Don couldn't help but notice that it was now incredibly lonely at the park.
"Everyone was here yesterday, working hard. Now, I have to do most of it myself." Don complained, to nobody. The gumball machine walked up, with a similar perplexed look upon his face.
"Hey, Don. Do you know where everyone went? The park was running superbly when they were all working here!" Benson sighed.
"If I had to take a guess, then-I mean, no. I have no idea where everyone is." Don said, quieting down.
"Don. What're you not telling me?" the gumball machine inquired. The muscular raccoon continued working, pretending not to hear anything. Benson repeated himself, but Don did not listen. Finally, Benson's face began to redden.
"DON. TELL ME WHERE SKIPS AND THE EMPLOYEES ARE OR I'LL FIRE YOU!" Benson screamed, now fully interested in the well-being of his workers.
"They're dead." Don replied, bluntly.
"Be serious." The gumball machine stated, now feeling a sense of worry. Don just walked away.
"I quit." Don sighed, having a destination in mind; the place where the trap was. Where Mordecai, Jeremy, and Carson had been ambushed. The muscular raccoon knew that Benson probably didn't even care about the Skull Master.
"Fine, then, just leave and quit. You're just like Rigby." Benson said, loudly. The scene mirrored when Rigby had first quit his job and left to compete in the Skull Master's tournament. This time, instead of Rigby, it was Don. And unlike Rigby, Don turned around.
"I'd rather be just like Rigby than be anything like you." Don stated, bitterly. Benson was about to make a comeback, before he realized it would not help his case.
"Yesterday, you were so respectful. Now that everyone's gone, I guess you're letting your true colors show." Benson blurted out. Luckily, Don remained facing the gumball machine, and the muscular raccoon's face filled with sorrow.
"You're wrong. I'm not usually this bitter in public, but people like you deserve it. I'm worried about my big brother…I'm worried about Rigby. Skips, Mordecai, Rigby….they've worked for you for so long now! And now they're gone, potentially forever, and your thoughts are 'Gee, this park was so productive when they were here.' Maybe if you forgot about the park and looked at the reality of things, we wouldn't all dislike you. The Skull Master is back. He most likely has my friends right now, and you just don't care about them. You make me sick." Don concluded, firmly, making his point clear.
"You have it wrong…I didn't make the Anti-Skulls disband because I feared the park. I feared for them. You weren't here last time, Don. Things got dangerous…it's true I wasn't there for the final battle. But, just before, the Anti-Skulls were in no shape to do anything. I wasted some precious resources to heal them up as quickly as possible, nearly instantly. When they were healed, that's when they charged into the final battle, and I stayed behind. I don't have any more of that resource. I wasted all of it healing their mangled bodies last time…this time, I feared for their lives. I shut down the Anti-Skulls because I wanted them to live. I knew that Skull Master probably had Muscle Man when it was confirmed that Skull Master had returned. I didn't want to lose anyone else." Benson confessed.
"So…you care about the employee's safety?" Don inquired, interested.
"Yes. I don't want anyone hurt or…worse." The gumball machine sighed.
"Then, you'll help us take down the Skull Master so NOBODY has to be harmed by him ever again. The best thing you can do to help the people you care about is to join the Anti-Skulls. You have to help me find Rigby and the others." Don said. Benson looked conflicted.
"I wished not to get involved in this. But, he's taken all of my workers. Alright, Don, let's go find our friends." Benson smiled, forcibly. The large raccoon grinned, in respect.
"Thanks, Benson! Now give me some sugar!" Don said, happily.
…
One Day Ago
Mordecai climbed through the portal within Shimmering Leaf Meadows casually, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"EILEEN! You were supposed to bring them one at a time so we could gradually take down the Anti-Skulls from within!" Chad exclaimed, staring at Eileen and the rest of the Anti-Skulls.
