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

Chapter 3: Unexpected Visitor

He didn't know why, but the name 'SMG4' had made SMG3's skin crawl.

"Who's SMG4?" SMG3 could finally bring himself to speak. The name sounded familiar, oddly enough, but his mind was foggy, so he couldn't quite put a finger on it.
"Who's SMG4? WHO'S SMG4?!" Boop echoed challengingly. "SMG4 is a great big meanie, that's who he is!" Angrily, Boop stirred his potion a little faster. "That giant stole everything from me! All my gold? Gone. Every last piece of treasure I've ever had? Gone."
SMG3's eyes widened in astonishment. "You had gold?"
Boop nodded. "I sure did. I was very rich, actually. Until that..." Boop hesitated. "...That brute stole everything from me!"
SMG3 slowly began to understand now. So that was why he was so against stealing. He and his bird had personally been victims of it.
"Wait, did you say that this 'SMG4' guy is a giant?" The thought made SMG3 feel a bit unsettled, but he didn't show it.
Boop nodded. "A very big one too. I think he was around 50 feet tall when I last saw him." Annoyed but hurt, he continued. "To put that into perspective, it's not very small unfortunately. I'm roughly the width of his thumb."
This time SMG3 couldn't hide a shudder. That explains why he couldn't defend himself when the giant stole his things.

He couldn't.

