Chapter 4:

Big Time at the Big Top

––

The trolley raced along its specially-made track, down a sunny and otherwise deserted road. There were green meadows on either side of them, and there wasn't a cloud to be seen in the sky. The road they were traveling down was lined with poles which held up a thick cable that ran over their heads the entire way, which was what the trolley connected to in order to get its electricity.

Mario would have liked to admire their surroundings a little more, but it was currently a little hard to concentrate.

"Oh, I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!" Stubba cheered. He had been racing up and down the aisle for the past several minutes and still wasn't getting tired. "I wanna see the circus so bad! Are we gonna get there soon, Mario?"

"Sir, can't you please get that kid of yours to calm down?" asked an impatient Gulpit sitting across from Mario.

"Nope. I've tried."

"Why's that little feller all worked up anyway?" Snatchel wondered.

"Aw Snatchel, didn't you ever daydream about running away and joining the circus when you were a kid?" Hanner giggled.

Snatchel thought about it. "Nope. I always daydreamed about catchin' the legendary Yoshi rustlers of Thunder Gulch."

Hanner narrowed her eyes at him. "You're a strange one."

"That's all right, though. Being strange is pretty much a prerequisite of being one of my partners," Mario chimed in.

Stubba suddenly came to a halt. "What's a pre-re-qui-site?" he immediately asked.

"That means you have to be strange to be his partner," said Hanner.

Stubba didn't look happy about that. "What? But I don't wanna be strange!"

"Being strange can be a good thing!"

"No it can't!"

"Yes it can!"

"No it can't!"

"Yes it can!"

"Take Hanner. She picks fights with six-year-olds," Mario said to Snatchel, causing both of them to laugh.

Goomblaine, as usual, was sitting off by himself, glaring out a window and refusing to get involved.

––

Nova City

1:00 pm

Finally, the grassy meadows began to thin out and were replaced by roads and buildings as the trolley arrived at their destination. Mario's team, and several other people, stared in awe at the towering skyscrapers that passed them by as they rode through the city. There were lights and billboards everywhere, and so many things going on it was impossible to keep track of it all.

"Now arriving at our destination, Nova City!" came the conductor's voice as the trolley pulled into the station. "We hope you enjoyed your ride, and we hope you choose the Soluna Town Trolley again in the future!"

"Ah, it's nice to finally be out of there," Mario sighed, stretching his legs as everyone filed out of the car.

"Wow… it's so big here!" Stubba marveled, turning around and around as he tried to get a view of everything. And he was right, of course; this was by far the biggest and most bustling city they'd been to yet, although it didn't look quite as cultured as Soluna Town.

"It's a good thing we know where the Sun Soul is, or it'd take forever to find it in a place like this," Mario agreed. "Well, let's head out, guys. We've got a circus to crash."

"Now you're talkin'!" Hanner cheered with a mischievous grin.

After getting directions from a few random people, Mario's party found out that the circus had set up tent in the center of town. So they set off down the busy street, passing by all manner of interesting buildings. Mario started making a mental list of all the places he'd like to visit here, one day when they weren't occupied with saving the world.

––

Starshine Circus

1:30 pm

Nova City turned out to be one of those places that were so huge, time moved forward (or backward) as you passed through them. The sun had dipped a little lower in the sky as the group arrived at a very large park area situated in the middle of the city. There were no buildings here, just grass, some gravel sidewalks, and a few trees sprouting up here and there.

And of course, the enormous circus tent set up in the middle of it.

"Oh, look, Mario! There it is!" alerted Stubba, who had run on ahead and was now pointing urgently off at the tent.

"Wow… that's it, all right," Mario said in awe, staring up at it. He'd never been to an actual circus before, and he wondered if all of them were this huge. It was circular and striped red and white, with a little orange flag sticking out of the very top and flapping in the wind. Currently, hundreds of people were crowded outside the tent, chatting eagerly amongst each other. Excitedly, Mario's group started pushing their way up through the crowd until they couldn't get any closer.

"Ooh, hi there! You excited for the show too?" squealed a nerdy-looking Ratooey standing next to Mario. "The Starshine Circus is only the pinnacle of entertainment in Chronoside! I've been wanting to see it my whole life! This will be positively exuberating! The sights! The sounds! The spectacle!" He blushed. "Heh. I sound like an advertisement, don't I?"

"Uh… well, yeah, I'm pretty excited," Mario replied, a little off-put by his enthusiasm. "So there's a show about to start, huh? Sounds like we got here just in time… figuratively speaking."

"Hey, listen, partner. You sound like you know a lot about this show… can you tell us anything about the performers?" asked Snatchel.

