Entry 80
People really need to stop saying that triangulation is soo difficult.
Pfft.
Seriously, all you need is two lines and a map. And maybe Joe. Joe has been a great help with just about everything.
(Did I ever mention how much I missed him?).
Well, yesterday while the others were recovering after the first temple, I grabbed Joe to find out where exactly the second temple was. During my research in Newtopia, only the location of the first temple came up, and until two days ago, when we loaded the gem, I was still afraid we'd have to search for the second temple completely blind.
But NO. The gem emitted a green beam of light that pointed directly to the next temple. HOW COOL IS THAT?
So I used a map of all of Amphibia to place the gem where Wartwood was, traced the line with a pencil, grabbed Joe, flew him a good twenty minutes away, landed, and repeated the whole thing. And now we're all on our way to Mount Mutu - a place far too cold for Amphibians to live on. Or even want to live on.
A completely barren landscape, entirely covered with snow. Let's hope the temple isn't buried beneath all that snow, considering the (presumably) thousands of years that have passed since the temples were built.
Well, never mind for now. Right now, we're all flying on Joe, and it should be an estimated twenty minutes before we're landing. Oh, by 'us' this time I don't just mean me, Anne, and the Plantars. This time we also have Maddie with us, and Polly's robot Frobo, which Joe is carrying in his claws.
You're doing great, Joe ❤️
The couch here is currently pretty cramped with all of us on it. Before we left, however, there was a little argument between Anne and Hop Pop because originally, she didn't want to come at all. She had argued with the lack of space on here, but Hop Pop merely insisted that she come along, and she immediately caved in.
And while I am very happy to spend time with her, I can't help but see the worry and even fear in her eyes.
She changed after the war broke out, and I am very worried about her. She is acting more and more withdrawn, and above all, increasingly fearful. Even more so since the first temple. She is more and more scared of making mistakes and hurting those she loves. She is afraid of her powers, and what they might do to her, or what they might make her do.
The night after the temple, I heard Anne talking in her sleep. She mumbled nothing but apologies and she cried. The day after, she also avoided the Plantars as much as possible. Literally. She was so afraid of hurting her family-
And I'm not even just talking about physical pain.
I know, for example, that Anne talked to Hop Pop only once about the incident with the music box, but kept quiet about it after that. She acted like everything was fine, while telling me that she was still upset with him. And now she's even too scared to even start a discussion about literally anything... Seeing her like this hurts my heart. I hope, this temple might end up better than the last one.
I'll continue later. We're about to land.
Marcy closes her journal, and stows it inside her winter coat, which she specially brought for this trip. It comes with some very large pockets inside. She left her trusty bag, which she would normally have brought with her, at home this time.
The others are similarly warmly wrapped: Sprig wears an olive-colored down jacket along with a long scarf, the end of which drags on the ground behind him whenever he walks. Polly sports an untucked, light blue hood from Marcy's coat, sewn shut so that she is warm all around. Anne is wearing her SJMS jacket and has a pink pom-pom hat on her head to go with it. Maddie, like Marcy, opted for a winter coat, but dark gray rather than beige. While still in Newtopia, Marcy handcrafted an oversized pom-pom hat and extra chest warmer for Joe. On the front, she sewed a pocket from an unused potato sack for Hop Pop, who can look down comfortably and safely on the snowy mountain landscape.
"Alright Joe, take us down, but slowly.", Marcy speaks to him, who chirps in affirmation. "And eyes up guys: 10 coppers for the first one to spot the temple.", she announces with clearly exaggerated excitement.
"Uhuhu-", Polly rubs her hands together in anticipation with a determined grin on her face, "That money is as good as mine."
Sprig jumps in on Marcy's bet as well, as Hop Pop suddenly screams from his Hop Pocket backwards against the airstream. "DID SOMEONE JUST SAY MONEY?". The others aren't able to hear him though.
"I prefer to keep reading, thank you very much.", Maddie calmly replies with her book on level three freezing curses in her hands.
"Sure.", Marcy replies vocally unchanged, at least until she turns and looks at her girlfriend, "And what about you- Anne?"
"Huh?", her head snaps up in surprise, "Oh, sorry. I was... lost in thought. What was your question?"
For longer than is probably appropriate, Marcy merely glances at her, trying as best she can to read from her face what's going on in her head right now. Unfortunately, mind reading isn't exactly one of her skills, so she ultimately just sighs and rests her head on Anne's shoulder.
"Doesn't matter.", she replies. Anne doesn't dig any further.
Leaning against each other, the two girls, or at least Marcy, are listening to Sprig and Polly try to be the first to discover the second temple as they all fly by things.
The group has been traveling for several hours now, and it hasn't been long since they crossed the border into the mountains of Amphibia's northeast. Currently they are gliding gently through light fog, past nearly untouched pine forests, snow-capped mountain peaks, and steep cliffs where goat-like creatures scramble up the rocky slopes.
"Is that the temple?", Sprig asks, wildly pointing at something.
"That is a tree.", Maddie, not looking up from her book, corrects him.
"Is that the temple?", Polly asks, pointing at something else.
"Those are Wooly Mantises.", Maddie answers again without looking up from her book after hearing a deep roar.
"Is that the temple?"
"That's a glacier."
"Is that-", Polly's question is interrupted as Marcy speaks up.
"Alright everyone. Prepare to land."
Joe gently glides between the many pines around him, until he stops with a few strong beats of his wings, releases Frobo from a low height from his claws, and starts to land between some snow-covered pines on a clearing.
What no one has seen previously, however, is the vast patch of ice that Joe has cleared of snow as he lands. When his first claw touches down on the ground, it's not surprising that he slips, loses his balance, and crashes into a huge pile of snow with all the occupants on top of him.
Marcy is the first to pop out of the snow pile, cheering with excitement.
"Welcome to the Amphibian Arctic, everyone!", she shouts as everyone else crawls out of the snow pile, one by one. Frobo comes tramping out around the frozen pond and lifts Joe, who is lying on his back in the snow, out and puts him right side up. He chirps in gratitude.
"You guys okay?", Anne asks anxiously as soon as she pokes her head out of the snow. "Is anyone hurt?"
"No."
"No."
"Nope"
"I'm alright."
"Nope, I'm- wait-", Polly replies as something hits her mind, and she becomes increasingly panicked. Anne's head immediately snaps to her, mirroring her panic. "My legs! I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS!"
Anne impulsively wants to sprint off to her when a thought comes to her mind.
'Wait...', she stops and looks at her with a raised eyebrow, "Polly, you don't have legs."
At that very second, Polly bursts out laughing. Her whole body begins to quiver and even a few tears of laughter escape her eyes while her face takes on increasingly red features.
All this happens while the others, who have all overheard it, are growing more and more annoyed. Anne, on the other hand, is actually less annoyed, but rather feels like a total fool and even a bit ashamed for falling for it.
Everyone looks at Polly, some in annoyance, others in frustration. Hop Pop, who belongs more to the latter, turns to his granddaughter after a sigh filled with disappointment.
"That's really not nice, Polly.", he admonishes her. Her loud laugh flattens a bit as her brother speaks up as well.
"Yeah... Rude.", Sprig adds reproachfully. Polly, however, just shrugs it off.
