Expedition Day 3: Entry 1
When I woke up the next morning, I suddenly felt a slight chill in the air… almost like it were coming from… my head? I then felt my hair and was shocked once again. It was coated in a freezing cold aura and my hair follicles were stiff and frozen in ice!
"Oof, this is kinda 'cool'! Haha, yush!" I smirked at my own bad joke as K-Bug gave a halfhearted chuckle and Scorch just rolled his eyes.
"Heard that one before," the Crapple said with a groan. As for what I would name him?
"Don't care, Applesauce," I smirked, that making him smirk.
"You just trying not make any jokes about my species, right?" he asked, me smiling back coyly.
"You have no idea," I giggled as I also noted something. Bronnica wasn't with us. "Where's Bronnica at?"
"She's with Triffany right now. She's trying to remember more about her past. She also remembered how to write, I guess," Scorch said, me nodding as we then got out of the hut and we proceeded to the tent and I saw that Triffany was speaking with her Snakkified gramma via note writing, which was genius.
"Wowzers, so you found a secret Bugsnak's hideaway and it was a giant melon?" she asked.
"Sounds like Mama Mewon to me," I said, getting their attention.
"Oh? You know what its name is?" Bronnica asked, me noting that her voice was actually slightly different, almost like it were more feminine than her old voice, which sounded like a kid.
"Yep, learned it from Applesauce here. He warned me of the other royal Bugsnax and how each is incredibly dangerous. And Mana Mewon is not only big, but she hits hard, the strongest in terms of physical strength. If I'm going to take her on, I'll need help from a certain Chad-lo on this island," I smirked, that making Triffany smile.
"Well, from what I heard from gramma, he and Snorpy went off to the Sugarpine Woods, towards the east of the island. It's a little bit up in elevation, so it has some Bugsnax that are a bit colder than most... much like your head right now, yeah?" she said, me smiling and simply shrugging.
"I don't get it either. First I have a jelly volcano for a head, then it's fiery hair, and now it's like my hair is frozen solid and emitting snow. Why does my hair change so drastically every time that I fall asleep?" I asked aloud, that making Applesauce speak.
"From what queen Snak said to me, you have traits of all Snax in you, just like queen. Anytime you sleep, your powers change to other Snax on island. Right now, you Frosty snak. First was fruity, and second was hot," he explained, me then looking at him, then at Triffany and then I simply smiled.
"So, changing topic here, you aren't mad about me revealing that bit about Bronnica last night, right?" I asked, her smirking and shaking her head no.
"No, not one bit. I actually liked how you weaved it into a spooky story. But... how did you know that's what happened?" she asked, Bronnica then simply writing something else down on a piece of paper.
"Huh?" Triffany asked as she and I both read what Bronnica wrote down. It said "Bugsnax crawled inside my mouth when I fell down a cliff and hurt my ankle. I turned into tons of different food until my head turned into Strabby." I then looked at Triffany and she looked surprised.
"Well, that sounds like a horrible way to go, now don't it?" she asked, me looking at Bronnica and me smiling at how she wasn't turning to mush... but why?
"Huh... this is odd..." Scorch frowned. "If Bronnica revealed the true plan, she should be turning to mush now. But she's not... must be another loophole, then. Thank the queen that writing stuff down is a technicality," he said, me smiling and nodding.
"Anyways, just stick to the story I told at the campfire last night, alright, Triffany? And make sure that paper with that message is burned. We don't want to scare the residents away again," I said, her nodding and simply lighting it on fire via a candle on the table. And once it was alit, she then placed it on the dirt and we simply watched it shrivel up to a charred ball of black.
"Okay, now that that's been settled, I'd say it's time for Bronnica to come with us to these Sugarpine Woods. Maybe we can find some clues about Lizbert there with this map I got from Wiggle. It details that she last saw Lizbert in those very woods at a specific area," I said, Triffany nodding.
