Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters

This is the finale of my Season of Murder. I hope that you all enjoy this and I hope that I'll be able to balance all the shippings well enough. I love Franticshipping, Commonershipping and Agency shipping. But beyond that… Cue the clown music! We're going to the circus!

Sapphire stood sixty feet in the air. She took a deep breath and willed herself not to look down; willed herself not to remember that if she fell, there was no net to save her. She knew she was well trained enough but the risk still made her hesitate. She cringed slightly when a bright light struck her. White, the ring master below, introduced her character, and praised her ability while waving her arms exaggeratedly. White finished and Sapphire took three dainty steps forward.

And jumped.

Ruby breathed in sharply and his eyes widened as he saw her leap off the platform. He let out a breath of relief when she caught the bar and effectively swung her body to the next trapeze. Her limber body soared through the air. She was too far for him to see any detail but there was no doubt about her beauty. He could see her as clearly as if she were in front of him. His gem was breathtaking.

But she was a suspect. Every person in the Circ du Gems was a suspect. He couldn't imagine his delicate gem could be the murderer. There was a series murders throughout the country, following the same route this circus took. He was surprised that the circus was still running when there was such large controversy around it.

Silver had sent him under cover to find if the killer was a part of the circus. The owner was very protective of her circus and kept it from the media. She also had the money to do so and was able to keep the police at bay. Ruby wasn't the person originally chosen for the job but he jumped at the chance to see his gem again. He convinced Ruby that he would be best since he had experience with magic.

He exited the main tent and went to the much smaller one on the left. The banner 'Lady Fortune' was hung above the door and heavy drapes hung everywhere both inside and outside the tent. Bells chimed as he pushed aside the velvety violet silk and entered the little tent. A round table dominated the small space and a woman sat behind it, placing cards on the table even before he sat across from him.

Even though he tried to find as much information on everyone in the circus but he found much. All he knew was that her stage name was: Lady Fortune. Even in the past, she often blended into the background. Right now, she was dressed as a gypsy, a gold veil over her face but he could see that she was beautiful.

"Change," Her light sophisticated voice sounded haunted. Her slender finger reached out and tapped the death card. She turned over the next card, revealing the mask. "You are not who you are truly meant to be. You must discover what matters to you for the beauty you seek to bloom. Not everyone is who you think they are and you must look with your heart."

"Missy?" The jingling of bells brought the young woman out of her trance like state. Ruby turned to see a clown walk in. While others would have laughed at the man's attire, Ruby was appalled at it. How can someone willingly wear such a thing? The colours clashed and the clothes were several sizes too big so that it hung on his body in all the wrong ways. He stopped himself from commenting and observed their conversation instead.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were in a session," He smiled bashfully at her. She smiled at him and he went on, "Pearl and mine act is going to start soon and I thought you might like to come watch us. Sapphire's big finale is about to happen!"

"I would love to watch," She stood and sorted the tarot cards. She turned to Ruby, "I'm sorry, but may we stop our session early."

Ruby nodded, wanting to see the performance as well. He followed the pair, watching the connection between the two. The clown seemed to know the fortune teller more than others seemed to know her more than others. He might be able to help him get more information on everyone at the circus.

He wondered if he would recognize the man with all the makeup he was wearing but the man was tall and a little clumsy from it. He could see that the man's blue eyes sparkled with laughter. The woman next to his was delicate at the size of five feet five but the gypsy costume she wore engulfed her. Her long black hair hung all the way to her waist and her amber eyes held a ghost. Her porcelain skin was so transparent he thought she might be a ghost.

When they entered, Dia went with another man to prepare for their performance and Missy went to sit in the stands. He stood at the base of the stands and watched Sapphire soared through sky. He was always amazed that she was able to move so gracefully, catching the swing and pivoting herself to the next. He knew this act was a duo and wondered where her twin, May, was. He didn't think much on it, wanting to admire Sapphire's beauty.

He could remember their last they had and the angry tears she had when she pushed him away. She stated that she didn't love him but he knew that wasn't true. He tried to call her to make up but she refused to even answer him. He was going to win her back though. He vowed to himself of that, the moment she first hung up on him.

