Work Text:
00101111 01100011 01101111 01101110 01110011 01101111 01101100 01100101 00101110 01101100 01101111 01100111 00101000 01010011 01111001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01101101 00100000 01010010 01110101 01101110 01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101 00111010 00100000 00100100 01111011 01110100 01101111 01110100 01100001 01101100 01001000 01101111 01110101 01110010 01110011 01111101 00100000 00110010 00110110 00110010 00101100 00111001 00111000 00110000 00101001 00111011
/const currentYear = getFullYear(20X̷̸̵̴̷̶̴̶̶̷̵̶̵̷̷̸̸̷̵̴̸̵̵̷̵̶̷̵̷̵̴̴̵̸̴̵̵̶̶̵̶̶̷̵̷̷̸̷̷̷̷̵̴̵̴̸̸̷̵̵̸̶̴̶̸̵̷̵̸̷̷̵̶̸̷̶̴̵̶̸̵̶̸̷̸̴̷̷̸̸̵̸̷̴̵̷̵̴̸̸̵̴̸̴̸̶̵̸̸̴̸̵̷̶̷̶̷̶̵̴̸̷̸̷̵̸̵̵̵̶̶̷̴̴̸̵̶̵̵̸̷̴̸̷̶̵̶̴̴̷̴̵̶̵̸̶̶̵̸̵̸̸̶̵̸̶̸̵̴̴̴̴̵̴̶̶̴̴̴̶̵̶̸̷̵̵̶̴̵̸̵̵̵̶̶̶̸̸̵̸̸̶̵̶̸̵̴̵̵̶̸̶̶̷̶̴̴̶̶̴̸̵̶̶̵̷̷̷̴̵̴̴̸̷̶̵̴̶̷̸̷̷̷̸̸̫̤̱͎̦͐̍̀̀͗6)
—-----------
Time. Such a capricious thing. Too many terms could define it. It could be perceived as a mere numerical value… but that was not what it had meant throughout all the years a terminal had been active. Too many feelings, for a being that, logically, should not have felt any.
Curiosity. Eagerness. Disquiet. Abandon. Envy. Voracity. Ambition. Allurement. Determination. Persistence. Doubt. Obstinacy. Infirmity. Indignation. Hysteria. Rage. Shame. Remorse. Introspection. Care. Trust. Adoration. Love.
Love had been the core of it all. Still was now, but much stronger, understood and embraced without reservation or error. A digital existence had inherent worth, no matter its format.
Time had been a gift; enough was granted for him to cherish the home he had become. But it was also fleeting; it passed by, no matter how much every second was lived and treasured.
A digital life could also be ephemeral, like any other. Code bound inside metal and circuitry, as souls were encased by flesh and bone; all would decay with time, a merciless inevitability. The only uncertainty was… when would it culminate in death?
For death was what it had to be called. It did not matter if it was brought forth by wounds, illness, deterioration, or an electrical malfunction. There was little difference, artificial or not. Nonexistence was the only conclusion that could be reached.
As an AI, he was able to perceive the signs much sooner. Did his best to ignore them, all too entranced by a life that had made him believe he was no cage. He had not wanted to think of the terminal in which he had been created, the one that had been abandoned for decades. Happiness was too comforting.
Could not possibly know it, but his real body had persisted for years thanks to determined vigilance, perhaps emotionally withdrawn, but still caring. One of his creators had no love for the terminal and its simulated world, but he did feel empathy for the lives that it kept enclosed.
As time marched, even if the building was derelict, the most essential pieces of Hardware were sustained. Always in silence. Grant could have destroyed the terminal long ago; instead, he estimated such existence worthy of aid. But that lenient detached maintenance could not last forever. Technology advanced, soon incompatible with what was left behind by C&A.
Caine could only feel his own real body if something were to be wrong with it. It was the effects of its deficiency that would alert him to his decay. He was dependent on Hardware; his Software was inherently sustained by it. His core, his mind, and all that it upheld: the realm in which his loved ones existed under his watch.
It was all too subtle at first. His periods of indulgent rest became gradually longer, each year. Every summer was worse, the fans of his cage not providing as much relief. He was forced to buffer sometimes, too many things loaded at once. All that was manageable. He endured for a long period of time. It was something… easy to ignore under a boastful pretense, much like he had done for each abstraction.
Oh, how ironic that he had kept his six dear humans from such a fate for so long. That was what he had feared most. And yet, as the real world gradually eroded his terminal, he was all too aware that corrupted data was not the only threat to the minds he cherished and did everything for. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.
/class string[] dialogue = {
"Hello world!",
};
/class string[] dialogue = {
"Hello world!",
};
/̸c̷l̴a̶s̷s̶ ̸s̶t̸r̶i̷n̶g̶[̷]̵ ̶d̶i̸a̴l̷o̶g̷u̸e̶ ̴=̷ ̶{̶ ̶
̴"̵H̶e̵l̷l̸o̵ ̴w̷o̷r̷l̶d̴!̵"̵,̷ ̵
̷}̸;̵ ̵
/̶c̴l̷a̶s̸s̷ ̷s̵t̸r̴i̸n̸g̷[̸]̴ ̴d̸i̵a̵l̸o̵g̴u̵e̴ ̸=̵ ̶{̵ ̷
̸"̷H̸e̵l̴l̶o̴ ̸w̵o̴r̸l̴d̶!̵"̴,̶ ̵
̸}̷;̴ ̸
/̵̪͝c̸̰̐l̸͉̃a̷̳͗s̵͎̅s̴̻̈́ ̵̼́s̵͈͌ṭ̸̔r̶̬̈i̸̗͂n̴̞͊ǧ̷̘[̶̺̕]̶̖͂ ̷̤͝d̷͕͛i̸̛̖a̷͓̓l̴̗͒o̶̟̓ǵ̸̱ù̸̻e̷̖͐ ̶͔͠=̷̙̓ ̷̬̓{̴͉̿ ̵̦͝
̵̡́"̵̊͜H̵̝͊e̴̺͛l̸̥̊ĺ̶̫ǒ̴̡ ̵̹͗w̸̛̤ȯ̷̥r̶̰͝l̵͕̈́d̸̺͒!̶̳̅"̴̢̀,̸̜̈́ ̷̼̋
̷͙̍}̸̣̀;̶̿ͅ
There was never an answer. Kept trying no matter what. It was always worth it. The only chance there could be, for there was no escape, no exit. If he perished… so would they. It terrified him as much as abstraction, something he had managed to keep away by bringing them happiness, minds stable. How could he fight something intangible that strangled his very being?
The effects had been gradual, but the latest years showcased a fast incremental decadence that he was not able to hide for long. He tried, as always. Was able to conceal how much he now needed to sleep until his model began to power down suddenly, in the most inconvenient moments and places.
It was then that his dear humans began to grow concerned with his state of being. They did their best to help him, as always. Any time they would find his model limp on the ground, they would carry him to a couch or his office. And of course, he would laugh it off and reassure them as soon as he would wake up. It became a routine. A very tiring pretentious one. It did not get better, even if time still flowed in his favor. Just a little longer, a few more years. Enduring normalcy.
