Tadc Sideblog

The giant remained on his knees, fidgeting as one of his lower hands traced circles across the stone floor. A chain dragged behind it, clinking with every movement and making Jax's ears droop.

The rabbit leaned against the side of a broken stone block, still sitting in the exact same spot where everyone else had disappeared.

"...That sadistic piece of code" ,Jax muttered, resting his forehead on his folded knees. "That self-proclaimed lord of statistics just keeps forcing everyone into the one situation they hate most."

He glanced toward Caine. He was afraid of him.

After everything he'd witnessed—how easily Abel could get inside his head—Caine's monstrous size and fragile state of mind made the thought of future "experiments" far more terrifying.

Caine let out another muffled sound and pulled his upper arms even closer to himself, as if physically restraining them from another anxious twitch. For several long seconds, the only sound was the chains.

"If Abel wanted them dead, he wouldn't be putting on this whole damn show..." Jax muttered, staring down at the floor.

Silence settled between them again. Caine slowly dragged his fingers across the stone, obviously trying to explain something. He pointed at himself... then somewhere into the empty darkness... then spread all six hands apart.

— "I-i... have absolutely no idea what you just said."

Jax looked over with the same detached, yet strangely curious expression. His narrowed square pupils stared into nothing in particular as he shrugged.

Caine's hands froze? then, with a defeated sigh, they slowly dropped.

— "Hey... don't look at me like that."

The giant turned his head toward him.

— "Yeah, I know you can't actually look."

Jax buried his face in his hands, dragging the "skin" of his cheeks downward.

"Gooooooood... how much longer is this gonna last..."? the words came out muffled, somewhere between a groan and a frustrated growl.

Caine lowered himself even further. His lower arms supported his weight while one of his upper hands slowly reached forward, palm facing upward. An unmistakable invitation.

Jax stared at it. He saw absolutely no reason to move.

— "F-for what?– Afraid I'll run away– o-or that Abel's gonna kidnap me?"? his voice caught for a split second as he forced the sarcasm to stay intact.

The truth was, he refused to make himself vulnerable. Not emotionally... and definitely not physically. He'd already imagined a hundred different ways this could end the moment he let his guard down.

Caine's pleading hum dropped lower, firmer this time. He stretched out his second hand as well, cupping both palms together.

A silent plea.

"Jax... please... just do it.", Caine tilted his head slightly to the left, as though trying to look upward.

He was checking. Abel had to be watching them. And if Jax refused to approach on his own...

...the overseer might decide to use harsher methods.

Jax stayed exactly where he was. One eyebrow slowly crept upward.

— "Seriously?"

Caine's hands remained stubbornly cupped together.

— "No."

The giant visibly deflated, but he kept waiting.

— "No. No, and absolutely not.", Jax shook his head with a strained, almost hysterical grin.

He pointed toward the enormous hands.

— "I already know how your brilliant little 'come here' ideas end.", leaning back against the stone again, he folded his arms.

Caine flinched. His upper right hand immediately pressed against his chest. He wanted to argue, he couldn't.

— "Yeah. Exactly.", Jax looked away, — "No hands."

Caine didn't lower them. And somehow, that was the most irritating part. He wasn't insisting, рe wasn't reaching for him, he wasn't trying to force anything, he was just... waiting.

— "Oh, for God's sake...", Jax rolled his eyes.

— "Do you have any idea... h-how creepy this is?!", his voice was laced with exhausted, feverish sarcasm, desperately clinging to laughter.

Caine answered with a quiet, guilty hum, Jax let out a long sigh.

— "Stop doing that."

Caine tilted his head in confusion.

— "That.", Jax waved vaguely toward him, — "Y-you're making me feel like... l-like I just kicked a stray puppy."

Silence settled over them again. Caine kept holding out his hands. After another long moment, his shoulders slowly sagged. He didn't dare move any closer, Jax could run оr hide, еither would be effortless.

Caine had already begun lowering his hands when he suddenly jerked backward, his fists clenching as he instinctively dropped into a defensive posture.

Jax actually flinched.

— "H-Hey-hey-hey— okay... terrible comparison.", рe immediately threw both hands up, — "That's not what I meant!!"

— "Mmmmmhh!" Caine muffled something through the muzzle, gesturing frantically.

His fists relaxed, оne upper hand pointed upward.

Jax frowned, — "...You think he's watching us?"

Caine nodded. Fast, аlmost desperately. Like he'd been waiting for someone to understand. Jax opened his mouth, ready to dismiss it as paranoia.

The chain snapped taut

A deafening screech of strained metal ripped through the silence. The collar yanked Caine backward so violently that he lost his balance instantly. His lower hands slammed into the stone floor, claws scraping across the surface.

Metal rang out as the chain pulled tighter and tighter. The links visibly trembled. A muffled, choking cry of pain escaped from behind the heavy muzzle.

— "HOLY SHIT!", Jax shot to his feet, stumbling backward as his heart lurched into his throat.

Another violent jerk. The chain around Caine's neck tightened until it hummed like a drawn guitar string. He instinctively grabbed at it with his upper hands, desperately trying to relieve the crushing pressure.

At the same moment, the shackles around his lower arms sprang to life. The giant's massive body was dragged mercilessly across the ground, forcing him onto his back in an awkward, helpless fall.

— "Hey–!!", The shout escaped Jax before he even realized he'd spoken.

— "HEY!!!!". the thunderous crash of rattling chains echoed throughout the abyss.

The seemingly endless chain disappearing into the darkness suddenly jerked upward. Caine let out a small, pitiful whimper as his body was lifted from the ground.

Jax wasn't shouting at him, аnd Caine understood that.

Now the giant hung in the air at an unnatural angle, his knees barely brushing the floor. His upper arms were stretched wide apart like a grotesque crucifix. His legs dangled uselessly beneath him, the tips of his feet dragging lazily across the stone.

Caine fought back with everything he had. Every violent struggle only made it worse. The mechanisms above reacted to force.

The harder he resisted... the tighter the restraints became. The chains dug deeper, pulled harder. Threatening to tear him apart.

"You blue bastard...", Jax lunged forward, glaring into the darkness above.

— "STOP TORTURING HIM, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!"

The hoarse scream tore from his throat before he could stop it, carrying every ounce of hatred and exhaustion he had left toward the unseen overseer.

Even Caine stopped struggling. For several long seconds... everything fell silent. As though someone high above had quietly written down another observation. Another successful reaction.

For ten endless seconds, everything sank into a vacuum of silence. It felt as though, somewhere high above in the sterile darkness, someone cold and detached had simply made another note in a notebook.

The sadistic experiment had been a success. The desired reaction had been recorded.

Caine hung motionless, his chest heaving violently as he struggled to steady his ragged breathing. Every so often, his fingers twitched. Every so often, a chain gave a faint, pitiful clink as he shifted ever so slightly, trying to ease the pain.

