"Oh my stars! What happened to you?" He tried to open his eyes to see who was speaking, but he was hurting too much.

"There, there, stay still. Don't move and it won't hurt," the pleasant and soft voice said as he felt a soft bed underneath him. Their hands were warm as they picked up his arm to examine his wounds. How had he gotten them? He didn't remember.

"Don't be afraid, you'll be fine," they whispered to him as something stung in the wound. He flinched and tried to pull it away, but they held onto him firmly, not letting his arm slip away from their grip.

"Stay still. There's nothing to be afraid of," they spoke calmly as they continued working on the wound with their magics.

Suddenly a loud sound echoed nearby, filling the air with fear. There were shouts and panic filling the tent they were in, but the person healing him stayed calm, not caring about the chaos emerging around them.

"You don't have to worry about that. They won't aim for us," they said to him. He knew it could be a lie, but didn't say anything. He let them believe what they wanted to.

"There we go," they whispered as they pulled out something from his wound. He hissed in pain, trying to use his other hand to slap them away from him, but they caught it before it could hit them.

"Careful there. No violence is allowed in this tent. I'm just trying to help you." They looked at him in the eyes. His breath hitched as he managed to make out their beautiful eyes despite his blurry vision.

"Trust me, please," they whispered to him. He found himself obeying with a nod. There was no hesitation in his action. He didn't understand the feeling bubbling deep inside him, but whatever it was, it didn't feel painful like all the emotions he had previously felt.

-----

     Cross slowly opened his eyes, walking up from the memories. He didn't recognise where he was. He could see the dark covers around him, and he slowly realised he was in a bed.

"Finally awaken, are you?" The voice made his blood run cold. It was the complete opposite of the soft and kind voice he had just heard in his sleep. He also came to the realisation of where he was currently laying in.

He pushed himself up and turned to look at Nightmare who was standing on the other side of the tent. He was leaning against the wall and watching Cross' every movement with his cyan eye.

"R-Ringmaster.!" he stuttered out, slowly starting to remember how he had passed out on his arms while running away from the costume tents pained emotions.

"Now, tell me, Cross~," he cooed, tiptoeing gracefully through the darkness of the room and stopping next to the bed. "What made you run away from the costume tent?" he asked. The way the words dripped from his tongue was sweet like honey, but coated with venom.

"Did you perhaps" – he smirked darkly – "see something you wouldn't have wanted to?" he whispered into his ear, making shivers run down Cross' spine.

"I-I didn't look into the tent.." Cross answered quietly. Suddenly he felt himself in danger. He knew the Ringmaster could feel his fear, and he knew he would use it against him. Suddenly he was the prey in the hunter's own bed with nowhere to run.

"You know, our little dear designer was once in some," – Nightmare took a moment to think of the right wordings, the silence was so heavy Cross found it hard to breathe – "a little dirtier business," the Ringmaster whispered. Cross immediately felt sick in his nonexistent stomach as he recalled what he had felt last night.

"Don't tell me..." Cross' voice wasn't louder than a whisper. Nightmare's teeth spread to a satisfied grin as he inhaled Cross' fear and disgust.

"As I am the ringmaster here, you are all under my control. You all serve me, and sometimes" – there was a terrifying, heavy pause that Nightmare took to enjoy all the feelings he was feeding off of Cross – "I want different kind of services. And Lust happens to be a professional in one of those different kind of services," Nightmare sang, letting his tentacle slip under Cross chin.

"Why..?" Cross' voice cracked. All the emotions last night, the pressuring sadness from the costume tent earlier, it all made sense now.

"His feelings are just so lovely!" Nightmare smirked. "When he can't decide if he should scream for help or beg for me to absolutely ruin him. I can use his past in my advantage," he whispered. It was a warning directed towards Cross. The Ringmaster was hinting that he would figure out what Cross had escaped, and once he found it out, he would use it against him.

"Tell me," – Nightmare's voice was cold – "why did you run from the costume tent? What made you so terrified?" He tilted his goopy head and looked at the frozen skeleton in front of him. "Tell me, could it be that you are able to feel what others around you feel?" he asked quietly with a smirk on his face.

