Hours before the search for Doopliss and Petuni commenced, the mysterious Dimension D welcomed an abnormally high number of guests.
Dimentio floated a safe distance away from their Duplighost captive as he watched Popple pace back and forth across the green, blocky floor, the snoozing Beanstar nestled safely within the Beanish man's hands… alongside a high-quality photograph of a specific person. Though the thief was doing his best to look stoic and threatening, tiny snickers and giggles kept slipping out past his teeth. Apparently, maintaining a poker face was borderline impossible for him.
Meanwhile, their cloth-covered prisoner wore an awful, scrunched-up expression, his frustration clear to anyone with working eyes. Despite the being's obvious anger, Dimentio's idea to use the Puni as a hostage had worked fabulously. Rather than attacking, the sheet-topped monster – named Doopliss, from what Dimentio had previously gathered by observing him and the others – stood almost stock-still as he cast aggravated glances between his two captors.
However, Dimentio simply smiled at him in return. As for the hostage's expression… well, she didn't exactly appear to be in a good mood. Understandable – Dimentio was currently threatening to squash her beneath his palms, after all.
"You gotta do it or else this here dame's gonna have a real rough time, see!? Rookie! Show him what I mean!" Popple yelled as spittle flew from his mouth.
On cue, Dimentio squeezed his hostage juuuust a wee bit harder as he locked eyes with the sheet-covered monster. The Duplighost furrowed his brow and cringed as the forest-dwelling Puni let out an itty-bitty squeak...
"Doop… liss…" The fragile little creature choked from beneath the mage's grasp. "I'm… sorry that I… got us into trouble… ghhhhh!"
Typically, Dimentio wasn't one to directly put his hands on anyone like this, but… considering his current "boss"'s level of intellect, this had seemed the most appropriate line of action. Popple was a simple man, and simple methods were what he understood best. Something like this had been the most sophisticated method that the jester could convince the Shadow Thief of on short notice – or, rather, that he could lead Popple into supposedly coming up with on his own.
Popple let out a loud giggle and practically danced upon his toes as he glanced back at Dimentio. Then, turning to Doopliss once more, the bandit held the Beanstar before him and wriggled it around.
"Here, this is it, see!? Just do it! Just transform and say a word or two to this star's ugly mug! Once it's awake, we'll let you breeze off! It's that easy!"
The jester merely watched on in amused silence as Popple regurgitated some of the ideas that he'd fed him.
"Uh, no? You first, Slick! Stop grabbing at Petuni like that and then we'll talk!" Doopliss protested as he stared at the Beanstar. "I'm not stupid! I've seen the movies – if I do it right now, you'll just get rid of us both afterwards. That's SO cliché and lame!"
"Hey! Keep yer trap shut - we're the ones making demands here, see!? I'm bein' serious over here!"
Though neither Dimentio nor Popple had told the Duplighost exactly what the Beanstar was, Doopliss continued to put up a staunch resistance. Perhaps he already had some inkling as to what sort of power lay before him? …Despite his backtalk, Dimentio could see just a hint of nervousness in his eyes. Star artifacts were surprisingly easy to come across and were rather common in stories, so it wouldn't have been shocking for him to have encountered something similar. Legends of items that granted the holder's every desire could be found no matter the locale…
Perhaps Dimentio could use that to his advantage.
"Ah ha ha, goodness me, you mustn't be so hostile! Perhaps there could be something in this for you, my dear Duplighost friend?" Dimentio spoke sweet words to their defiant captive, his lyrical voice weaving a net. "Is there not anything that you crave in life, hmmmm? Do you possess a wish that you simply couldn't ever fully realize, like trapping a slippery river trout within your palm? If so, we may be able to assist you! …Given your cooperation, that is."
Popple shot him a glare. …And yet, Dimentio merely continued to smile. No, making such an offer was surely more Dimentio's way of doing things.
"…Are you for real?" Something stirred behind Doopliss's eyes. He glanced at the terrified Petuni again, then at Dimentio's face, then at Popple, and then…
"You're telling the truth, right? You'll really let her go after I wake it up… right? That a promise?" Doopliss squinted at the sleeping Beanstar as he spoke.
With those words, Dimentio's grin widened.
