Act 1 – Welcome to Bugaria
Episode 12b – His Mighty Strength
Author Note: Not much to say, but this is a fun one!
"We're here! We made it!" Vi cheered, albeit a bit half-heartedly, the bee tired.
It rung true for the team as a whole, especially Anne who yawned a moment later. The shortcut incident had only taken place a few hours ago, but at last... they made it to the Golden Settlement. When they realized that they indeed made it, they all cheered at once, though the waves of tiredness struck a moment later, their moment of victory short-lived.
Though they'd just entered the Golden Settlement, they weren't exactly in the main part of the town yet. To the right was a large gate and a snail caravan that was oddly familiar, and to the left were a few bugs walking around, minding their own business. Still, Anne more than appreciated not being in the wild anymore.
"It's good to see civilization again." Anne said with a smile. Hopefully she would be able to see some familiar faces here.
"Indeed." Kabbu agreed with a nod. "At least this was easier than traversing Snakemouth Den."
"...Are you sure about that?" Leif raised an eyebrow. "Snakemouth Den wasn't filled with deadly plant monsters. Just the one deadly spider."
Kabbu appeared as if he were about to argue, but instead wilted, unable to come up with a rebuttal. "I stand corrected..." To be fair, both places had their fair share of monsters.
"Geez, we're always getting in danger." Vi said, somewhat happy about that. "How long did this take?"
"Taking into account detours, around a week, we think." Leif said after thinking about it for a moment.
"What?" Anne said in disbelief, fishing her phone out of her pocket with her good arm, checking the date. "No way it's been a..." Though she didn't know the date on the Bugarian calendar, she compared the date on her phone with what she remembered it being before they left, and... yep. Around eight days passed. "Huh." She didn't know what to think about that. "Man, this place is making me lose track of time."
"Hey, at least we're here now. You don't have to fret!" Kabbu said, trying to cheer Anne up. That was true, they were one step closer to getting the second artifact and hopefully more answers. After over a month of being here, Anne could just sense that the answers had to be close... right?
With that, Team Snakemouth went off and mingled, as well as taking the time to explore the surrounding area to see if there was anything of interest.
Kabbu and Vi went over to the large fence. With a closer view, they could see that there was a switch behind it, which led into a desert-like area.
Vi brought out her beemerang, getting an idea. "I bet if I aimed this right, I could hit that switch and see what's behind that fence! Maybe it's a secret!"
"...Please don't." Kabbu begged, not wanting to exploit what might be a severe oversight.
Nearby, Leif walked over to a tall, brown stickbug, getting their attention. "Excuse us, do you know when the Golden Festival is taking place?" Leif asked.
"Of course!" The tall stickbug said with a nod. "It's later tonight, so you got here just in time!"
Kabbu breathed a sigh of relief. "That was a close one..."
Anne agreed; it would've sucked so much if she missed the festival, and she wouldn't know if she'd be able to make it to next month's festival, so... She was taken out of her thoughts as her stomach growled. Shoot, she didn't realize how hungry she was. Looking around, she spotted that same familiar snail caravan she saw a minute ago, getting an idea.
"Hey, anyone want something to eat?" Anne asked, jabbing a thumb at the caravan. She was pretty sure she had enough berries to cover it for everyone; hopefully the prices here weren't too high.
"Sure." Leif nodded.
"I'm hungry!" Vi smiled.
"Yes, thank you." Kabbu added.
With that, Anne walked over to the snail caravan, immediately screeching to a halt at seeing who was running it. So much time had passed, Anne thought she'd never see them again, but here they were.
Huscada and Cricketly. ...And a third bug she didn't know, but still.
...
The incident that 'introduced' her (for a lack of a better term) to this bug civilization had mostly pushed its way into the back of her mind. But she couldn't help but recall it all over again, back when she was uncertain if she'd get back home, find her friends, or even survive. Anne was still uncertain over those things, though...
Those first few days... she'd begun to lose hope. The harsh storm, the weird creatures... the grassy area with rocks gave a false sense of security, seemingly safe when in reality, anything could be a deathtrap in an alien world. She'd already lost her shoe somewhere with no hope of getting it back, which taught her to be extra cautious over everything.
But then, just when she thought she might give up... she heard voices. Not because she was losing it, but because there were other people here too, and they spoke English.
Before getting a good look at them, Anne hid, listening to what they were saying, getting a feel for how they interacted, if they were safe to approach... stuff like that.
"Running that place is hard work. Think Fuzzo can handle it for a bit?" An older woman's voice. ...Who the heck was Fuzzo? That was a strange name.
"I... hope he can." A man's voice. "Thanks for coming out here with me, Cricketly." What was with these people and strange names?
"No problem, Huscada." From what Anne could hear, the lady gave the man a kiss. Aww, how cute. "I'm glad to have a bug like you."
What.
Her heart racing, Anne stole a glance out of her hiding place, nearly screaming at what she saw. That wasn't just a weird figure of speech that the lady said, those two were actual, talking bugs. Granted, they only had two arms, they stood upright... they weren't nearly as... gross as bugs from back home.
But still. They were sapient people-bugs that she could communicate with. Anne didn't know anything about this place, but she only had one chance. Her rations ran low, she'd been stuck with the same school outfit on... Taking a chance, Anne stepped out of her hiding place, making herself known.
"Hey-"
The shorter bug, presumably Huscada let out a scream as he saw her, Anne immediately regretting what she'd done as she jolted back in surprise. The other bug, Cricketly, turned around, wondering what was going on.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa hey!" Anne said, raising her hands up and trying to diffuse the situation. "I just want to-" She stepped forward-
Huscada screamed again, backing away in fear, nearly tripping over himself. "BEAST! GET AWAY!" Did Anne really look that scary? Maybe it was the result of foraging for herself for so long...
