I eyed the group of girls cautiously. My bullies were acting pretty weird, that's for sure. Especially Louisa, who was once the only person who looked past my leg and saw me- Alice. Now she'd become a creep, and whispered a lot with Chrissi and the other guys. I didn't know what they were talking about, but it didn't sound good. I'm not much of an eavesdropper (nor am I great at hiding), but today was an exception. I hid behind a nearby locker, where the weirdos were chatting.
"Look, if that stinkin' dragon doesn't get her, that shrink ray will." one guy hissed.
"Are you sure?" Louisa asked, her voice raspy.
"Yes, duh," a girl replied. "And other villains will be after her, won't they? I mean, that's what he wants."
"Ugh, this would be so much easier if his stupid brothers weren't watching over her like some overgrown bats," another guy complained. "If they weren't, he could get her straight away. But no. He has to rely on the mortals instead."
"Well, at least he has us," Chrissi said darkly. "I mean, when we're done with this, we'll become queens. She has no chance against us." She turned to Louisa. "You'll get revenge on what her dad did to your mom at last." Louisa nodded, her black hood shaking. I was shaking too. I did not like what they were talking about. I had a feeling they were talking about me, and possibly some dangerous people, hence the word 'mortals'. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. The bell rung just in time, pulling me in with the other students.
"Just a little more," I ordered, holding up my hands. Fierce Fox continued shoving the tire, her feet scraping along the green, grassy mountain. "We're nearly there." I held up my hand as a stop sign after another minute. We were underneath a large, tall tree, which carries a treehouse. It appears to be an ordinary treehouse, but this is Poptropica. Things aren't so ordinary.
I noticed a pair of red glasses on the ground, so I scooped them up. Then, using the tire, we bounced onto a ladder hanging down from the treehouse. We climbed up to the treehouse and entered.
"Who's in our tree house? You shouldn't be in here!" a young boy, Jack, shouted. He has dark, bushy hair; a striped shirt; a red backpack; blue pants; right at that moment, a scowl.
"Don't mind my brother. He's just cranky because he lost his glasses." a girl, Annie, said calmly. She has short, marigold hair in pigtails; a red shirt; a camera around her neck; blue pants; a smile. Both siblings have smaller faces than Fierce Fox and I, and are a tad shorter.
"You mean these glasses?" I asked, handing Jack the glasses I found. He put them on, and his frown vanished as he grudgingly thanked me.
"Great! We couldn't have gotten far in Japan without those." Annie said, with a grin.
"Annie, shh!" Jack hissed, glaring at her. I winked at Fierce Fox, and picked up a book at the left side of the treehouse, called Frog Creek.
"How does it work?" Fierce Fox asked Annie, as if they'd been talking for an hour.
"Pick up that book and we'll show you!" Annie answered, a book magically appearing on a windowsill. Fierce Fox reached over and picked it up, scanning the words Old Japan. Annie grinned. "Just look at it and say, 'I wish we could go there'!" As soon as she said that, I crawled into a little ball.
Fierce Fox said, "I wish we could go there." Suddenly, the house began to vibrate, and little sparks of magic flew around. It began to lurch forward. Fierce Fox ducked in shock while the kids laughed. If you want to know what it felt like, it's basically like being in a plane when it's moving really fast, ready to take off.
"Wow, what a ride!" Fierce Fox cried, when we arrived at Old Japan. The treehouse appears similar to Frog Creek. However, there are a few more beams of sunlight, and little yellow butterflies float around. We exited the treehouse and climbed down the ladder. The siblings were dressed in kimonos, which have floral patterns.
"We'll go on ahead," Annie told us. "You two should try to find a kimono so you can blend in."
"Take this magic amulet," Jack added, holding out an amulet. "It'll return you to the treehouse whenever you need it." Fierce Fox accepted the amulet, then Jack and Annie left us alone to do who-knows-what.
