Marsh's POV
After a full day of walking, I finally reached the secret tunnel that can lead me back to Gumdrop Coast. Choco's sister gave me a map that led me to this place and she already had a few arrangements for so I can set sail to another kingdom, I guess she was already planning to get rid of me.
Too bad I never got back the orb, I sighed and looked over the branches on the Cotton Candy Trees. One of the branches are actually a secret lever that can open up the tunnel from here, I tried pulling on all the branches I can see but nothing's happening.
"This is a scam!" I kicked the candy rock near my foot, I knew she might've tricked me into this. Maybe I should go the long way again.
Looking past through the dark woods, it was giving me goosebumps when I can feel something was staring at me... or more like predating on me.
"Crumbs!" I jumped when something moved through the bushes.
Maybe the gnawbits are around!? Or maybe even the gummy bear I encountered before! "Goodness, I'll die of heart attack before I even get mauled by a beast."
I rested my arm over another branch, though I slipped and fell when it bent over. Suddenly, the ground started shaking and a passage opened. "Woah." So Choco's sister wasn't scamming me at all.
"Cool." I started walking down the path, and the hole was closing up pretty slow. And being down here in the tunnel made me look up to the night sky, the moonlight was shining brightly as ever with the other stars glittering in the sky.
It reminded me of yesterday when Choco was under that moonlight, it was a spectacle but it's time to get a move on. I looked back to the dark tunnel and resumed my track.
"...Marsh!..."
"Hmm, it's as if I can still hear his voice." Does missing someone can really make you hear voices? Now that's creepy.
"MARSH!"
"Wait, is that Choco!?" I ran up to the surface and saw him coming over with a horse a few miles away, "DUDE, WHAT THE CRUMB!?" What's he doing here!?
"MARSH! HOW DARE YOU LEAVE WITHOUT ME!"
"Oh no..." I tried pulling the hatch lid on this tunnel to close it faster, but it won't budge. "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" I yelled at him, darn it why is this lid so hard to close!?
"YOU JERK!"
"Ah crap!!" As the lid was finally closing in, Choco peeked through glaring at me, "Marsh, let me in." His tone got demanding.
"No Choco, you have to go back." This stubborn idiot! Why did he have to come back here!?
"Dude! Didn't we promise we'd never go back to this stupid kingdom and that we'd go see the world together!?"
"You don't need to do all that, Choco. You have to go back, this was the chance Pierre told you about... you'd just regret leaving the life you're meant to live!"
"But I don't want to go back, Marsh. I don't care what Pierre thinks either!—" the hatch lid closed up, and he started hitting out there. "THIS ISN'T FAIR MARSH! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME, I'LL LIVE THE LIFE I WANT SO OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR ALREADY!"
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, YOU DON'T GET TO CHOOSE, YOU LIVE WITH IT!" I yelled back, "YOU SEE, I DIDN'T CHOOSE THIS LIFE! I NEVER WANTED TO BE HOMELESS, I NEVER WANTED TO LEAVE THE LIFE I HAD BEFORE!"
If I never would've left back then, I'm sure father would've done something to get rid of me. And it's not like my older brother or twin sister ever cared about me. "There's no place for me back at home anymore... I have no one, Choco."
"That's not true!" He yelled, "Marsh, aren't we friends?"
"I-I..." Hearing him say that reminded me of all the times we've spent together through all the layers of Sweet Kingdom.
"Marsh! Don't give up now!"
I remember him saying that when were chased by the Gnawbits, I thought I was a goner. He took my hand and never let go until we got away.
"Keep safe and wait for me here!"
Choco had always kept me safe, especially back at the time he faced the Arachnotoffe all on his own and killed that beast.
"MARSH, HOLD ON—DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!"
Even at the time when I chose to believe in the deceitful Clam Master, he came back to save me.
"I'm sure we'll manage to figure out a way to escape this place."
And when we were constrained by Carra, he never lost hope like I did. Choco has always been that guiding light ever since I walked down this uncertain path.
He's the unstoppable sun that reaches every corner of this world, he's the moonlight at the darkest hours and I can't think of anything else that can describe him better than that.
"Choco... do you really want to live this kind of life!? Your sister... your father... the people at your place... people that believe in you... are you really going to leave it all behind!?"
"Of course I will, I just got disowned!"
"You should go back—wait, what did you say?" Did he said he got disowned? "Choco, can you repeat that—"
"BAH!" Suddenly, he seemed to be disturbed by something. "OKAY, DUDE. YOU GOTTA OPEN THIS HATCH RIGHT NOW!"
"W-What's going on?"
He kept knocking on the hatch as if something's bothering him, "Marsh, I need you to open this. NOW! NO TIME TO EXPLA—AAAAHHH!!"
Choco's scream made me panic, I looked around to see any lever inside to open the lid and I pulled on it right away. "Choco what's—AAAHHH!"
Choco came running inside the tunnel on his Licorstride as he grabs me to get on the horse while a bunch of gnawbits chasing after us, "SQUEAAAAK!!!" The gnawbit leader yelled.
"IT'S BEEN MONTHS AND THEY STILL HATE US!?" I yelled, staring back at these furious candymals.
"They sure know how to keep a grudge! Hiyah!" Then Choco got the horse running faster, soon we lost the chasing gnawbits.
"Phew, that was a close call." He sweated off, "I'm glad you opened the hatch, I thought I'll never get to see you again."
"...you really came back for me?"
"Yeah dude, you're my best friend!" He chuckled, and it got me flustered how he called me that. "Plus, we still have to find the cure for your curse together!" He pulled out the orb in his pockets.
My eyes widened at the sight of this item. "HOW!?—Choco, your sister spent one billion sugar gems on the Crystal Grain!"
"I'll give you the details later, for now let's go back to Gumdrop Coasts—WHOOOO!"
And we spent a long time travelling through the tunnels connected to each layers of Sweet Kingdom. It took us about 2 days until we finally reached Gumdrop Coast, the final or seventh layer. And like Choco's sister said, there was a boat already set up for me to leave this kingdom.
Soon, Choco and I are already sailing on the vast Apple Juisea. Making it this far gave me hope that I might be able to find a cure for my curse. I turned to Choco and smiled, "We made it!"
"Aw yeah!! Here's for our new adventure!" We fist bumped and I glanced back at the Sweet Kingdom, "You think we'll come back to the Sweet Kingdom someday?"
Choco stuck his tongue out, probably doesn't even want to think about it. I just laughed and look ahead to the path ahead us, "Where do you think the currents will take us to?"
"Who knows." He shrugged.
I held on to the boat's steer while Choco checked the map, "Alright dude, how should I steer this boat?" I asked.
He intently checked the map, "Hmmm... I have no idea. You already know I suck at navigation, I got lost in the Cotton Candy Woods before I met you. So you check the map."
"But I'm not good with navigation either."
The two of us fell silent for a moment until we both sighed, "Crumbs." I guess we're setting sail with no direction, but I'm sure everything will turn out fine with Choco by my side.
END