Chapter 2: Foolish Fool
We head back to the east side of Rogueport after we got Marias stolen money back. This place is already showing its colors with petty crime. Goombella spoke up. "Lets pass by the gate over there." She pointed to doorway up ahead.
We nodded and walked to it. But then, a bird guy with a green vest, green bandanna and spear walked from the other end and stood before us. "Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up now! You're outsiders!"
"And?" I asked.
"Past this point is the turfs of Ishnail, head of the Robbos." The bird guy replied. "It's 10 coins to pass through." A fucking toll, seriously?!
"Oh give a fucking break!" I snapped as they turned to me. "We're looking for someone and just passing by and you expect us to pay a toll!?"
"Look pal, i'm only doing my job." The bird guy stated.
"Like hell you are." Goombella spoke up. "You're Gus. I know you. I see you around other places in Rogueport to have others pay certain "Tolls" just to get your boss rich."
"Hey it's a living." He shrugged. "Unless you wanna pass by, just pay 10 coi-"
*WHAM!*
He didn't finish when I socked him in the face as he fell like a sac of potatoes. He had a lump on his head as he had stars circling his head.
I cracked my knuckle with a sigh. "MAN, I needed that."
"Jeez Ace, you got a short temper on you." Goombella commented.
"You can thank certain people for helping me develop it." I spoke as I grabbed Gus by the shirt and dragged his ass out of the way and tossed him to the side. "I don't have the best tolerance for BS."
"...well uh, lets keep looking." Maria spoke. We searched for the houses on the other end of town, but they were either empty or locked. "Damn no luck."
"Hmmmm, maybe one of the other houses might be it." Goombella suggested. We passed the doorway again to a small house. We opened the door and walked in. Inside were numerous books, scrolls and maps. At a desk nearby was an old goomba fellow reading a book. "Oh there you are Professor Frankly."
"Whuzzuh?" He jerked up from his book. "Who's there? Who wants me?" We approached his desk. He eyed Goombella while adjusting his glasses. "Ah yes. Now…you uh…I've seen your face before…"
"I'm sure you remember me, professor." Goombella smiled. "Its-"
"Wait for it…" He cuts her off. "Just a moment…Don't tell me, Now! Silence! I'll get it right!" heee hummed. "It's not Goombriel…eerrr…its not Elizagoom..Hrrmmmmmm…HRMMMMMMM! HRRRRRMMMMMM!" He gasped. "I've got it!" He turned back to the girl with a smile. "You're Goombella! You were in my Archeology class last year, am I right?"
"That's right." The goomba girl nodded. "Junior at U Goom. GOOOO GOOMBAS!"
The old man chuckled. "Of course. Not to toot my own horn, but im pretty good at remembering." He adjusted his glasses. "But you Goombella. You stick out in my mind because you were such an exceptional student." His brain must take some time to remember things. He turned to us. "And these two are…"
"I'm Ace." I greeted.
"And I'm Maria." The brunette greeted with a thumbs up.
"WHO?!" He questioned making us faceplant.
We got back up. "She's Maria, professor. You know. Hero of the Mushroom kingdom. She's famous." Goombella explained.
"Oh! My apologies." Frankley spoke. "I am such a bookworm. I haven't got a clue about what's "hip" right now. In any case, what sort of errand brings you three all the way to a place like this?"
"We were hoping you'd tell us about the legendary treasure said to be below Rogueport." Goombella explained. "I thought if anyone knew anything about it, you would, professor."
"Of course I know about it, the reason I came here was to study that very subject." He replied. "But why would you tykes want to learn about the legendary treasure? You know most say it's little more than a fairy tale don't you?"
The goomba girl crossed her arms under her breasts. "Archaeologists and historians have to research for truth in those fairy tales, though. Like me, I believe the treasure truly exists. And I really want to find it. It's the whole reason why I came to this crummy town."
"Good point, and well made! In that case, I'll cooperate with you however I can." The professor stated while adjusting his glasses. "First of all, about the treasure… There are many mysteries surrounding it."
"What do you know about it?" I asked.
"Well sonny, some say it's an infinitely vast treasure hoard, while others say its a magical item." He mentioned while cupping his chin. "Some of the books say it's actually a monster, while others claim it's an empty chest." He does have a point: the older a legend is the more its tale would branch out. "So many different theories, obviously. It's impossible to divine the truth among them. But, all agree on one point: To find the treasurer, one must have the Crystal Stars." Wait didn't Crump question Goombella about the crystal stars?
