Chapter Text
The Void felt like falling at a thousand miles per hour and simultaneously shooting upward in a too fast elevator. Static and warped music only worsened the hellish feeling as they were sucked outwards. She doesn’t remember exactly how they figured out the real exit. Something in the code, back doors and passwords jumbled together as she floated and careened through the white nothing. One plush hand squeezing hers, a ribbon wound so tightly around the other that if she could still feel her limbs, she was sure she would have lost all feeling anyways. She was sure she was no better. Gloved hands white knuckled in Ragatha’s and Gangle’s as they rocketed towards freedom, towards home. And then it changed. Like a vacuum sucking all the air out of her artificial lungs as she was yanked forward by some invisible force. She was vaguely aware of her grip slipping, a strangled cry as piece by piece, Zooble disappeared from view. A button eye flew past her vision as Ragatha was violently yanked back with a pained shout. Panic erupted for a brief second before her hands slipped free and fell. Faster and faster until she completely blacked out.
It was dark and cold when she finally awoke. Musty air freezing in her lungs as she slowly sat up, the vr goggles that had sent her to the circus skewed on her face before she ripped them off. Throwing them full force away from her as she struggled to her feet. She felt weak. Like she’d been sitting and wasting away for months. Her hands shook as she gripped the edge of the desk to keep balanced. Electric buzzing the only sound in the dim space of a dilapidated and abandoned office, the same one she’d been exploring when she’d been sucked into the digital world. The outdated computer in front of her hummed as the circus logo bounced on the screen, ominous, mocking. It flickered for a second, glitching as the words warped and the buzzing got louder, before the screen went blue and the circus finally crashed.
She let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding as she stared at the broken screen. It was over. She was out. She was free. She could go home! She quickly grabbed the backpack that was sitting next to the desk and rifled through it until she found a set of car keys and a phone. The black screen was of no help, but hopefully her car was still here somewhere. She slung the bag onto her shoulder as she slowly started to make her way out of the building. Following the far-off glow of outdoor light, leaning on walls as she stumbled her way along. She didn’t remember the real world being so heavy, the air so thick and stale. It was such an odd feeling after being… nothing. Code didn’t feel gravity quite like this. And it didn’t breathe or need to eat or sleep. Christ she was exhausted and starving. How long was she even in that computer anyways? At this point it didn't even matter.
Her excitement waned just a little bit as she listened to the wind whistle through the empty hallways. Where was everyone? Didn’t they all get out together? She had lost hold of her friends in the void, could they still be there? She froze as she started to think about it. What if they were still trapped in the computer? Would it have been her fault? She swayed as she debated on whether or not she could really fix it if they were. Sure, she knew some code and she had helped in figuring out how to escape Caine, but could she decipher it from the outside and get the same effect? Weak sunlight was filtering in through open office doorways and broken windows. The crunch of glass and the faint tittering of birds all she could hear. Every hallway and open space she passed more destroyed by the elements and graffiti as she crept along. Her balance coming back slowly, the ripped up carpet and roots growing in the hall didn't help as she stumbled, nearly falling over a set of toppled file cabinets. The sound echoed as papers rustled beneath her. The C&A logo faintly visible on the top paper. The sight sent a chill through her as she recalled the same sight in the maze of hallways form her first day. The idea of her friends still being trapped in their own personal hell made her blood run cold. With a groan she turned and headed back to the office with the cursed computer. If nothing else she could take the tower and extract the files to her own laptop…
Finally, she made it out of the building. Struggling to haul an oversized and outdated computer tower with her as she carefully walked towards an ice-covered little car. Fumbling with the backpack and keys before dumping the tower in the back and scrambling into the front seat. It was still freezing in the car and her hands shook as she jammed her keys into the ignition. There was nothing, of course. Not with her luck and not with how long she’d been stuck. But it was calm and enclosed, and safe, and there was a human face staring at her in the rearview mirror. Her heart dropped for a moment before she recognized the round face. It was hers. Her human, non-rubbery, non-jestery, real face. Her hand found her cheek as she leaned closer. Her hair was longer than she remembered, not quite the horridly curly bob she’d given herself before the circus. Her eyes were still brown, and her freckles had faded a little, but she was here. And she was real.