-1:05 A.M, a Lonely Carousel Ride is Operating at a Dark Circopian Street-

Solange is sitting on a seahorse carousel, wearing a thick coat with a fur hood and knitted gloves.

Gianni is completely unconscious but he is positioned on a frog carousel as his unconscious body spins round and around the ride along with Solange.

Solange exhales into the air to see her breath creating mist from the cold.

Gianni slowly starts waking up to the jolly melody of the carousel: “Blan…ca…”

Solange nonchalantly exhales again to create more mist: “Hmm… it’s kind of chilly. The outside people must have decided to turn up the air conditioners.”

Gianni, still trying to wake up, looks at her, extremely confused.

Solange: “Isn’t it crazy? Our summers, winters, falls, springs, they’re all controlled by millions of air conditioners and heaters installed all around the Circopian tent. Who do you think controls those though? God?”

Gianni coughs up blood: “Who…”

Solange: “I’m asking you, silly.”

Gianni: “No… Who… are you?”

Solange: “Ooh! I’m Solange.”

Gianni: “Sola- SOLANGE!?”

Gianni’s eyes burst open and he falls off the frog carousel: “MILANO’S CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND!?"

Solange: “Since he told you about me… The perfume musta worked on him too! Yippee!”

Gianni on the ground: “Where’s… Blanca…?"

Solange puts her finger on her lips: “Hmm… Oh!”

Solange takes unconscious Bumpkin the bat out of her bag.

Solange holds him up: “Is this Blanca by any chance?”

Gianni coughs out blood on the carousel floor: “Aah…”

Solange: “Gross. Anyway, before you die, can you take me to Milano and convince him I’m good and also to come to the outside world with me. Since I saved you or something.”

Solange rests her cheek on her fist as she eagerly looks at Gianni.

Gianni: “Die…? Am I gonna… Die!?”

Solange: “Yeap. But not because of the injuries you took at the theatre. I gave you poison while you were unconscious.”

Gianni coughs up more blood: “Wha… aa…”

Solange cheekily eyes him: “Whatcha doing for the antidote? Gonna convince Milano?”

Gianni clenches the ground and angrily stares up at her.

Gianni: “You poisoned me and you think I’m gonna convince Milano that you’re good!? And… Milano almost killed himself because of you… Screw you.”

Solange: “Hypocrite. You don’t get to screw me just cuz I almost caused someone to kill themselves when you just murdered hundreds an hour ago. If anything I should be the one that’s screwing you! Don’t you think? So screw you! I’ll screw you!”

Gianni: “STOP USING SCREW LIKE THAT!"

Solange: “Eh? Why?”

Gianni: “Do you even know wha- ugh… Nevermind. Nothing matters anymore anyway. Performance 666 was a disaster, Blanca hates me, Goma-Chan died because of me, the sky doesn’t exist, there are no electric eels and the outside world is probably some kind of nightmare that’s somehow even worse than this crappy tent. If you’re gonna kill me, just go ahead.”

Gianni gags and coughs up more blood onto the floor.

Solange squints at Gianni like a pouty little kid despite being 21 years old then throws Bumpkin at Gianni’s face.

Gianni: “Arrgh!”

Bumpkin, still unconscious, falls beside Gianni.

Gianni: “Bumpkin…”

Solange: “You’re starting to piss me off a lil’ bit. You’re not acting like the elephant in the room I saved an hour ago.”

Gianni eyes her: “I’m not a freakin’ elephant. And throw my bat one more time and I’ll-”

Solange looks down at him: “You’ll what? Cough up some more blood?”

Gianni scrapes his teeth together from anger: “GRRR…”

A lion sneaks up from behind Gianni and calmly walks towards Solange.

Gianni: “WHAT THE!?"

Solange pets the lion.

Solange: “You like her? That’s my animal companion, Salamander the lion.”

Gianni: “You called your lion Salamander? That’s stupid.”

Solange: “You’re stupid. You called your bat Blanca.”

Gianni: “Blanca is not the bat! THAT’S- UGGH! WHY AM I TRYNA EXPLAIN MYSELF TO YOU, CAN YA JUST LET ME DIE IN PEACE AT LEAST!”

Solange gazes up at the tent ceiling: “I’ve been to the outside world, you know.”

Salamander the lion cuddles up beside Solange’s carousel and takes a nap.

Gianni: “I know. Milano told me. How long does this poison take to kill me?”

Solange: “I see. So Milano thinks he made it outside, huh?”

Gianni: “Oi. Poison. How long? Wait wha-”

Solange caresses her fingers on the carousel: “Milano’s only been to the second layer of the tent. He never made it to the outside world."

Gianni slowly glances up at her: “Second… Layer…?”

Solange: “I mean how foolish it was of me to believe just tent-slipping would take us straight to the outside world, right? Hehe… It’s a long story that I’m sure he no longer remembers. He didn’t want to go to the third layer with me, so he turned back and forgot everything. On the other hand, if you walk through the tunnel in any of the official 100 exits of Circopia within the 100 Grand Theatres that exist within the tent, including the 17th Grand Theatre, the tunnel will lead to a train station.”

