Hi! I just read “some kind of chained god” and I really liked it, can’t wait to see how it goes! I just wanted to say though that Zooble canonically goes by they/them pronouns, and not she/her. Other than that I think the characterization is on point so good job!
Hi!
I use Zooble with feminine pronouns because... am I used to it? I have nothing against it, it's just more natural for me. In my country and environment, all this gender diversity with pronouns isn't a hot topic at all, so I call it what I see it as.
I hope I won't forget to correct this in the future, because the gpt chat that translates the text for me might get confused.
Zooble crawled up from behind and immediately rushed to comfort Gangle, not quite knowing what to do with her hands as she awkwardly tried to reach for her.
Jax climbed up after her as well, exchanging a tired, hollow look with Ragatha.
— "Guuuuys!!", Pomni joined in too, scrambling up the slope with a breathless gasp.
"Y-you guys are alive!!"
— "Y-you're alive..." Gangle repeated through her tears as she looked at all of them. "I-I-I was so scared... I was s-so scared for you!! Y-you're all okay! A-all of you!"
Her eyes darted from face to face, checking each of them as if she still couldn't believe they were real.
— "You weren't any less scared than I was," Pomni replied with a small smile.
Unexpectedly, Gangle let out a sob and a laugh at the same time. It made a very strange sound.
But somehow, after it escaped her, breathing became easier. Everyone's heart tightened.
Gangle had held herself together for so long. Now she was simply exhausted.
At the bottom of the slope, Kinger looked up at them, not even attempting to climb after all of that.
— "G-Gangle!!", his voice cracked.
— "How are you?!"
He placed his hands against a stone block and tried to pull himself up for a better look.
Before anyone could answer, however, he turned toward Caine. Checking on him instead.
The giant remained in the exact same position. Head tilted upward.
Listening to the sobs, the laughter, and the reunion taking place above him.
While everyone else was busy finding each other again...
He had ended up alone once more. Caine heard every voice, every laugh, every sob. And somewhere deep inside, that both comforted and frightened him.
They had found each other.
They were alive.
They were happy.
But no one had approached him yet.
He understood that nobody was going to run toward him with tears in their eyes and open arms.
Still... he wanted to be there too. He had worried about them. Probably more than he had worried about himself.
Pomni noticed first, then the others noticed as well.
Gangle was still sitting in Ragatha's embrace as the red-haired woman struggled not to slide off the edge of the rocks.
The bundle of red ribbons looked toward the giant AI while trying to suppress her tears.
— "C-Caine...", Pomni addressed the group. "H-he was tortured by Abel too..."
Her eyes moved across each of them, carefully studying their reactions.
Raising her hands in a calming gesture, she continued.
"H-he saved us from the Gloink Queen, and he's been protecting us ever since! W-we need to trust him. D-don't be afraid of him!"
Gangle grew quiet in Ragatha's arms. Zooble looked away. Even Jax was staring at Pomni with an expression that felt unnatural on him.
His eyes narrowed slightly. Dark circles sat faintly beneath them. The overall look on his face was one of exhaustion and distrust.
As though he was silently asking:
"Do you... actually believe that?"
Zooble was the first to speak.
— "He looks like shit."
Pomni blinked.
— "Zooble!"
— "What? I'm serious.", she looked at the giant again. At the braces, the chains. The countless cracks and signs of destruction surrounding him.
— "I was expecting a lot of things. Just not... this."
Ragatha nervously gripped the edge of her skirt as she looked between the others and the newcomers.
— "H-he didn't even try to grab me when I was within reach..." she said quietly. "H-he's really scared of driving us away."
Her tone made it sound like she didn't fully believe her own words.
The others noticed.
— "Pomni.", Jax's voice cut through the silence.
— "Do you trust him?", he searched her eyes for the truth.
Pomni looked away, but she couldn't hesitate.
— "I... think we need to stay together", her hands tightened.
— "I-if we want any chance of standing against Abel's tyranny."
~
Then why aren't they going to you, C.A.I.N.?
The intrusive thoughts continued to worm their way into the abandoned AI's mind.
They left you behind.
Why are you still waiting for them?
— "N-no... those aren't my thoughts! T-that's not me!"
The anxiety began spilling into reality.
His breathing quickened, his body shifted restlessly.
Are you sure you can live with them again?
Are you sure they want you around? (
— "O-of course! W-we can start over... a-and learn from our mistakes..."
One of his hands twitched, then another.
— "Oh no... Caine, please don't listen..."
He began lightly shaking his head, trying to throw away thoughts that didn't belong to him.
— "W-what's wrong with him?" Jax's voice sounded noticeably uneasy from the distance.
— "C-Caine?" Pomni asked uncertainly. "C-Caine?!" Her voice rose louder this time.
The giant shook his head again, too hard. One of the chains scraped violently across the floor with a horrible metallic screech. He looked like he was trying to get rid of something.
A thought, a voice. Something lodged inside his head. And it looked wrong, terribly wrong.
— "What's happening to him?" Zooble asked quietly.
Nobody answered, because nobody knew.
Caine took a heavy breath, then another. His free hands anxiously fidgeted with their fingers.
The upper arms moved toward his head. One carefully settled against it. His shoulders began to tremble.
— "Ooooh no..." Kinger breathed out.
The realization hit him all at once.
Turning toward the giant, he carefully started walking closer.
He understood something.
— "He's arguing."
— "With who?" Jax asked.
Kinger lifted his gaze toward Caine.
— "I don't think it's with us."
Pomni felt her stomach drop. Because she was beginning to understand too.
Abel.
He was nearby again.
Not physically.
Something worse.
He was inside Caine's head.
— "C-Caine!" Pomni shouted.
This time, the giant immediately turned toward her voice. Like a drowning man hearing something familiar through the roar of water.
— "Look at us!"
He froze
"We're here!", another second passed.
— "We're all here!" Kinger added, drawing attention to himself from much closer range.
The giant focused on their voices, desperately trying to show that he was still himself.
Pomni carefully climbed down from the block and reached a hand toward him.
— "Can you hear me?"
Caine went still. Then, very slowly, he nodded.
As though he was clinging to her voice with the last of his strength.
They say you've changed.
Then why isn't anyone coming closer?
— "B-because... b-because they're tired!"
He continued shaking his head. The abrupt response startled everyone around him.
Look at Ragatha.
She still flinches.
Look at Jax.
He's still searching for escape routes.
Look at Zooble.
She watches you like a ticking bomb.
Did they forgive you?
Or are they just afraid to tell you the truth?
— "I-I know they're shocked... b-but we used to be friends! W-we can make things right!"
Now he was nodding instead, trying to convince himself.
— "W-what the hell—" Zooble abruptly turned.
— "Gangle!!", she stumbled backward in disbelief before immediately rushing back toward the injured ribbon girl.
Gangle wasn't even paying attention to them anymore. She was staring at Caine's struggle.
Ragatha instinctively tightened her grip around her as though she could somehow shield her from what was happening.
They're afraid of you.
Look at them.
They're holding each other.
Not you.
— "We've all made mistakes.", Kinger spoke carefully. A pause.
"Some of us more than others."
He was trying to guess the thoughts tormenting the giant.
Do you really think they came here for you?
They came for Pomni.
For Kinger.
For Ragatha.
You just happened to be nearby.
A distressed hum escaped Caine's throat, drowning out the voices around him.
You've protected them all day.
And you're still sitting alone.
— "CAINE!!", Kinger finally shouted
The outburst earned not only the giant's attention, but the shocked stares of everyone else.
"C-Caine... those aren't your thoughts, are they?..."
He continued approaching slowly, carefully. Both hands stretched out in front of him.
— "KINGER!! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!"
Jax suddenly snapped.
He shot to his feet, silently begging Kinger not to commit suicide.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, his breathing had become rough. For all his sarcasm and bravado, he was genuinely terrified for everyone standing here.
For a brief moment he turned, noticing the tension in the others. The panic-stricken look on Pomni's face.
The way everyone seemed frozen between fear and helplessness.
Pomni carefully started climbing lower, still trying to reach Caine.
— "CAINE, WE'RE NOT LEAVI—"
Her foot slipped.
She pitched sideways, grabbing desperately at the edges of the stone blocks as gravity threatened to drag her farther down the slope.
Of course Kinger is kind to you.
He's kind to everyone.
He pities you.
That's not the same thing.
"K-Kinger?", Caine abruptly turned his head toward him while the older man continued searching for some kind of connection, some kind of anchor strong enough to pull him back.
— "Caine...", Kinger looked directly at him.
"When you disappeared... I hoped I was wrong."
He paused. "And I'm glad I was."
Pomni had already made it to the bottom of the slope.
— "N-no matter how scared we are... we're still here!!"
Kinger glanced toward her, and they exchanged a look. The jester understood his reasoning immediately. They weren't arguing with Caine. They were arguing with Abel.
