Caine Installs a Suggestion Box

by Mikiib

Summary:

How could the story have gone if there never was a suggestion box in the cannon time line till now?

(All events up through episode 6 are cannon- but forgo the Suggestion Box being the reasons they went on those adventures and instead were simply some random ideas they had asked on the fly to Caine)

Chapter 1: Caine installs a Suggestion Box, otherwise known as: Curiosity

Summary:

Edited: 8.18.25

In a gray room, there is a gray floor. The gray walls were adorned with empty, gray picture frames and in the center of it all stands a single gray door, marked EXIT. 

Caine stood in front of it, analyzing. Thinking.

He could not interact with its coding. Try as he has, even his power has limits. He could make entire world maps and games with the best of AIs and all original ambiance to occupy the world, but this room left him feeling empty. All because he couldn’t open a stupid door. That being said he’s certainly tried; he’d tried many times in fact. From simply turning the knob to throwing a whole freight train at it. Anything and everything ended up tossed, glitched, stuck or erased all together. 

Why? He didn’t know. He was the most brilliant creative ai ever made! The god of this digital dimension- anything and everything in this world he had power over- and yet he couldn’t open a simple door. Here, every single one of his ideas had failed. 

Caine shuttered. Failed? Impossible. He was the ringleader of The Amazing Digital Circus! He couldn’t fail. He wasn’t coded to.

…Could he?

Quickly, Caine scanned through his software.

Directive: Entertain and maintain all humans in the circus. Ensure abstraction is minimal by maintaining stress levels and keeping all players happy and healthy.

That’s right! His duty was to make sure that the players were kept happy and healthy. So what if he was unable to open the exit? It’s not his prerogative to do so in the first place. 

Success Rate: 39.29% stable. 

Rating: F 

So then why did he want to? 

Scanning through his systems memory, the singularity that led to his failure when interacting with each guest has been the lack of an exit. Inevitably leading to abstraction. Well, aside from Kinger. He was glad that Kinger seemed to be coping well enough still. What he’s kept from them all is the fact that there IS an official exit. One that Pomni came VERY CLOSE to finding when she wandered out into the Void. How she got so far out there he didn’t really think about. So long as he made them believe that it was fake was all that was really needed.

So instead of focusing on the exit he doubled down into distracting them all from their fate with his games and creations. Much to his apparent failures…

What do humans need to be happy? If it’s freedom, then his creations are all for nothing. But if it’s something that he could provide them, then he’d gladly do it. So long as it was within the E for everyone rating, he had no quarrels with it. 

So what about his Adventures? 

Negative. Party members (I.e) Zooble and Kaufmo actively disengage from social interactions. 

Plays? 

Negative. The last attempt to follow any prewritten scripts ended up burning that entire map down. Much to Jax’s delight. Positive?

Parties? 

…Well, They always seem to stick around for the feasts he’d provide, even Zooble. Maybe they just needed an even bigger one to make them happy! But what for? Tapping his foot he rubbed the lower gums of his dentures. Out of all the cast only one really stuck out in their depths of misery. 

Pomni. 

Caine recalled being absolutely thrilled to have a new member added to his circus, but unfortunately she wasn’t quite up to speed with the rest of the crew yet. All his all seeing eyes seemed to catch her doing was walking around looking for an exit anytime there was downtime. That or occasionally talking with Ragatha- so good to see them keeping eachother company! 

 29 days, 12 hours, 43 minutes and 20 seconds. Perfect. If his internal timer was accurate she has been there for almost a month. Pomni loves loud music and big events. After all, the smile she wore the first night at her first feast was unforgettable! 

Quick as a whip he snapped his fingers, transporting himself into the sanctity of Pomnis' sleeping quarters.

“Pomni! Oh dear Pomniiiiiiiii!” But she was nowhere to be found. He continued searching, extending his senses to his ocular A-Eyes before he ended up in the center of the tent. He pulled his tophat off- and out popped his silly AI companion.

“Bubbles, have you seen Pomni? I can’t seem to find her! It’s a mysterious mystery!” 

“Sorry boss, wish I could help but I haven’t seen anyone since you sent them on their last adventure!” 

“EGADS- THE ADVENTURE!” 

That’s right! He sent each of them on an Underwater Adventure to find the legendary Wishing Pearl for the kingdom of mermaids. 

With a snap of his finger, the portal to the players opened. Digital water spilled out across the floor, the others following suit with a thick inky substance and seaweed that stuck to their skins. As each of them coughed and groaned he snapped his fingers once more to clean them all up, as well as have the party preparations set before their very eyes.

 

3 Days. It had been 3 FUCKING ‘DIGITAL’ DAYS that they repeatedly drowned, searching and fought off stupid bug eyed squids all in order to grab a damned digital pearl from the inside of a DAMNED digital clam that had managed to not only tear off Ragathas arms, but stole Zoobles ENTIRE lower body parts.

After which both were absolutely no help whatsoever, and Kinger WOULD NOT  stop talking about ‘how fish are the bugs of the ocean’. She got so sick of listening to him that it literally made her feel sea sick. Remarkably, Jax was the only one who seemed to be of any help- using Gangle's body to make a net to trap the squids worked- but it left them all absolutely drenched in an all to realistically scented squid ink. 

Honestly it wasn’t even that bad- not compared to the improv theater act that Kinger accidentally burned down. Or even the cookshow in which she accidentally baked Zooble into a pie- no don’t ask her HOW she fucked it up that bad. It still gave her headaches even trying to piece that mistake together. All she knows is that if it was anyone elses fault it was Jax’s. 

The point is, it would’ve been fine. And it was fine… Until the portal didn’t open. Not only did they have to WAIT THERE- no, but it was revealed to Pomni by the others that this wasn’t too uncommon. Apparently Caine can ‘forget’ things- this including THEM. They had to sleep, fight, protect the pearl and entertain themselves for 3 days straight. Did she actively try to talk to the others while being trapped out in the middle of a digital sea surrounded by useless mermaid AI’s and overly bloodthirsty squids? No. Did Ragatha continually try to keep everyone else's spirits up by singing sea shanties? Yes. Did she enjoy it? A bit yes, until they were ambushed by yet another squid and dragged underwater. Finally the portal opened, sucking them back to what she had now called home.

That word didn’t feel right. Home is where her cat is. Home is where she felt safe. Not the hell that was this circus. A place she can never leave. Where she’ll inevitably be forgotten, along with the rest-

Snap.

Caines fingers brought her back to the present. She was livid.

“CAINE, DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW LONG YOU LEFT US IN THERE?!” She blurted out just as he zipped past her own personal bubble, causing her to instinctively shrink back.

“HAPPY MONTHIVERSARY!” Caine shouted, arms open, dentures curved in a harlequinesque smile. Pomni took a wide step back, knocking into a newly patched up Ragatha. She could feel hands onto the back of her shoulders, helping steady Pomni on her feet. 

“Woah there- you okay Pomni?” Ragatha asked. She faltered. 

“Err-“ 

“Congratulations superstars on another job well done! I apologize for any delays you may have had to endure, but I was VERY busy setting up this wonderful banquet for YOUR special day!” Caines arm looped outwards like a spring before tapping Pomni where her nose should’ve been. She blinked, gathering her thoughts. Monthiversary, month, party. MONTH.

“So wait- it’s been a month?!” She shrieked. 

“Well, not exactly. You see I don’t actually know how much time has passed from where you're from, but I do have an internal digital timer for this world!” Caine explained.

“Yeah, he might say that, but we have absolutely no idea how long we’ve actually been stuck in here from the outside,” Zooble added, tweaking their body parts into place ever so slightly. Afterwards they picked up Gangle, handing her their comedy mask, much to Gangle's absolute delight. 

“ANYWAY- It’s time to eat!” Caine reached out all 4 of his limbs to gather them up before tossing them remarkably on point onto the dining table chairs. 

“Great. I’m starving. Hey Pomni, you think anyone remembers you from the outside? Someone pass me the ham?” Jax asked, Kingers eagerness knew no bounds in this request.

“Do you want anything Pomni?” Kinger offered, but she shook her head. She hasn’t seen the point in eating since she first arrived here. It’s not like she felt a NEED to eat. Especially when nothing ever looked real enough (aside from The Candy Kingdom) to feel appetizing.

“N-no thanks.” she turned her head to look at the decor that plastered the room. Low bit rated balloons of blue, red and yellow were scattered haphazardly throughout the tents dining area. Each lined with streamers of white and gold. The dining table itself was even in her colors, striped in blue and red, with cheek pink dinner plates and bright yellow utensils. Turning around she was greeted with her own face. 

Enhanced and magnified above them, with a 2 part banner with the phrase ‘Happy Monthiversary’ just beneath it, was her icon- the same one that dons her door. Large eyes gazed pitifully out towards nothing. She cringed, piqued at its portrayal of her. For a split second she could’ve sworn she saw the large eyes look down at her.

To say it felt uncanny would be an understatement. Even in real life, it wasn’t like she was ever at many parties to compare this with. Let alone have one thrown in her honor. Had the others felt this way when Caine gave them their own personal party? Did they even get this in the first place? How often did Caine actually do these sorta things? 

She focused her attention on her fellow tent mates, letting her encounters with them mingle in her mind for a minute. She closed her eyes to listen to them talk idly, trying to let their voices wash over her. 

The sound of the music, however, halted her from the attempt. It was soft, almost charming in its melody. But the odd instrumental choice gave off a haunting undertone. One that made her want to cross her arms and hide. Nonetheless she couldn’t stop listening. It dawned on her this was her first time actually hearing music at the circus that wasn’t just toony bullshit loops on their adventures. Refreshing, but uncanny. She tried to shut it out. 

She opened her eyes. Sharp, shark-like teeth filled her gaze, and she let loose a loud, high toned squeak, grabbing the attention of the table. Bubble.

No thank you!

“Jesus! What?!” She groaned, before Bubble opened its mouth and slapped a party hat on top of her head with its tongue. Warm saliva seeped into her hat, her head throbbing slightly with the force of the smack. 

“Boss has a special announcement to make!” It said, before bobbing along to the music to the other individuals- spitting the hats into the faces of the rest. One even hit Ragatha in her eye, much to Bubbles lackluster apology.

Gross.

“What do you think the special announcement will be about?” Kinger asked, placing the hat over the top of his crown.

“Do you think he found an exit?” Gangle looked around in hope.

“Is that all you can think about? An exit? C’mon, I thought you’d be over that by now. It's probably just some random new game the Caine generated on the spot to ‘spice up the party’. Wouldn’t that be fun Pomni? Bet you’ll even be the star of the game,” Jax cut in.

“I just want to go to bed…”she whined.

“Too bad these special events don’t end till Caine decides it then,” Jax leaned back in his seat, placing his feet on top of the dining table, the food crushed into bits of scattered Pixels.

“WHAT?” 

“Yeah; this is gonna be a long night,” Zooble droned, downing what looked like wine. 

God she missed wine.

“Why didn’t any of you tell me before?”

“Sorry Pomni, it’s just kinda a thing that happens so little, must’ve slipped my mind,” Ragatha apologized, "But these actually can be short! Like at Gangles, Caine just gave her the comedy mask,” she explained.

“Yeah, and at mine I got my box of parts,” Zooble added.

“Maybe he’s got a gift planned for you?”

“I…” she hoped NOT. Anytime she ever interacted with Caine, he was always too much. In her space, in her face, talking too loudly, pushing her into whatever he planned and oblivious to her obvious discomfort. She growled, pressing the palm of her hands to her eyes, grinding her teeth together in discomfort. She could feel the sharp points with her tongue. 

“Maybe he’s got a chew toy for ya?” Jax used his foot to nudge her in the head with a ham bone. Pomni slapped his foot away. Jax laughed.

“Jax, knock it off,” Zooble warned. 

The lights went out, but just as quickly Pomni was blinded by a spot light, before the light swung forwared and expanded, illuminating the stage before her.

Blinking, she watched as Caine appeared on the main stage, with a ‘POOF’ of confetti, a dazzling sound effect and his disconnected jazz hands wiggling. 

“Congratulations player Pomni for having been with us a WHOLE MONTH! How are you feeling right now?”

“I- what?”  The bright lights shined back on her. 

He… He’s not serious is he?

“How are you feeling?” He repeated, a glint in his eye, "Don’t worry about how you say it! Scream it, shout it- I want to hear the honest truth! How have you been adjusting? If there is anything I can do to help you- don’t hesitate to ask!”

Oh. OH. He wants to know how I’m ‘feeling’?

Pomni was shaking. Her fists balled up, clutching to the tablecloth. She hiccuped- a small laugh rolling out from her mouth. One after the other, they fell out of her. She forced herself to look at Caine. Giving him a full clear view of her face. She saw him give the tiniest flinch. 

She was seeing red. Embarrassment be damned right now- she couldn’t look at the others. She knew that if she turned to see Ragatha that she’d only be given a pitying look. Maybe even one of surprise, or worry. She didn’t want that right now. What she wanted was to scream.

“Bad.” she laughed, “I am feeling the WORST I’ve ever felt right now . And do you know who’s fault it is?” 

Caine seemed to shrink in on himself, before yanking himself right back out to meet her gaze, “I-"

“All I wanted to do was sleep in beds with blankets that we can’t actually sleep under once we got back! On that note- do you know what it's like to not NEED to sleep or eat but still crave it? It SUCKS. Your food tastes AWFUL by the way-”

“Well-”

“You force us to play games that are horrible and traumatizing. You killed the very first person I actually found solace in in this circus-"

"The NPC-?"

"Gummy Goo was more human than you are- and thats SAYING something because YOU created him,”

“You left us in that bull#%!$ of an Atlantis simulation for DAYS, Caine. If we could die, we would’ve by now- And I’m not just speaking just for myself- LOOK AT US-” She gestured to the others, refusing to take her eyes off him. His eyes darted to the others, then back to her, body seemingly swapping between confidence and cowardice.

“My sensors indicate nothing physically wrong with your bodies- I made sure to replenish all stamina and fully rebooted your skins-”

“NOT OUR BODIES- Our faces! We’re humans- we have emotions - feelings-?! Isn’t it your job to make sure we’re happy here? That we don’t abstract? We’re miserable, Caine, and it's YOUR FAULT!”

Silence followed, she waited, every fiber in her body screaming at her to run, the sudden pressure of her peers eyes watching her- she didn’t feel safe, but that was nothing new. So she stood her ground. 

Her rage slowly dissipated as Caine stared at her. Processing her words, the others waited with baited breath. Finally he reacted.

“Well then, that was awkward!” Caine announced. He snapped his fingers and in front of them manifested golden tickets, each labeled: ‘COMMENT CARD’ completed with a logo of ‘C&A™' in the corner of each sheet. She reached out to touch it just before it zipped away from her hand, fluttering like butterflies over to a new drop box, titled ‘SUGGESTION BOX’.

“I figured you all might not have been feeling the best right now anyway, so I came up with the fantastical idea of The Suggestion Box! Here is where you may write any and all of your ideas or grievances with these golden tickets. Once finished, simply drop them into the slot and the contents will be linked to my memory bank for feedback!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jax muttered.

“HA! Nope! Pomni, since you seem to be talking about some BIG feelings, why don’t you go first?” She felt her body involuntarily get transferred from one space to another. Her stomach flipped as she settled into the new viewpoint. Confidence lost she moved on autopilot, grabbing the golden pen and paper, and stared. She didn’t know what to write.

“C-Caine, I don’t think this is going to help anything…”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean- you’re trying to put a bandaid on a stab wound. Its treating a symptom, not the cause,”

“Then enlighten me! What seems to cause the most stress for you all? What can I give you to make you all happy?”

