X2.2.2 – Part of the Spectacular Spectacle

"I'm not feeling so well," said Roa staring up at the ceiling as he laid on a bed so tiny that his small legs stuck right out from its side.

"Yeah, something's off," Rosso responded. "Like—my head is not right."

"Right. Like, my thoughts aren't—" Roa said, pausing as he looked for the right word.

"Normal."

"Right…" the boy from Earth stared at his hands. "And I keep seeing these—mirages, or something, in the corner of my eyes."

"Yeah, I see them too, I think. I woke up last night, and could have sworn there was an elephant in the hallway. I was petrified. I can't even use Haste to run away now. Turns out it was just the dark. I don't know what's happening to me, but I don't feel well, that's for sure."

Someone unlocked their door, causing them to sit up with a jolt.

"Show's starting. We need you kids with the jugglers. Just do your best to juggle some balls," she said.

"I don't know how to do that," Rosso opened his arms.

"That's the point. You're up for comic relief tonight," she said.

The boys did show after show, acting as fake audience members volunteering, being on the receiving end of laughter and pointed fingers. One night, when the troupe was eating dinner in one of the tents, the boys asked to go relieve themselves.

"This is our chance. Let's get the hell out of this horrible place," said Roa as they both squeezed inside the outhouse. "Great Mother of Humanity, it stinks in here."

"Where are we going to go? We have no clue what world this is, or where the closest Exit is even located," Rosso whispered.

"We'll figure it out. At least, let's get the hell out of here," Roa continued, his eyes darting around through a small hole, keeping track of various circus folk walking about.

"We can't use the Compass anymore, Roa. Remember? How the hell are we ever going to find an Exit this way? We could be the only Jumpers on this world for all we know. We could get stuck here for years!" Rosso pointed out, gesturing with his hands passionately. "Or forever—until we grow old and die!" he said, gagging at the smell.

"What do you want to do? Continue living as some joke in some interdimensional circus?" Roa blurted out, keeping a hand cupped on his mouth and nose. "My girl was taken by the leader of the fricking Old Order, and Nirvana is waiting for us to keep the Greatest Fight going. I want to go home, man. I want my retribution for what they've done. Come on, what are we going to do, just keep—performing? We are treated as jokes here, Rosso."

"No—I mean, Balter said if we entertain—"

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"And you believed him? He kidnapped us. All of the sudden, you're going to believe the guy who is keeping us here against our will?" Roa said.

The two kids opened the door and took a deep breath, happy to be out of that smelly box. They walked back towards the tent where the troupe was eating, but at the last moment, they made a right, sneaking away as fast as they could when no one was watching.

Or so they thought.

"Run!" whispered Rosso, picking up speed.

The two ran inside some strange, purple woods. The grass was purple, as were the leaves on the trees. They ran as fast as they could until the lights of the circus, as well as its noise and bustle, became but faint details in the distance.

"We made it! That was easier than I thought," said Roa, trying to catch his breath as they hid behind a large, purple bush.

"You made it to toilet-scrubbing duty," said a man sitting on top of a branch above them.

"Who—who the hell are you?" screamed Rosso.

"My name is Donzo, the magician. It's time to go back. Come on," he said with a kind yet annoyed look in his eyes.

"We can't go back, man. We've been kidnapped. Let us go. What's it to you, anyway?" said Roa.

"All—volunteers, as Balter calls you, are always watched by someone, every night. If the one assigned to watching the volunteers manages to let one slip by, well—they get assigned to bathroom duty," he said.

"What?"

"If someone escapes on your watch, you get assigned to cleaning all of the outhouses of the circus--for a year," he said with a disgusted look on his face. "There's around four thousand performers and crew in Madame Solstice's Circus. That's a lot of shit."

"So, you're going to go along with a kidnapping—to avoid cleaning some toilets?" said Roa with an angry tone. "How can you even work for such people?"

"Well—I've let a few volunteers slip by myself, in the past. Don't get me wrong. When their sob stories eventually pull on a heart string or two, I've looked away and paid the price."

"So, please, just look away one more time. Please," pleaded the boy from the deserts of Lalh-Ah Land.

"Can't do, kid. I'm sorry. For some reason, Balter has assigned extra eyes on you boys, and has raised the stakes too. If you two get away, he'll put all guards on duty that day on perennial bathroom cleaning duty. That means cleaning crap for the rest of our days—no thanks! I'll be responsible for other people's suffering. My own crew's and friends' suffering," the magician said as he leapt down from the tree. His cape fluttered open and he adjusted his large, top-hat.

"We can take him on, Roa. Let's beat this guy up and run," Rosso said.

"Don't try, boys. Balter told us that you can't use your auras. I don't want to hurt you, but I'll drag you back if I have to," Donzo said.

"Why don't you just—leave? Leave the circus?" asked Roa.

After a long moment of silence, Donzo responded. "Because, where would we go, anyway? We are all orphans, outcasts, rejects and runaways. We're freaks. Nobody wants us. Anywhere. The circus at least puts food on our plates. Plus, Madame Solstice always has a small stash of Ambrosia for us. We can live forever this way."

"You will live forever, but you will never be free," Roa said, as the two boys gave up and followed the magician back to the tent.

"Tell you what—if no one noticed, I won't tell anyone you tried to escape. That way you won't get the punishment," Donzo said as they reached the hustle and bustle of the circus.

"Punishment?" said Rosso.

"Bathroom cleaning duty, that's what!" Balter said, popping out of nowhere. "You want to play with me, I'll show you how we play here."

He ordered them to be brought to a long line of filthy outhouses overflowing with putrid juices where the two boys spent a horrendous month, cleaning day and night the waste of not only the performers, but also the tens of thousands of spectators who attended the shows.

"When will our auras come back?" Roa asked Donzo one day as they sat at the long dinner table after a long shower.

"Your auras are still there, within you—smaller but still present. You just can't use them since you shrunk back to a child-version of yourselves."

"So, how do we—use them again?" Rosso asked.

"You have to get used to your bodies again. But it will take years, probably."

"Years?" the two boys said really loudly, causing everyone to stop talking for a moment and stare at them before getting back to their meal.

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