A long chapter, hooray XD
I woke up in a cage made of green energy. I was in some sort of room that had been partly destroyed - or very messed up. The walls had broken apart; there were old PoptropiCon decorations everywhere. I could see vents and pipes poking through the walls. The floor was covered in technological mess. There were lasers and security programs all around my cage. My cage was above ground, on rough, metal flooring. Everything felt stuffy and messy. It was stuffy and messy.
"Hello?" I called, looking around. There was no one around. I had no idea where Fierce Fox - or anyone else, for that matter - was. I wasn't sure how I'd ended up in this cage. I assumed Omegon had put me there. And I didn't know how to escape. I took a deep breath, and loudly cried for help. But nobody came. So I decided to take matters into my hands.
I touched the green, flowing lasers keeping me inside the cage. A sharp shock of pain made me lurch back.
"I should've expected that," I mumbled. I looked around and raised my voice. "Anyone?" Still no one came to my aid. I sighed. I searched the cage for something that could turn the lasers off. There was a big red button that could switch them off. Stealthily, I reached my hand out to the button. I hit my hand once, but continued trying. I pressed it eventually; the lasers disappeared. A terribly-designed cage, honestly.
Now that I was free I could gather my bearings. Beneath me was a swarm of lasers. Beside me was a swarm of lasers. There were lasers everywhere. So the cage design wasn't so terrible after all. In the original island, you need the weapons of the Mighty Action Force to help you escape. But I had no such things. I did have something, however.
I pulled out my necklace from the gods. Now seemed to be a good time to ask for help. Or at least a weapon. I tapped the shiny object around my neck and mentally called out for help. Nothing happened for a few moments. Then, suddenly, a golden bow and arrow appeared in my grip. I was stunned for a few moments. I didn't know how to use a bow. But this is Poptropica. You tend to be a natural at everything.
I fired a golden arrow at a power box. It destroyed a laser in my path, so I headed forward. I continued firing arrows at lasers. Soon, I was down onto the second level. That's when a golden shield appeared on my shoulder. A laser fired at it; the shield deflected it. It was like I had my own Mighty Action Force weapons. Another hot-pink laser came down from the ceiling; I deflected it with my shield. I was beginning to feel more hopeful. Thank the gods, I thought.
I found a vent near the end of the room. I entered it and crawled through; the grey walls creaked around me. I came into a basement-like room, full of shelves with canned food, toilet paper and more. There were a few people there: Tessa Turncoat, C.J, the male kid from before, and a few others I didn't recognize. No Fierce Fox.
"The Prophesied Hero!" Tessa Turncoat exclaimed, pointing at me. "You've escaped!"
"Yes," I replied, eyeing her strangely. I turned to C.J. "Where's Fierce Fox?"
"I have no idea," C.J answered. She looked uncomfortable. "I think... I think she's with the other humans taken by Omegon..."
I feel shock sail through my body. "Omegon has her," I repeated. I thought about what awful things could be happening to my Poptropican. I felt a mixture of anger and fear. "He won't have her for long."
"He has my dad, too!" C.J added, clenching her fists. "If you're going to save Fierce Fox, I'm coming too! I need to save my dad!"
"And my best friend!" the male kid squeaked. "Prophesied hero! I... I wanna help! I wanna save my friend!"
"Um..." I looked uncomfortable. "I don't know... about kids coming with me. Or you, C.J. I... I usually do this by myself." I sighed. "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt."
"You didn't defeat Zeus by yourself," C.J cleverley pointed out. "Without us... you would've given up." She winked. "And besides, you're always with Fierce Fox. Who said you're a solo traveler?" She's right, I realized. I never did this alone. I... even now I have help. These godly weapons... if some gods weren't on my side, I...
"I'll help!" the boy agreed, jumping up and down.
"Alright then," I sighed, walking over to C.J and the boy. "You can help. But... you'll need to listen to me. I know what to do." They eagerly nodded at me. I took a deep breath. "Firstly, what's your name?" I looked at the boy. He stared back at me with his dark brown eyes and hair.
"I'm Carlos." he told me.
"Well, Carlos, you can call me Alice," I told Carlos. I pointed to C.J. "That's C.J. She's very smart." C.J waved it off. "Now, let's go save our friends and family."
