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"Did you guys see that sign?" Sprig asks the group while they keep their long trip going. "We've officially left the valley. This is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to anyone. Are you all excited? I'm excited. Anne, Donald, Ven, any of you should be more excited."

"Oh, we're definitely excited, bud!' Ven answers with the same levity.

"Yeah, I mean, you know, it's just, there's a lot of riding on this trip for me and the guardians." Anne explains.

"Anne's right." Terra adds. "She wants to find a way home and we wanna get Sora back. We have to keep our expectations-"

"Woah! What's that?!" Terra is interrupted by Xion when she looks to see something beautiful nearby, catching the attention of the rest of the group, excluding Hop Pop.

"It's… amazing!" Kairi squeals with stars in her eyes.

"It's majestic." Namine adds with as much awe.

"It's… hurting my eyes." Anne grunts as she squints and rubs her eyes.

"It's even better than I could've dreamed!" Sprig gapes in total amazement. "Full speed ahead, Hop Pop. Keep driving and never look back!"

"Now hold on, all of you." Hop Pop issues sternly. "Look back here for a second. Now that we're out of the valley, things can be dangerous fast."

"Dangerous?" Lea asks incredulously. "C'mon old man, we're not a bunch of five year olds."

"I know, but you all are still young. So…" the elderly frog pulls out a large book. "For now on, we're gonna follow Hop Pop's Rules of the Road. By me, Hop Pop."

The group of heroes groan at such an inane suggestion. "Another huge book? Seriously?" Anne comments in annoyance.

"You kids got a problem with books? Why, without books…"

"Our civilization will crumble to nothingness." the group dully finish, a saying that he proclaimed earlier.

"That's right." Hop Pop smirks. "The only way we'll get to Newtopia in piece is if we follow these rules. Like this one here." he flips to one of the many pages. "Rule number 98: 'Never strike a heroic pose on the fwagon.' It's a sign of hubris that invites disaster."

"A heroic pose? Really?" Donald adds with an uninterested look on his face.

"Yes, really." Hop Pop firmly replies. "That should keep your sense of adventure in check. Alright, everyone, let's stick to the rules, and we should have a safe and completely uneventful trip." he announces as he leaves to drive. "Okay, thanks, byeee!"

The group, devastated, stay inside the house. "We'll this stinks!" Ventus is the first one to speak his frustration.

"I know right?" Sprig adds. "All those adventures out there, and we're all stuck in here with these dumb rules."

"I don't think it's that bad." Aqua informs more calmly. "He probably just wants us to be safe."

"And there's not much we can do, anyway." Anne shrugs with a thin line. "My dad was the same way back home. One time we drove to the Grand Canyon and didn't stop once."

"But I'll admit, it is kind of boring." Kairi says bluntly. "Do any of us got, like y'know, some ideas to have fun?"

"Of course we do!" Sprig replies proudly. "If anyone can figure out how to have fun with these rules, it's us!"

"Newtopia, here we come!" the large group exclaims, only to be once again shut down by Hop Pop.

"Rule number 29: No shouting. Marauders will follow the sound and steal your skin." He states, leading to everyone else sighing heavily.

Sprig then catches another wonderful sight from out the window. "A rainbow water fall! Oh, we got to pull over!" he gasps.

"Huh pup pup." Hop Pop stops him in his tracks. "Rule number 243: 'All natural phenomena lead to unnatural death'."

The pink frog frowns, then looks at another sight that catches his interest. "Zoom dunes!"

"Wait, Zoom dunes?" Roxas asks as he also looks out the window.

"Snails that race in top speeds!" Sprig explains excitedly and runs to the snail carrying the coach. "All right, Bessie. It's time to show the world how fast you can go."

Bessie revs, but Hop Pop stops her. "Uh-uh. Rule number 149: 'Never drive faster than a June Bug can fly." said June bug does just that, flying a rather slow paste. "Good thinking, little guy." he chuckles.

"Hey, what's that?" Riku asks as he sees what looks to be a small restaurant. Sprig runs up to glance at it too.

"Whoa! Amphibia's Best Diner?!" he exclaims. "Okay, we have to stop here!"

"I'm feeling pretty hungry too, honestly." Xion adds just as eager to try the food at the diner.

"Rule number 193: 'Don't stop anywhere claiming to be 'The Best'." Hop Pop once again informs one of his several rules.

"But look! They have crickets and ice cream! Maybe even the Sea salt kind Roxas was talking about!" Polly states.

"Rule number 194: 'No ice cream in the fwagon'." Hop Pop continues.

Seriously?!" Roxas shouts in anger.

"You gotta be kidding us, right?" Lea adds in with as much frustration.

"Hey, hey." the orange frog calms them down. "I just enforce the rules. I don't make 'em.

