Author's Notes: Sorry for that delay, I have been a bit sidetracked as of late, like I said, school's not helping. However, I did manage to get this next one done, albeit a tad short.

Chapter 9: Departure

The door burst open suddenly. Eddy was at the other end, rushing toward Double D. He shook his bed, rattling him a little before Double D finally gasped and awoke.

"Double D! 'ya up?" Eddy asked.

"…I am now. Do you realize what time it is?" Double D asked.

"Double D, I got some big news! Ya got to come over to my house asap! It's about the crystal stars!" Eddy shouted.

Double D fully awoke about then. "Ok, Eddy." he said, jumping from his bed. "Go on over and I will be there in three minutes. I must dress first."

Eddy nodded and ran ahead toward his own house.

Double D walked toward his closet and quickly threw on his regular cloths.

"What could have been so important to have awoken me at 5 in the morning. Especially after what happened last night?"

He ran out of his house and looked at Eddy's. It was a sight to see: Eddy's bro's truck, a black van with red flames painted on it, a sports car, a shiny silver car, what appeared to be Rolf's shed on wheels, even Marie's Trailer where parked in front of Eddy's. Something was definitely going on…

Double D walked into Eddy's building and instantly spotted the entire group sitting in his living room.

"Took him long enough." Eddy said.

"What's going on?" Double D asked.

"Well, to start…" TEC begun. "…there was more information distributed about the star that's here with us in the USA."

"Yeah. I was watching the news, and it said that it's somewhere in San Francisco, California. Though the police lost track of it because someone else took it." Jimmy added.

"I hope that wasn't Beldam." Double D said.

"This star may be our better play." Jimmy added. "Remember that Beldam wants all seven, so if we get just one, then we can lure her, beat her, then save the world like that…"

"Too risky." Goombirro said. "We need to collect as many stars as possible."

"This sounds a bit out of hand now…" Rolf added. "How are we going to bring these other-worlders?"

"Good question…" Peach added.

"Say no more." Doopliss said. "I can turn people into pigs."

"I highly doubt imminent success if we transmigrate the earth as pigs." Double D said.

Doopliss sat down. "…sure, but when need a pig, don't come to me."

"Rolf can provide pigs!" Rolf said.

"We're getting off subject!" Eddy shouted. "What about traveling? How long will it take?"

"To get to San Francisco?" Double D asked. "From here, I would surmise nearly a day's worth of driving."

"Then we better get moving!" Petuni said.

The group spent the next hour packing. They all returned with suitcases and bags.

"How on Earth did everyone explain this to their parents?" Double D asked.

"I told Ed's mom and dad, and our folks that Ed and his sister are coming with us." Eddy's brother said. "…for some reason, they seemed kind of relieved."

"Rolf's Nana was pleased that Rolf is off to fulfill Rolf's destiny!" Rolf shouted.

"I told my parents that I was going to an art competition." Jimmy said.

"Kevin's, Nazz's and Jonny's parents are off to look for them, though. So I hear. Planks here with me, though." Eddy said.

"You actually want to carry that with you?' Double D asked.

"Jonny asked me to watch it, and I'll do it. Besides, I'll bet you I can make a profit somehow!" Eddy said.

Double D groaned. "Can the rest of you tell us on the way, we must be going!"

"Oh, right!" Eddy's brother said. Everyone split up and ran for the various cars.

Eddy's bro ran to the van with the painted tires.

Double D instantly recognized this same van as the one from the junkyard. From years past, they used that same van for "central control" for a little space outlaws game. It seemed however, that Eddy's brother had a lot of time on his hands, because he had completely restored it to a real-working van.

Eddy himself ran to the front-passenger seat and cupped his hands over his mouth. "C'mon, Goombella!"

She and Goombirro rushed to the back of the van, which open up mechanically by Eddy's brother. Both of them took a leap and jumped into the van before the doors shut, followed by Eddy who ran into the car.

Eddy's bro instantly turned on the van, which gave a loud rev and sprung to life.

"Step on it!" Eddy shouted.

Eddy's brother gave a grunt and slammed his foot on the petal. The tires screeched on the pavement and sped from their driveway.

"Wait, you jerk!" Jimmy shouted. He ran for the silver car and jumped in the back seat. "Come on!"

Eduardo jr pulled Double D and Vivian to the shiny silver car. Double D jumped into the driver's seat and fastened his seatbelt. Vivian jumped into the front seat, while Eduardo jr jumped into the back, sitting next to Jimmy. Pentuni jumped through the window and landed on Jimmy shoulder.

Double D turned on the car. "This is a nice car, Jimmy."

"Thanks. My mother is letting me borrow it." Jimmy replied.

"But you're not old enough to drive." Double D added.

Jimmy sighed. "I… sort of told her my aunt was going to drive me."

Eduardo jr snickered. "…Double D's your aunt! So that must make him my mother instead, right?"

