Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"well well well my little Digital Darlings! that was quite the spectacle! I do hope you all enjoyed yourself?"

Caine's loud and enthusiastic voice fills the room as Zooble, Gangle, Kinger, Pomni, Jax, and Ragatha all walk through the portal returning them to the circus.

"w-well.. I thought the maze was a little scary..." Gangle says timidly, clutching the remnants of her broken comedy mask. Caine snaps his fingers and, like magic, Gangle's comedy mask pieces together and she doesn't hesitate to put it back on.

"Scary? oh please, the scariest thing was listening to Caine explain the rules for 20 minutes." Zooble says with a tint of boredom.

a few chuckles emit from the group, Jax is stifling laughter, but something is wrong. Ragatha is quiet, quieter than usual. Pomni looks over to her and sees her rubbing her right arm, staring down at the floor.

"Ragatha? are you alright?"

"huh? oh, yea. just.. tired. I think I'm going to go rest for a bit."

she sounds exhausted and dry, but before Pomni can comment on it she spins on her heel and walks down the hall. Pomni watches her leave with an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

"well, I think the maze was scary! Especially the creepy spiders!"

Kinger says in his usual kooky demeanor.

Pomni is too focused on watching Ragatha's uneven, faltering steps that she completely misses what Kinger says. She looks back at the group with a plastered smile and an overwhelming sense of.... wrongness.

"Sorry, what did you say, Kinger? I missed it." She chuckles nervously.

"It's fine. It's fine. I'm fine. It wasn't real. They weren't real!"

Ragatha mutters under her breath to herself.

She's sitting in the corner of her darkened room. breathing uneasily. the room feels like its shrinking. her breathing quickens. she puts her hands to her head to keep herself from falling over. she's dizzy, the room is spinning.

she groans in pain and begs for it to stop under her breath. there's a ringing in her ears that refuses to leave. Then,

silence.

"Ragatha? are you in there?"

Pomni's voice comes from the other side of her bedroom door, but she doesn't react.

"Ragatha? are you in there?"

Pomni and Zooble stand in the hallway, awaiting a response.

but its silent.

Pomni and Zooble both have the same spark of thought and don't need to speak a word. They kick open her door and its eerily dark in her room, the only light coming from the, now open, door.

"Ragatha?" Pomni asks with concern. She doesn't react. she stays still, arms at her side, staring into the darkness of her room.

Pomni takes a small step into her room, but stops when she feels something..... wet. A black liquid, no, ooze is puddled on the floor. it seems to be coming from Ragatha.

"what.. is that..?" Pomni whispers.

a soft but wet tearing sound emits from the room, making Zooble and Pomni snap to look at Ragatha.

her head turns, but just her head. her body is delayed. her eye is an unnatural black with a smaller, hyper realistic eye beneath the plastic, like something waiting to get out. her jaw is completely ripped off, hanging on by mere threads of her fabric skin. her mouth is connected to her unhinged jaw, and just like her eye, is an unnatural black with smaller hyper realistic teeth lining her mouth.

her right arm is the exact same as her jaw, ripped off, hanging on by threads. fabric is poking out of her wounds, but its stained black. her wounds, mouth, and eye leak the black ooze.

"what the actual hell.." Zooble's voice, barely a whisper.

"....help.....me..." Ragatha says, her voice is layered with multiple others that Pomni and Zooble cant recognize.

then, suddenly--

she lunges. racing for Pomni and Zooble.

'POMNI!" Zooble screams out in sudden urgency. They pushes her out of the way, Pomni just barely dodges Ragatha's attack. Zooble, on the other hand, isn't so lucky, their right side has deep scratch marks, they fall to the ground, clutching their side.

Pomni rushes over to Zooble, analyzing their side, the scratch marks are black, with unnatural purple veins emitting from it, up the plastic of their body. Without thinking, Pomni rushes to the door of Ragatha's room and slams it shut before she can cause any more damage.

catching her breath, Pomni rests against the closed door. she then remembers Zooble and their... predicament. she rushes over to them, grabbing Zooble's wrist and pulling them up slowly.

they groan and seethe in pain from the sudden attack.

"w-what... what just happened!?" Pomni asks in a craze.

Zooble stays silent, clutching their side, their eyes suddenly dull.

"we need to leave." Zooble says weakly.

Pomni and Zooble come rushing into the main hub of the circus.