Before Anne could say anything, Huscada grabbed Cricketly by the arm, dragging her along as he ran for dear life. No! This was a huge misunderstanding, Anne had to make things right before she lost her chance to find help!
"Wait!" Anne yelled, reaching out with an arm. "I just wanted to ask you something!" She tried to run after them, only to fall flat on her face a few seconds later, still not used to having only one shoe. With that, Huscada and Cricketly were long gone.
The chance that she'd have to defend herself against anyone else that might come after her became infinitely more likely, which was why she grabbed a large stick and a pebble, readying herself. Three other bugs came by soon enough...
And the rest was history.
...
But regardless, Anne knew that Huscada still feared her. ...Did he? He did, evidently when he fainted the next time he saw her. Though that was over a month ago so he might've gotten over it, but then again, Anne didn't want to chance anything happening, the possibilities of her being confronted over something she never meant to happen taking over her brain-
"Never mind!" Anne sweatdropped and turned around, instead choosing to avoid it entirely. Hoping that nobody at the snail caravan saw her, Anne briskly walked back to the others, forgetting why she went over there in the first place.
Vi was the first to notice her. "That was fas-hey, why didn't you get anything?" Vi said with a huff, crossing her arms.
"Come on, Anne. We were all counting on you." Leif deadpanned.
In a matter of moments, all eyes were on her. "Uh, uh..." Anne couldn't think of a good excuse; saying she didn't have enough berries wouldn't be good enough, and saying that they were out of everything would be a dumb lie.
There was no way she could admit to not wanting to talk to Huscada after she initially scared him. It was silly enough that she might be laughed at, and Anne didn't think it would ever come up again, which obviously meant she was not prepared in the slightest. Maybe another time, but definitely not now.
Anne subtly darted her eyes around, trying to find a distraction so she could avoid the subject of this potentially coming up... aha! There was an orange, round bug not too far away, in the middle of... something. She didn't know what, though. "Uhhhh hey, what's going on over there?"
"Hm?" Kabbu asked, no attention on Anne anymore as they all turned to see. The round orange bug had stubby black limbs, and stood in front of a large rock, pushing his horn against it. How long had he been doing that? Why was he doing that? So many questions that needed answers...
"Ah... I am intrigued by what he might be doing." Kabbu said, in deep thought.
"Same." Leif agreed. "Let's go check it out." Leif, Anne, and Kabbu walked over, curious to see what the bug was doing.
Vi stayed behind for a moment, the bee in disbelief. "Are we really doing this?" She paused, unsure what to think before giving up. "Oh. Okay then." With a sigh, she caught up with the others as they reached the orange bug.
He was focusing, his horn pressed against the rock with such force that it could snap. Did he even know that anyone else was here? It almost looked cute in a way.
"So... whatcha doing?" Anne asked.
The moment she asked her question, the orange bug stopped pushing his horn on the rock, standing upright and turning to the others, unhappy. "Oi! Don't interrupt me! I'm gonna move this rock!" His voice was high-pitched and squeaky, despite how serious he tried to look.
"This rock is extremely heavy! You will hurt your horn!" Kabbu said in concern.
The orange bug shook his head. "I'm a fully grown Tanjerin! I can do it. I can move this rock!" He beamed with a huge smile, lifting his stubby arms as far as they could go- which wasn't far. And was his name Tanjerin, or was his species Tanjerin? These were the important questions that needed answering.
Nevertheless, Anne could already tell that this might be more trouble than it's worth. "Yeahhhhh, I'm starting to have doubts about this."
"Then just let the little dude do his job!" Vi said, her patience running out.
Tanjerin was about to go back to try to move the rock, but after he heard Vi's words, he got angry, turning back around and putting his fists up. "I'm not little! I'll fight you right here, right now!" He was only three feet tall, but Anne didn't want to find out how strong he could be.
Vi's fur stood on end as she took a few steps away, shaking her head. "Back off, it-it was just a joke!"
Leif chuckled at the whole exchange. "He's so cute. How can we feel threatened at all?" Tanjerin did look adorable... Anne made a mental note to snap a pic of him later.
Tanjerin lowered his fists, instead putting his hands on his hips, proud of himself. "I came from a veeery far land from the right, to prove my might!" He explained, giving his backstory without any provocation whatsoever.
Anne raised an eyebrow. "How come you're only now starting to rhyme..." She paused before shaking her head. "Never mind." Maybe it was best not to question it. "What's the 'land to the right'?"
"Judging from the books I've read, Tanjerin is a Fruity Bug from the Eastern Lands." Kabbu explained, Tanjerin happily nodding along. "Bugs from there evolved to have characteristics of various fruits, isn't that fascinating?"
"Oh, that makes sense." Anne said, not giving it too much thought before her voice lowered to a whisper. "This place only gets weirder by the day..." She did wonder, though... would the Eastern Lands hold some kind of clue to get her home? Only time would tell...
"Yeah!" Tanjerin cut in, replying to Kabbu before he gestured to the large rock. "I'm gonna break this rock! Then I'll be the strongest!"
Leif gave Tanjerin an odd look before the moth looked at Kabbu. "Is this how it works in their culture?" Leif asked, to which the green beetle could only shrug in response.
"Tanjerin, I admire your spirit, but horns cannot withstand such pressure." Kabbu warned. "You should take care!" Kabbu would've likely had experience with something like this, after all.
The fruity bug shook his head. "My horn can never break, cuz I'm strong!" That logic made no sense. "Now, I'm going right back to work!" Just as he said, he turned around, once again pressing his horn on the rock, trying to move or lift or whatever he was attempting to do to it. The others stared in disbelief.
