Chapter 13: Millennium Door 3
"Rolf, in honor of your bravery and heroism and in saving our Tree, I knight thee: Rolf, brave hero of the Punies." The elder said, giving him a new authentic whacking-bag.
"Rolf thanks you as well." Rolf said happily as he accepted the bag.
"Also accept this for our gratitude:" The elder held out a necklace.
In the Necklace was the puni emblem, imbedded in a medallion.
"Rolf accepts." Rolf placed the necklace around his neck.
He turned to his friends. "Shall we go? Like sock-head-Edd-boy said, we must return to the Thousand-Year door with the star to find the next one?"
"Yes. I bid you all farewell!" Double D said.
The punies shouted their goodbyes as they walked away from the tree.
"So… what's this I hear about? A door?" Jimmy asked curiously once they were far enough awar.
"You'll-a see it when we get there." Mario said.
Beep.
Mario reached into his pocket and revealed his mailbox SP to the surprise of Jimmy and Flurrie. He opened it and read it.
"Dear Mario:
It is me again. The X-Nauts saw you beating Crump so badly. Even I saw it, though some boy with blue hair did the most of the fighting as far as I can tell. Maybe he's this legendary hero that they keep speaking of?
...No, I doubt it. But just know that they're not letting this end without a fight, and will probably be on your case more now. Just be careful out there. I'll do what I can here to learn more. Until them, so long!
-Princess Peach Toadstool"
At the same time, Double D's laptop went off. He turned it on and activated his him computer.
He groaned. "Another message from Marie."
"Hey muffin!
Wazzup? Not much? You know, my sisters are really upset that Eddy and Ed are missing, because they can't talk to them. Maybe you are too.
Well, whatever, do I have a story for you, cupcake! I and Lee where in this big break dancing competition! And I completely won the game! I beat her so bad!
So anyway, we also heard you guys beat the crud out of this crump guy and some shadows. Sweet! Well, keep up the good work, and I'll be waiting for you, my knight! See ya!
You're my Muffin!
Marie Kanker"
"Muffin?" Jimmy couldn't help but laugh.
"We can talk about baked goods another time. Now we have to bring this star to the door!" Double D said quickly to avoid the subject.
They arrived at the door in good time. This time, Rolf held up the star, since he still had it. As he did, he also help the map. The lights started again, and the two crystal stars started floating in the air.
"This reminds me of the lights on the stage!" Flurrie dreamed.
Jimmy thought it looked rather spectacular.
A ray of light shone on Rolf standing up on the podium. He held up the map and allowed the light to pierce right through it.
Soon, the light show ended, and Rolf stood with the map.
Mario reclaimed the map and observed it. "I still can't-a-make heads or tails with this."
"We should get back to the professor." Goombella suggested.
"Is Frankly that Goomba archeologist?" Flurrie asked.
"And a professor." Goombella nodded.
"Well team, we should-a go now." Mario said. They all nodded and walked away from the chamber.
"Hm. Ha ha!" Frankly exclaimed.
"So, do you know where the star is?" Double D asked.
"Indeed!" Frankly said. "It is in a floating city called Glitzville!"
"Huh?" Double D asked, surprised by the mere concept of such a thing. "A floating city? Up in the sky, how's that possible?"
"When you have enough money, you can do just about anything around here. Anyways, it's just a huge tourist attraction."
"Yes!" Nazz said. "We finally have some fun!"
"Good. Anything else we need to know before we go?" Double D asked.
"One other thing you may want to know. In the center of this floating amusement park is a place called the Glitz pit. It's a fighting rink where people go to watch professional battlers duke it out."
"Sounds glorious." Jimmy commented. "But how do we get to this floating city?"
"Now's the hard part." Frankly said glumly.
"Oh boy, here we go." Nazz rolled her eyes.
"In order to get there, you must ride a blimp. But in order to get a ticket, one must have certain, um, connections." Frankly said.
"What kind of connections?" Koops asked.
"The Syndicate, the one that rules over the east side of Rougeport. Um… it's where you get them."
"What? You want us to make a deal with the mafia?" Jimmy asked, terrified by the thought of having to deal with criminals.
"There's no alternative." Frankly said. "Be careful."
"This is too dangerous for all of us to go." Koops said.
"Fine. Jimmy, Nazz, Koops, and Double D. Stay-a here." Mario instructed. "I, Goombella, Flurrie and Rolf will-a deal with this."
With that, the chosen group walked out of the house.
"…I guess that leaves us free to explore the town for the rest of the day." Double D said once they were gone.
