Chapter 3: Of Glitz and Glory
Part 9: The Conspiracy Deepens
Having conquered the Magikoopa Masters and achieved rank six, Edd and his team were currently up against the next ranked team, known as The Fuzz, who consisted of creatures known as Fuzzies that Nazz recognized from the depths of Shhwonk Fortress. Mario and his team hung back in the major-league locker room as they awaited contact from X, talking amongst themselves. Suddenly, the door opened, and Jolene walked in, carrying something on a covered tray.
"Oh, the Eduardos are already fighting in the ring?" she asked, noting the absence of Edd and his team.
"Yeah," Koops replied.
"Well, anyway, a fan sent this cake over," she explained, removing the cover on the tray and revealing a slice of golden butter cake with vanilla frosting, atop which sat a single strawberry. "Whether you want it or not is up to you."
"Well, tell this fan thanks from the Great Gonzales," said Goombella.
"I'll let them know," said Jolene. "I'll be going now." Adjusting her glasses, she left the room.
"Well, how about that, Gonzales?" said the Koopinator. "Jolene brought you a piece of cake. From a fan. I think she likes you."
"Excuse-a me?" Mario inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Pretty woman. Piece of cake," the Koopinator elaborated. "It's a sign. She's into you."
"Well, I'm hungry," said Koops. "Tell 'em I said thanks for the cake!"
"Meh, I guess a little bite wouldn't hurt," said Goombella.
The four members of the Great Gonzales each broke off a piece of the cake, with Koops bringing a slice down to Goombella so she could eat it out of his hand since she lacked arms. This cake tasted scrumptious, and the Gonzales members felt energized; and Madame Flurrie was given the strawberry, which she promptly swallowed in one gulp.
"Mm, Madame is refreshed," she sighed.
"Yeah, that was some pretty good cake," Koops said, rubbing his stomach.
Suddenly the Super Mario Bros. 3 Ice Land jingle began emanating from Mario's Mailbox SP.
"Oh? We've-a got a message!" said Mario, opening his handheld device.
"Is it that X again?" Koops asked.
"Yes," said Mario. "It-a says, 'gO tO tHe TeLePhOnE bOoTh OuT oN tHe PaViLiOn.'"
"I don't think I saw a telephone booth," Koops remarked. "Madame? How about you? Have you seen any telephone booths around here?"
"Non, mon petit Monsieur Koops, Madame cannot say zat she has," Flurrie lamented.
"Eddy might know," Goombella remarked. "Maybe we can ask him?"
"Really? I don't like him," Koops said.
"Goombella's-a right," Mario said. "It might-a not hurt-a to ask-a him."
XXX000XXX000XXX
Following Goombella's suggestion, Team Gonzales exited the Glitz Pit building to visit Eddy at his souvenir stand. The line was rather long, so they had to wait. After a few minutes of waiting in line and listening to Eddy and his customers haggling prices (by this point, the Eduardos had already conquered the Fuzz), they were finally at the front of the line.
"Well, hey, if it ain't the mustache and his homeys!" Eddy greeted loudly. "What can the great Eddy-Dini do for you today?"
"Uh, guys, maybe I should be the one to talk to him," said Goombella to the others.
"Well, okay, but I still don't like him," said Koops.
"I heard that, Shellshock!" Eddy retorted.
"Yeah, there's already someone in the Glitz Pit with that name," Koops fired back. "Looks like King K but with a blue shell."
Goombella, meanwhile, hopped up onto the counter of the souvenir stand.
"Hey, Eddy," she said.
"Well, hello, there, Goomba-babe!" Eddy said, trying to sound suave.
"Yeah, hey to you too," said Goombella. "Um, mind if I ask you something?"
"Hey, sure, but make it quick. I got customers to haggle," Eddy replied.
"Is there a phone booth around here somewhere?" Goombella asked him.
"A phone booth? Why? Ya gotta make a call or something?" Eddy chuckled. "Feelin' a little homesick or something? You better not be callin' the cops!"
"Actually, I wanna call Professor Frankly and ask him about the upcoming exam on… um… ancient civilizations," Goombella said, hoping that Eddy would go for it.
