#circus crossover event

[sweetly-cider]

Under New Possession

Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3 -- Part 4 -- Part 5 -- Part 6

Co-written with @mamajuliet

<We just agreed to that this morning,> Ale said, obviously incredulous as they walked down the familiar street. <I don't care how fast we got here, there's no way it's already...> 

\ Then, he fell silent. A crowd of people had gathered on the street, murmuring in varying levels of shock, disbelief and confusion. When the bigger mug came close, several of their eyes widened in surprise, stepping out of the way for him to make his way through. Sure enough, there stood the bar, just as always, though even the effects of time seemed to be removed. 

 <It's... it's there? It's... really there?> They could hear the frown in his voice, though the disbelief quickly turned to anxiety when a sudden, angry shout called out from the other side of the crowd. 

"Ale!" 

 <... oh no. It's Appy...>

<Well yeah it’s there, that was what you wanted, right?> He would have felt his arms cross his chest as he looked up at the building thoughtfully, one hand resting on his chin as he smiled up at the building. <Huh, Sleight sure is quick.> Upon hearing Applin’s voice and Ale’s frantic thoughts, a smirk spread across his mug. <Well, look at that, we didn’t even have to go looking for them after all. Ready to have a little family reunion?> At that second, she would have pulled herself from control, allowing Ale to take full control of his body. <Good luck, sweetheart. If you screw it up, I’ll take over.>

Ale stumbled a step to the side, trying to get used to working his own balance for a moment. Then, he whirled towards his brother, holding up his hands and scrambling back a few more steps. 

 "Appy! Hey, hey, look, lemme explain, I'm not here 'ta--" 

 His words were cut off with a shout when a fist suddenly connected with his glass jaw. Again. 

 "What the hell did you do," Applin said, rubbing his sore knuckles with a glare. "I don't know what you did, but I am not about to pay for it again!"

<Fucking Hell!> Maria’s voice-like thoughts echoed in his mind the moment Applin hit him. She felt every bit of that punch, even though she wasn’t in control. She was still in his body, still connected to his nerves. Still keeping his face from cracking. <Lucky Charm, if you want to talk to your brother, I recommend making sure he doesn’t hit you again. I do not tolerate pain well.>

"Right," he muttered under his breath, already reaching up to catch the next fist. "Applin-- stop! I'm not here 'ta stay, just to make sure everything's back! I promise, I'm doin' what you told me!" 

 "Yeah, well, that doesn't make up for shit," Applin shouted, swinging his other fist around to try to get another hit in where Ale seemed to be exposed.

<Dammit!!> 

 Maria didn’t have time for this. She had better things to do. She flipped through Ale’s mind, unable to find anything in the spur of the moment she could do to protect her host. Instead, she improvised. 

 As Applin’s fist hit Ale’s cheek, Ale;s hand would have curved and wrapped around Applin’s neck, his fingers tightening around it as he easily swung him to the side and slammed him to the ground. Maria made sure to keep her palm from crushing his throat, allowing him to breathe some as Ale’s eyes having a bright green tint to them as he stared at him. 

 “Listen, ya lil’ shit,” Ale’s voice growled out. “Hit me again, ‘n I’ll make sure ya pay fer it!” 

 Max rounded towards them all, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw how Ale was holding Applin. When his eyes locked with Ale’s, a shiver went down Max’s spine. “A-Ale? You didn’t....did you....”

Max and Maria: @mamajuliet

[sweetly-cider]

Under New Possession

Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3 -- Part 4

Written in conjunction with @mamajuliet

Ale felt himself pull away from the kiss, the last little bit of strings hanging from his mouth and hers, which quickly disappeared as they slithered into their mouths, though none of the actions were of his own control.

His eyes opened then, a smirk spreading across his mug as he looked at the doll in his arms, flashing a bright green.

<Well, you didn’t really put up much of a fight at all.> A voice-like thought crossed his mind. It was loud, as though it were a thought of his own, but it wasn’t. <Good...because if you had it would have hurt like hell...>

“Ahh, no ya don’t, Jolene!” His voice rang out as his arms and body quickly shifted the now limp to where he carried her in his arms, catching her before she could collapse. “I ain’t gonna let ya fall sweetheart.”

He held her close, feeling her arms wrap around his neck as she looked up at him with eyes now blue. “Thank you, Maria.”

