Circus Freaks: The Anchor Town Show
My first week in this new world had been quite interesting to say the least. I had a lot of new people to meet and a whole new body to get used to. There were a lot of adjustments I had to make to accommodate it, some of which were incredibly annoying.
Firstly, I wasn’t able to read anything. They had their own written language I just couldn’t understand. There was no chance of me studying any new skills from locals. Similarly, they couldn’t read a single thing I wrote, which wasn’t as much of an issue but still irritating.
I was told my species sleeps around two thirds of a day to charge its psychic abilities. Adjusting to that was a nightmare. My days had effectively been cut in half. I was told that missing sleep could mess up my ability to use psychic powers at all, though.
My powers weren’t very developed, but Master Spoink was nice enough to set time aside so he could show me a few important things. The first lesson was stopping random people from just reading my mind (something I specifically requested), but I was taught a few other skills. Reading other minds and lifting small objects. I hadn’t been able to pull off large objects yet.
Teleportation was the strangest one. Master Spoink wasn’t able to do it himself, but he just took a random guess as to how it worked, and it turned out he was right. All I had to do was visualize a location and channel that psychic power I’d had into it. It was a little more complicated than that, but I couldn’t begin to describe the whole process as most of it was just feelings and instinct.
My teleportation wasn’t very accurate, though. While we were stopped in a forest one time, the circus crew got a pretty good laugh out of me repeatedly trying to place myself on a tree branch and missing every single time. Eventually I got close enough to the branch that I was able to grab onto it and pull myself up, though. At least I was improving.
When Spoink wasn’t explaining how psychic powers worked, he was giving me some history on the circus itself. Apparently, he was a retired adventurer whose father ran the organization before him. He told a couple stories of his past and I honestly wasn’t sure what to think of them. On one hand, I was in an alien world with all sorts of magical creatures with superpowers. On the other hand, I found it hard to believe that someone as small as him could take on a dragon.
We eventually arrived at our destination. It was a place called Anchor Town, a town with a pretty small population by my standards. I wasn’t actually awake when we arrived. I just remember being suddenly pulled out of the wagon by Monferno because I was sleeping on a box he needed.
We were already at work setting up the circus grounds. There were a few other creatures who’d joined us to help with the construction we needed done. There wasn’t really much I could do to help them besides fetching a few small items like rope and nails. I did what I could, though, because I felt a little indebted to the people who dragged me out of my icy grave.
During our lunch break, I took a seat next to a tall black fox and a yellow/black creature shamed like a plug. They were part of the circus, but I hadn’t gotten a chance to speak to them yet.
“Um… what are your names?” I asked them awkwardly. I could never think of a better way to start those conversations.
The fox wasn’t judgmental, thankfully. She politely answered, “I’m called Zoroark, and the boy beside me is Elekid.”
The boy waved at me before grabbing a sandwich beside him and eating. I had a sandwich as well, but it wasn’t anything interesting. Just lettuce and tomato on wheat bread. It was pretty bland to me but the other two enjoyed it. I was more used to having bacon alongside it. The people of this world just didn't use meat from what I’d seen. Considering most of them were animals, it made sense.
I set my sandwich aside, not feeling very hungry. I could find some apples to eat later. I didn’t really eat that much anyways since I slept most of the day. It was still quiet between me and the two sitting beside me, so I tried to continue our conversation.
“What kind of act do you guys perform?” I asked them.
Zoroark answered in between taking bites of her food. “We do a duo act using my illusions.”
I instinctually assumed that she was referring to my variety of magic before remembering that they probably had actual magic.
“You mean real illusions?” I asked for clarification.
“Um… yes?” She replied with a confused look.
“Sorry, it’s still a little new to me,” I said, turning my head away from her to avoid the look she was giving me.
“It’s alright dude,” the boy chimed in. “Her kind’s not that common in the Grass Continent so most people don’t know.”
I looked back over, feeling a little reassured. At least it wasn't that weird of a question for her. “So, how does your act work if you don’t mind me asking?”
The boy answered enthusiastically. “We’re known as ‘Elekid and the conductive Swanna’! We make a whole show out of my electricity!”
I didn’t have any idea what that meant, and Zoroark could tell. She finished her sandwich and explained. “Swannas are usually hurt bad by electricity, so I disguise myself as one for our act. We then hold a glass rod painted to look like metal and we make it look like electricity is shooting everywhere. By the end of it, the Swanna illusion comes out completely unscathed.”
“We’ve done a few other Pokémon,” Elekid added. “Swanna’s just the most popular cause she makes it look pretty.”
Zoroark chuckled, but I was more impressed than anything. “That’s a pretty creative way to use your abilities,” I told them.
“It gets reactions,” Zoroark said with a shrug. “What about you? Any ideas for your act?”
“Er… no,” I replied sheepishly.
