Author: Gentle Dolphin

Last time on The Grapple-Pursuit, our band of adventurers accepted Clareta and Baylor’s invitation to Kraghorn Island’s annual Grapple-Pap festival. What awaits them on this festively frigid island? Without further ado, here’s Part 2!

Being citizens of Kraghorn Island, Clareta and Baylor offered to guide Gentle, Cred, and Super to their home island. There was one catch: they had to wear blindfolds while Clareta and Baylor piloted the blimp. The siblings explained that Kraghorn Island was so magical and mysterious that it will only reveal itself to its people, but the trio silently questioned the validity of that claim.

The flight to Kraghorn Island was something, all right. The siblings piloted the blimp and sang Grapple-Pap carols during the whole trip. Gentle, Cred, and Super sat blindfolded on the basket’s floor and eventually joined in on the carols once they memorized the lyrics. Elin was the only exception to the blindfold rule; she resisted the tiny blindfold made for her and took refuge inside of Super’s bag. The lowering temperature was the adventurers’ only clue that they were approaching their destination.

“Kraghorn Island is in view!” Baylor announced. “Thank you for letting us fly you here.”

“No problem,” Gentle responded, “I’m surprised you two know how to fly a blimp. It’s probably different from how your cart operates.”

“Eh, just a few changes from the controls.” Clareta answered.

“We actually have prior experience flying blimps,” Baylor added.

“Really? Did you fly anywhere?” Cred asked, interested to hear a fellow traveler’s tale.

“When we were young, we flew a blimp similar to yours,” Baylor answered, “We did not wish to explore for money or fame but rather to spread cheer across Poptropica. Perhaps it was weeks of travel or difference in plans, but eventually the smallest slight would flare tempers. One quarrel led to another until… something happened. We parted ways after that…” Baylor’s voice trailed off as regretful memories returned to him.

Clareta thought about their past as well. Maybe everything would have been better if she had accepted her brother’s apology years ago? He reached out to her so many times, after all. She pulled a small pristine wooden horse out of her hat and held it close.

“But that’s in the past, and now our relationship is better than before,” she said, assuring Baylor with a hug. “Hold your horses, kids. You can take your blindfolds off as soon as we land.”

“By the way, are you two also wearing blindfolds?” Super asked.

“Ha! With these cataracts, I might as well be!” Clareta joked. She turned her attention back to the sky and asked herself, “What is that? A woodpecker?”

Clareta’s question was promptly answered by a loud pop! Whatever she saw poked a hole in the blimp, causing air to rapidly leak out. If they didn’t act quickly, then the blimp would end up like the siblings’ cart.

“We need to patch that hole! Cred, duct tape! Super, patch it!” Gentle ordered.

“Keep your blindfolds on!” Baylor added.

Cred grabbed a roll of duct tape from his backpack and passed it to Super, who caught it after it bounced off of her face. She held her amulet and became enveloped in a bright blue glow. When the blue light dispersed, Super emerged with large leafy wings. She flew out of the basket and felt around the blimp’s surface before locating and patching the hole. Despite being patched, the blimp struggled to stay aloft. Clareta and Baylor were unable to steer properly, and the blimp would crash at any moment.

“Plan B! Everyone grab a parachute and jump!” Gentle located the blimp’s emergency supply, but felt only one parachute pack. “Uh, Plan C! Super, you and I carry everyone else!” Gentle put on the parachute pack, grabbed Cred and Clareta, jumped out of the basket, and opened the parachute. Super grabbed Baylor, who grabbed his large sack of gifts. As the blimp careened to an unknown location, the group safely landed on the island’s snowy shore.

“You may now take off your blindfolds,” Baylor announced.

Gentle, Cred, and Super took off their blindfolds and marveled at the view. The sunlight glistening on the waves, the fresh snow blanketing the sand, and the icy colorful roofs of the town’s buildings created a wonderfully wintry sight. It gave a moment of peace after a turbulent landing and set the stage for what to expect.

After taking in the view, the group walked up the cobblestone road leading to town, discussing what they would do during the festival. Cred had trouble deciding what activity to do first, but Super already planned to finish her book and buy some souvenirs for her growing trinket collection. Gentle offered to buy everyone snacks, and Clareta and Baylor geared up to give gifts to the town’s children. The five could hardly contain their anticipation, which turned into confusion once their entered town.