To save our friends and family, we had to form this guy named Alphaon. Alphaon is basically all of the Mighty Action Force's power mashed together. To do that, we had to find all of the Mighty Action Force's weapons - and save the team themself. They were in cages like I was. Because I already had weapons, it was far easier. I wasn't sure about Carlos having weapons, since he was a kid, but he seemed really determined to save his friend. And I couldn't doubt that.
The first weapon was the Elf Archer's bow. The Elf Archer - or her actor - was trapped in a cage with pink lasers. The room around her was full of lasers and Omegon technology embedded in the walls. My friends followed me as I held the shield out.
"Where did you get that awesome shield from?!" Carlos asked, as I deflected a hot-pink laser.
"I have some... special friends that have lots of cool powers," I answered, as we crept forward. "They sometimes help me with missions."
"That's awesome!" Carlos cried. I nodded, tittering slightly.
"Yeah," I replied. "Now, I need to use my shield to deflect a laser into a power source. That will help us free the Elf Archer."
"And who will use her bow?" C.J asked. We leaped onto a platform. I held the shield above our heads like an umbrella.
"It depends who's best at it," I replied. "Stay here." I jumped down in between a laser and a power source. I held the shield in front of my face. A laser came down and destroyed the power source. Carlos squealed with joy. He sounded so pure - it reminded me of my childhood. I ignored my heavy nostalgia and jumped up to my friends. The metal beneath my feet swayed. My friends and I held our arms out, trying not to fall.
"Just a few more lasers," I told my friends. "Then we can free the Elf Archer."
"Yay!" Carlos cheered. C.J gave me a grin. It was good to be with other people. I guess working alone wasn't really my thing after all. Anyway, I deflected a few more lasers, then we were able to reach the Elf Archer. I pressed the red button on her cage, like I did with my cage.
"If there were no lasers, this would be a terrible cage design." C.J commented, tapping her chin. She eyed the red button. "Not a good idea to put the escape button on the cage itself."
"I agree." I said, nodding. The Elf Archer climbed out of the cage and stretched.
"You're the stars of the show!" she told us. "Thanks!" She raced off. My eyes followed the way she left.
"Come on, guys," I told my friends. "Let's go get her bow."
We returned to that basement-like room. Inside, we found the Elf Archer, who looked tired. She let us have her bow, which she didn't even know how to shoot. I let C.J have it, since I wasn't really sure about letting a kid use a bow. I'm no expert in young kids, but I'm pretty sure letting them use weapons isn't a good idea.
"Alright," I faced my friends. "Next up is Goldface. He has the electric gloves."
"Getting all of these weapons is pointless," C.J commented. "We, uh, have yours. We don't need anymore."
"Unfortunately we need to get those exact weapons to form Alphaon," I told C.J, sighing. "It's a comic book thing."
"I think it's cool!" Carlos exclaimed, punching his fists in the air.
"Good for you, Carlos." C.J sighed. I laughed and led my friends through the vents. I stopped smiling when we came to the next room. It was another slightly dark room full of tech. Holes were in the walls with pipes coming out. Lasers were nearby a large machine. This machine was yellow with Omegon eyes. There was a conveyor belt running through the machine. Crystals were above it. Two Omegon hench-bots were standing near the machine. Two Poptropicans were on the conveyor belt: some guy I didn't know and C.J's dad.
"Dad...!" C.J whisper-shouted, fear blazing in her eyes. C.J's dad entered the machine, which had a large window, so you could see him. "What are they gonna do to him!?" She pulled out the bow.
"Let me go!" C.J's dad demanded, banging his fists against the window. "I want to know if my daughter is safe!"
"Initiate transmutation process." one hench-bot said. The other pressed a triangle-shaped button. The window lit up with powerful, blinding light.
"NO!" C.J screamed, firing her bow at the robots. It was no use to stop her now. "DAD!" But it was too late. C.J's dad had been turned into one of those robots. He was moved along the conveyor belt and dropped into a pile of other robots. A pang of sadness raced through my heart. I knew what it was like to lose your dad. Carlos just sat there, stunned.
In retaliation, C.J fired arrows at the hench-bots. Soon, they were nothing but robot parts on the ground. C.J panted heavily, tears forming in her eyes.
"Is she okay?" Carlos asked me. I walked over to C.J and gave her a hug.
"Your dad will be okay," I told her, patting her shoulder. She hugged me back. "We'll stop Omegon. We'll bring him back."
"We will," C.J smiled, laughing and crying. "We will."
"That was beautiful," the other guy - who was next in line for the hench-box transformation - admired. "Ten out of ten! And I finally got my drink!" He jumped off of the conveyor belt and ran away. I rolled my eyes then focused on the mission.
