Chapter Twenty-One: The Beginning of the End
"Welcome to my home!" a scruffy, grey haired man said with a grin. He was looking down at Jim. "You folks fell through my roof."
The others had been unconscious and one by one they awoke. They learned that the older gentlemen, Philben, would search the dangerous glacier for those who had dared to travel the cold and treacherous expanse. Though, no one had ever crashed through his roof before.
"Well thank you very much for your hospitality, Philben, but we really have to start heading north," Harry said.
"I warn you, the road north is a large and dangerous cliff with many hidden passages," Philben replied.
"We'll be able to manage. Come on, let's go everyone!" Jim exclaimed enthusiastically. He and Harry ran out of the cabin and began to head for the nearby cliff.
"Wait!" Philben called after them, but he was too late. He sighed. "There's a ski lift that can take you right to the top... Oh well... I suppose the rest of you can take it... I'm worried about your friends though."
"Don't worry, we'll catch 'em. If you give me all of your spoons I'm sure we'll be able to get them much quicker," Muffie said with a smile.
"Oh, of course."
"Heh, sucker."
"Ah dunno whut's worse: the dawgone snow, or the dawgone heights," Ziggy muttered uneasily as he looked down at the world below from the ski lift.
"I see them!" Florence exclaimed. "They look like they're frozen solid. All right, Muffie. How are we going to use the spoons to get them?"
"Umm..." Muffie shifted her eyes from side to side guiltily. "I didn't really have a plan, per se. I just wanted to get his spoons."
"Great, just great... Now what're we supposed to do?" Jessica grumbled.
"I shall use my psychic powers to bring them up to us," Kevinda said. She closed her eyes and held out her hand. "Come to us Jim! Rise up Harry! Rise up to the ski lift!"
"Oh no! We're leaving them behind!" Florence said urgently. "What are we going to do? We can't just leave them there!"
"Well, it's a good thing we found that tunnel that lead to this ski lift," Harry said to Jim. They were on the ski lift, far ahead of the others, near the top of the cliff.
"Yeah, we could've been as frozen as those ice sculptures we made," Jim replied.
"I can't believe how quickly we did that."
"I know, it's like being out in the cold like this just makes everything icy so much easier."
"Perhaps we have secret ice powers that have been unleashed by this frosty snow!"
"Are you sure about that?"
"I don't know, but imagine what we could do to Olaf if we did."
After several more minutes, Harry and Jim were reunited with the rest of the group at the top of the cliff. They looked further north, and there they saw the massive crater that Gengai had formed long ago when Hako seemed to be the perfect energy source.
"Do you really think we'll find Olaf here?" Florence asked, gazing out at the rocky land.
"He has to be out here, and if he isn't, than all this spoony work has been for smooting nothing," Chazzy responded.
"Let's go everybody!" Jim exclaimed.
They took off into the rocky stretch of the northern crater. It was a dangerous journey, trying to make it past the rocky ledges and the tall ravines. At last, they reached a long path, that seemed to turn into a winding staircase of rock.
"I'll go alone," Jim said, looking up at the place where he believed Olaf to be. "I have to do this."
"No Jim," Jessica said firmly. "We do this together."
"We aren't going to wait around here, we're all going with you. There ain't no gettin' offa this cliff we're on." Harry added.
Jim stared strangely at Harry for a moment, then nodded. "We'd better get going, then."
The eight travelled up, and came to a dead end made of rock and ice. There, they saw Doofus. Along with him was a man in a lab coat: Mojo. The wild-haired scientist was looking in the ice at something that the others couldn't see.
"Yez... Yez, zis iz eet. Zis iz one ov zee VEAPONS," he muttered.
Doofus was puffing his inhaler as one smokes from a pipe. "Zen zat meenz.. Er.. I mean: then that means that Olaf hasn't activated the Black Pebble. We still have time to find him."
"Hey!" Muffie exclaimed, sending the other two twisting around in surprise. "How did you guys get ahead of us?"
"Yeah, Froofroo was supposed to take care of you guys," Jim muttered, feeling betrayed.
"We managed to distract her long enough for the two of us to make our escape," Doofus replied with a grin.
"See, don't you look lovely in this parka! I'll put you down for five. Cash or credit?" one of Froofroo's helper's asked while buttoning up a hot pink parka on Helga.
"I told you before, pink isn't my colour! Now let me out of here!" Helga shouted.
"But you haven't even tried on the ski pants! Come on, let's get a few pairs on you!"
"Arg! Why aren't you imbeciles doing anything?"
"..."
"Shut up, Parrot... If you keep talking, they'll stick on more souvenir buttons." Rusty and Parrot were covered in a rainbow of buttons that had various slogans such as 'Come On Down To Froofroo's! ', or 'Froofroo's: You Might Die!' on them.
"Oh look, there's still a little space here for a button. Norbert, go get the 'Visit Froofroo's, You'll Regret It' button for me," another assistant commanded. A tall man ran off then returned a second later with a bright blue button. He began to put it into the empty space that the assistant had found.
