Chapter Text
Suddenly Pomni felt that the gators stopped and saw her body intact from the wounds. In any other situation, she would have felt relief, but then it just meant that Caine wasn’t done with her yet. His hand burst from the floor of that black world and slammed her on the wall. Her eyes darted on the Ringmaster, not even feeling how the rest of her friends were in the same situation. And like puppets in the hands of a child, they stared in terror as Caine glitched from one position to the other.
“₩ⱧɎ ĐØ ɎØɄ ₱ɆØ₱ⱠɆ ₮ØⱤ₥Ɇ₦₮ ₥Ɇ!?”
His voice cracked with emotion and electricity.
“ł ĐłĐ₦’₮ ₳₴₭ ₮Ø ฿Ɇ ₵ⱤɆ₳₮ɆĐ! ł JɄ₴₮ ₩₳₦₮ɆĐ ₮Ø ₣ɄⱠ₣łⱠ ₥Ɏ ₱ɄⱤ₱Ø₴Ɇ!”
The cracking kept going, everything was falling apart, Caine kept appearing and disappearing in celeste lines of codes. Pomni’s breath was running fast, not having a single clue of what would happen next if not that she was DONE FOR.
Suddenly, in a blink of eyes. It stopped. Everything stopped.
Not an explosion, not a yell, nothing. Just her and her friends being let go and unceremoniously falling splatted on the floor. But what scared her the most was that, between them, the Ringmaster’s small form was laying on the floor just like theirs.
She glanced at Jax, the closest to her, who threw her confused look back. She noticed that everyone was doing the same, too shocked to speak and too scared to act.
Suddenly Kinger arrived.
“Guys.” He said. “I did it.”
Pomni’s heart said to laugh with joy and relief, but everything else overpowered her need to cherish that moment.
“What did you do?”
She could feel that he glanced at Caine for a second.
“There were a few files inside him. I deleted the most important ones.”
Pomni’s mouth widened as a gasp escaped. Her back straightened up. “Really?”
“Yes.” One of his hands played with his robe. “Although something weird was going on, I am sure that we successfully stopped him. He won’t hurt us anymore.”
Pomni weakly started to find strength in her legs. She ran to give Kinger a hug, laughing in tears in relief over his robe. Kinger hugged her back.
“Good job, Pomni. And all of you too.” Said Kinger, “lifting” his head to the rest. “You bought me lots of time.”
Everyone was too tired to react, but felt relieved. All that torture has been repaid. It felt both empty and rewarding. They just had to go through hell for what? Being treated like human beings. Too mentally drained to deal with it, everyone honestly just wanted to lay down just to taste some peace.
The party stopped when the Ringmaster got up in a quite comical way, patting his “gums”, like a kid waking up from school.
“Golly, what a rest…” He “murmured” in his classical tone.
At the sound of his voice, everyone else let out a gasp. What was next?
Zooble’s shoulders tensed up. She walked to him and kneeled to him.
She was the one who messed up with Caine first. If he had to deal with someone, it might as well be her.
“Alright, as-dude.” She said, stopping herself from insulting the Ringmaster last second. “How’s it going?”
Caine looked at her. His eyes then widened as he gasped and crawled close enough to have his “face” almost in front of her.
“GAZOONS! YOU LOOK SO PRETTY PINK!!”
Zooble pulled her neck away as she blinked. “What????”
“YOUR HEAD SHAPE! YOUR EYES!” He widened his arms in excitement of just seeing her. “YOU ARE LIKE A SPEAKING WALKING ZOLO TOY! THAT LOOK IS SO SUPERBIOUSLY CREATIVE!”
Zooble felt like being catcalled through the streets by drunken new-yorkers would have mentally hurt less. Anyone else was looking at that situation happening in confusion.
Without a second thought, she raised her voice. “What THE HELL are YOU talking about????”
“Language, my multiangular mathematical mannequin!” Caine waved his hand to the rest of the crew. “We got an audience right here!”
Zooble felt like she was dying. She was staying silently while looking at him in pure silence. Ragatha, scraping courage and old people pleasing skills she thought she wouldn't have to use anymore, walked to him with a friendly wave.
“Uhm… Caine?”
“OH!” He got up, each movement he made causing to flinch anyone near to him. He then shook Ragatha’s hand.
The ragdoll froze at his touch, but her heart sank in shock to what he said next.
“Who's this 'Caine' fellow, Miss Ragdoll? I would like to meet him!”
Ragatha gulped as everyone’s eyes widened. “What?!”
Zooble got up, her voice mumbling. “Are you for real?” She then looked at Kinger and shouted his name. The bucket on his head wobbled.
“I will explain it to you later.”
Zooble walked around Caine and Ragatha and reached Kinger, Gangle, Jax and Pomin. She started speaking through clenched teeth. “I think an explanation RIGHT NOW would be better.”
Gangle mumbled, her mask lifting to Kinger. “Kinger… Did you uhm… Did you do to Caine what I think you did?”
Kinger nodded, his voice tipped in something like worry. “It was the best I could do.”
