Warning: Murder via stabbing as well as mutilation occurs in this chapter, though they are described in mostly non-graphic detail.

10. Part 2: Unprepared

Einheria woke.

Since when was the light so bright?

Since when was the ground so hard?

Since when…?

"Well," Janne spoke up, his shadow cast over her, "I see you're awake now."

Einheria staggered to her feet, but as she did so, she felt spikes graze her from behind. She moved away from the source of the spikes, seeing that the bars were lined with razor wire, looked down at herself, and then towards Janne again. The teen was on the other side of another barred wall, also lined with razor wire

She was in a cage. It was a rather large one, and tall enough for her to stand in—even jump around in, if she wanted to. All around the outside of the cage, Janne and several other carnies stood, their leering gazes locked on the Valkyrie.

"What's with the silence?" Janne spouted, chuckling. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Release me at once." Einheria stated. She immediately realized that she was unarmed. "If you simply hand the Ringmaster over to me, I will leave the rest of you unharmed."

"No."

The voice from her left spoke, and she turned to see Geist the Bloody lean against the bars with one arm. The razor wire cut into the sleeve of his coat, but he paid it no mind as he made direct eye contact with the Valkyrie.

"You," Geist stated with a surprising calm, "Are becoming quite a threat. We tore apart one of your sisters earlier—"

Artemia.

Einheria immediately recalled the earlier screaming, and her heart felt like freezing. One of her sisters—gone? Like that? After she'd been captured by the other carnies?

Damn it!

"And," Geist cooed, seeing the frustration evident on Einheria's face, "You'll be joining her soon."

The Bloody looked to Janne, raising an eyebrow. "Should I get Minette and Bismarck, now?"

The teen nodded. "Yeah, why not? I'm sure that lion's hungry."

As Geist went to go retrieve the carnies, Janne turned to the rest of the carnies, taking a deep breath.

"Ladies and Gents," The teen called out, as if addressing a full audience, "I present a one-time show. Here in the cage, we've got a naughty Valkyrie. And what do we do when we find someone being unruly?"

The other carnies' voices echoed in their ensuing chorus.

"Make them pay!"

Janne heard their voices echo as he spoke again.

"What do we do when they won't stop doing what they do, even when we asked so nicely earlier?"

"Punish them!"

Einheria looked around the cage. If Geist was bringing a lion into this cage, and she was unarmed, she knew—she knew she didn't stand much of a chance against it. It wasn't like she could jump out of the cage, as the razor wire would make her lose grip, and being stuck in a cage meant there was only so high she could go up. But…

Cages had doors. If she could…

"And," Janne raised an eyebrow, his voice cutting into her thoughts, "What do we do if they plan to keep going with their reckless shit, fucking up everything and everyone around them?"

It was Cu Cuhallin, half-man and half-horse, whose voice rose above the others. Usually he'd be by Bella's side, or nearby her, but he was by himself as Bella was absent from this act.

"VENGEANCE!" He shouted. "WE SHALL! HAVE VENGEANCE!"

Einheria heard the growling from behind her, and she turned to see a little girl in a cat hood with Geist, both of them accompanied by a lion. The lion sniffed the air, once or twice, then growled, its predatory gaze set up the Valkyrie.

Janne smiled—and this time, it was a wolfish one, with teeth shining in the faint light of the area.

"Let the lion in."

The Siren wore a dress tonight—it was this pretty, backless halter dress, skin exposed all the way down to just below his hips, nearly exposing his arse. Geist painted him earlier with fake scales, but it did not do much to ease his fears of being too naked. Angelo made a mistake earlier when cutting the fabric, and there wasn't much they could do to remedy it without throwing off the sleek silhouette it provided. The skirt of said dress flared out slightly, with ruffled seaweed as a hem, and this time his legs were covered.

The outfit was also, well, more impractical than usual. At least the Siren didn't need to perform tonight in the form of dancing around and singing his songs. That was the saving grace of the outfit. He didn't need to have his back to anyone or turn around too much—all he needed to do was sit gracefully, look pretty, maybe hum few tunes if he wanted.

