#ler!ragatha

Fallback Procedure Begin

They might have pushed Caine a little too far this time. This wasn't even the worst of it, but he was still going a little crazy and they needed to find a stop to it. Fast.

Pomni's idea was to put a bucket on Kingers head for some darkness. Her and Ragatha understood, and soon, so did the others. On why this was important. It would bring him to sanity. It just took way longer than normal.

"Hey Pomni" Kinger spoke softly.

Finally!!

Said Jester filled him in and they started with phase two of the plan.

Jax was already distracting the ringmaster. The others would join him soon enough as well while Pomni haunted for a computer for now bucket Kinger. She walked through the halls of the fake exit door once again, like she did when she first arrived, before grabbing the old computer with her transporting the hefty object to the chess peice.

"Do you need help with power or anything?" Pomni asked handing the keyboard to him.

"Nah, I can use my imagination for that"

Pomni took a deep breath

"You got this?"

"...I think so" Kinger spun the bucket around to the back of it as if it was a baseball cap. Even in serious times like this Kinger always knew how to pull some humor out of things. Even if he didn't realize it himself.

Kinger took a deep breath, pressing the button as it turned on. "It sure has been a while...I might need some time to get my bearings. Try to help the others distract Caine while I figure this out. He may sense something when I really get into it"

"Oh-Okay! I-I'll do that!" Pomni got up, determined to do her best to help everyone.

She moved towards the others away from the pillow fort. Or his impenetrable fortress as he calls it. Before stopping to thank him for helping them out with this and for everything.

Kinger watches her leave with longing before getting to work on hacking into Caines code.

This distraction turned into the biggest fit of Caines life. He finally snapped and now it was everyone's problem. The man glitched out so hard his voice got glitchy and deeper and he grew four more arms. Grabbing everyone in a rage he brought them to his face.

"Im gonna put you freaks in your place!" He threw them all into a dark space torturing them with their greatest fears and biggest insecurities.

Kinger got closer and closer to getting it but the code kept fighting back. He couldn't get the right password for an admin overdrive and he was freaking out trying to get everything together in time before Caine gave up and could find him.

Caine soon ripped everyone out of there and pinned them to the wall with his new five armed form. He was shouting at them about purpose and what he does for them all. Angry. Confused. Hurt. Crazy.

Kinger found Caines file during this time and accidentally clicked a button. The fallback system had begun. Everything was resetting, he had no control.

"Wait! No! S#!t!" He scrambled to try and fix it but nothing would work. The damage was done.

Caine suddenly popped over in normal form 7 feet away from everyone. Dropping everyone in the process due to the loss of the other hands. He couldn't move. The only functions he could use were his eyes and mouth, his body was still. Everyone stared up at him frozen. Unsure of what was happening but all assuming it was Kingers doing.

"But. Wait-"

Kinger walked out bucket still on his head looking at him too.

"What did you DO!?" Caine yelled "I can't move! You–" He paused mid sentence a wobbly smile starting to grace his features.

Kinger shrugged "I'm not exactly sure...but it seems to be working, you're stuck"

Caine tried his best to hold it in but he knew he can't hold on for long. Jax was the first to notice.

"Whats up with your face?" He spoke in a curious yet sassy way.

Canie huffed "N-Nothing! STOP ASKING!" Jax rolled his eyes and shrugged. The feeling kept spreading. Like tiny electric currents running all over his system.

Kinger jumped in "Caine...?"

"MHm?" He answered trying not to giggle.

"What are you feeling, physically?" The chess peice had an idea but he wasn't sure. Was something hurting him maybe?

"N-Nohothing! Shut up!"

There it was. Pomni got it right away.

"Oh my god...Caine? Are you ticklish? Is this tickling you right now? Whatever Kinger did" she said being a bit blunt but curious.

"N-NO! I-I'm nOhot!–this isn't!–I'M not a hUman, I don't understand?!–I don't hAhave! Such–!" He paused to hold his giggles back again.

"Oh my god! Thihis is gold!" Jax laughed a little and smirked.

his body slowly floated to the floor without his control. "H-Hey! NO! No no NO!"

"Well would you look at that" Zooble crossed their arms and stared at him struggling.

They all stood over their ringmaster as he burst out laughing on the floor. Unable to do anything about it.

Nobody knew how to feel. They all just looked as he laughed his head off and kept himself stuck in a t-pose.

"TUHuhurN IhIhihIT OHoHoff!!" He closed his eyes as Kinger looked at the computer sitting still, comfortably, inside his fortress. The loading bar read 66% complete. No wonder he was feeling it more now. But this was only 66% was Caine really that sensitive?

