Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The next day arrives, and everyone is getting slightly more adjusted to the idea of living in the tent with their former tormentor, captor… overlord… okay, maybe it's still really uncomfortable for everyone involved. It's only made a tiny bit easier by the fact that Caine, oddly enough, is choosing to stay cooped up and out of sight more often than not. In a way, it seems like he's replicating his old patterns of spending most of the day doing who-knows-what, appearing out of the blue with an ungodly amount of energy and enthusiasm, forcing them to deal with his antics a few hours, and disappearing when he finally decides to let them go about their lives again.

Only now, they know he's not off doing anything important. He's not the ringmaster anymore. He has no adventures to make, no events to plan. No, he's just locked up in Kinger's room and taking his anger out on some poor bookshelf. That much was made clear when Pomni revealed to everyone what he'd been doing the entirety of his first day: destroying things, Kinger's things, for the fun of it. He'd gone so far as to request some kind of weird paint and a ton of markers from Gangle to carry out the destruction, which in turn made her feel responsible for the whole thing, which in turn made Zooble want to punch Caine's teeth in the next time they see him.

If they ever do see him. Because, like the day before, he's been suspiciously absent.

Everyone is currently hanging out in their usual spot: the small set of couches smack-dab in the middle of the tent. In the time since the circus has been restored, this area's been given some more personal touches, mostly by Gangle and Pomni: a shelf tucked against the back of the couches to make the space feel more closed-off, containing empty sketchbooks and other art supplies, some fake plants, a chessboard, and a camera courtesy of Jax. A basket filled with yarn and knitting tools lies next to the table— a request from Ragatha— alongside a couple ottomans that match the couches. Not to mention, pillows and blankets galore now covering the couches themselves.

All in all? A massive improvement. It's much cozier and much calmer, finally befitting a space for relaxing and talking. Zooble and Gangle are silently enjoying each other's company, curled up on one couch. Ragatha and Pomni have gotten out the chessboard and are taking a crack at playing, but are both a little lacking in their knowledge on the rules of the game. Jax jokes that they should just get advice from Kinger and they both roll their eyes. Only to be surprised when Kinger, currently draped in a thick blanket covering his face, excitedly shuffles closer to peek at the board and starts giving solid tips on how to play.

The workarounds for Kinger's sanity are still lacking, but now that it's common knowledge, everyone has made efforts in finding easier solutions than slapping a literal bucket over his head. Mostly it's been manually dimming down lights when possible, but out in the main tent area, low lighting is more of a hazard than a benefit. It's also really creepy. So, blankets and hoods it is.

"Oh! Oh!" Kinger snaps his fingers excitedly, pointing over Ragatha's shoulder to the opposite end of the board. The game has been going for quite a bit by this point. "Move that pawn!"

Ragatha, confused but fully trusting whatever he has in mind, complies and moves the white pawn one more space, now sitting at the very end of the board. "Pawn moved! What now?"

"Now, you're going to do what is called a 'promotion.' When a pawn makes it to the end of the board, you can replace it with any of the pieces you've lost so far in the game. Including…" He reaches over and picks up Ragatha's queen from the table, nudging the pawn over to put it back in the game. Ragatha's eye widens, as if he just performed a magic trick.

"Wha— Since when was that a thing?" Pomni protests, laughter lacing her words.

Kinger peers at her through the blanket and shrugs, chuckling. "Since chess was invented, I guess."

"Can any of the pieces do that?"

"Just pawns."

Pomni blinks down at her side of the board, not a single black pawn still in play. Ragatha smiles in a rare show of smug playfulness. "Sorry, Pomni! I guess sacrificing all of the 'weak' pieces wasn't the greatest idea, after all."

"It's a solid strategy!"

"Eh, some would beg to differ."

"Hey, you stay out of this!" Pomni points accusingly at Kinger, failing at hiding her smile. "I feel like I'm being ganged up on right now. Honestly, you two are ruthless when you want to be."

"Uh, bozos." Comes Jax's grumbling voice, and all three people at the table turn to look. He's cocooned in a blanket and propped on at least three pillows, looking moments from falling asleep. "Isn't chess supposed to be boring and silent? Emphasis on silent? I don't need the play-by-play when I'm trying to sleep."

Pomni rolls her eyes. "You could just go to sleep in your room, you know."

Jax stares at her flatly, clearly going for irritation, but the effect is lost when half his face is smushed into a fluffy blue pillow. "Well, problem is, there's safety in numbers around here now."

She doesn't catch on immediately to what he means. "Huh?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed how our good friend Caine has been avoiding us unless we're by ourselves."

