-At the backroom of the Abandoned Wood-Puppet Factory Within the Circus Purge, 2nd Layer of the Circopian Tent-

Milano: "Juno. Please excuse me. May I come in?"

Milano opens a door to a dark spacious room. The stairway leading down from the door is consumed in seawater. There are various platforms on top of the water across the room.

Milano gazes up with his one eye at the ridiculously high ceiling of the room. The ceiling is built like some sort of intricate labyrinth with many crevices, gaps and conveniently carved peeping holes.

A diverse collection of demonic wood puppets dangle lifelessly on puppeteering strings from the ceiling. The ends of the strings are hidden and connect into the labyrinth.

Milano: "I'm coming in."

Milano jumps from the door and lands on the closest platform.

Milano: "Sorry, I won't be doing that ridiculous ritual to summon you today."

Footsteps rapidly run through the elaborate paths of the labyrinth on the ceiling. Milano gets a small glimpse of a figure scurrying past the many gaps and holes of the labyrinth.

In a flash, all the candles in the room ignite.

A single human-sized wooden puppet girl is released through a crevice on the ceiling.

It drops elegantly and lifelessly hits the ground on one of the platforms.

Milano calmly observes.

The strings dangling from the ceiling tug on the puppet and slowly begin to hoist it up to an upright standing position as if it were rising from the dead. Its wooden limbs click and clank as its head rotates into position to face Milano.

The coils on the puppet girl's alluring indigo and violet curly hair bounce. Her flawless wooden complexion has no evidence of a single scratch or dent and her hypnotizing polished marble eyes support twirly pupils that swirl around like a carousel.

The puppet girl's surprisingly expressive and captivating face sarcastically blushes and smirks as she holds her bra to her curvy wooden breasts.

Milano with his unchanged expression: "So you do appear without the ritual."

Juno, sardonically mocking, as her bra straps dangle on the sides of her wooden shoulders: "Milanooo. I didn't expect you to be the type to just barge into a girl's room like that. How embarrassing. I was changing."

Milano gazes back up at the ceiling: "Juno. You don't have to use puppets to talk to me."

The puppet strings jolt in aggression.

Juno points at her marble carousel eyes: "Oi. Milano. My eyes are down here!"

Milano doesn't look down at the puppet and keeps his gaze at the ceiling.

Milano: "Come down from the ceiling. Let's talk flesh to flesh. Or do you want me to prove to you that you're human?"

Juno's eye twitches and her seductive wooden lips eerily move: "You know... If you were anyone else I'd eat your soul for that statement. But you've been a nice worshipper for the past few weeks so... This is your last chance to stop acting like this. I'll forgive you if you sacrifice some blood or maybe a finger or 2 to me."

Milano looking at the ceiling: "Why would I sacrifice anything to you? It's not like you do anything with the body parts that people give you, it's all just a show. There's no such thing as demons Juno. You're huma-"

Juno's wooden fist connects with Milano's cheek at a scary velocity.

In slow motion, Milano keeps his calm gaze as his cheek is hammered and gets squished into his face, his head is tilted sideways and a flying tooth and juicy saliva marinated in blood decorate the air.

Milano gets violently thrown to a wall, slightly cracking it and messily falls onto a platform.

Juno, her curly purple hair covering one of her eyes: "Don't screw wit' me, Milano. I'm all knowing and all powerful."

Milano, on the floor, looks at his bleeding face in the reflection of the water: "Then I'd like to see you try to eat my soul."

Juno slowly starts making her way to Milano as her make-shift joints scrape against each other, creating off-pitch unpleasant sounds resembling scratching a blackboard.

Juno: "The hell's wrong wit' you today!? Skipping the ritual, staring and talking to the ceiling... And most revolting of all... Comparing the likes of ME to such inferior apes. You know what, this should be hilarious. I'll let you attempt to 'prove I'm human' in 2 conditions. Condition 1, You have to give me 10 pieces of evidence proving that I'm human and you can't use the strings or anything about the ceiling as evidence. Condition 2, you'll have a time limit to do your proving... You have until I kill you."

Milano spits some blood out, stands up and smiles with bloody teeth: "We're gonna be in here all day with those conditions."

Juno: "You'll be dead before that. LEVITATION!"

Her strings violently pull her up as if she jumped 30 feet into the air and started levitating.

Milano: "You're so obviously not levitating." -_-

Juno: "I AM LEVITATING! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THE STRINGS AS EVIDENCE!"

Juno opens her wooden mouth demonically wide. Little wooden arms and legs grip onto the sides of her cheeks from the void of her mouth.

Milano watches and takes a dead fish out of the inner pocket of his blazer.

A group of smaller baby puppet humanoids crawl out of her mouth and jump down like skydiving giggling demonic babies.

Juno controls the demonic babies with thin strings as thicker strings control her from the ceiling.

