Alright! Now the real adventure starts! Prepare some snacks and let the games begin.
Also note: "Bold lettering" is for an overhead speaker voice and Clyde and Drake belong to me.
'Why am I noting this' you may ask?
Well… - slides chapter towards reader -
Why don't you find out?
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Once they reached the door, Marlon said to Melody, "Go on ahead, kid. I'll meet ya inside."
Melody nodded and stepped through. She ended up outside in a darker atmosphere. It was raining and she was outside the Fortress. There were stacks of poker chips and playing cards sitting around and arrows in the ground. There were also western neon signs hung on some walls. The signs were either cacti or sheriff badges. Cautiously, Melody walked underneath one pillar supported area to keep herself from getting soaked.
She jumped back when a figure landed in front of her. To her relief, it was Marlon. He glanced to his left and right on high alert. "We gotta tread carefully, my female co-star. The guards don't like trespassers."
He then turned to her and said, "You're going to need an expanded repertoire to get the Marble, Cloth Kid."
Melody was confused on what he just said.
Silently chuckling, Marlon cleared his throat and then said, "It's a great personal honor for me, to present to you…"
A trapdoor opened up between Marlon and Melody and poker cards shot out as Marlon announced with jazz hands, "Thhhheeeee Blink Ball!"
On a stand that rose up after the poker cards shot out and rained like confetti stood the Blink Ball. It looked like a headset, only with a circular piece covering the right eye. There was also a button on the left side of the headpiece.
Melody was amazed. Two inventions in one morning. This journey was going to be more exciting than Melody thought.
"Come on over and pick it up!" Melody held the device in her hands. She turned in over in multiple directions, unsure how to even put it on or operate it.
Marlon let out a small chuckle and asked, "Need some help?" Melody nodded.
He placed the Blink Ball on Melody's head. It fits her well. "Wow, cool," said Melody. "But uh… how does it work?"
Marlon pointed at a bright blue wavy patterned surface above them and said, "Just aim the Blink Ball by looking in the direction of one of those surfaces, then press the button on the left side of the headset. A metal ball will shoot out and hit the surface. Then, it will teleport you up there. Go ahead and give it a try."
Melody looked upward and pressed the button. Just like what Marlon said, a metal ball shot out of the circular piece that covered Melody's right eye. Once it hit the wavy surface, she teleported up there in the blink of an eye. Guess that's why they call it the Blink Ball.
When Melody landed on her feet, Marlon said, "Well done, kid; that's a shot in a million." Melody smiled, but the peace didn't last.
"We got some uninvited guests, boys. Be sure to make 'em feel welcome… if you know what I mean."
The voice came from an overhead speaker nearby. It was low and had a sort of Bronx accent. It was small, but it was there. Melody turned to Marlon Random, who looked around with a concerned yet serious look on his face.
"Come on. This way," he whispered to Melody as he waved his hand over to her. She quickly and quietly followed behind.
Marlon opened up a nearby ventilation shaft and said, "Since I don't have a Blink Ball, I'll have to navigate through these vents. Your way is faster. Make your way up on to the ledge past the lasers and I'll meet ya on the other side."
"Got it, Marlon," said Melody with a thumbs-up. She looked towards the ledge and spotted a portal surface behind the lasers. Hoping the lasers won't go off if the ball hits them, she shot a metal ball towards the surface. Thankfully, the ball past through the lasers without any problems and hit the surface. Melody teleported onto the ledge, past the lasers.
Marlon appeared outside another vent and said, "Did you see how easy we slipped by? We'll have that Marble in no time!" Melody beamed. Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as she thought.
But something was watching her. Growling in the dark shadows.
As Melody continued along the path, Marlon Random remained in the shadows. Then, as Melody was heading down the path, something a foot taller than her pounced out of the shadows. Melody let out a yelp and jumped back, Pumpinator in hand. There stood a couple of guard dogs, blocking her path. They were metallic with a bubble as their weak points. They had a spring for a tail and nails for teeth. Melody tried to blow them away with the Pumpinator, but no luck. They were just too heavy.
