Finn's POV
Cozma and I ran as fast as we could through the dense forest to get away from the mares that are trying to catch me. Yes, they don't know about Cozma and her Dark-Dark Fruit powers, and I'd like to keep it that way, the less anyone knows about her, the better it is for us. We ran for a good hour before we finally felt weak enough to stop and rest for a while, we were panting to regain the lost air in our lungs.
"Mister...Finn..." Cozma panted out, "How much...farther...?"
"I think...we're safe...for now..." I tell her.
We sat there panting until we gained our lost air and proceeded to stand up and wander around, hoping to find a way out of the forest without alerting the Element Bearers. After a long while with the sun going down, we found something...rather odd. A weird toll booth surrounded by mostly dead trees, a toxic waste barrel or two, and a muscular bipedal crocodile standing guard on the bridge over a rather unhealthy looking swamp river.
Cozma started clinging to me, scared by his physical appearance, "M-M-M-Mr. Finn...who is that...?"
I narrow my eyes at him, "...I have an idea who it is. Stay behind me." I walk up to him carefully, "Are you, by any chance, Klubba?"
"Do I LOOK like him?" he answered, sarcastically, "Nay, I'm Klubbo, his cousin. Now how do ye know of me cousin? An' don't ye DARE lie to me!"
Yeesh, he even has the pirate dialect... I think before speaking, "Okay, it's like this..." I explain to him how I know Klubba; the game he originated from, his purpose, and the fact that he's just pixels and code on a television screen...at least, that's what I thought, "...And that's pretty much it."
Klubbo leaned in real close and stared into my soul, trying to detect any sense of falsehood from my words, "...Okay, I believe ye."
"R-Really? Just like that?" I say, caught off guard by his answer.
"I don't really get all the talk o' 'video games' or 'pixels and code', but I can tell yer tellin' me the truth. Now that the explanations of me cousin are out o' the way, ear this, landlubbers! To cross me bridge is gonna cost yer many pieces o' eight! An' if yers don't pay up, I'll run yer through like the scurvy dogs ye are, A-harrr! It costs 15...er...whatever currency this world has to cross over, mateys."
"For a minute there I thought you gonna say Kremkoins."
"Yes, but...Kremkoins don't exist in this here land, so a Kremling's gotta make do with what we can find."
"I can understand that." I pull out a small bag of bits and pour 15 bits into my hand, "Will these do?"
Klubbo takes the coins, sniffs them, then takes one tries to bend it with his teeth, but to no avail, "That there's real gold. Thanks for the booty. Ye landlubbers may pass. Just...don't expect me to polish the bridge for ye next time ye come."
"Fine by me. C'mon, Cozma, it's safe now." I say, guiding her pass Klubbo, before he speaks again.
"Just one last thing." we turn to face him as he pulls out something pretty familiar, "Do ye know anything about this here fruit?"
My eyes went wide as I uttered the name, "...The Bomb-Bomb Fruit."
"Ah, so ye DO know. I found this here 'Bomb-Bomb Fruit' growing on one o' me dead trees an' plucked it. I reckon yer gonna find a better use for it than me." he tossed to me as I caught it.
"Why though?"
"I know about them 'Devil Fruits' 'round these parts, so let's just say yer gonna owe me...a favor."
"Well...you already gave it to me, so it's a deal."
Klubbo nods and turns away, "Now get movin'. There are things in that part o' the woods that ye don't want to be just standin' 'round."
"Good idea."
Cozma and I ran ahead as Klubbo simply stood guard at his post once more.
3rd Person POV
Meanwhile, at the Golden Oaks Library, Spike recently just sent Princess Celestia a letter about the Ice-Ice Fruit user's whereabouts, her reply was to keep an eye out and that she was doubling the bounty on him. Now, Spike was helping himself to a midnight glass of milk to try and help him sleep, after he poured his drink, he set the carton down, not noticing what was marked on the side of it...
A picture of a certain dark grey filly with the words:
HAVE YOU SEEN ME?
Lost Filly: Astral Force