"It's nice to have you over, Alice," Mighty Penguin said, grinning at me.
We were seated on his couch, in his cute little apartment. The walls were pale blue and the floor was a soft, grey carpet. The couch was big, red and fluffy, with a wooden coffee table in front of it. A TV, naturally, was on the wall. As well as half a dozen clocks, all ticking away.
Mighty Penguin chuckled. "I mean, the last time we saw each other…"
"...we had to save the world," I finished, sighing. "I know." I took a sip of the lemonade Mighty Penguin allowed me to have. "Y'know, recently… I set this psychopath's house on fire. I know he's bad and all, but… I can't help but feel… kinda guiltily."
"Well that's definitely a bit extreme, even for a psycho," Mighty Penguin admitted, shaking his head. "How bad was he?"
"He tried to hunt Fierce Fox and I," I explained. "He also killed a lot of endangered species. He was a big game hunter."
"Well, I guess your actions were justified then," Mighty Penguin told me. "I can't stand animal abusers. And I think you've done worse, right? With the whole Zeus stuff and that girl who died." He shrugged. "It's in the past now. Just don't worry about it, okay? Think of all the adventures you'll have in the future!"
"Okay," I said, tapping my chin. "Thanks, Mighty Penguin." I eyed him. "So, were you born here? On Time Tangled Island?"
"Uh-huh," Mighty Penguin replied, smiling. "Because of this island, I'm never late for anything."
I couldn't blame him. I'd seen all the clocks in his apartment, lined up on the wall. It was almost creepy. Like I was being watched.
"Yeah, those clocks explain it," I sighed, shaking my head.
"Just a thing growing up here." Mighty Penguin said, shrugging. "So, what about you? Where did you grow up? Aren't you, like, supposed to be from another world or something?"
"Um… yeah," I told him. "This place called Earth. It's sort of like here… but sort of not. We don't have island quests, medallions, super powers and adventures. We just have… lives. Going to school, working, and so on."
"Oh," Mighty Penguin said, looking away. I saw a glimmer in his eyes. "Sounds… boring."
"For an adventurer like you, it would be," I laughed, fingering my scarf. "But for me… it's half my life."
"Mmm," Mighty Penguin said, daydreaming. "Boring, yeah."
"I prefer it here," I agreed. "But you can't change reality."
Once I finish all the islands… will I ever be able to come back to Poptropica?
That left a pit in my stomach. I didn't want to return to my old life. But… it was reality. It was my home. I didn't have a choice.
I sighed. Poptropica feels more like my home than anything else…
Fierce Fox and I landed on a large, silver, oil-coated boat in the middle of the ocean. The sun was high above our heads, sprinkling sunlight upon us. There were various boat materials onboard, such as ropes, donut holes, and so on. A famous film director called Cam Jameson was in front of us, sweating all over.
"What's going on?" Fierce Fox asked, raising her brow.
"I need help filming some underwater footage of these fish," Cam explained. He handed us a file full of fish descriptions. "Find the key to the sub and we'll make the greatest fish story ever told!"
"Probably won't be able to top Finding Nemo," I told him. "But we'll do it anyway."
I gestured to Fierce Fox to follow me. I led her over to a dark green pole covered in grime. It and some others held up the hoists to the ship. On one was a silver bucket full of water.
With my instruction, Fierce Fox removed the water by tipping it onto some vain guy's helmet. She then filled up the bucket with oil from a chilled out squid and repeated the process. The guy was so disgusted he dropped the key to the sub, since it was locked in a crate.
Fierce Fox picked up the key. We went over to the crate which held the sub. Cam looked overjoyed.
"Success!" he exclaimed. "One of you take the sub-"
"Only one?" Fierce Fox asked, raising her brow. She gazed at me.
"I'm afraid so," Cam nodded with a frown. "One of you can stay here with me and we'll keep in touch via radio."
"Well?" Fierce Fox asked, staring at me.
"Do you want to go?" I asked, chewing my lip. I lowered my voice. "I can tell you what to do via the radio. We'll still be connected that way. If there's anything wrong… or you see something, I can help you."
"You don't want to, do you?" Fierce Fox asked, tilting her head.
"Well, truthfully…" I laughed nervously. "After that MVB thing, I… I think I could use a break."
"Fine." Fierce Fox sighed. She smirked. "Well, I'm always up for an adventure."
And, with that, she climbed into the small, yellow, pod-shaped vehicle. She disappeared under the sea. Cam and I stood by a large screen that was showing footage from the sub's camera.
"How do I use this thing?" Fierce Fox grumbled under her breath, pressing buttons on the monitor. Her voice crackled through the speakers.
"Just… move left and right." I told her.
Fierce Fox sighed and obliged; the sub moved left and right. She shrugged her shoulders and continued her descent. The blue waters surrounded her pod, crowded with various fish. As she headed further down, she saw colourful coral sitting on thick rocks. A red and green sea dragon approached her.
"There's a sea dragon," Cam said. "Track it down and record some footage!"
"Take a picture of it." I translated. "Use your ship's camera. Make sure everything stays still."
"How do you know what to do?" Cam asked me. He sounded inquisitive.
"I work with ships a lot." I answered quickly.
Fierce Fox waved it off and hovered nearby the sea dragon, taking an image of it.
"Good work, but the really good stuff is down a lot deeper!" Cam told her.
"Go down some more." I added.