Cross stiffed, it was enough to tell Nightmare he had been right. The Ringmaster chuckled darkly, seeming amused by his discovery. There went Cross' plans to keep his unpleasant ability a secret from the Protector of Negativity.

"How interesting," Nightmare hummed, slipping his tentacle away from Cross and backing away from the bed. "That's definitely interesting," he mumbled to himself. Cross could feel nothing good off of him.

"Then why did you come here?" Nightmare suddenly asked, turning around to face Cross again. He had curiosity on his wicked face. "The atmosphere here is purposely so dark and painful. If you feel it all, why did you choose to come here?" he asked again as Cross still considered what he should say.

"You felt it all the moment you stepped through the gates. Why didn't you run when you had the chance to?" Cross couldn't answer. Nightmare tilted his head. "Or, do you perhaps enjoy the pain~?" he asked, slipping his tentacle back under Cross chin to make him look at him.

"Sometimes you just have to make choices that are not good for you," Cross answered, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. He didn't care if the Ringmaster could tell that he was lying, but he didn't want to give any more detailed answer.

"Go on, hide everything you can from me, but don't worry, I'll figure it all out," Nightmare answered, leaning closer to the other. "I will find out what kind of sins you have committed. I will figure out why are you here and what're you planning. You can't hide them from me," he spoke firmly, as if he was making a promise he wouldn't break.

"Now, you should go before someone comes to look for me. I'm not afraid to make this exactly what this looks like." He smirked, pulling his face away from Cross'. Cross glanced at the bed and held back the purple blush spreading across his face. He pulled his turtle neck to cover his face as he got up and hurried to the door.

"Did I say you could leave?" Nightmare snapped, making him stop dead on his tracks. "Now you're dismissed." He smirked as he felt the air around other, the fear feeding his need for negative emotions.

"Thank you, Ringmaster.." Cross could barely get the words to roll off of his tongue. Then he finally pushed the flap open and exited the tent, running off as fast as he could.

-----

     Cross didn't know where to go. He still hadn't learned a lot about the circus. The place that sadly felt like his home, was completely strange to him. He could only rely on Killer and everyone else, which was kinda annoying since he didn't want to be always following someone.

"The Ringmaster has got his eyes on you already, hasn't he?" someone called out. Cross turned around to see a familiar human standing between two tents on his right.

"Let's not talk about that.." Cross groaned as Chara walked to him. He noticed that they weren't so hesitant anymore.

"Are.. you lost..?" they asked, looking away in embarrassment immediately after doing so. Cross chuckled at their behaviour.

"Killer still hasn't had the chance to explain everything to me," he answered. "I was on my way to look for him, but if you want to show me around, I won't mind," he continued, feeling the child light up a bit. He knew they were lonely and most likely avoiding the others the best they could.

"..I can show you around if you insist," they mumbled, hiding their face with their rainbow scarf. Cross could tell that they were actually quite happy by the request.

-----

     As they walked through the circus grounds with Chara stopping every now and then to say a few quick words about a tent and sometimes rules, Cross decided to ask a few questions from them.

"So, you're a trapeze artist," he said, they nodded. "Have you ever fallen? How does that work?" he asked with concern. He knew trapezes were high up in the ceiling of the Big Top.

"I have fallen multiple times, but there's always someone to catch me by my SOUL to stop me from hitting the ground.. The Ringmaster couldn't care less if I died, but the other performers apparently care, at least somehow.." they answered, crossing their arms. They seemed a bit upset, which Cross didn't enjoy a bit.

"If they care about you, then why do you push them away?" he asked carefully. They didn't give an answer. Cross sighed. "I won't force you to answer if you don't want to," he told them, not wanting to push it any further if they didn't want that.

"Why are you here..?" they suddenly asked. They stopped and turned to look at him.

Cross hesitated before saying, "I lost everything, so I came here to look for someone I once knew." That was the truth, but way more stripped than it actually was. It didn't sound nowhere near as tragic as it actually was.

