Chapter Text
A flash of light in the center of the stage burst out as suddenly as the appearance of a well‑dressed blond guy there. The crowd gasped in surprise, and all eyes instantly darted to him. An old lady craned her neck, trying to get a better look. A kid in a young mother’s arms reached out toward the stranger.
The wait dragged on. An almost total silence fell, broken only by the occasional cough and hushed whispers. The faces in the audience were impossible to make out, but the host didn’t even try. He raised his hands to shoulder level, and his voice boomed through the speakers:
— Greetings, gentlemen and ladies! We’re thrilled to have you at our unforgettable circus! My name’s William. Tonight, my job is to show you the most unusual tricks featuring creatures your lovely eyes have never laid eyes on before. I guess I don’t need to explain how to behave — you’re smart folks, riiight?
A bunch of voices buzzed around me, ringing in my ears. Everyone started shouting, egging on that weird guy. I wasn’t in a hurry to say a word, but my niece sitting right behind me started squealing too.
The crowd came alive, which I wasn’t too happy about. Things were way better when everyone was quiet — all this noise was just making my head boil. Then again, what did I expect when I agreed to go to the circus after Mabel’s long-ass persuasion? Hope this show doesn’t suck at least.
— Alriiight, meet! Our chocolate monster and future heart‑stealer of all the kiddos — FEMUL! You’ll soon get why I gave him such a funny name! Heh‑heh.
Another beam of light hit the cage behind William, and he, as expected, stepped backstage. The door creaked loudly, and the lock clattered to the floor.
Something stepped out — vaguely resembling a mule, but you couldn’t see its skin or fur. Its whole body was covered in thick brown stuff, slowly dripping from its belly and pooling on the floor. Long, expressive eyelashes were painted bright yellow. Something like wings stuck out of its back — more like bones or their pathetic remains. Total crap, honestly. Even in Gravity Falls forest I’ve never seen such a weird combo. Though, come to think of it, why be surprised? It’s probably just a stuffed dummy, like the ones my bro makes.
I wanted to believe that — right up until the moment this thing tried to take off with its half‑wings. It even almost managed to lift itself a couple of meters, but still couldn’t hold on. With a dull thud, the creature crashed down… and exploded.
A huge wave of brown goo surged out, and screams echoed through the hall. My nephews huddled against me, and I hugged them back. This was something outta the ordinary. We only got splashed partially — we were sitting in the upper rows. Those down below were way less lucky.
But, seems like… they kinda liked it.
Some of that stuff got into someone’s mouth, and judging by the excited shouts from below and nearby, it tasted… like chocolate.
— Whoa, no way! Tastes just like chocolate!
Mabel jumped up, dipped her finger in the puddle, and licked it. Then again. And again.
— Uh, Mabel… I don’t think it’s edible or safe. Cut it out!
Dipper, acting way smarter than his sis, grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her away. At first she resisted, but eventually gave in and went back to her seat.
I was about to chip in when the light up front clicked again, and William reappeared on stage, nimbly stepping around the puddles of brown stuff. What, didn’t wanna get dirty in the stuff you just splashed half the hall with?
— Welcome back, folks! So, how do you like the show? Too sweet for ya? Go ahead, don’t be shy!
He smiled so wide and charming I could see all his thirty‑two teeth. By the way, perfectly straight and white — rare for around here. Wonder where he’s even from. I’ve never heard of this circus or him. And yet, they clearly have the potential to get popular.
— What was that?! My kid almost choked in that gross stuff! What did I pay twenty bucks for?!
I recognized that very argumentative girl from the store this morning almost right away by her voice. When our whole family dropped by there, she was arguing with the cashier. Can’t stand people like that.
— Well, he didn’t choke.
William replied carelessly. But noticing how the hall went quiet, he realized he’d said something wrong and hurried to change his tone along with his expression.
— Though, neither did anyone else here. I’m fully responsible for your safety. I wouldn’t put on a show dangerous to life. Relax and enjoy yourselves. Otherwise, why’d you come here?
The noise rose again. What a total herd… That’s exactly why I hate public places. I glanced at my family, trying to figure out how they were reacting to all this.
Stanley… was asleep. Seriously? How can you even fall asleep here?
And the kids were chatting away about something, super into it. Don’t even wanna dig in, though I kinda guess what it is.
When the buzz started dying down a bit, the host spoke up again:
— Quiet down! Otherwise you won’t hear our next act. I’m sure you’ll love this one. Let’s spice up the confusion with some comedy! For that, I need one volunteer.
