'What If...' No. 1

Chapter 6 - Mountain Climbing

Lying there in my bed, something was shaking me. "You incompetent Grumpus. Get up." As I opened my eyes, Floofty was there speaking to me. "Those who sleep in and waste precious time will end up a failure. But then again, you are already a failure so there isn't that much lower you can go."

I chuckled. "Always finding a way to insult me huh?" I sat up in by bed as I rubbed my eyes. "The truth is not an insult, it is honesty. Now get out of bed and find whatever you need as quickly as possible. And if possible, bring me back some Bugsnax too."

Now I was confused. Bugsnax were the one thing that we don't want to be near and yet Floofty wanted some? What for? "You want me to get you some of those creatures?" Floofty stared at me in disbelief. "Yes. That is what I said, and yet you clearly cannot understand me."

"You're not gonna... eat them, right?" I asked, sounding confused and concerned. Floofty's expression of disbelief continued. "Does your small pathetic mind truly believe that I would eat them? I am simply going to study them." Now that Floofty cleared that up, my concern and confusing faded away.

"Are you going to just stand there or are you going to use that feeble mind of yours to discover whatever mysteries you came looking for?" Floofty crossed their arms as they stared at me. "Ah. Yes. Right." I began to walk away as Floofty stood there. "Do you have the equipment you normally use for the gathering of the Bugsnax?"

I immediately stopped walking. Floofty was right, but they always were always right. "I'll take that as a no then." Floofty then walked out of my home. I stood them for a moment, thinking about how I would catch the Bugsnax without my trusty net and all the other things I was given along the way?

Floofty then walked back into my house and stared at me. "You were meant to follow instead of standing there like a cervidae in the fluorescent lights of an automobile." Staring at Floofty in confusion, I simply blinked a few times. They sighed. "Or in baby language, a deer in headlights. Now get moving."

I did a thumbs up at Floofty as I followed them out of my home. "Luckily enough for you, I located all of your equipment whilst you wasted time sleeping." Following them from close behind, I spoke. "Sleep is important." "And so is research and discovery." They quickly replied, "No one who is famous spent the majority of their time laying in a bed."

Once in the lab part of the tent, all my equipment was laid out on a table; the Snaktrap, the sauce slinger, the buggy ball with Sprout inside of it, the Lunchpad, the Snakgrappler, the Trip Shot, the Snakscope, and my bug net. "Thanks." I said with a smile, picking up each of the items and storing it in my bag which still surprised me that it could fit so much stuff in such a small space.

"No need to praise my excellence, simply retrieving me some specimens will be good enough." Floofty then went over to their lab and it was like I wasn't there. I stood there for a moment before walking away. I took a sandwich from the picnic basket and grabbed the the map from the ship and looked at it. "Where to begin?..." I thought to myself.

Then it came to me, if I were to find any secrets left behind, starting in Frosted Peak would be the best place. That was where that big door was after all with the fancy pressure plate system. I rolled the map up and placed it tidily into my bag. With a destination in mind, I set off, ready to climb a mountain.

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After gazing around in awe at the Bugsnax in Sugarpine Woods and also stealing anything of use from Chandlo and Snorpy's cabin, I began climbing Frosted Peak. My legs began to ache and I wasn't even near the top. The air grew bitter as snow coated the floor. I couldn't feel my hands and I could see my breath. Even with all the cold and the height of the mountain, I continued going, very slowly adjusting to the freezing temperatures.

About what felt like a decade of climbing later, I finally made it to the top, immediately walking over to a campfire and laying down beside it. Even though it had been a while since anyone had been on Snaktooth, the campfires on Frosted Peak were still burning brightly. Seeing this, I took out my journal and noted this down quickly, my handwriting looking extremely scruffy.

After a moment, I quickly walked over to Eggabell's igloo. I remember finding her up here, staring at those large doors, trying to figure out how Lizbert got inside. I remember Filbo, Eggabell and I activated the doors by cracking the code in the notes Lizbert had left. I remember falling down, I remember the thousands of Bugsnax, I remember seeing Lizbert... her appearance was... unexpected to me.

I take a deep breath of the bitter, cold air, exhaling whilst removing all thoughts of the past with the air. "The past isn't what you need to worry about right now." I thought to myself whilst picking up any pieces of paper left behind. "There's got to be something here- but what?" I flicked through the pieces of paper, frantically searching for any clues to secrets that were left behind.

Hours seemed to pass by, and yet all trails led straight to dead ends. I sighed, slumping down onto the cold, snow coated ground. Taking my sandwich out of my bag, I looked up into the sky, still bright and blue. Whilst I ate my sandwich I tried thinking once more, before giving up and sitting there for a moment. I then stood up, brushing off the crumbs from my sandwich and journeyed back down the mountain.

As I walked, I remembered that Floofty wanted me to catch them some Bugsnax. I looked around Sugarpine Woods, and spotted one of the easiest Bugsnax to catch from up here- a Cinnasnail. Quickly, rushed over to the cliff it was on, looking up at it. Taking out my Lunchpad and my Snaktrap, I placed the Snaktrap onto it, aiming it towards the Cinnasnail. I stared at it for a moment, completely focused, before activating the Lunchpad. The Snaktrap flung through the air and towards the Cinnasnail. Once the Snaktrap had stuck to the Cinnasnail, I quickly closed the trap and rushed over to it, picking it up.

Smiling, I opened the Snaktrap, took out the Cinnasnail and placed it into my bag. It had been a while since I caught a Bugsnax, and even though this one was an easy one, I seem to have not lost my skill. I walked back towards Snaxburg, feeling fulfilled, even though my main goal had failed. "Maybe it won't be bad if I stay here for a while." I thought to myself, still smiling. I kept on walking, the sun beginning to slowly set, leaving a warm orange glow in the sky.