Starshine Circus
1:30 am
"It – she – it's a Duplighost!" Mario gawked.
"So that's where all those crazy animals came from!" Hanner realized.
"Well, I'll be a yellabellied Beezo," Snatchel growled. "That feller ain't got a single rare critter in this dang circus! He was just havin' that girl posin' as them!"
"I – I'm really sorry, Mr. Diavelli. I really am!" Dulia stammered out. "It's just you have me turn into so many different animals, sometimes I get them mixed up – "
"SHUT UP!" Diavelli snarled at her, slapping her across the face and causing Mario's party to recoil. "That's not an excuse! You know you're the singular reason this circus is still in business – which means it's your responsibility to get your act down for the sake of all the other performers! Or do you not care what happens to them?"
"No! I do! I do!" Dulia cried out.
The ringmaster folded his arms and turned away from her. "You're pathetic, Dulia," he sniffed. "You can't do a thing right. Sometimes I think I'd be better off getting rid of you and finding another Duplighost – one with actual talent." He looked over his shoulder and glared up at her. "Would you like that? Do you want to go back to the way you were before I found you? A worthless little vagabond wandering from town to town?"
Dulia started looking panicked and shook her head furiously. "No – no, please, Mr. Diavelli! Don't throw me out!" she begged. "This is the only home I've ever had – please, I'll try harder next time! I promise!"
"I'll believe that when I see it. Now get out of my sight," Diavelli snapped, pointing firmly in the direction of the caravans. Dulia lowered her head dejectedly and slowly began walking out. Realizing she was heading straight for them, Mario's team scampered out of the way and off to the side of the tent, hiding in the shadows.
"I can't believe he's so mean to her," Stubba said quietly. "Why would he do that?"
"So he treats everybody in this dump like dirt. Big whoop," Goomblaine muttered.
"But guys – you know what this means, don't you?" Hanner said urgently, trying to get to the point. "She's our Guardian! She has to be!"
"That sure would explain what happened to them animals," Snatchel agreed. "Nobody stole 'em at all – they just don't exist in that half a' the world anymore!"
Mario wasn't listening to any of this. His head was reeling in fear and agony.
Why? Why, of all things, did it have to be a Duplighost?
He snapped back to attention when he heard several familiar voices coming from the tent entrance. He looked up and saw Dulia was standing out there, and Benny and Imogen had suddenly appeared in front of her.
"G-Guys?" the little Duplighost stammered.
"Hey, Dulia… we heard what Diavelli said to you," Benny said softly, floating over to her. "Look… don't pay attention to him, okay? He never has a good word to say about any of us."
"Yeah, you did a terrific job, kiddo," Imogen agreed. "If there really were such thing as an Electro Piranha, I'd be fooled in a second."
Dulia was visibly fighting back tears. "Oh, Benny… Gen…" she sniffled. "Thank you, but… I'm afraid of what he's going to do to me if I keep disappointing him. I just want to make him happy… I don't know what to do anymore."
"What are you two doing here?" came a sharp voice, and suddenly Diavelli had come storming out of the tent after them. The three performers jumped in fear and scrambled out of his way.
"You know you're not allowed to talk to her, and that's final!" the ringmaster snapped at Benny and Imogen. "Now get out of here before I do something I'll regret!"
He grabbed Dulia by the arm and hauled her away, leaving her to gaze wistfully back at her friends before she vanished into the darkness. Benny and Imogen glared silently after Diavelli for a long moment before fading from sight and sinking into the ground, respectively.
"This is crazy," Hanner muttered. "Diavelli would never let us get near her… what are we supposed to do now?"
"Why, why, why," Mario lamented, clutching at his head. "She can't be a Duplighost… I can't handle this…"
All his partners stared at him. "Mario, what are you – " Hanner began before it seemed to dawn on her. "Oh, geez, Mario… please tell me this isn't another Stubba thing."
"Stubba thing?" Snatchel repeated.
"What about me?" asked Stubba.
Mario sighed. "I'm sorry, guys… I really am… it's just, it's hard to explain…"
Hanner would have none of it. "Okay, fine, Mario," she said in exasperation. "I give up. Just tell me, what horrible thing could have possibly happened to you in the past to make you not like Duplighosts?"
