cheese25

Chapter Twenty-Five: Cheeseless

   "Y'know," Chazzy began, as the group continued their trek upon the Stately Bumpkin, "I'm reminded of this play I once saw. I forget what it was called, what it was about, or if I ever actually saw it. There's one thing I remember about it, though... Or that I dreamt about... Whichever one it happens to be. Anyway, I remember right near the end, one of the characters says to the lead, 'You know, you really are crazy.' And then the lead says to him, 'Really? Is it crazy to try making the land you love a better place? Is it crazy to care so much for the people around you, that you'd go to the end of the world for them? Is it crazy to love someone so much, that you would die for that person? I don't think so. I think the only crazy one, is the one who stands by and does nothing. The one who doesn't care one way or another... That's the crazy one, not I.' My point is, is that right now, I really wish I was the crazy one, because what we're doing is suicide!"
   "Hey, we're almost there. Is everyone ready?" Kevinda asked.
   "We're about as ready as we're ever gonna get around here," Jim said. "I just want all of you guys to know that you're the best group of people I've ever met in my life. I know that if Sarah was still here, she would say the same."
   Florence smiled a sad sort of smile. "Guys, whatever we end up doing, I think we should do it for Sarah. She paid the greatest sacrifice of all. Let's not let her death be in vain." There were sober nods of agreement in response.
   "How much longer do we have until Jimbles hits, do you think?" Jessica asked.
   "Not long, ah bet. We hafta be quick 'bout this, o' we is all done fer," Ziggy responded.
   The tunnel began to widen and the Stately Bumpkin entered a massive cavern. There was a rocky path that seemed to lead to the heart of the crater. An eerie green light illuminated everything. The great robot stopped and everyone got off. They slowly began to walk the path in single file.
   Every person was silent now. Each step was harder and harder to take as they trekked forward. Fear welled up in their hearts, but as they thought of everything that they had gone through together, they were also filled with determination.
   Everyone was clinging to their weapons. Jim walked with the Bungle Sword drawn, Harry's hand was ready to draw his own sword, Kevinda held her crystal orb to her chest, Ziggy clutched his shotgun protectively, Florence nervously chewed on the end of one of her rubber chocobos, Jessica's fists were ready to strike, Chazzy produced an extremely long wrench. Muffie brushed past Chazzy and smiled as she stole back the spoons that rightfully belonged to her. Now she held them like oddly shaped throwing stars.
   The focus was now on the brightening green light. They were now approaching the source. Jim paused and shielded his eyes as the green flashed. The strange light looked oddly liquid, and slowly it began to turn red. Swirls of redness filtered into the light. It began to look like blood mixed in pus as the swirls became thicker. It flashed once more and it seemed as if the group was being enveloped in light. In a blinding illumination, they were transported even deeper into the crater's depths.
   Everyone was now standing on their own, individual stone. The stones were dark red in colour, but they looked as if they were comprised of a thousand smaller stones; each one a different shade of scarlet. The stones were arranged in a semicircle around a large blue stone. Upon it, stood Olaf.
   Olaf smiled darkly as he looked out at the group. He held the Black Pebble in his hand. The pebble was glowing deep blue in colour. Olaf closed his fist around the pebble and the glowing flowed into his hand. He lifted his other arm, and there was something strange in that hand. He lifted it across to the opposite shoulder. There was some duct tape on the end of it, and with a few pats, it was stuck to his coat. It was a long piece of cardboard with numerous black feathers attached. Some of the feathers looked as if they were about to fall off. Olaf's smile turned into a grin and he spread his arms open wide. From behind him, a choir emerged and began to sing.
   "Hey, let's have some cheese! It's really tasty! Hey, let's have some cheese! It's really tasty! O-Olaf! O-Olaf!" the choir sang, their voices echoing in the cavern.
   "He really has this evil stuff down," Muffie muttered to Kevinda.
   "Ah, poor Jim. For so long your life has been miserable," Olaf spoke in a hiss, "and it's all because of me! Have you ever wondered where all of your precious hair gel went? Every time you searched, it just seemed to disappear. Well, I had to feed Jimblesssomehow. She loves the taste of hair gel you see. Have you ever wondered why there's a trail of whipped cream that follows her around? Well, hair gel goes in, and whipped cream foams out. Ah, you were so blind to it all!" He threw back his head and let out a screaming cackle. "Glee-hee-hoooooo!"
   "Ah rekkon he's gone 'n' snapp'd," Ziggy commented.
   "Silence! You shall pay for you insolence! ..After I reveal my grand scheme!" Olaf shrieked. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes... Glee-hee-hoo! Now, with Jimbles about to crash down upon the planet, all shall perish and I shall remain to rule over the ants and other insects! They will worship me as a god!"
   "I've heard enough. This insanity is going to end now, Olaf!" Jim leapt forward, swinging the Bungle Sword. Olaf held the fist the carried the Black Pebble in the path of the blade. A great flash shot forth. It was not bright, but instead devoid of light, as if a black hole had been formed by the collision. Jim was thrown back to whence he came.
   An assault on Olaf began, as everyone attacked in turn. Each time, the attack was deflected away, no matter how many volleys were sent. Olaf was left cackling viciously. He lifted his arms and cried out, "Pie-a-nova!" From above, a rain of pies cascaded down about the party. Everyone was doused in whipped cream and beaten with tin pie plates.
   Meanwhile, the choir continued their dark song, "Yummy yummy yummy cheese. Let's go out for parmesan! Yummy yummy yummy cheese. Let's go out for parmesan! It is gooey! It is chewy! It is gooey! It is chewy!"