The town resembled less of a winter wonderland and more like an icy ghost town. Eerie silence haunted the streets surrounded by undecorated houses. For an island that celebrates Grapple-Pap, there was a startling lack of Grapple-Pap paraphernalia. Delivery carts, statues, wooden mounts— anything bearing Grapple-Pap’s image was no where to be found. In fact, there wasn’t a single Poptropican in sight.

Cred investigated a local food stall called The Salty Nugget, which was boarded up to cover anything related to Grapple-Pap, and located the back door.

“Hey, guys! I found a do-UAAGH!!!” The door suddenly opened and he was pulled inside the shack. The four remaining Poptropicans dropped everything and bolted to save him, but they were pulled inside as well.

The group was surrounded in darkness, unsure of who— or what— was inside with them. Elin emerged from Super’s bag, ready to take on whoever dared to mess with her. Her golden light illuminated the dark kitchen, revealing the missing townspeople huddled inside. The strange sight of a dryad briefly overshadowed their great fear of the outdoors.

“What are you all doing in here?” asked a bewildered Gentle.

“We are hiding from Grapple-Pap, and please stay quiet,” whispered a bearded food vendor.

“Why are you hiding from Grapple-Pap?” Cred whispered.

“He arrived while we were setting up for the annual Grapple-Pap festival. We thought that he came to admire our hard work, but he stole everything except the clothes on our backs,” he answered.

“Why would he take everything?” Super whispered.

“We do not know his motives. He may be searching for something, or he may have deemed us to be uncheerful,” he shivered in fear.

A woman peeked through the shudders and hushed everyone inside. The silence in their hiding spot was rivaled by the sound of heavy footsteps and breathing on the other side. Was it Grapple-Pap? If so, then why was he terrorizing the town? The footsteps stopped, followed by the sound of a heavy sack being moved. Baylor remembered that he left his sack of gifts when he and the girls ran after Cred.

“The gifts!” He shouted before he covered his mouth.

The breathing grew louder and the footsteps heavier as the culprit approached their hiding spot. Would he try to steal everyone in town? No one wanted to know the answer to that question.

“He’s coming! What do we do?” Super asked Gentle.

“I have an idea,” Gentle answered. She whispered her plan to Cred and Super as to not let the culprit hear.

The townspeople braced themselves for the worst as each earth-shattering stomp rattled the walls and kitchenware. A large clawed hand broke through the shudders and slowly lifted them to reveal a large horned figure. This figure, the culprit—no, Grapple-Pap—, was then met with something striking.

A cast-iron skillet to the face!

Gentle grabbed a skillet and whacked Grapple-Pap as hard as she could. He turned back and held his face in pain, which gave Super a chance to leave The Salty Nugget and use her amulet. Orange light surrounded her then dispersed to reveal a new transformation: she grew to twice her normal size and now sported a rocky horned helmet. She used her newfound super strength to carry Grapple-Pap away from the villagers, but he spooked her with a loud snarl and escaped her grasp.

“Hey, Grapple-Pap! Take this!”

Cred leapt from behind The Salty Nugget’s front desk and greeted Grapple-Pap with another skillet-smack in the face, causing him to drop Baylor’s sack of gifts.

While Cred and Super fought Grapple-Pap, Gentle sneaked out of the Salty Nugget to retrieve the abandoned sack. However, the sack wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she tried to move it. How did Baylor carry this on his back all of the time?! She needed help but had to act fast.

Gentle caught Super’s attention with a wave and gestured that they swap roles. Gentle ran to help Cred take on Grapple-Pap, and Super changed to a new form. With a bright green flash, she shrank back to her normal size and now sported a patchy orange cap. She sped to the sack in the blink of an eye, leaving a trail of green light in her path. She changed back to her previous form and tossed the sack over her shoulder as if it was just a big pillow. Gentle had no weapon, so she opted to run around and taunt Grapple-Pap while Cred attacked.

“Hey, Grapple-Pap! I thought you were supposed to give gifts, not take them! Did you not make enough gifts this year, or are you just uncreative?” Gentle taunted.

Cred joined in, “Yeah! Are you running out of ideas?”

“How about this? The town gets their stuff back, and we get gold medallions. They aren’t hard to make!”

“Throw some credits in there, too!”