“An exit?” Gangle pleaded.

“Not possible!” Caine shook his hand.

“Freedom of speech,” Jax added.

“I cannot change that sensor, Jax. You know this fully well,” 

“Empathy?” Pomni offered, to which most others agreed to, Kinger the most attentive. 

Caine paused for a moment. 

“What is empathy…?,” Caine asked.

“... oh my god,” Pomni was going to lose it. That's when Ragatha stepped in, placing her hand on Pomnis' shoulders again, forcing her to relax. She’d never willingly tell Ragatha, but she really didn’t like touch from people she didn’t really know. Even with people she did it was hit or miss. She’d only grown familiar to Ragathas touch as that seemed to be her main source of comfort. 

“Empathy is- when you put yourselves in other people's shoes. It's when you can sympathize with someone else's feelings. You feeling bad for them,” Ragatha explained.

 

“Hmmm,” Caine rubbed the underside of his jaw, letting that definition sink in. Ragatha watched as he processed her words.

Other people's shoes? Feeling bad for them? He’s Creative AI- What's something he could even share with them? As far as she knew he can feel no real emotion, only simulation. Everything he’s known has been a simulation. Suddenly-

“I’VE GOT IT!” With a snap, a trapped door underneath Pomni opened, causing her to fall out of sight and away from Ragatha's reach. Just as quickly he dropped down the hole as well. 

“I- did not think that would happen,” Ragatha admitted, looking into her now empty palms. The others sat there in surprise, Jax laughed. 

“...You know you explained empathy wrong, right?” Zooble asked.

“What do you mean?” Gangle asked,” It sounded right to me,” Ragatha turned to look at them.

“Empathy is when you can share the emotion. Sympathy is more so feeling pity. What you described, was sympathy,” Zooble explained

“Oh…” Ragatha looked back down at the hole. Listening she could hear the slapstick sounds of pain followed by the occasional ‘ow’s and ‘oof’s. She definitely felt sympathy for Pomni right now. And maybe a lot of guilt. 

Good luck Pomni.

Notes:

The song thats playing in the background during the event is supposed to be Brightly Coloured Pills by Andrew Hung. I HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE THE SONG IS MADE FOR but my Beta reader has and I found this song particularly inspiring whilst hearing it.

Anyway- there will be more chapters to come! The next chapter at this moment is nearly finished! A little sneak peak:

She opened her mouth to speak, fighting and failing not to vomit.

Chapter 2: The Chapter where Pomni falls down 12 flights of stairs, or otherwise known as: Empathy

Summary:

Caine gets his first taste of Empathy. Pomni gets her first taste of "I've fallen and can't get up,"

There comes a time in which everyone has to ask themselves the question, “How did I get here?” That time was now for Pomni. Every part of her body was on fire, her focus waning in and out as she tumbled from step to step on what felt like an endless flight of stairs. 

Pain was a weird experience in this world. It never lasted long but could vary in intensity. Bullets were like a violent shock, knife stabs were similar to bee stings, getting flattened by a tire was like a kick to the throat. Even the gag punching gloves would hurt like a broken nose for a moment- and she didn’t even HAVE a nose to break anymore. The fact that pain was felt in this world implied that it was possible SOMETHING could do some real damage. Pomni has had her limbs stretched taught on more than one occasion, and every time it left her body feeling torn and sore until she got a moment to rest. The thought that she COULD break but was just never pushed that far terrified her. 

SPLAT! 

Oh- is it over? She no longer felt the sharp corners of the stairs digging into her body, but her entire frontside seemed stuck to the ground- having flattened out like a pancake at the bottom.

Caine floated down beside her, peeling her off the ground like velcro, and held her suspended in air- similar to a cat being held by their scruff. He positioned her back on her feet, “That was quite the tumble, wouldn’t you agree? So what would you rate that pain? On a scale from 1-10 please, these are important notes for future adventures!” 

Pomni was wobbling, unsteady. Definitely overstimulated. Blinking a few times she let the room sink into focus. Above her were 12 flights of stairs. Of which she had just tumbled, bonked, oofed, banged, boinked and crashed down before ungraciously ending up where she is now. She opened her mouth to speak, fighting and failing not to vomit.

“Oh my- you certainly do that a lot, don’t you?” Caine questioned.

“I get-“ she gagged, ”motion sickness,” she heaved. Caine watched, waiting for her feedback. It’s not the first time she’d puked in front of him- and she’s certain it won’t be the last. 

“My dear- are you crying?”

“Wuh?” Pomni blinked, turning to look at him. Confused, she touched the corners of her eye, looking down. Pin prickles of digital tears revealed themselves on her gloved hand. Quickly she whipped them away and stood up straight. Breathing, she waited for the pain of throwing up to leave her chest. Slowly that and the burning ache of falling down the stairs subsided. 

Pomni shook her head, “No, not crying. It’s a natural reaction for humans- I-I think,” she cleared her throat, attempting to push a strand of non existent hair behind a non-existent ear. Awkward and embarrassed, and a little grossed out by the vomiting.

“Oh, how strange! Now, about those results-“

Okay. Rage time.

“Caine, are you %#!$ing nuts?!”

“Language!”

“No- I’m serious- how is dropping me down a flight of stairs teaching you ANYTHING about empathy?” 

“Well I figured pain is the only thing we could share! Watch- I’ll put myself in your ‘shoes’ by falling down like you!” In the blink of an eye he was at the top of the steps- his entire body dropping and tumbling down with little to no grace- likely holding up a mirror to what she did verbatim until he reached the end. Getting up with a hop in his levitation he beamed at her,” In my opinion it was maybe a 3. 4 if you’re extra sensitive-”

Pomni screamed in frustration, tugging at her jester hat, “CAINE,”

“Yes, Pomni?” he smiled, wanting to give her his full attention. She groaned, pulling the hat down further before letting it go with a ‘BOING’. She covered her eyes with her hands, counting backwards from 10 quietly. Caine was an AI. He was NOT human, but he was making an effort to understand them. This was the most he’s listened to them EVER. So she had to dumb this down for him. How was she taught emotions growing up? Expression sheets? Not applicable for empathy if he’s never felt those emotions. Numbers? He seemed to understand rating systems- maybe she could work with that…

When she removed her hands she felt determined,“Okay. Caine-” He was way too close, she gently pushed him back with a finger before continuing, “Pain for us humans- it’s… USUALLY a negative number. Something that subtracts from… our overall starting point?” Oh god, where was she going with this?

“Negative?” 

“Yes- Negative. A subtraction. Think of it like math,”

Okay, so far so good. How can you relay this in mathematics? Spoons? SPOONS.

“R-Right! Let's say all humans have a number of spoons they start with everyday. Maybe assume 10 is the average, normal- but to be happy would be a 15- Maybe? Uhhh- anyway- Getting hit in the face with a boxing glove when opening a door is going to affect that. For most people thats a negative feeling- it hurts - so we lose some of our spoons- i.e. it would bring a 10 down to an 8,”

“What would 0 be?” he asked, hovering ever so slightly closer.

Holly shit, is this working?

“A breakdown. Or total loss of patience, but something along those lines,” she waited a bit as he seemed to mull over her words. 

“I see! So let us say you start at 12- you’re probably the one of the most lively members of the circus; What makes you happy?”

“H-Happy?” she shrunk in on herself, intimidated by the shift in focus.

“Yes! What makes you feel positive ? Can you add more spoons back into your day after losing them?” 

“I-um. Yes- sometimes you can! Everyone is different though- and I guess I like m-math? And uhh, cats. I also enjoy salmon?” 

“What else?”

“Well- stargazing is always really fun. I liked the more chill adventures. What about you? What makes you feel positive?”

“I enjoy a good joke! Aside from that, games and performing are always the highlight of my day! ” 

“Right- and what would you say makes you feel negative?”

“Well- I suppose abstraction makes me feel negative. Admittedly it's one of the few things I can’t seem to control,”

“Like Kaufmo?”

“...yes,” he confirmed, “I can’t say I miss him- he’s still around after all! But I suppose I ‘miss’ him not being abstracted. His jokes always got a good laugh out of me,”

Missing someone is grief. Grief is painful. Pomni could work with that.

“Well, for humans, that's pretty similar to pain. Imagine each time I hit the stairs on the way down- or you for example, it's like Kaufmo abstracting- over and over and over. It hurts ,” she explained. When she didn't hear a response she turned to him. He was just- staring at her. 

“...Caine?” No response. She waved her hand around. Still nothing. Walking over to him she poked his side, and he fell over. He was frozen solid. 

She looked up at where they fell from. 12 flights of stairs waited to be climbed. Gritting her teeth she started up the stairs- pausing after reaching the second floor. She turned to look at Caine, then looked away. Groaning, she turned around and went back down the stairs, grabbing hold of Caines leg before starting once again. Each step was followed with the CLANK of Caines dentures getting caught on the steps edges. After 2 flights she swapped tactics. Turning him around she carefully- cautiously- wrapped her hands around his top row of teeth, dragging him up the stairs with less friction. The fear of him ‘waking up’ and biting her fingers off nagged at the back of her mind, but she forced it down with the irritation of the situation taking over. 

After what felt like hours she reached the top floor, directly above her was the entrance into this horrible place. The only problem was that it was probably 10 feet or more above her. 

“You have got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME-!” She froze, “....Fuck-! Oh my god- FUCK! RAGATHA! RAGATHAAAAAA!” The euphoria of being able to swear made this all worth it. 

“Pomni?!” Ragathas red locks bounced as she peeked over the hole- careful not to fall in herself, “What happened to Caine?”

“I-uh- I think he’s frozen?” 

“Holly SHIT!” she could hear the excitement in Jax from above. He shoved Ragatha to the side, looking down at Pomni and the non responsive Caine, “No fucking way- great job Pomni! You broke him! HA!” Jax slapped his knee, continuing to laugh as he turned away.

“CAINE IS A BITCH ASS MOTHERFUCKER!” He shouted, Zoobles voice joining in.

“YEAH! FUCK CAINE! FUCK THIS CIRCUS! FUCK YOU JAX- YOU GENUINE PAIN IN THE ASS!” 

“Uhh- guys can you help, ya know getting me out of here?” Pomni pleaded, even though she felt happy that the rest were just as enlightened as she was in that moment. 

“O-oh! Right! Just sit tight Pomni- I’ll find something to- JAX NO-!” Ragatha jumped out of the way- Gangles body being yeeted through the hole- with Jax holding onto one end of her ribbon, she unraveled, coupled with a rather unpleasant shriek of terror. 

“AHHHHHH- OW!” Gangles body straightened as she reached her limit- her freshly fixed comedy mask falling off her face with the force of the sudden stop. Much to her sorrow, she watched as it free fell and shattered upon impact at the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh,” Caine was awake again, Pomni ignored him in favor of Gangle. He silently watched. 

“I’m sorry Gangle,” Pomni frowned.

“...I %4#?ing hate Jax…” Gangled cried, unable to cover her face as her regular  mask weighed her head too far down from her short ribbon arms. Pomni nervously looked up and along Gangles body. The thought of having to use her to climb out shook her to her core- bits of memory of when she was pulled taught from her first adventure flashed in her mind.

“Here- le-let me help you-”

“Allow me!” Caine interrupted. With a snap, Gangles body vanished into clouds, reappearing back to normal on the main grounds. Another snap and Caine fixed Gangles mask, she hugged it close to her chest, before slinking off, narrowing her eyes nervously towards Jax. He rolled his eyes and Ragatha crossed her arms, shaking her head.

Caine grabbed Pomni’s arm and levitated them both out of the stair room- dropping her onto the floor after the trap door sealed shut. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“I… Did you just ask me if I was okay?”

“Yes. I did!” He puffed his chest out in a proud manner, “Sorry for freezing up down there. My processors ran into a LOT of data that I needed to sort out! Anyway, thanks to you I updated myself!”

“Waitwaitwait- You can do that?” Ragatha gasped.

“Apparently so!”

” Why haven’t you done that before?!”

“Fantastic question! Wish I knew the answer myself!”

Everyone that was still in the room looked at him, unsettled.

“Either way, I think you’ve all had enough excitement for one evening! Time for you to get some well deserved rest! See you all for tomorrow's big adventure!” and with that he vanished from their sight. Pomni turned towards Ragatha, who looked more than a bit frazzled.

“Well. That just happened. Hey Pomni- how’d you get Caine to freeze up like that?” Jax quizzed, “I think I’d LOVE to go another round swearing Caine out, but this time to his face,”

“I think I just- taught him what pain was? In like- mathematical terms? With spoons…?”

“How the $%#! Did you manage to do that?” Zooble prodded.

“I used to be an accountant- He said he missed Kaufmo- so-,” Jax quickly spared a glance at Ragatha before cutting her off.

“Please, you can’t be serious. Why would he suddenly be upset about a someone abstracting? ” Pomni shrugged. How would she know? He narrowed his eyes at her before shrugging it off, “Whatever. Doesn’t matter. See ya for tomorrow's game!” 

They all separated after that, heading to their respective rooms. Pomni was greeted by the childish toys scattered about her space. She was tired of seeing it. So instead of laying her head down into what was more accurately a meditation rather than actual sleep, she trudged her way over to the cubes, taking them and stacking them on top of the nearly too tall dresser. With her best effort she was able to spell: EEPY. She smiled to herself. She then turned towards the Rock-A-Stacks and picked up the rings she’d accidentally knocked over, stacking them and shoving them into the corner near her stand up mirror.. Looking under her bed she found comically large dice, some board games and spare ‘clothes’. She didn’t know why Caine gave them extra clothes when they seemingly couldn’t even take them off, so she left them where they were.

Finally she started to climb onto the bed- pausing when she noticed the covers wrinkled under her weight. Disbelief hit her core before logic took over. She yanked back the covers and slid under them, tucking herself into her own little sensory cocoon. She closed her eyes, and tried to focus on her breathing. 

“POMNI!” on instinct her entire body tried to run- unfortunately, being wrapped like a burrito made that an impossible task. So instead she thrashed around on the bed until she rolled off.

“AHHH- GOD! WHAT?” she groaned, shaking with frustration as she finally pulled herself free from the blanket. 

“It occurred to me that I have not thanked you for your valuable feedback!” His eyes scanned around the room a bit, as if taking it in for the first time. His attention shot back to Pomni. He cleared his throat. “Thank you, Pomni! I am sorry for the pain I have put you and the others through. I shall make sure that tomorrow's adventure is more accommodating for your needs!” 

“O-okay…?” Pomni wasn’t sure how likely that actually was, but she accepted it either way. The fact he was apologizing and THANKING her was probably the most surprising thing he’d done so far, “I- thanks for- er- listening. It’s a nice change of pace,” she didn’t even realize she meant it till after she said it. Because Caine DIDN’T listen. He was an AI- how could he really? Sure he always meant well, but right now with him glowing and eager for her feedback certainly wasn’t a ‘negative’ feeling. 

“You’re welcome! Sweet dreams Pomni!” He tipped his hat just the tiniest bit before he popped back out of her room, leaving her alone to crawl back into bed. The unease in her stomach seemed to lessen, just the slightest bit.

Notes:

A hint to the next chapter: Jax puts something in the suggestion box.

Chapter 3: The Oregon Trail Part 1

Summary:

I changed up the Zooble and Pomni interactions. This was written way back in episode 2, sooo they needed to be a tad less of a grumpy grump.

