Chapter 7: Doll House

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After meeting up with Yua earlier in the afternoon, she begins to take Hikari and Dojimaru to Arnold Andrews's traveling circus, the group of three arriving at twilight. They all step into through the gate, and look around. There were sights that one would expect from a circus. Food stalls, merch shops, and the massive tent where the performances take place. However, as they walked through the area, they would feel this strange, uncomfortable feeling crawling up their backs.

"It's quiet..." Dojimaru comments as he looks around. There were no people here at all. "Is it closed, or something?" He asked.

"It...shouldn't be...?" Yua mumbles as she walks. "There was so much people here yesterday..."

"Maybe they all saw the show, and decided that they didn't want to spend for another ticket?" Hikari brings up an idea, as she follows closely behind.

Deciding that it would be best to take them to the back, Yua leads the group to where the dolls prep. Their own private trailers. As they round the tent, they find that none of the trailers were occupied. "They must be in the performance tent then..." She says, and takes them through the back entrance.

"Halt!" A young, British voice speaks up, pointing a sharp, curved blade up at the group. "State your business. The circus isn't performing today." The young looking doll says, narrowing her glossy eyes.

"Ah, sorry Miss Tonia...! I'm just, uh, you know? Cleaning?" Yua comes up with an excuse, smiling nervously.

"And who are these two?" Tonia would ask, pointing her sword at Hikari and Dojimaru.

"They're...new helpers?" She says, trying not to look nervous.

Tonia didn't seem to buy her explanation, and was about to attack when Dojimaru moved first, slashing the doll in two before she could even move. Her porcelain body hits the ground, as a ghastly wail could be heard leaving the body.

"Wait... That was...a human soul?" Hikari asked.

"Seems that way. My guess is...this guy uses some dark magic to stuff souls into the dolls. And judging by how easy they are to manipulate and control, they're..." He would trail off, feeling disgusted by the implications.

"The souls of children..." Yua mutters, also horrified.

"Why are you surprised? You work here, don't you?" Dojimaru would ask, a bit confused.

"Well, only part time... Plus, I didn't know how he made the dolls so life like, he never told me." Yua explained, as they continued into the tent.

As the trio explored the large tent, they wouldn't find a single person or doll in there. It seems the worst case scenario was happening. They were out practicing for the next performance. So, with a sigh, Yua leads them through the halls and out to the performance area. It was just a wide circle with a bunch of equipment and props scattered around. And out there practicing were the two dolls Hikari had been looking for, Cheryl and Sherrie, as well as an orange haired doll supervising them, and Arnold watching from the stands.

Yua would pull the other two into a huddle. "Okay, we found them... What's our plan...?" She asked.

"Perhaps it would be best to wait until they're done, take my children, and leave...?" Hikari offered the most peaceful option, which made Dojimaru roll his eyes.

"Seriously? Just nab them like how he nabbed them from you?" He asked, which made Hikari let out an offended gasp.

"What do you suggest, then?" She asked.

"We run in, kill the guy, then take them back. Think about it. If he's alive, and two of his performers just disappear, what do you think will happen? He'll just go right back to your place and take them back. Then you would get mad and take them back again. And the cycle repeats. You get it?" He explained, as Hikari nodded along.

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