The Puyo Battle was won but the artificial color in her hair lost. Not to mention a massive headache. Arle and Carbuncle went to the nearest store. But could only find Nohoho. He was nice enough to provide some new dye and bandages. "There ya go, Arle. Need anything else?" He said in his usual homely voice.

"Guu?"

"Gee, You're giving stuff away for free?"

"No ho ho." The friendly frog let out a familiar laugh. "'Course not. That'be bad fer business."

"Oh." Arle didn't need further explanation opened up her purse.

"But if ya want it fer free, Ah can make a deal if ya like." Feeling a bit guilty of making Arle sound disappointed the merchant frog offered.

"Gu."

It didn't matter much to Arle. It wasn't too expensive. But free stuff is free. Something that's hopefully not Puyo would also be a nice change of pace. "Sure. What do you want?"

Nohoho dug deeply in his backpack. "Ah need some help with mah game." He handed over his Game Gear. Arle booted it up to see Nazo Puyo 2.

Chapter 6: Taste is Subjective and Wrong

It was a quiet practicing day at the Puyo Puyo Circus. "Silvana, SILVANA!" Okay, it's never quiet with Hohow Bird around. Pierrot took a deep breath before replying.

"What is it, Hohow?"

"I have something I wanted to show you, ho ho." Hohow pulled out a folder out his overalls.

"Pwhease wead zis."

Pierrot pulled the folder out of his beak. It was yellow, very light, and "Skirpt of Ho Hoa Birb" was written on it with a marker. 'What the?… You can't spell your own species right? I pity you.' "Hohow, what is this?"

"It's my script for a dramatic theater act with a story. Inspired by Captain Hohow, Ho ho. I wanna perform it if you don't mind."

"Oh." Pierrot was pleasantly surprised. Despite her pure annoyance towards him, she saw no reason to decline his request. 'So 'skirpt' means 'script'. Oh boy…'

It was a few pages worth of eyesores of grammar mistakes, wrongly punctuated sentences and some uncapitalized words. Hohow was patiently waiting for his boss to read through it.

Pierrot put the pages back in the folder and sighed deeply. "Hohow, let me be blunt. I can't read this, learn to write."

"Oh ho…" He sounded a bit dejected.

The next thing to come out of her mouth didn't make him feel better. "This is the dumbest thing ever."

"Hokay then… I'll go back to the trapeze." He left tried to leave. Leaving his skirpt behind.

"Ho no, you-." 'It's contagious. Great…' "No, you don't." Hohow turned his head back towards the harlequin. "If I read this right, it should at least some dumb fun and a good laugh. Something I could use. I'll allow it!"

Hohow lit up and shook her hand and thanked profusely. "Thankyouthankyouthankyo-" "Please stop. And if you have a new idea and this is successful, don't write it until you're better at grammar."

"Ho ho! Okay, boss, whatever you say." The beaky gave a toothy smile.

"Can I borrow your file to study it?"

"Sure. Ho oh. Almost forgot. This note's from Sig." Hohow gave the note to her and hopped back to the trapeze. Leaving Pierrot alone. She lifted the folder up and looked at the title.

'It's going to take all night translating this… Only you could make such mistakes, Hohow?' Pierrot sighed. Now, what did Sig's note say?

'Hey Sill wana help cetch buggs tommorrow at thurteen.
Sig.'

*Overly long sigh*

*Later at the debut performance*

"That was amazing! Let's give a big applause for our favorite crowdpleaser, mine and yours. DONGURI GAERU!" The crowd went wild for the star of the circus. Clapping so hard that Sil heard afterward that some hurt their hands. Not her problem.

"Riiiib-BIT! RIBBIT!" The acorn frog bounced away.

"While normally around this time we close down, today we give you more bang for your buck. Feel free to leave if you don't like it, you've gotten what you paid for already. And now, our very own acrobat came up with this next act, let's see how it goes! Hopefully, you like this experiment!" [Translation: Blame him for everything if you don't like it.] Some planks around the backstage curtain unfolded themselves. Making a stage for a play. Pierrot shredded her clown suit to reveal a long, gaudy, stylish red dress, opera gloves, and loose hair. The stupid mask stayed. The spotlight shrunk until it only shined on Pierrot. A suitcase rolled from the left of the stage into Pierrot's legs Pierrot cleared up her throat to get into character.

(To avoid confusion, even though the actors keep their names down below. They're actually saying the names of whatever their characters they're playing are.)

Lady Pierrot paced circles against a rainy city backdrop. Pacing around the briefcase she was guarding. She impatiently looked at her pocket watch. "Please, come here soon, darn you." She said to herself, flailing her arms about at she ranted. "I'm cold." She shivered.

Behind of her lightning was struck. "GYA!" The fair-faced maiden to jump a bit. Shame she was a bit too early on cue with her shriek. Behind her was the very intimidating: Don Vento Verde. Wearing a green vertical striped business suit and a bowler hat. Pretending to chew on the cigar prop, and chewing the scenery. "Sorry if I keptcha waiting, li'l dame." He flirted.

