Chapter Text
She was never one to wander, at least not into buildings. On streets, blocks at a time, she’d often walk in circles to soothe her tired mind and take in the world, never somewhere abandoned. But her numbness towards the world led toward thrill-seeking that was quite unlike her, exploring the empty homes and offices gave her a sort of excitement and anticipation she had long since forgotten. Now the world had come to bite her again, as it often did, but it had missed. While searching a large abandoned office building, one called C&A by the looks of the excessive logos dotting walls and every piece of equipment, she had nearly stepped through a gaping hole in the floor. She should’ve known better than to step anywhere near open windows, the weak wooden floors had endured too much rain and exposure to the elements to possibly be stable. Nonetheless, it had turned out alright, and she freed her foot from the flooring before she could fall through completely. Her gaze turned to a desk at the far corner of the room, a rusted metal table with an old computer and headset atop it. The two items seemed to be the only things without visible aging, small scuffs around the visor betraying its use. It was almost alluring, curious and alien to her. She couldn’t help herself, and put on the headset, careful not to damage it. At first, nothing happened. It was simply a black screen, but something was off. The feeling in her body was rapidly fading as colors came into view, and her eyes shut completely. Now, she had awoken on a wooden floor, staring at the high and vaulted ceiling above. A nothingness filled her being, and as she looked around, she couldn’t seem to find anyone. Without warning, a booming voice echoed from above, rapidly approaching, “Bazoowiezooweewa! Another one!”.
What the hell was going on. A small form whirled downward from a stationery hot air balloon, a set of chattering teeth with a full human body and a black velvet top hat. While short in stature, it quickly flew to meet her, floating inches from her face to look her in the eyes. “And who might you be, my zealous zanni?” he wasted no time, tilting his head to the side like an animal faced with a puzzle it wants to figure out.
Though she thought carefully, even the furthest corners of her mind produced no sense of her identity. “You want me to be honest?” She asked hesitantly to the unfamiliar character.
“Mmmmmyes!” he tilted his head in the opposite direction, shifting closer to her and intensifying his gaze playfully.
“I have no idea. What about you?” She replied, hoping someone had a clue.
“Me?” He enthusiastically responded, eyes widening slightly in excitement.
“That’s not what I-” The stranger suddenly placed a gloved hand to her mouth.
“Shhh! Why, I’m so glad you asked! My name is Caine! I am your ringmaster! I’m here to keep that brain of yours stimulated and make sure you all stay sane! No need to thank me.”
“Who’re ‘you all’?” She inquired, voice tinged with nervousness.
“The other circus members, of course! You arrived so quickly after Zooble, I wasn’t expecting anyone else for a while! What luck, hm?”
This was a lot, and Caine definitely didn’t do much to ease the transition to wherever she was now. Her head stung dully, but Caine’s close proximity kept her from checking if she had some sort of fever. “Soooooooo,” he dragged out, “If you don't remember your name, nothing out of the ordinary, have no fear,” he waved his hand dismissively, “What should we call you?”
It was all too much. “I don't know,” she sighed, rubbing her head gingerly, “you pick.”
She immediately realized that probably wasn't the best idea. “Really? You're trusting…” his irises widened to an unnatural degree, staring at her with exaggerated endearment, “me to come up with your name?”
She paused for a moment, but caved, not wanting to quash his happiness. “Sure, man. Whatever. Just make it a good one.”
Caine kicked his feet excitedly, “Of course! Of course. It'll be great! The best you've ever heard!”
He raised a finger, appearing to come to a decision before bluescreening completely, a static buzz playing as he floated in midair, still as a statue. As quickly as he froze, he resumed as if nothing happened, “how does ‘Harli’ sound?”
She opened her mouth to respond, but Caine cut her off again “You're right! Terrible. Then maybe-”
“No, it's great. Just fine, Caine.” She assured, placing a hand on his shoulder, completely misjudging the force of her gesture and jostling him slightly.
“Alrighty then, Harli,” He drew out the name, testing its sound, “That does have a ring to it!” he remarked. “Oh! The rest of the humans are on an adventure right now, so,” He returned the hold on her shoulder, and jerked unexpectedly forward. The circus blurred and muddied, before returning to stillness as a large office with dark wooden shelves lining the majority of its walls. The shelves all had circular stands of golden wire, some empty and others occupied by what appeared to be crystal balls. Harli didn’t have time to inspect them further, as Caine had already settled in the tall crimson chair adjacent to her, hands folded neatly and staring expectantly. “...What?” She slurred, head still swimming.
“We just have to wait!” He effused, “You could just hang around the tent until they get back, but this seemed more comfortable! So, while we’re here,” Caine conjured a yellow notepad and pen, already writing something down before the conversation started, “Any questions?”
Lots, actually. But Caine definitely looked to ramble, so she had to choose carefully. “What is this place, exactly?” She responded after a moment of thought.