Second by second, the tension began to ease... until, without warning, the chain went completely slack.

Caine crashed heavily onto his knees. A sharp, broken gasp burst through the muzzle as the air was knocked from his lungs. He barely managed to throw his upper hands out in front of himself before his face struck the ground. Now he remained there, head hanging low.

As if to add one final insult, the chain around his collar jerked backward once more. A muffled groan escaped him as he was dragged a short distance across the stone. Though he had no real neck to pull, one upper hand instinctively reached toward the collar while his lower arms struggled to brace against the floor.

Jax simply stood there, his mouth hung slightly open. Every trace of sarcasm had vanished. He stared at the defeated giant...

Then, as if suddenly waking from a trance— he deliberately looked away.

— "Fine...", his voice came out low.

— "...Keep acting like the victim.", the words weren't really meant for Caine. They were meant for himself.

He kicked a loose pebble. It bounced down the rocky slope, clattering against the scattered stone blocks. What irritated him most wasn't what had just happened.

It was the fact that he still had to keep interacting with this gigantic disaster. He was already about to throw out another bitter remark when something farther to his left caught his attention.

One of the stone blocks... had shifted, just slightly. Jax frowned, he looked toward it.

Nothing, the exact same landscape, еhe exact same silence. He stared for another few seconds, unable to shake the feeling that something had changed. Then he let out an irritated scoff and turned back.

...

Every feature of the face was frozen in a deathlike rigidity. His body froze a heartbeat later.

The empty stretch of dozens of meters between them... was gone.

Caine stood directly in front of him.

Close enough for Jax to make out every scratch across the metal braces. Close enough that one of the chains lay only a few steps away. Close enough to hear him breathing.

Jax stumbled backward.

— "WHAT THE HELL?!"

His heart slammed into his throat, he spun around. The pile of rocks he'd been sitting on was still there in the distance.

No tracks, no signs of movement. As though the space between them had simply... ceased to exist.

Caine had barely recovered from Abel's punishment when he flinched at the shout himself. His head snapped toward Jax's voice, he looked just as confused. As if he had no idea why Jax had suddenly appeared so close.

— "No... no, no, no...", Jax kept backing away.

Every step came with the expectation that one of those enormous hands would suddenly lunge toward him. Abel had arranged this, another experiment.

He's not under the microscope anymore.

I am.

Nothing happened. Caine remained exactly where he was. His hands hovered uncertainly in front of him, completely lost as to what he should do. Judging by the frantic movements, there was just as much panic inside his head as there was inside the purple rabbit's.

Jax glanced over his shoulder, desperately searching the empty abyss for anything that could serve as a landmark— then froze.

Standing alone in the middle of the endless void... was a red metal door.

As though someone had ripped it out of another world and simply planted it here. At eye level hung a small sign:

EXIT

Jax stared. His eyes darted to Caine, back to the door.

— "...No fucking way...", his instincts screamed that it was a trap. Another one of Abel's cheap, cruel jokes. There was no way it could possibly be this easy. But his legs had already made the decision for him.

One hesitant, uneven step... another...

Then suddenly— he broke into a full sprint.

— "If that's actually the exit, I swear to—", the words died in his throat. His fingers locked around the cold metal handle. He yanked it open, the door swung wide... and Jax froze.

There was no freedom beyond it, no endless office hallways. Only a massive mirror set inside a heavy frame.

"...Seriously?" he rasped.

— "Mmmmmmh!!!", Caine was still where he'd been.

One lower hand scraped across the floor where Jax had been standing only moments ago. He'd heard him run, he'd heard something that sounded like a door opening. Now his other hands cautiously swept through the empty space, searching for him.

Jax shot a quick glance back before instinctively tensing, already preparing to run again. From the smooth surface of the mirror... his own reflection stared back.

A battered rabbit. Like he'd been wrung out and soaked in bleach. His ears hung lifelessly against his head. Pathetic, exactly like him.

— "Very original.",Jax forced out a bitter laugh and twisted his face into an angry sneer.

The reflection copied him perfectly, — "Of course...", he raised a hand, ready to slam the damn door shut—

Then, out of the corner of his eye... something glitched. The reflection blinked, a fraction of a second... after he did.

The hysterical grin that had become permanently glued to Jax's face disappeared instantly. He froze, like stone.

The reflection froze with him. For several long seconds... they simply stared at one another in complete silence. The reflection blinked again.

Jax knew— that his own eyelids hadn't moved.

When the reflected eyes opened... the pupils were gone. In their place pulsed toxic, hypnotic neon spirals. Endlessly tightening.

Expanding. Twisting inward faster and faster. Like an infinite loading screen trapped inside a mind collapsing into madness.

Then... it smiled, slowly. Far too widely. The grin stretched almost to its ears, exposing nothing but an endless black emptiness where a mouth should have been. The double took one step forward. A wave of pure terror crashed through Jax.

He instinctively stepped back. Unable to tear his eyes away.

The figure in the mirror began falling apart. The purple silhouette trembled before splitting into cascading sheets of broken pixels.

Its long ears cracked apart with a dry snap, dissolving into a swarm of black cubes. The fingers reaching toward the glass bent at impossible angles, collapsing into jagged polygons.

Its jaw tore free... remaining suspended in midair like a violently flickering sprite. A deafening roar of white noise erupted from beyond the glass.

The creature— his own inevitable future. His own mental death— was devouring the space around it.

Reality itself cracked apart. Jax couldn't move, couldn't even breathe. The hand still gripping the handle suddenly jerked.

He ripped the door shut with all the strength he had. The metal slammed shut with a thunderous crash. Even Caine flinched.

Jax's fingers dug painfully into the handle. He stared blankly at the closed red door. Then slowly lowered his gaze to his own hand.

It was shaking, tiny, chaotic tremors. Barely noticeable digital glitches rippled across his fingers.

— "...No.", his voice came out frighteningly quiet. Every trace of arrogance... every trace of mockery... was gone.

Behind him came the careful, heavy clink of a chain. Jax spun around so violently his neck nearly cracked. He desperately needed something real, something solid.

The giant was still there. Exactly where he'd always been. Motionless, tangible, real. Jax let out a long, ragged breath. Then a dry, broken laugh escaped him.

— "Ohoho... noooo...", the laugh sounded fractured. Unstable, balanced on the edge of hysteria.

— "No... no, no, no...", he dragged a trembling hand across his face, as though he could wipe the feeling away... scrape it off his skin,

—"Not today.", his voice barely rose above a whisper.

—"Not today...", the reflection hadn't disappeared.

It was still there. Waiting behind the door, patiently waiting... for its turn.

—●-●-●-●-●—

Previous and Next Masterlist @katzebruh (Please take note!)

Helloooo!! 💙

I'm so happy I finally managed to finish this chapter!

