2 years prior…

  CHAPTER 1

  "T-Minus 6 minutes before showtime! Please! Calm down everyone! Don't rush or push anyone too much!" I yelled to everyone.

  It was one of the rounds of my institution that will perform for this show. A few days before this, I may have messed up my schedules since I had a meeting with the rest of the council about some kind of “Meeting Arrangement.” Who cares about that?! I had a show in the next 3 days and I know that most of my performers are completely unprepared for this.

  Backstage, it was a panicking jungle of my followers running to dress up, put on make-up, add final touches to their costumes and settle their openings once they were on stage. Most of them were pushing each other just to get to the other side of the stage behind the curtains when clearly there is an easier route behind the dressing rooms. Seriously, guys, who is not telling them?!

  Xegel spun his head into the “Worry” face as he was pushing through everyone. This is chaos, and I’m just the one who does the controlling.

  "Make way! Make way! Let Xegel go to where he needs to go! Don't block the path!" I shouted. This is so all over the place. How can I control all of this?!

  I was helping Xegel with getting through the crowded platform. Maybe pulling him by his wrist wasn't a good thing to do amidst this. "Hold on Evliga! Don't panic much!"

  “Xegel! Master! Hurry up!” She said through the chaos happening behind the stage.

  Evliga was stretching and moving her ball joints a full circle while waiting for the both of us to push through. Typical of her to do something else while everything around her was a mess.

  If I were to imagine this type of event as some kind of painting, Xegel would be fighting a big tornado, I would be the chariot making way through it all, and Evliga with just be at the safe zone while her date is clearly struggling and she’s just doing nothing. Cinematic, I say so myself.

  "You two better not have any more of this lovey-dovey stuff right now. For the Orders's sake, Xegel, you especially since you're up first!" I then said. I don't mean to affect their relationship, oh, no. Time constraints, yeah?

  "Whatever she needs from you, I suggest you do it quickly. I'll see you two later." I commanded him. Don't waste your time, Xegel. The pendulum tick is ticking.

  “On it.” He replied, moving to her to help with whatever she needed. He rotated his head into the “Charge” face.

  I then returned to my room, the office room. Many have come to my room, but never for a bad reason. Why would I ever bring negativity with me? I'm the leader, I should never let anyone down.

  Opening night has never been this messy. Can you blame me? Obviously not. Janus? Might as well declare him “The Worst Time Manager in the World.” Did you have to schedule the meeting days before my show? Unbelievable.

  Astei, basically the "Heir to my throne" if ever I step down from being a ringmaster, went to the front of the door and knocked. I was putting on my outfit when he did this.

  I already knew he was coming because I can hear the gears of his golden body from outside of the room. They are a bit loud if you ask me. Oh yeah, and the birds chirping too.

  On the window of that door was my name and my title: "Sirius Starbright, The Voice of Passion."

  “Master Sirius! We only have T-2 minutes before performance, what are you doing in there?!” Astei shouted out with a worrying tone from the other side of the door. He always worried about how this could’ve happened; I always stressed out just thinking about that before. Here we are, 2 minutes before showtime.

  “I’m simply adjusting my coat and gloves are all! Mustn't you worry so much, Astei? I am clearly also worrying.” I said back to him with a semi-relaxed tone. Of course, I was anxious and panicking really bad. Internally though, unlike the rest.

  Sure, I was the Ringmaster, and I have to be the one who mostly does the organizing and planning but, Orders, I have no clue where all of this is going to end up in. Astei never experienced this sort of time arrangement of backstage bonanza, so it ends up having me be the one who manages all the suspense.

  He then asked something, unsure if he should disturb me. “May I come in, Master?”

  “Come on in” I answered.

  Astei entered the room, seeing my infamous black, red, cream and gold ringmaster outfit on. Everyone knew who I was due to this outfit but without it? I looked like a peasant who worked double-time on the stellar express lines decades back.

