Chapter 6. Doesn't the family secret remind you of Spy Kids, and do the seven golden gags remind you of something also? I know it does in my case.
Please refer to Chapter 4 for the disclaimer.
Chapter 6: Gagrate 101 Part 2
DAY THREE: SKILL COURSE
Ginger, Flippy, and Wonderswirl put on their gis and headed for a new dojo room. The room they entered was rather small, but the roof was very high upwards. Just then, Mata Hairy appeard to give them their mission briefing.
"Ok, you three, this course will test your stealth and agility." said Mata Hairy. "You are to jump on the ledges on the walls while dodging lasers and various obstacles. If Ginger or Flippy wins, they earn a brown belt and their opponent will recieve a purple belt, and Wonderswirl will obtain a blue belt. If Wonderswirl wins, everyone will earn a purple belt. On your marks... get set... parties are fun... I like bananas... GO!"
The twins and Flippy jumped along the ledges and made their way along the course, dodging lasers, gavels like the kind they saw in the CJ, and spinning platforms that could make the three fall if they weren't careful. Ginger was doing fine, until a gavel came down on her. She barely made it past the gavel, but was too startled to react when a spinning platform came and knocked her off the ledge. She screamed as she fell a long way. Flippy was doing alright, dodging everything in his path. He ran inside an alcove to avoid getting crushed by a field of gavels; however, once he stepped out, thinking he had this in the bag, he was zapped by a laser again.
Wonderswirl, on the other hand, was expertly scaling the cliffs and ledges of the course, until he found herself being aimed at by many lasers. He knew he was going to lose but all of a sudden, he looked down and he saw flames erupt from both his feet! He knew this was good and used them as rockets to propel himself to the roof.
"WHEEE!" He shouted as he zipped past all the obstacles and through the hatch on the roof.
When Wonderswirl landed on the rooftop, he saw Mata Hairy waiting for him.
"Wonderswirl is our winner!" yelled Mata Hairy. "Everyone advances to purple belt. Wonderswirl, you did well using your skills to catch up; just try to work on your stealth."
Wonderswirl was brimming with pride after catching up with his friend and sister, and the three went to their rooms to rest for the day.
DAY FOUR: POWER COURSE
Ginger, Flippy, and Wonderswirl put on their gis and lined up in another dojo room, where they saw Mata Hairy performing special Gagrate sparring moves. She saw the three and teleported to them, where they saw that she had a black gi, unlike their white gis, with a red belt.
"Welcome, students," said Mata Hairy. "Since Gagrate is a martial art, most of your training will come today. In order to become a master of Gagrate, you have to be, how should I put this, a tough cookie to crumble, because the Cogs' emotions are based off what the Echos believe. Us Toons believe in happiness, and the greatest enemy to happiness is..."
"Sadness?"
"No."
"Ambition?"
"WHAT! NO! BOREDOM!" said Mata Hairy, obviously fuming, as she held a wooden board with a picture of a The Big Cheese on it. "Smash this emotion and make this board crumble!"
At that, Mata Hairy kicked the board in half.
"Sorry about that, anways, in three rows, there are lines of boards with pictures of gears on them, just waiting for you to smash them. It takes power and finesse to break them. The first toon to smash all of their boards gets the fabled black belt, while the others get brown belts. Ready, set, and let's-a-go!"
The three got in their rows and started smashing. Ginger was doing excellent, smashing each board at a cool and collected pace. Flippy was doing fine, but was rushing and instantly broke many boards, though that could lead to him hyperventilating. Wonderswirl charged up before smashing each board so he could smash two, occasionally three, at a time. Overall, all three were doing great.
As the cats and dog finished up, Mata Hairy noticed something; all three students had smashed the last board at the same time! She went to her students and said, "I can't believe it. All three of you finished at the EXACT same time! Each of you have equal talent in this area of Gagrate. You all earn your black belts!
The three cheered and shouted their hoorays, then Flippy asked, "So... we're done?"
"The answer," Mata Hairy said," is... no."
"WHAT?" all three said.
