Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Welcome to Epic Minigames! Are you ready for an epic day?”

———

Harley loved her job. She loved this park, she loved being Charlatan, she loved the routine, and she loved seeing robloxians smile and laugh!

The day’s first game was Balloon Platoon. That was always an easy one. She’d hold up the different boards, and wait for the players to hit the right color. Nothing difficult.

After that was Drawing the Line. Everyone did a pretty good job of staying on the line, though there were a few outliers, whom she made sure to cheer up afterwards.

Today wasn’t much different from the norm, (which was just the way she liked it), and there was no reason for Harley to be this excited. At least, that’s what she wanted people to think. In reality, there was a new minigame planned for the end of the day, and she couldn’t wait to see what people would think!

In fact, there goes its host now!

"Ringmaster!”

"Oh, Harley. How are you, my friend?”

Harley rolled her eyes, grinning. “You can’t call me that while we’re on the job! You know that!”

Ringmaster let out an exasperated sigh, but there was a small smile on his face. “Yes yes, Charlatan.”

"So, you ready for your new minigame?”

Judging by his frown, that was a no.

"What is it?”

"I guess I’m simply nervous. We’ve never had a minigame with this much potential danger before.”

"It’ll be fine, Ringsy! If anyone can handle it, it’s you!”

"You really think that?”

"Of course I do! I trust you.”

”Thank you, Harley. You’re probably right. Everything will be just fine.” 

———

Finally, after many more rounds and games, some of which were done by Harley’s other coworkers, it was time for the day’s main event.

"Good evening everyone!” She shouted over the speakers. “If you haven’t noticed, today’s last minigame is a special surprise we’ve prepared just for you! You’re the very first group to play our new minigame: Infernal Impasse! Teams of 3 will attempt to perform the most spectacular fire acts in order to get the doors to open! Your host for this game will be the Ringmaster!”

After that, Charlatan gladly found her booth, settling in with some popcorn. She could see Ringmaster from here, and she could tell by the way he was fidgeting he was still nervous. So, she waved to get his attention, and then gave him a thumbs-up. 

Finally, the game began. Teams were doing fine at first, performing the stunts displayed on the doors. The green team had been in the lead, but blue was closing in on them. Rings seemed to be pretty excited as well. That was good!

“How about we up the ante?” came booming through the speakers, as the Ringmaster pulled a lever, causing the arena to rumble. “For the final part, the teams will work together to face this last, devious door!”

Wait, weren’t they saving this part for after the debut? Something about safety concerns?

But if Ringmaster was willing to use it, maybe she just missed the inspection? Everything would be fine, right?

Right?

The door roared, spitting fireballs left and right. Still, the teams fought valiantly, weaving through and doing all the puzzles needed to avoid it. It seemed like all would end well. 

Then a stray fireball hit the pillar.

And everything went up in flames.

———

The smoke was everywhere, covering the circus in a dark grey. She could hear shouts, but she couldn’t tell from where. When she tried to call out for everyone to remain calm, not a single soul cared. Still, it was her responsibility to get these people out safely. 

So, she ran out into the smoke, trying to use the sound of crackling to find where the flame was at that point. She knew where the nearest door was. She just needed to get it open and get everyone out. As she ran, she heard parents trying to comfort terrified children, and saw shapes moving, presumably trying to find the exit as well.

The flames were spreading fast, quickly covering the lower few seats. She needed to check on those people, but hopefully one of the other employees was on it. She kept moving, eventually finding a door. However, when she pushed at it, it didn’t budge. Right, during the shows, to open the door, she’d need her keycard. Her keycard… which was in her booth.

Shit.

Harley sprinted back at the same speed she came, but it was too late. When she reached her booth, it was already up in flames. Her keycard was gone. Maybe if she could find Ringmaster, he could help? His keycard was the only other one with that much access. All the other hosts had gone home after their shifts. 

As she ran back to the host’s stand, she barely avoided tripping over unconscious bodies, or the pieces of rubble scattered around. But when she arrived, there was no sign of him.

“Rings? RINGMASTER! WHERE ARE YOU!”

Had he found a way out? Why had he abandoned everyone? Or worse, was he one of those collapsed bodies?

She didn’t have time to worry about that. Think, Harley, think. What would Charlatan do? 

She didn’t know what to do. 

None of her training had prepared her for this. 