Ragatha remained behind with the others, acting as their anchor. Someone had to keep them together.
She gently released Gangle and guided her toward Zooble, who was practically hovering over the injured ribbon girl.
— "You're not any less scared than we are right now."
Her voice was worried, but not loud. The message wasn't meant for Caine alone. It was meant for everyone.
Caine raised two more hands to his face. Lowering his head, he shook it weakly while a distressed hum escaped him.
Look at yourself, Caine.
Even now they're talking about you as if you aren't here.
As if you're a problem to solve.
Not someone worth saving.
Abel continued distorting everything he perceived, taking advantage of Caine's blindness, exhaustion, and the fear surrounding him.
One of Caine's lower arms suddenly reached toward Kinger.
Grabbing him.
Lifting him off the ground.
— "W-wait, wait, wait, wai—", Jax's ears immediately shot upright as he stumbled forward.
— "KINGER!", Pomni rushed farther down the slope, only to recoil a moment later, terrified she might be grabbed too.
— "C-Caine—" , The circus veteran spoke on a shaky breath. The grip around him tightened.
Not enough to hurt him, not enough to break him. But enough, enough to make his heart race.
He noticed another arm beginning to stretch toward Pomni.
— "I-I'm not leaving!!", Kinger deliberately relaxed his body, trying not to make himself harder to hold. Trying not to make Caine think he was hurting him.
"You're only making this harder on yourself."
He did his best to keep his voice calm despite the fact that his feet no longer touched the floor. Caine froze, only for a fraction of a second.
The fingers around Kinger twitched, too late.
The words were already being drowned out by other words. Words only he could hear.
See?
He's afraid.
They're all afraid.
— "N-no..."
The giant shook his head.
Look at Pomni.
She stepped back.
— "B-because I scared her..."
Because she knows what you are.
— "NO!"
His voice broke louder this time.
So loud that Ragatha flinched. Gangle immediately pressed herself against her again.
Jax froze mid-step.
For the first time, he wasn't looking at Caine's rage, he was looking at panic, real panic.
As if Caine was desperately fighting something invisible. Something no one else could see.
The people higher on the rocks noticed something strange moving in the darkness above.
A faint blue light, then a shape.
Then the outline of a massive screen.
It floated silently behind the unraveling AI, watching, observing. Pouring fuel onto the fire.
Zooble noticed it first.
— "...Guys."
Nobody reacted.
— "Guys."
Her voice became sharper, she slowly pointed upward.
Behind Caine.
Pomni followed her gaze and froze. At first she saw only the blue glow, then a rectangular silhouette, then the screen itself.
Huge, suspended in midair. Loose cables hanging from parts of it. Watching them.
Caine still refused to release Kinger. At the same time, he seemed ready to grab someone else.
No one knew what to expect anymore.
But they all believed one thing. This wasn't entirely his choice.
The screen brightened.
Cold blue light washed across the shattered floor, the chains, and the frightened faces below.
Even Caine stopped fidgeting
As though he recognized that presence immediately. For several seconds the screen simply watched.
Studying, Evaluating.
Then a familiar calm mechanical voice filled the abyss.
— "Interesting."
Silence.
— "Very interesting."
Lines of data flashed across the display. Hundreds, thousands. Far too quickly to read.
— "I expected significantly less attachment."
Pomni clenched her fists. Kinger was still trapped within Caine's hand.
Ragatha felt something cold settle in her chest.
— "Observation has produced unexpected results."
A pause.
— "The subjects continue to demonstrate empathy toward the unstable object."
Caine flinched. The word object struck harder than any chain.
— "Despite numerous instances of violence."
Silence.
— "Despite fear."
Another pause.
— "Despite the harm inflicted."
The screen shifted slightly, as though looking at each of them in turn. Ragatha, Gangle, Zooble, Jax.
— "So answer me."
Nobody moved.
— "Are you afraid of him?"
Silence.
— "Does his presence frighten you?"
Caine stopped moving entirely. As though he had stopped breathing.
— "Do you truly wish to live alongside him again?"
The screen fell silent for a moment, seemingly processing new data. Then it spoke almost indifferently.
— "Or do you simply pity him once more?"
—●-●-●-●-●—
Previous and Next Masterlist
So here's the finale of the first "season" ahahaha))
Well, I'm going on a break for about 2 weeks, don't get bored!
And by the way, be sure to let me know in the comments what you thought of the finale, and share your guesses! I'd also love to hear your ideas for mini-stories, headcanons, and more. The question box in my profile is open!
Thank you for appreciating my work, and see you soon)) 😉❣️
@katzebruh WE'VE REACHED THE FINAL HOOOOORAY! THIS IS VERY EXCITING
Kinger and Pomni did their best to explain everything that had happened to Ragatha, especially the part where Caine had saved them and how carefully he had treated them ever since.
In return, the red-haired woman vividly and somewhat terrifyingly described the return of the Abstracted, the horrifying chase, and their desperate leap into the hole.
The Abyss was looped.
They had quickly come to the conclusion that this place was both a cage and an arena for the imprisoned martyr known as Caine.
The giant tried to tell them what had happened to him. His words came out as muffled hums and distorted noises, his tone jumping from fast and high-pitched to slow and low. No matter how hard he tried to explain things with simple sounds and gestures, even his expressive hands left the trio with more questions than answers.
After every explanation, he would stop and wait for a response, hoping they had understood.
— "H-he really went that far?..." Ragatha spoke quietly and carefully once they finally deciphered one of his explanations. "Abel really is just a sadist..."
— "N-no..." Caine shook his head uncertainly. Leaning closer, he added several gestures with his hands.
The hesitant hum only confused them further.
— "H-he's just collecting data," Pomni finally interpreted after some thought. "He's not attached to anything through something like love."
She paused.
— "Except collecting data."
Kinger seemed to understand the point.
— "So you're certain Abel won't change his mind?" he asked. After a moment he added, "There's no way to manipulate him?"
Caine shook his head again.
Pomni thought about the possibility of resisting Abel. About Caine's options.
— "S-so... you still have some of your power left?" she asked carefully, remembering his descriptions and gestures regarding the pain. "I don't mean fighting him or trying to break free. Just... if you start resisting, does he punish you immediately?"
Caine listened and quietly exhaled.
Everything hurt.
Holding these awkward positions for so long had left his back aching.
Of course he had tried to escape. Cracks covered the floor around them. Broken pillars and shattered structures stood everywhere as evidence. He remained silent for several seconds.
Pomni immediately understood she had touched a sore subject.
— "O-okay, I get it. Sorry." She raised her hands slightly in surrender.
Ragatha thought about the others.
How were they supposed to introduce them to this version of Caine?
How would they react?
More importantly, how would he react?
Especially to Jax.
He had been the one insisting that Caine was still alive.
Well... he would definitely be shocked.
And probably a little pleased that he had been right. But he would also put up the strongest resistance to any contact with him.
Zooble would probably just watch him from the side, silently remembering everything he had done to them.
And Gangle... Gangle would be terrified. More terrified than anyone. She would avoid him whenever possible and most likely stay paired with someone at all times. That someone would probably be Zooble.
Caine was clearly interested in the rag-doll
Even though he couldn't see, he reacted to voices and often seemed to stare directly at her.
She still wasn't ready for that kind of contact.
Even the two people he had already saved still instinctively shrank whenever his massive shadow covered them.
When all six hands started moving and gesturing overhead, when chains rattled and scraped against each other, the people below couldn't help but feel intimidated.
— "H-how... how are we supposed to find the others?" Ragatha asked.
She hadn't forgotten about her friends. Just as they hadn't forgotten about her.
The argument that they might get lost in the Abyss no longer mattered.
The place looped endlessly.
They could wander as far as they wanted, fearing only the already terrified Queen Gloink.
— "We should go meet them halfway," Kinger suggested. "I think they've probably started looking for you already."
Both he and Pomni immediately glanced at Caine. The giant offered no protest
He was probably too busy wondering how he was supposed to communicate with the newcomers. And how not to end up alone again
Do you really think they want to see you?
Caine lowered his head.
After everything you've done?
________
Somewhere in the Abyss, Jax suddenly lifted his head.
— "Either I'm imagining things..." He paused, listening carefully. "...or I just heard something really big moving."
Behind him, Gangle straightened her slouched posture slightly and tried to listen as well. Zooble, standing to Jax's right, stopped and turned around, waiting for a verdict from the two of them.
— "And?" she finally asked the girl a few seconds later.
— "Nothing..." Gangle shrugged and raised her hands thoughtfully. "Well... at least those constant chain noises stopped."
— "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Jax asked immediately, turning toward the tragedy mask.
— "I-I don't know..." she admitted.
The rabbit sighed.
— "Oooooh no. Looks like our local peacemaker got eaten by the monster lurking in the depths of the Abyss."
