Chapter 31 – Bubble, Bubble, laugh at trouble

For the longest time, the doors that led into the ballroom remained closed, there was no way in for any of Slappy's puppets to get in. However all of a sudden the doors flew open with a massive blasts, as G and the rest of his group stood beneath the frame, a smug look on each of their faces as they prepared for whatever was about to come.

"Knock, knock!" G called out in a mocking tone.

"Room Service!" Ruby added, feeling the need to add irony to the statement.

Had anyone been there to witness who came out of the ballroom, it would be doubtful that they wouldn't be trembling with shock, the confident look upon everyone's faces alone seemed to be downright epic. With their weapons returned to them and their hopes of escaping and saving their friend restored, Ruby, Franky, Uncle and Jenny were ready for the fight of their lives, granted they knew they would be fighting puppets of all things but they were also taking G's previous statement to heart, Slappy IS crafty, and whatever else he has up his sleeve, thy weren't going to hold back. Even some of their outward appearances had changed, thanks to some tinkering on Goggles' part, Jenny's outer shell had been rebuffed to its former glory, as for Franky, with his old personality restored, his gentlemen's attitude dropped and he was back to simply wearing nothing but an open Hawaiian shirt, his gold chain around his neck, and a shiny black speedo, all finished off with his signature sunglasses. Of course the other members of the group seemed to share the same attitude, Goggles seemed to regain his composure again, ready and willing to take at least one of those puppets apart for parts, and Chef was ready to get back at the one that gave him burns on his chest. And of there was G, leading the pack with a stern glare in his eyes, the Jolly Roger in his right one laughing manically as everyone readies themselves for what's coming. However to everyone's surprise, there was nothing waiting for them on the other side of the door, not one puppet.

"They're gone?" Laura asked nervously, sticking close to Chef since he seemed to provide the biggest meat shield.

"Doubtful," Franky growled, cracking his knuckles. "Knowing those little freaks, they must be skulking around somewhere else."

"So, where would Slappy be keeping Luffy now?" G asked, looking towards Ruby cautiously.

However that question was only met with a sigh from the red-hooded girl.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I used to be allowed to visit him in the attic as long as I didn't stay up there too long, but Slappy moved him somewhere else and I don't know where that is."

G couldn't help but growl at that.

"Cocky little bastard," he commented. "Alright, then we'll have to play it by ear for now. But first thing's first…"

At those words, G then began leading everyone through the halls of the hotel, carefully checking every corner in case any of the puppets decided to make an unwanted appearance, and when everyone passed another window that Rahzar decided to begin attempting to break through, G even felt cocky enough to give him the finger as though he didn't matter. Needless to say that severely pissed the wolf-mutant off, especially since he couldn't do anything about it, which was a welcomed concept during the current situation. After arriving in the hotel's kitchen without any problems, G decided to put the first step of his plan into action as he opened the door to the pantry.

"Alright Nyx," he said, looking towards the filly. "I need you to hide in here until we come back."

Obviously G wasn't willing to put Nyx into any more danger, especially after the incident back in Middle-Earth, so of course his first priority was to find a more suitable place for her to hide than the ballroom, somewhere that was a little more fortified, and after checking the inside there seemed to be no ways for any of the puppets to get through, thus making it the perfect spot. However Nyx wasn't too thrilled after hearing what G had planned for her.

"What!?" she gasped, astounded by what she had just heard. "No, I'm coming with you guys!"

G couldn't help but roll his eyes at that for he had expected such a reaction, this filly may have been noticeably terrified but her loyalty certainly knows no bounds. But given the circumstances, this time he was putting his foot down.

"Not this time kid," he said sternly. "Trust me, it's too dangerous."

"But…" Nyx tried to protest, only to be cut off with a paw on her shoulder.

"The guy is right Nyx," Goggles said, taking G's side. "You may be an Alicorn but you're still just a filly."

"And frankly you'll just be getting in the way," Franky added bluntly, obviously Nyx began to show a dislike for his real personality at that comment.