"You think I could come along, then? Maybe you could show me how you work with the Bugsnax, yeah?" Triffany asked, me thinking about it and then looking at Wambus.
"We should tell Wambus first. Also, see if he or the others need help with anything," I said, her nodding as we then went to the blue farmer and he looked a bit perturbed.
"Howdy, Wambus," I said, him then looking at me with a tip of his hat.
"Uh, howdy, Felicia... Triffy... uh... Bronnica?" he said, me nodding as the Grumpus Bugsnak then spoke.
"It's nice to see you too, Wamby," she said.
"Uh... translation?" he said.
"She said that it's nice to see you too and she called you Wamby," I smirked, him nodding. "On the plus side, she's remembered how to write and that's her main mode of communication without me," I smirked.
"I see... I could use a bit of help. The sauce crops and the Bugsnax aren't really growing too well... I think I'll need something to spice up the soil. And that Spuddy you caught yesterday has been roamin' by your hut all night. I'm gonna ask you to feed it to Filbo. Then, hole up by the outhouse and-" he was about to say before I cut him off.
"Stop, stop, I get the picture. Feed Spuddy to Filbo, collect poop, use poop for crops, gotcha," I said, that making Bronnica and Triffany giggle.
"Thanks for making it sound crude," he frowned, me sticking my tongue out at him.
"Naw, I said it correct," I smirked as I then simply whistled and noted that the Spuddy was still walking by the hut. "Hey, Spuddy boi! Come here for a sec, would ya?" I asked, the Spuddy rushing over to me and then speaking.
"What is it, boss? Am I gonna get eaten?" he asked, me nodding.
"We're gonna feed you to second in command here," I said as I saw Filbo walking to the campfire. "Hey, Filbo? Why don't you come over here for some breakfast?" I asked, him then coming over and smirking at me.
"Thanks, buddy," he smiled.
"No, no, it's thanks SPUDDY! Badum, tss!" I smirked, that making Triffany start to guffaw as I then simply picked up the baked potato with legs and then placed it in Filbo's mouth (which surprised me at how he could eat such a big Bugsnak) and he then had the top of his head gain a big piece of butter. "Thanks... though I'm suddenly feeling nature's call! G-Gotta go!" he said as he rushed to the outhouse that I heard the spooky voice(s?) from last night and I then simply spoke to him from the outside.
"Salvage the doodee, okay? I need the stinky stuff," I said in a singsong voice. I then waited for a good two minutes until Filbo then emerged from the bathroom... with a horrid stench emitting from a bag that he had in his hand!
"Hoooweee! This stink could raise the dead! It's sure to be good enough for Wambus's soil. Thanks, Filbo," I smirked as I then simply took the bag with two fingers and holding my nose with my other hand. I then handed the bag to Wambus and he smirked at me. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and wash my hands in the river," I said as I then rushed to the river by the eastern gate and washed them with a spare bar of soap I had in my backpack, me sighing as I finished up and then wiping my hands off on the grass.
"You hate smelly too?..." K-Bob asked shyly, me nodding, but being confused.
"How do you smell that stuff?" I asked him.
"Bugsnax breathe through their skin, duh," Scorch said, me smacking my face at that. It was just like normal bugs then, I guess.
"Should've expected that... but then that raises another question. How do Bugsnax speak if most don't have mouths?" I asked.
"That is a question I cannot answer. Not because I'm not allowed, but because I don't know how to answer it," Scorch admitted, me smirking at that.
"Ya ready to get going to the woods, then?" Triffany asked, me nodding as we then started to go down the path with Triffany, Bronnica, and my Bugsnak allies... for roughly 10 minutes. My feet were killing me afterwards because of the fact that the path was at an incline the whole way. And when we arrived, I felt the crisp, cold mountain air hit my face and fill my nostrils. And the first sights I noticed were a bunch of honeybee-like Bugsnax flying above us, a sauce bush filled with Peanut Butter fruits (awesome to me, but not for those allergic) and a giant log cabin situated above what looked to be a hot spring.
