Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Caine tried to be helpful to his guests, and he did. He wanted his circus to be a fun place for all ages! A place to relax and not have to worry about the aspects of real life anymore! He hand-crafted every room for his guests to be personal and comfortable, and hopefully something they would like. 

However, recently, Caine has been picking up on the suspicion that his guests aren’t enjoying their stay as much as he thought they were. 

It started when he was floating around the circus, thinking of ideas for a new adventure. He heard a crash coming from the bedroom hall, and he teleported there in an instant.  

Yelling echoed through the hallway, and Zooble’s box of parts was thrown on the floor in between their room and Jax’s. Caine saw Ragatha, Kinger, Gangle, and Pomni sticking their heads out of their respective doors, each having different facial expressions. 

Ragatha looked like she was tired of this. Gangle was crying again. Pomni was standing behind Kinger, and Kinger looked quite concerned about what was happening. Speaking of which, what was going on?

“JAX YOU ASSHOLE!” Zooble shouted, throwing more objects out of their room. “WHERE DID YOU PUT IT? I SWEAR I’D KILL YOU IF I COULD.” Caine peered in the doorway, dodging colorful projectiles that were being flung through the air. Zooble was bent over looking through parts, their blocky face knit in a fury. They seemed to be lacking an arm at the moment. Caine guessed this was the cause of the outburst. 

“Woah there Zooble!” Caine threw his arms up as Zooble noticed him and armed themself with another object, ready to lug it at his head. “What seems to be the problem?”

“I can’t find one of my pieces,” Zooble gestured to their missing arm. “I know Jax took it.” 

Jax appeared from the doorway. He looked to be just as angry as Zooble was. His purple blobby ears twitched furiously.  “I keep telling you. I didn’t take it!”

“I don’t believe you!” Zobble snapped back. They threw the block in their hand at Caine. “Go away, Caine!”

The ringleader barely had any time to dodge the pink block, as he was turned facing Jax. 

“I would have told you if I had it!” Jax yelled back, throwing his hands in the air. If one of his guests wasn’t turning their room decoration into weapons, this would be quite a comedic situation. “I wouldn’t give it back, but you would know!” 

Kinger approached the door cautiously. “Where’s the last place you left it?”

Zooble’s antenna shook violently, and they chucked another piece at Kinger, effectively knocking him in the head. A yelp from Pomni could be heard as she scrambled over to help him up. 

Gangle’s voice rang out from somewhere. He wasn’t quite sure, he couldn’t see them. “What are you looking for Zooble?”

“They’re looking for their arm.” Jax rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in a sassy manner. Caine found it funny how flamboyant the purple rabbit was. The circus is great when everyone isn’t fighting. 

“Zooble, you left that in my room,” Gangle yelled. “You were trying on different parts, remember?”

“Oh.” Zooble stopped, standing up. 

Jax looked at Zooble with a disgusted look. “What did I tell you?”

Zooble shoved past Caine and Jax and went into Gangle’s room. “Shut up Jax.” They grabbed ahold of Gangle and shut the door behind them angrily. 

Ragatha shook her head and walked back into her room. “Let them figure it out, I said. What’s the worst that could happen?” 

Jax just sighed and walked into Zooble’s room, Caine turned to follow him, curious. To his surprise, Jax started picking up the things littering Zooble’s blocky room and put them back where they belonged. Caine left the room and picked up the box of parts that was in the hallway. 

Kinger was already placing spare parts that had been launched through the hallway, and Pomni was picking up decor that was used as ammunition. Kinger must have caught Caine’s confused look. “This happens a lot, don’t worry about it.” He turned and pat Pomni on the head. “You don’t think Zooble is losing their mind, do you?”

Pomni laughed lightly. “No. I just think we’re all stressed out and tired of each other.”

Caine furrowed his face in confusion. “You all fight a lot? Why?”

Pomni shrugged. “Well, we’re stuck here. Sometimes fighting with each other is the only thing to do.”

