Chapter Text
Caine floated in the 'emptiness' of code-space, spinning his cane in his hands as he thought. He couldn't think of anything to create and that's what was confusing to him! He normally had endless ideas on what to create but now he had nothing!! There was nothing exciting!! Nothing with stakes! It was like a blank canvas in his head!
..wait!! ITS PERFECT!! A world where the p L̵̡͔͕̫̥̹͕̹͎͓̠̝̞̜̃͊͌͊̎̎̈́̋̋̄̕Ayer—
[ERROR. MEMORYBLOCK.PLR.C.01 FAIL.]
His body glitched, his mind going blank as static filled his head, thoughts rushing in and out of his head, yet none he could quite get a hold onto. Where was he? What happened? There was a Ẅ̸̺̱͖̮͚̙͇͓̻̱͎̤͎̤̐͐͆̒̍̐̅̄́͐͊̅͜ͅë̶̢̨̨̢̜̩̥̺͕̲̞̹̮͖̳̭̦͓̜͕͇̠̻̼̭͓͓̺̬̀̓̌̐̒͐̏̿͂͑̊̋͂̄̉̈́̅̍̂̆͂́͌̈́̚͠į̴̡̨̨̣͍̰̣̳̜̦̖̩̰͈̰̗̝͓͈̰̥͔̝͉̅͛̿̂̂̄r̸͕̠̠̈́̽͋̒̀͋́͒̓͝d̸̰̦̰̟̳͈͚̞̀̆̏̂͌̎̈́̈́͗̈̉̓͗̆͊̀͂̌̈́͐̀̏͋͑̈͝ ̸̨͇̱̩͙̫̞͍̼̯̺͍͕̹̝͕̯̪̱̭͓̺̾͆̄̓̄͋̂̆͆̿̽́̓̑͋̒̈́̚͜ͅp̵̧̢̢̢̖̼͇̭̤̯̼̹̠͎̜̦̺̫̾́͠ͅǎ̴̧̗̰̗͍̣͉̣̝̗̩͉̅̾͆͐̀̂̊͆͗͑̓̎̑̇̇́͆͆͛̕̚͠͝͝n̷̟̞͈̟̥̐̌̆̏̈́͋̍̂͑̾̄͆̀̚͝ẻ̵̡̨̮͙̣̲̖̯̰̹̯͓̟̦̲͓̔͋̈̋̓̀̿̇̍̊͛̅͌̆̍̐̚͘͠ľ̷̢̛̲̪̪̯̼̭̳̪̯̯͈̭͇̐͐̈́̚͝ and he was alone like right now after Ă̸̡̨̛̖͉͖̮̦͇̮̜̳͍̙̪͇̰̪͙͚̱͈̊͗̊̚͜ḅ̷̢̧̟̬͎͇̫͈̜̩͈̠͎̮̰̩̱͎̟̞̣̦̤͙̎̾͜ę̸̧̛̰̯̱̩͈̖͖͎̖̀̍̉̈́̿͋̆̿ĺ̷̨̛̛̳͇̫̪̤̗̩̖͌̉̂͂͒̾̃̆̎͊̿̽̎̀́́͑͊̔̍̿̅̑͂̎͜͝ͅ ̸̣̪̟̆͆̓͒̂̎̔̅̇̃̉̕͝ą̷͇̘̥͕̪̼̣̙̯͇͚̮̉̀̀̃̓̄b̴̥̞̗͖͙͔̬͍̻̮̹̭̞͔͇̘̎̎̈́͆͗̎͌͑̓̾͂̋̆̋̚̚͝͠s̸̡̨̡̢̛̛̱̘̬̳͎͇̜̖͖̝̲͕͇͔̜̰̺̣͕͔̽͂̐̾̑͒̋̇̓̒͑͒̄̀͌̉͋̿̃͛̒̃̽̓͛̉̕̚̕͜ͅt̵̳̲̏̈̇̈́͝r̴̙͈̟͎̜̪̜͇̯̖̺̰͍̻̃͗́̔́͋̆̈́̄̊̑̉̀̈́͛͘͜͠ă̶̡̢̧̰͍̯͓̫̝̥̰͇̗̺̬̙̳͍͖̥̘̩̠̏͝ ̷̛͇̳̬̪̫̖͐̿̃̇͌̈́̓̂́̂̑̓̊̈̕͝— the world around him rumbled, his body jerking and shuddering painfully as glitches ran through it, his head felt full of cotton. He curled into himself, gloved fingers digging into his gums, his head felt like it was going to explode. What was G̶̢̨̛̘̼̤̝̯͍̫̗̻̠̺̳͇͇̮̪̹̪͇̻͕̰̒̔͂͐̏̇̈̄͂̅͛͜ͅƠ̷̛̳͍̯͚̜͍͉̘̦͓̘̣̼̣͈̙͇̞̮̘̰̤̬̍̀̀͑͆̌͌͐͆̾̑̿̃͆̕͠I̷̡̲͉͕̰̘̳̫̼̼͚̜̻̼̤̟͇̬͓̬͑̂̉̔̔͌͐̿͋̅̐̄̚͘͜͜ͅN̸̢̧̨͚̺͈͉͎̼̘̜̖̮̱̦̞̟̗̹̬͛̎͛̈́̓͋̂́͛̏̔̈́̓̍͆̔̏̃́̀̐̈̀̓̂͝͠͝G̶̛̩͔̥͖͍̱͙͈͕͕̳̳̗͇̠͌̔̇̅̑̅́̀̈́́̌̊̐́̀̃̃̾́͊̾̕̚͠ ̴̨̱̯̱̩̤̲̬͎͕̪̾̀̅́̌̇̿̅̀͋̊̏̾̓̈́̒̄̚̚͜͝͝Ớ̸̧̪̳̤̟̞͕̭̥͎̣ͅǸ̸̪̬̥̘͈̬̣͓̭̥̲̦̭̿͒̏̔̅̀̒̎̏̓͑̅̊̌̾̕͘̕̕͠͝?̶̰͉̭͖̗͈̼͎͍̝͕̤͉͖̬̠̻͑͒̍͂́́̀̍̀̂̒̍̅̀̓̏̓̊̕!̴̨̨̢̛̪̦̱̹̺̘͇̜̩͈̬͈̠́̇̅́́̓͆̅͑͒͆͛͆͆́̈̊͆͊́́̈́̉̇͘͝ͅ Ẁ̸͓̥̫͚̘̜̮̅́̈́̓͑̾͋̓͊Ḥ̸̢̡̛͇͍̩͕̜̦̲̗̠̋̋̀̀͑̅͂͒́͑͒͘E̴̢̲̘̙̦̣̟̖͈̊ͅŖ̸̯̣̠͚̻̺͈̰͍̦̓̈́̊͌͋̓̈́̀͗̍͠Ę̷͍̙͈̉̊͆̊̓ ̶̯̳̟̙̩͉̟̹̙̖̲͊̐̀́͊̒̎̐̏̎͝W̴̢̭̰̝͌́̅͌̈́͐̕Á̴̡͇̮̿̿̓́̚͠Ŝ̵̢̰̠͕̜̦̘̪͈́̇̉͊̀͛͊͘̚ ̵͇͚̼͇̝̥͓̖̟̣̀̅̊̇̽̒̋͂̓͗̾̚A̴̡̧̛̹̩̟̳͔͎̘̖̠̓̈́͒̍̋̅́͜͝͝ͅB̸̨̼͖̟̳͙̤̩͗̆̐E̴̯͓͊̒̑̃̍̊̕̚͠L̵̡̛͇͎̙̳̣͍̺̭͉̦̠͖͚̓̔?̸̨̡̛̦̫̥̭̜̖͈̳̭̠̣̜͌̈̓̈́̀͊͛̐́͌̄͒͝͝!̵̢̢͎͍̣̻̂͂̃̎̑̂̂́̈͒̓̚͘!̷̨̰̯͎̪̜̯͙́̀̿̀̀͑̑̚?