Hello!
How are you all?
I'm so sorry that I haven't been posting over the past few days, I've just been having a bit of a break over Christmas and I don't have the documents for the story on the laptop at my house. So that's why I've had a little bit of a break. But I hope you've all had lovely Christmases or festive periods if you don't celebrate Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I hope you all enjoyed my Christmas one-shot that I posted, it took me a while to finish it because the file wouldn't save properly but I got it up in the end! :)
Anyway, enough with the rambling, here's chapter 35!
So, the nine friends managed to 'accidentally' lose CheeChee when she was going to buy her restaurant, but everyone just blamed it on Lugnut who claimed that he remembered the way that they'd come. He clearly hadn't because they ended up stumbling past a girl carrying far too many bags than she should have. When they looked closer at her, they realised that her toffee brown hair and her warm brown eyes gave her identity away. Shelley. They followed her until she reached a large crowd halfway down the street, she stopped to investigate and saw that at the centre of the cheering crowd was Wade and the little boy that had been selling the newspapers, and they were both dancing their hearts out to the jazz band that was playing.
"Wade! I've been looking for you everywhere," Shelley called, stumbling through the crowd, her little bowler hat almost toppling off her head.
"What a coincidence, Shell, I've been avoiding you everywhere," Wade chuckled, dodging past her and going back to dancing and playing his ukulele.
"Look, we're going to be late for the masquerade ball," Shelley started, but was interrupted by Wade.
"Shelley, listen. It's jazz," Wade sighed, motioning to the band playing the jazz instruments off to the side. "Jazz music! It was born here. It's beautiful isn't it?" Upon saying his last comment, Wade leaned on Shelley's shoulder and gazed at the girls stood behind her, winking and sending them into a flurry of giggles.
"No," Shelley snapped, shoving Wade off her.
But Wade tossed his ukulele over to the little boy and grabbed Shelley's hands, making her drop the suitcases she was holding.
"Come on Shell, dance with me," Wade grinned, whirling Shelley into the midst of the crowd to dance.
"But we're supposed to be at the La Bouff house by now," Shelley protested, trying not to stand on Wade's feet.
"Yes, I know. But first, I'll buy everyone here a drink!" Wade exclaimed, earning a cheer from the crowd around him.
"I could use a drink," Struts thought out loud.
"I don't think he was talking to us," Rascal said to Struts, making her frown a little bit.
"With what, Wade?" Shelley hissed, taking Wade off to the side. "Right now, you have two choices: marry into money, or get a job!" Shelley frowned at Wade, obviously fed up with his behaviour so she couldn't help snapping at him.
Wade grimaced at the thought but quickly laughed it off. "Alright, alright, fine. But first, we dance!" Wade picked up Shelley and spun her around the street at top speed before dipping her. "For someone who refuses to dance, you're very light on your feet!" Wade chuckled before spinning Shelley again, but he let her go and she lost her balance, causing her to crash into the band.
"Ooh, that's gotta hurt," Butchy said, the nine friends wincing at Shelley collapsed in the instruments.
"I see that you finally got into the music," Wade chuckled, going to help Shelley to her feet.
"Help me up," Shelley demanded, struggling to get out of the drum she'd managed to sit in. She got to her feet but had a scowl on her face. "I've never been so humiliated," she muttered, brushing herself down and straightening her hat again.
The two teens saw a figure looming towards them and looked up a little cautiously, slightly wary of who was stood in front of them.
Blue stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, his shadow cast onto the wall behind Shelley and Wade.
"Blue's back," Lela said, not looking forward to the events she thought would come since she'd hated the 'hairy Reef' scare.
"Guys," Blue greeted, not knowing the two teens but acting like he did. "A tip of the hat from Dr Blue." Blue took off his skull top hat and bowed, taking a business card out of his pocket as he did so. "How are ya doing?" Blue handed the business card to Wade, who promptly read it out.
"Tarot readings, charms, potions. Dreams made real," Wade recited as Blue started to lead him down the street. Shelley had to scurry along with the bags to catch up, as did the nine friends, except they didn't have any bags.
"If I was into betting, but I'm not, I tend to stay away from games that rely on chance…" Blue started, taking Wade down a rather ominous alley way and tapping the prince's hand.
"Wade!" Shelley called, stumbling over a loose paving slab as she tried to catch up with the boy.
"But I'd put a lot of money on the fact that I'm in the company of visiting royalty," Blue continued, bowing before Wade when they reached a small square behind the row of shops.
"Shelley. Shelley!" Wade exclaimed, turning around to call the girl over to him. She tottered over and he began to talk to her. "He's remarkable. This guy just read my palm."
Shelley turned her nose up at Wade's outstretched palm and spotted something hanging out of Blue's back pocket. "Or the headline from this morning's newspaper," she huffed, before leading Wade away from Blue. "Wade, he's obviously a con man. I think we should just move on to a little less-"
But Blue jumped forwards and interrupted Shelley mid-rant, making her squeak in surprise.