"Hahaha! Forget stupid school! This is where it's at! Look at me! I'm rich! They don't teach ya how to get rich in school! Just think of all the jawbreakers I could buy with this much moolah!" Eddy laughed, gesturing to the coins he'd amassed from his souvenir sales. He stopped laughing when he saw the disapproving looks on Goombella's and her teammates' faces. "Oh, come on, what's stupid school gonna teach?"
"Do you know where the phone booth is or not?!" Goombella snapped. "This call is urgent!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll tell ya where it is. Jeez, you sound like Sockhead sometimes," Eddy grumbled. "It's right next to the general store, on the other side, near the guardrail. Ya gotta round a corner to see it, though."
"All right. Thank you, Eddy," said Goombella.
"Yeah, thanks," said Koops flatly.
"Let's-a go!" Mario proclaimed.
Team Gonzales thanked Eddy, albeit half-heartedly, for the tip, and left for the general store, next to which would be a phone booth. Goombella hung back a bit, however, and turned to face Eddy.
"Impressive haul ya got there," she remarked. "If only I had that much coins, then I'd more than be able to pay off my student loans."
"What can I say? I'm just that good. And hey, glad I could help with whatever it is you're doin'," Eddy said back. "Anything for a smokin' hot dame. Now go on, do your thang. I got customers."
Goombella shared a nod and a smile with Eddy before they resumed their respective tasks. She ultimately rejoined Team Gonzales outside the general store, just as Mario was about to round the corner to reach the phone booth. As he did, though, he had to stop suddenly, as he almost collided into someone who looked very familiar. She had blonde hair in a wave formation and a mushroom cap on her head, identical to the style worn by a certain Glitz Pit manager, but she was wearing a black dress and high heels instead, and she lacked eyeglasses.
"Oh, pardon me, my apologies, I didn't see you there, I gotta run," she said rather quickly before running away as fast as she could – well, as fast as high-heeled shoes would allow.
"Um… was that Jolene?" inquired Goombella.
"I'm-a not-a sure," Mario replied. "Looked-a like her."
"Who was she talking to in there?" Koops inquired.
"Madame knows not, monsieur Koops," Flurrie lamented.
Mario entered the phone booth, and almost stepped on something. Catching himself in time, he bent down and picked up the object on the floor – it looked like a key. He held it up for the others to see as he exited the phone booth.
"Monsieur Mario? Qu'est-ce que c'est? Un clé?" Flurrie inquired in flawless French.
Before Mario could respond, his Mailbox SP rang again.
"Dang, X again?!" Koops griped. "Is he watching us or something?" As he said this, he quickly looked around, as if trying to detect any hidden cameras. Mario opened his Mailbox SP and examined the message.
"Is-a correct, Koops, it's X again," the plumber confirmed. "This-a time, he's-a telling us-a to 'gO tO tHe StOrAgE rOoM nExT tO gRuBbA's OfFiCe.'"
"The storage room in the arena now? Sheesh!" Goombella groaned in exasperation. "What next, huh? This X guy's got us runnin' all over! It's driving me totally nuts! Why doesn't he bother Double-D for a change?"
Mario led Team Gonzales back into the Glitz Pit building to follow this latest tip, with Goombella chancing another smile in Eddy's direction on the way.
XXX000XXX000XXX
"So you're telling me that you have no idea who got inside? What do we pay you for?"
While Edd and his teammates were fighting their way up the ranks – currently they were matched against the third-ranked team - Mario and his teammates had re-entered the Glitz Pit and had found Jolene berating one of the security guards, Jono, for an apparent intrusion. Fortunately for them, this was the very room that X had directed them to: the storage room.
"I'm awful sorry, Miss Jolene," Jono lamented apologetically. "I heard a noise in there, but I couldn't find nothin' when I went to check…"
"Hmph… fine, leave the rest of this matter to me, Jono," Jolene grumbled in frustration. "For now, return to your post. Oh, and listen to me very carefully: Do not ever – and I mean, EVER – tell anyone about this, or I'll have your job. Understand?"
"Yes, Miss Jolene," Jono moaned. His reprimand complete, the large guard sulked as he returned to his post. It was after he walked away that Jolene discovered Mario and his teammates watching, and she approached them somewhat upset.
"Mr. Gonzales! This is highly inappropriate! What business do you have here?" she demanded. "I mean, first I catch Eduardo and his team snooping around the minor-league room, then Mr. Jono claims to hear a noise but finds nothing, and now this."
