✩★ ɱɑɖɪՏσɳ ★✩ & Isis

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Peter frowned when he saw the tears in her eyes, and even though he didn't know why they were there, he gently placed his hands on her shoulder and looked at her. "I know that you're scared, but I promise, I can handle this, okay? You've just got to....trust me," he said gently, stepping back and removing his hands from her shoulders again. He hoped that she was able to do at least that, because if she couldn't, he didn't know how he'd be able to truly help her.

Peter sighed and shook his head, knowing that he'd gotten himself into a big mess, but he knew that it would be worth it in the end. He just hoped that he could stay true to his claims and keep her safe, as well as himself and everyone else. "I...I should probably get back to practicing while the lion is still...alive," he said, not liking the way that he had to finish that sentence, and not liking the fact that he had to leave her now to go practice. He wanted to stay with her and just talk with her and get to know her better, but he knew that Oliver would have more reasons to kill him if he wasn't perfect tonight in his act. Ingrid was still there though, pretending like she wasn't watching them, and Peter knew that she would look after Ella and keep her company.

[Isis]

Ella swallowed and grabbed his hand before he could really turn and leave back to the lion. "Peter, if I'm going to trust you I think I have to be honest with you." She took a long, shaky breath. "I'm pregnant and Oliver doesn't know. He can't know. You and Ingrid are the only people who know outside of me and it has to stay that way. I'm trusting you, the both of you. Please, if anything, don't let me down in this one regard. It's a secret." She nodded her head then turned and walked away from him. She walked toward a different platform and she started to practice again. She had to be perfect as well.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Peter's eyes widened a bit when she said that he was pregnant with Oliver's child, for he hasn't been excepting her to say that at all. It did show that she completely was going to trust him with this, Ingrid too apparently, and so, that at least have him a bit of assurance. He nodded slowly, knowing that he'd have no reason to tell anyone anyway. "You have my word. I promise, I won't tell anyone," he whispered, then let her go as she walked away. The fact that she was with child was even more of a reason for him to be completely motivated to keep her safe from her husband who he knew would have no care for this child when he found out about it. She was obviously going to start showing soon if she already knew that she was pregnant, and there would be no way to hide it from Oliver. Peter was very worried about that, but tried to focus on other things for now, like his dying lion.

[Isis]

((shall we skip?))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((Sure. To when/what's happening next?))

[Isis]

((Hmmm, I'm not sure. Should we skip to after the show?)

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((Unless you wanted to play it out for some reason, then sure :) Do you know what Oliver is going to do yet, or are you just sort of making it up as you go?))

[Isis]

((I am making it up as I go, but I might have a bit of a plan.))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((Okay :) You can start, unless you want to tell me the plan in advance. I'm good either way))

[Isis]

((I'll just start it up.))

Things had finally quieted down. The viewers had left and it was clean up time. Everyone worked quickly to get the work done, as they always did. Oliver, of course, was usually in a good mood after the shows but everyone knew that there had been trouble earlier. If he were to show up now there would be more than trouble and they all wanted to avoid that, including Ella. She worked hard and she tried to avoid eye contact. The other performers were looking at her like she had done something wrong and she couldn't blame them. She felt like she was the one who had threatened each and every one of them and she knew exactly why they were so scared. And then, their fears were realized. She heard his voice.

Oliver was drunk, beyond drunk. He had missed the whole show, drinking away in his trailer, thinking about what he had to do. He came up with a plan, which he could no longer remember at all. He walked into the main tent then raised his beer bottle then threw it to the floor so it shattered loudly. When everyone turned to look at him he grinned at them. "So, who is it that's been slandering me? You?" He pointed to a random performer, then another, then another, then Ella. "You. You've been trying to turn them against me, after I saved them. You're a liar. No one has ever harmed you in your life. I don't know why you've been talking like this."

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ingrid gasped and spun around when she heard the bottle shatter, and when she smelled the alcohol, she bit her lip, knowing that this couldn't be good at all. "Oh God, he's drunk," she whispered. She'd personally never seen him this drunk before, but she knew that it couldn't be good, especially when he started yelling at Ella. Only about half of what he was saying made any sense, and clearly he wasn't thinking straight at all.

Peter looked up, cursing under his breath when he saw how drunk Oliver was. He had no idea what he was yelling at Ella, about, but he still felt like it was his fault though. He didn't make a move to do anything, at least not yet because Oliver hadn't done anything yet. It seemed like he couldn't seem to make up his mind on who he wanted to blame, since he'd looked at several others before Ella. Maybe he'd change his mind and leave her alone.