"Alright, you've got the amulet," I ordered Fierce Fox. "Go to the guards and get yourself caught, then use it to get out. Then we'll be able to wear some kimonos." She gave me a look, but headed off to do what I said. I hoped there weren't any villains who wanted me on this island, and then remembered the people at my school. That wasn't very reassuring.
Fierce Fox popped out of the treehouse a short while later, and a Japanese shop called Bonsai Trees opened. It's an old, pale, rustic shop made of wood and surrounded by Bonsai trees. Inside is just as glorious, showing off all the bonsai trees. It has a bit of a homey feel too, with various lanterns and cultural things.
"No. I'm- we're- just people who need a kimono." I said to the shop owner, again Poptropican physics coming into play.
"Of course. Well, I've got plenty of old kimonos. Take your pick." the shop owner replied, walking over to a fancy cupboard. She opened the door, revealing a stack of kimonos. I grinned.
Soon, Fierce Fox and I were wearing kimonos. Fierce Fox was wearing a blue kimono, with red lantern designs. I was wearing an orange one, which had flowers and green leaf patterns. I realized only then, apart from 24 Carrot Island, that I hadn't necessarily worn anything else apart from my normal attire. Fierce Fox was (mostly) the same- well, she always wore the same darn thing. Now we were both dressed differently. I admit, the blue kimono matched Fierce Fox's red hair. In the kimono pockets were passports, so we could pass the guards without getting thrown into jail.
We ran into Jack and Annie getting caught by the guards, so we ducked down and- for the second time in one day- eavesdropped on them.
"That hero brat will come right for you two." one guard said, with a sly grin. The other guards surrounded the kids, their sharp weapons forcing them to move away. I let out a groan.
"Hero stuff again," I complained. "Honestly, I still have questions." Fierce Fox shrugged at me, then we moved forward. We came to town central, which is like a giant, ancient market place, with people selling various Japanese things. There's a staircase right in the middle of the bazaar, which is surrounded by statues. The staircase leads to a red gate, which is decorated with Japanese symbols and golden dragon statues.
I picked up a rotten fish on the staircase, then the two of us ascended upwards. We came to a mountain, which has a bulky, red door, locked with a dragon-shaped padlock. A guard stands out the front, holding a spear with a pointed dagger on the end. I moved to the right, and a parchment fell down from the sky. I picked it up, and read aloud,
"'Dear Fierce Fox and Alice,
Jack and I are fine, for now. However, the shogun has not only taken the Wand of Dianthus, but Alice, he knows about you, like us. He'll be coming after you, I bet. Be careful, won't you? Speak to Basho. He'll be able to help you.
-Jack and Annie.'"
"More villains going after you?" Fierce Fox asked. I think I saw a flash of jealousy in her eyes. "Great."
"Come on," I said, lacing my fingers together. "Let's go find Basho."
Basho lives in a rather astonishing place. His house is on an island, which is separated by rocks in the water. Lush, green grass covers these rocks. Pink cherry-blossom bushes are everywhere, connected to thick, stone walls. I would've loved to admire everything (or the entire island for that matter) but we were on a mission. We leaped across to Basho's bamboo hut, me picking up a bag of mortar along the way.
We spoke to Basho inside his neat, weapon-filled bamboo hut. Fierce Fox got a bit impatient with him (since he wasn't saying the most useful things), though he eyed me carefully. I could tell he knew I was the hero. Would you like to know how? It's called, 'I just know things'.
Anyway, Basho told us that the 'mighty' Basho (himself in other words) was just in town, buying eggs. But that wasn't the real reason he sent us to the town. A few things had changed while we were gone, unfortunately. For one, there'd been an incident in the town central, with these dudes who'd been dressed up as an Ancient Japanese dragon. Fierce Fox and I put them in the correct order, and the dude who'd started the ruckus was caught out.
"Thanks for the help," one of the guards thanked us. "Argh, I'll be working on this arrest report until midnight! Do me a favour- take my betting slip to the sumo match, will you? I'll split the winnings with you." We nodded at him, and he handed us a small ticket with Japanese symbols. Then we headed past them towards a large, tall, red bridge, near where Jack and Annie were arrested. It leans over a crevice of water, miles beneath us.
