted like he'd been hurt. 

 

He didn't wait for a reply and looked to the opposite side. It looked like Gangle had landed in one piece, and Pomni was dusting off the grass from her jester suit. Ragatha was glaring at Jax from afar. Well, how lovely!

 

Jax looked up to hear a speaker with Caine's booming voice flowing from it.

 

"WELCOME!!!! Today, two teams will be playing DODGEBALL!!! If you are hit with a ball without catching it, you are OUT AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REJOIN. First team to get to zero members LOSES!!! OH, AND YOU MUST NOT CROSS THE MIDDLE LINE TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OR YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY OUT."

 

Jax raised an eyebrow. "Dodgeball, huh? Ooh, this will be fun." He picked up a dodgeball that had seemingly materialized out of nothing and prpared to swing it towards Zooble.

 

Caine's voice blasted through the speakers again. "FRIENDLY FIRE IS NOT TOLERATED."

 

"Whoops!" Jax threw the ball towards Zooble, narrowly missing. "Finger slipped."

 

He had almost forgotten his earlier depression.

 

Almost.

 

He was naturally keeping that mask. He would make everyone think he was an a[#%$&]e on purpose.

 

Even himself. 

 

Especially himself.

 

---

 

Pomni picked herself up from the ground, barely noticing her surroundings. Her thoughts were on Jax. She looked up, noticing him on the opposite side.

 

She watched him bicker with Zooble, instead of listening to what Caine had to say. After all, she had already figured out that it was a game of dodgeball.

 

If anyone else other than Pomni had been watching Jax from afar, they would have assumed that everything was just fine, and that Jax was naturally a jerk.

 

Well, Pomni wasn't anyone else. She saw the dullness behind his rough movement, the motivation behind his sharp words. Though, she wanted to know what the motivation actually was.

 

He would always push her away.

 

She didn't want to acknowledge the raw truth.

 

Even if it was true, she'd keep trying.

 

She was snapped back to the present as a ball nearly hit her side. Pomni stumbled back, grabbing one of her own and throwing it to the rival team.

 

Gangle had put her comedy mask away on purpose, and was now throwing dodgeballs at Jax with all her might. Ragatha was doing the same. 

 

Jax was throwing dodgeballs in every direction, throwing one at Pomni as well.

 

"You're goin' down, Pompom!" Pomni heard him shout. She barely acknowledged that he had spoken to her, before she caught the dodgeball and threw it at Jax. "Oh, yeah?" Pomni threatened.

 

Jax skillfully dodged her attack, grabbing another dodgeball and hurling it at her. 

 

Pomni then had a sudden thought as she spotted Jax preparing to throw one at her. She grabbed a dodgeball and throwing it into the air, trying to remember what he had told her about cartoon physics. Please work, please work, please work...

 

Pomni cheered as it hit Jax, before falling to the ground as the dodgeball he had thrown hitting her right in the head. "Ow!"

 

"POMNI AND JAX ARE BOTH OUT!" Caine shouted across the field through the speakers, before they both were teleported to the bottom of the bleachers.

 

There was complete silence as they sat there in awkwardness. Their earlier playful fighting had dissipated, leaving them with quiet as they both recalled the events of the last week.

 

"So..." Pomni began.

 

"I don't want to hear it." Jax replied curtly.

 

And, that was the end of that conversation.

 

Why had she ever thought that she could make him talk to her?

Notes:

i love completely disregarding my outline and just writing whatever i think about
anyways sorry gng youll have to wait a few more chapters for any romantic stuff (the slow burn is slow burning AND ITS KILLING EVEN ME)

Chapter 9: cruelly trampled (my one and only lilac)

Summary:

It takes a long time for broken hearts to heal.

---

Caine gives up and chooses something from the suggestion box for an adventure.

Notes:

its a VERY short chapter but its necessary!!

---

next chapter i swear there will be fluff
...... maybe!!!!
depends on what my brain decides
theres still some angst in this chapter. you have been warned

Pomni opened her eyes, scanning the walls of her now-familiar room, filled with sickening colors reflecting her avatar.

 

What time was it? She'd been waking up frequently in the middle of the night from her overthinking, and it was beginning to annoy her a lot.