"Oh, um… of-a course, you see, Signorina Jolene, it's-a just-a that-" Mario began, before Jolene held up a hand to silence him.
"That's enough," she said, a tone of disappointment in her voice. "I've already had this discussion with the Eduardos. I really must ask you to stay out of places where you have no business being. Understand?"
Team Gonzales nodded, after which Jolene walked away without saying a word. As she and Jono were both gone, this left the storage room unguarded, so Mario, using the key he had strangely found in the telephone booth, unlocked the door. Upon entering the storage room, they were greeted by a familiar sight: Ms. Mowz, the badge-loving white-furred Mouser bandit with the red bandana, was standing on a set of yellow blocks. She immediately whirled around at the sound of the door opening and closing, and smiled a sly smirk as Mario once again caught her eye.
"Oh, well, dip me in sauce 'n roll me in cheese! We meet again, you husky mustached hunk, you," she chuckled in that same Southern-belle accent.
"You again, Miss Flirt-a-lot?" Goombella snapped. "What, are you following us or something? Security heard you bungling around in here. That was you, right?"
"Well, now, please, no one heard me! I'm the best mouse-burglar of all time!" Ms. Mowz crowed. "Y'know why? 'Cuz I'm silent! If'n y'all ask me, it's obvious that someone else was in here monkeyin' round."
Goombella blew a raspberry, as she wasn't about to buy the flirty Mouser's tall tales.
"Puh-lease! I am, like, SO sure!" she spat.
"Goombella's-a got a point," Mario said. "Apart-a from us, you're-a the only other-a one in here."
"Aw, hush, sweetie-belle. All's y'all need to know is I got what I came fer 'n now I'm-a be on my merry li'l way. As fer the rest, y'all help y'all-selves to whatever y'all like," Ms. Mowz said. She then hopped down from the boxes and approached Mario to kiss him again on the hand.
"Bleugh," Goombella groaned.
"Zis mademoiselle is trés, how vous say, trampy," Flurrie commented softly.
"I know, Madame, she's like the biggest floozy ever," Goombella whispered softly.
"Now we must part again, my handsome mustache-man," Ms. Mowz proclaimed melodramatically. "Oh, but one last li'l thang – this arena's got secrets comin' out the barn, y'know. I mean, I thought I was alone in here, y'see, but then… well, y'all should be real careful, lest y'all wanna wind up like them poor souls up yonder. And with that, au revoir, my delectable hunk o' cheese!"
Ms. Mowz left the room through the door, chuckling.
"Ugh, she is such a tramp," Goombella groaned. "Like, she has no boundaries. I swear, I'm gonna headbonk her if she doesn't watch it."
"Wait- what did she mean by 'poor souls up yonder?'" Koops asked, worried.
Once again, Mario's Mailbox SP went off before anyone could answer. Knowing the drill, Mario opened it up to read the message:
"fInD tHe StAiRcAsE sWiTcH tO rEaCh ThE aTtIc. FrOm X."
"'The staircase switch?' Like, what, there's supposed to be a staircase in here?" Goombella inquired.
"It would-a seem so," Mario replied. "Perhaps it's-a somewhere inside or-a behind these-a boxes. Let's-a find out, shall we?"
Mario began hammering the blocks, breaking them one-by-one. After all of the blocks were smashed, he discovered a blue floor switch in the corner, beneath one of the ventilation shafts. He hammered the switch to activate it, and as a result, a metal semi-spiral staircase was lowered into the room.
"Jackpot," said Goombella.
The portly plumber and his teammates climbed the stairs to reach the attic on the second floor. The attic was strewn with wooden boxes for storage, and there was a locked door that almost directly faced the top of the stairs. Mario discovered a series of three floating boxes depicting Shine Sprites like the ones found in the armory at Hooktail's castle, and jumped to strike them from beneath, procuring three Shine Sprites. As he pocketed them, Koops examined the locked door… and almost fell backwards in shock with a yelp, causing everyone else to whirl around and face his direction.
"What is it?" Goombella asked worriedly, seeing this.
"Th-th-th-there's… someone… or s-s-something in there," he stammered fearfully, pointing at the door.
"Are you sure?" Goombella asked.
"M-Ms. Mowz mentioned 'poor souls up yonder,' right?" he replied. "Listen."