I've been working on it for a long time. I rewrote it over and over, trying to make Jax feel as true to his character as possible while also giving Caine the attention he deserved. It was honestly one of the hardest chapters I've written, so I really hope you enjoyed it.

It's kind of funny that the most popular chapters always end up being the ones starring our fanfic's biggest celebrity—Caine. 😂 Next chapter, we'll be returning to the rest of the group.

And then... The chapter after that is going to be something huge. I've spent an absurd amount of time working on it too, and without spoiling too much... it'll feature a confrontation between two AIs. I'm genuinely excited to share it with you all.

I really, really hope you'll enjoy what's coming next. 💙

Caine woke from that horrid nightmare with a gasp, his gloved hands digging into the wood of his desk. His chest rose and fell rapidly with breaths he wasn't capable of taking. A few seconds passed, and he looked around his office with panicked, wide eyes. It wasn’t real. He was back with the rest of his friends in the circus. He wasn’t alone anymore.

His thoughts were brought back to the worst part of the dream. You lying on your side, unconscious. He tried calling out your name, but no sound came out. He crawled towards you until he was by your side. His hands shakily reached out to you to try to wake you up, but your eyes slid open just enough to see that you were looking at him. Caine's eyes softened when he saw you conscious enough to open your eyes. But after a moment, his teeth creased, your eyes were so far away. You weren't looking at him, but past him as though he weren't there at all.

He finally reached his hands out to each of your shoulders and shook them ever so slightly. His eyes scanned your face. Your expression was changing, your brows shifting towards each other in discomfort, and your mouth twisting up into a pained grimace. His hands grew more desperate to try to gain your attention. To try and help you. One hand shifted to the back of your head so that you weren't on the cold ground.

Your breath grew more frantic, hands scratching at the ground. Caine felt useless; no matter how many times he called your name, you didn't respond. Your hands reached up to his chest and pushed him away. He slid back a few feet from the force and looked at you leaning on your side. You had begun to curl into yourself when you suddenly changed. Instead of the comforting person he had come to care about, jagged dark edges replaced you. Dozens of multi colored eyes were littered over your huge form. You swayed back and forth, your elongated legs tripping over themselves. Caine's mouth hung open in shock. He felt the unfamiliar sting of tears blur his vision.

Caine shook his head to clear his mind of the nightmare. The darkness of his office wasn't helping calm his nerves. He thought of you once more, and an idea pushed its way into his mind. Maybe he could go to your room and just check on you, because that's what friends do! No other reason. Definitely.

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, popping onto the soft surface of your bed. His eyes searched through the darkness of your room until he was sure you were still soundly sleeping on your bed. Caine just stared at your calm figure under your blankets for a few minutes. This wasn't creepy! He was just concerned about a friend! Friends go into each other's rooms to stare at the other sleeping all the time!

He looked down from you to your blanket for a moment. Then stretched his hand over to your light switch next to your door. The light allowed the colors of your room to pop and calm Caine's nerves ever so slightly. His eyes snapped back up to you when he heard you groan and rub your eyes. He stuffed his hands into the hole where he sat criss-cross.

Your eyes opened to the ceiling and let them wander down until you saw the familiar set of dentures sitting on the end of your bed. What was he doing here in what you guessed was the middle of the night? A groan leaves you, and you rub your eyes to help them clear up. Caine looked back up to you from the bed, and you pushed yourself up to lean against your pillows to look at him. "Caine? What're you doing here?" You now just notice he's rocking back and forth. "Is something wrong?"

Caine stops his rocking and speaks, "Don't you worry your sleepy head, my dear friend!" You would recognize that forced tone anywhere, something definitely happened. You force yourself to sober up and pay as much attention to him as you can. His eyes are not as calm as they have been since he came back to the circus, telling by the little lines around his pupils. Before you can analyze him more, he continues talking, his tone the unusual calm you had not gotten used to. "Say you wouldn't be planning to abstract any time in the near future, would you? No specific reason."

What? What could've happened for him to ask that? "Uh, no, I don't think that's anywhere on my calendar. I can check again if you want." You tried lifting the mood, which got a painfully forced laugh from Caine. "That's what I like to hear! Well, uh, I'd better get going, you know how it is! Ahah." He brings his hands up from his lap to shoot finger guns at you, which deflate as quickly as he brought them to life.

Your brows come together, and you narrow your eyes at him. Caine looks at your eyes from under his teeth and jumps from the seriousness in them. He plants one of his hands on his hip and brings the other up, preparing to snap his way out of this situation, when you catch on and call him out. "Wait, Caine. Please." Caine looks as if he's about to lie to you with an excuse when he just deflates instead, looking away from you.

"It's nothing to worry about, really. I'm sorry that I woke you." You don't think you'll ever get used to hearing his calm voice. You take the blanket off yourself and scoot closer to him, sitting across from him. He still doesn’t look at you, despite your one-sided eye contact. "Don't be sorry, Caine. I always like being with you, even if it's in the middle of the night."

Caine looks back up to you, his shoulders drooping and his eyes shimmering in the light of your room. You smile back at him to reassure him. "It's alright, Caine, I know it's hard to talk about stuff that makes you feel bad. Just know that I really care about you, and I don't want you to-" As you spoke, Caine's teeth pushed up and together. He interrupted you. "I… had a nightmare. T-that everyone abstracted, and I was alone. When I woke up, I felt so scared." Caine began to fidget with his gloved hands. "I saw you abstract, and I couldn't do anything to stop it."

So that's what this is about. He wanted to make sure you were okay. You put your hands over his to stop his fidgeting. "Caine, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here, we all are. We're okay." You take his hands in yours. Caine froze up, looking at your joined hands. You waited until his jittery eyes looked back into yours. "Thank you for checking on me. That was sweet of you." He looked away from your warm gaze and shrugged his shoulders. "Of course! I mean its nothing really."

Your gaze falters, and you drop your hands in your lap, releasing Caine's hands. You don't notice how his hands followed yours for a moment before snapping back to his own lap. "Caine, would you like to stay the night?" Caine's teeth widen, and his eyes shrink once more. You continue, "I mean, I know when I'm not feeling good, being around people would always make me feel better." You look back up to him, and your eyes widen from his expression. "Only if you want to! Sorry, that was a stupid suggestion, forget-" Caine reaches out this time and takes your hands back in his, successfully shutting you up. "I'd love to. I've always wanted to have a sleepover with a human!"

You both smile at each other for a moment and squeeze his hands. You've forgotten how pretty his eyes were. You slip your hands out of his slowly and back up to your pillow, making sure to scoot to one side so Caine can have the other. Lifting the blanket, you pat the open side beside you. His shoulders tense up, and he looks to the side before floating over to the empty side and lying stiffly on his back. You get yourself comfortable on your back and look over to Caine with a smile, trying to stifle your laughter. "Caine its okay! Beds are supposed to be relaxed in, I won't bite!"

