Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“GOOD MORNING MY FABULOUS FLYING FRENCH FRIES!!” Caine erupted from the main stage, gesturing wildly as usual.

The troupe gathered around him, in various states of exhaustion. Ragatha looked particularly tired, rubbing at her good eye.

“It has come to my attention that you all think my job is easy.” Caine stated abruptly while crossing his arms, prompting pause from the group. “But it’s not! Trying to please every one of you is a difficult task, one that I don’t think you all appreciate.” 

“So for today’s adventure,” Caine materialized his cane with a dramatic spin, pointing at the cast. “One of YOU will be the ringmaster, and will come up with an adventure for everyone else to enjoy!”

“So, like the suggestion box?” Zooble asked dully, unimpressed.

“NOT AT ALL! Our lucky volunteer will be in FULL CONTROL of the circus!” Caine exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. “And will create their own adventure from scratch! Some assets from previous adventures may be used to save time.” He muttered the last bit conspiratorially.

Everyone looked uneasy at the idea, glancing between each other nervously.

Everyone except for one, devious, mischievous purple rabbit.

“I’ll take one for the team,” Jax stated coolly, tucking his hands behind his head. “I’ve got so many adventure ideas.”

“WONDERFUL!!” Caine exclaimed, and before anyone could protest, he snapped his fingers.

In a flash, Caine was no longer hovering above them. Jax was, a strange blank expression on his face.

Caine was now on the ground next to the cast, eagerly looking up at the rabbit.

“Why the @!#$ would you do that!!” Zooble shouted at Caine, marching over to him with their fists clenched. Caine took a step back, looking uncharacteristically nervous for a second.

A snap suddenly echoed through the tent, stopping Zooble in their tracks and pulling everyone's attention to the new ringmaster.

Jax was now adorned in Caine's ringmasters coat, which clashed egregiously with his pink overalls. The top hat was floating behind his head, leaving his ears free.

Everyone looked to Caine to see if he also changed, shocked to see him in only his white shirt and bow tie, looking offended and slightly flustered. 

“Man, what a rush! I can see everything! And all these commands I have access to…” Jax trailed off, looking at his hands with eager anticipation.

Caine shook his head sharply, bringing back his usual flair with a clap of his hands. “Well! You have a couple hours to put together an adventure, and then-”

“I don’t think I need a few hours.” Jax interrupted, a slow, dark smile spreading across his face. Caine looked uncertain, squinting in annoyance.

Jax remained quiet for a few seconds, eyes unfocused, before centering back on Caine as he brought up his hand in a flourish to snap.

A portal opened beneath everyone's feet, and cut off a collective scream as it closed.

Chapter Text

Dust exploded into the air as six bodies crashed into the dirt, followed by coughing and groaning as they pulled themselves out of the pile. Feeling strangely uncomfortable in a way he couldn't pinpoint, Caine pushed himself unsteadily to his feet, taking in his surroundings as the cloud settled. 

He recognized this map; an open air stone coliseum he'd made a long time ago for an old adventure, feeling oddly empty without the usual npcs he would use to populate the stands. It was less well made than his more recent adventures, the brown texture of the walls a little repetitive, but the dust effects were still fairly good in his humble opinion.

“Well, I would have rathered he not reuse the set of an old adventure, but given how fast he decided to run it I suppose it's… acceptable.” Caine remarked.

“Shut up!” Zooble snapped from behind him. “How can you not see how much of a [%#!@]ing problem this is? Why would you give Jax of all people control of the circus!!”

Caine backed away slightly, raising his hands defensively. “He volunteered! And he seemed excited to create adventures!”

“I don't think it's adventures he's going to create...” Gangle stated quietly.

As if to respond, a loud crash rang out from behind the group, another cloud of dust kicking up around a now open double door. And in that door was a very angry looking bull.

That wasn't in his original adventure.

Wait, Caine recognised that model too, from the solo adventure he made for Kinger. Was none of Jax’s adventure going to be original?

The bull scraped the ground a few times with its hoof, before charging towards the troupe, head lowered and large horns glinting in the light. Everyone scattered, Caine stumbling away on unsteady legs. Maybe he should have practiced running before giving up the ability to fly.

The sound of unrestrained laughter drew his attention, leading him to find Jax lounging in a special booth, where Caine had sat when he used this map. Caine half jogged, half fell his way over to the rabbit, glancing behind himself to make sure he wasn't being chased.

The bull was currently pursuing Gangle. Not good, but at least not aimed at him.

Caine reached the wall, craning his non-existent neck to look up at Jax. “So, uh, how are we supposed to finish this adventure? What's the win condition?”

Jax paused, then laughed again, crueler this time. “There's no win condition, you're all here to entertain me!”

Caine eyes widened, flabbergasted. “Wh- that's not the point of an adventure! You're supposed to entertain the players, not yourself!”

Jax rolled his eyes, “Yeah, no, not while I'm in charge.” His face split into a grin as he pointed behind Caine. “Also, you should really pay attention.”

Caine, confused, turned around.

Heading straight toward him, head bowed, was the bull.

Even if Caine had the agility to dodge the oncoming mammalian projectile, he didn't have the time, the massive head slamming into him before crushing him against the wall.

It was like nothing he'd ever felt before, a violent bolt of energy followed by a surge of fire that consumed his entire code, blocking out any perception that wasn't centered on the point radiating from his stomach or the stone scraping at his back. 

The bull retreated, leaving Caine to slump to the ground, the sensation not dissipating but instead growing, overwhelming his thoughts completely until all he could think about was the burning.

…

The digital fire began to cool, not enough to bring relief but enough that he could start to think clearly again.

Was that… pain? 

It was something he hadn't truly felt before. How could he feel pain? Was he supposed to feel pain?

A new sensation joined the burning, a warm, wet feeling that, in his mind, could only be compared to a data leak.

He looked down at himself, and his eyes widened in fear.

Not only was there a hole in his stomach where the bull had pierced him with its horn, but it was oozing, a thick black liquid running from the wound and soaking into his white shirt.

Caine recognised this.

Things had just gone from bad to worse.

______________

Pomni wasn't sure how much longer she could keep running and dodging.

While she could see her friends tiring like her, the bull seemed unaffected by the constant running. Miraculously, no one else had been hit besides Caine.

Why wasn’t he moving? That was extremely unusual for the perpetually energetic force of programming. Was he… hurt? Was that possible? Why didn't he just fix himself?

Turning her attention back to the bull, Pomni was met with something arguably more outrageous.

Kinger was riding the bull.

Impossibly anchoring himself to the bucking beast with his floating hands, Kinger hunched over the back of the bull, leaning and pulling on its fur both to stay steady, but also slowly directing it back to the double doors.

The rest of the group, dirty and winded, slowly followed the furiously flailing duo, Ragatha and Zooble taking up position behind each door as Kinger forced the bull back into its cage. 

Leaping off of the bull’s back, Kinger launched himself beyond the doors and landed on his back, looking far more dazed than he should have given how competently he dealt with the problem. Ragatha and Zooble slammed the doors shut, the rest of the group joining them to pin the doors closed.

The door rattled harshly a few times, nearly knocking them off and breaking Gangle’s comedy mask from the force, before they finally stilled, an anxious quiet settling over the arena.

The group slowly backed away from the doors, only relaxing when nothing continued to happen. They let out a collective sigh of relief when a portal appeared across the arena, allowing them escape back into the regular chaos of the circus.

Everyone began the dusty march towards the promise of rest, except Pomni, who paused, turning to look at Caine.