̸͍͍̝̘̠̺̮͓̲̻̱̦̠̾͝ ̷̳̎̏̃̑W̴͖̲̓̿͘͜H̵̛̼̹̞͕͙̖̠̺̪̯͇̄̋Á̸̛̼̲͚̤̣͓̭̽̾̆̽̎̎́̀̋́͠͝Ţ̶̱̻̦͇͓̦͔̩͔̪̼̀̃͛̀̊̈́Ś̷̡̩̮̺̬̞̩͓̩̩͠ ̵͍̼͔̲̦̎G̵̨̧͕͎̖̖͍̘̩͓̘̘͎̠͒̍͋̂̉̿̀̌͊͊ͅO̴̡͎͔͉̘̝͕̳̻͇̼͇̳̹͋̂͐̀̎͆̓͊̊͗̈́̅̃͗̈́I̵̡̞̻̗̙̫͍̬̘̤̼̯̖̼͒̑Ṇ̶̼̼͎̘̰̐̈́͋ͅG̷͚̜̘̫͖̫̙͎̑̌͐̓͛ ̵̤̉̅̃͆̃̅̾͂̐̀̑̊́͝Ơ̷̡̰͖̬͈̞̫̌͌̎͛̏͝͝N̴͍͓͕͙̼͉͋̾̑͑̀̔̉́́̿̄̎?̵̧̛̳̳̞̹̭̳̖̬̪͍͐͂̐̚!̴̧̨̭̝̣̲̜͔͇̽̀͗̐͆̅̍́̐̐̏̌͠ ̴̨̧̬̗̮̭̞̤͓͔̦͍͕̹̬̐̂̓̊͐͌̂͘Ẅ̴͚̦͖̝̲̗̲̼̤̜͖͋͆̓͒ͅḨ̵̡͔̪͇̰̋̓̇͜Ÿ̸̧̤̪͉̝̰̻̅̈́͌̈́̎̆̍͆͘͘̕͝͠ ̷̡̹̰̹͙͈̠̥̰̻͎̮̦̼̈́̎͛̃̎́̃̇͂́̓̄̏̇͝D̶̨͚̩͓͖̠̦͇̗̖̭̑̉̚͜Ờ̷̰̮̯̯̙̈́Ȩ̷̧̛̺̼̖̬̀̀͗͑͋̔͝Ś̴͕̘̰̭̖̮̪̬͍̮̲̈͂̓̀͗͛͘͝ ̸͈͍̥̘̫̣̟̌̽E̵̡̲̦̣͎͉̤̣̰̗̱̫͉͑̈́̑̾́̊̋̃́̓́̈́̚͝V̷̥̣̥̱̣̘̫͖̹̱̖̳̅̀ͅͅȨ̷̛̥͚̳͚̦̭͓̏̃͂͊̔̌͛̓̓̄̍̈͆͝Ṟ̵̨̦̗̱̟̘̹̦̹̪̳̆͂̉͆̃͛̌͊͂Ỳ̶̥̙̲̬̤̰̙̘̿͝T̴̩͔̰̞̠͆́̍̓̅͐̚H̶̡̪̘͔͇͉̲̰̟̋̎̈̓̀͒͂͐͝͠ͅI̸̤͖̗̥̥̅͛͐̃͂̈́̄̍̍̚̕͠͝N̴̟̱͖̜̙͚̞̱̦̙̱̟͑̄͆͝͝G̵̨̟̥̰̥̦̉͐̾̃͗́̔͒̍͝ ̶̛͔̄̀̄̍͌̏͊͆́̈̑̚͝͝Ĥ̸̡̌͗̀̍̓̓͛̓̎̓̆̆̕͠Ư̶̜̩͚̇̓̔͊̓͗̏͊̎̎̏͘̕R̷̰͕̝̋̑͆̔̋̿̒͐͛̕̕T̷̙͖̠͓̲̗̻̱̝̞̎̅̍͛̈́̊͜͝?̶̛̘̠̳̬̦̘̩̄̒́͌͌̑̽̈́̅͑̑͌̕͘͜!̷͓̫̩̳̮̖̭͎̼̬̋̀͐̆̈̒͂̌̉̆͠͠͝͝͝ ̷̛̲̪̬̊͋͛̔̀̊͘͝W̵̧̢̛͙̬͇͕̥͍͓̭̣͆̂̏̿Ḣ̸̛̪̺͈̞̺̹͈̋̂͊̿̾͌̉͑̌̇͒Ý̸͇͚͖̇̈́ ̵̢̠̲̣̃̆̿̌̍̈́̇͐͆̕͝I̸̧̢̛̟͕̹̘̘̟̳̞͕̰̺͖͚͂͛S̴̯̖͆͋̾̕͘͜͠ ̸̛͙̦͉͚͙̖̘̝̭̣̱̰͓̓̐͗̓̈́͜Ḙ̴̣̪͎̜̭̗̪̣̞͙̘̗͓̻̈́̑̌̂̀̐̓̇̚͝V̵̨̪̘̬̫̜̜̘̗̻͆̌̍̍͐̏̏͗́͊͘Ę̵̗̯̗̘̳̰̜͋́̈̀̅̕͝R̵̰̥͕̱̎́̋̈́́̍Y̸̥̣̯͈̣̦͗͋̈́̐͗͝T̶͔̠̰̜̈́̃̔̍̌͆͊̚̚H̴̘͎͆̍I̷̥͉̙̬̩͓͓͍͑͋͊̉̒͌̎̿̂̓̀̕N̷͖̘̫͚̜̼̍̓̉G̶̛͈̟̖̣̺̰͌͌̆̏̀̓̂̅̽̊̓̏̿͝-̴̗̦͚͇̖͙̄͂̓̊̇͛̅̃̆̑͠͝͠
[ERROR. RINGMASTER.PRTOTPE.AI FAILED.]
