A/N: Well, I certainly had fun reading everyone's guesses on who the next partner is. I will say, one of you was right. And by the end of this part you'll know who.

––––

Starshine Circus

1:30 pm

Since Mario and company had no caravan of their own, and Diavelli was in no mood to get them one, they ended up having to share the one that belonged to Benny and Imogen. You can imagine how well that went down.

"You have to be joking me," Imogen said in a dangerously flat voice. "Whose brilliant idea was this? This is just adding insult to injury!"

"Trust me, we're not thrilled about it either," Goomblaine replied stiffly before the other partners could shut him up.

"We're really sorry about this, you guys," Mario sighed to the Boo and the Shadow Siren. "If it helps, we're not planning on staying here very long."

"Well, I'm fine with it," said Benny, who was clearly the designated peacekeeper among the entire troupe. "Having some more company would be nice."

"Fine. Just stay the heck away from my stuff," Imogen sniffed, turning away from them. "And hope for your own sake you don't get my mirror dirty."

––

When the rough equivalent of a day had passed, and Mario's party had gotten up from a not-very-restful sleep, they wandered into the enormous tent to find the other performers were already there, hard at work rehearsing. High up above were rows and rows of seats circling the periphery, stadium style, but they were all currently empty.

"Well, at least we get to watch the professionals at work," Hanner said optimistically. She and the others watched as Scamp and the Trapeze Guys swung back and forth high above their heads, diving from one trapeze to another and often catching each other in midair.

"HARUMPH! So, the noodles have decided to show up after all!" came the thunderous voice of Ninjinsky. Mario turned and saw him straining under the weight of an enormous barbell at least twice his size.

"Well, of course. We're part of this show now," Mario replied as he and his partners walked up. "So where do we rehearse?"

"Anywhere, as long as it's not near me," said Imogen. She was using her powers to put on a very impressive juggling display, able to keep almost a dozen balls in the air at the same time by firing jets of wind up at them. Even as they were all airborne she was able to make them circle around in an intricate series of patterns, crisscrossing and loop-de-looping flawlessly.

"Boy, that's cool," said Stubba, looking both awed and jealous.

"You think it's cool?" she snorted. "I'm supposed to use these powers in combat, to strike fear into the hearts of my foes. But as you can see, that hasn't really worked out."

"Well, even so," Mario spoke up, "that's a really impressive act. You should be proud."

"I reckon she's proud enough already," Snatchel grumbled.

The five of them eventually set up near one corner of the tent, right next to Benny, who was busy twirling a pair of flaming batons around. He winked encouragingly at them as they arrived.

"Okay, guys… now remember, it doesn't have to be perfect," Mario addressed his group as they all circled around. "Just good enough that Diavelli doesn't throw us out for a few days."

"In other words, we need a miracle," Hanner sighed.

"Something like that, yeah."

They basically created their act as they went along. They all stood in a wide circle, and Hanner, who supplied all the hammers, threw them out to the others in a pre-selected order. Then everyone would throw each of theirs to someone else, and so on. Back and forth they went, crossing each other in midair, until several minutes later they all went back to Hanner. It was predictably a disaster the first several times through, but slowly but surely they got the hang of it. After a few hours of practice they had even learned how to make some pretty cool patterns in the air.

"Hmm… you guys aren't bad," Benny observed. "Still, I doubt it'll be enough to convince Diavelli to reopen the show."

"Ha! Are you joking? We're awesome!" Hanner laughed confidently. "I bet we knock Diavelli's socks off when he sees us!"

"Is that so?" came a chilling voice. Mario and his partners (and Benny) whipped around in fright to see Diavelli standing behind them, hands folded behind his back, glaring up at them.

"I've come to observe my latest investment," he said steadily. "Don't be shy. Show me why the Famous Juggling Mario Brothers are so famous."

Mario and the others all looked nervously at each other. Mario decided he would be more comfortable performing in front of a full house than this one man.

"Uh… all right, guys. You heard him," he said shakily. "Let's do it."

They all nodded, and the show started. As nervous as they were, they had rehearsed enough that now they knew their entire act by heart. Mario caught each and every hammer that was thrown his way and threw them off himself without missing a beat. His partners all did their part flawlessly as well, and slowly but surely they grew confident smiles on their faces.

Mario was even impressing himself now. Diavelli had to like their act, didn't he?

Finally, Hanner caught the last hammer out of the air as they finished their performance. All five of them turned to face Diavelli expectantly.

"Ta-da!" Mario sang. Goomblaine shot him a glare.