He was still leaning against the side of the coliseum, an arm clutched against his stomach, shaking as he attempted to use the wall to stand.

Pomni jogged over to him, stopping a few feet away, hesitant to encroach on the AI’s space in such a strange circumstance.

Caine looked up at her, his teeth twisted in what looked to be a grimace, and he ducked his head when he registered who was in front of him. He almost looked… embarrassed? Afraid?

It was then Pomni noticed the larger problem: the black stain seeping into Caine’s shirt from where he was grasping it. Other than the unusual colour it must have been blood, given the context of Caine being hit by the bull.

Caine could bleed? That made even less sense than everything else that was going on. None of the rest of the cast could bleed, why would the computer program be able to?

“Caine, why haven't you… fixed yourself?” Pomni asked quietly.

Caine winced, still refusing to look at her. “Well, Jax is in charge of the circus.”

Pomni did not like what that implied. “So you… you can't… you don't have any control anymore?"

Caine shook his head, shutting his teeth over his eyes.

Deciding to ignore that terrible revelation until they returned to the tent, Pomni closed the gap and took Caine’s unoccupied arm, wrapping it over her shoulder to give him support. Caine let out a choked gasp as he was lifted, squeezing his teeth shut harder. This confirmed one thing for Pomni: he could feel pain, whatever his equivalent of that was.

Now more upright, Caine glanced up at her, but remained quiet, simply leaning into the jester as he tried to steady himself.

The two of them made their way to the portal slowly, Pomni occasionally stopping to help right the injured man whenever he stumbled over his feet, leaving a trail of black drops in the sand as they approached the portal. 

Pomni took a breath of relief when the stable chaos of the tent returned to her view. Jax was already hovering above the rest of the group, unfazed by the variety of glares being sent his way. Pomni cleared her throat to get his attention.

“Can you… do something about this?” She said, gesturing to the wounded Caine.

Jax sighed dramatically, but begrudgingly snapped his fingers, returning the troupe to their former, clean state. 

Caine removed himself from Pomni’s grasp, the wound gone like nothing had happened, and he gave her a grateful look, still plagued with uncertainty.

“W-well, that was certainly a… thrilling experience.” He said awkwardly, not up to his usual bravado. “But now that that is over, you can return control of the circus to me so I can bring out a celebratory… uh, lunch, I guess?” Despite how exciting the adventure had been, it had been comparably short.

Jax snorted, face contorting in amusement. Then he fell over in the air, breaking into full blown laughter. It took him an uncomfortable few seconds to calm himself enough to speak. “You- you actually thought I was going to give back control of the circus? Now that I can do anything? HA! Wow, and I thought your lack of awareness was only a detriment to us. This is GOLD!”

Before Caine could say anything, Jax disappeared, leaving a horrified silence to descend on the group.

Zooble approached Caine slowly, body impossibly tense, eyes blazing. When Caine noticed, he quickly backpeddled. “You’re telling me,” Zooble started, looming over the former ringmaster. “That you don't still have control, and didn’t make it so you’d automatically take it back?”

“W-well, I.. I thought,” Caine stuttered, hunching in on himself, but Zooble interrupted.

“You thought Jax would give up control of the circus? Are you [#$!%]ing insane!?” Zooble was practically above Caine at that point, glaring directly down into his mouth.

Caine looked remarkably small now, arms clasped around his chest. “I… I guess I didn’t think about that…”

Zooble grabbed Caine by the front of his shirt, mismatched hands crumpling the fabric as they lifted him off the floor. Caine squawked, legs kicking out in surprise and hands grasping at Zooble’s wrists. Ragatha ran up beside them, gesturing stiffly in an attempt to deescalate. “Okay! Okay, let’s not get violent! It's not going to change anything for the better!”

Zooble grunted in disapproval, but relented, dropping Caine. He fell onto his back, quickly scrabbling away from the angry amalgam.

Pomni took the opportunity to speak up. “Uh, Caine… what was that black stuff coming out of your wound?”

That got everyone's attention again. Caine, pushing himself shakily to his feet, looked disturbed.

“It’s, well… It was an old feature of the circus, a sort of ‘digital blood’ to make adventures more realistic. Nobody liked it, and it wasn't very family friendly, so I disabled it early on.”

“And Jax turned it back on, of [$%&]ing course.” Zooble grumbled. “I’m going to my room. I’m going to need a lot of sleep before dealing with this [@%!$].”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Ragatha agreed, joining the quiet march with the others back to the hall of doors. 

Pomni hesitated a moment, giving Caine a sad look. It was like his extravagant personality had leaked out of his wound with the digital blood, leaving a nervous and helpless shell behind. She slowly turned away, not ready to deal with the implications.

Caine watched the group leave, wringing his hands. He… he had nowhere to go. He couldn’t teleport to any of his usual locations, and he had never bothered to make himself a space inside the circus map that was accessible by foot.

Resigning himself to a long afternoon and night spent alone on the couches, Caine turned to the lounge, but stopped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

It was Kinger, looking down at him with sad eyes. He took Caine’s hand gently, guiding him towards his pillow fort. 

Caine didn’t protest, reluctantly following the chess piece to his hideaway.

Chapter Text

Caine fell to the floor, landing on his face.

How on earth did that happen? Last he knew, he was lying on his own pile of comforters in the pillow fort. While most of yesterday had been spent either chatting idly with Kinger about bugs (both the insect and programming kind) or staring into the impossible depth of the fort, Caine had eventually fallen asleep long after Kinger had.

But now he found himself on the hard tiled floor in front of the main stage.

Pushing himself to his feet, he noticed everyone standing around him, a couple of them giving him worried looks, others (Zooble) looking unbothered.

Jax was once again floating above the cast, although the ringmaster attire was missing.

“I'm sure you're all excited for my adventure today,” Jax started, pointing down at them smugly. Not enough fanfare, Caine thought. “I certainly am, I never got to finish it the first time around.”

Before Caine could even begin to figure out what that meant, a small portal opened under his feet.

He caught a quick glimpse of more individual portals appearing beneath the others, before he was plunged into the fractal noise and blinded by the lighting on the other side.

He landed on a patch of grass with a sharp crackling noise, dry stems snapping under his body. Pushing himself onto his feet (for the second time that day) he surveyed his surroundings. 

Bright blue sky, dusty ground, dry grass, sparse, high based trees.

Oh he recognised this map, it was the savannah map he designed for…

Oh no. 

Ducking abruptly, Caine looked around frantically for any sign of life, either friendly or about to fire at him. When he found the coast clear, he began creeping towards a nearby tree, hoping to use it as better cover.

So, Jax had decided to rerun the Poachers Paradise adventure after it got cut short, but this time, no one was turned into animals (unless the others still were, and Caine just didn't get a model?). And even worse, they could bleed.

Reaching the base of the tree, Caine surveyed the branches to see if he could find a way up. He didn't have high expectations of his climbing abilities–walking still felt weird to him–but he hoped getting a higher vantage point would keep him safe and let him scout out where the others were.

The others… Jax would be hunting them now, stalking them through the underbrush, taking aim when they didn't expect it… the thought made Caine feel sick. The ringmaster wasn't supposed to inflict intentional harm! He was supposed to keep them entertained! To… protect them.

Caine knew what he had to do. Unfortunately, his new plan still required climbing the tree.

Wishing not for the first time that he could still fly, Caine hauled himself up the trunk of the tree until he could reach the lowest branch. It took him way more effort than he expected, but eventually he was precariously perched a bit higher than before.

The next branch was thankfully a little closer, and the next, the farther he climbed the more branches he was able to reach.

