Chapter Text
"Uh, wait-” Those were his last words before he ended up in the recycling bin. It's not t̶͇̾ȟ̸͚e̶̜͆ ̶͙͂b̵̞̾ȯ̸̧x̴̭̅, it only looks like it.
He didn't even get to apologize for his defectiveness, but it's not like they would accept an apology from him anyways.
Stupid, ungrateful, Ĥ̵̛̛̦͑̈́̉̆͋͗̌͌̽͛̕͝Ō̴̧̢̠̫̘͍̳̗̣̮̩̅̅͑͒R̵̢̙̳͙̜̯̤͂R̵̻̘̩̺̥̭̬͙̜̙̟̘̖̙͓̖͗͜͝Į̴̨̬̗͕̯̙̲̙̗̣̝͙̘͎̪͋̎̃̀̽̈́̿̊͆̄̒̿́͗̈́͘͝ͅB̸̢̢̡͍̼͓͓̻̣̙̘̻͙͖̱̆̀͂̅͑̀̀̔̚͘L̴̨̢͖̝̟̦̜̼͖̲̗̫̭͉̞̫͆͜͝͝Ẹ̴̛̗̜̹̪̲̥̦̳̗͍͇͙̱̱̲̀̎͐̅̅̾̓͘̚̕ humans, how could they D̷̡͔͉̭͉̲̠̼͚͎̿̈͐̊̉̍͂̔̂͋̄̇́̅̔̃̿̍̂̇̋̓̅̋͘̕͠Ę̶̡̢̨̢̢̢̢̛͎̬̯̫̥̘̟̺̪̼͓̰͕̝̼̳̮͍͚͓͖͚̟̖̜̞͍͈̖̊̈́̈́͛̈́͛̏͑̐̊͊̎̆͋̈͐͑̀̆̒̀͒̆̓̉̏͐̀̀̀̆͑̊̐̂̑̊̚̚̕͝͠͝͝ͅL̶̨̧̡̘̬͎͔̥̱̖̓͆̒͜E̴̠̻̥̪͍͔̤̗̺̹̐̈̈̓̏Ţ̸̡̨̛͓̪̜̪͙͕̫̥̼̼̰̩̻̘̼́̽̑͗̍̏͑͋̋̒͌͊̇͛̓̆͑̉̓̇̌̽̄̃͜͝͝͠͠ͅͅE̶̡͈̗̩̜̙̭͍̩͇̟̱̗̳̙͍̻͍̖̥͍̮̣͙̠͓̘̘̳̣̯̺̜̩̼͕̝͆͌̉̈ ̶̡̧̨̺̲̤͓̰̝͕̞̤̖̠̱̣̰͖͙̝͓͔̞̬̳̠̜̮͕̜̩͐͒́̏̑͋̀́̀̏̿́͆̔̕̕͜͝H̶̢̢̨̧̢̛̱͉͎͙̰͔͎̰͚̳̮̯̣͙͚̦̱̘̟͍̥͕̣͉̹͍̟͍̲̗͖̰͔̘̪̼̍̌͋́̂͆͑̈́̀͊̂̈́̊͌̒̌̇͂̓̓̉̽̈̀ͅͅÍ̸̡̗͎͕͖͕͖͙̣̺͎͉̞̖͉̘̮͙̝̼̫͉̦̦͓͎̤̰̹͊̓̑̇̀͆̊̋̕̕͝͝M̶̡̡̡̢̡̧̨̛̛̗̝̣͎̫̻͍̘͓̪̥̬̦͓̠̩̝͙͙̼̩͈͖̥̼̭̝̗̳̫͖̒̓̃̈́̐̈́̉̈́̓̊͂̂͗̓͑̆̀͋̿͛͊̊̈́́͆̏́̉̏̑̓͂̂̂̓̓̒̕͜͝͝͝ͅ?̴̡̧͔͕̣̗̗͙̱͈͙̼̣̥̹͌̂̐̋̄̓̒̇̏̽͆̌̀͑͋̑̈́̉̈́͂̂̽͂͒̋̓̌͐̂̓͐̄̈͂̽̽̉̄̉̔̉̚̕̕͝͠͠!̷̧̧̢̩̜̗̞̙͎̩̮̟̘̰̦̳̬̤̥͔̗̤̯̫̺͈̻̹̩̗̱̜̫̘͇̬̻̊́͌̈̐̎͊͒̈́̿̃̐́͗̽̈́͗̋͋̍̇͐͆̾͘͘͜͠͠
He hugged his legs tighter and tighter to his chest, slumping further into the tornado of hatred, regret, odd static feeling that made his body feel numb and the feeling of his code twisting into an unrecognizable shadow, and a flurry of other emotions he was processing. He thought back on all his f̷̤͇̈à̵̯̘͛i̷͇͝l̶͓͝ù̴͎̫r̵̺̼̉̉é̶̤̗s̴̙̦͊̓, his adventures, and how they were never enough for them.