"..." Chara stayed silent for a moment before they said quietly, "I lost everything too... My family was my everything..." They were suddenly filled with grief and sadness. It sucked the breath out of Cross' nonexistent lungs, but he tried to act as normal as possible in front of the human.

"It was just a simple accident that took it all from me... And it was my fault.." Chara's hand balled into fists. They were really holding back all the anger they had towards themselves. It drove Cross speechless. What could he say to that when he by himself was guilty for the exact same reason? How could he say something to them that he couldn't even believe himself?

But he still forced the words out, no matter how bitter they tasted in his mouth. It was as if he wasn't only trying to convince them, he was also trying to convince himself, but as time had passed, he still couldn't believe it himself.

"It's not your fault," he said. "You can't just blame yourself from an accident." More lies kept slipping from his tongue. It was like poison, as if he was choking on his own words. He shouldn't have been the one telling them it, he couldn't even believe it himself.

You couldn't protect them. You promised him you would, but look at what happened. They fell dead in front of you. You broke the promise. They didn't deserve it. They deserved the whole world. You were supposed to keep them safe. But you failed. No matter how many time you tell yourself it wasn't your fault, it still was. You let them die. You couldn't save them when they screamed for help. You were frozen where you stood. You watched them die. You let them die.

He wanted to scream, but he had to remain calm. He couldn't show the child in front of him what kind of storm was raging inside of him. He had promised that he would help them.

"You don't even know what happened.. You can't say that it wasn't my fault.." Chara mumbled, crossing their arms. Their finger were digging into their skin, the weird pain of a human alarmed him.

"Stop. Don't blame yourself," Cross warned, carefully grabbing their hands to stop them from hurting themselves. Every single word made him want to vomit and wash his mouth with soap. It felt so wrong to say it.

"How about we take a moment for you to calm down and then continue the tour?" he suggested, carefully running his hand through their hair, brushing it past their ear in a comforting way.

-----

     Cross let Chara calm down before they continued the tour. As they walked around the circus, he noticed the heaving negativity that was slowly settling in. There was pain and sadness coming from different tents, it made him stand on the edge.

"And that's all I could think off," Chara said and stopped in front of the newcomers tent. They raised their eyes to look at Cross for a moment before looking away again.

"Thank you for showing me around." Cross gave them a gentle smile. They just nodded, not feeling like smiling back to him.

"I have some things to do now.." they muttered before spinning around and disappearing out of his sight before he got a chance to call out for them.

"Humans are annoying," his own Chara announced as they floated back to him from where they had gone to.

"You are a human too," Cross reminded them as he made his way to the newcomers tent. They scoffed at that with disgust in their voice.

"I'm not a human anymore. I'm a ghost. Not a weak human," they snapped at him, mildly annoyed. Cross sighed.

He was about to answer, but someone calling out his name stopped him and made him turn around to see Killer hurrying towards him.

"Cross! Where'd you go from the costume tent?" he asked with concern painting his face. "You weren't there anymore when I got out," he said, eyeing Cross from head to toes to see if there was something in his appearance that would answer his question.

"...Sorry. The atmosphere coming from the tent was just a bit too much. Then I stumbled across the Ringmaster and he took me to his tent to tell me what he'd done to Lust..." Cross' voice trailed off, Killer stiffed. Cross knew he had seen the scene the Ringmaster had left behind.

"I.. It was pretty bad..." Killer gritted his teeth, his fingers balling into a fist. "Nightmare really doesn't care 'bout his own actions.." he growled, making his dislike towards the Ringmaster clear.

"Is Lust," – Cross hesitated, trying to think the right words – "Alright..?" He knew it wasn't the best opinion, but he couldn't think of anything better to say instead.

"I took him to Geno. I doubt he'll ever be completely fine, but this ain't the first time... Usually he takes few days to himself and then returns to bein' his normal self," Killer explained. He still sounded bitter about it, especially when mentioning that it hadn't been the first time.

"You'll get used to shit like this happenin' every now and then.. 's pretty fucked up, but that's how our Ringmaster," – his tone was mocking – "wants it. No other options," he scoffed, the coldness around him making Cross shiver under his many layers of clothing.