  “Master, did this show have to be the lucky one that you mess up on? It seems like it is, but I don’t really know, you turned this into a tight space to crawl in.” He asked.

  “I really apologize for the catastrophe, Astei. I have no means in actually ruining this… Let’s just make this an incident than an accident, or both. That meeting just basically wasted my time. But you know how Janus is. ‘All meetings held are important.’”

  I said with a mocked version of Janus’s voice. Orders, his constant babbling of importance and stuff, what about our plans for the rest of the upcoming days? We also have important things to do in our own institutions, your highness.

  The silence was filled with the birds chirping as the heart beats of Astei and the ticking of his gears that were moving inside his cage-like body.

  “Let’s go. We can’t waste any more time talking about how annoyingly prideful he is about holding these long discussions on topics that barely have anything useful about.” I said to Astei, annoyed with what happened a few days ago.

  I then walked fast to get to where Xegel and Evliga were. "Hopefully they're not doing some of that mushy love shucks. That's Xegel wasting his time to prepare for the curtains to be pulled back."

  With Xegel and Evliga, Xegel had to hurry up since he was the first one to perform this round. The performances always started with either Xegel’s Home of Comedy, Evliga’s Acrobatic Wonders, or Astei’s Ace Cards section. The other performers had their chance after them, and of course, the best for last, my section. This show, Xegel was up first.

  "Hey, you two, quit messing around with each other and get to your positions. You first, Xegel." I said to him. God, this just makes me sometimes want to associate passion for work more than passion for each other.

  Xegel looked at me and rolled his eyes at me and then back to Evliga. Rude.

  “Finished, my rose?” he questioned her.

  “All prepared, sunlight. Get on out there and show them how funny of a jester you are.” She said, hoping nothing bad could ever happen to him. She supported his journey all throughout the rounds, and so did he with hers. Please, enough with this! Ugh! I can’t handle it!

  I told Astei in a reassuring tone: "Don't mess this up alright? I know what happened earlier was a bit frightening but you can do it. Just push through it all."

  "I'm fine, Master. Just go. You have a minute to head all the way to the back of the audience." He replied back to me. I wish I could just hug him sometimes, you know?

  I signaled the people behind to open the curtains. I quietly went to the back of the audience benches under that minute. World record for the fastest "Get to other side"? Maybe, maybe not.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Showtime.

  While Astei was opening up about the basics and the main engagement to the watchers, I prepared and exercised slightly just to have my limbs flexible and ready for action.

  “Wait, what do I see in the distance? It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Oh wait, it’s our favorite ringmaster! The Star of the Show!" Astei used that phrase to signal my entrance.

  “Who said The Voice of Passion couldn’t fly?” I said, my voice showing the celestial echo that me and my fellow council members have.

  I did acrobatics down the stairs near the benches past some audience members and perfectly landed on the stage. Yes, I love over-exaggerating my entrances. One time, I even fell down backwards from a really high platform onto the stage, even my three apprentices were shocked. Who knew I loved falling off high places?

  “Welcome to the Circus of Folly! I am your lead ringmaster, and today, you will meet some of our grand performances from our very special and valued performers this round! Well, come on now, clap and cheer for your fellow show stars!” I asked for an uproar from the crowd.

  The crowd erupted in cheers, yells and claps for me and for the upcoming performances they will witness later on. I don’t believe there has been an instance where the crowd wasn’t happy with the performances. Probably because our shows haven’t really bored them out yet. Trust me on this, my followers are the most talented beings in the entire multiverse.

  “As for this show’s beginning section, we have Xegel’s Home of Comedy. If you are new here, this is where his jester self and made-up jokes come into play. Believe me, he cracks up the most creative lines out there, I tell you!” I announced.

  Xegel always had jokes I sometimes used when I was talking to the other members of the council. His best face is his “Jester” mode. I can’t ignore the fact that his poetry is always really well-written. He is also a follower of Sheliak so, I guess that’s where he gets his joke ideas and funny poetry he says on stage.

