Do Digital Cats dream of Electric Dogs?

[bugmenot]

Suddenly, Catnap appears on a large, seemingly empty, stage.



He almost instantly closes his eyes after being momentarily stunned by the sheer brightness of the place he has found himself in. This is made especially clear when he compares it to the final sight he had before… failing yet again.



As his thoughts turn towards his last failure in the service of his Father, he starts to tremble, imagining what the results of that could be for him.



Surely, Father would be merciful! Surely, he would be safe, still!! Father had promised him that!!!



Catnap only starts to break from this sudden spiral of worry and growing panic when he feels his claws pierce the top of his head. Not because it hurt, however, but rather because it didn't hurt as much, anymore.



This finally serves to startle him into full attention and he whips around to check if anyone saw him in such a vulnerable position. Or, at least, he intended to do that but he almost falls on his face, frantically windmilling his arms while whipping his tail around to try and gain back his balance.



By the time that Catnap notices how close he got to the edge of the stage it is too late to recover. When he feels nothing under one of his paws, he knows that he is going to fail and fall.



Maybe it's because of where, or rather who, his thoughts had turned to earlier, but in a flash, he is brought back to the first time he caught him after nearly stepping on a child that had been running around his legs. He knew that falling from their height always had more risks if they weren't prepared, those rotten scientists had done more than enough tests on their durability for them to know their own limits, after all.



And so, Catnap brings his arms up to protect his face and neck. Once his arms and body smash into the checkered floor tiles far beneath him, however, he is jolted back to his senses. That really didn't hurt as much as it should have, he wasn't going insane!



Wondering why that is, Catnap slowly moves his arms away from his face and braces to rise, only to be surprised yet again by his own body.



He stares down at his arms and legs, slowly moving soft, rounded, dark purple paws with short, sharp claws over his similarly soft and round, light purple body. As he is feeling that short, soft and most importantly, clean, fur beneath his paws he asks himself if he really is certain that he hasn't gone insane at last…



Catnap quickly stops and shakes his head to dislodge that useless thought from his mind.



If he was insane it wouldn't matter, not now. He feels short triangular ears lightly slap his head with the motion, while his tail slowly sways in front of him after he starts to relax from that overly anxious state.



His whole body looks and feels so very soft. Unlike that... emaciated thing he became while serving his Father.



With a small chuckle, he thinks that if Bobby was here to see him, she would have hugged both guts and stuffing right out of his body, all the while exclaiming into his ears about how adorable he was.



Catnap can't help himself then, and laughs at the thought of his old friend, before being taken out of his reminiscing by the latest surprise this place had thrown at him.



Going by how off something as simple as his laughter sounded, his speech should also be altered, yes? "Why…-!?" He suddenly stops his questioning, noticing that much like other things that had once been painful, this too had been diminished.



This time, however, he is more surprised by the much deeper sound of his voice. He reckons that his new voice almost sounds like a mix of his old ruined voice and… Father's. Or rather, like one of Father's voices.



He starts to grow both more worried and more curious about his situation, already having assumed that this is neither an odd positive dream due to the lack of a very important someone in it nor a new experiment, mostly due to the lack of pain.



He slowly lowers himself to a sitting position on wobbly legs, unconsciously using his tail to give himself a more stable sitting position.



He takes the time and silence of this new place to think more on his new condition and how it might've come about… The last thing that he truly remembers is being in agony and the voice of his Father saying that he would take the pain away while still making sure he would be of service to him after his failure.



Catnap grabs his head between his paws at that thought, feeling phantom flames and electricity, but most importantly of all, trying to ignore the pain of having failed his Father a third time…



He is stuck in those dark thoughts for a while before he forcefully stops and decides that since he cannot fix what has already happened, it was best to focus instead on other things for now.



Something that he both could and should have control over, like his own movement, would be best thing to distract himself with.



And so, Catnap settled down to start relearning how to move with renewed purpose. He is reminded of how he once did the same thing after the experiments that made him into who he is now.



He smirks at how different this time is from that one, mostly due to the lack of scientists prodding and hitting him. His face turns cruel as he thinks of the fate those rotten humans had suffered when he showed just how proficient he was at moving quickly.



Once he grew more confident in his control over his new body, he began to move around the stage, slowly climbing up it and then moving back down onto the large checkered floor before coming to a stop and choosing a random direction to walk towards.



All the while, Catnap was making sure to keep his ears moving around to detect any sound other than his own, while his eyes scanned his surroundings for signs other toys that might be in hiding.



As he does this, he yet again wonders about this new space. It couldn't possibly in the factory, right? It was far too clean… and even with how empty it was, the air felt almost alive with energy.



