CHAPTER 8

-The Thousand-Year Door-

As soon as the seven entered the door, it close tightly behind them, nearly startling everyone in the process. However, they were soon surprised with how out-of-place this place was compared to Rogueport Sewers. The most common color they saw around them was red, especially on the carpet. The walls were black and had small, yellow stars depicted on them. Windows were depicted on the walls too, but they didn't appear to be real. There were also red pillars around them holding up some platforms above, but they didn't appear to be reachable. A chandelier was also hanging from the ceiling as well.

To them, it felt very unsettling. Especially the eerie wind coming through this place.

"I guess not much has changed here..." Vivian trailed.

"It's admittedly creepy-looking... But at least I have someone here to stay close to in case of anything going out of hand." Berry said, grabbing a hold of Chopper. "You know, you can always come to me if you're afraid too."

"Eeep! Now I know what might be scarier than this place!" Chopper cried, getting out of the girl's grasps before taking a deep breath. "All right… I can do this. It's just a palace underground. I'm not scared of this place… I just hope there's no evil voice around here…"

He listened carefully for a voice, but to his surprise, there was none.

"Pfffffft! We don't need to be scared! It's just a palace that looks cool! There's NOTHING to be afraid of! Watch! I'll even lead the way through here!" Scrub declared, approaching the small red door up ahead. "Just stay behind me and you guys will be just fine!"

Before he could open the door, he felt someone grab his shoulder.

"Don't!" Vivian cried, pulling the Yoshi away.

"Hey! What gives?!"

"It's too dangerous for you to lead the way. You're only a newborn! I know this place more than anyone else, so maybe I should help lead the way... Chopper, you can also lead too if you want..."

Chopper let out a sigh and approached the door ahead. It had red and black stripes, which he didn't find too fitting.

"Poyo… (Let's be careful here... This place feels pretty dark... Darker than any other place we've been through...)" Kirby noted.

"Yeah, it certainly does feel like that..." Chopper agreed while kicking the door open to find a small staircase moving down with a yellow railing. There were lanterns as well, but they did very little to light up the entire area, which was filled with blackness. There were at least two beside each other as they carefully walked down. Down below was some water too.

There were some gray Swoopers called Swoopulas flying around. One tried to go after them, but Chopper was able to swat one away with his hammer.

"Oi there, Chopper! Allow me to take care of 'em!" Bombette suggested, her fuse lightning up as she approached the enemies. Her Bob-omb Blast was very effective against them and managed to wipe all the Swoopulas out. Of course, she ended up wasting 9 FP in the process.

"I don't know if that was entirely necessary..." Chopper sweat dropped. "But at least they're gone, right?"

When Vivian approached the door at the bottom of the staircase, she was left with surprise. "Huh? This door wasn't locked before... How did it suddenly become locked? Unless someone..."

"Might've been Grodus," Shadower answered. "He probably expected us to come here, so he's just trying to stop us."

Berry tried smashing the lock with her hammer, but it did no good. "And it's pretty tough too! You got any suggestions, Choppy?"

"I'm not the one who comes up with the ideas, though," Chopper noted. "That's what my buddy does! Oh, if only he were here..."

Shadower paused for a moment and noticed something near the door. To the south, there were two small steps and a somewhat transparent floor. Looking below, there was a spring and also a chest on a platform.

"Ha HA!" Shadower smirked. "I think I know where the key is! Chopper, come over here."

Chopper obeyed and walked onto the transparent floor. Shadower's eyes flashed, and soon they were both transparent and phases through the floor and onto a platform below. Chopper noticed the chest and quickly opened it to find a Palace Key, and soon they were back at the door with the help of the spring.

"That wasn't so hard," Chopper smiled, the spell from Shadower now fading away. "Let's move on then!"