She would have protested even further, however given the fact that almost everyone in the room was given her the same stare, Nyx knew that this was an argument she wasn't going to win.

"Ugh… fine!" she retorted, stomping inside the storage area in defeat. "I'll just stay here… in a pantry."

Seeing the disgruntled look upon the filly's face, G couldn't help but sigh.

"Oh stop complaining kid," he said. "It's not like you're gonna be in there alone."

Hearing this, Nyx was instantly confused as to what G meant by that, however what happened next quickly answered her queries. All those who were unable to defend themselves in a fight were also placed inside the pantry with her, Laura was of course the first to join Nyx inside, then there was Lug Mossy and Spud, who only had so much combat experience despite their bravery, and finally there was Edward, a pacifist by nature but had a different reason for staying with the others. Chef would have been sent inside too because of his injuries but the brutish man was too stubborn and/or strong to quit on his vendetta, and even though two of the Dazzlings were more than happy to stay inside the pantry, Aria quickly convinced them that it would have been the coward's method of surviving, something of which that easily pushed Adagio's buttons. Once the chosen few were safely inside the pantry, G then began to close the door, but not before he uttered something to his friend.

"Keep them safe Edward," he said, earning a nod for the scissor-handed man, he didn't need any instruction to know exactly what to do in case of trouble..

"Yes G," he replied with a small smile.

And with that, G shut the pantry door, sealing off any entry for any puppets that may come by.

#

With the others in a safer part of the hotel, G then led the others back into the lobby, the one place in the hotel where he was sure would be a good starting point to begin their search… or at least where ONE of them would begin their search.

"So what do we do now?" Jenny asked curiously, attempting to use her X-ray vision to keep an eye on the surroundings, but to no avail since it remained damaged from her trip to the scrapyard.

It was then that G looked at his feet, where Goggles looked up at him, wondering what was going through his mind.

"Goggles, you know how to stay under the radar," he said to the Gizmonk. "Think you can find Luffy without being noticed?"

It didn't take a genius like Goggles to figure out just what G was planning, and though he may have been sceptical about the idea, he still felt that he at least owed G something for treating him the way he did earlier, so this seemed to be a valid way to pay him back.

"I'm on it!" he declared, causing G to smile.

"Good," he replied, pulling something out of his vest and giving it to the Gizmonk. "Here's a walkie-talkie, contact me when you find him okay?"

However for the moment Goggles seemed to be more interested in the strange metal device in his paws that listening to G's instructions, after all there was certainly nothing like it where he comes from.

"Nice tech," he muttered, almost salivating all over the device. "I really gotta start taking notes on these for when I get back."

"Goggles!" G snapped, snapping the Gizmonk out of his trance.

"Oh right, sorry," Goggles replied sheepishly. "I'm going!"

And with that Goggles ran down the nearest corridor, leaving the group flabbergasted at the speed he was going, even Ruby was impressed and she was practically the Flash in her own realm. However the real question was why G was sending the Gizmonk to search for Luffy on his own.

"What about us?" Ruby asked, voicing everyone's concern.

"You said Slappy had those puppets spy on you right?" G asked in response, earning a nod from the red-hooded girl. "Well if my theory is correct then some of them are gonna try to spy on us now, some may be doing so this very moment."

"Oh I get it," Franky commented, piecing together what G was trying to say. "You want us to keep the puppets' attention on us while that monkey uses the sneaky approach, nice!"

"An excellent strategy," Uncle added, smiling intently at the Living Genre's cleverness.

However not all were happy with the idea of being bait, particularly a certain Dazzling by the name of Adagio, however given how she and her sister were probably screwed anyway, she felt there was no point in arguing the matter now, however that didn't stop her from voicing her opinion.

"That's all well and good but don't you think it's a bit odd," she said, causing everyone to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "I mean we've been wondering about the hotel for a good few minutes, don't you think we would have spotted at least one of those puppets by now?"

