Nova City
1:59 am
Mario glared up at the Sun Soul in Diavelli's hand. The ringmaster taunted them with a smug smirk as he held it up, daring them to try and get it. Hanner, Stubba and Snatchel could all feel their Sun Souls glowing fiercely in its proximity, and Dulia couldn't take her eyes off of it. She trembled uncontrollably as she gazed up at it. She must have been feeling some overwhelming connection to it, even if she didn't understand it…
"You don't know what that thing is capable of, Diavelli," said Mario, trying to keep his voice steady. "You should give it back before you cause any more trouble."
Diavelli just snorted in amusement. "How typical. First you steal my prize performer, now you want to steal my prize possession. And you call me selfish."
He stepped down from the stack of crates and joined them on the floor. As he did, he stuck the Sun Soul back in his hat and replaced it on his head.
"I guarantee you will suffer dearly for the trouble you've caused me. And as for you, Dulia – " His gaze fell on her, and she winced. "You know perfectly well I can't have my circus without you. After I'm through with them, you're coming back to me, even if I have to force you."
Fear-stricken as she was, Dulia tried to look defiant. She had to be brave, for Mario and her other new friends. If Hanner was right, then the outcome of this fight was resting entirely on her…
"That's not gonna happen," Mario said firmly. "Just answer me this, Diavelli… how'd you ever get your hands on that thing? You're not smart enough to know what it can do."
"Heh heh heh… oh, do you really need to ask that, Mario?" came a very familiar voice.
Mario and the others stepped back in surprise, eyes narrowing in recognition as three dark blue figures suddenly appeared in front of Diavelli out of puffs of smoke. Dulia, who had no idea what was going on, just stared in fright.
"Oh, no… not you three again," Mario groaned at the Darkstriders. "You guys don't know when to quit, do you?"
"What do you ugly freaks think you're doin' here?" Goomblaine snapped at them.
Jaff frowned at him, folding his arms. "Weren't you listening? It's thanks to us that the dear ringmaster here has that Sun Soul. We entrusted it to him ourselves."
"Of course you did," Mario sighed.
"Yeah! And he did more with it than we ever coulda hoped for," Nobb chuckled. "Pretty brilliant plan of ours, if you ask us."
"All right, you fellers quit beatin' yer gums," Snatchel growled, grabbing his lariat and stepping forward. "Instead of hidin' in the shadows like a bunch a' cowards, why don't ya just fight us?"
"Yeah! We're not scared of you!" Stubba agreed.
"Trust us, there's nothing we'd enjoy more," Jaff replied listlessly. "But we're not exactly at the top of our game right now, since we had an… unfortunate run-in with a certain rogue Dayzee."
Mario frowned. "A Dayzee…?"
Diavelli was glaring at the Darkstriders. "You liars!" he spat. "You said you'd leave them to me! I've been waiting to finish them off! Nobody tricks me and gets away with it!"
"Yes, yes, fine," Jaff spat. "Do what you want with them. Just make sure there's absolutely no chance of them surviving, or our lord will be most displeased."
Diavelli turned back to face Mario's party with a very dangerous grin. "Oh, that won't be an issue."
The look on his face was so intimidating that Mario actually took a step back. It was then that Dulia finally found her voice.
"Mr. Diavelli, you have to stop this!" she pleaded. "Can't you see you're just hurting everybody? Please, that Sun Soul doesn't belong to you… just give it back and stop all of this!"
The ringmaster gave her a look of contempt. "It's far too late to negotiate, Dulia. Now say goodbye to your friends. You're going to regret ever betraying me… you all are!"
Mario stared in horror as Diavelli suddenly began to glow a bright green that matched the color of the Sun Soul. The very space they were standing in seemed to darken as a horrible power started to emanate from him. He pulled out his whip and gave it a lash, sending out a crackle of bright green electricity.
Mario realized he wasn't kidding. He was ready to deal with them once and for all.