Using the mortar, Fierce Fox and I helped fix the bridge. I placed some discarded bridge parts under one pole, while Fierce Fox did the other. Since there were two of us, it was easier to complete. Once we fixed the bridge, an extremely heavy, bulky and large sumo wrestler bounded across, making the bridge shake underneath my feet. A guy got a bit traumatized, and dropped his bonsai scissors. I picked them up.
"Look," I said, as we walked off the bridge. "I know we're not really supposed to split up anymore… but it'll be easier to complete the island if we do. Besides… nothing too bad will be here, right?" Fierce Fox shrugged. "Yeah. Look, I'll go and cut some bonsai trees, and you can go and catch the kappa."
"The what?" Fierce Fox repeated, her brow raised. I chuckled, holding out the rotten fish.
"I'll explain."
"If only I could find a way to get these bonsai trimmed!" the shop owner exasperated.
"I'll help." I volunteered, holding out my bonsai scissors.
"Thank you! I just need you to cut these." the shop owner replied, clutching a bonsai tree. I referred to a picture of a bonsai, cutting the bonsai tree to look just like the picture. I haven't had much experience with gardening, but I didn't do too bad, at least in my standards. I mean, the shop owner was pleased enough.
"Excuse me," someone wondered in. "Are these bonsai for sale? I work for the Yokozuna and he won't compete unless his dressing room has a bonsai in it!"
"They certainly are. Only 100 yen!" the shop owner answered. I have no idea how much 100 yen is, so don't ask.
"100 yen! That's highway robbery!" the man exasperated. "Well, I have no time to haggle." He reluctantly paid for the bonsai and exited the store. I followed him out of the store, and ran into Fierce Fox, who'd recently had a fishing session with the kappa.
"Ready to do some sumo wrestling?" I asked her. Her facial expression was quite hard to describe.
We arrived at the arena. It's not quite the same as the arena you'd see on WWE. The area has no rings, and it's made of stone, not whatever the WWE arena is made of. The guy that bought the bonsai and the big Poptropican we saw run over the bridge were standing in front of the arena.
"Please, copy this notation for me!" the guy begged. "The Yokozuna hates to let down his fans, especially the young ones." So, we were pulled into drawing Japanese symbols for the Yokozuna's (aka the big Poptropican) fans. This made me wonder if I had any fans, being the hero and all. I wasn't sure to be happy if I did or not.
I wasn't very good at drawing Japanese symbols, but Fierce Fox was superb. I really hate Poptropican physics sometimes. Eventually I let her finish the rest off, since I couldn't do crap. She finished pretty quickly, and the guy thanked her. Then, we moved over to the right, where another large Poptropican was cowering in a house. I couldn't blame him; I did similar things.
He wanted us to take his place in the sumo wrestling match, which I was not looking forward to in any way. So Fierce Fox got that job instead. She leaped onto the arena and faced the Yokozuna.
"Just jump over him." I whispered to her; she nodded. The Yokozuna charged at Fierce Fox; she swiftly jumped over him. He charged for her again; she repeated. She's too good for that stupid Yokozuna. I wondered if he heard my thoughts, because his head turned a smoky-red, and, like a bull, charged for Fierce Fox. She simply hopped over him, and he fell off the arena.
Unfortunately the guards weren't so pleased since they'd bet on the Yokozuna. They came over to bother Fierce Fox. That was when Basho showed up.
"Good afternoon, Basho." one of the guards greeted Basho.
"Basho?!" Fierce Fox gaped, mildly glaring at me. I shrugged.
"I apologize that my student- students, have left their passports at my home. I will discipline them appropriately." Basho explained.
A guard looked at me. "Hey, it's the hero of the legends!"
"Yes, and you must excuse her, as she has... Business to attend to." Basho said calmly. The guards gazed at each other.