"well well my Rushing Rangers! what's got you in such a hurry?" Caine asks with a cheerful attitude.

"RAGATHA SHE- IT'S- I DON'T-" Pomni barely gets the words out before hyperventilating. The group looks at Zooble and Pomni with curiosity and concern.

"Caine..." Zooble says weakly "what did you do to the adventure today.."

"well, I was testing out a new AI to make the adventure more immersive and interactive!" Caine recalls. Pomni stops hyperventilating, catching her breath.

"Caine. did you.. test the AI first..?" Pomni says with concern and a hint of anger.

"hmmm, well I suppose I didn't! I was so eager for you all to try it!" Caine says with his usual happy tone but with a hint of curiosity.

suddenly, Zooble jerks erratically, Pomni lets go of their wrist because of it. then, they lose control. Zooble sludges over to Gangle and scratches deeply into her mask before regaining control.

"hey! that hurt Zooble! what was that for-- oh..." Gangle says angerly before suddenly feeling dizzy and trying to keep her balance. "Oh no... no NO! Gangle! I'm so sorry!" Zooble says, regaining control of their body and backing away from the group. Gangle falls to their ribbon knees and clutches their mask, then, just like Ragatha, she goes still. eerily still.

she looks up, and past the scratch, her eyes and mouth look the exact same as Ragatha's.

she crawls toward Kinger and lunges at him, gaining momentum from pushing off the ground, and in an instant, a deep scratch appears on Kinger's neck. but as Ragatha and Gangle had a chance to fight, Kinger was lost immediately.

"What the FUCK is going on!?" Jax says, raising his voice. the swear filter is gone, and so is Caine. Pomni grabs Jax's wrist and runs, he gets the message and starts running beside Zooble and Pomni.

they eventually make it somewhere safe, away from their friends. they rest and catch their breaths.

"okay. explain to me exactly what is going on." Jax demands.

Pomni and Zooble look at him, both with concern and empathy in their eyes.

Chapter Text

the group is sitting in a far part of the circus, away from the main hub.

Jax exhales loudly before speaking.

"okay, lets go over it one more time and get this right--" he is abruptly cut off by Pomni.

"there's nothing to get right! we already told you 5 times!" Pomni shouts and starts to hug her knees.

"yea? well maybe saying it out loud will make it sound less insane! anybody want to speak up and tell us that this is just a prank!" Jax gradually gets louder as he speaks.

nobody talks, because it wont. it isn't some crazy prank like Jax said. as much as they wished it would be.

they sit in an uneasy silence, then suddenly, Zooble winces, making Jax and Pomni jump. the purple veins, if they can even be called that, has spread farther through Zooble's plastic skin. They've started shaking, their eyes even duller than before. the infection spreading throughout their body.

Pomni hugs her knees tighter "what does it.... feel like.."

Zooble glances down at the sad jester and leans back against the wall, exhaling.

"it's like.... something is pulling the strings inside me. like I'm still moving, but I'm not me anymore.."

silence, then a shape inhale from Zooble as their body twitches.

Jax glances over to them.

"..are you sure you're still... you?" he asks trying to keep his cold composure.

"you mean am I about to start screeching and mauling you? no... not yet at least."

Pomni burrows her head between her knees at that word. yet. it replays in Pomni's mind, making her feel sick to her stomach.

-------------------------------

the group is walking through the halls, Pomni and Jax on high alert but Zooble is staggering and falling behind. Caine's usual omnipresence unnervingly absent.

eventually, they come to a control room. no longer sealed off so they walk inside.

they reach a computer, the core, and Pomni starts frantically typing, searching through files and code.

"if this was some sort of.... new AI like Caine said, then there must be a way to--"

Pomni is cut off by flashing code and a sudden flash. then bright green text shows up on the screen reading "SYSTEM ERROR: CONTAINMENT FAILURE. SELF-CORRECTION IMPOSSIBLE."

"well, that's reassuring." Zooble says flatly with a hint of sarcasm.

more text appears "SYSTEM LOG: UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED. INFECTIOUS PARAMETERS EXCEED SAFETY LIMITS."

the words glitch out and disappear. Jax narrows his eyes at the, now powered off, screen.

"this was never supposed to exist." Jax says darkly.

"waitwaitwait.. if this was never supposed to exist, then how in the loving hell did Caine make it!? what do we do!? what's the solution!?" Pomni asks franticly.

Zooble clutches their side and rests on a nearby console for support.

