Author's Note: Welcome to 2023! I just realized that I didn't say last week's author note for some reason. I was just talking about it being the last match of 2022, how the match was too short with the Christmas special taking so much out of me, and all of that jazz. I have a little confession to make: I'm running out of ways to keep the storylines going in this series. I think I might need to shift the focus on the characters a bit and start merging the other two series in the project with this one. I will see what I can do. I might start next week with Japan. For now, enjoy this week's match.

Match Twenty-Nine: Unsettling and Disturbing:

The sights of the dark circus in Europe spark Yao's memories of his past life. The smells of that kitchen made his stomach turn. The Chinese man picked up his phone.

"Hello?" Sun asked. Yao sat back and sighed.

"It's happening again," he said.

"The dreams?" the psychiatrist asked. Yao leaned against the kitchen wall.

"Yes," he said. There was a pause on the other line.

"How soon do you want me over there?" Sun asked. Yao pressed his lips together as he gulped.

"Now?" he asked.

"Okay, I will be right there," the therapist said. Yao bowed his head.

"Thank you," he said. The man hung up and lowered his phone to his side. He closed his eyes and swallowed.

The sights of the dark circus in Europe made Bik curious. She got on her computer and did some research. The nurse narrowed her eyes at the screen. First, there came the new articles. Not much there. Just the standard reports of sightings. That's not what Bik is looking for.

Time to go deeper.

Bik took in a breath and started typing. First came the urban legends. The results came from different paranormal and conspiracy sites. Hardly creditable but it was a start. Bik clicked on the first link. Just a black page with white text and blurry pictures. The nurse narrowed her eyes.

"I can't read that," she said to herself. She magnified the text. Bik narrowed her eyes. Maybe she should get her glasses. That's when one sentence caught her eye.

"The dark circus is usually an omen of the end times."

Bik read that sentence many times.

"Heh," she said. She's heard of this type of thing before. This shouldn't come as a surprise to her. But something didn't seem right about this. Bik scrolled up to the top.

What is the Dark Circus?

There are many theories about the Dark Circus. Some believe that they come from Hell. Others think that they come from nightmares. There are a few that think that it's made up. Visions of the Dark Circus vary. However, they all have similar descriptions.

Bik felt her eyes hurting from reading the screen. She backed up and blinked for a moment. The nurse did a quick scan as she scrolled through. Bik bookmarked the page before she continued on.

What is the Dark Circus Really?

There are many theories. The dark circus is usually an omen of the end times. The last recorded time anyone saw it was in 1939.

Bik sat back in her chair. That was just before the start of World War II. She copied all of the text and saved it into a document. Another line on the page caught her attention.

"The performers are usually those who are missing."

Bik had to scroll up and read that again. Come to think of it, there had been reports of many people missing all over Europe in the past couple of months. It wasn't too hard to connect the dots.

The nurse about jumped when she heard the phone ring. Bik blinked for a moment before she calmed down.

"Hen-to, get the phone!" she shouted. The nurse didn't hear an answer as the phone rang again.

"Hen-to!" Bik shouted. No answer again. She rolled her eyes.

"Damn it," she muttered to herself. Bik got up and walked out of her office.

-Ju-

It's been quiet lately. I held Jing to my chest as I sat in the living room.

"Having dreams again?" I asked.

"Yeah," Yao said.

"I see," I said.

"Have you seen any of them lately?" he asked. I shook my head. Jing cooed in my arms.

"I don't like it," I said.

"I know," Yao said. We sat there for a moment. My husband leaned forward.

"What do you want to do?" he asked. What did I want to do? We're in a corner here. I have no idea of what's going on here. The whole thing keeps piling up. When did I get like this?

"Whatever I can to keep us all safe," I said.

"How?" Yao asked.

"I will think of something," I said. In all honesty, I am just tired. Did my father have to deal with any of this? Did he have to worry about witches kidnapping me when I was a baby? Did he have to deal with remembering past lives? No. He just had a dying wife and having me as his second choice.

"Do you want me to hold him for a while?" Yao asked.

"No," I said. Yao sat back on the couch.

"Thank you," I said. My son has the luck of not knowing what is stalking him. He's just a baby.

"We need a vacation," I said. Yao had a curious look on his face.

"A vacation?" he asked.

"I need to get away," I said. "It's all just doing my head in."

"Okay," Yao said. I looked up at him.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. I didn't have to think about the answer. I looked down at my little baby. Jing just stared up at me. Seeing him calmed me down for a moment. Somehow, I believed that I could get through this. This could turn out fine.

"Where do you want to go?" Yao asked. For once, I felt myself smiling.

"I have a few ideas," I said. Jing cooed in my arms.

All is quiet in Asia. Well, in China at least. But how long is that going to last? The answer will all come down to Japan himself. It will only be a matter of time. For now, the quiet is only masking the wasteland's malice bursting at the seams.