Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jax hasn’t been himself.  He left the auditorium the other day in the middle of Caine’s speech…

Pomni lay staring up at her wall, contemplating whether or not to go to sleep.  In actuality, she wasn’t tired; rather, emotionally drained and exhausted.  

Why should I care? It’s not like he does.

Feebly sighing, she turns to her side.  She could go to sleep.  It helps pass the time.  There’s not much else to do when one is trapped in a place like this.  

But she doesn’t want to.

No.

She can’t

For some undistinguishable reason, she isn’t able to coax herself to sleep.  Maybe the universe is sending her a sign?  Yeah, right.  Nothing bad can happen here, anyway.  Caine controls everything and he’s not some psychopath – well, at least not that anyone knows of.

Her thoughts eventually drift back to Jax.  How he had been avoiding her all day.  How he had been uncharacteristically quiet that day.  How he snapped at everyone as if he were an immature teenager.  Arguably, this wasn’t really new behaviour for him.  Except that recently it’s gotten worse and worse.  Nobody has the energy to deal with him anymore.  So why does she care?

No, seriously, why does she care so much?

Ever since that fight between them, tensions in the circus have been rising.  Ragatha doesn’t feel like getting involved anymore.  After all these years of knowing Jax, she’s finally given up –  both on Jax and Pomni.  Gangle and Zooble really couldn’t care less what anyone did.  And kinger… Well, he got stuck with Jax on their last adventure.  Pomni doesn’t know what happened, but whatever Kinger told him must’ve made Jax think.

Nobody is bothered, which means they all have each other.  And Jax has nobody.  Pomni has nobody.  And until they make up, Pomni sure as hell isn’t gonna go crawling back to that stupid purple rabbit.

Lost in her thoughts, she flips back over onto her back.  The memories of the fight seem to be on constant replay in her mind.

“Are you CRAZY?”

Jax’s voice pierces through her mind as if he were really there, asking her that in person.  

Don’t patronise me…

Groaning, she sits up. That’s when she hears a small knock at her door.

It’s kinda late… Is that Caine-?

She in fact has no idea whether it’s late or not.  The only way to know is by just going along with what Caine tells them, what is supposedly the truth.  She hoists herself into a sitting position before dangling her legs off the edge of her bed.  Sighing, Pomni strolls over to the door and turns the door handle.

Once she pushes it open, the person on the other side of the door turns out to be not who she would’ve expected.  

“Heyy, Pom…”

That stupid purple rabbit.

She gives a small scowl and discreetly rolls her eyes, “What do you want, Jax?”

“Woah, someone’s grumpy.” A small teasing smirk grows across his face. “Keep that up and you’ll replace Zooble.”

“Is this your way of apologising?  I don’t want to talk to you.  Like you said, we were never friends.”

“Pom-”

“Either apologise or leave me alone.”

Jax looks hurt for a split second before his pupils dilate and that same old grin plasters his face, “Tch, whatever.  I’ll leave then.”

He shoots a silent conflicted – hesitant look to his left before his eyes land back on Pomni and he turns around.

Just as he’s about to step away, he spins back around to face her,“...I’m-”

He lets out a sound somewhere in between a sigh and a scoff.

“I’m sorry…”

He looks almost sincere.  This is new.  Slightly terrifying, but new.

“If… if you abstracted… I wouldn’t forget about you…I just-”

Jax glances at Pomni’s face and notices that he’s said too much already.  F#%*.  He swallows down the ball of panic stuck in his throat.  His pupils get bigger.

Chuckle

“Is that what you want me to say?  God, you’re so easy.”  He rolls his eyes to the side and places one hand on his hip.

“Are you serious?” Pomni’s eyebrows furrow.

“See, Pom, this is why we aren’t frien-”

“No! This isn’t ‘why’ anything! It’s why you are an insensitive #%*hole!  I mean, seriously, how hard is it to just say ‘sorry’ and mean it?  It won’t kill you to be vulnerable for 2 seconds!  Ragatha was right…”

“Wait-... Ragatha? W-what did she say about me?” Jax’s expression hardens in anger and confusion.

Pomni rolls her eyes, “Bye, Jax.  If you actually want to apologise, then do it in the morning.”

The door shuts.  Pomni knows she isn’t going to get any sleep tonight.  But anything is better than speaking to a guy who lacks any kind of emotional intelligence.  She sits back down on her bed, staring at the wall.

Meanwhile, Jax, who is currently standing outside of Pomni’s room, realises what’s just happened.  

