CHAPTER SEVEN - THE SPARKLING EMERALD SYDNEY

'OOOOOH, WE'RE OFF-'

'Deema.'

'Hey, it's not my fault I keep forgetting! I don't have a brain, remember?'

'It's kinda hard to forget that when it's the entire reason you're here.'

Molly didn't really mind the song too much, but now was not the time for singing. The gorgeous Emerald Sydney was right in front of them, and everyone rushed for the entrance door. Well, almost everyone. Nonny's stiff body and joints didn't let him swim nearly as well as the others, so he lagged behind a little.

Deema was the first to reach the door, unsurprisingly, and was so excited to get in that she forgot to stop and bashed her face into the door instead. Gil's 'four'-legged gait got him to the door second, followed soon after by Molly and Bubble Puppy. A chain hung down from a big beautiful bell up above, and a sign saying 'RING BELL FOR ENTRANCE' pointed to it.

'Wait for me!' Nonny cried from a distance.

It took a little while for him to catch up, but Molly refused to ring the bell until he did. Luckily for him, no heart (or lungs) meant he couldn't be out of breath, so he caught up quick enough. With everyone gathered by the door, Molly reached for the chain and gave it a pull. The gorgeous bell rang throughout the entire city and poppy field, and while most of them marvelled the lovely sound, Gil and Bubble Puppy found it a little loud for their sensitive animal ears.

The gang waited, and waited, for someone to show up to the door. After a while, Molly got a little impatient and rang the bell again. Like before, no one showed up at the door.

Molly groaned. 'Hello?'

Gil grinned. 'Welp, looks like no one's showing up! I guess we gotta go home then.'

He turned around to return to his forest home, but he didn't make it far at all before Deema yanked a handful of his mane. Even though she didn't pull him hard at all – scarecrow, remember – she still stopped him in his tracks.

Nonny took the initiative, and simply knocked on the door. His metal knuckle against the green wood made an especially loud sound, though not one nearly as loud as the bell. Despite that, a little round 'window' of sorts in the door opened up, revealing yet another familiar face. And this one was even more familiar than the others.

'GOBY?!' Molly yelled.

Yep. Goby, who was the Mayor of Fishkin Land, was now standing right behind the big doors. His entire get-up had been replaced by one far greener, top to the bottom. In fact, the only part of his clothes that wasn't a shade of green was the four yellow buttons. Well, and Goby himself. Molly knew green was his favourite colour, but this was a little ridiculous.

'I- but-…' Molly sighed to get her words back on track. 'I thought you were the Mayor of Fishkin Land.'

He nodded. 'I am the Mayor of Fishkin Land. But it doesn't pay enough, so I had to take a job as a door guard here in the Emerald Sydney. The benefits here are incredible!'

'Alright then, I guess that makes sense. As much as sense as a talking scarecrow, at least.' This got her a weird look from Deema. 'But why didn't you answer to the bell?'

Goby chuckled. 'Oh, sorry about that. The bell's out of order, you see.'

Molly didn't even get around to opening her mouth before she rightfully decided that questioning any more of this world's insanity was a bad idea.

'And you're in luck!' He said. 'Normally, I'd have to be very choosy when it came to the people we let into our glorious green city. You can never be too careful with a Mean Witch on the prowl. BUT, I already know that you are the one who killed the Mean Witch of the East, for I was there to witness it! So, if you'll just give me a moment…'

He disappeared from that window and closed it behind him. After a few seconds, the big doors themselves swung open and revealed the gorgeous green city behind them. Molly and all of her companions were stuck staring at the gorgeous setting, almost blinded by just how shimmering and shiny everything was. Even the windows were tinted green, and just about the only thing that wasn't green in the Sydney-like city of emeralds was a white horse, which was hooked up to a carriage.

'Wowzers!' Deema exclaimed. 'My eyes are just painted on and even I am amazed by how pretty everything is!'

Nonny glanced down at his rusty body. Though his tin skin had lost its shine years and years ago, it managed to reflect his green surroundings perfectly. In fact, it left a stripe-like pattern on his tail, and he thought it looked pretty neat on him.