"You did make them!" Anne argues, livid at this point. "They're called Hop Pop's Road Rules!"

"Darn straight. And I stand by 'em." Hop Pop states with a proud smile, causing the others to groan once more.

"Okay, I take back what I said earlier." Aqua grunts, placing a hand on her hip. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Darn right it is!" Sprig angrily agrees. "All these once-in-a-lifetime experiences are literally passing us by."

"Gawrsh, even I feel like that's unfair." Goofy says in more of a saddened tone.

"I know, and I really wanna complain about it too." Anne says. "But Road rule 345: 'No complaining', takes care of that."

"Now I just thinks this is pretty stupid." Riku says dryly while crossing his arms.

"And I swear to frog if one more cool and exciting thing passes us by…" Sprig starts, still grumpy.

"Red alert, everyone." Hop Pop suddenly informs from outside the fwagon. "We're coming up to the 'Ruins of Despair'."

The group gasp, then look outside to see strange buildings that appear to be really ancient. "Whoa! What are these structures over here?" Terra asks, intrigued.

"No one knows, Terra." Hop Pop cryptically explains. "They've been here long before any written history. Just a mystery better left unsolved as far as I'm concerned."

"Any written history…?" Mickey whispers, more interested in what these ruins truly are.

"This place is the coolest thing I've ever seen." Sprig groans, having the same interest. "If I don't get out and at least touch something, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

"I wanna take a closer peak, too!" Ven whines, wanting to do the same thing.

"Don't sweat it, y'all. I have a plan." Anne states with a smug smirk. "Roxas, Kairi, Xion, Riku, you all wanna go too?"

"I don't see why not." Kairi nods with a smile. The other girl then opens the small door on top of the fwagon behind Hop Pop.

"Hey, HP. I've never ridden a wagon this long, and I'm definitely gonna hurl." Anne pretends to nearly belch as if she's about to be sick. "Can we stop for a second?"

Hop Pop, convinced, puts the fwagon to a halt. "Dang it, Anne. How do some humans cope with such unreliable innards?" He retorts in annoyance. "Let me know when we can start moving again."

"Okay, thanks ." the girl replies before she and the other six sneak out the door to the outside. "Go, go, go, go!" she whisper shouts while they jump out of the fwagon, unfortunately getting caught by the elder frog already.

"Hey! All of you get back here!" he demands, but the group doesn't listen as they continue to sprint.

"This is your plan?" Sprig says to the older girl. "Anne, you've done it again!"

"It might be risky, but might as well take it." Riku agrees with an eager smile, the same one the rest of the group are wearing.

"Dang kids never listen to what I say." Hop Pop complains back in the fwagon. "The rest of you don't do anything till I get back."

"Whatever you say, HP." Lea mutters as the old orange frog heads out to follow the squad of rebellious teenagers and his grandson, intent on stopping them from getting themselves in dangerous trouble.


The group of seven stop their running near the ancient building, laughing at themselves.

"Okay, pretty sure Hop Pop's onto us." Anne whispers before quickly pulling out her phone. "So let's take some quick selfies and get out of here.

"Got it!" Ven and the others nod as they pose for the selfie. However, Xion accidentally places her hand on one of the structure's doors, opening them both completely.

"Huh-" before she or any of them can react, they are all sent tumbling down a sloped passageway, causing them to shout all the way down.

"Guys, look out!" Riku warns as they continue to slide. Eventually, they finally land inside the ruin doors, grunting before they can pick themselves up.

"Is everyone okay?" Kairi asks worriedly.

"Yeah, we're- Whoa!" Anne gasps in shock, and so do Sprig and the guardians once they take a good look at where they are.

It's a technological structure of some sorts, one that has the shape of a frog that seems to have a huge screen that's turned off.

"What in the world is that?" Ven asks with a look of surprise.

"I think that's, what was it called again, a computer?" Xion suggests curiously.

"Since when did you guys have computers?" Roxas asks to Sprig.

"Yeah, and I thought you're like pastoral or whatever." Anne adds with confusion in her tone of voice. The young frog ignores their questions, though.

"I'm… gonna touch everything!" he states before hopping straight to the biggest main computer.

"Sprig, wait!" Riku warns, but once again he doesn't listen.

"Whoa, oh, oh! Look at this!" Sprig excitedly exclaims, pressing a few buttons on the keyboard while chuckling. "There's… so… much to see!" he continues while panting.

"Don't worry about him, we did a good thing." Anne claims proudly to the group, who can't help but smile as well.

"Do you all realize how many rules you just broke?!" they suddenly hear Hop Pop shout at them angrily, coming into the building. "17, 29, 36, 55!"

Sprig groans at his grandfather's scolding. "Forget the rules. Look at this place, Hop Pop!" he gestures to the large structure they're inside of as he hops from platform to platform, basking at how magnificent it looks, at least to him. "It has everything! Cool atmosphere, implied historical significance, levers!" he then glances up to see a giant lever.