Great. 

He wanted to apologise but his stupid brain always puts up walls between him and the people he loves so he doesn’t get too attached.  Not that he loves Pomni.

She’s so gullible and annoying, I couldn't even imagine remotely liking her.

Grinning, he folds his arms, still just standing outside of Pomni’s door for absolutely no reason other than he doesn’t want to leave.  At least, that’s what his stubborn nature makes him believe.

It’s not like I want to be around her.

He shoots a glance at the locked door and his grin slightly falters.  In theory, if he wanted to, he could just unlock her door with the key he has, but he doesn’t.  If it was anyone else, he would have unlocked it and stepped in, just to be annoying.  But this is different.

Scoff

He looks away from the door, still folding his arms and sulking like a teenager.  Hearing a voice, his ears perk up and he stands up straight, grinning once again.

“Jax, what are you doing?” Ragatha questioned, standing next to Jax but a few feet away.  She’s standing by her door.

“Nothing.  Why, Raggy, you miss me?” He smirks and teasingly places a finger against his cheek as if he were trying to be cute but failing miserably.  He starts to move away from Pomni’s door and back to his own.  Ragatha just watches him as he slips into his room.

Once he closes the door behind him, he slides down onto the ground, leaning against the hard wood.  Slowly, he lifts the soft denim fabric bunched together at the bottom of his overalls up to just above his knee, revealing what looks like a small black spot.  He scoffs quietly and rolls the denim back down.  

If I stay calm, I’ll still have tomorrow morning…

Chapter Text

There’s a sudden knock on Jax’s door.  

“W-who is it?”

Jax stands up, turning to face the door that was behind him.  He grabs the handle and as he pulls it open, a small figure trips and falls on him, her face landing just under his chest.  It seemed like they decided to open it at the same time, pushing Pomni into the room and onto Jax.

“Pom pom?”

He grins, snickering, not making any effort to get her off.

“What, miss me already?  First Ragatha, now you?  Wow, everyone’s being so loving today!”

Pomni scoffs and pushes herself off of him.

“No, you just- I think you dropped this.  It was under my door, the wind must’ve blown it through the crack.”

She hands him a piece of paper with a photo on it.  Once he sees it, his grin falters and he snatches it away from her.

They stare at each other for a few moments as Jax grips the photo tight in his hand.

“Are you… okay-?”

“...Get out.”

“Are you sure?  You seem pretty-”

“Pomni, get out.”

She spots tears welling up in his eyes.

“Okay… Sorry.”

She takes a step out of his room.

 “I-If you want to talk about it then-”

Suddenly, she feels her body being pulled closer.  For a moment, she’s frozen.  Her body is pressed up against Jax’s, her face in the crook of his neck as he kneels on the floor.  She’s very confused and slightly frightened when he tightens his grip on her and the picture. 

“Don’t leave.  I’m sorry.”

You’re acting weird.

She thinks, but doesn’t say.  Instead, she responds with a simple, “It’s okay.”

She’s glad that his apology is sincere.  Also, his fur is cozy.  She’s glad he’s warm.  Her arms move to wrap around him, too.

“You wanna talk about it?”

He pauses, his pupils getting smaller. That’s a no.

“Do you want me to stay?”

Even if he did, there is no way he would admit to it.  Luckily, Pomni already knows the answer to that question.

She tries to break from his grip, but he doesn’t seem willing to let go.

“Jax, come on, I’m staying, let me just close the door!”

She chuckles quietly, still struggling against him.

“Oh..”

He lets go, allowing her to close the door so nobody sees them ‘hanging out’.  Or at least that’s what Jax calls it.  He’s too embarrassed to admit, even to Pomni, that they were just hugging.

He goes to sit down on his bed, head resting on one of his hands that’s propped up on his knee, the other holding the picture as he stares at it.

“Who… Is that?”

Pomni asks innocently, sitting down next to Jax.

“...R- nobody.  It doesn’t matter.”

He puts the picture away and takes a deep breath.

Before she can respond, she just pulls him into a hug again.

“Okay, clingy, much?” He laughs and gives her back a small pat, not hugging back.

She pulls away and he shuffles more into his bed, Leaning back against the headboard.  She shuffles closer so she’s right next to him, their sides pressed up against eachother.  He faces away from her.

“Can you not tell anyone about this?  It’s… embarrassing.”

Pomni leans over to attempt to get a better look at his face and she almost laughs.

“Are you… blushing?”

