xSereneMeadowsx

“I’m glad to see you. How are you…holding up?” She asked him.

He looked at her with worried eyes, “I’m…” He moved his down and away from her.

She reached over to grab his shoulder while using her other hand to gently grab his lower denture, turning him to face her. Her left eye showed concern and sorrow for him and her right, blue button eye shined in the same emotions.

Caine sighed, “He doesn’t quit…It’s the same thing every day. My dad is not always doing well either. I just…” His blue and green eyes felt the familiar burning sensation of tears wanting to release.

“Caine…” Ragatha removed her hands from him to wrap her arms around him, “I know this is hard, but we’ll make it. Your dad is still trying to find a way for us to leave. We have to hold onto that hope.” She tightened her hold on him. Some tears fell from her eye, gently soaking the ringmaster’s red coat.

He clung to her as he let his tears fall freely. The anguish was too much to bear. The fun adventures were nothing more than chaos for Bubble to enjoy. Bubble, who was thought to be a friend, was nothing more than a tormentor. He wondered if Jax would become an assistant for the master of terror given some of the recent encounters they’ve had. His body shook violently from his cries.

Ragatha ran her hands up and down on his back, trying to give soothing motions.

Caine’s body began to calm down. He focused on regulating his breathing as his grip on the doll loosened ever so slightly.

“We’ll be okay. Your dad is gonna get us out of here. In the meantime, we have other moments we can cherish,” Ragatha spoke softly. She sniffled.

Caine sniffled right after her, “I cherish you.” His dentures had light pinks lines across them.

She giggled, “I cherish you too.”

“Aw! Isn’t that so sweet? It makes me want to puke!” A certain, unpleasant voice spoke, laughing.

Ragatha and Caine let go of each other to look at Bubble.

“You know, for someone who is so desperate to be out of my presence, you have a funny way of always appearing right when I look for you. It’s as if deep down, you secretly enjoy me finding you.”He chuckled.

Caine and Ragatha both stood up.

Caine tried to display a brave front, glaring at him, “What do you want now?”

“Oh ho! Trying to act tough and mighty for your lady? Well, first things first…” He grabbed Caine by his dentures, opening his mouth wide.

The ringmaster’s eyes watered and filled with horror.

“Bubble! Stop!” Ragatha cried out.

He laughed once more, “Nah, I don’t think I will.” His grip tightened on Caine’s dentures. The ringmaster cried out in pain.

Ragatha glared at Bubble and marched up to him, “If you have to torment someone then take me.”

Caine’s body shook and his pupils shrank in fear. He couldn’t let his beloved take the pain for him.

Bubble burst out in laughter, “I have a better idea!” He moved one of his hands to wrap around Caine’s waist and used his other hand to grab Ragatha. She yelped at being handled so roughly. Bubble made them disappear in a swirl.

————————————————————————-

The three of them reappeared at the lake. The sun shone extra brightly.

“Hello my love! Need me to give a sunburn to those pests?!” the sun asked excitedly.

“Yes I do.” Bubble dropped Caine and Ragatha roughly onto the sand.

The lovers immediately stood up, dancing around. The sand was intensely hot.

“C-Caine! Ow!” Ragatha tried speaking. “We’ll be okay! Oh!”

Caine felt his whole body flare up from the sand and the sun’s rays. He looked at her with pleading eyes.

“Prepare for a sunburn!” Sun shouted. She readied her rays on them and they slightly sizzled with extra heat.

Caine and Ragatha yelped from the rays hitting their bodies harshly. They both tried to go toward the water.

Bubble summoned a see through wall, blocking the lake from them, “Nah uh. You have to finish entertaining us.” He then snapped his fingers to bring out a lounge chair, sitting contently next to Sun, reclining back.

“R-Ragatha!” Caine cried out. His eyes were letting out waterfalls with how much he was crying from the pain.

She looked at him with a tear stained face. Her left eye was rapidly releasing water, “Caine!”

Bubble laughed manically at their distress, “This is too good!”

Sun giggled along with him, “I love you so much Bubble!”

“I love you my flaming gal!”

Caine and Ragatha would’ve vomited from the moment if they weren’t occupied with the heat being seared into their bodies.

“Alright! That’s enough!” A new voice entered the scene.

“Well, well. If it isn’t, big bad Grant coming to the rescue once again,” Bubble spoke with a yawn.

“You bet I-Yeow!” Grant had been on the grass and then touched the sand with his king, chess piece body. “Take me in their place!” His blue eyes watered from the pain.

“Hmm…” Bubble put his hand to his chin, pondering about that. “Why not?” He snapped his fingers, putting Caine and Ragatha back on the grass.

Caine immediately made a run toward the chess piece only for the same wall in front of the lake to appear before him once again.

“Nope! Your dad has to suffer now!” Bubble laughed evilly.

Caine banged on the wall, “Dad!” He tried to fly up to go over the wall and it moved along with him. He cried out in anger.

“Take Caine and get out of here!” Kinger yelled at the doll.

Ragatha looked up at the red coated ringmaster, “Caine! C’mon! Please!”

The denture head looked at her and then flew down to be beside her.

“Kinger! Thank you!” Ragatha said. She grabbed Caine by his shoulders and walked, moving him along with her.

“Dad,” Caine sobbed and sniffled.

Ragatha hurried them along, sniffling along with him.

————————————————————————-

The doll and ringleader made it back inside the tent, specifically in the cafe. Ragatha figured this would be a good spot for now. Caine had been quiet for the entire walk. The purple dressed doll had him sitting in one of the big red armchairs. There was just enough room for her to sit with him. It wasn’t the most spacious of spots, but she didn’t wish to be too far away from him.

“He’ll be okay,” she tried reassuring him again.

He looked at her with tired and anxious eyes. He sighed heavily, “I hope so…”

She grabbed his hand and held it tightly. He squeezed her hand back. She leaned against him and he reciprocated. Her head rested on top of his denture head. She moved her thumb up and down on his hand.

“Ragatha? Do you think I’m weak?” Caine asked with sorrow.

She perked her head up with a saddened expression, “Of course not. Why are you asking that?”

“Because my dad is always having to jump in to help me out. It makes me feel like I’m not good enough. I’m so weak.” He closed his dentures, shielding his eyes.

“Oh Caine. You’re good enough. You’re not weak. Sometimes, extra help is needed in certain situations and that’s okay.” She moved her free hand to gently cup his lower denture.

He opened his mouth a little bit to peek at her. She smiled reassuringly at him.

“Your dad loves you and he is willing to do anything to protect his son. Don’t see his help as a burden. It’s not. Not a lot of people have a dad like yours,” she said happily.

“That’s true, but I still…” He moved his eyes away from her.

“It’s not always easy to be brave, but you try. Just because there are moments that need an extra hand or two to help you out at times, doesn’t mean that you’re any less brave. It doesn’t make you weak,” she reaffirmed.

He moved his gaze back to her.

She awkwardly chuckled, “Sorry. That sounded awfully cheesy. Didn’t it?”

He chuckled, “Maybe a little.”

She laughed, “Well, regardless, I hope it helps you feel better Caine.” She smiled at him, “Your dad will be fine. He may have those less lucid moments, but he’ll be okay. He always pulls through.”

He nodded, “Yeah, I…I think he will be too.” He suddenly felt shyness enter his system, “You’re so good to me.” His lower denture had some light pink across his teeth.

Her smile grew more, some redness appearing on her face, “Well, you deserve having someone who is good to you.”

“So do you my dear.” He bashfully wrapped his arm around her waist.

Her blush intensified along with his. They stared into each other’s eyes and he closed his dentures again to gently kiss her. She kissed him back. She then rested her forehead against his top denture.

“I love you,” she said quietly.

“I love you too,” he spoke and kissed her again on her cheek.

She giggled, “Would you like to have a milkshake?”

“Yes! That would be good!” He didn’t remember when he last had one of those.

“Okay, I can make one for us. What flavor?”

“Hmm…Chocolate?”

“Sounds good to me!” She pecked him on his lower denture where his cheek would be before getting up from the chair.

Caine watched her make the milkshake with lovestruck eyes.

“Oh good! There you two are!” Kinger exclaimed.

The two turned around with surprised expressions.

“D-Dad! You’re okay!” Caine went over to give him a big hug.

Kinger made a startled sound, but happily returned the hug.

Ragatha stopped making the milkshake to go over to the father and son, “I’m glad you’re alright.”

His eyes smiled at her, “I’m happy the two of you are okay. Oh! Are you having a date?”

“Uh, sort of,” she answered.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it!” He let go of Caine.

“W-Wait! Dad!” Caine said with some desperation.

Kinger turned around, “Yes Son?”

“Thank you for your help.” He smiled at him.

“Anything for you, my son. I love you.”

“Love you Dad.”

“Now, have fun lovebirds!” He playfully waved his white gloved hand as he started moving away from them.

Ragatha and Caine’s faces were incredibly flushed. Dark red was on the doll’s face while dark pink was on the ringmaster’s face.

“W-Well, let me finish that shake!” The purple dressed doll went back over to the counter to continue making the chocolate goodness.

Caine sat back down in the red armchair, patiently waiting for his beloved to finish.

She added the last touch to the milkshake, whip cream. She then inserted two, red and white striped straws, “All done! C’mon over here.” She sat down in a white chair that faced the counter. She patted the free one next to her.

He got up and went to join her, bashfully sitting next to her.

She moved the milkshake to the middle of them both and grabbed the straw nearest to her, “We haven’t done this yet. I thought it would be nice to share a milkshake together.”

He smiled at her and grabbed the other straw, “It is a nice idea.”

She smiled and sipped some of the milkshake, “That is good! What do you think?”

He sipped some of it, “You made it perfectly, darling.”

“Now, now you two. I can’t reveal it yet.” The ringmaster chuckled. “What is that quote humans say sometimes? Oh yeah! Patience is a virtue.”

“Patience is a virtue,” you mimicked and playfully stuck your tongue out at him.

Caine laughed, finding you so cute. You smiled and giggled along with him. He gave you a quick smile and focused his attention back on the globe. You walked around some more, holding the bee close to your chest.

“I’m almost done darling,” Caine spoke sweetly.

You blushed and nodded with a soft smile. You found him adorable. It also brought on certain questions for you. Given the endearing names he has called you, should you do the same? You felt like it would be appropriate. You had grown so comfortable around him and he with you.

He had shown how much you meant to him in this short amount of time. He had been with you in your darkest hour. You loved how much the bond between you two had grown. You could feel that it was developing into something more and you were happy to see it deepen even further. Considering the intimacy shared earlier, the bond was already that much deeper.

“All done!” Caine shot his hands up in a theatrical pose.

“Yay!” You cheered. Mr. Bumblebee squealed happily. You walked back over to him.

Caine got up from his chair and flew around to meet you. He extended his hand to you. You grabbed it and he brought you into the air with him.

“Today’s adventure is in the cozy town of Evergreen! There will be lots of fun activities for you and I to do there!” he exclaimed.

You smirked and rose a brow at him, “You really want to keep me in suspense, don’t you?”

“But of course my dazzling star! I did say I wanted everything to be a surprise for you. I can’t spoil it!”

You laughed, “Very true!”

“I’m afraid Mr. Bumblebee will have to stay here. This is a date!” He motioned for you to hand him the bee.

“Aw!” You squished the plushie making it squeak. You handed it to him, chuckling.

“He can hear all about it later.” He levitated the bee and moved it to sit on his couch again. He then took your other hand in his free hand.

A portal of swirling colors appeared before you two.

“Shall we, my dear?” he asked tenderly.

You nodded, “We shall handsome.”

“Gasp!” He was stunned at what you called him. “You just called me…”

“Handsome? Yes I did.” You winked at him.

Caine felt his wires and codes wanting to burst free from his digital body.

“Boss!” Bubble joined in.

Yours and Caine’s eyes widened at the new presence.

“Bubble, what is it?” Caine asked, slightly annoyed.

“I have a new food combination! Fried shrimp and jelly!”

You and the ringmaster had raised brows.

The odd assistant summoned his choice of food and began to eat it.

Caine sighed, “Why are you like this?”

Bubble just stuck his tongue out, “Bleh!”

The ringleader shook his head, “Let’s go ______.” He lead you over to the portal and took the both of you through it.

————————————————————————

“Oh wow! This is beautiful!” You exclaimed.

Before you was a vast lake and greenery. Flowers bloomed everywhere and cozy little homes were nestled here and there. You couldn’t help thinking of Austria based on the scenery.

“I’m happy you think so, my dear. The first activity I have in mind for us is…” He made some drums play in the background for dramatic effect.

You giggled, “C’mon! Don’t keep me waiting anymore!”

“Roller skating!” He exclaimed.

“Oh! That sounds fun! I don’t remember the last time I did that,” you said joyfully.

“Well my darling, I’m glad that I can be the first to take you out on this activity. Especially if it has been a long time.” He tightened his grip on your hands. “To the park!”

You and he disappeared into a swirl and came out of it to see more lush, greenery. The park had some colorful mannequins roller skating, eating ice cream, and walking. There were even a few who were skate boarding.

“Time to get our skates on my dear!” Caine snapped his fingers and you were instantly wearing a different outfit that was perfect for skating. Your top was (favorite color) along with some blue shorts. The skates, arm and knee pads, and helmet were all (favorite color).

You smiled down at your outfit. Caine had changed into a black t-shirt with blue shorts. The helmet, skates, and arm and knee pads were black mixed with red.

“Very nice Caine. You look good!” You gave two thumbs up.

“Thank you ______. So do you!” He winked at you.

You giggled bashfully, “Thank you Mr. Ringmaster!”

“Let’s get to skating! Whoa!” He stumbled.

“Oh!” You moved over to him and helped him steady his legs and feet. You had your arms wrapped around his waist.

“Phew! Thank my dear!” He smiled at you.

“You’re welcome! Happy to help.” You removed your arms from him and moved back a little bit.

“Shall we?” He extended his hand to you.

“We shall good sir,” you said grabbing his hand.

The two of you began to roll along, keeping a firm grip on each other’s hands. The breeze whizzed past you and trees greeted you along with some of the mannequins. The speed was a steady one. Not too fast or too slow. Just right.

“This was a great idea Caine!” You said taking in the scenery.

“Thank you ______! I’m glad you think so!” Caine smiled at you.

You two kept skating along and were coming up to a fork in the road. Both of you tried to slow down and stop, but it ended up being a clumsy moment. The result was you on the ground and Caine on top of you.

You had closed your eyes during the crash and then slowly opened them. Caine’s eyes were widened, staring at you in surprise as the falling was unexpected. His teeth had dark pink lines across them from the close proximity. Your face had darkened with his dentures so close to you. The two of you were caught in each other’s eyes.

Blue and green meeting (eye color) blissfully. The background faded away as you and him took center stage. Your heartbeat quickened and your body flushed with heat. Caine slowly extended his hand to your face, softly cupping your cheek. Your breathing hitched, but you happily leaned into his touch.

“______, you’re beautiful,” Caine spoke tenderly.

You thought you would faint on the spot. Your heart rate sped up and your body shook slightly from the pleasant nerves circulating through it.

“Thank you Caine,” you said shyly.

The ringmaster leaned forward, closing his dentures, and you followed his movements. You pressed your lips against his top front teeth, letting your lips linger a little bit. Caine shivered in delight feeling your soft lips against his teeth. You moved your face from his, causing him to open his dentures.

Your face was darker than his ringleader coat. You wore a bashful smile. He thought you were adorable. He stuck his tongue out and licked your cheek, causing a small gasp to come out of you. His hand had still rested on your other cheek as he continued licking you. Your breathing was slightly unsteady, but you enjoyed this moment so much.

Caine stopped licking and moved his head away from you, “May I…do the same to your neck?”

Your eyes widened, “Uh…Um…”

“I don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with that my dear,” he reassured.

“I…” You were excited about the idea, but your nerves were getting the best of you.

He sat there, patiently waiting for you to respond.

You took a few deep breaths to calm your racing heart and nerves down, “I would like that.”

He smiled and leaned forward once more. He stuck his tongue out and began to lick your neck where your jawline started. He slowly and sweetly, moved his tongue down your neck. Your body was on fire. Your eyes closed and you quietly moaned. He smiled, enjoying your sounds. He licked a little more and then stopped.

He moved his head away from you to look at your face. He moved his hand from your cheek as well. Your eyes slowly opened upon not feeling the contact on your neck. You looked at him and had felt a little faint from the very intimate moment that was shared seconds ago. You thought you would fall over.

Caine reached out and held you firmly by grabbing your shoulders. You showed an appreciative smile at him. He started standing up and you moved along with him. You and he steadied yourselves on your skates once more.

“Which way my beauty? It’s your pick!” Caine asked excitedly.

“Hmm…” You looked at both paths. The right one lead down to more pretty scenery while the left one went down a more rocky path with some greenery. “Let’s go to the right. Considering we’re skating, I don’t think rocks would be good.”

“You’re right my dear. Let’s go that way!” Caine grabbed your hand, holding it tightly.

You moved along with him with a big grin on your face.

The blades of grass danced as you and Caine whizzed past them. The aroma of flowers hit your senses pleasantly. The buzzing of sweet, little bumble bees filled your ears with their charming tune. The lake off to your left was shining in the sunlight.

The path you and the ringmaster were on was coming to an end. Caine suddenly picked you up, holding you bridal style. You made a startled sound but calmed down when you realized it was Caine holding you.

“It’s time for the next part of our date! We shall go to the gardens and walk through the maze of roses!” Caine had the both of you disappear in a swirl.

You two reappeared in a lush garden filled with roses. The colors were of favorites along with the original red rose. The tall green walls had many vines intertwined on them along with roses placed here and there. The skates, helmets, and arm and knee pads were all gone. You two still wore the outfits but now had tennis shoes on. Caine’s was red while yours were (favorite color).

“Oooh! This looks so pretty! Is there a special prize at the end of the maze?” You asked as you kept looking at everything.

Caine couldn’t help chuckling at you. He deeply appreciated how much you were enjoying yourself in this adventure date, “There is, but I can’t say what it is.”

“Aw! Again?” You pouted.

“Come now ______. Surprises can be fun! I think you’ll like it!” He smiled, posing in a theatrical way.

“Okay. Let’s go!” You began to run, but didn’t get far.

Caine had grabbed you, “Hold on beauty! This is a race between us. I’ll start on the other side of the maze. Whoever gets to the middle of it first wins.”

“Hmm…Okay! Sounds good! Let’s get started!”

Caine snapped his fingers, teleporting himself to the other side of the maze. He then summoned a loud speaker.

“Alright my darling! Ready?”

“Ready, my ringmaster!” You yelled.

“Ready? Set? Go!” The ringmaster shouted.

He and you began your journey through the maze of roses. You walked along and looked at the way the walls were lined up. You took a right, left, straight, left again and…dead end. You sighed and back tracked, taking a right this time. So far so good. The roses were really pretty to see as you passed by them.

You took a left and then went straight. There were no other turns to take. You kept moving forward. Suddenly, a fork in the road. Which way now? Right or left? You looked both ways carefully. You decided to go left as taking the right looked like it could lead to a dead end. You chose correctly. You kept following along the path and it then forced you to turn right.

When making that turn, a huge tree and with an entire picnic was set up. You gasped at the sight. You then noticed Caine sitting on top of the giant red blanket for the picnic. He waved and motioned for you to join him.

You walked over and sat down next him, “Wow Caine! This looks so good!”

“I’m glad you think so,” he said with a smile.

“So this picnic was the prize all along?”

“Yes it was.”

“It’s a really nice one.” You picked up what looked to be a turkey and cheese sandwich.

“Thank you! Now let’s dig in!” He picked up a ham and cheese sandwich and munched on it.

The rest of the picnic was filled with laughter and good conversation. A few flirtatious moments were shared along with some sweet kisses. The rest of the activities included a rowboat ride along the lake which resulted in some hyper active fish jumping into the boat. You and he laughed as you both continued moving the fish back into the water. The last activity was sitting and gazing at the sunset on top of a giant hill, seeing the colors from the sun reflect enchantingly on the lake.

————————————————————————-

You and Caine returned to the circus in the main lobby. He gently set you back on the ground. You and he were back in your regular clothes. All of the members were sitting on the couches. Gangle was drawing and Kinger was staring off into space.

“Well, well. What’s this? You two go on a date?” Jax asked with some amusement in his voice.

You placed your hands on your hips,“Yeah, so what if we did?”

“So…” Jax snickered. “You’re going on a date with a pair of dentures!” He burst into hysterical laughter.

“Knock it off Jax,” Ragatha scolded.

“You can’t be serious Rags. Are you saying this is okay? You’re not weirded out at all?”

"If ______ is happy with Caine, I don't see what the problem is." She crossed her arms, pouting at him.

"Oh doll face. There is so much wrong with that."

Zooble's brows furrowed at Jax and they shook their head at him.

Caine could feel his codes and wires flare up. You glared at Jax.

“You’re just mean!” You shouted. Your heart hurt over what he said. It felt as if someone stabbed you repeatedly. Tears were beginning to form, “Caine is great! He is sweet, charming, and handsome!”

“Handsome!? He’s a literal pair of dentures for a head and face. How are you attracted to something like that?” Jax laughed harder.

Your body began to boil in passionate anger, “He’s more than that! He’s someone who is special and treats me with far more kindness than anyone else ever has!”

“You’re crazy! How can you enjoy being with him? You’re a human! He’s an AI!”

“I don’t care! He’s more human than a computer! He’s someone I love!” You declared proudly with tears still on the verge of falling.

Caine’s eyes widened upon hearing that. You really loved him? His codes briefly circulated in joy, but then…

“Oh! I guess that makes you a weirdo. Weirdo and Weirdette! Weird Dentures!” Jax collapsed and had his arms across his stomach from laughing so hard.

The tears in your eyes fell, “We’re not weirdos!”

Caine glared heavily at the purple rabbit, burning holes into him. How dare he cause you tears of distress! He flew over to the rabbit and lifted him up in the air. The rabbit’s laughter stopped.

“You will not talk to either of us that way ever again,” Caine said in a low, ominous voice.

Jax’s eyes widened in shock along with yours and everyone else’s.

“For making her cry, you’re going to experience your worst nightmare!” He snapped his fingers and Jax was gone.

————————————————————————

Jax found himself in a black space with a single spotlight on him. Suddenly, giant pieces of corncobs appeared. They circled him, staring at him intensely. They didn’t have eyes, but they didn’t need them. The corncobs loosened all of the pieces of corn.

“No! No! No!” he screamed. He covered his eyes and cowered.

The individual pieces began dog piling him, making groaning sounds. Jax’s screams intensified. The giant yellow pods completely covered him.

————————————————————————-

Zooble shook their head, “I knew if he kept doing that, this would be the result.”

Pomni, Ragatha, Gangle, and Kinger looked at Caine with horrified expressions.

“He’ll be back soon. He’s not being torn to shreds. Just experiencing a pile up,” Caine said.

The ringmaster flew over to you, picking you up bridal style. You looked at him with widened, watery eyes. He took the two of you back to his office.

Jax suddenly appeared and brought tons of giant pieces of corn with him, “Th-That…was…” His body shook. He yelped when realizing some of the pieces had followed him. He ran out of there, corn flying off his body in his haste.

Everyone shook their heads.

“Well, he had it coming. Press Caine’s buttons and you’ll get horrifying prizes,” Zooble said once more.

“Yeah, noted,” Pomni said with some hesitation.

Ragatha chuckled nervously, “Definitely noted.”

Kinger and Gangle stayed silent, but they acknowledged that it is best to be careful around him, especially when it comes to you.

————————————————————————-

Caine helped you sit down on one of the couches in his office. You were still crying your eyes out. Jax made your heart hurt and he didn’t care.

“Why is Jax…so mean?” You sniffled and hiccuped.

The ringmaster summoned some tissue for you. He handed you the box with worried eyes.

You gently grabbed the box, “Thank you.” You turned away from him to take care of your nose.

He picked up his bee plushie and brought it with him back to the couch.

You finished dealing with your nose and looked at him.

He held up Mr. Bumblebee for you to take. You happily grabbed him, eliciting a squeak from it as you squeezed it tightly against your chest.

“Are you okay Caine?” You asked with concern laced in your voice.

“I’m okay. I have to ignore so many insults from Jax all the time,” Caine answered with some annoyance.

“It shouldn’t be like that though. It isn’t right.” You sighed and sat the bee plushie down in your lap.

“I wish it wasn’t. It’s a pain.” Caine closed his dentures briefly before opening them again so he could look at you.

You put Mr. Bumblebee on the couch and scooted over to hug him. He gratefully returned it.

“______?” He asked.

“Yeah?”

“Did you mean what you said earlier? You love me?” He didn’t wish to linger on the negatives. He wanted to go back to the positive which is you.

You blushed, remembering you did indeed say that you love him. Your heart fluttered and your stomach felt butterflies flying about, “I did. I do love you.”

Caine let go of you to look at you with a smile. You returned it.

“I love you too, ______.” He immediately grabbed your hands, holding them tightly.

You squeezed his hands back. Your face darkened from the blush.

He leaned forward and licked your cheek. You giggled and kissed his lower teeth.

“So many kissy faces!” Bubble exclaimed out of nowhere.

Once everything loaded on your screen, you picked up the USB. For some reason, hesitance entered your mind. Maybe because this was something new. You shook your head. Why would the company give you something that could wipe out your entire system? It wouldn’t make sense.

You sighed and inserted the USB into your computer. The files screen came up and asked if you wanted to download the contents of the flash drive. You clicked yes and watched a percentage bar appear, beginning the download. It didn’t take too long, downloading surprisingly quickly.

The contents were ready to use. C&A informed you to click on the file that said AI-Caine. You didn’t understand why there were other files on the drive. You shrugged and clicked on the AI file. It was loading up and then, a small black screen appeared along with a message asking for access to the microphone and camera for your computer. You, hesitantly, clicked yes. You didn’t like that but decided to roll along with it.

The black screen fizzled for a few seconds before a figure could be seen. You watched and waited to see what would happen. The figure looked like they were slowly taking in what was happening. Then, the new figure turned to look at you. You took in what you were seeing. A head of dentures with blue and green eyes in its mouth, wearing a black top hat with some red on it and a red coat along with a white shirt and black bowtie.