"This was cute at the start, but now I'm kinda worried…" Vi said, frowning.
Anne was about to agree, ready to move on and explore the rest of the Golden Settlement until she turned her head, seeing the bugs running the snail caravan about to move.
If they moved while Team Snakemouth explored the Golden Settlement, then they could potentially run into each other, which could then have Huscada freaking out over Anne again, leading to a huge commotion, and then- No. She told herself she wasn't ready for this, and there was nothing wrong with that, was there? If only there was something else that would occupy everyone else's attention for a bit... aha!
"Uhhhh, hey!" Anne got everyone's attention. Just like so many other times before, she knew exactly what to say to steer the conversation exactly where it needed to go, thanks to so many years of learning from two very good friends of hers. "I agree, clearly Tanjerin isn't going to be able to lift that rock on his own."
"Hey!" Tanjerin yelled, immediately stopping what he was doing to pay attention. Exactly as planned.
"Which is why we should take Tanjerin under our wing!" Anne explained. "Help train him to lift that rock without breaking a sweat!" She snapped her fingers on her good arm to emphasize her point.
"Is there anything better we could be doing right now?" Vi asked, unamused.
"The festival isn't until later, so no." Leif bluntly answered, to which Vi sighed.
"Helping a fellow beetle out is never a waste of time!" Kabbu said, happy to take part.
To Anne's relief, everything was going swimmingly. "Great, so we're all onboard?" Kabbu, Vi, and Leif had all agreed to kill some time with this, which only left...
Tanjerin scrunched his face up a bit, thinking intently. "Hm... I dunno..." He sounded unsure; that wasn't good. Good thing Anne knew exactly how to convince him.
"There's a 100% guarantee you're get stronger!" Anne said in a sing-song voice, appealing to exactly what Tanjerin wanted.
It worked like a charm. Tanjerin gasped, stars in his eyes. He shook violently, before jumping repeatedly, his excitement unparalleled. "YIPPEE! YES YES YES YES YES LETS GO NOW!" ...Maybe a bit too excited. "Time to flip something!" Tanjerin had his eyes set on the stickbug from earlier, rushing past everyone-
Just in time, Leif managed to grab Tanjerin, picking him up despite his squirming, before the moth turned and set him down. "No."
"Aw man!" Tanjerin said.
Kabbu was tired from just watching that exchange. "...Maybe we should go into town before anything else happens."
Anne stole a glance at where the snail caravan was, breathing a sigh of relief when it was gone. It must've gone deeper into the Golden Settlement, but with the team now occupied with this, there was no way they'd run into each other. "Sounds good to me!"
Once it was decided, Team Snakemouth plus Tanjerin walked into the main area of the Golden Settlement. Though it wasn't as big as Ant City, Anne could see herself staying here for a bit if she needed to, seeing everything that the Golden Settlement had to offer.
A few bugs were mingling about the area, including one that was buying berry juice from a mosquito salesman. There was a two-story inn with a balcony, a large statue behind a raised platform, a shop, and the place the local chef worked at. Anne figured his name was Kut, based on the sign above his place of establishment.
"Seriously, Aria, just open the way already!"
Anne turned, hearing part of a conversation. She recognized that voice... wasn't that Celia? Indeed, she and Levi were on the raised platform, talking to a third bug. She was a tall, green and orange praying mantis, her eyes closed, and her hands clapped together. Judging from what Celia just said, the praying mantis's name was probably Aria.
"The way to the hills is sacred." Aria spoke, her tone calm and collected; a great contrast to how Celia was frustrated to the point she might explode. "I will not sully it for any reason."
Despite only hearing such a brief snippet of the conversation, Anne grew interested, wanting to know what they were talking about. Sacred hills... that sounded intriguing! If the way there couldn't be opened, then there must've been a reason behind it, right?
Her mind was made up, Anne couldn't walk away from this without satiating her curiosity. "Hey dudes, what's going on?" Anne greeted as she walked up onto the platform. The three bugs turned to stare at her.
"It's good to see you." Levi said. "How's your arm faring?" Short and to the point as always.
"Eh, could be better." Anne answered with a shrug. Levi nodded. Compared to last week... yeah, it was a bit better. Not to the point where she should really use it, though. Anne made sure to be extra careful of that, despite the incidents in between her arm injury and now trying to prove otherwise.
"Hey stickbug!" Celia greeted, waving at her before putting on a serious face again. "Aria won't let us through! Do something!" Anne looked at her incredulously, wondering what this 'something' could possibly be. By now, Anne was more than used to the strange 'stickbug' nickname.
Levi sighed before turning to Aria. "Aria, won't you reconsider? The wasps could beat us to the punch!"
Aria stood there, considering his words. "They tried. They failed. I will not waver in my conviction."
"They...failed?" Celia asked.
"I dealt with them, yes." Aria confirmed it with a nod.
"Good." Anne said, a wave of satisfaction washing over her at the thought of someone dealing with them, even if it wasn't her. She probably wouldn't get to hear the details, but it was nice to know, nonetheless. "I've had a run-in with them before, and I am not looking forward to dealing with them again."
The events of that day would always be a harsh reminder of what could happen in a world like this. She was too naive, too trusting... but now she knew better, watching out for any hidden, nefarious intentions from strangers, keeping an eye out for when something just didn't seem right. At least Anne knew she wouldn't have to deal with the wasps at all on the way to the second artifact.
Levi grunted, not happy about the situation, while also realizing he couldn't do anything to make it go by faster. "As rushed as we may be, if there's no danger, I don't think we'll manage to skip the festivities."
"Why would you ever pass up a whole dang festival?!" Anne asked, shocked that Levi would even consider it. "It's the perfect chance to chillax!"
