Chapter Text
The porcelain face smiled up at her. It was the same smile painted on her bedroom door, the smile that signified her icon whenever it was needed for score keeping or tallying votes. The smile that was supposed to be her at her very best, the most tolerable and likeable version of herself.
But for the first time in what felt like years… Gangle didn't recognize herself in it.
She glanced up at her reflection in the vanity mirror; styled like glamorous, old Hollywood to match the dark, dramatic, theatre aesthetic of her room. Like she was some kind of starlet ingénue from the 1920s, making herself up for a day of performing with a painted on smile and rouge-dappled cheeks. Though the reflection staring back at her was as pale as the moon on a clear night, eyes wet and dark and drooping. Her mouth still painted, but her ever-present pout was not accentuated by a bold lip or sweet, supple gloss.
It was just her face.
Gangle gently set her comedy mask on top of the vanity, one of her ribbon hands lifting to ghost over the corner of her downturned mouth. Saddy. Crybaby. She pressed against the porcelain mask like it was as flexible as skin, forcing her mouth into an upward curve. When she let go, her mouth drooped back down, a slight quiver disrupting its shape as she blinked back fresh tears.
She dropped her gaze back to the comedy mask. Its smile was sharp as its crescent shape cut right through the empty spaces between her ribbons. She brushed between the center of its eyes, right where a bullet had blown through it the day before, magically repaired as though it never happened. Like none of it ever happened…
Today was fun…
Her eyes widened, echoes of slurred words wrapping around her as the phantom sensation of warm plastic tickled her satin palms from where she'd pressed against—where she'd held—
I liked being a team… we should do it again…
Gangle pressed her hands to her cold cheeks, patting herself repeatedly as she shook her head, but the memories of last night came flooding back the moment she'd metaphorically turned the tap.
After the Favorite Character Awards, she'd taken Zooble back to their room. They could barely stand on their own after thoroughly dousing themself in stupid sauce—which, she still had no clue why that of all things managed to stay manifested within the tent weeks after that particular adventure—so Gangle walked them back, just to make sure they didn't lose any of their pieces along the way or pass out in an inebriated haze on the hard tile floor.
Plus, she couldn't help but feel a certain kind of way, supporting Zooble physically when they had been doing so much to support her in every other way possible. It was silly, when she wasn't the most stable kind of support—only breakable shards and flimsy fabric, after all—but her face had warmed with a little bit of pride when Zooble leaned heavily into her side, relying on her ribbons to wrap them up in a secure hold while they stumbled down the hall, snickering to themself and completely as ease; letting Gangle guide them whenever they veered too far in the wrong direction. Trusting her to take care of them. It was… nice, being someone Zooble could need. Someone they could count on.
And it had been nice, resting her hands against the smooth, firm plastic that made up Zooble's body. One steadying hand laid against their chest to keep them from falling forward, while the other arm cradled the small of their back, tips of her ribbon pressing in where their waist would be. Without much in the way of friction between them, her grip occasionally slipped, brushing low on their hip whenever they slouched into her or stumbled.
Gangle squeaked out apologies each time, but Zooble didn't seem to pay her any mind. Not when they were just as distracted by her as she was by them. Their own fingers idly played with the ribbons that made up her shoulder, while they let the pointed side of their head clink against the edge of Gangle's mask. Like they were trying to nuzzle her, but just couldn’t tilt their head at the right angle without getting dizzy.
Warmth swirled through the coils of Gangle’s ribbons that left her feeling a little lightheaded herself, like the stupid sauce was somehow infectious through plastic to porcelain contact.
They didn't touch much, her and Zooble. At least, not outside of offered hands to help each other up or whatever passed for their fingers ghosting over one another’s when they passed over a pencil or sketchbook. So being pressed together, hip to hip and cheek to cheek, had been a novel experience for Gangle that would undoubtedly linger long after they both separated for the night.
When she tucked them into their bed, they'd clumsily pawed at her hands until she placed one of her ribbons on them to steady them. "Gangle. Gangle. Gangle, Glangle, Glang-gull, Glung-gall—"
"I'm right here, Zooble. I'm listening." She couldn't help giggling when they went cross-eyed, distracted by the shine of her ribbon on their hand. "What is it?"
Zooble blinked sluggishly, then rolled their mismatched eyes up to find her face. "Today was fun…" they slurred, squinting up at her.
"Heh." Unable to help a small smile in return, Gangle gave their hand a squeeze before she pulled away from them. "That sauce is really making you feel good, huh? Not sure you'll be saying the same thing in the morning though."
"Mm… mm-mm." Zooble shook their head, or at least they tried to. Their head just kind of rubbed against their pillow like a cat trying to bunt something. "I'll say it. I liked today. I liked being a team…"
The space where Gangle's heart would've been stuttered, like she could almost feel it skip a beat as her mask warmed and teardrops blinked out of existence. "What?"
"Liked being a team," they repeated as their eyes closed. "With you. Like being with you. We should do it again…"
"Yeah?" Gangle whispered, not daring to shatter what she was hearing with anything louder than that. "Even though… we lost?"
"Mmhm."
"And even though I was like…" She gestured weakly to herself, even though Zooble couldn't see her, and looked down at the sagging coils of her ribbons. "…this? For most of the day? Since you were holding onto my comedy mask and all…"
"Like… huh?" One of Zooble's eyes cracked open in confusion, their pink eyelid heavy and the swirl in the center of their eye spinning slowly. "Wuh?"
"I was sad most of today," Gangle told them more clearly, even though it felt a little bit like a lie.
"Sad?" Zooble echoed, like the idea of her being upset physically pained them, even if it was her default state of being. "Why?"
"Well, not… not because of anything you did," Gangle assured them, almost losing her train of thought while caught in Zooble's big, pleading, puppy-like stare. "It was more what I didn't do. I spent the whole day just sort of following your lead. You did all the work finding all the guns and getting us to safety. You got a life off Kinger, Jax, and Pomni. You were… you were amazing."
If the black voids of her eyes could have sparkled, there would have been stars in them as a small, adoring smile curved her mouth. Though it had been terrifying in the moment, Gangle remembered their steady presence beside her. Strong. Unwavering. When she wanted to fall apart and concede, to give up before having to face the feeling of failure on someone else's terms— because then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much if it was her choice—Zooble was there. Not even trying to sneak shots at anyone, but helping her scour the circus in search of the only gun she wanted out of dozens.
Zooble could've taken them all out if they hadn't been slowed down by her.
"But I wasn't," Gangle continued, voice thick as she hunched in on herself under Zooble's wide-eyed confusion. "I didn't do anything. We spent all that time looking for the Tommy gun and I didn't even hit anyone. I wasted your time. If you'd been on any other team, I'm sure you would've won. You deserved to win."
"Shut up."
Gangle stiffened in surprise. "Huh?"
