*****

Jio was at the circus. He looked around thoughtfully.

"Damn..." he said.

"What's wrong?" came a strange voice, which he could not determine where it came from.

"Leave me alone, I didn't call you," Jio's voice became harsh and nervous.

"And since when do I only come when you call me?"

"I told you not to interfere at all when Madalen came, that was the deal."

"I didn't abrogate it!" the voice seemed hurt.

"And how did she find Joe? Are you trying to convince me you had nothing to do with it? I know you well, you put your hand in!"

"I am only a spectator," the voice sounded strangely playful.

Jio didn't speak; he continued to be thoughtful.

"Let me tell you a secret?"

"No!"

"As you wish!" then continued. "Too bad Madalen is on Joe's side..."

It was obvious that the voice wanted to annoy him.

Jio looked worried. And the voice annoyed him even more.

"Madalen and Joe teamed up!" it sang mockingly.

"Not for long!" he said, upset but confident at the same time. The voice did not speak again; however, another voice was heard, just as familiar.

"Hello, Jio."

A figure appeared in front of the circus entrance. Jio's eyes narrowed. The figure advanced toward him. As the soft light of the circus bathed him, Jio saw clearly who was before him.

"Joe!"

"When are you going to stop being surprised whenever you see me?" he broke out a smile all implied.

"Never."

"What's wrong? Are you mad that I escaped? Or with Madalen, who helped me?" Then he added, "She's adorable."

"Don't you dare lay a hand on her!"

"Why, is she your toy? Oh yeah, right, you don't like them playing with your toys, I'd forgotten that," he said sarcastically.

"It's not my toy, unlike you who know how to manipulate minds. If you dare to touch her..."

"What? Will you kill me?" he laughed. "We both know you can't, that's why you chose to lock me away."

"And I'll do it again!"

"Do you think it will be as easy as the first time?" He squinted. "Unlike you, Jio, I can kill you."

Joe's eyes narrowed in hatred.

"You can't," he hissed just the same.

"This time I have an ace up my sleeve."

"Madalen?"

"Hmm, you're not that smart after all. Although yes, I also have Madalen with me."

"Because she doesn't know what son of a bitch you are!"

"Jio! Is that any way to talk to your brother?"

"We are not brothers! I know how ironic you are."

"Brothers, not brothers, what does it matter. We are..."

"I can change that," he cut him off, knowing what he was going to say.

"No you cannot!" he said confidently.

"I can imprison you again!"

"Again, sweet Madalen will come to my rescue."

"Leave Madalen alone!"

"Oh, but I'm not doing anything, it was her choice to come with me and from what I've seen of her, she has no intention of taking your side. After all, you are the reason she was imprisoned here."

"You know very well why Madalen is here!"

"Yes," he said sharply, and his gaze changed, becoming more menacing than ever. "I won't let her save you! I won't let anyone save you!"

His eyes were blazing with rage. Jio began to shake from his nerves. He didn't hold back; he rushed at him like a wild animal.

*****

    Madalen's eyes snapped open, as if she had had a bad dream, but she couldn't remember what. She had a headache. She got up and went outside to the amusement park. She wanted to take a walk to clear her mind. Approaching the circus, she looked at it with disgust and turned to change paths. She had a ton of things to explore and see at the amusement park, and definitely one of them wasn't the circus. After all, she had seen it from all sides. But something made her stop and look back. There was a loud commotion coming from the circus.

No, I'm not going back in there for any reason, she told herself. She heard a scream.

What if someone needs help? No, what do I care? she thought as she unconsciously found herself in front of the entrance to the circus. She entered hesitantly. The first one she saw was Joe. He had pinned Jio under his feet and was pressing a knife to his neck. Jio was desperately trying to stop him, fighting with his hands against Joe's hands, which were gripping the knife tightly.

She freaked out as soon as she saw them.

"Madalen, call the troupe!" Jio shouted as soon as he saw her.

"Madalen, no! This is our justification! If I kill Jio, we will be free!"

Madalen was confused.

"He's lying to you!" Jio said breathlessly.

"Joe, stop!" screamed Madalen.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want anyone to die! And he's your brother! You cannot kill your own brother!"

"I am more than his brother! Isn't that right, Jio?" he scoffed.

Jio kept struggling to get away.

"Tell her you killed me first! You started it!"

Joe's eyes glittered with rage. He didn't blink; he looked like a hardened killer.

"I'd kill you again if I could!" Jio spat out his words.

"Do you hear him, Madalen? He admits it!"

Kill you again? What did they mean? Madalen didn't understand; she felt very confused and shocked. All she assumed was that the scar on Joe's neck was a sign of Jio's attempt to kill him. Apparently, it had brought him to the brink of death; that's probably what they meant.

She didn't think about it much. She ran off to find the rest of the crazy troupe. She ran out screaming. Purple and Yellow were the first to hear her. Soon the others heard her and followed her on stage. Joe and Jio were still in the same position. Purple and Yellow ran and grabbed Joe, pulling him away from Jio. Jio sighed. He was red and breathing hard.

"Thanks, guys…" Jio said. He turned and looked at Madalen. "And you, Mad!"

The twins helped Jio up. Joe struggled to get away, but Purple and Yellow wouldn't let him.

"Madalen!" he was shouting. "Don't let them lock me up again!"

Madalen was completely lost. She didn't know what to do. On one hand, Joe tried to kill Jio, which might have been the solution, but she didn't think it was right... And on the other hand, the others wanted to lock Joe back in his cell; perhaps her only escape.

"I don't know if I should let you," she finally said.

"Madalen, you know Jio is our problem too!"

"Yeah, but I didn't expect you to want to kill him… He's your brother!"

"I suffer from his existence!" he grimaced. All the hatred had appeared in his dark eyes. "You have no idea how much he made me suffer by locking me in that cell!" he continued.

"But if you kill him, you will not be redeemed."

"You are very much mistaken, Madalen."

"Mad, there's no point talking to him; he'll always find ways to trick you," Jio said.

"I don't understand... I don't understand you," she told them strongly, clearly confused, and started to leave, not knowing what else to do.

Meanwhile, Joe found an opening and kicked Purple's leg. Then he elbowed Yellow in the face and ran away.

"Don't let him get away with it!" Jio shouted. Madalen saw the entire troupe running after him.