II – VII

Danger! Wako in the Circus II

A flyer flew through the city, carried by the gentle breeze, possibly the only relief from the heat that had taken NYC by surprise. Everyone was talking about the near record heat, with heat indexes of over one hundred twenty-three degrees. Hannah was constantly creating balls of snow and throwing them in her face. "Why is it so hot?"

"Easy!" A man said. "A system…"

"Shut up." Hannah said. The man backed away slowly before continuing to walk down the street. As he left, a flyer hit her in the face. She removed it and looked at what it said: 'Circus, tonight only, at city hall. 8:00 pm sharp. Don't miss it! Witness the most mind-boggling stunts and creatures mankind has ever seen!' "Sounds fun." She said. "Maybe the others will want to go." She turned and walked the one-mile back to her house, still throwing snowballs in her face. From the shadows, Dan watched her as she threw the flyer to the ground. He picked it up and burned it.

"She's taken the bait…" Dan laughed. "It won't be long now."

… … … … …

The demonic clown known as Wako morphed into his human self, a short, stubby man in a clown outfit, carrying a black staff with a crimson jewel on top. He grinned and created his performers from the dirt below him. The first is a short skinny man, who, when holding his breath, can grow huge muscles in an instant. His second was a small, cute little black-haired girl, who can grow to the size of a two-story house. His third was a young woman with the ability to turn into any type of serpent. The fourth was just a maniac, whom was able to juggle anything with his robotic arms. "Eeh, hee, hee, hee…! I'm gonna' have some fun tonight! On with the show!" As his performers entered the circus, the crowd cheered.

"Hannah, are you sure we should be here?" Jake asked. "I mean, my other half could strike at any time, and if what you said was true, Dan could be back… who knows if Chaos is still controlling him."

"Stop being such a party-pooper. Now sit down and enjoy the show." Hannah replied.

"Yeah, I know there's a lot going on, Jake, but we need to find some time for fun, you know?" Rose said. Jake sighed and sat down, obviously not enjoying this.

Two hours later…

"Folks, you've been a great audience," Wako said, bowing to his crowd. "But its time for the grand finale, and I'm sad to say," The exits out of the circus tent were sealed and guarded by Wako's performers. Jake quickly morphed into a dragon and stood up. "You won't make it out alive!" Wako revealed his true self to his crowd, whom screamed and ran toward the exits. Wako's performers stopped the crowd in their tracks. "There's no escape. Now, to bring Master's plan to reality!" Wako's staff grew longer and a curved blade appeared on the bottom. He twirled it around in the air and pounded to the ground. "With every soul that is 'harvested', another one of our people is freed into the world, where they truly belong! And our people can't come to 'true' existence without there 'others' deaths!" Jake flew into the air, with Hannah and Kaelyn behind him.

"You talk too much, clown." Jake said. "You can tell your "Master" that he isn't going to have his people freed!" Wako burst into laughter.

"You don't know anything! Master Jake's plan is more then soul harvesting… you haven't even scratched the surface! You see, everyone has an inner evil… an Yang version of himself or herself… but many keep there's locked away. They try to resist temptation… they try to escape doing evil… but in the process, their other, as some humans refer to them, is sealed in the underworld! My Master's plan is to free his people! To bring the dawn of a new age! And… once every human is eliminated… only they who embrace their darkness shall remain in our new order. Some meddlesome teenagers from another dimension killed my other, the true Wako. But in the process, I was released! I am pure evil… humans have compassion for their kind, whether they want to or not. Thus, they are not ruthless. But I… I lost that compassion long ago."

"N, new age?" Kaelyn asked.

"No! I won't allow it!" Jake said. "You can tell my "other" that he can try all he wants, but he'll never get away with it!"

"As you wish. But first, please allow me to kill you!" Wako charged at Jake and swung his scythe, missing. Jake clawed Wako, but was blasted backward by the 16 pounds of dynamite hidden under his shirt. As Jake arose, Wako appeared behind him. "Peek-a-boo, I see you!" Jake spun around and kicked the clown's glass mask, making it crack. "You little…!" By this time, Rose had taken out a dagger and thrown it at Wako's leg. "Bad idea, girl." Wako jumped next to Rose and exploded, sending her flying into the tent walls.

"They're steel…"

"Of course! I don't want you escaping." The purple gem on Wako's staff began to glow, and the earth below Rose knocked her into the roof of the steel tent. Hannah launched a barrage of icicles at Wako, and Kaelyn compressed the air into balls of wind and launched them. "Amusing. But those attacks can't harm me."

"We weren't trying to." Wako turned and was punched in his mask by Jake. As it shattered, his true face was revealed. His face was a rotting skull with one eye and large fangs, with horns growing out of his forehead. He threw his hat to the ground and let his snake-like hair attack the annoying hero.

"Now there's no holding back!" Wako yelled. Wako lifted Jake into the air and began to crush his body. "Just one more soul to add to the collection." Wako said wickedly. A shadow on the wall leapt out at Wako, and grabbed him, forcing him to release Jake. "Meddling Council member! Burn!" Wako and the shadowy arm were burned, and while Wako returned unharmed, Kaje fell to his knees. "This fight is over." Wako declared.

"I don't think so!" Jake said, covering a wound on his shoulder with his hand. "I won't give up."

"Persistent little pest, aren't you?" Wako's four performers began killing people in the crowd, and Wako smiled. "Who's it gonna' be… me, or them?" Wako pointed to the crowd.

"Both." Jake answered.

"What? Impossible!" Wako yelled.

"Not quite… those performers aren't real… the gem on your staff is bringing the earth to life, and you're using it to your advantage." Jake ran toward Wako and punched his rotting body to the ground, and crushed the staff he held. As he did, Wako turned to dust and his performers were reduced to dirt.

… … … … …

In the underworld, five evil souls returned to their creator. "Excellent…" Yang Jake said. "Feed me more, heroes… I'm hungry." He said, grinning. After the souls were completely engulfed, Yang Jake grew stronger and darker. "The more you destroy, my heroes, the stronger I become!" Yang Jake laughed and pulled on his chains. "It won't be long now."

End Chapter

The term 'other' is something I took from Kingdom Hearts II, which I do not own!