A week had passed since the martial arts tournament and plenty of people praised Charlie for standing up to Toadstool. Anne was showing Charlie a bit more affection than usual which got him feeling quite happy about it as he was feeling like he was on cloud nine.
As the week went by, both Anne, Charlie, Sprig, Polly and Hop Pop were out in the forest. They were out picking up what looked like berries and fungi or learning how to identify the berries that were safe to eat and which were not. They were carrying baskets strapped to their backs while Polly was sitting in the basket that Hop Pop carried.
"So how does this usually work? I'm more familiar with fruits and vegetables, not berries." said Charlie.
"Well, when it comes to berries, some are safe to eat and some are not. The ones that are safe to eat, you'd have to eat them when they're ripe for the picking. But the ones that are not safe to eat." Hop Pop continued.
"Could put a few elephants down." Anne finished.
Charlie was wide eyed from the answer but figured they were right and were just looking out for each other in case if any of them come across the wrong berries.
"If an elephant, which ever species of animal that is, is big as a full grown rhinoceros beetle, than yes. The wrong berries can put one or more down instantly." explained Hop Pop.
Since they were explaining this to Charlie, since he was unfamiliar with this, they figured that now was a good a time as any to get him to learn such things. Charlie was able to imagine what could happen if anyone or anything eaten a berry or more that was poisonous. This made him feel a bit afraid but with Anne and the Plantars teaching him which is safe and which is not, he wasn't as afraid like before.
"We should listen to Hop Pop and do not eat any of the berries until we know which is safe to eat and which is not." said Charlie.
Hop Pop smiled at them words.
"Charlie, this is proof that you do listen and obey your elders. Those who said you didn't are wrong because they didn't give you a reason to respect them. I may be all about listening and respecting your elders, but when an elder is causing you pain and misery, than that's when you should stand up for yourself, or come find me and I can handle the situation. You are a good boy." Hop Pop praised.
Hop Pop pulled Charlie in for a hug which made Charlie smile. He felt like Hop Pop was showing that he can be a good father figure to him since his real father was never there for him. He hugged Hop Pop back afterwards as they started to continue with looking for berries and fungi.
"Charlie, remember, green and red, be well fed. Blue and red, instantly dead." Hop Pop explained.
"Understood." said Charlie showing he understood.
"Oh wait, or is that green and red, instantly dead?" said Hop Pop looking confused.
Charlie saw Sprig looking like he was about to eat a handful of berries but he was quick to act.
"Sprig, I wouldn't." Charlie warned.
Sprig heard both of them and tossed the handful of berries and let out a sigh of relief.
"Maybe you're right about not eating the berries until we know which is and which isn't safe to eat." said Sprig catching on.
"That's my Charlie, always looking out for others." said Anne with a grin.
Anne gave Charlie a kiss to his cheeks and walked towards Hop Pop. Charlie was feeling his heart pump a bit faster from the kiss. He looked towards Anne and started to stare at her thick butt, blushing as he felt like he couldn't look away.
"What a woman." Charlie thought to himself.
"Charlie's staring at Anne's booty." Sprig joked in a whisper.
Charlie blushed deeper now as he was caught by Sprig.
"What? No I'm not." Charlie lied nervously giggling.
"Oh, come on. I see you like her. There's nothing wrong with that." said Sprig showing compassion.
"I really do. But do you think it's normal that I've looked at her in that way before?" asked Charlie nervously.
"You mean staring at a girl's butt? I've been told a lot of guys do that when they hit puberty and I was told it's normal and it's a natural part of growing up." Sprig said.
Charlie looked at Sprig with a worried expression. He didn't expect Sprig to know about puberty or much less talk about it.
"Did some crazy teenager tell you that? Because I think Hop Pop should talk to you about that. Some teenagers are not the best to rely on for that." said Charlie who apparently knew from experience.
"Oh don't worry, Hop Pop told me that. He told me some boys start to do that when they hit puberty and that it's a natural part of growing up." Sprig told him. "But he did tell me I should never do that."
Charlie felt relieved to know that Hop Pop was the one who told Sprig about such a subject. Charlie was about to say more but he felt a pressure building in his lower body as he suddenly knew what that feeling was.
"Sprig, I have to pee." said Charlie.
"There's no toilet out here. You might want to find a tree to do that behind." Sprig advised.
Charlie walked off in a different direction to find a tree to pee on.
"Just make sure that the tree doesn't have anything living in it or on it and be sure that it's a real tree and not a huge bug in disguise. Me and Anne been through that before." Sprig called.
"I'll keep that in mind." called Charlie.
Charlie managed to walk a distance away and he did sense that Sprig would tell the others that he had to take care of some business. He found a tree that was huge, he tapped the tree gently with his hand, waited a minute to see if it would move or make a noise. He looked around it and saw nothing that was moving on it or in it.
"Nothing living in it, on it and it's not moving. Thanks for the advice, Sprig." said Charlie relieved.
He undid his pants and managed to pee on the tree as the sound of trickling water was heard. He let out a sigh of relief. It took him a few minutes to stop relieving himself as he felt better in letting it out and he eventually pulled his pants and underwear up, pulled the zipper up and buttoned his pants.
"To the spirit of nature and anything or anyone else out there. Forgive me for using the tree as a toilet." whispered Charlie.
Charlie suddenly heard rustling and than a twig snapping. He froze, than turned around to see something nearby pass through a couple of trees and a small patch of large clovers. What he saw looked like a creatures shadow that flashed by really fast. Charlie was not sure what to think or do.
"What did I just see?" said Charlie in a low tone.
Charlie could still hear Anne and the Plantars nearby.
"Hey guys?" Charlie called out.
A loud yet deep guttural sound was heard and Charlie felt like his heart pounded from surprise. He felt like something was nearby, it felt like it was something or someone. Charlie showed an alarmed yet alert expression as he slowly placed his hand on the hilt of his dagger.
"We're being hunted. In the bushes, straight ahead." said Charlie in a low voice.
He slowly walked towards the unidentified creature as he kept his hand on the hilt of his dagger. He looked down and stopped, spotting the edge of a small cliff. He heard the guttural sound again and it startled him a bit, causing him to step off the edge of the small hill but as he slid down it, he managed to land on his feet once he reached the bottom which was only a nine foot drop. He kept going forwards and passed some tall grass and looked around with his eyes going left and right.
"I got her." Charlie said in a low voice.