Marlon Random peered out from behind a couple standing poker cards and asked Melody, "You DO do your own stunts, right? Bounce on that baddie's brain to take him out."
Melody nodded. Building up her courage, she ran towards the dogs and jumped on their bubbles. That made them explode. "Just like facing the Negativitron's baddies."
"Careful," said Marlon behind a stack of poker chips nearby a couple pillars. "Guards ahead!" Sure enough, there was a lookout point with a spotlight shining past a couple pillars. "I can't believe I'm saying this but," Marlon whispered loudly, "stay out of the spotlight!"
Melody quickly hid behind one of the pillars. As she did, she heard a male voice say, "This light'll flush out them intruders." Melody had to time this carefully. If that light hits her, she'll get caught. Once the spotlight went past the pillar Melody was hiding behind, Melody ran. She didn't bother to look back or what was on the path. She fixed her focus on the second pillar that would hide her. Unfortunately, there was a small bump in the ground that could easily trip anyone up if they didn't notice it.
With a yelp, Melody tripped and fell forward. The guard noticed the movement and was quickly moving the flashlight towards her. Marlon noticed and ran towards Melody as fast as he could.
"Kid! Look out!" He then shoved Melody out of the way and the spotlight hit him. An alarm went off and the spotlight was shining on Marlon. Guards were coming and they were coming fast.
"Marlon!" Melody cried out to Marlon, reaching out for him.
"Don't worry about me," shouted Marlon. "Find the Marble and get out of here! Go!"
Melody wanted to save him, but by instinct, she ran. As she ran away, she heard two male voices.
One male said, "Well, well, well. Look at what we have here."
The other male replied, "Yeah! Boss is gonna LOVE having you over."
Melody turned the corner and stopped to catch her breathe. She then slid her back along the wall and folded her knees to her chest with a moan.
"I failed again," mourned Melody. All the guilt from before started building back up. "Now Marlon is going to get hurt and he'll never trust me again and—"
"You sure she went this way, Clyde?" Melody let out a small gasp. Those two boys were coming. And they were looking for her!
"I'm positive, Drake." Melody had to hide quickly. She got back on her feet and searched frantically for a hiding spot. She spotted two poker cards standing up against the wall. She jumped behind the cards and remained perfectly still and quiet as possible.
She heard footsteps drawing close. Rebuilding her courage, she managed to peak out and look at Marlon's two captors. One of the guards named Clyde was walking by with his partner. He had a dice for a head, with the one dotted side facing forward. He didn't seem to have a mouth or eyes, which made Melody shudder a little. He wore a black tuxedo suit with a red bowtie and black shoes. His partner Drake looked just like him, only his face was the two dotted side.
Melody ducked back down when they drew close. She then overheard their conversation.
"I mean, seriously!" Melody assumed that voice was Drake. It wasn't as deep as the second voice she heard addressing Drake. "Do you really think Marlon Random would bring a little girl into these parts?"
"I don't know, but the Boss wants her caught. No witnesses, he says." That had to be Clyde speaking. His voice was a little deeper than Drake's.
"Well, if she really is here, do ya think she'll get to the Marble?"
"No way, Drake! The only way she could get to that safe is to get through the Boss' main Fortress and break into his safe. And there's no way she can do that. After all, she's only a wittle girl."
Both boys laughed. "Yeah. If we caught Marlon Random, then there's no way that helpless little girl can get past us!"
Melody heard their laughter fade as they walked away.
"Helpless and 'wittle', huh?" Melody emerged from her hiding place with anger. "That's it. I'm not backing down this time. Marlon Random needs me."
With determination building up inside, she puffed out her chest and said, "Time to do what I do best."
As she said that, she continued down the path and began formulating a plan that was going to rescue Marlon Random, get into that safe, and sashay out of the Fortress with the Marble in hand.
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Hate to stop at another cliffhanger, but I have the rest written up. I post the rest of this ASAP!