"I... do have my reasons." Levi admitted, looking away. Was he flustered?
"The way to the hills will open after the festivities are concluded." Aria said, trying to make it as clear as possible. "Not sooner, not later. You must wait."
"Guess that's that!" Celia said, turning to her teammate. "C'mon, Levi, let's go mingle." With that, the two of them stepped off the platform and left, leaving Anne alone with Aria. Anne wondered where they were going, but ah well.
"Greetings..." Aria addressed the teen, but stopped herself. "My apologies, can you give me your name? I have my doubts you're a... stickbug."
Anne let out a sigh of relief; at least Aria didn't mistake her for a stickbug. Then again, who knows how many bugs here secretly thought she was a stickbug? ...Anne decided not to think about it too much. "Thank you!" Then again, she wasn't sure if being seen as an alien or a stickbug was better... no, she wasn't going to think about it!
"I'm Anne Boonchuy. Who are you?" She paused. "Well, I know your name is Aria, but can you tell me more about yourself?" Anne had to know as much as possible if she ever stood a chance of getting home.
Aria nodded. "I am an acolyte for the sacred Goddess, Venus. Have you heard of her?"
"I've heard Kabbu say that name a few times... that's it." In hindsight, it made a lot of sense. In her world, people would exclaim something like 'oh christ' or 'for the love of god', but here, Kabbu would occasionally say 'In the name of Venus' or something along those lines.
Anne still barely knew anything about this place, so she didn't want to make any assumptions, lest she inadvertently insult someone and lose her chance to find a way home. If Aria was an acolyte for a supposed Goddess, it meant that Aria was pretty important, so...
"Oh, hang on! I need to ask you something!" Anne knelt down, slinging her backpack off so she could use her good arm to open it. "Hang on, just gimme a sec..." She hated how long it took to unzip her backpack with one good arm, but thankfully, Aria was patient.
After another minute or so, Anne finally got the music box out, holding it up to Aria. "Do you know anything about this?"
Aria craned her head over, staring at the music box for several agonizing seconds... before she shook her head. "It's a beautiful box, but it holds no significance to me. Is this box important to you?"
Anne's heart dropped as she put the music box away, trying to zip her backpack up again. So much for that. "Mhm. It's the only way to get me and my friends home, but it won't work. And I haven't even found a single lead!" I was told that there might be something here, but now I'm not sure..."
With her backpack now on, she stood back up, wondering just how much longer it would take to get the answers she was promised. Neolith told her that someone here might know about it, but she didn't blame him for being wrong. Even so, if this box took her here, there had to be a way for it to take her back home.
"I see." Aria said. "If it's answers you seek, perhaps Venus would know something." The acolyte gestured to the large statue that stood at the back of the Golden Settlement. Anne gave it another look, taking in just how huge it was. In a sense, it was foreboding, giving off chills that Anne just couldn't quite explain.
And yet, maybe Aria was right. This 'Venus' could indeed know something if she was indeed a Goddess. "...Hm." Anne didn't know what to say, really. She definitely would tell the others about this... hang on, the others? "Wait." Anne paused, realizing it. "I've definitely forgotten about something, haven't I."
"Tanjerin, no!"
Kabbu scrambled to pull Tanjerin away from a fence before he could try and lift it off the ground, Kabbu holding Tanjerin tight despite the orange bug's attempts to squirm free. Tanjerin eventually gave up, strangely content. "Aw man!"
Though they all meant to stay together, Anne had split off from the others for some reason as they went to the west side of the Golden Settlement. It had a planting area for berry farm, a few buildings, and a large field blocked off by a fence. There was also an area blocked off by a guard from the Bee Kingdom, but it was for good reason.
After walking away from the fence, Kabbu set Tanjerin down, trying to keep a close watch on him. In the span of only a couple minutes, Tanjerin tried to run off and prove his strength by lifting or breaking random things, everyone having to drag him away each time. It was chaos, to say the least, preventing Tanjerin from destroying the place. At least they were successful... for now.
"This is exhausting." Leif said, out of breath. "Who knew someone so orange could be so powerful?" Did color really matter for how strong someone could be?
"Where'd Anne go?!" Vi made her frustrations clear, constantly glancing around to see where the teen was. "She was the one who wanted to do this in the first place!"
"I'm not sure, but..." Kabbu turned, seeing a decently-sized rock nearby, getting an idea at the same time. Vi and Leif made sure to watch Tanjerin as Kabbu pushed the rock over, stopping in front of Tanjerin. "Here! Tanjerin, try lifting this up!"
Tanjerin let out a gasp, his eyes sparkling.
Vi crossed her arms. "Maybe he should try and lift a pebble before starting with something that big."
The fruity bug's mood instantly soured, turning to Vi and glaring at her. The silent threat was enough to get her to shut up and back away. "Hmph!" Tanjerin refocused on the rock. "I can lift this no problem, just watch!"
"This is gonna be good." Leif smiled to himself.
Wasting no time, Tanjerin placed his horn under the rock, getting himself into position. From what followed, Kabbu didn't know if Tanjerin really was that strong, or if it was just luck, or if it was from excitement, but Tanjerin lifted the rock so fast that he ended up tossing it into the air!
Leif did a double-take, Vi almost swore, and Kabbu's heart stopped for a moment, all of them including Tanjerin watching as the rock soared through the air. Tanjerin was pleased with himself, even as the rock began to fall into the planting area, crashing onto one of the berry bushes, flattening it.
The farmer ant that was in the middle of watering the bush yelped in surprise, dropping her watering can as she jumped back a bit. Kabbu recognized her; that was Fabri, wasn't she?
