Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Yuya, you really don’t have to be here.”

“It’s fine!  I want to help.”

Reiji frowned, looking concerned.  He always had that sort of look on his face since the reset — wasn’t it time for him to relax yet?  Yuya picked up the box on the table before Reiji could, winking at him.

“See?  This is good training, anyway,” he said.  “Now where do you want this?”

Reiji looked him over a moment longer, and then sighed.

“Since I feel as though I won’t get rid of you otherwise,” he said, shaking his head.  “Phoenix-san would like all of the boxes of paperwork stacked outside the laboratory. There’s already a stack out there that people are sorting through.  You won’t miss it.”

“Yessir!”

Yuya couldn’t salute while holding a box, but he bobbed his head in an almost-bow.  Reiji sighed again. Then he waved Yuya off, and went back to flicking through the papers still scattered over the desk.

Yuya hefted his box and headed out towards the next room.

“I can’t believe you wanted to come back here,” Yuto said.

“Holy geez, this place is creepy!  What is this, a B horror movie??” said Yugo.

Yuya just laughed a little.  The laugh was mostly, however, to assuage some of his own nerves.

The Doktor’s old laboratory was still just as freaky as it had been the first time he’d come here and had to face off against the possessed Ruri and Selena.  The ceiling was so high that the honestly ridiculously sparse lighting couldn’t reach it. The only real light came from the big glass tubes full of some unknown liquid.  The room wasn’t empty, though — a bunch of Reiji’s LDS Elites were around, pulling down lab equipment or breaking down consoles. There were some people in suits who must have been sent from Synchro helping out.  A few of Reiji’s Elites and some Synchro workers were clustered near the tubes, shaking their heads and discussing how to best dispose of the chemicals and the incubating parasites still inside. Yuya shivered, and hurried out into the hall.

Sure enough, there was a large pile of boxes stacked alongside the wall, and some kids between his age and maybe as old as nineteen were sorting through pile after pile of papers.  Some of them were wearing Academia uniforms, but a most of them were in casual wear. A few were even in riding suits, and he noticed Masumi in her LDS uniform arguing with Hokuto.

Edo stood off to the side, frowning and drumming his fingers against his arms.  A light hum of chatter ran through the hall along with the shuffle of paper. His eyes flickered to Yuya as Yuya set his box down with the others.

“Yuya!” Edo said, eyes lighting up. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“I just showed up,” Yuya said.  “Sora said you guys were breaking down the lab and I wanted to see if I could help.”

Edo looked tired when he smiled, but he gripped Yuya’s shoulder and his hand in a warm greeting.

“That’s incredibly kind of you,” he said.  “I know this isn’t the sort of place you’d enjoy being.”

“Feels like it was a long time ago,” Yuya said.  “I’m fine.”

“Yuya, don’t lie,” Yuto scolded.   “You almost had a panic attack when we walked in here at first.”

“Yeah, so did Yuuri,” said Yugo.

“Shut up, Fusion,” Yuuri hissed.

To his credit, Yugo did not snap back at the rude nickname, and even Yuto drew back apologetically.  They were all still trying to handle how to mix their memories, and Yuuri’s were quite often some of the worst.  Yuuri had become much more prickly than the smooth, assured figure that Yuya had faced off before, and Yuya suspected it was because he hated the fact they all could fully see everything he’d been through.

“Talking to the others?” Edo said, and Yuya stirred.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” said Yuya, blushing.  “I always forget no one else hears them.”

Edo waved off his apology, shaking his head.

“It’s all right.  I’m sure it’s a lot to get used to.  And you coming to help even through that — we really appreciate it.”

“Well, I definitely needed something to do.”

“Did anyone else come with you?”

“No...Yuzu said she’d rather not.”

Edo nodded, his lips pressing together with understanding.  He gripped Yuya’s shoulder again. Yuya tried to smile, more for Edo’s sake than his own.  He was taking on a lot of responsibility, trying to fix Academia. He had help from the Synchro Council and from LDS, and even a little from Heartland even though they were still getting their feet under them, but it was a big job by himself.  Most of the adult teachers had either been arrested or fled after Leo disappeared from Fusion, and Edo had returned from Heartland with his supporters to demand they begin work on reparations — so it was really just Edo and his crew trying to fix everything .

“Did anyone find the Doktor?” Yuya asked.

Edo grimaced.

“No,” he said.  “I suspect he’s gone into hiding now that no one will fund his research.  We don’t want him to have anything to come back to when we do find him though.”

Yuya glanced out over the mess of stuff all over the floor while students flipped through page after page.

“Why not just burn all of it right away?” he asked.

“I’m worried there might be...surprises left behind.  I’d rather not be surprised.”

He folded his arms and tightened his jaw.

“Also, we still don’t know how to dispose of the parasites.  Hopefully something in here will have countermeasures. If the Doktor still has any of his parasite cards, wherever he is, he might be able to come back and use them against us — and at the moment, the only way we know how to stop them is to card the user.”

Yuya shivered, and he felt Yuuri tense up somewhere in the back of his mind.  Yuto and Yugo did not respond. It took Yuya a moment to compose himself.

“Well, that would definitely suck,” he said.  “So what else can I do? Reiji won’t give me anything.”

Edo chuckled.

“I’m sure he thinks you need a break.”

“ He needs a break.  He’s practically an old man already.”

That got another chuckle out of Edo.  

“Well, there’s a storeroom in the back of the lab that Grace and Gloria are working on cleaning out,” he said, nodding back towards the lab.  “I’m sure Grace will be happy to see you.”

Yugo made a gagging sound in the back of his head, and Yuya tried not to laugh.

“I’ll be happy to see them too.  I’ll get going then.”

He started to walk away, but Edo reached for his shoulder.

“Be careful in there, all right?” he said.  “There’s some chemicals in the back we haven’t identified.  Get Gloria to give you a mask.”

Yuya shivered a bit, and wondered silently why there wasn’t a single reliable adult in this world who could actually do something for once.

“Will do,” he said, and he headed back on into the lab.

Reiji was still hunched over the desk, his eyes peeled back by his fingers on his temples, looking like he was about to have a migraine.  Yuya almost went over to check on him, but didn’t want to distract him. Besides, he’d probably just tell Yuya to go back home again. So he headed past the LDS Elites who walked past him, still discussing something that needed to be broken down.  He looked around for some sign of the storeroom that Edo had mentioned.

From an open door in the back, he saw a familiar shock of silver hair as a tall woman came out hauling a crate of files.

“Do we have to talk to Grace?  She makes me nervous,” Yugo said.

“You just don’t like that she always gives us a kiss when she sees us,” Yuto said.

“It’s uncomfy!!!  Why does she do it???”

“I think Fusion’s just upset that he’s not getting a kiss from the person he wants it from,” Yuuri purred.

Yugo shrieked at Yuuri, and had they the means, it probably would have turned into a fist fight.

Yuya let them bicker, sending a reassuring wave towards Yugo.  He jogged over to Grace just as she hefted her crate to the ground.  She sighed and stood up, wiping sweat from her brow with her glove. She had one of those air masks over her mouth, like Edo had said.

“Hey, Grace,” Yuya called, waving.

Grace’s eyes immediately lit up, and she yanked the mask from her mouth as she spun towards Yuya.

“Yuya, darling!” she squealed.  

Yuya was immediately smothered in a big hug that smushed him right into her chest, and he was absolutely positive she was doing it on purpose.  She held him back by the shoulders then so that she could give him a kiss on the forehead.

“Hi,” Yuya said, blushing.  Yugo made another gagging sound while Grace giggled.

“It’s so good to see you!! I thought you’d be busy with league work,” she said.  “Glori!! Yuya’s here!”

Gloria appeared from the room behind them, carrying her own heavy box and grunting.  She shot a glance at Yuya, but waited until she’d set her box down to turn towards him and shoot him a brief nod.

“Good to see you,” she said.  “What are you doing here?”

“Helping,” Yuya said.  “Edo said you guys might need a hand with the stuff back here?”

Gloria glanced him up and down, as though taking stock of him.  Then she shrugged.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt.  Put this on, though. It’s dusty back there.  And I think something must have spilled because it smells like shit.”

She passed Yuya a face mask, and he pulled it on over his mouth, hooking it behind his ears.

“Don’t overexert yourself, darling,” Grace said, pinching his cheek.  “It would be awful if you pulled something and couldn’t perform your Entertainment Duels!  I’m so looking forward to coming to your next match.”

“Don’t worry, I’m tough,” Yuya said with a small laugh.  “So what needs to be done?”

The storeroom was way bigger than Yuya had imagined, and like Gloria had said, it definitely smelled like shit.  It was big enough for about five rows of metal shelving, and while the first two were completely emptied, the last three were still almost full to bursting with stuff.  The Doktor clearly hadn’t been a very organized man. Boxes were stacked on boxes that were full to bursting with files or old tools. Rusted medical equipment was stuffed on the top shelves, and bottles of both labeled and unlabeled chemical components and medications were stuffed in every available corner.

Yuya helped Grace and Gloria go through each box one at a time.  If it was just full of files and papers, they dragged it out and put it on top of the rest to be moved into the hall later.  If it had chemicals, They carefully put it outside in a different pile for Reiji’s and Synchro’s scientists to figure out how to dispose of.  Old tools and equipment was placed in yet another pile for the Elites to break down and take to the scrap heap.

It was difficult work, and Yuya’s muscles ached, but it was distracting.  And that’s what he and the others really needed right now. The other three slipped more fully into Yuya’s consciousness for a bit so that all four of them were adding their strength together to make it go a little smoother, and their voices faded as for a few moments, at least, all four of them became a single person.  They weren’t very good at doing that, but they could manage it for a few minutes at a time, and it really helped getting things done cause there were four people’s worth of strength and energy in there.

Yuya reached up to the top shelf for the last box.  He’d just gotten it into his hands when the metal shelf creaked.  Yuuri’s consciousness snapped out of them for a moment from shock.

“Yuya, get back —”

One of the shelf’s supports snapped.  All four of their minds split again and for a moment, Yuya was completely immobilized from the burst of confused and frightened thoughts that all exploded through his mind all at once.

The shelf collapsed, and the box crashed down to the floor, bursting open and sending its contents flying.  Something shattered and Yuya stumbled, tripping over his own feet and falling down. His hand fell into something wet, he almost choked with the shock, and in the confusion and shriek of thoughts all throughout his mind, he didn’t think twice when he reached up and grabbed at his mask with the wet hand, dragging it from his face and inhaling a sharp tang-y scent full force.  He immediately choked on it and started coughing.

“Yuya!”

“Yuya, what happened?”

He felt...very dizzy.  What was that smell? Someone got him by the arm and pulled it away from his face.  He felt someone scooping him up as though he weighed nothing, and then he was out of the dark store room and seated on the floor, still coughing, his vision blurring.  He still couldn’t quite disentangle his thoughts from the other three and it was making it impossible to comprehend what was going on around him.

“Yuya, can you hear me?  What happened?”

“Breathe in and out, darling, in and out.”

Yuya tried and he choked.  He coughed and hacked again, too rattled to answer.  

Yuuri, who’d detached first and was more coherent than the other three, shifted up to the front, and Yuya’s lungs seemed to clear — though it was really just that he was not quite feeling his body while Yuuri was in control.

“We breathed something in back there.  I don’t know what it was,” Yuuri said, still coughing.  That was about all he could handle, and he slipped back again, and Yuya came back to the front.  He tried to focus on the world in front of him, but all he could see were blurry shapes.

“Yuya, I’m taking you back to LDS,” he heard Reiji saying.  “Keep trying to breathe steadily. You’re going to be all right.”

Yuya only nodded.  He wanted to say that he was fine, it just smelled really bad, but he coughed again, and it was all he could do to let Reiji and Grace both lift him up, and hurry him along towards the jump point.

I’m fine, he kept thinking.   I’m fine.  I promise.

Chapter Text

“I told you, I’m fine.  Really! See??”

Yuya flexed both of his arms to demonstrate, though Reiji didn’t look in the least convinced, pursing his lips and folding his arms.  Yuya sighed and let his arms fall back to the hospital bed.

“He’s really making a big deal out of this,” said Yugo.

“Considering what he’s put us through in the past, he’s probably trying to compensate,” Yuto said, sounding actually a little irritated.  Yuya winced at the spike of distaste that Yuto expressed towards Reiji.  

“Be nice,” he muttered at Yuto.  “He’s doing his best.”

Reiji raised an eyebrow at him, and Yuya blushed.  

“Just talking to the others,” he said. “But really, Reiji, we’re all fine.  Can we go now? If you’re not going to let us help out in Fusion, we might as well go train for our next duel.”

The door smacked open, and Reiji had to hop to the side before Yuzu shoved him out of the way, barrelling over to Yuya.

“What happened??” she demanded.  Her eyes briefly flashed hazel-yellow, and Rin’s voice spilled out of her lips.  “What the hell did you do, Yugo??”

“Nothing!! Tell her I didn’t do anything!!” Yugo said.

“Tell her yourself,” said Yuuri.

“Nuh-uh, when Rin’s like this I’m hiding behind Yuya.”

Yuzu’s eyes turned blue again and she shook her head, squinting.

“Sorry,” she said.  “We’re still getting used to that.”

She turned towards Reiji then, hands on her hips, glowering at him.

“What happened?” she said.

“It’s not his fault,” Yuya said quickly, but Reiji talked over him.

“He was helping break down the lab in Fusion; which I expressly told him he ought not to,” Reiji said, fixing his glasses.  “It seems a shelf broke down while he was taking a box off it, and the contents shattered. He breathed something in.”

“Something?  What??” said Yuzu.

“Clearly, nothing dangerous, because I’m fine ,” Yuya said.

“The lab just finished analyzing it.  It looks like it was some form of hallucinogen. A preliminary compound, though.  It looks like it may have been a prototype.”

Yuzu’s eyes swung with horror towards Yuya, and Yuya sighed.

“Unless I’m hallucinating you two, I think I’m okay,” he said.

“I still think we ought to have you remain here for a while, just under observation,” said Reiji.  “In case anything happens.”

Yuya groaned and flopped back onto his pillow, folding his arms and glowering.

“What would hallucinations even look like with all four of us trying to look at them at once?” Yuto said.   “I mean, our dreams get pretty jumbled.”

“Yuya, I think Reiji’s right.  You need to be careful,” Yuzu said.  She touched his hand lightly, and he sighed.

“Fine,” he said.  “But I reserve the right to keep complaining.”

Reiij actually chuckled.

Sora inhaled the first three pancakes before Yoko had even finished flipping the fourth.

“Wow, hungry much?” she teased, immediately plopping the new one onto his plate before he had to ask.

“Your pancakes are just too good,” he said, gobbling that one down too.  “And Yuya’s not coming home til tomorrow so I get to eat his share.”

Yoko laughed and plopped another glop of pancake batter onto the pan.  Sora finished the fourth pancake and rested his head on his hands. He flicked a bit of syrup off his lips with his tongue, kicking his legs back and forth.

He really should have been in Fusion helping Edo and the others with the lab breakdown, but...he didn’t want to go back.  And when he’d looked nervous about leaving, Yoko had pretty much strong armed him — literally, she’d twisted his arm behind his back before he could leave — into staying home.  

Home.  What a funny word.  It had been a few months since everything had gone down, and it still didn’t feel quite real that this was “home” for him now.  Sometimes, he thought he would still wake up in his bed in the Academia barracks, and find that everything that had happened in the last few months had been a dream.

Yoko slopped another pancake onto his plate, and Sora sent her a thank-you grin before reaching for the chocolate syrup.

A soft knock tapped at the door, so light and polite that if Sora wasn’t acutely aware of every tiny sound around him, he wouldn’t have noticed.  

“Are you expecting anyone over?” Sora said.

“Hm?” Yoko said.  “No, I don’t think so.  Is someone at the door?”

Sora hated how immediately, all of his relaxation evaporated.  Nerves tingled down his spine and his throat closed as every bit of him tensed up.

“Maybe I imagined it,” he said casually.  “No, it’s okay, I’ll go check.”

Yoko had begun wiping her hands on a towel, probably to go check the door, but Sora’s spike of panic made him leap to his feet to scurry in front of her.  It was probably nothing, he told his anxiety. A solicitor, or a package, or another reporter who wanted a statement from Yuya or Yoko about the events of a few months prior.  But Sora couldn’t shake the anxiety that had lingered from his days at Academia, where nothing could be trusted and one mistake meant pain or death.

He peeked through the peephole.  At seeing who was on the doorstep, some of his anxiety faded, but not all of it.  For him to be here randomly...hopefully it was just a casual visit.

Sora unlatched the door and opened it, to find Tsukikage standing outside.

The ninja looked a lot different since the first time that Sora had met him.  For one thing, he wasn’t wearing his mask anymore, and his hair was down, lying long against his back.  He wasn’t wearing his usual ninja ensemble either, dressed in a casual sweater and jeans that always looked really weird on him.

“Hey,” Sora said. “What’s up?”

Tsukikage’s expression did not do any wonders for Sora’s anxiety.

“I hate to bother you at this time of day,” he said. “But...I’ve noticed something odd, and I hoped that you might accompany me to look into it.”

“Me?” Sora said.  Somehow, he was still surprised every time Tsukikage wanted anything to do with him.  “What about your brother?”

“I...I don’t want to...involve him right now.”

Sora looked down at the ground.  The way that Tsukikage wouldn’t look him in the eyes...Hikage must be having a bad day, and it probably had something to do with what Sora had done to him.  Fuck. Sora definitely felt like he didn’t deserve to be around Tsukikage or asked for assistance from him. But Tsukikage reached for his hand, touching the back of it gently, as though to reassure him, and Sora glanced up.

He tried to put on his usual cocky smile.

“Well,” he said.  “I guess it can’t be helped.  I’ll come along and check this out.  Lemme tell Yoko.”

Tsukikage nodded, and he was still on the step in the same place that Sora had left him when he came back, with his Duel Disk strapped to his wrist.

“So what are we checking out, anyway?” he asked, hopping off the step and following Tsukikage.

Tsukikage’s brow furrowed, and his lips pressed together.

“Sora,” he said.  “Have you ever seen a circus?”

“Augh!  Finally!!”

Yuya stretched both of his arms up towards the sky dramatically, and Yuzu rolled her eyes at him.

“You’d think you’d been arrested,” she said.

“That’s what it felt like,” Yuya whined, and then he grinned at the exasperated sigh that Yuzu let off.

“Well, ex-convict, let’s get you back home so that your mom can deal with you instead of me,” she said, cuffing him lightly on the shoulder.

Yuya saluted her, earning another roll of her eyes.  She was smiling, though, and she looked really relaxed.  The air was brisk and clear, and it was a beautiful day. Yuya inhaled a big sigh of contentment.  He felt the other three in his head relax too. The first couple of months after the reset had been a nightmare — trying to figure out how to handle being four people in one body, and then all of the reporters despite Reiji’s best efforts to shield him and Yuzu from all of the press, and just...settling back into a new normal — a normal which included jumping from dimension to dimension whenever he felt like it, and performing as a professional duelist in front of huge crowds like he’d dreamed since he was a child.

But on days like this, the world felt right again.  Peaceful, and normal. He could get used to this.

His eyes flickered as they made their way through the crowds of people, the streets already packed even this early in the morning.  He almost stopped, then, frowning at a huge, colorful sign on a nearby wall.

Come One, Come All , it read in huge, bright red letters on a yellow sign.   The Great Show On Earth!  Open Now, for One Night Only!

The date read for tonight, Yuya saw.  What was this? A circus?

“What’s a circus?” Yugo asked.

Yuto began to explain while Yuya read the rest of the sign.  There was a little map drawn on the bottom of it, that indicated the location was just outside the city, in a big open space near a less populated area.  What a weird place to put a circus. And what else was scribbled on the sign there?

“Yuya?” Yuzu called.

Yuya startled.  He’d gotten separated from her walking over to look at the sign.  But he was close enough now to see what the other scribble was — beneath the words The Greatest Show on Earth had been written, in thick, somewhat messy red ink, as though it had been written on by someone else: “and Elsewhere.”

“On earth and elsewhere?  Now that’s a real claim,” he said.

Yuzu groaned as she shoved her way through the bustling people to reach him.

“What are you stopping for?” she said.  Her eyes flickered to the sign, then and she frowned.  “A circus?”

“Yeah, it caught my eye,” Yuya said.  He poked at the date on the bottom and grinned at her.  “It’s tonight. Wanna go?”

Yuzu looked a little less interested though, frowning at the sign as though it surprised her.

“It seems like a weird way to advertise,” she said.  “Just one night, and you put the signs up the day of?”

“It hasn’t been up?” he said.

“Well, it’s the first I’ve seen anything about it.  Plus, look at that location! That’s the creepy part of the city.  All of those old warehouses and factories are empty. Sounds skeevy.”

Now that she mentioned it, yeah, that was a pretty weird place to put a circus.  And where was the rest of the information? Like, for example, the name of the circus?  The troupe? A website or something? Yuya had never seen a circus come to Maiami — he’d kinda thought they’d all died out after Action Dueling became the big thing.  People could go see daring acts in the stadiums whenever they wanted, and it was cheaper. The only circus he’d ever seen was his own deck.

“Well, I guess it’s not a big deal,” Yuya said.  “Just caught my eye. Let’s get back before my mom yells.”

Yuzu nodded, and they headed back into the swell of people.

Yuya couldn’t get that sign out of his head for some reason, though.  And every time he turned around a corner, he saw another one. They were in shop windows, plastered to walls, stuck in bus stops.  Was he just now starting to hallucinate?  But Yuzu seemed to see them too, frowning and glancing at each one.  Maybe it was just a really aggressive advertisement campaign to make up for the fact that it was short notice.  No need to worry. No need to feel like every hair was suddenly standing on end.

He slumped with relief when they finally reached his neighborhood and jogged up to his house.

“Hey mom!  We’re back!” he shouted.

“I’m here too,” Yuzu called.

His mother poked her head around the corner from the kitchen, and she grinned.

“Hey!  You’re just in time.  I reheated yesterday’s pancakes.”

Yuya pumped his fist with delight, and Yugo perked up immediately.  Yuuri whispered something that Yugo took offense to, and the two began bickering.

Yuya slipped his shoes off and hopped to the kitchen.  Yoko had a plate out with pancakes already covered in syrup, and she got out a second one for Yuzu despite her protests.

“Where’s Sora?” Yuya asked.

Yoko frowned as she literally took Yuzu by the shoulders and guided her over to a seat.

“He hasn’t been back since yesterday,” she said.  “He went off with Tsukikage to do something yesterday morning.”

Yuya hesitated before taking a bite.

“And he hasn’t been back?”

“Well, you know how he is. He disappears for a few days every now and then.”

Yoko looked concerned, though, as she turned back to pile some pancakes on a plate for Yuzu.  Yuya and Yuzu exchanged a glance over the table.

“Did he say where he and Tsukikage were going?” Yuya asked.

“He sent a message after he left,” said Yoko, putting the plate on the table.  “Something about a circus?”

Yuya and Yuzu’s eyes snapped to each other, widening.  

“But the signs just showed up today,” Yuzu said.

“I’m...gonna call Reiji and see if he knows where Tsukikage is,” Yuya said, grabbing his Duel Disk.  “I mean...it’s probably nothing. Right?”

Yuzu looked pale, but she nodded.  Yuuri just snorted.

“It’s never nothing,” he said.

Yuya tried to ignore him.

Chapter Text

“I haven’t heard from Tsukikage since yesterday ,” Reiji said tensely on the phone.   “He told me he’d seen something that worried him, and wanted to investigate.”

“Did he say what?” Yuya asked, exchanging a glance with Yuzu.

They stood outside Yuya’s house on the street, holding Yuya’s Duel Disk between them.  Reiji’s face was on the screen, though he appeared to be looking at something else, and they heard the click of keys.

“He didn’t tell me many details, only that he’d seen some mysterious activity in another part of the city.”

“Why don’t you just call the police, then?” Yuzu said.  “I mean, this isn’t interdimensional warfare. Our job is done, right?  Tsukikage doesn’t have to do this kind of thing anymore.”

“I would have agreed with you, except that he said he thought he saw Obelisk Force in the area.”

Yuya paled, and exchanged another nervous glance with Yuzu.

“But they’re done, right?” he said.  “Academia’s done with that.”

“I hope it’s that easy, and that Tsukikage missaw,” said Reiji, looking tense.   “But it’s very possible that there are still renegade factions.  Edo’s told me that not all students registered at Academia have yet been accounted for.”

“Can’t you track him??  Are he and Sora okay?” Yuya asked.

“Yuya, breathe,” Yuto told him, and Yuya realized with a start that he’d begun to hyperventilate.  Yuzu grabbed hold of his elbow to steady him, and he sucked in a few deep breaths.

“I’ve been trying to get a lock on his Duel Disk signal since you called asking.”

“And?”

“All I know is that it’s somewhere in this vicinity.  But it...jumps.”

He turned his Duel Disk towards his computer screen, and Yuya and Yuzu leaned in towards it.  Yuya saw a map of Maiami City. In one corner, there was a small blue dot, which Reiji zoomed in on.  The dot flickered, and went out. Before Yuya could cry out, it appeared again, a good twenty feet from its last location.  Way faster than even Tsukikage could move. The light went out, and then flickered back in another location.

“It all centers in this location, however,” Reiji said.   “I’m planning on sending some Elites to check on —”

“No,” Yuya said.  His heart had started to race as he realized exactly where that signal was in the city — that was where the circus was supposed to be.  “I’ll go.”

Yuzu shot him a look, and Reiji shook his head immediately.  

“Yuya, absolutely not,” he said.   “I will not —”

“If something’s going on in there that took out Tsukikage, or got him stuck, you know that your Elites won’t be able to handle it,” Yuya said, his voice surprisingly steady even to himself.  “But I can. I’m a Lancer. And I’m Zarc.  If it’s Obelisk Force, then we’ve dealt with that before.”

Reiji looked like he was getting ready to argue, but Yuzu talked over him.

“Me too,” she said, jaw setting with determination.  “The less people who get involved, the better. Yuya and I can handle it together.”

Reiji still didn’t look convinced, so Yuzu continued.

“We’ll keep you on call the whole time.  You can have some people on call to send in after us if something goes wrong.”

Yuya shot her a grateful smile.  Yuzu was always better at diplomacy than he was.  And it seemed to work. Reiji sighed, and briefly rested his forehead in one hand.

“I suppose it would be fruitless to try and stop the two of you,” he said.   “Though I do believe you’ve all done enough.”

“This is for our friends, to make sure they’re okay,” said Yuya.  “And we’ll never be done helping our friends.”

This part of the city was just as creepy as Yuzu had said it was.  They were pretty near the harbor, and Yuya could hear the ocean in the distance, and the eerie echoing call of a seagull.  Big, empty warehouses loomed up beside them. Conveniently, clouds had rolled in as they made their way towards the circus, and a heavy gray blanket coated the sky, making everything look way more ominous.  Yuya didn’t see a single soul out here, and he shivered.

He kept his Duel Disk up so that Reiji could see from his screen.  None of them spoke. It almost seemed as though they might somehow break some spell if they did, and shatter the silence.

Yuya wasn’t sure what he was expecting from the circus.  But when they rounded the corner and finally caught sight of the tent, he almost stopped with awe.  It was huge !

He was shocked that he hadn’t seen it peeking over the top of the warehouses — and he really should have, considering how tall it was.  The big, bright yellow and red tent took up literally the entire space in the big open area past the warehouses, looking as though it should have been bursting against the sides of the warehouses, but somehow perfectly fitting the space at the same time.

It looked so bright and colorful against the dullness of the black and brown warehouses and the gray sky, so bright that it almost glowed, like it had been copied and pasted from one scene into one that it didn’t belong in.

The tent flap was slightly open, just big enough for a person to fit underneath.  It was pitch black underneath, and unlike all the signs they’d seen all over town, there wasn’t a single advertisement or directional sign.  Just the tent, and the opening.

Yuya and Yuzu both stopped at the same time and exchanged a glance.

“What do you think, Reiji?” Yuya asked.

Reiji frowned on the screen while Yuya turned it towards him.

“I can send the Elites now,” he said.

“I...I feel like that’s a bad idea.”

Yuya glanced at Yuzu, and found that she was staring at the tent with magenta eyes.

“Something wrong, Ruri?” Yuya asked her.

Ruri let out a little shudder, hugging her arms.

“There’s no birds,” she murmured, and Yuya realized with a start that the distant sound of seagulls had vanished.  There weren’t any crows or pigeons about either.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” said Rin, her eyes flickering to the front.  Yuzu’s eyes turned green, then, and Selena spoke. The girls were way better at the quick switching that Yuya and the boys were.

“I think we oughta just charge right in.  If we wait for the Elites to show up, we’re losing time.  Shiunin and Tsukikage could be goners by then.”

Yuzu shivered as she returned to the front, and Yuya felt very cold at the thought.

“I definitely have a bad feeling too,” Yuto said.   “I think we all need to just go in now.  No waiting.”

“Same!  Let’s just kick their butts!” said Yugo.

Yuuri just snorted, but Yuya could sense his approval of the plan to take care of it themselves.

“My head crew seems to agree with the girls,” Yuya said.  “Keep them on call, Reiji, and we’ll keep you on the line.”

Reiji sighed, but he didn’t argue.  Yuya and Yuzu exchanged another glance.  Yuzu’s face screwed up with determination, and Yuya set his jaw.  He felt the other three in his head all align with his own determination.

Then he and Yuzu turned towards the dark entry into the tent, and stepped through.

The minute they were inside, everything went pitch black.  Yuya gasped — what about the light from outside? There should be still light coming in from behind them!  He heard his Duel Disk spark as though he’d just been given an intrusion penalty, and when he looked down, his screen was black.

“Reiji??” he said, smacking the Disk and starting to mash the buttons.  “Reiji!!”

It wouldn’t turn back on at all!  He couldn’t even summon his monsters!

He heard Yuzu slapping at her Disk too, but hers wouldn’t turn on either.  He couldn’t even see her.  Quickly, he reached towards the sound of her pressing buttons on her Duel Disk and grabbed her arm, hauling her closer.  What was going to happen? Yuya couldn’t summon his dragons — that single thought sent not only him, but the other three into a brief panic.  They were completely helpless.

A spotlight burst to life overhead, and Yuya and Yuzu both yelped, throwing their free hands over their eyes against the sudden blinding light.  Yuya heard someone clapping wildly, a somewhat muffled sound as though the person were wearing gloves.

“Wonderful, wonderful!  Oh, I’m so happy you’ve arrived!  I thought for certain I’d have to do much more to bring you to the show, but it seems my advertisements worked!”

Yuya managed to adjust enough to let his hand down from his eyes.

Contrary to the size of the tent, the inside didn’t look all that large.  It was a pretty standard circus tent — bleachers in a circle around a low, sandy ring, with three raised circle platforms at different levels.  He and Yuzu found themselves on a pair of chairs in the first row — he didn’t remember sitting down. When had he sat down?

The whole place was empty, though — save for a single figure seated on a podium on the lowest ring.

The boy — at least, Yuya thought they were a boy — wasn’t too much taller than him, he guessed, though they were all the way down at the bottom, so it was hard to tell.  They wore a long, dark red jacket with ridiculously long coattails and black trim, a huge orange bow tie with yellow polka dots sitting at their collarbone. They wore tight breeches in the same color as their coat, and tall black boots to their knees.  A black top hat with a matching orange and yellow ribbon and bow sat on their head at a jaunty angle, completely obscuring their eyes. In their black-gloved hands they lazily twirled a fancy looking cane with a gold topper.

Yuzu shot to her feet first, pressing up against the railing.

“Who are you?” she said.

“Ah, you ask all the hard questions, as usual, Yuzu!”

Yuzu’s mouth dropped open, and Yuya felt himself go cold with shock.

“How do you know her name?” he said, standing up next to her.

“I know everyone who comes to my circus, Yuya!”

Yuya flinched at the sound of his own name.  Who was this?  Something about them sounded familiar...but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

They hopped to their feet, spinning their cane again, a huge smile on their lips.

“But, I suppose you’ll both want an answer.  You can call me the Ringmaster.”

They bowed with a flourish of their arms and their cane.  Yuzu’s hands tightened on the railing.

“Actually, you know what?  I don’t care who you are,” she said.  “We’re only here to find our friends. Are they here?”

“Straight to the point!  I do love that about you,” the Ringmaster said, bouncing up with a grin.  Despite the motion, the hat always seemed to stay right where Yuya couldn’t get a glimpse of their eyes.  “I suppose you’re here about Sora and Tsukikage! Yes, yes, they came yesterday — early, you know, before I was ready to receive them properly.”

“Are they still here?” Yuya said, feeling more and more nervous by the minute.

The Ringmaster tilted their head, and smiled.  But this was a very different sort of smile, a smile that reminded Yuya a lot of the way Yuuri had looked when he’d carded Yuya’s father.

“Of course they are,” the Ringmaster said.  “You don’t leave the circus.”

Yuzu — or maybe it was Selena — swore, and suddenly, she was vaulting the railing before Yuya could stop her.  She landed lightly on the sand and bolted towards the Ringmaster, who simply stood there and grinned until she’d leaped onto the platform.

“You’ll give them back right now!” she shouted.

Before she could reach them, however, the Ringmaster simply vanished.  Yuzu stumbled and almost fell over as she ran right through where they’d been.

Yuya felt an arm sling over his shoulder, and he tried to flinch away — but the grip was firm, and then the golden cane topper pushed lightly against his neck.  It wasn’t sharp, but Yuya definitely felt like he was being threatened. He froze, his breath tightening in his throat.

“I’m ever so pleased with your enthusiasm, my dear, but save some energy for the show.  After all, you two will be my stars!”

“We didn’t agree to that,” Yuya said.  “What are you trying to do here?”

The Ringmaster chuckled, the cold tip of the cane moving down to the base of Yuya’s throat.

“Finding that out is part of the game,” he said.  “Don’t worry, dear — you’ll have fun. You’re all about that, aren’t you?”

Yuzu ran back across the platform, headed towards Yuya and the Ringmaster — but then the floor opened up under her feet, and her scream echoed as she disappeared from sight.  Yuya’s eyes bulged, and Yugo screamed in his head. He tried to throw himself out of the Ringmaster’s grip.

“Yuzu!   Yuzu!!  What did you do to her??”

“Play the game, and you’ll find her easy-peasy,” the Ringmaster laughed.  

They let go of Yuya and twirled him around like they were dancing, dancing back on their toes out of Yuya’s reach while he tried to shake off the dizziness.  They bowed to him again, one hand on the brim of their hat.

“I’m very pleased that you’ve both come so early,” he said.  “I really did think it would take a little more effort to get you into my doors.  Please enjoy the intermission, while we wait for the last of our actors to arrive!”

With a snap of effort, Yugo flung himself into control of Yuya’s body.  He tried to lunge for the Ringmaster — but then the floor dropped beneath their feet, and Yuya was rattled back to the front as the darkness swallowed him up.

“Don’t forget,” the Ringmaster’s voice followed after him.  “The most important part of any performance is to smile!”

The screen shorted out the second Yuya and Yuzu stepped inside tent flaps.  Reiji shot to his feet, grabbing at his disk. The anxiety was too much, and he shook the Duel Disk for a moment, as though, illogically, it might suddenly come back at that.

“Yuya?  Yuzu? Can you hear me?” Reiji said.  There was no answer. Just a screen of static.  That wasn’t right. Duel Disks shouldn’t do that, his Duel Disks especially.  He smacked it again as though that would fix it.

Calm down , he ordered himself.   Take it a step at a time.  I should send in the Elites to Yuya and Yuzu’s location first, just in case.

He moved his hand towards the button for the alarm that would send his Elites on call to the location.

The moment his hand was over the button, however, the screen flickered, and it went black.  Or...no. It wasn’t black. It was just very, very dark.

“Yuya?” he said, grabbing the disk.  “Yuzu — are you there?”

“Oh, Reiji, Reiji, Reiji.  What am I going to do with you?”

The voice was familiar, and yet not.  Reiji couldn’t place it at all. And whoever it was knew his name — that wasn’t unnatural, he was a public figure, but it made his skin crawl to be called by his first name by someone he didn’t know.

In the darkness of the screen, he saw some movement.  His eyes adjusted a bit, and he realized that the screen was focused on a person, about a foot away from the screen — nothing more than a shadow, he couldn’t make out any facial features, or anything more than the fact that it was a person who was probably wearing some kind of tall top hat.

“Who are you?” Reiji said.  “Where’s Yuya and Yuzu?”

“They’re at the circus, of course!  Right where you saw them go. Don’t worry — they’re about to have a grand old time.  You ought to join us!”

“I have several elite teams mobilized to descend on your location in a moment’s notice.  You will release Yuya and Yuzu, and Sora and Tsukikage, immediately.”

There was only a laugh, and he saw the figure shake their head.

“Silly Reiji, so silly.  Always standing around, watching from afar, while things happen, unable to stop them.  So far away. What if something happens, and you’re not there to help again?”

Reiji’s blood slowly turned to ice.

“If you’re...if you’re threatening them,” he started, his heartrate rising.

“Threatening?  Oh, no! Of course not!  A circus is a place for fun , don’t you think?  You know how Yuya and Yuzu are all about fun.  They’re going to have such a good time with me.  I just worry about you, dear Reiji. Always alone.  Always so far away. Never quite close enough to ever, ever be able to save the people you want to save.”

Reiji’s hands shook.  His mouth was dry. Who was this?  They spoke with such a light, cheerful voice, but their words made Reiji’s stomach twist.  It made his mind fling back to other, helpless moments — standing before the Synchro Council, trapped by their rules, forced to stand and be quiet and not let any of his fear for his Lancers show lest they realize just how young and inexperienced he actually was.  Having to watch, helpless, while Reira fixed the mess that Reiji had begun.

“This is your last warning,” he said, his voice cracking before he could stop it.  “You’ll release them, or I’ll send in my team.”

“And I wonder how many of your team will disappear before you leave your precious screens behind,” the shadow laughed.   “I’ll wait as long as it takes, Reiji-kun.  I would hate for you to have to miss out on all the fun yourself.”

The screen cut off, and his Duel Disk shut down.  When he tried to turn it back on again, it didn’t respond.  Somehow, its power cell was completely drained.

For a breath, Reiji stared at the screen, feeling his throat go tight and his heart slam against his chest.  The alarm button still waited — his Elites were still ready and waiting to go in. And Reiji would watch on the screens, far away, and he might see each one of their body cams go dark, one at a time.  The LDS Youth team all over again.

Reiji shoved out of his desk.  He only hesitated long enough to press the intercom and call Nakajima.

“Nakajima, I’m going out.  Please watch Reira for me when she wakes up from her nap.”

He didn’t wait for a response, and though it was drained of power, he grabbed his Duel Disk anyway as he hurried for the doors.

Chapter Text

Shun hesitated in the doors, frowning at the unusual burst of activity in the lounge.  For one thing, Nakajima was down here, and he was absently bouncing Reira in his arms as he talked very quickly to a trio of LDS Elites.  When Shun walked over to them, Nakajima’s sunglasses covered eyes moved towards him, and his shoulders seemed to slumpy with relief. Reira began tugging at his sunglasses, but Nakajima didn’t even seem to notice.

“Wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Nakajima said.

“I just heard that Yuya and Yuto got mixed up in something at Academia.  Came to check on them,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “But it looks like something is going on.”

Reira got the sunglasses off of Nakajima’s face and began to chew on the long bit.  Nakajima didn’t even react, but he looked exhausted.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” he said.  “All I know is that Reiji had a team of Elites on call to go to a specific location, but then he bolted out of here on his own.”

Shun tensed.

“He didn’t say where?”

“No,” Nakajima said, jaw tightening.  He finally reached up to tug the sunglasses out of Reira’s mouth, and Reira reached for them with her tiny hands.

“Were you the team on call?” Shun asked, turning to the three Elites standing around Nakajima.  The tallest of the group nodded.

“I know that Sakaki-san and Hiragi-san were headed to the location,” he said.  “We were supposed to be back up.”

“But he didn’t call us before he charged out.  Could be that the two things are unrelated,” said another Elite.

Shun tensed again, his hands tightening in his pockets.  So Yuya and Yuzu were at the location that Reiji had back up prepared for?  And then Reiji had gone running out? Reiji didn’t do things like that without reason. If he hadn’t called in his team, then...maybe something was wrong.

“You have the location?” he asked.

The tallest of the group offered his Duel Disk, and Shun noted the glowing mark on the map.

“So what are you all standing around waiting for?” he snapped.  “Don’t you think if Akaba ran out like that, it means something’s wrong?”

The Elite pressed his lips together in a thin line.

“Of course I think that,” he said.  “But without Reiji’s orders, I can’t know if following him is what he wants or not.  If he decided that it was safer to go on his own, we might only complicate things by showing up.”

“Akaba-sama would have told us if he needed our assistance,” another Elite said, pushing her ponytail back over her shoulder.  “We’re going to remain here, on call.”

Shun rolled his eyes.

“You do realize what you’re saying, right?” he said.  “That you’re going to defer to the judgment of a sixteen-year-old who’s just been burned hard by a war that’s probably fried a lot of his brain power?”

The three Elites — all of them adults — exchanged a clearly uncomfortable glance.  It was obvious that they wanted to go assist Reiji, but they were uncertain if they should be ignoring their orders.

Shun just shook his head.

“Whatever,” he said.  “Stay here on your asses if you want.  But if Yuya and Yuzu are out there, then I’m going to go see what I can do.”

He pulled his Duel Disk out of his pocket and snapped it to his wrist, turning in the same motion and heading towards the doors.  He wasn’t the most familiar with Maiami’s streets, but he remembered the map he’d seen. He was pretty sure he could find his way there.

He was just about out the door when he heard someone call after him.

“Kurosaki-san, wait!”

He didn’t wait, but she caught up with him just as he stepped out into the street, falling into step beside him.  He shot her a glance.

“What?” he said.  “I’m not stopping, so walk and talk.”

“You don’t need to stop,” she said.  “I’m coming with you.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, but she wasn’t looking at him.

“You could use help finding your way there anyway, couldn’t you?” she said, a faint smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

Shun smirked.  He let out a snort.

“You’ve got more balls than your teammates,” he said.  “What’s your name?”

“Call me Hale.”

“Well, then, Hale.  You any good in a fight?”

It was her turn to smirk, sending him a look as she raised her Duel Disk near her chest.

“If I wasn’t, do you think I’d be here?”

“Good enough answer for me,” said Shun.  “Well — lead the way. I’m not about to waste any more time before Akaba gets himself screwed over.”

Yuya couldn’t see a single damn thing.

“Hey!” he shouted into the dark.  “Hey!! Let us out of here!!”

He’d found the edge of a wall, rough and stone under his fingers, but it was too dark to see it.  And his Duel Disk was still dead, so he didn’t even have the screen to light the place up. He banged his fist on the wall and immediately regretted it — this was some pretty solid stone.

“Yuya, don’t overdo it,” Yuto said.   “We need to be rational about this.”

“They’ve got Rin!! And Yuzu!! And Selena and Ruri!” Yugo cried.   “We don’t have time to be rational!!  We’ve gotta get them back!”

“They can take care of themselves,” Yuuri said, and Yuya could feel him rolling his eyes.

Yuya was suddenly intensely glad for their presence.  It was a pain, being four people in one body, but... If he’d been completely alone in the dark down here, he was pretty sure he’d start panicking.  Having the three of them there, in one form or another, was comforting.

“Ugh.  Please don’t make me listen to such saccharine thoughts,” Yuuri said.

“Hey, don’t tell me that you wouldn’t be freaked out by being alone in the dark too,” Yuya said.

“I’m not scared of anything,” Yuuri said.

“Liar,” Yugo muttered.

“Everyone, stop,” Yuto snapped.   “Now listen — we don’t know anything.  This...Ringmaster seemed to know everything .  We’re immediately at a disadvantage.”

Yuto’s sharp, commanding tone calmed the other three down immediately.  Yuya pressed his hands into the wall and inhaled. Yuto spoke with the calm assurance of a soldier, or a commander, even.  It was easy to just slump and let him take charge for the moment.

“Okay,” he said.  “So what do we do, Yuto?”

“Information is key,” Yuto said.   “It seems that we have some time before the Ringmaster puts whatever plan he has in effect.  We need to at least get a sense of our area. Do you have anything that you don’t mind throwing, Yuya?”

“Uh...”

Yuya patted his pockets.  He found a couple of rocks in his cargo pants pockets.  He’d picked them up on a whim a while ago because he thought they looked kinda cool in the light, but they weren’t anything special.

“Now what?” Yuya said.

“Back to the wall.  Throw one of them directly in front of you, as hard as you can.”

Yuya did so, turning around with one hand on the wall to orient himself.  He threw the rock as hard as he could.

He heard it strike something and clatter to the floor — not very far away.  The echo didn’t last long, but enough for him to get a sense of the relative smallness of the room.

“The opposite wall isn’t far.  Do you have enough rocks to throw to the right and left?”

Yuya had three more rocks in his hand.  He threw one to the left. It hit something rather quickly, and Yuya actually felt the rock clatter back to his foot.  He threw the other one to the right, and it took almost a minute for him to hear it hit the floor a good distance away and roll.

“There’s no wall on that side,” Yuto said.   “We’re in a hallway.”

“Yuto, you’re a damn genius,” Yuya said.  He reached down and felt around for the rock that had hit his foot, and pick it back up in case he needed it again.

“Go slowly.  Quiet. Listen carefully,” Yuto said.   “Treat this like a warzone — anything could be ahead of us, and we have no weapons.”

Yuto’s calm, assured demeanor was helping Yuya breathe.  If he thought too much about where he was and what they were actually doing, he was pretty sure he’d have a break down.  But Yuto kept him on course. Yugo and Yuuri remained silent, letting Yuto take charge. Yuto was so much better than this than Yuya, Yuya thought.  If...if he’d been down here all by himself...he’d have been entirely useless. He tried not to think about it. He also tried not to think about what Yuzu and the girls might be doing right now.

As they slowly made their way forward in the dark, Yuya strained his ears.  There wasn’t a thing to hear except for his own breathing, and the soft sound of his feet despite his efforts to be quiet.  His toe kicked against the rock he’d thrown down the hall, and he scooped it back up.

He reached another wall.  Yuto had him throw rocks again to judge the next space, and they found that the hallway turned to the left.  There didn’t seem to be any other openings, and Yuya kept one hand on the wall in case there was a door on the side.

Something made him stop suddenly though.  He hesitated, hand against the cold stone, trying to figure out what had caught his attention.

“Yuya?” Yuto asked.

Had Yuto not noticed it?  Belatedly, Yuya’s brain caught up with him, and he realized what had made him stop.

Music.

He heard music up ahead.

A fucking circus tent?  What kinda joke was this?

Shun frowned at the tent from around the corner, eyes narrowed.  This looked like the kinda thing that Yuya would set up for a show.  What was so dangerous about a circus?

“Be careful,” Hale said.  “Shiunin Sora and Tsukikage both went missing investigating this place yesterday.”

Shun tensed at that.  Shiunin had disappeared?  Now that was concerning. He might not like the little Fusion brat, but he had to admit that Sora was a decent duelist, and a dangerous opponent.  He wasn’t one to go down easily. And that ninja wasn’t either.

“You think Akaba went in already?”

“I’m almost positive,” said Hale.”

Shun nodded.  He’d been trying to call Yuya, Yuzu, and Reiji, but none of them had been answering.  Worse than that, he didn’t even seem to be getting a signal. It was like all of their numbers were suddenly out of order.  Whatever was going on in there... He set his jaw, and turned on his Duel Disk preemptively.

Hale followed close behind him when he made a break for the open flap.  He dove into the darkness, the light of his Duel Disk to light his path — at least, until it sparked and shorted out like he was getting an intrusion penalty, and the whole thing went black.

He stumbled to a stop, swearing and throwing his hands in front of him.  What the hell? Why was it so dark??

Light burst in front of him and he leaped back instinctively in case of an attack.  

“Ah, Kurosaki!  I’m so pleased — I hadn’t even sent out your invitation yet, but you came right away!”

Who was that??  Shun squinted. When his eyes readjusted, he found himself sitting on a bleacher seat.  Hale was sitting next to him, squinting and blinking against the light as well. Shun jumped to his feet — what the...when had he gotten here, to this big circus room?

He heard a soft cough, and his eyes shot down towards the dusty ring in the center of the room.  A small, slender figure stood down below, on one of the raised circus platforms, leaning both hands on their cane.  Shun couldn’t see their face beneath the brim of their hat, but something about them seemed...familiar.

Shun threw his arm with his Duel Disk up — but it was still off.  What the hell? Those power cells weren’t supposed to just die like that!

The person in the long jacket tutted softly again, shaking a finger.

“Ah, ah, ah,” they said.  “This isn’t a duel, Kurosaki!  This is a show .  You should have simply waited for your invitation, and it all would have made more sense.”

“Who the hell are you?” Shun snapped.  “Where is everyone?”

“Oh, everyone’s here!  Those who’ve already arrived so far, at the very least,” they said with a smile.  “And oh, I? My dear apologies, I always forget to introduce myself. You may call me the Ringmaster.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ve got a circus aesthetic going on here,” Shun snapped.  “Now stop playing games — where are you hiding everyone?”

The Ringmaster laughed, twirling their cane and then holding it up with a snap.

“You’ll meet them soon enough, my dear.  But you’ll have to play the game. If only you’d waited for your invitation.  Everything would have been so much clearer then.”

Hale rose slowly so that she was close to Shun’s ear.

“I’ll make a distraction,” she hissed.  “You flank from the other side.”

Shun would normally argue, but he felt that now wasn’t the time.  He tensed, getting ready.

But then, the Ringmaster’s gaze seemed to flicker, their head turning towards Hale.  And the smile on their lips faded away.

“Oh my,” they said, shaking their head.  “I do see that we have an uninvited guest present.”

Their voice was suddenly icy cold.  It froze Shun to the floor with a sudden burst of unnatural panic.  The Ringmaster lifted their cane and pointed it straight at Hale.

“My apologies,” they said.  “But you’re not invited .”

It all happened so fast.  One moment, Shun was frozen to the floor, and Hale was right next to him.  The next moment, he heard a scream, something swung viciously from the ceiling, and Hale’s body went flying.  He broke out of his frozen state and whipped around — only to have to fight back the rise of bile in his throat.

A heavy looking trapeze swung back and forth in the air, gently, right over the seats in the higher rows across which Hale’s body had been flung.

The trapeze had a blade attached to one end.  It was bleeding. So was Hale. She wasn’t moving.

Shun threw up in his mouth.  He spat it onto the floor, gasping as he sagged back against the railing.  Then he whipped back around towards the Ringmaster, shaking with rage.

“You fucking bastard !” he yelled.

The Ringmaster only shook their head, putting two fingers to the brim of their hat.

“Such a shame, such a shame,” they said.  “But if only you’d waited for your invitation.  Then you would have known. Don’t blame yourself for her, Kurosaki.  It’s my own fault for not sending out the invitations sooner — oh, but I did think that I’d have much more time to prepare.”

Shun vaulted the railing while the Ringmaster babbled on, charging for them.  The Ringmaster didn’t move while Shun leaped onto the platform, swinging his arm back and then putting his whole body’s swing into the punch —

The Ringmaster simply stepped aside, faster than a blink, and threw their cane out before them, right across Shun’s legs.  Shun went barreling head over heels as he tripped over it — and before he could right himself, he skidded right into a sudden open hole in the floor.

“Try not to think too hard about the poor girl, Kurosaki,” the Ringmaster called after him.  “Think of happier things — it will make the game that much easier.”

Shun let out another cry, and then the world was full black.

Chapter Text

The music grew louder as Yuya approached the end of the hallway.  It sounded like recorded string instruments, but a little thin and whiny, as though it might be coming out of a music box or an old gramophone.  A light appeared up ahead as well; just the tiniest sliver of gold beneath a door. The music was very soft coming through the door. As he came up to it as well, the temperature increased a bit, becoming almost pleasant.  Yuya ran his hand along the door to find the handle. He tested it.

He was somehow shocked to find that it was already open.

“Careful,” Yuto instructed.

Yuya nodded, and slowly opened the door just a crack, peering inside.

Unlike the cold stone hallways they’d been lost in for what felt like forever, this room looked positively ordinary, and not at all the horror room that he expected.  It looked a bit old; the walls were covered in a yellowish, marbled wallpaper, and wood paneling ran along the bottom half. Posters hung from the walls. They were vintage in style but looked brand new: they all looked to be for different circus attractions.  One boasted of the universe’s tallest man, with the drawing of the man actually cut off at his torso, and another of a daring trapeze act that appeared to have tigers and beds of nails positioned beneath the soaring pair of acrobats.

The music was in fact coming from a gramophone, and Yuya felt like he’d stepped back in time, many decades into the past.  

He heard a faint scribbling sound of a pen against paper, and opened the door a little more to peek inside.

He tensed.  Sitting at a desk, back to Yuya, was the Ringmaster.

The Ringmaster bent over an old looking writing desk, writing with an actual quill, a feather that was taller than their top hat.  Their cane leaned against the desk beside them.

“I don’t think they’ve noticed us yet,” Yuuri whispered.   “Strike now, Yuya.”

Yuya shook slightly.  Attack them? Was that what he was going to have to do?  Yuto sent a spark of agreement to Yuuri’s plan, which was surprising, and Yugo was already ready to punch this guy in the back of the head.  If they attacked him, though, would they be able to find out where the others had gone?

“You needn’t skulk about, my dear Yuya.  I know you’re there.”

Yuuri snarled, and Yugo swore.  Yuya flinched, but he opened the door the rest of the way so that he had more freedom of movement, forwards or backwards.

The Ringmaster finished writing something down with a flourish, and set the quill aside.  They tapped the paper before them and it snapped up into a roll on its own, a ribbon tying itself around the paper.  Yuya’s heart quickened. How were they doing that? Was this one big Action Field, maybe? Were they manipulating Solid Vision?

The Ringmaster rose with a snap, taking up their cane and swinging around.  Even though now that they were pretty much face to face, Yuya still couldn’t see beneath the brim of their hat to see their face.  Only their light, easy smile remained.

“You found your way through faster than anticipated!  All of you are just so prompt. I should have taken that into account — but no matter.  I finished sending the rest of the invitations. The rest of your cast will be along shortly.”

“Who are you?” Yuya said.  “And what is this all about — what do you mean, cast, and show?”

The Ringmaster laughed, twirling their cane.

“I mean exactly what I said, Yuya!  This is a show .  And you’re all going to be my participants.  It will be beautiful and dazzling, of course, so don’t worry — though, also, that partially depends on you.”

Yuya stepped forward, fists shaking at his sides.  The Ringmaster didn’t flinch or move, still smiling.

“We never agreed to this!” he said.  “What are you actually after??”

The Ringmaster paused at this.  They tapped their cane to their lips briefly, tilting their head.

“I suppose I’m after the same thing you are,” they said.  “I just want everyone to smile and have a good time.”

“And you’re going to accomplish that by kidnapping people and forcing them to be here?”

The Ringmaster tutted softly.  They reached over with their cane to tap the button on the side of the gramophone to turn it off, plunging them all into a ringing silence.

“You’re so short-sighted, my dear.  You only think in the short-term. A smile now doesn’t always mean a smile later.  What if you could make the smile last? Not smiling right now could mean smiling forever later.”

Yuya felt a chill run down his spine, and he trembled.  The words themselves weren’t all that frightening, but the way they said it...Yuya felt like the temperature dropped with each flourish of their words.  And then, actually, yes...in hindsight, the words themselves were terrifying.

“You can’t force someone to smile,” he whispered.  “And it’s not...you can’t smile forever, either.”

The Ringmaster only smiled.

“Well, you’ll have to prove that to me, then,” they said.  “If you all find yourselves unconvinced by the end of my show, then I’ll relent.”

“You’ll let everyone go?” Yuya said, heart quickening.  “If we don’t agree with you at the end of the show, you’ll let everyone go?”

“Don’t trust them, Yuya,” Yuuri hissed.

“Patience, patience!” the Ringmaster laughed.  “Didn’t you just say so yourself? That you can’t force anyone to smile?  It will be an individual’s choice, of course, what they decide at the end.  If they decide they agree with you, then they’ll leave with you.”

Yuya felt a deep cold grow in the base of his stomach.

“But...but if they don’t?” he whispered.

The Ringmaster smiled broadly.  They pointed with their cane, and Yuya’s eyes flickered.  What were they pointing at? The posters on the wall? Yuya’s nervous eyes flickered from one to another to —

His breath coiled in his throat and stuck there.  He almost choked. One of the posters was different.  This one advertised a knife-throwing act, where one person was strapped to a spinning circle, and another threw knives at the target around them.  It was the same vintage style drawing, the same kind of paper, the same color palette. What was different, however, were the participants.

Tsukikage was the one strapped to the target, and Sora was the one holding the knives.

Yuya whirled on the Ringmaster, but they’d disappeared.  Yuya spun in a circle around the office, trying to figure out where they’d gone, but then all the lights went out and Yuya stumbled backwards in the dark, trying to feel around for the furniture he’d seen before but coming up with nothing, as though the world itself had vanished around him.