"If you do what we say! You got that!?" Popple smirked as he moved in, pushing the Beanstar ever closer to the Duplighost. Even he could sense their captive's weakening will…
"Oh, yes, I assure you that we will! We have no real interest in you or her, after all… We've invited you to this space for one task only. Once you perform it, there'd be no reason to hold either of you, no? We'd much prefer to be on our merry way!" Dimentio added one last layer of persuasion.
Doopliss thought for a moment, and then…
He nodded.
"…Fine." The Duplighost spat the word. Then, meeting Dimentio's eyes, he continued: "But, you've got to promise me one last thing! …You can't hurt Flurrie either. Or anyone else in my crew… Got that, Slick!? If you do, you'll pay!"
Dimentio chuckled. "Ah ha ha! Well, I'd say that's a reasonable request… Wouldn't you agree, Popple?"
"Shush, Rookie! I'm the one in charge here!" Popple stomped a foot as he finally grew tired of Dimentio speaking out of turn. Yet, he still confirmed the jester's words. "Yeah, yeah, we'll leave 'em! Just get to yammering before I get sore!"
Doopliss nodded as he finally relented. Then, after carefully examining the photo in Popple's hands and letting loose a poof of magic…
A blonde woman clad in a pink ball gown and a sparkling, golden crown stood before them.
"YES! That's it, nya ha ha ha ha!" Popple snickered harder than ever. With the first step complete, the Shadow Thief scooted up directly next to the faux-Princess and practically shoved the still-sleeping Beanstar into her – or, rather, his – face.
Doopliss clumsily hobbled about as he attempted to adjust to his new Peach-like form, the bubblegum pink shoes upon his feet nearly buckling beneath his long, slender legs. After catching his balance, he lifted a gloved hand to his mouth and coughed lightly - though Doopliss was a skilled actor on stage and had seen Princess Peach in person before, his performances usually involved more than just a wee bit of practice and mostly consisted of pre-written lines. And so, having only just transformed, he didn't exactly grasp the full extent of how to actually be Princess Peach…
"Hey, you! Slick!" He let loose a holler as he pointed at the Beanstar. "Wake up already! It's time to get moving, stop being lazy!"
The impostor's loud, incredibly unladylike words reverberated off the walls. …Dimentio smirked. Really, even he wasn't sure how this was going to go. The voice itself belonged to a pure and noble soul, that much certainly was true, and yet…
The Beanstar's lips smacked in response to the crass yelling. Its eyelids fluttered, its glow strengthened ever-so-slightly, and then…
It began to move.
Contrary to Dimentio's doubts, they'd done it.
Popple let out a gasp as he watched on in wonderment, the artifact twitching beneath his grip. This was it - this was the moment he'd been waiting for. With this, the fabled Shadow Thief would bear witness to the true power of the treasure that he'd worked so hard to obtain. He, as the greatest burglar on the planet, would finally have unquestionably claimed the Beanbean royal family's most prized possession as his!
…Or so it had seemed. Though the sleeping celestial's glazed-over eyes cracked open just a wee bit as its gaze rolled about the room, drifting from face to face, its wakeful state proved only temporary. After a mere few seconds, its eyelids fell firmly shut once more.
Their fleeting hopes vanished as the Beanstar continued to rest.
"GRAHHHH!" Popple roared as he shook the napping star within his hands. "No, that's not it, you knucklehead! Try again and do it right this time! Talk like a real nice gal, whisper to it all sweet-like! Not what you just did!"
It certainly was a better reaction than the grumbling they'd gotten when Popple had spoken to it and far, far better than the enraged fit it'd thrown when Dimentio had whispered a few words. …But still, it wasn't quite what they'd hoped for.
"Ugh, fine, I'll change up the act. Cool your jets…" Doopliss grumbled with a sour expression. Then, clearing his throat, he straightened his back and forced a calm smile upon his features. …This time, he was prepared. Seemingly.
"Mmmm, good morning, dear…" He whispered to the Beanstar, sweetly leaning in and batting his eyelashes. "Could you wake up for me, pretty please? With a cherry and syrup and looooots of whipped cream on top, tee hee hee hee…?"
The jester held back a snort – though the attempt was horribly embarrassing and ridiculously overacted, it could be said that it was at least somewhat ladylike.