"Alright, then," one of them grumbled. "But don't let this happen again." They stormed off, making me sigh with relief.
"Business?" I repeated, staring at Basho. He smiled gently.
"Come to my house when you are ready," he replied. "Both of you have much to learn." Then he walked away before any of us could move.
"So," Fierce Fox said, tapping her foot. "This 'business' is going to be interesting, isn't it?" I sighed.
We headed back to Basho's house, over the watery rocks.
"So," I piped up, standing in front of him. He has thick, grey hair done up in a bun, as well as a beard and mustache. He wears brown robes with spots of fur, and holds green reed pipes. "This business."
"Yes, young heroine," Basho answered. "I know you know that both of you must rescue your friends on the mountaintop. You will both need training for that." He faced me. "You, however, will need more than training." His eyes settled on my necklace. "You may have your necklace, and the treehouse amulet. But you don't just need weapons- a true warrior uses their mind, too." he smiled. "The prophecy chose you for reasons I do not know. I'm not the right person to ask. But you must have a trait of a warrior somewhere inside of you- find it, and that will help you save the day."
"Uh… alright." I replied, biting my lip. Basho chuckled.
"The Shogun will be able to tell who you are, no matter what you wear," he said. "But you may wear the ninja costume if you wish."
"No, I'm good." I replied. Fierce Fox, however, decided to wear the ninja costume. She chose a white suit, which made her look more rough and intense than ever. A grey headband was around her head, and claws were attached to her fingers. She was crouching down, like a predator. I replicated her, looking a bit more plain in my kimono. I'd change out of it later.
After our training session with various weapons (and fixing up a wall), Basho wished us good luck and bid us farewell. We returned to that red gate from before, me staring at the dragon padlock.
I took a deep breath, "Let's go kick some Shogun butt."
We used ninja claws to scale the walls, though Fierce Fox was way ahead of me. I didn't enjoy climbing very much, since I almost got crushed by logs a few times. Fierce Fox had to slow down a few times for me. However, we eventually made it past the climbing section, and arrived at the palace garden. Fierce Fox used a smoke bomb- another cool weapon- to blind a guard temporarily. Then her and I sneaked past him.
We entered the palace. Unfortunately, there were more traps and other fun things waiting for us. I followed Fierce Fox as she used throwing stars to knock down a wall. I helped out by throwing a smoke bomb at a guard. Fierce Fox grabbed a piece of paper nearby him, without being caught. Then we climbed up another wall (I was not used to this climbing ability), and used the grappling hook to swing over a guard. We came to a section with a key, so we grabbed that.
The next section was a bit different from the first. It was much darker, and had lots of Old Japan-style lanterns. We had to use the throwing stars to take out the lights and crawl through the darkness, so the guards couldn't detect us. We also picked up another piece of the haiku- and a key- so we could pass the level.
After that, there was one more level of traps, then we made it to the main room- the temple. It's full of tapestries, and coloured like bamboo. It's pretty, but we didn't have time to admire it. Jack and Annie were trapped in a bamboo cage, and the Shogun was waiting for us. He grinned at me.
"At last you have arrived," he growled. "I have been waiting."
"Let our friends go!" Fierce Fox demanded, while I stomped my foot.
"I will," the Shogun replied, with a sickening grin. "If the hero hands herself over. If you do that I will not have to summon the Red Dragon." I gulped, remembering what the people at my school said: If that stinkin' dragon doesn't get her, that shrink ray will. Not good.
"No," I said, as bravely as I could. "You can't have me." I bit my lip. "That's more dangerous than summoning the Red Dragon."
The Shogun scowled and brought out a little, ice-cream-cone-shaped wand and waved it. "Red Dragon, smite this hero!" he ordered. However, it started raining fireballs, and the ground rumbled. The Shogun frowned. "What is happening? I said smite this hero!"
