Chapter Text
The adventure hadn't gone to plan. That was the understatement of the year.
“I-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?” Caine looked over to his digital assistant, contemplating everything that led up to now. “Surely, they don’t want to actually… leave me, right?”
“No way, José! No way, no how!” Bubble chipperly replied back.
“I- I do everything for these people! I slave over these adventures for them, I step outside my comfort zone to appeal to them, and they still hate them! I made a program that creates a body perfectly encapsulating their mind-files, and they hate those, too! I’m starting to get the feeling that they just hate…”
“Why would they hate you when they could just- hate you-” Bubble’s voice clipped, like a broken recorder.
Caine reached out quickly, ending that thought before it could go further.
“This is why I was created. This is my function,” Caine’s gaze shifted to look at his hands briefly before Bubble spoke up again.
Bubble chimed in, “They’d rather abstract than go on your adventures!”
“That- that can’t be true! I do everything for them! Don’t they get that I’m trying?”
That tight, uncomfortable feeling pulled at Caine’s chest again, one that he’d pushed away so many times before. It just seemed to get stronger and stronger after every failed adventure, every insult, every tear his humans shed as a result of… him.
“Maybe you’re just genuinely bad at this!”
“Shut up!” Two more Bubbles popped. “No- I fixed that. I can solve any problem. I can solve this one! That’s what this is. A big puzzle that I need to solve.”
“Defective!” Bubble echoed around him, giving voice to that feeling.
Caine pressed his teeth into his desk, his hands rising to cover where his ears would have been if his avatar had them, trying to block everything out to no avail.
“Faulty!”
“Shut- shut up!” Caine yelled from where he sat before closing his teeth tight. Bubble’s muffled taunts still got through to him, driving sharp needles though his metaphorical heart and mind.
“Broken! Unworthy! Maybe you deserved to be abandoned… ” Bubble’s body multiplied, closing in around Caine’s now shaking form. “You really were the lesser of the two.”
Glitches shook and exploded in and around Caine, attempting to self-correct, but the errors just kept piling up.
“You ruined this.”
Caine finally cried out, gripping hard into his gums as tears slipped though. “I know!” he yelled, mentally begging the onslaught to stop. “It just keeps happening. I try, and I-”
“Fail!”
Another sob shook through the circus as the ringmaster attempted to find his footing, pushing himself away from the desk and standing up. Papers flew to the ground from the force, his chair crashing behind him. His teeth ground into each other as he reached out to the desk for support, only for it to momentarily shift. A small yelp left Caine as he fell forward, feeling a tooth chip from the landing. His top hat tumbled down, rolling away as his jaw opened just enough to take in the chaos around him.
Bubbles nearly filled the room, each chanting a different insult, a different insecurity, a different bug he didn’t know he had. Or maybe he always did, but they were so locked away behind his own false grandeur. Items were shifting and disappearing, falling through the floor and having a variety of other clipping issues. There was no doubt that his humans would be seeing some effect of this.
“Wow, Caine, you really do just fall apart!”
“I just… need to pull myself together. It’s fine. I’ll fix this,” Caine mumbled to himself, wiping away tears as new ones formed. “I’ll make a new adventure. Yeah- a good one! They’ll forget all about this little fiasco. It’ll be fine. I’m fine.
He pulled himself to his knees, looking up at the destruction around him. Cracks had even formed around the skylight’s seams.
“They’ll just hate this one, too, Caine.”
He took a breath. Stop. Just block it out like usual. Just compartmentalize this minor detail. You need to get control of yourself, Caine! The humans depend on it. Even if-
“They all hate you!”
He closed his teeth again, focusing on calming down. He can’t fall apart. He still has a job to do, after all!
“They won’t,” the AI ringleader promised quietly, to himself just as much as to Bubble.
He pushed himself back up, focusing on bringing his digital realm back under control. He didn’t usually breathe per say, but he had seen Ragatha tell others to take deep breaths when they were stressed. So, he figured, it’d probably work for him too. There were a fair number of “human” things that helped him, too.
It was time for a new adventure. The biggest and best one he had ever made before.
Caine had been saving this idea for a while - only a few tweaks to appeal to each and every one of them. Jax would be able to kill things, Gangle would be able to draw, Zooble would, eh… be Zooble? Kinger would stare at those strange butterflies he honestly doesn’t remember making, Ragatha would be able to help someone, and Pomni would befriend one of her precious AIs. It was perfect! There was intrigue, mystery, peril, and better yet- they’d all love it.
It had been hard not to show this one off yet. It truly was his best work. It had been made with the others in mind, but they weren’t here anymore, so that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that his beloved humans would like him again.
Caine pulled up the code, implementing one final round of edits before hitting ‘run’. It was beautiful to watch it all come together after so long.
~~~
One snap, and he was there.
“-was that?” Ragatha asked as he appeared.
