When Mino, Sasha, and I returned to the Summoner HQ , Grace ran up to us, a set of files clutched in her arms, her eyes all wide like a doe in headlights."Guys, you won't believe what I figured out!" She said, panting in between her words. "This..is crazy..."
Sasha and Mino's eyes lit up with interest. "What is it?" Sasha said, reaching out for the files. Grace jerked away from Sasha's grasp, but tilted her head in a way that said 'follow me' before running down the hallway in which she came. Bolting after her, we found Grace waiting for us in an empty meeting room.
"I was sorting out files earlier today, when I found these, made be Samuel himself, for only specific eyes only. I could get in big trouble for this, so you gotta promise to keep quiet about it. " Grace said in a rushed whisper. She revealed the file, and it had the "TOP SECRET " stamp across the front, and in the little tab where the file's name was, was "The Summoner Circus" .
Opening the file, papers of all different varieties spilled out onto the table. Picking one up, it was a summoner bio.
Name, F: Axell268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWal1lqfFfs
Name, L: Colt268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCO2yCpGZA6
Name, M: Carrie268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bFfviMkFB
Gender: Female268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDfDroFH73
Age: 14268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZ473p5fRa
DOB: June 6th268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6Nyyz6YJ8
Rank before Leaving : C268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomewdFA0TO
Character Count: 2268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8oeFkFYBW
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The information went on and on. But what was the Summoner's Circus? I shifted around the papers in search for an answer, the exact same thing everyone else was doing. When I found what I think was my answer, the text displayed as such.
The rebel organization, The Summoner's Circus, is one we know very little of. The only information that we have as of present is that a group of powerful summoners in the eastern portion of the United States National Territory cut themselves off from the Summoner Society and created their own organization, it is also accountable for several summoner deaths on the North American continent. Information gathered on them will be kept under lock and key until further notice.
"Oh my gosh. .." I said, my mouth gaping open in shock. I didn't know what to make out of this. Was this the thing Allister was talking about?268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpOkkGxsIL
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"What is it, Scarlet? " Mino asked, peering over to see the document I had. I read it out loud, and everyone had the same expression I had just moments earlier.
"Maybe Meichi isn't alone...did anyone find anything about that?" Grace said, glancing around to each of us.
"I did." Sasha said, showing us some of the papers she sifted out , and setting them out before us. The first paper that caught my eye was another profile-268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjtp0JaXt5
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWsBLOSz5r
Name, F: Sarah268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6R6uz9sefm
Name, L: Hearth268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOA56efivJ
Name, M: Grace268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIq9AJ9f8ao
Gender : Female268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYmOnekihb
Age: 14268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPfn3DeB5c
DOB: ??268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPHRP8So2D
Rank before Leaving : B268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9TksYoG1v
Character Count : ??268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzhgQS9xXI
Additional Notes : This summoner doesn't summon any characters, but instead uses dolls that operate on their own free will.
In the corner of my eye, I saw a torn up piece of paper, but it was still in readable condition. Picking it up, it read as following -
1/23/14, Territory Richmond, Marissa Citadel, Rank A Multisummoner.
I'm here, behind the curtains of the Traveling Circus Marcí. I've learned many, many dark things. I've found the Summoner's Circus, and what has happened to these children is horrifying. They've all lost their minds, the poor innocent souls I once knew as Meichi, Axell, Vanessa, Crypt, Sarah, and Allister have turned to monsters. Don't turn your back on the dolls if you value your life. Something is wrong with them. This isn't a safe place, and if you're reading this, please head my advice-
This entry was handwritten, and not finished, but the most disturbing part was the red splotches on it, and I'm convinced that it's not paint. I passed it to everyone as I continued to read various other documents. They all were mostly incomplete Summoner records, carrying information such as-
The key ring on Meichi's belt is her Summoner's tool. I couldn't grab it, but this information I'm sure of.
BE ELEMENT RESISTANT.
My character refused to fight against Vanessa's Aurora...I'm not sure why..,
THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THESE DOLLS.
Don't trust the marionettes.
Do. Not. Go. Near. Those. Puppets.