"Tze, you just don't have any humor. Am I right, Anne?", she asks. Anne, however, immediately changes the subject.
"Aaanyway-", she begins, still with the sense of shame present, "We should go look for the temple. Um, Marcy, where do we need to go?"
"Sure, right... Give me a second.", Marcy replies, heading for Anne's backpack, in which she is rummaging for something. Meanwhile, Maddie turns to Anne.
"Um, Anne? I'm sorry if I'm butting into things here that are none of my business, but you never struck me as the kind of person who would just let something like that slide...", she says in a non-judgmental tone, which nevertheless makes Anne increasingly nervous.
"M-Marcy? Have you got it anytime soon?", she asks urgently.
Sure enough, just moments later, Marcy pulls out a purple little case decorated with burger and hot dog stickers from the backpack. She opens it and the fully charged green Gem shoots its green beam of light deep into an area shrouded by thick fog, not far ahead of them.
Sprig takes a big leap forward and points into the same direction with excitement.
"The temple is probably right beyond that.", he speaks excitedly, and all of them head off, following the beam of light. Well, all of them except Joe, who decided to have a bath in the snow, and Polly, who lets Frobo carry her, still proud of her prank.
With Marcy and Sprig excitedly in front, they lead the group through a section of forest with several pine trees standing very close to each other. Marcy, who quickly finds her way through the pines, has to move occasional pine branches, at head height, out of the way, which without exception bounce back each time right into Anne's face, who is walking directly behind her and Sprig.
"Ow.", Anne says softly to herself each time a branch hits her. Twelve times in total before the group has made it through the patch of woods, and emerges from the dense fog.
They find themselves again in front of a wide-open space, with a few isolated snow-covered pine trees, and a stone archway directly in front of them, on the top of which the green beam of light is fixed.
The beam of light cuts off as they approach, and blue glowing text appears. Marcy translates.
"'Just beyond these snowy gates, a grueling perilous temple awaits.'", she reads aloud.
"Ummmm... No it doesn't.", Polly comments as all of them look through the archway at a vast and empty snowy landscape.
"Uhh, there's no temple?! Too bad...", Anne speaks with relief, "Well then, let's head back to Wartwood!"
Anne turns around, but Hop Pop stands in her way, his face showing concern.
"Anne, you need all three gems so you can travel back to your world... Don't you miss your parents?", he asks.
"But-", Anne begins but is interrupted by Maddie.
"I'm very sure the temple is nearby. And even if it's invisible, I can make it visible with these babies here.", Maddie pulls out a couple of small gray pouches, which she casually tosses in the air one-handed before catching them again.
"That's the spirit!", Marcy cheers them on, "Come on guys, let's find that thing!"
Marcy runs ahead, into the white emptiness, and the others follow her. Everyone except Anne. She remains rooted to the spot, her eyes fixed on her friends.
'But... I don't want you to get hurt again.'
Anne doesn't have a very long time to agonize over this any further, because a chubby light-purple bird with short pink wings, not unfamiliar to her, flies very close past her face.
'Wait- That's-', Anne's stream of thought breaks off as the bird flies through the archway in the same direction her friends took off running. Without hesitation, she runs after it and quickly begins to make up distance between herself and her friends.
"Guys! GUYS!", Anne calls out to them from behind, and shortly after the bird flies past them as well, they notice and turn around to look at her. "Follow that bird!"
Marcy smiles slightly as she watches Anne run to-, and then past her. She quickly catches up to her again.
"You changed your mind?", she asks excitedly.
"My curiosity took over.", Anne explains, "I know that bird. It belongs to Valeriana."
"Valeriana?", Marcy asks as the group runs up a hill.
"Is that... someone... I should know?", Hop Pop asks between breaths. Maddie speaks up.
"That's one-armed Newt with the glove on her tail.", she explains, answering Marcy's question rather than Hop Pop's, "She was the one who explained to us what had happened to Luz."
"Oh... right.", Marcy recalls. "Guess I tried to forget that day...", she adds in a whisper.
They arrive at the top after the bird has already disappeared to the other side of the hill.
'Smoke?', Anne thinks to herself as she and the rest of the group, slightly exhausted, eventually reach the top of the hill and can see what's beyond.
A tent. Or a hut... A hent, perhaps? A tut?
It is an octagon-shaped structure supported by thick wooden planks driven into the ground at each corner, while the non-supporting outer walls look like tapestries. The structure is sporadically attached to the ground with thick ropes to the ground outside. The roof also appears to be made of an oversized, round, brown tarp, from which an olm-shaped chimney protrudes, where the smoke Anne had just noticed comes out.
The group is able to spot the bird flying inside the structure over an open counter.
"An antiques stand? Here?", Maddie remarks questioningly.
"Well, she did say last time that we'd see her again...", Sprig recounts.
"Can someone please tell me who you're all talking about?", Hop Pop demands to know. He is increasingly frustrated that everyone but him seems to know who the rest are talking about. Polly doesn't know either, but finding out isn't particularly important to her right now.
"The first time we met her was when Anne and I went to the Bizarre Bazaar to get some info about the music box. And then again when she followed us to the Source and told us what happened to Luz.", Sprig summarizes.
"That lady was creepy as heck-", Anne adds, "And I'm not sure if we should trust her..."
"I liked her.", Maddie comments cheerfully and somewhat excited, "She's possibly the most competent magic user in all of Amphibia."
"Yeah, you're right about that. She knows a lot...", Anne repeats dimly, "Even before she found us, she already knew we were there because of Luz. I need to know how she knew that and what else she knows!"
And with that, Anne lunges forward down the slightly steeper back side of the hill, smoothly sliding her way down on the snow.
After a moment's hesitation, the others follow suit. Sprig jumps after her first. Then Hop Pop, though a bit more cautiously. Maddie next, then Marcy, who, once at the bottom, is very thrilled that she was able to keep her balance. Polly, still being carried by Frobo, lets him jump down from the top of the hill, who flings not a small amount of snow at the others when he lands.
"POLLY!", Hop Pop, who has gotten quite a bit of snow, shouts angrily. "Don't you ever do that again!"
"Sorry Hop Pop-", Polly begins unapologetically, "but you lost all authority when Anne put you in the pocket of Marcy's bird back at home. Anne is the boss now."
Anne, who has been watching the whole thing, frowns at that, but lacks the courage to intervene.
"Guys!", Marcy calls out, catching their attention after she too has knocked some snow off her coat, "Can we please focus on this?"
Marcy didn't speak loudly or filled with annoyance like Hop Pop. Her voice is calm but firm, which is probably enough to trigger remorse in Polly.
"Sorry.", she repeats, though apparently not feigned this time. At that, Anne turns to Marcy to whisper something in her ear.
"Thank you.", she says, holding her.
"No problem. I mean, I know this isn't easy for you right now."
Suddenly they hear an expectant throat clearing.
"Guys-", it's Maddie, who hasn't bothered with the last Plantar skirmish, but instead has already moved on to the tent structure in front of them. She's standing next to a sign that reads 'Valeriana's Mysterious Goods' in gold lettering on a dark purple background, and is standing in front of an open, wooden display case containing some unique relics from all over Amphibia. With a nod of her head, Maddie draws the others' attention to the sign hanging above her.
