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Volatile Captivity Part 1

Canon Time Capsule Fic

This is a fic very heavy in lore, If you're new I suggest looking these over if you fully want to understand what's going on. Oh there is also some showtime!

The Adults

Kids Explained

Abstractions

Kids

Warning! Contains violence, heavy swears, Body Horror, mentions of death, alcohol, and guns

At least 13+

Volatile Captivity

Journal entry #3441

Nothing really new, but these two dweebs thought fighting over the joystick was a safe idea. Dirt stamps almost broke it, if Zoobz hadn't come and scared them out of their stupid masks I'd be stuck…. But unfortunately for this world I stand to dance another day. Little Miss Fiddle seems to be fitting in more and more lately. She seems very real, which I respect, but her hanging Cuckoo and Silly String all the time makes that almost impossible. I’ll get on to her about it later. -Jax *Reminder: Ask Ragatha what’s up? She seems extra stressed lately.

~

Jax tossed his journal behind him, it hit the pixelated trash can and fell onto the concrete of the alley that he lived in. The capsule was about to go ‘on the clock’ which meant he had to go back to the 16-bit streets and prepare to be a puppet for another day. Ready to dance for the masses of teenagers who were too irresponsible to be left at home while their parents abused the rest of his colleagues. Thats one of the reasons he an Ragatha got along so well, both were in charge of dealing with children. The only difference being their ages, Ragatha dealt with those ten and under while those over eleven were free to roam the capsule as if they were adults. Which meant they normally headed to the streets, Jax’s streets. The pixelated and glitchy area that acted as a path between the capsules many attractions. These teens enjoyed the many of the pleasures that came with being on a street without police, laws, or rules. Graffiti and general property damage weren’t uncommon. Luckily, the capsule reset the streets back to their base settings after each day cycle, so they never got TOO bad.

Jax stood on his signature corner waiting for the day to begin.

“Another day of metonymy” he said aloud as the screech of the Capsule's alarm rang, notifying that it was now open the for customers or ‘guests’ to enter.

~

One hour prior

~

Caine had passed out on his piano bench the night before, not an uncommon occurrence for him. He woke upside down, his legs resting on the bench, head and back flat on the floor. Two empty whiskey bottles at his side still dripping with the amber, Fool’s Gold that numbed him. Not really caring about getting up just yet, he pulled out his notepad to check today’s schedule. His tired eyes squinted to read his unusually small handwriting. Despite him making all the schedules and organizing everything the day prior, he honestly couldn’t remember a single thing he planned to do.

Agenda

Dance recital, Gangle

Violin solo, Pomni

Dance lessons, Gangle

Museum Tour, Kinger

Hell!! (Ringmasters Cocktail Party), ALONE

“Okay, so Gangle’s performance is first… then Pomni’s solo… after there’s a little break, I’ll check in with Ragatha and Jax then, make sure everything with the children’s going smooth, then help with the lighting for Gangle’s lessons, directly after we got the museum tours…”

Caine ground his teeth in after the foul reminder of the next event.

“The STUPID cocktail party…” BUBLE required Caine attend these ‘parties’ at least once a week in order to maintain “public relations”. It was just three hours of the guests talking down about him and his coworkers. All the guests were the same, rich and corrupt, they flaunted their money and prestige. The worst part was that Caine had to pay along. He was the Ringmaster, the leader, he had to ‘like’ them, indulge them, make them feel ‘special’… when in fact Caine would like nothing more than to stick his rifle in their face and give them a good scare.

Caine stood up, trying to find balance as his head whirled from the hangover. He rebuttoned his dress shirt and vast, the uncomfortably tight clothing a permanent reminder if his constant imprisonment. He took a deep breath and started walking to the main theater. Though it was a bit of a walk, he was happy the girls performed in there. It was the center of the capsule and built to be the safest place, should anything go wrong.

Caine could hear his heels clacking as he walked, making his headache worse. The day would start in an hour, and he needed to make sure the girls were stage ready.

~

Ragatha had been up early that morning, she hadn’t been sleeping well the past couple nights. The curse off insomnia, and vivid night terrors that infested her brain when she did sleep, kept her from getting any shut eye. Though up, leaving her room wouldn’t provide any support. The capsule’s empty halls only added to the nightmares. The words of the forgotten, the trapped, those damned to haunt the corridors of the Capsule, would echo in her ears. Ragatha didn’t need another reason to think she was going insane.

