Chapter 18: A shot at the Big Leagues

"SIX AM! WAKE UP, THE PARK'S OPENING!"

Double D woke up and sat up on his bed immediately, seeing Grubba at the door. He walked away to allow everyone to get ready.

The first thing Double D saw after Grubba had left was the incubator.

He opened the glass cover and looked at the egg. "Hey, little egg. How are you this morning?"

The egg didn't respond, though he didn't expect it to.

"I'll just let you rest in here." Double D said, closing the glass top.

"Okay leader." Jimmy said to Double D. "What's the plan for today?"

"We will go book a match. You see, we're in 11th as the ranking stands. If we beat the 10th ranking tag team, we get to rise to 10. Then, we'll be in the major leagues and halfway to the next star." Double D answered.

"Oh, I almost forgot why we were here!" Jimmy gasped.

"So, let's do this!" Rolf said, ready for action.

"Excuse me." King K spoke up, making everyone look at him. "Bandy Andy's still missin'!"

"He hasn't come back all night?" Double D asked curiously.

"No. This is gettin' serious. I'm headed to look for Andy!" King K said, running out of the room.

"I hope he'll be okay." Koops said to Mario.

"That guy will BOMB be fine." Master Crash assured.

"King K fool. He stupid." Cleftor said.

"Right…" Double D said slowly before he, and the boys on his team along with Mario and Koops went to the locker room.

"Hi!" Goombella called out once they entered.

She, Nazz and Flurrie were waiting in the room for the boys.

"Hello." Double D said and walked up to the monitor where Grubba appeared.

"Hm? Oh, again Eduardo? Ready to fight as usual, eh? Y'all ready, because your next match will be against the 10th best here, the Armored Harriers! Okay, in this match I want ya to appeal to the crowd at least once! You know, show off. I'll send a security guy down in five."

"So team, are you ready?" Double D asked.

"Ready!" The three of them said.

"We're going to go grab some seats while there's time. Good luck!" Flurrie waved to Team Gonzales as they walked away.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Could someone go get Eddy quickly?" Double D asked, stopping just at the door.

"Allow Rolf." Rolf bowed, then ran out of the door.

Four minutes later, Rolf returned with Eddy.

"What do ya want! I had to close the stall again for you people!" Eddy shouted, not too happy to have been suddenly dragged away.

"Eddy, I need you to look after this egg while I 'm in the ring." Double D said, showing him the incubator.

"What?" Eddy asked.

"Just keep an eye on it while where gone." Double D said.

"Fine." Eddy groaned.

"Match time, bub." A security guard came in and informed the team.

Double D nodded and led his team out of the room.

"Good luck, Eduardo!" Master Crash shouted.

"Hm… stupid egg." Eddy muttered, glaring down at the egg.

The egg started shaking.

"Oh, what are you doin'?! Quit moving!" Eddy shouted at the egg, which started shaking even more.

"What?" Eddy muttered, opening the glass lid to see the egg.

"What's going on with BOMB Eduardo's egg?" Master Crash asked.

Even Cleftor seemed interested, as he too walked over and saw the egg continue to shake.

"That's what I'd like to know!" Eddy said.

Suddenly, a crack formed on the egg.

"Oh no! He's gonna kill me when he sees the egg's cracked!" Eddy shouted in panic.

"Eddy, I'm not so sure it's BOMB broken." Master Crash said.

A hole appeared where one crack was. A small hand popped out.

The three gasped at the sight.

The hole opened deeper and out of it protruded a small face.

"Whoa…" Eddy gasped as he saw it. "The egg's hatching…"

"Hey folks! Welcome back to the Glitz pit! Today we feature a big day for Team Eduardo. They have been rising to the top faster then any team here before! If they win, they will be in the major leagues!"

Team Eduardo walked into the arena waving at the cheering audience.

"So, you've come so far, in spite of a lot of events. How are you feeling?"

Double D as the representative of his team stood forth. "Well, Grubba, I must say the trip so far has been enjoyable, and a good experience, in spite of a few, ahem, accidents. As for this fight's opposing team, I wish them the best of luck."

"There you have their take!" Grubba said. "And those to oppose Team Eduardo, give it for the Armored Harriers!"

Two large clefts entered the room, larger than clefts they've seen. These had large spikes on their heads, and had mean looks in both their eyes. They were almost as tall as Double D. One had red eyes, while the other had green.

Conversations from the crowd started the second they walked in, ranging from "Nice spikes!" to "Whoa, big rock dudes!"

The harriers walked to the ring.

"Hey." Grubba turned off the MIC and talked to the two so nobody else would hear. "This Eduardo guy. He said he would mop the floor with you rocks, and that you should stick to the video games yo mama gave ya!"

"What!?" The red shoed one shouted.

"Now get out there and keep these guys from the major leagues." Grubba told them and then turned on the MIC and spoke. "Time to BATTLE!"

"So, it's time to head to the majors, huh?" Jimmy said.

"You're gonna pay for what you said!" The harriers said.

"What did we say?" Double D asked but it was too late.

POW!

He took the first hit and fell down. He got up seconds later.