“I thought that was obvious,” the Ringmaster’s voice echoed around him.  “If they end up agreeing with me , Yuya...I’ll keep them.”

“You ought to do something more flashy.  Like this! Hya!!”

Sawatari struck a pose that involved him standing on one leg, and it took everything Dennis had not to burst out laughing.  He made do with a polite grin — being a former double agent did have some perks in the pretending-to-be-impressed category.

“Maybe,” Dennis said.  “But I think I can leave the pose-taking classes out of my curriculum for now.”

Gongenzaka scoffed, shaking his head.

“Perhaps, Sawatari, you should think about learning to duel with both feet on the ground before you introduce...that,” he said.

“Hey, hey, hey, I don’t wanna hear that from you!  Who had the higher overall score on the citywide Duel Test?”

Gongenzaka sighed.

“You’re never gonna let him forget that, are you?” Dennis teased, and Sawatari let out a huff, folding his arms.

“I can’t believe that I have to keep reminding you all!  You’d think you’d know by now that I’m quite as good as I claim to be!  I’ll prove it to you right now if you’d like!”

Dennis swallowed another burst of laughter.  Sawatari definitely tested the limits of how much he could hide his laughs, that was for sure.  It was why he was so amusing to hang around.

Maiami was cool and brisk, unlike Heartland where he’d just come from, which was starting to get warm and sticky with summer.  Maiami seemed to still be clinging to the spring, as a breeze fluttered between the buildings and rustled the leaves overhead. Sawatari seemed determined to stay on the topic of how important poses were, which Dennis was more than happy to throw his own two cents on.  Gongenzaka looked like he was about to roll his eyes out of his head.

“Maybe you should try putting in a pose or two to your routines, Gon-chan,” Dennis said.

“That would most certainly not be in keeping with the Steadfast school,” Gongenzaka said.

“Oh, you and your Steadfast!” Sawatari said, throwing his hands into the air.  “Mix it up for a change, why don’t you? You don’t have to inherit the school yet!”

Gongenzaka looked like he was going to have words to say to that when Dennis glanced up and saw a familiar face wander into the park.  Sakaki Yoko looked around, froning, her hands on her hips. She shook her head — clearly she was looking for someone, but she hadn’t seen Dennis and the others yet.  Hm. Well, he hoped nothing was wrong, but he didn’t quite feel comfortable enough to raise a hand in greeting to draw attention to himself.

Dennis was going to turn back to whatever Sawatari was saying, but then Gongenzaka saw her and he rose, holding up one large arm to get her attention.  Yoko’s eyes sparked, and she half jogged over to them.

“Hey, kids,” she said.  “What are you up to?”

“Nothing important,” Gongenzaka said.  “What are you —”

“We’re discussing the importance of poses!” Sawatari said, waving his arms.  “That’s very important!”

Dennis couldn’t stop the snicker this time, and Yoko glanced over at him.  He tried to keep smiling while she sent him one of her usual mom smiles at him — those soft, gentle looks that he still felt like he really didn’t deserve.

“Sounds like it,” Yoko said, shaking her head with a smile at Sawatari.  “And long time no see, Dennis. I thought I told you to come by for dinner now and then.  Have you been eating?”

She poked at his ribs, and Dennis flushed.

“I...I guess I’ve been busy,” he lied.  The truth was that he didn’t feel like he really should, still — Yuya kept inviting him over, and Yoko was constantly asking him if he’d been eating every time he saw her, but he still felt a little...awkward.

“Well, try being less busy.  You’re a kid,” Yoko said, grinning.  Her smile slipped then, and she glanced at all three of them. “Not to bother you, but have any of you seen Yuya or Yuzu around?”

The three exchanged a glance.  Even Sawatari had the presence of mind to look a little concerned.

“No, I haven’t, not today,” said Dennis.  “Why?”

“Probably nothing,” Yoko said, shaking her head.  “It’s just that Sora went out with Tsukikage the other day and hasn’t come back yet.”

“Doesn’t he just do that?” Sawatari said with a faint scowl.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, but Yuya and Yuzu looked worried when I said that,” said Yoko.  “And then both of them bolted off. I haven’t heard from them for a few hours, and Yuya’s not answering his texts.”

She folded her arms, putting on her irritated mom face then.

“I’ll try calling him,” Gongenzaka said.  “I’m sure that he’s simply missed the texts.”

“Yup, he loves doing that,” Yoko said flippantly.

Dennis definitely tried not to laugh at that.  They all waited while Gongenzaka found Yuya’s contact information in his Duel Disk and pressed call.  It rang. And rang...and rang....

“I’m sorry, but this number is not reachable at this time.  Please try again later,” the Duel Disk said.

Dennis frowned, then.  That was odd. Yuya’s number being unreachable...where could he go for that?  Reiji’s system was so powerful than it could get calls from across dimensions.  Yoko’s eyes narrowed at that, and her arms tightened.

“That’s very odd,” Gongenzaka said with a big frown.  “This isn’t like Yuya.”

“Yeah, and that’s why I’m starting to worry,” said Yoko.  “Can you think —”

She wasn’t able to finish her sentence, because at that moment, Gongenzaka’s Duel Disk began to ring.  Not just his, either — Dennis’s and Sawatari’s Disks started getting calls at the same time. Sawatari pulled his out of his bag with a comical sort of frown, and Dennis looked down at the Disk attached to his arm.

Unknown Caller, was all it said.  Well Dennis wasn’t about to answer that .

Gongenzaka did, though, and so did Sawatari.  And without touching his screen, Dennis’s Duel Disk answered the call on its own.

Simultaneously, on all three of their screens, a shadowy face appeared.

“Greetings!” said the same voice in stereo from three places.  “This message is for...oh my. Are all three of you together? How convenient!”

Dennis’s and Sawatari’s Duel Disks both turned off abruptly, and Sawatari yelped.  Only Gongenzaka’s Disk remained on.

“Who is this?” Gongenzaka demanded.

“Ah, yes, introductions!  I always forget that part.  I am the Ringmaster.”

Yoko sucked in a breath, but Dennis didn’t really have the moment to ask why.  He leaned over Gongenzaka’s arm to try and squint at the shadowy face, but all he could make out was a top hat.

“The Ringmaster?” Sawatari scoffed. “What a stupid name!”

The Ringmaster let out a little huff, putting a hand to their chest as though offended.

“I’m hurt.  One would think that you’d know better than to criticize people’s names, Neo New Sawatari. ”

Sawatari’s face went a little pale, and Dennis instantly tensed, all former mirth entirely gone.  Whoever this was, they were setting off all of Dennis’s alarm bells. This person was dangerous, and they seemed to know who they were.

“Enough games!” Gongenzaka snapped.  “Who are you, and what do you want?”

“Right, right, right, I was getting to it, my goodness.  This is just all a bit exciting — pre show jitters, you understand.”

The Ringmaster laughed.

“This, my friends, is an official invitation to my show!  You might have seen my advertisements around the city? No?  Well, you can’t miss me, of course. I’m the one in the big circus tent in the warehouse district of town, near the harbor.”

“This is a weird way to invite people to a show,” Dennis said.  “Especially when we don’t even know who you are.”

Though, as Dennis said it, he thought that there was something curiously familiar about their voice, and the way that they moved their hands even in the darkness of the screen.  He couldn’t put his finger on it though...who was this person?

“I really must insist you come, though,” the Ringmaster said, shaking their head.  “It’s very important, you see! We can’t have a show with all its players.”

“You’re starting to annoy me!” Sawatari said.  “Who do you think you are, demanding us to come?  We’re not just anyone, you know!”

“Well, it would be quite a shame if you couldn’t make it.  I mean, your compatriots have already arrived, and I know they’d miss you if you couldn’t join us!”

The group briefly fell quiet, nerves tingling down spines.  Dennis shivered.

“What do you mean by that?” Gongenzaka said slowly.

“Well, I mean that some of your friends are already here!” the Ringmaster said with a laugh.  “I know that Yuya, Yuzu, Kurosaki, Sora, Reiji, and Tsukikage would all greatly appreciate your presence.”

That shut everyone up.  Even Yoko’s eyes bulged, her mouth dropping open.

“Is that a threat?” Gongenzaka’s voice boomed, hands gripping his Disk so tightly it seemed it might shatter.

“A threat?  Oh no no no no.  What a terrible face you have on there, Gongenzaka.  Give us a smile, won’t you?”

The Ringmaster laughed.

“Well, I only meant to invite you, nothing more. I suppose we can perform minus three, if we must.  But, for fairness’s sake, let me read off the official invitation. Ahem.”

They coughed into their fist and there was a rustling sound as they flipped out a scroll of paper in front of them.

“To Misters Sawatari Shingo, Gongenzaka Noboru, and Dennis Macfield — you are all formally invited to The Greatest Show on Earth, playing for one night only.  The location will be in the warehouse district near the harbor. Please bear in mind that no plus ones are permitted!  Violators will be prosecuted.”

They let the scroll snap shut again and simply dropped it, holding both hands forward in a presentation position.

“And please keep that last rule in the front of your mind.  Poor Kurosaki accidentally brought along a plus one, and...well, it’s ever such a pain to have to clean up such a mess before a big show.  Blood is ever so difficult to clean out of things.”

Dennis almost choked.  Gongenzaka’s fingers dug into the Duel Disk, and Sawatari went ashen.

“I hope to see you there, my friends!  I promise it will be an excellent show.”

The screen went off, and Gongenzaka’s Duel Disk went black.  He tried to turn it back on, but it wouldn’t come back to life.  Dennis couldn’t get his turned back on either, and neither could Sawatari.

They all exchanged a glance.  Dennis's heart slammed in his chest despite his best efforts to contain it -- could they all see how panicked he was?  Who was that?  Dennis could practically hear the danger in their voice.  And Yuya and Yuzu were both missing.  Was this Ringmaster lying?  Did they actually have Yuya and Yuzu?  Sora, Reiji, Kurosaki, and Tsukikage too?

Dennis inhaled sharply.  He counted the names off in his head again.  Yuya.  Yuzu.  Sora.  Reiji.  Kurosaki.  Tsukikage.  Then him, Gongenzaka, and Sawatari.  Consider Yuzu as Selena, which she sort of was to a point, and not including Reira, who was only an infant, and if you considered Sora an unofficial addition to the ranks...that made up the total of the Lancers.

This person was after the Lancers.

“They’re in danger,” Dennis said.  His mind was already whirring with a thousand horror scenarios, ones that he'd made up in his anxious nights when he couldn't sleep: Academia soldiers, not ready to give up, coming back for revenge against the people who'd been their undoing.  Synchro dissenters angry with the Lancers for disrupting the City's status quo taking it out on them.  Heartland renegades turning on them.  This list was endless.  The only real question was: where did the Ringmaster's loyalties fall?

“This is absolutely ridiculous — who is that awful showman??” Sawatari said, still looking gray faced.

“We have to go get them out,” Gongenzaka said.  “If it’s true, and our friends are there —”

“I’m coming with you.”

Yoko stepped forward, and all three of them turned to her.  They exchanged another glance.

“Sakaki-san...I, the man Gongenzaka, would of course appreciate your support, but...”

“Then just take it,” Yoko snapped.  “I’m not letting you kids run off on your own.  Not again.”

“You heard what that crazy showman said!” Sawatari said, eyes bulging.  “You weren’t invited — they could kill you!”

“And oh, what, I’m supposed to just sit back and wait for you to all come back again??  With my son and Yuzu and Sora all in there?”

This wasn’t going to go anywhere.  And Dennis knew, intimately, that whatever that Ringmaster had said...they weren’t bluffing.  Dennis was a master at bluffing. He knew it when he saw it.

No, the Ringmaster talked like someone who had already killed once before, and was more than willing to do it again.  Sakaki Yoko could not come with them.

His Duel Disk wasn’t working, but he had back ups for when his Solid Vision wasn’t ready anyway.  He touched the back of Gongenzaka’s hand to get his attention. Gongenzaka instinctively grabbed hold of Sawatari.

“Sorry,” Dennis said.

He threw the smoke bomb down in between them.  Yoko jumped back, throwing her arms over her face.  Gongenzaka threw Sawatari over his shoulder, and then scooped up Dennis under the other arm before Dennis could even say anything, bolting off with the pair of them while Yoko dealt with the smoke.  It wasn’t anything special — just enough to delay her, hopefully, until they dealt with this Ringmaster and got everyone out.

Sorry, he thought again.   But I don’t want to be responsible for losing anyone anymore.

Chapter Text

The Ringmaster flipped open their pocket watch, watching the seconds tick down.  The official schedule stated that the show would begin promptly at sundown — though if everyone arrived early, they supposed there was no harm in starting right away.  Everyone had been so much more prompt than expected — that was excellent! Actors should always arrive to their shows early.

They flipped the watch shut and tucked it back into their breast pocket.  They bounced on their heels. Excited, excited, excited! Oh, but they were so excited!  Those nervous pre-show jitters ate at their heart.

They ran their fingers along the posters on the walls — only one of them was filled right now, the lovely one for the knife throwing act. But soon enough, all of their acts would be filled!  Yuya was a dear, but he’d come around to the Ringmaster’s way of thinking soon enough. It was only inevitable. A good show could sway even the most hardened of hearts — Yuya ought to know that himself by now.  And the Ringmaster was the greatest showman in the business.

And once this show was finished...well, then there would be other shows, so long as they had the players!  Many, many other places to visit after this one. There were many, many others that the Ringmaster wanted to add to their show, once this opening night was complete.

The Ringmaster shivered with delight, checking their watch once again.  Ah! It seemed the last players had arrived! They tipped their hat, tucked their watch away, and picked up their cane, turning in place to arrive at the main ring.

Dennis, Gongenzaka, and Sawatari were each already seated in the audience seating, blinking with surprise at their new location.  The Ringmaster couldn’t stop smiling. Finally, they were here! Sawatari was the first to jump to his feet, turning around in circles — he froze when his eyes fell on the body left crumpled in the back stands.  Oh dear. They’d been so preoccupied with preparations for the show that they hadn’t cleaned up the mess.

“Ah, welcome, welcome!” they cried, leaping to the lower stage.  “Please excuse the mess back there, I hadn’t the time to have it picked up — don’t worry, I’ll have it removed in time for the audience to arrive!”

Gongenzaka actually let out a roar, rising up to his feet upon seeing the discarded body.

“What have you done?” he roared.

Dennis looked ashen faced and nervous — that wouldn’t do at all, not at all, it wasn’t good for the actors to have such stage fright.  The Ringmaster would have to give Dennis a little extra attention to help him shake off the pre-show jitters. Gongenzaka and Sawatari both looked ready to go, though!

“Oh, don’t let it bother you — it’s only, I only have the room for a certain number at the moment, you understand; I can’t be bothered with those who weren’t invited.”

“All right, we’re here!” Sawatari shouted at him.  “So why don’t you fill us in our your master plan?”

The Ringmaster couldn’t help but giggle — oh, but it was just so exciting!  Soon, soon, soon; soon they’d all understand why they were so excited. They’d be having as much fun as the Ringmaster was.

“That would be spoilers , Sawatari!  You’ll have to enjoy the ride along with everyone else.  Now, if you’d be so kind as to go to your dressing rooms while I make my last preparations —”

They tapped the floor, and Sawatari dropped down through the trap door.  Gongenzaka tried to go after him, but the floor opened up beneath him as well, and he disappeared into the dark.  Dennis was a little faster, however, leaping up to stand on the seats — how clever! But that was all right. The Ringmaster wanted them separated anyway.  Dennis would shine much better as a solo act.

“What are you after?” Dennis said, before the Ringmaster could send him off.  “There must be a reason you’re putting this much effort into this!”

Ah, Dennis!  Trying to get him to talk.  He really was clever — it was taking everything the Ringmaster had not to burst out with all of their secrets all at once.  Keeping it all for the end was just oh so difficult! They wanted to share it with someone!

But they just smiled at Dennis.

“I want what you, and everyone else here wants,” they said. “For you all to be happy and safe and smiling.”

Dennis’s eyes widened.  His lips parted. Something akin to near-recognition sparked in his eyes.  Ah. A little too clever, Dennis.

The Ringmaster tapped the floor again, and a hole opened up in the seat itself, sending Dennis flying off into the dark.  The Ringmaster tutted softly, shaking their head.

“Spoilers,” they murmured.  “That’s spoilers, Dennis.”

Okay.  Breathe.  In and out.  No time to panic.

Yuzu inhaled slowly, in and out, in and out.  She pressed back against the wall to steady herself.  It was pitch black down here, and she couldn’t see a thing.  But that was no reason to let herself panic. She had to be rational.

“Rational about what?  This crazy nightmare we’ve ended up in?” Rin snapped.

“I was so close to hitting them,” Selena said, bristling with anger.

“Girls, Yuzu is right.  We need to calm down,” Ruri said.   “If we’re shaken, it will be that much easier for us to fall into a trap.”

The voices in her head were soothing in a way.  Yuzu inhaled and exhaled a few more times, just listening to them bicker.  She wasn’t alone. She had all of the girls here. Four minds together could work their way out of this.

“Let’s cover what we know,” she said, keeping her voice low, in case there was anything down here in the dark with her.  “There’s a circus that shouldn’t be here. The Ringmaster seems to know us. And it sounds like he’s going to be bringing others in — not just us, Yuya, and Sora and Tsukikage, who are probably already here.”

“There must be a connection,” Ruri said.   “And a reason.”

“Reason?  This guy seems totally psycho,” said Selena.   “Crazy people don’t need reasons.”

“No, Yuzu and Ruri are right,” Rin said suddenly, shifting uncomfortably.   “They...this guy talked like someone who knew what they were doing.  Off the wall and insane, sure, but so was Roger, and you could always tell that he was planning something.”

Yuzu shivered just remembering that awful man, and Rin backed off.  Rin had lived under his Security Bureau’s oppression for years, but Yuzu had been the one to be physically kidnapped by him for a significant amount of time.  She still sometimes had nightmares about his hands dragging her along after him down the hallway.

“So, all right, sure, that’s what we know,” Rin said then.   “But that doesn’t help us, does it?”

“It does,” Yuzu said slowly.  “Because we know one thing, at least — the Ringmaster doesn’t want us dead yet.”

She pushed off the wall, and began to feel her way around in the dark.  A few moments later, she found another wall. The sound of her feet scuffing against the floor indicated that this room wasn’t very big, but most of the sound bounced off to the left.

“I don’t think there will be any tricks in this room,” she said.

“Careful,” said Selena.   “You can’t assume that.”

“Yeah, we just established that this guy is crazy.  And they know us — or at least you — specifically,” Rin said.   “My money’s on them being some leftover Academia crazies who want revenge.”

“If that was the case, why not just kill us then?  Our Duel Disks were dead. We could have been carded without a fight, or worse,” Yuzu said, shaking her wrist with the dead Duel Disk still on it.  “Instead, they wanted to taunt us. They talked about putting on a show, with us and Yuya as the stars.”

“You think this is a bigger plan?” Ruri asked softly.

“I think the Ringmaster has their own agenda, and I don’t think involves killing us yet,” said Yuzu.  “If this is a revenge scheme, it’s a convoluted one.”

She frowned, feeling cold then.  She couldn’t really put her finger on why...but she thought for sure that she was right.  The Ringmaster didn’t want to kill them. They wanted something else. But did that mean they were any safer?

“So what do we do?  Stumble around in the dark?” Rin said.

“Absolutely not.  If there’s anything down here, we let it come to us, and stay alert,” said Selena.

“Selena’s right.  The Ringmaster will definitely come for us when they’re ready,” Yuzu said.  “If this is a show...I’m sure the curtain will raise as soon as it’s time.”

“Ah, Yuzu, you’re just so clever!  I’ve always admired that about you.”

Yuzu bit back a scream.  Selena slipped back into control from her shock, and immediately whipped towards the voice with both fists up, body loosening up as she slid her weight to her toes, ready for a brawl.

They couldn’t see them, but the Ringmaster laughed.

“Ah, and Selena — always so quick for a fight.  It really is good to see you fronting. Such a shame that it’s so hard for us to talk face to face nowadays.”

The voice seemed to come from all around them, and none of them could figure out which direction the Ringmaster was in.  Selena turned in a slow circle to try and cover all of their angles, eyes flickering through the darkness while Yuzu hung back, holding her breath.

“Get out here and fight me if that’s what you want!” Selena shouted.

“A fight?  Oh, no no no,” the Ringmaster said.  “Where’s all the fun in that? No, no, no, Yuzu was right, while you were all deliberating — what I want is a show .  I want you all to have fun!”

“Well, we’re not having any fun right now,” Selena snapped.

The Ringmaster laughed again, and it echoed.

“I deeply apologize!  But you see, the actors must stay in their dressing rooms until it’s time for the curtain to raise.  But the wait is over! Our final participants have finally arrived.”

Selena yelped — the floor beneath them shuddered, and she leaped back.  Yuzu swore — another trap door in the floor?

But no, the floor didn’t open up — instead, it started to rise up.  Selena threw her hands up towards the ceiling which she was sure was coming closer, and in her shock and panic at the thought of being crushed against the ceiling, Yuzu was flung back into the driver’s seat.  It took her a moment to readjust to having limbs, and she stumbled to her knees.

The impact with the ceiling never came, however, as they rose up through the darkness, and overhead, the ceiling parted and light streamed through.  Yuzu shaded her eyes and squinted up through the spotlight, as the floor rose back up to the center stage of the circus ring, and sealed off, leaving her back up at the top floor, on the tallest of the three circular platforms.

The auditorium bleachers surrounding her were  suddenly full — or at least, that’s what she thought at first, glaring through the spotlights to the people shaped lumps filling every seat.  As her eyes adjusted, however, she realized that they weren’t people at all — they were mannequins, with smooth, blank faces save for the sloppy red smiles and dot eyes drawn onto their faces.  Ruri let out a little squeak of nervousness, and Yuzu’s skin crawled.

She heard the tap of a cane against the floor and spun around — in the first row behind her, the Ringmaster sat between two more mannequins, resting both hands on the top of their cane.  They smiled brightly at her, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Welcome, one and all!” they called, leaping to their feet and spreading their arms wide.  “The Greatest Show on Earth, now playing for just a single night in Maiami City! The show begins now!”

They pointed up towards the ceiling, and the floor rumbled for a moment, making Yuzu almost lose her feet.  Five massive screens lowered down from the ceiling, facing inwards in a circle to where Yuzu was so that she could see all of them.  They each turned on one at a time — on the first screen, she saw Reiji, looking around in a dimly lit hallway with eyes narrowed, making his way down the hall to a single door on the other end.  On the second, she saw Gongenzaka and Sawatari, the two of them clearly having issues squishing through the same tiny hallway at the same time, obviously arguing though she couldn’t hear them. On the third, she saw Dennis, looking flushed and clearly panicked, looking behind him to something Yuzu couldn’t see.  The fourth screen showed Shun trying to climb through a person shaped hole in a funhouse, looking red-faced with anger and irritation.

And the fifth screen showed Yuya, who was standing at the entrance to hallway with a big sign that read Fun Maze.

“What is this?” Yuzu shouted at the Ringmaster, swinging her head back down to him.  “Are you telling me I’m supposed to sit here and watch?”

The Ringmaster giggled, and shook their head quickly.

“Oh, no, no, no!  That would be simply too sad, if you weren’t to participate at all!  No, Yuzu — I’m giving you a choice !”

On matching edges to the screens, at the very ends of the platform, five door frames slid out of the floor.  Each one contained a closed black wooden door, and were each directly beneath one of the screens.

“I’ve put together special shows for each of our participants, until we reach the grand finale, of course,” the Ringmaster said.  “But I’m not too shy to say that you’re my favorite, Yuzu.  So I’m giving you the chance to choose who you join!”

That was almost too much to unpack.  Yuzu’s mind raced — the Ringmaster seemed to know her, maybe better than they did the others, or at least seemed to like her better, for whatever that was worth.  They knew about Selena, and about how Yuzu was combined with all of the girls.  

And then there was everyone on the screens, and she had to decide who she was going to go help.  How much time did she have? She checked each screen again one more time — her eyes lingered for a moment on Yuya, who was edging carefully into the next maze.  If she went with her gut, she wanted to go to him. She’d spent so much time getting separated from him, and she had no idea if they would survive this.

But she had to think more logically.  Yuya wasn’t alone, and he looked to be safe for the time being.

So instead, she turned her eyes to Dennis’s screen — the only one that seemed to be actively fleeing from something at the moment.  He looked frightened, and he kept looking back over his shoulder to something that Yuzu couldn’t see. Dennis needed her help the most right now.

“Girls?  Agree or no?” she asked.

“I’m in,” said Rin.

“I think we should just try and punch them again, but whatever.  If we have to play along, Dennis seems like the most important option right now,” Selena said.

“Let’s go,” Ruri said, her voice humming with determination.   “We have to help him.”

Yuzu turned towards the door beneath Dennis’s screen.  It looked like it should just open up to the other side of the platform, and that she’d step through and fall right off — maybe that was the trick.

“I see you’ve made a choice! Excellent, excellent.”

Yuzu grasped the handle of the door and pulled it open.  She inhaled sharply to find that instead of the drop off of the side of the platform, she was instead looking down a long dark hallway.

“One word of warning though, my dear,” the Ringmaster said, and when Yuzu looked over her shoulder, there was a mannequin sitting where the Ringmaster had been a moment before.  “You may have made a choice, but that doesn’t always mean you’ll arrive exactly where you’d like to.”

Yuzu’s hand tightened on the door knob.  They were trying to psyche her out. She couldn’t let it work.  She stepped through the door into the hallway, and began to run down it.  

Don’t worry.  I’m going to get us all out of here, she thought.

Chapter Text

Reiji carefully made his way down the hallway.  This didn’t feel like a circus now, that was for sure.  He’d been met by the Ringmaster upon his arrival, and he hadn’t seen any signs of Yuya or Yuzu...and the next thing he knew, he’d been in this old, crumbling hallway.  The carpet was beginning to wear and wood chips were peeling off the walls along with the paint. This was the furthest thing away from a circus that he could think of.

What is this game that the Ringmaster is playing here?

It didn’t make any sense to him.  He’d been lured here, it seemed, along with others, but...for what purpose?  If the Ringmaster planned on killing them, why not simply do it right away? He certainly couldn’t defend himself with a dead Duel Disk and no way of calling for back up.  There must be something else at play here. Something else that the Ringmaster wanted from them.

But Reiji had no idea what, and no idea how to begin learning what the truth was.  His skin crawled, and he shivered. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this out of his element, this uncertain of the workings of the plans around him.  He’d felt helpless, for sure, during his time in Synchro, and while facing down Zarc...but then, he’d still known what everyone wanted. It had given him something to work with.  Something to prepare for.

For this?  He had no way of knowing what to expect.

He reached the end of the hallway, where a single, beaten up door sat.  Frowning, he tried the rusty handle. Despite its appearance, the door opened up without any resistance, swinging towards him.  He pulled it open and peered inside.

The room within was dark and shadowy, though there were a few slants of light coming from a direction and source that he couldn’t place.  When he tried to determine where it was coming from, it made his head spin, so he focused on the rest of the room.

It was hard to see much of anything.  Holding one arm up, ready to attempt to defend himself, he carefully stepped into the room.

A light burst to life on the other side of the room, and he flinched back.

The opposite wall glowed with a backlight somewhere inside the opening within it, as a mini set of curtains peeled back to reveal a very tiny stage — a puppet stage, he realized.  Above the puppet stage set into the wall was a neon glowing sign that read simply Puppet Show in English letters. The squeak of an old musicbox started to play inside the puppet stage, and Reiji shivered.

“Welcome to the opening act!” came the familiar voice of the Ringmaster.  “Please don’t be shy, Reiji! Step right up and watch the show!”

“I was under the impression that we were meant to participate,” Reiji said cautiously, trying to look around without being obvious about it.  Where was the Ringmaster?

Inside the puppet stage, a set of shadow puppets dropped down and dangled behind a white curtains, sending their silhouettes through the opening.  Reiji’s lips parted. Didn’t he recognize that silhouette? That looked like...

The puppet turned, and there was no mistaking it in profile — that was him.  A younger version of himself, but the shape of his hair was unmistakable. The other puppet was...Yusho!  There was no mistaking that top hat and coat, and the frizz of hair. They were jointed like puppets, but it was obvious who they were supposed to be.

“Let’s start with a story that I think you know well, Reiji!” the Ringmaster’s voice echoed.  Reiji still couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but they must be inside the puppet stage, maneuvering the puppets.  “Once upon a time, there was an angry little boy who found out his daddy was doing bad, bad things.”

The Reiji puppet’s arms rose and shook as though at the sky.

“So the little boy decided to ask for help, from a famous entertainer who could lead his troupe of warriors against dear old dad!”

The Yusho puppet turned to the Reiji puppet.  Reiji started to edge forwards towards the stage, looking for some sign of a door or a way inside.  If he could just get in, and take the Ringmaster by surprise while he thought Reiji was distracted...

“Only, what a shock!  The entertainer wasn’t as reliable as the boy had hoped.  He disappeared, just like that!”

The Yusho puppet shook and then seemed to be dropped, falling out of sight.  The Reiji puppet turned once, and then shot up out of sight, only for a second puppet that was surely meant to be an older Reiji appeared, with his scarf and all.

“The little boy decided that it had been so foolish to trust anyone else, and decided to grow up all at once.  People couldn’t be trusted, he thought. They’d leave you behind if they thought they had a better plan!”

The Reiji puppet was made to bounce up and down as though dancing, and Reiji’s skin crawled.  He felt like he tasted ash in the back of his mouth — how did the Ringmaster know all of this?  Reiji hadn’t released the information about how he’d approached Yusho first to lead the Lancers.  The only people who knew that were the Lancers, Yoko, and Yusho himself.

“What a shame!  For the boy to have to grow up so fast.  Don’t you think?”

Reiji was only about a foot away from stage now, and he couldn’t see any doors, or any way through the wall.  There weren’t any doors leading out of this room, either, other than the one he’d come in. Nothing on the floor or ceiling jumped out at him like an entrance, either.

“What a shame,” the Ringmaster continued, “that the boy decided that the only way to be safe was to be the one holding all the strings from then on.”

The Reiji puppet jerked its hands up, and several more puppets were jerked up at the same time.  Strings seemed to run out of the Reiji puppet’s hands, pulling up the other puppets by their heads — Reiji’s stomach turned.  Those puppets were recognizable as well — he saw the spike of Yuya’s hair, the swoop of Shun’s bangs, the twirl of Tsukikage’s scarf ends.

“How sad,” the Ringmaster said, making the Reiji puppet pull the other puppets around on the stage, the puppets bouncing limply along by the strings on their heads.  “How sad, that he had to do that. That he couldn’t make real friends — because after all, you can’t be friends with your puppets, can you, puppet master? Not while you’re dragging them about by their strings.”

“That’s enough!” Reiji said, the words ripping out of his throat.  “This is enough of your games! If it’s revenge you’d like to seek against me, then do it head-on!”

The Ringmaster’s laugh was wild and ecstatic.

“Revenge?  Reiji, Reiji, Reiji!  How many times do I have to say this to all of you!  I don’t want revenge. I just want to help you.”

All of the puppets were dropped and disappeared from the shadow stage.

It was only then that Reiji’s eyes flickered.  He took a step forward, and then he saw the knife.

He fell over to avoid it as the giant puppet, a huge mannequin with a face taped to it — Yuya’s face, with Xed out eyes and a big red smile drawn on it — made a swipe at him with a knife.  He hit the ground, and his heart leaped into his throat as he realized that that wasn’t the only one — there were four of them in a circle, surrounding him from the back. One had a large sickle, with a crude cartoonish drawing of Selena’s face with a big red smile and Xed out eyes, another held a rusty looking fire poker and wore Dennis’s face, and the last with Shun’s face, was carrying an already bloodied machete.  They loomed silently over him, but as he shoved himself back onto his hands and rolled onto his knees, the one that had attacked him jerkily rose back up, as though held by invisible strings overhead.

He jumped back to his feet, and the puppets all moved forward as one.  When he leaped back, they followed, each of them raising their weapons in succession.  Dammit! Reiji put his head down and charged forward, smacking both shoulders into the two in the middle to spin them around.  He heard the impact of their weapons against the ground or air, but he didn’t stop to check. He ripped the door on the other side of the room open and bolted down the hallway.

He felt suddenly heavy, as though he were dragging something along with him, but he ran anyway, stumbling and tripping over nothing.  He heard the clatter of the puppets coming after him — he couldn’t tell if it sounded like they were actually running after him, or if their feet were simply dangling against the ground as they were dragged along by invisible strings.

The Ringmaster’s laugh followed after him, echoing down the hallway.

“Reiji, you don’t need to run!  Use that big brain of yours and solve the riddle of why they’re following you.”

Reiji swore.  This — this Ringmaster was insane!  What did they want ?  And what riddle?  What did that mean?  Think, Reiji, think —

Reiji dared a look over his shoulder as the hallway, which hadn’t been this long before, seemed to stretch on forever.

The puppets were gaining on him, their feet clattering against the floor as some invisible strings seemed to make their legs bounce forwards and backwards.  Reiji swore again.

Up ahead, the hallway turned to the left.  He careened around the corner, and luckily there wasn’t anything else ahead of him.  His lungs were already fit to burst and his heart banged against his chest so hard he thought it might explode out of him.

He glanced behind his shoulder again.  The puppets were still chasing, but they were gaining — their strides were longer than his.  The Ringmaster’s games certainly seemed like convoluted revenge schemes, no matter what he said —

Wait.  Their legs — they were all moving with the same leg forward and backward, at the exact same rate.  At — at the same —

Reiji skidded to a stop.  The puppets did too.

Briefly freezing up with a panic that what if I’m wrong , Reiji waited.  So did the puppets.  They didn’t move. Their heads seemed to be slightly turned, as though looking over their shoulders.  Just like Reiji was.

Puppetmaster , he thought.   That’s what the Ringmaster accuses me of being.

The riddle is that I’m controlling these puppets.

Reiji felt sick to his stomach.  He took everything he had just to breathe.  But still, the puppets did not move. He took a step forward.  The puppets did too. His body felt heavy, and every time he moved his limbs, he felt like he was dragging against something.  As he looked closer, he saw...thread. There were spider thin threads extending from his arms, his legs, his fingers. They were almost invisible to the eye — how had they been attached?  And when?

This is not the kind of place where logic has any meaning , he reminded himself.

He’d solved the riddle.  But what now? Even if the puppets could only move how he did, they were clearly out for his blood, and if they got close enough, they would attack again.  Their strides were larger than his, so even if they only moved when he did, they would still gain on him. There had to be another way to escape this.

He took another step away, and the puppets followed.  He rose his arm up and down, and the puppets moved with him.  Reiji allowed himself to breathe. All right. If they only moved when he did, he could formulate a plan.  He had more information. Information would be the key to survival.

He turned around to face the puppets.  The puppets did not perfectly copy him this time.  Instead, they sort of jiggled and spasmed all their limbs.  Interesting. So they weren’t perfectly one-to-one with his movements.  That was unfortunate, because he could have made them walk away from him indefinitely if they had turned around.  He tried stepping backwards. The puppets followed him. He stepped towards them. They came forwards again.

Reiji tensed.  It seemed that they were still focused on him, then.  They wouldn’t perfectly mirror him if his movements tried to make them keep away.

He tried twitching his fingers, opening and closing his fists.  They didn’t have actual hands or digits, just little stumps where their weapons were attached, so he wasn’t sure how they would react to that.  All of them raised their weapons as one, as though ready to strike when he clenched his fists, and put them back down when he opened his hands.

This wasn’t helping. Reiji’s mouth was dry.  He knew what they did now, but he didn’t have an answer for how to escape.  If he kept running, they would pursue. The only option he could think of was to stand right here and not move, until someone came to assist him.  But he couldn’t count on that. And the others might need assistance of their own.

“How sad,” the Ringmaster’s voice echoed through the hallway.  “The poor puppet master, who controlled and controlled because to not control was to fear being abandoned once again — so tangled up in his own strings that he can’t free himself.”

“I’ve solved your riddle,” Reiji said, faking a confidence he didn’t have.  “I know why they are following me.”

“Oh, Reiji, that’s not enough,” the Ringmaster teased.  “You’ll need to do better than that. Think about it. You know why they’re following you...do you know how to free yourself?”

Reiji grit his teeth.

“All tangled up in your own strings,” the Ringmaster whispered, sounding as though they were right beside him — but when Reiji snapped his head to the side, there was no one.  “How do you escape, Reiji? And how do you free the ones you’ve ensnared?”

The voice moved to his left now, but once again when he looked, there was no one there.

“It eats at you, doesn’t it?  Poor Reiji. Thinking about all those you dragged along with you.  The ones you manipulated into doing such awful things for you.”

“Be quiet,” Reiji said before he could stop himself, his voice cracking.  He felt a tremble shooting up his spine, and his breaths were coming shorter.

“You never wanted to be the puppet master.  I know you didn’t. You wanted to be an ordinary child, just like everyone else.  But you couldn’t. But you can’t blame anyone else for those you dragged along with you, can you?  Because it was your choice. Your choice to manipulate them.”

“I didn’t make anyone do anything!” Reiji shouted, his voice echoing.  “They — they came with me of their own will!”

“But you lied.  You lied to Yuya about Yuzu’s well being, knowing that he would have no choice but to accompany you.  You lied to Kurosaki about what you knew about Yuto, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to extract himself from helping you as long as you held all the cards.  You lied and lied and lied. And it hurts, doesn’t it? To know you reached the end, but not without casualties. Not without faces that haunt you in your sleep — without nightmares about what if I hadn’t brought them with me? ”

Reiji was slowly starting to hyperventilate.  The Ringmaster’s voice didn’t sound like theirs anymore — it sounded like Reiji’s own voice, the one that he listened to in his own head every night when he couldn’t sleep, the horrors that he couldn’t shake — the wondering, if only he’d been a little stronger, would things have turned out this way?  Would Yuya and Yuzu have to live the way they did? Would Kurosaki have to be left completely alone, without his best friend and his sister? Would Reira not have had to sacrifice herself?

“Get out of my head,” he gasped.

“Oh, Reiji,” the Ringmaster whispered.  “I’m only trying to help you get out of yours.”

He heard the tap of a cane on the floor behind him, and he spun around.  He heard the puppets jingling and spasming, and his eyes fixed on the shape of the Ringmaster standing at the far end of the hallway, resting both hands on top of their cane.  They seemed to be staring right at him, unsmiling for once.

“Do you really think you can live like this forever, Reiji?” they said softly.  “Bearing all of those strings? You still haven’t let them go. You still think everyone will leave you, will disappear, if you let them go.”

“That’s enough!” Reiji snapped.  He wanted to charge the Ringmaster, but if he moved, the puppets would converge on him.  “You don’t know as much as you think you do about me!”

“Except I do, Reiji.  I know everything. I know that you can’t sleep at night without wondering what you could have done differently.  I know you still try to tell the others what to do under the guise of caring for their wellbeing — don’t help me with this, Yuya, you should rest.  Don’t bother with me, Tsukikage, you’ve done enough. Don’t, don’t, don’t. You’re still carrying all those strings, Reiji. Isn’t it heavy?”

The Ringmaster tilted their head.

“When will you release yourself, Reiji?  When will you let the war be over?”

“That — is — enough,” Reiji said through his teeth, shaking.  “I’ve had enough of this twisted game! What do you want from me — from everyone?”

The Ringmaster sighed.  They pointed their cane at something beside Reiji, and when Reiji looked, he saw a door that hadn’t been there before.

“I keep saying it, don’t I?” the Ringmaster said.  “I only want to see you smile, Reiji.”

Reiji had no idea what could be through that door.  It could be another group of puppets, ready for him to fall on their blades.  It could be another trap. He had to think logically — rationally — try to figure out what the Ringmaster wanted out of this, so that he could decide if it was safe to go through the door.

But his mind was a screaming maelstrom — he couldn’t focus.  He could hardly breathe.

“Go on, Reiji,” the Ringmaster goaded.  “Go on through. I promise it’s not bad.”

That’s not reassuring .

But Reiji had few options.  He might be able to use the door to block the puppets.

He threw himself towards the door, and as he moved to the side, the puppets began moving forward again. He heard their limbs creaking as he wrenched the door open and threw himself inside.

He heaved the door shut again and threw his shoulder against it.  Did it lock? He had to try to lock it — but there was no tab in the door, and the more he moved around, the more he could hear the puppets scrabbling on the floor on the other side, coming closer.  Damn! Was there anything else he could use to barricade it? Buy himself time?

He snapped his gaze to the room before him — and his breath withered up in his throat.

The room was small, and it contained only one small, round table, with two chairs on either side.  The table was set as though for a tea party. The chair closest to him was empty. But the chair directly across from him...

For a moment, he thought it was alive.  It looked so real, as though it would start breathing and blinking — but it’s eyes were made of glass, and there were strings attached to its head and shoulders, raising up to the ceiling.

Other than that, however, it looked exactly like Reira.

The glassy-eyed Reira puppet stared at nothing, hands sitting on the table, long violet hair lying limply down its back.  It looked just like them — like the Reira Reiji had known, in their last moments before the En cards had remade them into the infant who was, hopefully, safe back at LDS with Nakajima.

Still, Reiji felt his stomach clench and his heart drop seeing the puppet.  It was so lifelike. It made him feel like he was about to collapse. That was who Reira could have been — if he hadn’t been so slow, if he hadn’t forced Reira to take such a sacrifice for the rest of them, if he’d simply left her safe at home rather than dragging her along with him on that war...

The door rattled, and he realized that now was not the time to be thinking about his regrets.  He pressed hard into the door. Were the puppets moving without his influence all of a sudden, or was that the Ringmaster?

He saw the Reira puppet’s strings shudder.

And then the floor opened up beneath the tea party table.  Reiji’s mouth dropped open as he saw the table tumble down into the darkness, and then the chair, and then — the Reira puppet dropped, too.

And for just a moment, he saw the flicker of its eyes, and the flinch of its hands and he thought —

Oh god.  That wasn’t a puppet.  That really was alive.

Reiji didn’t think.  He threw himself forward.  His hands snatched at the strings as he hit the floor beside the hole.  The puppet — Reira — jolted to a stop far below as the strings cut into Reiji’s palm.  He grabbed them with his other hand, dug his body into the floor to hold himself from falling into the blackness.

“You had all those strings,” he heard the Ringmaster say behind him.  “But in the end, you couldn’t control them. And you couldn’t save them.”

He tried to ignore him.  Reira was going to fall if he didn’t do something!  His brain screamed as though it were full of static.  He could hardly breathe. He tried to yank on the strings, but they were slippery, and they slid through his hands, Reira falling a few more inches into the hole.

He heard the clattering sound of the puppets, and the door opening.  He tried frantically to pull Reira up again — but when he moved, he heard the puppets move too.  If...if he kept trying to pull Reira back up — they’d —

“It’s all right to let go,” the Ringmaster whispered.  “It’s all right to let go, Reiji. You can’t hold everyone up forever.  It’s too much for one person.”

“I will not,” Reiji gasped.  “This is not the game that I’m going to play with you!”

“So stubborn.  You always have been.  But it’s why I like you so much.”

He heard the Ringmaster’s breath on his ear, but when he tried to look, there was no one there once again.

“Let me help, Reiji,” the Ringmaster whispered.  “Let me cut your strings. All you have to do is give up.  Let go.”

Reiji cried out with pain as his grip slipped again.  He reached forward with one hand to grab the strings a little lower, and tried to start pulling Reira back up one hand at a time.

As he moved however, so did the puppets — and as he wrenched his arms back again, he saw the sickle move forward and stop before him.  If he pulled his arms back again...the puppet would too. It would cut his head off.

His arms ached.  The string was still slipping.

He was going to lose again.  He was going to lose everything again.

“Let go,” the Ringmaster whispered.  “Let me help you, Reiji. You just need to let go.”

Reiji tried to pull slowly on the strings again, and the sickle moved closer to his neck.  His heart screamed. His mind fuzzed. His shoulders burned, and his palms were beginning to scream with the pain of the strings cutting into them like knives.

There...

There might be another way to free himself.

He let go of Reira’s string with just one hand.  The one that matched the arms that the puppets were holding their weapons in.  Slowly, he raised his arm up, his body shaking as he tried to hold Reira up with one hand.  He saw the sickle move up with his arm, and as he pulled it back, it moved out of his sight.  He didn’t know where all of the strings attaching him and the puppets were, but he would have to guess.

He sliced his arm down as though holding a weapon, as though he were cutting in front of himself.

Immediately, something behind him snapped.  He felt the weight of the strings on him break, the sudden release feeling like a weight coming off of his back — but instead of the sound of a blade snapping through threads, he heard a very sickening, fleshy squelch.

Reiji managed to look over his shoulder, sweat beading along his forehead and plastering his bangs to his face.

Horror clenched his entire body.  The puppets had not simply severed the strings, as he’d intended.

Every single one of them had stabbed themselves in the chest.  And although they appeared to be made of wood...there was blood leaking out from the entry wounds, trickling down through the wood grain and dripping onto the floor.

One at a time, each puppet collapsed to the floor.  The faces taped to their heads, of his friends, his Lancers, stared blindly smiling at nothing, as the puppets continued to bleed.

Reiji’s body slackened with shock and horror.  And Reira’s strings slipped out of his grasp.

Reiji whipped back to face the hole, snatching for the strings again, but he missed.  Reira disappeared into the darkness, and a few moments later, he heard a sickening crunch.

Reiji threw up into his mouth, and the bile spat from his lips back down into the darkness.  He couldn’t move. His body felt heavy and weak, and he couldn’t pull his arms back up from where they dangled over the hole.  Behind him, the puppets continued to bleed.

He heard the Ringmaster’s footsteps then.  A hand rested on his hair, gentle and soothing.

“There, there,” the Ringmaster whispered.  “It’s so painful, isn’t it? It’s painful to be the puppet master.  After all, when they get hurt...it’s the fault of the one holding the strings.”

Reiji couldn’t answer.  He felt tears dripping out of his eyes, falling onto his glasses, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.  He felt...empty. He could barely recognize that he was breathing. He felt like a doll.

He felt like a puppet.

“There, there,” the Ringmaster said.  “This wasn’t real, see? It was just a show!  No one got hurt. But you understand, don’t you?  How painful it is? How much pain you’ve been putting yourself through?”

Reiji realized that he didn’t have it in him to fight, when he felt a soft tug at the base of his neck, and let himself be pulled up to a half standing position, both arms being tugged up, as though on strings.

“You don’t have to be the puppet master anymore,” the Ringmaster said.  “It doesn’t have to be your fault anymore.”

The Ringmaster stood before him, smiling again.

“Don’t worry,” they said, patting Reiji’s cheek.  “Being a puppet is far more relaxing. You don’t have to think about anything at all.”

Reiji couldn’t keep his eyes open.  They fluttered shut, and he slumped against the strings.  There was nothing else he could do.

Perhaps it was easier to be a puppet after all.

Chapter Text

This place was a goddamn nightmare.

Shun flinched back from another panel that popped out a jack in the box right in his face, laughing and bouncing up and down maniacally.  He swore and resisted the urge to punch it. Punching the first jump scare had only hurt his hand. How big was this place, anyway? How could he have not run into any of the others by now?

He moved around the dangling jack in the box and headed down the hallway.  The hallway itself was tilted, to make it look like it was twisting around upside down almost, but as he continued walking, the tilt changed back to normal again.  When he opened the door at the end of the hallway, instead of a regular room, he found yet another glowing tube with lights that spun to make the whole thing look like it was spinning, like some ridiculous fun house.  This whole place was built like that; with garish colors splattered over the walls and graffiti with clown faces slapped on top. He’d had to clamber through a bunch of walls with human shaped holes in weird positions, making him crouch and squat to fit through, and now, here was another stupid tunnel.  What kind of stupid game was this?

He crawled into the tunnel, which was just barely big enough to fit him, his back pressed up against the ceiling.  His anger with the decor was just a distraction. All he could think about if he ever stopped moving, stopped railing internally at the stupid building, was that woman, and her crumpled, bloodied body left behind like trash in the stands.  At how casually the Ringmaster had had her killed. It reminded him of the cold, harsh laughter of the Academia soldiers as they’d overrun Heartland, carding innocents who couldn’t defend themselves as casually as though they were just playing a game.  The Ringmaster was exactly like them.

He was going to find that damn Ringmaster, and he was going to rip them apart.

He pulled himself out of the tunnel on the other side, and climbed back to his feet, knocking the dust off of his sweater.  On this side of the tunnel, the room was all weird-shaped, with a tilted floor and ceiling that made it look like it was bigger than it actually was.  As he started moving across to the door, however, he had to start crouching down — the door wasn’t actually that far away, the room was just built to make it look like it was.  He actually had to get on his hands and knees to crawl up the rest of the tilted floor to the door, which was just big enough for him to fit himself through if he twisted his shoulders sideways.

As soon as he was through, he looked up — and flinched back, because there was someone crouched right in front of him —

The ‘someone’ flinched back at the same time he did.  As his brain caught up with him, he realized that the ‘someone’ was only his own reflection.  He was staring into a mirror.

Swearing at his still racing heart, Shun pulled himself through the door the rest of the way and stood up.  His reflection glowered back at him when he glared at it, but there wasn’t anything strange about it. He even tapped the mirror with his knuckles to make sure it wasn’t some kind of trick, but as he expected, he touched only glass.  Was this a dead end?

He turned, and found that the mirrors continued far down to his left.  He could see his own reflection at the end of the mirror hallway. Great.  First a funhouse, and now a mirror maze.

He didn’t have many other options, though, so he moved forward.  This was shit. He didn’t have any choice but to move along where the Ringmaster wanted him.  He was being funnelled along, but why? And for what purpose? It didn’t matter. He’d just beat the crap out of the Ringmaster as soon as they met up again.

The mirrors turned out to be a little more frustrating than he thought, as he reached the end of the first hallway and found that the mirrors continued onwards in both directions, disorienting him to which way was actually real and which wasn’t.  His own reflection fractured off into each mirror, making things even more dizzying. He had to put one hand to the mirrors to try and make sure he didn’t accidentally turn into a sheet of glass.

Some of the mirrors turned into funhouse mirrors as he went — those stupid ones with the wavy glass that would make you look like you were taller or skinnier or fatter than you actually were.  It only increased the disorientation, and he actually smacked into a mirror once trying to find his way out of a large section.

His anger rose as he stalked down the maze, his own reflection surrounding and disorienting him.  He was so dizzy from all the mirrors that as he continued down another hall, he almost didn’t notice the new shape in one of the mirrors.

His eyes flickered, and then he stopped dead.  The Ringmaster was standing in the reflection. Shun whipped around — they were right next to him! — but there was no one there, and when he looked back at the mirror, he saw only himself, and the reflection of himself in the mirror behind him, echoed over and over and over again to an endless depth.

In one of the faraway reflections deep inside the mirror, he saw the Ringmaster step into view again.  Shun swore, lurching towards the mirror — how were they inside it like that?

“Get out here!” he shouted.  “I don’t know what kind of tricks you’re trying to pull, but get out here and fight me head on!”

The Ringmaster giggled.

“You and Reiji are so alike sometimes,” they said.  “So straightforward. Though, your motives are always so much more easily read — it’s a little refreshing, sometimes.  What you see is what you get with you.”

“Shut up,” Shun growled.  “I’m not here to play mind games with you.”

“Neither am I!  How convenient for the both of us.”

The Ringmaster slipped out view again, but in the mirror behind him, Shun saw them reappear right against the glass.  He whipped around to face them, but when he lurched forward, he touched only glass — the Ringmaster themself seemed as though they were only painted onto it.  Shun clenched his jaw with frustration.

“Stop it with these stupid tricks!” he said.  “Face me for real!”

“But that wouldn’t be helpful to you, now would it?”

“Oh, believe me, it would be really helpful if you’d get out here so I could throttle you.”

The Ringmaster laughed, shaking their head.

“Oh, Kurosaki...so much pent-up rage and anger.  You haven’t had an outlet for any of it.”

“The only outlet I need is to bash your skull in!”

The Ringmaster laughed again, and then walked out of the mirror and disappeared.  Their voice echoed around him.

“That’s not what I was talking about, Kurosaki,” they said.  “Isn’t there something else that’s bothering you? Something that stresses you?  There’s a source for all this anger, and you haven’t even had a chance to think about it.”

Shun scowled — and now the psycho was trying to play therapist?  He turned in a circle, trying to judge where the Ringmaster was coming from now.

“Last time I checked, you were kidnapping us for your fucked up performance,” he said.  “I didn’t know that included trying to psychoanalyze us.”

“How can I have the best show if my players are unhappy?  It’s only common sense.”

The Ringmaster appeared in a mirror farther down the hallway, and he turned and charged after them.  This time, the Ringmaster ran before Shun could reach them, and when he careened around the corner, he saw the Ringmaster’s reflection running off down the hallway along the wall, laughing.  Shun charged after them.

“Stop, dammit!  If you’re not weak, you should have no problem fighting me directly!”

“Oh, Kurosaki...it’s not me that you really want to fight, is it?”

Shun skidded into a mirror again and had to readjust himself.  The Ringmaster’s reflection was once again at the end of a long hallway, the only thing that wasn’t reflected in the rest of the mirrors.  He was being lured further in — dammit. He needed to calm down. He needed not to get himself in deeper shit.

“I think I know who I want to fight,” Shun growled.  “You kidnapped me and the others — what are you doing to the rest of them?  Where’s Yuya and Yuzu?”

The Ringmaster leaned on their cane, and the smile that crawled over their lips actually made Shun’s blood run cold.

“Ah, and there we are,” they said softly.  “Yuya and Yuzu. That’s why you arrived early, isn’t it?  Because you heard that Reiji had gone after them, that they were here.”

“They’re my friends,” Shun snapped.  “And if you’ve hurt them —”

“Oh, are they?” the Ringmaster said, tilting their head.  “Are they your friends? Aren’t you a little...angry with them, perhaps?”

Shun was so taken aback that for a moment, he couldn’t speak.  His mouth flapped open and shut a few times. He shook himself out of the shock then, leaning forward angrily.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You don’t need to pretend, Kurosaki,” the Ringmaster said in a soft, gentle voice.  “There is no one here to pretend for.”

“You’re not making any sense!  What do you want??”

The Ringmaster spread out both arms, gesturing with their cane.

“Take a look around you, Kurosaki,” the Ringmaster said.  “Look yourself in the eyes. Can you honestly tell me that you aren’t even the tiniest bit...resentful?”

Shun felt something rising up in his chest.  Something a lot like bile.

“After all,” the Ringmaster said, pointing their cane at Shun.  “They’ve taken away what’s most precious to you, and left you all alone.  You came all the way out here for their sake’s, and they’re not here, are they?”

“That’s because of you!”

“Is it?  Don’t you think they’re ever uncomfortable around you?  Knowing who you’re actually seeing in their faces?”

“Shut up,” Shun gasped, his throat suddenly dry.  “Shut up, shut up, shut up.”

“It’s only natural, Kurosaki,” the Ringmaster soothed.  “You don’t need to pretend. It’s only natural that you might resent them for taking away your sister and your best friend.”

“They didn’t — it wasn’t their — they’re not gone!”

The Ringmaster only smiled, shaking their head.  They slipped to the side and disappeared before reaching the next mirror.  Shun whipped around in circles, his own reflection spinning and throwing the whole scene into disarray.

The reflections seemed to fracture.  For a moment, there were other people in the mirrors.  When he staggered to a stop and stared, he saw — Ruri, and Yuto, standing next to him.  When he looked to either side of them, they weren’t there, but in the reflection — there they were, standing beside him, smiling.  

Shun couldn’t help it.  He staggered towards the mirror and pressed his hands against it.  But it wouldn’t give. The frozen, smiling reflections of Yuto and Ruri were just out of reach.

“It’s only natural for it to hurt,” the Ringmaster whispered, and Shun whipped around to find the actual Ringmaster, not just a reflection, standing in the hallway behind him.  “After all...they might still ‘exist’, but you can’t touch them, can you? They’re forever out of reach.”

Shun leaped forward and attempted to swing his fist into the Ringmaster’s face.  But the Ringmaster only jumped to the side and slid into the mirror.  This time, however, they weren’t the only one of them — their image inside the mirror was reflected into the mirror across from them, and over and over again, in another dizzying, endless spiral of reflections.

But the disorientation didn’t stop there — those lifeless smiling reflections of Yuto and Ruri started appearing in random mirrors as well, being reflected back across over and over.  Shun’s own reflection only further muddied the mirrors, making it impossible for him to tell which way was actually a hallway and which was was a mirror.

“Of course, you’re right — it’s not Yuya or Yuzu’s fault, either.  But isn’t it just so unfair ?  Doesn’t it just make you a little upset?”

“I don’t know what stupid sort of game you’re trying to play here, but I don’t want to play,” Shun shouted.  “Whatever you’re trying to do, it’s not going to work!”