Diavelli was utterly expressionless.

"Terrible. Absolute garbage."

Mario deflated. "What?"

"You heard me! That so-called act of yours is utter drivel. You're a bunch of no-talent hacks and I was an idiot to ever think of hiring you."

Stubba looked horrified. Hanner and Snatchel just looked annoyed.

"And that goes for the rest of you!" the ringmaster went on, his voice rising to address all the performers. "You're all miserable excuses for performers! You couldn't keep this circus afloat if your lives depended on it! Having to support all of you is just another thorn in my side!"

He turned back to Mario. "You'd better hope I can find someone with real talent," he said in a dangerous voice. "Because you're not going anywhere. And trust me, I will make you miserable for what you're costing me."

And he swept out of the tent, leaving everyone to stare incredulously after him.

"Uh… that didn't go down quite like I was hoping," said Hanner.

––

After that, all the performers trudged back to their caravans in a dejected mood. Not knowing what else to do, Mario and his friends, along with Benny and Imogen, sat around the little table in their caravan, wondering where to go from here.

"Don't take it personally, guys… Diavelli doesn't like any of our acts. Or any of us personally, for that matter," Benny sighed, tracing a circle in the table with his finger. "He… well, he's an awful man. Pure and simple. It's not a big secret."

"Well, if he's such a jerk, then why the heck did you guys sign life contracts with him?" asked Hanner.

"In case you couldn't tell, we're all rejects from society. We've got nowhere else to go," Imogen replied flatly. "Like Benny? He's a Boo who can't scare. When he tries, he scares himself."

"I just don't like scaring, okay? I'm no good at it anyway." Benny let out an angry huff. "I mean seriously, who says all members of a species have to like the same thing, huh?"

"Oh, I feel ya there, partner," Snatchel nodded in agreement.

"Well… maybe this is a good thing, then. For you guys, anyway," Mario suggested. "If Diavelli wants to close the show down, won't he release all you guys from your contracts?"

"Oh, I wish," Imogen snorted. "That's what I was hoping for all along. I was counting on it. But no, he's keeping us all prisoner here until he finds something that will save the show. No, we're not going anywhere. And neither are you guys."

Mario sighed, gazing at his lap and pondering all of this.

"Look, since obviously none of you guys are gonna think of askin' this," Goomblaine said impatiently, "why did this dumb show close down in the first place? Why are we all just sittin' around here?"

"Yeah… that was never made very clear," Hanner admitted. "What happened around here so you guys can't even put on a show anymore?"

Benny and Imogen glanced at each other as Mario and the others looked at them expectantly. Clearly, only members of the circus were privy to this information. How much did they trust these strange newcomers?

"Well… you guys have heard Diavelli talk about the 'cutbacks', right?" Benny asked reluctantly.

Mario stared at him. "Yeah…"

"Let's just say the cutbacks weren't exactly his idea."

Mario blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Look… no matter how impressive you think we performers are, we've never been the real draw of this show," the blue Boo explained. "Really, it's always been the most famous for its rare and exotic animals."

"Rare animals?" Mario repeated. He was pretty sure he hadn't seen any of those around here.

"Oh yeah. Animals from every corner of the globe. Things you've never even heard of before. You name it, we had it."

"So what happened to them all?" Stubba asked curiously.

"Diavelli certainly thinks he knows," Imogen muttered. "I'm sure you've noticed by now how… paranoid he is. He's obsessed with the idea of someone breaking into the circus and stealing everything that's important to him, trying to run him out of business."

"So… he thinks somebody made off with all them critters?" Snatchel interpreted. "Well, what do you fellers think?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense, really," Benny said quietly, gazing down at the ground.

Mario glanced at him. He was looking all sad again… what was up with him, anyway?

"Anyway, without the animals, there's no show," Imogen concluded. "That's pretty much all there is to it."

Mario's party all glanced at each other. "Well… geez, that's pretty unfortunate," was all Mario could think to say.

"Yeah, it is," Imogen agreed. "Now, I think you guys had better stop asking any more questions."

She stood up and floated over to the door, along with Benny.

"Where are you guys going?" asked Stubba.

"We're going to rehearse some more," Benny said with a shrug. "It's not like there's anything else we can do with our time."

"Might as well come with," Imogen said frankly.

Mario's team reluctantly stood up and followed the two of them out the door, but before they'd even walked halfway back to the tent they slowed to a stop. Making sure nobody else could hear, they crowded around in a circle, eager to discuss what they'd just learned.