Goomblaine pulled out his phone. "Okay, do I really gotta tell you who that guy is? It's Diavelli, the ringmaster of the Starshine Circus!" he shouted. "He's all souped up on that Sun Soul, so he's got some wacked-out powers to go with it! He can attack us with that green lightning or send out killer shockwaves… look, can we just beat this guy already? I'm sick and tired of him!"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Mario agreed. He ran up and prepared to unleash a Power Bounce on Diavelli, but the ringmaster cut him off. He lashed out with his whip, creating a burst of green lightning that hit Mario right in the chest and sent him flying backwards.
"Mario!" Hanner screamed.
Mario lay on the floor wincing as his body crackled with electricity. "I'm fine, Hanner… you guys have to keep fighting! Don't stop!"
Hanner nodded dutifully, running up to Diavelli and throwing her hammer at him. He growled in annoyance as it struck him in the head, throwing him off balance. He prepared to aim a bolt of lightning at her, but Snatchel ran into him while he was distracted.
"You'll pay for this!" Diavelli snarled. He lashed his whip again and hit both Hanner and Snatchel with a lightning blast. The two of them screamed in pain as they skidded across the floor and lay in a stunned heap.
Dulia could only watch in horror. "Mr. Diavelli, stop it! Please!"
Hanner groaned and lifted her head up. "Dulia! You have to get in there and fight! We need you!"
Dulia looked reluctant, but swallowed hard and nodded. She concentrated with all her might and floated up into the air, using her Head Missile as she angled sharply downward and rammed into Diavelli. He shrieked in fury and attacked her with a lightning blast, but she scrambled out of the way just in time.
By now Mario had gotten back to his feet and charged at the ringmaster once again, pulling out his hammer and Power Smashing him over the head. Stubba was close behind him, curling up into a ball and Hyper Bouncing him right in the stomach.
"Grr… you imbeciles!" he bellowed. He tried to blast them as well, but they quickly leapt out of the way. Then Goomblaine ran up and Multibonked him in the head, which proved to be a mistake. Diavelli grabbed his whip and struck Goomblaine with it, cutting him off mid-attack and giving him a painful jolt. The Goomba tumbled backwards, groaning in pain.
"Are you ready to surrender yet?" Diavelli sneered.
"Nuh-uh! We're not ever giving up!" Stubba shot back.
"We're not stopping until you give up that Sun Soul!" Mario agreed. He prepared to make another run at Diavelli, but the ringmaster suddenly snapped his wrist upward and created a wide arc of lightning, preventing Mario from getting close.
"Fine, then. You've pushed me this far… now prepare to suffer for it!"
Diavelli concentrated hard as the glow surrounding him intensified… and then a huge sonic boom of pure energy suddenly burst out of him, tearing up the floor as it surged toward Mario's team.
Mario's eyes bulged, but he didn't have time to get out of the way before the blast hit him and his partners full force. All of them were thrown off their feet and crashed to the hard floor as Diavelli laughed like a madman.
"Ow…" Mario groaned, clutching at himself as he unsteadily tried to climb to his feet. His partners all tried to do the same, but they were looking much worse for wear.
"Heh heh… that all you got?" Snatchel asked wearily.
"Oh, not at all," Diavelli replied. "How about this?"
He snapped his whip and generated an intense lightning blast, hitting Snatchel dead on and causing him to drop to the floor. Before the others could do anything to help, Diavelli struck each of them one by one. Mario's back arched in pain as he was hit, and finally his knees gave out and he collapsed.
The only one who'd managed to evade Diavelli's attacks was Dulia.
"No! Mario!" she cried, racing over to him. "Mario, get up, please!"
"Just as I thought," Diavelli sighed theatrically, putting his whip away and shaking his head. "You're nothing but a bunch of weaklings. And here I was almost hoping for a challenge."
From where they were watching the fight, the Darkstriders were grinning in sadistic pleasure.
Diavelli turned to face Mario's newest partner… the only one left standing. "Now, Dulia," he said in a dark voice. "Get over here where you belong, and maybe I'll spare you the sight of me ending their games."
