<><>
"Ugh...where am I..." Sky mumbled as he opened his eyes. His eyelids felt heavy on his face, and he had a slight feeling of nausea. I did not know where I was. I waited for the nausea to pass, before finally deciding to sit up. As I rubbed my eyes, I realized that I was no longer wearing my protective glasses. Going into a slight panic mode, I searched desperately for my glasses. I felt around the thing I had been laying on, a nearby table, and the floor. I sighed in relief when I managed to find them on the ground, next to the thing I had been laying on before.

With my glasses back on my face, I began looking at my new surroundings. I was inside of  a medium-sized red and white tent, that was about as tall as an oak tree. The floor wasn't covered in wood or stone; it was covered in sand. I scratched my head, trying to think how in Minecraft I had managed to get here. Then I remembered. The boy, the man in the funny suit, the trap...it was all coming back.

"Hey, your finally awake!" A strange voice said from behind him. Quickly turning around, I saw the outline of a boy about my age, with brown, sort of spiky hair and brown eyes standing in the entry of the tent. He stepped inside, and I could see he wore a white t-shirt and a red and black checkered jacket. He wore black pants and red shoes. He looked pretty normal, with his bright eyes and warm smile. The only strange thing about him was the strange orange rods levitating around his body, and whenever he moved, a small flame trailed behind him.

"Who are you?" I asked suspiciously. The boy seemed nice enough, not lashing at him or saying something snarky, but after everything I had just gone through, you could say that I was suffering from something called trust issues.

"My name's Mitch." The boy-Mitch-said, holding out a hand. I grabbed it, and shook it lightly. "What's your name, newbie?"

"Uh...it's Sky." I said, startled at his friendliness. He didn't seem to notice my surprise.

"Well, nice to meet you Sky. Where are you from?" Mitch asked, but before I could answer, he continued, saying," Actually, that can wait. Come on, I wanna introduce you to the other hybrids." He said, motioning with his hand.

"Wait, other, hybrids?" I asked, confused.

"Well, Yeah. You wouldn't be here if you weren't." He paused, before continuing. "I'm a blaze hybrid. There are a few other hybrids here too, and it's best if you meet them now, when they aren't prepping for a performance." He said, coaxing me to come out of the tent. I stood in place for a few moments, pondering wether to follow the new guy or not. I finally gave into my better judgement, and followed behind Mitch.

I followed him into a larger tent, who's inside was filled with many white bleachers and a large, ringing arena. In the center of the arena was a small group of 5-6 other boys sitting around talking.

"Hey guys!" Mitch called the group as we walked in, "The newbie just opened his eyes!" He said, pointing to me. The entire group stood up almost simultaneously, and stood there in the arena as Mitch and I approached.

"Guys, meet Sky." Mitch introduced. The first guy to step up looked to be about my age. He wore a black tux with a red bow, and a thick, wooly hat on top of his dark brown hair. His arms were covered in brown fluffy fur. He had brown eyes like Mitch, and friendly smile with two crooked fangs. His voice welcoming, but was a little deep and raspy for his age.

"Hi! I'm Jerome. I'm a Bacca hybrid! He exclaimed happily, shaking my hand.

"Uh...nice to meet you Jerome." I said shyly. Jerome stepped back, and another boy, who looked to be about a year younger than me, stepped forward to take his place. He had brown eyes and brown hair, and wore a blue t-shirt and grey jeans, as well as black and white converse. His arms were black, and he had a strange rib-cage looking thing sitting on top of his head. Next to him floated two small little head thingies.

"Hi, my name's Jason, and I'm a Wither hybrid!" He said warmly. That would explain the heads. I thought quickly to myself, before nodding in greeting. He stepped back, and a boy with sunglasses like me stepped forward.

"I'm Ian, and I'm a Zombie hybrid." The boy introduced. He looked to be a year older than me, and had a greenish tint to his skin. His smile was a little lopsided, and his brown hair was tied back in a short ponytail. He wore a night blue shirt under a black overcoat, and wore black pants with a silver buckle belt. His shoes were black, and his glasses were tinted black, not allowing me to see any part of his eyes. I shook his hand, which felt cold and lifeless, and he stepped back.