"Said shut up." Zooble's brow scrunched up as they tried to roll onto their side to face her, but it was the side where the triangle point of their head was too sharp to manage comfortably and their shoulder wing kept getting in the way, pinched between their plastic body and their pillow. "Tha's stupid. Don' wanna be on 'nother team," they grunted, getting visibly frustrated being stuck on their back as they suddenly smacked the mattress with both fists. "Ugh! Fuck! I wanna be on my side!"
They violently ripped their bat wing from their shoulder and flung it across the room. Or at least, they tried. In their inebriated state, they only managed to get it airborne for two seconds before it fell straight back down and smacked them in the face.
If they had teeth, they'd have been clenched tight to keep their grating scream locked within their mouth until their jaw cracked from the effort of grinding it into dust. Instead, their frustrated howl warbled drunkenly from their misshapen form, an undercurrent of despair echoing in the hollow cavity of their chest, seeping out from within their sealed, plastic seams. In an attempt to soothe them, soft ribbons caressed their too-smooth surface, where they should've been rough and jagged and impossible to love.
"I hate this! I hate this!" they sputtered, grabbing the wing and folding it in on itself to try and snap it in two. "Fucking—fuck!" The censor screamed.
"W-wait!" Gangle took it from them, the dismembered body part twitching in pain while she cradled it to her chest. "Here, here. Shh, it's okay. It's okay, hang on." Gangle stopped their thrashing with a gentle touch to the side of their face. "Hang on, Zooble. I've got you."
Their eyes were damp, red-rimmed even with most of the pink goop wiped away. Gangle still brushed her hand beneath their eye, like she was wiping it away for them, even if it was actually a tear that blotted the red of her satin with a darker stain. They sniffled, blinking up at her with pupils dilated so wide, Gangle could see herself in them.
"Fuck," they hiccuped, breath hitching on a broken sob as the censored sound faded.
Zooble was still so out of it, but they quieted under the light caress of her ribbon as she traced down to what passed for their cheek and jaw. They looked so vulnerable; so much softer than their assortment of sharp angles and sharper tone ever allowed them to be. Gangle watched as their bleary stare tried to follow her hand as it slid from their face and reached for their shoulder. She set the bat wing next to her on the bed, freeing up her other hand to brace against their hip.
"Here, try this side," Gangle murmured, giving them a light nudge to warn them before rolling them over onto their left side. "There you go. Is that better?"
Zooble ended up facing away from her, but at least they were lying on the flat side of their head. They whined, their disconnected bat wing and still attached antennae twitching irritably even as they settled in a more comfortable position. Very gingerly, Gangle snapped the restless wing back into their shoulder socket. She watched it flap with a bit more force, briefly reminding her of an ornery cat's twitching tail, but it settled as soon as it seemed to realize it wasn't completely untethered and alone. Gangle pulled the covers up right beneath it, tucking the soft blankets around their plastic, hoping it would help them feel more secure when she was sure it still felt like their whole world must've been spinning.
"I want the other side…" they complained, both eyes scrunched up and closed tight. "M'tired of this side. It's always this side. S'stupid."
Gangle glanced at the back of their head, but there weren't any eye holes for them to switch the direction of their triangle, and the holes on the top and bottom of their head wouldn't be centered on their neck if they flipped it 180 degrees. "I'm so sorry, Zooble, but I think this is the best we can do."
"The best fucking sucks," they grumbled. "I hate the best."
With their back to her now, the guilt that she was letting Zooble down again, that she couldn't solve this apparent problem for them and make them more comfortable while they slept off the stupid sauce, brought fresh tears to her eyes. "I'm sorry…"
"Mm…" Zooble stayed put for a second before they suddenly flopped back onto their back and squinted up at her. "Can't see shit over there. Sucks."
Gangle blinked, then got a face full of Zooble's palm as they gave her the most awkward pat on the cheek. "Uh… Zooble?"
"Shh. Don' cry. S'okay." They gave her another pat, nearly poking her in the eye this time, so she lightly curled her ribbon hand around the back of their white-gloved one in case they tried again. "Not talking 'bout you. You're good. You're like… really, really good. Always. All the time."
"What…?"
"You're on my team 'cuz I want you there. We don' need t'be the best. The best sucks. We jus' need… we just need to be… us. Us is good. I like us. I like you. You make everything…" they trailed off, eyes going unfocused as they got lost in the reflection of her mask. "You make everything."
Gangle's eyes rounded as her breath caught. "Make everything… what?"
"Shine." Zooble tilted their head, trying to see past themself and into the colors refracting on Gangle's face. "You… you're like a goddamn galaxy. Get fucking lost in you whenever you look at me.”
“Zooble…”
“Makes me happy whenever you're around. Even when I don't wanna be. Like I'm more lost when m'not floating in your… your… I dunno, your fucking orbit? S’the one place I don’t mind being in this stupid circus… jus’ wherever you are. ‘Cuz I look at you and you're there and then… I'm just so fucking happy."
Gangle's face warmed, Zooble's hand still and soft against it, their thumb just a breath away from her mouth. "You… you really mean it?"
"Uh-huh," they hummed, the soft material of their glove brushing over her porcelain. "You're so pretty…" Their eyelids drooped, their voice low and heavy as they sank deeper into their bed and a shiver ruffled Gangle's ribbons as their sober words suddenly reverberated in her head. I want the ability to have sex.
"Oh…" Gangle whispered, gaze darting away while her cheeks burned even hotter, certain Zooble could at least feel it even if they couldn't see it.
She'd let them, she realized, the empty air in her chest pounding. With a clear head and intense gaze focused entirely on her, she didn't think there wasn't much a sober Zooble could want that Gangle wasn't willing to give them. If they asked, she'd let them do anything.
But her eyes fell on one of the many mirrors lining the wall of Zooble’s room. The image of her sitting on their bed, over their prone body, did nothing to chase away that incessant echo or the twisting nerves tangling in her chest. But where Zooble claimed to see the wonders of a galaxy, Gangle only saw some string and breakable glass. They didn't mean with you, she silently scolded her own reflection.
"Gangle, I doooo," Zooble whined, brow scrunched as they took her prolonged silence to mean she didn't believe them. "I mean it. Cross my, uh…" with their free hand, they gestured limply at the orange four-point star attached to their chest, "…my thing. This thing. Don't got a heart, but I got…fucking that. An' a circle an' a square an' a—any shape you want. Wha's your favorite? I'll get it for you. Whatever you want, I'll get it."
"Zooble…" Gangle subconsciously squeezed their hand as something like butterflies fluttered in the empty space between her ribbons. "They're all my favorite, because they're all you. But you're wrong, you do have a heart. One of the biggest ones I've ever known. You might not be able to feel it, but it's there. I know it." Gangle gave the star-shaped ornament a little tap, unable to help tweaking the top point playfully. "It's why I like you, too, Zooble. So much. You're so important to me."
They gazed up at her like she held more than just their hand in hers. "Even though my head is really pointy?"