He approached the door and unlocked it to enter the next room. They were met with a yellow ? Block that contained a Shooting Star, but upon grabbing it, Chopper felt himself get hit in the head by a bone. Turning his head, he saw a Koopa made of bones in red boots called Dry Bones. And because he got hit, Berry was not happy about this and bashed the Dry Bones with her hammer.

"Don't even TRY to do that to him again, you hear?!" Berry exclaimed.

"Hold on, I've got a better idea," Chopper equipped his Fire ability and destroyed the Dry Bones with his Fire Breath. The two Swoopulas roaming around were inhaled by Kirby and spat back at each other before Shadower destroyed them with his Shadow Smite.

"I'm guessing we'll be facing familiar enemies but as different colors..." assumed Shadower.

After taking care of the enemies, they decided to move onward and past a few torches on the gray, bricked wall. They were eventually led down to a staircase to a lower section of the room. They also happened to hear the sounds of something being shot, which happened to be coming from below.

"Poyo... (That doesn't sound good...)" Kirby trailed.

They turned to the left where the path turned and ran into some more Dry Bones. Chopper charged into them as a fireball and accidentally tumbled down the stairs ahead onto the bottom floor. Thankfully, his face wasn't too injured thanks to the carpet.

"Are you all right, Choppy?" Berry asked, running down the stairs and taking a look at his face. "Geez... You don't look too good! I think I have a suggestion!"

"Whoa no no no no!" Chopper cried, pushing her away from him. "I wouldn't recommend that! My head's on fire, and I don't want you getting burned. ...Actually, that sounds very helpful in keeping me away from your kisses!"

Berry blinked for a moment before the others came rushing down the stairs. They once again, heard another shot, but it was much louder. Scrub turned his attention to the right and saw some golden Bullet Bills coming their way.

"Incoming!" Scrub cried, making everyone turn their attention to the Bombshed Bills being fired at them. They decided to approach the B. Bill Blasters cautiously, using both Vivian and Shadower to dodged the incoming Bomshed Bills. When they did reach the Bombshed Bills, they discovered that they had a Defense of 4.

"Whoa… This isn't good… I think I might have to use a different ability." Chopper changed to Ninja Chopper and attacked the B. Bill Blaster with his kunai knife, which brought the one up front down to 4 HP. Vivian's Fiery Jinx damaged both while destroying the one in front.

The B. Bill Blaster remaining fired another Bombshed Bill, so Chopper was forced to attack the B. Bill Blaster to finish it, and Kirby finished off the Bombshed Bill with his Cartwheel., clearing the way and allowing them to enter the next room.

Through the door was a room similar to the one at the beginning, only this one was wider.

"Yeesh... I'm starting to get exhausted already!" Chopper sighed.

"Then maybe I can help you," Berry smiled.

"...Actually, I think I'm feeling better already!" the antennae hero realized, leaving Berry a bit irritated before he moved on and almost got his foot stabbed by spikes that rose from the ground. "Whoa! That was too close!"

He staggered back, only to feel himself get caught by Berry. "It's OK, I've got you, Choppy."

"Thanks... I...guess?" Chopper got himself together and walked past the spikes in his way. He also hit a red ? Block containing an All or Nothing Badge before running into more spikes.

"Huh… Never knew there were so many death traps in this room. The spikes could hurt us easily!" Scrub noticed. "Of course, we're not gonna let that happen now, are we?"

After clearing the Swoopulas in the room, the seven carefully walked through the room while avoiding any spikes that appeared in front of them. When they finally reached the door, they quickly got out and found a bridge in another dark area with water below. Chopper hit the Save Block nearby before walking on ahead.

"I'd be careful of those Firebars, guys," Vivian warned.

"Of course," Chopper nodded, jumping over the spinning Firebar ahead. There were two more he leaped over until he reached the rounder section of the bridge. A long Firebard was spinning around there, and there was another familiar enemy, especially to Bombette.

"Arr! Look at that! Another Ember, matey!" Bombette noticed, looking at the green Ember known as a Phantom Ember. "So these are roamin' this palace too..."