But the Siren knew, dagger in hand, that Mephilia Venus was coming. Bella was luring her now, closer and closer to this tent. Taking a deep breath, he gazed down at the dagger, then looked towards the tent's entrance.

The Siren knew, tonight, that he'd have to kill her, even if it broke his own heart. He didn't know her too personally, but he knew of her history through what Einheria told him after the warring between the Duchy and the Crystal Orthodoxy ended.

He tried not to cry when Praline's broken form came back to mind, the blood spilling from her hands and neck. At least with Mephilia, he wouldn't have the same sentiment.

It made him still wonder, however, if the same guilt would remain after the deed was done.

The lion roared as it leapt into the cage, and Minette paused as she looked to Janne. "Should I close it meow?"

Janne paused, watching as Einheria and Bismarck seemed to be trying to circle each other within the cage, then shook his head.

"Nah, leave it open for now. Give her some chance for survival. The deadliest ones are the ones that have a chance, after all." He looked to the Ringmaster standing nearby. "That's what I learned from the last trap with our then-Swordmaster, after all."

The Ringmaster stayed silent, watching, but if one looked close enough they could see his lips slowly curl into a smirk.

Geist rolled his eyes at the mention of Kamiizumi's trap, and inside he felt like snapping at Janne. However, there was entertainment he wanted to watch, and so he fixed his red gaze upon the Valkyrie and lion.

Einheria rolled out of the way as the lion lunged at her, only to hit the wired wall. A grunt escaped her lips as she pulled away from the wire, skin snagging to the sharp edges and ripping open. The lion sniffed the air, a hungry growl escaping it, and it clawed at her.

What felt like knives plunged into her side, all at once. A sharp gasp escaped her as the claws tugged at her flesh, and she groaned as she managed to pull away from said claws before they could go in deeper.

It was then that she realized she had her spears attached to her skirt. They were the only things keeping the lion at bay, but anything above that—anywhere above that—she was vulnerable.

Sharply tugging at one spear attached to her skirt, she ripped it off, throwing it at the lion to distract it. The lion roared, barely dodging the weapon in time, and Einheria moved past the lion, hoping to reach the cage entrance.

A heavy paw came down on her foot, and the claws came back. A hiss escaped her as she tried to crawl out of its reach, but it dragged her back. Using her arms to push herself forwards, she used her free leg to kick the lion, hard, before, ripping another spear off her skirt to stab its paw.

The lion roared again, pulling away from her, and Einheria wasted no time. Crawling fast as she could, her wounded leg dripping blood onto the floor, she headed straight for the open cage entrance.

Would she make it?

Would she—

Janne slammed the cage door in her face, and a hoarse cry escaped her as he smirked. The growling of the lion echoed once more, and the teen locked the cage door before looking to Bismarck.

"Kill."

The teen took one step back from the cage, gazing with both eyes as he watched the Valkyrie be ripped apart.

Mephilia rushed after the floating red doll, shooting spell after spell at it. She kept missing, and it frustrated her.

Crystals, why was she missing!? Did that doll have some kind of protection spell?

The doll ducked into a tent and Mephilia followed it inside—

Only for a new figure to lunge at her. It tackled her down, raising a dagger, but Mephilia slapped it out of the other's hand. The stranger punched her in the face, hard, and she screamed, summoning Girtablulu. Electricity ran through the other, who screams sounded like screeches, so inhuman, and it stumbled away from her, breaking off into a limping dash to retrieve its dagger.

"No, you don't!"

Hresvelgr was summoned, sweeping the carnie off its feet and slamming him into the ground. He groaned, trying to get up, and Mephilia took a deep breath as she walked over to him, glaring.

"You're not getting away." The sharp hiss escaping her elicted a whimper from the carnie, decked out in some elaborate, backless dress. Kicking him once with her boot, she couldn't help but smile when he gasped once more.

"Not so tough for someone to be feared, hmm?"

The carnie was silent, save for heaving breaths and whimpers, still curled up on the ground. Mephilia frowned, shaking her ehad.

"You're not my target. I've got a Ringmaster to kill, not some scaly little lizard like you."