"Well, whaddaya make outta that," Snatchel remarked, shaking his head. "That crazy ringmaster thinks somebody nabbed each and every one a' them animals a' his… who'd believe a nutty old yarn like that?"

Mario was looking thoughtful. "Well… I would, for one."

Everyone stared at him.

"Please tell me you're lying," said Goomblaine.

"I mean it, guys. Listen, Benny had a point. There isn't much other way all those animals could have disappeared without anyone knowing what happened to them."

He folded his arms. "And furthermore… I think I know who did it."

Everyone was silent.

"Remember what Imogen said?" Mario pressed. "After the animals were gone, she was counting on Diavelli to shut the circus down and terminate everyone's contracts."

"You think she did all this?" Hanner exclaimed.

"She was trying to help the other guys… she just did it in the wrong way," the plumber decided. "…And she may have had an ulterior motive. I'm still not completely sure I trust her."

His partners glanced at each other.

"Well… if she did do it, there's no way she'd admit it to us," Hanner reminded him. "How would we find out for sure?"

"Well, I do have one idea… it's a long shot, but it's all I can think of."

Very slowly, Mario pulled out the Aeon Hourglass.

"…I ain't followin'," said Snatchel.

"Listen, everybody. You know how Dayside and Nightside are independent of each other… something that happens in one place might not happen in the other," Mario tried to explain. "Remember? That's how we got past the collapsing tunnel in Mustard Mines."

"What's that gotta do with anything?" Goomblaine asked shortly.

"Well, think about it. Maybe in Nightside… Imogen never stole those animals. Not yet, anyway. If we can talk to her there, and find out if she's planning anything… then we'd know for sure."

"…Are you sure about this, Mario?" Hanner asked uneasily.

"Guys, this is the only thing left we can do. Remember, we still haven't found out anything about the Sun Soul or the Guardian, because we've been stuck here rehearsing all day. The way I see it, we're not going to make any progress until the circus is up and running… and that won't happen until we find out where those animals are!"

No one responded for a long moment. They seemed to be thinking this over carefully.

"Well… you're right, Mario. There's nothing else to do around here, that's for sure," Hanner finally agreed. "Maybe in Nightside there's some clue about where the Sun Soul is."

"Not to mention the Guardian… I just hope we ain't been dead wrong about where they were," said Snatchel.

"And then we can find out where all the animals went, and save the circus!" Stubba added eagerly.

"Uh, yeah… that too, I guess," Mario decided. His partners all crowded around as he turned the hourglass over, and they all disappeared.

––

Starshine Circus

1:30 am

"All right, we're here!" said Hanner. "Now we just gotta HOLY CRAP what's going on?"

They were standing outside the circus tent, just as they had been before – but now hundreds upon hundreds of spectators were crowding around as well.

"Step right up, step right up, ladies and gentlemen!" came the brash voice of Diavelli as he shouted into his megaphone. "Tonight's performance of the world famous Starshine Circus is about to begin! Have your tickets ready!"

Mario and his partners all stared at each other.

"Well… this is a good sign, right?" Mario ventured.

An uncountable sum of voices floated around Mario's head as the massive crowd of guests pushed and shoved their way inside. Diavelli was almost invisible amongst them all, but Mario kept his eye on him as he and the others fought their way through the crowd and approached him.

"Uh, excuse me, Mr. Diavelli, sir!" Mario greeted him. "Uh, where do you want us performers to be right now, sir?"

Diavelli turned around and stared up at him. "What on earth are you talking about? Who are you all supposed to be?"

Mario's heart skipped a beat as he remembered that this Diavelli had never seen them before.

"Uh… we're…" he struggled to think of something. "We're the Famous Juggling Mario Brothers, remember? Come on, sir, we're part of your show."

"What? Don't be ridiculous! Stop lying to me!" the ringmaster spat at him. "Do you think I'm a fool? I'll have you know I have the list of performers right here – " He pulled out a clipboard. " – and you are most certainly not – "

Suddenly, he fell silent. Mario and company watched with their breaths held as Diavelli's eyes were drawn to the clipboard in his hand. He furrowed his brow in confusion as he studied something he apparently hadn't seen written down before.

"What in the…" He turned to look at Mario. "I have no idea why, but the Famous Juggling Mario Brothers are listed in the cast."

Mario broke into a relieved grin. Diavelli just shook his head.

"Fine. Whatever. Go and get into costume."

Mario looked down at his grungy overalls. "Oh… well, we are in costume."