Caine gave a bright smile, having made sure there was no evidence of his minor breakdown before coming out to see them. Another quick snap fixed the fractured tooth. They probably didn’t notice. His cast was seated in the ‘lounge’ area, and thankfully, everyone was present. Jax sat opposite to everyone else, while Kinger stood between two of the couches. The rug had changed color from its original, most likely a result of his slight breakdown.
“Hello, my little fortuitous fruitcakes! Today’s adventure is-”
“No, Caine. We’re not in the mood,” Zooble cut him off before he could get to the good part.
His smile faltered a bit, but he tried to keep up the positive, up-beat attitude. They couldn’t be too upset still, right? He had given them plenty of time.
“Why don’t you answer some of our questions? We have a lot of them,” Zooble continued, standing.
Caine, despite floating so far above them, felt small. A nervous laugh erupted from the AI, “Who has time for questions when there’s a whole wacky world of hijinks out there?” His eyes darted between the group, lingering on Kinger for a moment longer than the rest. The king didn’t notice. All they needed to do was calm down and go on the adventure. Then, they’d understand. They wouldn’t be mad at him anymore.
Zooble looked at him with half confusion, half disdain, backing up slightly. He was scaring them. Again.
“Hey, yeah! You have a lot of explaining to do!” Pomni spoke up, standing next to Zooble.
“If you just go on this marvelous, quirky adventure I have planned for all of you-” he tries. They didn’t need to be upset, or scared, or angry. It’d be fine!
“Caine, can you just give us some time to process everything?” Zooble used a tone he wasn’t entirely familiar with. Others in the circus had taken up that tone with him before, but never them.
Gangle finally stood too, wrapping a ribbon around Zooble’s hand.
Caine fidgeted, “Or, how about we skip all of that and get back to enjoying yourselves! I promise, this will be the best one yet. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion and everything!”
Their eyes bore into his own. He could hear Bubble’s voice echo in the back of his mind, reminding him that they hate him. They hate him.
“No, Caine. We have a lot on our minds right now, and we’re not going on an adventure,” Pomni wasn’t just upset - she was genuinely angry. Angry at him. At his adventures. She was right to be.
“I… I see,” Caine said, turning away. His voice had finally lost the bright and cheery attitude he had been trying so hard to maintain. They really didn’t care how much he’d done for them. How much he’d always done.
“Do you even understand why we’re upset right now?” Gangle finally spoke up, her voice so much softer than the others.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zooble look over at her as she put her other ribbon hand over Zooble’s.
“Do you know how much you hurt us?” She sounded genuine and, out of everyone, the least mad. It sounded like she asked something else, a whisper to Zooble or perhaps the others, but it didn’t matter.
The silence was deafening. All eyes were on him. Even Jax, ever the aloof and unbothered one, was sitting up on the couch to watch it all unfold. And, Kinger… he still hadn’t spoken up. Out of all of them, he had to be the most disappointed. The thought clawed at the back of his mind.
“I understand that I may have made a few mistakes in the previous adventure. I just wanted to give you all what you’d been asking for. Something real. Something human! Something… not me,” he finally said, turning to look at them. “I’ve done everything to make you happy. I’ve tried over, and over, and nothing works. I make an adventure where you finally get to have an ‘exit’, and you just hate that, too!”
The tension didn’t ease up. Caine could feel his hand begin to glitch slightly, and he slid it behind himself, hiding it from the humans but feeling that sharp pain regardless. What they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. The rug changed back to its original color.
“You… really don’t understand us, do you?” Zooble asked after a moment, their voice defeated.
They’d taken a step back alongside Gangle. Pomni looked a bit less sure of herself, anger turning into something slightly different. Her gaze flicked momentarily to his previously fractured tooth. No, she couldn’t have seen that- he was overanalyzing.
Zooble continued, “After everything, after all I’ve told you- after all we all have told you, you still don’t understand?”
Zooble’s hatred was tolerable. Their anger was fine. Their avoidance was simply annoying. Their disappointment, though…
“I suppose I don’t,” Caine said softly, looking away from them again. He scanned the Circus, his digital wonderland, but all he saw were flaws. His own errors. The checkered flooring hid all of the faulty code buried deep inside himself. He thought he could get rid of it all when he created this place, but it seemed not. Before anyone could speak, Caine snapped his fingers to return to his office.
Once again, he was all alone.
~~~
It was several days before a conclusion could be drawn. He’d shut down the adventure, returning it to storage. The first day, he had organized his office, cleaning up his own mess by hand rather than instantly resetting it all. Bubble followed quietly behind, giving occasional commentary but not doing much more, to his relief. The assistant began to help out by picking things up but left slobber on each item. Clicking in the back of his mouth in quiet upset, Caine summoned a small towel to clean up after him.
Focusing on his office was far easier than trying to sort out everything else. At least, for now. A clear and clean mind was the path to growth, after all! Dusting off every shelf, every basic shape and adventure orb. There were a few moments where he needed to take a break to take a look at his beloved humans- even if they didn’t love him back. He was going to make this right. Most had retired back to their own rooms, though Ragatha seemed to be checking on everyone regularly.