   "This is hopeless," Harry gasped, desperately.
   Jim looked from Harry to the rest of his pie-beaten comrades. Olaf had successfully deflected every shot they had fired. His gaze turned to their enemy who wore a cruel smile. Jim began to think, Sarah, what would you do?
   "Nothing can defeat the Single Winged Supernatural Being of General and Total Evilness! Glee-hee-hoo!" Olaf shrieked out another cackle. He grabbed onto the fake wing and wiggled it a bit. "Fear the mighty power!" The wing then fell off. He let out a gasping ack and he scrambled to reattach it to his coat. "Where did I put the duct tape?"
   Jim stared at Olaf as he searched his coat for the misplaced roll of tape. The look in Jim's eyes was one of intense concentration and hatred. He took a step back, and then jumped from the red stone to the blue. Olaf was only a few steps away. Jim continued forward, picking up as much momentum as he could. He lowered his head; his hat flew off his head and disappeared into the endless darkness as he ran. With a mighty heave, Jim's head collided with Olaf's stomach.
   The air burst out of Olaf's lungs and he staggered back. He gasped for oxygen, clawing upwards as he did so. He stumbled and fell from the smooth blue surface into the darkness beyond it. He disappeared into blackness, leaving Jim and the rest gazing down after him.
   Florence gasped, "Is he-?"
   "You did it Jim!" Harry cheered.
   "Serves the smootin' marmoset right," Chazzy stated, gazing down into the darkness that Olaf fell into.
   Jim stood where he was, his face was unchanged, filled with focus. "He's not gone yet..." He said after a long pause. Before a word could be uttered, Jim jumped off the stone, followed Olaf into the black. He felt himself shooting threw a tunnel. It seemed to be twisting and spinning towards the very core of the planet. Through a world of sparkling light and deep shadow, Jim fell onward.
   Quite suddenly, he found himself in the middle of a great, black vortex. A single ray of light beamed down, illuminating the area around Jim. Standing before him was Olaf. He seemed to be nothing but a shadow of his former self. His silver hair hung lifelessly around his balding head. His eyes no longer glittered with dominance and malice. He was cold, and as lifeless as the void that surrounded them.
   Olaf threw himself at Jim, but his attack barely scratched the blonde-haired hero. Jim was breathing heavily as he took a step back from the villain. His mangled hair hung in his face and was formed in spiky clumps around his skull. His knuckles were turning white as they gripped the Bungle Sword. Olaf tried regaining the appearance of strength as he straightened and poised himself for Jim's approaching attack.
   "Omniwhittle!" He screamed. Jim began swiping his blade at Olaf madly. His trench coat was quickly torn apart, and what hair he had was being sliced off, hair by hair. Tiny cuts were made in Olaf's skin. It was being flayed away so that another form could be created from the lump of flesh and bone that would remain.
   The man was left gasping as fresh blood began to trickle down his face. He lurched backwards and his expression changed. Olaf looked like nothing more than a child, confused and lost. There was a hint of fear and shock deep within his eyes as they turned red from the flowing of blood. A glowing began deep inside of his stomach and he seemed to be floating within the darkness of the vortex. Bright streams of white light cascaded from his torso and he broke away into emptiness.
   Jim stood alone in the void. He looked from left to right and there was nothing to be seen beyond the endless black. He then heard a sound. It was the bleat of goat. He turned towards the noise. A powerful yellow-white light illuminated the entire void and a goatly silhouette was bounding towards Jim. He reached out towards it, spreading his arms.
   In an instant, the light vanished and he was once again in the northern crater. He fell into Jessica's arms and she pulled him away from a collapsing ledge of rock. The entire cavern was shaking violently.
   "Jim, we have to get out of here!" Jessica exclaimed. She began to run and Jim followed close behind. They caught up with the rest of the group that were eagerly waiting to get out.
   "Come on! The Hairwind should be all set! All we have to do is get to it, and we're flyin' fine!" Chazzy exclaimed. A rock fell from above, nearly hitting him. "Getting there is going to be the spoony hard part."
   "Don't worry, the planet will guide us in the correct path," Harry assured. He closed his eyes for a second, then reopened them. "That way!" He pointed and began running in that direction. He skidded to a halt when an avalanche of rock barricaded the path. "Erm, how about someone else leads the way?"
   "Over here!" Kevinda waved the group towards her as she ran. Everyone moved as swiftly as they could through the rocky cavern.
   "There it is!" Florence exclaimed, pointing up at the Hairwind above them. "Climb like there's no tomorrow, everyone!" They made their way up and into the ship. When they arrived, they realized that there was another problem.
   "The engine's not working," one of the men in orange vests said to Chazzy.
   "Oh spoony marmosets, not now! Let's get this smootin' thing into the air!" He began pulling switches and punching buttons, to no avail. "Spoon it all!" he shouted, rage echoing in his voice. He kicked the controls, and like magic the engine began to move. The ship slowly began working its way into the air.
   Jessica was gazing out the window at the crater, then whipped around to look at the rest of the group. "I think the whole place is about to explode!"
   "Then we need some more smootin' speed!" Chazzy turned and jumped for a switch. "Spoony!" he exclaimed as he pulled down on a lever. The engine seemed to explode as the Hairwind rocketed through the air. Parts of the ship broke away and everyone on board was tossed left and right. As the airship rushed out of the crater, a shot of blue energy thundered out of the northern crater.
   A collective sigh of relief washed over the group. Then Florence suddenly spoke up, "Hey... Where's Muffie?" She looked around at the faces of those present. "And Ziggy?"