"Ooh, haven't been to this place yet, to be honest! This is gonna be fun!" Triffany smirked as we then proceeded to go directly to the log cabin ahead of us, where we listened into my two best buds from school speaking to each other from opposite sides of a door.
"Come on, Snorp-dawg! Ya gotta get one hour of outside time a day," Chandlo said as the much more secluded and shy Snorpington Fizzlebean spoke from inside the house, me seeing that it had two doors. One above and one underneath, meaning that it could double as both a door and a window.
"Sorry, Chandlo, but I can't risk it. I might be seen by the Grumpinatti," Snorpy said, me simply rolling my eyes. Sure, I did believe in the Grumpinatti (in fact, I had a little bit of an idea that my boss was a secret member because of me eavesdropping on a phone call she had) but Snorpy was really deep into it. In fact, he was so deep into it that he thought of everything other than Chandlo being a part of the conspiratorial group.
"Bro, if you're not gonna come outside... I'm bringing the outside to you!" Chandlo smirked as he flexed and then proceeded to go to the side of the house and me smirking. It was Chad-lo time.
"Chandlo, w-what are you doing? You cannot lift my entire house!" Snorpy said in worry.
"Oh YES I CAN! I'MMA LIFT YOUR CRIB, DAWG!" Chandlo grunted loudly as I saw he actually managed to lift it up by a few inches!
"D-Do not lift my crib, Chandlo! I've got very delicate instruments in here and-"
"LIFTIN' YOUR CRIB, DAWG! ! !" And that was enough for Snorpington to emerge from the house, me noting that some of his limbs were already snakkified, namely his entire left leg and right arm. And one after that did Chandlo drop the house.
"There, I am out in the fresh air... and I can smell the chemtrails..." Snorpy said before I simply smiled.
"Hello buds!" I smirked, that making Snorpy gasp as he turned around and he looked at me in shock before Chandlo smiled.
"Aw, Brodoga! Ya made it! An' ya even brought Triff, huh? Coolness!" Chandlo smirked widely as Snorpington looked at my hair in even more confusion and curiosity than anyone else I'd met on this island.
"Strange... Chandlo did say that you were here, Felicia... but he didn't mention you had some kind of... mutation... but it doesn't appear to be Snakkification... hmm... what do you know about the-" he was about to say before I hushed him.
"No, no, it's not Grumpinatti stuff, I swear. It's more that, when I hit my head on a rock during a crash-landing, I actually became part human and part Bugsnak... and I have no clue as to why, but it can actually allow me to communicate with and understand Bugsnax," I said, that making Snorpy respond by poking my icy hair and then retreating his hand afterwards.
"How very odd... hmm... so why did you come out here all this way from Snaxburg?" Snorpy asked after having done his probing.
"I'm trying to find out where Lizbert is and, from what the Bugsnax have told me, the island is going to have a catastrophe happen in 5 days, including today. We need to try and get every Grumpus back to town, get my balloon repaired, and find Lizbert before we escape," I said, Snorpington humming to himself.
"Hmm... I'm not DISinterested, but it has been a few years since we've seen each other... who knows if you've slipped into the Grumpinatti's fingertips?... You must prove yourself by helping Chandlo," he said as he then went into the house, rummaged about for a few seconds, and then emerged with something that looked like the Big Grumpin' Gun 9000 from Doom!
"Here, I present my latest invention, the Snak Grappler. I invented it so I could help Chandlo with his basketball problem, but I forgot that meant going outside. If you can help him out, then I know I can trust you," he said, me simply nodding at him.
"Got it... by the way, I ran into another person with the same last name as you, that being a Grumpus called Floofty... is there any relation, per chance?" I asked, Snorpy groaning.
