Archive of Our Own ^beta

Zooble laughed loudly. “Dang! I wish I could’ve seen that.”

Pomni couldn’t help but smile and laugh alongside her friends. After Caine didn’t initiate any crazy wake-up calls and appear onstage, the circus members decided to head over to the lounge area and talk. Jax lingered, clearly pretending that he wasn’t following them or listening to them. When Ragatha had tried to go over to talk to him, he shied away to mind his own business, but the sound of Gangle recounting the adventure seemed to draw him in.

“Too bad you couldn’t.” the rabbit commented, flicking one of Zooble’s antennae. “You were too much of a sourpuss to step through the portal.”

“[SQUAWK] you.” Zooble muttered, batting his hand away. Jax shrugged and walked over to Pomni and Ragatha, sitting on the couch in between them. He crossed his arms behind his head, assuming a relaxed position. Pomni looked over to Ragatha, who simply shrugged.

“Speaking of adventures,” Kinger started, his voice muffled by the flower pot Pomni had put over his head, “that adventure yesterday was actually pretty fun, despite all the historical inaccuracies.”

“Say what?” Jax asked.

“I thought it was accurate.” Ragatha pointed out.

“Witches with giant paintbrush scepters and anime cloaks did not exist in medieval times.” the chess piece explained. “And I’m quite certain flutes did not put people to sleep.”

“I miss my giant paintbrush.” Gangle whimpered.

“Don’t worry.” Zooble assured. “I’m sure it will show up in another adventure.”

“Did someone say ADVENTURE?” Caine’s voice echoed through Pomni’s skull and she groaned inwardly. The ringmaster had another one of his excited puppy-like looks and he kept tossing his cane between his hands. Bubble just floated next to Caine, a blank look in his beady eyes as he smiled, showing off his jagged teeth. Pomni shuddered.

“I heard you miss your paintbrush, Gangle.” Caine acknowledged, placing a hand on the ribbon woman’s shoulder. “Therefore, I decided to create a very special PAINTING adventure! The winner will get a giant paintbrush accessory to decorate their room. Split into teams of two and get ready!”

Jax groaned  “Hooray. An artsy-fartsy adventure.”

Gangle and Zooble immediately locked eyes and nodded. Pomni saw the determined look in their faces and realized how dead-set they were on winning. She looked at Jax, who stood up and went over to Kinger. The rabbit lifted the flower pot slightly and asked the chess piece something that Pomni couldn’t hear. Kinger gave Jax a thumbs up and pulled the pot back over his head, leaving the rabbit blinking in shock until he shook his head and shrugged.

“I guess that leaves you and me.”  Ragatha chuckled. Pomni nodded. She felt glad to be on a team with the ragdoll, but she was slightly worried, considering the fact that she wasn’t a very good painter or artist. Ragatha seemed like the kind of person who could repaint the whole Mona Lisa effortlessly. Pomni remembered her saying something about playing the cello and knitting, and she wondered what other skills in art the talented ragdoll had.

“I wonder what we should paint.” Ragatha interrupted. “Maybe something that we like? When you see paint, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?”

“Cleaning wipes.” Pomni said bluntly. “Lots and lots of cleaning wipes.”

Ragatha burst out laughing, and even though Pomni hadn’t been joking, a small part of her chest swelled at the sound of the doll’s laughter.

“Alright, my precious Pablo Picassos!” Caine announced, snapping his fingers as three purple portals appeared. “Each team needs to go through one portal. That way, you can stand in front of your designated canvas. The contest will start once everyone is ready.”

Gangle wasted no time grabbing Zooble’s hand and heading into the nearest portal. Jax and Kinger sauntered through the one farthest from the latter’s, and Pomni and Ragatha walked through the one in the center. Behind the portal was a massive white canvas on the wall and large cups of paint that were all different colors. There was also a machine-gun-like contraption that looked like it was meant to shoot paint onto the canvas. The platform they were on was elevated so they could be in-line with the center of the canvas. Pomni looked to her left and right. She could see Gangle and Zooble and Jax and Kinger, but she couldn’t see their canvases.

“Alright, my astounding artists!” Caine’s booming voice echoed. “You have fifteen minutes to paint your own personal masterpieces. May the best team win! Good luck!”

Pomni looked at a small space near the top left corner of the canvas. A stopwatch was now attached to the wall and the time was ticking down on it. Pomni saw Gangle and Zooble immediately get to work painting, while Jax and Kinger just stared at the canvas. Ragatha pulled her hair into a small ponytail and grabbed a paintbrush, resting it against her hip. “Okay. Do you have any ideas?”

“I… um…” Pomni stuttered. “I… not really.”