Report after report, the Summoners told and warned the reader (which happened to be me) about what I could assume were Sarah's marionettes, but never specified why. Every report with a mention of them, however, were unfinished and had those terrifying red splotches. That wasn't very settling whatsoever.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FPAMwo8Er
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"I know what I need to do!" Mino said, standing up and slamming her palms on the table after about a hour of reading and discussing. We all jerked up to see what Mino was about to go off about. "I'm gonna go out, find a puppet, and bring it back here to see what is all offsy about it!"
I hoped Mino was joking, but sure enough, she wasn't. "Are you sure that's a good idea..?" I asked, looking at Mino with a concerned expression.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrd0PNweLBp
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"Yeah, are you sure?" Sasha said. "You know what happened..."268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSTjMvuAk2
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"Yeah, we don't want that to happen again!" Grace said, now looking slightly nervous, well, more nervous than usual. Grace had been jittery every time I saw her, but this was a special case. But what could they possibly be talking about? What had happened to Mino?268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0hIfKIPyr
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Mino looked rather hurt at our comments. "I won't let anything that's happened to me get in my way! I need to figure out what exactly is with those puppets. If we figure it out, it'll be a great advantage! If this works, what happened to me won't happen to anyone else!" She said, starting to get slightly angered. I still didn't know what she meant by that, but there's nothing I, or any of the others, could do about it.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIZn5urc6w
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"If you insist...just be careful!" Grace said, looking at Mino with pleading eyes.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1nXxR4FEs
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Mino's anger seemed to have died down fairly quickly, as she was back to ordinary self. "Pfft! I'll be fine! You're talking to THE Mino Hylia!" Mino's mouth had curved into a confident smile, her eyes lighting up. She seemed to be fairly sure of herself, and that worried me. "Now, I gotta go! I'm wasting daylight!"268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrAV1iR2B1
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Sasha spoke up again. "Do you want me to come with you?" She asked. Mino thought it over for several moments.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW55Rvj3R3k
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"Yeah, why not? Safety in numbers- but I think you should be the only one to come along. Contradictory, eh?" Mino said, chuckling a bit. "That said- The Traveling Circus Macri might be a little too dangerous for Grace and Scarlet - maybe for us too, but the risk is greater for them."268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeEnTmiTH3
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAgZ8tdHET
Grace looked over at me, then at Sasha and Mino. "What are we to do while you're gone? I'll be worried!" She said, speaking for me as well.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39pqGRoLkG
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQEgdKlOSL
"You have some time in the Silver Arena today, right? Try mentoring Scarlet. Practice never hurt for anyone!" Sasha said, smiling a reassuring smile in Grace's direction. "And don't worry about us. We'll be fine!"268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShtzfKhgU7
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoUk4n7942
Says the very same person that told me that nobody gets out of these sorts of places alive. Very reassuring.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0703DXQFHZ
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmK2kFoISNN
"Well...! Good luck with that! Come on Scarlet we're wasting time training training training haaaaAAa." Grace spoke very quickly, grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the meeting room toward the Silver Arena. I could barely mutter a 'Good Luck' to Sasha and Mino before I was dragged out.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5j5XzDx8mU
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNcF9nFMM7
When we got into the Silver Arena, Grace didn't bother changing the atmosphere, saying that it wasn't important. She just jumped right in. "Alright, it seems to me that you've got summoning the character down. it's a simple skill, I'm not surprised! Now... you need to learn syncing. Which means summoning characters based on traits of the enemies. To put it simply, choose your characters like pokemon!" Grace kept talking and demonstrating, but I was barely paying attention. The fact that Mino and Sasha had probably already left for the Circus Marci and are at a hopeless risk of death worried me to the point where it clouded my thought.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCYoURZoVP
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ROCEEDPVG
After about 20 minutes, Grace must've picked up on it. "Scarlet! Earth to Scarlet! Are you okay, Scarlet?" she said, calling back the two characters she had summoned. I slowly shook my head, which lead to Grace biting half of her lower lip. "It's Mino and Sasha, huh?" Still not saying a word, I nodded. "I understand, you've only known them for about a day, but you feel like you've known them for so long. I'm starting to get that feeling with you, how silly is that? I just...want you, them, everyone, to be happy and safe, but I get the feeling that it won't be that way." From what I could see, tears were welling up in the auburn's eyes, as she took off her glasses to wipe them off. "Look at me, god I'm so emotional... "268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORtAiMhgwa
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJvCkKRm2o