"Uh…." Double D rubbed his face. "Okay, those clefts are truly serous about this. Best if we end this as soon as possible."

"Gotcha." Jimmy nodded.

Rolf ran ahead first and readied his hard bag. He slammed it down on the cleft with all his might… and when Rolf looked to check the damage, he gasped. Not even a scratch.

"Is that the best you got?" The red-booted one asked.

"Impossible!" Double D said. "He wasn't hurt a bit!"

"Um, duh! Armored harriers? We have the Armor to withstand whatever attack whatever attack you got. Nothing can withstand contact with this!"

"Oh no. There must be a way around this." Double D muttered, his mind racing.

"Perhaps the star will assist?" Rolf asked.

"It will merely hold them still in time. It won't hurt them. Maybe I can try this!" Double D said and pointed straight at the harriers. "Fire!"

A ball of fire shot from his hand at hit the harriers. Double D waved his hands to prevent a fire from staring, but when he did, he realized it did nothing.

"Ha! Did you forget that rocks aren't flammable?" One of them asked.

"Not good, not good, not good. Fire will not help me here. Perhaps I can try adding a word onto the spell to alter its effects?" Double D thought frantically.

One of the harriers careened across the ring and hit Jimmy he fell down and didn't get up.

"Sorry guys." Jimmy whispered before losing consciousness.

The other harrier struck Rolf. He took the hit with a scratch or too, but because he was stronger than Jimmy, he managed to take it.

"Any ideas?" Nazz asked.

"One." Double D said. "Okay, I haven't done this before, so I'll try to think of some sort of fire attack that makes sense. Maybe… fire ball? It should create a sphere of flame."

Double D pointed at the harriers and shouted. "Fire Ball!"

The small light turned from white to an orange. It fired from Double D's hand and struck the harriers. They were surrounded by smoke.

"That should work." Double D waved his hand and dismissed the attack.

A second later the smoke vanished… but the harriers were unscathed.

"What!" Double D shouted.

"Ha!" The harriers shouted as they attacked Nazz and Rolf who tried defending themselves.

One of the harriers hit Nazz, and she couldn't take it.

She fell down onto the floor. "I can't continue."

The other hit Rolf, who fell as well. "Rolf apologizes."

Double D was alone, already hurt. He felt weakened already.

"There has to be a way to turn this around. I've been thinking too simplistically, that's it. The fire and fire ball attacks are fine, but I need to try to think of another one."

He pointed again and shouted the first attack that he could think up. "Flame!"

He wasn't sure what that would do, but he decided to see.

Fireballs or different sizes began falling like rain … and that's all that happened.

"What? That's it?" One of the harriers asked.

"Uh! I should have known!"

"Now to end this." The harrier charged at him again.

He needed to think of something fast, otherwise this would be the end of the match.

"Flame Shield!"

A force field of fire appeared before him, and the harrier bounced off it. However, as it made contact, the shield dispelled. He didn't have enough time to say it again before the other harrier hit him. He went on his knees.

He tried to struggle against the pain, the weakness… but he failed. He lost his fighting ability and fell on the floor.

"The Armored Harriers win!" Grubba shouted.

"Ha! That will teach you!" The harriers said.

Shouts of cheers and boos came from the audience.

"Uh… that was terrible." Double D said as his team and Jolene walked back into the locker room.

Well, Jolene walked while Team Gonzales limped.

"Sorry. Next time we'll try harder." Nazz said, sitting down on a bench.

"No. They're too tough. We should quit now…" Double D shook his head.

"No way, we can't quit." Jimmy protested. "Remember? We got to stay in this until get to the champ level and the Crystal Star."

"What!?" Jolene asked in shock. "What crystal star!"

"Nothing!" Jimmy peeped.

Jolene stared at him for a moment before turning to Double D. "Here's your pay…" She said, giving Double D a measly coin. "Your rank stays at 11. Good day…"

Jolene was shaking as she walked out the door.

"Ooookay." Nazz said, a little unnerved by the way Jolene was acting.

"But seriously, what do we do now?" Double D asked.

"We fight again, as would my ancestors." Rolf said, holding up a clenched fist.

"But how? Even magical attacks of fire didn't hurt them." Double D pointed out. "Unless we find a way, I give up hope… oh my!"

Double D panicked. He noticed the incubator he had set. The egg's shattered remains laid scattered in the incubator as well as a bit of sticky liquid.

He angrily turned to Master Crash and shouted. "WHERE'S EDDY?"

"Calm down, sock-head! I'm right here."

Douvle D turned to see Eddy walk into the locker room. "Eddy! What has occurred with the egg!?"

"Sock-head, I want to show you something." Eddy simply said.

He walked to the side revealing a small, lizard like creature, no more than 1 and a half feet tall. It was wearing shorts, and some shoes that looked like sneakers. It was blue colored, with a white stomach, and it's hair was styled like a Mohawk. It gave a smile and a chuckle.

"Yo!" It said in a somewhat squeaky voice.

Double D gaped, just staring at the small creature. "Eddy? You mean…"

"Yep. This little thing hatched from the egg." Eddy nodded.

"Eddy…" Double D was in shock.