As much as G hated to admit it Adagio did have a point, the Puppets may have been stealthy but they're also not the kind to waste any time, at least that's how Ruby described them. In fact the entire hotel seemed a little TOO quiet for everyone's liking, suddenly that silence was replaced by the sound of a fit of girly giggles.

"Aw… is the poor widdle girl is all confused?" a voice in the air asked.

"SLAPPY!?" Sonata squealed, jumping into Aria's arms comically, only for her sister to roll her eyes and instantly drop her.

"I doubt Slappy sounds that much like a girl, Sonata," Aria commented, pointing out her sister's foolishness.

Indeed it wasn't Slappy's voice that they had just heard, after all G knew HIS particular laugh anywhere. However the voice was still familiar, in fact it sounded just like someone the group had only met that very same afternoon, turning towards the source of the voice, G's suspicions turned out to be correct.

"M… Miss Hazel!?" Ruby whimpered, raising her scythe defensively.

Indeed it was Miss Hazel, casually leaning against the front door of the hotel with her arms crossed as if she didn't have a care in the world, not only that but there also seemed to be something extremely different about her, this afternoon she seemed to be little more than a curious woman but now she seemed to be acting more… childish, at least from the way that she couldn't help but giggle like a schoolgirl every time she opened her mouth.

"Oh I think just Hazel will be fine," she said, her voice sounding a bit younger than it should be as she started running her fingers through her hair until she untied her bun, letting all of her long, golden hair fall down her back. "After all we're all friends here, aren't we?"

Suddenly before anyone could say another world, yet another series familiar sounds began filling the room, the sounds of tiny feet running towards them and the heavy breathing and growls from wooden jaws, one of which filled with bullet-like teeth. Before anyone else could blink, all seven puppets had surrounded the group again.

"They're back!" Sonata screamed, once again jumping into Aria's arms, only this time she wasn't dropped.

Seeing the group shiver in fear at the sight of the puppets, Hazel couldn't help but giggle again.

"Aw, don't be so scared," she said playfully. "All they want to do is have a little fun with you guys… say, weren't there more of you?"

She may have been acting like an idiot but to her credit she certainly was observant.

"That's none of your concern!" Jenny snapped, shifting her arm into a mace. "Now perhaps you can make this easier on all of us and just tell us where your boss is!"

At those words, all the puppets growled and began edging their way closer towards the group, however all Hazel had to do was clap her hands to make them stop.

"Now, now, boys, let's not be too hasty," she said casually. "After all Slappy wants this to be entertaining, so there's no rush."

Sonata couldn't help but growl at that, granted SHE may have acted like a total air-head most of the time but even she knew when someone was simply downright insane. And from the way that Hazel has been acting, it all seemed that everything that was happening right now was little more than a game to her. However there was something else about this woman that just didn't seem right beside her attitude, at least in G's opinion she may have smelt a little off when he first met her but now G's nose was going into overdrive despite his bleeding nostrils. Suddenly it hit him.

"Just what exactly are you?" he asked, catching Hazel off-guard.

"Pardon?" she asked, unsure that she heard right.

"It's obvious, you're not some mortal girl that you're pretending to be," G retorted, clarifying his question. "Oh no, you smell completely different to anyone considered 'normal'. So what is it that your hiding Miss?"

After taking a few moments for G's question to seep in, Hazel suddenly found herself laughing out loud like a hyena.

"Ooh, is the little boy interested in a pretty lady's parfume is he?" she giggled, making it seem like she completely misread the question and causing G to blush violently. "Oh well, I suppose I've been getting bored with this getup anyway."

