Chapter 3 – Welcome to the Freakshow
With all of her allies together in a war room in Diana’s castle, Helen and she make a plan to get rid of The Circus. Helen debriefs everyone in the room with the information she has on the kingdom. She gives everyone pictures and maps from the kingdom and their many realities that they’ve taken over.
“The Circus is a kingdom ruled by their clown queen known as Sparks. She is the singular ruler of her kingdom that acts more or less like an actual circus. She has the freakiest people serving her and she allows them to do whatever they want as long as it serves to advance their kingdom. This allows them to be unpredictable, which is both a strength and weakness for them since they don’t always communicate with each other. Sparks especially likes attacking kingdoms who are proper and rule with authority. She prefers the rule of anarchy and the rule of self and tries to make everyone submit to that. In conclusion, the only thing we have to worry about is their unpredictability.”
“So all that’s predictable about them is their unpredictability?” Diana jokingly comments.
“Indeed, my queen. I suggest that we become unpredictable like them since they’re expecting predictability and a coherent strategy. Zane from the Kingdom of Titans knows this best.”
“I’ve tried various different strategies for trying to get rid of that insane kingdom,” Zane says, “Even when I combined forces with another kingdom, we couldn't accountant for every plan they had. Maybe we have a chance with these many kingdoms attacking The Circus together with different plans.”
“What do the rest of you think?”
All of the rulers agree to Helen’s plan more or less. Most of them admit already having plans ready for attacking The Circus, but they never had much confidence in their plans until now.
“That’s good. If you need support, then don’t be afraid to join other kingdoms in their attack while also keeping to your original strategy. We can’t be picky about what each other is doing because we have a singular goal. Together we should destroy this band of freaks then afterward we can divide the realities. Agreed?”
Everyone in the room agrees then dismisses themselves. Diana and Helen stay in the room.
“You really think this is going to work?” Diana asks Helen.
“It should, in theory. I’ve been studying The Circus for months. If we take them out, then lesser kingdoms like them should submit to us.”
“The Circus doesn’t have any allies?”
“Not at all. No one but freaks are allowed to be part of their kingdom. Everyone who isn’t with them is destroyed and sent to their Hell. It’s why they’re intimidating to some kingdoms, but we’re not afraid of them, are you?”
“I can’t afford to be as queen of my kingdom.”
“That’s the right attitude. We should conquer as much of The Circus as possible to give our allies a good reason for us to keep a good portion of The Circus’ land.”
“Isn’t it better to give everyone an equal share?”
“Sure, but not in this scenario. We only have one reality, one island while they have more than we do. We need to get other realities or islands so we can become stronger and bigger through our own territory rather than constantly needing the assistance of our allies.”
“I see. That’s a sensible plan.”
“But you are the wisest one. Without you, this wouldn’t have been possible. Now, my queen, shall we go to war?”
“We shall.”
Helen gets all of their personal forces together and tells them their separate plan, however, once they set out, Helen takes Diana to a separate smaller boat only with a single rower who has the appearance of a doll.
Diana asks Helen, “What are we doing?”
“Acting unpredictable,” Helen answers.
“We’re acting crazy. I don’t think we can take down an entire island of clowns on our own.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Your snakes and willpower are enough to keep you safe. Unpredictability is key here remember?”
“That’s not enough to convince me this is going to work.”
“Then consider this. Dozens upon dozens of people have heard of you taking over a kingdom in the same day you came here. Sure, they knew I was planning it for almost a year, but for a girl to come here and just take and make her own kingdom and reality are as unpredictable and crazy as you can get. Some people in The Circus respect you for that and the island we’re going to is one of those places that respect you. I hope that you can convince them to turn on their ringmaster by doing an unpredictable thing like this.”
“I’m not sure about this.”
“Hey, you’ve been trusting me for the most part, right? All of it has led you to good fortune while going against it has hurt us.”
“Okay. I trust you.”
“Thank you, Diana. You’ll see this’ll work.”
They depart, and Helen instructs the rower which way to go.
Along the way, Diana asks Helen, “Why didn’t you just fly us there? I’m sure it’s faster and stealthier than a lone boat.”
“Because of our friend here. He has an enhanced special ability like your snakes in case something goes wrong.”
“And that would be?”
“You’ll see. I’ll give you it as well later since I figured out a way to enhance our special abilities.”
“You can do that?”
“I can. I tested on myself first since I was pretty sure it couldn’t kill me.”