"I should put my Water ability on for this," Chopper switched to his Water ability and took out the Phantom Ember with ease before removing said ability. Afterward, he walked down a small staircase and discovered the door up ahead. The only problem? Firebars were coming in their direction rather than spinning, and at the height they were, they didn't look like they could be jumped over

But there was always a Plan B! Chopper quickly turned sideways and transformed into a tube (his friends were in the tube with him) and began to roll under and jump over a few Firebars until he reached the door ahead. Transforming back into himself, he kicked the door open and went into a much larger room with at least three chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

"It's very empty in here..." Berry trailed. "I know it may sound nice, but sometimes when a room is empty, things may not be nice in a place like this."

"Yo, Contadre! Look over there!" Scrub shouted, pointing over at the door ahead. "See something there?"

Chopper walked to the end of the room and noticed a locked door being guarded by navy blue Dry Bones - or rather, Dark Bones. The red eyes of this thing disturbed a few of them. But they did notice something it held too.

"Hey! A key!" Chopper gaped, attempting to reach for it. But as soon as his hand was close to the key, the Dark Bones began to shake.

"Glurgggghh… Bluuuurgh… None shall pass by…" the Dark Bones moaned. "Let those who would disturb her revival shall fall into the depths of endless darkness…"

"Her? What is it..."

The Dark Bones quickly rose from the ground and scurried away, filling the entire room with Dry Bones in the process.

"POYO! (WHAT THE…!)" Kirby gaped, being pushed around by all the Dry Bones.

"May the intruder never find the key to this door…"

Learning his lesson from Toy Kingdom, Chopper began to whack at the Dry Bones in his way. But even then, more were coming.

"Berry! I think I might need your help clearing these guys!" Chopper cried as he continuously knocked away Dry Bones.

"I'm trying as hard as I can, but they just keep coming!" Berry shouted back, doing the same thing as Chopper but not as well. Obviously she wasn't going to get anywhere like this, and Chopper had to do something to motivate her.

"Well... Ummm... I guess if you help me clear these guys out, you can...gulp...hold...my hand..."

A glimmer appeared in Berry's eyes as she began to plow the Dry Bones to reach Chopper. "I will DEFINITELY do that! Especially for someone like you, Choppy!"

Chopper's face turned red as he slowly stepped away from her, but that hardly did much when he was sent flying in the air while she spun her hammer like crazy, plowing through more Dry Bones and eventually hitting the Dark Bones for 4 damage.

"You got a First Strike!" Chopper cried, giving her a thumbs up and making her blush. When he finally landed on the ground, they discovered the Dark Bones had 20 HP, an Attack of 6 and a Defense of 4. "Hmmmmm... This may be a chance to try out Supernova!"

Getting the Crystal Star out, white, web-like material was made near the enemies to trap them and explode to deal 15 damage to the Dry Bones and the Dark Bones. Vivian finished the enemies off with her Fiery Jinx to gain 33 Star Points and a level up. Chopper smiled as he upgraded his FP to 45.

All of the dead Koopas fled from the room and the Dark Bones dropped a Palace Key for them. Chopper picked the key up and unlocked the door to a room that looked pretty identical to the previous room with the stairs. Only this time, there were Bombshed Bills being fired.

"Aw, come on!" Scrub whined. "You've gotta be kidding me! Haven't we already been in a similar room like this?! Whoever made this palace sure is lazy with the design!"

"Poyo, (Yeah, this place is so similar that it has another block,)" Kirby said, pointing to the yellow ? Block near them.

"I've got it!" Chopper smiled, hitting the block to find an Ultra Shroom. "Ooh! This might come in handy!"

"Oh, Choppy... Didn't you forget something?" Berry mentioned, holding her hand out, making Chopper gasp.

"Uh oh..."

"You said yourself that you'd hold my hand."

"But... But..."

"Just do it," Shadower sighed.

