Gangle awoke, still in Zooble's room, Her mind traveled to the events of her nightmare and the conversation she had with Zooble. The thought of talking to Caine about it made her ribbons twist into knots. She had never seen him as anything but the circus's charismatic, Ai ringmaster, and she didn't know if he would take her seriously or not.
Eventually, Zooble woke up. They stretched and twitched their antennae and looked down at Gangle, who was still curled up against them. "We're lucky Caine didn't find us like this," they groaned, standing up carefully. Gangle got up shortly after, the reality of the circus's usual chaos slowly coming back to her. She knew she couldn't stay in the safety of Zoobles arms forever.
Zooble went over to her box of parts, digging through them for a bit before pulling out two arms, one looking like a cow hoof of sorts and the other was some vine springs attached to a bushy kinda hand, laced with some flowers.
"Which one do you think looks better?" they asked, turning to Gangle, holding up both arms. Gangle studied them, her mind still preoccupied with her dream but she liked helping Zooble pick what parts to wear. It was always interesting to see what new combination they came up with together.
"I like the hoove one," she said after a moment's thought. "It's cute.."
Zooble nodded, taking the vine arm and placing it back into the box. "Cute is good, I guess," they said, attaching the hoove to their body with a click. They looked down at their new arm, flexing it a bit. They attached a few other parts that she thought would look alright together before turning back to Gangle.
"You wanna go get your comedy mask?" Zooble suggested, knowing that mask was a strange kind of comfort for Gangle.
Gangle shook her head "I think I could go without it today" She said, she usually would but she didn't feel like walking to her room just to get a mask that would break anyway.
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They made it to the main lobby, where the theme song was performed and adventures began. An unpleasant voice cracked through the mostly quiet area aside from the occasional talking from the others.
"Oh look at who decided to show up?" Jax remarked, looking over to Gangle and Zooble with his arms crossed, his usual, annoying smile plastered on his face.
Gangle just focused on her nightmare and felt too tired to argue. Zooble glared at him "What do you want, Jax?" she asked, their voice harsh and clearly agitated.
Jax chuckled, "Just making sure the clowns are ready for the show," he said, his eyes scanning over Gangle's form, noticing the lack of her comedy mask. "But it seems one of our tragedies forgot their face."
"Why does it matter?! Your just gonna break it anyway A$$#∆\3!" Zooble snapped, their frustration with Jax clear in their tone. They didn't appreciate his constant teasing and remarks, especially when she was obviously not feeling well.
Jax's smile widened "Now, now, Zooble, it's all just good and fun. All part of the show" He said getting closer to the mix and match toy's triangular head, his wide yellow smirk widening.
Gangle felt a twinge of anger, she's been easily irritated lately. She took a slightly trembling step forward, "Jax, please just leave us alone," she said, her voice a little more harsh than she thought it or intended to be.
Jax tilted his head slightly, his smirk never leaving his face. "Ah, so you do have a spine after all" he said, his voice mocking.
"HELLO! MY JUMPING CROCODILES!!! ARE YOU READY FOR TODAY'S WONDERFUL ADVENTURE!!!"
Caine's voice shot through the room, breaking any source of peace for anyone. Gangle felt a shiver run down her spine and she quickly grabbed Zoobles' hoove hand. She was still tired and the last thing she wanted was to face him today and discuss that dream.
"TODAY'S ADVENTURE WILL BE GOING UNDERGROUND INTO A MYSTICAL, MYSTERIOUS WORLD! YOU GUYS ARE THE DETECTIVES!" He said, his voice booming into everyone's ears.
"Haha, I guess you know what they say, When life gives you murderers, make a mystery novel!" Kaufmo jokes, though no one laughed.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE INTO THE PORTAL YOU GO!" Caine's said as a portal appeared to take them onto their hell of an adventure. Gangle walked closer to Caine, she had to tell him about this, even if it scared her to do so. She would like to know what's going on and unfortunately, he knew more than anyone else in this digital world.
"C-Caine," she stammered, her ribbon body trembling slightly. "I need to talk to you."
