Welcome to part 2 of chapter 1! Chapter 1 part 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1266737517/ Chapter 1 part 2: this one Chapter 2: N/A Thanks for reading! Chapter 1 Part 2: The Disappearing Act Jax glances over at Pomni, his hands behind his head. “So, newbie, are you gonna make a habit out of running off every time things get a little weird? Cause if so, you’ll never stop running,” he smirks, but his eyes reflect a glimmer of interest. “I’ll say, though, you’ve lasted longer than some of the chumps here.” Pomni glares up at him, “I’m not running, I just-I just need a minute,” her voice tails off, slowing down. Jax snorts, “Uh-huh, that’s what Kaufmo said before he went feral.” He leans in, voice dropping. “You might want to pace yourself on the existential dread; this place eats that for breakfast. Plus, it makes you look bad.” He falls into step beside her, tone softening just a bit. “Look, whatever Caine’s gotten himself into is no big deal; he usually pops back into existence eventually. If I were you, I’d take some time to enjoy this place, Ringmaster free,” he grins. “That’s what I’m gonna do. Imagine all the free time I’ll have without that jerk bossing us around.” Pomni doesn’t say anything. Jax shrugs, tossing one last look her way before heading off to his own room. “Or don’t, I don’t care either way.” Pomni watches him walk away before turning to her door: the image of her face plastered near the top, looking as unreal as ever. She twists the knob and walks in for the first time. Her room displays a colourful mess of lettered cubes, random circus decorations, and red curtains with no windows to cover. Near the back left side sits her bed, a small wooden-framed canopy bed with a comfortable enough-looking quilt, sporting the colours of her outfit. Off to the back right sits a brown desk with a small lamp, and a quite large red sofa chair. What she could use the desk for, she didn’t know, and just assumed it was for decorative purposes. In the middle against the wall is a large mahogany wooden dresser, its drawers all completely empty, except for the bottom one, which contains an extra jester hat. Weird, she thinks. In front of her room, by the left side of the door, sits a mirror, and when she’s done looking at her new room, she pauses in front of it, her hand slowly going up to touch her face. She stands like this for a while, just staring. Eventually, she goes to her bed to lie down, but before she can hop up, a small glinting item on top of the quilt catches her eye, and she wonders how she hadn’t seen it before. She cautiously reaches out, picking up the item. “It’s... A fortune cookie?” Pomni blinks. The shell is glossy, almost too perfect. She curiously cracks it open, becoming more engaged in the random cookie than the existential crisis she was about to spiral into. Inside, a slip of paper unfurls and slides out. She opens it, half expecting to read some cheesy message scrawled on the front, but to her surprise, it’s blank. She flips it over to the back, and still, nothing. Pomni stares at the blank fortune; it doesn’t make any sense. Just as she’s about to toss it aside, the paper suddenly glows, soft white particles swirl around it and settle inside it before fading away. Now, for reasons she can’t quite explain, the slip of paper feels important. Instead of throwing it aside, she slips it under her hat, not knowing where else to put it. Crawling up on her bed to lie down, she closes her eyes and recalls the recent events. She has no idea what she’s doing here, but one thing is certain: she is going to try to find a way out—if there is one.
Cover art and story are both my concepts. Hope you enjoy :) All disclaimers and notes are linked in the first part of this chapter.
