Spoilers to The Amazing Digital Circus Episode 3. You have been warned.

3rd Person P.O.V.

Another day in the digital circus, everyone is at the small lounge area in the main room. Even Batman is out here, but sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and eyes closed - most likely meditating.

Pomni asked him to hang out here with the others, and he reluctantly accepted the invitation.

On the couch next to him is Gangle drawing on a notepad and Zooble is on a different couch. Ragatha, Jax, and Kinger are standing up and watching Pomni hold her breath.

The jestress' face turned blue before she starts breathing again, gasping for air. "I can't hold it any longer..."

"Sure you can." Jax leans down next to her, ignoring her panting. "We can't die from oxygen deprivation, remember?"

"But it still feels like I'm gonna die..." Pomni replied.

"Try not thinking about it." Kinger suggests.

"Or you could toughen up! Like Bats!" Jax inputs.

Then the rabbit grabs Pomni's arm and start stretching it against her will.

"I wanna see what your funny cartoon body does." Jax said before letting go of Pomni's arm and she ended up slapping it on her face, then she fell down on her bottom and let out a pained whimper.

"Ow..." Pomni rubbed her face.

Batman's eyes opened and he looked up.

"Uh oh, I made big-man mad." Jax said while backing up.

Batman got up from the couch and casually approached the rabbit, passing by Pomni and Kinger.

"I'm curious." Batman said while aggressively snatching the rabbit's arm and pulling him to the ground.

The bat held his arm still, and crouched down next to the fallen rabbit.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Jax inquired nervously, Batman still holding his arm.

"Testing your body's limit." Batman said while placing the rabbit's arm on his knee. "This is going to hurt for a moment."

Then Jax's pupils shrunk."WAIT, DON'T D--"

His voice was cut off when he felt his arm bending backwards on Batman's knee. 

Everyone else cringed at the sight and sound of Jax's arm easily snapping like a twig. Jax didn't feel anything at first, but then the pain kicked in and he yelled.

"MOTHERF[Bonk]ER!" The rabbit pointlessly hits Batman's leg with his other arm. 

Then Batman snapped it back in place and lets go, Jax immediately recoils his hand to his chest.

"You ba[Boop]d!" Jax cursed while tending to his arm.

"Your arm still works." Batman stood up, showing no remorse for what he did. "If you harass her again, I'll break the other one."

"Heh, about time someone did that." Zooble chuckled, and then jokingly asked Batman, "Could you do that, like, all the time?"

"Anyway..." Pomni tried shrugging that off, mostly because the others would see her blushing. "Why don't one of you try holding your breath?"

"Because something different happens with each person." Ragatha explained. "For instance, Kinger starts glowing. My hair noodles might stick up. Gangle's mask starts spinning. And Zooble's limbs turns straight."

"What about Jax?" The jestress inquired.

"He refuses to show us because he's a coward." Zooble answered.

"Shut the [Boink] up, I just got my arm broken!" Jax spat aggressively, still using his other hand to gingerly caress his arm. "Oh God, it feels different."

"You'll live." Batman commented while sitting back down on the couch, crossing his legs again. "You can't die from compartment syndrome or severe inflammation complications."

"Wow, big words." Gangle said while jotting something down on the notepad. "You must be very smart to know that."

"Why is everybody just standing around when there's ADVENTURE to be had?" Caine yelled while flying around everyone to make himself present. "Today's adventure is... The Mystery of Mildenhall Manor! That's right. This big, spooky mansion has been rumored to be filled to the brim with paranormal activity! It's up to you to solve the house's deep mysteries and capture all the ghoulish ghost activity you can. And for the first time ever, you can--"

Then Caine's dentures closed, hiding his eyes. And then his eyeballs phased through his closed teeth, slowly.

"Where's Zooble?" Caine questioned while returning to normal. "I-I made this adventure really cool and 'm-m-matoor' just for her!"

[Once again, I know her pronouns are they/them, but I've switch to she/her for the sake of this story.]

Everyone else - minus Batman - looked around for her. But none said anything about her disappearence.

"!sretsnom eht seramthgin elbirroh teg ot ecneidua eht ni nerdlihc eht rof tiaw t'nac I" Bubble said in one sentence. 

"What?" Caine was perplexed.

"The NPCs aren't gonna become self-aware in this one, right?" Pomni inquired.