And yet, despite the transformed Duplighost's increased efforts, the napping artifact scarcely even stirred. …Dimentio pondered what that could possibly mean. Had it already grown used to Princess Peach's voice? Perhaps it was an issue beyond the content of this silly impostor's words…? Was his tone still too far off? Or, maybe, just maybe…
Was the real Princess Peach's voice necessary after all?
That sounded troublesome. …Really, something like that was a bit beyond what Dimentio was interested in getting involved in. While he wouldn't have minded playing around with Popple for a while and then eventually taking the Beanstar for himself, it was far from necessary for his own grand plans. He hadn't exactly intended to expend that much effort for it…
…But… then again, it wasn't as though he were doing anything else with his time. The mere thought of idling about the barren Dimension D once more, just waiting for the days to pass with nothing in particular to entertain him, made him want to retch with boredom.
And so, Dimentio decided to go for it.
"Well… it appears as though that wasn't enough." The jester forced a slight frown to his lips as he shrugged his shoulders and pretended to be disappointed. "How sad… Still, it was a good attempt! It really is most unfortunate that the real Princess Peach isn't here, ah ha ha! If only we could find a way to get our hands on her…"
Popple perked up. Already, Dimentio could see the gears beginning to turn within his head.
"Criminy…" the burglar growled, kicking at the ground. "…What a jam…"
The seed had been planted. Seconds passed as Popple continued to mumble beneath his breath and shamble about, his frustration clear. And then, finally, just as Dimentio had anticipated…
"GRRRRRRRRRRRR! …Boo! Boo, I say!" The thief let out an angry yowl as he reached a decision. "That's it – we hafta do it! We gotta go snatch that dame! You, Rookie! And… you, sheet thing! You're gonna help me, see? That's the game - we're gonna grab that girlie and have her talk to the Beanstar!"
"Wait, what!? Me!?" Doopliss gasped. "Nuh-uh, no way! I got involved in something like that before and it was the worst – I learned my lesson already! Mario'll stomp us before you can even blink once!" He shook his head frantically. "Besides, you said you'd let Petuni go if I tried to wake this thing up! I just did, so… put her down and let us out already, Slick! I've got places to be!"
"No deal, you palooka! I said I'd let her go once the Beanstar stopped snoozin'… Now, look here! This thing's still not makin' a peep, see!?" Popple pointed at the Beanstar's sleeping face as he grumbled at Doopliss. "So! You're gonna help wake it up, 'cause I said so! You got that!? …Rookie! Show 'em we mean business, one more time!"
Dimentio sighed. Then, even harder than before, he began to squeeze his hands around his helpless little hostage.
"Ghhhhhh! Doo… pliss! Ghhh! Ghhhaaaaahhhh, it hurts, IT HURTS…!" Petuni cried out as Dimentio made as though to squish her, her flesh contorting horribly beneath his fingers. Her body really was so wonderfully soft and pliable…
"H-HEY! Stop that, quit it, seriously! What is WRONG with you people!?" Doopliss yelled, transforming back to normal as he waved his arms. "I… urgh! Fine, I'll do whatever you want, just STOP! You're hurting her bad!"
Dimentio smiled softly and loosened his grip once more. The pitiable creature gasped and coughed from beneath his embrace.
He had them on the hook.
The jester couldn't help but snicker - both of these men were so very idiotic. The Beanish for being so easily goaded into trouble in the name of fame, and the Duplighost for letting them use this miserable little animal against him. …But, this pair's simplemindedness certainly made them ideal subjects for Dimentio. Both were sure to give him some great entertainment and, if he were lucky, would maybe even provide him with a fun trinket for use in his later plans.
As for how they were to get their hands upon Princess Peach… Dimentio had a few ideas. He wouldn't do more than hint at them, no – after all, that was the easiest way to get Popple moving. Just lay a few treats along the road and he'd follow no problem, stroking his own ego as he boasted of how he'd formed their incredible plan on his own, no doubt… All Dimentio really needed to do was watch as the show unfolded.