Goombella and Koops pressed their ears against the door, and sure enough, they could make out the faint sound of moaning and groaning, suggesting high fatigue and a grueling lack of energy.
"Oh, my… h-h-hello?" Goombella called nervously. "Wh-Who's in there?"
The response she got for this question was more moaning and groaning. It seemed a bit louder this time, implying that whoever was inside was close to the door on his/her/their end. The door was locked, however; and as they didn't have the right key to unlock it, there was nothing they could do for now.
Mario, on the other hand, discovered a grating in the floor behind a series of larger blocks.
"Everyone! Come-a here for a bit!" he called.
"What's up?" Goombella asked, as she, Koops, and Flurrie approached the portly plumber.
"I wonder if-a we can use-a this to our advantage," Mario said, noting the grating on the floor. "It-a goes into the vent-a system. Perhaps-a we can snoop around in-a there undetected, so that-a nobody catches us, least of all Signorina Jolene."
"Really?" Goombella complained. "An air vent? It's gotta be, like, all kinds of dusty and stuff, and full of spiders or something."
"Come-a now, Goombella," Mario said. "Do you want-a to solve this mystery as-a badly as-a we do?"
"Sure, but-"
"You and-a Koops are-a the only ones-a small enough-a to fit without-a getting stuck," Mario explained. "And it-a seems that-a this vent-a connects-a to Grubba's office. So the two of-a you will-a enter the vent and-a eaves-a-drop, and-a maybe pick up some-a more clues."
"Oh… fine," Goombella said. "At least I'm not doin' this by myself."
"But what shall we do in ze meantime, Monsieur Mario?" Flurrie said.
"We shall-a wait-a for them-a to come back, Madame," Mario explained.
"Ready for this, Goombella?" Koops asked, facing the young Goomba scholar.
"As I'll ever be," she groaned.
"Be careful, guys," Mario said.
With that, Mario loosened the grating's hold on the floor and pulled it up to open the vents, allowing Goombella and Koops to hop into the vent while he and Flurrie made their way back to the major-league locker room.
"Man, this is so crazy," Goombella groaned as she and Koops traversed the vent. The air was rather dusty, and Koops had to brush off a few cobwebs.
"Tell me about it," Koops concurred. "We're in way over our heads here."
Koops and Goombella continued onward, approaching a single hole in the floor of the vent, which was placed near a second grating – this one a vertical-bar grating. Suddenly, Koops stopped and raised a hand to signal Goombella to stop moving.
"Wait- you hear that?" he whispered.
"Hear what?" she whispered back.
"Shh! Come here and listen!" he responded softly, waving her over.
Goombella cautiously joined Koops over by the hole. She lay down on her side, while the teenaged Koopa lay on his front, and they pressed their ears against the vent floor to better hear the voices coming from beneath.
"So ya didn't find hide or hair o' no one in the storeroom, that what yer sayin', Dollface?" came Grubba's ever-gruff voice.
"Is… is that Grubba?" Koops whispered softly.
"That's correct, sir," came Jolene's voice in reply to Grubba's question. "It seemed to be secure, from what I understand."
"That sounds like Jolene!" Goombella whispered softly to Koops.
"Don't worry, sir, I've taken the necessary precautions," Jolene continued. "If anything, it was probably just a rat or something."
At this remark, Koops and Goombella shared a knowing smirk, since Ms. Mowz was in the storeroom earlier.
"Well, no big deal either way," Grubba said. "Ain't nuttin' in there we'd miss too much anywho. Thanks fer stayin' on top o' things, Jo."
"Of course, sir," Jolene replied.
"Oh, 'n by the by," Grubba continued. "Any word on that King K?"
The mention of King K's name elicited surprised expressions from Goombella and Koops as they eavesdropped from their vantage point.
"Well, I'm afraid we still don't know the current whereabouts of King K, Mr. Grubba," Jolene replied. "And so, per regulations, I've removed his place in our roster. As of this morning, the Glitz Pit no longer has any official connection to KP Pete, aka King K. I have, of course, taken the same steps with all fighters who've gone missing."
"Hoo, boy, I say, fighters've been goin' missin' a lot lately. That's the fifth this year!" Grubba said disappointedly, as Koops and Goombella continued to listen in shock. "What in tarnation's goin' on here? I even heard some security ijit sayin' the Pit's cursed!"