Jax turns his head to her, his cheeks even more flushed now.  He looks pissed off, but deep down, he’s amused by the affectionate banter.

“N-no I’m not.”

“Yeah, and my name’s not Pomni.”

He raises an eyebrow.

“Digital name.” She specifies, rolling her eyes.

He chuckles and pulls her into his lap.  She’s about to tease him for acting ‘clingy’ but decides against it.  Instead, she just accepts it and hugs him, nuzzling her head into his chest.

“Ain’t this a bit weird for friends to do?”

Friends.  At least he admits they’re that.

“I wouldn’t say so.”

They spend the night chatting about random things and cuddling.  Eventually, Jax falls asleep during a while of comfortable silence.

Pomni, not wanting anyone to suspect anything if they were to knock on her door in the morning, decides to leave.  After a few minutes of laying there, making sure Jax is asleep, she slowly gets off of him and the bed.

He doesn’t move.

Pomni is kinda impressed by what a heavy sleeper Jax seems to be.

She quietly but swiftly slips out of his room and back to hers

—

That next day, Pomni picks herself up and gets out of 

bed.  As expected, she hadn’t gone to sleep at all that night.  She was too busy thinking about Jax.  However, she didn’t feel fatigued.  After all, you can’t feel anything here.  

Making her way out of her room and the hallway it’s in, she hears a small crash coming from Jax’s door.  She doesn’t think much of it.  Instead, she heads towards the main room where Ragtha, Kinger and Gangle are already sitting in the lounge, two of them on the couches and the other in a pillow fort.  

How typical of Jax and Zooble, the only two grumpy people to be the only ones still asleep.

Gangle is sitting on one of the couches, doodling away, meanwhile, Ragatha is staring off into space with that weird, stressed look on her face.  She has an odd habit of often bouncing her leg up and down vigorously when she’s sat.

It doesn’t take a detective to notice that.

“Hey, guys…”

“Oh! Hi, Pomni!  Is…Jax still asleep?”

“Probably. Is Zooble?”

“They’re hiding from Caine.”

I guess I was wrong…

“Oh.  Yeah, figures.”

“Are… you sure?  He’s usually up early.”

“Well… I mean, there’s no point in waking him up.  He’s a pretty heavy sleeper.”

Ragatha raises an eyebrow, “He is?  How did you know that?”

Pomni’s eyes darted to the side for a moment before darting back to Ragatha.

“Oh.  Uh… He told me.”

“Oh. Okay, well, Caine said we had a chill adventure today.”

She stands up and mutters to Pomni, "Between you and me, I feel like he’s beginning to give up on doing fun ones.”

Pomni nods.  It’s pretty obvious that that’s what’s happening.  As if on cue, Caine appears.

“Good morni- wait.”

He points at each of the people there, quietly doing a headcount.

“Missing two.”

He snaps his fingers and both Zooble and Jax appear.  Jax jumps up and yells, obviously having been asleep.  Pomni lets out a soft chuckle from the sidelines.

Caine speaks again, “Gooooood morning folks!  Today, we have another in-house adventure!  But wait!  Before you moan and groan about it being boring, I will tell you what it is!  Today, we are..!”

A drum roll can be heard from Bubble.  How Bubble does it, I’m not sure if there’s an answer.  The excitement in his voice builds up tension and excitement in the room.

“Cleaning your mess from the gun one.” He ordered, his voice monotone as he spawns in a bunch of cleaning supplies and drops them onto everyone.

“Ow!... Can’t you just snap everything normal?”

“Oh, dear Jax, I would if I had the PATIENCE!  Now… stop questioning me and get to work.”

Jax grabs the window cleaner, the least effort thing since there are literally no windows anywhere anyway.  Pomni and Kinger grab brooms, Ragatha picks up a mop and Gangle is inspecting the vacuum.

They decide to split up in 3 teams, each go to one corner of the circus and work their way back to the centre.  Gangle and Zooble obviously team up.  Ragatha still doesn’t think Jax and Pomni have made up yet, but she doesn’t want Kinger to get stuck with Jax like he was on the adventure after the guns.  

“Hey Pomni?”

She gives her a curious and sympathetic look, which makes Pomni shake her head.

“No, it’s okay.  Don’t worry.”

Ragatha nods and her and Kinger walk away.  Once they do, Jax just scoffs.  

“I don’t see her problem with me.  A bit bitchy, if you ask me.”

“Jax, that’s our friend.”

“Maybe she’s yours-”

“Jax!”