"What? Oh come on, you gotta know about the performers!" the Ratooey scoffed. "I mean, they're all famous! There's the fire-eater, and the tightrope walkers and the trapeze artists – and the juggler! Boy, is she ever a dreamboat!" He started swooning at the mere thought of her.

"A girl juggler, huh?" said Hanner, grinning expectantly.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Hanner," Mario sighed.

"But, all that's besides the point," the Ratooey went on. "If you guys knew anything about this circus, you'd know the real draw isn't the performers at all."

"It's not?" Mario asked in confusion.

"Of course not. What this show is the most famous for is – "

"ATTENTION! MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, EVERYONE!" came a loud, blaring voice from the entrance to the tent, amplified by a megaphone. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned expectantly to the front to face the one who had spoken.

Mario found himself looking at a very short, blue, eggplant-shaped man standing on a crate so as to be better seen. He had on a very dapper red coat with white pants and gloves, a black top hat nearly as tall as he was, and had a curly handlebar mustache.

"Ooh! There's the ringmaster, Mr. Diavelli! He's famous in his own right!" the Ratooey gushed out.

"Very good," Diavelli spoke into the megaphone. "Now then, I have an important announcement to make. Today's highly anticipated performance of the Starshine Circus… is officially cancelled."

A collective gasp rose up in the crowd.

"Cancelled?"

"But why?"

"IN FACT," the ringmaster barked impatiently, "all further performances of the Starshine Circus are cancelled until further notice. This circus is going under. Finished. Folded."

"What? This is an outrage! I paid good money for this ticket!" the Ratooey snarled, flying into a nerd rage. Most everyone else in the crowd looked equally upset, and several of them began complaining or protesting loudly to Diavelli.

"I HAVE NO FURTHER COMMENT!" he bellowed into the megaphone. "Now then, get off my property! All of you! Go on!" He shooed them away with his hands. The members of the crowd started muttering to each other, and ever so slowly, they began to disperse. Several of them stayed behind to try and get an explanation out of the ringmaster, but he would have none of it.

"The circus is over? For good?" Mario said to himself. "But why on earth – this doesn't make any sense."

"Lemme guess," Goomblaine sighed. "We're gonna go up to that guy and ask him what the deal is, and we ain't stopping until we get a straight answer."

"Unless you'd rather the world as you know it end, Goomblaine," Mario replied sharply.

The look the Goomba gave him suggested he honestly didn't care either way. Mario rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Fine, then. I'll just go talk to him by myself. You guys wait here, and don't get into any trouble."

So Mario pushed his way up, fighting against the flow of the dispersing crowd as he approached the ringmaster, who was still shouting into his megaphone and threatening various people with legal action if they didn't get out. Finally, the plumber walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir – "

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Diavelli spun around and roared through the megaphone, right into Mario's face. Mario grimaced in pain and covered his ears.

The ringmaster lowered the megaphone before continuing. "I've told you, this performance is cancelled! You cultureless proletarians have no business here! Now get off!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Mario muttered. "Look, we're just concerned is all. We just wanted to know why the circus is shutting down."

"That's really no business of yours," Diavelli said snidely, "but due to certain… cutbacks… this show has become an utter disaster. We've lost our main attractions. We've tried carrying on as we did before, but the shows have had abysmal turnouts ever since. We're just losing money with every performance; no sense dragging it out any more."

"Oh, wow." This, put simply, was a problem. "Boy, I'm sorry about that."

"Oh, are you?" Diavelli sneered. "Thank you so much. The performers will be so delighted to hear that. It'll put a little damper on the fact that all our careers and livelihoods are down the drain."

The performers… that reminded him. "Uh, listen," Mario went on awkwardly. "This is going to sound strange, but… is there any chance we could talk to the performers? My friends and I, I mean? We just really wanted to meet all of them. Especially Stubba. He's been so excited – "

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Diavelli screamed into the megaphone once again. For a guy with blue skin, he was turning awfully red. "You don't think I've had to deal with rivaling troupes before? Trying to sneak into my show and steal my greatest innovations? You're not getting anywhere near my performers, and that's that!"

Mario sighed to himself, wracking his brain for another possibility. If the circus left now, it'd be taking the Sun Soul and the Guardian with it. He couldn't let that happen. Not when they'd been so close…

"All right. I'm really sorry about all this. But honestly, you have no idea how much this circus means to us… how important it is. Do you really have to quit?" he pressed. "If you're having employment trouble, can't you just hire those people back? Or just hire new people? You could – "

A very small, very bright, and very dangerous light bulb went off in his head.

"You could hire us," he said immediately. "We'd be a valuable addition to your show."