The whole place was much brighter than even the top floor of the factory, with an odd, always present light, that didn't hurt his eyes even when he stared straight at the brightest parts of this place. Those being the large, odd circles near the ceiling that mimicked the sky.



When he focused on his sense of smell, he noticed that he couldn't smell the scent of blood or dust that was so commonplace through the many floors of the factory, and perhaps most perplexing, he also couldn't detect those scents on his own body.



The only thing that Catnap could smell coming from himself was a lavender scent, with a light touch of poppy flowers underneath. That particular smell was quite curious as well, mostly because he didn't seem to have any of the red gas in this body.



Catnap felt torn between relief at finally being rid of that horrid thing and feeling anxious at having yet another tool in his arsenal removed from him.



After what might've been only a few minutes or a whole hour of walking through the clean and extremely colorful space, he heard the sound of voices coming from one of the many large corridors in this building.



His tail perks up from its previously lazy sway and he starts to speed up towards them, before thinking better of being so reckless in an unfamiliar space. He can't know whether these voices belong to humans or toys, and because of that, he doesn't know what to do if they see him.



Catnap feels his tail lashing out behind him at the thought of interacting with humans after the Hour of Joy, beyond the obvious move of crushing them into paste if they are adults and putting them to sleep if they are children.



If they are toys like him, interaction could be even more complicated, but less violent overall. Or so he hoped…



His new tail might be able to raise the weight of his body, but he estimated that with his new size he wasn't nearly as heavy as he once was, and so that might not be useful should it come to a fight.



He wouldn't even take his claws into account as useful for anything beyond a distraction, what with how short they were.



After a while longer of thinking about that Catnap decides to simply put it out of his mind for now. Things might not even need to devolve into violence to begin with!



As he notices that the voices are starting to grow fainter, he decides to simply walk towards them in search for answers, all the while straining his ears forwards, trying to catch more than snippets of an extremely odd conversation.



"I'm telling you Ragatha, I was thrown right out of the map!" says a voice filled with frustration.



"Oh my! That must've been pretty scary for you. This is the first time this happened to you after all…" The tone of this voice seems odd to him, caring but also like it had become routine. Much like Mommy's voice could be sometimes, in fact, but far less condescending…



"I'm thinking that could be a way to– huh? Wait, first time? THAT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN!?" Says that same frustrated voice, before startling Catnap with the sheer volume it reaches.



"Oh yes. Unfortunately, some of Caine's adventures can have a… few problems… when it comes to collisions." What could she mean with that, he wondered. Were the other parts of this place less cared for and more difficult to traverse than that main stage, perhaps?



"Ugh! Maybe I should be happy that it at least wasn't the void again…"



While considering what little he had heard so far, he decides to stop and decipher those things first, instead of showing himself to them for the time being.



Hearing other slowly fading bits and pieces of their conversation as they walked off only served to make Catnap more and more confused as to what they were talking about.



If they were, in fact, toys, maybe the ones that were here had gone insane? That would explain the extremely odd conversation. But then they wouldn't be able to speak so clearly…



Maybe they had just made up a game to distract themselves with? He knew some of the others would occasionally do something like this to pass the time or simply to keep their sanity.



Now, whenever he thought of that he could also clearly remember Bubba talking about how roleplaying was a 'perfectly normal thing to like, you know!' when he and Kickin' caught him as the 'dungeon master' with some of the older, more reclusive, children.



Ah Bubba… He had been such a good friend…



Catnap feels his tail start to whip around behind him with amusement, even as he feels his permanent smile become softer and his eyes turn sad. It had been a while since he thought of them, or at least, since he thought of them as they were before the Hour of Joy…



So lost was he in thoughts of nostalgia and old friends turned enemies, he doesn't notice his tail strike a large vase next to him until it hits the floor and shatters, startling him hard enough to make him jump and yowl out in surprise.



While cursing himself for his carelessness and just not paying attention to his surroundings, Catnap hears two more voices start to approach him from behind.



"What the *GLOINK!* was that!?" Exclaims a rough voice, before being suddenly interrupted by an extremely out of place sound suddenly playing out.



"I- I don't know, Zooble, but it sounds like it came from the hallway!" Catnap hummed lowly, seems like the rough voice is called Zooble.



This new voice, though, almost reminds him of Crafty. Sounding just as shy and soft, at least before she got used to all of them…



Catnap feels himself grow slightly annoyed with this place, mostly because of the many times he was reminded of the simpler days and was then forced to remember what happened afterwards.



Oh great! Now he was feeling off kilter and he still hadn't cleaned those shards up! Those damned shards… How could so many things go wrong so fast!?



