The Most Magical Show On Earth [Fantasy Circus CYOA]

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Junpei: Oct 4, 2015; Can't post for 11 years!

June 5th Tuesday, 1951. A field a few miles from New York City.

Imagine being under the hottest, bricutest spotlight you can image on a hot summer evening, standing on raw dirt and straw. Surrounded by people in stands, drowning you in a deafening roar of applause coming down like cold autumn rain.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the first night of the rest of your life!"

A blonde man with hair somewhere between "crew cut" and "slicked back" stood under the spotlight, announcing his existence to the world-or, at least, the audience. His black top hat had a red band around it, and his suit was a light blue, almost powdery but not quite pastel. Nondescript black pants, brown shoes and a green tie completed the outfit, which screamed "I am the center of attention! Notice me!" to the audience. It was clear to everyone-this man was the ringleader. He spoke in a bombastic tone of voice, loud, in-charge, and dramatic.

"My name is Nicholas B. Edwards, and this is my show. Here, you will things that will bedazzle you, things that will leave you in awe! Mysteries that will confound the mind, and shocking acts that will send the hairs of the back of your neck on end. Things you could only normally see in fairy tales, the silver screen of Hollywood, or on television. You will see the mystical past, the fantastic present and the glorious future here, right before your eyes. So, for your own sake, I implore you: look closely. For the closer you look, the less you will see."

The ringleader, having set the audience up for excitement, departs behind the curtain, and the spotlights follow him, before moving up to the logo on the curtain.

THE EDWARDS CIRCUS- Mystery, Fantasy, Magic.

The lights come down, sending the tent into darkness. Small children hold onto their parents. A voice, distinct from Nicholas's, lighter and cooler, comes over the speakers.

"Fire. Ever since the days of ancient cavemen, this primal force has enchanted and terrified us in equal measure. A powerful force of tempering and change, helping us cook food and bend metal to our will, and a force of destruction, killing people and destroying buildings. For our first act of the night, we bring you a man who bends flame to his will, a man of primal strength and passion. The Edwards Circus is proud to present, the Crimson Man-Dragon, Henry Brooke!"

An audible sound, best described as a "Whoomph", comes from the center of the ring. One solitary spotlight appears, and the man standing there is anything but ordinary-looking. Dust and dirt sprays from around him.

His scarlet scales glisten, his jawline, pronounced, he wears brown pants and grey shoes with a hole in the back for a tail. A line adorns from the top of his head to the end of his tail. His eyes are serpentine, slitted, alien and yet with a certain.... Wry joy behind them.

"Hello, ladiessssss and gentlemen, boyssssss and girls."

He speaks with a tone that carried a certain honeyed sweetness. Despite his lack of accent, he almost sounds like southern gentleman from a romantic novel.

"Behold, the beauty of flame."

Fire roars out of his mouth in a stream, pointed up into the air, which stops just before the tent's roof. After reaching that point, the flame halts before falling. Henry holds up his hands against the flames as they come down. Before they reach him, his talons claw and shred at the flame, tearing chunks of it out and tossing them aside until nothing of the flaming column remains. The audience is impressed at how well that dragon costume must hold up to the flame.

Dozens of small fireballs now float in the air around the ring in the air, illuminating the area in a soft, orange glow. The spotlight has shut off, leaving the flames as the only illumination. Henry takes a fireball in the palm of his hand.

"Fire can be cruel and dessssstructive. It can burn down crop fieldsssss, destroy pricelessssss heirlooms, kill people that you love. But fire can also be beautiful."

Henry crushes the fireball in his hand, and then opens it. Butterflies of flame release out of it, flapping their wings up into the air. Henry goes around to the other fireballs, doing the same, creating more and more of them, as they fly around, close to the audience, close enough to feel the heat from them.

-----------------------------------------------

Behind the curtains, a man with a clipboard goes around to various people, who are in various states of readiness. Some are practicing, some are chatting, some are applying make-up or putting on costumes.

The man with the clipboard runs his fingers through his short brown hair. He looks nervous, licking his lips and sweating.

"Heath, Cliff, you two ready for your acrobatic act?" He speaks in a clipped, fast tone.