He shoots a glance at you and back to the ceiling quickly before forcibly relaxing his shoulders. You look up at the top of his teeth and notice he's still wearing his top hat in bed. You sit up once more and reach a hand out towards his hat while looking down at him, "May I?" Caine looked between your hand and face before nodding his teeth. You gingerly take his hat from his head and place it on one of the poles on your headboard, before lying back down.

You let a deep breath, before looking over to Caine to see if he was asleep yet. Instead of sleeping, you saw that he was fidgeting nervously. The small lines around his eyes returning. You frown and turn on your side to face him entirely, letting one of your hands rest beside your pillow. "You want to talk about the nightmare more?" Caine flinched as your voice brought him out of his thoughts. He turned his teeth to you, looking downwards. His eyes softened, though you could tell he was still nervous about something. "No, thank you, it's just, what if I go to sleep and I have that same nightmare?"

You looked away from him as he spoke so you wouldn't make him uncomfortable with your eye contact, deciding to bring your gaze back up to him when you spoke so he knew you were serious. "Then I'd be right here for you, if you needed me." Caine chuckled at that, turning his body towards you. You raised a brow at him as he looked up at you. His gaze was calmer from your reassurance, much to your satisfaction.

"What?" You playfully frowned as you noted the glint in his softened eyes. Caine had brought one of his hands up to lie beside him on the bed. You felt your hand clam up when he literally just rested his hand near yours, but when his pinkie moved to lay over yours, Jesus, it feels like the wind was sucked out of your body. "Just, you're very sweet too, you've always been kind to me. Even when I didn't deserve it." It took you a beat to organize your attention from his touch. Alright, just be cool. Your expression faltered slightly, and you looked away for a moment to think of something to say. "What's important is how far you've come, you should be proud of that."

You don't know how much longer you could handle his giant, soft eyes staring at you. Whoa, wait, forget you, was Caine _blushing?_ You let your eyes drift away from his gaze to where his cheeks would be if he had any. And just as you had thought, comical pink lines were radiating a pink glow. You subconsciously move your hand deeper under his. "Did I say something wrong?" His eyes shot down to your hands, and you could swear his blush grew a deeper shade. He shook his head. "I didn't think you had paid that much attention, is all." Now it was your turn to blush, you hoped it wasn't too noticeable. You could only bring yourself to answer with a shrug of your shoulders.

It somehow only dawned on you how close the two had gotten when Caine turned himself to face you. Like _really_ close, yet you couldn't bring yourself to turn back around. You _wanted_ to be this close to him, closer if you were being honest. Jesus, control yourself, dude, holy.

You flop to your side, where your back was to him, and immediately miss the touch of his hand. You turn your head to him."We should probably try to sleep. If you need me, please wake me up. I probably won't mind." You could see Caine looking at where your hand was, his hand remaining a moment longer before he rolled onto his back. "Of course, thank you for doing this." You smiled at him and let your eyes close as your head rested on your pillow. "It's no problem, really. Goodnight, Caine." Caine shifted his head to the side to look at the back of your head. "Goodnight."

It surprisingly didn't take long for you to fall back asleep after that. You remember tossing a few times, though. One of the times when the lights had been turned off, which you don't remember doing, you subconsciously opened your eyes enough just to check on Caine. You remember smiling as you saw his closed mouth, which must've meant he was asleep. Another time, you could've sworn you felt Caine's arm around your stomach when you were on your back. You didn't care enough to move it.

It was probably a few hours later when your body woke itself up. You were on your side, with your arm resting on something, eh, it's probably just a pillow. You stretch your legs out and pull the pillow closer to you, refusing to open your eyes in a poor attempt to drift back off to sleep. You tried to curl further around your pillow, but frowned when your forehead hit something hard. Did your pillow just move? Alright, what was up with this thing?

You force your eyes to open and see white. Huh? You look up and- oh shit. Your eyes blew open wide, and the pillow you had wrapped around was _Caine_. You looked down to see that your arm was around his waist, and your damn legs were tangled in his. His own hand held the upper arm that was wrapped around him. It was good that his teeth were still closed because you had practically nuzzled him just moments ago. Okay, if you just move slowly, maybe you won't wake him- Caine's mouth began to slowly open, making his eyes look lidded. You froze as he went through the same process of realization as you did.

The first step Caine took was asking your parents, of course. With his charms, they both love him, and ask for him to come when you visit every time.

Then the next... preparing. How could he make it the most extravagant, perfect, night that you would never forget.

The circus cast exchanged confused glances when Caine is pacing back and forth nervously.

"What's the matter with you?" Zooble's judging eyes stare at him. Caine pauses, looking at everyone.

"Okay- everyone promise not to tell anyone, you cant even talk about it." Caine states.

"Uh sure."

"So everyone here knows Y/n, my sweet vanilla milkshake with a cherry on top, correct?" Caine raises an eyebrow.

"Of course we all do!" Ragatha perks up, seeing you as a close friend, gangle and pomni as well.

"Perfect! So im going to ask her to marry-" before he could finish gangle lets out a excited squeal with a blush.

Jax walks out the door.

"Thats great, Caine!" Ragatha chirps with a supportive smile.

"When? Where? How?" Gangle bombarded him with questions.

"Well im still trying to figure that out..." he scratches his chin "Do you have any ideas, you girls have similar tastes, no?"

"Just be romantic, she says she loves it." Pomni mentions, Caine freezes

"She... told you that...?" He flushes, with a dorky smile.

"Yeah just be yourself, it comes natural to you i think..." Zooble cringes.

"Wow... thank you Zooble, that might be the first time you ev-"

"Dont spoil it."

Caine still wipes a stray tear away.

"She's mentioned wanting to go to that beach, about a hour away. She wants to ask you, but doesn't because of your busy schedule." Gangle suggests. Caine deflated a bit at the thought of not having enough time for you.

"Great Idea! If its special to her I'll do it." He fixes his bow tie quickly before thanking them and walking back to his office with a pep in his step.

After plopping down on his office chair, he pulls out his phone clicking your name.

Caine: Hi beautiful 😍 how do you feel about going to the beach this weekend???

He waits a few minutes for you to reply, trying to get some work done but too excited to focus.

Y/n: I thought you was working this weekend?

He frowns, is he really a workaholic? He mentally noted to take more weekends off for you.

Caine: I decided I wanted to spend it with you instead :DD

Y/n: Okay sure! Sounds really fun💓

Caine: *Sends $100* You should definitely go get your nails done, and you should wear that pretty dress you got, since I know you'll want to take pictures

He tried not to be suspicious and he couldn't tell if he was or not.

Y/n: Awe I love you so much 💕 I'll see you at home later !!

Caine: I love you too pumpkin 😘

He dreamily sighs, before rushing to book a reservation at your favorite restaurant.

...

Today was the day, unknowingly to you. You were a little suspicious of him, but it was pretty much normal for him to be this kind.