A wet giggle couldn't help escaping her, Gangle's smile full of adoration as she caressed the bottom-most corner of their head and watched their eyelids flutter as they leaned into the touch. "Especially because your head is really pointy," she assured them. "You're my favorite to draw for a reason, you know."
They blinked twice, their mismatched pupils blown out as their wide-eyed gaze of pure wonderment fixated on her face. "I am?"
Gangle pressed her hand over her mouth, unfamiliar with how badly it wanted to beam at them while crystalline tears still clung to the corners of her eyes. "Of course you are. You're very inspiring."
"But I'm not…" they trailed off, tears welling up again. "I'm not."
"You are," Gangle told them, a physical ache blooming inside her at the thought of them believing anything else. "I love drawing you. You're beautiful."
The pink of Zooble's face darkened as their eyes shone with something brighter than tears. "Wow…"
In any other circumstance, it'd be embarrassing to admit just how many sketches of Zooble she had. But when they were still half out of their mind on stupid sauce and blinking at her so sleepily and so adoring, it was easy to confess to her crimes. It wasn't like they'd remember most of this anyway. But still, Jax already had enough blackmail on her as it was, she didn't need any more of her bad habits breaching the confines of her bedroom.
Gangle leaned down again, cupping her hand around her mouth as she lowered her voice to a whisper. "But I don't want anyone else to feel left out, so you have to promise to keep it a secret, okay?"
"Okay," they echoed, mimicking the softness of her voice.
"Thank you, Zooble." For a moment, she was tempted to press a kiss to the top of their beautifully pointy head—or at least as close as she could come to one given the immutable nature of her mask—but it felt like too large of a leap to take when neither of them were anything close to steady. Gangle settled for giving the space between their antennae a soothing rub, still overwhelmed by the fluttering of butterflies within her ribbons when Zooble nuzzled into her touch and closed their eyes. "Get some sleep, okay? I'll see you in the morning."
"Mmhm…" Their eyes stayed closed as they hummed, though there was a slight furrow to their brow as Gangle eased off the edge of their bed. "…wait… Gangle?"
"Yes?" She stilled, watching Zooble expectantly, but they only exhaled on a heavy sigh before their non-existent breaths evened out with sleep. "Goodnight, Zooble," Gangle whispered, slinking out of their room and turning out the light for them.
With a light click, Gangle eased the door shut behind her with her own airy sigh. One hand curled over her chest, where her heart would be and tried to feel its thrumming as a pleasant warmth lingered in her mask. Zooble liked her.
Of course, she knew that. They were friends. And Zooble certainly went out of their way to be kind to her, had risen to her defense on multiple occasions, and actively encouraged her whenever she was caught up in the throes of her own misery. They were patient with her, offering up companionable silence when it took a little longer than it should've for her to say whatever was on her mind. They had her back, so long as she had theirs. They trusted her to have their back.
Because they liked her. Not just her comedy mask. Not just her art. Not just how submissive and agreeable she was. Just… her. Big emotions and all. A galaxy.
And they thought she was pretty.
Gangle smiled to herself, tucking this warm feeling close as she quickly scurried towards her room, so caught up in her own flurry of feelings that she didn't realize she wasn't alone in the hall.
"Walk of shame, huh. Didn't think you had it in you."
Gangle stiffened, her ribbons going rigid as though she'd just been doused in freezing water. Jax. Her shoulders hunched up preemptively before she even glanced back, coiling in on herself self-consciously as she spied him standing a few doors down, in front of his own room. She supposed it was too much to hope that she'd get away without having to confront him all night; a stroke of unusual luck that he hadn't bothered to sit with them at the awards show even though Pomni had been looking for him. Waiting for him…
Gangle's gaze flicked to her door, her arms curling inwards as she debated making a run for it before she fully comprehended what it was he'd said. "No. It isn't like that," she tentatively spoke up, even if what he was inferring wasn't possible. "Zooble had too much of that… stupid sauce. I just put them to bed. That's all."
Jax clicked his tongue. "Sure."
Gangle tapped the ends of her ribbons together, anxiety pilling in the very fabric of her being as he just stood there. Though his eyes were dull and face void of his trademark, too-big smile that he usually wore when teasing her, the look he cast her way still filled her hollow body with dread. Had he been waiting for her to be alone? Plotting his revenge for being spurned in front of everyone? Humiliating him once again like she had with the maid outfit—
"You know they just feel sorry for you."
Gangle's breath hitched, then she quickly pursed her mouth in a wobbly line as she blinked back a fresh swell of tears. She knew who he meant. He was just trying to antagonize her. He was just trying to hurt her feelings. Gangle told herself this, replayed Zooble's own words to her over and over, like a mantra she could make into reality if she just repeated it enough. You're not his toy. You're not his toy.
"Zooble wouldn't lie about something like that. They don't pretend to be anything they're not," Gangle defended, finally glancing over at him, an unfamiliar pulse of bravery suddenly thrumming in her ribbons. "They said they liked being on a team with me."
"Before or after the stupid sauce?" Jax asked flatly.
The surge of bravado fizzled out before it could even fully ignite as Gangle dropped her gaze. "…after."
"Uh-huh. That's what I thought." Jax crossed his arms as he leaned against his door. "Kind of a double standard, isn't it? You don't want to believe the awful, mean things Ragatha said to you while high outta her mind are true, but you'll soak up the nice, sweet nothings Zooble says without a second thought. That seems fair all right."
As much as she didn't want to admit it… he had a point. Zooble wasn't in their right mind. As far from it as they could be. Their fit of frustration and how easy it was for them to bring themself to the brink of tears was more than enough evidence that they were too far gone. They'd never let anyone see them like that.
They'd never… feel like that. About themself. How could they?
And of course they'd never say something so close to them inferring that they actually enjoyed one of Caine's adventures, even if it did mean they got to spend time together. That never enticed Zooble to go on adventures before. Zooble wasn't caught in some inescapable gravitational pull. Gangle being there or not… it didn't affect anything. It never had.
Which was good! She didn't want it to. She didn't want to be the reason Zooble forced themself to do something they didn't want to do or wasn't comfortable with or built up any sort of resentment towards her for…
Of course they hadn't meant it. What had she been thinking?
"Goodnight, Jax," Gangle had muttered, then slipped inside her room without another word.
Still staring into the mirror as the night's memories trickled away, watching her own reflection brush over her mouth the way Zooble's touch nearly had, Gangle let her hand fall away. No trace of anything resembling a smile left on her fragile face. Her gaze shifted to her comedy mask once more, but she didn't reach for it. Instead she stood from her vanity stool and turned out the lights, then left her room to see what the day's adventure would bring and find out how Zooble was faring.
Zooble wasn't up yet. That was the first thing Gangle noticed.