"I don't think this is a 'we' thing anymore." they say grimly.

Jax and Pomni both stare at them, one with sadness and fear, one with anger and resentment.

"what do you mean..?" Pomni asks slowly, eyes welling up.

"it means I'm on borrowed time--"

Zooble is cut off by the slamming of a door and screeching. Ragatha's out.

"you two need to run." they say cautiously.

"no.. no! we can save you! we-we'll find a cure! please! just--"

Jax places a hand on Pomni's shoulder, preventing her from moving closer towards Zooble.

she looks back at Jax, tears threatening to spill.

"c'mon, we need to go."

Pomni is caught off guard by Jax's empathetic and soft tone. She looks back at Zooble, who looks like they're about to faint, then back at Jax and nods slowly.

they run, run as fast as they can, but just before they round the corner, Pomni looks back at her friend and watches as they fall to the floor, the black ooze leaking from their eyes.

then suddenly, a wall obscures her vision, preventing her from seeing anything further.

Chapter Text

Jax and Pomni are walking through the, now disheveled, circus. Looking for anyone, anything to help them throughout this..... virus. They gave up on looking for Caine, who is still unnervingly absent.

The two don't speak. What is there to talk about? They walk in silence. The only sound is the pattering of their footsteps, and occasional screech of a nearby infected.

"Alright. So remind me, why are we still walking around this disheveled nightmare again?" Jax asks with a faint tint of anxiety, as much as he's trying to suppress it, it isn't working.

"So that we can find a cure. Anything. Anything that will help us solve... whatever is happening.." Pomni replies in a quiet voice.

"Oh yea, like that's been working real great so far!" Jax says sarcastically.

The two continue to walk in a fearful silence. Listening for anything that could be a danger to them.

"Do you.... do you think Zooble-" but before Pomni can finish, Jax cuts her off.

"Don't. Don't act like they're okay. It's just us now, PomPom. Just us." Jax says grimly.

The two walk more in silence, eventually reaching a tattered and broken stage with rows upon rows of empty, broken seats. They've never seen anything like this room. Was it a work in progress? Who would the audience be?

The rabbit and the jester explore the room, not leaving too far from eachothers sides incase something came along. Eventually, Pomni walks up onto the creaking wooden stage.

The speakers crackle to life the second Pomni reaches center stage. And then, a familiar voice comes on, Ragatha's voice. but its wrong. It's distorted, everything about it is wrong.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Please give a round of applause for our very special guest!" The voice said with an unnerving cheerfulness.

The seats suddenly fill with shadows of people. A loud applause bursts from the "audience." Its so loud that Jax has to cover his long, rabbit ears. But Pomni doesn't move. She's stuck in place, frozen in fear.

"Pomni. Get off the stage." Jax shouts out in a demanding tone when the applause quiets down.

The applause is wrong. It's forced, like its been canned for years and is just coming out. Pomni's breath is ragged and uneven, loud and anxiety ridden. Then suddenly, because of all the noise. Ragatha appears on stage. The real Ragatha. She's broken and ripped at the seams. Covered in the black ooze that continues to drip out of her mouth and eyes.

Jax takes notice to her on the stage, about to charge at the actress on center.

"POMNI!" Jax moves without thinking, he runs up onto the stage and grabs Pomni's wrist, he loses his balance because of how light she was and they fall down the stairs. Once both are on the ground, the applause stops. The room is filled with silence. The audience is gone, except, Ragatha remains. She is real. The silence is short lived and the room is filled with disturbingly distorted screams and growls from Ragatha. She truly is lost, now. As she makes her way toward the two, her feet make this horrible squelching sound when gliding across the ooze.

Jax and Pomni both get up without a word and run as fast as they can, outrunning the lost one. Once they make their way to a seemingly safe spot, they set up a makeshift camp using the materials around them. They sit down, inside the safety of the ripped fabrics and the plastic blocks. Jax sharply inhales before speaking to the jester, who's back in against the wall, hugging her knees again.

"You really are an idiot, y'know?" Jax says in a slight smug tone, trying to make light of the situation with a burnt out candle.

Pomni glares at him, tears in her eyes, threatening to spill if one more word is said by either of them. Then, she buries her head between her knees and starts to softly sob. Her voice is cracked and worn. Jax stares at her, with a face of anger and hidden empathy.