He has hoped for many things over his life, but right now his greatest hope is that, toy or human, they aren't insane enough to have this be what turns them aggressive.



At least, not while he is still so weak.



Catnap narrows his eyes at that thought and turns towards the new voices that are slowly approaching him, after making sure to push the shards off to the side behind a small table.



There was absolutely no need to make his little mistake obvious by leaving those out to be the first thing they see!



"Why are we even looking for what made that noise? It was probably that *ZOINK!*hole Jax doing something stupid again." He notices that once again that odd noise interrupted her words.



While moving towards them, Catnap wonders if those damned scientists figured out how to install an actual censor on someone…



"B-But what if it was the new girl? We should probably try to help her…"



"Ugh, you're ri–!!"



Suddenly, the voices turn into the hallway and freeze as they see him, Catnap takes this time to connect faces to the voices. And what odd faces those are…



One looks like a few ribbons arranged in a humanlike shape, with a porcelain mask that has large dark eyes with huge tears on the edges. This one's shape reminds him a lot of Mommy, but somehow even more spindly, while also being much smaller overall. From her lightly shaking frame and how she shrunk behind the other one, he assumes this is the shy voice.



The other one who saw him first though, that one looks more like a random collection of child play blocks and colorful sticks than an actual toy, the scientists must've been truly irritated when making them.



After a short while watching them, Catnap decides to take the initiative in this before they can recover, stepping forward and taking advantage of their shock by… simply asking them who they are.



For now.



"Who… are you?" His new voice seems to shock more than just himself, and he takes this as a sign of them never having heard Father when he still addressed the other toys directly.



The blocky one seems to be the most startled at the sound of his voice while the other one seems to be… blushing? What? Indeed, her porcelain face has a small blush spreading across it, and as she notices his staring, it only spreads further.



In fact, he had suspected it from his exploration of his body, but their faces seem far more animated than other toys had been, even the blocky one without a visible mouth still has extremely expressive eyes and a responsive body.



"Uhmm… H-Hi! I'm Gangle and this is Zooble. Who are- are you a… human?"



The one named Zooble seems to have recovered from their shock and is now staring at him with a very intense look in their eyes. That question is clearly more than it seems by their reaction…



Still, Catnap thinks that Gangle might either be off in the head, or trying to irritate him on purpose with that kind of question. So he shows a bit of his displeasure making sure not to be too extreme.



"Not… anymore... clearly." Once again, as he finishes speaking, he notices how she seems to almost blush, but this time her response seems more muted and slightly scared. This could be due to his annoyed tone or thanks to the look on his face, so much more responsive in this new body than it ever was before.



Thinking a little more about that, he might just thank whoever did this to him if he ever finds them… right after showing his displeasure for being forcefully changed.



He knows that Father wouldn't be the one responsible, especially not after Catnap's latest failure…



While he is distracted by his thoughts, he hears Zooble speak to him. "Hey, we all know how awful this is. We aren't responsible for this, though, so there's no need to get aggressive."



He hums lowly while considering how Zooble's words and tone contrast. They are clearly annoyed at him, but that stands side by side with something that sounds like worry.



Is it for him? For Gangle, hiding behind them? For the situation itself? He doesn't know yet and that sca… worries him.



Catnap freezes when he instinctively tries to stop that thought and after a moment of indecision, sets his shoulders, hardens his gaze and decides to simply try and take this whole situation as if it was a new chance at life.



It was a better option than simply acting overly paranoid and aggressive without ever getting any answers on what had happened.



That reasoning might be why then, when he tries to answer the underlying question, that he does so with perhaps more honesty than he should. "I'm just… annoyed… and worried… about change."



After saying that he notices an immediate change in how Zooble is approaching him, now with a truly intriguing mix of feelings in their eyes, while Gangle just looks at him with pity.



Before any of the two can actually approach him, however, a large set of human teeth with two human eyes floating inside its mouth fills up his vision.



Catnap yowls and swings his claws at the sudden appearance of this new toy in front of him. He hadn't seen anyone else around him, so where did this come from!? But before his paw can even start to connect with the being, it has teleported away from his reach.



Catnap can hear the being is saying something with a great deal of energy at that point, but he can't focus on that. He can only look at how it flies all around him, while his face, which is made only from teeth, deforms far beyond anything natural.



Even the most advanced toys and experiments by the scientists had never so much as floated, to say nothing of flying like this was. Or… or the teleportation.



How?! When had it become possible? Why did this being have it? Why couldn't his Father have had access to this!? Why must he and others always work so hard but for little to no reward!?!?



Catnap knows that he is experiencing a panic attack, but he can do nothing about it besides stare at something that appears to be far more powerful than his Father. More powerful than the one he once called GOD.