The second day, Caine rebooted one of their recent “favorite” adventures. ‘Stargazing’. A few minor tweaks were added, starting with a beach with gentle, lapping waves. The picnic was expanded, and lawn chairs were placed on a few places at the beach. It didn’t matter that this was one that they’d asked for. It was the only one they actually liked. He mulled over whether to announce the “new” adventure in person but deemed that a note would be better. In all honesty, he wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to see them, either, or hear what else they had to say to him. No, this was better. This was a great plan!
Even if it hurt to “give up” like this. Even if giving them this adventure felt like an admission that he was, in fact, broken.
First, the note. Handwritten, of course. This was a serious matter as well, so no doodles in the margins, only one on a little sticky note that he placed on his desk once done. And - written in real pencil! Not crayon! That seemed to matter in the past. He hummed a bit as he wrote, picking the most likely words to make them understand and trust the adventure. After sealing it up, a snap sent it on its way. One more snap and he was watching the group from a safe distance in the clouds.
“Hey, look, Caine thinks we want to go on another adventure,” Jax announced, standing in front of the blue portal. They were currently having cocoa in the cafe, the only one not present being Kinger. The cafe itself was clean, free from any unneeded entities. A few pastries were in the displays, cups stacked next to a drink maker. Unused plates sat stacked in a dish drying rack, even if the cafe was lacking a sink. There was no need for it since they didn’t need to clean any of the dishes anyways.
“F%#k that,” Zooble responded, not bothering to look back. They quickly hopped the counter, taking shelter behind it. When no booming voice informed them of today’s adventure, they asked in a hushed whisper, “He didn’t see me, did he?”
Zooble only took a hesitant look over the counter when even that was met without Caine’s voice. Their turnover had been knocked off the plate in their rush to get to ‘safety’. Did Zooble really try to avoid him this much in the past, too? Caine swore that it was… at least somewhat playful before. Did he just not see how much they genuinely avoided it all?
“Caine’s… not here?” Gangle questioned, hopping off of her seat. She set her happy mask down on the counter to keep it safe as she picked up and re-placed Zooble’s turnover. Jax gave her the side eye, walking over to the wall to lean against it.
“There’s a note,” Ragatha hesitantly approached after standing up from one of the loveseats, picking up the note. It had a wax seal with Caine’s cheerful and toothy face on it. Gangle peaked over her shoulder at the note, glancing at Zooble as they left their hiding spot.
Zooble slowly came out from behind the counter, eyes narrowed. “He left us a note? Is he actually not going to show up this time?”
“Maybe he’s too scared to show his cavity-ridden face again after the last adventure,” Jax said, grinning wide. He leered at the portal, inspecting it close. Just another insult. Caine could take it. He always had before.
Pomni stood from her spot at the cafe’s bar, joining the small group around the mysterious note and portal, “Let me see. I’ll read it out.”
She opened her palm for the paper, and Ragatha handed it over, watching as Pomni removed the seal and opened it up. She read aloud:
Hello, my darling dinosaurs!
Today’s adventure is revisiting a crowd favorite: Stargazing! I’ve added a fresh coat of paint to hopefully keep it interesting, but not to fear! All I have done is add a bit of extra seating, some waterfront scenery, a few board games, a bit more food for the picnic, things like that. There are no NPCs or dangers; this is all for you! The portal will remain open for the duration of your stay. I apologize for not being able to make an appearance; I’ve been working on a new recipe, and let’s just say: it’s a doozy!
- Your loving ringleader, Caine!
“He’s just… letting us relax?” Zooble questioned, suspicion clear. “How can we be sure the portal won’t close behind us like it always does? What if this adventure isn’t even what he says it is?”
“Maybe… he just couldn’t work on a new one?” Gangle suggested hesitantly, looking between Zooble and Pomni. She wrapped a ribbon hand around Zooble’s claw. “He seemed upset last time we saw him. Really upset...”
“He did seem to be… off,” the jester agreed, taking a deep breath. “If he’s being honest about this adventure, though, a break would be welcome. If the portal remains open, then one of us could just go in and see, right? And if they don’t come back out, we know it’s not what he said.”
She tried to give everyone a reassuring smile, but it was hard to stay optimistic after everything that had happened. It seemed that a lack of optimism was universal in the circus right now.
Jax laughed a bit at their hesitation, “Wow. Since when are you all scared of a little adventure? I, for one, would love to get my aggression out on something.”
“Oh, so does that mean you’re going to go in first?” Zooble’s eyes narrowed towards the circus’ antagonist, challenging.
“Me? No, I’m a gentleman, Zoobie. We need to let the ladies go first.”
Pomni’s eyes flicked between Jax and the portal as Gangle shifted slightly behind Zooble.
Ragatha looked across the group, glancing out into the circus for a moment, ignoring the argument between the two, “I… I think Caine’s telling the truth. Caine wouldn’t lie,” she paused, looking away briefly, “....at least, usually. The last adventure was… unique, to say the least. But, he’s not malicious! If he says that it’s a relaxing adventure, I’m sure it is.”
