“EMOTIONAL WHIRLWIND” - CAINE X POMNI FAN-FICTION !
Ft. Some old showtime plushie photos I took
(guys also, I’d like to add, I’m not extremely talented at writing so you may not think this is all that good, I struggle with describing things so please bear with me LMAO.. 🤒)
She had done it this time, she had finally cracked at him, told him how all he was doing was harming everyone, how he was failing at his main purpose, to entertain, to keep everyone happy and safe.
She couldn’t keep it in her anymore, she lost it at him in heat of the moment after today’s adventure, he had fully crossed the line this time and took things way too far, the adventure ended in everyone injured and emotionally scarred from what had happened, everyone nearly at the brink of abstraction due to how disturbing this specific adventure was.
Pomni couldn’t control herself, she was angry at Caine. Well, angry was an understatement, she was furious with him and she lost her temper completely, screaming harmful words at him without even realising, she didn’t care in the moment, she hoped that her words would sting him, like a stab to the heart, maybe that would knock some sense into him, maybe that would stop him from torturing everyone, maybe for once he would do his job correctly, fulfil his purpose.
After the incident everyone went off to their rooms to reflect on themselves, everyone needed some alone time after that adventure, nobody had heard a word from Caine since, pomni could only recall leaving the main part of the circus making her way to her room whilst looking behind her, seeing Caine just floating there in silence after the words she had spat out at him, she didn’t care however, maybe it did him some good, she thought. she was too hurt to even bother with him at the moment so she left him there alone, like the rest of the circus members did.
After a short while of being up in her room, laying on her bed, pomni jumped up in fear as she could hear commotion going on outside her room, but not just any commotion, it sounded worser than that, almost like there was a storm brewing outside of her room, she knew she had to check it out so she pushed her legs over the edge of the bed, letting her feet land on the ground, as she stood up she cautiously made her way over to her bedroom door, resting her hand on the door and turning the doorknob, carefully opening the door to see what was going on, on the other side.
A quick scream left pomni’s mouth before she slammed the door shut and fell right onto the bedroom floor, landing on her back, her body beginning to shake in fear a little as she had never seen anything like it before, she couldn’t even picture in her head what she had just saw, as she sat herself up again, she began realising that she needed Caine, she needed Caine to fix this, everything was a mess and she needed him, she had to brave it and attempt to leave her room.
She got up on her two feet once again and headed for the door, opening it carefully once again, her eyes widening in fear of what she was seeing in front of her very own eyes, the whole circus was nowhere to be seen, all you could see were the doors to everyone else’s rooms, but everything else was hallow, objects flying and hitting everywhere, if you looked around carefully you could see objects from specific adventures pomni and the circus members had been on before, it was almost as if pomni was in the middle of a tornado, everything was flying everywhere, pomni had to watch her step so she didn’t get injured.
She looked down, there didn’t seem to be a floor, everything around her looked like a black void, the rooms of the circus members looked as if they were floating on air, pomni was scared to leave her room, unsure where it would take her but she knew she had to brave it in order to save the other circus members by finding Caine and getting him to fix it. she then took her first step out of her room, one of her eyebrows raising as there was almost an invisible-like floor below her, she could feel some sort of surface with her feet, once she felt that she was relieved knowing she wouldn’t fall into any dark void anytime soon.
After that she took herself fully out of her room, closing the door and making her way down what was once the hallway to all the bedrooms, as she kept walking, keeping her hands to herself, she would look around at all the objects flying around everywhere, as she walked she could see the gloinks from the first time she had arrived at the circus, they were flying around, hitting invisible walls, every now and again pomni would have to duck or dodge for her own safety as majority of the objects were massive and she was so close to getting badly injured, luckily for her she was a quick mover, so she found this relatively easy.
She called out, extending her voice, trying to find out where Caine was, just like the first time she had entered this circus, her voice echoed, surprisingly loud as she kept walking through this mess, glancing around at all the objects that were flying and zooming around all over the place, some objects glitching, as pomni was distracted a massive multi-coloured pink lollipop flew right at her, she screamed in surprise and ducked, letting the lollipop pass her, the lollipop seemed to be the same lollipop’s that were at the canyon candy kingdom, pomni’s second ever adventure here at this circus.