  I looked back at the curtains, then back to the audience. “Hmm… Riddle me this, riddle me that, but the guy never runs out of riddles to make you laugh. Xegel! Come on out!”

  He pushed the curtains open, changing his face to his “Jester” self, all while balancing on a unicycle while also pouring some really hot tea on the teacup in his other hand. “Oh, my, celestials! You nearly frightened me while I had tea time! Can I not be disturbed while I balance on my unicycle?!”

  "Well, this is the big stage. Now, can I have some tea?" I asked Xegel. Maybe I did kind of want some tea. Later then, I guess.

  “Speaking about tea…” He said, smiling slightly about this upcoming joke. “Now, what kind of tea does King Janus drink on a daily basis? Royal-tea!”

  The crowd erupted into laughter. Oh Xegel, you and your jokes against the universes

  “And there he goes! Please, enjoy the rest of the show and I shall see you all at the end of these performances for my jaw-dropping act! Astei, let's have Xegel here have his time.” And I walked towards the curtains with him, but not before we looked back to the audience with a mischievous smile, and threw some smoke to the ground, disappearing without a trace.

  Now, backstage, I walked around looking for where Evliga might've gone. I figured she would be watching him by the monitors.

  Evliga was there watching him, and so was Astei. Backstage, I have many installations of monitors for my other performers to watch on while they wait for their turns out on stage.

  “Well, he seems to be making and cracking those lines and tricks too as usual, doesn’t he?” I said to the 2. “I’ll head back to my office. Don’t be afraid to go to me when something’s wrong.”

  “Alright then. See you later, Master!” Astei said.

  He went away from the main dressing rooms towards the bathroom, which was a really long hallway away from the room. I made that hallway in case there were a lot of my performers running, and, as I said, only me and the other three knew about this path. Astei, you need to tell them sooner, please, I beg.

  I walked down the hall towards my room. I opened the door and sat inside. Now, I had to wait and also monitor everything.

  Now, would it be crazy if I said that the one thing that kept this entire circus up and running was suddenly gone from the strong-hold I put it in to protect it? I went through the five stages of grief in five seconds as soon as I noticed it. Well, now I know what to do. Panic and yell.

  "FIREWORKS!!!"

  Astei heard the yelling from the bathroom. Was I too loud? Totally. If he heard, he knows something's wrong. I always said "Fireworks" when something was wrong. Yelling it? Big problem.

  A few minutes pass, and Astei finally walks out of the bathroom. He might’ve enjoyed his stay in there because it took him a long while. I did once accidentally enter the bathroom and seeing him appreciate his beauty, oh how embarrassed he looked after that. Astei, lock the doors next time.

  After using the bathroom, Astei was walking down the hallway until he saw someone in the distance. A shadowy, dark figure. Now, I didn’t know he was behind the door, and I slammed that open, nearly hitting his face.

  “Chase that figure! They got the core!” I commanded him to do. I also ran towards them

  The hooded figure accidentally dropped my core, and by the looks of it, they quickly made it attach to their body and quickly ran away.

  They were heading towards the exit of the tent. No, I am not having this entire circus go down. That thing cannot leave this place.

  “Get back here!” Astei yelled, already running towards whoever this mysterious figure was. The chirps of his heart were already starting to quicken from him running.

  While Evliga was watching Xegel performing, and twisting her limbs around again, the hooded figure accidentally bumped into her. She noticed the core as soon as she saw what they were holding, and she was met with me and Astei running towards whoever was running away.

  “What is going on?!” She asked frantically. This started to have her anxiety peak again.

  “Get to them, Evliga! Go with Astei and get it back!” I said, explaining to her the situation. “I’ll go announce at the stage to tell everyone to evacuate. No matter what happens, don’t let that gem reach the void gate!” I told them both.

  I ran fast to get to the front of the curtains to make an announcement and warn everyone. That gem is basically the life source of my circus. Having it fall into the wrong hands might just make my whole community relocate somewhere else and re-build what we might lose.