"Levers?! No way!" Ven and Xion follow Sprig to the switch as well.

"Don't any of you dare!" Hop Pop scolds them with a warning glare. "Rule number 68: 'Never, ever pull a lever."

"And what if we do?" Xion returns his glare, along with Ven and Sprig. The magenta frog decides to hop on top of the lever and pull it down anyway, breaking yet another rule. The others gasp.

"We'll, look at that, I broke rule number 68, and we're still alive!" he proclaims proudly, right before the computer itself turns on while shining a bright blue glow, startling the entire group.

"Start-up engaged." the machine states.

"Woah! Since when did computers talk like that?" Ventus asks in surprised excitement.

"Assembly line activated." The computer continues. "Routine protocols engaged." Mechanical hands appear as the room flashes in a blue light, beginning a production line as it creates an object the group isn't familiar with.

"Assembly line?" Anne questions, recognizing the phrase. "Guys I think this is a factory."

"But, what is it even making?" Riku asks with curiosity as the factory continues to operate.

"Wow, it is mighty impressive." Hop Pop surprisingly states as he and the group take a closer view while Sprig, Ven and Xion come back down.

"Additional materials required." The machine once again talks in it's feminine robotic voice. "Please place them in the glowing access point."

"Glowing what now?" Hop Pop asks in confusion. Suddenly a blue circle appears underneath his feet, and metal cuffs encase them both. "Help, it's got me!" he pleads before a hole opens underneath him, sending him down.

"Hop Pop!" The other seven yell his name in panic, scared about what's going to happen.

"It tickles!" the elderly frog laughs before he then reappears right inside the machine. "See this right here, kids?" he states as the machine sends him through the conveyor belt. "This is why we follow the rules!" he glares at them harshly.

He is then met by red lasers. He yelps, thinking they'll burn him, but they don't. "That wasn't so bad." he mutters in relief, only for his clothes to rip off, being torn to shreds.

He shrieks while covering himself. "I'm not beach-ready!"

"Hop Pop!" the group yell again as the machine continues to move him through the production line.

"Sprig, Xion, you two go try to shut this factory down." Riku orders, summoning his keyblade. "The rest of us will get him out of there."

The others nod before Anne picks up a piece of a robot and throws it at the glass, immediately breaking it.

"We're coming, Hop Pop!" she announces as she, Riku, Kairi, Ventus and Roxas run into the machine themselves.

"Take your time, kids!" Hop Pop yells back while he's soaked by the two water machines like a shower. He chuckles. "This ain't half bad!"

Meanwhile, Sprig and Xion rush to the main computer. They see the colorful flashing buttons on the monitor, suddenly feeling unsure. "Uh… Xion, mind helping me out here?" Sprig whispers to the older girl.

"I-I'll try." she replies before walking up to the controls. She's definitely worked with a computer before, back when she was still in the Organization, trying to find out she is. This should be easy for her, yet she finds herself staring at the controls, her confidence waning fast.

"If you wish to cancel the operation, please insert new disk." the computer informs.

"Don't worry, I'll do it." Sprig grins as he walks up to the computer himself, cracking his knuckles. "Piece of cake." he then contradicts that last statement, flailing and panicking as he mashes the buttons in a frantic attempt to stop the machine.

"Wait, Sprig!" Xion warns him, afraid that it'll only make things worse. Sprig smashes his fist on a large button, causing the computer to glow a bright red.

"Security violation detected." huge mechanical arms then appear from the machine, intent on smashing the intruders. Sprig screams as he hugs Xion, but they both manage to move out of the way before the hands smack down on them. The magenta frog laughs tauntingly, only for a big, razor sharp saw to come from between the computer's eyes.

"Ah, great! Can you maybe think of something actually helpful?" Xion grunts as she and Sprig jump out of the way of the saw. The ladder gasps, realizing what's next to him.

"Hop Pop's book!" he picks up the large book and carries it in his arm before he takes Xion's hand and runs. "Okay, now I've got an idea!"

"Seriously, take your time, kids." Hop Pop comments before the machine latches him onto a metal board and spins him around, causing him to yelp. He then realizes he's coming up to a smasher machine, one that will guarantee flatten him to death. "I take it back! I was a fool!" he shouts as he panics.

"Hold on, Hop Pop! We're coming!" Kairi proclaims while the group dodge and destroy every machine that comes their way, only for Anne and Roxas to slip and end up under the flattener as well.

"Sprig! Xion! How's it going over there?!" Anne asks the pair at the computer harshly, hoping they'll be able to stop the machine in time.

"W-we've got an idea! Don't worry!" Xion yells back, anxiously flipping the pages of the books in a rapid pace.

