17 Germinal CCCXV
(April 6, 2107)
Marsupia
It was very early in the morning, shortly before dawn. There were hardly any people outside this time of day, but there were three friends who were venturing out. It was Pat the koala, Josh the kangaroo, and Franny the quokka. The different species in Marsupia usually segregated themselves into separate castes, but the trio of 13-year-old friends were an exception to the norm. Franny was the most adventurous and outgoing of the trio, Pat was rather brash but had a soft side, and Josh was usually timid but was probably one of the nicest people in Marsupia.
Franny led her friends toward Ekaltadeta Cave, which had been abandoned for centuries due to rumors of being haunted. That wasn't enough to deter Franny, of course.
"Come on guys, hurry up!" she yelled.
Pat and Josh struggled to catch up to their energetic friend but eventually made it. They stopped for a few minutes to catch their breath.
"Come on Franny, let's think about this," said Josh. "Hoppy Poppy will have a heart attack if he finds out we went in here."
"Relax, your grandpa won't find out," said Pat, placing his arm around Josh's shoulder. "He'll probably still be asleep by the time we get back. Besides, Holly's covering for us."
"Yeah!" said Franny. "Besides, we could be the ones to discover the lost treasure of King Ima!"
Josh's worries weren't exactly placated, but he did feel more confident. "Alright, let's do this."
The trio ventured into the cave, each holding a flashlight-like device so they could see in the dark cave. There were lots of stalagmites and other rocky features, as well as a few broken down pieces of wood and metal. Nothing too fancy, but still evidence that the fabled lost treasure might indeed be at the back of the cave. Surprisingly, there weren't any snakes to be found. Usually caves like this are swarming with snakes but apparently even they weren't tough enough for Ekaltadeta Cave.
Franny suddenly stopped once they got about 500 meters into the cave, causing Josh and Pat to nearly trip over her.
"What the hell was that for?" angrily asked Pat as he steadied himself.
Franny quickly shushed him. "Can you hear that?"
All three of them stopped and listened. There was absolute silence.
"No," said Pat, somewhat irritated. "You made us stop just so we could listen to nothing ?"
"It's not nothing!" insisted Franny. "I can feel something calling to me… in there." She pointed to what looked like the entrance to a smaller cave within the cave. "I need to see what's in there." She stepped into the mysterious chamber.
"Me too," said Josh, following after her. "I think whatever's in there is magical."
Pat scoffed. "Magic's been gone for centuries. You're not gonna find it in there."
"ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?!" yelled Franny.
"Yeah, I'm coming."
Pat hurried into the chamber and saw that his friends were frozen in place. He froze too once he saw what they were looking at: a massive cache of items from the old Muramura Empire. Swords, intricate woodwork, remnants of grand artworks, and right in the center was an intricate treasure chest with a faint light coming out. There was a key laying on the ground in front of the chest, almost as if someone had wanted them to come here and claim the treasure.
Not really knowing what else to do, Franny picked up the key and carefully opened the chest. Inside there were three shining Pearls, each with a diameter of about an inch. The magical glowing was much more noticeable now, and each Pearl was glowing a different color: blue, pink, and green. There were also two pieces of paper in the chest. One was a small note saying "Marcy wuz here!" accompanied by a drawing of a weird face. The other was larger and folded.
"Okay, I was wrong," Pat begrudgingly admitted. "These are definitely magical."
"They look like stuff a radioactive oyster would vomit out," said Josh.
"GUYS!" exclaimed Franny. "This note is addressed to us!"
Indeed, there was small writing on the outside of the paper: "For Franny, Josh, and Pat" .
Franny quickly opened the folded note and the trio read the message inside.
Franny Rottnest, Josh Jackson, Pat Liptuss:
Your world is in danger.
Following the decline of magic, Marsupia has been dying. The natural structures of the planet have slowly decayed and they are nearly at a breaking point.
In a matter of months, a series of natural disasters will ravage Marsupia, leading to the collapse of all civilization.
However, you three have the power to prevent this destruction.
Hundreds of years ago these Pearls once held great magic but its power faded over time. We have imbued them with renewed energy so that they can once again be used for good.
Just as we once did a lifetime ago, it is now your turn to call upon gemstones of magic. As long as you possess them, you will be able to restore magic to the land and prevent the end of Marsupia. All you need to do is make contact with the pearls to begin wielding their powers.
Don't worry if you are unsure of what to do. You may use the pearls to call on us for guidance.
Go forth, and make the world a better place!
- A.B., S.W., and M.W.
The Guardians of the Multiverse
The three friends didn't know what to think. It seemed like it could be an elaborate prank, but the fact that the Pearls were clearly pulsing with magic made them realize that this was the real deal.
"I think we have to do this," said Josh.
"You sure?" said Pat. "I still don't trust this."
"We don't have a choice," said Franny, with a determined look on her face. "The note says the whole world will be destroyed in months. We can't risk that happening."
"Franny's right," said Josh. "If we have the power to save Marsupia from the apocalypse then we have to try.
"Exactly!" said Franny. "Besides, we can apparently get guidance from these 'guardians'. Let's each grab a Pearl on the count of three."
Pat still wasn't certain, but he knew turning down the chance to save the world was a bad idea. "Alright, on three."
"One, two, three!"
They grabbed the Pearls and suddenly felt a rush of energy like nothing they had ever experienced before. They were being transformed from ordinary kids to magical saviors of Marsupia. Once it was all over, no one said anything for a while, but eventually Pat broke the silence.
"That was weird."
"Yeah, I feel different," said Josh.
"Different how?"
"I don't know, just different."
"Yeah, but like—""Look boys," said Franny, knowing that discussion was going nowhere, "I don't know about you but I'm ready to go on a big adventure. We're gonna save the world, and we're gonna do it together."
She put her hand in between them and Josh enthusiastically placed his on top of hers. "Yeah, together."
"Pat?" asked Franny.
Pat chuckled and placed his hand on top of theirs.
"Together."
The newly-powered trio turned and began to head toward the cave's exit. As they walked away, three beings began conversing with each other, invisible and inaudible to the marsupial children. All three of them were now beings of pure energy, though they typically appeared as their original human forms for convenience.
"They're just like us, aren't they?" said Anne.
Sasha snorted and started laughing. " Just like us? Please, they're definitely smarter than we were at that age."
"They're so much cuter too!" squealed Marcy. "They look like characters I could've drawn for Ava's Adventures ."
"As if anyone could be cuter than you, Marcy," said Anne, giving Marcy a quick peck on the check, causing her blush.
"Hey, don't leave me out of this!" said Sasha, joining what had become an impromptu makeout session. While they were kissing each other, they also followed the three marsupials, making sure they knew what they were doing with their new magic powers. Being in multiple places at once is one of the benefits of being gods, after all.
Author's Notes: For those unaware, Marsupia was a rejected idea for the ending of If You Give a Frog a Cookie. I haven't seen anyone use it in a fanfic yet, so here we go.
The Marsupian calendar is the French Revolutionary Calendar. I decided on this mostly because I've loved the word "Germinal" ever since OverSimplified's French Revolution videos.