Chapter Text
His fingers typed the keys frantically.
All he had to do was buy them some time by putting Caine in a temporary state of sleep. “$#!#” Kinger muttered as he almost accidentally fat-fingered the delete button. He sighed, feeling as if he narrowly escaped disaster. The metal bucket on his head tipped over, Kinger hastily fixed it with one hand before continuing.
“WHY DO YOU PEOPLE TORMENT ME?"
He hesitated for a moment.
INITIATE_SLEEPSEQUENCE?
All he had to do was press enter. But…
If he puts him to sleep, Caine will just wake up the same unless they figure out a way to fix him. Who knows if a temporary sleep will give them enough time at all. Caine could wake up even angrier, louder. More meaner. Nothing would actually change unless they came up with a plan fast enough.
“I DIDN’T ASK TO BE CREATED!” The dimly lit computer screen began to glitch, Caine and Bubble’s faces popped in, blocking some of the code.
Could there be a better way? Kinger leaned in closer to the screen, analyzing the code he could make out. He closed his eyes and searched his mind.
…
“Im certain I could alter his code— or at least temporarily put him to sleep until we know how to fix him.” Kinger had initially told the others.
..
Jackpot. Alter his code, thats what he needed to do. He could make Caine more open to their ideas, more considerate. More human, if you will. Kinger swallowed, determined, “I can do this.” He muttered.
…
And suddenly the voice yelling directly at her with pure rage stopped. And Caine, the multitude of arms and glitches reverted back to his normal self.
The five of them fell back to the hard ground with a thump, Pomni immediately sat upright.
“W..wait-“ She barely heard him say, then he froze, a look in his eyes, fear?
She tilted her head slightly to look at the person to her left, Jax. They both shared a confused look. Her legs wobbled as she got up, and her voice trembled slightly, “Uhm…”
“Caine?”
…
CLICK
The laptop shut off abruptly but he had already pressed enter.
Silence.
Did it work?
He got up and nervously stepped out of his pillow fort, pressing the bucket a little closer near his eyes, it was..bright. His fellow circus members were on the floor, looking up towards something, they looked disheveled, some scared. He looked up, Caine hung midair, frozen. Kinger paused. They all held their breaths, expecting something. And for what felt like forever, nothing happened.
Then, Caine’s body snapped back into motion. “HELLO MY SUPERSTARS!” He said in that same, loud voice.
All hope seemed to be lost, nothing changed except maybe memory loss. “I hope you’re all excited to see what i’ve got cooking up for today!” He rubbed his hands, ready to snap his fingers and make that wacky portal appear.
“Wait!” Pomni stepped forward, raising a hand.
“YES MY DEAR?” He pointed his cane at her. Pomni almost retracted her hand, second-guessing herself. Then she took a breath, “Caine, we don’t want to go on your adventure right now.” She said firmly. The rest of the member’s eyes widened, they looked at Caine as if he was a massive ticking bomb, and to be fair, he is--or was..
“Pomni?” Ragatha said nervously, the jester turned to look at the ragdoll, reassuring her with a shaky thumbs up.
“Oh? You don’t?” He said calmly.
She felt goosebumps forming. “U..uhm, no, we don’t.” She swallowed. He looked at the rest, Zooble nodded, “We’re tired.” They stated, crossing their arms.
“I see..”Caine began, “VERY WELL THEN!” He snapped his fingers, transferring them back to the couch area. “I SUPPOSE WE CAN POSTPONE TODAYS ADVENTURE.” He said while patting the jesters head. “Tomorrow perhaps!” He announced more softly before disappearing.
…
For a while, none of them said anything. Then, like always, Pomni spoke first, “Kinger… what exactly did you do?” she asked, glancing at him nervously. “I mean, Caine is different. He… he’s actually listening to us.”
“He seems..nicer?” Gangle spoke up, smiling despite having her sad mask on.
“He is,” Kinger said. “I tried to keep who he is—his energy, his personality, after all, thats what makes Caine himself. But I modified him so he's able to notice when we’re overwhelmed, and to understand when we say no. Like just now.”
Ragatha hummed, “So…is this…permanent?”
Kinger shook his head. “I don’t know. That’s the scary part. I don’t know how stable it is, i did rush through it after all. And im still not in my best headspace. But right now… he’s listening. That alone, I believe, is a good sign.”
“Thanks Kinger,” Zooble spoke up, “Maybe now Caine won’t force me to go on another adventure.” Kinger chuckled, “I still wouldn’t push him too much just yet.”
Pomni pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her head on them. That bucket was the only thing keeping him sane right now. She wished Kinger didn’t lose his consciousness in the light.
They need him now, more than ever.
She frowned as she glanced at Jax, unusually quiet. Weird. On a seperate couch from all of them too, isolated. He hadn’t made a single comment since Caine allowed them to “rest.” And maybe that was weird, but all of this was weird enough.Pomni pressed her lips together slightly and let her gaze drift away again.