[Isis]

Oliver walked toward Ella, trying to keep himself straight but unaware of how entirely wobbly he was. He grasped for her and cried out angrily when she dodged his hand. He grasped again and this time managed to take her arm. "You have to come with me," he told her, "I don't like how you've been behaving. You've left the house a mess and it's time you clean it up, maybe that will teach you to keep your mouth closed."

Ella tried to pull away from him but he had a hard grip on her. Everyone was staring and she wasn't sure what to do. If she went with him he would just take her home and beat her, maybe with one of his many beer bottles. If she stayed he would only get more and more furious, and maybe kill her right on the spot.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Peter saw that Oliver was trying to drag her back home with him, where he'd no doubt beat her in a drunken rage for something that she didn't even do in the first place. Peter also noticed how Oliver kept changing what he was angry with her for, so he decided to go with the one that most applied to him as he stepped forwards. He had promised to protect Ella and her baby, and he didn't plan on letting her down. "No, you're wrong. It wasn't her, it was me. I've been trying to turn them against you," he said loudly enough for Oliver to clearly hear him. It was ironic, because it was somewhat true. Peter want trying to organize a rebellion, but at the same time, it was sort of happening on it's own.

Ingrid bit her lip when Peter stepped forwards to keep from doing the same or saying something that she regretted. He was certainly brave in doing this, and hopefully Oliver would take the bait and let Ella go. Of course, Ingrid never wanted anything had to happen to Peter either, but it had to be someone, and Peter had put himself out there, sacrificing himself for Ella and everyone else.

[Isis]

Ella's eyes turned to Peter, wide and shocked. She had no idea why this man was willing to do this. Sure, Oliver had everything wrong but it wasn't the fault of Peter either. She wanted to smack the man and tell him not to put himself into danger, but at the same time she was glad to be saved in such a way. "Oliver," she said, "Don't be angry with him. It wasn't just him. It was all of us. We're tired of you."

Oliver's eyes flashed back and forth from Peter and Ella, confused in his drunkenness. His lower lip was wobbling with rage. He had no idea who to go after first. Ella was the easier target but Peter had visibly caused a disturbance on purpose and he was sick of it. "Stop it!" he screamed rather childishly. "Shut up!"

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ingrid smirked, finding this all very amusing, even though it could turn very dangerous very fast. "What's the matter Oliver?" she asked cockily, stepping forwards before she even knew what she was saying or doing, "Too many people to beat the crap out of that you don't know who to go after first?" She regretted ever saying anything as soon as the words left her mouth. She was supposed to stick to her mission and not interfere of draw attention to herself, but Peter's rebelliousness was contagious. Ella had caught on, and now Ingrid had too. Instead of backing down like she knew that she should, she stood her ground, waiting to see what would happen.

Peter quickly looked at Ingrid when she spoke, wishing that she hadn't. She was just putting herself in unnecessary danger. Peter had made this whole thing his problem so that it didn't have to be anyone else's. He didn't want the others to get involved because then it was harder to keep them safe. Oliver though was looking like he was about to have a temper tantrum though, so maybe they'd be alright.

[Isis]

Oliver let go of Ella and threw her back onto the floor. He glared around for a moment then he threw a blind punch. He didn't even know if he hit someone or who he hit. He was blind with rage and alcohol. And then he was tumbling over on his face, or rather, on Ella. He scrambled and tried to get up, but could not in his state. "Let me up!" he screamed, "Stop holding me here!" He lashed out and hit Ella in the face, causing her nose to bleed.

Ella cried out and tried to get away from him. She was by no means holding onto him and she was being hit in the face for doing so. She couldn't get out from under him.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ingrid didn't have time to get out of the way before Oliver's fist collided with the center of her collar bone, knocking her backwards and knocking the air out of her lungs. She quickly got her breath back and stood up again, even though the punch had hurt a lot and she could already feel a bruise forming right at the base of her throat. She knew that the punch hadn't been aimed at her, just blindly thrown, and she'd just been standing in the wrong place and hadn't gotten out of the way in time. She had FBI training though, and she could take a punch pretty well.

Peter saw Oliver hit Ingrid, but once he saw that she was more or less okay, he went after Oliver who was now on top of Ella, yelling at her to get off of him. How drunk was he? Peter quickly grabbed him by huge shoulders and lifted him off of Ella, throwing his body forwards and on to the ground as he quickly helped Ella up. "Are you okay?" he asked quickly, feeling completely responsible even though this might not be over yet. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, this shouldn't have happened," he said, handing her a tissue for her bloody nose, "Just stay back now, I can take care of this."