Dulia was shaking harder than she ever had before. She gazed fearfully up at the ringmaster, then glanced behind her at Mario and the others. They were all too weak to get back up, but they were looking expectantly at her, silently pleading with her, telling her she had to go on…
Promising her she wasn't alone…
She slowly turned back to Diavelli.
"N…No, Mr. Diavelli," she finally forced out. "I'm not going back to you ever again."
The ringmaster glared at her. "What?"
The Duplighost built up every reserve of courage she had. She glanced over at Mario, who gave her a look full of encouragement and compassion, and suddenly she knew she could do it.
"You… you always told me that I was worthless. You said the only good I'd ever be was helping you make money. But that's not true!" Her voice was steadily rising. "Mario doesn't think that at all! I only just met him and he's already made me feel like… like I can do something good with my life! He likes me just the way I am! And so do Benny and Imogen… if they're still there."
She gazed sadly over at her hypnotized friends, who were standing guard and cutting off their escape along with the rest of the performers. They made no motion to suggest that they'd heard her say their names.
Diavelli was glowering down at her. "Well, well… so you've finally grown a backbone. Quite a mistake. This will just make things harder on you."
"Shut up!" Dulia shouted at him, which surprised even herself. "I am gonna do something good with my life, right now! And that's saving all of my friends and making sure they never have to work for a dirty old scumbag like you ever again!"
Hanner grinned and actually started applauding her, which earned her a death glare from Goomblaine.
Diavelli stared at Dulia in disbelief. "You little brat!" he snarled. "It's time to end your delusions of grandeur once and for all!"
"I don't think so," Mario cut in. Dulia and Diavelli stared at him as he slowly and painfully pulled himself to his feet. "We're ending this now, Diavelli. You're not hurting Dulia or the others ever again."
"Yeah! We're not done here yet!" Hanner declared as she and the other partners jumped to their feet as well. Though they were all still weakened, Dulia had just given them all the resolve they needed.
Diavelli bristled in fury. "Fine, then! You've just made your inevitable demise all the more painful!" he spat. "Take this!"
And so the battle recommenced. Diavelli shot a devastating bolt of green lightning right at Dulia, but she spun around in a Superguard and negated the attack perfectly. While he was distracted with her, Goomblaine and Stubba both ran up. Goomblaine threw him off balance with a Headbonk while Stubba clonked him over the head and sent him to his knees.
"Why you – get away from me!" the ringmaster shouted, clearly starting to lose his cool. He climbed back to his feet and lashed out at both of them with a green lightning blast, but Stubba scrambled backwards and Goomblaine coolly backflipped out of the way. Diavelli was so fixated on them that he failed to notice Dulia attacking him from above, slamming into him again.
"Boy, this feels good!" she giggled.
"Yeah, beating up baddies is the best!" Hanner agreed, flashing the Duplighost a smile even as she threw her hammer and struck Diavelli in the face. He tried to attack her in retaliation, but Mario cut him off with a Power Bounce, beating him down mercilessly before finally backing away.
By now the ringmaster was clearly running out of energy. He panted heavily as he struggled to remain standing, but there was still rage burning in his eyes.
"I'm not going to be outdone by a bunch of no-accounts like you!" he screamed. "I'm bringing you down if it's the last thing I do!"
Mario stiffened in fear as he saw Diavelli starting to concentrate again, gathering his last bit of energy preparing to unleash another shockwave. There was no way they could sustain another hit like that –
But before he could even attack them, a lasso suddenly came flying up and tightened around him, pinning his arms to his side. He gasped as he lost his balance and collapsed to the floor, completely immobilized and without the energy to keep up the fight any longer.
"And that, I reckon, is the end a' that," Snatchel chuckled.
Mario sighed in relief. "Good work, everybody," he said with an approving smile.
"Yeah! We finally beat that loser creep!" Hanner laughed, twirling her hammer in a victory flourish.
"Yeah, we beat you good, you big dumb meanie!" Stubba taunted the fallen ringmaster.
But as Diavelli glared up at them, his eyes suddenly flashed. He wasn't done here yet.
