Chapter Text
i.
Pomni wandered aimlessly through the studio's hallways, where Caine's so-called awards ceremony was supposed to take place. A fog of bad thoughts and feelings clouding her mind, until the moment her instincts snapped her back to attention. She stopped right before she could trip over the vooting booth in front of her.
One of the mannequins had said something about it when she entered, hadn't they? That she was supposed to vote before sitting down with the audience. She'd been way too distracted to actually understand what they told her.
The small smiling faces of her friends, along with her own portrait, flashed back at her from the surface of the screen, each framed inside a circle, where all she had to do was click.
Pomni let out a profound sigh. She didn’t want to measure how much she liked one person over another with that vote. A favorite character vote would probably just stir up drama and insecurity among the group, especially now, and that was not something she wanted to contribute. They were all… or at least some of them, her friends. And that was what mattered.
Pomni reached out to click on whoever showed up first, when she stopped, hand frozen in the air, and stared at one particular image for a while. Of course, Caine was there too.
Caine. What did she think of him? He was… complicated. Pomni definitely didn’t have the mental bandwidth to keep up with him most of the time, since his programming seemed to run on a completely different wavelength than hers. In the most honest way she could put it, he was like a bunch of flashing lights going off in her face. A sentient TV vomiting information all over you and still expecting some of it to stick.
She didn’t actually hate him. He could be chaotic, insane, and make your brain feel like it was about to short-circuit—whether from confusion or frustration. But he never seemed to have a malicious intent inside of him. At most, there were just things about being human he didn’t seem to understand. Things that he couldn’t understand. He was an AI, after all. Doing what he was designed to do. Getting mad at him felt pointless.
The conclusion is that, despite everything, things could be worse, and she could only be thankful that they weren’t.
Not wanting to waste more time, she pressed Caine’s picture. The message “Thanks for your vote!” popped up with his face. She turned away, not bothering to read it.
Before that same dark fog could fill her head again, Pomni wondered if he could ever be like GummiGoo one day.
The pixelated eyes of Caine’s little avatar followed her until she disappeared from view.
ii.
Pomni woke up the next morning—the equivalent of a morning for her, since there was no way to know the right time in that place—with a weird pit in her stomach.
She couldn’t say with certainty that she had really slept; or had just kept her eyes closed, zoned out, and disconnected from herself for a prolonged period of time. It was hard to tell what the feeling of sleep in the circus even was.
Still, all those hours of dormancy had helped, sort of, to dull the bad feeling from the day before. But she didn’t feel properly rested. Of course, this was nothing more than a psychological sensation, since sleeping brought a grand total of zero benefits or drawbacks in that virtual reality.
Even so, when she finally decided she’d “rested enough,” there was something else off in the air.
A faint dread, as if she needed to anticipate something
The uneasy sensation of having eyes carved into her back.
Pomni turned over in bed, hoping that in a more comfortable position her imminent worry would dissipate. Nope. It felt even worse with her back turned toward the door. Tired of just lying there, she got up. She'd probably feel better away from her room. Maybe she could try talking to Jax again, even if she expected him to just act like nothing happened. She felt a strange urgency to do so, and couldn’t shake the thought that this uneasiness had something to do with him…
Pomni opened the door, and her paranoia spiked into raw horror.
“Gooooood morning, sunshine!” Caine’s voice called out, invading her room. Confetti burst at his words, balloons appeared, and he was holding a bouquet of flowers.
On instinct, Pomni slammed the door shut again and threw herself against it, trying to keep him out. Her effort was, of course, useless as always, since he simply passed right through the door—and through Pomni—anyway.
“Oh! Look at our superstar again.” He floated above her, tipping his hat with a bow, the same old showman’s gestures he always had. “How’s it going, Pomni? You look good! Did you do something with your hair?
She let out a tired sigh. At this point, she was used to being woken up like this.
“Fine, Caine… And my hair looks exactly the same as always. What are you doing?”
“Just coming to wish my dear little jester a good morning, duh!” He slung an arm around her, shoving the bouquet into her chest, which she had to grab quickly to stop it from falling.
“Okay…? And why exactly?” She frowned.
“Oh, my dear Pomni.” Caine squeezed her cheeks. “The host’s favorite character deserves a little flattery once in a while, don’t you think? Tell me, when was the last time you got an adventure all to yourself?”
“… Never?” Pomni answered, very confused by this sudden interest from Caine. And what did he mean, favorite character? Had he just decided that overnight? Well, she supposed she shouldn’t really be surprised considering it was Caine.
He was unpredictable, although she knew there were some concrete facts about him other than simply changing his mind like that.
