She shifted a bit. She wasn't one for hugs but... Ragatha clearly needed it.

"Look... I-I understand. But we need to try, right?"

"...I just don't want what happened to us to ever happen to anyone else again, ok?" she said as she drew close.

"Even if we can't stop people from ending up here, we can at least stop them from being at risk of abstracting."

The jester fell silent, caught off guard by the fist slam. She wasn't used to Ragatha acting like this.

mode, even if we can't get out... We can try and undo the damage.

Recover our names. Undo whatever it was that Caine did to us that puts us at risk of abstraction.

It's a start, right?"

having to play through the game manually.

Now, Caine's upset that we're mad at him, right?"

The fury is fading, replaced with... optimism and determination.

"Well, wouldn't that mean he'd be willing to help us if it meant making us feel better?

Maybe... if we can access this place's debug--

"THAT'S IT! This world's a game, right? Like a video game! Every video game has cheats. Now, not all of them are available to the player, BUT. But."

She's setting the hammer down at least.

"Every game has a debug mode. It's just how it's done! It exists to let the developers test things without--

He's an AI. Even the smartest AI can be beaten.

Even if we need to cheat do to i-"

Silence.

"Cheat...."

"...We're trapped here. But you saw how he looked when he realized we were angry with him."

Her grip tightened on the hammer.

"And he isn't all powerful. He still can't fix the abstractions. He would have if he could.

He HAS to have a weakness. Something we can exploit.

I'm not giving up.--

We can't let this happen to anyone else!!!"

There are tears in her eyes, her teeth gritted, her eyes mirroring her manic fury.

But could she really be blamed? Caine had effectively served himself up on a silver platter as a target for her anger at this whole... thing. This mess. This hell.

"HE TOOK OUR NAMES, RAGATHA. HE TOOK OUR F[%$#@]ING NAMES!!!" the jester screeched. "Him messing with our minds is what causes abstraction if what Kinger said is true!

And... if there's anyone I trust to know how this place works, more than anyone, it's him. W-we're all ticking time bombs. We...--

"I want him dead." Her grip tightened on the hammer.

"I don't even care about leaving anymore. There is no f[$%^#]ing way we're leaving at this point. Right now?

I want Caine DEAD."

The door to her room was thrown open.

Pomni was holding something.

"Hey Ragatha. Look what I found."

She was holding a huge cartoony hammer. She had an almost manic expression on her face.

She Wasn't Taking This Well.

"He spawned guns. Do we still have any of them."

a cartoon character wearing a jester hat stands in front of a red exit sign ALT: a cartoon character wearing a jester hat stands in front of a red exit sign

"I want him dead.

I want Caine dead.

I WANT TO RIP HIM INTO PIECES AND REDUCE HIM TO A PILE OF GORE ON THE FLOOR."

a cartoon character wearing a colorful jester hat ALT: a cartoon character wearing a colorful jester hat

"...Hey uh, Jet?"

There's a new demeanor about her. She seems nervous but also like she's... holding back an unbelievable amount of fury.

"I... might need your help with something." @jetthehawk.bsky.social

a cartoon character wearing a jester hat has a smiley face on his face ALT: a cartoon character wearing a jester hat has a smiley face on his face

"H-huh? Oh, uh... Hi."

She seemed a little unfocused before Cloud touched her. She did recoil a little, not exactly being one for physical contact.

"Oh!! You! I... never got your name. You doing okay?"

She's waving a flag around with Jet's face on it. #𝐂𝐖𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐗

"Well, take it easy, ok? Don't hurt yourself."

"You uh... need anything to help with. Y'know."

She gestured to his injuries.

"All That."

a cartoon character wearing a jester hat has a smiley face on his face ALT: a cartoon character wearing a jester hat has a smiley face on his face

@jetthehawk.bsky.social "You did amazing out there. That was... genuinely incredible.

Never thought I'd actually get to see you race. Like, in person."

a jester is dancing in a video game . ALT: a jester is dancing in a video game .

"..."

Proceeds to vomit black sludge from the stress-

"JET! JET! JET! JET! JET!!!!"

a cartoon character wearing a jester hat is standing in a hallway ALT: a cartoon character wearing a jester hat is standing in a hallway

"YEAAAAHHHH!!!! I KNEW HE COULD DO IT!!!!" #𝐂𝐖𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐗

((NOOOOOO :C

"...what do you mean?" she asked. She was confused and worried...

a cartoon character wearing a jester 's hat is standing on a stage ALT: a cartoon character wearing a jester 's hat is standing on a stage

"Throwing a bomb at a downed racer... that's gotta be illegal, right??" #𝐂𝐖𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐗

a cartoon character wearing a jester hat looks sad ALT: a cartoon character wearing a jester hat looks sad

"Oh f[#$%@], Jet wiped out-" #𝐂𝐖𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐗

"Ack!"

She steps back; she can tell Cloud is the source.

"You uh... wanna talk about whatever it is that's bothering you?..."

"Oh! Uh, it's a... sandbox game."