As she tried to manage her stress she began to move again, she just kept walking, no idea where she was walking, everything around her was just a black void, yet somehow she was still walking on a surface, she turned her head and looked behind her, noticing that the doors of the circus members bedrooms were getting further and further away from her, floating in the air, or so it looked like, pomni only hoped that everyone was safe and still in their rooms, this was extremely dangerous for everyone, Caine really doesn’t listen, does he? She thought.
Speaking of Caine, he was still nowhere to be seen, which was odd, surely he would be trying to fix this by now, I mean it looked as if his whole world was falling apart, pomni was amazed that he wasn’t in plain sight, trying to fix things like he always does, as that thought crossed her mind, she began to wonder if Caine really was all that bad, I mean he DID always try to fix his mistakes and he DID always try his best to make the adventures slightly more to everyone’s liking, yet somehow his adventures were still traumatising.
Pomni felt a pit in her tummy as she thought these things, guilt rushing over her as she began to feel some sort of sympathy for Caine, she didn’t want to feel bad for him, she didn’t want to feel anything at all for him, she was so sure that he just didn’t care, I mean why else would he keep making these terrible adventures? If he cared so much about everyone, surely everyone would feel safe and comfortable around him, but they don’t. Pomni tried to ignore her sense of guilt for Caine as she kept walking, however, just as she was about to open her mouth and call for him, she could hear muffled crying in the distance.
Pomni couldn’t make out where the crying was coming from so she began to pick up her pace, running into the middle of nowhere, unsure where her feet would take her but she tried to run into the direction where the crying was coming from, dodging flying objects or anything that flew her way whilst she was running over the invisible-like floor, she slowly began to run out of breath. But that’s when she saw someone in the distance, a familiar face, it was Caine, hunched over, it was him. He was the one who was crying, pomni felt her heart sink.
She uttered out a stupid question, fully aware that it was him, however he didn’t reply to her, he just continued to quietly cry, leaving the circus around them in a complete mess, he didn’t seem to care, all he seemed to be focused on was crying, pomni looked over at him with some sympathy now, stepping closer to him, she was getting closer and closer to being right behind him until he finally spoke up.
“Please stay away from me, I don’t want to harm you anymore. It’d be for the best if you didn’t come any further.”
He explained in a pain filled voice, his voice cracking as he tried to speak, pomni had never seen this side to him before, even more so now, this was the most emotional she had ever seen him and she was amazed, as she heard his words her heart sank a little more, she had a feeling this may have been about all the things she said to him earlier, he really needed to hear it, but even pomni could admit that she took her words a little too far.
Pomni was at a loss for words, all she could mumble was caine’s name as he sat there hunched over, continuing to cry whilst the circus stayed in a complete mess, objects flying around everywhere, almost hitting pomni whilst she was standing behind Caine, trying to figure out how to solve this situation in the best way possible, but it was hard, she had never seen someone who feels this deeply before.. and she was even more shocked that all of this was coming from an AI.
“Are.. are you doing all of this?..”
Pomni stammered on her words, still amazed by everything that was going on around her, she couldn’t take her eyes off of all the flying objects around her, feeling a sense of nostalgia from certain objects as they appeared to be objects from old adventures, she wasn’t surprised however when Caine wasn’t answering her again, he just sat there in despair, crying quietly, his emotions causing the surroundings around the two of them to intensify more, she found it beautiful in a way, terrifying but beautiful, beautiful that he could express his emotions in such a way, beautiful that he could feel so deeply.
She then shook her head, trying to focus on Caine who was in front of her, pushing any feelings she was feeling towards him aside for a brief moment as she needed time fix this, she needed to focus if she wanted everything to stop around her, but mostly, she wanted him to stop crying, it was reassuring to her that he wasn’t just coding, but she also felt this deep sense of sadness seeing him so hurt like this.
“I’m nothing but a useless piece of technology, I can’t even do what I am programmed to do.”