Charlie looked forwards and what he saw made him remove his hand from his dagger's hilt. He saw what looked like a nine foot tall, mysterious, large, ape-like creature. It's body was covered completely in dark green moss, with small yellow flowers dotted across it's body. It has two large, glowing cyan eyes and two small trees growing out of its head blooming with white flowers. Charlie froze and saw the creature slowly walking while there was some glowing cyan butterflies flying around it. The creature took a whiff of fog like it was a fresh scent of air freshener.
"What in Wartwood is that?" Charlie whispered to himself.
Charlie walked forwards slowly as he was probably eighteen feet away from the creature and he was getting closer to the animal as he was now fourteen feet, ten feet, several feet away now. The creature turned to look at Charlie as it froze. Charlie stopped as he slowly raised his hand out to show the creature it shouldn't be afraid of him.
"Nothing to worry about." said Charlie talking in a soft and quiet tone.
Charlie showed a calm, and relaxed demeanor as he stood still. The creature stared right back at him, letting out peaceful growls as it would slowly walk towards Charlie. The young male human raised his other hand to show the creature he was not wielding a weapon in his hands. As Charlie saw the creature now standing at least two feet in front of him, he saw it was towering over him like a giant.
"Take my hand." Charlie instructed kindly.
The creature seemed to understand Charlie as the creature saw that the young male human was unarmed. It reached his hand out slowly. Charlie smiled and felt excitement pumping through his veins.
"If only the others were here to see this right now." said Charlie to himself.
Their hands were two inches away from touching but a loud twig snapped and what sounded like Hop Pop's groaning was nearby. The creature turned it's head in the direction of the sound and suddenly ran off by running on four legs. Charlie was in disbelief.
"Damn it." Charlie complained.
As the creature ran off. That's when Charlie looked at the glowing butterflies starting to disappear, he reached out to try and touch one but they flew off.
"There you are!" came Hop Pop's voice.
Charlie turned to see Anne, Hop Pop, Polly and Sprig coming out from the bushes. Charlie looked a bit bewildered at first but than felt a sense of excitement.
"I see Charlie got done using the boys room." said Polly.
They saw that Charlie looked as though he saw a ghost and were worried. They sensed something bad about the expression on his face.
"Charlie, did you see something dangerous and did it try to attack you? Do you have any injuries? Even if they're on your booty or personal area? Don't be embarrassed, you can tell us." said Polly panicking.
"Chill out!" said Charlie sharply. "I'm alright, nothing scratched me."
They all let out a sigh of relief.
"But I did see something." Charlie continued.
"Was it a giant bug?" asked Anne.
"No." answered Charlie.
"Giant creature?" asked Hop Pop.
"No." said Charlie starting to get annoyed.
"A lady in a pink bikini hitting on you?" joked Polly.
Charlie blushed and shook his head. He was starting to get a bit more annoyed.
"Stop guessing because it'll be easier if I just tell you." said Charlie with a sigh. "And Polly, don't ever bring up naked women again. I'm not a peeping tom."
Polly chuckled at the joke she told.
"It's hard to say what it is because I don't know what it is. If I describe it, could you guys tell me if you recognize it? I'm still learning about the flora and fauna of this world." Charlie told them.
"We're all ears, dude." said Anne.
Charlie let out a sigh of relief as he felt like the jokes would stop.
"Do you guys recognize a creature that looks mysterious, large, ape-like? About nine feet tall, It's body was covered completely in dark green moss, with small yellow flowers dotted across it's body. There's two large, glowing cyan eyes and two small trees growing out of its head blooming with white flowers. It's gender was...unknown. I couldn't tell if it was male or female because I couldn't see it's, you know." Charlie described.
"When you say you know?" said Hop Pop.
Charlie pointed down and cleared his throat as he was pointing down to the ground but they instantly understood he meant that he couldn't identify the gender of the creature as in it's genitals were covered. They blushed and shook a bit.
"Oh." they all said.
Anne smiled as she recognized the description and she got excited.
"He saw the Mossman! He saw the Mossman like I did!" said Anne excitedly.
"You saw it too?" said Charlie.
"Here we go again." chuckled Sprig.
Charlie's smile faded a little as he didn't understand what Sprig meant since he saw that Anne believed him but the Plantars looked like they were close to bursting out loud laughing.
"Could you guys explain to me what you're laughing about? And please, no jokes this time, Polly." said Charlie looking clueless.
Polly blushed from the mentioning of her.
"Charlie, the Mossman is a myth. Only crazy people and gullible tadpoles believe in it." said Hop Pop.
"Guys, come on, don't pick on him." Anne advised.
"So you're telling me you got giant bugs, huge animals that are bigger than a body builder on steroids, deadly, dangerous plants, giant fire breathing, huge centipedes big as my size nine shoes, and talking frogs like you guys. But you don't believe in this?" said Charlie in disbelief.
"We've seen those types of creatures, well, maybe not all the time." said Sprig.
"This Mossman sounds like the creature we got back in our world." said Charlie.
The Plantars were scratching their heads at this point. They didn't expect Charlie to tell them this.
"You got a creature back at home that's like the Mossman?" asked Hop Pop curiously.
"Yes, we call him Bigfoot. But very few people seen him. We do have a some society groups that interview those who claim they saw it, and they'd decide if the person is telling the truth." Charlie explained.
"Do they believe them?" asked Polly.
"Out of everyone they've interviewed, most of them turned out to be hoaxes or lies, very few of them were true. But they haven't caught the creature yet. It's possible they'll never catch it. But the situation with Bigfoot is questionable." explained Charlie.
Sprig chuckled but tried to stifle his chuckling.
"Charlie, you're world may have plenty of things that our world does not, we've come to accept that. But we don't have weird stuff like that here. Just a normal town is what we are." said Sprig being dismissive.
Charlie started to look annoyed to the point of anger. Anne was starting to feel mad about this as well as she remembered going through this.
"You, are, Talking, FROGS!" Charlie snapped.
Charlie looked angry and stormed off while the Plantars were now wide eyed by Charlie's reaction of anger while Anne was looking unamused by this as she crossed her arms in discontent at them.
"We didn't mean anything by that." said Sprig.
"Guys, not cool." said Anne shaking her head at them.
The Plantars saw the look of disapproval on Anne's face as they could see she was not happy about this. They turned to see Charlie was almost six feet away and they heard Charlie muttering under his breath.
"Son of a."
"Charlie, lets not use such." Hop Pop began.
Charlie stopped and turned to face them as he shot Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly a scary yet irate expression as Charlie looked like he was about to snap or become violent, sending a startling jump of fear in them.
"Uhhhh, nevermind." said Hop Pop looking a bit terrified.