"Not so fast!" he shouted, creating a magical burst that threw the lasso clean off of him. Snatchel staggered backwards in surprise as he lost his grip.
Mario frowned at him. "What do you think you're doing? You're in no condition to fight us anymore."
"Maybe not," Diavelli growled, "but I'll see to it that you never beat me! I was planning on defeating you in a fair fight, but it looks like it's time for me to play dirty!"
Mario's team stared in confusion, wondering what he was about to do… and then he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper, unfurling it for everyone to see.
Goomblaine frowned. "What's – "
"Uh oh." Mario blanched as he recognized the paper Diavelli was holding. "That's – "
"Your contract! Your life contract!" the ringmaster laughed sinisterly. "You signed your life away to me, you fool! You all did!"
Suddenly, Mario felt an irresistible force beginning to press down on him. He gasped as he saw himself begin to glow green, and realized to his horror that he couldn't even move. He was paralyzed.
This is no good, he thought in a panic. Hanner, please tell me your plan is going to work…
"Mario!" Hanner cried, but she was cut off as she began to glow too. Goomblaine, Stubba and Snatchel suddenly had the same thing happen to them, and within moments none of them could move a muscle.
"Everyone who joins my circus must sign a life contract," Diavelli sneered, gazing at them in their helpless state. "As long as those contracts are in effect, I own all of you. You can't move a muscle against me if I say you can't. You're nothing but mindless pawns, just like all of my other useless performers!"
Mario tried to fight back his rising fear, struggling vainly against the force that was holding him back and trying futilely to move. His partners were in the same condition. All of them were completely immobilized.
Except for Dulia, who was entirely unaffected.
Diavelli's gaze quickly fell to her and he noticed this immediately, stiffening in disbelief. Dulia stood nonchalantly where she was, blinking and looking somewhat surprised herself.
Even as he stood frozen, Mario grinned, realizing Hanner's plan was about to work.
"Wait a minute! What is the meaning of this?" Diavelli cried, pointing at Dulia again and again to absolutely no effect other than making her angry. She glared at him, all her nervousness quickly vanishing as she realized he was powerless against her.
"What's going on? Why isn't this working?"
"You need to do your research, Diavelli," Mario said smugly. "Life contracts don't work on ghosts!"
Diavelli's jaw dropped in utter disbelief. "What? What?" he screeched, unable to accept that his plans were about to be unmade.
"You only got me to do what you wanted because I was scared of you," said Dulia. "But I'm not scared anymore!"
Diavelli could only gawk in horror as she rose into the air, then careened downward and slammed into him in the most powerful Head Missile she'd ever pulled off. Her impact was so strong that it knocked the wind clear out of him, sending him skidding across the floor and causing his top hat to fly off his head.
The Sun Soul spilled out and rolled across the floor, clear out of his grasp.
All at once, all the power that Diavelli had built up completely dissipated. Without the Sun Soul in his control, he had nothing. And so his life contracts suddenly became, like Mario had said, just pieces of paper.
Mario smiled as the glow around him and his partners vanished, and they all returned to normal.
"What? NO! NO!" Diavelli shrieked, running over to the Sun Soul. But Mario was faster. He grabbed it off the ground and put it safely under his arm, grinning smugly at the ringmaster.
"Sorry, Mr. Diavelli," he said. "But I think your show is on its final curtain."
All his partners groaned loudly. Goomblaine smacked him in the head.
"…Sorry. I deserved that," he muttered sheepishly.
"Oh no you don't!" Diavelli snarled at him, standing back and facing his other performers. "All of you! Attack him!"
He had obviously failed to remember that without the Sun Soul, his mind control powers were gone as well. The performers just stood where they were, looking very confused and out of sorts. The red glow was noticeably absent from their eyes.
"Uh… what exactly are we all doing here?" asked Imogen, looking around and trying to remember how they'd gotten there. "I mean, it's disgusting in here!"
"The great Ninjinsky demands to know what is happening here!" Ninjinsky said irritably.
Diavelli grew very pale. "Oh, terrific…"
"Wait a minute! I remember now!" Scamp said angrily, turning to face Diavelli. "It was the boss-man! He did somethin' to us!"
