A/N: Well, due to technical difficulties, this chapter took quite awhile to get out OTL I apologize for the wait, especially considering the cliffhanger I left everything in (ain't I a stinker?). Since I don't have a laptop right now, it'll be awhile before I can reply, but I will!
By the way, my happiness increased a thousand fold because I received more fanart QAQ I can't believe I'm loved this much. You must go view these! The links are from deviantart and they're by my very good friend Gugeta-chan and my little sister Mia, respectively. C-come here, you twooo~ -cries and hugs tightly-
http : / / gugeta .deviantart .com/#/d4swnp0
http : / / blanknightroad . deviantart. com/#/d4ty5cu
Act X: Pumpkin Lanterns and Clown
He stabbed the staff holding his lantern down next to the one that belonged to his twin. "Sister, are you tearing off heads from the corpses yet again?"
There were two cold – and very much dead – bodies at his sister's bare feet, one of which whose head was already detached from him. Her short gray kimono slid further up her alabaster thighs as she straddled her next victim, her machete raised in professional poise.
"I've had my eyes on these two for awhile," she confessed with a ghastly smile. "They had such pretty heads. And it's not as if they will need them anymore, right, Brother?" She grinned, her teeth inhuman, small and numerous – and all sharp. Rufus knew his teeth were the same way. "If you want though, I'll leave you the bodies to play with."
His eyes gave each corpse a once-over. "Those specimens don't fascinate me," he said, turning away from the dead men and his sister. Miranda could have as much time as she wanted with them. The twins had all the time in the world, and why not? They were immortal and had been sitting in this island for well near thirteen years now. Rufus had to confess that at first the isle held as much interest in him as his sister, because the land had just finished being ravished by both monsters and demons and exorcists. When it was all done, not a soul was left alive.
Ah, it brought back fond memories, remembering the dead bodies when they were fresher than they were now. These days, they were too cold and bony, and he couldn't find much to do with them. Whatever had a head made his sister happy, though.
His bare foot stepped on the nearly-fleshless arm of a corpse and he clicked his tongue, bending down in the ground to examine it. "Don't you ever think that perhaps all these should get buried soon?"
"We'll get to that eventually," lilted Miranda gleefully.
Rufus tilted his head, plucking at the ratty clothing on the corpse. "You've been reassuring me that for thirteen years." He didn't pay any particular notice to the sound of a dry crack, or to the head that had come rolling to stop by his side.
His twin sister sat down next to him and picked up the head, hugging the rotted thing with as much adoration as a girl would with a stuffed animal. "There are still plenty of fun things we can do here, don't you think, Brother?"
Rufus looked up just as shadows began to detach themselves from the foggy night. A new scent began to fill the air, different form the wet dirt and rotting flesh. He leaned his head against his shoulder as his sister began to coo at her new head.
"Perhaps you're right, Sister."
In order to transport the freaks from the circus clearing to the mansion, Leo sought out Lily's assistance, since Fang was tending to Echo. Next to Fang's scythe, Lily's would serve just as well as instant travel. It had taken some persuading, but eventually the small Baskerville summoned up a huge gale of wind to engulf herself and the other freaks. Leo and Glen stood back, watching as the whirlwind twirled around the group until no trace of them was left.
Somehow, with everyone else gone, the clearing looked much gloomier, like an abandoned ghost town. Leo looked at each car and the torn-down tents. At first, he considered asking Glen if the circus performers would ever act for a freakshow ever again, but then thought now was neither the time nor place.
Something among the destruction suddenly caught Leo's eye, an object half-buried by the dead grass. From where he stood it looked something like…an arm? He stepped toward it, bending down and blinking in surprise when Emily's form became illuminated by the moonlight, her soft fabric rubbing against his skin.
"I never thought that Xerxes Break would leave you here," he remarked, turning the doll over gently to examine her. Nothing like a note or another clue was attached to her. He looked Emily in the eye. "Shame on him for not taking care of his belongings. I don't suppose you know where he is?"
It came as no surprise that Emily didn't say anything. Even so, Leo felt this was because she just wasn't speaking to him, rather than she couldn't. He propped her up on his shoulder like Xerxes would. She sat there, perfectly attached.