Pomni and Ragatha were already sitting together on the purple couch, chatting quietly amongst themselves by the time Gangle made her way out to the main area of the tent. Kinger perched on the blue one beside them, but he very obviously wasn't paying attention to a thing they said, just swaying ever so slightly while he stared vacantly in Gangle's general direction. On the green couch, Jax was lounging with his feet kicked up on the arm of it while his arms were folded behind his head. Which left the red couch right beside him the only one that was open.
At least she hadn't bothered to bring her sketchbook this morning. She wasn't about to try cracking that open with Jax so close and actively facing the red couch, so she couldn't even feel disappointed that she wouldn't be able to draw before the day's adventure. She'd taken too long in her room anyway.
Glancing back over her shoulder, Gangle tapped her hands together as she debated retracing her steps and checking on Zooble, but Kinger's absent attention span seemed to snap into place just in time to scream at her presence. "AAAAHHHH—Oh, hi, Gangle," he greeted immediately afterwards, while everyone else had jolted at the sudden interruption.
"H-hi." She waved meekly, hunching in on herself more as she resigned herself to joining them.
"Oh, Gangle, did your comedy mask break already?" Ragatha asked, both hands pressed over her heart as she watched her head for the red couch.
"Aw man. Well, there goes my 10:15 appointment," Jax drawled. "Now what am I supposed to do for my morning entertainment? Thanks, Gangle. You single-handedly ruined my day."
"Jax," Ragatha scolded, but there was really nothing she could say that would get him to let up.
There never was.
Gangle folded her hands in her lap as she sat on the very edge of the couch, fiddling with the ends of her ribbons as she glanced towards the hall. Still no sign of Zooble. Their digital avatars weren't susceptible to the same biological needs or consequences that physical bodies endured, but there were times where they felt the illusion of sleepiness or hunger. Headaches. Pain. Perhaps it wasn't out of the question that they'd feel something akin to being hungover, too.
Maybe she could bring Zooble some water and a piece of toast, since they both missed breakfast—
"Trouble in paradise already?" Jax hummed, cracking one eye open to leer at Gangle. "Don't tell me the honeymoon phase is over."
Gangle drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them. Just ignore him, she told herself, trying to sound as sure and steady as Zooble. He's just trying to get a reaction out of you. Don't give him what he wants. You're not his toy.
"If Zooble's feeling anything like I did after the stupid sauce wore off, I wouldn't be surprised if they just stayed holed up in their room all day," Ragatha piped up, offering Gangle a reassuring smile, not knowing that the possibility of Zooble behaving anything like Ragatha did wasn't exactly a comfort to her. "And Zooble used… a lot more than I did. I tried to warn them, remember?"
"Well, knowing all of Zooble's other painfully obvious and predictable stereotypes, I'm willing to bet they're not nearly as much of a lightweight as you," Jax commented airily. "We already know they know their way around a needle."
"That doesn't mean anything," Ragatha sputtered. "So do I!"
"You mean a sewing needle?" Jax barked out a laugh. "That's not even close to what I'm talking about!"
"Well, neither are tattoo needles," Ragatha pointed out.
"How would you know?" he jeered. "Ever seen one up close?"
"No… but I really don't think we should be making assumptions about Zooble like this when they're not even here to defend themself," she decided with a huff.
"Hey, you started it."
"I did not! You brought it up when you started teasing Gangle. I was just trying to make her feel better, right Gangle?"
Gangle just hugged her knees tighter, mouth quivering as she nodded. She knew that was Ragatha's intention, after all. It's not like she was lying…
"Why are you even the boss anyway? I feel like I'm way more responsible than you. No offense, but you're kinda annoying when you have your happy mask. Wait, is that mean to say?"
"Makes me happy whenever you're around. Even when I don't wanna be. S’the one place I don’t mind being in this stupid circus… jus’ wherever you are. ‘Cuz I look at you and you're there and then… I'm just so fucking happy."
"Weird to think we can experience hangovers when we don't have physical bodies or needs. Why would Caine even make that a possibility?" Pomni wondered, attempting to shift the topic away from Zooble and deprive Jax of any more ammo.
"I don't know." Ragatha shrugged. "Maybe it's just part of his idea of the human experience? Meeting our expectations or something…"
"Of all the things that could feel immersive, it'd be nice if that was one thing he skipped," Pomni muttered.
Jax snorted. "Yeah. That and apparently not giving us the ability to have se—"
"I think I'm gonna go check on them…" Gangle said quietly, pushing herself up off the couch.
But she didn't get the chance when Caine suddenly popped into existence above her. She fell back with a panicked yelp, hiding her face reflexively as she curled up and cowered on the floor. The others had all been startled by his sudden presence, too—all except for Kinger that is—but they'd just stiffened on the couch as his loud, forced laughter filled the air.
"Good morning, my tipsy, tip-toeing tulips!" he greeted, voice sounding a little strained as his eyes quickly darted from face to face to face to face to—"Who's ready for today's adventure—WAIT." He cut himself off, holding up his own hand in front of himself and subsequently nearly smacking Gangle in the face. "Wheeeerrre's Zooble?"
"I um… I think they could use some rest today, Caine—" Ragatha started, but wasn't given a chance to finish.
"Nonsense!" Caine snapped and within seconds the missing member of their crew had been whisked into the blindingly bright room completely out of their own volition.
Zooble was dumped unceremoniously on the ground, their plastic parts clacking together as they attempted and failed to catch themself before falling flat on their back. "I hate this," they rasped, squinting at the ceiling as their parts pounded with a non-existent and yet incredibly painful pulsing. "I hate everything."
Gangle looked over at them, intending to go to help them up, but hesitation seized her ribbons as their words twisted her invisible insides into knots. She blinked back a fresh flow of tears and sniffled, mouth wibbling as she sat up on her knees and took in their disheveled appearance. Half of their parts were the same as the day before's, something that rarely happened with how many different pieces Zooble had to experiment with. They must've still been in the middle of picking out what they wanted for the day, resulting in them looking like they'd only managed to change out half of their clothes.
Their right arm was still a mix of the black and white striped forearm along with the orange squiggly bicep connected by a yellow ball joint for their elbow. They also had their purple spotted club foot and their orange four-point star on their chest. Their left antenna was still a jagged blue lightning bolt, but the right had been swapped for the one that looked like a cherry lollipop. Their left leg was composed of a pink thigh, a blocky yellow knee, and a ribbed, blue shin that ended in a wheel for a foot. Their left arm was a long, single piece with yellow and orange stripes and a purple glove, matching the purple of the feathery wing they wore on their right shoulder instead of the bat wing.
Eyes lined with deep exhaustion, Zooble struggled to sit up as their newly added parts clicked uncomfortably. Gangle managed to wobble onto her feet and started over to them, but Ragatha beat her to it. She crouched down at their side, already placing a supportive hand at their back to brace them. They batted her away, but still used her shoulder to steady themself as they pushed up to stand.
"How are you feeling?" Ragatha asked.
