Archive of Our Own ^beta

Pomni can’t take it anymore.

She has already lost track of how long she has been trapped here. These obnoxious bright colours everywhere, constant loud noises….. not a moment of peace since getting here. But the worst is that how okay everyone else is here.

We are prisoners here and they don’t care! They are just fine with being trapped here! We had lives before this! Loved ones not knowing what became of us!

“Pomni?”

Pomni shot her head up breaking her thoughts.

“You alright?” Ragatha looked at her with worry.

“Ye-yeah…” she sputtered out looking away.

“If you don’t feel well you can sit out on todays adventure if you want.” Gangle chimed in.

“Oh come on she’s fiinnneeeee, right kid?” Jax shot her a smirk.

“Look if she’s not well then she should rest-“

“We’re toys!” Jax interrupted “Or digital avatars or something! We don’t get sick! Heck doubt we can actually die! Everyone that leaves has gotten abstracted and thrown in the basement.” He looks over at Pomni “And people who have been abstracted spent a lot of time alone.”

Wait, they haven’t tried dying yet?
That thought took over pomnis brain as the rest of them continued to bicker.

“Actually. I think I will sit out today.” Pomni quietly chimed in.

“What? Lameee”

“That’s okay!” Ragatha glared over at Jax “take care of yourself pomni!”

Pomni quietly excused herself and ran to her room. Her room was so small. But she was small now. But what’s worse than the size of it was that the obnoxious colours followed her into her room, plastered on every wall and furniture. It gives her a headache. Maybe going back to her room was a bad idea.

She slips back out of her room and sneaks past the group that was still squabbling to the outside. The colours were still insanely bright but at least it’s not a rainbow mess like inside the tent.

The last however many months she has been here she found the one solice in a small blue lake just on the edge of their world. It was one colour that helped clear her head.

When she made it to the lake she sat down on a rock near by and stared into it.

I doubt we can even die!

That still rang through Pomni’s mind. She knew Caine can fix them if they are badly injured but from death? Is that the only exit? Pomni’s search for the exit since she got here turned up nothing and she knew she would become abstracted if she tried for much longer.

While staring into the water, she thought she saw something. She leaned in closer to get a better look. A familiar face below the surface. It was her face. But….. dead? Pomni flinched at the hallucination and fell backwards at the sight.

Was…. Was this a way?

Coming here had picked through and erased so many things out of their brains that dying wasn’t a concept anymore. She completely forgot about it until Jax brought it up. Let alone how to die.

Seeing that vision woke something in pomni.

This is it.
She stood up.
This is my exit.

She slowly walked towards the lake slipping into it.
She immedietly sank straight down into the lake due to her new body being so dense. She panicked for a moment and began to flail and yelling underwater, swallowing it into her lungs.

But then she saw blue. Blue all around. No different colours, no over stimulation, just calming blue. Despite her sinking to the bottom she felt like she was floating. She hasn’t felt this peaceful since being here.

This is the exit.

“$!’&@-!”

What was that?

“Come———- kid!”

It’s annoying.

“Pomni!”

Pomni sprung her eyes wide open immedietly gasping for air followed by hacking out water from her lungs.

“&$@€ $&¥£ kid.” Jax sat next to her swearing in between pants. He is soaking wet.

“Pomni!” Ragatha grabbed her into a hug squeezing her tightly while she was still coughing.

Zooble noticed Pomni’s confused expression
“Jax saw you sneaking out and we followed him.” When we caught up he was pulling you out of the water.

Pomni looked back to jax who was glaring at her.

“What is going on here?” Caine appeared above them. “You all are supposed to be finding the source of the loud ticking sound!”

He looked at pomni and jax.
“Why are you two wet? The ticking is not underwater you know!”

Everyone else looked to Pomni for the explanation as well.

“Um….. well I got startled by something and fell into the lake.”

Caine shook his head immedietly satisfied with her lie. “Ah well that seems like a very Pomni thing to do of you.” Caine grabbed his staff and turned to the rest of them.

“The ticking is inside the tent and I suggest you all find it BEFORE I LOSE MY MIND!”

Everyone else also seemed satisfied with Pomnis answer, but she could still feel the baring glare coming from Jax still.

She chose to not look at him again or she will crack.

“Pomni seriously go to your room now okay? Just rest for today.” Ragatha put a hand on her shoulder.

“Right.”

With that everyone headed back to the tent. Jax followed closely behind Pomni glaring at her the whole way back.

“Jax quit looking at her like that you’re gonna freak her out more.” Zooble smacked the back of his head.

“Well it’s her fault all my clothes are wet and this fur is hard to dry off! We don’t even have showers here!”

“Shut up!” Another smack.

Ah good. Pomni was worried Jax saw something but he’s just being his usual self. A weight lifted off her shoulders at that thought.

They dropped Pomni off at her room to ensure she actually made it there this time.

“We are gonna find that ticking sound. You stay here alright?”

She nodded

“See you tomorrow Pomni.”

They waved her off as she closed the door.