"Then go inside with the other performers!" Diavelli barked at him. "Honestly, the show's about to start! I won't tolerate any mess-ups from you lot!"

"Okay, okay, fine," Mario said quickly, ushering his partners inside.

Now that there was actually an audience inside the tent, the place seemed much bigger than it had before. Mario gulped as he watched the endless stream of people walking up the stairs, filing into the rows of seats that stood far above their heads, their voices echoing through the large space.

"Wow… look at all those people!" Stubba marveled.

"Yeah… all those people who are gonna be watching us," Hanner said nervously.

Stubba frowned. "Oh yeah… I forgot about that."

Mario led his partners over to the backstage area in the corner of the tent, where the guests couldn't see them. As they got there, they saw that all the other performers were already standing back there, waiting intently.

And that just confirmed what Mario had been afraid of all along. All the performers were there. Ninjinsky, Scamp… even Benny and Imogen. That meant none of them could possibly be the Guardian they were looking for.

"Excuse me? What do you think you're doing back here? This area is for performers only!" Imogen's demanding voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She was glaring at them with her arms folded, and the other performers were staring at them, clearly not recognizing them.

"But we are performers," Mario sighed wearily. "Look, I know this might not make any sense, but just trust me."

"Trust you? I've never even – "

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" came a booming voice.

The audience quickly fell silent as the amplified sound of a drumroll reverberated throughout the stage. Mario and the others crowded around eagerly, watching the darkened floor and waiting for what would happen next.

With a click and a hum, a large, blinding spotlight switched on, illuminating the figure of Diavelli standing center stage, holding a whip in his hand.

"Welcome, one and all, to this exciting and thrilling production of the Starshine Circus!" he shouted. "I am your ringmaster, and your guide throughout this magical experience, Mr. Diavelli! Now, please sit back and relax… and let us give you a show you will never forget!"

The audience burst into a deafening wave of cheers and applause… and the show was on.

Mario's party spent most of the time sitting backstage, watching as the others performed their acts one by one. It really was a memorable and breathtaking experience, getting to see these professional performers from so close. They watched in rapt attention, gasping along with the audience as the Trapeze Guys performed their high-flying acrobatics, swinging and flying from flimsy metal bars suspended from the ceiling, the spotlights following them all the while. They clapped and whistled as Ninjinsky impressed the entire audience with his incredible feats of strength, lifting barbell after enormous barbell over his head and then twirling them around as effortlessly as though they were batons.

Even the performers they hadn't met so well put on quite a show. A hushed orchestra played a suspenseful tune as a duo of Toads performed their death-defying tightrope act, and loud strains of calliope music filled the air as another Toad in a ballerina costume rode a Chain Chomp through enormous hoops of fire.

Then, of course, there was Imogen. The audience really got a kick when, instead of walking onstage like the others, she rose up out of the floor from a puddle of shadow, along with her three assistants, a Blue, Red and Yellow Magiblot. As Diavelli loudly introduced her to the audience, each Magiblot produced a large handful of shadowy lumps in the shape of balls, and one by one, tossed them at Imogen. At first she was content to juggle them normally, but finally she whipped out her powers and lifted the balls into the air with her blasts of wind, juggling them without even touching them. As the balls flew back and forth between her and her assistants, circling and passing each other in complex patterns, the audience burst into insane applause.

Benny's act was, if anything, even more impressive. He floated nonchalantly onto the stage, holding his batons in his hand, and then lifted them above his head as they spontaneously burst into flame. He twirled them around, throwing them high up in the air and catching them, surrounding himself in a blazing ring of fire. He gulped the fire down effortlessly and then spewed it out in a blast, causing the audience to shriek in astonishment.

Mario was having such a good time, he almost forgot what was coming next.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen! May I present to you the latest addition to our show! These mysterious travelers from far-off lands promise to astound and amaze you! Introducing… the Famous Juggling Mario Brothers!"

"And Sister! Famous Juggling Mario Brothers and Sister! Geez, how hard is that to remember?" Hanner shouted over the audience's applause.

"Come on, guys, we're up," Mario groaned, leading his team out onto the stage. The blinding spotlight followed them as they went, drowning out all the other light and making Mario unable to even see the audience.

"Okay, guys, just like we practiced," he said softly as they all took their places. "It's now or never."

They all swallowed hard and nodded. The audience watched in anticipation as Hanner pulled out one of her hammers, her hand shaking, and threw it at Mario.

He caught it.

