Chapter Text
It was an understatement to say that Ragatha wasn't doing well.
The lightning round had started badly with Jax's twisted ideas of fun, continued worse with Ragatha accidentally tapping into the bunny's biggest trauma and embarrassing herself at the bar, and ended in a catastrophe with that softball game. Ragatha had not only messed up the sport she was meant to be good at, she had also full-on screamed at Jax right in front of Pomni. Her usual demure attitude had cracked in an instant.
It was no wonder Pomni preferred to spend time with Jax after that. That had stung too, but Ragatha wouldn't admit that jealousy corroded her heart like it was a shipwreck at the bottom of the sea.
Unfortunately, it had only gotten worse after that. The gun adventure.... She didn't want to think about it. Any adventure with Jax and a chance to terrorize his fellow cast members was a nightmare. Not to mention his 'blossoming friendship' with Pomni, who could apparently get more competitive than Ragatha could deal with. She still shuddered when she remembered that day.
Even a shootout hadn't decreased the tension between them though.
Ragatha had, foolishly, hoped that Jax would calm down after shooting her in revenge, but he still avoided her gaze when he could. He pretended not to be affected, but she could tell her comment had really hurt him. That, along with the fact that everyone else had seemingly found a close friend to hang around with while Ragatha was all alone, dented her mood. She felt guilty and unwanted. Not a good combination.
So, yeah. The last few days had been quite bad. Ragatha had arrogantly assumed that it had to get better from here on out. Wrong again.
“Today's adventure is all about mental fortitude and perseverance! This house will show your GREATEST FEAR and make you FACE IT! The house of fears is now open!” Caine made a wide motion with his hands, painting the facade of a dark mansion into the air.
And immediately, Ragatha knew that this day would be even worse than the last.
Silence followed that introduction, implying that no one else was truly happy about it either. Gangle's comedy was still intact, but she already seemed to have lost her enthusiasm for the day. “Didn't we have a horror house already?”
Caine's cane snapped up and went around in an entire circle as he let out a booming laugh. “This one is different. This isn't about creepy ghosts or cheap scares. This is about your worst fears come to life! Like true heroes, you have to face-”
The more he talked, the fewer people listened.
It was no surprise that Zooble already turned on their heel and prepared to leave. “Yeah, no. I'm skipping this one.”
Unsurprisingly, Jax couldn't hold back a comment at that. “Why, are you scared?” His toothy grin only made Zooble narrow their eyes more as he leaned forward to smirk at them.
“Caine's normal adventures are nightmares. If he's trying to scare us now, I don't want to be anywhere close to the nuclear fallout he will cause.” Zooble wasn't wrong. Everything tended to be a bit uncomfortable when Caine threw them into absolute chaos. He had never scared them on purpose though, and so, the limit of how terrible these adventures could be hadn't been reached yet.
Frankly, Ragatha would rather skip this too. Whatever Caine could cook up for her would surely leave her in a bad mood for days to come.
But this wasn't just about her. She could tell that no one else was ecstatic about this either. Well, except for Kinger, who was distracted by some invisible creature next to him, and Jax, who wouldn't admit his unease out loud. The bunny's fake smile was very telling though. He usually acted better.
It made Ragatha think. Maybe she was wrong, but if she had to guess, Jax's biggest fear was also something quite bad. Surely, she could live with some centipedes being thrown at her. But what if Jax saw...
Ribbit?
She pushed that thought away with a shake of her head. That couldn't happen. Neither could Gangle nor Pomni be scared even more than they already were. It wasn't just Ragatha being terrified of what this house might show to her. Not at all. She took a step forward, clearing her throat before speaking up. “Hey, Caine. I know you put a lot of effort into this adventure, and we're really grate-”
Caine zoomed down to her so quickly that Ragatha stumbled back in shock. He merely yelled at her face, excitement oozing out of his every interdental space. “I did! It's another post-modern masterpiece. It will be a challenge you will conquer so that you can return stronger and better than you ever were!”
Ragatha let out a little laugh, struggling to make it sound confident. “That does sound...interesting. But everyone is a little...exhausted after our last adventure. Maybe a break would be good before we get back into the action.” She was pleading now, hoping that Caine could be swayed if enough people took her side.
But like always, Jax foiled her plans. “Speak for yourself, Dollface. I want more action.” He spoke to her for the first time today, and he immediately caused problems? Really...
“Yes, but maybe not today.” Ragatha gave him a look to signal that they should be on the same side in this mess. She didn't think that it helped, but she still turned to Caine. As she folded her hands, she gave a soft smile. “And maybe not in the form of something meant to scare us. Maybe we could do something slightly different?”
The silence after her words was filled with crickets that surely hadn't been here before. Caine floated in front of her, unmoving, just staring. She had overdone it after all. Just when Ragatha began to apologize, Caine snapped out of his stillness.
“I see! Then how about this?” Caine clapped in front of her face, which created a comic-like flashing effect that disappeared immediately after. “I don't want my superstars to crumble under the pressure. I'll give you the emotional support you need. You can go through the house of fears in teams. Each of you gets a partner!”
That...wasn't better at all.
“What? No-”
Caine ignored her fully, whirling around to boom at all the other cast members. “Then go on and pick your teams!”
Ragatha closed her mouth as she gave up on remedying this situation. She had the gnawing feeling that today would be another catastrophe, but she couldn't stop it anyway. She might as well face her doom with grace.
That resolution was immediately tested when Jax's voice reached her ears from the side. “I and Pomni are a team, obviously.” He had already slung his arm around Pomni's shoulder, pulling her over to him despite her skeptical expression.
Another sting in Ragatha's heart. It really was pitiful. She should be happy Pomni had finally accommodated to the circus. Happy that Jax had found another friend. But somehow, bitter feelings were all that rose as Ragatha turned her head away. She knew what she would see before she checked.
Gangle and Zooble already stood next to each other, gravitating to the other almost naturally. It hadn't sounded like Zooble wanted to join, but they probably wouldn't want Gangle to be in this mess on her own.
Right. Like this, both Gangle and Pomni had someone strong on their side. Meanwhile, Ragatha could take care of Kinger.
“I guess that's for the best.” Ragatha hated how weak her voice sounded as she said that half-loudly. She lifted the corners of her lips as she stepped a bit closer to the second pair. “Zooble, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but would you...”
Zooble glanced over. They understood without another word. After another look at Gangle, they sighed. “I'll join for today so that no one has to go alone.” They didn't sound happy, but at least they had agreed.
“Thank you.” Ragatha meant it.
She wished the two a good adventure, at least as much of a good adventure as you could have in this RGB-colored hell. Then she turned just in time to see Jax and Pomni disappear through the portal. They seemed confident enough. Somehow, Ragatha found her cotton legs shaking even at the thought of entering this place.
Trying to gather some of her nonexistent courage, Ragatha held up her fists in a victory posture while turning to her partner. “Let's do this, Kinger!”
Kinger jumped like he had only noticed her now. He tilted his head to the side, his eyes blinking after one another. “Do what?”
Ragatha didn't know either. The smile on her lips felt heavier by the minute. “Survive, I guess.” That only came out as a whisper, but it revealed more than Ragatha wanted to show.
She was scared of all of this. And she doubted that things would be better than expected. Most likely, they would be worse.