"How should I know? I'm not the boss." Caine responded to Pomni's question. "Oh, wait. Yes, I am! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Then he made a portal appear. 

"Anyway, everybody in the fractal noise! It's adventuring time!" Caine commanded. 

Inside The Portal:

Everyone - minus Zooble - walked inside the manor after having to trudge through the stormy weather outside. Batman was at the front and everyone else was following him.

"You blend in so well in this place, Bats." Jax said as they walked. "Maybe this is your home."

Batman didn't respond, something everyone is used to.

"Oh, this place is spooky." Ragatha said to Pomni. "I wonder how hard Caine's gonna go with the scare-factor?"

"I hope this adventure doesn't end up being another horrible nightmare." Pomni said timidly. "I'm not really a fan of horror, and I don't really handle jumpscares that well."

"Heh." Batman scoffed. 

"BOO!" Jax surprised Pomni, making the jestress jump in fright. "HA! Come on. That wasn't even scary."

Batman stopped and looked over his shoulder at him.

The rabbit defensively hid behind Ragatha. "Pomni, call off your boyfriend!"

"H-He's not my boyfriend." Pomni said quickly and kept her distance from the rabbit.

"Maybe you should be nice to her."Ragatha suggests. "Maybe then Batman wouldn't have to hurt you."

Then they all heard a spooky giggle.

"Does anybody hear that?" Gangle asked, looking around.

Then the giggling happened again. Everyone looked around to find out who was giggling.

whoosh

A dark, green ghost with a scary-looking face phases through the wall above the fireplace, giggling.

Pomni shrieked and her eyeballs sprang out of her sockets, Batman defensively standing in front of her and everyone else. But then the ghost quickly morphed itself into something more cute-loking.

"Hey, I'm Ghostly!" He waved casually. "And I'll be your guide today!"

Pomni tried stuffing her eyes back into her head, but they kept slipping out an dangling on her chest due to the black strings attached to them and in her head. "Why won't they go back in?" 

Kinger chuckled fondly, like a father. "I remember my first wild take. I don't know why they're not retracting, though. That didn't happen for me."

Ghostly continued. "Before you continue on your adventure, you have to choose which door you're gonna go through!"

Then the ghost gestures at the left door.

"The door on the left is the normal door!" Ghost informed.

"Rated WOW for all ages!" Caine's voice was heard off-screen.

And then Ghostly gestured to the other door on the right. "The door on the right is the really scary door."

"Rated AAAAA for mature Zoobles only!" Caine said for one-last time off-screen.

Ghostly looked back at the group. "It's up to you to deci--"

Ghostly couldn't finish his statement because Jax had turn on the vacuum he brought with them and sucked the ghost in.

"Jax!" Ragatha said with a stern voice, Batman and Kinger trying to help Pomni put her eyes back together in the background.

"What?" Jax said with no expression on his face other than his signature grin. "I thought we were supposed to capture all the ghosts."

"Uhh... which door should we choose?" Gangle asked.

"Hmm, not sure." Jax rubbed his chin, then he snatched Gangle's comedy mask and threw it at the left door. "Let's try this one!"

The door opens to reveal a large demonic mouth, snarling at them.

"Aww..." Gangle whimpered in sadness, now that her mask is gone.

"Don't worry, Gangle! I'll get it for you!" Kinger volunteered, charging at the door and unknowingly holding one of Pomni's eyeballs.

"Eh?" Pomni felt her head being tugged toward the nightmare-looking door-mouth and tried to stand her ground.

Batman grabbed her body and tried pulling her away from the door, but it was ultimately futileas both of them were pulled into the door-mouth and it swallowed them whole - with the door magically returning to normal afterwards after slurping up Pomni's other eyeball and Batman's cape.

While Gangle and Ragatha are in shock, Jax still remained smiling. "Oh, that's the scary door."

In The Circus:

"Zooble, come on out!" Caine sang while flying around and looking for her. "I just want to talk to you!" 

Then he pondered for a minute, wondering how he'll find her.

"Oh, I know!" He snapped his fingers.

And then she magically appeared in front of him with a simple pop.

"What th--" Zooble was baffled at how effortless that was for him to do. "Could you have done that the whole time?"

"Zooble, I-I just want to get to the bottom of why you keep skipping all my amazing adventures." Caine said in a very sincere way, getting close to her. "You could end up really hurting Bubble's feelings."

