Side Story The Devil's Carnival

[Yun Lee]

Kuroko would look down at the holster on her left thigh. Oh wow she only had one needle left. What about the other one on the right? Empty...well that was a bummer.

Grabbing the single needle from its holster she'd hand it over to Fredrika. "Kuroko Shirai and this is the only thing I have on me. You can have it as a memento to remember me by." Not like it had any sentimental value after all or had a ton of them back home. However her Esper powers Kuroko would keep to herself for the time being. It might become handy once they finally get to enter the carnival.

"We'll just have to stick out of any shady business I guess." Kuroko replied. "And it's nice meeting you too Takeru." If anything he seemed trust worthy at least for now.​

 

[Yun Lee]

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!"

A loud, shrill, if somewhat muffled by a layer of spandex scream suddenly cut across the conversations of those with Monsieur Loyal and Frederika outside the carnival entrance, and anyone who looked towards its source would be blessed by the sight of the man himself. The red threads. The toned physique. The fantastic ass. It all came together to portray the greatest hero of them all, icon to millions everywhere and star of a surefire 2016 box office hit...

"That's right, everyone! It's ME! Your friendless neighborly Spider-Man!"

And shit it is nice not to have to worry about getting slammed with a billiondollar copyright suit for a change! Those network stooges at Fox might not've literally sewn my mouth shut this time, but the feeling was there.

"And I got something to say, so LISTEN UP sexy police chick! Whatever this is-- batshit child labor-driven remake of Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Willy Wonka porn spoof, or somewhere in between-- I can roll with it. Whatever. I was bored playing old maid with a blind lady anyhow. But how in the holy asscheek do you expect me to follow 666 rules if I know jack and shit about any of 'em?! I don't remember signing any designated dumbass contract! Is public squatting against the rules? How 'bout yoga?"

The man had drawn closer by now, and without waiting for a response he promptly hopped down on all fours and started doing limber stretches over Monsieur Loyal's prone position, little to no regard for personal space.

Hey, how are ya.

"You like this, gingerlocks? We call this one "downward dog". Yeah. You feel that? That's the chakra. Sssshhh, shh shh. I know. Mine's bigger than yours."

Without warning, he abruptly dropped out of his intense yoga stance to send a knee drop straight for the ringmaster's crotch. He flapped both arms out to his sides, switching his gaze back to Frederika as he rose to his feet.

"I can go all day, Frederick. If I don't know what the rules are then how do I know what to try and break?! I just end up doing random stuff! This system's bullshit, man! Bullshit!"

He didn't seem overtly hung up on it, though, as his tone abruptly returned to more neutral levels and he glanced down at his beloved weapons; which right now consisted of two empty holsters and one lousy katana on his back. Damn hobos. They must've picked him clean while he was out.

"Speaking of unwanted ball-touching, I happen to have a verygood reason for wanting to keep stabby here on me at all times. See, I'm pretty sure I recognize Krusty the Kiddy Snatcher over there from my 11th birthday party..."

The man dropped his voice to a hush that was still pretty loud, making no genuine effort to conceal himself as he not-so-subtly pointed over at Hisoka with one hand, the other cupped at the side of his mouth.

"Name's 'Pool. Dead. I dunno if you noticed, Freddo, but there are like 7 kids here, and I happen to know firsthand what a traumatizing incident with a clown can do to a person. You don't want another mecoming outta this on your conscience, do ya?"

But seriously, the idea of letting Jared 2.0 skulk around unchecked didn't sit right with him. That'd bump the age rating up to at least boycott levels.​

 

[Yun Lee]

Luso gulped in fear of the stern woman's gaze. Already, he knew wasn't going to be getting away with the rule he broke, "I... It's a rule about standing up to Loyal, I guess. He'd tried to upset Aika by telling her that her parents abandoned her... And I just spoke before I thought about it. I asked him why he would say something like that, and I guess you saw the rest involving the hitting and all."