Ragatha didn’t seem frustrated. Instead, she simply looked at the canvas and crossed her arms. “Maybe we could draw some memories,” she proposed. “You know, like our adventures together.”

“Sure!” Pomni agreed, flashing the doll a thumbs up. “Let’s do that.”

Ragatha gave Pomni a concerned look. “Are you okay? Your face looks a little flushed.”

Pomni touched the side of her face, feeling an increasing amount of heat. She shook her head and sighed, feeling the redness and whatever strange sensation she felt wash away. “I’m fine. Come on, let’s get to work.”

As the clock ticked down, Ragatha and Pomni began to paint together. The paintbrush worked similarly to how Gangle’s scepter had functioned. They painted shapes in the air and they appeared on the canvas. The giant paint gun filled in and colored in certain areas. Ragatha mostly outlined their painting as Pomni used the gun to fill it with color. It was efficient and they made good time.

All was going well until Pomni was knocked to the floor as a spray of blue paint hit her.

“What the [BONG]?!” she exclaimed.

“Sorry, Pom-Pom!” Jax called. He readjusted the paint gun, angling it higher. “I was aiming for Zooble.”

He pressed the trigger and a spray of yellow paint shot out, soaring over the jester and doll’s heads before landing near Gangle and Zooble. The ribbon woman let out a shriek and the mix-and-match toy turned to Jax, eyes blazing. From a distance, Pomni saw them flip Jax off and grab the handles of the gun, aiming at the rabbit’s smug purple face. Pink paint sprayed out of the gun. Some landed on Ragatha, but the majority of it landed on Jax.

Everyone froze.

“Oh, God.” Pomni muttered before all hell broke loose. Paint flew through the air and Pomni and Ragatha were caught in the crosshairs of an all-out paint war. Jax and Zooble fired at each other while their partners hurried to finish. Gangle dodged sprays of paint while she made adjustments to her art while Kinger waved a brush blindly.

“FOR [CHIRP]’S SAKE, CUT IT OUT!” Pomni screamed, dodging a spray of green paint. “CAINE!”

Almost immediately, the missiles of paint stopped. Pomni and Ragatha looked around. Walls had been brought up between the teams, preventing any more paint attacks. The two let out sighs of relief. Suddenly, Ragatha exploded into giggles, clutching her stomach and doubling over. Pomni looked down at herself. She was covered in blue, magenta, and purple paint from head to toe. Ragatha was covered in pink, orange, and white paint. No wonder she was laughing. They looked ridiculous.

“Oh, man.” Ragatha took a deep breath and stifled her laughter. “I didn’t realize it would get so out of hand.”

“Yeah.” Pomni chuckled, glancing at their canvas. “At least the painting isn’t ruined. Just in time, too.”

(00:00)

The sound of a buzzer echoed throughout the adventure, indicating the time to paint was over. Pomni looked at their “masterpiece.” They had painted, to the best of their ability, a collage showcasing all their previous adventures together, from the candy kingdom, to the haunted mansion, to the fast food restaurant, to the crazy lightning rounds and guns adventure. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either. In fact, Pomni was proud of it.

“Alright everybody!” Caine declared. “Give me just a few seconds to look over your wonderful pieces of art and decide a winner!” It was barely two seconds before Caine said, “It’s Gangle and Zooble.”

From the other side of the wall, Pomni could hear Gangle squeal loudly. The canvas seemed to change into a podium as the placings were displayed. Gangle and Zooble had drawn a very impressive crossover of Dungeons and Dragons and Hatsune Miku, coming in first. Pomni and Ragatha had come in second, and Kinger and Jax had come in last. Pomni cocked her head. The rabbit and chess piece had painted what looked to be an abstract take on a garden full of bugs. It was mostly brown, green, and blue blobs, but kind of pretty, in a way.

“I guess that’s that.” Ragatha said with a sigh, examining her stained clothes. “Oh, jeez… I should probably get cleaned up or something.”

Pomni looked down at herself. The blue, purple, and pink was still splattered all over her outfit. She looked like a preschool art class gone wrong. “Yeah, maybe we should…”

Ragatha frowned in mock disappointment. “That’s a shame,” she muttered. “I think you look cute.”

Pomni’s face turned red, but Ragatha didn’t see. Her back was turned as she stepped through the portal. The jester trailed behind her, trying to compose herself. Once they stepped through the portal, the stains on their clothes disappeared. Pomni could see Gangle happily, yet struggling to move the giant paintbrush she won in order to get it to her room. Ragatha went over to help, giving the ribbon woman a pretty smile.

Pomni felt heat rush into her face again, and she just about slapped herself, trying to clear her mind of whatever these new thoughts were. Ragatha was her friend, right? That’s all that they were… right?

Jeez, Pomni thought as she walked away, shaking her head. What’s wrong with me?