"One of them stole my identity," Mario replied tonelessly.
Everyone gave him a strange look. "…What?" asked Hanner.
"He stole my identity," he repeated. "My name, my body, everything. My friends all thought he was me. And… I ended up having to fight them all."
Mario felt his throat tightening up as he recounted that horrible chapter in his life. He'd never completely gotten over his friends betraying him like that… and he'd never had so much taken away from him, so much that he'd started to question his very self. In the blink of an eye he'd gone from the famous Mushroom Kingdom champion to a nameless, friendless shadow, walking alone through the darkness…
The pained look on his face obviously didn't escape his partners.
"Well, okay… I guess that is a pretty good reason," Hanner decided. "But did you see her, Mario? How sad and scared she looked? I'm pretty sure stealing someone's identity is the last thing on her mind."
She was right, of course. Mario had very quickly noticed how miserable Dulia had looked, and he knew exactly how she must feel; practically a prisoner to an ungrateful employer, kept hidden away from the outside world for selfish reasons, wondering whether she was a real person or just an act…
And suddenly he knew why the look on her face had seemed so familiar: it was loneliness…
She looked exactly the way he'd felt.
––
The entire time Mario's party was watching Dulia, they had no idea that they themselves were being watched. By two separate parties, no less.
Jaff, Pell and Nobb were currently crouched in the shadows some distance away, glaring at their red-clad foe and his group of friends.
"How typical. Of course, Mario has found the location of the next Sun Soul already... and the Guardian as well," Jaff spat in disgust. "Clearly we've done nothing but underestimate him until now. He just won't go down."
"What do you want us to do, Jaff?" asked Pell.
In response, the lead Darkstrider flexed his claws in anticipation.
"What do you think we're going to do? Attack him now, while his guard is down. And when we've taken care of him, we go after the Duplighost. She has no power yet; she's defenseless."
Grinning sadistically, Pell and Nobb crowded behind Jaff as he crouched, tensing his muscles and preparing to charge at Mario...
When suddenly he caught something out of the corner of his eye.
Someone else was hiding in the darkness several yards away from them, also watching Mario and unseen by anyone else. Jaff blinked in surprise as he recognized the Crazee Dayzee they'd first seen while climbing Mt. Tourmaline. Three towering forms were standing behind her, which could only have been her ever-present Putrid Piranhas.
Jaff had been completely unprepared for this opportunity. King Shroude had given them orders to confront her the next time they saw her, and here she was.
"Jaff? What's wrong?" Nobb whispered.
"Hang on a moment," Jaff hissed to the other two. "I've just sensed another opportunity… Mario can wait for now."
Pell and Nobb looked at him unsurely, following behind him as he scampered up to the Crazee Dayzee.
"Ahem – excuse me!" he said importantly. The Dayzee started and turned to look at him, and as she saw him her eyes narrowed in distrust.
"Your name is Maizee, is it not?" said Jaff. "You're the one who's been following Mario all over and attempting to claim the Sun Souls for yourself."
Maizee glared dangerously at Jaff. "Well, it seems my reputation precedes me," she remarked. "Now whom do I have the honor of speaking to?"
"We are servants of King Shroude, ruler of Chronoside. Begging your pardon, but we've actually been observing you for quite some time. We've been meaning to talk to you."
The Piranhas growled warily, seeming to sense Maizee's suspicion. "About what?" she demanded.
"We have a proposition for you," Jaff replied. "After learning as much as we have of your intentions, King Shroude has decided to offer his hand in allegiance to you."
Maizee drew back in astonishment. "What?"
"We've seen you in action before. Your Piranhas are incredibly powerful," the leader of the Darkstriders went on. "And you share a common goal with us: namely, defeating Mario. Our lord believes you would prove a vital ally to his cause."
Maizee did nothing but stare at Jaff for a long moment, seemingly at a loss for words. Clearly she hadn't been expecting to be presented with an offer like this. It was impossible to say what was going through her head.
"That is a very generous offer, but I'm afraid I must decline," she finally replied. "I promise you our goals don't overlap at all."