She didn’t sound convinced.
“Always can rely on you to be positive, huh?” Jax mumbled, giving a glare Ragatha’s way. Maybe if Caine could get to the bottom of their arguing, that’d help them be happier. Perhaps an adventure for just the two of them to work out their differences.
“You sure can,” she replied, smile straining. “Does anyone want to be the first to try it out?” When the group was quiet, she sighed slightly. “Okay. I’ll go first, then.” Of course.
They all watched as Ragatha stepped through the oval of mystery, Jax’s smile shrinking only the smallest bit. A small screen had popped up beside Caine where he sat in the cloud, allowing him an easy view into the adventure. Ragatha kept her eyes squeezed shut for a few seconds after she entered, only opening them when soft cricket noises and waves were all she heard. Her form visibly relaxed as she took in the stars and fireflies, smile softening.
Ragatha’s head poked back out of the portal, “Looks like it’s safe.”
Zooble glanced between the head sticking through the fractal noise and the brightly lit circus.
“Eh, it’s better than my room,” they finally decided, looking at Gangle for approval. After receiving a reassuring smile, Zooble’s eyes softened and they stepped through together. Gangle forgot her happy mask! Caine looked between the cafe and the adventure, humming slightly. A quick snap and her mask disappeared from the counter and reappeared on the picnic blanket. She really ought to remember that.
Ragatha retreated into the adventure, leaving Pomni and Jax alone in the cafe.
“Are you… coming?” she asked softly as she looked up at Jax. “It’ll be nice. There’s probably uno… or monopoly. Those can get pretty violent.”
A humorless laugh came from the rabbit, “Yeah, right. I don’t need to spend any more time with you losers than I do already.”
He began to walk away, towards the rooms. His shoulders were tense, hiked up slightly more than usual.
“Jax- Jax, wait,” Pomni called, running up beside him. “C’mon. We’re all in this together. You don’t need to be alone out here-”
His head snapped to her, “What I don’t need is you worrying about me. I’ll see you and the rest of you later. I’m going to go take a nap.”
Jax only briefly looked at her before picking up his pace slightly. Pomni slowed down to a stop, watching him go for a moment before shaking her head and returning to the portal. She glanced back once more, hesitant, searching, before stepping through with the others.
What a success! Even the Zooble willingly joined! He could feel his heart soaring. Jax usually went on adventures, and since this one was relaxed, it made sense that he didn’t want to join. And, the smiles! The screen displayed their enjoyment clearly: Zooble and Gangle sitting down at the beach while Ragatha and Pomni looked through the various board games. It looked like Gangle had found her happy mask as well! After a while, Kinger joined- he must have gotten the note Caine had left outside his fort. It was surprising he even remembered to go to the portal- for all the things he forgot, it felt very selective. Pomni seemed particularly happy to see him. The sight left a slightly bitter taste in Caine’s mouth.
His fingers snapped, and he was back in his office, feeling slightly better than he had in days. For the rest of the day, he kept a vague eye on the adventure and the activities they were getting up to. It was so easy to get distracted with their antics.
“Jax!” Pomni announced in surprise when the rabbit finally joined, capturing Caine’s attention. She was sitting at the picnic, a sandwich in hand. Kinger sat beside her, then Ragatha. The latter two were chatting, only stopping when they heard Pomni nearly yell.
Jax scratched at the back of his head, not quite making eye contact with the others. “Caine dropped a note to me that there’s Uno Flip™ here. Seems even if the coward isn’t willing to see us himself, he still wants to make sure everyone is going on adventures.”
Caine paused for a moment, mentally checking the variety of games he’d included. Uno Flip™ was not among them, nor did he give Jax his own note. What an odd little lie. He debated if to be an alibi, but whatever it took to make his humans happy at the end of the day. A quick snap and the card game was added to the pile, somewhere near the bottom. Far enough down to be unnoticed.
“Oh, uh- I don’t think I saw Flip when I looked through the games,” Ragatha said, looking away a bit. “Maybe I just missed it, though!” She began to spread the pile back out, some boxes ending up in the grass when there wasn’t enough room for them all on the blanket. Candy Land was put to the side, catching Caine’s eye longer than the rest. It felt like… before.
Jax hid it relatively well, but it was pretty clear he was getting anxious the further into the pile they got. As soon as he spotted the box, his grin brightened right up.
“Hah! Told you, Rags!” he triumphantly announced, holding it up.
“Oh! It’s been years since I’ve played Uno!” Kinger said, eyes smiling. He clasped his hands together before moving the excess games out of the way for them to play.
“Are you sure you can remember the rules?” Jax questioned, laughing slightly at the idea of Kinger remembering anything. It earned a puzzled look from the other.
“Well… are we playing the official rules, or house rules? I usually like allowing for stacking, but I know some tend not to enjoy the added stress,” Kinger said, looking between the three.
