UnderHappened

2 - Uhhhh... is the time going nuts, or am I?

Finn freezes, staring at the dummy in their hands. Didn't they... didn't they just do this?

What on earth?

Wait. Hold on. They couldn't have imagined  all that, could they?

No. That was impossible. The frog must've used its magic to teleport them back here. That was the only possible solution.

But then... why were they holding the dummy...

They gently set Mr. Dummy back up against the wall, then think better of it and pick him up again. Who cares about private property. They weren't facing a time-manipulating frog alone.

Finn lugs the dummy into the next room, determined to find that frog, then stops and stares.

The pile of dust... the pile of dust is right back where they found it the first time. Completely untouched.

"This is getting so weird," Finn observes.

Finn half-drags, half-carries the dummy into the corridor, then props it up next to them as they crouch down and stare at the dust pile. This... this must mean that the magic frog had the power to turn back into dust. That would make sense, that would explain why it'd been dust in the first place. The frog had changed in front of them, teleported them away, and then changed... changed back into dust?? Why, though? Does it really hate Finn that much? Finn feels kinda sad.

"I'm really sorry," Finn whispers. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

The pile of dust doesn't stir. What had they done last time? Poked it?

Finn reaches out a cautious finger. This time, they can feel the energy that sparks from its tip as they touch the white powder. It's a strange feeling, and Finn wonders why they didn't notice it before. Probably because they hadn't been expecting anything like it. The frog was obviously magic, so it must have some kind of magical energy about it, right?

They watch, enthralled, as the dust performs its graceful ceremony of condensing into a big and beautiful frog yet again.

The frog blinks. "Ribbit."

"I'm really, really sorry," Finn says hastily. "I didn't mean it, I swear."

Is... is it just them, or does the frog look... confused?

"Ribbit?"

Finn looks at the frog. It isn't trying to hop away like last time. It's looking back at her with its strange - but now, Finn realizes, rather cute - face, and it seems to be genuinely bewildered.

Finn thinks about this for a moment. Maybe the frog has short term memory loss or something. In that case, Finn doesn't want to say anything that might remind the frog of its former grievance.

"Never mind," Finn explains.

"Ribbit." Without warning, the frog turns and starts hopping away.

"Wait, don't go!" Finn scrambles to their feet in panic, but the frog isn't moving nearly as fast as last time, and they have time to scoop up the dummy before heading after it. "What are you?! You can understand me, right? I'm so confused..."

They're momentarily distracted by the room at the end of the corridor, which has a floor of water and a bridge completely covered in knee-high sharp metal spikes.

"Oh." Finn pauses as the frog continues hopping, toward the spikes. "That looks... that looks dangerous, doesn't it?"

The frog doesn't acknowledge them whatsoever, so Finn is forced to follow after it, and they soon realize that it knows exactly what it's doing. The spikes are set up in some sort of tiled fashion, with certain tiles withdrawing their spikes upon being stepped on to form a sort of invisible maze or pathway across the bridge. The frog has obviously gone this way a million times before, because it knows exactly which tiles to step on and which not to, and Finn keeps a close watch, hugging Mr. Dummy well out of reach of the sharp points - they don't want to fix him up again, not when there's magic frogs and mysteries to chase after.

By the time Finn reaches the end of the bridge, they're glad they brought the dummy with them, for the simple reason that they're not certain they'd be able to go back if they tried. That thought somewhat scares them, but all they wanted to do was progress anyways, so they aren't that bothered.

"Where are you going?" Finn asks, genuinely curious, for the frog hasn't stopped moving - and this time, to their surprise, it answers. "Ribbit."

"I don't speak Ribbit," Finn calls helplessly, almost tripping over the dummy. It seems to be getting heavier and heavier for some reason. Finn guesses it's because it's almost certainly past their bedtime by now.

He says you'll find out soon.

Finn freezes for a moment, suddenly very cold, then pulls themself together and hurries after the frog. Yup. Definitely past their bedtime. Hearing voices in their head. What next? Hallucinations? They were half-certain they were already having those.

The frog leads them down an extremely long hallway - why would anybody need a hallway this long? It's ridiculous - but finally they pass the solitary crumbled pillar at the very end, and the frog pauses in the doorway to the next room. Finn takes the chance to set the dummy down and catch their breath - or at least, they intend to take that chance, before they fully notice the pillar and can't resist the temptation to hop over and take a peek behind it. Nope. Nothing but old rock and vines. Finn isn't exactly sure what they thought would be there, but they'd thought it would at least be a bit more exciting. What kind of person built a cool ancient pillar and didn't use it?

That reminds Finn of another question.

"Hey, creepy voice in my head!" They interrogate the air. "Who lives here, anyway? Other than giant magic frogs, I mean."

No response. Then again, they weren't exactly expecting any, though the voice did seem to be the helpful kind of voice in one's head.

Finn hops out from behind the pillar and walks over to where the frog is still sitting, motionless, staring into the room beyond.

"Holy smokes," they gasp, eyes wide.

The entire room is filled with large piles of white dust.