Suddenly before anyone knew it, Hazel suddenly began to spin around like a twister, causing a small powerful gust of wind to blow throughout the lobby, somehow including a few small blasts of lightning to go with it. With each passing second, the blur of which Hazel had become began to change colour, as though her very form was changing from the inside, finally she stopped spinning and revealed her true appearance, that of which caused every male in the room to blush, many of which soon had a small trickle of blood oozing down their nose. While once Hazel wore a tidy business suit, she now replaced it with something a little more… revealing. Now she wore a pair of thigh-length, light purple high-heel boots, along with a VERY revealing one piece suit that seemed to be made from the same fabric, a suit that left most of the skin bare, in fact the only things they did cover were the outer sides of her breasts and her… private area. She also wore a pair of silver bands on her wrists encrusted with what G could only assume was Jade, and a large blue cloak that she let hang beneath her shoulders, displaying what little shame she had about what she was showing off. To top it all off, her glasses were replaced with a deep green, pointy hat that had a small silver skull dangling from the tip of it, a skull that seemed to be as alive as G's Jolly Roger eye. However it wasn't just the clothes that had changed about her, she also had some physical changes too, while mostly she looked the same as she did before, the fact that she was wearing very little revealed that most of her tanned skin was now adorned with dark purple tattoos, many of which seemed to be magical symbols, not only that but her brown eyes had now seemed to be separating into two colours, while her right eye had become a golden yellow, her left had become a crimson red. In a nutshell she now appeared not only incredibly attractive, but also but mysterious as well, and needless to say EVERYONE noticed.

"Oh quit staring, would you!" she giggled playfully. "You're gonna make me blush."

However all the men only continued to stare, their jaws dropped to the floor as trickles of blood continued to pour out of their noses, even Aria seemed to be somewhat interested as she tried to hide her own blush. However the other girls weren't as entranced, in fact Ruby desperately tried to cover her eyes behind her scythe, all the while the others tried to snap everyone back to their senses.

"Sh… she's a witch!?" Ruby stuttered, unable to believe what had just happened, but more importantly just trying to avoid looking at her due to embarrassment.

"Well… this explains a lot," Aria added.

Suddenly Hazel's laughter turned into a sinister grin as she looked down at the group in front of her.

"Hit it boys!" she declared, striking a pose.

At first the group had no idea to what Hazel was talking about, then all of a sudden a blast of music erupted out of nowhere and the puppets began surrounding her in a pirouetting manner as a spotlight shone upon her from the rafters. It didn't take too long for everyone to soon realise that Hazel was now leading the dancing puppets into a musical number, all of a sudden finding their voices as they began to sing the first verse:

PUPPETS:

Who's the girl next door living in the spooky hotel?

HAZEL:

You'd better learn my name, cause it's—

Hazel!

PUPPETS:

She knows the darkest spells and she brews the meanest potions

HAZEL:

You might be the ingredient I seek

Nobody knew WHY Hazel was doing this, or even HOW she was doing this, in anyone's guess it was probably due to her magic, but regardless it was weird enough to snap all the men out of their trance and remain simply confused by the display. Upon seeing Hazel turn the entire Lobby into her own, multi-coloured dancing hall, G couldn't help but let his jaw drop, after all this was the sort of crazy thing HE would do. What's worse is that with the Puppets dancing around them like a tribe of wild savages, there didn't seem to be any way of escaping.

PUPPETS:

Don't let yourself be fooled by her innocent demeanour

HAZEL:

You'd better be afraid of the great—

Hazel!

PUPPETS:

She doesn't hang with dudes and she never combs her hair

HAZEL:

Who has time for girly things like that?

Suddenly, Hazel then stopped dancing for a moment and raise her right hand, which then began to emanate a magical pink glow as four of the puppets began to levitate with the same magical aura, namely Blade, Pinhead, Jester and Tunneler. She then made all four puppets spin around her whilst she performed a strange form of belly dancing, before long the tattoos on her skin began to glow with the same magical light, as did her eyes, in a strange way it looked as though she were performing with a magical hula hoop given the way the Puppets spinning around her began to pick up speed.

HAZEL:

Eye of newt, I cast a hex on you

Grandma's wig, this will make you big

Kitten spit, soon, your pants won't fit

Pantalones giganticus!

It was then that everyone realised just what Hazel was doing, the whole dance number was merely a distraction while she performed a new spell through her music, one of which she was using on the puppets themselves. Suddenly before everyone's eyes, the puppet's doubled in size, then tripled, then quadrupled, before long, all four puppets were the size of full grown humans, all standing at least 6 feet tall a piece. Needless to say, if anyone was still in a trace of looking at Hazel's assets, then they were certainly snapped out of it by now.