"He's my brother... from another mother... I never told anyone but Chandlo, but my father was... vindictive. He had a fling with another Grumpus and thus, Floofty and I are half siblings... and I don't assign them a gender because Floofty prefers being called androgynous..." he said, me nodding at that.
"Sorry to bring up old wounds, then..." I said "Also, thanks heaps for the invention! Chandawg? Wanna go play some B-Ball?" I asked, him smirking widely at that.
"You bet, Felicia! Comin' with, Triff?" Chandlo asked as Triffany then smiled and looked at me with a smile.
"Actually, I'd like to ask if I could try to find this clue that Wiggle gave you about this area, yeah?" she asked, me smirking and nodding as I looked at two of my Bugsnak partners.
"Applesauce, Scorch, you follow after her in case any nasty Bugsnax try to attack, got it?" I asked, them nodding and then following after Triffany, but not before I gave her the map that Wiggle gave me.
"Sweet, you really can talk to Bugsnax! Far out!" Chandlo smirked as we then went to a small alcove to the left of the cabin's entrance and I saw it was a miniature basketball court... and that, when I looked over the edge, I saw that the cliff was SUPER deep, to the point that I couldn't even see the residents of Snaxburg below us!
"This is pretty high, not gonna lie," I admitted.
"I know, right! I routinely climb up and down this cliff for workouts!" Chandlo said, that making Bronnica ooh at that.
"That's impressive," she smirked.
"By the way, Chandlo, I gotta tell something to you and Snorpy, but only after I convince your boyfriend to go back to town. Something that I have only told Triffany. I feel I should tell you two, since you're still best Bros to me," I smiled.
"Thanks, sounds pretty secret! Let's see that invention in action!" Chandlo smiled as I then aimed the Snak Grappler at one of the basketballs (it being next to a snail-like Bugsnak) and, once I grabbed it, I then decided to show off and threw the basketball through the hoop and it then fell into the basket underneath. "Nice dunk, bro!" he smirked, me then grabbing another basketball and then simply threw it backhand... and smirked at the "schwoop" sound of it going into the basket. And then, the final one (that was wedged to the net itself) I simply grabbed with the Snak Grappler and then jumped and slam-dunked it!
"WHOO! That was wicked sweet, Brodoga!" Chandlo smirked as he then looked over at the pillar that the one basketball was at. "Hey, that's a Cinnasnail! Sure, they may look like a mess of carbs, but they're actually master climbers! I bet I'd be even better at climbing if you could get it for me," Chandlo said, me smirking and nodding as I then tried to grab it with the Snak Grappler... but I was surprised at how the snail stuck to the ground! I then loosened the grappler and brought the line back, me then thinking a bit... before K-Bob spoke.
"M-Maybe you should... launch trap over there? And t-then grapple trap?" he asked, me then smirking at him.
"That's genius! Great thinking, K-Bob!" I smirked, that making my Shishkebug friend look embarrassed as I then deployed the Lunchpad, placed a Snaktrap on it, and then launched it at the Cinnasnail! I then snapped the trap and the snail was caught. And once that happened, I then grabbed the trap on the top hook and smiled at how it came back with ease! I then grabbed the Cinnasnail out of the trap and simply handed it to Chandlo.
"Go ahead... wait! Should I change a specific limb with the Snaktivator?" I asked, me then producing the needle and him then gawking at it.
"Whoa, so Floofty finished work on that, huh? If that's the case, make my hands cinnamon flavored, dawg!" he smirked, me then simply feeding him the Cinnasnail, pushing the button on the Snaktivator, and changing his left hand into a Cinnasnail part, it being the sticky underside.
"There ya go! Now, what next on the to-do-list for Chadlo and Brodoga?" I asked, him smirking at the nickname I had given him since fifth grade, when he defended me from a whole bunch of bullies.
