Chapter 65: The Final Millennium Door

The entire group was awakened by a scream.

Double D, however, shot up from his bed first. The others followed. A very frightened-looking Professor Frankly stood at the top of the staircase.

"Professor?" Goombella asked.

"Everyone, come! HURRY!"

They quickly dressed themselves and grabbed their belongings. Within minutes they were rushed out the door, and towards the pipes leading underground.

"Professor? What's your deal? It's 1:30 in the morning!" Eddy shouted angrily.

"I shall explain on the way! Just move, the lot of you!" he shouted. He jumped through the pipe.

"Oh, for the love of-" Double's D sentence faded out as he followed in the pipe.

Behind him, he could hear the others proceeding.

As Double D reached the other side, he had come to the ground too fast and crashed.

Behind him, the sounds of the others tumbling down the pipe grew louder and louder. One by one, they shot out and crashed right into him. They wasted no time to begin an argument.

"Get your tail out of my face!"

"Jeez, I didn't know you weighed that much!"

"Excuse me!

"Guys, shut up!"

"I think I pulled something."

"Uh, guys?"

"I'll be soar later on."

"You landed on top of us! How badly can you be hurt?"

"SHUT UP!"

The entire group was silent. Sarah, looking quite satisfied at her power, broke free of the pile first.

"Sarah's right. Come, we must make haste!" Frankly ran, with Sarah in tow.

The others managed to break free from the pile up and proceeded afterwards.

"Professor, what's going on?" Nazz asked as they ran.

"I saw Grodus!" He shouted back as they ran.

Rolf made an irritated growling noise.

"And he had Peach and Marie with him! They were headed for the door! We have to go there and stop him!"

"What!?" Mario and Double D asked in unison.

"That scumbag!" Lee shouted. After her recovery, which was miraculously quick, she joined the rest of the team. "That freak'll pay for this!"

"Agreed." Rolf agreed as they ran.

Eddy began to cuss under his breath.

"What was that Eddy?" Goombella asked.

"I still don't like this. Why'd we have to bring her?" Eddy asked.

"We need all the help we could get. We can't afford to mess up and not have back up." Double D answered.

"Besides, I got to go save Marie!" Lee said. "I have to tell Grodus that no one messes with the Kankers!"

The group made it to the door.

"Well, it's finally time." Nazz said.

"Oh, the work we had endured to reach this very moment." Jimmy said.

Double D reached the podium.

"One moment…" Double D said. "It takes all seven stars to open the door."

"Right!" Sarah said.

Six others met up with Double D and stood in a symmetrical circle around the podium. Mario held the Diamond Star, Rolf with the Emerald Star, Double D with the Gold, Jimmy with the Ruby, then Kevin with the Sapphire, Sarah held the Garnet and Jonny in last with the Crystal.

"Everyone else, stand clear." Double D said.

The others took a few steps backwards.

"Go!" Double D shouted, reaching for his star and holding it as high as he could to the door.

The others all did the same.

It didn't take a second's worth of time to activate. There was the flash again. Ancient designs started to appear everywhere.

Double D felt an unusual sensation in his hands. He looked at it and saw his star was floating above him. The other seven stars were also levitating, shining very brightly.

"After all these years…" Frankly gasped.

Even Mario looked astounded at the sight of the stars.

"My, how exiting!" Flurrie exclaimed.

"Hey, check out the door!" Eddy shouted, pointing at the door.

They all looked at the massive door. One by one, symbols of the stars began to form on the door.

"This… I can't believe… I…" Vivian looked the most shocked of all.

The door itself began to glow. There was shaking all around them, as the glowing intensified.

"…SHE'S GONNA BLOW!" Eddy shouted.

Jimmy was shivering in fear. "Run aw-"

"Wait!" Double D shouted. "Nobody moves until the door opens!"

It began to feel like an earthquake. The entire chamber shook violently.

"The seal is breaking!" Vivian gasped.

BANG!

They all saw an enormous series of cracks appear on the doorway. Then, there was silence. An ominous, dreadful silence.

"Sarah?" Jimmy peeped, disrupting the silence. "What's going on?"

There was a very quiet creaking sound.

Double D's eyes widened. "It's… opening."

The massive doors where indeed separating… at long last, all of their toil and efforts had all come together…

Beldam's eyes widened.

"It's started. The key to the end of the world has unlocked. After 1000 long years." She began to laugh evilly.