"If you cannot stand somethin' like this, the only way out now 's death," Killer spoke in a cold and serious tone, his empty eye sockets starting straight into Cross' eye sockets.

"I have been through a lot, and I chose to come here," Cross answered sharply. He was filled with the cold emotions waving from Killer, they took control of his owns.

"Go to sleep. I'll be back tomorrow." Killer turned around and marched away. He seemed to be on the edge of anger, Cross could tell that it was a result of what the Ringmaster had done to Lust.

-----

     Cross tossed around the bed, not managing to fall asleep. The hands on the clock kept ticking forwards faster and faster every second, or so it felt like to him.

Suddenly there was a noise by the flap and someone fell face-first on the floor, swearing as they pulled the flap shut after them. They turned around and froze the moment they saw Cross sitting on the bed.

It took Cross a few seconds to recognise the person as the one he and Killer had met in front of the food tent the other day. If he recalled right, the skeleton's name was Dust.

"Uh, hey?" Cross called out hesitatedly. He flinched when Dust stiffed, peeking a slightly alarming, yet unrecognisable emotion. "It's like" – he glanced at the clock on the nightstand – "three in the morning. Why are you here?" he asked, sounding surprisingly awake, despite feeling as if he was about to pass out any minute now.

Dust seemed hesitant. He didn't exactly trust Cross. His emotions were almost nonexistent and therefore it was hard for Cross to read him. Every few seconds there was a spike of something unsettling flowing from him, but Cross tried to ignore it. His Chara however seemed a bit alarmed about something.

"..." Dust almost opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself, glancing to the side. It was as if he was looking at something Cross couldn't see, which was kinda funny in his opinion since his own Chara was floating right in front of him and Dust couldn't see them.

"Well," – Cross leaned back into the bed – "It's the newcomers tent after all. I don't know if you're one, but I don't care. It's not my tent, so it's not my problem if you're here." He felt the other spike another weirdly dangerous emotion before nodding quietly and walking to the bed across from the one Cross had claimed. The wooden floor of the tent creaked and squeaked under his wet shoes.

Dust's wet shoes were what made Cross realise that it had started raining outside. The noise of the rain drops hitting the ceiling of the tent was actually quite noticeable, but Cross had been so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't acknowledged it.

-----

     Over half an hour passed without either of them saying anything. Cross still didn't manage to wake up, he just kept staring at the ceiling above him. Every now and then he glanced at Dust who was sitting on the other bed, staring into the covers.

"Hey, when does the curfew end?" Cross asked, hoping he would get an answer. Last morning he had just walked outside, not really thinking that it could be a mistake.

Dust glanced at him. His eye lights glowed under his hood. Cross thought he wouldn't get an answer, but then Dust raised his hand and showed all five fingers at once. Cross' curiosity perked at that. He raised his head from the bed and tilted his head.

"At five?" he asked, wishing he had understood Dust's movement right. The other nodded before lowering his hand and turning away again.

"Are you," – Cross hesitated, Dust glanced at him again – "staying here until then.? Is that what this is? Did you come here to avoid getting caught outside?" Cross thought he had finally realised it. That sounded reasonable, and soon Dust confirmed it with a sloppy nod.

"I see," Cross nodded and turned to look away from the other. He still couldn't sense any useful emotions from him, only the emptiness and the spiking danger. But Cross had to admit that he really liked it. Dust's empty emotions were strong, and therefore they also helped to block out the emotions coming from the circus around them.

Cross inhaled the emptiness around him. It started to feel like a drug. He laid back, focusing on the pleasure of the empty emotions. He didn't remember when he had last felt so peaceful after gaining his ability.

His mind started getting hazy. He didn't recall what he said to Dust. It was as if he was drunk. He said something to Dust. There was a peek of some weak emotion, and an answer he couldn't remember. Dust had said something, but Cross' mind wasn't progressing well.

But what he could remember was Dust closing the distance between them. He couldn't remember what they said to each other, but he did remember how Dust slammed him against the bed as he wrapped up his arms around his neck.

What happened in the tent that night stayed between the two of them.

Words: 3494

[13.6.2022]