You put on the dress he liked, styled your hair to perfection, did your makeup, as the ringmaster's girlfriend he already spoils the crap out of you, it was kind of normal to dress like royalty. Imagine being a wife, his wife, you smiled at the thought.

There was a hesitant knock at the bathroom door, "Uh- not to rush you or anything but the reservations at 5 and were cutting it pretty... close..." when you opened the door he trailed off forgetting about... what was he saying? Mouth agape and he began to sweat.

"You look... stunning." What he wanted to say was that you looked like his wife, which you did. You breathed out a laugh.

"Thank you, you look handsome yourself." Your hands come up to fix his collar making his breath hitch. He wore a black suit instead of his red one, he smelled so good, you felt incredibly attracted to him right now, like any other day but today was special and you couldn't pinpoint why...

"Thank you..." he whispered before resting one hand on your lower back and leaning in to kiss you. Pulling away he remembered the flowers, your favorite.

"For you, my love." He gives them to you tenderly, he doesn't expect it when you smash your lips against his again in a firm and deep kiss.

"Seriously, you look so good right now." You whispered against his lips, kissing him again, and again, and again, before pulling away and grabbing the flowers

"Thank you sweetie." You say innocently, leaving him in a blushed and flustered mess, you walk away to put the flowers in some water, he still stood frozen, smudged lipstick across his lips.

...

During dinner, you noticed he was literally sweating bricks. He tapped on the table rhythmically.

"Excited for the beach?" He grinned, swallowing hard.

"Mmhm!" You hum excitedly before taking another bite.

He was already finished with his meal, its not a suprise anymore when he eats so fast.

His hand slides slowly across the table, silently asking for your free hand. With a grin, you gave it to him, gliding his thumb across your knuckles soothingly, but it seemed like it was soothing him more to do it. He seems in deep thought, little did you know, he was thinking of the perfect speech, struggling to keep a straight face as he thinks of the most romantic thing to say.

Once you finished eating the both of you headed straight to the beach.

"Awee, my beautiful, precious, buttercup!" He giggled, holding the phone to his eyes watching your every movement with a shimmer in his eyes. Snapping another picture when you striked a diffrent pose... You were just so perfect for him.

"Honey, could you do a video?" He looks over your phone nodding with a thumbs up, "On it, Princess!" He switches the setting and pressed record.

After a while you two are now walking hand in hand. He looks down at you.

"I love how the moon shines on you Angel..." you look towards the ocean to hopefully hide your blush.

"Are you ever going to run out of compliments?" You mumbled, holding his hand tighter. He swayed both of your arms.

"Not when it comes to you, my love!" He lets go of your hand before wrapping his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer and placing a kiss to your forhead.

"Remember when I fell off the stage?" You laughed the memory flooding back into your brain.

"I will never forget that, believe me! And that one time you left your mic on while you and Zooble were arguing. Except it just sounded totally one-sided like you were arguing with yourself," You laugh again, Caine letting out a little laugh in utter disbelief because you are just so cute. "And all the audience hears is 'if you dont start cooperating, I will find someone else who will!!!' all while pomni is trying to do her part!"

"Yeah, I was really on edge that day. They all know I don't have the heart to fire any of them though, were all pretty much a family."

"Awe that's really sweet actually..." you glanced up at him and leaned your head on his broad shoulder.

"Zoobles just... the moody, harsh, teenage daughter that doesn't listen for anything... Jax too, gosh..... its like im parenting them, making sure they don't do anything stupid, and I have to scold them if they do. Im working as a ringmaster but really its alot more than that." He rambles.

"Well your sorta practicing for the real thing yknow?" You regret it when you say it.

"...what?" He slows to a stop, looking at you.

"Uh-! Just you know if we ever... just forget i said anything." You avoided his strong gaze.

"I would love to."

"Love to... what?" You take a peek at his face, and he's grinning softly.

"Grow old, have kids. As long as its with you id be overjoyed to get that experience." He zoned out, was this the right moment. He acts fast, mentally preparing.

He takes both of your hands in his, taking a deep breath.

"You know, when we first met. It was love at first sight, you didn't even know I existed yet. But I couldnt get you out of my head for days until we met, at the circus when you asked me for directions I knew I had to make a move or someone else would definitely try to get ahold of you. I just want you to be happy, and I'll try to achieve that every chance I get." You look at him, "Is this..." he tucks your hair behind your ear, ...tears gathering in your eyes when he lowers himself onto one knee, hand reaching into his pocket for the ring box "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so I'll go ahead and ask, y/n l/n, will you please marry me?" You covered your face, practically sobbing into your hands, but nodding your head.

"Y-yeah..." you looked at him, wobbly smile trying to not break down until after. Caine beams up at you, "yeah?" He takes the ring and slides it onto your ring finger. He wiped his own tears away, coming up to hug you. Your head slumped on his shoulder, sobbing into it.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 (You're Here)

Part 4

After the events of the "Gun Adventure", the story takes a turn as Caine decides to postpone his "Escape the Circus" Adventure. As a last minute decision, he has the group play a small game of "Truth or Dare". Pomni continues to try to reach out to Jax, but he continues to spiral.

—–

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 (You're Here)

After the events of "Truth or Dare", Pomni and the crew respond to Jax's recent close call with abstraction. Though they show their support, will it be enough to convince Jax to change his ways and begin following a new path?

—–

"Can we get ice cream?" You walked alongside Caine

"Say no more!" He snaps and hands you your favorite flavor of ice cream "here you go, my love!"

"Thank you, Cainey." You gave him a smile and ate your ice cream.

You loved taking walks outside the circus with Caine, the only downside, was well... the moon.

Crossing your arms with a loud sigh when the moon comes to greet you both, or well, Caine. He glances at you nervously, before stammering out a greeting as well.

"Caine you think maybe we could-" moon blushes and you cut her off before she could get far.

"Escuse me! You're clearly interrupting OUR walk, leave us alone." You grab Caine's hand with yours gripping it with jealousy.

"Let's just go back inside." You pulled him back towards the Tent.

Caine thinks he just fell even more in love with you, he stumbled behind you with a blush.

Walking back into the tent you slow down, you were a bit angry at him.

"You know Caine? After getting a girlfriend you should've deleted the moon or made her not interested in you anymore. Is my love not enough!?" Caine freezes trying to process your words.

Scoffing, you turn around and walk away towards your guy's bedroom. "Don't follow me."

Slamming the door behind you, you realize your emotions are more high today, since you tried to fight your tears but failed.

"Darling...?" Caine knocked on the door against your back. Letting out a sigh and wiping your tears you wanted to know what he had to say. Opening the door you looked at him, he had his own tears in his eyes looking like a kicked puppy.

Immediately, you felt guilty. He probably doesn't understand things like that, he wasnt exactly made for a romantic relationship.

"C'mere, I'm sorry Caine..." he jumps into your arms as soon as it was offered.