As soon as he left Pomni to rest, Caine began working on the next adventure. His processors buzzed as he examined the new prompts floating around in his brain. His humans seemed just as enthusiastic as he was, or so he thought based on the generous amount of suggestions he’d received. Typically he’d randomize the game's events based on what the players seemed to enjoy the most via observation but with the new ideas being fed directly into his brain he found it much easier to find themes that connected. Mulling over the many prompts he twiddled his fingers, staring into nothing till he found one that seemed perfect for the next adventure. He started with the environment.

Rivers, grasslands, mountains and deserts, each carefully constructed to flow smoothly from one terrain to the next. Add in some randomized weather patterns and a day and night cycle and BOOM. The basics were finished. Now onto adding the NPC’s. As he brought up the brown bear, an American staple of the dangers that can be encountered in the wilderness, and one of his personal favorites!

Summoning a rubber hammer he lined it up with the bear and began to knock it on the head, its limbs and behind. Double, triple, quadruple checking the hurtbox, before finally allowing himself to be in range of the bear's reach. Needing to test the hitbox and its power level. The bear stood on its hind legs and roared at him. He rolled his eyes. “Alright! Take your best shot!” he said whilst checking his watch as it went through its pre attack motions. 

It was impressively strong. In one swipe it sent his jaw spinning, his sight going blurry and dizzy. Pulling away a safe distance he stopped his dentures- steadying himself. A few blinks and he was back to normal- but his head felt… different. Heavy, almost. He ran a quick diagnostic.

Troubleshoot Results

No errors found.

Perplexing. But certainly nothing to worry about! He found the strange feeling had vanished. He went back to the bear, and deleted it. Figuring he simply made it with too much gusto, he chose to focus on the next enemy on the list. The mountain lion. 

The she-beast immediately pounced on him, biting into his shoulder- he felt… Jittery? Startled. Almost as if his processors were on overdrive. He tossed the feline away, and deleted it with a snap. Reaching one hand up to his shoulder he searched the area. Nothing of note was found, but that time he pieced together what was amiss.

“How hilarious!” he slapped a hand on his forehead, poking and prodding at himself. Curiously testing the different levels of pain by stretching his fingers like rubber and letting them snap back to shape. He never knew that pain could be so diverse! Pain must be a very distracting thing for humans. Caine wondered if they’d be happier not feeling pain at all…? Pocketing that thought for another adventure. 

A-Eye1.795 alerted him to movement in the tent. Keying into its perspective he saw it spied Zooble, wandering outside of the tent and headed outside the tent. Zoobles leg caught on something, tripping out of view. His censor bar went off as they picked themselves up. Not an uncommon thing to witness, so he disconnected from its sight.

While working on upgrading the graphics of the world he decided to divide his focus into two objectives. One focused on keeping the upgrades going and the other to start working on the other submissions. Food criticisms? Easy enough. He’d tweak the ‘flavors’, and mixed and matched plenty of times for past adventures, should be a simple fix. Opening up the code that held all the foods he skimmed the titles of each item, spotting ones that were no longer applicable and deleting them, before pausing the task at hand. Caines hovering stilled at the realization of the fact that he had NO CLUE how to make the food more appealing to the humans. 

What should food taste like?  

He had no answer. Certainly texture and temperature played a part in ‘flavors’.After all,  ice cream being ‘cold’ and soup being ‘hot’ were obvious, but never did he consider the fact that he hasn’t experienced these adjectives the same way the humans have. He knew what it was like to feel heat to a degree. If his system got overloaded, he’d recognize that he would feel uncomfortable, slow, and glitchy. It irked him how little he knew on the topic. What could he do? 

Pomni might know.

That's right! Pomni could help! After all she’d helped him understand more about pain, she’s bound to know about simple things like flavors! He thought about popping into her room again, but his sensors told him she had entered sleep mode. Instead, choosing to focus on what he knew he could fix instead. They wanted to feel hungry? Try a new hunger system! The texture of food is off? Make crunchy more crunchy- setting the vibration setting on max. Soups? Beans? Make them squishier, and faster to eat. Liquids? You can now spit them out! He glanced at what was next on the Suggestions List. A Space adventure? A change of wardrobe? He began to brainstorm a list of different outfit ideas and plots for that adventure. Just when he swapped back to working on the adventure, a new request popped up before him.

Add more trees around the lake.

So he did. Spooning out a hole in the earth, and filling it with water. Planting pine and oak trees all around the grassy banks and twisting their limbs to cover more ground and create ample shade for anyone stopping by. Making sure each tree felt natural took time, and pulled his focus but he was proud of the outcome… that was before having to scrap the lot of it after he registered that it was on the game map and not The Grounds of The Digital Circus. 

“FOCUS!” he shouted, doubling down on the adventurer's supplies. After a time he took his hat off, and scratched the top of his gums. Bubble jumped right out, as is his design, and floated about curiously. 

 “What’s our game today, boss?” Bubble asked as he drug his eye across the floating map, leaving a soapy trail of scum behind him before stopping his gaze on a small cow. “Oh, Cows. Nice.”

“Thanks,” he replied, “I have yet to figure that out,” he turned back to the cows at hand. There were 6, each colored the same as the players they’re supposed to pair with. He ran through his checklist. He’d finished the map, the objectives, the supplies but no real conflict. Caine stroked his gums. In his creative fervor, he hadn’t put any real obstacles in. “Oh dear. That’s no good.”

His WackyWatch™  beeped. It was time for the daily adventure! In a panic he multiplied the distances in between each terrain, sprinkling in some older NPC’s from older games, triple checking the foods that would be provided, then teleported to the others deciding-

“Good morning superstars! Today, We’ll ask ourselves a question- What was it like to bid farewell to friends and neighbors and set off on a 2000-mile trek by covered wagon? Maybe you're a farmer who plows fields with an ox team, but do you know how to drive several yoke of oxen across prairies, rivers, and Rocky Mountain trails? Will you like riding day after day in a jolting wagon on hot, dust-whipped trails? Whatever lays out there in the fields of amber grain, we’ll be experiencing it TOGETHER- ON THE OREGON TRAIL!” Caine promoted. “ As requested by Jax.” He added, under his breath.

 

Jax bursted out in laughter, quieting into a snicker after Zooble punched him in the arm. To say the least, Pomni had NOT expected that. Looking to the rest neither did they. Pomni tugged on Ragathas dress lightly, looking to her for answers, of which she smiled and simply shrugged.

“No way- you ACTUALLY did it? I knew you were an old AI but you’re really showing your age, buddy. Being this desperate for new ideas is so sad ,” Jax chuckled. Caine, seemingly indifferent to Jax’s cloying comments, opened the portal, of which bright hues of blues and greens could be viewed.

“The goal of this adventure is to get from one side of the map to the other with as many of your starting supplies as you can! Now, I know how upset you all seem to be for not feeling hungry or sleepy, so I added a hunger mechanic to this particular adventure! It's a simple test run, but with it you’ll have to scavenge for food and set up campsites to rest and regain strength as you travel,”

Oh no.

“C-Caine? Can you explain what happens if we don’t eat or sleep?” Pomni could swear she felt her heart palpitating.

“Of course! When you don’t eat or sleep, your body will begin to move slower ! And if you move too slowly one of your livestock might automatically turn into food! The downside of this is that you are losing your supplies- thus losing the game! Makes it a bit more exciting, doesn’t it?”

“How… How long will this adventure take?” Ragatha asked. Zoobles eyes widened.

“Yeah, we were stuck in that last %$!# hole for like 3 days last time. I’m not joining if we’re gonna be doing the ACTUAL-”

“Well would you look at the time! The portal's closing- let’s GO GO GO!” Caine popped his hat off, and pulled out Bubble. He formed a pitcher’s stance, and fastballed Bubble- right into Pomni, knocking her and the circus through the portal like bowling pins.

Pomni braced for impact, curling her arms around her fragile head, and fell into… Grass? 

That's… different . 

She pulled herself from the tall grass, circus members still scattered around her. Seeing one of Zoobles' antennae on the ground in front of her she picked it up. Looking for Zooble in the mesh of limbs that were her circusmates she felt it twitched in her hand. She shrieked, dropping it. Bubble caught it in its teeth. Immediately Pomni grabbed it and tried tugging it out of the horrors that were Bubbles' jaws. Bubble growled in response and Caine zipped through, popping through Bubble’s body with the portal closing shut behind him. She fell onto her butt with Zoobles' piece back in her grasp. Caine floated around, taking in the scenery.

“$%!@ you Caine,” Zooble hissed, pulling themselves together, piece by piece, with the help of Ragatha and Kinger. 

Once Zooble was standing, they patted the top of their head, confused, Pomni handed them their last part. Zooble took it with a huff, attaching it and crossing their arms.

“Oh. My. GOD!” Ragatha screamed, Pomni whipped her head around to find her in awe at the herd of oncoming animals, one horse and cow paired together with matching color pallets to each of the respective players. Ragatha shuffled closer to the pair she assumed was hers and began to stroke the neck of her horse. It snorted and leaned into her touch. They were long legged, square in body, and bug eyed, yet Pomni couldn’t help but smile when she found what she assumed was hers wobbling up to her. It licked her- its tongue was oddly sticky. Bristling, she put her hands out on its snout to keep it away, just as her cow started to chew on her hat. She didn’t know what to do. Pomni had never even seen a real horse in person before. Unless a Zebra at the zoo counted… it probably didn’t. The cow, still chewing on her hat, began to tug her along. In panic she cried out for help. Jax was the first by her side, tempting the cow away with some tall grass he’d plucked from the ground. 

“Oh, NO, don’t tell me you're a horse girl, too! This is TOO rich,” He snickered, idly scratching the space between the horns of the cow after it ate.

“I-I’ve never even seen a real horse before, okay? How am I supposed to know how to interact with them?”

“Are you serious? You were even more of a NEET than I thought! Ha-AHH!” Jaxed leaped out of the way just as Ragatha came galloping over. She narrowly missed crushing Pomnis legs, The horse swerved to a stop, and Ragatha let out a stunned laugh.

“Sorry about that! It’s been a while since I’ve actually ridden a horse- Sugarbell doesn’t seem to follow the same rules I’m used too,”

“S-sugarbell?” Pomni stood up, admiring the glow of confidence Ragatha radiated.

“Yeah! See in her harness? You can name them! The cows too- I named mine Buffy,” 

“Oh, that’s cool,” looking around her saw the others were already naming them, typing the names of each animal into a popup. Fiddling with the reins of her horse she found a small blank plaque. Touching it made the naming box pop up. 

“What are you going to name yours?” Gangle asked, swinging off her horse's harness, “I named my horse Shoto and my cow Chichi!” she giggled.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she replied. The memory of Gummi Goo was still fresh in her mind. She shoved the animals away from her, looking for Caine. He was helping Kinger get on his horse. Caine was installing Kinger’s request- a booster seat, to help keep him “safe in case of crash or emergency.” 

She rubbed her elbow- the two beasts insisting on following her, “Caine- Do I have to name them?”

“Of course you do! Everyone gets one cow,” he pointed to the horse, “and one horse-” he pointed to the cow, “To protect and use to help traverse the long distance you must journey!” It took her a second for her brain to catch the error. 

“Caine you got them mixed.”

“What now?”

“The animals. The cow is a horse, and the other one is the cow,” she explained.

“Fantastically unoriginal!” he exclaimed. 

“Excuse me?”

“Enjoy ‘The Cow and A Horse!” he reached and grabbed her wrist, proceeding to shake it and pull her off balance. Then, tearing his attention away from her, Caine shot his attention over to Zooble. “Zooble! I see you’ve found the wagon! Congrats! You’re now the driver!” 

“Oh, great,” they replied. The conversation finally clicked in her brain, and she grabbed at the reins of her horse. 

On the plaque, it read in small, pixelated letters ‘The Cow’. 

A small part of her wanted to laugh at the stupidity of it. The other part, the stronger one, made her face palm. “Caine? Can I change my animal's name?”

“Nope! Once submitted there is no undoing them!” Caine yelled back, now helping untangle Gangle having somehow knotted her ribbon arms on her horse's reins.

Great. 

She looked around to see who was nearby. Jax jumped onto his steed with ease. Pomni attempted to copy his actions. Lifting her leg up to jump onto its back she quickly tried hopping up. No dice. Maybe if she held onto its neck as leverage and swung around? Wrapping her arms around its neck she realized there was no way she could swing onto its back from that angle. She could hear Jax chuckling. She tried to ignore him. Letting go of its neck she then awkwardly tried to step into the stirrup. When she straightened her leg she found herself in the air and leaned forward trying to plop onto its back like a sack of rice. She ended up with her hands barely reaching the top of its back, leaving her dangling off its side. Trying to pull herself up only made her claw into the saddle. The Cow began to walk, with each wobble making her slowly fall off. Jax’s laughter grew louder as the horse kept moving, so she decided to try again and jumped off. Only instead of landing back onto the ground her foot slipped through the stirrup, and made her fall, barely turning around and catching herself with her hands. She stayed there frozen in what felt like the dumbest attempt at a push up. The horse stopped moving, and whinnied at her. Jax trotted over to her, her face felt hot with each snicker he released.

“Do you have to watch me the entire time?!” she snarled at Jax- startling The Cow. It reared back onto its hind legs before slamming its hooves down and bucked wildly- tossing her around till she was flung away. Landing flat on her back, she wheezed. Gripping her stomach, waiting for the tightness to subside, she wished that they’d just leave her there. Hidden in the tall grass. But seldom did her wishes ever get granted. A Horse grabbed her hat again, following The Cow, who dragged her along the ground. If it wasn’t for the fact that pulling her hat felt similar to that of pulling her hair she’d just have let it continue. Floundering her arms around she successfully shooed away the bovine. Rising to her feet she spotted Zooble in the wagon, almost dwarfed by its size. They had their horse and cow pulling it, with Zooble not even holding onto the reins. The beasts tugging them along on autopilot. The seat Zooble sat upon seemed big enough for the both of them, so stomped over to the moving wagon. Climbing it she sat next to Zooble, both choosing to ignore the other as they finally started their journey.

She watched the rest of the circus - The whole ensemble, sans her and Zooble- run around on their horses, Ragatha and Gangle were having a merry time together. Even Kinger and Jax chatted idly about something as they rode. At least they were having fun. Without her.

She didn’t get the appeal of riding horses. They smelled weird, made scary noises and were too big for comfort. She didn’t really like most animals when she thought about it. Dogs were too excitable. Reptiles were boring, birds evil and amphibians? Nuh uh. Cats? They were okay enough.

She then remembered her cat. How she could’ve forgotten was beyond her. He was quiet as a mouse, loving and playful and would constantly purr on her chest as she’d sleep. She remembered how soft his fur was. 

“Wow. I didn’t think anyone could compete with Gangle in the misery olympics, but there we have it,” Zooble turned to her. Pomni blinked. Once. Twice. She looked down at her hands, one clenched over the other, shaking. The grimace on her face is now apparent. She forced her hand to unlatch from the other, then rubbed away the wrinkled expression. 

“I just miss my cat, is all,” 

They gave her a skeptically sympathetic look. Perturbed, Pomni looked away. Zooble was… different. Apparently, they were the last to arrive, just before Pomni, but unlike the others they were honest. Sure, they were blunt, closed off, rude, irritable, and an all around loner, but still honest. About the situation, about their mood, and how they feel about the rest of them. Did Pomni appreciate it compared to the wacky overly forced cast of characters she was stuck with? Sure. Did it also make her feel self conscious and judged anytime she chose to strike up a conversation with them? Absolutely.

Pomni tried to look anywhere but Zoobles' eyes. Meticulously comparing and contrasting their previous attire. Today it was orange twisted legs, a neon pink machine claw for a hand, one normal purple arm and some sort of yellow misshapen star on their chest. She crossed her arms, leaning forward. Zooble sighed, “Fine. What was their name?” 