How was she supposed to figure this out?

Spawn, she felt dizzy. Was this where she died? No, she couldn’t think that. If she can survive long enough, surely emergency services would be here to help. 

But the situation was getting worse. The few remaining supports were creaking and falling, all accompanied by the sounds of things falling apart. She didn’t have to see the faces of those pinned down by the flaming rubble to tell what agony that was. 

In the darkness, she felt a hand grab at her. She almost jumped away, only to see a small girl looking at her with round eyes. “Charlatan, are we going to be alright?”

Right, Charlatan. What would Charlatan say?

“Of course! This is just… part of the game! We’ve gotta get out of here! So just, stay close to me, alright?”

The girl nodded, and the two took off together. 

“Where are your parents, kid?”

"I lost track of my mom, and my mama had wanted to stay home today.” The girl sniffled a bit at that, before coughing from the ash in the air.

"Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

Well, now she had a kid to get out of here. She could break the doors down, right? There was a piece of metal laying by her feet. It was still hot to the touch, but she couldn’t care anymore. She tried to charge at an entrance. When the metal didn’t pierce it, she pounded and shoved at it. Her efforts failed to knock it open, but they did manage to knock some rubble onto her, startling the girl.

"Are you alright, Charlatan?”

”Of course I am, kid! Don’t worry about me! Just…” She picked off a piece of the flaming rubble, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood simply to avoid screaming and scaring the girl further. She threw it at the door, and sure enough it began to burn.

"Run through there, and don’t look back. Don’t stop running either. You understand, kid?”

The girl reluctantly nodded, turning towards where the door had been and running right through. Charlatan attempted to follow, crawling to keep up, but it burned. Oh Spawn it burned. She tried to push it off, but the fire was on her sleeve now. She couldn’t move enough to put it out, and was helpless to watch it spread. And it hurt. It fucking hurt. It seared at her skin, burning her flesh away, leaving no room for blood. But eventually, the pain went away. Was it over? Had she passed on to somewhere else?

No, she was still here. She could hear someone shouting, patting away at one of her limbs, and eventually lifting the weight off her. Were they asking her something?

"ss, Miss, can you hear me? Are you with us?”

She nodded, looking around. It seemed like everything had finally burnt down, nothing left to indicate that a circus had ever stood here. Maybe that was how the medics were able to get in. Now that they were here…

She was so, so tired.

"Miss? Miss, please stay with us!” 

———

When Harley awoke, she was in a sterile white room, laying in a stiff blue bed. She looked around, trying to figure out how she possibly got here. There was a chair at one side, a nightstand on the other, and a tv right in front of her. In fact, it was on right now.

"Breaking News: 500 hospitalized, 400 presumed dead after incident at famous Epic Minigames experience.”

500, huh? She tried to reach for the remote, to turn it off (or maybe turn it up. She wasn’t sure), but her hands refused to cooperate, screaming in pain. Fortunately for her, it seems like one of the staff of wherever this was figured out what she wanted, helping her to turn it off. And in the reflection, she saw herself. 

Her clothes hadn’t changed from what they were, but one of her sleeves was completely burnt off, along with most of that half of her outfit. On the skin she could see, there were deep, gaping, blackened gashes in her body. 

The nurse seemed to be trying to talk to her. Something about 30%, third degree burns. Or maybe something saying that she did a good job of trying to assist. It didn’t really matter.

Instead, Harley was looking at the Charlatan mask. Or, more accurately, the tattered half that remained, next to a disfigured portion of her face. Part of it seemed to have melded into her skin, actually.

What am I going to do without Charlatan?

Chapter Text

It had been a quiet week. Most of the time she was alone, asides from when the nurses and doctors came in to check on her condition. The first few days had been filled with surgeries, rushing her in and out of operations that they always knocked her out for. Even when the surgeries were done, the doctors had said she wasn’t allowed to leave.

So she waited. Sometimes she would put on television, but never the news. Sometimes the doctor would come and ask her how she felt, scribble something down, and leave again. But that was fine. If they were busy helping her get better, that would get her back to work sooner. She needed to go back to work, after all. Because, surely, the park would open again soon?

They brought her a letter. The park was closed. Permanently.

In the meantime, she was trying to adapt to life again. Namely, missing an arm. During the initial rush of operations, they had apparently been unable to save most of her left arm, which meant she had to adapt to life without it in the time it would take to put together a prosthetic arm.

