Chapter Text
The circus was its usual self: the bright colours and zany decor were all too familiar. Despite that, his characteristics weren't a comfort at all. It was a reminder to Pomni that she was stuck in a digital purgatory. And through her shared suffering, a reminder of her humanity.
To seek comfort in their situation, the cast sought companionship among themselves. Gangle with Zooble; Ragatha and Pomni with a lucid Kinger. Jax just heads off to his room. Despite her growing friendship with Ragatha, Pomni still found herself trusting Kinger when times were tough. It was sometimes hard for her to swallow the rag doll’s happy pills when she just needed validation. Besides, with the distance Jax created between him and her, the purple bunny is out of the equation.
Although this time was different. After the "Escape The Circus" adventure, the humans all walked back to the tent in silence. The weight of the quietness amongst the group wasn't uncomfortable itself, but the demons that were lingering in their heads. Minus Kinger and Jax, who went off in their respective ways, they somehow found themselves seated together in the tent's open common area. No one could find the words to begin processing what had just happened.
It wasn't long before the dapper man they were yearning to see popped right out of nowhere, floating above their heads like a balloon being passed around.
"Hey, my little zigzagged children!" Caine hailed.
Zooble's eye twitched upon seeing him. "Don't call us that," they peeved.
Caine lowered down to the group’s level, taking off his top hat and fiddling with it. "Now, I get the vibe that you may be… disappointed with my last adventure."
Zooble sprang up from where they were seated. "DISAPPOINTED?!" they exclaimed, their arms swinging as they spoke. "Caine, you know how much we wanted to leave the circus, yet you played with our feelings and lied to us."
"Did you not enjoy the prize basket?" Caine faced them, averting his eyes. Zooble groaned and proceeded to leave, prompting Gangle to stand up and follow.
Pomni glanced at the Mix-and-Match toy, then walked up to Caine with a hand behind her head. Despite his inability to see the weight in his actions, the jester’s human emotions got the best of her. "I think we need a break from the adventures, Caine. Can't we just stay in tomorrow and… chill?"
"I agree," Ragatha chimed in, her cheerful voice slower and shakier than usual. "Last adventure… took a whole lotta toll on us."
As if he were the weatherman himself, the clouds turned into a sunny day. "Well, Pomni and Ragatha, your wish is my command!" Caine exalted. "But since you're here…"
He snapped his fingers, teleporting the three of them into an intimate therapy room. The women were propped on a red divan couch, while Caine sat on a red armchair sofa that faced Pomni and Ragatha. Between them, a table lamp acted as a singular source of light, paired with a common green house plant.
"Do you mind telling me if you perhaps have any feedback on how I could make my adventures more…" Caine starts as he holds up an apple with one hand and a knife in the other. "Appealing?"
The humans exchanged an annoyed glance.
“Well, for one,” Pomni sighed before continuing. “I think taking our feelings into consideration would help. For instance, I didn’t like the horror adventure.”
Caine screeched in exasperation. “Then what do you want, Pomni?” his hands were pulling the top of his mouth down. Pomni’s heart went on steroids. “I gave you an exit adventure, and you’re still not satisfied? I even asked Jax and—”
Suddenly, a lightbulb appeared above his head, turning on with a ding sound. He pointed one finger in the air. “Wait, I got a brilliant idea!”
Pomni was taken aback. She can never get used to how unhinged the ringmaster is, nor keep up with his ever-changing emotions. Rather than giving her a chance to respond, the dapper man grabbed the jester and whisked her away.
Stunned, Ragatha blinked at the now-empty therapy room. “H-Hold on, what about me?”
Everything was happening so fast. Pomni couldn’t register how, what, or when the teleportation occurred when she sat on a cushioned seat. The sentient AI brought the human into a dimly lit room, with an enormous screen at the front and several rows of theatre chairs ascending from the ground up. She took deep breaths.
“Caine, I swear-”
Before she could finish voicing her vexation, the screen turned on and showed clips of recognizable scenes. The moving truck from Candy Canyon Kingdom. The front-end cashier. The president’s office. The star-lit sky. The high school classroom. The bar. The softball stadium. And finally, the tent, with bullets flying everywhere. Pomni’s “we did it!” echoed through the theatre. Her stomach churned.
Caine emerged from behind the screen, as if he passed through a gentle waterfall. Both arms were in the air with one leg kicking out with enthusiasm.
“I can’t seem to help but notice The Drama! The Intrigue! Between you and Jax.”
Pomni grabbed the armrests of her chair, leaning back at Caine’s words. “Uhh… Caine… Where is this going…”
“And taking your feelings into consideration, I think I know just the right solution to fix your relationship problems!”
“W-What?”