Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

‘WHAA-‘ Natsuki screeched. She flicked her head from side to side as she tried to regain her bearings. A brightly coloured kitchen stood before her. Her eyes lit up in joy. Was this whole kitchen all for her ? Everything was decorated so delicately. Natsuki rushed to the cupboard and fished out an apron. It was a mustered yellow. Not Natsuki’s color at all but she wasn’t going to complain. She looked around the kitchen for a bit. Trying to figure out where she should begin. She started by looking for the bowls. She held onto a drawer and tried to open it. Nothing. She tried again. Nothing. The drawer would not budge. She moved onto another drawer. Same thing. She stood up , slightly embarrassed at her failed attempt to open a drawer.

‘Welcome to cooking mama !’ A faint sound of music could be heard.
‘What the fuck-?’ Natsuki thought to herself.
A small woman walked into the kitchen. Staring at Natsuki as she walked past. She had a welcoming grin pasted on her face. Natsuki was handed a small tablet. It had a few recipe options open on it. Natsuki looked at the woman and then back at the tablet. She thought for a bit before selecting cupcakes. The tablet buffered for a while before loading up a recipe. The first one was to mix the butter and sugar. Natsuki wasn’t stupid. She knew what she was doing. She started measuring the butter and sugar. She put them in a bowl and began mixing.
‘The butter and sugar isn’t measured correctly. Please try again.’ The woman interrupted.
‘The fuck she means measure again ? I was close enough. Urgh will she piss off she’s getting on my nerves already.’ She huffed as she continued stirring. Out of nowhere the mixture disappeared. In front of her was a fresh pack of butter and sugar.
‘Now you’ve got to be shitting me.’ She sighed , re-measuring everything to the dot. She was now able to move onto the next step.

‘Now, can you stir the mixture ?’ The smiling women asked. Natsuki rolled her eyes at her.
‘Does she seriously think that i’m an amature ? please woman.’ She thought to herself. chuckling a bit as she picked up the small bowl and placed it on her hip. Stirring it lightly to start.
‘Jesus h this is tough.. what did you put in this thing ? Bloody concrete ?’ She groaned , trying to whisk the mixture. the woman didn’t answer. Natsuki put the bowl down , holding the edge with one hand and gripping tightly onto the whisk. the batter didn’t budge. A small drop of sweat rolled down her face.
‘WHAT THE £&@& IS THIS THING MADE OUT OF ?’ She yelled in anger , throwing the whisk across the room.
‘Shit no.. No please don’t reset ! Please don’t reset.’ Natsuki squeezed her eyes shut. A few moments passed and she loosened her grip. She opened her eyes to see a fresh pack of butter and sugar layed out on the surface in front of her.
‘WHAT THE ACTUAL &@%” ! THIS IS A JOKE ! I DID IT THIS STUPID MIXTURE WONT MIX ! THIS ISNT MY FAULT YOUR BOWL IS RIGGED !’ She hissed at the women. She smiled softly at Natsuki but didn’t say a word. Natsuki pushed the sugar over and stormed out the room. Slamming the door behind her. She could still hear the faint sound of the OST lingering behind her.
‘THIS IS THE WORST COOKING SIM EVER.’ She yelled , kicking the wall aggressively. She sighed , unlocking her phone and pinching a number into it.. It rung for a bit before being picked up.
‘Hello ?’ A voice cracked
‘Monika.. I don’t know how i got here but i’m stuck inside cooking sim.. For the love of god get me out of this place !’

