Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak or its characters.

(Immediately after Darren falls into the water and "dies")

"Desmond Tiny, you will pay for your crimes against the fabric of reality. We have threatened you with destruction and torture. Now we now that neither of those things will suffice for the atrocities you have committed. We will give you exactly what you wanted. The Lord of the Shadows will be created."

The man in the green rain boots chuckled merrily. "That hardly seems like a punishment."

"Oh but it is Desmond. For when you return to the world of the living, you will see the error of your ways. The pain you have caused to others will be forced upon you. It would be a mercy if your mind snapped under the strain."

Mr. Tiny scratched his chin with one hand and raised a finger on the other. "Do tell me…is this supposed to make me a changed man?" He smirked. "I feel no sorrow, regret or love."

"You will feel everything," the eerie voices snapped. "As no more then a human; and trust me Desmond they feel. You will know the pain of families that were ripped apart. The anger and grief of two brothers forced to fight to the death. Millions of years of hurt."

For the first time Mr. Tiny looked mildly concerned. "What about the Lord of the Shadows?" He asked, attempting to brush off the previous few seconds. "What does a faceless monster have to do with punishing an old man?"

"He will be the key."

"The key to what?"

"When you awake from your punishment there will be war. War that you caused through your greedy wishes. The Lord of the Shadows was what you wanted."

"And what I still want," Mr. Tiny snapped.

"Do you?" There was a lengthy pause. "Some of us still think you can be redeemed. So I give you this. The Lord cannot be killed unless one person in particular forgives you."

"Who-?"

Mr. Tinys' words were cut off when a wind blew through the cave. All the objects he'd collected over millennium ripped, tore and hit the walls, shattering into hundreds of pieces. The water from the pool where he made his Little People was caught up in the wind and before Mr. Tiny could do anything more then stare, thunderstruck the liquid engulfed him.

The voice came again, chuckling as Mr. Tiny thrashed in the liquid, his mouth opening in a choked howl. "I forgot. We can't have you dying too quickly. So we will give you back your powers…after we finish."

(Two months later)

"Damn," was the first word I uttered upon awakening to see a rat perched on my chest, eating what appeared to be an old candy wrapper. The rat squeaked and abandoned its treat when I let an almost animalistic growl and swung a numb arm at it. I clutched the candy and turned over the foil wrapping. A curly H and brown wrapping proved it used to be a Hershys' bar. My stomach rumbled painfully just thinking about chocolate. I abandoned the long since eaten food and sought to feel the wound in my side. Only smooth, unscarred skin met my questing fingers. I sat up quickly, holding back a disgusted moan when dirty sewer water slopped off my bare chest. I probed the wound again. No pain, no hint of a fatal stab wound except a thin white line that wasn't quite a scar.

Digging through my pockets took only seconds and I laid out the contents on a relatively dry part of the tunnel. A dead cell phone, wallet, soaked dollar bills, some change and the other half of the Hershys bar was all I had. The stabbing hunger came again and I almost braved the chocolate before throwing it down the tunnel. I had just survived what should have been a fatal wound. There was no need to tempt fate again through ingesting some terrible disease. Opening the wallet I was startled to find a pocket knife inside along with what looked like credit cards, and a picture of Debbie well worn by water and muck. Her face was still visible though and I smiled, brushing a finger along her cheek.

I put the items back in my pocket, minus the ruined money and wallet. A shaft of light shone down a few feet away, through what I assumed was a sewer grate. I got up and took a few wobbling steps toward it, shoving back painful memories. 'Steve's dead body falling into the darkness, Vancha lying on the ground and Mr. Tiny confessing he was my father.' I shuddered and forged ahead, slipping several times on substances I had no wish to investigate further.

When I reached the grate and peered through, I couldn't hear any cars. I jumped up and stuck a finger through the gaps, pulling back with a startled sound. Snow fell through the opening and landed on a scrap of fabric tucked into my jeans that I hadn't noticed before. I pulled it out and ash fell from the cloth. It was the remains of my shirt. The edges were burnt to a crisp and even as I held it pieces drifted free. I ignored this and put the cloth into another pocket, deciding that escaping the sewer was a bigger worry.

Two shoves later and I scrambled out onto the curb into bright winter sunlight. I tripped over the curb and fell face first into a snow drift. The snow was harsh on my skin but I snatched handfuls up and wiped the worst of the gunk off my skin.

"Hey, are you alright?!"

I turned and saw a man approaching with his dog. I had the sudden insane urge to jump the man and sink my teeth into his neck. Blood was at the top of my list then.

"I'm fine," I said wearily; shocked at how hoarse my voice was. I couldn't help but study the pulse jumping in the mans throat as he watched me with a bemused expression. "Um, what month is it?"

"November," the dog walker said carefully. "Are you sure you're ok?" he added.

"Y-Yes," I stammered. "Too much to drink." 'Two months,' I thought horrified. 'Everyone must think I'm dead.'

"It's not safe to be out at night," the man said gesturing to the dusky sky.

"Why?"

The man snorted but his face had gone waxy. "You really had to have been on the drink today."

I frowned. "Just tell me why," I said impatiently.

"Things," the dog walker whispered hoarsely. "Things come out of the shadows."

A.N. This is my first fan fiction. I hope you like it! Please R&R : ) Next chapter will be up soon.