"I don't believe that, sir, but these disappearances are perplexing, even to me," Jolene commented.
"Well, fer the time bein', just tell the other fellers that King K went on home fer a spell," Grubba stated. "Word gits out 'bout missin' fighters, sure ain't gon' be good fer business, no sirree Bob. Nasty rumors got a way o' sendin' folks runnin' fer the hills, know what I'm sayin'?"
"I understand completely, Mr. Grubba. I'll take care of everything, sir," Jolene responded. She adjusted her glasses and turned to leave.
"Y'know, Jolene," Grubba suddenly piped up, stopping her in her tracks. "Yer a dang fine manager, but ya just plumb disappear sometimes… I gotta know, where in the world do ya go, darlin'?"
"Uh… th-that's… While I do respect you as my boss, really, I don't believe that's any of your business, Mr. Grubba," Jolene stammered, miffed.
"Whoa, easy, now, didn't mean to pry," Grubba said. "How 'bout this, then – heard o' the Crystal Star?"
Jolene jumped in shock at the mere mention of this artifact; at the same time, Goombella and Koops had to fight the urge to shout and jump themselves. So Grubba knew about the Crystal Star? How did he know about it? Was he the one keeping it? Was he using it for anything? The Goomba scholar and the teenaged Koopa had these questions swimming in their minds as this can of worms was opened.
"N-N-No! I-I've n-never heard o-of such a-a thing, Mr. Grubba," Jolene stammered, desperately trying to save face and avert suspicion.
"Okeydoke, then, I 'perciate yer time, Miss Jolene," said Grubba. "Y'all go 'head 'n run along now, y'hear?"
With this, Jolene left the room nervously, nearly bumping into the door on the way out. Grubba leaned back in his chair, still unaware that Koops and Goombella were still eavesdropping above him, both shocked at the new clues that now seemed to point to the promoter and the manager as suspects.
"Well, if this ain't a fine how-do-ya-do. Seems good fighters're a dyin' breed these days," the promoter said to no one but himself. "Seems that wild child Eduardo 'n his li'l scrappers're just 'bout the only draw I still got 'round here. Well, them 'n Gonzales 'n his squad."
"Psst! Koops! Are you hearing this?" Goombella whispered from inside the vent. "This whole 'missing-fighter' case just reeks of funny business!"
"And here we were thinking King K actually retired and went back home," Koops whispered back.
Most unfortunately, he was a bit too loud: Grubba looked up from where he was sitting.
"What in the hey?" he gasped, startled. "Dang ceilin's spookin' me!"
"Real smooth," Goombella whispered disappointedly to Koops, who now had his hand over his mouth.
"HEY!" Grubba shouted. "Who's up there in the ceilin' now?!"
Goombella and Koops had to think fast, otherwise they'd be discovered and penalized. Quickly, Koops began tapping his chin, struggling to think of a response to Grubba's shout.
"Squeak Squeak!" Goombella suddenly emitted. She and Koops followed this up by imitating the flapping of wings using their mouths, simulating bats flying around.
"Dang it all, I seem to have bats in me ceilin'," Grubba said to himself. "Dunno how they got in there in the first place, but silly me, thinkin' someone was up there a-peepin'! I gotta relax me some, maybe take some yoga classes or summat… yup. Welp, gotta git while the gittin's good!"
Goombella and Koops listened as Grubba got up from the chair with a small grunt and left his desk. They heard a door open and close – Grubba had left his office.
"Phew, that was close," Goombella sighed, slightly louder now that there was no one else around. "You really should be more careful with your vocal volume, Koops."
"Yeah, my bad about that," Koops said.
"All right, let's paper ourselves through this vent grate," Goombella suggested.
"Good call," the teenaged Koopa concurred.
Koops and the Goomba scholar closed their eyes and imagined themselves as paper once more. With a poof, they both went paper-thin and slid through the vent grating, landing back inside the storeroom before returning to normal just as Mario and Madame Flurrie had begun to make their way back from the attic.
"I mean, did you catch how Grubba just came out of left field with that Crystal Star bit?" Goombella inquired.
"Yeah, and the weird way Jolene was acting when he did," Koops added. "Like you said, she might know something we don't."