"I'm sorry Caine, I can't do anything until it loads completely. The fallback system is at 66%"

"Look at how the tables have turned!" Jax spoke up, the smirk in his tone more prominent then ever.

"Its kinda cute" Gangle spoke with a little giggle.

Ragatha smiled with her "a little yeah, its a complete switch up from what we were just experiencing..."

Caine groaned through his laughter in frustration "I AM NoHOT CUTE! I AHaM sTihihiLL GOD!!"

Pomni smirked "a pretty weak God if you're this ticklish at only 66%"

Caine tried to put on a mad face but its hard when a lot of your attention is being taken up by little ticklish jolts that keep increasing by the second.

"78% now" Kinger smiled

"You're moving up in numbers Caine! Maybe if we help you out it'll go by faster~" Jax smirked wiggling his fingers stepping closer to where Caine lay. The others catching on fast and all loving the idea.

"A chance for some well deserved revenge!" Zooble stepped up to him as well.

"This does seem like a fair trade for torturing us before" Gangle spoke joining them to where Caine was.

The other two, Pomni and Ragatha smirked at each other then at Caine as they walked to him as well. Kinger joined them too but kept an eye on the computer mostly.

"N-No...g-G-Guhuys WAhahait! I'm Sorry! I was Juhust alittle mAhahad! No neheed to Doho! This!" Caine tried to defend his case but it was too late.

"A little mad?" Pomni replied sarcastically

"Okay a lohot mad! But–"

"No but's! You had this coming!" Ragatha smirked again

"C-Cohome On! I–"

"85%"

With that, everyone began. All 60 wiggling fingers targeted every single spot on Caines body that could potentially be ticklish. It was a sensory overload. Caines AI couldn't process what was happening fast enough so his systems were getting weaker making it only tickle more.

"NOHOHO" Caines voice started getting glitchy again but in a more silly way this time.

"Awwww! Is our ringmaster a little ticklish?~" Jax teased.

"I bet it tickles so much huh Caine?~" Pomni joined in.

"STOHOHOHOP SHUHUT UHUHUP!"

"You're so adorable like this! I like this giggly version much better!" Ragatha smiled and continued.

"Tickle Tickle Tickle~" Gangle joined in on the teasing. Her tone light but teasy.

"You deserve this Caine, serves you right for thinking we'd let you get away with what you did" Zooble added to it.

"90%" Kinger called out with a smirk. His floating hands of tickly doom for Caine where under and on top of his left knee.

Gangle got under his right knee and thigh, her ribbons feeling like feathers to those areas.

Zooble and Ragatha got his underarms.

Pomni was on his ribs.

And Jax got his stomach.

No spot was left untickled. Caine was short circuiting. He didn't know if he loved it or hated it. It was all very confusing, but he couldn't think about it. He couldn't process anything but the tickles.

"It looks like I was right again Caine, our tickles are helping the system move faster~" Jax wiggled into his stomach a little harder at faster. Caine snorted and the area around him like the couch and a peice of the wall started glitching.

"You're almost there Caine, you can handle a bit more of this right?~" Pomni teased and moved her fingers down his ribs.

"STOHOHOHOP IHIHHIT! TUHUHURN IT OHOHOHOFF!" He squeaked as Kinger pinched his thigh too. Everyone still tickling him all at once.

"I already told ya buddy I can't, not until the systems finished resetting"

Zooble smirked "For now you're just gonna have to deal with this" they dragged a claw down his arm before going back to his underarm on the right.

"STOHOHOHOP!"

"Sorry Caine! But if it helps you look adorable" Ragatha smirked "Tickletickletickletickle!" She giggled herself and continued to tickle his left underarm.

Caine blushed through his laughter.

"Awwww!" Ragatha and Gangle said at the same time.

"Theres that smile~" Gangle teased as he moved faster under his right knee making him snort again.

"Like a little piggy" Jax joked as Ragatha scolded him

"Jax!"

"What?"

"NAHAHAHA!" His laughter was so loud. It was adorable, but if they weren't all due for some revenge majority of them would've needed to plug their ears.

"99%" Kinger exclaimed as they all got faster, their tickling and teasing becoming more and more intense.

"I'm gonna getcha!"

"Look at you~ so weak, so ticklish~"

"We should've done this to you ages ago"

"Tickle Tickle Tickle~"

...pop...