Jaff blinked in shock, as though someone rejecting an offer from King Shroude were something completely outside his comprehension. Even Pell and Nobb seemed surprised.
"But I – "
"Listen. As you've said yourself, my goal is to obtain the Sun Souls. You, on the other hand, seem more concerned with keeping them where they are. I'm afraid I can't let that happen."
Jaff still looked stunned at this, but momentarily he got over it and snarled in frustration.
"Now – now look here! If you're not allied with Mario, just what are you planning on doing with those things anyway?"
"Quite frankly, that's none of your business. Now I believe this conversation is over."
Her Piranhas growled in agreement, daring Jaff to object. He glanced nervously up at them, and it was only then that he got a good look at them – and he realized there was something wrong about them. They were far too large to be normal Piranhas, their toothy mouths were too wide, and they just seemed far too dangerous...
He pushed this thought out of his mind before turning to glare at Maizee again.
"Fine," he spat. "We don't need to waste our time talking to you. We can defeat Mario by ourselves. Right now."
He started marching off towards the circus tent, motioning Pell and Nobb to follow him. He certainly wasn't expecting Maizee to step directly in front of him.
"And I'm afraid I can't let you do that either," she said firmly. "Mario is my business, not yours. You leave him to me."
Jaff bristled in disbelief. "Just what do you think you're doing?" he almost screamed. "We're the ones to defeat Mario! He's threatening our grand designs, not yours! You're just some lunatic loner who, for reasons beyond all understanding, decided to stick her nose in our business!"
Maizee didn't budge. "I wouldn't say such things if I were you," she said in a dangerously quiet voice. "Now consider this a warning."
She turned to the Piranha on the right and nodded. Responding to the signal, it suddenly shot forward and crunched down onto Pell.
"YEEEAARRGHH!" the Darkstrider screeched as the Piranha took a ferocious chomp out of him. Jaff and Nobb stared in shock as he staggered backwards, panting and clutching painfully at himself as his blue face became tinged with green.
"What did you do?" Jaff snarled at Maizee.
"What does it look like? I poisoned him," she replied acidly. "Don't worry, I'm sure they sell Tasty Tonics somewhere in town. I'd hurry if I were you, though."
And with that, she leapt onto the head of the center Piranha as all three of them burrowed into the ground and vanished, leaving the Darkstriders by themselves.
"What the – " Nobb blinked several times. "Where the heck did she go?"
"Oh, forget it," Jaff hissed at him, grabbing Pell roughly and dragging him away. "Let's get out of here. Clearly she can't be negotiated with. She's completely insane."
Nobb looked confused. "We're goin'? But what about Mario?"
"Well we can't exactly fight him like this, now can we?" Jaff roared furiously, smacking the gravely weakened Pell. "We have her to thank for that. Now let's go… and woe be unto anyone who gets on her bad side. Mario most of all."
––
Starshine Circus
1:30 pm
After the events of that night, Mario's team had very awkwardly and reluctantly trudged off to bed. Mario himself got hardly any sleep at all, spending most of the night trying to sort out his feelings. Once the others had gotten a full night's rest, the group immediately returned to Dayside, whereupon Mario marched up to Benny and Imogen's trailer and pounded on the door.
"What in the – where were all of you?" Imogen demanded, yanking the door open. "You think it's funny to just all go missing like that? Like Diavelli's not in enough of a snit already – "
"The jig's up, Imogen," Mario cut her off sternly. "We know about Dulia."
Imogen went eerily silent.
"You what?" Benny cried, zooming up to themand looking panicked. "But – but how? Nobody's allowed to know about her! Who told you?"
"Oh, please, Benny. Of course no one told them," Imogen said impatiently. "You probably just left your diary lying out in the open again."
"It's a journal, not a diary!" the Boo snapped at her before rounding on Mario. "Look, I don't know how you guys found out about her, but I swear – if you get any funny ideas, if you do anything to try and take advantage of her, I'll... well, I'll..."
Despite being unable to complete his threat, Benny looked completely furious. Mario was stunned; he'd never seen the normally shy Boo this defensive before –
And then it dawned on him.