Milano: "SKY!"

The large pale white eye-spots of a smiling orca lurk under the dark waters.

Juno: "WHAT THE HELL IS IN THE WATER!?"

Milano tosses the dead fish at the falling puppet babies.

Orca clicking sounds echo in the room as Sky the orca leaps from the water and bites down at the puppet babies, snapping their strings.

Juno: "ARE YOU SHITTING ME!?"

Milano makes a '1' with his hand: "Evidence # 1, if you were the all knowing omnipotent demon that you say you are, you'd know that Gianni and I drilled a hole connecting this puppet factory to the ocean to let my orca in!"

Sky dives into the water and lurks at the surface.

Milano sprints to the water and initiates a flashy spinning perfect form dive: "You'd also know that I'm an orca performer!"

Milano lands on Sky who boosts him up to the air!

Milano with a punch-thirsty fist: "And a damn good one!"

1 baby puppet escaped the bite and sneakily crawls into Milano's blazer, mid air.

Milano's fist refreshes itself with a juicy punch on Juno's face!

Juno disgustedly eyes Milano as little bits of wood and splinters fly from her face: "I ALREADY KNEW THAT! I LET YOU GET A HEAD START IS ALL!"

Milano, mid air, like some sort of angel: "Mhm. Why isn't my soul eaten yet? Not to your taste?"

He grabs tight onto Juno's puppet strings before he falls back down and tries climbing up the strings to the ceiling.

Juno: "ARGH! LET GO!"

Milano climbing: "It's ok. I won't judge what you look like."

Juno punches him in the liver multiple times.

Milano loses grip: "SHIT!"

Milano almost falls but manages to desperately grip tight on her wooden breasts.

Juno screams: "LET GO OF ME PERVERT!"

Juno hammers her hard wooden chest onto Milano's forehead.

Milano lets go and starts falling as drool flies out his mouth: "Ah-"

He splashes into the water.

3 more large human-sized puppets are released from the holes in the ceiling. A humanoid puppet with a Potoo-Bird face, a humanoid puppet with a toilet for a face and a puppet of a human walking on all fours and wearing an ushanka hat.

They plummet until their strings stop them right before they fall into the water when their feet make contact with the surface, making them appear as if they were standing on water.

Milano climbs out of the water on top of Sky: "Ok fine... Evidence # 2, Whenever you're alerted, you release exactly 3 additional large puppets for a total of 4 large puppets. If you weren't just a human with 2 hands and 2 feet, I assume you'd use all the hundreds of puppets you possess at once. Since you know... You say that you're an all powerful being!"

Juno lands on the water like Jesus: "I- I JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE USING THEM ALL TOGETHER! IT'D BE TOO EASY! OK!?"

Milano rides Sky like a surfboard.

All 4 puppets surround Milano as they walk on water.

Milano drops a dead fish into Sky's mouth and pets her on the head.

Sky makes happy orca sounds.

The Potoo-Bird puppet pounces at Milano with a flying taekwondo kick while the Toilet-Faced puppet goes for a 360 low-spin kick to the ankles.

Milano: "NOW SKY!"

Milano springs to the right to Potoo-Bird and Sky swims to the left to Toilet-Face!

Sky uses her flippers to rapidly drift on the surface of the water like a racecar and slaps the shit out of the Toilet-Face puppet with her tail, sending it flying!

The Potoo-Bird puppet's kick lands a bullseye on Milano's crotch!

Potoo-Bird smiles sinisterly in content but its face quickly changes when it notices Milano psychotically smiling instead of squirming in pain.

Since Milano's dad sold everything that's supposed to be 'down there', HE TAKES IT LIKE A CHAMP!

Milano, sarcastically (he finds this hilarious): "ATTACKING A MAN'S WEAK SPOT. HOW DIABOLICAL OF YOU!"

Milano pummels Potoo-Bird into the water then pounces at Juno!

Juno: "HOW THE HELL DOES A MAN ENDURE THAT!? DOES HE HAVE BALLS OF STEEL!?"

Milano grabs Juno and they messily fall on a platform.

He tries climbing her strings but Juno kicks him off and spins up on her 2 feet using a break-dancing move.

Milano kicks up to a fight stance and raises his fists: "Juno. Let's end this. You don't have to come down from the ceiling, just wave with your flesh hand from one of the holes."

Juno ties up her curly purple hair and prepares her wooden fists: "I don't have a flesh hand."

She swings forward as Milano blocks and they begin exchanging blows on the platform as Sky fights off the other puppets.

Milano, while fighting: "Evidence # 3! Your main puppet has almost perfect realistic facial expressions and human-like movements when used on its own. However, when used simultaneously with multiple other puppets, both your hands and feet have to split the work. This results in even your main puppet to compromise, moving in a sloppier, less realistic way and displaying much less expressive expressions. Honestly, this is one of the reasons I've found myself gaining much respect for your craft. It's amazing that you'd even continue to focus on facial expressions at all when using 4 puppets at once..."