"We need to save Goldface," I explained. Carlos perked up. "To do that, we'll need to do similar things as we did before. Except we'll be using the arrows a little more." I winked at C.J. She smirked back. She seemed eager to fire at those vibrant green lasers. So that's what she did, while I shielded. I made sure Carlos stayed behind me.
There was one part where C.J had to go on a platform that moved up and down. She did that and fired at the green targets, Hunger Games style. Meanwhile, I blocked myself and Carlos from a hot-pink laser, destroying a power source. Carlos really seemed to be enjoying it. So did C.J. I was worried, but even I submitted myself to a bit of their joy. I knew this was Poptropica. It wasn't real life. You always win in Poptropica. There's always reason to be cheerful. Unlike real-life, where you really don't know.
Eventually, we managed to free Goldface. We followed him back to HQ (the basement place) and he gave us his electric pulverizes (or gloves). Carlos liked the look of those.
"Can I wear them?" he begged me with puppy eyes. "Please, Alice? I'll use them like I'm supposed to!"
I sighed. I'd never been begged to like that before. It was weird. It was like I was some kind of big sister, though I'm siblingless. Regardless, I handed them over to Carlos, on the condition that he used them properly. He agreed eagerly. He tried to pulse them, but they didn't light up.
"What's wrong with them?" Carlos asked irritably, shaking his hands.
"They're not charged," C.J answered, observing them. "Surely there's a way to charge them."
"There is," I said. "I'll show you how to charge them, then we'll go after the last guy: World Guy."
Carlos charged the pulverizers (with my help) using that large, yellow machine. He flaunted his new gloves. Then all three of us went to save the final hero. He was in a room much like the others: there were metal walls and platforms all over the place, and the walls were covered in trash. It was a huge mess. To save World Guy, we needed all of the weapons, including the gloves.
"Okay, Carlos," I pointed to a platform that could only move when activated by electricity. "I need you to power that up. C.J, stand on that platform and fire at the green target as it goes up." C.J and Carlos nodded and headed over to the platform. C.J stood on it while Carlos powered it up. His eyes glimmered with satisfaction. C.J rose up, her bow aimed at the target. She fired it perfectly, destroying the green target.
"You should get into archery, C.J," I told C.J, grinning. I turned my head. "I need you over here, guys." Carlos powered another platform and C.J fired another arrow. Then we freed World Guy, followed him back to HQ, and got his shield. We had everything we needed. Finally.
"What do we do now?" C.J asked as we sat in a circle on a shelf.
"We go and confront Omegon," I replied. I smiled. "Like we did with Zeus."
"Who's Zeus?" Carlos asked, confused. C.J and I glanced at each other.
"You don't wanna know, kid," C.J told him, holding up her hand. "Trust me." She faced me. "So, we confront him all guns blazing?"
"Exactly," I replied, holding out my own bow and shield. "We have more than enough weapons. I think we can take him."
"Yay!" Carlos cheered, lighting up his pulverizers.
"Where is he, by the way?" C.J asked. I bit my lip.
"I don't know," I said, raising my voice. "Maybe we can ask Tessa Turncoat." I looked at Tessa Turncoat - the traitor - who gave me a perplexed stare.
"What are you..." Suddenly she realized. "How... how did you know!?"
"I know things." I replied. I stood up and prepared to fire an arrow. "I also know Omegon won't give you what you want, Tessa. It's no use helping him. So help us. Where is he?"
Me, C.J and Carlos crawled through the vents, our weapons by our sides. It was time to stop Omegon once and for all. After convincing Tessa Turncoat to reveal his location, we began crawling through vents, searching for said location. Soon, we found it. It was in a room like everywhere else: destroyed metal walls, mess everywhere, and lots of glowing tech. Omegon was behind a protective, green wall. Beneath him were platforms and a large, spherical energy source. And a green crystal. We approached him stealthy; he was not facing us, so he didn't spot us.
"Okay," I told my accomplices. "We'll sneak under here and confront him from the bottom." My accomplices nodded and followed me under Omegon's throne. I tapped my chin. "Actually, let's destroy that crystal first. It's what happens in the original... uh, I mean, it's Omegon's power source. He'll be weakened if we destroy it." I pointed at the crystal. Then I pointed at the spherical power source, which had four pegs. "Carlos, light those up with your gloves."