"Yeah, you're right," Imogen agreed, glaring at the ringmaster. "Hmm… he doesn't look so high and mighty right now, does he?"
Diavelli started to panic as he realized all the performers, including Dulia, were circling around him and the Darkstriders, cutting off their escape and looking very annoyed indeed.
"Now – now wait here!" Diavelli protested, turning to Jaff. "You three! Help me here! Do something!"
"Sorry, man. This was your failure," Pell replied unsympathetically. "We don't need King Shroude any angrier at us."
"I swear to you we'll meet again, Mario!" Jaff growled at the plumber before all three of them raised up their arms and vanished into thick black smoke.
"What? GET BACK HERE! YOU COWARDS!" Diavelli screamed after them, but they were already long gone. Once he realized that, he slowly and nervously turned to face the performers, who were all glaring daggers at him.
"Uh… you didn't happen to hear all that 'mindless pawn' talk, did you?"
"Shaddup," said Imogen, cracking her knuckles.
Diavelli whipped his head around in a panic, looking for an escape. When he found none, he finally just shoved Ninjinsky and Scamp out of the way and made a mad dash for the door.
"Don't let him get away!" Mario shouted. The performers all took after him, but he was too far ahead. For a minute it looked like he was going to escape –
And then just as he reached the door, Benny materialized in front of it, opening his mouth wide and baring his fangs and his tongue as he emitted a truly horrifying shriek.
Diavelli screamed, clutching at his chest as he backed away – only to bump into Imogen. He spun around and stared at her in fear, getting a glimpse of her sadistic grin before she fired a blast of wind straight at him. He was thrown off his feet and went sailing backwards, crashing headfirst into the wall before sliding motionlessly to the floor.
When he was too stunned to get back up, Mario's eyes widened as he realized what had happened.
"Guys… we did it!" he cheered. "We beat him! We won!"
The performers all realized this too, and once the full implications had finally sunk in, they all started cheering insanely as well, hugging each other and jumping for joy.
Finally, after all these years, Diavelli's grip on them was released. They were the masters of their own fate.
Benny flew over to join them, looking the happiest of all. "Guys! Didja see me? I actually did it! I scared somebody! I'M THE GREATEST!"
"Yeah, that's terrific, Benny," Imogen said disinterestedly as Scamp ordered his Trapeze Guys to grab Diavelli before he could try and make another escape. "Hey, Dulia… that was amazing, kiddo, but how'd you ever beat him? He had us all under his thumb!"
"Oh, well…" Dulia blushed and smiled. "It was simple, really. Life contracts don't work on ghosts!"
Benny frowned. "What? But I'm a ghost! Y'mean this whole time I could've just left whenever I felt like it?" He looked furious. "WHAT A GYP!"
Dulia turned her attention to him. "Oh, Benny, you silly…" she giggled, causing the Boo to flush bright red as he remembered what he'd been meaning to say to her for a long time.
"Dulia!" he cried, flying up to her. "I can't keep this inside of me any longer! There's something you have to know… I…" He swallowed. "Will you marry me?"
Everyone gasped. Dulia blinked several times.
"Uh, Benny… I think we're kinda young to be thinking about that."
"Oh." Benny looked thoughtful. "Well… will you marry me eventually?"
Dulia looked at him for a moment before breaking into a grin. "Oh, of course I will, Benny! I wouldn't marry anybody but you!"
Benny's eyes bulged. "You – you mean it?" he cried. "YAHOOOOOOO!" he cheered, somersaulting in midair and zooming around her in circles as she kept giggling.
"Congratulations. Together, you two will be the most socially awkward couple on the face of the earth," Imogen said snidely, though she had on a very genuine smile.
Mario was standing back and watching this whole thing, smiling to himself as well. "Well, she really did it," he remarked to himself. "I guess it was dumb of me for ever doubting her because she was a Duplighost, wasn't it?"
Hmm, I'll say it was, replied a somewhat wry voice. You really are a bit of a thick-headed fool sometimes, Mario.
