The big day had finally arrived. We were headed to the first temple to recharge the first stone. Hop Pop decided to make a big breakfast. "Who knew that there was a bug that tastes just like chocolate?" Anne asked. "Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?" "Hop Pop, you never let us have chocopede pancakes, what's going on?" Polly asked. "I thought you kids deserved a treat, after, well." Hop Pop replied. "You lied and buried the music box causing Anne and Rowena to almost leave the family forever?" Sprig asked. We gasped. "Boy, am I glad they forgave you, some people would carry the scars of that betrayal for life, not you guys, though." "Sprig." I muttered, nudging him with my elbow. I'm not mad about it anymore. I decided to give Hop Pop another chance. But, I feel like Anne is having second thoughts. "Hope you like pancakes." Hop Pop said nervously. "I made the batter from scratch, you know, I've been up since the crack of dawn mixing." "Oh, great." Anne replied nervously as a bird call was getting closer to the house. "I'll get it." Hop Pop called. "Oh, thank frog!" Anne whispers. "Marcy's here already?" I asked. "I haven't even finished my breakfast!"
As we went outside, a giant bird landed in the yard wearing Newtopian armor. "Ahh, a monster bird ridden by a pile of books!" Hop Pop screamed. "Wait, huh?" A familiar face popped up from underneath those books, it was Marcy. "Hiya, Plantar family!" Marcy greeted. "Marcy!" The rest of us exclaimed as she fell from the bird. "Big news, everyone, I finished my preparations for the, what?" Marcy announced, gazing at the house. "Is this your house, it's so rustic and cute, when was it built, 3rd century, no, 2nd, yes, of course, when it was..." "Hey, hey, Marbles, big news?" Anne asked. "Oh, right, I finished my prep, guys, we're ready for the first temple!" Marcy explains. "No way, that's awesome!" I cheered. "I just need to see the music box, then it's go time, gang." Marcy said as Anne gave it to her. "Good thing she didn't show up a few days ago, am I right?" Sprig whispered as Polly nudged him this time. Marcy hit some buttons and the stones came out. She grabbed one of the stones. "Here ya go, bud." Marcy said, handing the box to Hop Pop. "Oh, I better not." He replied. "I'll take it!" I snapped as I quickly grabbed the box and put it in Anne's bag. "Well, got a big journey ahead, I'll explain everything on the way." Marcy explains. "C'mon, Joe, Joe? JOE SPARROW, LEAVE THAT SNAIL ALONE!" We hopped onto Joe to take off. "Pretty cramped up here, huh?" I asked. "So, where do I sit?" Hop Pop asked from the ground.
Hop Pop was flying from Joe's legs. "So, according to my research, these three ancient temples are filled with difficult challenges to keep out the unworthy, all we have to do is complete the challenges, and then we can charge the stone." Marcy explains. "Nifty, so, what kind of challenges are we talking?" Anne asked. "This first temple is said to specifically challenge your intelligence, so I'm pretty sure it's full of puzzles, no frog, toad, or newt in history has been able to survive it, but don't worry, because none of them were Marcy Wu, head of the chess club, master RTS player, straight A student, except for gym, but only because I was reading in class, which only proves my point!" Marcy replied. "That's all great, Marcy, but please be careful, when you get this into something, you tend to tune everything else out." I explained. "Remember that time when the snakes escaped the zoo?" "That was the worst Saturday of my life." Anne added. "That's called being in the zone, guys, it's pretty much my superpower." Marcy replied. "Okay, okay, just don't forget about us, this place is gonna be dangerous and we're here to help." Anne said. "Oh, please, like I could forget you guys, Penny, Sprout?" Marcy guessed. "Polly." Polly corrected. "Sprig." Sprig added. "Look, the point is, I'm not gonna let you guys down." Marcy said. "You know, I wouldn't mind being let down." Hop Pop added as Joe made a landing.