[Isis]

Ella ignored the tissue and pulled at his arms. "No, come on. Lets go. Leave him here. Come on." She yanked at him then turned wide eyes to Ingrid. She wanted all of them to get out of there right now, hide in their trailers or something. She knew running would do no good because she had tried and been found immediately. The police were on his side as long as he had his paperwork, and his money.

Oliver landed in the dirt after tripping over his own feet. He lay on his belly in a daze. He had no idea what had happened. One second Ella was holding him down and the next she was up and he was back down and confused. "Hey!"

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

"Ella, we any just hide from him, you know that he'll find us once he's sober again. We're going to have to make this look like an accident or something. Maybe he won't remember what truly happened. I don't know, but please, you just go with Ingrid and get somewhere safe for now, I have to finish this," he said. The fact that she had already gotten hurt upset him because he'd promised to protect her, and she'd said that she trusted him. Trying to make this all work out though was a like more complicated than he'd ever thought that it could be though. He quickly glanced at Oliver and saw that he was still on the ground, trying to figure out what was going on, and he was thankful for that, but he knew that it wouldn't be long until he got up again.

Ingrid stepped forwards and nodded, holding her had over the faint bruise at the bottom of her throat so hopefully Ella couldn't see. "He's right," she said, even though she wasn't entirely in favor of leaving Peter here to face Oliver. Ella was her mission though, and she had to protect her until she could finally exploit Oliver for what he really was to the authorities. "Come on, we'll go to my trailer and get you cleaned up," she said, hoping that she obeyed.

[Isis]

Ella looked at Peter with panicked eyes then looked at Ingrid as she approached. She didn't want to leave Peter there. She wanted to stay with him or pull him away right along with her. She hated the idea of these two men fighting, no matter how much better Peter was in this particular match. But, she knew she had no choice. Peter would never allow her to stay. She bit her lip then nodded and decided to go with Ingrid. "Please Peter, come see us when you've gotten this taken care of. I need to know that you're safe." She looked at him seriously then allowed Ingrid to lead her away toward the trailer, despite her hard beating hard.

Oliver groaned and rolled over before starting to try and pick himself up off the floor. He could see Ella and another woman walking away but they were fuzzy. "Ella!" he growled, though the world didn't even sound like her name when it came out. He looked at Peter next. He was a little more clear. "Help me up you idiot!"

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Peter nodded, knowing that it was the only way that he would get her to leave with Ingrid. "Yes, I'll come when I'm finished with this, now go," he instructed somewhat harshly, needing her to get out of there for her own good. He wasn't sure why she needed to know that he was safe, but he didn't question it. It was probably just something that she'd said and not really meant, or maybe it had slipped out. To him, it just sounded like she cared about him, and he knew that couldn't be true. Why would she?

Turning to Oliver he slowly approached and grabbed his hand, forcefully yanking him up off the ground to his feet and then stepping back, waiting to see what he would do. He wasn't going to beat him senseless if he didn't need to, at least not now.

Ingrid quickly lead Ella out of the tent once Peter promised to come to them once he finished with Oliver. Without saying a word, she led Ella to her trailer and closed the door behind her. It was kind of a mess with things scattered everywhere, but she was just happy that she didn't have any of her top secret case files out at the moment.

Quickly she went and got a wet cloth so that Ella could clean the dried blood from her nose and face from wen Peter had hit her. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you anywhere else?" she asked, her voice soft and scratchy since it hurt to talk after being punched in the throat.

[Isis]

Oliver swung his free hand blindly, trying to get any kind of blow at Peter. "Let go of me right now! Fight me like a real man if you're going to fight me. I don't know why you want to, though. She's just a stupid whore. She was probably some kind of prostitute when I found her. She's pathetic and so are you for trying to save her. I've done nothing wrong. I gave her a home!"

Ella frowned and shook her head. "No, no he didn't hurt me anywhere else, but I can tell he hurt you. How bad?" She looked at the girl's throat. She could see a bruise forming but it wasn't anything life threatening. "You should get some ice to put on that so it doesn't swell up. I'm going to be fine." She took the cloth and wiped her face until she was sure she was all cleaned up. She could feel her nose throbbing a bit but she was positive that it wasn't broken. The pain was no where near close enough.

She sat on the nearest chair and she ran her hands over her belly. "He fell on me. D-do you think the baby is ok? I can't remember how hard he fell on me or what spot he hit..."

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Peter was sickened at how messed up this guy was. He himself had said that Ella needed to be saved, which implied that he was doing something to her that she needed saving from. Oliver was practically admitting that he was at fault without even realizing it. "She is not a whore, and more importantly, she is not your whore. She's your wife, but she shouldn't be. You don't love each other and no one should be married to a bastard like you," he fired back angrily, dodging Oliver's flying fist and then taking a swing of his own, hitting him hard in the jaw. Peter had never realized how much he'd wanted to do this before. It felt so good to beat up this man who had put him and all of the other performers through so much hell. He hit him again and again, not feeling guilty at all because Oliver had asked for a fight and it was about time he was on the receiving side of this. He deserved every hit he got.