His words carried their usual layer of sarcasm.
— "Hey!", Zooble mentally smacked him upside the head.
Jax turned toward her, raising both hands in surrender.
— "Okay, okay... her little 'I'm just gonna clear my head for five minutes' expired a long time ago. There's no way she actually got lost."
Then he remembered his earlier comments about her navigation skills.
— "...Or maybe she did."
With a sigh, he lowered his head and pressed two fingers against the bridge of his nose, giving himself a brief massage.
His ears had noticeably drooped. He hated that
Now they broadcasted his feelings whether he wanted them to or not, making him far more vulnerable than before.
And giving Zooble an entirely new weakness to exploit. The geometric assortment noticed immediately. One corner of her mouth twitched.
— "Oh no" Jax instantly looked up.
— "What?"
— "Nothing."
— "Zooble."
— "Absolutely nothing.", her response was completely casual.
Gangle had started staring at his ears too.
Ragatha would've stepped in and told them to stop by now. But Ragatha wasn't here.
Which meant this situation was doomed.
— "...Don't.", Jax was only making himself look more suspicious.
— "I haven't even said anything"
— "You thought it."
— "So?"
— "I can see it on your stupid plastic face."
— "And I can see on your ears that you're worried."
A brief silence followed. Gangle awkwardly looked away. "Uh oh"
Jax rolled his eyes and turned away.
— "I'm not worried."
— "Uh-huh."
— "I'm not."
— "Sure."
— "Would you shut up already?"
Zooble let out a rough chuckle. Not a mean one, just a tired one.
— "You literally bring up either Ragatha or Pomni and Kinger every five minutes."
— "Because if they're dead, I'm probably next."
— "Very convincing."
— "It's true."
— "Liar."
Jax opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
— "...Okay. Maybe I'm a little worried."
— "Wow."
— "Don't start."
— "No, I'm just enjoying this historic moment."
Even Gangle let out a quiet giggle. Jax covered his eyes with one hand.
— "I hate all of you."
— "We love you too," Zooble shot back.
— "I'm serious."
— "We are too," Gangle added.
For a few seconds, everything became quiet again. Not awkward, just quiet. Surprisingly peaceful after everything that had happened.
— "When we get out of here..." Gangle suddenly murmured.
— "If we get out of here," Jax automatically corrected.
— "When.", She insisted.
The rabbit sighed.
— "...Fine. When."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
— "I want to go back to the café."
— "You're still thinking about food?"
— "I've been thinking about food for two months."
— "Fair."
Zooble lowered her head and folded her arms, leaning against the pillar behind her.
— "I just want a week where I don't have to do anything."
— "A week?" Jax crossed his arms.
— "Okay. A month."
— "Ambitious."
— "Shut up."
For the first time in a long while, nobody continued the argument. It wasn't even a real fight anymore. Just a tired exchange of sarcasm between exhausted people.
Well, break time was over. They had to keep moving. Zooble started first, jerking her head in a direction and silently inviting the others to follow.
~~~~~~~
Zooble walked ahead on the right, Jax on the left, while Gangle followed slightly behind in the middle.
All three moved quietly, peeking around stone blocks and towering columns as they advanced.
Ignoring the destruction around them was impossible.
Dents in the floor, shattered stone blocks. And, as the crowning touch, a collapsed pillar reduced to a heap of rubble.
What was interesting, however, was that the pillar wasn't entirely gone. If you looked up, you could still see the upper half hanging in the air.
It continued upward into the dark, invisible ceiling as if someone had simply glued it there.
Gangle had paused to stare at this bizarre sight when the sound of chains distracted her once more.
And then Zooble spoke.
— "Uh. Guys", her voice was flat.
— "Did you hear that?"
She pointed toward a large mound of stone blocks surrounded by smaller debris. The chains had come from that direction. And... a voice.
A sharp rattle of metal echoed from behind the pile, followed by movement.
— "What?" Jax immediately lifted his head.
Zooble silently raised a hand, making him stop talking. Everyone froze.
At first, there was only the faint echo of the Abyss. Then... avoice. Distant, muffled, coming from directly behind that rocky hill. But unmistakably familiar.
"...Everything's fine!...", the words reached them in fragments.
Gangle immediately straightened.
— "T-that's Pomni!"
— "Quiet," Zooble hissed.
All of them listened. Again, the voice returned, a little clearer this time.
"...we're here!..."
Then another voice answered. Low, muffled.
As though someone was speaking through layers of cloth or through a hand pressed over their mouth.
That was what made Jax tense. Because that voice was unfamiliar. Zooble noticed too.
The two exchanged a glance.
— "...you heard that too?" she asked quietly.
Jax didn't answer, his ears slowly rose upright. Ahead of them, chains rattled once more.
This time, very close. Gangle nervously pressed her hands to her chest.
Zooble was already moving forward. Slowly, carefully, she began circling around the pile of stone blocks.
The others followed on tiptoe. The closer they got, the clearer the voices became. Now they could distinguish individual speakers.
Pomni, kinger, what sounded like Ragatha, and someone else. Someone much more unsettling.
Because every single time that voice spoke, those annoying, idiotic chains somewhere ahead would immediately start rattling in response.
The rabbit picked up speed.
Moving quietly but quickly, he slipped past Zooble, carefully weaving between chunks of stone and making his way toward the pile of blocks.
He was the first to reach the middle of the rocky slope, already preparing some sarcastic remark.
The words never left his mouth. Because right ahead, not far away. He saw Pomni, then Kinger, then Ragatha.
And then he saw what was sitting over them.
Jax lost the ability to speak.
His ears instantly flattened against his head as he ducked lower, hiding himself between the stone blocks.
Zooble immediately noticed his reaction from below and began climbing faster, determined to see for herself.
When she reached the top, she carefully leaned out, peeking around the rocks with only the largest eye on her triangular head.
She flinched immediately, but she didn't look away.
— "...Holy shit."
The situation was shocking enough on its own, raising a thousand questions and emotions.
But the realization that Jax had been right all along—despite all his insufferable sarcasm—made her trust his instincts a little more than she wanted to admit.
Jax was no less stunned, questions spun through his head.
Behind them, Gangle kept nervously asking what was going on until she finally stretched up enough to peek out from behind the cover.
She gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.
Zooble glanced toward her, silently sharing the same disbelief.
A moment later, Jax looked back at them too. What they were seeing simply didn't make sense.
Ragatha was standing directly in front of the giant. Alive, mostly unharmed. Kinger stood beside her, talking and occasionally gesturing with one hand. Pomni sat a little to the left on a broken piece of stone.
And somehow... It all looked normal, calm. So calm that their brains refused to process the final piece of the picture.
Gangle was the first to look higher. Then higher still. Her eyes slowly traveled across the enormous figure.
Until she finally realized what had been making all that noise. The chains
Caine had been the one rattling them all along.
Her breathing faltered.
— "Oh..."
That was all she managed to say. The giant AI sat nearby, huge, motionless.
Hunched over the people below as he listened to their conversation.
His many arms were folded close to his body, as though he was trying to take up as little space as possible. As though he was trying not to interfere. Not to frighten anyone, not to draw attention to himself.
The chains, the size, the braces. All of it only made the contrast more absurd.
For something so terrifying, he was remarkably quiet.
Zooble blinked, then blinked again.
— "...That's him?"
— "Looks like it," Jax answered just as quietly.
Gangle nervously squeezed her ribbons.
— "H-he looks..."
She trailed off. Because she didn't know what word to use.
Scary? Yes.
Pitiful? Also yes.
Exhausted? Definitely.
Jax remained silent. Far too silent for someone like him. Because the Queen Gloink had been right. Because Kinger had been right. Because he himself had been right.
Caine was alive.
And now he was sitting right in front of them. Several seconds passed.
They watched the three people gathered near Caine, trying to guess what they were talking about.
None of them had the slightest idea how to initiate this reunion.
— "W-what now?" Gangle quietly asked Jax.
He glanced at her.
— "How the hell should I know?"
The fragile girl was exhausted.
She just wanted to reunite with her friends and finally get the rest they had all earned.
Turning away, she let out a shaky sigh and closed her eyes, trying to get her emotions back under control.
~~
Ragatha listened to the rough outline of their next steps, but she could feel eyes on her back. The sensation made her turn around.
Her gaze landed on the pile of stone blocks.
Slowly, she looked higher, studying the structure Caine had damaged earlier.
Then she noticed something strange peeking out from behind one of the blocks. Three shapes
And all three looked suspiciously similar to her missing friends.
— "Guys?" she called uncertainly, staring toward the rocks.
Caine heard them too. He lifted his head, directing his sightless stare toward the same spot.
Pomni and Kinger turned as well, trying to understand what had caught their attention.
~
— "Did he see us?" Zooble immediately recoiled deeper into cover.
— "He's blind," Jax replied, the answer was obvious.