Carlos nodded and did such thing. Four lasers began firing energy at the crystal, making it shake. Omegon stopped his stupid partying or whatever he was doing and looked up in surprise. I turned to C.J.
"Carlos will power those platforms," I instructed. "When they're not in the way of the crystal, fire at it from a little hole." C.J nodded and leaped to the little hole, which was in a wall nearby the platforms. Carlos powered the platforms, moving them. At the right time, C.J fired an arrow, destroying the crystal. There was a large blast of light, and everything exploded.
"Guys...?" I wiped my brow and stood up. Everything was even more destroyed than before. Omegon's throne was literally mush. Things on the wall were scrap parts. Debris was everywhere. I found Carlos and C.J on the ground, rubbing their eyes. I helped them up.
"Did we defeat him...?" C.J asked, looking hopeful. I shook my head.
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Omegon's voice boomed. "Now I will show you my real power!" A large, orange portal sucked all three of us up. We swirled around in a circle, having no idea where we were going. Then, we were split up, and pulled through this weird dimension that looked like space. C.J flew through this picture of the Elf Archer - her bow started glowing blue. Carlos went through a picture of Goldface - his gloves turned blue.
I had World Guy's shield. I went through the picture of said hero - his shield turned blue, appearing on my arm. The godly weapons had disappeared. I guess the gods saw I didn't need them anymore. All three of us floated through a picture of Omegon; his red eyes followed us. Then we came to a new, black room. Omegon was floating in front of us, looking outraged.
"We are the three parts of Alphaon!" I declared. I have no idea where the words were coming from. "This is your end, Omegon! We will destroy you!"
"I think not," Omegon boomed. "Behold my true form!" Naturally, he was a ginormous robot. He had large, back legs like a cat and a huge, robotic face with gleaming, pink eyes. He had two arms near his head that were ready to crush us. His face had metal plates at the back of it and green areas for arrows on the cheeks. He growled, his power shaking the ground. My friends and I glanced at each other.
"I will deflect those lasers, bringing his hand to the ground," I instructed my friends. "When it arrives, Carlos, you must use your gloves to make it move. C.J, hop on and fire at those green targets." They nodded at me. I stood in front of a pink laser, holding out my shield. I was enjoying working together. It made the experience less nerve-wrecking. Most of the time I was with Fierce Fox, but now I was with two others. Two others who I felt I could trust.
The laser bounced off my shield and destroyed the hand's power. It landed on the ground. Carlos hopped on board and charged it up with the gloves. C.J joined him and they rode up to Omegon's face. C.J, with her gleaming bow, fired at his green cheeks, destroying both. Omegon's eye became hot pink and vulnerable. Now it was my turn again.
I waited for another laser to appear. I kneeled on the ground, shield in front of me. A laser soon arrived and bounced off my shield, smashing Omegon's eye. I gave my friends a thumbs up; they returned to the ground.
"Now it's time for the second eye." I told them. I kneeled down again. The laser hit my shield and charged towards Omegon's hand. Again, it was brought down. My friends leaped aboard, ready to shoot. It was like they were flawless. Same with Fierce Fox. It seemed I was different. Maybe that's a human thing.
Anyway, my friends cleared the eye for me. I kneeled down, ready to block. Suddenly, I slipped, landing underneath Omegon's hand. Idiot, I scolded myself. The hand looked like it was about to crush me. Suddenly, C.J came to my aid by firing at Omegon's vulnerable, hot-pink eye. Explosions appeared all across him, as his body fell apart. I clutched my stomach as everything exploded once again.
PoptropiCon was back to normal. C.J, Carlos and myself popped out of the orange portal, appearing in the main lobby. C.J raced over to hug her dad, who was waiting for her with open arms. Carlos found his best friend, who tackled him with a hug. And I had Fierce Fox, who gave me a small smile. I smiled back. Sometimes I'm not sure how to act around Fierce Fox. Our relationship is interesting.
Tessa Turncoat was there, too. I said I would forgive her in exchange for the medallion, which she gave me. Then I turned to Carlos and C.J
"Thanks, guys," I told them with a hearty grin. "I couldn't have done this without you."
"Something exciting did happen after all," C.J laughed. She sighed. "I should get into archery. That was pretty crazy."
"I WENT ON AN ADVENTURE WITH THE PROPHESIED HERO!" Carlos squealed, racing around like he needed to use the toilet. I laughed. My vision began turning white.
"Thanks, guys," I said again. "You're the best."