Zooble gave him a look of doubt. "Uh, Bubble's feelings?"

"E-Enough about Bubble's feelings!" Caine dismissed quickly. "How about your feelings?"

With the snap of his fingers, both of them teleported to a therapist room, Zooble lying on the couch and Caine eagerly sitting on the chair.

Zooble was perplexed. "I--"

"So, what's on your mind, Zooble?" Caine inquired curiously.

"I... would rather not."

When she got up, Caine jumpscared her just by laughing in her face. "Hahahahaha! That's hilarious! Go on."

Zooble folded her arms. "No, I mean, I've already told you what my problem is. You just never remember because... Oh, never mind."

Caine was distracted looking at a brain. "My mind is a beeswax-polished coconut. Nothing ever escapes these cakes." He points at his eyes. "So, what can I do to make my adventures more... appealing to you?"

Zooble groaned. "See? This is exactly what I'm talking about. All you're thinking about is your adventures. it has nothing to do with the adventures. It's more just... Ugh, forget it! You're probably not even listening."

Caine eagerly shoved a notepad in Zooble's direction with a sketch he made. "Zooble, look at this cool bee I drew." 

Back to The Manor:

Batman, Pomni, and Kinger were thrown in a room in the mansion.

Pomni's eyes were back in her head. "Wha...? Where are we?"

She froze when looking at Batman, who looks monstrous in the dark. His eyes glow white when he's a silhouette, no pupils.

"Oh God... I mean this in the nicest way possible; you look terrifying right now." Pomni admits.

"Oh wow, he does." Kinger added on.

The thunder booms, some light flashing and filling the room briefly. The three of them looked around, and saw everyone's heads - excepting Bubble and Caine - mounted on the wall and looking deformed in some way.

Pomni stared at her own head, witnessing its face looking like a tragedy mask with the soulless eyes. Batman stared at his own head, observing the very pale skin and creepy smile.

[For those who read comics, imagine Batman's head on the wall is the same as The Batman Who Laughs.]

Kinger walks forward to observe the one head that doesn't belong to anyone. "I  wonder what that thing is?"

Being a detective, Batman looked around for something to tell them what's going on. He finds a tape recorder and presses play - curious to hear what it says.

"My name is Baron Theodore Mildenhall. Hunting has been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember, although one could say it eventually became more of an obsession. The creature you see before you is one I've been pursuing for years. Not quite a man... but not quite an animal. Something...unholy. Something evil."

The three of them looked at the head who they cannot identify who it belongs to.

"I took it upon myself to spend every waking moment doing all I could to protect my family from the creature, hoping that when I'd eventually killed it, I would be freed from this awful feeling. This inescapable dread. I was wrong."

Then the tape clicks, indicating that it's over.

"You know, I'm  starting to think..." Kinger said before going into a long pause.

"How about we try to find a way back u to the others?" Pomni suggested before walking to a door, the other two behind her.

When she opened the door, it revealed a brick wall behind it.

"Okay, cool... That's great!" Pomni's face began to show a crazed expression in her exasperation. "I LOVE these adventures!"

Batman gently moved Pomni out of his way before grabbing the Explosive Gel from his belt. He sprayed the gel on the brick wall and backpedaled a few steps before pressing the detonate button. The gel emits a small explosion, but did no damage to the wall.

Kinger approached a dumbwaiter with a chained fence as a sliding door. "We could always ride this thingy up."

Pomni hopped her little body up to the fence and yanks on it with all she's got, grunting manically.

"It's locked! It's locked, OF COURSE!" She smiled nervously while she vented her frustration. "It's locked! I LOVE that it's locked!"

Batman tried prying the fence open, making no progress with it either. Unlike Pomni, he made no sounds during his attempts and made no comment for his failure to make it budge. 

Both Pomni and Kinger opened a new door, which leads to another room. After turning on the lamp, Pomni began searching through the drawers at a desk, objects rattling as she searched. Kinger was next to her while Batman was observing a portrait.

Kinger saw another tape player and pressed play, briefly scaring Pomni with the sudden disembodied voice of Mildenhall. Then Pomni gave the chess piece an angry glare before resuming her search as the tape played. 