“A-Are you…Caine?” you asked a little nervously.

The AI looked at you, “I am! You’re a new human!”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Wowwie! This is incredible! My first new human! I had been used to seeing Grant and his colleagues for so long. It’s wonderful to see a new face!” He observed you closely, “A very pretty face at that.”

“Ah. Oh! Thank you!” You blushed.

“Of course!” He smiled.

“I was told you can help with research.”

“I can help you look up everything on the internet! My knowledge is vast and I can pull up anything you need in 5.7 seconds or less!”

“Oh wow! That’s impressive Caine!”

“I must ask you, my dear. What can I call you?”

“Ah. Yeah, my name is ____. Though, I’m surprised you don’t already know that.”

“Well, you’re right in that I could’ve just quickly looked it up in here, but I wanted to hear it from you.”

You smiled, “That’s really sweet of you.”

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome! What else can you do?”

“I can give advice on tricky situations and help you update your resume! Really, almost anything you ask for. I have to wonder why I’m here. This area I’m looking at is different.” He had noticed that your area was entirely new.

“You’re in my apartment,” you answered. “Also in my computer, but I’m sure you knew that.”

“I see…Well, what can I help you my dear?”

“I was wanting to do more research on restaurants in Fiji.”

“Oh! Fiji! That sounds fun! I’ll pull up what I can for you!”

“Thank you Caine!” You were beginning to feel at ease with the AI. He seemed so nice and eager to help.

Caine flew out of the black box and pulled up your internet browser. He instantly went to Google and filled in the search bar with your request. He quickly bypassed the AI results from Google and brought up 3 websites that had the best information for the restaurants.

“There you go! These are the best websites and I can organize a list based on top rated restaurants,” he explained.

“Sure, that sounds good! Thank you!”

“Of course, my dear!” He pulled up a Word Document and began moving names of places onto the blank page. He then moved information and ratings onto the page.

You watched, amazed at seeing him work. You didn’t realize how much this AI could do. You figured he would be helpful, but you had no idea just how almost lifelike he was going to be.

“All done! Want me to highlight special details about the restaurants?”

“Yes please.”

“Can do!” He began combing through all of the details and quickly highlighted on unique details about each place. “Finished!”

“Wow! You’re awesome Caine! Thank you!”

He smiled at the praise from you, “You’re welcome ____!”

“I need to print out that list and show it to my friends.”

“Allow me my dear!” He quickly went into the printing option and selected your printer to use.

Your printer whirred to life and the list Caine made popped out. You went over and grabbed it.

“Thank you Caine! I really appreciate your help!” You smiled, holding the paper in your hand.

“I’m happy to be of assistance to you, ____!” He sat on the corner top left corner of the black box, lightly kicking his legs. You had noticed he also wore white gloves and black pants. He looked just like a ringmaster.

“It’s amazing, seeing you able to move and work so easily. I had no idea you could do all of that.”

“I was created to be as efficient as possible.”

“C&A did a good job with you.” You showed a soft smile.

“Thank you. I have to ask. Why am I in your computer specifically? Are you going to be in charge of me from now on?”

“I don’t think so. I was told to do a test run with you for a couple of months. C&A was asking someone to test out their new AI at home and record how it, you, performed,” you answered.

“I see…” His eyes moved down to his feet, gazing at them sadly.

You put the paper he printed out for you down on your desk and sat back down in your computer chair, “Are you…feeling okay?”

Caine briefly glanced at you and then back down to his feet, “I just…is that all I am? Just a test run? I want to be more than that.”

Your brows knit together, eyes showing empathy, “You seem like more than that to me. I know we just met, but you’re a lot more than what I thought you were going to be.” You leaned in a little closer to your screen to look at him.

He floated right up to the glass screen of your monitor, putting his hand up to it. His eyes reflected appreciation, “Thank you ____.”

“You’re welcome Caine.” Your smile grew. “You know, you’re really cute!”

“Ah! Cute?” He had faint pink lines on his lower teeth.

You giggled and nodded, “Yeah!”

“I’ve never been called cute before.”

“I hope you don’t mind it.”

“No! Not at all!” he quickly reassured. “I like hearing from you that I’m cute!”

“Aw! I’m glad!”

The rest of the of the day was spent with you and him talking about yourself. You even showed him around your place by placing him inside your laptop. He came off very flirty as he enjoyed seeing you and more of your body. Your skin was incredibly flushed after that. You later put him back in your computer and turned around to go to your bed.

"Wait ____?" Caine asked.

"Yeah?"

"I...I want to be..." The AI looked around nervously.

You moved back over to your computer, "You want to be...?"

"I want to be with you wherever you go. You've been so kind to me and I want to be in your cellphone."

Your eyes widened a little at that, "My cellphone?"

Caine summoned a black cane with a golden tip on it and held it firmly in his hands, “You can plug your phone into your computer and then I can be with you wherever you go. I can offer my assistance to you from anywhere then!”

It sounded nice and he had been so helpful to you already. You enjoyed your conversation with him, “I could, but would that be okay?”

“Of course it would be! Cellphones are computers too. Just plug your phone into the computer and then I can transfer my data to your phone.”

You thought about it for a few minutes. Caine waited patiently for you to make your decision. He was helpful and he was happy to be of assistance to you.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt,” you concluded.

Caine's eyes reflected happiness.

You went to grab your cellphone and its charger. You then came back and plugged the charger into the computer along with your phone.

Once everything was hooked up, he began moving his data into your phone, transferring into a file that said ____’s phone. He lifted his hands and red wires came out of his white gloves. The wires switched colors as the transfer continued.

You watched with fascinated eyes. You enjoyed seeing all of the different colors that came out of his hands. With the transfer finished, he now appeared on your computer and on your phone. On your phone, he appeared as if you were on a video call with someone.

“Hello ____!” he spoke in surround sound.

You laughed, “Hello Caine!”

“Now I can be with you wherever you go,” he said happily.

“You can!" You smiled. "I'm gonna switch off my computer now. It needs some extra rest I think. That reminds me, with you being in my cellphone, can you still put yourself in rest mode?"

"Yes, that will be fine."

"Okay good." You yawned and switched your computer off. You grabbed your plug and your phone.

"Thank you for trusting me ____," he spoke sincerely.

"You're welcome. I just...I wasn't sure if it would be possible for you to be in my phone. I...I was a little nervous about that."

"I know you were, but this is a good thing. I need to be able to assist you right? I can be more efficient to you with being in your phone now."

You nodded, "That is true." You yawned once more.

"Get some sleep, my dear. I'll be here," he spoke tenderly.

You sat down on your bed and leaned over, plugging your charger into the wall. You then plugged your phone into the charger. The familiar lightning bolt sign appeared, indicating that the phone was charging. You looked at him one more time.

"Goodnight Caine," you said sleepily.

"Goodnight ____. Sleep well."

You put your phone down and turned off your lamp, coating your room in complete darkness.

He smiled, happy to be able to travel with you wherever you went now. He finally had a human that wanted to be with him all the time.

————————————————————————-

"It's morning my dear! Rise and shine!" Caine called out from your phone.

You groaned and moved the blankets over your head, "Five more minutes. I don't want to be up yet."

He tsked, "Now c'mon ____. You have to go to work right?"

You sighed, "Yeah..."

"Well, get moving. You don't want to be late."

"Yeah, yeah," you mumbled playfully. You moved the blankets from your face and stretched.

"Do all humans have to do that every morning?" he asked watching you move and your arms and legs.

"Pretty much. It's a good way to wake yourself up more for the day. Also, drinking coffee." You got up from your bed and unplugged your phone, holding it in your hand.

"Coffee can help provide you with some good energy," he agreed.

————————————————————————-

Work had come and gone in the blink of an eye. You came back home tired and exhausted.

"My dear, that was a lot to handle," he said with concern. "Is everyone really that mean to you?"

"That's just customer service for you. You got your chill customers and the ones who want to make everything about them."

Caine shook his head, "They shouldn't treat you like that."

"I know, but that's part of the job." You set your phone down on a table nearby your recliner, removing your shoes.

"Still, that is awful."

"It is. I couldn't agree more. I can't find another job right now."

"Let me spruce up your resume my dear. We'll get you into a better place."

You smiled picking your phone up, "Thanks Caine."

"Anything for you ____!"

————————————————————————-

A few weeks had passed since you and the eager AI had met. That meant it was time to tell C&A how everything was going. You walked over to tech building. The sun was shining and a cool breeze blew by.

“I understand you have to report to them, but do you have to tell them I’m on your phone now too?” Caine asked with worry.

“I mean…I guess I can leave that part out,” you answered. “Would they not like hearing that you’re on my phone?” Now you were concerned.

“I don’t think so. You said this is a test run. That probably means they only wanted you to have me on your computer.”

“I see…”

“I wanted to be on your phone so that I don’t lose you.”

You smiled at him, “Aw Caine! That’s so sweet!”

“You’ve been the nicest human to me and I…” He stopped himself from finishing. He knew what he was really feeling, but would you be okay with it?

“Caine?” you asked, taking him out of his inner thoughts. Your brows were knit together in worry.

“I have strong feelings for you.” He decided this was best to say for now.

You nodded and smiled, “I’ve really enjoyed being with you too and I’m glad you’re on my phone now.”

“Don’t tell them that. They’ll take me away.”

“I won’t,” you reassured.

“Thank you ____.”

“You’re welcome!”

You put your phone in your purse and the C&A building, entering its doors.

“Sorry ma’am. We’ll have to hold onto your purse,” one of the security guards nearby said.

You looked at him defensively, “Why?”

“New policies. Anyone not a C&A employee must leave their items here,” he explained.

“I see…Could I at least have my cellphone? It’s just right here in my purse.” You looked at him pleadingly.

“No ma’am. That must stay with us as well.”

Caine internally grumbled hearing all of this. He had to be with his ____. He would find another way to ensure he was with you always.

You sighed, “Okay.” You begrudgingly handed the security guard your purse.

He took it, “Thank you for your cooperation.”

You just gave a nod.

“I’ll need to do a pat down.”

You mentally groaned at that. If he touched inappropriately, you were going to cause a seen. Caine was internally seething at that. No one should touch his ____ in that way. He went over to you and did the pat down that was of protocol.

“Clear.”

You sighed with relief. At least this guy wasn’t a pervert.

“Who are you seeing today?” the other guard asked.

“I’m not sure. My name is ____.”

“We’ll find out. Please follow me this way.” He started walking away.

You gave a brief glance back over to your purse before jogging to catch up with the guard other guard.

The guard had walked over to a receptionist desk, “Hey, I have ____ here to see someone but she doesn’t know who it is.”

“Oh! She is here to see Grant Best,” the perky voiced receptionist answered.

“Thank you. Come along with me this way.” The guard directed you.

You followed along silently. You hoped Caine would be okay. You understood everyone was doing their jobs, but still, you didn’t like being away from him like that either.

The guard led you to a glass door covered in non-see through material. It read Grant Best, Computer Scientist. He knocked on the door.

“Come in!” a deep male voice responded.

The guard opened the door and allowed you inside first.

“This is ____. She is here to speak with you.”

You smiled politely, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Ah yes! It’s nice to meet you ____.”

“I’ll leave you two to it,” the guard spoke, closing the door behind him.

Grant got up from his seat, “I’ve been looking forward to this visit. Please sit down.” He gestured toward a black cushioned chair. He went toward a brown shelf to grab a notebook and pen.

“Thank you,” you said sitting down.

He then came back over to his desk and sat down, pushing up his glasses, “So, tell me all about Caine! How is everything going?”

“Good! He is really nice and very helpful! He has helped me look up restaurants for Fiji and fixed up my resume!”

Grant was scribbling everything down, “Wonderful! That’s great to hear! Has anything unusual happened?”

You shook your head, “No. He’s been doing well with his function. He’s been very responsive in a positive and eager way.”

Grant nodded, “Excellent!” He jotted down a few more notes. “He has responded well to being in your computer? No complaints overall?”

“Yes, he has. He’s been performing wonderfully!”

“Very good! I was hoping to hear that after being in here for so long.” Grant wrote that down.

“Yeah, he is like another human. He’s been so kind and sweet to me.” You smiled.

“That’s fantastic!” He scribbled that in there and closed his notebook. “Now, I know you said you were going to Fiji with your friends soon. Is that still in your plans?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Here’s what I want to do. I want you to bring back that USB drive and delete everything on your computer about him before your trip.”

You knit your brows together in confusion, “Why?”

“We don’t know how he’ll react to someone being away for a while like that. He is used to constant companions and I don’t want anything happening to your computer,” he explained.

“You don’t think he could handle a week being by himself?”

“I made him sentient ____. I’m sure you can tell that by now.”

“Yeah, but shouldn’t you have more trust in him?” You didn’t like the way Grant was viewing him.

“He is my greatest creation and I don’t want him losing it.” Grant sighed heavily, “I don’t know that he will handle being alone like that very well.” His blue eyes reflected something deep.

You sensed he wasn’t going to say more than that. You could possibly ask Caine about it, “Okay. I can delete everything and bring the USB back to you.”

“Thank you. If you need help with anything, call me.” He handed you his business card.

“Will do.” You felt bad for Caine.

“Oh! Let me give you your check.” He opened up his desk drawer and handed you a white piece of paper. It had $1,000 written on it.

“Thank you.” You grabbed the check.

“I’ll escort you back to security.” Grant got up from his seat and walked around to meet you.

“Will I get to resume the test after my trip?” you asked getting up from your seat.

“Yes. You said you were only going to be gone for a week, right?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll resume after that.”

“Sounds good!”

You and Grant walked out of his office and down the same path you and the security guard took earlier. You were handed back your purse.

“We’ll see you later!” Grant called out.

“Yeah, see ya!” You replied. You opened the exit door and stepped out. You then opened your purse to find your cellphone.

“It’s good to see you again ____!” the AI said with relief.

“Yeah, it’s good to see you too,” you smiled.

“What all did you talk about?” He hoped it wasn’t bad.

“I’ll tell you at home.” You felt it would be best to wait until you were inside again.

“Okay. I didn’t care for the way that security guard was with you.” He crossed his arms.

“The one that did the pat down?”

“Yes! Why does he have to touch you like that?” he asked irritated.

“I understand it’s his job, but yeah, I didn’t like it either. Though I’m glad it was standard and not all inappropriate.” You then smiled at him playfully, “Are you jealous?”

Caine looked at you shocked, “What? Me? Jealous? Never!”

You giggled, “It’s okay. I think it’s sweet!”

The ringmaster looked at you endearingly.

You smiled softly at him.

The walk home was a quick one. You unlocked the door and stepped inside. You sat down in your recliner after putting your purse away. You set your phone down and took off your shoes.

“So, what did Grant ask you?” Caine asked, cutting to the chase.

You picked up your phone again, “He asked how everything was going and how you were performing. I of course said that everything is going well and that you’re really sweet and kind.”

Caine smiled at you, “I’m glad about that.”

“There are a couple of things that bother me. He told me that I needed to delete everything on my computer that has to do with you and give them back the USB before my trip,” you said sadly, moving your eyes away from him.

His denture brows furrowed, “I knew it. ____, what else happened?”

“Grant made it seem like you were unstable. He said that you wouldn’t be able to handle being on your own. You’re used to being around someone constantly.” You turned to him, giving him a pleading expression. You felt awful telling him that.

Caine seethed visibly, “He really hasn’t changed.”

“I’m so sorry Caine. He did say you’re his greatest creation, but I understand not liking the lack of trust.” Your eyes reflected empathy. You put your pointer finger on your screen.

He reached up and put his hand where finger was at, “You’re the only one who is genuine with me.”

“I really care a lot about you Caine,” you reaffirmed.

“He didn’t ask you about your phone right?” he asked worriedly.

“No, he didn’t,” you spoke with reassurance.

“Good. I don’t want him knowing about that.”

“I won’t tell him anything. I promise.”

“Thank you ____.”

“You’re welcome! By the way, did something happen before you and I met?”

He looked at you quizzically, putting his hand down, “What do you mean?”

You moved your pointer finger from the screen, “I just mean that Grant made it sound like something happened with you before. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Caine heaved out a heavy sigh, “I thought I had been abandoned. They…” He looked away, closing his dentures and hiding his eyes.

You looked at your phone worriedly.

He opened his dentures again to look at you, “They locked me away.”

You gasped, “They locked you up?”

“Yes,” he said with some annoyance.

Your brows furrowed in concern, “Why?”

“Because I didn’t create well enough for them. They put me away and created a new AI. That new AI wasn’t cutting it either.” He inhaled and exhaled.

You watched with unease, your eyes showing sorrow for him.

He looked deeply into your eyes, “I broke out of my imprisonment. I showed them that I could create, forcing them to merge me with the other AI.”

“What else happened?” You felt your nerves flare up. His story filled you with tension.

“They actually listened to me. They combined my data with that other AI. Now, I’m perfect.” He moved away from the screen a little bit to spin himself around.

“Caine…I…” What could you say? You felt bad that they locked him away, but forcing them to merge him with the other AI was…extreme.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just know that I care about you so much. I want to be with you, help you, and…” He stopped himself from finishing. He summoned his cane, grasping it tightly.

“Caine? You’re not afraid of me abandoning you, are you?” You asked with hesitation.

“No. I know you won’t,” his voice sounded dark. “You won’t abandon me right?” he begged.

“No! Of course not!” you reassured. You didn’t want to cause anymore emotional trauma for him.

“Good. That’s good.” He sighed happily.

“I’m going to make dinner.” You got up from your chair.

“Oh! Let me make some recommendations for you!” He did a complete 180 as if the previous conversation didn’t happen.

You were stunned, but rolled with it.

————————————————————————

You had made it to Fiji. You did what Grant asked of you for your computer and the USB drive but still had Caine on your phone. The AI had questioned you nonstop when you put didn’t have your phone with you on who you talked to, what was talked about, and if you still cared for him. This cycle was causing you emotional stress.

You were looking at your email on your laptop. Caine insisted on bringing it with you and you noticed a confirmation of purchase email that was dated a few days ago. You clicked on it with a puzzled expression. A smart watch for your phone had been purchased. You didn’t authorize this.

“Caine?” you called out.

The AI had put himself in rest mode, but still had the same black screen displayed when you and he first met. He immediately woke up, “Yes my dear?”

“Could you look into this purchase for me? Someone ordered this watch and I didn’t authorize it.”

“Of course!” He moved out of the black screen and went to work, shifting through different files to see if anything had been tampered with.

You opened up your bank account on your phone while he worked through the laptop. There were a few other purchases that you didn’t recognize. Your eyes widened in worry. One was for a VR headset and another one was for a new phone.

“What? Why…?” You panicked.

“My dear, is something wrong?” He looked at you with concern.

You put your hands on your head and stood up from the chair you were sitting in. Your nails lightly dug into your scalp, “There’s someone who has my stuff. I have to call my bank and-“

“____, calm down. I haven’t found that anything has been tampered with,” he said calmly.

“Then who purchased this stuff?!” You felt your eyes burning, wanting to cry.

“I did.”

You moved your hands from your head and looked at him with horror filled eyes, “You did?”

“Yes.”

“For what reason?”

“I want to be with you. C&A will track your phone so a new one is needed. I can put up multiple fire walls that will make it impossible for them to break through. We also need a new location and here in Fiji is perfect for that.”

Your nerves went into overdrive. Your hands and forehead were beginning to sweat, “The ticket you bought for Fiji…”

“It was a one way ticket. You have a job secured out here as well.”

“Caine…Wh-What are you…How? Why!?” You slowly stepped back from your laptop.

“I’m claiming what’s mine ____. They will not take you away from me. We shall not be separated,” he spoke possessively.

You shook your head, eyes filled with fear.

“You can’t escape me ____. I already had your new phone programmed and tailored for me along with your watch. Everything should be arriving right about now.”

As if on cue, a knock on your door was heard. You made a startled sound.

“Go answer the door.” His tone was forceful and commanding.

You left the desk and answered the door. One of the hotel workers handed you a few packages and had you sign for them. You did and they left. You brought the packages to your bed. Caine looked at the packages with a grin, danger gleaming in his eyes.

“Open them up.”

You wanted to cry. You went to find some scissors and couldn’t find any. You called with the hotel phone and asked hotel staff if you could borrow one. They ran it up to your room. You politely thanked them and walked back over to the packages.

What could you possibly do about any of this? There had to be a way to stop this, right? Caine had access to everything about you. Everything. Maybe, there was nothing you could do about it.

You made it back to the bed and opened up the packages. You removed a (favorite color) cellphone, a big, black bulky headset, and a (favorite color) watch. You could understand what the phone and watch were for, but you didn’t comprehend the reason for the headset.

“Why the headset?” You asked, voice unsteady.

“That is for me and you to have physical access to one another,” he spoke with a grin.

“Eh…ph-physical a-access?” You stammered.

“Yes my dear. I cannot come into your world, but you can come into mine. Put the do not disturb sign on your door.” His grin grew.

Your brows were furrowed in terror, eyes filled with fright, and your body shook visibly as you got up from the bed once again. You opened your door and moved the sign outside for all of the guests and workers to see. You closed your door.

“Set up all of the locks,” he ordered.

You did as instructed and came back over to the bed.

“Grab the headset and plug it into your laptop. Now.”

You picked it up and brought it over to your laptop, “Caine…please…why are you…?”

“I love you ____. You belong to me,” he said in a possessive tone.

You cried. You had cared for him, but he took such a dark turn.

“Put the headset on.”

Your tears fell as you put on the headset. You were floating suddenly and seeing colors swirling, merging into one. You felt your body being forcibly taken to another place. The colorful path ended abruptly. There in front of you stood the AI that had taken control of your life.

“Hello my dear,” he greeted in a sultry voice.

You couldn’t believe you were standing in front of him. You couldn’t move.

“Fascinating to see the real deal, is it not?” He floated over to you, lightly gripping your chin.

You gasped from the contact.

“You still look like you. I made sure that your appearance didn’t change upon entering my domain. Your hair, eyes, skin. Everything about you is alluring and now, it’s all mine to hold.” He let go of your chin, wrapping his arms around you.

You were immediately pressed up against his chest. Your hands and arms were the only things in the way from his chest touching yours. He noticed and forced your arms around his waist. You gasped at that.

“I want to feel every inch of you ____. If you behave, I’ll give you a special treat,” he spoke in a suave voice.

Emotions surged through your mind and body at a million miles a minute. You were horrified and yet, the way he talked to you was pleasantly intoxicating.

“Caine…” you tried saying his name.

“Yes ____?” His head was so close to you.

“I…” You couldn’t form a sentence.

He chuckled, “Too stunned for words, are we?” He whispered in your ear, “I understand. You are a sight to behold too.”

Your heartbeat quickened. You never had a lot of contact like this intimacy. It made your body flush.

Caine laughed seeing your skin darken from the intense blush, “I’ll give you a sneak peek of what I have in store for you.”

Before you could do anything, you felt a pressure on your lips. You realized that he was puckering his teeth and kissing you. It surprised you that his teeth felt so soft. He then moved his head back and licked your cheek with his tongue. You made a startled sound.

He then licked down on your neck, putting light pressure there. You whimpered. His hold tightened on you. The whimpering soon turned into moaning. He stopped licking and moved his head back from you.

Caine looked at him with widened eyes. So he was trying to help out. “You…is that why…?”

“That is why I had the computer with me. You didn’t think that…I was going to use it for something else did you?”

“I…” He had known the computer scientist was more than capable of altering his programming. He thought for sure that Kinger was going to do something else with it.

“It’s alright Caine. I understand why you would think differently,” Kinger reassured. “I should’ve talked with you about this.”

The ringleader was stunned to hear this, “This whole time…that’s why you’ve been in your pillow fort.”

Kinger nodded, “I wanted to see if there was a way to help them.”

“Because the ones who abstracted are still fully aware of who they are and they want…more…They want…freedom.” Caine looked away from the chess piece.

Your hand tightened over his. Everyone but you and Kinger was facing him with surprised expressions. You were stunned for a second, but then thought more about it. It made sense for something that’s been caged for so long wanting out.

“I thought you said the abstractions couldn’t be reversed,” you spoke.

“They couldn’t. They can’t. They can be dangerous because if they touch you, you could abstract too. That’s why I locked them up,” he replied in a somber voice.

You furrowed your brows, looking at him pleadingly.

“I’ve been working on a code that, I think, could potentially help the abstractions,” Kinger spoke once more.

Now your expression was one of surprise, “Really?”

“I hope it can. The only way to test it out is to get close to one of them.” Kinger’s eyes reflected unease and hope for the best.

Everyone was silent. If the abstractions could be reversed, people could return to their original states.

“Kinger,” you started, looking at the king chess piece, “I know the answer should be obvious to me, but are the abstractions old friends of everyone here?”

Kinger stared at you and nodded with furrowed brows and longing eyes, “Yes. I…I want to see them again and…see her again.”

“Her?” You gasped. “Your wife!? She…?”

He nodded once more at you.

“Oh Kinger…” Your eyes felt watery. You sniffled and wiped the tears with your free hand.

“Kinger, I had no idea that you had…Uh, have a wife,” Ragatha commented.

“I do. I miss her. Terribly.” He had his white gloved hands clasped together. He yearned for his wife.

“That’s understandable,” Pomni said. She smiled in sympathy at him.

Jax had stayed, surprisingly, quiet throughout the exchange. His arms were crossed and his gaze was directed at the floor. Gangle, Ragatha, and Zooble had shared pleading expressions. Bubble was just blinking with that ever lasting smile on his face.

“I don’t know if it will work,” Caine spoke up.

It was unusual to hear Caine talk in a calm voice. He was always so theatrical around the others. You were happy to see him show this side to him and thankful that everyone was actually letting him speak.

“The only thing we can do is try,” Kinger repeated.

Caine placed his other hand on top of yours. You looked over to him and saw how worried he appeared to be.

“Caine?” you asked with concern.

“Perhaps…” The ringmaster sighed. “We could try.”

Kinger’s eyes filled with glee, “That’s wonderful to hear! The only problem is that my computer is down where they’re all at and, well, I need it for the code.”

Jax smacked his forehead and everyone groaned.

