Chapter Text
Caine was situated in the office he made for the last adventure, sitting at the desk. It wasn’t necessary, but he couldn’t get himself to remove it after the adventure concluded. It felt nice, indulging in an action so human.
In front of him, he had screens showing what his all-seeing eyes captured. Normally, his eyes would be everywhere, making sure he doesn’t miss a thing that goes on in the circus, but currently he had them all focused on only one of the humans. Jax.
Caine knew that he was going against the protocols he was programmed to follow. He’s supposed to make sure everything is as it should be and everyone is safe. But something inside him doesn’t want to bother with checking on the other humans. They showed that they didn’t care about the circus. They didn’t care about him.
But Jax did! He chose to stay! He’s always loved the adventures. And he plays the role of an entertainer, making sure there’s never a dull minute! Sure, there was a… minor slip up at the end of the Escape the Circus adventure, but Jax was doing perfect up until then! The emotions had just run too high because he did such a good job at getting immersed in the story! He didn’t actually mean what he said.
Caine thought back to what happened that night. Jax had almost given in to abstraction. That couldn’t happen. Caine wouldn’t let it. And so, above anything else, he needed to keep a close eye on Jax. He needed to make sure the modification he made last night would bring the rabbit back to his usual personality. The one that Caine adored.
He watched as Jax strolled into the main room of the circus, where all the others were sulking.
“Morning, losers. I can practically chew on the tension out here,” Jax smirked as he plopped down on one of the empty couches and stretched out on it.
The others didn’t take that well. Zooble lunged at Jax, shouting obscenities. Caine expected that only modifying Jax’s memory would cause some conflict but Jax’s reaction made him regret it, just the teeniest bit. Confusion and shock was evident on the rabbit’s face, making the grin slip.
That just wouldn’t do!
Caine teleported in front of them and pulled Zooble away with a wave of his cane, letting their body crash into one of the couches. “Now, now! I can’t allow this kind of violence in my circus! Are you alright, Jax?”
“Uh. Yeah… I’m fine.” Jax answered, eyes shifting between Caine and Zooble.
Zooble pushed themself up and readjusted the limbs that had gone out of place when they hit the couch. “What the h!@l, Caine?”
Caine didn’t pay them any mind, staring at the rabbit. His reaction was odd. Normally something like that would’ve caused him to laugh at the hurt party. But Jax’s face is blank as he fully sets his gaze on Caine.
They both stared at each other. Jax was looking at him. Only him.
“Are you…” Jax broke eye contact as he spoke, “just gonna keep staring or…?”
“ADVENTURE!” Caine announced, snapping his fingers. Everyone was teleported to the stage area, where Caine could explain today’s adventure.
“Today’s adventure is… Survival In The Screaming Wastelands! Trapped in an apocalyptic wasteland, you’ll have to avoid the mutants wandering-”
“You can’t be f$%^ing serious!” Zooble interrupted, because of course they did. “Are you really going to just throw us into another sh#^@y adventure after what you pulled yesterday?”
Ragatha hesitantly nodded, taking a deep breath before speaking, “You… you could at least give us some time to destress, right? I-I think we’re all pretty wound up still and aren’t really… in the mood to, ah, survive an apocalypse.”
“Ha ha! Now, now, everyone!” Caine carefully watched Jax as he spoke. His eyes were squinted as he looked between everyone, likely trying to remember the events from yesterday. If Caine didn’t shut this down soon, there’s a chance the blocker he put in place could break down, making it all for nothing. “I can’t just not make an adventure! And frankly, I’ve had enough of you all complaining about my hard work! It’s not my fault none of you know how to appreciate a good story. Now, into the portal with you all!”
Caine quickly ushered everyone through the portal that appeared just then, ignoring everyone’s words of protest as he forced them through.
Once the portal shut, Caine sighed, “Hopefully this adventure cheers my bunny up.”
“Your bunny?” Bubble piped up, causing Caine to jump. “Kinky! I like it!”
Caine grimaced, “Not like that, Bubble. I just meant-” What did he mean by that? “Uh. I gotta! Go! Watch the adventure! Make sure everything goes well! Bye!”
~💜❤️~
Caine watched with his arms crossed as the cast holed up inside the same safehouse they’ve been in for the past hour. This wasn’t right at all! The adventure was supposed to be action packed, full of chase scenes and violence! But no one was engaging at all.
The safehouse was made for temporary relief, not for them to stay in the whole time! And why wasn’t Jax out shooting the mutants and throwing the others into danger? He didn’t even pick up one of the guns so graciously offered, letting Kinger, Pomni, and Zooble take control of them all without a fight.
Caine racked his brain for what could be wrong. In the back of his mind he remembers Jax seeming somewhat down before the Escape the Circus adventure had started. When did that start? Caine ran his memories backwards to pinpoint when exactly Jax started acting off.
Ah, right! Jax and Pomni had an argument at the end of the gun adventure. So, it wasn’t Caine’s fault at all that Jax stopped acting like himself! And his reaction to the last adventure must’ve been because of that too. Well, it would be an easy fix! Caine just needs to block out that memory too, and then everything would go back to how it should be!
Jax will be happy again and go back to how he’s supposed to be! Everything will be fine. Caine doesn’t stop to think about the stuttering feeling of his code as he continues to ignore the rules set upon him when he was created.