And as much as the thought pains him, as much as it feels like a most horrid betrayal to think this, he cannot help himself but think that if only Father had been able to do something like this, they could've actually escaped hell.



All of them.



Catnap feels the light touch of silk against his shoulder and looks towards Gangle, who had apparently gotten close to him while he stood there, frozen.



Her mask shows a light smile towards him, and the sight of that look combined with her color and soft touch of her hand on his shoulder reminds him of Bobby, of how both she and him had helped out during the harsher moments after the Hour of Joy.



Catnap shudders lightly before slowly pushing off her hand, a small look of thanks in his eyes. The whole time this had been happening, Zooble had taken it upon themselves to pull the focus of the powerful being away from him.



From what he was seeing so far, that being didn't seem dangerous, beyond the supernatural powers, so he thought it safe to ask a question and pull its attention away from Zooble. This should be a good way to pay them back for the help.



"Sir… who are you?" Almost instantly after he asks that, the being gasps theatrically, bringing white gloved hands to the side of his 'face' and exclaiming "GASP!" As a word.



Catnap was expecting many things after that question, great offense, great anger, even some irritation from him not knowing who this being is. What he did not expect was for the mouth to curve into a smile before it launched into an introduction.



"Oh wow! Calling me a sir? How polite! Well, my ferocious feline, I am the amazing Ringmaster, CAINE! I'm your gracious host and the creator of this AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!! And I have to say that I've never really seen someone quite like you!"



Gangle speaks up from behind Catnap at that. "Uhmm… C-Caine… You actually did many adventures with cats before…"



Zooble joins in after coming to a stop next to you. "Yeah Caine. What the *SPLAT!* are you going on about with this?" Catnap notices that he was actually right on the censor theory and that there might be some lingering hysteria for him to focus on that…



The evidently powerful being, who he has just noticed is dressed like a Poppy Playtime showman, brings his focus back onto the conversation by mentioning Catnap once again.



"What I'm talking about, my overly rude and blocky dear, is that this curious lavender cat isn't a human at all!" He seems extremely excited about this when he points his cane towards Catnap. Who, at this point in time, is feeling more confusion than either fear or panic.



It should be obvious that he isn't human! Why would that even be a question to begin with? Gangle had asked it, too…



Speaking of which, she and Zooble are looking at him with a very off-putting mix of looks in their faces. When Zooble goes to talk, though, what looks like a large soap bubble, with teeth large enough to make Boxy envious, appears.



"He ain't no NPC either! This is a ge-nu-ine non-human mind~. Wonder what I can do with it!" The way it says that is alarming enough own its own, but what truly raises Catnap's hackles is how those beady black eyes stare into and through him.



It reminds him far too much of those disgusting scientists. Of how they treated his agony like data for ever more grotesque experiments… Catnap can hear a low growl leave his throat while his claws pop out, ready to see if he can do the same to it that he did to those scientists so long ago.



Before things can devolve into a fight, however, The Ringmaster uses his cane to quite literally, pop the bubble, sending it away while saying that no matter who or what the guest is, that it shouldn't act so rude and aggressive.



While dealing with his surge of rage, Catnap notices that Gangle and Zooble are discussing something quietly while pointing at him. The look he sends them when he notices that is quite cutting and only makes it take longer to calm down, leading to him losing a part of what The Ringmaster had said.



"For now, let us welcome you into the circus by introducing all of the others that are already here!"



Whatever Catnap might've wished to ask The Ringmaster is wiped away from his mind as he snaps and him, along with Gangle and Zooble are taken to a large seating area that he had seen before, close to the large stage.



This clear show of power is taken by Catnap as a sign to not question on certain things and so he simply nods towards the ringmaster, adopting as neutral an expression as his new face can.



He can deal with how his ears and tail betray his feelings later, at a time where he isn't fighting himself just to appear calm next to something like Caine.



This show of respect seems to enthuse the powerful being, who simply pats his head with a gloved hand before standing, or rather floating, behind him and calling the attention of the many other bickering toys that had also been summoned there.



"Now, now everyone! I know you are all tired from that sweet, syrupy adventure, so what better way to recover than by meeting a new friend!?" At that, Caine focuses back onto him and lightly pushes him forward with the cane, clearly intending for Catnap to… introduce himself to these gathered toys, much like the toy teachers would do with their students back in the playcare.



"Hello. My name… is… Catnap." He notices that the other toys react quite strongly to this simple introduction, namely with a large mix of shock and, amusingly enough, disdain or maybe just a deep disinterest towards him. What a novel experience that is, he does not enjoy it overmuch.



