A/N: Hey, so only two people have voted on Ty Lee being an airbender, so I'm going to give it a couple more chapters. This is the Macabre Circus chapter, yo. Everyone has crazy shit they're doing in this one, and everyone has a false background story that they're going to tell the audience. I'm not going lie, I've been kind of giddy for this chapter.

Luanshi was happy with her new family. They were all so nice, and taught her new things like how to read and write, and Ty Lee was teaching her to be an acrobat. Luanshi spends a lot of her time getting to know her new family, especially her self-appointed guardian, Cedric. Cedric was nice to her, he protected her. She didn't mind that he was scary and hard to talk to sometimes. The fact was, he was there. Just like the others. Rox, Senshi, Zuko, Kikyo, Kiara, Ty Lee and Iori were like siblings, while Cedric was like her father. Albeit a dark, brooding, creepy father, but I digress.

"Whatcha doin?" Asked Luanshi, peering over Cedric's shoulder to look at a very strange book with odd symbols. They were in the base of operations that the group had been using while the others set up for the Macabre Circus.

"I'm reading the Heretics Verse." Said Cedric, not taking his eyes off his book.

"What's the Herelics Verse?" Asked Luanshi. Cedric chuckled, smiling at his surrogate daughter.

"The Heretics Verse is a collection of sayings, poems, and quotes written by other cultists such as myself." Answered Cedric, chuckling at Luanshi's mispronunciation.

"Do you have any in there?" Asked Luanshi.

"You wouldn't want to hear any of mine, little Pebble." Said Cedric. "Mine are just a little… Violent."

"What do you mean?" Luanshi walked around to sit next to Cedric as he read.

"I'm not going to explain these to you, Luanshi. I don't want you having nightmares."

"Please?" Luanshi gave him her most adorable face.

"I'll read one of the least scary ones, but I won't read any of mine. Maybe when you're older, but not until then, okay?" Asked Cedric, turning the page to one of the less frightening entries.

"Oh, okay." Said Luanshi, sounding disappointed. She paid rapt attention none the less. Cedric smiled at her eagerness. He found one of his favorite entries and began reading:

"Watch those subservient creatures that want to break free. The kiss releases them from any pain and disease. From pain and disease. We're no demons, we're no witches. We hate to feel the heat, come on and celebrate ourselves and quench our needs, we still love you." Cedric never really understood what this verse meant, but he always loved reading when he first started his new life.

"What did you think of that, little Pebble?" Asked Cedric.

"I liked it." Said Luanshi. "Can… Can you read me another one?"

"Well, alright, but I don't want you taking any of the words you hear to hart, got it?" Asked Cedric. Luanshi nodded enthusiastically. Cedric began reading a new entry:

"Looking back I still have so many questions. So many things unanswered, like what did I do? What could I do? Was there ever a moment they cared? Was I always ugly and abandoned?
Remembering all the times they wished me harm. they wished me dead. How could I have changed to make it better? And would I? Would I? Why? So this is how it ends? All the tears, all the blood? It's all been for nothing. As the candle dwindles and flickers out. The end."

This one was written by a cultist that Cedric knew personally. He was a sad, depressed man, and never really saw anything good.

"That's so sad." Said Luanshi, hugging Cedric. Cedric smiled at his surrogate daughters naivety. He supposed it was just one of the many things that made her so endearing to him.

"Well, I suppose it is about time we met up with the others. The circus is tonight, after all." Said Cedric. Luanshi nodded, smiling up at Cedric.

WITH THE GAANG

"Hey guys! Check this out!" Said Sokka excitedly, running into the room holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"What is it, Sokka?" Asked Aang, looking at the paper in his friends hand.

"Take a look." Said Sokka, holding up the paper. Toph glowered at him.

"Oh, how wonderful! Something else I CAN'T SEE!" Said Toph, glaring at a sweating Sokka.

"It"s a flyer for a circus." Said Sokka. Katara frowned.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to go to a circus right now?" She asked her brother.

"Why not?" Asked Sokka. "We all need to loosen up a bit, anyway."

"Sokka's right." Said Aang. "We've all been under a lot of stress lately. We could use a little fun."

"Yeah, I like that idea." Said Toph. "It sounds like fun."

WITH AZULA, MAI, AND JUNE

"A circus, June? Really?" Asked Azula, staring at the flyer.

"Yeah. I think it would be fun." Said the bounty hunter.

"What do you think, Mai?" Asked Azula.

"I don't care." Said Mai, in her usual, stoic way.

"Why not?" Asked Azula. "We could use a change. Plus, I know Ty Lee loves circus's, so it would be nice to see what the appeal is."

THAT NIGHT: THE MACABRE CIRCUS BEGINS

In a dark alleyway is where a large group of people have gathered, one man stands before them all. He was completely dressed in black, wearing a black cloak which completely hid his body from view.

"Good evening, my wonderful visitors. Welcome, welcome to the home of the wicked and the dark. Please, enter my home, but do so at your own risk." The black clad man gave a flourish of his hand, and a large, black tent swirled into view behind him. The crowed awed at the sight. "Now my friends, follow the skeletons." Said the dark man. The crowd was confused by that term, until a group of black skeletons sprung from the darkness. Enchanted, the group followed the ring leader and his troupe of skeletons into the darkness.

Inside was as dark as pitch, and the group was having trouble moving around. That's when the torches were suddenly lit by themselves. The inside of the tent was set up like an average circus, with a dirt floor, tight rope, trampoline, and other attractions of the like. Then, darkness began swirling into the middle of the floor, and faded to reveal the black clad man. He suddenly threw off his cloak, revealing a handsome young man with black hair and wearing a mask.