"That's right, Crump mentioned these Crystal Stars when he was interrogating Goombella." I spoke up. "But…what are these Crystal stars? Why are they important if he needs to demand that kind of information?"
Frankley adjusted his lab coat. "Well, I was only able to learn a bit about them before you all arrived. According to legend, the Crystal Stars are seven star gems with incredible power. Some even say they even possess divine abilities beyond mortal hands."
"And there was a saying. "To find the treasure of yore, take the seven crystal stars to the Thousand-year door." Goombella added.
"Thousand-Year Door?" Maria blinked.
"Yes, it is where the treasure lies," the professor nodded. "As the name says, the door existed thousands of years ago during the days the old town lay before it disappeared."
"Sounds like the Crystal stars are also keys to the door as well." I commented.
"That's right sonny." He nodded. "To find the legendary treasure…you must find and collect the Seven Crystal Stars."
"Then, "Hold the magical map afloat before the entrance to the Thousand-Year Door. Then the stars will light the way that leads to the stones of yesterday"." Goombella finished. "So by that logic it this map is taken to the door then it reveal the location of the crystal stars."
"Precisely." Frankley smiled. "And from my recent study, the Thousand-Year Door is supposedly here, deep beneath this town." His smile faded to a frown as he sighed. "However, we are missing the most critical piece of the puzzle. The Magical Map. Without it, we won't be able to find the Crystal Stars."
"Well funny you should say that." I chuckled.
"Excuse me?" He blinked.
"Maria happens to have the very Magical Map we need." The goomba girl smiled.
"WHAT?!" The professor shouted in shock at the Plumber girl. "Hummina, humidity, hubbida, hippity, hoobida, hammala, huffala, hoofala…Really?!"
"Easy old timer before you have a heart attack." I spoke up.
Frankley took some breaths to calm down before speaking. "You…You actually have it?" Maria nodded. "Could I…just take a quick look at it, if you don't mind?" Giggling, the brunette came up to him to take the map out. She unfolded it and held it to the goomba elder as he looked into it. "Astonishing! This is it!, the real thing! The one and only magical treasure map!" He gave it back as he smiled brightly. "You my dear, aree my HERO! You're great! Fantastic! Wonderful, even!"
He gave out an excited laugh. "With the map, we can find the Crystal Stars just by holding this afloat before the legendary Door!"
"Right on professor!" Goombella grinned brightly.
Professor Frankley got up from his desk. "Good golly what are we doing just sitting here then!? Maria! Goombella! Ace! Off we must go, this instant! Let's take the magical map to the legendary Door!"
"Loud and clear professor." I nodded. We walked out of his home. "So how do we get underground, is the question?"
"Oh thats easy sonny." He mused before he walked to a fence. Behind the fence was a large green pipe. "That pipe will lead us to the underground city ruins of Rogueport."
"We are going there via a giant pipe?" I blinked. "Is it safe?"
"It is, I've done it lots of times." Maria assured me.
Frankley gave a kick to the fence as a part of it broke off. "Come along now, let's get moving!" He jumped up and slid down the pipe. So we are actually going down a giant pipe then.
"This is gonna be worth the trip here!" Goombella cheered before running to the pipe and jumped down. "Look out beloooooooooooow!"
Maria giggled and turned to me. "Well lets not keep them waiting Ace." she walked to it before jumping down said pipe as well.
I sighed a bit. "Well if this is the only way." I walked up to the pipe before leaping into it. I slid down into darkness at high speeds. "Uh, how do I slow down in this thing!?" I saw light ahead. "Oooooooh crud!" I popped out before trumbling and hit against a stone wall. "Gah!" I fell back as my vision spun with stars dancing around me. "Uuuuuuuuugh, mommy…?"
"Oooooo that's gotta hurt." I heard Goombella spoke.
While my vision stabilized, I saw the plumber and goomba girl approach and help me up. "You okay there Ace?" Maria asked.
I shook my head. "Yeah, despite slamming face first into a stone wall."
"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it." She assured.
Looking around, there were numerous stone houses and ruins around us. Lighting the area were stars in the stone sky. "Whoa this is the old city?"
"Thats right." Frankley nodded. "Some even say these ruins are the remains of the old town that once lived here thousands of years ago. Some of the Rogueport residents made this place their home now."
"Well let's search for the thousand year door." Goombella grinned excitedly. We took the left path first, which lead to what looked like the main square of the underground city. We were unable to advance since there was a pillar blocking our path. "Shoot, we're gonna have to look for another path."