"Do you know where to get something to eat about here? I'm positively starving!" Jimmy said as his stomach growled.
"Yes, let's go get a bite." Koops nodded.
The four of them walked from the house and back to Podley's again.
"So, what do they serve here?" Jimmy asked.
"Check this out." Nazz showed him the menu.
"Hmm… a Shroom Cake sounds a tad to causal, though it may make for a decent desert with a side of decor Spaghetti. Ah, I believe that is what I will order." Jimmy was a timid, but otherwise a very fancy eater and known for his artistic view.
"Have you decided your orders?" a waiter went to them.
"Spaghetti dinner with a touch of Shroom Cake with tasty tonic off to the side."
"Um… I'll just have the mushroom."
"Fresh juice, and a Zezz T. Special dinner, please."
"I'll take the Super mushroom."
"Coming up." The waiter said before they departed. As they waited, they got into discussion.
"So… seen any good movies lately?" Nazz asked Double D.
"Star Wars III. I feel it's a good end to the trilogy."
"Star Wars?" Koops asked, having obviously never heard of it. "What is Star Wars?"
"Do you know what a movie is?"
"Of course, I do. Our worlds aren't that different." Koops said.
"My bad." Nazz shied off for a second. "Anyway, the Star Wars trilogy is about an intergalactic war far away from our galaxy. I think there is roughly seven movies total."
"Correct me if I'm wrong… but if there are seven, then why did you say the 3rd just came out and ended the trilogy?"
"They showed the movies to the public out of order." Double D answered.
"That must have been confusing."
"Yeah, it sort of was." Nazz said. "Well, anyway, is there any movies around here you have seen?"
"You may not have heard of it, but have you heard of the movie called Koopa's day off?"
"No, what's it about?"
"Oh, it's this great story about this guy who works at a company, and he is given the day off. So, he takes the company car and joyrides it off a cliff…" As Koops went on, Double D looked at Jimmy who was drawing something.
He looked and saw Jimmy's sketch.
"Wow." Double D saw a near perfect illustration of Koops talking to Nazz.
Double D looked at the detail, from the shading and the faces all the way to the background. He even managed to get Flavio in mid-song in a table in the back of the restaurant.
"Do you like it?" Jimmy asked.
"This is truly a sight to behold." Double D said, examining the paper.
"Thanks." Jimmy said. He continued to draw as Double D looked back to Koops and Nazz.
"…and so he devours it, whole."
"Ha! Hounds like a funny movie!"
"I'd say the rest, but I'm don't want to spoil it." Koops said.
"We ought to get to the movie theatre and see this." Nazz said to Double D.
"Sounds good." Double D said.
"Any other good movies out?" Nazz asked Koops.
"Let's see. Um… there is 'The Paragoombas', 'The Legend of Zelda', and-"
"Your orders are here." the waiter said, causally handing them their plates.
"Ah, it looks divine! My compliments to the chef of this place." Jimmy said happily.
"Anything else?" The waiter asked.
"Nah, that's it." Nazz said.
"Thank you." The waiter walked over to the next table.
"Let's dig in." Nazz said.
Night rolled by so they went to the Inn again. Everyone had fallen asleep, except for Double D again. He had set up his laptop on a table and had just finished his reply to Marie. He re-read it for spelling errors:
"To Marie Kanker:
I received your electronic mail and heard about your dancing contest. Congratulations on your victory. Just out of curiosity, don't you feel strange having dance contests whilst being held against your will in parts unknown? Anyway, I found Jimmy, but none of the other Eds yet. I implore you to be cautious. Do not let your guard down.
-Edward."
"This should do." Double D said as he clicked on a button and the mail had been sent. "This feels so strange. I don't think I have ever been that open to the Kankers before."
He looked out the window to the moon.
"Hm…" Double D took out a telescope. He looked directly up and saw the city of Glitzville. He noticed lights from above the city.
"Hm…" he said as he zoomed in the multiple colors.
"Incredible…" he said. "Blue, yellow, green… that place glows in the night bright enough to be a star all its own."
He remembered what had occurred during Boggly Woods. There was no way he could have foreseen those strange events, nor could he tell what awaited him in that city of lights.
He looked at Mario who was fast asleep on one of the beds. "Today he made a deal with a mob. I heard his story about it, too. That man seems to have adventures every day."
He looked at the city one more time before closing his laptop and getting himself into his bed. He knew as he fell slowly to sleep, he couldn't possibly even dream of the events that would come to pass very soon.