For the next step, he could have Popple immediately go across the seas and break into the castle, but… no. If the jester recalled, there'd been talk of a certain celebration coming up soon within the Mushroom Kingdom. From what Dimentio had heard, Princess Peach was involved in practically every Toad Town festival and would very likely mingle with the populace on the day of the celebration. Several prominent actors about Poshley Heights had expressed their excitement at being able to meet her.
An eruption of chaos during that event would be a wonderful sight indeed.
Though… also that reminded him. That Peasley character was certainly quite the specimen too, what with all his constant sniffing about that ritzy town. Always poking into everything, questioning everyone, day in and day out…
Perhaps Dimentio could come up with a fun role for him, too.
A full two weeks later, Vivian once again sat within Bow's office.
The shadow was at her wit's end. She'd asked everyone she could think of within Rogueport, both above and below ground. She'd groveled before the Piantas, run errands for the Robbos, spoken to every single sailor, bartered with bar patrons for any scrap of information they could provide, and more. She'd done anything and everything that came to mind, and yet…
And yet, she'd found nothing.
Though several people had told her they'd keep an eye out for the two missing victims, not one had contacted her since. Not even Merluvlee had any hints at all to give – rather strangely, the Shaman had shaken her head in disbelief after casting her spell, instead saying something cryptic about how they were "unreachable" by her power. Vivian's last hope was that the still-absent Ms. Mowz would have something to say about the incident. …That is, assuming that the elusive Little Mouser would return soon from her latest heist.
Still, she was starting to run low on ideas. It was legitimately hard, searching for so long and turning up so very, very little. If someone had at least mentioned seeing someone matching Doopliss's description, if there'd at least been some tiny thread of hope she could follow, she could've kept going strong. But…
Bow's voice snapped Vivian out of the murk of her thoughts – however, her words didn't provide much encouragement.
"…And even that idiot Pennington came up completely empty-handed! Tell me, what use is a detective that can't solve any mysteries!?" Bow sighed deeply, her voice filled with frustration. "And then the other search teams, too – what even is the deal!? It feels as though we've dug through most of the region at this point! What are we supposed to do next, comb through the Fahr Outpost wilderness!?"
That thought had occurred to Vivian, too. …They really had already searched pretty much everywhere. Unless… maybe the pair had taken a boat and left the landmass entirely? Even if that were the case, it still felt strange that nobody had seen them. Had they really not passed by a single person? …Not even one?
Equally perplexed, Bow shook her head in disbelief. "…Really, what in the world is going on…? It's like the two of them have completely vanished from existence! Doopliss may be able to disguise himself, but Petuni should stand out well enough. …Unless that dolt really did get rid of her and go into hiding. Haaaah, this is so troublesome…"
"Unless that dolt really did get rid of her." …There it was again. The insinuation that Doopliss was capable of seriously hurting Petuni, no, capable of killing her…
Vivian absolutely hated that thought. …She really didn't want to have to doubt Doopliss. She wanted to believe that he'd truly loved being with them, that he'd legitimately been having fun, that he'd cared about them. That he would never go any further beyond subjecting Petuni to childish pranks…
But, uncertainty still weighed on her mind.
The shadow couldn't help but question herself. Goombella had said before that Vivian wasn't the best judge of people… Maybe she'd been right? What if Vivian was just projecting her own feelings onto Doopliss, since it was what she most wanted to see out of him? It was true that she always desired the best for people. She wanted everyone to succeed, to see them reach true happiness, but…
Did she really even know Doopliss all that well?
"…So be it!" Reinvigorating herself, Bow suddenly let out a holler and slapped her fan against the table. "I shall play that game! I'll speak with Grodus – surely there must be some way to detect a transformed Duplighost! I'll see about importing one from the Crystal Palace so those mad scientists can play with it… and then, once they've come up with something, we'll comb the entire area again! We will find them, just you watch! I will show them not to test me!"
The Boo noblewoman shouted with conviction, her voice seemingly directed at the universe itself. Vivian's hands tightened within her lap – she'd come to the office hoping that Bow would be able to provide her with at least some good news, and yet…
The mint-green specter turned to her next. "Vivian! Keep on looking, anywhere you can think of! Flurrie has made it more than clear that our efforts will be rewarded substantially upon the successful return of both Doopliss and Petuni, so give it everything you have! And forget about doing anything else in the meantime - the commercial with Goldbob has been canceled!"
