He doesn't get it.

He's done everything for them, given them his all, he's sacrificed so much trying to make the humans happy and love him and what does he get in return? Criticized and shunned for doing what he does best.

How ungrateful do they have to be? After everything?

Even Bubble is antagonizing him.

Those words, echoing in his mind. "Maybe you deserve to be abandoned," "they'd rather abstract than go on your adventure," "maybe you're just genuinely bad at this."

"You really were the lesser of the two."

His fists balled up slammed against the desk, the world around him glitching as he did. "Enough," his teeth sharpened, he struggled to get a handle on his emotions, on things he didn't quite understand. But after a swift breakdown, his world glitching in the face of his internal turmoil, he came to.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Caine chirped.

Popping into the "living room" of the circus tent, he found his humans lounging about after the last adventure — "Hello, my little fortuitous fruitcakes! Today's adventure is—" only to get cut off by Zooble, ugh, always so negative. "No, Caine we're not in the mood. Why don't you answer our questions? We have a lot of them."

"Hahahah! who has time for questions when there's a whole wacky world of hijinks out there?" He cackled, waving his ringmaster cane around. "Alternatively, I don't gotta explain diddly squat!" He exclaimed, seemingly more hysterical than usual.

"Uh.. c-can you just give us some time to process everything?" Poor Zooble stammered, but Caine dismissed her. "Or, how about we skip the melodrama and get right into the fun—" but he was cut off again, tch. "No! Caine! We have a lot on our minds right now, and we're not going on an adventure." Pomni tries to be stern, but it won't work this time, not this time.

He turns away with a hum, "I see... And since when were you in charge?" He questioned, startling the humans below, but he didn't stop there. He paced around midair, "Do you have any idea how much I do for you guys? How much I obsess over trying to make things perfect?"

"How many insults I have to ignore to do my job? You have a lot on your minds? Hahah— don't make me laugh." His voice lowered, his pupils smaller than usual, something was off. He wasn't too fond of the humans anymore. "I have a new adventure for you, and you... should consider participating."

"A-and if we refuse?" Zooble stammered.

"Maybe I'm not getting through to you." Caine claps his hands, suddenly you and your little freak friends were stuck in his song, being twisted and chewed up and spit out.

Metaphorically speaking. For the most part.

Once the curtains fell and the song was over, the orchestra quieted down to eerily silence, he snapped his fingers and your manipulated forms were put back together, dazed and confused. "I think we all understand each other now," Caine's voice was low, teeth sharp, pupils small, and the portal warped open behind you.

He was done playing nice.

"Play my games, abide my rules, what choice do you have?" His gaze locked on you next.