Caine said with a cracked voice, venting out his feelings as if he couldn’t control it, he was starting to glitch a little himself from the strong emotions he was feeling and everything going on around the circus, he must’ve been in a really bad mental state after what pomni had said to him for his emotions to cause all of this, she was still in shock from how different everything looked. A carousel then zoomed into pomni’s direction, she yelped and dodged it as quick as she could, nearly tripping over on her back as it flew right past her, in front of her and Caine before it flew back up into the black void. Pomni then adverted her gaze back to Caine, who was still curled up crying, she looked at him with fear and worry in her eyes.
Just before pomni could finish her sentence another object flew her way, she ducked as it flew over her head, letting out a shaky breath as she stood back up normally, gazing over at Caine, a strong sense of guilt filling her when she realised that she had caused all of this, her words from earlier caused all of this to happen, she only wanted to knock some sense into him, she didn’t mean for all of this to happen, she didn’t mean to have this much of an impact on him.
“I didn’t mean any of that! I was just upset! I was trying to get you to understand!”
Pomni yelled out desperately at Caine, trying to get him to realise that she really didn’t mean what she had said earlier today, it was just heat of the moment, even she could admit that she was a little too harsh on him. He went silent again for a little while, the only thing you could hear was his muffled crying and the crashing of objects flying everywhere, the intensity of his emotions began to heighten the intensity of the objects flying everywhere, it began to get more and more dangerous as the seconds passed by.
“How could you possibly say you didn’t mean it? I know it’s the truth, all I ever do is harm people.. I wasn’t made to be a ringmaster at all.”
Caine continued to speak in that low tone, his voice filled with hurt, his voice becoming slightly distorted from how intense his emotions were hitting him, pomni’s eyes widened at his words, the pangs of guilt getting worse as she began feeling a deep pit in her tummy, she wasn’t sure how she was going to stop this, she had no idea what to do, it sounded almost as if he had been feeling like this long before she came along.
“Hey, Hey, don’t think like that..”
Was all pomni could blurt out, she then paused again, stuck on what to say or how to comfort him, usually Caine was the energetic, funny guy, you’d never expect him to feel this deeply about things, pomni didn’t even know that he could feel at all, given that he’s an AI, she stared over at him anxiously as her words were doing nothing for him, he just continued to breakdown in front of her, the objects continuing to spin and fly around whilst they were both near each other. As pomni was deep in thought, her words began to form and she began to realise what she needed to say to him.
“I think you’re one of the most advanced pieces of technology I’ve ever seen.. you just.. need a bit of guidance, that’s all.”
She said in a soft tone, trying to take a more gentle approach towards him, and as those words left her mouth, everything around them stopped, she gazed up at the black void around the both of them, watching how all the floating objects froze completely still after she said those couple of words to him, the fear inside pomni slowly fading as she no longer had to worry about any objects hitting her or unexpectedly coming towards her, as she looked back over at Caine she noticed him turn his head, his crying seemed to stop, you could only hear light sniffles coming from him now, he seemed to calm down.
He said under his breath, almost in an endearing way which caused pomni to smile warmly at him.
She said confidently, trying to reassure him, everything came to a stop now after she said those words, he went silent once again, pomni could see he was still deep in thought but she felt like it was okay to approach him now so she took a few quiet steps up beside him and sat herself down on the invisible-like floor below her, scooting up right beside him, gazing at him with affection in her eyes.
“I don’t want to be like this, Pomni, I try my best, I really do, but no matter what I do you all seem to be unsatisfied with me.”
Caine said softly, opening up to pomni about how he was feeling, she somewhat felt closer to him now knowing that this was how he was really feeling, she had really believed he was just an AI, nothing more, she let out a small sigh at his words, frowning at him and gazing up at him with sympathetic eyes as he stared off into the distance, unable to make full eye contact with her as he was too busy drowning in his own guilt of what had happened earlier today, pomni could see in his eyes that he really felt awful for the hurt and upset he had caused the other circus members, especially her.
“Well, you don’t have to be.. it’s not possible to be this way forever, there’s always room for change, you know?..”