There wasn't any point in killing her prey if he wasn't going to bother fighting back well enough. It wasn't fun that way. She turned on her heel, intent on leaving—

Only for her to hear him stand and speak.

"I-I'm not a lizard."

The voice was deep, contrasting with the earlier shrieks. Mephilia knew that voice, she knew its owner—

And as she turned her head, a teary-eyed Nobustuna Kamiizumi stabbed her right in the chest.

"Looks like she's dead."

The cage door was opened, and Janne brought both Minette and Geist into the cage with him. The Ringmaster also followed them inside, inspecting the clearly bloody Einheria. Not only were her clothes ripped, but her flesh as well.

Bismarck did a fine job, tearing her apart.

Geist looked to Janne, raising an eyebrow. "Should I bring her back?" He offered, grinning ear to ear. "We could watch her get torn apart again~!"

"Ugh, no." Janne gave him a look. "Once was fine enough, honestly. Not all of us share the same liking to excess blood, reaper."

"Suit yourself, wolf."

"Bizzy!" Minette petted a sated Bismarck, who purred with pride. "Goood widdle kitty! Mew were great out there!"

"Janne."

Janne looked to the Ringmaster, who'd spoken, and the teen took a deep breath. "Yes?"

The Ringmaster looked back at him, a pleased smile reaching his face.

"A fine performance. Though…" He frowned a bit. "Makes me wonder if we should've just rounded both Mephilia and Einheria, rather than have Bella hunt down Mephilia on her own and send her to the mirror hall…"

"Whattt!?" It was Cu Cuhallin that spoke up. "That is! Not! What mi'lady Bella told me! Before she left!"

"What?"

The Ringamster looked to him, frowning. "Then…what did she tell you she was doing, Cu?"

The half-horse, half-man paused before speaking once more.

"She said! She'd lure the Summoner! To the Siren! For him to kill!"

The Ringmaster was silent, but his jaw clenched.

"This," He uttered, "Was not what I ordered."

"She said! You ordered! The deed!"

"That is not what I ordered—!"

A loud cry echoed from outside, and everyone froze. Geist was the one to break the silence between everyone present, a gasp escaping his throat.

"Tsuna…?"

He looked around, then bolted out of the cage, out of the tent, panic reaching his expression.

"Tsuna!"

"Daddy!?" Revenant, who'd been standing outside and witnessing Einheria's downfall, followed after him. "Daddy, wait!"

This was bad. This was very bad. The Ringmaster growled, shaking his head, before walking off after both the Bloody and his son.

"Dispose of Einheria's corpse, and then come to the Siren's tent." The Ringmaster was heard speaking, his voice sharper than any dagger.

"...This is not what I planned."

Kamiizumi pulled the dagger out of Mephilia, and watched as she sunk to her knees.

"Y-you…." Mephilia gasped, her weary eyes gazing up at him. There was a mixture of horror, sorrow, and something else in her eyes as her voice went weak. "S-Swordmaster…? It's true?"

"True?" The Siren repeated, gazing right back at her. He suddenly didn't feel good again, and he knew it wasn't because of Cu Cuhallin's cooking. This was something else.

This was guilt.

"You…" Mephilia tried to stand, but the blood was leaking from her too quickly. She fell onto her side, gasping, and the Siren went down on both knees to try facing her. "You…betrayed us…"

"Mephilia…"

"Save your fucking breath."

Her face scrunched into a glare, despite the blood loss and her weakened state.

"You—you betrayed us all." She hissed, gazing right into his eyes, and he saw the anger within her. "He…will not…forgive you…"

"He…" The Siren repeated, then one person came back to mind.

Braev.

Braev—!

"I will…" Mephilia coughed, a weak giggle escaping her. "I will not forgive you…ever. And he won't, either."

The Siren reached towards Mephilia, this instinct to shake her very being and tell her that she was wrong coming to him.

But then he stopped.

He stopped, because she was dead, he'd dropped the dagger he'd stabbed her with, and…

Crystals.

He felt the tears right then and there at his eyes, tried not to think of his friend and failed, and could no longer contain his sobs.