"Out to lunch?", Anne reads, "Why is she always out to lunch?"
"Because it's the most important meal of the day!", a not unfamiliar voice calls out, though with no visible source. Moments later, Valeriana emerges from behind a wide tree with a skewered and still steaming beetle in her hand. "It's been a while... Do you by chance-", she tosses the stick where the beetle was before into the air, which in a single twist turns into the large wooden staff she had with her the last time they met, "-seek a temple to charge an ancient stone?"
She points her staff at Anne in a slightly threatening manner. Everyone else flinches slightly, while Anne herself stands quite disinterested. She rolls her eyes.
"But of course you knew the reason we were here, what a surprise..."
"HEY!", Valeriana counters, "No sarcasm!", and she hits Anne on the head with the top of her staff. "So... do you really think you're worthy?"
"But of course we're worthy!", Sprig announces bursting with confidence.
"Y-yes, of course we're are. Right, Anne?", Marcy nudges her with her elbow, "Anne?"
She nudges her again, however Anne does not respond. Her gaze, increasingly filled with shame, slowly sliding to the ground in front of her, and that while Valeriana, in turn, has not averted her gaze from Anne this whole time.
Suddenly, Hop Pop begins to clear his throat, which throws off Valeriana a bit.
"I don't think we've been formally introduced. My name is Hop Pop. Short for Hopediah.", he offers her a hand. She, on the other hand, seems rather disinterested as she offers him not her own hand, but her tail-glove.
"Uh, hi.", Valeriana says as Hop Pop shakes her tail.
"AND I AM POLLY!", she shouts at her at full volume for seemingly no reason. Valeriana visibly cringes, which she has obviously been trying to suppress, although after turning her gaze to Polly, noticing the massive robot carrying her. She needs a moment to collect herself.
"I-If you want my help to locate the Temple, please all enter my store.", the group makes their way to the entrance of the structure, before Valeriana adds, something. "Everyone except THAT one.", she points to Frobo.
"What?", Polly exclaims aghast.
"I don't know how you managed to get that thing on your side, but it will not enter my store under any circumstances!", Valeriana declares stone-faced. And while Polly, as well as Frobo, seem to be somewhat saddened by this, Anne has noticed something.
'She doesn't know?', Anne briefly glances over at her girlfriend hoping she's having similar thoughts right now, 'She knew about Luz, she knows for what reason we're looking for the temple, but she didn't know about Frobo?'
And after Polly has halfway accepted Valeriana's order after a while and has tearfully said goodbye to Frobo, Valeriana scurries all of them into her store, which is full of all kinds of stuff. On the floor there are several colorful carpets scattered overlapping each other, along the walls there are tables, shelves, and chests of drawers full of stuff, all of which look as if they would fall apart at the slightest movement, and all of this is illuminated by bright red colored spheres attached by ropes hanging from the ceiling.
Valeriana leads the six of them to a low table on a large round rug in front of an open fireplace, and they all sit down around it. She takes out a large scroll of paper and places it on the table in front of them, but not opening it yet.
"Before we begin, I think it appropriate to give you some information about what you intend to look for: I am the last remaining member of an ancient order dedicated to the study and protection of the sacred stones and temples.", Valeriana unrolls the paper scroll in front of them, and most of them gasp in anticipation.
"Anne, that's the box.", Hop Pop observes and nudges her.
The paper shows the open music box on the left side, as well as the three associated gems in a sketch above it. To the right of the box are three figures covered with long capes viewed from the side. And to the right are symbols and runes of a language so old, that even Marcy herself would not be able to translate them. At that, Maddie speaks up.
"Do you happen to have a copy of this I could have? I'm writing a book about the magic of the titan and how his magic created that of our world. The research I've done on the Source has uncovered some useful information, but if your Order has indeed been studying the gems and their magic for ages, it could answer so many unanswered questions-"
"Whoa whoa whoa...", Valeriana cuts her off, "I greatly appreciate your thirst for knowledge and willingness to learn, aspiring witch, but that's more of a conversation we should have at a later time."
"That, and studying one of the temples is the only reason I came along.", Maddie adds now slightly dejected.
"Speaking of the temple, do you know where it is?", Marcy asks.
"Indeed. And can I assume that you are currently in possession of the music box?", Valeriana asks back.
"Oh, umm...", Anne brings her backpack forward and pulls out the music box, "We surely do."
Marcy also takes the opportunity to put the green Gem, which she had previously stuffed into her coat pocket, back into its position on the box.
"After all these years, it has finally returned...", Valeriana looks at the box fondly, "I would very much like to hold it."
"Uhh...", Anne looks uncertain, "I'd rather hold on to it.", and puts the box back into her backpack and closes it again, hugging it close.
"Fine.", Valeriana stands up, heads to one of the countless closets and pulls out six dark brown coats, "To get to the temple we have to climb the frozen cliffs of Mount Mutu. Leave your flimsy jackets here and wear these caterpillar-wool coats instead.", Valeriana throws one of the coats to each of them. And while Sprig, Polly, Marcy, and Hop Pop all admire the fluffiness of the coats, Anne raises her hand.
"Is it really necessary for all of us to come?", immediately six pairs of questioning eyes look at her, "Wouldn't it be better if just you and I climbed up the mountain?"
This is immediately followed by a series of startled shouts from all her friends.
"What?", some ask in utter bewilderment.
"ANNE!", others shout in shock. Valeriana says nothing so far and watches for now, while Anne feels obliged to justify herself.
"Guys, I'm just trying to protect you.", she argues, "Climbing mountains is dangerous, and I don't want anything to happen to you like at the last temple."
"Anne-", Hop Pop speaks up, "I can only repeat what I have said dozens of times: We are here to support you. And we're all aware of the risks."
Anne looks around at the faces, all of which nod at her in agreement. At that, Valeriana speaks up.
"Then, when you're finished: I won't allow any of you to stay here. I don't want any of you going through my things.", she states, "And before we go, listen: The temple is my responsibility. Therefore, I expect all of you to do exactly what I say when I say it. Otherwise, you can say goodbye to ever finding the temple. Are we clear?"
"Clear!", everyone except Anne enthusiastically affirms.
"Yeah, sure.", Anne replies after a moment's hesitation, 'Damn... Why do they have to feel so obligated to want to help me?'
"Okay everyone.", Valeriana announces, "Everyone get out of here. Follow me."
"Anne?", Sprig takes one of her hands in his and holds Anne back, while the others are already leaving the store.
"What's up buddy?", she asks.
"I know you're scared. But you're my family. And in this family, we take care of-, and protect each other. We want to protect you as much as you want to protect us. And with your crazy powers, I'm sure you'd do a better job than us if it ever comes to that. And if it helps, I can hold your hand the whole way.", he offers, which actually puts an honest smile on her face.
"Thanks Sprig. That would be great.", she says before they both follow the others out together.
Before the two of them have even stepped through the curtains back outside, however, they can already hear Polly once again arguing with Valeriana.
"If he can't come with us, I'm staying here, too!", Polly crosses her arms in a huff. Anne heads to her side, suspecting that she wants to take Frobo with her, which Valeriana has forbidden for whatever reason.
