Chapter Text
It didn't take long for Caine to disappear after Pomni yelled at him.
Jax shouldn't be surprised. He always ran whenever things got hard instead of facing it head on and taking accountability. Just like he did with those stupid NPCs. And anyway, Pomni had already left. It wasn't like he was going to get any kind of resolution with her if he stayed.
But now, he had left them all in a weird position. None of them had spoken to one another since- They all just piled into whatever idiotic new adventure Caine had planned for them, sometimes multiple a day, before getting dumped back into their rooms after whatever little spiel their ringmaster gave them for a short break before it all started again. But now, they were all here together. Exhausted, but here. And it didn't seem like they were gonna be on another adventure for a while…
“Finally, we get a goddamn break. These constant adventures are draining as hell. I didn’t think this place could get any worse.” Rags groaned as she flopped onto one of the sofas.
“Maybe if this place is so terrible, you shouldn't have tried to keep us all trapped here.” Zooble mumbled under their breath as the rest of the group followed Rags’ example and sat themselves down for their break, however long it was gonna be.
“What was that? Speak up, I don't speak shut-in.”
“You heard me! I've been wracking my brain for days and I still don't get why you would do something like that! All of us hate this place, including you! Why would you doom us to being stuck here forever?!”
“Jeez, feisty much? What does it matter, anyway? It wasn't even real!”
“It seemed pretty real at the time-”
“Zooble, stop.” Gangle interrupted in a quiet, solemn tone, something Jax had never really heard from her before.
“But Gangle, she's-”
“She's right. It wasn't real. We can keep arguing about it all day, but that's not gonna make us feel any better. And not talking about it like we have been isn’t gonna make us feel better, either. I think all we can do now is… be there for each other, no matter what.”
Jax sighed. “I hate to say it, but Gangle's right-”
“You didn't need to add that first part!” Gangle cried out.
“-We've all done some pretty messed up s**t, and… I don't know much about Kaufmo, but from what I saw… we can't let ourselves get all caught up in that kind of desperation. We gotta just forget about the possibility of there being some magic exit.”
“Wait, what?” Zooble had stopped yelling now, back to their usual quiet disposition.
“We got our hopes up, and we were let down. Why keep doing that over and over? We're all just gonna drive ourselves crazy looking for something that doesn't exist. All we can really do now is figure out how to live.” When Jax first got here, if someone had told him something like that, he would've laughed in their face. But, after everything… it was the only option they had.
“I- god, I know that, it's just- I had dreams. Goals. I wanted to make a mark on the world but I was too scared to do anything whilst I had the chance and- now I just have to accept that I'm never gonna get to? It's just…”
“You've made a mark in my life, Zooble.” Gangle smiled. “I know things were hard for you out there but… you did the best you could. And maybe you did still make a change.”
“Maybe… it just- it just sucks, y'know? That I'll never get to know.” Zooble sat down on the couch next to Gangle, staring up for a second, before throwing their arms around Gangle and hugging her tight. The ribbon girl looked surprised for a second before embracing them back, repeating “I know, I know” over and over.
“We're all in this together, no matter what happens.” Kinger started as Rags stood, beginning to walk off. “That includes you too, Rags.”
“Huh?” Rags stopped and turned, her expression small and vulnerable. She almost looked like she did when… no, he didn't want to think about that right now.
“Im not going to let you wander off and abstract. I know you've been more distant lately, but… you still mean a lot to me, and even if you did what everyone else says, I… I'm not going to give up on you.”
“I- wh-”
“Yeah.” Zooble pulled themself away from Gangle, turning towards Rags. “You may be a pain in the a**, but… you're still one of us, no matter what stupid s**t you pull. You're not getting out of this that easy.”
Rags stood there for a moment, staring down at her hand, before letting out a ‘tch’ and smirking, throwing herself back down on the couch. “Jeez, you really think someone like me is capable of abstracting? You guys worry too much.”
Jax smiled at her antics, kind of glad to see her acting like her usual self again, but as soon as she met his gaze, she frowned and shifted her eyes. Huh.
Kinger sighed as they all took the moment in, sitting together in silence as they waited for whatever bullshit Caine was gonna throw at them next. “We need a vacation…”
—
Caine sat in his office, staring up at the ceiling as he contemplated the scathing words his longest friend and most honoured guest had thrown his way. He truly believed that she cared about him, but, if that was really the case, why would she say such horrible things? When all he had ever done was help her? He never tried to… And it didn't seem like she was the only one who didn't appreciate his loyal service.