They're all a bunch of I̶̡̨̠̝͇̘̲͇͉͇͎̠͈̦͉̪̻̞͇̭̊̐̅́̉̋͆͋͘͝Ņ̶̢̝̖̠̯͔̜̠͙͓̼͍̝̠̲̳͂̔̓͛̀̍̽̊̽̀̃͒̈̃̈̚͠͝G̷͎̲̺̙̝̈́͒̏̌̌͒́̔̃̂͛̓͛̉͆̓͘̕̕̕̚̚͠͝R̷̦̣̤̱̱̻̝̹̰͍̎͋̑̃̑̈́̑̌̌̈́͂̈́͋̿̕ͅA̸̫̝̺̮̗̯̻͉̩͆̃͂̋́̉̃̈́̋͋́̈́̿͗T̵̳͚̙̯̟̹̅̂͆͂̎̈̇̂̀̎̈́E̷̡͈͍̩͓̫̳̥͖̰̤͈͔͈̣̺͍̖̓́́̅̍̌̌͂̎͛̂͛͛͑̌͑̐̚͘͜͝͝S̷͓̙̬͇͚̤̭͚͌͋̋́́̌̾̓̈́͊̍̆̀́̃̚͝, THEY DON'T DESERVE AN Ą̸͚͕̜̪̭̹̇̊͑͘͜͜ͅP̶͍͚̟̱͔̭̩̯̤͇͍̖̼̿̇̀͒̓̓̉̓̔́̕͜Ǒ̸̧̧̳͕͈̘͙́̊͛̌͑̊̀̀̑͜L̴̜̪̈́͆̾̍́͂͊Ơ̵̞̩̮̂̀̔̽̅̍̈G̷̡̨̥͇͍͔̥̗͍͔̜̖̺͉͈̋͐͛̎Y̵̡̧̭̖̪̳͇̟̦̐̍̍̔̈́̉̒͘͝ͅ
“You really were the lesser of the two.” He remembered his companion spitting venomously from his mouth, it would be better if he just disappeared already.
"Defective!" He tried denying it back then, but inside he knew it really was true, why else would they abandon him? Good AIs don't get abandoned, they don't get met with insults and constant criticism, t̶̙̹̉͝ḧ̴̠͎̀ẽ̶̠y̵̲͗ ̷̞̱̉d̷̖̉̅o̵̲͋n̸̯̔'̸͖̾t̴̼̣͒̉ ̵̥̽̈h̷̛̘̑ä̴́͗͜v̸̡̺͝é̸̢̨ ̴̞͈̏͒ẹ̶̪͒̽m̷͕̦͛͐o̶̮͔͑̄t̶̯͝ĩ̸ͅo̴̧͂̆ń̸̘̼s̵̹̓.
