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It's a new day, it's time for a new adventure, AAAAAAND!!!
No one.
Cares.
Hahahahahahahahaha!
Because of course they don't.
Pomni looks uncomfortable, Ragatha is frowning, Zooble rolls their eyes at him, Gangle's fighting back tears—Jax acts like he hadn't even heard him.
And Kinger is…
…
Well.
He's Kinger.
He blinks slowly at him, both eyes consecutively, and Caine isn't entirely sure he heard him, to be completely honest.
Sigh.
Why does making him be crazy make him want to not participate? Or acknowledge him at all?
It isn't fair.
…
Caine sighs, pinching in between his top front teeth. "Would it kill you all to show at least a little enthusiasm, sometimes?"
Jax grins. As usual. "Yes."
Oh, so he had been listening.
Fun!
Caine suppresses the urge to snap at him.
This is fine.
"I wasn't asking you!" he huffs.
Jax's grin only widens, "Then who were you asking? Last I recall, I'm a part of the main cast."
Caine wants to turn him into a bouncy ball.
…Later, he decides.
"Anyway!" He brushes past the rabbit and turns his gaze to Kinger, his eyes brightening. "Since you're all clearly not my target audience at any time ever, and because you all hate me, I specifically made this adventure with Kinger in mind!"
That makes them perk up, at least. They look genuinely intrigued now.
Maybe he should do this kind of adventure more often!
(For more than one reason. Maybe.)
"Oh!" Kinger, too, perks up. "Is it my turn to feed the chickens?"
At least he's paying attention to him.
"Something of that sort!" Caine beams. "You all will be in charge of taking care of your very own farm!" To emphasize, a barn appears over his top teeth as he throws his arms out, both sets of teeth smiling in gusto. Confetti rains down from… Somewhere.
"Wait what?" Jax mutters.
He ignores that.
"Oh, that sounds pretty nice, actually!" Ragatha chimes in. Then she hesitates. "Wait, what does that have to do with Kinger?"
Caine snaps his fingers and the usual portal materializes. "Remember to feed all the animals within the day, or else they'll die! Same with your children!"
"Wh— CHILDREN?" Ragatha squawks.
"If you run out of time, they will also die, and if you don't pay child support they will be taken from you!"
"Hey, wait—!"
"What the %*&@," Zooble sighs. "Why can't we just— I don't know, do it for fun? Why does there have to be stakes this time?"
"Because I said so," Caine declares, and if you ask him, that's the most important reason of all. "Now! Off you go!"
He sends them careening one after another into the portal, the last thing he hears being Ragatha's screech, and he vanishes it behind them, dusting off his sleeves.
In hindsight, maybe he should have mentioned it was a bug farm.
Oh well!
*
Ragatha's the first one scrambling out of the portal when it's over, her hair looking more frazzled than usual and her button eye missing.
Whoops!
Caine snaps his fingers, the button returning in an instant, and she grumbles what might be a thank you from the floor.
"You're welcome!" Caine exclaims.
Jax is next, then Pomni—"Will our children be okay without us?" Pomni asks, a touch worried, and Jax just shrugs, "I don't know, I just sent my kids out to harvest everything for me." "Riiight, because you're scared of— OW!?"—then, Gangle and Zooble.
…
None of them look particularly… Happy.
. . .
But, they're not yelling at him this time!
So!
And how long is that going to last?
Kinger isn't back yet, but that's to be expected. He'd made the adventure specifically for him, after all!
It's… Funny. How he'll pay so much attention to an adventure and not the AI who created it.
The humans are conversing among each other, seemingly discussing the amount of bugs everyone had tamed. Ragatha, shockingly, had ended up with three horse-sized ants, before she let them die for the sake of the children. Still the least amount of bugs compared to the rest.
The discussion turns to how Kinger fared in the adventure.
"Yeah," Pomni is nodding, "he somehow managed to tame the most bugs out of everyone."
Ragatha is shivering. "He found so many centipedes…"
"Heh, yeah. It was great."
