Maskoff's Circus

    Indigo looked back and forth, witnessing the Harvest Festival that looked so normal mere moments ago transforming in front of him. He remembered when that comet had landed on Palleth about two years ago, he had seen some Grems that had the mutations that arose from the event, though never in such a number as he saw now.

    When he looked up at the sign and saw the neon recreation of a meteor, he knew that whatever this Festival truly was, it had to be connected to where these mutations came from. As he looked again, he still saw plenty of normal Grems around him, some panicking and running, and others trying to do what they could to not get on Maskoff’s bad side

    He had lost track of Palatasi, he had been with her earlier, but had separated just a few minutes before the circus had transformed. But he knew she would be fine, she was much tougher than him, and so long as he wasn’t in immediate danger, he had a feeling she wasn’t either.

    He perked up when he heard Drop and Drip talk about someone called Ghost and Crusher, and then from Maskoff, Evie. He listened intently as they mentioned needing a crystal in order to escape. He wasn’t sure what Maskoff meant by joining their family, but he thought it would be better to not find out.

    Indie gulped, looking around once more, the crowd seemed to be dispersing to find the people that were mentioned, everyone wanting to be sure they managed to get one of those crystals. And after another moment, he found himself following a group, hoping they knew where they were going.

    After a few minutes, he found himself in front of a massive circus tent, work out jams blasting from inside of it, reminding him of the few times he had tried to visit a gym. This had to be where one of the possible challenges that were mentioned was. And he didn’t know how much time he still had to find one of the other two, so he would have to settle for this.

    As he stepped inside, it was easy to locate the Grem that had to be Crusher, listening to his speech of beating his challenge, and he paled. He wasn’t a very strong Grem, he wasn't weak per say but, there was no way he could beat Crusher in an average strength contest. But, he felt himself perk up when Crusher mentioned an eating contest, saying that the stomach was a muscle as well.

    That gave him an idea, one of the few things he was good at was baking, and he didn’t think that could be passed as a strength contest though. But… there was one other thing he could think of that he may be able to beat the Cypherus in. 

    After a few more Grems challenged Crusher, some winning, some losing, it was his turn to contest him, as he reached up and gently clasped the small charm hanging from his neck. 

    At his approach, Crusher looked at him, letting out a snorf, “Well, now you’re a little blue boy aren’t ya? You think you can beat me in a contest? Well, name your challenge, and let’s see if you make it to the end.” He smirked, the flames around his body bursting up for a moment.

    Indigo swallowed, before stepping up, “I think I can beat you… in a contest over who can stay underwater longer. I bet I can stay under without coming up for breath longer than you can.”

    Crusher looked to be in thought for a moment, raising a hand to his chin, before letting out a snort, “Testing your lungs eh? Sounds good to me!” He yelled, standing tall and snapping a finger. As if by magic, suddenly a large pool began to appear in the floor of the tent easily large enough to fit the two Grems within it. Crusher made his way to the side, “Cmon blue boy, let’s test your mettle!”

    He wiped a bit of sweat from his head, both from nervousness, and the heat the Cypherus was creating with their flames, as he took his place next to the pool as well, ready to jump in when Crusher said so.

    He didn’t have to wait long, “Ready… Set… GO!” Crusher let out, before both of the two Grems leapt into the pool.

    As Indigo fell in though, a change went over him, the Water Trinket around his neck working it’s magic, as scales began to appear over parts of his body, his feet became webbed, and as most importantly, gills opened on his neck. He opened his eyes, looking over at Crusher under the water. The Cypherus had remained the same, the only change being the flames no longer erupting as much, though the water around him quickly became warmer.

    If he was lucky, he should be able to easily win this. With the ability of his Water Trinket, he could breathe underwater indefinitely, and unless Crusher had a similar ability, he would have to go up at some point first.

    They both ended up staying under longer than Indigo had anticipated, approaching the five minute mark before Crusher had to release their breath, a burst of bubbles coming out of his mouth as he pushed himself above the surface.

    Indigo let out a sigh of relief, the water not bothering him due to the transformation, as a moment later, he brought himself above the surface of the water, seeing Crusher taking a few deep breaths to refill his lungs.

    After a few seconds of that, the Cypherus looked over at him with a big predatory grin. “Well well well, looks like you’re better than I thought, blue boy. And, I guess you beat me.” He reached behind himself, grabbing from somewhere Indigo couldn’t see, before bringing out a small crystal, which he tossed at Indie. “There’s your crystal, and I look forward to having a rematch someday.”

    He hastily grabbed it, clutching it tightly as if it was a lifeline, thankful his choice had paid off. He found himself nodding frantically at Crusher, finding himself still incredibly intimidated by him and unable to form words, but not wanting to upset them, as he climbed his way out of the pool and made to head outside with his reward.