"Ow!" Rusty screamed. "That's skin!"
Ziggy was looking at Mojo with a sort of anger in his eyes. "Yo'... Ya dang blasted Gengai dawg! Yer th' reason fer all'o mah mizzruy! Ah'm gonna git'cha now!" He lunged forward at him, and the others quickly reacted, holding him back.
Doofus laughed and drew from his purple and green coat a long rifle. He pointed it at Ziggy's forehead. "Temper temper... You should learn to control it."
"You spoony marmoset!" Chazar shouted. "You're always stepping on the little guy! I should spoony... smootin'... Oh marmoset!" He tried to hold back his rage towards Gengai.
"Calm down!" Jim tried to console the others. "It's Olaf we're after, not Gengai. We can deal with them later."
"I don't think so. Olaf if our business now. Kevin, deal with these scum for me," Doofus' voice was cold and stony.
All eyes turned then to Kevinda. She gazed back into the stone eyes of Doofus Gengai. "I predict, President Gengai, that there is a severe ass kicking in your future."
It seemed as if the whole group was about to unleash their deep seeded hatred upon the misfortunate President, when Mojo swiftly spoke up:
"Zpeaking ov Olav... Zair he iz..."
Everyone stopped and looked in the direction that Mojo was pointing. Sure enough, above everyone, stood Olaf on a bridge-like stretch of jagged rock. He had Jimbles in one hand and the Black Pebble in the other.
"We have to get that pebble!" Kevinda exclaimed desperately.
"Glee-hee-hoo!" came Olaf's familiar cackle. "I don't think so! You fools, do you truly believe you can stop me? You're sadly mistaken." He swung the giant fish and a spray of whipped cream flew down.
"My eyes!" Doofus exclaimed, dropping his rifle as a gob of whipped cream caught him in the face. He wobbled left and right, his hands grasping at his eyes, then walked into the rock wall and fell over.
"I release the power of the Black Pebble! Glee-hee-hoo!" A great surge of light emitted from the tiny piece of stone and ribbons of golden-green glimmer flowed out from the very rocks and pillars. The ice began to crack as all energy in the crater moved into Olaf and the piece of stone. A completely black ray of churning energy flowed out of the pebble and into space. It seemed to act like a black hole, pulling the cosmos in towards the planet. The earth shook around them and seemed to scream out in agony. There was a sudden blinding light and then there was only darkness.
"Welcome to my home!" a scruffy, grey haired man said with a grin. He was looking down at Jim. "You folks fell through my roof."
The others had been unconscious and one by one they awoke. They learned that the older gentlemen, Philben, would search the dangerous glacier for those who had dared to travel the cold and treacherous expanse. Though, no one had ever crashed through his roof before.
"Well thank you very much for your hospitality, Philben, but we really have to start heading north," Harry said.
"I warn you, the road north is a large and dangerous cliff with many hidden passages," Philben replied.
"We'll be able to manage. Come on, let's go everyone!" Jim exclaimed enthusiastically. He and Harry ran out of the cabin and began to head for the nearby cliff.
"Wait!" Philben called after them, but he was too late. He sighed. "There's a ski lift that can take you right to the top... Oh well... I suppose the rest of you can take it... I'm worried about your friends though."
"Don't worry, we'll catch 'em. If you give me all of your spoons I'm sure we'll be able to get them much quicker," Muffie said with a smile.
"Oh, of course."
"Heh, sucker."
"Ah dunno whut's worse: the dawgone snow, or the dawgone heights," Ziggy muttered uneasily as he looked down at the world below from the ski lift.
"I see them!" Florence exclaimed. "They look like they're frozen solid. All right, Muffie. How are we going to use the spoons to get them?"
"Umm..." Muffie shifted her eyes from side to side guiltily. "I didn't really have a plan, per se. I just wanted to get his spoons."
"Great, just great... Now what're we supposed to do?" Jessica grumbled.
"I shall use my psychic powers to bring them up to us," Kevinda said. She closed her eyes and held out her hand. "Come to us Jim! Rise up Harry! Rise up to the ski lift!"
"Oh no! We're leaving them behind!" Florence said urgently. "What are we going to do? We can't just leave them there!"
"Well, it's a good thing we found that tunnel that lead to this ski lift," Harry said to Jim. They were on the ski lift, far ahead of the others, near the top of the cliff.
"Yeah, we could've been as frozen as those ice sculptures we made," Jim replied.
"I can't believe how quickly we did that."
"I know, it's like being out in the cold like this just makes everything icy so much easier."
"Perhaps we have secret ice powers that have been unleashed by this frosty snow!"
"Are you sure about that?"
"I don't know, but imagine what we could do to Olaf if we did."
After several more minutes, Harry and Jim were reunited with the rest of the group at the top of the cliff. They looked further north, and there they saw the massive crater that Gengai had formed long ago when Hako seemed to be the perfect energy source.
