Chapter 14

The Kaleido Stage was pitch dark, void of all life, so it seemed. Nobody was supposed to be there, but Leon was anyways.

Come to the stage on which you act the part, for there we will battle, for the beloved one's heart. Come alone.

The dark hallways were silent, eerily so, the emptiness threatened to suck in anyone who dared venture too close. But Leon wasn't scared of a little darkness, the only fear he had was for Sora's sake. The only thing going through his mind was the thought of Sora's safety. What scared him the most was the fact that he didn't know what was happening to her; if she was hurt, or worse. Just thinking of something bad happening to her made him feel sick to his stomach.

He started to run.

The stage was silent. The sheer blackness made Leon think of a never-ending pit; the only light came from the dim backup lights in outside the door.

He stepped into the blackness, letting the door slam shut behind him; the sound echoed throughout the cavernous room. He managed to climb down the steps without falling. He now had some idea of how Sora must feel. He didn't like it; he felt vulnerable.

There were no sounds other than that of his own footsteps, his own labored breathing.

The lights flashed to life; lasers and colors disorienting Leon and then pitching him back into darkness.

One spotlight flashed on in the center of the room. Hanging upside-down from the center trapeze was a certain purple haired girl with patches over her eyes and a usually brightly shining face now slack in unconsciousness.

"SORA!" Leon yelled. She didn't stir, she didn't answer.

Leon jumped the rest of the stairs and made a beeline for the trampolines, he needed to get her down. As he jumped another spotlight flashed on, pointing to the far left trapeze. A figure clad in all black and dawning a clear, feature distorting mask jumped and swung towards Leon. As he swung, the bright lights of the stage all flashed on, just the brightness was enough to stun Leon for barely a moment, but that moment gave the figure the edge he needed.

Leon felt the impact more than he felt any pain. He was struck from his side and sent spiraling towards the floor. His superior training and flexibility left him able to make up for the cement floor rushing up to meet him for the second time in his life, but this time, he was ready.

He spun so his feet were pointed to the ground, his legs absorbed the impact and he was able to roll into a crouch. He launched himself towards the trampolines again, this time flying right to one of the trapeze, the bar felt secure in his hand as he swung.

His head felt lighter without the resistance of the rushing air passing through his hair. He put his feet forward and picked up speed. The figure was on the swing to his right, swinging in the same direction.

Leon propelled himself to the next swing just as the other did, but Leon was faster. He landed standing on the swing, balancing on his feet; he grabbed the stalker by the arm, threatening to drop him.

The man in the mask swung his legs upwards and launched himself at Leon, knocking him off balance, causing them both to hurl towards the ground yet again. Luckily the swings were still the same as those used during the Angel's Act, but with the addition of some of Mia's new swings; there was another beneath them. Leon managed to catch the bar with his ankle, not the least painful way to catch a trapeze.

Unfortunately the intruder seemed to have also been trained as a performer, his skills rivaling even Leon's. This supported Leon's theory that the stalker was a worker of the stage.

The set was offset and this caused the two men to lose their balance, once again. But they were able to stay on the swing.

Leon launched himself again, but this time with one slight miscalculation he was hurled right at Sora's unconscious form.

"Damn." He whispered to himself, yelling would do no good; Sora was still unconscious and the intruder would know of Leon's distress; he needed to think quickly. He couldn't grab Sora; he'd dislocate her elbow like he'd done to May.

He made the split second decision to go through the trapeze. He straightened out his body and flew in between the wires holding the swing in place, not disturbing his precious partner.

He misjudged the distance between the two swings and nearly missed the next, catching it with one outstretched arm; he could feel the strain in his shoulder and gasped.

He looked up in time to see the masked man catapulted at him again.

Leon grabbed the bar with both arms and swung himself forward towards the intruder. The impact sent the both flying to the ground.

The impact was greater than the pain, but Leon's rage made his body numb.

He got up and ran towards the masked man, who, in turn, ran at him also. The next thing either men knew was that they were on the floor, tangled up in a mass of flailing limbs and wild punches.

