Chapter Text
Do they actually need sleep?
It’s a question that’s floated around the Circus for as long as anyone could remember. Sleep wasn’t required—not technically. No one would shut down or crash if they skipped it. But avoid it long enough, and something crept in instead. A nausea that sat low in the stomach. A buzzing behind the eyes. A feeling that something was off, even if nothing had changed.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Jax stared at the ceiling, counting the faint mechanical clicks echoing somewhere in the walls. If someone walked in right now, he wouldn’t bother reacting. No one ever did. And if they did—well. They’d regret it later. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Day and night didn’t really exist here anyway, just different lighting presets Caine liked to cycle through.
Tick.
Tock.
Was there even time in this place?
He squeezed his eyes shut. No—don’t go there. Thinking like that never helped. Thinking like that made things weird. And being weird today would be a mistake.
With a sharp inhale, Jax shot upright in bed.
His room... Jax's room..... [BOINKING] sucked! The walls were all pink, and colourful, rainbows splattered across the surface—IT'S LIKE CAINE MISTOOK HIM FOR A CHILD. it pissed him off, maybe a little too much.
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
It read a time that felt wrong.
Or maybe it was right. Maybe it was just Caine messing with him again.
Jax snorted. “Figures.”
No one liked Caine. Or at least, everyone pretended they didn’t. It was easier that way. Easier to roll your eyes and complain than admit he was the whole reason this place existed.
“The main problem,” Jax muttered. “With teeth.”
He lay back again, staring up. Someone would come get him soon. Pomni, probably. Ragatha too, if Pomni hesitated. They were predictable like that.
If he took a nap—just for a bit—would the unease fade?
The feeling in his gut twisted instead, sharp and unpleasant. Like something waiting just out of sight. He didn’t like it. Didn’t like the way this adventure felt before it had even started.
But skipping an adventure?
That wasn’t an option. He always went. No matter how wrong it felt.
A knock sounded at the door.
Jax exhaled. “Knew it.”
He pushed himself up, smoothed his vest automatically, and walked over. He paused with his hand on the handle, taking one quiet, steadying breath.
“Jax?” Pomni’s voice, thin through the door. He heard the fidgeting too—the nervous shifting of weight, the faint tap of fingers against fabric.
Ragatha was there. Of course she was.
He opened the door.
Light flooded in, making him squint. Two figures stood in front of him, exactly as expected.
“Hi, Jax!” Ragatha chirped. “How did you sleep?”
He waved a hand lazily, ears flicking. “Fantastic. Slept like a rock.”
Pomni forced a smile. “W-well, then! Let’s go meet up with everyone!”
Jax barely registered her words. He was still adjusting to the brightness, the noise, the presence of people. He didn’t want company. He wanted quiet. He wanted the dim dark to pull him under properly—but it hadn’t. Not yet.
They started walking.
Somewhere between the hallway turns, his thoughts drifted. Slipped. The walls blurred at the edges.
“Jaaax?” Pomni waved a hand in front of his face. “Hello?”
Ragatha frowned. “You okay?”
Pomni tugged his arm suddenly.
“—WHAT?!” Jax jolted, ears shooting straight up, heart slamming. For half a second he looked genuinely startled—like an actual rabbit caught in headlights—before the familiar grin snapped back into place.
“S-sorry,” he said, too fast.
Rare. Sloppy.
What the [BEEP] was that?
He straightened, forcing his posture loose again. Think normal thoughts. Act normal. Being off like this invited questions—and questions were dangerous.
By the time they reached the common area, he had himself under control.
Mostly.
The couch sagged under its usual occupants. Zooble lounged dramatically across an armrest, mismatched limbs angled like they’d been arranged on purpose. Gangle curled at the far end, mask slightly cracked, notebook hugged close. Kinger was sunk into the cushions, crown tilted, muttering something about “invisible butterflies with grudges.”
Quiet. Uneasy. Almost peaceful.
Jax broke it immediately.
“Wow,” he said, appearing in front of them with a grin. “Is this the trauma recovery club, or are we just really into furniture now?”
Zooble didn’t look up. “Don’t listen to him, Gangle. He’s trying to get a reaction.”
That stung more than it should’ve.
Jax laughed it off. “Aww, Zoobie. I thought you were used to being ignored.”
Zooble glanced up, eyes sharp. “Then don’t say it like you’re not sure.”
Jax turned away before his expression could slip, flopping into a chair like it was a throne. “Relax. Your face isn’t shrinking today.”
Before Zooble could respond—
“HELLOOOO, MY CONTESTANTS!”
Caine burst into the air above them like a firework, grinning ear to ear.
Jax flattened his ears dramatically. “Nope. Not feeling it today, Teeth.”
Caine puffed out his chest. “TODAY’S ADVENTURE—”
“—is probably terrible,” Jax muttered.
Caine ignored him entirely.
“YOU WILL BE LOCKED IN A GIANT CLOSET, CHASED BY AN EGG BOY—”
“What?” Jax cupped his ear. “Repeat that without yelling?”
Bubble popped in. “Don’t forget the sexual tension~”
Caine groaned. “WHY are you like this?”
A snap.
A portal.
Everyone was yanked forward.
“This SUCKS—” Jax shouted, arms crossed as the world folded in on itself.
And just like that, the adventure began.