The mere mention of that name makes the group fall silent. Zooble and Gangle weren't talking to begin with, but there's a sudden tension to their silence that wasn't there before. Everyone directs their attention to Jax, varying levels of confusion on their faces, and his judgmental smirk falls with realization. "Oh. You didn't notice."

"I mean…" Ragatha says slowly. "You're not wrong. I just didn't realize it was a pattern."

"He's right," Pomni adds, glancing to Ragatha across the table. "First it was you, then Gangle, then me, but never at the same time. Right?" She looks to the rest of the group and everyone nods in confirmation.

"I expect he's going to be acting out of character for a while," Kinger offers, drumming a hand against the table. "It's only been a couple of days. And, perhaps he's just… intimidated by us when we're in a group."

Zooble scoffs. "Intimidated? By what?"

"This is a big change for him. He might not know what to do with himself, now that he doesn't have power over us."

"Oh, boo-hoo," Jax snarks. "The poor little AI is feeling powerless? We could never imagine what that's like. Dentures is just gonna have to deal with it like we always have."

Kinger stills. He turns and stares at Jax thoughtfully, his sharp gaze bordering on scrutiny.

Jax notices and goes tense. "What? What's your problem? I got somethin' on my face?" He wipes a gloves hand over his mouth, trying to fix whatever Kinger is so focused on before he even confirms what the problem is.

"…No." Finally, Kinger shakes off whatever took hold of him and looks back to the board. "Your turn, Pomni."

Pomni and Ragatha glance between the two, confused and mildly concerned, but go back to playing.

Jax tries to shrug it off, settling back into the couch, but he's visibly tense and keeps side-eyeing Kinger. No amount of tossing and turning can shake loose the tension, but damn it if he doesn't try. Every other moment, Jax grumbles to himself and readjusts his position, the blanket, the pillow. He even chops at the couch, as if some unruly cushions were to blame for his sudden stress. His discomfort is so potent, the others kept sending glances his way. By the time a minute has passed, he finally has enough. He jumps up from the couch and storms off, not even offering a goodbye.

Zooble watches him go. "Guess he isn't too worried about Caine catching him alone, after all."

Jax ends up wandering the edge of the tent. He's still visibly annoyed, trying to find a distraction that will ease his nerves.

With so little around the circus to function as entertainment, he finally has the bright idea to just make the entertainment himself. Starting small, of course. He's barely tested this whole conjuring business, feeling far too out of his depth when attempting it the first few times and turning up empty-handed, which was already frustrating enough. Then, he'd seen Gangle start to carry around all sorts of perfectly-crafted art supplies that she'd made herself, dismissing any impressed comments with a shy, "Oh, it's easy if you put your mind to it, really." And he'd decided he wouldn't touch conjuring with a ten-foot pole.

At least, not around the others. When he's alone, on the other hand…

"Shouldn't be too hard," he mutters, staring at his gloved hand, wondering what to make that wouldn't require pinpoint accuracy. Something like… a ball? Yeah. Let's go with that. A simple, rubber ball. Perfect for throwing at the back of people's heads.

Easy peasy.

…

…

Jax spends a long, long time glaring daggers at his own hand. Why is this so hard? It's literally just a ball! What is he doing wrong here? There's not supposed to be any trick to this, otherwise Kinger or Gangle would've told the others. And they sure love showing off just how easy it is for them.

He growls in frustration, balling his hand into a fist. Or maybe, those two just like to brag and have one up on everybody else who can't get the hang of it.

Whatever. Who needs that conjuring crap, anyways? It's not like it would be cool to make stuff out of thin air. It's not like he'd enjoy changing up his room the way the others already have, just so he can sleep somewhere that he can stand to look at with the lights on.

They never needed it before, and besides, too much has already changed around here. So maybe he should just—

"Watcha doing?"

Jax nearly jumps out of his skin, stifling a yelp. Then, without turning around, his mind instantly registers who that voice belongs to. Of course. His eyes narrow, grin stretching impossibly thin, before turning.

"None of your business, Caine."

Caine blinks curiously up at Jax, his avatar dwarfed by the much lankier rabbit. "Of course, of course! I just thought, you know…" He pokes his index fingers together and shuffles his feet in a grossly fake display of shyness. Gag. "It wouldn't hurt to check in on my favorite human!"

"…Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Frankly, it just puts him on edge. He's seen what can happen when Caine decides to obsess over one human in particular over the rest, namely with Zooble. He has never envied that situation.

"It's whatever you want it to be!"

Jax's smile thins out even more. Suddenly, he's really wishing he just stuck with the group and just dealt with Kinger's weirdness. "Cool."