 

It was probably in the morning here, and the others were getting breakfast. She was waking up later and later in the morning, caused by her lack of sleep.

 

I mean, she didn't really need to sleep here.

 

It was a habit. That's all it was.

 

As a tear began to drip down her face, Pomni wondered if she should just skip the adventure for today. 

 

That thought went away as she was snap summoned to the circus grounds. The others were blinking confusedly beside her. Great.

 

Caine was saying something, not that she bothered to listen. Pomni only tuned in when Zooble began to complain about the adventure.

 

"Can we do a suggestion box adventure today?" Pomni spoke hesitantly, just wanting some peace.

 

Caine glitched for a second. "UHー NO!!!!"

 

"I'm not going on any adventure, then," Zooble rolled their eyes. "Unless it's a suggestion box adventure. Your ideas are..." They trailed off as they spotted Caine giving them a death stare. "...Great, but sometimes I don't like them."

 

The others begrudgingly murmured in agreement.

 

"Hey, I liked yesterday's adventure," Kinger added helpfully.

 

"ALRIGHT THEN." Defeated, Caine ripped the suggestion box from the wall for a second time, reaching in it to grab one note. "AN ADVENTURE WHERE WE HAVE A BAKING BATTLE. We will do this. NO COMPLAINTS."

 

Pomni inwardly cursed at herself. She was not great at anything involving cooking, or baking. Basically, anything that involved making food.

 

A portal to the adventure opened and Pomni stepped into it.

 

---

 

"Great, a baking adventure," Jax scoffed. "This'll be fun."

 

He was annoyed at being dragged out of his room, to say the least. Though he wouldn't admit it, he did think that a baking adventure sounded better than an escape room with monsters.

 

Caine had followed them, and brought a... wheel with everyone's names on it?

 

"I'LL BE RANDOMLY GENERATING THE TEAMS!!!"

 

Jax hoped that he wouldn't get Pomni on his team. He didn't know if he could keep ignoring her the entire time.

 

It was beginning to concern him how she herself was trying to hide her emotions.

 

Caine set down the wheel, giving it a spin and watching it land on Pomni's name then Gangle's name. "TEAM RED, POMNI AND GANGLE!!!!!"

 

Jax prayed that he wouldn't get Zooble as his teammate.

 

Caine snapped his fingers and suddenly Gangle and Pomni were in red baking attire, before he gave the wheel a second spin. "JAX AND... KINGER, ON THE BLUE TEAM!!"

 

"Great, just great," Jax deadpanned. Kinger just looked happy at his own outfit.

 

"THE LAST TEAM IS RAGATHA AND ZOOBLE, ON THE YELLOW TEAM." Caine stared ominously at Zooble again. 

 

"Dude, don't stare at me like that." Zooble stared back at Caine. "It's creepy."

 

"AHEM." Caine cleared his throat. "EACH TEAM GETS A DESIGNATED DESERT TO MAKE. YOU HAVE TWO HOURS. FIND THE INGREDIENTS YOURSELVES. GOODBYE."

 

Bubble suddenly appeared. "Daddy Bubble wants you to do your best!"

 

Caine stared at Bubble out of shock. "Can you shut up." He proceeded to pop Bubble.

Notes:

i think im gonna try to get the next chapter out today as well,, since its intended to be a continuation of this chapter.

Chapter 10: don't get comfortable ('cause any minute now)

Summary:

The rift between Jax and Pomni is slowly healing.
Extremely slowly.

Notes:

YAYYYYYY 10K WORDS
actually the first time ive reached this many words in an actual fanfic with an outline and actual plot
be glad that i have tried to remove as much angst from this chapter as possible (theres still a bit!!!)
i was about to give jax another panic attack over the corn
okay this chapter may be fast-paced and switching between POVs quickly BUT that is exactly the point
i'm trying to fit as many scenes in it as possible
this chapter was the most fun to write imo :D

A sheet of digital paper floated down, and Pomni caught it before Gangle could.

 

It was a recipe for angel food cake. ...Of course!

 

"What is it?" Gangle tried to peer at the recipe.

 

"It's an angel food cake recipe," Pomni sighed. "It doesn't even make sense."

 

"Oh, dang it." Gangle took the sheet of paper. "Do you know how to bake this?"