"I can't stand it when people do stuff llike that, so... I'm sorry if I did break a rule," He shuffled a little, pulling out his well-worn and ordinary-looking journal that had been a grimoire at on point, "Luso Clemens, ma'am, and all I've got is my old journal. Nothing really special about it, at least not anymore."​

 

[Yun Lee]

Ashe smiled at Luso. "Nice to meet you, Luso." She said. "I'm glad to hear that they talked about me. Did they also talk about Lemures, or Feolthanos, or Basch?" At Luso's question about weapons, Ashe shook her head. "I don't have any more. I'm sorry, Luso." Ashe said. She turned to Fredrika. "My name is Princess Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca. I come from the kingdom of Dalmasca. All I have on me is my Husband's sword. I also have A Phoenix Down, and three Hi-Potions.​

 

[Yun Lee]

"His coarse vulgarity aside, this...Deadpool has a point. Clowns are truly unnerving to say the least, like the little laughing one I suspect. The way they move, their faces..." Bazett cringed slightly. "Though the little one, if he is indeed a clown, is a bit more dull. One punch and then pumpkin seeds all over the place, instead of colored confetti. Still..." She looked over the line forming. "The place is called Devil's Carnival. If the kids are in danger of being traumatized by a single clown-" Bazett glared over at Hisoka, making a mental note to keep an eye on him. "-Then I shudder to think what might happen once inside."​

 

[Yun Lee]

"Eeeehhhhh..."

Sam was unsure of how to feel about Takeru. The many weapons that he had delighted the child persona that Sam tried his best to keep up. But the thousand year old pagan spirit that composed Sam's true nature wasn't sitting well with this man's colorful explanation of all his various gizmos. This wasn't Christmas, was it? Was he going to hand out any of these gifts? What about that cool bike? Sam was probably too small to ride it in his current form but he could always make himself bigger! Maybe once this carnival was said and done and Sam got his cotton candy, he could walk out of here happy as could be.

He'd made friends in Hisoka and Aika and he found a pet in Iggy. Then the four of them could ride off in style on that cool bike!

"Hehehe...."

He'd keep a close eye on Takeru and his well being, that's for sure. All because he was a concerned little sack baby of course.

"Oooh!"

Even little Sam was awed by Deadpool's entrance. Sam had seen many people dressing like up this man on Halloween! Mostly little kids who had disapproving parents, believing the character was far too grim and dark for that kind of stuff. But that's what Halloween was all about! It was a time for darkness and pretending to be someone you weren't! Sam embraced that thinking to it's fullest degree! He was a Celtic Pagan Spirit pretending to be a little boy in a creepy costume! How much more imaginative could you get? Though Sam did tilt his head at some of the comments Deadpool made.

Even as old as he was, still some things that flew over Samhain's head. But Deadpool was creative and funny and that's all that really mattered to the giggling spirit.

"Heheheh!...hm?"

Dull, was he? That wasn't a very nice thing to say! Sam couldn't help but be made out of pumpkin seeds and all the gooey stuff that entailed! It's what the witches who made him composed his being of and so that's how he'd be! He could have stopped the punch or simply moved away from it. But where was the fun in scaring a little people when your head got cracked wide open and there was not a drop of blood. But pumpkin seeds as far as the eye could see. Hopping back and forth from one foot to the other, Sam looked Bazett over.

"Heh."

Sam may not have been a clown. But he wasn't above mischief and so Bazett would need to keep an eye on the sack baby. If only to avoid getting tricked rather than treated at this Carnival. But all of this nonsense aside, Sam's question still hadn't been answered! Whether or not he could keep his lolipop on his person! He wouldn't hurt anybody with it! Not much at least! Maybe holding it out from sharp corners so they'd trip over it and embarrass themselves. That'd be pretty funny! But what if he got hungry and wanted to eat it? These carnies thought they'd strip the physical embodiment of Halloween's sole remaining candy away from him?

Oh boy, they would have to pry it from Sam's cold tiny fingers.

Continuing to hold the lolipop forward, Sam hopped up and down to try and catch the police woman's attention. Which seemed like it'd be easier said than done given Sam's height stature compared to everyone else! Why did grown ups need to be so tall anyway?

"Ehhhhh?"​

 

[Yun Lee]

As to be expected, little of an answer was given to Frisk's question, the child ignored underneath more of the rambunctious and audible individuals trapped in this dark, twisted festival. From 666 rules to maniacal laughter, the hub of insanity barely faltered the iron-willed human. Frisk had seen a lot after her fall at Mount Ebott, his misadventures bring strange loyalties and encountering stranger enemies. To this day, Frisk could recall the influence of Flowey, reminded of how her SAVE was broken, being trapped in some unreal nightmare.

So all things considered, Frisk kept his patient smile, a red scarf enclosed around her neck. Gently, the child walked about a bit, trying to provoke some sort of conversation, but her tiny stature and tiny demeanor to boot made it difficult for the kindly human to interact. Plus, from sword-wielding psychopaths, horror movie antagonists, devilish witches around Frisk's own age, and futuristic knights, a simple child with a lot of determination and a red scarf wasn't exactly thrilling. Still, Frisk vainly tried to provoke some conversations as he happily waddled along, the preteen's eyes always strangely shut.