The tall, purple rabbit seems to be most disinterested, followed closely by Zooble. The oddest one being the chess piece in the back, who is almost indecipherable thanks to its lack of many humanoid, or even animalesque, parts.



"Caine, we don't need a 'therapy cat' NPC, especially not one that talks like that! Think of Gangle and what she might do to the poor thing~!" The purple rabbit is quick to take a jab at the Gangle, but Catnap cannot catch what reasons there would be for that beyond the most obvious.



"JAX!! I- I would never- you can't just say something like that!!!" Gangle is quick to defend herself, which honestly makes herself seem more guilty of wanting to do something to Catnap, but he does not wish to know what that could possibly be…



While Catnap is watching chaos unfold around him at something as simple as a greeting, he turns back to The Ringmaster with his tail unwillingly curling into something that resembles a question mark.



When he sees no one there, he turns back to face the group that had so quickly dismissed him, only to come face to face with a small jester and a taller, stitched ragdoll. He flinches back at the sudden proximity and once more curses his apparently diminished senses and self control.



"Hey there, little guy! I've never seen you around here… Are you new?" The ragdoll is the first one to respond, moving forward and positioning herself slightly in front of the little jester. "I'm Ragatha and this here is Pomni! Did Caine… tell you what your purpose here is?"



The little jester seems to almost hesitate to interact with him after being sidelined and Catnap notices how it lightly frowns at Ragatha when she used the diminutive 'little' while talking to him. He assumes this to be caused by it appearing to be have same height as his new body.



He ignores the ragdoll's lightly insulting question and watches Pomni visibly gather her courage before pushing forward and asking something that appears to weigh heavily on her mind, despite how easy it is for him to answer. "Are you… really an NPC or an AI?"



His mind once again goes towards Bubba and his many explanations on both of those terms and how they could be used. Catnap even remembers how some visitors thought they were controlled by AIs, instead of so much as imagining the far more horrific truth.



"Neither. No more… than you are… little toy." He watches as the group that was once bickering goes silent and he relishes the flinch he gets from both Ragatha and Pomni when he corrects them for acting like he is no more than a mindless robot.



Catnap decides to use their renewed attention as a chance to stop further assumptions. "What I am… is a toy. Once human, but now… a living toy. Just like… you all."



As his words and admittedly harsh tone makes some of the group shrink away, he sees how others stand tall and Catnap makes sure to note those who step forward to shield the others.



As he sighs and tries to loosen up from his commandeering stance, he tries to imagine how the other Smiling Critters would've acted in this situation. Some of them were more deserving of a second chance than himself.



Especially him. As that thought starts to surface, Catnap forces himself to focus on the toys now approaching him, instead of wondering what might've happened in the factory after he arrived here. It would do him no good when all Catnap could do now was hope that he got to see heaven, instead of the hell he'd been chained to…

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Excited to see where this goes

 

[fanjdenj]

Oooooh! This is interesting.

I'm especially curious if Caines breakdown might be altered by having someone who might very well enjoy being in the circus(let's be real, most anywhere is better than the factory)

Can't wait to see what you do with this.

 

[krahe]

Catnap decides to use their renewed attention as a chance to stop further assumptions. "What I am… is a toy. Once human, but now… a living toy. Just like… you all."

Click to shrink...

"Geez, new guy. It's true, but you shouldn't just say it."

 

[bugmenot]

Oooooh! This is interesting.

I'm especially curious if Caines breakdown might be altered by having someone who might very well enjoy being in the circus(let's be real, most anywhere is better than the factory)

Can't wait to see what you do with this.

Click to shrink...

Indeed! I was thinking about that, if you take the people from the factory and throw them in the circus, they would basically have paradise!

"Geez, new guy. It's true, but you shouldn't just say it."

Click to shrink...

That's totally Jax, isn't it. I can hear his smug grin as he says that!

"I also... shouldn't say... that you look like... a worse version of... Hoppy Hopscotch."

 

[krahe]

Indeed! I was thinking about that, if you take the people from the factory and throw them in the circus, they would basically have paradise!

Click to shrink...

It's kind of amusing that children would genuinely enjoy Caine, the Circus and his adventures. Partly because they are still stuck in the same child mentality as the day they were turned, if admittedly heavily traumatized. And second, because the digital world takes away many needs the Toys were suffering from, be it endless hunger, thrist or all the pain and wounds they gathered, starting from butchery surgeries and ongoing in their survival

 

[bugmenot]

I've found a good image depicting what I imagine Catnap to look like while in The Circus!

Spoiler

Isn't he adorable!? And not at all dangerous~?

Art by: @CasVer_W on X

 

[fanjdenj]

I've found a good image depicting what I imagine Catnap to look like while in The Circus!