I kneeled to the pillar as I noticed a large crack. "Hmmm, I think if we use some kind of explosive we might break this pillar."
"Well, we might as well forget that for now." Frankley implied. "Let's try the other path." We gave a nod before heading back the way we came.
While walking, I was thinking about all this. "Ace?" I turned to Goombella. "Something on your mind?"
"Its about this Thousand-Year door business." I explained. "Before I ended up here I had this weird dream about another door but once it opened darkness started pouring out of it."
"Seriously?" She blinked. "What else did you see?"
"I think I saw-" I strated.
"Hey! Hey man! What's up? Who's the hottie you got there with you?" A gruffy male voice spoke up. We looked up and saw a trio of Goomba guys, one wearing a helmet with a spike and another having wings ahead of us.
"Who in the?" I blinked.
"Wassup baby?" The goomba with wings grinned at Goombella. "Why don't you and your red hat girlfriend hang with us for a while. We play REAL nice." Great guys who think they are ladies men.
"What's a FINE-looking Goomba babe like you doing with a loser punk grub guy like that?" The spike head goomba scoffed at me mockingly. I couldn't help but feel ticked off by the insult.
"Oh, it is like SO sweet that you big boys think I'm cute." Goombella swooned with a bashful smile. "Guys like you make me like…" Her swoon bashful expression turned to a scowl. "TOTALLY annoyed to hell! Now fuck off!"
"Ouch, that's cold." The normal goomba winced.
"What, you are too good for us? Come off it, baby!" The wing goomba spoke in a hurt tone.
"No one zings us like that, Nobody!" The helmet goomba shouted. "Lets get them boys!" They ran at us.
Maria and Goombella were about to charge in before holding my hand out. "No." I turned back to them with a firm expression. "They're mine." I cracked my neck loudly and did the same with my knuckles. "Gonna be getting them back for the little insult they gave me." I ran to them as well before they surrounded me.
"Ha, you think you can take us on? It's a three on one loser." The normal goomba grinned. "Once we clobber you, those dolls are as good as ours."
"There is something in common with thugs like you, all talk and no walk." I shot back.
"Oh yeah!?" The flying goomba shouted and rushed at me. "Take this!" I ducked the moment he got close before snagging him by the wings. He paled a bit. "Uhhh….mercy?"
"Nope!" I shouted and kneed him hard in the stomach causing the wings to pop off him. He coughed out saliva before I tossed him to the normal goomba. They crashed together into a pile.
"Oh hell no! No one disrespects us!" The helmet gooba guy snapped as he rushed at me, head down with the spike out at me. I side stepped before swinging a fist down on his head as he passed causing him to slam face first into the stone floor.
They groaned in pain as they got up. I towered over them. They looked up at me as they started trembling and sweating. "Piss off…NOW!" I roared. They yelled and quickly ran away with their tails between their legs. I scoffed. "Light weights."
The others ran to me before Goombella suddenly tackled me in a hug. "That was AWESOME Ace! Way to stick it to them!"
I couldn't help but blush a bit. "I-it was nothing Goombella, I didn't like how they were talking."
Frankley chuckled. "Regardless, you know how to fight. Be sure to keep it up. There's plenty more where that came from." I nodded. "Now then, let's press on." We kept moving. We took a floating panel to another pipe. One by one, we went down the pipe, going deeper.
I slid down last as the others waited. "Man, how deep does this place go?" I asked.
"VERY deep." Frankley replied. "We should be getting close though." I nodded as we walked down the stairs to a couple of cell doorways. Nearby were yellow blocks with question marks on them.
"What are these?" I asked.
"Those are mystery blocks." Maria answered. "These are spread all over the mushroom kingdom. They can contain goodies and items inside." She demonstrated by hitting the block with her hammer. It suddenly went blank, but a red mushroom popped out. "See whenever you see one give a good whack and it will spit something out."
I picked up the red mushroom. "I take these mushrooms be common to find?"
"On the nose." Maria mused. "Mushrooms are kinda a delicacy for all of us in the mushroom kingdom, hence why we called said kingdom it."
I hummed before I sniffed it. It smelled fresh, as if it was just picked. I took a bite out of it. I blinked as I tasted so much flavor. "Whoa didn't know a mushroom would have that much in it."
"And that's only a red mushroom." The brunette giggled. "Some other mushrooms of higher capacity have more flavor than the next. Even some have special properties."