"My name is Toumu(Senshi), ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the macabre circus!" Suddenly, other people began entering the tent. "For the first act, we have the lovely couple, Raphael The Strong(Rox) and Zazi(Ty Lee)!" The crowed clapped as two of the group threw their cloaks off. The man was very tall, and quite well built. The woman, on the other hand, was small and petite, and sitting on the man's shoulder.

Zazi did a hand stand on top of Raphael's head, balancing perfectly. Raphael brought his hand up for Zazi to step into his hand, and balanced her in his palm. He suddenly through her up high into the air, where she caught the tight rope, and balanced on her hands as she walked across it.

"I found these two in the far west, on a hard to reach island." Said Toumu. "There, the men are blessed with incredible strength while the woman have incredible skill and body movement. They are the best at what they do!" Toumu raised his hands, coaxing the crowd to cheer. Zazi began doing cart wheels across the Tight rope as Raphael was lifting impossibly large boulders.

"Next, let me introduce my dear brother and friend, Zane(Zuko)!" A young man, with short, messy brown hair and a white mask covering the left side of his face flung off his cloak, pulling out several juggling pins. "As my brother is considered one of the greatest jugglers ever, he has decided to quit regular juggling, in favor of fire juggling!" Toumu brought out a match and lit the pins. Zane smiled, chuckling as he threw the flaming pins into the air. He began juggling with quite practiced ease. As a joke, Toumu began throwing in some long knives. Still, Zane juggled all of them, not missing a beat. "Please, forgive the mask, ladies and gentlemen, my brother has suffered an incident with his juggling earlier on." Zane threw all of his pins into the air, and caught them quite simply, before blowing the flames out. The knives land blade first into the ground as the crowed clapped.

"Next, from one the darkest, most terrifying corners of the world, please welcome the horrifying Itan-Sha(Cedric), and his young daughter, Wakai(Luanshi)!" The crowed clapped as the two stepped forward. Itan was tall, pale, and slightly built with scars covering his exposed chest. Wakai was an adorable, with big round eyes and a happy smile. Many of the crowed were trying to figure out how such an adorable little girl could be the daughter of such a scary man. "Itan and his daughter were blessed with a sacred power known as the Demon cutter. It allows one the ability to cut through most anything, cleanly and powerfully."

"Remember, just like I taught you." Said Itan, looking to his daughter. She smiled up at him and nodded, giving his leg a little hug. The crowed awed at the display of affection. Two women wheeled out two statues, one large, about the same size as Raphael. The other was small, close in size to Wakai. Itan stepped forward, bringing his hand up and bringing it down in one swift motion. The crowd watched in awe as the statue slid in half, perfectly and cleanly. Wakai mirrored his move, but nothing happened. The girl pouted, and the women smiled at the cuteness. Itan chuckled, kneeling down behind his daughter.

"Like this." He said, showing her how to do it again. She tried again, and the statue fell in half, just like Itan's. The girl laughed, jumping up and down. She threw her arms around Itan's neck in a bout of happiness. He chuckled again, picking her up as they walked off stage. The crowd clapped as Toumu walked back on stage.

"And here, ladies and gentlemen, we find the last of his kind. A man with such skill and precision, the man with the greatest reflexes in the world, I give you Ghost(Iori Kato)!" Ghost was an average size man, with an average build. The most noticeable thing about him was the strange hat on his head. He stood in the middle of the room, the two women from before walking out with knives in their hands. They began throwing the knives with practiced skill, and the crowd marveled as Ghost began catching each and every one of the thrown weapons. They switched to rocks, and again, the crowd was amazed as Ghost began flipping and swerving out of the way. Finally, he jumped upside down and caught the final rock on his way down, holding it in the palm of his hand as he smirked. Everyone clapped, cheering at the amazing display.

"Now, I suppose I should introduce our two lovely assistants. This here is Ghosts girlfriend, Kana(Kiara), our healer." Kana smiled at the crowd, waving. "And this beautiful little nightmare here, is Fawnia(Kikyo)." Fawnie smirked at the crowd. "I suppose I should show you what I do here." Said Toumu. The crowd began cheering. They'd been waiting to see how the mysterious ring master contributes. Toumu raised his hand, and suddenly vanished. Everyone began looking around for the young man, when a sudden blast of darkness flashed in the middle of the tent. Appearing at over three times his regular height, Toumu grinned as little demonic creatures started dancing around his legs. Bats flew through the air and snakes slithered around him.

"I have many talents. This is merely one of them. I fear that the others would be far too terrifying." Said Toumu. "And, unfortunately, the night is running thin. If you enjoyed the show, we will be going for at least another month or so, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only. Please, stop by any time." Suddenly, the entire group of circus performers vanished, taking the tent and props with them. The crowd looked around in shock and awe at what they had just seen, many of them deciding to return again later.

WITH THE GROUP

"Damn, we made a killing!" Laughed Rox.

"Please, watch your language around Luanshi." Said Cedric. All the others laughed as the group continued their walk.

"YOU BIG JERK!" Senshi froze at the extremely familiar voice. He turned to face the one girl that didn't need to see his face to recognize him.

"Hey… Toph."

….

A/N: And, boom. Instant cliff hanger. Okay, well, only two people have voted on Ty Lee being an airbender, so I'm going to give a while longer.

R&R.