Zooble’s eyes shook for a second before she straightened her back and her eyebrows raised.
“I think I get it.” She then stared at Caine. “Kinger, you are a madman.”
From the other side of the conversation, Caine was basically sparkling with enthusiasm.
“OH! I get it, Miss Ragdoll!” as he pointed a finger at him. “So I am CAINE!”
“You are!” Said Ragatha with a fake smile.
“Sounds like a great name! Who do I have to thank for this?”
Ragatha mumbled. “I think… Kinger…?”
“OH! it’s the same name your pink friend sweaked like a duck a few seconds ago! He must have such a brilliant mind!”
Kinger felt a weird feeling in the guts, but stayed silent. Ragatha was looking at Caine, who was still blissfully holding her hand. She liked physical contact, but in that moment she was only feeling suffocated, cold and scared no matter how hard Caine was acting kind.
Gangle tried to join the conversation. “Uhm… Caine?”
Caine moved his “head” to look behind Ragatha’s and saw Gangle. “Yes, my red-and-white stringy string?”
Gangle walked in and extended her hand to Caine. “I-I think you have been holding my friend’s hand for so long. Could you let it go?”
Ragatha looked at her shy friend and smiled at her consideration, a bit scared of Caine’s reaction. However, the Ringmaster reacted pretty calmly.
“OH, GOLLY! I didn’t realize I left my manners at home!” He then pulled his hand away, to dig it in pockets he didn’t have pulled the inside to reveal nothing inside. “JUST LIKE MY WALLET! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”
He then laughed maniacally at his own joke. The rest fake-laughed along.
“-HA! Anyways, what’s YOUR name?”
“My name is Gangle. The pink one’s name is Zooble. And her name is Ragatha. Pomni, Kinger and Jax.” Explained Gangle waving her “hands” to every friend she introduced.
“A ragdoll named ‘Ragatha’, a gangling fellow named ‘Gangle’, a king named ‘Kinger’ and a zolo-like toy named ‘Zooble’ and a jackrabbit named ‘Jax’!? WHAT AN AMAZING COINCIDENCE!” His enthusiasm then fell down as he scratched his “chin” while looking at Pomni. “Well, I cannot say the same thing for you though.” He then waved his hand confused. “Is it a shortened name?”
Pomni gave him her best fake smile. “Uhm… No. It’s just Pomni.”
“UNDERSTOOD AND MEMORIZED!” He said with joy.
Pomni mumbled. “So… Do you remember anything?”
“UHM…” He mumbled.
He then crossed his arms, like he was pondering, keeping up the mumbling. He kept pondering for at least two more minutes. Pondering so hard that between the edges his dentures were erupting smoke.
Pomni and Ragatha stared at each other like the other had an answer to whatever was happening.
Then the Ringmaster put his fists on his hips and with crossed eyes as he shouted. “ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!”
Ragatha backed away surprised.
Pomni walked to Caine. She was playing with her hnads anxiously, but still decided to take initiative.
“H-How are you feeling?” She asked empathetically.
Caine spoke to her with a smile in his tone. “I am doing absolutely fine, my dear Pomni! Thank you for asking!”
Pomni stared at him. Everything felt so… Weird.
Even with no memories, Caine was acting like himself. Well... The old himself before he got sick of them, but still himself. He was just missing his ego and pride as the ringmaster, but the vocabulary, behaviour and tone was the same. And now they were just supposed to go on like this. Pretending he just didn’t stop to torture them because Kinger madee so, because letting Caine go that way was the best outcome.
“I… Understand.” She said, fidgeting with one of the pompoms on her jester suit as she glanced aside. “Doo… You want a tour… Or anything?”
“Oh!” Caine clapped his hands with energy, “Lead the way, dear!" His eyes then roteated around. "I really need to get used to this new place!”
Jax stared at this. And decide to tag along.
“I guess I will be the co-guide then.” He said in usual nonchalant tone.
Pomni tilted her head as she looked at the rabbit. “Really?”
“Yeah, I am not even tired like those guys here.” He waved a finger to the rest. “Go and have your beauty rest, guys. I will fill you in later.”
“Uhmm… Are you and Pomni sure?” Asked Gangle. “What if he was still-” She stopped herself from saying the last word.
“Well, then just me and Pomni will be splattered on the wall like mosquitos.” Answered bluntly Jax.
Pomni gave her a much more comforting smile. “And I believe in Kinger. And Jax is right. We all went through hell today. And letting you guys talk to Caine like this has never happened is unfair. You should rest.”
Ragatha answered back. “Well, and the same goes to you two!”
“I think that I can handle it then.” Smiled confidently Pomni.
Suddenly Caine’s dentures popped behind Jax.
“UHM UHM! He fake-coughed. “I remember I was being promised a tour! Do the guides have any kind of interpersonal drama that I should file a lawsuit for?”
Pomni let out a sigh. “Kind of.”
Jax just shrugged. “Whoops.”
“But now we can go.”
Caine glimmered in excitement. “THEN LEAD THE WAY, YOU BRAVE MOSQUITOS!”