Spoiler

Isn't he adorable!? And not at all dangerous~?

Art by: @CasVer_W on X

Click to shrink...

Huh, I didn't think his tail would be that long, so now I have two questions:

One: can he use the tail like a hand?

Two: can he still spew poppy gas? I doubt he can cause I feel like Caine wouldn't add that feature but then again: Caine

 

[bugmenot]

Huh, I didn't think his tail would be that long, so now I have two questions:

One: can he use the tail like a hand?

Two: can he still spew poppy gas? I doubt he can cause I feel like Caine wouldn't add that feature but then again: Caine

Click to shrink...

He CAN use the tail like a hand

He does NOT have the gas. He even notes it himself this chapter!

 

[bugmenot]

A large set of wind-up dentures and bouncy balls shaped like eyes are sitting off to the side of a multi-colored couch.


A large pile of ribbons lay spread below a porcelain comedy/tragedy mask, while a purple cat tries to pounce through it onto a large purple hare, crashing into a pile of construction blocks made in several different colors and shapes, sending them toppling over a stitched up ragdoll holding a chess piece.


A big orange dog shows up then, barking at the other two, before starting to chase them as well. The animals' rough housing knocks over the box of a windup jester, opening the top lid and releasing the blue and red clown from its confinement.


A gigantic soap bubble floats above it all, before releasing a small "oopsie daisy~!" and popping away to start things over in a different server. Maybe one without so many third party mods installed!




Author's Note: An odd, blank mannequin said that I had to post this chapter to get free access to episode 10 of The Amazing Digital Circus.

 

[bugmenot]

Author's Caine's Note:

Spoiler

Hello my Magnificent Mewling Milkmaids!! I was able to deal with that pesky virus and have brought things back to how they should be!

Do not worry, I have also dealt with that nasty spoiler that bubbled up in the mix!

Now then, BACK TO THE SHOW!!

Gangle POV



I whimpered lowly after hearing the purple cat describe us all as nothing more than toys. Shrinking into myself slightly, I think that maybe he didn't mean for it to come across as rude?



"Hey, you doing alright?" I look up to see that Zooble had approached me. "New guy is a bit… much, huh?" They look off to the side and sigh before turning to stare at the new… at Catnap. "Can't really judge him though, I wasn't much better after ending up here."



I let myself show a small smile at that. "You sure weren't!" I'm stopped from elaborating more when I notice that Jax is rapidly approaching Catnap. And he has the same look in his eyes that he wears when… playing a mean joke on the others. He would probably pull on his tail to 'see how much it stretches' or something like that, Jax wouldn't know the best way to scare him from the very first meeting, so he'd just resort to getting physical…



"Oh no…" I'm stuck between indecision on stopping him and making myself a target, or wanting him to leave Catnap alone at least for today without actually interacting at all.



Zooble looks at the disaster that is about to happen and starts walking towards them with a low grumbling about how the color purple must be a sign of bad news. Seeing them take action makes me more hopeful that this will end well, even as I follow them to make sure.



Once the two of us get closer to the others, I notice how Ragatha is trying to tell Jax to stop, only to be ignored by him, like always. And then he… introduces himself to Catnap in a very Jax manner.



"Ya know, little buddy," I hear him say, watching as he makes sure to pat Catnap's head as hard as he could while disguising it as something more casual. "Not many people would call out what this place really is just like that. I would know!"



After that moment, once I helped Catnap out of his anxious spiral, I had assumed that he was just like the rest of us by the time that we arrived here. Staring at him now, however, I'm almost scared of how hateful he looks while staring at Jax. Even I, at my most irritated, never acted like someone else wasn't supposed to so much as breathe the same air I did…



His dark eyes are focused on Jax like he wants nothing more than to strangle him, and the way he looks at his claws before simply slapping Jax's hand away makes me think he wanted to do far worse than that.



By now, though, Zooble and I are finally close enough that they can actually intervene.



"*BOING* off, Jax. He just got here… last thing he needs is you poking him." While they start a discussion with Jax, pulling his attention away from his current victim, I just gather my courage and go over to Catnap and ask if he's okay, looking at the tense shoulders and his ears that are fully pressed back on his head.



After clearing his throat, which pulls the attention of the other away from the discussion between Jax and Zooble, he responds. "I am… fine. I know how… to deal… with misbehavior."



I look down and silently curse myself for being so weak to such a… deep voice, saying such worrying things. It's not my fault, though! So many anime had both villains and heroes with the same types of voices that it's hard for me not to associate that kind of tone to… other things.



Worst of all, I know that Jax is going to take this as a challenge, and that's never good for anyone!