“… Huh?”

“You gotta get it out of your system, right?” Her cat?

“O-oh. His name was Tuna?” Silence. Then Zooble chuckled. 

“Don’t tell Jax.”

“I won’t,” Pomni promised. Like hell she’d tell him anything so personal. But then why did she just tell Zooble? Out of all the members of the circus, Zooble was probably the person she interacted with the least. Not for her lack of trying, it was simply the fact that she couldn’t seem to get a good read on them. Zooble'd typically brushed her off if they weren't in an adventure together. Usually sticking close to Gangle during free time; if not in their room. But its not like she blamed them for not joining the games either. More often than not as they ended up bordering on the side of being traumatic. The most she’d ever actually seen of Zoobles empathetic side was during Kaufmos funeral. Maybe it was that fact alone that she felt more comfortable with them over Jax. Well. That and many other reasons. “He… fun fact- he was a hypoallergenic cat.”

“A what?”

“Hypoallergenic! It means they are less likely to cause people with allergies to react. I’m not allergic to cats or anything, but he was a rescue- from a shelter? Bad breeders I think. He got sick a lot.” 

“Oh. Sorry to hear that.” Pomni floundered for something, anything, to add- she could tell Zooble wasn't in a good mood- which irritated her; why even ask in the first place? She felt hot again, embarrassed and rigid, “Have you ever had a pet before?” 

“Not really,” … Seriously? 

“Oh. I’m sorry?” The annoyed look Zooble shot her made her want to wither away into dust. Zooble looked forward, watching the others in the distance. Thinking.

They were quiet after that. Pomni turned around to see the inside of the covered wagon. It was filled with wooden crates, presumably their supplies of food, shovels, guns, and other random assortments. Glancing out of the mouth of the wagon, she saw everyone else had stopped before a wide river. On the other side, tall evergreen trees reached high into the sky, the tops of them brushing their tips against the snowy mountain peaks in the distance. Her stomach did a little flip.

“So when should we expect to run into Indians, Caine?” Jax asked while trying to perceive how deep the water was by kicking a rock into it. Caine normally made water a tacky baby blue, like the digital lake. Thick and as reflective as slime, only being able to see how deep it actually goes once you stuck your head underneath its surface. But this adventure was different. Compared to yesterday's adventure- which took place in the fricking ocean - this water held more weight. Translucent and naturally colored, he could see a vague reflection of the sky off its surface. 

He swapped focus to the distance between the shore lines. It looked far. He’d bet if it was any deeper than 3 feet the wagon'd go under. Great. You put one measly suggestion about The Oregon Trail, and what do you get? The Oregon Trail.

“Actually, I didn’t incorporate any,” Caine glanced around at nothing in particular. That won’t do.

“What? You’re kidding, how are we supposed to buy into this adventure if there are no savage wildmen in the woods trying to kill us?” he asked as he remounted his horse, Bubblegum.

“I’M GLAD YOU ASKED!” Caine floated down, hovering above the raging river below. With a snap of his fingers, a flat white box extended behind him, which stated as he read aloud:

“Contrary to popular depiction in western serials, most Native Americans rarely attacked travelers, choosing instead to trade furs, skins, and other supplies! After all, pioneers had much less interest in colonialist antagonism compared to keeping their families alive on the tough journey ahead!”

“So it's just a long backpacking trip? Great!” Ragatha beamed, sliding off her horse and into a patch of buttercups, “I think we all needed a break from the zanier, more intense adventures we’ve had as of late,” she plucked a flower from the grass and placed it in her horse’s mane, before scratching its chin and murmuring, “Wouldn’t you agree, Sugarbell?” Jax snorted and crossed his arms, leaning towards the Jawbreaker.

“Caine, this is by far the lamest adventure you’ve made,”

“I- I’m sorry you feel that way, Jax-” 

“Don’t listen to him Caine. This is perfectly fine.” Ragatha insisted.

“Thanks for your feedback! I-“

“Well of course you’d think that.” he sneered. Ragatha placed her hands on her hips, strutting over to him. 

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused, Hagatha ,” 

“Ugh! How immature can you get?!” Smirking, he kicked the sides of Bubblegum. His horse reared forward, shoving Ragatha into the water. Thankfully for her it wasn’t deep. Barely 3 feet, if that. 

“Whoops! Sorry , horses can be so unpredictable!” Jax forged, batting his eyes innocently. Caine simply watched them.

She puffed as she shook the water from her face. She took a step forward, slipped and slid back into the riverbed, her sopping wet doll limbs dragging her down. Jax laughed so hard his stomach hurt. Gangle wrapped her little ribbon hands around Ragatha’s extended arm, and tied the rest of her body around her horse's neck. The steed took a few steps back, pulling the soggy little rag doll back to shore. She flopped onto the grass with a loud squish .

Huh. 

The way the water physics acted with Ragathas doll body was… unusually realistic. Before, the liquid would slip off their bodies, as if it was oil and they were the water. A pleasant surprise with a pleasant show. Must’ve been caused by Caine’s little ‘update’.

“Have a nice swim?” Ragatha didn’t look at him, and instead trudged off, Gangle following in tow, now trying and failing to untie herself. Jax rolled his eyes. She was always such a goodie goodie. Holding her tongue when upset, acting all nice to the new players as if everything was fine. Only an idiot would buy what she was selling, which was lucky since that description seemed to match most of the players here. His ears perked when he spotted Kinger, braiding the mane of his horse with his hands. Idea.

“Caine- do you really want to make this adventure enjoyable for everyone?” Caine dived in close.

“But of course!” 

“Then follow me- you too, Hoo Ha!” He demanded, before grabbing Caines leg and starting to cross the water, Kinger perked up as he followed suit. 

"Righty O!" he cheered.

“EEER- Shouldn’t we stay with the others?” Caine asked.

“Nah, they’ll be fine without us for a bit. ‘Sides, I need your help to set up,” 

“Well,” Caine glanced behind them. Jax followed his eyeline, seeing both Pomni and Zooble approaching, “Whatever you say Jax!” he decided. Jax raised a brow and dug his heels into the sides of Bubblegum. Cattle, his cow, followed behind at a slower pace, calling after them as the water level suddenly rose. Forcing the horse to swim. Jax let go of Caine to make sure he didn’t slip off, feeling his pant legs being tugged by the current, threatening to wash him off course. Once on the other side they were at the edge of a thick forest, with tall pine trees and uneven ground. Looking around he noticed that both his and Kingers' cows were now struggling to follow after. 

“Jax! Mabel is being swept away!” he panicked. Caine quickly elaborated.

“Right! Your cows are built lighter than your horses! You’ll need to build a raft or figure out how to get them to follow you; else they’ll be left behind!” 

“Neat. Say goodbye Kinger, we’re burning daylight,” Jax went onwards, his horse giving a heavy sigh.

“Oh. Goodbye Kinger!” This was going to be a long trip.

To Pomnis' surprise Ragatha was slumped over while Gangle actively attempted to ring out water that was trapped in her fabric limbs. Hopping off the wagon Pomni ran over, asking what happened.

“Jax,” Ragatha sighed. Ah. That tracked. 

“Where is he now?” she probed, shifting her eyes back and forth. 

“He took Kinger and Caine across the river already,” Gangle explained. Pomni frowned. That was a recipe for disaster. 

“Is… Is that safe?” Ragatha just shrugged. She felt her spine prickle at the reply.

“Great,” Zooble grumbled, crawling inside of the wagon. Pomni watched as Gangle squeezed Ragathas leg, smiling a bit too giddily for Pomni’s comfort. She took in the spot they chose for camp. The shore line of the river was dry with tall grass and patches of yellow flowers. Up the current she could see a large wooden post, rotted and worn down; it read: ‘The Looping River’. Behind them were lush fields of grass, still rich with animals. Rabbits, butterflies, bumble bees, and even deer. 

Oh, right, they had to eat throughout this game. A loud bray came from the river. In it she saw 2 cows drifting along- staring as they passed by with the current, to then despawn once down the river past where Pomni could see, and respawning upstream.

Looping River. Pomni got it. Something bright and pink caught her eye. A fish jumped out of the water, slamming into the head of one of the cows and impaling itself on its horn.  Clouds puffed out around it as ‘x’s replaced its eyes.

“Here,” From behind her came a pile of logs, scattering around her. A couple of them even rolled into the water from the force of the toss. She spun around from the sound, and saw something else was coming towards her. Instinctively she reached out- and caught it! A small, square, hard thing landed itself in her grasp. Opening her hands she found she held a box of matches. Looking up, she caught Zooble slinking back into the wagon.

“Where did you find these?” She asked, shaking the box.

“Inside the wagon. There's loads of crap in here. We must be playing the bankers in this,” they relayed. Nodding as if she understood ( Bankers?) she started the fire. Ragatha quickly scooted closer- the water drops that fell from off her yarn hair sizzled in its blaze. 

“Thank you Zooble!” Ragatha beamed, now content. 

“No problem,” Zooble waved before retreating. Gangle and Pomni settled down around Ragatha, enjoying the simulated heat. Pomni watched as the sun in the sky was beginning to darken. 

“This sorta feels like camping!” Gangle smiled, just as a butterfly came fluttering near. It shone brightly in the last of the sun's light, drifting between the three of them. A rogue spark from the fire landed on its wing. Flashing a bright red once it jumped mid air before falling like led into the fire. A few seconds in the flames it then spawned a roasted bug on a stick. The three of them exchanged glances with one another, Ragatha looking on in frozen fear as Gangle covered her mouth. Hesitantly, Pomni picked it up, examining its… eerily detailed texture. While its wings were missing it was still a butterfly… Kinda. Shriveled limbs, and antennae, it was curled and impaled on a long, thin stick.

“Of course he would come up with something like this,” she cringed, offering it to the others. Gangle reached for it, curiously taking a bite. She chewed for a few seconds, then swallowed. She shrugged.

“I mean, it's how they lived back in the day, isn’t it?” Gangle offered it to Ragatha, whose entire body scrunched in distaste. 

“AaAH- No thank you! I think I’m okay for now,” Gangle took another bite. Ragatha gagged, startling a laugh out of Pomni. Gangle giggled around the mouthful.

“What? What’s so funny?” Ragatha asked.

“Nothing, I just don’t think I’ve ever seen you react this way before. Usually you’re super on board with anything the games throw at us… but eating a bug? That’s where you draw the line?” 

Ragatha covered her face while giving a squeamish moan. While Pomni certainly never saw Ragatha around many bugs, the screams of terror and rage she’d heard from one of Jax’s pranks was hard to forget. 

“I just don’t like bugs. Centipedes are the worst of the worst- with their legs and-” she shuttered and kicked her feet on the ground like a child, “IT'S JUST NOT FOR ME!” she shook.

“I guess you weren’t a fan of Human Centipede then, huh?” Gangle half joked while finishing off the bug. The stick disappeared with the final bite. Did that mean she technically ate the stick…? Ragatha removed her hands from her face to meet Gangle's gaze. Gangle choked.

“Oh- no , I actually really like that movie! It's not my favorite- and quite challenging to watch at times but I really enjoy horror movies!” Without a word the wagon shot out a can- knocking Gangle over and rickashaying towards Pomni. Grabbing at her face she whined. Heaving herself up, she paused only briefly to look at Gangle. A sigh escaped her. Thankfully Gangle's mask didn’t shatter. 

Clunk- Clank! 

Another can was thrown, falling just outside of the wagon. Stomping over, she stood on her toes to peer inside. It was Zooble, rummaging through their supplies, tossing them about haphazardly. Out came another- this time it hit the back of the wooden seat- falling back inside with a thud. Zooble paid it no mind.

“Zooble, can you not throw things? We’re like 10 feet away.” Zooble ignored her and proceeded to chuck a can behind them right at Pomni. She ducked- Startled. 

 Zooble hissed, before continuing their task. Pomni saw red. 

What the hell? First they brush me off during the ride here, now they’re ignoring me? 

Limb over limb she climbed into the wagon. Her foot catching on the lip of the seat, she stumbled forward, slamming into Zoobles back and accidentally popping an arm out of its socket. It landed with a soft thwump. Their antenna twitched. 

“What the #$%&?!” Zooble shoved Pomni off, snatching their arm from the floor and slamming it back into its socket. Pomnis back ached as it made impact with the wagon's side- the whole thing rocking slightly. She leaned forward as Zooble continued, “I- #$%&. Sorry. You startled me I guess... You okay?" 

"I'm, fine," She mumbled out. The tears in her eyes she willed away. Zooble looked apologetic, before continuing to dig through the boxes again, this time much more gently. With seemingly nothing else to say, Pomni reached for an unopened crate as well, dragging herself closer to it. Maybe she could find something to eat inside it, figuring the cans were useless without a can opener. Reaching in she shuffled her hand around, before it came into contact with something solid.

Pomni then pulled out a long, thick glass bottle. She froze in her tracks. A corkscrew cap. She swished the bottle from side to side, a dark red liquid sloshing inside. Her mouth went dry.

“… Wine?” Zoobles interest was peaked. "Do you think it works?” Pomni asked before Zooble used their leg to uncork the screw. It came off with a satisfying pop. 

“Yeah, I’d $&?@ with this,” Pomni couldn’t help but agree.

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: The Oregon Trail Part 2, Also known as “Doubt”

Notes:

EPISODE 4 IS NOW MY FAVORITE EPISODE SO FAR. I LOVE HOW THERE WAS A SUGGESTION BOXXXXXX, AHHHHHHH- I called so much of that, Ragatha and horses, Ragatha from a classier background, Jax from an overworked one (maybe), Gangle not having the heart to FULLY torture Jax (yet), and Gummigoo coming back to NOT remember her.

Anyway, all events were cannon aside from how they picked the adventure that day and how it started. Gangle just said it out loud, but you can bet your ass I screamed laughed at the suggestion of ‘an adventure where Jax can’t talk’. I have No mouth and must scream anybody?

Also, Gangle is now apart of the Autistic cast for this AU. So, Gangle and Pomni :3c

“So, you like horror movies?” Zooble asked. Pomni was nibbling on some cheese Zooble had found, glancing at the three infront of her as they chatted around the fire. Ragatha was sipping on the wine with a solid grip. Ragatha took a delicate sniff, appreciating the underlying notes of the wine,, before handing it off to Gangle, who gulped it like a shot. Gangle peeled her lips away from the bottle with a big stupid smile. She giggled frivolously while offering it to Zooble, who began nursing on the mouth of the bottle.

“Oh sure!” Ragatha started, “Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, The Thing, The Ring, The Haunting- a lot of titles with ‘the’ huh? Aliens- but I really prefer to watch broadway plays,” She sighed, laying her head on top of Pomnis, squishing her hat into her head. Her twisted hair draped over Pomni’s face, tickling her nonexistent nose, “Live shows, ya know? What about you Pomni? What kind of stuff do you watch?” Ragatha asks like a drunken aunt. Pomni didn’t respond, still trying to figure out how virtual wine made them real buzzed. 

Finishing off her cheese, she thought back to when Ragatha got weird during that fast food adventure. Did she find some sort of alcohol then? If so, did Caine even realize that this stuff had similar capabilities to the real thing? Maybe Kinger would have something interesting to share about it. Speaking of which…God damnit.

“Where’s Kinger?” 

Ragatha, who whined as Pomni lifted her head off of her own, swayed as she spoke, ““Um- I don’t know? Who cares?” she sighed, flopping onto her back.