She thought about going to Jax, but then if BUBLE found out or she lost track of time and was late to her shift, it would make sure Jax was accountable, and after yesterday Ragatha didn’t want to get anyone else in trouble. The memory just kept playing in her head. One father who, must not have read the contract he signed when entering the capsule, clearly stating that the self-stabilizing masks of the children have to be removed before play, to avoid damage, got so angry that he pulled Caine’s eye out. She watched as Kinger had to sow it back on Caine since BUBLE wouldn’t regenerate their forms unless very necessary, “a Lesson” it’d say. Caine just took it, no complaints, no yelling at her for screwing up… he even apologized to her after, but Ragatha knew he was angry deep down.

Eventually Ragatha managed to drag herself off the dingy mattress she slept on and stumbled to her closet. Despite the members not needing to ever change, Ragatha liked the sense of normalcy picking out the day’s clothes gave her. So, she sucked up to BUBLE, doing his every command with an artificial smile, his interface was too dumb to recognize as fake, and managed to get a full wardrobe of clothing, pajamas, sleep wear, formal dresses and even suits. She had a wide selection, unlike most of the members who really only had one set of clothes for each scenario.

She throw her classic satin puffy jacket atop ripped jean shorts, and a cropped T decorated with a black and red rose pattern. Satisfied with her choice she yawned and headed to the bathroom to wash her face. She slipped her hands into the stream of water, their non-porous quality allowing the water to easily pool within so she could fully cover her face. Despite her now plastic texture, she could still feel touch as if it was her real skin, the cold water always felt good in the morning.

As she splashed her face in the water, she noticed something funny… her face seemed soft? She stopped and stared in the mirror, slowly lifting her hand to press on the normally solid doll like face she grown accustomed to. She could have sworn that it moved when she touched it, a slight indent when enough pressure was applied…but she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, it was completely possible she was just imaging it. Ragatha ignored it off and grabbed her towel to dry herself, shaking her head to focus.

“Just another day!”

~

Caine stood on the side of the stage as he always did during Gangle’s performances, he liked to be close to her so when she got nervous, all she needed to do was look to the side and there he was. He was a comfort for her, and her to him. She reminded him of an old friend, one he wished nothing more but to make proud, and seeing her gain her confidence back when looking at him, made Caine feel like he was doing it.

Eventually her dance, an energetic salsa between her and a generated AI of Caine’s development, ended and Gangle and her partner left the stage passing Caine on their way out.

“Thanks, Caine,” Gangle whispered anxiously, hugging the arm of her partner, who then gave Caine a playful jab in the arm.

“Aye, thanks mate, always nice to have a man backstage to cheer us on.” His face a porcelain masks to better match the guests. The only difference coming from the painted patterns that lay on top. Caine hated creating these “AI”, as BUBLE called them, he felt like it was cruel, giving a life a false sense of existence. Despite this, Caine was still jealous of them, they were lucky, oblivious to their situation and the world around them. They were still home, him and everyone else were stranded.

“You’re welcome, Gangle, welcome Goo…” Caine’s polite manner dying off a bit at the end.

Yet he pulled himself back together quickly, he had into introduce Pomni anyway…

“Wasn’t that stunning folks, I certainly loved it. But were not done, everyone give a warm welcome to the Capsules best Violinist, Pomni!”

~

Ragatha followed her typical day’s schedule, she met up with all the kids at the Capsule’s main entrance, making sure to have a smile when the parents abandoned them to her. She then swiftly packed them into her van and transferred them over the daycare where they would later be picked up by their parents before leaving the capsule entirely.

The kids were mostly quite on the van ride, scared to even move for fear of breaking their masks. She swore those parents put the fear of God into these children, Ragatha had seen more than cruel words thrown at them by their supposed guardians, it made her sick.

She went over the basic rules, no horseplay with the masks and don’t touch each other without the masks on (their loose forms could sometimes stick to each other and only through BUBLE’s intervention could they be separated).

“Remember your masks are your stabilizers, I know you it’s harder to play without them, but its better and breaking them and getting hurt in the real world.”