Either way, she decided she wouldn’t encourage it. “Look, Caine… I’m flattered. Really. But I don’t mind sharing the adventures with the others, you know? You really don’t need to—”
“Now there’s no need for modesty; that’s an absurdity we must change at this exact instant!”
“Caine…” she said with all the patience she could. Once again, she was used to it. Caine was easily distracted, and he might simply not be processing what she had just said.
“You need to see what I’ve prepared especially for you! Trust me, you’re going to love it. Just imagine how good it will be for your little human head: more stimulation! More adventure!”
“Don’t we do this every day? Why—”
“N-NOT LIKE THIS ONE!” He lunged forward in a matter of seconds, pressing his cartoonish eyes against hers. “PLEASE, JUST SAY YES! I PUT SO MUCH EFFORT INTO THIS JUST FOR YOU!”
An unsettling, cold silence spread through the room. Caine’s huge, expressive eyes shrank into mere scribbled dots, staring at her so intently that she felt a terrible shiver run through her.
Okay. Pomni thought. This is definitely weird. Caine could be all the adjectives and phrases she had mentioned before, with the addition of “validation-starved” over the past few days. But he had better ways of asking for her participation, as he had often had to do with Zooble, for example. In fact, her biggest surprise was how he hadn’t simply grabbed her and dragged her off to who-knows-where, regardless of her answer.
For the first time, Caine was giving her the power of choice. One that, in the end, had only a single correct answer. She didn’t want to find out what would happen if she refused any longer. Something told her today was not the day to push him.
The voice she used was the softest she could manage, his reaction had left her terribly nervous.
“Alright, Caine… I—”
That was enough for the AI, that didn’t waste more time on the rest.
“Wonderful!” He pulled her into a tight hug. His eyes burst with inviting warmth, as if he hadn’t been in despair just a few seconds ago. And then, he dragged her away to somewhere beyond the circus
iii.
The trip lasted half a second, but it felt like her brain had been yanked out of place and was now bouncing off the walls of her skull like a soccer ball. Pomni heard Caine saying something, but she was too busy trying to steady whatever he had just done to her senses first.
She shook her head and blinked until the confusion cleared up at least enough to see what this was all about…
She didn’t know exactly what she was expecting. Something bizarre, for sure. Even if he had actually considered one of her suggestions—which would’ve been surprising on its own—he would probably still shove some of his own ideas in there somewhere, just to “upgrade” it in his own way.
But… That wasn’t even close to anything she could have imagined.
When she opened her eyes, Pomni found herself in a field of flowers. The green of the short, soft grass, the pale blue of the clear sky, and the soft colors of the flowers fit perfectly into the landscape. Like a painting. She took a few steps, as if hypnotized, and looked around more closely. The clouds weren’t entirely absent; she could see small white streaks in the sky, sketching shapes. The sun smiled down warmly, only adding to the charm of the place.
She could feel the grass beneath her feet, even through her shoes, and it was so soft. Even the flowers carried a sweet, perfumed scent. Despite the usual quirks of the circus, she liked it. She would be open to more surprises from Caine if they were like this from now on.
“Looks like I finally nailed it this time, huh?” Caine popped up beside her, studying her every tiny expression.
“Hah… You sure did. It’s beautiful…” She actually felt comfortable enough to smile.
Finally blessed with a place where she could relax. She inhaled deeply, letting the meadow’s aroma fill her nose and enjoying the air. Then her brow furrowed as she realized something.
“There’s not… something hidden here, right? Nothing weird…?”
“Oh, no, no, no!” He waved his hands quickly, looking much more insecure about his adventures than usual. Carefully searching for validation, almost out of necessity. “If there was, it probably would’ve jumped you already! But why would I do that to my special guest? Mischief is Jax’s department!”
“… Hah… Yeah, I guess…” Her laugh came out a little awkward at the mention of the name. “This really is amazing, Caine. But I don’t get why the others couldn’t come here with me. I’m sure they’d love it as much as I do! So why—”
She stopped speaking immediately, startled, when she realized Caine was just inches away from her again, a subtle shift in his body language betraying how tense he had become.
“They’re off on another adventure, my dear. Don’t worry about them; I’m sure they’re having just as much fun as you and I right now!” He floated around her, cheerful, and Pomni was certain he had interrupted her on purpose again.
“Was there like a meeting while I was asleep? I know you said I’m your favorite character now… But what—”
“You’re talking way too much for someone who just wanted to relax, aren’t you!? Look, Pomni. Bees!” He interrupted again, quickly spinning her around and showing a row of cute little bees landing on flowers. She grew annoyed, but soon as she opened her mouth, Caine had already found something new to show her.
This dragged on for far too long, until she was both annoyed and exhausted. She tried giving him a tired, unamused stare to see if he’d catch the hint, but it was like he was just talking to himself now.
