Chapter 47

While you began your shopping endeavors, Caine made himself busy in your bag. As the light faded away and the inside of the bag went dark he knew you'd zipped it shut. Figuring you were too busy talking and shopping to check it, he took his time browsing the internet. New shapes, colors, phrases, animals, and humans even manifested in his mind. New terms. New phrases.

Things he said wasn't entirely sure of before were coming to light now. Like the way you had political systems. The different countries and the millions and billions inhabiting the world. It amazed him just how many humans truly existed out there and how different they all were. Despite seeing so many new faces and personalities all he wanted was you.

Most revolving around C&A.

He scrolled through an app called— tik tok? What a clever name! An app to waist time and it was called the noise a clock would make. This must be the source of those odd videos you'd watched. Piece by piece he began to understand it as swiping past videos not just one long oddly formatted one. How entertaining! Maybe his adventures could benefit from this model.

"C&A : the truth of it all"

Now that audio made him stop scrolling.

"Just manipulating us to believe they didn't discover something we weren't supposed to!"

There were thousands of humans bickering about if you and the other former circus members were clones, spies, ai, and a slew of other conspiracies flooded his censors. Reading every last one caused him to have a partial break down. Why had these people come to hate you all so much?

He hated it.

Hated.

Hate hate.

Hate.

Hate.

Humans.

The bag opened, light flooded the camera censors and he quickly closed everything once more.

Caine's jumbled bitter thoughts seemed to halt, if not just for the moment. While your sweet melodic voice lulled his rage, just as it always had. Much like your smile too.

God that smile that drove him wild.

Your e/c eyes scanned the screen as you scrunched a brow while Caine sat eagerly by. A little miniature Caine icon was now on your home screen.

'Did the application load somehow?'

You tapped on the icon.

Suddenly a FaceTime like screen appeared, consuming your entire display. A very tattered, tired, and sad looking Caine sat stared right back at you. The light of your screen illuminated his dull eyes that were once full of life. A shimmer of his former light circled his mismatched hues. His eyes searched and darted around looking at your face now taking up his own screen.

You stared, mouth now agape.

Both your eyes widened with realization.

Your heart stopped. It felt as if the world around you was a million miles away. The hustle of shoppers passing your group wasn't reaching your eyes or ears anymore. Black bled into your vision, threatening to take hold entirely. You take one deep sharp breath and the black edges surrounding your vision faded away rapidly. Heartbeats filled your ear drums with an impossibly loud thudding.

"Y/n you good? What's going on? You get a spicy pic or something from one of the guys at the bar the other night~" Pomni playfully asked, now winking at you.

Ragatha chimed in, "Uhhh— I don't know guys. She looks more like she just saw a ghost."

Zooble and Gangle leaned over your shoulders to be nosey, but you quickly shoved the phone in your bag.

"Sorry!! One sec. I gotta take this call. Really important call— uh. I'll be right back?"

You were unsure of that last part. Could you really go back to the group if this was real?

You were running. Panting. The others stood there confused as you ran into the bathrooms.

"Y/n?"

Caine's voice was weak. Crackling with a deep gravel.

"Caine?"

You clutched the phone shaking, staring at the screen like it'd disappear if you looked away even for a second.

Tears streamed down both your faces.

Caine had dreaded and looked forward to your discovery. Did you have any reservations about the realness of his sudden appearance? Were you angry? How would he prove it's him?

"God Caine. I —" you sniffled now full on sobbing, "I thought they deleted you. I- I was so s-scared" you hiccuped mid sentence, "that I'd never see you again. Oh Caine. Caine my Caine."

You clutched the phone against your chest as if hugging Caine himself. Caine whimpered pitifully as your words hit his heart like a sledge hammer on already brittle ice. He'd felt his heart shattering at the sound of your desperation.

"It's been so long y/n."

He finally spoke again.

You pulled back the phone and looked at him.

His voice continued on, though still somewhat shaking.

"I never forgot you. Never stopped thinking about you. God I missed you so much. It's been hell without you here."

You smile through the tears, "Tell me about it."

"You have no idea."

You sighed in relief and let sob after sob take over you. Releasing years of pent up grief that were all proven wrong in just one moment. Caine's low raspy voice wrapped your ears like a blanket from childhood you'd lost and finally found.

"So— what now?" Caine eagerly perked up.

"It seems like you've figured out a way to call my digital realm." His hands rested on his jaws as he wiped away— spit? Tears? You weren't sure and you didn't care. You were just happy he hadn't died or been abstracted. Not that you knew if he even could abstract.

Your eyes open wide momentarily, "Wait. Where's the circus tent? And the abstracted?"

Caine sighed, "I— stopped generating things once everyone left. Figured it was pointless. And I didn't really want to deal with the bright light of the void. So I just generated darkness all around. The abstracted are below me. Well— a few hundred feet below me."

You nodded, "That makes sense I guess. But— you aren't —miserable like that?"

Caine weakly smiled, "Darling everything is miserable without you. That day. When I lost everyone. I felt no difference from sitting in the tent, a field of flowers, the aquarium, candy kingdom, the beach, or a black void. No ai that I created or area I conjured up helped. Eventually it was driving me mad. The hallucinations of you. The nightmares. So I simply shut the majority of my processors off. Only leaving on enough to recognize your voice and to keep the abstracted below me."

His hand traced the rim of what he suspected was his own camera facing him in the dark void. Fingers covering the red recording light just next to the camera.

"You're just as lovely as the day I last saw you. Your avatar in the circus couldn't do justice. Honestly, I didn't think it was possible for you to become even more beautiful than you already were. Yet here you are. Taking my breath away all over again as if it's the first time."

A blush crept up on your cheeks just as they'd reached a semi normal state, "Caine. You really haven't lost your way with words have you?"

He winked back at you, "Don't think I could even if I tried when you're around. Really. Don't give me credit. You make it easy to say these things. They require no thought when it's simply the truth."

You giggled at his flattery. Feeling like a girl on her first date again.

Caine spoke once more, "Really though. What now?"

"I— I'm not really sure."

"Y/n?"

"Yea."

"I love you."

"I love you too Caine."

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