"Tuesday, December 4th. Although I had shot the creature multiple times in its vitals and severed its head to keep as a prize on my wall... my troubles were just beginning. I took my eyes off the body for what felt like only a minute, and when I looked back, the body was gone. The creature was not dead, and it would be back to reclaim what I'd taken from it. If anyone is listening to this, all I ask of you is one thing: do not let the head out of your sight. You have been warned."

Both Batman and Kinger looked back at the door that led them to the room where the heads mounted on the wall, Pomni being oblivious due to her desperation of finding something. Both of them collectively knew that the head was more definitely gone.

"Well, this is some rather inconvenient lore placement." Kinger commented.

"Agreed." Batman nodded his head.

"I GOT IT!" Pomni yelled triumphantly, startling the both of them before the lights go out.

Only their eyes were visible in the darkness.

"And this is some rather inconvenient darkness." Kinger said.

Pomni groaned before yelling in fright, her pupils shrinking. "AHH!!! What was that?! Was that you?!"

"No... Oh, wait, you mean me grabbing you right now? Yeah, that was me." Kinger replied. "Is this your hand?"

He poked Pomni's left eye.

"Ugh! That's my eye!" She snapped back. 

"Yes, but which eye?" Kinger retorted.

"WAH! Was that you again?!" Pomni's pupils shrunk again when she felt something touching her head.

"That was me." Batman's white eyes narrowed, no pupils shown.

Kinger lets out a brief yell, frightening Pomni. "Wh--W-What happened?!"

"I just remembered a really funny joke." Kinger replied.

"Now's not the time..." Batman's eyes narrowed again.

"Why did you scream, then?" Pomni asked in annoyance.

"...Maybe it wasn't actually that funny." 

Pomni sulks. "Oh, my God..."

"I thiiiiiik... we should hold onto each other and slowly make our way back into the trophy room." Kinger suggests.

Pomni's eyes nodded. "Sounds fine to me."

The three pairs of eyes wandered in the darkness. As they traveled, they stopped when they heard a creaking sound.

"What was that?" Pomni whispered.

"What's what?" Kinger whispered back.

Then they heard the creaking sound again, this time much louder.

"That!" Pomni uttered softly.

"It's probably just magnets." Kinger guesses.

"Magnets do not make that sound." Batman rolled his eyes.

"Or a boat." Kinger continued.

Pomni stammered for a bit. "A boat?"

"W-Whatever the case, I think we should be completely quiet." Kinger replied.

"I-- Okay, yeah. I agree." Pomni's eyes nodded. "You know, you're really hit-and-miss with these things, sometimes."

Then Kinger heard a fly buzzing around. Then he clapped his hands trying to grab it, startling Pomni.

"There's a fly in here." Kinger whispered. 

"Don't you think that's making a lot of noi-- Oh, God, there is a fly." Pomni noticed it too.

"Would you two stop it with the fly?" Batman said, his patience wearing thin.

"Aaaaaand... Gotcha!" Kinger said and the buzzing stopped. "I think I got him. I can't see my hands.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of demon-looking eyes was stalking them from behind. Then it lets out a shriek while its head was glowing, allowing the three of them to see. They were frozen at the sight of it, and recognized that it was the creature's head Mildenhall was talking about.

Then the shrieking stopped and the glowing went away, the three of them still hadn't run for it.

"I'm sorry, could you speak up?" Kinger asked the creature's head. "I couldn't quite make that out."

"F[Boink!]K THE FLY! RUN!" Pomni yelled while running for the dumbwaiter.

Batman followed her while Kinger stared at the creature shrieking at them again. Pomni franically tried shoving the key into the keyhole, but her hysteria was making her lose focus.

"Come on come on come on come on come on come on come!!" Pomni yelled consecutively, then she dropped the key.

"Pomni, I think this might be the creature from the tapes!" Kinger said, still standing there.

Batman tried picking up the key to try unlocking the fence himself - since he is more level-headed than the other two - but Pomni snatched it up before he could and tried again.

"Come on come on come on come on come on come on come oooon!!" Pomni yelled consecutively once again.

"Give it to me." Batman said, moving Pomni and giving it a shot at unlocking the dumbwaiter.

As the creature roared again and opened its mouth to reveal several of its sharp teeth, lots of eyes were visible at the dark cavern of its throat. 

Kinger was left in a trance. "You look beautiful, honey..."

Pomni noticed Kinger was stepping closer to the creature, so she left Batman to try to save the chess piece.

"COME ON!" Pomni pulled on his robe. 