Caine disappeared and reappeared outside of the circle. Fully in control of his body again. The tickling and teasing came to an abrupt halt. They all looked over at him as Caine looked down in embarrassment and regret.

"100%" Kinger smiled "How you feeling buddy?"

Canie sighed "I-I'm okay...I'm just...sorry...for everything..."

Their features softened ever so slightly.

"Caine..." Pomni said

"No...I was awful to you all...and I know you can't forgive me, at least not yet! But I promise I'll be a better host. I'll try to be from here on out..." He spoke sincerely.

Jax shrugged and put his hands behind his head acting like he doesn't care. "Whatever"

"Thats a start" Zooble said

It would take awhile for things to change for good. But, this was a good start.

"And if you don't change at all well...we might just have to give you another system reset~" Pomni smirked wiggling her fingers at him making him gasp and fly away at the speed of light.

Everyone laughed before heading separate ways to try and rest.

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I fixed the ending >:]

It feels like such a long time ago since the Guns adventure.

There's no real way to tell how long it has actually been, since the Circus doesn't mark time with days or nights or months or years. There's nothing tethering you to the timeline; you just keep floating.

It feels like such a long time ago. And also like no time at all.

Speaking of time, it is almost time for breakfast. Kinger had better make his way down to the dining hall and catch up with the others. Breakfast used to be his favorite meal of the day, at least he thinks it was. Memories of breakfast came with memories of dust freckling the air amidst sunbeams, and birds singing merrily as the world awakened anew. The world was still relatively quiet, but it would hum lightly with the sounds of people driving to work or walking their dogs. The smell of hot breakfast would waft through the house and entice anyone nearby with its enchanting aroma. The best part of Kinger's mornings though were when he could share them with...

He has trouble finishing his thought.

Something is incomplete. He didn't live all alone. He had someone there with him, someone that he shared everything with. Who was it? Why couldn't he remember?

Oh! There's Zooble!

"Good morning, Zooble!"

Zooble gives him a sleepy wave in return. This must be one of her better mornings, sometimes she offers little more than an exasperated grunt.

He sits down with the others at the banquet table, instantly warmed by the sight of all of his friends together. They are making small talk, (something something Caine acting strange, something something character awards, something something...) he can't really get a grasp on whatever it is. Just as their meal is coming to a close, Caine appears with a loud pop! levitating above the table. Ah, it must be time for another adventure! How exciting!

Kinger does not notice that the rest of the table does not share his enthusiasm.

They collectively groan. Caine looks unfazed.

"Good morrow, you salt-licking scallywags!" he crows.

"What-" Zooble starts.

"Who's ready for a swashbuckling, hair-raising adventure! Can anyone guess the theme?"

"It's f*%^& pirates-"

"IT'S F- hey- ITS PIRATES!" Caine cheers as he poofs them aboard a pirate ship. They are now currently sailing on crystal blue waters headed towards a distant horizon.

Pomni instantly turns a sickly shade of green.

"Oh god. I'm not too good, herp, out on the water" she groans.

Jax's grin widens. "Whaaaaat? You telling me you don't like the back-and-forth rocking of the boat? The salty sea air? The smell of slimy fish?"

"Jax!" Ragatha scolds as she moves to support Pomni, now looking more nauseated than before.

"Alright my daring adventurers, here's the game! You will all gather into three groups of two. One team will be the prisoners of war of Team A. Team B must hijack Team A's ship and rescue the prisoners. Through any means necessary..." Caine cuts off darkly, eyes wandering out into space. He suddenly snaps back into the present. "Good luck!"

And with that, he's gone.

The players then split off into their own teams. Zooble makes a beeline to partner with Gangle, Jax grabs a hold of a reluctant Pomni, and Ragatha approaches Kinger to ask if he would be her partner. Of course, he accepts happily. It's been a while since the two of them got a chance to team up together. At least, he thinks it has.

In an instant, Jax and Pomni poof into thin air.

"AAGH! JAX! POMNI! WHERE'D THEY GO?!" Kinger screams frantically.

"Over here!" cries a faint voice.

The remaining players follow the sound to see another pirate ship some distance away, Jax and Pomni standing on the deck.

"I guess the game has started," Ragatha chuckles awkwardly. "So, which of us are going to be the prisoners?"

Gangle and Zooble glance at each other.

The next thing Kinger knows, he's sitting in a dark jail cell below the deck of the ship next to Ragatha. The darkness brings him back to his senses within seconds. He can feel his mind clear and his rationale return full force.

"Well, at least we've got some peace and quiet" Ragatha says, although they both know she isn't nearly as happy as she appears.