"I wish I was dead," Zooble croaked.
"Now that everyone's here, I can announce that today's adventure will be…" Caine spun through the air before manifesting a series of words above him. "Tales of the Clandestine Shrine! In teams of two, you'll each partner up to face a series of challenges and obstacle courses in order to find a secret treasure and win!" Caine threw out both arms gleefully.
"Another team adventure…" Pomni winced, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "Really?"
"Well, since you all seemed to have so much fun with the last team adventure, I figured, why not keep the ball rolling!" Caine reasoned.
"I wouldn't call what you put us through yesterday fun," Zooble hissed as they cradled their head with one hand.
"Today was fun… I liked today. I liked being a team…"
Gangle wrung her hands together as she looked down at the floor. It's fine, it's fine, you knew they didn't mean it. You knew. Stop it. Stop crying. She wiped away one of her tears, but it immediately reformed, still clinging to the corner of her empty eye.
"Oh, Zooble!" Caine laughed to himself, then his voice hardened. "You wouldn't know fun if it shot you between the eyes." Everyone stared at him in silence before he perked up yet again. "Anyway! You have five minutes to pick your teams before I send you off to scour the shrine and plunder priceless prizes!"
A timer popped into existence above them, immediately counting down the seconds. With Ragatha still so close to Zooble—who could sympathize with how they must be feeling right now—Gangle waffled over the choice to approach them or not. It was possible Ragatha would offer to be their teammate, and Pomni got along with Kinger pretty well, all things considered, which only left…
"Guess we've got no choice but to return to form." Jax snagged one of Gangle's ribbons, dragging her away from everyone before they even noticed. "See what happens when you mess with the status quo, Ribbons? Zooble couldn't wait to get high just to deal with having to be around you a second longer and now they're even more miserable than usual. I'd take that as a hint if I were you."
Gangle trembled as she stumbled along behind him. "Then why don't you take it," she whispered.
"Huh?" Jax froze, a brow arched as he glanced back at her. "You say something?"
"I said, then why don't you take the hint," Gangle spoke up a little louder, lifting her mask to look him in the eye. "I-I don't want to be on a team with you, Jax."
"Oh ho, really?" Jax's grip on her wrist tightened, squeezing to the point it crimped her ribbon. "You think what you want matters?"
"It does," she whimpered. "I… I have just as much as say in this as you do—"
"Pfft. No, you don't!" Jax scoffed, his grin strained at the edges as he loomed over her. "It's hilarious you even think that. You're a pushover. A spineless saddy. You do what I say, when I say, just like you always have—"
"Not…" Gangle's voice cracked and she swallowed past the anxiety tying her nonexistent throat in knots. "Not anymore, Jax. I'm not y-your—I'm not—" You're not his toy. You're not his toy.
"You know you won't get a better deal than this," he interrupted, lowering his voice. "At least with me, you know I'm always going to give it to you straight. Tell it like it is. You won't ever have to worry if I really like you. Or if it's all an act." Jax flicked her forehead pointedly and she flinched back. "You know exactly what I think of you."
"Then why…" Gangle's mouth trembled. "Why do you even want to be around me? Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Because I'm such a generous guy! Without me, you wouldn't have anybody." Jax's grin sharpened, eyes crinkling as he leaned in menacingly. "Nobody is waiting for you. Nobody wants you. Not Ragatha. Not Pomni. And definitely not Zooble. You're just deluding yourself if you think they actually see you as anything more than a way for them to feel better about themself."
Gangle recoiled, her arms rising to protect her mask reflexively, even if Jax couldn't take her face from her and smash it the way he could with her comedy mask, but then she froze. "I—wait, why wouldn't I want that?"
Jax blinked, recoiling a bit. "What?"
"Why wouldn't I want them to feel better about themself just from being around me?" Gangle asked, uncoiling a little as the thought emboldened her.
"Because they'd just be using you?" Jax's brow furrowed as he quickly tried to regain his footing. "It means they don't actually care about you!"
"If they're using me to feel better about themself, then they have to care a little or they'd just go to someone else," Gangle reasoned.
"That's not how that works—"
"And if being around me can help someone feel better, I don't really see that as a bad thing…"
"Where is all this coming from?" Jax asked, baffled by her logic. "Why do you suddenly think Zooble's this great person? They're not. They're grouchy and mean and they've made it clear that they couldn't care less about anything in this circus and that includes you."
"Because… that's not true. They're so much more than that. Zooble… Zooble makes me feel like anything's possible."
Jax leaned in again, voice low and dark. "Zooble got shot in the face at point blank range and died on the ground like a dog."
Gangle wrenched her ribbon out of his grasp. "I'm not going to be on a team with you! Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever again!" she shrieked.
Her shrill voice echoed off the black and white tiles and vacuous space around them; everyone in the circus now staring at her.
"Is there a problem here?" Caine zipped over.
"No," Jax said as Gangle answered, "Yeah, I don't want to be on a team with Jax!"
"Well, there's still time for you to pick a different teammate," Caine answered reasonably. "I don't think everyone's decided yet."
Jax grabbed at her ribbon again, but she flailed out of the way and left him grasping at air. "Gangle's just being a baby. Our team is decided."
"Oh, okay then! Well—"
"Then I'm not going to play," Gangle declared. "I won't play if I have to be on a team with Jax. I'll—I'll skip the adventure!"
"I'll be on your team, Gangle," Kinger offered.
"Shut up, nobody asked you!" Jax sent him a glare before focusing on Gangle again. "This really the hill you want to die on?"
As he loomed over her, back in the center of his crosshairs instead of Zooble, Gangle's determination wavered, as easy to unravel as her ribbons. "I…"
"Maybe we could do two teams of three instead?" Ragatha piped up meekly. "Whaddya say, Caine? Would that work?"
"Or how about no teams," Pomni muttered.
"How about no adventure while we're at it," Zooble added, still holding their head.
"See?" Jax gestured to them with a flourish. "What'd I tell you, Gangle? Zooble doesn't want to go on adventures with you. They can't stand you."
They glared at him, a fire burning in their eyes even while they were still lined with exhaustion. "That's not what I said, jackass! Fuck off!"
"That's it!" Caine's voice bellowed over all of them, effectively silencing their arguments. "Because of all your bickering, you've lost team picking privileges!" Caine aggressively snapped his fingers, forcing everyone into a straight line. "The teams will be randomized. Happy? No? I don't care! Now go have fun!"
The ground opened up beneath them, the six of them all shrieking in unison as they dropped through the fractal noise.
In a disheveled heap, the circus members landed on top of each other. Pieces of Zooble scattered across the floor while everyone else was mostly tangled and twisted around each other. A chorus of groans arose as they all wobbled to their feet.
Pomni rubbed the back of her head as she squinted at their surroundings. "Where are we…?" she murmured.