"When did this all happen?"
Boop sighed. "A long time ago..."
SMG3 stepped forward. "And now you're deciding to take action?" SMG3's rude demeanor had returned.
"I've been taking action for years." Boop corrected. "But nothing has ever happened. SMG4 has never came back to terrorize. But I'll be ready when he does." Stirring the potion with a frown, Boop continued. "My plan was to try to poison him. So I've been waiting for him to come here. But ever since he stole my things... he hasn't really bothered to come back. And I've just... never actually had the courage to go up and confront him myself. I'm a witch, sure. But compared to him, I'm just a bug. Literally." He suddenly stopped stirring the potion. "To tell you the truth, princess... I'm a bit of a coward. And he knows that." Boop had almost said the rest to himself.
"You don't say." SMG3 narrowed his eyes.
"Look, if you saw him yourself, you'd see why I'm afraid!" Boop snapped offendedly. "He is not somebody you should mess with."
"Yeah whatever." Ending the argument, SMG3 slowly began to recoil away from the witch and head for the door. "I just remembered that this isn't my problem, so uhh... yeah. I'm just gonna leave now."
"But princess--"
Right before SMG3 could walk out the door, he had suddenly bumped into a tall figure standing in the doorway.
"What the?- DO YOU MIND! I'M TRYING TO LEAVE HERE--" He trailed off.
"Oh hello, your Majesty!" The figure had bowed their head in respect. SMG3 realized that the figure had a TV for a head, which seemed rather odd and far from normal. But in the TV's defense, he had just spoken to a talking fish on two legs. And one of his animal friends had a human head.
Oh the irony.
"Who are you?" SMG3 almost choked the words out, as if he were actually nervous about something.
"Why, I'm Mr Puzzles! Haven't we met before?"
SMG3 stared. "No."
Mr Puzzles blinked. "Oh, why I was so certain that we have met at one point. Aw well. Must of been my imagination." Shrugging his shoulders, he made his way inside of the cottage, gently stepping over SMG3 casually.
Boop gasped when he recognized the figure that was walking his way. "Mr Puzzles! It's youuu!" Rushing towards him with a big smile, he reached out to give Mr Puzzles a hug. Mr Puzzles happily embraced the small witch and returned the smile. "My my, Boop. You sure are affectionate."
SMG3 almost thought that he heard a bit of annoyance in Mr Puzzle's tone, but he shrugged it off.
"Oh Mr Puzzles, where have you been? It's been years!"
SMG3 noticed that Mr Puzzles hesitated. "Oh you know. Here and there."
That isn't an answer! SMG3 thought to himself. But the minute Mr puzzles had turned to face him, all of his thoughts had just... vanished.
"My my Boop, I did not expect to see the princess here of all people."
Boop smiled, but then it turned into a frown. "Yeah. I found him outside of my cottage because Jub Jub did something very unpolite!"
Jub Jub turned his head away guiltily.
"Oh my," Mr Puzzles tilted his head, intrigued. "What did he do that was so horrendous?"
"He stole the princess's crown!"
Mr Puzzles gasped. "What?! No way! That's just horrible!"
"Don't worry though." Boop convinced. "I scolded him, and he was very sorry. Right Jub Jub?"
Jub Jub almost immediately nodded his head, terror in his eyes.
"Well that's good to hear," Mr Puzzles commented. "But you know, it's really not nice to steal. It's almost punishable by death."
SMG3's heart sank when he had said that so casually. What was up with this guy?
"But-- but I would never kill Jub Jub! He's my best pal!"
Resentment flashed across Mr Puzzles face, but he immediately covered it up with a smile. "Why I'm just kidding!" He let out a playful chuckle. "No need for murder if it was just a mistake, right? No hard feelings."
Their shouldn't be a need for murder at all! ...And I hate myself for literally just saying that.
Boop let out an awkward laugh. "Ahaha... yeah."
As if realizing that Boop was becoming uncomfortable, Mr Puzzles spoke again, more sympathetically. "I'm sorry Boop. I have just been so infuriated by that giant."
Boop gasped. "You know about him?"
"Well why wouldn't I? That giant is nothing but trouble."
Boop rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it."
"I think we should get our revenge. After what he's did to you."
Boop frowned. "Well... I was working on a potion... but he hasn't really shown up since the whole robbery..."
Mr Puzzles shook his head. "Tsk Tsk. Just hearing about him makes my blood boil."
SMG3 couldn't take that seriously. Especially the way the strange man had delivered that line. He sounded so calm... it was almost memorizing.
Was he not afraid of the giant? And what could possibly happen if he chose to confront the beast himself?
Boop must of took his thoughts right out of his head, because he proceeded to ask; "Are you sure that's a very good idea? You know how big he is, and what destruction he can cause..."
"Why, I have fought and dealt with worse. A giant is simply nothing compared to what I can do, my friend." With a cocky smirk, he continued. "I'll have that giant crying and wailing with it's tail wrapped between it's legs before you can say 'hocus pocus'."
Boop looked unconvinced, but when his eyes met Mr Puzzle's, he couldn't bring himself to object. "I suppose..."
"And plus, I wouldn't be going alone on this journey." Mr Puzzles slowly rotated to look over at SMG3.
He gasped. This piece of shit wants me-- no... expects me to go with him? Fat chance!
"OH HELL NO!" SMG3 shook his head violently. "IF YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I'M STEPPING EVEN A FOOT NEAR THAT THING, THEN YOU'VE LOST YOUR MIND!" Turning away, he got ready to storm out the door again. "Good-bye!"

Suddenly, it felt like time froze on him. When he tried to turn back to face the others, he couldn't. He felt as if he were in a dark void for a moment. Everything around him spun, and before he knew it, he had completely forgotten everything that had just happened.
"And plus, I wouldn't be going alone on this journey." Mr Puzzles slowly rotated to look over at SMG3.
SMG3 furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a moment. I really don't want to do this! But... wait...
He paused. All of that money and gold... if I manage to survive... I could have all of that treasure to myself... and then I can rub it in those rich folk peasants faces!
SMG3 smiled evilly and turned back to face the two. "It's a deal!"
Mr Puzzles clasped his hands together. "Marvelous! Spectacular! That's just what I wanted to hear!"
SMG3 didn't think much of the sudden darkness in Mr Puzzle's tone, and he marched towards the two and wrapped his arms around them mischievously. "Give me some of that potion, Boop or whatever the hell your name is. We're going on an adventure."