The angered Grapple-Pap grabbed the two and tossed them to Mount Kraghorn. Super dropped the sack and once again changed forms. She traded her cap for wings and flew to the mountain as fast as she could. Fortunately, she caught Gentle and Cred right before they splattered onto the rocky mountainside. Unfortunately, Grapple-Pap retrieved the sack and headed for Cold Cliff Pass.

Super dropped her friends off at the Salty Nugget and tried one more time to rescue the gifts. She grabbed the sack, but Grapple-Pap’s terrifying face stopped her in her tracks. He snatched her amulet, leaving her as a normal powerless girl. He then tied the amulet to his tail, sprouted wings, and rocketed to the peak of Mount Kraghorn.

Gentle, Cred, and Elin ran to Super, who tried her best to hold back tears. “I’m so sorry. I let him take the gifts.”

“It’s okay. You did everything you could,” Gentle tried to assure her.

“Thanks to you, we didn’t turn into pancakes,” Cred joked, trying to cheer her up.

Super cracked a little smile at his dumb joke. She looked to Elin, who gave her a sympathetic look and pressed her tiny face against Super’s forehead.

“What now?” Cred asked Gentle.

“At least we know where to go,” Gentle answered, looking at Mount Kraghorn.

Can our heroes recover the stolen gifts and save the festival? Stay tuned for Part 3! 🏔️

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Hey, Poptropicans! I want to give you guys a little gift this holiday season. It’s a tale of three adventurers on the hunt for an elusive icon. I call it The Grapple-Pursuit. Enjoy! 🎁

Blue skies cast over a bustling Home Island. Adventurers from all walks of life went about their day, purchasing gear and setting off for their next adventures. Only one spot on Home Island was spared from crowds: the backyard of a local cottage. Super Wing, accompanied by her dryad companion, Elin, sat by the yard’s crystal clear pond and cracked open a book called Firsthand Tellings of Fairytale Folk. She quickly became engrossed in the stories collected from Fairytale Island’s denizens, though questioned stranger details like pizza-loving wolves and punk rock princesses. 

Super’s concentration was briefly interrupted by the loud sound of rustling leaves. “Perhaps Elin wanted to explore the yard,” she reasoned with herself. She returned to her book but was quickly alerted to a loud thud. A quick glance at the yard revealed nothing amiss. “A branch probably fell,” she assumed with less confidence. She tried once more to finish her book, but hearing a loud groan convinced her otherwise. She quickly shut her book and came face to face with— well, a face!

Super jumped back and yelped, “CRED! How long have you been here?!”

Her friend, Incredible “Cred” Beetle, lied on the ground covered in leaves and twigs. Elin emerged from the trees and giggled over the fallen Cred. He didn’t care about his tiny saboteur laughing at his pain. Instead, his annoyance seemed to be directed at something else.

“Just dropped in,” he sullenly replied, “Sorry about the crash landing.”

“Are you hurt?” Super asked, concerned.

“No, just bored.” Cred answered. “Falling out of trees is probably the most exciting thing to do right now.”

Super’s concern slowly turned into disappointment. Cred could have been hurt and he’s more concerned about being bored? This behavior of his isn’t new to her, but it’s still annoying to deal with. She let out a long sigh and asked, “What’s going on?”

Cred picked himself up and began his complaints. “December’s here, and there hasn’t been a single snowflake on Home Island!” He was right; the literal floating island had been in a perpetual state of summer for what felt like a year. “We’re missing out on all kinds of winter fun! Sledding, skating, snowball fights, and more stuff that I can’t think of right now. If snow won’t fall on Home Island, then we’ll seek it out!”

Cred picked his notebook off of the ground and turned to a page titled “Winter Travel Destinations”, which contained rough diagrams of island maps and messy yet legible notes. “Our list of islands is limited, so we only have two real options. Survival Island can be a great camping spot when you have all of your gear, but there’s the risk of bears, cliffs, and human hunters.” Super and Elin squirmed at the idea of encountering a bloodthirsty hunter. “Okay, not your thing. How about Mt. Everest? Climbing to the top of it would be awesome, but you have to go back in time to get there. I think Gentle knows where we can get a time machine.”

“Cred,” Super said, “those are nice ideas, but we can’t just leave to do whatever we want. What if we get mauled by a wild animal or impaled by icicles? Remember when-.”

Cred let out an exasperated sigh and retorted, “What else are we supposed to do? It’s not like a winter adventure is gonna fall out of the sky!”