Elekid suggested, “Why don’t you do another card trick?”
“A crowd would probably have trouble seeing them. Plus, explaining a human deck of cards would take too long.”
Zoroark seemed to be thinking as well. “You’ve got a lot of tools in your box, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure how well I can use them,” I said. “A lot of them are made to trick humans because humans don’t have any powers. At least, nothing like what you have in this world. The few things I could do, I don’t think I could pull off. These hands just aren’t as dexterous.”
“You’ve got psychic powers,” Zoroark pointed out. “Those can get very precise. Whatever tricks you’d need hands for, I’m sure a bit of telekinesis would be able to do.”
“Well two things. Firstly, a lot of my illusions are more than simply moving objects quickly. Secondly, a lot of the illusions I do are pretty much about making it look like an object is levitating or defying gravity, which looks identical to telekinesis! A psychic creature doing things a psychic creature can normally do will not impress an audience.”
“You make illusions?” Elekid asked.
I had completely forgotten what creature I was sitting beside.
I clarified. “No powers or anything involved. Just using perspective, distractions, and careful movements to make something happen that looks impossible.”
“Abras can’t make real illusions,” Zoroark said. “You could definitely work with that.”
“I already told you making an object float is not an act here!”
“Are those the only illusions you can do?”
I tried to think of something. I’d been focusing on all the tricks I couldn’t do for the time being. There were definitely more tricks in the book, but what on Earth could I do? I had to get back to the basics. What was a simple trick that I could perform for a crowd that they couldn’t possibly explain? If a basic card counting trick was enough to shock the other circus performers, pretty much anything could work.
That’s when I figured it out.
“I could saw a Pokémon in half!” I exclaimed.
Zoroark and Elekid looked mortified.
“Not literally!” I clarified. “I’m going to cut someone in half, but I know how to make it look like I did. Then, I can make it look like I’ve just put them back together!”
“That sounds awesome!” Elekid said. “How do you do it though? What’s the secret?”
“It’s very simple. I just need the help of two- FUCK!”
That’s when I figured out that the trick I wanted to do would be impossible.
Zoroark tilted her head. “What’s the problem?”
I sighed and began to explain. “There are a few things I need for a trick like this. I need two boxes that could fit two people inside of, and they need to be set up, so they look like they're one whole box. Then I’d need some kind of blade that you could use to ‘split’ the two boxes.”
Elekid suggested, “The construction guys might have some stuff you could use.”
“Yes, I’m sure they do,” I responded. “That’s not the issue. I need two people who can go inside each box, and I need them to look identical. It’s easy with humans because we look similar enough that nobody will notice, but our circus crew is way too diverse for this.”
Zoroark started to laugh.
“What’s so funny about this?” I asked.
“Did you forget who you're sitting beside?”
I spent the last hour of my day discussing my plan with Master Spoink. He assured me he would get all the materials I requested, and an assistant.
For a blade, there was an old hacksaw the construction team let us use. Apparently, it was made for a much larger creature, but that creature was no longer part of their company which made it useless to them. I was woken up that evening by Master Spoink just half an hour before our show was supposed to start. I was still tired. We all gathered in a sort of prepping area outside our circus tent. It looked massive to me. Its red and white stripes were twice my size in width and height. It looked to be a more normal size for some of the human sized creatures. It still bugged me how short I was.
When the sun fully set, Master Spoink looked back at all of us and gave a short speech.
“Alright everyone. We’ve got an audience of around two hundred waiting for us inside. Small crowd, I know, but I still need a proper performance from all of you.”
Spoink started addressing people directly as I felt my heart sank. Two hundred people? The largest crowd I’d ever worked with was around forty in a rundown Portland bar, and I was just a sideshow there. I hadn’t felt this level of stage fright before. What if something went wrong? What if an audience member saw through my act? There were so many things that could go wrong.
The anxiety spun around inside my head until I heard Master Spoink call out my name.
“Kenneth!” He said sharply. “It’s your first show with us so I’m going to remind you to stay calm. You’ve entertained crowds before, haven’t you?”
“Yeah… I have,” I answered.
“Excellent. You’ll be our closing act for the night, so you’ve got time to prepare.”
As if I needed more reasons to be worried. I would be the last impression the audience had. Their whole view of the show would rest on my-
“KENNETH!” Spoink shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts again. “Snap out of it. We're showmen, and the audience hates a quivering mess. Pull yourself together and it’ll all be fine.”
I took a deep breath. He was right. It had just been a while since I did a proper performance. I had to get my head in the game. I couldn't let the audience down.
Spoink’s eyes narrowed. “That’s more like it. I’ll see you after the show, then. Remember, your act represents the entire crew, so do a good job.”
Master Spoink then tipped his hat to us and entered the tent. He really built me up just to tear me back down. My performance reflected on the whole crew. It'd be the grand finale that everyone would remember. If I screwed it up, it’d be a disaster.