Her voice was always empathic when talking to them, yes their parents were the ‘Guests,’ the very people funding their misery, but these were just kids. Young children who didn’t know any better. All they wanted was too follow their parents planned path for them, afraid of their father or mother’s wrath if they fell out of line… if they broke the mask. Ragatha knew that feeling, she didn’t remember how or why… but she knew it. Her grip on the wheel got a little tighter as she dove deeper into her own mind searching for a memory.

The van drove through the pixelated streets of the capsule. These areas were only normally populated with teenagers, Just troublemakers who were to bored destroying real world property so they came to destroy digital lives instead. Since they weren’t the big money makers BUBLE wouldn’t use the energy to fully render with area. BUBLE aways used this area as a threat though, act out of line and lose a apart of yourself, get pixelated, become a 2D version of your avatar and be forced out on the street where you’d act as a play thing for the teens. Given a controller to get puppeteer-ed around by, and if that controller ever broke… stuck, unable to ever move again. Jax acted as an example for everyone else, disobey orders and lose yourself.

Just, like always, was on his normal corner, some teenagers making him dance the same stupid move over and over for them to laugh at. Jax was used to this by now, but it was still annoying.

“HA look at the awkward transition between the moves, what are you? From the 50s!” One kid mocked.

“I’m from the 80s you little…” his mind trailed off when he saw Ragatha's van.

Jax smiled, starting to wave at her, “Hey Ragz! Whats-uhh.”

Ragatha was so in her own head she didn’t even notice him wave to her as she drove past. Jax noticed the dismissal though, that normally wasn’t like Ragatha,

“Weird...” he wanted to check on her, but was pulled back by the kids.

“Where do you think you’re going jack rabbit! You’re on the clock and that means you entertain us. Now dance!” yelled the one with the joystick.

“I’m coming you power hungry pipsqueaks...” Jax murmured under his breath.

When they finally reach the daycare Ragatha took each of the kid’s masks, she watched as they lost their human form. She was used to this, seeing their bodies melt and deform into a slimy mess when the structure if the mask was taken, but today she just… wasn’t in the right head space. It got to her more than she wanted to admit.

It wasn’t until she put the mask in their designated drawer that she realized, her hands. The curved masks had left an indent in her plastic mitten-like hands, this time undeniable soft… almost mailable. She knew what was happening, she’d seen it before, the glitching the malfunctions.

“No no no, just hold it in… just until the day is over.” she hid her hand behind her back, praying she could keep it in long enough.

~

Pomni’s performance was stunning as always, a standing ovation waiting to happen. Caine was even more impressed.

“You've really grown into the music, my dear. What was it? Six months ago you told me how much you hated the violin?” Caine smirked as she walked off stage towards him.

Pomni returned his smirk with her own sassy eye roll and smile.

“Well, it's hard not to when you have an annoying little worm in your ear talking about how wonderful music can be.” Pomni grinned, walking over to the mahogany table her violin case rested on.

“Annoying? I wouldn't say annoying... I think persistent is a better adjective,” Caine leaned down to her level in a teasing manner.

“Ahhh, I do love to be chased.” Pomni giggled, Caine blushed and lifted back to his normal posture, looking to the ceiling. Pomni set down her violin with great care, her fingers delicately strapping it in and draping its cover over top. She always took pride in anything she did, her care of one of the reasons Caine liked her so much. Despite her distaste for a job, she always gave her best, and he respected her spirit. Pomni turned back to look at Caine directly, piercing his lavender and olive eyes and leaning her back on the table.

“You know,” Pomni spoke with a playful tone.

“You promised me we'd do a duet sometime; this was my last show of today? Maybe we could make some music together?”

Caine couldn’t breathe for a few seconds, his heart was already beating fast, now it was pretty much at light speed.

“Well, I am a busy man, but…” He would have immediately agreed but he was supposed to check on Ragatha next… She'd be waiting for him, but checking in a bit later wouldn't hurt, right? Ragatha was responsible, she'd be fine for an extra hour.

“I’m sure I can fit you in.”