Caine nods with all the awkwardness of a dad trying to relate to his estranged son. "Cool, indeed!"

…

"So…" Caine nods to the hand Jax was just glaring at moments ago. "Seemed like you really had it out for old lefty, there."

Jax groans, finally dropping the smile. "Why do you care?"

The little annoyance just shrugs. "Got nothing better to do!"

"…Well. At least you're honest."

"Yep! I've taken Pomni's advice on that front. From now on, not only will I be a better listener, I'll be making an effort to be a more authentic version of myself," Caine declares and adjusts his bowtie, eyes practically glittering with pride.

"That was fast," Jax comments, raising an eyebrow. Of course, he doesn't believe him for a second. Why Caine is going around and pretending to be this enthusiastic and unbothered when everyone knows otherwise, is beyond him. But he can't be bothered to call him out for it. That's more Zooble's thing. (And Pomni's, apparently, if that confrontation before Caine went ballistic was anything to go by.)

"I'm a fast learner! Anyways, I really am curious what all that fuss over your hand was about."

Jesus, he's really not letting this go, is he? Jax glares flatly at Caine's unbothered grin, then sighs, resigning himself to his fate. "Okay, yeah, I was practicing the… thing. The conjuring thing." Not able to resist getting a jab in, he adds snidely, "Figured I'd need to learn how to get stuff on my own, since you can't do it for us anymore."

As expected, the tiniest flicker of resentment flares in the other's eyes, but it disappears just as quickly. "I see! You do have a good point there," he agrees, as if Jax doesn't know the thought has to be agonizing for his fragile ego.

"I know I do," Jax shrugs nonchalantly. "You don't have to tell me. Anyways, I'm trying to make something, which I would have succeeded in doing if I wasn't so rudely interrupted."

Caine tilts his head, as if the implication sailed right over him. It probably did, considering how short the guy is. "Well, if you're having trouble with it, I—"

"I'm not!" Jax snaps, then remembers himself and switches back to a calmer tone. "It just… takes a lot of concentration."

"Really? Frankly, I've found it easy."

He bristles defensively, nearly stammering over his words. "Well, no duh. It doesn't come naturally to humans, genius."

Caine tilts his head one degree further, the innocent curiosity taking on a more pointed intensity. "Mmmno, I disagree! Gangle seems to have gotten the hang of it just fine. And Kinger. Maybe you're just not doing it right."

Oh, this little—

Jax resists the urge to strangle the little freak and puts on a wide smile. "Kinger's the one who knew about this crap to begin with, so he doesn't count. And Gangle has got nothing better to do than live in her own head all the time. Making up stuff is second nature for her, like cartoons, drawings, friends. You two got that in common."

That doesn't seem to turn the dial for Caine even slightly, which is annoying. He just laughs it off like Jax just made a good-natured inside joke. "Well, sure, but you should be able to make something by now, my furry friend! Everyone else is getting the hang of it, not just those two."

He doesn't even have fur. "Well, whatever! It's easy for you to say that."

"Jax," Caine suddenly puts a hand to his chest, empathy softening his gaze. "It's alright to admit when you're wrong. Unless you're me, in which case I'm never wrong. So you should trust me when I say… you can't hack it."

"Alright, shortstack, that's enough!" Jax snaps, temper flaring. He leans down to sneer in Caine's stupid grinning face. "How about you quit with the taunting and show me, then? If it's sooo easy?"

Caine's grin brightens. "I thought you'd never ask!"

Jax's face falls the moment he registers what came out of his mouth. Crud.

...Well. At the very least, it looks like he'll be getting advice from the bonafide expert on creating something out of nothing. Even if said expert is the most unhinged and grating personality that Jax has ever had the displeasure of knowing.

"Now, obviously I can't literally show you, but I can tell you! I find the easiest trick is to have an image of the desired object in your mind's eye," Caine explains in a mystified tone, emphasizing by pointing at his own eyes. "Then, not only that, you must imagine the object as it would be in the real world! If it's handheld, feel it sit in your palm. If it's bigger, imagine it relative to an existing object."

Jax… wasn't expecting such a logical explanation. He nearly has to double-take when Caine first goes into his spiel, wondering if he's suddenly been replaced with a new and improved AI who can actually hold a solid train of thought for longer than five seconds.

And, the longer he stares, the more perplexed Caine looks. He gestures to Jax with one hand. "Well? What are you waiting for? Give it a whirl!"

Despite himself, despite the person he's being given the advice from, he decides… screw it. Might as well see what happens.