Kinger smiles cheerfully. "I'm sure they'll come for us in no time. And hey! While we're here, we can find something else to pass the time with!"

The ship groans. Floorboards creak. Rats squeal. Both of them look at each other, neither of them having anything to say.

After a few awkward moments, Ragatha mutters, "Yeah I've got nothing."

Admittedly, neither does Kinger. He supposes there are worse things than boredom. A peaceful moment in the Circus is not something to be taken for granted. He at least is happy to be here with his oldest friend, who, despite her silence, looks troubled with thought. He has learned to recognize that look over the years. Her eye is just a little unfocused, glazed even, like she's watching something very far away. Maybe there's something on her mind she wants to talk about. Although, maybe the fact that she hasn't brought it up means she doesn't want to talk about it. He should ask just in case.

Before Kinger can start talking, Ragatha does first.

"You know, I don't think I ever properly thanked you for what you did the other day."

With startling clarity, Kinger remembers what she's referring to. Their talk in the Loser's Corner.

Gosh, that was only just a few days ago, wasn't it?

Ragatha continues. "I tend to get... trapped in my own head sometimes. It was really nice what you did for me."

Something is warm deep in Kinger's chest. "Oh, it was no problem. I'm always here if you need to talk to a friend."

"Right, of course! But uh... I- I actually was referring to... to the- you know..."

He's not sure what specifically she's referring to if not their talk. Was he thinking of the wrong memory?

His confusion must be written all over his face, because Ragatha tries again to explain.

"You know... the thing... after we talked..." Ragatha says through a clenched smile, exaggeratingly drumming her fingers on her lap.

It hits him. "Ohhhh! You mean the tickling-?"

She explodes with babbles and gibberish like he's just spoken a terrible secret.

"SHH- I- yes," she clears her throat, "that thing."

Ohhhhh that's right. He forgot that she was pretty shy about this kind of stuff. He still doesn't quite get why, but then it doesn't really matter so long as Ragatha is comfortable.

"It's really not as big an ask as you think. I'm glad it made you so happy" he grins warmly, remembering how bright her smile had been. How carefree her laughter. It isn't often that Kinger gets to see her that way. It saddens him a little. She is such a wonderful soul. She should get to be that happy all the time.

He is suddenly pulled from his thoughts by Ragatha's voice.

"Does it make you happy?" she asks.

The attention pointed at him makes him blink owlishly.

"Getting tickled?"

Ragatha nods.

He doesn't have an answer right away, which is odd for him. He turns the question over in his head curiously like a Rubik's cube. He hasn't given it much thought for such a long time. Not since his wife was there.

"I think so? It's been such a long time," he chuckles bashfully, "Queenie used to do it all the time."

"Queenie?"

"My wife," he says wistfully, not noticing Ragatha's perplexed expression, "She'd attack me when I would get on her nerves, or be stupid, or really any reason. She always knew how to make life fun, even when things looked pointless."

He feels himself smiling like a doofus, but thankfully his cartoonish head doesn't show it.

Ragatha is watching him now, something sinister forming at the corners of her lips. It makes him nervous.

"You know, you've been lookin' real glum lately, Kinger," Ragatha notes with a pep in her voice, sounding almost artificial, "And as your friend, I think it's high time I return the favor!"

He catches the meaning in her tone, suddenly realizing that he hasn't been glum lately and she knows it. He's played this game before; that tone means he's about to be in deep trouble.

Soft giggles leave him like they've done this a million times before. His smile almost hurts now with how big it's grown. He tries to talk his way out of this metaphorical corner; tries to negotiate his way out of his sentence, but every word he tries to form gets overpowered by his nervous laughter. He can't help it.

It's kind of adorable seeing Ragatha's sudden display of mischief. It's like watching a kitten pretend to hunt you; you just can't not play along. He feels so much pride for her when she's around, and especially right now, seeing her work up the confidence to challenge him like this. He hopes she's not just doing this because she thinks he wants her to. He doesn't want to be another person she has to take care of.

"You don't have to do this, you know" Kinger laughs.

"Will you fight me if I do?" Ragatha raises her eyebrows at him.

Will he?

He doesn't have to think about it for long. No, he decides, he won't. He can spare a few moments to pal around with his friend. After all, it's only fair that she get a chance to get him back.

He shakes his head.

Smiling, Ragatha starts to scoot closer to him, making him lean back preemptively until he's practically italicized.

"Let's see just how ticklish this king really is," she taunts as she reaches her plush hands out to him and squeezes his side.