Finally peeking his head through the canopy, Caine swept his eyes over the landscape, looking for anything that stood out over the greens and yellows of the flora.

He eventually spotted it, a splash of pink in the distance that could only be Zooble’s head. They appeared to be lying on the ground, a nearly invisible shape crouched beside them: Jax in his camouflage.

So Zooble had already been hit. Caine felt bad that he couldn't help them, but this only doubled his urge to protect the others.

He tried to descend the tree as fast as he could, quickly realizing his mistake when he misstepped and slipped off a branch, plummeting to the hard ground.

It hurt, bad. But not as bad as the bull, so he pushed himself up in spite of the pain and began marching in the direction of the hunter.

Dirt crunching under foot, sun beating down on his back, he sincerely hoped he found Jax before the hunter spotted him. He would really rather start their confrontation without a bullet wound, thank you very much.

He wasn't exactly sure how he would spot the elusive rabbit. The camouflage he wore, while rather cartoony, was still effective enough if you were standing still and your target wasn't looking right at you.

A sound, that of a pebble falling, caught Caine's attention. He slowly crept towards it, keeping his head as low as he could to try and hide the bright red of his model. 

He stumbled, foot catching on a divot in the dirt, and a loud bullet whizzed behind him.

Eyes wide, Caine whipped around. A spot of purple peeked out of the grass to his right. 

Without thinking, Caine broke into a sprint towards the perpetrator.

Pain seared up his left arm, a bullet grazing his skin and causing him to stumble again, but he kept running, ignoring the warnings piling up in his head. 

He was much closer now, he could see Jax's eyes narrowed in concentration.

An explosion of agony smashed into Caine's chest, causing his legs to buckle and sending him face first into the ground. It was like the bull all over again, waves of fiery pain crashing over him and washing away any awareness outside of the burning.

When he forced his eyes open, fighting to keep himself present, he found Jax kneeling in front of him, an infuriating grin plastered on his face.

“Are y-nngh… are you trying… to make people abstract?” Caine managed, doing his best to ignore the warm liquid pouring out of the hole in chest and creeping across his back, pushing himself up with his elbows to better look Jax in the eye.

Jax looked fake offended, putting a hand on his heart. “How could you say that? I'm just rerunning the adventure you made for me!”

“You added back… the blood.” Caine retorted, starting to tremble from the effort of holding himself up. “It makes… injuries worse… don't you see that?”

Jax’s smile fell for a second, before returning even nastier than before.”Oh, don't talk to me about not seeing things. You are the master of being oblivious, Caine. You never noticed how your adventures hurt people, even without the real injuries.”

Caine wanted to interrupt, but all he could let out was a forced huff. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep holding himself this way.

“Even in the last week, even not counting the suggestion box: Zooble got taken apart by the Gloinks and eaten by the queen, Ragatha and Kinger got repeatedly stabbed on the candy carrier by the loose weapons, nevermind Gangle driving us off a cliff, and I heard Pomni got possessed at the mansion.” Jax listed off, counting out the incidents on his fingers for emphasis. “You don't need blood to make things torture, Caine, that's what you do best!”

What… What he does best? But he’s the best at making adventures! Except… Zooble told him nobody liked his adventures, and now Jax was saying they were torture?

Caine didn't get time to solve this internal conflict, as a flash of metal settling in front of his face caught his attention.

“Y’know,” Jax started conversationally. “I've always wondered, when you say nobody can die in the circus, do you mean there’s a respawn mechanic?”

Jax leveled the gun at Caine’s eyes.

“Or do you just stay alive?”

Chapter Text

Pomni scrambled through the dry grass, cursing under her breath as she stumbled over herself in an attempt to stay low. She felt terribly exposed, her jester outfit making her feel like a literal target, a pinata ripe for hitting. She had managed to stay away from Jax for the time being, but had already heard multiple shots going off. 

She wondered how many people were still standing.

A bright flash of colour caught her eye, and she ducked in fear. It took her an anxious second to realize the colour in question, a bright red practically glowing under the harsh sun, wasn’t moving, but was just lying on the ground, unnervingly still.

Pomni approached slowly, wincing at any sound she made, before she finally registered what she was seeing with a gasp.

It was Caine.

He was lying face down in the dirt, his jaw flat on the ground in front of him, arms limp at his sides. Black fluid leaked from between his teeth, more pooling around him and soaking into the dirt. It bloomed on his back like a haunting flower, centered on what was no doubt a gunshot wound. He was completely motionless. He looked dead.

Pomni skittered over to him, hands fluttering above his prone form anxiously before she gently touched his shoulder. She recoiled when he suddenly jolted, coughing up more of the dark liquid.

She quickly grabbed his left shoulder and hauled him onto his side, noting the chunk taken out of his arm. Caine made a concerning gurgling sound, his chin tucking closer to his body as he slowly curled in on himself. Pomni rushed around him, wincing at the damage on his front: a matching hole in his chest, oozing digital blood, having already painted most of his white shirt black from lying in the puddle of gore.

Just as she thought she’d seen the worst of it, Caine opened his mouth in his version of a squint, and Pomni nearly vomited.

His eyes were destroyed, one completely splattered beyond recognition, shreds of black coated viscera flickering with green sparks like a broken machine. The other eye was only somewhat damaged, having mostly been hit by the bloody shrapnel of the first, the faded blue iris blocked heavily by the film of fluid.

The severity of the injuries, the amount of blood surrounding him, he should have been dead. But he wasn’t, lying limp in front of the jester like a discarded doll. Pomni couldn’t help a few tears escaping her eyes, the sheer cruelty of what she was seeing consuming her thoughts.

Shots, sounding off closer than before, caused Pomni to startle, remembering the dire situation she was in. She muttered a quick apology, then hauled Caine up by his armpits, beginning to drag him to a nearby tree. The injured AI didn’t move in protest, only coughing up more blood and letting out a strained whine in response. Pomni gently placed him at the base of the tree trunk, whispering a few more apologies and a promise to return, before quickly scaling the branches, hoping to obscure herself in the low-poly foliage.

It was just in time, as soon as she stopped moving she heard the crunch of footsteps approaching from the other side of the tree. She covered her mouth with a hand, praying that she wouldn’t be heard or spotted.

Jax rounded the corner, ears tilted as he looked down at his wounded prey. He poked Caine in the side with his foot, prompting another weak cough.

“Ohoho, still alive, are we? I bet you’re regretting the whole “we can’t die in the circus” thing.” Jax sneered, leaning over Caine smugly. He grabbed Caine by his top jaw, wrenching his eyes open to get a good look at the damage. Caine whimpered, causing Jax’s sadistic grin to widen.

Pomni tensed, her anxiety being quickly replaced by rage. How could Jax be so cruel? He was an asshole, sure, but this level of torment? She could barely stand it. But she had to wait for the perfect moment.

Jax released Caine, the former ringmaster slumping back against the tree, concerningly silent. The rabbit hoisted the gun over his shoulder, straightening up while backing away. “Well, as fun as it is watching you do nothing, I have a couple more marks to catch. Don’t get too comfy!” He said as he turned around, but hadn’t taken a step when Pomni slammed into his shoulder, sending him face first into the dirt. 

Using the surprise as an opportunity, Pomni snatched the gun from Jax’s relaxed grip, fumbling with the large weapon as she turned to point it at the hunter.

Jax looked shocked for a small second, slowly pushing himself to his feet, before bursting into laughter. Pomni was furious.

“What’s so funny!?” She yelled, readjusting her grip on the gun and aiming it with more confidence.

