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You looked around as the rag doll, jester, and tall bunny led you down the loooooong hallway bursting with colors and decorated with numerous painting, pictures, and doors. If you weren't so disoriented about ending up in a random new world with no memory of the last, you would think everything was pretty fun looking and would've liked to explore more for your own enjoyment. However, at the moment, you were more on edge than anything else and you badly wanted to find out from Pomni what she maybe knew about seeing exits.
"So these are our rooms and all, where you'll get to relax, sleep, do whatever you wish! Although to take note that we don't really need sleep here," Ragatha explained. "You can if you want but it's not a necessity."
"Oh it's a necessity alright," Jax spoke up, folding his arms behind his head, "how else is one supposed to find peace and quiet away from you mental bozos~?"
"Jax..." Ragatha groaned. You glare at Jax funnily and the bunny winked at you, adding, "Stay with us for a few days and come tell me if I'm wrong."
You looked away from him and turned your attention back to the doors that lined the hall. You noticed that some of the door had characters you hadn't met yet, but their image was marked off. "Hey...why are some of these guys X'd out?" You asked.
"Errmmm..." Pomni quickly clasped her hands together and looked nervously to Ragatha and Jax. Jax sighed and rolled his eyes, "Do ya want the straightforward answer or the straightforward one?"
You blink at him confusedly and murmur cautiously, "I guess...the straightforward one...?"
"Abstracted..." Ragatha spoke up before Jax could even reply. "these people were all...abstracted."
There was a quiet moment of silence that seemed to reverberate throughout the hall, making you feel uncomfortable, so you awkwardly spoke up again, "what exactly does that mean...?"
"Well, it happens when..." Ragatha began more quietly, "well when...you give up."
Pomni tapped her fingers together, her round eyes huge with anxiety. Jax's usual smirk was now a scowl, surprising you that he seemed to display other facial features besides that of a smug jackass. Ragatha continued to speak, "Um in fact...we just recently lost a friend of ours to abstraction..."
By this point you assumed "Abstracting" had to be some form of "death" within this strange world. However, with the specific use of the word "abstracting" over "death", it was enough to make you feel uncomfortable that whatever it was, it was not a quick, straightforward version of demise.
"Look," Jax finally spoke again, cutting the silence, "it's simple. If you don't wanna end up like these guys? Then all ya gotta do is not lose your marbles. You lose your marbles? Your room gets a big shiny X across your face."
Ragatha laughed nervously and pressed her hand gently against your back, "Don't worry about it too deeply, Y/N. We're gonna do everything in our power to make sure you warm up with ease to this place. We're slowly anchoring in Pomni! You'll be okay too. We've all got to have each others backs here."
You glanced at Ragatha and smiled a bit, relaxing slightly from her caring display. "Y-Yeah...it'll be okay, Y/N. I mean—I'm sure it will...someday..." Pomni uttered, rubbing her arms "I hope it will..."
The hint of sadness in Ragatha and Pomni's voice ached you a bit, and you grew more curious as to why and how you had all ended up here and what the ringmaster, Caine, had to do with your arrival. You were more than sure he was suspicious and had something to do with keeping you and everyone else trapped in this sick world...
"Can you three quit sulking already and let's find the newbies room?" Jax complained, now growing tired with the occasional rounds of silence. "I wanna get this and Caine's adventure over with so we could eat or something. I'm feelin' hamburgers today, whatdya think?"
"Right...! Come on then Y/N, it's just this way;" Ragatha started to walk and lead the way again, motioning to you with her hand. You keep in step besides Pomni and together you and the group continued down the hall until you arrived at a door with a (Circus Title)'s face.
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As you pushed open the door, an explosion of vibrant colors and chaos greeted you. It was a room rather small in size but a lot seemed to be crammed into the space regardless. You stepped inside in awe and saw yourself standing on a checkered black-and-white floor that extended to the far back corners of the room. It created an illusion of almost infinite space. The room was basically a circus-themed wonderland.
The walls were plastered with oversized circus posters of acrobats soaring through the air, clowns with exaggerated grins, and ringmasters taking over the stage. The ceiling was draped with crimson colored curtains, just like ones you'd see in a grand tent at a traditional circus.