Back to here colour vomit room. Her migrane grew worse from almost dying and the colours did not help. She crawled into bed still soaking wet and covered herself with a blanket.

She was so close.

So close to leaving. To either escape to the real world or exiting from this hellish existance. Either was welcomed at this point.

She turned and huffed in anger. Why the $% did Jax stop me. If it weren’t for him I would be gone by now. Why would he fish me out when he didn’t want to get wet. I hate him.

A knock on the door broke her out of her thoughts. She really did not want to talk right now so she decided to pretend to sleep.

“Hey, open up.”

Jax?

Why the heck was he here?

She decided to stick to her plan of pretending to be asleep so he would go away.

After a few more knocks a sigh was heard outside the door followed by raddling of keys.

Wait he doesn’t have my key, right?

Her suspicions were confirmed when a *click* came from the lock.

$#%¥.

The door creaked open and jax stood in the doorframe.
Pomni stayed completely still hoping he would leave if she kept up her sleeping act.

“I know you’re awake.”

He sounded weird. Not like his usual carefree tone but a more stern one.

Pomni continued to pretend she was in a deep sleep for the next few minutes until she heard a scoff and foot steps towards the door. It opened and slammed shut.

Jerk didn’t even lock it again.

She gave it another minute before she peeked her eyes open and could see he was gone.

She sighed in relief and sat up to lock the door again.

“I knew you were faking it.”

Pomni shot her head to the door and found Jax resting against it baring his eyes into her. He held a frown pomni didn’t think was possible for him.

Pomni froze in place just staring at him nervous to make a single move. After a few moments Jax closed his eyes and exhailed.

“Your room is small.” He tried to break the obvious tension between them. Pomni just wanted him out.

“Jax…….. I don’t want to talk right now.” She pulled the blanket back over herself.

“Well I do.” Jax’s strange demeanour snapped back. “What was that earlier?”

“Oh… um… thanks for saving me. Sorry you got wet.”

Jax began walking around Pomni’s room inspecting everything she owned which wasn’t much.

“So you just fell in, huh?”

“Uh yeah. This body has weird legs so I kinda just fall sometimes.”

“Thought you said you got scared by something.”

Pomni cheeks flushed in her lie.
“Well, yeah I mean when I got scared I couldn’t catch myself with my legs….”

“What could have scared you?”

“It was……. A spider!” Yeah perfect spiders are freaky!

Jax looked at her with an expression that showed he did not believe her lies.

“Bugs don’t exist here Pom. I had to special order centipedes to put in Ragatha’s room.”

Pomni’s eyes widen. What a dummy. You haven’t seen a single bug since being here.

“Kid. I’m getting tired of dancing around this.” Jax begins walking towards her bed.

“How do you think I knew you were in the lake?” Jax sits on the end of her bed, his black eyes baring into her soul. “I saw you walk in.”

$&@@ &¥€£!
Pomni was freaking out. She can’t make any excuses when he freaking saw her deliberately jump into the water!

$&@£¥^%%*£¥+¥£%%%*¥¥£€%#^¥€>>^+¥¥

Pomni was having trouble breathing. Her eyes began to well up with tears. Jax was gonna hold this over her for eternity or however long until she abstracts. He’s gonna tell everyone and there will be a watch party over her now and Caine will put her in the basement so she can’t do anything ever again.

She didn’t notice that long arms reached out to her wrapping her into a tight hug interrupting the thoughts in her head.

“Jax?” Pomni sputters out

Jax rests his head ontop of her hat.

“I’m sorry.”

Sorry? Why is he sorry? Is he apologizing for what he’s gonna tell everyone?

“I’m sorry for putting that idea of death in your head. I saw your eyes light up when I mentioned it and it didn’t sit right with me since. I know you want to leave but this isn’t the way Pomni.”

Pomni was still now. Her eyes constantly crying still as she listened to him.

“I saw you leaving so I followed you. I’m just glad I got to you in time.”

Pomni began sobbing “I just want to go home.”

Jax rubbed her hair. “I know you do kid. I know. But you won’t go home that way. And you’ll make all of us sad doing it. It’s been more bearable here since you showed up.”

Pomni looked up with him with teary eyes.

Jax chuckled and rubbed her hat into her hair.
“Look I promise not to tell a soul about this alright? But only if you promise me not to pull anything like this again. Got it?”

Pomni nodded through her tears.

“Good. I’ll be taking all of these for the time being then.” He showed his bag of Pomnis items which he aquired snooping through her tiny room. Inside were throwing knives, rope and other potentially harmful items.

Pomni frowned but reluctantly nodded anyway.

“Alrighty then. You’ll get these back when I see fit alright? I’ll also be by in the morning to bring you to breakfast by the way.”

Jax threw a wave at Pomni and exited out the door with the bag of Ponmi’s items.

Pomni was left in the dark silence once again. This time it wasn’t so suffocating. The feeling of someone caring about her was stitching her broken mind back together. For the first time since she can remember, she is excited for tomorrow.