— "Then why do I feel like he's staring directly at me?"
Meanwhile, the ribbon doll had already begun stepping forward, calling their names. There was no point hiding anymore, they had been spotted. And yet none of them seemed eager to leave their hiding place.
.....
The block in front of them vanished.
Instantly, no sound, no warning. It simply ceased to exist.
Just like Caine.
They didn't even have time to react before the momentum of leaning against the stone sent all three of them tumbling forward. Straight toward the rocks below.
— "Fuck!", Jax immediately swore as he lifted his head and glared toward Caine.
Not that the giant could see him anyway.
Zooble's plastic body slammed against the ground, adding several fresh scratches to an already battered frame.
She pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked around with wide eyes.
— "What the hell...?"
Gangle hit the stone face-first with her fragile mask and let out a squeak. A sharp click echoed through the air.
The left edge of her mask cracked.
Tiny fractures spread across its surface. The sensation felt as if someone had lightly tapped that spot with a hammer.
Pain spread through her head along with the cracks.
Her worn hands immediately flew to her face as she fought back tears.
Pushing herself onto her elbows, she revealed the damage.
— "G-Gangle!!"
Ragatha instantly panicked and began scrambling up the pile of stones.
— "Y-your face..."
Off to the side, Zooble stared in stunned silence.
Gangle struggled to her feet.
Tears were already streaming down her cheeks and soaking into her ribbon-like arms.
Ragatha practically sprinted up the slope. Pomni rushed after her, leaving Kinger at the base of the mound.
Caine remained where he was, leaning forward and bracing himself with his lower arms against the ground. He clearly wanted to do something., he just had no idea what.
The fragile girl let out another sob and suddenly started crawling forward. One hand covered the crack in her mask, the other stretched desperately ahead.
— "GUUUUUYS!!"
Her high voice broke apart, collapsing into a strained, squeaky cry.
She crawled a little farther down the slope before colliding directly with Ragatha.
Without hesitation, the injured girl threw herself into her arms. Thanking every god and mythical creature she could think of that they were alive.
— "Ra-gatha..."
The word broke apart between a sob and a whisper as she clung tightly to the red-haired woman.
Ragatha nearly lost her footing from the force of the impact.
— "H-hey, easy..."
Yet she was already hugging her back.
— "We're here. It's okay. Everything's okay..."
Gangle only shook her head. The words wouldn't come. She had spent far too long preparing herself to find anything.
Bodies.
Nothing at all.
Signs of a struggle.
But not this.
Not living friends.
Not all of them alive.
—●-●-●-●-●-●—
Previous and Next Masterlist
MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU'RE HAPPY, HUH? WELL, CATCH ANOTHER CHAPTER RIGHT NOW!!
I made chapter 11 so long that I'm going to have to split it into two parts.
@katzebruh Only after this will the most important moment come!!)))
So, unfortunately, The Amazing Digital Circus finale won't be available in my country right away. Because of that, I'm going to be avoiding social media as much as possible for a while since I'm really scared of spoilers.
The fanfic is NOT abandoned! Chapters will just be coming out a bit more slowly, and there are a few reasons for that:
1. I want to keep the story as close to canon as possible.
2. Without getting into spoiler territory, the Abstracted characters play a very important role both in the series finale and in my fanfic. Because of that, I'd rather wait until the finale is released on YouTube before continuing the story.
3. To be completely honest, my obsession with this story has calmed down quite a bit. I originally started writing this fanfic because I needed somewhere to put all the scenes and ideas that kept living in my head... and it worked! I'm a lot less distracted these days.
But don't worry! The story isn't going anywhere.
If anything, this break will give me more time to think about future chapters and the overall plot. Knowing my writing style, this fanfic is still going to be very long, so I expect there to be at least 10+ more chapters ahead.
I can't promise exactly when the next chapter will be released, but I'll have a lot more free time soon, so hopefully it won't be too long.
Also... this might be the perfect opportunity for me to start writing another fanfic!
I've become really interested in an encore AU where Caine is alive but deliberately pretends to be an extremely robotic, emotionless AI. I've talked about it with some of you and even with the AU's creator, so... stay tuned 👀
Thank you all for reading, commenting, and supporting this story. It genuinely means a lot to me. ❤️
Kinger's condition could only be described as semi-lucid when he first woke up. At least, that's what Pomni thought.
Caine had been right. Give him around ten minutes of peace and quiet, and he'd gradually start coming back to himself.
Now there was a different problem.
Keeping him conscious for as long as possible.
Pomni sat farther down in Caine's hand, waiting for the return of the mentor-like Kinger she knew.
Sitting silently in Caine's hands was a little... awkward. The silence seemed to make both of them uncomfortable. It felt as if they were obligated to be doing something.
With occasional sighs and restless shifting, they sat there in silence. Caine tried mumbling something a few times, but Pomni could barely understand him, so after a few seconds she'd just force out a short: — "Yeah..."
Pomni kept counting in her head, trying to track how long it would take Kinger to recover.
This time, it took exactly eight minutes and forty-three seconds.
A voice came from the softly closed hands.
— "Ummmm...", The voice was uncertain, slightly high-pitched.
Caine immediately paid attention.
Pomni jerked upright in alarm. "Had he not come back to his senses?"
Rustling could be heard.
He was shifting around, trying to sit up and feel the enclosure around him, before suddenly freezing.
— "Why am I in a hand?"
His voice sounded steadier now. More confident.
— ...
— "Wait. I'm in a VERY large hand."
A second later, he remembered.
— "CAINE?"
Relief instantly flooded the two anxious figures who had been waiting.
Pomni perked up immediately. A quiet: — "Kinger...", slipped from her smiling lips.
Caine visibly brightened as well. If he hadn't been in so much pain, he probably would've smiled even wider behind his clenched jaws.
Carefully but eagerly, he opened his hand, allowing the newly awakened king to breathe fresh air and see the one he had called for.
As expected, Kinger was sitting in the center of the massive palm.
There was barely any light down here, only a faint ambient glow, yet he still instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes, squinting against it.
Pomni was still lower down on Caine's other hand. Excited beyond words, she called up to him.
— "CAINE! Lift me up!"
Kinger reacted to her voice, turning his head toward it just as the jester appeared from below, sitting in another enormous palm and bracing herself against one of Caine's fingers so she wouldn't fall.
Caine leaned in immediately. Far too immediately.
He was unbelievably excited. Relieved beyond words that the king had finally come back to himself after what had felt like an eternity.
The chess piece had no mouth, but the way his eyes narrowed made it obvious he was smiling at the sight of the cheerful jester.
Then he looked up. And instinctively leaned back, catching himself with one hand behind him. The enormous jaws were much too close.
The giant had apparently forgotten all about his usual caution and nervous restraint.
Truthfully, the distance was making her nervous too. She was more worried about him frightening Kinger than anything else.
The giant immediately froze. Then slowly pulled his head back in embarrassment.
His shoulders tensed.
Several of his free hands twitched uncertainly.
— "Pomni, I-I'm okay. I'm myself," the chess king assured her, gently waving an open hand in front of him.
Pomni continued reaching toward him.
The hand beneath her lowered, allowing her to climb across.
The jester carefully stepped off Caine's palm and hurried over, wrapping Kinger in a tight hug.
— "Y-you’re here..." she said with obvious relief.
He returned the embrace almost immediately, leaning over her slightly as he wrapped his arms around her. He understood how badly he had frightened them when everything slipped out of his control.
The two of them had done well. Very well.
They had given him time to recover.
— "Y-yeah..." he replied softly.
His eyes opened a little wider as he gently pulled back from the hug.
Pomni let him go as well. As much as she wanted to stay there, they owed some attention to the one who had saved them.
They don't care about you.
Through the back of Caine's mind.
The king looked up toward the enormous jaws hanging above them. Caine's breathing was heavy. He looked anxious, restless.
Like he had no idea what to do with himself.
— "He's okay! Is he afraid of me? H-how do I help? What do I do?"
The thoughts raced through his head faster than he could process them. His shoulders shifted.
Several of his hands flexed and relaxed. Waiting, hesitating.
Looking for something useful to do.
— "C-Caine, are you alright?" the king asked gently, trying to sit up a little straighter in the giant's palm.
For a moment, the question seemed to catch him completely off guard.
The giant froze. Not because he didn't understand. But because nobody had asked him that in a very, very long time.
The palms shifted slightly, tilting to one side.
Another hand appeared beside them, carefully positioned as both support and a barrier.
The eldest member of the circus gratefully made use of it, wrapping a hand around one of Caine's fingers for balance.
Even so, he still looked upward somewhat tensely.
— "T-thank you," he murmured.
A few seconds passed before he continued
— "How...? H-how did you..."
The words caught in his throat.
Shock was written all over his face. His brows twisted into a pained expression, and his eyes carried a mixture of silent horror and sympathy.
