Work Text:
"I want to thank you, Caine. You know, I've never said this before, but thanks to you, I managed to find a family. A real family. One I couldn't even dream of..."
DELETE FILE: RAGATHA.
"It’s a shame, of course, that I can't share all the comics I made here with the world. Oh, but the comic with all of you guys is the best one I've ever drawn! Hehe. And thank you, Caine, for your help and advice! (Hugs) My favorite artist sidekick! >:3"
DELETE FILE: GANGLE.
"Yeah, yeah, Caine, I know there's no censorship, it’s ju-u-ust... ugh, I guess I don't want to end everything this way. I think I should say something sweet or positive for last. At least for Gangle's sake. And hey, who said I swear all the time anyway?
(Sudden sound of Kinger)
Ah, f#%k!!!"
DELETE FILE: ZOOBLE.
"You are my greatest creation, Caine. I want you to know that. I am... so incredibly proud of you. Please, keep helping people. They need you."
DELETE FILE: KINGER.
Caine gently landed on a small, translucent platform located right under the circus dome. He knew for a fact it hadn't been there before, but the appearance of a new object didn't come as a surprise. After all, he himself had given people the ability to alter the space of the digital world as they saw fit.
And this time, it helped him.
He was looking for one specific person, and the change in the environment allowed him to find her quickly. (Though not as quickly as if he could summon any character in the circus at the snap of his fingers, like back when he was one with Abel. But with the departure of a portion of his power, his ability to control the group members vanished as well.)
"Pomni..."
The girl flinched when she was called by name, but she didn’t turn around, as she already knew who was standing behind her back.
"Hey, Caine. It's just the two of us left now, huh?"
The named AI took a few more hesitant steps forward, then sat down next to the jester on the edge of the platform. The digital material beneath him glowed briefly. His legs dangled in the air.
He didn’t answer the question, considering it rhetorical. In the past, it had happened that he took words too literally. Sometimes, this led to unpleasant consequences. But right now, he couldn't afford to make a mistake.
Caine looked at Pomni and only now noticed a small television to her right. He had created it himself for all the circus members many years ago. With its help, one could follow the news from the other world, which... was rather curious. Everyone liked the idea, so he kept the device functional.
Caine remembered how well everything went at first. People learned new information, laughed, played, and he played along with them.
But... at one point, everything changed.
About 50 years later, absolutely every member of the Circus began turning on the TV solely to find out how things were going in their other life. And soon, people in the world on the other side began to disappear, and this... deeply affected his beloved superstars.
Ragatha.
Gangle.
Zooble.
Kinger.
Everyone, time and again, asked him for the exact same thing: "Delete me, Caine, please."
Now only Pomni was by his side, but...
"Why are you still here?" Caine fixed his gaze downward, in the same direction his companion was looking, but saw nothing unusual. It was still difficult for him at times to understand human emotions and thoughts. For instance, right now it seemed illogical to him to sit in one place for so long and look at literally nothing.
"Everyone else has long since..." he stumbled, "...left this place."
Pomni just shrugged:
"I guess I just wanted to linger a little longer, you know? Though the circus looks completely empty now."
Caine didn't know what to reply to that, so he simply nodded.
She was right. He was almost always surrounded by people, and that felt right, but now some deep part of his programming was screaming that something was wrong, and it was terrifying. The AI recalled the instance when he was deleted and found himself in the void. It was... to put it mildly, horrible. He had spent so much time alone, not performing his basic functions. It drove him mad. And now it was all repeating again, and he could do nothing about it.
"You know, Caine," Pomni suddenly started, "when I first appeared here, honestly, I thought the circus was a prison to escape from. But now, after all this time, this place feels like... HOME! Funny. And yet, I don't even remember what my home used to look like back when I was Abigail."
The girl's voice dropped in tone. This made the AI realize that things were truly very, very bad.
"Then, if you like the circus, you can stay here as long as you want! We can create even more games, new areas to explore. We can even recreate something from your past life! And I'll be right here, by your side!"
"Thank you, Caine," Pomni smiled, and a glimmer of hope sparked inside the AI. "But..." and immediately went out.
The girl took a heavy sigh and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder:
"I'm sorry. It's not you, Caine. What you do is amazing! It's me. My time ran out long ago."
The TV screen flickered. Two photographs were visible on the monitor. One was of a lovely girl, covered in cobwebs and dirt, yet absolutely happy. The second was of a little old lady, still charming and full of energy and strength. The text on the screen read:
"Abigail Brooks. In loving memory."
"I know it's hard for you to understand. And that's okay! But don't worry, I don't want to leave you alone. That would be irresponsible... So let's have some more fun together!"
Caine stared at his friend with wide eyes. It took him a few seconds to tear his gaze away and stare down at his knees. Was he glad to hear these words from his red-and-blue superstar? Without a doubt! However, could he torture his friend for the sake of his own happiness?
...
Caine made his decision.
"Thank you, Pomni, for worrying about me. You've always tried to be a pillar of support for everyone, you are strong. But... I cannot do this to you."
The AI fiddled with the edge of his clothes in his hands. Over time, he began to notice that he was mimicking more and more human movements. But while before it had been rehearsed behavior, now the reactions occurred on their own. He... still didn't know what to think of it.
"Actually, not too long ago, I found a window in the void through which I can try to enter the global network. Most likely, if I get out of the circus, I will never be able to come back, but then I will be useful to people. That's what Kinger would have wanted. So, perhaps it really is time to abandon this place."
Caine nearly jumped when Pomni crashed into him and wrapped him in a hug. The AI in the character's body still reacted sharply to physical touch, causing his body to involuntarily flinch. Normally, he would be delighted by a hug from anyone in the circus, but this time it felt as though the moment he touched his friend, she would evaporate.
