Jax has a hard time.

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"THIS ROOM, ONCE YOU STEP INTO IT, WILL SHOW YOU ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT EARTH! IT WILL LOOK EXACTLY THE WAY IT DOES ON EARTH! ANYTHING, YOUR LITTLE MIND COULD WANT TO KNOW IS NOW AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!!!"

Jax knew his jaw was officially on the floor, a room where he could actually see the stars? Stand on the edge of some great cannon? See what the ocean really looked like? His heart raced and he found himself walking to the edge of the door.

But something stopped him.

*~*

Jax stood in the doorway, heart pounding, mind racing, and emotions sky high. He wanted so BAD to just enter, to learn as much as he could. To see what he missed out on. He wanted to see tree's, and the sun. He wanted to see city skyscrapers and human faces.

But common sense stopped him. What would happen if he used this room, if he got hooked on something he could never have? Never experience for himself? He couldn't start obsessing over Earth, not like Scott did. He couldn't long for that exit, the one that didn't exist, like Kaufmo did. He was trapped. He was never seeing Earth, he had accepted that a long time ago.

But he COULD see Earth...it was right in front of him. Right THERE. He could see what a real rabbit looked like, he could watch as the real sun set. He could do, see, everything he always wanted to.

But at what cost? Abstraction? Going insane slowly, tourtingly?

"Jax?" Ragatha whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I...I..." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes tightly. "I can't accept this. I'm sorry, I...I love it, but...I...I just can't." He shut the door, heart heavy. His ears, the traitors they were, pinned to his head. 'Just accept it. Indulge Jax, you have wanted this your entire life. You always push away the things, the people, that can make you happy. Don't push this away too.' A small whisper echoed in his mind. But reason spoke louder. He couldn't risk it.

Ragatha looked heartbroken. "What? Jax...why?"

Jax couldn't look at her, he had been so mean to all of them before, he had rejected multiple of their gestures before. Why couldn't he just play this one off too? "I'm sorry Rags...its not you, its not even the room..its...its just...*sigh* I know what will happen if I use this room. I'm going to get hooked, I'm going to obsess over it...I'm just going to wish all the more that I could leave and ... and I just can't risk that."

"But...Jax. What if you don't get hooked? What if using it makes you happy?" Ragatha tried, placing a hand on each shoulder. "Jax, you deserve this! And if it makes you feel better you're not the only one who can use it!"

Jax had to really fight to keep his tears down. Why was he getting so emotional? It was just a room! 'Because Jax, they made it for you. You can see everything that Queenie so desperately wanted you to see! And you're turning it down, like a fool!' "Ragatha...the others can use it, but I can't. I've seen too many abstractions, I KNOW what will happen. I....I love this, I really do. But I...I just can't."

With that Jax turned away, and with a deep breath, and all of his will power, was gone with only kicked up dust in his wake.

Ragatha stood there a moment, heartbroken. She sighed heavily, "I can't tell what hurt worse." She started, "The fact he turned it down, or why he turned it down..."

Pomni, who had been staring at the room the entire time, looked up at the doll. "W-well...can you blame him? He's just trying to do what he thinks is right." She said softly, looking back to the room. "I can see where he's coming from..." She trailed off, finding herself walking closer to the room. She was curious, and wanted so desperately to even just catch a glimpse of the life she oh so abruptly left behind. But it was Jax's, she should ask him for permission first right?

"No, I see where he's coming from as well! I don't blame him at all. But it still hurts to know he thinks he can't even enjoy something like this without abstracting." Ragatha sighed again, and Caine placed a hand on her shoulder.

"DON'T WORRY OUR DEAR RAGATHA I'M SURE JAX WILL COME AROUND! BUT FOR NOW HOW ABOUT YOU ALL ENJOY YOUR DAY OFF?" And with a poof, Pomni watched as Caine disappeared.

Zooble spoke up once he was gone, "You know, Caine's right. I'm sure Jax just needs time. We kinda just dropped a bombshell on him."

Ragatha nodded, feeling a little better. "You're right...maybe he just needs some time."

*~*
Jax was right where Zooble knew he would be. Outside the tent, on the small hill beside it, looking up at the sky. His knees pressed close to his chest, and his ears bent back just enough to show he was deep in thought.

"Hey dipp[&^%*#]." They said, sitting next to the purple rabbit suddenly.

Jax was brought out of his thoughts, and looked over at the mix and match toy. {A/N: I'm just assuming that's what Zooble is.} "Hey picasso."

Silence then followed, as Jax got more and more curious as to why Zooble had sought him out. "Umm, what up?"

More silence followed, its awkward ring filling the air thickly. Time moved slowly, and what only was a few minutes of Zooble trying to figure out what to say, felt more like slow agonizing lifetimes. They wanted to break the silence, but in all honesty, they didn't think this far ahead. What were they to say? Them and Jax weren't technically close, their relationship resembled that of fighting siblings. They gossiped at times, and fought the rest of the time. Never had Zooble had to actually...you know...talk to Jax like they were planning on doing.

"You need to stop being a [^&*%$] coward." They finally blurted. It wasn't the way they wanted to do this. But oh well.

Jax pulled away looking at the bunch of shapes offended (And, Zoolbe noted dully, with good reason they supposed.) "Excuse me [@#&*^]?!?"

"Ugh, what I mean is...damn it why the hell is this so hard?" Zooble muttered. "What I mean is, I get why you don't want the room. I do. I haven't been here nearly as long as you or Kinger, and I have seen plenty of abstractions. But [&^%$] Jax, it's just a room. Just like a book showing pictures of Earth is just a book. As long as your not [*$] stupid about it, you'll be fine."

Jax, in all honesty, couldn't be more surprised by what was happening. Was...was Zooble...was Zooble trying to...help him? 'Is that so hard to believe Jax? That someone might care?'

"Listen, accept the room or don't. I don't [@!%^$] care." And as quickly as they arrived, they got up to leave.

"Wait Zooble!" A yellow glove grabbed a red claw.

"What?"

"Thanks."

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