📺PUZZLEVISION PRESENTS: Once Upon an SMG4: SMG3 and The Tall Tale of Macro Four

Chapter 2: Lost in the Woods

It had been a few hours since our lovely princess had stumbled into the dark side of the forest.
Owls hooted and crows screeched, making SMG3's blood run cold. "I-It's okay Three... theirs nothing to be afraid of..."
With a few more steps, SMG3 suddenly froze.

SNAP.

  "GAHHH!" Whirling his head around in fright, SMG3 realized with a fast beating heart that the sudden noise had originated from a stick he had accidently trampled on. With a sigh of relief, SMG3 continued on.

The forest slowly grew darker and denser as SMG3 went deeper in.
Tree's were now a shade of grey, and the sky was a very dark navy blue. SMG3 didn't realize that so much time had went by in such a short time. I could've sworn it was much brighter out where the animals are. How the hell is it so dark already?
SMG3 felt unsettled by the dark thoughts but tried to push them at the back of his mind. They don't call this the dark forest for nothing.

...I'm almost starting to regret leaving the animals behind, much to my despise of admitting that aloud.

With a grunt, SMG3 continued on with his adventure one final time.
Much to his dismay, when another twenty five minutes had passed, SMG3 had begun to realize that he was lost.
None of the forest looked familiar to him at all! Everything looked exactly the same, no matter which way he turned.
No no no... this can't be happening... I can't be lost... I can't be!
Picking up the pace now, SMG3 slowly began to speed walk. His speed walking turned into running. And before he knew it, he had accidently tripped over a small pebble. He fell face first to the ground, which caused him to let out a loud caterwaul, startling the birds in the trees and making them all caw in distress and fly off. "Ow!" Pulling himself up from the ground, SMG3 rotated to see that his beautiful dress had now a large tear. "No! My dress!" SMG3 growled. "Shit!"
As if things couldn't get any worse for Three, a bird suddenly swooped past him and snatched the crown from his head.
   "HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!" With an infuriated grunt, the princess gave chase, lifting his dress from time to time to avoid thorn bushes or short trees. Hopping over logs, holes and stones, SMG3 continued to chase after the bird while angry thoughts clouded his mind. That is definitely not one of my birds. Otherwise, If it was, their head would of been on a pike by now!

SMG3 suddenly found himself slowing down. He saw something in the distance that made him feel some sort of... relief?
A cottage!
And just as he expected, the bird was heading straight towards it. That's a pretty smart bird. Does it perhaps have an owner?
Shaking his head, with his rage subsiding, SMG3 slowed his pace when he finally found himself in front of the worn out cottage.
It looked pretty abandoned on the outside, but their was a light flickering from the inside.
And just as he was about to go inside and investigate, SMG3 had suddenly froze when he heard a loud cackle come from the inside.
Somebody's in there...!
Before SMG3 could even react, the strange bird had swooped past him again, only this time, it went inside of the cottage. SMG3 had almost completely forgotten about his crown, but when he saw the bird again, determination ran through his blood. Stepping foot onto the front step, SMG3 was suddenly interrupted by a voice.
   "Hello there!"
   "ACK!" Hopping back in fright, SMG3 blinked. "WHO ARE--" He went silent.
In front of him, was what people would of called a witch. But this particular witch seemed... very small. When SMG3 got a closer look at him, he realized that the witch was actually a fish! A fish on two legs, that is.
   "Who might you be, traveler?" The witch had spoken.
Before SMG3 could reply, the witch had cut him off and spoke again. "Oh dear! You look horrible!"
   "Thanks for pointing out the obvious!" SMG3 sneered, gritting his teeth mockingly.
   "Did he get you too?" The witch's voice was full of sorrow and fear.
SMG3 blinked in confusion. "Did who get me what?"
The witch looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. "Come inside. You'll be much warmer, princess. And you look very exhausted."
Taken a back from the witch's kindness, SMG3 reluctantly entered the witch's cottage. "How... how did you know that I was a princess?"
The witch smiled. "Well it's quite obvious. The dress you're wearing... the-- JUB JUB!"
The witch was interrupted to see his bird sitting upon a large tree branch, SMG3's crown still clamped between his beak.
A tree inside of a cottage? Odd.
   "Jub Jub?" SMG3 questioned.
   "JUB JUB WHAT'S THAT YOU GOT THERE!"
The bird, Jub Jub, had flew down to his owner and gave him the crown, flapping his wings in triumph.
   "Oh, just in case you weren't aware, your stupid bird swooped down on me and STOLE MY CROWN!" SMG3 barked, his rage slowly bubbling again when he saw his crown in the witch's hands.
   "Jub Jub what is this I'm hearing!"
The bird looked flabbergasted when he saw that his owner had raised his voice.
   "Jub Jub, give the boy back his crown! This instant!"
With a heavy heart, the bird complied, flying down to retrieve the crown from his owner, and to fly over and drop the crown into the princess's arms.
   "Now apologize!" The witch pressed.
The bird hung his head and let out a sad caw. The bird looked genuinely guilty. Not only because he had been scolded, but also for what he did.
   "I'm so sorry about him," The witch sighed. "He's usually a troublemaker, but the last thing I expected was for him to steal!" He shot a glare at the bird. Jub Jub shrank.
   "Stealing isn't nice, Jub Jub!" The witch chided. "I know you're only trying to do the right thing by getting this nice stuff for me, but you especially should know how it feels to get your things stolen." Their was genuine emotion in the witch's tone, which caught SMG3 a bit off guard.
Feeling the princess's eyes on him, the witch turned to face him again. "I'm so sorry, we've clearly gotten on the wrong foot. Let me start again. Ahem. My name is Boop. Boop the Witch. Well... you probably already knew that, but you know... a reminder doesn't hurt."
SMG3 furrowed his eyebrows but didn't reply.
Boop smiled. "And you must be the princess who rules that kingdom on the other side of the forest. I've heard a few stories about you. About how you're... uh..."
   "A bitch?" SMG3 sneered. "I've already been informed about that, thanks."
Boop's smile faded. "Aw, don't be so hard on yourself. You know what you need? A h-"
   "If you say a hug, I will slit your throat open."
   "A friend."
   "No thank you," SMG3 had taken on a mocking tone. "That's even worse."
   "Yeeeesh... I see what they meant now."
   "Pardon?"
   "Nothing!" Boop immediately broke eye contact with the Princess and approached his cauldron.
SMG3 was curious, so he approached the witch and loomed over the mysterious pot. "What's that?"
   "Step back!" Boop snapped. "This stuff is extremely poisonous! One sip of this and it's lights out." Boop shuddered by the thought.
SMG3 blinked. He wasn't intimidated by the liquid at all. He was more curious than afraid. "Then why do you have it?"
Boop's expression suddenly darkened. "In case he comes back..."
   "Who?" SMG3's curiosity was piqued. "Who come back?"
Boop didn't reply at first. Jub Jub also looked unsettled by the way he approached his owner and nudged his head against his master's side. They both looked horrified, but depressed at the same time.
When Boop finally brought himself to speak again, SMG3 could feel his heart drop down to the pit of his stomach.

"SMG4."