Most of the people in the area – consisting of various sea creatures wearing the same green outfits as Goby – stayed far away from that cowardly lionfish. Luckily for Gil, he didn't mind this in the slightest, as that meant they stayed far away from him.

'This place looks awesome!' He said. 'A-And a little scary.' He gulped. 'I hope I'm not scared of the colour green…'

Goby hopped into the carriage drawn by the white horse, and he waved to his visitors. 'So, what brings this odd group of visitors to this glorious Emerald Sydney?'

Molly got herself comfortable on the carriage, sitting right behind him. The green seats were softer than any seat she had ever sat in before.

'We're here to see the Wizard.' She answered.

Goby gasped. 'You mean the Great and Powerful Grouper?'

'Goby, we discussed this back in the Fishkin village.'

He chuckled. 'Yes, I know. I'm just having a little fun with ya. And you've met quite a few people on your journey, huh? Well, I take it they're here to see the Wizard too.'

She nodded. 'Yep.' She paused. 'Hey, wait a moment. How did you get here before us? I didn't see you walking down the yellow brick road.'

'Secret tunnel.'

Molly would've loved to get mad at him for not mentioning this 'secret tunnel' earlier, but at this point she didn't really care anymore. Plus, meeting her three 'new' friends was worth all the trouble in the world. She just threw up her arms in exasperation and groaned. Goby, after chuckling some more, turned to her companions.

'What are you three doing just standing there?' He asked. 'Get on board, each and every one of you!'

The three companions had no idea how he could be so accepting of people so brainless, heartless, or 'the nerve'-less, but they weren't complaining. They all hopped on the carriage after their pink-haired friend, with Gil and Bubble Puppy taking the spots next to her while Nonny and Deema took the two seats right behind them.

'We're off to see the Wizard!' Deema declared, fortunately not singing it this time.

Goby shook his head. 'Not yet. Look at you guys! The Scarecrow's losing all her old stuffing, the Tin Guppy's body is covered with grunge, the Lionfish's fur is all dusty and mattered, and the little girl looks like she's been in a whirlpool!'

Molly rolled her eyes. 'Oh, you know I was caught up in a whirlpool.'

'Exactly! You can't see the Great and Powerful Grouper looking like that. And the lot of you must be so exhausted after your long journey. How about we swing by our lovely spa so you guys can get yourself all cleaned up and recharged?'

On one hand, the group really wanted to see the Wizard as soon as possible. On the other, they did feel rather exhausted after everything they had gone through, and they were a little dirty too. Molly's friends turned to her to get her advice, and she smiled.

'Sure!' She said. 'I'm sure we could all use a little clean-up!'

'Wonderful!' Goby declared. 'We leave at once! Onwards, my Horse of a Different Colour!'

With one quick flick of the reins, the purple horse neighed and began clopping down the path to the spa. Yes, purple horse. That was no mere error, as the lovely mare had somehow changed colour while the others weren't looking. Molly was quick to notice this.

'Hang on…' She said. 'Wasn't that horse white a second ago?'

'Yep!' Goby answered. 'That's the beauty of Spectra here. She's a very special horse. In fact, you might never see a horse like her ever again!'

As the yellow horse took them around the place, Molly marvelled at all the gorgeous things around them. It looked just like the real-world Sydney, albeit perhaps a little condensed. The harbour remained, and so did the bridge that she hoped to cross on her journey. All the sea creatures continued living their prosperous lives, though many of them cheered on Molly as the carriage passed by. Clearly, they had all heard of the one who had slaughtered the Mean Witch of the East.

She couldn't help chuckling as a thought came to her mind. 'You must be really happy working here, Goby. Green's your favourite colour, and now you're surrounded by it!'

Goby shrugged as he guided his red mare around. 'Eh. I do like green, but I much prefer blue. Though, I do think my counterpart rather enjoys the colour green.'

'Wait, what? Counterpart?!'