The other members of the crew stepped in one after another, performing their acts as I waited for my time to come. I still felt tense.
Eventually, the time came for me to enter the stage. I heard Master Spoink telling the audience of strange abilities that surpassed the knowledge of any known Pokémon, before informing them that the magician, Abra, would be demonstrating his own powers tonight by splitting a Pokémon in half. I was planning to explain that part myself…
Still, I took that as my cue to enter the tent. Bright light from glowing lanterns flooded my eyes, and the cheering of the audience deafened me. Nonetheless, I continued walking to the center, where my props sat and a small podium behind them.
I stepped up to the podium and looked at the crowd in front of me. The light in my eyes covered them in shadow but I felt their gaze pierce into me like daggers. My chest tightened and my heart pounded against it. For a second, I wasn't able to think of what to say. I couldn't conjure up a thought in my head.
I knew I couldn't get a hold of myself in front of the crowd. I had to think. Master Spoink did an incredible job. Maybe it’d be best just to imitate him starting off?
“Er… Greetings all!” I said while trying to look calm. “As the master himself said, I possess powers beyond the capabilities of an ordinary Abra. And tonight, you will all bear witness to them.”
The audience’s eyes were locked on me. They weren't whispering to each other or booing me, so I was on the right track. I mean, it was a good indicator by human standards.
Coming in from stage right was Monferno. I gestured toward him to keep the show moving.
“You are all familiar with this man. He’ll be my assistant for this act. His er… physical capabilities are not to be questioned of course.”
What the hell was I supposed to follow that up with?
“But eh- that doesn’t matter! You see, he operates within the laws that govern reality. When he enters this box, though,’ I said, tapping the top of it with my hand, “the laws of reality will cease to function… as you know them.”
I waited as Monferno passed in front of me. He gave me an annoyed side glance that made his opinions on my performance clear. I couldn’t blame him. It was an awful opening.
He then climbed inside the box. I waited to see his head pop out from one end and a set of matching illusory legs from the other. They’d done a good job at making it appear as one large box rather than two separate units.
I picked up the saw that had been set behind the crate for me and raised it to the audience. Just as I was about to tell them my plans, I looked at the saw again. It was way too small. I needed something way larger. This wasn’t even half the size of the crate, it wouldn’t be convincing in the slightest.
I had to buy time to think of something, so I just presented the saw to the audience and started rambling.
“Er… you’ve likely all seen one of these before. You can pick this up at a hardware store and cut all sorts of things. Wood planks, logs, uh… all sorts of things.”
They started whispering amongst each other. I could see it. Their eyes were locked on me, scrutinizing every detail of my performance. How could I blame them? They came here for magic, not a lesson in construction.
I couldn’t stall forever, I needed to do my act somehow. Then I remembered. The boxes only needed to be pulled away from each other. There was no need to actually cut them. That was just to help sell the illusion. How they were separated didn't matter.
I then tossed the saw to the side. It clattered on the ground and echoed throughout the tent.
“A tool like that is useless for what I’m about to do,” I said as I started to charge up my psychic energy inside. “If you cut someone in half with a saw like that, all you get from it is a funeral.”
I held my hands above the box and channeled the energy through my body. It radiated from my arms with a pink glow. I’d only started lifting objects a few days ago. Would I even be able to move these boxes? Oh, I just had to wing it.
I could sense fear in the audience. My choice of wording seemed to put them on edge. They must’ve thought I sounded crazy, I had to lean into it.
“You all might call me a madman for what I’m about to do, but I don’t want any funerals here tonight. I just want a good show for you all. So enough wasting time, let’s get on with it!”
I expelled the psychic energy from my body, using it to pull apart the boxes, angling the inner part towards myself to keep them from realizing they were already separate. The audience members let out sounds of shock and terror at first. I could sense their fear swiftly turn to amazement as they realized that Monferno was clearly alive. I couldn't see much of his face anymore, but I imagined he was a little shaken up as well.
I let the split boxes settle and I looked back and forth and them for dramatic effect. Then, I stepped down from the podium and walked between the boxes towards the crowd, who began to cheer and applaud. It was hard to believe that an audience could admire me like that.
I raised a hand and dismissed their praise, however. “I know, it's truly a miracle. However, I don't think it’d be a great idea to keep him like this. We let him out now and his legs might run off on their own! So, let's put him back together.”
I turned back around and conjured up my psychic powers once more, pulling the boxes back together. Once they were together again, I approached Monferno and let him out of the box. He stretched for a moment before we both turned to the audience.
They cheered even louder this time. I felt a smile stretch across my face. I realized the opportunities this new world had presented to me. I’d finally achieved what I’d really wanted in life. The fame that had eluded me as a human was finally mine as an Abra.