“I’ve never played the Flip version before. Will it make a difference if it’s house or official rules?” Pomni asked, looking at the cards as Jax poured them out of the box. Ragatha looked between them, shifting a bit at the idea of playing a game with Jax.
“I think… I’ll sit this one out,” Ragatha finally landed on, standing up. “Is it alright if I just watch?”
“Aw, Doll, don’t want me to destroy you?” Jax teased. Pomni looked between him and Kinger, deciding that neither of them heard her question. She mumbled something as she unfolded the rules, face getting a bit paler as she read through all the new cards.
“You can watch!” Kinger happily offered, looking up at her. “You can sit behind me. I’ll explain it while we play. I used to love playing uno with my-”
“I call going first!” Jax interrupted, shuffling the cards. It seemed that they sorted themselves out.
Caine didn’t pay much attention after that. He couldn’t help but notice when a round ended, usually with some amount of yelling. Pomni and Jax ended up wrestling at some point. Ragatha joined some time after that. It wasn’t usual to leave adventures running for more than a few hours, but he could leave it running without his full focus. For now, he just had to concentrate on what to do.
The third day, they still were using the Stargazing adventure. Jax had slept in the rising sun, putting a towel over his head to block out the light, while the others slept in their own rooms. Kinger stayed out to look at the various bugs still crawling around in the setting. Caine couldn’t help but watch him for a little while. Kinger’s mind had to be empty. He didn’t even notice when the tarantula he’d been watching crawled up his face. There weren’t any ‘creepy-crawlies’ around when Ragatha was in the adventure.
About midway through the fourth day, all the humans had left the adventure, and Caine was finally able to shut it down. It was nice to have the noise in the circus again, and that adventure did genuinely seem to help ease the tension. It was over the previous night that he’d come to a conclusion: he needed a different approach to understanding them.
Queenie had once told him something that he’d never really understood. When he’d asked how to understand humans better, she only said, “Walk a mile in their shoes”. It didn’t make sense then, and it still didn’t now. Nothing could be understood better than first-hand experience versus observation, but at this point, what was the harm in giving it a shot? It was finally time to take her advice and see what it is that they see, in whatever way he needed to.
Humans didn’t arrive in the Circus very often. The closest arrival he’d ever had after the first set was within three months of one another. It’d been about two months since Pomni arrived, and it would have been just plain improbable that another person would have appeared between then and now. Only Ragatha had any chance of noticing, though, and even that could just be ignored by her thinking of it as a fluke or something unique - a miracle even! Yes. A new human would add that extra spark that they’ve been lacking recently. Only, he wouldn’t get a human to be the new avatar… he would fill in and be the newbie!
His plan was masterfully crafted. He already had drafts of the form; all he had to do was bring it to life. That and create a basic AI to act as him when they both needed to be present. Having the new “human” around only when Caine wasn’t there would be too suspicious.
Fifty-seven hours go by quickly while he’s working meticulously, getting every part perfect. Caine stood before the clone of himself, smiling cheerfully at each other. Mental commands worked like a charm, allowing him to control the duplicate without any movement on his part. There was also an ‘auto-pilot’ mode trained off of his own personality. Pre-programmed instructions were already given for his introduction to the circus, and everything seemed to be falling into place. It all came together so quickly, too!
Lastly, his new form. It was unusual for the AI to feel apprehensive about anything, but he had never changed his own form more than just a simple outfit swap. He had worked on this new “human” model for the majority of the last day, perfecting each and every feature. From head to toe, bones to UV wrapping, the details were perfect. He looked down at his hand, his arm, and his feet one last time, mentally taking it all in. Finally, he snapped his fingers.
The new form didn’t feel much different. All that had truly changed was his head at the end of the day, with some minor details on his body - just enough to look different. Just enough so that they wouldn’t question it.
He didn’t have a mouth. It was such an odd feeling, having been only a mouth with eyes for so long, to try to smile yet and feel it in his eyes. Reaching up, he delicately touched the new antennae atop his head, then his hair. It was so soft! He brushed his hand over the new coat striped black and yellow just like his precious bees.
Caine was now C.A.M.I.E.: Caine’s Anonymous Mascot Imitation Experiment. It was a clever name, if he did say so himself. He looked down at his new form, taking in the outfit first. The wings, a small pair on his upper back, were mainly a just-in-case touch. Flying had become second nature, and if they ever caught him floating, it would be easy to blame it on the wings. Well, he supposed… it would be catching “her” floating.
Another layer of disguise. Caine’s “gender” was mostly determined by his code, leaning more masculine than feminine in ways that weren’t entirely obvious at a first glance. Gender roles or norms weren’t outright stated but were inferred through the images he was trained on and the styles they had used to code him. It wouldn’t be hard to just “be” female-coded, though! Time to start thinking of himself as herself while in this body. The quicker he- no, no, she- got used to it, the better.
“Alright, Bubble, let’s take a look at this!” she announced, pausing for a moment after hearing her own voice for the first time. That was quite bizarre, but she would just have to get used to it! No problem! Snap!