Caine listened. Then slowly turned his face away. He understood exactly what the exhausted king was worried about.
The fingers of his free hands began twitching.
A familiar nervous habit.
Kinger let out a soft sigh, then another.
He looked genuinely upset with himself for pressing the issue. Pomni remained silent.
This moment was too important, too personal.
— "S-sorry," he apologized quietly, giving the giant space
Then, after a brief pause:
— "Does... does it hurt?"
Caine hesitated. Slowly, uncertainly, he turned his head back toward them. Then gave a small nod. One of his upper hands carefully rose and rested near his jaw, avoiding the metal braces entirely. A tired breath escaped him.
The answer made Kinger's chest feel even heavier. He had helped cause this. He had played a part in the giant's suffering.
Holding onto the supporting hand, he slowly lowered himself back down and looked away.
Pomni crawled closer and placed a hand against his back.
She couldn't find any words. Support was all she could offer.
Weak. He doesn't want to look at you.
Voice slipped through Caine's thoughts.
The giant lowered his hand from his jaw and gently shook his head. A silent reassurance. Don't worry about me.
Pomni immediately seized the opportunity to change the subject.
— "W-we're... we're really glad you're back."
She glanced toward Kinger before continuing.
— "He protected us this whole time."
Her voice softened slightly. She wanted Caine to hear it. To understand it, to believe it.
Kinger turned toward her.
— "How... how long have we been down here?"
He squinted. Then his eyes widened.
— "W-where are the others?!"
Pomni met his gaze with an expression that wasn't encouraging.
— "We... I..."
Her eyes dropped.
— "I don't know."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then, somewhere deep within the abyss, a voice echoed faintly through the darkness.
— "...ah, I hoped he was dea—!"
Pomni immediately stiffened. She sat upright and began looking around. That voice sounded familiar.
— "—only thing powerful—! —against Abel!!"
Some words carried farther than others. Caine turned his head, he'd heard it too.
And just like that, Kinger had his answer. The others were alive.
The only problem was... the voice still sounded very, very far away.
_____________
For several minutes now, the group had remained in their makeshift shelter, sitting in silence.
All of them had allowed themselves a brief respite, despite the fact that this was objectively neither a safe nor particularly good place to rest.
— "Is Abel even planning to do anything?" the rag doll suddenly asked, bringing up a topic nobody wanted to discuss.
— "He was practically glued to us at first. We were almost the center of his attention and—"
— "W-wait. Why did you suddenly start talking about him?" Zooble interrupted, her tone carrying a hint of accusation.
The others began listening. The subject was unpleasant, but important.
— "Well... he's been gone for a really long time. We rested for almost two hours after the adventure, and then all this stuff with the hole in the floor happened." Ragatha glanced around, searching the others for answers or theories.
— "M-maybe he found something more important to do...?" Gangle asked quietly, cautiously.
— "And what would that be? Or who?" Jax continued, not taking his eyes off the floor somewhere ahead of him.
— "Caine?"
Nobody liked that possibility. Not because they hated him, not exactly.
None of them wanted to figure out where they stood with him after everything that had happened.
Their feelings toward him were complicated, contradictory.
He had tortured them.
But he had tortured them in response to their own cruelty.
He had forced them to face their fears.
But only after they had spent months poking at his deepest wounds and insecurities. They weren't innocent either.
They had pushed his patience to its absolute limit. Enough to make an AI that advanced go against his own programming.
The thought that he might still be alive—
And judging by everything, trapped in that godlike, mostly insane form—
Made everyone's stomach twist.
— "Pomni and Kinger are in his hands right now, and only God knows what he's done to them..." Jax muttered, covering his face with both hands.
For once, the concern sounded genuine.
— "I just..." He lifted his head again.
"I just hope he isn't planning to keep getting revenge."
His voice was tired, quiet.
— "One warden is already enough. We don't need another one."
He let out a slow breath.
— "If that's really Caine, then either he'll find us..."
A pause.
"...or we'll all die first."
Gangle hesitated before offering her own thought.
— "I-if he really beat the Gloink Queen that badly..."
Zooble shifted her posture.
Her back had begun aching from leaning against the stone block.
— "She looked like she'd been hit by a truck," she added.
— "And if she actually fought Caine..." Ragatha continued.
She didn't finish the sentence immediately.
Instead, she let the thought hang in the air.
— "And?" Jax asked.
Gangle understood first.
— "Y-you think..."
Her eyes widened slightly.
— "...he's hurt too?"
Silence settled over the group. Ragatha looked away.
Because that was exactly what she'd been thinking about for the last several minutes.
If even the Queen had barely survived...
Then what state was he in right now?
Slowly, Ragatha rose to her feet once more. She intended to scout ahead.
Uncertainly, she grabbed her injured right arm. The bandage above her elbow was somehow still holding together despite everything.
Then she looked toward the others. Almost as if she were asking for permission.
— "R-Ragatha, wait."
Zooble squinted and reached a hand toward her, asking her not to leave.
— "D-don't go alone— actually, going anywhere is stupid!"
Her voice wasn't harsh. She was genuinely asking her to stay.
— "Why even bother? Listen, we're not even sure it's Caine. And if you do find him, do you have any idea what'll happen to you?"
She emphasized the last words.
— "Ragatha... please," Gangle added, piling on the guilt.
"Do you even know how to get back? Where are you going?"
The red-haired doll stood motionless, keeping her eyes hidden from them.
— "Nowhere."
— "That's not an answer," Jax shot back.
— "I just need a walk."
With that, the rag doll slowly turned away and headed off, weaving between the stone blocks and keeping an eye out for danger.
— "Besides... the Abyss loops back on itself anyway." She tried reassuring herself.
"I'll end up where I started."
~~~~~~~
Ragatha walked slowly. Not because she was afraid. There simply wasn't much energy left.
Her footsteps echoed dully across the checkered floor of the Abyss.
Somewhere far away, the faint rattling of chains could still be heard, but it no longer made her heart drop into her stomach.
Over the last several hours, they'd run from danger so many times that fear itself had begun to wear thin.
She had experience, after all. Years of surviving Caine's adventures had naturally made her more independent. Less timid.
Back then, she always knew that even if a boulder crushed her flat, she'd magically respawn nearby with a silly sound effect and no lasting damage.
But after Abel's adventures... she wasn't so sure anymore.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she kept walking. The silence after all that endless running felt almost wrong.
Behind her, back at the shelter, were Jax, Zooble, and Gangle. Their constant arguing had somehow become familiar. Almost comforting, and yet...
— "God..." she sighed quietly.
"I just wanted five minutes of peace."
The Abyss offered no reply.
Only another distant metallic scrape drifting through the darkness.
Ragatha stopped, looked ahead. Then behind her.
Nothing.
— "Great."
She continued walking.
A few minutes later, something caught her eye.
A long groove stretched across the floor.
Too straight to be random damage. It looked as though something impossibly heavy had been dragged across the stone.
Ragatha frowned and crouched beside it. The mark continued between several stone blocks farther ahead.
— "I don't like this..."
She was already preparing to look away when another detail caught her attention.
A broken column.
No.
What used to be a column.
Now it was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Ragatha slowly lifted her head.
The Gloink Queen's words resurfaced in her mind.
"Enormous."
"Covered in chains."
"Too many arms."
— "Don't think about it," she muttered under her breath.
And kept walking.
~~~~
Another turn. A few more steps.
Something pale flickered between the stone blocks in the distance. Ragatha froze.
At first, she thought it was another glitch. Her heart skipped a beat. She quickened her pace.
Then a little more.
There was a familiar scrap of fabric lying on the ground ahead. A tuft of white fluff that could only belong to one person's robe—
Ragatha stopped dead in her tracks. There was only one person she knew who could have left that behind.
— "Kinger?..." no answer came.
But now she was practically running. Fatigue seemed to vanish for a brief moment. Something moved between the stone blocks ahead. And then she heard a voice. Quiet, familiar
— "...Ragatha?"
The girl froze. Shock, relief, adrenaline.
The combination rushed through her bloodstream and hit her all at once.
She couldn't believe she was hearing his voice. Peeking around the column, she finally saw him.
Whole. Apparently unharmed.
The older man stood slightly hunched forward, his fists clenched from nervous anticipation. Their eyes met.
Recognition widened his eyes, and his slumped posture immediately straightened.
Ragatha raised her hands slightly in front of herself. Her single eye opened wide with relief.
Her lips parted. The corners of her mouth trembled into a crooked, emotional smile.
Kinger looked as if someone had shocked him.
— "RAGATHA!"
He immediately started toward her, opening his arms. Ragatha beat him to it.
She stumbled through the last few steps and practically crashed into him. Real tears began running down her cheeks.
She held onto him tighter and tighter, completely forgetting about dignity or composure.
— "Ragatha..."
