Full speed ahead
Last adventure was horrible.
For everyone really, well Ragatha was having the time of her life high on her stupid sauce, but every other member was miserable.
Pomni almost getting a heart attack at seeing her dead friend followed by a heart break upon realizing he doesn't remember her. Not to mention getting a life long trauma from the detailed explanation of Gloink reproduction.
Jax just looked done with life. The harsh life of a minimum wage worker wearing him down to the point he lost his usual sass and hell, made him actually SOCIALIZE.
God knows where Kinger was.
Gangle was spiralling and honestly looked ready to abstract. She was so excited about the adventure and worked so hard trying to keep things under control but no one was listening to her- and by the end she looked like had been hit by a truck.
And Zooble just got reminded why they don't go on these stupid adventures in the first place. Other than having to experience the wonders of a fast food job for the first time (since they were fortunate enough to get a job as a tattoo artist right out of college, the universe decided to give them a big fuck you and make them do it anyway, and for free too!), and having to basicaly babysit Ragatha sucked too.
Their uniform was greasy and the grill smelled like ass, not to mention they were exaused as hell. The whole thing was just a disaster. But they didnt blame Gangle for any of that, not one bit of course, hell she made that shit show much more bareable. Seeing her so confident and more assertive brought a smile to their face, not to mention, seeing Jax get his ass handed to him by the very girl he always bullied felt like a reward.
And well, that manager uniform was just MADE for her. Zooble's emberassed to admit it but seeing her be so bossy and sassy was doing things to them. They know that the mask made her miserable and they're glad she got rid of it butttt a part of them wishes she kept that attitute, a part they try to silence.
The tie was the cherry on the cake that was her new confidence. Zooble would've never imagined that a blue shirt and black pants could make someone look this attractive but they tried not to think about it for the sake of their own sanity.
They felt heartbroken when she blamed herself for everything that happened, especially when THEY were the one who should've apologized. They were the one who gave her that goddamn mask and they should've tried to make things easier for her, not worse. They wish they couldve stayed with her instead of dealing with the drunk doll.
Well atleast now they got reminded why they avoided the adventures. They can be with Gangle as much as they want and wont get separated from her nor go to another adventure again-
"HELLO MY MAGIC MUFFINS"
Fuck
Zooble closed their eyes upon being teleported to the hell of bright colors that is the main stage. Judging from the whines and groans of their fellow cast members they did not appreciate this either.
"SINCE OUR LAST ADVENTURE WAS SO REALISTIC AND MODERN"-
Despite having her comedy mask still on Gangle seemed to shrink at the mention of Spudsy's
-"I DECIDED TO MAKE SOMETHING COMPLETELY OPPOSITE. SOMETHING FANTASTICAL AND ANCIENT IF YOU WILL!" Caine added a long pause for dramatic effect. "AND I WAS THINKING, WHATS AN ADVENTURE ALL GOOD ADVENTURES ARE INSPIRED BY?"
He looked at the others as if expecting an answer.
"THE ODYSSEY" Bubble announced appearing out of thin air.
"THAT'S RIGHT BUBBLE, A TALE AS OLD AS TIME".
Zooble groaned, no way they were recreating some ancient ass book. They, of course, learned about both the Iliad and the Odyssey in their 9th grade literature class but never gave a damn beyond that.
"Oh the Odyssey, sounds like fun, right Pomni?" Ragatha turned to the jester, trying to sweeten the adventure with her usual kindness.
"Yeah, definitely" Pomni answered, already dreading all the monsters the story had to offer.
"I'm so excited! I used to really love Greek mythology a few years back and the story of Odysseus and Penelope is so romantic" Gangle squealed, a trademark sound of her comedy mask.
"Finally something from your time, right Kinger?" Jax pointed at the chess piece who's currently questioning his life. Does he know he exists?
"...AHHH! Oh, when did I get here" Said Chess piece screamed, clearly missing the insult thrown his way.
"THAT SETTLES IT! TODAY'S ADVENTURE SHALL BE CALLED
EPIC: THE ADVENTURE
thistitleisdefinitelynotstolenfromacertainmusical".
"Welp, have fun y'all" Zooble said sarcastically, already turning away to leave. "[€$!&] this, im out-" but before they could take another step Caine snapped his fingers and teleported them to a ship in the middle of the ocean.
You've GOT to be kidding me.
Zooble looked down at themselves. They were dressed in a white cloth, reaching a bit above their 'knees', secured with a belt, an ancient looking chestplate placed on top of it. Their funky calfs were wrapped in golden leg braces. The outfit was topped with a short red cloak drapped over their shoulders and a sword on their side.
They touched their head only to find out their antennas had been swapped for something else. One was replaced with a tree branch and the other- is that a fucking owl feather??
Next to them laid some golden Greek styled helmet that definitly doesnt fit on their triangle head.
They looked around the ship to see it filled with NPC mannequins, behind them were other ships with even more of these things, they guessed they're supposed to be the crew.
Suddenly Caine's voice boomed from god knows where and started seemingly narrating, like a stage play.
