A diamond hidden within the gray line

Chapter 41: First vision and larry's curiosity.

-Narration-

Once max made it back in front of the dollhouse, max took that moment to catch his breath. "Holy. Shit. Candymaker ain't no joke..." Max says while looking at the sticky key. The key itself looked like an old, rusty key, yet it was sturdy to the point that it didn't break apart the moment he pulled it off of the massive lollipop. However, max now looked disheveled after being knocked down from candymaker's haymaker which he barely avoided direct contact but the wind coming off of it still knocked him down.

He figured though, that from the perspective of marx recording, it might look like he took a direct hit.

"Wow. You sir, are incredibly lucky...i actually thought you took a fatal hit!" Marx says to max, who noted the relief in his voice. "Far from it. If i can survive fawful, then i can survive candymaker!" Max said with a cocky grin, which marx silently disapproved of.

-Marx pov-

Cocky pride...as much as i want to beat that out of him right here and now, it's become apparent that i am unable to do so. If max were to have ventured into the barn now, it most definitely wouldn't have ended very well for him. I wonder...is it because of the grey avatar, who has wanted this to happen for who knows how long? I have only met them once...and it was a long time ago...or could it be months ago? It's hard to tell just how much time has passed in the ancestral plane...i suppose now isn't the time to wonder, especially when the show has not yet ended!

-Narration-

"Careful now, candymaker will see that as a challenge..." Marx says to max, who turned to see candymaker pacing back and fourth in a patient matter. "I survived so far. Anyway...I guess i need to unlock the door." Max mutters, while looking at the key for a moment before slowly walking up the rickety stairs leading to the decrepit porch.

-Max pov-

I ain't never felt more alive than i do now! The fact that i made candymaker drop his weapon simply by shooting at their hand, tells me right then and there that it must be one of their weaknesses! And yet, the fact that candymaker never went down or even got tired gives me a brief pause for concern. I just need to keep at it and expose whatever weaknesses candymaker has, and beat 'em!

Still...it's a good thing candymaker can't show up anywhere else except the ancestral plane...

-Narration-

With the key in hand, he heads to the door and places it within the door handle and turns it and unlocked it, but instead of simply going inside the dollhouse, the key not only vanishes, but a pair of shadows come out from inside the dollhouse after the door opens from the other side, though they pay max no heed as the shadows take form. Both being that of koopa troopas, and both surprising max in a way that felt like major deja vu. One koopa is 5'2, and had on a brown trenchcoat, white shirt and black pants with gray shoes. They also had the same colored shell as max and the same light green eyes as max, which surprised him.

The other one is 5'6, had on a old and tattered grey t-shirt that was old and dirty looking, disheveled black pants that had a few holes in them, and spiked gray bracelets on his arms as well as brown shoes. His eye color however..is red, which almost looked as if they were glowing and his hair is the same black color as dark bowser, but it wasn't a mohawk. It instead, was short hair. "Woah..." max mutters, as one began to speak.

"So, how are you holding up xaczxar?" The trenchcoat wearing koopa asked. This caught max off guard, but chose to keep quiet for now. "Fine..i guess. Pico, are you sure it was a good idea to bring me here? It's..it's one thing that you got me out of that hellhole orphanage, but bringing me here to the von ghoul mansion? Aren't you guys wary of others?" Xaczxar asked. "Well, yes..but even the von ghoul family, including myself wanted that orphanage shut down, and i wanted you here despite the many objections from my family." Pico says to him.