Chapter Text
While Molly would normally be excited for a Saturday like this, she didn't feel she had the energy at the moment. Ollie and the Chens were away (And Ollie was probably off running Chairman duties), and Andrea was off visiting Mewline.
Scratch came around , half empty pizza box in one hand. He must've gone out on a food run, trying to cheer up Molly, followed shortly by Libby.
"I brought pizza," He announced. "But I got hungry..and mighta ate a slice..maybe two..Okay, MAYBE half the box."
Molly chuckled a little bit at her friend's antics, before noting Libby.
"Libby? What are you doing here?" Molly asked.
"I encountered Scratch on the way here," Libby answered. "He said pizza would cheer you up. I disagreed, but.."
"Not in the mood." Molly returned.
"Not in the mood? NOT IN THE MOOD?" Scratch asked, just a bit angry for the sake of the food he had brought. "When is one NOT in the mood for pizza?"
"Well, the Chens are away, Andrea's also away.." The enhappifier answered. "But, now that you and Libby are here, I guess we could have a picnic at the park.."
"That's the spirit!" Libby cheered.
"Hey, speaking of spirits," Scratch added, creating a ghost portal. "Mighta left something at the library. I'll be back shortly!"
However, Scratch's ghost portal looked..Different than what Molly or Libby were used to.
"Did the ghost world look like that before?" Libby asked Scratch.
"Well, no," He returned. "I think I mighta mixed it up with that portal spell from-"
Just then, a girl with bright cerulean jumped through, landing in Molly's room. Joing her was a white fox creature with little antlers on his head.
"Hilda?" Libby asked, confused at the arrival of the girl. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, Twig!" Molly exclaimed, scooping Twig up into a hug, much to the latter's confusion.
"That portal just appeared in my living room," Hilda answered the turtle lover. "I asked mum if I could go, and she said I could as long as I had a way back home."
"It was a vote. I and mum voted that Hilda should stick to home and NOT jump through that portal," Alfur added with annoyance. "I was outvoted by Tontu, Hilda, and Twig."
Molly chuckled al ittle bit at the thought of the deerfox being the tie breaker in their debate.
"But I did want to talk to you, Molly." Hilda spoke, rummaging through her satchel for something.
"What about?" Molly asked.
"I found a note in my room," The adventurer answered, unfolding a piece of paper. "It goes as follows: 'To find the treasure, you must first BRIGHTON up your day.'"
"Treasure? What kind of treasure?" Scratch asked, intrigued.
"What if it's gold?" Libby added, also intrigued. "Like what pirates do in all of those stories I've read!"
"Or, what if it's CHOCOLATE gold?" Scratch argued. "That's as good!"
"What if it's the treasure of paperwork?" Alfur suggested.
This earned him a stare from all, except for Twig.
"Alfur, I know you like paperwork and the fine print," Hilda sighed. "But I don't think the treasure would be that.."
"Now, where would we find the next clue to the treasure..?" Libby pondered. "This looks like a job for.. The bloodhound of truth!"
The turtle lover leapt away, returning in a few moments clad in a gray trenchcoat and hat.
"Does she usually do this?" Hilda asked her friend from another world.
Molly shrugged in response, as the group broke up to search around the room. Alfur teamed up with Molly, Twig teamed up with Hilda, and Scratch teamed up with Libby.
"Alright, let's see if the Scoop Snoop can sniff it out.." Scratch spoke, taking a deep inhale of air.
"I doubt it has a smell.." Libby suggested to her teammate.
"It might," Hilda argued. "You smell anything, Twig?"
Twig shook his head in response to his friend's question.
"I'm at a loss here as well!" Alfur called out.
Molly bent down, and pulled out another scrap of paper from beneath her bed.
"Aha! Here's the next clue!" Molly announced, as the group gathered around her.
"Well, what's it say?" Hilda asked.
"I'm getting to that," Molly responded. "Let's see here.. 'To SEA the treasure you are so close to..' That's it."
"That's it?" Scratch groaned, annoyed. "That's all it says? Nothing about where the next clue is?"
"It did mention the SEA," Molly argued, crumpling up the paper and tossing it aside. "Who knows, maybe it's in a world with the sea."