"Huh, this place continues to surprise me." I spoke as I kept eating the mushroom. We moved on before seeing two small yellow blocks. Maria smashed them into pieces and revealed another pipe. "Deeper we go." We went down the pipe again before we reached a large cavern room. There was a bigger yellow block and a platform. "Whoa…" I blinked before noticing a small gray creature with a green tuff on an antenna. It took notice of us and quickly ran through a hole. "Uh what was that?"
"Not sure if I'm honest." Frankley hummed. "Maybe some little critter that lives in these ruins?" I gave a shrug before we pressed on.
We took notice of two creatures. They were green in color with discs as the body with a face. "What are those?" I asked.
Goombella took a book out before flipping the pages and stopped on onee. "Ah, those are called Spinias. Bizarre creatures made of thin cardboard." Cardboard creatures?
"Are they dangerous?" I asked.
"Hostile, but easy to defeat." She nodded. "Just be careful as they are pretty quick." Maria suddenly yanked me back and swung her hammer down. One of the Spinias was crushed just inches where I was standing before it poofed in smoke. "Yeah like that."
"Whoa, thanks for the save." I spoke to the brunette.
"No problem." She nodded. She looked around before she grew a grin and walked to a wall.
"Uh Maria? Why are you-" I started before she threw a punch in the air. Out of the bloom, a red block popped out as something dropped from said block. "The hell?"
"I forgot to tell ya, there are some blocks that like to hide in plain sight." She mused. "So you have to keep a sharp eye out for them."
"...you're good." I commented. She giggled before picking up what was dropped. It was a square with a yellow buzzsaw inside it. "What is that?"
"Ah, you found a Badge." Professor Frankley spoke up.
"A badge?" I blinked.
"Badges in these parts are contained with certain abilities that can give one an edge in a fight." He explained. "The one Maria found is called Pretty Lucky, it can give her the ability to cause enemies to miss her when they attack."
"Huh that's something." I replied. We moved on before seeing a blue block with an exclamation mark in it. "Is this a block?"
"It's a switch actually." Maria answered. "They can activate hidden mechanisms in the area." she demonstrated by hitting it with her hammer. The wall on the side peeled away like paper, revealing a set of stairs to the top. "And now we have a way up."
"Just when I thought I saw it all." I breathed. "But uh was that normal for the paper peeling thing?"
"Pretty much." They replied in unison. We then made our way up the stone steps to the second level of the chamber. There was some kind of platform with a paper airplane symbol on it.
"What could this be for?" Frankley hummed.
"Not sure, but I got a feeling we;re gonna be seeing that a lot." I theorized.
"Hey guys! Over here!" We saw Goombella looking down the platform. We approached her. "Look there." She pointed to a small stand which a black key idly sat on. "There's a key just laying there."
I hummed before I jumped down and landed on said platform before grabbing it. "I got it." They helped me back up as we looked at it. "Wonder what it's used for?"
"Best we keep it just in case." Maria suggested. We moved on and investigated the doorway nearby. Passing through was a small room, but had a black chest in the middle of it. "Hmmm a simple chest room?"
"Wait, black chest?" I blinked and took the black key out. "Maybe this is what the key is for."
"Possible, but we should be careful we don't know what might be inside." Frankly warned.
I nodded as I walked to the chest. I kneeled to it and touched it. It suddenly jittered as a voice called out. "Whoa!"
"Gah!" I yelped and fell back. "It spoke!" Was not expecting that at all.
"Wait! You can hear me? You can!?" The voice gasped. "That must mean you're the hero of legend!"
"Huh?" I blinked.
"Only the great hero of legend can hear my voice. Yeah! Everyone else…nothing." The voice continued.
"Uhhhhhhh, we can hear you too dude." Goombella implied bluntly. "So kind of not really so special."
"Uh….well, that's besides the major point." The voice spoke again.
"What are you?" I asked.
"Me? Im a soul. An evil spirit casted a curse on me, locking me in this box. I was bummed. I have been here ever since, waiting a long, LONG time for someone to come by. So yeah…anyways, what brings you guys to a place like this?" The chest asked curiously.
"...that's kinda our business man." I spoke. I don't seem to trust this box. Something fishy was up. "We'll just be going."
We walked to the door. "Wait!" We stopped and turned to the box as it shook. "Listen, don't leave me in this box! Help me out here!"
"And why should we?" Frankley asked. "What could you do to help us when we're looking for the Crystal Stars?" He blinked before he facepalmed. "Curse me! Why did I say that out loud!?"