He shuts his eyes tight. Pictures the thing in his head. It's fuzzy around the edges, and the color isn't quite clear, but it sure is a ball if he's ever seen one. He continues to focus, imagining the weight of it in his hand, the texture, the slight give that would be there when he squeezes it…

And suddenly, the weight is tangible. His eyes shoot open. There it is, in his hand: a slightly washed-out, but perfectly funtional ball. Slack-jawed, he gives it an experimental toss. The weight is just as he imagined: sturdy and slightly dense, but lightweight enough that it could make some major distance if he throws it hard enough. He can't help the satisfied smirk that tugs at his mouth.

"Well, would you look at that." He tosses it again, eyes tracking the ball as it flies upward. "I'm a certified conjurer! I told you I could figure it out."

"Bravo!" Caine booms, contrasted by a very polite golf clap. "And that's just the beginning! If you can imagine something, you can create it!"

Jax looks down at him, thinking. "I can imagine anything?"

"Anything within reason!" Caine clarifies. "Think of it this way. If you've seen me create something for another human, or for the sake of an adventure, it's on the table! For instance, books, pencils, any kind of food…" He counts on his fingers each item he lists.

Then, pausing, he directs a very pointed look at Jax. "Guns."

…Oh.

"Woah woah woah, wait a minute. Are you…" Jax points to Caine, suspicion rising fast. "What is this? Why are you telling me all this?"

Caine doesn't answer immediately. He folds his hands behind his back, shrugging and looking to the side, rocking back on his heels. "I just thought you'd want to know all the options available to you."

Jax's squint narrows. "Alright, fess up. What's your angle?"

"Ha! Angle? There's no angle! Nary an obtuse, acute, or even a reflex! I'm simply being completely upfront and honest about the extent of this new ability you humans are exploring," Caine declares, eyes blinking innocently.

Jax props a hand on his hip, squeezing the rubber ball as he mulls over what Caine could possibly be doing by planting this kind of thought in his head. Because, honestly? He never fully considered that. But it does stand to reason that, whatever Caine has made, he can make. And that would, apparently, include an entire artillery. Which would be really fun to have. But the sheer appeal of the idea is exactly why he doesn't trust it. There has to be something else. Luckily, he doesn't have to keep guessing what that something else is, because Caine keeps talking.

"I… just wanted to ask, if you do happen to explore this newfound ability in that certain direction…" Caine blinks up at him with wide, sparkling eyes. "If I could join?"

And there it is.

"You want me to give you a gun."

"Only if you're offering! You know, I've always thought fondly back on that adventure," Caine sighs wistfully. "You all seemed to enjoy yourselves so much! It's left me wondering what all the hype was about."

Jax regards the other's eager little grin for a long, drawn-out moment. "You know, I can tell you're up to something."

Caine remains completely unbothered. If anything, the sparkle in his mismatched eyes shines brighter by a fraction.

…

"But I can also tell this is gonna be funny, so I don't care." Jax smiles, tossing away the ball and cracking his knuckles. "One gun, coming right up."

"Don't forget one for yourself!"

Oh, so he was serious about Jax joining him? "Why? You want to make it a battle?"

Caine pauses, clasping his hands together, index fingers pointed. Then, dropping them to point at Jax, he slowly says, "I was thinking more along the lines of… an alliance."

An hour after Jax left the group, an ear-piercing crack rings through the circus. Everyone jumps up from their seats in an instant, looking around wildly.

"What the hell was that?" Zooble hisses out, looking ready to duck for cover.

"I…" Ragatha backs away from the table. "I'm not sure. It sounded far away, at least."

Pomni's alarm fades quicker than the others', and she sighs. "I can give you two guesses."

Everyone relaxes by a fraction at that, but the idea of either Caine or Jax being up to something doesn't lessen the alarm that took hold. Ragatha continues to back up. "I think… I'm just gonna go to my room," she says, one eye darting all around the open tent.

Pomni turns to her, sighing. "Yeah, that's probably—"

And she stops, eyes going impossibly wide.

"Ragatha."

"Y-yeah?"

Pomni croaks. Her words are caught in her throat. The others look at Ragatha to see what's gotten her so stunned, and their faces instantly drop in horror.

"What?" Ragatha frets, looking around herself frantically. "What is it??"

Of course, she isn't able to see what the others see. The tiny red dot, positioned in the middle of her forehead. The dot of a laser pointer, but clearly belonging to something far, far more deadly.

"Hey, Ragatha!" A shout echoes across the tent. "Catch!"

Pomni bolts the second she hears Jax's taunt, running up and shoving Ragatha to the floor as soon as the shot is fired. It ricochets off the ground and punctures the tent wall, completely missing its target. Pomni sits up and stares at the hole left behind, heart racing with adrenaline, and then hears Jax call out again.