"Who cares?" Jax grumbled, plucking one of Zooble's headpieces from where it had snagged on the strap of his overalls and tossed it over his shoulder.
Gangle gasped, stretching out her ribbon body to catch the lollipop shape before it clattered against the floor. Her hands curled around it protectively on a relieved sigh, blinking as she belatedly realized there was something draped over her body. A t-shirt. It was gray with a black outline of a snake printed on the center.
Glancing around at the others, she noticed they all had t-shirts on. Pomni was in a gray shirt that matched hers, while Jax and Ragatha were both in purple with large, black cats on them. As Zooble popped their leg back in, the one with a wheel as their foot, they frowned down at their own garishly yellow t-shirt with a black bee on it.
"What the fuck is this?" They looked a little clearer headed now, perhaps Caine snapped away their hangover when he teleported them, but sounded just as irritated. "What, are we in kindergarten?"
"I guess it's so we know which team we're on?" Pomni guessed, holding out the edge of her baggy, oversized shirt as she frowned at it.
"Right you are, miss," a familiar voice with an Australian cadence echoed around them, like it was speaking through a microphone. "Because today you're our contestants on…"
Spotlights suddenly blinded them as they lit up a giant, hazy soundstage decorated with thick, tropical foliage, Aztec-like ruins, and an audience of faceless mannequins. From the ceiling, a green and yellow gummy gator repelled down from the ceiling by a rope, landing with a heroic flourish at the base of a massive face carved out of stone. Caine's massive stone face, actually.
Holding a microphone and tipping the brim of his cowboy hat at the circus cast, the gator flashed them all a winning smile. A low drumming created an approximation of a jungle-like beat, complete with stock animal calls, though not all of them sounded like they belonged in a jungle. There was definitely a sheep bleating amongst the tiger roars and squawking parrots.
"Tales of the Clandestine Shrine!" The giant stone Caine head declared, exactly like the real one had done just minutes prior. "And here's your host… Gummigoo Gobb!"
"What?" Jax asked in a deadpan.
"Oh, so it's like a game show?" Ragatha pieced together.
"'Gobb?'" Pomni echoed faintly, her expression a mixture of dread and confusion.
The gator simply waved to the audience as he trotted over to the circus crew, holding himself like a proper television host with a charismatic grin and swagger. "G'day, mates. Nice to see you all again," Pomni perked up for a second, wide eyes full of hope before it was all dashed away as soon as she caught sight of the teleprompter propped up by fellow gummy gator, Max, feeding him a standard game show script. "Welcome to Tales of the Clandestine Shrine. The rooms are filled with secret artifacts and riches like none you've ever seen, each protected by the insidious guardians of the ancient Incisor Clan. Our intrepid explorers better pay close attention to the tales behind these treasures as they embark on their daring quest. But before we get going, first let's hear a round of applause for the…"
A spotlight snapped on over Jax and Ragatha, "…Putrid Pumas!"
"Oh…" Ragatha exhaled through clenched teeth, forcing a smile as Jax's eyes narrowed to slits before darting away from her.
Next the light shone on Pomni and Gangle. "The Squeamish Snakes!"
"Why are the names like this?" Pomni asked.
"And last, but certainly not least," a spotlight beamed down on Zooble and Kinger, "the Yellow Bees!"
"Oh!" Kinger cooed with delight. "I like bees."
"That's not even—you know what, I'll take it." Zooble shrugged. "Guess it could be worse."
"Tell 'em what our contestants are in for today, mate," Gummigoo asked of the giant stone Caine.
"Our three teams will be competing in a series of challenges inspired by the heroic exploits of Duke Darius Drakemoor as he scoured the world's most dangerous jungles and darkest dungeons on his lifelong quest to find the legendary Golden Gibubwhatzit," Stone Caine told the crowd, his booming voice echoing all around the soundstage, even without a microphone.
"What's a Golden Gibubwhatzit?" Pomni asked Gangle, who shrugged helplessly.
The spotlights went out, the cast blinking away the fuzzy dots blotting their vision as they adjusted and took in the set stretched out ahead of them. It looked vaguely like a jungle-themed gymnasium. Various obstacle courses decorated with blocky, stone shapes covered in moss and vines were scattered throughout. There was a ropes course, a series of giant hanging sandbags, and a massive moat cutting right through the center of the soundstage. At the very far end was a recreation of some kind of hidden temple, like a dollhouse in the sense that each of the rooms were visible thanks to the lack of a fourth wall.
The group was quickly herded over to the first obstacle course—the sandbags. Still holding Zooble's headpiece, Gangle quietly slunk over to them to hand it to them before the teams were separated. They took it with a grateful smile creasing their eyes, but Gangle kept her gaze averted and pulled her hand away before their fingers so much as brushed her satin. Zooble's brow furrowed a little, watching the way she shrunk into herself in a way she'd been doing less of lately, at least while around them. She'd been opening up to them more; blossoming in a way that reminded them of a rose after receiving the proper care and attention to help it flourish.
Zooble glanced at their lollipop piece, almost resembling a closed off rosebud itself, twisting it in their fingers before they reached up to pop it back into place. "Thanks," they spoke up, voice much gentler than it had been all morning.
"It's nothing," Gangle replied, wringing her hands together.
"Hey, are you okay?" Zooble tilted their head. "You're not wearing your comedy mask. Jax didn't break it already, did he?"
"No, it's fine. It didn't break, I just… didn't feel like wearing it today."
"Oh…" Worry flickered through Zooble's eyes, then they glanced at the hand they'd left on from yesterday. "Is… everything okay?" they asked warily, almost like they were afraid of the answer, and Gangle's nod did nothing to assuage that fear. "Did something happen?"
Gangle shook her head, but still didn't look them in the eye. "I really just didn't feel up to wearing it today, that's all."
Zooble made a sound of acknowledgment, still not entirely convinced, but choosing to believe her. "Listen, I know Jax was giving you a hard time earlier, but I wanted to say I think it was really cool that you stood your ground and didn't let him bully you into getting his way."
"Yeah, but I made Caine mad." Gangle's mouth wobbled, voice thick with her tears. "And now Ragatha's stuck with him. And Pomni's stuck with me. And you don't even want to be here."
"Hey, you're not responsible for the way someone chooses to lash out. Whether it's Jax or Caine or anyone." Zooble's face fell when Gangle just shrugged, still refusing to look at them. "Gangle?"
"Alright, teams, commercial break's over!" Gummigoo interrupted, shooing Gangle away from Zooble, personally ushering her back over to stand beside Pomni.
But she could feel their gaze following her, the weight of their worry pressing down on the back of her neck. Guilt nibbled at the edges of her ribbons as she glanced back at them over her shoulder. She offered a small wave and managed a squiggly sort of smile. Their purple wing sagged a little, but nonetheless, they seemed relieved by the attention. Zooble started to lift their hand, but before they could wave back a stagehand shoved them next to Kinger. They stumbled forward, head swiveling back to glare at the faceless mannequin as they pushed them away.
