Chapter Text
Valentine paid time no mind.
At least, that was the logical assumption, Ragatha reasoned. Considering time doesn't exactly exist here, punctuality had always been a foreign luxury. Five minutes to one person were like ten minutes to another, and Ragatha always learned the hard way.
Sighing, she tapped her foot impatiently and looked around the colourful interior of the tent. “Shouldn’t have said half an hour…”
A distant clicking of heels caught her attention. She turned around, and sure enough — there she was. Approaching with quick, long strides.
“I’m so sorry, Ragatha,” she apologised, shaking her head. “Got caught up with Kinger. You know how insistent he gets about reinforcing his fort…”
Ragatha shook her head and put on her typical smile. “Oh, no problem, Valentine! I didn’t wait too long, anyways.”
Valentine nodded in response and stepped to her side. The two dolls made their way down the hallway that led to their bedrooms. The sharp clicking of Valentine’s heels contrasted the quiet, soft steps of Ragatha’s feet.
“Centipede again?” The porcelain doll asked, glancing at her companion.
Ragatha hummed affirmatively. “I don’t know why, he just loves messing with me, I guess.”
Valentine looked ahead as she walked. “He loves messing with everyone.”
“Not you,” Ragatha glanced at her, “I don’t think he’s ever done anything remotely similar to you.”
“It’s simple,” Valentine responded, looking back at her companion. “Do you know my biggest fear?”
Ragatha’s brows furrowed in thought. “…No?”
“And neither does he.”
Silence settled over them as they reached Ragatha’s bedroom. Valentine opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind her and leaving the other doll to wait outside.
This had become a tradition, at this point. It seemed like every other day, a centipede would appear in Ragatha’s bedroom, and she’d refuse to go back inside before it was gone. At first, she had asked Kinger for help. The man was so engrossed with all kinds of bugs that he’d happily lend a hand. The success rate of extracting the bug was, however, mediocre at best. Most of the time, Kinger simply forgot what he intended to do after entering her room, and Ragatha had to look for help elsewhere.
Not too long after Valentine had arrived, Ragatha asked her for help. At first, the rag doll didn’t bother — Valentine was a doll as well, just a porcelain one. Sure, their mannerisms differed vastly, but it was safe to assume that she also harboured a distaste for bugs, centipedes included.
And yet, to Ragatha’s surprise, Valentine turned out to be her go-to in this kind of situation. Maybe they really were more different than she first thought.
The door opened back up, tearing Ragatha out of her thoughts. There, the ruffled edges of Valentine’s white dress emerged as she stepped out, holding a centipede between her thumb and forefinger.
Ragatha jumped out of the way, as usual. Valentine laughed gently.
“There. Didn’t seem to lay any eggs. I’ll go and dispose of it.”
“Thank you so much, Valentine,” Ragatha exhaled, shoulders dropping in relief.
Valentine nodded, smiled, and made her way out.
As she walked, holding the digital centipede in hand, she glanced at the mirrors lining the wall. Watching as her heels clicked, her dress flowed, her indigo coat covered it, her gold bracelets shone. Needless to say, there was a lot to look at.
Glancing ahead, she spotted the entrance of the tent and walked out of it. There, she stepped over to the digital lake and crouched down. The little centipede wiggled in her gentle grip, looking like it tried to bite her red nails off. She chuckled and put it down.
“There you go, little guy. Hide better this time, please.”
The centipede crawled away into the bushes, not looking back. Hopefully hiding somewhere far, where no purple bunnies would find it.
Standing up, Valentine brushed her dress off and straightened it. (More of a habitual mannerism than a necessary action — the ground was just fake grass, no soil in sight.)
“My dear!”
She startled, turning to face the sudden noise behind her. Of course, the all-seeing and ever-eccentric ringmaster graced her presence. His teeth angled in something resembling a smile as he leaned on his baton, floating in the air.
“Caine, heavens,” she huffed, placing a hand on her chest to catch her artificial breath. “I told you to quit scaring me like that, remember?”
“Oh, but I did not scare you, did I? You’re quite jumpy today, my dearest razzle-dazzle!”
Valentine sighed, but before she could answer, Caine was already spinning around her.
“And might I know, dearie, what you’re doing out here so late in the simulation?” He asked, blinking his nonexistent eyelids inquisitively.
She tilted her head. “Simply disposing of yet another centipede found in Ragatha’s room. The usual.”
“My, how kind of you, my dear! Yes, yes, indeed!” He nodded enthusiastically, checking his Wacky Watch for the umpteenth time since the start of this conversation. “Now, if you’ve successfully rid yourself of that little rascal, it’s time for bed! Shoo, now, off you go!”