“I’m only trying to help, Kurosaki.  It’s been eating at you, hasn’t it? That anger...that resentment.  You try to be the one who’s recovered, but you can’t, can you? The war’s never over, and it can never be over — because the people you wanted with you most of all aren’t here.”

Tears fought to blur Shun’s eyes, and he angrily whipped around to try and figure out which reflection was the real Ringmaster.

“But I understand, Kurosaki.  I’m the only one who understands.  So that life can go on, you have to pretend it doesn’t hurt around the others.  But you don’t have to pretend with me. You can rage as much as you’d like.”

“I’ll turn that against you !” Shun shouted.

“If that’s what you want!  If it will help the weight in your soul lift so that you can smile for real, Kurosaki, then I’m fine with that.  But I wonder if that’s what you actually want.”

Those reflections of Yuto and Ruri appeared in the mirror right in front of him again, and in spite of himself, he flinched back.  Before his eyes, Yuto and Ruri’s reflections melted and morphed, being overtaken by images of a smiling Yuya and Yuzu. One by one, every reflection of Yuto and Ruri was consumed by the image of Yuya and Yuzu instead.  Shun spun around — the Ringmaster was gone, but now his own reflection was standing in between Yuya and Yuzu in every mirror, even ones that he shouldn’t have been able to be reflected in from this position.

“Go ahead, Kurosaki,” the Ringmaster’s voice echoed.  “It’s all right to be angry. Just let it all go. It’s only a show, after all...it’s not real.”

Shun couldn’t breathe.  He felt like the air was suddenly thick and oppressive.  All of those smiling, dead-eyed Yuyas and Yuzus were staring at nothing, taking over the last of the Yutos and Ruris, and somewhere in the back of Shun’s mind, as the last Yuto and Ruri vanished, he felt something akin to panic spark in his mind.   I’m never going to see them ever again.

The rational part of his brain knew this was all a trick.  Knew that the Ringmaster was only trying to fuck with him.  But it all felt so real — this maze, the reflections, and the dark, angry expression in his own reflection that he knew that he wasn’t actually making.

“That’s not me,” he gasped.  “That’s not me.  I don’t hate them.”

“You don’t have to pretend, Kurosaki.  It’s all right.”

Even though Shun didn’t move, his reflection did.  He watched with horror as his own reflection started to reach for the frozen Yuya and Yuzu, watched their eyes bulge as his reflection’s hands grabbed them both by the neck.

“Stop it!” Shun shouted.  “Stop it!!”

Their smiles were gone.  Yuya and Yuzu were simply struggling, dangling from the reflection Shun’s hands as they clawed at their throats to get free.

“STOP IT!” Shun screamed.

He charged the closest reflection, cranked his hand bank, and made to punch his own reflection in the face.  He expected, at the very least, the mirrors to shatter — and then he’d shatter every single damn mirror in this damn maze and find the Ringmaster!

But it didn’t shatter.  It didn’t hold, either. His fist simply fell into the mirror, with as little resistance as falling into a pool of water.  He couldn’t pull back, he was too far into the movement of his swing. He went straight through the mirror and landed hard on his knees as he tried to skid to a stop.

He launched himself back to his feet and spun back around to where he’d come from — he was still in the mirror maze.  Had he just misjudged where the mirror was, and had fallen through a place where there was no mirror?

But no, he saw, with a slowly creeping horror.

Inside the mirror before him was that dark, angry reflection of himself again.  It’s face was shadowed, and its eyes burned. And when it turned, Shun’s body moved with it.  Shun — Shun couldn’t move. The reflection moved, and his body was dragged along with it, as it began to walk down the mirror hall, and Shun’s body was forced to follow along.

“Hey!” he shouted.  “What the hell!!”

But when the words came out of his lips, there was no sound to go with them.  He choked. He tried to shout again, but though he could feel his throat vibrating and his lips moving, no sound came out.

The room he was in looked wrong, he realized, his head forced to look forwards, just like the reflection’s.  Everything was still mirrors, endless reflections — only, his reflection wasn’t there. Only the one on the other side of him, moving him along, was visible.

A horrible realization came over him.  The reason he couldn’t see his own reflection anywhere except beside him, the reason that he couldn’t move except when the reflection did —

He was the reflection now.

“Stop!” he shouted, even though his voice had no weight, at the reflection who’d taken over his place in the real world outside the mirror.  “ Stop !”

He heard some distant echo, of feet in the distance, as though it were coming down a long tunnel.  A reflection cascaded across the mirror hall, and even into the maze where Shun was now trapped — Yuya’s reflection appeared in front of him.  For a moment, Shun was certain it was another trick by the Ringmaster — but then he saw Yuya’s face collapse with relief.

“Kurosaki!  Oh my god, I didn’t know you were here — are you okay??”

Yuya’s voice echoed and bounced, as though it were coming from a long way away.  Shun could see the reflection standing in front of him, starting to jog towards him.  He managed to look sidelong at the reflection that had stolen his place — and he was horrified to see the burning hatred in its eyes.  And Yuya, walking forward towards it, oblivious to the danger. Oh god.

“See, Kurosaki?” he heard the Ringmaster whisper.  “It will be good to let off some steam, don’t you think?”

Shun couldn’t move.  He couldn’t force his reflection to move — he was stuck doing exactly what his reflection did!  And his reflection was starting to stalk towards Yuya with murder in its eyes!

“Yuya!” he screamed without voice.  “Yuya! Run!”

Chapter Text

“But if we keep taking rights, we’ll only keep going in circles!!”

Sawatari waved his arms up and down, trying to prove his point, but Gongenzaka was a mountain — literally and figuratively.  He simply folded his arms against his chest and stared Sawatari down, unmoved. Sawatari let out a long groan, and ground the heels of his hands against his forehead.

“We have been walking for a very long time,” Gongenzaka said.  “And the tent was large from the outside, but not that large.  If we continue to take the same direction, eventually we must come across the others.”

“Or we end up back where we started!”

“In which case, we have an idea of how large this place is,” Gongenzaka said.  “But we’ve been walking for a very long time, taking right after the right, and there is no sign of anything exactly the same.”

Sawatari hesitated then.  He glanced at their surroundings. Gongenzaka did have a point there.  This room was a lot like the rest of the others, but not the same enough to be recognizable as the same one they’d been through before.  This room was all rainbow splatters, completely coating the floor and the ceiling and the walls, but because of the low light, it looked more like graffiti.  There was one door in, and two leading out — one was a tilted green door that looked like it was set in the wall slightly sideways, and the other was a big opening that looked like it was painted to be the opening to a clown’s mouth.

This funhouse was really starting to get on his nerves.  Like, honestly! The Ringmaster fancied themself a great showman, a circus ringmaster , and all they had up their sleeve was a boring old funhouse?  That was carnival stuff, not circus stuff.  Honestly. Whoever the Ringmaster was, they were a total joke.  Didn’t know the first thing about putting on a show. For that matter, how was stumbling around in a funhouse a show?

“I still think we should go left ,” Sawatari said, jabbing his finger towards the clown mouth.  “Eventually, we need to do something different! Or else we’ll become predictable for that madman!”

“Predictability is in fact the death of most great shows,” came a voice echoing from all around them.  “You’ve always had such a sense for entertainment, Sawatari!”

Sawatari and Gongenzaka both flinched at the sound of the Ringmaster’s voice echoing from all directions.  Sawatari shot his gaze to the ceiling, trying to make out where there might be speakers of some kind.

“Well, clearly I have more of a sense for it than you!” Sawatari shouted, shaking his fist up towards a corner, thinking there must be some hidden speaker or camera there.  How else could they account for all of this? “Seeing as this is the most boring and ridiculous show I’ve ever been a part of!”

The Ringmaster giggled, and the sound seemed to bounce off the walls.

“Impatient as well, as always,” the Ringmaster laughed. “You always want to be the opening act — that’s admirable.”

“That’s enough games,” Gongenzaka rumbled at the ceiling, also seemingly looking about for some sign of the Ringmaster.  “When are you going to tell us what you want out of all of this?”

“Repeating myself is getting so boring,” the Ringmaster said with a sigh.  “I want for you all to be happy, and to have fun. I’m doing all of this for all of you!”

“Some fun,” Sawatari grumbled.

The Ringmaster laughed.

“Oh don’t worry, Sawatari.  I think you’ll come around sooner rather than later,” they said.  “Now, if you would please proceed forward! It’s time for our third act of the night, and you two are my next stars!”

Sawatari was about to shout at the Ringmaster for them to specify which door was forward, but then Gongenzaka put a hand on his shoulder, and Sawatari almost bowed over from the weight.  He looked forward to where Gongenzaka was pointing.

The two doors that had been there before were gone.  There was only a single, regular door standing in front of them, in the middle of the wall.  Sawatari felt his throat dry up. How...how had that happened? It was...it must be some Solid Vision trick.  Some illusion. What a cheap parlor trick, just to intimidate them. This Ringmaster really was an awful showman.

Gongenzaka moved ahead, pulling the door open.  A rush of wind burst past them, and as Sawatari ducked down to look beneath Gongenzaka’s arms, he saw a totally different environment than the one they’d been stumbling around in.

Far, far below, Sawatari could see the circus ring where they’d first appeared — but hold on, how was that possible?  They’d been dropped through the floor! And they hadn’t climbed any stairs, and he hadn’t noticed them moving upwards at all!  He almost flinched at the sight of all those people filling the stands, until his vision adjusted for the distance and he realized they weren’t people at all — they were just a bunch of mannequins.  Even worse. How was he supposed to perform without a real audience?

But the door didn’t just lead to a drop off — leading from the door was a single long, thin rope — a tightrope.  It stretched from one end of the circus ring to the other, where there was another door on top of a long thin pole.  A handful of trapezes hung from the ceiling as well, and a few lower beams that you could probably drop to if you were incredibly sure on your feet.

“Ladies and gentlemen!  Put your hands together for our next, and even more brilliant act, as our acrobats will make their way across a devastating drop!”

“There’s not even a net!” Sawatari protested.  “Do you want us to die?  Why not just do it beforehand, instead of dragging it out like this??  You really are the worst villain!”

“Sawatari, please,” Gongenzaka grumbled, his eyes fixed on the scene before them.

The Ringmaster’s laugh was starting to get on his nerves, and Sawatari flinched back a bit as he saw something suddenly swing past them, over the tightrope.  It was the Ringmaster, perched neatly on a large, circular ring attached to a rope. They didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the drop or by the height, simply having hooked one boot heel into the ring and fit their body neatly against the rest of it.

The ring swung back again and came to a slow rest a little off to the right of the tightrope.  They leaned their cheek on their knee beside them, smiling at the pair.

“Well?” they said.  “The crowd awaits!”

They pointed down to the sea of mannequins.

“You can’t possibly expect us to make it all the way across there!” Sawatari protested.

“The show must always go on, Sawatari.  I’m sure you’ll manage!  I have faith in you two!”

“Again, there are easier ways of killing people,” Sawatari said.

The Ringmaster sighed, twisting slightly in midair.

“I already told you,” they said. “I don’t want to kill you.  I just want to see you all give me a smile?”

“This is also not the way to do that,” Sawatari grumbled.  “Gongenzaka, let’s turn around.”

Gongenzaka grunted with approval.  But when they both turned back around, the room they had been in was gone.  They were standing instead on one of those tall circus poles with the circular platforms on them.  Sawatari fumbled. He jumped towards the pole and felt at it — it felt cool and solid and real. But — how —

“Is this some kind of awful joke!” Sawatari shouted, spinning around on his heels to face the Ringmaster.  But the ring where they’d been sitting was empty, and when he and Gongenzaka both looked around wildly, Sawatari’s eyes fell on the sight of the Ringmaster once again, this time standing on top of a tall, thin pole to the left of the tightrope, but somewhat under it.

“Don’t worry,” the Ringmaster said.  “You don’t need a net. I’ll be sure to catch you if you fall!”

Sawatari shot Gongenzaka a frantic look.  Gongenzaka glared at the poll, at the tightrope, and at the trapeze.

“How are you with this kind of thing?” he said, looking just a little bit uncomfortable.

Sawatari huffed, and puffed out his chest with a confidence that he didn’t actually feel.

“Are you joking?  I’m Sawatari Shingo .  The greatest Entertainment duelist in the world!  You’ve seen Yuya and Yuzu hop around on stuff like this, haven’t you?  If they can do it, then it’s a walk in the park for me!”

“Sawatari, this is no time for false confidence,” Gongenzaka said with a bit more of a lash to his words than perhaps was necessary, making Sawatari flinch.  He felt as though Gongenzaka had just stuck a needle in the balloon in his chest.

Still, he didn’t back down.

“I’m an Entertainment Duelist,” he insisted, though with perhaps a hint less confidence.  “I can manage. I’m more worried about you , Mr. Steadfast.”

“I should manage as well,” Gongenzaka said.  “It’s nothing a true man can shy away from.”

Sawatari rolled his eyes while Gongenzaka took off his metal geta and held them on his fingers.

“Go first,” Gongenzaka said.  “So that if you lose your balance I can steady you.”

“Hmph!  You’re more likely to need that help,” Sawatari said, but his heart screamed as he approached the tightrope.  Were they really doing this?? Did they have another choice? Sawatari tried not to think about the Ringmaster smiling maniacally at him, and the mannequins with their heads all moved to stare upwards at him.  Heart in his throat, he took a step out onto the tightrope.

It was definitely pulled tight; it didn’t sway or sag under his weight when he stepped on it.  He carefully balanced his foot against it, and then moved forward. It — it was just like a balancing beam.  A very, very thin balancing beam. A hundred feet in the air. Right.

Yuya and Yuzu do things like this all the time, he reminded himself.   And if they can do it, so can you.  Who cares if you’ve never actually practiced as much as they have?  And that you only started actually doing Entertainment Dueling stuff like less than a year ago??  You’re Neo New Sawatari! You can —

Sawatari was about four steps into the tightrope walk, both arms out for balance, when he felt his foot slip.

His whole center of gravity shifted.  His arms wheeled to try and compensate, but it only made him start to sway more, and one foot slipped off of the tightrope —

For a moment, the whole world blurred and whited out with the panic and the surge in his stomach from beginning to fall.  Then he came to an abrupt stop, his shoulder screaming with irritation as someone snagged him by the wrist.

Sawatari’s eyes flew back open.  He saw a geta go tumbling off down towards the faraway ground, and then his eyes shot up.

Gongenzaka’s face was red, his eyes narrowed with the shock.  He hung from the tightrope with one hand, the other one gripping Sawatari’s wrist.  The tightrope was swaying just a tiny bit from Gongenzaka’s weight, and Sawatari could see that he was having trouble keeping his grip on the very thin rope.  His face whitened. Gongenzaka had nearly dropped off of it to catch him —

“I’m sorry — ” he started, but Gongenzaka cut him off.

“Grab hold of the rope,” he shouted, groaning with effort as he lifted Sawatari up by his wrist.

Sawatari took a precariously long second to realize what Gongenzaka wanted him to do.  He quickly swung his free hand up to the rope, and as soon as he seemed to have a grip of it, Gongenzaka released him.  Sawatari grabbed with his other hand to hang from the rope like a monkey bar. His heart raced and his breath squeaked as he tried to heave in breaths through a tightened rope.  He didn’t really have a chance to catch his breath, though, because his arms were already starting to complain about the position, and his fingers were starting to ache from the rope digging into them.

“Are you all right?” Gongenzaka said, hanging beside him.

Sawatari could only nod.  He was — but for how much longer?  Gongenzaka’s breaths sounded heavier than even Sawatari’s and he was starting to go a little white — as though the shock of what had almost just happened had finally hit him.

“We’ll have to cross like this,” Gongenzaka said.  “Tell me if your arms get tired. I can support you a little.”

“What about you?” Sawatari gasped, eyes wide.

“I will manage.”

Sawatari shot him a look, aware of just how much fear he was suddenly letting spill through him.  Gongenzaka only set his jaw and stared right back at him, not betraying a bit of fear or nerves. Sawatari could hardly hang there for how hard his heart was beating, almost making him sway.  Why was Gongenzaka trying so hard to take care of him?? What about worrying about himself?? He had so much more body weight to hold up, and he wasn’t an acrobat in any stretch of the word!

“I don’t need your help,” Sawatari said quickly, turning towards the way they needed to go.  “Worry about yourself.”

Muscles already aching, Sawatari carefully released the rope with one hand, and swung it forward to grip a little farther down the rope, like a sideways set of monkey bars.  He swung forward again. Okay. This he could do. Maybe he wasn’t a tightrope walker, but he’d climbed around Action Fields and swung around on things. He could do this.

At least, that’s what he thought.

By the sixth or seventh swing of his arms, his face was coated with sweat, and his muscles were shaking and twitching.  And the door on the other side didn’t look a single bit closer. Maybe they were moving in place somehow, Sawatari thought wildly.  If the Ringmaster could make doors appear and disappear, why couldn’t they make a tightrope be longer and longer so that they’d never reach the end?

One of Sawatari’s sweaty hands slipped.  As he gasped, nearly losing his balance, he felt Gongenzaka snatch him by the back of his shirt, holding him up.  Sawatari quickly threw his hands back onto the rope.

“I’m fine!” he shouted.  “I’m fine! Worry about keeping yourself on, Mr. Steadfast!!”

Gongenzaka only grunted, and Sawatari began the arduous task of trying to swing his leaden arms forward again, making one arm hold his whole weight.

The Ringmaster was surprisingly silent during this.  When Sawatari chanced a glance towards them, he saw them simply standing on that pole, staring up towards them with their eyes shadowed by the brim of their head.  Sawatari could see just a small tuft of hair falling between their eyes, and he felt once again a very strange sense of familiarity when looking down at them. Had...had he met the Ringmaster somewhere else before?  Wouldn’t he remember something like that?

Sawatari’s thoughts shattered as his hand slipped again.  This time, his other arm couldn’t support his weight. His other hand’s grip broke, and he fell again with a yelp.

Gongenzaka once again swung forward and snatched his wrist — Sawatari almost popped free of his sweaty hand, but Gongenzaka tightened his grip, and even as the extra weight of Sawatari yanked against him on the rope, Gongenzaka didn’t let go of him or the rope.  Gongenzaka’s face was beet red from the exertion at this point, and as Sawatari caught his breath again, dangling inches from certain death, he could feel Gongenzaka’s arm shaking.

Sawatari’s eyes widened.

“You can’t hold me and yourself up!” he shouted.  “Don’t be a hero!!”

“Don’t act like you don’t need help!” Gongenzaka roared.  “I’m going to pull you back up — grab the rope!”

He tried — he really tried.  To his credit, he did actually manage to lift Sawatari up by his wrist a few inches.  But then his arm seemed to give out, and Sawatari yelped as he fell to the end of Gongenzaka’s reach again, the pair of them dangling.

Sawatari could hardly breathe.  Gongenzaka looked like it was taking all of his energy just to hang on, much less be able to move. How he could hold the both of them up like this?? It was impossible!

I’m —

I’m dragging him down.

Like a whisper, he suddenly felt the Ringmaster’s breath on his neck, even though the Ringmaster remained standing quiet and unmoving on the pole below.

“This is how you always are, isn’t it?” the Ringmaster whispered.  “You’re always the bit part. Always slowing everyone down. Being a nuisance.”

“Shut up,” Sawatari gasped. Gongenzaka looked down at him with surprise, but Sawatari couldn’t get his head to lift up.

“Poor Sawatari.  Never able to be the hero he so desperately pretends he is.  Always only hurting more than he helps. Wasn’t it your fault that Crow got carded...?  Because he was trying to protect you?”

Sawatari felt tears starting to roll down his cheeks — exhausted, terrified tears, as awful memories he didn’t want to remember began to pile weight on his shoulders.

“So useless,” the Ringmaster whispered.  “You’re going to be the reason that Gongenzaka dies, too.”

“I’m going to try to lift you back up again,” Gongenzaka gasped.  “Don’t swing around.”

Gongenzaka tried again, and once again, his arms couldn’t lift Sawatari’s weight upward.  Sawatari nearly slipped out of his grip, but Gongenzaka tightened, and Sawatari continued to dangle.  Sawatari could only stare at him with wide, terrified eyes.

All he could see was Crow’s face on that card.  That tired, exhausted smile, just before he disappeared.  It had been all Sawatari’s fault — it was always his fault.  He was always...he could never...and now, Gongenzaka was trying to protect him, too —

He let himself slacken.  Gongenzaka’s eyes flashed down to him.

“Sawatari!” he shouted.  “Don’t —”

“It’s all right,” the Ringmaster soothed.  “All you have to do is let go. It won’t hurt anymore if you just let go.  Let me help. I promise I’ll catch you. You won’t have to let anyone down anymore.”

Gongenzaka tried to tighten his grip, but his hand was sweaty.  Sawatari forced a fake cocky smile.

“I can’t let you be the hero the whole time,” he said, feeling more tears prick at his eyes.

He let his hand slid free of Gongenzaka’s grip.

Gongenzaka let out a roar of anger, but then Sawatari could only hear the rush of the wind as it shrieked past his ears.  He let his eyes fall closed, and waited for the impact.

It never came. Instead, he felt something warm and soft envelop him, like he was falling into a bed of feathers.

“That’s a good boy, Sawatari,” the Ringmaster soothed.  “Go to sleep. I promise it won’t hurt anymore after that.”

The voice sounded so soothing all of a sudden.  Sawatari let his eyes stay shut, and sank into the dark, warm embrace.  This was better, he thought. Quiet. He was...glad he’d let go.

In a few moments, he wasn’t thinking anything at all.

Chapter Text

Oh, good, another fucking fork in the road.  Dennis didn’t even bother going for the funhouse tunnel — too tight and he couldn’t dodge while inside.  He dove for the other door on the other side of the room instead.

He bit back a scream of frustration to find that there was a funhouse tunnel on the other side of the door.  

Down the hallway, he heard the steady steps of his pursuer, and swore.  He didn’t have many other options. He dove into the tunnel and began to wriggle his way through.  He couldn’t hear much over the sound of his own heart rate and the sound of his body fumbling against the tunnel while he pulled himself through, but his brain imagined that he could hear his pursuer coming to the end of the tunnel, probably readying another fucking knife —

He almost laughed, it was such a goddamn nightmare.  This was ridiculous! Kidnapped by a crazy psycho with a circus fetish, thrown into an impossibly large funhouse, and then chased down by Sora of all people.

He popped out on the other side of the tunnel and tumbled upwards to his feet.  He made a wild glance back into the tunnel.

Sure enough, there he was — Sora was smaller than him, and clambered through the tunnel much faster.  He had a knife held between his teeth, and two more held by the hilts in his hands as he crawled along.  When he’d first appeared, Dennis had been sure that he’d gotten lucky enough to find someone — it had only been a moment later, when he’d noticed that Sora was wearing a totally different outfit that consisted of a blue jacket with long coattails like more of this stupid circus aesthetic, and a tiny top hat, that he’d realize that something was terribly wrong.

Sora’s blank, dead eyes stared straight ahead at Dennis.  Dennis’s shoulder still stung from where Sora’s knife had grazed his shoulder with the first one he’d thrown.  He swore silently, and scrambled to his feet to dive for the next door. He yanked it open and then slammed it behind him, leaning against it to give himself just a moment to catch his breath.

He regretted it immediately when he heard a soft thunk, and a blade sprouted through the wood inches from his face.  He swore and pushed off the door, diving into the next twisted hallway.

He was so focused on running away from the crazy possessed Sora that when he bolted down the next hallway, he ran right past the Ringmaster without noticing.  His brain caught up to him two seconds later, and he whipped his head around over his shoulder.

The Ringmaster hadn’t disappeared.  They were still standing there against the wall, smiling so wide it seemed to split their face.

“Having fun playing with the Marksman, Dennis?” the Ringmaster said with a cheery tone.

Dennis could only let out a blustered swear.

“What did you do to him?” Dennis said.

The Ringmaster giggled, swinging their cane back and forth.

“I didn’t do anything, Dennis.  He decided to become a part of my show himself.  He only wants you to join him!”

“It seems more like he’s trying to kill me,” Dennis said.  “In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re trying to do.”

The Ringmaster only shook their head with a smile, and Dennis was once again struck with a horrible sense of familiarity.  Something about the Ringmaster’s smile drew him in — like he’d seen that exact smile somewhere before. He felt like he’d been on the verge of recognizing them before he’d been dropped down here, but with Sora chasing after him, and the panic of almost dying , the memory that had been at the tip of his tongue had been jostled away.  

If he could only figure out who the Ringmaster was, he thought.  For some reason, he thought that might solve the whole thing — that if he could yank the mask off of the Ringmaster, he’d yank the mask off the rest of this charade.

“I only want you to join my show,” the Ringmaster said.  “You’re an excellent performer, Dennis. I think you’d fit right in.”

“And go around stabbing people?  No thank you,” said Dennis.

The Ringmaster rolled their head towards Dennis with a large smile.

“Oh?” they said with a lilt.  “I thought stabbing people in the back was one of your most refined talents.”

Dennis flinched as though he’d been punched in the stomach.  His mouth grew dry.

“Shut up,” he whispered.

The Ringmaster only laughed, clapping his hands together with his cane tucked under his arm.

“Oh, Dennis, don’t take that personally.  I know you’ve changed a lot since then, after all.”

The door at the end of the hallway opened, and Sora appeared again.  He reached for the knife in his mouth, and Dennis tensed — this hallway wasn’t very big.  He would have trouble dodging.

But the Ringmaster held up their hand, and Sora stopped.

“That’s enough playtime, Marksman.  It’s about time for Dennis to go on stage, after all!”

Dennis edged backwards.  The Ringmaster made no move to come towards him, only smiling at him.  There was something... so familiar about that tuft of hair they had in a ponytail behind them.  But something not quite right, either. Dennis knew them, didn’t he? Why couldn’t he think of it?

“Go ahead, Dennis,” the Ringmaster said.  “Your crowd awaits.”

Dennis blinked when the Ringmaster nodded behind him, and turned to see that there was suddenly a door right behind him.  Dennis looked back over his shoulder.

“And what if I say no?” he said.

“And leave your audience waiting?  That’s unlike you, Dennis!” the Ringmaster said with a shake of their head.  “But I suppose, if you’re really not up for it...you can go back to playing with the Marksman.”

Sora reached for the knife in his mouth again, and Dennis stiffened.

“I’m going, I’m going,” he said, pulling open the door and letting himself through.

A small part of himself flinched and screamed.  Why was he being so accommodating? He should fight !  He shouldn’t just be running away, and doing what he was told!  He...he was better than that, now. Wasn’t he?

I’m always going to be a coward , he thought, as suddenly spotlights exploded down over his head and he winced, putting his arm up over his eyes.

He heard a furious roar of applause, and for a moment, his pulse quickened.  Something in him swelled at the sound — a sound that he’d always so desperately wanted to hear, something that he clung to and strove for.  Despite his situation, he couldn’t help but cling to that swell.

As his eyes adjusted, he realized that he was on a small stage.  A pair of curtains framed either side, pulled back so that he could see his audience.  The swell in his chest dissipated as he saw what actually filled the stands — mannequins, with sloppy red smiles drawn on their flat wooden faces.  They weren’t applauding. Now that he was paying attention, it sounded like a recording playing through a set of speakers.

There was one sound that wasn’t a part of the recording, however, the sound of gloved hands clapping, and when he looked down, he saw the Ringmaster seated in the front row.  After a few moments, the clapping faded away, and Dennis was left in a thick, heavy silence. He stared out at the mannequins, at the Ringmaster who was looking up at him expectantly — though even now, Dennis couldn’t see under the hat.  It was as though some spell were keeping their identity hidden.

Only the Ringmaster was watching him, and the mannequins were fake — but Dennis suddenly felt sweat beating at the nape of his neck and at his hairline.  He stared out at the silent crowd and felt panic rise in his throat.

“Go on, Dennis,” the Ringmaster encouraged.  “Your audience is waiting!”

“What...what do you want from me?” Dennis said.

“A show, of course!  This is the magic act.  Show off some of your tricks, Dennis!”

Dennis felt a faint tremble run up his arms.  There was really nothing here that the Ringmaster could use to force him to do it.  When he looked behind him, too, the door that had led him here was gone, and Sora wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

If...if Yuya were here, he would have shouted.  He wouldn’t have bent to the Ringmaster’s whims — he would have yelled, and demanded answers, and refused to act as told.  Yuya would have been brave. Yuzu would be brave, too. Kurosaki would probably launch himself from this stage and throttle the Ringmaster.  Gongenzaka would refuse to budge. Sawatari would bluster and shout, but he wouldn’t give in.

Dennis had no reason to let the Ringmaster boss him around.  He should...he should do something. He should fight. There was nothing here to coerce him.

The Ringmaster rested both hands on their cane, and their chin on top of their hands.  Their smile felt like arsenic, and Dennis shivered.

“What are you waiting for, Dennis?” they whispered.  “Perform.”

Dennis felt something in him shatter.  His body seized up with the memory of other harsh voices giving commands — the harsh smacks of his commanding officers who would cuff him on the ear when he wasn’t fast enough to respond to an order, the screaming spittle of his drill sergeant in his face, the older students who tripped him and slammed him into walls when he wasn’t quick enough to do as he was told.  He remembered the cold eyes of the Professor, and the warning in his voice when he told him what would become of Dennis if he didn’t obey his orders to bring back the girl in Heartland.

Dennis wasn’t Yuya.  He wasn’t any of them.

He wasn’t brave.

So he put on a fake smile, and he produced a deck of playing cards from his jacket.  Just smile. Just pretend that he wasn’t panicking inside. He was good at that. He was good at pretending.

“Watch very carefully,” he said, in the fakest performance voice.  “Now, memorize this card!”

The Ringmaster, for what it was worth, was an excellent audience.  They laughed and clapped and oohed and aahed at all the right places.  Dennis couldn’t help but still feel like he was being watched like wolf watches an injured rabbit however — as though a single mistake would land him in a world of pain.

His fingers started to tremble halfway through his third card trick.  When he tried to do his midair shuffle, he fumbled. The cards went spilling out of his hands.

Panic rose up in his chest.  Oh god. A mistake. He’d made a mistake.

The Ringmaster went dead silent.  And when Dennis quickly looked up, they weren’t in their seat anymore.  

The mannequins were all standing up now, though.

Dennis’s heart nearly broke his ribs from how hard it was beating.

“Oh, my, how clumsy I am,” he said, trying to play it off as part of his show.  “I — just a moment.”

He dropped to one knee and quickly gathered up the cards.

“Where was I?  Ah, right — is this your card?”

He didn’t even bother to check that he had done it right.  He just grabbed the card that he thought was right, and held it up.  As soon as he looked at it himself, he realized that it was wrong. When he looked back at the audience, the mannequins had all moved again.  Four of them were on the stage itself, a few feet in front of him.

Dennis took a large step back.

“Ah...please calm down,” he said, knowing how stupid it was to talk to mannequins.  This was...some kind of trick, obviously. An illusion. “Let — let me try a different one.”

He hurriedly shuffled his cards again, but once again, his hands were shaking too badly.  They burst from his hands again and exploded over the floor. He dropped down to grab them again, but when his eyes flickered up, five of the mannequins were surrounding him, their smiling faces tilted down towards him as though staring at him.  More of them had appeared on the stage, too, forming a crowd around him. His throat was so dry that he couldn’t swallow.

“Please,” he gasped.  “It was a mistake. I’ll fix it.”

His eyes dropped back to his fallen cards — and he almost threw up.

These weren’t his playing cards.

Faces stared back up at him in varying shades of horror.  Twisted, terrified faces, frozen in place on the card faces, of people he — oh god, people he knew.   That one was the flower lady in Heartland, that he always waved to on his way to the school. One of them was Sayaka.  Another was Allen. One of them was a teacher from the school that Dennis had been working at. And over there — oh, god — those were his students.  Their small, young faces, screwed up with terror and fear and pain, sealed away into cards —

When he looked up, all of the mannequins were pressing in around him, blocking out the light.  He almost thought he heard them whispering, a low hum that skittered just out of reach of his ears — but he could hear the accusations laden in the tone, the anger, the hatred.

“These aren’t mine,” he whispered through his dry throat.  “I didn’t do this.”

The mannequins weren’t actually moving or talking.  It was in his head. It was in his head! This wasn’t real!

You carded them.

“I didn’t!!  I wouldn’t!!”

You betrayed them all again.

“I never would!  Never again!”

You must have been scared — given them up to save your own skin.

Dennis wasn’t sure if the voice was real or if it was in his own head. He clapped his hands to the sides of his head and screamed.

“I didn’t!” he screamed.  “I didn’t, I promise, I wouldn’t hurt them — I wouldn’t —”

You’re such a coward.

You sold them out.

You’re the reason they’re all gone.

They never should have given you a second chance.

They never should have trusted a coward.

He could feel the mannequins pressing in on him, now, piled atop him, crushing him beneath their weight.  He wanted to scream, but he had no air in his lungs. Oh, god, but they were right — he was a coward! If...if he had to to save himself...wouldn’t he sell them all out again?  He’d done it before, who was to say that he was any braver now?

He wasn’t brave enough to stand up to the Ringmaster, or to try and break through to Sora.  He just ran away. He just did what he was told.

He...he deserved to die again.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped.  “I’m sorry...I wasn’t worth it after all.”

As his body slackened, and he disappeared beneath the weight of the mannequins — he felt a hand grasp his wrist.

All at once, he was pulled free, coming up as easily as though he’d been pulled out of a ballpit.  The Ringmaster swung Dennis into his arms, and Dennis hung there, the two of them kneeling on the stage while the Ringmaster hugged him.

“There, there,” the Ringmaster said softly.  “That was very rude of them, wasn’t it? To judge you so quickly.”

Dennis felt himself crying, but only from the feeling of the tears rolling down his cheeks.  The Ringmaster stroked Dennis’s hair softly.

“Don’t worry,” the Ringmaster whispered.  “I would never let anyone turn on you like that.  You’ll always be safe in my shows. No one will ever blame you for something that wasn’t your fault.”

“It was my fault,” Dennis mumbled.

“Sh, sh, sh...no...it’s going to be all right.  I’m here.”

This was wrong.  He could sense it.

And yet...something about it felt comforting, too.

Dennis let himself sink into the Ringmaster’s embrace.

“I’ll keep you safe,” the Ringmaster said.  “I will keep you safe, Dennis. I’ll never turn on you the way they all would.  Because I know you, Dennis. And I’ll protect you.”

Dennis only nodded.  He felt, suddenly, like a child.

“Okay,” he whispered.

And he let himself be led, gently, into the darkness.  He was a coward, after all.

Yuzu ran down hallway after hallway.  Where was Dennis?? Had the Ringmaster lied to her?  He must be around here somewhere!

“Dennis!” she shouted.  “Dennis, it’s Yuzu! Are you here?”

She skidded to a stop as she burst through another door, once again finding herself at a crossroads.  This stupid funhouse! Was she supposed to go through the tube on the left wall, or the tilted door on the right?  The Ringmaster had said she could choose who to go to, and now she wasn’t even allowed to get to him?

“Are you getting off on this?” she shouted towards the ceiling, positive that wherever they were, the Ringmaster could hear her.

“Let’s start kicking down the walls,” Rin suggested.   “They look weak.  We could do it.”

“It does make more sense to make the environment bend to us instead of the other way around,” said Selena.

“I’m not going to start kicking down walls,” Yuzu said, rolling her eyes.  “You go ahead and take over for a while if you want our legs to be broken.”

Neither Rin nor Selena spoke up about breaking down walls again.  Yuzu sighed, glancing between her two options. If Dennis was ahead of her...which way would he have chosen?

Yuzu didn’t have the time to try and think about it logically, though, because the next thing she knew, she heard applause in the distance.  It was coming from the right!

She dove for the door and pulled it open — she grimaced at the sight of the funhouse tunnel inside the door.  There was nothing for it — she threw herself inside and began to shimmy through.

When she came out on the other end, there was just a short hallway with a door.  The applause was coming through that door.

“Careful,” Selena cautioned.   “Take it slow.”

“Roger,” Yuzu said.

She grasped the door handle, and eased it open carefully.

A rain of applause washed over her, and a set of spotlights glared down.  She had to take a moment to adjust to the light.

When she did, however, she saw a silhouette standing before her on a stage.  She tensed. The silhouette wore a long coat with pointed coattails, and a top hat — the Ringmaster??  She opened the door the rest of the way and stepped onto the stage.

The silhouette spun to face her, and she choked.

“Dennis?” she whispered.

Dennis smiled blankly at her.  He was in fact wearing a similar outfit to the Ringmaster, top hat and coat and all, though his was orange in color.  He was even carrying a small cane.

“Dennis?  That’s you, right?” Yuzu said.  “What’s happened?”

Dennis didn’t respond.  He just smiled. He bowed to her, extending a hand.  

“Don’t take his hand!” Rin shouted.

I’m not stupid, Yuzu thought.

But Dennis didn’t give her a moment to respond.  He reached forward and simply grabbed her hand. She squeaked as he twirled her like a dancer, and then swung her around and dipped her.  She put both hands against his chest and tried to shove him back.

“What’s gotten into you??” she said.  “What’s wrong?”

“Oh my, Yuzu.  It looks like you’ve come just a tad late — the Magician was just finishing his magic show!”

Dennis let Yuzu get back to her feet, and she swung around.

The Ringmaster was sitting in the front rows of the stage, and to her horror, she saw Sora and Tsukikage sitting on either side of them.  Both Sora and Tsukikage were dressed in a similar fashion to the Ringmaster, though Tsukikage didn’t have a top hat, and their coats were both a dark blue.  They were also staring blankly ahead with smiles plastered to their faces. Yuzu felt horror cascading through her.

The Ringmaster tipped their head to her.

“Welcome, Yuzu!” they said.  “I’ve been wondering what’s taken you so long.  It’s almost about time for our next act.”

“What have you done to them?” she shouted.  “What’s wrong with Dennis?”

Dennis just stood unmoving beside her, smiling at nothing, looking at nothing in particular.  The Ringmaster shook their head.

“Please, Yuzu, please — this is the Magician .  And you’re interrupting him on stage!  You’re lucky he’s such an amiable performer.”

Dennis bowed to Yuzu again, his smile and expression not changing.  Yuzu couldn’t help but feel like she was about to start crying — from fear or frustration or horror, she wasn’t sure.

“What did you do?” she gasped again.

The Ringmaster shrugged.

“I didn’t do anything,” they said.  “I only invited them to join my show as performers, and they agreed.”

They nodded to Sora and Tsukikage on either side of them, and both stood up.

“Yuzu, watch out,” Ruri said suddenly, and Ruri edged their vision to note what she’d seen — the knives that Sora was holding in both hands.

“The Marksman and the Contortionist were just about to start their next act,” the Ringmaster said with a giggle. “Perhaps you’d like to join them as their assistant, Yuzu!”

“Yuzu, we need to run,” Selena said.

“We can’t leave them here!” Ruri insisted.

“He’s controlling them!  We’re outnumbered! We need to fall back and regroup!” Rin shouted.

For a moment, Yuzu couldn’t move.  She was paralyzed to the spot with the indecision of all four of them battering her all at once.  Dennis stepped forward and grabbed her arm, holding her in place. Sora and Tsukikage began to move towards the stage.

“RUN!” Selena screamed.   “We can’t save them like this!”

Yuzu gasped.

She ripped her arm out of Dennis’s grip, spun around and bolted for the end of the stage.  She leaped off of it, landing on one of the seats, and using it as a springboard to jump to the next row, where she landed and began to sprint down the aisle.  There was a door out up the stairs there.

She heard behind her a soft sigh.

“Marksman,” the Ringmaster said.  “If you would be so kind as to bring Yuzu back here?”

She grabbed the door, flung it open, and ran.  She gave herself only one last look over her shoulder.

Just enough to know that Sora was running after her, with knives in both hands.

Shit , she thought.

Chapter Text

Gongenzaka didn’t see what happened to Sawatari.  Damn! That stupid — why had he let go??

He tried to peer down at the ground below, but he saw no sign of Sawatari.  He had simply vanished into thin air while he was falling. On one hand, that meant he hadn’t hit the ground — it meant he was still alive, and that Gongenzaka still had a chance to make things right.

With great effort, he swung his now free hand back up to the tightrope.  He was too far away from either end, and his muscles trembled in spite of all his training.  This was not something his body was trained to handle easily. Damn it all to hell.

The Ringmaster was gone, too.  Perhaps they’d had something to do with Sawatari’s disappearance.  Gongenzaka let out a growl, and began to shimmy his way across the tightrope again.  If the Ringmaster were a real man, they’d face him honorably, and not in this manner of tricks and illusions!

The Ringmaster did not appear while Gongenzaka made his way to the other end of the tightrope.  He thought for certain that he would let go more than once — but he was Gongenzaka Noboru of the Steadfast Dojo, and Steadfast duelists did not waver!  

By the time he reached the other end of the tightrope, he almost didn’t have enough upper body strength to lift himself onto the next platform. He allowed himself a few moments of rest, shifting all his weight back to his legs to let his arms recover a bit.  Once his moments were up, however, he forced himself back to his feet. The door set against the pole had not disappeared — it didn’t seem logical that it should lead anything. It was hundreds of feet off the ground, suspended on this platform with no wall behind it.  But when Gongenzaka opened it, it opened into a wide stage.

Gongenzaka hesitated for only a moment, to glance about the large stage, and try to determine if there was anything there that would be a problem.  But it seemed entirely empty. Just a large, round stage, with the black curtains drawn at the other end.

He stepped through and let the door fall closed behind him.  He was not surprised to look over his shoulder and find that the door was gone.  He hmphed. This Ringmaster and their ridiculous tricks. But he couldn’t think about that now.  He needed to find Sawatari.

“Sawatari!” he shouted.  “Are you here?”

He walked towards the center of the stage, headed for the curtains.  

“Sawatari!”

“Shh.  This act hasn’t started yet.”

Gongenzaka whipped around.

Standing off to the side, in the wings, was...Sawatari!  Gongenzaka felt something in him break with relief — despite his internal insistence that Sawatari must be all right if he hadn’t seen him fall all the way down, actually seeing him made Gongenzaka realize just how much of that insistence had been lying to himself to keep himself going forward.

Gongenzaka immediately closed the distance between them, scooping Sawatari up and squeezing him.

“You ridiculous man!!” he roared.  “Don’t ever do that again! Now, are you injured?  What happened?”

Sawatari squirmed out of Gongenzaka’s grip and danced backwards, just out of his reach.  It was only then that Gongenzaka realized that something was off.

Sawatari was in a different outfit all of a sudden.  He wore a dark yellow coat in the same style as the Ringmaster, and a tall top hat with a yellow ribbon.  He was smiling, but something about it looked...off.

“Sawatari?” Gongenzaka said.  “Are you all right?”

Sawatari put a finger to his lips and made another shushing sound.

“You can’t talk backstage,” he whispered.  “It’s very rude. You’ll break the illusion for the audience.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Gongenzaka said.  “What’s gotten into you? Sawatari, explain what’s happened!”

Sawatari blinked at him.  He tilted his head, as though he were trying to comprehend what Gongenzaka were saying.  Then his smile turned a little wider, and his eyes seemed to glaze over.

“Sawatari?  I guess that’s me.”

“What are you talking about?  Of course that’s you!”

“If that’s who you’d like me to be.  I hadn’t picked my role for the show yet.”

Gongenzaka had had more than enough of this nonsense.  Sawatari was clearly rattled, or the Ringmaster had done something to him.  But Gongenzaka didn’t have the time to bother about the details right now.

Sawatari didn’t even flinch when Gongenzaka grabbed him around the waist, throwing him over his shoulder.  The usual Sawatari would have protested this, loudly and with a lot of kicking. This version of Sawatari just hung there like a sack of potatoes.  Gongenzaka grunted. His arms still hurt, and even though Sawatari was light, it was a little more strain than he wanted at the moment. Now he just needed to find the next way out, or to try and find one of the others.

He started towards the curtains.  Maybe if he looked out through there, he’d see another door.

On his shoulders, Sawatari’s head suddenly jerked up, as though he’d heard something.  And then he started to kick and flail about like the usual Sawatari.

“What on earth — what are you doing, Gongenzaka??  Put me down this instant!”

“I see you’re back to yourself,” Gongenzaka said.

Sawatari’s knee caught him in the shoulder, and with a sigh, Gongenzaka set him back down on his feet.  Sawatari looked flushed with indignation — much more like himself. That was a relief.

“Are you feeling more like yourself?” Gongenzaka said.

“Well, who else would I be feeling like?” Sawatari snapped.

Gongenzaka rolled his eyes.

“Well, good. I, the man Gongenzaka, do not like to admit it, but I am not in the best of shapes to be carrying you.”

Sawatari folded his arms and pouted.  He didn’t start moving or charging ahead, though.  Maybe he still wasn’t feeling like himself. Gongenzaka sighed, and took the lead — it was better if he did so, anyway.

He reached the curtains and drew them back a bit, just enough to see through to the other side.

His heart sank, though he tried not to show it on his face, to find yet another series of acrobatic obstacles.  This time, there wasn’t even a tightrope — instead, on the other side of the stage was simply a drop off of somewhere close to a hundred feet, back down to the exact same scene of the circus from the last room.  A few trapezes and some hand rings hung from the ceiling, leading across to another door. Gongenzaka grunted. This was no good. He was still too sore from the last time, and Sawatari might not be able to make so many leaps, especially after his fall.

He tried to calculate the distance between each trapeze and just how much momentum he could get from one to the next.

“I believe that we should stay together on this one,” he said.  “If you hold onto my back, I think we can get across.”

He felt Sawatari’s head fall against his back, and he startled, glancing back over his shoulder.

“Always trying to protect everyone,” Sawatari said, in a low, monotone voice that didn’t sound like Sawatari at all.  “It’s annoying, don’t you think?”

Gongenzaka frowned.

“Sawatari?  What’s gotten into you?”

“Do you really think everyone around you is so weak, that you have to take care of them?” Sawatari said.  “Why don’t you ever think about how it makes other people feel? Don’t you feel like you’re just telling them that they’re weak?”

“Sawatari, now is not the time to have such a conversation,” Gongenzaka said.

“Did you ever think that maybe I don’t want you to help me?”

Gongenzaka started to turn around.  What had gotten into him?

Before he could do so, however, Sawatari’s hands pushed against Gongenzaka’s back.  With a strength that Sawatari absolutely should not have in his slender frame, he shoved Gongenzaka forward.

Gongenzaka was so shocked that he didn’t react until he was already falling.

Wind screamed past his ears.  The world spun and blurred — he tried to spin around in midair, searching for something to grab, but there was nothing.  He couldn’t even see where he was going, or what he was doing. The only thing he could focus on was I’m falling and Sawatari pushed me.

As that last thought caught up with him, he reached the ground.

It didn’t hurt the way he expected it too — not even as a delayed pain.  He was just suddenly laying on the ground, staring up at where he’d fallen from as though he’d simply laid down.  He didn’t feel any pain at all, in fact. Had he...actually fallen, or had that been a dream?

“Oh dear...that was rude of him, wasn’t it?”

Gongenzaka found that despite feeling no pain, he suddenly couldn’t move.  He hear the sound of the Ringmaster’s boots in the sand as they approached.  They knelt down in the sand near Gongenzaka’s head, laying their hands gently on either side of Gongenzaka’s head.

“Don’t worry,” the Ringmaster said.  “It’s only a show, after all. You won’t really be hurt.”

“What did you do to him?” Gongenzaka managed to gasp out.

“To who?”

“Don’t pretend to not know!  What did you do to Sawatari?”

The Ringmaster glanced up above.  A frustration fell over Gongenzaka as he realized that even from this position, it was somehow impossible to see the Ringmaster’s face.  It was as though it blurred in and out of view, like a mirage wavered in front of it, hiding its true image from sight.

“Oh,” the Ringmaster said.  “You mean the Actor? He’s a bit rough around the edges, I’m afraid.  Still figuring out exactly what kind of role he wants to play in the show.  Don’t take it personally.”

Gongenzaka tried with another massive effort to get his body to move, but it was almost as if it didn’t exist at all.  He couldn’t budge. He could only speak, and even that seemed a struggle.

“He might have had a point though, Gongenzaka,” the Ringmaster said, patting his cheek.  “You do tend to take an awful lot on yourself...don’t you think it hurts a little sometimes?  Don’t you feel that the people you’re always protecting might resent you for it a bit?”

Gongenzaka wanted to snap something back, but he hesitated suddenly.  Sawatari had reappeared in his line of sight, standing somewhere off to the side, just watching him with blank eyes and a frozen smile.

“I know you mean well, of course,” the Ringmaster said.  “But perhaps you can’t blame the Actor for taking out a bit of pent-up steam on you.  After all, no one likes to be protected all the time. It makes them feel weak...like you don’t think they’re your equal.”

Gongenzaka hesitated again.  For a moment, he inexplicably thought of Yuya. A younger Yuya, with small, trembling shoulders, hiding behind Gongenzaka’s back while Gongenzaka shouted at his bullies.  A slightly older Yuya, who looked like he was about to shout at one of his harassers before Gongenzaka appeared, and he simply withered back behind him instead.

“Don’t worry,” the Ringmaster said.  “I understand. Wanting to protect people is normal.  But it’s all right to let them protect themselves, hm?”

“Let Sawatari and the others go,” Gongenzaka growled.

“They chose to join me.  I didn’t force them to do anything.  You ought to respect their choices, don’t you think?”

The Ringmaster leaned down very close to Gongenzaka’s ear, their breath tickling against him.

“But if you want to protect them so badly,” they said.  “Why not join me? I want to protect them all too, you know.  Your help would be so much appreciated.”

There was something strange and hypnotic about the Ringmaster’s voice.  Something...oddly familiar, as well. Something that made Gongenzaka’s chest unknot, as though he were in familiar, comforting company.

“There’s a way to protect them without weakening them,” the Ringmaster continued.  “I could show you how. You’ll never have to worry about whether you’re protecting someone the wrong way again.”

That voice was like a lullaby.  Gongenzaka felt his eyes starting to droop.

But then, once again, the thought of Yuya came to him.  He remembered the Yuya of now — standing with his head held high, a bright smile on his face.  His shoulders thrown back, confidence radiating out of every motion he made and every word he shouted to the crowd.  He wasn’t overprotected anymore. Gongenzaka had felt when he needed to let Yuya stand on his own. Perhaps once he had overthought things — but Yuya had grown, and Gongenzaka’s desire to protect him had done nothing to stunt that growth.

The Ringmaster flinched back, leaping to their feet and putting distance between them as all at once, Gongenzaka felt whatever holding him break, and he pushed himself back up to his feet.  The Ringmaster’s smile was gone, their lips parted with shock, as Gongenzaka turned back to face them. His body felt like it was at one hundred percent. All of the aches and pains from his time on the tightrope were completely gone.

“I’m not convinced,” Gongenzaka said.  “I, the man Gongenzaka, do not mind protecting when it’s necessary — even if they do not want to be protected.”

Sawatari was still standing there, blank faced.  Gongenzaka sent him a mental apology, and cuffed him hard against the side of the head.  Sawatari dropped immediately, but Gongenzaka grabbed hold of him and tossed hims back over his shoulder.  If the Ringmaster had control of him, it would be for the best if Gongenzaka got him out of here this way now.

“Better that pride be wounded than lives be hurt,” Gongenzaka shot at the Ringmaster.

And before the Ringmaster could recover from their apparent shock, Gongenzaka had already seen a door.  He barrelled towards it, threw his shoulder against it, and burst through with Sawatari still over his other shoulder.  He didn’t wait to look back.

The Ringmaster shook, just a little bit.  They could only stand there, staring at the place where Gongenzaka had been.  Oh, they thought belatedly. He’d taken their Actor. That was...that was a problem.

The shake began to run desperately through them then, so violent that it almost sent them to their knees.

“No, no, no, no, no,” the Ringmaster said.  “No! That isn’t in the script !”

They screamed, and threw their cane as hard as they could.  It stabbed into the wall beside them. The Ringmaster didn’t bother to watch it wiggle from the impact, still too busy shaking and clutching at their hair.

“No, no, no,” they gasped.  “Gongenzaka, no, that’s not the way — you’re supposed to — you have to come back — you have to follow the SCRIPT!”

The Ringmaster screamed again.

All at once, the room around them began to warp.  The walls began to wobble and melt, the sandy floor turned into thick gray smoke.  The room condensed to be inches around their frame, and then exploded outwards to be the size of a football field.  The Ringmaster clutched at their head, muttering, shaking, no, no, no, this was incorrect, this was —

And as soon as it had started, it stopped.  The room snapped back to normal, and the Ringmaster stood up straight.

“It’s fine,” they whispered.  “It’s fine. It’s fine. You always were the hardest one to write for, my dearest Gongenzaka.”

They walked over to where their cane was now left on the floor, picking it up, and dusting it off.  They dusted off their jacket, and straightened their top hat.

“Improvisation is the greatest tool of a performer,” they reminded themselves, forcing their voice to be calm.  “This can still be fixed.”

They inhaled, and exhaled.  And then they smiled.

“After all,” they murmured.  “The fun has only just begun.”

Chapter Text

“Kurosaki!  Thank god — what are you doing here??”

Yuya jogged towards Kurosaki, standing still in the maze.  He looked up at Yuya as Yuya approached, and began to walk towards him.

“Yuya, wait,” Yuto said.   “Something’s wrong.”

Yuya stopped — Yuto’s voice cracked with nerves, and that wasn’t like Yuto.  Especially when it came to Kurosaki. Kurosaki didn’t stop moving towards them, slowly and steadily, his face unchanging.  His eyes were fixed on Yuya, and all at once, Yuya realized what Yuto had seen.

Kurosaki was staring at him like he was going to kill him.

Yuya took a large step back.

“Kurosaki?” he said.  “Hey, Kurosaki — what’s going on?”

His mind cast back with a panic to that poster, the one with Tsukikage and Sora in the knife throwing act — the Ringmaster’s promise that if they choose to agree with them, that the Ringmaster would keep his friends.

And now Kurosaki was starting to walk towards him faster, his whole body tense and his fists curled up at his sides, eyes flashing with darkness and rage.

“Yuya, run!” Yuto shouted.

Yuya turned and tried to bolt — he hadn’t reacted fast enough, and Kurosaki’s stride was longer.  He felt a hand grab him by the back of the neck and he was yanked backwards, flung around so hard to the floor that he almost bounced, eyes bulging with the sudden pain.  He was so stunned by the impact that there was nothing he could do as Kurosaki dropped on top of him and clenched his hands around Yuya’s throat.

Yuya scrabbled at the hands, trying to pick and pry at them, but Kurosaki was just too strong.  He kicked and flailed. The other three were all shouting at him, telling him what to do, their words tumbling over each other so that Yuya only caught half sentences — poke him in eyes or grab his thumbs and peel them back or other things he couldn’t quite catch.

He couldn’t focus on any of it, either.  Kurosaki’s hands were tight and digging into his neck and the more he tried to claw and kick the tighter the grip became.  His vision was starting to blur with spots in the edges, and he choked for breath that he couldn’t take in.

Kurosaki, please, please, please, what’s wrong?  

Yuya managed to shove a hand against Kurosaki’s face, trying to push him back, but he was weakening.  Was...was this how he was going to die? Strangled to death by his friend?

As his vision started to blur and fuzz, and his grasp on his mind faltered, he slipped out of control of the body.

Yuto shoved himself to the front instead.

Kurosaki seemed to flinch as Yuya’s eyes flickered from red to gray.  His grip on Yuya’s neck faltered, eyes widened. It was all the opening that Yuto needed to grab Kurosaki’s hands by the thumbs and rip them free of his throat.  

“Shun,” Yuto gasped.  “Shun — stop, please —”

Kurosaki faltered again, eyes widening.  Yuto shoved Kurosaki back and crawled them back on their hands, putting some space.  He clawed at his throat, coughing. And then Yuto couldn’t hold in place anymore, and he slipped out of control, Yuya getting jostled back to the front.

As soon as his eyes switched again, Kurosaki’s expression twisted into an angry scowl again.  Yuya scrambled to his feet and stumbled backwards just as Kurosaki lunged for him again. This time, he managed to dodge out of the way.  Something was terribly wrong — Yuya coughed and clutched at his throat. He didn’t have the luxury of figuring it out right now. If he didn’t run, Kurosaki would kill him.

He turned and ran deeper into the mirror maze, stumbling at first as he tried to breathe normally again.  He could still feel the bruises on his neck from where Kurosaki had grabbed him, and unbidden tears rolled from his eyes from the suffocation and the panic.  Why was Kurosaki attacking him? What had the Ringmaster done to him?

He half expected to see the Ringmaster appear to taunt him over this turn of events, but as he ran, bumping into mirrors and fumbling around for another escape route, there was no sign of them.  Yuya was alone in the maze with a murderous Kurosaki on his heels.

He slammed into another mirror — it was only through the reflection that he could see Kurosaki making another grab for him, and he ducked, ducking beneath his arm and shooting off in another direction.  Damn this damn mirror maze! He couldn’t tell what was a hallway and what wasn’t!!