"Aww, no fair! I aimed that perfectly!"

Everyone turns to the sound of his voice. He's not visible on the ground, but looking up, they spot a familiar set of purple ears poking out from a second-floor balcony. A long-scoped rifle is in his grip, propped on the brightly-colored railing. Worse, they hear him reloading.

"Jax, don't!" Pomni shouts, rushing to stand. "We don't know how to heal ourselves yet!"

"Then you better get good at dodging!" He cackles and leans over to look through the gun's scope, swivelling to aim directly at Zooble and firing off another shot before they can react. It makes contact with their arm and it goes flying out of its socket, Zooble stumbling back from the impact.

Everyone freezes. Then, another shot takes out their antenna, and chaos breaks out.

"Get behind something!" Pomni orders to the group and drags Ragatha along to find cover behind a nearby wall, throwing themselves flush against it. Gangle doesn't hesitate to yank Zooble back towards the couches. The two duck behind the back, where Kinger is already hiding.

Gangle helps Zooble sit down, checking them over. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"

"N-no," Zooble chokes out, still in shock. "No, I'm alright."

Gangle nods, but then her eyes widen as if remembering something, and she goes to look over the couch—

"No- Wait!"

Zooble tugs her back down, just in time to hear a bullet shoot past them and hit the floor. "Stay here! He's gonna shoot at anything he sees!"

"But…" Gangle looks miserably at Zooble's empty arm socket, guilt evident on her face. Zooble follows her line of sight and blinks, then goes to cover the socket with their remaining hand.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I can get another arm." They shut their eyes, concentrating. In a matter of seconds, a limb identical to the one that Jax shot off suddenly pops into existence, falling to the floor with a clatter. "See?"

Gangle grabs it and helps to slot it into place, smiling sheepishly. "Right, I forgot we can…" she trails off. Her painted face slackens, and she looks up at Zooble.

They raise an eyebrow questioningly. "What?"

"…I have an idea."

"You guys really are no fun," Jax calls from his distant vantage point, nearly inaudible from so far away. "What's a few bullets between friends, huh?"

Pomni and Ragatha, behind the safety of the wall next to the couches, have been slowly creeping their way to the far end while Jax's attention is on the others. They hope to get a line of sight on Jax without being spotted immediately. Not wanting to give away their new position, they don't dare respond.

"I should've known this would happen," Ragatha whispers to Pomni, frustration warring with the fear in her voice. "I mean, what did we expect, giving Jax the ability to make anything he wants? Why wouldn't he use that to annoy us?"

"This was bound to happen," Pomni agrees, voice equally hushed. "We need to see if Kinger knows how to place a limit on what we can and can't make."

"How did we not already think to do that?" Ragatha emphasizes.

Pomni just shrugs. "I think we've been more concerned with someone else, until now."

"We're not in the mood for this!" Both flinch at the sound of Zooble's shout. "If we wanted to be in danger for someone else's amusement, we would've just given Caine back his powers!"

"You're being dramatic," Jax drawls. "You literally can't die here. Though, it's funny you bring him up…"

Ragatha and Pomni share a look, not liking the way he said that. And clearly, Zooble doesn't either. "Why?" They demand, even as a tremor runs through their voice.

"Oh, no reason! Now get out in the open, my arms are getting tired pointing this thing at a couch all day."

"Alright, that's it!"

…Gangle???

"You want a fight?" Her voice, while shrill with fear, is the strongest and angriest they've ever heard from the soft-spoken woman. "Then I'm giving you a war!"

And the air fills with the sounds of gunfire.

Pomni and Ragatha instinctively duck at the onslaught of noise, but then remember they're still behind cover. Looking back towards the others, their mouths drop in shock. Now kneeling over the top of the couch is Gangle gripping a Tommy gun, her ribbons wrapped around the trigger to let out a constant stream of bullets, her mouth open in a cackle that nobody can hear over the gunfire.

Ragatha and Pomni watch in silent awe. Then, looking to each other, they nod, and get to work summoning their own weapons.

When Gangle finally runs out of ammo, Zooble has joined her side with a rifle of their own, firing up at Jax the second Gangle loses steam. Behind the couch, Kinger is dutifully conjuring ammo for the both of them, creating a massive stockpile that ensures they won't run out anytime soon.

Jax, for his part, has gone out of sight behind the balcony. Zooble keeps firing, but eventually decides to stop when realizing he could have moved. Maybe a taunt would get him to pop his head out of wherever he's hidden himself. So, they cup one hand around their face and call out:

"Hey, asshat! What's the problem? Did you forget we can summon stuff, too?"