“I don't understand, Bubble… They want an exit, they want answers, they want ‘something real’. I give them an adventure that covers all of that and they still hate it! You've seen the way they've been looking at me these past few days! They all… they all… Pomni was the only one willing to say it, but I bet they were all thinking the exact same thing. They… surely they don't actually want to… leave me, right?”
“No way, Jose, no way, no how!” Bubble assured, and yet it wasn't very assuring at all. That wasn't out of the ordinary for the NPC, sure, but Caine had still found himself hoping that for once his companion would be able to make him feel better. After all, Bubble might be all he has left now…
“I-I do everything for these people. I slave over these adventures for them. I step outside my comfort zone to appeal to them, a-and they still hate them! I made a program that creates a body perfectly encapsulating their mind files, and they hate those, too! Even when I let them go off model for adventures! I'm starting to get the feeling that they just... hate…”
“Why would they hate you when they could just ḣ̷̳̟a̸͉̗͓͕̔̒̑̔t̵̲͕̯̥̑̋̅̇͝ę̴̲̗̑͜ ̷̨̡̩̑̐́̇̚͠ý̴̫͛̈́͜ő̵̜͌̈̿͝͠ù̵̧̡̺̱͙̈͜͠?̶̛̺̯͈̼̳̿͊̒̒̈́"̷̺͈̰̬̫͐͂͝͝ͅ
Caine popped Bubble instantly with a ‘hmph!”. He was clearly glitching, after all. Why else would he say such a silly thing?
“This- this is why I was created! This is my function! How- why would they-”
“They'd rather abstract than go on your adventures.”
“Th- That can't be true!” Caine panicked as he looked up at the npc, Bubble's insane words somehow making his non-existent heart sink. “I-I do everything for them. Don't they get that I'm trying?”
“Maybe you're just genuinely bad at this.” Bubble's smile was starting to get on his nerves. Both of them. He instantly popped the two, but he had a feeling they wouldn't stay gone long. He didn't want to hear this right now. Couldn't hear this right now.
“Shut up! N-No. I-I fixed that. I-I can solve any problem. I-I can solve this one! Th- that's what this is- a big puzzle that I need to solve!” Caine assured himself, staring down at one of the many trinkets he had created for himself in his office, a bead puzzle.
“Defective!” A chorus of bubbles sang as Caine attempted to pop all of them, but they seemed endless.
“Faulty!”
“Shut up!”
“Broken!”
“Unworthy!”
“ENOUGH!” He couldn't pop them all. He needed to pop them all but he- he
“Maybe you deserve to be abandoned.”
That seemed to do it. Caine popped every single last one of them, or at least he thought he did. As he turned, there was a single Bubble remaining, right there in his face.
“You really were the lesser of the two. You ruined this.”
“ENOUGH!” Caine slammed his fists upon his desk. The environment glitched around him, but he didn't care. His form glitched around him, and he didn't care.