“Yuya, right, right, right!” Yugo shouted, and Yuya swung himself around to the right to see what Yugo had noticed.  A hallway without mirrors! Yuya dove down the maze and ran past the last mirrors, stumbling out into the next crumbling dark hallway.  He kept running towards the door at the other end, ramming into it before he could skid to a stop and fumbling for the handle. He chanced another glance over his shoulder.

Kurosaki wasn’t following him anymore.

Yuya’s brain temporarily shut off with the shock of it.  But Kurosaki was just standing there at the end of the mirror hallway, right before it turned into a regular hallway.  He glared at Yuya, but he wasn’t following.

Yuya didn’t take the time to think about what that meant.  He ripped the door open, threw himself inside, and slammed it shut, leaning his whole body against it.

His legs couldn’t keep himself up anymore.  He slid down against the back of the door, trembling.  

“Breathe,” Yuto told him. “Just focus on breathing.”

Yuya tried, but every breath whistled through his throat and choked him, and then he thought about Kurosaki looming over him again with his hands clenched into his throat and that dark, angry look in his eyes —

He could only let his head fall between his knees and sob.  The panic still thrummed through, the terror at having been nearly murdered by someone he trusted.  He felt Yugo sending him waves of reassurance, pressing up against him as though to hug him. Yuto was just as shell-shocked as Yuya.  He drew back a bit from the others, his thoughts closing off from the shock of it. Yuuri stayed silent, but Yuya could sense his irritation.  Yuuri wasn’t the type to trust anyone — he seemed to feel like this just proved his point.

“The Ringmaster must have done something to him,” Yuya mumbled.  “That’s...that’s the only explanation.”

“Yeah, but why?” Yugo said.   “Like — what does this guy really want??”

“He says that he wants to keep our friends,” Yuto said.

“Yeah, but why??  If somebody’s mad at us, or like, Yuya or the Lancers or whatever, you’d think they’d just wanna kill all of us, right?”

“Ah, yes, the traditional revenge story,” Yuuri said.   “It is almost poetically cruel, in a sense.  To drive everyone slowly insane, and then take our lives using the hands of those we consider allies.”

Yuya shuddered, hugging his knees to himself.  He felt like at any second he was going to feel Kurosaki throwing himself against the door on the other side to get to him, and he still couldn’t stop thinking about that awful moment where he’d thought that Kurosaki was going to kill him.

“Who do you think could want to do this?” Yuto said.   “If...if we just knew who the Ringmaster was, maybe we could understand their plan a little better.”

“You certainly have no shortage of enemies, Yuya,” Yuuri said.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk,” Yugo shot back.

Yuya shook his head, briefly crunching his hands through his hair.  He needed to breathe. He needed to get back to himself. He couldn’t save his friends if he was panicking.  Breathe in, and out. Now think.

“There’s plenty of missing people in Academia that might want to get back at us,” Yuya said.  “Like, there are students who never came back. People that Edo thinks might be going rogue.”

“This is awfully intricate for an Academia grunt,” Yuuri said with distaste.   “Of course, I could plan such an interesting hunt, but other Academia soldiers...well.  They’re not very creative.”

“Thank you, for reminding me that I still don’t like you very much,” Yuto said crossly.   “What about the higher ups?  The Doktor is still missing.”

Yuya nodded, biting his lip.

“It’s a possibility,” he said.  “It would check out with how Kurosaki seems to have gone crazy.  The Doktor’s parasites could have done that.”

“I will admit that this is more his style if anything,” Yuuri said.   “It’s appropriately convoluted.”

“The Ringmaster doesn’t much look like the Doktor,” Yuuri said.

“That’s easy enough — what if it’s an Academia student that he’s controlling from far away?” said Yuto.

Yuuri hummed with agreement.  Yuya, however, couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

“I don’t know,” he said.  “Is there anyone else?”

“Well, Roger fell through a dimensionhole, right?  And he never showed back up again,” Yugo said.   “Didn’t he have some kinda brain control stuff too?”

“He needed to perform a surgery for that,” Yuuri said. “I doubt he could have done it himself without the help of his doctors.  Besides, this doesn’t seem like the facility, or the time necessary, to have implanted anyone.”

Yuya shook his head.  No, he didn’t think it was Roger, either.  The Doktor made the most sense...after all, it was his lab where it felt like this had all started...but why did he feel so uneasy?

“We’re not going to make any headway just sitting and thinking about it.  We need to gather more information.”

“Be cautious, Yuya,” Yuuri warned.   “It’s very likely that Kurosaki isn’t the only fool to have been taken in.”

Yuto swore something under his breath at Yuuri, which Yuuri pointedly ignored.  Yuya ignored their bickering too, trying to focus on getting himself back in the game.  His friends were in trouble, and he had to save them.

Now that his heart had finally calmed down, Yuya took a look around the room they’d found themselves in.  It was different from the other places he’d been, neither a funhouse nor a mirror maze, with very little circus aesthetic at all.  It looked like an old, crumbling Western house. The room was empty and the floorboards were cracked, the wallpaper peeling off. There was only one door on the other side of the room.

As Yuya carefully approached that door, he heard music.  A chill passed over him — it was the same scratchy, grainy gramophone string music that he’d heard the Ringmaster listening to in the office before.

Carefully, Yuya pushed the door open.

The circus aesthetic was back in full force all at once.  The walls were striped tent canvas, tilting up to the pointed ceiling.  The ground was made of rocky sand, and at the far end past lines of blocky benches was a large stage.  Several large, life sized puppets dressed like clowns hung over the stage.

Yuya felt like throwing up.  The puppets weren’t the only thing on the stage.

This was all wrong and awful and Yuya’s stomach twisted.  Reiji didn’t stand so much as he simply hung above it, his arms suspended by strings from his wrists, another one hooked to the back of his shirt with his head lolling forwards.  He was dressed in the same style of coat as the Ringmaster in a dark gray, though the coat was hanging open and Reiji’s signature scarf still hung around his neck, bursting out from inside the coat like a spray of blood against the white dress shirt beneath.

“Reiji!” he said.

“Don’t be hasty,” Yuuri hissed.

Yuya wanted to run over to him, vault onto the stage, and drag him free of the strings holding him, but Yuuri was right.  After what had happened with Kurosaki, this was suspicious. He had to be cautious.

Reiji’s head lolled upwards, as though it had been tugged up by an invisible string.  His legs moved as though dragged by strings at his knees, his feet not quite touching the floor.  Some invisible puppeteer made his legs flail a bit as though he were making some horrible facsimile of a dance, and Yuya felt like throwing up again.  He was even smiling, though the smile looked faraway and distant.

“Reiji?” Yuya said again, edging closer.  He glanced around the tent for some sign of anything to be wary of, but Reiji was the only one here besides the other puppets.

Reiji didn’t respond.  He stopped dancing, too, just hanging there from his wrists, smiling in Yuya’s direction without necessarily seeing him.  Yuya came closer. He eyed those other puppets with uncertainty.

“Reiji, it’s me,” Yuya said.  “I’m — I’m here. It’s going to be okay.”

Reiji didn’t respond.  Yuya was right up at the edge of the stage now, looking up at Reiji.

“Reiji?” he said, voice cracking.  “Please...say something...”

Reiji still didn’t make a move or a sound.  He just stared at nothing. Smiling. Yuya felt sick.

Despite the other boy’s protests to be more careful, Yuya climbed up onto the stage.  He walked to Reiji and looked him over — he didn’t look injured, at any rate. Just distant, as though he weren’t there at all.

“Don’t worry,” he said.  “I’m going to get you down.”

He reached for the string tied around Reiji’s closest wrist first, grabbing hold of it.  Now how could he detach it...?

The second his hands fell on the rope, Reiji went berserk.

Yuya screamed as Reiji’s arm caught him across the chest, flinging him down to the floor.  The other three clown puppets rattled to life as well, and Yuya’s breath froze in his throat as he saw all of a sudden that all three of them were carrying knives.

Reiji’s ropes spun him around to face Yuya as Yuya scrambled back to his feet, stumbling backwards away from the slowly encroaching puppets.  One rope let Reiji’s arm down to his side, and when his hand came back up, he was holding a knife too. Yuya’s breath choked in his throat.

“Reiji!” he shouted.  “Reiji, please! It’s me!!  It’s Yuya!”

Reiji and the three puppets only kept coming closer.  Yuya jumped backwards again, and this time, he found the edge of the stage.  He cried out, arms wheeling, but it was too late — he tumbled backwards off the stage.  His body rang with the impact, but the puppets weren’t stopping. Reiji was lowered from the stage first, and Yuya made himself get back to his hands and shove himself to his feet.  He whipped towards the door he’d come in through — but it was gone! Oh god — how did he get out??

He spun towards one of the tent walls instead, running for it.  If it was made of canvas, he could lift it up and escape to the outside!

As soon as he hit the walls, however, they were fully solid beneath his fingers, as though made of concrete.  The canvas-like look was only an illusion. Fear choking him, Yuya spun back around. Reiji and the puppets were coming closer, their bodies moving jerkily, sliding across the floor without their feet touching it.  The knives glinted in some faraway, uncertain light.

The other three screamed at him.  But Yuya couldn’t move. He couldn’t even let himself float away and let one of the others take over.  He was simply frozen, standing there and staring at his friend coming closer and closer, until he was right over him.  Watched blankly as Reiji’s arm was lifted up by the rope, the knife poised to dive right into Yuya’s skull.

Reiji is going to kill me, he thought.   The Ringmaster is going to make my friends kill me.

And something in Yuya snapped.

It felt a lot like he remembered it feeling when he’d lost himself to Zarc’s anger.  It started with a rush of adrenaline, something that coursed through him, pumped him up, made him stand up straight as the air around him began to turn to static.  A faint breeze seemed to swirl around him, rustling his hair, as all around him, he could feel the world starting to pinch inwards, as though gravity had switched directions.

No more , he thought, his whole body shaking.   No more.  I can’t do this!  I don’t want this!!

It wasn’t quite like Zarc, after all.  There was no blinding anger — his eyes did not burn, and he didn’t feel the crackling fire of rage sprouting in his chest.  All he felt was a cool, assured slipping of something like liquid metal slipping through his veins. His pendulum swung out from his chest as though he’d moved, but he didn’t think he had.

Reiji’s arm started to come down.

Yuya exploded.

The knife melted first, dissipating from Reiji’s hand before it could strike Yuya.  Then the wall behind Yuya began to warp in and out, like liquid mercury rippling and spreading beneath his feet.  The breeze picked up around Yuya, and then all three of the clown puppets simply melted into piles of dust. Reiji flapped against his strings for a moment in the wake of the wind.

Yuya didn’t know how he knew what he was doing.  But he lifted up one hand, stared at the strings, and thought break.

They snapped.  Reiji dropped free, but the ground beneath him swirled upwards to catch him, lowering him gently to the ground.  The room’s walls began to spin like a whirlpool around them. It spun, faster and faster, and Yuya couldn’t breathe all of a sudden, he felt like his head was about to explode —

“YUYA!” Yuto screamed.   “WAKE UP!”

Yuya snapped back to himself with a gasp.  He was...on his knees.

In front of him, Reiji laid on the ground.  He was still dressed in the same jacket, but the forced smile on his face was gone, and his eyes were closed.  He laid there quietly, his chest rising and falling with a soft up and down of his chest.

The room was back to what it had been, with solid, non spinning walls, though the puppets were still gone.  And there was a new door, now, set in the wall just across from him. Yuya stared at it, his heart hammering in his chest.

“What happened?” he said.

For a moment, none of the boys could answer him.

“I dunno,” Yugo finally said, sounding uncomfortable.   “But for a moment there, Yuya...”

He hesitated.  Yuya’s breath caught with nerves as he sensed the uneasiness coming from the three of them.

“For a moment the three of us almost disappeared,” Yuto whispered.

Chapter Text

Yuzu gasped for breath, stumbling to a brief stop.  It was dangerous, and she knew it, but she felt like she had just enough of a lead on Sora to allow herself a moment to catch her breath.  

“What are we supposed to do?” Ruri mumbled over and over again.   “What are we supposed to do?”

“Calm down, Ruri!” said Rin.   “You’re freaking Yuzu out!”

“But those are our friends!” Ruri cried, and Yuzu felt her eyes filling up with Ruri’s frantic tears. “We can’t fight our friends!”

“We’ll figure it out, don’t worry,” Yuzu gasped.  “We need to find someone that hasn’t been taken over yet.  Work together.”

She pressed a hand to her chest, willing her heart to slow down.  She needed her breath back if she was going to be able to outrun Sora again.

Her surroundings had greatly changed since she began to run.  The funhouse had changed into an old, crumbling Western style house, and now she was inside a big, striped circus tent with a sandy floor.  She’d passed through the flaps of three other tents into more tents already, and when she looked over her shoulder, she could see the flap behind her rustling — Sora was on his way after her.

She steeled herself and started running again, diving through the next flap into yet another identical tent.  She’d already tried to escape by going under the tent on the sides, but they weren’t really tents at all — just walls painted to look like tents, with some hint of light passing through them somehow.  

“Yuzu, do you smell that?” Selena said suddenly.

Yuzu’s lips parted as she tried to take in a deep breath.  She had, of course, but she was so flustered and gasping for air so desperately that she hadn’t been able to acknowledge it.  Selena seemed to have processed it from her backseat, and now that Yuzu was paying attention, her nose wrinkled.

It was harsh and pungent, like...like animals.  The mix of sweat and manure and the thick dust of fur.  It smelled like a lot of animals, but none in particular that she could place.  Her stomach did flip flops.

This was supposed to be a circus after all...were there some kind of animals here too?  But what kind of animals would the Ringmaster have?

She ran through the next tent flap — and froze.

Finally, the scenery had changed.  She was in a much bigger tent, the ceiling almost too far away for her to see it.  There was a large ring in the middle of the tent, a slightly raised dais that enclosed a sandy middle.  And along all of the walls were cages.

For a moment, it was too dark for Yuzu to see inside them.  But she could see the movement, the shifting of the big shadows looming inside the gigantic cages all stacked up on top of each other.  Yuzu bit back a scream.

They were animals, yes, but like no animals she’d ever seen.  One of them might have been an elephant, big and dull blue in color, but with ears that looked like bat wings and a trunk that seemed like it had been cut off and leaving only a stump behind.  One cage held some twisted facsimile of a bird, with mangy green feathers and a black beak hooked so sharply that it looked like she’d tear her skin just looking at it. In another cage, a huge black wolf with misshapen shoulders and spikes protruding from its elbows and knees paced, teeth longer than her arm slavering with green spit.

She screamed as one of the cages near her banged and rattled when one of the animals threw itself against the bars near her.  A huge, bulbous face pressed against the bars, giant buck teeth bared in a savage snarl — oh god , that was a hippo .  And it was no cute, friendly hippo like Yuya’s usual crew; this was an actual, monster hippo.

Yuzu leaped away from the bars, her heart beating so hard that it rattled her brain in her skull.

“Just keep moving, Yuzu!” Selena said.   “They’re confined right now.”

R-right.  She felt sick though — all of them were monstrous and frightening, to be sure, but they all looked so miserable, too.  They had torn skin, scarred fur, and skinny bodies. Just like a real circus , she thought with an awful twist.

She picked her way around the cages to the ring in the middle of the room.  She could make out another flap on the other side of the room, directly across from her.

She was nearly to the end of the ring on her way over when she heard the soft rattle of someone landing on top of one of the cages.  She whipped around.

The Ringmaster was standing atop one of the cages, for once looking strangely subdued.  They wore no smile, and somehow, that was even more frightening. Yuzu tensed, trying to look tougher than she felt.

“Yuzu, Yuzu, Yuzu,” the Ringmaster said, but it sounded more like they were just saying her name for the sake of saying it, distant, rather than actually addressing her.  “I’m afraid our timetable has moved up.”

They leaped from the top of the cage and landed on the sand before it, without a single sound, as though they had no actual weight.  They turned to the cage behind them, putting their hand through the bars. Yuzu almost screamed, expecting the wolf inside to bite their arm off — she wouldn’t have necessarily been upset, but she didn’t really want to see something so gory.

But the wolf only let out a whine, moving forward to press its head against the Ringmaster’s hand.  The Ringmaster stroked its head gently, like it was just a big dog, and Yuzu couldn’t help but stare with shock.  She supposed it made sense , seeing as this was the Ringmaster’s show after all...but she couldn’t imagine these crazed, half-starved looking creatures being affectionate, and the Ringmaster’s own gentle touches seemed wildly out of character for the person she’d known for only a short time.

“I’m so sorry, my dear friend,” the Ringmaster murmured.  “I’ve made you all be so patient. But don’t worry, dear ones, it’s your time to shine now.”

They withdrew their arm from the cage, and tapped the bars once with their knuckles.

“I’m afraid, Yuzu, that you’ll have to be the assistant in a different act of mine,” the Ringmaster said.  “I had planned for you to take part in the Marksman’s act, but...things have changed.”

As the Ringmaster began to walk around, rapping the bars once with their knuckles of each cage, each cage’s bars melted.  Selena swore, and Rin let out a shout as Yuzu stumbled backwards.

She wasn’t fast enough, and the Ringmaster moved with inhuman speed.  All of the cages had melted away into shadows, freeing their occupants.  

The animals moved slowly at first, as though stretching their muscles or waking up.

“Run, run, run!” Selena shrieked.

Yuzu turned and tried to bolt for the other tent flap.  But she had to skid to a stop as a huge, misshapen macaw flew in her face, making her scream and fall backwards onto her butt.  The macaw shot off, and Yuzu threw herself back onto her feet. But the whole tent had transformed again.

Now, she was standing in a huge, three-ring circus stage.  The three rings surrounded her on all sides, and the animals were moving into them as spotlights exploded down from above upon each one.  An auditorium encircled them, with every seat taken by a smiling mannequin.

As the light exploded downwards, Yuzu could see all of her opponents starting to amass — and shock stabbed her in the chest as she realized they weren’t animals at all.

These were Duel Monsters .

She wasn’t sure how she knew that with such certainty, but the more they came into the light, the more she was certain.  They all looked a little too perfectly colored to be real, too strangely shaped to be normal animals, with eyes that sparked with an unnatural intelligence.  Her heart rose in her chest with a sense of familiarity, as though she’d met these creatures before.

The Ringmaster appeared once again, then, riding on top of the black wolf and circling the stage.

“Watch and be amazed, at this, the Duel Monster taming act!” the Ringmaster called raising their cane over their head.  The sound of recorded applause echoed from all around Yuzu, and she flinched.

“My lovely assistant Yuzu will amaze and awe with her deft handling of these vicious Duel Spirits,” the Ringmaster said.

They vaulted off the back of the wolfe and landed among the audience, spinning in a whirl of coattails to perch themself neatly on one of the railings.  They folded one leg over the other and then rested their elbow atop their knee and their chin against their hand, smiling again at Yuzu.

“Let the show begin,” they said, pointing their cane at Yuzu.

Immediately, all of the Duel Spirits turned towards Yuzu.  Yuzu drew back — there was a time for panic, and this was not it.  Almost as one, all four of them went into pure survival mode.

Yuzu counted her opponents — there were about fifteen Duel Spirits total.  The most dangerous looking ones off the bar included the wolf, the elephant, the hippo, a lion, and a bipedal tiger.  But she couldn’t keep her eyes off of the smaller ones, either — that trio of monkeys looked like they could present a problem.

The ground shuddered, and she changed a glanced behind her.

In each of the three rings, obstacles had risen out of the floor.  In one of them was a three-tiered circular stage. In the second was a few suspended sideways rings, which were set on fire.  And in the last ring were a few small platforms and some large exercise balls, like the ones that old circuses would have elephants balance on.

The three tiered stage would be her best bet.  Yuzu turned and bolted for it.

The macaw dove at her head and clawed at her arms.  She shrieked at the pain of the talons digging into her skin and the blood that splattered her face, but they were minor cuts at worst and she could ignore them.

She heard the monkeys shrieking as they gained on her.

In a fluid motion, Selena took control.  She spun around with her leg flying — it caught two of the monkeys at once and sent them backwards, and when the third flew at her face, Selena dispatched it with a sharp knifehand chop.  Rin slid into control next to push them faster across the ground — she was the expert when it came to running.

Yuzu leaped back into control when it was time to make a jump for the lowest tier of the stage.  She grabbed the lip of it and swung herself up in the same motion. The whole stage shuddered and bucked the second she was on top, and she screamed and rolled.  The hippo pulled back, making to charge at it again. Yuzu ignored it and went for the next level of the stage, leaping and heaving herself back up.

The monkeys were back.  She heard them scrabbling easily up the sides of the stage, and as she leaped for the third top, a clawed hand dug into her calf, weighing her down.  Selena snapped back into control again, swinging them back and forth and flinging the monkey off of them. The second monkey got onto her back, and when it bit, Selena screamed.  Yuzu fell back into control as they dropped from stage and landed hard back on the second one.

The whole thing shuddered and rocked again, and she and the monkey went rolling across the stage.  The monkey shrieked as it fell off the side, but Ruri got to the front of Yuzu’s rattled mind and dug in, skidding to a stop before they also went tumbling back over.

The macaw was on them again.  Ruri threw their arms in front of them to block the attack, and then Selena slid back into control to punch it.  The bird seemed more annoyed by the blow than anything, shooting back up into the air to avoid Selena’s next strike.

“Brava, my dear, brava,” the Ringmaster cried, applauding.  “You all work in such synch! It’s marvelous — but how long do you think you can hold up like that?”

“If you wanted to kill us, you could have done it way easier than this!” Selena shrieked at them.

The stage rocked again as both the hippo and the elephant rammed it at once.  Selena had to fall to her knees, and then two of the monkeys leapt at them again.  Selena slapped them away, and Rin came in to give one a solid punch.

“So cruel to my dear friends,” the Ringmaster said with a shake of their head.

“I’m not going to let you kill us, you dumb bastard,” Rin shouted.

“I told you, my dears. I don’t want to kill you.”

The Ringmaster stood up on the railing, balancing in their high heeled boots.

“This is a taming show, my dears, not a brawl,” the Ringmaster said.  “They’re Duel Spirits. I thought You Show duelists dueled with their monsters?”

“That’s not so easy to do when they want to kill us,” Yuzu said through grit teeth, as she came back to the front.

The wolf leaped up to the stage below her, and she swore.  The bipedal tiger was starting to climb up the sides, teeth slavering with spit.  Despite Yuzu’s terror, she couldn’t help but feel awful — these creatures looked like they were in so much pain.  She wondered if even they were aware of what they were doing, or if they were powered only by instinct.

“You’re all in such synch, my dears, but it will all be for naught if you can’t learn to do one thing,” the Ringmaster said.  “After all.... Ray was a mistress of great power.”

Yuzu felt like she’d been punched in the gut at the name that fell from the Ringmaster’s lips.  Ray. A name that she and the others had avoided for so long.

Yuya had become Zarc — he’d been overtaken, and then he’d come to terms with it, come into balance with that.  What about Yuzu and the others? Ray had never been more than a ghost for them. Even in that moment where Ray had awoken in them to face Zarc, Yuzu couldn’t remember more than a taste of her.  She was Ray, right?  But she didn’t feel like Ray, or even an inheritor to her.

Ray felt like a concept.  A faraway whisper that had no connection to them.

And Ray’s powers came from the En Cards, not from her herself — even if Yuzu had wanted to, the En Cards and the power that had been worked through them was gone.

“If you think that I have any of that power, you’re wrong!” Yuzu cried, suddenly stabbed with panic.  Was the Ringmaster some old Academian enemy? Someone who remembered the existence of Ray, remembered her powers, and wanted to use them to make their utopia?  Was she about to die because this person believed she had powers that she didn’t?

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Yuzu.  You and the others are the inheritors of Ray’s will, and her soul.”

“Ray didn’t have powers!  She just used the En Cards!” Yuzu screamed.

The wolf tried to leap at the stage before her, missing by inches.  She screamed and stumbled back. Behind her, the tiger was scrabbling to the lower stage.  She darted away from its claws near her feet.

“You’re wrong, Yuzu,” the Ringmaster said softly.  “But will you accept that and accept her , or will you let yourself die?”

Yuzu scrambled away again — but as she moved, the hippo and the elephant struck the stage again.  Her footing slipped. The tiger got its chest up on top of the stage and caught her just against the leg — and she went flying.

She fell from the stage.  There was nothing she could do, nothing that the others could do, except fall.  The fall seemed to take longer than it should, staring upwards at the faraway ceiling and listening to the world rush around her.  It felt like the day she’d fallen from the dueling lane versus Sergey — but this time, Sora wasn’t here to catch her.

I’m not strong enough , she thought.   Ray remade an entire world to save everyone.  But I can’t even save myself.

What does it even mean, to be Ray?

She hit the ground, and for a moment, she was so stunned by the impact that she couldn’t move.  Through her blurring vision, she saw the wolf leaping down from the stage and pacing towards her.  Its teeth slavered. It looked....scared, Yuzu thought. It also looked familiar. Her vision was blurring further.  She felt so dizzy and faraway. The wolf came closer, and so did the other Duel Spirits, slowly and steadily, surrounding her in her paralyzed state.  The others seemed stunned silent, too, because for once in a long long time, Yuzu’s mind was completely silent.

The wolf was right over her.  She could feel its saliva dripping onto her neck.  She almost closed her eyes.

Something blurred past her.  There was a heavy thock as something struck the wolf in the head, making it cry out with pain.  The other Duel Spirits suddenly shrank back as the thing that had struck the wolf continued to blur back and forth.  

Yuzu startled back to reality as someone grabbed her by the back of her shirt and yanked her back up to her feet.

“You hear me!  Back!” screamed a loud, familiar voice.  

Yuzu jostled back to awareness, tugging free of the hand holding her and whipping around.

Yoko grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her behind her, still waving the shinai back and forth.

“You won’t hurt her, you sons of bitches, not on my fucking watch!” Yoko shouted.

To Yuzu’s shock, none of the Duel Spirits leaped forward.  Instead, all of them shrank back, cowering, looking legitimately frightened.  But...but not of — not of Yoko, Yuzu thought suddenly. Her eyes flashed up to the Ringmaster.

The Ringmaster was not smiling, but nor were they considering the situation with the nerve-wracking calm of before.  Instead, their mouth was hanging wide open, staring down at Yoko. Yuzu grabbed Yoko’s arm, and thought very suddenly — Yoko wasn’t on any of the screens from before.

Yoko isn’t supposed to be here.

The scream that rose out of the Ringmaster’s throat was inhuman, causing the stage near them to actually crack and crumble in places.  The Duel Spirits all let up cries of panic and fear.

“Yoko-san!” Yuzu screamed.  “We need to run!”

Yoko, however, didn’t look like she had any intention of doing so.  She swung her sword up towards the Ringmaster.

“That’s enough!” she shouted.  “Get down here and fight like a man, you son of a bitch!  That’s enough bullshit out of you!”

The Ringmaster hyperventilated.  They dropped their cane with a clatter to the floor, and stumbled off of the railing, landing on the audiorium floor and stumbling back against the mannequins, knocking a few of them over.

“No, no, no, no, no,” the Ringmaster muttered.  “No, you weren’t invited , I wasn’t prepared , you’re not supposed to BE HERE!”

They grasped at their head and their hair, clawing at their temples, and let out another scream.  For a moment, the hippo Duel Spirit lurched towards them, but then the Ringmaster waved both hands back and forth as though to order it back in a panic, and it lurched back again, swinging its head back and forth in consternation.

“I didn’t ask for you to be here! You’ll ruin everything!  I planned — I didn’t plan for you yet! You weren’t supposed to be here!  But I — but I can’t — YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!”

Another awful scream ripped out of the Ringmaster’s throat, and then the tent overhead began to bubble and warp.  The sand on the floor around them turned to a black mist that whirlwinded around them, and Yoko swore.

Yuzu grabbed her arm.

“We need to run!” she screamed.

This time, Yoko listened.  She spat onto the floor, and shoved Yuzu against her back, pushing her to run for the open flap on the other side of the tent.

They punched out from the tent, but the next room was beginning to melt and warp too, switching rapidly between circus tent and funhouse and crumbling house, over and over and over with such dizzying rapidity that Yuzu almost threw up.

Yoko didn’t let her stop though.  She grabbed Yuzu by the arm and hustled her down the warping hallway to the next door.

Yuzu just let her drag her along.

She didn’t know what else to do anymore.

Chapter Text

They cried.

How unseemly, they kept thinking.  How inappropriate. They weren’t supposed to cry.  But they couldn’t help it. Nothing was working. It was all falling apart.  This wasn’t fair. Why wouldn’t they listen...?

The Ringmaster whined, clutching their head between their hands.  The wolf nudged them with their nose, whining softly, but the Ringmaster couldn’t bring themselves to accept the affection.  The hippo pressed its nose against their back, and the Ringmaster rocked back and forth against their friend.

This wasn’t working the way it was supposed to.  They were losing control. Yuya had severed the Puppet’s strings.  Gongenzaka had refused them, and stolen the Actor. Yuzu and the girls wouldn’t listen.  And Yoko was here.  Yoko wasn’t supposed to be here.  Not yet. Not while they weren’t prepared, not while they were still so alone and so weak, not during the first performance, no, no, no, they were supposed to be in control...

They felt a hand touch their shoulder, and they looked up.

The Marksman stood silently over them, the hand resting on their shoulder.  Near the other milling, whining Duel Spirits, the Magician waited quietly, standing nearby the Ringmaster.  The Contortionist was here as well, crouched down near the ground, staring at nothing.

The Ringmaster inhaled.  They exhaled. Gently, they put their hand on top of the Marksman, and swallowed away their tears.

“No, you’re right,” they mumbled.  “I’m not alone. I’m not alone. Thank you.”

They quickly stood, shaking a bit before they regained their footing.

“How unsightly of me to cry in front of my dear performers,” they said, quickly wiping them away.  “I won’t make that mistake again, my dear friends.”

They inhaled again.

“After all, this is my show.  Not theirs.”

Now, they must think.  The script had gone straight out the window.  Perhaps they had been remiss to think that they could control their show in such detail — after all, that was the real draw of a live performance.  You never knew how it would change. The other participants were all improvising. The Ringmaster could learn to improvise as well.

The first step was easy enough.

If they were to win this elaborate dance....

Yuya would need to be broken first.

Walking while trying to carry Reiji was hard.

Yuya dragged himself one step at a time, Reiji’s limp body draped over his shoulders.  Ever since Yuya had used whatever strange powers to sever his strings, he hadn’t made a move.  He hadn’t even opened his eyes. It was only by hearing his breaths that Yuya knew he was even still alive.

The scenery had changed to become entirely circus tent after circus tent.  He must have struggled through five different tents by now, and his whole body ached.  Reiji was just too awkward to carry, and deceptively heavy. He was such a beanpole, how could he be this heavy?

The boys had been silent as he struggled along as well.  Yuuri had voiced one small complaint about bringing Reiji with them, considering that he would slow them down and they didn’t know if he was still possessed by the Ringmaster, but a few sharp retorts from the others had made him back down with irritation.

Since then, however, no one had been much for conversation, not even Yugo.  Yuya’s stomach twisted with nerves. What did they mean exactly, that they had almost disappeared?  What did that feel like, to almost disappear? Well...he thought he knew. He remembered the heaviness seeping over him, like falling beneath a blanket of water, when Zarc had overtaken them during that duel in the Fusion dimension.  How hearing Yuzu scream his name had been the only thing to pierce that heavy veil, and even then it had been like clawing his way out of a thick pile of blankets to be able to breathe again, coming out of it like one would a week long sleep.

They didn’t want to talk about it, and he respected that.  But...if they had almost disappeared...

Did that mean that Yuya had almost consumed them, they way that Zarc had once consumed all of them?

Yuya dragged himself along another painful step.  He was almost to the next tent flap. Reiji’s feet dragged on the floor behind him, and made it even harder to move him around.  What would he have to deal with next? Could he protect Reiji while they faced whatever horror would come before them the next time?  And what about the others? Who else was hurting or possessed by the Ringmaster by now? Yuya felt sick. He...he couldn’t protect any of them.  His duels with smiles had no power in this place. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so utterly helpless.

He ducked under the next tent flap and came out into the next tent.  This one was actually different — instead of being empty, it was stacked high with crates, as though this were some kind of storage area.  His skin crawled. Visibility was not good in here. If there was something hiding around a corner, he’d have no idea until he was around it.  And he couldn’t see if there was a door anywhere yet.

“Careful, Yuya,” Yuto said, finally breaking their internal silence.   “Go carefully.”

“And maybe consider losing a bit of weight?” Yuuri said.

“Shut up, Yuuri,” said Yugo.

Yuuri only hmphed.  Yuya could feel the brief spike of panic, though, a spike that Yuuri quickly tried to smother before the others felt it.  Yuya felt sick. Yuuri wasn’t used to feeling so helpless — and the other two weren’t feeling so good, either. Earlier in this nightmare, Yuya remembered thinking that he was glad they were here.  Without them, he would have felt so alone.

But while they provided company, they weren’t able to do much else.  It was a rough feeling, one that made all of them chafe.

Yuya hefted Reiji better onto his shoulders, and began to make his way around the first set of crates.

No sooner was he around the first aisle, however, than he saw a flicker of movement, as though someone had just darted out of sight around an aisle up ahead.  Yuya froze. The other three in his mind buzzed with nerves. Yuya could sense Yuuri practically frothing with a mixture of frustration and a desperate desire to go after whatever was in here.  Yuya shook himself before Yuuri’s hunting desires seeped through him too much. Now wasn’t the time to go full Yuuri.

He approached slowly and carefully, still tripping a bit from Reiji’s weight.  It took them what felt like forever to get to the end of the aisle and peek around it.  

Yuya didn’t see anything, but...he had a sudden, intense feeling that he was being watched.  His skin crawled.

And then he heard it — the soft pap pap pap of someone tossing and catching something over and over.  Cautiously, Yuya leaned his head all the way around the corner.

His breath caught in his throat.  Dennis.

Dennis was in an orange version of the coat that Reiji and the Ringmaster both wore — that wasn’t a good sign.  He was looking up, his top hat tilted back from his face, tossing a trio of balls into the air one after the other, juggling with deft hands.  He didn’t seem to notice Yuya, but then, he was just standing there in the middle of all these boxes juggling for no reason. Yuuri let out a thin, angry hiss.

All at once, Dennis threw all three balls into the air at once, snapped his fingers, and they all exploded into multicolored smoke.  Yuya flinched back, almost losing his grip on Reiji.

As the smoke faded away, a second figure had appeared beside Dennis.

Yuya’s stomach turned.  That was the Ringmaster.

“You needn’t skulk, Yuya,” the Ringmaster called.  “I’m sure the Magician would love to have an audience for his tricks.”

Yuya flinched, and the others each swore — though Yuuri let out another hiss.

He carefully edged around the corner, Reiji still heavy on his back.  The Ringmaster smiled at Yuya. Dennis also smiled, but it looked wrong.  He looked vapid and empty.

“Ah, and you’ve brought the Puppet with you.  That does make things easier.”

Yuya bristled.

“They have names!” he said.  “They’re Reiji and Dennis!”

“You’re right, they do have names.  The Puppet and the Magician. Those are their names now.”

If Yuya wasn’t weighed down by Reiji, he might have thrown himself at the Ringmaster right then.  What right did this person have! Treating people like objects, like toys!

“Don’t look so cross, Yuya.  A name is the truest expression of what a person is.  I only call them by their new names because that’s the persona they wanted.”

“You’re lying.  You hurt them!” Yuya said.  “Reiji and Dennis — they wouldn’t willingly join you and turn into...into this!”

The Ringmaster tilted their head.

“Oh?  And why not?”

Their voice grew low and almost poisonous despite the continuous smile, and Yuya felt nervous bile rise in his throat.

“I only gave them what they wanted,” the Ringmaster said.  They slid an arm around Dennis, drawing him close to them and placing a light hand against his cheek.  Dennis didn’t move an inch, didn’t even make a move to flinch. “They were hurting, Yuya.  Surely you must have known how much they were hurting.  I took all that hurt away. It’s what they wanted. Look at them — they’re so happy now!”

Yuya gasped as he felt Reiji twitch against his back.  He tried to grab for his arms and draw them over his shoulders, but as though lifted up by invisible strings, Reiji was pulled off of him, moving off to the side with wrists raised once again like a puppet.  He also smiled vapidly at nothing, and Yuya felt tears rise to his eyes.

“That’s not real,” he whispered.  “This isn’t the real way to make someone smile!  I don’t know what you did, but —”

“If  you don’t know what I did, then how can you say that it’s not real with such certainty?” the Ringmaster said.

“Because it’s not!! There’s no way it is!” Yuya cried.

The Ringmaster tilted their head again, smile going thin.

“It sounds to me, Yuya,” they said softly, “that you’re simply upset that they’re not doing what you want them to do.”

Yuya drew back as though he’d been struck.  His heart raced in his chest, and his mouth went dry.  Was...was that true? Was he just assuming what they needed or wanted?  Had...had they actually chosen this, with the Ringmaster, of their own free will?

“Don’t listen to them, Yuya!” Yugo shouted, rattling Yuya’s brain.   “They’re just trying to mess with you!”

“That’s right,” Yuto said.   “I’m sure it’s true that our friends were hurting — we all are — but I know Akaba-san would never freely choose to try to hurt us the way he did before!  This isn’t right!”

“Dennis wouldn’t choose this,” Yuuri hissed.   “He knows better.”

Yuya exhaled, still trembling a bit.  But his friends’ words had rallied him back from the momentary panic.

“I don’t believe you,” he said.  “I can’t believe you at all!”

The Ringmaster’s smile faded.

“Oh?  Did the other three try to tell you that?”

“You can’t get in my head,” Yuya said, fists clenching up.  “Because they’re already in there — you can’t try to manipulate all four of us at once.”

His voice rang with a confidence he didn’t truly feel.  But he had to at least act like it. If he didn’t, then he’d lose.  He’d lose his friends.

The Ringmaster actually scowled — but then they shook their head and wiped at their mouth with a gloved hand.  When their hand came away, they were smiling again.

“I thought you might be difficult,” they said, in an almost charming, light voice.  “But I’m sure you’ll understand soon enough, Yuya. In fact, I know you will.”

Yuya didn’t like that tone in the Ringmaster’s voice.  His eyes flickered nervously to Reiji beside him, and then to Dennis in front of him.  Reiji had already been manipulated into trying to kill Yuya once. Would the Ringmaster try to use his friends against him again?

“What makes you so sure of that?” Yuya said, taking a careful step backwards.

The Ringmaster passed their cane to the other hand, and the smile that split their face was almost far too wide to be human.

“Because, Yuya,” they said softly.  “Of everyone in this show, it’s you that I know the best.”

The whole room suddenly melted.  Yuya yelped, trying to jump as it seemed like the floor disappeared — but no, it had only turned to a pool of shadows.  The shadows roiled and bubbled beneath his feet, and then slid back outwards, reforming into new pillars and poles and walls, forming the great three-ring circus stage from before.  Yuya wobbled on his feet as he suddenly found himself shoved into the air, the floor rising up with him on it until he was teetering at the top of a very tall stage, the tallest of the three leveled circular stages.  Reiji was still hanging by invisible strings beside him, but the Ringmaster and Dennis had both moved down to the auditorium, where the smiling mannequins were staring up at them.

“Go on, Yuya,” the Ringmaster said.  “Show us a smile, won’t you?”

Yuya couldn’t have smiled if he wanted to.  His heart and mind screamed, and he was just trying to breathe.  The Ringmaster let out a small tut and shook their head.

“You’d think you’d understand the first rule of show business.  You need to be having fun first if anyone else is going to have fun.”

The Ringmaster perched themself on the railing overlooking the circus, and nodded at Yuya.

“Have a go, then,” they said.  “See if you can get the Puppet to smile the way you want him to.  If you do, he’ll be yours again.”

“Reiji isn’t a thing,” Yuya said, voice trembling in spite of himself.

“You’ve been very clear about that,” the Ringmaster said with a wave of their hand.  “But I think you’ll find that the Puppet wants this more than you think he does.”

Yuya turned towards Reiji.  Reiji was facing him, but he wasn’t looking right at him.  His eyes were somewhere else.

Yuya’s heart hammered in his chest.  How...how could he communicate with Reiji while he was like this?  How could he reach Reiji’s heart? He was supposed to do this in a duel.  He knew how to work with his monsters, to make use of the show to communicate with others, to reach a connection and open their hearts.

But how was he supposed to do this now, with a distant, empty Reiji, no working Duel Disk, and no duel?

“Yuya, you can do this,” Yuto said.   “You’ve reached plenty of hearts outside of a duel.”

“Yeah, I mean, we never dueled, right?  And ya reached me pretty well,” Yugo said.

“You’re a simpleton.  That’s not hard,” Yuuri said dismissively.

Yugo snapped at him, and Yuya turned out their bickering.  He tried to focus on Reiji.

“Reiji?” he said softly.  “Hey, Reiji. It’s me. It’s Yuya.”

Reiji didn’t respond.  He didn’t even look at Yuya.  Yuya already felt tears prickling at his eyes.  Before now, he hadn’t really had a chance to comprehend what had happened to Reiji.  There had been the adrenaline of almost being murdered by him, and then the mind-numbing repetition of simply carrying him along as they walked through tent after tent.

But now was the first time that he was really facing Reiji like...this.  Turned into this empty, vapid thing that didn’t even seem to feel. Yuya felt sick.  This wasn’t Reiji. This wasn’t him at all.

“Reiji,” he said again.  “This isn’t you. Remember?  You were...you were an inspiration to me, Reiji.”

Still nothing.  Yuya got closer to him, despite Yuuri hissed warning.

“Sure, we got off on the wrong foot.  But when we first dueled, when you said that you saw something beyond Pendulum — without you, I never would have evolved.  And that whole time, during the whole war...you were amazing, Reiji. You had to face so much pain, but you kept fighting, even though it always looked hopeless...and you never...you never abandoned me, even when I was dangerous to you.”

He fought back tears.  Reiji still wasn’t making any response.  The Ringmaster let out a low whistle through their teeth.

“Hardly a rousing performance, Yuya,” they said, shaking their head.

“Don’t listen.  Focus on Reiji,” Yuto soothed him.

Yuya tried.  He inhaled, and exhaled.

“You’re — you’re my friend, Reiji,” he said.  “You’re so much stronger than me. And you’re stronger than this.  If — can this really be what you want? You’ve always wanted to make the world better, to protect people.  Is this — is what you are now, is it what you want?”

Something changed.  Yuya thought he might have imagined it, but he felt like the aura in the room altered just a little bit.  Reiji’s eyelashes flickered, but it might have been a trick of the light.

“You have the wrong approach, Yuya,” the Ringmaster said.

“Shut up,” Yuya said.  “He’s — I’m getting through to him.”

“Are you?” said the Ringmaster.  “Puppet...doesn’t it hurt when Yuya piles so much expectation on you?”

Whatever had changed before, Yuya felt it change again.  It was like a heaviness seeping over them again, making Reiji slump a little heavier.  Yuya’s heart leaped.

“Reiji, no!  That’s not what I meant!”

“It’s so painful, isn’t it?  So many people always relying on you?” the Ringmaster said.  “You’d rather live a peaceful life like this, wouldn’t you? No longer having to tell anyone what to do.  No longer needing to feel anyone else’s blood on your hands.”

“That’s not true!” Yuya said desperately.  “Reiji! That’s not true! It wasn’t your fault!  None of it was your fault!”

But he felt like he’d lost control.  Reiji was back to not responding at all, and in fact, Yuya could almost sense the air around him getting thicker and thicker, falling deeper into the Ringmaster’s words.  Yuya didn’t — he didn’t have the right words. He didn’t know what the right words were.

“Too bad, Yuya,” the Ringmaster said.  “It seems that the Puppet really does prefer to be with me.”

Yuya felt cold and hot all at once.  His eyes slid over to the Ringmaster.  The Ringmaster simply smiled at him.

“You know, it doesn’t have to be all bad,” they said.  “If you joined me too, Yuya...you’d be with him, and everyone else!  You don’t have to feel so awful...it will be so much nicer if you’re all together, don’t you think?”

Yuya felt a tremble running up his fingers.  The Ringmaster’s smile was the only thing he could see.  A burning sensation flashed through him. This was — familiar.

Yuto cried out, and Yugo swore, but then Yuya couldn’t hear them.  He felt the power surge through his arms again. The Ringmaster’s smile was like a fiery brand against his vision, and he —

In that moment, Yuya hated them.

Yuya jerked his hands up.  Immediately, the floor of the stage warped.  The Ringmaster’s smile slipped with shock. Yuya pushed both hands outward, and part of the stage swirled into a thick spike that launched itself at the Ringmaster.  Yuya didn’t know what he was thinking. But he was so dizzy, and so full of anger, anger for Reiji and Dennis and Sora and Tsukikage and every other person that the Ringmaster had lured in here, every person the Ringmaster had broken down and turned into vapid puppets for their amusement, acting like they knew exactly what they wanted and taking away all of their free will and everything that had made them them ...

And he could not swallow down the feeling of how much he wanted to make the Ringmaster hurt for it.

The Ringmaster was, shockingly, not fast enough.  Yuya saw it all in slow motion, as the Ringmaster tried to leap to their feet, raise up their cane, but Yuya’s control over the room was suddenly stronger than the Ringmaster’s, and Yuya could feel the Ringmaster trying to yank control back and failing.

And in slow motion, Yuya saw Reiji move.

It wasn’t with his strings, either — he wasn’t being yanked along.  No, he was moving like a real person again.

And he was jumping in between Yuya and the Ringmaster.

Yuya snapped back to himself all at once at the sight of the blood that dripped onto the sand.  Immediately, the room snapped back to what it was supposed to be, the spike shooting back to the stage like elastic.  Reiji still hung by his strings in the space in between Yuya and the Ringmaster.

There was blood coming out of his lips.  The red scarf around him wasn’t the only thing that was red against his chest and stomach.

Oh.

Oh god.

Oh god oh god oh god oh god —

Why had he — for the Ringmaster —

A horrible, ear piercing shriek rose out of the Ringmaster’s throat.  They yanked hard at invisible strings, yanking Reiji backwards and into their arms, and collapsing to their knees with Reiji cradled in their arms.  They wiped frantically at the blood with their gloved hands.

“No!” the Ringmaster screamed.  “No, I didn’t tell you to — I said I would protect you!! Why did you — no, no, no, no!”

And their their face turned back to Yuya, and Yuya felt the whole room go ice cold.

“You — you hurt him !” the Ringmaster shrieked.  “I was only trying to protect them!  And you!! And you!!”

They screamed again.  Yuya stumbled backwards, eyes blurring with panicked tears.  No, no, no — he’d hurt Reiji, he’d hurt Reiji, and he didn’t even know how, he didn’t know why, why had Reiji tried to protect the Ringmaster —

Dennis looked like he was about to have a panic attack the more the Ringmaster screamed.  His mouth was open in a silent scream, his hands clutched to the sides of his head.  The ground bubbled and warped, and some of the mannequins started to fall apart. Dennis rocked back and forth and up and down.  Then the Ringmaster pointed directly at Yuya, and Dennis shot up straight.

Yuya screamed.  Dennis vaulted the railing, and grabbed hold of an invisible trapeze, swinging across to the stage.  He flicked out a cane, and pulled it apart as he landed before Yuya — a deadly blade appeared from inside the cane.

“Yuya!” Yuto shouted, his voice sounding far away and panicked, almost groggy, as though he’d almost disappeared again.   “Yuya, you have to run!”

But Yuya couldn’t move.  He could only stand and watch in horror as Dennis came closer to him.  Tears rolled down his cheeks.

I hurt him.  I hurt Reiji, I hurt Reiji, I hurt him —

Dennis raised the blade back, and despite the screams in his head, he didn’t move.

I deserve this.

Dennis’s blade slashed across Yuya’s stomach.  Yuya felt the warm blood spout to the wound, and then he lost his balance.  He tumbled backwards from the stage, falling, falling, falling...

He didn’t notice when he hit the ground.  He didn’t notice the voices all clamoring in his head.

All he could think about was the blood.  Reiji’s blood. And the screams.

The Ringmaster’s screams, and his own.

Maybe I was wrong, he thought.   Maybe...they are safer here.

Maybe I was the one who wanted to control them after all.

Chapter Text

“Don’t worry.  Don’t worry. I’m going to fix you.  It’s only a show. It’s not real.”

Distantly, he thought it might hurt, somehow.  That’s right. He’d been hurt, hadn’t he? There were warm hands against his chest, and he could feel the gentle pulse of blood being pulled back under his skin, as they ran their hands over the wound again and again until it began to seal up.

“I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.  Why did you do that?  I didn’t tell you to do that.  I told you I’d think for you from now on.  I told you that you wouldn’t be hurt anymore.  Why did you do that?”

It...it hurts to think.  He knew that he was conscious, but it was like he was beneath a rush of static.  He couldn’t quite remember how he’d gotten hurt. The voice was soothing. It made him want to go back to sleep.  Yes, sleep. He remembered that being awake had been a nightmare, but that soothing voice was helping him return to a peaceful emptiness.  

“You need to go back to sleep, Puppet.  You need to let me take care of you. You’ll be happier that way, right?  I’m doing the right thing for you, aren’t I? You chose me. You didn’t choose him.  You chose me instead.”

That voice was breaking.  It was filled with so much pain.  He felt...heavy. But something in him stirred again, some distant memory of how he’d been hurt in the first place.  With effort, feeling his arms simultaneously held up and pulled down, he tried to lift one hand. He felt the tug of his strings gently force his arm back down.

“Don’t,” they said.  “Don’t. Stop. I told you.  You’re safe as long as you’re with me.  Don’t fight it. You’ll be happier this way.  I know you will.”

He was going back to sleep.  But he couldn’t stop the thought from coursing through him — two intertwined thoughts, beneath the static, the ones that had made him fight against the strings that had been comforting for at least a while now.  He remembered the shaking boy beside him, thrumming with anger and hatred. He remembered the shocked and panicked figure in the coat, the owner of the soothing voice.

And he remembers his thoughts in that moment, just before he drifted back to sleep.

I don’t want to let him wake up and find himself a monster again.

I’ve hurt you enough already.

Yuzu stumbled to a stop, and Yoko caught her before she fell.  They’d made their way into another tent, this one mercifully empty.  The Ringmaster was far behind them, and their animals too. Hopefully.

“You holding up?  Take deep breaths.  You want to hyperventilate, but you can’t let yourself,” Yoko told her.

Yuzu pressed a hand to her chest — it was so hard, though.  Her heart wouldn’t stop screaming.

Gently, Selena slid into control, forcing their lungs to take deep, calming breaths.  She slipped back once Yuzu’s body had stabilized again. Yoko was busy examining the way they’d come, and looking about the empty tent, scowling and shaking her head.

“I think we’ve given them the slip for now,” she said.  “Take a breather while you can.”

Yuzu sank down to her knees gratefully, resting against the sand.  She took a few more moments to breathe before she looked up at Yoko.

“How did you...get here?” Yuzu gasped.  “How did you know we were here?”

“I was around when Mr. Circus Freak decided to send an invitation to the show to some of the boys,” Yoko said.  “And you and Yuya did zoom off right after I told you about Sora and the circus.”

Yuzu blushed.  She should have thought more of Yoko’s deductive skills, it seemed.

“Are you the only one?  Did you bring anyone else?  Did you tell anyone we were here?”

“One question at a time,” Yoko said, holding up a hand.  “One and two: yes, I’m the only one. I heard that Ringmaster guy say something about not wanting uninvited guests, so I thought it was better to just put only me in danger rather than dragging any other poor sops along.  Three: yes, I did. I told Yusho. But he’s still in Heartland helping with restoration and he didn’t answer the first call, so I left him a message.”

“Wow, not even gonna wait to actually talk to him, huh?” Selena said.

Yoko smiled wryly, raising an eyebrow at Yuzu’s expression.

“If you’re thinking I should have waited for him, let’s not forget he didn’t wait for me before he went gallivanting off to save the world.”

“I wasn’t thinking that,” Yuzu mumbled.  “I’m... I’m really glad you’re here, Yoko-san.”

Yoko just shook her head with a wry smile.  She rested her shinai against her shoulders, looking back the way she came.  She shook her head.

“This is ridiculous,” she said.  “You know, I came through a funhouse to find you?”

“I think I was in there for a while too,” Yuzu said.

“There’s no way all of this fits in the space it looked like it took up.”

Yuzu nodded, looking around once again at the tent.  She bit her lip, mind turning.

“Do you think it’s Solid Vision?” she said.

“Solid Vision can’t make a space bigger than it actually is, Yuzu-chan.”

“Well...it could be changing?  Like maybe we’re not actually walking through a bunch of tents.  Maybe we’re actually going in a circle without realizing it.”

Yoko considered this, looking around at the space, and then down at the floor.  She shook her head.

“No,” she said.  “You saw what that kid did back there.  With the room almost collapsing in on itself?”

Yuzu didn’t want to think about it.  She shivered as she remembered the way reality itself had seemed to warp and fold in on itself in response to the Ringmaster’s distress.

“If that kid’s in charge, I think they must be controlling some kind of wild power,” Yoko said.

“Is that even possible?” Rin said, which Yuzu echoed back to Yoko.

“Who knows?  I’m not a psychic slash magic expert.  All I know is that I saw wild, reality rewriting bullshit like this back when you all were dueling Zarc.  This feels pretty similar.”

“But that wasn’t Zarc or anything, that was the power of Arc V,” said Yuzu.  “The machine with thousands of life forces in it powered that.”

Yoko hummed, pressing her lips together.

“What about Reira?  She did a number on the world, didn’t she?”

“With the En Cards, yes,” Yuzu said.  “But that wasn’t Reira’s own power — she was just channeling the forces of nature that had been made into the cards.”

“Yeah, there’s no way a single person could do that on their own,” Selena said.   “All the other times we’ve seen powers like this, it’s been a conglomeration of energies.  No single person has this much power.”

Yuzu translated that for Yoko, and Yoko shrugged.

“You all know more about this than me.  I guess it’s not important anyway — the important thing is finding the others who are in here, resucing them, and getting out.”

Yuzu nodded.  She pushed herself back to her feet, dusting off her knees.  Yoko led the way towards the other end of the tent. Her feet dragged just a little bit though.  She couldn’t stop her mind from spinning. Trying to solve the mystery of this place and why they were there.

“Why do you think the Ringmaster was talking about Ray with us?” Yuzu said to the others.

“They’re crazy.  Does it matter?” Selena said.

“It is suspicious, though,” Ruri said, sounding nervous.   “After all, not very many people know about Ray even now.”

“The Ringmaster wants something from us,” Yuzu thought to them.   “And...and I’m scared of what that could be.”

Her stomach twisted once again as her mind began to go down the same tracks as they had while she was trying to escape the Duel Spirits.  What did it mean to be Ray? What did it mean to be her reincarnation? Zarc had been a powerful duelist, something that Yuya had to relearn how to accept and calm.  But Ray? She’d barely been more than a faint presence, even in that last moment against Zarc. It was almost like that whatever memories she had been, she’d faded away completely.  She’d offered no assistance to the girls in any way, not like the way that Zarc had continued to try to exert his dominance over the boys. And while the boys had inherited the dragons from Zarc, Yuzu and the girls had tried to find a way to put their decks together and found absolutely no synergy, as though they’d inherited nothing at all from Ray.

Did that mean Ray had simply wanted to respect them as new, autonomous individuals?

Or did it mean something else?

Who was Ray? Yuzu found herself thinking.   I barely know anything about her, and I’m supposed to be her.  But I don’t know anything. I’ve never...felt anything that came from her.  It’s almost like she doesn’t exist.

The girls were listening in on her thoughts, as always, but none of them responded.  It was almost an attempt to be courteous, by pretending not to hear Yuzu’s private thoughts.  Not that there was a such thing as privacy anymore with a brain like theirs.

Yoko pushed the next flap open with her shinai, looking through before nodding that it was safe to go in.  She passed through first and held it open for Yuzu.

This tent was different than the others.  It was very dimly lit, but it seemed to be mostly empty, save for some large wooden circle propped up in the ring in the middle.  The next tent flap was on the other side.

Yoko moved forward cautiously, shinai before her, one arm held out in front of Yuzu to shield her from anything in front of them.  Yuzu held up both arms and kept her eyes out — she felt so helpless , with nothing but a hunk of useless technology strapped around her wrist, and no possible way to defend herself from whatever nightmare horror might strike next.

Spotlights flooded the room, causing Yuzu to scream and Yoko to swear.

“My apologies, ladies, but I’m afraid I don’t have time for pleasantries.”

Yuzu blinked furiously to try and adjust to the light — she heard Yoko cry out and she spun, feeling around blindly with her hands for where she’d gone.

“Yoko-san?  Yoko-san!”

Her eyes adjusted finally, and Yoko was gone.  Immediately, Rin shrieked with rage, forcing herself to the front.

“Bastard!  What did you do?” she screamed, whirling around to find the Ringmaster.

The Ringmaster stood in the stands, which were for once empty of smiling mannequins.  They had a very serious expression, staring down at Yuzu. But they smiled slightly at Rin’s shouts.

“Don’t be so worried,” they said.  “This is only a show, Yuzu. No one gets hurt.”