"The Red Dragon is beyond anyone's control!" I answered, crouching down. "I said things would be more dangerous if I joined you, but that doesn't mean the Red Dragon should be messed with!"
The Shogun didn't like that. "Out, fire, out! I command you!"
"Give us the wand!" Annie cried. "We can help you, but you have to trust us!"
"I…" the Shogun was dumbfounded. He handed them the wand.
"Put. Out. The. Fire." Annie ordered firmly, clutching the wand.
"One more word!" Jack cried persistently.
"Please!" Annie begged. It didn't put out the fire, but it did teleport us to the peak of Mount Fuji. It was still raining fireballs, and I could feel myself shivering.
"Look up there! It's the Cloud Dragon!" Jack cried, pointing at the sky. A blue, Chinese-style dragon parked at the very top of the mountain, its blue whiskers flowing.
"Hurry, heroes! Climb the mountain to reach the Cloud Dragon!" Jack said urgently.
"It would be nice if it came down here, but oh well." I mumbled, as Fierce Fox and I scaled the mountain. We climbed aboard the Cloud Dragon and zoomed into the sky. Riding a dragon isn't quite the same as riding in a plane, or using a super power. It's a lot more bumpy and swirly, and definitely not for the faint-hearted. If you don't like rollercoasters, I don't recommend dragon-riding. I don't like rollercoasters, but I'd been riding on planes, pegasus ponies and a bunch of other things so dragon-riding wasn't too bad.
Anyway, we took off into the sky, and chased the Red Dragon. It looks just like the Cloud Dragon, but red (hence the name). It roared when it saw me, and shot fire at my face. Fierce Fox was sitting in front of me, so she acted like my shield. The Red Dragon dove down and started setting some houses on fire, so as the Cloud Dragon, we extinguished the houses with water.
The Red Dragon roared and came for us again, and started chasing us around. We flew higher into the sky, sticking nearby the clouds (being the Cloud Dragon and all). The Red Dragon got bored of us and dive-bombed for the houses. We zoomed after it, shooting water at its tail. It flashed red, signalling that we were causing damage. The Red Dragon snapped at us again, then did something very crazy.
It flew around us, like some sort of tornado, then butted me with its head. Poptropican physics couldn't save me now- I was flung off, pretty much plummeting to my death. The Red Dragon charged for me again, shooting non-stop fire. And I still wasn't dead. Yet.
"NO." a very vexed voice growled, as I harmlessly landed on the floor (Poptropican physics), though I did get a major headache, and my view became covered in stars. The Cloud Dragon suddenly went haywire, and shot blasts of water, like it was enraged and on steroids. Fierce Fox was still riding its back, teeth bared. The water from the Cloud Dragon drenched the Red Dragon. There was so much that the Red Dragon couldn't take it anymore, and ran home for mama.
Fierce Fox and I were teleported to the front of the stone staircase. I was now back to myself, completely fine. Not dead. Not even injured. The Shogun, Jack and Annie were there, too. Basho walked over to us, grinning at the Shogun.
"Ah! Dear brother," Basho said gleefully. "I trust my students have brought you back safely."
"Brother!?" Fierce Fox repeated, staring at me. I shrugged.
"Indeed," Basho replied. "The Shogun and I trained together as samurai."
"And you turned your back on us!" the Shogun spat.
"Look what your samurai ideals have brought you, brother. All this destruction." Basho pressed calmly.
The Shogun was dumbfounded once again. "I… I…"
"Join me in rebuilding edo," Basho offered. "There is still time for us to make this city beautiful again."
"Basho… my brother. Will you forgive me?" the Shogun asked. Then he faced me. "And you as well, hero?"
I said, "I will, if you can tell me what exactly is going on with the other villains. You know, the immortality thing." The Shogun raised his eyebrows.
"I'm afraid I've been sworn to secrecy," he replied. "But I am sure there is someone else."
"Great, thanks." I mumbled, lacing my fingers together.
"C'mon, let's go," Annie said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "We don't want them to start hugging us, do we?"