Then the chess piece looked back at her. "Huh? Oh yeah."

Both of them ran to Batman, who finally unlocked the fence to open the dumbwaiter. The three of them crawled inside it, being very cramped due to Batman and Kinger taking up most of the space. Poor Pomni was being squished at the roof of the dumbwaiter by Batman's abdomen - but certainly better than being devoured by that creature's head.

"Prepare for take off, 'cause this boat is going UP!" Kinger said triumphantly. 

The the dumbwaiter started to descend slowly.

"That's not up! That's not up at all!" Kinger exclaimed. "Why aren't we going up?!"

Then the dumbwaiter takes the three of them down below to the unknown.

Caine's Therapy Room:

"I DO NOT use my adventures to torture my guests!" Caine spats in anger. "Any torment I inflict is one-hundred percent accidental, like any good war criminal!"

Zooble scoffed. "We weren't even talking about that! I really couldn't give less of a crap about the adventures." 

"Then what is your problem, Zooble?!" Caine retorted, sounding genuinely angry. "I'm trying my best to remember, but both you and my brain won't tell me!"

Zooble sighs and spoke softly. "It's me, remember? I don't like... myself. I hate this body. I hate all these stupid removable pieces. I just want to find something that feels... good."

"Oh yeah! Now I remember why I couldn't remember." Caine said in his usual energetic voice; completely ignoring Zooble's brief vulnerability. "It's because that problem is already solved!"

Then he makes a box full of toy-like limbs appear, with the name 'Zoobles' labeled on the side.

"Simply swap out your undesirable Zooble parts for better ones!" Caine explained. 

"I've been trying to find parts I like since the day I got here." Zooble replied. 

"So, back to the adventures!" Caine returned to a different topic. 

Zooble looked displeased. "Forget it."

"'Forget it?'" Caine tilted his head in confusion.

"Just forget it."

"Forget what?"

"Caine, nobody likes your stupid adventures." Zooble elaborated.

"Ha-ha!" Caine laughed it off. "Good one, Zooble."

"Ragatha's just too nice to say anything. Jax just likes to [Bonk!] with everybody. Gangle's too shy to speak up. Kinger's insane. And-- And Pomni... She looks traumatized every time she comes back from one. I don't even know about Batman because he barely talks, but I bet he has the same thoughts as I do." Zooble explains thoroughly.

"Oh, Zooble, Zooble, Zooble." Caine flies to the couch with her. "Making adventures is my art! It's all I exist to do! All I'm... good at."

Caine's enthusiasm went away, he sounds confused.

"A-And, uh... w-what you're saying could imply that I'm bad at the only thing I'm good at, and that..." He chuckled weakly and stammered. "That'd be..."

Then he froze, and the entire circus began glitching out.

Zooble, backpedals to the corner of the couch and looked afraid. "U-Uh, whose therapy session is this, again?"

Then everything went back to normal and Caine responded. "Oh, yeah! We need to get to the bottom of your behavioral issues! I'm going to show you some ink blots, and you're gonna say the first word that comes to your mind."

Then he showed her an ink blot of just an ink splashed onto the paper but with his face on it. Zooble was back to being disappointed and annoyed.

Back to Mildenhall's Manor:

The dumbwaiter crashed and the three of them fall out of it. 

Pomni gets up and groans. "Oh, God, where are we now?"

"I'm not sure." Kinger replied. "A cellar of some kind."

The three of them spotted a corpse not too far from them, a double barrel shotgun in the deceased man's lap. Another tape player was nearby, so Batman pressed play on it.

"Things have gotten far worse than I could ever have imagined. My paranoia had driven me to the point where I was no longer the protector my wife and theoretical children needed. Jumping at every shadow, every noise. I ended up shooting the love of my life, mistaking her for the creature."

Both Batman and Pomni noticed Kinger looking depressed as they listened to the tape.

"It's ironic, isn't it? In my attempts to protect her, I ended up becoming the monster myself. Now I wait down in my cellar, no longer having anything to protect but my own soul. If nothing else... I will slay the beast that took everything from me."

"How's about we take his gun?" Kinger suggests.

"Yeah, sounds good to me." Pomni nodded and looked at Batman. "You wanna go get it?"

Batman looked reluctant. "No."

"Why?" She inquired.

"I hate guns." Batman sounded defensive. "One of you two will get the gun if you want it."