And sure enough, faster than the others can come up with anything to say, that dang rabbit is already grinning at him. "Is that so? Oh well~ I'm feeling pretty tired from the adventure, so you can stay with the fun police." He turns to walk away, before deciding to add one last comment. "Careful with what you say, oh deep, dark, and extremely fluffy one! Don't wanna turn yourself into Gangle's newest toy, am I right~?"



I can feel myself blushing up a storm afterwards… Why would he say something like that again!? Just because I like cute things doesn't mean I like them that way!! Ragatha comes to my rescue then, explaining to Catnap how Jax likes messing with everyone just to get a reaction out of them and that he really shouldn't take what 'that meanie' says seriously.



He nods and looks me straight in the eyes. "Don't worry… I understand his type." I sigh in relief at that. At least he doesn't seem like a second Jax in the making even if they both shared somewhat similar bodies.



"Oh my! I could swear we were looking for something!" Exclaims Kinger suddenly, almost giving me a heart attack. Even though I'm not really sure where a heart would be in this body…



Ragatha seems to instantly understand what he meant with that, and evidently agrees. "Kinger has a point… kind of… could we ask you a few questions, Catnap? About what you said?"



I raise a ribbon in front of my mouth when he tilts his head to the side, swiveling those fluffy ears before answering her. "Yes… you can." Before Ragatha can respond, he raises a paw towards her. "But only if… you reciprocate."



The overly kind ragdoll stills, as if she hadn't expected that condition, and I notice Catnap narrowing his eyes towards her, startling a faster response out of her. "O-Of course! We are all in the same boat here, no reason to not help you out, right everyone!?"



We all nod in spontaneous unison, though I don't think that Kinger was really listening to what she said or even knew what he agreed to…



When we all sit down on the nearby couches, arrayed in a rough rectangle. I share a look with Zooble then, neither of us having forgotten what Caine said about Catnap earlier. The two of us seem to share a single thought at that moment…



Are we truly all in the same boat, here?



Once we are all sat down, Catnap chooses to sit across from us, laying his long tail over the back of the couch. With a solemn nod, he opens the floodgates of our collective interest.



Pomni goes first, having sat closer to him. She looks calmer than when she arrived a while ago, but is still clearly anxious about her situation. "Do you know how you arrived here?"



"Yes, bu–" she instantly cuts him off then, leaning forward with eyes wide and hands fisted over her knees. "Do you know how to leave!?"



He frowns slightly at that, his tone hardening. "No… I don't. I arrived… unexpectedly."



Pomni deflates at that, with Ragatha putting a hand on her shoulder and sending a comforting look. Catnap glances away from her, apparently taking the time to ask his own question, "Caine… what, or rather, who… is he?"



I answer that one, taking note of the emphasis he puts on his correction. "Caine is the AI responsible for running this circus… The one who makes all the adventures we go on." Zooble huffs at that, deciding to add their own opinion. "Yeah… whether we want to or not."



The cat's long tail starts to sway at that. Some of my old memories of interacting with cats from… before, help me identify it as either a sign of anxiety or excitement. Not much, for sure, but it's better than what I could read from him without that. I see how he stills it forcefully after a while, sending a warning look my way, and taking the chance to ask a second question of his own.



"Adventures? The purple hare… and… The Ringmaster… mentioned those. What are they?" Ragatha takes that one, having finished her quiet discussion with Pomni.



"Oh! Those are basically activities that Caine designs to keep us all entertained and active! Something to distract from the thoughts of being basically stuck here with no way out and no chance to ever return to our lives as they once were…" She starts by affecting a large smile and waving her arms around, before slowly losing energy and basically whispering the end.



Zooble gives her a comforting pat and a concerned look, while Catnap's mouth turns into a small, hard line and his eyebrows furrow. His tail curls into what looks like a question mark, while his face shows some concern towards her.



I decide to take that as a good sign to his character and to his future with the group. Kinger interrupts what would be his third question in a row, by raising one of his floating hands and waving it around, much like a student trying to get the attention of a teacher.



Catnap simply stares at him and, after a moment where he seems to be remembering something from his past, lets out a chuckle and waves his tail towards Kinger while showing a small smile.



"Oh, it's my turn? Well, do you like bugs!? And if so, which is your favorite!? I quite like butterflies, you see…"



I smile when I hear a light giggle come from Ragatha at that. Leave it to Kinger to know how to lighten the mood even when he might not even know why it was so heavy to begin with!



Catnap seems to agree with some of my thoughts, because his lips curl upwards while his white pupils begin to glow and widen.



"Yes… I'd say that I enjoy bugs." His smile turns into more of a smirk then, as his tail lazily sways above him. "My favorite… might just be… bees."



