All right, here's chapter 11! Thanks for all the reviews, by the way. I really appreciate it! As a reward, at the end of this chapter I'll give you the lyrics to a really goofy song that you can use to bug people with! You know what belongs to who. Ciao!
Chapter 11: The Letter
The group stayed and performed in the town for about a week, and each time they performed, Jack would ask if anyone knew Sally, but no one answered. Until one snowy day, someone rewarded their performance with a red envelope, instead of money.
"It's addressed to you, Sally." The Mayor said.
Curiously, Sally tore open the envelope and grabbed the content within.
Inside was a letter that read; "Dear Sally, if you wish to know more about your past, come see me at my lab located north of this town. Sincerely, Dr. Finklestien."
Sally looked back at the others nervously. "Should I go?" She asked.
Torako snatched the letter from Sally and read it and re-read multiple times before answering. "I don't like the looks of this. It could be the captain again, or someone trying to capture us."
"Well, we can't just leave it alone." The Mayor said. "What should we do?"
"I think we should go together." Jack said. "We'd have a better chance of taking whatever's out there, than if Sally just went alone."
"Poyo!"
The group agreed. It was their best option.
"And who knows?" Sally said. "Maybe this guy is telling the truth?"
….
It had been hour since the group had departed for the mysterious location, and so far they hadn't found anything, just a one-lane highway beneath them and snowflakes above them. The sun had just set, and everyone was on the top of the ship looking for anything, absolutely anything, as "Alone again, naturally" was playing on the radio.
"Are you sure we're going in the right direction, Torako?" Jack asked.
"For the tenth time, yes! Look on the compass, it say's north."
"Hey guys," Sally shouted, "there's something wrong with Kirby!"
Everyone turned and looked at Kirby, who was waving his arms up and down frantically and shouting "Poyo, poyo!"
"What's the matter, Kirby?" Jack asked.
Kirby pointed his stubby little, hand? Stub? Whatever, he pointed towards a tall tower outlined in the darkness. In one of the windows was a bit of light, which acted as a beacon for the group.
As they got closer, the tower began to become more and more massive with each moment. It made their ship look like a little toy compared to the immense tower.
"I don't like this…" Sally whispered.
Jack came over and place his hands on her shoulders (which peeked the Mayor's interest and slightly aggravated Torako) and said "If you don't want to do this, we'll turn back around."
"No," She said, "I have all of you here with me; I know we'll be okay."
The ship was parked towards the front of the tower and the group made their way towards the front door.
"Hey, where's the doorbell?" Sally asked.
"Surprisingly around the Mayor's eye-level." Torako replied. "Mayor, ring the doorbell."
The Mayor looked at the doorbell and immediately decided not to. After all, who would want to ring a doorbell with a family of poisonous spiders, a radioactive glow, several chords sticking out of it, a skull nearby saying "ring the doorbell mortal," and an army of scorpions eating the family of spiders?
"I'm not doing it!" The Mayor pouted.
"Fine, I'll do it you pansy!" Torako growled. Then she lifted her foot and smashed it against the doorbell, causing it to ring and be covered in various bug juices.
"Eeeewwww…" The others said.
From the other side of the door, a mechanical whirring sound began to grow louder as it approached the door.
The door opened slightly, but was covered in darkness, and the man behind it could not be seen.
A scraggly decrepit voice emitted from the other side. "Are you with the police?"
"No."
"The FBI?"
"No."
"Are you from that party? Because if you are, I apologize for backing over your wife with my pick-up truck. It was dark outside and I thought she was a raccoon."
"Uh…no."
"We're here with Sally." Jack said.
There was a moment of silence, before the door slammed shut. Tears welled up in Sally's eyes. "Let's just go…" She choked.
The five began to somberly head in the other direction, until the sounds of locks unlocking came from behind them. The door opened with a loud creak and a wrinkly old man in a motorized wheelchair and sunglasses emerged from the door. His face resembled that of a mutant duck.
He outstretched his arms towards Sally. "It's been so long." He said.
….
The lab was cold and dimly lighted. Various machines were cluttered around the room. The older ones had been taken over by spider webs, while the newer ones followed the group with their beady red eyes.
The group followed the man in silence as they ascended up a spiral passage that led to a lab all the way to the top. Inside of the lab were vats of various things; from insects to body parts. There was also a cylinder machine with mechanical claw hands at rest.
Sally, Jack and the man in the wheelchair were the first to reach the top. Torako and the Mayor were the last two. Although there slight delay may have been because they were having a conversation that consisted of sentences such as; "Man that old guy is creepy."
