The Dark Circus

Kai

You walk over and seize Natsumi's foot with a delighted grin.  As you wind her back, she flashes you a weak grin.  "I'm... so glad you can enjoy this, at least...  Truly.  I was worried you might feel guilty for doing what is necessary."  She closes her eyes until it starts to slow.  "Ngh..." she groans as it slows to a stop on a bright red tile with a picture of fire.  It starts blinking as a small jingle plays, masking the sound of grinding machinery from the crowd.

The colored wheel fades from the wheel's face.  Instead, it begins to glow orange. Natsumi just winces at first.  But it begins to glow brighter and brighter, and she starts groaning instead.  She twists and tugs against her restraints, arching her back and whimpering.

The guide smiles brightly.  "Oh, she's going to be a fun one!  Now, you have fun watching.  As much as I'd enjoy it, I've got other duties to attend to.  You're welcome to keep spinning her between rounds!  Just wait for the display for return to spin mode and you'll know it's safe to approach.  Remember, The Dark Circus is not responsible if you're injured by inappropriate operation of this device.  That is its function, after all."

Even this early, she's drawing quite a crowd of onlookers.  Maybe just because she's one of the only 'exhibits' out today.  A timer on the nearby computer labeled VOTING TIME! is ticking down from 13 minutes.  A few customers stick coins in the slot and tap a few buttons.  A large display behind Natsumi shows what the options and odds for the next round, even as Natsumi's busy suffering her first torment.  Kai notices the next set is completely different from the options in the round!  There must be so many possibilities...  Why, you could stay here all day and probably not see it all, and that's just one attraction at this fair!

(You can decide how long you want Tai and Kai to hang out, and whether you want to skip right to leaving or what)

Kai

Tai goes and walks around a bit.  And neither of them is in any condition to talk right now...  Like the guide said, there are a lot of exhibits.  A lot.  Even if most of them are empty.  He finds that there's only two other people currently being tortured right now.  Which is... good?

He finishes up in this 'torture-torium' and heads to its entrance.  There's a few rides and stalls he can check out, on top of the midway and the other tent if he's willing to wander a bit further.


When the timer runs out, Natsumi gasps and pants.  "Th-that... wasn't... so bad..." she chokes out.

"I'm ever so glad you feel that way!"  The guide appears as if from nowhere.  "It would be disappointing if you broke down already, you know.  We've got almost three hundred more rounds to go, it would be such a shame if you spent them all lying there like a dead fish!  We have a show to put on, after all."

"Th-three... hundred..." Natsumi stutters.  Her face turns pale.

"Two hundred eighty, to be exact!  Every fifteen minutes, plus a few breaks for bathroom and healing.  You didn't think you think when the crowds go home for the night, did you!?  We aim to please with round-the-clock, 24/7 service!"

Natsumi stares up at you blankly.  "Th-three..."

The crowd cheers when you go to give her another spin.  This time it ends on a yellow tile with a lightning bolt.  Natsumi's body jerks and jolts while the crowd cheers.  "At... leaSSSST tell... tell me... you're enjy-! Enjoying... THIS!" she struggles to stutter between jolts.

Kai

"OK, I'll be strong... so... don't cry, Beloved," Natsumi says. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to see me like this. I can't... take that face you're making. So... please, have some pity. Make this easier on me and just go..."


Tai looks around at the rides. It's normal circus fare, with a pretty good selection. Swinging ship, merry-go-round, haunted house... Though all of them have a distinctly dark twist to them. The ship's in the shape of an axe blade, the merry-go-round has demons and monsters in place of the usual horses. He can't see what's in the haunted house. He's not sure he wants to. His special pass is good for getting on as many rides as he wants, free of charge.

Kai

Natsumi spins and spins until she finally ends pointing at a grey wedge with a picture of a rat on it.  A glass dome slides out from around the wheel, with just a few small holes for air.  More holes pop open and rats come swarming out.  They start running all around the dome and covering Natsumi.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.  "I...  I can handle this," she assures you.  "They're... k-kind of cute...  Just like you, my love."

The audience seems to be disappointed by her calm reaction.  A few boo, more start to wander off.

Then you notice the board behind Natsumi change, the one showing the possible tortures for the next round.

Acid Bath, 30%
Branding Iron, 10%
Rack, 20%
Thumb Screws, 20%
Jackpot!, 5%
Mercy, 15%

A few excited murmurs start running through the crowd.  Even some of those that were losing interest and wandering off start coming back.  A line forms at that voting machine where people can change the odds.  Plenty of people are paying to up the odds of a Jackpot...

You suddenly have the distinct impression that everything is being planned, monitored, and organized to milk as much money out of this system as possible.

Natsumi, still beneath her blanked of rats, lets out a nervous laugh.  "Th-they... They certainly sound excited.  Is it...  Is it going to be bad?"

(Reminder, you can decide when you're ready to fast-forward this stuff, unless you're just really enjoying the drama or whatever)


The (eerily identical) lady working at the Haunted House looks at Tai and his pass as he prepares to go in.  "You won't need those.  Please be careful not to damage the exhibits."

He proceeds inside.  It's not long before he encounters a ghost.  A real ghost.  A very real, very definite ghost.  She's a young lady, probably around college age.  Mildly attractive, in a geeky way.  Definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but probably right up Tai's alley.  Other than the giant, gaping stab wounds in her chest running all the way through to her back.

"Raaaagh," she says to Tai, unenthusiastically.

(Oh, don't feel obligated if you don't want to. I just can't imagine you want to keep going on and on with it.)

Kai

"Yeah..." The ghost agrees. "I was exploring a haunted house just like this when I died, y'know, with a team of investigators. And then a ghost grabbed me, like this."

A closet creaks open and a large jacket stretches out, grabbing Tai's arm.

"And then all my 'friends' just sat around watching while the ghost dropped a chandelier on me. Like that one."

She points up to a chandelier dangling and swaying over Tai.

Kai

"I'm older than you, Kid," The ghost says. She points up and the chandelier drops. It lands right where Tai was a moment ago with a resounding crash, barely missing Tai and instead smashing the clothes holding him. They release, freeing Tai.

"Oh, how dull..." The ghost sinks into the floor.

There are 2 doors on either side of this entrance hall, and another two on either side at the top of a grand staircase.