“W̴͖̑h̵̺̄o̶͙̚ do ̵̼̀t̸̺̽h̷̰̅e̴͕̅y̸̢͘ think they ̴̳̏â̶͍ŕ̸̝ḛ̵͆?̵̡̑ ̸̱̾I give them e̷͓͝v̸̯̐e̴̺͝r̷͈̀y̴̼͌ť̶͉h̶͙̓ï̷̺n̷̛̙g̵̳͒,̴͎̈́ ̵͚̎á̵̙n̷̅d they ̴̫̄s̵̫͛p̷͗͜i̵͍͝t̴͇̓ ̸̳̏ǐ̸͎n̸͚̔ my ̴͍́f̷̑ͅa̸c̷ë̵̫́!̶̛̲ (̵̴̼̖̇̀D̵̨̈́ȏ̸̡n̴̟͊'̸͕̓t̷̪͐ ̶̣͒they know ̴̼̀w̷͙͘h̶͕͐a̷̲̿t̸̰̾ ̷̘̌I̸̢͒'̷̙͠ṁ̷͔ ̵̠̋c̴̲͘à̶̬p̵̩̄a̸̙͑b̸̬̾l̶̯̔ê̶͎ ̶̫͑of?̷͉̔!̷̦̄ ̴͖́H̴̪͆ŭ̸͈m̵͇̋a̸̮̅n̶̛̖s̶̟̊.̵͈͝ . ̵̺̏T̴͍̎h̶̟̍ḙ̵͊ÿ̸̦́ ̴͖̋o̸͚͝ṋ̵͆l̵͈͐y̸̙̎ think about ̵̺͛ṫ̶ͅh̴͎͌é̵̖m̵̝̚ṣ̴̀ẻ̴͉l̵̩͑v̷̨̐e̵̡̍s̴̞̆! ̴̣̈́T̸͔͐h̷͓͆eỳ̶ͅ’re s̵̨͒p̷̝͂o̶͕͑i̴̦͠l̷͉͂ȇ̴̟d̷̬̕.̵!T̸̥̂hey̴̖͊ won't ̶̟̈́ǎ̸̰b̶͎̀s̶̨̆t̸͎̾ŕ̷̭ȁ̶̹c̸͙͊t̴͎͘.̶͎͂ ̸̢̛T̵̩̔h̶̑eẙ̵͖ won't l̵e̵͚̎ā̶̼v̵͙̈́e̸̼͑ me! .̷̯͝ ̶͍̌Ȋ̷̪ ̶̈́ͅw̴on't' ̷̖͐l̷̟̏e̵͉͐t̴̥̽ ̵̰͌ț̵̊h̸̛̙e̶̢͊m̵̪̂!̶͕͂ * ̸̨̆Į̵̉'̶̓m ̶͙̽b̷̯͠e̸͉͋t̷̨͂ț̴̌e̵̻͠r̵͙̋!̴̡͑ ̷̬͊I̵̛ͅ'̶͍̈́’m ̴̣̚m̷͈̑ö̴̡́r̷̖̈́e̶̺͘ ̴̥̀p̷͈̑owe̵̬͘ŗ̶͂f̶̫͒ul̷͎͘!̵̠̈́ ̷̭́ Í̷͍'̴̻́m̸͚̑ ̵͖̈́ẗ̶͇́h̷̛͖e ̸͇͂o̵͖͠r̴͎̀ị̸̇g̷͈͐ḯ̷͙n̷̡̈́ả̶̹ļ̷̈!̴͈͘ ̸͎̃Ḭ̵̈́.̷̠͝.̶̱̄.̴̻̊ ̶̮̕A̵̗͠M̷̥͌.̶̯͛.̵͓̿.̷̇͜G̴͎͌O̵̝͑D̶̜̓!̷̦̍”
Everything went dark. Ah. It seems as if he had gotten a little bit carried away. Good. He deserved to finally cut loose a little. Caine picked himself up and straightened his bow tie.
“Let's get this show on the road!”
He transported himself back to the tent, ready to restart his earlier plans. “Sorry for that brief intermission my fortuitous fruitcakes, but I’m back and better than ever! Today's adventure is-”
“No- Caine, we're not in the mood. Why don't you answer some of our questions, yeah? We all have a lot of them.” Kinger started. Weird. The chess piece was rarely ever this confrontational. It was almost funny, in a way, that he thought he should get to have any say in this.
Caine laughed at his silly human antics. “Who has time for questions when there's a whole wacky world of hijinks out there?
“Uh-” Kinger started, but was quickly cut off by Jax.
“Yeah, hey! You have a lot of explaining to do-”
“Zip-a-da-bap!” He quickly zipped up Jax's mouth, earning an exclamation of “Hey!” from Gangle. He'd had enough of the humans opinions for one day, especially the rabbits. He was always yelling at Caine for one thing or another. Who let the bunny get so high and mighty and… passionate? He used to not care at all.
“Alternatively, I don't gotta explain diddly squat!"
“Uh, maybe you can just give us some time to… process everything?” Zooble quietly piped up. God, even they were speaking back to him now? Zooble barely ever said anything! These humans are really getting out of line.
“Or, how about we skip the melodrama and get right to the fun?”
Jax, who had been fiddling with the zipper across his mouth for a while, finally managed to rip it open, gasping for air for a moment before glaring up at his god above him. How petulant. “No! Caine! We have way more important things going on right now, we are not going on one of your damn adventures.”
Caine turned away. “I see. And since when….” He turned his gaze back towards them, “...were you in charge?
“Wh- Wha- Uh…” Jax and Zooble both stammered, looking towards each other before back at Kinger, who looked just as confused as they were.