Lady Pierrot was disgusted at his implication. But she had to keep up the charade. "Oh, it is just you, Donny, darling. I did not mind in the slightest." Weeks of practicing and talking this refined still made her feel ill. "I got your costume." The lady held up her suitcase. "But I must say, that dashing taylor is mighty suspicious. He might have planted something on it." She gave him a hint.

"Oui, Oui. Much appreciated. You did fine work. You'll know when we meet again." He shook her hand tightly and slapped her back. "Gaeru bring the case to the car."

"Rib bit." The frog won the audience's hearts with his performance with his role as the butler.

"Aufwiedersehen, Madame. 'Till next time."

"Until then. Shorty." She scolded him behind his back. Later that day she sent a letter to the person she liked just as much.

That person was: Hohow Hero. Taylor by day, Superhero by night. Fighting Don Vento's tyranny on Pmirp City. His bestest friend, Pierrot was nice enough to go undercover as Vento's gofer. Letting him in on the Don's plans.

His superpowers include the ability to slap people with his giant wings, using aura to make people laugh until they confess, talons as sharp as a telephone with just a great of a reception and flap his cape to make a room cool. He uses these powers to keep crime off his street.

He is: "Hohow Hero!" The crime fighter yelled out into the night.

'Hohow Hero,

Don Vento received his villain costume. The tracking device should still be on it.

You still owe me fifty
~Pierrot'

That's was the letter his dear friend sent. The tracking device worked, it let right to him. Right into his trap that is. Vento's butler locked the door behind him. He was all alone in this dark room. "What this hoho?" He tried using his supervision to look around him. But forgot he ate lasagna last night. Cheese shuts down his eye powers for a day. Unbeknownst to anyone but him.

"I've been expecting you, Wingman. It'za pleasure to meetcha, after all this time." Vento's smug voice through the room.

"Ho how did you know I was coming?"

"Let's just say a li'l boidie told me." In the center of the stage, a crystal ball lit up with Vento's face inside talking. In reality, it's a bowling ball with a picture of Vento's mask taped to it.

"You coward. Ho how can you not face me in person?"

"Hoh-HOH! Au contraire, I am in the room with you." *LIGHTING STRIKE* right next to our Ho Hero. Just barely missed him, probably on purpose.

"As much vould loff to fight you in person. My costume is a size too small. So I'll just keep hurting you from above until I make it fit." Hohow Hero looked up to see Vento still in his suit trying put on the walkway above. His beak gave a big smirk. He knew exactly which of his plentiful powers should use.

"HO OH, VENTOMINE! DINNER'S READY!" "Motzher?" Hohow's super ventriloquism disoriented so much, that Vento, out of nostalgia, stumbled from above right into our hero, knocking them both out. They start fighting each other in a dream.

How will Hohow Hero and Don Vento get outta this one? The End.

*Later, backstage*

"Well, that was something…" Sil muttered to herself backstage. She magicked her harlequin suit back on. "You'd think ever after all this practice I'd be used to walk in this dress. Or wearing one for that matter, especially one like this… I forgot the word."

"You wanted to get it off your chest, P?" Vento overheard Pierrot mumbling.

"Speaking of which, that's something I'm not used to you having."

Sil chose to ignore Vento. "Hey Amitie!" She yelled to the other side of the room.

"What's up?!"

"If there's a next time you get my role!"

"Get real?! Wicked!" Amitie was made happy.

"There better be a next time, P! It was a lotta fun. Ahz fahn ahz zis stoopid ackent ees!" "I ho hope so too. There're so many stories I wanna tell." "Ribbit!"

"Well." Pierrot sighed. "We'll have to see what the audience thinks of it before I can consider it. But I'm glad you guys at least enjoyed it."

Hohow was surprised. "Sil, you didn't like it? I thought you wanted a good laugh out of it?"

"I got my laughs while spell checking it. But then I noticed the gaping plot holes."

"There are plot ho holes?" Hohow Bird was shocked. But Pierrot gave an "are you kidding me" look. She hands them out like candy to Hohow.

"H?" Vento poked to get big bird's attention. "Why would Don Vento say that he glad to finally meet Hohow Hero when they obviously know each other already?" He asked like a curious child.

"Why you would establish so many powers, but you used none of them?" Amitie told it much in the same way Vento did.

"Rib, Ribbit ribbit? Riibbit Rib." Donguri brought up the best point of all.

"Ho holy smokes! Silvana, why didn't you tell me earlier? You could've changed it." "Because I wanted to be less passive aggressive with you." Sil explained calmly. She's near the point where she wants to go to bed. "You seemed so proud of yourself. I didn't want to change your passion project. So I decided to fulfill your wish." ''Cause mine never will…' She shivered. Her suit is too roomy to notice. "I'm also not a writer, I wouldn't know how to make a story. That makes you better than me." She said that for both not to lower Hohow's morale and to distract her from that sad thought she suddenly had. She scratched her neck. "Whatever the results tonight are, you guys did your best regardless." She tried to raise everyone's morale for good measure. The sensation it gave off was curious.