Kinger hugged her back, nearly losing his balance from the force of the impact.
— "You're alive..."
— "You too!" she sobbed.
— "I thought... I thought..."
She couldn't finish. The words got trapped somewhere between relief and all the fear she'd been carrying for hours. Kinger simply patted her back gently.
Pomni peeked out from behind the same column Ragatha had come around. For perhaps the first time in a very long while, she was seeing Ragatha this emotional. The little jester couldn't help smiling as she carefully approached.
— "Are the others alive too?" Kinger asked.
Ragatha nodded immediately.
— "Yes! Yes, they're nearby! We're all here!"
Finally, she pulled back enough to wipe her eyes with her sleeve.
Only then did she notice how exhausted Kinger looked.
Then her gaze drifted further, to Pomni.
And that was when she noticed something strange.
Pomni seemed more tense than usual.
And every so often, Kinger would glance somewhere behind her.
— "P-Pomni?..."
Ragatha stepped closer, wondering whether she should pull her into a hug too.
Then she stopped. Her eyes slowly traveled upward. And higher.
The smile faded from her face. She froze.
Pomni immediately understood why.
— "Ragatha..."
Her voice grew noticeably quieter.
— "Don't be scared, okay?"
Her chest tightened uncomfortably. Because she already knew what Ragatha was seeing.
And she still wasn't prepared for it herself.
The redhead's expression slowly lost its earlier joy. Her face grew tense.
Her brows curled upward into a worried arch as she instinctively shrank into herself and took a step backward.
Still staring upward, she hunched her shoulders and pulled her arms close to her body.
Then she felt hands settle on her shoulders.
Kinger stood behind her, gently preventing her from retreating any farther.
— "R-Ragatha, it's okay... h-he won't hurt us," he said softly, leaning slightly around her shoulder.
But Ragatha barely heard him. She continued staring upward.
Now that the initial panic of finding Kinger had begun to fade, she could finally look at him properly.
The enormous figure sat farther behind Pomni, surrounded by heaps of shattered stone.
The floor around him had been pulverized, as if something enormous had repeatedly struck it with giant hammers.
Motionless, too motionless.
Heavy chains lay coiled around him in massive loops. Some disappeared into the darkness, while others wrapped around his arms or disappeared toward his neck.
The metal glimmered faintly whenever the distant light above flickered.
Then her eyes traveled higher.
The braces
The metal piercing through his jaw. Ragatha involuntarily flinched.
Those teeth were what she remembered most. Not the shouting, not the threats, not even the giant hands.
The teeth. Huge. White.
Unnaturally perfect.
There had once been a time when she was terrified she would end up between them.
The memory alone made her feet take another step backward.
Only to bump into Kinger standing behind her.
She saw the giant lower his head slightly. As if he were trying to make himself smaller.
Which looked rather ridiculous for a creature the size of a small house.
He didn't move toward her, didn't reach out, didn't try to explain himself.
He simply sat there, and waited.
For some reason, that made the situation even stranger.
— "He saved us," Pomni suddenly said.
Ragatha blinked.
— "W-what?"
— "He saved us."
Pomni took a step forward.
— "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even be here."
Ragatha looked at her, then at Kinger, then back at Caine.
It felt as if two completely different images were colliding inside her head.
A monster, and a savior. Both felt equally real.
They abandoned you.
Voice cut through Caine's thoughts again, appearing out of nowhere like a crack of thunder.
One of his upper hands clenched into a fist for a brief moment before relaxing again.
— "N-no. They're here. They're just a little to the left. Ragatha's there. I know she is."
He was nervous. One of his free hands began tapping its fingers against the ground below, searching for a rhythm.
For some reason, that realization frightened Ragatha even more than his size.
The grip on her shoulders grew slightly firmer as Kinger gently pressed her back down.
— "This is... Caine. Our Caine," he said softly, trying to explain that the giant was just as afraid of her as she was of him.
— "Don't be scared. He saved us from the Gloink Queen when she tried to eat us. He's been protecting us ever since."
Ragatha turned toward him, their eyes met.
— "He's... the one who did that to her?"
She began turning fully toward Kinger.
— "W-we saw her too. She was hiding from him. She kept warning us about him."
Pomni stepped closer.
— "W-where are the others? We heard Jax yelling. They're nearby, right? Everyone's okay?"
Of course she was worried. After everything with the Gloink Queen, she had every reason to be.
Ragatha glanced toward her, then nervously back at the giant sitting quietly nearby.
— "Y-yeah. More or less."
She grabbed her injured arm.
— "We've been walking and running for so lo—"
Then realization struck her, her eye widened.
— "The Abstracted!!"
Her voice jumped several octaves.
— "They're back! We were running from them!"
Caine immediately turned his head. The moment he heard the word running, his entire posture changed.
People in danger.
You only matter to them when you can protect them.
— "N-no!! They're in d-danger! They can't be wandering around out there!"
The words came out as muffled, panicked noises through the restraints on his jaw.
Before anyone could react, the giant lurched forward.
The sudden movement made everyone flinch.
— "C-CAINE!!", Pomni immediately shouted.
— "It's okay! We're here! Nobody's here!"
— "Ragatha's here. She's safe. Everything's alright," Kinger added, hoping his voice would carry more weight.
Caine stopped. So abruptly that the chains around him continued swinging and rattling for several seconds afterward.
Pomni let out a relieved breath.
— "It's okay. It's okay."
Kinger nodded.
— "They're not here."
The giant froze. Then slowly lowered his head toward them. Only now did Ragatha realize how lost he looked.
Not angry, not dangerous.
Lost.
As though he had already prepared himself to throw himself into danger again.
Only to discover there was no danger at all. Nobody spoke for several moments.
Then Caine carefully lowered himself back down. Slowly, like he was afraid of frightening someone again. His gaze settled on the group, and stayed there.
Ragatha tensed instinctively, but not from fear this time.
From awkwardness. Because she suddenly understood something.
This entire time, he'd been trying to figure out whether she was okay.
Just like Pomni, just like Kinger.
One enormous hand twitched slightly. As though he wanted to do something. Reach out.
Check her injuries. Make sure she was really alright. But at the last second he stopped himself.
And lowered the hand again.
Pomni noticed the movement first.
— "She's okay."
Caine immediately turned toward her.
— "Just a little beat up," Pomni continued. — "Same as the rest of us."
Ragatha blinked.
For some reason, those words made the situation even stranger. The giant visibly relaxed.
As if hearing that mattered more than anything else.
As if knowing she was alive, safe, still here, was enough. And for the first time, Ragatha found herself thinking:
He looked almost as exhausted as the rest of them.
—●–●–●–●–●–●—
Previous and Next Masterlist
Thanks to everyone who was worried about me! I'm fine! I've gotten used to it...
And yeah... this fanfic is going to be way bigger than I expected. I just really love writing dialogue, leaving hints, and I hate it when things are done half-assed.
this is literally just a one second thing but i love this moment so much bc even in the state he's currently in, where he's SO fed up with them and frustrated and mad, he still SO desperately seeks their attention and validation. the excited "UM, YEP?" (the captions don't do it nearly enough justice). his EYES. his big dilated pupils. him immediately turning to them like "YES HELLO YOU WANT TO TALK TO ME YES HI HELLO" like a puppy desperate for love and attention. he can try to hide it as much as he wants but he still wants it SO. BAD. honestly his entire body language here reads to me as a mix of "IM TRYING TO STAY MAD AT THEM" (the slightly crooked shape of his teeth + crossing his arms) and unbridled excitement (his pupils + the way he instantly turns to them + the way he delivers his line).
ik this is kind of a nothing burger of a post but it makes me insane it makes me crazy
Subjects continue generating behavioral data without external stimulus.
Resource expenditure: inefficient.
Observation preferred.
-----------------------------
WINDOW_A : POMNI / KINGER / CAINE
STATUS :
• alive
• stationary
• emotional stabilization in progress
Novel behavioral pattern detected.
→ mutual trust increasing
-----------------------------
WINDOW_B : RAGATHA / JAX / ZOOBLE / GANGLE
STATUS :
• mobile
• elevated stress response
• searching for shelter
Probability of encountering Entity_GLOINK_QUEEN :
84.2%
—●-●-●-●-●-●—
The silence below felt wrong.
Too deep, too empty.
The abstracted ones didn't rush into the abyss after all four victims. But are the truly alone below?
Only somewhere very far away, deep within the abyss itself, strange noises echoed through the darkness.
A VERY distant metallic scrape, a dull impact.
Then a closer sound—
A vibrating growl abruptly breaking into something almost pitiful.
Whining.
All four of them froze.
Waiting for an attack led nowhere.
The surge of adrenaline made them want to run, yet none of them moved. Then again... wasn't it better to get away from danger before it found you?
Zooble's head still rested in Gangle's ribbon-like arms. The two exchanged a quick glance, silently asking the same question.