Double D sighed. "Can we please discuss Jimmy's Aunt later?" He stepped on the gas and sped from the driveway, driving along Rethink Ave. and out of the cul-de-sac.

"Sister, wait up!" Punio shouted.

"No matter, Punio." Rolf said, picking up the puni. "We shall catch up, or I am not Rolf, son of a-"

"Save it and-a hurry it up, Rolf!" Mario called out.

Mario jumped into the driver's seat of the sport's car, with Peach rushing into the passenger's seat. Rolf quickly took a rope and tied his wheeled-shed to the sports car. "Rolf is ready!" he shouted, jumping into the sport's car with Punio.

"My kind of ride, but don't you think the shed clashes?" Ms. Mowz asked, jumping into the remaining seat.

"Go forth, Super-Mario!" Rolf shouted.

Mario slammed on the gas and sped after the others, dragging Rolf's shed behind it.

"Hurry, catch up to them!" Ms Mowz shouted. "Especially to get back to Eddy's elder cheese-hunk of a brother…" She gave a chuckle, flashing her eyes underneath her mask.

"Move it or loose it!" Marie shouted. She jumped into the driver's seat of the final van, which was chained to her trailer. TEC jumped into the passenger's seat. Koops and Koopie Koo rushed into the trailer and slammed the door shut, locking it behind them.

At that exact instant, Marie slammed on the accelerator and sped off, sending the two Koopas flying into a wall.

They where all finally off, now headed away from Peach Creek and headed for their new adventure. None of them knew when they would return to Peach Creek, or what lay ahead.

"Hey bro!" Eddy shouted. "How's about some tunes?"

"Yup." Eddy's brother shouted. He took a CD and spun in a bit before throwing it. To the passenger's surprise, the CD flew directly into the holder.

A second later, the base started to begin, with a stead and loud beat. The entire van shook with every bang of the base.

Goombella and Goombirro, who where sitting on the waterbed without seatbelts where both bouncing in the back, screaming every time they where thrown into the air.

"Eddy!" Goombella shouted.

"I know, it's awesome, isn't it?" Eddy asked loudly over the base. He placed some sunglasses over his eyes and looked back to the road ahead of them.

Everyone in the Van let out a scream as they drove on.

Unlike Eddy's brother, Double D's driving was much more smooth. He was cruising down the streets at a steady speed. He opened up a window and let the breeze brush over his face. By now, they where far away from the cul-de-sac and driving on a single road in the middle of a field.

Double D looked ahead and saw the flame-painted van hoping up and down on the road.

"I feel sorry for those guys." Double D said.

"Looks like their having fun." Eduardo jr said.

"But really, hydraulics?" Jimmy asked.

Vivian smiled and looked out of her window, letting the wind brush against her hair as the car drove. "Your world is so beautiful, Double D! Look at that grass, and trees, and those houses are so nice!"

"Yes, I suppose it can be a nice place." Double D said.

"…I'm fascinated, to tell you the truth." Vivian said. She looked back at Double D. "This world of yours is so interesting… and strange, but interesting."

Double D smiled. "That's the same way I felt when I went to her world."

Does anyone feel up towards an arousing song?" Rolf asked.

"Sure, I could use some-a tunes." Mario said.

"What does this world have to offer for music?" Peach asked.

"Oh, a classic!" Rolf said. "This is a song passed down from generation to generation in Rolf's old country! It is simply entitled, "that's my horse!""

"…sounds… erm…interesting." Mario said.

"How do you sing it?" Punio asked.

Rolf gave a quick hum, then reached for his backpack. "That's my horse!"

Mario turned the front mirror and spotted Rolf's reflection swing his backpack right at him. Mario gave out a cry in surprise.

Marie looked ahead and saw the sports car suddenly swerve to the right. She shook her head, as she and TEC stuck their heads out of the van's windows.

"What are they doing?" TEC asked.

From the distance they where at, and over the sound of the cars, they could hear Mario shouting something, and Rolf replied with a shout, and what appeared to be a smack on the head, causing the car to swerve again. The rest of the group in the car let out a scream as it continued it's swerve.

"What do you think they are doing?" Marie asked.

"…I haven't the faintest idea." TEC said.

Koops and Koopie Koo watched from the inside of the trailer, while clinging to a towel rack. "…I wonder what's going on with them?" Koops asked.

The four in the rear car watched the sports car skid off the road and into a field of tall grass.

"I find their behavior highly illogical." TEC said. He reached into a pocket and revealed a radio. "Mario: report. Why have you veered off the road?"

Mario picked up a radio and held it on one hand, struggling against the wheel with the other as his passengers where screaming.

"It's a bit of a mishap!" Mario shouted. "We need to-a take a detour, we'll meet you guys again in a minute or two."

"Rolf, please stop singing!" Peach shouted.

Rolf stopped and put down his bag. "But Rolf has not even got to the chorus line. Everyone sing, grab a thing and hit your partner, yes?"