"Would you mind going a little faster, please?!" Roxas shouts as he, Anne and the other guardians try to hold the flattener up.

"Insert desk, insert desk." the computer demands continuously.

"Do any of you know what a desk is?!" Sprig asks, annoyed by the situation at hand.

"We don't know!" Ven replies. "We've never been that good with tech before!"

"And I'm from another dimension, not the 90s!" Anne adds, still trying to hold off the flattener.

"Ugh! Forget this!" Xion snaps, lifting the book. "Will you shut up already?!" she shouts at the machine, shoving the book right into the desk slot, which shreds the book completely.

The computer then turns back into its normal blue glow, only for error messages to pop up. It states "What the heck?!" repeatedly as electric shocks and smoke comes out of it and the entire factory shakes.

"I'm free!" Hop Pop happily declares before he and the rest of the group run out of the production line. The factory begins to crumble as they run.

"Whoo! We did it, fam!" Sprig proclaims with joy.

"No talking til the running is done!" Anne demands, with the large group doing just that. While they run, however, Kairi looks back to see a mural of some sorts, one that depicts what looks to be five orange eyes; two big and three small. This, for some reason, gives her a small wave of dread, one that she tries to ignore as the group continue to escape.

Luckily, they all manage to make it out without any injuries. The group begin to celebrate, only for Hop Pop to stop them. "Hey! Road rule number 2: 'Don't celebrate til you're completely outta danger'."

"But Hop Pop, there's really no mo-" before Ven can finish, the building completely explodes behind them, pushing them back and leaving smoke marks on all of them.

Sprig chuckles nervously as he lightly punches Hop Pop's shoulder. "Levers. Am I right?"

The elderly frog only glares at him angrily. "I know, I know, we should've followed the rules."

"Ya think?!" Hop Pop snaps at them. "Y'know, you all should be more like the others! I told them to stay put and look where they are!" he points, only to see nothing. "Where are they?"

His question is answered right away as the other half of the group ride Bessie, who is rapidly speeding over the buildings and ruins as they all cheer. They do one last flip before landing to the ground with no reproductions.

"Now that's how you have a good time!" Lea comments while crossing his arms.

"I'll admit, that was pretty fun!" Aqua chuckles happily. They then realize the rest of the group are next to them.

"They all made me do it." Polly mutters, an obvious lie that Hop Pop immediately sees through.

"Okay, okay, we're sorry." Donald grumbles, yet his apology is still genuine.

"Yeah, this'll be the last time we break a rule, I swear." Polly glances away while crossing her arms.

"That goes for us too, Hop Pop." Riku says as he and the others get up, all sadly walking to the fwagon.

"For the rest of the trip, we'll follow all the rules." Anne adds.

"Yeah, we just… we won't experience anything special I guess." Sprig comments, just as saddened.

Hop Pop can clearly see that solemn in their faces, solemn at he doesn't want them to be in anymore. He sighs. "Hang on a sec, everyone." he walks up to them. "Maybe this all happened because I was being too strict with ya. We've never taken a trip like this, especially with a crowd this big, and I just wanted it to go smoothly." He then smiles. "So, whadaya say we set aside the rules for a bit and make a stop or two."

They all gasp, replying "Really?!" in happy unison. Sprig raises his hand.

"Oh, oh, oh! Can we stop at the 'Hills of Impalement'?! I heard it will traumatize you for life!" he implies dramatically.

"Nope!" Hop Pop shushes him. "I've got something else in mind."

And that something else is none other that delicious ice cream. "How's the ice cream, everyone?" Hop Pop asks.

"Amazing!" Sprig exclaims, with his cricket's and cream.

"So GOOD!" Polly shouts, surprisingly trying out the Sea salt ice cream they have. "You guys were right! It tastes salty, but then it tastes sweet! And I love it!" she shoves the popsicle in her mouth, leaving only the stick.

"How come I've never heard of this flavor before?" Anne asks with a smile as she takes a bite of her own popsicle . "You guys are so lucky!"

Lea chuckles, putting his arm on the city. "Glad you guys like it!"

"So do I." Hop Pop adds with a fond grin. He then turns to see both Sprig and Xion scoot closer to him.

"Thanks, Hop Pop." Sprig says, grateful.

"We really appreciate it." Xion adds before the two of them embrace the elderly frog, shocking him.

"Y'know." Roxas begins, looking back at the building behind them. "I'm still wanna figure out what that factory was making."

"Yeah, it's kind of a bummer." Anne adds, glancing back as well.

"It really is." Sprig walks up to them. "Guess we'll never know." he shrugs.

Kairi, overhearing this, bows her head down. "Guess, we'll never know…" she echoes quietly, that feeling of dread still lingering, as she thinks about that strange mural she saw.

Little do they know, from the rocky rubble of the building, a robotic figure emerges, watching them leave from a distance.