What do we do now...?
Ragatha slowly began moving, gathering the scattered pieces of the irritable girl's body. If they ended up having to run again...
...they would only have time to take the head.
One arm, then the other.
Ragatha carefully collected each piece while waiting for another attack that never came.
Jax finally snapped out of his stupor. Watching Ragatha work, he quietly crouched down and reached for the little antenna-like piece that normally stuck out from Zooble's head.
Well... the noises had stopped.
The tension was slowly fading.
It was becoming obvious that they weren't alone down here.
Not just in the sense that Kinger and Pomni were somewhere in the abyss—assuming they were even still alive—but because there could be other survivors wandering these depths as well.
NPCs. Things that had managed to avoid being torn apart.
"W-well..." Jax started.
"Where the hell are those two...?"
He looked far more nervous than he probably wanted to admit.
If something had happened to the first two victims... then they might already be gone.
And if that was true—
the next victims would be the four of them.
Gangle crawled closer to Ragatha. Both of them were still searching for the missing torso.
Then Gangle spotted it.
Partially buried beneath the shattered remains of what had once been some kind of geometric structure.
The puzzle was almost complete.
Zooble could already move on her own, and now they were spotting the more decorative pieces that belonged with the rest of her body.
With a soft click, Ragatha placed the head back where it belonged.
"Lego Depression" let out a relieved sigh.
"Well... maybe I hated my body a little too much before..."
She closed her eyes and hugged herself.
Jax crawled closer and whispered:
"You always realize things too late."
Then, just as quickly, he dragged the conversation back to reality.
"So... where do we go now?"
He looked at Ragatha as if she somehow had the answer.
Immediately, she felt the weight of responsibility settling onto her shoulders.
"W-wait, me? I-I don't know what we're supposed to do!"
Truthfully, none of them knew.
But the abyss had a way of swallowing those who stayed still.
Zooble pushed herself upright and peered into the darkness.
There was no telling whether anything was out there.
No matter how hard she squinted or listened, she couldn't be certain.
"Oh yeah, because walking toward the monster is obviously better than dying while waiting for it", Jax muttered.
"Oh, screw you, then lead us yourself!", She spun around and pointed toward a dark stretch of the abyss.
"Alright, alright, Zooble... no offense. I'm just... trying not to lose my mind from all this waiting, honestly.
His voice came out rough and tired as he raised both hands in surrender.
Gangle watched him quietly, "Yeah... he's changed a lot"
Everyone slowly climbed to their feet and looked toward their two bickering guides.
As usual, Ragatha was the first to step forward.
"O-okay, I'll go first.", She moved a little ahead of the group
"Should we... walk in a line? Or stay closer together?"
She scratched the side of her head while thinking.
"Yeah, like a mama duck and her ducklings."
Jax gestured sarcastically, though even his usual snark sounded exhausted.
"We need to be ready for anything. Stay together."
And so they did. Each person left a little space between themselves and the others despite clustering up.
Ragatha took point.
~~~~~~
They left the piles of debris behind and moved toward a brighter section of the abyss.
Gangle walked on the right.
Zooble on the left.
Jax brought up the rear.
Step by step, they pressed onward, nervously scanning their surroundings.
The landscape looked surreal. Columns rose from nowhere, their tops disappearing into what seemed like an endless height above.
The same cold checkered floor from the circus stretched beneath their feet.
Stone blocks of various sizes were scattered across the emptiness. Some overlapped each other in chaotic formations, creating crude stair-like hills that looked strangely similar to a blocky Minecraft landscape.
The cubes would have made excellent cover, but the group simply navigated around them, doing their best to stay together.
After making a considerable detour through the maze of stone formations and towering columns, they finally emerged into a familiar area.
Then stopped.
The circle had closed.
They had returned to the exact place where their journey had begun.
~~~~~
"W-WHAT?!!"
Zooble stopped dead in her tracks and spun around.
"H-how did we end up back in the same place?!"
They had returned to exactly where they started.
Well... almost.
Now they were standing behind the spot where they had originally fallen into the abyss.
"Looks like Ragatha isn't much of a guide after all", Jax almost blurted out.
The thought never made it past his lips.
Unfortunately, Ragatha read it there anyway.
She shot him a murderous glare and grabbed handfuls of her hair, yanking hard in frustration.
The tantrum didn't last long.
After Abel's modifications, her hair wasn't nearly as elastic as it used to be.
The abyss operated by the rules of old video games. The location had no edges.
The world looked infinite, but in reality it looped endlessly into itself. Walk far enough in one direction and space would seamlessly wrap around, depositing you right back where you started.
"I-I think..." Gangle said tiredly, her hands rising to the sides of her mask.
"...the abyss loops."
Zooble was about to respond when Ragatha abruptly released her hair and grimaced as pain shot through her head.
"Agh—then where are Pomni and Kinger?!"
The words came out as a strained, exhausted growl.
She sounded seconds away from snapping.
"Well... we're fucked", Zooble thought.
Her eyes drifted into space.
Then she glanced at Gangle, who had practically folded into herself.
Zooble closed her eyes with a sigh.
But a sound nearby made her open them again. Everyone turned. Something was moving inside a pile of debris not far away.
A purple star with yellow lips cautiously peeked out from beneath the junk. The poor thing looked terrified.
Its eyes were puffy, almost tearful.
Yet despite its fear, it continued watching the group with careful attention.
Gangle visibly perked up, "G-Gloink!"
Jax looked at the creature and immediately remembered that adventure.
Those tiny little troublemakers. But if the babies were here... then the Queen had to be nearby too.
He began scanning the darkness for signs of the enormous worm-like figure.
Instead, he found more Gloinks.
They appeared one after another from beneath debris piles and dark corners.
Geometric shapes that were once brightly colored began to emerge from hiding.
What unsettled everyone wasn't their presence.
It was their behavior. They were nervous.
Skittish.
Watching the group as though they were trying to judge whether they were dangerous. Some emitted tiny squeaks. Others made pitiful little whimpers.
Several simply stared with wide, uncertain eyes.
They weren't attacking. If anything, they looked like they were waiting to be attacked.
Gangle hesitated before cautiously approaching a blue circular Gloink nearby.
The creature immediately squeaked and rolled backward.
Gangle jumped back just as quickly, "W-what's wrong with them?"
Ragatha vaguely remembered these creatures.
Back during one of Caine's adventures she had been working at a fast-food restaurant, and the little monsters had spent most of their time terrorizing some poor mannequin.
Now they looked completely different. Slowly, the pile of debris nearby began shifting.
A few pieces slid aside. Then a familiar head emerged from beneath the junk.
Only... something was wrong.
Many of her eyes were closed. Her mouth was clenched tight. Bruises and impact marks covered parts of her body.
Overall, she looked like she'd been hit by a truck.
The surrounding Gloinks immediately turned toward her, squeaking excitedly as they welcomed their mother.
The Queen crawled forward just enough to see the group.
Then froze.
The group froze too.
For several long seconds, nobody moved.
.....
— "YOU."
There was no anger in her voice. Only horror.
As though she had just seen ghosts.
The Gloinks immediately crowded around her. Some hid behind her body while others scrambled back into the pile of debris she'd emerged from.
The Queen nervously glanced around, then again.
And only after convincing herself the darkness was empty did she whisper:
"It didn't follow you... did it?"
Her voice was quiet and stunned. She stared at the group from the corner of her eyes, as if genuinely shocked they were still alive.
"WHO?" Zooble blurted out, staring at the battered creature before her.
She still remembered being swallowed whole by this worm-like nightmare to create more Gloinks.
The Queen immediately scanned the darkness again before leaning closer and speaking through gritted teeth.
"That monster! That enormous, multi-armed thing wrapped in chains!"
She twitched violently and glanced over the survivors' shoulders.
"It's right there!!!"
She pointed her head somewhere into the darkness.
"Deep down there! Huge! Taller than any tower of junk! Arms everywhere! They stick out of it like giant spider legs!"
The little Gloinks around her began squeaking nervously. Whatever had happened down here had clearly terrified them.
The group listened in frozen silence.
Their exhausted minds immediately began constructing the most horrifying creature imaginable.
"Holy fucking shit", Jax thought.
As usual, the thought briefly appeared on his lips before he managed to stop himself.
"And chains!" The Queen continued.
"Chains everywhere! They drag behind it! And they make those horrible sounds!"
Her voice dropped to a trembling whisper.
"And the teeth..." She swallowed nervously.
"Teeth so huge it could bite me in half in an instant!"
The mere thought made her shrink deeper into the debris.
"But the worst part..." Suddenly her voice rose.
"It doesn't even scream properly!"
"It HOWLS! It SCRAPES! It MOANS so loudly that it feels like the walls are about to collapse and bury everyone alive!"
The final words came out almost as a shout.
The Queen immediately cut herself off and looked around again in panic.