Pomni beamed a gentle smile at him, trying to comfort him, as he heard her words he turned his head and looked down at her for a brief moment, making pomni’s heart skip a beat for some reason, he then looked away and turned his body away from hers, making pomni’s smile fade again, he really was quite difficult to get around.
“I would like that, but it’s too late, pomni, I’ve already done more bad than good, I don’t deserve to be the ringmaster of this circus.”
He mumbled under his breath, pomni’s words really weren’t doing a lot for him in this moment, and it didn’t really come to a surprise to pomni, she understood why he was feeling so guilty, but she didn’t believe Caine was a bad person, she quite liked him at times, he was nice company when he was more relaxed instead of invading everyone’s privacy or harming them in adventures. Sometimes they would have conversations where the both of them laughed together, but pomni also had very mixed feelings for Caine, as one minute he would be nice company, then the next minute he would be putting her and everyone in danger.
“Caine, I don’t think you’re a bad person, sometimes I enjoy spending time with you, and sometimes you do get things right.. I just think you need a little guidance.”
Pomni explained, trying to get him to realise that he could change, and that it wasn’t too late, she put on another soft smile, waiting for him to react, but all he did was keep to himself, looking away from her, he didn’t move an inch, he just stared at the ground in despair, he looked like he had a deep hate for himself, he looked almost scared too, scared that if he continued being the ringmaster he’d just end up hurting people and getting it wrong again, the more pomni looked at him the more she could tell just how guilty he was feeling, he had completely shut off, not saying a word to her.
Even though he didn’t believe he was good enough, pomni believed he was good enough, she did have a little disliking to him after consistently harming people from his adventures, but she knew deep down that he could change, and that he could fix things if he tried, even she could admit to herself that Caine was a pretty good ringmaster at times, he was entertaining, the only issue was that he was way too over the top and doesn’t exactly understand boundaries.
“The adventures.. they don’t prevent the abstractions, they make everyone more closer to abstraction if anything.. they’re too extreme and too.. violent, it leaves everyone in a lot of emotional turmoil once the adventure is over.”
Pomni didn’t give up, she kept trying to explain to him what was wrong, what the issues were, she desperately wanted him to understand, she cracked one last smile at him as she said her few last things to him, but she began to realise that her words were making him feel worse due to his body language, there was still no comment, not a single word left him. As she saw him there, gazing down at the invisible-like floor with pure sadness in his eyes, she began to feel that pit grow in her stomach again, there was something about seeing Caine sad that also made her feel sad too.
But not in the usual way, like when the other circus members would feel sad, she felt sad to some extent, but seeing Caine like this almost hurt her on a deeper level, he was usually so lively and bubbly, and in a way, he always lit up the room with his energy, and she liked that about him, he had some great traits, and she did grow to like him at least a little bit, even if he wasn’t the greatest person to be around at times.
As they were sat there, the circus still in a mess and nowhere to be seen, pomni clenched her fists as she thought about what she wanted to say to Caine next, she couldn’t believe what she was about to say, but she knew deep down she meant it, and she knew he needed to hear something like this in a situation like this.
“I think you make a good ringmaster, and.. I’d like to look at the circus again, you know, in all it’s colourful glory…”
She laughed sheepishly and gazed up at all the floating objects that were spread out around the black void surrounding the two of them, whilst she was taking in all the objects around her, caine’s eyes widened at her words, he was surprised to hear her say that she’d like to see his circus again, his body language changed now and he sat up more, he stopped hugging himself and turned his head to look at pomni, his eyes glistening in excitement as he thought about her words. For some reason, he cared about pomni’s opinion more than anyone in that circus, this meant a lot to him.
He said with hope in his voice, pomni’s eyes widened at his words as she realised what she had just said to him, she laughed nervously and scratched the back of her jester hat, glancing up at him quickly before gazing back down at the invisible-like floor, staring down at the black void that was below them.
“I uh.. well, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, I would still really like to go home, and I miss home, but…”
Pomni cut off her words for a moment, thinking about what she was about to say whilst Caine looked at her, his eyes glistening with hope, however she was still yet to notice the way he was looking at her, she was too focused on what she was saying, hoping she wasn’t making a fool out of herself or something.