Unbelievable, but almost everyone raised their hands and reached for the stage, trying to be the first to climb up and become that volunteer. Some bold dude stood out especially: he’d already thrown his hand on the stage edge, but William, without the slightest hesitation, stepped on his hand, and the guy jerked back.
And imagine my surprise when his own hand shot up and pointed… at me.
— Hold up, I want him. Hey, old man, you don’t mind playing along a bit, do ya? I promise it’ll be fun. Come on up to the stage. There’s a passage on the right. And if anyone runs there instead of him — I’ll have to call security!
For a moment I froze, unable to move. Out of all people, they picked me. Zero joy. Performing in public has never been my thing. And it’s not about insecurity — just… not my cup of tea, that’s all.
Refusing felt awkward, so I overcame myself, got up, and started pushing through the rows toward the right passage. I clearly felt William’s gaze on me: he didn’t take his eyes off me and watched with some weird calmness, not even trying to help. He could’ve at least asked people to step aside, but looks like he wasn’t planning to open his mouth for that.
After a long struggle, I finally stood in front of this attractive blond guy. Attractive, by the way, not just by my standards but by common ones too — so you don’t get any wrong ideas.
I was already ready for some new crazy trick, judging by William’s wide smile spreading across his face again. But nope.
— Sorry, but I didn’t pick you, ha‑ha! What a mix‑up, oh‑oh. You must be embarrassed, huh? I meant the old man sitting one seat away from you. Apparently, your twin brother.
My cheeks flushed. The way he put me on the spot in front of everyone was indescribable. Like I was standing at my school graduation again, unable to string a sentence together. Why’d he do that? Why didn’t he say it right away? This damn guy’s been watching me from the start.
— Oh, don’t take it hard. It’s not my fault you got it all wrong. Stuff like this happens, it’s fine. Let me give you a compensation, and you call your brother over, deal?
He turned away for a sec into the darkness and nodded. A plump woman with a sickly look stepped out. She came up and handed me a cocktail. I took it, of course, but didn’t feel much excitement — weak compensation for such humiliation.
— Alright… just a sec.
That’s all I could squeeze out before turning around and heading back into the crowd with the cocktail in my hand. I had to squeeze between people again, only now it was topped with snickers.
And what’s so funny, huh? Grown‑ups… acting like teens.
Once I got to my seat, I walked up to Stanley and roughly nudged his shoulder. He immediately jerked, opened his eyes wide, and started mumbling: “Huh? What? What?” My mood was in the gutter, so I wasn’t about to chat with him.
— Go. They’re calling you to the stage.
He immediately jumped up, looking way too pleased for someone who’d just been woken up at a “boring” circus.
— What? Are there any prizes? Am I gonna win something?
I didn’t feel like answering. Didn’t get the chance either — my brother was already dashing toward the stage like a total goof. Well, he’s always been like that. But to be fair, he’s the best goof in my life.
I sank into my seat and sighed heavily, deciding to take a sip of the cocktail — at least some compensation. The drink turned out surprisingly pleasant: I could taste apple, banana, and a hint of cinnamon. Usually I go for something simpler, but this one was actually pretty good.
Lost in thought and watching Stanley standing on stage, looking all pleased with himself, I gradually started losing clarity. Everything around me grew blurry. My body filled with a strange heaviness and at the same time relaxation, while I kept mechanically sipping the cocktail through the straw.
The sounds grew muffled, voices became distant. Drowsiness crept in. It felt like I was slipping into a trance, though my eyes never closed. All I saw were blurry colored spots drifting past each other.
Someone was calling me, but I just nodded weakly in response, happy that I could finally relax. Probably that damn host had slipped something into the cocktail… but it didn’t matter anymore.
My emotions seemed to have been switched off. No shame, no irritation, nothing at all.
And honestly, it felt… way too good. A really great compensation.
— — —
— Well, I’d like to thank you all for coming here. You’re a great audience, and I’m even a little glad I came to see you. I wish you all enjoy the rest of your evening. The next show will be in two days. Bye‑bye, everyone!
William said sweetly, savoring every word with an overly cheerful intonation. He blew a kiss, and the hall erupted in cheers. The stage lights went out, but the lights around the hall came on.
My vision gradually cleared, and my hearing came back too. My head was pounding, and I got up with difficulty. Mabel was squealing with delight, repeating endlessly how awesome the circus had been. Dipper agreed, though he looked exhausted — he wasn’t really into stuff like this either. We were alike in that.
Stepping out of the stuffy circus into the fresh air, I felt real relief. The wind gently touched my face, and my gaze naturally caught the sunset. But this feeling didn’t last long.