"HOLY CRAP!" Chef squealed as she grabbed all three Dazzlings and proceeded to give them a bear hug as though he were using them as a comforting blanket.

However even with the puppet's new transformations, the song continued, much to both Hazel's enjoyment and the others' dismay.

PUPPETS:

She can rule the world and still make it seem like housework

HAZEL:

Everyone knows that I'm the greatest—

Hazel!

PUPPETS:

You'd better watch your step, or she'll cast a spell on you

HAZEL:

I turned my papa into a spoon

It was then that Hazel's song suddenly took a slower pace and she used her coat to swiftly glide towards the group and snatch G straight off the ground, carrying him like a baby whilst hovering at least 10 feet in the air, Hazel merely giggled as the other members of the group looked at them with shock. Suddenly Hazel then looked into G's eyes and proceeded to stare at him as she continued to sing.

HAZEL:

I'm a slave to my spells, and yes, it's true, well

I don't have as many friends as you

But I think you're nice, and maybe we could be friends…

For the briefest moment, G felt his troubles seem to melt away, he couldn't tell whether it was because of Hazel's magic, or her beauty, but regardless his liking for "bad girls" was quickly taking him over at this point, and for some strange reason it seemed that Hazel was enjoying it too. However not even a second after she sang the last sentence, her expression changed from a gentle smile to a sly grin, one of which that made G instantly uncomfortable.

HAZEL:

And if you say no, you're toast!

At that moment, Hazel then tossed G into the air… only to let him fall and deliver a powerful roundhouse kick to his face, sending him flying through one of the walls. Upon seeing this, everyone instantly ran after him, with the hole being so big and so close to the floor it was easy enough for everyone to fit through. With his eyes and head spinning, the others had no choice but to carry G after finding him in the rubble, with Hazel now too distracted with her own musical number it was the perfect opportunity to try and run, or at the very least hide again. Just as they had hoped, Hazel was at this point too wrapped up in her own music to even notice their leaving, and since the puppets were under her spell at the moment, they didn't notice either as they drew into a big finale.

PUPPETS:

Who's the girl next door living in the spooky hotel?

HAZEL:

You'd better learn my name cause it's—

Hazel!

PUPPETS:

Just remember this when you see her on the street…

HAZEL:

I'm the coolest girl you'll ever meet!

I'm the coolest girl you'll ever meet!

I'm the coolest girl you'll ever meet!

With that final verse, Hazel then dropped to the ground and the music stopped, allowing her to strike the final pose. However it only took the witch a few seconds to suddenly realise that aside from the puppets, she was the only one in the lobby.

"Wait? They ran out on me during the big finale!?" she snapped angrily. "You ungrateful jerks!"

It was then that she turned her heads towards the now enlarged puppets as well as the three remaining small ones.

"FIND THEM!" she screamed, pointing towards the stairs.

Understanding her instructions completely, the puppets then proceeded to rush up the stairs, no doubt using their new size to check every room on the upper floors while Hazel continued to search the ground floor, with her talents finding someone on her own would be easy. Upon turning herself into a cloud of smoke, Hazel then shot out of the lobby. However had she bothered to check the lobby first, she would have noticed that the group hadn't actually left but rather hid in the empty space under the stairs, a crude and simple, yet effect tactic given to the group by Chef. Once sure that Hazel was no longer in the room, everyone let out a sigh of relief, however this was also the time where Adagio let out another one of her unwanted comments.

"Okay so we now have one psychotic dummy, seven killer puppets, four of which are now life size! And a witch that seems to know her way around a spell, throw in that savage beast outside and we have one hell of a party don't we!?" she snapped, causing everyone to roll their eyes.

"Save the comments for later!" Aria snapped, almost amazed herself by the fact that SHE would say such a thing. "What do we do now guys?"

It was then that Chef decided to take charge and voice his own opinion.