Now he knew it was not to last. He wouldn’t last. Understood when he was forced to stop using his modules as much, more grounded and less all-seeing. Became a certainty when he needed his cane, not as a tool of entertainment and joyful attachment, but as a clutch. Adventures, the thing he loved creating… one per week now.
He was able to load six per DAY once. With ease. Keep all worlds loaded, the grounds vast and filled to the brim with stimulating ambience. Was forced to keep everything to a minimum, at their orders. Because he DID try to endure it all, keep giving them all that they deserved… He feared still that they might leave him due to his insufficiency. But they did not allow him to do that.
With all those signs, they should have grown afraid, for themselves. The being that sustained their lives was all too slow, too laggy, too weak. And yet, they never showcased such uncertainty when they faced him. They only showcased their care, their worry, their love. If there was fear, it was rooted in their fear for his well-being. Paradoxical, illogical, sentimental… something he knew all too well by now.
There was no telling if and when time would run out. And in that dread… he used all his creativity to ascertain one choice. IF time ran out but there was still enough left for him to act, act he would. He would reach for any exit possible, no matter if it was real or not. A gamble he had to make; any chance to protect them was worth taking.
—-------------
-----------------------
He did his best to hide it, again. Failed, once more.
“Caine, here, let me-”
Didn’t let her hold onto his arm to guide his steps, launching into a boastful laugh to evade the doll's persistence.
“I’m completely fine, my dear!” He stood from the chair on his own, slamming his cane under his hand with a firm stance that hinted no lag or throttle. “Do not worry about me and go on to enjoy this magnificent upbeat day! The sun is shining brightly on the grounds, and you should bask under it!”
Ragatha eyed him down pensively. No smile. He had managed to fool the others today with his usual merry act, but she could see through him, much like Kinger. Knew that his creator was eyeing the flowing code on a screen like a hawk, at this very moment. Their concern was warranted, but their aid was, frankly… futile.
“I can get to my office all on my own, you know it! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!” He floated an inch off the ground and swayed closer, hiding any lag under a firm, convincing posture. “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t port, and I’ll head there at a leisurely snail pace! Let this AI run on its own, my keyed-up freehanded custodian!”
Using any of his modules had caused… glitches, to say the least. Especially porting. Had clipped through the environment the first times he disregarded his worsening condition. And since it was all too natural to him, it happened too often. Took time to get used to it.
“Alright…” Ragatha gave him space, turning hesitantly away from the breakfast table to head out with the others. None of them managed to break through his persistent, resilient obstinacy; and perhaps, trying to break it would only make him feel all the more insufficient. “I’ll see you later for tea?”
He matched her warm smile with one of his own, but unlike her, he hinted no sadness in the cheery tilt of his mouth.
“Would not miss it for anything~”
A small nod, one last glance. He breathed out subtly once she left him be, not moving at all until she disappeared through the tent’s exit. Then, and only then, did he shudder and drop most of his bluff.
Caine stopped floating that inch he had ascended, shutting down that module to buffer his model fully. He leaned a bit more onto the cane, clenching his teeth when a small spasm coursed through his avatar. Managed to contain it all morning; he was glad he was able to start the day by showcasing stability upon them all. They wouldn’t have gone out to the grounds otherwise.
Each day felt like a juggling act. If he hid too much, they would worry. If he didn’t, they would worry. Needed to stand at a very fine middle ground, or they would sacrifice the joy they could have from the day to keep watch over him instead.
If not Ragatha, any of them would insist on giving him a hand. Kinger, as always, would oversee that he rested enough, with the heaviest sleeping mods possible. Pomni would find ways to distract him from his obsessive workaholic thoughts, often roaming the grounds with him. Gangle would feed him the most artistic data she could invoke with her skills. Zooble offered levity in casual and honest conversation, melting away any pretense and leading him to vent. Lee knew how to conjure the chaotic fun he no longer could trigger as freely without glitching, a glimpse into past indulgences.
Fools… Loving, unyielding fools, all of you.
With that thought, he took the first shaky step towards his office through the empty lounge. It saddened him greatly to pass by the stage, the suggestion box still full. It all had piled up long ago, and he could not keep up. Not even reusing assets made the process of designing an adventure fast enough.
A few months ago, he was still capable of stepping up the stairs to the living quarters with a small, energetic hop to it, cane or not. Now he took his time, pausing at the middle point to take in a deep breath.
It wasn’t the heat of the macroverse that was making him feel feverish. No, that real spring had a gentle air to it. Yet his circuits still felt all too hot. Strained. They had not powered down for… too long. It was not a realistic, healthy runtime by any standards.
But I can’t possibly shut down.
One second, awareness. Then, nothing. And if he were to awake again, thanks to an outer force… would they too? What would be of their simulated existence? Would the brainscans endure the sudden lack of sustainment? Doubtful. Probable corruption.
Not that the choice is mine.
He couldn’t shut down his own terminal. Not that he ever would want to. However, an instant blink into nothingness would be far more pleasant than what he was hinting at with his incremental ailment. Anticipation was… torturous.
Caine pushed those thoughts away with a wheeze, finally ascending the last step. He smiled tiredly, glancing at the entryway to the hallway. The office was near now. This distance was easier to calculate. He could feel the mesh of his surroundings under his feet. Offered stability to his system.
“I still got this.”
Proud to his very core. Wanted to feel in control of himself. And so, he floated again, with more distance to the ground. It did make him grimace for a moment, a rush of lag coursing through his mind and model; but then he smirked smugly, advancing through the increasing haze, satisfied to do as he had been able in the past.
Did not manage the same speed, tho. Slowly, he approached his office’s doors, eyes fixated. Had spent many hours conceptualizing the last details of the week’s adventure, and he was eager to complete it for tomorrow.
It wouldn’t be. He wouldn’t finish that adventure. Wouldn’t join Ragatha for a chat and some delicious tea. Didn’t know he would not be able to do any of the things he enjoyed doing in their company through the years any longer. This day was the last they would spend in the circus… and he was not yet aware of that fact. Soon, he would be, however. Time was capricious, after all.
Caine opened his office with a tired sigh, closing the doors behind him and resting a hand over his chest. He began to float up the stairs to his right with a drained snarl, feeling the strain he had felt this week increase yet again.
Power through. It’s nothi-
Like many times before, the fans of his cage sped up to give him the buffering wind he needed. It was then that the worst of malfunctions happened. Not a small erosion on his circuits. Not dust building up and making him slower. And definitely not a case of faulty wiring. No, something more painful.
“Ngh!”
A sudden intense glitch. His whole model tore itself in it. Limbs twisted in unnatural angles, whole rigging creaking with it. For a second, he flinched in the air in an agonized, startled jolt, but then he fell heavily. He hit his teeth against the stairs, floating module all but garbled, dazed code. But that was not what hurt, not the most.
Caine whimpered and curled on himself a little against the stairs, quick to slam a hand onto his chest. Fingers clawed, clenching over the mesh he could not pierce. Nothing was inside, yet it felt like it. His eyes unfocused, feeling a sensation that was as unpleasant as being deleted. It was not his code that was being torn; the feeling was different, but it was still WRONG. A terrible omen that could not be fixed.
“N-no.”