"Why couldn't we save them..." Pomni sniffles throughout her tears "why is this happening. This isn't some.... messed up adventure Caine is making, is it?"

All hope in Pomni's body washes away like sand being picked up by the waves of the ocean. Anything that she has thought, is long gone. Nobody remains except the two. They're all they have left of eachother.

Chapter Text

Pomni and Jax began to walk around the dead circus, just to shake off the jitters in their bodies. but every turn they took made them feel like they were going in a circle.

"this is such a waste of time." Jax grumbles through gritted teeth

Pomni keeps turning to look behind them both, anxiety ridden.

"there's nobody here.. but I can't shake the feeling that we are being watched somehow.." she says in a harsh whisper to herself, but loud enough for Jax to hear.

the two stop walking in their tracks, a soft distant laugh echoes through the neglected circus halls. Jax's ears twitch softly and Pomni's eyes widen. they both heard it.

"oh yea, that's not concerning at all." Jax says flatly.

Pomni feels her hands begin to tremble and clutches her arms, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that has washed over her. she snaps out of her trance when Jax huffs loudly and continues to walk.

the two eventually end up back at their makeshift tent in a dark and dense corner of the Circus, Jax taking a seat on a downturned bucket and Pomni sitting on the floor.

"alright. what's the plan now, 'oh-so-fearless-leader'? do we just sit and wait for the.. the nightmare parade to come and find us?" Jax says sarcastically with a tinge of uncertainty and fear biting at his voice.

Pomni sits and stares into the pixilated fire, which somehow manages to keep them warm despite how small it is. she inhales deeply.

"we should take turns resting. it would be helpful to have at least some energy to.... to run..?" she says, with a bit of confidence, but mostly fear.

Jax opens his mouth to protest but quickly shuts it and darts his eyes away from Pomni's. he ponders the option for a second, with his ears downturned covering the side of his head.

"fine. but you're going first. I have the ears and the last thing we need is you collapsing again." he says with a heavy exhale.

Pomni doesn't argue and slowly lays down on her side, staring at a side turned table used for the walls of their hideout, she slowly starts to drift to sleep.

. . .

she opens her eyes, a dark, unfamiliar place. she waves her hand in front of her face, the bright red glove is easily spotted, visibility is not a weakness here.

"h-hello?" her voice echoes around. she takes a step and realizes the ground is wet. there's a faint dripping sound coming from somewhere.

"why, hello you little Jester." a soothing but unnerving voice says. she sounds like she's coming from everywhere.

Pomni's eyes dart around the darkness looking for anything, anyone, to make out in the dark.

then, suddenly, a pair of bright green eyes appear in the darkness.

"sweet dreams?" the voice is melodic and motherly.

"w-who are you..?" Pomni says freezing up after making eye contact with the glowing emeralds.

"that is something you'll know later~" the voice says in a playful, mocking tone. "look at you, so tired. running and running and running.. but where do you think you'll go?"

Pomni stares at the eyes, then suddenly, a smile. pristine white teeth, and a perfectly symmetrical smile. Pomni's hands begin trembling, the atmosphere begins to turn cold, she can see her pixilated breath.

"it would be so much easier if you just... give in~" the voice says, soft, like a lullaby. the voice is delayed to the mouth in the distance.

then suddenly, a warm hand brushes the side of Pomni's face.

she jerks awake with a harsh breath, shooting up into a sitting position. Jax gets startled by the sudden movement.

"WHAT THE HELL???? WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?" Jax snaps at the frightened Jester on the floor.

Pomni looks up and meets Jax's eyes with wide, glossy ones.

"I... I don't know.." she says with unease. "but I feel like it was... nevermind" she hugs her knees, staring off to the side, avoiding Jax's harsh glare.

"did anything happen while I was asleep..?" Pomni asks genuinely, feeling something is off.

"oh yea! a giant, scary monster came by! but I told it to scram and it totally listened. you're welcome." Jax says in his regular sarcastic tone. Pomni meets his eyes with an unamused glare but doesn't bicker. 

"look, if you had a bad dream, then you gotta suck it up, princess. we're living in a bad dream." Jax says flatly, losing his smug attire.

Jax and Pomni begin walking the halls again, in search for Caine to get answers for.... whatever is going on. Pomni rushes ahead of Jax, who is lagging behind since he decided not to rest. when Pomni turns a corner, there is a message, smeared in that horrible black ooze "DON'T TRUST V" it glistens in the broken hall lights. its fresh, someone must have just written it.

as Pomni stares at the wall, calling for Jax to come see, the words on the wall flicker into a paragraph of binary code, but then, for a second, turns into something readable. "TRUST ME." then it melts off the wall like water.

