Marcus and I sat on my bed in my bland bedroom. My bedroom isn't very exciting. It's mostly white, grey and black, because I don't feel like any other colours suit it.

"Been awhile since someone other than Mom's been in here." I said, grinning at my friend.

"Really? You don't have friends come over?" Marcus asked, raising his brow. "Thought that's what you girls are into."

"Maybe not all girls." I sighed, digging my nails into the duvet cover.

"So, why didn't you want to play Poptropica at lunch?" Marcus asked, staring at me. "Thought that's what… you were into."

"I dunno…" I said. I chewed my lip. "I like- no, love Poptropica… but I don't really feel comfortable playing it at school, apart from that time a little while ago." I really hoped Marcus would believe what I was going to tell him. Fear clogged up my throat.

"You alright?" Marcus asked, noticing my fear.

"Look… it's just about being judged," I answered shakily. "I don't know. I'm having some issues with a friend right now. Maybe that's making me anxious."

Marcus put a hand on my shoulder. "I used to care all the time, what they thought of me. But I knew I couldn't change myself, not even for them. So I stopped caring, and after a while, I felt free. You can do the same."

"Really?" I asked, feeling touched.

"Yeah!" Marcus laughed. "Do what you want. I don't know who this friend of yours is, but don't be afraid to express yourself to them." He shook his head. "Now, enough sappy talk. Let's do something… er, less sappy."

"Sure," I replied, staring him in the eyes. "But first I have something to show you." I brought out my treasure box, the patterns on top glowing in the sunlight. Carefully, I brought out all the items I received from Poptropica. Marcus raised his brow at them. "I've got a bit of a story to tell you. It's gonna sound really crazy, but you have to believe me."

Fierce Fox glared harshly at me as we sailed over the great Poptropican sea. I sucked in my breath, taking in the salty air.

"Look, I know you're upset," I began. "And I'm sorry. It wasn't right to betray our tribe like that… I was only helping a friend."

"You should've thought of that when you were helping your 'friend', prophesied hero." Fierce Fox growled through clenched teeth. I sighed and stared at the approaching island: Wimpy Boardwalk. Immediately I could see the cartoonish appearance. Remember Wimpy Wonderland? Wimpy Boardwalk looks like that, except coloured in. And it isn't snowing, either. In fact, it's sunny, and is set on a beach with a large carnival full of games.

"This game is rigged!" our old friend Greg exasperated, as we landed on the boardwalk. "And I'm already down to my last twenty dollars."

"Do not hold that up!" I advised, leaping in front of Greg before he could grab his money. "Put that back in your pocket. Now."

"Um… alright." the middle-schooler said apprehensively, stuffing the money back in his pocket. "Why?"

"The wind'll blow it away." I answered, eyeing teenangers at the end of the boardwalk.

"How do you know that?" Greg asked curiously.

"Logic," I answered, which was the first excuse that came to my head. "But if you want to win Himalayan Hurl, you'll need the lucky rabbit's foot."

"Trust me, I know that," Greg sighed. "But Rowley won't give it to me."

"Dad says I can't let anyone have it." Rowley said sadly, shaking his head.

I glanced at Fierce Fox, who was still not looking at me. I sighed, "Say, Rowley, wanna do a round of dodgems?"

The grouchy Fierce Fox, Rowley and I arrived at the front of the dodgems. They're in a purple tent-like area, of many different colours. I gulped, staring at the speeding vehicles. I felt a bit stupid for being afraid of the dodgem cars, since I could easily list one hundred (and counting) more dangerous and scary things I'd done. But hey, that's me.

Fierce Fox's eyes were narrowed, while Rowley stared brightly at the dodgem cars. I spread my arms and approached the ticket-seller. He let us on, so on we went. I climbed into a purple dodgem car, eyeing Rowley's red car. Fierce Fox climbed into a green car, glaring at me. Then the round begun.

I chased Rowley around, hitting him in the side with my car. It didn't really help my frantic nerves especially when I skidded around the corner. Fierce Fox also hit me a few times, because she's a nice person like that. But I knew my main objective was to hit Rowley, so I could get the rabbit's foot. Though, truthfully, I had changed the plot of the whole island. I didn't know what was going to happen next, or when we were going to get the medallion. Or when Fierce Fox would stop hitting me.