"Like pirates?" Libby pondered, getting a bit more excited. "I wonder if they're anything like the stories I've read.."
"I'd rather not deal with pirates," Hilda spoke. "Alive OR dead."
"What, you don't like the dead?" Scratch asked, pulling up his ectoplasm like it was a sleeve. "Put up your dukes-"
"STOP!" Molly called. "We do NOT need to fight right now. Don't you guys want to find the treasure?"
There was a murmur of "right" or "Apologies," as everyone stood down.
"Now, work your magic, Scratch!" Molly announced. "I'm sure we're bound to find the treasure in the next world we travel to with that portal spell."
Elsewhere, an energetic cabin boy shook his captain awake from his sleep aboard their "ship."
"K'nuckles. Hey, K'nuckles!" The cabin boy, Flapjack, whispered.
"What is it, Flap?" K'knuckles groaned, lifting himself up lightly. "Did ya find a map to Candied Island?"
"No," Flapjack confirmed. "But-"
"Unless ye do, let me get me rest." The captain returned, going back to sleep.
"K'NUCKLES!" A voice boomed out. Bubbie's. Both Flapjack and K'nuckles knew you never really wanted to get Bubbie upset. "My little angel has something he wants to ask you, and YOU WILL LISTEN, or so help me-"
"Alright, I heard ya whale." K'nuckles groaned, fully getting up this time and readjusting his hat. "What did ya want to ask, Flapjack?"
"Well, how do adventurers know how to start to look for treasure?" The cabin boy asked, stars in his eyes.
The pirate thought for a moment. How DO you know you've started on the path for searching for treasure?
"Well, boy," K'nuckles explained. "Often, large gatherings offer insight into where to start lookin' for treasure."
Flapjack nodded, taking this all in. One day, he would be the greatest adventurer Stormalong ever knew!
"What else, hmm.." The pirate muttered, before pointing one of his wooden claw fingers into the air, before lowering it. "I had it, but now I can't remember it. That answer your question, at least?"
Flapjack nodded again. This was all so exciting!
"Now let me get some sleep, boy." He groaned again, falling backwards and snoring again.
"Guess our last adventure tired him out.." Flapjack noted.
"It probably did, baby," Bubbie agreed. "But Bubbie has a surprise for you. Check under the tip of the tongue."
Flapjack obliged, checking under the tongue, and finding a gold coin there.
"A gold coin!" Flapajck cried out.
"I was savin' it for a special occasion, but I suppose you could go out and use it how you want." Bubbie explained.
"I will!" He confirmed, hugging part of Bubbie's tongue. "I love you, Bubbie."
"And I love you too, baby." She returned.
Flapjack soon left, gold coin in hand. WHere to spend it, was the question..
"And we made it!" Molly announced, standing on the wooden planks of the dock town.
Thanks to Scratch's familiarity with the teleportation spell, they had gone to a sea-ish location.
"Where is here, exactly?" Hilda asked, looking around. "This place reminds me of the Draugen ship, but as a town.."
"Some place called 'Stormalong Harbor'.." Scratch read aloud, cloaked so that the sailor passerbys wouldn't notice him.
"I, for one, think this town looks down in the dumps," Alfur noted, hiding behind Molly's ear. "In both the literal and figurative sense."
"You're right, Alfur," The enhappifier agreed, before an idea came to her. "It needs the Molly McGee touch!"
"Oh, like the bandshell? Or the Sally Tugbottom statue?" Libby asked. "Count me in on that one."
Each of the humans (And Twig) put their hands in a circle.
Just then, a boy clad in a red striped shirt and sailor's cap approached them.
"Hi there friends, I'm Flapjack!" He announced. "You new here in Stormalong?"
"Sort of." Hilda replied. She didn't want this Flapjack kid to figure out they were from other worlds.
"And we're here to Enhappify!" Molly announced, raising her fist into the air.
Several sailors turned to look at the curious girl, only to turn away, uninterested.
"Know any places we can start, Flapjack?" She asked.
"Oh, there's always the Candy Barrel," Flapjack answered. "Everyone in Sotrmalong knows the candy served there makes you all 'enhappified!'"
Flapjack laughed to himself about Molly's word, as the group followed him to this "Candy Barrel" he spoke of.