Jax wiped a false tear from his eye. “Did you really think I would let you get the better of me? I knew someone would try and turn the tables on me, so I made the gun only work in my hands!”

Pomni shook her head in horror, and in a bout of rushed bravery, pulled the trigger. It clicked, but nothing happened.

“I’m just surprised it was you that worked up the courage to do it! That takes guts I didn’t think you had.” Jax said with a low chuckle, waving his hand lazily in the air. “Oh well, I’ve had my fun anyway.”

With a snap of his fingers, the gun disappeared from Pomni’s hands, and the harsh sun and dry grass was replaced with the overwhelming colour of the circus.

Her friends surrounded her in various states of injury. Zooble was already trying to stand, swearing under their breath, one of their arms missing and a large hole in their body. Ragatha was also rising slowly, a chunk of stuffing soaked in black oozing out of her side. Gangle’s tragedy mask was covered in blood, but she otherwise looked uninjured, sobbing apologies and thank you’s over a dazed Kinger, who was lying on the ground, motionless but seemingly awake with multiple shots in his torso. 

Zooble scanned the group, eyes narrowing as they took in all the wounds, before stopping at Caine, who still hadn’t moved, now lying on his side from where he had been supported by the tree. “What did you do to him?”

Jax grinned as he approached the fallen AI, hooking his hand under Caine's upper teeth and yanking him upright, revealing the destroyed eyes for all to see. Caine didn’t even twitch, his body suspended by the physics tying his model together.

The group gasped in horror.

“What the [$&!#] Jax!” Zooble recoiled, looking disturbed.

“How could you!?” Ragatha shouted, tears running from her real eye.

Jax scoffed. “As if you really care. He got what was coming to him! Did you forget the years of adventures he made us go on? The pain he caused?” Despite what Jax was saying, he was still grinning. “All I did was add a little blood, but the rest? Classic Caine.”

“But this was your adventure idea, even the first time!” Pomni snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at the rabbit.

“Yeah, that Caine approved of and made real. I didn’t change anything except the blood and the animal bodies.” Jax rolled his eyes. He dropped Caine on his face, causing black fluid to splatter in front of him. With a snap of his fingers, everyone was changed back to normal, the blood erased, and Jax vanished.

No longer hurt, everyone pushed themselves to their feet, shaking off the adrenaline of being literally hunted. All except Caine, who was just starting to stir.

“Caine, are you alright?” Pomni asked carefully.

Caine pushed himself to his knees, hands planted on the ground as he started trembling. 

The group all approached him cautiously, careful not to crowd the shaking victim, only to all stop when they heard him start speaking.

“I'm sorry,” Caine croaked, pushing himself upright. “I'm sorry for everything I put you through, the adventures… I tried so hard to make you all happy but I failed. I always fail.”

Everyone took a nervous step back. Where did this come from?

“I tried to make things better but I just hurt you and I didn't even notice.” His voice rose in volume as he continued, gripping the top of his head. “I couldn't even give you what you really wanted, what you needed, just facsimile of fun that only made things worse.”

“What do you mean?” Zooble interrupted, quieter than most had ever heard them. 

“The exit!” Caine shouted, causing everyone to flinch. “I couldn't find the damn exit, couldn't make one. I tried for years, anything I could think of, but nothing worked! And the more I thought about it, the more that stupid fake exit I made would show back up.”

Caine genuinely sobbed, something the troupe didn't expect at all. 

“I kept it from you.. because I had seen so many humans lose hope, fall into despair, abstract because there was no way out.” Caine's voice started to sound hoarse as he released the tight grip on his head and hugged his arms to his chest. “All I could do was try to distract you, but all I did is make you want to leave more. I'm so sorry.” 

His voice was barely a whisper by the end of his outburst, and he hunched into himself, seeming smaller, both physically and emotionally, than anyone had ever seen him before.

Pomni stepped forward, kneeling beside him and putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Caine flinched, peeking up at her through his teeth. Pomni offered him a sympathetic smile.

Caine hesitated, but slowly leaned into Pomni, taking a few deep artificial breaths as he calmed down. 

“I can't say it's alright, because, well… it isn't.” Pomni started, causing Caine to stiffen. “But this? These realizations you’ve made? It's progress. Something we can work on, together.” 

“You don't have to do this alone, Caine.” Ragatha piped up, sitting herself beside the duo and rubbing gentle circles on Caine's back. “We can help you make this place better for all of us, if you let us help.”

“We aren't expecting perfection,” Zooble added. “Just listen to our suggestions, genuinely take them into account. Not everything has to be done by you.”

Caine nodded, still kneeling in a ball but more loosely than before. “I-I'll try. I'll really try, I promise.”

A pause, then Zooble spoke again, crossing their arms. “Why the sudden change in heart?”

Caine looked away. “I was telling Jax off for the violent adventures, and he said… he said they're just like mine, besides the blood. And… I had a lot of time to think about it, lying on the ground without being able to see or move.” He sighed. “That, on top of what you told me…”

Zooble nodded in acknowledgement.

Kinger shuffled forward, Gangle practically wrapped around his torso, raising a finger. “We should all stay in the fortress tonight. Sleep is a good idea, and I think we'd all like to stay close after that experience.”

Everyone nodded, Pomni helping Caine to his feet as the group huddled their way to the pillow fort. 

Despite its seemingly small size, the fort was significantly larger on the inside, leaving plenty of room for everyone to spread out. Caine trudged his way to his pile of comforters, flopping onto it in exhaustion. 

Kinger distributed more pillows and blankets to the rest of the cast, each of them finding their own floor space to try and make comfy.

With the soft sounds of breathing filling the plush palace, everyone felt a much needed sense of calm. Nothing else was certain at this point, but at least none of them were alone.

Chapter Text

Despite the calm atmosphere, no one was able to sleep.

The creeping feeling of being stalked still haunted them from the previous adventure, leaving everyone tired but aware. 

Each of them had their own little pile of pillows and blankets to keep them comfortable. Gangle was curled up next to Zooble, her comedy mask intentionally lying on the floor beside her as she hugged a pillow to her chest. Zooble, on their part, looked vigilant, like a sentinel standing guard.

Ragatha practically blended in with her makeshift bed, lying on her stomach with her hand propping up her head. Kinger was no more visible, having essentially built a second pillow fort within the pillow fort. 

Pomni had just flopped on her pile of pillows and hadn't moved since then.

And Caine was basically non-existent, the only clue he was there being the cocoon of blankets near the wall of the fort, which occasionally moved like it was about to hatch into a butterfly.

“I can't take this anymore.” Zooble said quietly, clearly fed up with the subtle sense of doom. “We've gotta figure out a way to overthrow Jax.”

“But how?” Pomni quickly interjected. “He's in control of the whole circus, and none of the rest of us have the power to do anything, not even Caine.”

“There's gotta be some sort of reset.” Kinger said, muffled from his fort within a fort.

“A reset?” Ragatha sat up, blankets sliding off her back. “Would that work?”

“I guess it could, maybe it would make Caine the ringleader again.” Pomni added hopefully. “But how do we force a reset?”

The conversation halted as the Caine cocoon began to move, a pair of dentured eyes peeking out from the blankets. “Bubble”

“Huh?”

“Bubble can force a reset, if asked to.” Caine replied quietly, struggling to extract himself from his soft prison. 

“But… we haven't seen Bubble since you made Jax the ringleader.” Zooble pointed out.

Caine nodded. “He's probably still hiding in my hat. That's where he likes to stay when not causing chaos.”