Ingrid went to the small freezer and got out an ice pack, gently pressing it to her throat. "I'll be fine. I've taken way worse punches, believe me," she said softly, but said no more about that. She was talking about times in other missions that she'd been assigned to, but of course she couldn't tell Ella that. When she asked about the baby, Ingrid came over and kept down in front of the chair that she was in. "If it doesn't hurt and you're not bruising, it'll be perfectly fine," she assured her, hoping that it was true.

[Isis]

Oliver took hit after hit. He tried to fight back but his head was pounding and he had no reflexes. He groaned and just flapped his arms around lamely. "Stop!" he mumbled, though his mouth was swollen and bleeding, making the word unintelligible. And then, the world was starting to go black. He went limp in the other man's arms and hung there, bleeding from the only beating he had ever received in his entire life.

Ella sighed softly and nodded, though she wasn't sure if she should believe this or not. "To be honest, I don't know much about babies and giving birth," she told Ingrid softly. "I've been here since I was practically a kid and before that I wasn't exactly getting much in the way of education, formal or informal. My own parents didn't know how to take care of their babies so I didn't get much in the way of visual aid either." She sighed softly. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this even if I do get out of here. I know that's pathetic, but, it's true." She looked up at Ingrid now. "Why are you really here?"

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Peter wasn't even aware of how badly he was beating Oliver. He had only meant to give him a few hits hard enough to leave bruises, but when he lost consciousness, he stopped suddenly, seeing how bad he truly had messed up his face. He would have felt guilty if he wasn't so angry. He simply dropped Oliver's limp body to the ground and walked away, letting him just lay there until he woke up, whenever that was. Peter headed off to Ingrid's trailer to see Ella like he'd promised to after he was finished with Oliver, but as he walked, the guilt started to eat at him. He shrugged it off though and opened the door, slowly entering the trailer. "It's done," was all he said as he went to the sink to wash the blood of of his knuckles, some his own from where the skin had broken when he was punching Oliver, but most of it was Oliver's own blood.

Ingrid frowned and gently placed her hand on Ella's shoulder. "You'll be an excellent mother Ella, I'm sure of it. You already love this baby and it isn't even born yet. You won't make your parents mistakes and you'll give this baby a good life once you get out of here," she assured her, truly believing every word. When Ella asked why she was really there though, she bit her lip, debating whether or not she should tell her yet or not. Eventually she decided that the time just wasn't right yet and simply said, "I'm just here to help you Ella. I'm a friend." That's when Peter came in and she looked up, seeing that he was clearly agitated about something.

[Isis]

Ella practically jumped to her feet when she saw Peter come through the door and heard his cryptic words. She went to stand next to him while he washed his hand. His hands were entirely bloody and she could see how torn apart they were. From just the looks of him she knew that Oliver had to look so much worse. She swallowed. She wasn't sure how she felt about this whole thing, but she was thankful none the less.

She bit her lower lip and put her hand on Peter's arm. "Peter, are you ok?" she asked him. She looked around and up into his face. She peaked out at Ingrid. "Do you have anything else that I can use for ice on Peter's hand?" She looked back to his face. Her voice softened to a whisper. "Thank you, Peter. I hope you never have to do anything like this again, but I thank you for taking the risk. Because of you we actually have a chance."

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Peter tensed when he felt her hand on his shoulder because he knew that he didn't deserve her sympathy. The guilt of what he'd done was starting that get at him even worse and he was regretting his decision to beat Oliver senseless very much.

"Yeah, I've got more ice in the freezer," Ingrid said, getting up to get it when she saw how Peter looked. She also got some bandages that she normally used to wrap her own hands when she got blisters from holding on to the trapeze and brought them to Ella before standing back and giving the two of ten space.

Peter was silent for a long time, not looking at her and continuing to scrub his hand even though all of the blood was gone. Finally, he turned off the water and looked at her with a sigh, knowing that he probably looked like he felt, so he couldn't hide it from her. "No, I'm not okay," he said, shaking his head a bit, "And no, I'm not hurt anywhere else. That's what bothers me. He didn't get a single punch in. I just beat him senseless and then left him on the ground. Isn't that what he does to you? Well I just did the same to him, so what does that make me? I'm just like him, and I don't want to be that kind of person Ella. I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine for once, but I think I'm going about this all wrong...." He truly was starting to feel terrible about this.

