Chapter Text
For a man so blissfully unaware of the world during his morning routine, something roused Acro from his thoughts. He pushed his wheelchair back and turned himself to face the television as the news flashed up onto the screen. A rather strange-looking man sat in the centre of the set, greeting the audience in an overly bland manner.
"Local Detective's family and friends are making an urgent appeal for help in missing person case." A face flashed up on the screen when the reporter gestured to the side of the screen. A kind-looking man smiling and laughing with a group of other people, along with a close-up of his face. The fact he seemed so happy led Acro to believe he wouldn't have disappeared on his own accord. There had to be more to the story, surely.
"The man's name is Buddy Faith, known to locals as one of the kindest men around. He was last seen travelling toward the Berry Big Circus in a delirious, dazed state three days ago. Witnesses who saw him simply thought he was drunk, as he had just been returning from a party. There is no current suspicion of foul play." Acro scowled at that. No suspicion of foul play? A man who seemed perfectly happy disappearing without a trace, and they say there's no indication of foul play? Ridiculous. He hadn't seen the man pass through the circus grounds, and he often sat looking out of his window until late, and he had been for the past few days. He started a little when the screen suddenly changed, and an ageing couple stood beside a group of odd-looking people, presumably the friends of the missing man.
"Please help us, you have to find our dear little Buddy... We miss him dearly, he wouldn't just disappear like this..." The woman of the couple was sobbing, and after she had spoken, she hugged her husband close to her and hid her face in him. One of the odd-looking group stepped forward. He too was crying, and he wiped his eyes and cleared his throat before speaking.
"Buddy, if you can hear us, please come back to us, pal... We all have a hole in our hearts without you..." The man returned to the group, embracing a young woman and a young man who were tearfully looking at the sky, and Acro could guess they were just hoping he'd return safely.
He hadn't heard his bedroom door open, so when he spotted Max standing in the doorway, he was surprised to say the least. He must have been so absorbed in the story that he hadn't heard.
"Ah, so you heard the story?" Max seemed significantly more muted than usual, and he was shuffling cards in his hands in a distracted manner.
"I did." Acro responded simply. "Did you want to say something about it?" His question was met with a soft sigh from the magician. Max moved inside of the room and sat himself onto the bed with a 'whoosh' sound being made by his cape as he did so.
"I wanted to tell you that the detectives are coming to check the circus, to see if they can find any trace of his presence. I told them you're the most likely to have seen him, so they may wish to ask you about him..." It was obvious that Max had been distressed by the story, since he appeared to be sweating a little and a frown pulled at the corners of his lips.
"Ah, I see..." Acro pursed his own lips, folding his hands across himself. "I'm fine with them investigating my room and asking me questions. Do you happen to know if breakfast is ready?" His stomach gave a low growl, causing a soft hum of laughter to resonate within his throat. Max jumped up somewhat erratically, and began wheeling him out of his room without another word, and Acro rolled his eyes a little and settled back in his wheelchair, mulling over his own thoughts about the disappearance. Surely the man had to be alive, at least, that's what his family had to hope at least. After all, no body had been discovered. Not yet anyway. The whole way to the cafeteria, he was wondering why this story had gotten to him so much, perhaps it was the genuine sorrow he heard in the family and friends' voices? It reminded him of when his own brother had been injured. Whilst he hadn't disappeared, he may as well have. After all, he was still comatose.
Regina was already there, Regent sitting at her side with his head placed the side of the table when they arrived. Ben and Trilo were sitting with her, and Moe was cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, humming away to himself. Max positioned Acro at one of the other tables and then collected two plates of pancakes from the serving tray which sat upon the counter top. Acro gave a polite thanks as he was handed the plate of pancakes, and he reabsorbed himself back into his thoughts the whole time he and Max ate together.
He was taken back to his room, where upon glancing out of the window as Max pushed him toward the bathroom, he observed the police cars pulling up outside of the circus grounds. Max pushed him into the bathroom, and aided him with showering and changing as per usual routine, and as he was about to sit down on the bed for a bit of a friendly discussion with the ex-performer, the door was pushed open, and the broad-shouldered detective from the TV bundled his way into the room clumsily, followed by the young man and young woman from the same clip.
"Good morning, sirs, may I ask which of you is Ken Dingling?" The woman's query was somewhat quiet, as she was busy rummaging in her bag.
Acro raised a hand half-way and nodded. "I'm Ken." He answered as the woman finally found what she was looking for. Pulling out a notebook and pen, she glanced to her companions, who glanced back at her.