Gianni starts shaking: “Wha-what are you… Nah stop.”

Solange: “This train will then travel through the tunnel towards the outside world, skipping all 5 layers of the tent, it’s a shortcut if you will. However, it’s still a 3 hour ride. The tent is really big, you know. But tent-slipping… That’ll lead you to the second layer… It’s a whole other world there… The rules are really different from here.”

Gianni struggles to control his breathing: “Stop… Stop! I just accepted not wanting to know what’s outside! I DON’T WANNA KNOW WHAT I COULDN’T SAVE BLANCA FROM!”

Solange giggles: “Couldn’t tell ya if I wanted to. Just like how Milano forgot the second layer, I don’t remember the third layer or anything beyond. It’s all just vague blurs in my head.”

Gianni: “…Blurs?”

Solange: “After me and Milano had our fight, I had my first performance and they accepted me to the outside world. But after staying just one day there, I wasn’t happy leaving Milano behind, so I tent-slipped illegally back in the tent and made it through all 5 layers. That took me years but I did it so that I could take Milano with me and tent-slip all the way back outside together with him. That’s the plan at least… But last time I tried taking him outside… He really hated it. So… That’s where you come in!"

Gianni: “…”

Solange kicks her legs back and forth on the carousel: “Blanca is actually the white haired girl from the outside world that was screaming at you, right?”

Gianni looks down at the puddle of blood he has coughed out: “Yea… That was the first time I heard her scream like that… And the first time she’s ever said anything like that. But… I guess people change in 7 years…”

Solange: “From the way she was screaming at you, I doubt she meant any of the things she said. That was coming from fear. Milano even punched me and I really don’t think he meant it. He was just scared.”

Gianni: “Fear…?”

Solange: “Guess you already figured out the outside world isn’t exactly a happy ending. But you can save her, you know. We can save them both.”

Gianni: “Save…”

What Blanca said at the theatre echoes in Gianni’s head.

Gianni: “She doesn’t wanna be saved.”

Solange: “Course she does. She’s a liar. Just like Milano."

Gianni looks at Solange.

Solange: “What if I told you there was a way, Gianni. A way we could go to the outside world together. You, Milano and me. And just kill whoever put us in the tent in the first place then just replace them. I mean… Yea it’s a pretty simple and vague goal but think about it, we can change the air conditioner to whatever degree we want! We can see if the sky really exists! And you can be with Blanca too! All we’d have to do is tent-slip through the 5 layers. So what do you say? You up for some mighty adventure?”

Gianni looks at his own reflection in the pool of blood he coughed up.

?: “GIANNI! I BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU EVERYWHERE! ARE YOU OK!?”

Solange and Gianni’s eyes widen.

They turn around to see Milano with his long tied up hair and his bandaged eye.

Salamander the lion opens one eye to get a peak at him.

Gianni tears up: “Mi- Milano… I… I screwed up big time man… I don’t know what happened to your orca… And… And-”

Milano smiles in a comforting way: “Gianni, it’s ok. I had some of my fan girls escort Sky back to the mansion. More importantly…"

Milano menacingly looks at Solange.

Solange hesitantly smiles: “Heyo… Milano… Hehe…”

Gianni watches them awkwardly stare at each other.

Gianni: “Aah… I’m still poisoned you know guys…”

Gianni collapses on the ground.

Milano: “Gianni!"

Milano sprints to Gianni, running right past Solange.

Solange: “Oh crap. I forgot I poisoned him.”

Milano: “YOU WHAT!?”

Solange shuts her own mouth: “Shit. I mean ah- He got beat up pretty bad by the circus guardians!”

-2 Hours Later, Inside Milano’s Mansion-

Milano and Solange are sitting on the floor with their backs up against the wall next to the door that leads to the bathroom.

The bathroom door is closed and locked, sounds of Gianni throwing up from inside can be heard.

Solange: “So uh… Then I travelled all across the 5 layers of the tent to come back here and find you and-”

Milano: “You sure the antidote you gave him is gonna work? He’s been in the bathroom for sometime now.”

Solange: “Um. As long as he keeps throwing up he’ll get it out of his system eventually. But as I was saying, you’ve never been to the outside world. What you saw and got scared of wasn’t the outside world, it was only the second layer of the te-”

Milano to the door: “Gianni! You sure you're good in there? You’ve been throwing up for a long time now, you need some water??”

Gianni’s voice from behind the door: “I’m fine man… I’m fi-”

He throws up more as Milano and Solange silently sit, listening to the sound of Gianni’s throw up making contact with the toilet water.

Solange, shyly: “So ah, how’ve you been? I see you’re doing pretty good now… You have a mansion and fangirls… I don’t think the fangirls are actually necessary but you know maybe you can get rid of them?”

Milano ignores her as he rests his head on the wall.

Solange blushes and silently fiddles with a plastic box she has which contains 9 colorful spheres inside.

Milano eyes her playing with the box.

Milano: “So your animal companion’s a lion.”

Solange: “I called her salamander though…"

Milano sighs: “Why are you here, Solange?”

Solange: “I told you. I saved Gianni.”

