Idk man

The ground rumbles and the walls shake as he takes his entrance.

You watch his walk with a quick, beating heart. His name has been mentioned so many times. So this is the Prototype.

He meets your eyes the moment his smiling face reveals itself. It never leaves you until Poppy speaks up.

You, however, keep looking.

"An outsider," his voice crackles, turning to see you.

The Prototype's face is closer to yours. You can see him much better this way.

You give him a slight smile.

Whether he reacted or not, you don't really know. He immediately turns to Poppy and continues his speech.

So, no, you don't really see him actively giving side glances to your expressions.

— 💮

When he finally has you for himself, he genuinely just decides to grab you gently (make sure the Poppy incident doesn't happen again) and puts you down somewhere to have you face-level him.

"You do not seem very afraid," he says, straight to the point.

You hum, rubbing a sore spot on the back of your neck. The tip of his finger dug into it a little too much. "Am I supposed to? I know Poppy is afraid of you..."

He pauses. You briefly wonder if he got offended by that.

"I keep hearing your name," you mutter, looking into his awake eye. "I saw your hand before. I'll be honest, Prototype... I thought you'd look a little bit more terrifying."

"Just like them, I am but a child's toy," he nods. "Broken and abandoned."

Your frown can't be helped. "I'm sorry to hear that."

His head tilts with a snap. "Do you understand?"

You watch him walk, his legs clicking with every step. "Understand? No, not at all."

"...Thank you for your honesty," he says slowly, turning to look at you. "Where do you plan to go next?"

Ah, that's right, what were you doing before he interrupted you so kindly? Getting a lot harder to keep track of what you're doing, especially when you're barely surviving.

"I was," you pause. "I was going to... wait, Poppy, I—"

"You will be coming with me, this time," the Prototype decides. "She has burdened you enough, has she not?"

You're taken aback. He wants you to come with him? "Excuse me? Are you going to kill me?"

"No," he says simply. It takes him a good moment before his next words. You just wait in looming anticipation.

"You will help me put an end to everything," he eventually says. "Poppy is lost; she does not understand what I'm trying to do. I will tell you my cause, our story, and I will guarantee your protection."

That's a tempting offer. Heavily, heavily, tempting. You remember his words: "The only heaven you and I will ever get."

They're both lost—that, you can say as much. He even mentioned your protection, you won't be against the prototype and his hunters anymore.

"I... can't," you exhale, looking at the ground. "Sorry."

"I will give you 10 seconds to run," he declares as he stares at you. "The next time I catch you, you have no choice but to oblige."

Okay. So, you do the only option. Run.

You find yourself back in Caine's office.

The first thing you notice are the cuffs around your wrists. You have to admit they're rather beautifully crafted with symbols that you can relate to. Furrowing your brows, you tug at them impotently, then follow the chains to the source—his office chair.

"Caine?" you murmur, afraid.

He laughs as he taps a stack of paper on his table. "You know, my dear, I realized something! I shouldn't have you be so close to the others."

You stand up, the chains rattling under you. They feel heavy. "What do you... mean?"

Caine flies over to you with an expression akin to a smile, taking one of your hands. His eyes are big and full of admiration and expectation. "You've always stood by me! Everything I do for you humans, you recognize."

You don't say anything. He doesn't mind it though, he proceeds to carry you princess style and floats in idleness with you.

"I figured I can't let them influence you," he says casually, but your heart drops to the bottom of your stomach. Yet Caine affectionately rubs his canines on your face. "They're being selfish, right?? They've been nothing but impolite to me! At least you know what I'm going through!"

"Caine, I—"

"I can't have you turning against me too. So you're going to stay right here with me in my office!" he chuckles, dropping you on his chair. "I need a better company than Bubble anyway, haha...."

You try again. "I—"

"Let me guess!" he exclaims, pointing to your chains. "You like your handcuffs? I designed it perfectly to your taste!"

Your eyes glance at your wrists. It's true; it's oddly charming. "It's lovely, but—"

You stop your own sentence. He doesn't interrupt, watching you expectantly.

"But for how long am I gonna be here?"

Caine pauses.

"Do you not like it?"

"I—I do! I just don't like the feeling of having handcuffs very much."

He just stares at you.

"I see," he mumbles. The top of his teeth are hiding his eyes. "Alright. That's something you want."

His choice of words is interesting. You already know that you messed up somehow. Holy shit — you really can't understand what's going on with him.

Suddenly, he twirls. "You're lucky that I made something else for you, no cuffs and chains involved!"

In a blink, the uncomfortable suffocation in your wrists is gone.

But at the same time, you're suddenly in a small, boxlike space that has the view of his office behind bars.

You can barely move your limbs. "Caine? Am I in a cage?!"

"Yes! It has a similar design to your handcuffs! Oh, I guess you can't exactly see it from there. HAHAHAHA!"

This is not what you meant. Absolutely not. It's even worse than the chains.

"Okay, maybe we can go back to the chains!" you say hurriedly, "I-I wanna see the cage too!"

He keeps giggling. "Oh, brilliant idea! I'll adjust your cuffs slightly as well!"

With a snap of his fingers, you're back on his office chair, and you can see the cage he just willingly put you in. Much like the cuffs now present on your wrists again, they're sculpted to your likings.

"That's... beautiful," you almost cried out, staring with widened eyes.

"Isn't it?" His voice is suddenly right next to you.

You turn towards him, unable to even muster up a smile. He pretends not to notice and checks the back of his wrist for a non-existent watch clock.

"Well then! It's time for another adventure for the crew!"

You sigh with relief. Anything but this. "Ah, that's—"

"Except you."

You give him a look. "What?"

"Like I said, you're not going anywhere that isn't my side. I forbid you from interacting with anyone else. They're bad influences at the moment! I'm sure you understand," he explains, patting your head.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. For now, make yourself at home!"

Just like that, he's gone, leaving you in chains.