"Why isn't there a net?" Ruby asked. Despite Sapphire's training and talent, he was still wary of the lack of safety. How did White keep getting away with these things, Ruby would never know.

"White says that it adds another layer to the performance," Missy answered beside him. "We always practise with the net though. White wanted to make this as exciting as possible though I fear this is a little extreme as well. Everyone is watching in case she falls with a net so she is safe. I assure you that Sapphire is our best trapeze artist, so you don't have to worry about her."

Sapphire threw her weight forward so that she swung full circle around the trapeze and landed easily on the bar. She was breathing deeply but she smiled and waved at the crowd. The steel wire that held the bar up was cold and sweat collected between her fingers as the trapeze became stationary. The light blinded her but she turned her gaze down so the watchers wouldn't be too concerned. In that action she saw someone come behind Missy in the crowd in a dark cape and a mask. Now him again!

"Missy!" Sapphire called out.

Sapphire almost lost her balance when she almost took a step off the bar because of her instinct to run to her friend's rescue. The masked figure turned up to her and she clung to the wire rope when she shot at her. She swore when the bullet hit her arm since she couldn't go down to help her friend, not with an injury. But others were quick to do so. A man took the man and threw him into the center.

"I'm going to be the one to take you down!" Black declared and his whip fell to the ground like a snake. The man went to shot at him again but with a simple movement of his whip, he struck the weapon from him. "I am the legendary lion tamer! No one can defeat me."

At this point the others surrounded the group but Ruby was more concerned with saving Sapphire. He couldn't let her sit there, a clear target for the killer. He climbed the ladder to the platform as fast as he could. He could see the chaos bellow and bit his tongue when White tried to keep the audience calm, by claiming that this was another part of the act.

At this point, the other performers had surrounded the masked man. Black was grinning though rage filled him with the knowledge of everything he did to this circus. He lashed out with his whip so that it wrapped around the masked man's wrist and pulled him forward. The man stumbled forward but kept his footing. He raised his cape and Black stumbled back when doves flew out at him.

"I shall get my treasure!" He stated and threw marbles on the ground that caused smoke to surround them. Everyone coughed and White took safety blanket to disperse the smoke. When the smoke cleared, everyone gasped that he wasn't there.

Sapphire looked down and was glad to no one was hurt. But a part of her was angry that she couldn't be able to help. Now she had to wait for them to get a ladder to help her down. She almost fell off the trapeze as someone called out for her in the platform. She looked up and she breathed in sharply when she saw that it was Ruby.

"Don't worry Saph, I'm going to save you!" He took the trapeze and swung himself to her.

"You idiot!" She yelled at him. She face palmed when he wasn't able to swing himself fully. He wasn't trained to be a trapeze artist and by the panic in his eyes, she knew that he would likely fall to his death. She looked down and saw that everyone was already gathering at the bottom to catch them but she knew that Ruby wouldn't be able to hang on long enough for them to get the net ready.

"Ruby," She called to him calmly when she saw that his swing had become stationary. "When I tell you to let go, I want you to do so. You need to trust me on this but don't let go until I say so."

Ruby looked skeptical but she tried to ignore it. Of course he wouldn't trust her and she had no idea why she was saving his life. She was supposed to hate him and she thought she would never see him again yet here he was. To her, it seemed like a dream but in her heart she knew that it was him.

She breathed in deeply and slipped from bar but caught the trapeze. She winced when the gunshot in her arm throbbed. She ignored the pain and swung herself until she got the right momentum. She let go and summersaulted through the air. She screamed for him to let go and he did so with a little hesitation. She caught his swing with her legs just as she caught Ruby's wrist. He tightened her hold on his wrist as well and she winced at the pain in her arm.

"Sapphire," He looked at her and could see the pain in her face. "I'm sorry."

She didn't know if he was speaking of the past or present but she didn't want to face either, not when they included him. She knew that she was the one that drew them apart but she couldn't help but blame him a little too. She looked down and saw that most of the audience had been ushered out and everyone was in a circle at the bottom, holding the large safety blanket.

Ruby saw her hold on the bar loosen and he began to panic. Was she still mad enough to kill him but letting them both fall to their doom. "Sapphire, please think about this! I don't want to live without you and I came back to apologize."