The biggest shock was, in the center of the room stood a life-sized carousel with huge carved animals painted in happy shades of red, blue, and gold. The carousel played a soft, enchanting melody, as if inviting you to come in and take a ride. Surrounding the carousel were circus-themed decorations, like oversized lollipops, juggling pins, and colorful balloons that seemed to float in midair.
Despite most of the room appearing circus-themed, there were a couple of features that you found you actually liked, such as the (Color) walls and the (Type) bed with (Type) bedsheets. These were probably the things you liked wherever you came from before ending up at the Digital Circus.
Ragatha's voice broke your trance as she exclaimed, "So, welcome to your room, Y/N! We know you're probably still in shock and all but hopefully seeing your own living space gives you a small sense of comfort."
You couldn't help but smile a bit, easily swayed by the magic of your new room. "I think our rooms might be fitted to support our tastes from where we were before this world while also combining every existing circus trope into it as well," Pomni said, gazing around your room with a small smile, "strangely enough it's a bit...assuring."
"Ah, so that's why you've spent 90% of your two days here huddled in your bedroom," Jax said, placing a hand on his hip, "Peanut, you're something else. Let's hope Y/N doesn't end up locking themself up in here as well. Seems like a one-way ticket to abstracting to me."
"Oh shut it Jax," Ragatha groaned, "let's keep the vibes positive, okay?"
"Whatever you say, dolly," Jax yawned and shrugged, he then turned around and started to waltz away from the room, "your dens fun and all but I wanna get Caine's little adventure out of the way. You'll have time to no-life in there later on, newbie."
The three of you watched as Jax casually stalked off before Ragatha sighed and motioned for you and Pomni to follow her, "Come on you two. Adventures are a good way to keep our minds preoccupied and off of the things that trouble us. It'll be fun...!"
You decided to trust Ragatha, though she sounded a bit uncertain herself. You and Pomni walked side by side as the three of you trekked back down the long hallway. "Hey Pomni?" You ask, "about the exit I saw when Caine was giving me a tour—"
"Oh! Exit—you mean "that" exit?" Pomni blurted out, her voice twinged with nervousness. "You know what exit I'm talking about!" You grin, growing excited that you weren't the only one who had seen it, "I was thinking maybe me and you could—"
"Wait, Y/N..." Pomni interrupted again. Her big eyes bore into yours with a worried expression that made your excitement drop. Something was clearly wrong. "What is it? Is there something I should know?" You question her. "Uhm...well, the thing is..." Pomni rubbed her index fingers together her as she looked away from you before eventually heaving out a sigh. She then quickly looked back to you with a awkward, forced looking smile. "That—exit is totally real, Y/N! But—But the thing is, you can't go through it yet. There's a certain er... time and a certain day in which the exit will truly reveal whatever you desire to return to!"
"Hm," You respond, looking aside. The complete absurdity of her words, as well as Pomni's level of nervousness instantly told you that she was making it all up. However, instead of hounding her for honesty, you shrug your shoulders and reply "...Well...that's alright. At least we know there's a chance to escape. Do you ...know the "day" which we can try to leave?"
"Well no...not yet. But I'll surely tell you when I find out!" Pomni nodded her head rapidly, "just...promise me that you won't try to enter into that door anytime soon. Even if it appears right up in front of you."
Pomni's head lowered and her eyes appeared saddened, "It won't be time for you to go yet."
There was no doubt she was hiding something. Maybe there was a valid reason why she wouldn't disclose her true knowledge about the exit, and you took that into consideration. However, the fact that Caine and now Pomni seemed to act suspicious about it left you in a state of distrust. Your forced a smile at the smol Jester and rested a hand on her shoulder, "That's okay Pomni, I promise. I trust you already, strangely enough, even though we just met. I'll just uh— wait till the time is right to enter."
Pomni looked at you and her small meek smile returned, "O-Okay great...thanks Y/N..."
✧˖°𝓟𝓸𝓶𝓷𝓲'𝓼 𝓹. 𝓸. 𝓿°˖✧
I had to lie.
I didn't want Y/N to see what I saw behind that ...that "exit".
There WAS no exit. Only a hopeless eternity of nothing.
I couldn't watch Y/N walk into the same trap I did and have them return broken, empty. To loose the hope that they seemed to have inside of them. To give up...
Just like me.