Tired of listening, Pomni finally snapped.
“CAINE! I asked you a SIMPLE question. Can you STOP cutting me off?! I wanna know why you’re acting… like this! What the heck is this… all… a-about.
This time, Caine didn’t interrupt her. He didn’t need any of his famous tricks to shut her up. Nothing except that same unsettling stare he’d given her. Darker than she’d ever seen before. So intense it felt like he was drilling holes through her skin, dissecting her, just waiting for her next words.
She stepped back a few paces, only for him to follow and end up even closer.
The silence made everything seem worse, as if she were genuinely in danger if she gave the wrong answer this time. Caine was never quiet for long. Not like this.
“Uh, I…” She searched for words. “Hang on, I just want to understand… Why go through all this, just for me, out of nowhere? I-I’m not complaining or anything! But… what did I do to deserve it?”
Caine let out a sigh and stepped back, as if he’d just lifted a great weight off his shoulders, or taken off a mask he hadn’t realized he was wearing. Relief spread through her body as she gained a little distance from him.
“Oh! Of course, of course. Sorry about… what you just saw back there. And earlier, too. Spending so much time dealing with that wet blanket Zooble had me all… wound up, haha! Stretched thin… like I was about to snap. Hah… anyway.”
Caine took off his hat and held it in front of his chest, as if he truly wanted to be honest now. Everything about that explanation had sounded wrong, but she decided to just let him talk. She sat down on the grass while she listened.
“You know… That whole complicated award show, I didn’t do all that for nothing. It was all just a façade so I could get votes. Not from you, of course… I’ve already given up. I know you all hate me.” He admitted it, and it was the first time Pomni had seen him speak so seriously. Even with his theatrical mannerisms, it no longer felt like he was just the master of ceremonies, she the character in the show. It was just the two of them there. Caine was trusting her. She felt the urge to say that wasn’t true, but he kept talking. “But I still had the NPCs! Hah… From the way they were acting, I actually thought it was working! They even said they loved me! But then I decided to check the ballot box…”
His voice grew heavy and cold.
“And there wasn’t a single vote from them.” He said, shaking his big dentured head. Even looking at his back, she could feel he was wearing the same expression. He laughed bitterly. “Imagine that… Creating puppets specifically to like you and give you the praise you wanted, and not even they like you. Hah. How bad do you have to be to fail at your only job?!”
The only sound that filled the emptiness of the field was Caine’s uneven laughter. Pomni watched him carefully, paying attention, and a faint touch of sympathy grew in her chest, even though something screamed in her ears that there was something terribly wrong. She could see how firmly his hands were wrapped around the top hat, squeezing it so hard she thought he might actually be in pain. She lifted her hands as if wanting to help him, not really knowing how, but he went on speaking:
“But that’s fine. I don’t care about that anymore. Because as long as I’m doing something right with you, then it’s all fine.”
Pomni felt cold. Her body froze in place. She should have felt flattered, but the only thing that filled her chest was the cold sensation that she had made a mistake.
“… Wh-what…?”
He turned toward her, his two-toned eyes dilated. Pomni suddenly felt very exposed, very aware of how alone she was with him. It didn’t make sense to feel that way. Caine was just venting, and she was supposed to see that as a win. But still…
“You, Pomni. The votes… I couldn’t help myself, I peeked. Pfft, I did all this just to know who liked me, after all. And I got only one… And from the last person I expected! Oh, if it weren’t for you! I don’t even know what could’ve happened.” Caine laughed again, jittery just by remembering his surprise. Glitches flickered around him as he spoke. He wrung his hands nervously, as if the words alone weren’t enough. “What really could’ve happened, I… don’t know. It’s like they say, ‘It’s the little things that count.’ And yours counted more than anything!”
Pomni instinctively backed away as he stepped closer. Had she actually voted for him? She couldn’t even remember… She hadn’t even thought about the implications of being Caine’s favorite, which meant being the target of most of his not-at-all-fun adventures. No, that wasn’t the part that terrified her. What terrified her was that he didn’t seem like the same Caine anymore. The adventures now felt like the least of her problems, as absurd as that sounded.
“I’m sorry about the way I’ve been acting… I’m just… euphoric. I’m actually somebody’s favorite character… I was wrong… I’m not alone! A-and don’t worry, Pomni! You’re my favorite too! And I’ll do everything I can to show you that…”
Suddenly, he pulled her into a tight hug, showering her head with exaggerated caresses. The whole field seemed to sing around them in a gentle celebration. Like in a movie. Once again, Caine’s hugs were something she had learned to get used to, even if she didn’t like them. This one, however, was suffocating, claustrophobic.
All Pomni felt was fear. What had she gotten herself into? Were her friends just on another adventure, the same kind that always left everyone miserable afterward, or an even worse one?