"Monsieur Koops! Mademoiselle Goombella! What have vous found out, alors?" Flurrie asked upon seeing them.
"You're not gonna believe this, but here it is – Grubba knows about the Crystal Star!" Koops immediately replied.
"Mamma-mia, what?!" Mario inquired.
"Well, we found a hole in the vent that peeked into Grubba's office, like Mario said, and we managed to listen in on Grubba and Jolene-" Koops began.
"Um, perhaps we should wait until we can catch Double-D and his team so we can fill them in," Goombella cautioned. "Let's get out of here, guys."
XXX000XXX000XXX
"So Grubba knows about the Crystal Star, too?" Edd asked. The Eduardos and the Gonzales squad reunited in the major-league locker room, where Edd, Nazz, Rolf, Jimmy, and Eduardo Junior were now being informed of the new clues uncovered during the Gonzales squad's share of the investigation.
"Yeah, he came out of nowhere with that," Goombella explained. "Caught Jolene completely by surprise."
"The way she tried to cover it up has me thinking she knows a little too much," said Koops.
"And-a there's-a more," Mario piped up. "When-a we were-a following X's-a tip to the telephone-a booth near the general store, we bumped into someone-a who looked a lot-a like-a Jolene, except in a black-a dress."
"Et no spectacles," Flurrie added.
"Jolene? Really?" Nazz inquired. "Do you think she might be X?"
"We're not sure," Koops replied. "As shady as she is, she doesn't strike me as the type. She's too pragmatic."
Suddenly the Urban Rangers anthem and the Super Mario Bros. 3 Ice Land map jingle emanated from Edd's laptop and Mario's Mailbox SP at the same time. Taking the cue, Edd and Mario both opened their respective devices. Edd shuddered when he saw what was written, while Mario let out a simple "Mamma-mia."
"Is it X?" Jimmy asked.
"No, Jimmy, it's another anonymous-a threat," Mario replied.
Edd read the message out loud:
"'This is your last warning! Stop snooping around about the Crystal Star! If you don't, you're guaranteed to go missing, just like those fighters before you…' Oh, dear…"
"Man, what's this guy's problem? He really needs to take a chill pill," Junior groaned. "Sure knows a lot, though… the Crystal Star, the missing fighters, all that stuff…"
"Perhaps once we deduce the identities of this X and the anonymous bully, we may have the answers we need," Edd explained. "Oh, Mario, perhaps you and your team should resume fighting your way up the ranks as well, to keep the staff from getting too suspicious."
"Let us visit the day-late-and-a-dollar-short Ed-boy, friends," Rolf said.
"Perhaps you're right, Rolf. We've already managed to fight our way to rank number one, and it's getting late," Edd agreed. "We'll pay a visit to Eddy, and then we need to rest for the title match tomorrow morning. Then afterwards, we can solve the mystery of the missing fighters and the Crystal Star and finally put it to rest. Shall we, then?"
XXX000XXX000XXX
After a day of Edd and his team fighting their way up the ranks while Mario and his team investigated tips from X (and vice versa), the Eduardos had decided to visit Eddy at his souvenir stand while the Gonzales squad resumed their own quest up the ranks. Edd had just finished explaining the events of the day to Eddy.
"Man, sounds like you got it rough," Eddy remarked. "Say, uh, where's that Mario guy and his homeys?"
"Well, Mario and his 'homeys' are still inside the Glitz Pit," Edd replied. "They've resumed fighting in the ring after spending much of the day investigating the mysteries of the Pit, going off of tips received from one only known as X."
"Sweet, give that Goombella babe my regards," Eddy chuckled. "Oh, by the way, I missed all the action. How far up are ya's?"
"Rank number one, baby!" Nazz said proudly.
"Sweet!" Eddy exclaimed. "That means you qualify for the title match!"
"Yes, Rolf feels that besting he-who-squawks and obtaining the title of champion shall bring us closer to the Crystal Star, yes?" Rolf quipped.
"It's about time, too, dude," said Nazz. "I hope tomorrow we can beat Rawk Hawk, get the Crystal Star, and leave."
"Lucky you," Eddy grumbled. "At least you're not bound by a stupid contract."
"Well, technically, as fighters, we are-" Edd began, before Eddy interrupted him.