“I can stay out if I—“
Before she could finish her sentence, he grabbed her elbow and teleported them to her room. She yelped, blinked, flinched, blinked again, and suppressed the urge to throw up.
“There you go!” He exclaimed, satisfaction evident on his resemblance of a face. With one click of his fingers, she floated to the bed, and the covers floated over her, all landing with a soft puff of air. “All snug as a bug! Goodnight to you, dearie!”
And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
Valentine huffed, pulled the covers off and got up, Obviously, she wasn’t going to sleep while wearing shoes and whatnot. After taking them off, she unbuttoned her coat, hanging it on a coatrack near the door. Right next to it, she hung her wide brim hat (in a matching indigo colour), before moving back to sit on her bed. Her bracelets and earrings were placed on the nightstand, and finally, she laid back in bed, pulling the covers over herself.
Sleep wasn’t as good as she remembered from before arriving here, but it was pleasant enough.
Of course, it ended as soon as it started, or so it felt. She woke up to chatter outside, her usual sign to get up and start the day. Brushing her hair and putting the same clothes and accessories back on, she grabbed her long smoking pipe and headed out of her room. Of course, the “smoke” were simply bubbles, and the sensation wasn’t anything like the real thing. But it was part of her character, and therefore at least an attempt she had to make everyday.
Stepping out of her room, she caught sight of Zooble and Gangle walking down the hallway. Calling out to them, she rushed over.
“Zooble, Gangle, good morning,” she smiled, nodding at both of them. They hummed their own greetings back, as usual.
“Morning, Val. Eventful night?” Zooble asked, measuring her with a calm gaze. Gangle glanced at them as they walked, but mostly focused on her sketchbook.
“Another centipede in Ragatha’s room. At this point, I’m ready to do the same spiel every day,” Valentine responded, looking vaguely amused.
Zooble didn’t share the amusement at all. “I can’t believe this jack[!#$%],” they commented in a tired tone, “always trying to ruin everybody’s day.”
“He’s just seeking thrills. Can barely blame him, honestly.”
“Tch,” Zooble rolled their eyes. “I sure can. We’re all bored here, doesn’t mean we should start tormenting each other.”
“Tormenting is a bit of a stretch, no?” Valentine glanced at Gangle, who just shrugged.
“You’ve only been here for a few months, just wait until he targets you specifically.” Zooble measured her with another one of those looks of theirs.
“I can handle myself, and I can definitely handle whatever he tries throwing at me,” Valentine shrugged. “It’s not like he hasn’t been pranking me.”
“Mildly, at best. What’s the worst thing he’s done to you?”
Valentine deadpanned. “He shaved my head in my sleep, not long after I arrived. Remember?”
“Oh, right,” Zooble hummed, “that one was crazy, I’ll admit.”
“You were still pretty,” Gangle reassured. Valentine offered her a thankful smile.
At the trio’s arrival, Kinger waved and Ragatha greeted them as usual. “Good morning, you three! How’d you sleep?”
“Just peachy, thank you!” replied Kinger, a bit out of place as usual.
Zooble raised an eyebrow at him before glancing at Ragatha. “I’ve heard you had another bug incident last night. Shouldn’t you get used to them by now? Exposure therapy and all that?”
Ragatha shuddered. “I don’t think that works for everything… or anything, in my case.”
“Don’t get too comfy, Raggy!”
They all turned to face the mocking voice coming from the bedroom hallway. Sure enough, there they were — Jax and Kaufmo, last to get up as usual. Kaufmo waved at everyone, whereas Jax simply grinned.
Ragatha groaned. “Jax, seriously, it’s not funny! You know how much I hate them, why do you keep doing this to me?”
Jax flicked her forehead, still grinning. “Really? I thought you loved all living beings, Raggy! How cruel of you…”
Kaufmo looked to his side, where Valentine stood. “Did you help her with that?”
“As usual, Kaufmo,” she responded, giving him a been-there-done-that kinda smile.
Kaufmo huffed out a laugh as Jax slid up next to Valentine, nudging her.
“Ah, the ever-present hero of Ragatha’s story! How brave of you, dolly,” he grinned at her.
Valentine gave him a disapproving look, her big eyes squinting. “I told you I hate that nickname, did I not?”
“And you haven’t told me what else you hate, so what am I supposed to do?” Jax wiped a fake tear, still grinning smugly.
Before Valentine could respond, Caine popped out of nowhere, yelling to his hearts content. “Oh, how good of you all to join me, my love-bombing bombshells!”
“Oh, boy, that’s gotta be his worst one yet…”
“Today’s adventure is… a Formula 1 Race to the Death!” Caine exclaimed, doing a spin in the air as a personalised adventure title appeared behind him. “That’s right! You, my little chick-a-dees, will have the coolest race, in the coolest cars, wearing the coolest outfits!”