“Right. Right, sorry, pom pom.”

She gives him a smile and they head over to part of the circus that they’re meant to be cleaning.

—

Jax starts to feel sick.  Luckily, they’re done cleaning.  He doesn’t know whether it has to do with the fact that he was woken up really early, or if it was tied to the black spot slowly growing and climbing its way up and down his leg.

“Jax, where are you going?”

“My room…”

“Don’t we have to meet the other here?”

“You can.”

He continues walking away.  His head feels like it’s throbbing and won’t ever stop.

Once he gets to his room, he collapses onto the floor, not even bothering to close the door.  Lifting up the bottom of his overalls, he inspects the growing blackness.  He hasn’t got much time left, he knows that.  He pulls it back down and tries to calm himself down, trying not to hyperventilate.  The only thing he can think of doing is to write a note and stick it under Pomni’s door before retreating back to his room, closing the door, and accepting his fate.

—

A few minutes later, as Pomni is heading back to her room, she’s starting to feel a bit worried.  Jax hasn’t come out in a while.

She pushes her concerns away, thinking he might just be tired from being so abruptly woken up.

Once she opens her door, she sees a letter labeled, “Pom pom”

This can’t be good.

She takes a deep breath before opening it and reading it.  The contents have mostly normal things in them, talking about memories and how he likes having her as a friend.  This would be normal and sweet.  If it weren’t Jax writing.

Since it’s him, there’s probably something going on that he hasn’t voiced yet.  A secret meaning behind his words in the letter.  Then it gets to the end.

This can’t be good…

He never says that, and she doubts that he’s ever said it to anyone, for that matter.  Is he okay?  What’s going on?  Only one thing can confirm her suspicions.

Now, she finds herself stood just outside of Jax’s room, about to knock.

Deep breaths, Pomni. 

Chapter Text

Stepping inside, she notices Jax on the floor.  He’s partially abstracted, all the way from his foot up to his knee.

Pomni’s eyes widen.  She rushes over

Falling down onto her knees in front of him, she lets out a quiet, tiny gasp.

“No… no- Jax, you can’t-”

Her hand reaches its way up to his face, resting a thumb on his cheek.

“Y-you’re gonna be fine.  You’re okay, you’re not abstracting.”

“Pom…” He grunts and grips her wrist tightly.

“No- no, you’re fine!  Just… think of something else!  Jax!”

Jax shakes his head, inhaling sharply.

Slowly, his eyes close and his grin falters.  Once again grunting, he manages to push through the pain and run his thumb across Pomni’s wrist in a comforting gesture.

“J-jax… please don’t just give up.”

The initial shock dies down, Pomni’s eyes begin to water.  How – why is he abstracting?  Could it be her fault?  She can’t take it, she needs answers.  Before she even speaks up again, she glances back at Jax.  Hiding behind his calm expression is just a panicked, vulnerable and almost child-like fear. 

I can’t stress him out more — it will just make him abstract quicker.  Then again, would he do this for me?.. No, Pomni, don’t think like that.  That  doesn’t matter right now.

Jax must have noticed the silent tension whilst she was thinking about what to do next, because now he’s staring up at her through tired, squinted eyes, awaiting her next words.  It seems as if he’s only truly calm listening to her voice when he’s in this state.

“I-it’s gonna be okay, Jax… You’re alright…”

She shuffles closer, her hand now resting at the back of his head as she settles right next to his lap.

“You’re okay…” Sounds like she’s trying to convince herself more than him.

Calm.  Calm, he needs to be really calm.

That’s when she recalls the time he was probably calmest and most relaxed around her.  They were singing Daisy bell.  Just outside of Zooble’s room.

Grunt

“Here… just… sing along if you want, okay?  If you… can.”

She takes a deep breath, attempting to reel in the tears that are already streaming down her cheeks.

“Dai…sy, daisy… give me your answer do…”

Her voice shakes and cracks and she lets out a quiet sob, followed by a sniffle.

“I’m half… cra-zy… all-”

She pulls herself even closer to him, almost in his lap, practically hugging him whilst she sobs.  Jax opens his eyes a tad more.  He feels an overwhelming sensation building, as if he's about to faint and throw up.  He pushes it down for the time being, focusing on Pomni.  Despite being dizzy, he sings along weakly, hoping to relieve at least some of their combined stress.

(Jax) “All for the love of you…”

Pomni sniffles, giggling lightly as his hand slides off of her wrist and up to hold her jaw instead.  A soft smile plasters his face.  But it’s not fake and cocky like usual, no.  This time, it’s small, but sincere — full of raw emotion.