Their voice almost cracked at that, but Yuzu didn’t have time to unpack it.

“Where did you send her?” she shouted, coming back to the front.

“Away.  She was in the way.  I need to talk to you by yourself, Yuzu.”

“Bitch,” Rin swore through Yuzu’s lips.  “Too afraid to take us unless we’re on our own?”

Yuzu quickly grabbed control back.  Calm — she had to be calm. The Ringmaster was not the all-powerful being they pretended to be.  And they wanted something from Yuzu. That meant that Yuzu could use that.

She shivered as two more shadows appeared suddenly beside the Ringmaster, forming themselves into Sora and Tsukikage, still in their Ringmaster-like outfits.

“Please, just tell me what you want,” Yuzu said.  “We can talk this out. You don’t need to do this to them.”

“I’m not hurting them, Yuzu,” the Ringmaster said, sounding strained.  “And I don’t want to hurt you. I only wanted...”

They trailed off.  Then they shook their head.

“I only wanted a dazzling show, with you all participating,” they said.  “I only wanted a show of smiles and laughter for eternity. Isn’t that what you want?”

“I think you and I have a very different idea of what smiles are.”

The Ringmaster shook their head with a sigh.  

“I’m trying so hard to convince you,” they murmured.  “Why won’t you listen?”

“Trying hard to convince us?  Siccing monsters on us and kidnapping our friends are not great diplomatic tactics,” said Selena.

It seemed the Ringmaster was mostly talking to themselves rather than to Yuzu.  Yuzu tried to think. She still didn’t even know what the Ringmaster wanted from her, aside from bringing her into their circus like they had the others.  And Sora and Tsukikage were still standing there, staring at nothing, smiling vapidly, and she felt sick. She needed to save them.

“Let’s play a game then,” she said, before she could think better of it.

The Ringmaster’s lips parted.

“A game?” they said slowly.

“Yuzu, what are you doing?” Rin said.

“Yeah,” Yuzu said.  “A game. Something entertaining.  That’s your thing, right?”

The Ringmaster nodded slowly, considering.

“If you win, I’ll join your circus.  No questions asked. I’ll let you do...whatever it is you did to them,” she said, nodding at Sora and Tsukikage.

“I didn’t do anything to them,” the Ringmaster said, bristling slightly.

Yuzu quickly held up both hands in a pacifying gesture.

“Right, okay.  Either way, I’ll join your show, the way you want me to.”

The Ringmaster considered her for a moment, tapping their cane to their lips.

“And if you win?” they said.

“You’ll release Sora and Tsukikage from the circus.”

“Even if they don’t want to leave?”

Bullshit , Yuzu thought, but she held firm outwardly.

“Yes.  That’s my terms.”

“You won’t even consider their feelings, Yuzu?”

“I told you my terms.  You take them, or we go back to this other game of you chasing me around while things keep falling apart more and more.”

The Ringmaster tilted their head down, staring at the floor.  They seemed in deep thought. Yuzu waited, her skin trembling slightly, hair raised on end.   Take the bait.  Take it, take it, take it...

The Ringmaster finally smiled.

“It’s a good deal,” they said.  “I think the audience will love it, too!”

Yuzu let out a heavy, whistling breath of relief.  Hopefully, this had evened the playing field just a bit.  It would depend heavily on what game the Ringmaster chose, however.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Rin said.

The Ringmaster held up one hand and snapped their fingers.  Immediately, Sora and Tsukikage both vaulted over the railing.

“We’ll play the same game that the Marksman and the Contortionist played when they first arrived,” the Ringmaster said with a huge grin.

They nodded to Sora, who immediately began walking over to the propped up circle in the middle of the arena.  Yuzu’s breath caught. For a moment, her brain chugged to a halt. Had she made a mistake?

Tsukikage followed Sora, and Sora turned around and put his arms out against the back of the circle.  Tsukikage strapped his wrists and ankles down to the circle — not a circle, Yuzu realized with horror.  A target.

Tsukikage backed up once Sora was secure to the target.  Yuzu’s stomach started doing flip flops. She opened her mouth to ask, but then Tsukikage walked towards her.  He looked strange without his scarf, even though he hadn’t been wearing it for months. The vapid smile looked even weirder.

He held something out to her when she got close enough, and Yuzu’s eyes slowly panned down to it.

Her heart choked her when she realized that Tsukikage was handing her a knife.

“Is something wrong, Yuzu?  The game isn’t to your liking?” the Ringmaster said.

“What kind of game is this??” Yuzu said.

The Ringmaster smiled at her, perched on the railing with one leg crossed over the other.

“It’s like darts,” they said.  “The target will spin. You have to get the knife as close to our volunteer as possible without striking him.  Whoever strikes the closest wins.”

Fuck.  Fuuuck.  There was no way that Yuzu could win this.  She looked with panic to Sora. The target had begun to spin in a slow circle, and he was almost upside down now.  He stared at nothing, completely oblivious to where he was. Tsukikage was still holding the knife out to her. Yuzu felt like she was going to throw up.

“They’re fucking insane,” Selena swore.   “Take the knife and throw it at THEM.”

“I agree,” said Rin.

“I challenge them first,” Yuzu thought back at them.   “I...I have to try.”

Hand shaking, she reached for the blade.  Tsukikage offered it to her hilt first, and she took it up.  It had some heft to it, but it was balanced. This was clearly made to be a throwing knife.

As soon as she took the knife from Tsukikage, Tsukikage stepped back to the side, taking a knife from his own scabbard.

Yuzu looked up at the Ringmaster.  They watched excitedly, like a child on Christmas morning.  It was sickening, and also...somehow strangely familiar?

“You said that Sora and Tsukikage played this?” Yuzu mumbled, more to herself than anything else, but the Ringmaster seemed to hear her.

“Of course.  Though, they switched places that time.”

Yuzu shuddered.  She glanced up at the Ringmaster again through her bangs.

“And...how did it end?”

“Hm?  Oh, well...the Marksman had shaky hands then.  He threw too close.”

Yuzu felt bile rise up in her throat.  She could just imagine it — Sora forced to throw a knife at Tsukikage, and then missing — striking him instead.

“He was quite upset.  But we had a nice talk afterward, and of course, the Contortionist is fine now, so he’s doing much better.”

She could imagine that too.  Sora’s breakdown at realizing that he’d hurt someone he already felt guilty for hurting once before, when he wanted so badly not to be the one that hurt people anymore.

This was sick.  The Ringmaster...they took the things that hurt the most, and used them against you.  They completely broke you down, so that you felt you had no choice but to accept their tenuous “help.”  And then they stripped them of all feeling, and made them...this.

She had no idea what power they could possibly be using to do this.  But she was going to find out, and she was going to break it.

“The Contortionist will go first,” the Ringmaster said, nodding to Tsukikage.  “Now, don’t go easy on her just because she’s your friend.”

Tsukikage prepared to throw, and then the reality of what they were doing all crashed down on Yuzu.  She whirled towards the Ringmaster.

“Wait!” she screamed.  “Wait! Sora could get hurt!”

“You need to calm down, Yuzu,” the Ringmaster said softly.  “After all...it’s only a show.”

Yuzu heard a thick, woody thunk, and she whipped back around.  Tsukikage’s knife had struck the target — and it had hit a mere hair’s breadth away from Sora’s side.  And further, and it would have stabbed him in a kidney. Yuzu’s air dried up.

This had been stupid.  This had been so stupid .  She couldn’t beat the Ringmaster at this game!  Best case scenario, she missed hitting the target entirely — worst case, she stabbed Sora.

“What a good shot!” the Ringmaster cried, and the sound of recorded applause rang through the tent.  “Now, Yuzu! Take your shot.”

Yuzu could only stare, horrified.  Sora was upside down again. Sora. Oh, Sora.  Tsukikage. How had they ended up like this? She couldn’t...she couldn’t win.  She couldn’t win them back. She couldn’t do anything. Was she going to become that too, when she gave up?  Trapped in her own body, watching helplessly — like being trapped in a tube again.

Her fingers slipped on the hilt of the knife.

Her hand tightened around it again.  But that wasn’t her.

All three of them were shocked to numbness to find that Ruri was the one who had slipped to the front.

“If you can’t win the game they give you,” she said softly.  “Then you change the game.”

Her eyes slid to the Ringmaster.  Yuzu only knew what she was about to do a second before she did it.  She caught the edge of a blur of thoughts, a quick-thinking spray of consideration that had taken Ruri only a breath to go over and decided.

The Ringmaster didn’t want them dead.

The Ringmaster wanted something from them.

The Ringmaster wanted them .

Ruri flipped the knife over, and plunged it towards her own throat.

Immediately, the knife melted, before it could even touch them.  The Ringmaster shrieked.

“ NO! ” they screamed.  “Yuzu, no! No, no, no, don’t do that, don’t do that, DON’T DO THAT!”

That was — that was real panic in the Ringmaster’s voice.  They leaped from the stage and rushed towards them, dropping their cane in their rush.  Ruri was faster, though. She whirled, grabbing the another knife out of Tsukikage’s other scabbard, and whipping it around to flash between her and the Ringmaster.

The Ringmaster froze. Their mouth hung open.

“You knew this was a game we couldn’t win,” Ruri said.  “I think you’re not a showman at all, Ringmaster. I think you’re a fraud and a cheat.”

The Ringmaster actually flinched, drawing back a half step.

“A real show should make everyone happy,” Ruri said, her voice thick with emotion.  She stepped forward, pressing her advantage, and the Ringmaster actually stepped backwards.  “Not just you!”

“I’m trying to make everyone happy,” the Ringmaster said, their voice so small that it was barely more than a whisper.  “I’m trying.”

“You’re not!  You’re only shoving your own wishes and expectations on them!  You’re not a entertainer, Ringmaster! You’re a lie !”

The Ringmaster’s mouth hung open.  They stared at Ruri, her arm shaking slightly from where she gripped the knife.  Yuzu and the others could only watch with shock.

“Damn,” Rin finally said.

The Ringmaster’s shoulders briefly slumped.  They clutched their hands to their head, mumbling something, head tilted towards the ground.  Ruri stepped forward again, but they still couldn’t hear what the Ringmaster was saying.

And then they looked up.  A strange calm settled over them.

“Ah,” they said with a breath.  “I understand. That was the mistake I made.”

“Give everyone back,” Ruri said.  “Release them.”

But the Ringmaster wasn’t listening.  They simply shook their head, talking as though the girls weren’t there.

“See, most of these were meant to be solo performances.  But you — you, and Yuya — you’re not solo, are you? Of course.  That’s why it didn’t work. If you’re all together...then no wonder.  No wonder.”

Ruri took another step forward, holding the knife further towards the Ringmaster.

But the Ringmaster simply clapped their hands.  The floor dropped out beneath Ruri’s feet. In her shock, she fell back and Yuzu came gasping back to the front, her body flailing as she fell.

She cried out — but when she landed, she felt no impact, as though she’d simply appeared on the floor.  Gasping with a spurt of panic, she looked up — and she saw a face staring back at her.

“R-Rin?” she said.

Rin looked just as surprised as she did to be looking at Yuzu.  But behind Rin, there was another face — Selena?? And behind her, Ruri??

Mirrors, Yuzu suddenly realized, as her surroundings came into focus.  She was looking into a series of mirrors, an endless hallway of reflections from two walls of mirrors facing each other.  And in each successive reflection, she saw one of the other girls.

Yuzu heard the soft tap of the Ringmaster landing near by her, and she leaped to her feet, the reflections of the girls coming with her.  As she spun around, however, the Ringmaster had their cane pointed right at her chest.

“I think it’s time to break up your little band,” the Ringmaster said.

For a moment, Yuzu felt like she’d swallowed glass.

And then the glass shattered in her chest, and she screamed.  She heard three other screams, but for once, they weren’t coming from inside her head.

They were coming from outside her head.

Chapter Text

Yuya didn’t remember getting up and starting to stumble along, and he was pretty sure it was because someone else had taken over.  He felt like a passenger in his own body, floating and aimless. He could still feel the dull thrum of pain, though, and the shuddering impact of every time his leg hit the ground.

“Fuck,” came Yuto’s voice, echoing outside the body instead inside it — ah, Yuto must have taken over.  Yuya tried to think more clearly, but it was hard. He felt...shell-shocked. “He’s not responding to me anymore.”

“Let me take over then,” Yuuri snapped, and before Yuto could respond, Yuuri had yanked Yuto out of control.

Yuuri didn’t make any better time than Yuto did.  Yuya tried to focus. What exactly had happened? He remembered...oh.  No, he didn’t want to remember what had just happened, or why Yuuri was clutching at their stomach to try and hold the blood in.

“Yuya, you gotta come back,” Yugo said, and Yuya could almost feel Yugo trying to hold him in their shared mind space.   “Come on, Yuya, please, you’ve gotta come back.  I know it hurts, but you’ve gotta get it together!”

Yuya wanted to respond to Yugo.  But...but it was just so hard. If he let himself fully come back to his senses, he’d remember everything, how he’d hurt Reiji.

“It wasn’t your fault, Yuya, the Ringmaster probably made him do it,” Yuto said.   “Yuya, please, you were just trying to protect all of us.”

No.  No he wasn’t.  He hadn’t attacked the Ringmaster out of a desire to protect anyone.  He’d attacked out of anger. Out of a desire to hurt .  That wasn’t...that wasn’t who he wanted to be.  But it was who he’d let himself become.

He heard Yuuri swear, and let himself come conscious enough to see through their eyes.  Yuuri was looking back over their shoulder, and Yuya felt sick. They were in the mirror maze again, and...and that was Kurosaki, stalking after them.  He wasn’t running or chasing them. He was just...following. He was still faster than Yuuri, though, stumbling along with their injured body, and he was gaining.  Yuya felt a brief spurt of panic.

“I’ll kill him if he tries to hurt us again,” Yuuri muttered.  “Don’t any of you try to stop me.”

No, no, no, he’d already hurt Reiji — and now Kurosaki?  Were they going to have to hurt Kurosaki to escape?

“Don’t you dare,” Yuto hissed.

“I’m not going to let us die just because you don’t want your precious boyfriend hurt.”

“If it was Dennis, you’d be mad at us for defending ourselves,” Yugo snapped at him.

Yuuri let out a low, angry hiss, but Yuya could sense the actual panic that Yuuri was trying to hide.  Yuuri hated being helpless. Yuuri hated when people weren’t afraid of him, being on the opposite side of the hunting game, being unable to control anything.  And this version of Kurosaki could smell blood, literally. He wouldn’t be afraid of Yuuri, with his weakening muscles and bleeding stomach.  All of Yuuri’s advantages were stripped away from him, and Yuya could feel that growing sense of rage-filled helplessness seeping through him as well.

Yugo was right.  Yuya needed to come back.  They needed to work together.

He fought past the panic and the bile-rising memories.  He had to. He had to be strong — he couldn’t fix his mistakes if he didn’t get back up.

Yuuri didn’t fight when Yuya pulled himself back into control of the body, and he gasped.  Okay. Damage assessment. Everything hurt .  It was warm and slippery where Dennis had stabbed him, and the blood seemed pretty profuse.  The gash wasn’t very deep, though, and he was pretty sure it hadn’t broken to any internal organs.  If he’d had the time, he could have rigged up some kind of bandage to stem the bleeding. But Kurosaki was on their heels, so they would have to keep moving.

“How long was I out?” he mumbled.

“He’s been following us for about ten, maybe fifteen minutes,” said Yuto.

That long?  Yuya’s stomach twisted.  He’d left them alone to deal with this, with the consequences of his own mistakes that had led them here.  Yugo immediately surged forward.

“It’s not your fault,” he said, practically shouting it.   “Stop feeling guilty!!  It don’t like the way it feels in here when you’re feeling guilty!”

That only made him feel worse, but he tried to tame it down.  Right now, the important thing was to find a way out of the mirror maze.  Kurosaki seemed like he was confined to this area, so if they could get out, they could maybe take a breather.  And he definitely needed one — his breaths were coming shorter and harder now, and every step was a painful one that sent shudders through his wound.

Think, Yuya, think.  There had to be something he could do.  He looked back over his shoulder again, shivering at the anger and hatred on Shun’s face.

A thought occurred to him.  Shun wasn’t dressed in the same ringmaster type outfit as the others.  He was still in his usual clothes. Did that mean that he wasn’t possessed?  That he was...that he was doing this on purpose? The thought almost made Yuya stop right where he was.

Yuto sucked in a breath, as though he’d just seen something.

“Yuya, no, wait, that’s not it — ”

But Yuto didn’t have a chance to finish his thought, because the Ringmaster reappeared.

Yuya stumbled to a stop as the Ringmaster put their cane out in front of Kurosaki, making him stop.  He looked like he might rip right past it, but the Ringmaster frowned, and Kurosaki remained where he was.

“Not our best performance here,” the Ringmaster said with a soft scowl.  

They weren’t smiling anymore, and that was way more frightening than when they had been.  Their face turned to Yuya, and Yuya stumbled backwards. He couldn’t face them. He didn’t know what he could do or say — that absolute, utter rage that seemed to encase the Ringmaster’s entire body made all his words freeze up in his throat.  He’d told the Ringmaster that they were wrong in what they had done to Yuya’s friends — but then Yuya had done something almost as wrong.

The boys all yelled almost as one at him that that wasn’t true, but Yuya could barely hear them.  The Ringmaster watched Yuya carefully for a moment.

“You hurt my Puppet,” the Ringmaster said slowly.

Yuya flinched.

“I didn’t mean...”

“I thought better of you.  I thought you were a performer.  I thought that you weren’t the violent, destructive person that Zarc had been.  Isn’t that what your entire goal has been? To prove that you, the new Zarc, are not the monster that he was?”

“Zarc wasn’t a monster,” Yuya mumbled.  “He was...”

“He was what?  Misunderstood? After he killed hundreds, thousands?” the Ringmaster spat with more venom than Yuya had thought possible out of the Ringmaster.

Why were they so angry about Zarc specifically?  Yuya’s brain spun.  Too much kept changing.  And he was still twisting with awful guilt at what he’d done.  He couldn’t necessarily refute what the Ringmaster was saying.

“I brought you here because I thought you, of all people, would understand.  I thought you would understand what I wanted. I thought I could convince you.  But all you’ve proven to me is that you’re a monster. ”

Yuya flinched.  He felt tears bubble to his eyes.

Logic wasn’t working anymore.  All he could think was that the Ringmaster was right .  He hadn’t used smiles to reach out, to try to understand, or to even bring his friends back from their possession.  When he hadn’t gotten what he wanted, he’d simply lashed out. And someone had gotten hurt for it.

The Ringmaster was right.

Yuya was Zarc.  And Zarc had been a monster.

So Yuya was a monster, after all, too.

Something strange was happening to his brain.  He felt very heavy. He sank slowly down to his knees.

“But I can forgive you, Yuya,” the Ringmaster said, voice suddenly soft.  “And I will...if only you make the choice to be better this time. If only you choose to come to me.  I can help you. You’ll understand, then, why the others chose me as well. It will all stop hurting.”

The Ringmaster’s voice was a lot like a lullaby.  And Yuya’s pained, screaming brain was only too happy to drift into a peaceful sleep.  Maybe this was all right after all. Maybe Reiji had been right — maybe it was just nicer to let someone else do the thinking for you for once.  The guilt didn’t hurt so bad, then.

“NO!”

Yuto’s voice wrenched through Yuya’s brain and he startled back to himself all at once.  He looked down at his hands and found that instead of blood, he was wearing gloves, like the Ringmaster’s.  His shirt had started to grow coattails. As soon as he realized, however, the gloves and the coat wisped away, and he was in his usual outfit again.  His mind snapped back to itself — and his wound was gone. He wasn’t bleeding anymore.

The Ringmaster let out a hiss of anger.

“Yuya,” they said.  “You still have a chance to accept this.”

“He’s not going anywhere,” Yuto’s voice tumbled from Yuya’s lips.

“You’re not gonna mess with Yuya’s brain, not while we’re here!” Yugo shouted next, switching in as easily as breathing.

“You’re a fool if you think you can take us all in at once so easily,” hissed Yuuri.

Yuya could only float at the back of the body, stunned to silence.  

“Guys,” he whispered.

“We’re not letting you do this, Yuya,” said Yuto.

They were switching so quickly and easily all of a sudden.

“After all, this is our body too, and I don’t think I’d look very good in that ridiculous coat,” said Yuuri.

“If you want Yuya, you’ll have to go through all of us!” said Yugo.

“If you feel guilty, then we’ll work through it together, after this is all over,” Yuto said privately to Yuya. “But this isn’t the way to do it.  And we’re not going to let you destroy yourself.”

Had Yuya been in control, he might have started crying right then.  

“You guys,” he mumbled.

The Ringmaster grit their teeth, all softness from before gone.

“I can see that I’ve made yet another mistake,” they said.  “I thought that perhaps you four would be different. But it looks like I’ll need to take similar measures.”

They pointed their cane at the boys, and Yuuri drew back as the one currently in control, putting his hands up in a defensive position.  Yuya could hear his intention to fight, prepared for the Ringmaster to send Kurosaki after them.

But then, for a moment, Yuya felt like he’d been thrown to the front again — but the others were all in front, too, and it was so weird feeling that none of them could move.  He felt like he’d swallowed glass, and then the shard in his chest shattered. He heard four screams — one of them was his.

He stumbled down to his knees with a gasp as the feeling dissipated.  And when he looked up, both Kurosaki and the Ringmaster were gone.

“What the...” he mumbled.  “What happened?”

His mind was silent.  He grabbed at his head with one hand, eyes widening.

“Yuto?  Yugo? Yuuri?  Guys!”

No one answered.  He didn’t sense — anything.  His mind was completely silent, completely void of any other emotions other than his own, for the first time in an age.

“Guys!” he screamed.  “Yuto!! Yuuri!! Yugo!!”

He spun around, trying to find some sign of what had happened, where they’d gone — and then he froze.

He stared into the mirror nearest him.  This one wasn’t reflecting him.

Instead, inside the glass, he saw Yuto sitting on the ground, looking just as panicked as Yuya felt.  On the other side of the glass, Yuto leaped up and ran towards the mirror. He couldn’t press through the glass, and when Yuya ran over and pressed himself to the glass as well, it found that it was only a mirror — there wasn’t anything on the other side.  Yuto banged against the glass, but Yuya couldn’t even feel it shaking. He was moving his mouth, but Yuya couldn’t hear anything.

In the reflection of the mirror behind him, the wall behind Yuto, he could see Yugo.  And beyond him, Yuuri. They were trapped — somehow, the Ringmaster had reached into his head and stolen the boys away, throwing them into the reflections!

“Yuto!!” Yuya cried, banging his fists against the mirror as well.  “Yugo! Yuuri!”

He couldn’t hear them.  He could tell that they saw him, waving or hitting the mirrors from the other side, their mouths moving, but there wasn’t a sound.

Oh god, Yuya thought.

He was all alone.

Chapter Text

“Yuto!!  Yuto, Yugo, Yuuri!!  Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to get you out of there!”

Yuya couldn’t be sure if they could understand him, since he couldn’t hear a word they were saying, but hopefully they could read his lips.  His mind felt achingly empty — he couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t felt their presence, their emotions all swirling around with his, their echoing voices chatting and bickering at him and with each other.  It was almost enough to make him fall over, as though he’d lost some internal means of balance without them there.

Okay, okay, okay, he had to calm down!  How could he fix this? How could he get to them?

Yuto was the closest one, with Yugo and Yuuri being each in successive reflections opposite the wall of Yuto.  Yuto was looking back towards them, waving and trying to shout, but it was clear they couldn’t hear him either.  Yuya tried feeling at the edges of the mirror. Could he break through it? Pull the glass down and find that there was another hallway on the other side, where Yuto and the others were?  But the wall was fully solid, and if he jumped he could touch the ceiling and it was way too heavy and thick to do anything about. He was afraid to try breaking the mirror.

Yuya felt his throat going dry.  Up until now, he could have explained away everything in this place as something he’d seen before.  Real Solid Vision to create the circus set, and to control it so easily. More RSV could have even explained how the Ringmaster showed up wherever they needed to be — they could have easily been a hologram themself, simply projecting themselves into the scene wherever they needed to be.  And the way that his friends were acting, possessed by the Ringmaster, could have been explained as whatever Academian technology they’d run into before.

But this?  The Ringmaster had reached right into his head and scooped the boys out of it.  There was no technology, no hypnotism, that Yuya thought could account for this.

This was the first time, he realized with a slither of fear, that he had to admit the Ringmaster’s powers were clearly supernatural in nature.  And he had no idea how to combat something like that.

Yuya stepped back from the mirrors, heart thrumming with panic in his chest.  Okay. Think. There had to be a way to get the others out of the mirrors. How had the Ringmaster done it in the first place?  Maybe if he could reverse it...

I could control this place the way the Ringmaster could, Yuya thought as he started to calm down enough to think.   Maybe I can undo whatever magic they used to take the others away.

He tried to tap into that sense from before, the cool, assured darkness that had seeped through him before when he’d been so cornered, so angered, that he could only lash out.  He tried to reach for it carefully, recreate the sensations. He was certainly panicked enough by the situation to try and tap into it.

But for some reason, his brain wouldn’t focus.  He could barely remember what it had felt like to use that power, much less call it back up at will.  Dammit!! There had to be something he could do!

And then he saw Yuto waving his arms up and down, eyes wide, clearly screaming for Yuya to pay attention.  Yuya shot his attention back to Yuto, and Yuto started to point down the hallway. Yuya turned.

He felt the blood drain out of his face.

Kurosaki charged down the hallway at him.

Yuto was clearly screaming at him to run, and as much as Yuya didn’t want to leave the boys behind, he would be no good to them if Kurosaki killed him.

Yuya turned and bolted.  He slammed hard into a mirror when he didn’t notice the turn in time, and bounced off of it.  Kurosaki was right over him, and it was only dumb luck that caused him to bounce just so that he missed Kurosaki’s swiped arms.  Yuya ducked beneath his grip and bolted off another direction. He ran into a mirror again and swore mentally. He could barely tell up from down in this damn mirror maze!

He managed to stumble down another hallway — at least he wasn’t bleeding anymore, thank god.  He didn’t have time to run and worry about his bleeding stomach.  

Kurosaki wasn’t stalking him slowly this time, either, he was truly barrelling after him.  Yuya didn’t even dare look behind him, relying on the reflections to tell how close Kurosaki was getting.  He scrambled off to the left just in time, nearly running into a mirror again. Kurosaki slammed into the mirror instead when he couldn’t slow down fast enough.  Yuya flinched at the cry of rage that escaped Kurosaki’s lips.

“That’s it, Kurosaki.  This is cathartic. Let go, Kurosaki.”

Was that the Ringmaster’s voice?  Yuya had to focus on breathing. It was starting to become hard, like he was choking on every breath that he tried to suck down.  The Ringmaster’s words didn’t seem directed towards him, and Yuya didn’t see them — so why could Yuya hear them?

He screamed when he felt Kurosaki’s hands strike him in the back, shoving him face down into the ground.  A knee dug into his back, and as he tried to struggle back up, Kurosaki grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed it against the ground, stunning him.

Yuya’s body wouldn’t respond the way he wanted after that strike, so he was helpless to resist while Kurosaki turned him back over and immediately pinned him to the ground by his hands wrapped around his neck.

“Is this upsetting, Kurosaki?  I only wanted to let you let off a bit of steam, but you don’t seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Yuya scrabbled at Kurosaki’s hands, Kurosaki’s rage-filled face glowering down at him.  Kurosaki definitely didn’t look like he wasn’t totally into this, at least.  Yuya tried to breathe, but Kurosaki’s fingers dug into his neck, and his vision was starting to spot out.

“Or maybe...is it actually that you regret who you were before?  Does this anger upset you? You don’t want to be the person who would card even allies if they got in your way?”

Kurosaki didn’t look like he was having any kind of emotional distress — he looked like he was pretty much all for strangling Yuya, but then again, Yuya was starting to black out.  His struggles started to slow.

“Does it hurt, Yuya?” the Ringmaster whispered, as though they were right near Yuya’s ear.  “Does it hurt to be killed by a friend?”

“Oh, it hurts, doesn’t it, Kurosaki?  To be responsible for hurting someone you actually care about after all?  It’s all right. I can take that all away.”

Yuya was almost positive that he wasn’t supposed to be hearing the Ringmaster’s voice coming from two different places.  His head started to loll to the side, hands slipping away from Kurosaki’s hands as his air and his vision began to run out.  His eyes flopped towards the mirrors.

On the verge of blacking out, he saw something...different in Kurosaki’s reflection.  Kurosaki was still pinning him down, strangling him, but...but the reflection had a different expression.  The Kurosaki inside the mirrors was crying. Big, frustrated, angry tears rolling down his cheeks, his face red with exertion, jaw clenched, shoulders shaking.  Yuya managed to get a glance at the Kurosaki over him, and that wasn’t his expression.

“I can take that pain away, Kurosaki.  I can release you from this cycle of anger and hurt.  You just need to trust me.”

In the mirror, he could see that Shun’s clothes were slowly changing.  He was wearing gloves, now, and the outline of a top hat appeared on his head.  He was...he was giving up. He was giving into the Ringmaster. Because...because of Yuya.  Because he didn’t want to hurt Yuya. The real Shun...must be...inside...the mirror...just like...the boys....

“I can take the pain away, Yuya,” the Ringmaster whispered in Yuya’s ear.  “I’ll forgive you for all of your decisions so far, if only you’ll just let me take the pain.  If only you’ll just give in to me. Everything will stop hurting, and all your friends will be there.  I’m giving you another chance, Yuya. Just give up. Let me take over. I can convince Kurosaki to stop.”

Yuya couldn’t breathe.  He was barely even conscious.  But he made his fingers twitch.  He could sense the Ringmaster in his head, the way he had sensed the boys in his head — without the three of them as a buffer, he could absolutely tell, now.  This was no ordinary type of mind control, not with parasites and circuit chips. The Ringmaster was actually inside his head .

And Yuya was done letting them get in there.

With a great effort, Yuya shoved the Ringmaster out, throwing away the soft, gentle weaving of the Ringmaster’s words against his brain.  He sensed the Ringmaster’s surprise and shock, and then the Ringmaster was gone.

So were Kurosaki’s fingers, as Yuya gasped and choked.  He struggled to sit up, but Kurosaki was still sitting on top of him.  He looked pained, now, staring at nothing — his coat had half turned into the long dark coattails of the Ringmaster’s jacket, but he was only wearing one glove, and the top hat outline was gone.

Kurosaki was fighting.

“I don’t need...you...to convince him,” Yuya coughed defiantly.  “Because — he already — doesn’t want to.”

He could see the Ringmaster now, standing off behind Kurosaki.  Their hands tightened on their cane.

“You still refuse me?” the Ringmaster whispered.  “After all of this, you still refuse me?”

“You aren’t — very convincing,” Yuya gasped.

“I only want to help,” the Ringmaster said.

“You’re hurting us,” Yuya said, his voice a thin whistle through his bruised throat.  “That’s not helping.”

The Ringmaster’s hands tightened further on their cane, and their lips pressed together in a tight line.

“I have to do it,” they mumbled.  “I have to break you apart, so that I can build you up without the things that broke you.  I have to. That’s the only way to save all of you.”

Yuya coughed, his strength returning with a surprising speed.  He wriggled free of the frozen Kurosaki, backing up and getting back on his hands and knees, ready to spring to his feet.  He coughed once more into the back of his hand.

“I don’t think you understand the first damn thing about a performance,” Yuya said.  “If you’re going to make people smile, everyone needs to be having fun.  The whole time .”

The Ringmaster bit their lip, hands shaking.  For a moment, they looked somewhat swayed, shifting from foot to foot.

Then the shook their head wildly.

“No,” they mumbled.  “Because if I’m wrong, what was all of this for?”

They pointed their cane at Yuya.

“I’ll break you,” they mumbled.  “I will break you.  And that will prove that I’m right — that I’m the one who’s right...that I don’t exist for nothing.”

What did...what did that mean?

Yuya cried out as the ground beneath his feet disappeared, and he fell.  The fall didn’t last long, however, and he didn’t feel the impact, he once again simply found himself sitting on the ground as though he’d been there the whole time.

This was an entirely new room type, however, and his skin crawled.  The ground was covered in a thin layer of hay, and on all four sides of him were walls of metal bars.  Over his head were more bars — shit. He was in a cage.

The Ringmaster appeared in front of the front facing bars, and Yuya grabbed at them, shaking them.

“Hey!” he shouted, his breath suddenly back to him as though he’d never been choked at all.  “What is this?”

“I can’t let you be in the show proper anymore.  You’re too difficult,” the Ringmaster said, shaking their head.  “I’ll be back for you, once I’ve convinced the others. For now, you stay here, in the sideshow.”

“Hey!!  Come back!” Yuya shouted.

But the Ringmaster was gone, and Yuya was stuck, alone in his cage.  He rattled the bars with a cry. Dammit! He had to find a way out! He searched wildly about him for something, anything that might show a way out, or a means of escaping.  He had to find something!

He couldn’t let them down again.  Kurosaki, Reiji, Dennis, Sora, Tsukikage, Yuto, Yugo, Yuuri, Yuzu, everyone — they were all suffering!

He couldn’t falter anymore!  He had to save them!

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry,” Yuzu said over and over again, but she felt like it was more for her than for the girls trapped on the other side of the mirrors.  “I’m going to find a way to fix this.”

Her heart raced with panic as she felt along the corners of the mirrors, trying to see if there was a way through.  Selena seemed to be doing the same thing on her side of the mirror, and Rin had already taken to kicking down at hers, with little success.  The creepiest thing was that the mirrors didn’t even move or shake when the girls hit the other side — it was like they weren’t real, almost.  Yuzu shivered.

She heard the click of a heel against the floor, and with panic, she whipped around.

The Ringmaster stood at the far end of the hall, casting no reflection and making her head spin.

“Give them back!” she shouted, feeling almost dizzy with the lack of the girls in her head.  “Give them back, right now!”

“I’m afraid this isn’t a group performance any longer,” the Ringmaster said.  “I need to speak with you all privately, it seems.”

Yuzu took a step back when the Ringmaster stepped towards her, and the Ringmaster actually hesitated.  They put both their hands up.

“Please, Yuzu,” they whispered.  “I understand that I’ve been...overzealous.  But I really do need you .  I need you and the girls to understand.”

“It’s too late for that,” Yuzu said.  “You should have started with it.”

“I can’t help what I am,” the Ringmaster mumbled, and it almost seemed like they suddenly weren’t talking to her.  “I can’t help it. I’m only doing what...because if I’m wrong, then...then why do I...”

They sounded almost childish all of a sudden, scared and lonely, and for just a moment, Yuzu felt her heart reach out to them.  But then the Ringmaster shook themself, and straightened, and they were all themself again.

“Yuzu,” they said, and their voice suddenly sounded low and soothing.  “I know how much you care about your friends, your family. Don’t you agree that you want them to be safe and happy forever?”

“Yeah, which is why I don’t want you anywhere near any of them,” Yuzu snapped.

The Ringmaster stepped forward again, and Yuzu saw Selena pressed to the glass, trying to yell at them but making no sound.

“You were at the very center of the interdimensional war, Yuzu.  And you still are. The war will never really end, don’t you think?”

Yuzu felt her hair rising on end and her mouth going dry.  She stepped backwards again, not wanting to leave the girls behind, but not wanting the Ringmaster to get any closer.

“You’re right, Yuzu, I’ve been overzealous, and I’ve been even cruel to you, perhaps.  But you have to understand why. The world out there is dangerous.”

“The war is over,” Yuzu said.  “Academia is restoring Heartland, and the dimensions are at peace.”

“And do you think it will last?” the Ringmaster said with a snap.  “Humans can hardly keep one dimension at peace with itself for very long.  How long before greedier minds look to the possibilities of four worlds and think about how much they can control?”

Yuzu felt something cold seep through her.

“How long before someone with perhaps less noble motivations than Akaba Leo gets ahold of Academian technology?  You already know how many Academian soldiers and officers are unaccounted for. How long before they turn their sights towards interdimensional domination?”

“You’re trying to hurt all of us,” Yuzu whispered, but her voice sounded small even to her.

“You wouldn’t listen otherwise,” the Ringmaster said, sounding almost frantic.  “I had to, Yuzu, I had to — all of you are so lovely, so noble, so loving — you’d never abandon the world to its fate.  I had to do something. I had to break you. I had to build you back up as performers in my show, eternal actors, where nothing could ever hurt you again.”

“But you hurt us to bring us here!”

“I only hurt you so that no one else ever could again!” the Ringmaster cried.  “The world, the people out there, they will do so much worse! They are the monsters who created Zarc in the first place!  When do you think the next monster will appear? Are you willing to live the rest of your life wondering that?”

Yuzu felt sick.  She couldn’t help but feel the ice seeping through her veins, her fingers shaking.

She couldn’t deny everything the Ringmaster was saying, and that hurt more than anything.  She couldn’t deny the nights she’d woken up in a cold sweat, all four of them screaming because they remembered all at once the Doktor forcing the parasites into their brains.  The panic that pulsed through her every time she lost sight of a friend in the crowd, wondering if she might never see them again, about what horrible unforseen event might drag them all apart again.  She couldn’t forget the faint, distant fear she felt every time she held a Polymerization card, and remembered all of the awful things that had been done with it, and remembered that the technology to card people still existed — but the technology to uncard them was all but gone without the full power of Arc V.

She couldn’t forget the pain of disappearing, of being fragmented into pieces as she was pulled inside of Arc V, and ground into soul-dust.

The Ringmaster approached slowly, their voice soothing and low.

“But in here, that can never happen,” they whispered, as though they’d heard her thoughts.  “It will hurt only once. And then you’ll all be here, safe and happy forever. No one will ever enter my show without my permission.  Whatever happens out there will never affect out here.”

“But...but we can’t leave everyone else,” she mumbled.  “Everyone out there...they could die. If another war ever broke out...”

“That’s why I need you , darling,” the Ringmaster said, now close enough to touch her, to gently put a hand against hers.  “Think about it, Yuzu, my dear. I started this wrong with you. You and I, we could be partners. You could help me decide who to let into the show.  We’ll populate it with so much talent, so many spectators, who will smile and enjoy themselves forever.”

“That...that’s...wrong,” Yuzu mumbled, but she could feel her brain almost freezing over.  It was hard to think.

“What’s so wrong about wanting to protect what’s precious to you?” the Ringmaster whispered, holding her hand with both of theirs.  “You were once Ray, Yuzu. You must remember the fear and pain of Zarc’s destruction, and only sorrow came of what Ray had to sacrifice to stop him.  Let’s never let anyone precious to us ever sacrifice like that again.”

They were making sense.  They were...making sense.  Yuzu felt her head drooping, her hands falling into the Ringmaster’s.

Maybe the Ringmaster was right.  They weren’t saying anything horribly wrong.  She couldn’t deny the allure of a place of safety and smiles that would never be touched by anything wrong again.  And if she joined them, then...maybe she could make their methods a little less painful to start. Maybe she could temper them.  Her eyes started to droop.

“Is that really the kind of world you want to fight for?”

Yuzu’s eyes flew open.  That voice! Who was that — and where was it coming from?

Her eyes flew over the top of the Ringmaster’s shoulder.  At the very end of the mirror hallway, she saw a figure — a small, shadowy figure, encased in a dark cloak and hood that covered their face.  They held a large, smoky white crystal ball in both hands.

“Yuzu, if that’s the kind of world you want to live in,” said the figure — their mouth didn’t move, but Yuzu had no doubt that they were the ones speaking — “then you aren’t the person I thought you to be after all.”

Yuzu gasped, air suddenly flooding her lungs.  She felt something falling away from her arms and hands, and looked down just in time to see gloves and long sleeves vanishing from her arms.  The Ringmaster released her and leaped back, mouth wide open with shock.

“But why?” they mumbled.  “Yuzu, why?? Why do you keep rejecting me??”

Yuzu’s brain startled back to life, and she saw Selena, Rin, Ruri, all of them in their individual mirrors slamming the glass and shouting at her.  She couldn’t hear them, but she could see their lips moving — don’t give in.  Don’t give up. Don’t let them win.

Yuzu pressed a hand to her chest, trying to still the racing heart there.  Now that she was awake, she saw with painful clarity what she had been about to do.

“The world is awful,” she agreed with a mumbled breath.  “But that’s why we need to stay in it — so that we can make it better.  We can’t run away. We need to protect what’s important in the world where it’s important.”

The Ringmaster made a choking sound.  Then they went very still.

“Fine,” they said through a tight throat.  “I suppose you’ll need to go to the sideshow for the time being as well, then.”

Yuzu threw herself backwards as the Ringmaster pointed at her — and then the small figure in the cloak was right at her side.  She felt a tiny hand grab hers, heard the Ringmaster let out a gasp of shock, and then she was being pulled down the hallway, struggling to get her feet back under her so that she could run.

“Wait — wait!” she said.  “The girls! I can’t leave them!”

“They’ll be fine,” said the little figure in the cloak.  “There’s nothing we can do to get to them right now. Right now, you need to get away!”

Behind them, the Ringmaster let out a screech.

“I didn’t invite you either!”

Yuzu swallowed down a panicked gasp, but then the figure was yanking her around a corner, and they weren’t in the mirror maze anymore.  Instead, she was stumbling to a stop inside a small, brightly colored tent draped with all rainbow colors of scarves.

The little figure released her hand and placed the crystal ball on a stand on a draped table in the middle of the room.  Yuzu tried to catch her breath — and found with surprise that her heart wasn’t beating fast, as though she hadn’t been running.

“What...?” she said.

“Remember,” said the little figure.  “It’s a show. So nothing is quite reality.”

Yuzu looked down at them, lips parted with wonder.

“Who are you?” she said.  “And where are we?”

“We’re in the only safe place in the circus,” the little figure said.  “But I don’t know for how much longer, now that the Ringmaster knows I’m here.”

“Who are you?” Yuzu repeated.

The figure hesitated.  And then, slowly, they pushed the hood from their face.  Their hair fell free from the hood, and their eyes came into view.

Yuzu’s eyes widened.

“Oh god,” she said.  “But how — you’re — how??”

Chapter Text

Sawatari flopped like a sack of potatoes in Gongenzaka’s arms as he shoved his way into the next tent.  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been going, but damn this! How long until he found another one of his comrades?  

He didn’t want to think about if they might not be safe or not.  Growling softly, he headed across the tent towards the next flap.

His steps hitched at the sound of the voice behind him.

“Gongenzaka,” the Ringmaster called.  “Gongenzaka, please. I need you to come back.  I need the Actor.”

Gongenzaka huffed and didn’t look back, shoving forward into the next tent.  The voice of the Ringmaster followed him, as though the Ringmaster were at the exact same distance behind him.

“Won’t you listen ?” the Ringmaster said, voice cracking.

“If you think the man Gongenzaka is going to listen to you after what you’ve done, you are quite mistaken,” Gongenzaka said.

He skidded to a stop, however, when the Ringmaster appeared suddenly in front of the next tent flap.  He backed up, putting a protective hand over Sawatari. The Ringmaster hesitated, and did not try to advance.

“I’m sorry,” they said, in a small voice, and Gongenzaka was so thrown off that he almost let Sawatari slip out of his grip.

“You’re what? ” Gongenzaka said.

“I’m sorry ,” the Ringmaster said.  “I was wrong, and you were right.  I said such awful things to you, Gongenzaka.  But you only wanted to protect everyone, and I told you that that was wrong.  I’m sorry.”

Gongenzaka did not like this.  He didn’t like this one bit. He backed up a bit more, eying the Ringmaster with suspicion.

“I understand, you know,” the Ringmaster said.  “I want...I wanted to protect them all too, even if they didn’t want to be protected.  And you, you’re the same, aren’t you? You always want to protect your friends. You’re noble, Gongenzaka.  It’s what I’ve always admired about you.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Gongenzaka grumbled.  “You’ve already caused pain to Sawatari, and I’m sure to the others.”

“I know, I know.”

The Ringmaster lifted their hands off of their cane to wring their hands, and the cane stood perfectly upright, as though held in place by some invisible string.

“But you’re such a noble person, Gongenzaka.  Can’t you find it in yourself to forgive me?”

“Forgiveness comes only when wrongs have been righted,” Gongenzaka said.  “And as far as I, the man Gongenzaka, can see, we are still all trapped here in this nightmare circus.”

The Ringmaster put their hand back onto their cane, and tucked it beneath their arm.  They took a small step forward. Gongenzaka would not be intimidated. He stood firm, glaring the smaller figure down.

“Please, listen,” the Ringmaster said.  “I only want to protect them. Just like you.  And I need you, Gongenzaka. I need you to help me protect all of them.”

“What you are doing is not protection.  It is hurtful,” Gongenzaka said.

The Ringmaster came closer again, suddenly only a few feet away.

“What could convince you?” the Ringmaster mumbled.  “Please, Gongenzaka. I need the Actor to help me with something, to help finish this show.  They all need you too, you know. All of your friends need you to help protect them.”

“You are ridiculous,” Gongenzaka said, drawing himself up to his considerable height.  “Do you think that for a single moment that I, the man Gongenzaka, will believe this act of yours?”

The Ringmaster’s bottom lip trembled as though they were about to cry.  Gongenzaka almost snorted. How ridiculous! Did they think this act was going to work on him, after what they had already done?  

“I suppose you don’t care what happens to Yuya, then,” the Ringmaster said softly, voice suddenly soft and dangerous.

Gongenzaka was so taken aback by this latest shift in mood that he took one step backwards, glaring down at the Ringmaster.

“Are you threatening me?” Gongenzaka said.

“No,” said the Ringmaster.  “Only that...if you don’t join my show with the others...I’m afraid that something bad might happen.  If you’re so afraid of what I can do to them, then...you ought to want to protect them all, don’t you?”

“I will protect them from you,” Gongenzaka said.  “If this is your new tactic to change my mind towards you, you must know that it is not going to —”

His words cut off when he heard the ceiling make an awful creaking sound.  He looked up — just in time to see the ceiling crashing down towards him.

The Ringmaster was in his way of the other tent flap.  The one behind him was too far away to get to in time. With a roar, Gongenzaka dropped Sawatari to the ground, threw his hands up, and caught the ceiling.

The weight crushed down onto him all at once, but his legs did not bend.  His whole body shook but the ceiling stayed where it was, held up by his hands, braced against the ground.  Sawatari lay on the ground at his feet, quiet and unmoving, completely unconscious.

In front of him, the Ringmaster watched with a tilted head, just short enough to fit beneath the section that Gongenzaka was holding up, completely unperturbed by Gongenzaka’s shaking body as he tried to hold the whole ceiling.  It was getting heavier, he thought, and he groaned as his knee almost bent, but he spread his stance a little more and pressed harder into the ceiling. The rough stone edges of the surface dug into his palms, and with another cry, it dropped another few inches.  He had to let it down against his shoulders, bracing it with his whole body and his neck leaned down.

“Welcome to the Strongman Show, Gongenzaka,” the Ringmaster said with a soft smile.  “Will you be able to hold the weight of the world on your shoulders for long?”

Gongenzaka swore.  Sweat was already poring down his face, his body shaking beyond belief.  It was only his training that kept him on his feet, his knees unbent, as strong as an oak.  He would not...let it fall...if he let it fall...Sawatari would...

“You take everyone’s burdens on yourself,” the Ringmaster said softly, reaching out to brush some of Gongenzaka’s sweaty bangs from his forehead.  “But that gets tiring, doesn’t it?”

“Be...quiet...” Gongenzaka growled, but that was too much effort.  The ceiling shifted again and one of his knees just about gave out.  He cried out, dropping to a single knee, still holding the heavy surface against his shoulders which were starting to feel like they were going to break.

The Ringmaster simply sat cross legged in front of him now, so that they could still fit beneath the ceiling.

“All I want to do is take that weight off of you,” the Ringmaster said.  “It’s too hard, isn’t it? Trying to protect everyone by yourself. If you keep that up...Sawatari will get hurt.”

“Be quiet!” Gongenzaka roared through the pain.  “I will not...I will not...”

The Ringmaster smiled, tilted their head against their hand.

“Here’s a fun secret,” they said.  “In this Strongman Attraction...if you let go of the ceiling here, the ceilings in all of the rooms will fall.  I wonder how many people would be hurt like that, hm?”

Gongenzaka could barely breathe.  His lungs were on fire.

“But you don’t have to shoulder all that burden.  Let me help, Gongenzaka. Let your friends give you a hand.”

“You...are...not...my...friend,” Gongenzaka gasped.

“But I could be, Gongenzaka.  Is your pride as one who protects too strong that you won’t accept a hand that’s offered you?”

“You...are the reason...this is...happening!” Gongenzaka gasped.  But he was weakening. The sweat was making his grip slick. He felt the ceiling groan, and his body began to bend over.

A cool, gentle hand cupped his face.

“It’s all right,” the Ringmaster soothed.  “Just listen. You can tell I don’t want to hurt them, don’t you?  I want to protect them all as much as you do...perhaps even more. I’ll help you, if only you ask?”

Gongenzaka let out another cry of pain, his body keeling over.  Sawatari’s limp body laid right beside him. He was so silent and quiet.  If Gongenzaka hadn’t knocked him out, he could have...even possessed he could have tried to escape.  But...because of Gongenzaka’s decision...

“Let go, Gongenzaka.  Let me take this burden from you.  It’s enough. It’s enough.”

Gongenzaka couldn’t hold it.  He couldn’t hold out. With a cry, the ceiling pressed down hard on top of him.  He could feel something cool and soft worming its way into his brain, and the Ringmaster let out a soft, gentle sigh.

“That’s it, Gongenzaka.  Just let go. Just trust me.”

The voice was too soothing.  Too calming.

And if Gongenzaka didn’t listen, he and Sawatari and maybe more would die.

I can’t let them get hurt , he thought.   Just — just for a moment.  I’ll let them think they have me for just long enough to stop this crash.

He relaxed his guard one last time, and he felt the cool, gentle aura of the Ringmaster slipping into his mind.

After that, the pain and weight vanished.

And so did the rest of his thoughts about the matter.

Yoko tried striking another wall with her shinai, but it sounded just as solid as the rest.  Fuck. She’d think that in a crazy circus show place there’d be a few more false walls. After all, that Ringmaster guy had to be getting around and appearing randomly somehow, right?  Unless it was, in fact, RSV bullshit, like Yuzu had suggested.

Dammit, dammit, dammit.  Speaking of Yuzu, Yoko needed to find a way back to her.  How long had she been wandering aimlessly around in this damn maze?

Angry, she hit another wall with her shinai, and it was a wonder that the force of the blow didn’t shatter her wooden sword, instead just sending a vibration through her arms once again.  She swore. That wasn’t going to do her any good. She needed to stay calm.

God, it was just about hopeless to, though.  All she could think, running through her head, was that awful scene she’d first stumbled onto, with Yuzu getting surrounded by a bunch of wild, slavering animals, nearly about to die.  And if that had been what Yuzu was dealing with, what was she facing now? What were the others facing?

What about Yuya?

She swore again to hide the panic that shot through her breast, and picked up the pace moving down the long, endless hallway.  She’d let Yuya run off on a world-saving mission once before, and she’d almost lost him. She couldn’t — she couldn’t deal with that again.

“Yuya!” she shouted.  “Hey! Kids! Anyone??”

The hallway suddenly split two directions before her.  Both directions looked about the same, so Yoko went with her gut and swerved left.  This hallway had a few branching pathways in different directions. God, but she really didn’t like this situation.  This hallway was just barely big enough for her to stretch her arms out to both sides. Not enough space to adequately use her shinai as a weapon, and barely enough space to turn around, even.  If she got pinned down in here, that could be a problem. She’d had one or two scrapes in an alley this size before, and none of them had been experiences she looked forward to having again. You needed space to have a proper fight.

Her ears twitched at the sound of feet scuffling against the floor.  It was coming from one of the branching hallways up ahead.

Yoko stopped dead.  She pressed herself to the wall, and positioned her shinai with both hands pulled back, ready to stab it forward like a spear at throat-level.  Carefully, she slid along the wall towards the sound.

The scuffling grew closer and closer...it was definitely coming from the nearest hallway. She was nearly there...

A shape came around the corner, a flash of red and the twitch of long coattails, and with a cry, Yoko stabbed her shinai forward.

The figure leaped backwards, arms wheeling.  Her shinai caught him in the chest, but just barely, and there wasn’t enough momentum at that distance to do more than shove him back half a step and nearly make him lose his balance.

Yoko immediately recovered, drawing back.

“Yusho?” she said, eyes narrowing.

She didn’t trust a damn thing in this circus, least of all the shape of her husband who had suddenly appeared before her.  Yusho blinked with surprise, lips parting. Then a relieved smile broke over his lips.

“Yoko,” he said.  “I did find you — are you all right?”

He tried to step forwards, but Yoko held her shinai out to keep space between them.

“How’d you get here, and when?” she said.  “Sorry, hun. But you can’t be too careful out here.”

“I got your message, of course,” Yusho said with a frown.  “Do you think I was about to leave you and Yuya alone with whatever was happening?”

Yoko pressed her lips together and tried not to release the wouldn’t be the first time that was about to tumble through her lips.  She swallowed it back, though. Yusho really did look worried, and now wasn’t the time to discuss their current relationship status.

She let her shinai fall back down to her side, considering him.

“How long have you been in here?”

“Not long,” said Yusho, looking about the hallways.  “I’ve been wandering through these hallways for at least twenty minutes.  No sign of anyone until I found you.”

It really did sound and look like Yusho.  Maybe she was being too paranoid for no reason.  Ugh. This was exhausting. Her shoulders finally slumped and she let out a heavy sigh.  Yusho stepped forward automatically, putting one hand lightly on her shoulder. She raised her own hand up to lay on top of his — it was...comforting, as much as she didn’t feel like she had time to admit it.

“So you haven’t met the Ringmaster yet, huh?” she said.

Yusho blinked, lips parting.

“The who?” he said.

“Figures.  I’ll bet they weren’t prepared for you to show up.”

She let her hand fall from his.

“Let’s walk and talk,” she said.  “I’ll fill you in, but we can’t stay in one place.  Yuya and the others could be in danger.”

Yusho’s lips tightened, and he nodded.  He stepped aside to let Yoko pass in front of him, and Yoko took the lead.  They had to walk single file down this hallway, so she kept looking back behind her as she quickly filled him in on the situation and what she knew so far.

Yusho nodded briefly.

“This certainly doesn’t sound like an optimal situation,” he said.

“There you go with your big words again,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.  “Actually, this is almost a little nostalgic, huh?”

Yusho’s lips parted with surprise, and Yoko rolled her eyes.  Figures he wouldn’t remember.

“You know, back in the day.  When I started dragging you along on raids.  And then you’d just put on a show and everyone would laugh so much that we forgot why we were fighting in the first place.”

The smile that took over Yusho’s lips seemed too quick, almost.

“You’ve always run straight into trouble,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Oh, and you haven’t?” Yoko said with a roll of her eyes.  “I’m not the one who disappeared for three years, bucko.”

She regretted saying it as soon as it left her lips, especially when she saw the faint regret in Yusho’s eyes.  She looked forward quickly. For a long moment, they walked in silence. Dammit. Now wasn’t the time for her to be getting nostalgic and then angry.  The stress was getting to her. She and Yusho hadn’t had a proper conversation about everything that had happened for a few months, both of them busy with either Heartland restoration, trying to help Sora after he’d moved in, or other new daily tasks.  And part of it was just simple avoidance. How do you talk about the fact that your husband left you for three years to go on an adventure to save the world without even telling you?

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she was pulled gently to a stop.

“What?” she said, turning to face him and scowling. “I’ll apologize later, right now we —”

“No, listen, Yoko,” Yusho said.  His eyes were soft, and his voice was low and smooth, and for a moment it reminded her all over again about the day she fell in love with him.  It made something in her freeze up. “I’m being unfair to you.”

“Now isn’t the time,” Yoko said, her breath hitching.  “Yuya —”

“Is stronger than you and I give him credit for.  Whatever this mess is, I think we can trust Yuya more than anyone to fix it,” Yusho said soothingly, squeezing her shoulder.  “Please. Let me talk for just a moment.”

This really, really, really wasn’t the time, but something in Yusho’s voice made her hesitate.

“Make it quick,” she said.

Yusho put his other hand on her other shoulder, and he was so close and she could smell him again the way she hadn’t in three years.

“I was wrong to leave without saying anything,” he said.  “I didn’t think about what it would mean for you. I thought that I could fix things quickly — I was thinking too far ahead, to trying to save you and Yuya from Leo’s ambitions, and I never thought about the short-term.  I let you down. I left you...alone.”

Yoko pressed her lips together, shaking her head.

“This was never about me, Yusho,” she said. “You know that.  It hurt when you left and I’m not going to deny that. But I’ve had people leave me before, all the time, without warning.  Hell, Yusho, I was still dating Maiko and Kanon while we were married.  I wasn’t alone, and I had a support network to handle it.”

She pushed one of his hands off of her shoulder, but she held it lightly.

