The group untangled themselves from a heap, and each took a stand to see where they ended up. It was an environment very familiar to all of them, but changed for the worst. A big sign reading Cirque ad Infinitum was bent over in the distance, blood covering much of the letters to form a haphazard smiling face. The tents were in disrepair, the attractions were broken down and dirty, and any greenery that might have been was instead barren. Muddy.
"Is this re-really... where we had our first show?" Ran swallowed as lightning struck in the distance. The skies overhead were dark and cloudy. It seemed as if the sun abandoned the realm long ago.
"Dumb dumb, this ain't real," Connie picked her ear with a yawn. "It's just that ole coot messing with us, obviously..." She glanced at Smolkie and corrected herself, "The evil one."
Smolkie pushed up his glasses, "You are free to label me how you wish, my lady, but I say evil is not something I can relate to!"
"Eyes forward," Lin brought his whip taut. "Feel like we'll be meeting the welcome committee sooner rather than later."
In the blink of an eye, a well-dressed individual presented itself to them. A toothy grin in a face of shadows was the only visible feature. "And the Ringmaster makes his observation known, geh heh! I suppose that's what makes you the reliable one, hm? In all things with the exception of caring for your dear brother!"
Lin bit his lip, "I know. That night... I was the first to find him. I'll never forget the pain he was in, the horror he must have faced. But that's on you, not me." He shook his head, "Not us."
"A typical response," Veles mused. "You fancy yourself as the hero, and it's accurate. You probably came here with hope in your wittle hearts thinking I can be defeated willy nilly in my own realm, but lo and behold!" He floated upwards and all the attractions started to work again. The lights blinked on. The merry-go-round spun. The machines spoke of 'inserting an ohm.' "I welcome you to my world, home of the greatest show in all the universe! Unfortunately you haven't paid the proper admittance. This is a business, you see, and we'd go bankrupt if we allowed just anybody to come and go! Let's start with the musclehead."
The dark entity pointed down with a hand and the group watched as a black hole opened beneath Berinhard. The Strongman gave a cry that faded to nothingness as he fell out of view. The hole closed.
"BERIN!" Arika screamed and dug at the hole, but it was futile.
"Oh, don't worry my dear! I had intended for the lovers to be together. I am ever so generous like that," he nodded to himself and nudged his smokey head. Arika flung up into the sky and vanished from view.
Connie scratched her cheek, "So uh, I'm thinking we didn't know what we were getting into."
The hypnotist took a step forward and shouted, "I, Dr. Smolkie McMoy, will not allow you to harm this family any more than you have already. Prepare to be annihilated, fiend!" He thrust the pocket watch forward and sent a torrent of light towards Veles who recoiled in terror. He let out an unnatural scream of pain as the beams hit their mark, crackling energy of the many blasts covering his form.
But instead of any actual damage, the smoke cleared to reveal Veles just dandy. "Just kidding," he shrugged with his shoulders, arms behind his back. The tentacles whipping about snatched up Smolkie's watch and held it before the entity's face. "So this is the little toy that let you break all my lovely relationships," he let out a mock sigh. "Let's see how you fare without it, hm?"
With that said, the entity tapped his foot against the ground to make the entire landscape crack into nothingness. With no footing, the group descended into darkness unknown.
"Is this re-really... where we had our first show?" Ran swallowed as lightning struck in the distance. The skies overhead were dark and cloudy. It seemed as if the sun abandoned the realm long ago.
"Dumb dumb, this ain't real," Connie picked her ear with a yawn. "It's just that ole coot messing with us, obviously..." She glanced at Smolkie and corrected herself, "The evil one."
Smolkie pushed up his glasses, "You are free to label me how you wish, my lady, but I say evil is not something I can relate to!"
"Eyes forward," Lin brought his whip taut. "Feel like we'll be meeting the welcome committee sooner rather than later."
In the blink of an eye, a well-dressed individual presented itself to them. A toothy grin in a face of shadows was the only visible feature. "And the Ringmaster makes his observation known, geh heh! I suppose that's what makes you the reliable one, hm? In all things with the exception of caring for your dear brother!"
Lin bit his lip, "I know. That night... I was the first to find him. I'll never forget the pain he was in, the horror he must have faced. But that's on you, not me." He shook his head, "Not us."
"A typical response," Veles mused. "You fancy yourself as the hero, and it's accurate. You probably came here with hope in your wittle hearts thinking I can be defeated willy nilly in my own realm, but lo and behold!" He floated upwards and all the attractions started to work again. The lights blinked on. The merry-go-round spun. The machines spoke of 'inserting an ohm.' "I welcome you to my world, home of the greatest show in all the universe! Unfortunately you haven't paid the proper admittance. This is a business, you see, and we'd go bankrupt if we allowed just anybody to come and go! Let's start with the musclehead."
The dark entity pointed down with a hand and the group watched as a black hole opened beneath Berinhard. The Strongman gave a cry that faded to nothingness as he fell out of view. The hole closed.
"BERIN!" Arika screamed and dug at the hole, but it was futile.
"Oh, don't worry my dear! I had intended for the lovers to be together. I am ever so generous like that," he nodded to himself and nudged his smokey head. Arika flung up into the sky and vanished from view.
Connie scratched her cheek, "So uh, I'm thinking we didn't know what we were getting into."
The hypnotist took a step forward and shouted, "I, Dr. Smolkie McMoy, will not allow you to harm this family any more than you have already. Prepare to be annihilated, fiend!" He thrust the pocket watch forward and sent a torrent of light towards Veles who recoiled in terror. He let out an unnatural scream of pain as the beams hit their mark, crackling energy of the many blasts covering his form.
But instead of any actual damage, the smoke cleared to reveal Veles just dandy. "Just kidding," he shrugged with his shoulders, arms behind his back. The tentacles whipping about snatched up Smolkie's watch and held it before the entity's face. "So this is the little toy that let you break all my lovely relationships," he let out a mock sigh. "Let's see how you fare without it, hm?"
With that said, the entity tapped his foot against the ground to make the entire landscape crack into nothingness. With no footing, the group descended into darkness unknown.
Ash 8/7/19 