(both) “It won’t be a stylish marriage…”

Pomni sniffles, which is shortly followed by Jax’s thumb running across her cheek to wipe her tears.  She smiles softly.  A smile of gratitude, pain and… possibly love.

(both) “I can’t afford a carriage”

Jax groans and tightens his grip on Pomni, the pain finally becoming almost unbearable.  A tear runs down his cheek.  However, she continues singing in an attempt to calm him.  It seems to be working somewhat well so far.

(Pomni) “But you’ll look sweet…”

She gets closer, leaning over his lap.  They're practically hugging at this point, but Jax isn’t pulling away.  It might be the fact that he’s in immense pain, or maybe he just… doesn’t want to.  He groans again and takes a deep breath before singing again.  He only manages to get a few soft, weak words out.

(Jax) “Upon the seat…”

(Pomni) “That’s it, you got it… Of a bicycle built-”

(Both) “For two…”

The blackness spreads to his face.  Pomni feels his heart (if they even have those) beat faster, probably in anticipation and fear.

“You’re okay.  It’s okay.  Just close your eyes and listen.”

(Pomni) “We will go tandem as man and wife…”

Jax begins to slip in and out of consciousness.

(Pomni) “Daisy, daisy.  Peddling away down the road of life.”

(Jax) “I and my daisy bell…” He whisper-sings, tightening his hold on her.

The darkness has spread almost all over him by now.  Pomni isn’t ready to say goodbye.  She pulls herself closer, now sitting in his lap, hugging him like both of their lives depend on it.  Which, in this case, his is doomed either way.  A hand runs down her back in a surprisingly soft motion before dropping.

That sick feeling arose in him again.  This time, there’s no going back.  This is it.

“Pom… get away. Go… get Caine.  I don’t want to hurt you.”

His voice is getting more and more distorted.

“J-jax- Don’t-”

“Pomni.”

His whole body, apart from his face, is engulfed in it before anyone even gets the chance to blink.  Eyes start growing and protruding from the darkness and it just keeps growing. Pomni doesn’t want to let go, she knows she has to.  Still, she stays.  She continues to cling onto him, now getting even closer.

“No- no!  Jax!  You’re still in there, you can hear me-”

She notices a tear running down his face, it being the only un-abstracted part of him currently.  It reminds her of the note that was neatly slipped under her door earlier.  The words he wrote — because there was no way to express them through voice.  The only words from the paper that stuck out to her for some reason:

I guess I was afraid. I was afraid to admit that...

“I love you, too, Jax.”

She returns it.

Jax's eyes open slightly in appreciation.  She leans forward to kiss him, and their lips meet in a soft, sweet and helpless kiss before Pomni pulls away slowly. Jax lets out a shaky breath as the dullness spreads to the other half of his face to cover him almost completely.

The darkness begins to engulf Pomni, too, starting at the lips.  She buries herself deep into Jax’s chest as they both entirely abstract into that creature that she feared the first time she had seen it.

Chapter Text

Jax found himself in a state between sleep and conplete alertness. He could hear, but not with his ears. He could see, but not with his eyes. He couldn't feel or move. But it felt like he could.

Spiritually, at least.

He didn't know anything. No memories, no past, almost just floating around in an endless nothing. Pomni? Who's that? Jax? Who's that? Ribbit? Who's that?  

All these questions couldn't have been answered by him. Or even thought by him. He has no control over anything right now. One of the things he had feared most in life.

Could he breathe? 

A loud static-like sound played for what felt like a lifetime before, finally, a small green light appeared to him. It got closer and closer before engulfing all the blackness and diffusing suddenly. 

Followed by a blue and then a red light, a loud screeching could be heard. Something small but powerful could be felt. A banging on his head. It's the type of banging when you develop a bad fever and sit on your phone all day to the point you get a migraine.  

That, except it was distant. 

 Almost like it was a prize you had to claim. Albeit, not a very nice one.

Everything stopped abruptly when the red light began to slowly ease out. Little translucent spots of red invaded his hypothetical vision until the only thing that could be "seen" was nothing.  

A click.

A quiet bang.

The headache eases.

A small light clicks on and a small phrase can be heard getting louder and louder.

"I promise I won't fail you like I failed her, Jax."

It's Kinger. The talk they had that one night in the dark. And suddenly, he is in a 3rd person view of the memory.