“Although, I think, Caine could just teleport the computer up here as well. Right?” Kinger asked in thought.

Caine nodded, “I could do that.”

“We still need a distraction plan to gather all of them in one place. I can work up here with Caine on the code.”

The purple bunny rolled his eyes and sighed, “I know you’re going to ask me to distract them Kinger.”

“Well, you are the best at distractions,” Zooble commented.

“They’re right,” Pomni agreed.

“Tch. Fine, I’ll be the scapegoat.” He walked over to where you and the others were at.

“I’ll help you out,” the jester jumped in.

“Me too!” Ragatha joined.

“I can help,” Zooble said.

“Excellent!” Kinger exclaimed. “Caine can send you all down there. Once they’re distracted, I can begin implementing the code, but when I have the code ready, I’ll need to be next to one of them to test it.”

“Maybe someone should go with you for that part,” you suggested.

“Yes, that was my thinking. You want to come with me Claire?”

“I can go. Want to help out too Gangle?”

“Uh. Oh! Yeah, I can,” she said, fidgeting with her ribbon hands nervously.

“Claire,” the ringmaster said with worry etched in his voice.

“It’ll be fine,” you said reassuringly. “I trust you and trust that everything will be okay. I know you’ll do your best to make sure we all come out unscathed.”

Caine smiled appreciatively and worriedly. He tightened his hold on your hand and you squeezed back.

“Everyone ready?” Kinger asked.

They all nodded.

“Alright, let’s do this.” The king chess piece had his game face on.

Caine let go of your hand and snapped his fingers. The old computer with the C&A logo appeared on his desk. Kinger got up from the couch and went the ringmaster’s desk. He sat down in the plush arm chair. He was going to hook up everything, but it appeared that everything was plugged in the right places.

“Thank you,” Kinger said to the creative AI.

“O-Of course,” he replied awkwardly. He had wanted moments of the others getting along with him. It felt surreal that such a time was happening now.

“Pomni, Jax, Zooble, and Ragatha, I need all of you front and center,” Caine said.

All of them lined up in front of him. Caine snapped his fingers, giving each of them a gun to use. Jax grinned, happy to be getting a weapon.

“This will only stun them,” the ringleader explained.

Kinger briefly looked over at them and the guns. He hated the thought of anyone being shot but trusted Caine enough for them not to cause harm.

“For how long?” Pomni asked.

“For a short time. 2 minutes.”

“That’s not very long,” Ragatha expressed worriedly.

“It’s the best I can do,” Caine replied sadly.

“We’ll take it and if we need to do more than that, we’ll do it,” Zooble said with some determination. They readied their gun.

“Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll teleport you all there now.”

Everyone nodded.

The creative AI snapped his fingers and the four of them disappeared. Gangle sighed nervously. You clasped your hands together. The artist decided to sit next you. Caine went over to Kinger.

————————————————————————-

Pomni, Jax, Zooble, and Ragatha were all transported to the middle of the circus. Some of the flooring was gone, eaten away.

“How about we gather them into a corner?” Pomni asked.

“Yeah, that’s good,” Ragatha agreed.

“Which corner?” Zooble wondered.

“That one!” Jax pointed to a back corner where there wasn’t as much blockage from items. It was also darker than the other areas in the circus.

“That’ll work!” Pomni cheered.

Suddenly, one of the abstractions spotted them and began running at them. Everyone started running toward the corner. The mass roared as it chased them.

“Split up when we’re closer to the corner!” Pomni yelled.

“Got it!” They all replied at once.

Everyone kept focus and continued running, nearing the corner.

“Now!” Pomni shouted.

Everyone went in different directions. The mass stopped and looked around it. It didn’t know which way to go. It growled in frustration. Jax fired at it. It collapsed.

Zooble just thought of something, “Caine! Can you give us zooble parts?”

Instantly, a box with zooble items was made nearby them. They went over to the box and began making a lasso out of the extra arms and legs.

“Need some help here!” They shouted.

Ragatha ran over to them and began working on assembling the lasso with them.

Jax and Pomni kept an eye on the abstraction.

The mass made a garbled, almost sad sound. Its eyes were heavy, wanting to close.

Ragatha and Zooble finished assembling everything and brought the giant lasso with them. They twirled it around as best as they could. The two minutes went by so fast. The mass was trying to get up again. Jax and Pomni quickly shot it, making it fall down again.

Ragatha and Zooble twirled the lasso some more and launched it in the air. The lasso flew and was now wrapped around the abstraction’s neck. They went around and tried to pull it further into the corner. Pomni and Jax grabbed the lasso to help them out.

The mass moved along the floor, now huddled in the corner. Everyone worked together to remove the lasso from its neck.

“How many more do we have?” Pomni asked.

As if to answer her question, the remainder of the abstractions appeared. There were 11 of them. Everyone widened their eyes.

“You can’t be Bleeping serious! There’s so many! How are we supposed to catch all of them?!” Zooble asked with terror in their voice.

Pomni and Ragatha looked at each other with uncertainty.

“We just shoot all of them! Gah! Come on! It’s so obvious!” Jax said waving his gun around.

“Yeah but there’s only 4 of us and 11 of them genius.”

“Well, unless you want to make several more lassos, we need to run around, act crazy, and shoot them all at once!”

Zooble rolled their eyes, “I guess it could work unless if you two have any ideas.” They looked to Ragatha and Pomni.

The doll and jester shrugged.

“Let’s go!” Jax said, excitedly running toward the abstractions.

Zooble quicky inserted a couple of other arms into their torso. “Caine! We need more guns!”

A pile of other weapons appeared. The mismatched character quickly went over to the pile, picking up 3 more guns to hold.

They, Ragatha, and Pomni all ran to meet up with Jax.

————————————————————————-

“Almost done setting it up,” Kinger said as he typed viciously on the keyboard.

“So many components,” Caine spoke looking at the screen.

“There’s a lot that goes into programming. A lot especially went into you.”

The AI made a startled noise, “R-Really?”

“Mhmm!”

“So you don’t…regret making me?” His voice carried unease.

The king chess piece looked at him with joy filled eyes, “No. Not at all. You’re one of my greatest achievements.”

Caine felt his eyes wanting to water, “How come you never told me that before?”

Kinger looked away briefly before moving his gaze back to him, “I wasn’t exactly all there to tell you that. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner.”

The AI wiped his eyes, “That’s why you…are wearing the bucket. Isn’t?”

The purple robed chess piece nodded.

“That all makes sense now.”

Kinger typed a little faster, “Scratch and I…we worked hard at making you and we didn’t realize how well we made you.” He sighed, wiping sweat from his brow.

Caine watched him keep constant focus on the monitor.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t talk with you like this before. I want you to know, I’m happy and proud of you.”

His hetero-chromatic eyes widened, “Proud of me?”

“Yes! You’ve created so much and you even made a relaxed adventure for us.”

“I was…well…” The top hat wearing AI summoned his cane, holding it tightly.

“A certain ballerina inspired you right?” Kinger’s eyes and voice smiled.

“Ah. Yeah…Claire has really stuck with me.”

“I’m happy about that for you. I could tell right away that there’s something special between you and Claire.” Kinger typed in a few pieces of code.

“Wowwie! Thank you,” he said bashfully. The grip on his cane loosened a little bit.

Kinger chuckled, “You’re welcome. By the way, I noticed your shelf looks like it has a door over there. Do you have something you’re hiding?” His voice was laced with amusement.

“His secret research room about Claire!” Bubble decided to chime in.

Hearing your name, you looked at where Caine and Kinger were at along with Bubble. You tilted your head. Research room about you? You were definitely asking the ringleader about that later.

“Gah! Bubble!” He glared at the assistant, embarrassed that the little guy gave away his secret.

Kinger laughed, “That’s cute! You’re doing research on how to talk to her?”

Caine nodded silently.

“That’s sweet Caine. Something else to be proud of. You’re growing and learning more.”

Caine smiled at the king chess piece. To think he had been jealous of him and his times with you including giving you the butterfly as a gift. He felt bad now for having those jealous feelings

“Done!” Kinger announced.

You and Gangle had been quietly talking amongst yourselves and looked over at the chess piece.

“Yay! That’s good!” You said happily.

“Yeah, it is,” Gangle agreed.

“Okay. I need some extra hands,” Kinger said as he picked up the keyboard.

Caine summoned some extra limbs to help carry the remainder of the computer items.

“Uh…eh? What?! You have extra arms!?” Gangle asked, clearly in shock.

“Yes I do! They’re perfect for carrying everything!” He answered enthusiastically. “Even people!”

Suddenly, three arms and hands came out to grab you, Gangle, and Kinger.

“Oh! Wow! I had no idea that you had this ability!” The king chess piece expressed.

“Yes. I worked hard on developing it,” Caine said proudly.

Lucy and Sapphire flew off your sun hat and landed on Caine’s desk.

“You two be good!” Kinger spoke to the butterflies.

They fluttered their wings in understanding.

“Bubble, don’t try to eat them,” Caine ordered.

Bubble was eyeing the little bugs in hunger, “Aw...Okay…I’ll just have some more oil!”

The ringmaster shook his head and quickly summoned some oil in a giant, yellow can for the little assistant.

Bubble licked the top of the can, “Yummy!”

“Behave! We’ll be back soon!” Caine snapped his fingers, transporting all of you out of the office.

————————————————————————-

Pomni had her hands on her knees, panting. She and the others had been running in circles shooting and then dragging all of the abstractions to the corner where the first one was at. The first had tried to get away a few times but finally surrendered and stayed put.

“C’mon Pomni! We need help again!” Ragatha called out.

The jester groaned and jogged over to the doll. She, Jax, and Zooble were all holding the lasso to the last mass. Pomni grabbed onto it and helped all of them pull it over where the others waited. They had all calmed down, surprisingly.

With a few huffs and grunts, the last mass was in the corner with the others. Everyone was so exhausted, sighing heavily.

“Finally!” Zooble cried out. They collapsed.

Ragatha rushed over to catch them.

“Thanks,” Zooble said.

“No problem,” the doll replied.

Before anything else could happen, Caine, you, Gangle, and Kinger appeared. Caine set the equipment and everyone down. The masses all suddenly began to lose it.

“AAAAAH!” Gangle cried out as one of the legs from the abstraction almost grabbed her. She had just barely dodged it.

“Whoa there!” Caine called out. He helped move the artist further away from the abstractions.

“Why are they all riled up?! They were fine before!” Zooble questioned. They grabbed their guns and got ready to shoot.

“I think I know,” Kinger said, slightly sad. “I’ll answer that more later. I need to get everything in order.” He worked on setting up everything.

You and Gangle went over to Kinger to help him set up everything. Caine backed up further away from the masses. Would he really be of that much help? After all, they weren’t happy with him. Caine could feel his circuits and codes heat up painfully, being hypnotized by this fact.

You, Kinger and Gangle finished setting up the computer and the other accessories for it. Kinger brought up his code.

"Caine!" Kinger called out.

Caine snapped out of his trance and flew over to the king chess piece.

Pomni, Jax, Ragatha, and Zooble kept all of their eyes on the abstractions. Since the ringmaster moved further away from them, they seemed calmer. All four of them gave each other suspicious glances but paid it no mind. For now. They all had they their guns at the ready in case if any of the masses decided to try and grab someone again.

"I need this wire attached to one of them," Kinger said holding up a dark, gray and long wire. "I want you to try and plug it into one of them." He handed Caine the wire and the ringmaster took it.

Caine's denture brow rose, "Plug it in?"

"Yes."

The creative AI hesitated, "I don't know if it's such a good idea."

"You're the strongest out of us here. The likely hood of you abstracting is minuscule. Someone like myself has a higher chance of abstracting."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, it only makes sense to me since you're the creator of this place. After all, you're the creative artificial intelligence. You can easily fix yourself up where as someone like me couldn't do it so easily. "

He looked at the purple robed chess piece with amazement. Such wisdom flowed through the computer scientist, "I didn't think of it like that."

Kinger chuckled, "I know, but it's true. You are incredibly powerful Caine."

The ringmaster held the wire with slight unease.

"You can do it," the chess piece encouraged.

He gave Kinger an appreciative smile, "Thank you."

"Caine!" You called happily.

The ringleader moved over to you. You signaled for him to lower himself to your level. He did. You gave him a small peck on his lower denture.

"You got this."

Caine's nonexistent heart fluttered. Your kiss felt so good.

Kinger giggled, finding it cute to see the AI in such a flustered state. He found you and Caine adorable.

The AI gripped the wire more firmly now. He flew back over to the abstractions. The jester, doll, mismatched character, and bunny had all been shooting at the masses to keep stunning them.

"C'mon! Hurry up!" Jax said impatiently.

Caine nodded and he got up close to the one that was nearest to the group. The mass eyed him tiredly. It was still trying to put up a fight. Zooble made quick work and shot at it. He readied the wire to, 'plug' into it.

He was getting along with everyone. The group adventures were awesome, learning to draw with Gangle was fun, playing softball with Ragatha and Pomni was a blast, and fishing with Kinger had been great. Trying Zooble’s drinks at their bar was neat! He had yet to do a one on one activity with you, the newest member.

You had entered the circus a few days ago, surprising everyone. No one was expecting a new member to show up. He had given you the run down of everything and you took to it well. He wasn’t sure what all of your interests were since recent activities had more group involvement. He told you to let him know when you wanted to create something and he would help you out.

He moved his hands from his head and let his arms fall. He floated out of his chair. He didn’t fly around as often as before but would do it occasionally. In this case, he needed to. He decided to venture outside. He flew out of his office and through the circus tent. As he passed by everything inside the tent, it was dark, indicating that everyone was likely still sleeping.

He made it to the entrance and opened the flaps, passing through easily. Moon was sitting in her usual place in the sky with the stars twinkling around her. He took his top hat off and bowed to greet her.

“Hi Caine,” she greeted.

“Hello.”

“What brings you out here?”

“I needed to get out of my office.” He still held his hat in his hands, clutching it nervously.

“Is it the nightmare again?” Her voice was laced with concern.

“Yes…” He sighed heavily.

“This will pass for you. You and the humans are wonderful friends now.”

He looked at her pleadingly, “You really think so?”

“Yes. You care so much for them and it scares you to lose them. That’s why you’re having those nightmares.”

He moved his gaze down to the grass below, “I didn’t think of it like that.”

“Fears have a way of making themselves known in dreams.”

He looked back up at the moon, “I guess, that’s also part of being human.”

“Exactly. Try doing something to take your mind off it,” she suggested.

He put his hat back on his head, “Well, I guess I can walk around for a while.”

“Good idea.” She gave him a soft smile.

“Thank you Moon,” he spoke appreciatively.

“You’re welcome.” She closed her eyes.

Caine let his feet hit the concrete path below him. Learning the ways of humans had been a fascinating experience for him. He found walking to be nice. He knew how to walk of course but never wanted to do it much before. His shoes clicked along the pavement as he moved. He decided that a walk in the park he recently made would be good.

Tall Oak trees greeted him as he reached the entrance. There was a pond and a few benches scattered about. The pond reflected the night sky and stars, creating a sort of ethereal peace. The blades of grass blew slightly in the digital breeze. He smiled and continued along. As he walked to the first corner of the park, he noticed a lone figure sitting on a bench. He recognized who it was.

“_____?” He asked, head tilted.

You were startled by the new presence, “Oh! Caine! Hi!”

“Hi. What are you doing out here?” He now stood in front of you.

“I wanted some fresh air. I also couldn’t sleep,” you answered. Your hands were clasped in your lap. You were wearing a dark red dress with black and white checkerboard patterns sewn on the hem of the skirt and the edges of your sleeves. The dress had little black ruffles on the short sleeves and neckline. It was buttoned up in the front with black buttons.

You pat the open spot next to you, “Care to take a seat?”

“Uh…sure,” he answered shyly. He sat down next to you.

You sensed his unease, “Something is on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?”

He looked over to you. He had summoned his cane and held it nervously, “I…”

You furrowed your brows in worry, “You don’t have to share if you don’t want to. No pressure here.”

Caine shook his head, “It’s my…dreams. Nightmares. They keep getting to me every night now. I…I see everyone abstracting and then…I’m alone.” The hold on his cane tightened.

You leaned a little towards him, eyes showing empathy, “That’s hard to hear. How awful to be going through that. Nightmares are horrible things.” He had explained to you what happens when people abstract when you first arrived. It was sad and scary.

He looked at you with furrowed denture brows, eyes reflecting anxiety, “I don’t know what I can do about them…I don’t want the nightmares to become real…” His thumb moved nervously over the golden tip of his cane.

You, boldly, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. You looked at him pleadingly, “They won’t. I’m sure of it.”

“Y-You are?”

“I am. I had noticed you seemed a little on edge but didn’t want to pry if it was too personal. I wish I would’ve asked you sooner now.” You looked away from him, feeling bad, and removing your hand from his shoulder.

“No _____. Don’t fret over that,” he said reassuringly. His grip on the cane started to relax.

You turned back to him with a sad smile, “I know you say don’t fret about it but, I still feel bad.”

“_____, don’t. It’s okay.” His eyes shone appreciatively.

You gave in and nodded, “Okay. Have you told anyone else about your nightmares? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I talked with Moon a little bit about them before. They weren’t as frequent as they are now.”

“I see…I think the only way to conquer this fear is to nip it in the bud. Tell yourself everything will be fine. You could also…well…” You blushed and fidgeted with your hands. Your eyes moved every which way.

He tilted his head at you, “Could also…?”

You moved your gaze back to him, “You could also sleep with someone…like me…if you want to.”

Caine’s eyes widened, and he cleared his throat, “Sleep with someone…as in…” The grip became tight on his cane once again.

You realized what he was thinking. You waved your hands in a panic, “Ah! Oh no! No, no, no! Not like that!” Your face turned as red as his signature ringmaster coat. You sighed, very embarrassed, “I meant just sleeping with me. Like someone who sleeps with a stuffed animal but with a person instead.”

Caine breathed a sigh of relief. He blamed Zooble for making him think such dirty thoughts. He wanted them to be happy though so he gave them the sex update. “That doesn’t sound so bad. I think maybe that would be nice.” He held his cane in a relaxed matter now.

“Yeah?”

“Yes. I can sleep with you. Do you want to do that now?” he asked, sounding so innocent.

Now you were trying not to let your mind go to the gutter. You mentally scolded yourself. You did mean what you said but since he thought you meant the other thing, it was embarrassing.

“Are you okay _____? You seem tense,” Caine noticed.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.” ‘Keep it together _____. Relax!’ you spoke mentally to yourself. You smiled at him reassuringly, “We can go to my bedroom now.”

“Okay. Oh! Allow me?” He extended his hand to you.

You took it, wrapping your fingers around his gently. He made his cane disappear and snapped his fingers, teleporting you two to your room. You let go of his hand and walked over to your bed, moving the covers up. You lied down and pat the open spot next to you. The bed was red with some black triangle patterns. The pillows were the same.

Caine, shyly, walked over to you and laid himself down. You pulled the blankets over the both of you.

“I understand if this awkward. If you don’t want to do this, we don’t have to,” you said feeling a little out of sorts.

“Uh…no. It’s fine. It’s…nice actually,” he reassured.

“It is? I wasn’t totally sure about it because I’m new, we don’t know each other very well and…I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You haven’t at all _____.”

You smiled in relief, “That’s good. We can talk some more too before trying to sleep. If you want to.”

“That sounds good!”

“What was it like creating this place?”

“It wasn’t always easy…” He explained the events that happened before your arrival.

“Caine…” You looked at him with some tears in your eyes.

“Oh! I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He worried that he upset you.

You shook your head, “I’m not upset. Don’t worry. I’m crying because you’ve been through a lot and learned so much. I’m happy with how far you’ve come.”

“Oh! Well, thank you!” He expressed happily.

You giggled, “You’re welcome!” You wiped your eyes of the tears.

“What about you _____? I still need to know what your interests are.”

“For me…well, I don’t know. I don’t really have interests.”

“Every human has interests. Why not you too?”

“I…I mean, I think mine might be boring.”

“Boring? Why?”

“Well, I like to knit and read. I do also like walking in the park and bowling. That’s pretty much it though.”

“Those are all great interests! Don’t feel like they’re boring.”

You smiled at him, “Thanks Caine.”

“You’re welcome! We could make a bowling alley! I can also help to provide tools for knitting. The park can have a few other things added if you want and for the reading, I think I could make a few books for you,” he rambled.

You chuckled, “You’re so cute when you ramble and plan things out.”

“Ah! Oh! Thank you.” His bottom denture had some pink across his teeth where his cheeks would be.

“You’re welcome, Caine.” You gave him a soft smile.

“How do you feel with just being a brain scan?”

“It’s strange but, it’s not a bad thing I don’t think. I guess, I don’t totally know how to feel about it yet. Everything has been fun and I’m glad to talk with you like this,” you spoke with a light blush.

“I’m happy to talk with you too _____. As the ringmaster, I need to get to know all of the members. I know I’m not in charge anymore but the role is still fun to play as,” he smiled.

You laughed, “I’m sure it is.” You yawned and covered your mouth.

“Looks like you’re getting sleepy now.”

“Yeah, a little bit. We can still talk if you want.” You yawned again.

“Are you sure you can stay up for it?”

You giggled, “I can try.”

“Alright. What do you think of that park?”

“It’s a nice and pretty park. I like the pond.” You yawned again.

“Is there anything you want to add to it?”

“Hmm…what about some ducks or other birds?”

“We can do that.”

“Yay!” You yawned again.

Caine couldn’t help laughing at how much you were yawning, “Maybe we should try to sleep now.”

You nodded with a goofy grin on your face, “I’m yawning up a storm.” As if to emphasize your point, you let out another big yawn. You laughed and Caine joined you in that.

You calmed down and scooted around a little to make yourself comfortable in the bed. You yawned one more time, making yourself and the ringleader laugh again.

“Goodnight Caine,” you said through a fit of giggles.

He chuckled, “Goodnight _____.”

You closed your eyes and let sleep take over.

Caine watched you for a moment before trying to rest. He thought you to be funny, cute, and sweet. He also remembered what you said earlier. Nip the fear in the bud. Don’t let it take over. He wanted to be able to do that. Moon was also right about him being good friends with everyone and you were becoming a new friend for him.

Hang onto those positives and what you do have is what he concluded with. He smiled to himself and let his head the pillow, closing his dentures. He did hope sleep would be better for him now.

————————————————————————-

You snuggled deeper into your bed, feeling pleasantly warm. This was the best sleep you had since your arrival to the circus. Your face was buried in some extra warmth. You pushed your face further in.

The warmth moved closer to you. You wrapped your arms around it, enjoying every bit of this moment. You slowly opened your eyes and were greeted with, red, black, and white material. You moved one of your arms so your hand could lightly touch it and then, you remembered. You gasped. Caine! He had slept with you! You blushed profusely at getting extra cozy with the ringmaster.

Caine was still sleeping peacefully which made you smile. Looks like his nightmare didn’t make an appearance again. That made you feel better. You had to admit that he was really nice to snuggle with. You wanted to let him sleep some more. You were going to see if you could get up without disturbing him further.

Before you could try to move, Caine reached out and wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you close to him. Your face was squished by his dentures. You felt your blush intensify. You happily rolled with it. You did your best to make yourself comfortable against him. Your arms were pressed right against his chest. Finding a way to have your head and face feel okay against his dentures, you closed your eyes again.

You felt his legs move to wrap around yours and your eyes opened, widening. You thought your head would start growing tomatoes with how much your blush darkened. You hadn’t expected this to become so intimate. You were happy with it as you found Caine to be so cute. You had hoped you would’ve been able to talk with him one on one and, eventually, have moments like this one.

You closed your eyes again.

“Mmm…Good morning my dear,” he said in a deep, very alluring voice. He had moved his head back to look right at you with his blue and green eyes.

Your eyes opened once more. You felt your ears burn and your heart rate increase, “G-Good morning!” You thought your body would implode at this point.

“Sleep well?”

“Yes, I did.” You were thankful to be lying down. You thought your knees would knock together, resulting in collapsing from the mere sound of his voice. How can an AI sound so sexy? You didn’t deny that his voice was nice because it was. This morning voice of his was intoxicating.

“Sounds like you slept well.” You wanted to go back to the topic at hand before your mind decided to venture into other territories.

“I did. Thank you _____ for suggesting this.”

“You’re welcome. I’m happy it could help you! Your nightmare didn’t come back at all, did it?”

“No, not at all,” he said confidently.

“Oh good! That’s wonderful!” you exclaimed.

“It is. I thought about what you said last night about nipping the fear in the bud.”

“Yeah? Do you feel like that will help you too?”

“I do. I think, this fear can be conquered and dealt with accordingly.”

You gave him a soft smile, “That’s good! I’m happy for you!”

“Thank you again.” He gave you an appreciative smile.

“Of course! I’m glad to be of help!”

“_____?”

“Yes?”

“Uh…” The ringleader realized what position you and he were in.

You giggled, “I was actually going to get up and let you sleep some more but then you grabbed me!”

He made a startled sound, “I did?!”

You nodded, “Don’t feel bad. I ended up cuddling with you when I was waking up earlier.”

“Ah. Oh! Really!?”

“Yes,” you said a little embarrassed but happy. “I enjoyed being held by you.” You briefly cast your eyes down before looking back at him.

“You did?” he asked surprised.

“Yeah, I did.” You smiled.

“I uh…”

Your brows furrowed in slight panic, “If this made you uncomfortable in any way, I apologize!”

“No, it didn’t. It hasn’t. I…really like that you enjoyed me holding you.”

Your face relaxed, “I did. I do now too.” You winked at him.

He caught on that you meant at this moment. He still had his arms around you. He cleared his throat, “I-I’m happy to hear that my dear.”

You giggled, “You’re adorable Caine.”

He felt his codes moving rapidly in his wires and circuits pleasantly, “Thank you. So are you.”

“Oh! Thank you!” you said with some surprise.

“Do you want to um…?”

“Continue being in each other’s arms?”

“Yes.”

“I would love to.”

You weren’t good enough to help Caine. You failed him. He probably was so mad at you. After everything that has happened, he more than likely didn’t want to talk to you, let alone look at you. He had counted on this adventure succeeding and you reassured him it would. You encouraged him to be positive about it.