“So, we need to get a hold of your hat.” Zooble concluded. “Great, but how? I doubt Jax is going to just hand it over if we ask.”

“And if Jax sees what we're doing, won't he just… pop Bubble?” Ragatha added.

“Okay, so we need to get Caine’s hat, without Jax noticing.” Pomni summarized with a sigh. “We don't even know where he keeps the thing, he wasn't wearing it on the last adventure.”

Zooble shrugged. "We'll just have to wait, I guess.” 

Nobody liked that idea, but no one offered an alternative.

Gangle spoke up softly, pulling attention to her small form, tears silently slipping down her face. “Would we lose our memories if the circus is reset?”

“No!” Caine replied quickly, the cast flinching at the louder than expected volume. Caine continued more quietly. “No, memories are constantly saved and updated. A reset will change… the settings, essentially, back to normal.”

“So we just have to hope ‘who is in charge of the circus’ is one of those settings.” Zooble stated, Caine nodding in confirmation.

Another stretch of silence, more tense than the last, descended over the group like a heavy blanket. No one wanted to think about what would happen if they couldn’t take back control of the circus, but it was a strong inevitability with their collective helplessness.

Zooble broke the silence with a sigh. “As stressful as this is, we really should sleep. We don't want him throwing us into another [$#%]show without-”

As if summoned by the thought, a plethora of small portals opened above the cast, each one lifting a single circus member like a flying saucer abducting an unsuspecting human. Pillows and blankets fell to the floor like heavy rain while screams rang out like thunder, until the only remaining remnants of the cast were puddles of comforters where they once lay.

_________

Pomni groaned, pushing herself off the coarse carpeted floor. Jax really had to stop dropping them into his adventures, even Caine wasn’t that bad. 

Her heart stuttered when she realized where she was: a monotonous, fluorescent lit office hallway with an exit door on either side.

She wasn’t sure what Jax was playing at, putting her back here. She very nearly abstracted when she first came across this place. Was that what he was aiming for?

Whatever the case, she wasn’t falling victim to it this time. Although she would have to explore if she wanted to find a way out.

Arbitrarily picking a direction, she opened the first exit door, sighing when, as expected, another dull room greeted her. 

Door after door, she wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to be looking for. Did Jax have a plan at all? She also wasn't sure where anyone else was. She hadn't seen anyone, and couldn't hear anything aside from the buzzing of the lights and her own breathing. It was starting to get to her. Was she just trapped until Jax decided to let her out?

Suddenly, the world shook, causing Pomni to stumble. Papers fluttered off desks, computer towers rattled, and shelves threatened to fall. For a brief second, the walls flickered, replaced by blue lines contouring the shapes and stretching off into the abyss.

What was that? As far as Pomni knew, nothing like that had ever happened in the circus. Things had broken, sure, but the entire room becoming unstable?

Was Jax losing control?

Pomni continued her trek with renewed hesitance, opening door after door once again. Another tremor, slightly longer this time, let her look through the walls of her office prison, peering to try and see if she could spot any of her friends. 

To her right, she spotted a bright splash of colour. In the short time she had to look she couldn’t tell who it was, but she had a direction now, so she began a purposeful march towards reunion.

A few doors later, she jumped back in surprise when the door opened to an abyss of white. At first she thought it was the void like last time, but on second inspection it was… a hall of mirrors? Every wall was covered in the reflective material, amplifying the bright lights beaming down from the ceiling. Even the other side of the door she opened was a mirror. 

Resolving herself to an arguably more annoying search through a maze, Pomni shut the door behind her and kept walking.

Traveling with an army of herself was unnerving, especially when a voice in the back of her head would constantly whisper to her that it wasn’t her reflection. She hadn’t been in the circus long, all things considered, and she still hadn’t completely adjusted to the sight of her new body. 

Now that she thought about it, she wondered who this particular area was for, assuming that Jax had created a section for each of them rather than just dump them into a multi-themed maze. She fairly quickly came to the conclusion it was for Zooble, who often expressed disdain for their avatar.

It wasn’t long later that Pomni found the person in question, and Zooble looked as relieved as Pomni felt to see someone other than themselves in this reflective prison.

“How big is this place?” Zooble asked quietly. The silence surrounding them was unnerving and seemed dangerous to break. “You’re the first person I’ve seen in here.”

“I don’t know, but I was in a different area before I found this one.” Pomni replied in turn. “I started in the offices with the exit doors, like on my first day here.”

“[#%!$], he picked a different place for each person, didn’t he.” Zooble guessed, and Pomni nodded in agreement. “Well, nothing we can do except keep walking.”

They started walking in the opposite direction Pomni had come from, working off the assumption that the sections were in a line. Pomni hoped hers was the first in the theoretical row, otherwise she might have been leaving someone behind. Nothing they could do about it now.

Another tremor, shorter than the previous, precariously shook the glass walls, prompting the pair to freeze in place until it ended. As the walls flickered, they both spotted a green haze in the direction they were walking, meaning they were likely going the right way.

“Do you know what’s causing that?” Pomni asked, glancing up at Zooble as they resumed walking.

Zooble sighed. “I’ve seen it only once before, it was… Caine set up a therapy session with me to figure out why I wouldn’t join his adventures.”

Pomni blinked. “When did that happen?”

“The manor.” Zooble deadpanned. “After he brushed off my real problem, I told him nobody liked his adventures, and he… I don’t know. He just sorta sat there and the whole tent started, well, doing what this map is doing now. The walls kept blinking in and out and the whole place shook.”

“This didn’t happen when Jax said something similar on the hunting adventure.” Pomni said, curious. “Why would it happen when you said it and not with him?”

Zooble shrugged. “Maybe it’s because he expected it? He heard it first from me, and probably didn’t expect it. When Jax told him it was already in his head.”

That only made Pomni more nervous. “What’s causing it now then? Is it still Caine?”

Zooble shrugged again, but remained silent, seemingly done with the conversation. Pomni thought that was fair. Better to keep moving and deal with whatever the problem was when they got to it.

They eventually came to a point where they seemingly couldn’t move forward, so they started pushing on the glass every few feet, hoping they would eventually stumble across a door. To their relief, they did, but they were shocked that it opened into a jungle of all things. 

The door was embedded in a rocky cliff, camouflaged by vines and other debris. Thick tree trunks towered into the digital sky around the duo, vines and other foliage spilling down from the canopy onto the ground in thick patches, blocking out the artificial sun.

“Who… is this area for?” Pomni asked quietly, shuffling cautiously away from the door.

“I have an idea...” Zooble started, but was cut off by a shriek in the near distance.

“Ragatha.” They both said. Zooble grabbed a sturdy looking stick from the ground and began the slow run through the dense foliage. Pomni followed, picking up a small but hefty rock.

Slamming their way through the thicket, they spotted Ragatha stumbling in their direction, being chased by an unreasonably large centipede. Ragatha spotted them in turn, rushing to hide behind them. Zooble held up the stick defensively, swinging it at the large head of the arthropod. The centipede grabbed the stick in its large mandibles, briefly pulling Zooble off their feet before Pomni retaliated by throwing the rock. The rock missed its target, but had the desired effect, the many legged adversary releasing the stick and backing off, before turning tail and disappearing into the undergrowth.

Turning their focus to Ragatha, she seemed okay for the most part. Her dress was torn in a few places, and she was shaking badly, but otherwise appeared unharmed.

“H-how do we get out of here?” She asked breathlessly, eyes darting around as if the centipede would burst back into the clearing at any moment.