The commercial… Vivian had known it was coming. Between the disappearances and the flighty, ever-busy golden Bob-omb still having never shown up at the shop, even after they'd rescheduled their appointments again and again, it had been all but inevitable. …Yet another acting opportunity flew out the door. And, with most of their studio's collective efforts being focused into the search, she also guessed…
"What about our trip? Will we still be leaving the day after tomorrow…?" Vivian questioned.
Even if she suspected the answer was "no," she still wanted to ask. She'd been looking forward to it so very much, and she so desperately wanted to be able to properly work again.
"The trip? If only!" Bow shook her head. "I can't very well justify leaving everyone behind during the chaos, can I? Flurrie and Doopliss may be mere partners rather than employees, but I do take care of my allies, believe it or not. And I refuse to back down from this so easily! This has become a matter of pride!"
A sinking feeling filled Vivian's chest.
…Though she fully understood, and though she also really wanted to find them… she still couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. Was… was her next film to be canceled, too? Surely not, right? Surely they'd just push back the filming schedule, so they could pick it back up once they found Doopliss and Petuni, right? Everything was eventually going to return to normal, and they'd all be able to jump back into acting and having fun together…
…Right?
As Vivian exited the building, a stifling blanket of anxiety weighed upon her mind. …What if everything just kept getting canceled? What if… what if she didn't get to work on anything else at all? She'd been in a few interviews related to her past role, sure, but even those were dying down quite a bit… Things just kept happening to bar her from her goals. She'd just recently started to feel a true sense of belonging again, after working amongst her new allies and reaching for the stars together…
What if everything ended up completely falling apart?
Vivian's heart burned at the thought. …She didn't want to lose her new place in the world. If Goombella or Flurrie were available, she would've talked with them about her feelings. Surely, they would've had advice for her. But…
…
Trying to control her turbulent emotions, Vivian let out a long sigh as she sat down upon the edge of one of the many sparkling Poshley Heights fountains, the gentle flow of water splashing behind her. …The weight of it all really was starting to get to her. Her back hurt, her mouth had gone dry, her head ached with a dull rhythm… Such pain wasn't a good sign. The shadow reached up and began to massage one of her own shoulders as she attempted to release just a bit of the tension…
However, a voice called out to her from beyond, interrupting her brief break.
"Ah, it's you, fair shadow! You seem quite glum today. Is everything all right? No… ahem… bandits about, are there?"
She looked up and met the eyes of a certain blond-haired bean, his lopsided smile like a ray of sunshine as he walked towards her. "…Right," she remembered. Peasley was still searching for something special to him, too…
Before she knew it, the elegant man stood before her with an expectant grin.
And yet, Vivian didn't really have anything to give him. "I'm sorry. I still haven't seen that Popple person," she shook her head. "I don't think anyone else has, either… "
Though, a thought occurred to her. With how hard this dandelion-haired man had been looking, and with all the people he'd checked with at this point, maybe he had some of his own info to share? As a non-local, he may have taken a completely different approach to his search.
The shadow perked up as she felt a sudden burst of hope. Immediately, she moved to ask: "By the way, I've also been looking for someone! …Two someones, actually! Have you seen either a creature in a white sheet or a little gray slug with a pink antenna? Anything at all helps!"
Yet, the bean merely shook his head. "Doopliss and Petuni, correct? I've heard bits and pieces of the news – they've gone missing, yes? I've seen them before, but it was prior to that day."
"Mmmm… oh." Vivian's face fell once more. "…That's… alright. Thank you for letting me know! I'll keep an eye out for Popple, so I'd really appreciate it if you could look out for them, too! You can tell Bow if you hear anything, over at our office…"
The shadow described how to get there – even if this strange man didn't know anything at the moment, maybe he'd stumble across something in the future? As she explained the route, he pulled out a notebook and jotted down the address.
Upon closing it, Peasley smiled wide and gave her a bright, spirited swish of his shining hair. "Alright! Consider it done – they are on my radar! And remember, do be sure to drop off any messages you have at my hotel. I look forward to any news about Popple's whereabouts, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant!"
