[img]http://i.imgur.com/yWeW5Rr.png[/img] [b][u] Phillis Circus: Big Top – Rear[/u][/b] “Balti! Balti! Oh my gods you’re okay!!” Tears streamed down Eric’s face as he ran towards his niece, scooping her up and crushing her in a tight and powerful embrace. His niece was just as happy to first see her uncle as he was to her, although she was starting to regret it somewhat after he began moving his face from side to side as he hugged Balti, rubbing his cheeks against her and his spiky stubble against her. That, couple with his rampantly flowing tears, soon got his niece quite wet. “I’ve been searching for you everywhere! I’m so sorry I lost you! You’re okay though, right? You’re not hurt?” Eric began to bombard Baltimore with questions, holding the little girl outstretched in his arms and checking her body over for any signs of injuries. As he did so, he noticed again the gaggle of people that had been following after Balti, and his eyes blinked with curiosity. “Who are you guys?” Eric asked. His attention then returned to his niece, who began scrunching up her nose in obvious discomfort. “Huh? Balti? Are you okay?” He put the girl down, and crouched on one knee in front of her, with one hand resting on her shoulder. As he did so, his niece pinched her nose with one of her dainty fingers and thumb. “Ah! No! No that wasn’t me!” Eric protested with his wildly waving hands. “I didn’t do it that time, I swear!” Balti then shook her head from side to side, smiling briefly at her funny uncle, before turning serious again. Eric was still obviously lodged in confusion, until he began to sniff as well, and he finally came to a horrifying realisation as to what Balti was referring to. “Smoke!” He exclaimed. “Who’s cooking a barbeque?” ----------------------- [img]http://i.imgur.com/2uDBgEK.png[/img] [b][u]Phillis Circus: Big Top - Audience Seating[/u][/b] “Move everyone! Move!” Estelle screamed as loud as she could, holding one of the exit’s curtains open with one hand as her other motioned and waved for the audience on her side of the Big Top’s seating to flee through. She had watched in absolute disbelief the scene that had unfolded before her, and still couldn’t believe it. Especially the speed and pace that Crispin’s fire was spreading across the tent. Even with his forewarning and the efforts that she and Lute (who was working on the other side of the tent) were doing, they were still in horrible danger of many of the people within being hurt thanks to this. Still, she swore… as soon as all of this was worked out, she’d clobber him herself but good! Trixie had dashed through the exit as soon as the fire began, racing towards the spots outside the circus’ fence where the Pride had hidden their armour, weapons and other vital pieces of equipment. Estelle’s sword and armour, she remembered, had been stored snugly up the top of a tree, whilst the rest had been hidden quite neatly thanks to Moira, Syed and Aria. Estelle was glad to see her younger friend already hard at work on her part of the mission. She just hoped that Trixie remembered where the gear had been hidden… and wasn’t running in the opposite direction, or anything like that. ------------------- [img]http://i.imgur.com/ZEQcnsM.png[/img] [b][u]Phillis Circus: Outside the Big Top[/u][/b] “And that’s what they said his plan was,” Xandra continued, one hand pressed over her mouth in order to keep the volume of her conversation directed only towards the communicator pressed to her ear, and away from prying others. She had had to squat down out of sight behind some cover of nearby stacked crates by the exit, as the two stomping stiltmen patrolling the perimeter outside could have possibly caused some problems if they were to hear her. “He was going to cause a situation here by setting the main tent on fire… whilst all the performers and audience were still inside! Amy, Marcus, I don’t like it. This plan is foolhardy and one of the riskiest I’ve seen. The danger to civilians is… is…” “Xandra?” A voice spoke out from the communicator. Marcus’. “Is everything okay?” “No,” Xandra replied, biting her lower lip as she heard and saw the giant throng of people begin to flee from the exit she had come from. All of them running like mad, screaming and shouting, smoke billowing out from the top of the tent. “Marcus, it’s started! We… we need you and Amy here right no-!” Xandra was unable to finish her transmission, as her body was suddenly jolted by one of the fleeing members of the circus tent, and the communicator sent flying out of her hand to smash against the hard ground. Xandra sighed, so much for another one of those… “Xan!” Trixie surprised the metallurgist from nearby, waving to her frantically. “C’mon!” She cried. “We’ve gotta go get everyone’s weapons!!” [i]‘Weapons,’[/i] Xandra thought to herself. [i]‘Sure. But who are we going to be using them on? The circus or Crispin…?’[/i] ---------------- [img]http://i.imgur.com/rWmq5WT.png[/img] [b][u] Phillis Circus: Big Top – Onstage[/u][/b] “Tammie!” Max screamed. “Tammie, where are you?!” Max’s lungs were growing hoarse from his screaming. Already the fire was growing, and the smoke it was creating, not to mention the sea of people moving all throughout the circus, made it difficult to see anything clearly. He had to find her, and quickly! He had to make sure she was okay, no matter what! He couldn’t live with himself if she wasn’t… he just couldn’t! And then, out the corner of his eye, by pure luck… he had chanced upon her! “Tammie!” He shouted again, dashing as quickly as he could towards her. “Tammie, are you okay? Tammie!” He grabbed onto the shoulder of the girl, pulling her towards him so he could look at her properly, and make sure she wasn’t injured in anyway. So far, she seemed fine, completely unharmed in anyway, much to Max’s relief. Other then for the fact that it actually wasn’t Tammie, but her ‘sister’ Cammie. “Oh Tammie!” He latched onto her(?!) with great strength and relief. “You’re okay!” [img]http://i.imgur.com/B2xbVk9.png[/img] “Vat is… vat is going on?” Abram took a staggered step back, his mouth dropped and held agape in complete shock and surprise at the way in which their lively and jolly show had suddenly transformed into such chaos and panic. All around, the screams of the many could be heard drowning out any sound. Gone with the lively cheers and laughter, to be replaced with this horrible melody. Abram hated it. The cause of all it was him – the strange young man in the silly shirt and hat. Abram had a mind to run to him, and to put a stop to his destruction by wringing his tiny little neck. But he couldn’t. The fire had caused many of his animals, bar his three most trusted companions Lidya (the lion), Olga (the gorilla) and Elena (the elephant), to lose control and panic. He needed to set about taming and controlling them first, before they harmed either the audience or themselves. But the man, Crispin, still had to be stopped. Abram may have been busy, but fortunately however… [b]“You!”[/b] A powerful voice was unleashed for almost all inside to hear. [b]“How dare you!!”[/b] Leaping from the scaffolding she had been perched upon, a figure darted throughout the circus’ air, aimed directly towards the fire starting menace. He turned his head in surprise at the sudden scream, before widening his eyes in horror and fright as he saw a scary face glare immediately at him, before their falling body pummelled him roughly into the ground and on his back. As his still smouldering body produced flickering flames that burned the edges of the ground he rested upon, he gingerly opened his eyes in a painful wince, to see an angry, terrifying foe sit on top of him, with all her weight pressed down upon him in an effort to restrain him. One of her hands quickly grabbed and squeezed on his throat, whilst the other reached for a knife hidden in one of her thigh’s straps, twirling it about in her hands as she brought it over his face. [b]“How [u]dare[/u] you do this!!”[/b] Isabella screamed. [b]“To my family!! [u]My home!!”[/u][/b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/xtOCTw7.png[/img]