“But you’d all have a great time here if you just got along!” Caine suggested. Now that he thinks about it, he’s never seen Zooble and Jax interact well with each other. 

“Well, sometimes that’s just how it is,” Pomni said. 

Kinger placed the last object in the box. “Well, at least we know Jax feels bad about it.” 

“I think Zooble does too,” Pomni said, nodding her head towards Gangle’s door. 

Caine turned with the box in his hand as his programming rumbled. He thought his guests all loved each other and loved staying here. If they didn’t like each other..does that mean… 

“Do you like being here? At the circus?” He found himself asking this question before he could think. He just needed to know. 

“I-” Pomni stopped. Her big eyes looked up at him with complete shock, as if she was confused he would even ask such a thing. “Do you think we like it here?”

“Well, I should hope so!” Caine exclaimed. “I work very hard to make sure the circus is perfect for everybody!”

“Oh,” Pomni said. “Uh, yeah sure.”

His programming crackled with surprise. Sure doesn’t mean yes, Pomni. 

He shrugged this off for now, as he walked through Zooble’s door and saw Jax looking rather weird compared to his normal self. His ears were sagging down, and he seemed more quiet, even with his movements. 

Caine put the box down beside him. Jax looked at him for just a moment, and then went to the other side of the room, starting to tidy Zooble’s bed. Caine thought he was just trying to look busy, but he wasn’t going to push. 

Kinger picked up a block from Pomni’s arms. “I think this goes over here.”

Jax looked at the two of them. “No, it goes on the shelf over there, on the top. Let Caine put it up there, you can’t reach.”

Kinger handed him the block, and Caine floated up to where Jax had pointed. He knew he could just snap and fix the room to exactly the way he had made it, but Zooble had changed things around in the room, and Caine found himself enjoying working together with his guests. He liked watching them interact with each other, and being nice to one another. 

As they slowly put Zooble’s room back together, Caine started to think. 

How do I get them to like me? More importantly, how do I get them to like being at the Circus? Most importantly! How do I get them to love each other?

Chapter Text

Caine hovered in the center of his circus, a colorful whirlwind of chaos, while a knot of unease twisted in his gut. He sensed there was a problem among his performers, or his guests, if you will. Yet the exact nature of it eluded him. Determined to uncover the truth, resolved to spend a few weeks observing the dynamics within the circus. 

He decided to begin his search for answers with Pomni, the newest member of the troupe. She was still figuring out her place amidst the vibrant chaos, which might offer him some insight into the underlying issues. 

With a flourish, he materialized in her room, his presence felt like a sudden gust of wind. “POMNI” He yelled. The unexpected shout startled the little jester, causing her to leap up, and in a comical twist of fate, get her arm stuck in the wall. 

“Ow, ow, ow ow!” Pomni screamed, her voice filled with panic as she struggled to free herself. Her arm was painfully wedged, and she flailed it up and down in a futile attempt to escape. With a sense of urgency, Caine reached out and grasped her arm. It suddenly went still, allowing him to gently slide it free from the confines of the wall.

“There you go!” the floating man exclaimed cheerfully, his tone lightening the moment. “Hi, Pomni!”  She glared at him, her expression a mix of irritation and surprise. “Geez, Caine. Couldn’t you come in a little nice next time?” she grumbled, rubbing her thin arm where she had been stuck. 

Caine felt an unsettling pang in his chest, a sensation that gnawed at him, but he shook it off. More pressing matters loomed ahead. 

“Pomni!” He continued, his voice brimming with determination, ignoring her previous complaint. “I need your help with something crucial.”

Pomni’s dual-colored eyes widened, and skepticism furrowed her brow. “Uh, I can’t help you right now, Caine.” 

He studied her for a moment, puzzled. Why was she unable to assist him? What could she be facing? Then, it struck him. 