"W-What the heck was that?!" Fabri yelled, picking her watering can back up. She took several quick breaths, mourning the loss of the perfectly good berries.
"I did it! I did it!" Tanjerin cheered, waving his arms. Fabri turned and saw him with the others. "Take me back to the big rock! I did it! Thank you, new friends!"
Fabri only stared, the gears turning in her head before she glared, not happy for obvious reasons.
"Oh no!" Kabbu yelled, immediately panicking. "Oh no oh no I'm so sorry!" Kabbu shook his head and waved his arms desperately, hoping that the situation wouldn't escalate any further. How could he let this happen?! At least Tanjerin didn't shout out that he had given him the rock, but still! Now those perfectly good berries were ruined!
"I-I didn't think he would throw it into the air, I thought he would just lift it up with his horn! T-That's all, I swear!" After how Kabbu had nearly gotten himself in trouble when going overboard about who stole the berries, the last thing he needed was to be arrested for destruction of property! ...And Anne was still gone!
"Wasn't my fault!" Vi said.
"We deeply apologize for our... friend's behavior." Leif had to think for a second to come up with the right word. "Is there any way we can make up for it?"
Fabri contemplated his words, thinking for a moment as she shook her watering can, realizing all the water spilled out when she dropped it earlier. "Tell you what. If you could get me some clear water from the nearby store to refill my can, I'd appreciate it a lot. And make it quick."
Kabbu sighed in relief, hoping his luck wouldn't run out. "Very well! Team, let us complete this new mission with posthaste!" Before Fabri could change her mind, the four of them walked to the store, Kabbu knowing where it was.
"Hold it, orange man." Fabri said, stopping Tanjerin in his tracks. "Stay here with me for a minute, so I can watch you." That wasn't expected, but then again, maybe Fabri didn't want Tanjerin to cause trouble again so soon.
"Okay!" Tanjerin excitedly said, running over to her.
"Bye Aria, talk to you later!" Anne said as she walked down the steps of the platform in a rush. Aria waved her goodbye, and Anne searched the area, trying to figure out where her friends went.
She couldn't believe she got so distracted, but the place wasn't that big, so she'd find them soon- There! Anne spotted them coming in from the west, without Tanjerin, strangely enough. The three appeared to be in a rush, Kabbu leading the way. That was quick.
"There you are!" Anne said as she ran over to them, the three of them stopping as she caught up with them.
"We're on a bit of a time limit right now, but where'd you go?" Leif asked.
"Sorry, sorry, I got distracted!" Anne apologized, preparing to tell them what she learned. "You see-"
"Well, while you were 'distracted', your new buddy Tanjerin got us into trouble!" Vi said, frustrated.
Anne was taken aback by this, legitimately confused. "Huh?" She was going to ask what happened to Tanjerin soon, but her confusion only grew to worry; just what the heck happened in a few short minutes?!
Kabbu spoke up to explain what happened. "I wanted to give Tanjerin a smaller rock to start out with before he tried lifting that huge one, but he ended up destroying someone's property with it..." Kabbu looked away, ashamed. "And now we have to hurry and pay them back with some clear water."
"Yikes, I'm really sorry about splitting off from you guys." Anne apologized, knowing that she could've probably prevented this if she hadn't gotten distracted. It wasn't like she was intentionally avoiding it. "But it wasn't for nothing!" She redirected, hoping this would ease their moods. "I think I found a clue on how to get back home!"
That got the others' interest. "Oh? This sounds interesting." Leif said. Kabbu and Vi were listening as well, though Kabbu focused much more intently.
"Aria told me that someone named Venus might know something about the music box." Anne explained, giving a quick rundown of her conversation with the acolyte. "The way to her doesn't open until after the festival, but still! Finally, my first actual lead!" Anne shook with anticipation, the thought of it getting her overjoyed.
So close to a way home. A Goddess would surely know something, and then once she found Sasha and Marcy, they'd all get back safe and sound and resume their normal lives. Over a month and a half of being here was already too long, who knows what could be happening back home... all the more reason to find a way back.
"I dunno..." Vi was skeptical. "Remember your last 'lead'? Just be careful." Of course Anne remembered. The difference was that Vesp and Skye used her for their own agendas, while Aria genuinely sounded like she wanted to help.
"Hang on a second!" Kabbu said. "This might be worthwhile, Vi!" If Kabbu was sure, then Anne was as well. "But right now, could you help us out, Anne?" Kabbu asked, shifting gears.
"Sure, sure." Anne said with a nod. After all, there wasn't anything else she had to do, and she did want to help Tanjerin get stronger, after all. Kabbu led the way to the nearby store, and Anne was about to ask where Tanjerin was- until she heard something.
Music, was it? She stopped; the sound was faint, but it almost sounded like singing. Where was it coming from? The two-story inn.
"Huh?" How long had it been playing? And who was playing it? It did remind Anne of something... those times where her trio of friends would play loud music, for example that one time at school when they let all those dogs loose. Anne chuckled at the memory, her mood souring a little though when she remembered what came immediately after it.
But back to the music inside... for the briefest of moments, Anne had a crazy thought. Could Sasha or Marcy be in there? She dismissed it as soon as it came up, it was too crazy. But she had to check, just to be sure. The last thing she needed was some crazy coincidence causing her to have a near-miss with one of them.
Just to ease her mind, Anne walked into the inn. She found the source of the singing almost instantly: There was a moth onstage a show floor singing, though Anne could barely see her, due to the horde of bugs surrounding her. She must've been a star or something, huh?
There were also a few tables with bottlecap chairs, and sitting at one of those tables was a bee and Fuzzo from the caravan- just him, though. But more importantly, none of her friends. Anne was mildly disappointed, but she should've expected this. It was silly to think one of her friends could be here.