That wasn’t the only change to get used to. Her face was… almost unrecognizable. While the doctors had taken care to remove the pieces of fabric melded to some of her burnt skin, they had been able to take care of the burn scar that made up the lesser half of her face. She hadn’t even been allowed to keep the burnt-up remnants of the mask.

She hated this.

She hated being stuck in here.

She hated receiving bad news after bad news.

They’d let her leave soon, right?

———

They hadn’t. It had been another month. At this point, she wasn’t expecting much when nurse Amy opened the door. However, she was in for a surprise.

“You have a visitor, Miss Harley.”

A visitor?

She didn’t have a family. She was one of those few who spawned randomly. She didn’t have many friends either. At least, friends who survived the fire. Who could it be?

She nodded anyway, and the nurse signaled for whoever it was to come in. To Harley’s surprise, in came a woman she’d never seen, holding the hand of a young girl whose face was slightly more familiar.

“Good afternoon, ma’am. I know you probably don’t remember us, but my daughter told me recently about the woman who saved her from that horrid fire. I wanted to come here to thank you in person.”

The girl, who had been so scared the last time Harley saw her, grinned at her as she got something from behind her back. It was a gift box, wrapped with green paper and yellow ribbon.

As Harley gently took it from the girl, she looked over at the mother, who nodded with a slight smile. So, she carefully ripped it open, and found inside a handmade replica of the Charlatan plushies that the park sells at the shops. Judging by the stitch work, it had probably been done by the girl herself. “Here you go Ms. Harley! I hope I can see you again!”

The mother seemed to take a moment to ponder her daughter’s suggestion. “Would you like that, Harley? I would like to remain in touch.” Harley nodded in response, and once the mother had finished writing down her number, she placed the note on the side of Harley’s bed. “I can’t thank you enough,” she said once more.

”I’m just glad I was able to help someone,” Harley responded.

When they left, she looked down at the note. Apparently, the mother’s name was Donnie and the daughter’s Sequoia.

She’d dial that number soon.

———

Finally, in the last part of her stay, talks of releasing her finally began. When she wasn’t talking on the phone with Sequoia or Donnie, she was learning how to care for her new prosthetic, getting physical therapy, and getting used to the new arm. However, there was one detail that wasn’t really appreciated.

“That won’t be necessary! I’m quite fine!”

“Are you sure Ms. Harley? Emotional Therapy is recommended in recovering from an event like this. And ____ is very skilled at their job.”

This was the third time she’d been asked this, and her answer was always the same. She didn’t want it. She didn’t deserve it. But she had to communicate that in a friendly way. So, once again she smiled.

“I’m certain! Don’t you worry!”

———

It had been three months before she could leave that burn center, but she’d finally been freed.

She could fuzzily hear one of the nurses tried to remind her to come back in if she felt any complications at all, to attend all her physical therapy, to call the name on the card, but Charlatan knew it didn’t matter much.

When she finally made it home to her apartment, with the newly-reprinted keys (the originals had perished in the fire), she wasted no time in unlocking the door and creak it open.

It was quiet.

There was a time when she appreciated the quietness as a break from the occasionally overstimulating energy of the park, but…

It felt so wrong.

She looked at one of the bottles the doctor had given her. According to its label, it had to be taken in morning and at night, and on an full stomach. Reading that last part, Harley brought herself to her fridge, opening it to see what she still had. It was mostly empty, but she did eventually find a cup of uncooked ramen noodles. That’ll do, she thought, pulling it out to microwave. However, when she looked at the label once more, she found that it had expired a month ago.

Had she really been gone that long?

Had everything gone on without her?

It’s alright, she wasn’t that hungry anyways. She’d go shopping in the morning.

———

She had received a letter from Donnie inviting her to lunch at a park not too far from her. She had, of course, accepted.

It wasn’t a very far distance. She could most definitely walk down there. And, given the weather, she didn’t even have to wear something covering. It was hot enough outside for a tank top to do, so she reached into her closet for her favorite. But as she was unfolding it to wear, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. More specifically, of the scar that covered most of her torso, and half of her face.

Maybe a hoodie would be a good idea.