I chuckle at the pun, while Kinger hums and sends a big thumbs up towards the empty sofa.



Gathering my courage, I decide to ask him something that has been… hehe… bugging me slightly for a while now.



"Catnap… Caine didn't give you that name, right? W-Why did you choose… that?"



Almost instantly, the mood shifts. His tail turns towards me while his eyes go black and his smile grows wider but far more menacing than before. Ragatha, Pomni and I all shrink back into the couches, while Zooble and oddly enough, Kinger, shift forward.



Catnap's voice now is far rougher, filled with crackling static that I can't imagine is natural, mostly because it simply wasn't there before…



"I… did not… name myself. I… had this name… forced… onto me." Sharp teeth glint from his suddenly very wide mouth, his pupils appearing as if mere pinpricks of light inside his hollow eye sockets. "However… I made… that name… my own… in retribution."



He stares at us all, those that are cowering away, and those that aren't. He lets out a small huff and forces himself into placidity. Things are silent for a time, before he focuses his full attention on Zooble, which draws a small, almost unnoticeable flinch from them. "Go… ahead. Ask your… final question. I grow… tired… of this."



Zooble shakes themself and then sets their shoulders, sending a look towards me, before hardening their eyes to finally ask the question that had been burning in both our minds since Caine found him next to the two of us.



"This is about what was said earlier, when me and Gangle found you." They wait, forcing themself into giving Catnap the courtesy to refuse if he wants to, but all they get is a tired, flat stare and a small rolling motion of his tail, as if saying 'get on with it'.



"Caine and Bubble both said you had a 'non human mind'. Care to explain what they mean with that and how it doesn't make you an NPC or some other sort of AI that got dropped here to *SPROINK* with our lives some more?"



While Zooble was probably a little bit too harsh on their wording, I was also extremely curious about that. Slowly, I scoot forward from where I had basically hid myself away.



Kinger is startled by something unseen by the rest of us, while Ragatha and Pomni both lean forward slightly to fully face Catnap.



Once again, his posture changes, but now it's like he's carrying a heavy weight that brings his entire body down. The silence lingers as they see just how tired he actually seems to be.



He doesn't leave us in suspense for long, though, as much as the following answer would make me wish we never got a response at all…



"I said… I am a toy. That… is the… truth. But it's not… all of it." He goes to say something before stopping and seeming to think better on it. "I am… an experiment… to create… a better… children's toy. My mind… is human, but only… a small part. Make of that… what you will. I'm… going to… rest now."



And with that he gets up from the couch, eyes still dark, tail almost limp and shoulders tight with tension. He turns back slightly at one point, to say what though, none of us would ever know, because Caine chooses that moment to appear and whisk him away with an exclamation about having forgotten to give him the 'Digital Circus Tourtm​'.



Did he get ripped apart just to produce a children's toy?



I can feel how my eyes want to well up with tears but remain dry, except for the usual large tears that hang at their corners. I find that quite odd, since Ragatha is clearly crying on Kinger's shoulder, to his visible concern and confusion.



Zooble looks at me with shaking hands, apparently just as shocked by what they heard, or rather, just as shocked by what was implied. Pomni, though, has her face set in an angry frown, having gone the other way in terms of feelings.



Their reactions make me wonder about my own… Maybe it was the sheer shock of that revelation, maybe it just combined with the excitement of the day and the sadness of the funeral to turn into this… awful feeling that won't even let my tragedy mask shed tears.



"I… I hope that Caine doesn't overwhelm Cat- him… He looked so tired when he left." I wonder who said that, before noticing the others have turned towards me. Oh, I must've been the one to say that, then…



I decide to continue my thoughts, my whole being feeling almost as if cut from cold stone, when I notice the question showing itself on Zooble's worried face. "I won't call him Catnap. Not unless he himself says it's okay."



Pomni looks at me and nods, giving her own stance on the matter. "He said he made that name his own, but none of us remember our actual names when we arrive. If he says that we should call him that, I will. But not a moment before then."



Zooble and Ragatha both nod at her, Ragatha having finally recovered from her bout of crying. Between all of us, she looks the most like a toy after all, so I can only admire her strength.



When we all head back to our rooms in order to process today's revelations, we hear Kinger say from behind, "I hope Caine can find him some bees to look at!"



I find myself feeling a little better at that thought. Maybe, Caine's sheer positive energy will help distract him from what must have happened… outside, before he ended up here.



Ragatha lets out a small smile, while Pomni nods with determination in her eyes.



"That's all we can really do." Zooble says, looking off at where Cat- HE was a moment before.



And that really is all we can do… for now.

 

[fanjdenj]

Absolutely love how quick they are on the uptake.