"All three of you have a gift, you truly do, but I cannot say that you are 'done' because Gagrate is a lifetime commitment. Even after you leave this dojo, you must continue to train if you wish to get better, but the real reason you are not 'done' is because you must pass the Shiai to complete your days here." Mata Hairy explained.
"Wow, ok, we'll do it tomorrow, I guess..." said Flippy.
The three went to rest for the day. They would need it, because the next day would be their ultimate test!
DAY FIVE: SHIAI
The three put on their gis and new black belts, then went to the main room of the dojo where they saw a new door and Mata Hairy in her black gi and red belt. She then gave the three their final briefing.
"Hello, kids. It pains me to say this is this last time I will be training you in Gagrate, but you can always see me in the Cashbot CFO, right? Anyway, here's your test. Each of you will go through this door, where there will be several rooms designed to challenge you in every Gagrate area I have shown you. There's no telling what you will face, but the object of this final testing is to get to the end of this course. If all of you pass, you all get a black gi like me and a solid red belt like me, signifying your status as a Kudan of Gagrate, one of the highest honors of a Toon martial artist. Now get on the starting point."
Ginger, Flippy, and Wonderswirl got on the starting line, ready for the final test.
"No jokes this time. On your marks... get set... GO!"
The three entered the next room, which they saw was empty, but then, a black belt appeared and attacked them. They thought they were doomed, but they attacked anyway. The poor black belt was given a lightning-fast punch by Ginger, roundhouse kicked by Wonderswirl, and tackled by Flippy. The black belt diasappeared and they saw a key.
They used it to open the next door, where they saw floating platforms moving across a seemingly bottomless pits, where black belts were armed with laser-shooting hovercrafts and spinning platforms made an appearance again. The three jumped from platform to platform while avoiding the black belts' lasers and dodging the spinning platforms.
When they got to the end, they entered the next room where they saw several giant boards blocking the path. The three mustered all their power on smashed board number one, two, three... all the way to 20 where they saw a slider lock.
"I got this." said Flippy as he quickly rearranged the pieces into a picture in under 10 seconds, unlocking the door.
The next course was a very looooooong track with meteors, lasers, and trapdoors, just like on their first day. "WHOA!", thought Ginger. The three screamed and ran at full speed past the meteors, jumping over the trapdoors, and dodging the lasers. The three barely made it to the door in one piece, but then, in the next room, was a pleasent surprise.
There was nothing in the next room. The three walked in the room where the saw a hatch in the floor. Above it said, CONGRATULATIONS, COME HERE FOR YOUR PRIZE. The three saw the sign and jumped down the hatch. They fell and landed on pillows in the central dojo room, where Mata Hairy was waiting.
"Congratulations! You passed the Shiai! You earn your black gis and red belts!" cheered Mata Hairy.
The twins and Flippy went into their rooms and changed into the black gis and red belts. Then, they came back into the central dojo room where Sir Loony and Miss Honey were waiting along with Mata Hairy and Lord Lowden Clear. The twins ran up to their parents and hugged them.
"Mom! Dad!" said Wonderswirl. "Something strange happened a while ago. When the Echos were about to put an end to us, Ginger blasted an life energy field keeping the Echos away. Also, two days ago in my skill course, I somehow was able to use my feet as jet boots."
"WHAT?" their parents said. "Ginger, Wonderswirl, did you eat any of the Vita-Beans?"
"Yes." nodded Ginger and Wonderswirl.
"The Vita-Beans activated your psychic powers. Now that you know Gagrate, you powers will be even more powerful, especially in the presence of one of THESE!"
Sir Loony held out a seltzer bottle, only it was entirely golden!
"WHOA..." said Ginger with wide eyes. "Is it me, or am I really looking at a... a..."
"Yes." Miss Honey said. "A Golden Gag."
"The Golden Seltzer Bottle here is the only Golden Gag in our possession." said Sir Loony. "It has saved our lives countless times and-"
A force much too powerful to be an earthquake shook the entire room.
"Uh oh," said Wonderswirl. "That can't be good..."