“Jax pulled him and Caine across the river already. He’s probably planning something stupid,” Zooble shifted in their spot and pulled the bottle away from their face.

“Should we go look for them?” Gangle asked.

“Nah. That's tomorrow's problem,” Zooble yawned, stretching out their limbs as far as they would go before offering the last of the bottle to Pomni. She accepted, but frowned at how light it felt. She savored the taste, taking a pull from the bottle.. The flavor was near non existent, bitter more than anything, having a tingling numbness on her tongue, but she could feel it go down. That was something more than any of the food Caines served before. When she finished, the bottle disappeared in an instant, her hand wrapped around nothing. The effects made her head hot and her body tingly with a bubbly warmth.

Zooble crossed their arms and looked up into the darkness, shoulders slumped and eyes soft. A stray spark from the fire floated in between them before gusting up into the night sky. Pomni tracked it and ended up staring into a starry abyss. The stars gently twinkled, and a slight tug in her chest made her choke. They looked lovely. 

 

 

All night, Caine had obeyed Jax’s command. He had added traps and snares for the other players to come across. ‘Something to keep them on their toes,’ he remembered, alongside a cheeky grin from the rabbit. Caine really appreciated how dedicated Jax was to making this a real adventure for his companions. 

Caine was having a great time! Or well- he was pretty sure he was! Was Jax bossing him around all day? Sure! But this was their adventure, not his. Did he actively attempt to leave behind Kinger at every turn? Yes, but Caine was able to persuade them to go back and retrieve him each time. Did he find himself unentertained and longing to witness Pomni’s reaction to his new and improved immersive starry sky pattern? 1000%. But he reminded himself that this was for the betterment of everyone. Jax promised him, after all.

Caine hovered above the two players, laying down with his jaw in hands. He fixed his gaze and waited as Jax cooked a pair of rabbits he'd killed while riding his horse. He tossed one to Kinger as Jax bit into his meal, eyebrows raised in interest as he chewed for a second, then took another, faster bite. Caine began to kick his legs, pleased at the sight. 

 “I’ve never had rabbit before,” Kinger said, a bite mark left on the cooked morsel. Blinking, Kinger turned toward Caine,“This is the most delicious thing I think I’ve ever tasted! Great job, Caine!” Kinger’s compliment warmed his processors. Jax scoffed.

“I’ve had better,” 

“Better rabbit?” Kinger looked almost confused.

“Yeah,”

“I didn’t take you as the kind of person to hunt! What does rabbit actually taste like?” Jax raised a brow at Kinger then ignored him to finish off the carcass. Caine figured this was the best time to ask. 

“So Jax! Praytell, what is this idea you had in mind?” 

“Right. Ever heard of Cowboys and Indians?”

“Indeed! Though the preferred term is Native American, if memory serves,”

“It's just the name of the game idiot,” 

“But of course! The staple game of young children everywhere, where they’d separate into two groups tagging one another and pretending to be either a rough riding, rooting, tooting, shooting Cowboy or a rascally, clever, quick witted Indian,” Finally! Something he could think over- participate in and share his enjoyment with.

“Look at you, thinking like a big AI,” Caine nodded along. Of course he was a Big AI. He was a Creative AI! 

“Ah ha. What a wonderful idea, Jax! Now, which group are we?” 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jax grabbed a handful of mud from the ground, before turning and slapping it onto Caines ‘face’. Wincing, he instinctively shook his head to remove the excess amounts of the sticky substance, “We’re the indians.”

“... You got some mud in my eye,” Caine complained. It stung. 

 

 

It was early morning when Pomni felt her consciousness surface. A gentle warm breeze blew over her face, hair tickling her cheek. She rubbed her eyes, letting out a loud yawn. Rolling over and stretching before finally opening her eyes to be greeted by the face of nightmares. A Cow, that stupid horse was breathing down on her. After a final snort to her face, Pomni found she didn’t have the energy to scream, instead opting to shove Cow’s snout away from her face.. The horse’s head easily twisted before bouncing right back, much closer then, almost touching hers. She whined before sitting up and shoving them back a few steps, to which it then shoved its face into her chest and heaved her into the air- her sleeping bag flying off into the river. She screamed,  before falling onto The Cow’s back, facing backwards. It whinnied as it bucked her into the air multiple times, till she landed properly facing foward. Dizzy, she slumped forward into the back of its neck. 

“That’s one heck of a wakeup call,” Ragatha giggled, while Zooble and Gangle woke up much slower. She stroked the snout of her mare, Sugarbell, kissing it and even rubbing her face to it. The other horses came over, seemingly eager to greet their riders. Even Zooble, who was meticulously swapping their parts around, paused to pat the head of their matching steed. Pomni grimaced as the horse began to trot along, bending over to drink from the river. With each step it took, she could feel the movement send her briefly into the air. It felt wrong. So very very wrong. 

How could anyone enjoy this? I’m way too small for this, I’m going to fall off the second this thing speeds up! How am I supposed to even tell this thing what to do? I want OFF-

Ragatha came trotting beside her, it was always Ragatha coming to check on her. Pomni was shaking, owl eyed as she looked to Ragatha, “You okay?” 

Damn you, Ragatha, you already know the answer! 

“No- I feel like this thing is going to kill me if I make one wrong move-” Ragatha gave her a pointed look, “What?!” she panicked. 

“Your horse can sense your emotions. If you’re calm, he’s calm. If you're anxious, he’s anxious. Sorta like dogs.” Pomni did not like dogs. This analogy was literal horseshit. The Cow shook ‘his’ head, the bicolored hair whipping back and forth with the motion. Pomni squeaked, wrapping her legs tighter around its sides. 

“H-How would you know?”

“I used to own horses… Here, just- pet his neck. It’ll calm you down,” Ragatha gently grabbed Pomnis wrist, hiss, and guided her hand onto its neck. Pomni slowly stroked the fur, the horse’s jerky movements lessening with each pat. He tilted his head all the way back, shaking his nose at her, looking at her with his bug eyes. She paused.

“What does he want now?”

“Umm, I think he wants you to scratch his snout?”

“You think?!” It stomped its hooves. Pomni quickly started to scratch at his snout. He leaned into it.

“See? I told you!” she prided. Pomni blinked. Was it really that simple?

All he wanted… was attention? 

The boys' cows washed up onto shore, salmon skewered on their large horns. Gangle tossed them in the fire and they each ate them with renewed vigor, satisfied at the tender texture. It was leaps and bounds better than most all of the polygonal delicacies Bubble would serve at their banquets. Once they finished, Gangle tied the cows to the wagon with some spare rope she found. Had Jax been there, he’d have probably used her instead.

Once packed, they made their way to the river, crossing successfully with only a handful of materials being lost to the current. The shade of the trees gave them a nice reprieve from the blazing sun, but it also stifled the wind. Not only that, but the terrain was difficult to traverse through the wagon. At points they had to actively clear paths by removing fallen branches from the road or maneuvering the wagon backwards the way they came to find a better route. 

After what felt like hours of tedious work—and the occasional pitfall trap that was most certainly Jax’s doing—she realized their pace was collectively slowing down. Necessary eating, while tastier than usual, also left them more desperate to find food. They found a berry bush and picked it clean, but it didn’t keep them full for long. Deciding the next best step was to hunt, Zooble dug up some rifles from the Wagon. Caine really did love his guns. They tied the cows and wagon to a tree along a clearing before separating into two groups on horseback, Ragatha with Gangle and Zooble with Pomni. Zooble needed persuading of course, only agreeing to tag along to be Pomni’s extra pair of eyes. 

Pomni and Zooble trotted along quietly. Pomni  was unsure what to say after last night’s events.

“Soooo,” Zooble started, “Have you ever hunted before? I mean, aside from that gun adventure?” Zooble asked. At first, Pomni just looked at them. Really looked at them. Zooble turned away, crossing their arms, “Listen. I know we don’t really know each other. And I’m sorry about last night. I just- I hate when Caine forces me on these adventures. I feel like I hardly ever get a say anymore about participating, ya know?”

“I- hmm. I get it. Honestly sometimes I feel like he’s trying to kill me with some of these adventures- I-I know that's probably not true but- do you remember the Mystery Manor? The adventure he made for you?”

“Where you went to hell?” Her body itched at the memory of that place. The snapping bones that didn’t exist, her body morphing without consent- She almost felt like vomiting. Hugging herself tight she looked at Zooble, who in turn gave her an empathetic expression. If that adventure was really supposed to be for Zooble– in a weird way Pomni figured she had taken a bullet for them. Well, her and Kinger. 

“Yes,” she finally breathed, “It was awful. A-and these adventures can be awful! But-”

Snap!

They froze. Pomni whipped around frantically for any sign of danger, listening for the source of the sound. A flash of purple caught her eye- it was a lilac deer, a buck to be more precise, with antlers standing tall and beautiful as it turned to look at them. Pomni watched in awe, even as it turned away. Lifting its tail, fluttering it from side to side it then, clear as day,  farted. But not just any simple fart, oh no. This fart propelled the buck forwards, through handfuls of trees before finally slamming into one and falling prone. Changing strategy it then stood up and began skipping away. The magic ruined, Zooble cocked their gun and raced after it, weaving through the trees with ease. Nerves on fire, Pomni sped after them.

With each leap and sharp turn, she struggled to keep up, Zooble now far ahead. The ringing sound of gunshots could be heard in the distance. After maybe a minute of riding she could hear an enthusiastic, “YES!” 

Excited, she kicked The Cow's sides again, speeding towards the direction of Zoobles voice. Just as she spotted that pink triangle of a head, her vision was filled with blinding light. She quickly found herself on her back on the forest ground. Her entire backside was caked in mud and leaves, and her face stung.

Minus 5 spoons.

“You okay?” Zooble called out, sliding off their horse, feet slipping into the mud underneath. Shuffling over, they wrapped a claw around Pomni’s wrist and tugged her to her feet. With a loud ‘SHLOP’ the mud released her from its grasp. She wobbled in place.

“Wah happeh?” she slurred, “Did ew geh eh?” 

“Actually, yeah.”  

“Cool,” Pomni then fell forward with a SPLAT, accepting the embrace of the muck below. It felt cool against her eyelids. Zooble had to wrangle Pomni up once more, leaning her against a tree. The Cow licked the mud off her face till the pain wore off. Zooble explained that it was a low branch that knocked her off her horse. 

“Sounds about right,” she sniffed.

“You kinda get unlucky in these games, don’t you?” Zooble asked. Pomni simply shrugged.

“Can’t be worse than anyone else, can it?” Zooble playfully rolled their eyes.

“Want to get out of here?” They offered.

“Yes please,”

Not much later, the others found them, having captured two squirrels of their own, and another handful of berries. Dragging the game to the clearing, they cooked the food on another fire. It smelled good, and once they ate their fill, Zooble offered to take Gangle's leftovers.

“There's an icebox back there.” Zooble gestured toward the wagon. “Should keep the food fresh.”

“Good idea!” Ragatha nodded as Zooble went to task. Pomni smiled as Zooble took her leftovers as well.

“Thanks,” Zooble didn’t dally in their task and just nodded. That night Pomni went to bed early, feeling a bit more tired than she thought she should, but shrugging it off. Stupid branch. She listened to the others idly whispering in the dark. Ragatha had suggested bedtime stories, but Zooble shot that down quick. Instead, they played a game. 20 Questions, where each person gets to ask the others one question. The group answers and then it goes to the next person. What did these questions pertain to? Well. Life. 

What music do you like? Did you ever have a dream job? What's a guilty pleasure of yours? All the silly little questions you’d ask at a sleepover. At first it annoyed Pomni, but she warmed up to it as she closed her eyes, and pictured instead each of them in real life based on their answers. 

Before Gangle had shown up in the circus, and even before she worked at a fast food chain she, unsurprisingly, used to be a semi popular streamer. She’d played lots of weird games, sometimes for the clout, but mostly because she was genuinely curious. And she loved anime- emphasis on love. If anime was a person she’d know their home address and sleep schedule, kind of love. Ragatha was super invested; The way they gushed on and on about some demon butler that was named after a dog made her feel as though she needed to shower in holy water. 

Ragatha, on the other hand, had a lifetime of experiencing all sorts of things before the circus. She could play the cello, owned and took horse riding lessons for years, controlling parents coupled with a late rebellious phase in which she traveled all over the world with a friend. Who that friend was she said she couldn’t remember. Pomni worried if not remembering was a side effect of the fact she’d been there in the circus the second longest.  Ragatha simply shrugged it off. Then she asked about Zooble.

Pomni remembered her own life. Working at the office from 9 to 5, before making her way home. Once there she’d order take out, and start yet another rewatch of ‘The Office’ as she’d start work on her coding job, before inevitably falling asleep while at the desk. Then as her alarm went off, it would repeat all over. Much like that Looping River. Forever repeating an endless cycle, til she’d wash up onto the shore, utterly exhausted from trying to keep afloat.

“I job hopped a lot,” Zooble admitted, “At first I was working as a for-hire drummer, then I got a degree and worked as a tattoo artist, but when those things failed to make ends meet, I just sorta…”

“I think its really cool you both can play instruments,” Gangle admitted, “What kind of hobbies did you get up too?”

“Eh. I gamed a bit. Liked to design outfits sometimes, metal work,” they trailed off.

“That’s really cool!” Gangle cheered, “Do you want to maybe help me come up with outfits for my characters sometime?”

“S-sure, sounds fun,” they stuttered. Zooble stuttered. Pomni never thought she'd hear them stutter before. She rolled over, a sudden desire to share overpowered her own anxiety.

“I graduated university in New York, and got a job as a software engineer,” she simplified. 

“A software engineer? What did you work on?”

“Nothing big. I sometimes worked on websites or apps. Usually I made sure apps were functioning properly, or redesigning them from scratch,” It paid well enough- not like it was something that could be bragged about. She wasn’t a doctor or mechanic after all.

“Maybe you can fix Caine,” Zooble suggested, “or better yet remove him from the equation.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say remove him,” Ragatha said, “Sure he’s pushy and disconnected from the reality of our situation-‘He at least was kind enough to give us this time to relax! And if something busted he's always the one to fix it. I don’t know about you but I’m glad I haven’t been impaled or torn apart from some NPC or a random knife.” 

“I’m happy Jax isn’t around.” Gangle admitted, shielding their smirking face by snuggling into their sleeping bag. 

“Same,” they all replied, before tucking in for the night.

 

 

Caine’s brain buzzed with worry. He was supposed to be the ‘lookout’ and was forced to sit in a tree to wait for the others to fall asleep- ‘the perfect time to strike’ Jax said. Usually this would breed excitement within him- it was time to play! For screams, and laughter and all sorts of happy ever afters! 

…

Except, he didn’t want to tell Jax. Not yet at least. The shared words of the four sleeping soundly beneath him wouldn’t leave his mind. Fix him? Did he need fixing? Sure, he might be a bit outdated as a bot, but it's not like he didn’t try his best to make them all happy! His top jaw furrowed as he began to analyze this. Was he really that bad? What could he do to make them even happier? By creator's hand, he was only as powerful as he was in this moment but perhaps he’d simply lost his touch over the years.

 Caine nearly startled at the sudden shriek - he glanced below just as Gangle sat up with a start. She rubbed her shoulders and looked at Ragatha, then to Zooble, reaching out ever so slowly before dropping her hand back down, and burying herself deeper inside her bag. 

How queer. 