"ZOOBLE, THE KING OF ITHACA, HAS TO GET HOME TO THEIR WIFE GANGLE AFTER FIGHTING IN THE TROJAN WAR FOR 10 YEARS"
Giant floating letters appeared next to them out of nowhere, spelling out 'Zooble, the king of Ithica'
They are NOT the main character of this shit!
There's no way in hell right? Last time, they were a minimum wage worker, and now a KING?? Especialy the one the story follows. They don't even wanna go nor go on these adventures and now they have to fully push the story forward! Isn't that just fucking great-
Their angry rant was halted the moment they processed the other part.
Their wife
Gangle
Zooble's already pink face turned even pinker at the thought. They hoped to god she didnt hear that or they'll die out of emberrassment. It wasn't a bad thing for sure and if they were being honest, they like Gangle, but they were good at hiding it (they are not).
Gangle is a light of hope in their doomed existence, an angel in this digital hell. She's the one who made them go back to drawing after giving it up when they entered the circus. Turns out, it's pretty fucking hard to draw with their messed up hands.
But Gangle showed them how, she taught them that no matter what they can still make art. They hadn't realized how much they missed drawing before that. And now their drawing sessions are Zooble's favorite part of the day.
And oh, how adorable she looks when she talks about her special interests, or when she shows them her drawings, or how shy she gets when they compliment her.
And now she's their "wife"
Zooble sighed at being once again forced into another stupid adventure. But atleast it seemed pretty calm. Well calm for Caine's adventures.
Looks like the other circus members aren't here so thats some peace for them
"Hey Zoobiee~"
The universe really hates them huh
"JAX, THE KING'S SECOND IN COMMAND"
The letters once again appearing next to the rabbit who's dressed in a similar style of clothes as Zooble, except less royal looking, his chestplate thrown onto some poor mannequin. Lastly he had a giant sword on his back. Whose idea was it to give him that??
"So, your wife Gangle huh" Jax turns to them with a shit eating grin
"Shut the [$^÷€] up Jax, its just for the adventure or something" Zooble spits back flipping him off. "Its not like me and Gangle are actually a thing".
Jax's grin widened, clearly having another remark ready. "Yeahhh suree, your eyes definitely dont get twice as big whenever she's mentioned and you totally dont look at her like she's the most precious thing ever, and oh, how you always get so mad at me whenever im mean to her. It's pretty obvious"
"Wait, you know??"
"Everyone in the circus knows, Zoobs. Except crybaby herself. For having read and watched countless romance bull[$&!£] that pile of ribbons sure is stupid" Jax laughs, knowing he pushed Zooble's buttons.
"She's not just a pile of ribbons you [%&/#] and dont you EVER call her stupid again" Zooble swings at the annoying rabbit whom easily dodges out of the way.
"Told ya"
Zooble groaned, ready to throw that thorn in the ass overboard.
"I'll just sit here and wait for Caine to get bored and give up, i am NOT participating" they sighed and leaned against the edge of the ship.
"Well, i dont know how your 'wife' will deal with the suitors" Jax said, seeing the mix-matched person's eyes twitch
"The what?"
"The suitors, she's a queen without a king, of course suitors are trying to marry her"
It's not beyond Caine to make some fuckass suitor NPCs and Zooble will be damned if they leave Gangle to deal with them alone
Fine, they'll play his games then. Now to get back to Ithaca.
...
"WHERE THE [@$!%] IS ITHACA??"
"GREAT JOB ZOOBLE! YOU'RE REALLY PLAYING THIS ODYSSEUS PART WELL" Caine praised, clearly obvious to the fact they weren't acting.
"NO I MEAN LITERALLY- Godddd" Zooble seriously hates that pair of dentures.
"Captain! 600 men with big mouths to feed and we've run out of supplies to eat" One of the mannequins yelled.
"So?" Zooble said clearly uninterested.
"So, you should find us some food, you're the captain" Jax said pointing at himself and the others, clearly going along the adventure just to piss them off
"How about you [$%!&] off" Zooble pushed him away.
"Captain, look!" Another NPC, a fully modeled one, said pointing into the distance. He looked pretty human and wore the same cloth and armor as the two of them, paired with a red headband wrapped around his head and glasses?? In ancient Greece??
"POLITES, THE KING'S BEST FRIEND" Caine's booming voice annouced once again, with the same giant letters spelling it out, once again. Oh yeah and now they have some NPC 'best friend', real awesome.
"There in the distance, i see an island, i see a light that faintly glows. Maybe they're people, lighting a fire, maybe they'll share some food who knows".
"I've got a better idea" Jax says, pulling out his giant sword "Let's cut them into pieces and take all they have".
"No we will NOT do that" The NPC, Polites, cuts him off and began to berate him. Zooble guessed that he was programmed after Ragatha honestly. But the more they looked at his personality the more...familiar it became but they couldn't pin point from where and didn't have the energy to care.
They looked at the island he had been pointing at. Hopefully someone there knows how to get to Ithaca.
"Turn that way, full speed ahead!" Zooble commanded, as the crew obeyed, while the other ships followed them.
They hope this adventure wont take too long.