Chapter Text

‘ACK- ‘Monika opened her eyes slowly. To her surprise, she was greeted by vibrant colors and loud noises.
‘WELCOME TO THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!’ A voice bellowed. Monika held her head tight, doubling over in shock. Where was she? Why can't she turn the volume down??
‘Wait wait.. That’s not right... Why can't I feel the strap...?’ She thought to herself. Running her fingers through her hair as she frantically searched for the headset strap. A violent boom of music echoed through her ears. She held her head tighter to try to at least muffle the sound a bit. She tried to quickly move out of the way, stumbling and falling into her surroundings. She landed on top of an inhumanly large dice. The music stopped and a loud silence echoed in the room.
‘Seriously Caine.’ A voice groaned. Monika looked up to be greeted by a tall purple bunny dressed in peculiar red dungarees. ‘Can't you like... Stop new people from entering? I think there's enough of us now. 'The bunny looked her up and down, rolling his eyes. ‘She doesn’t even fit the aesthetic. No offence’ Monika peered around the room. A group of things stood around, admiring her. She couldn’t help but notice the floating mouth man in the sky. He looked like he was the ringmaster of this weird circus, holding a large stick and dresses in a dapper suit and tie. The ringmaster drew closer to Monika, his partner following swiftly behind him.
‘Welcome! I’m Caine, the ringmaster of the circus! It is a pleasure to meet you... I didn’t quite catch your name. Oh, who am I kidding... You don’t know your name! No one can remember their name once they enter the digital realm. Don’t you worry, I'll pick one for you!’ He announced proudly, snapping his fingers assertively as he spoke.
‘Uhm- Sir...” She interrupted. “My name's Monika... ‘

Caine snapped his neck back to face Monika, the pupils in his eyes dilating. An eruption of chatter and conversation filled the atmosphere.
‘How is that possible?’

“How do you know your own name?”

‘Who are you? What are you? Are you a hacker because I have the police on speed dial! BUBBLE GET ME THE AUTHORITIES NOW!!”

“I’m on it boss!” Bubble quickly flew in with a Lifesize cut out of a police officer.

“What. No. Oh, whatever.” Caine responded, ushering Bubble out of sight.

Monika stood confused. What did he mean that they didn’t know their own names? Does everyone here not know their name?
“Wait so, she knows her own name, but were stuck with these stupid made up ones?” A strange looking girl muttered under her breath, slowly looking up to realize that Monika heard what she had said. “S@%#. Sorry, that was rude. Uhm.”

“Do you guys, not know what your name... is?” They all denied. Monika frowned. This whole concept was entirely alien to her.

"“Pommi's right. How does pigtails here get remember her own name, but we can't? Suspicious suspicious...” The bunny perked up, an ignorant grin pasted across his face.
“Hmm... Well, it might have something to do with the fact that I’m not entirely a human-?”
“What do you mean you’re not human?”

“She looks like one of my drawings...”
“How is you here?”
“So, you’re like Caine? An AI or an NPC?”

“Can’t we just get Caine to poof her?”

“Can everyone please just be quiet so I can f&@£#*# think!” Monika replied assertively.

“Silence echoed around the room almost instantly. Monika ran her fingers through her hair one last time. ‘Where is my headset? I had it on a minute ago. Where is it? Where is it?”
‘Its right here.’ The bunny snickered, pulling at Monikas ponytail, her head jerking back with it. Her hair extended to about a meter before springing back down to its normal size. “So, you do have a cartoon body like us then.”
“YOWCH!! WHAT WAS THAT?? THAT REALLY HURT?!” Monika screeched, rubbing her head.
“You felt that? Caine what the s&%# is going on... Caine?’ No response. Caine was nowhere to be seen. “Oh for f*&^ sake.”
‘Jax! You haven't apologized to Monika yet!’ A lady called out. Barging past Jax arrogantly ‘I'm so sorry about him... Are you okay? Ignore him. He’s just like that.’

“Yeah, I’m okay thank you.” Monika responded in a jolly tone

“I'm Ragatha ! And this is Pomni. She’s our newest member... Well technically you are now haha!’ Ragatha laughed, looking down at a short girl dressed in brightly colored jester clothes.