“Wait, we can’t die—“
“The winner gets to decide the next adventure! Or doesn’t. Depends on what they’ll want,” he whispered the last part conspiratorially, before returning to his usual loudness. “Don’t just stand there! Get racing!”
With a snap of his fingers, a huge arena had appeared all around them. Of course, it was the most generic looking F1 racetrack. Thousands of mannequins stood in the stands, cheering, crying, even throwing flowers. The aforementioned flowers were continuously collected by Bubble, who swallowed them all before they could hit the racing track. It reminded Valentine of Mario Kart, how there would be items scattered across the track, ready for pickup.
That’s actually a pretty solid adventure suggestion.
And there goes the smoking pipe, Valentine noted, looking down at her gloved hands.
The circus members looked between each other, all now dressed in racing suits, each corresponding to their own colour schemes, of course. Admittedly, some of the characters looked pretty comical.
“Ha! What a way to come out, Zoobie!” Jax sneered, pointing at Zooble’s colourful and mismatched suit.
Zooble glared at him. Valentine just snorted.
“Says the one who looks like a My Little Pony knockoff,” she shot at Jax, giving him an exaggerated smile. “Feeling cute with all that pink and purple, bunny boy?”
Jax turned to her, his pupils shrinking lightly before responding. “Do I hear the little porcelain princess talking? Careful out there, sweetheart. This isn’t a place for delicate ladies like yourself.”
“Oh, what a creative joke, Jax. I’m dying of laughter here,” she replied, rolling her eyes.
“You will be dying on that track once you crash and crack all over, dolly,” he smirked, placing his hands on his hips.
“I think I’ll actually smash my own head before that happens, just so I don’t have to hear your awful attempts at humour,” she yawned, stretching a bit just to emphasise her point.
“Alright, you two, enough. Let’s just get this adventure over with,” interrupted Kaufmo, being the one to step in, as always.
“Come on, girls. And Zooble,” Valentine turned and grabbed Ragatha and Gangle, leading them away from the guys. Zooble, of course, followed along.
“Are you okay, Zooble?” Gangle asked, looking at her friend in earnest.
Zooble chuckled. “Takes more than that to get to me, Gangle. Don’t worry.”
“[!#$%] straight,” Valentine agreed, nodding and letting go of the two girls. “Now, which cars are whose?”
Looking around, they spot the most peculiar shapes parked along the track, with a mannequin leaning against each. It looked like everything was colour-coordinated. Kudos to Caine.
“I’m guessing that colourful one is mine,” Zooble pointed at a mismatched blob in the distance.
“Looks like mine is next to it,” mentioned Ragatha, sighing as she looked at a purply-red car.
“Gangle, looks like ours are parked next to each other,” Valentine smiled at Gangle, who nodded in response.
They walked over to their respective vehicles. Valentine got in and let the aforementioned mannequin strap her in and check everything. In the distance, she saw Kinger fumbling with his helmet as Kaufmo explained to him what they were doing. It seemed like Jax was already checking his car out.
The mannequin leaned down and tried to give her a motivational speech, but all it said was an incorrigible string of “win”, “adventure” and “speed”. Sounded simple enough.
Valentine glanced down at the console. Pushing her left foot down, she tried shifting the car into different gears, just to test it out. It seemed, once again, simple enough. Like a normal vehicle, just faster and with a higher horsepower. Nothing to be afraid of. She had plenty of driving experience, even remembering how she really enjoyed driving her old car. It did feel somewhat calming to be back in a familiar situation, admittedly.
“Testing out ways to slow down out there, dolly?”
She didn’t even have to look up to know who it was. And so she didn’t, keeping her focus on the console.
“Aww, are you mad? Or just scared?” Jax taunted, leaning against the opened driver’s window. “Don’t worry, Caine will fix you right up after you break.”
“Ever think that you might just eat your words, Jax?” She replied, finally glancing up at him.
He just laughed in response. “Oh, Vally, I really doubt you’ll be able to turn this thing, let alone win the race. Just accept defeat, and maybe I’ll let you influence my choice of the next adventure.”
“I can bet about anything that I’m a better driver than you, Twilight.”
His nose area crinkled up a bit in displeasure at the nickname. Schooling his expression back to normal, he once again laughed. “That’s a bet lost for you, then. And I’m pretty brutal with my punishments.”
“Suit yourself,” she leaned towards him and reached a hand out. “May the best driver win.”
“So, me,” he grinned, but shook her hand nonetheless. “Break a leg, dollface.”
“Break your [!#$%], smart[!#$%].”
Jax gasped and raised a hand to his chest in mock horror, but before he could respond, Valentine had already put the window back up. She could always provide a challenge, she liked to think.
