//------------------------------// // Aichmophobia // Story: Aria and Sonata Have a Prank War // by Glitch Hooves //------------------------------// Date: 4/13/2012 five months, eleven days, and three years until 'Endgame' It's been one week! Hooray! Now it's endure time to endure Aria's hell Perfect... So how come she wasn't blindfolded yet? All three of them woke up, they announced today to be the day Aria would get punished, then they all got in the car. There was a surprising lack of the color black in Aria's opinion, she wasn't complaining. She just found it strange is all. She didn't like it, though. It made things too... tricky to decipher, she wouldn't be able to tell friend from foe. At least blind folded she wouldn't see it coming. But like this, it could be just about anything. She decided to try and think about something less uneasy. For instance, why was Sonata in the passenger seat and Aria in the back?! Questions for later... What's more important is the fact she had never see this part of the town before. Weirder still was all the signs everywhere. They looked like advertisements for a circus. They had little arrows pointing in certain directions. Now that she thinks about, they were following those signs... 'Oh boy...' She looked at the signs again, making sure to read them word for word. Hoping that by some force of nature, she was never mentioned. It proved difficult when you're in a moving car, but easy enough since the words were in bold letters. But nothing, no mention, she wasn't on a sign or anything. Just the regular cast of whoever was in the original act. She let go of a breath, but that really only made more questions. 'If I'm not part of the act, why are we going there?' She waited the rest of the trip in silence. Hoping that nature would answer her with a sign. Too bad they were as vague as ever. She noticed the car had slowed down, and they were by a large building. The entrance had ticket gates. Adagio was cursing to herself when no parking spots were available. Heck, she couldn't even steal the handicap parking. By some sliver of luck, though, they were able to find a spot that rested towards the back of the parking lot. For good reason too. It was right between two trucks whose manufacturers had no idea of the definition, 'less is more.' Someway, somehow, they manage to park right between them. Now there was a new challenge. How were they gonna open the doors? Adagio whispered something under her breath before opening her door with all her might. Since she's a magically infused being from a magical world where even the inhabitant can break your spine. It came to no surprise the trucks door dented. Well... dented is such a weak word... perhaps 'unhinged' is more appropriate. Her sisters did the same, not wanting to waste much time in getting out. Stepping outside, something was off. Their outward appearances were... different. Adagio's hair had started to grow back, although her hair can grow faster, it was still just a small frizz. Even when it does fully grow back, she decided to keep the hat anyway. Sonata wore more thick clothing as of now, as well as knee socks when in public for obvious reasons. Aria was just... Aria They walked to the building in the same triangular formation like always. The line was long, but because of that... Let's just say they got a quick bite to eat, and found themselves inside in no time. Adagio knew where they were going, leaving the other two to follow behind. The building appeared to simply be a circular hall with multiple doors everywhere. It seemed to never end. Adagio had stopped suddenly by a set of doors with the numbers '0451' hanging above, and stopped. Aria assumed she was meant to ask. "So, what're we doing here, exactly?" she said with a bored expression. However, this one was mostly a front. "Nothing," she said. "Just enjoy the show..." she opened the door for the two of them to enter. Sonata had gone in first, but just before Aria could get through, Adagio had slammed the door shut, mere millimeters from her nose. "Ugh, what now?" she asked in an overly exhausted manner. "I forgot to mention one thing," Adagio began, speaking in that exaggeratedly innocent tone that screamed trouble. "And that would be?" Aria said, crossing her arms. Her expression hardly wavered. "Well, I assume you know where we are, right?" she asked. "From the signs over here, there, and right behind you, a circus act," Aria answered. "Exactly! Good to see you're observant. Now, back to business. The ringleader is gonna need a volunteer later, I'm sure you can guess who's that gonna be?" "Oh god..." Aria's head went low as she did a silent face palm. "That's the spirit, now let's have a seat," Adagio opened the door, and motioned for her sister to enter first. Aria walked in, her mad facial expression growing by the second. Anyone sitting closest to the steps that led to the main stage immediately sat a seat away as the disgruntled girl continued forward. She saw a hand wave for her, and saw Sonata waving at them from the front row with a large smile. She sighed and continued forward. After taking her seat, Adagio squeezing through so she was in the middle. she simply had to wait for the show to start. This was a really weird feeling for the three of them. For all they time being on this earth, very rarely were they in the audience. Normally they were the ones who were performing. So this was a definite change of pace. Now, as horrible as these humans were, if there was one thing they knew what to do. It was to mimic. How else did they survive all these years? They weren't particularly strong enough to overpower a lion. That's where they grew a brain. 'How do you improve claws that were made to tear, and hook?' A human would answer 'You make our own.' Even to something as simple as a car, remember that the inspiration for that, was just four legs. To the three sisters in the audience, that was the only respectable thing these humans had. So imagine they're surprise when they saw them mimic magic for the first time... Now this wasn't their first magic show, and there were greatly disappointed when they found out it wasn't the real deal. But they learned to move on from the humans most offensive form of mimicry, and simply decided to enjoy the show. As mundane as it was to them. Some things were... mildly interesting, such as the sword swallowing, and knife throwing, whoever these people were had nerves of steel. And even lighter hands. After this went on for another half hour, then lights dimmed before a spotlight revealed a girl in the center of the stage, no older than fifteen. She had medium length blonde hair that held in a short pony tail, with braided pigtails that hung by her neck. The ends of them had orange feathers. Strangest part was her eyes. They were green, but her pupils looked as if they were swirling. She wore green shorts, and an orange sleeveless tank-top that had side straps. Her back had two long blue ribbons that trailed her feet. She was always smiling. She spoke with a very upbeat tone. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?" she was definitely charismatic, for the entire stadium went dead silent. "Thank you, now. The hardest thing for a knife-thrower, is popping balloons. Sooo, that's why I made this brand new stunt tonight that I want to try for the very first time! Anyone care to join?" Aria's life flashed. She was to trust her life to this... infant! She refused, she wasn't gonna do anything, anything could be better than being STABBED by a little girl! "She would!" Aria felt her arms suddenly forced into the air as Adagio and Sonata raised them both high into the air. "Got her!" the performer exclaimed. The audience laughed and cheered at Aria's misfortune. 'Nope, nope, nope, so much nope!' She tried her hardest to sink into her seat, but alas, that girl came down, and grabbed hold of her arm, and dragged her onstage. The girl had a little pep to her step as she made her way to a darkened part of the stage. The spotlight followed her as a second one turned on to illuminate Aria. She was now standing next a curtain that was supported by... something. "Now I like to call this little stunt, 'The Wheel of Doom!' Sonata shivered slightly in the crowd. 'Oh... is gonna be one of those days...' The girl unraveled the curtain to reveal a giant wheel, with balloons strapped to it in the basic shape of a human silhouette. She came to Aria's side and grabbed her hands, where she started to tug her closer to the device. Once Aria was only a few feet away from it, she snapped. "STOP TOUCHING ME!" she snapped, forcing her arms away from the girl. "Ohhh, someone's a little grumpy! Maybe you just need a hand. COME ON EVERYONE, LET'S GIVE HER A BOOST!" she yelled. She then started to jump around Aria as she chanted three words. "WHEEL OF DOOM! WHEEL OF DOOM!" The crowd followed along, cheering at the same pace as the girl. Now she felt intimidated, even her sisters! Never before have they turned people into mindless slaves that quickly, with the three of them! This one girl did it in record time! And it wasn't negative energy, either, so they wouldn't get anything out of this. Aria was mentally screaming. "WHEEL OF-" "I KNOW THE STUPID WHEEL!" Aria shouted. "Okie-dokie, I promise this will be quick," the girl assured. "I somehow doubt that..." she grumbled. Aria was now standing in front of the device, trying to figure out what to do. She saw small handles which she assumed she was supposed to latch too. With a deep breath, she set her back against the wheel, and grabbed the handles. "Ready?" the girl asked. "No," "Sorry, but the show must go one," and before Aria could blink, she flicked her wrist, and five knives somehow stacked behind her hands unfurled. Now Aria's vision was a blur as she saw the girls feet, then her face, then her feet, then her face. Then she heard popping, and could feel very quick bursts of rushing air at her sides. She knew what this meant, she could just barely see the girl make a flicking motion as her knives continued to disappear. She was now screaming externally in a perfect falsetto as the nightmare continued. The audience was laughing along with this. Now only at how loud Aria was screaming, but also at how high it was. Even her so called 'sisters' were surprised at how Aria was taking this. And the one thing that terrified her the most, was how she knew for a fact that this would end up on the internet. Right now, though, she was worried one of the knives would make a nice and comfy home in her knee. The popping had stopped, and she could just barely see the girl run to the side of wheel, and slowed it down. She moved it so Aria would land on her feet. Aria propped down from the wheel, she was breathing heavily, and attempted to stand upright. Her balance toppled over and she immediately fell to her knees and would've fallen on her side too if the girl hadn't tried to help her up. Using the girl's head to push herself up, she suddenly found herself stumbling forward towards one of the signs. Thankfully, she managed to put her arms in front of her fast enough to prevent herself from joining this freak show. She was doubled over and felt as if she were going to vomit. If she was, she knew on who. She felt a warm hand pat her back as the girl's face lowered next to hers. "You did great! I'm sorry I didn't ask before, but, what's your name?" she asked. "A-Aria," by simply speaking, she initiated a gag reflex. She suddenly felt herself standing upright as her hand was lifted again. "GIVE A BIG HAND FOR, A-ARIA!" the girl cheered. The crowd started to applaud while Aria wanted nothing more than a doggy-bag. When the girl let go of her to head backstage, Aria's legs felt wobbly. "If you excuse me, I think I'm gonna pass out now..." she said, before falling backwards. Her head slammed against the wood, and her vision was in a slight haze. She could see swirls which slowly took form of a devilish smile looking down on her. Then she realized it was Adagio. "W-What are you smiling about?" she was downright exhausted, and it showed in her eyes. As well as her voice. Adagio only brought up a small remote with a button at the top. "What's that?" she asked. "Take a look at the wheel," she purred. Aria let her head flop to the side before she saw the source of her torment. There were bits of rubber and the handles. That's it. "Huh? Why aren't there any knives in it?" she asked, her eyes drifting. "There were no knives, idiot. I rigged the balloons to explode." she started to wave the remote slightly. It took a second in Aria's drowsy mind to respond to the news. "No knives?" "No knives." "I hate you... soooooo much." she went silent for a second. "... Can we go home now, please?" Adagio chuckled slightly, "Alright, fine," she lifted Aria by the arm, and had her lean on Adagio's shoulder. Once downstage, Sonata made sure her other arm was wrapped around her too. The crowd continued to cheer for Aria's 'Bravery' while all she could do was mutter curses to them.