"O-Okay, fine... I'll get it..." Pomni said while approaching the corpse.

She was afraid, deeply afraid. She's seen enough horror movies to know that whenever someone approaches a dead body, it jumps at them and attacks. And now, it's going to happen to her.

Pomni's hand slowly reaches for the gun, keeping her eyes at the corpse's head. "Please don't come alive..."

"Okay, I won't." The corpse calmly replied. 

Pomni froze for a few seconds, not expecting that kind of reaction. Then she quickly took the gun and scurried back to Kinger and Batman. She gave the weapon to Kinger, since she's too small to carry the weapon and Batman won't even touch it.

Kinger opened it up and checked for ammunition. "Looks like we've got two shots." Then he closed the gun and prepared it. "Let's make them count."

"Uh, yeah." Pomni nods. 

Then they all heard a clanging sound from the large gaping pipe that could fit something like the creature head they encountered earlier. So Kinger defensively stands in front of Batman and Pomni.

"Stay behind me." Kinger said while aiming the gun.

Then wet squelching sounds were made as a headless body crawled out from the pipe. Then they heard a similar shrieking sound again, and looked behind them to see that the creature's head had followed them down here and continued to shriek uncontrollably. 

"Uh, Kinger?" Pomni laughed nervously, her anxiety making her panic. "I-I think we may have a problem this way, too."

"Just leave it to me." Kinger replied calmly, holding the gun tightly in his hands. "I can handle this."

Within seconds, both the body and head charged at them, and Kinger shot them both with one bullet within four seconds. Then the head and body dropped dead.

"Well... that wasn't so bad." Kinger commented at the anticlimactic ending.

"...Which is what I would be saying if I didn't know that the creature was actually one of God's angels."

"...What?" Kinger replied.

The tape clicked again.

"And anyone who brings harm to it will be dragged down into the cold, spiraling pits of Hell, where my soul resides. I apologize, dear listener, but I need a living host in order to escape the hall of the damned, and your bodies will be my only means of doing so."

"Now, wait. How did he record this if he was in Hell?" Kinger inquired, noticing a flaw in the tape.

Then arms emerged from the ground, ensnaring the three of them quickly. All three of them tried to squirm free, but it was futile as the demons were pulling them down slowly into the ground. 

"I hope you're ready, because the next breath you take down there will be your last, and your bodies will belong to me."

"LET GO OF ME!" Pomni screamed. "I HATE THIS STUPID ADVENTURE!"

Those were her last words before all three of them were successfully dragged down to Hell.

Upstairs, Ragatha and Gangle were having tea with Mildenhall's wife, who is a ghost. Jax was tied up, gagged, and left on a wagon for the time being.

"Mmm, good tea." Ragatha complimented the ghost's beverage. "Sorry again about your husband killing you, and everything."

The ghost chuckled. "Oh, you know how men are. Always having the silliest priorities."

The ragdoll chuckled wryly. "Don't I know it."

"If your friends see him, I only hope he doesn't bore them to death with his endless monologues." Mildenhall's wife continued. "That man could turn a fifty-seven second story into a Greek tragedy."

"I'll be sure to ask them next time I see 'em." Ragatha stood up. "Thanks again for the tea. I had a really nice time here."

The ghost laughed. "Oh, don't mention it. Feel free to visit any time."

Ragatha waved her goodbye as she pulled the wagon with the rabbit on it. "Definitely!"

Ragatha and Gangle made it to the front door of the manor, Jax still on the wagon, and couldn't leave just yet.

"Congratulations, my little ironclad waffle cones!" Caine's voice returned, still off-screen. "You've taken the PACIFIST ROUTE, and you should be proud of what good people you are. Unfortunately, we still need to wait until your other teammates finish their adventure before I can grant you permission to leave."

"I wonder how long that'll be?" Gangle pondered.

In Hell:

The three of them sit down in a dark cavern area, with some water dripping in the background.

"Not really typical of what you'd think Hell would be." Kinger commented, looking around and still holding the gun.

"I've seen worse." Batman replied.

Pomni was the only one who was panicking. "We... are LITERALLY in Hell right now. HELL! Of course I'd be in Hell! How could I not be in literal Hell right now?!"

"Just try to stay calm." Kinger tried consoling her. "I'm sure Caine included a way to escape."

"Remember what I said: There's always a way out." Batman said to her, standing up. 