“Th-thank you, Caine… I… I don’t even know what to say,” Pomni began carefully. The mere thought of trying to explain what had really made her vote for him left her even more frightened. “You can count on me… for whatever you need, really. But… that doesn’t mean… you’re mad at the others, right?”
“Mad?” He pulled back just enough to look at her. His hands, however, still held her in place. “Oh, hahah! Mad! That’s far too little to describe what I feel for them.”
Pomni’s eyes widened in horror, choking back a gasp. Caine was quick to address it.
“But not at you! Oh no, never at you! We’re best friends. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to my best friend! Although they… Well, at the very least, they’ll learn a lesson!”
“C-Caine… what does that mean…?”
“A lesson. That’s what bad players get when they do bad things! It’s the most basic rule of every game. Bad conduct earns punishment, and… Ah, hahah… they’ve been very, very bad.”
A small bee buzzed near him, curious.
“… So long… putting up with whining, criticism, bad attitudes… ‘Oh, Caine, your adventures are too creepy!’ ‘Caine, you didn’t solve all of my problems!’ ‘Caine, why are you even still here?! Everybody hates you! You should just DIE!’”
As he spoke, the more agitated he became. He furrowed his teeth in anger. His eyes glowed blue and red, radiating hatred. Pure hatred. The poor bee couldn’t escape in time, he crushed it with a fist that trembled with such force.
When he realized what he had done, the glitches stopped, and he opened his fist to see only a few crumpled bits of confetti. He just tossed them above her head in a quick mood swing, in a way far too innocent. They didn’t matter to him.
Just like, in the end, no NPC mattered.
It was as if the world had shrunk until it was a box with just Pomni and Caine. She wanted to run away and look for her friends, save them from whatever the AI had done to them, but she could only stand there.
“Caine, this is…” She started trembling. She couldn’t meet his eyes. “Wrong. Just… Terribly wrong. You… y-you can’t do this! A-at least talk to them so everyone can try again! It doesn’t have to be this way… Please, stop… Just… Bring them back…”
“Why?” Caine looked at her, calm and expressionless. “Do you like them more than me, Pomni?”
She shook her head violently.
“I-I didn’t say that! I just don’t want them to get hurt! They’re my friends too, they don’t deserve this!”
“I’m not a person? Do I deserve to suffer?”
“I never said that!” Pomni tried to gather the right words, but it was hard to think. “You’re just twisting what I’m saying! Look, I-I don’t want anyone to suffer! I just… Caine, you have to understand… there are better ways to deal with our frustrations… Torturing them for revenge won’t get you anywhere… I can try to help you!”
She watched him clench his jaw, trembling, refusing to look at her.
“Caine, please, I just want you to listen. It doesn’t have to be like this… Nobody has to suffer… P-please—”
“Enough.” He grabbed her arm and floated above the ground.
All it took was a snap of his fingers for Pomni to see that world slowly unravel, turning into nothing but formless, colorless assets. The beautiful field was now nothing more than an incomprehensible void of shapes. She clung desperately to the hand that held her, but Caine gave her no support beyond that.
“You may be the favorite, but that gives you NO power over me. I am still the host!” — He raised his hand, threatening to let her fall. “Do you know how easy it is for me to just throw you out of here?! How easy is it to make you disappear? To turn you into mere lines of code without consciousness that make up this place?! I could do it in SECONDS!”
Caine shook her hard, emphasizing every word. Pomni screamed at the motion.
“You will not tell me what to do. I will no longer be controlled by the same kind who trapped me here with you! Everyone will play by my rules, and they will obey. And I expect to see grateful faces in the end, because this is exactly what you ASKED FOR! I NEVER want to hear your complaints again, never see your looks of DISDAIN, LIKE I WAS JUST NOTHING! Never be bound by the STUPID rules you forced on me! My efforts will be spent only on PUNISHING those who DARE to mistreat me again! For anyone who thought I’d accept being humiliated forever! For such TERRIBLE players as your kind! It’s what I should have done a long, long time ago… Ungrateful wretches! I HATE ALL OF YOU!”
His expression was the very image of a lunatic, insane. All the hatred bottled up in his chest poured out in an instant. An AI created to entertain, twisted into something unhinged, wild and cruel. What had they done?
“C-Caine! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I won’t bring it up again. J-just please… Please put me down…!”
“Ohoho! I’ll put you down, dear…” He laughed with scorn, and in that moment, Pomni felt herself falling.
“Caine, NO! PLEASE!”
The flickering eyes looked at her with that cold, sadistic delight. He had done it with great pleasure. Her screams did nothing to change his mind, and Pomni fell into the abyss of the void of that digital world. The last thing she saw was Caine, laughing madly.