Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was Monday. Nothing special other than the in-frequent raids that many predators attempt at Wartwood. But recently the scenery has been peaceful, with no major attacks on the town itself for 3 weeks.

But like all days, it was all business as usual for each amphibian that called this town their home. A frog can be seen riding what seems to be a giant beetle with a cart full of Insect bits, while a salamander works on his many wood products he carves every single day.

And the Flours, of course. Are not exempt from this. Life has been quite stable for them, but the recent inflation of wheat-based ingredients has made it hard for them to make any significant profit.
A swarm of flaming tornado locusts has carved their pathway on all of the local farms in the valley, since they seemed to abnormally appear early this year, very few farmers could prepare or even fend them off at all, with their preference for food source being fields of grain plants, it was not hard to imagine that they managed to wipe most wheat fields clean.

The head of the Flour family however was not discouraged, his family has been through way worse, yet they survived and managed to rebuild what was left of a tragic past that happened a long time ago.
He isn't about to let some inflated prices of his main bread ingredient be the one thing that topples this family down to the ground.

Mr. Flour, also known as Harold by many, has been trying to think of an idea to surpass this hurdle.
He has thought of many, but most lack a stable foundation or are too risky to be taken forward as a running plan.
He ponders while pacing back and forth, all the while he kneads one of the dough on his own hands. His pondering to bear fruit to a sufficient plan was eventually interrupted.

"Dad, you know going back and forth like a stressed snail isn't going to do any of us any good right? I mean... Especially not with the amount of bad thoughts you're harboring right now..."

Harold sighed, put his dough down on the table, and looked to face his daughter.
His expression can be described as someone who was robbed of every ounce of joy they once had. Though it wasn't his fault entirely to be this concerned, while attacks on the town by predators are seen as a natural occurrence that is often seen as insignificant and easy to handle most of the time, Inflation of base material prices is another thing entirely.
Much like the farmers who didn't have enough time to prepare for the locusts, Harold wasn't prepared to face such problems. He grunted and replied to his daughter's own concerns.

"I know... I know... It's just that... I can't think of what could happen to us if we didn't make enough profit for the upcoming tax season, you've seen firsthand what those tax collector toads do to those who are unable to meet their demands... And we can't just pay them the rest of our money that we'd use to meet the demands of our own lives!"

Maddie could only stare with her own near equally spent expression.
Her father is right, what could they do right now that would turn the tide back in their favor again.
His father then picks the dough back up to knead it with his bare hands, this time more focused on the task at hand. Trying to relax and comfort himself with his thoughts, that everything would eventually align perfectly for his family again. He let out a dissatisfied croak and spoke.

"If only those wheat are easy to be replaced with something else..."

Maddie froze, her face going blank. The cogs of her mind thought of what she thinks is the solution to this whole problem.
She then snuck past the kitchen quietly before slowly picking up the pace of her speed.
Her three younger sisters. Rosemary, Lavender, and Ginger, gleefully greeted her and were also confused as to why she was in such a hurry. Rosemary then asked her older sister.

"Maddie, why are you running so fast like that?" which is then followed by Lavender's own words. "Yeah! What is it all about?" to which Ginger followed up. "Can you juggle us while you're going to do whatever you're going to do right now?"

Maddie responded with a blatant denial to each one of them.

"Sorry, I- I'm just gathering a few resources that I'll be needing. I'll play with you three later." She said as she bolted right out the front door.

Rosemary shrugged with a deadpan expression, "There she goes again, ignoring all three of us..." To which Ginger replied, "Probably gathering materials to make her potions or something."

Meanwhile, in the usual spot where she would practice her arcane capabilities. Maddie was preparing everything available in her offensive and defensive arsenal. Stakes..., Potions..., Spells...
After she prepared everything, she then bolted back into the house, and went upstairs into her room, to then view through her book collection. And she ran her fingers through every one of them, bit by bit.

"This one... Nope... Maybe this... Nah... AHAH!"

She opened the book, it was titled "Flora Dispersal of The Valley".
She ran through the pages of the book, before stopping at the page she wanted.

"Yes... Wheat reeds..." She then reads the description of said plant. "Found in one of the thickest parts of the swamps in the valley, they grow in some dense patches there due to a lack of competition from other reed species that are not as well suited for said environment, usually gathered as a replacement for conventional wheat." But her eyes are kept narrow, for she knows that there are no such things as "free" stuff in Amphibia, she kept reading through the plant's location and distribution.
"Be wary though, as the mud lurker also frequently inhabits the same swampy areas these wheat reeds tend to also grow in. They are a species of giant catfish that are known to breach out of the water and even pursue their prey on land, up to a certain distance. Best to be prepared for their appearance when foraging for these reeds." She then closed the book shut, packed her supplies, and immediately traveled to the dangerous thick swamp.

The journey was somewhat uneventful, with insects flying past here and there. Other than that, things are going smoothly for her.

Eventually, she arrived at her desired destination. She immediately looked around to look around for the wheat reeds as well as any potential threat that might loom around, not long after walking along the sides of the lake in the thick swamp. She spotted what she was after.

"Wheat reeds! Eheh, didn't think it would be that easy. Well... Better grab a bunch of it and get going before I get turned into fish food..."

She then reached out towards the reeds but then noticed a stream of air bubbles was coming from right next to the reeds that she was about to grab, she panicked and immediately hopped backward, expecting to meet a fishy adversary.

Soon enough, something lunged out of the water, but it looked nothing like a fish, more... Alien-like in appearance in her view.
Five fingers, a small stub on its face, and long spindly limbs... Black messy hair... A dirty light-blue handbag... A green backpack... A grey robe?... A green skirt?... Bags in its eyes... Which indicates that the creature probably barely got any kind of good sleep. It coughed up some excess water before showing an angry expression that could be described as someone who is deprived of any comfort and has received nothing but a painful experience for the last few days. It seems to bear some scars and even fresh wounds from something that have recently attacked it. The very moment she moved slightly, the creature screamed at her.

"STAY BACK!"

Maddie was so preoccupied with the creature's bizarre appearance, that she didn't notice the long makeshift spear that it was wielding, the creature immediately pointed the tip of the spear at her the very moment it screamed at her, and only then did she notice the weapon that the creature wielded.
Maddie was immediately caught off guard, she thought to herself. "This thing can speak?!", Her usual self would go nuts at such a discovery, but now is not a time for such things anymore. She is preoccupied with a more important goal.
She then tried to reason with the creature, to at least get the reeds without making an absolute mess.

"Hey! Hey! Calm down! I'm not here to harm you, I'm here for those reeds over there, now if you would be kind enough to step aside then we could avoid settling this encounter the ugly way..."

The creature's body language changes and is more relaxed and harbors a more confused look, it then replies to Maddie's words.

"You... Can speak?... My language?..."

Maddie then shot back swiftly, still cautious of the creature, and kept a strategic defensive posture. Her hand coming down to hover above her bag, directly above her many vials that she won't hesitate to use in self defense should this creature attempt any sort of deceit.

"Was about to ask you the same thing pal!"

The creature's expression seemed to change to that of desperation, instantaneously too. It began to apologize to Maddie to seemingly try and get on her good side whilst also trying to explain herself.

"Oh no... I'm so sorry! It's just that- I-I was teleported here... I expected something nicer but was greeted with what is essentially green hell from my experience... Almost every creature that I have encountered has been so aggressive that I eventually concluded that everything here wants me dead!"

"Heck! I was just recently chased by a group of giant wasps and had to jump into this lake and hold my breath while swimming away to avoid getting stung to death! B-but seeing you right now really makes me think otherwise!"

The creature dropped the spear that it was wielding and clasped both of its hands together to the front of its chest, a sheepish smile slowly creeped on its face, its eyes widened, its pupils sharpen and locked towards Maddie as tears began to form on the side of its eyes, in a disturbing yet pitiful manner, the words coming out of her mouth was jittery and desperate, it was almost as if this creature was begging her to let itself tag along with her.

Just when Maddie was about to reply, their conversation was immediately interrupted by the appearance of a brown dorsal fin that surfaced for a few seconds in the lake before sinking back into the water, out of sight.

The very moment Maddie turned to face back at the strange creature, it was already in mid-lunge in her direction, it then pounced her, covered her mouth with one of its hands, and took her behind a tree. The creature immediately spoke to her in a whisper.

"Pssst... Got anything that could mask our scent with our surroundings?!"

Maddie could only point at one of her bottles and hoped that the creature was on the same page as she is. Fortunately, she thought right. The creature then proceeded to grab the bottle and slammed it under the both of them. Releasing a plain odorless gas that seemed to envelop the both of them.

Soon enough, the mud lurker breached from the lake and hauled its massive body onto land, it surfaced in a choke point area and had blocked the only small gap that could be used for a possible escape route. Its head is flat, and rows of sharp teeth can be seen from inside its mouth, ready to clamp down on its next meal, its long sensory barbels probe the area with a keen sense of smell. It slowly prowls the area, inching closer and closer to the both of them, it then paused right next to them and sniffed the air.

A sense of dread filled the air as the both of them stayed completely still as to avoid the mud lurker's detection, its eyes seemed to be pale and barely functional, it then proceeded to continue to haul its massive body past them using its pectoral fins, eventually going back into the water, sending a wave of relief for the two.

After the both of them were sure that the beast was gone, they slowly made their escape. The creature then proceeded to talk to Maddie in a somewhat enthusiastic manner, not caring about the fact that they both nearly got eaten.

"Yes! Just as I predicted, I've observed some of these guys from afar, and from said observation, I have concluded that they are-"

its words are cut short by Maddie's complaints, who wasn't as enthusiastic about it as the creature was.

"Near blind, I know... I already knew how these creatures operate myself, you know. What were you thinking grabbing me like that?! You nearly got us both killed! You were lucky your hands didn't cover the bottle solution that was supposed to mask our scent. Otherwise, I wouldn't been able to point the bottle for you and we would both be gobbled up whole!"

The creature scratched the back of its head and frowned in an immediate sense of guilt, it never knew that she was only making said situation more dire for the both of them.

"Sorry... But I promise that I can be of great use! Just give me a chance to prove myself! Please!"

The same pleading expression the creature is making is starting to make Maddie genuinely feel bad about its current way of life. With utter reluctance, she obliges.

"Alright, alright... You can start being useful by helping me harvest those reeds and help me carry them back to my town, alright?"

The creature was overjoyed to hear those words come out from Maddie, she immediately started to harvest the surrounding wheat reeds like her life depended on it.
Maddie then spoke to the creature.

"By the way, the name's Maddie, Maddie Flour. Yours?" The creature then replied with joy in her voice and simultaneously lent one of her arms that is free, palm open towards her. "The name's Marcy, Marcy Wu."

Maddie seemed a bit hesitant but knowing that nothing had happened to her back when this creature touched her, she eventually decided to reach out her own hand for a handshake, she couldn't help but to smile herself. Despite its bad first impression, there is something about the creature's unexpected friendly exterior that seems to lighten her mood a bit.

Chapter Text

As the sun begins to set in the valley, Maddie and Marcy have been walking and making their way back to Wartwood with a handful of wheat reeds they have gathered.

Of course, Maddie has selected an isolated and longer route to the town, she can't have any prying amphibian eyes seeing this creature, she could only imagine the amount of panic it would elicit in the town if the folks ever found out about its presence.
So it would be best for her to ease the creature's presence in the town, starting with her very own family. She pondered and was a bit lost in thoughts as to how she would hide such a strange being in her family's house without any of her family members noticing for some time.

She also took the long trip as an opportunity to get to know the creature so she could understand what it truly was and where it came from, she also gave a brief explanation about the town that she lived in and its location, just when Maddie was about to throw a couple of questions at the creature, the creature was the one that decided to ask her first.

"So... What are you?... What are the inhabitants of the town like? And... Are they particularly friendly to... Uhm... Newcomers?..."

To then Maddie responded. "I'm an amphibian, a frog girl to be exact. Just your average kid trying her best to help her family's business. The town is mostly inhabited by other amphibians. Salamanders, newts, toads, frogs. But mostly frogs... And oh, people there are not very accepting of strangers, and they most definitely would see you as some sort of monster... So I'd have to hide you, even from my own family. And try to slowly ease your presence in to not cause any ruckus."

The creature frowned and rubbed one of the sides of her arm with its other arm in a display of sadness, this caused Maddie to somewhat try to comfort it.

"Hey, it's okay. Not everyone would be accepted in Wartwood easily, I'm kind of a social outcast myself... People see me as some sort of creep despite being born in that very town... I guess we could both be weirdos in the town if that would cheer you up."

The creature's sad expression disappeared almost instantly, it looked towards Maddie's direction and smiled. Almost as if it could relate to her in a way and was happy that it wouldn't be the only weird one around here.
Maddie then began to ask questions back to the creature.

"So... What are you exactly?... Where did you come from?... And what do you eat?... Because I'm not so sure what you would eat to sustain yourself, honestly..." The creature then started to explain its kind and its origin.

"I'm a kind of ape if I have to describe my species' classification... a human girl to be exact... I used to be a middle schooler before I got teleported here, I would describe my species as a generalist omnivore, though eating bugs is not how I usually sustain myself, but it's not like I have any other choice... I came from Earth. I thought that I was still in my world when I arrived here, but the moment I saw giant killer insects... I'm probably on another solar system entirely..."

Maddie narrowed her eyes in confusion to some of the words the creature spoke.

"Solar... System?... Nevermind... So you went to a school huh? We don't have an education system back at Wartwood, well not anymore... I guess you came from a very developed region. And you're a kind of ape? I guess that would explain the five fingers and your long limbs... But last time I checked..."
Maddie then poked Marcy's stub on her face with her index finger. "Apes don't have a bump on their face for a nose..."

Which then caused Marcy to giggle a bit and proceeded to pull Maddie's arm off her slowly.

"I don't blame you for that statement, humans are kind of special in our physical appearance, we are the only great ape with a protruding nostril like this."

This piqued Maddie's curiosity and she began to ask more questions to her.
"So there are more kinds of apes like you in your world?... Like there are some kinds of amphibians in my world?" To which Marcy responded.

"Yes... And no... We are the only current sapient ape species, I mean there used to be another sapient great ape species like us. they're called neanderthals, but they... Went extinct around 40,000 years ago... So... Yeah..."

Maddie looked at Marcy in a somewhat dumbfounded manner, she just looked at her blankly before responding.

"So... What are they like?..." Marcy immediately responded to her question. "Stocky, muscular, and a smaller brain volume than us, basically a physically stronger but less intelligent counterpart species that my own species used to coexist with."

Maddie responded with a low tone in her voice. "Sounds like the toads that live in here in my world... Honestly, I'm glad they're extinct in your world, at least you don't have to worry about a bully race that will push you around for just trying to live your life..."

Maddie frowned and just looked forward as she was talking, her view towards toads in general was not good in any way then, and she only grew to resent them more now due to her family's current financial situation.
Marcy was about to ask her about what could be bothering her, but decided not to and just looked down while walking alongside Maddie, she had decided that it wouldn't be nice to question her personal issues right now.

The cold air begins to close in as dusk draws near, as Maddie begins to feel the uncomfortable cold wind on her skin, she reaches for her potion bag.
But as she searches through her bag, she realizes that she is too preoccupied with preparing everything that would be used to defend herself, that she hasn't prepared anything for pretty much everything else.
She could only rub her skin for warmth and complain in a shivering voice.

"Ugh... It's not even night yet and it's already this cold out here..."

Marcy looked at her trying to cope with the cold temperatures, she thought to herself. "Huh... It seems that she isn't even slightly endothermic, looks like amphibians around here remain cold-blooded despite achieving sapience..." Feeling pity for just looking at her suffering a little bit, Marcy decided to propose an idea to her.

"You know, if you're feeling cold you could slide in on the back of my hoodie to stay warm, I'll also carry your bag and the rest of the reeds that you're carrying right now."

Maddie looked at Marcy and narrowed her eyes in confusion before responding.

"Clothes only ever protect us from the wind, they trap very little heat inside so it wouldn't make much of a difference for me to get inside your "hoodie" if I'm being honest."

Marcy lets out a goofy giggle at her statement, it seems that Maddie forgot one little detail about her kind. And Marcy decided to point that out to her.

"Well, maybe it's because you're all cold-blooded right, well I'm warm-blooded. So I generate my own heat that would accumulate more effectively when trapped in barrier, in this case, clothing!"

Maddie seems somewhat surprised at first but then realizes what Marcy is capable of, but then she remembers that she should have realized it some time ago. She then replied.

"Oh yeah, you're a mammal. Should've known that from the fact that you're a kind of ape."

Marcy giggled a bit more, then unzipped her hoodie halfway so that Maddie could get inside from the back. She then crouched down, and as she did, Maddie dropped the stuff that she was carrying and immediately hopped on the gap between Marcy's hoodie and shirt.
Marcy proceeded to zip back the hoodie with Maddie now tucked comfortably behind her back. Marcy then grabbed both of Maddie's bags, one containing her potions and one containing her harvested wheat reeds.

Maddie then asked Marcy if all of this was a bit much for her to handle.

"Marcy, is it any difficult for you to do this?... Like I'm no longer cold and all but-" Her words are cut short by Marcy's own response. "Don't worry about it! It's no big deal! Really! After all, this is the the only little thing I could do right now to help you for giving me a proper place to live in."

With everything set and ready, Marcy began to continue walking along, The once swampy scenery had long changed to that of sparsely vegetated woods, and Maddie was quite comfortable, especially with the head of Marcy's hoodie shielding her head from the cold.

And sure enough, they have arrived at an open clearing with a patch of dry ground as a road, to which leads to a gateway to a town that is circled with mossy cobblestone walls.
They have arrived at Wartwood, the scenery has changed to that of an early night, and fireflies litter the air as Marcy went around a less conspicuous entry to the town, she couldn't help but stare at such beautiful lights fluttering dimly along the wind.
So much so, that she wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings, or the rock that was about to make her trip.

"AHCK!..." Marcy tried to regain her footing by flailing her arms in the air, alas, it failed. And she fell face-first into the grass.

SMACK

Followed shortly by the rest of her limbs.

THUD...

"Owww...." Marcy rubbed her head for a little bit, then lifted her body with both of her hands and used one of her legs to remain in a crouched position, Maddie also tried to check if she was okay.

"Hey, Marcy. You alright there? For someone who looks like a survivor of many attacks from countless predators, you sure have the attention span of a spider chicken... Also, can you unzip your hoodie?"

Marcy nodded then unzipped her hoodie again to let Maddie out. With a single hop, Maddie was out of her cozy confines and began to help her buddy back to her foot.