"Your first challenge is—Escape the Tomb of Duke Darius Drakemoor's Dungeon!" Gummigoo declared, gesturing towards the sandbags suspended above a twisting platform by thick ropes. "Timing is everything as you search for a way out of what could be your final resting place. Watch out for the boobytraps hidden amongst the tombstones and try to make it to the other side in one piece! First team through gets a pendant of undying! Whoever has the most pendants at the end of all your challenges will have the most chances to sprint through the shrine where the Golden Gibubwhatzit and your grand prize awaits you!"
"Sponsored by Wacky Watch™!" Caine's stone head shouted out.
"What's the prize?" Jax asked.
"Well, you'll just have to win to find out," Gummigoo answered.
Jax rolled his eyes, then assessed his competition, gaze roving over Kinger, Zooble, and Gangle. "Not like that's going to be too hard—" He cut himself off as soon as he glanced at Pomni in her gray shirt.
He averted his eyes quickly, prompting Pomni to do the same with a furrow to her brow. Gangle tapped her hands together nervously as she clocked the tension between them, looking from one to the other before seeking out Zooble again. They were assessing the obstacle course ahead of them with a half-lidded look, unimpressed for the most part, but they glanced over when they felt her gaze linger on them. They raised their orange and yellow arm in a wave this time, their eyes soft again when she was all they were focused on.
Gangle jerked her head away, face pink as she flapped her wrist back to return their wave. She didn't see the way Zooble paused, hand still lifted, but their fingers slowly curled in on their palm as it started to lower, a concerned crease furrowing their brow once more. They took a step towards her, only to be immediately corralled into a lane specifically marked for the Yellow Bees by several faceless mannequins.
"Hey, watch it!" they complained, ending up on the far side of where Gangle and Pomni were instructed to stand, with Jax and Ragatha in the lane between them. "What if I don't want to compete?"
"Well, according to the rules… if you don't compete, then you get thrown into the pit to Hell."
"'The pit to Hell?'" Zooble squinted at him skeptically.
Gummigoo nodded, then pointed to the empty area of the soundstage in front of Caine's massive stone head. The ground suddenly opened up into a vacuous black hole, despair and malaise immediately sucking all the air out of the room. As quickly as it appeared, it vanished, lights of the soundstage flickering ominously in its wake before they settled.
"The pit to Hell," Zooble said again. "Got it. Good to know."
"Why is it always Hell?" Pomni muttered to herself. "Why can't it ever be the pit to sunshine and rainbows and hamsters?"
"Alright teams, get into position!" Gummigoo motioned for them to line up, one behind the other. "On my mark, find your way out of the tomb and avoid the traps along the way! If you're hit, you'll have to start over!"
"If we're hit?" Pomni blinked as the sandbags suddenly started swinging back and forth across the winding path they had to take.
The sandbags were twice as tall as Jax and too thick for any of them to wrap their arms around. They whooshed past in a blur, the wind they created rustling Pomni's bangs and Ragatha's dress. The ragdoll suddenly gasped as she was shoved aside by her own teammate, Jax barrelling through immediately.
"Outta the way, dollface! Let me show you how it's really—" The sandbag collided with Jax and a sharp cry was wrenched from him almost immediately. "What the—it stabbed me!"
"Stabbed you?" Ragatha's eyes widened as she tried to get a better look at the sandbag when Jax was forced to walk back to the start, a small knife sticking out from between where his ribs would be. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay—?"
He pulled the knife out and plunged it between Ragatha's eyes. "I am now."
Pomni glanced warily at the swinging sandbags, trying to time their pattern before looking over her shoulder at Gangle. "I guess I'll go first?"
"Good luck." The other half of the Squeamish Snakes watched nervously as Pomni stepped out onto the course, diving out of the way of a sandbag with a yelp.
From the far lane, Kinger went first and ran smack into a sandbag without a moment of hesitation. "Oh." A small blade poked out from inside the sandbag, catching on his t-shirt that sat over his robe.
He blinked down at the tear, then hopped back to the start behind Zooble, leaving them no choice but to roll their eyes and step out onto the course. They slid past one bag, then stopped to stand between two of them as they watched them swing from side to side with a disinterested stare. Pomni and Jax made a little more forward progress while Ragatha bravely stepped onto the obstacle course after her teammate, but Zooble didn't make any move to keep going.
"Uh… you've got to get through the rest of the obstacle course, mate," Gummigoo said to them from the sidelines.
"I'm waiting for the right moment," Zooble replied with a shrug. "Timing is everything, right?"
A concerned look crossed Gummigoo's face as the stone Caine's eyes lit up in bright red and blue. One of the sandbags suddenly shifted from swinging side to side to forward and back, hurdling right into Zooble. They had no time to react before it collided with them and they were sent flying right back to the start.
"Oh, look out, Zooble! These sandbags are actually full of knives!" Kinger chirped, eyes creasing cheerfully as he looked down at them.
"I hadn't noticed," they drawled, wrenching one of the tiny blades out of the rubbery part of their curly, orange bicep.
As Kinger hopped back onto the course, Zooble glanced over at Gangle. Her worried gaze widened when she was caught staring again, tips of her hands tapping together as anxiety writhed within her ribbons. She focused her eyes on Pomni instead, who'd opted for an army crawl beneath the swinging sandbags in an attempt to avoid being hit by them while keeping pace with Jax in the other lane. Gangle was the only one left who hadn't even tried. Some teammate…
"I didn't even do anything…"
She sucked in a deep breath and inched her way after Pomni, curling herself into a tight coil as she crept past the first sandbag. With a nervous little noise, she scurried past the second, only to flinch when she heard the sudden soft thud of Ragatha's body against a sandbag. She'd been tripped over Jax's outstretched foot, a knife piercing right through the stuffing of her sternum.
"Jax!" she scolded before she skulked back to the beginning to try again. "We're supposed to be working together!"
"Not my fault you were walking right behind me. Maybe if you weren't always smothering everyone—" he started, only for a sandbag to suddenly veer course and knock him flat on his back, sending him skidding all the way to the start. "This sucks."
The sandbags switched up their movements again, slamming into the ground now and ruining Pomni's strategy. She grunted as the sandbag slammed into her back, winding her to the point that a mannequin had to help her up and lead her back to the start. Leaving Gangle as the farthest ahead of everyone.
She squeaked as a bag came barrelling towards her, ribbons loosening so she could cartoonishly swerve her middle out of the way, even while her hands covered her face. She did the same thing when a sandbag from the opposite direction swung at her, her body full of enough empty space that it missed her entirely as she wobbled from side to side.
"Woah!" Pomni yelped from behind her, catching up quickly, even as she hopped back on one foot to avoid being impaled instead. "I guess it was too much to hope that this would be like a normal game show," she muttered.