Meanwhile, back in Wartwood
They were placing the groceries in the carrying compartments that Bessie had strapped to her. It had been an hour and Charlie was silent, he had an annoyed look on his face and he was doing most of the heavy lifting or he was carrying mostly everything they had as groceries. He was placing the bags in the compartments of the cart that Bessie pulled but he was doing it at a slightly faster pace. Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly were worried that they've angered him while Anne could tell how Charlie felt and she was not liking this.
"I think he's angry." whispered Sprig.
"Charlie, you feeling alright?" asked Hop Pop feeling nervous.
Charlie got done with placing all the groceries in the cart's compartments and turned to face them as he gave Hop Pop an intimidating death glare. Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly were wide eyed and gulped loudly.
"Yep, he's angry." said Sprig out loud.
"No joke." said Anne sarcastically.
The Plantars knew that Anne was defending Charlie as she went through this before but they never expected Charlie to be dragged into a situation like this.
"I can't believe you guys didn't believe me when I saw the Mossman. I'll bet when Anne saw it, you probably taunted her." said Charlie annoyed.
"Wow! Maybe he's psychic." said Polly surprised.
"Nope, just pissed off." growled Charlie. "I saw that creature and when it comes to friends or family, they believe your statements out of faith. Why don't you believe me?"
"Because we never saw the Mossman. We've all known it's a myth. The only people who claimed to have seen the Mossman was Anne and One-Eyed Wally." said Hop Pop trying not to laugh. "You might put One-Eyed Wally out of a job with all that ranting."
Hop Pop couldn't hold back and he laughed a bit but he desperately tried not to. Charlie let out a gasp and was feeling his anger growing yet he didn't like what they said about him or Wally.
"He's starting to sound like Wally." said Sprig trying not to smile.
"Are you trying to say that Wally and I are weirdos just because we saw a creature you legally declare as a myth?" cried Charlie.
"Guys, come on, lay off him." Anne warned.
The sound of accordion music was heard as they turned to see Wally nearby.
"So you saw the Moosman too? Just like me and Anne?" said Wally.
Wally had done a pirouette like dance move for a brief moment till he stopped.
"Me and Anne almost got a picture of the Mossman and it even took me good hand like a butcher chopping up vegetables." said Wally giggling.
Charlie saw that Wally still had both hands and he felt like his anger was rising higher but he tried not to look hostile.
"Wally, you still have both hands." said Charlie noticing.
Wally suddenly looked at his left and right hand and saw that he still had them as if he didn't notice till now.
"Lefty, righty, when did you two get back." said Wally shocked.
Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly were finding it really hard to stifle their chuckling but couldn't help it.
"We're really trying not to laugh but it feels like the temptation is too great." said Sprig trying to stop chuckling.
"He might as well learn the accordion." chuckled Polly.
Hop Pop tried so hard not to laugh but he lost control and burst out laughing. Charlie was now getting very irate.
"if he starts going that route, he might start sleeping under bridges." laughed Hop Pop.
"Guys, stop laughing at him!" snapped Anne.
The laughing that Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly were doing and what they've said not only made Charlie feel irate but he nearly felt like the urge to cry was coming on. He also didn't like how they were talking about Wally. As Anne was defending him but it didn't help in making them stop laughing as if the Plantars lost control of themselves. Charlie suddenly felt like he wanted to hulk out. That's when Charlie lost it.
"SHUT UP!" screamed Charlie in anger.
Suddenly, his outburst got the Plantars to stop laughing and they looked wide eyed with shock. Anne was looking unfazed as if she saw this reaction coming but she did shake a bit from being startled. Charlie was fighting the urge to cry.
"Uh oh. Now Charlie, we didn't." began Hop Pop.
"Say one more word against me, Anne, whose the most beautiful girl I've ever met or sweet, innocent Wally." Charlie paused.
Charlie suddenly let out a soft animalistic growl but he stopped. Charlie suddenly tried to hold his anger back but it felt like he couldn't. He liked these people but now they're giving him a reason to be mad at them. He didn't know if he should be angry, upset or to let it all go. Seeing Charlie's irate reaction had them all shocked and wide eyed. Charlie's face was burning red, if he wasn't any angrier, than steam would be blowing out of his ears. They never saw Charlie lose control like this before. But what got them was when Charlie shed a tear through his left eye and the young male human stormed off towards Bessie and he got up on the seat as he grabbed the reigns.
"Bessie, lets go home." said Charlie.
Bessie chirped twice and she drove off towards the farm as if Bessie was siding with Charlie in how he felt right now.
"Charlie wait!" called Sprig.
"Kieusero!" shouted Charlie.
Charlie and Bessie were out of sight and the Plantars were shocked by what just happened but also felt a sense of guilt. Anne on the other hand was angry at them too.
"Did he just almost use the, you know, the you know what words, scream, shed a tear and take off with Bessie as our ride home, leaving us in the dust?" said Polly.
"Yes he did, and he had every right to be this angry at you guys." said Anne sounding firm.
"But we didn't mean to be like that." said Hop Pop looking guilty.
"You didn't show that you believed him when he said he saw what he saw, you made him feel like he was crazy and dumb for what he told you, you laughed at him, teased him and you guys know he's a sensitivie guy who had it worse than I did out there along with what them toads did to him. The way you guys had him feeling about this was not a nice thing to do. You nearly had him in tears. You guys know that he relies on us for support with what pain he's been through in the past, it makes him feel like he's re-living it. He's probably back at home bawling. Not cool." Anne reprimanded. "You guys may have done this to me before and that also wasn't cool, but when you did that to him, how do you think he feels about it?"
The Plantars saw that from being reprimanded by Anne had them not only feeling guilty for how they reacted but they also know that with Charlie's angry outburst, that was probably hurting and upset.
"Anne, we're sorry that we reacted that way." said Hop Pop.
"I can accept your apology but right now, you should be apologizing to Charlie and you guys shouldn't talk like that about Wally ether." said Anne.
They nodded and showed they understood.
"Anne, just out of curiosity. What was that last thing Charlie said?" asked Sprig.
Anne blushed but she shook her head twice.
"You don't wanna know." Anne replied.
Anne and the Plantars were forced to walk back home and when they made it, they walked inside and saw Charlie laying down on the couch, asleep. They looked in the kitchen and saw that he put away the groceries. Anne was worried a bit more than before while Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly were feeling guiltier now.
"Should we talk to him right now?" Sprig suggested.
"He's probably asleep and he'll probably need a minute." Hop Pop advised.