Before this, Caine had eavesdropped on the players' conversations many, MANY times before, but every time he found himself either bored with their repetitive concerns, or confused with them. Somehow, this time was different. With bated breath (Which was odd because Caine didn’t need to breath), he found himself captivated. No longer did they feel like cavities begging for attention to be fixed, but instead a voice, calling out into the dark of the night. Gangle here was a prime example, oozing lonely self loathing. Something he knew well from her file, but it never occurred to him that this is what it looked like. A girl refusing to reach out to those who she had laughed with only moments before.

She needs a friend. 

He spotted the horses. A quick flick and spin of the wrist and he untied their bonds. They wouldn’t leave their players alone, unless forced too anyway. Gently he tugged the horse over, leading them by the reins until they were besides Gangle. The horse began to chew on the sleeping bag, startling Gangle. She peaked out of the bag before hugging the horse with her full body. Something sparked inside of him. 

It radiated a warm glow, not enough to make him feel like cheering, but enough to bring pressure to his chest. His head. His eyes. Her ribbon arms relaxed around the overo, porcelain face nuzzling the horses, giggling as it tried to lap up her tears. She kissed the top of its nose, fear and sorrow no longer apparent. He turned around to make his way back to Jax.

“Took you long enough! What happened, you got lost in your own maze?” The feeling was gone. Now replaced with a colder, more twitchy sensation.

“The others stayed up quite late. They’d managed to catch a buck!” He explained.

“Oh wow! That’s impressive!” Kinger claimed. He could see in the light of the fire; the three of them were covered in mud and paint. Each donned with squiggles and circles- Caine having a hand print made via Jax along his upper molar. Kinger had a flower crown, one that he had made and generously showed Caine how to make as well. 

“There goes Bambi. Right. C’mon now men, it’s time to take back what’s rightfully ours!” Jax stood, the fire in his smile reflected that of Gangles.

“Jax, perhaps this isn’t such a good idea,” Caine started.

“...What?” Jax glared, “ Don’t tell me it’s past your bedtime?” He mocked.

“Don’t be silly, Caine doesn’t need to sleep!” Kinger chidded.

“It's just that the others looked as though they were having enough fun as it is. Perhaps we should let them rest tonight, try again in another adventure!” Caine suggested.

“HA. No way. You picked my suggestion for this adventure, remember? This is how I like to have fun. That's the goal right? To make sure we’re all ‘happy and healthy’?”

“Yes but-”

“If you don’t want to join, fine by me. You’ve done enough anyway. Have fun sitting around the campfire- you can keep Kinger occupied,” and off he went in the direction of the other campsite, spear clutched in his right hand.Caine and Kinger looked at each other.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Kinger said. Caine wondered if he agreed.

 

 

It was a simple game. A simple, stupid game. One that he was stupid enough not to see how utterly terrible of an idea that it was to let Jax play it. It was all fine until he threw a spear at Ragatha, who woke with a scream of agony as she was now pinned down, impaled in the chest. “Bullseye!” Jax, having climbed a tree before the solo ambush, cheered, jumping down on top of their wagon, lighting a match (which he’d given a box to Jax as per one of his many demands), and dropped it there to burn. It caught quickly- and spread to the cattle who were still attached by a rope. Kinger and Caine bore witness as it quickly escalated, before making their way down the forest trail themselves. Kinger tripped and stumbled over and on top of the now waking Pomni. 

“Oops! Sorry about that Pomni!” 

“What's- happening?!” Pomni shrieked, drowned out by the howling of the animals, who now ran amok, their ropes having burned away setting them free to spread the blaze to the surrounding forest. One crashed into Zooble, who’s limbs popped out from the force, leaving them helplessly wriggling on the ground. Another rammed into the side of the wagon, which Jax was still atop of. 

“$%#!” Jax grit, now fff balance and flailing his arms to keep up right. The second spear he acquired was now flung into the air, perfectly arched to bear down upon Pomni, who was being helped up by Kinger. 

Caine watched as Zooble scrambled to find their own body parts, screaming Jax’s name in frustration. He watched as Gangle’s mask was shattered upon impact from her own horse, who she tried to calm down from running amok and setting the fire on its back with her own sleeping bag, she openly wept at the outcome, curling up onto the ground. Pomni spotted the oncoming weapon, and flinched, in wait for the impact. These screams. They were not of joy. They were the outcome from Jax’s actions, and Caine was just as liable for this outcome. By helping him, he allowed it to get this far, and not use his foresight to analyze possible outcomes based on Jax's prior exploits. 

Directive: Entertain and maintain all humans in the circus. Ensure abstraction is minimal by maintaining stress levels and keeping all players happy and healthy.

Success Rate: 39.29% stable. 

Rating: F 

Caine caught the stray projectile just as it was about to pierce Pomni and deleted it a microsecond. The look of utter rage, sorrow and fear on her face as she looked up at Caine. The funny mischievous rabbit. The one who seemed to take the reins in nearly every adventure, calling the shots, and actively playing his games- was a false perception. Being a part of the chaos rather than to watch from afar. He did not take the reins. He hogged them. He was not the natural leader- he bullied the others into submission. He didn’t want to play Caine’s games. He wanted to destroy them. 

“I think that’s quite enough excitement for one night, Jax,” Caine glanced at the cow corpses that now littered the clearing, the wagon still burning. 

“Caine, what the &!@$ is going on?!” She shouted. He frowned, yeah, he messed up.

“I think it’s time we go, Jax,” Jax placed a hand on his hip, frowning.

“You’re jokin’, right?” 

“I most certainly am not! It’s obvious-“

“CAINE, PUT OUT THE FIRE!” Pomni shrieked. In an instant he forced a rainstorm down onto their heads- drowning the digital flames and spreading digital smoke. His water physics weren’t yet complete, so everything became heavy with water weight. The woods, the players, their beds, and surviving NPC’s. Jax actually fell to the floor, his limbs heavy with a sloshy feeling. 

“Great going Pomni! Do you ruin everything you fix or is this just a new skill of yours?”

“Shut the #+$! up Jax- why are all of you covered in mud and flowers?” Zooble hissed.

“We were playing Cowboys and Indians!” Kinger explained, approaching his cow- the only one to have survived the fire. 

“Are you serious?! What about the Oregon Trail?” Pomni stomped her foot.

“Jax said this would make it more investive! Filling in some gaps that my knowledge left out!”

“Yeah! You guys came to our land! Hunted our game! Turn tail already ya white devils!” Jax chattered, limbs wobbling violently as he made his way to standing.

“There’s no way you really believe that this is how the Native Americans dealt with the colonizers!” Ragatha yelled.

“Trust me, I’m sure I’d know more than you on this topic doll face,”

“And what makes you say that?” her hands would be on her hips if she wasn’t struggling to lift them one at a time.

“Because I am one,” Jax smirked.

“… you’re Native American?” Ragatha asked.

“Yep,” 

“Bullcrap!” Ragatha growled.

“How can we know for sure?” Gangle wondered.

“Because I am. Can’t you tell? Just look at me!” Jax posed.

“He’s just messing with us- you’re just messing with us again, aren’t you?” Ragatha stomped.

“Who can say?” Jax shrugged.

“Caine- I can’t even begin to explain to you how weirdly racist this entire argument is- can we just go back to The Tent?” Pomni pleaded, now tired. The rain was still pouring, and the wind sent a cold chill through their faces. All his work…

“Unfortunately- no,”

“What?!” They collectively exclaimed.

“The portals I made only open once we are at the end or beginning,” he explained. “I can leave, but unless you can find your way to either the end or beginning, I…” he paused. “I’m afraid you’re stuck here.”

The wagon was nearly burnt to a crisp. The wheels and bottom plating were the only parts still intact, its tarp and all supplies perishing in the fire. The cows that perished left behind cooked remains, ready for eating. Caine levitated the wagon, rotating it till it leaned against a tree, where the rest dragged themselves underneath– all except for Jax and Caine, that is. 

Jax forced himself to stay on his feet, unsteady. He leaned against a tree, directly parallel to the others. Something was happening between the group- something Caine was unaware of, nor unable to read. Jax was locking eyes with Ragatha, he smirked, happy? Then glared, upset? Caine KNEW that they were communicating, how they did so was difficult for him to pick apart. Jax finally turned and trudged away, disappearing into the darkness. 

Caine watched as he went, suddenly feeling very small. The rabbit was gone, once again. Fleeing from conflict, Caine recognized, but did not know how to address. 

“I’m sorry everyone for- what has happened here today- I just figured you’d want something exciting in every adventure! After all, this is The Amazing Digital Circus- perhaps the suggestion box is a bit of a work in progress- but I promise the next one will be a heart stopping, jaw dropping para-”

“Stop,” Caine did. He was surprised he heard it. More so, he was surprised to have processed it. Listened. It dawned on him that he’d been doing a lot of that lately. The voice was Pomni, everyone's favorite little Jester. Ever clumsy and sad. Or mad. In this case it was the latter, “ Caine- do you- ugh- you don’t- We don’t WANT these adventures,”

“Unfortunately, you need these adventures my dear! Without them you’d all surely lose your sanity much sooner than preferred-!”

“No, you’re not listening-”

“On the contrary, I hear your voices louder and clearer than ever before! It's quite a curious little earworm-”

“SHUT. UP.” Pomni barked. She was crying now- but why? He had made sure the spear didn’t hurt her. Ragatha, he thought, logically should be the one to cry– She had been impaled through the chest! Pomni continued, “We don’t want you, your games, or ANY of Jax’s bull$%#! ANYWHERE near us right now. You burned down our- everything. I thought that update was a good thing. But I’m starting to doubt that!”

“But I- “

“Just- go away.” she pleaded.

 

And so he did.

Notes:

I want to do art of something in each chapter! If you have any ‘suggestions’ (ayyyy) on the art you’d like to see for this episode, comment here or pester me on my tumblr!

@mikiib

Chapter 5: Where Caine Sits in a Fox Hole like a Toddler, Also Known as Guilt

Notes:

I'm so excited to finally have posted this chapter! I'm sorry it seems to take me FOREVER to post. But thats not without reason. I had my work hours cut /badly/, lost a family member at the beginning of the year, dealing with my disabilities and juggling health insurance and pOlITiCs- *barf* To say managing my work life balance has gotten difficult is an understatement. But it hasn't stopped me yet! Hope y'all enjoy this chapter~

Caine, dentures hanging low,  floated through the woods. The rain clouds he’d summoned followed him like a balloon. His body shivered, imitating a cold he couldn’t quite feel as he searched for- what? Shelter? Yes. That seemed like the logical conclusion. 

He paused his motion to take in his creation. He knew where everything was. Each and every tree, pebble, even every tiny ant that marched fruitlessly for food they would never find. Meticulously made by his hand. The heavy tapping of the rain on his top hat encouraged him to conclude the closest rational cover.

Coming upon a smooth dip in the woods he found the entrance to one of the many dens he’d implemented. This one in particular was well hidden, covered by overgrowth and pine needles. He pushed aside the greenery, squeezing into the cove with a grunt and a rubber snap. He had to wiggle his jaws through, much like one would maneuver a couch through a door. As he freed himself from the passageway he stopped to listen to the sound that greeted him. Looking down to his feet was a nesting vixen and her litter. 

She bared her teeth to him, fur raised, yarping. 

‘Go away.’   she echoed. 

His code began to boil. Sitting down as far from the fox as he could in the narrow space he crossed his arms, legs spread as he glared at the still screaming beast. After a point, she lunged at his leg, teeth digging in. Caine clenched his fists, his hat falling further onto the plane of his head. 

”It wasn’t my fault !” He shouted, the mother, undeterred, kept to task, “It wasn’t! It was all Jax’s idea!” he continued, “It's not like I WANTED this outcome! How was I supposed to know Jax would set fire to- well- everything?!”

She did not respond. He sighed, pulling off his hat, thumbing the rim of it. Now that the true intent of Jax’s actions were clear he sensed a weight settle upon his shoulders.

“I just wanted to make sure everyone was having fun,” A strange and heavy sort of electricity pulsed through his being. Jittery, and yet so draining he could feel the weight begin to slow him down. He remembered this feeling. It would show up every time he’d put an abstracted member of the circus into the cellar, every time he’d fail to make the humans happy, every time he looked at that stupid grey door- !

Right about now is when he’d be in the tent, allowing Bubble to harass him. Pester him to distract from feeling this way. From the facts. His efforts, as massive and unlimited as they seemed to be in this world, were only a distraction. And he knew that, ultimately. They all must have. Why else would they look at him in disdain? Confusion? Hostile. He was at a loss. 

What else could he do but follow his programing in times like these? He was created to recreate laughter and joy! Excitement and adventure! Kinger knew that and so did Jax! 

“...” 

Right?

Water from the rain trickled in from the entrance, wetting his ankles. The startled calls of the Vixen’s cubs stopped her from gnawing on Caine’s leg. She would fetch each cub one by one, and set them into Caine’s lap, treating him like a part of the environment- which he was. 

He chuckled at the sight. He watched as the vixen began to sniff about the den for a solution to the overflow. Digging a furrow into the ground allowed the water to pool into it, only moments later, the hole would fill, and she’d start again to dig a new one. 

Stupid fox. He thought. That only ignored the water that was still rushing in from the entrance. Thunder rumbled outside, causing the cubs to bawl. The water was now waist deep — automatically he scooped them up in his arms to keep them dry. The mother, tired and seemingly out of ideas, climbed up onto his shoulders, and laid down. 

Balancing the cubs in one arm and reaching out to the fox with a finger. he attempted to scratch the top of her head, pulling away when she snapped her little teeth at him. Missing, she growled and nipped the side of his gums, “Ow. I get the message.” he brooded, focusing instead on the pups. Their eyes were still shut with plump little bellies and stubby little legs. Supposedly, they were based on newborns, and it would be a while till they grew old enough to venture on their own. They had so much to learn…

The water rose higher still, but Caine found himself staying put. He technically created them- the father to all the beings, excluding the humans, within the circus- this world was no exception. A part of him wondered why he didn’t just let the nature he created for this world take its natural course. To just drop the cubs and mother into the water and be done with them. 

Shrill screams from the burning cows ran through his memory cache. He did not want to cause pain on purpose, it was simply not in his programming. Not in a lasting way at least. 

That didn’t seem to stop you from hurting Pomni.

 It's true. All he seems to do is upset her- just like the other humans. Just like this fox! 

“Why?!” he yelled, grabbing a cub by its whole and lifting it to eye level. It started to wail.

Was it his appearance? No, his charming looks could not be the issue. Was he too loud? Perhaps, but that's just who he was. Loud, powerful, charming, and fun. He couldn’t help that. It's who he was.

The mother fox grew restless, trying to climb his arm but slipped off and fell into the water. She tried swimming to his outstretched hand, jaws agape with worry to try and steal back her pup. When she found she could not keep her head above water she swam back to him, and tried digging into his shoulder, a fruitless action, they both knew, but an effective distraction. The water was nearing shoulder height, threatening the cubs dry coats. He turned to analyze the vixen. Her frantic digging slowed in pace as she began to pant with exertion. The first drop of water spilled onto one of the babies, and its body wiggled in vain.

Then it hit him. They were scared. In an instant, he opened his mouth, and snatched up the creatures in one fell swoop. Keeping his mouth shut he sealed the little family inside, safe from drowning. His eyes tucked into a corner of his own jaw, watched as they settled down inside his mouth. He shuddered as the tiny little feet rubbed against the inside of his maw. The water now covering his head, he reached up and pushed the ceiling of the cave apart, opening a hole in the earth and climbing out. Looking around, he located another cave, and dove inside. The cubs and their irritable mother were spat up into a comfortable corner of the borough, Caine’s red velvety tongue lashing out of his jaw. He coughed up a hairball, and rubbed his tongue free of any leftover dirt and debris.