No one answered that very important question, leaving Molly to believe that she must've been just hearing things. She didn't have to think about that very long, as they soon arrived at a building (one equally as green as everything else) with a sign that read 'Emerald Sydney Spa'. Perhaps unimaginative, but it got the job done.

Goby parked his pink horse as everyone else left the carriage. 'I'll wait here until you return, all nice and clean! Don't worry about wasting any time. The workers here will get you fixed up lickety-split.'

Each member of the party got their own part of the spa. Deema was laid down on her back across a table, one oddly comfortable for her fabric skin. Several crabs showed up with smiles on their faces as they carried big clawfuls of fresh new straw. Heap by heap they scooped out her old dusty innards, and replaced them with bunches of new innards instead.

'Ooh, that's some fragrant straw…' She murmured. 'Can you stuff a little more into my chest?'

This request got her weird looks from the crabs, and if she could blush she most certainly would have.

'Kidding! I was just kidding! I-I swear…'

Nonny was settled down on the table next to her. A couple of lobsters arrived with polishers that they applied all over his rusty, grungy skin. At first, the vibrating machines made his joints and plates shiver and clatter, but after a while he got used to the feeling. Not only did they leave his body nice and shiny, but he felt a lot fresher as they worked.

'Thank you.' He said.

Gil was too frightened by all the loud blow-dryers and fans, so a group of snail workers settled with just a simple brush up. His blue mane was not simple to comb through at all, but those snails worked hard to remove every knot and leave his mane gorgeous. This was still after he had just been subjected to a bath of which he complained about thoroughly. Once they were done with fixing up his mane, they attached a pink bow to the top of it.

He grumbled. 'Can we lose the bow?'

One of the snails, just for a laugh, moved it to just under his chin instead of just removing it. Before he could complain, however, he got a look at himself in the mirror.

'Wow.' He smirked. 'That looks nice.'

While Bubble Puppy received a doggy bath not unlike Gil's, Molly got her hair washed, brushed, and combed. Since she was just an ordinary girl, there was not much to do compared to her furry, metallic, or straw-filled friends. All she needed was to have her hair washed, though the starfish working on her hair couldn't help but put her hair into a ponytail.

By the time she was finished, so was everyone else. Deema looked and smelled so much fresher with the new straw, Nonny was so shiny he was almost blinding, Gil and Bubble Puppy looked like whole new animals now, and Molly found the ponytail a neat change of pace.

They thanked the workers – none more than Nonny – and got back onto the carriage where Goby and his beautiful blue mare awaited them.

'Everyone's looking sharp!' He said. 'ONWARDS TO THE WIZARD, SPECTRA!'

And off Spectra galloped, taking our beloved group of Guppies with her, as everyone cheered on Molly for killing a Mean Witch and donning the mystical Ruby Gloves.

Until Spectra came to a dead stop with a distressed whiny.

'What is it, girl?' Goby asked.

Then he looked up into the sky. So did Molly, and Deema, and Nonny, and Gil, and Bubble Puppy. Everyone in the city looked up into the blue skies above and gasped. From there, came the sound of witch-y cackling. None other than that Mean Witch of the West was flying high in the sky! She laughed to herself as her broomstick emitted a trail of thick black smoke.

'W-What is she doing?' Gil asked. 'She's n-not gonna hurt us… i-is she?'

'No…' Deema said. 'She's writing a message!'

The thick black smoke spelt out words in the sky, that the Witch wasn't taking too much care to get right judging by how fast she was writing them out. She made the end of the sentence clear when she drew an exclamation mark.

SUSPENDER MOLLY!

Deema read the message out-loud. 'Suspender Molly? What the heck does that mean?'

Everyone else begin asking themselves and others what in Bubbledom that message could've possibly meant. The Witch, upon realising why, immediately screamed in frustration.

'STUPID AUTOCORRECT!' She screamed. 'It's meant to say surrender! SURRENDER Molly!'

The crowd erupted into a chorus of 'oh!'s and 'that makes sense's.

'Ah, I get it!' Deema said. 'Surrender Mol… SURRENDER MOLLY?!'