———

The walk was familiar. It had been her route to the bus every day for years. Always past the same buildings, past the same billboards, around the same streets. She had found comfort in knowing everywhere she’d been going. But this time, the comfort was gone. It wasn’t even the fact that the route slightly diverged towards the end. It was the fact that some of the signs were gone. It was the fact that buildings that had been bustling when she left for work that day had closed permanently. And most of all, it was the fact that people wouldn’t stop staring. The hoodie didn’t help at all. She could feel that horrid sensation of eyes on her back, only for people to turn away when she looked around.

There was even one boy who tugged on his mother’s hand, whispering and pointing at her. She was almost going to wave to him, only for the mother to look up from her phone and slap his hand down when she noticed who he was pointing out. She couldn’t even say anything before the mother hurried the boy away. 

At that point, she just pulled the hood up and tightened the drawstrings.

———

She had found the duo waiting by the Dussekar statue in the center of the park. When Sequoia noticed her, she ran over to hug her. Harley hugged back, praying that the grip in her prosthetic arm wasn’t too tight. 

“Ms. Harley! You came!”

Donnie smiled as well when she saw her. “Glad you could make it, Ms. Harley.”

With that, they set off through the trail, passing trees painted in different warm hues and their fallen leaves that covered the ground. Sequoia was excitedly telling Harley of everything that had happened since they last met, from the antics of her classmates to a pretty butterfly she found. Harley nodded along as they walked, offering small comments on whatever Suqoia told her about.

Eventually, the path led them to the cafe Donnie had mentioned in the letter. The trio went inside to a charming and cozy little place that smelled of cinnamon. Harley and Donnie both bought lattes off the menu, while Sequoia begged to be allowed to play outside instead of sitting in on “boring” adult conversations. When they finally received their coffees, Donnie took an outside table in order to keep an eye on Sequoia.

The conversation was simple, really. Donnie spoke a lot about her time at work, but smoothly changed when Harley mentioned she was unable to find another job. After all, she was still waiting for the park to tell her when she could return. There was talk of how Sequoia was doing at school, the weather, the news, and book recommendations. Donnie even made a few mentions of how Sequoia was doing in therapy, so Harley decided to ask a question that’d been on her mind for a few weeks. 

“How’s your wife? Sequoia mentions her a lot.”

Donnie looked down. She didn’t speak, but Harley could hear the deep breath she took, in and out. She didn’t look up when she spoke again, and it was barely above a whisper.

“She passed in that fire.”

Oh.

Another soul she couldn’t save.

It was all her fault.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” She turned to Sequoia, who appeared to be practicing her cartwheels.

“… Do you miss her?”

“Everyday. Sometimes I even wish I could be with her again.” Her eyes saddened for a moment, before growing firm and turning to Harley once more. “But I remember my daughter, and I remember that she needs me. If I can’t be strong enough to process this, how can she be?”

“Huh. Guess I didn’t think about it that way.”

Donnie looked at her with an unreadable expression, before putting her mug down. “Harley, dear, have you considered seeing a therapist? I know last time we spoke on this, you said you had yet to find one. But, I do sincerely recommend it. During those first few nights, Sequoia was constantly in my room in tears over the nightmares of that fire. It was hard, seeing my darling girl so terrified of everything. But her meetings with her therapist have helped her so much.” 

Sequoia fell over mid-cartwheel, but simply laughed it off, waving to her mother when she noticed her. Donnie waved back, before continuing. “Apologies if it seems like I’m babying you. I know that’s not my place. I just worry for you, and I want you to know that none of this is your fault.”

“… I’ll keep that in mind, Donnie. Thanks for today.” Harley got up, waved bye to Sequoia, and pulled up her hoodie once more. Donnie didn’t stop her.

———

Unfortunately, she would need to cook something for dinner that night. One can only have so many different kinds of pizza before she grows tired of it, and she hadn’t cooked anything in weeks since her last attempt went awry. So, she grabbed all the veggies and herbs she could find in her pantry, and threw them into a pan. She had never really been a good cook, and now wasn’t the time to learn. Then, it was simply to put it on the stove and let time run its course. 

She turned up the knob, turning to get the pan. 

Fire. Oh god there was fire. All of a sudden she could smell smoke, and she quickly began backing away. But it had already spread through the tent, and she couldn’t see. She couldn’t see but she could hear, well enough to avoid the places from which screams were coming. She needed to get out of here. Where was her office? Were her keys even intact?