Fierce Fox nodded and drove down, discovering more rocks and sea life. She drove into a rocky, maze-like area, which is full of plants, geysers and strange fish.
"Look for the Barreleye," I instructed. "It's in a tunnel. You'll need to flush it out using the geysers before you can take a picture of it."
"How do you know that?" Cam asked, sounding slightly suspicious.
"I… just know things." I answered, voice wavering.
"Wait… you're the prophesied hero, aren't you?" Cam asked, now excited.
I looked away. "Maybe…"
"Uh…" Fierce Fox covered a geyser blowing out hot bubbles using her pod. It pushed the strange-looking fish inside a rock tunnel downwards. Fierce Fox repeated this process a few times before the fish was out in the open. She was able to snap a good pic.
"Y-you got the shot," Cam was in the middle of laughter. "G-good job!"
He snorted afterwards. I giggled, catching the laughs.
"What's so funny?" I asked through a laugh.
"Never thought I'd meet the real deal," Cam
told me with a chuckle. "It's an honour!"
He shook my hand with an intense vigour.
"Oh, shucks," I waved him off.
Fierce Fox let out an angry breath.
"Where next?" she asked, clenching her fists.
"Left," I answered, snickering. "Find a few small red fish around those rocks, then go to the Angler Fish's cave. Take a picture of it while it's eating."
Fierce Fox focused on finding the Angler Fish. She explored the rocky maze, finding small, red fish, hiding in various places. They seemed to like her and stuck near her sub.
"So, you're from another world?" Cam asked me.
"Uh…" I began sweating. "Maybe…"
"Sometimes it feels like I'm from another world," Cam sighed. "It's hard fitting in out there. You want to impress everybody but all you do is end up a failure."
"You're not a failure," I told him. "You're a famous director! Didn't you make the Avatar movie?"
"Maybe," he smirked. "And you're no failure either… you saved the world."
"Not without my friends," I told him.
"You're so brave," Cam chuckled. "My dad would've loved to have a daughter like you. Gosh, when he was a boy…"
Out of the corner of my eye, I kept an eye on my friend. Fierce Fox escorted the small, red fish to the Angler Fish's cave. Surprisingly, Cam's story was incredibly captivating, so I ended up giving him more attention than I should've.
The Angler Fish, with its sharp, pointy teeth, snapped up all of the little red fish. Fierce Fox stood still and took a picture, enjoying the satisfaction.
"Great filming," Cam commented. "We got her!" He turned to me. "So, then he said-"
"What next?" Fierce Fox interrupted.
She had returned to the area where she caught the Barreleye. Just past it were two walls, covered in various seaweed. Most of it was purple. One cluster of seaweed was red. There were a few red cuttlefish hiding in the seaweed. There was also a purple one.
"There's a purple cuttlefish you need to take a picture of," I explained. "Just get it into the red seaweed by swapping around the order of the cuttlefish." I turned to Cam. "Go on, Cam. Was your dad chasing the dog again?"
"Of all people to get distracted…" Fierce Fox grumbled, tightening her fists around the controls.
"Hey, I…" I raised my hands.
"And you'll never guess what my aunt did next," Cam spoke up.
Fierce Fox neared the red cuttlefish, forcing them to swap places. Eventually, the patch of red seaweed was free. Fierce Fox directed the purple cuttlefish to sit in it; she took a picture.
"Good job!" Cam quickly congratulated.
"Now go down and see the Stonefish," I quickly instructed. "Just hide in some coral and take a picture." My voice changed again. "So, your uncle said what?"
Fierce Fox drove downwards. Indeed, near a small cave covered by coral, a Stonefish lurked nearby some stones.
Fierce Fox hid in such coral; the Stonefish came right out. Fierce Fox filmed the large, grey fish, a grin plastered on her face.
"It was so funny," Cam told me. "And then-" He gasped. "Look, a Hydromedusa! That's definitely a fish we should film. Don't let it get away!"
With that, Fierce Fox used full power, and chased after the jellyfish-like creature.
Fear, for the first time that day, prickled my skin. I knew Fierce Fox would be fine in the end, but I knew she wouldn't be prepared for now.
Game physics apply, I soothed myself, taking a deep breath. It will be okay. My new friend Cam eyed me cautiously.
"Are you okay, Alice?" he asked.
I nodded quickly. "Oh, gosh, I've been a bad friend…"
Fierce Fox had looked slightly irritated about something. Probably us. I couldn't help but feel even more guilty.
"Great, now keep him in front of the camera to finish the shot," Cam instructed Fierce Fox.
Suddenly, I heard a scream from her end.
"What the heck is that?!" Fierce Fox screamed. Then the radio blacked out for a few moments.
"Fierce Fox?!" Cam asked, acting panicked. "Is she okay?!"
"I… think so." I attempted to stay determined. I tried booting up the radio again.
Cam was peering over my shoulder; we watched the radio in intense silence. Then we heard a muffled voice.
"You are not gonna believe this," it was Fierce Fox's voice. "I wish I could describe it… but…"
"Hold on." Cam turned on the camera for the sub.
It showed a crashed, alien civilisation. It was completely black with glimmering, pink windows. It was like a ginormous ship, but also the size of a city.
"Oh… we've got something, alright." Cam spoke up.
"I think we'll need a bigger lense." I added, swallowing. Especially when I saw something dark moving amongst the shadows.