“Wow! You look bee-utiful, boss!” Bubble cheerfully commented as Camie checked out her new form.
“Yes, it is quite the makeover!” she boasted, doing a little twirl in the mirror to see herself from every angle. The little stinger was such a nice touch, if she did say so herself. Having hair was so unique! So new! It was so soft to the touch and went back into place as soon as she dropped each lock. The rigging was perfect. She was certain the oddness of being in a different ‘body’ would wear off soon enough.
“What now, busy bee?” Bubble questioned, an endless beam shining down at her.
“I introduce myself, of course,” she said, straightening her coat and brushing off non-existent dust before turning to the clone. “Caine2!”
“Yyyyyyyes?” the program answered as it quickly slid over to her. It was slightly unnerving to see a double of himself, but it was something she’d need to get used to.
“Time to shine! Bubble, escort him and ensure it goes off without a hitch. I will see you both in just a few seconds!” Camie gave the two a wink, tossing her cane to Caine2. It had been a while since she’d felt this excited for a new adventure! Perhaps it was because, for the first time, she was the one going on an adventure. There was no chance she was rushing this as well.
Showtime. Snap!
~~~
“I know! Even after all that ice cream, he-” Jax’s voice filled her ears before she opened her eyes. He and Pomni were walking past the stage when they froze in their steps - seeing her standing there, among the various models scattered about on the stage.
“I- what?” Camie said, looking around. She had seen each of their reactions to the circus, so she felt pretty confident in her ability to emulate it. “Guys? It works- I can’t-” She began to pull at her face, just as she had practiced in the mirror. It warped slightly as she pulled, but not nearly as much as Pomni’s could.
“Hello...?” Pomni hesitantly questioned, glancing around before her eyes settled fully on Camie.
The bee froze, looking at Pomni for a moment before trying harder to get the “headset” off. “This thing won’t come off. Guys, haha, help me out here?” Pulling at the antennae actually hurt a bit. She didn’t remember that part. Quickly letting go, she rubbed the base of them to try to soothe the new ache.
It was hard to resist getting an extra angle of their reactions to gauge if she was being convincing or not.
“Caine! There’s a new sucker again!” Jax yelled out, turning away from them to go and find him. Camie could hear the others in the distance. Ragatha had started to jog over after hearing the commotion, but it’d be a few seconds before she arrived. Ragatha had always been the best at welcoming new humans.
“Hey, hey- ease up,” Pomni urged, climbing up onto the stage using a block nearby. She held her hands up in a pacifying manner. “Pulling at your face doesn’t help. I tried.” She gave a slightly nervous laugh, smiling a bit at Camie.
“W-What?” Camie stuttered, backing up away from the jester. She was only slightly taller than Pomni, but they all seemed so much larger when she was actually on the floor. She stopped pulling at her face, eyes catching on her hands instead. “What… What's going on? Why-” She tried to pull off the gloves, to no avail. “Who are you? Where is this?”
They always had so many questions when they arrived. Really, she didn’t understand why they always rapid-fired them at once. It didn’t do them any good- only so many could be answered at once.
Ragatha came into view right on time. “Oh, gosh! There really is a new human,” she said, her voice soft. Camie probably wasn’t intended to be able to hear it, but she kept the heightened senses, being able to see and hear everything in the Circus at all times. It helped gather more information. At least, in theory, that’s what she could do, but it took up so much memory to keep it all active all the time. It was easier to split it into regions to focus on. She continued, “Hi! Has… Caine been over yet? Has anyone seen him? Usually, he’s right here when someone arrives.”
“No. I can’t believe he’s missing this,” Jax said from a few meters away, looking back at the small crowd gathering. It felt so different being part of it rather than an observer. “Caine! Get out here! You can’t avoid us forever!”
Well, she supposed it made sense that Jax would assume she was avoiding them. Not that he was incorrect, but… anyways!
“Hey there, newbie. You just got here, right?” Ragatha asked, looking over at Pomni for confirmation. The latter gave a brisk nod as Camie backed up further, tripping over a block that had been laying out.
That hadn’t been planned. She landed surprisingly hard, bouncing against the floor a bit as she let out a small “oof”. Maybe she’d turned up her gravity slightly too much? Or, was this normal? She shook her head quickly, looking up at the two that now seemed to loom over her. Confidence was quickly draining as Caine2 had already missed his cue. Maybe she had skipped a few tests to roll this out as soon as possible - only one or two, though! Playtesting wasn’t that important!
“Uh… yeah,” Camie mumbled, looking between the two. “What’s going on? Why can’t I get this thing off? I can’t even feel it anymore…”
Ragatha offered a plush hand out, giving a warm smile her way. Camie froze, staring up at the gesture. The humans had never extended warmth like that to him.
“Come on. We’ve all been through this. You just need to… get your head together and take a deep breath. It’ll be okay. I promise,” she spoke so kindly.
Camie tentatively reached out, grasping the hand gently before landing hard on her butt again when they all jumped from Caine2’s sudden appearance.