With a wave, he set off once more, leaving Vivian alone with her thoughts. She rubbed at her eyes as she attempted to recover from getting flashed by the bean's blindingly luxurious locks yet again… Still, despite the distraction, her mind was quickly submerged in anxiety once more.
…Mario…
Vivian sighed. …If only Mario were there, he'd probably have solved everything already.
Maybe she should write to him about it, to let him know what was going on? If she pleaded with him… would he come back? Or would he be too busy with everything else in his life? She wanted to ask for his help so very badly. …But…
What if she wrote to him and he said no?
A harsh bitterness filled her throat. …If she had misjudged Doopliss, and he really was responsible for this mess… then what about Mario? Did he really, truly care about her and her friends? What if… what if he'd just traveled with them because he'd needed them? Because, if he didn't, he wouldn't have been able to save Princess Peach?
The mere thought was like a knife in her heart.
If she didn't write, she could at least hold onto the belief that they were actually important to him. That he cared. That he would come if they needed it. …But, if she wrote and he didn't answer her pleas…
…No. She needed to stop thinking like that.
Shaking her head to chase the bad thoughts away, Vivian rose from her seat. She'd head back to Rogueport again and keep on searching. Hopefully, this time, she'd finally get a chance to see Ms. Mowz.
There had to be a lead somewhere. There had to.
Vivian arrived just in time. Right as she approached the doorway to the "Lovely Howz of Badges," the wooden door swung open and the white mouse in question darted out once more, fully dressed for action in her red pumps and stylish mask. Ms. Mowz, as one of the world's most dedicated badge thieves, was already preparing to begin jumping along her well-trod rooftop path when she noticed Vivian floating just before her.
"Oh! Goodness, sweetie, pardon me," she paused as she stopped to look at the shadow. "Are you here for a visit? I'd love to chat, but I'm due for another round of business! So sorry, mmm hmm hmm!"
Ms. Mowz really had been on the move lately. …Still, this was important. Normally, Vivian would've hesitated to burden her further, but…
The shadow bowed her head and began to beg her friend profusely, clasping her hands together. "I know you're busy, but can I take just a bit of your time? I really need to talk to you, please! I'll make it as quick as I can - I promise!"
The Little Mouser cocked her head as she observed Vivian's troubled face.
"Oh my… Of course, dearie. Come inside and I'll gladly listen. No need to become desperate, now…"
Ms. Mowz held the door open as she beckoned Vivian inside, quickly leading the shadow over to her favorite spot in the corner. As she went, she shooed the assistant away – he nodded and scooted behind the counter to busy himself with dusting off the shelves, thus giving the two at least some degree of privacy.
"Now, tell me, sweetie… what's gotten you so very worked up? My assistant mentioned that you'd stopped by recently, but he didn't say why." The badge thief's whiskers twitched.
Vivian nodded. "Right. …It's about Doopliss and Petuni. I don't know if you've heard anything from anyone else, but… they've gone missing! We've been looking all over for them, everywhere we can think of, and yet… it's almost as if they've vanished. We haven't been able to find any clues at all…" The shadow clutched her hands before her once more as she began to plead. "…Please! Do you have any ideas on what to do!? We have to get them home, no matter what!"
"Oh, my. That really is quite troublesome, isn't it? How strange… Though, that does remind me. Something actually has been on my mind…" Ms. Mowz gazed up at Vivian. "Have you heard anything more about that mysterious partygoer of yours? Call it a hunch, if you will, but I still very much believe that something wasn't right with that one. …That strange man's appearance bothers me, even now."
The mysterious partygoer? She wanted to know about Popple…?
"Hmm? …Him?" Vivian's eyes widened. "No, but there's been someone looking for him around Poshley Heights. I was told he's a wanted thief from the Beanbean Kingdom, but… why do you ask?"
Why was Ms. Mowz bringing him up right now? …Unless…?
"Mmmmm. I did think he was likely that sort of man… It appears my nose was correct, then. It may be nothing, but do you not find that suspect at all? …The timing between his appearance and the disappearance of dear Doopliss and Petuni, I mean."
Now that she mentioned it, maybe Ms. Mowz did have a point. Vivian had been thinking of them as two entirely different issues, and yet…
What if they really were related?