"Wait a minute – so that's why you've been all depressed, Benny," he realized. "You're in love with her!"
"Oh, just leave me alone, would you?" Benny cried, looking anguished. "I know it's stupid. I know she's completely out of my league... but that hardly matters now, does it? She's gone. Somebody took her away, just like Diavelli was afraid of."
He started sobbing quietly, blinking back tears. Imogen let out a sigh and, in a rare show of affection, put an arm around him. Mario turned and looked dejectedly back at his party, wondering what he was supposed to say.
He couldn't tell them the truth, after all. Dulia hadn't been kidnapped at all – but they'd never understand what really happened.
"Why didn't you guys ever tell us about her?" he finally asked tiredly.
"We were trying to protect her. That's what friends do," Imogen snapped at him, as though the concept of friendship were something alien to him. "Nobody outside this circus knows anything about her. If word ever got out that Diavelli's animal act was all fake... well, it'd be a disaster."
"What, so you think it's better for her to be shut away from the world and never get to talk to anybody?" Hanner said angrily.
"You think we're happy about that?" Benny shot back. "That was all Diavelli's fault. He was so paranoid that someone would steal her that he kept her locked up in her trailer whenever she wasn't performing. Even Gen and I barely got to see her... and now, who knows if we'll ever see her at all."
Hanner seemed to understand that, looking guilty that she'd blamed them. "I can't believe that Diavelli is such a jerk," she muttered. "He's making it so hard on everybody. Being part of a circus is supposed to be fun... I mean, just as long as it's not one of those evil, demented circuses."
Imogen nodded. "That poor kid..." she sighed, gazing off at something. "She deserves to live life as a normal person, not as some attraction in a freak show. Who knows what's happening to her now."
Mario had started tuning Imogen out. Something Benny had said was causing a plan to slowly formulate in his mind.
"You said he kept her locked up in her trailer?" he repeated. "Which one?"
Both performers gave him an odd look. "The one nearest the tent, of course. You never noticed it was empty?" Benny replied.
"And don't get any perverse ideas," Imogen said sharply. "It's locked up tight. You can't get in."
"I was just wondering," Mario assured her. "Well... thanks, you guys. Sorry I brought this up."
"Yeah, well... don't do it again. The less you talk about her, the better off you'll be," Imogen replied. Benny floated out of the way as she slammed the door shut, leaving Mario's party out in the cold.
Now that they were alone, Mario turned to face his partners with a glimmer in his eye.
"All right, what dumb fool idea are you plannin' this time?" Goomblaine growled, clearly growing sick of all this.
"You heard them, guys," said the plumber. "Dulia's always in her trailer. We just have to find go back to Nightside and talk to her there, and get her to find out who she really is."
"Yeah, just one problem there, hotshot," Hanner reminded him. "She's locked up in her trailer, remember? How are we gonna get inside?"
"Actually, I've got that figured out too. Snatchel, I hate to tell you this, but it's going to involve breaking the law."
"Well, that's what I've come to expect from you, partner."
––
Inside the tent, everyone was hard at work rehearsing just as they always were, though it was clear that their hearts weren't in it anymore. The more time that passed without finding Dulia, the angrier Diavelli became and the more everyone grew convinced that the circus really was doomed.
Diavelli was standing near the back entrance, barking orders up at the Trapeze Guys as they soared back and forth over his head. He was so caught up in his rant that he wasn't paying attention to anything else – certainly not the ring of keys that was hanging from his belt.
"Okay Snatchel, you got this?" Mario whispered as he and his party peered into the entrance. Luckily, the ringmaster was facing away from them.
"Shoot, you forget who yer talkin' to, Mario?" the sheriff replied with a grin. "This'll be a snap."
He pulled out his lasso and twirled it for a moment, concentrating hard before finally throwing it out. The noose tightened around the ring of keys and yanked them right of Diavelli's belt. The ringmaster didn't notice a thing.
"Awesome! That was terrific!" Hanner cheered as Snatchel pulled the rope back and grabbed the keys.
"Well, heck, you don't get to be sheriff by good looks alone," he chuckled.
"All right, we've got the keys," said Mario, holding them up. "One of these is bound to open Dulia's caravan, in Dayside or Nightside."