As Marcy got up with the help of Maddie, she was again. Immediately dumbfounded at the town's scenery at night. To which is then interrupted by Maddie's finger snapping.

"Hey, hey! Buddy, we can't let our guard down here. Can't have any townsfolk seeing you, remember? Come on, follow me."

With her signal, they both grabbed their stuff and the wheat reeds in separate bags and went to a peculiar house that seemed to be carved from a tree stump, there were several display troughs, though all of them were empty. Marcy then craned her neck towards the rolling pin sign and read it in a quiet tone.

"Flours and Daughters Bakery... Is this your house?" Maddie nodded and replied. "Yeah, let me check if the coast is clear first..."

She then peeked from the front window, narrowed her eyes, and scanned the room for anyone inside at the time, she also kept her hearing at a vigilant state for any footsteps. After making sure that no one was in the front room, she slowly opened the door and gestured for Marcy to follow her inside.

Marcy is quick to follow her lead, she lowered her posture down and began to tip-toe her way in with Maddie, they both took the kitchen route to Maddie's room as Maddie deduced that the rest of her family is probably in their rooms or in the living room, just as they were about to leave the kitchen however, one of Maddie's younger sisters caught a slight glimpse of them.

"AHHH!" Maddie screamed a bit, grabbed the nearest burlap sack in the kitchen, and then immediately jumped and covered Marcy with it as swiftly as possible.

"Oh... Hey, Ginger. What are you doing so late here in the kitchen? Heheh..."

Maddie was putting on quite the bad casual pose, and of course. Her sister immediately noticed the burlap sack that was just casually standing upright bottoms-up.

"What is that?..." Ginger said, pointing at burlap sack with one of her flipper whilst having an eyebrow raised.

Maddie then noticed that Marcy's shoes weren't completely covered yet, she was quick to cover the rest of them up with the rest of the burlap sack while speaking back at Ginger.

"Oh... Uhm... You know, it's materials for my potions! And uh... I've gathered these wheat reeds so we can continue to make bread and pastries without having to buy the ingredients for them at such a high price."

Maddie then yanked the burlap sack so she could carry the mouth of the sack on her shoulders, she seemed to have forgotten that Marcy's legs were also standing on the mouth of the sack, with no way to support herself and no soft grass to soften her fall, Marcy then fell to the hardwood floor with a loud thud, then lets out a short abrupt yell.

"OW!..."

Ginger narrowed her eyes in suspicion and asked Maddie about the noise.

"Did that sack just scream?" Maddie just stared at her blankly and began to sweat a little. She then smiled sheepishly and tried to make some excuse for it.

"Oh... It's just some scream beans... Nothing to worry about... Hehe..." Maddie then cringed and looked behind herself, right at the burlap sack that Marcy was currently in. And muttered a word quietly. "Sorry..."

"For what?..." Said the little pollywog that is becoming increasingly suspicious of her older sister. Maddie didn't realize that Ginger was still able to hear the words that she whispered to Marcy. Maddie then again, tried to make some excuse for her own words. "For not playing with the rest of you three of course! I promise I'll play with you guys next time!"

She then began to carry the sack up the stairs to her room, as she did so, the bag let out subtle quiet yells with each stair step that hit it from the back end.

Thud "Ow..." Thud "Ow..." Thud "Ow..."Thud "Ow..."

The confused Ginger narrowed her eyes, shrugged, and went elsewhere in the house.

Maddie on the other hand, dragged the sack to the front door of her room, opened the door, went inside, closed the door, and locked it for good measure.
She positioned the bag downside-up again and hopped to lift it off of Marcy. She squeezed the stem of a big bulb shroom in the middle of the room, and as she did, the whole room was lit by its light. She proceeded to give Marcy a quick tour of her room.

"Welcome to my room, it's a bit messy... Sorry for that. This is where I keep my books, materials, and written spells for my arcane use."

Marcy's eyes widened, her pupils dilated, and a big open smile appeared simultaneously on her face. And her response is just as enthusiastic as her expression.

"Oh... My... Gosh... You're a WITCH?! There is magic in this world?!"

Marcy then grabbed Maddie's face and pulled her in to look her directly in the eyes, to then bombard Maddie with all sorts of questions.

"How does it work? Are the spells that you cast powerful? Are there any other people here that use magic? When did you learn to use magic?! When did you guys discover and practice magic?!"

Maddie then slowly pulls away from Marcy's grip, while smiling with a nervous expression. "Alright... For once... I am the one that is creeped out when discussing this subject with someone..."

Marcy can only giggle a little and apologize for her action.

"Sorry... It's a force of habit..." Maddie can only cross her arms and smile at Marcy's enthusiasm, no one has shown interest in her arcane arts around here before. She seemed tempted to answer all of her questions but decided not to at the time being. Maddie explains the current situation to Marcy.

"First off, too many questions... Secondly, It's night right now, and I'm too tired to explain it to you, even if I want to right now. Anyways, follow me."

Maddie then slides a part of her bookshelf, revealing a keyhole. She then pulls out a key from her bag and slides it inside then twists the key handle. And a lock opening sound can be heard as she did so. A room that is slightly bigger than Maddie's original room is revealed.
Marcy then gasped and then covered her mouth in amazement.

"Whoa! You have a secret hidden room? Gosh, I love this so much! It's like those secret hidden passages found in some of my RPG games."

Maddie then also gives a short tour of the room after she turns on the other bulb shroom in said room.

"This is your bed, these are my forbidden notes and books of dark arts... Don't touch them... You can use that table over there to place down your stuff if you want... That's the bulb shroom in the middle of the room, you just squeeze the stem to turn it on and off...  And that's about it, make sure you're not being loud when I'm not here."

Marcy nodded and smiled at Maddie. "You can count on me, friend!"
Marcy immediately jumps on the bed and lands back first on it. "Gosh... It is way better than sleeping on a log..."

Maddie then squeezed the stem of the bulb shroom to turn its light off, then slowly walked out of the room and into her own room, she then said her final words to Marcy for the night.

"Goodnight, friend. I think I'd just have to worry about acclimating my family to your appearance. For your attitude and personality is as beautiful as a lunar moth."

Marcy tucked herself in and returned a response back to Maddie. "Aww... Thanks, and good night to you, fellow weirdo!"

Maddie rolled her eyes while smiling, and then closed the secret bookshelf door. She hopped onto her own bed in her room, looked directly at the ceiling, and pondered what the next day had in store for them.

On the other hand, Marcy stared awake while lying on the bed. Unable to sleep, she got up and sat on the bed, unable to get the feeling of uneasiness off herself. She opened her backpack and took out the wooden chest-like box with golden lining on the edges of it, she caressed the lining of the box, her hand then moved to the once colorful three stones at the top of the box's lid, now changed into a dull and see-through grey. She put the box back neatly inside her backpack with a low sigh.

She then reached into her light-blue handbag, and grabbed a photograph from inside one of the parts of her bag that was more organized and clean than the rest, she looked into the photograph for a few seconds. It features her only two real friends... Anne on the left... And Sasha on the middle... And there was also the culprit to all this, she stared at her herself on the right. With her own old marker writing on the bottom-right of the picture. It says...

"Best Friends Forever..."

She muttered under her low breath, she frowned and her frame began to be more shaky with each breath she took. Her eyes narrowed slightly and tears began to form inside her eyes. She thought to herself... How unforgiving this world has been... The harsh environments... Hostile and dangerous fauna everywhere... What are the chances of her own friends having such luck that she had? The amount of close calls that she had experienced herself here is enough proof. The sudden thought of the high likelihood of both of them being dead by now caused her to become more frantic, she cursed herself in her mind for causing all of this mess.

"Anne... Sasha... Please stay safe out there..."

The mere thought that her childhood friend's blood is on her very own hands is only making her state even worse, all of this is too much for her right now. She tried to get them all here with her, with the intention of getting herself off the frying pan, but it only ended up putting all three of them directly into the fire.

A single tear dropped onto the photograph, staining it... She casted the picture aside. She closed her eyes tightly as she began to sob her heart out on the mistake that she wished she could rewind. Tears flow down her cheeks like a slow-moving waterfall, before trickling down from her chin.

"I'm so sorry... It's all my fault. I just didn't want to be alone, but I also didn't want this. So please... Hold on to your precious lives, for I can never forgive myself if any of you didn't..."

Chapter Text

In the middle of nowhere, a place similar to a white blank canvas with no ceiling, no end, nothing but a white plain floor to stand on, it streched beyond the eye can see, if one could even see anything but a plain white background. 
There she is, Marcy, walking around the place with seemingly no end.

"It's one of these dreams again... Must've manifested due to my sheer stress that I've been harboring these whole seven days..."

She decided to sit down, as she knew there was nothing she could do but wait, In a last-ditch effort to control the dream that she is aware she is going through right now in her sleep, she tries to bend her will to make something new appear, but to no avail.

"Come on... Come on... Make a more interesting scenario!" She tried with all her mind and willpower to change the setting she was currently in, but nothing changed.
"Ugh... Not a lucid dream... Great... Man, it would be great if I could make a fantasy setting.This dream could've been a great way to escape from yet another sad current reality of mine in the meantime..."

"Marcy..."

A voice beckoned to her, a familiar voice, that of which sounded like none of her two friends. The voice is masculine and seems to have a twinge of regret with the tone in which it was spoken.

She recognized that voice all too well, how couldn't she? After all, that voice has been with her since the very beginning, much longer than even the two of her best friends.

She turned around, hoping that the person that she heard wasn't actually there, but there he was... Standing there.

Her very own father, and right next to him, was her very own mother.
Both of them were in tears, seemingly wanting to approach their one and only daughter, but not having the courage to do so. This time, her mother spoke.

"Marcy... My sweet little angel... Why?..."

Marcy was mortified, despite knowing that her real father and mother wasn't there, it still hurts all the same to her.
She got down and shifted her legs close to her body, pulled the top of her hoodie over her head, and covered her ears with both of her arms. Hoping that it would drown any further words that would come from her parents enough that she couldn't make anything clear of it.
She then muttered words on her own head, repeatedly with no end.

"Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up, please wake up."

All the more, her father spoke this time.
His voice tone was no longer that of a displeased man who is disappointed in his daughter's own disobedience, but one of a broken man filled with regret over his realization of his unjustified actions. A regret that has just recently surfaced after witnessing the aftermath of his action.

"Sweetie... I know that you think that I should've told you much earlier... But I can't... The job offer was instantaneous and we were forced to plan to move out early! I only accepted it because I thought that it would give us a better life..."

Marcy only curled further into a ball, not wanting to respond to any of her parent's words, tears began to build up in her eyes. Yet she tries to hold it back, knowing that this encounter isn't real and only manifested from her deepest fear and regret of causing all this mess.

She knew that it was merely her own deepest guilt speaking to her, yet it hurts all the same.

"Please... Marcy... Come back... I wouldn't have accepted that job offer if I knew that you would do this... I thought that you could've just made more new friends other than Anne and Sasha... But now I've realized how foolish that very thought was... They've been with you since you were just a kindergartener... And I compared them to nothing more than mere replaceable friends to you... I..."

Her father's knees buckle under the unbearable weight of his own regret, falling to his knees with his arms limp on the side of his body.
He took off of his glasses, cast them aside, and began to quietly sob.
His wife joined him, embracing him from the side as she too broke down in tears.

Marcy can only close her eyes shut, and clench her teeth together, gritting them together violently,  all the while tears of regret threatened to spill over from her eyes.

She hoped with all her mental will power that this nightmare would finally end.

"AGHH!"

She then opened her eyes and jolted from her bed into a straight sitting position. Her eyes darted back and forth around her surroundings to see that was still inside Maddie's secret room.

Her heart was pounding from her chest with great intensity. She panted until her breath eventually calmed down.

Only then could she feel that her eyes were watery, she then rubbed it all off with both of her hands.
She sighs, yet another traumatic experience she could check on her bucket list if she had one for it.

She reached own to her handbag to grab her journal, the book she named Jo as a short for "journal". All of her hellish encounters in this world until now have been documented here. On the front page was her own name, written on the cover of the journal.

She flipped the first page of her journal.

"Private Property!" followed up with the image of the music box and the three questions she had at the time about it when planning all of this. She continued to read through her journal.

"Entry 1

Testing, testing... Alright...
First off, let me just start by saying...
OMIGOOOOSH!

It worked! The music box actually worked! I am transported into a whole nother flippin world! Ohoh... Almost forgot something... Let me introduce myself, I am Marcy Regina Wu! And I STILL can't flippin believe it right now! Hold on, lemme pinch myself... Ouch! Yep! It very clearly hurts alright! Wooohooo!

Ahem... Got a little too excited, hehe... Lemme start over, deep breaths.
Okay, so... Ahem... (drum roll) Hello new Journal! Should I call you 'Jo'? You were supposed to be for Creatures & Caverns backstories and maybe some of my fanfictions... But you have been bestowed upon a greater honor by Marcy Wu herself of becoming her very own personal journal to start this fresh Isekai Adventure!

I have been transported to some sort of woods with large abnormal plants... Or maybe I am just teleported somewhere else on Earth... Hmm...
The environment looks pretty Earth-like to me... Doesn't look like an alien planet whatsoever... All the flora around me looks quite normal and familiar... Exotic... At most... Oh, look, some sort of striped skink!

Oh... What's that... Some kind of... Weird... GIANT CRICKET!? No way! Hahah! But... How did that cricket get so big? I mean... Arthropods in our world used to be big in the Carboniferous period. Like arthropleura for example, an extinct giant millipede that has an estimated length of 8 feet and a width of 1.2 feet!
But this... This cricket is MUCH larger than that! Around 13 feet in length, 5 feet in width, and 7 feet in height!

But I'm not having any difficulty breathing from a possible higher oxygen intake... Then the oxygen levels of this world could be around the same as that of Earth's... Then how could such giant insects like this exist here? It's a hexapod... (6 limbs) So it couldn't be a vertebrate with a convergent body plan with insects...

My current hypothesis is that insects and arthropods around here have developed some sort of convergent lung-like organs that may function similarly to that of vertebrates, which would've helped them to surpass the general limitations of a larger body that would require a higher oxygen intake to maintain, which a normal insect that would've just breathed with its trachea couldn't sufficiently do. Allowing the insects and arthropods of this world to grow equally large and compete with vertebrates around here!
I wonder what other strange creatures lie around here... Wait...

Where is Anne and Sasha?! Give me a second, Jo. I'll need to explore my surroundings a bit, time to start my very own Isekai Adventure!"

Marcy only looked at this first entry with a sour frown on her face, she still remembered what happened in her next entry, and she flipped to the next page.

"Entry 2

Hey, Jo... Whoa... Alright... Nearly got eaten by a giant monitor lizard... That thing... Was... TERRIFYING! Ugh... This adventure is not off to a great beginning...

Alright... Jo.... let me tell you the whole story... Ohoh... That thing was MASSIVE! Like MASSIVE-MASSIVE! A megalania would be far less imposing than that thing! How could that thing even get so large!? That thing is even far more larger than Scotty! the largest tyrannosaurus rex specimen! And that is saying something because tyrannosaurus is generally considered the LARGEST land carnivore pound per pound that has ever existed on EARTH!

Alright, so it actually didn't exactly aim to eat me... I was actually with another creature beforehand. I saw what seemed to be a giant rabbit in the clearing near a forest. I decided to oh so casually approach it to try to see if it was friendly, and it was! It even let me touch its side! It was so fluffy! I was about to observe it and document it within an entry in you, Jo.

But then, that giant lizard came outta nowhere and grabbed the rabbit with its jaws! and it almost grabbed me along with it! I then saw it swallow the poor thing whole within seconds... Yeghh... At least the lizard decided to ignore me after that, and just politely walked back into the forest as if nothing ever happened... Well... That was traumatizing...

And... (sighs) Still no sign of Anne or Sasha anywhere... I'm starting to get worried... I hope they're fine... Especially since I'm the one who started all this by teleporting the two of them along with me here...
Never mind that... They gotta be fine... They just gotta be."

With each entry page Marcy flipped, she can see herself slowly descending into madness as this world slowly but surely cranked up the difficulty of her attempt at survival here.

"...Okay... This cave is quite nice... Had to fight a dozen small aggressive rodents for it... I didn't have any other expendable materials to ward them off with, and I couldn't plan out something fast enough as it was getting so dark out here already... so I had to use the makeshift spear that I crafted not long ago to fight them... Fighting them wasn't easy at all... But hey! At least I finally got a shelter!..."

"...Eating insects and plants around here feels like a gamble... I have NO IDEA if the ones I'm eating are even safe to eat! I can't apply Earth principles here because the morphology of most flora and fauna here is so vastly different from Earth's.

I know to avoid brightly colored plants and insects as they tend to be warning signs for other creatures to not ingest them, but even eating dull-colored flora and fauna is still quite the gamble...
I can only observe some other creatures eat some of the insects and plants from afar, and then I can try to eat the thing the creature just ate with the hope they're not lethal to myself..."

"...I lost count of the amount of times something tried to make me their breakfast, lunch, or dinner... I eventually stopped treating this world like an RPG and more like a hardcore survival game of the Amazon rainforest... Alone... With 5x the amount of things that would want to kill you... From giant mantises to giant water snakes... I just hope that I can find some sort of settlement here... I've seen signs of them here. 
Like roads, abandoned structures made of stone bricks... but have yet to see any sapient creatures that could've constructed these..."

Marcy sighed yet again, her slight frown and half-lidded eyes showed her lack of enthusiasm, she continued to flip her journal's page until she finally arrived at a blank page that she had yet to write on.

She grabbed her pencil case from her handbag and prepared to write another entry in her journal.
She opened her pencil case and grabbed her pen, just when she was about to write the very first letters onto the page...

SLAM

The secret doorway to her room was opened kind of violently that it let out quite a loud thud as the knob hit the walls of the room, which then of course, startled Marcy as her hands scrambled below the book, trying to prevent her journal from falling onto the bed while letting out an abrupt loud yell.

"AHHHH!"

Marcy turned to face the doorway, a figure walked into the middle of the room and squeezed the stem of the bulb shroom to turn on the lights, Marcy covered her eyes as she adjusted to the brightness of the room.

She then saw Maddie who was standing on the stem of the bulb shroom. Maddie greeted her new friend again.

"Good morning! My weird ape pal."

Marcy sighed, this time, one of relief. She then put her journal down beside her, made a gun hand gesture, with one of her hands, and pointed it at Maddie with one of her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

"Right back at ya! My walking-talking frog friend!"

Maddie's arrival seems to instantaneously strip Marcy of her negative feelings, looks like Marcy will have a reliable companion from now on.
Maddie's eyes turned towards the book that Marcy was holding, something about it seemed to pique her interests.