"Rolf, you're going to get us-a killed!" Mario shouted.

"Yeah, give it a rest, you're gonna make me sick!" Ms. Mowz shouted over the tall grass beating on the car.

"Please Rolf?" Punio asked.

"Perhaps later then, yes?" Rolf asked, sitting back down.

Double D tilted the mirror in his car and watched the sports car veer into the road. "This is unbelievable. Less then ten minutes way from home and already things are getting strange."

Vivian looked up into the sky again. She watched as the telephone poles raced by her window, blocking the sun for mere instants before allowing it to shine radiantly, in the skies overhead.

"…it's amazing. You sun is just like ours." She said. We have the same sun, and the same skies. The grass and trees are the same… well, except for these don't have faces."

Double D chuckled.

"She's right." Eduardo jr said, looking out of the window. "It's real weird, how similar our worlds look, huh?"

"Tell you the truth, I'm not used to seeing so many colors at once." Petuni added in.

Jimmy wasn't paying anymore attention, other then reading a book. Double D looked back in front of the car and looked toward the leading van that Eddy was in, still hopping up and down on the road.

Eddy laughed, as he and his bro where head-banging to the base. All of the while, the two goombas in the back continued to bounce up and down on the waterbed, giving shouts now and again.

"Eddy's brother, can we slow down?" Goombirro asked.

"What?" Eddy's brother asked.

"SLOW DOWN!" both of the Goombas shouted.

"What?" Eddy's brother asked again.

"They want you to slow down, bro." Eddy said.

"Oh… but we need to get this star-thing as fast as possible, right?" he asked.

Goombella thought as she continued to bounce. "Well, I guess so-"

"Then let's speed up!" Eddy's brother shouted. He floored the gas pedal, making the car speed up.

"Ok, bro, I think that's enough. You're breaking the speed limit!" Eddy shouted.

"A small price to pay." Eddy's brother said, turning up the radio.

The van jumped up and down even higher now.

"Eddy's brother, please!" Goombella shouted.

Eddy's brother sighed. "Alright look. My name is not "Eddy's brother." My name is-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a car horn beeping loudly.

The occupants of the van looked to their left and saw a sports car shoot out of some tall grass, getting air and coming right for them. They could hear everyone on the screaming hysterically.

Eddy gave a scream and grabbed the wheel from his older brother, before turning it. Their quick swerve let them avoid the on-coming sports car, though the flaming van now was off the road. Eddy's brother took the wheel again from Eddy and swerved. The van made it back on the road, but not without grazing a telephone pole. There was an audible "pop", and the van began to tilt to the right.

"Oh, great!" Eddy shouted. Eddy opened up the window and looked out of the car. He first took a peek at the wheels, and then at the sports car. "Way to go, Super Mario, you just gave us a flat!"

"Blame Rolf!" Ms. Mowz shouted as the cars sped.

Double D and his passengers had seen the whole thing from the safety of their own car.

"I hope Punio's ok." Pentuni said.

"What the heck just happened?" Eduardo jr asked.

"Knowing Eddy, he probably did something." Double D said. He looked ahead and realized Eddy's flame-painted van had a flat tire.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Double D said. He reached for a radio and pushed a button. "Eddy, report your status, over."

"Mario just gave us a flat!" Eddy shouted back. "It looks bad."

"This is crazy." Double D said to himself. "Eddy, pull into the next gas station we find, over."

"Yeah, we will." Eddy said.

"Roger that, over and out." Double D said, before placing the radio back.

"It looks like we're going to take a quick pit-stop." Double D said to his group.

Eddy's damaged van pulled into the gas station first. They where followed immediately after by the sports car, lugging Rolf's shed with them.

Eddy's van backfired and came to a stop in a parking space. The doors burst open, revealing Eddy and his bro, who where both ticked.

The sports car pulled up to them, with the shed behind it coming to a bouncing halt.

The silver car also pulled into the station next to them. The last van with the trailer halted, ending the chain.

Double D jumped from his car and looked at the station. There where few other cars parked there was well, though the most notable was a strange, old, multicolored bus. It looked like it wasn't from around those parts, because of the strange designs on the side of the bus. There was a word written on the side of the bus, but from this distance, it was illegible.

"Hey guys, I got a question." Eddy said. "How are we supposed to bring the guys from Mario's world with us? They aren't exactly going to blend in."

Double D's attention diverted from the odd bus and back to their situation. "…good question…"

However, curiosity struck again as he looked back toward the bus. "What kind of bus is this? Why is it painted in suck colors, and who owns this? What is it doing here?"

"Double D, c'mon!" Eddy shouted.

"Sorry, Eddy." Double D said. "Coming."

Author's Notes: Sorry if this was a little too short, I admit, I rushed this one a tad bit, but I am still satisfied with it. I do plan on fully revealing the first crossover next chapter, but in the meantime, please review.