Chapter Text
Baby Anne
An Amphibia AU Story
Sprig clutched Anne’s stony body tightly as he and Frobo descended into Amphibia’s atmosphere. Anne had just blown up the Core, and the moon, but at what cost? Sprig was trying to stay strong, but he could feel his sadness overwhelming him. He looked at Anne’s face, like she was in a frozen state of agony, making him feel worse.
Before long, Frobo touched down in the waters outside of Newtopia, in front of Hop Pop, Polly, Sasha, Marcy and Grime. They all looked so thrilled and overjoyed. But that sense of joy was quickly diminished as soon as they saw Anne’s petrified look, as Frobo lowered her and Sprig into the water.
“Come on, Anne. You’ll be okay.” Sprig said tearfully, with a smile on his face. He was trying to save face, and have some positivity, but instantly that changed when he looked at everyone else.
Sasha and Marcy looked devastated and horrified at the state of their friend, with Marcy cupping her mouth in horror, with tears building. Sasha could only stare in disbelief and shock with sadness beginning to overtake her. She wanted Anne to come back alive, but maybe she shouldn’t have made that promise, as her friend lied in the shallow tides of the lake.
Hop Pop and Polly fared no better. The Plantar patriarch clutched his granddaughter tightly in his arms, as both whimpered, unable to contain their sorrow. Anne wasn’t just some thing living in their basement, she was a Plantar, and a family member that they loved dearly. They had already lost Sprig and Polly’s parents…and now Anne.
Sprig’s attention turned to the stoic Grime, who himself was choking up, despite putting on a strong face, he could see the Toad warrior was losing his battle. Then his attention was drawn to the citizens of Wartwood, all choked up over the loss of their protector, their hero. And slowly, Sprig’s smile faded away, leaving him unable to hide his sadness any longer.
“Don’t cry, Sprig.” Anne croaked, drawing Sprig’s attention to his human sister. She had a faint smile, as cracks on her body and face began to get wider. “It’s okay. Saving this world was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Sprig held her hand tight as she spoke, trying to comfort her as she spoke. Her voice was raspy and rough, much like her exterior, and yet…she still had the same loving smile and happiness emanating from Anne.
“My only regret is that…I never…” Anne started, looking away for a second, before looking back at Sprig with contempt. “...Got to see Love Choice 2 .”
Sprig through his stream of tears, began to laugh at the joke. He could tell Anne was trying to add levity to the moment, and it was working. Even Hop Pop and Polly joined in, cry laughing, when--
Anne’s body started to disintegrate, glowing white, and turning into leaves and grass. Anne smiled, and closed her eyes, as her face disappeared. Sprig, along with everyone else, watched as what was once Anne Boonchuy blew up into the sky, and vanished into nothing.
Sprig closed his eyes, and collapsed onto all fours, overcome with grief. She was really gone. His sister from another world, his best friend, the best thing that ever happened to him…was gone. He looked down at where Anne was, but his eyes, still teary, opened wide with shock.
As the rest of Anne blew away, in her place…was a baby. It looked like Anne, without the leaves in her hair. Her eyes were closed as she made baby noises. She was wrapped in a swaddle blanket with little pictures of wheat and leaves all over it. She just rested in the water, sleeping.
Sprig, at a loss for words, slowly brought his hands down to below the water. He scooped the baby out of the water, and brought it close to his chest. Sasha and Marcy, now looking over at Sprig, began to share the same expression of shock as tears continued to pour out. Hop Pop and Polly didn’t know what to say.
Sprig looked down at the baby, and saw she was nestling inside the blanket. So precious, so little, so…cute. But so many thoughts were rushing through his head, that he was struggling to comprehend who he was looking at. He turned to his family, and Anne’s friends, and they all finally got a good look at the baby.
“Anne?” Marcy and Sasha quietly asked.
Sprig walked over to the group, still holding baby Anne tightly, like she was the most important person in the world. He held Anne softly, not wanting to harm the infant.
“W--what happened to her?” Sprig quietly said. He didn’t want to wake the baby up, as she would most likely start crying.
“I…I don’t know, Sprig.” Marcy said, kneeling down to take a better look at Anne. Anne blew a small bubble with her mouth, and sneezed, sounding like a kitten. Marcy noticed certain limbs rising and falling inside the swaddle, indicating she was trying to move around, but couldn’t. “Maybe she was…I don’t know, reborn?”
“Reborn?” Sasha stuttered out as she also kneeled down, ruffling Anne’s bushy hair. She was still trying to process that Anne, her best friend (and crush), had somehow disintegrated into a baby.
Suddenly, baby Anne slowly opened her eyes. She saw everyone around her looking at her, but her eyes were drawn to Sprig. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t remember why…
“WWAAAAAHHHHH!!”
Anne burst into tears crying, startling Sprig, the Plantars, Sasha, Marcy, and even Grime. Anne only had a couple teeth now, the rest being her gums. Her cries were loud and probably woke up the whole region.
Sprig’s eyes darted as she cried in his arms. Thinking quickly, he loosened the swaddle, revealing a light blue pajama onesie with the Amphibia crest all over it. Without a second thought, Sprig began to sway back and forth.
“ Hush, little tadpole, don’t say a word. Papa’s gonna buy you a little bird.” Sprig sang soothingly as he cradled Anne in his arms, soothing the baby’s cries. He always did this when he tried to put Polly to sleep when she was a baby “ And if that bird just flies away, papa’s gonna buy you a squeaky toy. And if that squeaky toy goes pop, papa’s gonna buy you a beetle top. And if that top spins and falls over, papa’s gonna buy you a spider named Clover. And if that spider won’t come down, you’re still the cutest little baby in town.”
Anne clapped, with a large smile on her face. The tears had now stopped. She giggled and put both her babies hands on Sprig’s face. She laughed and giggled as she played with Sprig’s face, and flailed her legs about. Sprig laughed as well, happy to see Anne smiling after what had transpired.
Sasha and Marcy just stood in silence. At least she’s not crying , Sasha thought. But she still was in disbelief. If Anne was a baby…did that mean the Anne they knew…was really dead? And now, there was TRULY no way to get back to Earth, now that the stones were gone.
“What are we going to do?” Sasha asked Hop Pop, and gazed at Sprig playing with baby Anne.
Hop Pop sighed. “I don’t know. I think we’ll just have to take it one day at a time.” But he heard a rumble, coming from Anne’s tiny stomach. “But maybe we should get her some cow-a-pillar milk.”
THE END?