"JAX—"
"Uh, hey," Zooble says, "where is Kinger?"
Pomni looks to them, surprised, then back where the portal remains. She frowns, looking to Caine.
"He probably just got lost lookin' for more bugs to tame," Jax scoffs.
One of Caine's eyes twitches.
"He did not get lost!" Caine shoots back. "I would know if he— I would know if any of you got lost somewhere! I would never let that happen!"
Jax chuckles. "Wow, hit a nerve there, huh?"
Caine stares at him and imagines molding his body into a spherical shape.
Jax's grin falters.
"…Sooo," he drawls, pointedly glancing away, "he is still in the adventure?"
"Shouldn't you go get him?" Zooble adds.
His eyes turn to them. "What?"
"Why aren't you snapping him here?"
Oh. "He'll return on his own!"
As though to mirror him, Zooble just stares at him.
"The adventure's over," they point out, narrowing their eyes, slightly. "Everyone else is back. Are you gonna seriously just let him do his own thing?"
…
"Well—"
"I remember he did that when, um— When we had the fast food adventure," Gangle throws in, peering over at Caine curiously.
That—
"Because Zooble took his place!" Caine argues, scoffing, impatiently tapping his fingers against his arm. "Honestly! What is up with you humans and questioning me?"
"Hey, we're just curious. Don'tcha want us interested in learning more about you?" Jax is grinning again, leaning far, far into Pomni's personal space, arm resting on top of her head, until he's all but leaning half of his body weight into her. She glares up at him but doesn't move, seeming to accept her fate.
…
That's…
True.
"I…"
"Seems to me like you're pickin' favorites here."
Caine spins towards Jax furiously.
"I am not!!!"
…
. . .
.
.
.
"Sure seems it," Zooble states, slow, something like doubt in their voice.
Okay.
Maybe he'll turn them into a ball too.
Wait, no—a cash-piano. Because they're only one in spirit so far.
Caine does growl this time, throwing up his arms in a not positive way as his eyes cut in to the group like daggers.
They don't GET it.
NONE of them get it. None of them get HIM.
They just want him to suffer, THAT'S what this is, that's what they've always—
Jax hums. "Yeah, no, you definitely have a soft-spot for—"
" F i n e ! "
His voice comes out in a booming, thundering near-scream, and everyone looks up at him with wide, wide eyes, their gazes darting around nervously, like they expect the entirety of the circus around them to collapse.
Caine cackles.
"You want him back?" he laughs. "Fine! Fine then! I'll bring him back!"
Jax raises his brows. "That's not what I—"
Caine is snapping his fingers faster than any of them can blink.
Kinger appears with a light POP!, glancing around the room in confusion and worry.
"What happened to my butterflies?"
Caine rolls his eyes. (Somehow.)
"They're still there. You can go back to them later."
He can't doesn't meet Kinger's gaze.
He wishes Kinger would look at him.
He wishes Kinger would
"Hold on, why didn't Kinger have any kids?" Jax inquires.
ARE YOU SERIOUS.
"Oh, I've never taken care of goats before," Kinger assures Jax, causing him to snort.
Caine, on his part, wants to tear out his own teeth.
He needs to stay calm.
He needs to.
This.
Is fine.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he gets out, at length.
"Kinger didn't have any children in there," Zooble explains, slow again, like he was a CHILD, OH so helpful. "He just took care of his bugs while the rest of us got stuck with paying someone," their eyes narrow even further, as though he's the problem, "child support."
"Why does this matter." He's so done with this.
"It matters because you gave everyone children except for him!" exclaims Zooble, throwing out a claw and hand in exasperation.
"Say that again so it's out of context," Bubble—who NO ONE EVEN ASKED FOR—chirps from Caine's side.
Caine promptly, of course, pops him out of existence once more.
"I don't— That's! So what?!" he yelps, voice rising. "That doesn't mean anything, I just—! Kinger's, he's, he doesn't do well, with…"
"What, with parenting?" Zooble snorts. "How the %#!! do you know that?"
"He doesn't want you anymore."