Jax is sat with his knees up to his chest, his arms folded on top, and he's looking down. Kinger slowly lowers himself down to sit in front of him. Jax glances up at him before shifting his gaze back down.

"What's going on?"

"Hm? Nothing..." Jax rolls his eyes and tenses his shoulders. Kinger takes nite of his body language

"What happened with Pomni?"

"W- how do you know that something happened? Nothing did. It's- it's nothing." At times, he can be a bad liar.

"Jax... Something's going on. I don't want anyone else to abstract. If you-"

"Okay? I'm not going to, GOD! Just leave me alone, this has nothing to do with you."

Silence.

"I was in the circus years before you. I was with my wife."

Jax looks up, intrigued. He remembers Pomni mentioning Kinger's wife one time, but he wasn't sure if that was what she actually said or if it was just him being drunk.

"... I promise I won't fail you like I failed her, Jax."

Jax's expression softens for a split second before hardening again.

"I don't need your pity. Or your help. Nothing's wrong, I just-"

"Kinger? Oh, there you are!" 

That annoying doll's voice...

Then, the memory faded quick to black, replaced by a new one.

A green frog appeared.

"Hey, Jax."

"Ribbit! What's up?"

"The ceiling."

"Tch, don't be a smart%$!#"

That's when something weird happened. Ribbit got super pissed and proceeded to grunt, "Who you callin' a smartass? Acting like you don't do the same shit."

"... What..?"

"Whatever, Jax..."

"Are you..-"

"I'm FINE! Why does everyone keep asking me that?!" They pick themself up and storm off to their room, but just as they're about to enter, they get engulfed into a black void with colourful eyes.

"RIBBI-"

Fade

"If I shoot you right now, are we still gonna be friends afterwards?"

A small jester appears in front of him. Her clothes blue and red, yellow pom-poms lining the front of her shirt and 2 stuck on at the tips of her hat.

"We were never friends."

"What about all that stuff you told me?"

"Yeah, I did tell you a lot, didn't I? Not looking forward to thinking about that tomorrow..."

"No, no, no, no. We're not doing this.You're not gonna look me in the eye and tell me nothing we've been doing together meant anything to you, because I know that's not true."

"Are you coming onto me? Yeah, that's what everybody wants, a straight couple!"

"Oh my god, can you take this seriously? Can you take ANYTHING seriously?"

"Dude, you're a cartoon clown. How am I supposed to take you seriously?" Scoff 

"you reached out to me, not the other way around. You're just gonna pretend that didn't happen?"

"You must be misremembering." God, only now was he realising how much of a dick he sounded like. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud, though. That was the point.

"Is this why you didn't show up to Kaufmo's funeral?" Low blow. Good question, but still low.

"I don't show up to ANY funerals!" 

Jeez...

"Yeah, I bet you don't, because you're scared. Y-You're scared you'll actually show a human emotion."

Jax's mouth is moving, but no sound is coming out. It's as if this specific memory only shows the truth in someone's words. Otherwise, it gets muted out.

Fade

"What would you do... if I abstracted tomorrow?"

Silence

Suddenly, the headache appears again. Much bigger this time. As if everything is about to explode. There's so much pressure that Jax is almost sure he's not gonna make it.

This goes on for ages until everything just abruptly stops. Jax manages to finally feel part of his real, physical body and lift a finger.

Everything is replaced with this overwhelming peace and calmness. The feeling of rest and relax. A blue colour gradually takes over the nothingness of all he can see and he finally regains... feeling. A huge wave of pleasure and relaxation goes through his entire body. He feels finally at peace.

He manages to take a deep, relaxing breath before everything disappears again.

A shock goes through his body and he can suddenly feel, taste, hear, see and think.

The first thing that Jax notices is the smell of strawberries and the feeling of something under his chin. His head feels heavy, and suddenly a message appears in the pitch blackness of what he can see.

"Low battery."

Panicked, he lifts one of his arms, still in excruciating pain, and manages to shove something off his face. His whole body has pins and needles. 

The headset falls to the ground. He can see again.  

As his eyes adjust to the room around him, he slowly looks around.  

Then, he notices a human girl laying on top of him, her head just right under his neck. She also has a headset on.

That's where the strawberry scent is coming from. Her hair, probably.

Could it be Pomni? This is all so terrifying... so confusing. However, he's currently too spent to have any rational thoughts.

The only thing he notices before regaining the ability to think and feel is that his hands are a tan, light-brown colour. He must finally be back home.  Back to being human. 

So then... why did he still feel fake?