As we landed, we stepped foot in a forest."Welcome to amygdala woods, everyone!" Marcy exclaimed. "Home to the first temple." Sprig and Polly were amazed at the trees, which looked like brains. "Little help here?" Hop Pop asked. I walked over to a tree he was stuck on and helped him out. "Whoa, what are these things?" Sprig asked. "Gyrometre escuelenta, also known as brain mushrooms." Marcy explains. "A forest full of brains for the intelligence temple?" I questioned. "Kinda on the nose, don't you think?" "Speaking of temples, I think you way overhyped this place." Polly said, pointing to an outhouse. "No, no, that's the temple." Marcy replied, turning us around to see this beautiful place and we walked up to the temple. "Alright, guys, let's do this thing!" Anne was about to open the door, but so was Hop Pop. They were trying to be polite, but that quickly became a small argument. "Those two seem a bit off, did something happen?" "Don't ask." Sprig, Polly, and I replied.
As we stepped foot into the temple, lights went on to light up the inside. "Did I learn an entire dead language just for today? You better believe I did!" Marcy cheered. "Now, let's see, Keeper of the box, one strong of mind, three trials await that will return the stone's shine, looks like there's three trials, guys." The doors for the trial opened. "A dead end, well, we tried our best, and that's what counts." Sprig said sarcastically. "Hey, c'mon, there's a puzzle here somewhere, everyone look for clues." Marcy instructed. We looked around, until Anne finds a puzzle cube on the ground. "Hey, guess who found the puzzle?" Anne shouted as a green orb lifted her up with the puzzle cube. "Frog, help us, a cursed cube possessed by evil magic!" Hop Pop panicked. "No, it's the puzzle, also I'm pretty sure that's a magnetic field holding her up." Marcy explains. "Isn't that what I said?" Hop Pop asked. "Well, whatever it is, all yours, Marbles!" Anne exclaimed as she tossed the cube to Marcy and I caught her before she could crush the Plantars, but then she landed on top of me. "Whoa, this thing's got like a zillion permutations." Marcy said as she's lifted up. "If this temple thinks it can beat me, it's got another thing coming." As Marcy started the puzzle, the ground started shaking and shifted to the side. "Anyone else tasting chocopede pancakes right now?" Sprig asked. "Yup." I gagged. "Marcy, can you at least let us know what you're gonna move before you move it?!" Anne asked, but Marcy didn't respond and she focused on the puzzle. "Oh my frog, she's in the zone!" I panicked. After a few minutes of near death experiences, Marcy finally finished the puzzle. "We did it, one down, two to go, how fun is this?!" She exclaimed, running through the door, forgetting us. "Wow, Rowena, you and Anne weren't kidding about her being in the zone." Polly said. "Not to mention she's a tad overconfident." Hop Pop added. "Hard to argue with the results, though." Sprig comments.
As we walked in the next room, we found a blue, pink, and green tiled floor. "Oh, hey, a dance floor!" Anne exclaimed. "Not quite, watch." Marcy explains, tossing a stone on a pink tile, which caught on fire, and a blue tile, which triggered some spikes. "Whoa, not getting good vibes from this room." Sprig said. "Well, time to turn back, thanks for playing, everyone!" Polly shouts. "Hold on, gang, look." Hop Pop explains as a code appears in front of us. "A dangerous room, what to do, don't be jealous of my hue." Marcy translates. "Who's Hugh?" Sprig asked. "Okay, so, pink is death by flame, blue is death by crushing, so we either have a choice between frog abuse and frog abuse." I said. "I'm still not following..." Anne said as Marcy ran pass us. "Marcy." Marcy used her crossbow to go across the floor to a green spot, which didn't kill her when she pressed it. "Solved it, okay, guys, green is the safe color, get it?" Marcy asked. "Don't be jealous of my hue, it's a reference to green, the color of envy." "I have a lot of green friends that would find that offensive." Hop Pop replied. "But, why hasn't the door opened yet?" Polly asked. "Looks like this is a three person job, two of you stand on one of the tiles." Marcy replied. "MarMar, are you sure?" Anne asked. "Yeah, how do we know that one isn't some sort of trap door?" Sprig added. "Guys, I've done the research, plus, it's me, remember, I said that I won't let you down and I meant it." Marcy explains. "I'll do the first one." I said, jumping on one tile. "I'll do the next one!" Hop Pop and Anne exclaimed. "Anne, no, I'll do it, the whole point of this is to get you girls home alive." Hop Pop explains. "I already had a good life." "No, Hop Pop, I'll step on the tile, this is my quest, it's my responsibility, your responsibility is keeping your family safe, not me and Rowena!" Anne argued. "I care about you and Rowena, too, Anne." Hop Pop said. "I mean, to an extent, right, you kind of proved that when you buried the music box." "Someone just step on the frog dang tile!" I shouted as they continued arguing. Anne jumped on the other tile, although she lost her balance, she managed to avoid death and all the tiles turned green. "Woo! What'd I tell you, this temple is toast, consider the stone charged, baby!" Marcy cheered. "Dang, girl." I commented. "I think I lost an eyebrow." Anne said. "Cool!" Polly exclaimed.
Marcy leads us to a staircase. "This leads to the top floor, that means there's only one puzzle left, c'mon, team!" She cheered, heading upstairs. "Anne, I told you I was gonna step on that tile." Hop Pop said. "And I told you I don't want you to!" Anne grunted. "Hey, we kinda need to be a team in here so we don't die, so." Sprig explains. "I don't understand, Anne, I thought you and Rowena forgave me?" Hop Pop asked. "Don't bring me into this." I groaned. "Yeah, well, maybe I spoke too soon." Anne argued. "What do we do, guys, this is fun to watch and all, but, it could make the last puzzle really rough?" Polly asked. "I'm sure they'll work it out by the time we get there." Marcy replied. "This is gonna be the stakeout chapter all over again." I whispered.
(I had to lol.)
The argument continues. "Man, this is a long hallway." Sprig said. "Ha, here we are!" Marcy exclaimed. "The final puzzle, oh, I'm so excited!" Anne and Hop Pop keep up their argument. "Guys, your killing Marcy's vibe." I explained and they stopped. "Thanks Rowboat, now where was I?" Marcy questions. "Few have the brains to make it through this door, but are you wise enough to solve what's in store? Yup, let's go."
As we walked through the door, a small table with some game of chess was in front of us. "I can't believe it, it's Flipwart!" Marcy gasped. Anne gasped. "What's Flipwart?" "It's a strategy game I learned to play in Newtopia, it's like chess, but to the max." Marcy explains. "I got so good at it, I even beat King Andrias." "Impressive, they say King Andrias is one of the best Flipwart players around." Hop Pop complimented. "So, both sides have a wart, right, and they're trying to flip it, each piece has a different set of abilities, these archers for example, can only attack in a straight line, I LOVE THIS GAME!" Marcy continued. "Hey, Marcy, what does this say?" Hop Pop asked, pointing at another message. "Any commander whose wart falls, may never again set foot inside these temple walls." Marcy reads. "Looks like you only get one shot at this." I said. "One shot is all I need!" Marcy exclaimed. "But first, to set up the board." "Well, I guess we'll just sit back quietly and watch." Sprig said. "Yeah, it'll be nice to sit this one out, because these flippers be tired." Polly responded as the tile she was on began to glow and take her. "Polly!" We shouted. More lights turned on to show another board. "A giant Flipwart board?" I asked. All of a sudden, Polly reappeared as a giant Flipwart piece. "Polly, are you okay?" Sprig asked. "Okay? I've got a sword, baby, I'm doing better than all of you!" Polly replied. "Marcy, do you think we should stop?" Anne asked. "This could get dangerous." "We don't have a choice, Anne, you wanna get home, right?" Marcy explains. "Then we've gotta play, or we'll never recharge the stone." "She has a point." Hop Pop commented. "I DIDN'T ASK YOU, HOP POP!" Anne snapped. "Trust me, okay?" Marcy asked. "Okay, I hope you know what you're doing." Anne sighed. As Marcy continued to set up the board, Hop Pop and Sprig became pieces on the board like Polly. "Get ready, guys, there's a good chance you're next." Marcy explains as she set up the board, but nothing happened. "Looks like we're not in the game." I said. "Well, you guys have fun I guess." Anne added as both of us were transferred into the game. After that, all I could see was pitch black and my body was trapped between Anne's legs, however, my legs were on the outside of the pawn. "Wait, what?" Hop Pop asked. "Are those Rowena's legs?" "Guys, no!" Sprig cried. "Traitors!" Polly yelled. "No, this is good, I'll just play badly and sabotage the other team, didn't think of that, did ya, temple." Anne explains, trying to sabotage the game before getting hooked up to magical restraints. "Well, I can't do anything about it, so I'm gonna write in my journal." I said. "What did you say?" Everyone asked.
I was writing for a little bit, until Marcy forfeited the game. Since my legs were on the outside, I felt a lot of pain. All the pieces dissolved into dust. "Marcy?" Anne asked. "Marcy, I don't understand." "Yeah, why'd you throw the game?" Hop Pop added. "Because it wasn't worth you guys getting hurt, I was so caught up in proving I was smart enough to win, I couldn't see what I was about to lose." Marcy replied. "Well, in your defense, that game was a ding dang cheat!" Sprig exclaimed. "Yeah, I still think you're pretty smart." Polly added. "Little obsessive, though." "Thanks, Sprig, Polly." Marcy smiled. "Guys, can someone help me up, I think my legs are sprained?" I asked. Sprig and Marcy helped me out as some green arrows showed us the way out. "I got it, temple, I wasn't smart enough to win, but I can find the exit, okay?!" Marcy complained as her, Polly, and Sprig helped me out of the temple.
Once we got outside, Anne and Hop Pop caught up to us, and it seemed like they were getting along. "Guess we won't be charging the stone today, huh?" I asked. "No, and since I lost, I'm not allowed back in the temple, you guys'll have to try it all again, without me." Marcy replied. "We'll manage, dude, somehow." Anne said. "Hey, guys, the arrows want us to keep going this way." Polly explains. "Well, if we're gonna lose, might as well lose all the way." Marcy groaned.
I was successful with limping along the path of arrows, which led us to the outhouse from earlier. "What, the outhouse?" Sprig asked. "Wait a second." Marcy examines the inside of the outhouse. "What's that?" Polly asked. "No, it can't be, guys, this is where we charge the stone!" Marcy exclaimed. "But we failed!" I gasped. She examined the area again. "Wouldn't recommend touching that." Hop Pop warned as a platform appeared in front of us, as well as another message. "Only the worthy will have the wisdom to choose, whether it's more important to win, or have the humility to lose, a choice is made to save thy friends, and honestly, doesn't that make you a winner in the end?" Marcy read. "That last bit was oddly casual." Anne added. "Of course, why didn't I think of it sooner?" Marcy asked. "The temple wasn't just testing for intelligence, it was also testing for humility!" "Well, don't give the temple a chance to change it's mind, charge that bad boy." Polly said as Marcy placed the stone on the platform as it got fully charged. "We did it?" Anne and I asked. "We did it!" Marcy cheered as the stone shone a green light in a certain direction. "Guys, it's leading us to the next temple, I should be able to triangulate its location with a bit of work, this just keeps getting better!" "Alright, one down, two to go!" I cheered as Hop Pop accidentally stepped on Anne's foot. "Oh, Anne, I uh..." Hop Pop started. "Hop Pop, it's totally fine, it hurt, but I know you didn't mean to, and I want you to know that I'm really not mad about it." Anne interrupted. "Well, thank you, Anne." Hop Pop replied. "And I just want you to know that I will make an effort to be more careful about where I walk." "Sorry to break up this heartfelt moment, but can we leave now?" I asked. "Yeah, this is uncomfortable to watch." Polly added. "We're working on it!" Anne and Hop Pop snapped. "Hey, do you guys want to go straight to the next temple tonight, or take a break first?" Marcy asked. "Break, please." We responded without hesitation. "Fair enough." Marcy smiled as we hopped on Joe Sparrow and flew back to Wartwood.