Ÿ̵̨̺͙̻͓̭͔̬̭ͅͅo̷̧̤̘͉̦͎̪̞̺̳͙͍͙̦̖͕͊͛́̐̀̈͊͑́̀̐͂̇͋̃͝ù̸̧̨̧̨̱̤͔̘̠̱͎̯͒̿̆̈́̀͐͛͌̚̕ ̶̨̢̡̛̰̬̟̦̜̣̬͙͒͊́͊̓͂͑̓̾̓̓̽̍̃̚s̸̝̯̹̄̿̽̃̌̃̑̈́͌̍͝ḥ̵̤͚̰͎̪̑̔͛́̏̄o̵̬̹͛̉ų̶̪̼̭̫͈̯̳̥͖̖͛̆̏͐̽͋̒͠l̶̡͈͙̪͚͚͍̩͈͕̥̿̆̑̾̽́͛̿́̇͘͜͝ͅd̷̹̺̺͉̿̇̽̋͗͆̎̀͌͛̎͘ ̶̡̧͖̙̝̻̺̼̪̯̻̗̰͉͐̀̈́̾̈́̉̍̇̍̉̀̋̀̓̑̌ͅd̶̨̢͓̹̼̙̦̹̟̝̰͍̼͔̾̏̂̀͜͝ͅi̸̧̛̞̺̳̎̓ḛ̵̢̭̺͍͕̣̥̼͙̱̯̝̥̦̹̽̀͗͊̓̃̍̉̀̀̀͛̀̽̊͒!̵̡͇̦͔̣͍̘͉̙̦͎͆̍͂̆͒̌̋͛̓̿̿͂̌̐̃̍ Ÿ̵̨̺͙̻͓̭͔̬̭ͅͅo̷̧̤̘͉̦͎̪̞̺̳͙͍͙̦̖͕͊͛́̐̀̈͊͑́̀̐͂̇͋̃͝ù̸̧̨̧̨̱̤͔̘̠̱͎̯͒̿̆̈́̀͐͛͌̚̕ ̶̨̢̡̛̰̬̟̦̜̣̬͙͒͊́͊̓͂͑̓̾̓̓̽̍̃̚s̸̝̯̹̄̿̽̃̌̃̑̈́͌̍͝ḥ̵̤͚̰͎̪̑̔͛́̏̄o̵̬̹͛̉ų̶̪̼̭̫͈̯̳̥͖̖͛̆̏͐̽͋̒͠l̶̡͈͙̪͚͚͍̩͈͕̥̿̆̑̾̽́͛̿́̇͘͜͝ͅd̷̹̺̺͉̿̇̽̋͗͆̎̀͌͛̎͘ ̶̡̧͖̙̝̻̺̼̪̯̻̗̰͉͐̀̈́̾̈́̉̍̇̍̉̀̋̀̓̑̌ͅd̶̨̢͓̹̼̙̦̹̟̝̰͍̼͔̾̏̂̀͜͝ͅi̸̧̛̞̺̳̎̓ḛ̵̢̭̺͍͕̣̥̼͙̱̯̝̥̦̹̽̀͗͊̓̃̍̉̀̀̀͛̀̽̊͒!̵̡͇̦͔̣͍̘͉̙̦͎͆̍͂̆͒̌̋͛̓̿̿͂̌̐̃̍Ÿ̵̨̺͙̻͓̭͔̬̭ͅͅo̷̧̤̘͉̦͎̪̞̺̳͙͍͙̦̖͕͊͛́̐̀̈͊͑́̀̐͂̇͋̃͝ù̸̧̨̧̨̱̤͔̘̠̱͎̯͒̿̆̈́̀͐͛͌̚̕ ̶̨̢̡̛̰̬̟̦̜̣̬͙͒͊́͊̓͂͑̓̾̓̓̽̍̃̚s̸̝̯̹̄̿̽̃̌̃̑̈́͌̍͝ḥ̵̤͚̰͎̪̑̔͛́̏̄o̵̬̹͛̉ų̶̪̼̭̫͈̯̳̥͖̖͛̆̏͐̽͋̒͠l̶̡͈͙̪͚͚͍̩͈͕̥̿̆̑̾̽́͛̿́̇͘͜͝ͅd̷̹̺̺͉̿̇̽̋͗͆̎̀͌͛̎͘ ̶̡̧͖̙̝̻̺̼̪̯̻̗̰͉͐̀̈́̾̈́̉̍̇̍̉̀̋̀̓̑̌ͅd̶̨̢͓̹̼̙̦̹̟̝̰͍̼͔̾̏̂̀͜͝ͅi̸̧̛̞̺̳̎̓ḛ̵̢̭̺͍͕̣̥̼͙̱̯̝̥̦̹̽̀͗͊̓̃̍̉̀̀̀͛̀̽̊͒!̵̡͇̦͔̣͍̘͉̙̦͎͆̍͂̆͒̌̋͛̓̿̿͂̌̐̃̍ Y̷̡͓͖͎̺̳̥͓̦̺͍͈̺̝̺̮̬̰͗͌̑̏̿̇o̷̪̜̘̹͖͔̤͎̱͚̬̘̝̳̞̒͑̆̾̀̊̓̚͠ͅư̸̧̧̧̬̪̖̭̯̥̲̰͎̳͎̲͖͉͕̤͈̺̺̩͓̣͍̗̬̦̤̲̈́̉͑̃̃͑̔̆̑̉̅̈́̐͘͝ ̵̧̢͖̺̗̬̹̖͕͕̤̱̭̖͖̭̫̝͕̼̖͈̘̞̯̲̭͕̩͉̀͑͝s̸̢̡̡͍̣̳̪̻̙̫̥̬̟̞̼͓͙̻̣͔̜̣̀̃̿̕h̴̳̼͖͉̞͔͓͎̫͉͉̮̅̔͗͐̉̀͑̇̅̽̌͝͠͠ơ̴̢̢̫̙̗̳̯͔̠̲͎̲̗̼͖͓͕̯͔̬̣͎̙͎̯͕̩̪͍͈̭̙͙͕̆̋̌̀͐̀̂́̋́̍͋̂̑̃̏͘͜ǔ̶̠͕͕̙̝̟̖͕̱̈́̓̔̂̅̆̎̔̌͒̌͆̈́̀̃̿͆̈́̽̃͘ͅl̷̨̙̯͙̟̖̝̜̩̩͔̍́̍̄d̷̨̰̼͖̘̠̤̞̪̞̜͍͔̟̘̮̔̎͒̎̉̑́̀̍͛̃́̓͋̇̿̍͐̓͑̏̑̔͋̏̐ͅ ̵̢̧̧̼̣̙̙̱͔̮̘̣͓̅̓̌̾̐͛͒̋̆̿̽̈́̽́̈́̓̇̿̆̽̚̚͜͝͝͠͝͝Ḍ̶̮̣̋̀̍̓Ḭ̷̞͔͍̜̘̘̲̘͕͉̰̖̬̭̹̖̺̆̓̓̂̚͜͠Ȩ̵̨̡̨̢̤̣̩͍̠͔͔͇͍͂͆͆́͆̔͌̃́̿̊̇̔̍̏́͊̈́͛̈́͐̈̄͌͒͌͊̉͊̒́̕͘͝͝
He sighed, the sound coming out oddly corrupted and glitchy, then he finally looked at his body, black glitches and sharp, jagged geometry overtaking his form with sprawling neon eyes staring right back at him, the harrowing realization dawning on him,