Everyone in the crowd gasped, and began asking themselves just who the heck this 'Molly' was. While the aforementioned Guppy was trying to figure out if the message meant 'Molly, I want you to surrender' or 'Emerald Sydney, surrender Molly to me', the entire crowd immediately turned to the carriage drawn by the orange horse.

'Isn't that Molly?' A lobster asked.

'She's wearing the Ruby Gloves of the Mean Witch of the East!' A snail cried.

'THE PINK-HAIRED GIRL IS MOLLY!'

No one really did anything, thank the cods, but stare at Molly and her friends. Gil lowered his head until the sides of the carriage covered him, but the others just stood there and bared it. The only thing breaking up the silence was a cough from the crowd.

Molly gave them all a nervous smile. 'Oh boy, look at the time! Is it that time already?'

'Wait, what time is it? Lunch?' Deema asked, only for Molly to glare at her for a moment.

'Looks like it's time for our leave. Toodles!' She whispered directly into Goby's face, 'Get going. NOW.'

Goby nodded and granted her request, ordering his indigo mare to run across the Emerald Harbour Bridge away from the staring crowd of people, before they could get any ideas about surrendering Molly to that Mean Witch of the West.

'Don't worry about them, my good friend.' He said as Spectra galloped them across the bridge. 'As long as I keep telling them that I've received orders from the Good Witch of the North herself to keep you guys safe, they won't even try to hurt you.'

They left the crowds far behind as they embarked to the lesser-explored parts of the Emerald Sydney, for this was too close to the Wizard's domain for most of the citizens. Where was their destination? None other than the Emerald Opera House, resembling its real-life counterpart but a little smaller and a whole lot greener and shinier. Molly and her companions couldn't help awing at the gorgeous building as Goby brought his cyan horse just outside the entrance.

'Here we are: the Emerald Opera House!' Goby announced. 'Home to none other than the Great and Powerful Grouper himself!'

No one on board the carriage could believe that they had arrived at this moment. The first one to jump off was Deema, who was so excited that she misjudged her jump and landed flat on her face. Fortunately, being a scarecrow, the fall didn't hurt her at all and she quickly got to her tailfins.

'Oh boy… brains, here I come!'

The next one off was Nonny. Goby flinched away from that razor sharp axe as the Tin Guppy swam down the steps of the carriage nice and carefully. Looking up at the grand double doors that made up the entrance, he sighed blissfully.

'At last, I can have a heart.'

Molly hopped off the carriage next. Already she found the original Sydney Opera House to be one of most amazing structures she had ever witnessed, and now seeing it coated in emeralds just made it all the more spectacular, if a little more blinding. Bubble Puppy yipped and joined her side, just as excited as her to return home to his friends.

'This is it, Bubble Puppy.' She said. 'We can only hope that the Wizard can help us…'

The trio, plus the puppy, swam up towards the doors. It was only then that Gil realised that they had made it, and peeked out from behind his hiding spot. When he saw his friends leaving him behind, he yelped.

'W-Wait for me, guys! I-I still want my courage!'

Deema tried knocking at the door, but of course her hand didn't make much of a sound. So, Nonny did the honours for her; his metallic hand was much harder than her straw-stuffed one, after all. While they awaited an answer, Goby left his carriage behind – Spectra could be trusted to stay in place – and went to join up with the group of friends, not because he wanted anything but because he knew how difficult getting in to see the Wizard could be.

The doors opened just wide enough for Deema to get her hair through, but someone blocked the way in. And it was a face that Molly was not expecting to see.

'Mr Grumpfish?!'

Author Notes - Mr Grumpfish is making a cameo in this story for no other reason than why not. Also, Spectra may or may not be the Bubbledom 'counterpart' to Nay Nay.

That 'Suspender Molly' joke is not mine, I will admit that. It comes from a comic I saw a few years back, showing the Witch spelling out the message 'Suspender Dorothy', the Scarecrow asking what it means, and the Witch declaring 'stupid autocorrect'. A dumb, rather 'boomer humour'-ish joke, but one I found really funny for some reason. If you Google-image 'autocorrect fail', you should be able to find it.