The mayor's feet tap across marble tiles, the only sound to break the midnight silence. He steps cautiously around dark figures on the floor, shadows from the trees outside swaying in the moonlight. 

 "Curse this stupid town," he mutters as chills run down his arms and legs. 

 He withdraws a letter from his robe pocket, Pledge Now written in curly letters at the top. Below, the signatures of every local family make a long list. The mayor smiles and puffs out his chest. 

 "They better obey," he says, proud. 

 "And why's that," a voice says from somewhere in the hall, echoing from multiple directions at the same time.

 The mayor's eyes fire open wide. Terror streaks his face, and he stumbles back a step.

 "Who goes there! Come out now!"

 "Tsk tsk, So hasty," the voice says, smooth as oil, "Why do all this? You thought you'd never get caught?"

 The mayor's heart races, thumping loudly in his own ears. He quickly stows the letter back in his pocket. 

 "I don't need to tell you anything. You better come out now!"

 Almost as if a whisper, laughing quietly fills the hall. The mayor falls back another step, his teeth clenched and hands shaking. 

 Immediately, a pair of thin figures swing down from the rafters above with ropes, and they land in nimble lunges. Another rope spans the distance between them, tied at each man's waste. Black masquerade masks cover their eyes, but their smiles glow white in the moonlight. 

 Heavy breathing from behind causes the mayor to shudder and turn around.

From the shadows a short girl, also wearing a black mask, steps out into the hall. Thin leashes lead from her hands out to the collar of two gigantic lions, each one seeming to be made of pure mist. As a thin grin forms on the girl's face the two lions begin stalking around her in a protective circle. 

 From a window the mayor didn't realize was open, a huge man steps into the hall. His arms ripple with muscles, the sleeves long torn off his shirt. A paper bag covers his face. Terrified, the mayor reads man's tattooed neck, Buff The Clown.

 "We won't be leaving anytime soon," the voice says.

In the hall's center, a man with a white masquerade mask, a purple tailcoat jacket, and a spinning cane stands tall. He reaches up with one hand and tips the brim of a top hat. 

"Mister mayor, it's nice to meet you. I'm the ringmaster,"

"What's the meaning of this!" the mayor says, spinning around in terror, "Get out of my house!"

The mayor cups his hands to his mouth.

"Help!" he screams, "Intruders,"

 The man known as the ringmaster lunges forward and seizes the mayor by his collar. The ringmaster's smile quickly turns sour as he pulls the mayor close. 

 "Well, you have no patience," he spits, "Since you've already gotten the party started why don't I introduce you to my crew,"

 The ringmaster extends a white gloved hand towards the identical men roped together. With a violent tug, he forces the mayor to look. 

 "Tim and Tom, the trapeze twins,"

 The ringmaster shoves the mayor around in a violent circle, stopping before the short girl. 

 "Elizabeth, the magnificent lion tamer!" he whispers right into the mayor's ear. 

 From a few feet away, the man with enormous muscles stomps a single time, shaking the floor. 

 "Jeeze, wait your turn, Buff," the ringmaster says, "Mister mayor, this is buff the clown,"

 The ringmaster leans in closer, and the mayor can feel each word tickle in his ear.

 "He's not very funny, but don't tell him I said that,"

 Immediately, men with gleaming swords bust into the hall from both sides. The ringmaster groans and throws the mayor to the ground, letting him tumble. 

 "Save him!" one of the security officers barks. 

 "Elizabeth!" the ringmaster calls. 

 "On it," the girl says, beaming with innocence, "It's playtime kitties!" 

 She drops the leashes, releasing the mist lions to pounce. The security officers swing their swords through the air, but the blades soar through the misty bodies of the lions with no effect. Terror fills their eyes as they exclaim in confusion. 

 Elizabeth snaps her fingers, and the mist falls away at once, revealing two real life lions. The security officers turn and scramble the opposite direction down the hall. 

 The ringmaster turns the other way. With a grin on his face he nods towards Tim and Tom. 

 "Twins, if you would?"

 "Certainly," they reply in unison. 

 The two men leap into action with soft graceful steps. Tom strides onto the wall and grabs a rafter. Tim jumps off the other wall and swings through the hall. His knee collides with one of the officer's chest, blasting him to the floor. 

 Then, Tim leaps up and grabs a rafter, allowing Tom to fling forward and grapple another two officers. 

 The two exchange mischievous smiles and then rush forward, using the rope tied between them to clothes-line the remaining two officers. 

 The ringmaster happily turns back to the mayor. 

 "What do we have here?" he asks, pulling the note from the mayor's pocket.

The mayor wails.  

 "Don't touch that!"

 The ringmaster feigns a frown.  

 "Silly me, too late,"

 The mayor scrambles to his feet only for Buff the Clown to clamp him in place with two mighty hands. As if to emphasize the point, Buff growls like a wild animal from beneath his paper bag.

 "Give that back" the mayor says sheepishly, shaking in place.

 "Check this out Buff," the ringmaster says, "It's a list of everyone he's blackmailed. Wow!"

 The ringmaster laughs. 

 "I had no idea you had done such a thing mister mayor," he says sarcastically, "Except I actually did. We all did,"

 "You can't prove anything!" the mayor bites out.

 "Buff, squeeze him tighter,"

 The mayor yells as the clown's grip magnifies significantly. The ringmaster leans towards the mayor's ear again.

"If you ever! Ever! Try to hurt the people of this town like this again, it will be the last thing you do. Remember what happened tonight, and remember this little circus of mine,"

The mayor only makes small wordless sounds in response, too shook to even look the ringmaster in the eyes as he pulls away. 

Buff the clown lets go with a final grunt, and quickly steps back through the window. Elizabeth snaps again and her lions fade back into misty clouds. The twins help lead her out through the window, and finally the ringmaster steps out too. 

Before letting his face disappear into the night, he turns back a final time and dips into a low bow. 

"I hope you enjoyed the show. May we never meet again,"