When they arrived at said caravan a moment later, though, they were greeting with a very unwelcome sight. The door had been completely removed, and sticking out of the doorway was a very large yellow block.
"What? What's this?" Mario cried.
"He must have heard us talking about her," sighed Benny, who was floating in front of the door. "He put this block in here so we couldn't get in and do anything funny."
"I'm gettin' mighty sick of that feller," Snatchel grumbled. Stubba was trying to break the block with his club but was having no luck.
"Well, just perfect," Mario complained. "We got the keys and everything... now what are we supposed to do?"
Benny's eyes lit up in amusement. "You guys got the keys from Diavelli?" he repeated. "How'd you do that?"
"We're Team Mario, that's how," Hanner boasted.
"Well, that changes things," the young Boo remarked. "Do you guys want to hear a secret?"
"DUH! I love secrets!" the Hammer Sis cheered.
"Well, Diavelli's got a lot of old junk that he's collected over the years. He keeps it all stored in this big warehouse at the other end of town. One of those keys should open the place up."
"You want us to go digging through Diavelli's stuff?" Mario interpreted.
"I've seen some of it... it's really useful," Benny informed him. "In fact, he's got something in there that could help you break down that block."
"...And you're okay with us breaking in here?"
"I know you guys aren't bad," said the Boo. "You're trying to help Dulia, aren't you?"
They all nodded.
"Well, good luck then," he sighed. "Whatever you're planning, I hope it works... for her sake."
There was no mistaking the longing look in his eyes... the look of fear and concern for someone he loved.
––
Nova City
1:59 pm
Mario's team made their way across the city until they arrived at the old warehouse Benny had mentioned. Mario attempted to fit each one of the keys into the lock, and sure enough, one of them fit perfectly and caused the door to swing wide open.
The inside of the warehouse was enormous. Practically everything was in shades of gray; the walls and the floor were all made of concrete, and everything inside was coated with a heavy layer of dust that must have taken years to form. The only light came from a row of very small, narrow windows that lined the walls near the ceiling.
"Ugh... when was the last time somebody cleaned in here?" Hanner complained.
"Well, hopefully we won't be down here long," Mario replied as they carefully entered the room, getting a look at how huge the place really was. You could practically hold a concert in here. There were all sorts of discarded boxes piled up and lining the walls, so many that it would take a lifetime to sort through them all.
"Well, what a load of help that ghost freak was," Goomblaine complained. "Where are we supposed to find this 'really helpful thing'?"
"EEEEEEEEEK!" Stubba suddenly shrieked. Everyone whipped around to see that a Pider had dropped to the floor in front of the little Clubba.
"Geez, Stubba, don't scare us like that," Mario admonished as they made quick work of the arachnid. "There's nothing dangerous in here, all right? Don't worry."
"Okay, Mario," Stubba whimpered.
They slowly made their way through the massive room, but not without enemy encounters. Hanner and Stubba quickly grew disgusted at the number of Piders that appeared, as well as the Dark Puffs that seemed to thrive in the dust-filled environment. They weren't difficult to defeat, but they did manage to slow the party down a lot.
Thankfully, their excursion definitely had its benefits. About halfway through the room Mario noticed a small chest sitting in front of the stack of crates, and he kicked it open to find...
"AWESOME! A Franklin Badge!"
"Actually, Hanner, it's called Zap Tap."
"Oh, right."
That wasn't all they found. Mario noticed a familiar glimmer of sparkles a little further on, and within moments he had yet another Luma in his care. Snatchel even used his knack for finding items to pull a (formerly) invisible P-Down, D-Up Badge off a shelf.
"We're getting quite the haul, aren't we?" Mario remarked.
"Nothing helpful, though," Goomblaine reminded him irritably.
"Ooh, Mario! Look at that!" Stubba said right on cue, pointing off at a very large, important-looking chest sitting all by itself.
"Hmm... I'll bet you anything this is what Benny was talking about," said the plumber. Feeling excited, he walked up to the oversized chest and slowly pushed it open...
Mario got the Super Hammer! He can use this hammer to break large yellow blocks in his way! He can also use the Super Hammer in battle to damage all enemies in a row!