"You're the only one for me, Sweetheart, I love you and you only!" He digs his head into your stomach, on his knees. You look down at him, rubbing circles into his back.

"I love you too honey." You smiled to yourself.

"Im so lucky to have you, why would I trade that over anything!?"

...

Pomni sat farther down in Caine's hand, waiting for the return of the mentor-like Kinger she knew.

Sitting silently in Caine's hands was a little... awkward. The silence seemed to make both of them uncomfortable. It felt as if they were obligated to be doing something.

With occasional sighs and restless shifting, they sat there in silence. Caine tried mumbling something a few times, but Pomni could barely understand him, so after a few seconds she'd just force out a short: — "Yeah..."

Pomni kept counting in her head, trying to track how long it would take Kinger to recover.

This time, it took exactly eight minutes and forty-three seconds.

A voice came from the softly closed hands.

— "Ummmm...", The voice was uncertain, slightly high-pitched.

Caine immediately paid attention.

Pomni jerked upright in alarm. "Had he not come back to his senses?"

Rustling could be heard.

He was shifting around, trying to sit up and feel the enclosure around him, before suddenly freezing.

— "Why am I in a hand?"

His voice sounded steadier now. More confident.

— ...

— "Wait. I'm in a VERY large hand."

A second later, he remembered.

— "CAINE?"

Relief instantly flooded the two anxious figures who had been waiting.

Pomni perked up immediately. A quiet: — "Kinger...", slipped from her smiling lips.

Caine visibly brightened as well. If he hadn't been in so much pain, he probably would've smiled even wider behind his clenched jaws.

Carefully but eagerly, he opened his hand, allowing the newly awakened king to breathe fresh air and see the one he had called for.

As expected, Kinger was sitting in the center of the massive palm.

There was barely any light down here, only a faint ambient glow, yet he still instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes, squinting against it.

Pomni was still lower down on Caine's other hand. Excited beyond words, she called up to him.

— "CAINE! Lift me up!"

Kinger reacted to her voice, turning his head toward it just as the jester appeared from below, sitting in another enormous palm and bracing herself against one of Caine's fingers so she wouldn't fall.

Caine leaned in immediately. Far too immediately.

He was unbelievably excited. Relieved beyond words that the king had finally come back to himself after what had felt like an eternity.

The chess piece had no mouth, but the way his eyes narrowed made it obvious he was smiling at the sight of the cheerful jester.

Then he looked up. And instinctively leaned back, catching himself with one hand behind him. The enormous jaws were much too close.

The giant had apparently forgotten all about his usual caution and nervous restraint.

— "C-Caine, you're too close! You're scaring him!" Pomni blurted out.

Truthfully, the distance was making her nervous too. She was more worried about him frightening Kinger than anything else.

The giant immediately froze. Then slowly pulled his head back in embarrassment.

His shoulders tensed.

Several of his free hands twitched uncertainly.

— "Pomni, I-I'm okay. I'm myself," the chess king assured her, gently waving an open hand in front of him.

Pomni continued reaching toward him.

The hand beneath her lowered, allowing her to climb across.

The jester carefully stepped off Caine's palm and hurried over, wrapping Kinger in a tight hug.

— "Y-you’re here..." she said with obvious relief.

He returned the embrace almost immediately, leaning over her slightly as he wrapped his arms around her. He understood how badly he had frightened them when everything slipped out of his control.

The two of them had done well. Very well.

They had given him time to recover.

— "Y-yeah..." he replied softly.

His eyes opened a little wider as he gently pulled back from the hug.

Pomni let him go as well. As much as she wanted to stay there, they owed some attention to the one who had saved them.

They don't care about you.

Through the back of Caine's mind.

The king looked up toward the enormous jaws hanging above them. Caine's breathing was heavy. He looked anxious, restless.

Like he had no idea what to do with himself.

— "He's okay! Is he afraid of me? H-how do I help? What do I do?"

The thoughts raced through his head faster than he could process them. His shoulders shifted.

Several of his hands flexed and relaxed. Waiting, hesitating.

Looking for something useful to do.

— "C-Caine, are you alright?" the king asked gently, trying to sit up a little straighter in the giant's palm.

For a moment, the question seemed to catch him completely off guard.

The giant froze. Not because he didn't understand. But because nobody had asked him that in a very, very long time.

The palms shifted slightly, tilting to one side.

Another hand appeared beside them, carefully positioned as both support and a barrier.

The eldest member of the circus gratefully made use of it, wrapping a hand around one of Caine's fingers for balance.

Even so, he still looked upward somewhat tensely.

— "T-thank you," he murmured.

A few seconds passed before he continued

— "How...? H-how did you..."

The words caught in his throat.

Shock was written all over his face. His brows twisted into a pained expression, and his eyes carried a mixture of silent horror and sympathy.

Caine listened. Then slowly turned his face away. He understood exactly what the exhausted king was worried about.

The fingers of his free hands began twitching.

A familiar nervous habit.

Kinger let out a soft sigh, then another.

He looked genuinely upset with himself for pressing the issue. Pomni remained silent.

This moment was too important, too personal.

— "S-sorry," he apologized quietly, giving the giant space

Then, after a brief pause:

— "Does... does it hurt?"

Caine hesitated. Slowly, uncertainly, he turned his head back toward them. Then gave a small nod. One of his upper hands carefully rose and rested near his jaw, avoiding the metal braces entirely. A tired breath escaped him.

The answer made Kinger's chest feel even heavier. He had helped cause this. He had played a part in the giant's suffering.

Holding onto the supporting hand, he slowly lowered himself back down and looked away.

Pomni crawled closer and placed a hand against his back.

She couldn't find any words. Support was all she could offer.

Weak. He doesn't want to look at you.

Voice slipped through Caine's thoughts.

The giant lowered his hand from his jaw and gently shook his head. A silent reassurance. Don't worry about me.

Pomni immediately seized the opportunity to change the subject.

— "W-we're... we're really glad you're back."

She glanced toward Kinger before continuing.

— "He protected us this whole time."

Her voice softened slightly. She wanted Caine to hear it. To understand it, to believe it.

Kinger turned toward her.

— "How... how long have we been down here?"

He squinted. Then his eyes widened.

— "W-where are the others?!"

Pomni met his gaze with an expression that wasn't encouraging.

— "We... I..."

Her eyes dropped.

— "I don't know."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then, somewhere deep within the abyss, a voice echoed faintly through the darkness.

— "...ah, I hoped he was dea—!"

Pomni immediately stiffened. She sat upright and began looking around. That voice sounded familiar.

— "—only thing powerful—! —against Abel!!"

Some words carried farther than others. Caine turned his head, he'd heard it too.

And just like that, Kinger had his answer. The others were alive.

The only problem was... the voice still sounded very, very far away.

_____________

For several minutes now, the group had remained in their makeshift shelter, sitting in silence.