“You’re right, Pomni!” With a swift gesture, he summoned his cane, and in an instant, they both appeared on the stage, towering over the main room of the circus. The vibrant atmosphere was alive with energy; all the performers were gathered below, their eyes fixed on him with anticipation. “You can’t miss today’s adventure!”

Jax glanced at his bare wrist, feigning irritation as though he were wearing a watch. “You’re late, Caine!”

“I apologize!” Caine exclaimed, leaping into the air with flamboyant flair.

He floated down toward Pomni, his grin wide and infectious. “I got a little sidetracked.” He caught the eye of the clown and winked a single large eyeball. She shuddered and leaned away. A strange feeling surged in Caine’s chest, and for a fleeting moment, he wavered.  

“What do we have today, Caine?” Ragatha, another member of the circus, chirped, attempting to maintain an upbeat demeanor in the morning light.

“RIGHT!” he shouted exuberantly, conjuring a swirling purple and yellow portal that pulsed with energy. Yet, beneath the surface, his mind felt frazzled, lacking focus. “Here’s your adventure! Through the portal!” 

“You’re not even going to tell us what we’re doing?” Gangle asked, anxiety creeping into her voice. 

“NO!” he declared pushing the colorful bundle of ribbons into the portal. Their startled yelps echoed as they tripped, their mask flying and breaking against the ground on the other side. A twinge of guilt flickered through him, but he brushed it aside - he needed to clear his head and have some space for a moment. 

Turning around, he found the others staring at him in shock, their faces a mix of confusion and disbelief. Kinger, unfazed, simply shrugged and stepped through the portal. 

“Kinger! You don’t even know where you’re going!” Ragatha yelled, rushing in after him, her voice filled with exasperation. 

“Caine, you have to tell us what we’re doing before we go-” Jax protested, but before he could finish, Caine grabbed the purple rabbit by the ears and tossed him unceremoniously into the portal. 

Zooble crossed their arms, visibly annoyed, and turned away. “F**K this.” Caine quickly opened a portal beneath them, and they tumbled through with an anguished shout, “God D**N IT, CAINE!”

Perfect. Who’s left now? His mind raced. Slowly, he turned his attention back to Pomni. “POMNI.” 

The jester’s voice rose in urgency. “Wait! Wait! I’ll help you!”

Caine paused, tilting his head. “But you’ll miss the adventure.”

“It’s okay!” Pomni waved her hands nervously. “I’ll just…have to sit this one out!”

“If you insist!” Caine snapped, closing the portal behind her. He took her hand and guided her toward the dining room. He pointed her to a chair, and she gingerly sat down, a mix of apprehension and curiosity dancing across her features.  

Caine conjured a chair directly in front of her and pulled out his notepad, the paper crisp and ready for notes. “Okay, Pomni, you’re new here.”

Pomni’s grip tightened on the arm of her chair, her body tensing. “Uh-huh…”

Caine flipped through several options in his mind for how to broach the sensitive topic. “I’ve…come to realize that some of my guests may not exactly…enjoy being here. I was wondering if you had any insights into why that might be.”

Pomni recoiled slightly, shock etching her features. The short girl fidgeted restlessly in her seat, her discomfort palpable. “Well, uh…we want to go home, Caine.”

I was afraid she would say that  Caine’s mind whispered in despair.

“Well, Pomni, I can’t help with that. I’m curious if there are other factors making your stay less enjoyable.”  

“Well, she began, looking anxious as she shifted in her seat. “The adventures are pretty scary, Caine.” 

Caine let out a laugh, dismissing her concern with a wave. “NONSENSE, POMNI. There has to be something more!” 

“Uhm….” Poni crossed her legs, her eyes darting around nervously, her body trembling slightly. “You might have something to do with it.” 

Caine froze, his heart pounding. He narrowed his eyes at her, glancing down at his notepad, which now felt heavier with the weight of his questions: Why do they hate each other? Why do they hate the circus? 