A shorter boy with a blue and white face stepped forward. He had orange gill-like things on the side of his face, and a fin running from the top of his head to the lower part of his neck. He wore a grey tuxedo, grey pants, and a  white and red tie, and black shoes. He had a small fish-like tail, and bright blue eyes.

"Hi, my name's Quentin, and I'm a Mudkip." He said quickly and shyly before sliding back into the group.

A boy then appeared out of thin air in front of me. I jumped back a little, startled. The boy chuckled mischievously. He was a little shorter than me, and looked to be about a year younger than me. He had chocolate brown hair, which had a few green streaks in it, and brown eyes. He wore a black cloak, which almost completely covered a grey t-shirt and pants. A small blue chest piece sat on top of his grey shirt, and a pair of silver shoulder gaurds rested on his small shoulders. He also wore a white headband across his forehead, which in the middle had a small family crest attached to it.

"My name's Seto, and I'm a Witch hybrid!" He said before disappearing and reappearing back in the group.

"He's also a wizard, so he can do some pretty hefty magic. Watch out for him when he's angry." Mitch whispered to me. I nodded. Clapping his hands together, Mitch yelled," Alrighty, Has everyone had the chance to introduce themselves?" When no one responded, Mitch stepped aside, so I could introduce myself.

"Um...hi? My name's Adam, but you can just call me Sky. Um, I don't really know what else to say, besides the fact that I'm part Brine?" I said sheepishly. I looked over at Mitch, who smiled encouragingly at me.

"So, uh, this is the entire group here huh?" I said awkwardly.

"Everyone's here, except Ty." The boy with the gills-Quentin-said.

"Who's Ty?" I asked, my hidden eyes igniting with curiosity.

"He's the oldest hybrid here. He's been here since the circus first started. He has a mean temper and nasty claws, but when you get on his good side, he's a pretty cool dude. Come on, I'll introduce you to him." Mitch said.

"Oh, right this second?" I asked, startled.

"Well duh. Your going to have to meet him at one point. Might as well make a good first impression." Mitch said, mooning for me to follow him out of the tent.

I followed wearily behind Mitch. This Ty guy didn't sound very friendly, but I couldn't look scared. I had to prove I was braver and stronger than everyone else here. That's what I had always been taught. The braver you look, the less you'll be messed with.

Mitch led me to a smaller tent behind the tent all the others were in. Mitch pulled the curtain to the side, and called loudly," Ty, are you here?"

There was a rustle, and then I heard a boy grumble, clearly annoyed.

"Maybe now is a bad time?" I whispered to him.

"Nah, he's always like this." Mitch told me, smiling, as if he enjoyed annoying this Ty kid.

"Ugh, come in Mitch." Mitch motioned for me to follow him in. I slowly followed, shaking. Inside the tent, it was dark and cold. There was no light inside the tent, beside the natural light coming in from the enterance, and the dim light coming off of Mitch's blaze rods.

Mitch showed me where to sit, on a stray haybale. I could see from the small amount of light filtering through the enterance a small figure curled up on a pile of straw. Mitch approached the figure, and the figure began to uncurl itself.

"This better be good Mitch. You know how much I hate being woken up." The boy said gruffly.

"Hey Ty, that newbie is finally awake. I figured you would want to meet him." Mitch said, pointing in my direction. The boy-Ty- had finally uncurled himself, and was now standing on his feet. He was a little taller than Seto by the looks of him, but looked about a year younger than me. He wore a white polo shirt with a black v-neckline. His pants were grey, and his shoes were a dark purple and black. He wore purple armbands, and his eyes were a deep purple and slitted, like a snake's. He began to walk towards me, and I could hear the swinging and swishing of wings against his shirt, and I realized that he also had a long, scaly tail that followed him, and I could see sharp, pointed claws hanging from his fingertips. This guy looked rough and tough, and a gloomy mood seemed to radiate off of him.

"So this is the newbie huh?" Ty asked Mitch. Mitch nodded. "What's your name?" He then asked me.

"S-Sky..." I stuttered. He nodded, and made a sound that kinda sounded like a snort.

"Sky huh? Well Sky. I'm Ty." He said, in a gruff voice. He looked at me for a few seconds, and then asked,"What type of hybrid are you? You look pretty normal to me."

I shifted my glasses uncomfortably.

"You ARE a hybrid, aren't you?" Ty questioned. Mitch gasped.