Unable to get that fancy item or find the Temmie Shop, Frisk logically understood that the rules of the Ruins would not apply here. Even more worrying, the child wondered if the others could be influenced by MERCY. She was not unaware of the less savory individuals who preferred LOVE over love, EXP over experience, strife over friendship. A shudder coursed through the youngling's spine, echoes of a distant yet unfamiliar voice calling out, reminding Frisk that no matter how many SAVE's, no matter how many times the data would be deleted, a dark influence beyond her control would grow and grow.

Holding her own ticket carefully to her bosom, Frisk awaited patiently at the entrance with Monsieur Loyal, or whomever happened to be there at the moment.

 

[Yun Lee]

"Awwwww, Dolly's doing that cool magic trick with Sam again~"

Aika giggled a bit from seeing Dolly springing into life again, and for a split second, even if it were only Sam's telekinesis at work here, the Dolly looked like it... blinked.

Though, seeing that Frederika was asking on how her parents looked like.

"Oh. My mommy has the same hairstyle as me... I have my daddy's nose and eyes... and they're both much much taller than me. I... I hope that's... good enough..."

Twiddling her thumbs, Aika then realized that there was something else that they had to do before going inside.

"Oh! Um... I'm Aika... and all I have with me is my Dolly. Dolly's with Sam right now, doing fun magic tricks. Um... I wouldn't have any weapons anyways... b-because my mommy and daddy would be very very mad at me..."

"Um... Luso, thanks for sticking up for me... you're... you're a good friend..."

Aika wasn't sure on how to phrase this, but hearing Luso's side of the story, Aika was glad that Luso defended her case.​

 

[Yun Lee]

"Uuuuhhhh..." It seemed he was dumbfounded if his confused expression was anything to tell by. Lemures and Feolthanos? Vaan had never talked about those, and they sounded like something only a scholar would know about, something that Luso was definitely not. "I think he mentioned a guy named Basch...? No clue on the others though, Princess, but they sound like something similar to what we had to fight together." Though if the demon thing they fought had a name wasn't exactly something he cared about now. As long as it was sealed away or dead, he was fine with it remaining nameless

"Actually..." She was from Ivalice, meaning that when she went back home, she could deliver a message, "Since we have a mutual friend, could you give him a message? I can't exactly get back there all that easily," Or at all, "And it would be nice to tell him and the other friends I made there that I got back home safely. I have a feeling that they're a little worried since I kind of disappeared."Well, maybe Cid and Hurdy were, Adelle was probably too busy thinking about the latest fashion trend. That was just her way, and Luso wasn't going to be upset if it took her a bit to think about him.

Seeing Frisk was scared, Luso waved towards her with a smile, hopefully cheering her up by showing that not everyone here was scary.

"Hey, no problem, Aika. Clan or no clan, sword or no sword, rules or no rules, I'm going to stand up for my friends no matter what."

True conviction rang in his voice as he smiled down at the younger girl, giving her a thumbs-up.​

 

[Yun Lee]

When Frederika would appear and take the stand from here, away from Loyal's hands, and demand to take away all the weapons, Hisoka would simply give a small laugh and a small shrug, before taking out the only item on him. An ordinary deck of playing cards.

"I trust that these wouldn't pass for weapons... unless someone happens to be extra sensitive to papercuts, hmm?~" He said with a sing-song tone, twirling one card in particular between his fingers. Closer inspection wouldn't yield anything new. Hisoka was telling the truth; no matter what way you'd look at it, they were completely normal cards.

"If anything... They're more like fun little toys I carry around. This is a carnival after all, is it not? Here's to hoping that we get to play and all have fun with each other..." He said, licking the edge of the card in his hand, whilst winking at Bazett, Deadpool, among a few others.

 

[Yun Lee]

"Tch. No weapons?" Daisuke didn't want to do this, but breaking the rules would lead to something more... horrible. Daisuke gave the woman his knuckleduster. He then noticed the little girl looking for her folks.

"A little girl huh? What's your name?" Daisuke said, wondering how someone like her got here.​

 

[Yun Lee]

"Maybe when I get older, I'll do the same for you, Luso. Because that's what friends do!"

Aika was giving off a bright and optimistic air, despite the fact that her parents weren't around. Maybe these people could go off as good friends after all.

"Oh, I'm Aika," she told Daisuke, "and my Dolly's over there with my other friend, Sam. Um... what's your name, mister? I hope we can be friends too!"​

 

[Yun Lee]

Iggy would look up at Frederika and sneer, obviously not wanting to listen. She can't tell him what to do! Well, since everyone else is pulling out their shit, Iggy might as well. Turning his head and biting at his fur, Iggy pulled out...