"Polly, I don't think Frobo is particularly suited to climbing a mountain. It would be much better if he went back to Joe and kept him company until we got back. Don't you think so?"
"But... But...", Polly looks back and forth between Anne, who looks sympathetic at her, Valeriana, who looks at her sternly, and Frobo, "Ugh, didn't think I would regret making you the leader.", Polly mutters before ordering Frobo to wait with Joe Sparrow, and all of them can finally get going.
Just a few minutes have passed in which the group has wandered past a few trees and over a few shallow hills, and they are already facing a steep, stony cliff that forms the foot of Mount Mutu. Dumbfounded, all of them look up.
"You want all of us to climb up there?", Anne asks, feeling slightly overwhelmed at the sight.
"That's easily a hundred- to two hundred meters...", Maddie estimates.
"Correct. And if you want to get to the temple, you climb!", Valeriana states in a demanding voice. At that, Sprig speaks up.
"Come on guys, the sooner we start, the sooner we'll get there.", he jumps against the wall and starts climbing. Polly jumps on the hood of his coat.
"Yeah.", she agrees with a triumphant tone.
"Hey, I didn't say 'Polly, jump on me, I'll carry you'..."
"I don't have legs yet. Someone has to carry me!", she argues, and that won the discussion for her.
Immediately following Sprig, Valeriana jumps onto the wall of rock herself, and her climbing technique very quickly proves to be extremely efficient, given even the fact that she only has one arm: Valeriana uses her staff, along with her extremely muscular tail to move up the rock face at breakneck speed.
The others on the ground stare after her in awe before venturing up the wall of rock as well.
"She's really strong for her age, don't you think?", Marcy asks Anne after about ten meters.
"How old do you think she is?"
"Not sure.", Marcy replies after a few seconds of thought, "Definitely older than Hop Pop. Maybe ten, twenty years older than him."
"Well, Hop Pop is almost seventy...", Anne recalls, "That would make her about ninety tops. Doesn't sound about right though..."
The climbing conversations die out rather quickly as it becomes apparent that it takes far more strength and concentration to climb a mountain than originally thought.
All of them climb for quite a while before they catch sight of Valeriana again, who is already waiting for them at the top of a ridge. Maddie has some lead, and Anne does not do badly either. For Valeriana, however, that doesn't seem to be good enough.
"Quickly, you three!", she calls down to them as Anne and Maddie have just arrived at the ridge immediately below her, trying to help Sprig, Marcy, and Hop Pop up over the edge. Maddie reaches for Sprig and Anne pulls Marcy up. "I'd like to reach the temple in this century. How could adventurers so lazy ever expect to conquer the temple?"
Anne growls at that and gives her a nasty look.
"Don't listen to her guys. We're almost there."
Suddenly, a shrill screech rings in everyone's ears, causing them all to flinch and scream in fear. Everyone but Marcy, who is surprisingly calm. Not far above them, a huge, red-feathered passerine bird with four eyes has appeared, holding its position right above the group with powerful strokes of its wings.
"Oh, relax everyone. It's just a cardinal. They don't eat frogs. She's just saying hello.", Marcy explains, which actually seems to calm the others down a bit. However, as she walks toward the bird, a nervous Maddie speaks up.
"Umm, Marcy, you probably shouldn't-"
Maddie can't finish her warning before the bird rams its open beak into the ground, taking Marcy high into the air in it. Panicked, Anne immediately jumps up.
"MARCY!", she gasps. She jumps up to her and yanks her out of the cardinal's beak, pulling her right back down to the ground. Unfortunately, the bird now turns its attention to Maddie and the Plantars.
"You said it doesn't eat frogs!", Anne shouts in panic.
"It's our coats!", Maddie shouts, Anne snaps her head toward her, "Cardinals eat caterpillars!"
"Got it!", Anne jumps up, about to rip her coat off her body, ready to throw it down the mountain.
"No Anne! We need the coats to stay warm!", Sprig shouts in panic as well.
"You need coats. I don't!", Anne shouts, "Now eat this you stupid bird!", and throws her coat down the mountain, which the bird immediately follows. "Let's get out of here!"
Anne frantically climbs further up to a safer level. The others swiftly follow her.
"You saved us, Anne.", Hop Pop declares filled with relief, somewhat exhausted, but nonetheless grateful. He is about to open his coat, "Here, take my coat."
"NO!", Anne stops him, already visibly freezing, "You frogs freeze to ice without protection. I'll be fine as long as we reach the temple soon."
"Oh, but it won't be soon!", Valeriana crushes her hopes, "It was more than stupid to abandon your coat just like that!"
"Well, I had to do something!", Anne tries to defend herself, which only earns her a punch to her stomach from Valeriana's staff.
"Impulsive and defensive. Very unworthy qualities I must say.", she shames her as she walks away. Anne groans at her as Marcy speaks up.
"Don't worry Anne-", she opens her coat and takes out one of her arms of the sleeves, "We can share mine."
"Thank you, Marbles.", Anne more than gratefully accepts her offer. The two girls now share a coat with one arm in each sleeve and the other around the other girl. "This is nice."
This 'nice' doesn't last long, though, because only moments later Valeriana turns to face the group again.
"Hey! No break! Get going!", she shouts impatiently, an annoyed grumble from the others follows. Except from Maddie. She doesn't mind, even if she doesn't say that out loud.
"We just climbed up a mountain, with no training or equipment at all, got attacked by a bird, and you want us to just keep going without rest?", Anne is clearly aggravated.
"You didn't climb a mountain, that was nothing but a small hill...", Valeriana reproaches them, "THAT's the mountain.", she points behind her to a mountain peak covered in clouds that still rises majestically high into the sky a few more kilometers away. "Come on, you lazy bunch!"
What follows is a twenty-minute march through snow and icy wind, which does not necessarily make their way any easier. Anne, Marcy, and the Plantars freeze their butts off while Maddie, full of excitement, interviews Valeriana, both of whom walk a small distance ahead of them, talking about her order and magic in general. Anne watches them.
"You know guys, I think I'm jealous of Maddie...", she announces.
"I thought you didn't trust Valeriana...", Sprig remarks.
"I don't. I know she has some higher goal, some hidden agenda. I wanna know what her deal is...", she tries to explain, "But that's not what I mean right now. I mean, look at the way those two are talking, and how she keeps picking on me instead..."
While Anne keeps ranting to her friends, she doesn't notice the old Newt and Maddie slowing down a bit, as Maddie is in the process of writing down notes. And before they know it, the group has made up for their distance to the two of them.
"It's really fortunate that the music box fell into such average hands.", Valeriana speaks up, and even though she's not looking at anyone in particular, everyone knows exactly who she's talking to, "How exactly did it come into your possession?"
Anne and Marcy exchange anxious glances until Marcy feels compelled to be the first to answer Valeriana's question.
"Uhh... Back on our world, I had read about the box in an old book, and later saw it in the window of a thrift store. I wanted to get it for her birthday...", Marcy explains.
"Such an object must have been really expensive, mustn't it?", Valeriana inquires, just before everyone hears a loud rumble from somewhere in front of them.