Diavelli looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "What are you getting at, you idiot?"

"Come on, I'm sure you've heard of us. We're… uh… the famous Juggling Mario Brothers."

"Wasn't one of you a girl?"

"…And Sister. Mario Brothers and Sister."

"Well, I'll have you know we already have a juggler in this circus," snapped the very small ringmaster with the very large Napoleon complex. "And frankly, I doubt you could surpass her in ability, no matter how famous you claim to be."

"We're different, I promise," Mario urged. "Look, if you're really about to go under, can you honestly afford to turn us down? If I were you, I'd take us up on this. Seriously."

Diavelli folded his arms, glaring up at the much taller plumber with an unreadable expression.

"No matter how talented you are," he said with finality, "you will not replace what I've lost. You will not be sufficient in any way. Most likely, you won't do a thing to help me."

Mario's heart slowly sank.

"…But it's like you say," Diavelli went on, glaring resentfully at the ground. "At this point, I can't sink any lower."

He looked back up at Mario. "I'll draw up your contracts. Wait inside the tent."

Mario's eyes widened. "Oh – really?" he cried, feeling relief wash over him. "Oh, thank you, sir! Honestly! Oh, you have no idea how much – "

"Shut up," Diavelli snapped at him. "This circus still isn't giving any more performances until I'm convinced you'll be a benefit. And don't get your hopes up about that."

"We'll help you. I promise we will," Mario assured him. "Oh, but just let me talk to my friends and make sure they don't have a problem with this. Though I can't imagine that they would."

––

"WE'RE GONNA WHAT?!" screamed all four of Mario's partners.

"OH BOY! OH BOY! OH BOY!" Stubba cheered, racing around in circles. He was the only one who had screamed happily.

"Are you outta your head, Fat Man?" Goomblaine snarled. "What makes you think I'm degrading myself like this?"

"Yeah, Mario… how can we possibly be circus performers?" asked Hanner. "Besides the whole humiliation factor, we'd need some kind of act!"

"Well, yeah… I took care of that too," Mario said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I figured, since I've got a hammer, and you've got tons of them, Hanner… we could always juggle them. I mean, it can't be that hard, right?"

Goomblaine, Hanner and Snatchel all stared at him.

"Mario, I say this with the utmost respect," said Snatchel, "but this is just stupid of ya."

"I know it is," Mario groaned, sinking to the floor. "I'm really sorry, guys. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I couldn't think of any other way."

"No, it's okay, Mario," Hanner sighed. "I mean, you're right. There wasn't much else we could do. Not if the circus is really going under."

"Did you find out why they're not performing anymore, Mario?" Stubba asked now that he'd calmed down somewhat.

"Well, the ringmaster said something about cutbacks. I don't know if some people got laid off or what… he's not telling me very much – "

"Excuse me!" came a very brusque voice, cutting him off.

Mario and the others turned around to find a large group of angry-looking people marching toward them – judging by their outfits, and the fact that they were inside the tent along with Mario's group, they must have been some of the performers. The one who had spoken was a large, burly Ninji with a curly mustache similar to the ringmaster's. He was wearing a leopard-print leotard.

"You are so-called famous Mario Brothers?" the Ninji demanded in a thick Russian accent. "You are fools whom ringmaster has told us will be joining this troupe?"

"Uh… yes?" Mario said timidly.

"Who are you s'posed to be?" Goomblaine asked snidely.

"Hmph! Young foolish Goomba! I am great Ninjinsky!" the Ninji bellowed, flexing his impressive muscles. "Greatest strongman in all the world! And I assure you, you pretenders have no place in this circus!"

He demonstratively prodded Mario forcefully in the stomach, and the plumber let out an "oomph" and fell backwards to the ground. Ninjinsky laughed heartily.

"You see? You are flimsy noodles, all of you! Not fit for rigorous circus life!"

"We're perfectly fit for it, thank you very much," Hanner said firmly, folding her arms. "I bet we've worked harder over the past week than you guys have your whole lives."

"Ha! You kiddin'?" laughed one of several Shy Guys who were standing next to Ninjinsky. "You fellas looked like you just walked right off the street! Seriously! Who's gonna think you guys are performers? You're not foolin' anybody!"

"Now… guys, you should be nice," came a very timid voice from behind them, and out came floating a dark blue Boo wearing a red sweatband over his forehead and matching wristbands on his arms. "I mean… you're right, they don't look much like performers. But who says they're lying? Why would they lie about a thing like this?"

Mario smiled, already deciding he liked this Boo. Ninjinsky, on the other hand, didn't look happy to hear this opinion.