The Ushanka-Hat puppet ambushes Milano from the side with its tongue out!

Milano's bloodshot eye glares at the puppet coming at him from the side: "EVEN IF IT MAKES YOUR ATTACKS SLOWER!"

Milano rolls out of the way and pins Juno down!

Juno: "SHIT!"

Milano holding her down: "Are we done?"

The baby puppet from before hops out of Milano's blazer with a front flip and grabs Milano's man-bun.

Milano looks at his head: "Hm?"

Baby Puppet yanks his man-bun: "HOHO!"

Milano: "AARGH!?"

It pulls hard, stretching Milano's face and slightly lifting his upper eyelids.

Juno: "HAHAHA! I'M ABOUT TO PROVE EVERYTHING YOU SAID WRONG!"

A 5th muscular humanoid Angler-Fish puppet lands on the platform behind Milano supported by thick strings.

Milano freezes as Juno snickers up at him.

The Angler-Fish puppet breathes heavily.

Milano slowly stands up and faces it: "Evidence # 4, The 5th puppet. This is one that took me a little longer to figure out. I considered you having an extra arm, extra fingers or perhaps even an assistant of some kind. But then I realized... WHEN 5 PUPPETS ARE USED AT THE SAME TIME, YOU STOP TALKING! THAT'S CUZ THE STRINGS OF THE 5TH PUPPET ARE ATTACHED TO YOUR TEETH AND AROUND THE MUSCLES OF YOUR TONGUE! WHICH MEANS YOU CAN'T UNTIE THOSE STRINGS AS FAST AS THE OTHERS!"

Sky the orca sneak leaps towards the 5th puppet.

Juno's smile immediately fades away in horror.

Milano with a psychotic laugh: "I WON'T ASK SKY TO PROTECT ME FROM YOUR NEXT ATTACK! AND I DON'T HAVE 6 MORE PIECES OF EVIDENCE! SO IF I'M WRONG, ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS KILL ME SECONDS AFTER SKY TAKES YOUR 5TH PUPPET DOWN! But hell... If I'm right... I bet it's a damn shitty feeling to have your teeth and tongue pulled down by the weight of an orca! SO IF YOU'RE READY TO ADMIT I PROVED YOU'RE HUMAN, JUST HAVE YOUR MAIN PUPPET MAKE A PEACE SIGN!"

Juno with a horror-struck look on her face immediately makes a peace sign with her wooden fingers.

Milano: "Sky."

Sky snaps at the air next to the 5th puppet and dives in without taking it down.

Juno gasps on the ground in relief.

The other puppets detach from their strings and fall into the water.

Juno stands up and glares at Milano.

Milano looks to the ceiling: "Now that that's ove-"

Juno punches Milano down.

Milano: "Ah."

Juno: "STOP LOOKING UP THERE! STOP TALKING TO THE PERSON IN THE CEILING! SHE'S NOT THE REAL ME! SHE DOESN'T EXIST! I'M ME! LOOK ME IN MY MARBLE EYES!"

Milano: "Juno-"

Juno: "WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO MAKE YOU LOOK AT ME!?"

Juno removes her bra.

Juno: "LOOK AT THEM. DOES THIS WORK!? Do they turn you on? Of course they don't. They're just curvy pieces of wood, right!?"

Milano looks at them with a thoughtful face: "Wood-"

Juno kicks Milano on the ground.

Juno: "Y'know... You still lost. You only gave 4 pieces of evidence. So you're still gonna die."

Juno goes for a finishing move.

Milano coughs on the floor: "I was gonna say... Wood and all... They're pretty nice..."

Juno pauses: "Hah...?"

Milano: "They're the perfect shape and size. They look soft even tho they're made of wood. And the nipples are uh... well placed."

Juno blushes and immediately covers them: "O... OK! OK! St- STOP LOOKING AT THEM NOW!!"

Milano: "But weren't you the one that-"

Juno: "IT'S DIFFERENT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME AS A PUPPET!"

Juno avoids eye contact and softens her voice: "You're looking at me as a girl right now. So turn around."

Milano's eyes widen and he turns around, thoughtfully thinking to himself.

Juno shyly puts her bra back on: "Ok. It's ok now."

Milano turns back around: "Juno. I want to show you something I haven't shown anyone else."

Juno: "Eh?"

Milano stands up and begins unzipping his pants.

Juno freaks out: "EH- EEH!? WAIT! WAIT! WHAT'RE YOU DOING!? I THINK YOU GOT THE WRONG IDEA HERE!"

Milano's pants fall to the floor and his perfectly toned butt is revealed.

Juno covers her eyes flustered.

Milano: "It's not like that. Just look."

Juno slowly peaks: "W- Wua- Whadyu mean?"

Milano stands with a serious face.

Juno looks: "Eh."

Juno: "WH- WHERE'S YOUR THING!?"

Milano: "My dad sold it to the black market when I was a kid."

Milano pulls his pants up: "The few weeks we've been here, you've told me a lot about the three mythical performers of the Circus Purge. The Phantom Muppeteer, a man who controls thousands of muppets at once all on his own. The Centipede Witch, a bizarre cryptid from the outside world. And... the Giraffe Pirate also known as the boogie man that sails the twisted seas of the Circus Purge. He's named after a giraffe because of his ridiculously tall stature of 2.5 meters."

Juno clenches her fist: "Why the hell are you bringing that monster up?"

Milano fixes his eyepatch: "Because... I'm the son of boogie man."

Juno's eyes widen.

Milano: "You said you only joined the Circus Purge to kill the Giraffe Pirate but you never told me why. I've seen glimpses of your shadow when you run past the holes in the ceiling. He... He changed parts of your body right? I know it's him. What I saw looks too much like his work. I've seen him do it to others when I was little too."

Juno shakes: "N- No... I- He- He can't do anything to me! I'M- I'M A DEMON! I DON'T EVEN HAVE A PHYSICAL BODY! I'LL MURDER HIM! I'LL TEAR HIS FLESH AND EAT HIS SOUL AND HE CAN'T EVEN TOUCH ME! He... He can't touch me... He can't... Touch..."

Milano: "Rule 2 of the Circus Purge states that there can only be 2 survivors at the end. But I want to get out of here with Gianni, Solange and you. Hence, rule 5, we need to collect 666 points to make a contract with the head of the Circus Purge. A contract where we will request there to be more than 2 winners at the end. I'll sacrifice anything for that contract. Even if it's all 4 of my limbs. Anything except my remaining eye, I need that to see the electric eels with Gianni."

Juno stares at the ground in agony.

Milano: "Rule 3 states that we make points by killing other performers. But I don't want to go on a massacre and kill innocent people. Plus it'd take too long. So instead, we go after the performers who hold the most points and only kill them. I need your help to kill the Giraffe Pirate."

Juno's puppet remains expressionless as soft crying can be heard from the ceiling.

Milano: "I'm sorry, Juno. I know this puppet is a part of you. But you aren't just a puppet. The puppet's what you want people to perceive you as in this 'show' that is life, right? My whole 'show' I've controlled the puppet of a young talented orca performing self-made millionaire who gets all the girls, lives the ideal life and is destined to perform a spectacle to make it to the outside world... But the truth is, the puppet master has always been a depressed and suicidal child with a shitty father... I'm not saying that your puppet isn't you. I'm saying that it's only half of you. If you live your life convincing yourself that only half of you exists, it'll just be a shortcut to the end of the show... I... I was gonna cut my puppet's strings not too long ago... But Gianni showed me that the show must go on... and Solange too... in her own psychotic way."

Juno's puppet begins moving again and looks at Milano.

Milano: "Our bodies are the puppets of our thoughts. A puppet can't do anything without a puppet master, but what the hell is a puppet master without a puppet? ...Life is just a tug of war between the puppet and the puppet master until the strings finally snap and the curtains inevitably close."

-Meanwhile in Another Room-

Solange fiddles with her matryoshka doll: "Psst! Gianni! Y'wake?"

Gianni with his eyes closed: "Depends. U gonna mess wit me cuz u bored again?"

Solange cheekily giggles: "Heh heh. Nah. I was just gonna ask... Aren't ya scared?"

Gianni opens his eyes: "Hah? Why the heck should I be scared?"

Solange: "Y'know... Since everybody in the Circus Purge is huntin' you. Includin' all the myths. Phantom Muppeteer, Giraffe Pirate, Centipede Witch, they all want a piece of your butt."

Gianni looks to the ceiling: "Oh that."

Solange looks to the ceiling with a jovial smile: "Yea that."

Gianni: "To be honest... I don't care 'bout no giraffe guy or centipede bitch. There can be a frickin' walrus pirate therapist toucan stripper OR EVEN A DILDO TARANTULA! Even if there's a frickin' dildo tarantula, I have no fucks to give! I'm fuckless! Lacking of the 'fuck' as one might say! That's how little it matters to me! That phantom guy can pull a muppet out of his asshole for all I care! I'LL JUST STICK IT RIGHT BACK IN THERE! Even if all of Circopia comes to hunt me down, I'll bitch slap their cats, French kiss their moms and spit on their uncle's moustache! Cuz nobody's stopping me from makin' it to the outside world and seeing the electric eels with Milano and Blanca! So all's I gotz to say is..."

Gianni smiles with his sharp teeth: "The show must go on!"

TO BE CONTINUED