Still, Ms. Mowz shrugged. "Though I suppose I have no true proof. Do keep your eyes peeled, dearie, and I'll do the same. I haven't caught a whiff of him about my travels, but something tells me that we'll cross paths again."
…Could it be? The two events really did happen awfully close together, didn't they? And the fact that neither Vivian's crew nor Peasley had been able to find any clues on any of the missing people at all, despite everyone working so tirelessly…
Perhaps she really did need to have a talk with him about the possibility.
Though Peasley was nowhere to be seen when Vivian arrived back in Poshley Heights, she wasted little time before scribbling a message upon a note and leaving it at the hotel.
"Meet me in front of the Poshley Sanctum tomorrow morning. – Vivian". She was certain that he'd show up – with how long both searches had been going on, he was surely also starting to get frustrated. Maybe he had some extra information that he'd been withholding? Was there possibly something that Popple would want with a transforming ghost? The more she thought about it, the more it made sense that he might be interested in Doopliss. The ability to disguise yourself really would be useful for a thief, wouldn't it?
The shadow continued to ponder as she moved through the pipe to Riverside Valley and then slowly floated along the dusky path home. However, as she approached the dorm, a familiar purple-horned man caught sight of her and immediately ran over.
"Hey, Viviaaaan!" Crump called out to her as he wildly waved his arms. "We got something for you! Come on down to the lab with me for a sec, Bow wanted us to get you hooked up with a communicator! C'mere, c'mere!"
Vivian paused as she looked at the man running towards her. She'd been putting off getting a communicator of her own for as long as possible, having insisted that everyone else get one of their own first, but… this probably was a good time. It sounded like even Flurrie's troupe had gotten their hands on some, mostly in order to help coordinate search efforts.
And so, the shadow nodded and followed Crump inside. He led her over towards the back of the foyer, where an elevator had recently been installed. The two boarded it together and waited while the capsule carried them further down into the depths of the planet.
As the doors opened again, Vivian was greeted with a strangely familiar sight. The pair exited into a metallic hallway that resembled something out of a high-tech sci-fi movie. Beams were suspended from the ceiling, glowing lamps had been installed above each of the automatic doors, and identical soldiers clad in red passed back and forth as they busily went about their tasks. The long corridor smelled of chemicals and sterile metal, a sure sign of the scientific activities taking place within…
It was almost as though they had been transported straight back into the X-Naut Fortress of old.
"This is…!?" Vivian gasped as she looked about the area. The architecture was exactly the same as she remembered it – really, it might as well have been lifted directly from the moon. …It scared her, in a way. While she knew it was unlikely that anything nefarious was afoot, seeing it didn't exactly bring back the best of memories.
"This's about as far down as things go right now; there's a second floor below here buuuut I'd recommend not visiting unless you have to. The boys are still working, it's seriously a huge mess… All the clanging and drilling from construction is enough to drive a guy seriously nuts," Crump explained as he led her down the corridor. "But, it's all gonna be so worth it! We're workin' to expand all the way to a sublevel 5, buh huh huh! …Though, we'll probably focus on building up Riverside Valley before we expand too far past sublevel 2… Oh, here. This one's the room we want."
The door slid open as Crump tapped on it. He led Vivian inside – several other X-Nauts appeared to be working on fine-tuning a pile of newly produced communicators, though they paid Crump and his guest little mind. After directing the shadow over to a table packed with small boxes, the bulky X-Naut commander picked one up.
"Aaaaand here you go! This here's your guy," Crump stated proudly as he pushed it into her hands. A label across the front declared it as hers.
"Do you want me to take it out right away, or…?" Vivian questioned, turning the package over as she looked for an opening.
"Only if you wanna. There's a little booklet inside that'll tell you everything you need. 'Sides, it's pretty much already set up." Crump marked her name off a sheet of paper to the side as he spoke. "…Though, I guess you've mentioned before that you aren't the best with this kind of stuff, huh? If you have any questions, just come on back here and bug one of the guys. They'll give you a hand!"
He announced the last part extra loud, looking about the room and at the various workers. Vivian could see some of them pause and shift their heads slightly in Crump's direction – their superior's order had been received.
"I think I should be able to handle it by reading the guide… but I'll keep that in mind, hmm hmm hmm." Vivian forced a cheerful smile onto her face as she nodded her head in confirmation.