 

"...No. I can't bake or cook anything."

 

Gangle stared at Pomni with disbelief. "What do you mean you can't cook anything?!"

 

---

 

From what Jax could see, it didn't look like Pomni and Gangle were having the best time. He snorted. I wonder what abomination of a recipe those two received.

 

Well, he was doing okay with Kinger. Who knew the old man knew exactly where to find the ingredients for the pumpkin pie?

 

The recipe had seemed quite complicated, with multiple spices. All he had to do, though, was make the pumpkin filling. Kinger took the difficult part; making the crust.

 

Jax pondered over who most likely dropped that adventure into the collection box. It was probably Ragatha, to be honest.

 

He proceeded to mix the pumpkin into the egg and sugar aggressively. Sure, it was a relaxing adventure, but he'd only gotten to skip one adventure. It was getting... pretty annoying, to say the least.

 

Jax dared to look up at the timer above the gray and white  cabinets. D[©#%]n, thirty minutes had passed already? It hadn't felt like it.

 

...

 

He watched the clock skip forward by exactly 3 minutes. Nevermind.

 

---

 

Gangle had convinced Pomni that she could handle the actual cake, so Pomni was stuck slicing strawberries and mixing them with lemon juice and sugar. The theater mask had insisted that the angel cake would be perfect with some sliced strawberries.

 

Pomni stiffened up every time the butter knife she was holding cut into the strawberry a fraction of an inch too close to her finger.

 

In the real world, she had been very accident-prone in the kitchen, even to the point of accidentally setting the oven on fire. I don't even remember how that happened...

 

She did feel terrible leaving Gangle to deal with the difficult angel food cake on her own, but Pomni knew that she would only end up ruining the complicated recipe. Gangle had somehow found some cake flour and eggs, and was now separating the egg whites from the yolks.

 

Pomni wondered if Gangle had baked desserts often when she wasn't in the circus.

 

Pomni noticed Jax looking at her for a brief moment, then stiffening and looking away like it was habit.

 

No, she decided, it wouldn't do her any good to think about every hurtful thing the purple bunny had said. Probably wasn't true anyways...

 

Pomni looked away and proceeded to finish cutting the digital strawberries.

 

---

 

Jax opened the refrigerator, looking for some nutmeg. He had scoured the cabinets and now went to the refrigerator as a last resort.

 

Oh, well, it wasn't there. Jax began to close it before his gaze flitted to the bottom compartments of the refrigerator.

 

His eyes widened comically. A cob of corn had been placed quite conveniently where he could see it. He slammed the refrigerator shut. "Okay, who put the corn right there?"

 

It brought up a lot of memories.

 

Too many memories.

 

Jax broke out of it when he heard Zooble's voice filled with amusement. "Pfft. You should've seen the look on your face."

 

"Yeah, haha..." Jax glared at Zooble. "Not funny."

 

He turned away before he could hear Zooble's reply. Whatever. He forgot to look for the nutmeg, anyways. 

 

Pulling out a chair and lounging at the counter which looked like an imitation of marble, he listened idly to the background noises. Kinger sliding the pumpkin pie into the oven, Zooble and Ragatha deciding which color would work best on the frosting for their carrot cupcakes, and Pomni slicing the last few pieces of strawberry, then rinsing off the knife in the sink.

 

Pomni.

 

I mean, it wouldn't hurt to... talk to her, right?

 

He hadn't forgotten the causes of his last few panic attacks, but now, he had realized that he couldn't avoid her forever.

 

His facade was breaking, and he couldn't prevent it.

 

It was always due to shatter eventually.

 

Anyways.

 

Jax decided to make some whipped cream for the topping on the pumpkin pie.

 

---

 

Pomni's left pinwheel eye twitched as she heard Caine calling out from the middle of the kitchen. "TEN MORE MINUTES!!!"

 

She hastily poured the strawberries into a cleaner bowl, ready for Gangle to pour onto the angel food cake. Gangle had already taken the cake from the digital oven, and was waiting for it to cool down. 

 

Surprisingly, Gangle's comedy mask hadn't broken... yet. Pomni winced as Gangle slipped on a banana peel on the floor, obviously set there by Jax. There was the sound of glass shattering.