Helen turns invisible along with the boat and everyone on it.
“Wow, this is amazing!”
“I am indeed,” Helen says before making everyone visible again, “Besides being a master informant and strategist, I’m also an experienced alchemist. I can only hold that invisibility for so long, so we can’t abuse this power. We also need to keep it to ourselves, so we have a secret advantage against all kingdoms.”
“When am I getting an improvement like yours?”
“When the time is right. The formula has to sit for a while before it can be used. I’m just as curious to see what kind of improvement it’ll give you.”
“You don’t know?”
“Not at all, but I know from my tests that it can only be something good though we can only have one improvement. This formula doesn’t have any effects past that.”
“We’re coming up on the island,” the soldier says before Helen cloaks the boat and everyone again.
They dock their boat far from civilization on the island.
“Stay with the boat,” Helen says to the soldier, “Get rid of anyone who notices it or you.”
“Roger.”
“Diana, come with me. We’re going to make a first good impression with our new allies.”
“Okay.”
Diana and Helen move through the forest to get to the city that’s on this island. Diana still has worries about Helen’s plans, but she knows that no matter what she asks her, she’ll just ask Diana to trust her, so she keeps quiet until they get near the city walls.
Helen says, “You’re going to have to look confident and let me do the talking.”
“Don’t I always?”
“Just be ready for a fight if this doesn’t go according to plan.”
Despite not feeling confident at all, Diana walks into the city with Helen with a confident look as if she already owns the place. The citizens watch in awe as they stroll through the city. An enemy ruler and her advisor heading into their territory by themselves confuse them while also instilling some sense of respect for their enemy in them. The two head into the barracks of The Circus’ soldiers.
Helen announces, “Here is the ruler of your enemy. She has just walked into your city by herself as if your forces pose no threat to her. Do you really think you can stand up against a woman who possesses such bravery? Draw your weapons if you think you can.”
Stunned by their confidence, the soldiers smile and laugh at the two.
One of them says, “I like your style lady. I think I’d rather serve under you. Who else is with me?”
The rest of the soldiers agree. Soon after, the city celebrates its new ruler though it isn’t official yet since the real ruler of this island hasn’t been defeated. The soldiers here go out in their boats to attack their old allies while Helen and Diana head off to a different island. Again, Helen cloaks the boat as they dock themselves in a safe spot away from any populated areas on the island.
“This place is prone to violence from what I’ve seen, so expect a fight,” Helen says to Diana as they get off the boat.
“I’m ready for it if you are.”
“I doubt we’ll need to fight with our friend here. Are you ready?”
The soldier says, “I’m ready ma’am.”
“Good. Activate your enhanced ability.”
The doll-looking soldier changes his body into one with sharp protruding edges from all parts of his body. The man becomes a living weapon as it looks like every part of his body could kill someone.
“Go ahead of us. We’ll cover your blind spots,” Helen commands.
“Forgive me for saying so, but I don’t think I need help. I don’t have any blind spots.”
The living weapon heads off to the city and its surrounding defense points.
“See Diana? This is just one of our soldiers. Everyone else is just as good or even better than him.”
“Is the formula ready for me yet?”
“Oh, yeah it should be.”
Helen injects Diana with a syringe filled with a red oozing liquid. It gives Diana a weird feeling in her legs and her snakes react to it by hissing at everything.
“It’s going to take a little while to kick in, but it should work when you need it. Let’s go back up our friend in the meantime.”
Once they join their soldier in their assault, they see that the soldier has already torn through the outer and inner defenses of the city. They make it to him just in time to take out a few soldiers who weren’t a threat to their enhanced soldier.
One of the enemies gets up after the battle is over and says, “That was amazing!”
He and his fellow comrades cheer and say the same as well as if the battle didn’t affect them.
He continues by saying, “I hadn’t had a fight like that in a long time. We shall serve you from now on!”
“Good,” Diana says, “If you’re hungry for more fighting, then go out and fight against your former allies.”
“We will reward you with the power we have given our soldiers,” Helen adds.
Their new allies energetically agree before heading out to battle where Helen instructs them to. They then head out to their final destination.
While they are traveling, Helen tells Diana that, “The place that we were at contained the most skilled and the strongest soldiers in The Circus’ army.”
“It didn’t seem like it.”
“That’s because of our friend here and our own natural abilities. The next place we are going to is the capital island of The Circus, Arkham.”
“What? Already?”
“Is that so surprising when you look at the strength of just one of our soldiers?”