Leo went back over to where Glen stood, tilting his head slightly. "Do you have a plan for getting to Sablier?" he asked, smoothing his hands over Elliot's shirt for the up-tenth time. It seemed to be an unconscious act now, but a feeling of almost-calm came over him when he felt over Elliot's faint aura on the apparel.
Glen looked down at him, a distracted dull in his eyes. He must've been gazing out at the wrecked circus as well. "I was thinking that Jabberwocky was big enough to carry the both of us over the water until we got to the island," he replied, the wind rustling his dark hair. "It shouldn't take very long. However, our targets do have the lead..."
"We should leave now then." Leo extended his arm, the familiar feel of Jabberwocky's leathery skin brushing against his palm as it appeared in his hand. The large eye swirled to look over at him knowingly. Leo had always known that his scythe was a separate-but-not entity from himself, but he never really considered it as something with a conscious like his own. It was something he could command, like a beast. But the eye that bore onto him made him realize just how much he was connected to Jabberwocky's own being.
"Time for some exercise, hmm?" he said to it conversationally. "Well, you should prepare yourself for a long night. We're going to Sablier." He mounted the scythe, waiting until Glen was holding on behind him before taking off to the sky, leaving behind the graveyard of the deplorable Clockwork Circus.
The cold air rushed and parted as they ascended higher until the land was just a smear of passing color and the sky stretched on forever. Even so, the shores of Pandora ended only a few miles away – and beyond that, Sablier. There was a tiny grip on his shoulder that he realized was Emily holding on to him. Gently, he removed her and snuggled her doll form into his shirt enough so that only her arms and head stuck out. Who knew if Xerxes would become upset should Emily become lost?
Patches of clouds, dark-purple like Leo's eyes, extended to the horizon, heavy and full of rain. There was little doubt in the raven's mind that it'd rain soon – the taste of it was in the air. As they rode through the air, he avoided looking down at all costs. Sure, he'd flown before, but not at such a great height. Although he'd never admit it, he found Glen's arms around him oddly comforting. It sort of reminded Leo of his years – his life – with the enigmatic man, who was really his only family. A mother or a father or siblings... Leo couldn't remember having any of that. How could he when he was three when Glen found him?
And what about Glen? What had this man possessed before coming across Leo? There was no obvious way to tell the answer to these questions since Glen rarely reacted to anything. He was impassive, but not uncaring. So surely there was something that was once very important to him...
Leo tucked some of his wildly flying bangs behind his ear, grasping for the words he'd like to ask his father-figure. "You are very...dedicated to this case," he said. "But what makes you so interested in it? It's not like I've seen you outside of the mansion before."
"I suppose that's true," agreed Glen easily, his deep velvet voice vibrating in his chest, down Leo's back.
"You thought I wouldn't notice?" asked Leo with slightly narrowed eyes. "So does that mean you won't tell me? I can deal with that." Actually, it couldn't be further from the truth. He knew so little about Glen. It didn't seem right to not know his father.
Glen tightened his hold on the younger raven. "No, I think you should know. Otherwise I have a feeling someone else will say it instead." For several heartbeats, Leo couldn't hear anything except for his breathing and the breeze whispering over their bodies.
"How much should I say?" inquired Glen, like he really wanted to know. The question had such trust and innocence in it that at first Leo couldn't reply.
His hands gripped Jabberwocky's stem, his gaze perfectly straight ahead to the patches of starry sky. "We've got time for a story, if that's what this is," he responded with a small smile. When Glen was quiet, he chuckled, "Is it a story?"
"It can be."
Leo nodded approvingly. "Good. I like stories. I haven't read much during this mission."
"Well, when I learned that Lacie was in that circus, I admit, my interest was deeper for this mission than any other," began Glen after a sigh. "It must be because Lacie is my younger sister."
They swerved, and Leo's chest momentarily swelled in panic as they fell a few meters in altitude. When he quickly gained control of Jabberwocky again, he was shaking for a few seconds, but Glen, as usual, was unaffected. Numbly, he repeated, "Your sister?"
He felt Glen nod. "Yes, my one and only biological sister."