“My dear, you’ve stumbled into the Amazing Digital Circus! A place of wonder, where anything can happen! You already know I’m your ringmaster, and you have several other fellow circus members to interact with! I plan all of the adventures myself, slave over them to make each one perfect! Just for you all! Sounds good, don’t you think?”
Harli paused. Now that she had more time to consider it, this situation didn’t sound half bad. “It does, doesn’t it?” She mumbled in awe, mostly to herself.
“Yes indeed-y it does, my amicable alichino! So glad you agree!” A whorling sound echoed from what Harli could only assume was the far corner of the circus, reverberating through the high halls of Caine’s office. “Looks like the other humans survived their adventure! They found the possessed mask a lot quicker than I expected! We’ll have to cut this short, Harli, but until next time!”
She couldn’t respond before a hand was firmly placed on her shoulder once more and she was again transported to the tent floor. This time, she wasn’t alone. Five other figures faced her, each incredibly different from one another, but all caked with peach-toned sand. They didn’t directly address Harli at first, until a red-haired ragdoll turned to face her, eye widening in surprise. “Oh!” she yelped, expression turning to hesitant excitement. “You’re not an NPC, right?”
Harli shook her head as the remaining avatars scanned her, returning the gaze in kind. “A new sucker!” a tall purple rabbit smiled, yellow-toothed grin unsettlingly wide, “What’s your name, kid?”
“I’m 28.” Harli huffed, already fed up with his attitude, “And my name’s Harli.”
“Ick,” the rabbit scrunched his face in mock disgust, “How’d you come up with that one?”
“I didn’t. Caine did.”
“Ooh,” he leered, “Already sucking up to the ringmaster? You’ve got competition, Ragatha.”
The ragdoll, presumably Ragatha, sighed, pinching the bridge of her sewn-on nose and shutting her eye tightly. “Alright, Jax, that’s enough.”
She turned to face Harli again, a pitying half-smile plastered on her face. “How’ve you been doing? I know the transition here can be pretty rough.”
“I’m fine,” Harli confirmed, “this seems like a nice place! Nicer than, you know, all the stuff that goes on in the actual world, right?”
Ragatha looked a bit concerned at her praise of the circus, but seemed to brush it off, grin returning. “We should get you introduced to everyone else!”
She clapped her hands, coming to face the other assorted characters. “You’ve already met Jax and I,” she started, pointing to each of the unfamiliar avatars. “This is Kinger,” she gestured to a tall wooden chess piece wrapped in a royal purple robe, whose striking blue eyes were following a small scarab beetle, presumably one which had come with them from their adventure. “Gangle,” she moved to a tangle of shining red ribbons mounted by a theatre mask with glittering tears at the corners of its eyes. Gangle waved weakly to her, seemingly preoccupied with her mask. “And Zooble!” Ragatha motioned towards the last character in the small crowd, a mess of mismatched and intensely colorful toy parts kept together enough to resemble a figure. “That’s it?”
“Of course not!” Jax drawled, “Kaufy isn’t here right now, said he had something going on with some exit door, but he’ll be back.” He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone, “Laugh at his jokes, will ya? He’s had a rough couple days.”
“Haven’t we all.” Ragatha lamented, offering no further context. A beat of silence passed, until she glanced over to Harli again. “Your room is just down the hall, by the way! You’ll probably want to make yourself at home before Caine sends us all on an adventure to celebrate your arrival.”
Harli nodded and started her way down the hall Ragatha had indicated. It was impossibly long, each door displaying a picture of its resident. Most of them were crossed out or blank. Eventually she found her room, and swung open the door. It was unlocked, but a key had been placed on her bed so that she’d be able to lock it in the future. It was an incredible room, blank and clean as a prestigious hotel room, with a single queen-size bed and nightstand in the center. Nothing too personal, nothing too notable. Hollow and unintrusive. A sleek white lamp stood adjacent to the bed, but she neglected to turn it on as she shuffled over to the lights and shut them off, making the room nearly pitch-black, save for the sliver illuminated by the partially open door. Harli kicked the door shut, turning the lock behind her and moving to the bed. She lay down on the covers, trying to shake the dull pain from her head. Her eyes slid shut, and a relaxing numbness enveloped her. Time passed fluidly, and she had no idea how long she had been laying there until a small pop reverberated through her room. Slowly opening one eye, she was met with Caine, hovering closely to her head. She scrambled to sit up, facing him with shock written all over her face. “What’re you-” she stumbled over her words, “I thought I locked the door!”
“Oh, you did!” he answered simply. “Doesn’t stop me, though! I can just appear here whenever I please! And I do please right now, because I have an adventure to welcome you to the circus! It’s all set up outside, if you’re ready!”
“No, yeah, definitely,” she rubbed her eyes, shaking herself completely from the idea of sleep. “Can’t wait.”