Milano: “And you also poisoned him, my only friend. Why are you actually here?”

Solange: “I’m also your frie-”

Milano stares at her: “Don’t finish that sentence.”

Solange pauses with the box in her hand.

Solange: “Alrighty… Guess I should just be honest. It took me years to get back to Circopia but I did it. I’m here cuz I want to take you to the outside world this time-”

Milano: “Not interested. Like you said, I’ve been doing pretty good here and I even have a friend I can trust now.”

Gianni’s throw up sounds echo in the background as Milano and Solange stare each other down.

Solange: “Will you at least let me explain the layers. I made it through them. You can make it through too.”

Milano: “Nope. Not listening.”

Solange reaches in her bag.

Milano: “Not interested in whatever you’re grabbing out of your bag.”

Solange takes a Russian matryoshka doll out of her bag and places it in front of Milano.

Milano saltily squints at it: “What is that creepy thing? Gross.”

Solange: “It’s not creepy. It’s a matryoshka doll.”

Milano pokes it and makes it fall over.

Solange: “Stop.”

Milano: “Tch. It was looking at me."

Solange picks the doll up and splits it in half, revealing a smaller matryoshka doll inside.

Solange: “See? The matryoshka doll has layers and layers of dolls that get progressively smaller inside each other doll until you get to the smallest doll inside all the other dolls at the core."

Solange splits the doll 4 more times to reveal a tiny matryoshka doll.

Milano: “Wait. You were serious when you said the place I went wasn’t the outside world!?

Solange: “The tent works the same way and the smallest of them, or the core, it’s Circopia. All 5 layers are a different and bigger world with different rules until you make it to the outside world, which is kinda like the 6th layer.”

Milano: “Layer? But if that’s the case, the outside world is not a layer.”

Solange: “That’s the thing. I don’t think it ends with the outside world. I think the outside world’s tent… It might be something like the sky.”

Milano’s eyes widen.

Solange gets passionate: “And beyond that - the sky of the sky! And the sky of the sky of the sky! And so on! An infinite amount of layers that progressively get bigger and bigger and bigger! Until you realize nothing we do or none of our lives are even that important anymore cuz they’re just too small to even matter. I call it the matryoshka doll theory.”

Milano, surprised: “So… You believe that the sky exists…?”

Solange: “I believe that an infinite amount of layers means an infinite amount of possibilities. Which means, it’s impossible for the sky to not exist somewhere out there.”

Milano is left frozen: “Infinite… possibilities…?”

The bathroom door gets unlocked.

Milano and Solange turn to look.

Gianni’s voice from behind the door: “I’ve lived in this god damned tent my whole life. I never left. I’ve never been outside. I’ve been ridiculed by the audience from the outside world my whole life. And 7 years ago, they took the one person that made living in Circopia bearable away from me in order to make my life even more miserable than it already was.”

Gianni fully opens the door.

Milano and Solange gasp in shock.

Gianni for the first time has washed off all his makeup, shaved off all his colorful hair, changed all his clown clothes and is wearing a plain grey shirt with black pants. His hair is now it’s natural black color and really short.

Gianni drops his signature hat on the floor.

Milano: “An… intruder!?”

Gianni steps on his jester hat and clenches his fist tightly!

Gianni: “No. Milano. IT IS I! Not a clown! Not Gianni the genius! Not Gianni of Circopia! But I! Just freakin’ Gianni! Circopia is hiding the outside world and trapped us in here. Circopia killed Goma-Chan and Circopia is doing something terrible to Blanca and all the others that made it to the outside world! and Milano… As my only friend… I’m gonna tell you this straight up man…”

Milano, still frozen, looks at Gianni in disbelief.

Gianni: “SOLANGE IS A SOCIOPATHIC CRAZY BITCH! BUT SHE’S RIGHT ON ONE THING… I’M NOT GONNA LET YOU DIE AND ROT INSIDE THIS FREAKIN’ TENT EITHER! WE’RE GONNA GET OUR ASSES OUTSIDE AND WATCH THOSE ELECTRIC EELS TOGETHER, YOU EDGY ASSHOLE! WITH BLANCA TOO!”

Milano tears up: “Electric eels…”

Solange: “Sociopathic bitch?” -_-

Gianni: “SO, I SAY WE FOLLOW YOUR CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND THROUGH THE ENDS OF INFINITE, IN SEARCH OF THE SKY YOU CREATED! IN SEARCH OF BLANCA! IN SEARCH OF THE FREEDOM WE’VE ALWAYS WANTED! And… Not just for us… BUT FOR EVERYONE THEY TRAPPED IN THIS TENT JUST LIKE US!”

Milano and Solange watch Gianni in awe.

Gianni: “THAT’S RIGHT! I’M NOT JUST MAKING IT OUT! I’M GONNA DESTROY CIRCOPIA! I’LL DISMANTLE THE ENTIRE TENT WITH MY BARE HANDS IF I HAVE TO! I’LL KILL WHOEVER’S IN CHARGE AND NO ONE WILL EVER HAVE TO BE APPLAUDED TO BE HAPPY EVER AGAIN!”