"Right? He looks like one of those rubber ducks that you leave in the bath tub for months."
"Yeah, and by the time you get back to it, it's all moldy and shriveled up."
Thankfully, the man didn't hear any of Torako and the Mayor's crude conversation. However, he did hear Sally's soft voice when she asked him; "Are you Dr. Finkelstien?"
The man turned slowly around and faced Sally and said "Yes, I am."
Curiosity and anxiety sprouted up inside Sally. Desperately, she got down on her knees so she was eye-level with the Dr. and asked "How do you know me?"
"I'll answer that in a moment; first, tell me how are your wings are functioning?"
Everyone else looked away meekly, since in a way, they were all responsible for breaking her wings.
"They're…they're broken…" Sally said softly.
"WHAT!" The Dr. shouted (an surprisingly high volume). "This is terrible! We must get them fixed right away!"
"Why are they so important?" The Mayor asked.
Dr. Finkelstien looked at all of them grimly. "Without them, our future will be doomed…"
Torako stared at him coldly. "What do you mean?"
"All right," the Dr. said, "best if all of you take a seat first. This may take a few moments. Listen, in this world, there are multiple duplicates of it, each one living in separate timelines. We live in the third most recent timeline. In the first timeline, which takes place in the future, there is an evil organization called 'Roulette' that is led by a sinister man named Oogie Boogie."
"Oogie?" Torako asked. "That's a dumb name-"
"QUIET!" The Mayor shouted. "I want to hear the story!"
"Anyways," The Dr. continued, "In the first timeline, Oogie tried to take over the world, but was stopped by the four of you before his plan was ever put into motion. However, in the second timeline… Jack was killed by his fiancée Jewel on the night of his wedding rehearsal before he had the chance to meet any of you... and Roulette succeeded in their plans."
Sally was mortified, "Jack…was engaged..?" She thought.
"Wait," Jack said, "how do you know Jewel (come to think of it, you two look a lot alike)."
"…I created her…" The Dr. said sadly. "She was my first creation, before Sally. The two of us were so happy together…but…shortly after Sally was created; Roulette came and kidnapped both of you, in an attempt to continue the legacy of the second timeline. I was devastated, I thought neither of you would return to me, but, one day Jewel came back. I was so happy to see her, but by the time we were re-united, she was a completely different person. As followed in the second timeline, she had become a member of Roulette. She only came back to kill me."
"Then why are you still here?" Torako huffed.
"Ever heard of 'playing dead'?"
There was a long moment of silence before Sally spoke up. "Why…are these wings so important, if I didn't have them in any of the other timelines?"
"Good question." The Dr. said. "It's part of an old legend, actually. It goes like this; when the world of three, is haunted by a repeated catastrophe, only one can free them from the dark. A creation from hand, stitched from sapphire strand shall be the seven-soul ark. Four wings together, glass lighter than feather, shall soar in the sky. Our savior, The Red Dragonfly. Young savior, keep these souls close to you, and undo the wrong of the world of two. In other words, only a man-made creation with four dragonfly wings and seven souls can change what happened in the second dimension."
"Wait," Jack said, "I have three questions for you,"
"Go on."
"First off, who wrote that legend? You'd have to be able to see into the future of all three dimensions in order to know what would happen."
"Hmm, to be honest, even I don't know. But there is a rumor that there's some sort of dimension who's inhabitants have knowledge of all the others, and this legend mat have been written by them."
"Okay, second question. How are we going to stop Roulette?"
"With my latest invention, you're going to travel to the second dimension, find the mystic ruins and follow the legacy of the Red Dragonfly from there."
"Alright, here's my third. What did you mean by seven souls?"
Torako stood up and walked over to Jack. "I think I can answer that one." She said.
Sorry if this chapter was a little confusing. But as long as you remember that their going to the second timeline and the legend then you do okay.
Now here are those lyrics I promised. This song is a Simpsons parody to Poker face. So just sing the following the lyrics to the tune of Poker Face.
Or just listen to the credits from the Simpsons Lady Gaga special. I don't own this song.
I love my Homer Face, yeah that's what I said.
Right where it should be; on the front of my head
Double muzzle, overbite, two eyes that really bug.
These are the components of my Homerific mug.
D'oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, D'oh-oh-oh-oh.
I shave it close, trim hairs my nose.
D'oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, D'oh-oh-oh-oh.
I clean my ears, cuz that's how I hears.
I like my, I like my, I'm really liken' my Homer Face!