Leo thought back to Lacie's appearance – her long dark hair, raven-tinged like Glen; her pale, flawless skin and angular face. Their personalities were nothing alike, save for their talent for music. Leo thought the resemblance subtle, but nonetheless existent. If she had eyes...would they be the same lightening-purple hue as her brother's?
No prompting was needed for Glen to continue the beginning of his tale. "For years, we lived together. That is, before one day we met...a man. His name was Jack. Jack Vessalius. He was a practitioner of magick, honest and sincere, and very peculiar in many ways. He was also our very special friend." The note of adoration was palpable in his tone, and it surprised Leo to hear it.
"Jack Vessalius. The music box maker," he said with sudden clarity. "The one that's..."
"He died thirteen years ago. Or he should have anyway, since he was in Sablier with me on the day of the Tragedy," explained Glen.
"If I can ask... How is it you two met him?"
"Oh," breathed his father, "that is... Once, he had a wish. Jack was once a very lonely man. There was emptiness in his eyes – tainted ignorance. He told me later that he did not wish to be alone anymore. So he drew a magick circle one day...and accidentally summoned Lacie and I from our home in Hell."
Leo momentarily lost his breath, where it carried off in the cold air. "In...Hell," he stated quietly, like he had never heard of the name before, but it deeply fascinated him.
"Yes. Because just like the creature that rampaged through the Clockwork Circus, I am, and Lacie once was, a demon."
The air stilled. The world stretched perpetually, dauntingly never-ending. Leo should have been terrified, should have been shocked or angry. Any one of those feelings would surely be the appropriate reaction to the statement Glen had just made. But all he could do was hang his mouth open slightly, his eyes wide, a light feeling in his chest. Without realizing it, his face grew warm and a relieved smile was playing on his lips.
Relieved. Yes, he was quite certain that's how he felt. And so elated that he just wanted to laugh, which he did but briefly. "You're a demon. Then you're not human."
Glen's voice was slightly confused when he said, "Yes, I believe that's what implied..." Leo imagined that the man was frowning. "You aren't upset by this news. I expected...questions. A burst of some impulsive feeling that would make you act irrationally. But it would be justified," he added.
Leo shook his head. "That is...I think I should be feeling that. But somehow I'm happy. It means that you were different, just like me. When I was little, I was worried that...you thought of me differently because I wasn't human. But all this time, you weren't either." He smiled broadly, unable to keep the unabashed relief away. "It makes me feel closer to you, is what I'm trying to say?" he guessed with a laugh.
"Perhaps you are having a burst of some impulsive feeling that's making you act irrationally," amended Glen with something that sounded like a lighthearted scoff. "So I've lied to you all your life, you know."
"I should be mad about that at least. I actually might later, though," Leo confessed, waning his smile a little. They swooped closer down as the water came into view. Further ahead was a mass of black – Sablier. It would only be a matter of minutes until they reached the decrepit mountain. "But for now, I think the rest of that story will do. Start with Jack again. How is it that he summoned you and Lacie from Hell?"
Glen's biceps flexed at his sides as the man shrugged. "He was a practitioner of magick, as I mentioned before. He had already trained for years, but he was out of his depth in summoning us. Had it been any other pair of demons, I can't say his safety would have been guaranteed," he said honestly. "But Lacie and I were better in control of our desires. We didn't kill him. He was...so happy to see us. It was an odd sensation. I had never met such a human before..."
Leo looked down at Jabberwocky, meeting the single, buglike eye of his scythe as he silently contemplated what this meant about his father. "In all these years, have you ever eaten a heart?" he asked quietly, but he tried to keep the judgment out of his voice. He really didn't have a right to condemn Glen for such actions, and to be honest he didn't really mind it. But the fact of the matter was that Glen was a demon, same as the culprit of the circus' destruction.
It didn't take long for Glen to respond. "After a few weeks...it's hard to resist the temptation when I'm here among humans. That's why I never left the mansion. However," he said without hesitation, "there were times when I had Charlotte bring me a human we were torturing..."
Swallowing the thick saliva in his mouth, Leo quickly nodded to show he didn't need to hear more.