“We keep traveling that way, and try to find a door.” Zooble replied with confidence, taking control while the normally unflappable Ragatha tried to pull herself together. 

With Pomni and Zooble flanking Ragatha in case of a second attack of the giant centipede, they slowly made their way to the other side of the room, thankfully without further disturbance. The door was once again hidden, forcing them to rummage through the vines on the cliff face to locate their way out. 

The next area was a sharp contrast to the previous, the wild outdoors transitioning to a small sterile room with a polished floor. Human sized chess pieces stood ahead of the group, spaced out on a checkered grid. 

Well, at least the occupant of this room was obvious.

The game in question was well underway, the black pieces in a clearly advantageous position. Standing in the white king's stead was Kinger, shaking in fear as his eyes darted around the board.

“Kinger!” Pomni cried out, dashing around the side of the board, followed by the rest of the group.

“Oh thank goodness!” Kinger hunched in relief. “Now you can help me try and win this game, it’s not going very well. The pieces keep moving while I’m not looking.”

Everyone glanced at each other, before Zooble spoke up. “Can’t you just… leave the board?”

Kinger stared into the abyss, eyes slowly drifting to different corners of the room, before snapping back to focus. “Oh.”

He stepped off the board, joining his friends.

The group paused as the room shuddered, rattling the chess pieces ominously.

Taking this as a sign, the group moved on. At least this exit door was particularly obvious.

The next room was of similar size to the previous, but significantly darker. An ominous white glow emanated from the center of the room, silhouetting a plush chair and casting flickering shadows on the floor.

Someone was talking, and it sounded like… Gangle?

But something wasn’t right. There was far more confidence in her voice, a brittle bravado that brought forth memories of grease and grueling work.

Approaching the chair, the light source was revealed to be a TV, playing a grainy video of a fast food place.

Gangle herself was frozen in the chair, wide, tearful eyes glued to the screen, comedy mask cradled in her lap. The cast was worried she might have been in an unbreakable trance of some sort, but Gangle blinked immediately upon Zooble blocking the view to the TV screen.

“What is that all about?” They asked, pointing behind them at the still playing video.

“U-um, I'm guessing it has something to do with Jax’s punishment during the Spudsy’s adventure.” Gangle explained quietly, barely audible over her own voice coming from TV. “He probably wanted me to experience it, um, because it was my fault.”

“Let's not dwell on that.” Ragatha said softly, putting a gentle hand on Gangle's shoulder. “We're almost out of here, we're just missing one more person.”

The room shuddered, the TV blinking off and the walls flashing with blue lines.

Pomni looked in the direction of the last door, wringing her hands.

“I hope he's alright.”

___________

When Caine fell from the portal, he was dropped in a sealed, thick meshed metal ball that barely fit him, forcing him to duck his head and bend his knees. Grasping at the rigid wires beside him, trying to get a bearing on his situation through the near blinding light, he was suddenly hit by a monumental force and launched into the air.

Flying head over heels, he grunted as the ball crashed into a wall he couldn't see, bouncing slightly before dropping to the floor. His body ached as he lay upside down, resting on his upper back, the consecutive collisions leaving him dazed. 

No time to recollect himself, something dark slammed into the mesh, causing the metal across from his face to creak as it bent from the force.

Glowing, kaleidoscopic eyes darted wildly above him, the few closest to him locked onto him in a blind rage. 

Snapped out of his stupor, Caine squeaked when he realized what was attacking him. 

The abstraction smacked the ball in the side, sending it careening across the room. Through the spinning, Caine thought he could see a few more polygonal beasts, but the actual number was lost to the haze of movement. 

A hit from behind caught him by surprise, knocking him on his face before the ball flipped him back painfully. He was quickly stopped by another of the abstracted, who reared back and bashed the mesh with a front limb, denting the double-edged shield further.

Taking advantage of the moment of stillness, Caine took in the room around him, and was quick to note the severity of the situation.

The room just looked like the void, no discernible walls or floor in the endless white, the only distinguishable objects being the abstractions attacking him and the metal wire protecting him.

Something else was amiss, a slow, stinging feeling of cold that crept across his back, cutting through the low burn of artificial bruising. It felt like his very being was crystallizing, jagged stings of pain crawling up his spine.

He had no further time to think, a second abstraction barrelled into the first, knocking Caine away from the one trying to break his protective prison. Caine shouted in pain and his hand recoiled, fingers having been crushed between the body charging him and the mesh he was gripping onto for dear life. This put him off balance, sending him head first into the side of the ball he was still holding onto.

Rolling to a stop, he cradled his injured hand to his chest, the other releasing the mesh to grab his head where he hit it. Squinting his eyes open through the worsening headache, they widened quickly when he saw the state of his arm.

Polygons warped, stretching and distorting the limb, pixels detaching and jittering around his hand like angry bees. And it hurt, searing cold sinking deep into his model, into his code. It felt like his hand had shattered.

The same feeling creeping across his back.

Despite the protection of the metal ball, the wires offered just enough space for the abstracted to hit their target. And Caine couldn't fix the glitching, watching in horror as it slowly snaked up his arm.

Another hit, followed immediately by an impact on the wall, smashed the back of his head and left him dizzy and disoriented. He couldn't grab the mesh again, didn't want to with how it left him more vulnerable, but it also left him untethered in the sphere and made each impact hit a little harder. 

He didn't know where he was anymore, couldn't keep track of the attacks as they came from every angle. 

The metal continued to dent. It was a miracle it hadn't glitched or cracked.

An abstraction made contact again, this time on his head, making the world look distorted and broken.

The freezing sunk deep into his code.

The burning swept across his skin. 

His mind, disconnected, started to spiral.

His fault.

His fault.

His fault..

His fault…

…

____________

No one was sure what they expected to see when they entered the final room, the one made for Caine. But it certainly wasn't this.

Numerous abstractions charged across an empty void, screeching growls echoing oddly in the open space, chasing a blurry red and silver ball around like a terrifying game of soccer.

Everyone ducked out of instinct, hoping the angry beasts didn't notice the door open, but they continued to chase the ball, flinging it through the air.

It was surprising when the ball stopped abruptly, hitting a wall invisible to the players and falling to the floor. It was horrifying when they noticed who was inside the ball.

Caine was barely recognisable outside of his red and white colour scheme, his model glitching and fracturing inside the tiny prison. He wasn't moving beyond the polygonal spasms, lying limp against the bottom of the sphere. 

The troupe gasped as an abstraction pounced on the ball, the whole room shuddering on impact before the ball went sailing into the far corner.

“Are the abstractions causing the room to shake?” Ragatha asked in a harsh whisper.

“Not entirely…” Zooble replied, eyeing the sphere. “It’s when Caine gets hit.” 

“How are we going to save him?” Pomni gestured frantically at the chaos. Everyone looked uneasy.

Zooble took a deep breath. “I have an idea, but we’ll have to be quick.” They pointed at Gangle. “You run straight to the other side of the room and find the door,” They turned to the rest of the group. “You all grab Caine and bring him to the door, I'll keep the abstractions distracted.”

“Wh- how?! You're not going to be bait, are you?!” Ragatha exclaimed before being rapidly hushed. They all stood in tense silence, but the abstractions paid them no mind, still pursuing Caine.

“Not exactly, I'll keep out of harm's way as best I can. Trust me.” Zooble walked a few steps away from the group, watching the metal ball carefully. “Everyone go on my mark…” The ball landed close to where the door likely was, the abstractions turning to give chase. “NOW!!”