"Hah! It's about time!" Mario cheered, holding his new hammer aloft in all its glory. "This'll make fighting ten times easier!"
"Hey, yeah... and Benny was right! We can use this to break into Dulia's place!" Hanner realized, looking delighted. "Boy, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere without Ben n' Gen, would we?"
Mario smiled sadly. "Yeah... I just hope Diavelli doesn't find out they've been helping us. The last thing I want is for them to get in trouble because of us."
––
Starshine Circus
1:30 pm
They quickly made their way back to the circus grounds and approached Dulia's caravan, Mario holding his new Super Hammer in his hands.
"All right, so here's the plan," he announced. "There's no way we could break in here in Nightside without Diavelli catching us, because Dulia's actually there for him to keep an eye on. So we'll break in here, then when we're inside, we'll go to Nightside. Sound good?"
"Whatever," Goomblaine muttered as everyone else nodded dutifully.
"Okay then," said Mario. He braced himself and wound up, feeling his papery body twist up in a coil as he built up every reserve of strength...
And he swung the hammer with all his might, smashing the block to bits.
"YAY! We did it!" Stubba cheered, jumping up and down.
"Yeah, now let's hurry before Diavelli catches us," Hanner said fretfully, running inside as everyone else followed her.
They were all taken aback by how lavishly the inside was decorated. There was a closet full of colorful outfits, a nice fancy rug, and an enormous mirror that was lined with lightbulbs. The counter in front of the mirror had all sorts of bottles and cases on it, along with a hat rack with a purple wig hanging from it.
It looked like a movie star's dressing room... but Mario knew that for Dulia, it may as well have been a prison cell.
"Hey, Mario, look," said Hanner, pointing at the center of the room. There was yet another group of sparkles hanging in the air.
"Good eye, Hanner. We'll have some serious levelling up to do when this is over," said Mario as he retrieved the Luma. "Okay, everybody ready? Here goes nothing."
"Y'know, I just had a thought," said Snatchel as Mario tipped the Aeon Hourglass over. "Isn't she gonna be a little freaked when we appear right in her dressin' room outta thin air?"
Mario blinked. "Wha – "
They were already gone.
––
Starshine Circus
1:30 am
Diavelli sat at his desk, folding his hands as he impatiently regarded the three strange creatures who were standing in his office.
"You're completely sure about this?" he asked.
"Beyond any doubt," Jaff replied. "That Duplighost of yours is even more valuable than you realize... and we know for a fact that those new 'performers' are nothing but liars and deceivers. They're planning to take her away from you."
Diavelli frowned very dangerously. "What am I supposed to do? There's five of them!"
"When we gave you that Sun Soul, it was because we knew you were someone we could trust," said Jaff. "In other words, you were too selfish to let anyone else get it. And we believed you would make good use of its power. Those unbreakable life contracts of yours are just the start... you really don't know what you're capable of, do you?"
"Tell me what to do!"
"You can control those performers of yours more closely than you realize," the Darkstrider informed him in a low voice. "And I know just the ones who deserve it. I think it's time you had a word with your juggler and your fire-eater..."
––
Mario's party reappeared in Dulia's room... only to find the Duplighost herself was now sitting in front of her mirror. She instantly saw their reflections appear behind her out of nowhere and gasped.
"We really need to start thinking things through better," Hanner sighed.
"What the – " Dulia spun around to face them, staring at them with terror in her eyes –
Those red, sinister eyes, the calculating glint that had flashed through them as he raised up his arms and vanished in a puff of smoke, reemerging as a shadow of Mario's own self –
Mario quickly shook his head to clear it.
"You – " Dulia cried breathlessly. "You're... you're the new performers, aren't you? From the show last night?" She drew back, still looking frightened. "You shouldn't be in here... Diavelli will be so upset..."
"Well, then, we just won't tell him," Mario replied as he climbed to his feet, trying to sound reassuring. "He doesn't ever have to know we were here."
Dulia looked back and forth between the members of this strange group, unsure what to say.
"Why... why are you in here?" she finally asked. "What do you want?"