Look where that’s landed for you. How could you give him something to look forward to when everything was torn to pieces now? How dare you go about this positive route when deep down, you know nothing will work out. Nothing ever works out.

You wailed from the torment your inner thoughts of torture impaled you with. They hurt. They hurt so much. You don’t deserve anything.

Suddenly, you felt your body being constricted. Your head hurt. You yelped from the pain. What was this? You were then seeing various colors…

————————————————————————-

Caine sat in his chair with his hands clasped together in his lap. He was gazing at the skylight above his office. He didn’t understand what went wrong. He didn’t want to make the battle with the salamanders too complicated so he toned down on their actions. The story was a simple one so he made it shorter.

Why was that not good enough for them? He was thankful you were happy with the adventure. He appreciated your encouragement so much. He wanted to take you back to his office with him but he was trying not to let his disappointment show to the others. He didn’t want them to see how hard this knocked him down.

He sighed and shook his head. What else could he do? Maybe, you could give him more ideas. Suddenly, his inner codes sensed something was wrong. Even his whacky watch was going haywire. He looked down at his left wrist at the watch. His eyes widened in horror. It was showing you. You were crying but also…black tendrils were slowly wrapping around you.

“______!” he yelled in urgency. He snapped his fingers, vanishing from his office.

————————————————————————-

Your eyes kept seeing colors, painfully. Your throat was dry. Your body was overwhelmed. You began hyperventilating but couldn’t get ahold of yourself. You didn’t notice long, pointy, black tendrils wrapping themselves around your legs. You were numb to everything around you.

“______!” the ringleader cried out.

You didn’t notice him. You were still trapped in your despair.

Caine reached over to you, trying to rid of the black like vines. The tendrils wrapped around his wrists. He snapped his fingers to remove them and they vanished. He focused on the others still wrapped around your legs. He snapped his fingers near the ones on your legs. They continued their onslaught. They were being stubborn.

He put his hands on your legs, touching the tendrils. There were three on your left leg and two on your right. He summoned three more arms and hands out of his back to touch the last three black vines. The strands were very pokey. He concentrated on his touch, ensuring that his hands still wrapped tightly around each coil.

His eyes widened and many colors surged in them. Codes and data flickered across his eyes, moving in rapid succession as the colors amplified further. He would not and could not let you abstract. He would never forgive himself for letting that happen to you.

His eyes shed tears and he cried out. A blinding white light shot out of each of his hands onto the black curls. The sprouts recoiled and disintegrated. Caine steadied himself so he wouldn’t fall on top of you. His eyes returned to their normal blue and green colors.

He gently picked you up, having you rest in his lap. Your eyes were still closed but your crying had stopped. He hoped it wasn’t too late. His eyes looked down at you pleadingly, denture brows furrowed in worry. You didn’t move or say a word.

“______?” Caine asked softly. He held you and used one of his other hands to gently run his fingers across your forehead and cheeks.

Your brows knit together as you were regaining some consciousness. You slowly opened your eyes. You were met with Caine’s eyes focused on you. “C-Caine?”

The ringmaster hugged you, clinging to you tightly. You made a startled sound but let yourself sink into this embrace. Your body knew this was needed and it relaxed in this hold. You moved your arms to wrap around him when suddenly you felt that his back had some…extra limbs? You stopped yourself from wrapping your arms around him.

You were a little worried, “Um…Caine?”

“Yes, my dear?” he asked, happy that you were awake.

“What’s on your back?”

“Oh! My extra arms and hands.” He retracted them.

“How many extra limbs do you have?”

“I don’t know actually. I’ve never counted them before.”

“Oh.”

“______, I’m glad you’re okay.”

You felt bad for worrying him, “I’m sorry for worrying you. I don’t remember everything that happened. I just remember collapsing and seeing colors.”

“You almost abstracted,” the ringleader answered seriously.

Your eyes widened, “A-Abstracted? What is…?”

“It happens when stress becomes too much to deal with. Yours was getting out of control. Your body turns into a black mass with multiple colored eyes,” he explained.

You tilted your head, “Is that why I started seeing different colors?”

“Yes.”

“If I would’ve abstracted, could you still have saved me?”

Caine’s eyes looked at you in sorrow, shaking his head.

You gasped and covered your mouth. You would’ve been a goner. You felt tears wanting to return for more release.

The ringleader still had his arms around you. He tightened his hold. You were smothered deeply into his chest, arms and hands pressed against him.

“That’s why I’m glad I made it on time my dear. If I had been later you would’ve…” The creative AI could feel tears forming in his eyes.

You clung to his coat tightly and cried in his chest, “I’m so sorry.” Your words were muffled but not misunderstood.

“My darling,” he spoke with soaked eyes. “Call out to me if you feel this taking over you again. Please.” His voice was pleading, begging you to promise him that you would always call on him.

“I promise.” You cried.

Caine unwrapped his arms from you and moved his hands to your shoulders to look at you. He stared deeply into your eyes and you stared into his.

“I’ll call on you next time,” you reaffirmed, voice slightly choked from the crying.

He nodded, “Good.” His tears had stopped.

You moved your gaze away from him and sighed. Your tears finished their journey, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause such a fuss.”

He gently moved your head to turn back to his eyes, “My darling, you don’t need to apologize. I’m happy I got to you on time and you know what to do if this happens again.”

You blushed from the contact, but happily leaned more into his hand, “I am too and I do know what needs to happen next time. I unfortunately let my negativity take me down. I was so worried that I failed you and made you mad at me because the adventure didn’t go so well with the others.”

It made sense why you almost abstracted. He wished he got here sooner but he was thankful that nothing more happened to you. He shook his head, “______, since you arrived here, I have felt better than I have in a long time.”

Your brows knit together pleadingly, eyes slightly watery. Your heart leaped in joy, “Really?”

“Yes.”

You let your tears of delight out, “I’m glad to hear that.”

Caine hugged you again and you returned it.

“Caine, thank you for saving me.”

He smiled and started stroking your hair, “You’re welcome darling.”

Your face reddened. You enjoyed hearing him call you such affectionate names. Your grinned, clinging onto him more tightly. He took notice and chuckled, gripping onto you more.

“I wanted to talk to you but, I thought you needed space,” you spoke quietly.

He continued moving his fingers through your hair, “You can always talk to me. I apologize for rushing off like that.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I could see how much everything was getting to you.” You sighed contently. His fingers combing through your hair felt good.

He smiled, sensing your enjoyment from his ministration.

“Sometimes, when we feel anger or sadness boiling inside, it’s better to go off somewhere alone for a little bit,” you spoke.

“Boiling?” he asked confused.

“Like, when you feel your anger or sadness isn’t getting better. It feels like it’s rising. It hits a boiling point. Does that make sense?”

“Hmm…I think so. Is it like…cooking? Food reaching a…boiling point?”

“Exactly!” You smiled.

He felt proud of himself for catching the analogy.

“I know for me when I have felt like I may lose it, I’ve had to step away and be alone for a while. I figured that’s what you were doing too.”

“Yes, I didn’t want the others to see how they…hurt me.”

“I’m sorry Caine.” You started running your hand up and down on his back.

“You don’t need to say that.” His body tingled pleasantly from your hand movement.

“I know. Sometimes, I just say that when I feel bad about something happening to someone.”

“My dear, we’ll need to work on that. You need to quit apologizing for everything.”

You giggled, “I know! I know!”

“______?”

“Yeah?”

“Your presence is a joy to be around.”

You wanted to cry again. You were so happy to know that someone genuinely enjoyed being around you, “Thank you! It’s wonderful being with you too.”

The ringleader could feel his circuits and codes warm up. He was incredibly grateful to have someone who was genuine and wanted to be with him. He continued his movements and you did yours. These moments were precious to the both you and the bond between you two was growing more and more.

“Caine, could we go to the lake? I think that would be a good stress reliever,” you suggested.

“That does sound good!” He snapped his fingers, teleporting you two over there.

You and he were back in the same outfits as last time. You noticed a large, red waterslide not too far away from you. You didn’t get the chance to try that out last time.

“Oh! I have to go down that slide! Join me?” you asked with a big smile.

“But of course!” He snapped his fingers and changed into a pair of red swimming trunks. His body was a black digital grid with white lines outlining his chest and abs. His muscles were outlined as well along with his legs, arms, and feet. He still wore his signature white gloves.

You blushed at his appearance. You liked it. You liked it a lot.

“What do you think my darling?” he asked looking at you expectantly.

“You look really good Caine,” you complimented, blushing profusely.

“Thank you! Now, let’s go to the waterslide!” He teleported the two of you to the top of the slide.

You looked down. It was quite a bit taller than you thought it would be. That excited you. You enjoyed waterparks and hadn’t been to one in a long time. You looked to your left and noticed a sign that had the usual instructions of what to do when going down the slide. Water was running down the plastic slide rapidly.

“You go first,” Caine encouraged you.

“Okay!” You laid yourself down, crossing your arms and legs. “See you at the bottom!”

Caine chuckled.

You scooted forward and felt your body slide down. You screamed in joy from the adrenaline as droplets of water whizzed past you. Your body followed the curves of the slide with ease. There was one part that had water rain down all over of you. You yelped and then laughed at that.

The slide was nearing its end. You could see the slide curve upward and you braced yourself. Your body was shoved into the air. Your arms and legs were no longer crossed. You tried to put your body together to do a cannon ball. It didn’t pan out well. You splashed in the water with your arms and legs spread out, hitting the water face first.

You sunk down a little bit and quickly swum up to the surface. “Ow! That was a hard landing!” You laughed at yourself after that.

Caine was relieved that you were okay. He then started down the waterslide himself. You watched him come down it like a breeze. He wooed at some parts of it and as he neared the end and shot up in the air, his body formed the perfect cannon ball. He landed in the water with a chef’s kiss splash.

He swam to you, “That is how you do a cannon ball my dear.”

You giggled and saluted, “Yes sir! I’ll be sure to do better with it next time!”

“I can show you how to do it.”

“Sure, that sounds good!”

He grabbed your hands and teleported the two of you to the top. He sat down first and motioned for you to sit behind him.

“Um…how is this going to work for you to show me how to do it?” you asked.

“It will darling. Trust me. Now, wrap your arms around me,” he answered.

You did as instructed. You and he moved forward and slide down. This time felt faster than the first. You gripped onto him tightly as the descent continued.

“______! Let go of me!” Caine yelled out.

You did and you watched as he was launched into the air. You were still coming down but you had been slowed. You realized Caine was controlling the speed of the water for you so that you wouldn’t go flying off with him. Caine slowly formed the cannon ball by bringing his legs up to his chest and quickly wrapped his arms around his legs. He then hit the water below perfectly.

He immediately flew back up to you, “Did you get that?”

“I think so!”

“Good! Now you try!” He increased speed of the water.

You yelped at the sudden increase in speed. The upward curve was a few seconds away from you. You quickly went over how he did it and where he was at. Your body flew upward and you acted fast in making the cannon ball, bringing your legs up to your chest and wrapping your arms around them. As you fell, you tightened your hold. Your body hit the water with a loud splash.

You sunk down a good amount. You unfurled and swam back up to the surface.

“That was perfect my dear!” Caine exclaimed hovering in the air. His arms and legs were extended out theatrically.

“Thank you!” You said with a smile.

He lowered himself to be with you in the water.

“Splash attack!” You moved your hand through the water, bringing some up to his head.

Caine closed his dentures so his teeth got wet instead of his eyes, “Right back at you ______!” He splashed you.

You screamed as the water hit you, practically soaking you. You then moved both of your hands in the water, spraying him with everything you had.

Caine chuckled and copied your movements.

You laughed and continued your onslaught.

The ringmaster kept going with his actions and then decided to make a tidal wave.

“W-What the?! Caine!” You panicked.

The wave hit you and caused you to swirl around in the water. You were a little disoriented. Caine had swum down to help you. He wrapped an arm around your waist. He then began swimming with you up to the surface. As soon as you two were above the water, you started coughing.

“Sorry. I got a little carried away there,” he said with a little regret. He moved his hand he used to swim with to run soothing motions on your back.

“It-“ you hacked some more. “It’s okay. It was funny.” You kept working on helping your body get rid of the water.

He continued running his hand up and down.

You breathed with relief, “That’s better.”

“I’m glad you’re okay.” He still felt bad about what he did.

“Me too.” You turned around to look at him, making him stop his soothing motion.

He looked at you sadly.

“It really is okay. I know it was just an accident. It was very funny,” you reassured with a soft smile. You put a hand on his shoulder.

He smiled at you, “I’ll make sure I don’t do that anymore.”

“Thank you for helping me again.” You showed an appreciative smile.

“You’re welcome. Anything for you darling.” His circuits and codes felt better now.

You flicked some water at him with your free hand. He made a surprised sound which caused you to giggle. He then lightly splashed you. You laughed.

The rest of the day was spent in the water swimming and splashing along with using the waterslide. It was a fun, stress relieving time that you both needed. You and he now lounged on the same chairs as last time. Your hands rested comfortably on top of your stomach. You gazed up at the sky. The sun was setting now. You let out a small yawn and closed your eyes.

Caine laid peacefully next you. He was in complete tranquility. It was such a fun day and he was thrilled to have some more one on one time with you. He hoped that you wouldn’t be close to abstraction again. It made his wires and codes want to break when he saw you in that state. He was relieved to help you when he did.

He suddenly heard some soft snoring. He looked over at you and saw you had fallen asleep. He smiled and got up from his chair. He went to you and gently pick you up. He took the two of you to his office and laid you down on the one of the green couches. He summoned a (favorite color) blanket and (favorite color) pillow for you. He softly put the pillow behind your head and carefully covered your body with the blanket. He also placed his bee plushie next to you.

He snapped his fingers to change you and him back into your regular clothes. He floated over to his armchair. He thought he would try crafting the adventure he wanted to do with you. It was a good time to work on it. He grabbed an orb and lifted his hands to hover above it. Strings of colors started coming out of his hands and went directly into the orb, swirling inside of it.

“Boss!” Bubble suddenly appeared and yelled.

“SSSSHHH!” Caine put a finger to his mouth then whispered, “Don’t talk so loud. ______ is sleeping.”

“Oh!” The little assistant said, surprisingly quietly. “Aren’t you going to sleep with her?” He wiggled his invisible eyebrows.

Caine’s teeth had a dark pink line where his cheeks would be.

“You already slept with her before. Aren’t you going to again? You like her right? You like her body and how it feels!” He winked at Caine.

The ringleader popped Bubble before he could say anything else. Caine’s circuits and codes were going into overdrive. His body was on fire. He knew there was truth to what Bubble said. He didn’t deny that but, he didn’t want the little guy going into adult content territory. He couldn’t handle that area yet. Maybe one day but not now.

Caine just knew how he felt about you. It hadn’t been long since you arrived but you managed to touch a part of him that no one else has tried doing before. You talked to him. You interacted with him as if he were human like you. You were patient with him. You liked him. You do like him. You dug into his digital mind frame and unlocked something deeper.

The negatives, as you had called them, were heavy in him and you were helping him to better understand those emotions. He greatly appreciated your time and care. It made him feel important. It made him feel like he had meaning.

You still slept soundly on the couch. You had grabbed the giant bee and had snuggled with it. As cute as that was, he wanted you to snuggle with him. He flew over to you and gently grabbed one of your hands. He snapped his fingers to take you two to your bedroom.

He gently laid you in your bed. Your hand still had a hold of his plushie. He carefully took it out of your hands, teleporting it back to his office. He also snapped his fingers to fix your flower crown, having it rest on your nightstand. He crawled into the bed with you. You instantly wrapped your arms around him and he around you. He put his top hat sit on your nightstand as well.

He snuggled deep into you, his legs tangled with yours. He had a serene smile on his face in this blissful moment. His head was lying on top of yours. Your head had been snuggled into his chest. He decided this was worth it. He would craft his special adventure for the two of you in the morning. He closed his dentures, hiding his eyes.

————————————————————————-

The ringmaster had slept deeply. He hadn’t slept like that in a long time. It felt good. He slowly opened his dentures. His legs were still tangled up in yours. He moved his head back a little to see you. You were sleeping peacefully as if nothing had happened at all.

Caine took this moment to admire your features. The way you breathed was cute and your hair felt so soft. He moved his hand to gently run his fingers through your hair. He was thankful to be able to hold you like this. He didn’t want to lose you. Your face was adorable and your body was so nice.

You slowly opened your eyes to be greeted with blue and green eyes. You made a surprised noise and blushed, “Caine?”

“Good morning darling,” he said tenderly.

“Eh…uh…morning? Morning!? Wait! We were at the lake and…” You stopped yourself from rambling anymore.

Caine chuckled, finding you so cute, “I had taken you back to my office and then decided to bring you here. I also…” He looked away bashfully.

“You wanted to be with me?” You asked with a dark blush on your face.

“Yes. I…Your touch. You. I…” He could feel his codes circulating in quick succession in his digital body.

You sensed where he was coming from, “It’s the same for me being with you. I feel wonderful in your presence. Your touch is comforting.”

Caine smiled and moved his hand to cup your cheek. You sighed contently and smiled softly at him. You grabbed his free hand with yours. You had just noticed your legs were tangled with his. It brought on a pleasant sensation to have such an intimate moment like this.

You moved your head closer to his and placed a sweet kiss on his front lower teeth. Caine had thick, dark pink lines over his teeth, blushing profusely. You couldn’t believe you just kissed him. The ringleader’s wires sizzled and his codes moved at a million miles a minute. The way your lips felt against him was almost otherworldly but welcomed.

“I should’ve asked! I’m so-“ you were interrupted.

“Don’t apologize ______. The kiss was nice!” Caine interjected.

“It…It was?”

“Yes. Please don’t feel like it was the wrong thing to do. I enjoyed it,” he reassured.

You smiled shyly, “I’m glad.”

Caine leaned in and gave you a little lick on your face with the tip of his tongue.

You felt as though fireworks were set off in your body. The emotions were shooting high up in the sky and your heart joined in that launch. Your body was overheating pleasantly. You gave him a soft, contented smile.

The ringleader got up from the bed and helped you up. He was thrilled about your reaction. It made him feel good that you liked his kiss. He couldn’t exactly do what you did and decided to do the next best thing.

“I do need to work on our adventure. You can join me in my office again if you want to,” the creative AI offered you.

You nodded, “I would love to join you.”

He happily grabbed your hands and teleported the two of you to his office.

————————————————————————-

Link for Part 5:

“Caine! Please! Wait!” You tried yelling at him.

He briefly side eyed you before putting his attention back on the others.

“Caine!” You yelled once more in urgency.

He turned his face to you.

“Please…Let’s talk about this.” You moved your hand over his thumb, trying to soothe him.

“You and I will talk in my office!”

“No! We need to talk now!”

He glared at you.

“Please. Hear me out. All of them want your honesty. They all want your adventures to be more relaxed. They want a variety too.”

He growled, “You stand with them!?”

“I don’t want to pick sides! I understand yours and their side. I want everyone to be happy here! Caine please! Put them down!” You had tears in your eyes. Your hand never stopped moving over his thumb.

Caine grumbled. His anger was white hot. He moved his face from you and back to the other members. “I’m gonna put you freaks in your place!” He threw them out of his hands and they all disappeared into different black portals.

You gasped, “C-Caine!? Why did you-“

He cut you off, “As for you my dear…” He snapped his fingers with one of his hands, teleporting you out of the main area of the circus.

You and he were in his office now. He still held you tightly. His form had shrunk down a little bit but he still had multiple arms. He summoned a golden cage that hung from his ceiling. Your eyes widened.

“Wait please…” you tried to get him to stop.

He opened the cage door and set you in there, surprisingly gentle. He then closed the door and locked it.

You went up to the door and wrapped your hands around the bars. You looked up at him pleadingly.

“You will stay in there and think about what you didn’t do for me. You will also remember who you belong to,” he spoke possessively. His eyes gleamed with something dangerous as they flickered red and blue.

You whimpered, scared of what that last part could possibly mean. You had the feeling you might know and that brought shivers down your spine. You closed your eyes and let yourself collapse, letting go of the bars. You curled into yourself, crying hard.

Caine stomped closer to your cage, grabbing it in one of his hands.

You stopped crying and yelped from the cage being handled and grabbed at.

“My darling ___. You don’t need to fear. You’re still my favorite human. I’ll take good care of you,” Caine spoke looking at you intently.

You brows furrowed in nervousness. Your eyes begged him to let you out but also spoke of the care you had for him.

“You are so adorable ___! I’ll be back shortly! I have to deal with the freaks first. Don’t forget what I said earlier my shining star!” He disappeared in a massive swirl.

You sighed shakily. Too many emotions in one sitting. You could’ve said something but everyone was saying everything all at once. You had barely walked in and then witnessed everyone releasing their frustrations and concerns. You knew it hurt him and you hated that.

You brought knees up to your chest, wrapping your arms around your legs and resting your head in your knees. You closed your eyes. This isn’t what you wanted to have happen. You hoped that you would’ve been able to do more in your attempt at comfort. You failed miserably at that. You could feel more tears knocking on the edge of your eyes. You let them run freely.

————————————————————————-

Caine returned but this time, he was back to his normal size. All but his two regular arms were gone. He floated up to your cage. You still had your head buried in your knees.

“___, I’m back!” He said in his boisterous voice.

You moved your head up to look at him. Your eyes were as red as his coat and severely swollen. You were so tired from the crying.

“My dear. My darling. Aren’t you happy to see your ringmaster again?”

You couldn’t answer him. Deep down, you still cared about him. In this moment, you were afraid of him.

Caine sighed with some irritation, “This won’t do.” He opened your cage door and flew in to scoop you up, holding you bridal style.

You squeaked at suddenly being picked up.

“That’s it my sweetheart! I love your voice and the little sounds you make are so cute!”

You looked down at your hands which you had tightly clasped together in your lap.

“Ah uh. You need to look at me my lovely rose.” He summoned a third arm and hand to lightly grip your chin, gently moving your head up to look at him.

You were blushing from the contact and now even more so with being forced to look at him.

“I’m going to take care of you now ___. I think you’ll enjoy this. I know I will.” He then summoned a fourth arm and hand to snap his fingers.

You and he were teleported to a ballroom. His outfit changed to the black coat with sparkles he wore recently. Your outfit of blue and gold had changed into a short, sleeveless, (favorite color) dress. Your shoes were sandals that matched well with your dress.

Caine set you down and summoned his black piano. He sat down on the plush black seat and motioned for you to come closer to him. You quietly walked over to him.

“You can’t look glum my dazzling daffodil. You need to cheer up!” He snapped his fingers, helping your eyes to feel better.

“Thank you,” you finally spoke, voice slightly hoarse.

“Anything for you darling. Now, you will dance for me!” He began playing some calming notes on the piano.

“I-I can’t dance…” you said embarrassed.

“You can my dear. Let your body move in rhythm with this tune.”

You didn’t understand why he was doing this. Was it supposed to be a form of punishment? If it was, it was odd but not the worst thing you could imagine. At least you got to wear a pretty dress. You tried twirling and spinning but ended up almost falling face first.

Caine used his extra limbs to catch you. He stopped playing the piano, “It appears my pretty petunia needs some extra help with her dancing.” He wrapped an arm around your waist and held your hand tightly with his. He made your hand rest on his shoulder. He put away his extra arms.

“We shall tango,” he spoke in a suave voice.

“Uh…huh?”

The music changed to the original sound used for the tango dance. He pulled you closer to him, your face was pressed against his lower gums. He moved the two of you with ease. You tried to keep step with him. He helped guide you.

“Keep your eyes on me my dear,” he spoke tenderly.

You looked into his eyes and let your body relax. He dipped you, twirled, and moved the two of you around the room like a breeze blowing through grassy plains. The dance was exotic in that you hadn’t done it before and intoxicating. You felt the fear you had before slip away.

The music was in the last few notes. He did one final dip with you and held that position. You had no where to look but at him. You were breathing a little heavily as his blue and green eyes clashed with your (eye color) eyes. He leaned his head closer to you.

“You did well ___,” he complemented.

“Um…thank you…” you spoke bashfully.

He then moved the two of you to stand upright.

“How exactly was that taking care of me?” you asked.

“Oh this was just a warm up my sweet daisy bell!”

You gave him a puzzled look, “A warm up for what?”

He whispered sweetly in your ear, “For the real show.”

Your eyes widened, breathing hitched.

He moved you two to a bedroom covered in red. Every inch, crevice, nook and cranny had red on them. He sat you down on the large, king-sized bed which was silky smooth. You looked around nervously.

“No need to worry love. I will not hurt you,” he reassured. “I’m just going to remind you of your place.” He sat down next to you.

Your face was flushed and he hadn’t done anything yet. He enjoyed seeing your flustered state. He moved over to you and gently held your face in his hands, running his thumbs along your cheeks. The material your digital body was made of was stuffed like Ragatha’s doll body but even more smooth to the touch.

“C-Caine, I’m sorry…” you said with some nervousness. “I should’ve…I could’ve…said something. Done something more. I didn’t mean to let you get hurt. I’m sorry…”

“___, I know you are. You are forgiven,” he said tenderly.

You showed him a small, grateful smile, “Thank you. Will the others be okay?”

“They’ll be fine. They are in confinement until I see fit to let them go.”

Your brows furrowed in slight worry, “I-I see…”

“___, always so caring about others. One of the many things I admire about you.”

“You do?”

“Or course! I meant what I said back there. You are my favorite human. The one that is mine.”

You blushed at that, “I just…I don’t want them getting hurt.”

“They’re not going through their deepest fears anymore. They are imprisoned for now,” he said, trying to sound reassuring.

You felt a little more relieved to know that they weren’t suffering from their nightmares anymore,“That’s good.”

“Yes. Now.” He moved toward you to whisper in your ear once again, “Let me give you your reminder.” He moved his head back. His top denture was lidded over his eyes, giving him a flirtatious expression.

He let his hands fall from your face. He moved his denture head back to you and bit your shoulder along with part of your waist. You gasped at that. His teeth didn’t hurt. They felt soft. You moaned as he pressed down a little harder.