“Thats kinger over there” She pointed at a large king chess piece dressed in purple robes. “Thats Zooble.” She pointed to a colorful looking character with mismatched shapes and peices. “And thats Gangle!” She finally pointed to a character with a tragedy mask on, covered in vibrant red ribbons. She smiled softly before hiding her face away.
“Sorry to burst your bubble.” Monika announced, peering over her sholder to make sure Bubble didn't hear her joke. “But I, uhm, don't really plan on staying here...”
“Good luck getting out pigtails. When you find a magical exit that leads you to fairyland do let me know. Gosh you sound exactly like Pomni when she first arrived... How ironic.’ Jax snickered. Monikas head raced. What did he mean they'd been here for years? How is that possible? Where they.. Humans?

“If they're humans... Maybe this is my ticket to the human world... Finally!”

NOTES: Okay, I edited this part a bit so I hope its better!! I'm currently working on a second part to follow this!!

NOTE 2: Apologises about the long break, I kinda forgot what email I used for this account 😭😭

Chapter Text

Monika sighed, letting herself fall back onto the large double bed placed in the center of her personalized room. She stared hard at the ceiling above her, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Talking toy box humans? How was that even possible? And now she was a part of this crazy circus.

“Insanity” She thought to herself. “There must be a way out, there just must be...” She shuffled in her bed and turned to her side, facing a large wall covered in pink polka dots.

“This is all so bittersweet” Monika murmured to herself. “Poetry equipment, large desk, handwritten poems... How do they know about me? Do they know about the game?” She sighed, reaching into her blazer pocket in an attempt to pull out her phone.

“Huh. What. Seriously now my phones gone? Oh my god this sucks. How am I ever going to get out of this place?”

A sharp knock echoed around her room.

“Uhm Monika.” A quiet voice perked up. “Can we talk?”

Monika cleared her throat before answering.

“Uh… yeah come on in”

The door swung open. Pomni stood on the other end of the doorframe silently. She looked paler than she normally did. She stood hunched over like she’d just thrown up. “Are you okay Pomni?” Monika asked, a concerned tone in her voice.

“The exit. I saw one.” Pomni walked into Monikas room and sat on the chair tucked in beside her desk. She spun round to face Monika; her pupils completely dilated in defeat. “I know there is one because I entered it.” Pomni was concentrated on what she was saying as if she desperately wanted someone to believe her. “It lead me to the void… Maybe they’re something up there” She looks up, making eye contact with Monika before walking back towards her door. “I know it’s out there…”

“Wait Pomni!” Monika interrupted abruptly. “Where will the exit lead me? To the human world or back to where I came from?” Pomni stared at Monika, her eyebrows furrowed tight as if she was rapidly searching for a response. “I dont know... Kingers been here the longest he might have an idea... Or ask Caine?” She responded, leaving Monikas sight as she finished speaking. Talking to Kinger might be an option.

“Ugh this would all be so much easier if I had my laptop and could access the games files...”. Monika sat up, swinging her body round and plopping her feet down on the floor. She rose, heading for the door.

Before Monika could blink, she was relocated into the mains of the circus, facing a large stage. She swung her head from side to side but everyone else seemed unfazed with the forceful relocation. In front of her, on the stage, was Caine and Bubble discussing something among themselves.
“Dont look so worried pigtails, no one here is going to eat you!” A voice chuckled. Jax stood to the right of Monika, leaning his arm on her head.

“Jax leave her alone!! Let her adjust in her own time!” Ragatha spoke, an unsettling temper brewing in her voice. Jax huffed, lifting his arm, freeing Monikas head.

“Chill out Ragatha. I’m just messing around jeez”

“ALRIGHT MY LITTLE MUFFIN MAKERS! ITS ADVENTURE TIME!” An eruption of groans followed this announcement. Monika forced a disappointed face on, knowing deep down she was excited to see what Caine had put together using AI and coding.

“I was thinking, to help our... unusual friend, to settle to her new environment... We would all be enrolled into a poetry competition where we all write poems! What do you think of that Bubble?” Caine grinned, feeling proud about his adventure. Maybe this could be one that they all enjoy together?