A packet of coffee-flavored gum, which he dropped to the ground and looked at. As Iggy looked down at the packet, he began to pant and drool in anticipation like a normal dog looking at its favorite food. Without further hesitation, Iggy teared open the pack and ripped out one strip of the brown, creamy gum. Munching upon it, he lied down and happily munched down, the delicious taste of coffee refueling him.

<"This is the good stuff.."> ​

 

[Yun Lee]

"Oooh..Heh heh."

There seemed to be a plentiful amount of children here at this carnival! That meant great things as far as Sam was concerned! Children had a sort of nature to them that most grown ups didn't. Some of them took the time to read up and be informed of Halloween's traditions and respect them. Other children were vile and mistreated Halloween's rules. So Sam had them horribly mauled and devoured by a horde of ravenous flesh-eating zombies! But this child in particular seemed different. Whereas Aika seemed to seek companionship with Dolly, this child seemed to be okay with standing by themselves.

Well that couldn't do, now could it? Nobody should be alone while they're in a fun place like the carnival! Which is why Sam waddled over towards Frisk with Dolly following in behind him. Frisk had maybe a couple of inches on Sam, not that the pagan spirit seemed to really mind. Height didn't matter much between children. But Sam could barely restrain how eager he was to make another new friend!

"Hi..Hehehehe!"

"...Huh?!"

For a dog that Sam had brazenly claimed would be his, that wasn't very nice! To pull out candy and then not offer to share it or trade it! Not that Sam had anything worth trading on his person! But maybe Dolly had something worth bargaining over! Then Aika and Sam could share the gum between themselves!

That was until Sam waddled closer and got a good look at the type of gum Iggy had.

Coffee

Coffee

COFFEE!!!

That was some of the most absolutely vile stuff Sam could think of! It didn't break any of Halloween's rules but the spirit simply detested the thought of having coffee flavored anything! They might as well have just put razor blades in the gum fo as much as Sam would have desired it! Though he did get some use out of that snickers bar that had the razor blade in it. But that was neither here nor there. As Sam reached out to manipulate Dolly to write up another message, Sam paused. For a brief moment or two Sam felt like their was something on the other end. Almost as if Dolly had a will of her own.

But that'd just be silly! She was a doll, a gift Aika's parents had given to her! She was about as alive as Sam's lolipop! But even so, Sam decided that maybe he just wouldn't write a message for now...​

 

[Yun Lee]

"My name is Daisuke. It's nice to be friends with you."

Daisuke held out his fist, thinking that Aika's fist will meet his.​

 

[Yun Lee]

"Um..."

Aika wasn't exactly sure on how to respond to this. Well, she saw boys in her class doing stuff like this... like, fist bumping? So with some shyness, Aika made her hand into a fist, and lightly tapped it to Daisuke's.

After that, Aika looked over and couldn't help but smile over to Dolly and Sam's direction. They looked so cute together!​

 

[Yun Lee]

"Alright! Now we're real friends!" Daisuke said, smiling.​

 

[Yun Lee]

"Don't worry about it." Ashe said about Lemures and Feolthanos. "I'll tell them when I return, yes, Luso. I'm sure that they'll be glad to hear it." She couldn't recall Vaan and Penelo ever talking about Luso, but maybe she just wasn't paying attention.​

 

[Yun Lee]

Kuroko didn't know what to make of the guy in the red costume, though she didn't appreciate the fact that he thought that she couldn't take care of herself. Forgetting of course that she was a short pre-teen kid herself. "Listen mister I can take perfectly care of myself. I wouldn't be a member of Judgement if I was a liability." He was right though...there were a number of kids her age here...just meant she had to try her best to keep them out of trouble.

But yeesh...Hisoka really was creepy.​

 

[Yun Lee]

I doubted it would be easy to smuggle Whisper past a woman so adamant of her duties, that she'd injure one of her own coworkers to uphold them; let alone keep Whisper concealed until the night's end. She was..."charming" enough, that I even handed over my assortment of Lotus Traps, making sure to place them in the bag delicately. Though, there was no telling whether or not any of them would go off during transport...

While emptying Whisper of all her bullets, I responded to Fredrika's simple question with a simple answer, "Khada Jhin, madame, and I do hope you don't mind me keeping my cane," I added, quickly whipping the item in question out as I plucked a rose from the end of it, offering it to the dear Frederika, "An artist is nothing without his brush, no? I won't hurt a fly,"​