  I got to the stage. “Important announcement! Please evacuate using the void gate at the back of the tent, not the front!”

  “Master, what’s going on? What happened?!” He asked me why I suddenly made that announcement.

  “Someone decided to steal the core!” I told him. I was already panicking and worrying about the safety of the members.

  I took his arms and rushed to the exit of the entrance to find Astei and Evliga.

  He moved his head to his “Fighter” mode. I’ve seen his fighter mode once, and trust me, you do not want to be near him when that face is on. It’s a horror attraction on its own.

  Everyone else was using the back gate, while we were chasing the figure who was heading for the front gate.

  The ground was already shaking, and the tent was also wobbling along with the earthquake. That core needs to be back at the stronghold, now.

  The three were running as fast as they could. Dodging anything that might fall and also pushing through the crowd just to reach them.

  “No, no, no! We can’t have them escape the place!” Evliga said, spinning her joints like a catapult to throw her silver hoops at the shadow.

  “Use your weapons! Do whatever you can to stop them!” I yelled behind the three.

  I asked specifically that all three of their main props they used for the shows would also be some kind of weapon in case like this ever happened. I can’t recall who I asked to make our weapons, but I am sure they came from Sheliak’s Academy and Avior’s Station.

  Evliga was in the middle of the other two, and I was behind them three. It was like a marathon, running to see who would reach the ribbon at the end, and I sure am not fast enough.

  Astei then said: “The place is about to fall apart! We can’t have them reach the void gate or this entire place crumbles to dust and rubble!”

  Xegel then tried to throw his juggling balls, that were also mini bombs when thrown towards something.

  “I was so close, come on!” Xegel yelled in frustration. This would’ve been over with if he didn’t miss. I don’t blame him for that though.

  One of them almost reached the figure, but it just missed by an inch. If only he had better aim would the figure already be blinded and slightly burned from the explosion and smoke…

  Last resort was Astei, who used his deck of cards as blades to try and cut whoever was covered in there. Those were sharp as the dark embers. One time, I even used some of them to eat lunch since I couldn’t find a knife anywhere.

  All of them failed, and the mystery shadow almost escaped, the gate was just a few feet away.

  “Move, move!” I said to the three in front of me.

  They cleared a path for me to go through.

  I moved towards the figure in the speed of light.

  The figure didn’t escape, because I wrapped that bastard in my bladed whip.

  “Agh!” They said, the blades sinking into their skin.

  “Gotcha. No escaping now, you son of a joker.” I said, the anger in my voice almost… Passionate.

  As soon as I captured them, some type of mechanism activated in the hand of the figure, which triggered banners that unraveled from the top of the circus tent, saying: “Ringmaster Sirius Abuses His Followers” with a fake image of me using my whip to hurt my three apprentices.

  “Like the new promotion, Ringmaster?” The hooded figure asked, chuckling with some smug grin. They also grunted in pain after saying that from the blades cutting into their flesh as I squeezed them tighter.

  Me and the other three got extremely angry, tired, and annoyed at how this figure literally made some false statement about me being cruel. I would never do such to any of my followers or apprentices. That’s just cruel.

  I thought of what to do, and then the idea popped in my mind. I’m still mad as dark voids.

  “We’re taking you in for questioning. You shouldn’t have messed with me, or you wouldn’t be in this situation right now. I’m not having this be how everyone else sees me now.” I said, tightening the whip around the figure, making more cuts in their flesh

  I then dragged them back towards the now slightly demolished tent and brought the other three with me. The other three followed me from behind.

  “It’s alright, guys. We can schedule your performances another day.” I said, reassuring them. I’m kind of sad that they weren’t able to perform the thing they were planning for this round after the backstage issue earlier.

  Xegel moved his head to the “Sad” face. “I was halfway through mine…”

  Could this day get any more stressful? The backstage chaos, the core getting stolen, the circus almost falling to pieces? What more? This is going to take 2 years to build back up the circus again… Ugh...