Eventually, the rabbit's foot flew out of Rowley's car. I drove over and picked it up, cheering internally. Then I exited the dodgem cars, with a grumpy Fierce Fox following me. I sighed. I didn't feel guilty anymore. I just felt angry and fed up, honestly.

I handed the lucky rabbit's foot to Greg. He thanked me and played a game of Himalayan Hurl. He won; a victorious grin spread on his face.

"I finally won!" Greg cried. "Thanks. Can't believe you managed to get Rowley's rabbit foot off him. Now, I'm off to play Thunder Volt." He left, leaving Fierce Fox and I alone.

"What now?" Fierce Fox asked gruffly, her tone piercing.

"Not sure, honestly," I replied. "I think we help Greg... again."

"Good," Fierce Fox grumbled. "Then hopefully we'll be done."

I folded my arms. "Fierce Fox… please. You can't be grumpy forever."

"You betrayed me," Fierce Fox growled, her face dark, even in the sunshine. "You're my voice. You're supposed to help me!"

"I won't say I regret doing it," I said, tugging at my white shirt. My feelings were building up. "But it was a mistake. Again, I'm sorry. I… I won't do that again. Now please… let's forget about it."

"We can't just forget about it!" Fierce Fox shouted. I stepped back, nearing the blimp. "All this hero stuff… gah, why do I have to work with you? I'm supposed to be the hero! Not you!"

"What…?" I breathed. Fierce Fox bared her teeth.

"I'm supposed to save all the islands!" she ranted. "But no! You took that away from me! I thought I was used to you, I thought my future self was right, but no, THEY'RE ALL WRONG!"

"You're… Jealous?" I questioned, silently gasping. Thoughts flew through my head.

"I don't need you!" Fierce Fox roared. "Poptropicans are supposed to work on their own!"

"I'm your voice." I insisted, my feelings now really mixed.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU ARE!" Fierce Fox screamed, revealing her feelings. "ALL ANYONE CARES ABOUT IS YOU! WHY CAN'T I HAVE SOME LIMELIGHT FOR ONCE, RATHER THAN JUST BEING THE SIDEKICK OF THE PROPHESIED HERO?!"

I felt shocked, and surprisingly, angry. "Do you think I asked for this hero crap? No. Truthfully, I don't hate it, but it's scaring me. I don't understand it. I don't understand you, either." I held back a sob. "But I do understand you never liked me… and maybe, I never liked you, either." The truth hit me. "Maybe we're not friends. Maybe we're partners. Partners forced to work together."

Fierce Fox glared. The area around me suddenly felt a lot darker and more depressing, despite the sunshine.

"Yeah," Fierce Fox agreed bitterly. "You're right. Perhaps you're only with me so you can go back home. Or so you can use me in this whole hero business."

"Why're you so rude?" I demanded, rolling up my sleeves. "The first time I came here, I was upset and ashamed. Now I'm just angry. Why are you rude? Why do you hate me? And what made you… for a little while, tolerate my presence? And don't answer with the hero business. I mean before that."

Fierce Fox glowered. "Growing up on Mocktropica Island might've contributed. It's… a weird environment. You never know what the next problem will be. My next problem was you. I'll admit... maybe I'm a little selfish. But I didn't want a wing-man. I wanted to work on my own... although I felt I was connected to you somehow. Still, I didn't want you around, so I tried to push you out. That didn't work. With some convincing from my future self, and some thinking, I decided to give you a chance, especially since you claimed to be my voice. And… I felt it was going okay. I still had the limelight.

"But then that hero business started. Everyone started treating you like the hero, as if you were more important. Better. And you started befriending all these people and becoming really popular. Foxes are selfish and cunning, y'know. I didn't wanna share my fame. So I thought 'bout splitting up with you… again. I felt it really strongly back on Reality TV Island. I'm not sure what happened there. Maybe that was it. Anyway, I was getting more and more annoyed, and the last straw was when you helped Flying Squid. You were abandoning me. You were taking my fame. You were taking everything I had."