"Oh! Hey, I'm Candice Arme, by the way. I'm a new detective with the precinct. These are my colleagues, Bobby Fulbright," She gestured to the man in white who had been milling around behind her a little awkwardly. The poor man looked dejected and saddened, and didn't seem to be talking much. Therefore, Acro came to the conclusion he must have been a close friend of Buddy's.
"And this guy here is our boss, Detective Dick Gumshoe." Candice gestured to the other man, whom Acro recognised from the television as the one who had made the plea to their friend. Acro blinked as a hand was outstretched to him, and he shook it with a surprisingly warm smile. He did need to bring them comfort and love in such a sad and distressing time for them. That was the only humane thing to do.
"So, now that the introductions are over... would you mind if we asked you some questions about three days ago?" Candice flipped over a couple of pages in her notepad, and tested her pen worked before holding it to the paper. She knelt down in front of Acro's wheelchair so that she could use her knee to lean on, and Max quietly dismissed himself from the room, saying he'd bring back some drinks for them all.
"I wouldn't mind. I was the only known witness, after all." Acro noticed her hand was trembling a little, and he reached a hand out, placing it on her shoulder. Candice raised her head, and Acro saw the tears in her eyes. Frowning worriedly, he gently shifted her to pull her into a hug. She returned to embrace almost immediately, clinging on for what seemed like hours, but really only spanned around three minutes, before she moved away.
"My apologies... now, would you mind telling me...about the night Buddy disappeared?" She was still recovering from her little episode, as her voice still shook a little as she pressed her pen to the paper.
"Well, I was looking out of the window from ten pm until midnight. I saw nobody enter the circus grounds and nobody left. That makes me think, Buddy must have left with someone just before he got here..." Candice jotted down the information in her own time, processing it mentally as she went and even adding her own comments beside them. Max re-entered the room with a tray that carried five hot drinks, and he placed it down on the dresser beside Acro's bed.
Bobby and Gumshoe moved to take drinks as Candice finished up her writing, before moving to take her own. Acro gestured for the three to sit on the bed, and they complied without complaint. Max was busy tidying the bench off, laying aside the items which Money had stolen on his various voyages across the circus grounds. He seated himself at one end, and the detectives then moved to join him. Acro pushed himself closer and then reached over to pick up his own drink. Tea. Prepared exactly how he liked it, yet not how Max usually liked his own. Acro could assume that he had sacrificed his own drinking pleasure to make it easier, as none of the cups were labelled, and that caused a smile to rise to his lips. Despite how arrogant he could be it times, it seemed Max did have a bigger heart than once assumed.
"Say...you don't think Regent could have taken him, do you?" Acro asked suddenly.
"Regent?" Candice echoed, and Acro gave a soft 'ah' when he realised he had neglected to explain who Regent actually was.
"Regent is our animal tamer's tiger. She doesn't leash him, since he's friendly among the circus staff, and she thinks it's cruel to keep him in a cage. She usually has him in her room, but he usually goes for a walk in the night..." Acro elaborated, and Candice gave a gasp, jumping to her feet.
"Detective Gumshoe, sir, I'm going to investigate!" Her voice was almost desperate as she looked at her colleagues with a wild gaze.
"Ah, you'll need to find Regina first. She's probably around with Ben, our Ventriloquist. She'll be able to keep you...safe." Acro warned, and Candice nodded, before she practically ran from the room, still holding her drink in one hand.
Detective Fulbright shifted from where he had been sat in the middle of Candice and Gumshoe, moving closer to where Acro was sitting. The quartet were silent - save for the occasional sip of a drink - for a few more moments before Acro spoke up once more.
"I want to help you find Buddy Faith." The way Acro spoke those words was stern, and Max frowned nervously, beginning to fan himself with his cards. Fulbright's eyes widened a little, and his hands flew to his cheeks in surprise.
"What?" He echoed, and Acro raised his head a little, staring to the ceiling.
"I know I won't be of much use, but I want to help you find him. The way it's affected you has really made me see that I'm not alone in feeling lost...after I lost someone dear to me." He explained, and Bobby nodded briskly a few times.
"We'd appreciate any help you can give us...thank you!" He flung his arms around Acro, squeezing him in a hug before he gestured for Gumshoe to follow him. "We've got to go and find Candice, before she gets herself into trouble, come on!" He called over his shoulder.
Acro sighed and rubbed at his temples, feeling one of Max's arms slip around his shoulder.
"Max...I'm going to start going to therapy again." He had the same stern tone, which made Max realise that he meant what he said.
"Acro, sweetie, you haven't been to therapy in a year...ah you sure?" He sounded concerned, his country accent seeming to slip through a little as he finally let his stage act drop.
"I'm certain, Max. I have the motivation, I can do it." He couldn't prove himself wrong.