Catching the hint, Glen pressed on. "Well, we became his friend. Then one day someone found out about Jack's practices, and about me and Lacie being demons. The church threatened to kill all of us, but my...my sister..." His voice was quiet now, just above a whisper. He pressed his forehead into Leo's hair, his muscles suddenly tense. "She took the fall for all of us. Confessed that she was a demon and that she manipulated Jack to his magick practices. Told them I was an innocent. That me and Jack could be saved if she died. And then...she was strapped down and tortured. They poured holy water down her throat. Seared crosses on her skin. When it was all over, they burned her alive and cut out her heart.
"Jack despaired with me for weeks. In time though, his grief turned to hope, to desire and obsession. He poured through his books of magick and I watched wordlessly, because we both wanted the same thing – to bring Lacie back to life."
That halted their flight completely. Hovering over the dark waves of the beach, Leo turned to look back at Glen, the salty wind blowing their hair every which way. "Wait, Lacie really died? Humans killed a demon?"
Purple orbs bore onto him. "With the right methods, it's not impossible. And the right methods were used on her."
"But I saw Lacie. Talked to her. Everyone in the circus knew all of her existence," argued Leo lightly.
Glen nodded slowly. "That's because Jack succeeded in bringing her back," he replied simply, like this were a fundamental fact of life, and not a grim event. He gestured ahead of them with a nod of his head. "Come, we're wasting time."
When they were flying through the air again, Glen elaborated, "It was the night of the carnival and he wanted me to come with him. Although what we didn't participate in the festivities. He took me to an abandoned tent behind the Ferris wheel, a place where we wouldn't be disturbed. A complex magick circle was drawn, but not with chalk as I was accustomed to see Jack use. It was written in his blood."
There wasn't much that Leo could claim to know about magick or its practices. But Glen had several books on the subject in the library that he read a few times. Blood was only used for personal spells, and of all material, blood was the most binding to magick because it was pure essence. One literally bound themselves to a spell when using blood, so it was never used lightly.
"In order to bring Lacie to life, we needed something with her aura residing within it – Jack had already told me beforehand to bring the white dress my sister always wore, and so that was added in.
"When Jack finished his spell... There was a bright red light that seemed to engulf everything. Energy was plainly felt everywhere, choking and stifling with the sheer power of it. When it died down, I feared the worst, that nothing happened," admitted Glen with a note of shame. "But it worked. Lacie was lying on the ground in front of Jack, breathing. She was naked, but there were not any signs of her body being burned. The only things there were brutal scars over her heart."
Leo blinked his eyes. Slowly, the pieces were beginning to come together. "You brought her back but she had no heart," he gasped. The scars that Sharon had seen before were same ones Glen and Jack had seen, the ones caused when her demon heart was carved out of her. It's what the raven-haired man meant when he said Lacie was once a demon. Now she was – what? A part of the Undead? A zombie? Certainly not a Cannibal Marionette as Leo originally thought.
He felt Glen shake. "I was such a fool. That was why it was so easy to bring her back. She was there in body, but not soul. And the price was heavy." Whether or not the raven-haired man was aware of it, his fingers were curling over the fabric of Leo's shirt. "Damn Jack...because he used his own blood, it was his life that was sacrificed!"
"And now Lacie wants to bring Jack back to life," Leo concluded, the final pieces beginning to click together.
"She was presented a different method. One known only to demons," murmured Glen. "There's an object called the Clock of the Abyss. It was designed by the King of Hell himself to hold the soul while also taking care of the body so that it doesn't rot away. And based on what you've described, I'm certain Lacie has the Clock and that Jack's soul is inside it."
"This clock," began Leo with a contemplative frown, "does it have the power to rejoin the soul and the body?"
Glen nodded. "Yes, it will mend the spiritual frequency between the two again so that they are connected once more. That usually takes a few years. One can't just put a soul back in a body. The action can be likened to catching smoke in an open jar – it cannot be done."
"So Jack's time of thirteen years is almost up..." Leo calculated the time in his head, while also processing the information Glen had given him. "And back then, Jack had been dealing with blood magick without any real experience. It had been Halloween, when the demons can easily slip into our world... Would it be impossible that perhaps...?"
Luckily Glen knew what Leo was trying to ask. He heard a huff that was his father making a dry chuckle. "So you've pieced together that as well. Yes, it's true," he said.
