Fanfic: Seven Systems 🪐 Part 2: Uneasy Alliance

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by HeartOfEnder. Enjoy!

Happy 2024 to everyone! This year so far has already been a wild ride for us Poptropicans, from membership essentially removed from the game, to the chaotic shutdown hoax from last month, the community going crazy, and Poptropica moving to Coolmath Games. It’s definitely been a wild ride of events considering we’re only one month into 2024. 

Here’s Part 2 of my fanfic, Seven Systems. If you read my Baron theory posts from 2022 (here and here), then everything mentioned here should be familiar to you. Be sure to catch Part 1 here if you haven’t yet!

THE SEVEN SYSTEMS
Part Two: Uneasy Alliance
(Continued from Part 1)

TEMPEST is dragged down into a dark room, so dark she couldn’t even see your own hands in front of you. In the darkness, she could hear the sound of engines running and the airship moving up, as if it was taking off right this second…

TEMPEST:

Wait! Where’s Amelia? What do you want with me? 

There’s no answer. TEMPEST lets out a low-pitched growl, her ears twitching to catch any and all sound around her. Most of the sound was covered up by the loud engines, but there seemed to be another sound hiding from her. A twinkle of magic. 

TEMPEST: 

Where are you? 

The yellow eyes from earlier appeared in front of her. TEMPEST picked up a chair that happened to be nearby and threw it at the pair of eyes. There was a loud roar that followed shortly after, and the darkness dispelled to reveal—

RUMPELSTILTSKIN, clutching his eyes with his hands in pain, his bright eyes barely visible between his fingers.

TEMPEST: 

(Points at RUMPEL) YOU. 

RUMPEL stared at TEMPEST with a blank expression, as if nothing happened. As if he didn’t just have a chair thrown at him.

TEMPEST:

Where is Amelia? Where is the Baron? What do you want with me? You have questions to answer, Mr Magic Man—

RUMPEL:

Calm down and maybe you’ll get your answers.

He snapped his fingers, and a fort of pillows moved to reveal a sleeping Amelia. She looked so peaceful and calm while asleep, which TEMPEST found odd.

RUMPEL:

Your friend is safe. Your other friend, the princess, is… well, it’s a long story.

TEMPEST:

(confused) Long? 

RUMPEL nodded, and he snapped his fingers again. A table covered with snacks, with two chairs facing each other, appeared from thin air. RUMPEL sat down on one of the chairs.

RUMPEL:

Go on, take a seat, it’s going to be long. 

TEMPEST grabbed the other chair, and wondered if this really was the right thing to do. Realizing she had no other options, she sat down opposite to RUMPEL, crossed her arms and legs, and put on her best grumpy face. 

TEMPEST:

Then you better get talking. 

RUMPEL smiled, which was unsettling and scary.

RUMPEL: 

I’m on the run from the Red Queen and I need fine protectors to keep me safe. She’s gone too insane with conquest and has completely taken over the Seven Systems. If we let her keep the Seven Systems for herself, then those planets will lose their unique culture and everything they once owned. 

A moment of silence. 

TEMPEST:

(sarcastic) Wow, who could’ve guessed, a happy-ending-stealing, royalty-kidnapping magic man on the run from the Queen who imprisoned them! What a surprise! 

RUMPEL: 

That’s the least important bit. Carrying on, the Astro Knights were supposed to save the Seven Systems from the Red Queen, but apparently they got captured and failed. But here’s the thing, the Queen is going on about how there are supposed to be four Astro Knights, but she only has three captured. She’s ordering all her knights to find the fourth knight, more urgent than finding me I guess.

TEMPEST:

(surprised) The fourth… Astro Knight?

Flashback to many years ago at the Crystal Gate. The Astro Knights — SIR CADOR, SIR GAWAIN, and SIR PELASUS — stand beside a crystal pedestal with a key stuck inside it. 

The knights turn to face a younger version of TEMPEST, standing in front of the key. She grabbed the key and pulled it out, and the flashback ends there. 

Back to the present day…

TEMPEST: 

So you want me to protect you? Sorry I don’t protect magic people for free. I’m going to need the Baron back. 

RUMPEL smiled, as if he had an offer prepared already.

RUMPEL:

Rumor has it the princess is hiding somewhere, plotting a rebellion against her own mother. How exciting. No one knows where she is, but we need to find her, because she might be the only person who could help free the Seven Systems. 

He offered his hand to TEMPEST, who glared at it with a very displeased look.

RUMPEL:

You and your pilot friend keep me safe from the Queen, while we go out and search for the princess. A fair deal if I do say so myself. I know this isn’t a great alliance for you, but once this is all over you can forget all about it and never have to see me again. 

TEMPEST thinks about the offer as she taps her fingers on the table. She finally lets out a long, loud groan, before reaching and taking RUMPEL’s hand.

TEMPEST:

As much as I hate to do this, it’s a deal.

To be continued…

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Hope you enjoyed this guest post by HeartOfEnder. If you did, you might also enjoy another Pop fanfiction of hers, The Witch’s Heart.

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