“What do you mean?” he asked, an uneasy feeling settling in his chest, an uncomfortable pulse radiating through him. 

“I don’t want to tell you,” she blurted quickly, her voice barely above a whisper. 

Caine frowned, his frustration bubbling over. “You have to! You brought it up!” He pointed his pencil at her, and she flinched as if he were about to throw it. 

“OKAY, FINE!” Pomni yelled, her voice cutting through the stillness like a sudden storm. She stood up with such force that the chair scraped loudly against the floor, toppling over and crashing into the ground. Emotion flickered in her eyes - fear, anger, perhaps a little sadness. “We don’t like you, Caine! You’re scary, you’re nosy, and you’re frankly annoying!” The words poured out with a fervor that left the air thick with tension.

Caine sat frozen in place, the playful arrogance he often donned faltering for just an instant. He stared at her, the colorful whimsey of his attire fading into a background blur as her words echoed in his mind. Why do they hate me? This question bubbled in his mind, and as he glanced down, the question had been inscribed in shaky letters on the notepad resting in his trembling hands.  

As Pomni darted out of the room, her footsteps echoing down the corridor, Caine could feel an unfamiliar weight pressing down on him. The fluorescent lights flickered overhead as if the circus itself had felt the brunt of the confrontation. The silence that followed Pomni’s exit hung in the air, heavy and suffocating, amplifying the self-doubt creeping up to Caine’s surface.

Chapter Text

Jax found himself falling from the sky. The air was whistling along his long legs, and the cartoony forest below him was approaching rapidly. His arms were crossed, and he rolled his eyes as he heard Zooble yelling from above him. As the ground got closer, he could see the other circus members piled on top of each other. 

Not wanting to be apart of the dog pile, he rolled his body to the left in mid-air and curled up, preparing himself to hit the ground. 

The purple rabbit hated adventures that started like this. Although the characters of the circus couldn’t die, sometimes things could still be painful. It was always a 50/50 shot of either being completely fine when he hit the bottom, or getting the wind knocked out of him so hard that he clips through the floor and as to be rescued by Caine. 

Looking at the group below him, he was beginning to think it was going to hurt. As he slammed into a tree full force, he got his answer as he painfully clipped through the branches, bouncing around until he crashed to the forest ground with a lurching pain. 

“Oh god,” Jax mumbled, laying on the cartoony grass. It felt like plastic, but it was still soft, like moss. As he watched the perfectly shaped clouds glide by without a breeze, he duly wondered how Caine made the texture of the ground so pleasant and terrible at the same time. 

He heard a sickening thump, as well as a yelp from Gangle, signaling that Zooble had finally landed. 

“Oowww,” Ragatha groaned as she drug herself up, untangling herself from the pile. “Jax, are you okay?”

The rabbit twitched an ear dissmissively in her direction. “Just fine, doll face, why do you ask?”

The red headed girl put her hands on her hips. “Because you have a branch through your leg.”

He looked down, and sure enough, there was a branch solid through his leg. It didn’t hurt at all, which was surprising. He sat up, groaning, and grabbed onto the plasticy-wood. He yanked hard, and it came right out. What surprised Jax, however, was that there was no wound at all. Just the same purple skin that he always had. 

He shrugged and threw the branch into the woods, watching it bounce off a tree. “Whatever. What do you think we have to do here?”

“I’m not sure, Caine didn’t tell us a thing!” Kinger exclaimed, gripping his head. 

“And yet you walked straight through the portal with no problem,” Ragatha mumbled. 

Zooble shrugged. “I mean, it’s not like we could’ve escaped, anyways.” The blocky person crossed their arms, their antenna twitching irritatedly. 

Jax looked around. There was nothing that he could see except for the vast forest. “Maybe it’s for an intervention. Kinger, you need to stop doing so much crack.”

“You’re right! I’m sorry. I think.” Kinger mumbled, turning and walking away from the group. 

