[img]http://i.imgur.com/BzPWL7E.png[/img] [b][u]Phillis Circus: Big Top: Centre Stage[/u][/b] “Abram ends this now, little man,” The powerful, muscular man glared at the smaller baseball cap toting youth bouncing up and down on the tips of his feet, fists enflamed. “You hurt my home, my family… even now, little puny man continues to do so!” The man unleashed a loud, deafening roar, screaming his lungs out at the tent ceiling above. After witnessing the cowardly way in which Crispin had avoided him to assault his friend, his very benefactor, Abram had been sent over the edge. There would be no more of this. No more holding back with the hope of peace. No more playing the nice guy. Crispin would be sent to the hospital for a long time. As he screamed, his tense body in turn reacted. From his pecs to his abs and all the muscles across his body, one by one they bulged outwards, and grew ever bigger, ever stronger, as Abram summoned all of his strength within him. Crispin’s bouncing drew to a slow stop, the man staring in disbelief at the frightening form before him. He had been absolutely justified in everything he had done before this, that much he knew to be true. But against this strange foreign man, perhaps he had gone too far? The way he had reacted all throughout their fight… what if he didn’t know? His rage… seemed genuine enough… Abram lifted a foot up in the air, and swinging it down on the ground the reverberation shot all through the circus, rattling the many wooden supports and beams strewn throughout the interior, and threatening to knock many of the others (and several of Guinevere’s plushies) off of their feet. Like a man possessed, Abram continued to growl and roar, his body growing bigger and bigger, charged with power. A single thought ran through Crispin’s mind. Perhaps he had gone too far… perhaps he would die. With a twinkle in Abram’s eye, the beast tamer’s roar stopped, and from his mighty powerful legs below him, he was launched forwards along the crowd. His speed had increased to frightening levels, and the monstrous behemoth was upon Crispin in the blink of an eye, one mammoth fist raised up behind him, sent hurtling down towards the fire brawler. Crispin barely managed to dodge in time, as Abram’s fist cracked against the ground, snapping it and forcing the ground to crack all about them. Crispin had to duck again as another mighty swing sailed dangerously close to the man’s face. And then another blow, almost impacting at his stomach. Crispin was fast enough to be able to avoid Abram’s attacks at the last second, but Abram’s assault was all powerful, all consuming. He could narrowly avoid… but the opportunity for a counter attack was impossibly small. What could he do? “Abram… will… destroy… you!!” And then… a split second freeze. The image of a small girl fleeting at the periphery of his vision. Baltimore, the small girl whom reminded Abram of his daughters, running about the battlefield, in danger of everything that was happening around them. In danger… of him. This was Crispin’s opportunity. ---- [img]http://i.imgur.com/8mPMSWF.png[/img] [b][u]Phillis Circus: Big Top[/u][/b] “Amy!” Marcus exclaimed, turning with dismay to find his friend at first captured by an oversized, stuffed teddy bear, and then surrounded by whimsical floating foam swords. The wind mage couldn’t believe what he was seeing, left in absolute disbelief at the spectacle he was watching, with all of the animated dolls rushing about the stage, seemingly manipulated by one of the two individuals standing close together before him. Just as it was with when he encountered Poppy, he was struck with incredible disbelief at the talents he was seeing. He had witnessed a great many displays of magic and power within his lifetime, but abilities such as this was a strange first. A quick magical incantation yielded a gust of wind that blew back all of the diminutive toy ducks that were charging at him with a quack in a tumble away from him, the wind mage frowning in thought at how he should help free Amy. The bear seemed to be of incredible strength, far more then a usual oversized toy should be in order to restrain Amy like that. And those floating foam swords, he could chance them not being as dangerously sharp as the spined plushies from before. Any attempts to break Amy free with his wind magic… it would hurt her. So he turned around to face Guinevere and Vance Phillis. Instead of staying on the defensive, he should be moving on the offensive. Disabling the pair of them was naturally the quickest way to disable their adorable army. If he was quick enough, able to disorient them and upset their concentration, then maybe… just maybe… And then he froze, seeing a small, unfamiliar girl racing towards him. Who was she, and what was Marcus to do…? And then suddenly, without warning, Marcus’ decision was made for him. From the entrance behind him that he and Amy had arrived from, two diamond tipped wires shot out from the entrance, moving and snaking through the air towards Amy as if they had a life of their own. As they moved, the gripped and snaked around the various floating foam swords, trapping the suspended weapons, and also doing the same to the giant teddy bear, wrapping around the toy’s arms. The flexible wires then suddenly became taut, completely trapping all caught within its grip. And then from there… slicing into them. The teddy bear’s arms were severed from its body, and the foam swords slashed in two, the toys’ inner stuffing and foam lining spilling out onto the floor and leaving the animated toys to clatter onto the ground, now harmless. “Nobody hurts Balti or my friends!!” “…you?” Marcus and Amy turned, looking in disbelief. With a whirr, the two wires shot back through the air, recoiling back to where they had come from, in the sleeves of a particular trench coat wearing man standing at the circus tent’s entrance. [img]http://i.imgur.com/yWeW5Rr.png[/img] “Sorry I’m late…” Eric smiled. “Had another date with the portaloo. This one didn’t have any toilet paper, though…” "...you're not serious..." Amy recoiled. "Yeah, can you believe it? So gross. So what I did was end up having to make do with - wait. Do you hear that?" The sounds of the animated plushie army descending upon the Big Top echoed all around, growing louder and louder the closer they drew.