Meanwhile, Ale -- the real Ale-- was struggling to move himself. To say something. For anything to happen. That was his voice, but not his words. His body moving, but not him moving it.

<What the hell did you do 'ta me!> He managed to get his own thoughts to cry out in his head, finally finding something that he had control of.

"Just set her down, Maria," Sleight said, absent-mindedly waving a hand towards one of the chairs. Ale could feel himself look up, though it was still not his own motions. "I'll return her home when I'm finished here. Are you comfortable in there? I can see his soul panicking even from here."

<You said you would do anything, and this is what I needed. A new Host; a new body,> the foreign thought said, sounding smug.

“Eh, I’ve grown used to it really, he’s no different than the others.” His voice rang out aloud.

Ale's arms held Jolene close to him as he slowly walked to the group of chairs, moving them together and laying her down gently, brushing her hair aside as Ale's body softly kissed her forehead with his lips. Jolene smiled and turned her face up to him, her eyes searching his face.

“I’m sorry, I wish I could just forget what all he did, I wish it was just gone.”

Ale's face smiled at Jolene. “Just rest up Jolene, take some time to yourself.” He murmured. “I still have some strings in you, just in case.”

Jolene smiled, then closed her eyes and laid her head down. Ale’s body stood back up, his arms raising up to where he could stretch them over his head.

“Well, time ta go see everyone’s reaction ta a pile of ashes bein’ replaced by a building.” His body turned to Sleight. “Make sure she eats, Sleight. I’m not there ta nourish her anymore.”

"Of course. I may be a demon, but I'm not heartless," Sleight said with a roll of his eyes. Ale had fallen into a stunned, terrified silence. This wasn't anything like he'd been preparing himself for, and he didn't know what to do. He just prayed they had good intentions with his body.

His eyes watched as Sleight walked over to the limp girl, crouching down in front of her.

"I suppose my work could wait for later," the demon said, glancing back towards the mug. "I'll go ahead and take her to my quarters for now. I assume rest is what she may need most, until supper. Am I correct?"

“Yeah, I pretty much ‘ve been ‘er source a energy. Given th’ fact that she was practically dead when I found ‘er.” Maria muttered, crossing Ale’s arms across his chest. “Monster left ‘er for dead, ‘n all this time I’ve been workin’ hard ta keep ‘er alive.”

Jolene lifted her hand to Sleight, cupping his cheek, her thumb brushing back and forth. A soft smile on her face.

“She trusts ya, ya know,” Maria said, rolling Ale’s eyes, obviously annoyed by that fact. Maria was never usually one to trust anyone, mortal or not. “She’s the reason why I never told father ‘bout ya.”

"I certainly don't know why," Sleight said with another roll of his eyes. "Not that he would pay much mind. Not like he might you, which suits me just fine."

However, he still lifted the girl just as carefully.

"Now, go have your fun before your host protests too much."

Maria smirked at Sleight. “Don’t kid yaself, brother,” Ale’s voice sneered out. His shoulders shrugged as laughter rung from him. “Jolene has always liked ‘n trusted bad boys, demons ‘re no different. Liking something when it seems taboo, for some reason mortals find a thrill in it, one I will never understand.”

He would have turned around and folded his arms behind his mug, waving lazily at Sleight as they walked out of the tent. “I’ll be back later, brother.”

Sleight: @sleight-o-hand

Maria: @juliets-oc-isle

[sweetly-cider]

Under New Possession

Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3 -- Part 4 -- Part 5

Co-written with @mamajuliet

Maria couldn’t help but be annoyed by the shock radiating from Ale’s soul. She needed to gain more info from him, and she knew if he was emotional enough his thoughts would simply tell her what she wanted to know. <So, how about we go wake up little Max, eh? Maybe pay that girl of yours a visit? Tell her about your new, and possibly eternal, job?>

<What?! No! Ya can't tell her I could get stuck -- please!> Sure enough, memories began rushing through his head. Memories of conversations both recent and far past, and the feeling that had shot through his heart when he had to tell her he was going away in the first place. <And... And Max would kill me if he knew I'd gone to make another contract!> He didn't even want to think about how strange it felt to feel his own body moving, yet having no control over its motions. <Please... Please, I'll just shut up and quit fightin' if you just don't do anything to hurt them. I've messed up their lives plenty already...> 