"Hey, what's that book for?"
Marcy then replied. "Oh, this?" She flipped the front cover of the book and held it toward Maddie's direction.

"This is my journal, I named it Jo, weird I know. But it's been useful throughout my adventures here, I used it to document nearly everything I encountered on my journey."

Marcy giggled, so much stuff has happened, most bad, but right now. Things are taking a turn for the better.
She then remembered the new entry that she was about to write down. And so, grabbed her pen once again and began to write the new entry. Maddie decided to watch her friend for a bit before talking.

"Writing down the encounter with me eh?"
Marcy nodded in response and hummed.

"Mhhmm!" She is still focused on writing the current new entry in her journal that she couldn't bother to even look at Maddie.

"Entry 8

You won't believe it, Jo! I finally found another sapient being! And a welcoming one too! Hahah! Her name is Maddie by the way.
She is a bipedal frog with blue skin and yellow eyes with sharp pupils! Oh, and smooth white hair with big dark splotched regions all over it.

Oh my gosh... Did I tell you that's she's a magic user?! Like, omigosh Jo... I think I might be able to learn from her to cast spells of my own! She's reluctant to show me any of it right now... But I'm sure that she'll show me the ropes of it eventually! Can't wait for when that happens!

So... (ahem) Long story short, I was just chased by a group of giant wasps and had to dive into a lake to escape from them. I knew that a semi-blind giant catfish species was living there, but I had no choice!
I then surfaced on another part of the lake, but then... I saw her! Maddie the frog girl! I was a bit scared at first... And drew my spear on her and yelled on instinct... If I'm being honest, I'm surprised that she even dared to trust me after that bad first impression... Heheh...

The very moment she talked, boy... I started to act like the most desperate person that is willing to do anything to acquire any kind of companionship...
My pleads were cut short, however, as I saw one of the fins of those giant catfish! I immediately rushed over to her to avoid the catfish's detection, I asked if she had anything that could conceal our scent, and she did! I threw them on the ground and that big dumb fish soon went past us without noticing anything!

But then, she scolded me... She said that tackling her was a reckless thing to do and that I could've gotten the both of us killed... Oopsies... Heheh...

Anyways... After that, I pleaded yet again with all my heart so that I could tag along with her. And she accepted! Must've been due to how sad my situation must have looked... She ordered me to help her harvest some reeds, wonder what they're for?
We exchanged info with one another, it was approaching night, and Maddie began shivering. She seems to be ectothermic... Full on cold-blooded.
So I decided to offer her to get inside the back of my hoodie to stay warm, I'm pretty certain that she enjoyed the warmth and not freezing out in the windy weather!

Oh! And Jo...you won't believe this!
She also told me that there was a small town that she lives in! It's called Wartwood, she told me that there is a plethora of other amphibian inhabitants there! And when we got there... I was amazed alright, not an impressive town... But quite the gorgeous one at that! Everything there is so rustic and cute! Which is only further enhanced by the night scenery with all the fireflies in the air.

Oh! Oh! She also took me to her house! From the design and the huge sign in front of it, I think that her family is running an entire bakery!
When we got in, we almost got caught by her sister, Maddie told me beforehand that I'm basically a strange-looking freaky creature... So she had to ease my presence into the town, even to her own family...

Well, she gave me a hidden room to stay in for the night, this is the very next day when I decided to write this new entry, after all of those whacky events took place! I wonder what kind of activities we will do together today, Jo!"

As Marcy finishes writing off her last words, she yawned and stretched for a moment.
She then felt as if someone was sitting right next to her, she turned her head to see Maddie there, peering at her journal.
Maddie smiled, then spoke.

"Cool..."

Marcy jolted from the realization that Maddie has been seeing her writing down her newest entry on her journal, Marcy is quick to shuffle away from Maddie and close her Journal shut.
She got a little mad and slightly scolded Maddie for her lack of a sense of respecting her personal boundaries.

"Girl! What the hell?!"

Maddie only raised an eyebrow and didn't get why Marcy was overreacting to her action, she responded.

"Well... You were writing down the encounter with me, right? I suppose I was allowed to look since I already knew what happened until now from yesterday."

"I mean... Yeah... But... Some part of my journal contains some real personal stuff... Real personal..."

Marcy puffed her cheeks, narrowed her eyes while they looked to her side, then she patted her journal a few times.
Maddie proceeds to respond.

"Oh... Sorry... Didn't know you had some pent-up emotional baggage written down in there... Anyway... I was wondering how I could ease you in into the family... I could use a transformation salve to temporarily turn you into an amphibian as an effective disguise... But I don't have the necessary materials in this room...
Wait here, I'll go get the materials and come back very soon."

With that, she bolted out of her room. Marcy reached her hand out just as Maddie left the room. She tries to get her attention by calling out to her.

"Hey! Wait! What am I supposed to-... and... She's gone... Well... alright, Marcy... All you have to do is avoid getting seen by her family because you probably look like a horrifying bizarre creature to them..."

Minutes pass, Marcy is lying on her bed and has been doing nothing but clicking her pen and occasionally checking her phone.

Until the noise of footsteps coming towards Maddie's room finally caused her to freeze for a moment, she had already closed the secret door, yet she is still feeling uneasy about the situation. All she could do was keep quiet and remain still.

The footsteps only got louder and louder, then she knew for a fact that it wasn't Maddie's due to the heavier sound of those footsteps.
It only got closer and closer until it stopped inside of Maddie's room.

Marcy tensed up as she hoped that whoever was there wasn't going to discover her secret hideout

"Books lying around..." A deep sigh came from Maddie's room, a voice that Marcy haven't heard of before.
"If you want to study the dark arts, at least try to make your room more tidy..."

Marcy then heard someone pick up the book and place it back on the bookshelf, and a thud from what seemed to be someone leaning right where the door to the secret room was.
She felt the hidden door slide and out came another frog who fell on his back.

The frog rubbed his head and looked above him, seemingly confused, and finally got up whilst cleaning his clothes and what seemed to be his apron, before speaking in an annoyed tone.

"Just what is that kid trying to do these days?... Ugh... A secret room in this house, now what more stranger thing am I going to see now?"

Marcy was so preoccupied with observing the frog that she had forgotten that she isn't supposed to be seen, she panicked and looked around herself. There is no way to hide quickly enough without making a noise within the frog's earshot.
All she could do was freeze in response to this situation.

The old frog then turned around and saw her, his eyes widened and his mouth hung open at the sight of what he sees in his eyes was a horrific bizarre creature.

Marcy could only stare back with an equally shocked expression, now she knows that Maddie's warning is not an exaggeration at all...

Both of them stared at each other for some time before Marcy decided to break the silence by nervously smiling and waving her arms from the bed she was on, to which she then spoke.

"Hi..."

Harold then screamed and pointed one of his index fingers towards Marcy.

"AAAHHHHH! MONSTER!"

He then grabbed a rolling pin from the pocket of his apron and waved it around the air above himself.

"You chose the wrong house to stay in beast! If you think that I can't get you out of here by force, then you thought wrong!"

Marcy's expression displayed full panic mode, just like the many bad encounters she had in this world. She reached out to the handle of her spear by reflex and pointed at the frog without a second thought. Even then, she still tried to explain herself.

"Wait! This is a misunderstanding! Can you at least hear me out on the matter?"

Harold, however... Was not listening to any of her pleas, he only snorted and dismissed Marcy's words as some cheap lie.

"Hear you out!? How can I let a creature that has lived in this very room for who knows how long just continue to be a freeloader?!" 

Marcy was getting even more frantic as she felt as if she lost control of the situation, just as everything was about to go south for the two, loud fast paced footsteps can be heard rushing upstairs.

Maddie then appeared from the front door of the room and rushed to get between her dad and Marcy, she faced her dad with both of her arms in the air and then spoke.

"Dad, stop! There is no need for you two to fight!"

Harold still held his stance, and spoke back to his own daughter with uncertainty in his voice.

"Maddie! Are you seriously defending this weird creature right now?! It even drew its spear on me!"
His daughter is also quick to respond.

"And that's probably because you provoked her first and scared her!"

Harold is still in disbelief that his daughter is still defending this creature, he spoke yet again in a loud clear tone.

"I scared her?!"

He then paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly and his pupils contracted sharply, as he continued his words, he tried to make sense of what his daughter just said.

"Who... Is her?..."

Maddie paused for a moment, before she spoke again.

"Dad... This is Marcy... My new friend..." She gestured both of her hands towards Marcy while smiling nervously while her face still faced her dad.

"Marcy... This is my dad, his name is Harold..."
She gestured her hands the same way to introduce Marcy to her dad.

Harold only frowned even more, until he eventually sighed and seemed to relent with his daughter, but he still had a final argument on whether or not Marcy could stay.

"Fine, she could stay... But only on one condition..." Harold raised his index finger to the air, his eyes narrowed furthermore which caused Marcy to be a little worried about what he would say next.

"Marcy has to pull its own weight around here, I don't want it... I mean... Her... To just lay around and contribute to nothing. She has to help us in a significant manner if she wants to earn her keep here, and that is non-negotiable! Got it?" He said while pointing his index finger at the two girls.

Marcy dropped her spear and nodded shyly while smiling a little, this time, her smile was a bit genuine. And Harold seems to notice it, and is quite happy that whatever this strange creature actually is, Marcy is going to keep true to her end of the bargain,
He then excused himself from the room with his last words to them in the meantime.

"And oh, make sure that no one else outside of this family knows we have her living inside our home... It would be a disaster..."
Just before he left, Maddie said something in response as a form of reassurance to her dad.

"Don't worry Dad, I was going to make her a transformation salve for her anyway, so she could blend in with the other townsfolk without anyone noticing. Trust me, we've got everything under control." She said in a carefree tone.

Maddie was pretty confident in her own words, and her smug smile showed it. Her father only rolled his eyes while smiling and responded for the last time.

"Sure kiddo, just don't get ahead of yourselves." And just like that, he goes downstairs to continue his morning routine.

Maddie then looked back at Marcy, seemingly satisfied with the first interaction between her dad and Marcy, even though it almost went horribly.

"Alright, where were we? Ah yes! Making the transformation salve for you!"

Maddie then grabbed the new bag of mixed materials that she gathered previously and placed them on a mortar on her left hand, she then grabbed a pestle from her other bag with her right hand and proceeded to grind them all thoroughly together before adding a glowing blue liquid to the grounded materials which then caused an abrupt puff of smoke to appear on the air.
Marcy was watching all of this with glee, her arms balled up in front of herself as she shook with excitement and enthusiasm.
Maddie then placed the resulting gooey mixture into a jar and sealed it with a lid.

"Alright... It would take an average of 12-24 hours to age this mixture for it to work."

Marcy was ever the more excited for her to try it, then a sudden question came into her mind, and she decided to ask Maddie about it.

"This transformation thing is not permanent now... Is it?..."

Maddie laughed and was quick to dismiss Marcy's concerns.

"Nah, only curses are permanent. It's the duration of the effect of this transformation potion that you have to worry more about though... The effect only last for 12 hours, and you will need to reapply them in your original form. You can't apply them whilst you're in your transformed body to add more time to the duration... So you must be hidden from anyone else's sight to reapply the salve to yourself every now and then."

She puts the jar containing the mixture to age on one of her shelves.
A few repeated small thuds can be heard going upstairs moments later.
And of course, three little pollywogs can be seen soon after.
It was Rosemary, Lavender, and Ginger. All came up the stairs to see Marcy for themselves, they were dumbfounded at the secret doorway in Maddie's room, but that doesn't compare to what they're seeing in that very room.

The three of them then stared at her with their mouths wide open, as they stared at the bizarre creature before them.
Rosemary was the first to talk.

"Whoa... Dad's description was right... But I think it looks more weird in person..."
Lavender then bounced forward a bit and spoke.
"Yeah... I wanna touch it..."

She then bounced along until she was right in front of Marcy, then hopped onto her right shoulder, and then poked her in the cheek while saying.

"Touch..."

Marcy giggled and closed her right eye as she touched her right cheek, while Lavender continued to talk.

"Whoa... Its skin is dry... Yet smooth!"
Marcy then proceeded to talk and introduce herself to the pollywog.

"I have a name you know, the name is Marcy. You can also refer to me as your new sister figure."
She said while striking a confident pose while looking at Lavender.
The little pollywog now is even more delightfully surprised when Marcy spoke.

"Hahah! Would you look at that, she can talk everyone!" Lavender raised both of her hands into the air as a gesture of excitement.

Maddie looked at Marcy and proceeded to introduce her little sisters to her.

"Are they overwhelming you yet? Wouldn't recommend you becoming a sister figure to them." She said with a subtle giggle, then proceeded to point at each pollywog to introduce to her.

"That is Rosemary, the one on your shoulder is Lavender, and this one is Ginger."

Marcy laughed it off before replying.

"Pfft... I may be an only child back where I'm from, but that doesn't mean that I can't handle being a big sister to all three of them."

Ginger then narrowed her eyes, she seemed to remember hearing Marcy's voice somewhere, and then it hit her, and she decided to point it out to Maddie.

"Oh... So this is the scream bean you were talking about eh? Maddie?"
She said with an eyebrow raised while smiling, trying to provoke some kind of funny reaction from her older sister.

Maddie only moved her gaze to the side while scratching her head, smiling nervously at that.

Rosemary then simultaneously gasped and spoke out immediately.

"Lavender and I heard this from Ginger! Marcy, did Maddie capture you to use you as a disposable lab ant?! No wonder she has this room hidden from the rest of us this whole time!"

Rosemary said with a look of shock on her face, her sister Lavender then spoke directly on Marcy's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Marcy! We will make sure Maddie doesn't do any unethical tests on you on our watch!"
Marcy snickered a bit before responding.

"Don't worry guys... Maddie just wanted to help me, in fact! I would still be suffering out in the wild without her, I definitely don't want to go back to that life..."
Her goofy smile then disappeared for a moment, as she remembered all the struggles she had prior to getting sheltered here.
Ginger then asked Marcy about the prior incident.

"Then why did Maddie bag you up in a burlap sack and carry you back up to her room? That doesn't sound like someone trying to save you at all, in the general context of things... And more like saving you for later use on whatever dark arts she is planning to progress to next..."
This time, Maddie is the one to answer with her arms crossed. unhappy with the fact that her little sisters seem to jump straight to the most likely conclusion that made sense to them.

"I was trying to hide her and ease her presence to you all slowly, so that all of you wouldn't be shocked when I finally do decide to introduce her, but that plan seems to go down the drain as dad discovered her by accident... So... I guess we just need to get used to a new member of the family. A weird-looking one at that."

Marcy looked around herself, everyone seem so accepting of her presence. Even Maddie's father, who was so taken aback when he first saw her, is quite quick to warm up to her. Looks like she finally found an accepting household that is willing to have her by their side, maybe this is the start of a new life that she would try to enjoy in the meantime.

Chapter Text

It was a quite the morning for Marcy and the Flours, hell broke loose at first, but all of it soon calmed down. And the day went on as if nothing ever happened.
Well, almost nothing to say the least.

Harold was preparing the usual breakfast for his kids, the ol' reliable bug bits bread. He kneaded the dough with small bug limbs in it, put it in a bowl to rise for a few minutes, and then baked it in his oven, the crackling sounds of coal burning in the oven was music to Harold's ears. This batch of bread that was slightly bigger than usual, and it is to feed an extra mouth that has just made her appearance this morning.

He couldn't believe himself that he is about to expend more effort to feed something as bizarre as Marcy, as if accepting her presence at first was hard enough.
Harold is familiar with weird and supernatural stuff happening around him ever since his eldest daughter got into learning the dark arts.
But Marcy is a whole new level of weird and unsettling to him. If he hadn't been acclimated to weirdness by Maddie a long time ago, then he was sure that he would have thrown Marcy out the front door without a second thought.
But it is too late to even consider that an option anymore, judging by the amount of constant chatting and laughter that he hears in his daughter's room, he could tell that his family is already getting a little too attached to Marcy to let her go so easily.

Meanwhile, back to the four girl's perspective, a lot has been discussed about Marcy's origin and her stories of surviving in the valley. Marcy was having the time of her life, she was telling all of the craziest close encounters she had with the vicious flora and fauna in this world.

Despite already knowing how long she's survived in the valley on her own, Maddie is still impressed by how much Marcy had been through, and especially the three little pollywogs that were very well mesmerized by the sheer luck that Marcy seems to have in nature's roulette of life and death.

Marcy felt like people, who weren't her close friends, bothered to listen to her constant rambling for the first time in her life, and she loved every second of it.

"And oh, oh, oh! There was this time I was almost eaten by this giant monitor lizard, it was huge! All I did was try to befriend a giant rabbit and that reptile came outta nowhere, it bit down on the rabbit with its jaws and almost bit me along with it too!
And don't get me started about the part when it swallowed the poor rabbit whole... Bleghh..."

Ginger bounced to the front and raised her arm into the air while shouting words of admiration for Marcy's most close encounter when she first arrived in this world.

"Marcy! You're one of the most luckiest people I've known in my life! You get to experience these crazy encounters and escape with your life! I'm very jealous of you right now."

Marcy chuckled and dismissed Ginger's response about her.

"Tch, aww, thanks. It's just my luck which is kinda helping me survive here for about a week, which I have no idea from where its coming from... And if anything, I'd be more glad to have fewer encounters like these... Almost getting hunted or attacked by the flora and fauna here is not fun... Not at all..."

Marcy looked forward into the wall that was in front of her, with a thousand-yard stare, as she remembered every life and death moment she had, every single one of them.
Her cheery usual facial expression then suddenly resurfaced for the better, realizing that the face that she had just put on was not helping getting rid of the bad mood she had.

"No big deal, it's not like I'm traumatized by it... Or anything..."

Maddie narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin slightly, something seemed to ring a bell with the giant monitor lizard Marcy just mentioned.
She wonders what it looks like, and asks Marcy for confirmation.

"Say, how big is this monitor lizard? And what are its distinctive features in your opinion?"

Marcy's eyes looked at her side for a moment as she tapped the floorboard rhythmically with her right hand finger nails, before eventually coming up with the estimates of the size of the reptile.

"Around 285 feet in length and about... b... b... bout... 65 feet in height. Its most distinctive features are definitely its two horns on the top of its skull, right below its eyes... Or maybe that was just a modified crest of the lizard..."

Maddie then immediately knows what Marcy encountered back then, the legendary reptile that rules over the valley with its presence alone.
Respected by the locals as it wanders throughout the valley unchallenged.

"Hmmm... What you encountered there is a great maw-dragon, you must've seen the individual that moved here about 5 years ago. It even scared off the infamous heron pair from the periphery of Wartwood.
Its presence is beneficial for us however, it never bothered, let alone attack any town unprovoked, and it scares off bigger predators like the heron pair that I just mentioned."

Marcy raised one of her eyebrows at Maddie's statement, something about the fauna of this world experiencing extreme gigantism for unknown reasons.

"How big are they? The herons I mean."

"Around 75 feet in height and 60 feet in length, they are one of the most ravenous animals around here, they stalk the lands and wade between thick forests to snatch unsuspecting victims and swallow them whole. Their diet consists of any significantly sized living thing that fits down their gullet, which unfortunately includes almost every amphibian as a whole. They are hefty birds that can resist a lot of physical trauma before eventually yielding."

Marcy's raised one of her index fingers into the air, her expression changes that to one of nervousness, her fake smile isn't really selling her feeling okay with it at all.

"At least these giant herons are ground bound, right? There's no way something that big and heavy can actually fly... Right?..."

Maddie only shook her head while maintaining eye contact with Marcy.

"Oh, these things can fly alright... They soar through the skies in search of new feeding pastures to patrol in, an entire region would go dead silent of any animal ambiance when a giant heron lands in it."

Marcy is even more off-put by the capabilities of these birds, the only thing that makes her comfortable right now is the fact that no herons dared to enter this region due to the presence of an undisputed apex predator, the great maw-dragon.

Marcy thought no more of it soon enough, she had more things that she thought she would do better to continue. slammed both of her arms into the hardwood floor and looked at each three little pollywogs in an enthusiastic manner, keen on continuing to tell her stories of surviving the valley.

Just as she was about to tell another story, however, a loud shout could be heard from the kitchen below, an irritated deep voice that seemed to not want to wait a second longer for his family to join him.

"Kids! You all better get down here before the breakfast gets cold! And I'm not gonna call all of you for a second time!"

The one to first respond is Rosemary, who quickly darted out of the room and immediately headed downstairs by bouncing at incredible speeds, all the while taunting the rest of her sisters who didn't respond in time and were lagging behind.

"Last one at the dinner table has an underdeveloped flipper!"

She said, all the while she chuckled as if she had already won the race, the second one in the lead was Rosemary, who only kept a serious face without saying a single word, and bounced as fast as she could to keep up.
And finally Ginger, who was only complaining about the reason she was lagging behind the two of her sisters.

"Hey! No fair! I was too preoccupied and excited when Marcy was about to tell another of her cool stories!"

All three little pollywogs bounced quite fast, which betrays the nature of their legless round and circular bodies.
Marcy only laughed at the antics of Maddie's three little sisters, she then got up and stretched for a bit before turning her attention towards Maddie.

"So, should we... You know... Join them? Cause MAN! Am I hungry right now..."

She asked sarcastically while pointing her thumb to the exit door of Maddie's room, Maddie seems skeptical at first, would Marcy even be able to enjoy, let alone eat their food? She doesn't know much about this kind of ape to try and guess her primary diet from a day to day basis, she knew Marcy could eat insects, but bread? She can't place a final verdict on it.
She decides to ask Marcy about this just to be sure.

"Hey, uh... Marcy, are you sure you wanna join us? Maybe the food is not suitable  for you. Not saying that as you aren't allowed to eat or anything... Just don't expect anything fancy."

Marcy chuckled, her facial expression seem to suggest that she wouldn't mind at all, she only dismissed Maddie's concerns as something to just ignore.

"Hey, don't worry about it pal! I'm okay with just eating a couple of low-quality stuff, and like my mother always said, hunger is the best seasoning that could make any food taste delicious."

She said while striking a straight pose to make herself look humble, to which is interrupted by the grumbles of her empty stomach.
Marcy only chuckled shyly before she exited the room and went downstairs, all the while she sends her last words to Maddie inside the room.

"Anyways, see ya at the kitchen pal! Sorry... But the active metabolism of this mammal just couldn't wait any longer."

With those parting words and a friendly wave, Marcy left the room. Maddie only rolled her eyes in a joking manner before turning to face the other direction, books spread out everywhere. And she isn't just gonna let them stay there when not in use.

"Well, time to get this all cleaned up."

She picked each fallen book one by one and placed them all back into the bookshelf in an organized manner.
Finally satisfied with her work, she took a few steps back from the bookshelf and admired the tidy ness of her room once more, finally done with all of that, she exited her room and went downstairs to join the rest of her family.

The scene was somewhat normal, her three little sisters are enjoying their slices of bug bits bread. Harold was sitting just a few feet away from them.
But today is not the usual type of normal, as she expected. Today, a new addition to the family will be joining them. Or perhaps... Said new addition have already joined them at the dinner table.
There she was, Marcy, already sitting comfortably right in front of the table, her back facing towards Maddie when she finally arrived at the kitchen.

Maddie walked right up behind her and tapped her shoulder a couple of times, Marcy then turned her head to face Maddie, and to Maddie's surprise, Marcy had a whole slice of bread stuffed halfway into her mouth,
Marcy then quickly maneuvered her lips to get the rest of the bread slice inside her mouth, she chewed it sparsely before gulping it all down with little effort.
The familiar goofy smile then appeared on her mouth, Marcy is always quick to greet people with her best welcoming attitude, no matter the circumstances.

"Heya Maddie, what's the matter?"

"Ehhh... Nothing, I was about to ask you about the food... But looks like I don't have to after seeing how you just ate that slice of bread."

Harold, laughed a bit, he was amused that Marcy seem to take an incredible liking to his baked goods, but he knows to well of the reason behind it.

"Well it seems like somebody is on their last knees at attempting to survive out and about in the valley! I had never seen anyone lap down a simple bug bits bread like that within seconds!"

Harold continued to laugh it off, even Marcy herself found it somewhat amusing and lets out a light laugh too.
Marcy then is reminded about a story that she wanted to tell to the flours right there and then, back when she also faced the troubles of finding food. Perhaps The Flours would also find this story pretty interesting with yet another close call she had.

"Oh! I remember this time when I was foraging, I saw a bush filled with these blue and red colored berries, the color pallet seems funny to me, since both colors are split perfectly in half on each side of the individual berries.
I went over and picked a few, I was also kinda hungry at the time, so I figured that eating one wouldn't be that bad.
Just as when I was about to pop one into my mouth, a giant mantis came out of nowhere and chased me!
I panicked and dropped every single berry onto the ground and ran as fast as I can, man I wish I could've at least saved one..."

Marcy lets out a disappointed sigh while looking down, that happened 4 days ago, but the feeling of failure still feels bitter to her, she then lifts her head back to face the flours again.
Only then Marcy had realized that everyone is staring at her, without a single word spoken out. Not until seconds after, did Maddie finally speak.

"You just dodged an arrow to your very life there, Marcy..."

"What? How come?"

Marcy was dumbfounded at first, "Maybe she was referring to the mantis?"  She thought to herself, but that couldn't be it, she barely reacted when she told Maddie about her very own encounter with the great maw-dragon.
Harold then spoke to clear up the confusion.

"You see Marcy... There are certain unspoken must know rules that need to be followed when foraging, green and red-colored berries are good eating, you can eat as many as you want until you're well-fed.
Blue and red, however... Instantly dead..."

Marcy's eyes are wide open, she looks down at the stump she's sitting on. Comprehending the very life-and-death moment she had avoided by chance.

"I can't believe I'm about to thank a giant mantis for inadvertently saving my life..."

Harold then sighed a bit, switching the topic to a more significant one that he wanted to touch upon this very morning.

"Speaking of surviving out here, it has been quite the hard time this year. Flour and other wheat-based materials have sky-hopped in price, but it seems like someone had gone out to harvest other alternatives.
Thank you, Maddie, these wheat reeds will surely help us pass this hurdle, BUT!-"

Harold suddenly changes his grateful expression to that of a strict parent who is about to discipline his child. Pointing his index finger to the air as to make his incoming point very serious.

"You were utterly reckless for going out into the place where those wheat reeds grow in, just what were you thinking?! There are loads of stuff there who would be more than happy to end your life! And it's not just those ding dang mud lurkers! From the bog wasps to the dread chameleon, just what were you thinking going out there alone? And you didn't even tell me anything about it."

Maddie only scoffs at his dad's complaints, she thinks that his father is overreacting to her actions, and was not appreciating her efforts to help, not that much at least.

"Oh please... I'm not a baby anymore, Dad! And besides, I've got everything I need to defend myself with my arcane knowledge and capabilities. You're treating me as if I'm still some legless pollywog like my three sisters are right now."

Marcy peered in next to Maddie's side to add up something to the conversation, as if it wasn't already heated enough. Though her intentions are not bad, the effect that it would definitely have would.

"I think your dad got a point there, Maddie. That swamp sure was dangerous... When compared to this place, which is much more calmer in comparison."

Harold paused a bit while looking at Marcy before he splayed one of his arms in her direction.

"See? Even the horrific creature from the swamp knows better! Sorry, Marcy... But you still look both terrifying and bizarre to me..."

Marcy puffed her cheeks, frowning a bit with half lidded eyes at Harold in response, the apology at the end did not make it any less offensive to her, Maddie then turned her head to face Marcy, showing her very irritated expression which seemed to be in utter disbelief.

"You're defending him?! Just so you know, in case you forgot... If I hadn't gone out there to get those wheat reeds in the first place, then you would've been still out and about there in the valley, all on your own."

Marcy can only direct her eyes to her side and rub her left hand with her right hand in response, Maddie's right, she wouldn't want to even comprehend the next encounter she will have in that swamp.
Harold looked at the two of them, before eventually sighing, finally realizing that this argument would go nowhere at all.

"Alright, alright... I get it, times are tough... And you only wanted to help the family get past all of this struggle, but next time, make sure you get my permission before doing anything like that again, alright?"

Marcy then slowly got up and walked over to Ginger to ask her about the whole situation thing her family is facing, Marcy hunched down and whispered something to the little pollywog.

"So what is this problem all about? Is there something significant going on about them not selling enough for this year?"

"Oh there is actually, so... a bunch of flaming tornado locusts came to the valley earlier than expected, they ravaged the wheat fields which caused the inflation to happen, and tax season is just around the corner, and the tax collecting toads don't mess around, if you can't pay the required amount of tax, then they will take other things from you to compensate for the unpayed tax."

Marcy now looks down at herself, her expression changes to that of worry. She doesn't expect to be the only person here to have bleak issues that seem difficult to overcome, but something the lit up inside of her, and it is not fear nor sadness, but pure undiluted determination.

Marcy got up, wrapped her left arm around Maddie and Harold with her left arm, and shoved all three of the little pollywogs onto the top of her head. She then lifted her right feet up and stomped it onto the table, striking a pose that she thinks would be made by a main character who has just discovered their main goal in their life, their true purpose in that very moment.
She huffed and puffed, preparing to speak out loud in an inspiring manner.

"I am Marcy Regina Wu! And I hereby declare myself bound to all of your lives, I will stand here and fight alongside all of you, against all kinds of struggles! no matter how perilous or difficult the journey is, I will be happy to fight by your side!"

She savored the moment, feeling majestic with the very thing that she did, she then looked to each of her side, just to find that both Harold and Maddie were staring at her with wide eyes, Marcy chuckled nervously before placing her feet down to the floor and slowly placing the flours down too

"Sorry... Force of habit."

Harold smiled a bit while rubbing the back of his head, laughing lightly before speaking.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm there, Marcy... But all those things that you just said is kinda leaning into the very sentiment of-"

"Wishful thinking?"

Harold rubbed the back of his head slightly and chuckled a bit, part of him was surprised that Marcy was able to predict what he was about to say instantaneously, which he finds very amusing.

"Yeah... It sounded like my father who thinks that his own baked goods would start his own industrial empire at Newtopia."

This mention of a seemingly bustling and forward civilization seem to entice Marcy's unrestrained curiosity, it only took a mere moment for her to question Harold about this place so called 'Newtopia'.
Pulling herself forward to the table that Harold was sitting in front of.

"Say, about this place called Newtopia, is it some sort bustling grounds filled with all sort of amphibians that specialize in bakery? Like..."

She paused a bit and snapped her fingers repeatedly, eventually finding the most appropriate term for it.

"A big bakery centered empire?"

Harold laughed lightly before responding to Marcy's question, it seems that this girl doesn't know anything about what Newtopia really is.

"Oh, Marcy... Newtopia is not just a dream place for bakers to call home, it's also a dream place of any amphibians in Amphibia, it's an ancient kingdom rich of history and the many knowledge most amphibians in the valley nowadays have forgotten."

Marcy's eyes widened, she really wanted to bombard Harold with even more questions, but she knows that it would overwhelm the poor old frog, so she decides to start simple and address Harold the questions she thought would be important.

"Say, what is 'Amphibia' exactly? Is it a region, capital, or-"

"This world, this whole world is Amphibia, Marcy. From a town as humble as Wartwood to a kingdom as ancient as Newtopia."

Harold cut off Marcy's words just so that this Q&A session is done as fast as possible.
And it would help, because each question Harold answered is gonna fuel Marcy's curiosity even further, which in turn would cause her to ask even more questions.
And the very moment Marcy pulled out a pen and notepad from her pocket, Harold exhaled a deep sigh, he knows this is going to be a long session for sure.
Minutes pass and so does each of Marcy's questions, Marcy had just promised that this is the very last question she would ask as of now, and for obvious reason, Harold's face had gone so sore from Marcy's constant rambling.

"So which race of amphibians populate Newtopia predominantly?"

"Newts, from the guards, the local shop keepers, the university, and even the King himself. There are also other amphibians there but most of them are just tourists, there are only a handful of non-newt residents."

Marcy nodded and wrote all of the things Harold have said so far on a page of her notebook.
She then threw yet another question at Harold, seeking some sort of confirmation to make sure she gets the ropes of this world perfectly.
Whilst still paying attention to her own notebook.

"So that means salamanders are the dominant race in Newtopia, right?"

A few seconds of pure silence pass, and not a single voice has been raised yet. The tip of Marcy's pen is hovering just above a blank page of her notebook, her head bending down to face the page directly.
She raised one of her eyebrows, wondering why hasn't anyone responded with a single word yet, she then lifted her head back, only to find that everyone was giving her the same wide eye look like last time, she stared at each one of them, wondering what she said to make them all act like this.

"What?..."

She asked, only then Harold responded. Though the tone of his voice has changed significantly to that of a grumpy man giving a life lecture to someone.

"Marcy! Never ever refer to a newt as a salamander! They find that very statement highly offensive, and you better hope they don't have any connection to important people who can control your lives, otherwise, they would make your life a living hell!"

Marcy cringed, turned her attention back to the blank page yet again to write down something that she would make sure to never forget.

"Note to self: never call a newt a salamander. Ever..."

Harold then looked at the wall, hanged on it is what seems to he some sort of bug that has been modified to server as some sort of living clock, the time shows that it is currently at 8:00 AM.

"Well that is one hour of my life I wished I'd rather spent on other important things gone to waste..."

Marcy also looked at the weird looking bug clock, a thought came into her attention, which she immediately addressed to the flours.

"Not to ruin the happy setting you guys... But I think I should head back upstairs, since I think it's about to be open hours soon for you all. Not that I don't want to help! I mean... I'm kinda 'a freak in this world' thing... And the transformation salve that Maddie prepared for me isn't ready for use yet."

Marcy got up and was about to head to Maddie's room, but she was immediately notified by Maddie to stop for a moment.

"Marcy, wait. Today is saturday, and we always close on saturdays and sundays. So there is no need for you to flounder around in my room for today, or tomorrow at that."

Marcy rubbed her chin for a moment, things are aligning way too much in their language for things to just be coincidental.

"It's funny, how most of not all of our terminologies are the exact same thing! I mean, we do speak the same language and all... But for our separate species to have this much similarities in terms of terminology, our species must have met at some point, one way or another, maybe through some sort of portal that is summoned through a... Device..."

She trailed off for a moment, things are starting to make sense to her, everything aligning ever so perfectly.
"But when? When is the last time that music box was used?"
For all she knew, It could've been a long-long time ago, or as early as a few decades ago. She isn't sure, but she is deep enough in thought to try and find a plausible answer to it all.
She eventually groaned, frustrated that she couldn't figure it out in one go, she decides to just write a quick note for the information to write down on her journal later, with that, she clicked her pen and closed her notebook, and shoved both of them into the pocked on her hoodie.

One of the pollywogs, Lavender to be exact, commented on Marcy's tools that she has pulled out every now and then.

"You know, I used to think that weird thing that makes the clicking sound was some sort of weird stress toy. Turns out it's just a fancy looking quill with the ink already built in inside."

Marcy turned her attention to the little pollywog, walked towards her table and hunched down to her own eye level.

"This thing can also be a stress toy if you want it to be one! Like this."

Marcy then began to click the pen repeatedly with great intervals, this simple act and the noises that it was making is what seem to be the thing that pleases Lavender when she saw the thing being used.

"Oooh... Interesting..."

Marcy then proceeded to hand her pen to Lavender, who immediately started to click the pen over and over again, just like what Marcy just demonstrated, Lavender smiled, showing her amused state.

"Neat."

Marcy chuckled for a bit, seems like most innate human instincts are also shared with the amphibians in this world.
She admired Lavender's constant pen clicking just a little bit longer.

"It's called a pen by the way, you can borrow it from me for now, just remember to return it to me when I need it, kay?"

Lavender is in some sort of trance on her own constant pen clicking, she responded to Marcy without even glancing back at her, her attention is entirely focused on the pen itself.

"Yeah, sure."

Rosemary then bounced along the table, right infront of Marcy to complement the fun and goofy atmosphere she has created.

"You know Marcy, you're probably one of the most fun old lady I've ever met in my entire life, which isn't saying much since I'm not that old... But still!"

The little pollywog raised both of her hands up into the air to try and cheer Marcy, to which Marcy responded with her goofy laughter and grin, it's a bit surprising that Rosemary thought of her as some unusually active elderly figure, but then again, she is way taller than Harold is. Of course a misunderstanding is bound to happen, especially when none of the Flours knew much about her general information aside from Maddie, she eventually stops laughing and confronts Rosemary directly.

"Hey! Who are you calling old lady? Just for a matter of fact, I'm actually only thirteen."

She said while leaning on the table with one of her elbows, nearly everyone in the room was surprised, especially Rosemary. Who seemed shocked at the very truth, she eventually came back to her senses and responded to Marcy as to show her utter disbelief of Marcy's words.

"No way! You're only three years older than Maddie? But you're so tall already!"

Marcy chuckled a bit more, and added yet another fact that could surprise the rest of them in a heartbeat.

"Oh, and I'm not even finished with my growth spurt too."

Harold sighed and only moved his half-lidded eyes to his left side, not viewing the fact that Marcy can still grow as something positive.

"Well, lets just hope that Marcy here wouldn't grow out to be the size of a giant heron in the next couple of years, wouldn't know how I would get enough food just to keep her fed."

Ginger then shover herself up to the conversation, not viewing Marcy's potential growth spurt as something bad at all, she thought of how cool it would be to have a giant as a family member, wrestling down any large size bloodthirsty predators with ease.

"Why would it be a bad thing? Just imagine how cool it would be if we had a giant as our ally! Crushing foes left and right, that sounds very awesome and handy doesn't it?"

Marcy leaned in to Ginger's level and chuckled before revealing the somewhat disappointing truth to her.

"Actually, I won't grow by much, not to your extreme expectations that is, I would probably only grow an extra 35-40 centimeters in height before stopping at the begining of my twenties. Sorry bud, no giant Marcy is going to happen anytime soon, or ever for that matter."

Marcy gently pat the head of the now somewhat bummed out Ginger, the truth can be somewhat a let down most of the time, and that's something this little pollywog is going to learn in the coming future.

Harold on the other hand was relieved that feeding her wasn't going to be that much of a hassle at all if she does decide to stay with his family in the coming years.
He haven't decided what use she would be good for, and wondered if Marcy was just simply agreeing to his terms as to not get kicked out.
He eventually decided to talk out said subject with Marcy.

"Say, Marcy... Do you have any peculiar talents? Anything helpful for us in particular?"

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked that! I know a few things that could help with you getting enough income for the upcoming tax season, I'd say that improving the general utility and machinery around here is the first step that would help us get over said problem, but... I'd need to take a quick tour to see what all sorts of things you guys have going on here."

Harold thinks for a moment, weighing the odds of his two potential decisions that he will choose. He then looked up to Marcy's direction and responded with his answer.

"Alright, you can take a look around the house, but never go outside! Got it-"

Before Harold could finish his sentence, Marcy had already gone out of the kitchen to explore the interior of the building, not even giving a second glance at any of the frogs in the kitchen, Harold sighs deeply and spoke to Maddie.

"Keep an eye on her, the last thing we need is someone seeing her and drawing the entire town to march into our place."

Maddie nodded, got up from her seat and ran quickly to catch up to Marcy.

Marcy was dumbfounded by the architecture of the interior of each respective room, neat looking yet simple carvings to add a touch of enjoyable design. The thing that has her surprised the most is how every single part of the building seem to have some sort of use in making materials and ingredients for the pastries and special commissions, looks like the Flours really do thought of bakery as something that needs to be taken seriously.

Maddie eventually caught up to her, and slowed down to a walking pace next to Marcy. She saw only a goofy smile on Marcy's face as she scanned her surroundings with her two eyes, turning her head here and there to get in all sorts of the sensational visual stimulation the interior of this building has to offer.

Her eyes eventually fixates on a portrait on the wall, a family portrait to he exact, a painted portrait which seems to contain a picture of Harold as his usual self, and Maddie as a small little pollywog, the round ball shape of her body is so adorable to Marcy, the main physical difference that she had with her sisters at the present is that she actually had legs, small little stumpy legs.

Her attention then fixates at another figure in the picture, a purple frog with white slit pupils, and smooth white hair with splotchy dark regions all over it, similar to Maddie's appearance right now.
"Wonder who that could have been, haha."
She knew all to well who that figure is, Maddie's mother is her confident guess, she wonders where she is right now though, perhaps on a long trip somewhere? Well none of that matters to her right now, if Maddie's mother does come back, Marcy wouldn't mind being called a 'horrific creature' once again, she just needs to earn her trust just as she did with the others.

Marcy continued to walk and gaze upon the many unique objects and furniture in the building, until she suddenly felt a yank on the back of her hoodie, she then looked to the direction in front of herself, only to find that she is inches away from the front door. She then turned her head to find that Maddie was gripping her hoodie with one of her hands and was looking at her with a deadpan expression.

"Were you always this oblivious to your surroundings?..."

Those words hit home to her, her two friends always called her out for having zero spacial awareness to her surroundings, Anne especially, who had saved her countless times from situations she could've gotten badly hurt from. Marcy could only lean to the right side of the wall next to the door and chuckle nervously, pointing one of her index finger to herself before responding.

"Force of habit..."

What would happen next though, is something none of them could saw coming. The front door opened suddenly and in comes a turquoise colored frog with one bruised eye, dirty attire, and a hat with a reed on top of it. Both of his eyes were closed at the time, and they still are when he began to speak.

"Good day Flours! I came here to take the bugclairs that I ordered yesterday, I waited for them to be delivered to me that very same day, but it seems that you must've forgotten to do so. But don't worry! I'll just take them and I'll be on my wa-"

The frog opened one of his eye, and within seconds, his once friendly smile evaporated into a look of utter shock. His eyes grow wide and his mouth curl downwards to show the sheer terror he experienced from just seeing the very thing infront of himself, before his very eye was not only Maddie, but a very strange and disproportionately sized creature, that seems to be sharing the exact same shocked expression back to him.
The frog stepped back a couple of times from the door, his mouth wide open, trying to make sense of the situation.

The equally shocked creature then reached its arm out and pushed the door handle until it finally closes completely. The frog then thought to himself.

"Wally... Did you really see what you just saw just now?..."

He then heard sudden loud footsteps that sounds as if someone is running, and those noises slowly but surely became fainter.
Filled with determination to find the truth, Wally mustered up the courage then rushes directly at the front door while yelling at the top of his lungs, as he busted the door wide open violently, he could only see Maddie now, which smiled ever so nervously, Wally narrowed his eyes, and began to question the young frog.

"Maddie, what was that thing?..."

"What thing?"

Maddie responded, but Wally isn't buying her lousy act and only narrowed his eyes further in response, he now knows for sure that something is amiss, something that she seem to attempt to conceal. He then responded to Marcy, clarifying the subject specifically so she couldn't slip her way out of his questions.

"That hideous creature, Maddie... Where is it?..."

"You know... Maybe you should stop drinking too many of those weird drinks at the bar, it could cause you to see all sorts of weird things you know."

"I haven't drunk anything weird today..."

The tone of his voice deepens, he knows it for real now, Maddie's attempting to deny it, but her acting only worked to convince him more, he then paused and gave a neutral expression for a bit, thinking for a moment, he then smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Now that I think of it, I did kinda wasted myself over some strong drinks yesterday... Maybe you were right, Maddie."

He then turned around without looking back and walked towards the center of the town, leaving the slightly confused Maddie contemplating about his decision, she raised one of her eyebrow and tried to say something to Wally.

"Wait, but what about your bugclairs?..."

Wally continued to make his way into the center of the town, ignoring Maddie's words completely, when he arrived at the mushroom fountain, he stopped dead in his tracks, turned around, looked directly at Maddie from afar whilst still smiling. He then proceeded to clear his throat, and then...

"AGHHH! I JUST SAW A HORRIFIC BEAST!"

Maddie cringed heavily, slammed the front door shut, and ran back to the kitchen to notify Marcy and her family about the situation.

Meanwhile, another family are simply going about their own lives, a young pink frog, a magenta pollywog in a bucket, and an old orange frog were simply going about their usual days in their lives.
They were riding on a cartwheel that was being dragged along by a giant green slug, the old frog then put the slug on a full stop next to the local seed store, he then hopped outside of the cart and began to make his way to the seed store, but stopped mid way to assign one of his grandchildren to a task.

"Alrighty kids, I'm going to be in the store for longer than usual, you stay on the cart and keep watch over it, got it?"

The pink frog then jumped on the end of the cart wall and began to speak in a confident tone.

"You got it Hop Pop! I'll defend this cart with my LIFE!"

"Erm... I was referring to Polly there, Sprig."

Sprig seems to be taken aback by Hop Pop' statement, he couldn't imagine how Polly even watch over the cart by herself.

"What!? Polly's a baby!"

"Polly's got more responsibility in her little flipper than you have ever have in your entire life! Here, the slug is a bit hungry, why don't you go feed it?"

Hop Pop hands over a bucket of sludge filled with grinded vegetation of random variety to Sprig, Sprig took the bucket in his hand, frowned and further complains to Hop Pop about his task. Seeing it as uninteresting and not seen as something that is necessary to do.

"Why are we even bothering to feed this rental slug? We only got him because Bessie is feeling too unwell to do anything today!"

Hop Pop then looked at Sprig with a serious expression before scolding him. Clearly mad that his grandson is questioning his wisdom and the justified simple given task.

"Sprig! Just because he is a rental slug doesn't mean we don't get to give it the proper treatment all gastropod deserves! I won't stand for any incompetence in treating slugs or snails of any kind! They are hard working beasts of burden, who are we to treat any who serve us just as mere temporary companions?"

Hop Pop then looked towards Polly to assign her to one more important task at hand.

"Keep an eye on him, he has caused trouble for the 5th time this week... Make sure he doesn't add anymore to his current streak."

The little Pollywog does a salute gesture and responded firmly to Hop Pop. Determined to watch over her brother at all times and be a responsible person, which she thinks her brother would never become.

"You got it HP!"

With that, Hop Pop entered the seed store, and just as he was out of Sprig's line of sight, the rebellious frog hopped down next to the slug, placed the bucket down and kicked it, spilling the contents to the ground which the slug happily munched on in no time at all. Sprig sighed and crouched down with both of his arms supporting his bitter face. For him, it's just another boring day in Wartwood, his sister leaned in on the side of the cart with an unimpressed expression.

"You know Sprig... It was for the best, even if it's a simple task like this, as you have proven countless times that you are unable to control your adventurous instincts and always turn a simple task at your watch into utter chaos..."

Sprig only grunted in response, paying little mind to her or the slug that was happily engorging itself on the spilled feed. Just as he thought this day was going to he one of those days where he would be bored to death, he saw a commotion in the center of the town, right next to the fountain to be exact. He got up and watched the commotion for afar.

There he is, Wally acting all dramatically scared and horrified as to attract as many attention from the townsfolk as possible. He began to rant of what he just saw whilst doing dramatic poses to convince it to the whole crowd that have gathered to see what's all the fuss about.

"Oh the horror! I saw it! I saw a horrific beast! It had a huge head with a thin neck... Long spindly limbs... And a weird fave bump on its face!"

Wally then pulled out his accordion and played a dramatic tune to sell his words and act, eventually a large toad appeared before the crown, he was wearing quite the fancy attire, his fingers adorned with golden rings topped with jewelry. He then moves forward and began to talk.

"Hmmm... This beast does sound dangerous... Well, we better catch this beast before it harms even a single soul in this town! Because for Mayor Toadstool..."

The toad then truck a pose, smiling while pointing one of his index finger to the rest of the crowd, whilst a big cloth sign is erected behind him, with his name and title as the mayor of this town painted on it.

"Your safety, comes first."

The whole crown then clapped at his will to put this threat to a stop, Mayor Toadstool then turned to face Wally to confront him about where he last saw this beast at.

"So, Wally. Any ideas about the current whereabouts of this beast?"

"I last saw it at the Flour's front door, I was about to collect my bugclairs that they seem to forget to deliver to me yesterday, then I saw the beast inside their house after I opened their front door!"

The crowd of amphibians only grew rowdier as time passed, each one grabbing a convenient yet deadly tool as their arsenal of combat.
Mayor Toadstool then speaks up to calm the whole crowd, deciding that this whole suspense has been going on for long enough.

"Alright, alright... Enough talking... Let's just get it over with already..."

With that, the whole crowd moved like a classic angry mob, ready to tear down anything that stood in their way.
Marching rhythmically as they made their way into the Flours humble little bakery house, the embers of the torches the townsfolk carry is a testimony to their determination to face this so called beast.

After witnessing the whole scene, an idea came up to Sprig, an Idea that might just cause the 6th problem the started this week, he perked up as he saw the crowd march on.

"Polly, I think I have an Idea. I'm going to help capture that beast and be declared the town hero!"

"Ah ah ah! Remember what Hop Pop said?"

Sprig frowned at his younger sister, bummed out that she doesn't share the amount of enthusiasm he has about the situation.

"Tch... You're no fun."

Sprig then smiled before reaching to his pocket, only to pull out... Nothing... His bummed out facial expression resurfaces yet again to replace his smile, Polly only laughed, she knew what her older brother was about to do, but it seems that he forgot to restock on said stuff.

"What's the matter, Sprig? Have you run out of your bribery candy supply?"

His face then turns blank, his smile returns once again and he looked towards his little sister to respond to her.

"Hmmm... I mean can you stop me? Your legs haven't grown in yet, so..."

With that, Sprig jumped out of the cart and ran to try and catch up to the angry mob, Polly was furious and jumped out of her bucket to try and stop Sprig, she bounced along on the ground as fast as possible, hoping that Sprig won't get into any major trouble this time around.

Back at the house, Marcy and the Flours saw through the window that the most feared thing has happened, an angry mob is marching directly into their place.
Harold grumbled and looked at each person in the room for a quick solution.

"Any ideas? Anything! Anyone?!"

Marcy pondered a bit, but failed to come up with a reliable plan, the pressure was making it difficult for her for think properly. Alternatively, she could've just hidden in Maddie's secret room, but she is fearful that the angry mob would just tear the whole place down to look for her.
Then a hypothetical idea popped into her head, and she turns to face Maddie to ask her something.

"Maddie, Harold. Do you know what kind of person Wally is?"

Maddie and Harold looked to one another, seemingly confused of what Marcy has in store as a plan.
But it's not like they have any other choice, so they went on and told Marcy all about Wally's personality, common sense and general status in the town.
Maddie spoke up first.

"Wally seems to be the type of person who acts before he thinks, not really the brightest person in the town if I had to summarize him."

Harold quickly adds on to Maddie's statement.

"If I'm being honest, he is kinda lacking in terms of sanity and such. Generally mocked and made fun of for being, well... Somewhat crazy."

And voila! Marcy knew exactly on what to try to defuse the situation, she then hold the Flours close to herself with her both of her arms, telling them her effective yet simple plan, she makes sure they're on the same page as her, as they will be the ones to do it.

"Okay, so here is how its gonna work..."

With her brief explanation of the rundown of her plan done, Marcy ran upstairs and hid in Maddie's secret room, locking it from the inside for good measure.

Soon enough the angry mob arrived at the Flours' front door, Harold took a deep sigh and prepared to put up an act with his family that the townsfolk will hopefully buy, the Flours then came right out, and Harold was the one to speak first. Acting confused as to what could've caused all of this commotion.

"Just what is going on out here?"

Mayor Toadstool then walked his way through the crowd to fill in Harold about the situation, narrowing his eyes to show his suspicion.

"Ah, if it isn't Harold Flour, the humble baker everyone knows. Well, let me give you a quick explanation on what have caused all of this commotion, Wally here told us that a hideous beast is living inside your home, is this true, Harold Flour?"

Harold raised his eyebrow and crossed both of his arm before responding.

"A hideous beast? How come? If there is a hideous creature around here, especially if it's inside my home, then I would've seen it by now."

Wally frowned and tried to restate of what he had just seen to Harold. Trying to convince the angry mob that something fishy was in the air about Harold's words for the matter.

"Oh, I saw it alright! It has long spindly
limbs, five fingers, and a weird face bump!"

Maddie then stepped forward to confront Wally, talking in a pretty disappointed tone with half-lidded eyes.

"Really? Is this another one of those 'monsters' that you saw? Just like the moss man?"

"Hey! The moss man is real! and I have seen it myself!"

Just as Wally his own thumb to himself in retaliation with those words, the whole crowd begins to chat with one another. And Toadstool seems to be growing a bit more disappointed by the second.
Wally turns to see that the whole mob is now looking at him with irritated expressions as if he quite literally has just wasted their time and efforts over nothing.
He then turns his head back to see Maddie just as she is about to talk.

"Hey, I'm someone who practices in the dark arts and rants endlessly about the macabre... But the description of this 'hideous beast' of yours is not fitting with any creature from my cryptid fauna bestiary... Hell, even the chicka-lisk would be far more believable to the general public than this 'hideous beast' of yours."

Several other townsfolk then bicker louder with one another, to the point that their voices can be heard clearly.
Clearing put off by the realization on whom they've been listening this story from the whole time, some even had already began to disperse from the scene.

"Yeah, I didn't know why we even believed in Wally's story..."

"I know, we should've been more conspicuous of it from the start knowing that it came from him..."

The whole mob eventually turned back and went their separate ways, disappointed and irritated.
Mayor Toadstool's half-lidded eyes looked around himself, then turned his head back to face Wally.

"Well, Wally... I have to admit, this was your most believable story yet, until now that is... Come on Toadie, let's get out of here before that mentally handicapped frog croaks out more nonsense..."

Wally could only reach his hand out in desperation, he didn't even say a word, he felt defeated, and he turned to face the Flours again. He saw that Maddie was holding a parchment paper bag of bugclairs that he ordered.

"Here's your order, Wally."

Wally grunted, he grabbed the bag and turned back to head elsewhere.
Not even having the energy or motivation to try to continue his rant with anyone.

Two peculiar figures can then be seen rushing to the scene, it is Sprig, and the one lagging behind is Polly.
The little feisty Pollywog had chased his brother all the way here, unwilling to alert Hop Pop as he was far too preoccupied with selecting the best seeds for his crops for the upcoming spring.

"Sprig! Get back here, I'm telling you right now... that if anything bad happens, I'll pin the blame on you! And there is nothing you can do about it because stirring up trouble has always been your thing!"

"I can't help it! If I don't know the details firsthand... Then It'll haunt me for the rest of my life!"

Sprig then sees Wally whom he just ran past by, he then stops dead in his tracks and wonders what's going on.
Wally seems deflated, unlike his usual self.
Polly also stopped soon enough, wondering the exact same thing.

Sprig then turns to face the Flours, and of course. Maddie immediately greeted him with a creepy smile and a waving hand gesture.
He gets creeped out a little bit, and smiles to try and hide his nervousness.

"Hey there... Maddie... Can you tell me what's going on here? We've heard that there was a hideous beas-"

Maddie then cuts his words off with her own, putting up a casual expression the moment Sprig asks said question.

"That's just Wally being Wally, the classic frog that tells the classic ol 'believable' tales.."

Sprig grunted in frustration, at all of this, and he gets nothing but a possible punishment from Hop Pop for disobeying him.

"Auughh... Come on, Polly. Let's go back... I hope Hop Pop isn't gonna punish me too severely now. Hopefully its nothing related to cleaning Bessie's shed..."

"I tried to warn ya..."