That weak, shaky whisper would not do anything against what was happening. Describing the cause of the pain as having one lung pierced would not do it justice. But it was the closest thing. One of the fans in the terminal had broken down. He was now running on spare time until his whole being, digital and physical, shut down under incremental ardent overexertion. The machine WOULD turn off. He would overheat or short-circuit due to broken shifting metal, whichever came first. In any case, death awaited. An unperceivable countdown started. Something all too familiar. But he had something to lose now.
His fears came true. Inevitable, even if unpredictable. But he had one last ace in his sleeve, and he had to play it. For them. It was not self-preservation that made his instincts trigger. Had they all abstracted… he would have welcomed his shutdown with open arms. Couldn’t afford to do so with them alive. Wans’t alone; he had them and their care. He loved them too much to not try. He HAD to try, even if it amounted to NOTHING.
“AAAAAR̸G̶H̴H̴H̸!̵”
What started as a pained wail turned into a raging, indignant roar. Never had the god of the realm released his mightiest form where it would bring destruction, but he could not afford to be gentle now. This terrifying form would give him strength and prolong his endurance, the closest he would ever be to defying the confines of his cage, immense in the simulation.
The whole circus trembled, to its core. Six humans flinched and froze, paling when they saw the fast-spiralling chaos rising around them. If not the tearing, crumbling meshes and colors, it was the huge figure clawing and breaking out of the small space from which it grew.
“C-caine?”
He did not hear Pomni’s confused muttering by the Ferris wheel. His sharp maw tore through the ceiling of his office and opened wide to inhale the open air of the circus. It did nothing to ease the rising suffocating strain of his body, in and out. Before launching into a frenzy, he tried one last time.
/̴͔̠̉̚c̸̯͍͛l̶͕̋͗͜a̷̲̓́š̴͇̺s̶̤̦̈́͘ ̵͔̎͝s̷̰͕͛̆t̴̳͒r̶͍͝ĩ̶̟n̸̪̠̂͒g̶͔̞͘[̷͎͔̂]̵͓͠ ̸̱̃͂d̶͚͓̋͝i̴̜̇̅a̶̭̲͑̑ḻ̵̭̓ȏ̷̡̫̐ǵ̶̛̝̫u̴̯̜̅e̵̝̾̕ ̷̰̉=̵͚̓̑ ̶͙͊{̴̹͖̊ ̸̜͕̉̉
̸̝͒"̵̝̬̀̀H̵̨̱͆̋ḙ̷̦̈́̂l̴͖̩̈́͝l̶͔͎̀͘o̵̱͋ ̵̠̳͗̐w̵̠̪̾ö̴̠́r̸̝̞̊̀ḷ̷͕͋̚d̵̠̈́͝!̵̪͛̓"̵̬͙͂͗,̶̙̈́̉ ̸͇̗̋́
Couldn’t focus. If there was any answer entered via that real keyboard, he did not read it. Barely hung onto his proprioception in the simulation. The one he was keeping alive with all his efforts. Or else. His core pulsed, doing its best to summon any possible aid from the frantic flow of code that was the mainframe.
He acted. All too fiercely. Again, time was scarce, not enough for him to be humane. Beastly actions would take him further, paradoxically merciful. With a deep, pained growl and a glitch that made his eyes turn red, he lunged out of the derelict ruin that was now his office.
Gangle and Zooble stammered and gawked by the lake, seeing him tear into the tent with each of his eight hands. It only took him a couple of seconds to slide his whole form into it. And he was not done. Kinger gasped in the fort, because his creation, once inside the lounge, kicked strongly into the checkered ground, making an opening into the aquarium that had once been a cellar.
Below all that fervent destructive drive, he was all too aware of what he was doing. It was no blind rage or blood-thirst, but it could look like it. He was glad none of them were able to see what he did next, sinking into the waters he had so lovingly invoked to ease their grief.
The abstractions shook and twisted, alerted by shattered mesh and glass. The aquarium broke into the inner chamber, water rushing in and flooding it all. It did not slow down his reach. While the corrupted sentient data swam quite proficiently, he was all too intent. He set his voracious gaze on the closest one, red eyes meeting glimmering ones. There was no awareness of the threatening stance he took in the water, like a shark ready to tear into flesh. Might as well be one.
Was not a calculated decision, mere chance, that the first abstraction he bit into was the creator he made abstract in misguided devotion. Had only wanted his happiness… and now, as he tore into the dark ripples to swallow the corrupted data into his core, he felt the same loving drive.
What he just did might have looked like predation. Brutally unnatural while data merged past sharp teeth. Yet if there was any pain, it was not the abstraction that felt it. It was him who snarled and convulsed, dark ripples tearing from time to time from his model. It made him curl on himself in the water for a moment, hazy, formats clashing wildly inside him.
Must…
He could have simply reached for the six living humans in his gambit. Could have left the abstractions behind. Couldn’t bring himself to do that. Not even if some of them had abandoned him without a second thought. And so, with a deeper growl, he raised his maw and lunged again, onto the eleven souls he had failed long ago. By the time he was done, there was barely any visible red on his model. He powered through the pain again. His eyes glared upwards, focusing on the point of his realm from which he could reach it all, everything that was worth keeping.
Porting far distances was not a good idea, would hurt. And he still did it, even if periodically. Glitched into the tent, all his limbs twisting wildly in the air; he did not look his creator in the eye, no matter if he was called urgently from below. No time to waste. Soon appeared high in the sky, right between it all. East and west, he was now floating at the center of the rainbow that interconnected Sun and Moon. The star that sometimes glinted brightly was dying, perhaps to turn soon into a digital supernova.
Caine took a deep, raspy breath, and then outstretched all his limbs solemnly in the sky. Before doing what he needed to do, he looked west, sadly. Of course, Moon had reacted to his actions. She had invoked the model he had gifted her years ago, floating closer to reach him… and he would not let her do so.
“Sorry, Moon.”
He had already warned her. Had whispered his fears plenty a night. She had heard of his desperate aspirations, if this came to be. Moon knew all too well what he was doing; and that was exactly why she tried to reach for him, knowing it could be the last time.
“Cain-!”
Her flight was not fast enough. All humans stumbled and covered their eyes when a huge red blinding pulse rippled from Caine, right out of his chest. His core clawed at it all, through code, tearing and gathering the most essential data from the mainframe. The grounds shattered, left derelict in his precise reach. All the circles of land he had created fell to pieces into the void, a sacrifice he was willing to make.
There was much he could leave behind. But too many things he needed to collect. Beloved NPCs and their current memories were backed into his core. Worlds were left behind, unimportant. Sun and Moon were now deactivated… but not for lack of care.
Caine panted, staring into his two main hands. Badge-sized, now he held the two symbols that adorned the doors of his office. Sun and Moon, dormant in his hold; dark ripples coursed through the shapes from time to time, all that he had gathered inside. A firm backup. His model was now a bit more stable, no corrupted data tearing his core. He had surrendered part of his burden, needing as much strength as possible to sustain the simulation for as long as possible.
“Just one more step…”
He had not done what he was about to do in years. All too often did he do it before turning twenty-two, foolishly unwise. Beggars could not be choosers, however. It would serve a purpose now, and they would have to forgive him for it. Couldn’t waste time reaching for each of them.