Before they knew it, all the cars were lined up by the starting line. Caine’s voice boomed through the speakers as he announced, in his most sophisticated voice, “let the race begin!”
And they were off. Well, most of them. Valentine got a pretty good start in, considering she hadn’t had the car completely figured out yet. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she could see that Ragatha and Kaufmo both got a burnout each. As they slowly accelerated to an actual forward momentum, her focus shifted ahead.
Unsurprisingly, Kinger and Jax both had an upper hand. Gangle was right behind her, and Zooble was somewhere Valentine couldn’t see. She tested the wheel out a bit, feeling the tires to the best of her ability. This… seemed as easy as she’d thought it’d be. Whether it was due to Caine’s limited knowledge on how different vehicles behave, or the level of her skill, she was unsure.
Shifting the car into a higher gear, she manoeuvred her car to block Gangle from passing her. After the following turn, they passed the finish line once. Kinger and Jax were still in front of her. She glanced at the display board above the track — one out of three. Not too much time.
Her foot pressed down on the gas pedal, albeit a bit clumsily. Due to the many months spent in the circus, she had grown unaccustomed to wearing any kinds of flat shoes. And, of course, the racing suits had completely flat soles built in. Regardless, it wasn’t too jarring of a change once she made a mental note of it. Regaining her focus, she shifted the gear once more and sped up.
Kinger and Jax were currently battling for a spot in front of one another. Sneakily, she thought, I could make it past them. Stepping on the gas pedal slowly and steadily, so the loud accelerator wouldn’t alert them of her incoming presence, she turned to the outskirts of the track. A bigger swing to make the turn with, but advantageous in a strategic sense.
Now or never. Having shifted into the highest gear, she booked it. In the rearview mirror, she could see Zooble gaining on her, but considering the limited space between her, Jax and Kinger, there was no way Zooble would pass any of them. Glancing to her side, she noticed Jax’s car right next to hers.
Feeling her earlier annoyance with him resurface, she cut the corner early and purposefully passed him with as little space between them as possible. It’s almost like she could hear him curse — almost.
All engines roared to life as they sped through their last lap. There it was, so close, she could almost taste the finish line— glancing back, she swerved just enough to keep Jax directly behind her. If they weren’t wearing helmets, she would surely be met with a pair of glaring black pupils in the rearview mirror.
A mannequin acting as a flag marshal waited in the distance, ready. Valentine sped up, almost feeling the wind in her hair, and the marshal swung the flag triumphantly, right before she had crossed the finish line. Shoot.
Caine’s voice beamed through the speakers once more. “And what a marvellous victory of the unlikely champion, Kinger!”
Of course. Having focused so much on cutting Jax off, she forgot about the other contender for first place, and he seemed to have used her own sneaky tactic against her. She drove off to the side, slower now, before stopping completely.
As she got out of her vehicle, she glanced up at the display board. Second place was as good as it could get. Not only could one, but two people rub that in Jax’s face now. That classified as a win in her book.
“Congratulations, Kinger, you did it!” She beamed, approaching the chess piece to give him a fist bump.
Kinger, still wearing his helmet, shook her closed fist in something akin to a handshake. “It was a close race, Valentine!”
“Yeah, it sure was,” she smiled, tilting her head. “Where’d you learn to drive like that?”
Before Kinger could answer the question, she heard a very loud and very angry call of her name. Turning around, she put on the most smug expression she could manage.
“What the [!#$%] was that?!” Jax yelled, pupils shrunken to the sizes of small dots. “You almost made me crash into you! Who the heck turns like that?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she replied, batting her eyelashes innocently, “I thought you were supposed to win?”
Jax’s eyebrows creased so much, they almost became a monobrow. “Yeah, I would’ve, if you played fair!”
She laughed and poked his chin teasingly. “And since when do you play fair, hm?”
Jax just huffed and glanced away. The others had joined them by now, congratulating Kinger as Caine kept yapping in the background. Kinger, glancing between Jax and Valentine, pat her shoulder proudly.
“She won fair and square, Jax,” he announced, making everyone turn towards him.
“Wait, Valentine won?” Ragatha asked, looking confused. “I thought you were announced as the winner, Kinger.”
“Technically, I was,” he shrugged, patting Valentine’s shoulder again, “but I started out with a big advantage, and she crossed the finish line just a second or two after me. It’s the classic underdog story! We can’t ignore that.”
“You’ve got to be kidding…” Jax murmured, looking positively mortified.
Valentine, grinning from ear to ear, jumped to put an arm around Kinger. “We’re both winners, then! We can choose the next adventure!”
Looking straight at Jax, she adorned a saccharine smile, “Good thing you didn’t take that bet, huh?”
The only reaction she received was an eyelid twitch.