~

Ragatha stood impatiently, Caine should be coming soon, he always checked in with her after performances, she just needed to wait until then. Her eyes looked upon her daycare, twenty-five inky children playing. “Where is he?” she murmured to herself, her foot tapping on the ground violently.

“Ragatha come here! I wanna show you something!” one of the children called, Ragatha swallowed her emotions and put a smile on her face. *Just stay calm Caine will be here soon* She sat down next to the young child to see what he needed.

“Look I drew you and me!” He held up a paper, his inky hands drooped as he held it. It was a crudely drawn picture of a red headed doll and a young boy, he’d obviously drawn himself outside the capsule, his normal human self, while Ragatha was still stuck in the predetermined body that BUBLE had generated for her twenty-five years ago.

“Oh, that’s lovely!” she lied, putting her hand to her cheek to feign flattery, but when she released her hand from her cheek it didn’t come off cleanly; a plastic layer had melted off, sticking to her hand. She froze, wide eyed... It was too late.

She couldn't keep it in any longer, her heart pounded, vision blurred, she didn't realize she had started hyperventilating.

“Rathata what's wrong!” the young boy reached out to her.

She still had the sense to try to stop him,

“Wait don’t!” but it happened to fast. They had broken the most important rule… ‘don't touch each other when you don't have a mask on’… but this time BUBLE wouldn’t be able to fix this.

Ragatha closed her eyes, as the kids slowly all came closer and closer to see what was wrong, sludge melding to sludge, twenty-six turning into one…

“I’m sorry…”

~

Caine and Pomni walked together to the now closed piano room. She held her violin in its case, smiling and laughing at their small talk. Caine matched her energy, he was finally happy. In all his years of being in the capsule, no one had made him feel the way she did. An eternity here might not be so bad, as long as she was with him.

“Ladies first,” Caine bowed before her, opening the curtains to reveal his piano, still decorated with the figurines of model WWI planes he started making when he first arrived in 27.

“Such a gentleman,” Pomni grazed his chin with her hand as she passed. She learned very quickly that unless Caine was drunk, she had to be the one to initiate any sort of flirtation.

It took a few seconds before Caine came back to reality and walked in the private room with her. He sat down at the bench, and lifted the fallboard to reveal the keys, still shiny after all these years. Pomni took out her tiger wood violin and black horse haired bow.

“So, are we going to improvise? You start and I follow?” Pomni suggested, eyelids half drawn.

“I’d love to, my Love.” Caine cracked his knuckles and prepared his hands, ready for the strings to pull him back as they did every time he tried to play, but when his hands hovered the keys, nothing happened. This was not normal, in all the time Caine had been leader he had always been banned from the piano. The few times he wasn’t was when BUBLE’s system was overloaded by something else, something that took higher priority. But that only happened when someone…

Caine stopped cold, he eyes wide, staring at the piano. Pomni noticed his vacant expression and lowered her violin from playing position.

“Caine? Is something wrong-?”

“Where’s Zooble!” Caine stood up so fast the piano bench fell behind him, making a violent crash that startled Pomni making her step back.

“CAINE!” yelled a voice from the hallway just outside. It was frantic. If fear itself could be heard. It was Zooble.

Caine had immediately forgotten about the duet, running to meet them in the hallway. Pomni dropped her delicate instrument to follow, ignoring its harsh shatter when it left when it fell.

“Caine! There you are, BUBLE came up to me out of nowhere and told me to find you? The %$@*!^ said it was an emergency!?”

“Zooble open your radar!” Zooble immediately opened their torso to reveal the device, a cold chill going down their spin when doing so, Caine only used the radar for one thing…

“Who is it?..” they asked, eyes closed, their voice expressionless… It could have been any of them. Even the most stable person could abstract.

“...Ragatha.”

Caine’s voice was hollow. He’d dealt with this so many times, but it never got easier. Every loss was a grave, a new soul he had to bury in the sewer system.

“What… no, she-she wouldn't?” Pomni couldn't believe it… Ragatha was always so strong. She was the rock, the no nonsense girl, if she could abstract… how could anyone else hope to make it?

“Zooble, get kinger and shut down the capsule! Get the current guests out and don't allow anymore in!” Caine ordered, trying his best to think of a plan.

“Caine… the kids…” Zooble was barely able to hold their usual calm tone. They were shaking.