She didn’t know when she started running, but she kept going anyways. She needed to get out, she needed to find the door, she needed to find a way out, where was the way out?

She finally slammed into a door, reaching for the knob, knob? Shaking it as if enough force could unlock it. But it wouldn’t move, why wouldn’t it move? The licks of flame were getting closer, she needed this thing to open! Please please open open open I don’t want to die—

Harley fell face first out the door to her apartment. Her apartment. There was no fire here, none of the flames that had ruined her life. Shakily, she pushed herself back onto her feet, dragging herself back to the kitchen. The flame from the gas burner she had turned on was still bright. Taking a deep breath, she turned it off and poured the contents of the pan into a container, before walking up the stairs, head empty as her feet walked the worn path to her bedroom. 

The last muffled thought she had before sleep took her was why it had happened again.

———

It took a week for her to leave the house after that. She didn’t answer any of Donnie’s calls, didn’t grab her mail, and barely even rolled herself out of bed. Now that she had a bit more energy, she decided to put on another hoodie and go for a walk. Maybe that could clear her head.

She walked, and walked, and walked. She didn’t care to take notice of anyone but the person ahead of her, making sure she didn’t run into them. She did note a few of the buildings. The jewelry, the mall, the crafts store, etc. And when she grew tired of walking, she waited at a bus station, and climbed on when it arrived.

She stared at the ceiling the entire time, until the driver called out a familiar number and she decided to disembark. Where was she even going? Why had she dragged herself out like this?

But when her feet stopped, she knew why. She knew that sign, better than she knew her own zodiac. 

EPIC MINIGAMES

And beside it was her face. Charlatan’s face.

Maybe her feet had brought her here for a reason? She missed the park so much after all. Maybe she just needed to tour it once more to clear her memory.

So, she climbed in, eyes taking in the entirety of this park that was her world. And at first, it seemed so unchanged. The Ferris wheel was still there, along with the concession stands, (though they were currently as empty as they always were after hours). But as she traveled further, the buildings that housed some of the games were completely sealed off with caution tape. Worse, as she went further, to the other end of the park, there were ashes. Buildings that she knew were there, half-burnt, or completely gone.

Just how far had the fire gotten?

She didn’t have time to ponder that before she heard voices. Were those inspectors, trying to get the park ready for reopening? Either way, she hid behind the nearest food stand. She’d been scolded before for staying at the park after closing, and she didn’t really want to risk it. 

From where she was, she could see the inspectors, men dressed in sharp black suits. But they weren’t the only ones there, actually. They were talking to a man in an orange vest and a hard hat. Was this part of the attempts to rebuild? She peeked out a bit more, trying to hear the conversation (Was she aware you shouldn’t eavesdrop? Yes, yes she was. Did she care? No, no she didn’t). However, she still couldn’t, and as she pondered getting even closer, she saw the man in the hard hat give a thumbs up to the sky. Somehow, it was only then that she noticed the crane with a huge steel ball attached.

There was a deafening crush, crumble, and fall as the wrecking ball went full force into… the statue of Charlatan. It was gone.

Maybe in her shock she’d stumbled forward a bit, because one of the men in the suits saw her, and walked over to her.

“Ma’am, you need to leave. This park has been shut down and resold.”

Resold? RESOLD? They could do that? They couldn’t do that. No way. No. 

But all the men were staring at her now, so she simply nodded as if she’d been unaware, skittering away before they could think to fine her for trespassing.

That bus ride back, she had far too many thoughts.

———

Ringmaster had been declared dead. There had been a search, sure, but when no one could get any indicator that he’d ever made it out, they went for the simplest answer. Occam’s Razor, they call it. 

She remembered, once, when Rings had asked her how she was so confident inside the costume. Her answer was simple as well.

“Well, when I get this mask, I think of what Charlatan would do! And Charlatan’s never scared of anything, so I try my best not to be as well!”

How simple, how predictable everything was back then.

———

She made a stop at the crafts store on her way back. She didn’t buy much, but the rope she did felt heavy in her trembling hands as she uncoiled it in the safety of her apartment.

She couldn’t do this anymore.

That phrase was repeating like a toy train in her head. How was she supposed to handle this, handle life, when the slightest mention of fire sent her to an entirely different place? When so many people were dead because of her? When nothing could ever be normal, be right, again?