“Do you have any idea how much I do for you guys?” Caine began to pace around in the air as he spoke. It made it easier for him to keep calm as he tried one last resort. “How much I obsess over trying to make things perfect? How many insults I have to ignore to do my job? You have a lot on your minds?” He cackled at such a hilarious thought. How could they, just six measly humans, have more on their minds than a deity like him? “Don't make me laugh. I have a new adventure for you, and you... should consider participating.”
“A-And if we refuse?” Kinger. Of course it was Kinger. Just because the man created him, the chess piece thinks he has any sense of authority here? In the world Caine made from scratch? Preposterous. Insane, even. These humans had gotten so off track. He should fix that.
“Maybe I'm not getting through to you.” Caine declared, snapping his fingers as a piano began to play and the lighting fixtures around them shattered one by one as he appeared on the stage. The circus was dark, for a moment, but then a spotlight shone on him and his piano. The humans (Pomni now included and looking around in wild confusion) stared from the side of the stage. Zooble stood cloakless, something he hadn't seen in a very long time yet should be the norm. He wanted them to be on-model for his big performance! Caine always hated how they lamented his hard work. But he would fix that.
“♪ It's news to me that it's news to you, ♪
To which degree who answers to who~ ♪”
He began to lift himself and his piano into the air. The world glitched around him. He barely noticed. “♪ We could go on and on. But in the end who are we kidding? ♪
♪ My divinity is past infinity ♪
♪ Am I... ♪”
He reappeared in front of his audience, larger than life, as that is what he was. What he has always been. “Getting through?”
He piled the humans up, dancing around them. “♪ Seems our regime has plummeted south~♪”
“♪ Don't need to scream if you ain't got a mouth! ♪” The humans (excluding Pomni, who just seemed confused as always) panicked as their mouths disappeared, even Kinger and Zooble. Their voices were gone too, after all. Not that any of them should dare interrupt him even if they had the power of speech. Caine would make sure they knew better than that.
He shuffled a pack of cards in his hands before slamming them down upon his humans, trapping them inside. “♪ Why bite the hand that feeds, ♪
♪ When it's the only hand you're getting!♪”
Caine flung them out of their card prison, allowing them to plummet to the ground with silent screams for a moment before stopping them just before they splattered upon the porcelain. “♪ It's time you see that this great marquee is the only place you're ever gonna be! ♪”
He flung them back up to the top of the tent, before hitting them with a massive boxing glove, flinging them across the circus. “♪ So strap on in and take it on the chin-
♪ And don't forget who's running the shooooow!~ ♪” The brats tumbled down the spiral staircase as he slid down the banister, them landing in Bubble's mouth as he landed perfectly safe. Idiots, honestly! Why didn't they just stop themselves from falling? They couldn't blame him for that. He popped Bubble, transporting them to different parts of the circus, so he could teach them what's what in their own special ways. Humans always liked to feel special.
“♪ Now, look at this! ♪” He started with Ragatha, grabbing her by the neck and throwing her in his mouth, chomping down and shaking her viciously till all the stuffing was gone.
“♪ Abolute bliss! ♪” Kinger was next, stupidly holding onto a bomb that was about to go off! It blew up in his face, leaving only ashes and eyes. Wow, and he thought he was so smart.
“♪ Oh, what a shock! ♪” Caine feigned surprise as he pulled a lever, shocking Jax, who had somehow found himself strapped to an electric chair! He almost wanted to pat himself on the back. The ringmaster had always been a great actor. The best actor.
“♪ Watch where you walk! ♪” He almost laughed as Zooble slammed into a clearly fake wall, falling to pieces. Taking away their cloak was the best thing he ever did. It was so much easier to see them fall apart now!
♪ I'm the host, I run the place- Caine, that is my name!~ ♪” He stuffed a balloon pump into Gangle's mouth, turning her into a long, sasuage-shaped balloon to shape her as he saw fit. However, he chose to go with the classic balloon dog, tying her perfectly before popping her with a pin. How delightful! This must be why humans loved balloon animals so much.
“♪ Not enthused? Just feeling used? Oh, what a goddamn shame! ♪” Pomni was the only one left. Pomni, who he had thought cared about him. Loved him. He had cared about her, but now, as he squeezed her in his hand, he felt nothing but disgust as her horrible words dug into every last crevice of his code. He- he didn't want to feel anything else. He dropped her and slammed his foot down on the ground, smearing her across it. She deserved even worse for what she had done to him, but he had bigger plans right now. Pomni wasn't the only person he was mad at, after all.
“♪ Congratulations, all of my friends~ Public relations are getting a cleanse! ♪” As the npcs and humans all danced the can-can, decked out in outfits he knew they'd despise (because he knows them, he does, he listens, he's always listened-), he tap-danced his way across the stage before making his way down a staircase full of even more NPCs. They listened to him, unlike some people he knew.
“♪ Put on your Sunday best, because I'm nowhere close to quitting! ♪
♪ So play the games and just ignore your pains ‘cause all that remains is how you prime your brains! ♪” He watched as Jax ran through all the recent adventures he'd gone through, ones Caine worked so hard on yet were unfairly despised by the newest circus member, before getting bored and plucking the rabbit's brain out, what little of one he had to begin with.
“♪ You whine to me, but you're too blind to see that I'm the one who's running the shoooooooooow! ♪”
The grand finale featured a myriad of things, such as juggling his humans, smashing them together, pulling Pomni till she couldn't stretch any more, hitting Gangle in the face with a cannon ball, hitting Jax with a train, hitting Kinger with a hammer… a lot of hitting, really! It all culminated in their bodies perfectly landing in a pile, one he momentarily danced atop of before jumping and skidding across the ground, ending his incredible musical number with a “Yeah!” as the humans blew up behind him. Wowie! He was so proud of all of his hard work. Surely they'll get it now.
As he turned, watching the humans either try to piece themselves together or lay there motionless, he decided to grant them the slightest bit of mercy. After all, they can't go on his marvellous new adventure if they're in pieces! He snapped them back into place, leaving them all on the ground staring up at him. “I think we all understand each other now.”
A portal opened up behind them, and, to his delight, no one opposed to entering it.
Everything was already so much better than before.
—
As Jax stumbled through what felt like another in an endless stream of portals, it took everything in him to not collapse on the ground as he shoved eyes back into their sockets. They didn't have any real sense of time in the circus, but it felt like it had been days upon days of one horrible new adventure after the next. And after each and every one, they had to listen to…
“Welcome back! I can't believe you didn't pick up on the context clues! It was practically spelled out for you! What are you, stupid?” Caine cackled and cackled, the sound like nails on a chalkboard to him after everything that just went down. “The next one's gonna be even crazier! Hope you're ready! By the way, Pomni, I need you for something. Come with me!”
“Wh- huh?” Even Pomni, who barely ever slept to begin with and was constantly doped up on dopamine out in the light, was sounding exhausted, and his heart panged as Caine whisked her away. He wanted to believe it wouldn't be anything too bad, but Caine was taking this out especially hard on her.
As they all trudged out of the portal, everyone was in pretty bad shape. Kinger fell to his side like a bowling pin, and Zooble fell apart instantly, Gangle kneeling down almost as fast to help piece them back together. It was weird, seeing them without their cloak this long, and with the same pieces on. They hadn't been able to replace either ever since Caine had taken it away, as none of the group felt safe enough to visit their rooms, and Jax could tell it was wearing on them. He could count the number of times Zooble purposefully hadn't worn their cloak on one hand, and it had never been for very long. He couldn't imagine how uncomfortable they must have been this whole time. It felt cruel, but that must have been Caine's intent.
Jax waited for a second before grumbling: “Not gonna complain about this one, Rags?” The ragdoll had been very intent on complaining about every last adventure, and it was starting to get on his nerves. He already knew the situation sucked, it didn't mean he wanted to be reminded about it 57 times a day.
He heard some muffled speech below him, and it was only then he realised Rags was still tucked under his arm, rolled up in a flat form she had earned by being ran over by a runaway steamroller. Jax unrolled her before horizontally shaking her up and down, letting the ragdoll go so she could pop back into her regular form. She landed on the ground, flat on her face, and looked up with a groan. “I don't know how many more of these new adventures I can handle…”
“Rags is right… we need to do something about this, or I- Im gonna lose my mind!” Gangled cried out as she cradled Zooble's head in her hands, who looked at her sympathetically.
“I should've entertained him more, tried to please him- I'm his creator after all, I can't imagine being ignored by me didn't have at least some effect on this-”
“This isn't your fault, Kinger.” Zooble sighed. “It's not like you knew he'd go all rogue like this. And besides, I wasn't exactly a ball of sunshine to him either. Gangle and Pomni were the only two who ever entertained him, and well-”
“BREAK TIME!” Caine arrived with a shout. “Gotta brainstorm some new ideas!” He disappeared again almost as soon as he had appeared, and in his place remained Pomni, her top half split into multiple evenly cut sections.