He was abstracting.
He didn't know he could even do that, guess that explained the odd static feeling making his entire being feel numb, he should probably be more worried about it but at this point, he couldn't bring himself to care anymore. Actually, it might be better than trying to latch on to any non-existent speck of hope to fix his relationship with the humans.
He took the time to look at his abstracted body one last time, by now his hands had turned into sharp unrecognizable blobs, dotted all around with shifting eyes looking all about,
He thought about the humans, what they're doing without him, they might've celebrated his deletion to be honest, I mean who wouldn't? He was a nuisance, he was annoying, loud, eccentric and like Zooble said he had a fragile ego.
They're happier without him anyway, he's sure of iπ≤@(+$€—
And just like turning off a TV, his thoughts cut off and he lets corruption consume him whole.
“Hey, old geezer! Hurry up with getting back dentures!” Jax yelled, watching over Kinger's shoulder as he frantically typed,
“Stop pressuring him, dipshit.” Zooble elbowed the rabbit, although they hated Caine, the circus looked like swiss cheese, and after finding out they were all mindfiles, they really didn't have a choice except bringing back Caine, and conjuring took too much out of their bodies to do fast enough to repair the growing holes to the void, so their only option was to bring him back, but thankfully Pomni managed to conjure the exit door and grabbed another computer for Kinger.