He cursed when she relaxed her legs and they fell. She closed her eyes but could fell Ruby gather her against his chest and turn his body so that he would take most of the impact. They were in free fall and she could feel his heart beat wildly in her ear. Ruby tightened his hold on her and wished that his death would be quick.

He grunted when it wasn't the hard ground that met him but a net. He grunted when it gave out and he rolled to the ground with Sapphire in his arms. He was alive and so was his gem! He was so happy that he rained kisses over her face. It was so familiar to hold her and his heart soared when she relaxed in his arms.

"I love you, my gem," He whispered into her hair and that made her heart ache. She pushed away from him roughly and when he grabbed her arm, she winced. He let her go and saw the blood on his hands. Others seemed to notice as well and rushed over to help her. He was pushed out of the way and it hurt him that the performers gather around her like a barrier.

"Are you okay?" White asked and called for someone to get her the first aid kit. She examined the wound, "It went clear through, at least that better than having it lodge in a bone. We're going to take you to the hospital to check up on this."

"I don't need to," She insisted but White stared at her sternly and ordered Wally to help bring Sapphire to the hospital. Sapphire grumbled but allowed the knife thrower to take her away. Ruby bit his tongue from arguing but knew that she wouldn't let him take her. He also had to put Silver's plan into action.

He saw White order everyone and her eyes landed on him once everyone was on doing their own things. She walked over to him and looked him over. She tapped her chin as she walked around him, "I've seen you here before. Putting that aside though, I want to thank you for saving Sapphire. If there's anything you need, I'll be glad to help."

"There is something you can help with, actually," Ruby said and she raised a brow at her. He pulled a rose from thin air and took out a business card nestle in its petals. "Are you in need of a magician?"

"What is he still doin' here?" Sapphire came back to see White and Ruby standing outside her trailer later that night. Ruby had that stupid grin on his face that for some reason made her lightheaded. White didn't know about their past since she only brought the circus from the previous owners a year ago. It still felt like a betrayal though, that she would hire the one man that made her cry.

"Sapphire, I want you to meet our new magician, Ruby!" White said with her normal enthusiasm. "I want you to show him around."

"But-" Sapphire's argument was met with death ears as White danced off. She saw one of the performers falter and went to help the green haired man. Sapphire let out a frustrated breath and swung back to Ruby to pin him with a glare. She didn't give him a moment to speak before she drilled her finger into his chest.

"It's great to see you again," He bowed to her and she rolled her eyes. She scoffed at him in that accent that had haunted his daydreams for years. His eyes sparkled as he stood and he looked her up and down.

She was still as beautiful as when they first met only a year before. Her soft brown hair was cut short to her shoulders and tied so that her bangs fell forward to cup her face. She was small and had a slender body toned for gymnastic. She was so small, only reaching the middle of his chest, that he sometime forgot how powerful she was. Her namesake eyes flashed with passion he knew only she had.

"I want to make this right between us. I know that I said some words but that was from anger," Ruby insisted but she merely crossed her arms and glared up at him. He knew that simple words wouldn't be able to win her back after all of the terrible things he said to her. "I'm taking a job as a magician to be closer to you."

"Because working for the circus is such a shame," She shot him a look. She had been a part of the circus ever since she was five and it was her entire life. It didn't help that he took the job of the one act she hated above all else. Magic was like love to her, a fleeting feeling of happiness and little more than an illusion. He had taught her that himself all those years ago when she was little more than an illusion herself.

"I just want to be close to you," He knew she loved the circus which was more of a home to her. Her father had traveled with the circus for research and brought his twin daughters with him. After he died when they were twenty, they stayed at the circus knowing no other home. Because the circus took her in, she loved it more than anything and would protect it. She had to know something about the murders.

"I'm sure you would want to know about May," The sudden change of subject jarred him but he knew what point she was going to make. "You'll be heartbroken to hear that she ran away from the circus with her fiancé Drew. Now that you have no reason to stay, I'll be telling White."