The blow knocked the mask off of the stalkers face; the face behind the mask was a very shocking one to see.

"Billy?"

"Hello Mr. Oswald." The young blonde-haired, blue-eyed man said in an almost superior tone from underneath the other.

"Ugh." Sora moaned; her head was killing her. She was disoriented and had no idea where she was. Her throat was painfully dry and she could still smell the chloroform.

Her head felt heavy; all the blood had rushed to her head and she could feel the pressure. She tried to lift her self and realized that her ankles were strapped to a bar, but she didn't know by what, or how far from the ground she was. She could feel the heat of very intensely bright lights.

She could hear the sounds of a struggle under her.

She heard extremely familiar voices.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" She heard the most familiar voice yell, but still discombobulated, she was unaware of whom it was. There was a grunt and the sound of a rough impact. She slowly pulled herself up so she could reach her ankles.

Leon pulled his arm back, ready to deal a blow when Billy turned the tables. Just a slight shift of his weight and Billy had pushed himself closer to Leon, who, being caught off guard left an opening. Billy had flipped Leon and had the upper hand in the fight now. His hands were around Leon's neck, pressure cutting off Leon's airway.

"You want to know why?" He laughed maniacally. Leon's face started to shift colors. "Do you remember the Circus Festival, Leon?" Billy said in a laughing manner. "She was so beautiful, like an angel, her tears were like crystals. Haha. I wanted her more than I've ever wanted anything in the world! I had to have her!"

Leon struggled under the pressure on his throat, his face almost turning the color of Sora's hair.

"But you!" He began, his face contorting with anger, his voice changed; accent becoming distinctly different. Billy almost sounded British, in a godlike tone he added, "You were in the way!" He added more pressure. Leon began to see spots, his arms becoming limp at his sides; his lungs were about to burst. "And after I finish with you, I'll make her mine," his eyes shone, glazed over, he's lost his mind!

William Jamison bent down right near Leon's ear and whispered, "Did you know she holds her breath right before a kiss?"

Leon snapped. He grabbed the lapels of Billy's shirt and pulled forward, simultaneously thrusting his legs into Billy's abdomen. Billy was launched over Leon's head and into the ground, landing with a grunt.

Leon jumped up, head reeling from lack of oxygen, and vaulted himself at Billy; his furious rage left him with tunnel vision; he was going to end this once and for all.

Sora could still hear the sounds of a struggle under her as she worked at the bonds around her ankles. She was bound with the same kind of tape she used for grips in practice. She hung by her feet and was bent so she could reach up to her ankles. She fiddled with the tape until she managed to get one foot loose, but this caused her to panic. She didn't know how high up she was, so she wrapped her free ankle around the wire holding the swing to support herself as she worked on the other ankle. The tape was strong but tears easily if you know how. The heat from the stage lights caused her to sweat, making her hands slippery, she couldn't get a good grip on the tape. Then, she pulled on just the right part and she her foot slide. She grabbed the bar with both hands and, with her legs now free, pulled herself up, now sitting on the swing. Her head was spinning; she sat up almost too quickly, making her lose balance.

She fell.

Leon heard a yelp and turned just in time to see the young starlet fall off of the trapeze.

"SORA!" He screamed, momentarily forgetting the battle and running to save his most precious partner. He used the trampoline under Sora to launch himself up to meet her in the air, catching her princess style, and falling back to the ground.

"Sora! Are you alright?" Leon said in a panicked tone Sora had never heard before. "Please! Talk to me!" He pleaded.

"Leon?" She said softly. Her eyes were burning from the sweat accumulated by the bandages. She reached up and pulled on the patches, the adhesive refusing to let go. In one swift tug, she had the off.

She heard a gruff voice say, "If I can't have her, no one can." And opened her eyes in time to see a glint from behind Leon.'

"KNIFE!" She screamed as Leon pulled her close to his body and turned. She heard a sharp intake of breath and he started to go limp in her arms.

He fell forward, the handle of the blade protruding from his back; blood staining the area around it.

"Leon?" She said softly, fear dominant in her voice.