"Thirteen years ago, Jack and I caused the Tragedy of Sablier. We brought the demons on this land. It happened when we brought Lacie back – and the blood circle opened a pathway to Hell. We didn't know it was going to happen, but it did. Now I've lost both my best friend and my sister."
Leo heard the sadness and regret plainly in Glen's voice when the man murmured, "Maybe even more."
Crashes of waves echoed below them as the island that was Sablier loomed ever larger. Gradually, Jabberwocky flew down at a slight angle so that the two Baskervilles touched the wet sand as they landed. A lone seagull squawked overhead before flying off deeper into the island. A pier was torn to splinters a few feet away from them, and beyond that was a decrepit harbor with no functioning boats. Even from the distance in the night, Leo could see bones buried in the sand and blood forever stained on the sides of ruined boats. Ahead were a few small buildings that might have been shops or small houses – it was impossible to tell now. And even further in, beyond the swaying palm trees, had to be the carnival.
"'Thusly were the remains of Sablier,'" said Glen solemnly, quoting a memento mori written by the exorcists that helped defeat the demons.
Leo stepped off Jabberwocky but didn't send his scythe away – if Lacie was indeed in Sablier, he'd need to be ready to fight at a moment's notice. He took Emily out of his shirt and placed her back on his shoulder, where he felt her settle into place. At the same time Glen dismounted and began to take survey of the place, Leo heard a voice at his ear. It was that same whisper that seemed to come from everywhere, that male voice so staticky and too familiar.
"So you figured out to come to Sablier. And you brought Lord Glen with you. Lacie will be pleased with that."
He felt Glen tense, and he saw the recognition on the raven man's face. Apparently he too heard the voice in his own mind. It was only a matter of time before the demon would reach them. The fact that the mental visit was so expected made Leo smile.
"I thought you'd greet us at the gate, Oz."
"Aah, what's this? You recognize my voice?"
"It's still staticky," Leo admitted, closing his eyes as he spoke, visualizing the speaker in front of him. "And somehow you sound… Ah, I'd like to use the word otherworldly. Yes, that's what your voice is in my head. But when I stop and really listen, I can recognize you as I heard you in the circus."
A shiver ran down Leo's flesh, as if Oz were breathing down his neck. "Our frequencies aren't totally compatible. That's only expected, I suppose, since you're not wholly demon. I imagine Lord Glen can receive me better than you can?" he asked in a lilt.
The frown on Glen's expression deepened as he nodded. "Though it's been some time since I've communicated with another born demon. Although…even our frequencies don't seem to match up well."
"There's a reason for that, too," Oz said, but he didn't elaborate further. He made a slight laughing sound that caught Leo's attention. "But this helped in the situation, don't you think? If you recognized my voice earlier, you would've killed me a lot sooner, huh?"
This Leo couldn't deny. When it came down to it, he knew he would have to kill Oz. He might hesitate, might even regret it…but he couldn't deny his duty, either. Oz had killed people. Oz was working with Lacie to bring Jack back to life and release demons into the world again. There was no doubt in Leo's mind that he was meant to kill the boy who had become his friend. His nightmares said as much – if Lacie was his reflection, Jack the pendulum…then the blond retreating from him was Oz.
"Anyway," said Oz in a cheery tone, "I just stopped by to send my greetings since I can't be there myself. But search for the entrance to the carnival, and I will have two attendants to lead you riiiiight in to us~"
"Who is us?" asked Leo, clutching his head, but he received no reply. The whispers were gone, leaving him with the emptiness of his own thoughts. Trying to calm himself, he pressed the stem of Jabberwocky against his forehead in an attempt to center himself again. After a few seconds of the bizarre mediation, Leo broke away and looked back at Glen.
"So that was our demon, was it?" Glen said with a somewhat amused tone.
Rather than answer the question with explanations, Leo nodded wordlessly. Every time he thought of Oz as he was at the circus…it made the now familiar sting of pain in his heart swell with more poison. Trying to get on topic, he asked, "Since we're going to the entrance of the carnival, I don't suppose you remember where it was?"
Probably sensing how Leo evaded the question, Glen didn't press the previous subject. He stepped forward, his singed jacket billowing in the sea breeze as he looked pointedly in front of them. "Do you see those shadows in the distance, right behind these buildings? If you look hard enough, you'll see the Ferris wheel from here. That's where we're headed."