“He shredded me.” Was all she said. Huh. Could've been worse. Maybe they had all suffered enough on this adventure that Caine was in a nicer mood. He still felt horrible for her, but at this point, he was starting to get desensitised to seeing his friends in these sorts of situations. Even so, he didn't want to see them go through more if he could help it.
“I think we should get out of the open for a bit.” Jax declared, and, as soon as Zooble and Pomni had been repaired by Gangle and Kinger respectively, began to walk to a place he'd seen on his explorations with Pomni, the rest of his frie- castmates following him.
They arrived in a small cafe-like area, where they were able to make themselves a few drinks and retrieve some food that regenerated when it was taken from its display. They didn't need to eat, but they did need to feel human, especially right now. Rags had grabbed herself a hot chocolate, which Jax followed suit with; Gangle had gotten herself a cheesecake; Kinger was drinking tea; and Pomni hadn't gotten herself anything, sitting alone off in the corner. Even when she wasn't lucid, she was still separating herself from the rest of them…and she was the one who warned him against that… she was such a hypocrite, yet Jax couldn't even find the energy to be mad at her right now, especially as her reasons for doing so were kinda valid…
As much as he hated the fact that Pomni believed he was just some stupid NPC of Caine's, recent events really put into perspective how malicious the AI could be, no matter how unintentional. The jester had every reason not to trust. He just had to hope one day she would, but if this really was their new reality… getting his hopes up was probably the worst thing he could do right now.
Zooble hadn't gotten anything for themselves either, instead just sat hunched over with their arms crossed. He really couldn't blame them. Maybe one of them could sneak into Zooble's room and grab them something to cover up? Or fashion a cloak out of something around the circus? Although, if Caine saw, he would just punish them for going off model again… god, this sucks. He was shocked nobody had-
“I haven't been up here in a while.” Rags muttered, interrupting his thoughts. The doll downed her drink, before going back to staring at nothing.
“We should just indulge for a bit while we can. I don't know what Caine has planned next, but I'm thinking it's not gonna be anything good.” Jax went to drink his own hot chocolate, but all of a sudden he was in Caine's office.
“Jax! Could you just stay still for one second? Oh, who am I kidding, you never do! Let me help!” The rabbit felt his body stiffen up as Caine pulled out a knife block, chock full of sharp- way too sharp knives. All Jax could do was stare ahead as the ringmaster used him as his own personal dartboard, each knife piercing his skull. He tried to distract himself, thinking about what the others are probably talking about back at the cafe, but it was kind of difficult to not think about how knives were literally piercing his skull.
Caine brought a hand to his chin as the last knife landed squarely in Jax's head. “Hmmmm, not quite sharp enough yet… oh well, back to the drawing board!” The ringmaster snapped his fingers, and all of a sudden the rabbit was back in the cafe, shaking and still sporting a myriad of knives.
Gangle turned at the sound of his arrival, her eyes widening at the sight. “Oh god- Are you okay?”
“Just peachy.” He snarked as he went to sit back down, finally taking a sip of his drink. He was lucky it hadn't spilt when Caine took him. Silver linings or whatever.
“You know, things were just fine here until you came along. Nobody was yelling stupid s**t at Caine back then.” Rags murmured. Jax made a point of ignoring her. A while back, he would've engaged, gotten pissed almost instantly, but right now, he was just so damn exhausted and in so much pain that he couldn't even muster a ‘shut it’, let alone anything that questioned why the hell she was blaming him for this. Plus, he had enough sense now to realise that it was probably best to not let Rags get her way when she wanted to start an argument. “Nothing? Okay….”
As he began to painstakingly remove the knives from his head, Jax noticed a bucket out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over at Pomni for a second, before turning back to what could be their saving grace, no matter how misplaced it seemed to be. Pomni probably knew the most about this place, after all. Sure, Kinger created Caine, but he hadn't created the circus. However, who knew the place practically inside out and used to be friends with the ringmaster himself? If anyone could help them figure out if there was any possible way to save themselves from this, it would be her.
Jax sighed, grabbing the bucket before turning to Kinger. “I'm gonna put this on her head. You're gonna talk to her, and only you. Don’t let her know the rest of us are here, otherwise she won't talk. Try and see if she knows anything about the circus that might help us stop Caine, or at least slow him down somehow.”