"So, as soon as you left, the little egg started shaking. It hatched and out popped this little creature. I gave it the Mohawk style… I thought it would look cool. And that's when you showed up."

"Fascinating." Double D said, examining the creature.

"So, I heard from Eddy here that you saved me from this mad, hot dog vendor?" The creature said.

"Yes, I suppose I did. I wasn't going to let anything happen to you, and it appears as though you successfully hatched." Double D commented.

"Thanks to you!"

"Incredible. This had merely hatched and already it can walk with good posture, communicate, and understand concepts!" Double D said as the Gonzales team walked in.

"We're sorry about the fight- holy cow, a Yoshi!" Koops said and then exclaimed when he saw the little creature.

"Yoshi?" Double D asked.

"That's what that creature is." Goombella explained.

"Did that hatch from the egg?" Flurrie asked.

"He did indeed!" Double D said.

"And I can put up a fight. Seriously, dude! I can hold my own! I heard things from the other people around here while I was in the egg. This place is called the Glitz pit, and you're fighting to get a crystal star." The Yoshi said.

"Wow! You're observant too!" Double D observed.

"I also heard you're on this quest or something. Sounds cool. Count me in!" The Yoshi said.

"So, what's-a your name?" Mario asked.

"…I don't have one. I was just hatched." The Yoshi shrugged.

"How about Eduardo Jr?" Eddy laughed at Mario's idea. "After all, you're the kid's hatchling!"

Eddy then broke into laughter.

"Hey! That sounds cool!" The Yoshi agreed.

"Okay, Eduardo Jr!" Double D nodded and the newly named Eduardo jr. smiled. "Okay, I say we try this again!"

Double D turned to the monitor.

"Oh! I see you're the type who doesn't accept failure, eh? Nice. If Y'all up for it, I'll set up your rematch. Same rules apply as before."

"Hey! Can I join this thing?" Eduardo Jr asked Double D.

"Do you want to fight? You only hatched a few minutes ago." Double D asked, not wanting the newborn to be hurt after just hatching.

"Positive. Like I said, I can hold my own. Seriously, put me on the ring and I can show you what I got!"

"..fine. Grubba? I have to ask you something." Double D turned back to the monitor.

"Yes?"

"Is it possible to add an extra member to my team?"

"Yes, but you will have to bring your ranking down to the lowest again."

"WHAT!"

"Haw haw! I'm foolin' kid! Of course, but that's your limit." Grubba laughed and clarified.

"Whew." Double D sighed.

"Who's the new fighter?"

"Eduardo jr." Double D held up the yoshi for Grubba to see.

"Ah, a Yoshi.. This will surely be a great fight. Security will be there any minute now. I 'll add your new team member to the list."

"That's right folks!" Grubba shouted in the MIC. "A rematch or the Armored Harriers VS Team Eduardo!"

"We'll defeat you so badly!" The harriers laughed as the teams faced each other again.

"Not this time!" Double D said confidently.

"Time to BATTLE!" Grubb shouted.

"Okay, we have to appeal to the audience at least once. Otherwise, give it you're all." Double D reminded the team who nodded.

"Let me go first!" Eduardo Jr said eagerly.

"As you wish." Double D conceded.

Eduardo Jr ran up to one of the harriers. It didn't prepare for any sort of counterattack, positive they could withstand the attack.

"Now, say ah!" Eduardo Jr simply said.

"Ah?" It asked.

The little Yoshi opened its mouth, and out come a long tongue, like a frog's.

"WHOA!" Double D gaped and watched Eduardo Jr grab the surprised harrier by his tongue and shove it right into his mouth.

"Did he just eat the guy!" Jimmy asked, looking horrified.

A second later, the Yoshi shot the harrier out of its mouth and it collided with the other.

"Ow… I guess our attacks our powerful enough to hurt anyone… including ourselves if we collide like that." One of the harriers groaned while lying on the floor.

"Perfect! That's the key!" Double D snapped his finger.

Eduardo Jr came back to Double D's side satisfied. "Was that good?"

"Perfect!" Double D said, patting its head.

Little Eduardo jr jumped up and down in joy, followed by a few "awws" in the audience. "Everyone, one more of those attacks will do! Protect Eduardo jr until he attacks again!"

"Right." Rolf, Nazz and Jimmy said in unison.

The harriers attacked, but Double D stepped in the way to protect Eduardo jr.

"Flame Shield!"

A shield came before them and protected them from one of the harriers, but the other charged up.

"No, you don't!" Jimmy, Nazz and Rolf all jumped in the way and blocked the hit with their staff/bag/arm.

"Now, if you can do the honors?" Double D asked the little Yoshi.

"Yeah!" Eduardo Jr nodded and ran over to the first harrier, and gulped it in his mouth, then shot it out.

Both of the harriers collided, then fell and didn't get back up.

They were defeated.

"WOW!" Grubba shouted. "Amazing, the victory of Team Eduardo has finally come in. They are headed for the big leagues now! Let's give it up!"

The crowds went wild. All sorts of cheers greeted their ears. Confetti rained from the rafters. They all gave out shouts and cheers.