A/N: You know what? I'm not going to say anything about the story. In fact, I'm not going to say much at all in this blurb. And I'm not going to rhyme.

Let your imaginations run wild, and enjoy~

04
Come on in, grab your seat
Prepare yourself for the show of freaks
A show so grand, you better not blink
Don't take your eyes of the circus ring

Robin

"What's wrong?" I asked Zoro, who had his arms folded across his chest and a deep frown on his face.

"I can't believe we found him," he muttered under his breath.

"Of course we found him," I patted Zoro's shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

"I want to sit in the front row!" Luffy said, hopping from one foot to another. His body movements said that he was excited, but there was this look in his eye that said he was still unsure of watching the circus with Nami not being there.

"We're pretty far back in the line, I'm sure that we'll be somewhere in the back," Usopp noted.

It was true. There was a long ling ahead of us, all of townsfolk, judging by their attire. Neutral colours, all of them. Outsiders really stood out against them. The long line was organized though, and Luffy was surprisingly behaving himself. Like Luffy, Chopper was fidgeting as well, just wanting to get inside and see the show.

"They're moving, they're moving!" Luffy couldn't contain his excitement.

"So we see," Sanji muttered. He glanced over his shoulder, in the direction of the ship.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"It feels wrong that Nami's not here," Harumi answered for him.

"She's hurt," Zoro replied.

"It's her ankle. It's not like she'd put any stress on it sitting inside of a circus tent," Sanji rubbed his temple. He threw his cigarette to the ground, then stepped on it casually.

"How about we switch out one person next time to guard the ship in her stead?" I suggested.

"Suki didn't look too keen on stepping off the ship onto this island in the first place," Franky pointed out. "Maybe she can guard the ship alone?"

"Do you know anything Brooke?" I turned to our tall boney friend.

He was silent –which was strange for Brooke.

"We'll take that as a no," Usopp murmurs.

"Brooke?" I waved a hand in front of his face, and he snapped to attention.

"Yohoho! Sorry! I couldn't hear what you were saying –because I have no ears to hear with! Skull joke! Yohoho! That one gets me every time…" he sighed happily. "You were saying, Robin?"

"It's not important," I told him. "At least, not important enough that it can't wait until later. Let's just enjoy the show."

"Yohoho! I wonder if a circus is wasted on me," Brooke joked.

"Why's that?" Chopper asked him.

"Because I have no eyes to see it! Skull joke!"

"I vote Brooke stays behind," Usopp interjected.

"Your vote doesn't count," Brooke said blatantly.

"Why not?" Usopp crossed his arms.

"Because of your nose!" Brooke spoke triumphantly. We arrived at the tent, and Brooke walked forward with Luffy, head held high.

"What do you have against my nose?!" Usopp cried after him.

"Well, I guess that means Usopp's opting out," Sanji followed Brooke's lead and entered the tent. Harumi, of course, at his side.

"What a good sport!" Franky laughed as he and Chopper went inside.

"I don't get it," Usopp turned to me.

"We don't expect you to," Zoro shrugged, placing a hand on my back and leading me forward, leaving Usopp to take up the rear.

"Robiiiiiin," Usopp whined behind me.

I didn't have a chance to respond as a man pulled me forward. He was a short man, with a scepter in one hand. He was round, wearing a purple tailcoat and a black shirt underneath –I, personally, had been expecting a red tailcoat with a white shirt, after reading so many stories with circuses. His hair was dark, but receding. And his eyes… they analyzed Zoro and I with such vigor. As if he were searching us for something.

"Welcome, welcome, my dear girl

Glad you could give our show a whirl

Go on in, sit with your friends there at the front

We've got a fantastic act, if you don't mind me being blunt.

And this long-nosed fellow; is he with you as well?

Such a big turnout, oh, this is just swell!"

He kept on going in rhyme as we passed him, going beyond a curtain that reveals the three rings of the circus. I felt a buzz of excitement rush through me, and I looked at Zoro to see him staring at me.

"What?" I asked, smoothing down my shirt.

"You really wanted to see this," he laughed.

"I enjoy a good show every now and then," I lifted my chin with dignity.

"Well, then I hope you enjoy it," he teased.

"I'm sure I will," I replied, sitting down beside Chopper. We really had gotten front row seats. It was strange, considering all the people, but perhaps it was possible that these townsfolk had seen the show before.

Zoro took my hand in his, leaning in and kissing my cheek quickly. I smiled as I scanned the crowd. Across from us, only one person sat there so far; I saw a familiar face –the man who had run into Zoro and I on our way out of the library. I pursed my lips together. He sat in the top row of seats, shadowed by lack of light, as though trying to blend in. But I couldn't be mistaken, even in the dim lighting. Those eyes seemed to be staring straight at me.

No. Not at me. But at the rest of the crew. I glanced to my left, to Luffy who sat on the very end. Then to Zoro beside me on my right.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Right now?" I sat straight, turning my gaze back to the man. "Nothing, I think."

"How's Luffy doing?"

"Did you want to sit beside him?" I asked.

"It's just been a while since he's done anything without Nami by his side," Zoro shrugged.

"I think it's good for them sometimes," I let out a big sigh.

