NOTICES
The last chapter linked to the TADC powers AU.
Ultimate fluff + cuddles + ultra rare moment of Jax blushing
And guys it's 20th November rn where I am and it's my BIRTHDAY AAAAA
Happy birthday to meee
I'm finally fifteennnn
Happy birthday happy birthday
Happy birthday to meee
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Caine had warned us to always stay alert once we ventured out from the dorms corridor. He said that he had programmed a barrier around that section of the Circus so that the mannequins couldn't get in.
After all the corrupted mannequins had been defeated by our combined efforts, there was a thunderous creaking as the Tent suddenly tipped sideways.
Me and Jax had to hold onto each other and hang onto a support beam to avoid being knocked off by falling objects.
Caine had fortunately fixed his code in time to steady the Tent and restore everything to order, but apparently he had a whole fucking army of mannequins in storage that had also corrupted and were scattered around the Tent.
Zooble's wing was fixed and they paired up with Gangle to act as a duo, since Gangle could sense the crackling of corrupted mannequins before they actually came face to face to them. Pomni tagged along with them in case anything bad happened so she could be backup.
Ragatha and Kinger were inseparable and were a dynamic duo after the battle.
Which meant that I was stuck with Jax. Not that I minded anymore.
I, like all the other people in the Circus, had developed a sharp edge of survival that enhanced our wariness and gut feeling.
Jax was a little more bearable, since we had to fight off so much mannequins each day. He toned down the jokes and lessened his pranks to a minimum. We all traveled in pairs because if we weren't Gangle, corrupted mannequins could sneak up on us at any given moment.
Caine had found a door in the Circus that if we went through it, it would lead us to the source of where all the corrupted code was being controlled. But corrupted mannequins burst out of it everyday, and we couldn't figure out the patterns until now.
At exactly 8 in the morning, the mannequins stopped coming out for about five minutes, providing a small window into the dangerous domain.
We had to go through and fight with everything we had in hand, unless we wanted to be destroyed by mindless mannequin zombies.
I was currently huddled in my room, shivering at the thought of literally barging into potential death. But we had to do it unless we wanted to live with the corrupted mannequins forever.
A tinkling clink of a key being inserted into my door half-snapped me out of my nervous reverie. I staggered to my feet, still half-dazed, and raised my hand to bitch slap the person who dared enter my room.
Jax cuffed my wrist with his hand before it reached his unusually concerned face.
"I know that look, hot stuff. What's wrong?" He added more gently.
I couldn't stand to look at him. The fact that in a few hours we could all be dead flashed into my mind and I felt sick. I didn't want to tell him I cared.
Because he could make fun of me, given the nervous, close-to-the-edge state of mind we were almost always in. And I wasn't about to sacrifice my dignity for that.
"Hey, Y/n." Jax said in a slightly more serious tone. I was startled into looking at him.
"What happened to 'hot stuff'?"
Jax tried to flash his trademark smirk at me, but it was a shadow of its former self.
"That's not the point - I just um-" he fumbled with his words, which I had never seen him do ever. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "Don't overthink it, okay? Just - just try and breathe. We'll be fine."
"How are you so sure of that?" I didn't look at him again.
"I just know." Jax locked eyes with me. "We'll be fine."
I tore my gaze away from Jax's mesmerizing ones, trying to hide the fear and fraught feelings building inside of me. My stomach was roiling with fluttering butterflies.
Keep it down, I told myself sternly. Don't let him know-
Jax spun me round to face him, gloved hands gently pulling me close to him.
I jolted, startled by his unusually soft touch. Whenever we made contact, Jax always would put his elbow on me teasingly and lean his whole body weight on me so almost every single interaction ended with a scuffle.
This was different. Jax held me as if he was scared I would shatter in his arms or fade away into nothingness.
But I was sure he only saw me as a friend, someone he could play with just to stop both of us from going insane.
So why was he doing this now? A quiet way to tease me, to take my mind off the stress? Or was it something else-
A gentle nudge on the side of my cheek brought me back to the dimly lit room, with Jax still holding me.
"Earth to Y/n," he said softly. Then Jax's gaze turned more serious.
"Now you really have to tell me what's bothering you."
My throat silently closed up around the words "I'm fine." And the tears came.
Jax didn't say a word and held me close as I shivered with sobs. He moved my head to the crook of his neck and hugged me tightly.
As I quietened down, I wiped my tears away and tried for a smile.
"We are... not telling anyone about this."
Jax smirked endearingly, lowering his voice to a deep husky whisper. He leaned closer.
"As you wish, hot stuff. I'm just glad your mental state is now settled. I can finally tease you again. But I'll keep it to a minimum," he added hastily when I shot him a look.
———
We all stood before the door that led to the corrupted source.
The fraught butterflies in my stomach were back again.
It was one minute until 8 am, and everyone was rigid and tense. Ragatha gripped her sword so tightly her hands were trembling. I was the same as her, gripping onto my metal bat with trembling palms. Zooble kept fidgeting with their antennae. Kinger had his seizures every few moments or so. Gangle and Pomni were huddled together, talking in low voices.
Jax kept a calm face with his resting smile there like nothing bad was happening and his arms hung limply by his sides, but I knew he was freaking out inside. His gaze kept flicking to my hand.
Ignoring the fluttery feelings in my stomach, I mustered my courage to grasp his hand with my own. It was the least I could do after I had bared my inner demons to him.
Jax jumped slightly when we made contact, but didn't let go. He squeezed my hand comfortingly. I was probably blushing furiously so I angled my head the opposite way.
What was I doing? I wasn't even sure that he felt the same way as me. Well, damage was done if he didn't.
