“T-Tiffany land..?” Xiumin exclaimed, looking at all the rides and attractions that now surrounded them.

“That’s right, mister! Tiffany Land houses a host of hair-raising rides and fun-filled attractions!” Tiffany was speaking to them from atop a circus tent, dressed in the costume of a ringmaster.

“Guys, we’re not going to win this if she can control whatever is in this room. Plus, we have no way of escaping.” Chen whispered to his friends.

“That’s right, folks!” Tiffany’s voice boomed beside Chen, shocking the boy. There was a sound speaker attached to a pole beside him. “You’re not getting out of here at all! Well, unless of course I electrocute you and drag you out BUT where’s the fun in that?” She laughed.

The boys kept a serious face, frowning slightly. They all faced Tiffany now.

“So… what are you proposing? That we surrender?” Kris called out to the robot.

“Oh, no, no, no.” she wagged a finger at the boys. “There’s no fun in that, either! I already asked Taeyeon if I could play with you boys a little before I hand you over to her!”

“That must be the third virus. We heard three voices last time at the warehouse.” Lay observed.

“I want this to be a fair game!” Tiffany said, putting her fists on her hips. “I’m going to make you choose from three challenges. If you get through it, I’ll let you go. If you don’t, well, then you’ll be joining your friends!” she giggled.

“I don’t like the sound of this…” Suho said, glaring at the robot.

“We have no choice. Let’s just be thankful she’s giving us a chance out of here.” Kris said. The boys huddled in a circle to discuss.

“So you’re saying we should accept her challenge? That woman is crazy!” D.O whispered.

“But the last time we tried to attack her, none of our attacks connected. She can summon anything in this room!” Lay said. “Can you not see that we’re in a carnival right now!?” he gestured around him.

“Hmm. Sticky situation. What do you guys, say?” Kris asked the others.

“I think it’d be wise if we accepted her challenge. That way, it’s fair. I just hope she keeps to her word.” Suho said.

“I agree.” Luhan said, nodding.

“Same here.” Chen added. D.O and Lay nod in agreement.

“It’s settled then. We’ll accept her challenge.” Kris said, breaking up the discussion and turning to face the robot. “Fine,” he shouted. “We accept your challenge!”

“Good boys!” Tiffany clapped her hands rapidly. “Now, the first step is to choose your challenge!” She began floating upwards. The boys followed her with their eyes. “Below me are three identical tents. Each tent houses an attraction common to an amusement park or a carnival. You’ll have to face these challenges, conquer them, and then you can go free.”

Kris hesitated. They all looked at the three tents. They were all the same color, striped yellow and blue. There was no entryway, no flap, no door, that could tell the boys what was hidden inside. Luhan tried to search with his mind but he could not sense anything.

“And you will keep your word?” Suho shouted at Tiffany. The robot smiled and nodded eagerly. “Well, it’s now or never.” He said to the others.

“I can’t see what’s inside the tents.” Luhan said. “I guess we’ll just have to choose one randomly.”

“Why don’t we play Rock Paper Scissors?” Lay suggested.

“Fine by me.” Chen agreed. Everyone else did, too.

After a quick game of Rock Paper Scissors, which Tiffany enjoyed, the only two left to battle it out was Luhan and Xiumin.

“Kai…” Luhan said.

“Bai…” Xiumin continued.

“Bo!!” They both threw down their fists and formed the appropriate symbols. Luhan did paper, Xiumin did rock.

“I win.” Luhan said, looking at his open palm. “I’ll choose.”

“Pick a real easy one!” Chen said, patting Luhan’s back. The others cheered him on.

They had all lowered their guards, believing Tifanny’s word. Luhan put a hand to his chin and squinted his eyes. He looked from tent one, to tent two, then to the third.

“I choose…” he began. “that one.” He pointed straight, choosing the middle tent.

Tiffany smiled. She raised both her arms and the whole carnival disappeared. They were standing on earth and the night sky was clear. The two moons of EXO Planet illuminated the scene. The three tents were still in front of them.

“Would you like to know what you didn’t choose?” Tiffany said in a sing-song voice.

“Yes!” Xiumin shouted excitedly. He was getting into the game.

“Very well. Tent one.” She gestured at the tent and the tent disappeared.

HOUSE OF MIRRORS

“House of mirrors. That would have been easy!” Xiumin said, sighing.

“No, not really. I believe this would have been the hardest.” Tiffany said. “You see, these aren’t normal carnival attractions. Had you chosen the house of mirrors, all of you would have to fight against copies of yourselves.”

Xiumin’s mouth hanged open. Chen looked at him and closed it with a gentle push.

“Now, tent three!” She gestured one more time, removing the tent and revealing what was inside.

HORROR HOUSE

“Phew…” D.O said, clutching his chest. “I don’t think I would have handled that.”

“Me neither.” Luhan said, eyes growing wide.

“Do we fight against monsters if we chose that?” Suho asked.

“Yes! That would have been a fun choice!” Tiffany said. “Are you curious as to what your tent houses?”

“Yes!” Xiumin replied once again, excited. He clutched his chest, as did Chen and D.O. Luhan, Kris and Suho waited patiently.

“Ehem. Ladies and Gen… Oh, I mean.. Just gentlemen! I present to you!” Tiffany waved her hand dramatically above her head. The tent started glowing. It faded slowly, revealing the attraction inside it.

CIRCUS FREAKS

[A/N]

Hey guys! Sorry it's another cliffhanger! I hope to write the next one quickly!!

Any ideas what's going to happen next? XD Share!

About Tiffany Land: I named it that because Tiffany, in this story, is a robot that's like a playful girl. The type that would name a carnival after her name. LOL. No special connection BUT the carnival theme is derived from SNSD's Japanese Genie MV. It had circus tents and stuff right? XD

About ShapeShifting Robots: They are not necessarily shape-shifters. They're still robots. It's just that there's a device that can change the image of the robot and its attributes. The Red Force army is VERY high-tech. If you guys remember, the reason Kai teleported back to the warehouse was because of the device that had latched onto his shirt. It the victim back to its previous location, like... a back-track device. There might be more strong devices and gadgets soon in the story.

About Tao and King: During this time, they are still fighting Seohyun. Once again, I remind you guys that I wrote out that whole chapter in one go so you guys can enjoy it without cliffhangers. LOL. So just imagine while they were fighting, Luhan and group are also going through the keep and meeting with Tiffany and talking with her and stuff. You'll know when Tao and King's fight ends soon. ^^ I hope it's not confusing. TAT

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO WISHED ME WELL (about the taking over the business thing LOL) Much appreciated! <3

MUCH LOVE!! <3 'Til the next chapter!! ^__^v