[Isis]

Ella reached up and put a gentle hand to his cheek. "Peter," she whispered, "You're nothing like him. If I can promise you anything it is that." She gave a very soft smile. "He was asking for the beating and he has been for his entire life. You didn't do it while he was innocently sitting by. He was deserving of this, whether he could get a punch in or not. And, now that he knows that he isn't untouchable maybe things will start to change. Sure, you hurt him and from the looks of it pretty badly, but so what? You probably saved some lives here tonight. I know for a fact that you saved the life of my unborn baby and that will mean more to me than anything ever will again."

She picked up the bandages and carefully started to bandage up his knuckles. That done, she began to ice them. "Just the fact that you feel guilty for hurting such a person makes you better than him. He doesn't even feel bad for beating his wife. You feel bad for beating an evil man who deserved it. You're not him and you never will be even if you want to be." She looked up straight into his eyes. "Thank you, Peter."

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Peter was silent as she spoke to him and bandaged his hands, applying the ice which made his stinging split knuckles feel a lot better. He didn't truly believe half of the things that she was saying, but he nodded a bit as if he understood. Violence didn't end violence, it just created more, and felt so stupid for not realizing that until now. He truly was regretting what he'd done to Oliver, even if he had deserved it. Peter didn't want to be the kind of man who beat somebody unconscious when he had a problem with them. Maybe that was how he'd ended up on the streets in the first place though, so many years ago when he was so young.

Peter shook off that thought and sighed. "I'm glad that you're grateful Ella, and I'm truly happy that I was able to save you and the baby and Ingrid and everyone else too, at least for the time being," he said, sounding very worn out after everything that had happened, "But, it just...it felt so good to give Oliver a taste of his own medicine while it was happening, but now.... I don't know, I think I've been going about this the wrong way... I beat him bad Ella, I mean really bad..."

[Isis]

Ella nodded. "I know what a bad beating looks like," she said softly, motioning to his hands. "But I can tell you didn't beat him bad enough. I know, I'm bitter, but I don't care. Lets just ice your hands and then we can talk about how we're really going to solve all this. Oliver is going to be just fine and he's going to come back. I know I have no right to ask for your help, but I think you're the only one who can give any." She brought him to a chair and set him down, placing the ice on his knuckles once more.

"I don't want you to have to do anything that you're uncomfortable with. I never would have let you do this if I had known that it would hurt you. I mean that. I think you're strong though, and that there is potential here with you. You, Ingrid, and I are going to be the only ones who are able to do something, and we have to. I've let this go on for far too long and that's not fair to anyone here. These people deserve better than what they have been given."

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Peter allowed himself to be led to the chair by Ella and sat down when normally he would have protested that e was perfectly fine and he didn't need all of the attention. He was just feeling defeated and conflicted, but he did light up a bit when Ella spoke with such confidence that thins around here needed to be changed. "I see that I've rubbed of on you," he observed, smiling a bit and then looking down, still holding the ice against his swollen and knuckles over where the skin had split open. He knew that she had reached her breaking point just like he had, and she wanted to fight back.

Ingrid smiled when she heard Ella's fighting sprit. She really did want to take down her husband, and now that she knew for sure that they were on the same page, she knew that maybe she could reveal herself soon. Maybe. "Yes, I can help you," she said, volunteering to fight, "I still have a broken wrist and all, but I'm very useful. Just tell me what you need from me." She looked at Ella and Peter, letting them be in control of this. She would just do what she was told until it was time to bring in the authorities.

[Isis]

Ella bit her lower lip then shrugged her shoulders. Her big eyes looked from Peter to Ingrid, then back to Peter. "I have no idea what to do. I have never come up with a plan of this magnitude before. What do you suggest, either of you? Violence obviously isn't the answer here, so what is?" Her eyes switched between them again, once again landing on Peter to rest. She knew for a fact she was in over her head but she trusted these two random people. They had been practically strangers the day before and now she was willing to entrust everything with them. It was wrong, she knew that, but it wasn't the same kind of wrong that she was already living with. She was willing to risk a little if she could get away from Oliver, even for this little while.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((what's happening next exactly??))

[Isis]

((I honestly don't know. I kind of lost my thoughts. Any ideas?))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((No, not really :( ))

[Isis]

((Rawrg. Difficult.))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((Sooo, what's should we do??))

[Isis]

((I dunno, maybe come up with a plan to undermine him? Have the police come in? Do something else?))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((Yeah maybe, but how are they going to cover up what just happened? He just got best unconscious and it's kinda obvious who did it, so wouldn't he seek revenge?))