Despite that, Anne still wanted to see what was going on. She walked up to the mantis running the front desk. "Who's that onstage?"
"Her?" The mantis asked for clarification. Anne nodded, noting that the mantis wore a nametag titled 'Tim'. "That's Mothiva. You're free to take a seat and listen while her show is going on, though snacks are fifteen berries each."
Anne decided to ignore how overpriced that was. "Never heard of her." She heard the name once somewhere, but aside from that, Anne had no idea who she was.
Tim leaned over to whisper to Anne. "Don't let her hear you say that, pal." He whispered with a chuckle. "Anyone and everyone knows her!" Well Anne obviously didn't. Tim leaned back, preparing to go into a whole explanation of who Mothiva is.
"She's basically the most popular idol here; nobody else even comes close!" Tim explained. So she was the equivalent of a famous singer back home, got it. "Her compassion, her stunning, enchanting singing..." Tim stopped to shudder in delight. "She's even the leader of her own explorer's team, and despite being so busy, she STILL finds the time to sign each and every autograph she's given! Plus-"
"I got it." Anne held up a hand on her good arm, signaling for him to stop. Now she knew that Mothiva was a celebrity, and this guy had one of those unrealistic celebrity crushes.
Anne took another look at the show stage, still unable to get a good look at Mothiva. From this angle, she could see another bug trying to stay hidden behind the leafy curtain; a tall, slender wasp with crooked antennae. The wasp stole a glance at Mothiva before looking away, a green blush on his face.
...A celebrity, huh? It was a long shot, but an idea struck. If Anne somehow found the time to talk to her and get her to listen, then Anne could tell her about her situation; how she's trying to find her friends and a way home. If Mothiva spread the word about this, then her influence could potentially have an impact so far-reaching that it just might be what helps her reunite with Sasha and Marcy, or even a way home.
She was in the middle of a show right now though, so Anne shouldn't interrupt. Anne sat down at a nearby table, fishing through her pocket and pulling out that same photo of her friends, the one she's kept ever since this whole mess started.
If everything went right, she'd reunite with them soon. She'd have to explain her arm injury, but it would all turn out okay. Anne just knew it. Everything was falling into place; she found a lead on how to get home, and she found out about someone that could help her find her friends.
...And yet again, she couldn't help but wonder if she was forgetting something. Again.
Vi made her frustration clear as the three of them made their way back to the west side of the Golden Settlement to deliver the clear water to Fabri, each of them carrying a bag of it. The transaction took less than a minute, but they made sure to be careful on the way back, lest anything happen to the water before they deliver it.
"Anne ditched us! Again!" Vi groaned, gripping her bag of water tightly. What was she thinking?! Was it funny to just throw something upon them and then keep making excuses to not be involved in something she started? This is what frustrated Vi, the whole thing with Tanjerin was fun at first, but now she had to be a babysitter for an overactive adult!
"Have some grace, Vi." Kabbu said, having much more patience than Vi could hope to imagine. "She's young, she... gets distracted easily."
"It was worth a try, getting her to come back." Leif said with a sigh. Still, it was weird. Vi knew Anne well enough by now to know that her behavior was strange ever since they got to the Golden Settlement, but Vi had no idea why.
By now, the three of them made it back to Fabri, who now appeared exhausted. Tanjerin danced around her, giggling and jumping.
"Here's your water, m'am." Kabbu nodded as he handed his bag of clear water to Fabri, the ant accepting it.
"Thank you." Fabri then took Vi and Leif's bags, setting them all down. "Consider yourselves forgiven... as long as you take him back." She pointed at Tanjerin, who was still as active as ever. "Please. I can't handle him any longer..." Vi gave them both a look, what even happened with the two of them?
Tanjerin stopped running in circles, instead crossing his arms with a pout, looking away from Fabri. "She won't let me fight her..." He was so disappointed.
"Come on Tanjerin, let's go." Kabbu waved for Tanjerin to come back to them.
"Okay!" A smile was on his face once again as Tanjerin hopped back over to them, restless from his lack of action. The four walked away from the berry farm, but Tanjerin's patience ran thin. "So what's the next lesson?! Hm? HM?!"
"Uh..." Leif opened his mouth to say something, Tanjerin eagerly awaited his every word, staring at him expectantly... but Leif only stammered, stumbling over his words before shutting up, the pressure getting to him. "We've got nothing."
Vi rolled her eyes, officially checked out from whatever would happen next. She turned away, her mood shifting when she saw someone she recognized walking by. "Oh, hey Neolith." Finally, someone sane!
The moth stopped and turned when he saw her, walking over and waving to them all. "Team Snakemouth! Hello!" Neolith greeted, getting their attention. Leif waved back, though Kabbu was a bit hesitant to greet him back.
"Is Anne with you?" Neolith asked. "I wanted to thank her again." He frowned when remembering those harrowing events; it was far from the best circumstance to meet someone for the first time.
"...We don't know." Kabbu answered, weary.
"Did you make it here safely?" Leif asked.
"Yes!" Neolith beamed. "Team Celia was a huuuuge lifesaver, and the tech in this settlement is mesmerizing! Thank you again, I couldn't have gotten here without help from all of you!"
Kabbu nodded. "It's all in a day's work." His mood sure changed when Neolith came by.
"I'm gonna lift up this whole building!" Tanjerin yelled, now several yards away.
"WHAT?!" Vi screamed, being the first one to react. Tanjerin must've gotten bored and walked away, but who knows what went on in the chaos of his mind that led to this.
Vi, Kabbu, and Leif all turned in a panic, seeing Tanjerin about to exactly what he said. He was crouched down right next to the building with a windmill on it, his horn wedged onto the building.