“Not really, but the sneak attack by The Circus made me think this was going to be a long war.”
“Wars aren’t fought for very long here since people have more energy and power in this dimension. Plus, the days are longer.”
“Makes sense. Why are we headed towards the capital? Are our other forces there already?”
“They shouldn’t be. Even if they finished their tasks, I instructed them to hold their islands because I want you to take out Sparks.”
“Again, I have to take out another ruler.”
“And again, the entire dimension will look at you with respect, honor, and even a hint of fear. We continuously build up our power and status, so that no kingdom will dare raise their hand against us. If they see how strong you are, then they’ll think twice about even attempting to assassinate you.”
“I get it. Did I ever tell you how smart you are?”
“No, but you should anyway. I don’t hear it enough.”
“I know what that’s like.”
The two girls laugh a bit before they reach Arkham.
“Okay, Diana. You should be able to activate your enhanced ability now,” Helen says.
“Alright.”
Diana wills the inner power within her and the snakes on her body go into her body. Her hair is now normal, and her silky red dress is more visible now. The snakes come together and transform her legs into the slithering body of a snake with a large head at the tip. It lets out a loud hiss at the city in the center of the island.
“This thing is incredible,” Diana says.
“Aren’t I? Well, what are you waiting for? You lead the charge while we back you up,” Helen says before turning invisible and the doll soldier going back to his living weapon form.
“Here we go.”
Diana, in her new form, charges towards the capital city. Her snake plows through the many defenses set around the city and breaks through the main gate as if it were made of paper. The citizens and soldiers fear her even though some do try to fight. Diana’s touch is now poisonous, and parts of her snake’s skin let out miniature snakes that infest the city and destroys Diana’s enemies. Helen incapacitates enemy soldiers in the shadows while the living weapon plows through any defenses Diana missed. Diana then slithers her way to the front of the castle where Sparks is waiting for her. Sparks is a young woman with the same right eye as Diana, but she has a pink club in her left eye that's blue. She wears a clown-like outfit that's colored pink and blue and her hair is like cotton candy.
“That’s a neat ability you got there. Do you think you can tell me where to get one?” Sparks says with a wanting smile.
“Not a chance. Not after you attacked my city,” Diana coldly says.
“That’s a shame. This isn’t fair without my own power-up.”
“I don’t care.”
“If I’m going down, I might as well embarrass you before I do.”
Diana tries to attack Sparks, but she dodges her attacks and her snakes. Sparks moves like a ballerina or a trapeze artist as she moves through Diana’s onslaught of attacks. Sparks lightly bops Diana on the head a couple times and laughs while doing so before Diana’s snakes catch on to Sparks movements and bite her. They paralyze her with their poison, which finally defeats the clown ruler of The Circus. Now that Diana has defeated Sparks, she looks into her soul then sends the girl to Hell. Her subjects give up the fight and the capital island of Arkham bows to Diana.
Because of how proficient Diana’s army was during the war, they claim fifteen of the twenty islands/realities that were owned by The Circus with her allies dividing the other five between themselves. Helen crowns lower rulers for each island so that she nor Diana need to micromanage the islands. As soon as Diana and Helen get back home, they set up a celebration for all of their allies and citizens. The celebration happens at night with all of Diana’s islands lit up as if all of the islands were miniature suns. During the long celebration, Diana sits down by herself in the center of her capital city and watches her happy citizens and allies have fun.
Helen sits by Diana and says, “You’ve earned yourself a great title in this dimension. There isn’t a person for miles who hasn’t heard your name. You have the respect of hundreds of millions of people.”
“You’ve earned that as well you know. I wouldn’t be here without you.”
“Aww, you jest, but I guess I do share in the glory and fame.”
“So what do we do now?”
“We can’t rest yet. There’s another war to fight.”
“What?”
“To obtain unimaginable strength and respect in this dimension, we must take on an entire kingdom with their allies by ourselves. I sent a part of our army to declare war on The Pack, a rabid group of individuals known for their strength and respect for it. If we beat them and their allies, we can rest for as long as we want.”
“Are you nuts?”
“Far from it. Besides, what reason do you have to doubt our army’s strength after seeing what we’ve done?”
“I guess you're right. I’m sorry for thinking you’re crazy Helen.”
“It’s fine. I would have the same reaction you did. Be sure to get up bright and early tomorrow morning. We have over fifty islands to conquer.”
“Oka-What?!”
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