"Rachel! Stop! You're not going to talk to the Ringmaster or those clowns like this."

It was like trying to calm a raging chimera while trying not to get ripped in half by all three heads but Bryan did manage to deter his sister from throwing clowns in front of the train. In a frustrated huff she stomped away. Bryan could only hope it was to find Dumbo and not chew out the Ringmaster.

This town was much larger than the last one so the circus had been booked for two nights. From the buzz around the camp, everyone thought the new clown act was a huge hit. Between the thoughts of the circus folk and the feedback from the audience the flaming house act would be on the schedule for tomorrow night. How he or Rachel would convince everyone the act had to change, Bryan wasn't sure.

The colors of the dusk had just begun to kiss the sky. Bryan decided to make the rounds again. With any (bad) luck tomorrow would be a carbon copy of the last. Might as well take his mind off seeing Dumbo pushed off a springboard thirty feet up again. But if he saw the Ringmaster he might as well try to make him change the show. The less time he had to change the show decreased the chance of a change happening at all. And Bryan figured he had a better chance of successfully changing the Ringmasters mind with a level head than his sister did unless she had a chance to cool down.

Sadly he was too late. When Bryan patrolled the tents, he overheard the clowns talking. They were over the moon about the popularity of the act. From the outside Bryan heard the clacking of glasses. Sounded like they were toasting the success of the act. That wouldn't have been so bad but they were discussing how they could make the act even better. Unfortunately their idea of improvement was increasing the platform from which Dumbo would jump. They were leaving in song on their way to talk to the Ringmaster to discuss improving the act and getting a raise while they were at it. Bryan was glad Rachel wasn't around to hear that. She might have thrown them in the cage with the lions and froze the lock shut.

As the sun began to set, the shadows began to flicker. Bryan could see Shadow Heartless shifting in the dark places but none of them materialized. Oddly though, Bryan could have sworn he could sense they weren't in attack mode. Were they searching? Or just waiting? Were they too focused on looking for the Keyhole to be concerned with anything else? An Air Soldier occasionally cast a silhouette across the sky but didn't dive in for the attack. Bryan could feel them all over. It was like being surrounded by fog. He breathed in deeply. There was darkness here for sure. But it wasn't as pungent as it was with Madam Mim. Still, it was something to be aware of.

Bryan casually patrolled the rest of the tents, and then the holding pens, main tent, circled the train then went around again for good measure. Night had completely fallen by the time he began his rounds for the third time. If he couldn't find any serious trouble by then he planned to go to bed. There was no point in depriving himself of sleep if the Heartless weren't causing any serious trouble.

He didn't engage any Heartless unless they were really close. No sense getting their attention and causing a big ruckus if the Heartless weren't the ones looking for a fight. But as the sun finally gave in to the night completely, something changed. The smell became more distinct. Like a bloodhound, Bryan tried to follow it. But more Heartless scurried in the dark as well. Were they the ones creating the darkness? Or were they being drawn to something? A very loud crack from across the camp answered his question.

Bryan sprinted across the camp, striking down any Heartless that got in his way. Maybe this could be the domino they were waiting for. Maybe now the pull of the darkness finally decided to show itself. They would defeat it, the Heartless would retreat, they could find the Keyhole in peace and move on to the next world. As much as he liked Neverland and the circus, Bryan never forgot this wasn't a leisure trip. There were countless of other worlds that needed defenders. As much as he liked making new friends and meeting new people, lollygagging could mean the destruction of another world.

The odor of darkness was obvious now. And its source was making a lot of noise. Bryan dashed around a corner and nearly ran into something. Something very big.

And something very angry.