Just then, as if by magic, a large object fell from the sky and crashed into the pond with a giant splash! The kids and dryad were soaked from head to toe.

“I think that magic amulet of yours is starting to rub off on me,” Cred said to Super.

A pink haired woman wearing glasses burst out of the cottage and ran to the kids. “What’s going on?! Are you guys okay?!”

“We’re fine, Gentle!” Cred shouted back, “Check this out!”

The mysterious flying object was a merchant cart with added sails and propellers. It was painted blue and red with the image of a goblin-like creature on its sides. Colorful lanterns, garland, and gift boxes were scattered around the wreckage. Out of the festive flying machine emerged an elderly man and woman wearing blue garments with fur trim. Shaken yet undeterred, they cheered, “HAPPY GRAPPLE-PAP!!!”

Super and Cred were baffled by the sight of two cheery elders popping out of a flying cart, but Gentle immediately recognized the pair.

“Clareta! Baylor! How are you?”, greeted Gentle.

“Happy as a Grapple-Pop in a gift basket!” Clareta answered cheerfully.

Gentle helped the siblings out of their ride and onto whatever dry ground remained on the yard. The three exchanged hugs and greetings until Baylor noticed the two sopping wet kids watching them.

“Who are these young ones?” he asked.

Gentle replied, “Oh, meet In-“

Before Gentle finished speaking, Clareta dashed toward the kids and hugged them so tightly that their already huge eyes almost popped out of their heads. They looked to Gentle and Baylor with pleading faces. Elin stung Clareta in hopes of making her let go of Super, but Clareta was unphased by her attempts.

“Look at them! Aren’t they the cutest children you’ve ever seen?!” Clareta exclaimed. She whipped her head around to face Gentle, “Are these your kids?”

Gentle became flustered, “Uh, n-no. They aren’t my kids. I’m just looking after them. Anyway, meet Incredible Beetle, Super Wing, and Elin!” Cred smiled and tilted his cap, Super sheepishly waved, and Elin glared at the elderly humans.

“Nice to meet you,” said Baylor. “We flew to Home Island to invite everyone to this year’s Grapple-Pap festival on our very own Kraghorn Island.”

“I’m sorry for asking, but what’s Grapple-Pap?”, Super asked.

“The holiday or the creature?”

“…Both?”

“Grapple-Pap is a special time of year when everyone spreads cheer all around Poptropica. Grapple-Pap is also the one who delivers gifts to those who spread cheer, or else.”

“Or else what?”

“As the saying goes, ‘If you don’t spread cheer to all who are near, Grapple-Pap will get you for one whole year!’”

A wave of dread washed over Super. Her chest grew tighter and her breathing more rapid. The possibility of being taken away by a monster was sending her into a spiral, which was interrupted by a sudden “LET’S GO!!!”.

“Cred! Are you serious?!”, Super shouted.

“Yeah! A winter festival in a faraway island where a creature gives gifts and kidnaps people? Sign me up!” Cred answered enthusiastically. Cred’s hunger for adventure was worse than she thought. How else could she explain why he included kidnapping to be part of a fun experience?

“Don’t you hear yourself?!” she shot back.

“Uh, please give us a moment!” Gentle requested from the siblings, to which they nodded. Gentle turned to the kids and called for a huddle. “Guys, this can be a fun trip for everyone. I’ve been to Kraghorn Island before, and I’ve never encountered Grapple-Pap. We’ll be fine as long as we stay in the village and have fun. Just remember to spread some cheer to be safe.” The kids looked to her, then to each other, then back to her. Cred toned down his excitement, and Super felt more assured. Gentle turned back to the siblings and said, “The festival sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for inviting us!”

“Wonderful! We would be happy to guide you there, but our aircraft needs a few repairs.” He gestured to the broken carriage, which was now totally submerged in the pond.

“Don’t worry,” Gentle assured, “Amelia can fix it for you. We’ll provide the transportation, and you’ll show us the way.”

Both parties left to prepare for their long trip. Gentle, Super, and Cred dressed in warm clothes and packed their gear, and Clareta and Baylor salvaged whatever goods survived the crash. After gathering their bearings, they hopped onto a yellow blimp and set off for Kraghorn Island.

I hope you liked Part 1 of The Grapple-Pursuit! I hope to finish this story by the end of December, but I can’t be too sure. The holidays are a hectic time, after all. Keep your eyes peeled for Part 2! 👀

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