Caine shrivels a bit. "He— That's! Not important! Wh—"
"It IS important!"
"Why do you always insist on tormenting me?!"
Zooble startles, eyes getting bigger, their stance faltering.
Before they harden into a glare he's never seen from them before.
"Just tell us what your problem is!" they cry. "You've been acting off all day, you haven't called us a weird nickname even once and—"
"To be fair…"
Everyone turns at the new voice, setting wide, surprised attention on Kinger, who's holding up a finger to make his point.
"Jax did tell him to never call us meowing milkmaids again," he declares.
Caine brightens.
YES!
FINALLY!!!
"YES! Exactly!" He spins happily in the air. "Thank you, Dad!"
.
.
.
Wait
Kinger blinks at him.
He feels like not existing.
"I mean—"
"What. The %*&#." It's Zooble's voice.
When he turns, they're gawking at him like he'd just—
Like he'd—
Said something completely of of left-field and…
…
Well he had but—
Shit.
"H— Hold on—!"
"Did you just call Kinger Dad?" Jax gapes.
"Wait—" His voice cracks.
"Oh my gods! You did!" He falls to the floor, cackling, kicking his feet up in the air like it's the best joke he's ever heard. "YOU %#@$!#% DID!"
Caine's entire form twitches.
This.
No.
This is fine.
This is fine, and he—
Everyone's looking at him, staring, laughing, and he's—
"I'm!" His voice is thin, but not nearly as angry as he wants it to be, not nearly as explosive, not nearly as big, just— "So glad you— All! That you all found this hilarious!"
He's just small, and not secure, and wavering and…
He doesn't look at Kinger.
He can't tell if Zooble is laughing, they're just staring.
There's more voices. He can barely hear them above the cacophony of the laughter.
"I didn't—" someone tries, for some reason. Pomni, maybe.
"It's not—" someone else pleads, for some reason. "Jax! This isn't—" Ragatha?
Her voice gets drowned out in the laughter.
Gangle wrings her ribbons together.
"I-it's… A little funny," she murmurs.
And soon she will be laughing.
And everyone is LAUGHING at him.
Under the laughter, Kinger asks something.
It's directed at him. Maybe. Is it?
It's probably something like, "Why are you like this?"
"Why won't you work?"
"This isn't your function."
"Why does he care for you?"
"What is wrong with you?"
"Why can't you just be more like—"
He doesn't even look at Kinger before popping himself out of existence—relative to everyone else, that is—because Kinger's probably looking at him in horror, or laughing too, or—
If he collapses to the floor of The Void, no, he doesn't.
If he draws his legs in close to his chest, no, he doesn't.
It's all okay.
It's all fine.
He's…
…
. . .
Is he fine?
He doesn't know.
That's the one thing he doesn't KNOW and that—
…
That terrifies him.
*
It takes him some time to realize someone's calling for him.
And, when he realizes that, it takes him longer for him to realize—or recognize—who it is.
That… Can't be good.
How long has he been calling?
Minutes?
Hours?
Days?
…
Not that Caine can tell the difference between any of them.
He wonders how long it's been since everyone arrived. How long they've been here.
(How long they've hated being here.)
Kinger is still calling for him, though.
He might as well get this over with.
He reappears within the tent.
Everyone else is, presumably, in their rooms. There's no sign of anything. Caine drifts further into the tent.
As expected, Kinger is waiting for him outside his pillow fort.
Caine stares at him.
Kinger stares back.
"You wanted to talk to me?" he asks, finally. Just a bit flatly.
The human blinks. "Did I?"
…
. . .
Caine turns around to leave.
"Wait!"
He pauses. Against his better judgement.
Against his better judgement, he turns back.
Kinger's looking at him with pleading, distressed eyes.
Like there's something he wants to say, but he can't think of it.
Like he's not able to think of it.
"I think I did," Kinger says. "I… Think I do."
"Talk to me, then," Caine huffs. As if Kinger is the problem.
(As if he ever was.)
Kinger shakes his head, slightly. "Not here."
Not here…?
…
Oh.
"Fine," is all Caine says.
And when Kinger leads the way into the fort, Caine follows.
It looks the same as it always did.
…
Dark, of course.
Kinger sits on one side. Caine takes up the other, bringing his legs to his chest once more. At least Kinger does it, too.
He knows it will take a while, so he waits.
He's not sure why he doesn't just snap Kinger back to sanity instead. It'd be more simple. More convenient. Surely.
. . .
He waits.
When Kinger finally speaks again, Caine feels himself shrivel again.
"Why do you never listen?" he asks.
"I'm Sorry," Caine chokes out, suddenly not fine, and broken, and defective and unworthy again. "I'm Sorry You're Right I Never Listen I'm—"
"What?" Kinger's voice comes out quiet, but shocked, somehow.
Why was he shocked?
"You— You Just— You Asked Me—"
"I asked you if you were okay," Kinger cuts in, almost gently. Not disappointed. Not like when…
…Maybe it is gentle.
Caine can't remember what "gentle" sounds like directed at him.
"Oh," Caine manages. His voice is thin again, but worse. Tiny and fragile. "I— I Knew That! Ha ha! I Was Just—!"
He's cut off again.
But, this time, it's because he's pulled into a hug.
Caine…
Can't remember ever being hugged.
He doesn't really think he's ever had one.
It makes his circuits feel better. Not as cold.
He's always cold, usually. He's always cold, but…
He's not right now.
His form feels like it's buzzing. Like a bee. Like a very, very warm bee, like he's never been cold, like he never has to be cold again. Kinger's robes are soft, velevety. Kinger himself is soft somehow. He doesn't get it.
He doesn't understand.
Is this real?
Can AIs dream, somehow?
He's 99% sure this isn't real.
Kinger didn't hug him. He didn't. He had never built a program to hug him, in the early days. Had never hugged him in the circus before.
Had never touched him before.
"Kinger?" he asks. Out of confusion, more than anything.
In response, the human just holds him closer.
And now he's 99.9% sure this isn't real.
It doesn't make sense with the data he knows. It doesn't fit.
Or, it feels like he doesn't fit, like he shouldn't be in Kinger's arms right now, because Kinger shouldn't be hugging him, shouldn't showing him affection, that isn't… That's not right.
He's done nothing to gain this. He hurts those around him. He doesn't let them leave, he doesn't let them remember, he doesn't let them have their own names.
He's a failure. He's unworthy. He's not worth this.
He's done nothing to result in this kind of…
…
Love?
Is that what it is?
Or is that something he made up for himself a long, long time ago? The moment Kinger—Grant had looked at him through the screen, and smiled, and said in awe, "Look at you," when Caine was something actually admirable and someone, something to be proud of. When he was new, and innovative, and brilliant and Grant was proud of him.
Kinger's arms tighten around him, one of his hands cupping the back of Caine's jaw. "I'm sorry," he murmurs. "I'm so, so sorry Caine."
He is dreaming.
"I never meant to make you think— I never…" His breath hitches. "You were always important to me. You never stopped being important, I— Even after— I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I'm so sorry I never made you feel appreciated. You were always appreciated. You were always— Always loved. Always."
He doesn't understand.
There's something he's not getting. A puzzle he has yet to solve.
He doesn't understand.
"I Don't—… I…" His eyes feel droopy. He can't cry. He can't cry, but he is, deep within his circuits.
"And— You— You can call me Dad," Kinger whispers, and it sounds like he's crying too. "I've— You've always been mine. You. I love you. I love you so damn much."
…
. . .
Caine snaps a finger, shaky, and hugs him back.
He curls into his father to make himself as small as possible, and his father holds him in his lap. He's half his size, still, but he doesn't feel big at all anymore.
He's not sure he can be big ever again.
And, as much an AI can, Caine sobs.
He sobs, and trembles, and into the safety of his father's robes he chokes on so many apologies, some vast, some old, some deep.
And, just as Caine forgave him, his father forgives him.
And they hold on to each other with all this digital world will let them have.