"Young Benny, you are too naïve and foolish for your own good!" he snapped, poking the Boo the same way he'd poked Mario. "They are troublemakers, I tell you! Ringmaster is clearly out of his mind!"

"Or just desperate. We all are," Benny said firmly. Mario thought he could detect a deep sadness in the Boo's voice. "Anyway, if they're going to perform with us, we shouldn't be rude to them like this. We have enough troubles already without being at each other's throats."

Ninjinsky and the Shy Guys glanced at each other, reluctantly deciding Benny was probably right.

"Thanks, Benny. That means a lot to me," Mario said respectfully.

"Eh, whatever. Doesn't mean we trust you yet," the apparent leader of the Shy Guys sniffed. They were all different colors, though he was red, and they wore collars similar to Groove Guys. "I'm Scamp, by the way. Me and my compatriots here are the Trapeze Guys. Don't forget it."

"Nice to meet you," Mario replied. "What do you do, Benny?"

"Oh… I'm the fire-eater, actually," said Benny, blushing a little. "I might not look it, but I'm a pro with fire batons. 'Course, ghosts can't exactly get burned like other people can, so that helps."

"And how 'bout you fellas?" Scamp asked somewhat rudely. "If the boss-man is hirin' ya, he must think you can save the circus… so what exactly do you do, huh?"

"According to the genius here, we're gonna be jugglers," Goomblaine muttered.

Everyone's eyes widened, and they all grew stiff.

"That's… not a good idea," Benny said frankly. "We already have a juggler, and I don't think she'd appreciate you cutting in on her groove like that."

"Why? What's wrong with – "

"Excuse me? Did I just hear what I think I just heard?" came a very sharp voice from behind the other performers. "Tell me I didn't. These fakers think they're going to be jugglers?"

The other performers, Benny especially, winced and stood back as the owner of the voice floated forward, her arms folded firmly across her chest. Mario's partners stared in confusion, having never seen someone like this before.

Mario was so shocked he did a double take, almost falling over in complete surprise.

"Vivian?"

Could it be? She had the same purple body, tapering off into a ghostly tendril where her legs should have been… she had the same hat, the same gloves, and eyes that refused to be seen from behind her long bangs…

But, no – almost immediately, he realized she wasn't at all the person he was thinking of. This person was taller and more slender, and she carried a proud, almost haughty air about her that would have looked entirely out of place on his old friend. Her hat wasn't the same either; it had gray stripes instead of red, and her crimped hair that reached down to her waist was an almost metallic silver.

He immediately felt a flush of embarrassment as she saw him looking at her.

"I think you have me mistaken for someone else," she said shortly.

"Yeah. I – I guess I did," he replied apologetically. "It's just, I – you are a Shadow Siren, aren't you?"

"What was your first guess?" she snorted, and he was fairly certain she rolled her eyes from behind her bangs.

"Sorry. I just always thought they were really rare."

"Clearly not as rare as you think," she remarked. "Now then. I'm Imogen. And incidentally, I am the only juggling act in this circus. Understood?"

"Well, I… I'm sorry you feel that way," Mario said in a very quiet voice, feeling more awkward than ever. "But I'm sure there's room for all of us here."

All the other performers, as well as all of Mario's partners, groaned in embarrassment. Ninjinsky and the Trapeze Guys started whistling and slowly walked away, deciding this was no longer a safe place to be, but Benny stayed where he was.

"Hmph. You go ahead and think that if you want," Imogen said threateningly. "You won't last a day here anyway. But if you do…" she drifted over to Mario, leaning over and glaring at him. "You'd better not try and cramp my style. You got that? You will definitely regret it."

"I'll keep it in mind," Mario practically squeaked out. She turned away and looked about to leave, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. Looking at her, he was starting to wonder about something…

"Say, uh… Imogen?" he called her, and she turned impatiently back to him.

"I was just wondering," he began, unsure of how to phrase this. "I met some other Shadow Sirens once, and they all looked like you, except they had different colored hats and hair. And they, uh… they kind of corresponded with these elemental powers that they had." His eyes fell on her silvery hair. "Does that – I mean, do you – "

Before he could finish, Imogen suddenly thrust her palm forward in his direction. All of a sudden, a spiraling gust of wind shot out of her hand and slammed directly into Mario. He let out a yelp as he was thrown back several feet and crashed onto the floor. His partners whipped around and stared at him in alarm.

"That answer your question?" she asked none too kindly.

"Ah… yeah, it does," Mario groaned. Imogen gave him a condescending look, then turned and floated away.

"Sorry about that," Benny sighed once she had gone, helping Mario back up. "She's not usually like this. You just caught us all at a bad time."