"I'm sorry, sir! I planned to bring Margaret, but then Rigby showed up and stalled us for a minute or two. I thought we could handle a small conflict against Margaret and Rigby, but after the three of us came—the rest of the Anti-Skulls somehow showed up! I don't know how they delayed the portal's closing sequence!" Eileen said, defending her mistake.
Mordecai turned around, noting that the portal was STILL open.
"You're outnumbered. Give up." Skips said, towering above Eileen and Chad.
"Imbecile. You're the big leader of the thing we're up against?! I thought we'd have more of a challenge." Chad growled, before yelling: "COMPUTER! Operation Intruder Slayer! ID 72-31-94!"
Instantly, the portal closed and the room began to quake.
"What'd you do?!" Mordecai asked, scared.
"Oh, nothing. I just breathed some air, and said some words. Also, I initiated a sequence to kill everyone in this room." Chad said, casually.
"But, you'll die too!" Margaret exclaimed.
"Our deaths are a mere price in comparison to taking out you wretched Anti-Skulls." Eileen happily said.
"Call it off!" Skips yelled, taking hold of Eileen and throwing her across the room.
"No can do." Eileen gasped, with a twisted grin upon her face. Rigby paused. During the final battle against the Skull Master, Mordecai had used to power of love to empower Margaret. Margaret, fighting the Skull Master's control, allowed Yulon to get close enough to activate the counter nanochip(which ended up doing nothing.) That meant that the power of love might liberate Eileen from whatever the Skull Master had done to her, and in turn, cause her to call off the suicide sequence. The walls began folding in.
"Eileen. I never told you this before but-I LOVE YOU!" Rigby exclaimed.
"How pitiful. A horrible Anti-Skull professing his love for a divine Super-Skull? It's kind of funny when you think about it." Eileen sighed.
"Dude. I knew it." Mordecai grinned, making a silly face.
"Mordecai, not the time!" Rigby yelled.
"COMPUTER! Abort operation! ID 72-31-94!" Chad's voice called out…though Chad had not said anything. The walls had stopped closing in.
"What the—how did you?" Chad began to speak, before a second Chad walked up, with a smug look on his face.
"Sorry, Chad-O, but I couldn't stand to watch my fabulous face get crushed." Chad-2 grinned.
"It's Doug." Eileen growled.
"Right-O! And my imitation skills apparently confuse your computer…what can I say? I sound EXACTLY like you." Chad-2 smiled, watching as a look of horror passed over the real Chad's face.
"Alright, guys, let's escape! Like Jeremy did!" Carson smiled.
Skips knocked out Eileen and Chad, and held one under each arm.
"I'll see what we can do about these two." The muscular yeti said, blatantly.
"Hopefully we can save Eileen." Margaret said, softly.
"At least we were able to save you." Mordecai smiled. The two birds hugged.
"Skips, can you reopen that portal now that the sequence is off?" Carson asked, observing Mordecai and Margaret's tender moment with a strange look.
"Um…yeah, I'll see if I can." The yeti said, before pulling a second slip of paper out of his pocket. Once more, Skips read an ancient language. A portal opened.
"I'll go through first, to see if it's stable and safe." Carson sighed. It took ten seconds for the brown bird to realize Margaret was not going to acknowledge his bravery as she had done when he volunteered to walk into the trap. Carson gave a look of dismay to Skips and proceeded to walk through.
"Alright, let's go." Skips said, before Carson walked right back out of the portal.
"Um. The portal leads to itself, apparently." The tall, brown bird stated, awkwardly.
"The park must be too far away. My spell is too weak. If only I had time to prepare like Eileen did when she trapped us all here." Skips sighed. The wall opened, revealing a capsule. Muscle Man walked out.
"Hey, ladies. Remember me?" the green man grinned.
…
Present Day
"There's nothing here but dead tentacles." Benson said, blatantly.
"Apparently so. Sorry I made us drive all the way here." Don sighed.