Jax turns the corner, arms crossed behind his head as if he's laying down. his eyebrows are raised in curiosity but then furrow when he sees nothing on the wall.

"I think you're going insane." he says in an attempted joking matter, but his facade is no longer holding up.

Pomni stares at the wall for a minute longer, hoping for something, anything, for proof that it was real. but it's like nothing was ever there.

"oh no, a wall! how sca--" Jax is abruptly cut off by the screech of a nearby Ragatha and Zooble.

without a second thought, they run on impulse. but Pomni looks behind her one more time, and just barely sees it. a silhouette of a woman with the bright green eyes, she's standing there by the wall, tall and elegant but unnerving. a twisted, subtle smile is plastered on her face as Ragatha rounds the corner, just missing the two escapees. the silhouette was there for half a second before disappearing.

Chapter Text

Darkness.

A low hum filled the air—distant, distorted, like an old television left on in another room. Somewhere in the void, water dripped in slow, uneven intervals. Drip. Drip. Drip. Static cracked and sizzled in and out of existence, layered with faint whispers that didn't make sense. Not yet.

Then—white noise flickered.

And through that snowstorm of silence, a single green light blinked in the distance. Steady. Watching.

A warped giggle echoed across the void, then vanished as if swallowed by the dark.

And there she was.

Ragatha stood alone in that endless black space, her arms limp at her sides, her hands trembling. Her breath came in shallow bursts, though she didn't know why. There was no air here. No time. The world felt... wrong.

"H-Hello...?" she called out.

Her voice barely echoed. The word felt fragile, like it would snap in half if it went any further.

Then—footsteps. Slow. Deliberate.

A shape emerged from the shadows—graceful, fluid, and all wrong. Ragatha's heart stuttered. Two glowing green eyes blinked open in the dark.

They didn't blink like eyes.

"Oh, sugar... there you are," cooed a voice.

It was warm. Sing-song. Loving, almost. But every syllable was soaked in something sticky and off.

The figure stepped into dim light—a tall silhouette of a woman, her form smooth and inky black, like someone poured shadows into the shape of a person. Her body shimmered and shifted ever so slightly, as though she wasn't entirely solid. And her grin...

It was too wide.

Ragatha instinctively took a step back. "Who—who are you?"

The woman—no, the thing—placed a hand on her chest in mock hurt.

"Oh, darling, I'm hurt! You really don't know?"

She chuckled—soft and sweet, like a mother amused by her child's confusion. But the void itself responded to the sound, pulsing with every note like a heartbeat made of static.

"I'm Virus," the woman said at last, voice smooth as silk. "But you... you can call me V."

She tilted her head slightly. Her glowing eyes narrowed as her edges shimmered with green glitches, warping the space around her like she was a tear in the world itself.

"And I'm the one who's going to make our future perfect."

The word our hit Ragatha like a slap. Her stomach churned.

Before she could speak, the ground beneath her rippled like water. She stumbled, looking down.

She was standing in shallow black liquid.

It barely rippled as she moved, eerily still, reflecting the endless void above. Yet beneath the surface, something churned—bubbles rising silently, bursting without sound. It should have burned, but Ragatha felt cold. Bone-deep cold.

She took a step forward. The water deepened.

Another step. Deeper still.

It reached her knees now, clinging to her legs like tar.

"Careful now, love," V purred, her voice soft and melodic. "If you go too far... you might just disappear."

Ragatha froze.

She tried to step back—but her legs wouldn't move. The water had her. It was pulling her down.

Panic bloomed in her chest.

The darkness around them began to shift.

Shadows bled into color, the void melting into shapes and tones that shouldn't exist. Suddenly, Ragatha wasn't drowning. She was standing in a warm, pastel-colored living room.

There was a fireplace. Cozy furniture. The faint scent of something sweet hung in the air, like vanilla and cherries.

On the mantle, a photo frame.

Ragatha's breath caught.

In the photo—her and V.

Smiling. Happy. Like mother and daughter. Like they'd always belonged together.

"What... is this?" she whispered, stumbling toward the frame.

She reached for it.

The moment her fingers touched the glass, it melted, black ooze spilling down like thick blood. The image warped and flickered. The walls glitched. The fire in the hearth turned into static.