"When he wakes up, you guys are going to apologize to him and you'll have to do the same with me because he sure doesn't like it when someone else has me feeling sad." Anne advised.
They nodded and understood. They let Charlie sleep but Anne also had been thinking of something else that Charlie said as she looked right at the sleeping Charlie.
"He thinks I'm the most beautiful girl ever?" Anne thought to herself happily.
Midnight
Charlie was feeling like he was having a hard time sleeping as he barely managed to get several hours of sleep. He felt like his anger towards how the Plantars reacted towards him about seeing Mossman was getting to him, he especially didn't like how they talked about Wally and how they reacted this way towards Anne when she went through it. He was sweating a bit and he saw an image of himsefl, dressed up like Wally, that's when he jerked awake.
"I got to find Wally." said Charlie with a yawn afterwards.
Charlie got up and grabbed his bag, he checked to see that his dagger was in there along with an extra pair of clothing, his water canteen was full and he packed up plenty of food in his bag. He got dressed, and he found a piece of paper while he used a pen that he had in his bag. He written down on the paper and than placed it on the coffee table near the couch. As he left the house by sneaking out, the note was reading out a message.
Went to go talk with Wally and he's got me helping him with something that needs the assistance of a stronger man. I'll be back in a couple of days, four days at the most. Don't touch my sword, it's dangerous, only use it if you have to defend yourself against something dangerous.
Charlie
Somewhere in the town of Wartwood
Somewhere in the town during the night, there was green mushrooms that illuminated the town like street lights and Wally was happily walking around while playing his accordion. He appeared to be happy with what he was doing.
"Oh, how I lost me love by the old willow tree." Wally sang out.
He passed by the town statue that stood in the center of town till he felt someone or something grab him from behind. He nearly dropped his accordion but managed to keep a grip on it. He saw what looked like a tall figure that had a hoodie jacket on with the hood over it's head and a white hockey mask covering it's face, the mask looked like it was styled to look like a scary looking skull. Wally was wide eyed with fear.
"Angel of death has come." said Wally shaking.
The figure shook his head which left Wally confused. The figure reached to remove it's mask and it showed that it was Charlie himself. Wally was now feeling his fear vanish and let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry about that but I needed to see you." said Charlie.
Wally smiled and chuckled.
"Oh, so you do. Have we done this before?" chuckled Wally.
Charlie was almost speechless to the point of confusion as he had no idea what Wally was referring to yet he shrugged it off.
"Wally, you said you and Anne have seen the Mossman before and you possibly know where it lives? Which I doubt if we'll ever find out where that creature is. Could you, well..." Charlie paused.
Charlie was at a loss for words. He wanted to ask Wally to show him where the Mossman is but he felt like he didn't want to sound like he was using him nor did he want to sound rude.
"Are you asking me to take you to find the Mossman?" asked Wally as he broke the silence.
Charlie blushed and gave a nervous grin.
"Would it be rude of me if I said yes?" asked Charlie nervously.
Wally placed a hand on Charlie's right shoulder as if to show trust.
"I see the Plantars and you had a brief falling out when you saw the Mossman. Anne has been through it before, sure, they reconciled, but me and Anne learned it's best to not care about what people think of us, but to be happy with being ourselves." Wally explained.
"I see. But I want to see if I could possibly get a picture of the Mossman. You know, to prove to Hop Pop, Polly, Sprig and others that you, me and Anne are telling the truth. I even want them to see that you're the sweet, innocent frog that me and Anne know you are. I also want to do this for Anne so I could..." he paused.
Wally gave a grin and blushed.
"You want to do this so you can prove to everyone you and Anne are telling the truth and you want to do this to win Anne's heart because you like her, don't you?" said Wally giggling.
Charlie blushed deeper as Wally guessed the truth. Was Wally really this much of an understanding, compassionate frog? Even if he was a bit eccentric.
"Would you do this? I got to do this because I really like Hop Pop, he's the closest thing I got to a dad, I really like Sprig and Polly as they're the closest thing I got to having siblings, I'm a only child, and I really didn't like how I got angry with them because they've been there for me since I arrived here. I also want to do this to prove to them that you and Anne are telling the truth." Charlie explained.
"But mainly because you like Anne?" said Wally pointing out a detail.
Charlie knew that Wally was right.
"I'll do it. But you should know that the journey won't be easy, it can be a bit dangerous." Wally warned.
"I'd do it for Anne. Anything for Anne, even you." said Charlie showing no fear.
Wally placed his accordion aside in his bag and held out his hand.
"You got it. But I wish I did, because I lost it." said Wally while making a joke.
Charlie gently took hold of Wally's hand and shook it. Afterwards, Wally walked off to lead the way as Charlie followed him. Wally would be playing his accordion as they walked towards the forest.
"Good thing I know people like him and they turned out to be good people or I'd probably never understand him." Charlie thought to himself.
Eight hours later
Charlie was walking around a forest while he had Wally strapped to his chest like he was sitting in a baby björn carrier as Wally would play his accordion freely.
"You sure I should be carried in this...what ever this is I'm sitting in?" asked Wally curiously.
"We need to stick together out here and it's not a good idea for us to get lost out here or to get seperated. I've seen them horror films before and everytime someone goes off on their own, it never ends well." Charlie explained. "But it's only going to be for such cases like if we're climbing a mountain or needing to make a quick exit. I'm fast on my feet and I'm really flexible."
"Just like how you were flexible on the dance floor." chuckled Wally.
Charlie smiled and let out a nervous giggle and nodded. As they continued to search for the Mossman, they eventually came across a trail that was made of rock. They looked down and once they looked up, they saw that there was a trail that would go through some huge, rock like mountains. Charlie stood there in awe.
"Remember when I said the journey would be dangerous?" said Wally.
"Did it say anything about climbing a mountain?" asked Charlie with a gulp.
"I was thinking it was implied but I probably should've said it sooner." said Wally blushing a bit.
Wally put his accordion in his bag and looked up to see Charlie's nervous expression.
"You alright, Charlie?" asked Wally.
"Have you ever climbed a mountain before?" asked Charlie.
"A couple of times. Are you a little afraid of climbing this mountain?" said Wally taking notice.
"A little bit." Charlie replied.
"Well, they do say that the trick is not to look down, but I doubt that trick works." said Wally remembering.
"Everytime they say don't look down, they look down anyway." said Charlie and Wally in unison.
They paused and realized what they've said. They didn't expect to say the same thing to agree on such subject. This left them to smile.
"Charlie, think of something that makes you feel confident and brave when we go through the mountains." Wally advised.
As Charlie listened to his words, there was someone that came to mind that gave him the confidence to do anything, even if he showed fear. He thought about Anne, he imagined her dancing with him, hugging him, kissing him, comforting him when he was afraid and encouraging him when he felt down. His fear started to fade.
"Lets do this." said Charlie.
Charlie walked towards the trail but he placed his back against the wall and he would carefully walk along the trail that lead through the mountains.
"Wally, if you feel like you're about a to fall or if any of them straps come loose, say something." Charlie advised.
"You got it." Wally replied.
Charlie kept his back flat against the wall as he kept going up the trail. He kept alert and minded his surroundings. Wally looked up and saw that Charlie showed no emotion. He looked up at the higher mountain peaks and smiled, he had an idea.
"Echo!" called Wally.
As Wally called out that word, he heard his words would literally echo as he shouted that word. Charlie felt like this was ether Wally's idea of being funny or to have fun.
"Why don't you give it shot." Wally suggested.
"Don't think it's a good idea." said Charlie as he stopped.
"Oh come on, you know you want to." said Wally encouraging him.
Charlie really liked Wally as a friend but he also felt the urge to do the same as Wally as if his mind told him "No" but his heart told him "Yes"
A smile formed on Charlie's face and he thought of something to say.
"A battlecry!" shouted Charlie.
They waited a minute and they heard what Charlie said out loud echoing loudly. Charlie felt like this was exhilarating.
"That's cool." chuckled Charlie.
"I see you!" shouted Wally.
They heard Wally's word echo loudly. They were feeling a sense of excitment as this was turning out to be fun.
"Hey, soul sister!" shouted Charlie in a singing voice.
Charlie still had a beautiful singing voice and what he just shouted echoed but it sounded like singing.
"That was beautiful." Wally complimented.
"Thanks for noticing, little man." said Charlie feeling proud.
They suddenly heard a slight crack and they froze. They looked around to see where the crack came from and they looked down and saw on the very tip of the edge of the cliff had a bit of the rock cracking and falls off the edge, falling off the cliff like kicking a soccer ball off the cliff. They froze in place and Wally looked up to Charlie who had a wide eyed expression, he pressed his left index finger to press up against his lips to signal to Wally to not make a sound. Wally looked up at the upper levels of the mountain and looked down to look around at the lower levels of the mountain, than he looked back up at Charlie, nodding to him.
"I'm gonna slowly move forwards along the trail. While I do that, stay in the straps." whispered Charlie.
Wally nodded in response. Charlie would move along the trail slowly as the walking path got wider and provided more room for them to walk on. They didn't make a sound the whole time as they kept moving along.
Meanwhile, back at the Plantars farm
It was still morning as Anne and the Plantars had waken up around nine in the morning while they didn't know that Charlie had been gone for nine hours. They were downstairs and Hop Pop had made breakfast.
"Hey Anne, go wake up Charlie, breakfast is done. We need to talk to him about, you know, about yesterday." Hop Pop kindly instructed.
"I'll go wake him." replied Anne.
Anne made her way into the living room from the kitchen.
"Hey Charlie, breakfast!" called Anne.
She looked towards the couch and she saw it was empty. She walked over to the couch and saw Charlie wasn't there.
"Where'd he go?" said Anne scratching her head.
She looked around and saw the note that Charlie had left on the coffee table near the couch. She grabbed it and as she read what it said, her eyes went wide as she felt her mother bear instincts suddenly going from alarm to code red.
"Anne, is Charlie awake? Or is he still mad at us and is about to give us the silent treatment?" called Hop Pop.
Anne walked into the kitchen and the Plantars saw that wide eyed look of panic on her face.
"Anne, why do you look like you're going to freak out?" asked Sprig worried.
Anne was silent and that had them looking alarmed as they watched her walk over to the kitchen table and sat down. She placed the note on the table slowly and handed it to Hop Pop. The older male frog looked at the note and just as soon as Hop Pop read it, he looked up at Anne with a worried expression.
"Anne, say something." said Hop Pop as he got alarmed by her expression.
Anne was still silent until she uttered four words slowly.
"Where's my baby boy?" said Anne in a crazed tone.
Meanwhile, somewhere out in the meadow
It was dark out and both Charlie and Wally set up camp which luckily for both them, they had a huge tent set up. They had a fire going with a couple of cans of food they're eating from as they were eating what looked like chopped vegetables in a can. Both of them let out a burp and it was a loud one.
"Looks like you win, little man." laughed Charlie.
"Your burp was louder." chuckled Wally.
"Yeah, but your burp lasted longer." chuckled Charlie.
"Okay, you got me there." said Wally.
They were having a friendly burping competition and Wally apparently won.
"From what you told me about yourself. It's kind of surprising you're being raised in a house full of eight young women back in the world you and Anne are from." said Wally.
"I was a bit meek about the prospect at first. When my mom was moving into a home of her own, she realized she needed someone to look after me when she was at work. So she called my aunt who is her sister and she moved in with us. Than by the time my aunt was about to start working at her new job, that's when my mother and my aunt new they needed a babysitter but they didn't have time to look for one and knew that they couldn't pay for one ether, and they didn't want a stranger they didn't know to babysit me. So they called up their closest, best friends that they knew back in middle school. Six young and beautiful women. Man they couldn't stop hugging me, kissing me, they were goo goo eyed towards me." explained Charlie blushing. "But later on, I've grown comfortable to that as they've shown a lot of love and support towards me, they've always been there for me."
"Sounds like they must really love you if they're helping your mom and aunt in raising you." said Wally with a grin.
"They really do." replied Charlie.
They managed to finish the can of food they were eating out of and placed the cans near the side of them.
"I'm sorry that older male human hurt you and you developed a fear of older men with canes." Wally apologized.
"It's alright, I think the love and support from Hop Pop is helping me slowly get over the fear. I think." said Charlie with a hiccup.
"Charlie, I know it's not my place but for what ever reason why your father was never around. Well, you look like you're turning out alright. Being raised by your mom, your aunt and them lovely women. The way how Anne and the Plantars are looking after you like they do for each other, you're surrounded by a lot of love. To me, that's what makes you a winner. If your dad can't see how lucky he'd be to have you as his child, well, than he's missing out." said Wally showing compassion.
Charlie looked at Wally and wrapped an arm around him to hug the young male frog closely to him. Wally sensed that Charlie was seeking comfort or was seeking hope.
"Do you think I'm better off without my dad around? For years, I felt like something was wrong with me in why he was a no show in my life and I'd find some reason to defend him or find out why he had a reasonable excuse to why he never showed up in my life. Even when I'd try to find a reason to defend why he was a no show, on the inside..." he paused.
Wally saw that Charlie had a stoic expression on his face but he could sense that he wanted to cry or let his emotions out but Charlie showed nothing but stoicism.
"He broke my heart." Charlie finished.
"Well, maybe you'd feel better if you let it all out. It's not good to keep it in. I've learned it's healthier to let it out. Maybe you need to find a way to let it out. Just like how you let it out when you did at that martial arts tournament." Wally kindly suggested.
"That's the thing, in this case, I don't know if I can. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that if I let it out with tears and show emotions from it. I'm afraid of people judging me for it. As a kid or teenager, children have been said to be so cruel towards each other and others that someone once said that children are the new breeds of sociopaths. They often hate it if those they bully defend themselves or stand up to them, it's as if some of them think that the world should let them jerks to everyone and no one can tell them otherwise which many people won't tolerate such mentality." explained Charlie.
Wally suddenly felt like a light had gone off in his head.
"Oh, I see. You're afraid someone is going to make fun of you for letting your pain out. Feeling like they'd call you names or bully you for it." Wally guessed.
There was a pause.
"Yes. I don't want anyone to think I'm a baby for letting my emotions out, or for crying when I'm in pain of any sort or if I so much as try to talk about my problems." Charlie admitted. "I'm not a baby. They should know it's called letting your emotions out like all normal people do."
Wally seem to feel familiar about such a subject. He remembered having the same chat with Anne when they bonded together.
"Charlie, I know that I don't care about what others think of me or what they say about me. I might suggest the same with you, but I'm not sure if I should." said Wally showing hesitation.
"Well, to be honest, everyone's different. Some are like you in not caring what others think or say about them, while others are the opposite. I know you're trying to help me or help me feel better and I appreciate that, but everyone's different. I wish I could not care what others think or say about me like you, but you know how it is, everyone's different and there's not much we can do about it." said Charlie trying to sound kind. "I'm sorry if I'm being rude and difficult. I know you're trying to help."
Wally got up and climbed onto Charlie and got up to where his face was level with his.
"Kiddo, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I know everyone's different and I know we can't do anything about it. I'm not bothered by it." said Wally showing a smile.
Charlie felt better knowing that as he felt like he offended or hurt Wally with his words.
"So you're not hurt or offended by what I've said?" asked Charlie.
"I'm not hurt or offended. You could say I got thick skin, thicker than steel if you could say that." Wally reassured.
Charlie wrapped his arms around Wally gently and hugged him with a sigh of relief. Wally hugged back.
"Charlie, who do know that never judges you when you feel pain, show emotion, talk about your problems, shed tears or when your afraid?" said Wally.
Charlie took a moment to think of who it was that was that supportive and kind to him. The only people that came to mind was Hop Pop, Polly, Sprig, and most of all, the one person he thought of most for that is Anne.
"Anne, Hop Pop, Polly, Sprig. There has been others who were the same but you probably already know who they are." answered Charlie.
"And the whole time you've been with them, they've shown you so much love. Especially Anne, you love Anne, don't you?" said Wally.
Charlie blushed with a grin and let out a hiccup. His heart raced at the mentioning of Anne.
"I've been in love with Anne for nearly over a year now. I dated a girl before but she wasn't the best girl friend, lets just say she was a domineering, bossy boots. She one day dumped me without telling me why and it broke my heart. But once I first saw Anne, I felt like I have seen the world's most beautiful girl. For over a year, I tried working up the courage to talk to her." said Charlie.
"Why didn't you do it sooner?" asked Wally.
"I was ether too meek to do so or I wanted to talk to her when she was alone. But now, I feel like I'm able to tell Anne anything, she's very understanding towards me, even when it's about a personal issue. I really like her." answered Charlie.
"Do you love her?" asked Wally.
Charlie paused and blushed deeply. But he knew this was the truth.
"I do. Anne's like my soul sister." said Charlie finally.
"What's a soul sister?" asked Wally.
"It's like another word for soul mate." Charlie answered.
Wally nodded as he understood the term.
"Anne makes me feel like I can take on the world without fear." said Charlie.
"Well, maybe you should tell Anne how you feel about her when we get back." Wally suggested.
Charlie felt like he really wanted to do that and that's one of the big reasons why he's out there with Wally. To prove to the Plantars and everyone else that him, Anne and Wally saw the Mossman with photographic proof. Wally hugged Charlie once again and let out a yawn.
"Feeling sleepy, kiddo?" asked Wally curiously.
"A little, I'll admit this will feel a bit strange, sleeping without Anne being nearby." said Charlie admitting it.
As they got up from where they sat down, cleaned out what mess was around them, put away the food, plates and everything. The were about to put out the fire but Charlie stopped.
"Wally, will you be next to me when we're sleeping in the tent?" asked Charlie hopefully.
"Sure I will." answered Wally.
Wally put out the fire with a bucket of cold water. The light the fire illuminated had gone out and the two went inside the tent, falling fast asleep. But Charlie had Wally in his arms like a teddy bear as the only person he had on his mind was Anne.
"I miss that beautiful girl so much right now." Charlie thought to himself.
Back at the Plantar's farm in the morning
Anne was passing back and forth in the living room while the Plantars were sitting down on the couch as they grew worried about Anne but also felt their guilt growing.
"Now Anne, we know we're to blame for what just happened." said Hop Pop.
Anne stopped and turned towards them with her arms crossed.
"He went out there to find proof of the Mossman because you guys didn't believe him and made jokes. He's probably so mad at you guys that he could hulk out like he did against Toadstool at the tournament. My baby is out there somewhere and if he's not here by tomorrow, we're going out there to find him and bring my baby back." said Anne looking serious. "You guys know I consider you my family and I love you just like a family, but what you guys said and how you reacted towards Charlie about the Mossman, can you guys agree that wasn't nice?"
They looked at one another and knew Anne was right, they nodded.
"If the roles were reversed. If you guys saw the Mossman but everyone didn't believe you and they written you off as crazy, would you feel horrible about it?" asked Anne.
They imagined what it would be like if that was happening and they knew that Charlie didn't like it when someone treated him horribly and they knew it would be just as hurtful if it was them who went through it.
"We see your point." said Sprig.
"Alright, now normally, I don't like it when we're mad at each other and I don't like it when we're fighting, arguing or when we're not gettling along because, well, you guys took me in when I had no other place to go and I'm grateful for it. But you guys do know that how you reacted towards Charlie when he said he saw the Mossman was wrong, right?" Anne stated.
"You're right." said Hop Pop.
"Now I'm sorry I got irate with you guys but I also don't like it when we're at our worst towards each other. But if Charlie comes back soon, you got to apologize to him. But if he's not here by tomorrow, than we're going out there to look for him and you still have to apologize to him. Before we found him, we may not know what he went through in the wilderness, he probably went through the same thing I did, or worse. I don't want anyone or anything hurting him. That also includes us." Anne told them.
"We're feeling the guilt of this and I really want him to come back so we can apologize to him." said Sprig.
"Now kids, if Charlie isn't back by tomorrow like Anne said, than we'll go out there to look for him." Hop Pop told them.
Sprig and Polly nodded.
"So far, he did say he's with Wally and I was alright out there when he was with me." said Anne.
"You are right about that." stated Polly.
Anne walked over towards them and they hugged each other as they knew that they didn't like fighting each other when conflict would rise up but they always forgiven each other and reconciled. They gathered around in a circle in the room and started to pray for Charlie.
Somewhere in a grassy meadow
Charlie and Wally were walking out in a grassy meadow as Wally carried a lantern light to illuminate where they walked as they were going through a thick fog that was starting to fade in some areas. They remained close by together in case of predators.
"Wally, mind if I ask something." said Charlie.
"I'm listening." Wally responded.
"Why don't you care about what people think or say about you? Even if it's something negative or something that can break someone's heart." asked Charlie curiously.
"From what I've learned, it's a waste of energy and time to care about what others think or say about me. That, and it burns up too much energy and it's said to be bad for one's health, it can even make others go cra-a-a-azy. So, I figured in order to live a happy life style and a healthier one, I don't care about what others think of me. I like who I am. Besides, sure, others may or may not agree, but it's like you've said, everyone's different. Can't do anything about it, so it's best to focus on better things like what makes you happy. Being myself makes me happy. Nothing anyone can say can ruin it." explained Wally.
"That's actually a good outlook in life. Back at home, I've known a few people like you before and sure, they're a bit more humorous than most, sometimes they're a bit comically wacky and a bit goofy and strange to some, but me and a lot of people have seen they've gone on to become the most normal, rational, compassionate and some of the best people in our society that many people get along with. I had a cousin or two that was a bit different like that but they're like the best friends anyone could ever have." said Charlie in agreement.
They stopped once they saw parts of the fog or mist was clearing up a bit.
"Wally, I'd like to say that even though this journey is a bit dangerous and no matter what happens. I'm glad to have met you. You've been a lot of help and you've shown to me your a good friend." said Charlie with a grin.
"I've felt the same about you and Anne." said Wally.
They were just about to say something but they heard something that sounded like a distant noise. It sounded animal like. They froze and that's when Charlie went into a defense mode as he placed his hand on the handel of his dagger and his other hand was held out in case he had to stop Wally from walking further, just in case if they run into a trap.
"Wally, if you hear that, than do like I do. Stay silent, make as little noise as possible, stay close and don't wander off." whispered Charlie.
Wally showed he understood with a nod. They slowly continued on forwards as they tried to remain silent and they would see what looked like some yellow flowers nearby but in the part of the meadow they were in had the mist getting thick again. They heard the soft animal sounds again.
"Charlie, I can hear it from here." whispered Wally.
"So do I." Charlie whispered.
They kept going and they spotted a glowing cyan butterfly.
"That's one of the butterflies the Mossman follows. They interact with each other." whispered Wally.
"Wally, if we encounter something dangerous, get ready for me to grab hold of you and I'll be ready to run." Charlie whispered.
The mist would start to clear up a bit but was still hard to see through it. They saw another butterfly or more, seeing at least three glowing butterflies. The fog was going back and forth between going thick to getting clearer. The soft animal sound was heard once again but it sounded like a guttural soft purring. Charlie gotten an idea in mind but he felt like it was a long shot. He started to mimic the same soft, guttural purring sounds they heard and Charlie was incredible, he sounded just like the creature.
Wally looked up at him and suspected that Charlie was trying to call out to the creature. The fog was so thick that they couldn't see their hand in front of them if they waved their hands in front of their eyes. The animal sounds would go back and forth from becoming louder or softer.
"Wally, can you see anything through this fog?" asked Charlie.
The young male frog was about to answer till they bumped into something. The nearly fell to the ground but something grabbed hold of their arms to prevent them from falling. It felt like a hand covered in grass or a strange fur. They now stood up on their feet and the strange hands removed themselves from them. They saw the fog or mist was clearing up and they slowly looked up to see a humanoid creature, it was covered in moss and it was both tall and huge.
"The Mossman." they both whispered.
They were at least four feet in front of the creature. Wally was about to walk forwards but Charlie slowly stopped him as if to signal to the frog that they should keep a distance. The creature stood there, staring at them with curiosity. Charlie started to see them glowing butterflies as there was now seven of them. He mimicked the sound soft, guttural sounds as the creature made. Wally knew that the young male human was communicating with the creature. Charlie slowly reached out to extend his hand to him.
Charlie made more guttural sounds as if speaking to the creature which that said creature showed it understood him. The creature reached out it's hand to take hold of Charlie's hand and the creatures hand felt oddly warm to the touch. Charlie and Wally walked up to him slowly and gave the creature a hug, it hugged them back. They felt excited but also a bit like they were on the edge. After hugging the creature for a bit, that's when Charlie made the sounds to communicate with the creature. It nodded as if showing it understood what Charlie said.
Charlie reached inside his pocket and pulled out his phone as he got it into position and both the creature, Wally and Charlie stood together and as Charlie placed his thumb on a button, he pressed it and the camera of the phone didn't make a flash but it sounded like it made a sound that a camera flash would make. He took three pictures. Afterwards, they got out of position and just as Charlie placed his phone back in his pocket, he turned to the creature as did Wally.
The young male human stared at the creature and let out one more soft guttural sound as he gave the animal a salute and the creature had given a salute back. That's when the fog was getting thicker again, they saw the creature's silhouette and it ran off in a flash. Once the fog cleared up, the creature was gone and out of sight. They let out a breath as they felt like a lot of tension was built up and they were able to release it all out of them.
"That was so harrowing like the first time I first tried candy or any sugary sweets." said Wally relieved. "Boy did I go crazy from the sugar rush."
Charlie turned to Wally with a grin.
"Been there, done that, my little friend." chuckled Charlie.