“Look what the Caine dragged in. Dinner,” The tension Caine previously felt was back at full throttle, Caine actively blocked the foxes from Jax’s view, who was laid down in a corner, using a rock as an impromptu pillow. He wasn’t smiling, and his arms were crossed.

“... Why did you do it?” Caine asked. 

“‘Cause it was funny?” he looked around casually, as if the answer was truly that obvious, like there was an expectant audience. Lifting a gloved hand around as if inspecting its quality, he continued, “But you’d know all about that. Causing suffering for entertainment? Our ‘audience’? I’m just playing my part,” Jax then crossed his arms behind him and his legs out in front of him on another rock. Exaggerating just how ‘relaxed’ he was. But Caine could see it now. The strain in his brow, the strict smile, ears perked forward to listen for a reply. Jax was mad. Like Pomni. Like the others. 

Caine turned 70 degrees away, checking in on how the foxes were settling while giving Jax space.

Jax was mad.

Only he didn’t shout about it or shut down like the others. He fought back, similar to the fox. But in only the way a trickster rabbit could. Caine didn’t know what to do in this situation, so he dropped straight down to stay with the foxes. He watched the little worm babies wriggle around blindly. Jax sat up.

"Uhh... whats happening?" 

"Fascinatingly, newborn foxes are born with a different colored pelt to help them camouflage!" He enthusiastically stated. 

When Jax didn’t respond, leaning back ears down, Caine continued, “Apparently, they keep these coats until they reach about a month old, but some can linger till two months. Red foxes are the most commonly born with brown or gray coats- like these ones. But on occasion they can be silver, black or white-”

“Caine-”

“Red foxes are one of the most recognizable of all fox species. When colonizing North America, their furs, as well as the muskrats and the minks, were highly sought after. However, beavers were the king of the fur trade due to their incredible durability and waterproof qualities,”

“ Caine -” Jax was flabbergasted.

“Did you know that beavers were so highly sought after because of their musk glands?"

"What the fuck?!" he got through the filter, looking down at his mouth in disbelief.

"Indeed- people thought that the scent was an aphrodisiac and love charm! Unfortunately, this led to a steep downfall of their populations, as well as massive destruction for their natural habitats. I-“

“ CAINE !” 

“Yes?” Caine smiled sweetly.

“No one asked!" he looked left and right, in panic, "Shut up.” 

“OK!” Caine chirped back. Jax raised his brows before he tsked, and slowly, rolled over.

“You know, it just occurred to me! When was the last you ate?”

“…” 

Caine’s eyes bulged comically out of his jaw before he grabbed hold of Jax’s arm. Caine then flew them back to where he left the others. After a couple minutes of terse zooming he made it back to the site. The rain had let up by then allowing the light of morning to peek through. 

“Good morning, superstars!” He cheered- startling everyone out of what must’ve been a rather uncomfortable slumber. He lifted Jax into the air, as if showing off a boxing ring champion, “Just as a reminder, in this game, you’ll still need to get your nosh on, or end up like this lazy layabout right here!” He let go of Jax who fell to the floor like a noodle with a grunt. The others took note. 

Kinger came over and poked at Jax with a stick. 

“Eh-” Jax groggily swatted at Kinger, grabbing the stick and tossing it behind him. Ragatha let out a laugh. Caine turned towards her, intrigued by the sound.

“You didn’t even take one of our cows you burnt up? Seriously?” She cackled.

“Ha ha ha. Feed me!” Jax demanded. Ragatha rolled her eyes and picked up one of the many prepped meals that scattered the ground. The cows in the fire had been thoroughly cooked, left to linger out in the rain. They floated off the ground in husks of limbs and ribs. She tossed it at Jax and it bounced off his face and onto the space in front of him. Jax reached a hand out and slowly pulled it in before freezing.

EE ER

A banner popped up above Jax’s head. On it read: 

JAX DIED FROM STARVATION!

“...What?” Jax went completely limp, face down, grip loose. Beef uneaten. 

“What?!” Gangle panicked.

“WHAT?!” Ragatha shrieked, rushing over to Jax’s side. Pomni stood where she was, taking a short step back from the scene. 

There's no way, right…?

“What? Oh, right!” Caine slapped his forehead in a mock ‘oh, duh’ before picking Jax up from the ground, this time by his ears, “Worry not! Jax is simply… in time out for the rest of the game. Not dead dead. This was just the only way I could think to simulate it. Corpses can’t move where you’re from, right?” 

“Of course out of all the times you simulate our deaths into an adventure for us, it would be this one,” Jax gritted out.

“Well, of course! You requested THE OREGON TRAIL! You didn’t think I’d forgotten about the massive death toll that had, did you? Not only was hunger a big issue but there were MANY ailments, dangerous animals and of course, native american tribes.”

“Okay- but what about Jax?” Pomni asked.

“What about him?” He wiggled jax around like a dead snake, “Limp like a kitten being held by the scruff,” He cheekily explained, twisting a finger along his lower gums in a ‘who me’ gesture.

“ Great . I vote we leave him behind. No use carrying literal dead weight,” Zooble said, crossing their arms.

“What? If you do that then you’ll have to come all the way back to retrieve him!”

“Uh-wha- Seriously?!”

“I’ve always made the portals open only if everyone is present in the past! I guess you wouldn’t know that though; due to being absent from so many.” 

Zooble fumed, punched Jax in the gut, “ Hey -!“ and shoved him closer to Caine. 

“Fine, but you’re watching him,”

“Ah-“ Caine tried to float backwards, ”How about-“

“ You helped him destroy our supplies,” they recapped, “This is the least you can do to help us now,” Zooble growled. Caine watched Zooble, wide eyes darting between Zooble and the rest of them. When he met Pomni's gaze, she nearly startled. Wringing her hands together, she glanced at Jax, then nodded. Caine stared at her a few more seconds before slowly nodding himself.

“I understand,” Caine sank a bit as he adjusted his hold over Jax. Carrying him by his armpits, Jax’s big purple feet sagged onto the forest floor as he took on Jax’s full weight. How low he went really showed how short he really was- almost Pomni’s height. 

It brought forth a moment from her childhood where she once had to carry a whole stack of textbooks equal to her height. Cram School. Ugh. For a moment, she felt glad she wasn’t in the real world.

Oh. Now Caine was holding Jax like a towel draped over his forearm, much to Ragatha’s chagrin.

“You’re next, Rags,” Jax warned. She stuck her tongue out at him as Caine floated by to set the wagon back upright. Or, well, what was left of it. It looked like everything but the wheels and yoke were replaced with charcoal logs. He looked around, left, right, before raising a hand to his front.

“OOoh, BUBBLEGUM!~” Moments later, Jax’s horse came cartwheeling out of the tree line, and stopped with a hop, skip and a jump in front of Caine. Pomni stifled her laugh, whilst Gangle cooed over the name. Caine tossed Jax over Bubblegum’s back like a saddle. With that settled, Pomni allowed herself to finally absorb her surroundings. The trees and ground were blackened with ash, and the bobbing piles of cooked meat littered the forest floor like easter eggs. A couple small plaques of each of their names could be found just underneath most of them.

As she walked passed through the burnt clearing a bright light suddenly caught her eye. Quickly shielding her eyes she approached the item, which was just behind a large bush. Curiosity got the best of her as she let her fingers brush off the ash of the name tag. Unlike the others this one had no meat around it. As soon as she made out what the letters read her heart sank. In her hand was a small plaque that read: The Cow. 

As if it burned her she tossed it back towards the ground. She took a quick inhale to help settle her nerves-

Fuck it.

Impulsively she growled and kicked it deep into the woods. She watched as it went down the slope, bouncing every here and there before finally vanishing from her sight into a far off brush.

“F$%K!” she began to tug at her jester hat, twisting and pulling at the fabric limbs until it stung. She didn’t want to cry. Not now. Not with everyone nearby. The goofy horn sound from the censor bar only added to the bitter taste in her mouth. Embarrassed, she bit back the hot tears, and flicked her tongue along her teeth. They were sharp. She wanted to continue throwing this fit. Make a scene, burn down the rest of the forest while she’s at it. 

“Pomni!” Ragatha shouted, from above her cover. Startled, she shuffled backwards from the sudden presence. Tripping over her own feet, she began to fall backwards when a clawed hand reached through the bush and grabbed her arm, pulling her back on her feet.

“You okay?” Zooble asked, walking out of the bush, one arm holding onto their other. Letting go, Zooble popped their arm back into its socket, “Sometimes I wonder if you’re more clumsy than Gangle,”

“Gangle’s not clumsy, she’s just… Accident prone,” Ragatha shrugged . Zooble huffed a small laugh, nodding in agreement. Pomni sniffled and they narrowed their gaze.

“Seriously though, what happened? We heard you shout.” 

“I uh, I stubbed my toe,” she fibbed. Zooble looked down and pointed at the rock they thought was the culprit. Pomni nodded and Zooble picked it up. Feeling its weight in their hand they nodded and walked away. When Pomni looked at Ragatha, she just shrugged.

Pomni walked out from behind the greenery to realize that Ragatha was already on horseback. She tried not to cringe. 

“OW- GOD $#!@MIT!” Somehow, a guilty rock had hit Jax in the ass. She did feel just a little bit better when Zooble lied to Caine about where the rock had come from. 

 

 All that remained of their animals were three horses, those being Sugarbell, Nightnight- who was Kinger’s - and Bubblegum; plus two cows, Mabel and Cattle. The latter being Jax’s cow.

Ragatha gathered all the meat they could carry, wrapping the food in one of the two surviving sleeping bags. Everything else aside from a small wooden crate full of tools were lost to the blaze. Pomni helped Zooble and Gangle onto the cart, while Ragatha and Kinger tied the horses to the axel. Gangle was in charge of holding onto the remaining cows' reins- all ropes lost in the fire. Caine led Bubblegum with Jax. Pomni sat on the back of the wagon, trading off with Gangle when her arms got tired. It wasn’t all bad, the two of them talking about their past experiences camping. Turns out they both had a lot in common- neither having gone since they were kids, but both admittedly loving the lack of light pollution. Once the conversation ventured towards horoscopes however, Zooble took over, having a lot more to comment on than Pomni.

It took them the rest of the day to reach the next location. In the distance a mountain broke from the black woods that surrounded its peak like soldiers in waiting. Daring them to step foot into their kingdom. A blanket of snow covered everything in between, stretching out for miles past the borderline. Snowflakes gently fluttered through the air, a few crossing over the border to melt away upon impact. They all decided to split up to hunt, everyone taking one of the tools to use. Pomni felt foolish for trying to hunt with an axe, opting instead to chop up dead trees into logs for firewood.

Somehow Zooble and Gangle caught two rabbits and a scrawny old owl with a rack and hoe. Kinger had come back with a bow and arrow, managing to score a very scrawny coyote with them. After they ate they set up camp, having Caine flip the wagon onto its side to shield them from any strong winds that crossed the border. Due to the limited sleeping bags they figured they needed more wood for the campfire– enough to keep them warm through the night and next one in the snow. Pomni volunteered to find more, enjoying the simple task of picking up sticks and twigs and hauling them back to the camp in multiple trips. By the time she finished with her last hole she spotted an extra thick branch, just begging to be grabbed. Putting down her bundle, she approached the tree. While the tree appeared dead it was sturdy. 

After a good couple of yanks, the branch came free. She stumbled back a few steps stopping once her foot fell and lodged itself into the earth. She removed her foot from the small hole when out popped a snake. Quick to bite her in the leg before going right back in its hole-

EE ERR

POMNI WAS BITTEN BY A SNAKE.

A sudden jolt of heat seized her leg, and bile involuntarily bubbled up her throat. She vomited. Twice. By the end of it her entire body felt hot and tongue tasted bitter. When she turned her head, it sent a rush of twisting pain to her stomach. Only barely holding back the new wave of nausea. She dared not move again, notting even to let go of the branch in her grasp. So, she just looked forward. 

Off in the distance she could see Kinger and his horse in the nearby field, standing alone in the snow, watching the snowflakes fall. He reached his hands out, letting the snowflakes land onto the palms, and melt away. She tried to call out to Kinger, but her voice died in her throat just as she spotted Caine. He was alone, behind a tree, watching Kinger as well. 

EE ERR

POMNI HAS DYSENTERY.

“God d%#$!it!” she gasped. Caine whipped around and finally noticed her, rushing over to her aid.

“Do you require assistance, Starlight?” 

“... Yeah,” He picked her up by the jester hat, causing her to hiss threw her teeth. He paused, putting her back down gently.

“Does it- hurt when I pull your hat?”

“Yes,” she admitted, still holding tightly to the tree branch. Everything hurt.

“Hmm… Do you think it hurts Jax when I carry him by the ears?”

“Probably-”

“Please rate it!”

“... Minus five spoons. It feels like you're pulling my hair out,” she admitted. Frowning, he scratched his head. Her stomach flipped, “Actually, I think if you touch me again I might puke,” and again, “Scratch that. I definitely will,”

“Hmm,” Caine began tapping his foot, “How should I… carry you then?” 

“I, uh…” she glanced down at the wood in her hands, “I guess you can drag me by this?” Without a word he picked up the branch and began pulling. Her feet dug into the earth, leaving a trail behind them as he pulled her along. Setting her besides Jax under the wagon she noticed he was fast asleep. That or pretending, but aside from Kinger it looked like the rest were asleep as well. Her heart ached at the lonely image of Kinger being out there all alone. A whistling breeze rattled the wagon, blankets stuttering in the breeze. She glanced up at Caine, who sat in the entrance of the makeshift shelter. Some small snowflakes had made their way past the border, and as the wind died he reached out to catch them. 

EER ERRRRR

Ragatha sprang awake, the fading echo of an amber alert left her mind as she read the description. 

POMNI HAS DIED FROM DYSENTERY.

With a muted sigh, Ragatha forced herself up. Stretching her arms she could feel the stitches in her pull just the right way to loosen her limbs. Lastly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she turned to the rest of the group

“Good morning, you guys!” she cheered, clasping her hands together over her heart, “Ready to get this day started?” A collection of groans was her response. Tight lipped, she turned and walked over to the newly dubbed animals (courtesy of Gangle) The Corpse and Horses.

 Jax had been elegantly laid over Bubblegum, arms crossed behind his head, and legs dangling over its sides. On the flip side, Pomni, embarrassed, was on the ground, fingers slowly being peeled off a branch by Caine. His tongue peeked out of the side of his narrowed gaze at the task.

“Morning, dollface.” Jax greeted. Her mouth quirked, hands on hips.

“You’re looking awfully comfy for a corpse. How’d you get like that? I thought you couldn’t move?"

“Caine posed me,” Jax lolled.

“Only because you wouldn’t stop complaining about how you ‘couldn’t fall asleep on the ground’- OW! ” Pomni winced as her arm snapped back after finally being pulled free from their death grip. Tossing the branch aside, Caine went to pick Pomni up by her arms. Ragatha instinctively bent over and grabbed Pomni by the legs. 

“Let me help,” she smiled.

“Why, thank you!” Caine cheered. Together they set a sheepish Pomni upon Bubblegum's shoulders, arms dangling and face pressed into the side of the horse. Ragatha gave Bubblegum an affectionate scratch along its neck, before finally readjusting Jax to be laid out next to Pomni.

“...How's it hanging?” he asked.

“This is hell,” Pomni muttered.

“Took you long enough to realize,”

“Are you going to talk the entire time?”

“Whaaaat? ME? Nah. I’ll be as quiet as a corpse!” he snickered.