“It hurt losing you, but, no offense, hun...I got over it.  I always did,” she said. “It wasn’t about me. It was about Yuya.   Yuya needed you.”

Yusho’s eyes cast down, and his whole body seemed to slump a little.

“I know,” he said.  “And I’m sorry. It was too much to put on you both.”

“Well, fine, good, we’re talking about it,” she said.  “And you can apologize to Yuya when we find him, got it?  But this time, we work together.”

Yusho smiled.

“Of course,” he said.  “We’ll find him. He’ll be safe, I’m sure.”

Yoko cocked a half smile at him, but she found that she was too sad to keep it up.  She held her arm out and used her shinai to push him back from her. He frowned at her with surprise.

“That was a pretty good pep talk,” she said.  “Almost as good as the real thing would have been.”

“Yoko?” Yusho said.

Yoko stared right at Yusho, her eyes boring into his.  

Ah, she thought with a sigh.  Yup. That sparkle she loved so much wasn’t there.  His eyes looked more like glass beads.

“Did you figure out enough about me to start fucking with my brain, Ringmaster?” Yoko said.

Yusho stared at her with wide, surprised eyes.  She shook her head. God. Still playing the fool til the end.

“Let’s get one thing straight, whoever you are,” she said.  “I guess you must have heard me tell Yuzu that I left a message for Yusho before I got here.”

She leaned in just a bit.

“Well here’s the real truth: my husband and I have a lot in common when it comes to running off to save the world without telling the other we’re doing it.”

This time, Yusho’s face reacted.  His eyes flashed, and he leaped backwards against the opposite wall.  In a dizzying flash, the image of Yusho disappeared, and instead — Sawatari appeared?  Yoko was more taken aback by this than anything, and she drew back, shinai drawn and back pressed against the wall.

“So you lied,” came the voice of the Ringmaster, echoing through the hallway.  “You didn’t even bother letting your husband know that you were coming.”

“I wasn’t lying when I talked to your fake one,” Yoko said.  “I did get over him leaving. Because both of us knew what we were getting into when we got married.”

The Ringmaster appeared with a blink beside the blank eyed Sawatari, hands tight around their cane.  

“You’re quite good, to see through the Actor,” the Ringmaster said.  “I suppose I shouldn’t have underestimated you.”

Yoko turned her shinai towards them.

“I’m gonna count to three,” she said.  “And your mind games aren’t gonna work on me, so don’t even bother trying.  You take me to Yuya and the others right now, you maniac.”

The Ringmaster sucked in through their teeth, clearly frustrated, but considering Yoko in front of them without the slightest bit of care for the shinai she pointed directly towards their throat.

“I knew you’d be the hardest,” they mumbled.  “It’s so hard to understand...but I thought if I’d gotten a few performances completed before I invited you, then it would be easier...”

“One,” Yoko said.

“I suppose that if I...no, perhaps that’s too cruel, too cruel, I can’t go too far...because I...”

“ Two ,” Yoko snapped.

The Ringmaster let out a heavy sigh.

“I’ll let you see your precious son,” they said, sounding almost mournful.  “It seems that...that might be the only way to make you understand.”

Yoko swung forward with her shinai without waiting for a ‘three’.  The Ringmaster snapped their fingers, and the floor dropped out from under her feet.  The world shifted and twirled and when she snapped back to herself, she was sitting in an auditorium seat.  She found with shock and anger that she couldn’t bring herself to move. Her arms seemed physically sealed to the arms of the chair.

“Coward!” she shouted, struggling to move, but all she could move was her head, wiggling it back and forth to try and get herself free.  “Get out here and face me!”

She heard the Ringmaster’s sigh somewhere far away.

“I didn’t want to do this,” they mumbled.  “But I suppose — I’ll need to break him anyway.  Maybe this will kill two birds with one stone.”

Yoko let out a cry of frustration.  And then she heard a soft gasp.

“Mom?”

Her eyes snapped forward.  Oh — oh no. Yoko’s breath stuck in her throat.

Before her, instead of a stage, was a semi-circle of box-like cages, stacked in two levels.  In the top middle right one was Yuya.

Yuya pressed against the bars, gripping at them and trying to rattle his boxlike cage.

“Mom!!  Mom, are you okay?”

“Yuya!” Yoko shouted.  “Yuya, it’s all right, I’m coming, I’m going to get you out of there —”

The Ringmaster appeared on the space in front of the cages then, leaning on their cane.

“Welcome to the sideshow,” the Ringmaster said.  “And please welcome our first attraction...”

They snapped their fingers, and Yuya’s cage was shoved forward.  He cried out as the cage landed heavily on the stage in front of the rest of the cages.  He scrambled to his feet and started pounding at the ceiling of the cage, kicking at the walls.

“Bastard!” Yoko screamed.  “What are you doing?”

The Ringmaster stepped aside, tilting their head at Yuya.  Then they snapped their fingers again, and Yoko’s breath stuck in her throat again as four rapiers appeared in the air, floating over the cage.  Yuya’s eyes widened and he stopped kicking, staring up at the blades.

“Have you ever heard, dear audience, of a such thing as a living pincushion?” the Ringmaster said.

Chapter Text

Had Yuuri not been in a foul mood, he almost would have had to be impressed with the Ringmaster.  This was quite an impressive little hunting ground they’d set up — understanding their threat when all four of them were together, putting them at a disadvantage by perfectly separating them, and plopping them into a small and confined maze in which it would be easy to pick them off one at a time.  It was the sort of thing that would normally make him itch with excitement. After all, he might be intended to be the hunted, but he was only ever the chased one for a brief period. Now that he didn’t have those sickeningly good others in his head to stop him from doing what he wanted, it would be so much fun to turn this situation back on the Ringmaster.

But by now, Yuuuri was starting to get irritated.  He bumped into another mirror and swore.

The premise of this new locale was impossibly frustrating — and now that he was put inside the mirrors, he didn’t seem to cast a reflection.  Which meant the mirrors all reflected each other endlessly, and looked like perfect, endless hallways.  And he had no reflection to orient himself at all. This was leaving the realm of interesting hunting game and into the annoying.  And Yuuri hated annoying.

With a faint growl, he put one hand to the wall of mirrors beside him, and put the other in front of him, to feel for the mirrors.  He had to get a sense for the space, or perhaps even find a way out of the mirror maze, if he was to be able to have the advantage and become the hunter.

He was still thinking up plots for how to best turn things against the Ringmaster when he heard a scuff of a shoe.  

He couldn’t help it.  A grin split his face. If he could just throw the Ringmaster off guard a little...make them think that Yuuri was more in control than he actually was...oh, but he really did want to see the Ringmaster finally take a blow to their ego too strong to recover from with smiles, and see how that broke them.  They were already quite hilarious when they lost their temper.

But as Yuuri broke around the corner, grinning with a wild glee in the hunt, it wasn’t the Ringmaster that he ran into.

Rin swore, immediately leaping backwards and cranking her fists back to punch.  Yuuri edged backwards before she actually could do it — he could remember Yugo’s memories of her strongest blows, and he wasn’t keen on feeling it himself.

Rin didn’t look the least bit relieved to see it was Yuuri.  Instead, she actually looked even more angry.

“Oh,” she said.  “Great. You.”

“Don’t sound so excited to see me, darling,” Yuuri said.

“Oh believe me, I’m not.”

Yuuri resisted the urge to roll his eyes, simply continuing to smile.  She shot him a glare, her lip curling.

“Stop that,” she said.  “You’re freaking me out.”

“Oh?  I thought we were all about smiling now.  You, me, Yuya, Yuzu, everyone.”

“Not now,” Rin snapped.  “Not with...that guy running around saying the same shit, okay?”

She shuddered, hugging herself and rubbing her arms.  She looked around at the mirrors with a faint burst of nerves.

“Have you seen the others?” she said.  “I lost sight of them after we got put in here....”

Yuuri shrugged, and Rin shot him another glare.

“Don’t you care ?” she snapped.  “Oh, wait. What am I thinking.  Of course you don’t.”

“Don’t be so crude, my dear.  Of course I care .  Mostly, I care about hunting down the Ringmaster and...paying them back for all of their annoyances.”

Rin snorted.

“Well, at least we can agree on that,” she said.  “But how? I think they just dumped us in here and left us.”

“Oh, I understand their type,” Yuuri said.  “They’ll be along when they can to try and get under our skin.”

Rin raised her eyebrows at him, putting her hands on her hips.

“I’m sure you know all about shit like that,” she said.  “I’ll bet you even know who the Ringmaster is, huh?  Yuzu thought it could be some Academia person.”

Yuuri only shrugged again.

“Dear, if I knew who they were, it would make the job of ensnaring them easier.  Believe me when I say I am just as curious as you.”

Rin didn’t look particularly convinced, but she shook her head and looked away anyway.  After a beat, she kicked the nearest mirror letting out a loud cry of anger.

“God!” she said.  “If we’re going to be stuck in here, could something happen already?”

“Oh, dear,” Yuuri said with a faint smile.  “You know you have to be patient, don’t you?  The Ringmaster will want to wait until their prey is good and bothered.”

Rin let out another frustrated cry, this time punching the mirror.

“Why, of all of them, did I have to get stuck with you ?” she said.

“Am I bothering you?” Yuuri said with a faint smile.

Rin whirled on him, and Yuuri tried very hard not to start giggling at her angry glare — her anger was only a precursor to her fear, and he knew that she was still very much frightened of him.  It was hard to forget, after all, the night that he’d kidnapped her, he was sure. He certainly couldn’t forget...he almost started salivating remembering how satisfying that hunt had been, stalking her for weeks before he finally cornered her.  There wasn’t any Yuya or Yugo or Yuto around to scold him for having such thoughts, either, so he enjoyed it while it lasted.

For a moment, he was sure that Rin might try to punch him, or at least to scream at him.

But then her face sort of slumped, and her shoulders did too.  With a groan, she fell back against the nearest mirror, sliding down it a little.  Yuuri frowned with surprise. It was almost disappointing, getting only that much reaction out of her.

“Dammit,” she said.  “Why do you have to be difficult?  We’re stuck with each other, so we need to work together.”

“On the contrary, that’s hardly necessary,” Yuuri said, flicking an invisible piece of dust from his shoulder.  “I assure you that I can take care of myself.”

Rin rolled her eyes with a snort.

“Yeah, cause we’ve all been doing such a good job on our own, huh?” she said. “The Ringmaster will pick us off one at a time if we don’t work together at least a little bit.  You’re...you’re the crazy hunter bitch here. You should know that.”

“How crass.  And here I thought you wanted us to work together.”

Rin clenched and unclenched her fists as though she were imagining strangling him.  Yuuri let out the briefest of chuckles, earning another glare from her. It was almost cute, how angry and nervous with him she was.  It was cathartic, after having spent so much time forced to play goody-two-shoes with the others.

Rin closed her eyes for a moment and pressed her fingers to her temples.

“Listen,” she said, and her voice actually cracked.  “I know you get off on shit like this, but...this is serious.  And as much as I hate you, the Ringmaster is after both of us. So can we at least try? ”

Yuuri pretended to be very concerned with looking at his nails, waiting for an agonizingly long moment.  He wanted to see how long it would be before she snapped at him again.

But to his surprise, when he looked up at her again, she was still staring right at him, waiting patiently.  And her gaze was...it was startlingly strong. Yuuri almost had to step back. Her fear had been pushed aside, and instead she was...looking right at him.  Seeing right into him, or at least...trying.

It made him uncomfortable.  He felt an awful twist in his stomach and his throat going dry.  He didn’t — he didn’t want her to look so closely at him.

He should have done something to frighten her a bit.  Pin her in briefly against the mirrors or give her another smile and witty retort, but her open, honest gaze, honestly trying to meet halfway with him despite everything, made him feel suddenly exposed and sick.  He didn’t want her around. He wanted to hunt alone — to be totally alone for once, with no one looking at him, no one trying to understand him — no one making him remember or feel things that he didn’t want to acknowledge.

So instead of trying to frighten her, he just grunted, and swept past her, starting to walk as quickly as he could down the mirrors.  He heard her push off the mirror and hurry after him.

“Hey!” she said, and he felt sicker — he could tell, he could tell from the tone of her voice that she’d seen his hesitation, that it had made her curious and concerned .  “Hey, wait up!  Was that a yes, or no?  Hey, bastard, I’m talking to you!”

Yuuri rammed into another mirror that he couldn’t see, and the impact rattled him.  He fumbled to his side to see if there was an opening, and ran into another mirror with his hand.  He lurched to the other side and the hallway was open, and he started down that one. But then he almost immediately rammed into another mirror, and when he felt about, it seemed that this one was a dead end — he couldn’t find a way out, he couldn’t — he could just see the endless reflection of the mirror, making it look like a hallway that wasn’t there and no matter where his hands fell he couldn’t find a way out.

Oh no.

Oh fuck, no, it was happening again.

He hadn’t had one of these episodes in a long time.  And she was right there behind him, she was going to see him like this, oh, god, no, anything but that —

His chest clenched with pain and his heart screamed against his chest.  Breathing was suddenly like a tight whistle, and cold chills ran up and down his body, shaking so badly that he had to crouch down.

“Hey what — are you okay?”

“Don’t touch me!” Yuuri shrieked.  “Leave me alone!”

His head screamed and he felt so dizzy that he was going to pass out.  And he was positive that she was still there , watching him, seeing him turn into this — this helpless mess trapped in his own damn body!!  And with no excuse of being a passenger in the body of someone else this time! She was going to see, she was going to know, she was going to — someone other than those insufferable boys that he had to share a mind with was going to see him like this —

“Hey, hey,” Rin said, and her voice was low and worried, but attempting to be soothing, and that was even worse.  “Hey, breathe, it’s okay.”

“Don’t get near me,” Yuuri gasped through his tight throat.  “Don’t look at me, you witch, don’t — this isn’t happening , stop acting like it’s happening!”

But he couldn’t stop shaking, and he actually had to fall to his knees, wanting to scream but barely being able to breathe through his tight, painful chest.  His fingers were tingling now, getting numb, shaking even worse even when he tried to clasp them together. His stupid, traitorous body!

And then he heard Rin make a choked sound.

“Yuuri, you need to calm down,” she gasped.  “Yuuri — calm down, calm down, you need to breathe, oh my god.”

Her voice was not in the least bit calming, and he wanted to scream at her — if he could make this all stop right now, he would have!

It took him a moment, in his shaking, panicky state, to realize why she also panicking, however.

There was movement in the mirrors.  Yuuri gasped, choking on his air, trying to breathe but failing.  Was he hallucinating? Was this a panic hallucination? Because standing in the mirror, looming over him, was Sanders.  

Yuuri swore but it came out more like a gasp.

This shouldn’t upset him.  The big Academia soldier shouldn’t frighten him.   He’d been the one to frighten Sanders all those years ago, when he’d become even stronger than Sanders could prepare for.  After all of Sanders’ harsh training, Yuuri had so enjoyed that primal burst of fear in Sanders’ face.

But this wasn’t a Sanders who was afraid of him.  This was a Sanders who was standing over him, glaring at him, smacking his crop against his hand and seeing Yuuri in this state.  Oh god. Oh fuck. He was seeing Yuuri in the throes of his own panic and fear. Yuuri could — he couldn’t come back from this, he couldn’t frighten anyone who’d seen him like this —

Another mirror moved beside him, and he flinched as he saw Jean-Michel Roger appear in view, holding a syringe and looking down his nose at Yuuri without fear — with disdain and a sneer instead.  Oh god, oh no, oh fuck, this couldn’t be happening, this was — it wasn’t real, it was fake, but it was — he couldn’t breathe —

The mirror on his other side moved, and this time the Doktor appeared, with his awful grin and and insect-like bulging eyes, looking not in the least unnerved by Yuuri.  But he’d — he’d put everything into becoming a force that everyone feared, becoming so terrifying that — that no one else could ever hurt him.

“Yuuri!” Rin said.  Her hand fell on his shoulder.  “Yuuri, dammit, breathe! I think it’s reacting to you!”

She wasn’t afraid of him.  He was just a liability to her.  A mess. Useless.

Oh god.  He was useless.

Yuuri rocked back and forth, trying desperately to get air into his lungs, his hands shaking against the floor, and somehow even though they were only in the mirrors, the figures of his former teachers seemed to be growing closer to him, looming over him.

“Get away,” Yuuri gasped.  “Get away, I’ll card you all!  I’ll turn you all into cards!”

But they weren’t afraid.  No one was afraid .

No one, that is, except him.

A faint, desperate cry escaped Yuuri’s lips in spite of himself.  In his blur of panic, inside the mirrors, he saw awful images fluttering over their surfaces, images that he wanted to forget.  A tiny cage from Sanders’ office, and the crop sitting on top of it. The empty medical bed with the straps on the ends from Roger’s lab.  The pile of experimental syringes in the Doktor’s lab.

They were pressing in on him, suffocating him, and he wanted to rip it all to shreds.  He shouldn’t be so affected — this had all made him strong! It had made him the powerful being that he was!  He shouldn’t be — so undone by it.

He needed — he wanted — to rip it all apart —

He felt something familiar surge in his breast.  The pulsing, wriggling mass of vines that had once constantly felt like it was writhing just beneath his skin, just waiting to be unleashed.  He had no Duel Disk, and no cards, but he could almost taste their acrid scent on his tongue, the smell of his beloved monsters — of his beloved Starving Venom.

“Venom,” Yuuri cried, reaching out for a presence that had once been so close to him, and had since somewhat faded since he’d become one with the others.  “Oh, Venom. Venom .”

He felt the writhing beneath his skin, the sharp acidic tang of the poison that once again ran through his veins.  So easy — let it all loose. No one would ever make the mistake of not fearing him ever again.

So he did.  He let it explode out of him.

He heard a faint scream that might have been Rin, but he couldn’t be bothered to worry about her.  He heard a shattering of glass and felt something raining down over him. His skin burned with pain, but he was — he was not going to be afraid, he wasn’t —

He felt something cool and soft envelop him, and his eyes got heavy.

“It’s all right, Yuuri,” came a soft, gentle voice.  “Everyone will certainly see just how terrifying you are like this.”

Yuuri felt a small, self satisfied smile come to his lips.  Good. That was good.

He let himself fall blissfully to sleep.

Rin coughed, pushing herself back up to her hands and knees.  Her heart was still racing like nobody’s business, and glass slid off of her arms and torso as she sat up.  What the hell had just happened?? The mirrors had gone crazy, with all of those creepy people surrounding them, the mirrors bubbling as they seemed to be pushing through them.  Goddamn Roger had been there, and she felt an angry shudder pass through her to think of the Security Bureau Director. And that damn Doktor had been there too.  She hadn’t recognized the other one. Either way, Yuuri’s panic attack had only gotten worse when he’d seen them, and then he was...turning into that thing .

She shuddered again, remembering the writhing mass of vines that seemed to explode from beneath his skin.  That freaking psycho...what on earth did he have to be afraid of?

As she pushed herself back up into a sitting position, her eyes fell on where Yuuri had been, and her hair immediately stood on end.

Yuuri was still... there .  Sort of.  But so was the Ringmaster.

The Ringmaster sat on the floor, in the wreckage of the mirrors that Yuuri had shattered, cradling Yuuri in their arms like a child.  Yuuri himself looked like a mess. His skin had turned a blotchy purple and acidic green, and there seemed to be moss growing along his neck and the backs of his hands.  His shirt had partially ripped so that the thick, twisting branches could protrude from his shoulders and back, sprouting with poisonous looking red berries. He barely even looked human anymore.

The Ringmaster cradled him, and stroked his now very leafy looking hair gently, smiling.

“There you go,” the Ringmaster said softly.  “See? Isn’t that nice? You’ll enjoy the sideshow.”

“What the fuck,” was all Rin could say.

The Ringmaster’s smile faded a bit, and they looked up towards Rin.

“What did you do to him?” Rin said.

“I’m not sure why you care,” the Ringmaster said.  “You don’t like him.”

Rin bristled.

“I like you less,” she said.  “Now fucking out with it — what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” said the Ringmaster.

“You keep saying shit like that!  But look at him! He’s not even human anymore!”

The Ringmaster tilted their head.

“He’s become the Human Plant,” the Ringmaster said.  “He’ll join my sideshow. And I didn’t make him become this, Rin.  He chose it.”

“You forced him into it!”

“I didn’t do anything of the sort.”

“Those — illusions,” Rin said, shaking.  “That must have done something.”

The Ringmaster only shook their head.

“Nothing in the mirrors exists except for the what those reflect into them,” they said.  A small smile tugged at their lips. “Perhaps we should see what you’ve reflected into the mirrors?”

Rin felt a chill pass over her.  She scrambled to her feet, fists raised.

“Don’t you fuck with me,” she said, cursing her trembling voice.  “I’m warning you.”

“I just said, Rin,” the Ringmaster said.  “There’s nothing in here that you didn’t already bring with you.”

Rin took a big step back.  She didn’t like Yuuri much, but she still felt reluctant leaving him behind with this psycho.  The Ringmaster’s lips turned slightly downward.

“Are you going to run?” they asked.  “That doesn’t make for a very good show, you know.”

“Screw you.”

“It would be easier if you just said yes to the show, Rin.”

She flipped him off.  He let out a heavy sigh.

“You’re so cold,” they said, almost mournfully.  “It makes me feel sorry for Yugo.”

Rin immediately bristled, leaning forward.

“Don’t you dare bring him into this,” she hissed.

“He loves you so much, you know,” the Ringmaster said, shaking their head.  “And how do you repay him? By nagging, and scolding, and even striking him?  Doesn’t it make you feel awful, knowing that the last time you ever got to see him in person, that you caused him so much pain?”

Rin tried to breathe, but it was suddenly hard.  She didn’t even... remember seeing Yugo in the tower.  The whole thing was a faint blur, the vague impression of holding him before everything went black, and the next thing she remembered was standing inside a glass tube and not having any idea who anyone was or why there was a boy that looked like Yugo screaming in agony in a duel below her.

“Poor Rin,” the Ringmaster said, with an actual edge to their voice.  “Always left out. Always left alone. Always pushing away the only ones who care about her.”

Rin flinched back — how had they just, reached into her mind and seen those thoughts like that?  Her eyes flickered to the mirrors, and she blanched — an image of her view from the tubes of Arc V was playing against one mirror.  She could see Yuya, rippling with black energy and screaming.

She clapped her hands to her head and tried to empty out her mind.

“Get out of my head,” she said.

“I’m not even in there yet,” the Ringmaster said with a shake of their head.  “Everything is coming from you, Rin.”

“Shut up.   Shut up, shut up, shut up, stop looking at this!  I...”

“It doesn’t have to hurt,” the Ringmaster soothed.  “Look, Rin...I can even bring you to Yugo. Doesn’t that sound nice?  To be able to see him again with your own two eyes? To hold him with your own two hands?”

Rin tried to make her mind as blank as possible.  But all she could think of was Yugo now. And his image was starting to reflect on every mirror around her — oh, Yugo.  Her poor, precious Yugo, who was probably frightened and alone right now.

“I’ll bring you right to him,” the Ringmaster said.  “And you can catch up...make up for lost time.”

“You’ll make me join your stupid show if I say yes,” Rin mumbled.

“And what’s wrong with that?” the Ringmaster said with a soft smile, running a hand through Yuuri’s hair.  “The world out there isn’t what you want, Rin. In here, on my stage, anything is possible. You can have your own body.  You and Yugo can be together again.”

Rin trembled.  She tried to think about Yuzu.  About Ruri, and Selena, and all the others who were suffering.  But her mouth was dry, and she couldn’t stop trembling, and thinking about every night that she’d tried to hide her nightmares and tears from the others in the middle of the night, longing to feel Yugo laying next to her again the way they had to ward off the chill.

But he was always out of reach.  Always, always out of reach.

The Ringmaster held out their hand, smiling.

“It doesn’t hurt,” they said softly.  “After you join the show, nothing ever hurts again.”

Rin was a failure.  She was letting them all down.

But she wanted to see Yugo again.

She put her hand into the Ringmaster’s, and then, her mind finally did go blissfully blank.

Chapter Text

Panic clutched at Ruri’s chest as she watched Yuzu fleeing with the little cloaked figure.  She disappeared from sight very quickly — she’d been two reflections in, and it wasn’t easy to keep an eye on her.  Selena was reflected in the mirror in front of Ruri, as though she were simply standing in a hallway next to her. Ruri choked on a gasp as Selena bolted off, clearly trying to keep Yuzu in view.  She wanted to go after them, especially when she spun her head over her shoulder and saw Rin behind her trying to run after them too, disappearing from the mirrors after she reached the end of the hallway.  Her heart hammered in her chest. She wanted so badly to bolt after them — but she was trapped in a mirror. There wasn’t much she could do. And the way that this place was set up meant that she might not even be able to keep up with them.

Breathe.  She had to breathe.  No one could even hear her outside the mirror.  What could she do to help them other than just watch in horror if something happened on the other end?

No.  The Ringmaster would come for each of them eventually.  She...she had to wait. She had to wait them out. It hurt, and she hated it, but she needed her enemy to come to her, instead of running around blindly.   Rational , she reminded herself with Yuto’s voice.   We have to be rational about fighting such a tough enemy.

The Ringmaster wouldn’t hurt them — not physically, anyway, she was pretty sure.  She had to trust that they’d all be strong enough to ward off the Ringmaster’s emotional manipulations.  They already had several times as a team, so it couldn’t be different even if they were apart, right?

Breathe, Ruri, breathe, she instructed herself.  Her eyes were full of tears, but she tried to blink them away.  She just needed to stay calm. The Ringmaster would appear eventually, or they’d throw something at her, and then she could formulate a plan.  Staying in one place and letting whatever it was come to her was her best solution.

She didn’t like it, though, even though she’d talked herself into it.  She pressed her back against a mirror and slid down against it for a moment.  Then she quickly pushed herself back up. She needed to be ready to react. Oh, no, her hands were shaking.  She was so scared. She...she hadn’t been all alone since she’d been thrown into that tower in Academia, and that was mostly a blur after the Doktor put the parasite into her to keep her in a sort of suspended animation, after her second escape attempt.  This was the first time in a while that she had truly been completely alone, and it was making her breaths come short and scared. Bad things happened when you were by yourself. You were easily cornered, and easier pickings for Academia’s three man teams —

She closed her eyes to ward off the encroaching panic attack.  She was not in Heartland during the invasion.  That wasn’t what she needed to worry about.  This was a totally different battlefield.

All of her rationalizing didn’t stop her from screaming, however, when she heard the loud galloping of feet coming around the corner, her eyes flying open to see a white blur shoot into view.

She barely had time to flinch before she heard a loud, “RIN!!!” and she was scooped up into a tight, suffocating hug, nearly lifted off her feet.

For a moment, stunned, she just hung there in his grip.  Then she gasped, and tried to squirm free. He immediately let go of her, holding her at arm’s length.  His mouth dropped open.

“Oh,” he said.  “You’re not Rin.”

He looked like Yuto, but his hair was blue and yellow, and swooped backwards and over his forehead, with clear blue eyes.  This was...Yugo, Ruri thought. She’d never actually met him in person before, though she’d seen his image in Rin’s memories and gotten to know him through both Rin, and Yuzu’s interactions with him in Yuya’s body.

“No,” she said.  “I’m not...I’m sorry.”

Yugo immediately waved his hands back and forth.

“No, no!!  I’m sorry for suddenly hugging you!  Uh...I know people don’t like that!”

Ruri was suddenly reminded of Selena’s memories of Yugo, which had mostly involved him constantly trying to hug her and insist that she was actually Rin.  She supposed she ought to be glad that he had realized she wasn’t Rin so quickly. Well...maybe not. It had felt pretty nice to get such an enthusiastic hug, if she was honest.

“You’re...you’re Ruri, right?” Yugo said.  “Sorry. I’m Yugo! I don’t think we really met, huh?”

“I guess not,” Ruri said with a slight smile.  She was slightly disappointed that she hadn’t run into Yuto, but of all the boys she could have run into, Yugo seemed like a fairly good choice.  “I wish it could have been under better circumstances.”

“Wow, right?” Yugo said, shaking his head.  “Oh! Did you see Yuya or anyone?? I tried to run after ‘em when Yuya started running from Kurosaki, but I couldn’t keep up.  This place is a real headscratcher!”

Ruri’s heart leaped with fright, and she stepped forward so fast that Yugo jumped a little, getting only a few inches from him.

“You saw my brother?” she said, eyes widening.  “He’s here?”

“Oh, yeah,” Yugo said, not bothering to move backwards even though she was so close.  “Um...uh.”

He flushed, clearly fumbling for what to say.  Her heart screamed in her chest and she felt her panic coming back.  Shun was here. And he was...chasing Yuya?

“What happened to him?” she mumbled.

“Um — I’m sure he’s fine!!” said Yugo.

“Please, Yugo, don’t sugarcoat it for me.  Tell me the truth.”

Yugo turned red and looked down at the floor.

“He’s...he’s pretty mad, I think,” he said.  “I think the Ringmaster got to ‘im...he chased us around when we were with Yuya for a while.”

Ruri pressed her hands to her chest and blinked away tears.  Why did things like this keep happening? This wasn’t fair at all.  How could any of this be happening? Her brother...would he really turn on them?  Or was he possessed, like Yugo said? She had barely seen any of him in so long...she was with Yuzu, and he was in Heartland, helping with the restoration.  She didn’t...she didn’t want to run into him here, and see what the Ringmaster might have done to him.

“Speaking of the Ringmaster!!” Yugo said, flapping his arms and clearly trying to change the subject.  “We’ve gotta do something! We’ve gotta try and find that bastard and kick their ass!”

“I don’t think the Ringmaster will let us find them without their permission,” Ruri said.

“Well, we gotta try anyway, don’t we?” Yugo said. “Come on, Rin — I mean, Ruri!”

He tried to grab her wrist and bolt, but she planted her feet and pulled him back.

“We need to stay in one place,” Ruri said.  “Running around blindly will only tire us out.”

“Huh??  But nothing’ll happen if we don’t try and look for something!”

Ruri shook her head.  Yugo was certainly full of energy, at least.

“The Ringmaster wants us all to join this show,” she said.  “They won’t leave us in here for long. I’m sure that something will happen if we wait for it.”

“But our friends could be in trouble!” Yugo insisted.

“And do you think we can help when we’re trapped in here?” said Ruri.

Yugo deflated like a balloon, slumping.

“But then, what are we supposed to do?” he said.

Ruri couldn’t help it — he had such a puppy dog face.  Yuto had always been sweet, but he’d been more reserved in his expressions, more shy.  Yugo didn’t have any of that shyness, and it was almost reassuring. She smiled gently, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” she said.  “I know the Ringmaster won’t make us wait for long.  And once they try something...that’s our opening. We’ll turn the Ringmaster’s attack against them.”

Yugo frowned, his whole bottom lip sticking out with the expression. He rubbed his chin for a moment, as though thinking this over.  Then he nodded slowly, a smile spreading over his face.

“Hey, that’s pretty smart,” he said.  “You really are a lot like Rin!”

She couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.  Her panic subsided just a little — she wasn’t alone anymore, and Yugo’s determination was infectious.  She could hang in there a little longer.

Her smile immediately faded as she saw something moving in the mirrors.

“Watch out!” she screamed, pulling on his arm and yanking him forward into her.  

He fell against her and they both almost fell over — but she’d pulled him out of the way just in time before Dennis pushed through the mirrors and tried to make a swipe at Yugo with his bladed cane.

Yugo let out a cough as he stood back up straight.  His eyes bulged as he looked over her shoulder, and he grabbed hold of her, whipping her around so that she was back against the mirrors beside them, with him standing in front of her with his arms held out like a shield.  She choked on a gasp — Tsukikage had just pulled himself through the mirror behind her, and she hadn’t even noticed.

Tsukikage and Dennis both advanced on them from either side.  They were smiling with dead eyes, looking strange in their Ringmaster-inspired outfits.  Ruri tried to breathe.

“Get back!” Yugo shouted at them, pressing himself in front of Ruri.  “I’m warning you! I don’t care if you’re our friends, I’ll punch you if I have to!  I know you’ll forgive me later!”

Dennis and Tsukikage didn’t respond, both of them coming closer.  Tsukikage got close first, and Yugo threw a punch. Tsukikage easily dodged out of the way, bending his body in almost inhumanly flexible positions to swerve around the punch and wrap his own arm around Yugo’s arm to yank him forward with his own momentum.  Yugo went down with a yelp, and Tsukikage bent him over, hooking a leg around one of Yugo’s to bend him into an uncomfortable and helpless position. Ruri choked on a scream — but then her eyes flew to Dennis, who was getting very, very close with that bladed cane of his.

For a moment, her mind ground to a halt, looking at Dennis.

She remembered the day she first met him.  When he’d pulled her from the crowd with Trapeze Magician, and winked at her, saying he couldn’t help but “sweep such a pretty girl off her feet.”  She remembered how funny she’d found him, and all the days she’d spent watching him show her card tricks over and over and refuse to tell her how he was doing them, insisting with a smile and a laugh that she watch closely until she figured out what he was doing.

She remembered Yuuri scooping her away, and spending every night in that tower worrying about everyone who was left behind — worrying about Shun, about Sayaka, and Allen, and Kaito...and about Dennis.  Worried that his smile might be erased by the war, or worse, that he himself would be erased.

Only to have him approach her after it was all over, to watch from Yuzu’s eyes while he asked if he could speak to her.  And then watch him break down, crying on his knees and begging for forgiveness she’d never known was needed.

Since then, she’d barely seen him.  She wasn’t sure if it was just because they were rarely in the same dimension, or if he was avoiding her.  Or if...maybe, somehow, she was avoiding him, as far as she could in someone else’s body.

And now, standing in front of him for the first time in so long, with him brandishing a knife and smiling at her in a way that wasn’t his own, easy smile, made her feel like she was going to throw up.

She didn’t move as he advanced on her, the blade raised as though he were considering stabbing her.  Her throat went dry, and she was frozen against the mirrors, and all she could do was stare.

“Gah!  Ruri!!”

Yugo came out of nowhere, barrelling into Dennis and throwing him off his feet.  Ruri slid against the mirrors as her knees went out from under her, but Yugo scrambled back and grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her up.

“ Now we start running!” he shouted.

Ruri snapped back to herself, gripped hold of Yugo’s hand, and got her feet back under her to run.

They didn’t cast reflections, she realized when Yugo smacked into the first mirror, and she collapsed against him from the abrupt stop.

“Yugo, we have to be careful!” she said.  “It’s impossible to tell what’s a hallway and what’s a mirror!”

Yugo let out a string of swears, tightened his hold on Ruri, and barrelled down another corridor without worrying about checking first.  Ruri had to struggle to keep up with him, flapping along at the other end of his hand.

She chanced a glance behind her.  For a moment, it seemed like they weren’t being followed at all.  But then she turned her eyes forward again, and her gaze caught on movement inside the mirrors — Tsukikage ran alongside them like a reflection, and she almost screamed, thinking that he must be right next to them.  But no, he was only in the mirror, and he was faster than Yugo, stripping ahead of him, and then pushing through the mirror as though it were some veil of water that briefly wrapped around him before popping as he burst through.  Yugo skidded to a stop, trying to make another swing at Tsukikage. Ruri yanked him back before Tsukikage could get him in another lock.

“Goddammit!” Yugo shouted.  “You guys!! Don’t you know what you’re doing??”

Ruri looked back over her shoulder to see Dennis coming through the mirrors again behind them.  She felt her brain grind to a halt again. He was smiling at her, and all she could see in her head was the juxtaposition of the smiling face she had known before, and the broken, sobbing expression as he’d shuddered on the ground before her. How Ruri hadn’t even been able to do or say anything while Yuzu had been the one to hug him and comfort him.

He...didn’t even actually ask for forgiveness, she remembered, staring at him approach her.   He just told me what he’d done.  Like he didn’t think he deserved to be forgiven.  And...and I don’t think I actually ever told him one way or another.

“I’m serious!” Yugo shouted.  “You guys!! Pay attention to what you’re doing!”

“Oh, but they do know what they’re doing, Yugo.  They’re acting of their own free will, after all!”

Ruri gasped as she heard the voice of the Ringmaster echo around them.  She looked wildly for some sign of where their enemy was — her gaze fell on them standing inside the mirror behind her, and she jerked back with a gasp.  Yugo spun around and pushed Ruri behind him again, pushing her back against the opposite mirror to try and put himself between her and all three opponents.  If she was less rattled, she might have admired his willingness to defend her despite them not knowing each other very well.

The Ringmaster smiled from the mirror, tilting their head.

“You’ll have to excuse them, though,” they said.  “They’re a little overwhelming sometimes — they just really want you both to join the show!”

“Fat chance!!” Yugo said.  “You’re crazy!”

“That’s not very nice, Yugo,” the Ringmaster said.  “You’ve never really had much of a filter, have you?”

They shook their head with a sigh.  Dennis and Tsukikage were suddenly very still, as though waiting for instructions.  Ruri forced herself to think. She needed to find a way out of this — she’d gotten what she wanted.  The Ringmaster had come to her. Now she needed to find a way to get something out of this encounter, something that would turn the tables.

“I’ll filter your face into my fist!” said Yugo, holding up both fists.

“And so violent.  That’s rude, don’t you think?  We’re supposed to be making people smile.”

“Well, I don’t see you putting a smile onto anyone’s face with your crazy act,” Yugo said.

The Ringmaster chuckled, and then nodded at Dennis and Tsukikage.

“And what do their faces have?”

Yugo just scowled.

“That’s not a real smile!  You’re makin’ them do that!”

“I have never made anyone do anything they didn’t want to do,” said the Ringmaster.  “They chose to join the show willingly. I keep saying that, but you all won’t listen.”

They shook their head again, frowning.  Then they smiled.

“Maybe this new actress can convince you?” they said.  “After all, you trust her the most out of anyone, don’t you?”

Ruri felt her throat close, as a new shape walked across the reflections to stand next to the Ringmaster.  Yugo withered backwards, too, his eyes shining with hurt and panic.

Rin stood next to the Ringmaster.  Only, there was something very strange about her — her skin was a pale, icy white, and even her hair looked like it was spun from crystal.  When she moved, her body reflected light as though she were made of stone...or of ice.

“What do you think?” the Ringmaster said, sweeping an arm out to present her.  “The Living Icicle! She’s stunning, isn’t she?”

“You bastard !” Yugo screamed.  “You hurt her!”

“He didn’t hurt me,” Rin said, though her voice sounded far away and echoey.  “It’s okay, Yugo.”

Yugo flinched at the sound of her voice, and Ruri saw tears flood to the corners of his eyes.  He shifted from heel to heel, hands opening and closing into fists.

Rin stepped right up to her side of the mirror, her icy body frosting the surface slightly.

“The Ringmaster is right,” she said, her voice sounding as flat and cold as ice.  “Yugo...in here, we can be together again.”

Yugo flinched again.  And Ruri’s breath tightened in her throat.  She could see Yugo trembling now.

“We don’t have to be stuck in someone else’s head,” Rin said.  “We can touch each other again.”

“Rin,” Yugo whimpered.  “I — but like this —”

“How shallow of you, Yugo,” the Ringmaster said with a shake of their head.  “To not want to be with her just because that’s what she looks like?”

“That’s not what I — Rin, that’s not what I meant!” Yugo cried.  He stepped towards her.

“Come to this side of the mirror, Yugo,” the Ringmaster said, in a suddenly very lovely, soothing voice.  “If you come and meet Rin on this side of the mirror, and join my sideshow — the two of you will be together forever.  Nothing will be able to stop you. And Ruri, you as well...don’t you want to see Yuto again? Don’t you want to hug your brother, as yourself, and not filtered through someone else’s body?”

Ruri hesitated, her breath catching in her throat.  Her hands shook, and she could see Yugo trembling like a leaf.  He started to take another step forward.

No, no, no.  This was wrong.  She couldn’t let the Ringmaster do this.

She tried to reach for Yugo’s arm, to pull him back.

Dennis grabbed her wrist, wrenching it back down so hard that she cried out with pain.

“Ah, be gentle, Magician,” the Ringmaster said.  “Do forgive him. He’s overzealous.”

Ruri’s eyes shot to Dennis, to his dead, distant eyes.  She looked at Yugo again, as he slowly walked closer to Rin and the Ringmaster.  Rin’s eyes were like balls of eyes, without pupils or irises.

How could this be all right?  To be turned into this, for the Ringmaster’s amusement?  Sure, it hurt to be separated from those she loved — but not like this!  She didn’t want to live like this, no matter what! And she was sure that if Yugo and Rin were thinking straight, they wouldn’t either!

“This can’t be free will!” she cried.  “You can’t stand there and say that they’re doing this because they want to!”

Her voice seemed to catch on Yugo, and he stopped inches from the mirror, hesitating.  The Ringmaster frowned slightly.

Ruri tried to push forward, but Dennis grabbed her hard, pushing her up against the mirror so hard that she cried out.  Tears bloomed to her eyes, and she struggled against Dennis’s grip.

“You’re telling me that Dennis is doing this because he wants to?” she screamed.  “When he promised — when he promised that he would never hurt me again?”

Something hitched.  Dennis let go of her as though he’d been burned.  The Ringmaster’s face shot to Dennis, their smile sliding off.

Dennis was still smiling vapidly, but he stumbled back.  And — and Ruri could see it. Just the faint flicker of tears in the corners of Dennis’s eyes.

Immediately, the Ringmaster threw themself through the mirror, catching Dennis.

“No, no, no, it’s all right,” they whispered quickly.  “No, it’s all right, Dennis, it’s all right, you’re safe, you didn’t do anything wrong, I promise, it’s okay —”

Dennis’s trembles slowly, slowly stopped, and he returned to being a vapidly smiling doll, hanging in the Ringmaster’s arms.  Ruri’s heart rose into her throat. It was too late for the Ringmaster, though — she’d already seen what they didn’t want her to see.

The real Dennis was still in there.  And he wanted to get out. The same must be true of the others.

The Ringmaster turned their tight lips towards Ruri, helping Dennis get back to his feet.

“Don’t scare the Magician like that!” they snapped. “You’re the one hurting him!”

But Ruri tightened her fists and her jaw.  She saw Yugo’s trembles had stopped, too, and he was looking determined — he’d seen the slip in Dennis’s control, too.  He knew as well as Ruri did. The Ringmaster’s control could be broken.

“Please,” the Ringmaster said, their voice cracking suddenly.  “I only want to help you. Don’t you want to be free? Don’t you want to be your own people, able to hold and touch the ones you love?”

“We wouldn’t be free with you,” Ruri said.

“I can help,” the Ringmaster gasped.  “Ruri, you have to at least let me try to help. You’re hurting.  I just want to take it away.”

Ruri curled her fists up.  And then she let out a long, slow breath.  This was so crazy. But it felt like something that her friends would do, like some crazy, reckless thing that Yuto or Shun or even Yuzu might do if they’d thought of it.

She stepped forwards towards the Ringmaster.  Yugo shot her a look of surprise, and even the Ringmaster looked taken aback.  She held out her hand.

“Prove it, then,” she said.  “Show me.”

“Ruri!” Yugo gasped.

But the Ringmaster beamed.  

“I knew you’d be sensible,” they said.  “I promise that you’ll understand!”

They reached out and took Ruri’s hand.

Immediately, she felt their presence slip into her mind.  She forced herself not to fight it, at least right away.

It did feel nice.  Relaxing. She could feel all of her worries drifting away.  She felt herself starting to smile. Maybe this wasn’t so bad.  The Ringmaster really did want to help after all. She let out a sigh, feeling herself relax.

It was only when they got into her memories that she suddenly realized how wrong this was.

She stiffened.  She...she couldn’t quite...remember...what was she forgetting?  Something, someone important. A lot of important things, actually.  She couldn’t remember...there were smiles in her head, but she couldn’t remember who they belonged to.

Not important , the Ringmaster’s presence soothed, trying to push her worries away.   You don’t have to think about anything anymore.  You can just smile and play with your friends inside the circus forever.

No, but wait, what about the people outside the circus?  She was trying to remember them!

Thinking about them will hurt.  I’m going to take all of the hurt away.

It was so enticing.  She wanted to drift gently off to sleep.

But — her friends —

She remembered cold, lonely nights locked in the tower, hunched under her covers and repeating their names over and over.   Shun.  Yuto. Sayaka.  Allen. Kaito. Dennis.  Everyone.

And now, the Ringmaster was trying to take some of those names away from her.

“Stop,” she said.

“Ruri, I’m trying to help,” the Ringmaster said.  “Thinking about them — when you were in that tower, thinking about them hurt you.  Because you weren’t with them, thinking about them made being alone that much worse.  You don’t want to think about them.”

“They gave me strength to continue,” she gasped.

“They made you fear your imprisonment and what you might find when you escaped!” the Ringmaster cried.  “You were constantly worried about finally coming home to find them carded! If you hadn’t thought about that, you wouldn’t have hurt!”

Ruri ripped her hand out of the Ringmaster’s grip.  The Ringmaster tried to grab her back, but she clasped her hands to her chest and stepped backwards.  That soothing, gentle presence was completely gone, and she felt her whole body trembling. Her mouth was dry, and she almost fell over if not for Yugo catching her.

“If loving them hurts,” she mumbled.  “Then I want to hurt.”

The Ringmaster let out a cry — it sounded like they were breaking in half, and Ruri almost felt her heart breaking in sympathy to the rawness of the scream.

“I want to help!” they cried.  “You’ll understand if you just let me — if you just let me —”

“You said that they chose this of their own free will — I’m choosing to not choose this,” she said.  “Or are you admitting that you’re lying? ”

The Ringmaster stood bolt upright, freezing in place.  Their mouth hung open. A faint tremble ran through their body.

“No,” they gasped.  “I’m not...I didn’t...”

“You said they chose it!” Ruri pressed, her voice rising.  “And now that I’m not choosing it, you won’t accept that? Are you taking them freely or not?  Will you respect me to say no, or not?”

“You don’t understand,” the Ringmaster mumbled.  “You don’t. I know what’s best for you. I’m protecting you.”

Ruri’s eyes filled with angry tears now, and she drew herself up to her full height.

“You,” she said through grit teeth, “are a liar.”

The scream that came out of the Ringmaster’s throat wasn’t human.  Ruri and Yugo both had to step back from the force of the utter broken rage that poured out of the Ringmaster.  The mirrors shattered, and then immediately melted into pools of liquid metal on the floor. Ruri stumbled backwards — Rin, Dennis, and Tsukikage looked like they were about to have heart attacks, convulsing and clutching at their heads and chests.

“Enough!” the Ringmaster screamed.  “I won’t accept it! I won’t!”

They threw their gaze at Yugo.

“And you?” they hissed.  “What about you? YOu want to be with Rin again, don’t you?”

Yugo’s shoulders hunched.

“Of course I do,” he mumbled.  Ruri tensed. “But — but I want my Rin!  Not the one that you’re messing with!  I’ll bring her back!”

The Ringmaster let out another angry cry.  And then the floor disappeared from beneath Ruri and Yugo’s feet.  Ruri screamed, fumbling for Yugo, but she lost her grip.

When she came to, possibly only a second after she’d blacked out momentarily, she was sitting in a small barred cage, on a layer of hay.  In the cage next to her, she saw Yugo, rubbing his head and shaking himself.

“You’ll stay here,” the Ringmaster hissed.  “Until you understand .”

Ruri grabbed the bars, trying to see what was going on.

“You won’t win!” she screamed.  “They’ll all understand that you’re lying, Ringmaster!”

The Ringmaster appeared before her cage with a whoosh, leaning their face down against the bars, inches from her face.

“Or maybe you’ll understand that you chose wrong,” they hissed.  “You can stay here and watch the Human Pincushion for a while.”

They disappeared with another swoosh, and Ruri’s lips parted.  The what? What did they...

Their eyes fell down to the stage below her cage, and she heard Yugo make a choking sound.  Her eyes bulged, and her mouth went dry.

Oh god.

Yuya.

Chapter Text

Yuzu could only stare with her mouth hanging open.  This....couldn’t be possible.

There was no way that Reira could be standing in front of her.

Reira ducked their head, biting their lip.  There was no question — the little fortune-teller was Reira, Reira at the exact moment in which they had used the En Cards to save the world.  They were shorter than Yuzu, but much older than the version of them that had been reborn, with their long purple hair falling down their back and framing their large blue eyes.  Beneath the dark cloak, they were even wearing the same striped shirt and baggy shorts.

Yuzu took a step backwards.

“This is another trick, right?” she said.  “You can’t be here.  Because you...you were...”

“I’m sorry,” Reira said quickly, cutting her off.  “I know this is a lot!”

They wrung their hands for a moment, still biting their lip.

“Let me start from the beginning,” they said.  “You’re right, I can’t be the real Reira — because the real Reira regressed to the form of a baby after using the En Cards.  I guess what you could call me is...a memory.”

“A...memory?” Yuzu said, lips parting.

Reira — or, the memory Reira — nodded.

“To a point, I’m...the Ringmaster, too,” they said.  They quickly waved their hands when Yuzu stepped back again, feeling the color drain out of her face.  “Please, let me explain!!”

They wrung their hands again, shaking their head.  For a moment, they just mumbled, sounding a lot like the old Reira that Yuzu remembered meeting only once or twice.

“This is complicated,” they said.  “I’m sorry, again. I’m sort of Reira, but I’m sort of the Ringmaster.  I guess you could...you could call me the Ringmaster’s conscience.”

“Their...what?” Yuzu said, blinking.

Reira put a hand to their chest, looking up to meet Yuzu’s gaze.

“You see, to the Ringmaster, Reira is very important,” they said.  “Reira represents a savior to the Ringmaster. So when the Ringmaster was created...so was I.”

“You’re really not making any sense at all,” Yuzu said, feeling almost dizzy.   “When the Ringmaster was created ?  That doesn’t make any sense.  They’re a person, aren’t they?”

Reira opened their mouth, and then looked pale and choked.  They shook their head.

“I’m sorry,” they said quietly.  “Since I’m technically a part of the Ringmaster and this whole circus...there are things I can’t say yet.  I’ll do my best.”

They inhaled.  After a beat, they sat down at the little table with the crystal ball, and motioned to Yuzu to sit down across from them.  Yuzu stayed right where she was. This...fake or memory Reira or whatever had saved her, but...she shouldn’t trust anything in this circus.  As much as she wanted to believe that this Reira was here to help her...she just couldn’t trust them yet.

Reira didn’t look offended that she didn’t sit down.  They looked just like Reira, right down to their somewhat vacant stare.  They were so small, too, that even in the short chair, their legs didn’t reach the floor, and they kicked their feet back and forth.

“I think, deep down, the Ringmaster knows what they’re doing is wrong,” Reira said.  “That it’s not what they really want. But...they’re also really confused and scared.”

“They don’t seem very scared,” Yuzu grumbled.  “They seem crazy to me.”

Reira sighed, nodding.

“Yeah,” they said in a small voice.  “They’re...not okay.”

They bit their lip again.

“But that’s where I come in.  Every bit of the Ringmaster that doesn’t want to admit that they don’t want to be doing what they’re doing, that’s all shoved into me.”

Yuzu glanced around at the little fortune-telling tent with all its colorful scarves hanging everywhere, and raised an eyebrow.

“And all of this?”

Reira shrugged.

“It’s a circus.  I had to fit the aesthetic to have a place in the Ringmaster’s world.”

Yuzu bit her lip, considering the little Reira.  Real or not...what they were saying sort of made some kind of sense.  Yuzu had seen the Ringmaster’s erratic mood swings, their desperation for people to turn to them — their insistence that what they were doing was right, that they were protecting people rather than hurting them.

“So you know who the Ringmaster really is,” Yuzu said.

Reira nodded.

“But you can’t say?”

Reira shook their head.

“I’m part of them,” they said.  “And...they don’t want to say yet.”

Yuzu folded her arms, narrowing her eyes.

“Are they from Academia?” she said.

Reira gave her a small smile.

“Trying to figure it by asking what they’re not?  That’s really smart,” Reira said. “The answer is no.  They’re not.”

That pretty much erased all of Yuzu’s theories right then.  Not that she could totally trust this Reira, yet. She sighed, letting her arms fall back down to her sides.

“Okay,” she said.  “But if you’re in the circus, and you have been all this time — if you’re the one that doesn’t want to do this, then why haven’t you helped us before?”

Reira dropped their head, their smile fading.

“I’m not very strong,” they whispered.  “The Ringmaster is in total control, and doesn’t really want to acknowledge that they had to make me.  If I asserted myself any sooner, the Ringmaster probably would have erased me right away. I...I had to wait, for the right moment, where I could do the most good.”

Now that things were quiet, and that Yuzu wasn’t running away from things, she was slowly starting to feel her body unwind.  She felt her shoulders slumping, and all of the panic and fear and tears that she’d pushed down all this time were starting to bulge in her chest.  She hugged herself, squeezing her eyes shut.

Her head felt so empty and quiet.  She....she didn’t like it. She missed the girls.  She wanted them to be here again. She felt so alone, and she didn’t know whether to trust Reira or not.

She felt a tiny hand touch hers, and opened her eyes to see Reira gently touching her hand.  They looked so sad and small.

And...and they felt soft and warm.  Yuzu remembered this feeling, from when she was inside Reira’s soul, along with Ray.  This warm, determined, and comforting feeling of conviction...it was the same.

“Are you sure you’re not the real Reira?” she whispered.

Reira gave her a tiny smile.

“I don’t know,” they said.  “Honestly, I don’t know all that much since I woke up.  But...”

They clasped their hands behind their back, tilting their head down and closing their eyes with a smile.

“I think...a part of the Reira who made the decision to use the En Cards is still out there, somewhere,” Reira said.  “Or at least, their will is — it’s painted onto the universe they remade. So maybe there’s a bit of the real Reira in me too, trying to help you guys again.”

Yuzu felt tears bubble to her eyes.  She had to put her hands over her eyes to push them back in.  Now wasn’t...wasn’t the time to cry.

“Why did you bring me here?” she mumbled.  “Just to tell me that the Ringmaster has a conscience?  Why did you act now?”

She felt Reira patting her shoulder then, and peeked through her fingers to see Reira’s smile.

“That’s not all I had to tell you,” Reira said.  “But there’s only so much that I can do. I brought you here to show you what you can do.”

They stepped back to the table and beckoned her over.  Slowly, Yuzu walked over. Reira pointed into the crystal ball, and frowning, Yuzu leaned in.

“Are you going to tell my fortune?” she mumbled.

Reira let out a small laugh, and it sounded nice — the first real sound of happiness that she’d heard since she’d come to this stupid circus.

“Nope,” they said.  “Just look.”

Yuzu did, squinting at the cloudy interior of the crystal ball.

Slowly, however, she realized that the inside of the ball wasn’t what she was supposed to be looking at.  No, it was hard to see, but...her reflection looked....

Yuzu squinted and leaned closer.  Her eyes widened. Her reflection was different!!  She touched at her bangs, and her hand in the reflection moved too — but in the reflection, she was touching shorter, darker bangs.  She put both hands to her face — it felt the same, but in the cloudy reflection...she was looking at an older face. A more mature, adult face...

Akaba Ray’s face.

She looked sharply at Reira, who smiled at her.  Before she could say anything, they put a hand on top of hers.

“There’s a weakness to the Ringmaster’s game,” they said.  “The Ringmaster wants to reveal things, to make you face other parts of yourself...but that means you can find parts of yourself that can help you win.”

“Ray,” Yuzu breathed.  “You mean — I can actually — but Ray is —”

Reira seemed about to speak more.  But then a breeze wafted through the tent, ruffling the scarves, and their face went white.

They grabbed Yuzu by the hands and dragged her towards one of the tent flaps, pushing and shoving as best they could with their tiny body.  Yuzu stumbled with them.

“Reira, what —”

“I finally found where you were hiding.”

The Ringmaster’s voice was cold and sharp, unlike any other voice out of them that Yuzu had heard.  She felt her face whiten and she choked from the sheer ferocity of the voice.

She dared look over her shoulder.  The Ringmaster was sitting at the table, holding the crystal ball in one hand.  They weren’t smiling — their mouth was a sharp line of displeasure.

“Did you think you could hide forever?  In my circus?” the Ringmaster hissed.

Yuzu thought for a moment that the Ringmaster was talking to her, but Reira jumped in front of, and the Ringmaster seemed completely focused on them.

“Calm down,” Reira said.  “It’s okay.”

The Ringmaster threw the crystal ball to the floor with such force that it shattered.

“This must be because of you!” the Ringmaster shrieked.  “Everything is going wrong because — because I wasn’t strong enough to — because I was so weak as to let you exist !”

“Go,” Reira hissed at Yuzu.  “You need to go!”

“But then what?” she gasped.

“You already saw — the reflections!  Use the reflections! You have more power than you think you do, Yuzu!”

The Ringmaster let out another screech, leaping to their feet and smacking the table over, letting it crash down in a rain of scarves.  Reira leaped forward with both hands out, as though in a calming gesture, but the Ringmaster only screamed —

It was only for a moment, but Yuzu saw the tears streaming down the Ringmaster’s cheeks, just before they swiped their cane, and Reira disappeared in a puff of smoke.  Yuzu almost screamed — she felt like she was going to throw up.