"I feel it too." May said without emotion. Now that the necklace and powers had been granted to her, a new evil look resided on her face. "A terrible power resides within."

"Our first phase is now complete. Now, let us begin our second…" Beldam said.

With that her body began to vanish into the shadows. May laughed wickedly and followed her into the shadows as well.

The door was opening wider and wider now.

They all watched in awe. As it opened, it revealed a very dark fog which began to roll into the chamber. It felt like everything was becoming darker, and darker.

The room was nearly pitch black by now as darkness began to fill up the room. Worried murmuring echoed in the room.

At last, the creaking of the doorways ceased.

It had been done.

The door was opened.

Rolf jumped up and grabbed the Star from the air. With that, he immediately ran to the doorway with a battle cry.

"Good idea!" Lee shouted, pursuing directly after him.

"Hey! Hold on!" Eddy shouted.

They saw both of their figures run farther in until they vanished into the darkness that was the Palace of Shadow.

Eddy shrugged. "Let's go kick some shadow butt."

With that, he reached in as well. Goombella ran in with him, eager to stand by his side.

"C'mon, Plank. We have a world to save… I knew this day would come for a long time." Jonny said with his usual tone of voice and ran in with his wooden friend in hand.

"The sweet smell of treasure." Ms. Mowz said excitedly. "To the fortune I go." she rushed in afterwards.

"Wait! don't you-a think we… oh…" Mario shrugged, running in as well.

"Sarah, I'm a little scared." Jimmy said.

"Don't be. I'll be here." Sarah said.

"Thanks, Jimmy. Okay, let's go!" Jimmy said with adventurous enthusiasm.

They held each other's hands and ran in.

"Ah. This reminds me of a play that I have performed in once. Time to act." Flurrie said confidently, running in as well.

"Ready, Kev?" Nazz asked.

"Yeah. Let's teach them as lesson." Kevin replied.

Nazz felt his own hand reach out and hold her own. She looked back and blushed. He did as well.

"Hey, get the lead out! We must follow the brigade! To the spoils!" Ed shouted in his usual carefree voice.

He grabbed them both and dragged them through the door.

"Dear boy, are you ready to endure the Shadow Temple?" Bobbery asked Koops.

"I never felt more confident." Koops said. "Let's hurry!"

The both of them followed silently.

"C'mon, Daddy!" Eduardo Jr. said. "Let's go!"

"Yes, let's!" Double D shouted. They both ran towards the door but stopped.

"Daddy? What's wrong?" Eduardo Jr. asked.

"Vivian?" Double D asked, seeing Vivian standing alone quietly.

"I'm… very scared, I've heard terrible things about this place from my sister… I don't think I can do this." Vivian said.

"I know you can do this. Now come." Double D held out his arm. "Please?"

Vivian looked very nervous but held her own back out and shook it. Double D could feel just how scared she was when he felt her arm trembling.

"The others'll get far ahead if we don't go now!" Eduardo Jr. shouted.

Double D and Vivian both nodded. The last three of them rushed in through the door.

Frankly, who was left to wait, watched them vanish into the depths of the doorway.

Suddenly his face changed. He looked suddenly very evil.

"It's okay." Frankly said with distorted voice. "It's clear."

Three new figures arose from the shadows behind him. It was Beldam, Marilynn and May.

"Fine work, Doopliss. For this I commend you." Beldam said. "Now that we have tricked them into opening the door, nothing stands in our way to the revival of the Shadow Queen. Then this entire world shall be at our mercy."

May gave a silent, though wicked laugh.

"Ah…" Beldam said contently. "I see you are enjoying this?"

"Yes." May said in her evil voice. "I never knew how exhilarating it was to be a shadow siren before. This is indeed an enjoyable thing. I can already see their horrified faces."

"You have become quite the Siren I had hoped for. I am very proud." Beldam said. "Now, let's end this, once and for all…"

"Yes…" May said.

The four of them traveled into the darkness through the door. Beldam was in the back of the line. As she walked through, she held out her hands and the doors suddenly slammed shut behind them.

What was once the most powerful seal on this world, had become nothing more than a simple doorway…

"…wow." Double D said as he looked around the foyer chamber.

They found themselves in a very decorated room. The carpeting was red, and the walls decorated with fancy rose-like designs. The chandeliers above them were made of gold, the ceiling made of diamond.

"What a marvel." Goombella said.

"I still don't like this a bit." Double D said, holding up a hand. "Fire."