The three of them wandered forward, but stopped when they saw a room filled with what looked like green clouds (which looks to be little tiny demon parasites) flowing around. 

"Hold on." Kinger stopped Pomni from stepping forth, then he took an eyeball off his head. "Let me try something."

Then he threw his eye into the room to survey the area.

"Hey, there's actually a staircase down there." Kinger said. "It could be a way out Maybe it'll work for us since we still have our bodies? Though, I'm worried about what that tape said earlier."

"I'm just gonna try going fast." Pomni said before running into the room.

"Pomni, DON'T!" Batman tried reaching to grab her, but she was out of his reach.

As she was running, she stopped midway through, and the green clouds flowed into her mouth. Her body began twitching violently.

"Pomni!" Kinger cried.

The jestress' head turned around, her eyes looking like a demon and her teeth sharp like a shark. She cackled demonically.

"Freeeedooooom!" She said while walking to the stairs like a zombie.

Batman quickly grabbed his grapple gun from his belt and shoots the hook at Pomni's back, which grabs a hold of her. With one mighty pull, he yanked her back over to where the other two were at, Kinger stretching his hand far enough to grab his eye and bring it back.

He gets on top of her to hold her down. "Snap out of it, Pomni!"

Pomni laughed evilly. "How's your parents, Wayne? Off in the big country-club in the sky?"

Batman punched her face once, and that was enough for her to cough out whatever it was she breathed in. Her eyes and voice returned to normal. The jestress began hyperventilating.

"Are you okay?" Batman inquired while getting off of her and sitting down on the ground again.

"Are you alright?" Kinger asked as well.

"No..." She continued to breathe heavily.

"I'm guessing the souls are attracted to living things." Kinger theorized. "Just want a vessel to be able to leave with... Man, seven years of computer science for this, huh?"

"Why?" Pomni asked, a bit rhetoric but also genuine. "Every day I spend here is one nightmare after the next! I knew it would end up like this!"

She stood up away from Kinger.

"He- He just wants me to suffer..." Then she buried her hands in her face. "I really am in Hell."

"Don't say that." Kinger tried to console her once again. "You're not in-- Well, I-I guess we are technically in-- Eh, forget about that. How about we just relax for a bit while nothing's chasing us?"

Then she crawled over to Batman and hugged him, sobbing quietly into his chest. Being experienced with situations like this, he just lets her sob while occasionally patting her back consolingly.

"I want to go home..." She said in tears.

"I know." Batman replied softly. "I will get you out of here, eventually."

Kinger sighed, feeling guilty now that she's crying. "It was my fault we went down this path, wasn't it? I'm really sorry for that..."

For a moment, Pomni let go of Batman and stops shedding tears for a moment, looking at Kinger. "Why have you been acting so differently lately?"

The chess piece chuckled softly. "I have, haven't I? I'm normally not too good with memories.  But being surrounded by darkness always... brings me back to a certain time... Right after my wife had... had abstracted... I don't recall the exact string of events, but we both ended up in the fort together. And it was dark. The darkness seemed to calm her down a bit. The harsh, jagged edges smoothed out and she didn't seem aggravated anymore. She wasn't the same as before, but she was calm enough to touch one last time... before she got sent to the cellar. I'm always taken back to that moment when engulfed in darkness."

"You had a wife?" Pomni asked curiously. "Like, here in the circus?"

"Yeah." Kinger replied. "She was funny, creative; really into entomology. I used to hate bugs, but... she somehow got me to like them." He chuckled again. "It's not the most cheerful memory, but... it's one I at least have control over... I know how it can feel in this... circus. Sometimes it all just feels... pointless."

"Yeah..." Pomni nodded in agreement. 

"But it's not..." Kinger continued. "Not if you have people who care about you. Good memories can do a lot. Hold onto them. And cherish the people around you. You never know when they'll be gone. In this world, the worst thing you can do is... make someone think they're not wanted or loved."

Pomni looked at him and was back to looking at Batman for a moment before looking at her feet. "I'm glad you're here with me. Both of you."

Then the three of them sat there in silence for a little while.

Then Kinger broke the silence once again. "You know, I've been thinking about that last tape. He said, 'The next breath you take down there will be your last.' Maybe we can get through if we don't breathe."

"I'm not very good at holding my breath..." Pomni mumbled.

