Cross could sense Killer's unease mixed with Ink's shallow delight and happiness. Ink hadn't stopped hugging Dream for the last ten minutes. He'd also been in tears for the same amount of time. He'd just met Dream again. But that wasn't why Killer was uneasy, it seemed. It was a few days later from Lust's practice and Killer had come to rehearse in the Big Top with Cross once again. It would be their sixth practice.

Error seemed confused as he stared down at the Ring. They were all in the bleachers. Cross could only remember seeing the Ring glow cyan whenever Nightmare entered it, reacting only to him and him alone. But not anymore, it seemed.

The Ring had lit up gold as soon as Dream had entered the Big Top. It continued to glow along all the lines, shining brightly. Cross was slightly thankful for the emotional cloud of numbness Dream sent out because it dulled down everyone else's emotions. He let out a soft sigh. Killer whistled and got Cross' attention. Error had teleported into the soundbooth.

He teleported them into the Ring. "Okay, ya know where you're standin', right?" He asked, taking his place on a circle. Cross nodded and made his way to a different one. As soon as he'd stepped into place, the entire Ring began to spin very slowly. Cross summoned a circle of glowing knives that orbited around him. In the blue light that suddenly bathed them, all of his knives had become purple.

Killer had his icicle knives orbiting around him, his red magic illuminated by the lights as purple. "Ya want to aim for the circle of foam around the ceiling! And remember that Lust'll be walkin' across the wire when we do this!" Killer yelled to him as both of their circles began to rise as the Ring continued its gentle spinning.

Cross nodded and focused. "ONE!" Killer yelled and they both sent up the first two knives, impaling in the foam circle strung up in the very ceiling of the tent, the knives whisking past the wire where Lust would be during the show. White foam particles rained down, looking like snow as the knives embedded themselves into the hanging prop. They both did a slow turn, allowing the Ring to do another spin.

"TWO!" Cross yelled and they both sent up two more, raining down more of the fake snow. One more spin. They both yelled on three and sent up the rest of the knives, exploding the foam circle into a cloud of particles that floated down. Killer's knives remained in the air to come back down later as Cross' disappeared. Error slowly stopped the Ring.

Their circular pedestals spun back down to become flat again, Cross smiling. For once in his life, he actually felt confidence. He could do it. He met Killer's empty eyesockets and the other seemed amused before scoffing. Cross blinked as he felt pride. It wasn't his. He gulped and let out an excited breath. Killer was proud of him. He could feel it from Ink as well.

Killer nodded. "Alright, ya want to try our solo acts now?" He asked, grinning. It was a real grin. Cross nodded excitedly. He could feel Dream and Ink watching him. Even through the numbness, there was still confidence and pride. Killer went first as Cross teleported to the bleachers on the side. He raised a hand to signal to the soundbooth. Error activated the Ring once again.

This time, Killer stood in the middle. Pillars rose and sank around him as the the entire Ring spun slowly, except for where he was standing. The lights were on him as his icicle knives from earlier spun back down to him in a shimmering column. They all returned to orbiting him.

Error activated another switch and targets appeared around him, created by the lights. They were all around him on the wall of the Ring. Killer grabbed each knife out of the air, not even a second between them before he was throwing the next.

When the knife hit the center of the target, it cracked the protective layer over the actual wall, creating glowing blue cracks. He'd hit each one with deadly precision and force, despite the Ring having been spinning the entire time.

The Ring slowed to a stop and Killer threw one last knife straight up. He was spun down underneath the Ring as the knife hit a hidden foam prop at the very top of the tent, embedding itself and Error activated a series of lights that caused the tent to look like it had cracked in a series of glowing blue lines as the cloud of foam particles drifted down.

The entire Ring went dark and Killer appeared next to Cross, telling him to go in. Cross nodded and teleported in. He would step on the pillar below the Ring, taking Killer's place. The pillar rose back up, Cross now in the middles as the Ring remained dark. Then, the Ring lit up in the shape of an X, illuminating Cross as it began to spin again. Slower.

The light made it look like frost was beginning to spread from the X. Cross slipped four of his icicle knives into his hands, two in each one. The spotlight went on him and a target lit up on the wall. Cross threw within a second. When the knife hit the center, the target became an X with that same frost spreading from it. Another appeared. Another one. Another. He did the same thing. He did not miss.

The Ring flashed once. Twice. It went dark and the circle he was standing on was pulled under and he was sucked below. Error turned off the Ring and it brought Cross back up before turning off. Error came out of the soundbooth. Was that...? Cross felt his SOUL jump. Error was IMPRESSED.

Cross had to keep himself from smiling like a fool. Both Killer and Ink had told him Error was very difficult to impress. He'd done it. Cross stared around excitedly. His part was very short, but he was just happy that he had a part at all.

Error yelled in his glitching voice for them to collect their knives. He needed to replace the protective layer. It was a magic-infused hard plastic that lit up like a glow stick when cracked. He also needed to replace the foam circle above. Since he needed to do these things, Cross and Killer has to schedule with him when they wanted to practice.

Killer used to his magic to summon his icicle knives back to him and Cross did the same. Error beckoned to Ink and they both went down to clean up and replace everything. "You've improved a lot." Killer commented to Cross, who glanced at him in surprise. "I remember the first time we did that, ya missed every single one by nearly a foot."

"That's because I've never thrown knives while the ground was spinning!" Cross defended himself with a huff. Killer gave him that crooked grin and Cross knew he was messing with him. "But you really think I'm better now?"

"Oh, absolutely. Ready for the show, dare I say." Killer said, chuckling. He blinked as two tentacles curled around him from behind and he turned to Dream, who'd dragged himself over to them. Killer leaned down and picked Dream up into a princess carry. "What did you think?" He asked, his voice softening.

Dream twitched before grinning wide. "V-Very good!! Both of you!!" He managed to praise. He seemed very pleased. Cross relaxed a little. He was so anxious about performing. But nonetheless, he had never been so excited in his life. Thinking about his routine, he was so glad he didn't get motion sickness. He blinked, coming back from his thoughts as Dream twitched again.

He was looking at Cross as he gave a shaky smile. "D-Don't worry... Y-Y-You did good and you will do good again." He said shakily. Cross stared at him, momentarily speechless before he felt a huge smile on his face and he thanked Dream, dipping his head. Dream let out an excited noise and buried his face against Killer's shoulder, his tentacles moving to wrap around Killer tightly.

"Okay, so I'm going to schedule for us to practice one more time tomorrow, but it'll be with Lust. Ya think you're ready?" Killer asked, tipping his head. He felt concern from Killer, but also a sense of confidence. Killer was confident in him. Cross gulped and fought back tears.

He wasn't used to others believing in him so strongly. He nodded and said that he could handle it. Killer stared at him before giving a smile and nodding before turning away as Dream let out a pleased-sounding trill. Cross' SOUL was pounding. He knew why he was anxious.

Nightmare. He wanted to impress Nightmare. Sure, he wanted to prove himself to everyone else as well, but it was Nightmare who he wanted to impress. He wanted to prove that he could do it to himself too. He wanted to prove to himself that it wasn't a waste for everyone to believe in him. He held a hand over his chest and sighed quietly.

He nodded to himself once more. He could do it. He echoed his own thought. "I can do it." He whispered softly.