A small fire lit from his hand. He didn't attack anything, but they needed light.

Vivian did the same thing. Goombella turned on her headlight. Jimmy activated a small flashlight that he held in his hand.

"Okay… we're in." Nazz said. "Now what?"

"We must find Grodus and his captives and save them from his grasp." Double D said. "We have no idea how much time we have left."

"Then we must move!" Rolf shouted. He began to run again.

"Hey, hold up, dude!" Eduardo Jr. shouted.

"This will be a long day…" Kevin sighed.

The rest of the group followed after him…

Marie gave a weak moan. She slowly opened her eyes and realized her situation.

She was completely restrained, chained onto a wall. Peach was lying down beside her, out cold.

"…wha?"

"You have awoken." Grodus' voice was heard and she saw him sitting on what looked like a throne. "Just as I predicted you would."

"You… you'll pay for this." Marie said very weakly.

"I'd like to see that happen." Grodus laughed.

"I'll… why… what do you want from me?" Marie asked.

"Hm… true. When they captured you the day, we found you and your sisters, I had no interest in you. The only reason we kept you at the base was because you had some information concerning the legendary hero. Now that we have what we want, we have no need for you."

"Then let me go…" Marie said.

"Not so fast. If I release you, you'd either attack me or run and tell the world about my plan. I cannot have that, can I?" Grodus began to pace about the chamber. "I intend to keep my eye on you."

'Great. I'm still being held by a madman. Just what I needed.' Marie thought.

"I won't be escaping anytime soon, so would you mind telling me where we are?" She asked.

Grodus gave a pleased chuckle. "We are in the Palace of Shadow. Where the crypt of the Shadow Queen rests."

"Look, buddy." Marie said. "Just answer me one question. Was your goal to separate and destroy us?"

"My, my, someone is quite rude." Grodus said. "You three sisters were very irritating. I found it in my best interest to keep you separated."

"Double D and those other guys will stop you." Marie said.

"Ha! I'd like to see them try." Grodus said. "You certainly are confident, aren't you. I commend that. But it's becoming rather old. So be quiet, or I'll feed you to the monsters!"

Marie sighed. "Alright. I've said enough."

Rolf came to a screeching halt all of a sudden. The others stopped as well.

"Rolf?" Double D asked. "What happened?"

"Don't move any closer." Rolf said. "Does sock-head-edd-boy wish to fall to an early grave?"

Rolf took a step back and showed them all that the floor had abruptly come to an end. Below them was a fall, where the bottom was invisible.

"Oh great. How do we cross this?" Eddy asked.

Double D reached into his pocket. He took out a bottle of water and unscrewed the lid off the top. He placed the bottle down on the floor, then took the cap and threw it as hard as he could. The group watched it fall… and fall… and fall…

There was no response once it fell from view.

"The bottom is too far away." Double D said. "It's so deep, we couldn't hear it reach the end."

"What about that?" Jonny asked.

They turned their heads to see a bridge. It looked rather old and flimsy.

"Oh no! I'm not doing it!" Jimmy said.

"You must. There is no other alternate route, and time is running out." Bobbery said.

"Sarah…" Jimmy gasped.

"Uh… there, there?" She asked, patting him on the back.

"C'mon! …Alright, I'll show you how it's done!" Eddy shouted.

Goombella gasped. "Eddy, shouldn't we-"

"Don't worry. I'll be fine, trust me." Eddy said.

He reached the edge of the bridge and sighed. "Alright, here I go."

The rest of the group watched him walk slowly across the bridge. Step by step, it creaked and moaned as he walked.

"Careful…" Goombella said.

"I'll be fine." Eddy repeated.

He looked back and worked on his concentration.

"Hm…" He said quietly. "I can get this right. I just have to have good footwork…"

"Yes, that's right." Double D said. "You're almost there."

Eddy realized he was almost across.

"Ha!" He shouted with a smile. "See, nothing to worry ab-"

There was a sharp snapping noise. The group watched in horror was the bridge collapsed beneath his feet.

"EDDY!" Goombella shouted.

"Levi-Flare!"

Double D and Vivian both cast their spells at the same time. They jumped into the air, then off the ledge side. The rest of the group all collected at the side.

"Dad…" Eduardo Jr. sighed.

A second later, Vivian and Double D arose from the darkness, carrying the petrified egomaniac.

"Whew…" The group sighed.