The music began to pick up, and suddenly, the five of them were feeling right at home. The audience started clapping as they dived into their performance, tossing the hammers around at each other, back and forth, choreographed perfectly, just the way they'd rehearsed. Nobody even dropped a single hammer.

Mario was grinning like an idiot. This was easy! Why had he been so worried?

Finally, after what seemed like mere seconds but had probably been much longer, Hanner caught the last hammer out of the air and the audience burst into the same wild applause they'd given everyone else. Mario's team turned to face them and bowed deeply, and Mario felt himself flushing with exhilaration.

"Wow… you guys were really something," Benny remarked as they joined him backstage.

"Not as good as me, though," Imogen sniffed. "Seriously, who are you guys? Does Diavelli not feel the need to tell us when he hires somebody else?"

"And now, ladies and gentlemen!" came Diavelli's voice. "The moment you've all been waiting for! The crowning glory of this fine show! You are about to witness something that few people have ever seen before! Allow me to present the Starshine Circus's amazing assortment of legendary creatures – the rarest animals in all the world!"

Mario immediately snapped to attention. So this circus really did have animals in it… Benny and Imogen hadn't been lying about that.

"First up! Allow me to present the amazing, the enormous… Electro Piranha!"

The audience gasped as a gigantic Piranha Plant suddenly came shooting out of the ground in front of Diavelli. It was colored yellow, and rather than being covered in dots, it was adorned in green lightning bolt shapes. It let out a loud, intimidating roar as sparks flew from its body.

Snatchel sat bolt upright in his chair, lifting his hat up from over his eyes and staring. Hanner and Stubba's jaws dropped.

"What is that thing?" the Hammer Sis cried. "I've never ever seen a Piranha Plant like that before!"

"Neither have I," Mario marveled. "Goomblaine, can you Tattle on that thing?"

"It's not showin' up on here," the Goomba announced, punching in a bunch of buttons to no avail.

Mario frowned. "It's not? It must be really rare…"

Meanwhile, the Electro Piranha had finished spooking the audience and dived back under the ground.

"And next," Diavelli announced, "a deadly leviathan from deep beneath the ocean, unseen for hundreds of years! Please welcome – the Rainbow Blooper!"

Suddenly, a group of circus laborers appeared from the other side of the stage, dragging an equally gigantic Blooper out with them. But rather than being white, this Blooper's skin seemed to shine with all the colors of the rainbow. The audience marveled and applauded as it emitted a loud trumpeting sound, squirting out a fountain of ink.

"…And I've definitely never seen one of those before either," Mario decided.

"You guys must be new," Imogen said snidely. "Everybody knows the Starshine Circus is the most famous for its rare animals. Without them, we'd be just another run-of-the-mill show. Those things are all that's keeping us afloat."

"Oh, really…" said Mario. It was only now that he remembered what he'd been meaning to talk to her about all along.

"So, you're saying… without those animals, the circus would go under?" he ventured.

"Probably, yeah. What's it to you?"

"Well, it's just… you know… what with the whole life contract thing and all… that might be a good thing, right?"

Imogen stared at him.

"Imogen…" Mario began as cautiously as he could. "Just hypothetically… you've never, like… thought of doing anything to those animals, have you?"

"What?"

"Well, if this show is so dependent on the animals… if you got rid of them, all of you could go free, couldn't you?"

Imogen looked utterly appalled.

"What are you suggesting?" she snapped. "You think I would do something to those poor things just to get us out of here?"

Mario was taken aback. "Well, I…"

"Well for your information, that's not how it works," she hissed. "Diavelli's got us all stuck here for life, no matter what happens. And even if that weren't true, I'd never bring those animals into this. That's disgusting."

Mario frowned in disappointment. "So you never even had the idea to…"

"No. Now stop talking about it. That's a ridiculous idea."

She turned away and folded her arms, refusing to speak to him anymore. Mario glanced back at his partners.

"Uh, okay… I guess we were wrong about that."

"So she didn't take the animals?" Stubba said in confusion. "But then who did?"

"Don't tell me we came here for nothing… that was the only lead we had," Hanner complained.

Mario sighed deeply, leaning back hopelessly in his chair. He barely even watched as a series of other amazing creatures – a three-headed Chain Chomp, a fire-breathing Pokey – made their appearance on stage one at a time.

He was starting to think he'd been completely wrong about this… maybe those animals hadn't been stolen after all.

There was something going on here that he didn't know about – something that Benny and Imogen were refusing to tell him. But what could it be? And how could the Sun Soul and the Guardian possibly tie into it all?