Darkness was the only invitation in. Night fog ghosted over everything, draping in the trees and lingering in the shadows, obscuring any sight the two Baskervilles might have had. Nevertheless, Leo looked to where Glen indicated and indeed saw a curious circular outline with lines crossing inside it. The walk didn't appear very far at all. And hopefully neither is the end to all this madness, thought Leo.
They walked in silence to their destination, with nothing but the sea wind and the scuffling of their boots on sand and cement to break the silence. Leo's senses were on end for any indication for a surprise attack. After all, he now stood in the once-womb of the Cannibal Marionettes. And although he was told that Glen and the exorcists got rid of every last living creature on the island, there was always a chance of the unexpected.
"If you're a demon," Leo began, looking sideways at the taller male, "then why did you help the exorcists in getting rid of all the demons? Is that murder or anything?"
"I'd rather not harm any of my kind, and that thought crossed my mind when I was performing the task," Glen confessed simply, strolling along like they were merely on an errand. "But I didn't want any harm to come to humanity. I had to get rid of the Cannibal Marionettes, if anything. And find Crimson Fausts, if they were out there."
A thought occurred to Leo and he blurted, "Did you find me here when the demons were taking over?"
Glen didn't say anything, but kept walking purposefully along with his hands in the pockets of his cloak. Maybe that was all the answer that was required. Leo's gaze traversed over the bloodstained buildings and corpse-ridden streets, wondering how – if ever – he fit in the morbid puzzle of Sablier's tragic past.
Something caught Emily's attention – Leo felt her turn slightly to his right and he glanced over, but only saw the gaping jaw of a broken window. Inside was nothing but meat that had thirteen years to rot and attract all sorts of vermin. Leo wrinkled his nose at the smell that radiated from the building, before realizing that the hellish perfume coated everywhere on the island.
This place has become a total topsy-turvy graveyard, he thought in disgust, proceeding along toward the shadows of the carnival.
Two lights in the distance suddenly caught Leo's attention. They were perfectly still and floating a few feet in the air. A shadowy arch above the lights gradually became more visible the closer they approached. This only made sense to Leo, considering the heart of the Tragedy lay just ahead.
Glen stopped when they were directly before the arch, which proclaimed the words, "Grande Carnival". "I assume these are our attendants," he told Leo, gaze boring down on the two figures before them.
One was a young man and the other a young woman, but that's where the obvious differences ended. Both had red hair, the locks as straight as razors. Their lips were so red they appeared to be wounds on their faces, and truly their hair and mouths were the only color they possessed. Draped over their thin forms were gray robes that looked like kimonos, a black sash around their waists. Their skin, even illuminated by the firefly light of their twin lanterns, gave off a cadaverous pallor. Cradled in the arms of the female was a severed head, its eyes bulging, skull caved in, and its teeth rotten. The male tapped a folded fan against his shoulder.
A flicker of interest brightened Glen's eyes only momentarily, making them glitter in the darkness almost like Leo's eyes could. "How curious. In all my time as a demon, I've never met revenants. That's what you two are, right?"
The male shrugged in indifference. "Revenants, ghouls, demon undertakers," he marked off, "we have many names. But I'm called Rufus, the brother."
The female smiled at them, revealing sharp teeth as she rocked the head back and forth as if it were a cooing baby. A dead, festering cooing baby. "I'm called Miranda, the sister," she introduced. Then she held out her head, looking into its protruding eyes. "Though I must confess I don't know who this young chap once was. Too bad you couldn't be introduced."
"We can leave it at that," Glen reassured with a weird grin that Leo had never seen before. He gave Emily an unsettled look, smoothing her dress over. "As we understand it, Miss Lacie would like to see us."
"We've been here for years, picking through the decay that the demons left behind," Miranda said. "We never thought anyone would come back. But I suppose tonight is a night for visitors. How fitting for such a night." She sighed romantically. "I like the idea of bloodshed and screaming beneath the grace of the dead."