"Yeah!" Gangle adds on, bouncing in place, clearly getting hyped up by the adrenaline of the action. "Are you scared now that it's one of you versus the two of us?"

"Make that four!" From further away Pomni shouts, punctuated by another shot aimed at the balcony. Both Zooble and Gangle turn to see Ragatha and Pomni currently ducked behind a distant corner, both carrying weapons of their own, Pomni's still raised and aimed at Jax's position.

Finally, Jax laughs. He doesn't dare show his face, but he doesn't sound upset or angry in the slightest. If anything, he sounds excited.

"You guys must think I'm dumb! You really thought I went through all this trouble…" He peers over the balcony, grinning wide. Zooble aims at him, finger on the trigger— "Without any backup?"

…Zooble lowers the gun. They look around, confused. As does the others. "…What?"

Jax brings two fingers to his mouth and whistles, long and sharp. Everyone tenses, looking around the tent, waiting for the other shoe to drop. When suddenly, Zooble hears a quiet "Psst!" coming from right behind them. They instinctively look down. And they freeze, limbs locking up.

The smiling face of Caine greets them. In his hands, a shotgun. Aimed right for their chest.

"Peek-a-boo!"

BANG.

Zooble goes flying and sprawls out on the floor, losing another arm from the impact. Gangle shrieks at the sight and tries to go after them. Caine doesn't give her the chance, pumping the shotgun and firing at her back to send her collapsing on top of Zooble. The moment she's down, Jax takes advantage and fires at the both of them while Caine hops onto the back of the couch, cackling like a madman.

"Attaboy!" Jax shouts, and Caine shoots him a thumbs-up.

Pomni and Ragatha are on him in an instant, sprinting back towards the group and firing wildly. None of their shots connect, but it does force Caine to take cover behind another couch while he reloads. Once they reach the corner, they slow down, panting, eyes wide as they take in the sight of Gangle and Zooble struggling to stand, both now completely marred with bullet holes. Pomni shouts around the corner to Jax:

"You teamed up with HIM?!"

Jax shrugs with a knowing smile. "Guilty as charged!"

She growls, teeth sharpening. "This is a new low, even for you!"

"Kinger," Ragatha calls to the man still ducked behind the couch with his massive pile of ammo, throwing her arms out. "Why did you not tell them he was there?!"

Kinger is frozen underneath the blanket. When he raises it to look at Ragatha, he seems stunned by what just happened, but manages to blurt out sheepishly, "I thought he was on our side!"

"How touching!" Caine pops out from behind the couch, firing at Kinger. The man yelps and scrambles away, nearly losing the blanket in his panic. "But let that be a lesson to all of you kids at home! When in doubt, trust no o— ACK!"

He ducks, barely dodging a shot from Pomni. When he peeks over the couch, his eyes dart around, then seem to register something before looking up. His top hat now has a perfect bullet hole is in its center, sizzling and smoking. He glares at Pomni, only to duck down again when he realizes she's reloading.

"No," She growls out, aiming her pistol at Caine's cover as she advances. "The real lesson is to not trust you!"

By now, Zooble and Gangle have limped back to Kinger. He ushers them closer and rests a hand on Zooble's shoulder, concentrating, until their body slowly begins to repair itself, each dent and hole closing back up. He does the same for Gangle, repairing the rips and tears in her ribbons. Gangle watches in silent awe as her body stitches itself back together. She shivers slightly when it's done. "That feels funny," she mumbles, grazing a newly-repaired ribbon with her hand.

As soon as Zooble confirms Gangle is alright, they turn their attention on the couch where Caine currently hides. Eyes narrowed, antennae twitching madly, they hurry to grab their gun and creep around the other side while Pomni has his full attention. Popping up like a whack-a-mole, Caine fires two shots, but only manages to pierce her hat with how quickly she ducks behind the opposite couch. He hides again to reload and she instantly rushes in, ready to fire if he so much as peeks around his cover. Which he does, and she manages to shoot his hat completely off this time.

"Ha! Look at you!" He laughs. "You sure are out in the open right now, and it's like you don't even care!"

Pomni just growls and fires another shot into the cushions. Caine yelps, then audibly clears his throat. "I said. You sure are OUT IN THE OPEN."

Another beat goes by where nothing happens. Finally, he groans and calls out, "Jax!"

"…Uh. Funny story!" The rabbit peers down at them, fiddling with his rifle. "This thing doesn't hold a lot of ammo."

"Wh-" Caine sputters. "Then MAKE some!"'