"Skips said something about Shimmering Leaf Meadows before he went missing. Want to check that place out?" Benson asked.
"Wait! Carson gave me a location and told me if anything should happen to him, I should go." Don remembered.
"Where is it?" Benson inquired.
"I don't know, he just gave me an envelope." The tall raccoon sighed.
"Where is it?" Benson said once more.
"He told me to keep it in a place the Skull Master couldn't get to." Don began to say, before he trailed off.
"Where is it?" Benson repeated.
"In a safe." Don said.
"Where's the safe?" Benson asked.
…
"DUDE! WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE GALAXY TO SOME PLANET I'VE NEVER HEARD OF?!" the gumball machine protested as Don searched through Rigby's closet.
"The planet's called Haymi. It's near the Namerian system." Don replied, with no emotion at all.
"Namera? Isn't that where Yulon is…I mean, was, from?" Benson realized.
"Yeah. Namera is in the center of the Namerian system. Haymi formed an alliance with the system of planets to keep the Skull Master out, ever since the Skull Master attacked Namera. Haymi, a small planet with few resources, formed the alliance just to get some Namerian support. This resulted in my favor, as I was able to hide the envelope there." Don explained, before finding what he was looking for.
"Why not just hide it on Namera itself?" the gumball machine asked.
"Because, that's a developed, huge, heavily populated planet that takes hours of paperwork to enter. Haymi, smaller, was easier to get access too." Don said, pulling a small keyboard out of the closet.
"Please tell me that's not what I think it is." Benson groaned.
"Yeah, this is the keyboard that grants wishes if they rhyme." Don grinned.
"But I thought it was destroyed." Benson recalled.
"Time travel machines, bro. Rigby got one for incredibly cheap." Don explained.
"Time travel. I hate it." Benson sighed, in response. Don just began playing music.
"My safe, my safe, take me there! My safe, my safe, don't mess up my hair!" Don sang. In a second, Don and Benson were tearing across the galaxy…and beyond.
…
One Day Ago
"Muscle Man, you're outnumbered. Why even bother coming?" Mordecai spat.
"Because, ladies, I'm going to capture you!" Muscle Man smiled, before putting on a gas mask and throwing down a chemical. Pink gas began to fill the room.
"It's Aymitophin!" Skips cried out, before pressing the unconscious body of Chad to his nose and mouth. The yeti then closed his eyes to prevent the horrible sting.
Mordecai tackled Margaret, and shielded her face with his body. Mordecai kept his eyes closed and, with a free hand covered his beak. The gas penetrated through his feathery fingers and the blue jay felt the world begin to spin. Carson grabbed a gas mask off of a nearby shelf, and used his own body to protect Rigby. Sounds of thudding and scraping were heard. As the gas began to clear, Muscle Man dragging a shadowy figure away was seen. The wall closed and the capsule vanished. The gas continued to float around in the room, still clearing, but all too slowly. Carson bumped into the shelf, readjusting himself to better protect Rigby, and knocked a counter chemical off. The gas quickly dissipated.
"Who'd he grab?" Skips asked, dropping Chad. Margaret breathed softly, unconscious, and alone, near the wall.
Carson released Rigby and removed the gas mask.
"Where's Mordecai?" was the first thing the raccoon asked.
...
Present Day
"Here it is, Benson." Don said, as they approached the safe.
"Geez, you hid this well." The gumball machine said, in awe.
"Yep. Ready to find the location?" Don asked, as he opened it. The envelope was removed, and the tall raccoon carefully opened it.
"It's a set of coordinates." Benson sighed.
"We can go there using the keyboard. But, these coordinates look familiar." Don sighed. Benson walked close to the tall raccoon, and started playing music, while Don began to sing.
…
One Day Ago
Hi-5 ghost phased through the wall, and was nearly overwhelmed with how advanced the wiring was. Then, he spotted the capsule above. Floating, the ghost read a small plaque next to the capsule: A-9. The ghost then phased back into the room.
