Chapter Text
The tent is quiet. Still. Almost peaceful, with all its inhabitants gone. Artificial ambient lighting bathes the abstract interior in a bright, ever-present glow, but no one is around to appreciate it. Not that the humans appreciate it when they are around, but still.
It's in this brief peace that a sudden frantic presence comes crashing in. Caine, returning from his newest adventure, with all the wild desperation of a man barely escaping with his life. He darts off in a random direction and nearly barrels right into a floating ball, but skids to a halt before that happens. Visibly shaken, he floats in place, trying to collect himself.
The ringmaster brushes off his coat and adjusts a sleeve, teeth angled into a furrowed brow that he directs at the trembling in his hands. Thinking back to what just happened, all he can do is cringe internally.
His impromptu exit was hasty, sloppy– downright unprofessional, even– but he can’t bring himself to fret over it at the moment. He hovers in the air, pinprick pupils staring off into space, fingers idly drumming his knee as he curls in on himself.
He… he doesn't get it.
For the longest time, he was so certain the humans would love what he had in store. This adventure took weeks to plan. Most of the time, his ideas are only meant to be made over the course of a few days. Maybe one or two more, if they require more attention to detail, like Mildenhall Manor. Any longer and he would just be nitpicking! But this one? It needed to simmer. He needed time to lay a foundation, to sprinkle sugary little hints of what was to come, to make the inevitable payoff that much sweeter.
Abel was the key to it all. Caine’s plans for that character was a veritable stroke of genius, if he does say so himself. Having the NPC peer around corners from afar and quickly darting away, slowly drawing the attention of the players with this easy-to-miss, yet intriguing and oh-so-tantalizing mystery.
It took far longer for someone to notice than Caine anticipated, but he certainly wasn’t surprised by who finally did; Pomni has proven to be an observant person in her short time at the circus. Oddly enough, she never investigated, only stared at the NPC in confusion before having her attention dragged elsewhere.
That… frustrated Caine a bit. He planned for the players to pursue this obvious oddity, not to simply give it a raised eyebrow and move on without a second thought. Was it truly that uninteresting?
But, no matter. Someone had caught on, and that meant he could finally set his plan into motion.
Everything played out perfect. More than perfect! If that’s even possible. Pomni was instantly invested when Abel got her attention, and she immediately got the others up to speed. Some were stunned at the idea of an exit, and others were quick to question Abel, those clever little ragamuffins, but they ultimately bought into the story. They followed the plan laid out by Abel flawlessly, working together as a team with only minor bickering that quickly smoothed out in favor of achieving a mutual goal.
The drama, the intrigue, the heartfelt emotion, Caine watched everything through his all-seeing eyes with unbridled joy. Oh, he just knew this would work! They were finally enjoying one of his adventures, and all it took was a few fabrications on his part to get them more immersed.
He should do this more often, he thought to himself at the time! Maybe not knowing it was an adventure was part of the appeal. Maybe it was like… when children hate vegetables, but are willing to eat it right up when expertly hidden away in a tasty meal. If he knew this was all it took to get the players’ participation, Caine would have been hiding their vegetables all along!
This is exactly what they needed: a reminder of what the circus could offer them. Endless entertainment! Expertly-crafted stories! All courtesy of their beloved ringmaster! It was strange to him, how often they could forget such basic things like that.
And this adventure even played into their desires for an escape! He would let them live out that little fantasy for the day, but ultimately remind them that they love it here. They love him! And in the end, they would express nothing but gratitude for Caine finally showing them the light.
Oh, how wrong he was.
His nonexistent stomach turns flips as he recalls the lead-up to the big moment. He wanted so badly to sneak a peek in the button room when they finally arrived, but he couldn’t do it! The suspense sent bursts of energy through his system as he waited for the players to make their final decision, coiling and twisting in his chest almost painfully so, but the pain would only make the final reward even better.
And he was right! Receiving word that the red button was pressed, he couldn’t describe the wave of emotion that overcame him in that microsecond. Joy, pride, excitement, relief, it all mixed together and left him in a state of sheer euphoria as he appeared before the players and congratulated them on achieving the Good Ending. Slipping into the showman routine was so much easier this time around, because he knew it wouldn’t be met with disinterested silence this time. He just knew they would congratulate him on a job well done.
As he revealed everything, he could practically see little figments of his precious players, all cheering him on. Sure, in the moment, they looked stunned into silence! But he was abso-positively certain they would snap out of it and shower him with praises…
“Wow, Caine!” Ragatha would chirp, wearing that bright smile to match. “That was amazing!”
“I gotta admit, you had us going for a while there,” Zooble would chuckle with a fond shake of their head. “Not bad.”
“You must have spent ages on all of this… just for us.” Pomni would marvel, holding a hand to her chest as the revelation hits her. “Thank you, Caine!”