"Yeah, right. It must be a real hassle, havin' to deal with a gal like that all the time," Snatchel muttered. "You'd better stay away from her, Mario."

Mario gave him a look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just lookin' out for you, partner! I don't want you gettin' mixed up with no femme fatale."

"Says the guy with a crush on the Dayzee who wants to kill us," Goomblaine snorted.

"Hey, now, that's PERSONAL!" the sheriff snapped, growing red in the face.

"Like I was saying," Benny went on,"I know we don't seem like it, but we're all good guys. Don't be too angry at Gen and the others. We're all just at odds after everything that's happened."

"Don't worry about it, Benny," Mario sighed, dusting himself off. "At least there's one person here who doesn't automatically hate us."

Mario would have liked to talk to Benny a little bit more, but it was not to be. At that moment, a long shadow fell over the ground, and the light from outside was blocked off by a figure standing in the entrance to the tent.

"The Famous Juggling Mario Brothers," Diavelli said in a cold voice. "I have prepared your contracts."

––

As Mario soon found out, the various performers, as well as Diavelli himself, all lived and traveled in caravans that were parked in back of the enormous circus tent. Diavelli's also served as his office, and as they stood in it, Mario decided it was far too fancy. Various framed pictures of past performers were hanging on the wall, which, like his desk, was polished red oak. For some reason, the desk also had several candles on it that were flickering in the dim light. Diavelli was sitting behind the desk, his hands folded in complete and utter seriousness.

"I should inform you of what you are agreeing to," he began. "You see, I hold this circus to extremely rigorous standards. There are things here that no other show is privy to. Things that no one else may know about. If other circuses were to get word of my secrets, I would be ruined."

"We won't say a word about anything here. No problem," Mario interpreted.

"It's not that simple," Diavelli went on icily. "I cannot take any chances. I cannot trust anyone with matters like this, not even my own performers. I can't risk them gallivanting about and telling others of my secrets… so I do not allow them to leave. Once they are here, they're here to stay."

Mario blinked. "What… what are you saying?"

"I think he's saying… we're signing life contracts," Hanner said in a wavering voice.

"It cannot be any other way," the ringmaster snapped. "You may already know too much. By signing these contracts, you agree to remain under my employment for the rest of your lives. Unless I agree to terminate said contracts. Which I won't."

Mario stared at him incredulously. "But – but you can't do that! That's not fair!"

"If you do not accept the conditions, then stop wasting my time and get out!" Diavelli bellowed, slamming a fist on his desk and pointing to the door with his other hand. Mario and his partners all winced and drew back.

The plumber's head was reeling. They couldn't possibly accept this, could they? They couldn't stay here forever. Even if they found the Guardian, there were still other ones out there… and what about after that? He could never go home again? He could never see Luigi, or Peach?

No. Contract or not, he wasn't staying here forever. And he wouldn't let his friends stay here forever either. There was no force in the world that could make him do that.

"All right… fine," he sighed, a mounting feeling of dread building up in him. "We accept. We'll sign."

His partners stared at him. "Mario…" Stubba whimpered.

"Trust me, guys," Mario said softly. "I know what I'm doing."

Diavelli nodded. He reached under his desk and pulled out five pieces of paper, covered in fine print. He held out a pen to Mario, and realizing he had to be the leader here, Mario reluctantly took it from him, and after a moment's hesitation, signed his name on one of the papers.

He let out a shiver as he saw the ink from the pen was dark red.

Not a word spoken between any of them, Mario's partners took the pen one by one and signed the other papers. Looking back, Mario realized he should have suspected something when even Stubba had to sign his own contract.

"Rehearsals start tomorrow," Diavelli said tonelessly once everyone had finished signing. "Be there on time, or I will be very upset."

And he stood up and swept out of the caravan, leaving them completely alone.

There was a moment of silence… and then Hanner burst into frightened tears.

"Mario… being in the circus doesn't seem like much fun anymore," Stubba whispered.

"Life contracts… what have we done?" Hanner whimpered. Even Snatchel was looking terrified, and although Goomblaine tried to appear indifferent, he wasn't doing a good job.

"Guys. Listen to me," Mario said firmly, trying to ignore the fright and uncertainty that he himself was feeling. "There is nothing that is going to force us to stay here for the rest of our lives. That was just a contract… just a piece of paper."

But as he saw the looks in his partners' eyes, he knew they didn't believe a word he was saying.

And honestly, neither did he.

––––

A/N: Over 100K words! WOOOOOOOO!

And before you ask, no, Imogen is not the next partner/Guardian. She's just an OC I stuck in 'cause I like her. :P