Chopper gulped and grabbed a hold of Berry's hand. It almost felt like his hand was burning from touching her hand, or maybe because his hand felt so uncomfortable in another girl's hand. Berry was satisfied and rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Ewww! That's not what I wanted!"

"Well it's not my fault you're so cute," Berry smirked, dragging Chopper across the room while whacking Bombshed Bills away as if they were nothing. Everyone else blinked for a moment before exchanging glances.

"Wait... How did she..." Shadower stammered.

"Yar... Perhaps her love of that matey is motivatin' her to smash those Bombshed Bills."

"Man, I'd LOVE to be able to do something like that!" Scrub exclaimed. "C'mon! Let's go show those B. Bill Blasters who's boss!"

The group followed, except for Vivian, who let out a sigh before following. Apparently the B. Bill Blasters were destroyed already, and now Chopper was being dragged down the stairs and onto the lower floor.

"Berry! Please!" Chopper cried.

"Poyo! (Don't let go of his hand, Berry!)" Kirby cried, running down the stairs and watching the other Bombshed Bills and the blaster get plowed down easily.

"If you want me to let go, then you have to kiss me on the lips," Berry smiled. "And that's the only option."

"Dude! That's even worse!" Chopper gaped, now at the bottom floor. "Why must I be blackmailed like this?"

"Well I think it's fair," the pink girl stated, reaching the door ahead after destroying the next blaster. "So... Are you willing to?"

"Ummmmmm..."

Before he could answer, Vivian had risen from the shadows and floated over to the door. "Ummmm... Berry? I think there's something more important we have to be doing..."

Berry looked over at Vivian and then the door. After pondering, she finally released Chopper's hand. "OK... I guess there's more important things... Though, getting a kiss from Chopper would have been so nice..."

Chopper sighed in relief as he approached the door, making Vivian smile. "OK, let's just move on."

After the others caught up, they headed through the door into a round room with a Phantom Ember and Dry Bones. The Phantom Ember was taken care of with Chopper's ice balls, and the Dry Bones were handled by Bombette. There also happened to be two yellow and a red ? Block. The first yellow block contained a coin, while the other contained a Jammin' Jelly.

"Poyo! (Hooray for more useful items!)" Kirby cheered.

When Chopper hit the red block, a badge called P-Up, D-Down P came out. He decided to put it away, choosing not to use it before entering the door. To their surprise, they were met with at least three other doors. There was one above them, one just up ahead and another up the staircase.

"Hmmmmm... Well this is interesting..." Chopper decided to take the staircase up to the upper right door, while his friends followed him. But upon entering the door, they found themselves falling into the previous room. "Huh? Weren't we already here?"

"Arrr... This be very strange..." Bombette trailed.

"Didn't you guys happen to notice a torch in that room?" Vivian asked.

"Hmmmmm... Let's go see." Chopper returned to the room ahead and noticed to the door to the right, there was a torch lit up. "Ahh... So what you're saying is we have to go through the door with a torch, right?"

"Yes."

"I understand now! It's like Bowser's Castle! ...Only this one is easier!"

They headed into the door ahead to go into another familiar room. This time, the torch was lit up on the upper right, and so they headed through there into the third room. The torch happened to be lit up on the upper left, which confused some of them, but they decided to go through anyway. The other three rooms went from lower right, left and then upper right until they reached the final one, which had a torch lit up on the lower right door.

"Yeesh... Talk about repetitive!" Shadower sighed. "Kinda ridiculous, don't you think?"

"I'll say!" Scrub agreed. "This better be the last door!"

As Chopper opened the door, Scrub's words were indeed correct, and through the door was something unbelievable.

"Wow..."


Dang this is a short chapter. I think I'm going to upload another chapter for the length of this. It's probably best if I did that anyway...and not to mention Chapter 8 is so awesome. I think the next chapter might be more enjoyable for you guys if you know what's coming up. Also, I changed the torch puzzle a bit so it wasn't the exact same thing. :P