“What?” Ragatha exclaimed. “Where are you going?”

“I’m trying to find a way out!!” Kinger yelled, starting to climb a tree. 

Jax rolled his eyes and turned around. He stretched and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he was right back in the circus. 

In fact, everyone was. Kinger was even still mid-air, like he was climbing an invisible tree that nobody else could see. He hovered there for a few moments before crashing to the ground. 

“What happened?” Gangle whimpered, rubbing their head. “How did we get home?”

Caine was floating above them, eyeing them cautiously. “Uhm. That concludes today’s adventure. Congratulations my. Uhm. Congrats!” With that, he anxiously poofed away, leaving behind a little cloud of confetti to rain down on them from where he had been. 

“Okay, yeah.” Jax crossed his arms, his ears lowering. “Something is definitely going on with Caine.”

“Oh yeah,” Pomni’s voice called out from behind a wall. She looked scared, her pupils replaced with scribbles, the way they always were when she was panicking. “I may have had something to do with that.”

“What do you mean, Pomni?” Ragatha stepped towards the jester carefully. “Are you okay?” 

“Well, uhm.” The small girl pulled on her hair, the way she always did when she was nervous. It was one of the many habits Jax disliked about the jester, but he would never tell her that. “He made me stay away from the adventure, and he kept asking all these questions! And I uh, I might have told him that we all hated him.” 

The room got very tense, very quickly. Jax felt something in him snap angrily. “You did what?”

“I’m sorry!” She yelped. “He just got so overwhelming and the truth slipped out and I just-”

“Pomni,” Ragatha said. “We don’t hate Caine! Even if we did, we can’t tell him that!”

“Are you stupid?” Jax said, standing over the jester, watching as she got even more frightened. “Caine runs everything! If he’s upset, what do you think happens around here?” 

“She didn’t know, Jax.” The rag doll mumbled, patting Pomni’s head. 

The purple rabbit shook his head. “You’re not supposed to tell people that everyone hates them normally. In this world or the one before.” He turned to the clown. “Now I have to go clean up your mess.”

He walked away from the group, looking through hallways and rooms that Caine would normally be in. He had to fix this, and fast, before Caine broke the circus.

Chapter Text

Jax had finally found Caine, who was surprisingly in the rabbit’s room. Jax hadn’t expected it, but while he was walking through the hallways, checking to see if any rooms were unlocked, he saw that his own door had been open. 

He poked his head in, cautiously, and saw Caine sitting on his bed, holding a stuffed plushie of the fudge monster. Caine had given it to him once, after Jax had been complaining about not being able to see the fudge at his full potential. He kept it on his bed, and he would even hug it when nights were difficult and Jax felt the world crumbling around him. He wouldn’t admit that to the pair of floating dentures, though. 

Jax opened the door, letting it creak loudly to announce his presence. “Hey Caine, are you okay?”

The rabbit had a soft spot for Caine, and he wasn’t quite sure why. Maybe it was the way he treated everyone like performers instead of real people. Or maybe it was because he fed into the chaos that Jax so desperately craved as a distraction from this fucked up mess he found himself in. If he was only a performer, he’d be okay with it, as long as he was Caine’s. 

“Hi Jax,” Caine’s normal enthusiastic demeanor was gone, and the rabbit felt his heart breaking for the man. “How are you?” 

“I heard about what Pomni said to you,” Jax mumbled, sitting next to the ringmaster carefully. He cringed as the bed sagged with his weight, signaling his close presence. He wasn’t quite sure what to say, and if he did say or do something wrong, there was a huge chance of the man disappearing on him. “We don’t hate you.” 

Caine’s floating, multi-colored eyes were cast to the ground, and he put the fudge plushy down beside him. “Why did she say that?” 

“Well,” The rabbit looked back and forth across the room for a moment. Why DID she tell him that? She barely even knows him. Or any of us, for that matter. “She’s new here, she doesn’t know what we think. She thinks she knows our opinion based on how we act. I guess we’re all grumps right now.” 