"What was that?", Polly who is carried by her brother asks, startled.
"Not much.", Valeriana answers calmly, "Just an avalanche."
"What?", everyone shouts out in concern as they feel the ground beneath their feet begin to vibrate slightly. Sprig breaks out in a panic.
"Everybody RUN!", he screams. Valeriana stops him, though.
"Shush, you little frog kid.", At that point they notice a snow avalanche has broken free from a steep hillside, and is heading in roughly their direction. "Looks like it's moving away from us."
"Guys, hold on a second. There!", Anne noticed something ahead of them, "What about that little igloo? It looks like there's someone in there. We have to save them!"
"How? By running towards an avalanche?", Valeriana asks sarcastically, "They're lost, kid. I say we press on."
Anne grumbles at that before turning to Marcy.
"Marbles, raise your force field in case the avalanche does get too close to you guys!"
"Anne, what are you going to- ANNE!", Marcy shouts as Anne is already running down the hill, towards the igloo with the smoking chimney.
She runs, her heart racing, and to her left she tries to ignore the masses of snow knocking down trees as if they were straws. She reaches the cabin and kicks in the door.
"HEY! You guys gotta get outta- Huh?", with a confused look she cuts herself off. Inside the igloo there are only two items: a burning fireplace, and a table made of solid ice with a wooden sign on top. The sign reads 'OUT TO LUNCH'. "How can it be that everyone is out to lunch right now?"
Rapidly Anne turns around, still hoping to escape the masses of snow, when all she hears is her friends shouting her name in panic, mere moments before the entryway and all the rest of the building is instantly covered in snow. Frozen in place, Anne stands in that room, terrified, watching the masses of snow rush past the entrance.
It feels like an eternity until the snow finally loses speed, and Anne realizes that she is buried under what could be meters of snow. To try not to panic, she takes a deep breath, attempting to look at her situation as rationally as possible.
'Okay Anne, it's all right... The igloo is still standing, I have enough air to breathe, and the fireplace is still working too, so I won't freeze to death...', just in that second, she hears a metallic creaking and snow enters the fireplace from above, immediately suffocating the fire. 'Great. I'm going to die in here... … Unless...'
At the same time, the others have been completely unable to help, witnessing Anne being submerged by the masses of snow. All of them are holding their breath, frozen in place, as they watch the igloo completely drowning in all that snow.
Marcy is close to a complete breakdown, but all the Plantars are also close to tears. And no one dares say anything until the masses of snow have almost come to a halt.
"Anne... no...", Marcy whispers before crumbling to the ground, devastated.
"We- we have to save her. Guys, start digging!", Sprig cries desperately with tears in his eyes. Valeriana, however, holds him back again, which he fights back against this time though.
"No!", Valeriana declares with unwavering determination, "As long as the snow hasn't come to a complete stop and consolidated a bit, it would merely drag all of you along. If she's fortunate, the igloo is stable and she's alive. If not, which is more likely, you should bid her farewell now."
"Maddie-", Sprig speaks up, ignoring what the newt just said, "Is there anything you can do? Anything?"
He reaches for her hands and she catches the look of pure desperation in his eyes. Maddie already knows for a fact that her options are extremely limited.
"Um, mmm...", she sighs, "If I had my equipment here, and we were near Boiling Basin, I could brew an evaporation potion that would rapidly thaw the snow... I'm sorry, Sprig."
At that, Valeriana speaks up. "All we can do now, is to-", the ground starts vibrating again, even stronger than last time, "Huh?", she says, sounding more surprised than at the first time earlier.
"Another avalanche?", Maddie calls out.
"Guys! Look!", Polly shouts, pointing ahead.
Cracks begin to form in the snow, and a bright blue glow shines out of them. The group watches the cracks grow wider with anticipation, until suddenly a large blast throws volumes of snow into the air, and a glowing blue Anne climbs out of the following crater.
"ANNE!", Marcy and the Plantars rush forward with joy and relief, the tears of grief now being tears of joy, and they all throw themselves full force against Anne, causing all of them to fall to the ground.
"Anne, oh my frog, you're okay...", Marcy hugs her tightly, planting kisses all over her face. The Plantars follow suit.
"We thought the avalanche caught you.", Hop Pop admits.
"I- I'm fine, guys.", Anne tries to reassure them as she winds her powers back down, "But admittedly, without my powers, I don't think I would have gotten out of there so fast... Hm-", she chuckles briefly, "Kind of ironic that the powers I hate so much ended up saving my life..."
"Enough!", now Valeriana approaches them as well, visibly upset for some reason, "That had been a really stupid decision. And then you didn't even save anyone but yourself."
"Well, there wasn't anyone. There was no one to save in there...", Anne defends herself before taking a deep breath, "I just would want to hurry up right now and finally reach the temple."
"Oh, that won't be happening.", Valeriana declares, "I've learned everything I need to know about you lot: Disobedient, foolish, impulsive. None of these qualities are worthy of sacred stones. You don't deserve my help. Good luck finding the temple... on your own."
And with that said, she turns around and just walks away. And Anne is having none of it.
"You're so full of frog shit!", Anne shouts pissed off after her, causing not only Valeriana to stop in her tracks, Marcy, Maddie, and the Plantars are all gasping in shock. Hop Pop is even covering Polly's ears. "Oh come on, you barely gave us a chance! And not only that, you're just going to leave us stranded here?", Valeriana looks at her, with a look filled with contempt, as Anne continues, "Well, we may be unworthy, but you and your order are even worse! You are nothing but a cruel, judgmental SNOB!"
The last word echoes around in the emptiness of the landscape, and after a moment of tension, Valeriana rushed forward, threatening Anne with her staff.
"You dare insult the order I've dedicated my entire life to?"
"Yeah.", Anne slaps her staff away, "What are you going to do about it?"
In an instant, Valeriana grabs Anne's arm with her tail and twirls her staff once in a circle around the two of them, just before they both vanish into thin air.
Only moments later, Anne finds herself on a round, stone platform, a star-filled night sky above her, with colorful auroras stretching across it as far as her eye can see.
"Whoa...", Anne briefly marvels at the view until she turns and faces Valeriana who's standing on the other side of the platform, "Where are we? What have you done? Just finally show me and my friends where the temple is."
"No way. You are not worthy. In fact, nobody is!", once again she points her staff at Anne, which she immediately slaps away from her, "And now that I have you alone, I can finally return the box to its rightful owner. Me!"
"Huh?", Anne wonders before noticing the zipper of her backpack unzipping, and Valeriana's bird, with the box in its claws, taking it to Valeriana. "What, NO! I need it to get a way back to Earth!"
"Aha! See? Still only thinking about yourself!"
Valeriana has the box in the crook end of her staff, and casually tosses it into the air. Before she can catch it again, however, a glowing, blue-haired Anne beats her to it.
"You're wrong. I'm not selfish!", she declares with conviction in her words.
"You're not? Didn't you lie to the Plantars to get out of a day's work?", Valeriana tries to snatch the box with her staff back from Anne. She dodges, but Valeriana continues her attacks. "Didn't you ride the family snail even though you were told not to?", Anne doesn't respond to that, but just continues to dodge every attack of hers. "Wasn't it you who started a war just because you lost control?"