"We wanted to talk to you, Dulia," Hanner replied in a very friendly and encouraging voice. "You're such an amazing performer, we wanted to meet you."
Mario nodded. "My name's Mario," he introduced himself, "and these are all my friends. It's all right if we stay and talk to you, right? Just for a little while?"
The Duplighost looked at them warily before deciding. She knew better, much better, than to let them stay, but her loneliness got the better of her.
"Okay... just for a little..."
Mario pulled up a chair and sat down across from her. She regarded him tensely, which certainly wasn't making him feel any more at ease...
"So, Dulia," he began conversationally, "how long have you been part of this circus?"
She frowned. "Oh... a long time. Years, actually," she replied. "I'm the newest one, though. Or I was, until you came along."
"And you've always had the same act?"
"Yes..."
"So... do you like it here?"
Dulia blinked in surprise. "W-What?"
"Do you like being in this show?" he asked simply. "Do you have a good time with your animal act? Do you have a lot of friends? Do you want to keep doing this for a long time?"
Dulia stared at him. For some reason, hearing these questions was making her start shaking all over.
"Oh... of course I do..." she said in a wavering voice, turning to stare at the floor. "Of course I like it here... this is my home..."
"Really?" said Mario, knowing full well she was lying. "Because it seems to me like Diavelli doesn't treat you very well. He doesn't seem to appreciate you at all, in fact." He leaned forward slightly. "Maybe it's just me, but... if I were you, I wouldn't be very happy here."
Dulia didn't turn to look back up at him. She kept gazing at the ground, though she was clearly in distress, and her lower lip was trembling...
And then she burst into tears.
"Oh... y-y-you're right," she sobbed. "I-I can't stand it here... I hate Diavelli... I hate him..." She hiccupped. "I know that sounds mean, but... he never lets me do anything... I never even get to see my best friends... I don't understand."
Hanner was frowning deeply in sympathy and wringing her hands, and it looked like it was all Stubba could do to not run up and give her a hug.
"I'm so sorry, Dulia," Mario sighed. "Nobody deserves to be treated like that. But I have to ask... if you had a chance to leave here, would you do it?"
Now she did look up at him.
"...What?"
"Y'see, we weren't planning on staying here long. In fact, we have to leave pretty soon... and we were hoping you'd come with us."
Dulia's eyes briefly lit up with something that looked like hope, but momentarily they dimmed again.
"Oh, but... I can't," she whispered. "I can't ever leave... Diavelli..."
"Just forget about him for a minute. He can't make you stay if you don't want to. And you don't want to, do you?"
She sniffled and shook her head. "But... why me? Why do you want me to go with you? And where are you going?"
"Well, you might not believe this..." Mario briefly fidgeted before continuing. "Dulia, do you remember how it didn't use to be dark out all the time? You remember how the sun used to come up for half of every day?"
For the longest moment, Dulia just stared at him, looking too shocked to respond, and then she started nodding furiously.
"Yes! I do, I do!" she cried. "I can't believe somebody else does! I asked everybody about it... Benny and Gen... even Diavelli! But he just yelled at me and told me to stop making up nonsense." She looked embarrassed. "Do... do you know what happened to the sun?"
"Yes, I do," Mario assured her. "You know about the Twelve Guardians, right?" She nodded, and he went on. "Well, this may sound impossible, but it's true. The reason the sun doesn't come up anymore is because the six Guardians of Day were all killed."
Dulia looked stunned. She glanced at the partners, looking for confirmation of this, and they all nodded.
"Are... are you sure?"
"I saw it myself," said Mario. "But we think we have a way to fix it. See, there are six people who are going to be the new Guardians now. And once we've found all of them, we think everything will go back to normal."
Dulia sat in silence for a moment, taking all this in. Did she really believe everything this strange person was saying? She'd only just met him, but she felt like she trusted him a lot more than Diavelli...
"Why are you telling me all this?" she finally asked.
Mario took a deep breath. This was it.
"Well, Dulia," he began, "we kind of think you're – "
He never got to finish.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"
Everyone spun around in horror to find Diavelli standing in the room.