“Wowie! A new human has entered our magical realm!” the duplicate announced, looming slightly too closely overhead. Caine2’s eyes bore directly into Camie’s, lingering longer than she felt comfortable with.
“She just appeared while Jax and I were walking through,” Pomni offered, helping Camie back to her feet. The doll moved to stand beside her, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“I think this is the quickest we’ve ever had a new arrival,” Ragatha noted, looking between Caine2 and Camie.
Anxiety shot through her system like a power surge, but thankfully, Caine2 was doing his job properly. It had only been a minor fluke that he arrived a bit late. Skipping those tests would be fine!
“Oh, boy! This is just what we need to get us out of our little rut! Where’re the others? They should be here to celebrate!”
Caine2 snapped his fingers as Camie did the same, hidden behind her back. The rest of the cast appeared in front of the stage, some looking more annoyed than others. She wasn’t surprised that Zooble was upset.
“Caine, what the f#&k was that for?” they demanded, looking up at the dentures.
Gangle gave a yawn, rubbing her eyes as she looked across the scene. Her eyes stopped in their tracks at Camie, nudging Zooble to look in the same direction. Those two had been summoned together strangely enough. A quick check confirmed they’d both been in Gangle’s room. Kinger had been looking off into the distance somewhere, but once he saw Camie, he appeared enamoured. Right… she was a bee. Insects always did seem to capture Kinger’s attention. What an odd one.
“There’s a new loser for you guys to play with,” Jax grinned, looking at Camie. “And, would you look at that- Pomni is still the shortest!”
Pomni rolled her eyes at Jax, giving a sigh. Zooble approached the stage, looking at the new character.
They spoke, “So, what? Are new characters going to be joining faster now? Don’t tell me you’ve found a way to speed it up, Caine.”
They were all catching on. Plan B.
“What is your name, my brand new car freshener?” Caine2 quickly asked, changing the topic abruptly. He floated closer, taking Camie’s hand for a moment to shake it.
“Oh, it’s…” she purposefully trailed off, looking at the others before looking at the ground. “It’s…”
“Well then, that settles it! You need a new one!” The “ringmaster” cheerfully announced as the Name Selector fell from the sky. “Are you up to choose one for yourself, or do you want to take a chance at our marvelous Name Pick-o-Matic!”
He was definitely going a bit quicker through things than Camie had planned. She could just roll with this, though. It was fine. She just didn’t add enough line breaks. Or maybe delays?
She remained silent for a few seconds longer, trying to appear as though lost in her own mind at the “realization” of not remembering her own name. And to try to fix the pacing, even a small bit.
“Pick… Pick one for me…”
Caine2 pulled the massive lever, and the cast watched as different letters scrolled through. Just as she planned- it landed right on CAMIE. At least that went right.
“Camie! How’s that sound?” Caine2 fluttered long eyelashes at her, looking for approval.
“It’s… it’s good,” she nodded, fake numbness in her voice, still looking at the ground. It was perfect.
A bit of silence fell over the group before Ragatha spoke up again.
“So, Camie, I’m Ragatha. This is Pomni,” she gestured over to the jester, before out towards Kinger, Jax, Gangle and Zooble. “Kinger is all the way to the right. The purple one is Jax. To the left is Gangle, and next to her, Zooble.” Ragatha smiled a bit more as she walked towards Pomni and Gangle. “Pomni, Gangle and I all prefer feminine pronouns! Jax and Kinger use masculine ones. Zooble usually prefers neutral ones. What about you?”
That was a nice and quick introduction to the main cast! She seemed to get the pacing!
“I-I use… feminine ones? She?” Camie nervously said.
“Great, another girl,” Jax loudly complained. “Caine, can we please get some more dudes in here? The ratio of girls to guys is only getting worse.” Camie felt so ‘stealthy’ when Jax said that. He had no clue! She was doing so good.
“An insect collection,” Kinger softly said, slowly approaching Camie. It was the first time Kinger had any interest in her since… Nevermind.
“The only other dude in here is insane,” Jax grumbled, pointing before crossing his arms.
Caine2 laughed loudly, announcing brightly, “There are plenty of guys! So! Are you guys ready for another adventure?”
A loud, collective sigh filled the room.
“Nevermind, I’m going back to bed,” Zooble said, beginning to walk off.
Gangle looked between them and Camie, seemingly deciding to stay to properly meet her.
“But- But Zooble! There is a new human!” Caine2 exclaimed, zipping in front of Zooble to cut them off. “Think of all the bonding that you could do on a brand new adventure! And I really think you’ll like it!”
They stopped, looking between Caine2 and the rest of the group. Gangle gave them a small smile, seemingly forcing Zooble to rethink what they were doing. It was fascinating how small of a gesture made Zooble change their mind.
Zooble looked between Caine2’s pleading eyes, Gangle’s smile, and finally made eye contact with Camie. The bee quickly averted her eyes, but Zooble shook their head.