At that, Anne leaps into the air and hovers a few meters above the platform, just out of Valeriana's reach.
"Say, what else do you know?", she challenges her.
"You almost killed your friend Sasha, and you stole the music box! Did you not?"
"I- I-", Anne's features soften, the anger leaving her face, and she slowly descends down towards the floor. "Yeah, you're right. About all of it.", she lets her powers fade away.
"So it is. You're a liar, a thief, a danger to everyone.", she accuses her as Anne is overcome with guilt, "And now the box will be mine!"
Valeriana runs toward Anne. Anne however steps aside, causing Valeriana to slip over the edge of the platform, holding herself up with her only arm. And she's laughing as Anne, who has picked up her staff and approaches her.
"Why are you laughing?", she asks with a serious yet confused expression on her face.
"You can't go back to the mountain without me. You have to save me.", Valeriana exclaims.
"I can literally fly.", Valeriana's features darken just before the ledge she was holding onto breaks off, causing her to fall down. Anne jumps after her, holding onto the ledge with nothing but her bare feet, and somehow manages to grab onto her hood with Valeriana's staff.
Anne struggles, but ultimately manages to pull herself, and Valeriana back up to safety. Anne breathes heavily and lays on the ground for a moment as they are both safe again.
"You risked your life to save me. Why?", Valeriana asks. Anne straightens up, but hesitates for a moment.
"You were right. I don't know how you knew all those things about me, but you were right...", Anne admits, "I lied, I stole, I put people in danger, I hurt my friends-", she hesitates for a moment, "I almost killed Sasha... I'm a terrible person. And you're right about me not being worthy. I made every single one of those decisions, and I'll own them. I always wanted to do the right thing, and I failed, as much as I tried, to be better than I was, to be there for the people close to me, and to face the consequences of my actions."
A brief moment of silence fills the void around them, and Valeriana stands up.
"We've been waiting for someone like you for a very long time."
Confused at the sudden change of tone, Anne turns around, and Valeriana makes a few slight hand motions, causing her staff and the box to magically fly to her. An extremely dense fog surrounds her, and only moments later she is no longer wearing her black robe with the beige armbands, but a completely white cloak with yellow markings. Likewise, the original red hourglass symbol on her black pendant is now bright blue. And Anne is left at a loss for words as she merely stares at her in disbelief for a few moments.
"Whoa... You cleaned up nice...", is the first thing that comes out of her mouth. Valeriana approaches her, but this time not in a threatening way.
"You sacrificed your warmth for your friends, your safety for a stranger in need, risked your life for an enemy, fought a war that wasn't yours; You always put others above yourself. But empathy alone is not enough, for what is heart without responsibility?"
She steps into the middle of the platform, and rams her staff into an opening in the floor.
"In the name of the Temple of Heart, I declare you... Worthy!"
Several lights begin to glow on the floor, representing various runes and drawings. In a greatly improved mood, Anne now runs toward Valeriana.
"Wait! No Way!", she exclaims, "The cardinal, the avalanche- all that was just-"
"A trial.", Valeriana finishes her sentence. "You see, we've been making our way through the 'temple' this whole time. And I've been testing you."
"But, you already knew so much about me the last time we met. For example, that we had been looking for Luz. How?"
"You and your friends have a destiny. The presence of the girl in this world has diverted the order of things from their intended paths - I had to intervene. She too has a destiny, but not in this world."
"How do you know that? What is my destiny?", Anne asks.
"Are answers the only thing you want?"
"Oh, right.", Anne recalls, "I'd like to recharge the get and return to the others."
"So be it."
Valeriana removes one of the two gray gems from the box, and places it in the middle of her staff's crook. It lights up brightly, just like the rest of her staff, and the gem gradually begins to charge. Slowly. Very slowly.
"Uhh, that's a lot slower than the first temple.", Anne observes.
"Sorry, this thing is already very old.", Valeriana explains.
"Ah... I get it. No problem.", she says, as she notices something around the middle of her staff. "Wait, is that... A gem embedded in your staff? Is that why you have such cool magic powers?", Valeriana chuckles briefly before answering.
"Yes, it's a gem, but it's not mine.", Anne is confused, "And it's also not the source of my magical abilities. At the time the box was made, there were four gems. The music box was designed for three, for eventually there would be someone worthy of it. The fourth one was intended for someone else: A child."
"A child?", Anne inquires.
"Indeed. But to this day, it has not appeared."
"Do you know who it is? Or when it will show up here?"
"No.", Valeriana replies, "It has only been passed down that it is a 'Child of Three', and the gem itself would show when it arrives."
"And you're sure it's not me or one of my friends? Maybe one of us has two gems...", Anne surmises, causing Valeriana to briefly laugh out loud.
"No.", her laughter dies away as quickly as it had appeared, "So, your gem is fully charged. Here you go.", she puts the gem back into its socket in the box, and hands it to Anne.
"Thanks, dude.", Valeriana nods affirmatively, "Uhh, can you send me back?"
She retrieves her staff out of its holder and twirls it once around Anne, causing her to be sent back to the others. Where Anne had been standing before, though, now stands a slightly confused Maddie.
"Huh?", she mutters as she slowly looks around, and as she is taking in her new surroundings, her eyes eventually meet Valeriana's. "Where's Anne?"
"I just sent her back. She just charged the gem.", Valeriana tells her.
"So this is the temple?", Maddie asks.
"More or less."
"Let me guess, everything previously was for the sole purpose of testing Anne, wasn't it?", Valeriana nods, "I thought so. And why am I here now?"
"I should first introduce myself properly, aspiring young witch: I am Valeriana, the last surviving member of the Order of the Last Titan. Our task has been, since its founding many thousands of years ago, the study of magic on this world, and on many others. We have learned and revived the past and recovered lost knowledge. In my lifetime, I have traveled to many meaningful places, and continued this mission.", Maddie looks at her with anticipation and curiosity, "Even before our first meeting, I already knew about you. You too have traveled to significant and forgotten places and recovered lost knowledge-"
"The Source...", Maddie whispers, to which Valeriana nods in agreement.
"And I would like to offer myself to you as a mentor. Together-"
"YES.", Maddie cuts her off with excitement. Valeriana raises a hand.
"Please let me finish. Together we would study ancient and powerful magic, and travel the entire continent. What do you say?"
"Yes! I mean, I should ask my dad first-"
"Understandable."
"-but I would be honored to learn from you.", Maddie is visibly excited, but at the same time trying to hold back a bit.
"Then it is decided. Let's get back to the others so you can say goodbye."
When the two return to the others, they find Marcy already squatting on the ground with a map, a compass, and the blue gem, trying to determine the location of the last temple. The others stand around her, more or less watching her do it.
"Hey guys.", Maddie greets the others cheerfully, emerging from between some trees, Valeriana behind her.
"There you are.", Anne turns to her, "What happened?"
"Valeriana and I had been talking-", Valeriana nods in confirmation, "-and from now on, I'm her apprentice."
With a slight sense of embarrassment, she tries to suppress her joy, however, absolutely everyone can see how much she is beaming right now. And at that, Marcy listens up.