Gangle had volunteered to be a messenger for Caine. If any one of us were terribly injured and had to be carried out, Gangle would instantly sense them and alert Caine.
For some reason, the ringmaster couldn't go in - there was some kind of sentient barrier that kept him out. It didn't stop us, though. However Caine could control a lasso that could reach in and pull someone to safety if they were too wounded to fight.
It was now 8 am. The static crackling from the door dulled to a low hum.
It was time.
Jax lifted the throwing stars Caine had manifested for him, testing their weight. The cubes he had used as weapons last time were too large to fit through the door, so this was an effective alternative.
Caine floated to the door and motioned for us to get ready. After a pause, he threw it open and zoomed away to stand next to Gangle.
We rushed through and found ourselves in a small corridor that led to a large atrium where everything was dark except for the center of the room where resting on a pillar-like stack of obsidian-like stone was an orb glitching with crackling black energy.
The whole atrium was infested with mannequins.
"That orb - we'll have to destroy that." I shouted over the crackling of static.
Everyone nodded and paired up. Zooble wasn't protecting Gangle anymore, so they were with Pomni. Ragatha was with Kinger and I was with Jax.
The six of us advanced towards the obsidian stack, steadily defeating mannequins left and right.
Until a few minutes in, a mannequin burst into our ranks and separated Ragatha and Kinger from us. Another mannequin shoved Pomni and Zooble away.
I readjusted my bat, breathing hard. Everyone was scattered but no one was severely hurt yet, though it wasn't long before a mannequin was able to land a serious hit on one of us-
Ragatha screamed in pain as she staggered backwards, her whole arm glitching crazily. She used her sword to steady herself, but after a few moments fainted from the pain. Kinger materialized a force field around her, only removing it once Caine's scarlet lasso swiftly pulled her out of the carnage.
One down. Five left.
Kinger joined me and Jax, us back to back as we slowly moved to the orb.
Mannequins attacked relentlessly, their infinite stamina only matched by our weapons and powers.
I was starting to grow tired, and the others looked more exhausted.
Zooble crumpled to the ground after a nasty blow from a mannequin.
The red lasso swooped in and bore them out of the fray.
Two down. Four left.
I failed to block a mannequin aiming to punch Pomni in the back, and she cried out as all her playing cards fluttered to the ground. I held in a sob as I ran to her.
"Pomni, Pomni - I'm sorry, I- I should've been faster-" I stuttered, helping her sit up. Pomni smiled weakly.
"It's alright Y/n, don't blame yourself. Don't give up, you're so close to that orb." She gave a thumbs up as the red lasso carried her away.
Three down. Three left.
I fought harder, putting my all into every swing of my bat.
For Ragatha. A mannequin's head flew off.
For Zooble. I sent another mannequin flying into the wall.
For Pomni. With the help of Jax's throwing stars, we cut down a line of mannequins with ease.
There were about twenty mannequins left hemming us in, but I was sure we could take them down if we fought hard enough-
Two mannequins crept up behind Kinger and clubbed him behind the head. His force fields fizzled out.
"No!" I screamed, crouching next to him. Jax stood over us, beheading any mannequin that got close.
Kinger muttered something incomprehensible to me, but I caught the words 'fight' and 'orb'. He was then whisked out by Caine's lasso.
Four down. Two to go.
Jax and I finally reached the obsidian stack, with mannequins clawing at our legs as we climbed up.
A mannequin sunk its clawed fingers into my leg, and I screamed out. Jax sliced the mannequin away and helped me up. He sent the throwing stars in a relentless looping circle around the edge of the obsidian stack so that they sliced through any mannequins trying to climb up.
I held in raspy sobs as I clutched my leg. It stung like crazy. It felt like my glitching hand when I was hanging onto the platform but worse.
Jax spun one of his throwing stars into the orb, which cracked and stopped glitching. All the mannequins twisted their own necks and fell to the floor.
Silence overtook the atrium.
Jax cradled me close, stroking my back in a gentle attempt to calm my heaving breaths.
That was when it happened. A string of thoughts meandered their way to my mind, in Jax's voice. It was a jumble of sounds at first, then it became coherent words.
I hope her leg's okay.. please be fine.
Please please please don't abstract from the pain-
Y/n will be fine. She'll be fine. She has to be...
I don't know what I'd do without her.
I gasped, my eyes instantly jumping to Jax's worried ones.
"You okay?" He asked. His thoughts became a bit turbulent.
Wait, what just happened? Did she-
"Jax.. um-" I stammered, "I can hear you. In my head. I can hear your thoughts."
"W- what?" He spluttered. His thoughts started racing.
Whoa whoa whoa - I - what - is this her power? Did it just manifest now? How much did she hear? Does she know that-
My eyes widened and my heart started beating crazily at his next thought.
Does she know that I like her?
Judging from the wide look on my face, Jax's pupils shrunk and he turned his face away, blushing furiously.
"I - um-" he stammered - great, she heard all of it. Ack - what am I thinking? I don't even know if she likes me back -
"Jax, I -" we were now both blushing. "I do - I do like you too. Even though you tease me and prank me like there's no tomorrow."
Jax's hopeful eyes turned to ecstasy. He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around my waist. A million tingles raced up my body, dulling the pain in my leg.
"Instead of hot stuff, I'm gonna call you mine, darling." He whispered huskily, placing a gentle kiss on my mouth.
I laughed and rested my head onto the crook of his neck. After all we had been through, I felt safe in his arms.
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So. How was it?
The song I've put on this chapter is one of my fave songs. Gives me literal chills when I listen to it.
What are your fave songs? Comment and share!
Love you alllll