 

It was quite annoying how he looked like he thought it would be best if he just moved on quickly, and forgot that he owed Pomni an apology. Not that he'd ever willingly apologize, of course.

 

Pomni sighed and sat back as Gangle arrived. "Gangle? Are you... okay?"

 

Gangle nodded slightly, tears at the edges of her eyes. "Uhm... yeah. I guess. I mean, I've had a while to get used to my mask breaking, haven't I?"

 

Pomni smiled, handing the bowl with strawberries over to Gangle. "Here. You can put it on the cake, I don't really think it would be safe if I did it!"

 

Gangle accepted it, before pouring the sliced strawberries onto it. It indeed looked delicious, and much more real than anything Bubble could make.

 

The ten minutes were up faster than Pomni had expected, and she picked it up, carrying it carefully to a table that Caine had spawned. Jax and Kinger were right behind her, then Zooble and Ragatha. Pomni noticed that Jax had apparently made a pumpkin pie, with Kinger's help.

 

Bubble popped into existence beside Caine, sticking out his tongue. "This looks.... f[#%&$]g delicious!!!!"

 

Caine gave Bubble another side eye. "ANYWAYS!!!" He summoned three plates and filled them with a slice eachー or in the cupcakes' caseー a cupcake. "BUBBLE, YOU MAY DO THE JUDGING!!!"

 

Bubble floated to the plates with slices of dessert, and went to the angel food cake first. "Looks is a nine out of ten, and tasteー" The bubble NPC devoured the entire thing. "Eight out of ten!"

 

Caine and Zooble looked visibly unnerved at Bubble swallowing the slice of cake that quickly.

 

Jax and Kinger's pumpkin pie got a nine out of ten for both, and Zooble and Ragatha's cupcakes received a nine out of ten for looks, then a six out of ten for taste. Bubble's excuse was "I f[$&?!]g hate carrot cake."

 

After Bubble finished judging every dessert, he stuck out his tongue again. "Delicious! I WANT MORー"

 

Caine popped Bubble. "Ahem!! TEAM BLUE WINS THE BAKING CHALLENGE. YOU ALL MAY ENJOY THE DESSERTS NOW!!!"

 

"Is there, like, any prize?" Jax queried.

 

"UH..."

Notes:

projecting my accidentally setting the oven on fire onto pomni <3 /silly /hj

---

three more days my fellow funnybunny fans
episode 7 is either gonna be the best thing ever filled with lore or it will break us (betting on the latter)
should i make a spotify playlist of songs ive listened to while writing this and post it in the notes next chapter?

edit: yall should totally check out the next fic in the series i have ts in (its a christmas funnybunny fluff oneshot) trust its peak!!!

Chapter 11: see you later (maybe never?)

Summary:

The nightmares are getting...
Worse and worse.

---

What if you can't protect anyone?

Notes:

kinda short but i had to get something out!!

---

SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING YESTERDAY
i had a migraine headache that lasted a few days and it reached its worst yesterday but im good now!! downside is I DIDNT HAVE ANYTHING PRE-WRITTEN AND STILL DON'T
AHAJAJAHHHHHAHHAA EMOTIONAL DAMAGE TOMORROW
if i disappear for like a few weeks you shall know why

There was a dark abyss.

 

He was floating through it, billions of eyes around him. Too many eyes.

 

He wanted to scream, wanted to fight out, wanted to cry, wanted to feel some emotion. Any emotion that wasn't helplessness, or the feeling of being hopeless.

 

Utter despair.

 

...

 

Somehow, he knew that he himself had those same eyes forming on his arm. A black, viscous liquid dripped from the multicolor eyes.

 

"Jax."

 

Why did it know his name? It shouldn't.

 

He saw himself. The eyes were beginning to swallow him, until he was nothing. 

 

"Jax! Wake up!"

 

That voice...

 

No. It wasn't her.

 

Multiple hurtful memories flowed through his mind like a cascading river.

 

 

Jax wrenched open his eyes, gasping for air.

 

"What the f[$&!]k was that?" He managed to wheeze out, doubling over in some effort to get some air in his lungs.

 

Why had her voice been in his dreams?

 

No one was in his room. It couldn't be her. Couldn't.

 

He had been imagining it, he could figure that out easily.