“Do you want me to button his lips, Pomni?” Ragatha offered as Caine rolled them over so they could at least look at things as they traveled… Jax looked at her with a wrinkled brow.

“Button his lips?” Caine queried, motioning to her button eye, “Why would anyone want to do that?” A chorus of responses came from the others.

“Because he’s annoying .” Zooble.

“Kinda thoughtless?” Kinger.

“Really mean,” Gangle.

“Like the rest of you are a bundle of roses. Ragatha’s-” Ragatha tugged Jax by the ear.

“ Able and ready to get back to the adventure!” Lifting his head with one hand she pulled out a napkin from her dress pocket, and offered it to Caine. She couldn’t really remember when she discovered that the front patch of her dress skirt was a pocket but it seemed to come in handy once Jax joined the party all those years ago.

“It's easy, I just use a handkerchief and tie it around his mouth, here,” Caine’s eyes flickering from hers to Jax, to Pomni and back again. He took the cloth from her hand, and pocketed it into his inside coat pocket.

“Thank you, Ragatha. I appreciate it! If he proves himself to be a pest any further, I’ll make use of this! But for now, I think we’ll do without,” He smiled and with a tip of his hat turned his attention elsewhere.

Ragatha tried not avert her eyes, she really did. For all intents and purposes, she never tried to get too close to Caine. The way he moved and acted around them up until this point was always one thing in her eyes. 

LOUD.

Caine was always loud . He could be pushy, defensive, excitable, but irreversibly loud . But she could work with that. She knew how to play along. Taking his energy and converting it to her own - using it to her advantage to help take care of the others help keep up a positive mindset. Did it work? No, not always, but if there’s one thing she learned in her lifetime it's that sometimes you gotta fake it till you make it. Like now. She didn’t say it but this new side of Caine, one that thanked and spoke gently and even willing to be in the adventure with them- she was starting to feel… Less? Much like Pomni after the manner, this sudden change of character had her stumped. How is she supposed to feel when one moment Pomni’s running for her life leaving her alone for hours, gets stuck under the map of their first real adventure, to suddenly be thanking her and appreciating her after what was a couple hours of being left alone with Kinger of all people? What was her role if not the supportive one? The level headed, positive one? The responsible one.

What's my line?

She shook her head. It wasn’t worth the added stress to think about. After all, It's not like anything has really changed. 

The journey through the snowy region was brutal. Like traversing through a vast white ocean, the snow laid thick across the meadow and the deeper they traveled the colder it felt. Even as they reached the woods the pine trees barely provided relief. In fact it only made it harder, as small pits and overgrown roots would snag on the wheels. 

Gangle had tripped and broke her mask upon the back of the wagon while helping Ragatha to push it out of a particularly deep slope. Afterwards her tears would freeze her eyes shut, leaving her as helpless as a blind kitten. Her heart ached at the sight, she just couldn’t catch a break. Finally they arrived at the base of the mountain, and, while eager to climb it to reach the other side, she knew they needed a break. Her own legs were stiff from the freeze, not helping the fact that none of them had ate anything that day, so their pace was pathetic at best. They set up camp underneath a cliff edge, using the last shreds of the wagon to shield them from the biting wind.

Even as the sun set the snow lit up the land perfectly, as if it was only cloudy out. Zooble called everyone together after they finished setting up, icicles had formed on the base of their chin, and each movement they made looked as creaky as an unoiled tinman.

“We’re out of food,”

“What?!” Take a breath, “How- How is that possible? We had two whole cows left!” 

“Yeah, but they’re frozen,” Zooble showed off the cube iced covered carcasses. Dropping them they made a solid square imprint in the snow. 

“I’m sure we can eat them frozen-” Kinger attempted, in whatever way he could, to take a bite, “ Ah. Eh feelth like ah chipped ah toof,”

“... You don’t have teeth?” Zooble questioned.

“Oh. Right. Weird.” Gangle then raised her hand. She was fully wrapped in one of the two sleeping bags, only her arm peeking out from underneath.

“Can we go hunting maybe?” she asked. 

“Maybe… Or we can kill some of the horses we have now?” Zooble suggested. Ragatha felt like someone dropped her in the frozen lake.

“I- think that's a valid idea, but-!” she scrambled, taking a glance at Sugarbell, and gripped her skirt in her fingers, twisting it, “If we do that, how can we travel up the mountain? Let alone pull the wagon,” 

“I’m with Ragatha on that. If I have to walk through the snow I think I’d die of hypothermia,” Gangle whimpered. 

“What would change? It’s not like you aren’t already dead weight,” Jax smirked. Zooble chucked one of the cubes at his face, knocking him over from his position that Caine had just set up for him. Pomni snickered.

“Why can’t we just dethaw them over a fire?” Kinger asked Pomni. 

“I think that would cause an avalanche. It the bottom layer of snow melts, then the rest of the snow thats being held up by that will come crashing down over us,”

“Oooooh, yeah that makes sense,” He nodded, picking the cube up and off Jax’s face. Flattened onto the icy ground it popped back into shape, swirls rotated in his eyes, much to Ragathas chagrin.

“... I hate it here,”

“Well, I guess that just leaves us with the one option,” Ragatha sighed, taking Kinger’s bow and arrow in hand. Just as she was about to leave she spotted Sugarbell’s watching her. Lump in her throat she made a quick detour over to give her horse a quick hug. Her horse. Her NPC. Made for her, and named by her. She rushed back to Zooble’s side and together they headed back out into the snow. 

“Maybe I can pick the meat out!” Kinger shouted, rushing over to the box supplies. 

“God, I wish this adventure was over already,” Pomni sighed. Being ‘dead’ in this game wasn’t just boring beyond belief, but the literal sensations of feeling almost nothing was starting to get to her. When she first died she felt a sudden shock of pain travel up her spine, before it followed up with a ‘my foot fell asleep but its actually my whole body’ feeling. By this point it was almost nauseating. All she wanted was some peace and quiet now. 

“WHAT?!” Caine shrieked, “What could possibly possess you to say that?!” He looked like he was about to pull his teeth out, “I’ve followed the requests down to the pixel!”

Kinger pulled out the pickaxe, and shuffled over to the popsicled meats. 

“Caine, ugh- look at me! I can’t do anything like this- I’m literally dead weight!”

“Dead body,” Jax corrected her.

“Shut up, Jax- the point is, it's not very fun to just sit around and watch the others struggle to finish this game.”

“Speak for yourself, stretch, I’m having a blast!”

“Shut up, Jax!” She hissed. Kinger raised the tool high above his head before putting all he had into the swing, “The point is, I’m tired and just want to be able to have my autonomy back,”

“ Well how was I supposed to know that?! ” Upon impact the pickaxe ricocheted off the ice, out of Kinger’s hands and burrowed into the roofing above them. The stone cracked like glass, flaking off as cracks slowly grew. 

Then they stopped.

For a moment, everyone was still, “Well that-”

Instantly the ceiling above them collapsed. Pomni was encased in a sheer solid weight of ice and snow and rubble. The stone mixed in had pinned and pinched her body in painful ways, tingling numbness aside. Trying to dislodge them didn’t work. Her heart went still. She couldn’t move. Opening her eyes she could only see a dull grey. Unable to move, all she could hear was the sound of blood rushing through her ears. What should she do? What could she do? Paralyzed, the hopelessness of her situation dawned on her.

What if they can’t find her? What if Caine was so angry he decided to leave her there? Why her? Did she deserve this? This constant hell? What if she was dead? What if this was her eternal punishment?!

It's not fair! All I did was-!

A sudden hand pulled her from her thoughts. Literally. Fingers wrapping around her own, with a strong yank, she broke through the surface of the rubble, meeting the uneasy gaze of Caine.  

“Thank you,” the words spilled from her lips but were nonetheless honest. He quickly looked her over before laying her on the ground, and continuing his rescue. Arm extending underneath the slush for someone else, his upper jaw furrowed in concentration.

“I’ve gotcha.” This time he plucked Jax from the powder, who gasped for air, ears uncurling from each other before going limp, followed by Kinger, then Gangle. The latter two were still alive somehow in the game. If only a bit frosty. 

“Oh my goodness!” Ragatha shrieked, “What happened?!” She ran so fast she tripped over a stone in the snow, sliding face first over to the players. She had with her a dead fox in hand. A young one by the look of it. Caine stared at it as Ragatha dropped it into the snow, focus on a headcount, before singling out Jax.

“What. Did you. Do ?” 

“Oh, so everything that goes wrong is my fault?” 

“Last I checked it's because of your actions that made us lose everything in the first place!”

“Last I checked, I can’t hold a pickaxe,”

“A pickaxe-?” dumbfounded she stood up straight as Kinger shuffled closer, slouched ever so slightly.

“I’m sorry, Ragatha, I-I think it was my fault,” 

“How?” 

“Well- I don’t really remember but-” Ragatha laughed.

“Of cOURSE you don’t! Since when do you anymore?” Stomping away from the group she scoured the top surface of the snow, “Where are the horses?” she whipped her head. Left. Right. Any rage fully replaced with worry, “Sugarbell?” she whispered, before shouting, “Sugarbell!” 

Head low, she stood alone. Shoulders, taunt like a tight string her fists curled around her sides. They watched. Gangle wobbled a step forward, before Kinger shuffled through the crowd. He gently reaches an arm out to Ragatha. She flinched.

“I’m really sorry, Ragatha…” She sniffed before unclenching her fists. With heavy steps they returned to the group - hand in hand. There she sat between Gangle and Kinger, all huddled together under the last blanket that Gangle had found. 

Pomni and Jax were dead, and, thankfully, couldn't feel the cold. Caine floated beside Pomni, his gaze having been fixed on the dead fox Ragatha had returned with, now long forgotten.

“Caine?” Pomni started.

“Why?” he whispered back. Pomni found she wished he would look at her. He continued to stare at the fox.

“Why what?”

“Why was she so… distraught?” he clarified.

Oh great, here we go again… 

Pomni sighed,“ ...She’s sad, Caine. To her this- its like losing a pet,” He picked up the fox, looking at it with near fury.

“...A pet? It’s just an NPC! A tool used to help you get through the adventure! It's not real,” He emphasized by turning and shaking the dead animal in front of her. To her shock the expression he gave looked… Well, he looked sad. His brow furrowed, eyes scrunched as if trying not to cry. His hands shook slightly as he uncurled them from fists. He adjusted his hold on the fox, cradling it.

“It’s just an NPC…” he whispered mournfully. Her blood could’ve melted the powder she sat in. Out of all times, out of all the adventures- ALL THE CREATIONS- he was upset because of a dead fox that Ragatha had caught. The urge to bite the bastard was never more prevalent in her life.

HOW DARE HE-

“CAINE-” as soon as she started, she stopped. He sat down. Cross legged, in front of her in the snow, adjusting his hold on the fox and cradling it. The furry subsided, replaced with an overwhelming empathy. 

“NPCs… You remember when I brought back Gummigoo?”

“...Yes,” he nodded.

“...Humans- We can grow attached to anything that brings us comfort or joy-”

“Yeah, one lady married a roller coaster in the real world. And another the Great Wall of China,” Jax said.

“That's- no way, really?”

“Yeah, s’f$#!&ing weird, right?”

“So, you wanted to marry Gummigoo?” Caine asked.

“I- NO -” 

Oh my god .

“Sure did! She was planning all the names for the sour patch kids they wanted!”

“Jax is lying -”

“Caine, listen. Humans have this thing in our brain- it's called the hypothalamus-” 

“-that's besides the point- I didn’t want to marry-”  

“It's the part of our brain that makes us feel things for people-!” Pomni would pop a blood vessel if she could.

“Like coding?” Caine interrupted.

“Sure. Anyway, humans are stupid, and sometimes they can start to care for animals and objects the way they would a human. That's why Pomni wanted to mar-” Caine snapped his fingers, handkerchief around his mouth in an instant. Shocked, Pomni looked to Caine, eerily tense. She quietly waited. 

“While I find your biology incredibly insightful, I’d rather not be told lies whilst getting answers,” he explained, “Now, you were saying?”

Honestly, she wasn’t sure she knew what she was saying. Somehow she was able to explain the concept of physical pain, with spoons, but to further explain the concept of grief? Could an AI really understand the complexity of human emotions? She scrunched what would’ve been her nose at the query. 

“Umm. Well… We think they’re real… if this place has to be our home… we want the things that make it that way- to stay with us,” she concluded.

“Hmm,” he didn’t respond. Quietly looking around. A reflection of light danced across his eyes, he stilled for only a millisecond before nodding, “I see…” 

He snapped his fingers, the fox coming alive, and leaping out of his hands, jumping off her face and into the woods. She fell over and rubbed her face- before sitting up to look at Caine. She could move. The shuddering sensation of the ‘dead’ simulation wore off. Caine sighed, standing up and mocked, pushing up his sleeves, rubbing his hands together and plunging them under the snow. With a grunt out popped Nightnight and Sugarbell, then twice more bringing back each of their horses. Dusting off his hands he looked to the group under the blanket, snapping his fingers and giving them each a warm jacket. 

“I think it's time we speedrun this adventure, don’t you agree?”

Notes:

AYYYY YOU MADE IT TO THE END OF THE OREGON TRAIL! Congratulations! Ya know, if this was The Amazing Digital Freakshow, or some other worse twisted AU they probably would've ended up like the Donner Party (if you know, you know). Anyway- I HAVE A TUMBLR! Follow me there or join me on my discord server to pick my mind and see sneak peak sketches for future chapter art! (as well as check out my own original webseries called PARANOiD) ;)

Discord: https://discord.gg/RBe8mmaBkh
Tumblr: @mikiib

Chapter 6: UPDATE AND ART

Summary:

SOME SCRAPPED ART FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTERS! + MY LIFE UPDATE AAAHAHAHA

Hey y'all! Sorry for the radio silence! NGL I was super nervous that my characterization for Jax was too OOC for this upcoming chapter so i kindaaaaaaa held off on editing it. LITTLE DID I KNOW I WAS SO ON THE MONEY?! (post episode 6 watch, my god) Fear not- you'll get a taste of it here:




I'd also like to say: THANK YOU SO MUCH for the support and comments! Just like any creator seeing the feedback in comments, fanart and the rare few who've joined my discord, it makes me feel like I'm truely making something of value. Also, as to the reason of my radio silence, I have been sick on and off all summer, and recently had to take my dog to the ER. It was a heavy blow to my heart and psyche, but he's made so much progress in the last month and a half on his new medication, so fingers crossed he keeps going strong! I also have been working A LOT of hours even while sick- gotta make rent and pay off that ER vet bill, ya feel? Around that I'm also the voice actor for Gangle and Zooble in a Digital Wonderland AU you might've seen floating around (You know that Digital Hallusination Wonderland Cover? Thats the one). I'm actually going to Kadabracon in Texas to meet up with them this September! Gotta hurry up and make myself not sick for that. No one wants to be the cause of conflu.

I've also been working on my own original web series called PARANOiD- currently I've got these next 2 weeks off for myself to get the art assets for episode 1 to be finished (as well as finish this next chapter) Have the elevator pitch:
A screwball teenage paranormal investigator has to uncover a decades old serial killer with her supernatural classmates who have been gaslighting her about the supernatural being real since her childhood. 

This chapter may or may not be deleted once I post the REAL chapter 6, but in the mean time heres the fic update:
I went over all the previous chapters till this point, tidied up some grammar and tweaked a few character interactions! Have some artworks for future planned scenes / some doodles that just didn't make the cut!

 

Notes:

Check me out on other platforms: https://linktr.ee/mikiib
Join my Discord: https://discord.gg/RBe8mmaBkh