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Caine had never felt so lost in his existence. The humans didn’t need him anymore, but unlike before he couldn’t make them love him. He was trapped. A former god in a prison of a body. His powers limited and his purpose incinerated.
He sat in his office, if it could even be called that. The once magical room where Caine had planned all his adventures was in disarray. The bubbles of his former adventures were shattered as a result of a child-like tantrum. The once beautiful architecture reduced to a muddy gray. It was depressing. But it was all Caine had.
His chair itself felt wrong and a testimony to his fall from grace. He had rarely sat in it before. Always preferring to leisurely float above his desk. He didn’t know how the humans stood it. The heavy weight of gravity pushing them down constantly.
He wished he could create something. Design a world, an adventure, that he could enjoy all by himself. He wished he could do anything. The world that was once playdough for him to shape was now hard and seemingly unbending.
“Caine?” Caine jumped violently at the sound of his name. He internally cursed, hating how weak he was to get startled by a human.
“What do you want, Kinger?” The voice didn’t sound like him. Flat and dull. He felt like a child sulking in his room.
“I was worried about you” Kinger inched forward till he was right in front of Caines desk. “You weren’t at breakfast and no one had seen you all day. Are you ok?”
“None of us even need to eat!” Caine hissed, dodging the question. “Why you partaking in such a needless charade is beyond me and I have no interest in participating”
Caine turned away slightly. His arms crossed in a visual attempt to show his disdain. Why would he even need to join them for breakfast? He was an AI! Perhaps, before, he would have been the one making the breakfast. Delectable dishes designed in accordance with each human’s preferences. But stripes of his godhood he could do no such thing. So why would he partake? He wasn’t one of them. They had made that painfully clear.
“Well,” Kinger began, unfazed by Caine’s attitude. “I wished you had come. You don’t need to eat or anything, but it would have been nice to see you. You stay cooped up in here all the time and It can be much fun to be by yourself”
“No one wants me there,” Caine murmured. He slid lower into his seat like he could disappear from the words.
There was a brief pause in which Caine expected Kinger to leave. His silence would be enough. Confirming what Caine knew to be true without Kinger having to be the bad guy. But he didn’t leave.
“I want you there” the words were soft. Genuine? Caine didn’t know how to tell. He couldn’t imagine they were true. Why would anyone want him there? He was broken, defaultly.
“I would never abandon you Caine” Kinger must have sensed the previous words weren’t enough.
The words hurt more than they helped. He had already been abandoned. What would it matter if it happened again? But Caine wanted to believe them so desperately. It was painful, the way his emotions danced at the words. He didn’t know what to do. What to say.
Kinger offered his hand. Palm up, close enough for Caine to grab. Caine's own hand reached tentatively up. He wanted to feel the warmth of another living thing. He didn’t even understand what Kinger was asking with the motion. He merely accepted.
Kinger led Caine out of his office. It felt strange to walk around. A sharp pain of grief stabbed the former ring leader. Memories of floating through the air or simply snapping to a location plagued him. Walking felt so strange. So miserable.
“How are you feeling?” Kinger asked. His voice seemed nice. Caine let himself relax.
He pondered the question. Feelings. He wasn’t supposed to have them. But he did, didn’t he? That’s what made him flawed.
“We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to” spoke softly and Caine realized he had gotten lost in his thoughts.
“I’ve never seen you so quiet,” Kinger laughed softly. Guilt stabbed Caine. Was he doing… whatever this was… wrong? Was he doomed to fail no matter how simple the task?
“Just… thinking,” Caine answered.
“About what?”
Caine glanced at Kinger. He realized their hands were still connected. It didn’t feel wrong necessarily. In a lot of ways it felt almost nice. Something soft and real to hold on to. The thought made him feel weak, jerking his hand away from Kinger and breaking the tentative connection. “I hate walking. It’s so… unnatural”
Kinger laughed slightly, making Caine curl into himself more. Kinger noticed and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Caine. I don’t mean to laugh at you, it's just… I suppose the way you used to float around was always quite ‘unnatural’ to me.”
He chuckled, more soft this time before turning more serious. “Can you not float anymore?”
“I can’t do anything,” Caine laughed bitterly. His eyes began to sting in a way he had never felt before. Like thousands of little needles stabbing the back. He looked down, trying to stifle the uncomfortable feeling.
