Chapter Text
It had happened so fast that Pomni could barely react- only watching in shock as Jax was yanked upwards, away from her. Away from safety. The momentary sense of security, as sweet as it had been, was stripped away from them in an instant.
Pomni felt despair begin to creep into her mind. The lengths that had gone to survive this stupid adventure felt so fruitless, and she wished she could rip Caine a new one over it already, but instead they were still enduring the tortures he had set up.
She became aware that the boat was continuing to lower, and Jax was set to be left alone dealing with whatever was going on with Orbsman back on the ship. Would Jax really be able to win that fight alone? She wanted to believe he could…but she also knew her boyfriend.
She let out a frustrated groan and stood slowly within the ship, balancing precariously as it rocked beneath her. Ragatha, Zooble, and Gangle all looked to her in confusion- until Gangle was able to put the scenario together.
“Don’t do it!” She cried out reaching out towards Pomni.
“I’m sorry!” Pomni shouted as she jumped off the boat towards the shrinking ship in front of them. She grabbed on to the ledge of the balcony, her legs only a foot or so away from the freezing depths below. She dangled for a moment as Ragatha screamed out her name, being drowned out by the dark night as the boat descended farther away. No going back.
She took a deep breath before she pulled herself up and rolled onto the balcony, landing on her back- which made her conscious that she still had the axe from earlier holstered behind her shoulders. Water was already pooling up to her ankles, so she wasted no time in running towards the closest staircase and finding her way back to where Jax would be.
When she arrived, they were battling on the ground. Jax was on the floor, gun in one hand and the other pushing against Orbsman’s face. Orbsman was gripping Jax’s gun-holding wrist against the floor, his other flailing hopelessly trying to land blows.
Pomni ran up and grabbed the gun aiming it at Orbsman, causing him to back away slowly, Jax standing next to Pomni nervously. Pomni squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled the trigger, just wanting the nightmare to be over.
Orbsman did not seem to react, the three of them only exchanged awkward glances before Orbsman started racing towards them. Jax moved quickly, pushing Pomni to the floor and causing himself to be barreled by the oversized NPC in her place.
Jax felt a sharp pain in his lower back as he was pushed against the railing. Orbsman pressed further, and Jax summoned the courage to look over his shoulder and see the rushing water a short distance below. He pressed his eyes shut, hoping to block out what was inevitably going to happen, when suddenly Orbsman stumbled backwards, clutching at this size where his middle-orb had been cracked and chipped.
Jax looked behind him to see Pomni- chest heaving, her stance wide and eyes wild as she held an axe in both of her hands. She followed Orbsman with his eyes as he attempted to stumble away, then struck again, shattering his right leg completely and causing him to fall forward.
Jax witnessed as Pomni approached slowly, Orbsman turning onto his back.
“You locked me in a room.” Pomni stated coldly.
“YOU WERE DISLOYAL!!!” Orbsman screamed.
Pomni screamed back in response, raising the axe above her head before slamming it down onto his chest. Pomni stood there staring down at the unmoving NPC for a few moments. She was surprised for a moment at how easy it had been to defeat him, when Orbsman started flailing once more, causing her to scream in surprise.
She lifted the axe once more, and pummeled it down. Then she repeated the action over and over again, screaming the entire time. Jax looked on at her in utter admiration. He relished nothing more than seeing her become truly unhinged.
She continued hitting Orbsman until her arms were too tired to continue, then stepped back slowly before spitting on the shattered corpse that was once Orbsman. Jax approached her and grabbed her hand.
“I need you to know that that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen you do.”
“Yeah well.” Pomni laughed. “He deserved it.”
Jax's smile shifted after a few tender moments, his demeanor turning slightly angry. “But are you crazy?” He scolded.
“Huh?” Pomni questioned, taken aback by his attitude. “Cause I killed an NPC?”
“No, you psycho.” Jax continued, gesturing to the ship they were standing on. “Cause you literally ran back into a burning building!”
“Did you want me to just leave you here?!” Pomni argued.
“I want you off this stupid boat!”
“Well I want to be with you no matter what happens!” Pomni grabbed his hand. “We face things together, no more lone-wolf!”
“All you are doing is getting in the way.” Jax grumbled.
Pomni took a shocked step back. In the past few days, she had felt comfortable and confident in her bond with Jax. He had been more laidback, and all around less of a jerk. She knew the situation was tense to say the least, but she hadn’t expected him to become so cold so quickly.
Jax on the other hand, rejected the sentence as soon as he had uttered it. He refused to let it show on his face, but he was mentally tearing himself a new one for the behavior. He hated the lack of control he felt in moments of tension. His instincts are always shackling him into creating distance and avoiding the real issue.