V was beside her now, voice soft.

"Our future, sweetheart."

"No," Ragatha breathed. "This isn't real. This isn't real!"

She backed away, breath hitching.

V's fingers brushed through her hair with sickening tenderness. "Shhh. It's okay."

The floor started cracking beneath her, then suddenly she was falling. A black void, the world she was in before turned into shards of glass. Five large pieces of glass surround Ragatha as she fell through the void. It was her friends, but something was wrong. It wasn't them.

Pomni was the first one that caught her eye, she was talking with someone, someone Ragatha couldn't see.

"Geez, she's so annoying!" Pomni said, overly cheerful. "Why is she always so loving? Doesn't she know she's not my mom?"

then another shard of glass started speaking, it was Gangle this time.

"She never means anything she ever says." Gangle said, timidly.

"No.. no.." Ragatha said, putting her hands to her ears to try covering up the overlapping voices as each shard starts to speak. Getting louder and louder each time. it starts to get too loud, she can't ignore it. Finally the shards broke, the voices dispersing. 

As Ragatha finally hit the ground, she was stood in front of V, and Ragatha fell to her knees in the dark. Her eyes were wide. Her mouth trembled. Her breath came in short, broken gasps.

A faint, distorted laugh echoed.

Then silence.

She clutched her head, fingers tightening in her hair as if trying to ground herself—anchor her mind in a reality that was slipping away.

A choked sob escaped her throat.

V crouched in front of her, her grin still painted across that inky face.

"I told you, Dolly..."

Her voice was mockingly soft. Comforting. Like a lullaby from a spider.

"They never truly cared for you. They were always going to leave you behind."

Ragatha flinched.

Her lips quivered.

V leaned closer, placing a gentle hand on her cheek.

"But don't worry... I won't."

Ragatha's eyes brimmed with tears—only they weren't tears.

Thick, black ooze spilled from them. Down her cheeks. Onto her trembling hands.

V watched, delighted.

She leaned in, whispering into Ragatha's ear. Her voice impossibly sweet.

"Say it, love. Say it out loud."

Ragatha didn't speak. Couldn't.

Her chest heaved. Her whole body shook.

V stood, still smiling.

"Say there's no one left but me."

Silence.

Then—

Ragatha's body locked up. Her hands clenched into fists, fingers digging into her palms hard enough to bruise.

And then she screamed.

It wasn't a human sound.

It was raw. Guttural. A fractured, distorted wail layered with static, pain, and grief. It sounded like a scream through a broken speaker, like a soul being torn apart.

Black ooze poured from her eyes, her mouth, her hands—dripping into the void like ink soaking through fragile paper.

The void pulsed, breathing in sync with her agony.

V just stood there, smiling. Watching.

The scream grew louder.

Louder.

Until it became an overwhelming wave of static and sorrow that shook the darkness itself.

And then—

Chapter Text

Jax and Pomni turn the corner, a dimly lit corridor. The two find themselves wandering the circus again, even though they both know its pointless. all they want is a way out. 

"are we sure we're going the right way..?" Pomni asks in a cautious whisper.

"nope. but sitting around waiting to be turned into black goo didn't seem like a very ideal plan either." Jax says before starting down the dark corridor. 

they continue silently, letting their eyes adjust to the flickering, dim lighting. Pomni's breath is shallow, uneven and shaky. Jax slumps has he walks. they're both exhausted, but they both know they can't stop walking, or else they risk a fate like their friends.

a slight glimmer of light hits the floor for a split second, it stops Pomni in her track, but Jax doesn't stop walking. Pomni stares at the floor, trying to analyze, then suddenly--

"WOAH-!" Jax took a step where the light was and suddenly was dangling upside down by his ankle. dark red ribbon is encasing him, leaving him in the air. then, from the shadows emerges Gangle. she is lost. her tragedy mask is cracked in various places, some parts revealing her tragedy mask underneath. the scratch from Zooble is heavily leaking the black sludge.

her movements are ragged but swift. just as she revealed herself, she was right before Pomni, staring at her with dead eyes and an impossibly wide smile. more red ribbon appears from the back of Gangle's mask, but just before it could wrap itself around Pomni, she dropped to the floor and scattered away as fast as she could.

but she can't just leave Jax. as much as he's a jerk, he's the only one keeping her sane. so she sprints behind Gangle, pulling on the ribbon that is holding Jax. Gangle lets out a distorted, painful scream. almost as if she has just been stabbed. the ribbon sprawls out and drops Jax. he manages to land on his side but still hurt himself.