All this really was a bit awkward for her. …Yet, despite Vivian's anxiety and overall dour mood, Crump seemed to be doing just fine. His movements were springy and light, his voice chipper… Just as she was wondering why, he leaned in closer and began to whisper.
"By the by… I know what I just said, but there actually is something I wanna show you down below, buh huh huh huh huh…!" He laughed with barely-contained excitement. "You mind comin' with me for just a sec? It won't take long, I promise!"
"Hmmm? What's that?" Vivian cocked her head. "I suppose that's okay, but…"
Really, she had plenty of other things on her mind at the moment. …Was it something related to their search? If so, she'd love to see it, but she didn't get that impression.
Regardless, Crump beckoned her along, bouncing on his feet like a child on his way to a birthday party. They boarded the elevator again, going deeper still into the underground, after which he cheerfully led her to a locked room in the furthest corner of the noisy, equipment-laden hallway… Sliding a key card out of his pocket, he unlocked the door and, after looking about to make certain that nobody else was nearby, quickly beckoned Vivian into the room.
With how secretive he was acting, Vivian found herself starting to tense up. Though she didn't really know what to expect, she slid into the room carefully, observing all of the metal implements and odd machines as she went…
And yet, as her eyes fell upon the large, steel apparatus at the end of the room, she couldn't help but let out a gasp. What appeared before her… was a bit beyond what she'd imagined.
A headless body, fully dressed in regal, royal purple robes and adorned with a gold-trimmed, black cape, was mounted against the back wall.
Sir Grodus waited there.
…No, that wasn't quite it. It wasn't actually Grodus. Rather, it was a meticulously crafted construct that had been fashioned to look exactly like him – just without a head. She was aware that there was no way it was actually his body, considering that she'd seen it destroyed with her very own eyes. …And yet, had she not known better, this machine's appearance certainly would've fooled her.
"Yeah? Yeaaaaaah? Feast your eyes on this, seriously! Grodus is gonna be so surprised when he sees what we've been working on down here, buh huh huh huh huh!" Crump blustered as he placed his hands on his hips and laughed. "Me and some of the other guys've been putting this together in secret! We're finally juuuuust about done… Like, it's not flesh-and-blood or anything like that, but it's for sure better than living as a bouncing head!"
"I can't believe you're able to make something like this…" Vivian continued to stare. She could see incredibly intricate bundles of circuitry and wires emerging through the opening at the top, stretching down from the point where Grodus's cranium was to be attached…
"Sure can! Overall, this guy doesn't do much of anything special – no weaponry or rockets or any of that other fancy stuff. It's pretty much just a huge prosthetic, but we threw literally everything we had at it. I dunno if you can believe it, but we used to have a pretty big department for this stuff, way back in the day! Buh huh huh!" He chuckled. "…But, don't tell Bow… To be real, this is kinda why we're lagging behind on other stuff. We… may've shaved just a weeeee bit off the budget…"
He probably shouldn't have told Vivian that. Her lips twitched downward a just bit, but… still, after a moment, she treated Crump to a smile.
This was a labor of love - she could tell. How many hours and materials had they poured into this? How many late nights had Crump and his men spent working, despite everything else they had on their plates? It had to have been a lot.
She was honestly happy for them.
"We're gonna give it to him real soon. So, if you see him around, you should give him a little handshake or something! Or, like, play rock-paper-scissors!" Crump could scarcely hide his joy as he pumped his fists. "…Uh, if he lets you, I mean. Maybe. But, like, still! He's legit gonna be able to walk around again! We're this close to getting this baby out the door!"
Yet, even as Crump continued to celebrate, Vivian still couldn't keep her mind from drifting. …Even the X-Nauts were moving on with their lives so quickly. They really were actively working towards earning a happy future for themselves. Not all that long ago, she had been too, but…
Petuni and Doopliss were still missing, and she'd done nothing to actually help them so far. Most of her friends barely even had any time to talk to her, and Goombella would be gone for months. Her one job in weeks had been canceled. And, if things didn't change, her next one might also fall by the wayside…
Why were things always so difficult for her?
Chapter image:www tumblr com/thegroduschronicles/770977441916354561