AN: Hey everyone, welcome to a new story! You might find this a little strange, as I haven't finished Episode 40 yet. Well, I HAVE finished Runaway Reptile Redux, and I like to keep the amount of stories I'm working on constant, so... yeah.

Now, this story is VERY special. It is based on a request from a friend of mine, NJRiolux. They gave me this episode idea a while ago, and I've been planning it ever since. It was originally going to be episode 40, but... well, things happened lol. I hope you enjoy this story, NJRiolux. And... Merry Christmas.

Anyway, on with the show!

Chapter 1 Performing in the Void

A moment of joy is a powerful thing. One single moment, when a person gets to be happy and gets to forget about their troubles, is worth more than all the money in the world. Even those who are absolutely miserable would say that such a moment is one of their greatest memories. They would treasure such an event for the rest of their life, looking back on it when they're old and gray and putting on a smile just as wide as the one in their youth.

Lemmy understood this sentiment better than anyone else. Ever since he was a kid, struggling with learning how to walk and being a whole head shorter than ALL of his siblings, he understood this. Humor, comedy, and bringing people smiles were his calling. They were his drive. They were his dream.

He was good at it too. He was the pun master extraordinaire; it was a point of pride with him. He had also practiced being a clown ever since he was five years old. He was good at it, and he LOVED doing it. He would never stop doing it. The only thing that could stop him from putting on a brilliant clown show would be him dropping dead.

And right now, at this very moment, all the clowning knowledge the little Koopaling had accumulated over the years was being utilized. Nay, utilized to its fullest potential. He stood on his ball in the middle of a three-ring circus, juggling torches that were on fire. Everyone under the tent had their eyes glued to him, their butts glued to the seat. Lemmy flashed a little old lady in the front row a shiny grin in addition to a heartfelt wink. This made her put her hand to her heart and let out the loudest "aww" ever heard by Koopas. It was audible even under the sound of the applause.

Said applause could probably be heard on the moon. Lemmy's heart roared along with the audience, making him feel… high. This was a natural high, a type of high that no recreational drug could hold a candle to. His heart felt warm and soothed, a winning combination. He threw all the torches up into the air, so high that they were close to touching the ceiling and setting the whole tent ablaze. Everyone in the tent gasped, the tension in the air palpable for everyone except one. Still grinning, Lemmy did a backflip and landed on his hands. The crowd gasped again as he balanced on his hands while simultaneously attempting to balance on his ball. Lemmy smirked, for he knew what kind of fruit this tension would bear. He aimed his feet upward as the torches started plummeting back down like fiery comets. The audience tensed up…

And Lemmy began juggling the torches with his feet. Throw one torch in the air, catch another one, rinse and repeat to infinity. The crowd watched Lemmy do this in awe. Even the animals were silent, keeping their eyes on him as he performed this outstanding task. Lemmy just giggled, throwing the torches even higher. He didn't even feel any heat touching his toes. There was no reason to panic; only perform at the highest and most awe-inspiring level. To make the display even more impressive. Lemmy bounced on the ball. He struck an upside-down pose before landing back on the ball, keeping the audience's attention captured and ensuring that nobody was worried things would go wrong. This was because things weren't going to go wrong. He was in control. He knew what he was doing, and he was going to prove to everyone in here that he did.

Throwing the torches into the air for the last time, Lemmy flipped back upright on the ball. He bounced and, upon catching the torches, threw them toward the sandy ground. They landed upright in the sand, and they encircled him in a way not too dissimilar to his audience. The crowd went nuts, cheering and whooping like Lemmy had performed a miracle.

"You're amazing!"

"I love this! Thank you so much!"

Smiling, Lemmy reached up and wiped a tear from his eye. This, this right here. This was what he had wanted for years. Everyone to see him, everyone being lifted up from even the darkest places thanks to him. Laughter and smiles, joy and amazement… you couldn't get better than that. You couldn't! Knowing that he was able to make a soul, an actual living being, a PERSON feel these things, was indescribable. It was an amazing feeling; accomplishment mixed with joy. He wished he could do such a beautiful concept justice with words, but he couldn't. As cliche and as trite as that may sound, it was something someone had to experience. Lemmy WISHED that other people could experience this. The feeling that you were doing exactly what you were born to do. The feeling of knowing that your life and the contributions you made, no matter how little, had worth.

'Thank you," Lemmy said, speaking loudly so that his voice and satisfaction carried throughout the tent. "Thank you all." The crowd clapped, the sound as pleasing as one of Ludwig's famous symphonies. Lemmy put his hand to his heart and let out a breath. He looked up at the ceiling, smiling as he did. "And now… now we get to the grand finale."

He bounced on the ball once. Twice. Three times, four! Each time he did it, he rose higher into the air. His beloved bouncy ball might as well have been a vintage trampoline. The crowd leaned forward in their seats as he fell back to the ground. He was like a bottle rocket, he was like a shooting star. He bounced a tenth time, rising all the way up to the top of the tent. He touched the ceiling, laughing as he did, before…

"One, two, three…" he counted down the flips he made out loud. "Four, five, six…" The world around him rotated so quickly, as if he was Sonic the Hedgehog doing a spin dash. To others, it might be disorienting and maybe even a little sickening. Not to Lemmy. This was his moment. He had practiced this, rehearsed this, carefully calculated, and planned out every last step of this procedure. Some might call it too ambitious, some might say it was impossible. A clown of any caliber, performing twenty flips as he plummeted back down to a very small target while everyone watched? The best-case scenario for someone else was getting a little bit of performance anxiety. The worst-case scenario was someone getting severely injured or even outright dying.