They both landed him on the other side.

"You know what? Why don't we-a have them fly us-a over instead?" Mario asked.

The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

The group continued through the dark, evil-feeling hallways.

"This… place. I hate this…" Vivian said.

"I know. Every chamber we walk through feels deeper and darker then the last." Double D said.

"It's like the darkness is trying to consume us…" Bobbery said.

"I… can't take this place." Vivian said. "If I stay for too long, I'll go insane."

"Please, you must pull yourself together." Double D said. "Please…"

"I will try." Vivian said. "But this place is terrifying me…"

"I know… us too." Jimmy said. "We got to keep going."

"Here's a door." Lee said.

"Let's go…" Double D lead the way for the group.

His hands reached the cold handle of the door. He turned it slowly and opened the door to the next chamber.

This room was pitch dark. There was no light at all.

Double D cast his fire spell again to light up the room.

The group gave a collective exclamation.

It was a large chamber, and every corner of it was filled with both skeletons and bones.

Jimmy instantly fainted on the spot. Sarah went to catch him as he fell. The others looked around.

"What is this freaky place?" Kevin asked.

"I have an assumption. It's crazy, but it may just be true." Double D said. "You see, in ancient civilizations on our own planet, when a ruler was buried in their tombs, their servants would also be buried, dead or alive, to protect their master even after death. I have a feeling these are here to block the path."

Vivian was shaking.

"Vivian…" Double D said. "She's terrified of this place. Even worse than the rest of us. I don't know why, but for some reason, it seems that way…"

"What do we do?" Nazz asked. "I'm sure we're not welcome."

"Neither is Grodus. We must go and stop his plans." Double D said. "We cannot let fear interrupt our goals."

He stepped forward.

There was a sudden cracking sound. The skulls of the skeleton's eyes were glowing. In the next second, every bony head turned to look right at them.

The entire group screamed.

The skeletons all got up on their feet. Like zombies, they all approached the group.

"Can we leave now!" Eddy shouted.

"No!" Double D ran ahead of the group and pointed his fingers. "Flame Thrower!"

Flames erupted from his hands. He moved his hands, shooting fire in different directions.

The room glowed an eerie red as his attack continued.

After a few seconds, he stopped throwing flames and stopped pointing.

The room smelt of burnt ash, but when the smoke cleared, there were even more skeletons.

"AHH!" Double D shouted. In a panicked fashion, he pointed again.

"Fi-"

But one of the bony hands grabbed Double D's hand.

"Ahh!" He screamed, flailing his arm in panic until it let go. "We can't stop them with fire!"

"Then we take them down their way!" Kevin said.

Everyone cocked an eyebrow.

Kevin revealed his wrench and ran into the crowds of skeletons screaming.

"Kevin, are you crazy!" Nazz asked.

They lost him as he ran in. Seconds later, they could see bones shattering, being sent in random directions.

"Well, if it works…" Nazz sighed.

She whimpered for a few seconds, then punched one of them nearby. It broke apart into pieces. One of them, the skull, landed right at Jimmy's feet.

"Oh…" Jimmy sighed, awakening. "What just-" he saw the skull at his feet. "Oh…"

He fell right back into his faint.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Sarah shouted.

"C'mon, Double D!" Eddy said. "Let's go beat them up!"

"Yeah!" Eduardo Jr. said in agreement.

Double D nodded and revealed his rod. He shouted out a battle cry and rushed into the crowds.

The others also began to work their way into the crowds, beating them up or just whacking them.

All round them came the sounds of breaking skeletons.

"I think we can beat them!" Kevin said.

Suddenly, more started to rise from the ground. There must have been twice as many as before.

"Ah!" Koops shouted suddenly.

They saw him beginning to become buried by the skeletons, which were piling up on top of him.

Double D began to run to help. Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind. A bony hand was forcing him down onto the floor. They started to pile over him as well.

"STOP!" Vivian shouted suddenly.

Her scream echoed in the chamber. There was suddenly silence. All of the skeletons looked right at her.

Vivian was gasping, sweat forming on her face.

But then, all of the skeletons began to break apart. There came the sound of bones hitting the floor, until eventually, each and every skeleton lay in pieces on the ground.

"…how?" Vivian asked.

Rolf looked at her with incredible disgust. "Only a demon can control a demon."

With that, he turned and began to walk further, as if the battle had never happened.

The others were speechless. They slowly got themselves up, then followed…