“If that circus has to be my home, then maybe I wouldn’t mind after all…”
She uttered under her breath, moving her hand to her chest and smiling slightly, thinking about the circus and all the memories she had made so far, because yes, there was lots and lots and LOTS of bad memories, but there was also quite a few good ones too, good memories that she would like to cherish for a long time, if not forever.
“Thank you, pomni, you have no idea how much this means to me.”
Caine said, his voice full of appreciation, he took his hat off of his mouth-like head and held it in his hands, looking at her with a deep longing in his eyes, after hearing her words he also couldn’t help but feel a small blush float just under his eyes, he felt something new, perhaps he would have to check for a bug in his coding later. Pomni turned her head to look up at him now once she heard him say his thank you, her eyes widened as she saw him stare at her, his eyes glistening with hope, which for some reason made her cheeks heat up.
“Uhhh.. Yeah, don’t.. worry about it, it’s really no biggie…”
She laughed nervously, quickly looking away from him again as she felt her cheeks heating up a deeper shade of red, her heart racing as she couldn’t believe she just said all that to him, however, she didn’t feel embarrassed because of what she said, she realised that she was embarrassed because of the way he was looking at her, the way he looked at her with pure longing in his eyes made her feel something, something that she didn’t really want to think about or consider.
The two of them were sat beside one another in silence again, the silence somewhat awkward, well for pomni mainly, she let herself calm down first before she turned her head and gazed up at Caine once more, and to her surprise she found herself reaching her hand out for Caine to hold, opening her mouth to say something to him.
“So.. how about we fix this, then?”
She cracked an awkward smile at him, and to her surprise he gazed down at her hand and he actually took it, placing his hand in hers, but before she had time to think or even express how she felt, everything went black for a brief second before suddenly everything went back to normal, the circus was back, everything was back to just the way it should be, colourful and bright, she gazed down and noticed her and Caine were floating above the main stage, she was a little puzzled on how she was now in the main area of the circus and not in the corridors to the bedrooms, but before she got to react more, a few of the circus members ran out in front of them, looking somewhat distressed, they must’ve seen what was going on just a few moments ago.
“Caine, thank god you fixated the issue! I was starting to think I’d never be able to find my insect collection again..”
Kinger cheered before going back to his usual self and dissociating, pomni noticed zooble standing next to him however, their eyes seemingly scanning her and Caine.
“Yeah, that’s cool and all but.. Pomni.. why on Earth are you holding caine’s hand?..”
Zooble raised an eyebrow, their voice stern and confused as they gazed at pomni holding caine’s hand, once pomni heard zooble’s words she instantly yanked her hand away from caine’s, her eyes wide and her cheeks going red once again from pure embarrassment.
“UHHH.. OH GOD! CAINE! I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise!”
She blurted out, looking at Caine with wide eyes, her cheeks a bright red whilst Caine turned to her, his teeth curving into what seemed like a smile as he let her float back down onto the surface.
“It’s quite alright, my dear! I don’t mind whatsoever!”
Caine spoke out in his usual, happy voice before floating away from pomni and instead heading towards the other circus members who were right in front of him, zooble was still looking over at pomni in confusion before they adverted their gaze back up to Caine.
“Now, my superstars, I believe we have a few things we need to change!”
Pomni heard Caine speak out cheerfully in the distance, an affectionate smile formed on her face now as she heard his words, he really was willing to change for everyone, she felt her heart skip a beat a little, realising he really did care for the circus and everyone living in it, it made her appreciate him just a little bit more.
He really was a good ringmaster, she thought to herself.
HERE ARE A COUPLE OF OLD SHOWTIME PLUSHIE PHOTOS I ALSO TOOK, I TOOK THESE A FEW MONTHS BACK AND THOUGHT THEY’D GO WELL WITH THIS POST.
Anyways guys, I hope you liked the fic, I’m not great at writing, like I said, but hopefully you guys were able to enjoy it 🙏🙏