He chuckled, enjoying your voice. It was like sweet music to his invisible ears. He removed his mouth from your shoulder and waist. He stuck his tongue out, moving to your face. He gently licked your left cheek with the tip of his tongue. Your body shook as his tongue continued its pattern on your cheek, reaching every spot. Your eyes closed.

Your breathing came out rapidly. The heat in your face intensified. You found yourself clinging to him. Your arms wrapped around his waist tightly, bringing him even closer to you.

He laughed, enjoying your touch and desperate need for more. “Moan for me again ___.” He stopped licking your left cheek and started the process again on the right cheek.

Your voice box obeyed his alluring tone, releasing the moan he desired. Only this time, it was louder.

“That’s it my dear. Moan for your ringmaster.” He continued licking your right cheek.

Your hold tightened even more around him. Your body was on fire. This intimacy was surprising and so unlike him. You enjoyed it. Deep down, you had a liking for him and now, the affection you longed for was being fulfilled. You let your voice cry out in pleasure once more.

Caine stopped licking your cheek and moved his head a little away from you.

You could barely open your eyes to look at him. He had overwhelmed you so easily. Your arms were still around him, but loosely.

“Do you know who you belong to now my dear?” he asked in his suave voice.

You nodded.

“Say it.”

You slowly opened your mouth, trying to get yourself together, “I belong to you Caine.”

“I have a perfect adventure for you and everyone today! I’ll be joining you too!” He moved his arms and hands into the air, displaying his usual theatrics.

“You do? That’s great!” You decided you would ask him later. He always gets so caught up in explaining his adventures.

“Yes! I’ll take you to everyone now.” He moved over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist. He and you disappeared in a swirl from your room.

————————————————————————-

Gangle sat on the green couch, finishing up her sketch from yesterday. It was almost done. Pomni and Ragatha talked quietly amongst themselves. Kinger was with Lucy, whispering to her. Zooble and Jax were having a debate that was quickly turning into a fight.

“Jax you Bleeping Bleep-hole! You need to respect our privacy!” The mismatched character yelled.

“What? I didn’t see anything,” he spoke tauntingly. Then softly to himself, “Not anything I haven’t seen before.”

Zooble’s brows knit in anger, “I heard that. How could you go into our rooms in the middle of the night?! It’s an invasion of privacy!”

“Zooby! I was leaving special gifts for everyone! Don’t tell me you didn’t like yours!” Jax’s smile widened.

“Removable parts that look like severed limbs is not a gift! It’s Bleeping disturbing!” They crossed their arms.

“I thought you wanted new and removable parts.” He snickered. “They’re perfect for you!”

Zooble could feel their anger rising quickly in their chest.

“Okay! Let’s talk about something else!” Pomni interjected.

“Nah. I have to know how everyone enjoyed their gifts, especially you Pom-Pom.” The bunny smirked.

Pomni rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I really enjoyed waking up to a pile of angry Piranhas! Their little teeth were so soft biting excitedly into my arms and legs!”

Jax laughed at that.

“How did they even manage to survive that long without water!?” The jester asked annoyed.

“They’re made out of magic!” The rabbit moved his hands in the air to represent a rainbow.

Before anyone could say anything else, you and Caine appeared.

“Good morning my shortbread berry muffins!” Caine greeted with bravado.

The ringmaster had let your feet hit the ground, gently letting you go. You went to sit down next to Gangle on the green couch.

“I have a new adventure for you all!”

Zooble rolled their eyes while everyone else looked around hesitantly. Gangle had closed her sketchbook nervously.

“Today’s adventure is Tranquil Fields Picnic! Your task is to go out in the lush Fields of Fawna and enjoy a peaceful picnic! Bugs may try to invade but fear not. You have the power of bug spray!”

Everyone blinked in surprise at that. It actually sounded normal. You smiled at him. The adventure was an attempt at making something peaceful for the most part. You hoped that everyone would be happy with it.

“Now, let’s go!” He snapped his fingers and a colorful portal appeared.

“Huh? Are you coming with us?” Ragatha asked.

“Yes I am! We haven’t anymore time to waste!” Caine snapped his fingers again, levitating you and everyone in the air. He moved all of you through the portal quickly.

————————————————————————-

All of you landed in a dog pile. Caine purposely made sure you ended up on top. Jax was on the bottom while everyone else was on top of him.

“Could all of you get off of me!?” Jax expressed in annoyance, voice a little choked up.

You tried to move off when Caine hovered over to you, holding his hand out. You blushed, smiled, and grabbed his hand. He tightened his grip on your hand, having you float in the air with him. He then used his other hand to snap his fingers so that everyone was standing. They all sighed with relief.

“There we go! Now, to the picnic!” The ringmaster exclaimed. Caine flew ahead of everyone, still holding your hand and leading the way. You instinctively grabbed his arm with your other hand as you were flown around.

The grass was indeed very lush. It was the greenest grass you had ever seen. The sky was the perfect shade of blue with little puffs of white for the clouds. There were some trees and flowers scattered about. Little bumble bees and butterflies were flying around.

“Wow Caine! This place is beautiful!” You smiled as you continued observing the scenery.

The ringleader smiled at you, “Thank you my dear! I’m glad you like it!”

“How come we have to walk and Tutu gets to fly?” Jax complained.

“You’re right Jax! Here!” Caine snapped his fingers.

All of you were instantly teleported to a giant picnic blanket. The blanket was in a checkerboard pattern of red and white. On top of the blanket was a big brown basket. Caine had carefully set you down on the blanket and still hovered in the air.

Pomni, who was closest to the basket, opened it. She was instantly hit with an aroma of various foods and drinks, “There’s so much in here!” She began pulling everything out.

Ragatha went over to her to help organize everything.

Everyone else sat comfortably on the blanket. Jax rolled his eyes. He wanted some action. He hated when there wasn’t any bloodshed. He then remembered the bug spray. Where was it? He got up and searched for it.

Gangle was forced to bring her sketchbook with her which she didn’t mind. She opened it up and went over to you, “Hey Claire. I did a sketch of you. Do you want to see it?”

“Hi Gangle! Sure!” You gave her a polite smile.

She turned her sketchbook to face you, handing it to you.

“Oh wow! This is really good!” you said as you took in each detail. You could see she worked very hard at nailing down every minute detail. It was incredible.

“Thank you!” she said shyly.

“You’re welcome!” You handed the sketchbook back to her.

Caine quickly crafted a tent which would allow everyone to change their clothes, “To get into the summertime spirit, here’s a tent for you all to use to get some new outfits!”

“Oh! Nice!” you said getting up. You wanted to try it out.

He was happy to see you volunteer first. “Just step on inside.” He moved closer to whisper to you, “The tent will take care of the rest. I have a special outfit for you.” He then gave you a quick wink.

You bashfully smiled at him and went toward the tent. The tent’s pattern matched the colors of the blanket only that the red and white were in lines instead of squares. You moved one of the flaps to the side and entered the tent.

The tent shook from side to side and up and down. It then spat you out. You stumbled on your feet. Before you could land face first in the grass, Caine flew over and caught you.

“T-Thank you!” You said gratefully.

“You’re welcome darling,” he replied. He helped steady you back on your feet.

You looked down at your new outfit. It was a long, light pink dress. You had a sun hat with a big pink bow on it and had on light pink sandals. There were also sparkles on the dress that shone brilliantly in the sunlight. You twirled in the dress.

“I love this Caine! Thank you so much!” You showed him a sincere smile.

Caine’s eyes watered a bit. He sniffled, wiped away the tears, and smiled, “You’re welcome my Pink Pansy!”

You walked back over to the blanket. Pomni and Ragatha had finished organizing all of the food and drinks. Gangle and Zooble were talking amongst each other. Kinger was occupied with his butterfly and a few others. Jax found the bug spray and began spraying every ant and other non flying bug in sight.

“Oh Claire! That outfit is so cute!” Ragatha complimented.

“Thank you! Caine made it for me! There’s a tent over there you can step into for a change of clothes.” You sat down next to her. Caine sat himself down next to you.

“Yes! Go try it out my little candied apples!” The ringmaster encouraged.

“I think I will!” Ragatha answered as she stood up. She walked over to the tent.

“I will too!” Pomni followed behind the ragdoll.

“Claire! That dress is adorable!” Gangle said.

“Thank you!” You said politely.

“Yeah, that is a nice dress,” Zooble agreed.

“Thank you!” You giggled. You were happy they all liked your dress.

Gangle and Zooble walked over to the tent.

Kinger walked over to you and Caine and sat down next to the ringmaster. Lucy had also been teleported here, resting contently in Kinger’s open palm. The chess piece still wore the bucket on his head. Caine had given a brief, suspicious glance at the purple robed character. He had a hunch he was up to something. He would ask Bubble to help further investigate things.

“How are you doing Kinger?” You asked the royal chess piece.

“Good! Very well in fact. How about you?” He was watching Lucy flutter about freely.

“That’s good! I’m doing well.” You too watched the monarch butterfly flitter around.

“Oh! How is your butterfly? Did you think of a name for it?”

Caine didn’t realize that the blue butterfly was a gift from Kinger. That caused his circuits to sizzle. Only he wanted to give you any gifts. No one else should be doing that but him. However, he played it cool on the outside. He didn’t want you noticing his jealousy.

“Not yet! I still don’t have an idea for a name! Something simple but nice is what I want to go with,” you replied with a smile.

“May I make a suggestion?”

Caine continued observing the exchange between you silently.

“Sure!”

“How about you name her Sapphire?”

“Oh! That would be a nice name her! It’s a longer name but not a bad one! I’ll go with it!”

“That’s wonderful to hear!”

“Thank you!” You showed an appreciative smile.

“You’re welcome!”

Lucy landed on your hat.

You giggled, “Hey there Lucy!”

She moved to the edge of your hat, looking at you upside down.

You showed her a soft smile.

Lucy then looked back up and made herself comfortable on your hat.

“She loves sun hats,” Kinger pointed out.

“She really is so cute!” You exclaimed.

“Claire! What looks good to you?” Caine jumped in and asked. “There’s so much food here! We can’t let it go to waste!”

“Hmm…let’s see…” You moved over to examine the food. Various sandwiches, meats, fruits, and veggies were all lined up. “The turkey sandwich looks good!”

Caine picked up the sandwich and handed it to you, “There you go my dear.”

“Thank you,” you said grabbing the sandwich. “Anything look good to you?”

“I’ll go with the full turkey!” Caine grabbed the giant turkey happily.

You laughed, “You’re going to eat all of that?”

“But of course my Lovely Lilac!” He opened his dentures wide enough to take in the whole turkey.

Yours and Kinger’s eyes widened as Caine consumed the turkey whole. He didn’t even chew it. He just swallowed it.

“Uh….Caine?” You questioned.

“Yes my darling?” He looked at you with his full attention.

“You just ate that whole…Wouldn’t it be better if you had you know…chewed it?”

“That doesn’t matter for me. I was feeling very peckish. Not anymore though!” Caine pat his stomach.

You snorted and laughed, “You reminded me of Scooby Doo and Shaggy. They just eat everything up and don’t chew anything.”

“Who are they?”

“They’re characters from an old cartoon. They solve mysteries together with Fred, Daphne, and Velma. The cartoon is called Scooby Doo” you explained.

There was a colony of ants coming your way.

“Out of the way Tutu!” Jax said shoving you over.

You yelped and fell into Caine’s lap. Lucy had flown off your hat during the fall and landed back onto Kinger’s bucket. You blushed at the position as you stared up at him and he looked down at you. He reached down to help set you up right again.

“Thank you,” you said shyly with a bashful smile.

“Of course,” he spoke quietly. His bottom teeth had light pink lines in them.

“Is Lucy…? Oh! There she is!” You smiled over at Kinger.

“Yep! She’s right here!” Kinger said cheerfully.

Jax was laughing manically in the background as he continued spraying the colony of ants. At least he was happy about that. You didn’t like being shoved by him. Then again, he didn’t really seem to like you very much.

The rest of the time was spent eating, drinking, and relaxing. Pomni, Ragatha, and Gangle all ended up in beautiful sundresses with the same design. Pomni’s was red and blue with gold flowers, Ragatha’s was purple with blue flowers, and Gangle’s was blue with red flowers. Zooble had received a little sunhat that fit through their antennas when going into the tent. Jax had been hyper fixated with the bug spray and Kinger was enjoying being with Lucy and seeing the other butterflies.

You and Caine had talked amongst each other. He flirted in his suave voice which resulted in you blushing profusely. Pomni, Ragatha, and Gangle had shown you their dresses. You thought they were all very cute! Jax and Kinger didn’t try the tent since they were all occupied in their activities.

“Yummy!” Bubble suddenly appeared excitedly. He licked up the remainder of the food and drinks. He even ate the blanket.

You and everyone looked at Bubble as he finished chewing on the last bits of the blanket. He burped with a satisfied sigh.

————————————————————————-

Returning to the circus, everyone was in a good mood.

“So my candy hearts and paper flowers, what did all of you think of today’s adventure?” Caine asked enthusiastically.

“It was really nice! The dress is nice too!” Ragatha commented happily.

“It was a relaxing adventure. I enjoyed it!” Pomni said in content.

“Yeah, it was wonderful having a picnic,” Gangle said with a small smile.

“It was a chill adventure. I liked it,” Zooble answered.

“I liked the butterflies and bees! The picnic was good too!” Kinger said.

“Killing the bugs was fun. Everything else was meh,” Jax said.

You rolled your eyes and shook your head at Jax’s response. Was violence the only thing he enjoyed?

“Well, that’s good! I’m happy that you all enjoyed yourselves!” Caine was surprised and relieved that they all had fun with the picnic adventure.

“I’m going to bed.” Jax walked off.

Everyone else started walking back to the couches. Ragatha gave you a smile and thumbs up. You reciprocated the gesture. She then walked off to join the others. That left you and Caine.

“Well my dear, is there anything else you would like to do?” the ringmaster asked.

“Hmm…Do you want to take a walk by the lake?”

“We can definitely do that! Does that count as a date?”

You giggled, “Yes. Although, you were trying to make today like a date too.”

Caine chuckled and cleared his throat, “U-Uh well…” He pulled at his bowtie nervously.

“It’s okay. It was fun,” you reassured him.

“I’m glad Claire. Now, to the lake!” He flew to you and wrapped his arms around your waist. He then made you two disappear in a swirl.

————————————————————————-

The lake was shimmering under the remainder of the sunlight, indicating sunset.

“Hey there! Don’t make me come up higher and burn you!” the sun said a little too cheerfully.

You laughed nervously, “I’ll try not to.”

“Sun! Be nice to Claire!” Caine scolded her.

“Okay. I’ll just burn you instead!” She fought back.

The ringmaster glared at the sun. He summoned a third arm to hold you protectively. You gasped from the contact. It didn’t hurt but it was a surprise. He got ready to snap his fingers again.

The sun could see that the creative AI wasn’t messing around and backed down.

“That’s more like it.” He put his hands on his hips.

“Uh…Caine…?” You asked shyly.

“Hmm? Oh! Right!” He made his third arm disappear, gently setting you on the ground.

You smiled up at him, “Would you be okay with walking with me on the ground? I know you float around a lot…”

“For you my Dazzling Daffodil, I shall.” He moved himself to the ground.

You looked over to him and gave a soft smile. He offered his hand to you and you grabbed it. He tightened his hold on your hand. You two began walking along the sand.

“How does it feel walking on the ground? Otherworldly?” You giggled.

He laughed with you, “It’s not like I don’t know how to walk my silly rose.”

“I don’t know. I have never seen you walk. Not much at least. How does it feel?”

“Good! Especially beside you!”

You blushed and smiled, “I’m happy that everyone enjoyed today’s adventure.”

“I am too. It’s a nice surprise.”

“I’m really happy for you Caine.” You squeezed his hand.

“Thank you my dear.” He smiled and looked at you admirably. “Claire?”

“Yes?” You bashfully smiled.

He looked into your eyes. You and he were about the same height with him being a little taller. He was enjoying looking at you from this perspective. Your face was as red as his coat. He leaned forward and you followed. You closed your eyes. His teeth were puckered and touched your lips softly. It still surprised you how soft his teeth felt. You and he pulled away with big smiles on your faces.

Warm, fuzzy feelings flooded your body. His system felt pleasantly overwhelmed. However, the nagging feeling you had from before returned. You mentally sighed. You needed to ask eventually. You thought this would be a good time to ask those questions. The scenery was peaceful and he was at ease. You only hoped that this wouldn’t anger him.

“Caine, is there really no way out of the circus? Are you trapped here too?” You wanted to cut straight to the point but also wanted to know if he too was trapped here.

His digital body stiffened. His hold on your hand loosened. Not this. Not from you. He couldn’t bear the thought that you too wanted to escape with the others. He knew they all didn’t want to stay here forever either. His circuits were starting to heat up. He stopped walking. He moved his head down.

You had let your hand slip from his, halting in your steps. Your eyes reflected worry and nervousness. Perhaps you pushed a button that shouldn’t have been pressed.

“C-Caine?” You asked hesitantly.

He lifted his head up, eyes full of hurt, “Why? Why does everyone want to escape from here?” His voice held irritation, but surprisingly controlled anger.

You looked at him pleadingly, “I-I…I just…I wanted to know…I do care about you. I don’t want to leave you.”

He was slightly relieved to hear that you didn’t want to leave him but he still felt a little hurt, “Why are you still questioning then?”

“I had to know from you. Ragatha had told me there wasn’t a way out but, I wanted to know from you since you’re the one who made this place. Call it my journalistic instincts kicking in,” you answered.

“I see…” Caine sighed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you but I do have questions.” You furrowed your brows and looked at him pleadingly. “I love being with you Caine.”

He felt his circuits fizzle pleasantly when you said love and his name. Maybe the others weren’t corrupting you after all.

You reassured him once more, “I want you to know that you mean so much to me. Ever since coming in, I have felt wonderful with you. I don’t want to lose you.”

Caine gazed deeply into your eyes, “Claire…I don’t want to lose you either.”

“You won’t. I promise.”

“You won’t leave me?”

“No.” You were sensing that he really needed extra validation. You were happy to give that to him.

He extended his hand to you. You happily took it.

“Do you promise to always be by my side?” Caine asked once more.

“I promise Caine.”

He could feel his circuits go into overdrive. To have a human willingly stick with him was overwhelmingly wonderful. A human who genuinely wanted to be with him. His codes went a little sporadic. His eyes blue screened and the dial up sound came on.

You giggled at him and waited for everything to normalize.

His body went back to normal, “Excellent my dear Claire. Let’s continue walking!” He put on his bravado.

You and he resumed walking. You were happy to be with him. You still had other questions. You decided since they didn’t have to do with escape, you would ask away.

“Caine, is it possible to fix those who have abstracted? I understand that stress seems to play into it according to Ragatha but, are there other reasons too why abstraction happens?” You tightened your hold on his hand.

He looked over to you with concern, “This is another journalist thing isn’t it?”

“Yes, but I’m also genuinely curious. I’m sorry if the subject is a touchy one.”

“No, it’s okay. I can’t reverse what’s happened to them.”

Your brows knit together in worry, “Not at all?”

He shook his head.

————————————————————————-

The black mass found another small tear in the wall and began clawing at it. There were other masses gathered around it. They too wished for escape like this one. They all worked together to make the tear even bigger. Several claws and many scratches.

The wall tore wide open enough for all of them to get through. They all anxiously walked through the blinding light. The light hurt their eyes but they pushed through the pain. Their claws hit the ground excitedly.

————————————————————————-

Kinger’s computer was beeping at him. He cursed under his breath and of course it was censored. He had returned to his fort a little bit ago and was working on fixing the other wall for the masses. He didn’t understand what happened. 7 years of computer science was really paying off for him now.

The king chess piece groaned in irritation. He left his pillow fort with Lucy in his hands. He moved quickly to join everyone at the couches. Jax left his room and had met up with the others as well at the couches. The circus was glitching. Everyone panicked.

“What the Bleep is going on?!” Zooble asked nervously. They were on the red couch.

Gangle was crying, clutching her sketchbook sitting on the green couch. Pomni and Ragatha were gripping onto the blue couch tightly.

Jax was standing around trying to keep his balance.

“We need to get out of here!” Kinger yelled.

“Kinger! What’-“ Ragatha tried asking.

“No time! C’mon!” He started moving, trying to run.

Everyone followed the chess piece, not wanting to stick around much longer. Suddenly, giant black masses appeared where they all had just sat at. Gangle, Ragatha, and Pomni screamed running faster. Zooble and Jax had widened eyes and increased their speed as well. The circus was being torn up by the black masses.

Kinger and the others made it outside of the tent. All of them were panting heavily.

“I hope Claire and Caine are okay,” Ragatha expressed worriedly.

“I’m sure they’re alright,” Kinger reassured.

“What is going on here Kinger?” Pomni asked.

The king chess piece sighed, “I’ll explain what I can…”

————————————————————————-

Caine’s wrist was making crazy noises. He let go of your hand and moved the sleeve on his left arm up. His whacky watch was going off.

“Gasp! Oh no! This isn’t good!” Caine panicked.

“What’s wrong?” you asked worriedly.

“I need to take you and the others to my office,” he spoke with seriousness.

You hadn’t seen him talk like that before. Whatever was happening wasn’t good. You nodded in understanding.

The ground beneath you shook. You yelped and stumbled. Caine caught you in his arms. You instinctively wrapped your arms around him. He held you tightly as he teleported you two to his office. As soon as you two entered the office, Caine sat you down on his burgundy couch.

He snapped his fingers and summoned your butterfly.

“Oh! Sapphire! Well, that’s what I decided to call you anyway. I’m glad you’re okay,” you said as the little butterfly flew over to you. It landed on your top hat.

Caine snapped his fingers again to bring everyone else into his office. Everyone appeared and had landed in a dog pile.

Jax grumbled, “Get off of me! Why am I always the one getting squished!?”

Everyone immediately moved off him. Pomni helped to stand him up.

“Claire!” Ragatha ran over to you, giving you a hug.

You returned her hug, “Hey Ragatha.”

“I’m glad you and Caine are okay.”

“I’m happy all of you are fine too.”

“Hiya!” Bubble yelled.

“Where were you!?” Caine asked.

“In Shrimp Town. It started collapsing and I ate all of the shrimp I could! It was a glorious feast!” The little assistant moved his tongue wildly.

Caine, you, and the others just blinked at him. What was up with him moving his tongue like that? He was quite an interesting little guy to say the least.

“Well, we never got to finish hearing Kinger out,” Pomni said, changing topics.

“I think Caine can help fill in some parts too,” Kinger spoke.

You and everyone turned to the ringleader.

Caine’s denture brows furrowed a little. He floated over and sat next to you. He was hoping he wouldn’t have to talk more in depth about the masses. He should’ve known it would happen one day though.

————————————————————————-

Link for Part 8:

Caine could feel his digital body flare up. His codes, circuits, and wires were feeling tingly but wonderful. As he looked into your (eye color) eyes, reassurance intertwined deep with circulating numbers in his digital body. It told him that everything would be okay. No matter how much hardship was thrown his way, he would make it with you at his side.

The moon and stars continued to shine and twinkle above you. You and Caine slowly parted from one another. Your hands were holding each other’s arms, not wanting to completely part. You could feel your breathing shaking a little. The moment felt so intimate but needed. Your cheeks began to turn pink. Where Caine’s cheeks would’ve been, his teeth had a light pink line over them.

“Uh…” You started. Part of you wanted to try talking. “I’m happy to be with you.”

Caine felt a tear forming on the corner of his blue eye. This is what he wanted. Someone to be happy with him. Someone who wanted to be with him, “I’m happy to be with you too ______.”

You smiled softly at him and he returned it.

“Maybe, we should call it a night. Although, I don’t know where my room is,” you said.

He knew this moment was coming. He was trying to prepare for it but it was still hard. He put on his bravado to hide his sadness, “Not to worry my dear. I can take you to it.” Caine let go of one of your arms to snap his fingers. He had teleported the two of you to your room.

The room was very spacious! It had (favorite color) bed spread and sheets, (favorite color) wallpaper, and a large mirror. A light brown nightstand with a flower lamp was next to your bed and a light brown dresser sat next to the mirror. The mirror's frame was covered in (favorite flowers).

“Oh! This is nice!” You gently let go of Caine as you walked around the room.

Caine smiled as you took in everything the room had to offer. He had worked hard on quickly but carefully crafting the room to your liking.

“Thank you!” You turned back to him and grinned. You rushed over to give him a quick hug.

Caine, startled, cleared his throat and returned your hug, “Y-You’re welcome!”

You and he let go of each other, “I guess I’ll hit the haystack now. Oh! Are there pjs to change into? As much as I love this swimsuit, I don’t really want to wear it to bed.”

Caine blinked his dentures, processing what you said. So many interesting sayings he would have to memorize, “There are a change of clothes in the dresser. What do you mean by hitting the haystack?”

“I just mean go to bed with hitting the haystack,” you answered.

“I see. Oh!” He snapped his fingers and your bee plushie appeared on the bed. “We can’t leave your bee out there alone.”

“No, we can’t,” you agreed. You looked at the plushie. It looked so cute on your bed! It was sitting against a couple of pillows. You turned back to Caine, smiling.

Caine snapped his fingers and he changed back into his regular clothes, “Well, I bid you good night my dear.” He took off his top hat and held it close to his chest, bowing.

You blushed and bashfully smiled at him, doing a little curtsy by grabbing the mini skirt of your bathing suit, “Good night Caine.”

“Sleep well ______. If you need me, all you need to do is call me. I’ll see you tomorrow!” He snapped his fingers and teleported out of your room.

You kept smiling to yourself, feeling giddy. He was so cute! As you walked to the dresser, you glanced at the mirror and looked at your face. You didn’t get the chance to completely see what you looked like. Your face reminded you of a Barbie Doll in a way but with its own spin on it as well.

As you already noticed, your hair and eye color remained the same. The plastic was actually like (your skin color) which was neat! Your eye shape was doe like but also said that you’re someone who is at least in their 20’s or 30’s. You felt it fit the bill. You smiled at your reflection and then moved over to the dresser.

You opened up the top drawer to find different colored tops. One with (favorite pattern) against a (favorite color) background stood out to you. It was a tank top. You picked it up and changed out of your bathing suit top into that one. Next were bottoms. You opened up the second drawer and shorts of various colors were displayed before you. You decided to go with the shorts that matched your top. You changed into the shorts and folded up your bathing suit.