 

But, why her?

 

He sat up, staring at the wall aimlessly.

 

It was far too early for any adventures, wasn't it? Jax let out a sigh and laid back down.

 

He just knew that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. Not after that nightmare.

 

---

 

Pomni spent the early morning staring at the ceiling. There was nothing else to do.

 

She wasn't really sleepy at all, and she was sure that breakfast wouldn't be served, just yet.

 

Finally, after a few more of what felt like minutes, Pomni decided to stand up. She stretched her arms, before opening her door and stepping out.

 

The routine was becoming tedious and boring.

 

Walk down the hallway, find someone to talk to, wait for breakfast.

 

No, she couldn't think like that. Pomni scratched her arm idly, fidgeting with her hair as well.

 

She arrived in the main circus grounds, and from what it looked like, Gangle and Zooble were already awake.

 

Gangle was sketching in her sketchbook quietly while Zooble appeared to comment on her art every now and then. Gangle seemed to have a small smile on her face. It was nice to see the usually sad person happy, for a small change..

 

Not wanting to disturb them, Pomni turned away to perhaps explore other rooms. She had no idea what she would do, but, well, she'd just figure it out.

 

Go to the digital lake again? ...Maybe. Even though the last time she'd been there hadn't been for a pleasant reason, it was still quite calm, and Pomni thought the calmness was just what she needed.

 

After she hastily recalled the direction of the lake, she headed there.

 

It was several moments of walking, before she reached it.

 

Both the sun and moon overhead, it was an odd sight, but nevertheless peaceful. Pomni remembered the moon saying "I love you" to Caine, when Pomni had been given a very fast and dizzy tour of the circus on her first day. It was quite funny to think about.

 

Pomni sat down on the digital grass, staring ahead at the lake.

 

It was peaceful, and she wanted to keep it that way.

 

...

 

...

 

Maybe a bit too peaceful, but, whatever.

 

Pomni dipped her left hand into the water, observing the unnatural waves in the lake from the disturbance.

 

Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her, and she whirled around.

 

Jax.

 

Why was he here?!

 

"Why are you here?" Jax echoed her thoughts, sounding surprised himself. He had his arms crossed, and a bewildered expression in his eyes.

 

"Iー" Pomni stuttered. "Why are you here?"

Notes:

first part kinda the shit that i write at 3am when im bored
e
anyways
have a minor yapping session!!!
i think centuries by fall out boy kinda fits jax's emotions after his fight with pomni in ep 6
the song lyrics are a bit cringy
BUT!!! just think about it!! idk i might be insane

---

last chapter ill post until tomorrow or saturday !! maybe idk

---

ALSO ANYONE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TIME EP 7 RELEASES ON?? im on a kindle ereader rn so cant really access youtube to check and i can only get my computer after i finish my schoolwork tomorrow,, js lmk what time and what timezone so i can convert it to mine

Chapter 12: feels like i'm dead (but i'm here instead)

Summary:

Talking.
Talking, talking, and more talking.
It isn't worth it.

Notes:

i...
finished watching ep 7 at the time of me finishing writing the first draft of this chapter
CAINE IM GONNA FIND YOU. /silly
michael kovach's statement abt the episode likely pissing people off was correct. very correct.
anyways not giving spoilers!!
...yet!

edit: I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED MOST OF MY WRITING FOR THIS CHAPTER AND I HAD TO REWRITE IT FROM MEMORY. SORRY FOR TS TAKING SO LONG

"I justー You know what? Never mind." Jax scoffed and turned away.

 

Pomni stared before chasing after him and grabbing his arm. "Waitー You can't get away that easily!"

 

Annoyance flashed in Jax's eyes as he tried to throw her off. "Like I've said before, stop looking. There's nothing more to me." He repeated those words that he had said before, as he tried to shake her off of his arm.

 

It was visibly beginning to annoy her, how he clung to those words like a lifeline.

 

Pomni still didn't give up, eyes flashing with fire. "Stop ignoring me."

 

"Huh? Ignoring you? Why would I do such a thing?" Jax tried to play stupid, but Pomni lashed out at him.

 

"Oh, so because I tried to help you and be your friend, you pushed me away, said you didn't care, and made it worse for the both of us?" Pomni snapped. "When are you going to act your age? Do you even have a reason for being an a[$&!?]s?"