"That's not true," When she turned away from him, he took her hand and turned her back so that she was against his chest. He wrapped her arms around her waist, trapping her against him. He raised her chin so that she looked up at him, "I have you. You're the reason I'm here. At least give us a chance and show me around."

She chocked on her words when she looked up into his crimson eyes. She couldn't read the emotions raging through them and her heart stumbled. She was sure that she could feel her heartbeat but hoped that he wouldn't think too much of it. He was tall and lean, towering over her but never made her feel pathetically small. Only protected.

"Fine," She looked away from him so that he couldn't read her eyes. She would show him around and when he realized that he didn't want to spend the day in a dirt filled circus, he would leave her in peace. He nodded and let her go, gesturing for her to lead the way.

"We should be sloughing about now," She told him, a term for tearing down the tent. They past some of game stands that were also being taken down. "We don't stay in town long, only a couple weeks, most of the time when we're just traveling. Working in the circus is hard work. We get up early to set up and hotels are rare so don't hold your breath for anything too fancy."

Ruby already knew how hard working in a traveling circus was, she told him so when they first started dating but she thought the work was easier with all the friends she made. They were constantly on the move during the season so he thanked whatever god was watching over him that their truck had broken down when it did.

They stayed longer than was planned and in that time, Ruby had started dating her. He had went to the circus ever since he was a child and was always fascinated by the flying twins but never had time to talk about them before that. But their relation had started with a lie and it had ended with heated words. He wanted to win her back though and start over with the truth. That wasn't right either, since the reason he came was to the circus was for the case.

Ruby looked down at Sapphire at his side. She had changed so much since they last met despite it only being a couple years. Only in appearance though, she was still the stubborn little spitfire he knew she was. They passed some games and Sapphire introduced him to everyone in the circus.

"Watch out!" As they entered the main tent, a lion almost took down but Sapphire quickly pulled him out of its path. Ruby reached for his gun, thinking that the lion had gotten loose but a man came and started patting the animal until it was lying on its stomach. "Aren't you a good boy Buoh?"

"I hope that thing is tamed," Ruby twitched that his well tailored clothes now had dirt on them.

"Of course he isn't," The man laughed and held out his hand to shake. "A domesticated lion is much more dangerous than a wild one. They're much less predictable and when they snap, they're almost uncontrollable. I'm Black by the way, the lion tamer."

"This is Ruby," Sapphire introduced the two. "He wants to join the family."

Black raised a brow at the bitterness in her voice. The man didn't seem fazed by it and place an arm around her shoulder. Sapphire shrugged it off and went on to where she saw a trio pulling down the tent canvas. Ruby recognized the clown and the gypsy but he didn't know the third man. Sapphire went to them and introduced them to Ruby.

"Dia and Pearl are a comedy duo and our clowns," Sapphire told him. Diamond seemed to recognize him and shook Ruby's hand, thanking him for saving Missy. Sapphire nodded toward the woman that stayed mostly to the background. "And Missy's our fortune teller. White just hired him as our new magician."

"At least we have one more person to help us. We already took out all the pegs but you can roll up the canvases. Then you can help us take down the center pole."

Ruby looked up at the main pole holding up the tent. He gulped at the prospect of bring that thing down. It was at least eighty feet. No wonder there was so many people in this circus. Sapphire ushered him to where the canvases were being rolled so they could be put into a truck. A man with green hair was already there and Ruby recognized him as the one that brought Sapphire to the hospital.

"I brought you help," Sapphire pushed Ruby toward him a little too forcibly. She had been increasing annoyed at him because of all the little nitpicks he pointed out in the circus tent. "This is Wally by the way. I need to talk to White for a bit."

Wally nodded and went on with his work. Ruby looked upon this man with suspicion for a moment trying to discover what this man's relationship with Sapphire was. He never thought of the possibility of her seeing someone new, he couldn't stand the thought.

"I'm not dating her," Wally answer his thoughts and ruby realized that he had been speaking out loud. Ruby face palmed but Wally only chuckled. "I haven't been here long but I know that she isn't in a relationship. She's too busy with the circus for that sort of thing."

"So what's your act?" Ruby asked as he went to work helping this new found friend.

"I help out with the games mostly but when we're short an act, I usually mime." Wally answered. "I have to ask though. Do you know exactly what you're signing up for?"