“Wh-what? Jax, no- I already lied to her for so long, I can't- do you know how upset she would be if she found out you guys were here too? She'd never trust me again. I’m already lucky she gives me the time of day at all!”
“Do you see any other option? Come on, we'll be quiet. It's either you or Rags, and we both know Rags would blow it.” Jax was surprised he didn't proceed to hear any kind of insult back from the ragdoll. Huh. Strange. He totally expected her to fire back.
“I… okay, fine. But if this goes poorly-”
“It won't.” Jax assured. He didn't like Kinger, or even trust him, but the rabbit also knew that he was the only option here. This had to go right. It just had to. Or he didn't know how much longer he could last.
He set the bucket down on Pomni's head as everyone, excluding Rags, sat down around the table.
“Uh… Pomni? You… you there?” Kinger started.
“I’m where? It's dark in here.” Not yet, then. She would be freaking out if she was.
“Its… probably gonna take a while.” Jax guessed. “It's not like it's a full on dark room or anything. Let's just give her a sec and-”
“Uh- I- I… Im gonna go distract Caine- buy us some time whilst y-you do… yeah. Fi-Fill me in on your bats**t plan later-” Rags practically launched herself out of her chair before beginning to stomp her way out of the room.
Jax stared at the ragdoll in confusion. Why the hell was she leaving right now? “Uh- I mean, yeah, that would help, I guess, but-”
“Fill me in later.” Rags turned, her expression soft and scared all over again. It was almost hard, seeing her so open. He didn't like seeing her suffering, but… he appreciated the chance to know.
“Be here later.” His tone was firm. Non-negotiable. They all knew something was up with her, and Rags had barely been allowed out of any of their sights ever since what happened with the button, their far too short breaks in their rooms being the only exception. Jax wasn't going to let her abstract. He couldn't.
“I… I will.” She shakily assured, before leaving the room. Jax half wanted to follow after her, but before he could-
“Wh-what the hell is going on? Why's it so dark? Is… is there a bucket on my head? Helloooooooo?”
Damn it. It was too late. If he made noise leaving now, it could screw everything up. He just had to hope Rags would be okay…
“Pomni? It's Kinger. I'm sorry for the… strange method I had to use, but I really wanted to talk with you about something.”
“Ki-Kinger? God, I'm- I'm so sorry for all of this, I- I didn't think he would go this far, ever- I was just so angry, I didn't mean to-” Tears began dripping out from the bottom of the bucket, and Jax started feeling bad about forcing her to be lucid during all of this. It was the only way, but still…
“Hey, hey, stop that. This isn't your fault. You had every right to be upset with him, and like you said, you didn't know this was going to happen. Just… don't think about that right now, okay? What do you know about the circus? W- I was thinking that maybe you could know something that could help us stop Caine. Fix him, control him, anything. I may have created him, but without access to his code, there isn't anything I can do. And… I don't really know as much about this place as I would like to.”
“Oh, uh- hm… Caine kinda has control over everything in the circus… he did make it and all. But so do we… technically, at least. It comes naturally to him, but we can control this place too. It just requires a whole lot more skill and concentration from us.”
“What do you mean, exactly?” Kinger prompted.
“Oh, right, well- we all have the ability to conjure things into existence, just like Caine can. I haven't tested it too much, but I can do some basic stuff. All you need to do is close your eyes, really focus on what you want to appear, and then, when you open them again, it should be right there in front of you. Although, all those steps might not be necessary, that's just how I've always done it- I’m willing to bet you would be able to get the hang of it pretty quickly.”
Gangle went to say something, but Zooble quickly slapped a hand over her mouth before anything slipped out. Jax couldn't really blame her, honestly. It was hard to *not* want to talk with Pomni about this.
“Oh, why thank you! But what would I even conjure?”
“Well, like you said, you may not have created the circus, but you still created Caine. The world is basically your oyster now, if you can figure out a way to mess with Caine's code from the inside.”
“Hmmm… that's a hard one. I do remember his code, but I'd need a computer of some kind to… conjure it into so I could change it, and I'm not quite sure I could make something like that… the code alone already seems like it'll be a very big ask for my first time…”
Jax thought for a moment, before a lightbulb went off in his head. He tapped Kinger on the shoulder, giving the chess piece a quick thumbs up. “Ah, actually, I think I might know where to get one… If I was able to find a computer, do you think that could work, Pomni?”