   "Oh my gawd!" Muffie cried out. Her eyes were unblinking and her mouth agape. "It's beautiful!" She fell to her knees and tears began to well up in her eyes. "Never before have I felt so complete!" Before her was a rock formation, nearly twenty feet high, in the form of a giant spoon.

   "Gimme elixir!" exclaimed an odd little creature in a large, yellow pot. Ziggy stood before it with a grin.
   "Oh, ah'll give yo' sumpin' all right, li'l varmint," Ziggy said, slyly. He chuckled as he raised his shotgun. He fired at the pot, but it didn't so much as crack it. "Whut the-?"
   Beady red eyes peered out from the darkness at Ziggy and a multitude of tiny voices exclaimed, "Gimme elixir!" They were closing in on the poor cowboy.
   "Uh-oh... This hyar ain't gonna be gud..."

   "We have bigger fish to fry. Look!" Kevinda exclaimed. She pointed out at Wigfarm in the distance. The giant-sized Jimbles was there, hovering above the city. Whipped cream oozed from her mouth, crashing down on the people below, and destroying whatever it fell on.
   "I thought that by getting rid of Olaf, we'd get rid of that fish," Jessica said.
   "I guess that wasn't the case," Florence muttered sadly.
   "What can we do now?" Harry questioned, frantically. "Do you have any idea Jim? Jim?"
   Jim was standing silently at the large window. He stared at the giant fish as the Hairwind got closer to it. He was looking into its emotionless green eyes. "Jimbles... She made some sort of connection with Sarah. I don't know how, or why... If anyone can do something, Sarah can."
   "Jim, please. Sarah's gone, you just have to-" Jessica began.
   "Quiet!" Jim shouted. His eyes focused on Jessica's. "Trust me."

   Jimbles...

   The large fish twitched its tail. She somehow managed to hang vertically in the sky, facing down at the metropolis below. She was slowly creeping towards Wigfarm, ready to destroy anything, and everything, she could get her fins on.

   Jimbless...

   The whipped cream foam began to gurgle in Jimbles' gills. She flayed about helplessly for a moment. The cream continued to crash down, causing more destruction. The fish then shifted itself and with a mighty swing, she brought her tail down upon Wigfarm. A gasp shook the Hairwind.

   It's coming, Jimbles...

   Slowly, a rumbling began to shake the planet.
   "What's... going on?" Chazzy asked, quietly.
   From all corners, a flow of grey and brown and white seemed to be streaming towards Jimbles. The flow was lighter than air, moving at an amazing speed. There were thin streams, galloping out towards the giant fish.
   "What are those?" Jessica asked, squinting down at the dozens of streams.
   "Goats!" Jim exclaimed in astonishment.
   A great stampede of goats, light-footed and with the speed of a thousand horses, sped towards the great fish. They collided with her, letting out bleats and stamping on her purple-black scales.
   "How is that possible?" Florence questioned, nearly breathless.
   "It's Sarah!" Jim cried, leaping for joy.
   Jimbles writhed about in the sky as the goatstream stampeded into her. A great sound echoed out: the sound of all the goats bleating in unison combined with the great fishy scream of Jimbles. A great light shone out from the fish, engulfing the Hairwind, Wigfarm, Kalm, everything. The light reached a blinding peak, then faded away...