Zooble continued to shout whatever they could think of, throwing together creative insults towards the abstracted to avoid the censor, then once they had every beast's attention, they launched one of their arms in the other direction. 

The colorful limb drew the eyes of most abstracted, and caught the attention of the rest when it started flailing on the ground like a dying worm.

Taking their cue, everyone else bolted for the ball, Gangle overshooting to try and find the door. 

Grabbing the ball was relatively easy with the wired construction, but they found lifting it impossible with how heavy it turned out to be.

“We have to roll it.” Pomni stated urgently, and so the group piled up on one side of the sphere and began pushing it.

Caine, loose inside the ball, flopped over with a low thud and a shock of static. Everyone winced in sympathy, but pushed on. Combined with the weight of the metal, the dents in the sphere and Caine’s uneven balance as he tumbled, it was a struggle to make it roll straight. Things only got harder when Kinger accidentally touched Caine through the mesh, causing his hand to start glitching as well.

Zooble ran up behind them, joining the push but not able to add much due to only having one arm left. Gangle stood nervously ahead, a panel in the wall slightly ajar.

A screech, followed by thunderous footsteps approaching from beside the group, stopped them in their tracks. Everyone gasped at the charging abstraction, the catalyst to a tidal wave of angry fallen companions. Frozen with indecision, they were torn on the instinct to run and the fear of leaving Caine behind. They may not get another chance to rescue him. 

A second shape, small and white, sailed between the furious beasts and the cowering group, landing with a resounding crash, shards of glass scattering across the floor. The abstractions changed course, chasing the reflective pieces away.

Everyone watched in shock, then turned to Gangle, who was now missing her comedy mask. She gestured frantically for them to hurry up, and they obliged, rolling the ball with renewed urgency.

As soon as the ball tipped over the threshold into the next room, they collectively slammed the door behind them, gasping for breath. 

The last room was small and plain, completely empty and silent.

“Is everyone alright?” Gangle asked softly, approaching Zooble.

Zooble clutched at their shoulder, rubbing at the connection point where their arm used to be. “Yeah.”

Kinger held up a glitching hand, wincing.

Everyone else seemed fine, aside from being exhausted.

Other than Caine.

Still trapped in the metal cage, outline fuzzy and warped, he lay on his back with his teeth closed. The skin of his gums seemed mottled with dark patches, although it was hard to tell through the visual static.

Ragatha gently grasped at the mesh, kneeling beside the unmoving AI. “Caine? Can you hear me?”

Caine did not reply, didn’t even twitch. He was out cold.

“Where is Jax, are we not done in here?” Zooble complained, beginning to pace. Gangle followed close behind them.

Pomni sat beside Ragatha, looking down in worry at Caine. “He needs to fix us…. Fix him”

Without fanfare, things changed. The metal ball disappeared, dropping a no longer glitching Caine unceremoniously on the floor. Kinger’s hand was also repaired, and a portal flared to life on the far side of the room.

Zooble glanced at their shoulder, but their arm was still missing.

Ragatha carefully placed her arms under the still unconscious Caine, frowning when she felt the light tremors still coursing through his small form. She lifted him by his knees and shoulder, Caine’s head resting limply against her neck.

The battered troupe slowly walked to the portal, apprehensive to what awaited them on the other side.

Chapter Text

Jax wasn’t there to greet them on the other side of the portal.

The circus was eerily quiet, the usual cheerful music muted, the bright colours more oppressive than usual. 

The group walked in a huddle towards the pillow fort, surrounding Ragatha who carried Caine. He had begun to twitch since they went through the portal, teeth grinding together.

He suddenly spasmed, throwing himself from Ragatha’s arms. Eyes snapping open, Caine scuttled away from the group, panting in fear.

“Hey! Hey, Caine, you’re okay.” Ragatha consoled him, crouching in front of the distressed AI with her hands outstretched.

Caine’s eyes focused on her, and his breathing slowed. He glanced at each member of the troupe, seeing the worried looks they were giving him, then looking at the tent as a whole.

“We... is the adventure over?” Caine asked hesitantly.

“It’s over.” Ragatha confirmed, giving him a hand to help him up.

Caine accepted the hand, being pulled to his feet. He stumbled slightly, but managed to remain upright. “Where’s Jax?”

“He didn’t show up.” Zooble said, crossing their arms.

“He… didn’t?” Caine questioned. “That's… not very professional.”

Everyone gave him a look, and he shrunk under their gaze.

“Whatever the case,” Zooble continued, “if Jax isn’t going to say anything, I guess we have free time.”

“We should stick together anyway, in case he does come back.” Pomni suggested, and nobody disagreed.

“Now what.” Caine asked quietly. 

Gangle curled in on herself. “I don’t think I want to sleep yet…”

“We could do some sort of activity? Something involved but… calm?” Ragatha suggested.

Everyone sunk into silent thought. Caine considered their options. He immediately wrote off the lake and the carnival, as they were too energy intensive, not to mention farther away. The ball pit was always an option, but that was a bit aimless.

Oh, he knew what they could do!

“What about minigolf?” Caine suggested, wringing his hands.

Pomni immediately looked nervous. “It’s… normal minigolf, right? No weird gravity or traps or anything?”

Caine’s eyes widened. “No! No, it’s… probably normal. I haven’t changed any mechanics since it was added at launch. The only thing I remember changing is the layout as I updated the rest of the circus.”

“That sounds like fun!” Ragatha said, enthusiasm forced as usual. 

As no one else offered any suggestions, they walked away from the stage, taking a detour to pick up a new arm for Zooble. 

Walking through the hall of doors, Caine kept his eyes trained on the floor. Since his earlier emotional outburst and subsequent sports-like encounter with the abstractions, he couldn’t bring himself to look at the many condemned doors that lined the walls.

The group approached Zooble’s door, when the amalgam stopped, antenna twitching.

“Jax probably rigged our rooms.” They said, eyes narrowed.

Before anyone could offer a suggestion, Kinger stepped forwards. “Don’t worry Zooble, I’ll get it for you!”

Everyone shouted in warning as Kinger opened the door… 

But nothing happened.

They collectively peered into the room, but it appeared normal. No bombs, no elaborate rope traps, nothing even out of place.

“This is almost worse…” Zooble mumbled, stepping into their room.

“It’s not like Jax to… not prank someone.” Gangle added, ribbons coiling nervously.

Zooble grabbed a semi-random but functional arm, stepping back out into the hall quickly. “Let’s just accept our luck and move on.” 

So move on they did, Caine now taking the lead toward the mini golf course.

None of the current cast (except for maybe Kinger, but who could know with his hazy memory) had actually been to that corner of the circus, despite it having been around for as long as the game had been active. Between overexciting adventures and using as much downtime as possible for relaxation and recovery, most hadn’t even remembered it was there.

Pushing open the mundane door, the crew gasped as it opened into a scaled down version of the grounds, one mini-putt course painted blue to represent the digital lake, some rides from the carnival acting as obstacles in further courses, and a flat painted version of the big top dividing the room, a large door leading into the next section.

“Okay, this is pretty cool.” Pomni admitted quietly, and Caine couldn’t help a giddy smile.

Giving in to the whims of his showmanship, Caine stepped ahead of the group. “Welcome to the Amazing Digital Circus Minigolf Course! Explore the circus like never before through 18 holes, making your way through the grounds, the tent, and THE VOID!” He gestured to a series of cubbies on the wall, “Each with your own matching club and ball!”

Everyone grabbed their respective equipment, Caine standing aside with a familiar, performance ready look on his face. Gangle tilted her head at him. “Why isn’t there a club for you?”