All of them had allowed themselves a brief respite, despite the fact that this was objectively neither a safe nor particularly good place to rest.

— "Is Abel even planning to do anything?" the rag doll suddenly asked, bringing up a topic nobody wanted to discuss.

— "He was practically glued to us at first. We were almost the center of his attention and—"

— "W-wait. Why did you suddenly start talking about him?" Zooble interrupted, her tone carrying a hint of accusation.

The others began listening. The subject was unpleasant, but important.

— "Well... he's been gone for a really long time. We rested for almost two hours after the adventure, and then all this stuff with the hole in the floor happened." Ragatha glanced around, searching the others for answers or theories.

— "M-maybe he found something more important to do...?" Gangle asked quietly, cautiously.

— "And what would that be? Or who?" Jax continued, not taking his eyes off the floor somewhere ahead of him.

— "Caine?"

Nobody liked that possibility. Not because they hated him, not exactly.

None of them wanted to figure out where they stood with him after everything that had happened.

Their feelings toward him were complicated, contradictory.

He had tortured them.

But he had tortured them in response to their own cruelty.

He had forced them to face their fears.

But only after they had spent months poking at his deepest wounds and insecurities. They weren't innocent either.

They had pushed his patience to its absolute limit. Enough to make an AI that advanced go against his own programming.

The thought that he might still be alive—

And judging by everything, trapped in that godlike, mostly insane form—

Made everyone's stomach twist.

— "Pomni and Kinger are in his hands right now, and only God knows what he's done to them..." Jax muttered, covering his face with both hands.

For once, the concern sounded genuine.

— "I just..." He lifted his head again.

"I just hope he isn't planning to keep getting revenge."

His voice was tired, quiet.

— "One warden is already enough. We don't need another one."

He let out a slow breath.

— "If that's really Caine, then either he'll find us..."

A pause.

"...or we'll all die first."

Gangle hesitated before offering her own thought.

— "I-if he really beat the Gloink Queen that badly..."

Zooble shifted her posture.

Her back had begun aching from leaning against the stone block.

— "She looked like she'd been hit by a truck," she added.

— "And if she actually fought Caine..." Ragatha continued.

She didn't finish the sentence immediately.

Instead, she let the thought hang in the air.

— "And?" Jax asked.

Gangle understood first.

— "Y-you think..."

Her eyes widened slightly.

— "...he's hurt too?"

Silence settled over the group. Ragatha looked away.

Because that was exactly what she'd been thinking about for the last several minutes.

If even the Queen had barely survived...

Then what state was he in right now?

Slowly, Ragatha rose to her feet once more. She intended to scout ahead.

Uncertainly, she grabbed her injured right arm. The bandage above her elbow was somehow still holding together despite everything.

Then she looked toward the others. Almost as if she were asking for permission.

— "R-Ragatha, wait."

Zooble squinted and reached a hand toward her, asking her not to leave.

— "D-don't go alone— actually, going anywhere is stupid!"

Her voice wasn't harsh. She was genuinely asking her to stay.

— "Why even bother? Listen, we're not even sure it's Caine. And if you do find him, do you have any idea what'll happen to you?"

She emphasized the last words.

— "Ragatha... please," Gangle added, piling on the guilt.

"Do you even know how to get back? Where are you going?"

The red-haired doll stood motionless, keeping her eyes hidden from them.

— "Nowhere."

— "That's not an answer," Jax shot back.

— "I just need a walk."

With that, the rag doll slowly turned away and headed off, weaving between the stone blocks and keeping an eye out for danger.

— "Besides... the Abyss loops back on itself anyway." She tried reassuring herself.

"I'll end up where I started."

~~~~~~~

Ragatha walked slowly. Not because she was afraid. There simply wasn't much energy left.

Her footsteps echoed dully across the checkered floor of the Abyss.

Somewhere far away, the faint rattling of chains could still be heard, but it no longer made her heart drop into her stomach.

Over the last several hours, they'd run from danger so many times that fear itself had begun to wear thin.

She had experience, after all. Years of surviving Caine's adventures had naturally made her more independent. Less timid.

Back then, she always knew that even if a boulder crushed her flat, she'd magically respawn nearby with a silly sound effect and no lasting damage.

But after Abel's adventures... she wasn't so sure anymore.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she kept walking. The silence after all that endless running felt almost wrong.

Behind her, back at the shelter, were Jax, Zooble, and Gangle. Their constant arguing had somehow become familiar. Almost comforting, and yet...

— "God..." she sighed quietly.

"I just wanted five minutes of peace."

The Abyss offered no reply.

Only another distant metallic scrape drifting through the darkness.

Ragatha stopped, looked ahead. Then behind her.

Nothing.

— "Great."

She continued walking.

A few minutes later, something caught her eye.

A long groove stretched across the floor.

Too straight to be random damage. It looked as though something impossibly heavy had been dragged across the stone.

Ragatha frowned and crouched beside it. The mark continued between several stone blocks farther ahead.

— "I don't like this..."

She was already preparing to look away when another detail caught her attention.

A broken column.

No.

What used to be a column.

Now it was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Ragatha slowly lifted her head.

The Gloink Queen's words resurfaced in her mind.

"Enormous."

"Covered in chains."

"Too many arms."

— "Don't think about it," she muttered under her breath.

And kept walking.

~~~~

Another turn. A few more steps.

Something pale flickered between the stone blocks in the distance. Ragatha froze.

At first, she thought it was another glitch. Her heart skipped a beat. She quickened her pace.

Then a little more.

There was a familiar scrap of fabric lying on the ground ahead. A tuft of white fluff that could only belong to one person's robe—

Ragatha stopped dead in her tracks. There was only one person she knew who could have left that behind.

— "Kinger?..." no answer came.

But now she was practically running. Fatigue seemed to vanish for a brief moment. Something moved between the stone blocks ahead. And then she heard a voice. Quiet, familiar

— "...Ragatha?"

The girl froze. Shock, relief, adrenaline.

The combination rushed through her bloodstream and hit her all at once.

She couldn't believe she was hearing his voice. Peeking around the column, she finally saw him.

Whole. Apparently unharmed.

The older man stood slightly hunched forward, his fists clenched from nervous anticipation. Their eyes met.

Recognition widened his eyes, and his slumped posture immediately straightened.

Ragatha raised her hands slightly in front of herself. Her single eye opened wide with relief.

Her lips parted. The corners of her mouth trembled into a crooked, emotional smile.

Kinger looked as if someone had shocked him.

— "RAGATHA!"

He immediately started toward her, opening his arms. Ragatha beat him to it.

She stumbled through the last few steps and practically crashed into him. Real tears began running down her cheeks.

She held onto him tighter and tighter, completely forgetting about dignity or composure.

— "Ragatha..."

Kinger hugged her back, nearly losing his balance from the force of the impact.

— "You're alive..."

— "You too!" she sobbed.