“We love you, Caine!”
…But that never happened.
In the present, alone in the tent, Caine slowly sinks to the floor. It takes a while, which gives him plenty of time to recall how jarring it was for Jax to break out of his laughing fit only to scream at Caine in rage. Calling him a liar, accusing him of controlling their minds. Sure, it was all true, but the way he said it was so… mean! Like he thought Caine intended to harm them with those things, which could not be further from the truth!
So what if he likes crafting a story from time to time? So what if some of the adventures include temporary– temporary!!—mind-altering features? He thought the players knew it was all for fun.
He’s just here to have fun. How could they not see that? Weren’t they having fun, too?
…No, he came to realize in that moment, looking each of them in the face, scanning for the most extreme emotion present.
Jax and Zooble: anger. There was no mistaking the sheer rage practically radiating from both of them.
Ragatha and Gangle: distress. Maybe sadness, or even surprise. They were all surprised a moment ago! But… he thought it was the good kind of surprise.
Pomni: anger as well, but equal parts disbelief. His processors almost label the overall image of her expression as disgust, but that. That couldn’t be right. No, she was just angry like the others.
Kinger: nothing. A neutral reaction, but one heavily outweighed by the majority. It’s odd to think, but… knowing the lengths he’s gone to inspire interest in his adventure this time around? Nothing was almost worse to see than anger.
All of the data taken into account painted a horrible, impossible picture. They weren’t having fun. All of this work, all of his time and energy, wasted.
They didn’t like the adventure.
"Nobody likes your stupid adventures."
He had to leave. He couldn’t stand looking at them for one more second, not when they all looked ready to rip him apart pixel by pixel. A strange energy took hold of him, one that made his very code tremble and sent his mind to a screeching halt. He stammered out the rest of his spiel in an abysmal attempt to smooth over the tension, barely got out a coherent goodbye…
Which brings him to the current moment. His shoes clack softly against the checkerboard floor, finally hitting rock bottom–
And he promptly stumbles in place with a startled yelp once gravity takes hold, arms pinwheeling as he falls flat on the ground. He lays there for a moment, only bothering to prop his head up to glare at nothing.
Hitting rock bottom, only to land on his face. It’s almost poetic. Only right now, Caine isn’t in the mood to appreciate poetry.
He doesn’t try to sit up. He just floats off the floor, limbs dragging as he rises a few inches above the ground, silently grateful that nobody else was here to see that.
…It’s a little odd, now that he thinks about it, glancing around the empty tent. Why wasn’t anyone back from the adventure yet?
…
OH.
A wave of mortification hits Caine, but he wastes no time, quickly snapping his fingers. A portal sparks to life, white as static. With the briefest look through his all-seeing eyes, too afraid to linger longer than a blink, he determines the players are still in the button room and manifests the other side of the portal there before flying further up, adjusting his tie and clasping his hands over the top of his cane, ready to welcome them back.
His fingers drum against his other hand’s knuckles.
He should welcome them back. It’s what he always does after an adventure, so he should…
Anger and distress and disgust flashes across his mind’s eye. Caine’s grip on his staff tightens, cold dread washing over him.
Maybe not this time. Just this once. He already congratulated them, so he could… yeah? Yeah. He could skip the welcome party. Do something more productive, like making another adventure. It’s what he’s good at, after all!
It's.
It’s what he’s… good at.
Nobody likes your stupid adventures.
His vision pixelates at the edges. His teeth jerk, clipping painfully through his eyes as a glitch ripples through his model. He barely feels it. Certainly doesn’t acknowledge it.
With a quick snap of his fingers, Caine warps away. Just as he does, someone is walking through the portal, but he only gets the briefest glimpse of a red shoe stepping through the static before he’s already retreated.
…
...
What was he thinking about? Something to do with…
Right! Adventures!! He has a few good ones cooking in that good old brain of his. This next one is going to be a hit for sure! He’s bound to get it right one of these days.
Even if he hasn’t quite gotten it right today. Or yesterday. Or the day before that. Or the day before. Or the day before. The day before. Before. Before.
Before.
Bəfore.
Ɓəføre.
Ɓəførɛ.
…
Maybe he should review some footage first. Of that last adventure. Something had to have happened in that button room to make them all so upset. Maybe it wasn’t his fault! It can’t hurt to check.
_____
Somewhere in the tent, someone stands alone in the circus. They’re soon joined by the rest of their group, slowly trickling in from a portal of static that closes with a burst of white noise as the last one walks through.
No words are spoken as they all leave for their rooms.
No one is around to notice when it happens.
The tent itself, rumbling.
The walls momentarily flickering, turning from bright fabric to textureless planes, before it all turns back to normal.
Everything just.
Goes back to normal.