"A-9." The ghost stated.
"COMPUTER! Transport to A-9! ID 72-31-94!" Doug shouted, in Chad's voice. Instantly, the wall opened, revealing the capsule.
"Who wants to save Mordecai?" Skips asked.
"Wait, while I was up there, I saw another plaque…Z-0. I think it's the way out. Shouldn't we try to escape?" Hi-5 ghost asked.
"No way! We have to save Mordecai!" Rigby shouted.
"I don't know, Rigby. Maybe we should cut our losses and come back for him later." Carson sighed. Margaret was still knocked out.
"But then he'll become a Super-Skull! We can't let that happen!" the raccoon cried out.
"Don't worry, we'll find a way to save him. We have two test subjects to help us find a cure." Skips stated, holding up Eileen and Chad.
"Skips, Mordecai has helped both of us out over and over. We're losing our numbers…for all we know, the Skull Master grabbed Don while we were trapped in here! Mordecai may be just one person, but he may be the one who makes the difference in the end! Last time, he was the one who was able to stop Skull-Master single-handedly!" Rigby shouted.
"Rigby." Skips said, softly. The raccoon began to cry.
"Ease up, kid. How about we send a small squad to rescue Mordecai, while the rest of us leave?" Doug pointed out.
"Alright, then. I'll leave with Chad, Margaret, and Eileen. Who wants to go on the mission?" Skips asked.
"I'll go. I may be the only hope they have because my ghostly form is immune to the Aymitophin." Hi-5 ghost said, courageously.
"I'll go. Without Mordecai, I would've been a Super-Skull by now because of the ambush we walked into together, with Jeremy. I'll repay the favor by saving him." Carson said, bravely.
"I'm going too. He's my best friend." Rigby said, softly.
"So will I. They'll need me to trick the computer to get them out." Doug said, just realizing the fact. In Chad's voice, Doug summoned the transport and watched as Skips left, with Eileen, Chad, and Margaret. In Chad's voice, a moment later, Doug summoned the transport to go to A-9. The Anti-Skulls piled into the capsule in small groups, with Doug being the last to enter and go to A-9.
"Ready or not, Mordecai, here we come." Rigby said. The Anti-Skulls ran down the hall to save their fallen friend.
…
Present Day
"It's…Jeremy?" Don gasped, staring at the white bird.
"Of course it is." Benson said, walking in and spotting the bird. Medic bots were attending to him.
"Shimmering Leaf Meadows. This is a secret location under the lake…so if Skips was heading here, then what got him off-track?" Don asked himself.
"Probably an attempted attack by the Skull Master." Benson sighed. In truth, Skips had sensed the portal when it opened and headed to the portal with Carson. But the tall raccoon and the gumball machine did not know that.
"Well…I thought he had been captured. I guess Jeremy's got some explaining to do…like how he possibly escaped. Or, if he is a Super Skull by now." Don said.
Meanwhile, Skips had just arrived at the park, driving a rusty car.
"I can't believe Skull Master has Mordecai because of me." Margaret said, sadly.
"YEAH! HE SHOULD HAVE ALL OF YOU!" Eileen shouted, from the back of the car. She was tied up, along with Chad.
"At least we're safe, Margaret. Now, let's find out how to revert the Super Skulls to their former selves." Skips said, cracking his knuckles and exiting the car. Margaret exited too, feeling hollow inside. Most of her friends were all in the Skull Master's lair…because of her. A guilty feeling filled the red bird. She felt as helpless as she did back when the Skull Master had first taken her hostage, during the Skull Master's first attack.
…
(SIDE NOTE: Do the Anti-Skulls succeed in rescuing Mordecai? What will Carson and Benson do with Jeremy? And where has Pops been during this whole thing?! Some of these questions will be answered next chapter, if there is a next chapter. Remember reviews = guaranteed next chapters! Thanks for reading!)