Dulia screamed in fright. "Mr. Diavelli! I – "
"So it's true!" the ringmaster bellowed at Mario. "You've been lying to me all along! You're not performers! All you ever wanted was to take her from me when she's rightfully mine!"
"Just shut up, would you?" Mario snapped, frustrated that Diavelli's paranoid claim happened to be the exact truth.
"And you! You deceptive little witch!" Diavelli snarled at Dulia. She shrieked as he grabbed her by her clown collar, dragged her to the door and hurled her onto the ground outside.
"I've put up with you for long enough now! Consorting with these liars – how could you? Have you no loyalty to me?"
He was about to grab her again when Hanner, Stubba and Snatchel leapt protectively in front of her.
"You ain't gettin' yer filthy hands on her!" the sheriff declared.
"We'll see about that!" Diavelli snapped back. He'd expected them to gang up on him like this – but now he was prepared for it.
He threw his head back. "IMOGEN!"
Everyone jumped back in shock as a pool of shadow suddenly formed in the ground, and the Shadow Siren rose up out of it. Almost instantly, Mario realized there was something wrong with her. She had a blank look on her face, devoid of any emotion, and she showed no sign of familiarity as she gazed down at Dulia.
"G-Gen? What's wrong with you?" Dulia cried, backing away in fear.
Mario quickly found out the answer. He could barely make out Imogen's eyes from under her bangs – and they were glowing red.
"He's mind controlling her!" the plumber gasped.
"He never mentioned he could do that..." Hanner said nervously.
"It was a little tip from some friends!" Diavelli cackled. "You should know that when I say you belong to me forever, I'm telling the truth! Now Imogen, grab her!"
"NO! HELP – " Dulia shrieked, but she was cut off as Imogen grabbed onto her and pulled them both down into the shadows. Diavelli continued laughing evilly as he took off in a mad dash toward the circus tent.
"Don't let him get away!" Mario ordered as he and his partners took off after him.
I don't understand! How can he mind control people? He's just a regular person, he shouldn't have any powers –
Unless –
Diavelli vanished into the tent with Mario's team immediately following him in. To their surprise, the lights were all on, as though the tent were expecting a show to start at any moment.
Imogen rose up out of the floor in the center ring and dumped Dulia on the ground before vanishing again. The Duplighost whimpered in fear, powerless to run or fight back as Diavelli slowly advanced on her.
"It's time you finally started being useful, Dulia," he said calmly. "And I think I know just how."
"NO! DON'T HURT HER!" Stubba cried desperately, but they were all too late. Diavelli glared directly at her as his eyes suddenly flashed bright red – and then, so did Dulia's.
All emotion left her face as she gazed blankly into the air.
"Dulia..." Mario whispered.
"Now, Dulia," said Diavelli, stepping back and pointing at Mario's team. "Eliminate these fools once and for all."
"Yes, sir..."
Dulia closed her glowing red eyes and raised up her arms. Mario's party gawked in horror as she became enveloped in a cloud of purple smoke, obscuring her from view. She was transforming...
Mario was about to have a heart attack. He felt like he was reliving the nightmare all over again.
Please, don't let her turn into me – not again – I can't handle it –
But he was wrong. Dulia wasn't changing into him... though it may have been better if she had.
From within the cloud of smoke, they saw her changing, growing bigger and bigger, more and more powerful, until there was no trace of her old self left...
The smoke dissipated... and Mario's team was staring up at the most enormous Dino Rhino they'd ever seen. Its skin was the color of a boulder, its fangs were huge and razor sharp, its feet were tipped with claws that looked capable of tearing the floor apart – and its eyes were still glowing red. It took one look at the group and let out a deafening, blood-curdling roar.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Allow me to present the rarest and most dangerous animal in my show! You'll never believe the trouble I had to go through to capture it," Diavelli cackled sinisterly. "The Dynamo Dino!"
And with that, he raced out of the tent as fast as he could, leaving Mario's group to their fate.
"Hanner... I'm starting to think this is one of those evil, demented circuses," Mario said nervously, as the Dynamo Dino closed in...
––––
A/N: Longest... update... EVER. -_-
And just to clarify, this isn't the real boss fight coming up, just a miniboss.