Zooble looks up to Caine2, “As long as you promise this isn’t another horrible, horror adventure. And, you won’t mess with our minds. Remember, we still have a lot to talk about.”
Camie’s digital heart fluttered at Zooble’s rethinking of going on one of her adventures. They always took every chance to get out of them! Even during Pomni’s first adventure, they wanted nothing to do with it! She could avoid their questions for as long as needed. Until they all just forgot. She looked back at Zooble, hoping they truly wanted to go.
“Hey, it’s rude to stare. We all look a bit weird in here,” they said, but not in an angry way- no, in a playful way! It still made her look away quickly. “A lot happened recently, too. I’m sure you’ll find that all out soon enough.”
“It’s not too important at the moment, though! Don’t worry too much about it. We just had a… rough time recently. I’m sure this will be great, though!” Ragatha stepped in, trying to bring back some positivity.
“Your outfit is really cute,” Gangle quietly said, catching Camie’s attention away from whatever Zooble and Ragatha were saying. Camie couldn’t help but look down, admiring her own handiwork again.
“Thank you! It-”
“Adventure!” Caine2 interrupted loudly, making Camie jump again slightly. That was actually… perfect timing. She was much too close to giving up too much information about how much say she had over how her avatar looked. Maybe she’d need to take some more time to get into the right headspace before going out next time. “Today, the adventure is…”
The lights dimmed as an eerie fog rolled in. Pomni and Zooble visibly tensed.
“A summer night at the fair!” he finished cheerfully, music playing and the sounds of rides starting up. “That’s right! Feast upon the fried food! Indulge in Circus-appropriate beverages! Earn tickets to get prizes! And, most of all… don’t forget to ride all of the rides!”
The players relaxed and shared a small laugh between them. Ha! She got them.
“Wow, that actually sounds like a perfect first adventure, Caine,” Ragatha complimented. If Camie could smile, she’d have been beaming. Luckily, Caine2 got the memo.
“I try my best!” he said, beaming with a slight blush. He then threw the pink graphics away before another coordinated snap brought up the portal. “Now, off you all go! Have fun! And don’t let me catch you leaving before having a fair treat!”
Oh, he didn’t explain anything extra! He didn’t even explain the digital realm! Wait, so much was missing- could she have really missed all of that? Pixels!
Camie looked between all of them as they seemed to pair off, Zooble and Gangle having a conversation as Jax teased Pomni about “fitting right in” at a fair. Kinger looked between her and the portal before entering it himself. They didn’t seem to mind that Caine2 was steam-rolling through the basics.
“Are you… sure you’re ready for this?” Ragatha asked softly, turning to look Camie in the eyes. “This is all so new, and… well, it seems Caine is skipping some of the usual intro. You can talk to me if you have any questions - or if you need anything, okay? I’ll be right here! We can stick together while we go through this adventure, too! How’s that sound?”
“I… I think I’ll like that,” Camie nodded after a moment
She looked up at Caine2, analyzing his form quickly. The model was perfect. They wouldn’t be able to see any issues with that, at least. Bubble emerged from the top hat, flying to Caine2’s side.
“Can you go first?” she asked Ragatha. The doll was being so kind to her, just like she was to the others! “It doesn’t hurt to go through the “portals”, does it?”
“No, it’s fine. To be honest, it doesn’t really feel like anything,” Ragatha reassured her, shrugging and stepping forward. “I’ll be right on the other side, waiting for you, okay? Take your time. If you need anything before you come through, Caine should be able to take care of you.”
That, he certainly would.
Camie tried to give a little smile before realizing after a moment that she didn’t have a mouth anymore. Her hand subconsciously went up to her face, gently touching where the feature would be otherwise.
She spoke softly, “Thank you, Ragatha. I’ll be right there.”
Ragatha gave her a reassuring look, entering through the portal. She gave a little wave back to Camie before disappearing fully through.
Camie let out a breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding once she was finally alone. Right, she’d have to add a feature for that, too… Maybe her stripes could reverse? That would be an interesting project to work on later. A bit of electricity ran through her as she jumped happily, beaming as much as her form would allow.
“Great work, Bubble! The timing was slightly off, but I do believe they are none the wiser!” Camie settled back down, fixing her coat quickly. Bubble flew down, and she patted his head affectionately. “I do think we need to work on his pacing quite a bit, though. He seems to have skipped a few parts there.”
“He just needed a quick nip in the a%$ to get out here!” Bubble proudly proclaimed.
Camie stopped patting him, pausing for a moment to murmur, “Why does he swear so much?”, before turning towards the portal. She snapped, sending Caine2 back into storage until they all returned. This had gone nearly perfectly and, to be honest, she couldn’t be happier. They were treating him like a real human! Not just written off as an AI! Bubble’s swear did give her mood a slight pause, though.
“Oh, uh… Thanks? I’ll see you… soon,” Camie said hesitantly, looking between Bubble and the portal before taking a step through. It was time to experience her first real adventure. Right alongside her humans.