Mario frowned. "Yeah, thanks a lot. I miss you too."
Oh, she doesn't mean that, Mario, giggled a second voice that sounded much more shy and sweet. But it's good that you trust her now... everyone deserves to have a second chance. You taught me that.
"Yeah… you're absolutely right," Mario agreed. "I guess if I went around judging people like that, I never would have been friends with you two, would I have?"
And what's that supposed to mean? asked the first voice. You're trying to tell me you didn't like me right away? Everyone likes me!
Well, you can be a little scary, the second voice replied. Oh, don't mind us, Mario. We'll both be your friends forever, no matter what. And I think she will too.
By the way, Mario, that little Clubba should be glad you didn't ask me about him, said the first voice. I would have told you to leave him! GWA HEE HA!
"Right… I'll remember that," Mario said in a deadpan. "Well, that's it. Diavelli's gone… the Starshine Circus is finally the way it should be." He glanced down at the Sun Soul under his arms, which was glowing and straining to be let go. "That means there's just one thing left."
He opened his arms, and the Sun Soul immediately floated away and drifted over to the person it was desperately seeking out.
Dulia had been happily and excitedly chatting with her friends, but her attention was quickly drawn away from them as she noticed the Sun Soul hovering right next to her. She turned and stared at it in awe, overcome with the same inexplicable feeling she'd felt when she'd first seen it.
"Oh… M-Mario," she said timidly, taking it in her hands, "what's going on with this Sun Soul? It… why does it feel like… it wants to be with me?"
"What, you mean you haven't figured it out yet?" Mario said with a smile as he and the other partners walked up to her. "Those Sun Souls belong with the Guardians, remember? Diavelli was trying to use it for himself… but he couldn't keep it from the person it truly belongs to."
Dulia kept staring at the Sun Soul… and ever so slowly, she slowly seemed to realize what he meant. Her eyes grew wide.
"Oh… oh, Mario!" she cried, looking shocked. "But I… you can't mean it! How can I be a Guardian? I can't! I'm just little old me!"
"Are you kidding? You beat Diavelli and saved the whole circus, remember?" Hanner laughed. "I don't think a regular old person could do something like that!"
"Don't worry, Dulia! We're all Guardians too!" Stubba said with a big smile. "You're just like us!"
"Yeah, you're part a' the bandwagon now," Snatchel agreed. "And boy, are we ever glad to have ya!"
Dulia stared at all of them in disbelief. "You guys… you're all…" Then she turned to Mario. "Oh, Mario… then this means…"
Mario smiled sadly. "I know you wanted to stay with your friends, Dulia," he said. "But I'd be absolutely honored if you'd be part of the team. We have to save this world… and we can't do it without you."
For a moment Dulia didn't respond. She looked at him unsurely, not knowing what she should decide, afraid of what the future would hold if she decided to go with them…
And then her newfound courage took over again, and she nodded.
"Oh, Mario… of course I'll go with you," she said loyally. "You saved me! I wouldn't be anything at all if it weren't for you! Oh, Mario…" Her eyes were filling with happy tears. "Thank you so much!"
"No, Dulia. Thank you," Mario said fondly, putting an arm around her. The Sun Soul in her hands starting shining even more brightly than before, seeming to react to the joy she was finally feeling after so long.
Mario found the Meridiem Soul! His Star Power is now 4! With Dulia's help, he can now use the special move, Fire Away!
~END OF CHAPTER~
Mario and his companions delved deep into the secrets of the Starshine Circus, unraveling its many mysteries and treacheries. With the help of his new friend Dulia, he defeated the sinister Diavelli and brought peace back to the circus. But Diavelli's quest to use the Sun Soul for himself is not something Mario will soon forget… could there be other, more dangerous foes seeking the Sun Souls for the same purpose?
To Be Continued…
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A/N: Well, even if the plot got a little (read: extremely) convoluted at times, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. :D It was kinda different, but that's why I like it. And as always, I advise you to stay tuned for the next chapter. There's about to be some serious stuff going down…