"The ringmaster would never let a normal person into our show!" He said defensively. Ty just rolled his eyes, and just stared at me, expecting an answer.

"Uh...yea. I'm a hybrid. I'm a brine." I said finally after what felt like hours of penetrating staring.

"A Brine huh? You must be related to Herobrine then." He said, and I nodded.

"He's my father." I mumbled. Ty nodded, and then walked away.

"Well, if that's the only reason you woke me, then you better get out before I claw you." Ty told Mitch as he settled back into his straw. Mitch nodded quickly, and he motioned me out. He closed the tent behind us, and then started leading us back into the main tent.

"You know, I think that's the most I have ever seen Ty talk to a newbie." He told me. I stared, startled.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" I asked. Mitch shrugged. Hanging my shoulders, I followed Mitch back into the arena.
<><>
"Well Sky, since your now one of us, your going to need a stage name." Jason told me as I sat down on the sandy floor.

"A stage name? Why would I need one of those?" I questioned.

"Well, your gonna have to perform. This is a circus you know." Jason explained. I sighed.

"Weren't you told when you signed up?" Ian asked, his limp arms laying awkwardly in his lap. I chuckled lightly.

"You see, that's the thing. I didn't necessarily sign up for this. It's more like, I was taken here against my own will." I said, and everyone stared in surprise.

"You didn't choose to come here?" Jerome asked, looked uneasily at Mitch, who shrugged. I nodded.

"Well, just another reason to hate the ringmaster." Seto snorted. He was sitting pretzel-style, and had his hands folded angrily against his chest.

"Say, who is this ringmaster anyway? I haven't ever met him." I said quickly. Mitch sighed.

"Well, he's the leader of this circus. He makes us perform our special abilities to crowds in all the different districts." Jerome explained.

"But he isn't the nicest. He rips on us if we mess up, and has beaten us all once or twice." Quentin said, reaching for one of his gills. As I looked closer, I could see that it was bent up and torn. I looked at all the guys again, and realized that they all had scars on their bodies.

"Well, if it's so awful, why don't you just leave?" I asked, and Ian gave a small gasp.

"That's impossible. When we all join, willingly or not, a chip is implanted in us so the ringleader knows where we are at all times...." He cut off as Ty walked through the entrance.

"And if you did run and get caught, you'd get the worst beating of your life." He growled, showing that he wanted this conversation over. Everyone got the hint.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Jerome piped up and said," Hey Sky, you still need a stage name don't you?" I nodded, remembering how they had mentioned that earlier.

"Well, it's easiest to come up with a name based on what hybrid you are." Mitch explained. "I'm TheFireBenja, or FireBenj for short."

"I'm Withermu." Jason piped in.

"My stage name is just Mudkip." Quentin said shyly.

"On stage, I'm Zomdee" Ian said happily.

"I'm InviSeto." Seto said as magic danced between his fingertips.

"I'm KillerBacca on stage." Jerome said, adjusting his hat.

"And onstage, they call me Enderlox." Ty said, looking at me. I slunk back.
"You said you were a brine, yes?" I nodded. "Well, how does Skybrine sound for a stage name?"

I thought about it for a second, before smiling. "I like it a lot actually!"

Ty nodded, even slightly smiling. "Good. Now, can someone please go take this guy to the ringmaster?" Ty asked, and Jason shot up.

"I'll do it!" He said excitedly. Ty nodded, and Jason led me out of the tent again. This time, I was led to a small secluded tent. Jason pulled the flap of the tent off to the side, and stuck his head inside.

"Ringmaster? Are you here?"

A voice responded from inside. "Ah? Ah, yes! I'm in! Please, do come in!" Jason motioned me to follow him, and we walked in. It was a smaller tent, but still had enough room for a haybale to sit on, and a desk, which is where the Ringmaster was sitting. Once me and Jason had sat down, the Ringmaster spoke.

"Ah, hello Withermu. Nice to see you agai- my golly, he's awake!" The ringmaster said, sounding excited. "Hello, kind sir." He said, standing up from his seat from behind his desk and walking over to shake my hand.

"My name is the ringmaster, and welcome to Cirque de Hybrid."

Well, isn't that a nice and long chapter :> I hope you guys like the story, it's actually really fun to write XD

Please don't forget to like and comment your thoughts and ideas!