She's right.

Even as he felt Geist's arms wrap around him, as he heard Geist ask him if he was okay while he numbly shook his head, even as he overheard Geist tell his son to get the Siren a glass of water and plenty of towels to wipe his tears and hands, he knew that she was right.

He joined one cause and betrayed another.

"I am very, very disappointed with tonight's performance."

The Ringmaster shot a glare at all of his carnies, and all of them shrunk back.

"I gave strict orders that the Siren was not participating in this, given his sudden stomach sickness as Geist reported to me before we started." The Ringmaster continued. He looked to Bella, and if looks could kill he'd be stabbing her with daggers. "Bella. Cu Cuhallin and the Siren reported to me that you told the Siren that he had to kill Mephilia Venus, when I told you all earlier that she was to be spared after going through the mirror hall and shipped back to the Duchy as a warning message. Why?"

Bella looked distraught, but then Donna the doll pointed at Nikolai.

"…heeeeee told us youuuu wanted the Siren to kill herrrr…"

The Ringmaster looked to Nikolai. He didn't say anything. Everyone else looked to him, Janne arching a brow.

"What the hell, Nikolai? Why'd you do that?" He demanded.

Geist took out a rapier, pointing it at the man's throat. "Tell us," He hissed, jaw clenched, "Or I'll cut you up."

Nikolai did not flinch at Geist's sudden threat, nor did he look shocked at being revealed.

"You told me, Ringmaster, to make sure the Siren stayed alive." He stated. "I was taking preventative measures."

"No," Geist interjected, not lowering the rapier but not moving it forwards to slash the other's throat either, "You're just making him do shit for the sake of tormenting him. Did you not see how tortured he was already, after Praline died? And during his first performance, too!"

"You knew it was happening beforehand." Nikolai half-snapped. "You didn't tell him."

The Bloody grabbed Nikolai by the robes, pulling him close so he could do nothing but stare into his eyes.

"I was told not to," Geist uttered, "By you. You said that the Ringmaster told you to tell me not to tell him about any of it happening!"

The Ringmaster shoved both men apart, giving them both a look, and the Siren firmly grasped onto the Bloody's sleeve as the Ringmaster spoke.

"Both of you, stop this." He managed, taking off his mask. "I'll tolerate no needless fighting. And Nikolai," He glared right at him, "How dare you use me like this. You will be stripped of your position as right-hand man and demoted to animal feeding, as well as set-up and cleanup, immediately."

Nikolai looked like he was about to protest, but decided not to at the look on the Ringmaster's face. "…Yes, Ringmaster." He sent a glare towards the Bloody and the Siren, but both men refused to acknowledge it.

"As for the rest of you…" The Ringmaster looked to the other carnies, taking a deep breath. He sighed, and the Siren knew it sounded weary. "Discard of the Venus Sisters' corpses, clean up, and go get some sleep. We'll be on the road tomorrow, towards Florem."

As the other carnies began to move back to their respective tents, the Ringmaster paused before looking to Bella, who was still floating nearby, trying to figure out an appropriate apology.

"No need to apologize, Bella." He spoke. "This is not your fault. None of us knew better about his manipulation. Though, if you feel the need to try apologizing to anyone for this mess, I think it best to comfort the Siren."

"…" Bella nodded, but then Donna spoke.

"Whaaat about youuuu, sireeee?"

The Ringmaster shrugged faintly. He suddenly looked weary, and he put his mask back on in the attempt to hide his tiredness. He was too late to cover it up—he knew Bella saw it. Not that he minded too much regarding her seeing him like this, though.

"I need to find a new right hand." He finally stated, after some silence. "That's what I need to do."

He gazed right at her, taking a deep breath.

"And for now…that right hand can be you."

Bella blinked. "…me?"

The word escaped her lips even fainter than her usual tone. The Ringmaster simply nodded in reply.

"And why not? You were one of the first to follow me, after all."

Author note: Thank you, everyone, for reading this fanfic so far! I apologize for not having posted this chapter until now, and I'm hoping the next one won't take as long! Thank you for all of your patience, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading this fic!