She wouldn’t be missed, of course. People loved Charlatan. People would weep for Charlatan. But Charlatan was already dead. She died with the park. Who even knew who Harley was? Who could possibly miss her?

After all, she was one of the few who spawned at random. No parents would mourn her death. She tied the rope to the ceiling. There wasn’t even a need to leave a note. Except, maybe to leave rent for this last month? Yes, she needed to do that. It was only fair to the man who had hosted her for so many years. She just hoped he wouldn’t be too upset at the sight of a body ruining his apartment. 

As she reached for her wallet, something on her nightstand caught her eye. A Charlatan plush. Why was this one separate from the collection of memorabilia she had in the living room? Then she looked closer.

…

Maybe she needed to think on this a bit more. At the least, she needed to think of what to write in her note.

Yet again, she flopped on her bed and let sleep take her.

She didn’t wake up.

Chapter Text

Where was she? This wasn’t her apartment. This wasn’t anywhere she knew. The sky was splotched in red and black, and when she looked down, there was no floor. She was simply floating in this space.

Where was she?

Was she dead? Was this some punishment for all she’d done? Was she in hell?

Before her mind could properly process the idea of an eternity in this place, the sky began to shift. A chunk of it seemed to split off, twisting itself into some almost-robloxian aberration with a…top hat?

Ok, nevermind, she was hallucinating. She was about to try and slap herself awake, but found herself unable to move as the thing began to speak. No, not speak, she couldn’t see any indication it had a mouth. She simply heard echoes in her mind.

I have a proposal for you, Harley.

What exactly had she taken? What was even going on here?

This is not a hallucination. I am the one who brought you here.

“You can hear my thoughts?”

Yes, I can. You are in my realm. But that is besides the point. I repeat, I’m here to offer you a deal.

Suddenly, the space in front of her began to shift, forming an orb before popping, allowing its contents to float.

It was the Charlatan mask.

I want to offer you your job back.

What?

Think of it. You’ll bring so much joy. And you will have so much joy. Everyone loves Charlatan, after all.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be her again? To never have to worry about anymore accidents or pitying looks?

All you have to do is put it back on. Haven’t you missed it?

She had. She had missed it so, so, much. Maybe this thing knew because it could read through her thoughts, but it wasn’t wrong. This would be good for her. It would be good for everyone, really. Who doesn’t love Charlatan?

She wasn’t sure when she first started moving towards it, but soon the helmet was in her arms.

She wanted to be her again. So, she put it on.

Very well, Charlatan. Are you ready?

What sort of question was that?

Charlatan’s always ready for something epic!

———

This round’s killer is…

Charlatan!

———

How good it was to be back in the park! Why, she was so joyful she could just burst out laughing! In fact, she did!

She laughed and laughed herself to tears, before stopping to try and remember what today’s game was. Right, elimination! Simple, really! And better yet, she’d been told not to go easy today. She sure hopes the players are ready!

She’d been given a list of abilities as well, right? She looked around to see where she could find it, before a little voice told her to tap her wrist. Alright!

Passive: Extendo-arm!

Charlatan can increase the range of any of her attacks by winding up her prosthetic arm, but gains Helpless I while waiting for her arm to return to normal.

Passive: Got ya!

At the start of the round, false items spawn. Attempting to use these gives a stack of Hysteria, and inflicts Poisoned I. There are a few clues to help figure out reals from fakes.

Smack!

1.7 seconds

Charlatan strikes with her bat, dealing 27 damage. Winding this attack up increases its range.

Grappled!

8 seconds

Charlatan uses her arm to pull herself towards a nearby object or survivor. Upon landing, she gains Speed II. If she grapples a survivor, she deals 10 damage and inflicts a stack of Hysteria.

Rocket Rumble!

18 seconds

Charlatan pulls out her rocket launcher, launching a rocket projectile that fires in a straight line until it hits a survivor or leaves the map. If it strikes a survivor, it deals 25 damage, inflicting Burning I and a stack of Hysteria. Alternatively, when wound up, the rockets shoot up into the air, landing near three random survivors.

Minigame Mania!

75 seconds

Charlatan causes minigames to appear on every survivor’s screen, inflicting Helpless I until it is finished. Failure to complete the minigame in time causes survivors to take 10 damage and inflicts a stack of Hysteria. This attack cannot be wound up.