Silence stretched between them. Caine didn’t like it. It felt fragile and jagged. Like something about to break and flood them with acid. Caine wondered if that would make a good adventure before remembering it didn’t matter.
They walked. Caine wondered where they were going. Perhaps they were moving without purpose. Life without direction. A world without an adventure. Then the rounded a corner and Caine froze.
It was the humans. All of them, siting in a circle. On the chairs Caine had so often seen them sitting on. They must have been talking. They stopped the moment he came into view. They stared. At him. Of course they did.
Their faces showed a range of emotions. Caine wished he knew what they were thinking. How they were feeling. But he didn’t. And would it even have mattered? He had scanned their brain files and still didn’t know how to make them happy. He failed them. He failed himself.
“Hey Caine!” Ragatha spoke first. She gave a wave before looking at the other characters. Most of them turned away. “How are you holding up?”
Caine remembered how her face had looked with a knife through the eye. The way her expression had twisted when she saw the shadow of her mother. He stayed silent.
“Hey Ragatha! We’re just out on a walk” Kinger chuckled awkwardly.
“What, the fucker can’t float anymore?” Jax laughed. Grinning at Caine while one of his brows twisted up.
Caine felt his face twitch though he wasn’t sure why. He wanted to snap his finger and make him quiet. But he couldn’t.
“Jax!” Ragatha gasped. “Be nice”
Another strange silence descended. Caine wanted to fidget. To float around. To twist his hands. But he made himself stay still.
“Well,” Kinger began, ushering Caine to a vacant seat. “How is everyone else doing?”
Silence greeted his question. Caine sat in the seat he was directed too, as far from the others as possible. He glanced up only to notice everyone staring at. He looked back down, unsure of what he did wrong.
“Fuck no, I’m out!” Zooble stood up moving to leave only for Gangle to grab their hand.
“Wait! We can all talk! Don’t leave” Gangle tried to pull them back down.
“Come on, Zooble. We’re all in this together,” Ragatha said.
“I’m with Zoobie on this one,” Jax shrugged and stood “this is too fucking awkward”
“Sit your ass back down, Jax” Pomni hissed.
The room became louder as they all started talking at once. Normally Caine would make them all be quiet with a snap of his fingers. Or charm them with a joke. He would handle the situation regardless. But now he merely watched. He knew he should have stayed in his office. They didn’t want him around. They hated him.
They stopped bickering finally. Caine didn’t care enough to listen. They were spoiled. All they did was fight. They were never happy.
It didn’t matter.
Kingers hand on his shoulder disrupted his thoughts. He looked up. The chess piece looked at him with twisted brows. Concerned? Caine couldn’t tell.
He glanced around. Zooble and Gangle had left. Pomni was looking at him. Jax was looking at the ground. Ragatha was looking at Jax.
Caine wished he was back in his office.
“Why are you even here?” Jax asked.
Caine flinched slightly. Why was he here? He couldn’t do anything. He was powerless. Why hadn’t they just deleted him for good? It would have saved them all some trouble.
“What, do you just expect him to sit in his office all day?” Pomni retorted.
“Why not! Do you expect me to feel sympathy for him? Oh give me a break!”
“You could try not being a dick!” Ragatha exploded.
“Everyone calm down, ok?” Pomni tried.
“Do you really expect me to pretend none of that happened?” Jax stood. “He tortured us! All because we hurt his feelings. And now? Now he’s playing the part of the poor AI who is just a misunderstood baby. Well I’m not falling for it. All of this is his fault.”
The words hung in the air. Caine couldn’t argue with them. Couldn’t deny them. He wished he hadn’t done what he did. But he had. There was no undoing it. No turning back.
“I shouldn’t have come here” Caine finally spoke. He shouldn’t have let Kinger drag him here. He stood, ready to leave, only to be stopped by Pomni’s voice.
“Please don’t go. We’re all in this together”
“No. I failed you all. Now I only cause you discomfort. The logical solution would be for me to stay away. I serve no purpose anymore,” the words were spoken with a numb detachment Caine couldn’t hide. He didn’t know how to fix things. He was only making things worse.
Kinger reached for his hand but Caine pushed him away. He walked forward, his steps unsteady with . It felt like defeat. No snapping away. No showman’s flair. Just his echoing steps as none of them tried to stop him.