No Man’s Land.
The Yellow Python, cautious, enters the hollowed-out wreckage of what was once a large building.
Darkness greets him, then a single spotlight drops on the other occupant of the room.
“Welcome, Yellow Python,” the words slithered from Gemini’s mouth, laced with venomous provocation. “Welcome to this theater of life and death. A circus of your own making,” she declared, pointing dramatically around her.
The skittering of insects fills Python’s ears as he realizes the building has transformed into a tragic carnival.
“Look, Python, gaze upon the faces of your comrades,” her chilling laughter echoes eerily as she sweeps her hand across the harrowing panorama.
The Red Falcon, swaying listlessly on a tightrope suspended far above. Yet, there are no gasps of fear or delight. Just the caw of carrion birds.
“The Red Falcon,” she drawled, barely concealing her amusement, “dangling from the height of his glory. How quickly he fell.”
The Blue Shark, his life force a crimson stain spreading through the water of his own tank.
“Look at him. Drowning, spluttering, choking on his own blood. His arrogance replaced with the relentless gurgle of his own demise. How does it feel, Python?”
The Yellow Python does not react. He can’t let her see his emotion.
Lastly, the White Bear. A great titanic figure, now crushed beneath his own weight.
“What a tragic end,” she continued bitterly, “crushed under the weight of his ambitions. Is this what you call friendship, Yellow Python? Brotherhood?”
She let her questions sear into the silence that followed, her lips curved upward in a teasing smirk.
“You remind me of another. One of our foes.” She closes the distance between them, her voice dropping to an ominous whisper
“Does the name Haywire ring any bells, Python?” Gemini’s voice filled the eerie silence. “Haywire, the star of his own circus. He believed himself invincible, beyond consequence… above all.”
She traces a spectral finger along the chilled tank of the Blue Shark.
“Like you, he tried to be more, not only to conceal his identity but his fear, his doubts… his humanity.” She tilted her head, a mockery of empathy written across her face. “And like you, he had companions who shared his vision, his purpose. They believed in him, in their shared dream. Until the dream turned into a nightmare.”
“It started with one failure, then another one followed. Just like the Kingdom, the Jester Jets fell.”
Her eyes locked with Yellow Python’s mask. “But that wasn’t the finale, oh no. Not for him. His madness grew. It crawled and coiled around what was left of his sanity, until it strangled him to doom.”
She paused, looking out over the grim tableau laid out before them. “The star of the circus, descending into his own tailored inferno.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper, piercing the heavy silence. “Haywire’s story isn’t just a tale, Python. It’s a lesson, a warning… a prophecy. Ask yourself… will you be the next fallen star lost in the circus of his own making?”
The specter of her words loomed in the air, waiting for a response from the Serpent…