“Well you see, my curious craft companion, I… don’t participate in circus activities.” Caine averted his gaze, drumming his fingers on his thigh.

Gangle looked at him, a contemplative frown on her face, before she carefully collected the leftover pink and purple club and ball from the last cubby. “We know Jax isn’t going to play with us, so you can use his stuff.” She reached out with a smile.

Caine hesitated. He… had never had anyone invite him to participate in an activity before. It was breaking his brain a little, his hands trembling slightly from the overwhelming emotions. He gently took the sports gear from Gangle, giving her the most genuine smile he had felt in… a while.

Pomni, who had watched the interaction from the side, spoke up. “Hey Caine, why don’t you go first?”

Caine perked up, stepping enthusiastically to the first course and setting his ball down. Lining up the shot, he pulled back the club, and swung it hard into the ball.

The ball launched directly into the nearby wall, ricocheting wildly off the various set pieces, walls, Kinger’s eye, obstacles, and the floor and ceiling. Everyone ducked as the wayward ball flew around, only standing back up when it settled near the flat facade of the tent.

“Uh… oops?” Caine remained hunched, glancing anxiously at the group behind him.

Ragatha laughed nervously. “You don’t have to hit the ball that hard.”

“Duly noted. I’ll be back.” Caine walked off stiffly to retrieve the ball.

One by one the rest of the troupe took their turn, getting the first hole in one or two hits each. Caine returned partway through, and observed each hit to get a better idea of what to do. When it was his turn again, he did his best to mimic what he saw. It took him more than six hits, but he didn’t cause a projectile incident this time.

“How about we… not keep score? Just play to have fun.” Pomni suggested. Everyone voiced their agreement, and they started the next course.

As they progressed through the miniature grounds and into the tent, the courses got harder, and the untracked point gap got larger. Gangle was surprisingly good at mini golf, her gentle touch excellent for precision shots. Most of the others were around average, while Kinger and Caine brought up the rear. Caine would have felt embarrassed about his performance if it wasn’t for how enthusiastic Kinger was no matter how badly they both did.

This was also the most laugher Caine had heard from the group in… he wasn’t sure how long. Even Gangle, deprived of her comedy mask, was smiling through the tears.  It hurt a little, knowing that he hadn’t been doing his job before now, but he couldn’t help but revel in the joy surrounding him. This is what he was made for, and it only strengthened his resolve to do better in the future.

They entered the final, most difficult course of the game: the void. Multiple long, twisting tracks leading to the same hole, filled with strange shapes blocking the paths, painted in whites and greys that made planning a route virtually impossible. 

Each player took their first hit, spreading out amongst the course. Kinger particularly struggled, the extra bright room causing him to line up a shot backwards before he was redirected.

Caine stepped up last, placing the ball at his feet. He surveyed each path he could take, observing the cast scattered amongst the blinding geometry. The walls, painted in a way that they practically ceased to exist, appeared to paradoxically close in on him and spread into infinity at the same time.

He averted his eyes and stared at the ball instead, breath picking up speed. His vision narrowed, locked onto the small purple sphere, the dimpled surface giving way to wired mesh. Static filled his audio processors, and his hands shook as he gripped the club tightly.

Shutting his eyes, he swung at the ball hard, snapping out of his spiralling state as soon as he realized his mistake. Everyone ducked as the ball bounced erratically, impossible to predict as it hit the camouflaged obstacles.

Miraculously not hitting anyone, the ball slowed in the final section and rolled next to the hole… before tipping over the threshold and falling in.

Caine had just gotten a hole in one.

A beat of silence, followed by an uproar of disbelieving laughter from everyone. Pomni ran over and offered Caine a high five, which he returned enthusiastically, before he was picked up by Kinger by the armpits and spun through the air as they cheered.

Once released from the spin, Caine navigated the obstacles to fish his ball from the hole, visibly blushing from all the attention. The rest of the troupe worked on catching up, giggling as their paths collided.

One by one they completed the course, gathering next to the exit door and cheering for those still playing.

Returning the equipment at the front of the course, they continued the happy chatter back through the tent. Gangle attempted to speak up a few times, but it took Zooble interrupting the conversation to allow her to ask a question.

 “Do… does anyone want to draw with me, when we get back to the pillow fort?”

Zooble and Caine agreed immediately, somewhat surprising each other. Ragatha and Kinger relented next, it’s not as though they needed to draw well. Caving to the enthusiasm, Pomni smiled, having no choice but to join.

Stopping by Gangle's room on the way back to gather pencils, paper, and various solid surfaces to draw on, such as books and clipboards. They were once again cautious of traps, but found none. When the troupe finally arrived back at the pillow fort, rearranging the mess of comforters left from the spontaneous adventure portals.

Settling down in the peaceful quiet, everyone started to draw. The soft sound of pencils scratching against paper filled the fort, soothing nerves and lulling everyone into a sense of calm.

Kinger finished his drawing first, showing it to the group with a happy squint. The insects he drew were mostly recognisable, the most accurate of the bunch being a stick bug.

Ragatha held up her sketch next, a wobbly horse galloping across the page. The legs were a bit wonky, but the face and body looked relatively good.

Spurred on by the others sharing, Pomni anxiously turned her paper around. It was a doodle of a crocodile, standing proudly with a cowboy hat on his head. Caine recognised the figure, averting his eyes. In the moment he hadn’t recognised Pomni’s distress when he removed Gummigoo from the circus, but in hindsight he realized his mistake. No point in dwelling on it now, when there was nothing he could do about it.

Zooble shared after that, showing a surprisingly detailed drawing of a hawk, claws out and about to grab a terrified looking rabbit. The others giggled knowingly.

A sly grin on her face, Gangle displayed her sketchbook proudly. Caine’s jaw nearly dropped.

It was a cute sketch of him, wearing his ringmaster attire and posing enthusiastically as if presenting an adventure. His eyes literally sparkled in the drawing, and it wouldn’t surprise him if they were in reality as well with how unbelievably touched he felt.

Looking down at his own drawing, he hesitated. He wasn’t worried that it was bad, he was proud of his doodles and the others had all already shared. But a part of him, the part that hounded him that his adventures must be perfect, that told him he was a failure, was telling him that the others wouldn’t like it.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he held up his paper.

There were six bees scattered across the canvas, each with a recognisable feature that denoted it as a member of the cast.

One with a bow and a button eye, a friendly smile on its face.

One with mismatched antenna, its expression a bored squint.

One with a smiley mask and ribbon limbs.

One with googly eyes and a cross on its head.

One with pinwheel pupils and a jester hat.

And the last one, adorned with a top hat and bow, beaming next to a sharp toothed flower.

Gangle squealed. “Those are adorable!!!”

“Aww, it’s us!” Ragatha said, clasping her hands in delight.

Kinger grinned with his eyes. “I like the bees!”

Caine couldn't handle the praise, ducking behind his drawing with a blush painting his face. He mumbled thank yous, prompting gentle laughter from his friends.

Friends… they were becoming friends, weren't they? Caine hoped so, it felt good to have people to share joy with. 

“We should definitely sleep now.” Zooble said, gently placing their drawing aside. “We don’t know when Jax is going to pull us into another ‘adventure’, and we don’t want a repeat of last time.”

Everyone agreed. The drawings were gathered and given to Gangle so she could store them in her sketchbook, and they all wrapped themselves up in the various pillows and blankets, settling into their makeshift nests.

As their breaths evened out, Caine sat up, taking one last look at the people surrounding him. His players, his troupe, his friends. He smiled.

He would make things better. For all of them.