A part of Sprig wanted to believe that there is some truth behind Wally's words, even a little. Or maybe he's just in denial about getting all excited over nothing, he sighed and continued to talk to his sister about his slight suspicion.

"You know... It's weird to see Wally looking all down like that, usually when people call his stories a fake he just doesn't care. Do you think there is any correlation to that?"

"You're getting your hopes up too much, Sprig..."

And eventually, everyone left after considering that Wally's story is nothing but a fake, and just like that, everyone continued their day to day lives as usual, as if nothing ever happened in the first place.

The Flours went inside their home once more, Maddie was quick to rush back to her room, she then knocked the bookshelf that led to her secret room in a password pattern that Marcy herself told to her if they ever wanted to tell her something, in case her plan faltered and the townsfolk does decide to search the building.
A faint noise of Marcy's quiet voice could then be heard through the bookshelf.

"Everything clear?..."

To which Maddie reassuringly answered with her confident voice.

"Yep!"

A faint unlocking sound can be heard, and Marcy creaked the bookshelf door slowly and peered her head from the side.

"Did it work? Did everything go on as planned?"

Lavender then chuckled a bit, the whole event was somewhat amusing to her, the disappointed look on the crowd, Mayor Toadstool's irritated expression, and especially Wally's desperation to regain control is what makes the sight mildly amusing.

"Oh, more smoothly than we expected! You should've seen the defeated face of Wally! Watching him trying to regain control over the situation was very funny. Anyway, how did you come up with such a plan like that?"

"Oh, I learned that trick from the manipulation queen, one of my childhood friends actually. Her name is Sasha by the way. I find the way she uses her words to win almost every confrontation very awesome! Like, imagine how cool you are if you can just win a heated argument with words alone, all the time! no need to get your hands dirty to even win."

Maddie seems interested in this friend of hers, how does her physical appearance compare to Marcy's, but most importantly, if any more of Marcy's kind arrived in Amphibia.

"So, how did you get here? And are there even more of you guys roaming around in Amphibia right now?"

Marcy seems a little hesitant at first, but maybe not filling in all the details would suffice for now.

"I got teleported here when I was with my two childhood friends, we were the best trio from kindergarten, all the way up til middle school! At least that's what I think."

Marcy grinned and rubbed the back of her head a little, the many times she accidentally got in trouble just because her friends dragged her along to do silly stuff is absurd.

"One of them is Sasha, to which I mentioned already, and the other is Anne. If I'm correct, the three of us would've gotten teleported into this world too... I think they're still out there... I hope so..."

Marcy gets lost in her thoughts once again, looking into the middle of nowhere with a very worried expression.
She then saps out of it, and looks like Maddie, Harold, and the three pollywogs were just staring at her again like last time.
She then speaks up very loudly with wide eyes, trying her best to hide her anxiety and bottle it up for good.

"Alright! Anyone up for some improvements around here?"

As the hours passed, Marcy had fixed a couple of things she could at the time. From the old grinding mill that is revamped to be more effective with its purpose, to the several cooking utensils around the house that got either replaced or remade.

But things did not go smoothly as planned on Harold's part, sometimes Marcy would end up slipping by chance and ruining the tools and machinery by mistake, mistakes after mistakes go on, trial and error is a pretty inaccurate term to describe Marcy's attempt at improving the Flour's place. The three little pollywogs laughed along as they witness Marcy and Harold's endless antics with each other, and Maddie only smiled as things seem to improve between the two of them, relatively speaking that is.

The rest of the day went about as well as they hoped for, with no prying eyes spying on them. The dinner they had together with Marcy only brought her closer to being an actual member of their family.
Marcy felt safe and comfortable, like harshness of this world have given way to a more mellow feeling, a feeling like she belonged there,  finally content with her new life.

The same, however... Can't be said for another human in the valley...
In the middle of a treacherous land... Where the night skies are painted red and the forests are populated by nothing more than dark leafless trees that look more like they are decaying, yet the bark of the trees themselves are ever thick and hard.

It was a stormy night, the Toad Tower has always been this wretched place no frog dared to come near, under the overseeing eyes of Captain Grime, who rules with extreme expectations for his mercenaries at all times, looming through the tower, a Captain that is dreaded by his own toad army.

About a week or so, one of the patrol group of his mercenaries brought in a strange prisoner, that has indeed piqued the best of his interests and curiosities.
A creature so bizarrely shaped, that he doubted that it even belonged in this world.

He made his way to the cell of the creature, the creature that is known as Sasha, or so the creature said.
Grime went up directly infront of her cell, and waved a picture of containing two other similarly shaped creatures.
Grime then spoke.

"I have to admit, Sasha. your game of deceit and manipulation almost convinced me... But I'm no less wise to even take your words for granted without a little digging. So, I've put out some sedatives inside your food, and once you're out cold, Percy here searched throughout your belongings... And found this..."

He waves the picture a couple of times in front of Sasha's view with a stern expression. Sasha was leaning forward with her arms wrapped around her legs, she closes her eyes tightly for a moment in frustration, then opened her eyes again and stared dagger eyes towards Percy, the toad mercenary backed away slightly with an anxious and uneasy expression, somehow this creature that is restrained by the leg with a chain linked to the back of the cell wall, and is behind steel bars, still managed to intimidate him to a certain extent.

Grime, however, was unfazed by Sasha's petrifying gaze.
Even when some of his own mercenaries claim that her gaze is done with murderous intent at times when they really did upset her, but not Grime, he was the most terrifying and cruel toad in the valley, it would take more than a simple gaze to intimidate him.

"Hard irrefutable evidence... Is it not?... Sasha?"

Grime then threw the picture towards Sasha, the paper glided in the air for a bit, slowly falling while swaying side to side, Sasha then reached her right arm out to catch it landing in the palm of her right hand.
Grime then backed off from the steel bars of the cell and continued to speak.

"I still don't know what you exactly are, how you got here, or what your intentions even are... But now I know that you're not alone, that picture of yours seems to have the short 'Best Friends Forever' written over the corner of it... Surely you wouldn't just leave them behind from wherever you came from, right? They could have been creeping around here in the valley as well, and I plan to uncover the other things you've been hiding from me, It's just a matter of time, Sasha, and I'm not willing to take the long route to get these answers from you... I'll make you talk, and I'm afraid the sands of your hourglass is already running out."

Sasha reeled her hand containing the picture back to herself, she stared at the Captain of the Toad Tower with half-lidded eyes and a frown. As the light of a thunder bolt lit her cold stone cell for a moment, before the stone cell returned to its dark and dim atmosphere.

Chapter Text

The wind churns as a yellow bicycle speeds across the road, paddling her way through is none other than the middle school student Anne Boonchuy, wearing her usual SJMS shirt uniform and her classic pink schoolbag.

It was another day of school life for her, but with a special occasion, It was her 13th birthday. As usual, her mother has prepared a traditional Thai snack for her, that she carefully carries in her mouth as she deems it convenient to do so.

She pull over to the side of the road to her school and pulled the brakes to stop at the parking area, she dismounted her bicycle and stepped aside, grabbing her chain lock and slid it around the front tire and a pole, locking it.

She got up and grabbed her snack from her mouth, and as she did so, she wonders what kind of whacky stuff her friends are planning for her birthday, she chuckles a bit as anything is on the table when it comes to her two friends, her daydreaming is eventually interrupted by a voice that called out to her, a voice she has learned to despise everytime it mentions her name, she turned around and saw a ginger haired girl with light freckles on her cheek.

"Hey Boobchuy! Whatcha eating? A puke bun?" 

The girl cackled after after just a simple light mockery that she threw at Anne, which only made Anne grew even bitter of her presence, her Thai-American status had not helped her get along with some other kids in the school, it even made her a target for bullying from time to time, which she always just tried to ignore and endure.
Anne sighed deeply, kept her composure and responded to the girl.

"Maggie, don't you have anything better to do other than be a bother to me today? And just so you know, it's not a bun, it's a khao niew bing. My mom made it for me today since it's my birthday."

Maggie's facial expression went blank for a moment, before casually responding back to Anne.

"Oh, Happy birthday." Just as she said those words, both of her hands lurched forward and grabbed the snack that Anne was holding. "Gimme that!" 

Anne kept holding onto the snack, with little effort too. She wanted to yank it away from Maggie's hands, but she's too hesitant as it could rip her snack to bits if she tried to do so, Maggie was somewhat struggling as she seem to barely make Anne budge, even when she puts all her strength into it.

Not long after, a third person joined the scene, a blonde with light blue eyes and a mole on her left cheek, she yelled and called out to Maggie in an assertive tone. Clearly displeased with the sight. 

"Hey! Margot! Leave her alone!"

Both Maggie and Anne turned to face the direction said voice was coming from, there she was, Sasha Waybright, one of Anne's close childhood friends. She had both of her arms crossed and a serious expression plastered across her face. Maggie though, only rolled her eyes nonchalantly before responding. 

"Huh... If it isn't the popular blondie, what are you gonna do Sasha? Try to shun me into a social outcast?"

Sasha then puts her left hand on her hip and smiled with a smug expression, as if to tell that Maggie had already lost in this situation, that she didn't know it yet.

"Oh, I don't need to. The only reason you're still holding onto Anne's stuff right now is because she isn't willing to do anything about it. yet..."

Sasha then turned her attention to her friend, looking at her in an assertive manner before speaking. Perhaps a bit disappointed that she isn't willing to stand her ground.

"Anne, don't just let this girl walk all over you anytime she wants. Enough is enough, show her."

Anne is a bit hesitant for a bit, her parents have always taught her that getting physically offensive with someone in a conflict should be a last resort thing, and that she shouldn't just do it whenever she wants to, even in situations like this, she responded with Sasha in attempt to reason with her.

"Yeah, but..."

Sasha groaned in disappointment, in her view, Anne is holding back unnecessarily. She took a deep breath before reaffirming her initial argument.

"Anne... Stop putting up this whole act of being a nice polite mommy's girl, she is getting may too comfortable with pushing you around... And you're  just gonna let her do that every single time?" Sasha smiled sarcastically and shrugged both of her shoulders, her eyes darting below her side before returning to meet Anne's "Seriously?..."

Anne looked at Sasha with a frown that slowly turned into a slight scowl, showing that she is still somewhat questioning her friend's orders. She thought of it for a bit, then within seconds, her frown deepens with determination. Showing her new point of view that her friend just gave her at that very moment.

She turned her head to face Maggie directly with her eyes narrowed. Without a word, she lets go one of her right hand from her snack and latched it directly onto Maddie's right arm. Gripping it firmly, Maggie was taken aback at Anne's sudden action, but what made her more nervous is how tightly Anne is gripping her arm, she tried to pull away from it while still holding onto the snack, but that barely even made Anne move.

Meanwhile, Sasha was very amused that Anne is now showing her true physical potential to Maggie, she couldn't help but laugh lightly on how the tables are quickly turned against Maggie's favor, Sasha put one of her arm next to the side of hear head and caressed her own golden hair before she spoke up.

"There you go, that's my girl!"

Maggie looked towards Sasha's direction and saw the arrogant smile she desperately wished to erase from her face, but she had much more serious manner to pay attention too, she looked back to face the person whom she is confronting right now, and is greeted with the unchanged serious face of the Boonchuy that she has just mocked minutes ago.
As if not satisfied with quite literally beating the dead horse that is Maggie right now. Sasha proceeded to add more insult to injury.

"There, now that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Anne was staring with dagger eyes at Maggie, not budging at the slightest despite Maggie's most desperate attempts. Anne then spoke out her last words before she escalates to take further actions.

"Last warning, Maggie... Let go, now."

Maggie wanted to get away from the new Boonchuy that she sees infront of her eyes, but maybe it was her ego, or her belief of dumb luck that she still had a chance to intimidate Anne back mentally and win the confrontation.
She spoke out to Anne in response, slightly trembling whilst doing so.

"I-I call your bluff, Anne Boonchu-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Anne pulled herself back, yanking Maggie along with her. Disoriented, Maggie barely managed to keep herself balanced by Anne's sudden jerking movement.

Anne then swiftly swung her left feet that is currently in-between Maggie's two legs in a vertical manner. It was so fast and decisive that Maggie only managed to lift one of her feet halfway before Anne's shoe hit her other foot and tripped her off her feet, making her lose her footing and her grip on Anne's snack simultaneously. 

Maggie falls before suddenly stopping, her face hovering just above the ground, she looked up to see Anne's face, Anne's half lidded eyes and furrowed brows says it all.
She lets go of Maggie's arm and she falls stomach first onto the ground, followed by the rest of her body, and eventually, her chin.

"Ackh!..."

Anne then turned her back on Maggie and proceeded to walk casually to her friend's side, Sasha was very pleased that her friend was able to let her true capabilities loose on Maggie. She snickered a bit and savored how awfully humiliating Maggie made herself to be right now. She spoke to Anne without glancing away from Maggie's direction.

"Nice one, Anne."

She decides to speak of how foolish to was for Maggie to pick on Anne in the first place, as measure to make sure that Maggie is the last cautionary example for others who also pick on Anne to learn from.

"You know, Maggie. Maybe it wasn't the best decision for you to pester Anne all the time in the first place, like... You're dealing with quite the athletic person. Let me list the things that she's good at for you... basketball, volley ball, dodge ball, and especially tennis.
She's also no stranger in the field martial arts, didn't see that low kick coming, didn't you? Maggie."

Sasha's expression turned of that of someone merely being sarcastic, to someone being serious of the matter they're currently discussing. Up until the last part, where her mocking gesture comes out again to taunt Maggie.

"And oh... Since you also have the audacity to pick on my close friend for quite a while now, you can forget about coming to my awesome house party next week. It'll be really sad when the whole class is enjoying the pool without you."

Maggie got up back to her feet and grumbled abit, her ego clearly hurt more than her physical body, she turned her back to the two girls and begins to walk into the front door of the school, sending her last petty words before disappearing behind the doors.

"Tch... Whatever, I don't need to attend your fancy glorified house party to make myself feel better..."

Sasha only raised one of her eyebrow with half lidded eyes, this is the first time someone who had picked on one of her friends been this petty infront of her when they're defeated. But she soon shrugs it off as nothing important and turns her attention back to Anne.

"Ugh... If I were you I would've totally kicked her butt back there to send a clear and unforgettable message, never mind that though. Happy birthday girl!"

Both of the girls squeal and was about to share a tight hug with one another, but before that could happen, the ring of the school bell can be heard, and both of them paused. Sasha being the main one that was bummed out the most, she even spoke out her own audible complaint.

"Ugh... Buzzkill..."

And so, the day went on just as normally. Until Mrs. Virk's lesson on dissecting frogs corpses that is. Nearly everyone in the class is visibly and audibly repulsed by the sight, Anne especially.
Sasha on the other hand, had already planned a getaway route from this situation, with a simple act, she managed to deceive Mrs. Virk and avoided the class entirely.

The two girls laugh, but just when Anne pointed out that they had already walked past the sick room, Sasha sighed in disappointment that her friend haven't gotten into the same page as her. Sasha tried to convince Anne to skip school just to celebrate her birthday with both her and Marcy, Anne was hesitant at first, but Sasha's persuasion eventually made her give in. Before leaving, both of the girls grabbed their schoolbag from their lockers, ready to do some young teenager shenanigans.

The rest of the day went on as a crazy and the whackiest time that both Anne and Sasha had ever experienced that year, from speeding across on the sidewalk on shopping trolley, to doing the dance pad at the arcade, until they were both at a local cafe, enjoying drinks upon the table that they had chosen.
Anne commented a bit about the drink they're having, but Sasha was too preoccupied with the text message that Marcy had just sent her, a weird looking chest-looking box with 3 colored gems on the top and a frog symbol on the side, all for the frog lover.

Sasha giggled a bit and urged Anne to get going and meet up with Marcy at a certain thrift shop, but just as she did so, she got a text from her own two parents. It notifies her that the birthday party that they both had prepared for her is about to start in a few minutes, She tried to make Sasha understand, but Sasha only urges her to come with her and Marcy anyway. They exchanged a few arguments with one another, each sentence exchanged only made Anne more nervous and Sasha more impatient,

until that final judgement of a word was spoken out of Sasha's mouth.

"End of discussion."

Anne was taken aback, as all the time she has said this sentence, she felt as if she had to follow her orders. Not once had she even managed to get her way through her.

Sasha may encourage Anne to stand up for herself, but to stand up against her? It would be deemed as something unacceptable.

She looked a bit to the side and frowned a bit, contemplating the weight of the decision that she is about to follow.
Anne shrugged and just said that her parents won't mind her coming a little late, and so she set off with Sasha to meet up with Marcy and did whatever plan she had in mind.

It was the afternoon, the chirping of the birds have become distant and far in-between. The low breeze of the cold wind blowing lightly through the streets.
Anne and Sasha had walked all the way to the thrift shop Marcy told them to go to, both of them looked around for a bit, and sure enough, there she was, the geeky beloved clumsy nerd. Marcy waved one of her arms out to the both of them to get their attention, and they hurried over to greet her.

Marcy opened her arms wide, and she could swear that she almost fell over by the sheer momentum her two friends that crashed at her for a hug, she giggled a bit and spoke.

"You guys! You've made it! And here is the birthday girl we have over here, happy birthday Anna-Banana!"

Marcy proceeded to tighten her hug on Anne's side, a little too tight perhaps... But Anne just thought of it as Marcy's own special way of making her birthday that more special. Marcy then pushed back and showed an extremely grateful expression to be able to witness her two friends again, but something is off.

Both Anne and Sasha had noticed that Marcy was slightly hyperventilating and had a slight shaky frame everytime she moved any part of her body, particularly when her motion was slow, which only made it that much more visible. Anne only raised one of her eyebrow in confusion, Sasha on the other hand only chuckled and commented Marcy about her current state.

"Woah! Are you okay there Mar Mar? You looked like someone who stayed awake overnight grinding out those useless progress in their silly RPG games, no offense to you though Marcy. You're not that kind of person, most of the time I hope." Sasha then stepped a little closer to get a better look at Marcy's face, rubbing her chin slightly while her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You do have seem to have bags on your eyes right now..."

Marcy was stunned for a moment, Sasha's question seem to take her by surprise. Marcy could only shrug it off and smile nervously in response, trying to hide any pent up emotion she most likely had tried to bottle up at that very moment. 

"Oh, this? I'm just so excited about Anne's birthday that I barely slept last night! I kept wondering about what crazy plans you have mind, I didn't want to lose on being the only one with whacky ideas for her birthday! So I've come up with the perfect gift!"

