Bright lights! An abundance of color! A cacophony of laughter and delighted (?) shrieks! Welcome, everyone, to the carnival! Enough of those nonsense protein shakes and that hoity-toity recycling; it's time to let loose, have some fun, and live a little! No judgment will be allowed today, not when everyone’s dressed up in ridiculous costumes and eating those unnecessarily huge turkey legs (it... is turkey, right?). For you see, CERES has invited the Traveling Circus of Tjghsldiwk (they hail from a different planet, but here's a hint: the h is silent) to bring some joy to the colonists. This is a safe place to let your inner wild child out, really. Definitely safe. Promise.
Yet for those who are a little less easily convinced to follow the sounds of laughter and amusement (bless your sensible hearts), they will find themselves grabbed and forcibly dragged by a pair of friendly souls in matching costumes. Everyone should be able to enjoy the festivities, don’t you think? Can’t have them missing out on all this jolly good, innocent fun!
The Public Announcement System crackles with... well, a fit of coughing first. But then a gravelly voice speaks! It seems the ringmaster has an announcement for you all. What joyous news can he bring?  Listen... I know that we’re supposed to keep these idiots entertained for at least another day or two but the machinery’s starting to complain. I think I heard the gates of the petting zoo groan – they’re on their last legs.
... Wait, this isn’t the direct line
Oh.
Ohohoho!! Have a great time, everyone! Everything is perfectly fine!
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PHASE I [ 11 00 ] Come one, come all!! There’s quite a large amount of people here, isn’t there? You’ll find yourself tugged this way and that – up until you get dragged right into a changing booth. The helpful attendant meets you with a worryingly large grin – how is her face not breaking? – before pushing you right through the curtain. Then you’ll be given your choice of one of these lovely garments to change into. Look, one of them has to match your skintone, right? Don’t be picky about it! You also have... 90 seconds to figure out how to wear it before you’re tossed out into the middle of the crowd again. Have a good festival!
If you’re not willing to put on the outfits though, that’s fine. Instead, they’ll top you off with a cape and crown, shoving you out onto a... stage? Your adoring public cheers for you, yells your name, and throws confetti in your honor! Then a jester appears again, announcing your grand title:
The Ugliest in All of Cerealia.
Don't worry, that's just your introduction to the carnival; enjoy the rest of your time here! (They may or may not have given you back your clothing.)
PHASE II [ 1600 ] Do you hear that? Cymbals crashing together, trumpets blaring off-tune, the march of absurdly tired feet – a parade is coming! Best move off to the side before an acrobat quite literally tumbles into you. If you are an unfortunate casualty, they’ll actually just start to fall asleep on you because they’re tired… so very, very tired.
Yet the parade continues to march on without them and you can let yourself be distracted by the impressive jumping around and festive partygoers (who seem to be joining in the parade as they please, in various states of undress). But be wary. Distraction will only make you easier prey for the very hungry caterpillar that’s coming up the street next. Run if you can, but it has so very many legs and it’s coming after you.
For those unable to make it away from the caterpillar, they will find themselves gulped right into its gross, drooling mouth – and about five minutes later, they’ll be released out again onto the streets covered in a pink slime. It looks like you won't be able to free yourself from the stuff, so hopefully you can find a friend to get some help! Or one of the strangers around you? Unfortunately, when a kind soul finally comes by to pull you out of the slime, they’ll find that the outside of the gunk is not only immensely sticky but also slippery. If they're not careful, you'll both end up stuck to the gunk together.
You both better get out of that stuff quick because once someone joins you, the slime starts to move. Quick and gooey, it'll pull you and the hapless soul with you down the street at a much too quick pace. Hopefully you won't slide into too many people as you skid your way through the streets of the Entertainment District like some sort of demented Katamari Ball. This is why you should never trust giant bugs!
PHASE III [ xxxx ] In a smaller booth, toward the outskirts of the carnival, some may find a familiar face manning a quiet little shack on her own. Although those who have been in the colony long enough may have first encountered her as an 8-bit version of herself, Aria the fortune-teller is now back and more than willing to drag unsuspecting people into her hands again. Once you step into her stall, she takes one long look at you before sliding over a fortune cookie and a mask. What do you mean you didn’t ask for a mask? That's too bad, because it's yours now. She won't say anything more than that, giving nothing more than a quiet dismissal with a hand and an enigmatic smile to match.
When you step back outside, you’ll find that you just can’t get rid of the mask. If you toss it into a trash bin, it’ll be right back in your pocket. Throw it at a friend? It’ll be in your hand in the next second. Throw it away enough times and it’ll suddenly plant itself on your face -- which leads to all the alien carnival goers in the nearby vicinity suddenly going still with fear before moving to get as far away from you as quickly as possible. Well... you seem to be able to take it off for now if you still want to enjoy the carnival. It just won't go away, and every time you try to throw it away, it'll attach itself to your face. Might as well just keep it.
But... still, it's strange how none of the aliens running the carnival will look you in the eye now, isn't it?