“But will there be enough ink?” Bubble asked impulsively.

“What? Oh, enough ink for-” Caine began to answer. A confused expression rubbed across his face.

“And what if they write disgustingly horrible poems?”

“Horrible poems? Well, they’ll-”

“Will there be a bad punishment?” Before Bubble could add to his question, Caine pulled out a large needle and popped Bubble from behind. He cleared his throat before continuing to speak.

“Where was I? Oh yes! Adventure!” A large portal appeared above of all the characters, carrying a strong suction force, pulling them all into the portal.

Chapter Text

‘WWWHHHAAAAA’
*THWAMP*
Sayori hit the ground face first. She’d never had a fall that bad before. Her eyes were bright red and swollen. Sayori jumped to her feet like she hadn’t just fallen 50 feet out of the sky. She looked around. She was surrounded by beautiful trees and bright green grass. Her eyes lit up at the sight of it. She was amazed by where she’d just spawned into. She was also interested to know if she was alone. So she set off on a short wonder around this mysterious place. It didn’t take her long to encounter a resident. They were about the same size as Sayori ( which is ironic considering they weren’t human ). The resident wasn’t human though, they were a bunny.

‘Oh-! You there! Hello!’ The bunny ran up to Sayori, greeting her with a warm welcome.
‘New player.. Maybe a sibling or cousin? Well they won’t be here for long.. I hope’ They muttered under their breath, slightly too quiet for Sayori to hear. ‘It is lovely to meet you! I’m Bunnie the Bunny aha! And you are..’ She paused for a moment. ‘Huh..? It seems you don’t have any data. Could I get your name? Please?’ She muttered. Sayori smiled confused. No data? What is she on about? But she wasn’t going to complain. She’d just made a new friend! A cute one aswell.
‘I’m Sayori! It’s really nice to meet you too! May I say how adorable your little dress is! Did you make it yourself?’ She asked in her usual chatty voice.
‘Aha me? No no my friend Sable made it for me! She’s always looking for more things to make aha! She runs that shop over there. Able Sisters’ She exclaimed, pointing at a small shop in the distance. Sayori could just about make out the sign. She smiled, thanking the villager for her time and leaving, heading towards a large building with a clock in it. She was hoping she would find the owner.

She swung the door open dramatically. There were 2 people sat inside. Both behind desks writing away. They both jumped at the sound of the doors slamming open. Sayori pranced in, politely sitting down on one of the available chairs and waiting to be served. A dog with a bell in her hair sat down on the other side of her, still pretty shaken up by the noise.
‘Hello! My names Sayori. I- I found myself on your island this morning and I was wondering if you could explain to me where I am?’ The dog looked over to the other person sat behind the desk then turned back to Sayori.
‘Uh.. Hi Sayori. I’m Isabelle. Weirdly we don’t have any record of your.. Data. Maybe you missed the sign up? (I don’t see how that’s possible but it’s the only logical explanation) What would you like to ask me? I’m all ears!’
‘Hmmm.. How long can I stay for?’ She asked, hoping for a generous answer.
‘As long as you want! At Nooks inc we provide everything that you need. Everything we have is designed for long term stays!’ That sounded brilliant to Sayori. But she did want to know if she could show her friends this wonderful place. Or if she could ever see her friends in general.
‘Can my friends come and see this place?’
‘Yes! Local or online play is available in animal crossing new horizons!’ Online play? Local play? What was she on about..
‘Okay.. And is there any way for me to go home?’ Isabelle paused for a second. Looking back at the other person, a look of confusion in her eyes.
‘Home? Are you not a player?’ Sayori shook her head, a smile on her face still. Isabelle face slowely got paler and paler.
‘Tom- Can we have a chat about our new friend..’ She muttered under her breath. She reassured Sayori that she wasn’t going to be long then ran into the staff room, slamming the door behind her.