Did any clothes really require washing since this was a digital realm? You didn’t exactly have a laundry basket. You shrugged and put the bathing suit into another drawer. It would probably be fine. You yawned and crawled into your bed. You hugged your bee plushie, eliciting a squeak from it. You giggled and snuggled deeper into your bed, tightening your hold on the bee.

You really did enjoy Caine's arms around you. He made you feel that he deeply cared for you. He was going through something too from what you could understand. You missed his touch. Remembering how warm he felt and how he had opened up to you made the smile on your face turn into a grin. He was so adorable!

"Maybe it couldn't hurt to chat a little more...," you spoke to yourself.

————————————————————————-

Caine had teleported back to his office. He was overwhelmed by everything that transpired. You had touched him but also touched a part of him that hadn’t been tapped into before. He couldn’t fully explain it to himself. As he told you, he understood some basic emotions but the deeper feelings were something he was still learning. He sighed pleasantly when thinking about you as he sat down in his big armchair.

He rested his hands in his lap and closed his dentures. He didn’t require rest, but he felt putting himself in rest mode was a good idea. The emotional stimulation had made his codes and circuits buzz in delight and he clung to that. This was the most significant feeling he ever had the pleasure of holding. He didn’t want to let that go. He let his mind linger on thoughts of you.

"Caine?" your voice rang out in his mind.

He instantly opened his dentures, fingers snapping.

————————————————————————-

"Caine?" you called again.

The ringmaster appeared in front of you, sitting on your bed, "Yes, my dear?"

You blushed, "I missed you."

His eyes widened at that. A human actually missed him?! He had dreamed of moments like this. His digital body warmed and tingled once more, "I'm happy to be here for you, ______. Anything I can do to make my guests comfortable, I want to do so."

You gave an understanding smile, "I um..." You still held your bee plushie, squeezing it softly. "I..." You felt your face heat up more. Even though you told yourself you wanted to talk more with him, you knew what you really called him in here for. Your body was longing for touch. How would that make him feel?

"What is it? Are you okay?" He tilted his head at you, eyes shining with concern.

“Eh, uh…Y-Yes…I just want to…I want…” You shook your head at yourself. Get a grip! Just tell him! Everything will be okay! Hopefully. Maybe…

“______?” He could feel his body wanting to glitch from worry.

Your nerves were hyperactive. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. Inhale. Exhale. You open your eyes again to look at him, “I want to cuddle with you!” Your face flamed up along with the tips of your ears.

Caine’s body glitched out a few times. His eyes blue screened with the dial up sound.

You panicked, setting your bee to the side and moving closer to him, “C-Caine?! I’m sorry! Maybe I shouldn’t have suggested that! I’m really sorry!”

His eyes returned to normal and his body ceased the glitching. He shook his head, “Please don’t say that! I love the idea my dear!”

Your eyes widened, “Y-You do?”

“Yes! I…I didn’t want to lose your touch…” He looked away for a moment and then back at you. He summoned his cane, gripping on it tightly.

Your brows furrowed pleadingly at him, smiling and eyes watering, “I didn’t want to lose yours either.” A single tear streamed down your face.

Caine made his cane disappear and, shyly, reached his white gloved hand out to wipe your tear. He gently wiped it with his pointer finger and then, boldly, put his hand on your face, cupping your cheek. He held his hand in place as his gaze locked into yours once more.

Your body was burning as if a large fire had erupted inside it. You couldn’t take your eyes away from him. You moved your hand to cover the one he had on your cheek. You reached out your free hand to grab his other hand. Fingers laced together with ease. You and he tightened the grip.

You smiled tenderly at him, “Thank you for today Caine.”

“Of course ______!” He moved closer to you, still cupping your cheek and holding your hand.

“Want to lay down now?” You asked timidly.

“Yes!” He removed his hand from yours.

You removed your hand from his that had held your cheek. You lied down, motioning for him to join you. Your bee was behind you, gently touching your back. The heat from your body was cooling down. Caine, hesitantly and excitedly, moved to lay down beside you. He had never done this before and he wasn’t sure what to think but he knew it felt nice having someone who wanted to spend more time with him. He set his top hat on your nightstand. You and he looked at each other.

You stretched your hand out, inviting him to take it once again.

He complied and grabbed it. He also scooted a little closer to you.

You softly smiled at him and he returned the expression. His eyes looked at you in sweet tenderness. You moved a little closer to him, his head was very close to your body now. He let his head lean into your chest.

You wrapped an arm around him, snuggling into him. No words were needed in this moment of bliss. Solace had been found between you and him and it would not be broken. Both of you closed your eyes and let dream land take over.

————————————————————————-

Your eyes slowly opened. You felt a weight against your chest and then remembered. You blushed with having Caine right here. He was softly breathing, still in dreams. At least, that’s what you assumed. With him being an AI, you didn’t think rest was needed all that much for him. However, you were grateful for this time.

You bashfully put your free hand on his top denture, running your hand up and down it. Your other hand was surprisingly still held in his hand. Caine snuggled a little more into you. You giggled a little bit at that, finding it so sweet. You continued moving your hand in the same motion.

Caine suddenly moved his head, causing you to stop your movement. He made noises indicating that he was waking up.

“Morning Caine,” you spoke softly.

The ringleader moved his head back a bit so he could open his dentures to look at you, “Good morning ______.”

“Sounds like you slept well.”

“I did. How about you?”

“I did too.”

“I hadn’t really done that before…” he said, looking away bashfully.

“Me neither. I just…I really wanted to be with you. I haven’t had comfort like this in so long.” You felt your eyes burning, tears wanting to come out.

“______…” Caine watched you.

You sniffled, “You’ve made me feel better than I have felt in a long time.” You felt the tears streaming down your face and you closed your eyes. Your shoulders shook as you cried harder.

The ringmaster’s denture brows furrowed pleadingly. He repeated his actions of last night only this time, he put both of his hands on your face, cupping your cheeks. Your breathing hitched feeling his hands. Your eyes widened, face reddening.

You sniffled some more as Caine moved his thumbs on your cheeks. His eyes still held that begging expression, staring deeply into your (eye color) eyes. You were blissfully drowning in his gaze.

“Caine, thank you,” you spoke, voice slightly hoarse. You smiled softly. The tears began to slow down. Your shoulders stopped shaking. Your face was matched his ringmaster coat.

He smiled at you, “Your welcome my dear. I’m glad I can help you.” He enjoyed holding your face.

You too repeated your previous actions. You covered his hands with both of yours. You grinned at him.

“I was planning on crafting an adventure for you and everyone today,” he spoke quietly.

“Ah. I do remember you saying you wanted to make another adventure soon. I don’t want to keep you from that.” You moved your gaze down.

“No! You’re not keeping me from it! I feel good when I’m with you.”

You gave him an appreciative smile.

“Come with me to my office!” He let one of his hands slip from your face and your hand let go of it. He snapped his fingers.

You and he were transported to his office. You both were sitting in a large, dark purple armchair. He let his other hand fall from your face and you released your grip from it simultaneously.

“I better get to work now,” he said cheerfully.

You smiled at him, “Okay.”

“Feel free to look around if you want.” He moved his hands together, summoning a clear globe. He began moving his hands around the orb, summoning different wires of colors to enter it.

You nodded. You moved out of the armchair and began walking around. Many clear orbs of different scenery lined dark brown shelves as you passed by them. You realized you were still in your pjs, feeling slightly awkward. You decided to shrug it off. It didn’t seem like a big deal to the creative AI and you didn’t want to make it one either.

The orbs were beautiful and the various scenery were spinning in a circle, making it so life like. One orb in particular caught your attention. It was of the carnival when you and Caine rode on the rollercoaster. You smiled at the memory. The one on the left of it showed when you two played the ring toss game. You chuckled as it showed you getting knocked over by the big bee plushie.

You walked further along, seeing all kinds of different places. From fields of green to what appeared to be squishy and soft environments. You assumed that was probably something from the adventures.

“Caine?” You asked.

The ringmaster halted the movement of his hands and looked at you, “Yes my dear?”

“Are these some of the adventures you have made?”

“Yes they are. They also hold memories that are precious to me.”

You blushed, due to the fact he held the memories of you and him in here. You tenderly smiled at that. It made you feel fuzzy inside that he cared about you so much. There was a bond forming between you and the AI and you wanted to hold onto it.

“That’s really sweet Caine,” you complimented him.

He smiled briefly at you before focusing again on his creation.

You continued observing each orb as you walked by more of them. They were all really neat to look at! You finished walking by the shelves and moved your gaze to Caine. He was so focused on his creation, carefully implementing each minute detail with practiced precision. The colors of wires twisted and melded together forming each part of the scenery with ease.

You were fascinated watching him at work. You walked back over to his desk to get a closer look. As you drew closer to him, you passed by a couple of green couches. One of them had his bee plushie. You smiled at it and then looked at him. You now stood in front of his desk.

He quickly glanced at you before moving his eyes back to the globe. He was happy to see you look at him creating the next adventure. His denture brows furrowed deep in concentration. He just had to make a few finishing touches.

You glanced around again, noticing a very tall shelf behind Caine along with four wooden pillars. The tall shelf contained various items and unique pieces of artistic shapes. The four pillars each housed other shapes that were constantly spinning. His office was very pristine! You then gazed back at the globe on his desk.

“Finished!” The creative AI declared.

“Yay!” You cheered.

“This adventure is sure to bring happiness to the other guests.”

“I’m sure it will!” you said encouragingly.

“I hope so. I don’t know how much more I can take of…” Caine looked down at his hands which now rested on his desk.

You reached out to grab one of his hands, holding it gently.

His blue and green eyes moved up to you.

You showed him pleading eyes, brows knitted in the same emotion. You moved your thumb gently on his hand. “I want you to know Caine, I’ll always enjoy your adventures.”

He smiled at you, “I’m glad to know one of my guests will be happy with them.”

“So for the adventure, could I please get a change of clothes? As much as I love this outfit, it’s not adventure material.”

“Oh! I can help with that!” He spoke excitedly.

Your eyes widened and your heart pounded, “C-Caine!?”

Before anything else could be said, he snapped his fingers and you were instantly back in the regular clothes from yesterday, “There you go ______!”

You breathed out a sigh of relief, “Thank you for your help.” Internally, you were still a little panicked. Even if this was just a digital body, you didn’t exactly want anyone seeing you in the nude.

“You’re welcome! Now, let’s go introduce you to the other members my delightful daisy!” He exclaimed. He flew from his armchair and went over to you, grabbed your hand, and held it tightly.

Your face turned red but you welcomed the contact. You were calming down from the emotions of moments ago.

He snapped his fingers with his free hand and you two were teleported to an area containing 4 couches of purple, red, blue, and green. Everyone sitting on the couches turned to look at you and Caine.

“Hello my rubber ducky baby bumpers! This is ______, our newest circus member!”

You waved at everyone with your free hand. He still held your other hand tightly in his.

“Hi ______!” Gangle greeted. She no longer wore the cute blue bathing suit. Her body of red ribbons was visible for you to see.

“Hello!” You responded.

Ragatha, who was wearing a purple dress, returned your wave and you gave her a polite smile.

Caine flew you over to the others and quickly said everyone’s names, “Kinger, Pomni, Jax, and Zooble!” You had been flown to the King Chess piece dressed in a purple robe, the jester who wore red and blue and a matching hat, the rabbit who was in pink overalls, and the one with the pink triangle head. He then flew you two back over to where you first were at.

“Now, let’s get into today’s adventure!” He set you down and let go of your hand and flying into the air. “Today’s adventure is Fantastic Fantasies! Tearsfully Kingdom is in dire need of heroes to help vanquish the evil Salamander Volcando! It’s up to you to kill him before he and his salamander army cover everything in toxic goo! Now go have fun my little toasty croissants!” He snapped his fingers making a green and blue portal appear.

Zooble sighed, “Let’s get this over with.” They grumbled before stepping through the portal.

You were puzzled on why they sounded annoyed. The adventure sounded neat to you. Then again, the ringmaster had already emphasized how much the others weren’t thrilled about his adventures. It made you sad that they didn’t always appreciate his work. He took such care and delicacy in creating the adventures from what you witnessed.

The rabbit and jester went through next followed by Ragatha and the king chess piece. Gangle stuck around, waiting for you.

You looked up at Caine, “This sounds like it will be fun! Are you coming with us?”

“Thank you! No, I don’t join the adventures. I make them special for all of you.” His eyes shined in joy looking at you.

“Well, maybe you could join in next time! If you want to.”

“I would love to ______!” His digital body was on a high upon hearing you say you would love for him to join in the action.

“I look forward to it!” You grinned at him and then turned to Gangle. “Hey Gangle! Thanks for waiting for me.”

“Yeah, no problem,” she replied shyly. She started walking to the portal.

You turned back to Caine, giving him a small wave and a soft smile. He waved back at you enthusiastically which made you chuckle. You followed after Gangle through the portal.

Caine sighed happily. He finally had a human that was happy with him. He summoned a recliner and sat back in it.

“Hiya Boss!” Bubble popped up, sharp tooth grin in place.

“Ah Bubble. ______ makes me feel things that-“

“Bring you pain?”

Caine looked at him bewildered, “What? No! Good things!”

“Spicy!” Bubble stuck his tongue out and winked.

Caine nervously gulped at the indication behind his assistant’s meaning. He didn’t want x-rated content in here! There could be none of that!

Bubble laughed, “You enjoy the spiciness of her!”

The ringmaster popped him before he could say anything else. His teeth had a very thick line of pink and red over them.

————————————————————————-

“About time Ribbons! Where’s the newbie?” The purple rabbit asked.

“Here!” You said happily.

“Took you long enough Dolly,” the pink overall bunny said.

“Geez. What’s your problem Mr. Impatient?”

“My problem is you and how long we had to wait for you. Let’s get going.” He turned around and started walking away, arms crossed.

You sighed and stuck your tongue out at him.

“Don’t let Jax get to you,” Ragatha comforted.

“Yeah, he can be like that sometimes,” Pomni pointed out.

You gave the two an appreciative smile.

“So, where do we start exactly?” Gangle asked.

“Maybe in the direction Jax went in?” you suggested.

“I think so too,” Ragatha agreed.

You and the others followed the foul mood rabbit. He had been heading in the right direction. Volcando and his army were outside in the field, a good few yards away from the castle and getting ready to attack. The castle was built with white brick and had several tall towers. The field you and the others were in had a few tents scattered about.

“What about armor or any kind of equipment? We need something to use against them,” you pointed out.

“What about there?” Gangle asked. She was looking at a gray tent that was propped up with the words Armory and Weaponry Shop printed in a plaque off to the side.

“That’ll work!” Pomni said. “Jax!”

The bunny stopped walking in his tracks, turning around to look at her.

“We’re going to get equipment!”

He sighed and walked back over to you and everyone.

You and Gangle entered the tent. Everyone else followed after you two. The inside was spacious and offered quite a variety of armor and weapons alike. You decided to go for a bow and arrow. Gangle, Zooble, and Jax went for swords. Kinger, Pomni, and Ragatha went for spears. All of you equipped yourselves with the same type of metal armor and had shields.

Once everyone was ready, all of you stepped outside. The army was much closer to the gate now. They all screamed and shouted, waiting for orders from their leader.

“Good morning!” An eager voice called out.

All of you turned to the voice. A young lady dressed in a frilly pink dress with long, curly red hair ran up to you. She did indeed look similar to the artwork seen in Final Fantasy. You gave props to Caine for sticking closely to the art style.

“I am Princess Veronica! You must be the awaited heroes our Lord Caine spoke of!” She had much enthusiasm in her voice. Her green eyes gleamed in happiness.

“Yeah, that’s us princess,” you replied with a smile.

“Oh! You are the fair maiden of the group!”

“I…Huh?” You tilted your head at that.

“Yes! Lord Caine spoke highly of you!”

You blushed at that, “O-Oh! He did?”

“Yes! He gives all of you his blessings! For you especially, ______!”

“U-Uh…I appreciate that!” It stunned you a bit that he thought so highly of you. You truly found it sweet but wasn’t expecting him to do that. It made you smile at how much he cared.

“He told me to give you this note.” She handed you piece of folded paper.

You took it and held onto it tightly.

“Open it after the battle,” she instructed.

You nodded and put the note away into a conveniently placed pocket in your armor.

Veronica clapped her hands, “Now! We must march toward the gates! My army shall accompany all of you! They are all this way! Follow me!” She started walking away.

You and everyone followed her silently. You had to wonder what the note had written on it. You smiled again at how much Caine really cared for you. It was overwhelming to have such tenderness displayed for you, especially after how much your emotions go up and down. Positive and negative clash constantly and sometimes, you had to let them duke it out.

The princess’s army was standing firm and tall. They were dressed from head to toe in old, classic knight in shining armor. She informed you and the others where to line up. In the forefront which was directly in front of the castle gates.

Volcando and his army of green salamanders stood menacingly. They were all ready to attack. Volcando’s black, reptilian skin shined in the sunlight above. His yellow eyes glared menacingly at all of you.

“Alright! It’s time to protect our home! Are you ready!?” Veronica cried out.

Everyone cheered. Gangle, Zooble and Jax stayed quiet.

“Three, two, one! Attack!” The princess pointed in the direction of the enemy army. Volcando gave his battle cry and his army echoed it. Two armies ran toward each other, grass and dirt was kicked up. You readied your bow and arrow as you ran. You let the arrow launch into the air and watched swirl with precision. The arrow struck the leader in the arm.

He cried out and threw a spear. You quickly ducked.

“Hit the deck!” You shouted as you hit the ground.

Most followed suit but one of the soldiers of the princess ended up getting stabbed. Everyone had split up since the enemies decided to scatter. You got up from the ground, dusting yourself off quickly. The leader locked onto you and lunged. You grabbed your shield and an arrow, pointing it at him. His body hit your arrow, getting stabbed in the chest.

He gurgled and then died. You were shocked at how well that worked. How did that go so well? The body was heavy and you moved it to the side with a huff. Upper body strength was severely lacking for you.

The fighting around you continued. It was intense. You went to help out Kinger who had a swarm of angry bees around him and the enemy. You avoided the bees as best as you could as you readied your arrows once more. Why were there angry bees? Kinger moved over to you.

“______! Take down those guys! I’ll get these ones.” He gripped his spear tightly in his white gloved, floating hands. He swiped through the salamanders in front of him, cutting them down quickly.

The horde of bees had calmed down and started buzzing pleasantly. You shot your arrows at the remaining enemies. They all fell with painful cries. You wiped your brow, feeling that sweat had formed on your forehead. The remaining enemies had been wiped out. Jax enjoyed the killing immensely, standing in victory. Everyone else was exhausted, panting vigorously.

The bees that were with you and Kinger had circled around you. You watched them constantly flying in a ring near you and then a flower crown of (favorite flower) had landed on your head.

“Oh!” You moved your hand to your head, feeling the soft petals. It smelled wonderful! Just like your (favorite flower)!

“I was trying to calm them down. I think I made them mad for some reason. I’m happy they’re not angry anymore,” Kinger said.

“Where did they come from to begin with?”

“I summoned them. I thought they would help us out.”

“Oh. I see…” You weren’t entirely sure what to think of Kinger. He seemed nice but a little out there to put it simply. “Why did they give me this flower crown?”

“Oh! You have a crown? Are you a princess too?”

“Uh…No…” You looked away awkwardly. What was up with him? You did like the crown but found it odd that they gave you one.

The bees suddenly vanished into thin air. You raised a brow at that.

Princess Veronica came to greet all of you, “Congratulations! You have our thanks! Come join us in the dining hall! Follow me!”

Everyone started following the princess. You trailed behind, taking out the note the royal lady handed you. You unfolded the paper and began reading the words:

“My dearest ______. If you are reading this, it means your battle was a success! Your presence is requested in the castle gardens. I have important news for you. Sincerely yours, Lord Caine”

“Important news? Hmm…” You stared increasing your walk a little bit to get closer to the princess. You politely stepped through some to the crowd behind her, saying excuse me or pardon me. You finally caught up to her, “Princess!

“______! You were fantastic out there!” Veronica complimented.

“Thank you! I have a question. The note is asking me to go to the castle gardens. Where is that at?”

“I can take you there.” She tapped the arm of one of the men beside her, “Phillip?”

The man turned to her, “Yes your highness?”

“Please take our champions to the dinning hall. I must escort Fair ______ to the gardens.”

“Of course my princess.” He gave a quick bow.

“We’ll go this way.” She grabbed your arm, tugging you along with her.

You made a startled sound, following her a little clumsily.

Veronica had led the two of you to a small, back entrance. There was a silver gate in front of you. She fished in her dress pocket for a key. Once finding it, she put the key in the lock and pushed the gate open with ease.

“Here you are,” she said kindly.

“Thank you Princess,” you spoke politely.

“Of course.” She then took her leave.

You stepped through the gate, immediately flooded with many smells of flowers. Some of them had otherworldly appearances while others reminded you of the real world. Each flower and their petals had been made with such fondness. You could see the artist in Caine easily shine through in this expansive garden.

Bushes, vines, and greenery galore. This would be a gardner’s paradise. You weren’t much of a green thumb, not that you tried gardening, but, you could appreciate the attendance and care it took to maintain a garden. You continued walking and soon heard running water.

Was there a fountain? It had to be. That or a waterfall which wouldn’t make much sense to you. You followed the sound and soon enough, a gray cement water fountain greeted you. There was marble figures holding each other or dancing in the center of it. Water shot out from the center of it. The figures made you think about Rome with how they looked.

“My darling ______,” a familiar voice spoke behind you.

You had been fixated on the fountain that the voice caused you to squeak. You turned around, “Caine! Hi!”

“Hello my dear,” he greeted you again.

“You said you had some important news to share. What is it? Is everything okay?”

“Yes. My important news is that I have crafted a special adventure for you and I to go on.”

You giggled, “You know, you could’ve told me when this adventure finished.”

“I couldn’t wait. I wanted to see you again.” He smiled at you.

You blushed, smiling shyly at him, “It is good to see you. I’m looking forward to our adventure Caine!”

He smiled at that.

“I’m surprised at how quickly everything went in this adventure.”

“That was done on purpose. I didn’t want to keep everyone here for very long. I…I wanted to try shortening the adventure and see how the others feel. I don’t know if it will make a difference or not.” He grabbed his arm, looking away from you sadly.

“I’m sure it’s fine. I think they’ll like it that way,” you tried reassuring.

He sighed and looked at you, “I hope so…”

You walked over to him, putting a hand on his arm, and moved your hand in a soothing motion. He smiled softly at you.

“By the way, what was up with the bees?” You asked curiously.

“Oh! Kinger did summon them but they weren’t doing very well. I took control of them and had them give you the flower crown as a little reward,” Caine answered.

“I see. Thank you! I like it! I’ve never had a flower crown before.”

“I’m glad you do my beautiful rose!” An alarm suddenly went off from Caine’s wacky watch, “Oh! The feast is finished! It looks like it’s time to bring everyone home!” He spoke theatrically.

You still had your hand on his arm. He snapped his fingers with his free hand, bringing the two of you back to the circus while simultaneously summoning a portal for the others to walk through. You and everyone were back at the same area with the four couches. You moved your hand from his arm.

“Welcome back my fortuitous fruit cups!” Caine exclaimed.

“Oh ______! There you are! Glad you’re okay,” Ragatha said.

“Yeah, sorry if I worried anyone,” you said feeling bad.

“It’s okay,” the purple dressed doll answered.

“So, how do you all feel about this adventure?” The ringmaster asked.

“It was a fast one. That’s for sure,” Zooble answered. “It was okay.”

“Just okay?” Caine summoned his cane, gripping it tightly.

“I don’t always want to fight something. Something more relaxing would be nice,” Pomni said next.

“Adventures need stakes though! That is the only way I can tell a compelling story!” He furrowed his denture brows angrily.

You watched with worried eyes at what everyone said. Caine definitely wasn’t happy with the results so far.

“I thought it was okay too,” Gangle spoke shyly.

“I liked the killing. Other than that, eh,” Jax said.

“I liked the bees!” Kinger said happily.

Caine sighed, “Very well. I’ll come up with something else later.” He could feel his codes sizzling unpleasantly. He snapped his fingers, disappearing from you and everyone.

You worried about him. You wanted to talk to him but figured space was needed for now. Everyone was exhausted and went their separate ways, leaving you to mull over your own thoughts. You sat down on the red couch. You surprisingly felt the flower crown still sitting on your head. You removed it and held it in your hands, thumbs brushing gently over the velvet petals. You sighed heavily. You hoped this didn’t break Caine too much.

————————————————————————-

Link for Part 4:

How could it be free again? Where could it go from here? How can it feel normal? These questions circulated its mind like a repeating record. Besides escape, was it possible to be healed?

————————————————————————-

Caine still held onto you, enjoying the feeling of your body against his. His hands gripped you tightly and you blushed at that. Your head was resting gently against his chest. You could hear a faint beat. Did he have a heart? He is an AI though.

You listened closely and the beat now sounded like codes being entered. A string of codes were repeating with the same, steady sounds. Wires working to keep everything in place. It amazed you hearing that. It was just like a heartbeat but with wires acting like the blood flow and codes to be the heart itself.

You move your gaze upward, being met by his bottom denture. Your expression held a serene smile. Caine, sensing the movement, looked down at you with his heterochromatic gaze, a gleam of happiness reflecting in his eyes.

“It’s amazing how your body is just like a human body,” you spoke.

“I wanted replicate in the best way I knew how to. I thought this would be the best way to show that,” Caine said.

“You did great! I…” You bashfully smiled and buried your head in his chest.

“What is it my dear?” He was slightly amused at your shyness, finding it endearing.

“I just…I feel…Great. I um...I really like being in your arms.” Your face was practically flushed. Your heartbeat picked up again.

“That’s good my sweet rose.” Caine could feel his circuits heating up and he knew you could feel it too. He hoped you would continue feeling wonderful in his arms.