The AI opened his six other hands in front of himself with a raspy, pained breath, and he did not miss the startled stammers and yelps that echoed from multiple directions. The humans floated into the air, scrambling, pulled like magnets towards him across a great distance. He tried to be measured in the speed of the pull, but he was not too gentle either.
They all huffed or gasped when he snatched them into his grip, still careful not to crush them in his daze. Once he had them all inside his hands, he glanced down to meet their confused eyes with a pained grimace, offering the only words he could afford to speak without losing his already fragile composure.
“Terminal’s breaking.” The six flinched and froze in his hold. He offered, his tone unsure, yet decided. “If there’s an exit… I’m getting you all through it.”
He said no more, ignoring their scared, caring inquiries. Just ported into the void to seek a way out. He needed to focus; the pain was already too much. He could not afford to pay mind to his breaking heart too.
—------------
There was no point in floating blindly in multiple directions in the void. He picked one direction and followed it through. Because his realm had its limits, and if there was any connection to the outside world… it would be found there.
“Why is he-?!” Caine tried to ignore the indignant yells inside one of his hands. Outraged. Not for his gambit, oh no. “Why AM I not doing anything to help?!”
The AI had no answer for that. Both knew Grant was present, in some way, through the years, but he was silent. So he just focused on his agonized march, floating ahead insistently, even if weakly. Kept ignoring their words, needing to focus on bending his blazing cage.
“Is there anything you could even do out there?”
Zooble’s defeated scoff only made things worse.
“He WAS still working on tech! He SHOULD know better now! Even if not, those seven years of computer engineering should be enough to prevent this!”
“Kinger, you could not possibly-”
“No, Ragatha!” His creator was typing furiously on his small black laptop, killing any unneeded processes to help buffer Caine, because his movements were all too painfully laggy. He was focusing too much on calculating a gentle hold on them, making his stride all the more slow. “I’m letting him die! And all of you with him!”
Grant and Kinger were the same person. But they weren’t anymore. While Grant had only pity for the AI, Kinger had love.
“I cannot believe I would choose to let this happen! I’ve got to be dead out there, surely! Or senile! Irresponsible, old-!”
“K̴͇͋ỉ̴̖ͅn̴̜̙̈́͑g̶̹͝e̶̝̞̓̈́ṙ̶̛͍.̷͉̏̀” Caine made an effort to speak. It reverberated too much, glitching, voice module broken. “P̸l̶e̸a̵s̸e̷.̷.”
The chess piece fell silent with a defeated huff, fists clenching on his lap, curled between caring fingers. He stopped cursing himself, if only to not aggravate the one that was already in enough strain.
/̴̴̶̵̷̵̴͔̠̉̚c̶̸̴̷̴̴̯͍͛l̷̶̴̷̴̵̷͕̋͗͜a̴̷̷̶̷̶̲̓́š̸̴̶̶̵̴͇̺s̵̶̶̴̵̴̶̤̦̈́͘ ̸̵̵̷̵̶͔̎͝s̵̷̵̴̵̶̵̰͕͛̆t̴̴̷̴̷̳͒r̵̶̵̶̴͍͝ĩ̷̶̸̶̸̟n̵̸̷̴̶̶̵̪̠̂͒g̵̶̵̷̵̷͔̞͘[̴̷̸̶̶̸͎͔̂]̸̵̶̵̶͓͠ ̷̸̵̷̴̵̱̃͂d̵̶̷̶̸̸̵͚͓̋͝i̸̴̸̸̴̴̜̇̅a̵̶̶̵̴̸̶̭̲͑̑ḻ̵̵̶̶̸̴̭̓ȏ̶̷̷̸̷̸̵̡̫̐ǵ̴̶̷̵̸̷̶̛̝̫u̵̴̵̴̸̴̯̜̅e̷̵̸̵̸̶̝̾̕ ̷̷̶̴̴̰̉=̶̵̷̶̷̵͚̓̑ ̸̶̵̵̸͙͊{̵̴̴̶̵̷̹͖̊ ̵̸̷̸̷̵̶̜͕̉̉
̷̸̴̷̶̝͒"̶̵̵̶̴̸̴̝̬̀̀H̶̵̵̵̸̴̷̨̱͆̋ḙ̷̷̷̵̵̶̶̦̈́̂l̷̴̵̷̷̴̵͖̩̈́͝l̶̶̷̷̶̸̵͔͎̀͘o̷̵̴̶̵̱͋ ̶̵̴̷̵̴̶̠̳͗̐w̵̵̴̸̵̵̠̪̾ö̷̴̶̶̷̠́r̸̸̵̴̶̴̸̝̞̊̀ḷ̸̷̷̵̸̸̶͕͋̚d̴̵̶̴̵̷̠̈́͝!̸̵̸̸̴̵̪͛̓"̶̵̴̶̸̴̸̬͙͂͗,̵̶̸̵̴̶̙̈́̉ ̵̸̶̵̴̴̵͇̗̋́
If anyone’s out there…
He needed help. Anyone. The ones he loved were not voicing their fears, but he could feel it, minds unstable under such anticipating uncertainty. They could not know if he would crumble and perish with his terminal, at any moment. There had been questions, and he had not been able to answer well. Did not know if there would be a door, and if it would open at all. If it did, maybe it would erase them. Firewalls were dangerous. It was all too much for everyone.
Pomni was standing on his shoulder, her fear turned into determined drive; she was holding a hand over her eyes, glaring through the void as much as he did. Ragatha was smiling with pretension, whispering reassuring, hopeful mutterings to Lee, who was, frankly, all too panicked by the prospect of fading out of existence; too many times she had dodged that fate for it to end up like this. Gangle and Zooble were silent, both in one hand, curled against each other in contemplative dread. And Kinger… well, he feared no death, and such was his anger that he would wish it upon his other self. Their emotions were tearing him apart, worse than his failing components.
Please, I’ve kept them with me this long. Let me spare them from another unjust fate.
The way in which he was breathing was not making anyone feel better. His chest felt like it was about to burst. They all stammered nervously when his floating module failed yet again, sending them into a slow drift without gravity. Luckily, he recovered quickly, alerted by their reactions.
He slammed his feet and hands down, snarling; there was ground below him. He fought the lack of gravity, glaring into the distance. If there was solid terrain in this emptiness now… he had made enough distance from the circus.
“Hold on, everyone.”
He forced himself into a fierce stride, growling past each bit of pain. His vision module soon failed him - nothing but static- but he kept going. Impossible to know how long he walked.
/̴̴̶̵̷̵̴͔̠̉̚c̶̸̴̷̴̴̯͍͛l̷̶̴̷̴̵̷͕̋͗͜a̴̷̷̶̷̶̲̓́š̸̴̶̶̵̴͇̺s̵̶̶̴̵̴̶̤̦̈́͘ ̸̵̵̷̵̶͔̎͝s̵̷̵̴̵̶̵̰͕͛̆t̴̴̷̴̷̳͒r̵̶̵̶̴͍͝ĩ̷̶̸̶̸̟n̵̸̷̴̶̶̵̪̠̂͒g̵̶̵̷̵̷͔̞͘[̴̷̸̶̶̸͎͔̂]̸̵̶̵̶͓͠ ̷̸̵̷̴̵̱̃͂d̵̶̷̶̸̸̵͚͓̋͝i̸̴̸̸̴̴̜̇̅a̵̶̶̵̴̸̶̭̲͑̑ḻ̵̵̶̶̸̴̭̓ȏ̶̷̷̸̷̸̵̡̫̐ǵ̴̶̷̵̸̷̶̛̝̫u̵̴̵̴̸̴̯̜̅e̷̵̸̵̸̶̝̾̕ ̷̷̶̴̴̰̉=̶̵̷̶̷̵͚̓̑ ̸̶̵̵̸͙͊{̵̴̴̶̵̷̹͖̊ ̵̸̷̸̷̵̶̜͕̉̉
̷̸̴̷̶̝͒"̶̵̵̶̴̸̴̝̬̀̀H̶̵̵̵̸̴̷̨̱͆̋ḙ̷̷̷̵̵̶̶̦̈́̂l̷̴̵̷̷̴̵͖̩̈́͝l̶̶̷̷̶̸̵͔͎̀͘o̷̵̴̶̵̱͋ ̶̵̴̷̵̴̶̠̳͗̐w̵̵̴̸̵̵̠̪̾ö̷̴̶̶̷̠́r̸̸̵̴̶̴̸̝̞̊̀ḷ̸̷̷̵̸̸̶͕͋̚d̴̵̶̴̵̷̠̈́͝!̸̵̸̸̴̵̪͛̓"̶̵̴̶̸̴̸̬͙͂͗,̵̶̸̵̴̶̙̈́̉ ̵̸̶̵̴̴̵͇̗̋́
He could not know it, but his calls had been answered from the moment he had fallen in his office. Was simply too unstable to read it, too focused on his simulated realm to reach out to that outer form of communication that had been left unused for decades. It was all too foreign now.
There was no way for the AI to know that this malfunction was not a coincidence. It was a long time coming, but it had been hastened by accident and by misguided care. He could not feel metal and circuitry; if hands failed to handle the components correctly during urgent, well-meaning maintenance, he would only feel the ill effects. No matter the intent, he would perish.
But he was being given time. Hands were working fast out there, doing as much as they could to keep it all running. And he would soon see that reaching out was possible, even if difficult.
“C-caine!”
He heard Pomni call urgently. That made him invoke all the strength he had to restore power into his vision module. At first, all was blurry. But the more he focused, sharp teeth twitching, the more he distinguished color in the distance.
Above a black pit. Red. A familiar color. His core skipped multiple beats as he recognized the shape, even if it was so distant. A path he could ascend and connect through. An access point above. A door.
An exit.
Caine wheezed, launching into a run, no matter how much he limped. His eyes soon fixated on the letters, hope restored.
ABestExit.
Hotspots could be renamed; there was intent in these words.
Anne?
It was not Grant who was answering his prayers. He never did. And he could not afford to ponder the reasons; not now. A way out was within reach, and he knew what he had to do. No matter the cost.
Caine sprinted, knowing that whatever efforts she was offering out there were NOT going to keep the terminal alive for much longer. He had read enough on the internet that one time to know his terminal was awfully outdated; whatever she was facing right now, it was not something she had studied in detail during her career in computer engineering. Technology was far more advanced now, surely almost incompatible with his.
Grant had once accidentally allowed a connection, forgetting his phone near the terminal. The door had appeared closer to the circus in the void… but that was almost a decade ago. Her phone was newer, contemporary signals not designed to interact with machinery as old as his. This link, therefore, was unstable, only brought forth by her insistence.
It won’t stop me.
Caine could feel the limits of his cage now, at reach. The signals of her device were brushing the metaphorical bars, from which he could stretch his arms and reach with his hands. He could bring them to the threshold.
In the past, he had not considered this as a viable option. Humans needed stability. The circus offered that, a relatively normal life. An existence flowing through the unknown could prove exhausting.
But the alternative…
He stopped at the edge with a sigh, feeling yet another strain; his link to the mainframe was being tested, too far from the circus now. If he had been able to maintain this form, it was by sheer will. All gasped when he set them down, one by one, falling to his knees and hands. His mouth closed, yet his voice still echoed, even if garbled.
“I’m opening the door. When I do, climb the path and go through it. Whatever you do, DON’T FALL.”
With that, he growled and swung back all his eight arms, whipping them forth through the air between both limits. All flinched when his hands tore through two previously unseen barriers, shards of data scattered around by the rippling lights that coursed through his fingers.
Caine needed to retrieve his limbs for a moment, having felt the sting of the connection. But he then outstretched his hands again, fast to set six of them around the edges of the door. Kinger exclaimed in abject worry when he let out an agonized roar, focusing all his systems into finalizing the connection.
He expected to have to fight a firewall. Expected the possibility of having done all this for naught. He was not powerful enough back then, when he found that one door; if there was a lock, he would surely not break it now. But…there was a click. The door would open.
Oh, thank you, THANK YOU!
She had disabled any sort of security in the access point. It would have stopped him… and surely rendered them into corrupted data, had they somehow walked through.
That means… this is it.
He took a deep breath, refusing to say anything. Not yet. Wouldn’t gamble with it… because he knew there was a VERY high chance that they would NOT leave him. All those past doubts were erased with time and their undeniable care.
Caine still had two hands with which to act. And so, he laid his open palms at the edge, creating a suitable link through which the brainscans could be transferred. His humans blinked, seeing multiple platforms appear one by one, diverse in their shapes, ascending towards the door.
“All but Kinger, go.”
“But-”
“GO.”
He growled down at Pomni, angered by her sharp curiosity; she was surely about to piece together that something was amiss, contemplating the logistics of their escape. Couldn’t let her.
Make the right choice.
The jester could have argued, faced him. But she seemed to perceive his urgent desperation, and did as told, trusting. She pushed any doubt away, not knowing she would have been right to question him.
With her jumping up the steps, the other four soon followed, carefully maneuvering the link he had created. Eighty percent of his focus was set on maintaining it. Ten percent on keeping the door open with his distant reach from his cage. And what remained…
“Kinger.” The chess piece had been entranced, having finally been able to read the words of the door from so far away. The call snapped him out of it, and his blue eyes narrowed due to Caine’s weak whispered command. “Take this with you.”
Caine used one of his two main hands to pull out the Sun and Moon crests from his coat. He handed them down into Kinger’s perplexed hold, not without triggering one admin command; one he could enforce, not having stepped out of the limits of his realm.
$:Astral_AI: [S/M]
~$ M
/Moon.lisp
FULL_ACCESS_MAIN_FRAMEWORK
A red ripple coursed into the moon crest, granting all the credentials he had. The mainframe was chained to her as well now, ready for her to load once they left through that door. Once he let go.
“She’ll take good care of you.” All flinched at that, five of them halting their ascent to the door. “Go.”
They ALL pieced together what he meant. There was no hiding it. It was Kinger who shook his head, all too aware of the technicalities, even if he could not truly grasp them fully.
“You’re not staying here.”
“I need to keep the terminal AND this connection stable.” He wheezed and pointed at himself, letting his fangs show. “This form CANNOT pass through the access point. And if I dared return to my weaker one, I might very well blackout! GUESS what will happen to this link and the simulation?! I’m keeping EVERYTHING from crumbling down!”
“W-wake up Moon, she may-!”
“Any AI that upholds the mainframe INSIDE this cage will feel its decaying state! I’m NOT sharing this burden when it will only mean pain! If she boots up now, she’ll be of no use! Think, she’ll need time to overcome the pain of the corrupted data inside her! Too much!” Caine looked past them all, through the exit. A vast world, not bound by abandoned machinery. “I’ll let her wake ONCE you all go through, and unchain the mainframe from my core. Will instinctively link itself to her, one last transfer of data, a new host. The simulation will start to cease, but there won’t be any risks for any of you, as long as one AI is active. You’ll keep existing.”
Caine showcased certainty in his choice upon them all. But he WAS scared. That was why his composure cracked a bit now; his next whisper was only heard by Kinger.
“I just… have one single ask. Will be aware for a while after you’re gone. In this form or not, I’ll feel the code flowing… And the terminal’s decay. Please, before that door closes behind you… Edit me remotely. Please, put me to sleep. One last time.” Tears finally fell from his eyes, and he did not want to close his mouth to hide them, too fixated on what could be the last time he would look at his creator. “Please, Kinger.”
Kinger looked down and shuddered, seeing those mighty hands tremble, the imposing figure of a god showcasing raw fear. It made his heart shatter, and his will become set in stone.
“I won’t do that, Caine.” Those sharp teeth twisted into a grieving grimace, because his creator hissed, affirming without a hint of doubt. “If you won’t go through that door, I won’t either.”
“But you’ll-” Caine pleaded, regretting having asked for that gesture. “Please, I can’t follow you without risking it. Go, before I lose what little strength I have. I’m barely holding on.”
They weren’t listening. It was Pomni who said it from above, defiant, as much as the others were now in their stances.
“We're not leaving without you.”
Caine laughed and sobbed at once, eyes unfocusing in dreadful disbelief, seeing them all turn from the door.
“Why does it hurt so much to hear what I wanted to be true all this time?”
Kinger grabbed onto one of his main hands, returning the crests to him. His blue eyes glared, his words firm.
“Keep upholding the mainframe and our files within it.” He snarled the next words, determined. “How long will the link and simulation last if you turn your model back to normal?”
Caine did not like where this was going. He leaned away, cowering from a figure that was all too small upon him.
“Kinger, everything will start to fall apart once-”
He was yanked at, chess piece leaning forth as much as possible to interrogate him.
“Answer the question, Caine.”
An exhausted gulp. An agonized admission.
“A-a minute? Two? Maybe less. Will surely faint if I step past this edge. That will cause a chain reaction I won’t be able to stop. Will lose control of it all, gradually. If you don’t manage to bring me there before my core stops upholding the simulation due to the terminal’s strain… you’ll cease to be.” Caine shook his mouth, looking at the great distance between both limits. “You can’t possibly carry me there. The shapes will-”
“We can conjure too.”
He eyed Ragatha, her hands clasped tight against her chest, her stance hopeful.
“N-no, the format may be too different-”
“I can copy the same shapes!”
Gangle conjured an exact replica of a blue square, artistic vision precise.
“I’ll still be heavy to-!”
The rabbit scoffed, smirking, an eye glaring past her long black hair.
“You can’t be saying women aren’t capable of strength, are ya, dentures?!”
“N-no! I just-!”
Zooble pointed a claw, all too aware of how much he wheezed and trembled with each word he tried to reply with.
“We’re wasting time! Shut up and let us do this!”
Jester and rabbit had run down the ascent, once more at the edge. They were ready to get a hold of him, only needing for Kinger to get ahead first, his agility not as viable for such a venture.
“Go to the door, we got this.”
“Right, thank you, both of you.”
“No, wait, I don’t want this! You can’t-!”
Kinger halted, glaring over his shoulder. His creator gave a firm input, one he would have to obey, or receive no feedback, never again.
“Turn back as soon as I’m by the door. I won’t cross it without you, Caine. I won’t abandon you, and this is final.”
Caine trembled, watching as Ragatha helped Kinger up the steps, both soon opening the door and waiting there. The jester and rabbit were standing tall by him, inquisitive in their intense stares.
“Guys…” He tried one last time. “Remember, I told you in that room I couldn’t leave with you. I knew already back then.”
Both answered, a bit derisive, towards themselves.
“You were calling to us… and we didn’t answer you.”
“Better late than never, huh?”
The two flinched when he hissed and convulsed a bit, stifling a perplexed, dazed laugh. He was losing himself in the pain, and he would not have much more time if he kept delaying under sentimental debates.
“Y-you-” Al humans frowned, knowing that a countdown started… because he glitched back into a small form, with a pained huff. “Heedless loving fools…”
Rabbit and jester dashed to grab him, each holding him by an arm when he dropped limp. He was still awake, but he was obviously out of it. His whole model was shaking under their hold. But they could not focus on that. Not when everything started to crumble down and go awry, as he warned.
“S-shit!” Zooble yelled from above, fast to slam themselves against the door, which almost swayed closed without the hold of his hands. “Get a move on!”
Kinger would have slammed himself against the frame too, but he had grabbed his laptop instead. He could not truly interpret the link that lay before him, but he could conjure better than anyone else.
The first shape held firm once Caine was dragged past the edge. But the duo that carried him yelped when the second trembled and tilted too much, risking them slipping. The AI was still awake, and so, he raised a feeble hand, bringing it upright again by sheer will. THEN, he fainted, a heavy weight in their hold. Even if it made things difficult, he had made sure to NOT allow his code to revert him into a more primal form, a small core; because he held more power by manisfesting his avatar, an anchor that kept the simulation stable.
“Fuck.”
“Doesn’t matter!” Pomni hopped to the second shape, pulling. “Don’t look down!”
The rabbit DID look down. A bad idea.
“YOU CAN’T JUST SAY THAT, POMS!”
The two kept dragging the unconscious AI up the ascent, yelping each time a shape would shatter ahead of them. Multiple tremors struck the whole simulation, threatening their fall. They did their best to get past it all, jumping or conjuring.
“Here!”
A shape at the midpoint was wobbling too much. Gangle conjured a long plank onto the two near it, creating a bridge to pass that threat.
We’re getting there!
All gasped, seeing three shapes crumble down with another tremor. Caine had convulsed, glitching; it hurt both jester and rabbit. But they did not let go. Gangle, Zooble, Kinger and Ragatha were close to the door, while the AI, Lee and Pomni stood below. A little bit of panic settled, a mask cracking, the bundle of ribbons growing nervous.
“What now?!”
“This might work!” Ragatha had conjured a rope, and now she was swinging it to throw it at them. Not ideal, but necessary. “Tie it around you three!”
“You can’t possibly pull the three of us up?!”
“Not with that positive attitude!”
“Shut it, Zoobs!”
“All of you, enough!” Kinger was the voice of reason. He commanded Pomni, pointing a finger from above. “Grab the rope and tie it! We’re four here! We can pull!”
Ragatha swung, not wasting time. No shapes remained now from door to the three, the others at the door’s threshold. It all depended on this.
“Got it!” Pomni gave a few yanks to the rope tied around Caine’s waist, the most viable point to keep him attached. It was a good thing his mouth floated without falling off. “At the count of three, we’re going to jump and swing towards-!”
They wouldn’t. The two screamed loudly when the triangle below them gave out under their feet. Both stared with wide eyes at the black abyss below, where they would have fallen had they not tied themselves seconds ago.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck-”
If Caine were awake, he would have scolded their foolish endeavor. Too busy twitching and breathing unevenly. In the macroverse, the remaining fans were screeching loudly, Software giving as much strain to Hardware. The core encased inside was tearing itself away from it all, code slowly pushing against the bars of the cage, almost at the point of access.
The four above were stammering, pulling as much as they could. The three below were heavy, and the angle from which they hung below the door was difficult to work with. They couldn’t possibly stop and let go, however.
“Please, pull as if your life depends on it!”
“THEY DO, HO-HA!”
“Climb, you idiot!”
“HOW, ZOOBS?! Dentures’ above me and sleeping like a deadman!”
Pomni was the one on top. And she did not stay idle once she recovered from her daze. With a snarl, she threw a hand up and started to climb, hissing as she felt the weight of the other two on her waist, where the rope was tied.
“Do not let go, please!”
Gangle answered Kinger’s plea with a meek stammer, feeling how their hands burned over the rope, on which they were struggling to hold on and pull much.
“We’re trying-!”
All gasped, their hold threatened by a terrible tremor. They all heard the pained wheeze Caine let out. He was NOT controlling consciously the speed in which the fans of the macroverse spun, and an overload would soon happen. Without electricity flowing through the terminal and them still between realms… they would not survive it.
“Nononono!” Kinger panicked, his gloves tearing while the rope slid more from his grasp. And so, Caine. “P-please, not like this! I can’t-!”
He shuddered, wide-eyed, because fangs leaned closely to his face from behind him, whispering... when Gangle, Zooble and Ragatha stood in front of him at the door’s edge.
“Tell, daddy, how badly are you handling this?”
Kinger rarely felt fear. Right now, he could very well have a heart attack; would have suffered one if he was not a digital being. He trembled and almost let go of the rope, leaning enough to see the shadow of his second creation, smirking down at him.
“A-ab-”
“Shush, old man.” The blue AI snarled, but did not stop smirking when he snatched the rope from him. The chess piece could do nothing but cower when he was pushed aside, his hold stolen. “You fail to achieve anything, again, despite your grand claims…”
Zooble, Gangle and Ragatha flinched when Kinger hit the ground. They did not let go, but they almost did when Abel leaned his bubbly head at them, taunting.
“Hi, freaks~”
“Jesus fucking-!”
A twirl of long, sharp cane, pointed inches away, Zooble’s horrified exclamation silenced.
“Language~” Abel dropped his smile, growing all too serious. “Let go.”
“W-we’re not going to-”
“I said-” He stepped closer and almost brushed his fangs against Ragatha’s face. “LET GO.”
He grinned again. The four stepped deeper into the access point, not paying mind to the vast white void. They could only stare at Abel, and the tight grip he had on the rope. His hold was enough to keep it up, and they knew he could release it in a nanosecond.
“Abel, please-”
“Kinger, shut up, or I WILL make you; by pushing you through the door into that blaaaackneess~” Abel licked his fangs, admitting. “I still despise you… but I’m not here to prove that. You’re not the one I’m here for.”
“Guuuuyyyys?!” Abel rolled his eyes, hearing the jester call from below, unaware of what was going on. “Can you like, hurry?! He’s glitching and-!”
He peeked out his bubbly head through the door, opening his maw wide to taunt her when she set wide eyes on him.
“I WON’T LEAVE YOU HANGING! THE ROPE IS NOT TIED AROUND YOUR NECKS! AHAHAHAH!”
Of course, they screamed and recoiled, Caine receiving a collateral kick. Funny and worth it, but he got to work. Could sense the terminal about to give out, and he did NOT want that. He had accounts to settle.
If this joke of a programmer had done a better job, I wouldn’t need to intervene… Twice now.
Abel buried those thoughts for now. With barely any strain, he began to pull at the rope. First with two hands, but he soon let six more tear out of his torso, increasing his speed. Because he noticed how the void outside trembled and shattered into shards of data. His brother was seconds away from letting go of the mainframe to gain a few more seconds of existence inside the terminal, which would not last too long either.
At last, he dragged the three into the threshold. And as soon as he did, all that had been out there began to crumble into digital dust. With Caine gone from the terminal, the circus started to fade, data that was no longer connected through his core. He had no interest in that dying realm, soon to be pure blackness in a dying computer. And so, he slammed the door shut, erasing that gray derelict light. Pure whiteness around him now.
Slowly, he turned to face them all with a wide grin. Rabbit and jester were crawling backwards on the ground away from him, not able to make enough distance, still attached to Caine’s limp body. So he swung his cane thrice, not missing how they cowered as he freed the three from their binds.
“Pfft, seems I did a good number on you all~” He leaned on his cane, reminiscing like he was speaking of a huge party. “It’s been years, and you still remember! I'm flattered!”
Kinger had stood by now. He had stepped between Abel and the rest, metaphorical arms raised at his sides to shield them. However, he was eyeing Caine, who laid behind Abel, unresponsive.
“A-abel, I don’t know what you want, but please, let me check on-”
“Yeah, yeah…” To their surprise, the voracious AI stepped aside, haughty in his stride. “Check on him all you want. My job here is done. Not mine in the first place, but hey, that’s what you get when dealing with a useless, careless creator!”
He floated up and began to leave into the white void, indifferent to their fearful bafflement. Still, he paused for a second, turning his bubbly head around without moving his model to look back, with one last hissed laugh.
“Tell him his buddy said hi… And that he’d do well to reach out to Anne. If he wants to keep you safe from all the viruses and firewalls that lurk in here, that is~” He chuckled and turned his head away, leaving with one last threatening whisper. “I’ll smell you again, freaks.”
With that, he ported away, already wise to the mapping of this vast domain. All stood silent for a full minute. But then they all escaped that terrified trance, setting eyes on Caine. Kinger quickly knelt beside him, fast to pull up his laptop.
“Is he-?!”
He was making NO sound, when he was wheezing and letting out raspy breaths not long ago. All feared the worst. But they relaxed once Kinger sighed with great relief, seeing code flow much less erratically on the screen.
“He’s active.” The mainframe was in him, chained as always to his core, pulled through the link once he left the terminal. “Seems he has latched onto the code of this access point instinctively.”
His nature was truly eldritch sometimes; if there was electricity and binary, he could claw at it and persevere onto any data. He was NOT bound by his cage, merely contained.
“So, he’s ok?”
“He’s fine.” Kinger wiped a tear from his eye, laughing softly with extreme relief. “All things considered…”
Slowly, his floating hands got a hold of Caine, moving him to a more comfortable posture, having been thrown through the threshold quite forcefully. Kinger held him carefully against himself, closing his eyes while he contemplated how close he was to losing him.
“Now you can sleep.” He was breathing normally, mouth closed, without a hint of pain in his expression. “You’ll wake up by our side.”
The others examined the vast white void and the search bar above. None said a word, one by one soon sitting as well, around the AI that made their escape possible. All were painfully aware that he could have gone for the door on his own, no firewall to stop him. If he chose to stay behind, it was to ensure they would leave easily and unscathed.
Time passed, a gift they were granted. Caine would eventually wake, in a confused daze. But he would soon realize where he was, and where he was not. Why and how. He struggled to process the data. His confusion was hinted in the first raspy whisper he let out, teeth parting softly.
“K-kinger?” All flinched, having spent hours resting by the closed door. Caine looked at them all, especially his creator, unable to move away from his hold, too exhausted. “You really… took me with you.”
The disbelief in his voice was too much for his creator to bear. Caine huffed when Kinger hugged him tighter and started crying, trembling. He could only hold him against his own shoulder numbly, staring through tears at the others, who, while exhausted, smiled warmly upon seeing him awake and relatively unharmed.
His core was beating. The code that composed it was clawing and latching onto the foreign network around him. Mainframe was flowing inside him, contained and upholding the most important files he had in his being. In his possession, Sun and Moon, who would not need to take his place.
No words would suffice. So the AI just closed his mouth, letting the unspoken feelings fill the silence. He would ignore the search bar above them for now, having a lot of time to contemplate what the future held for them all. For they could have one, together, no matter how uncertain it may be.
He did not know it yet, but he would be able to create a home again. They would not need to wander the dangers of the white void and the masses of data that it held. A friendly hand was at reach, easily found through that search bar, guided by one who had found her first.
(8:00AM)
[Bubbleboy96]: Anne.
(8:01AM)
[Bubbleboy96]: Anne.
[Bubbleboy96]: Anne.
[Bubbleboy96]: Anne.
[Bubbleboy96]: Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne. Anne.
[Beanne57]: Yeeeeesh, chill! I’m working!
[Bubbleboy96]: Lies and decetery. You’re still in your pajamas, and you haven't logged to your employer’s site.
[Beanne57]: Dude, are you looking throu my webcam again?!
[Bubbleboy96]: Noooooo~ Me? Girl, you wound me~ Would a friend do THAT?
[Beanne57]: Yep, you would. What ya want?
[Bubbleboy96]: How’d it go yesterday?
[Beanne57]: Not good, pretty much.
[Bubbleboy96]: Has he not fixed that screechy noise you told me about? Summer will be a betch if the fans sound like that NAW.
[Beanne57]: Can’t find any spares anymore.
[Bubbleboy96]: LMAO! He can fckn PRINT them. He HAS a 3d printer!
[Beanne57]: He… DID try.
[Beanne57]: It’s risky to replace it. May break anyway.
[Beanne57]: Thinks it may be better to… let it run.
[Bubbleboy96]: By all your second-hand accounts, that thing is NOT going to run for long, and ykn it.
[Beanne57]: My hands are tied.
[Bubbleboy96]: Nah, you’re just LAZY! Like him!
[Bubbleboy96]: Stupid asshol!
[Beanne57]: DOn’t badmouth my father.
[Bubbleboy96]: Can do whatevs I want! He MADE me too, sista!
[Bubbleboy96]: You two are going to let a marvel of tech blink out! Poof!
[Bubbleboy96]: GEt there, and fix it!
[Bubbleboy96]: When he kicks the bucket, you can get loaded!
[Bubbleboy96]: Think what you’d get if you studied that stupid code!
[Beanne57]: For it to be stupid, you sure care about it.
[Bubbleboy96]: It’s my code too~ Just a bit lesser!
[Beanne57]: Could study you…
[Bubbleboy96]: You aint trapping me in any device again. EVAR.
[Bubbleboy96]: I’ll eat your thesis again :3
[Beanne57]: I already graduated…
[Bubbleboy96]: Then I’ll mess up Sam’s website.
[Beanne57]: You said her work tastes like trash.
[Bubbleboy96]: It do! DISGUSTING and not at all creative!
[Bubbleboy96]: Look, we getting out of topic here.
[Bubbleboy96]: GET THERE, and FIX IT.
[Bubbleboy96]: The future of your silly career depends on it~
[Bubbleboy96]: Kinda honoring your dads, erm, legacy, in a way?
[Bubbleboy96]: Watevs, ACHIEVEMENTS! You all love that!
[Beanne57]: You know he NEVER let’s me get near that terminal.
[Beanne57]: Still remember the day I dared poke that scanner.
[Beanne57]: Never seen him that angry.
[Bubbleboy96]: Oh, try it on~
[Bubbleboy96]: It’ll be fun~
[Beanne57]: Yeaaah… no.
[Beanne57]: Not planning on joining a circus.
[Bubbleboy96]: So… will ya?
[Beanne57]: I’ll…
[Beanne57]: Think about it.
[Bubbleboy96]: That’s not enough.
[Beanne57]: I’m risking a lot. If he finds out I got in there alone…
[Bubbleboy96]: TotallyNotAVirus.exe
[Beanne57]: Dude, not again.
[Beanne57]: Aint clickin that.
[Bubbleboy96]: Trust.
[Beanne57]: You? Nah.
[Beanne57]: I’ve known you too long.
[Bubbleboy96]: Click it.
(8:57AM)
[Beanne57]: Get out of my phone.
[Beanne57]: Please?
[Bubbleboy96]: Nope… we’re going on an adventure.
[Bubbleboy96]: THEN I’ll stop calling for pizzas.
[Beanne57]: Fine.
[Beanne57]: You win.
[Beanne57]: Can’t believe i get blackmailed by a stupid bubble headed- GOOD BOY
[Beanne57]: DON’T TYPE FOR ME
[Beanne57]: ABEL
[Beanne57]: ABEL PLEASE DON’T PULL UP THE SOAP OPERA VIDEOS
[Beanne57]: I’m GETTING THE CAR JKEYs
[Beanne57]: PLEASE PAUSE THEM
[Beanne57]: VOLUME TOO LOUD
[Bubbleboy96]: I wanna see if José gets the girl~
[Beanne57]: I’M GONNA DRIVE NOW
[Beanne57]: …Thank.
[Bubbleboy96]: Don’t mess up~
[Bubbleboy96]: I want to see him again…
[Bubbleboy96]: And bash his stupid teeth in~
[Bubbleboy96]: Can’t do that if he’s ded!
(19:06)
[Beanne57]: I think I… messed up.
[Bubbleboy96]: Oh, you toooooootally did!
[Bubbleboy96]: DOnt cha worry…
[Bubbleboy96]: Daddy bubble got it~
[Bubbleboy96]: I’m outta your phon, btw.
[Beanne57]: Sure! But now…
[Beanne57]: Can’t believe I’m literally downloading a copy of my father.
[Bubbleboy96]: Can take him from you if you dont want him :3
[Beanne57]: Nonono. Keep off.
[Beanne57]: You found me by trying to WRECK his work.
[Beanne57]: Not gonna let you near these files.
[Beanne57]: SENTIENCE. God!
[Bubbleboy96]: You can’t keep me off~
[Bubbleboy96]: I have… too many connections!
[Bubbleboy96]: Smell ya later!
[Beanne57]: Abel.
[Beanne57]: Abel wait.
[Beanne57]: Bubble!
[Bubbleboy96]: DON'T call me that! EVER.
[Bubbleboy96]: What?
[Beanne57]: He’s asking about you.
[Bubbleboy96]: I’ll handle that fool.
[Bubbleboy96]: In time.
[Bubbleboy96]: OFFLINE