My eyes widened. "So… you're saying… I took everything from you."

Fierce Fox nodded. "Yes." she said, simply.

"So, as a hero, that's your fatal flaw…" I gasped. "The fear of loss... The fear of not being recognized. T... that's why you saved me! You didn't want to lose me. At least... you didn't want me dead."

"Well done, know-it-all," Fierce Fox sighed. "You cracked the code. After all these islands."

I bowed my head, not really sure what to feel. I like to be honest- there's nothing to hide. But sometimes I lie, only for protection. Occasionally I can be too honest- thanks, smart mouth. Mom always said I have a strong mind, and it comes into play with my words and actions all the time. Which includes when it gets hurt by something tragic, like the car accident. Once that happened, my mind shut down on me, and I didn't stop others from bullying me. If that hadn't happened, I might've stuck up for myself. Truthfully... I was confused about why they bullied me. Why? It can't be just my leg, can it?

"Look… I'm confused as well," I sighed. "Maybe it's puberty. I don't know. But truthfully… I think I get you better. But maybe you don't get me." I stared at the sky, words finally coming to life after a long time. "I used to be more confident when I was younger. I wasn't afraid to speak my mind, and my parents were very encouraging. Then, when I was eight or nine, my dad and I were victims of… a car crash." I gulped, tears burning at my eyes. "Dad died, as well as this woman in the other car. I got a really bad leg injury. I had to stay in hospital for a while. But I survived. Mom was really happy. As soon as I got back to school, people started bullying me. I… think they were talking about Dad… but I don't remember. Then they targeted my leg issue."

"Oh…" Fierce Fox shook her head. "Sorry to hear 'bout that." She chewed her lip. "Well, at least you had a good family. Mine are as good as dead to me."

"Oh, really?" I asked. "I thought you said you don't really remember them, and you changed 'cause of me."

"Well, I didn't tell you the whole truth," Fierce Fox grumbled. "Let's just say my family's a little… money obsessed. When we go to Mocktropica Island, maybe I'll tell you more. But we aren't meeting anybody."

"Oh…" I replied. "That's alright, then." I breathed deeply. "Man, we're making this island so much more angsty than it's supposed to be. Y'know the whole point of this island is to get Greg's stupid twenty dollars back?"

Fierce Fox chuckled, an amused look appearing on her face. "Really?"

"Thank goodness I stopped that," I laughed. "Or else we would've been busy doing favours like rubbing sunscreen on an old man's back or catching crabs with fish sticks."

"Wow, this island's really dangerous." Fierce Fox commented sarcastically.

"Very," I agreed. "Speaking of Greg, we'd better go and see what he's up to." I turned to walk away, when a hand snagged my shoulder.

"Hey," Fierce Fox said calmly. "Sorry. For everything."

I grinned. "It's alright." I still felt a bit of a stir in my stomach, like the problem wasn't totally resolved. Or is there another problem? We still had a little way to go. But we were getting better. Maybe Lunar Colony and Super Villain Island would help out. Wait. I gulped. Super Villain Island! Uh oh. That was the official return of Zeus and various other villains. I had a bad feeling about it. What's gonna happen then? Will I die? Will someone else die?

"You alright?" Fierce Fox waved her hand in front of my face.

"Yeah, just thinking about the future," I answered. "About… y'know, the hero stuff. I'm taking an educated guess here, but I think Zeus and his new girlfriend either want to kill me or use me."

"Girlfriend?" Fierce Fox asked. I chewed my lip.

"I'm having dreams about… stuff," I answered shakily. "Now come on. We have some games to play."

THIRD PERSON

"My lord," the girl observed a screen, which showed two girls playing Thundervolt. "Their friendship is growing."

"That will not change their weaknesses," the man replied. "In fact, it may strengthen them. Once 'the prophesied hero' plays into our hands, we will eliminate her, you will become the hero, and I will finally rule all of Poptropica!" They watched as Greg Heffley handed the girls the medallion, sending Alice back to her world. Zeus grinned darkly. "And my brothers can do nothing about it."