Blue: "Don't you disrespect me, little girl
Don't you derogate or deride"
Shelley had jumped back, along with Wade, Mack, Brady and the Wet Side Story crew. Wade put a protective hand on Shelley's shoulder, obviously feeling a little apprehensive himself now.
Blue: "You're in my world now, not your world"
Blue flicked his hand in the direction of a dark doorway and the torches above it (that looked like skulls) burst into flames, illuminating a sign that read: Dr Blue's Voodoo Emporium.
Blue: "And I've got friends on the other side"
Blue stepped to the side and the door to the shop opened all by itself. A light wind swept through the yard, sending a shiver up the nine teens' spines.
"I don't like this," Lela thought out loud.
"I know, I've got a bad feeling about it," her brother agreed, just as reluctant as everyone else to go inside.
Voices: "He's got friends on the other side"
"What was that?" Brady asked, referencing the weird echoing voices.
"That's just an echo guys," Blue explained, answering Brady's question even though he didn't know it had been asked. Blue draped his arms over Shelley and Wade's shoulders, almost dragging them inside as he continued to speak. "Just a little something we have here, it's merely a parlour trick, nothing to worry about." Blue shoved Shelley and Wade forward, the door slamming behind him as he did so, effectively trapping Shelley, Wade and the other nine teens inside. He clicked his fingers and a light turned on at the end of the room, showing a table with three chairs.
Blue: "Sit down at my table
Put your mind at ease"
Blue's shadow decided to play tricks again, it took Shelley and Wade's hats off and tossed them onto some nearby skulls, freaking Shelley and Wade out quite a bit.
Blue: "If you relax it will enable me
To do anything I please"
Blue shoved Wade over to the table, while his shadow kicked Shelley in that direction, earning a little squeak from her. Blue high-fived his shadow before starting to dance, his shadow clicking along.
Blue: "I can read your future
I can change it round some too
I'll look deep into your heart and soul"
"You do have a soul, don't you, Shelley?" Blue chuckled, pushing her down into her seat and earning an eye-roll from her.
Blue stepped up onto the table to continue his song.
Blue: "Make your wildest dreams come true
I've got voodoo, I've got hoodoo
I've got things I haven't even tried"
Blue plucked some voodoo dolls out of thin air to show off, before taking out a tiny chest. When he opened it, a burst of flames flared out, forming a skull shape and making Struts and Lela shriek rather loudly and for Mack to pretty much jump into Brady's arms.
Blue: "And I've got friends on the other side"
Blue sat down in the chair opposite Wade and Shelley, while his shadow pushed it closer to the table for him. Before Blue spoke again, some large masks hanging above Shelley and Wade started to move, in effect, singing along with Blue, making the scene even creepier.
Voices: "He's got friends on the other side"
Blue got out a pack of detailed cars and started to flick them about, doing some rather impressive tricks but no one seemed to comment on them.
Blue: "The cards, the cards, the cards will tell
The past"
As Blue said 'the past', the top card flew off the pile and laid itself on the table in front of Shelley and Wade. The same thing happened for the next two phrases.
Blue: "The present and the future as well
The cards, the cards, just take three"
Wade instantly took three cards from Blue as he fanned them out, but Shelley was a little more hesitant and needed a nudge from Wade.
Blue: "Take a little trip into your future with me"
Blue spread Shelley and Wade's cards out, before turning to the prince first.
Blue: "Now you, young man are from across the sea"
Blue flipped the first card over, the image of a castle on an island facing the ceiling.
Blue: "You come from two long lines of royalty"
Blue picked up the card and stretched it out, surprising the nine teens as well as Shelley and Wade. But the card showed the family tree of kings and queens, both leading down to a picture of Wade, who was sat on a throne at the bottom.
"I'm a royal too," Blue said, nudging Wade, who just gave an uneasy smile. "On my mother's side, though." Blue took out a shrunken head with a small crown balanced on top of it, earning a few shudders from the nine friends in the corner of the room.
Blue: "Your lifestyle's high"
Blue flipped over the second card, showing Wade with two girls at either side of him and a huge smile on his face.
Blue: "But your finds are low"
Blue spun the card around, so that it now showed Wade emptying out his pockets but finding nothing.
Blue: "You need to marry a little honey who's daddy's got dough"
Blue swiped his hand over the card, now revealing a picture of Wade marrying Pearl, Pearl's father stood behind them both on top of a pile of money.
"Did your mom and dad cut you off?" Blue asked Wade, leaning across the table a little.
"Yeah, sad but true," Wade chuckled, trying to play it off like he didn't care.
"Well you've gotta get married, but getting married ties you down. You just wanna be free," Blue said, spreading the remaining cards out into a row. "But freedom takes green."
Blue: "It's the green, it's the green, it's the green you need"
Blue flipped all of the cards over in one smooth move, showing that all of the faces had turned into dollar bills. Blue collected them all back up again and made the cards vanish before turning over the last card.
Blue: "And when I look into your future it's the green that I see"
Blue handed the last card to Wade, the prince's eyes lighting up when he saw the image; Wade was sat on his throne again, but this time surrounded by piles of money.