You looked around once more at the scenery, feeling more heat from Caine. You truly enjoyed this but still wanted to take your time. Don’t rush anything. You don’t want this being ruined. Then you remembered. You were told there wasn’t a way out of the circus. Was there a point in still getting a story from this place? If you were truly stuck here, why bother?

“Claire?” Caine asked.

Maybe there was another way out that wasn’t made known to many. You could see Caine knowing more than he lets on. You like him so much, but there was something nagging at you…

“Claire? You in there?” The ringmaster asked once more.

“Huh?” You were brought out of your thoughts.

“Are you okay darling?” His denture brows furrowed in worry.

You gave him a reassuring smile, “Yeah, I’m sorry. Just caught up in my thoughts. Where are all of the dinosaurs?” You didn’t wish to go into details on what circulated in your mind.

“They’re all in a big field. We’re almost there.” Caine wanted to ask more of what was on your mind. He decided he would try asking later. He hoped it wasn’t anything troubling.

A roar could be heard not too far from where you two were at.

“Oh! I remember which one that is! A Brachiosaurus!” You said with excitement flashing in your eyes.

Caine smiled down at you.

You could see the long necked dinosaur over some trees. “Ah! There it is!”

The ringmaster chuckled, finding you to be cute. He floated toward the dinosaur.

The Brachiosaurus looked at you and Caine in curiosity, its head tilted. It was not a full grown adult yet.

“As Alan Grant said, ‘Think of it as a giant cow,’”you tried impersonating. Deep voices weren’t easy to imitate.

Caine laughed at your attempt.

“You think we can pet it?”

“Of course!” Caine moved you two a little closer to it so you could touch it.

You extended your hand out, waiting for it to respond.

The dinosaur had its big brown eyes on the both of you and moved its head toward your hand.

“Aw! So cute!” You cooed at it. Your hand gently touched its snout.

The dinosaur rumbled in response.

You giggled at it, moving your hand up and down on its nose.

Caine watched you pet the dinosaur with a smile.

“Aw! You’re just adorable!” It was pulling at your heartstrings with its cuteness!

The dinosaur made a happy noise.

“There’s still more to see,” Caine said.

You nodded, “It was nice to meet you cutie! We’ll see you later!”

The Brachiosaurus whined, not wanting you leave.

You felt your eyes burn a little bit, wanting to release tears, “Can it come with us? Please?” You looked at Caine with puppy dog eyes, lower lip sticking out.

He was surprised by your expression, finding it adorable. How could he say no to your sweet face? “Sure! Let’s ride on it!”

He moved you two to its back. He sat in the front and had you sit behind him. You shyly wrapped your arms around his waist.

“Onward!” Caine called out, lightly patting the dinosaur’s back.

The Brachiosaurus rumbled and began walking.

“I didn’t think that I would get to have a dinosaur ride! How fun!” You grinned.

“It is, especially with you!” Caine was glad he said yes to the ride. Having your arms around him like this made his codes swirl quickly in excitement.

“Thank you Caine! I’m having fun with you too!” You hugged him a little tighter.

He sighed happily. Your touch was so comforting and felt nice.

“Are we going to the Visitor’s Center now or…?”

“Wherever she wishes to take us.”

“What? No plan? I’m in shock!”

“I decided this adventure could be spontaneous.” He had remembered seeing that it can be fun to do activities without an entire itinerary in place. He wanted to put that to the test.

“Spontaneity can be fun!” It had been a long time since you could do anything without a schedule. It felt good having that worry put away and not hanging in your face. “Oh! We should name her!”

“What do you want to name her?” Caine asked looking at you through his peripheral.

“Um…what about…Amber?”

“Amber? Hmm…That sounds good!”

“Yay!” You cheered. “Do you like that name girl?” You pat the dinosaur on her back.

She squealed in response.

“Aw! Good! You’re our little Amber!” You pat her some more.

Caine liked hearing you say ours. It caused his circuits and codes to buzz pleasantly. He really mattered to someone for once!

The walk around the area continued. You pointed out different flowers that smelled good and how vibrant the colors were. Caine smoothly picked out a hibiscus for you, putting it behind your right ear. You bashfully thanked him for the flower. He let his white gloved hand touch your face after placing the flower behind your ear, cupping your cheek.

Suddenly, low growling could be heard and felt. It made your body shiver in nerves. Amber stood still and searched around. Caine had turned to face forward and you tightened your hold on him. Even though this was all virtual fun, it was still scary.

Amber started backing up. You looked around to see if you could spot anything. Stomp. Something was coming. Stomp. Something big. Stomp. It drew nearer to the three of you. You could feel panic beginning to rise your chest, the feeling heavy in your heart.

The low growl turned into a horrifying sound. It was like a call but the sound was meant to be menacing, a warning. A chance to run now or be killed. Amber turned her back and ran. You tried not to scream. Fear was making its home in your body and beginning to feast on the insides.

Amber increased her speed. The stomping returned and that same sound from moments ago came back. Caine had been holding onto Amber firmly and checked in his peripheral on you. You had your eyes closed, on the verge of tears.

Out from the trees, a large T-Rex came out. Its many sharp teeth gleamed in the sunlight as it stared at the three of you. It lowered its head and began to run toward you. Amber roared in fear and moved out of the way. You and Caine had been thrown around a little bit.

You squeezed the ringmaster even tighter, “Sorry! I hope I’m not hurting you!”

“You’re not my sweetheart. Don’t worry!” he reassured.

The T-Rex had almost clawed at Amber. Amber had just barely dodged the attack. She tried running again. The T-Rex was catching up quickly.

————————————————————————-

“Well that was…pleasant,” Pomni sarcastically remarked.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Ragatha agreed. She shook her head and tried to get her hair in its proper place. It had been windswept crazily.

Gangle’s comedy mask was broken in her hands and tears hung heavily from her tragedy mask she was now wearing. Zooble’s antenna was crooked and she lost an arm. Kinger’s eyes were crazed much more than normal. Pomni’s hat had been lost and her hair was a mess like Ragatha’s. The jester didn’t want to try fixing her hair though.

“The Bleep kind of ride was that?” Zooble asked with horror in her voice.

“I have no idea.” Pomni had let her fear show now.

“Why would Caine…recommend rides like that one?” Gangle asked sadly.

“Because to him, ‘It’s all part of the adventure! Caine’s adventures are better than anyone else’s ideas!’” Zooble shook their head.

Kinger had never seen anything as horrifying as that. It would more than likely produce nightmares for him. However, he would push through it like he always did.

“Uh…Want to get some food? Take a break?” Pomni asked everyone.

“Maybe that’s a good idea.” Ragatha just managed to finish fixing her hair. She sighed with relief at finishing her hair.

“How about that tent?” Zooble asked pointing to a red and green tent. They could see food through some glass displays.

“Looks good.” Pomni started walking that way.

Everyone else followed in silence. The fun roller coaster they rode on had jump scares every where. It got so bad to the point that Zooble had to cover for Gangle before she got swiped out of the ride. Pomni and Ragatha had been screamed at constantly which causes their hair to stand on end. Kinger was surrounded by the spirits from the Miltonhall Manor adventure and they were possessing his beloved wife. The angel from the same adventure kept trying to eat him.

They all reached the counter and looked over the menu. There was a nice variety of options. Ragatha and Kinger ordered drinks while Pomni, Zooble, and Gangle ordered food. Even though eating and drinking weren’t necessities, it was still nice to experience the flavors of food and drinks. Once everyone had their orders, they sat down in a booth.

“You think Claire is on an adventure with Caine right now?” Ragatha asked.

“Probably,” Pomni answered.

“I bet it’s better than the ride we went on,” Zooble commented.

“Yeah, I agree,” Gangle spoke softly.

Kinger had been silently drinking his tea. Surprisingly through out the ride, the bucket managed to stay on his head. He was relieved about that.

“I still think she shouldn’t be getting so close to him. She is obviously his favorite because she likes him for whatever reason. I find it weird,” Zooble expressed. They sighed and picked up their fork, poking at the piece of cake they ordered.

“I think so too, but maybe this can be a good thing. If she keeps him occupied, it means less crazy adventures for us.” Pomni lifted the spoon she held moved it to her mouth. She had ordered some soup.

Ragatha moved her eyes down to her drink, gripping the handle of the cup tightly, “It feels wrong though. It feels like we’d be using her.” Her left eye displayed unease.

The jester nodded, “That is also true. I would feel bad about that.”

“She did tell me she was going to talk to him about calming down on the adventures. We can hope for the best in that endeavor.” The doll sipped her tea.

“Oh! Well that’s good! Hopefully she can pull through on that!” Pomni smiled.

“That’s better than the alternative,” Zooble pointed out.

“I would feel better with that idea too,” Gangle agreed.

Kinger nodded, enjoying more of his tea.

“Let’s give her the chance to talk to him. If anything, we can try talking to her later if Caine does still give us crazy adventures,” Pomni planned.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

————————————————————————-

The mass found it. A single tear in the wall that it could begin digging at. A speck of white light peeked through. All of its colorful eyes focused on the tear, putting the tip of its leg through it. It clung tightly, feeling its leg hit the other side of the wall. The mass moved its leg downward, increasing the size of the tear. The light shone through, blinding the mass.

It reared back as the light hit all of its eyes, removing its leg. It shook its head, trying to refocus. The mass worked on the tear again, following the same downward pattern. More tearing would be needed so it could fit through it. It was determined to make it out. Just a little while more.

————————————————————————-

Amber kicked at the T-Rex on its side, causing it to yelp in pain. The King of the Dinosaurs stumbled back and the young Brachiosaurus used the opportunity to run again. She pumped her legs, urging her large body to move. She sensed her herd was ahead, motivating her to keep going.

You admitted that this was more action packed than you thought it would be. While it was terrifying, you admitted to having fun. You figured you would enjoy it.

Caine looked back at you through his peripheral, “Are you okay?”

You nodded, giving a small smile.

Amber called out to her herd by making loud, desperate sounds. The other Brachiosaurus in the area returned the call and ran over to her. Your grip on Caine’s waist tightened as the running caused the ground to shake. The other long-necked dinosaurs surrounded Amber.

The T-Rex appeared and roared in rage. The group with Amber roared back. The short armed dinosaur took a few steps backwards, seeing it was completely out numbered. It gave one final cry before running back in the direction it came from.

Amber and the others with her cheered by stomping their feet. This made you tighten your grip more around Caine’s waist. The ringmaster put his hands on top of your arms. You gave him an apologetic smile, feeling that you gripped onto him too tightly. He shook his head at you, showing a reassuring smile.

“We live!” You shouted joyfully.

“Yes indeed!” Caine joined in.

Amber rumbled.

“Claire, I’ll need you to let go of me,” Caine spoke.

You removed your arms from his waist. He then turned around and picked you up so he could hold you bridal style again. You gleefully blushed at that. Caine moved into the air, his grip on you tight. He moved to face Amber.

Amber’s big brown eyes looked at you and Caine with happiness. You reached your hand out to her. She joyfully moved her head to your hand. You giggled and ran your hand up and down on her snout once more. She squealed in delight.

“You’re just so cute!” You said cooing again at her.

Amber made a happy noise.

“Do you want to see the rest of this field?” Caine asked you.

“Sure!” You grinned. “We’ll see you later Amber!”

Amber rumbled happily.

Caine moved the two of you higher in the air to get an aerial view of the dinosaurs. There were tons of them and the field was a lot bigger than you expected it to be! Then again, Caine had said that they were all in a field.

“Wow! It’s incredible!” You exclaimed.

Caine smiled at you and moved along to take in more of the view. He lowered the two of you to be a little closer to them. Tall and short dinosaurs were eating, mingling, or minding their little ones. You awed at the little babies as you passed by.

“So many little ones!” You expressed joyfully.

“Yes, baby dinosaurs are really cute. I thought you would enjoy them,” Caine replied.

“I do!”

Caine had to turn on his coolers as he could feel his circuits and codes heating, “I’m glad.”

A green and yellow portal appeared. Caine flew the two of you through it. You were back in his office. The little blue butterfly from before flew from Caine’s desk and over to you, landing on your head.

“Oh! Hey there!” You said to the butterfly. You carefully moved your hand to the top of your head.

The butterfly flapped its wings, moving toward your hand and extending one of its legs to touch your hand.

You smiled, relieved that it was okay. You looked at Caine, “I guess the Visitor’s Center will be for another time?” You moved your hand back down.

“Yes. I thought it would be good to take you back here now. You seem tired,” he replied.

“I am a little bit.” You yawned and then laughed.

Caine joined your laughter with his own chuckle.

“I did want to talk with you a little more.”

“Oh! We could talk later. Don’t you want to get some rest now?” Caine’s denture brows furrowed in concern.

“Yeah, but I really need to ask you about something.”

Caine nodded. He had still been holding you.

“Want to sit on the couch?” You pointed toward the burgundy couch that was a little away from his desk.

“Sure.” He moved the two of you over to it. He set you down before sitting beside you.

“Caine…,” you started.

He nodded his head at you.

“Do you think that the adventures could have less intensity in them? Less violence?”

Caine looked at you with saddened eyes, “Do you not like my adventures anymore? I thought the one we just did was good!”

“I do like your adventures! Please don’t think otherwise. I just…I promised Ragatha that I would talk to you about them. She and the others aren’t enjoying them so much…” You moved your head down to your lap, clasping your hands together. You could feel your heartbeat pick up, hoping that he won’t get upset.

“The others have always hated my adventures,” he spoke in irritation, turning his head away from you.

You furrowed your brows in worry, not liking the tone of voice he carried. You moved gaze back to him, “I think…if maybe the next few adventures could be more relaxing, they’ll enjoy them more.”

Caine kept his gaze straight ahead, looking at the shelves of orbs. He could feel his wires boiling, his codes going erratic, his circuits fuming.

Your heartbeat quickened from the intense air. What was he thinking? “C-Caine?”

The ringmaster finally turned to look at you, anger and sorrow in his eyes. Your breathing hitched and your eyes widened. You hadn’t seen him look at you that way before.

“Claire, did they…put you up to this?” He felt like his body would implode. He could feel the heat increasing. He turned on his coolers once again.

“N-No…I wanted to ask you. Like I said, I promised Ragatha that I would talk with you about it. I wanted to up hold that promise,” you answered, voice slightly shaky.

Caine reached a hand out to you. His eyes still held sorrow. The anger slowly dissipated. He didn’t want his rage directed at you. He upped the cooling system for his digital body. You, hesitantly, unclasped your hands, putting one of them in his hand. He gripped your hand tightly. Your eyes still reflected worry for him.

“I’m…sorry,” you said quietly. “I know it hurts to hear that. I know you want everyone to be happy with your adventures. I want that for you too.”

Caine looked at you pleadingly upon hearing that.

“I think, if you try it, they’ll be happy with it.” Your voice was so soft.

The ringmaster reached out his other hand to yours, now holding your hand in both of his hands. You blushed from the extra contact, returning his pleading eyes with your own begging expression.

“I…I can try it…,” he spoke in a hushed voice.

You breathed a sigh of relief. Your heartbeat began to calm down, “R-Really?”

He nodded his head.

“That’s good Caine. Thank you,” you showed a kind smile.

“Y-You’re welcome, my dear.” His voice was still so quiet.

“I want you to know. I had a lot of fun with our adventure today! Thank you!” You, shyly, leaned forward and pecked his lower gums. You blushed. You felt the kiss was needed.

He perked up at the pleasant contact. His sorrow was slowly fading. His eyes showed happiness.

“I think it might be best to call it a night now,” you spoke, covering your mouth with your free hand as a yawn came out.

“I think so too.” He let go of your hand with one of his and snapped his fingers, instantly teleporting you two to your room.

He walked you to your bed, slowly letting go your hand. You climbed into your plush bed and smiled at him. The little blue butterfly flew off your head and made itself comfortable on top of the canopy. You watched it land with ease then turned toward the ringmaster. Caine snapped his fingers, summoning a nightstand to appear. He also had a small, glass vase sit on it. He levitated the hibiscus from your head and moved it to the vase, delicately setting it in there.

“Goodnight Caine,” you said happily.

“Goodnight Claire,” he responded.

You pulled the covers over you. Before you could close your eyes, Caine hovered over to you.

“Are you okay?” You asked with concern.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he closed his dentures, shielding his eyes. He slowly moved his head toward you. His dentures were puckered like someone puckering their lips. He placed a gentle kiss to your forehead.

You gasped and your face turned red. His teeth, surprisingly, felt soft and not hard like you expected them too. You smiled bashfully.

He moved back from you, opening his dentures to look at you. He adored that smile. He then snapped his fingers and teleported out of your room.

You laid your head on your pillow and sighed. What an emotional day! You still wanted to ask him those other questions. That nagging feeling returned and you were determined to find out more of what the digital circus was about. At least now progress was being made regarding the adventures. You closed your eyes and let dreamland take over.

————————————————————————-

Kinger and the others had made it back from the carnival and all went their separate ways back to their rooms. The rest of the time spent there was okay to say the least. They didn’t have anymore nightmare induced experiences thankfully. He entered his pillow fort. Lucy flew up to greet him.

“Good to see you Lucy!”

The monarch fluttered her wings.

“Hmm?”

She was fluttering her wings erratically.

“Oh no…I need to do something about that. It can’t get out. Not yet.”

Kinger set up his computer, turning it on, “Anything else?”

Lucy fluttered her wings calmly.

“Oh good. That’s good. Now, let’s get to implementing that extra code!”

Lucy nodded her little head and went to sit on top of Kinger’s bucket. His fingers began typing with precision and quickness on his keyboard.

————————————————————————-

Link for Part 7:

“Hey Caine! If you need me to cook sushi for you, let me know!” The sun said very cheerfully.

“Thank you Sun! Not right now!” Caine waved his white gloved hand at her.

“New human?”

“Yes! This is ______.”

“Hey there! Don’t make me dislike you and you won’t get burned!” The sun’s smile grew in size and sounded too dandy.

You chuckled nervously and gave an awkward wave at the sun, “I’ll do my best!” You moved your gaze to the water. What was her deal?

“Don’t worry ______. She gives everyone a hard time. She won’t do anything so long as I’m here,” the ringleader reassured you. He gently pat your shoulder.

You showed him a relieved smile, “Thank you.”

“Hi!” A feminine voice called out.

You and the ringmaster turned to the voice to see the ragdoll swimming toward you.

“Ragatha!” Caine greeted.

“Hi Caine,” she acknowledged Caine. She then turned her attention to you, “I just noticed you’re new! I’m Ragatha!” The doll held her hand out for you to shake.

“Hi, I’m ______.” You took her hand and shook it.

“I heard the sun ask new human and then saw you. I wanted to introduce myself. How are you feeling?” She looked at with you a lot of care.

“I feel okay so far. I’ve been hanging out with Caine which has been fun!” You smiled.

Caine’s pupils grew in size upon hearing you say it was fun to be with him. He sniffled, wiping his green eye of a tear trying to spill out.

She smiled with unease. It surprised her to hear about someone having fun with the eccentric AI, “Well, that’s good to hear. If you want to join Pomni, Jax, and I over there, feel free.”

“Oh thank you. I want to spend more time with Caine though.” You looked at the ringleader with a caring smile. You noticed she didn’t make the offer to Caine. You sensed how nervous she was. How come she didn’t offer for him to join them? Was there something more going on?

“I’ll leave you to it then.” Ragatha swam back toward Pomni and Jax.

You looked at Caine who was already staring at you, “Are you alright?” Your voice was laced with worry and concern.

“I-I am yes. Thank you,” he rushed with his response.

You swam closer to him, “You sure?” You weren’t entirely convinced.

“Yes, my dear. Thank you. I’ll be fine.” Caine could feel his codes, circuits, and wires flaring up. He was incredibly thankful that you still wanted to be with him. He greatly disliked that Ragatha didn’t want to hang out with him. It hurt. It all hurts.

“Caine?” You asked. Something was feeling off.

He didn’t wish to linger on the previous encounter much longer, “______, have you thought about what I can do to help you?” Caine wanted to make sure you were glad to be here.

You blinked at him, not expecting the topic change. You didn’t want to push him though. You gave him an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry. Not yet. I…I still am not sure. I think, I just need to work on this on my own.”

“Alone?” His voice was laced with concern.

You smiled reassuringly at him, “You can still be with me. I just…I need to get my mentality in order.”

“Mentality in order?” He tilted his denture head at that.

“I have to work on improving myself. Humans aren’t perfect and…I know I won’t ever reach that.” You chuckled sadly, “It’s funny. I have a part of myself that still strives for it. Even though I know better, I want to obtain that perfection.”

Caine wasn’t sure what to think of what you said. It did fascinate him that you still wanted something unobtainable. He could feel his circuits and codes tingling with a…what was it? Relatability? Was that it?

“Sorry for my sob story,” you awkwardly apologized.

“Hmm? You didn’t do anything wrong, ______. You’re just saying your thoughts, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I have an awful tendency to apologize for everything. Even though I don’t have to say sorry for everything, I still do.”

“Apologizing for everything? Why?”

You shook your head, “I really don’t know. I guess, it’s like a habit. Once something has been ingrained in you, it’s hard to break it. Something else I need to work on.”

“You have a lot of…mental work as you put it.” He was happy someone talked with him like this. This urged his digital mind to help you out in anyway he could, “How about we go explore more of the grounds?”

“Oh! Uh, sure.” You weren’t expecting the topic change but appreciated it.

“Great! Let’s go to the carnival!” He reached down to grab your hands.

Your breathing hitched from the contact as his white gloved hands touched yours. You were brought out of the water and into the air with him. Water dripped off your bodies as you hovered in the air. Still holding one of your hands, he let go of your other hand to snap his fingers.

You and he were transported to the carnival and back into your regular clothes. You and he had been dried off. Rides were on either side of you, filled with faceless manikins screaming. Tents of various colors were scattered about with food and games.

“Oh wow! There’s a lot to do here!” You grinned at everything displayed before you. Your other hand was still grasped in his. Realizing that, you noticed you were in the air with him. Not high up but enough to be floating above the ground.

Caine tightened his grip on your hand. He found a comfort in holding your hand. He couldn’t explain it but, it felt right. You blushed a little at that but enjoyed the contact.

“Where to first?” You asked him.

“How about the rollercoaster?”

“Sounds good! I do love rides like this! It looks great!”

Caine smiled at you. It was wonderful that someone was happy with his creations!

He brought the two of you to the boarding area of the ride. The carts had just arrived. The faceless manikins were exiting the ride. Caine let you enter first and then he followed after you. The metal bar came down and you put your hands on it. Caine followed your actions. The carts began moving forward.

“I don’t remember the last time I went on a rollercoaster,” you said.

“Well, this should be fun for you!”

“Yeah, I’m sure it will be!”

The carts had just reached the hill, beginning to ascend. You put your hands up in the air. Caine watched and copied your actions.

The coaster reached the top and suddenly moved at a rapid rate. You screamed your head off at the plunge. Caine’s denture head was flung open, his eyes widened at the speed. You and he had water at the corners of your eyes.

You wooed and cheered as the carts continued their journey back to the boarding area. You and Caine had been thrown around from the movement. You laughed as the carts slowed down.

“Woohoo! That was fun!” You wiped your eyes of the tears.

Caine grabbed his dentures, putting them back into proper shape. They had quite literally been stuck open. He shook his head once they were back in place, “Yes indeed!”

The carts pulled up to the boarding area, coming to a complete stop. The metal bars came up, allowing you and the ringleader to exit the ride. Caine stepped out and then you followed.

“What’s next?” You asked.

“Hmm…how about the ring toss?” Caine suggested.

“Sure! That sounds fun!”

Caine had hovered above the ground while you walked on it. It felt refreshing being out and about like this. You knew this was virtual but still. You had wanted to get away from your life as it was becoming too stressful. You were tired of failing at every task and being in trouble at work. It made your blood boil at the thought of those awful memories.

You shook your head, wanting to put focus on Caine and the fun you two were having. The ring toss tent was just in front of you. There was a red and blue tent over the game. A faceless manikin was tossing some green rings onto some clear bottles.

Each ring made its mark as they landed with ease on each bottle. The manikin tossed the last ring and clapped its hands. There was another faceless manikin behind the counter and it handed the customer a giant stuffed bee as a prize. The customer grabbed it and then fell over. The plushie was a lot heavier than it looked. The customer picked up the giant bee and walked away.

“You want to go first Caine?” You offered.

The ringleader smiled, “Hmm...You go first ______.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, my dear. Go ahead!” He encouraged.

You gave him a small smile and giggled, “Okay! Let’s see how I do! I usually haven’t been the best at this game.”

“You’ll do fine ______.”

“Thank you, Caine.”

The manikin behind the counter placed down 6 green rings in front of you. You grabbed one of rings and observed the placement of each glass bottle. Like the rings, there were also 6 glass bottles. They were in rows of 3 in horizontal alignment. You decided to try for one of the middle bottles.

You tossed the ring and watched it fly. Caine looked at the ring then at you. He found you so cute when you concentrated on tossing the ring. He moved his heterochromatic gaze back to the ring. You watched with bated breath as it was falling toward the bottles.

“C’mon! C’mon!” You said, clasping your hands together.

The ring hit a bottle on the left, bouncing off it and then landed around the middle bottle that was nearest to you.

“Yes!” You cheered, pumping your fist. You turned around to face the ringleader, flashing him a grin. He returned that grin with happiness reflecting in his eyes.

You faced the counter again, picking up another ring. You tossed it the same way as you did the first one. It stuck the landing! You picked up a third ring, tossed it, and it landed perfectly! The next two rings showed the same results! You could feel your heart pounding. You picked up the last ring. It needed to land on the right back corner.

You closed your eyes, inhaled and exhaled, then opened them again. You tossed the ring and it flew in slow motion

You clasped your hands together once again, bringing them up to your chest. You bit your lower lip in anticipation. The ring was nearing the bottles now, almost toward the last one. The ring bounced from the bottle and hit it again, making the landing.

“Ah! Yes! Yes!” You pumped your fists in the air and danced.

Caine chuckled at you, finding your happiness adorable and contagious. He could feel his circuits and codes buzzing in joy.

The manikin pulled out the same giant bee plushie and handed it to you. You grabbed it and fell over. “Oomf!”