More sounds of shifting metal emanate through the tent as Jax keeps twisting and turning the gun. Then, he pauses. "Mmm… nah." He throws the empty rifle over the balcony, letting it clatter loudly on the floor.

"What?!"

Jax stands and stretches. "That was fun, but I'm beat! I'll be in the cafe if you guys need me." He waves at the group down below and saunters off, whistling to himself.

Gangle squints up at him. She raises her Tommy gun and fires a handful of shots, all missing him entirely, but making the man jolt and begin to sprint away. She nods, satisfied.

…

An audible, cartoonish gulp comes from the couch. Everyone's eyes train on it.

"Um." Caine slowly raises up, eyes wide and nervous, and takes in the furious glares all directed at him. A flat chuckle leaves his mouth. "Hey, guys! We're all… friends here, right?"

BANG.

A shot hits him square in the eye. Caine's head spins and flies right off, eyeballs bouncing and rolling away while his teeth clack together as they land on top of one another. Everyone reels back in shock. Gangle looks at Pomni, whose pistol is still aimed at where Caine stood, but she just shakes her head. She didn't fire. Kinger is still without a weapon.

All three turn to Ragatha, who is slightly panting, her gun lowered. But when she notices the questioning looks, she tenses.

"…He startled me."

Pomni huffs a laugh and pats her on the shoulder. "Yeah, I bet he did."

They all focus back on Caine, who has crawled out from behind the couch to chase after his own face. It's a little disturbing, watching his headless body stumble blindly after one of his eyes, finally getting a hold of it, then pointing it to the floor so he can locate the other parts. When he finally has everything back in place, Zooble has already snuck over and started to look for his shotgun. They spot the barrel poking out from underneath the couch, likely tossed aside in the chaos, and they kneel down to grab it.

Caine turns back around once he's put himself back together, clutching his head, teeth closed. The others stifle gasps when they open back up to reveal the damage. His green eye is glitching, quickly jumping from one size and shape to another, the texture blinking back and forth between its usual appearance and a bright static grid pattern. Most notable is the massive chunk missing from the side, the edges sharp and jagged, the inside a black void. Caine only takes a moment to recover, and doesn't even seem to notice the damage to his eye, or at least doesn't feel pain from it. He spots Zooble taking the shotgun, blanches, then bolts forward.

He grabs the barrel of the gun with both hands, yanking hard enough to make Zooble stumble. They yank back with a grunt, and it quickly turns into the world's most dangerous tug-of-war game.

"What is wrong with you?!" Zooble snaps, grunting with the effort of trying to wrench the gun out of his hold. "Roping Jax into your stupid vendetta against us? Why can't you just leave us alone?!"

Caine only growls, the glitching in his eye briefly spreading through his body in a visual so jarring that Zooble's grip slackens. They quickly remember to tighten their hold before he can make much headway in the struggle, nearly side-swiping the trigger in their urgency to get a sturdier grip.

Ragatha rushes over, looking like she wants to intervene but doesn't know how. "Okay, guys, I think we need to just—" A particularly violent jerk of the gun from Zooble makes her flinch, voice weakening. "…calm down."

"Tell that to him!" Zooble points at Caine, then regrets it as he suddenly pulls hard and they nearly lose their grip again. "He's the one who's gonna get shot if this thing goes off!"

"Caine, it's over," Pomni says firmly. "Let it go."

"HA! Over?" Caine barks another laugh, sweating bullets, voice now distorting slightly. "It's not over until I— urgh!— SAY it's over!"

"You fucking wish!" Zooble growls. "When are you gonna stop pretending you have any control over us anymore? When are you gonna grow up?!"

"I'm older than you!"

"Then start acting like it!!"

"No!!"

Pomni and Ragatha back away, not wanting to be in range just in case the shotgun suddenly fires. They look back to Kinger and Gangle, who are equally on-edge watching this all go down. Nobody knows what to do. Nobody knows what to say. Nobody can think of anything to say in the face of such an intense back-and-forth, in the face of one of the oldest rivalries in the circus. Caine, the unstoppable force, and Zooble, the immovable object.

"This isn't doing anything, you know? It's just making us angry! It's just making you look like a massive asshole that wants to destroy everything we have!"

Caine glares up at them and says nothing, digging his heels into the ground. Another glitch ripples through him, this time spreading to the shotgun and the floor. The others take a massive step back.

"What do you want out of this? To hurt us?!" Zooble cries, and in their voice is a hint of desperation, as if no longer just yelling at him. As if begging Caine for the answers that he refuses to give. When he just growls wordlessly, they finally snap, and say the first thing that comes to mind.

