Author's Note: I thought about how Austria would respond to Hungary now that she's been brainwashed into the Dark Circus. I got the idea last week and just had to write it. I like how this turned out. I can't wait to see how this storyline will turn out. At first, it was a bit slow to come out but I pulled it off. Plus, we got to take a look at some Austria past life headcanon. (I should get back to that plotline in the near future. There is so much to work with. I already explored America and China through this series. This should be fun.) I don't know who I am writing about next week. Maybe I might check in on how Ju and Yao are doing. I will have to see. For now, enjoy this week's match.

Match Ten: Farsang:

Roderich's been looking for her for days. Elizabeta just up and vanished. She followed that rabbit down the street and never came back. The police weren't much help. He would go to them every day, but they had nothing. Roderich found himself with no other options.

It was Gilbert who pulled him to this party.

"Come on," he said. "You need to get out for a night. She wouldn't want you to be cooped up in the apartment like this." Roderich looked up at him. He didn't say anything but ended up going with him.

Well, that turned out to be a mistake.

Roderich had been walking down through another empty hall. He started rubbing on his right arm. How long had it been? The Austrian man hadn't seen anyone in hours. He couldn't make any calls either. The silence and loneliness took his head to an uncomfortable place.

The images of blood were back again. Blood on the piano keys. Why could he never get it right? He could picture the notes in his head. He spent years trying to make the perfect symphony. His last one had been phenomenal. The pressure had been mounting for the next act. There had been whispers about the curse of the ninth. But he was determined not to fall into that trap. He thought that he could break the curse. He told himself that he would be different.

But the days following that personal declaration had other plans. He stayed isolated in his room for months. He barely ate or slept. All that mattered was the music. The deeper he went into his obsession, the more isolated he became. Nothing else mattered to him. This song had to be perfect. But no such thing exists, does it? He wouldn't see that until it was too late.

It was so strange, really. He could hear the music that he had chased in those final days of his first life.

Only that music wasn't in his head.

"Huh?" Roderich turned his head. If he knew better, he could've sworn that was a calliope playing in the background. It was so far away though. The Austrian man frowned to himself. He had gotten used to the footsteps constantly following him around. Roderich had been ignoring it up until now. However, the music came out of nowhere.

"Hello?" he asked. The Austrian man took a step forward. That music still sounded far away. He felt his patience slipping away again.

"I will not fall for this," he said. Roderich wished that he could express his frustration and annoyance on the piano. Still, the man had to keep going.

It wouldn't be long before he wasn't alone.

When did this hall get darker? Roderich could barely see where he was going. He was right to be suspicious. When did it get so quiet? Part of him wished that he was armed with a weapon of some sort.

Suddenly, that calliope music was playing again. It started off far away. Roderich sneered to himself as his fingers started to twitch. The music notes of his frustration danced in his head. The tempo and melody increased in speed and pitch. It sounded like Beethoven on cocaine. Roderich took in heavy breaths to calm down.

The music abruptly stopped and giggling sounded so much louder behind him.

The Austrian man whipped around.

Little balls of light began to manifest in the distance. It started out as one light. The thought of ghost lights entered his brain. Roderich waited with bated breath. What was it now?

The light started to float toward him. Not like sailing toward him. More like moving as if it was in a march. Roderich found himself unable to move. His eyes widened with a sense of dread.

The music started up again as the light moved closer. The notes came out really soft at first. A second light followed behind. The music gradually increased. A third light followed behind. A single file line of lights began their procession down the hall. Through their shine, Roderich made out the shape of people.

No… They weren't people.

Roderich narrowed his eyes. The lead of the line looked like a jester dressed as a young king. Their face and clothes were the only things that could be seen in the dim light. The white patterns of his outfit stood out in the darkness. Their face looked paler than powder. They had a smile painfully stitched onto their face. The music got louder behind them. Roderich jumped out of the way as the jester got closer. The jester didn't turn their head as they walked by. Despite the teeth clenched together, he sounded like he was humming. At one point, the jester king turned their head. Roderich froze as he stared in those dark pits where eyes should be. The Austrian man could feel his heart pounding against his chest.

What… What is this?

The jester king turned and faced forward. More clowns, dancers, acrobats, actors, jugglers, and other performers followed behind with their own lights. They all looked the same. Empty eyes, pale faces, and forced smiles. Each one looked worse than the last. It looked so painful for them to smile. They looked near invisible but Roderich could see the stitches on the corners of their mouths. Some of them had tears in their empty eyes. The lights floated in their hands.

The more the Austrian man looked, the more he became confused. Where did these creatures come from? He did see some of them at the party. It looked like more of them showed up. He tried not to think of the clown car setup. Thoughts of the Dark Circus rumors ran around in his head.

Roderich shook his head. He had never believed such things. But now that he saw this eerie parade, he would have to rethink that feeling. It didn't help that the rest of the line didn't acknowledge him. The Austrian man's brain screamed at his body to move but his feet wouldn't listen. His eyes stayed fixed on the figures walking by. Soon, one thought crossed his mind.

Where were they going?

That's when he saw her.

At first, Roderich thought that he was seeing things. A girl about ten years old holding a floating light. She was dressed in a black and red jester outfit. Her long light brown hair looked like a long veil behind her. From the profile, her green eyes looked so dead. Her cheeks looked so sullen. Did she get thinner? The Austrian man blinked several times. No way… That couldn't be.

"Elizabeta?" Roderich asked. The girl didn't respond.

"Elizabeta!" he shouted again. She still didn't respond. She didn't even stop or look up. The Austrian man wouldn't give up. He just had to know the truth. Roderich ran after the girl to keep up with her.

"Hey! Elizabeta!" he shouted. "Come back here!" He reached out and grabbed her by the arm. The child stopped in place. The rest of the line stopped and turned around. Roderich turned her to face him. He covered his mouth when he saw her face. She looked dead inside. Her empty green eyes looked so much worse close-up. There was no emotion on her face. At least she didn't have her mouth stitched up in a permanent smile. He might as well have been staring at a living doll.

"Elizabeta, what happened to you?" Roderich asked.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" the Hungarian girl asked. Her voice sounded so childlike and in a hypnotic daze. It wasn't even clear if she was looking at him or through him. Her boyfriend looked shocked. Was this her? Was he mistaken? No. That couldn't be.

"Don't you remember me?" Roderich asked. "Don't you know who I am?" His words were not reaching her. Part of him started to doubt that this was his girlfriend. She didn't respond. The Austrian man started to shake her on the shoulder.

"Elizabeta!" he shouted. "Come home! I miss you so much! Please come back!" Tears formed in his eyes. He searched around in her eyes. For a second, he thought he saw something in her eyes. Was he reaching her?

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched whistle coming from behind the girl. Roderich let go and covered his ears. Elizabeta looked like she was floating back to the line. She turned and gave him one more look. Roderich shook his head in desperation. By the time he reached out to her, she was already miles away. Her light faded into the distance. Roderich sank to his knees with tears running down his cheeks.

"Elizabeta," he said in a weak voice. His hand dropped to his side. He had to get her back. He needed to get her back.

While he tries to figure out what he's going to do next, why don't we see what's going on over there, shall we?