"Oh my frog Maddie, I'm soo happy for you.", Marcy crawls on her knees over to her and gives her a quick hug, "Admittedly, I'm a little jealous too."
At that, Maddie can't hide her grin anymore, and she bounces lightly on her toes.
"I'm soo excited, you have no idea.", Maddie tells her, "She's the most powerful magic user in all of Amphibia, and to be chosen by her as an apprentice is the greatest of honors."
"Maddie.", Marcy grabs her by her shoulders, "You're a witch apprentice!", she exclaims in joy for her friend, "That's soo cool. Listen, whenever we meet again, you really need to teach me some of what you've learned."
"Maybe then you can bring Luz too, once you get back from your world, then the three of us can study together.", her voice has taken on a slightly sentimental tone, "If she's there, I mean. I miss her."
"Me too.", Marcy admits before hugging Maddie again, "And I will miss you too. You are by far one of the most amazing people I've ever had the chance to meet."
"You too.", Maddie returns the compliment, and after the hug breaks up again and Marcy turns back to her map, Maddie turns to Anne and the Plantars. "I want to thank you guys. Thank you for your hospitality, and for the more than just a few rides."
"It was our pleasure.", Hop Pop replies warmly.
"Wait, so you're not coming back to Wartwood with us?", Sprig wonders, "What about your dad? And your sisters?"
Valeriana answers for her. "Her apprenticeship begins immediately. We have many places to go, and Wartwood will be one of them.", she explains.
"So this isn't a goodbye-goodbye, is it?", Anne asks, feeling genuinely sad, "We will see each other again, right?"
"Of course.", Maddie answers optimistically, "I just don't know when. It could be weeks, months, maybe years..."
And with that, Anne kneels down in front of her and takes her in her arms as well. The Plantars promptly join her in a warm group hug. And contrary to Maddie's expectations, it is less unpleasant than she thought.
"Take good care of yourself.", Anne says, breaking the embrace.
"You too. All of you."
And with that, they part ways for now. Before Maddie and Valeriana left together, however, Valeriana briskly whipped up the others' warm clothes that they left back at her store. Marcy finished the first part of the positioning of the last temple, and called Joe to her by birdcall, who already held Frobo in his claws.
And right now, the five of them are sitting comfortably on the couch on Joe's back. Well, actually they are only four sitting there, because Hop Pop insisted on being in his Hop Pocket. Marcy has an open map of Amphibia on her lap, and it almost triangulated the location of the last temple.
"So... The third temple is located in...", Marcy tries to build suspense, but stops all of a sudden, "That can't be."
"What is it, Marbles?", Anne, sitting next to her, asks.
"The gem is pointing right at the center of Death's Eye Mountain.", she explains, "That's an active volcano between Newtopia and the Blood Swamp."
The two girlfriends look at each other, slightly concerned, before Polly speaks up.
"Oh, it's just a volcano...", she speaks calmly, "What's the big deal?"
"You do know what a volcano is, right?"
"Not a clue.", Polly replies, which earns her amused snorts.
"But other than that, we do have another problem.", Marcy begins, earning her a questioning look from Anne, "The last temple is the Temple of Strength. Sasha's temple." Anne turns her gaze away from Marcy, and looks to the ground. She continues. "We need her, and you know it."
"I know, I know...", Anne assures her, "But we have no idea where she is right now. Captain Beatrix could have taken her and Grime literally everywhere..."
"Don't worry. As soon as we get back to Wartwood, I'll send her a messenger bird with the location of the temple and a meet-up point.", Marcy explains, "And until that happens, we do have some time."
"For what?"
"For whatever we want."
Later that evening, somewhere else:
"Previously, on Suspicion Island...
'Randy? Is that you?'
'Don't come near me, Annika!'
'But... But... our baby...'
'I'm sorry, but... I'm not the father. You are!'
'Noooooo!'"
"I still hate this show.", Sasha sits with her arms crossed leaning her back against the hard, wooden wall of her confinement carrier, while Grime looks entertained at her phone. "I should have never shown you this show."
The two of them have been squatting in a mobile cell for several days now, which was definitely not designed for beings larger than Newts, let alone humans. She and Grime sit crammed into less than four square meters, the only window to the outside is one with iron bars, with a total size barely bigger than Grime's hand, and in the floor, in one of the corners, there is a hole that serves as a toilet. In short, it's pure torture, and Sasha in particular is so put off by the very idea of using it, that it makes her sick to her stomach. Fortunately, in this case, Beatrix does not give them anything to eat either, so there is no reason to have to use the hole.
The first day after they were handed over to Captain Beatrix, Sasha and Grime spent it making fun of Beatrix and pissing her off. That, by the way, was also the reason she wouldn't give them any food, and if they hadn't stopped, she wouldn't have given them any water either. And while Toads can certainly go without food and water for up to more than a week, if they are well trained, both Grime and Sasha are aware of the fact that Sasha would not survive the long journey to the northern tower without water.
Since then, the two have been trying to distract themselves in some other way, which at some point gave Sasha the idea to check what she had on her phone. However, she was not originally aware that she had downloaded the first thirty-three seasons of 'Suspicion Island', but it turned out to be a good way to pass the time. And that's despite Sasha's nagging at the show's quality, or rather the lack of the same.
"Sasha, what is that?", Grime points to the center of her phone screen, where a alert notification has popped up. Sasha takes the phone from him. "Hey!"
"That means the battery is about to run out. Without a power supply, we'll have to start saving power.", Sasha decides and turns off the device.
"Fine.", Grime accepts the situation for now.
Both of them don't really have anything to say to each other right now. In general, they've barely talked to each other so far, and they both vehemently avoid the war in particular. The only noises right now are the rolling of wooden wheels over stony gravel roads, and the occasional hissing of Beatrix's Beetle that's pulling their cart.
"Say, why don't you get up and see where we are so far, huh?", Sasha suggests to him. He eyes her briefly before standing up and taking one good stretch. Something Sasha would like to be able do as well.
He stands in front of the window leading off to the back.
"Hmm... I think I can make out Quarrelers Pass to the south of us. I'd say we're approaching Saint's Lake. That's near Ribbitvale."
"Isn't that that town where only rich frogs live?", Sasha asks.
"Mostly frogs and newts.", he turns and sits back down against the wall, facing Sasha. "A disgusting place."
Sasha merely nods in affirmation, given that she has absolutely no idea about the place.
"Soo, umm... do you think Anne will stand by her word?", Sasha asks all of a sudden.
"What are you asking me? I have no idea. I barely know her...", Grime looks at her with a confused look, and Sasha leans her head thoughtfully against the wall behind her.
"That's just the thing, I don't know if I know her anymore either... I mean, she's done things she never would have done back home on Earth."
"Well, so have you.", Grime counters. At that, she straightens her head and looks at Grime reproachfully.
"But only because you forced me to!", she accuses him.
"My point is-", Grime dodges her accusation, "You both changed. Hell, even I changed. I mean, look at us: We're voluntarily squatting here in my sister's prisoner carriage, just waiting for your friends to tell us what to do. I mean, when did that happen, please?"
"Hmm.", Sasha snorts out her nose in amusement and begins to laugh loudly, "Good point."