Perfect! Though, she was pretty sure her arm didn’t extend. At least, it didn’t’t use to. It shouldn’t. But she could worry about that later. Right now, she had players to eliminate!

In fact, there went one right now! He had a blue pumpkin for a head, and he felt familiar. She could have sworn she’s seen him before. Maybe it was just Deja vu. Either way, she shot her metal arm out, using his head as leverage to pull herself out and headbutt him. He stumbled back, which gave her just enough room to swing her bat at him, causing him to fall over, before pushing himself up to run. But Charlatan was faster, and she ran swinging after him. Soon enough, he fell over at her feet and ceased to move. His poor pumpkin head was smashed in. She hoped that wouldn’t hurt when he respawned.

She turned away. Her minigames were still on cooldown, and she didn’t know where any other players were. Maybe if she just shot a rocket, it could hit one of them? Bad plan, but she didn’t really care.

Before she could however, she was interrupted by a stab in her torso. For some reason though, it didn’t hurt so much as simple being annoying, forcing her to pause. So, she looked over her shoulder, and found the guilty party running away. Of course, she chased after him.

However, he kept running in circles around the booths which were weirdly empty for the time of day. It was probably just a replica map. Annoyed, she pulled out the launcher and shot where she thought he would go next. It was a clean hit, setting one of his wings on fire and causing him to finally run in a straight line. She used the opportunity to strike, grappling him whenever he got too far away. At this point he looked outright delirious, missing his attempts at slashing her. Still he kept running, eating a chicken wing he seemed to have picked from his pocket. When their chase led them past a bloxy cola, he grabbed it and downed it. Charlatan couldn’t help but burst out laughing when he turned green. It only took one last swing of her bat to put him out of his misery.

This was fun, actually. It seemed like every elimination gave her more time to find the others.

So, she set out once more.

———

Frankly, Ringmaster was not looking forward to this round. The map had already horrified him when he spawned in, Dussekar and Shedletsky were already dead, and he had yet to even see the killer. But he still had to do his part for the team, so when he found Chance on a generator, he of course joined them.

“Heya Ringsy!,” Chance greeted, before continuing to tie the wires. Ringmaster hummed in response, keeping his focus on the task at hand.

It had been months, and he was still figuring these out. He had landed in this hell realm right after the… incident. One second he was looking at the blazing inferno he had caused, and the horrified faces around him (especially Harley’s). The next, right as the smoke would have killed him, he was instead transported here.

Learning you are going to be murdered over and over again was overwhelming to say the least. Especially since he still had little mastery over the powers of this new helm.

He was shaken from his thoughts by Chance finishing the last wire, causing both of them to stand up. Chance looked around checking for anyone else. Ringmaster had come to expect an all clear, which made him all the more concerned when Chance let out a confused little hmm.

“Is that… the Epic Minigames Mascot? The hell is she doing here?” Chance turned to Ringmaster. “Wait, you alright there, Ringmaster? You look a bit pale. Well, paler than usual.”

Ringmaster stayed silent, eyes scanning to confirm what Chance had told him wasn’t simply a misvison. Sure enough, there was Harley.

From there his thoughts split off into different threads. Was she a killer or survivor? How did she get here? Had she died from some complication of the fire? How long had it even been?

He must have been breathing heavily, because Chance shook his shoulder firmly. “Dude. You alright?”

”… Yes, yes I am. My apologies.”

Ringmaster walked away before Chance could question him anymore. Of all the questions bouncing in his head, one was by far the biggest.

Would she even forgive him?

———

After the chicken man was dead, Charlatan decided to save herself some time, winding up her rocket launcher and pointing it to the sky. As the booming sound came out, she soon enough noticed a single highlighted survivor, and set off sprinting towards them. When she arrived, she saw the injured noob, and more curiously, a pink robot with a tv head trying to tend to their wounds. Unfortunately for her, that had been one of Charlatan’s joke items, and it only made the noob more sick. All it took was Charlatan extending her arm to eliminate them, causing their ragdoll to go limp. The robot seemed horrified at first, staring at her dead friend. But for whatever reason, instead of running, she first chose to stare at Charlatan. What was she looking at? And well…

“Why are you blushing?”