"Oh looking for the crystal stars huh? Well you DEFINITELY gonna need my help to get those bad boys." The chest implied.
"What can you have that would help us?" Maria questioned.
"Simple miss. You help me, I'll help you with a sweet power to get around." The box answered. "Please, being stuck in this dang box ain't no picnic either."
I hummed. "Well…." I turned to the others. "What do you guys think?"
"Honestly I don't trust this box." Frankley replied. "I'm sure we'll find a way to advance."
"I'm not so certain, professor." Goombella spoke up. "From the chamber now, I don't see a way around to get to that other platform where the big yellow block is."
"She's right so we don't really have a choice." Maria added.
I nodded before turning to the box as I took the key out. "Okay buddy, you got a deal." I inserted the key into the hole and twist it making the lock click.
"YESSSS! Thanks…HA! Thanks nothing!" The voice spoke sinisterly before the hatch flew open. "WHEE HEE! FOOOOOOLS!" Black and purple smoke poured out.
"Of fucking course!" I cursed.
The mist came together as a figure formed with yellow eyes and a wicked glowing mouth. "Oh boy, did you fall for it! I BURNED you! What, you think I was gonna help you!? Insead im gonna spread a little of the suffering i've endured in that stupid box! I'm gonna cast an evil, terrible curse on you!"
"Like hell asshole!" I yelled as we ran for the door, but a mist blocked our path. "Shit…"
"Yeah! Sorry but those are the breaks! Gonna do the curse now!" The figure stated. "Buggly-Wuggly-Woooooo! You're cursed!" Me and Maria glowed black for a moment before it vanished. "Wheee hee hee heeee! Enjoy those curses, suckers! You got what you deserved!" That's it? just saying a bit of random words and we're cursed? "You wanna know what the curse is? Well I'll drop the bomb!" It smirked. "Whenever you see airplane panels, you fools you become…Paper Airplanes!" It cackled! "How's that for a terrifying curse!?" There was silence between us…before I burst out laughing. "What? What's so funny?!"
"Ahahaha! Seriously!?" I heaved laughing. "Turning us into paper airplanes!? THAT'S your curse!?"
"Yeah what's the problem?!" The dark spirit questioned.
I calmed with a grin. "Buddy…you just gave us the solution to get to the other panel."
Goombella gasped. "Of course! This is what we need to fly to the other side!"
"Seems more of a blessing than a curse." Frankly commented.
"NO! It's a curse you fools!" The being shouted angrily.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." I replied. "Now uh, mind letting us go? We got work to do."
The spirit fumed angrily before lowering the smoke. "I will remember this! You hear me! I'LL REMEMBER THIS!" He exploded and vanished.
"...Wow…just wow." Goombella spoke.
I shrugged. "Eh, come on." We head out of the room before walking to the airplane panel. We stopped on it as it glowed. "Okay…how do we use this "Curse"?"
"Hmmm…" Maria hummed before she ran off it with a jump. Out of the bloom, She glowed and folded like paper before she turned into a paper airplane and flew across.
"Whoa, okay I think I get it." I spoke.
"What about us?" Goombella asked.
"Hold onto my hands." I instructed. They each grabbed my hands before I did the same as Maria. We folded into an airplane an flew across. When we touched down, we unfolded back to normal. "Okay that felt weird."
"You and me both." Maria mused. "Come on." We got up and walked through the door. We soon came into a massive chamber with broken pillars and some airplane platforms. But what stuck out the most on the back wall was a massive reddish door with golden decals of stars on it.
We looked at the door in awe. "Is…is that…?" Goombella breathed.
"It is!" Frankley shouted in excitement. "The Thousand-Year door!"
"So the stories are true." Maria maveled. "Can you believe this Ace?" She turned to me. I was shocked…but not in awe. It was…a hint of fear. "Ace?"
"...that door." I spoke as they turned to me. "That's the very door I saw in my dream."
"You mean the door that spewed out darkness?" Goombella asked.
"Yeah…" I nodded. "I can't really forget something that, even if I tried."
"Ace my boy, it was only a dream." Fankley assured. "There's no way something like that would happen. Just look at it!" He motioned to it with a bright smile. "The stories, the legends! All of it is true! As real as life!" He turned to it. "Come! We must get a closer look!" He quickly ran down the stairs as we quickly ran after him. I'm getting a bad feeling about this.
Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. I'll try to update some of the others I have soon when I have the free time. Be sure to continue the support and I'll see you all next time :)