"Is this about that man that tried to take Missy?"

Wally looked over his shoulder before he answered, "He never attacked us in the middle of the show before. People have been calling him the masked man and half of the performers had already left in fear. Nobody know much about him, except that he's here to claim a treasure and that he's a magician."

"What exactly have he done?"

"Messed with some of our equipment and been sending us threats. I don't know everything but there are a lot of rumours. Everyone's been tense ever since he sent that letter. White only gave us the bare details. I'm just telling you this so that you know."

"Thank you," Ruby nodded to the man. At least now he had a starting point to build a case around. Maybe this masked man was connected to the murders outside of the circus as well. He would have to ask White more questions. He thanked the man and walked away to find the woman.

Wally watched him leave before he pulled out his phone, "I think we have a problem."

"I can't work with him!" Sapphire insisted but White waved away her concerned stating that they needed a magician after their last one walked out on them. She was desperately short on performers since the only ones staying were the ones that had been a part of the circus for years or the one that White managed to… convince to stay. Sapphire knew this as well but couldn't put away her pride at this moment.

"Be professional about this," White begged. Running a circus had been her dream ever since she was five and saw her first one. The lights and characters were so enchanting, she couldn't help but fall in love with it. She wanted to give children the experience she had when she was little but now everything was going wrong.

"I'm not going to relent on this Sapphire. You know that if I could I would. You're one of my closest friends but I am also a business owner and I have to make hard decisions. This is one of them and I promise if I feel that he isn't being professional, I'll let him go. Just please put up with this for a while for me. You don't even have to speak with one another! He'll be staying in Wally's trailer anyways."

Sapphire could see the desperation in the woman's eyes and sighed. Wally's trailer was far enough from her own so she wouldn't be tempted to go to him. White saw the sad acceptance in her eyes and she jumped at it.

"Thank you!" She smiled widely and grabbed the woman's hand. Before Sapphire could change her mind, White started to run off. "I need to go tell Cheren that it's his night to drive. Thank you so much again."

When White was well enough away, she stopped behind a trailer and sighed, leaning her head against it. She pressed a hand against her heart and tried to tell herself that this wasn't entirely her fault. How could she know that he would actually go through with his threats? She was contemplating if she should shut down the circus when she felt someone grab her from behind.

She gasped when she felt a knife against her throat. "Where's my treasure?"

"There is no treasure," she insisted. Despite the situation, she whispered harshly and found herself angrier than anything "I've done nothing to you- We've done nothing to you. Just leave my circus alone!"

"I know it's here somewhere," He accused. "For every day that I go without that treasure, I'll kill one of your performers."

White's mind started to race at this threat. Now there was no doubt that he would do something like that. She had to shut down the circus, dream or not, there were people's lives at risk. She jumped when the knife pressed dangerously close. "Don't think that you can run from this. If you try to run with the treasure, I'll track you down to take it back."

"So no matter what I do, we're all going to die?" She snapped at him. "There is no treasure to give you!"

"That's enough!" The man threw her sharply against the trailer and she slumped down against it, keeping her eyes trained on the circus. If this was how she was going to die, then she would rather look at the bright colours of the circus than the man's mask.

"Prez!" The man turned and Black running toward them. He took out an orb from his sleeve and White covered her eyes when there was a sudden blinding light. Black cursed when the light dimmed and all he saw was White crumpled against the trailer. He ran to her and lifted her into his arms glad that he could still feel her heartbeat.

"Prez, come on. You need to talk to me," She was staring up at him, her body still in shock. A violent tremor shook her body before she was able to look up at him. The adrenaline flowed out of her and she found herself sobbing now that she didn't have to be brave.

"I'm so sorry," She sobbed against his shoulder and he felt awkward comforting him because he never though he would be in this position. "This is my fault. I really need to tell you guys the truth. I haven't been telling everyone everything. I'm so sorry."

The first chapter of the last book. A little long but I need to set a lot of things up and show where all of the characters are. I've been doing so much research on traveling circuses for this and wanted to make this as realistic as possible. The next chapter probably won't be this long either.

Review if you liked.