 

Pomni immediately regretted the last part as soon as it left her mouth.

 

...

 

Jax stared at Pomni with wide eyes. He had nothing to say.

 

Pomni didn't want to, but she had to say it. "At least apologize, and then you can ignore me all you want."

 

---

 

Jax exhaled. "Look, I said what I said. It was the truth." 

 

...No, it wasn't, Jax thought to himself.

 

Pomni echoed that thought. "It wasn't! Or maybe it was, I don't know?"

 

Jax stared at Pomni, uncertainty shining in his eyes. A milion different thoughts ran through his head.

 

"I'm not your friend!"

 

Ribbit.

 

Kaufmo.

 

It was your fault. No one else's.

 

Jax wrenched his eyes away, turning around and leaving before Pomni could say anotherword.

 

He felt the silence. It was too quiet. The silence let those thoughts torment him.

 

And he hated the silence so much.

 

As soon as he knew that he was out of sight, he broke into a run for his room, opened the door, slipped inside, and slammed it shut.

 

---

 

Pomni stared at the spot where Jax had been standing only moments before.

 

The sun shone down mockingly, a large smile on her face. Pomni ignored her and walked back to the main circus grounds.

 

She just made everything go to s[#%©]t, didn't she...?

 

There should've been an adventure by now; Pomni wondered where Caine had gone. Oh, well...

 

The red and blue jester let out a sigh as her gaze trailed around the area. Maybe she could distract herself by wandering the circus and checking out all the rooms?

 

As soon as she was preparing to do so, Caine appeared.

 

"HELLO MYー Wait a second," Caine snap teleported the others to around where he was standing. "HELLO MY LOLLIPOP ICICLES! THIS ADVENTURE TODAYー"

 

"Can I skip it?" Jax asked, his voice sharp and dismissive.

 

Well, Pomni had been debating on skipping it, but she didn't want to be alone with Jax. 

 

Especially after those fights.

 

She knew she hadn't been acting mature herself, and that she could've apologized first.

 

And now she had ruined it.

 

Pomni looked up again as Caine replied. "NO!!! THIS ADVENTURE IS NOT OPTIONAL. LOOKING AT YOU, ZOOBLE," Caine added as Zooble tried to slip away unnoticed.

 

Zooble rolled their eyes. "Ugh, come on."

 

Caine seemed to have a second idea, his heterochromia eyes lighting up. "OH!! I HAVE AN IDEA!! YOU'RE ALLOWED TO SKIPー"

 

"Count me in," Jax muttered. "I wanna skip."

 

Zooble seemed to have the same idea, nodding.

 

"ーBUT, THOSE WHO SKIP WILL BE TAKEN TO ANOTHER ADVENTURE!!! WHICH MEANS JAX AND ZOOBLE ARE GOING TO A CORN MAZE!!!"

 

Pomni winced at that. Oh, no.

 

She couldn't help but feel sympathetic for him.

 

Jax's eyes widened with shock. "That adventure again?! I'm not skipping. Nevermind."

 

Caine shook his head. "NO, YOU TWO ALREADY CHOSE TO SKIP. YOU CANNOT CHANGE YOUR ANSWER!!!"

 

"That's notー" Ragatha began, and Gangle cut her off. "But what about Jax?"

 

Zooble snickered. "Oh, this will be fun."

 

"Shut the f[%$#]k up, Zooble." Jax glared at them. 

 

Caine, ignoring their bickering, snapped open a portal and shoved Jax and Zooble into it. 

 

Oh.

 

Caine opened a second portal and Pomni, along with the other three, begrudgingly stepped into it. What would this adventure bring?

 

Her eyes widened as she saw a large roller-skating rink.

 

After a moment of observing it while the others went to go practice skating, she decided that she would just enjoy the adventure for the meantime.

 

After all, it wouldn't help her to think about her concerns for every second of the day.

Notes:

around 3-4 more months until episode 8!!!!
my autocorrect loves me so much its unbelievable, it autocorrected a buncha random words to weird shit-
i got really bad writers block now- so the second half of the chapter is basically filler

Notes:

I love writing angst
yay

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of anonymous's silly hyperfixation on funnybunny