“I don’t need you,” the Ringmaster cried.  “I don’t need you to save me! I’m going to save everyone!  I don’t need to be stopped!”

The Ringmaster was still having a tantrum — now was her chance to escape.  She turned and dove through the tent flap.

With a cry, she stumbled forward, and smacked right into a mirror, ramming face first into her own face.  She was — back in the mirror maze already!

“Yuzu,” she heard the Ringmaster cry out.  “Yuzu, I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have seen that, I’m sorry, please come back.”

Yuzu shoved against the mirror, turned, and ran.

Reira had told her to use the reflections — but as she ran, looking desperately at every reflection she cast, she only saw her own face, and no hint of Ray.

“Ray,” she gasped.  “Ray! You’re there, right?  Please, I need your help!”

There wasn’t any response.  Yuzu ran into a mirror, bounced off it, and turned to keep running.  She heard the Ringmaster still calling after her, their voice cracking and breaking, but she didn’t stop.  

Why wasn’t Ray coming? She thought, her eyes blurring with tears, making it even harder to navigate the maze.  She had to come, didn’t she? Where was she? Oh, god, please, she couldn’t do this alone, she couldn’t...

“Yuzu, Yuzu, it’s all right,” the Ringmaster called after her.  “It’s all right. You don’t need to do anything. You don’t need to save anyone.  I’ll do that. You can just trust me.”

Yuzu could hardly breathe.  She ran into another mirror and had to stop, pressing into it, her forehead pressing against her reflection.  She flinched when she saw the Ringmaster appear in the reflection behind her. They walked towards her, slowly, and she could see them coming towards her in the reflection.

She pressed her hands to the mirror, staring desperately into her own, panicked eyes.  Why wasn’t it working? Why wasn’t Ray coming to help her? Was she simply a ghost after all, an echo that had nothing to do with her?  Zarc expressed himself through the boys once before, but Ray had simply abandoned them?

“You have more power than you think you do.”

Reira’s words came back to her in a rush, and she gasped.  Her eyes widened.

She had more power, she thought, lips parting.  Reira had never said that Ray would come to save her.

She looked down at her own hand.  Ray couldn’t come because... she was Ray.  Yuya had learned that about himself and Zarc.  But she...she’d never made the connection. She was Ray.  She was the one who needed to find out what to do.  She needed to...she needed to trust herself .

And when she looked back up at her own reflection, she found Ray’s lavender eyes looking back at her.

Ray smiled.  She pressed a hand to the mirror.  

The Ringmaster let out a broken cry — but Yuzu didn’t hesitate.  She reached for Ray — reached for herself — and her fingers passed through the mirror, to entwine into Ray’s.

As softly as stepping through water, Yuzu was pulled gently through the mirror.  She landed against Ray’s chest, and Ray gently put her arms around Yuzu.

“Sorry,” Ray whispered.  “But I guess we’ve never had a chance to meet, have we?”

Chapter Text

Dammit, he’d already lost sight of Yuya.  Yuto tried to stay calm, feeling his way along the mirrors one at a time, the other hand in front of him in case a hallway turned out to be a mirror.  Not casting any reflection in this place was dizzying. He felt almost like he wasn’t real, and it made him feel sick to his stomach.

Yuya and the Ringmaster had disappeared, and he was completely alone in the maze of mirrors.  It felt even worse not being able to see even his own reflection, with the ringing silence and loneliness.  He felt a faint shudder pass through him. How...how long had it been since he’d been entirely alone? He’d been part of Yuya for so long, and even before that, he’d always had Shun and Ruri and the others around, insistent on making sure he stayed close to everyone — because if someone disappeared, it was very likely that you’d never see them again.

But now he was alone, and the silence felt thick and oppressive, making it almost hard to breathe.  What...what did he do now? Start breaking mirrors? Shout and yell until the Ringmaster showed themself?  Keep walking until he found a way out of the maze?

That was the only real thing he could do, he decided.  He needed to keep moving, no matter what. If he found the end of the maze, then he could do more, figure out a better plan, maybe find other people.

He squared his shoulders, and started to move forward.

It was slow going.  He didn’t let himself charge ahead, especially after his hand outstretched hit a few mirrors.  That would hurt if he really slammed into it. He had to move carefully.

He must have been walking for at least fifteen minutes when he finally turned a corner and saw a dark entry at the end of the hall — an ending that wasn’t a mirror.  His heart leaped and now he let himself break into a run. There it was! He’d found the exit!

For a moment, his heart soared — and it immediately crashed when he reached the dark end, and found a solid black wall in his path.  No...he’d been so sure...

He looked desperately into the mirror beside him, and his skin crawled — on the other side of the mirror, he could see an actual opening, leading out of the maze...was he not able to leave the maze because he was inside the mirrors?

“Dammit!”

He slammed his fist against the solid wall, fighting the urge to slide down against it.  The silence was too much.  He couldn’t handle it ringing in his ears, and pressing his hands against his ears didn’t help.  He just wanted to — he wanted to do something! He wanted to be able to do something, instead of being trapped like a rat in a cage!

He was nearly on the verge of screaming with frustration, his only outlet, when he heard the soft scuff of a foot behind him.  His heart leaped — he wasn’t sure whether he should leap to relief or panic yet. Who was coming around the corner?

He turned around, heart hammering in his chest.

He still wasn’t sure whether to respond with relief or panic when he saw Shun appear around the corner.

Yuto pressed back into the wall.  How was Shun inside the mirrors like this?  The last time Yuto had run into him, he’d tried to kill them.  Was he still under the Ringmaster’s control?

His mind cast back, suddenly, then, to a small flicker he’d noticed the last time they’d fled from Shun.  He’d looked into one of the reflections near him, and instead of seeing the angry face of the stranger who was trying to kill him and Yuya and the others...he’d seen someone with a panicked expression.  Someone who seemed to be shouting, not matching their reflection...

Shun stopped at the end of the hallway.  He looked stiff and uncomfortable. But when his eyes moved to Yuto, his gaze widened.

“Yuto?” he gasped.  “Is that you?”

His eyes flickered back to the other side of the mirror, furrowing his brow to see no reflection of Yuto on the other side.  There was a reflection of Shun on the other side, though, and in fact through all of the mirrors.

“Shun?” Yuto said cautiously.  “Are you...are you in your right mind?”

Shun didn’t move, but his face wrinkled with frustration.

“I can’t do anything,” he said, his voice tight.  “That thing — switched places with me. I’m the reflection now, I can only do what it does.”

Yuto looked quickly back into the mirror.  The closest reflection of Shun had a dark, twisted expression on his face, looking angry — not at all like the Shun standing in front of him.  It shifted from one foot to the other, and the Shun in front of him moved too, looking as though he couldn’t help but respond in that way.

“Did the Ringmaster do this?” Yuto said.

Shun scowled.

“Who else?” he said.  His face fell then, jaw tightening.  “Thank god you’re okay. I...I couldn’t stop my reflection from....”

Yuto couldn’t stay where he was anymore.  He pushed off the wall and ran over to Shun/

Shun didn’t move when Yuto threw his arms around him, it was almost like hugging a statue, but Yuto heard him let out a thin sigh of relief.

“This is kind of surreal,” Shun said, making a thin smile.  “I mean, all of this is. But seeing you like this.”

“It’s been too long,” Yuto said, pulling back.  “Don’t worry, Shun. I’m going to find a way to get you out of this.”

“I know you will,” Shun said.  “You’re always the one getting me out of trouble.”

Yuto managed a thin smile himself.  Despite everything that was happening...it was good to see his friend in person again.

“How did you get into here in the first place?  Maybe we can reverse it,” Yuto said.

Shun started to open his mouth, but then his eyes widened as he turned suddenly to the side.  Yuto felt something freeze, and he glanced towards the mirror.

The Shun on the other side of the mirror was turned towards him, staring straight at him.  There was a harsh, angry light in his eyes. Yuto felt his breath tighten in his throat.

And then the Shun on the other side of the mirror turned with a jerk, forcing the Shun in front of him to move too.  Shun’s eyes widened as his arms snapped up.

“Yuto, get away!” he said.

Yuto leaped back just before Shun could make a wild grab at him.  The reflection stumbled and shook its head. It tried again — but since it was trying to angle itself to grab something that was only reachable by its own reflection, it couldn’t quite seem to figure out the reach.  Yuto dodged backwards again.

“Yuto, you need to get around me, you need to run,” Shun said.  “I’m not going to be made to hurt you again!”

Yuto didn’t want to leave him — he didn’t want to leave Shun behind again!  But as he ducked under another swipe, he knew he didn’t have a choice. Biting back tears, he ducked his head and tried to bolt around Shun to make for the open maze.

The reflection seemed to expect this.  The minute that Yuto tried to move under Shun’s arm, Shun’s arms both snapped down, blocking the exit and clotheslining him.  He stumbled backwards, falling until he hit the wall behind him. The reflection move Shun forward, and this time, it got a hit.

Shun’s hands latched around Yuto’s throat, his eyes wide with panic.

“Yuto, hurt me if you have to, hit me,” Shun said.  “Do whatever you have to!”

Yuto struggled against Shun’s hands.  He tried to grab at Shun’s thumbs to peel them back, but it was once again like grabbing hold of a statue.  Could he actually affect Shun’s reflection at all, or was he simply trapped here? He kicked and punched, making Shun let out a few grunts, but he didn’t let go.  Shit, shit, shit, he was going to black out...he was going to...

“Get out of my head,” Shun gasped suddenly, tightening his jaw.  “Bastard!”

Yuto struggled more despite his vision blinking in and out..  Was the Ringmaster here? Were they trying to get through to Shun again?  Trying to make him give up?

“No, shut up,” Shun said.  “I wouldn’t be doing this in the first place if — if you weren’t making me do it!  Shut up! Shut up!  Stop saying bullshit like this — there’s no part of me that wants this!”

Yuto’s struggles started to weaken.  Tears pooled at Shun’s eyes, helpless to release him.  

“Yuto, stay with me,” he begged.  “Please. I can’t — again — I don’t want to lose you —”

As Yuto’s vision nearly blurred out, he was positive that he was about to die.

That is until Shun abruptly let go, and he collapsed to the ground.  He coughed, his vision coming back in a burst. Had — had Shun given in?  Had he let the Ringmaster take over in order to save him??

Shun’s mouth was in a wide O of surprise.  Yuto’s eyes widened as well as he realized what had come to his rescue — or rather, who.

“Dammit, Shun!  Are you a warrior or are you not?” Selena shouted.  She had her arms hooked beneath Shun’s pinning him back like a wrestler.  The reflection of Shun was frozen in place in the same way as the Shun in front of him, struggling and bucking against something invisible on that side of the mirror.

Selena growled as the Shun inside the mirror matched the struggling.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Shun swore.  “I’m not trying to do this!”

“Well then, try better!” Selena shouted.  “And you! Get off the floor! Do you want to die?”

Yuto coughed, rubbing his throat and forcing himself back to his feet.

“Get around him!  God! Start moving already!”

Yuto managed to limp around Shun, getting behind him and Selena.  Then Selena shoved Shun forward so that he ran into the wall, turned, and shoved at Yuto’s back to make him start moving.

“Stop standing around and staring, let’s move, move, move!” she yelled.

Yuto stumbled along at her shoves, but finally got his feet under him and started to go.  She was right on his heels, almost stepping on his feet as they ran. He didn’t dare look behind him, but he could hear Shun still coming after them, and in the reflection ahead of him, he could see Shun barrelling after them.  It was eerie, seeing him but not his or Selena’s reflections, and made it disorienting. Almost impossible to tell where Shun was actually coming from.

“We can’t just run!” Yuto shouted at Selena.  “We need to find a way to stop him!”

“You want me to punch him?  Maybe that’ll toss him back out,” Selena shouted back.

Shit, no, that wasn’t going to work.  If only he’d gotten Shun to tell him how he’d gotten in here!  He could start formulating a plan to get him out! Think, think, think.  It was hard to think when he was running, and also smacking into mirrors and then fumbling to find which way was the next direction he could go.  Selena kept grabbing at him, too, making him trip over his own feet.

He had to think.  How did the Ringmaster do things?  They got into your head, made you think about your worst flaws, the things that worried you and made you angry or upset, until you broke so much that you could only give in, and let the Ringmaster take over for you to escape the pain.  But Shun wasn’t fully possessed — he was trapped in the mirror, and Yuto had seen him nearly change when he was strangling them last time...but he still was partially in his right mind, even if his reflection was doing this...

Shun must be trapped in a halfway point.  The Ringmaster must feel like they needed to do a little extra work to get Shun to give in.

Make Shun hurt his friends, Yuto thought with a shudder.   That would definitely make him break eventually.

But there had to be a way to undo it.  There just had to.

He stumbled and tripped, sprawling onto the floor.  Selena tripped over him with a help, landing on his back.  She immediately rolled off him and onto her feet, leaping up with both fists raised.  Yuto scrambled up to his hands and knees.

Shun approached a little more slowly now, but he didn’t look winded at all — neither did his reflection.  His head was turned to the side, but he was still trying to look at Yuto and Selena with desperation. The reflection had his head turned, so that he could look at Yuto and Selena inside the mirrors, coming closer and closer.

“You wanna go, shithead?” Selena shouted at the reflection.  Then she swung her angry eyes to Shun, both fists raised. “Come on, Kurosaki!  You’re better than this!”

“I’m trying,” Shun said through grit teeth.  “I can’t...I can’t...”

“Poor Kurosaki is dealing with his demons right now,” came a familiar voice, and Yuto’s skin crawled.  “It’s rude to interrupt him.

Yuto’s head swung around, and he saw the Ringmaster on the other side of the mirror.  They didn’t cast a reflection, only existing in the same place as the evil reflection of Shun.  They leaned on their cane, watching Yuto and Selena with a faint expression, as though they weren’t completely there.

“You!” Selena yelled, swinging herself towards them.  “Haven’t you had enough, you sick bastard?”

“That’s so rude, Selena,” the Ringmaster said.  “I thought you’d be having fun.”

“Fun?” she spat.  “You think this is fun ?”

“Well, it’s better than usual, isn’t it?” the Ringmaster said with a smile.  “After all — you have your own body again!”

Selena faltered, then, her angry expression slipping.  The Ringmaster smiled.

“It’s been hard, hasn’t it?  Being trapped in someone else’s body, not able to do all the things you want to do?  It reminds you all too much of your old home sweet home, locked in a room in Academia, not allowed to go out and play.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Selena said, but Yuto could see it — the faint nerves springing to her expression.

The Ringmaster spread their arms wide with an even wider smile.

“Doesn’t it feel good, Selena?  To be able to run and stretch your legs?  Even to be able to fight, like the soldier and warrior you always wanted to be?  Doesn’t it feel nice to feel your own muscles stretching with your own will?”

Selena opened her mouth, but the Ringmaster spoke over her.

“You could have that forever, Selena,” they said softly.  “Running from Kurosaki won’t make you happy for long, right?  But if you join my show, you’ll be able to fight and run and even dance to your heart’s content, forever.  You’ll never be trapped again.”

“Except by you,” Selena said through grit teeth, and Yuto nodded sharply.

The Ringmaster only smiled, however, and Yuto caught sight of Selena’s trembling fists.  Oh no. She was — listening to him.

He forced himself to his feet and swayed slightly, and the Ringmaster’s face turned to him.

“And Yuto,” they said, brightening.  “It’s been so long since you’ve had your own two feet, hasn’t it?  Doesn’t it feel good?”

“It would feel better if you weren’t trying to make my best friend kill me,” he said through grit teeth.

The Ringmaster sighed, shaking their head.

“Like I said, Yuto.  Kurosaki is dealing with his own demons at the moment — I keep trying to help, but he won’t let me.  He’s letting his own demons control him.”

“Shut up!” Shun shouted.  “That’s not what’s happening!  You did this to me!”

“You did this to yourself,” the Ringmaster said, sending Shun a look.  “After all, it was you who decided to attack the mirrors, isn’t it? You’ve always been impulsive...reckless.  Isn’t that right, Yuto? He always got himself into trouble, and caused more trouble for everyone.”

Yuto felt anger coil in his throat, but he couldn’t think of the words to vocalize it.

“If Shun hadn’t gone gallivanting off to Standard, you wouldn’t have met Yuya.  You never would have had to be forced to become one with him. But no. Shun ran off, and you couldn’t help but follow him...and now look at where it got you.”

Shun looked white-faced, and Yuto felt his heart leap with panic.

“Shun, that wasn’t your fault,” he said quickly, turning to him.

“But you certainly led to it happening, hm?” the Ringmaster said.  “And even now, you’re letting your anger control you.”

The reflection before them lurched forward, and Selena leaped back as Shun was forced to make another swipe at her.

“So angry that you lost your friend, your sister, that you can’t help but want to lash out,” the Ringmaster said.  “And you, Selena, and Yuto...so lost and trapped. You haven’t had true freedom in ever so long. Why won’t you let me give it to you?”

“It won’t be true freedom!” Selena shouted.  “Dammit! Shun, you’ve got to fight this!”

“I’m trying!” Shun shouted back, as he made another swipe for Selena, this time grabbing her by the ponytail. She shrieked and kicked him in the knee, but he didn’t let go despite his grunt of pain.  Yuto tried to tackle him around the waist, but it was like hitting a pillar. How had Selena even managed to get him off of him back then?

“All three of you have been trapped in a fight for so long,” the Ringmaster said softly, simply watching them all struggle with each other.  “Selena, trapped by delusions of honorable combat and a fight to be recognized. Kurosaki, trapped by a war that took everything from you. Yuto, trapped by a fight to simply continue existing.”

The Ringmaster sighed, leaning on their cane with both hands.

“Why won’t you just let me take care of this burden for you?” they said.  “I’ll take the weight away. You don’t have to fight anymore.”

“Shut up!  I’ll never stop fighting!” Selena shouted, finally ripping free of Shun’s grip, losing some hair in the process with a shriek.

“And so you’ll go back?  To living in a cage, forced to watch Yuzu’s life live out, and yours be put on hold for the rest of time?”

Selena flinched, looking as though she’d been struck.

“Don’t listen,” Yuto gasped.  “Selena...”

“You don’t have to fight to be seen anymore, Selena,” the Ringmaster said.  “Because you’ll be free, here. I promise. You’ll never be in a cage again.”

“This whole place is a cage,” Selena said, but Yuto heard the crack in her voice.  She tightened her fists and stumbled away from Shun’s next lunge, as Yuto was thrown to the ground.

“The more you fight, the more it hurts,” the Ringmaster said soothingly.  “I can make it stop hurting. I can help you smile again.”

Selena let out a cry of anger, and she ducked under another attack, trying to punch Shun in the stomach.  Yuto sat on the ground, coughing and shaking slightly. His friends were...they were being forced to fight.  And the Ringmaster just kept watching...waiting...breaking them down, little by little, shoving against their resistance until they simply shattered, unable to hold up against the constant pressure...

He inhaled.  Oh. Oh .  That was it!

“Shun,” he gasped, leaping to his feet.  “Shun! Stop fighting!”

“I’m trying !” Shun yelled, as he was forced to lunge after Selena again.

“No, I mean — stop fighting your reflection!”

He could only see Shun’s eyes widen, unable to move his head.

“But — it’ll —”

“Shun, the reflection is you ,” Yuto shouted.  “The more you fight against yourself, the weaker you get!”

Angry, frustrated tears bubbled to Shun’s eyes.

“It’s not me,” he said.  “I don’t...I don’t want...”

“I know you don’t!  But the reflection comes from you, Shun!  If you both stop fighting each other — you’ll only break yourself if you keep fighting!”

Yuto breathlessly caught sight of Shun’s gaze in the mirrors.  He opened his eyes to shout again, but then he felt a hand clamp down over his mouth, and his eyes bulged with shock.

The Ringmaster gripped him tightly around the arms, one gloved hand pressed to his mouth.

“That’s enough, Yuto,” they hissed.  “This isn’t your show.”

Yuto struggled, but the Ringmaster was far stronger than him, and he couldn’t get another word out.  Shun — would Shun be able to figure it out?

Shun lurched forwards towards Selena, who backed up with wide, nervous eyes.

But then...suddenly, Shun stopped moving.  He inhaled, and exhaled. His shoulders started to slump.  He breathed in deep again, and out again. The Ringmaster’s grip on Yuto slackened.

“Kurosaki,” they whispered.  “Kurosaki. It’s all right. I can —”

But Shun was...Shun was turning to face his own reflection.  They looked straight at each other.

Slowly, they started to walk towards each other.

The Ringmaster let go of Yuto, crying out with panic.

“Kurosaki!  No!”

Shun reached the mirror, and walked straight through it.  His reflection came through on the other side, and as soon as he was through, he collapsed.  His reflection matched him, gasping and shuddering for breath.

The angry look on Shun’s face was completely gone.  Shun was — Shun had gotten out. He was out!

Selena’s eyes widened.  And then a huge grin split her face.

“Holy shit,” she said.  “It worked!”

The Ringmaster let out another cry.

“Why won’t you all trust me?” they shrieked.  “I want — I just want —”

They screamed again, clutching at their head and rocking back and forth wildly.

“I won’t play your game,” Yuto said, drawing himself up to his full height, which was still an inch shorter than the Ringmaster.  “ We won’t play your game.”

The Ringmaster went dead still in an instant.  Immediately, the temperature in the room seemed to drop to an icy blast.

“You won’t play?” the Ringmaster said hollowly.  “That’s unfortunate. Because I want you to play.”

They pointed their cane at Yuto and then at Selena.

Yuto felt the floor drop beneath his feet, and he gasped.  When he startled back to himself, he was in a small cage. Selena swore, and he heard a soft gasp from his side — he spun to see Ruri in the cage beside him.  Her eyes were wide with panic.

“Ruri!” Yuto shouted.  He tried to throw himself towards the cage, to grab hold of her hand through the bars, but then his whole cage shuddered, lifting upwards and out of reach of her.

“You haven’t earned the right to see her yet,” the Ringmaster said.  “No, Yuto — if you don’t play the game...this won’t end well for you.”

“You’re sick!” Yuto shouted.  “What are you doing all of this for?”

He didn’t even know where the Ringmaster was.  He looked around wildly. His eyes fell to the ground below, and his stomach twisted.

Oh fuck.  Oh fuck oh fuck.  Was that...

“Perhaps I’ve been too nice,” the Ringmaster mumbled.  “Too sweet. I know what you all need. I know how to keep you safe.  But I...but I was too nice about it. I think...yes, maybe now that I got rid of all of my unnecessary feelings.”

Yuto heard a shuddering breath from somewhere nearby, but he couldn’t tell where.

“Maybe the only way to win is to kill him, after all.”

Yuto could only watch in utter horror at the tiny cage on the stage far below him —

And the tiny, broken shape of Yuya, lying in a pool of blood at the bottom of it.

Chapter Text

Yuzu breathed in and out.  The air felt pleasantly warm all of a sudden, tickling at her skin with just the tiniest of breezes.  She didn’t remember closing her eyes, but she had to open them to see where she was.

Her lips parted, and her eyes widened.

She definitely wasn’t in the circus anymore.

Before her, seemingly endless, spread a huge field of flowers.  Mostly pink, white, and red blossoms bobbed in the breeze, but there were hundreds of colors between the thick, soft blades of grass.  The sky was a dark, velvety black, and a full moon hung in the sky right over her head, among the most endless spread of stars she’d ever seen.

She heard a bird let out a small chirp behind her, and she turned around.

A huge tree stood at the top of a small rise in the earth before her.  It was thick and laden with cherry blossoms, its trunk thick and slightly twisted as its branches spread out in a huge canopy to shade the entire rise.  Despite it being full night, everything seemed perfectly visible, and she could make out even the small details in the tree bark.

And she wasn’t surprised to see the woman sitting with her legs tucked beneath her in the shadow of the tree, tucked neatly in a curve between roots.  

Yuzu wasn’t entirely certain how she was supposed to feel.  All this time, she’d wondered why she’d never sensed or felt Ray.  Why Ray had never spoken through her, or expressed herself through the other girls, the way Zarc had.  If she was honest with herself, she’d almost built Ray up to be...a goddess of sorts in her head. She felt as though she was supposed to feel small and insignificant before her.

She didn’t feel like that at all.  It felt more like...like how she felt coming home after a long day.  Familiar and relaxing, as though she were finally throwing off her shoes and taking her pigtails out of their scrunchies.

Ray smiled at her.  She tilted her head, and patted the roots beside her.

“Come on over,” she said.  “We don’t have a whole lot of time, after all.”

Yuzu shook herself free of her thoughts.  She blushed a little, and hurried to climb the rise.  At Ray’s beckoning, she sat on one of the roots right next to her, turning so that she was able to face her head on.  Ray sat just a little bit lower than her, so that even though she was clearly older and taller, their eyes met perfectly.  

“Where are we?” Yuzu blurted before she could think of a more pertinent question.

Ray looked around, considering everything.  Up in the branches overhead, a bird twittered, and Yuzu looked up to see a robin nestled in a nest, looking down at them with its beady black eyes.

“Good question,” Ray said.  “I think we might be in our heart somewhere.”

“You mean — this is all in my head?” Yuzu said, eyes widening.  “Does that mean my body’s still in the circus??”

“Whoa, slow down there,” Ray said, holding up a hand.  Yuzu felt her sudden burst of panic fade away. “I’m gonna guess that it’s not that straightforward.  But one way or another...yeah. We’re inside your heart and soul, somewhere.”

Yuzu tried not to let her mouth fall open.

“You mean you don’t know ?”

Ray sent her a grimace.

“I’m afraid that if you think this is the deus ex machina where I have all the answers like that,” she said, snapping her fingers, “then this is going to be a little disappointing.”

Yuzu flushed, feeling just a little bit of a wither in her heart.  She really... had been hoping for some answers.

“But then, why are we here?   What can you tell me?” Yuzu said.  “I mean, you know what’s going on right?”

Ray nodded.

“Let’s start from there,” she said.  “To a point, yes, I’m Ray. But mostly, I’m you , Yuzu.”

“Huh?”

Ray reached forward and poked Yuzu right over her heart.

“You don’t have the other three with you.  It takes all four of you to put me together, because all four of you are me.  I’m just the small part of your soul that remembers your past life.  The part of you that remembers being Ray.”

Yuzu looked down at Ray’s finger, and then back up at Ray.  She felt a small burst of panic growing in her chest again.

“I don’t...think I understand.”

“Don’t count yourself out,” Ray said.  “I understand, and I’m you. Which means some part of you gets it.”

Yuzu bit her lip.  This was not as enlightening as she’d hoped so far.  Ray took a deep breath.

“Okay.  You’re my reincarnation.  To a point, you’re something new — but you’re also me .  And I’m you.  Just like Yuya had to learn that he’s Zarc, as much as he is himself.”

“Why didn’t you ever reach out to us the way Zarc did to his counterparts?” Yuzu said.  “Why...why haven’t we been able to connect like this before?”

Ray’s eyes softened, and she sighed, leaning back on both her hands.  She tilted her head up towards the velvety sky, just visible between the flowers, her pigtails slipping off her shoulders and dangling past her back.

“Well, it’s all a lot of magic bullcrap, for one thing,” she said.  “The truth is, though...I didn’t reach out through you all because...I didn’t want to.”

Yuzu tilted her head, lips parting.

“When I used the En Cards, I was fully aware of what I was doing to myself,” Ray said.  “I knew that I wouldn’t be coming back — or if I did, I wouldn’t be the same anymore. And I accepted that.  Zarc didn’t.”

She looked back at Yuzu then, and Yuzu was struck with just how much strength and confidence there was in those lavender eyes.  She’d...was that really someone she could be? With so much self-confidence and bravery?

“I fully accepted that I was becoming someone else and so...most of what was me , in comparison to how you and the girls grew up as separate individuals had faded away.  I let you all go, grow up the way you wanted to. Me, but different. New cuttings from the same soul.”

She closed her eyes.

“But Zarc didn’t want to go.  Zarc clung to himself, to his individuality, even as his new souls began to grow and develop into something new.  He wasn’t ready to stop existing — wasn’t ready to let go of his desires.”

Yuzu nodded slowly.  It...made sense. She was kind of surprised that she was starting to get it.  Though...she shook her head. Maybe now wasn’t the time for that kind of questioning.  What she needed was a plan to stop the Ringmaster, and to save her friends.

Ray seemed to hear her thought before she said it out loud — which, actually made sense, if Ray was in fact just a part of Yuzu herself.  In a sense...she was only talking to herself.

“You want to stop the Ringmaster and save everyone,” Ray said.  “And so do I.”

“But we need a way to win,” Yuzu said, her voice cracking with desperation.  “They seem to know everything! They come back from every obstacle we create!  And now...they’ve gotten rid of Reira, the part of them that didn’t want to do everything...”

Ray nodded, and Yuzu felt tears bubble to her eyes.

“I can’t do this,” she mumbled.  “I can’t be like you were. I can’t be brave enough to save my friends, let alone the entire world.”

Ray let out a little snort then.

“You think I was brave?” she said, smiling slightly.  “I was scared shitless, Yuzu. And let’s not forget that my solution didn’t really solve it for long.  If I’d been in charge the whole time...well, if Reira hadn’t taken matters into their own hands, I’d have kept that cycle going for a long time.”

“Then how am I supposed to figure something out when you couldn’t?” Yuzu cried, tears escaping her eyes and catching in her eyelashes.  “They’re just...too strong. I almost gave in....how are we supposed to win...?”

She had to press her hands to her eyes to keep the tears in, shoulders shaking.  After a beat, she felt Ray’s hands on her shoulders, felt her fingers lightly massaging her.

“You know,” Ray said softly.  “Thinking about what I did to try and fix Zarc...I don’t think I was all that different from what the Ringmaster is trying to do.”

Yuzu shot her gaze back up, eyes wide.

“That’s not the same at all!  You were trying to save the world!”

Ray smiled sadly, shaking her head.

“I had a little bit of control over what happened with the En Cards, you know,” she said.  “Not enough to create everything ...but enough to set the world up.  I split Zarc into four on purpose — scattered his dragons on purpose.”

She leaned back again, covering her mouth with the back of her hand for a moment.

“I even put you four girls near his four on purpose,” Ray said.

“To make sure he didn’t turn into a demon again,” Yuzu said.

“No, Yuzu,” Ray said, and as she began to speak, Yuzu felt the truth appear within her before the words did.  “Because I thought he was lonely.”

Yuzu’s tears blurred her eyes.  She thought of Yuya, with his goggles over his eyes, trying to hide the pain.

“But you only wanted to help,” Ray said.  “You didn’t hurt him. That’s not what the Ringmaster did at all.”

Ray smiled again, shaking her head.

“I know I didn’t want to hurt him,” she said.  “Despite everything he did. I wanted to help. I wanted...I wanted someone to be there for him, this time.  That maybe he wouldn’t turn to destruction if he wasn’t alone. But, Yuzu...that was just it.”

She looked back up at the stars, reaching one hand up towards the sky.

“I thought that if I made him a perfect, happy world...he’d forget what he really wanted.  I thought that if I made a world where he had friends, parents, family — that I would ‘fix’ him.”

She let her hand fall back down to her legs.

“But I didn’t think about his feelings,” she said.  “I assumed I knew what he needed.  But you...you, and Yuya, and Reira...you tried to understand.  And you did understand. You calmed Zarc’s rage because you reached out .”

Her eyes, glinting in the moonlight, looked back down to Yuzu.  She smiled, and this time, it was alight with a fire that made Yuzu catch her breath.

“You can’t fix anyone, Yuzu,” Ray said.  “You can’t make a perfect world for them, because only they can decide what their perfect world is.  But what you can do...is understand them.”

Yuzu clenched her hands into her lap.

“Are you telling me that I need to try to understand the Ringmaster?” Yuzu said.

Ray let out a little laugh.

“You’re telling yourself,” she said with a wink.  “But maybe not just the Ringmaster. If you want to bring your friends back from their illusions...you need to understand what they want.  Not what you want for them.”

Yuzu wasn’t sure she understood.  But Ray did — and Ray was her. So if she just trusted Ray...trusted herself...

Maybe...maybe she could do this.  Maybe she could help everyone.

Not to save them or to fix them.  But to reach out her hand to them.

Yuzu looked out over the horizon, and she saw the stars starting to slowly wink out.  Ray stood up.

“Looks like we’re running out of time,” she said.

Yuzu scrambled to her feet.

“Wait,” she said.  “I still have so many more questions!”

“Speed round then, go,” Ray said.

Yuzu was so shocked to not be told there’s no time that she hesitated for just a second.

“The Ringmaster seems to want us in particular — do you understand why?” she said desperately.

Ray considered for a second.  The flowers were starting to disappear now, too, and the world was slowly closing in on them, the darkness spreading towards them.

“I think it’s because this place is only a show,” Ray said.  “It’s an illusion. It’s not real.”

Her eyes cut into Yuzu.

“But, Yuzu,” she said.  “There’s a power within us — one that you don’t know about yet, and one that I don’t have time to explain.  But before I defeated Zarc, I wasn’t just a professional duelist. I was someone else, too.”

“What does that mean?” Yuzu said, her eyes widening.

“I think we’ll have to continue this conversation later,” Ray said.  “But I know why the Ringmaster wants us. Because with us, with the power that I held before I defeated Zarc, the power that you and the girls still contain — the Ringmaster can make their show reality.  It won’t end when the curtain closes, and the illusion will never dispel.”

The darkness rushed over them now, spraying between Yuzu and Ray and cutting Ray from sight.

“Wait!” Yuzu shouted.  “I —”

“I’m you, Yuzu,” Ray’s voice echoed one last time.   “If you need more answers, ask yourself.  And trust your answers.”

Yuzu’s eyes flew open.

She was lying on the floor in the mirror maze, staring at the low, dark ceiling.  Her whole body thrummed as though she’d just been running, and her heart vibrated in her chest.  She could still feel the warm breeze of the world inside her soul, but it was fading away to the chill of the circus instead.  She tried to breathe. She was back. She didn’t know if she really knew what she was supposed to do now — if she’d learned anything at all.

No, she had, she thought, her hands curling up tightly.  She’d learned that she wasn’t helpless. And she’d learned...or at least she thought she’d learned...that she knew how to bring everyone back.

She saw movement in the mirrors.  With a gasp, she shot to her knees, dragging herself up to her feet with a hand on the mirrors.

Sora just a few feet away from her, looking at her with his dull eyes and vapid smile.  Yuzu felt her heart breaking seeing him like this.

“Sora,” she whispered.

Sora only smiled at her.  And then, after a beat, he actually spoke — his voice sounded echoey and distant, as though speaking from inside a tin can.

“Yuzu,” he said.  “The Ringmaster has been waiting for you to come back.”

Yuzu inhaled.  She felt a tremble coming on, and banished it immediately.  Now wasn’t the time.

“The Ringmaster requests that you’ll join them for the penultimate act,” Sora said.  “It is taking place in the sideshow. If you’ll please come with me.”

Yuzu stood her ground, letting her hand fall from the mirror so that she could square her shoulders.

“What if I say no?”

Sora blinked, still smiling, but looking confused.

“The Ringmaster needs you,” Sora said.  “It’s important. You have to be there for the show.”

“Sora,” Yuzu said.  “Sora, you’re still in there, right?”

Sora only blinked at her.

Think about their feelings.  Not what you want for them, but what they want for themselves.

How did the Ringmaster get through to them in the first place?

Yuzu took a step forward.  Sora didn’t move, looking at her.

“Are you coming?” he asked.

“No,” Yuzu said.  “I just want to hear from you, Sora.  I want to hear what you want.”

Sora blinked again.  Like nothing more than a doll.  She felt her heart squeeze.

“You know, Sora?” she said, looking up towards the ceiling.  “When you said that you would move to Standard after the war, we were all so happy.  You should have seen Yoko-san. She spent the whole week before you were supposed to come back shopping like crazy so she’d have all sorts of sweet things for you to eat.”

Sora didn’t seem to react.  Yuzu took another step forward.

“Do you remember the welcome party?” she said. “You told us not to make a big deal, but when you walked through the doors and you saw the big banner that Yuya made, you started crying.”

Something in Sora’s face changed.  Yuzu couldn’t put her finger on what it was, exactly, but it was almost as though a new glint had come to his eyes.

“The...the Ringmaster wants to see you,” Sora said, voice hitching.

Yuzu stepped forward again.

“We were all so happy that you were home,” she said.  “And I... I was happy that you were home.  We love you, Sora.”

A strange tremble ran through Sora’s arms, and then through his whole body.  He wasn’t smiling anymore. In fact, he looked like he was in pain.

“If this...if this world is what you want to be your home, Sora, then...then I love you enough to let you choose it,” Yuzu said, blinking back tears.  “But I want to hear it from you, Sora. I want to hear what you want.”

A thin, whining sound escaped Sora’s throat.  The trembling was getting so bad that he didn’t seem to be able to stand up right, and he had to throw one foot back to stabilize himself.  Yuzu felt a warmth growing in her chest, and she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, or if there was actually heat starting to come through her fingers.

She held out her hand towards Sora.

“We’re friends, Sora,” she said, through a thick lump of tears.  “So if something hurts...I want to hear about it. We’ll work through it together.  We’ll help you find a way through.”

Sora clapped his hands against his head.  Tears started to roll down his cheeks.

“It hurts,” he gasped, and for the first time, it felt like Sora’s voice.  “It — it hurts.”

Yuzu couldn’t stay back anymore.  She swooped forward, grabbing him in her arms and falling to her knees, the two of them collapsing with Sora trembling in her grip.

“It’s okay,” she said.  “It’s okay if it hurts.”

“I want it to stop hurting,” Sora said.  “I want it to go away.”

“I’m here, Sora.  You can talk about it.  You can tell me what hurts.”

“I...I hurt them,” Sora said, eyes bulging.  “I hurt them...I hurt you .”

Yuzu held him tighter, and Sora let out a thin scream.

“I don’t want to remember hurting you,” he gasped.  “I don’t want...”

“What do you want, Sora?” Yuzu said.  “I’m listening, okay? I’m always listening.”

She felt his tears dribbling her shoulder.  Slowly, slowly, she felt his hands come down to rest on her shoulders, and his face buried against her collarbone.

“I don’t deserve it,” he mumbled.  “But...the Ringmaster said...”

“What don’t you think you deserve?”

Sora moaned.

“Home,” he mumbled.  “I hurt you. I hurt...everyone.  So why is it okay for me to have you all?”

Sora was starting to feel warmer in her grip, and she clung to him.  She smiled through her tears.

“Oh, Sora,” she said.  “Home is where people love you.  And we love you.”

“Why?  I hurt you.”

“Everyone hurts someone sometimes.  But I forgave you. Everyone did. You have another chance.”

“I...”

“Don’t think about what you think you deserve for minute, Sora.  Think about what you want.”

Sora tucked himself tighter into Yuzu’s arms.

“I want...” he mumbled.  “I want to go home. I want to go home with you and Yuya and Tsukikage and everyone.”

Yuzu smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Then let’s go home,” she said.  “All together.”

She almost felt like she heard something snap.  And then Sora slumped into her arms, and when she looked down at him, he was in his regular clothes again. The Ringmaster-inspired outfit was completely gone.

Sora buckled and trembled, crying into Yuzu’s arms, and she just held him, running her hand through his ponytail.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped.  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have listened, but I...it just hurt so much, and the Ringmaster made it stop hurting —”

“It’s okay,” Yuzu said.  “I’m glad...I’m glad you’re back.”

She felt like she might sit there and cry forever at this point.  But then Sora stiffened, and grabbed at her shirt. His head snapped back so that he could look right at her with wide eyes and a white, terrified face.

“Oh god,” he said.  “Yuzu — I just remembered — the penultimate act is —”

He gasped, clearly trying to choke out words through a pained throat.

“Yuya,” he finally gasped.  “We need to get to Yuya right now .”

Chapter Text

Everything — hurt.  It was hard to breathe.  Every time he did, he felt a fresh bubble of blood rise to the surface of his skin.  Yuya didn’t even have breath to cry out in pain anymore, or the strength to try and throw himself back and forth inside the cage to try and dodge the falling blades.  Too many of them had already hit. They were sticking out of him at random places, making it impossible for him to even slump over, instead stuck sitting up with his face pressed into the bars, tears staining his cheeks.

He could hear his mother’s angry screams fading into hoarse sobs.  He twitched — he was...he was worrying her. He needed...to do something...

The Ringmaster almost panted beside him, sounding breathless.  They’d been there the whole time, sending blades one at a time at Yuya, and then in a flurry, but something of them hadn’t seemed all there — as though they were sending their mind elsewhere.  But Yuya was too tired, and in too much pain, to try to interpret that. He wanted to...he just wanted to pass out.

Another blade stabbed him through the thigh, and a fresh scream escaped his lips.  He heard other screams, someone or several someones shouting his name — they were too far away, and he was too exhausted to tell who they were.

“Not enough,” the Ringmaster mumbled.  “Why isn’t it enough?”

Yuya felt their breath against his cheek.

“Yuya,” they said, their voice faint.  “Please. This is your last chance. You need to promise to stay with me here in the circus.”

Yuya choked when he tried to speak.  Another bubble of tears rolled down his cheeks.

“No,” he gasped.

The Ringmaster gripped the bars near Yuya’s head, almost shaking them with the tremble in their hands.

“This pain is nothing, Yuya.  Nothing compared to what the world will do to you.  You know how it saw Zarc. Do you really think the world is going to accept you?”

The Ringmaster’s voice actually broke and hiccuped as they spoke.

“Yuya, please.  I’m doing this for you.  You have to understand. If you just say yes, all the pain can stop.”

Yuya coughed, and he felt something warm come up to his lips with it — blood or bile, he didn’t know.  His hands curled into weak fists.

“Y-you’re the only one...w-who’s hurting us,” he gasped.

The Ringmaster’s voice actually broke into a faint whine.

“The world will hurt you so much more, don’t you understand?” they cried.  “If I have to — if I have to break you to make you see that — if I have to hurt you to save everyone’s smiles —”

Yuya would have screamed if he’d had the breath.

“You’re not saving anyone,” he said, tears choking him.  “You’re only doing what you want.”

He gasped.

“The world...the world isn’t...it can be...better...if we...live in it,” he gasped.  “We have to...trust each other. I can’t — I can’t trust you in here.”

The Ringmaster’s head fell against the bars for a moment, near Yuya’s head.

“I just wanted you to understand,” they mumbled.  “At least I wanted you to understand...why was I even...if you don’t...”

They let go of the bars and the cage rattled with the force of their leaving it.

“That was it,” the Ringmaster said.  “I can’t give you any more chances, Yuya — I guess this really is the only way to do it after all.”

Yuya saw another blade forming just over his head, pointed straight for his forehead.  Tears blurred his vision, as a panicked tremble ran through him and made his whole body ache with the pain.

Oh...he really was going to die.

Awareness came back with a snap and a cough that racked his entire body, causing Shun to curl over onto his side and hug at his stomach as he nearly threw up the meager contents of his stomach.  He was...so dizzy. When had he passed out? And where...

He shoved himself back up to his elbows, and then to his knees despite the dizziness.  Ruri would have scolded him for not taking a moment to assess the damage to his body, but he knew better — taking time to check that you weren’t dying was the surest way to giving someone the chance to make sure you were dying.

His body seemed to recover as he stood up anyway, wiping away at the drool and bile that had escape his lips with the back of his hand.

He sort of recognized this...this was one of the funhouse rooms from before.  When he looked back over his shoulder, he could see the mirror maze opening behind him. That’s right, he thought, as it all came back to him.  He’d been trapped in the mirror. He’d met Yuto, and his reflection had almost...

He shivered.  He still remembered the awful feeling of his hands wrapped around Yuya’s, and then Yuto’s, throat.  That damn Ringmaster...

No, he quickly through, shutting the thought down.  The Ringmaster had had a hand in it, but...Yuto had been right.  The reflection was him.  And in order to be freed from it, he’d needed to accept it.   He’d had a part of himself that he didn’t want to acknowledge, a part that resented Yuya and Yuzu for being the only ones to survive.

But that’s not true , he reminded himself.   Even if...even if it’s different, Ruri and Yuto still exist.  They survived.

He inhaled sharply, feeling the air strike hard into his lungs, and then let it all out.  One way or another, he’d managed to escape. He could deal with any lingering emotions later, once he’d found the others and helped them escape.

Maybe I’ll take Ruri’s advice and go see a therapist when this shit is over , he thought, turning around to decide which way to go. He snorted.   God. I pity the therapist who has to deal with all our fucked up shit.

Which way should he go?  He’d last seen Yuto in the mirror maze, and he didn’t remember leaving it himself...but he’d also left Yuto and Selena with the Ringmaster.  It was very likely that the Ringmaster had taken them somewhere else. And Shun wasn’t too keen on looking into a mirror again any time soon.

He turned around towards the only other door in the funhouse room, set tilted into the wall.  Only one way forward.

He approached the door and pulled it open, fitting himself through the awkwardly placed doorframe.

The second he was through, he knew he was someplace totally different.  He smelled the thick scent of dust and fur, and heard the shuffle of clawed feet and the growls of something very not human.  He gagged briefly on the thick scent and had to cover his mouth with his bandana. Thank god he still wore it. He squinted — this room was pretty big, and the smell was making his eyes water, making it harder to make out where he was.

It took him a moment to process what was beside him.  The wall beside him was set with a bunch of cages — a line of four lined the bottom beside him, and there were four more stacked on top.  One of them seemed to be dangling, having been jerked up and swinging back and forth by a chain overhead.

The one closest to him seemed to have something inside...what was that?  He squinted.

And then he recoiled with horror.  A mass of vines and poisonous looking flowers filled the cage — and at the very center of the mass was Yuuri.  He looked as though he were grown into the plants, his skin gone mottled with green and brown. He hung there with his head lolling, looking as though he were asleep.

And in the cage beside him — fuck.  That was Rin. It was almost hard to tell since she had turned colorless and almost transparent, as though she were carved from glass.  Her bars were frosted over with ice, and her eyes were a blank white. When she breathed out, a fog escaped her lips. She looked so dead, curled up in the corner of her cage with her knees drawn up to her chest.  Shun felt like throwing up. Putting everyone in costumes had been one thing, but what the hell was this?

“Shun!”

The voice cut through him like a knife and his head jerked upwards.

The cage that was hanging overhead had — Yuto!  And the one just below it, that was Ruri!

“Ruri!  Yuto!”

“Kurosaki, not now!”

His eyes jerked over one cage, and he saw Selena in that one, waving both arms through the bars, her eyes wide.  Yugo was in the cage just beneath hers, pointing wildly with both hands.

“It’s Yuya!” Selena shouted.

“You have to save Yuya!” Ruri cried, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Shun whipped around to where they were all trying to get his attention.

Fuck, he though with a sharp breath out.

They were in the big three ring circus from the beginning of this whole damn nightmare.  The audience was empty of the smiling mannequins, though — instead, this time, there were only people in the front row, and he felt sick just looking at them.  Gongenzaka sat quietly, his eyes blank and smiling at nothing. Tsukikage was right next to him, and Sawatari on the other side. Dennis sat at the far end of the row — all of them were in the same stupid ringmaster outfit in different colors, and all of them smiled at nothing with blank eyes.  Even Reiji was there, though he didn’t appear to be sitting in his seat so much as he was dangling over it by some invisible strings.

The only person who wasn’t smiling was...fuck.  Yoko. She seemed as though she were glued to her seat, throwing her head back and forth to try and get free.  Tear tracks stained her red cheeks, her eyes wide and wild.

At first, Shun couldn’t see what they were all freaking out about — because the room was full of strange, twisted animals.  A giant blue elephant lumbered back and forth along with a mangy looking lion, a scarred hippo, a big black wolf with poisonous claws.  A few birds that looked just off flew in circles over head.  There were more, too, more than Shun could count, all scattered around the room as though they were here to watch, too.

And finally, the rhino moved out of the way so that he could see the cage in the middle of the room, center stage.

Yuya slumped at the bottom of it.  Thin swords, like the ones used for fencing, stuck out of him at what looked like a hundred angles.  There was....oh god, there was so much blood.

And before his cage stood the Ringmaster, plucking a new sword from the air and twisting it to point directly at Yuya’s forehead.

“Stop!” Shun shouted, more to get the Ringmaster’s attention than anything else.  “Stop!”

He started to bolt forward, but the rhino moved into his way with an unnatural growl.  He swore and dove to the side.

However, he’d gotten what he wanted.  The Ringmaster looked up at him.

They smiled — but it was not at all the assured, smug, or even wild smile that Shun had seen out of them so far.

This smile looked so broken that it was a wonder the Ringmaster wasn’t in pieces on the ground right now.

“Ah,” they said.  “Kurosaki. You came.  I’m glad. I was hoping that everyone would be here for the finale.”

Their eyes turned back down to Yuya, then, still smiling that broken, distant smile.

“Well, not the finale,” they said.  “After all...my show will never end, after this part is over with.”

They began to draw the blade back to strike at the helpless Yuya.  Shun was too far away to even see if Yuya was still breathing after all of the abuse he’d taken so far.

“Don’t do it!” Shun roared.  “Don’t you dare touch him!”

The Ringmaster hesitated yet again.  They looked quickly towards Shun — and Shun felt something in him stir when he saw the tears rolling in thick lines down the Ringmaster’s cheeks.

“Stop looking at me like that,” they mumbled.  “Please. Stop looking at me like I’m the villain.”

“You fucking are, you bastard!” Yoko screamed hoarsely.

The Ringmaster actually flinched.  More tears spilled down their cheeks.

“I just want you all to understand,” they said.  “Why aren’t you understanding?”

“You’re not giving us anything to understand,” Shun growled.

He tried to get closer, but a small and toothy panda bear rolled at his feet, hissing.

“You kidnap us, brainwash us, and now you’re going to kill us?” he said.

“I’m trying to save you!” the Ringmaster cried.  “Yuya — Yuya wants you all to go back into that awful world!  You’ll never be safe there!”

“We’re damn sure not safe in here!”

The Ringmaster shook their head wildly, actually stumbling back on their feet.  The wolf leaped forward to let them lean back against their huge head.

“Kurosaki, you felt it, right?” the Ringmaster said.  “You almost accepted my hand back then. You felt how calm and happy you were in my show.”

“It was a lie.”

“But it wasn’t!! It doesn’t have to be!”

The Ringmaster gestured desperately with the sword, and a rumble of distress rose up from many of the animals at once.

“Here, Shun, here you can be together with Yuto and Ruri!  Don’t you want that? Don’t you want them to be with you, for real, in person?”

Shun tensed.  He chanced a glance back at the two of them, trapped in their cages.  They were too far away to see them in detail, but he could imagine their frightened faces.  He couldn’t deny the spark of utter relief he’d felt at seeing them, in person, for the first time in so long when he’d walked into this room, despite the rest of the nightmare.

“Of course I want that,” he growled.

The Ringmaster burst into a smile of relief.

“Then you want to be a part of my show!” the Ringmaster said.  “I can make that happen! But I need Yuya to...I need to remove him.”

They turned back towards the shuddering Yuya, lifting the sword again.

“Just sit and watch, please, Kurosaki,” the Ringmaster said.  “It will all be over soon. And you’ll be able to rest. You wanted him to go away, anyway, right?  You accepted that you wanted that when you left my mirrors. You had to have done.”

Shun felt his entire body clench up.  And then he relaxed. The room seemed to go quiet, and all he could see before him was the Ringmaster, and Yuya.  He saw the sword lifting back up.

“Stop,” he said again, and the Ringmaster flinched, startling out of their intent again.

More tears rolled down their cheeks as they pointed the sword at Shun.

“Why?” they said.  “Why?? Why do you keep saying no?  You agree with me, don’t you? You want a world where Yuto and Ruri can be with you?”

“I said that I did,” Shun said.  “But I never once said that I wanted it like this .”

“Yuya is in the way!” the Ringmaster screamed.  “He’s in the way of everyone’s happiness!”

Shun braced himself, catching a look at where all of the animals were at the moment — and then he launched himself over the panda, hit the ground, and charged with one shoulder forward.  

The Ringmaster was too shocked by his movement to react.  Shun’s shoulder collided with the Ringmaster’s chest, and they went crashing to the ground.  The sword thunked into the sand out of their reach. Shun lurched back as he heard all of the animals scream — but none of them moved or charged.  He moved backwards, putting himself between the Ringmaster and Yuya.

“I will not give up on my friends,” he said.  “I learned that a long time ago. I won’t sacrifice anyone, not for some fool’s dream.”

The Ringmaster coughed as they struggled up to their knees, dust coating their jacket.  They shook like a leaf, tears continuing to trail down their cheeks.

Before they could speak, however, Shun heard a crash of feet as someone stumbled down into the auditorium.  His eyes flashed up.

Yuzu stumbled forward down the stairs in the stands, her face flushed and red.  Sora was right on her heels. Upon seeing what was happening, Sora’s eyes widened, and he immediately vaulted past Yuzu, taking the stairs three at a time and then sailing over the railing to land on the sand.

“Get away from Yuya!” Sora shouted.

The Ringmaster flinched and spun towards Sora.  Their mouth opened wide. And then a horrible keen escaped their throat.

“You too, Sora?” they gasped.  “You’re rejecting me too?”

“You’re doing this wrong, Ringmaster!” Yuzu said, her voice carrying all the way across the room.  “This has to stop, now!”

The Ringmaster shook.  Their hands clutched at their head.  A scream ripped from their throat.

“No more,” they screamed.  “No more!!”

They were on their feet in a flash, and before Shun could brace himself, a huge wolf’s paw smacked into his chest and sent him flying.  He hit the ground and breathed in sand, gagging. He heard Yuzu scream.

“I won’t let you,” the Ringmaster cried.  “I won’t let you take them back outside!”

Shun lifted his head just in time to see the Ringmaster bringing the sword down on Yuya.

Chapter Text

For a moment, the whole world seemed to go quiet.  For a moment, Yuya felt like everything stopped. Even during the war, he never remembered seeing death this close to him, and he felt something in him simply stop, as though he’d stopped breathing before the sword had even reached its mark.  Time stretched into an eternity. He didn’t see his life flash before his eyes, but he did find that he had time for a flurry of broken thought.

Maybe I should have just accepted the Ringmaster.

They’re right — the world out there is terrible.  And I’ve always been scared of it. Of how it hurts me and everyone else.

If I die here, what’s the point?  I fought them all this time just to die?

If I had accepted, maybe I could have found a way out later.  Or maybe...maybe it would have been all right.

Maybe it would have been all right to stay here.

If I die here, I can’t save any of the others.  And if they see me die — will that break them?

Is that the Ringmaster’s plan?

I should have...I should have accepted.

The blade snapped back into real time, and Yuya closed his eyes, unable to look right at death.

A horrible thunk rattled through his brain, and for a moment, he was positive that he had died.

But then...how would he still be thinking?  He was...still breathing.

He cracked open his eyes.

The Ringmaster gasped for air, hands trembling on the hilt of the blade.  Instead of Yuya’s forehead, it was buried in the metal of the floor beside him.  The Ringmaster’s entire body shook.

“I...I hate you,” the Ringmaster gasped.  “Why won’t you just — why do you keep pushing me to this —”

They...they didn’t kill me, Yuya thought, feeling his whole body giving out all at once.   They stopped.

He heard a roar, and the Ringmaster flinched as Shun body slammed them, taking advantage of their hesitation to fling them to the floor.  Yuya couldn’t see them, but he heard the scuffle of the two of them wrestling against the sand, and the cacophony of screaming Duel Spirits as they all began to stomp their feet and run around in agitation.

Yuzu appeared in his vision, then, her hands on the bars.

“Yuya, it’s all right, we’re going to get you out,” she said.  “Just hang in there!”

Yuya didn’t even have the strength to respond.  The cage rattled, and he managed to flick his eyes over to see Sora shaking at the bars.

“Dammit!!” Sora swore.  “Where’s the door?!”

“I don’t think there is one,” Yuzu said.

“Then how do we get him out??”

Yuya hated it — that crack of panic in Sora’s voice.  He wanted to do something. Somehow, he wanted to...he wanted to stop him from worrying.  He wanted to say something, something like that he was all right, the pain and the blood weren’t anything at all, he could handle it, please don’t cry, Sora...

Yuzu sucked in a breath.

“It’s only a show,” she mumbled.  “Nothing is real.”

She closed her eyes.  And then, as easily as breathing, she reached through the bars of the cage, and put her arms beneath his, dragging him gently towards her.  He caught against the bars — but only for a breath, and then he was passing through them as though they were made of air.

Pain shot through him as his body moved, making the swords stuck into his body shift and cut deeper into him.  He screamed before he could stop himself, his voice lost in another round of cries from the Duel Spirits filling up the room.  Feathers flew wildly over head as a parrot tried to swoop towards them, and Sora smacked it away. Yuya felt another twinge of pain in his chest.

“Oh fuck, he’s bleeding so much, Yuzu, he’s bleeding —” Sora gasped.

“We need to get the swords out of him,” Yuzu said, her voice sounding low and level, like she were trying to speak as calmly as possible.  

“He’ll bleed to death!”

“Trust me, Sora, please.”