PHASE IV [ 1200 ] For those who aren’t interested in dealing with the abundance of people, there’s also an assortment of critters gathered around for the petting zoo! They all seem to follow a general theme… kind of. That might be floppy ears and a tail if you... squint. The alien staff is right there and quick to ask you not to worry, they're perfectly harmless -- they don't eat humans! It would be bad for their diet, so feel free to pet them, if you can gather enough courage to do so.
Unfortunately, it seems as though this part of the circus was not put together very well; the rickety fences and cages don't really seem to do much against these giant...creatures. Towards the end of the circus' time here, it looks like those cages will start breaking down more and more, too.
The animals rattle the makeshift fences of the petting zoo, until finally, the fences just... collapse. Oops. The ground shakes as the animals stomp and immediately move to break out of their little ring. Well, would you look at that? You’ve apparently found yourself in the middle of a little stampede -- and those warnings about these animals not eating humans doesn't seem to hold much weight when now they're looking at you -- and they look pretty hungry.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] Left and right, there are voices shouting for your attention. "Hey pretty young miss!" or "Excuse me, you stud!" or "Look at this, jackass!" – that said, aliens think that you all manage to look the same, so who knows if they’re yelling at you in particular – and they’re all daring you to come and try your hand at their carnival game.
It’s run of the mill stuff: shooting games, tests of strength, and knocking down a couple of milk bottles. You might actually be doing well! Or... you might be embarrassing yourself in front of whatever cute person you’re trying to impress! But regardless, in the last allotted ten seconds of your game, no matter what, you’ll find your point score plummeting right into the negatives. Did you get a bullseye? What do you know, that’s now worth -1000 points! You missed? -5000 points.
The stall assistant seems to be having a grand old time, laughing at your pain and when the clock finally runs out, they'll give you a large grin. "Look at that score! Well, you know what that means, don’t you? Now, we win you!" With that, metallic tentacles suddenly sprout from the booth itself, looking to capture you and whoever you’re with. Welcome to the carnival, now you're one of the prizes. And it seems you'll be here for quite some time. That is, of course, unless someone can win you back from these really horribly rigged games.
Looks like you'd better get comfortable hanging motionless from a display, like an oversized stuffed animal. You'll be here for a while.
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Wildcard.
And so they end up outside the paddock with all the strange proboscideans, walking mostly in silence as two reserved individuals are wont to do. Though...those things raise some eyebrows and commentary.]
God, what on Earth do those things need so many teeth for?
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(He isn't stupid enough to want to go into a funhouse, unless he thought there was a need, like having to protect someone.)
Yu's got one hand on his waist as he stares at the... elephants? as well. He doesn't like the look of all these animals, reminded rather heavily of the jungle. ]
Tellus has some interesting creatures. I just wonder what would possess anyone to think they make a good zoo attraction.
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Hands resting on the rickety fence, Rei's attention flits from creature to creature, absently registering that Yu had responded. There's a kind of morbid fascination on her part with the aberrant looking things, with how deadly they looked. A tigerphant? An Anglerphant? What bizarre environment would produce such a thing?]
Madness. Or actual possession maybe. [A snort, and she points to the Anglerphant.]
Do you suppose that's from some plain that's dark all the time? Biologically it makes no sense.
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It does look like a deep sea creature more than an elephant... it even has the little light dangling from its head. Maybe it has gills? [ Said dryly. Completely nonsensical, but then again, nothing else about it makes sense. ]
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I don't see any, but that's what I was thinking too. Like an Anglerfish. You know, using light in the darkness to attract food. It's really odd, whatever it is. Not something I'd want to find in a dark alley.
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[ yu don't take her seriously ]
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[Remodeling didn't seem a problem for them.]
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[ Inaba told him. CERES sure is generous with the remodeling projects... ]
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[A frown.]
Santa and his sleigh came on Christmas Day, along with illusions of people we wanted to see. That's how I knew you by sight. I was with Yosuke-kun.
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You're telling me Santa bots attacked the colony more than once?
[ He'll address the other part in a moment. That's just amazing. ]
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[She is completely serious. And the Anglerphant is getting closer to the bars, stealthy now!]
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[ Said a little thoughtfully. As he's mulling this over, the Anglerphant continues to approach... ]
So Yosuke saw me, huh? [ He smiles a little, a crooked thing. ] Was that the CERES idea of a gift? The illusions.
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[Definitely smiling back, a forced, disquieted expression. Mostly because of the memory of what she'd seen. Minako, cold and ruthless...cruel even.]
I suppose they thought it was funny turning our best friends into a source of despair. It's disgusting of them to do that. But they do it still.
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A source of despair... of course they'd--
[ He pauses. Turning our best friends into a source of despair...
He slowly lowers his hand, his brow knit as gears in his mind turn. The library... the illusions, and their despair... his own introduction into the colony... the first carnival everyone was forced to attend... this carnival, though it might be arguable so far... even the incident with the ghosts, though CERES could claim no fault in that. He's certain there's a correlation here between each of these events.
After a long moment, in which he's still ignoring that Anglerphant, he murmurs: ]
Doesn't it seem like CERES often forces us to emotional extremes...?