"Fear Factor's a normal game show," Jax called out from his and Ragatha's lane. "So is Survivor and Wipeout and that one with the ninjas."
Pomni ignored him, just focused on avoiding the next sandbag that swung towards her. Not wanting Pomni to get stuck waiting behind her, Gangle scuttled further ahead, alternating between scrunching herself up and letting her ribbons loose in order to keep from getting hit. Peeking out from behind her hands as she continued to shield her face, she darted around the course much like she had through the circus tunnels when she'd been trying to avoid a barrage of bullets.
Except back then Zooble had been beside her.
Bravely shooting over their shoulder at their pursuers, their presence was a constant reminder that she wasn't alone. She remembered the fierce look on their face as they kept pace with her, even though they were faster. They cocked their AK-Thing in their firm, confident grasp, firing intentionally until they'd exhausted all their ammo. Gangle had almost tripped over her own feet when their eyes met, the competitive heat still burning in Zooble's eyes. Gangle's breath hitched, her invisible heart skipping several beats when they gave up their hold on their gun to take her hand instead. They tugged her down a sharp turn in the tunnel, grip tight and reassuring her that they wouldn't leave her behind. Even as fear coursed through her, Gangle felt a rush of warmth at the contact, at the protective way Zooble positioned them both so she was further back in the tunnel while she caught her breath, so they could stand between her and whatever tried to come after them…
A happy little chime rang out. The air around Gangle stilled, no longer rushing past her with the weight of swinging sandbags filled with knives. Without realizing it, she'd crossed the finish line.
"And the Squeamish Snakes are the first to get one of their teammates through the treacherous tomb!" Gummigoo was announcing to the audience—both live and on the air, supposedly. "If the other half of their team can make it across, they'll be awarded the first pendant of undying and be in the lead for a chance at searching the shrine for the fabled Golden Gibubwhatzit!"
"I… I made it?" Gangle touched her own ribbons and her porcelain face, stunned that she'd made it one piece.
With a grunt of effort, Pomni launched herself over the finish line right after her, nearly stumbling over herself as Gangle caught her. "We did it!" she exhaled gustily, glancing up at the scoreboard as it lit up with a point for the Squeamish Snakes, both Gangle and Pomni's little icons flashing a victorious green.
"And the full pendant goes to the Squeamish Snakes!" Gummigoo pranced over to them with a toothy grin. "Congratulations, sheilas. You made it through Duke Darius Drakemoor's Tomb of Traps and Terrors. You've got a real leg up on the competition now. But the fun's not over yet. Whoever comes in second will still be awarded half a pendant, so keep up that effort, Putrid Pumas and Yellow Bees…"
He trailed off as he looked back at the two remaining teams. Jax was pulling on Ragatha's hair so he could get in front of her, dragging them both back into another knife-riddled sandbag. Meanwhile, Kinger kept running into the same one over and over, whereas Zooble hadn't moved from after their first attempt, arms crossed as they lifted a brow while they watched Kinger eagerly bounce forward again and again.
"Erm…" His smile turned strained as he looked back at Pomni and Gangle. "This might take a while. Enjoy a quick break while we go to commercial." He tipped his hat towards them, with Pomni ducking her head, gaze flitting away and back while Gangle quietly observed.
When he walked away, Pomni leaned forward to watch as he met up with his lads, Chad working as a boom mic guy alongside Max as the teleprompter holder. Despite saying they were going to commercial, not much actually changed as the rest of their friends continued to grapple with the obstacle course. With a heavy sigh, Pomni dropped down on her rear to rest for a minute while they had the chance, shaking off the weird sensation of seeing Gummigoo as a game show host.
Gangle sat down beside her, knees drawn up as her arms wrapped around them in a loose hug. Awkward silence sat between the two of them for a beat, both vaguely reminded of the last time it had just been the two of them. Where Pomni had first been rattled by Gummigoo's returning presence and Gangle had been anything but the best version of herself.
"So… that sure was something," Pomni croaked out to break the silence, nodding at the obstacle course they managed to escape. "I have a feeling it's only going to get worse from here."
"Yeah…" Curled up beside her, Gangle wrung her ribbon hands together. "I'm sorry you had to get stuck on a team with me, Pomni."
"Oh—" Pomni's eyes snapped to her, wide with surprise before they softened with her half-smile. "Well, I'm not. You did great out there."
Gangle just shrugged. "I got lucky, I guess."
"Hey, a win's still a win!" Pomni assured her, then flicked her gaze towards their competition with a considering hum. "And honestly, you know what, Gangle? We might actually have a shot of winning this whole thing."
"What?"
"I mean, look. Zooble and Kinger aren't exactly trying." She gestured to where Kinger was stuck now swinging on one of the sandbags while Zooble just watched, then over to the other opposing team, "And Ragatha and Jax… well, I'll be surprised if anything positive comes out of that team-up."
"Oh…" Gangle's eyes widened as she watched Jax and Ragatha refuse to look at one another, independently forcing their way through the sandbags now. "You're kinda right."
"Yeah." Pomni pumped up both fists as her smile brightened, her competitive side coming out. "So whaddya say we give it our all? Go for the win?"
Gangle tapped the tips of her ribbons together before lifting them in a shrug. "Well, it's worth a try. Um, I'll do my best!"
"That's the spirit!" Pomni held up her hand for a high five, grinning when Gangle gently tapped her palm with her ribbon, only for it to turn a little sly as she leaned in. "Plus, think about how impressed Zooble will be if you win first place."
"Mm!" Gangle stiffened on a startled squeak, mask flushing bright red as an awkward laugh sputtered from her mouth, "Ah-haha-heh-heh… I-I don't think they'd really care. It's just a stupid adventure."
Pomni propped her chin up in her hands, elbows resting on her knees. "I think they'd care a little. You beating Jax? You can't tell me they wouldn't have a field day lording that over him."
Gangle tapped the tips of her ribbons together again, ducking her head as her blush refused to die down. "Maybe."
"Well, in any case, think of it as getting revenge for the whole gun thing. Which, actually… I'm the one who shot you in the end, huh?" Pomni rubbed the back of her neck, sheepishly glancing away and back. "So, uh… sorry about that. No hard feelings?"
Gangle shook her head, straightening up a bit. "Mm-mm. It's okay. It's not like you were mean about it or anything."
"Yeah, except I kinda was trying to be mean…" Pomni murmured, dropping her gaze.
"Oh." Gangle glanced down at the floor between them, too. "If it makes you feel any better, it didn't feel mean. It just felt like you were playing the game."
Pomni looked back up at her, small smile tugging at her lips when she was met with Gangle's own reassuring smile. "Still, I'm considering this my redemption round! You and me, Gangle! We're taking the win!"
"Okay! Let's do it!"
Another chime rang out as Jax crossed his finish line, with Ragatha not far behind. The Putrid Pumas took the half pendant of undying as their second place prize, effectively ending the first challenge.
One down. Four to go.