"AH!" Kinger yelps, curling in on Ragatha's hands. That motion might have trapped them there were it not for his armless noodle body. He is properly laughing now, the chortles and titters and squeaks just funneling out of him. Unlike his friend, he isn't ashamed of his physiological reactions to tickling. It's all just coding; a neurological mechanism designed to prepare our bodies for danger. In instances like these, neurological quirks could be fun. Does that mean he doesn't feel downright ridiculous laughing like a maniac? Nope.

Ragatha is laughing with him too, or is she laughing at him? He can't quite tell, but the sound of it makes him laugh more. He can only imagine how silly he looks right now.

Her hands are squeezing up and down the length of his trunk in all sorts of little nooks and crannies that he didn't consider would be ticklish. Well, now he knows.

Ragatha says in-between laughs, "How am I only just learning this about you? We've known each other for how many years now?"

"Very mahanhany," he replies with all the spare breath he can muster, his voice wobbly.

"Very many indeed," she agrees. "Where's your worst spot?"

"I dohohon't knohow," Kinger huffs innocently. He does know. He very well does know, but that is particularly sensitive information (if you can excuse the pun) and you don't just hand that information over just like that.

Ragatha hums. "Hmm. I guess I'll just have to find it myself! How abouuuuut over here?"

"Wait!" Kinger shouts before cackling maniacally. She had reached behind him and was now poking sharply at the center of his back, where a spine would have been. His body is thrown backwards, almost falling off the bench. But Ragatha catches him with one hand, effectively holding him in place.

"Oop! Easy does it, there," she chirps playfully, with a sunshine in her tone that could light up a room. "Gotta say, I didn't think this would work this well. I'm glad it did though, you could use a good laugh."

He can't say that he disagrees. This is fun. Maddening, but fun!

Ragatha steadies him back onto the bench, before clawing his front and his back with her hands, trapping him in a sort of ticklish sandwich.

Kinger starts to wheeze as he is lost to ticklish ecstasy. Not that he's not having fun, but he isn't sure how much more of this he can take!

With incredibly fortunate timing, Ragatha says, "Here, I'll just tickle your worst spot for a minute and then I'll stop, where is it again?"

Nice try, Ragatha. He's not falling for that one.

"I'hihihim nohohot telling you thahahat!" He cries.

"So you do know where it is! I can't believe you lied to me!" She gasps, pretending like she's offended.

"Because you're gonna tickle it!"

"Well yeah silly! That's the whole point."

He supposes it would be in good sportsmanship to tell her his spot, since he had agreed to this little game in the first place. He readies himself to speak-

"You know what, let me try up here! Haven't tickled here yet" Ragatha says.

Before he knows what's happening, he feels Ragatha lightly grabbing around his neck, squeezing ever so gently here and there.

Kinger begins to cackle wildly, hands flying around, waving at absolutely nothing.

Damn it, she had ended up finding his bad spot anyway.

As soon as he starts snorting, he can hear Ragatha laughing next to him.

"Found it! Really ticklish up here, huh?"

"YEHEHES!"

"Thank you for the honesty" Ragatha says, putting on a fancy voice. "You have been granted a pardon!"

The tickles stop.

As Kinger straightens himself and tries to work the last of his laughter out, Ragatha grins smugly.

"And now we are even."

"I feel like I got it much worse than you did." Not that he really cares. He just feels like teasing her.

"That's just cause you're more ticklish than me" she retorts.

"Uh huh. You better watch it with the smack talk, missy, or I might try to tickle you again." He threatens playfully, waving a pointed finger at her.

It fulfills its purpose, as Ragatha flinches backward with a nervous giggle.

"Okahay okay truce- truce!"

Suddenly, a thunderous boom scares the two prisoners as they look just in time to see a cannonball tear its way through the hull of the ship.

Blinded by the blaring sunlight, Kinger and Ragatha make out two silhouettes standing in the threshold of the new doorway they just created.

"THEY CAN TAKE OUR MEN, BUT THEY CAN NEVER TAKE OUR FREEDOM! AAAHAHAHAHA!" One of the figures starts cackling frightfully, wasting no time in rushing up the stairs to the deck with guns ablazing.

"Jax wait- what about the pri- oh never mind." Pomni sighs. "You guys okay?"

He's not quite sure. He can't remember all of a sudden. He remembers being up on the deck, and then...

"I... think so. Are we?" He asks Ragatha.

Ragatha smiles at him, something warm with a hint of sadness (he doesn't understand why).

"Yeah. Yeah, we're great."

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