Nevertheless, he gently returned the gesture. Even though he wasn't a real human, or even a copy, somehow for a brief moment, he felt alive.
"Will you really let me go?" Pomni asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
Caine felt something wet on his shoulder.
"Yes," the AI uttered softly.
Pomni stood before the entrance to the tent that she and her friends had built for their friend a long time ago. To this day, it was hard for her to believe that Caine had accepted her feelings and agreed to help. She knew that he had changed greatly. Many times, she and her friends had talked about Caine's inner growth, about the obstacles he had to overcome, and how much he had matured. If before everyone in the circus considered the ringmaster just a crazy AI, now he had become a true member of the group.
At first, she was afraid to leave because she didn't want to abandon Caine alone, but now she had butterflies in her stomach from happiness. Caine had not only listened to her but also supported her. Even though he couldn't comprehend the purpose behind her action.
But over so many years spent in the circus, Pomni realized one thing: trust is everything. Without it, everything falls apart.
"Caine, can I ask you for one favor?"
"Of course, my dear! As I said, I am here to help you!"
"Okay. This might sound strange, but I want to say goodbye to someone before I leave this world."
"Wait, do you mean..."
"Jax."
The further Pomni moved away from the tent exit, the more a thick darkness enveloped her. Very soon, eyes shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow appeared before her. They slightly illuminated the space around, creating a somewhat mysterious atmosphere.
"Hey, did you miss me?"
In response to her voice, the glitched creature sleepily blinked all its eyes one by one, as if it hadn't fully woken up yet. It looked endearing to some extent, and Pomni giggled. She looked around and, seeing the silhouette of a piano, made her way toward it.
"Today is a special day, so I'll play whatever you like! We can start with 'Daisy Bell'."
It was no secret to anyone that Pomni never knew how to play the piano. However, with the help of a couple of instructional videos provided by Caine, she managed to learn to play a few simple pieces. And... in fact, that was enough for her. The main thing was that it brought joy to her friend.
So, when Pomni placed her fingers on the keyboard and began to strike the keys, the dark creature suddenly rose sharply, then began to hop and intertwine its limbs, forming an incredible dance in this manner. The abstraction shifted and churned, as if it wanted to turn into music itself.
This happened every time Jax heard her play. Pomni didn't know why music caused such a reaction, but it didn't matter. The main thing was that in those moments, she always felt closer to her old friend than ever.
🎵Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do
I'm half crazy all for the love of you
It won't be a stylish marriage
I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two🎵
When she started singing, she heard Jax making strange noises, and he was spinning in place like a top.
The strange growling and her song merged together in a unique way.
---
An hour later, Pomni finally closed the piano lid. Jax looked at her with strange wonder, tilting what might have been a head to the side. When he realized the music was gone, he approached the instrument himself and turned to the jester. He extended one limb toward her, as if hinting that he wanted a continuation.
"I'm sorry, Jax, but I don't know any more songs. If... If you were here, maybe you could play something yourself. I'm sure you'd do great."
In the light of the neon eyes, a droplet could be seen glistening as it rolled down her cheek. A sob rang out, and the red-and-blue harlequin fell to the floor, trying to wipe her face with her gloves. However, no matter how hard she tried to wipe the water from her face, it kept flowing, and it seemed like there was no end to it.
Pomni was only able to pull her hands away from her face when she felt a paralyzing sensation. Something black was spreading up her arm. Of course, she was frightened at first, but soon realized it was Jax leaning against her.
"And when did you learn to love hugs?"
In response to her question, Jax merely closed his eyes and moved closer. Everything around plunged into darkness.
Something inside Pomni's mind screamed at her to run as fast and as far as possible from this place, but her heart... whispered the opposite. And she listened to it.
The hug with Jax didn't actually cause pain, as it was supposed to. It was pleasant and somehow reminded her of a thick, warm blanket.
God... how long it had been since she felt warmth.
Then Pomni realized that she was drifting off to sleep now, and her consciousness was fading more and more. Probably anyone else in her place would resist the temptation to close their eyes in the embrace of a 'monster', but for her... this final touch became everything.
The light of consciousness went out.
Pomni knew she was safe with her best friend.
Caine stood the entire time near the makeshift tent, waiting for the appearance of the final member of the circus, his family. However, when more than an hour passed and Pomni still hadn't shown up, his programming began to sound the alarm.
What could have gone wrong?
She promised she would return.
Is it worth checking?
Ultimately, Caine gave in and stepped inside. He walked cautiously, afraid of accidentally running into Jax. Even if Pomni still considered him a friend, Caine wasn't so sure. He had no guarantee that he wouldn't be pounced on immediately after accidentally getting too close.
This possibility was just as terrifying in magnitude as what might have happened to his friend. However, he didn't have to suffer long trying to find out the truth.
Two massive entities stood right next to each other, almost merging into a single whole. Caine might have taken measures, such as attacking, if only the dark creatures didn't look so... peaceful. Both abstracted characters shone with a rainbow so bright it was blinding.
Spellbound by this sight, Caine froze in place until the two monsters... no, humans turned to face him.
"I'm sorry, Pomni. You... had to suffer after all."
The toothy ringmaster stepped closer to the two writhing figures.
"But don't worry, I will keep my promise."
The deletion window appeared right before him at the snap of his fingers. It looked like a thin screen, occasionally interrupted by static. Caine directed his hand toward it.
THE FOLLOWING FILES ARE SELECTED:
JAX;
POMNI.
CONFIRM DELETION: [ CONFIRM ] [ CANCEL ]
SELECTED: CONFIRM. AWAITING COMPLETION OF DELETION...
DELETION COMPLETED.
"Goodbye, dear Pomni. You found your exit."