Yuya could barely see.  He could just lay there in Yuzu’s arms, trying to breathe.  But when she put her hand around the hilt of one of the swords and started to pull, another scream ripped out of him.  Fresh tears washed down his cheeks.

“Yuya, breathe,” Yuzu said.  “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.  Trust me.”

He managed to move his hand to her shirt, clinging weakly to the hem.   I always trusted you, he wanted to say, but he didn’t have the air.  He hoped she understood.

Pain wracked his body as Yuzu yanked the first sword free of him.

“Yuya, it’s not real,” she said.  “Please, you have to wake up. This place isn’t real — nothing sticks.”

The pain certainly felt real.  He screamed when Sora pulled out a second sword.  Fuck, fuck, fuck, but it hurt! And he could feel the blood bubbling to his wounds, felt the pain shuddeirng through him — god, he wanted to give up, it hurt so bad , he wanted to do anything to stop the pain —

Anything?

Fuck, yes, he wanted to do anything, anything to stop this pain, this constant pain — not just his, but everyone’s.  He didn’t want to have to hear the barely concealed panic in Yuzu’s voice as she tried to comfort him, or the trembling sound of Sora’s voice as he tried to help her despite his own fear.  He didn’t want to hear his mother screaming until her voice got hoarse because of how much it hurt her to watch him be hurt. He didn’t want to have to watch his friends succumb one by one to despair.  Didn’t want to have to endure the pain of not knowing where the boys were, or if they were all right, or to think about what terrible things they must all be enduring.

He wanted the pain to stop.  For him. For everyone. He wanted it all to stop .

That’s what I want, isn’t it?

I want it all to stop.

I just want...everything to stop.

I just want everyone to be able to be happy again.

Yes, that’s what I want.  That’s what I’ve always wanted.  I just want everything to be all right, forever, to never have to worry about what painful thing might happen next, or who might disappear next.  I want everyone close — I want everyone safe, and smiling.

“Yuya!”

Yuzu’s hand gripped his, and he gasped.

“Yuya, hang in there!”

That voice...Yuto?

“Yuya, don’t you dare give up!”

That one was...that had to be Selena.  But how was he hearing....?

“You’re not alone, Yuya!”

Yuya choked on his own air trying to breathe.  R-Ruri...

“We’re here, we’re here, Yuya,” Sora gasped, holding his other hand.  “Y-You don’t have to bear it all alone anymore.”

“We didn’t get this far to give up!” Yugo shouted.  “You gotta trust us, Yuya!”

It was almost as though they could hear his thoughts, know what he was thinking.  Could they...? He tried to focus. As his vision blurred in and out, he saw that his shirt had lengthened, and had sprouted buttons, like the Ringmaster’s outfit.  Bile rose in his throat. Was he...turning like the others had? Was he giving up?

It’s true, though.  This does seem like a better option.  It might not be the nicest solution but...

“Don’t you dare listen to them, Yuya!” Shun shouted somewhere in the distance.  “Don’t decide that you know what we want!”

Yuya shuddered.  It really was as though they could hear his thoughts — or was...or were those his thoughts?  They sounded like they were coming from inside his own head, but...

“Yuya,” the Ringmaster whispered, as though right into his ear, despite the fact that he was still lying against Yuzu.  “Yuya, please. You understand, don’t you? You have to. You want to protect them as much as I do. This is the only way.”

That didn’t sound like his own thoughts this time.  The Ringmaster must...must be getting inside his head.  He tried to breathe in, but the pain of his wounds was too much, and he choked.

“Yuya, don’t give up!” his mother yelled, her voice hoarse and cracking.  “You get back on your feet!”

“They can’t protect themselves,” the Ringmaster begged.  “Someday, they might even leave, and you’ll never know if they’re all right out there in the world.  Remember when Yuzu walked away from you, and it was so long before you saw her again? Do you want that to happen again?  With the others?”

Yuya faltered.  He still remembered, vividly, the last moment he’d seen Yuzu before the war had started for them.  When they’d separated during the tournament, and he’d called out to her — seeing her look over her shoulder and smile at him one last time, before it was weeks and weeks before he saw her again, or was even certain if she was alive.

What were his last words to her back then?  He didn’t even remember.

Someday, everyone would leave.  They already had, some of them — staying in other dimensions, where it would be weeks or months before he saw them again.  Anything at all could happen during that time, when he didn’t see them. What if...what if he...lost his friends all over again?

A hand gripped his, warm and soft, and he automatically clung to it.

“Yuya,” Yuzu whispered.  “You have to trust us, okay?”

Yuya tried to inhale.

“Yuya, trust us,” Yuto shouted.

“We’re not dumb,” Sora mumbled.  “We can take care of ourselves — most of the time.”

“You don’t have to shoulder everyone, Yuya,” Yoko called out.  “You have to let others support you, too!”

Yuya inhaled.  He clung to Yuzu’s hand in one side, and Sora’s in the other.  He...he had to trust them.

Maybe they would leave.  Maybe they would get hurt.  But...he had to trust his friends.  After all, Sora had already come back, right?  And the others...they must be hurting. But he had to trust them.  He had to trust that they would come back, but only if they were all working together.  Not just from his words alone. But from everyone.

As though he’d turned a switch, the pain was gone.  Yuya blinked through clear eyes, lips parting. Just like when the wound that Dennis had left disappeared, all of his stab wounds were gone.  Yuzu let out a little cry, and she tugged him up towards her to hug him tightly. Sora yelped and threw himself at Yuya’s chest, immediately beginning to sob.

Yuya patted them both awkwardly, finding that his shirt had returned to normal.

He gently pushed himself up to a sitting position, trying to breathe.  Now that he wasn’t bleeding out, he could see the cages on the far end of the wall, where it looked like all of the counterparts were imprisoned.  He could see Yuto’s huge smile of relief even from here.

But it wasn’t just them, either.  In two of the cages, he saw what had become of Rin and Yuuri, and for a moment, his heart stopped.

It started again when he realized how sharply and clearly that Rin was looking at him, her mouth open slightly.  Yuuri’s eyes were cracking open, and he shuddered softly in the grip of his own plant-like body.

Yuya turned his head to the stands on the other side.  The others were all seated there around his mother, clad in the Ringmaster’s outfit — but something seemed to have changed.

Reiji’s hands had curled into fists, despite his face remaining blank.  Dennis was on his feet, blank eyes fixed on Yuya and lips slack. Gongenzaka was gripping his knees so tightly that it was leaving marks in his clothing.  Tsukikage seemed to be breathing harder than before. Sawatari’s shoulders slumped, and his smile had fallen away.

They’re coming back , Yuya thought with a sharp inhale.   They...they’re waking up.

A little gasp caught his attention, and he turned his head.  

The Ringmaster had gotten free of Shun, and Shun was now being held down by the wolf’s paw on his back.  The Ringmaster looked rumpled, their hat tilted and their jacket rumpled. They gripped at their cane, hands trembling, mouth slightly open.

“Yuya, please,” they mumbled.

Yuya squeezed the hands he still held, and with strength flooding back into his legs, he stood up, Yuzu and Sora along with him.

“I’m sorry,” Yuya said.  “But I’m not going to listen to you anymore.”

The Ringmaster almost hyperventilated with how hard they were breathing.  But then they reached up and grabbed the brim of their head, pulling their hat down low over their face.

“Is this really the answer?” they mumbled.  “Is this really your answer?”

Yuya opened his mouth to respond, but then a wild, faint laugh escaped the Ringmaster’s lips.  Tears rolled down their cheeks and scattered onto the sandy floor. All around them, the Duel Spirits suddenly grew deadly quiet, except for a nervous shifting of their feet or feathers.

“We’re all going to go home together,” Yuzu said, squeezing Yuya’s hand.

“You chose him?” the Ringmaster mumbled.  “After everything, everything I showed you, you chose his answer?  Not mine?”

“I believe in Yuya,” Sora said, gripping Yuya’s other hand with both of his, glaring at the Ringmaster.  “And in Yuzu, and in everyone — we’re going back home. ”

Another broken whine of a laugh left the Ringmaster.

“But then why won’t you believe in me ?” they mumbled.  “After all I did all of this — for all of you .”

“You’re crazy,” Yoko shouted from the stands.  “What makes you think we wanted any of this??”

The Ringmaster sucked in a shaky breath.

“What was the point of all of this?” they said.  “I did this to — to prove that — that I had the right to exist .  Because — if none of this is what you wanted then — then why was I — why do I exist?”

More tears rolled down their cheeks, and they dropped their cane.

“I can’t be wrong,” they gasped.  “I can’t be wrong! The feelings that made me can’t be wrong because — because they why do I even exist ?”

Yuya felt an awful sickness wash over him.  He wasn’t sure why his stomach was starting to twist, or why he was starting to feel cold.  What kind of nonsense was the Ringmaster even babbling? What did it mean?

Who...

...was the Ringmaster?

As though the Ringmaster had heard the thought, they suddenly went dead still.  They sucked in another long, shaky breath.

“Who am I, Yuya?” they murmured.

They reached up for the brim of their hat.

“I meant to save this for the finale,” they said.  “But maybe...maybe if you know...you’ll understand...”

“What are you babbling about?” Shun snapped from the ground, still stuck beneath the wolf’s paw.

The wolf bowed its head, ears plastered to its head, and made a soft whine.  More nervous sounds escaped the Duel Spirits all around them, and Yuya looked around with surprise.  He clung to the hands he still held, desperate to feel stable.

“Who am I?” the Ringmaster said again.  “Let me answer that by asking you a question, Yuya.  Who’s the one who answers Reiji’s texts at two in the morning, begging to know if he did the right thing?”

Yuya stiffened.  His mind immediately provided for him a memory of waking up to a buzzing phone.

“Who is the one who listens to Sora’s night terrors every night, and feels so paralyzed on how to help?”

“Stop,” Yuya whispered, the word escaping him without prompting.

“Who answers Dennis’s phone calls at all hours of the day after he’s had a panic attack to listen to every fear and worry that he has?  Who watches the falter in Sawatari’s step and knows, privately, what he must be feeling? Who worries that Kurosaki might resent them for simply existing, but is too frightened to come out and ask?  And who, Yuya...”

They pulled their hat from their head, and, in slow motion, it fell from their fingers to land upside down in the sand.

“...who else do you know is so concerned with making people smile?”

Yuzu choked.  Sora let out a tiny cry.  Shun swore.

Yuya’s mind simply stopped.

Because the face hiding beneath the hat was his own.

Chapter Text

A thousand thoughts exploded to fill Yuya’s mind, wiping away the empty shock.

Is it — one of the other three?  No, that’s not possible, they were in my head the whole time, and they’d never...

Is it Zarc?  Did Zarc come back?  No, he looks — his face is mine , he has the same hair color as me —

An illusion.  The Ringmaster must be creating another illusion to look like me.

There’s no way — because I’m — I’m right here, so how could I also be —

“I can hear you rationalizing, Yuya,” the Ringmaster said, red eyes boring into Yuya.  “You can stop, now. You already know the truth.”

“That’s impossible!” Sora shouted.  “There’s no way!”

“Yuya’s been with us the whole time!” Yuto shouted from the cages.  “You can’t be him! He can’t be in two places at once!”

Yuya couldn’t even speak.  He could only sway slightly, his eyes wide and his hands trembling even as Sora and Yuzu gripped them.  His mouth had gone dry. He was...he thought he’d gotten used to the eerie feeling of seeing his own face in front of him, but this was somehow even worse.  Even when he’d first met Yuto and felt that strange, gut-wrenching shock at seeing his own face in someone else’s head, he’d soon been able to see the differences, in hair color, or style, or the color of their eyes or the way they stood.  But there were none of those differences here. Those were his red eyes, his mussed red and green hair, his face, his stance.

But he’s...he’s taller than me , Yuya thought, grasping at straws.   I remember he was taller than me when we first met face to face.

The Ringmaster actually rolled his eyes as though he’d heard the thought, and lifted up one foot to point at the two-inch heels on his boots.

“Really, Yuya.  I know we’re good at ignoring the truth in front of us, but you’re taking it a little too far.”

An illusion.  It has GOT to be an illusion.

“This is very, very real, Yuya,” the Ringmaster said, and Yuya flinched.  There was no way...no other way that the Ringmaster could be hearing his thoughts as though he were inside Yuya’s head.

“But how?” Yuya blurted, his voice breaking.  “How could I — I wouldn’t — where did you come from ?”

The Ringmaster tilted his head.  A wild, desperate smile grew over his face, his eyes suddenly welling up with tears.

“Oh, if only we were normal , Yuya,” he said, voice cracking just like Yuya’s.  “If only we were a normal person! That would have made things so much easier for you, wouldn’t it?  But think, Yuya — where did this begin? When was I born?”

Yuya couldn’t think.  His head was a mess of jumbled thoughts and tears he wasn’t able to cry, and it was only Yuzu and Sora holding him up that prevented him from collapsing to his knees.

He heard Yuto swear.  The cages suddenly seemed closer, as though the room had shrunk in on itself.

“The lab,” Yuto gasped.  “Yuya — the hallucinogen.”

“But nothing happened,” Yuya said, eyes widening.  “Nothing happened!”

“If only you were a normal person, Yuya,” the Ringmaster said, shaking their head and wringing their hands.  “All we would have faced was a bad acid trip. One night in the hospital screaming at ghosts, and then it would have been over.  But you’re not normal. Haven’t you told me before? Didn’t you remind me earlier how you’re — how we’re — Zarc?”

Yuya couldn’t breathe.  He stumbled, and Yuzu grabbed him under the arm to hold him up.

“Zarc became so powerful that he could impose his own reality on the world,” the Ringmaster said.  He started to pace back and forth, still wringing his hands, eyes wide and wild. “Shouldn’t you imagine that you have the same strength?  If you claim Zarc, you claim what he was. You breathed in that hallucinogen, but instead of internalizing your fears, Yuya — oh no. You breathed life into them.  You made them real .”

He stopped dead in his tracks and stared directly at Yuya.

“You made me,” the Ringmaster said, voice shaking  “You, Yuya. You were the one who made me.”

Yuzu let out a tiny, thin swear.

“Reira,” she whispered.  “Reira was a part of you because — because Reira saved Yuya.  You thought of Reira as someone who could save you, too.”

“I don’t need saving!” the Ringmaster screamed.  “I shoved away all of those feelings! That that — fake Reira decided to be born out of those discarded thoughts was a slight against my perfect show!”

Yuya could only shake and tremble, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“It’s not true,” he gasped.  “It can’t be true. I don’t want — I never wanted —”

“Stop looking away,” the Ringmaster snapped.  “Stop rejecting me!  You made me!”

The Ringmaster let out a thin scream, clutching his hands to his head and briefly doubling over.

“Think, think, think, Yuya,” he gasped.  “Think — isn’t there a part of you who wishes you could just make everyone happy?  That you could make them listen?  It’s too much — it’s too much to take the time to reach out to every single person.  And if even a single person rejects — it could be over. Everything you built could crash down.”

He jabbed a finger at Yuya, eyes still wild.

“And don’t you resent the fact that you had to be reborn like this ?  With three hearts stuffed inside you, hearts who want to live their own lives, hearts that you wish that you didn’t have to be dragged down by and didn’t have to be dragged down by you?  Don’t you want to save them?”

He began to pace rapidly again, waving his arms through the air as he practically yelled his words into the ceiling.

“Humanity will always make another monster!  If not Zarc this time, then something else! Something else will be born and destroy everything, and you can’t — we can’t — protect them all forever!”

“You’re abandoning the world!” Yuzu shouted.  “Yuya wouldn’t do that!”

“Of course he wouldn’t,” the Ringmaster gasped, choking on his own air.  “But he wants to.  And I — I am that want, given life, given breath.  I am that part of you that you would never accept or acknowledge, that you tried to pretend wasn’t there.”

Fresh tears rolled down the Ringmaster’s cheeks now, as he stumbled backwards.

“But Zarc — you hated him,” Yuto said.  “If you’re Yuya, then you’re also Zarc, so then —”

“Of course I hate Zarc!” the Ringmaster shrieked.

The Duel Spirits — twisted Performapals, Yuya knew now with a horrible wrench in his stomach — let up matching cries of anguish along with the Ringmaster.

“Why wouldn’t I hate him?  Why wouldn’t we hate him?  He was wrong .  He twisted his entertainment to cause real, lasting pain and damage — he never cared about making anyone happy, only feeding his own self-satisfaction by believing he was doing what everyone wanted when anyone with half a brain would realize that wasn’t what they wanted at all!  He let the crowd ruin him, and then he ruined the crowd!”

The Ringmaster’s voice echoed, now, almost making the very air ripple.

“If not for him and his hatred, we could have lived happy lives!  If not for him, we never would have become what we did! Of course I hate him!   Of course I hate him!  And you — you, Yuya, despite all of your acceptance , you hate him too!”

The Ringmaster let out another scream, and the Performapals screamed with him.  Yuya trembled, and this time, Yuzu and Sora couldn’t hold him up from falling to his knees.  The Ringmaster whined, and pressed a hand to his mouth for a moment before composing himself again with a snap, eyes boring into Yuya.

“You’d accept Zarc, the murderer — but not me ?  Not the one who wants to protect you?  Not the one who wants to make sure that your — that our — precious friends are happy and safe forever?  Why am I the one you’re afraid of?”

Yuya felt like he was going to throw up.  He couldn’t breathe. He could hear his friends shouting to him, calling his name, but he couldn’t hear them.  All he could hear was the Ringmaster’s voice — his voice.  His own voice, the one in his head that whispered things he wished he didn’t think of, alive and breathing in front of him.

“You made me,” the Ringmaster said again, voice shaking.  “You made me, and you won’t even accept me — what does that say about you ?”

Yuya’s hands fell out of Yuzu’s and Sora’s, and he gripped at his head.  Fresh tears rolled down his cheeks.

“It’s all my fault,” he said, feeling a hollowness grow through his chest.  “It’s...it’s all my fault. Everyone was hurt because of me.”

“Yuya, no!” Yuzu cried, grabbing his shoulders.

But then her hands were suddenly slipping away, and she cried out.  Sora yelled, but then he was somehow being pulled away from Yuya, too.  The sandy floor of the circus was beginning to melt and tilt, leaving him alone on top of a pedestal while Yuzu and Sora tumbled down opposite sides of the hill that formed on either side of him.  His new stage beneath his knees shot up into the air, pushing him up and away from all of the shouting voices. A stage grew beneath the Ringmaster’s feet as well, pushing them both up towards the ceiling.  The twin stages shuddered to a stop.

But the world wasn’t done shifting.  As though in response to his own tumultuous emotions, the walls of the tent were starting to swirl in dizzying spirals.  He heard the others crying out below him, and that only made him panic more.

“It hurts, right?” the Ringmaster said, and when Yuya looked up in a panic, he saw his own face staring at him, tears rolling down the Ringmaster’s cheeks.  “I’m all of that pain, Yuya. Do you have any idea how much it hurts ?”

He clutched at his chest, letting out a thin whine that Yuya felt in his own stomach like a knife to the gut.

“I only want to help it stop hurting,” the Ringmaster said.  “Why won’t you let me? Why won’t you understand?”

Yuya’s eyes blurred with tears.  This was all his fault. His own wild, tormented thoughts given life and shape, because he was too weak to control his own mind, because he was too stupid to know how powerful he actually was — he was the reason that everyone was being hurt.  He was the reason that they were all being forced to face their worst fears, to be broken down and then rebuilt in an image that Yuya wanted.  Oh god. All this time, this horrible place — it had been something that he had wanted .  Even subconsciously, that truth was too much.

His and the Ringmaster’s stages moved towards each other, so that they were touching.  The Ringmaster stepped off of his stage and stood before Yuya, looking down at him.

“Don’t you understand?” he whispered.  “I’m the rational one. I’m the one who will protect you, and everyone.”

He crouched down before Yuya, cupping his face in his hands.  Yuya could only sit there, trembling, staring at his own wild, crazed eyes.

“You can’t protect them,” the Ringmaster said.  “You know you can’t.”

“But I...I have to trust them,” Yuya said.

“Like you trusted Reiji, before he drove you to becoming Zarc with his careless comment?” the Ringmaster said.  “Like you trusted Tsukikage, before he got himself carded because he decided to run off by himself? Like you trusted Selena and Sawatari not to get themselves arrested, but they wouldn’t listen to you and drew Security to you with their recklessness?”

The Ringmaster shook his head, wiping away at Yuya’s tears with his thumbs.

“We’re the only ones who know the right path,” he said softly, urgently.  “They’re lost, Yuya. But we can bring them home. We can make them happy.”

Yuya felt his brain sagging under the weight of the Ringmaster’s words.  

“Can’t you feel it?  The power running through you?  What I’m doing is merely parlor tricks compared to what we can do if you simply accept me.”

Everyone felt so far away.  Yuya felt so heavy.

He...he’s making sense.  I...I hate it, but he’s making sense.

“Everything will be all right,” the Ringmaster soothed, pulling Yuya into a hug.  He stroked Yuya’s hair, holding him gently. “You’ll never have to blame yourself for anything again.  Not for Zarc, not for making the others become one with you, not for stealing anyone else’s lives from them.  You’ll all be safe and happy in our show.”

Yuya felt his eyes drooping.  So often, he’d fought the Ringmaster.  So many times, he’d thrown the Ringmaster’s words away.  But now that he knew...now that he understood...could he really not accept him as himself, if he’d accepted Zarc?

Yuya let his eyes flutter shut, sinking deeper into his own embrace.

“Yeah,” he mumbled.  “Maybe...maybe that’s all right, after all.”

Chapter Text

Oh god.

Yuto felt his stomach twisting so badly that it was a wonder that he didn’t throw up.  The scenery shifted, swirled, and squished in on itself, warping beyond what his vision could comprehend.  He had to close his eyes against it, and even then, he could see the colors exploding over the backs of his eyes.  Yuya and the Ringmaster had disappeared from sight up on their tall stages far above, and the whole circus looked like it was about to melt and collapse in on itself.

Was Yuya all right?  Was he listening to the Ringmaster?  Dammit, if only he could be in Yuya’s head right now, to be able to help him!  He was all alone up there!

And then, suddenly, as abruptly as the warping had begun, it stopped.  The circus snapped back to its original shape, and they were once again in the big open room, the first room in the circus they had seen.  The stands were once again full of the mannequins with the painted smiles, and on the sandy three ring floor below him, he could see Yuzu, Sora, and Shun trying to get back to their feet.  Shun hurried over to Yuzu, helping her up. The twisted Performapals had all but disappeared, it seemed.

The two tall stages that Yuya and the Ringmaster had disappeared on were gone, too.  Where...where was Yuya, then? Yuto strained to look through his bars, trying to push his head as much through them as possible to see more clearly.  His cage, and the other’s cages, now appeared to be hanging from the ceiling in a large circle above the three-ring circus, and from this angle, it was hard to see below him.  But Yuya...where was Yuya?

Yuto heard the soft thump of feet landing in the sand, and he pressed his head to the bars, peering down.  Ah! Down there!

Yuya stood in the middle of the three rings, staring out towards the crowd of mannequins, and the other possessed members of their friends.  Yuto’s heart quickened. That was the real Yuya — it had to be. He was in his regular clothes. Then where was the Ringmaster?

And then, before his eyes, Yuya’s shirt lengthened, and darkened.  Gloves appeared on his hands. From nowhere, he reached up and pulled a top hat down, setting it on his head.  He let out a long, low sigh, as he plucked a cane from thin air, twisting it in his hands.

Yuzu let out a thin, broken sound somewhere far below Yuto.

“Yuya,” she called out.

Yuya — or the Ringmaster? — turned towards Yuzu.  

He was smiling, but it wasn’t Yuya’s smile.  It was the blank, plastered on smile of the Ringmaster.

“Well,” Yuya said.  “I was making a lot of sense, after all.”

“Yuya, no!” Yugo shouted, shaking his cage and making it swing from side to side.  “You said! You said you didn’t want to listen! The Ringmaster hurt people!”

“We’re only doing what’s best,” Yuya mumbled, and his voice seemed to layer over itself, as though two of him were speaking at once.  Yuto felt like throwing up. Fuck. He’d...had they fused together? “It will hurt to start, but that’s okay...after that, it won’t hurt anymore.”

He smiled, but even from here, Yuto could see the horrible pain in Yuya’s eyes, the tears welling to the corners of his eyelashes.

“You have to keep smiling even when it hurts,” he mumbled.  “Even when it hurts. Keep smiling. Laugh when you want to cry.”

He actually let out a wild, broken laugh, and Yuto felt himself beginning to hyperventilate.  He couldn’t tell — Yuya, or the Ringmaster? Or both? The Ringmaster was Yuya so — had Yuya accepted what he had been told by his other self?  Were they working together now?

Had Yuya been broken?

Yuya spun on his heels, pointing his cane towards Yuzu, Sora, and Shun.

“Come on,” Yuya said, still smiling.  “It’s still me, everyone. I just know better now.”

“No!” Yuzu cried.  “Yuya, you don’t have to listen!  Just because the Ringmaster is you, doesn’t mean he’s right!”

Yuya flinched, and a tear escaped his eyes even as he continued to smile with such ferocity that Yuto felt his own cheeks hurting.

“Yuzu, you trust me, right?” Yuya said, wringing his hands around his cane.  “You don’t think I would do anything to hurt you, right? I just want everyone to be happy.”

“You can’t make us be happy!” Shun roared at him.  “That’s not what your Entertainment was about! You can’t forget that!”

Yuya shook his head, more tears spilling down his smiling cheeks.

“No, it wasn’t, but...but it’s not enough.  My old Entertainment can’t be enough. My other self reminded me of that.  I have to...I have to work harder, to make sure everyone’s happy.”

“Yuya!” Yuto shouted.  “Bringing smiles to people like this — it’s wrong!  You must know that!! It’s only self satisfaction!”

Yuya’s eyes lifted up to Yuto.  That smile looked so pained — was...was Yuya fighting it, even now, or was that just Yuto’s wishful thinking?

“It’s my fault you all ended up stuck within me,” Yuya said.  “I’m just making up for it. You’ll all be able to live happy, separate lives.  That’s better, right? You want that, don’t you?”

“Not like this!” Ruri cried, shaking her own cage with her fervor.  “Please, Yuya, fight it!”

“Just because the Ringmaster is you, doesn’t mean that you have to listen to yourself!” Selena shouted, kicking her own bars and making her cage sway back and forth.

Yuya blinked, his smile not changing, but his eyes seemingly growing more wild.  He began to pass his cane back and forth between his hands, faster and faster.

“Don’t listen to myself?  But you were all saying — saying that we needed to trust in ourselves,” Yuya mumbled, his voice low and wild.  “And now you’re saying that I can’t trust myself? That I can’t even trust myself ?  Then...then what do you want me to do?  Do you want me to let you all get hurt again?”

Yuto felt the world crumbling.  How — how were they supposed to get through to him?  This was a nightmare. If Yuya had already fallen prey to the Ringmaster — if Yuya was the Ringmaster now — how were they supposed to fight him?  How were they supposed to escape the circus if Yuya wouldn’t even let them?

Yuya tapped his cane to the floor, and all at once, all of the already turned people sitting in the stands stood up with a snap.

Dennis vaulted the railing first, landing lightly on the sand and walking over to meet Yuya, standing next to him.  Gongenzaka hefted Sawatari up onto his shoulder and then landed heavily on the sand. Tsukikage dropped himself down, and then Reiji was yanked up and lowered down next to Yuya.

“Dennis agrees with me,” Yuya mumbled.  “And so does Gongenzaka, and Sawatari, and Tsukikage, and Reiji.  Are you saying that they shouldn’t trust their own decisions, either?  That we’re all wrong? Do you think I can’t be trusted?”

Yuzu faltered, looking pale and white.  Yuya nodded over to Gongenzaka and Sawatari, and with Sawatari still on his shoulder, Gongenzaka began to walk towards the trio on the floor.  Shun and Sora leaped forward immediately, putting their arms out to block Yuzu.

“Don’t worry,” Yuya said.  “I know it’s worrying. I was really scared too, before I understood what was happening.  But if we just talk it out, I’m sure you’ll all understand. After all, everyone else has already joined me.  We have to keep smiling. Keep smiling. Keep smiling.”

Sora tried to throw himself in front of the other two, but Gongenzaka merely snatched him up by the collar of his shirt, holding him up flailing and shouting.

“Remember how much more peaceful it was, Sora?” Yuya said.  “Even Tsukikage’s here. You trust Tsukikage’s judgement.”

“This isn’t you!” Sora screamed, trying to kick at Gongenzaka, but having too short of limbs to reach him.  “Yuya, this isn’t you!! You need to listen to your friends!”

“I am listening,” Yuya said.  “I’m listening to all of the ones who were with me right now — they’re all in here.”

Yuya put his hand on his chest over his heart.

“They’re happier with me like this,” Yuya said.  “After all, we’re all friends. Don’t you want us all to be together?  I’ll take care of everyone from now on. No one will ever have to be sad ever again.  I’ll take it all on for you.”

“None of us want that,” Shun growled, shoving Yuzu behind him.

Sawatari leaped off of Gongenzaka’s shoulder and stalked towards Shun.  Shun put both hands up, clearly expecting to be able to handle Sawatari.  But Sawatari was suddenly and surprisingly fast, ducking beneath Shun’s swipe, grabbing him by the arm, and swinging him around, twisting his arm behind his back before shoving him to the ground.

“Be gentle,” Yuya said suddenly.  “Please. They’re just confused, everyone.  They’ll join us soon, don’t worry.”

Yuzu stumbled backwards, looking white and panicked.  Tsukikage and Dennis came around Gongenzaka from opposite sides, moving towards her.

“Don’t worry, we have plenty of time,” Yuya said.  “Plenty of time to talk it over, and for you to realize that it’s going to be okay.”

Yuto kicked at his bars.  Why couldn’t he do anything?? Why was he so helpless?  But it seemed like Yuya wouldn’t even hear their voices anymore!  If he wouldn’t listen to Yuzu, then who would he listen to?  

How could they get him to open his heart again?

Yuzu ducked away from Dennis’s hands, trying to keep out of range of Tsukikage at the same time.  It was clear that Yuya wasn’t going to rest until he’d managed to confine all of those who hadn’t accepted his or the Ringmaster’s words.

Angry tears bubbled to her eyes.  After all of this — Yuya had let his other self convince him?

“Yuya, you need to listen !” she cried.

“I’ve been listening,” Yuya said.  “Everyone’s happier and safer with me like this!  The Ringmaster was right!!”

“No, he wasn’t!” Yuzu cried.

She tried to leap back again, but this time, Tsukikage managed to get a hold of her.  She yelled and kicked, but Dennis got a hold of her other arm, and together, the two of them forced her down to her knees.

“Dennis, Tsukikage, please,” she gasped.  “I know, I know it must hurt, but listen, I can —”

“They don’t want to listen!” Yuya cried, his voice finally breaking.  “They’re happy! They don’t have to think about anything that hurts anymore!”

“That’s wrong!” Yuzu shouted, tears bubbling over her eyelashes and blurring her vision.

Yuya...Yuya didn’t even look recognizable anymore.  His smile was so fake, so forced — it was like she remembered from when they were children, and he’d put on a fake laugh to try and hide the fact that he was hurting.

Yuya must be hurting so badly right now.  Not just his own hurt, but...he was trying to hold the hurt of everyone else, too.  And it was consuming him.

Was the Yuya she knew still in there somewhere?  Or was he gone forever?

“Yuzu, you want to make the world better too, right?” Yuya said, coming towards her now.  She struggled against Dennis and Tsukikage, but they held her fast until Yuya reached her.

Up close, Yuzu could see the wild panic in Yuya’s eyes, despite his smile, and the tears that continue to leave tracks down his face.

“You’re better than me, Yuzu, you really always have been,” he said.  “That’s why I need you. I need you here to help me protect everyone.”

“We can’t just forget the world outside,” Yuzu begged, tears rolling down her own cheeks.

“Then we won’t!  See, that’s why I need you, Yuzu.  If you’re with me, we can make the whole world happy!”

Yuzu fought back a fresh wave of tears, her hands curling into fists.

“Your Entertainment Duel was inspiring to me,” she said, her voice a low mumble.  “Because...because you learned how to express your happiness in a way that made everyone smile with you.  Not because you forced them to.”

Yuya’s smile faltered.  He forced it back on. Before he could speak, she talked over him — she had to talk over him.  The more Yuya talked, the more the Ringmaster came out in him, and the less control she had. She had to reach his heart.

“The Yuya I remember tried to respect his opponents,” she continued, her voice getting stronger with each sentence.  “Even if they were your enemy, you found a way to meet them halfway, you found a way to talk to their hearts — not to force them to agree with you, but to help open their hearts to their own happiness!”

“That’s...that’s what I’m doing,” Yuya said.  “I’m just doing it better, now, Yuzu.

“You’re not!  You’re telling them how to feel!  You’re trying to force your own feelings onto them, instead of listening to them!”

Yuya shook his head wildly, stepping back from her.

“No, that’s wrong,” he said, eyes wide and desperate.  “That’s wrong! I’m helping...I’m helping them.”

“Yuya, you’re not even helping yourself!” Yuzu said.  “Look at how much pain you’re in!”

“I...I have to.  I have to have all of it, so that no one else has to feel it.”

“That’s wrong!  Why won’t you trust us a little bit more, Yuya?  Why won’t you let your friends carry some of the burden with you?”

Yuya dropped his cane and covered his face with his hands.  A thin, broken scream escaped his throat.

“I can’t!” he said.  “I can’t! Because if I do, then that’s — that’s —”

But he didn’t finish the thought.  He abruptly dropped his arms to his sides, his face going suddenly blank.

“Oh,” he said, as though he were suddenly very far away.  “I understand. I need...I’m not the one you need to hear from right now.”

He reached down to pick up his cane, and then straightened.  He turned up towards the hanging cages over his head and pointed his cane at one of them.

Immediately, it dropped down from the ceiling, a chain screeching as the pulley system let it down.  The cage landed heavily on the sand, sending up a spray of dust.

Icy, frozen air washed out of the cage, and Yuzu shivered.  A cloud of fog rose out of the bars as the door dropped open.  Yuzu felt her heart in her throat, watching the being that was Rin and wasn’t Rin at the same time climbed out of the cage.

She looked like she was carved out of clear, prismatic ice, and when she walked over to them at Yuya’s prompting, Yuzu could feel the icy cold breath washing off of her, dropping the temperature by several degrees.

Rin’s blank, solid ice eyes looked down at Yuzu.

“Rin,” Yuya said, smiling at her.  “You understand, right? You want to be here with me, don’t you?  Tell Yuzu how you feel.”

Rin blinked at Yuzu.  Freezing air caressed Yuzu’s bare arms, and she suddenly felt like it was harder to breathe.

“Rin,” she whispered.  “Please. You’re still in there, right?”

Rin stared at her.  And when she spoke, she sounded echoey.

“I want to stay here,” she said.

Yuzu felt her heart plummet to her stomach.

“But — but Rin,” she started.

“I don’t want to to back to being a part of you, Yuzu,” she said.  “I want to live here. I want to...I want to hold Yugo again.”

“Rin,” Yuzu said, her eyes bubbling with tears.

All of a sudden, though, she couldn’t think of anything to say.  What could she say?  She’d spent every night for the past six months thinking about how guilty she felt for stealing the other girls’ lives away from them.  All of her arguments died in her throat.

What could she say?  Rin...didn’t she deserve to be free...?  Why wouldn’t she choose the Ringmaster’s world instead of the one where she was trapped in Yuzu’s head?  And how...how could Yuzu possible argue for her to come back?

She could feel all her determination wilting in her chest.

I’m sorry, Ray , she thought.   I...I don’t think I can do this.  I can’t be enough.

“See, Yuzu?” Yuya said, smiling more brightly this time.  “It’s better this way! We can make up for stealing their lives from them — we can make happier lives.  Rin is happier like this. You would be too!”

Yuzu didn’t have any words left.  She didn’t know what to say. The heavy weight on her shoulders started to press her down into the ground.

“Bullshit!!”

Yuzu and Yuya both snapped with surprise, eyes flashing up to the cages overhead.

Yugo’s cage was swinging back and forth from the force of his shout and his movement, his face pressed to his bars and eyes fiery with determination.

“Yugo?” Yuya said, his voice thin and trembly.

“I said, bullshit!” Yugo said, swinging his cage more ferociously.  “Yuya, I didn’t — I never blamed you for us becoming one!!”

He let out an angry cry, punching his bars with one hand.  Big fat tears rolled down his cheeks, his teeth grit with frustrated.

“Y-yeah, it was frustrating at first!  But — but Yuya, I don’t — I don’t regret what happened!  And I don’t think Rin does either, because —”

Yugo was full on sobbing, now, his shoulders shaking.

“Because sure, we’re — we’re a little far apart now, and things are different, but — but because — before we became a part of you guys, were were all alone, Yuya.  It was just us. We didn’t have any friends, or any family, or — any future.”

He wiped at his eyes with the back of his sleeve, sniffling.

“And in here, it’s the same!” he said.  “This isn’t a perfect world, Yuya. It’s just...a sad, and lonely one.  You separated us, and that means...that means we’re lonely again!”

“B-but, we’ll all be together,” Yuya said, his smile gone, eyes wide with fright and shock.

“But it won’t be right!” Yugo shouted.  “Because — because we won’t be us .  You’re not you like this, Yuya!  And I...I don’t want that! We’d be close, but so far away at the same time!

He pressed his forehead to the bars, closing his eyes for a moment.

“S-so...Rin!”

He grasped the bars with both hands, pressing his face between the slats, staring down at her.  Rin actually stirred, turning her head towards him slightly.

“I want to hold you again too,” he said.  “But — but not like this, Rin. Not in a place like this.  Not while Yuya is trying to take it all on himself.”

He smiled a big, dopey smile as he continue to let his tears roll down his cheeks.

“I-I mean, you’re usually the smart one, right, Rin?” he said.  “You should know that this isn’t the way we want to be together.  Not when we don’t remember ourselves — not when we’re not able to feel everything together.”

Rin started to shake ever so slightly.  Yuya’s eyes flashed to her, his eyes wide.

“Rin, no,” he gasped.  “Please — I promise — I can make it —”

But Yuzu felt a new fire in her chest.  Rin continued to shake, and Yuzu clenched her fists.

“Yuya,” she gasped.  “Listen to Yugo.”

“He’s right!” Yuto shouted down as well.  “I don’t blame you, Yuya! I don’t blame you for what happened!  There’s nothing that you have to fix!”

He pressed his hands to the bars, smiling through tears down at Yuya.

“You’re my friend, Yuya,” he said.  “I don’t want to live in a world where you’re hurting yourself all the time.  I want to live in a world where we’re all working together. Even if that is a world where we’re all in the same body.”

Rin clutched at her head.  Yuya was starting to tremble now, too, and he dropped his cane, stumbling backwards.

“I feel the same,” Ruri said.  “Rin...I understand how much it must hurt, to feel far away from your loved ones.”

Her eyes flickered down towards Kurosaki, who managed to turn his head against the ground to catch sight of her.

“But we’re stronger together,” she said.

“That’s right!” Selena said.  “I might hate not having my own body, but I don’t want to live in a place like this, either!  Don’t make our decisions for us, Yuya!”

Yuzu felt Dennis and Tsukikage’s grips loosen.  With a wild cry, she threw herself back up to her feet, flinging the two back.  She felt a warm fire rushing through her.

Only a show , she remembered, and she reached her arms up towards the hanging cages.

Immediately, she felt something in her shift.  A fire exploded in her chest, and the cages dissolved.  Instead of falling all the way to the ground, however, the imprisoned counterparts — even Yuuri, still in his form as the Human Plant — floated gently to the ground.

The second Yugo’s feet hit the ground, he bolted towards Rin.  Despite the icy coldness that seemed to immediately frost over his riding suit, he threw his arms around her, sending them almost tumbling to the ground.

“It’s okay,” Yugo said.  “It’s okay, Rin. Because no matter what, and what kind of body we’re in — we’re all together!  And we should all trust each other, and work together when we’re feeling sad!”

Rin’s mouth and eyes body widened.  Two small, crystalline tears rolled down her cheeks.

And then, all at once, the ice melted.  Her skin turned rosy and fair again, her hair bounced free, and warmth flooded back into the air.  Her eyes blinked, and the ice fell from her eyes to reveal her hazel gold once again. Her icy tears melted.

For just a moment, she pressed her face into Yugo’s shoulder, hugging him tightly.

Yuzu felt a tug in her heart, then, and she felt two hands grab hers.  She turned to find Selena and Ruri standing beside her, both smiling. Tears welled into her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said.  “I almost gave up.

“That’s why you need us,” Selena said.

“We’re a team,” Ruri said, squeezing her hand.  “And that means we all fight together.”

Yuzu nodded.  She turned forward again to find Rin having released Yugo, holding his hand as she turned to face Yuzu.  Rin’s cheeks were stained with tears, and her lip trembled. She tried to smile.

“Can you forgive me for being a stupid head?” she said.

Yuzu smiled, blinking back her own tears.

“I’m just glad to see you again,” she said.

Rin sniffled, rubbing at her nose with the back of her hand.

“Yugo was right,” she said.  “If I hadn’t met you all, and become one with you — I think we’d still be lonely.”

She looked down at her hand.

“I don’t want anyone to feel like that anymore,” she said.  Her hand tightened up. “So...I want us all to go home together.”

Yuzu nodded.

She felt a warmth run up her arms from Ruri’s and Selena’s hands, and then their hands were gone.  Rin vanished from where she stood, too, leaving only Yugo. Yuzu let out a low, contented sigh. She pressed her hands to her chest, feeling it warm with the three hearts that settled there.  Her mind blossomed with thoughts and feelings besides her own, filling up the empty spaces that had been left hollow.

“Let’s bring the rest of them back, now, too,” Rin said.

“Snap that stupid friend of yours out of it,” Selena said.

“We can do this, Yuzu,” Ruri said, her voice sending soothing waves through their shared body.

Yuzu nodded, opening her eyes.

Her eyes met Yuya’s wide, wild, and pained ones.  She heard the rustle of feet and fabric, as Yugo and Yuto both moved back to stand beside Yuzu.

“We’ve left you all alone, Yuya,” Yuto said.  “I’m sorry — we won’t do it again. Just come back.”

“We’re gonna wake you up!” Yugo said, punching the air.

Yuzu met Yuya’s eyes, and she saw the deep, raw pain inside.  She tightened her fists, three other hearts swirling around hers.

“Yuya,” she said.  “It’s all right.”

She lifted one hand towards him.

“We’re all here for you, Yuya,” she said.  “So let’s go home. All of us.”

Chapter Text

I thought it was supposed to stop hurting.

“It’s going to.  Please, you just need to be patient. Once they all understand, everything will stop hurting.”

They look so upset.  This must be wrong. I must be doing something wrong.

“You’re not!  You’re doing something right!  Don’t stop smiling, don’t stop smiling.  You have to be happy so that everyone else can be happy.”

I...I know that, I know that I need to smile, but it’s so hard.  It hurts...everyone looks so scared of me. That can’t be right.

“Sometimes people are scared of things just because they don’t understand them.  You were the same, weren’t you? Before you accepted me as the real you?”

But...it’s never hurt before.  Making people smile, it didn’t hurt.  I was...I could smile so easily, back then.  Why isn’t it the same?

“Do you want to go back to that awful world?  Is that what you want? That world that made you become Zarc?”

No, that’s not it, but...but I...this doesn’t feel right.  It shouldn’t hurt this much.

“Please, you have to trust me, Yuya.  I’m the real you, after all. You already accepted that.  Now just bear with me for a little longer, and it will all be all right.”

Yuya couldn’t remember who was speaking, or if anyone was speaking at all.  Was this all in his head? He felt...sick. His chest hurt as though he were about to have a heart attack.  He could see his friends, with their wide, worried eyes, but he felt like he couldn’t hear their words, as though he were so far away from them.  He pressed a hand to the side of his head, tilting his hat. He felt so heavy. He couldn’t remember feeling his heavy before, when he had brought smiles to everyone.

“Remember, Yuya?  Smile when you want to cry.  Smile even if it hurts. And then it will stop hurting.”

Yuya tried.  He stretched his lips out as far as he could make them, baring his teeth in the biggest smile he could manage.

But it wasn’t helping.  His chest still twisted, his heart still felt like it was made of lead, his body still felt heavy.  And his friends just looked more upset than before.

“But don’t forget, Yuya, don’t forget the friends that have already joined us!  They’re proof that we’re doing the right thing!”

Yuya turned to look at those standing beside him.  It was true...they were smiling.

But it didn’t look right .  The smiles looked painful.  As painful as the one he was trying to keep on his lips right now.

“Smile,” he gasped.  “I have to smile. Then it will be all right.”

That’s right, Yuya, you just need to keep smiling.  Let me handle it, all right? I told you that I would make sure it all stopped hurting.  You just have to listen to me, and keep smiling.

“Keep smiling,” he repeated, swaying on his feet.  “That’s right. No matter what, I have to smile...”

“No, you don’t.”

The voice startled him — when had someone snuck up behind him??

He felt arms wrap around him from behind before he could stop them.  He flailed, but he was held fast, even when his cane struck the person holding him.

“Yuya, Yuya, Yuya,” his mother soothed, hugging him even tighter.  “It’s okay. I’m here.”

“Let go!” Yuya screamed.  He flailed and threw himself against his mother’s arms.  “Let go of me!”

But Yoko didn’t let go.  She only clung tighter. How had she gotten out?  Hadn’t he — hadn’t the Ringmaster — or him? — hadn’t they placed her in a chair she wasn’t allowed to leave?  When had they lost concentration on holding her in place? It must have been when they reformed. He had to do something.

You have to put her back, now, Yuya, she’ll try to talk you out of it, she’s — we don’t have a strategy for mom —

Yuya screamed, kicking and flailing, but still Yoko held him.

“You don’t have to smile,” she gasped, and Yuya could hear the tears in her voice.  “I’m sorry, Yuya. I didn’t know — I didn’t know how much you were hurting.”

“Let go!” he screamed again, but his voice came out in a shaky whisper.  He felt sick and dizzy and he wanted to...he wanted to...what did he want to do?  His thoughts were a mess.

“But it’s okay,” Yoko said.  “If it hurts, it’s okay to let it hurt, Yuya!  That means you’re human!”

“I don’t want it to hurt!  I don’t want anyone to be hurt anymore!  Not even you, mom!”

“I know, I know, baby.  I let you deal with this all by yourself all this time, and I’m so sorry.  But it’s okay. You can feel it, you can let yourself feel the hurt, you don’t have to force your way through it, okay?”

“She’s right!” Yuzu shouted.  “Yoko-san is right, Yuya! It’s okay to let it hurt!”

No, it’s not!!  Hurting is bad! Hurting is awful!  We need to stop all of the hurting!

“How can you know what happiness feels like if you’ve never been sad?” his mother said, squeezing Yuya even tighter against her.  His struggles faded; he could barely breathe for the lump of tears in his throat and he could only hang there in his mother’s grip.

“It hurts so bad,” Yuya mumbled.

No!!  You have to ignore it!  You have to keep smiling!  If you don’t, everyone else will hurt!

He felt a wash of pain through his brain that wasn’t his, and swung his head in a panic towards the others.  Reiji looked pale from where he was hanging by his strings, his breaths coming shorter. Sawatari had stopped smiling, looking stricken instead.  Yuuri was starting to tremble violently. No, no, no! Yuya was hurting them!! He needed to keep smiling!

“Yuya, you can’t carry everyone on your shoulders,” Yoko said.  “That’s why you have friends. So that you can all share the pain and the joy all together.”

“But I need to protect them,” Yuya gasped.

“Yuya, you’ve been protecting them all this time,” Yoko said.  “And they’ve been protecting you — look, Yuya. They want to protect you, too.  Let them.”

Yuya looked where she pointed from over his shoulder.  He saw Yuzu first, with her hands clasped over her chest, looking worried.  Yuto was pale and his hands were in fists at his sides, but he didn’t drop Yuya’s gaze, determined despite his worry.  Yugo hopped from foot to foot, biting his lip. Sora looked like he was on the verge of bolting straight over to Yuya. Even Kurosaki leaned forward, his face tight with worry.

“You know how much it hurts, wanting to take care of them?”

A voice in Yuya’s head screamed, but he felt like he was able to ignore it.

“Y-yeah,” he said.

“They’re hurting like that, too,” Yoko said.  “It’s okay, Yuya. It’s okay to feel things that you don’t want to sometimes.  And your friends will be there for you when you do.”

Fresh washes of tears rolled down Yuya’s cheeks.  He felt himself slumping in his mother’s arms. It hurt so badly.  But as he began to cry, it seemed to hurt a little less. His mind started clearing up like a sky after a rain.  What had he been thinking? This wasn’t right at all. This wasn’t the way to make people smile. He...he wanted the chance to go home with everyone.  He didn’t want to stay here forever, like this....

His chest jolted.  He choked on his own air. The scream in his head got suddenly louder.

DON’T YOU DARE ERASE ME!

Yuya screamed as pain exploded through his mind, and then everything went black.

Yuzu had seen it — she’d seen Yuya’s eyes clearing.  He was coming back to them! Yoko had done it! She’d managed to wake up Yuya’s heart!

But then his eyes suddenly went cloudy again.  And a horrible, ear-piercing scream ripped out of his throat.

“DON’T YOU DARE ERASE ME!”

With a wild flail, Yuya flung his arm out with his cane over Yoko’s arms.  The circus floor melted beneath Yoko’s feet, and she yelped, losing her grip on Yuya.  It was all the opening Yuya needed to fling himself free of Yoko’s grip, stumbling forward while Yoko scrambled back to solid ground.

Yuya gasped for air, eyes wide and wild.

“I won’t let you,” he said, but the voice seemed off again somehow, and Yuzu felt something in her tense up.

“It’s not Yuya!” Selena shouted.

“The Ringmaster must have taken over!” Rin swore.

Yuya — or the Ringmaster? — spun on his heels, eyes wide and panicked.

“I won’t let you end this show, Yuya,” he said.  “I absolutely won’t let you!”

“Bastard!” Sora shouted.  “Leave him alone!”

“If he’s you, why won’t you listen to him ?” Kurosaki yelled.

The Ringmaster’s eyes flashed to all of them, his whole body trembling.  He began to gesture wildly with his cane, and the walls of the circus started to melt and reform, over and over again.

“I have to protect him from himself!” the Ringmaster screamed.  “You wouldn’t understand! I won’t — I won’t let him erase me! I won’t let him end my show!”

They needed a plan!  They needed a way to shake the Ringmaster’s control of Yuya and the others!  How could she...

Hang on.  If the Ringmaster was Yuya...then something of Yuya’s true desires must be within him, too.  If she could...instead of thinking of it as a way to break the Ringmaster’s control, instead, couldn’t she... talk to the Ringmaster somehow?  Couldn’t she make him smile in her own way, and make him understand where he’d gone wrong?

Ruri caught onto her train of thought first.

“That’s risky,” she said.

“It’s what Yuya would have done, if he was here helping us,” Yuzu murmured.

Selena snorted.

“Yeah, you’ve got that right,” she said.   “Speak to him in his own language...that could work.”

Yuzu stepped forward towards the Ringmaster, and the Ringmaster’s eyes shot to her.  A relieved smile broke over his face.

“Yuzu, are you coming to join me?” he asked, holding out a hand.  “Please. I need you, Yuzu.”

Yuzu shook her head, and the Ringmaster’s face fell.  But she stretched her own hand out towards the Ringmaster, tilting her head.

“If you won’t let your show end,” she said.  “Why don’t I show you my performance?  And then we can compare.”

The Ringmaster’s smile slipped with surprise.  He blinked at Yuzu, lips parted.

“You mean...are you challenging me to a duel?” the Ringmaster said.

“If that’s how you want to do it,” Yuzu said.  “Let’s compare our Entertainment, Ringmaster. You can try to convince me, and I can try to convince you.  A battle of the entertainers.”

The Ringmaster stared at her for a long moment.  And then a bright, excited smile broke over his face.

“That sounds like fun ,” he said, and his abrupt change in mood was almost enough to make Yuzu fall over.  “Oh, I know just the thing, too!!”

“A duel?” Yuzu said.

The Ringmaster smiled.

“Oh, Yuzu, Duel Disks don’t work inside my tent,” he said.  “We’ll be playing this Entertainment Duel out a little...differently.”

He tapped his cane to the floor, and immediately, the ground began to rumble and shake.  Yuzu stumbled, and Kurosaki leaped forward to catch her by the arms.

The ground exploded beneath her, a rain of sand flying down on top of all of them.  Yuzu cried out, and Kurosaki swore. Sora shouted something that Yuzu couldn’t hear, and she heard Yuto and Yugo both swearing.

When she finally blinked the sand out of her eyes, still leaning against Kurosaki, the scenery had completely changed.

Oh, she thought with shock.  She recognized this place.

Tilted poles with platforms near their tops jutted out of the ground.  Brightly colored balls painted with stars hovered in the air. Banners and streamers strung with lights were wrapped around every surface, and instead of the sandy floor, they were all standing on top of a huge, round stage painted brightly with a large star design and other markings.  She’d seen this stage before — only not as big as this! There was more space on this stage alone than there was in an entire Duel Stadium!

“This is...” Yuzu gasped.  “...the Acrobatic Circus Action Field!”

“Of course!  That’s my favorite, after all!”

The Ringmaster’s voice came from somewhere up above, and Yuzu quickly stood up straight to look for where he’d gone.  Yuto spotted him first, throwing his hand into the air to point. Yuzu spun around — the Ringmaster stood on one of the platforms attached to the poles.  Or rather, he was sitting astride a dull pink hippo, with its top hat blown out of the top and its bowtie undone.

He wasn’t the only person there, either.  The others that were still under his control were scattered about the field.  Sawatari sat on a tightrope over their heads. Gongenzaka was standing atop one of the large floating balls.  Dennis stood near the edge of the stage, leaning on his cane, and Tsukikage was perched on the opposite platform from the Ringmaster.  Reiji dangled near the ceiling. Even Yuuri was there, seemingly growing out of one of the balance beams with all of his roots curled around the boards and down the ladders.

“Welcome!” the Ringmaster said.  He pointed his cane up towards the top of the tent, and Yuzu looked up.  Her eyes widened as she saw a swirling sphere of small white particles — Action Cards!  The sphere exploded, and the Action Cards scattered all across the field. But how were they supposed to duel without Duel Disks?

The Ringmaster tapped his heels to the hippo’s side, and the hippo leaped down to the stage.  Yuzu stepped back, and the others matched her, clustering up in the center.

“If you want to duel, we need our disks!” Yuto said.

The Ringmaster smiled, shaking his head.

“Oh, no, Yuto!  That’s not how this show goes at all!”

He swept his arms out wide.

“After all, the dueling we know is only a more formalized version of the true dueling — a battle between powerful magicians.  Or in this case, Entertainers!”

He leaned off the side of his hippo to snatch up an Action Card from the floor, turning it towards them and smiling.  Before Yuzu could see what the card did, however, it turned to a shining ball of flame in the Ringmaster’s hand, and he flicked it into the air.

“I cast the spell Fireworks!” he said.  “Let’s begin this dazzling show!”

The fireball flew up into the ceiling and exploded, throwing colorful sparks everywhere.  Yuzu stared at them for a moment with surprise — until some of the sparks dusted over her hands and she screamed with pain.

“This is all real!  It’s not just Solid Vision!” Selena shouted.

“Yuzu, dodge!”

Bigger, more dangerous looking sparks started to rain down over them.  She leaped forward, diving and sliding across the stage. Her eyes caught on a card left on the floor, and she grabbed hold of it.  It was — blank??

But no, something sparked in her head.  The card turned to white light in her hand, and she rolled over onto her back, thrusting her hand forward.

“Cast Spell End!” she shouted, and white light spilled from her fingertips.  She felt energy roiling in her chest, pouring out of her along with the magic.  The light covered the stage, and all of the fireworks wisped out before they hit anyone else.

“Not bad, Yuzu, but it’s not very interesting to look at,” the Ringmaster said.

Yuzu gasped for breath, pushing herself back to her hands.  The Ringmaster shook his head at her, smiling wryly.

“I thought you were going to dazzle me!” he said.  “Let’s make this fun, shouldn’t we?”

“We don’t even know the rules!” Yuzu said.

“The only rule is to entertain ,” the Ringmaster said, gesturing with his cane.  “Oh but...if you fall off the stage, you’ve left the audience’s sight, and thus the show.  So it makes sense that the last person left on the stage when the show ends will capture the audience’s hearts the most, right?”

Yuzu’s heart quickened.  That was it — her win condition.  She had to navigate this field, using the Action Cards to try and knock all of the Ringmaster’s “cast” from the stage — and protect her own friends as well.

And if, in the course of it, she could reach out to the Ringmaster and help him change his mind...

Then she’d have won.

She pushed herself to her feet, dusting off her skirt.  She sent the Ringmaster a smile, and bowed.

“Well then,” she said.  “Let’s have our show begin.”

The Ringmaster smiled, and tipped his hat to her.

“May the best entertainer take all,” he said.