"Brining Hell to this world isn't the first idea we had to celebrate All Hallows Eve," Glen said patiently, relaxing his position some. But Leo couldn't bring himself to do the same. He felt Emily tug on his hair slightly as they began following the revenants into the carnival, and he found her action oddly comforting. He gripped his shirt, thinking of Elliot. Oz hadn't said about him. Surely if something bad had happened, Oz would have told him? Leo had to admit, he was having his doubts about everything now.
A low voice, creaky but girlish came to his ear to murmur, "You can't expect there to be razors in every apple you bite into, you know."
And so Emily left Leo with the uncomfortable notion of why someone would put razors in an apple in the first place.
Every ride in the carnival was rusted from exposure to rain and blood throughout the years. Trash and wires were strewn everywhere and the wind made everything creak and groan ominously. Balloons, grimy and deflated, hung limply from poles or were sagging sadly on target boards. Bloody stuffed animals had their stuffing littered about and blowing across the ground like earthbound spirits. Every so often, Leo could swear he'd see a shadow move in his peripheral, or that he'd hear something like frantic breathing. Whatever the exorcists or the people of Pandora said, he knew that Sablier still had some unwelcome inhabitants.
Rufus looked back at him as if sensing this apprehension. "Don't mind them. There have been a few stragglers over these thirteen years," he explained simply. He opened his fan, revealing shining razor-like feathers from within the wooden frames. "Granted, they were few and far between. However, one of the newcomers seemed hellbent on making a few new ones."
"Oz," murmured Leo under his breath. Did he decide to take some humans along for the ride, kill them and take their hearts to make himself stronger before this fight that they were sure to have? He tried to focus his mind to call out to Oz and ask the blond himself, but he got nothing in response. The Cannibal Marionettes shuffled around, ducking into shadows and prowling behind rides and booths. Their snickering echoed back and forth.
But what caught Leo's attention as they came to a halt in front of the Ferris wheel was the singing that danced through the night. The voice filled the air with a falsely sweet lullaby, a drip of poisoned honey that was the very essence of Lacie.
Leo felt the hairs on his arms stand on end at the sound of her singing. When he first heard her that night performing her act with Elliot, he remembered how enchanting her voice was, how surprised he was such an angelic sound existed. He remembered the glittering silver stars he'd see if he closed his eyes and listened to her song. Somehow, back then, he felt very safe and nostalgic, as if he were in the arms of someone who held him once, someone he might have called "mother" before.
Although her voice was just as soft, just as promising of magic realms, Leo felt on edge. Lacie's song was the haunting reflection in mirrors, the deep abyss of night, glass shattering in many, many glittering pieces like stars that would instead trickle out every last drop of blood in him.
Hands suddenly covered his eyes, along with a laugh right behind him. Lacie's song was taken away just like that.
"Oz!" gasped the raven, gripping one of the blond's wrists. He shoved the hands away and turned to see Oz smiling at him broadly albeit secretively.
"Are you having fun just looking around?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. His scarred face was hardly visible in the night, but Leo could see an ominous red glint in Oz's normally green eyes that was decidedly demonic. When Leo didn't answer, Oz continued, "Lots of the rides haven't been used in awhile. But if one were to just flip this switch here…"
He moved forward, and Leo quickly moved into a more guarded stance. But Oz ignored all of Leo, Glen, and the two revenants by approaching the Ferris wheel and reaching for a large grey box before it. The lock was all but rusted away, and it only took Oz a simple tug to get the box open and reveal a complication of buttons and switches within. Oz flipped down the biggest one, and the carnival around them suddenly burst into twisted life.
Lights illuminated everything in white and red and blue, yellow and green and pink. Rides creaked and shrieked, regaining animation as things began to spin or jump or slide. Recorded voices of clowns laughing and objects beeping rang around like alarm bells. Leo saw several Cannibal Marionettes scream in surprise and flee to darker parts until they readjusted to the new sights and sounds around them.
Brightest of all was the Ferris wheel. Very gradually it shuddered into a spin until it began revolving in regular rhythm. Rusted dust fell upon them as the wheel's lights flashed and switched in complex patterns as if it were a stationary firework. Leo's gaze was transfixed at its splendor. He had never seen such a sight before, even during his various missions over the years. Certainly he had read about them, but had never seen them. Without meaning to, he gave the carnival around them the same kind of attention that a child would.