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Boys.Slowly, she takes in another breath and nods.]
I’ve had the same thought for a while now. They claim to want us happy, and they do seem to go out of their way at some points, but every month there are strange occurrences that are oddly dissonant with that stated goal. To shake us up, maybe?
[A snort.]
Psychic-Vampirism, perhaps. They claim to be an energy company.
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The library is one of the most deliberate and egregious examples. To override their code and force them into caricatures of themselves, making them playact stories in order to feel grand emotions that didn't belong to them... through the use of some new technology. Yu has no doubts they'll do it again, and that it's only a matter of time, especially now that he's come to this conclusion. More strongly than ever, he feels a need to contact Hiro about experimenting on the mask he's currently got tied to his wrist. ]
It's not just me, then... I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking this, but it's unsettling to realize they've been doing this on purpose.
[ Psychic vampirism... he frowns, rather severely at that. ] An energy company... could they be--
[ A beat. He's finally noticed the Anglerphant getting too close for comfort, and he takes a step back, his focus going sharp. ]
Rei-san.
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It might not be the case. But...
[She's about to say 'I think it fits? when she notes his stance change. She doesn't think, she just moves, stepping instinctively away with him, head jerking back towards the creature.]
Perhaps...we should get clear before it...
[And that's when everything goes to hell. The animal's trunk whips out towards Yu, a ferocious bellow echoing through the air as the appendage smashes through the flimsy fence. Splinters go flying everywhere, there's a shriek of protesting woods, and the whole wall seems to buckle beneath the beast's might!]
Look out!
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Get back!
[ A tarot card appears before him, and he crushes it. Izanagi-no-Okami bursts into life and slams into the Anglerphant, pushing it back, though doesn't do much at all in the way of hurting it. Yu sees it more as an animal than a monster, and harbors some reluctance over attacking it... ]
This could get bad... all of the pens are like this. We could be looking at a stampede!
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But would that be worth divulging her identity if he could handle it? Izanagi seems to have the Anglerphant well in hand at least.]
You're right! We need to get clear, somewhere not so central because they're not...
[going to last much longer she's about to say, but several of the other cages give way. The bicephalic elephant is the first on the scene, rushing at Yu from behind. There's a kind of horrible sentience in it's eyes, a malicious hunger permeating it's sense. The myriad of tentacles it seems to have reach out for him, grabbing hold of that loose fitting garment and going for his legs as well. Shards of broken fence and cage litter the ground around them...and Rei's danger senses scream at her to fight back. Yosuke knows, why not this boy? Trust a little, Rei.
And then without another heartbeat to spare:]
MARS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!
[And then there's fire. Lots, and lots and lots of fire. Heat, power, and light all roar out of Rei's chest, wrapping around her and in a truly dramatic display of artfully obscured nudity, she vanishes...
And is replaced by someone else. Eternal Mars. Taller, with lace and boots and more ruffles than strictly necessary. Her presence is different, commanding and strong, and even her voice reverberates in a way the quiet, reserved Rei's never could.]
Let him go!
[Whipping forward, perhaps overreacting just a little bit to the creature's trunks going for Yu's legs...she drives a kick into it's side and staggers it. Is it enough? Or is it's grip stronger than that?!
Find out next time on Cerealia-Ball-Z]no subject
Just as he's really starting to wonder how he's going to get out of this, he hears Rei shout those words, and stares over at her as the light show goes off. He's rarely one to show much emotion, and that doesn't change right now, though he does blink a few times. Wow. That's really something. Is she a magical girl? He's heard of those shows, though he doesn't really watch TV.
Regardless, he's not so surprised he can't take advantage of her timeliness. As soon as she's on the move and snapping a kick into the elephant, he's yanking at the cloth it's got a hold of. Stunned and staggered, it mercifully lets go, and Yu is able to leap free.
Mildly: ]
Mars?
[ That's all he says before he silently commands Izanagi to actually go on the attack now, as it's quite clear they'll need to fight back if they're going to get out of this. He'll take on the Anglerphant properly if she wants to handle Whatever That Thing Is That She Just Kicked. ]
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Try not to kill anything. CERES will charge you for it.
[The animal staggers under another strike and rears up, trying to throw her off and crush Yu in the process.]
And keep moving!
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I know, [ is all he says, still rather mildly. He does seem to be taking this all rather in stride, though in truth, he has about a dozen questions.
Yu is darting out of the way as soon as the animal rears, his battle senses all heightened and ready for the worst. This feels oddly normal. Just another foray into the TV World. Only he's in a gauzy dancer's outfit, and the girl next to him just transformed into an outfit right out of a cartoon he could imagine Nanako watching and is punching an elephant monster in the head. Just another day in Cerealia, really.
Izanagi's magic is powerful, but his elemental spells aren't enough to kill these creatures in one hit. Mostly it's enough to knock them out, which is what the application of a Garudyne does to the Anglerphant. It topples over with an almighty crash that has Yu momentarily stumbling before he can right himself, at which point he gets his bearings and gets Rei back in his sights. ]
Come on!
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