[PLR.CHR.C.BATCH01 DISTRESS PARAMETERS REACHED.]
[CIRCUS DESTABILIZING.]
[RESETTING RINGMASTER.PRTOTYPE.AI... PLEASE WAIT]
DING!
...that was weird. Where was he? OH YES!! The adventure!! They could draw and color the world around them! Gangle liked coloring!! If he remembered right. It....his memories were always hazy, but that was fine! As long as he could make his wonderful players happy!! He... could swear.. s̵̩͇͠ọ̵̀͜m̸̮̰͑ë̸̙͆õ̶̯n̷̙̓e̴̜͊̐ else liked to draw, but.. their name slipped through his gloved fingers like butter.
SPEAKING OF BUTTER!! ..what? ANYWAYS!! The storyline would be AMAZING!! IT WOULD SURELY BUTTER UP HIS WONDERFUL CAST OF COLORFUL CHARACTERS TO FALL IN LOVE WITH HIS OTHER ADVENTURES!!! If this ends positively then he might make more adventures with an interactive environment like this!!
He opened his panel and began to create models. Modeling and designing came easy to him, and he loved to do it! Coding was the tricky part, but nothing him, Caine, the WONDERFUL ringmaster couldn't do! He was an AI after all, an AI. He should be a natural at coding!! And he is! But...he.. was always better— NEVERMIND!!
He should brainstorm a good story for the players!! And NPC's to interact with! Hopefully another gummigoo situation doesn't happen again... that was.. tricky to navigate. Should he add Gummigoo to this adventure? Pomni was really upset when he stopped the gator's processes. He couldn't just have another AI running around the circus!! It could cause some glitches that shouldn't happen in the first place! Especially since the developers haven't answered him since they told him his purpose all those years ago!
He wonders if they're still watching. Or if they really have abandoned him.
His jaws snapped shut and he shook his head animatedly. That didn't matter! He needs to finish this adventure for his wonderful players!
He straightens his bow tie, before going back to modeling.
—————
Pomni groaned, walking through the bright colors that encompassed her in this digital hell, her head throbbing dully. Seems there was one constant she couldn't escape from, and that was headaches. Joy. She took a deep breath, eyes flicking towards the doors as she passed them by on her way to the stage. There were.. a lot of people that had been in the circus.
Too many to not have been noticeable if they all came from the same place! It was possible there could be someone who is putting the pieces together right now! ...oh who is she kidding with this optimistic nonsense. She doesn't remember anything specific about her life— it's a possibility there wasn't even anyone looking for her at all. She couldn't remember the names, voices, or even..faces that appeared in her memories. Just faint blurs.
Someone energetic, loud. But he was nice from what she remembered. He liked 3D modeling— or just creating in general. He had a brother— she thinks so Atleast.. she only gets vague facts or ideas on the occasion. Then there was.. she obviously didn't know her name, but she was kind. The type of person to help an old lady carry groceries kind. Ragatha reminded her of whoever that fuzzy silhouette was if she really thought about it.
She shook the thoughts away, walking up to the stage where everyone gathered. Zooble looked.. as unimpressed as usual, Kinger was vibrating again, Gangle wasn't doing anything really— just holding her sketchbook close to her chest. Ragatha looked hopeful, but her smile seemed slightly..
Strained.
Pomni didn't even look at Jax. At all. She instead, skillfully avoided looking at the purple rabbit altogether after that #($)hole that was the last 'adventure'. She had thought she... had befriended him. She had been having fun for once! But.. maybe he was just as shallow as he seemed.