His memories and emotions hit her all at once, making her wince, him wince as well. <For a Tough Guy, you sure have a lot of emotion> she mentioned. Ale’s body would have stopped then, his arms crossing across his chest as Maria grew irritated by them. <Let’s get something straight here, I am not the kind of demon who enjoys torturing innocent mortals. I enjoy torturing mortals who deserve punishment for their sins. Which is why we are here now.> A low chuckle escaped Ale as he continued walking. <Don’t you think you have some unfinished business to attend to once I complete my end of the deal? Who’s going to look after your bar if no one is there to manage it?> 

 Maria pulled up a memory of the night of the fire, the words Applin said playing on a loop in his mind as Maria spoke. <Why don’t we see just how happy he is that his wish came true, hm? I mean, after all, you only have six weeks until I have you as mine.>

The memory made the guilt only increase as the memory played over and over. Ale had no choice but to relive the moment, unable to refocus his mind for a few seconds. If he'd had his body, he would have sighed and sagged sadly. 

 <Yeah... There's... Actually somethin' I needed 'ta do. I tried 'ta do it before I left, but I couldn't find him. You heard what he said. He doesn't want to even see me, let alone sign some packet 'a papers.> 

 Then, the six weeks started rolling around in his head. That was all he had. His only chance to see them all again as himself. Well... relatively. If they even wanted to see him. 

 <... Guess I deserve every second 'a this,> his voice muttered quietly. Memories flashed through his mind, leading up to that moment in front of the burning bar again. He'd done some awful things to his brother. He didn't blame Applin for wanting to push him away. <... Anyways. If ya catch the train, it's only about ten minutes over 'ta there from here. Better hurry if you wanna catch it.>

  <You ride the train? You mortals are so lazy> Maria’s voice rang in his mind, a slight chuckle ringing afterwards. <No, I’d rather run back to your bar’s grave> Whether he wanted to  or not, Ale’s body started running. He was slow at first, but then began to pick up speed, running easily as though he had no resistance, no weight to hold him down. <You will find that with me inhabiting your body, your physical limitations quickly disappear. I can give you limitless amounts of energy, the ability to heal from wounds, I could even change the way you look. All this once you fail to meet the terms to escape your contract.> His body chuckled to itself as the wind rushed by. <Oh I’m so excited! You will be my first mortal puppet who voluntarily gave themselves away.>

<You what?> Ale didn't believe his ears -- well, thoughts -- until he felt his body begin to run. He waited for that burn in his muscles to start, but much to his surprise... it never came. Not only that, they were travelling so much faster than he could have gone on his own. Much as he hated to admit it, it was quite exhilarating to feel his body doing things he never thought possible. Not enough to willingly forfeit, however. <I don't care if that's what you can offer,> he finally said to his captor. <I can put up with my own battle scars if it means getting to go back to the ones I care about! I ain't givin' up that easy!>

<Heh, good luck finding someone who knows me by name then, sweetheart.> Maria laughed. <Because, unless you do, you don’t have a choice.> A breathless chuckle escaped Ale’s lips as he ran, his hands clenching into fists as he ran. <Why do you care about going back to them if they don’t want you around anymore to begin with?>

<Because even if there's a whole town of people that want me gone, there's still one person I promised I'd come back to,> he said, his voice again quiet in his head. <I can't put her through that again... Not after what she's been through. Even I don't know how bad it was.> Then, a thought crossed his mind regarding an old conversation. Someone who might be able to help him out of this contract. Someone who might know this demon’s true name. <... Maybe I do know someone,> he thought, his mind flitting back to the night at the bar, and his conversations with Max. <Let's just hope he's awake by now.>

<Ooh, do you promised to visit your lover after you started your job? Well then, I’d hate to make a liar out of you and stand her up. How about we go pay a visit after I make sure my part of the contract is complete.> 

 Ale’s body then skidded to a halt, the vacant lot not too far away from them.

<‘Take the train’ you say, I’m pretty sure I beat that train by at least a mile by now> Maria’s thoughts had a sneer like tone to them. He then would have felt his hands rubbing themselves together. <Alright, ready to see that beautiful bar of yours come back to life?>

Maria: @juliets-oc-isle