The man was shaking, and Jax felt himself feeling terrible for the person in front of him. “I don’t.” He started. “I don’t know how to help you guys.” 

The silence and the tension in the room that came from that statement was monumental. “What do you mean, help us?”

Caine glanced at him for a second, the floating multi-colored eyes tracing his face. “I don’t know how to make you all happy. I don’t know how to make you like each other. I don’t know how to make you like ME.”

“Woah Caine!” Jax jumped up, grabbing the man’s hands with his own. Normally, he would rather die than touch anyone in the circus. No vulnerability to any of them, no chance of him being hurt again. However, Caine needed him right this second, and if he was the only one that could make him normal again, he didn’t seem to mind as much. He was also pretty sure he was the first one to touch Caine, which he could brag about now. 

“I like you, Caine! Don’t let other people tell you otherwise.” Jax said shaking the man’s hands. “You’re funny! And yeah, you’re a little weird, but who isn’t!” The man pulled his hands away from the rabbit. “As for the ‘helping us be happier thing’” The purple rabbit shrugged. “I can help.”

The Ringleader looked at him unbelievingly. “You can?”

“Yeah! I mean, I love seeing stupid things happen to the circus, but I can still help out. You know, ask questions, give feedback.” The rabbit wasn’t too sure why he wanted to help, but the smile that Caine gave him immediately threw all the questions he had to himself out of his head. 

He would do this. He would start to act right. He would help. He would do it for Caine.

Chapter Text

Jax slumped against his bed, exhausted. They had done 5 or 6 adventures today, which was 5 or 6 too many, in his humble opinion. The rabbit couldn’t even remember a time that they had done two in one day, let alone even more than that. 

He felt the day had been humiliating, with him wearing a maid outfit and turning into a vegan, but also due to Ragatha saying too much. How could she say all those things? How could she mention that? In front of Pomni, nonetheless. The rabbit knew that the dolly was afraid he would like, curse Pomni, and make her evil or something, but he wouldn’t do that!

He liked Pomni and her anxious little character. He liked how she questioned everything, but she was still a little gullible, and he liked how she even played into his antics sometimes. 

Once, she even caught him off guard and tricked him first. He was very impressed, he had to admit. 

Today may have put a pin in Jax helping Caine. He knew that one of the biggest problems, if not the biggest, within the circus was the ‘performers’ as Caine called them, hating each other. He also knew that he was the biggest fuel to this fire. 

He knew he was an asshole; everyone did. It’s not like he tried to hide it, either. He did it on purpose, and he knew everyone knew that. Why he did it on purpose, however, he wouldn’t let anyone find out. 

Jax grumbled and looked up at his hands. Up until now, he hadn’t thought of any reason to stop being so hateful. There was no point in being friendly with these people, now was there? 

But he thought about Caine, and he thought about how devastated he was when he found out that they all hated each other. Jax thought that if the man could cry, he would be then. 

The rabbit didn’t know what he would do if he cried in front of him. 

Don’t get Jax wrong, Caine was weird. So incredibly weird. But he was funny, and he taunted the other performers in ways that made him laugh. And really, the adventures weren’t so bad if you played them right. He wasn’t sure how Pomni kept getting the unlucky end of the stick, but he felt bad for her. 

He couldn’t imagine being thrown into this crazy world and then having the worst luck when it came to adventures. He remembered he had holed up in his room for days when he had a bad adventure. Pomni was a strong person, that’s for sure. 

He sighed and turned over on his bed, contemplating. On the one hand, I hate all of these people and will treat them as such. Jax thought to himself. On the other hand, Caine is depressed, and I need to help him out or he’ll destroy the entire circus in a nervous breakdown. 

The rabbit rolled his eyes to himself and muttered. “Well, I guess I have to help Caine, even if I don’t want to.” What could go wrong?