The real issue being that Pomni was safe, she was fine, and now she is in danger again. Not only that, he was also in danger. For many years he had never felt any desire to save anyone, much less himself, but now he felt like he had to, and he hated that feeling.
The tension was thick as they stared at each other- gazes full of anger and hurt. The only thing that cut through the walls between them was when the large funnel behind them began to creak horrifically. Jax and Pomni looked up in unison as it cracked at the base, tumbling down towards NPCs who were scrambling about like headless chickens.
The collapsing funnel crashed directly on top of at least a dozen flailing NPCs, creating a cold splash as it collided and slowly sank down.
In a fleeting moment, Pomni grabbed Jax’s hand, squeezing tightly as the animosity between them was completely lost. The two realized how dire the situation truly was. The ship was now halfway sunken into the water, and if it was true to the original tale, would snap at any moment. There was another realization that hit Pomni as they took in the view.
“There are no more boats…are there…”
“Nope.”
Pomni felt fearful tears well up in her eyes.
“We are going to be in the water, aren’t we?”
Jax sighed. “Yeah.” He squeezed her hand and looked at her softly. “Yeah we are. We gotta go.”
Pomni wiped her tears with her hand before nodding at him, her lips pursed tightly closed. They turned and rushed towards the stern of the ship.
The boat was angled now, slowly descending into the turbulent waters that surrounded them. Jax and Pomni had to weave past NPCs that were slipping and gliding downwards around them.
Still holding tightly onto Jax’s hand, Pomni couldn’t fight the urge to look back. Several NPCs were fighting like gladiators for an overturned boat that already had several holes in it. Splashing in the water like sharks drawn to prey that doesn’t exist.
Pomni was about to comment on the spectacle when Jax slipped from her hand as she was jerked into a standstill. Jax was still running forward, the momentum and adrenaline blocking his ability to sense she was even gone. She looked down and saw a tattered NPC grabbing at her ankle.
“Please…help…” The NPC sputtered pathetically, trying to use its grip on Pomni to pull itself upward.
Pomni could only look on in pure horror, unable to comprehend the twisted depths of Caine’s mind that somehow conjured this nightmare into existence. She knew it was based in reality, and she wasn’t sure if that made things worse or not.
She opened her mouth to speak when the NPC was suddenly kicked in the head, knocking it down and forcing it to slide into the churning sea.
“Focus!” Jax scolded, grabbing her hand once more. “Please.”
“I-”
She couldn’t get a word in before Jax started moving again, pulling her along and keeping a steady pace. He led them to a balcony above the main stern area- helping Pomni climb over the metal face. She was not a stranger to simple jumps from her time exploring abandoned building, and was able to stick her landing fairly well despite the slippery surface beneath.
Jax had less luck.
He landed on one foot before falling forward onto his face. Much to his disdain, an NPC in a chef’s outfit grabbed his arm and helped him up.
“I’ve got you, sir!” The NPC declared cheerfully.
“Get off!” Jax shouted, shoving the chef off of him.
“Hey!” Pomni shouted. “Why don’t you focus?!”
“God, Pomni, not now.” Jax muttered, taking her hand again and pushing into the crowd.
They felt like two sardines in a can, surrounded by countless others writhing about. They felt suffocated, frustrated, and at their absolute wits end.
Pomni was about to try and talk to Jax, despite that bad timing, when she noticed him glaring at an NPC in front of them. The NPC wore a clergyman outfit, a book in his hands that resembled a bible but instead had Caine’s face embossed onto it. The NPC was reading from the book, preaching the words programmed into him.
“Though I walk through the valley of death-”
Jax shoved the NPC out of the way, pulling Pomni and himself forward.
“Walk faster next time!”
Pomni gripped Jax’s hand tighter. She was so frustrated- she knew this was not the easiest event to have to go through, but he was only making things all that more difficult. Why couldn’t he just keep a levelhead for once?
“We’re almost there.” Jax grumbled, not looking back at her.
Pomni held her tongue, not wanting to make things worse when there was so much at stake. She hated feeling trapped. After a few moments, the preacher NPC had found a way upwards, other NPCs grabbing onto his hand and seemingly looking to him for some sense of guidance.
”..and I saw new heavens and a new earth. The former heavens and the former earth had passed away and the sea was no longer.”
Pomni hated thinking about the limits of their hellscape, and she was slowly realizing the limits were not only physical. Every emotion, every relationship, everything real was limited when you were in the circus. There was no peace without the turbulence of being prisoners.
They would never truly die, never truly live out an existence. They would never be able to process things the way that human beings were designed to process things.
She was terrified that Jax could never truly be happy again. She was terrified of what that meant for her.
And even still, while she spiraled into these realizations, the preacher continued his haunting sermon.
“...he shall wipe every tear from their eyes. And there shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the former world has passed away.”