"Amitie. Good job painting the backdrops." "You're just saying that, again…" Amitie sighed.

"No. I mean it this time! Those backdrops are really nice for what they are. Better than I could." The first time saying that didn't hurt, neither did it this time but it did bother her a bit.

"Really? Gee, thanks, Sil."

"Vento. I like your willingness to try new things, as well as your optimism and your wit, among other things. Even if you're obnoxious sometimes. But your optimism, in general, makes you better than…" Sil began to tear up. This did not go unnoticed.

"You okay Sil?" Vento asked. "You want us to praise you to feel better?" Pierrot tried to put on a normal tone.

"No." She simply said.

"Donguri. Good job like usual."
"Ribbit?"
"Sorry, I got nothing else to say. You're a really big help in the ring, and you know it."
"Ribbit~"

Pierrot turned to last one. "Hohow." The bird had a grin on his face. "You've already had your turn, don't be greedy." She said with a self-fulfilling smirk. Some others had a good chuckle too. It made her forget her self-deprecation.

"You guys mind closing shop without me? I wanna go to bed." Her crew didn't mind. "Sil's softening up, guys." Amitie whispered to the rest. They nodded in agreement.

*Silvana's Caravan, the Bedroom*

Silvana tucked herself in. Wrapped herself in her bed sheet, and a pillow clenched in her arms. She was ready to go to off into dreamland.

But she couldn't just yet. She found herself gazing into the thing she found herself gazing in every night… The mirror she salvaged a few years ago. She wasn't sure if this was the mirror, but that didn't matter. It looked like it and that was good enough. Not that she'd get much use out of it, there's no magic in it left. If it ever had any…

She looked into her uncovered face looking sad. She thought back to her employees. "All of them enjoyed their life more than I ever have. Or probably ever will." Sil shivered again. Why was she saying things like that? The happiness she had when she settled in faded little by little each day. Not to say every day was terrible. Most of them weren't. She tried to rationalize it. "I let so many people do what they like, so maybe I don't do enough things that I enjoy?…" That hit her heart. "What do I enjoy?" Her grip on the pillow tightened.

She thought hard about it. Besides Puyo battles, she couldn't think of anything. She had a habit of chuckling when doing anything questionable. Or even not. Her last defeat at Arle's hands comes to mind. But she couldn't have enjoyed that. The circus was and always has been a cover-up. She liked messing with people, but people don't like being messed with too much on the level it would satisfy her. What was there? She turned away from the mirror.

"I got the idea from my friends my comics." Sil heard out of her window. It was Hohow Bird talking to somebody.

'You guys took your sweet time closing up. Hold on, Hohow. You have friends? Wait. Friends? How didn't I think of this? Like being with Sig. Geez, I feel embarrassed. I guess like my crew too. For all what that's worth.'

"Get real. Who did you base everyone off?" Amitie asked Hohow.

"I based Don Vento on this funny villain I like. I thought Vento would like playing it. And Lady Pierrot was based on Silvana herself and a cool heroine in my books. They remind me of each other." Hohow spoke in broad terms so Amitie could follow it.

'Oh, that's why I didn't have fun. I was playing me. That's boring. But at least he's considerate.' Sil smiled a bit. 'Guess I like people being nice to me. Maybe that's what that overwhelming feeling that sometimes happens in my chest is? Repressed happiness? That's sad. Guess I'll try to be nicer to everyone.' The conclusion she came to was satisfying enough, as that was the last thing that crossed her mind before her mind finally drifted off.

Author's Notes:

I left the audience reaction vague. Because I hate going to Circuses and I don't feel confident in placing "correct" audience reactions.

I wrote Nohoho on how I feel he'd be localized.

So the original premise of this chapter was that after Hohow's play [Not shown in it's entirety] concluded the Ocean Prince wrote a skirpt for himself and demanded for Circus to act on. I left it out because 1: This was easier. 2: I wanted to show Sil's thoughts earlier than I originally wanted.

All the hating I did on Hohow made me like him. He's the Big the Cat of the series now. But he shouldn't steal the spotlight, still wanna keep him scarse.

The last line of the chapter was supposed to be: The last thing she heard before they were out of range was Hohow saying something. "…also wanted a costume. This was the best way to get one." But that would've ruined the mood a bit.

I like to thank Lex Lang for dubbing Hohow Bird's in this fic. Sorry not mentioning it earlier. (It's a joke, he didn't. On a side note, he's my vote for a new Oshare Bones.)

What isn't a joke that I'll never continue Hohow's story. And before you ask, no, never done drugs, never hallucinated. I wish at could do the latter to come up with a better substitute idea than this. Intentionally writing something bad hurts my head.

Next up: Yap, Yap.