Caine's tone didn't change from his usual cheerfulness. "But of course, my dear Gangle!" He said a little too loudly for Gangle's liking. He snapped his fingers and then they were in an office of sorts.
"Now, what seems to be the trouble?" He asked, spinning in his chair before leaning forward into his chair, his big eyes looking curious.
Gangle took a deep breath, her ribbons fluttering as she tried to gather the courage to speak.. "I had a nightmare," she started, her voice quivering. "It was about...about you. You were mad at me, and I was in this dark, scary place...I saw rainbow eyes and ...and"
"A nightmare you say?" Caine leaned back in his chair, thinking. "Would you like something to perhaps distract you from these nightmares?"
Gangle looked up at him with hesitation" that's not all ... I've been feeling....kinda weird lately and this nightmare just came out of nowhere...it feels connected" she admitted.
Caine's smile didn't fade. "Ah, yes, the mysteries of the circus, always keeping us on our tippity toes!" He clapped his hands together. "Well, I can assure you this could have a totally completely logical explanation!" He reassured her.
Gangle didn't quite buy it, plus she wanted answers not enthusiastic reassurance "Caine I've been vomiting... daily almost... I don't think that's normal..."
Caine's enthusiasm faded a bit, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Ah, yes... I've noticed! If you want we could do a code scan!"
Gangle felt a bit better knowing he took her seriously, "A...a code scan?" she repeated, hope glowing in her dark painted eyes.
"A code scan!" Caine repeated "In simple terms, it's a scan into the players systems and codes to ensure everything is running as it should!"
Gangle nodded slowly, "Okay...I guess that could help," she said, her voice still shaky.
"WONDERFUL!" He shouted before snapping his fingers, teleporting them into a room with a large machine, attached to a cylinder chamber of sorts, its kinda metal and dark, a stark contrast to the strange and colorful circus she had grown used to.
Gangle stared at the machine, "What...what is that?" She asked nervously.
"It's the Code Scan!" Caine exclaimed, his voice bouncing off the metal walls. "Don't worry, it's completely painless and safe! Well... almost.. flashing lights don't bother you right?"
"I don't par-" but before Gangle could finish, she was shoved into the chamber before the machine let out a loud beep, most likely the scan starting. Gangle winced, she was never good with loud noises, even before the circus. Soon enough lights began to flash, she felt like she was in one of those photo booths but it was never ending. She had to close her eyes to prevent a headache.
The lights stopped and the beeping ceased. Gangle felt relieved as she opened her eyes. The room was spinning slightly, she felt a bit dizzy.
"Alright, let me see what we got here," Caine said, his voice a little less enthusiastic as he studied the screen attached to the machine. Gangle stepped out, her ribbon legs wobbling under her slightly.
The room grew eerily quiet as Caine's eyes scanned the results. He furrowed his digital brows. "Hmm, this is not exactly right," he murmured to himself.
"What is it?" Gangle's voice was shaky. She was already on edge, and the anticipation added with fear was killing her.
Caine's eyes darted back and forth over the data. "It seems your code has a little bug, which can easily be solved!"
Gangle's heart rate slowed down a little at the words. "A bug?" she questioned.
Caine nodded, his smile back in place, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yes, a bug," he said, his voice returning his enthusiasm "It seems a simple glitch developed in your code, but it can easily go away on its own!"
Gangle felt a little relief wash over her but she felt a little skeptical but decided not to question it "you s-sure?"
Caine nodded his head, "Absolutely!" He said, swinging his Caine. "You just need to keep on doing what you're doing, and the glitch should disappear soon"
Gangle felt a little better but still uneasy. She didn't know if she could trust him. She wanted to believe him but she wasn't sure if this was just a bug, besides a glitch developing within her sounded like a serious but hopefully Caine was right and it would fix itself.
"Now, let's get back to the fun!" Caine exclaimed, his enthusiasm snapping back into place like a lego piece attaching to another piece. They teleported them out of the room, not giving her much time to think or ask more questions.