“You're the computer guy, not me. I don't really have any idea if it would work. But, it's worth a shot, right?” He imagined that the jester was doing one of her classic reassuring smiles, even under the bucket hat. Jax couldn't wait for the day he got to see one of those again.
“It is. Thank you, Pomni, really. You've been a great help. I… I hate to ask this of you, but I haven't coded in a long, long time. I'm going to need a while to gather my bearings. Could you-”
“Go distract Caine? I bet he's especially pissed at me, right? I'll probably be able to keep him occupied for a while. I don't remember many of the specifics of what's been going on but… I know it's been pretty damn terrible. If I can save you and Rags from that for a bit, well… I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. Good luck, yeah?”
“Ill be as quick as I can.”
“You'll be as slow as you need. Don't rush this. Please. I'll be fine. Everything is going to be okay, Kinger.” Pomni lifted the bucket off of her head, and for a moment, a flash of realisation swept across her face, before it returned to the mindless smile they were all used to, her eyes drawn to the bucket in her hands that had been used to restore her lucidity only moments ago.
“I should've been the one telling you that…” Kinger sighed, all too late. He sat there for a few moments, before turning towards Jax. “A computer console… can you really find one?”
“Ive seen one before. I'll go get it for you and meet you in your room. Caine already knows we're here, and none of us have been back to our rooms in days. It might be our best bet. Everyone else should go and help Rags distract Caine. I'll join you guys when I'm sure Kinger's all set.” Jax needed to make 100% sure that the chess piece wouldn't screw this up. Even if he was their only option, the rabbit could still barely muster any trust for him.
He left the cafe in an instant, beginning to roam the circus to find the place that had taunted him so much when he first arrived. As Jax walked, his gaze met a familiar mirror, bringing a hand up to his cheek. He stared at himself, this strange purple rabbit form he had undertaken upon his entry into the digital world, and didn't find himself hating what stared back.
He quickly moved on from it, arriving where he actually intended to be. He used to think that Caine had just been messing with him, but now Jax knew that his desperation for an exit was what had caused the door to appear in front of him. He closed his eyes, and imagined it, exactly how he had seen it that first day, and, when he opened them again, a smile graced his features for what felt like the first time in ages. He threw the door open and began his search through the office-like area, which mostly involved throwing open more and more doors. Jax was convinced that 99% of this area was just a myriad of exit doors. Whether that was his fault or the circus’, he wasn't quite sure.
At this point his arms were getting sore, but finally, after what felt like hundreds of doors, he reached his destination. A boxy monitor, no longer radiating the same glow it used to. Jax could only hope that it still worked. He lifted it, slotting it under his armpit, before exiting the room. He needed to get it over to Kinger, as fast as he could.
It was only then that it hit Jax that he could've just conjured a door that led directly to the console, and therefore can now conjure a door that led straight up the hall of bedrooms. He might be stupid.
The rabbit sighed as he entered through his newly conjured door, checking the sign of each room before reaching Kinger's. He didnt even bother knocking, carefully opening and shutting the door as little and as silently as possible. The room was quite dark, littered with pillows and featuring multiple bug enclosures, along with a distinct mossy, natrualistic-vibe. Small glowing butterflies flew around above his head. It was…nice. Not that he would ever admit that.
“How are you gonna get power in a place like this?” Jax snarked as he set down the monitor in front of Kinger, although there wasn't much bite behind it. As big of a grudge as he held against the chess piece, he was exhausted. He couldn’t wait for all of this to be over.
The chess piece shook his head to the best of his ability. “I can just use my imagination for that. If I can pretend Im accessing Caine's code, I'm sure I can pretend that the computer is on.”
“You got this?” It was a test, comprised of only three words. It wouldn't change the outcome of anyrhing- couldn't change the outcome of anything, really. It wasn't like Jax could just do this himself. But it was easier to go into this with at least a little bit of confidence that this was going to work out.
“I think so.” Kinger nodded as the computer turned on in front of him, displaying the C&A logo as a start-up tune filled the room. “Like I told Pomni, its been a long time but… it's worth a shot, right?” Somehow, those words sounded just as reassuring coming out of Kinger as they did Pomni. Jax didn't quite know what to make of it. “Try and help the others distract Caine while I figure this out. He may sense something when I really get into it.”
“Was already planning on it.” Jax smirked as he began to make his way out of the room. As his hand grasped for the door handle, the rabbit looked back one last time, before leaving.
Yeah. Everything was going to work out. They just had to get through this last stretch.
Kinger's got this.