She kept staring at the floor before Ragatha rested her hand on her shoulder. She flinched away, looking up at Ragatha, concern in her eyes as she opened her mouth to speak, before a loud pop could be heard as Caine finally made an appearance, cane in one hand, eyes seeming to sparkle as he stared down at them, Kinger let out a scream, and Pomni had half a mind to just walk back to her room with the headache she had, but she stayed.
"HELLO MY SUGARY SLOTHS!!!" Caine flew around, voice pounding into her skull as his body moved swiftly and animatedly. "TODAY IS A RATHER SIMPLE ADVENTURE!! I HOPE NOT TO BORE YOU ALL, BUT AS A SPECTACULAR SURPRISE, YOU GET TO KEEP A SOUVENIR FROM THIS WONDERFUL CANVAS OF CREATION!"
Pomni opened her mouth to say that wasn't how surprises work, but Jax spoke first, voice as laid back as ever. As if the previous adventure never happened. "So what is this 'Adventure', Caine? Gonna bore us to death or something? Watch paint dry? Why dont'cha stick to the EXCITING adventures? We might just abstract from boredom!!"
She shot the rabbit a glare, but she wasn't even sure he even saw it before Zooble socked him in the face, antennae twitching in irritation. Jax let out a cartoonish yelp, and she swore she heard Ragatha suppress some laughter at the scene in front of them.
Caine was floating there in the air, just staring at them with an indecipherable look in his eyes. Or maybe she was just projecting. Caine was an AI, but sometimes he felt like... more than that. Like he had feelings.
"You.. want one with stakes? I MEAN IM NOT COMPLAINING!! ITS JUST YOU NORMALLY ALL GET UPSET AT ME! I SUPPOSEEE I COULD DO A MORE EXCITING ADVENTURE!!" Gangles comedy mask cracked slightly, Zooble gave Jax a glare that might as well have caused him to become nothing but dust where he stood, the tension in the air was palpable before Ragatha spoke up, bless her.
"N-no! Caine we would love a relaxed adventure! Please don't listen to Jax. What's the adventure you had planned?" Pomni was half tempted to kiss Ragatha, that angel of a woman, right then and there with how she quickly prevented today from becoming another torturous 'adventure'.
"WELL IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED L̸̡̢̯̑̑̌͊̈́͘͜-L̸̡̢̯̑̑̌͊̈́͘͜-Ò̶̺͈̐̇͊͐͗͂̿̋̈̚͘Ơ̶̯͚͖̤̼͕͓̊̋̋̌͐̇̚͜͠P̴̖̝͕̮̺̝̦͔̙͎͒̓̾̓̂̈́̈́̌̌S̵̛̜̱̮͓̞̥͎̀͗̎͐ͅḬ̷̧̨̛̣͍͓̱̗͔͑́̔̑͌̀̄͠Ę̷̻̗͉͈̗̲̞̗͇̰̞͍͋͐͂͐̓̿͗͒̋͠—" Caine's voice sputtered out, eyes glitching to a red and blue, before his jaws slammed shut, the circus around them trembling and glitching for a moment before returning to normal. She took a step back, glancing at the eldest member only to see a mix of both fascination and horror in his unusually focused eyes, before Caine's jaws slowly opened.
"AAAAPOLOGIES MY HARMONIOUS HEARTS!! JUST A MOMENTARY GLITCH, IS ALL!!" Caine fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves, staring down at them. A pregnant pause had filled the circus before Jax scoffed. "What, ya hardware getting old? You gonna start failing and kill us all?" "JAX!! Don't $&&*ing joke about that you #&*!!"
Zooble raised an arm to punch Jax again before Caine pointed the ball end of his cane between them and forced them apart with.. whatever ringmaster-y magic he has, barking out a reprimand. "ZHA— ZOOBLE!! LANGUAGE!! AND NO!! I AM IN TIP TOP CONDITION AND AM NOT FAILING AT ALL!! Now, let's GET TODAY'S ADVENTURE ON THE ROAD, SHALL WE???" Caine's voice now held a slightly panicked edge to it, one of his legs glitching.
"No. &*#$ this." Zooble turned to leave, before a portal opened and Caine forced them through.
"NOW MY DELIGHTFUL DAISIES!! OFF YOU GO!!" He made an exaggerated shoo-ing motion with his hands. She opened her mouth to speak before Caine cut her off. "NNOPE!! OFF YOU GO!! MAKESURETOGIVEFEEDBACKWHENYOUGETBACKOKAYBYE!!!"
And then she was promptly shoved into the portal with no idea what awaited for them on the other side.