Zoro was silent. And he remained that way, until the show began five minutes later. The flames that lit the area extinguished simultaneously, and the center of the middle ring lit up. I glanced up, seeing a man holding a large light. When I glanced back down, the ring master was standing there, dressed in the same purple tailcoat.

"Come one, come all," he bellowed.

"Come one, come all," the townspeople called back.

The ring master smiled. Shadows befell his face, twisting it into something horrible.

He began again.

"Come one, come all,
To our amazing show.
A story to be told,
A new one you shan't know.

We'll take you on a journey,
Through rings of fury and flame
Over tight ropes and through the air
In our wild circus game.

Now sit tight, don't you worry
The show will begin soon
Prepare to 'oo' and 'awe'
At our fantastic Cirque du Lune"

The light went out, leaving us in darkness.

"He's good at rhyming," Chopper spoke up from beside me.

"He probably has it all written down somewhere," Usopp leaned across Zoro and I to answer.

"You think?" Chopper sounded disappointment.

"Are you okay, Harumi?" Franky asked from beyond the reindeer.

"Just… feeling a little cramped," she admitted.

"Would you like to move beside Robin?" Sanji asked.

"I should be fine," she replied.

A voice came from the rings, and all of our gazes swung back to the rings in the center of the tent –but no light came.

"What's it saying?" Zoro asked me.

"I –I'm not sure," I replied, trying hard to decipher it.

"It sounds like the ring master," Usopp murmured.

A small glow appeared at the center of the middle ring. The audience was completely silent. The glowing grew brighter, and brighter, but no one could take their eyes off of it, even when it seemed to blind us.

And then everything went black again.

Nami

A chill ran down my spine. I looked towards the town for the millionth time that evening.

"Do you want me to grab you a sweater?" Suki asked, sitting by my feet on the lawn deck. She had a guitar in her hands, and she plucked at the strings absentmindedly.

"The sun's set," I changed the subject. I wasn't cold.

"Mm," she glanced up at the sky. "So no sweater?"

"I'm fine," I replied.

"We should head inside soon," she sighed.

"We wouldn't be guarding the ship very well if we did," I said.

"By 'we should go inside,' I meant you should go inside. To your room. I'll go to the crow's-nest."

"I don't want to go inside," I brought my knees up to my chest, wincing slightly. "And if I go in alone, I'm going to get sleepy. I want to wait here for Luffy to get back. I want to hear what he thought of the circus."

Suki glanced at me, and then sighed once more. "Suit yourself."

"Are you getting tired? You seem on edge."

She wiped a hand over her face. "I think I might be tired. This place seems to drain my energy. That's why I wanted out."

"Are your parents here?" I asked her.

She's silent for a long moment, "No. I was an orphan."

"Me too," I give her a half-hearted grin. "Though maybe I can't really say that, because Bellemere, though not by blood, was my mother. Is my mother. I still see her that way."

"I wasn't lucky enough to have anybody else. And I was a lone child," she stopped playing the guitar for a moment. "I really don't want to talk about it, Nami."

"I'm just curious," I stretched out once again. Moving that way hurt me as well, but I bore it.

"I get it, I do," she glanced at me. "But this place holds a crazy amount of memories. Not all of them are good."

"Name one person in this crew that doesn't have bad memories affiliated with their home islands," I muttered.

"I'll go grab you that sweater," she got to her feet.

And when she came back, we didn't pick the topic up again.

Zoro

The blinding light went away at last, and the lights seemed to come back on. I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision. When that didn't help, I closed my eye and waited until the feeling of fuzzy sight went away.

"Eh? Was that it?" Luffy sounded dejected.

"I don't know," Franky responded.

"And we paid money for this?"

"I didn't have to pay, you had to pay?" Franky turned to him.

"Awe man, I got had!" Usopp cried out. "I demand a refund!"

"It's the long nose, right Brooke?" Franky laughed.

"I guess we ought to get back to the ship… Harumi? Where'd she go?"

I opened my eyes, glancing over at my crew. Robin, too, was missing. And Chopper. And Brooke.

"Oi! What's going on here?" I jumped to my feet.

"Where is everybody?" Luffy asked.

I looked around –he was right. Everyone else was gone too. All the townsfolk, any other travelers. Gone. Not to be seen.

"What's going on?" Sanji muttered, hopping over the railing and into the circus ring.

"Where are you going?" Usopp called out.

"To find some answers!"

"You want answers?" A voice said from the opposite side of the ring.

"Who are you?" Sanji called out.

"I'm just like you," the man came out into the light, revealing the man that had bumped into Robin and I at the library.

"Oi!" I pointed at him.

"What do you mean, just like us?" Usopp asked.

"I'm going back to the ship," Luffy looked at Franky and I for approval. I nodded –I understood. He had to check on Nami.

With that, he dashed off.

"What do you mean, just like us?" Usopp demanded again, not bothering to glance as Luffy as he left. Instead, Usopp hopped over the railing like Sanji.

"Just like you," the man repeated, "I chose the wrong day to come to the circus."

Bells chimed in the distance. His head jerked up.

"It's begun."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Those cold blue eyes bore into mine, even from this distance.

"It means that you better not let them catch you. Or you'll no longer exist in the real world."

"No longer exist?" Franky questioned.

"Word of advice?" the man backed up into the shadows, nearly disappearing from sight. "Don't stop running."