Lemmy didn't have either of those fears, they weren't even blips on his radar. He knew what he was doing, and would put all the effort into ensuring that everything turned out just fine. Not so much for his sake, but for the sake of the people watching him. They deserved to be impressed, they deserved to see him at his absolute best. Delivering his best was a tall order, much taller than him, but he wasn't afraid. Not by a long shot.

"Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen…TWENTY!" Lemmy landed on his ball. His heartbeat sped up and he looked down at the ground, trying to get his breathing under control. He did it. He actually did it! Twenty flips from the top of the circus down to the floor. He had done it! Laughing, Lemmy's ribcage felt all fluttery. This was amazing! Sure, he hadn't expected him not being able to pull it off, but… well, it had been a possibility. There was always a risk of him screwing up. But he hadn't done that this time! He had pulled off an ultra-hard stunt! He had made everyone happy! Everyone who was in the circus was happy and…

Wait. Why weren't people applauding?

Lemmy, blinking, lifted his head. His eyes met the sight before him, and he froze. He dismounted his ball, the emotions of joy and pride disappearing as fear and confusion took their place.

"Hello?" Lemmy walked up to the seats. They were empty. Each and every single one of them was empty. The circus was so still now, so desolate, so… spooky.

"Where did everyone go?" Lemmy reached up and placed his hand on one of the seats. It was cold; the warmth one would usually feel on a used seat wasn't there. There was no sign that the people in the audience had been there at all. No warmth, no movement, not even a single speck of dust.

"What…?" Lemmy's heart rate climbed to the ceiling. What was going on? There had to be some way to find out what happened to the audience! Did they all leave in the middle of the act? They had to; that was what made the most sense! With that thought in mind, Lemmy realized that there was one place he could go to find out the answer to his questions: outside the tent.

He broke out into a sprint. He started to sweat. He started to hyperventilate. Reaching out his hand, he pulled the flap of the tent back and…

Nothing. There was nothing outside the tent. No light. No wind. No life. Lemmy stared out at the empty void. His heart hurt in a way that was so much worse than any form of physical pain. It lowered itself into a feeling of despair. A deep, inescapable pit of despair.

Lemmy slowly backed away from the door. He looked at the still-empty circus. He looked at the void outside. Tears welled in his eyes as he realized that his performance meant nothing. He had put his all into it, and no one had seen it. No one real, anyway. What was the point of pulling off the greatest trick of your life if there was no one to see it? No one had seen it, and therefore no one had felt their spirits lifted by Lemmy.

Slowly, as tears fell on the sand, Lemmy pulled into his shell. Feeling the coldness of sorrow, he closed his eyes and hid his head from the empty world.

…

"Ugh…" Lemmy struggled to open his eyes. He swerved his head back and forth, feeling the pull of sleepiness still keeping a chokehold on him. He didn't want to sleep; he wanted to wake up! He couldn't stay in bed with his eyes shut after such a depressing dream! He needed to get up! He needed to start his day!

"Ugghhh…" Lemmy groaned again before, much to his relief, his eyes fluttered open. The first thing he saw was light; a nice contrast to the dark void outside the circus tent. He heard his older brother, Ludwig, getting out of his own bed. Lifting his head, Lemmy saw Ludwig sitting on the edge of the mattress. He rubbed his eye with one hand and tried to manage his messy blue hair with the other. Frowning, Lemmy laid his own feet on the floor. It was only once he was halfway between his bed and Ludwig's that he realized that your brother frowning wasn't a very pleasant sight to see when you just woke up. Lemmy forced on a smile instead.

"Morning, Ludwig."

Ludwig turned and gave Lemmy a beautiful and somewhat groggy smile. "Morning, Lemmy." He sat still on the mattress for a second, biting the inside of his cheek as he did. "How are you?"

For a second, Lemmy thought about his dream. Should he… no, no, it probably wasn't the best idea. "Well, you know me! I feel right as rain!" He laughed, hoping the sound didn't sound as forced as it felt. "I can and will do everything I set my mind to!"

Ludwig chuckled. "I'm not surprised." He rubbed his temples. "How can someone be so bubbly when they first wake up; I don't understand."

"Oh don't worry. You'll understand when you're a little younger." Lemmy laughed, this one legitimate, as Ludwig playfully shoved him in the chest. Both Koopalings laughed together, sounding like an excited pair of seals.

"Whatever you say." Ludwig let out a breath and stood up. He looked at Lemmy with a grateful spark, one that helped Lemmy feel significantly better. "I need to put my face on. Would you be willing to wait for me so we can walk down to the dining hall together?"

Lemmy snickered. "Of course, I will wait for you, my handsome prince."

Ludwig snorted. "Yeah. Handsome. That's the perfect word to describe me when I have bedhead; handsome." He shook his head, smiled, and stood back up. "I promise I won't take too long."

With that, Ludwig went into the bathroom. Once the door was closed, Lemmy allowed the smile to leave his face. Sighing, he looked over at his closet. Slowly willing himself toward it, he went over to the closet and opened the door. A bittersweet feeling filled him as he looked upon his collection of clown suits. There was his green and blue one. There was his orange one with pink polka dots. They all had signs of wear, but… was the process that led them to experiencing wear as good and as fulfilling as Lemmy had thought, as Lemmy had believed? He hadn't really done a whole lot with his clown suits. One opening act there and one show for the servants here didn't exactly make a good career. An impactful career. A worthy career.

Lemmy shook his head. Maybe… maybe he shouldn't think too much about this. He needed to focus on more pleasant things. He was Lemmy; he didn't let negativity get the better of him. He refused to.

So, with one more sigh, he closed the closet and went back to his bed. When Ludwig came out, he would put this dream and the emotions that came with it behind him once and for all.