The three stood in shock for exactly three seconds before realizing that Tanjerin was serious, the fruity bug straining himself. Leaving Neolith behind, they all ran over as fast as they could to stop Tanjerin, all of them speaking over each other, yelling and pleading with him not to do it. But it was too late.
Before they ever reached Tanjerin, an audible SNAP quieted them, the three of them stopping in their tracks. When Tanjerin tried to lift the building, the pressure was too much, and his horn snapped right off, falling to the ground.
Beat.
Did... that really just happen? It was so fast that Vi could barely think, but...
"By the spicy berries of the land...your horn!" Kabbu gasped, breaking the almost eerie silence.
Tanjerin stared at the wall; he hadn't processed what happened yet. Then, as slow as a snail, he turned, taking several seconds to look down and see his broken horn on the grass. His expression turned to a frown, tears welling up in his eyes. "Huuuuu..." Uh oh.
Without warning, Tanjerin outright began bawling, tears spiliing to the ground. His shrill cries made Vi wince, the bee freezing up, having no idea what to do; she didn't know this would happen if she said hi to Neolith!
Kabbu ran over, patting Tanjerin on the head to try and get him to calm down. "No, don't cry, please don't cry..." His words were barely audible over Tanjerin's sobs.
"H-Hey, this isn't that big of a deal, right?" Vi said in shock. Kabbu gave her a soft glare. Vi didn't know any better; she didn't have a horn after all?
"Er... is there anything we can do?" Leif asked, hesitant. Despite Kabbu's attempts to calm Tanjerin down, nothing worked.
There were soon footsteps, Anne finally running up to meet them. "Hey guys, sorry I- what's with all the commotion?" She pushed past Vi and Leif, letting out a horrified gasp at Tanjerin's condition. "Oh no! What happened to him?"
Vi couldn't hold it in anymore; now Anne was concerned?! That was it. "Well you keep ditching us even though you wanted to take him along, so don't blame us for this!" Vi would have to apologize later for snapping, but after how she almost ran away and left the others to die in Snakemouth Den, she couldn't have anyone repeating her previous pattern of behavior.
...
Anne bit her lip, her heart deep in the pits of her stomach. Vi was exactly right. Why did she feel the need to keep running, as if purposefully distracting herself from something she decided to do?
The reason was already obvious. Something about that first encounter with Huscada and Cricketly she had... how a simple misunderstanding spiraled, and Anne still couldn't find the words to say to either of them. Maybe she kept running because she was afraid to even look at or even think about either of them, and as much as Anne wanted to find a resolution with them... that wouldn't be happening today, unfortunately.
But there was something else she still could do, though.
"Don't worry, I will fix my mistakes!" Anne vowed. She stepped forward, her good hand on her chin as she assessed the situation.
Tanjerin was crying, that much was for sure. His horn must've snapped off; did it cause him pain? Or was he upset because he broke his horn? It reminded her of first grade, when she broke her favorite pencil on accident, leading to her crying her eyes out until Sasha taped it back together... that's it!
Going to her knees, she zipped her backpack open with her good arm, fishing through it to find what she needed... "Got it!" Anne found what she was looking for. "Introducing... the number one way to fix anything: glue and duct tape!" She held up both items with one hand, being the shining beacons needed to fix this problem.
"Why would you have stuff like that in your backpack?" Kabbu asked.
It was true, Anne did have quite the variety in there... to tell the truth, she normally didn't have glue and duct tape in her backpack, but she knew why it was in there; because all the way back on her last day on Earth- no, no more distractions! Anne needed to fix up Tanjerin, which meant no more random tangents!
Anne simply shrugged as an answer, which Kabbu begrudgingly accepted.
With that, Anne needed help with her work. Leif and Kabbu offered to help, Vi sitting back and just watching. Leif held up the broken horn as Anne applied glue to the bottom of it. Tanjerin was still crying, so Kabbu gently held him in place as Anne and Leif guided the horn back into place, holding it there for a few minutes as they waited for the glue to stick.
It was time for the final step. Anne carefully applied the duct tape, wrapping it around the horn several times over. Leif put the items back in Anne's backpack as Anne stepped back, admiring her work. "Aaaand good as new!" She smiled, Kabbu stepping away as well.
Tanjerin's cries slowed, the fruity bug only sniveling, wiping his tears away. "Hm?" He looked up, realizing his horn was re-attached, poking it a few times. He stayed silent for an uncomfortably long time, before- "Huuuu..." Uh oh, did Anne mess something up? Did she make it even worse? Did she-
"WEEEEEE!" Tanjerin was beyond ecstatic, jumping over and over again. "THANK YOU!" Anne instinctively tried to dodge as Tanjerin ran over to tackle her, but Leif grabbed the fruity bug, preventing him from potentially causing Anne further harm.
After Tanjerin was calm once again, Leif set him down. Tanjerin had a newfound determination oozing from within, getting into a fighting stance. "Okay! I'm ready!" He declared, more than sure of himself. "I want to lift that rock! I need to! NOW!"
Tanjerin needed it, so there was no arguing against it. The five of them made their way back to the original rock Tanjerin was trying to lift, and he wasted no time in trying to lift it once more, placing his horn against it, straining himself. Anne wasn't going to miss this! She knew he could do it, which was why she began cheering his name.
"Tanjerin! Tanjerin!" Anne cheered. Leif soon joined in. "Tanjerin! Tanjerin!" The fruity bug's confidence increased with their cheers, pushing himself further.
"I implore you to reconsider!" Kabbu said, trying to talk over the cheering. "You've hurt yourself enough already!" Despite his concern, Tanjerin ignored him, giving it his all.
Vi tried to ignore the show of events at first, but she couldn't help but smile; she already invested so much time into this, so... "Tanjerin! Tanjerin!"