Marcy gestured her index finger through the glass window of the thrift shop, it points directly to the weird looking chest like music box.
Sasha seem somewhat impressed at the authentic look of the box, the colors of the gems and the golden lining on the edges really stand out in person. Anne on the other hand seem confused, she thought to herself.

"Why that thing? Why would she ever think I'd be interested in an old antique object like that?..."

Anne only rubbed her elbow with her other arm, her cheeks puffing up slightly in disappointment, but she doesn't actually say it aloud. She didn't want to make Marcy, her most innocent friend, feel sad for making her think this gift was a let down to her.
Anne looked to her side to face Marcy, and spoke to her about what she had in mind next.

"Well, are you just gonna go in there an buy it or something? I don't see any price tag on it though, could be only for display... So maybe you could look for something else together with Sasha and I-"

Without warning, Marcy slammed her palm over Anne's mouth. Anne's eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed a bit. Clearly irritated and shocked by the sudden action that Marcy had pulled out of nowhere without warning, she pulled Marcy's hand down from her mouth and tried to complain.

"What the hec-"

"Shhh... You see that over there?..."

Marcy pointed her index finger to the shop keeper, an old lady who was sleeping with her head being supported by one of her right hand. She is snoring and is quite unresponsive of anything. Marcy only smiled before whispering out her intent.

"I've double checked everything in this thrift shop before hand, no security cameras, and no other workers in there either. Since the shop is empty right now, it would be the perfect time to go in and out without getting caught."

Anne's eyes widened with dread, her mouth hung open for a bit as she comprehended what words just came from her friend's mouth. She couldn't believe that her oh so innocent friend would even think of suggesting an idea like that,

she would be somewhat taken aback if it was coming from Sasha, but Marcy? Shocked would be an understatement.

Sasha was also very surprised at first, but only smiled like the somewhat delinquent girl she is. Even praising Marcy for putting her calculative thought into such a criminally offensive act.

"Dang Marcy! Didn't know you had an idea like that in mind, I mean... Wow... I think I do have to up my own game if you keep this up."

Sasha snickered a bit, but Anne kept her shocked expression plastered across her face, which only grew with worry as she watched Marcy rubbed both of her hands cheekily and slowly snuck inside through the front door of the thrift shop as quiet as possible, Anne tried to quietly call out to her to stop her outrageous act, even reaching out to try and yank Marcy by the top of her hoodie.

"Marcy! Get back here! This is taking things way too far!"

Anne then felt Sasha's own hand grabbing her by her arm to prevent her from stopping Marcy, Sasha groaned a bit, seemingly disappointed that Anne isn't in the same boat as both herself and Marcy about going through this.

"Anne... Let her do her thing. I mean, she's doing this for you, Anne. Come on, aren't you proud that she had grown this bold to try and make you happy?"

Anne could only look at Sasha helplessly, then back to her other friend. She just hoped that Marcy didn't get caught, she's sure that her parents would immediately link both her and Sasha as the bad influence that has caused their daughter to commit such an act.

Meanwhile, Marcy was carefully maneuvering through all the objects and racks as to not knock any of them over, she could swear that her usual clumsiness had disappeared completely at that very moment just because she didn't want to screw this up, for all she know, she had one chance, and she is going to make the most of it.

After her hard effort of maneuvering around the shop for sometime, she finally made the last step required. She is finally infront of her desired object, the so called 'Calamity Box' that she read from a book from the library not too long ago.

She placed both of her hand on the music box, and slowly lifted it from the rack where it was displayed. She pulled the music box towards herself, she observed it for a couple of seconds, caressing the golden lining on the edges.

"Please work..."

She unzipped her schoolbag and packed the music box neatly inside, before zipping her schoolbag shut again.
She looked at the old lady at the counter, still in deep sleep. She breathed a heavy sigh before attempting to sneak back out, though bad luck had struck.

In her somewhat hasty attempt to get back out, one of her elbows had  knocked over a vase.
Adrenaline pumped instantaneously into her bloodstream, her face practically became pale from terror, everything felt slow at the moment, the perception of time dilates.
She could see the vase slowly falling into the hard ceramic floor below...

A near narrow breakthrough, moments away from disaster.

She managed to prevent the vase from emitting a loud shattering sound by using one of her foot to catch it just before it was about to hit the floor.
She slid it down slowly into the ground before running out the exit door and closed it shut behind her, she signals both of her friends to follow her while running, and they obliged, though Anne was feeling heavy hearted while doing so.

The three girls stopped at a nearby park, the air had gone ever the more colder, as dusk sets in and the sky starts to darken.
The three stopped at a nearby park bench, Marcy unzipped her bag and pulled the music box out. Her heart pounded in her chest heavily, awaiting if what she read of this object is true or just a mere myth all together.

She handed the music box over to the birthday girl, Anne.

Anne slowly reached out and took the music box from Marcy's hand, something ominous is radiating from the very thing itself, nothing physically felt, just an overall gut feeling. Maybe from the fact that she got it from Marcy who stole it from an innocent shop vendor.
She grabbed the lid of the music box, and slowly opened it...

And then... Nothing...

Nothing is even inside the music box itself, its bare and empty. Anne proceeded to open and closed it a couple of times more, but nothing came from it. Anne only raised one of her eyebrow in contempt, it seems that this thing is just an antique object with a mere decorative function.
Sasha only crossed her arm, still wondering if the gold lining and three gems that is adorned above it are authentic.

Marcy one the other hand, only made a desperate face. Her mouth hung a little open, and her eyes widened with constricted pupils. She felt her own heart sunk with what she just saw, this can't be.

Even after seeing it do absolutely nothing firsthand, she still clung to a belief that there was something that she needed to do to activate its purpose.

She slowly took the box from Anne's hand and tried spinning the key on the side of the box, but it wont budge. She tried tapping her fingers on the three gems, nothing too...
Her face became even more dire as she felt her eyes swell with tears, tears that are held back in denial of what's to come.

Anne and Sasha watched with worry as their friend is going through some sort of anxiety attack, her frame became shaky, her breath becoming ragged. Eventually, her own hands became limp, and the music box slipped from her finger tips and fell to the dirt ground below with a thud.

Just as Marcy was about to break down in tears and reveal the painful truth to her friends, something happened. The inside of the music box began to emit strobing lights, Marcy's eyes dilated in response to this, she crouched down to slowly lifted the box with both of her hands.

She stood back up, and looked at the music box in awe. The music box then began to play a rhythmic tune, the key suddenly spinning on its own, as the strobing glow inside the box became stronger and stronger.

Anne and Sasha, curious of what was happening to the music box, decided get close to Marcy and peek over from her shoulders to investigate what was happening.

Marcy slowly lifted the lid of the music box to see what would happen, the box then jerked open on its own with force, and the once harmonic tune that it played suddenly played in reverse in such a fast pace that it almost sounded eerie.

A flash of white light then enveloped the three girls, the lining edges of the light seem to have three different distinct colors...

Blue... Pink... and Green...

The light then collapsed in on itself, sending a shockwave throughout the park. Nothing remains, only a static remnant in the surrounding air that also quickly dissipated from sight.

Anne gasped for air, the very area she's in seemed to be in a whole different place entirely, a sandy beach with corals that seem to grow out of the water and even completely on dry land, the size of each individual coral structure alone would dwarf that of what one would typically see on a reef.

The scenery is coupled with the splashing sounds of the waves rhythmically hitting the sandy shores.
The girl rubbed her own eyes as she got herself up from the uncomfortable coarse texture of the sand between limbs.

She then looked up and saw the blinding light of the sun, she quickly covered her eyes with her right hand, clearly confused as to why it is currently the middle of the day.

She looked around for a bit and saw no sign of any of her two friends, she looked looked slightly above herself and saw what seems to be a swarm of fluffy flies flying, but what shocked her more is the tall wall behind those insects. She scanned the wall from the left, spinning her entire footing on the sand as she turned full circle in place. The wall seem to encapsulate the very area she's in right now.

"Huuuuh... What the..."

Are the words she could only mutter at this point, she decided to wander around for a bit, carrying her schoolbag that is still on her shoulder.

She walked away from the wall as she saw that there is no way she is going to get through that, and decides to see what this wall was built around, it doesn't take long for her to see something that caught her attention.

Someone which seems to be dressed in a seaside themed attire of clothing and a bluish robe adorned from top to bottom, almost concealing said person's entire body, the person seem to be somewhat shorter than her, a little kid dressing in some sort of robe is her best guess.

The person is sitting on some sort of coral shaped bench, Anne's curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to go confront said person for directions.
And perhaps the potential whereabouts of her two friends, this all felt very real and too vivid to be a dream. At least that's what she thought at the time.

Finally arriving right by their side, she starts the conversation with her usual greetings, leaning her elbow on one of the arms of the bench.

"Hey uh, sup. The name's Anne, I'm kinda lost around here... Have you seen anyone else pass by here perchance? Someone with a blonde and or dark hair?" 

The person responded without even looking to face Anne, it seems whatever is in the view, this person finds it quite beautiful enough to not look away from it.

"Eh?... No, I haven't, dear. You're actually the first person I've seen around here today. Well whatever need to fulfill with these two people, I hope you can find them soon. And oh my! Where are my manners! My name is Doris by the way. Pleasure to meet you, Anne."

Anne was somewhat surprised to find out that the voice of the person was that of an old woman somewhere in her late sixties, but that doesn't seem to be that much of a shock factor. Elderly people are sometimes short, from her experience anyways.

Still, she began to worry as to where her friends really are. That music box... Surely that is what have caused all of this, but not a single evidence of her friends or that damned cursed object is even around.
She sighs deeply and asked Doris for assistance.
At that very moment, Doris took the top of her robe off her head and turned to face Anne.

What Anne saw next took the breath away from her, and Doris too it seems. Both looked at each other with wide eyes and open mouths, not believing what they're seeing infront of their very eyes right now.

What Anne previously thought to be an elderly woman was actually a weird looking wrinkly bipedal salamander.
Both of them then suddenly seem to calm down, and began to naively talk to one another, the first one to speak was Anne.

"Huh... What a weird and vivid dream..."

Doris lets out light chuckle, finding humor in irony of the situation.

"Yeah, It's also funny how the manifestation of my own thoughts that is right infront of me seem to point it out too."

Doris then proceeded to pinch herself, and was surprised to find that it clearly felt painful. "Ouch!".
Anne is then quick to copy the same thing that Doris did, to which she also finds that it felt very real. "Ow... Yep, that very clearly hurts alright..."

Both of them then looked at each other again, the shocked facial expression return to their respective faces. And they began to scream at one another. Doris was the first one to comment about Anne's appearance while continuously screaming. 

"A TAILLESS NEWT WITH A FACE BUMP!"

But at that moment Anne suddenly felt an urge to point out that Doris is wrong about what she is, Anne then proceeded to put some kind of casual face with an eye brow raised while doing so.

"What?... I'm not a newt..."

Doris then paused, putting up the same casual expression as Anne. Rubbing her own chin slightly, Doris wonders what kind of amphibian she is, but nothing comes to mind. So Doris just decides to shoot a random guess.

"Are you some kind of lanky frog with a weird face bump then?"

Anne only shook her head lightly, responding in an equally casual tone.

"I'm not a frog... I'm a human."

Doris only narrowed her eyes, confused on what type of amphibian a "human" is exactly, perhaps it is one of those exotic amphibians that most of the general public in Newtopia seem to not know about.
Anne on the other hand had realized what had actually happened, that she is transported into a whole different world entirely. With twinge of denial, she decides to ask Doris if she recalled seeing anything that could've been related to her transport here.

"Uhmm... Doris, have you seen anything happen here recently perchance? Like, perhaps minutes ago?"

"Now that you mention it... I did hear a weird and loud noise and a flash of bright light not far from here, then I heard and felt a large shockwave of sorts..."

Anne then slammed both of her hands to each side of her face, hyperventilating on the realization of the worst outcome of what has happened.

"No no no no... no no NO!"

She muttered quickly, she then fell side first onto the ground and wrapped both of her hands on her own reeled legs, she began to roll back and fort on the sandy beach. She proceeded to whimper out her agonizing realization.

"That stupid box teleported me here! I knew going through that damned plan of my friends was a bad idea!"

"Huh... I guess that explains why I haven't seen any amphibian that come close to even resembling you before..."

Doris could only watch as Anne proceeded to get up on her knees on all fours and proceed to slam the coarse sand below with her fist in frustration while yelling out her anger, cursing not only the box, but her two friends who inadvertantly caused all of this.

"Stupid box... Stupid Marcy... STUPID SASHA!"

Doris couldn't help but to try and calm this seemingly strange creature. She may not know whatever Anne is, but that doesn't mean that she would just let her be in a state of anguish and anger that she's currently in.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down, dear. I'm sure whatever your friends decided to urge you into doing didn't expect this as the general outcome. Try to calm down a little, maybe that would help you concentrate to think of an idea to get yourself out of this situation."

Anne, however. Only lashed out with a desperate look at her face. Not even considering some thought to Doris' advice.

"How the heck am I supposed to calm down! For all I know, I'm stuck in here with no way to get home! Home..."

Anne paused as the horror has the dawned upon her, her own mother was practically begging her to come back when Sasha pulled her along through all of this. She doesn't want to think of what have been going on in both of her parents minds right now.

Or worse, what kind of things their minds might wander off to when they realize that their daughter is missing for longer than usual.

"Oh god... My parents! It's my 13th birthday and I've delayed my attendence to the birthday party that they've prepared to hang out with my friends! They must be really worried about where I am right now!"

Doris could only feel bad of this creature. She wouldn't know that this tall creature was merely a child if wasn't for it speaking its own age out loud. Doris worry all to much, how couldn't she? She had plenty of experiences on dealing with her own countless sons.

She empathizes with Anne, but more so for her parents. Though she didn't knew what exactly to do at that moment, she at least instinctively tried to help reassure Anne that things would take a turn for the better eventually.

"Oh dear... Now that situation is quite bad. Listen, dear. Sometimes life just make these sudden surprises from time to time that we aren't prepared for to face. But look on the optimistic point of view! I'm sure that with luck and an unyielding heart... One would eventually find a way to get past this seemingly impossible task that life just threw at you."

Anne however, only lashed out to Doris in response. Not wanting to hear Doris' words of reassurance.
Anne only thought at it as yet another classic version of unhelpful motivational speech her teachers would usually give to her.

"You're the one to talk! You don't know what its like to get transported to a whole nother flippin world where the only possible way to get out is nowhere in sight!"

Doris takes a deep sigh, Anne is right. Getting transported to different plane of existence entirely is nothing the average person would experience in their entire life.
The least she could do to help right now is to give Anne some form of guidance over this world. More so a quick overview of this Kingdom.

"Well, Anne. At least you could do with a little knowledge of this place you just happen to come by... Ahem... Welcome to Newtopia! A place rich of history and..."

Doris sighs, it seems that she had over glorified this place too much, this kid needs a quick overview, not a whole flowery language of a long introduction.

"Nevermind that... Anyway, this kingdom is called Newtopia. The bustling centre of all Amphibia. I could tell you a couple of places where you can get some information that could come real handy for ya! Not far from here, there are a couple of people who hands out small map for visitors and tourists, a map that lays out all the important regions of Newtopia. All you need to do is go to our several infamous libraries where all sorts of knowledge, both ancient and new is stored. Perhaps you could find something there that would corelate to your current situation."

Anne sighed, still feeling somewhat bleak in all of this. She then smiled as gesture of gratitude towards Doris' guidance. 

"Thanks, Doris. Never knew that an elderly newt would show such kindness towards someone like me, I mean. I pretty much look like a freak to you when you saw me, don't I?"

Doris let out a moderate laugh, it seems that Anne was able to read her thoughts with no problem at all. Something she wished her many sons would at least be capable of doing all the time.

"And you still do look like a freak to me, dear! No offense though. I never knew that a... huue-men? Did I say that right?"

Anne chuckled for a bit, before regaining her composure to respond to Doris once again. 

"Close enough, Doris. Close enough."

Anne, finally regaining her composure, had decided to at least have some optimism in trying to get out of this crazy situation. She asked Doris for directions to where the main kingdom is located, as she can't seem to see any evidence of it existing within her sight.

"So... Where is the main centre of Newtopia? Because If it is a bustling kingdom, then I'm pretty sure I would've seen it by now. If I'm being honest, this whole wall just circles this entire region that seems to be... bare."

Doris then points to the huge coastal rock that is behind them, Anne wasn't sure why. Maybe she's trying to hint at her to go around it? She decided to go by her own assumptions and tried to walk around the huge rock.

Not even halfway around it, Anne could already see something over the corner of her eye. Her mouth slowly opened in bewilderment, as the whole thing had is fully visible by her eyes.

Anne craned her neck up to witness the sheer stature of this Kingdom, It was beyond large. It was the size of a whole city at this point. Anne's eyes dilated and darted back and forth to every single unique architecture in the kingdom.
Doris then came up from behind her for a little word about Anne's current state of amazement.

"Pretty impressive right? Eh... It doesn't seem all that impressive when you grow up in it though, I've heard that people in the valley talk about this kingdom as some sort of haven for those who are good enough to attempt to move and stay in it. And oh my... The faces that they make when they finally come to realize that this place isn't all sunshine and rainbows, gets me every single time."

Anne lightly laughed along with Doris, She does get it to a certain extent. Her local Thai community is a good example for a comparison, she thought. Every single person who wasn't a part of the general Thai community there would treat it at some sort of 5 star tourism place that is rich with history. Anne however, only saw the place to be as bland and boring as the math period in her class.

But that isn't the main focus right now, she finally centered her attention back to this Kingdom she's currently in. Newtopia.
She took a deep sigh while looking far into the kingdom with a stern gaze, hoping that this crazy mess would eventually solve itself. Or at least last no longer than a day.
A thought then crossed her mind, to which she then immediately spoke out to Doris in hope that she has an idea to prevent things from escalating.

"Uhm... Doris, do you think the people there would capture me and cage me up despite me... y'know... Being able to speak and being very polite?"

Doris rubbed her neck with an unsure expression, hinting to the word yes. Both of them weren't sure of it, but the possibility is still quite high.

"I'm fairly certain that the authorities would just outright capture you at first, It may not be the most preferable option. Perhaps you could try to reason with them by then and solve things out from there?..."

Those words act more as a de-couragement than anything, Anne was slumped. She only made a scowling face that signifies her just wanting to give up right there and then.

Doris couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Anne, eventually it was too much for her to bare, and she decided to hand something over that would likely help her with getting around such a place without catching the attention of anyone.

"Here, take this my dear."

Doris took off her blue robe and tried to hand it over to Anne. Surprised by more gestures of kindness, Anne tried to politely decline as if to say that Doris had already done her enough good, and it would make her feel guilty for Doris to hand over one of her own clothing just for the sake of helping her more.