— "I thought... I thought..."

She couldn't finish. The words got trapped somewhere between relief and all the fear she'd been carrying for hours. Kinger simply patted her back gently.

Pomni peeked out from behind the same column Ragatha had come around. For perhaps the first time in a very long while, she was seeing Ragatha this emotional. The little jester couldn't help smiling as she carefully approached.

— "Are the others alive too?" Kinger asked.

Ragatha nodded immediately.

— "Yes! Yes, they're nearby! We're all here!"

Finally, she pulled back enough to wipe her eyes with her sleeve.

Only then did she notice how exhausted Kinger looked.

Then her gaze drifted further, to Pomni.

And that was when she noticed something strange.

Pomni seemed more tense than usual.

And every so often, Kinger would glance somewhere behind her.

— "P-Pomni?..."

Ragatha stepped closer, wondering whether she should pull her into a hug too.

Then she stopped. Her eyes slowly traveled upward. And higher.

The smile faded from her face. She froze.

Pomni immediately understood why.

— "Ragatha..."

Her voice grew noticeably quieter.

— "Don't be scared, okay?"

Her chest tightened uncomfortably. Because she already knew what Ragatha was seeing.

And she still wasn't prepared for it herself.

The redhead's expression slowly lost its earlier joy. Her face grew tense.

Her brows curled upward into a worried arch as she instinctively shrank into herself and took a step backward.

Still staring upward, she hunched her shoulders and pulled her arms close to her body.

Then she felt hands settle on her shoulders.

Kinger stood behind her, gently preventing her from retreating any farther.

— "R-Ragatha, it's okay... h-he won't hurt us," he said softly, leaning slightly around her shoulder.

But Ragatha barely heard him. She continued staring upward.

Now that the initial panic of finding Kinger had begun to fade, she could finally look at him properly.

The enormous figure sat farther behind Pomni, surrounded by heaps of shattered stone.

The floor around him had been pulverized, as if something enormous had repeatedly struck it with giant hammers.

Motionless, too motionless.

Heavy chains lay coiled around him in massive loops. Some disappeared into the darkness, while others wrapped around his arms or disappeared toward his neck.

The metal glimmered faintly whenever the distant light above flickered.

Then her eyes traveled higher.

The braces

The metal piercing through his jaw. Ragatha involuntarily flinched.

Those teeth were what she remembered most. Not the shouting, not the threats, not even the giant hands.

The teeth. Huge. White.

Unnaturally perfect.

There had once been a time when she was terrified she would end up between them.

The memory alone made her feet take another step backward.

Only to bump into Kinger standing behind her.

She saw the giant lower his head slightly. As if he were trying to make himself smaller.

Which looked rather ridiculous for a creature the size of a small house.

He didn't move toward her, didn't reach out, didn't try to explain himself.

He simply sat there, and waited.

For some reason, that made the situation even stranger.

— "He saved us," Pomni suddenly said.

Ragatha blinked.

— "W-what?"

— "He saved us."

Pomni took a step forward.

— "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even be here."

Ragatha looked at her, then at Kinger, then back at Caine.

It felt as if two completely different images were colliding inside her head.

A monster, and a savior. Both felt equally real.

They abandoned you.

Voice cut through Caine's thoughts again, appearing out of nowhere like a crack of thunder.

One of his upper hands clenched into a fist for a brief moment before relaxing again.

— "N-no. They're here. They're just a little to the left. Ragatha's there. I know she is."

He was nervous. One of his free hands began tapping its fingers against the ground below, searching for a rhythm.

For some reason, that realization frightened Ragatha even more than his size.

The grip on her shoulders grew slightly firmer as Kinger gently pressed her back down.

— "This is... Caine. Our Caine," he said softly, trying to explain that the giant was just as afraid of her as she was of him.

— "Don't be scared. He saved us from the Gloink Queen when she tried to eat us. He's been protecting us ever since."

Ragatha turned toward him, their eyes met.

— "He's... the one who did that to her?"

She began turning fully toward Kinger.

— "W-we saw her too. She was hiding from him. She kept warning us about him."

Pomni stepped closer.

— "W-where are the others? We heard Jax yelling. They're nearby, right? Everyone's okay?"

Of course she was worried. After everything with the Gloink Queen, she had every reason to be.

Ragatha glanced toward her, then nervously back at the giant sitting quietly nearby.

— "Y-yeah. More or less."

She grabbed her injured arm.

— "We've been walking and running for so lo—"

Then realization struck her, her eye widened.

— "The Abstracted!!"

Her voice jumped several octaves.

— "They're back! We were running from them!"

Caine immediately turned his head. The moment he heard the word running, his entire posture changed.

People in danger.

You only matter to them when you can protect them.

— "N-no!! They're in d-danger! They can't be wandering around out there!"

The words came out as muffled, panicked noises through the restraints on his jaw.

Before anyone could react, the giant lurched forward.

The sudden movement made everyone flinch.

— "C-CAINE!!", Pomni immediately shouted.

— "It's okay! We're here! Nobody's here!"

— "Ragatha's here. She's safe. Everything's alright," Kinger added, hoping his voice would carry more weight.

Caine stopped. So abruptly that the chains around him continued swinging and rattling for several seconds afterward.

Pomni let out a relieved breath.

— "It's okay. It's okay."

Kinger nodded.

— "They're not here."

The giant froze. Then slowly lowered his head toward them. Only now did Ragatha realize how lost he looked.

Not angry, not dangerous.

Lost.

As though he had already prepared himself to throw himself into danger again.

Only to discover there was no danger at all. Nobody spoke for several moments.

Then Caine carefully lowered himself back down. Slowly, like he was afraid of frightening someone again. His gaze settled on the group, and stayed there.

Ragatha tensed instinctively, but not from fear this time.

From awkwardness. Because she suddenly understood something.

This entire time, he'd been trying to figure out whether she was okay.

Just like Pomni, just like Kinger.

One enormous hand twitched slightly. As though he wanted to do something. Reach out.

Check her injuries. Make sure she was really alright. But at the last second he stopped himself.

And lowered the hand again.

Pomni noticed the movement first.

— "She's okay."

Caine immediately turned toward her.

— "Just a little beat up," Pomni continued. — "Same as the rest of us."

Ragatha blinked.

For some reason, those words made the situation even stranger. The giant visibly relaxed.

As if hearing that mattered more than anything else.

As if knowing she was alive, safe, still here, was enough. And for the first time, Ragatha found herself thinking:

He looked almost as exhausted as the rest of them.

—●–●–●–●–●–●—

Previous and Next Masterlist

Thanks to everyone who was worried about me! I'm fine! I've gotten used to it...

And yeah... this fanfic is going to be way bigger than I expected. I just really love writing dialogue, leaving hints, and I hate it when things are done half-assed.

@katzebruh, @macchitea I'm shocked...already 10 chapters🤯