Leo saw Oz smile as they locked eyes. He laughed softly and turned to Glen, who was standing right beside him. "Say, Lord Glen?" he lilted in just a certain way that Leo could hear how false the innocence was. "As I understand it, Lacie is waiting for you in the tent right behind this ride. It's been forever since you've seen each other, right? You should go pay your little sister a visit."
Glen's eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, but something seemed to convince him Oz was telling the truth. He gave a meaningful glance to Leo before storming off to the once-abandoned tent. Leo's eyes followed after him. He jumped when he felt Oz slowly taking his free hand with both of his.
"As for us, Leo," began the blond with a crooked smile that made Leo's stomach twist in knots, "while the adults are talking, we should have some fun. Let's ride the Ferris wheel together!" Getting only a blank stare in reply, Oz pouted, tugging Leo. "C'mon! It's more fun with two people, and Elliot can't be here!"
With just the mention of Elliot's name, Leo was animated once more. Still keeping a firm hold on Jabberwocky, the raven seized Oz by his biceps, pulling the ex-performer towards him. "Oz, you wouldn't hurt Elliot," he said in a rush, needing this confirmation.
Oz blinked, looking surprised. "Of course I wouldn't." He frowned, lightly pushing Leo off of him. "You can choose to believe me or not, but Elliot was my friend. I wouldn't hurt him more than he already is."
Honestly, Leo didn't know whether or not to believe him. He had never felt something like "betrayal" before, but he was certain that that was the emotion he felt towards Oz now. He had trusted Oz, had even started to become friends with him. But their relationship would be a lie, a double-edged sword, and Leo knew he shouldn't condemn Oz. After all, was be not about to inflict these same hurtful feelings on him if he had ever killed Lacie? Would he be able to handle it if Oz had looked at him with imploring emerald eyes on that deformed face and said, "you wouldn't hurt Lacie"?
Slowly, Leo nodded. "I believe you," he said solemnly.
That seemed to make Oz sincerely pleased. He turned to Rufus and Miranda, who had merely been standing by and also looking about the lit carnival. As Oz dragged the two of them up the stairs that led to the Ferris wheel, he said, "Hey, watch the other monsters for us, okay?" By which Leo knew he meant the Cannibal Marionettes.
Impassively, Rufus agreed and Miranda began to revel in the new life around them.
Oz took them towards the wheel and it stopped when they were less than two feet away from it. Leo wondered how the ride could stop when no contraption seemed to be operated by anyone, but then he caught the wink that Oz gave him. The blond went to one of the seats and plopped down, scooting over to give Leo space to sit next to him.
Leo gave Emily a look and then sent Jabberwocky away. Then he too climbed in and settled himself next to Oz, the seat cold and wobbling uncertainly underneath their combined weight. He lowered the safety bar over them before Oz could – with or without his demon powers. He stared straight ahead, waiting for the wheel to begin turning again, but receiving nothing but Oz staring at him.
"Why'd you send your scythe away?" Oz asked, his voice lowering an octave, but his tone wasn't malicious. It was because of this that Leo could admit what he wanted to say.
"My reasoning is that if you wanted to kill me, you would've by now. Why the theatrics with a carnival and Ferris wheel?" he asked rhetorically. He offered what smile he could to the blond. "Besides, I'm quite sure you can beat me in a heartbeat."
Instead of answering, Oz tossed his head back to laugh as he started their ride.
Ending A/N: It was easier than I thought to write this carnival part. I'm going to have an even greater time with what will transpire here...~ -laughs diabolically- (Aaah, I've watched too many death sequences ;w;)I swear to Abyss that Oz isn't as crazy as Lacie. He's just... -searches for right word- Ah, how 'bout I defend myself next chapter? -stabbed-
Okay, I'm pretty sure that I included what needed including about Glen's past -nods- Yes, indeed. I hope nothing was too confusing, but as per usual, point out anything you have a question about :D I thank all of you for your continued support x)
Oh, and I have no idea why I added Rufus and Miranda in. After watching "Song of Sending to a Grave" by Kagamine Rin and Len a few months ago...I just reeeeeally wanted chaacters like those xD -mutilated-
Ah...reviews? I'll call off that CM nomming on your leg if you do~