"I mean, I've got no help around here! Business is crazy, and you're on a quest… man, I wish Lumpy was here," Eddy grumbled, referring to Ed, the lovable oaf. "I bet if he were, he'd be helpin' me sell these souvenirs a lot faster!"
"Perhaps if you come with us after all of this is over, we might be able to find Ed, Eddy," Edd explained.
"What?! No way, Sockhead!" Eddy complained, motioning to the piles of coins he'd been making selling souvenirs. "Look at all this moolah! I'm rich! And I'm only gonna get richer! I ain't ditchin' this place to find Monobrow any time soon!"
"Eddy!" Edd groaned, disappointed. "Shame on you! You would really put wealth, greed, and your own self-interests over your friends?"
"Aw, come on, Sockhead-" Eddy began, but Edd held up a hand to silence him.
"Never you mind, Eddy. I know when we're not appreciated," the sock-headed boy grumbled in disgust. "Come along, fellows. We've got a big day tomorrow."
Edd walked away, pointing his head upward in disgust. The worried looks from Nazz, Rolf, Jimmy, and Eduardo Junior were gone, replaced with looks of disgust as they, too, began walking away, following Edd back into the Pit.
"Not cool, man. Really not cool," Junior spat at Eddy before running to catch up with his teammates, leaving Eddy by himself.
"Well, this stinks," he said to absolutely no one as he facepalmed. "I'm not any better off than when I started."
XXX000XXX000XXX
(10:45 PM, lights out)
Edd, Rolf, Jimmy, Koops, Mario, and Eduardo Junior were all asleep in the men's bunks of the major-league room, with Nazz, Goombella, and Madame Flurrie in the ladies' bunks. They had all had a long day, between fighting in the ring and investigating the mysteries that surrounded the Glitz Pit. However, they were all left with more questions than answers. How did Grubba know about the Crystal Star? What, if anything, did Jolene know about it? Were they aware of the sinister X-Nauts, who were also after the Crystal Stars? Who sent the threatening messages? Who was the mysterious X that kept contacting the teams? Why did Rawk Hawk send a slice of cake? Why did Shellshock eat the stupid thing and wind up in the hospital, numb and nauseous?
Edd tossed and turned as he reflected on the events of recent days. Everything just seemed too complicated; Eduardo Junior's hatching, the anonymous threats, the mysterious X, the missing fighters, and the Crystal Star, not to mention his newfound fire powers…
"Daddy?" asked a voice, quietly.
Edd slowly sat up and found himself face-to-face with the source of the voice: a nervous Eduardo Junior was sitting at the edge of the bed.
"Nngh… Eduardo?" Edd half-whispered.
"Daddy?" Eduardo asked again.
"I'm… not exactly your father," Edd replied, somewhat reluctantly. "I only rescued and incubated your egg."
"Exactly. You saved me from becoming someone's dinner and kept my egg safe until I hatched," Eduardo countered. "As far as I'm concerned, that makes you my dad."
Edd couldn't help but smile at this comment. This little Yoshi really looked up to him as a father figure. In a number of ways, it made sense to the sock-headed boy; after all, it was Edd who rescued the egg from Mr. Hoggle, who had wanted to cook the little guy as part of a recipe; and it was Edd who kept the egg safe inside the incubator until the little Eduardo hatched. He felt a nice, warm feeling inside his heart.
"Heh, that it does, right?" Edd said quietly. "What's wrong?"
"I can't sleep," Eduardo replied, his voice hushed. "We got two threats in one day, and we don't know who's threatening us. I'm scared, man. Whoever it is really doesn't want us to get that Crystal Star."
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Edd said, to placate the little Yoshi. "If they were really going to do any harm to us, they would have already done so before now."
"Eh… yeah, I guess you're right," Eduardo said, smiling. "My big, strong papa'll never let the bad guys win! Thanks, Dad. I feel a little better now. See ya in the A.M."
Like a cat, Eduardo crawled in a mini-circle on Edd's bed, then lay down and curled up, allowing himself to fall asleep.
Little Eduardo's right, Edd thought to himself. I mustn't fret over trivial events such as those. Tomorrow shall be the end of this.
With both this thought in his mind and Eduardo Junior so close by, Edd pulled himself under his blanket, up to his shoulders, and allowed himself to drift into his slumber.
End of Part Nine