"HEY!", Beatrix angrily pounds her fist on the top of the roof from the outside, "Shut the fuck up!"
Grime rolls his eyes in an annoyed manner, causing Sasha to chuckle up.
"Do you mind if I kill her when we leave?", Sasha asks him.
"You never had any siblings, have you?"
"Nope. Only child of parents who couldn't stand each other after they split up, and stopped caring about me as well after that."
"Ouch.", Grime comments, "So, no siblings, no parents... Speaking of complicated families..."
"You still haven't answered my question.", Sasha remarks. It doesn't take an empath to realize that she doesn't want to talk about her parents.
"Oh, you're serious?", Grime is a little caught off guard, "No. She may be an annoying slob, but I'd rather have her as a sister than none at all. ... But you're more than welcome to beat the crap out of her if you want."
"Deal.", she holds a hand out to him, which he accepts, before the both of them fall back into silence.
That silence doesn't last very long when suddenly they hear another knock from outside. However, it doesn't come from the front, where Beatrix steers the carriage, but from underneath the window. The two prisoners exchange confused glances. Grime turns around and looks out.
"There's nothing th- wait.", he tries to stick his arm through the bars, but fails. He turns back to her. "There's something hanging on the outside, but I can't reach it."
Sasha crawls forward and puts her arm, which fits easily between the iron bars, through and reaches for what feels like rolled up paper. She gets it in and sits back down across from Grime before rolling it up and starting to read.
Hey Sashy
Sasha gasps as she reads the first two words. A smile graces her face.
"It's from Marcy.", she explains.
I hope you are doing well. Or at least not bad. (I can't imagine Beatrix treating you well after what Anne told me about her).
Anyway, I'll get straight to the point:
We found the last temple, which happens to be yours. Most likely. The temple is located inside Death's Eye Mountain. It's about halfway between Newtopia and the Northern Tower, which is where the three of you are headed anyway.
Anne had suggested that we meet in 'Epi-tome' at noon two days from now. It's a tiny village at the foot of the mountain.
(Btw: The name is really pronounced Epi-tome, not Epitom-e. Weird, right?)
I'm really looking forward to seeing you again.
I miss you.
- Marcy
Sasha continues to smile to herself, before rolling up the paper again.
"So, what does she say?", Grime asks.
"Umm, say, is Death's Eye Mountain a thing to you?", she wonders, at which his face turns pale.
"Death's Eye Mountain is a volcano, hundreds of meters tall. And it's active.", he explains, "Only crazy people even venture near it."
"Good, because that's where we need to go. We have two days."
Grime merely stares at her for a few seconds before responding.
"You're crazy."
"So are you.", Sasha tells him. "So... Do you wanna get going?"
"I mean, yea, I could definitely go stretch my legs again...", he replies calmly. And with that now decided, Sasha leans back, and closes her eyes. She begins to breathe through her nose in a controlled manner. And as she channels the anger and resentment and hatred inside her, her breathing gets stronger, and louder.
"Oh Beatriix...", Grime dreamily calls out to her. She immediately smells trouble.
"What?", she replies, annoyed.
"Oh, you know, this ride so far is pretty tiresome. Would you mind opening the door for us and letting us out?", Grime asks in the same smarmy tone. And Beatrix starts laughing out loud.
"HA!", she cackles loudly, "Glad to hear you still have your sense of humor, little brother.", she continues laughing before her tone drops and she continues to speak in a rather dark and cold tone, " I very much hope that you are aware of the dire fate that is awaiting you. It has been quite a few years since the Council imposed a hunt as a punishment, but I will personally guarantee that the entire Toad Army will be out for your heads."
"Oh, that's a shame...", Grime responds with fake sorrow, "... for you."
"Huh?", her confusion doesn't last long as she turns backwards, her heart skipping a beat at the sight of a sinister pink glow. Within a fraction of a second, the carriage breaks apart with such high force that she is hurled forward several meters from her seat, hitting the gravel floor face-first. Her Beetle flees equally shocked and frightened into the closest forest.
Slowly she straightens back up, her body aching, and in pain, she turns around. Wide-eyed in shock, she spots Sasha and Grime just standing there, completely calm, just where her carriage was just a few moments ago. Not only that, but Sasha's hair appears to be burning bright pink, and Grime has the most disgusting grin on his face that she's ever seen on him.
With heavy steps Sasha walks towards her, and with just a single movement she lifts her off the ground, forces her on her knees in front of her, and restrains her arms so tightly behind her back, feeling as if the slightest movement would break all her bones at once. She's paralyzed in fear.
"Well, well, Beatrix...", Grime walks up to her, and is now face to face with her. "What was that about there being a hunt on us?"
Captain Beatrix begins to stutter in an attempt to think of something to save herself. "I- I- I was just joking..."
"Yeah, sure.", Sasha tightens her grip on Beatrix's arms, "You know, from the moment you showed up at our tower, you played the big guy- and I hated you from the first time you opened your mouth. And honestly, I've been looking forward to this very moment ever since.", her voice is filled with cold determination and Beatrix feels the anxiety sweat forming on her forehead. Grime scowls, his grin widening.
"You know, Sasha and I have had more than enough time to figure out what to do with you. Sasha here, for example, would really love to kill you herself-", Beatrix swallows hard at that, just before Sasha presses one of her hands against Beatrix's neck. The immense pressure and heat coming off of her only increasing her fear for her own life. Sasha leans down, her head right next to her ear.
"Please, please give me a reason to rip your head off your body..."
"You- you can't do this. I'm a captain of the Toad Army, a member of the Toad Council-", she tries to argue, but an ever so slightly pressure against her neck from Sasha shuts her up.
"You're a nobody, dear sister.", he sneers, "But as I said, Sasha would love to see you dead, but I'm in a good mood right now. Therefore, I'm going to give you a choice: You can either endure Sasha ripping out every single one of your limbs, piece by piece, and let you slowly bleed to death, or you can try your luck as our prey. If you can elude us for a month, you get to keep your life... What do you say?"
With a lump in her throat, Captain Beatrix begins to nod frantically. Sasha releases her grip from her neck.
"I'll try my luck...", she gasps heavily. Sasha now lets go of her arm as well, and she falls forward onto all fours. But before she can recover, Sasha speaks up.
"Do you think we should give her a head start?", she asks Grime.
"That's a really great idea, Lieutenant.", he agrees, now kneeling in front of his sister. "We'll meet again."
"Wait, wha- whoa!", Beatrix exclaims as Sasha grabs her, holding her high over her head. And with a gut-wrenching scream, Sasha throws her in a high arc as far toward the horizon as she possibly can.
Now much more relaxed, Sasha lets her powers fade away again, and together, she and Grime observe Beatrix getting smaller and smaller, until at some point she disappears completely from their field of vision.
"That was fun.", Sasha admits. "And I may have unintentionally broken her arm."
"Meh.", Grime merely shrugs his shoulders, "She'll be fine."
"You really made her think we were going to hunt her. Truly convincing.", She compliments him.
"You should have seen the fear in her eyes, it was glorious."
"I bet.", she says, "Say, should we go try find shelter? I'd love to get some food and sleep."
"Sure. I might even have an idea already on where we can go..."