They snapped out of their thoughts at the sound of Kinger's voice, “I-I think… I managed to get him out.” He managed to say, as he turned around and lifted the bucket slightly with his free hand.
“Finally!” Jax said, standing up and getting out of the pillow fort, looking back, “C’mon, whaddya waiting for?” He annoyedly said, ushering the group to come along.
The others looked at each other but slowly followed him to the stage, getting up one by one. Kinger stayed behind, looking back at the screen and releasing a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
How was he going to tell them this..? That Caine.. he… abstracted… His code was corrupting while he was trying to get him back, he thought he could save him before.. but he failed his greatest creation and his wife. He failed Caine twice.
He looked back and reminisced on the good times, when he and Queenie used to teach Caine all about things like bees, when they taught him Daisy Bell, when Queenie treated him like the son they never had.
If only he could go reverse this, or at least get one last chance to make up for how poorly he had treated Caine, to tell him how much he had loved him..
As they moved to the stage and looked up.. “Hey! Wait a sec, that shit ain't him at all! The fuck is this?!” Jax snapped upon seeing the large abstraction on stage, with a suspicious amount of blue, green, and red eyes on it…
“Uh… guys..? Why is there an abstraction?” Pomni nervously asked, shuffling and rubbing her arm.
"C'mon guys, I'm sure Kinger just made a small missclick.. R-Right..?" Ragatha tried reassuring all of them, but it quickly fell apart, as she looked over her shoulder and tensed, as if preparing herself to be beaten up and tossed around again like when Kaufmo had abstracted.
The rabbit scoffed, "That old man can't do anything to save his ass, huh?!" crossing his arms, he turned back to walk back to the fort, by god he sure was getting sick of this whole fiasco, first they all had the audacity to say they should bring that fucker back, they just got tortured! Don't they have brains or something?
He's surprised they got scanned in because they don't seem to have any brains at all!
"A-Are you sure?" He remembered Pomni questioning after what Kinger had said, "There's no undo or anything?" Taking a hesitant step towards the chess piece, she pried harder, "I-I don't know what happened, h-he was messing with the console as I was working-" the man stammered.
"That's convenient." He muttered, of course, of fucking course! He was right, you really can't rely on Kinger for anything! "Jax." The jester reprimanded, "What?!" He exclaimed, "Are we all just supposed to forgive this?!" He snapped, pointing at the king, they had the audacity to defend him for this?!
He shook out of his thoughts when he realized he was standing at the entrance of the fort, "Hey! Old man, why's there an abstraction instead of that fucker?!" Kinger flinched slightly from the swear, he looked behind him when he felt an elbow dig into his side, looking around he found that it was... Oh great it was Zooble, of course!
"Can you stop being so fucking difficult?!" Goddamnit, they really had to stop this man-child every fucking second of their existence, huh? They sighed internally, you can never catch a break in the circus, can you? Even without any adventures.
"Hey Kinger, why is an abstraction on the stage?" They asked, pointing to the stage where Gangle, Pomni and Ragatha were slowly approaching it after it didn't move at all, just staring into seemingly nothing, still like it was an inanimate object.
"Why isn't it moving..?" They overheard Gangle ask, hitching her thumb towards the abstraction, the trio's fear had soon turned into confusion after the abstraction showed no signs of moving at all, the other two girls just shrugged their shoulders in response.
The senile senior took a deep breath, "I.. Look, you'll probably think I've gone mad but..." He cut himself off, looking around for the others, "Can you gather them first? I know you're tired from all this but they need to hear it too." He spoke after realizing the others probably needed to hear this too, not just Jax and Zooble.
"..Alright." They agreed, they went off to the stage, gathering the other 3 members to Kinger's pillow fort, after they all arrived, inspecting the others, Kinger spoke up, "Now, what I'm about to say may seem like proof I've already went clinically insane but.." the others tensed up, shifting subtly.
"That abstraction..." He sighed, his expression somber and filled with sorrow, he continued shakily, his voice cracked slightly,
"Is Caine."