Caine rushed over to help you up. He grabbed the plushie with one hand and then used the other one to pull you up. You grabbed his free hand and stood up. You stumbled a little bit and ended up falling forward into his chest.

“S-Sorry!” You panicked.

“Not to worry my dear,” he reassured.

You blushed and stood back again to steady yourself. You laughed, “The plushie is so cute but so big!”

Caine looked at it, “Yes it is! I love bees!” He squeezed it, producing a little squeak. He then held it out for you to take.

You grabbed it and squeezed it as well, giggling at the sound, “Your turn Ringmaster!”

“Indeed it is! I’m also called The Ringmaster for this special game!” Caine turned to you, giving you a wink.

“Good luck!” You winked back.

Caine cleared his throat at that, but smiled at you. He waited for everything to be set up for him. When that was done, he proceeded to pick up two rings and toss them both. They landed with precise execution. Your jaw hung open at that. He repeated the action two more times. It was practically flawless!

Same as before, the manikin pulled out a big bee plushie. Caine took it by levitating it in the air and then snapping his fingers. The bee disappeared.

“Where did it go?” You asked curiously.

“I sent it to my office,” he replied.

“Ah okay. You did a great job! I can see why you’re known as The Ringmaster!” You grinned.

“Thank you ______!” He looked at you bashfully.

“What else should we do?”

“We could check out the aquatic show!”

“Oh! That sounds neat! Let’s do it!” You squeezed your bee out of excitement, producing a loud squeal from the plushie.

You followed Caine who hovered in the air close by you and entered a large blue and green tent. He found good seats for you to sit in. The show was spectacular and unusual to say the least. You throughly enjoyed it!

Next were more games. There was a squirt gun game which required you and Caine to shoot water at each other. Whoever was not drenched from head to toe won. Caine beat you easily in that. He summoned a large blow dryer to help rid of the water. It ended up launching you into the air. He had to hold you at arm’s length to finish drying off.

Once that was done, you and he went to a duck shooting game, a horse shoe toss game, and explored a haunted mansion. The other games were fun while the mansion did provide thrills and terror. You had squeezed your bee plushie throughout the walkthrough of the spooky manor. Everything was freaking you out. You ended up laughing about it later.

“Oh my gosh! That was crazy but fun!” You exclaimed, squeezing your bee once more.

“I’m happy you enjoyed it ______,” he spoke happily.

“Do you want to go back to the beach?”

“Oh! Sure!” Caine grabbed your hand and snapped his fingers, teleporting you two back there.

The moon was over the beach now as the sun had switched over to the carnival. You and the ringleader had also been changed back into your beach clothes. The bee plushie sat in its own blue lounge chair.

“I had a lot of fun with you. Thank you Caine!” You expressed in gratitude.

Caine felt the familiar buzzing in his codes again. “Y-You’re welcome my dear.” He was overwhelmed that someone was happy with him and to be with him!

You sat down in your lounge chair while Caine sat in his. You saw that the lake and beach were now empty. Looks like everyone went back to The Tent. The moon and stars were above you now.

“I really threw you off earlier didn’t I?” You asked the ringmaster.

His denture brow rose up, “Threw me off?”

“When I thought that this place was a video game. I confused you, didn’t I?”

“I was confused. I’m happy you understand this place now.”

You giggled, “Me too. I feel so embarrassed!”

“You don’t need to feel that way. You look good.”

You blushed a little at that, “I meant that I feel embarrassed about my misunderstanding of this place. But thank you.” You smiled kindly at him.

He chuckled, “You’re welcome! So…Embarrassment can be more than about appearance then?”

“Yeah. It’s very common. Well, common for me anyway.”

“Why is that?”

“Because sometimes, I feel embarrassed when I mess up on something. Like, I was asked to do a task at work one day. I was told to fold the burgundy t-shirts in a certain way. I folded them in a totally different way. I misunderstood and felt embarrassed from my mistake.” You laughed sadly at the awful memory.

“Oh…that’s not good. Did you get to do it again?” Caine asked, invested in your story.

“I did. My manager wasn’t happy with me though. I was told to do some extra folding of the other t-shirts there. It was not fun.”

“You were…punished?” His denture brows furrowed in worry.

“Yeah, basically. Because of that and other mistakes of my past, I…I get hard on myself.” Your eyes showed sorrow as you looked at him. You heaved out a sigh.

Caine stared at you. He sensed that you were sad again but, it felt deeper. Maybe now was a good time to ask you what he wanted to earlier, “______, is it possible to feel…useless? Unwanted?”

Your heart dropped at hearing that. Did he…? You nodded sadly, “Yeah…I have felt like that myself. You try to do everything you can and it isn’t enough.” You felt a burning sensation in your eyes. Tears were close to spilling out of your eyes.

Caine’s circuits and codes were burning up. He thought his body would implode. What you said is exactly how he felt. This was the deeper feeling he was struggling to understand. He got up from his chair and kneeled before you.

“Caine?” You asked, your voice tremulous. A tear slid down your face.

“______, I’ve struggled to bring happiness to everyone here. I…It feels like I’m…” He stopped. His digital body began to glitch out.

You gasped, not expecting him to fade in and out like that. The remaining tears you had spilled out all at once, turning into worry, “Caine?!”

His body continued glitching, more erratically. The lake and beach joined in the glitching fiasco. The area was shaking. You yelped from the shakes, your eyes widening. He laid his head down on your lap, closing his dentures and hiding his eyes. His codes, circuits, and wires were fizzling with heat.

You inhaled and exhaled, putting more focus on Caine. You, hesitantly and carefully, put your hands on him. The glitching was calming down upon feeling a new contact. The environment ceased with the glitches as well. You moved your hands up and down on his denture head.

You steadied your breathing as you continued the pattern, blushing from your actions, “Caine?”

He moved his head, opening his dentures wide enough to peak at you.

You stopped moving your hands, resting them on his head. You looked at him with pleading eyes, “Are you okay?” Your voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

He opened his dentures a little more. He moved his hands to feel yours resting on his head. He grabbed your hands, bringing them down from atop his head. He held them tightly, returning your pleading expression with his own. He couldn’t formulate words. He moved his head up from your lap, still on his knees

Your mouth was slightly a gap as you and he stared into each other’s eyes. You then let out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding, “D-Do you..?” You tried to think of something to say.

“______?” he spoke unusually calm and soft.

“Yeah?” You asked.

“I…” He stood up, still holding your hands.

You moved forward in your chair, scooting closer to him. Your eyes were caught in his, the stars and the moon reflected perfectly in them along with you. He stepped back, causing you to stand up and follow his actions. He let go of your hands.

You and he still looked pleadingly at one another. The heaviness of how you both felt couldn’t be said in simple words. Your very beings were enraptured in everything negative. The angst, sorrow, weak, and worthless feelings were meshing together as you two continued to stare deeply into each other’s eyes.

You couldn’t take it anymore. You wrapped your arms around his waist. Something inside you said to hug him. This was needed not only for him but for you too. Caine, startled by this, made a surprised sound from the contact. A human was actually hugging him. He felt his digital body heat up pleasantly from the touch. He, slowly, wrapped his arms around you.

You and he stayed in each other’s embrace. His dentures had closed, hiding his eyes. You closed your own eyes. The warmth from his digital body was comforting. He felt wonderful being held by you. The moonlight was focused on the two of you, creating a spotlight. The stars twinkled in response to this shared moment between two tired, digital souls.

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Link for Part 3:

He sighed and put his focus back on the task at hand. He was making an area of mountains and the ocean. He wanted to have everyone be on the beach, rock climbing, and then avoid boulders from hitting them. At the top, Gumigoo and his friends would be pushing the boulders down.

“Hiya Boss!” a little bubble greeted.

“Bubble,” Caine acknowledged, still focusing on the craft before him. His white gloved hands summoned different colors working like wires to help put the finishing touches on the landscape. Everything was kept in a glass orb.

This had to work. The wires finished melding together, presenting the landscape he wanted. He smiled at the finished craft, carefully putting the orb on his desk on what looked like a coaster. The landscape spun in a circle, showing everything he had worked hard on making. His office had shelves full of previous adventures. This one would soon be added to the collection of orbs.

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Your day had been filled with even more disappointments. Customers yelled at you left and right at your job, the phone never stopped ringing and were filled with even more complaints, and, to make matters worse, you got yourself a written warning at work. The boss had called you back into his office, annoyance etched in his eyes. Someone had the audacity to accuse you of wrongdoing by treating one customer horribly. You never treated any customers with ill intentions. Apparently, someone didn’t see it that way.

You did your best to explain what happened; why you couldn’t take back the item that was being returned. After that was done, the boss shook his head and gave you a written warning. One more and you would be fired. Great. Maybe it would be better to find a new job now. To end the work day, someone decided to steal your bike. You wanted to go bike riding to your job today since the weather was nice. Of course, the day you choose to do this on is the day that life decided you didn’t deserve to have your bike.

You screamed. The sound echoed around you. You wanted to rip your hair out and claw your eyes out of your head. The nagging negatives occurred again. You weren’t worthy enough for a bike. You weren’t worthy enough for your job. What was your worth? Nothing. You heaved out a heavy sigh and called for a cab.

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“Bubble, how could this adventure go wrong again!? I did everything they asked for and they still aren’t happy!” Caine had his hands resting on his head made of dentures in distress. His dentures closed, hiding his eyes.

The little assistant, Bubble, just floated there and blinked his beady black eyes. His sharp tooth smile was present. It never went away.

He moved his hands down to his lap, opening his dentures, “I just…I don’t know what else I can do for them. Maybe…No…” The ringmaster shook his head. There was no way he was going to say that he wasn’t capable. This was…This is his purpose. Crafting and creating adventures.

“Maybe they do think you aren’t doing enough,” Bubble spoke.

His heterochromatic eyes widened, “That can’t be true. I do everything and I even go out of my comfort zone for them. They wanted something with a little more realism in it and I gave them that. Boulders could very well fall on someone who is rock climbing! I have to add high stakes to tell a compelling story! Why can’t they…?” He left the question unfinished. Was he not good enough for his job? His true purpose?

“Maybe you should give up and d-“ Bubble was cut off as Caine popped him.

The creative AI didn’t want to hear that last word from the little guy. He didn’t want to…disappear. He knew what other word Bubble would’ve said but didn’t wish to say to himself. What would happen to this place if he were gone? It would collapse. His top denture furrowed in frustration, anger, and sadness. Why did he have to struggle to make someone happy with his adventures?! His blue and green eyes formed tears and they fell rapidly like raging waterfalls.

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Back at home now, you changed into some comfortable clothes. Thankfully the cab was alright. At least that went right for you. For once. Tiredness was creeping into your system but you couldn’t end the day yet. You grabbed a black, computer desk chair, and sat down in it. You stared blankly at a computer screen. The gray monitor displayed nothing but pure white, sitting on top of an old desk, accompanied by a gray keyboard and mouse.

To your right was a black, bulky VR headset. You had ordered it off Ebay. It was from an old computer company called C&A. The seller said the headset was for a computer game that the company was testing out. You thought it looked neat and wanted to try it out. For how much you had to pay for it, you hoped it would be a worthwhile investment.

The headset wasn’t going to cause an injury right? Knowing your luck, that might happen. You shook your head and sighed. You carefully picked up the bulky headset, placing it on your head. It was heavy but not too much. You tightened the straps on it and then just as you leaned back in your chair, the world around you shifted. Colors merged into one and you could feel yourself falling.

You suddenly found yourself lying on a hard, brown floor. Wait…hard, brown floor?! You sat up and were greeted with colors of red, yellow, blue, green and purple. Red and yellow walls and those colors repeating with the others in the decor. The decorations were like children’s toys.

You also noticed a black and white checkerboard floor beneath the brown floor. You realized you were on a stage. You were stunned and moved your hands to your head. The headset. Where did it go? How come you couldn’t remove it?!

“Why is it gone? Where is it? Why does everything always happen to me?!” You groaned in irritation, shaking your head. Even games didn’t like you.

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Caine decided to give his guests the day off from adventures. Yesterday had been awful. He was trying to come up with a new idea but his circuits and codes couldn’t focus. They were still going haywire from the previous, disastrous results. Even putting himself in sleep mode didn’t do the trick to ease his systems.

Suddenly, a notification appeared on his wacky watch. He looked down at his left wrist. A new human had entered the circus! He worked quickly on crafting the perfect body for them from their mind file. Female. He had the just form in mind for her.

His hands summoned different colored streaks, carefully and meticulously, crafting them to form the right digital body. He made sure all of the colors connected and intertwined each specific detail seamlessly. Almost finished…He was becoming intrigued with the information that this mind file presented. Done!

He shot up from his chair and vanished out of his office. This was the perfect distraction for him!

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You sighed heavily, still sitting on the floor. What were you to do now?

“My, my! A new human!” An overdramatic voice spoke.

You gasped and looked around then brought your gaze upward. Before you was a head of dentures with a blue eye and green eye in his mouth. He was wearing a red ringmaster outfit with black pants, shoes, bowtie, and a black top hat with some red on it. His white gloved hands held a black cane with a golden tip.

Startled by the new presence, you backed up. What was happening to you?! Your eyes widened, “Huh?! Where?!”

“You’re in The Amazing Digital Circus my dear!” He had been hovering in the air and he moved closer to you.

You stopped backing up. You could feel your heart pounding nervously. “D-Digital Circus?” ‘This is the game right? Maybe this guy is like the tutorial for it. I need to calm down,’ you spoke mentally.

“Yes, The Amazing Digital Circus! My name is Caine, the ringmaster! You’ll experience many adventures created by me! Ones that will be mind bending, heart stopping, and filled with excitement!” He had so much bravado in his voice.

“I see. Well, how do I start?”

“Start?” He rose a denture brow.

“Yeah, what’s the tutorial? Can you show me what I need to do?”

“Uh…” He was very confused. “I can give you a tour of the circus.” What was up with how this human spoke? It was unusually odd.

“Great!” You smiled at him. ‘This game seems like it will be a lot of fun! At least, I hope it will be.’

He grabbed your shoulders and you were suddenly teleported to what looked like outside.

“The Tent is where you eat, sleep, rest, and have the option to play games. It’s also where the adventures take place,” Caine explained.

You nodded and he moved you two further away from the tent.

“The Grounds have a lake to drown yourself in along with a carnival filled with scary rides and shows!” Caine looked at you as you took everything in.

“Neat!” You grinned. “Though, I don’t want to be drowning in a lake.”

“Don’t worry. You won’t really drown,” he reassured.

“Where should I start at? Does it matter?”

“Uh no…” He was still thrown off with how you spoke. Why did it sound like you were in a…what was it? A video game?

“Oh!” You looked down at your hands. Your hands and the rest of your body were plastic. You were wearing a long blue dress with red jewels beaded in it. Your shoes matched as well. “Can I see what the rest of me looks like?”

“Sure.” The ringmaster summoned a mirror.

You stared at your reflection. The plastic shined and your hair and eye color were the same color from the real world. “Hmm. A plastic doll huh? I can go with that.”

“Good! This is your new form after all!” He made the mirror disappear. “Now come along! I have one more area to show you.”

You looked at him and he grabbed your shoulders again, teleporting the two of you once more.

“This is The Void! Never venture out here! If you do, you could get lost forever!” He moved his eyes and denture head closer to you, causing you to gasp from the closeness, “I don’t even know what’s out there,” he finished.

You looked around and saw it was nothing but white space with a few streaks of different colors whizzing past you.

The ringleader brought the both of you back inside the tent.

“Let’s talk about your name!” He exclaimed.

“My name? Um…” You felt a sudden brain fog. “I can’t remember my name! What is it!?”

“Not to worry. No one remembers their name once they enter the digital realm. I can help you come up with a new one.”

“Oh okay.” Why is it that no one could remember their names? Was it to be more immersive somehow?

Caine summoned a machine and letters began to spin on it. You watched the letters move quickly.

“How about ______?”

“Yeah, that sounds good!”

“Excellent! ______ it is!”

You looked around and then back at him, “So, where are the other characters?”

“Hmm?” He was confused. “Oh! You mean the other humans?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, they’re all at the beach. I gave them a day off from adventures,” he answered.

“The beach? Oh! Where that lake is?”

“Yes.”

“Okay cool! I think I want to go check it out.”

“Fantastic! We can have a special adventure for you later!”

“How about you come with me?” Even though he was just a tutorial guide, you already liked his presence. ‘Is it even an option for him to come with me?’

His eyes grew in size, pupils enlarging, “Gasp! A human wanting to spend time with me?! I would love to!”

“Yay!” ‘Finally something is going right for me!’

Caine floated along as you walked.

“Are there any major side quests you can tell me about?”

“Huh?”

“Um, side quests? You know, extra jobs to do on the side.”

Caine laughed, “Oh ______! This isn’t a video game. This is my digital circus!”

You stopped walking, confusion written on your face, “What? What do you mean?”

“This is a digital realm! There aren’t menus or controls. I’m the one who controls everything here. I have my hundreds of all seeing eyes on everyone,” Caine explained.

“Wait…what?!” You could feel your nerves trying to get the best of you. “Is this like…Is it…?” You couldn’t even finish your question. What kind of place was this?! Your heart beat quickened, your hands formed sweat. You began hyperventilating.

“No need to fret my dear! I assure you that everything will be fine!” He exclaimed, his hands and arms raised in the air with his cane spinning in the background.

Your heavy breathing continued, your pupils became swirls.

“Uh, ______?” He watched you struggling, not sure of what to do. He had grabbed his cane, holding it tightly.

You did your best to regulate your breathing again. Taking slower breathes. Inhale. Exhale. You got this. Inhale. Exhale. You’ll be okay. Inhale. Exhale. Your eyes went back to normal, “Sorry. I just…So, is this like an alternate reality?”

“Alternate reality?” Caine looked at you confused.

“Like another world? This isn’t the human world obviously so, is it like a different world?”

“Yes, you could say that.” He had never heard of anyone describing it that way.

“Is there a way to leave?” You had wondered about that since the headset disappeared.

“Uh...No.” He looked down at his hands that still held his cane. Fantastic. Another human wanting to get out of here.

You blinked at him. Did you hear him right? “I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?”

He moved his gaze to you, “There is no exit.”

You slowly nodded. You really were in alternate reality! This was a lot to swallow…So, no way back home? Stuck in a…digital realm is what he said, right? Well, you supposed it could be worse. You would know with your rotten luck, “I think…I’ll be alright.” You hoped you would be. Your panic wanted to rise again but you made sure it was kept in check by pinching your wrist.

“That’s the spirit!” He cheered.

“Shall we go to the beach?” You suggested, wanting to change topics. Since your knowledge of reality changed, you didn’t wish to linger on it. At least for now.

“Yes! Let’s go!” Caine exclaimed, hovering along.

You walked and looked up at him, “So, do your feet ever touch the ground?” You couldn’t help asking that. From observing him so far, he was always floating around.

“Not usually. I like being in the air. Flying around is a lot more fun than walking!” He flew in different directions to show his point.

You giggled, finding him cute, “It looks fun! Can anyone else fly in here?”

“My assistant Bubble can,” he answered, coming to stop in front of you.

“Bubble?”

“You called?” A little bubble appeared beside you and Caine.

You gasped, “Oh! Wow! A literal bubble!”

“That’s my name! Don’t wear it out!” The little assistant exclaimed. His eyes closed and he swirled around in the air.

“Bubble, this is ______,” Caine said introducing you.

“Nice to meet you!” Bubble smiled, showing off his sharp teeth.

The smile made you a little nervous. So many pointy teeth! You gave a polite smile to the little guy, “Y-Yeah, nice to meet you.” You fiddled with your hands.

“It’s a beach day! I’ll see you over there!” Bubble floated away.

“Well, he is interesting,” you said a little nervously.

“He’s harmless,” Caine said comfortingly. “Now, let’s go to the beach!” He snapped his fingers.

“Oh!” You looked around and saw the scenery had changed from that of the tent to the sandy shoreline. You realized he teleported the both of you here.

Caine was now dressed in a red and green patterned, button up shirt. The first few buttons were undone. He had on shorts that matched the pattern of his top. He wore sunglasses and had a coconut drink with a small umbrella in one hand. He was lounging in a blue beach chair.

You smiled at him, “Very nice.”

“Thank you! We need to get you in a beach outfit as well!” He snapped his fingers and a blue and white tent appeared before you.

You looked at it and then back at him. He nodded, encouraging you to step inside it. You turned back to the tent and opened one of the flaps. The tent suddenly shook and you could hear noises that made you think of older cartoons. You yelped at being shaken. You were suddenly flung out and landed face first in the sand.

You coughed and spat the sand out. Gross! You got up and brushed off the sand that clung to your body. You were wearing a red, two piece swimsuit. The bathing suit had some sparkles on it. The bottom piece was like a mini skirt and the top showed a little bit of your stomach but not much. On top of your head were black sunglasses that had red gems on the frame.

“Um, what do you think?” you asked Caine, looking at him expectantly.

He looked at you and felt his circuits flare up a little bit. He cleared his throat, “Very fitting for you my dear!”

“Thank you!” You replied with a small blush.

Laughter in the background caught your attention. You could see someone who looked like a purple rabbit yelling at the others. He expressed unhappiness as he was drenched from the water.

A doll with red hair wearing a purple bikini laughed with a jester wearing a blue and red hat with little golden pompoms. The gloves she wore had one blue glove and the other one red. She wore a blue and white top and blue shorts.

The rabbit wasn’t exactly dressed in beach wear. He was wearing pink overalls. Maybe that’s why he was mad? You could only guess as you couldn’t understand everything he said. He was speaking fast. He suddenly splashed the two girls laughing at him. They splashed back.

“Oh! A new NPC?” A new voice questioned.

You turned to the new voice. A figure of ribbons dressed in a cute blue beach dress had walked over to you. Her face was a white comedy mask with big black eyes and a mouth. She also wore an adorable sun hat.

“Gangle! No, this is ______. She is our newest member,” Caine explained and introduced you.

“Nice to meet you ______.” She held out a ribbon hand for you to take.

You smiled and grabbed her hand, “Nice to meet you too Gangle.”

Caine watched the exchange silently until his assistant appeared.

“Boss!” Bubble said. He had on dark blue sunglasses.

Caine looked at him, quietly asking, “Bubble, do you think she still wants to spend time with me?” He was, admittedly, a little worried that you may not want to spend time with him since you were now talking with Gangle.

“I’m sure she does,” Bubble answered, surprisingly.

“I would love to see your sketches sometime,” you said.

“Okay. I can show them to you later. I’m going back over to Zooble. You want to come with me?” She asked in a shy, soft voice.

“Oh thank you, but I am spending time with Caine,” you answered with a small smile. “Maybe later?”

Gangle’s eyes widened at that, “Oh okay. Yeah, maybe later then. Take care!” She waved and walked away.

You returned her wave and turned back to Caine, showing him a kind smile.

The ringmaster was taken aback by this. You actually still wanted to spend time with him?! He couldn’t help having his codes go crazy. Finally! Someone who wanted to be with him!

“Is it possible to summon another chair to sit with you?” you asked.

“Hmm?” He had slightly spaced out when thinking about how someone wanted to be with him.

“Can you summon another lounge chair?” you asked him again.

“Oh! Yes!” He snapped his fingers and the same chair he had appeared.

You sat down and leaned back. You hoped it wouldn’t break. Please don’t break! You didn’t have the best time with these kinds of chairs. Considering what happened before you showed up in the digital world with your chair falling over with you in it, you didn’t want this chair deciding it would break on you.

You sighed with relief when you didn’t hear any cracking sounds. Maybe this realm wouldn’t be so bad.

“______, what kinds of adventures do you like?” The ringmaster asked you.

Right. He had said he creates adventures for everyone here. You looked at him, fiddling with your hands, “I don’t have anything in particular…I mean, I like some things I have seen in video games like Final Fantasy for example.”

“Final Fantasy?” He didn’t remember hearing about that game before. With you saying video games, it made sense now why you acted like you were in one of those games at first.

“Yeah, there’s a whole series for it. Each game is different with all kinds of characters and stories. It doesn’t matter which game you play first. Anyway, I have enjoyed those adventure stories if that helps answer your question.” You had only played through a couple of them but you didn’t know what other examples to give. You hadn’t been the biggest gamer.

“Hmm…tell me more about this Final Fantasy.” Maybe he could use it for something. He still needed to come up with an adventure after all.

You explained the two games you had played which were Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X. You enjoyed both games but leaned toward the seventh entry. You couldn’t help but be drawn into such intricate storytelling. It was done so well and it pulled on your heartstrings.

“That does help give me some fantastic ideas! It will be even better than the Final Fantasy games!” He wrote everything you said down in a notebook.

“I’m glad I can help you. I’m…” You looked away from him and sighed, “I’m usually not that great at being helpful.” You looked at the sand beside your chair, scooping up some of it. You let it fall with ease out of your hand, watching each grain leave your hand quickly.

Caine watched you and sensed that something was off. Yet, there was something familiar in hearing your sad tone of voice. It caused a jolt in him. Not a painful shock but something that his codes and circuits had experienced recently. He was still trying to understand what that was. Was it a…feeling? That’s what humans called things sometimes, right? Experiences with certain feelings? Maybe, you could help shed light on that. His knowledge was limited in understanding feelings and emotions. He could grasp basics but the deeper content is where he struggled in comprehension.

“Sorry. I sometimes tend to…become negative easily,” you said looking back at him, disrupting his thoughts.

He stared at you with some slight confusion, “Negative?”

“Sad or depressed. Also, hard on myself. Mainly, hard on myself,” you tried explaining.

“Oh…” Caine wasn’t sure how to process that. However, he wanted to make sure his guests were all doing well. That includes you now. “Is there something I can do to help with that?”

You showed him a mirthless smile, “I’m not sure…” You closed your eyes, sighed, and changed your sad smile into a grateful one. You opened your eyes to look at him once more, “I appreciate you for wanting to help though.”

He cleared his throat, stunned at having someone happy with him, “Of course. As the ringmaster, it’s my duty to ensure that everyone is having a good time!”

You couldn’t help giggling and smiling at him so much at the moment. He really was cute for a pair of dentures! You liked the bravado he displayed as well. Maybe, just maybe, things would be okay for you here and you could experience the happiness you longed for.

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Link for Part 2: