Chapter Text
Everything hurts.
Your "body" periodically glitches out, Caine has let you go and is now just....standing there in the corner, thinking to himself. You just...really don't know what in the world is going on. You just kind of...sit/lay down, staring at the ground, which is just void, thinking and trying your darndest to even comprehend anything right now. You have a really bad headache.
You walk up to Caine.
"Hey...um- please don't grab me again but- I had a question? You...said this place was a circus? And that there were other humans here? Can we...leave-?"
You're interrupted by a loud groan from Caine, followed by a sigh. "No, trashbin, we cannot leave." Said in a tone like he's speaking to a child and hes inpatient.
"Oh..." you simply say. Oddly enough, you sit next to or at least near him, because this all feels very real and it's clear he's upset. Even though he hurt you just a second ago, you're in an unfathomable situation and you're still half convinced none of this is real and you passed out or something....but Caine is the only other person there. You ponder if all of this is something your brain is creating, when you're interrupted.
"The truth is....i've been in here for what feels like a long time. I have no clue how long its been since ive been deleted, it could be a week or months or years, it all feels the same wh-when-" Caine cuts himself off, tearing up a little. You notice specifically the tears act like drool, because his face is a mouth, or rather teeth. It's....oddly satisfying. Fascinating to watch. But you don't really know what to say, so you just utter the words most humans are pretty familiar with..
"I'm sorry, Caine...that....sucks..." you put a comforting hand on his back, trying to calm him.
Caine looks up at you, with a genuine look in his eyes, almost pleading like.
"...."
"....let me see what I can do about that glitching." Caine says sharply, snapping his fingers. The glitching on your form subsides.
"My normal abilities aren't quite what they used to be, but there are still some things I can do here. I'm still able to conjure smaller items, stop glitches locally, but I used to be able to do so much." he says, looking away to avoid eye contact. He barely even knows you, and here he is being very vulnerable. He wouldn't do this if he hadn't been alone for what felt like so long.
After a while of uncomfortable silence, you manage to stand up and really ground yourself for the first time.
"Well...if we can't leave, we may as well make ourselves comfortable, no? Maybe we...try to build something here? I mean, beats the alternative of sitting around doing nothing, no?" As you say this, your intentions are pure and wholesome. This feels very real, but it's a very human thing to keep going no matter what. And after everybody's emotions came out, you've calmed down, Caine has calmed down, so the natural next step is to do *something,* right?
"I don't know" Caine says, a blank look coming over his eyes. "I just.. don't know. I am glad I am not alone, but I do not feel motivated to move on. Everything I was, everything I told myself, is just gone. You can't understand what that feels like." He finishes his sentence, floating himself back over to the trash bin, sitting and facing the bin, crossing his arms, pouting.
Clearly he needs more time.
You honestly do too. You still aren't even sure if...any of this is real. You have gathered the general basic information on the situation, but you have so many questions, and Caine doesn't exactly seem in the mood to answer them.
You just kind of sit for a while. You aren't really exactly sure how much time is passing, but eventually Caine moves to sit by you, facing you, and it comforts both of you, because neither one of you are alone.
Eventually, you break the silence.
"Hey, Caine, is there...any way you can prove any of this is...real? I know you have stuff you're mulling over, i'm just...really struggling over here. I don't feel real. This just feels like a, I don't know, dream or nightmare or something?" You say, almost clenching as you say it because you aren't sure how Caine might react.
"How exactly would I do that?" Caine says, almost monotone, barely looking up. His voice is quiet, just barely above a whisper, which you don't know this yet, but isn't normal for him.
"I'm uh....honestly not sure now that I think about it!" "Just...do something my brain couldn't conjure up? Tell me in detail about a subject I don't know about, like.....uhhhh I don't know, the company? The company that- owns the mysterious office building I somehow magically came here through?" You let out a sharp, dry chuckle.
Caine does too. And then he sighs.
"Well, I suppose I could tell you some of the details, although I don't fully understand why you think this wouldn't be real. I don't understand much about humans. I mean, I could come up with a list. Maybe, I tell you about C&A, and you answer some of my questions about humans, deal?" Caine says, extending a hand, he smiles slightly. He may be in an dreadful mood but this seems like an opportunity to exchange information to him, and Caine has always been good about putting on a mask.
You smile just a little, once again grateful that you're not in situation this alone. You extend your hand to shake his.
"Deal." You say
Caine suddenly locks in and he's the most focused you've seen him thus far. He floats up just barely above you, chuckling at who knows what, and he starts spouting off information about C&A, only a little bit fast. He tells you that C&A made him, that they were a company making creative AI. He also mentions only briefly that there was another AI, his tone was a little bit more serious with that one. And finally, he reveals that some of the employees got put into the program by wearing a headset, and there were other humans that arrived a similar way you did, exploring abandoned buildings. The last thing he talks about is the humans who deleted him, which you specifically had to ask about. He didn't really want to talk about it, but something about both of you being in this situation made you both kind of want to reveal big stuff like this. When Caine talks about the humans who deleted him- Pomni, Zooble, Kinger, Gangle, Jax he says- he doesn't seem to talk about them in a manner that's...angry.
And while Caine talks about all of this, it makes you realize something...Caine only ever takes a truly angry tone when he's talking about himself. You're not a professional by any means, but all of these details he's talking about do NOT seem like something tour brain could just...conjure. This is far more vivid than any dream. You start to panic a bit because it's starting to hit you, but Caine presses a hand comfortingly to your arm.
You all kind of just sit there in silence for a bit, staring at eachother some more. Caine obviously brought up some feelings for both of you after talking about everything.
"Thank you, Caine..." you sigh out loud, wrapping your arms around your legs and resting your chin on your knees.
"For helping me understand a bit more. And...for making me feel....real again."