Caines’s blood ran cold. “Fucking shit...” he whispered, “I have to go! Zooble take Gangle and Pomni with you!”

Pomni knew what Caine was going to do, he was going to teleport away and try to fix everything on his own, like he always did, but not this time. Just before he was able to zap himself away Pomni grabbed, him, causing them both to disappear.

*ZAAAAP*

Zooble took a breath and followed Caine orders, there was no time to worry now. Pomni made her choice.

~

Caine landed on the ground, a little disoriented; he wasn’t ready to carry that much weight. The pain from the teleportation ached him, but not nearly as much as it did Pomni.

“Pomni! What do you think you’re doing-!” He was going to yell but that would do nothing now.

“Come on let me help you up.”

Pomni could barely stand after the teleportation, it felt like she was on fire. After a minute or two she was able to hold herself up though, ignoring the searing in her avatar.

“ahh-uhh. I’m-I’m not letting you do this alone-”

Pomni stopped talking when she didn’t recognize where they were.

“... where are we?”

It was dark, and dirty. Trashed papers and broken tables strewn around. Little drawings and once colorful decorations that lined the wall were obliterated. The lights had burst, the windows shattered, black, neon green, and purple ooze being the forms of illumination in the place.

“The daycare…” Caine’s voice was harsh; it was worse than he thought.

“She’s not here… and..” he sounded as if he might cry, his voice cracking.

Pomni was just as broken, she was almost scared to ask what it was specifically that made him…horrified

“What?” she closed her eyes preparing herself.

“Neither are the children…”

Pomni wanted to cry, the weight of what was happening was growing too great, but there was no time. No time to weep, no time to cry, no time to adjust, time only moves forward.

Screams rang out from theater. Blood curdling and echoing.

“Gangle!” Caine quickly grabbed Pomni by her waist, pulling her into him.

“I’m sorry, but this will hurt just as bad as before”

*ZAAAP*

Within seconds they were on the theaters stage.

Pomni’s body couldn’t handle the excruciating pain. She could hardly move when they landed then everything went black.

Caine was still able to land of his feet, immediately getting the front of the members of who had hidden there. Everyone, Jax, Gangle, Zoodle, Kinger, had all taken refuge backstage, it was supposed to be the most secure building, but apparently it wasn’t good enough. Adrenaline fueled Caine’s body, he was one tap away from a head shot, but he wasn’t ready for what he was about to see. The house was destroyed, the walls glitching with purple, green, and red blocks scattering around the crumbling walls and ceiling. Dust showered the area making it difficult to see, but one thing was very apprehended.

“Oh [NAME NOT FOUND] what happened to you…”

~

Pomni woke suddenly, and was finally able to get on her elbows when she felt hands pull her up, four to be exact. Her vison was still blurry, loud noises made her ears ache. She recognized Kinger though, he was the one holding her, four of his hands securing her and two holding Jax? Jax was starring ahead, eyes glazed, and smile gone. He his body limp in Kinger’s grasp. Pomni followed his eyes looking at where he stared.

As she followed Jax's eyes she heard Caines’s voice echo between the ever-present ringing in her ear, “DON’T LET HER TOUCH YOU, I fear something worse than abstraction will fall upon you…”

Pomni's eyes were led to a large twenty-foot-tall horrific creature in the middle of the auditorium, its body looked melted. An amalgamation made of a thick black tar, housing the screaming yellow faces of the damned. These twenty-five small faces appeared and disappeared within the creatures grotesque body, each one weeping, some yelled for their mom, other dad, some just crying. But nothing compared to the wailing from it's bloated maw. The gaging hole drooped from its face to the floor, devouring anything that came in its wake. Six melted limbs carried it slowly across the seats like a slug. Inky wells covered and stained the once bright red seats. It stuck to every surface it touched, absorbing the debris it so easily created, only swelling the vermin more.

Caine stood between the group and the abstraction using his string to make sure the crumbling theater room didn’t end up crushing and trapping any of the members. Caine had to wait, just like he did in the war, for the perfect opening. The perfect shot. One that wouldn’t endanger the members and could handle the abstraction.

Zoodle covered Gangle, guarding them from the debris while Kinger made sure Pomni and Jax were too, safe and far from the carnage.