"Of course we are! We're not new to this, we've been around with Nicholas since the first days of this show." Said a white tiger.

"Xander, while I know your are quite nervous about this show, we have been performing for 15 years now, and our newest act started 3 years ago. You have nothing to worry about." Added a white lion sitting next to the tiger.

Xander ignored the twin felines' remarks and moved onto a woman. "Catherine, are all the ropes secure for Eagle, Raven, Crow and Hawk's routine?"

The woman nodded. "Yep, double checked 's myself. The ropes for Leo's escape act are good as well." Xander nodded, before heading to another thing to double check, but somebody ran up to him.

"Mister Xander, sir, I think we have a problem!" Said a pre-teen girl in a green dress.

"What is it, Hope?" Xander said, turning around and looking at her.

"I went to check on Mr. Edwards in his room-he said after he went there he was going to get a shot of whiskey before he had to come out again when Henry's done- but he wasn't there, and he's not at the bathrooms or anywhere else, I checked! And there was this note on his chair!" Hope spoke very quickly, almost too fast for Xander to process, but once he does, he immediately starts to panic, taking the note out of her hands.

"'Attention all of you freaks, monsters, abberations against God and soul-sellers: We know your secrets. If you wish for your leader to be set free, we demand that you pay 10,000 dollars in ransom and reveal yourselves to the authorities. Otherwise, your leader stays with us. Signed, the Warrior.' Oh no no no no no. Check the parking area!"

Hope and Xander run outside the tent, looking at the sea of vehicles, looking for a... There! A green car starting up, going away down the dirt road at a pretty high speed-and Nicholas's face,

"...dammit, we missed them!"

Xander runs back into the tent, Hope following him.

"Everyone! Mr. Edwards has been kidnapped! The ransom note says that we're have to pay this... Warrior fellow ten thousand dollars, and reveal our... Strangeness to the outside world. No usage of Wipe." The other performers start to murmur and gasp at this fact. Cat-eared acrobats, monstrous strongmen, magicians and beasts, all look shocked and scared.

"We are not going to do that. Edward saved my life, gave me a place, and I know he did the same for all of you. We're gonna rescue him, and keep this show going. I will be going in my car to find him, and Hope will stay here to manage things while I'm gone. I need three people to come with me and help me. My mental magic isn't the best for combat, so I need backup. I'm limiting myself to people who have parts late in the show."

Choose Three

A. Alice Regrant, the Flower Maiden. Her plant-based magic is quite beautiful to watch as an act, with her stump thrones and flower crowns and apples thrown to the audience, but it's combat applications are not to be underestimated. She also looks human, so she doesn't need any help with disguises.

B. Cole Woods, the Lupine Strongman. His physical strength is not the best of the strongmen, but he makes up for it with better reflexes and speed-his act involves a lot of breaking things from odd angles and cool poses, like breaking a log held sideways by jumping on it from a handspring, or holding up a board with multiple people. However, his shape could be hard to ignore or explain.

C. Nia Lemani the Seductive Siren. Her songs are captivating, mesmerising, intoxicating-the perfect distraction, seduction, or, in a pinch, attack. She looks mostly human, but there's something just a bit... Off about her up-close. A too-slow blink, an odd facial twitch... You wouldn't notice it far away, but it could be noticable face to face.

D. Sonia Black, Panthress of Blades. Elegant, fearless, dare I say it... Sexy, her skill with a sword is almost unparalleled, with her act being full of tricks, like carving a block of ice into a sculpture of herself with a few slashes and stabs, turning a log into a chair, cutting a volunteer's clothing off of their body without them getting a scratch on them. Her appearance allows her to blend into shadows high her dark fur, but she's still highly noticable as Not Normal.

E. Finn Roarch the Tempest King. His wind magic makes him a popular act, where he flies, creates mini tornadoes, and even interacts with the audience up-close. He also looks normal, like Alice.

F. Johnny Wicke the Beat Keeper. Johnny's musical talents are quite strong- he uses specific beats as a mnemonic to remember facts, and he can use sound to navagate in the dark and see things nobody else can see. However, he's a bit... Out of touch with the rest of the world. He has trouble reading facial expressions and understanding sarcasm. This could be less noticeable at times, but it could be a problem.