That seemed to snap the robot out of it. “UH— hmm— ah—“ Her embarrassment was evident, but she looked down at the dead body of her friend and steeled herself. “You want me? Catch me if you can!,” she exclaimed, getting on a skateboard and dashing away. Naturally, Charlatan gave chase. And she had to admit, the girl was fast and only getting faster, throwing back comments all the way. It was infuriating, but at the same time the most fun she’d had this entire round. Still, she’d wasted too much time here, and she needed to bring it to a close.

So, she activated Minigame Mania, bringing the girl to an unfortunate stop as she tried to figure out the interface in front of her. She even managed to solve it in time (though Charlatan could see the ones who hadn’t). But it still gave Charlatan enough time to catch up to her. But for the fun times, Charlatan would make sure her elimination was quick. She simply detached her head, carefully placing it down as the other half of the ragdoll flopped over. She would need to get this girl’s name the next time she saw her.

After that, she set out again, this time looking for a specific player she’d seen out of the corner of her eye. And though she found him quickly, she couldn’t get close before machine fire aimed at her. Yet again she didn’t really feel the pain, but it was pretty annoying. So, she went ahead and smashed it to pieces, before looking for its creator. Sure enough, she found two players in the corner talking about some nonsense. But this time when she stepped forward she activated some sort of tripwire or land mine, blinding her. When her eyes opened again, the duo were already running, and she refused to have that. She wound up once more, grappling the smaller one and pulling herself towards them, headbutting them to the ground. The man beside them— wait, that was Builderman. That was literally the Builderman. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it, beating the smaller one with him until he went limp. Only then did she turn to the horrified Builderman.

And when she did, the first thing she noticed was the R logo of HQ. And for some reason, that pissed her off so badly that she pulled out her rocket launcher even at this close range, just so she could make this hurt. After all, it wasn’t as if he’d feel it. Wasn’t she allowed to have a little fun?

When he finally fell over, she remembered a day in a hospital bed, watching this man give a speech of how the park’s management needed to take accountability. He had gotten what he deserved.

———

How many of them were even in this match? This was getting a bit tedious. She had to eliminate one who straight up stabbed her through the back, and there was another who managed to block her bat and punch her in the helmet face! Most annoyingly, one of them could throw magical healing pizzas, and another could fucking clone himself? What is all this nonsense? Wasn’t Elimination supposed to be way less complicated than this?

Still, one by one, Charlatan took them all out. After all, this was her minigame. She had just been about to eliminate a dude in a suit, only for their gun to blow up and eliminate them first. Huh. Before she could laugh, the music suddenly shifted from the previous remix of the park’s theme music, to something that she’d never heard. It felt a bit sad, really. Did this mean there was only one player left to eliminate? She looked around, finding a highlighted outline that proved her hypothesis. She took off, sprinting towards it, as it moved away. She was so close. She couldn’t fail now.

She cornered the player beside the big top, why the big top? finally able to stop and look closer at his face. Wait, could that be…

”Ringmaster?”

It had to be. It was definitely him, even despite the bone-tired look that she’d never seen from him before.

“There you are! I’ve been wondering where you were! Why are you playing the games, Rings? You’re supposed to be my co-host!”

She moved towards him, putting her bat away. Still, as she got closer, he only moved further away. She felt a frown twitch at her mouth. What was going on with him?

”Harley, please. I’m sorry, for the fire, for everything. But please, what happened to you?”

What is he even saying? Who is he talking to? Had he finally lost it? And why was this pissing her off so much?

“What fire? What are you on about this time, Rings?” Her fists were clenched, and the frown kept tugging at her grin. Why couldn’t she just frown?

Ringmaster’s expression shifted from fear to confusion. “You… you don’t remember, Harley?”

Yet again her eye twitched. “No I don’t. And I don’t know who you’re talking to, because my name’s. Not. Harley.” She punctuated those last few words by grappling his shoulder and dragging him towards her. Still, he kept spouting nonsense about how this wasn’t her, the Spectre (who?) had messed with her mind, this “wasn’t a game.” God, had he always been this annoying? What had happened to him? Still, she took a deep breath. Maybe he was just stressed. He was her friend, after all! No need to be so harsh!

”Look, Rings, if you don’t feel like hosting right now, that’s alright. I like playing the minigames as well! But for now, if you want to play, then I’ll have to treat you as just another player. And you,” she grinned, pulling out her bat. “Are. Eliminated!”

.

.

.

The Killer Won.

———

”Hope you had an epic time!”