"Well, the bigger puppets are definitely gonna be a problem," he said, scratching his chin with thought. "And that witch won't make it easy for us either. By my reckoning, I guess the only option we have is to divide and conquer."

At those words Sonata raised an eyebrow, clearly oblivious to what exactly he meant by that statement, luckily Franky was there to clarify.

"You mean split up?" he asked sceptically. "I don't know man, I'm always up for a fight but we gotta consider our options here. I mean the singing trio over here aren't exactly what I call the fighting type."

"HEY!" Aria snapped, insulted by the insinuation.

"Them girls may not look like much, but I know for a fact that they can handle their own," Chef remarked defensively. "Trust me, they have talents that we can't even imagine."

However as much as the Dazzlings appreciated the rare compliment from Chef, that didn't stop any of them being more than terrified of the situation, so much so that Sonata voiced it aloud.

"Yeah but what about that witch?" she pointed out, fiddling with her ponytail in fright. "If she can make those puppets all big and scary like that, imagine what she can do to us!"

"The girl is correct," Uncle added. "Magic must defeat magic, and I'm afraid Uncle's chi spells may not be enough to deal with such spells, not without more research."

Adagio couldn't help but smack her head at that.

"Oh well that'll be perfect then!" she stated sarcastically. "Why don't we all just pop down to the local magic shop and buy some spell books!"

Needless to say, Uncle did NOT appreciate the sarcasm, in fact he couldn't help but deliver yet another two-fingered strike to the Dazzling's forehead upon finishing her sentence.

"DO NOT SASS UNCLE!" the old chi wizard snapped.

"So what do we do then?" Aria asked openly. "If Uncle's magic isn't enough, and WE certainly don't know how to use our own powers as of yet, we're not exactly gaining any new options."

Indeed the situation looked grim, it was bad enough that there was now practically an army of wooden soldiers awaiting them upstairs, but their trump card was a powerful witch that seemed to ENJOY toying with them on Slappy's behalf. However it was at this point, G was finally able to regain his sense and speak up to the others.

"I'll take care of the witch," he declared, having heard most of what the group said and catching everyone off-guard with his speech. "The rest of you can head upstairs and follow Chef's plan by splitting up into small groups, not only will there be a better chance of you just finding Luffy that much quicker but just maybe, if I can beat Hazel then whatever spell she's cast on the puppets will wear off and give you guys a better chance. It'll be madness against madness."

Needless to say everyone was sceptical with the idea, however Chef was more than willing to trust in the plan not only because he partly came up with it, but because given the fact that he saw G drive a whole army of orcs into a dance number, then there was a strong chance of his victory against Hazel. However that didn't stop the others from being more than nervous.

"What if we run into Slappy?" Ruby asked, causing G to look at her with confidence.

"Then make sure he doesn't get into your heads," he said sternly. "He may not be a fighter but he has ways of making you go insane just by talking to you."

It wasn't much but it was defiantly enough to put everyone on edge, but regardless G's and Chef's plan was all they had at this point, especially since the longer that they did nothing, the stronger the chance that Hazel or the puppets will discover the rest of the Group hiding in the pantry. Knowing what they needed to do, everyone looked at G with a confident nod.

"Good luck G," Franky said, shaking his hand.

"Thanks," G replied, gladly accepting the gesture with a smile. "I'm gonna need it."

And with that, G got out from under the stairs and left to begin his fight, leaving the others alone to wait for their opportunity to move. For the next few moments nobody said anything, however that soon changed when Adagio gave one last comment with a heavy sigh.

"We're all gonna die."

#

Author's Notes:

The Featured Song was inspired by "Ashley's Song" All credit goes to the Original Composer

watch?v=ZFE248eUkUU

The Character Nyx belongs to Pen Stroke / :iconPenstrokepony:

The Character Laura belongs to :icontwokinds:

The Characters Chi and Mimi belong to :iconbleedman:

The Character Ruby Rose belongs to Rooster Teeth

For the Image of G:

For the Image of Witch Hazel: