Home Again

Survival Ep 2 - Hook, Line and Sinker

~THIRD PERSON~

Fierce Fox sat on her firework-designed quilt, gazing out of the window. It was a beautiful day as usual: bright, blue sky contrasting against white, puffy clouds. It seemed the weather never changed. This had always seemed odd to Fierce Fox: weather was very diverse on Mocktropica Island. It could go from a sunny day to pouring down rain in a matter of seconds. It depended how the developers were feeling. On Home Island, nothing really changed.

Perhaps that was why Fierce Fox was so courageous. She was born on an island where you always had to expect the unexpected. There were strange glitches everywhere, causing mayhem left right and center. Other islands weren't nearly half as chaotic. No wonder Fierce Fox had nothing to fear. Almost. There was something she did fear: Alice.

Alice, the girl from 'another world'. Fierce Fox's voice. What was this other world? Alice called it Earth. Poptropica was sometimes called Earth, too. She said humans lived there. Poptropicans could also be known as humans. But... there were differences. There weren't quests on Earth. People lived by routines. And the islands of Earth seemed much more similar to each other than Poptropica's islands did.

Fierce Fox knew that Poptropica was virtual. Her mother and father worked in the industry, so naturally, she shared some of their knowledge. Actually, quite a lot. She knew much more than Alice thought she did. She'd heard of Earth. And humans. Everything Alice had said. All thanks to her parents. But why did she act so surprised and unsure when Alice explained her world to her? A memory engulfed the young Poptropican...

"He's doing it again?" a young, pale, red-haired Poptropican asked her mother. The taller Poptropican peered down at her.

"Y'know what your dad's like," she answered. "Always tryna find that 'other world'. He gets too into that stuff. He'll never find it. We're not supposed 'ta find it."

"Can we stop him?" the small child asked, tugging on her mother's dress. Her mother sighed and shook her head.

"Let him do what he's gotta," she said, patting the child's head. "C'mon. We'll go see how your cousin's doing. Calls himself the 'safety inspector'."

"No," the young child said, turning away from her mother. "I'm gonna see Dad." She raced off, her red hair flowing behind her.

"Stubborn kid." the mother tutted, folding her arms. She followed at a slower pace. The child had entered the lush, grey apartment. She was racing to the room at the end of the hall. It was covered in signs saying 'stay out'. The child banged on the door until her knuckles hurt. No answer. So the child let herself in.

Her father's study room was very cluttered. Piles of books and papers had been knocked down and were spilled over the floor. A lamp had fallen onto the desk, which was covered in various diagrams and advertisements for Mega Fighting Bots. Posters of famous people covered the walls. It was far messier than normal. But Fierce Fox wasn't focused on that. She was focused on the figure lying on the floor.

"Dad...?" she asked. "Are you..."

"You'll regret it," the father murmured, sounding off. "You'll regret it all." He faced his daughter with haunting, blue eyes. "It will happen to you. You'll be apart of it. You'll destroy it all."

"What?" the child asked, taking a few steps backwards.

"Their world, their people," the father groaned. He shakily got up. His fists were clenched and his legs were bent. He looked like an attacker. "One of them will come here one day. One of them will control you. They'll make you destroy it. You'll be the cause of destruction." He pulled out a knife. The child screamed. "And I can't have that..."