— Hey, sixer, were you even alive in there? You didn’t even react to me winning a whole week at a nearby sanatorium for the whole family! They even gave us bus tickets. Ha‑ha, I knew no one could resist my charm!
Whoa. So there actually were prizes. Well, at least someone got lucky this evening. A sanatorium wasn’t exactly on my agenda after all this. I’d had enough socializing for a long while. Despite the headache and strange relaxation, my memories quickly came back.
— Oh, congrats, Stanley. I’m happy for you. I won’t be going. You know I’ve got stuff to do at the lab, and honestly, I’m not in the mood. Hope you have a great time.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t put any emotion into it. My voice sounded dry — like I was offended or just being difficult. But that wasn’t it. I just hadn’t had time to gather my thoughts.
— Come on! What a nerd you are. Why not have a proper family vacation at the sanatorium? Even here you choose work. Well, suit yourself — no one’s forcing you. The kiddos will send you pics. Just don’t complain later that you didn’t come with us.
No one noticed my silence. All the way to the car, I replayed everything that had happened in my head, trying to make sense of it. Unfortunately, I never got to see what happened next, but honestly, I didn’t feel much curiosity anymore. What I’d experienced was enough to get the big picture.
The host hadn’t lied — I’d never seen a circus like that before. And it looks like it’ll stick in my memory for a long time. Don’t know if I’ll dare to come to the next show. It’s all just too… intense. And frankly, humiliating.
Reaching the car and glancing at the door, I stopped, in no hurry to get in.
— Uncle Ford, what are you stopping for? C’mon, get in already, let’s go. We all wanna sleep. Well, at least I do. Mabel’s full of energy as usual.
Dipper grimaced as his sister started jumping on the seat and trying to climb on top of him. They’re already fifteen, and nothing’s changed.
— O‑oh yeah! By the way, I invited Candy and Grenda to sleep over tonight! So don’t expect to get any sleep, Dip. Diip, Diip!
That instantly sparked another conflict between the siblings, which I had zero desire to watch. The thought kept creeping into my head: maybe I should just take a walk? Just be alone for a bit.
Just imagining twenty minutes in a cramped car with two restless teens and a talkative brother made my head hurt even more.
— Kids, Stanley, you go on without me. I’ll get there later. I remembered I was planning to visit Fiddleford. Sorry.
Everyone just sighed heavily but agreed. As soon as the last door slammed shut, the car was already driving off, carrying my whole family away.
Why is everything always so complicated with me? I feel bad for them… but worse for myself. Mom always taught me to think about myself first. And psychology books. And Bill… Damn.
Got off track there.
So I decided to take a walk. Didn’t know how long or why — just to clear my head. Maybe I’d wander until night and come back when everyone was already asleep. I’ve always loved the atmosphere at home at times like that.
Only this time, I lied to myself. Night had already fallen, and I didn’t want to go back. My feet led me right to that very circus where I’d been humiliated. Where something weird had gone down. And William… he was way too shady — I’d noticed that during my walk.
The entrance was open. Either there was nothing worth taking inside, or there was plenty of security. The second option dropped out almost right away — there wasn’t a soul around. No cameras either. I realized that when I stepped inside and shone my flashlight — I always carry it with me.
Moving further in, it was weird to see the hall empty. And dirty. Way too dirty. Do they not even clean here? At the beginning, it seemed like there was plenty of staff — someone had handed me that very drink after all.
Curiosity pulled me backstage. Probably that’s why I’d come here. Or maybe not just for that. All the doors were open, so it wasn’t hard to get in there. Judging by the silence, there was no one inside either.
Hmm… where did they make that cocktail? There are way too many doors here.
Screw it. I’ll open them all.
I need this. That feeling again — like you’re disconnecting from reality. The taste of that cocktail… strawberry‑banana. I can’t get it out of my head.
I opened the first door I came across and froze. Along the walls stretched a row of cages, inside which sat creatures so gross that just looking at them made me wanna puke. The room stretched far ahead, and at its end I could see a light‑colored head.
Damn.
It was the host.
Of course. My luck’s just top‑notch today.
My heart started pounding, and I was about to bolt like a scared animal before he noticed me. Too late. William turned around. Or rather, he just slightly turned his head — and in that moment, my body stopped obeying me.
His eyes… had changed. Yellow. The pupils were narrow, elongated, almost diamond‑shaped. I could swear they were blue on stage.
This can’t be real.
What’s even going on? Am I still under the influence? What did they slip into that cocktail?!
A dull thud knocked all thoughts out of my head. My temples throbbed, and I collapsed to the floor.
Hope… I’m just gonna wake up in the hall now and hear the announcement that the show’s over again.