"Do you really think we'll find Olaf here?" Florence asked, gazing out at the rocky land.
"He has to be out here, and if he isn't, than all this spoony work has been for smooting nothing," Chazzy responded.
"Let's go everybody!" Jim exclaimed.
They took off into the rocky stretch of the northern crater. It was a dangerous journey, trying to make it past the rocky ledges and the tall ravines. At last, they reached a long path, that seemed to turn into a winding staircase of rock.
"I'll go alone," Jim said, looking up at the place where he believed Olaf to be. "I have to do this."
"No Jim," Jessica said firmly. "We do this together."
"We aren't going to wait around here, we're all going with you. There ain't no gettin' offa this cliff we're on." Harry added.
Jim stared strangely at Harry for a moment, then nodded. "We'd better get going, then."
The eight travelled up, and came to a dead end made of rock and ice. There, they saw Doofus. Along with him was a man in a lab coat: Mojo. The wild-haired scientist was looking in the ice at something that the others couldn't see.
"Yez... Yez, zis iz eet. Zis iz one ov zee VEAPONS," he muttered.
Doofus was puffing his inhaler as one smokes from a pipe. "Zen zat meenz.. Er.. I mean: then that means that Olaf hasn't activated the Black Pebble. We still have time to find him."
"Hey!" Muffie exclaimed, sending the other two twisting around in surprise. "How did you guys get ahead of us?"
"Yeah, Froofroo was supposed to take care of you guys," Jim muttered, feeling betrayed.
"We managed to distract her long enough for the two of us to make our escape," Doofus replied with a grin.
"See, don't you look lovely in this parka! I'll put you down for five. Cash or credit?" one of Froofroo's helper's asked while buttoning up a hot pink parka on Helga.
"I told you before, pink isn't my colour! Now let me out of here!" Helga shouted.
"But you haven't even tried on the ski pants! Come on, let's get a few pairs on you!"
"Arg! Why aren't you imbeciles doing anything?"
"..."
"Shut up, Parrot... If you keep talking, they'll stick on more souvenir buttons." Rusty and Parrot were covered in a rainbow of buttons that had various slogans such as 'Come On Down To Froofroo's! ', or 'Froofroo's: You Might Die!' on them.
"Oh look, there's still a little space here for a button. Norbert, go get the 'Visit Froofroo's, You'll Regret It' button for me," another assistant commanded. A tall man ran off then returned a second later with a bright blue button. He began to put it into the empty space that the assistant had found.
"Ow!" Rusty screamed. "That's skin!"
Ziggy was looking at Mojo with a sort of anger in his eyes. "Yo'... Ya dang blasted Gengai dawg! Yer th' reason fer all'o mah mizzruy! Ah'm gonna git'cha now!" He lunged forward at him, and the others quickly reacted, holding him back.
Doofus laughed and drew from his purple and green coat a long rifle. He pointed it at Ziggy's forehead. "Temper temper... You should learn to control it."
"You spoony marmoset!" Chazar shouted. "You're always stepping on the little guy! I should spoony... smootin'... Oh marmoset!" He tried to hold back his rage towards Gengai.
"Calm down!" Jim tried to console the others. "It's Olaf we're after, not Gengai. We can deal with them later."
"I don't think so. Olaf if our business now. Kevin, deal with these scum for me," Doofus' voice was cold and stony.
All eyes turned then to Kevinda. She gazed back into the stone eyes of Doofus Gengai. "I predict, President Gengai, that there is a severe ass kicking in your future."
It seemed as if the whole group was about to unleash their deep seeded hatred upon the misfortunate President, when Mojo swiftly spoke up:
"Zpeaking ov Olav... Zair he iz..."
Everyone stopped and looked in the direction that Mojo was pointing. Sure enough, above everyone, stood Olaf on a bridge-like stretch of jagged rock. He had Jimbles in one hand and the Black Pebble in the other.
"We have to get that pebble!" Kevinda exclaimed desperately.
"Glee-hee-hoo!" came Olaf's familiar cackle. "I don't think so! You fools, do you truly believe you can stop me? You're sadly mistaken." He swung the giant fish and a spray of whipped cream flew down.
"My eyes!" Doofus exclaimed, dropping his rifle as a gob of whipped cream caught him in the face. He wobbled left and right, his hands grasping at his eyes, then walked into the rock wall and fell over.
"I release the power of the Black Pebble! Glee-hee-hoo!" A great surge of light emitted from the tiny piece of stone and ribbons of golden-green glimmer flowed out from the very rocks and pillars. The ice began to crack as all energy in the crater moved into Olaf and the piece of stone. A completely black ray of churning energy flowed out of the pebble and into space. It seemed to act like a black hole, pulling the cosmos in towards the planet. The earth shook around them and seemed to scream out in agony. There was a sudden blinding light and then there was only darkness.