"Well... How about we try... not thinking about it?" Kinger suggests.

Pomni felt conflicted, earlier she couldn't do it in front of the others and now she's being asked to do it in Hell.

But then she thought about a different thing to talk about. "If we leave and we go back to the circus, you're just gonna go back to being crazy. You're not gonna remember any of this. Are you?"

"Don't worry about me." Kinger said selflessly while standing up. "As long as you and Wayne remember it, things will be okay. Both of you are very strong. And I know you'll be able to get through this."

Then he offered his hand to her.

"Just hold onto me." Kinger kept his hand reaching out for her. "We'll get through it together."

Batman stood up. "He's right, Pomni."

"You ready?" Kinger inquired.

After thinking about it, Pomni grabs Kinger's right hand with her left hand, and then gently grasped Batman's left hand with her right hand. All three of them took a deep inhale before they began their walk together.

Pomni's face started to turn blue, and she looked at Kinger for guidance. And then the chess piece began to glow very brightly; Pomni's memory going back to what Ragatha had said earlier. Then she looked at Batman, who looked indifferent to walking while holding his breath.

Kinger's words inspired her to keep going, which is why she was able to make it this far. The three of them finally made it to the staircase and exhaled. They all walked up the stairs and opened the door, which led them in the same room with the others.

"Oh, Pomni! Kinger! Batman!" Ragatha said in surprise at their arrival. "Are you guys okay? Was it scary?"

"I'm fine, actually." Pomni said, feeling optimistic for once, then both her and Kinger looked surprised at Jax being tied up and gagged on a wagon. "What happened up here?"

"Uh, don't worry about that." Ragatha dismissed. 

"Pomni was very brave." Kinger praised the jestress. "At least, I think she was." Then he looked at her. "Were you?"

"Something like that." Pomni agreed.

"She was." Batman vouched for her, putting his palm on her head to ruffle her liripipes.

"H-Hey." She smiled at his gesture, despite him still looking like he was frowning.

"Did you remember to get my comedy mask?" Gangle asked, sniffling.

Kinger's eyes widened. "FU[Boop!]K!"

Caine's Therapy Room:

Now Zooble is in the chair with pencil and notebook, Bubble is wearing Caine's hat, and Caine is lying on the couch.

"And-- And now, I-I'm just starting to wonder if the 'Wild West' was e-even a real direction at all." Caine said aloud, then he checked wrist for a watch that wasn't even there. "Whoopsie-daisy! Looks like everybody completed the adventure and they're coming home! Quick, pretend we weren't having a therapy session!"

Then he disappeared and everything returned back to normal.

"Okay...?" Zooble was wondering if talking to Caine was worth it. "Wish I talked to Batman instead in that Confession Box..."

Caine was at the portal, welcoming the others as they walked into the circus. "Welcome back my skibidi sigmas!"

Jax was untied and un-gagged, to which he was the only one who stopped mid-walk and glared at Caine. "Don't ever call us that again..."

Pomni watched as Kinger went back to his pillow fort, feeling sad now that she realizes why he spends so much time in there.

"Heh, so, what was it like being stuck with the nutcase?" Jax asked in a teasing way.

"It wasn't that bad, actually." Pomni admits, to which Jax left when he realized he can't have his fun with her if she's happy.

Then she looked and noticed Batman walking down the hall. She quickly sprints over to catch up with him.

"H-Hey, uh... Wayne?" Her voice croaked.

And he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard her say that.

"Kinger... called you Wayne down there, and I vaguely remember myself asking you about your... parents."  Pomni stammered, realizing that her sentence made him pause.

She was scared she had angered him in some way.

"I... I remember you telling us that Batman was your name... And Wayne sounds like a normal name... But I won't mention it to the others, if that's what you prefer." She said in a more calm manner, hoping this would dissuade him from getting the wrong idea. "And I could call you Wayne when it's just the two of us, like right now... I mean, Kinger probably knows, but he might not remember..."

Batman didn't look over his shoulder, but he did say, "Thanks."

"Y-You're welcome..." She stammered, realizing he said 'thanks' to her. "Thank you for help consoling me and letting me hug you. I know you'd probably prefer not to be touched..."

"Don't mention it." Batman replied before continuing his walk.

She waved him goodbye for now, even though he didn't see it.

End of Chapter 10.

October 10th, 2024. 10:53 PM.