Knowing any further objections would be ignored, Kabbu sighed to himself, giving in. "May as well. Tanjerin! Tanjerin!"
With all four of them cheering, it inspired Tanjerin, telling himself over and over that he could do it! He could do it! Several seconds of cheering passed, and with one final push...
"Huuuuu-YAAAAA!" With a surprising show of strength, Tanjerin not only lifted the rock, but managed to toss it upward with such force that it skyrocketed into the air, everyone staring as it flew up so fast that it went high enough to be out of sight within seconds.
"...I'm sure that'll be fine." Anne commented.
But more importantly, he was successful. "I did it!" Tanjerin cheered, his arms raised in excitement. "I broke the rock! A champion of all bugs! So much honor! Thank you for helping me!" He didn't exactly 'break' it... but it still counted as a victory nonetheless.
"Y-Yes..." Kabbu wearily accepted Tanjerin's thanks before addressing the others. "Perhaps we should take it easy after that whole ordeal. Some rest would do us some good before the festival tonight."
"Finally!" Vi sighed in relief. "I think I'm going to collapse."
"Resting would clear our heads." Leif said.
After the journey to get to the Golden Settlement, followed by the absolute trainwreck that today was, Anne absolutely needed some rest to prepare herself for the festival in a few hours. "Why don't we go to the inn to relax until the festival?" Anne suggested. "I'm sure it's-"
"BOOKED?!" Anne screamed in disbelief.
Team Snakemouth had gone up to the second floor of the inn (known as the Golden Sunset Inn, according to Kabbu) to book a room, only to be hit with the harsh truth at the front desk that all the rooms were booked tonight for the festival. In fact, the last room had been booked only half an hour ago, according to the innkeeper. Anne wanted to facepalm so bad at the awful timing.
"Oi, we should've booked a room the moment we got here instead of goofing off!" Vi said, glaring at Anne.
"I didn't know it was gonna be booked!" Anne argued. This was partially her fault anyway, so she wouldn't try and redirect any of the blame.
"Stop bickering!" Leif said, shutting both of them up. "We can at least go and enjoy the view from the balcony instead of wasting our breath." Leif gestured to the balcony of the pumpkin-like inn. It wasn't like they had anything else to do, so Team Snakemouth walked out to the balcony.
Whoa... Anne thought this place was beautiful before, but now... from the angle she was at, the way the sunset let the light hit the area, it created a comforting warmth over anything and everything it touched; it was stunning, to say the least.
"Incredible." Kabbu said. "The view from this balcony is breathtaking!" Anne couldn't agree more, though maybe he was overselling it juuuust a little bit.
"Yeah! It's the best thing about Sunset Inn!" Vi smiled. "Totally worth the price... if it wasn't booked."
Okay, that was pushing it. "You two need to get out more." Anne said. She suddenly found it that much harder to enjoy the view now.
"It's alright." Leif shrugged. "The Venus statue is really well made, don't you think?" He and the others looked at the massive statue. It must've taken a while to build, no? ...How long would it take to build a statue of Anne?
"I think it's a bit creepy." Vi said. "It doesn't have a face or anything…" She shuddered ever so slightly, trying not to be noticeable.
"Vi, no one has seen the Goddess Venus. It would be sacrilegious to paint her face!" Kabbu explained. That did make sense, but still...
That reminded Anne of something she wanted to ask ever since Aria initially brought up Venus. "Quick question Kabbu, are you a Venus worshipper?" He said her name multiple times before, and given what she knew about him, it sounded like something he would partake in.
Kabbu shook his head. "Not quite." He was awful quick to shoot her question down. "I just like being well informed of the places I visit." ...That also made sense; he was quite the bookworm.
"I bet you went into the palace library to read aaaall about this place, didn't you?" Vi snickered.
"...M-Maybe." Kabbu admitted, embarrassed.
"Cute." Leif smiled.
"Hmph." Kabbu wasn't having any of it. "Let us go back to enjoying the view."
While Vi and Leif teased Kabbu, Anne stared at the Venus statue again, pulling the photo of her friends out once more. She was so close to answers, she knew it. Venus would give her the lead she needed, and then she'd be able to convince Mothiva to help spread the word about her friends. It sounded too good to be true, but Anne held that hope within her, motivating her to keep going despite how little progress she made up until this point.
Answers... what kind of answers awaited her? Anne had absolutely zero idea, but she'd face whatever may come, whatever she'd have to do in order to-
"Hello!" Tanjerin's voice jolted all four of them, the fruity bug appearing out of seemingly nowhere.
"AH!" Anne yelped, the photo flying out of her hand. She managed to reclaim it before it was lost forever, immediately tucking it back into her pocket so she could focus on the new issue at hand.
"Where'd you come from?" Vi questioned. He must've followed them after they left, how did no one notice him approach?!
"I'm here!" Tanjerin cheered. "What's next after breaking the big rock!"
The others were silent, unsure what to say. They all knew that this couldn't keep up forever, with how rambunctious and out-of-control Tanjerin was. There wouldn't be any sense in dragging this out any longer.
"I hate to break it to you, but your training is over..." Kabbu said, wilting.
"We're sorry." Leif couldn't bear to look at Tanjerin, turning away. "We can't take you with us permanently."
"Yeah..." Anne grimaced, hoping this wouldn't end badly. "I don't think it would work out anyway."
Tanjerin stood there, disappointed. "Oh..." He blinked and was happy again without any provocation whatsoever. "Okay! I'm going home now! Come visit sometime!" Before anyone could say goodbye, Tanjerin raced off as suddenly as he arrived, to do... whatever activities he normally did, probably.
Wait, he lived here?!