––

After the show had finally wound all the way down, and the last few spectators were filing out of the tent and returning to their homes, Mario's team and the rest of the troupe were gathered around in front of the group of parked caravans a little ways away from the tent.

"Well, another successful show, guys," Benny addressed the group. "We all did a fantastic job, I think."

"Hey, where's Diavelli?" asked Hanner. "Isn't he going to congratulate us?"

Everyone raised an eyebrow at her.

"…What? I was joking!"

"So now that that's over, what do we do?" Mario asked.

"I'm goin' to bed," Scamp announced firmly. "The star a' this show needs his beauty rest, after all."

"The great Ninjinsky would do well with some repose!" the Ninji strongman agreed. "I have worked harder tonight than rest of you combined!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty bushed myself," Benny sighed, stifling a yawn. "I guess we'd better turn in. Tomorrow's another night, after all. More of the same."

"Yippee," Imogen grumbled as all the performers turned and slowly sauntered back to their eagerly-awaited beds. Everyone but Mario's team, that is.

Imogen seemed to notice them standing where they were, reluctant to move. "Hey, you guys comin' or what?" she asked impatiently.

"I think we'll stick around here for a little longer. Thanks, Imogen," Mario replied. The Shadow Siren gave an apathetic shrug and floated off.

"Well, that was all a big waste a' time," Goomblaine snorted once the performers were all out of earshot. "We didn't find out squat about the Sun Soul or anything!"

"Yeah, and we still dunno what happened to all the animals," Stubba said sadly.

"C'mon, fellers, we ain't gettin' backed into a corner this easy," Snatchel admonished, folding his arms firmly. "There's gotta be somethin' else we can do… right, Mario?"

But at this point, the plumber's confidence was flagging dangerously. All he could do was shake his head.

"I just don't know, you guys," he admitted, looking hopelessly at his partners. "I'm all out of ideas. The Sun Soul, the Guardian… we've still got no leads at all. I don't know what else to do…"

Suddenly, Hanner perked up and started blinking rapidly. "Do you guys hear that?"

Everyone turned to see that Hanner was focusing her attention on the deserted circus tent several yards away. They'd assumed it was empty now, but to their surprise, there was a very distinct voice coming from inside it. It was shouting, and it sounded furious.

"That's Diavelli!" Mario realized.

All five of them raced over to the tent, but just as they were about to come bursting in Mario skidded to a stop and hastily motioned for his partners to do the same. With the utmost caution, taking care not to make a sound, they crowded around the back entrance and peered inside.

Where minutes before the tent had been completely filled and bustling with activity, it was now eerily empty. The seats were all deserted, the lights were off, and the floor was littered with discarded soda cups and popcorn bags.

But it wasn't completely empty. Standing in the middle of the floor was Diavelli, and he was glaring acidly up at the Electro Piranha.

"That was the worst performance you've ever given!" he bellowed at it, flushing red once again. "Honestly, do you get stupider with every show we do? You couldn't even convince a half-blind Goomba with that amateur act of yours!"

Mario's team stared in confusion. Why was Diavelli yelling at the Piranha, of all things? And why was it reacting to him so strangely? Despite its massive size, it was cringing away from him and even seemed to be whimpering. Mario was sure he'd never heard a Piranha whimper before…

"Not one of those animal acts was convincing. But this – " he smacked the Piranha's stem. "This was the worst one of all! Piranhas don't make noises like that, didn't you know? If you don't start wising up, it's only going to be a matter of time before everyone figures you out for the phony you are! And then where will I be?"

He grabbed the Piranha by the stem and started violently shaking it. Rather than try to defend itself, the monstrous beast did nothing but pitifully lower its head –

And then, to the complete and utter shock of everyone who was watching, it became enveloped in a cloud of suffocating purple smoke that seemed to come from nowhere.

Stubba blinked furiously. "What's – "

Mario's blood froze. He knew what was happening. His hand flew to his chest as his eyes bulged in complete terror.

When the smoke cleared, the Piranha was gone.

Standing in its place was something that could only be described as a bright pink bedsheet. It – or rather, she – had a head full of long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had no hands at all, and her "arms" were merely folds of the sheet. Around her neck was a ruffled red-and-white collar, like something a clown would wear.

Diavelli grabbed her by the collar and yanked her down to his eye level, glaring at her as she whimpered in misery and guilt.

"When are you going to start being useful, Dulia?"

––––

A/N: Did anyone figure it out beforehand? Tell me! :D