"Did you forget how you got stuck like this in the first place?! Did you forget— ugh!— that we can get rid of you whenever we want?!"

Caine's grip slackens. Zooble nearly falls backward with how instant the shift is. They stumble into the couch, reeling and disoriented, and Gangle is quick to help them stand properly. With the danger now out of the way, the others also approach. After a moment of catching their breath, clutching the shotgun like a lifeline, they seem to register what just happened. They look up to Caine, eyes widening at the sight of him.

He's staring in stunned silence, pupils shrunken with visible stress lines, hands hovering in the air like he doesn't know what to do with himself. Despite their anger, a sinking guilt drops in their stomach like a heavy stone. Shit. Maybe that was too far. That sounded like a threat, now that they play it back in their head. Hesitantly, they set the shotgun against the back of the couch, reaching a hand towards him. "I…"

The moment they speak, he tenses, eyes snapping to their outstretched hand. They sigh, aborting the action and going to rub the back of their neck instead. "I didn't mean that last part. Just… please, try to chill out a little, for once in your life."

Caine's stunned expression twitches. The damaged eye pulses, and Zooble has to look away before it makes them sick. God, why does he have to be like this? One moment, he's a nightmare that seems hell-bent on making them suffer, and the next he's... this. Fragile and confused, like a child who doesn't understand why they're lashing out, or why everyone is so angry with them. They almost think to tack on a legitimate apology, but before they can...

"Well, if you say so, Zooble!" He grins, slipping right back into his usual cheery self so quickly that it gives them whiplash.

And, just like that, the moment is gone, taking the wind right out of their sails. It surprises them, but not by much, so they just sigh and turn away, muttering to Gangle that they need to sit down.

Letting Gangle and Zooble recover, the other three decide it's their turn to step in.

"Caine?" Ragatha approaches him, flinching when he turns to her and she gets a full view of the damage she did. "Um. Maybe you should let Kinger get that fixed."

His pupils shrink and he tenses again. Ragatha shies back, instantly fearful that she just royally messed up, but he's laughing it off the next second and pointing to the massive hole in his eye. "Oh, this old thing? I hardly feel it!"

"Well, it still doesn't look good," She insists.

Caine scoffs and crosses his arms. "Well, excuse you, Ragatha, but I am a professional! I always look good no matter what. How you wound me by insinuating otherwise," He laments, clutching his chest.

"Come on, just let him take a look at it so we can talk about what just happened," Pomni groans, gesturing to Kinger who stands proudly under his blanket cloak. Caine pauses in his theatrics to stare at Kinger blankly.

"It would only take a moment," Kinger assures, hands clasped politely. "Promise!"

Caine looks at Pomni, then Ragatha, then back to Kinger.

"You'll have to catch me first."

Everyone blinks at him, not expecting the deadpan delivery. "Huh?"

He bolts in the opposite direction.

"Wha- wait!" Ragatha startles and begins to go after him. "Caine! We just… want to… help." She trails off, slowing down, then sighs in defeat. There's no catching him; he's already disappeared behind a corner.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Kinger tells her when she trudges back to the group. "I can fix him from the terminal!"

She nods, dragging herself over to an unoccupied couch and throwing herself onto it. "Why does he have to be so difficult?" She mumbles into the cushions. Kinger offers a comforting pat to her hair.

Pomni looks around the group, all either worn ragged or trying to help each other get comfortable after the chaotic interruption to their day. She looks back in the direction Caine retreated, and her eyes harden, mouth setting in a thin line. She goes over to Kinger, tapping him on the shoulder, and he hums in acknowledgment.

"Can you restrict certain people from getting into a specific room?"

He stills. Then, raising the blanket to look down at her questioningly, he thinks. "Uh. I guess so?"

Pomni nods. "Good. I'll be back."

With that, she walks away. The others offer weak goodbyes as she heads off, eyes scanning every nook and cranny of the circus for a certain someone. Not Caine— she can't bring herself to go through the torture of trying to get information out of him— but Jax.

She thought they were past this. She thought he was finally understanding that treating others like nothing but cannon fodder-- or target practice, in this case-- wasn't okay. So, to see him reverting to his old ways? Part of her wonders if he's just trying to make things feel more normal around here, but if that's what it is, he went the wrong way about it. Or maybe it was Caine's doing, encouraging Jax to slip into his bad habits the second he got him alone, just to get back at all of them while also reversing all the progress Jax has made with everyone.

But she still can't fathom why Jax thought it was a good idea. Of all the people he could have chosen to listen to, Caine? Caine?? She meant it when she said it was a new low.

Wherever he's snuck off to, she'll find him. And she'll get answers.