Pomni ran to him and pulled him up. as Gangle was stunned, they moved as fast as they could away from the area. eventually, Gangle's screaming and growling faded away, they couldn't hear her anymore. 

the two took a minute to catch their breaths and let the realization of what just happened sink in. 

"its getting worse.. isn't it.." Pomni says through heavy breaths.

"yea. but at least the décor is keeping things lively." he smiles but it falters quickly, gesturing towards a poster plastered on the wall. its the circus crew, but everything is wrong. Ragatha, Zooble, Gangle, and Kinger's faces have all been scratched away, leaving nothing but dark spots. and Pomni and Jax's faces are all warped. Jax has a lengthy frown plastered on and his eyes are leaking the black ooze. and Pomni's mouth is stitched shut, with her eyes pleading for help.

the two decide its best to keep moving now that they've caught their breaths.

as they make their way down the deserted hallway, they pass a cracked mirror, Pomni's reflection lags behind, but Jax doesn't notice. Pomni stops walking to look at her reflection, it's staring right at her, it's mouth is moving but there's no sound.

"nope. absolutely not." Jax says, firmly grabbing Pomni's wrist and pulling her along. "you look at the weird stuff, the weird stuff looks back."

"but.. it looked like it was trying to say something.." Pomni says, trying to glance back to the mirror.

"exactly. which is why we are walking away now." he says not even looking back to meet her eyes.

the two came across a deserted playground. neither of them even knew it was there. then suddenly, a melodic giggle echoes around the room. Jax puts his arm out, putting Pomni behind him and preventing her from entering.

"that sounded like Ra-" but before Pomni could finish, Jax cuts her off again

"it wasn't." he says sternly.

a seesaw suddenly tips down, as if someone got on it. but nobody is there. a swing set starts swinging with faint speaks and creaks. a merry-go-round starts to spin. everything is moving, but nobody else is there. not even a breeze.

"you're getting close, darlings~" a voice says in a playful tone. it sounds like it came from right behind them, the two whip around but nothing is there.

then--

"I knew I'd see you again." the voice says, but when the two turn, she's there.

a tall, elegant silhouette of a woman is inside the room. her bright green eyes pierce through the dim room. her form is straight, with her hands behind her back.

"looking for your friends?" she says in a mocking tone "well, that's too bad. they wanted to come home with me~"

Pomni's breathing falters for a second, giving the woman the reaction she wanted.

"who--" Jax starts but doesn't get to finish.

"who am I? well, my name is Virus, but you two can call me V." she says with a growing grin.

then, out of the darkness of the room, a giggle. Pomni's giggle.

as V moves to the side, a version of Pomni walks out of the shadows and stands a few feet away, staring right at Jax. she looks wrong. too clean, too happy. but Jax's eyes widen at the sight of her and his posture stiffens.

"Jax. Jax that's not me. that's not me." Pomni says, while tugging at Jax's arm but he is unresponsive. he stares at the fake Pomni.

"it's okay, Jax. you don't have to run anymore." the fake Pomni says, her voice is almost dreamlike.

"no.." Jax whispers under his breath, almost disbelieving.

"it's... t-too late anyway.." her voice is cutting out, mixing with static.

then suddenly, she starts to fade away, like sand blowing in the wind.

"NO!" Jax shouts out, dashing towards her with an arm out, but he didn't make it. she was gone. he fell to his knees is disbelief. V looking down at him like a satisfied mother.

Pomni rushes over to Jax, kneeling down and placing her hands on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Jax. I'm right here. it wasn't real. I'm right here." Pomni says as soothing but as stern as she could, trying to make him snap out of it. but then, he starts to chuckle. his eyes dead, staring down at the ground. where the fake Pomni stood.

his chuckling starts to feel forceful, Pomni takes a step away and lets go of the manic Jax.

"y'know.. I used to think I was the smart one. that I was the one who got it." Jax says almost amused with his own foolishness. "...but I get it now."

he stands up and looks right into the glowing eyes of V. "I get it." he says in a harsh whisper

"Jax, no. please, don't leave me.." Pomni says, trying to avoid completely breaking down. her voice is cracking and she shakes her head in disbelief.