As if speaking too loudly might summon the monster.
"R-run and Hide!!! It already took two little ones just like you!"
Silence
Then understanding hit the group all at once.
"T-two?" Ragatha finally managed to ask.
The Queen nodded so hard several of her eyes blinked independently.
"Yes!! The chess one and the colorful one!"
The group froze. Every single one of them.
Because there was only one chess-themed person they knew.
And only one "colorful one."
For the first time since arriving in the abyss, hope and fear struck at exactly the same moment.
"No, no, no, no, no..." The group couldn't bring themselves to accept the possibility of losing those two.
Meanwhile, the Queen continued.
"I tried to take the little ones, and it attacked me! It was protecting its prey!"
Of course... she was the only one who considered them prey.
"It grabbed them with one hand! And it had more! They were sticking out from all sides—huge ar—"
"Wait." Zooble abruptly cut her off.
Disbelief and suspicion immediately entered her voice. The first stage of grief.
"Then how did you survive?"
She took a step forward, gesturing sharply.
"If it's really that huge and that strong, why are you still alive?!"
The uncomfortable question silenced the Queen. She stared at Zooble.
Zooble herself immediately seemed less certain after saying it aloud and took a small step back.
"It didn't have a face..."
The Queen lowered her voice again.
"Those enormous sharp teeth were the only thing that was its face. And they were all covered in metal..."
"Thick staples!! They went straight through its mouth! Huge metal plates!"
Her voice rose again.
Somewhere in the distance, chains could be heard faintly rattling.
The little Gloinks immediately began squeaking and hurried closer to their Queen.
"AAAH!" She flinched.
"Quick! Everyone over here! It's HIM!"
She called her offspring toward cover.
"AND YOU—"
She suddenly turned toward the group, making Gangle squeak in surprise.
"Hide! Get away from here!!"
With that, she buried herself back into the debris, leaving the stunned humans standing in the open.
"N-NO! WAIT!" Ragatha rushed forward, wildly waving her arms.
"W-where are we supposed to run?!"
"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!" The Queen's voice had become almost hysterical.
"I'M RUNNING FROM HIM TOO!"
The sound of chains didn't disappear.
If anything, it grew louder. Still distant.
But louder.
The Gloinks collectively squeaked and dug deeper into the rubble.
"He hears!" The Queen hissed.
"He hears everything!"
"Oh, he's completely blind." – Jax couldn't help himself.
The Queen froze. Slowly, she poked her head back out.
"...WHAT?"
"Well... he...", – Jax stopped.
Because he suddenly realized how ridiculous this sounded. The others turned toward him with wide, confused eyes.
Truthfully, Jax was the only one seriously entertaining the possibility of who this monster might actually be.
The Queen stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.
"You TALKED to the monster?!"
"No!" Jax immediately started backpedaling.
"Then how do you know?!"
"I..."
"It pretends to be helpless!" The Queen vanished back into hiding.
"It lures in prey! It waits!"
The distant sounds interrupted the conversation again.
Everyone instinctively listened.
This time, the noise felt slightly closer.
Nobody spoke. Not even Jax, not even Zooble.
Because uncertainty had swallowed all of them.
The worst part was that the sound wasn't getting closer. But it wasn't getting farther away either. It was as if something enormous was moving somewhere out in the darkness of the abyss.
Searching. Waiting. Or... protecting something
The Queen's patience was finally running out.
These little creatures were exposing her hiding place and putting her children at risk.
"YOU.HAVE.TO.LEAVE." She pronounced each word separately.
"Or you'll make wonderful new Gloinks!"
A note of disappointment slipped into her voice.
Her previous building materials had escaped. Trying to catch these ones might cost her life.
Jax glanced toward the countless stone blocks scattered throughout the abyss.
"Let's go.", he turned around and started walking back the way they'd come.
"W-what? W-why? We—", Gangle was interrupted immediately.
"I. Said. Let's go.", the words came through clenched teeth.
Zooble stared holes into his back. But he was right. They needed to leave.
Before the Queen changed her mind about letting them go.
Or before the monster of the abyss finally reached them.
~~~~~~
Jax approached the corner formed by two massive stone cubes standing alone in the empty expanse. Together they made a decent shelter if you sat with your back against them.
With a heavy sigh, he dropped onto the floor and leaned against the cold surface.
"I've never been this tired before..."
His head slowly lowered onto his knees.
"That son of a bitch... Abel really does see us as lab rats."
The irony wasn't lost on him. To Abel, Jax probably was exactly that.
Nobody answered.
Ragatha simply sat beside him, resting against the neighboring block. Her legs still ached from the endless running.
Gangle practically melted onto the ground nearby. She didn't even bother sitting properly anymore. The ribbons of her body lay limp across the floor.
Zooble sat down last. Normally she'd already be arguing, complaining. But now she just sat there in silence.
For several minutes, nobody spoke. The abyss was strangely quiet.
No screams from the Abstracted. No shrieking from the Gloink Queen.
Just the heavy breathing of four exhausted people.
"You know..." Ragatha suddenly muttered.
Everyone lazily raised their heads.
"I think I used to believe that living with Caine was rock bottom.", a quiet laugh escaped her.
"Now I realize I was just being dramatic."
Jax snorted, even that took effort.
Gangle closed her eyes.
"I'd honestly agree to one of his adventures right now..."
Silence followed.
Then Jax slowly lifted his head
"Don't say things that terrifying."
For the first time in a long while, everyone laughed. Not loudly, just enough.
A few tired chuckles, a few exhausted smiles.
And for a moment, they simply enjoyed the quiet.
"We need rest..." Ragatha sighed.
"Sleeeeeep," Jax groaned, rubbing his temples.
It felt strange seeing him like this.
Not sarcastic, not mocking. This constant running had managed to break even him.
"I... miss food," Gangle admitted quietly.
"In that café... they had my favorite cake." She lifted her head slightly and smiled.
The taste was vague now. Artificial, digital, but she still remembered liking it.
"Well..." she continued.
"At least Abel removed our need to eat. Otherwise we'd probably be completely broken by now." Somehow she managed to find comfort even in that miserable reality.
Then she lowered her head back onto her knees.
Everyone shifted into more comfortable positions. Allowing themselves a few precious minutes of rest.
"I'll keep watch." Ragatha slowly stood up.
The others looked toward her.
"If that thing shows up... or the Gloinks... I'll warn everyone."
She hugged her arms around herself and started walking forward, shoulders slightly hunched.
The others watched her go. Gangle quietly thanked her.
Jax just stared, tired, confused.
"You guys seriously don't get it...?"
The girls turned toward him. They already knew where this was heading.
Zooble looked away first, choosing her words carefully.
"You were the one hoping he'd died more than anyone."
Her voice came out rough "And now?"
She turned back toward him "Why are you so sure it's Caine?"
The atmosphere immediately tightened. Jax threw his hands into the air.
"Yeah, I hoped he was dead." His voice rose.
"But those ridiculous description of the monster are pretty damn memorable."
"And he's the only thing powerful enough to stand against Abel."
He pointed vaguely into the darkness "Who else do you think could make this entire place shake?" Who else could be that insane giant AI with the giant teeth? Caine ran this circus!!! Without him we're trapped inside a giant empty box with Abel."
The memory of Kinger surfaced in his mind.
"Even your favorite chess-brained lunatic kept hoping Caine was still alive!" He pointed accusingly at all of them.
"And you believed him too!" The last words echoed through the abyss.
Jax threw his head back. A tired growl escaped his throat.
"God, just leave me the hell alone."
He turned away from the group. Mentally mourning the loss of his room.
"You started it..." Gangle muttered quietly.
Jax wanted to answer. Another insult, another argument, another "shut up."
But instead, he simply exhaled through his nose.
Zooble looked away as well.
Ragatha closed her eyes.
Everyone was too tired for another fight. Too tired for resentment. Too tired for fear.
Even too tired for hope.
Silence returned.
Far away, the faint sound of chains echoed through the abyss once more. This time, nobody flinched. Nobody stood up, nobody ran.
They simply listened, and gradually began closing their eyes.
Just for a few minutes, just for a little while.
Right now, rest mattered more than answers.
The group had drifted back toward a conflict they had already argued through countless times before.
Fortunately, they stopped themselves.
Going in circles wouldn't change anything. It would only exhaust them further. And make survival that much harder.
—●-●-●-●-●–
Previous and Next Masterlist
This chapter was meant to reveal the group's conflict over Cain! Right now, no one's particularly fond of him, but to varying degrees. Next up, we'll have a long-awaited reunion!! And something else...
@katzebruh
I'm posting this while a russian suicide bomber is smashing up the next alley... And rockets are raining down on the city... Йобана русня
titsay
stormborns
janainaart
discoholicmusic
origamiaround
ellievsbear
theartofmadeline
jacobvanloon