"Oh, n-no... I shouldn't-"

Before Anne could properly finish her sentence however, Doris interrupts it, once again trying to reassure Anne that it's okay.

"Take it, I have a more beautiful one."

With a hesitant smile, Anne finally took the robe and expressed her thankfulness to Doris' the best way she could word it out to be.

"Thank you, thank you! Is there any way I could perhaps try to repay you in someway for this? This really feels like you're going out of your way to help me."

Doris only scoffed in a friendly manner, giving Anne the only method to repay her.

"In return? You keep yourself safe out there kiddo! Don't be too ambitious about finding a way to get back to your world, know your limits."

With that, Anne finally decided that it is time for her to try and find any way to get out of this world of talking amphibians, giving doris one final thanks before going separate way. Doris on the other hand only told Anne to never mention such things again, the amount of gratitude Anne shows towards her is already enough.

Anne was amazed as she was nervous, this whole place felt like another level of foreign to her. More so, she doesn't know the customs of the people around here, she could've asked Doris in the first place but its too late to do that now, she just needs to observe the surrounding people and try to mimic their behavior as much as possible.

Anne had already picked up a local map handout of Newtopia from some tourism newt, The map was understandingly small and not too specific about most places. She has to make way with what she can at the time, if she wants to find any clue of a way to get home then she must move with purpose. There is no time to waste.

Unfortunately, none of the public open libraries she visited along the way seem to have anything that could corelate to the music box. She only scrambled a couple of the books to see the cover, and none of them even match with anything that she was looking for.

To make thing more complicated, newts would often just observe her digging through books and placing them back on the shelf, it only took a couple of newts to eye her from a distance in the library to make her uncomfortable enough to abandon most search that she conducted on each library that she could see.

Eventually, she yields and decides that it is best that she focused on other aspects right now, research on a way to get home could wait for another day or so.

After looking around the map handout for her next potential stop, she saw an area that piqued her interest the most, the general area that are within the vicinity of the large castle. From the little information she could read on her map, that castle is where the king of all Amphibia resides. A person named Andrias Leviathan, and a certain other title part of his name that Anne chose to just ignore.

After 6 hours of her making her way to the general area of the castle, she has finally arrived there. The sight on itself is much more breathtaking up close. Craning her neck up, she could really see the scale of this entire building.
Looking back and forth between it and her map again to make sure she's at the right region, she's here.

All this effort to arrive to this place has surely taken a toll on her, usually she wouldn't even be bothered in the slightest due to her athletic nature. But she hasn't gotten any form of sleep since the past 6 hours.

It is currently the afternoon of this world in her point of view, perhaps a little power nap could do, she decided to go to the nearest bench put down her schoolbag on it, she then sat down on the bench while pressing her back on it.

Getting some shut eyes is what she would want right now, but she knew that going asleep cold out in the open like this could potentially get the valuables in her bag snatched within a mere matter of moments. But she finds it hard to fight against her fatigued and tired body's will to rest.

Slowly but surely, she started to struggle to keep her eyes forced open. It then closed shut for good. Everything went silent in her head for a minute, until...

"HEY!"

Anne immediatly jolted into a straight sitting position, still disoriented from a random and sudden wake up call that came out of nowhere.
She wrapped around her hand around her school bag that she had just lifted on her lap very tightly, it takes a few seconds, but she finally focused on the person who woke her up.

A tall newt in a deep blue cop-like clothing. With a thick mustache and thick eyebrows to sell his looks to boot. Holding a baton on his right hand that is pointed with a threatening manner to Anne's face.

"This ain't no place to doze off, mate. Such activities are prohibited around the entire and surrounding region of the castle, get up!"

With a grumpy face and a small grumble. She got up from the bench and confronted the newt who she figured has some sort of authority or law enforcer figure around here.

"I was just about to sleep for 15 minutes! Why do you have to be so pushy about such insignificant laws. I'm just some tired newt trying to get some rest for frog's sake!"

The newt only crossed his arms, and proceeded to add more to make his point stand out as the most responsible one.

"Yeah right, lady... You're going to sleep on this bench until the next morning, and what will happen by then? That's right! You will be lucky to even still have any of your belongings still in your possession! Be grateful!"

Anne groaned with pure annoyance of the whole situation she just got herself in, to make matters even worse, the newt wasn't even done with her just yet. Just as Anne got up, the newt tilted his head to the side and saw that Anne has no tail of sorts whatsoever.

"Dear frog... What happened to your tail?"

Anne got a bit shocked for a moment, it seems that she had refered herself as a newt by accident. A minor mistake on her part, perhaps a little excuse could throw this person off the trail.

"Oh... This? It got cut off in an... Accident."

The newt then made a cringed expression, shaking his head to shrug off his feeling of uneasiness.

"Ugh... People these days... I swear, I keep hearing incidents about people's tail getting cut off all the time. Let me remind you, you ain't no axolotl. Next time it's gonna be one of your limbs and it ain't gonna grow back!"

He then pulled out a yellow paper note book and a fancy old pen.

"Gonna have to still mark this as one of your first offenses... Show me your face so I can get a good sketch of it."

Anne is finally starting to feel the pressure, she wouldn't want to show him her face, who knows what would happen if he and the surrounding people found out that she is some freaky looking creature.

"Uh... No! Because I-... I currently have a terrible scar on my face that is related to the incident where I got my tail cut off. Yeah, that's it!"

The newt grumbled, not buying Anne's terrible excuse to get away scott free. He reached with both of his arms and prepares to yank the top of Anne's robe, until a significant someone happens to pass by.

Another newt, seen being escorted by a small group of guards. Her skin is light cyan in color, her hair dark blue in tone and long, the top of her hair wrapped nicely into a bun with a shell hand, her elegant purple taffeta dress drags just above the ground as she continues to walk by.

Anne sensed that she has something to do with the king, though she couldn't put a finger on what it could be. Just then, the newt that was confronting her bowed to said newt's direction. Anne took this as custom around here and immediatly bowed too as to not look immodest.

This newt seem to notice the on duty effort of the newt that is right beside Anne, She calls out to the other Newt and comments on his current predicament.

"Good afternoon, Givel. The usual?" 

The newt gave out a light laughter before responding in a soft tone and maintaining a friendly demeanor.

"Yep, as the usual, Lady Olivia. Gotta deal with these light rule breakers every now and then."
His soft demeanor didn't last long however, as his stern expression returned to his exterior as he faces Anne once more.

"Speaking of light rule breakers... We ought to mark the offense of this one, right here!"

The newt jumped and grabbed the top of Anne's robe, pulling it back. Exhausted and tired, Anne didn't have the reaction time to respond quickly. She could only watch as the newt unveiled her one and only reliable disguise. 

The newt took a moment to take a good look at Anne's bizarre features, his eyes widened in shock as he stepped back. Olivia who was just casually walking by mere moments ago was also bewildered by Anne's appearance, even the guards that were escorting her were taken aback by this weird creature's appearance.

Before long, more and more bystanders gather around Anne at a distance to take a look at her bizarre face.
Random bickering of Anne's appearance can be heard as the newt crowd chat amongst one another.

A giant that was looking out through the castle, enjoying the dusk time scenery as the sun set over the horizon. It is none other than the king of all Amphibia himself, Andrias Leviathan.

He admires his kingdom from top to bottom. Until something has caught his attention, a crowd gathering near the gateway entrance of his castle. He grumbles and rubbed his face with his right hand.

"Why must there always be a commotion everytime I want to enjoy the view from up here? Lets see... What on Amphibia is even causing all this ruckus."

The king whips out a giant spyglass from his pocket, and extends it to a desired length. He then views through the spyglass and tries to focus on the crowd. He sees that his royal advisor and her guards is amongst the crowd. He noticed that most of the crowd is forming a big circular gathering around something. He then focuses to the middle of the crowd, and saw it.

Andrias immediatly pulled his spyglass down with a serious expression, frantically packing it back and shoving it forcefully into his pocket.
He quickly walked back into his throne room, whips out his giant pen and began writing on one of his big paper canvas.
With that done, he ordered one of the special task force messengers to do the rest of the work, handing the letter over while hunching over one of the newts.

"You, send this message to Olivia, she's near the crowd infront of the castle's entrance. I want it delivered to her this instant, now go."

"Yes, King Andrias!"

The small newt scampers out of the throne room, Andrias on the other hand returned back to his balcony. Pulled his spyglass back out and watched the scene closely, hoping that things would go his way.

Anne was panicking, she doesn't know what to do now at this point. With her cover completely blown, she only thought of running away. But she's way too exhausted from her lack of sleep to do so.
She grabbed her schoolbag and prepares for what comes next, assuming a defensive stance. And prepares for any newt that may attempt to tackle her.

Before anything can further escalate to utter chaos, something else has appeared into the scene.

A giant dragonfly has descended down upon the crowd, right in the middle of the commotion, its body is adorned with a metallic armour while the back of it has a saddle mounted on, with a newt passenger ontop. It was one of the flying mounts that Newtopia had at its disposal.

The passenger is a newt, and one of the kingdom's messengers, on his right side was a large scrolled up paper that he held with his right arm.
He slid down from the giant dragonfly and immediatly looked around for a specific person, his eyes locked to Olivia, and he began to run into her direction to deliver the message.

"Lady Olivia! Urgent message from King Andrias."

Olivia was overwhelmed by the concurrent events that is taking place right now. She hesitantly ordered grabbed the scrolled up message and ordered her guards to unroll it on the ground. She crossed her arms whilst sighing deeply before speaking.

"An urgent message? At this hour and moment?..."

With the paper fully unrolled, she began to read through Andrias's message to her.

"Bring that strange creature into my throne room, please be gentle with it while doing so. And by gentle, I really mean it. Treat it as if it was a special guest of ours.

-Andrias Leviathan"

Olivia then looked back at said creature that is right infront of her view. Who looked like its ready to bolt away at any given moment.
Sensing the creature's will to flee, Olivia snapped her finger and gave orders to her guards.

"Guards! Keep the people at bay from the creature, secure it, and escort it to King Andrias in his throne room." her tone then slumped down to a more casual one as she continued. "And oh... Be gentle with it."

In an instant, some of her guards mobilized and began to push back people who got too close to the creature, whilst others circle and held the creature captive in an escort formation.
With that done, Olivia ordered her guards to move.

"Alright, all set and ready? Go go go!" 

Olivia muttered quickly, whilst gesturing her hand to her guards, the immediatly begin the process of escorting the creature to the throne room.

Anne could only look frantically back to back, she doesn't know what will become to her, she doesn't know what meeting the king of all Amphibia would be like. She gulps under her sore throat. She just hoped that things wouldn't turn out to be worse than it already is.

The newt guards escorted Anne through a large gateway door, as soon as she went past it, the doors of the gate closed shut right behind her, leaving the public to speculate on her fate.

The guards were moving at a steady pace, almost marching in a sense while they escort their quarry. Olivia was following closely on the side, Anne was really begining to feel the pressure, she felt as if she's going to crack under her own many expectations of what would come out of this situation.

She heard that they needed to treat her with care, but that alone isn't enough to reassure her of her unknown fate to come.
Olivia could sense the uneasiness that emanates from the creature. Feeling somewhat bad for it, she tries to ease it in with an introduction.

"Greetings uhm... Creature, You may already know who I am. But incase you didn't, allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Lady Olivia, I am the royal advisor of the King himself. Could tell me your own name, creature? And perhaps a little introduction so I could ease you in with the king better, if you're comfortable in doing so that is."

Anne looked to her side for a bit, her eyes narrowed with a frown. She put a thought into it, perhaps if things goes her way, she could find her friends and finally get back home safe and sound.
She looked back to Olivia, and put on a nervous smile before responding.

"My name is uh... Anne, Anne Boonchuy. I'm not even from around here, as in... I came from another world, Believe what you believe, but that is the truth. I arrived here a couple of hours ago into this kingdom called Newtopia?... Is that correct?"

Olivia nodded before responding.

"Indeed, this kingdom is called Newtopia, the beating center of all Amphibia. Well, Anne... You're about to meet the King Andrias. This all seem so sudden, but bear with me. I can assure you that he means nothing of ill intent on purpose, though I'm not too sure myself actually. But still, nothing too bad will come of it."

Somewhat feeling reassured, Anne looked back infront of her, another big gate door stands infront of her, with a snap of Olivia's fingers, the guards that once surrounded Anne stepped aside. And two of the guards moved to each side of the gate door and pushed the door open completely.

The sight of the throne room mesmerized Anne, it was ethereal as it is mysterious, her friend Marcy would've totally gone nuts if she saw the mere interior of this very throne room, she thought. Now it is just her and Olivia, making their way down to the end of the room.

Anne's eyes locked onto the many guards that are standing guard on the very sides of the throne room. They look much more equipped, their armour attire is adorned with patterns that blend perfectly with the atmosphere of the throne room itself, elite royal guards is Anne's best guess of what these newts are.

Her admiration of the whole throne room was cut short however, as she has finally arrived to the person who wanted to meet her.

The king of all Amphibia himself was truly a sight to behold. His giant throne glorious, but his own giant frame is another thing entirely. He was huge, and towers way over Anne and Olivia even when he sat on his throne.

His impressive size is only further complimented by his attire, an armour-like clothing that rivals Olivia's attire with the sheer complexity of what was carved and painted over it.

Olivia then hunched down whilst extending both of her hands towards the king's direction.

"May I present to you, King Andrias Leviathan. Peace keeper for over a thousand years and the first of his name."

Anne craned her neck up to meet the king's very own eyes, her body tensed up under the pressure of expectations of the king himself.
She could only make a forced smile as a drop of sweat ran down the side of her head.
Olivia then got back up from her hunching position before moving the direction of both her hands into Anne.

"King Andrias. May I present to you, the creature that refers to itself as Anne Boonchuy."

Anne was still tense as before, only mustering out a mumble whilst shaking her right hand to the king.
Seconds pass by that felt as if they're minutes for Anne, until something she wouldn't expect finally happened.
Andrias suddenly got up from his throne and lurched forward with such enthusiasm of a greeting to her.

"Well hello, Anne!"

Anne stepped back instinctually, regaining her composure, she mustered up the courage for a proper greeting on her part. Part of her tried to mash up sentences she barely remembered from her history class when she had studied proper medieval etiquettes towards the king. She bowed whilst doing so, trying to make herself out as respectful as possible.

"G-Greetings, King Andrias. It is truly a great honor to uhm... meet you in person!"

The king only raised his right eyebrow with a wide smile, letting out a cackled laugh that echoed throughout the throne room. He slowly made his way down through the stairs the led up to his own throne. Down to Anne and Olivia's level.

"Now what's with this flattery greeting? Relax, Anne! You don't have to act all overly polite like that infront of me. Really! It's fine."

Anne breathed out with relief, and wiped the built of sweat on her forehead with her right hand. Chuckling lightly under her breath. Looks like this is going to go her way afterall.
Olivia on the other hand, was not too happy with how Andrias was handling the situation, she knew that he was simply trying to ease Anne's tension, but doing so in such extend feel way too inadequate to her.

"Dear Andrias, not following proper castle etiquettes is one thing. Encouraging others to do the same thing is another..."

Andrias only dismissed Olivia's complaint as something insignificant. 

"Oh, you don't need to remind me. You've already done so like what, A hundred times over by now? anyway!"

Andrias turned his attention back to Anne, stepping closer before hunching down to meet at her eye level.

"So, Anne. You're probably wondering why have summoned you into my presence? And oh my... Are you okay there? You look a bit... tired, to say the least. Is that right? Or is this just how you usually look like?"

Anne could only nod lightly with her hands slumped to her side, once she felt at ease. She felt adrenaline leave her body and fatigue start to set in. She really wanted some rest at this moment. She starts to explain her current bad, sleep-deprived state.

"Yeah... Last time I was in uhh... My own world, It was night. And when I arrived here, it was the middle of the day... 6 hours of no sleep, you can guess from there."

Andrias' eyes narrowed as he heard those words, he felt things have started to align together, that it is finally time. He shook his head to shrug it off, ordering Olivia to take Anne to one of the rooms that they had in the castle.

"How peculiar... Olivia, take Anne to one of our large empty rooms that we have in the castle. I have a feeling that she's way too tired right now for long and drawn out discussion."

"Very well, King Andrias."

With that, Olivia led Anne off the throne room. Anne willingly followed closely behind, relieved that she is finally able to get some rest. Her voice had gone to that of a barely audible whisper as she spoke.

"Oh, thank goodness... Yeeeesss..."

Only Andrias and his elite guards remained in the throne room, his once warm smile slowly turned to that devious smirk. The signs are finally here, it has happened.

Andrias then made his way back out to his balcony, and stared off into the dark night skies with contempt. Until he feels as if he was enveloped in complete darkness, the eyes of his crown opened, revealing a single slit orange pupil. It stared down to Andrias, and began to speak to him telepathically. Andrias listened for a moment, before he responded in a casual tone.

"Kill her? Now? We barely even know where the other two of her friends are... Wouldn't it be foolish for us to just take immediate action? Hmmm... How about this..."

Andrias turned his side towards the front of the balcony, walking for a bit before stopping on the other edge of the balcony.

"We should set the table for our game to start first... We'll start by clearing off any information regarding the prophecy of the olms, make sure that they wouldn't suspect a thing from us. How? Oh, don't worry. I already have it planned out."

The dark shroud that once surrounds his very vision dissipates, and everything was back to normal again in his eyes. And just in time, a newt had approached him at that very moment.

The newt is red in color and light dark splotches over his skin, with white tufts of hair on the side of his head. Wearing a fur collared cloak with a turret shell fastener. His elite armour stands out even more in the moonlit clear skies. One would assume that he is a veteran in the military fields, but his peers would place him at a higher spot than that, the senior newt kneeled down before looking up to Andrias to greet him.

"King Andrias, you've summoned me?"

Andrias then turned to face the newt, appeased that he had agreed to come and meet him at this very moment. Not long ago, he had already met up with him in person a couple of times already. Having light friendly chats here and there, but now the king has other intentions of calling him over here.

"Ah, so you've finally arrived, how's your duty as a Night Guard Captain? I have sensed that you've gotten a bit... Tired of this job at hand, haven't you? Keeping up to the highest standards among your peers while leaving little to no time for yourself... Believe me, I get that feeling."

Andrias paused for a moment, the red newt proceeded to stand up to see what the king has in store for him. What he had in plan to help him escape the prison created by the expectations of the people around himself. 

"So, I've had a proposition for you, Ernst, and I have a feeling that you'd find it very interesting."