Jax turns to look at Pomni with his dead eyes, all the light in his eyes has vanished.

"I'm sorry, but it's easier this way." his movements are sluggish, but he starts to walk backwards, into the darkness behind him.

"Jax! No, PLEASE!" Pomni shouts out, trying to rush after him and grab him, but it's too late. he's gone. a sickening chuckle comes from the silhouette standing behind her.

"oh no! you almost caught him, deary!" V says, amused and satisfied, just before she vanishes into thin air like she arrived.

Pomni is left sitting on the floor, in a dark playground. completely alone. tears streaming down her face, it stings her eyes. but she can't stop. she buries her face into her hands and sobs. she's the only one left, everyone else is gone.

then V's voice echoes through the playground one last time.

"finders keepers, losers weepers." she says in a playful tone before laughing and leaving Pomni in silence. she sits on the floor and stares at the wall where Jax disappeared. she could've done something, right? she could've reached a little farther, spoke a little louder, ran a little faster. but no, she's all alone, now.

"I don't want to be left alone.." she whispers to herself, tears hitting the hard, plastic floor.

Chapter Text

Pomni stumbles through the dark halls, clothes tattered and torn, legs barely strong enough to keep her standing. she persists. the world around her glitches in and out of reality, the floor disappears from beneath her for a second, causing her to trip and fall. she has barely enough strength to get back up off the ground, she leans on the wall for support. and through the darkness, she sees a familiar shape in the distance. it's Jax.

"Jax...?" Pomni says weakly, but with a tinge of hope in her voice. as if everything that happened a few hours ago never actually happened. but she blinks hard to try and keep her eyes open and when she does, the silhouette disappears. he was never there. he really is gone.

the hallway seems to stretch on and on and on. as if she will never stop walking down this hallway. she wants to turn around and go back, but she can't bring herself to and continues down the endless hall. 

Pomni eventually reaches the door and pushes herself off the wall and stumbles to the handle, but as she opens the door, she is met with the same hallway. is her mind playing tricks again? or is the circus just this fucked up.

"no.. it's not real. it's not real." she mutters to herself, shutting her eyes and trying to calm herself down. but the sound of the static is too loud, the faint audience reactions that are playing in the background are driving her crazy. her vision begins to blur, her breathing and heartrate quicken. her hands begin trembling and tingling, she feels like she needs to throw up. she drops to her knees and clutches her stomach. her chest has a sharp stabbing pain and she starts to feel as if she's being choked.

she's left alone, suffering a panic attack with nobody to help her through it. she curls up on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest and tries to let it pass. tears start to stream down her face, but all of a sudden, a warm hand is stroking the side of her face. it's V. Pomni doesn't even need to look at her to know. but her hand and soft humming helps her calm down. eventually, she regains control of her breathing, she stops crying, and everything that hurt, doesn't.

V is gone when Pomni opens her eyes, she doesn't even know if she has the strength to get up again, but she tries anyway. when she looks up, she can see that the hallway is different, she's somewhere familiar, somewhere she can navigate. but it's quiet, too quiet.

then, around the corner appears Jax. Pomni wastes no time and rushes onto her throbbing feet. she rushes as far as she can to him, but when he is in view, it's not him. He's just like the others.. Lost. His head twists a sickening 180 degrees as Pomni approached, his stature is elongated, his smile is too wide. and his eyes are pitch black, leaking the black ooze.

Pomni stares in disbelief, he doesn't attack her, but just stares. Pomni starts to cry again, but not because her body hurts, but because she's lost everyone.

"there's no cure to this, is there?" Pomni asks the husk of Jax, not expecting a reply. "this is all useless. why did you leave me..?" she continues to talk, wishing he would reply with something snarky. but he just stands there.

her feet begin to move, she continues to walk without knowing where to go.

as Pomni makes her way through the disheveled Digital Circus, her body collapses. she can't carry herself anymore. she needs rest. but just then, a soothing voice comes from before her.

"there you are, sweetheart." it's V again, but when Pomni looks up at her, she is standing there, absolved in the darkness with her arms open wide. Pomni gets up and sluggishly moves, but V doesn't complain.

eventually, Pomni collapses into V's arms, letting her embrace her. V's hand runs through Pomni's silky hair as she cries into the silhouettes shoulder.

"shhh, it's okay. you don't need to fight anymore." V says, in a voice like a mother comforting a crying child. "you've done enough. you can rest now."

"welcome home."