A cracked piece of ceiling suddenly fell on the beast's side, making it roar in agonizing pain, each mouth layering more voices in the chant. It was deafening, the members had to cover their ears to not have them rupture, they could feel the soundwaves through the wooded floor.

THERE! Caine wrapped his red strings around the swelling thing's head, then its limbs. With his whole being, Caine forced his hands to the floor, slamming the beast's mouth closed, pinning it to the ground between the seats.

Caine pulled and pulled, dragging the creature through the floor, down to the sewer systems below, there it would be dragged to “no Man’s Land.”

“AHHHHHHHH!” Caine yelled, his muscles felt broken, dismantled, shaved to the bone, but he couldn’t stop, not until everyone was safe.

After what felt like forever, it was done, it was gone. Driven to the sewers where it’d be cursed to roam with the other abstractions for eternity.

For a moment there was silence, the only thing that could be heard was Caine’s breathing.

“She-she..” everything happened so fast Pomni could barely breath.

“She’s gone, she’s gone, Pomni.” Jax smiled his voice uneasily jolly. He couldn’t help but start laughing. Everyone looked in horror, not understanding the humor in the situation

“You get it! This place is a fucking joke! It’s incredible, the moment you enter your already dead! Yet we still morn those who pass.”

“…be quite Jax” Caine spoke calm, he looked at the ground, his back towards the crowd. The only movement came from his fingers. His right index and thumb rubbed a shiny silver object. Jax surrendered, making his smile morph into a face of irritation and contempt. Kinger let both him and Pomni go, allowing them to get on their own feet.

“It’s been a long day… everyone, go to bed.”

Jax turned without hesitation, he’d take any excuse to get out of work early, and honestly he did not want to be around Caine right now. Everyone else stayed for a few seconds, Gangle tried to speak.

“Caine, are you-“

“Go to bed Gangle…” His voice was harsh and cold. Gangle turned to Zooble as they opened their arms to her, but before leaving entirely she turned back one more time.

“I'll see you tomorrow then?” there was fright in her voice, but there was no response from Caine. He kept his eyes on the destroyed theater room, as Zooble guided Gangle back to the room she shared with Pomni, Pomni didn’t follow. She waited until Gangle left and the room was full of just the three of the, Pomni, Kinger, and Caine.

“Caine, I need you to look at me” Pomni stood up tall, her voice piercing through the tension in the air. Despite her attempt at standing firm, she was no match for the man behind her, she felt a strong commanding hand rest on her shoulder,

“Pomni, I don’t think you should be here, Its not safe for you.” Kinger was asking or commanding, he was begging. It reminded Pomni of a caring father, not hers… she couldn’t remember hers, but what she assumed to be a father.

Pomni couldn’t let this go though, not now.

“No! Caine Look at me!” Her voice echoed in the rubble of the hall. Caine slowly cocked his head, bending his neck backward in an uncanny way, Pomni could hear the cracking from where she was about ten feet away.

His eye lids were uneven, his teeth looking slightly sharper then normal, and skull darker.

“What Pomni?” his voice was loud, manic, it gave Pomni and Kinger chills.

“Here to see the fall of the Great Ringmaster? The rise of the new capsule. A new theme. A NEW FUCKING ERA!” Pomni almost swallowed her tongue when he spoke. His voice reverberated in a glitched fashion like he was talking through distortion device. She went to speak again but Caine was already walking towards, then past her. She could see a protruding black THING crawl out of a hole in his spinal cord. It was the same inky black she'd just seen, its sharp claws pierced Caine’s skin through his vest. The red, blue, and green fluids that acted as Caine’s blood stained his clothes and dripped down his back to the floor.

“Where are you going ?!” Pomni yelled, stomping forward in anger.

Caine turned around with a theatrical spin, arms wide for dramatic flair.

“What? I don’t want to die sober!”

Pomni just stood there as Kinger and Caine left the room. Her mind desperately trying to process what just happened and what might happen very soon. The buildings around her still broken, glitched, and destroyed. A friend gone, and someone very dear about to give in…

_

So sorry for any spelling or grammar problems, I kind of felt really horrible when proof reading this...

Hope you enjoyed though, part 2 coming soon!

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