"Next, I wanna see if you can get me a small bit of revenge. Some Hunnabees stole some of my basketballs the other day. Now they're up in the trees. No way I can get those ones, even with Snorpy's invention. I want you to catch two of 'em and feed 'em to me," he said, me nodding at him. Revenge was a dish best served sweet, at least in my book. He then proceeded to climb out via the cliff nearby and I decided to shoot a grapple line at the large plank held up above the hoop, me smirking at how I managed to not only make a new bridge, but I also found I could use it to rip apart the blockade of rocks by removing a specific boulder with a very tough tug. I then left the area and proceeded towards one of the areas with Hunnabees (that being where the tall trees were) and I noted that Triffany, Scorch, and Applesauce were searching a bag, me having a feeling it was important.
"What's up, guys?" I asked with a smile.
"Oh, we found Eggabell's personal bag! It's got a diary in it, but it's kinda coated in honey from these Hunnabees, so I'm gonna need to take it back to town and try to make it more readable. Salvage it, y'know?" she said, me nodding at that. "You can go 'head and help Snorpy and Chandlo for now, I need to try and find out what happened to Egg," she said, me nodding at her as she then took the bag in full and scuttled back to town. I then proceeded to set up the Lunchpad and sending traps at the Hunnabees. I managed to get two of them quite easily... but the final one seemed to be onto me and seemed to be much faster at avoiding me. Almost as if it... didn't want caught?
"Hey! Come down here, Hunnabee! I need to catch you!" I said in annoyance. And as for its response.
"No! I don't want my bwotha to eat me!" it said in a feminine voice... and when she said that? I gasped at that.
"W-W-What?" I asked in surprise.
"I don't want him to eat me... j-just pwease, weave me bee," she said, me then looking at Scorch and him then groaning.
"Yes, she's not lying..." he said, me gulping at that. I had heard of a Funkbun disappearing on a sunken cruise ship roughly 8 years ago, but the fact that it was Solana Funkbun, Chandlo's older sister that he lost during Freshman year?! I then spoke.
"I... I thought you were dead, Solana! What are you doing as a Hunnabee?!" I asked, that making the transformed Grumpus fly slowly down to me, but making sure not to get too close.
"You... you know my name?" she asked, me nodding.
"Don't you remember? I'm Chad-lo's best bud since 3rd grade! I visited your place more than any other Grumpus in town!" I said with a smile. And it was only then that Solana gasped.
"Felicia?... You're the half Snak I've been hearing about?!" she asked as she finally flew down to me. And I simply nodded.
"Yeah, I am. It's how I'm able to understand you right now, right?" I smiled.
"Heh, not too likely," Scorch said, me looking at him in confusion. "She's conquered a very hard thing to overcome for Bugsnax. Not only remember everything, but also speak English. I don't know how, though, since it's only happened, like, 5 times for these past few millenia," Scorch said, me being surprised at that.
"It all came fwooding back to me when I saw Chandwo... I wanted to wet him know it was me, but was too scared to do it... so I wanted to wure him here by taking his basketballs... c-can you wet me see him without me getting eaten?" she asked, me smirking and nodding at that as I provided another container, this one marking the second-to-last specimen catch I'd have.
"Not only that, but I'm going to ask you to come back to the mainland with us. I'll make sure you and Chandlo can live together in peace again, just as long as you don't mind being considered as proof of the horrors of what secrets this island holds... okay?" I asked, her nodding at me as I simply opened the container and she then went inside of it... And as for how she'd get around? I simply opened up two special slits on the sides of the container and she sent her wings through it, allowing her to fly like a Hunnabee could.
"Thanks, Fewicia... I'm foweva gwateful," she said, me smirking at that.
"Sounds like you'll need to work a bit on your r's and l's, huh?" I smiled.
"Yeah, still getting used to speaking Engwish in this new body," she admitted, me smirking at that. It was time to reunite bro and sis after roughly 8 years apart... I just had to hope that Chandawg could handle it... looked like I'd have to reveal the secret to him and Snorpy a bit earlier than anticipated.