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked, not knowing what exactly to say. I wasn't the best at comforting people, I just feel so distant when that sort of thing happens.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxL4CWLB6lT
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZIyNCbbED
Grace flinched when I spoke, slipping her glasses back on her face. "Yeah!! I'll be fine, don't worry!!" She said, forcing a smile, maybe to show me that she was alright. I didn't necessarily buy it, but I let it slide. The next few hours of 'training' were less training and us sitting on the floor of the Silver Arena talking about our lives, experiences, and other trivial things. It was kinda calming, knowing that the people surrounding me were actually, well, human. Not saying that they weren't in the first place, but it was nice knowing more about one person that I was going to entrust my life in. Grace told me about her characters - mostly fan characters from Pokemon and Etrian Odyssey, but hearing her get all giddy over it made me smile. e268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJmnHC7P62
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"All Summoners in the Silver Arena, please exit. It will be closing for maitnence shortly."268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrxxoGLCWo
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIDTJIOfrf
"Holy crap! It's 9:00 already!?" Grace said, her eyes dialating in surprise. "We better get outta here...let's wait for Sasha and Mino outside the base, race ya!" And with that, Grace was bolting out of the Arena, me scrambling to catch up.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkohHMbDTzf
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzc1AeVAj6
Luckily enough for us, for when we walked out of the base, Mino and Sasha were running down towards us, Mino holding a marionette in the air, shouting "TAKE THAT, PUPPETS!" and laughing like a psychopath. Sasha was yelling "WE DID IT, HELLA!"268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8W8d3M1sM5
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDwbGFG06j
"Well...sounds like that went successfully." I said, smiling slightly. The two were slightly banged up, but at least they were in one peice.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfYgipPqVK
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUg3HkGUvtS
"it certainly did!" Mino said. "We snuck in the back in the middle of a show, so none of them figured out we were even there!" She was doing a little happy dance, the marionette hanging limp in her grasp.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFJoSblHib
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Mk897eeOU
"Well, we might need to do that reverse engineering thingy...." Grace said, doing a weird gesture with her hands, I had no idea what it meant.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wKSPPydv3
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"Yeah, yeah, I'll do that." Mino said, running into the base.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hWbUJu2gC
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhegcq4SEp
"She's going to be reckless with that, we should probably follow her." Sasha said, regaining her calmness. That said, we followed Mino into the base, where Mino was running down the halls in search of a labratory, or that's what Grace said she was doing. Sure enough- Grace was right, but why were there labratories in a magical HQ!? The Summoner's Soceity never ceases to confuse me.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2nl30DsWy
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaQIhqbHhx
"I got this guys! Just wait outside!" Mino said when we peaked into the lab. She already had a set of tools set out in front of her, the puppet laying on an examination table. The doll was no eyes - just empy eye sockets, and her ribcage was showing. It creeped me out big time.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiAqhkMVqe
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3McCRZffD
So, we did just that. Waited, waited, and waited. It had been 30 minutes before we heard Mino saw "Aw shit.." but told us "I got it...just broke off a leg...I'll fix it.. could you get me a snack or something? I think there's a cafe by the Silver Arena..." so, we did just that. It was a little coffee shop, so we just bought Mino some doghnuts and a latte. While walking back, a ear splitting screech echoed through the mostly barren hallway.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FOJfq8qG8
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"AHHHHHHHHH! HELP ! HELP! HELP-"268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pjRdJOX8s
268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXj3TmQnSS
We ran into the labratory, only to find the doll missing, and Mino laying on the floor, not just dead, decapitated. A figure stood in the window, the only thing we could see was theyre weapon, a metal rope with two knives at the end. They - or she, it seemed - spoke to us.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPL1f3AAurX
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"I hope you look on the corpse of your friend and learn a lesson...don't play with my dolls... or mess with our plans. They have some very...explicit, consequences~"268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQZoph8Sxu
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The figure made a motion that looked like the snapping of fingers, and with that, she- and the body of Mino, was gone.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLa7g1daOBI
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"Who..? How...? I can't..! No..!" Grace's speech was limited to sentence fragments, while Sasha was just muttering "Nononono..." like a broken record. Me? I was speechless. I couldn't believe what had happened, but it happened nonetheless.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmHZh3rzbk
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So many questions swirled around my head, but only one was of any rational and not grief stricken course of thought-268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VX19BT9a1
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What were we going to do now.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3xBdgLt1x