"I feel like there's going to be a catch somewhere," Mack said, not trusting anything about Blue's character or the building they were in.
"Me too," Seacat said. "But I guess we'll have to wait to find out what it is."
Blue then turned to Shelley, who'd been sat there with a slight frown on her face as she fidgeted in her seat, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.
Blue: "On you, little girl I don't want to waste much time
You've been pushed around all your life"
Shelley glared at Blue, grunting a little in disgust as well.
Blue: "You've been pushed around by your mother and your sister and your brother"
Blue had turned over the first card, showing Shelley's mother, sister and brother all yelling at her.
Blue: "And if you were married"
Shelley looked up at Blue, raising one of her eyebrows at him, almost challenging him to continue.
Blue: "He'd push around his wife"
The second card had been flipped around, showing Shelley cleaning up after a slob of a man, who was shouting abuse at her. Wade chuckled slightly, but Shelley hid how hurt she was with a firm scowl.
Blue: "But in your future, the you I see"
Blue had appeared behind Shelley, peeking around from the back of her chair. Blue picked up the last card and shoved it in Shelley's face, a slight smile curling at both of their mouths.
Blue: "Is exactly the girl you always wanted to be"
The card was a picture of Shelley as a princess, with Wade being her personal assistant. Basically, their roles had been reversed.
Shelley glanced nervously across at Wade, keeping the card to herself so he couldn't see.
Blue: "Shake my hand"
Blue had stepped in between the two teens, extending a hand to each of them.
Blue: "Come on guys, won't you shake a poor sinner's hand?"
Shelley tossed her card to the side and grabbed Blue's hand, her jealousy getting the better of her. Wade was a little more reluctant, but he still took Blue's hand and slowly shook it.
"Oh no," Struts groaned. "I don't see how this could end well."
The music swelled when Blue started to sing again, a loud thumping of drums shaking the floor.
Blue: "Yes
Are you ready?"
Blue stepped back and threw a burst of sparks at the base of a curtain, which swung open as sent violet smoke pouring into the room. A collection of creepy tiki-style masks were behind it, and slowly they started to appear everywhere in the room as the voices began to sing again.
Voices: "Are you ready?"
Two pottery snakes had come to life from the corner of the room, scaring pretty much all of the nine teens, and had come up on either side of Wade before wrapping around his arms and tying him to the chair.
Blue: "Are you ready?"
The largest mask's mouth opened, acid-green light and smoke bursting out and revealing a wooden pendant in the shape of a skull, which Blue plucked out and clasped in his hand.
Blue: "Transformation central"
Voices: "Transformation central"
The voodoo dolls around the room had come to life as well and had started to play drums, the pounding shaking the whole building.
Blue: "Reformation central"
Voices: "Reformation central"
Wade struggled against his reptile restraints, Shelley making no attempt to help him because she was so petrified.
Blue: "Transmogrification central"
Blue stepped over to Wade and cut the prince's index finger with a sharp edge on the wooden pendant, making the Wet Side Story girls gasp and cling to their boyfriends as Wade winced and jerked his head away.
Blue: "Can you feel it?"
Blue watched eagerly as the blood from Wade's cut finger filled up the wooden skull.
Blue: "You're changing, you're changing"
Green sparks and wisps of smoke curled around Wade's body as he struggled to get out of the chair and tried to get away from the voodoo lair.
Blue: "You're changing alright
I hope you're satisfied
But if you ain't, don't blame me"
Wade had been completely surrounded by the green smoke, and Blue had quite a lot around his feet too.
Blue: "You can blame my friends on the other side"
Blue swept some of the smoke up around him, as Shelley watched in horror as the smoke around Wade started to die down.
Voices: "You got what you wanted
But you lost what you had"
Blue skidded across the floor and back over to the table on his knees, giving a maniacal laugh before jumping to his feet with a burst of sparks that looked like fireworks. And he was gone in a second, leaving the voodoo shop dark and empty again.
"What just happened?" Struts stuttered, literally shaking like a leaf.
"I…I don't know," Mack stammered, prising herself away from Brady to go and have a look at what had happened to Wade.
The remaining eight friends cautiously walked behind Mack and went to check on Wade. But when they stepped around the front of the chair and laid eyes on him, all nine of them screamed.
"Oh my god!" Tanner exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror at the form on the chair.
"What happened to him?!" Lela screeched, half-hiding behind Tanner.
"I knew there was a catch!" Mack called out, a slight air of 'I-told-you so' around her.
"But there wasn't any mention of…that," Seacat shot back.
"He said green," Mack replied. "And when he said green, he meant green."
The nine friends all started babbling at once, not noticing Wade croak and hop off the chair and out the door.
I hope you liked it! This is a bit of a longer chapter so I hope that it makes up for not posting in a while.
The song I used in this chapter is called Friends On The Other Side from The Princess And The Frog.
I know I say this every chapter (if you're reading this then let me know what you got for Christmas or if you had nice time over the festive period) but I want to say thank you to everyone who reads, reviews or sends me PMs because you're all so incredible!
Thank you for reading! And Happy New Year!
-cherrygorilla