Both of them shared a laugh and Charlie reached down to pull Wally in his arms to hug him. He let out an excited squeal.
"We did it! We got a picture!" Charlie cheered.
"Whoa there, someone's happy." chuckled Wally.
With Charlie's excited movements, it caused Wally's hat to fall off but Wally caught it with his left hand. Charlie stopped jumping up and down and looked down to see that Wally had a full head of long, thick, full and voluminous hair. Shiny, soft, silky and smooth.
"That's a lot of hair." said Charlie looking surprised.
"Looks like we're both blessed with thick and long, gorgeous locks." chuckled Wally.
They smiled and just as soon as they were about to head out, they turned to see what looked like a brown bag made of yarn. It was the size of a basketball. Charlie placed Wally back on his feet and they walked over towards the bag, pulling the string that kept it sealed up and they saw what looked like golden colored apples.
"Wally, are apples suppose to be this color?" said Charlie looking curious.
"These are no ordinary apples. They're all miracle healing apples. These apples are able to heal anyone of anything they've got. It heals anything and everything someone has, be it a sickness or an injury or even health problems. One bite of them can heal you of anything you've got." explained Wally.
Charlie suddenly gotten an idea in mind but also came to a conclusion.
"Do you think the Mossman left it for us?" said Charlie.
"It's possible but I think he did. These all miracle healing apples are very rare. Anyone in Amphibia are lucky to find one of them or two once in their lives, a second time is so rare that once you see them for a third time, they don't get any luckier than that." replied Wally.
Charlie smiled and tied the bag up, placed it inside his back and pulled Wally up into the carrier, strapping him inside it.
"Lets head out." said Charlie.
Wally nodded as Charlie walked off with Wally strapped inside the carrier that was strapped to Charlie's body.
"Wally, I'm glad you did this for me and Anne." said Charlie softly.
"No problem at all. I know you wanted to do this for Anne." said Wally happily.
They suddenly heard the loudest farting sound that lasted a few seconds or even a full minute. This was leaving them wide eyed and they could smell the scent which was the strongest scent ever, they waved their hands in front of their noses.
"That was so not us." groaned Charlie.
"No kidding, I'd have to eat enough beans to fill up a barrel for that to happen." Wally replied.
They let out a chuckle.
"Wally, I'm grateful you did this for me. Anyone is lucky to have you as a friend." said Charlie kindly.
"I say the same about you and Anne." said Wally.
Hours later, back at Wartwood
It was now already passed four in the afternoon and both Wally and Charlie made it back to Wartwood. They had arrived somewhere in the town near the statue as Charlie and Wally stood there while the townspeople had gathered around.
"People of Wartwood, you may not believe me when I say it but the Mossman is not a myth like you've been lead to believe." called Charlie.
The townspeople were murmuring amongst themselves in surprise.
"Are you sure about that? Last time we've been told about this...lets just say there was a lack of proof." said a female frog looking hesitant to talk about it.
"Well, this time, we got proof. But be warned, if anyone is alarmed by big, mysterious creatures than those who are not able to handle it should cover their eyes when I show the proof." Charlie warned.
A large purple male frog was showing up with a giant magnifying glass as Charlie helped the purple male frog with lifting it and they placed it in front of everyone while Charlie pulled out his phone.
"Thank you, Chad. Dōmo arigatō." said Charlie kindly.
"You got it." Chad replied.
Somewhere in the crowd came Anne and the Plantars as they came forwards.
"What's going on here, guys?" asked Anne.
Both Anne and the Plantars made it to the front and they saw Charlie and Wally.
"For the moment of truth!" called Charlie.
Charlie placed his phone in front of the glass and pushed a button on it. To everyone's shock, they saw the picture of Charlie, Wally and the moss body covered Mossman. Many of the people gasped, murmured loudy. Anne smiled while the Plantars were so shocked that they nearly fell to their knees.
"Behold, the Mossman of Amphibia!" called Charlie.
They saw the three pictures of the Mossman and Anne was feeling like she had a sense of pride filling up inside her.
"Maybe we should go out there and try to see this creature." called a slim male frog.
"Now ladies and gentle frogs. I know it's tempting to want to go find this majestic creature to see for yourselves but it's probably best we leave the creature be. It probably is a shy creature who has a family where ever it lives. He probably wouldn't want anyone harassing him and it probably doesn't want to get into any conflict." Charle told them. "If you were in this creature's position, wouldn't you want to stay away from people in case any of them were to harm you or worse?"
The frogs of the town all seemed to feel disappointed about not going out there to see the Mossman but than they understood that the creature probably preferred to be away from people in case anyone was to hurt it or worse.
"I suppose you're right." said a large female frog.
Anne walked forwards to Charlie and the young male human spotted her. Charlie's heart nearly skipped a beat like Anne felt. Anne smiled and ran towards him, pulling him in a hug as she cried out in excitement. She was pulling him up into the air and jumping up and down for joy.
"Whoa there, someone's sure happy to see me." chuckled Charlie.
"Big boy's home!" cried Anne.
Anne let Charlie stand on his feet on the ground and she looked at Charlie as she looked serious.
"Charlie, don't ever scare me like that again." Anne kindly warned.
"Yes ma'am." said Charlie in acknowledgement. "But I only went out there to, you know, prove to everyone you've been telling the truth. I mean that we've been telling the truth."
Anne smiled and kissed Charlie on his cheeks, his forehead, even his lips and eventually stopped.
"That has got to be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." said Anne.
Wally stood nearby as Anne gave a look at him.
"Wally, thanks for looking after my boy." said Anne kindly.
"Anytime. Charlie mainly wanted to do this for you." said Wally.
As Anne pulled Wally over to hug him, that's when Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly came over. Anne, Wally and Charlie turned to see them.
"Charlie, you're probably still peeved at us and we can understand that." said Hop Pop looking guilty.
Charlie felt like he wanted to show he was irate with them but he didn't feel any anger in him. He felt more like he was at peace but he did feel like he was a bit stern about their reaction from before.
"Guys, is there something you'd like to say to me, Anne and Wally?" Charlie asked rhetorically.
They looked up at Anne, Charlie and Wally and let out a sigh.
"We're sorry." the Plantars said in unison.
Charlie also felt like there was something he had to say.
"Guys, I know I've said some things in anger from before too. And I would also like to apologize for snapping at you. I don't like being angry at people I care about. You guys are like family to me." said Charlie apologetically.
Hearing this had both Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly go in to hug Charlie while Anne would also hug him. He hugged them back.
"Charlie, you're a really good boy with a heart bigger than all of Amphibia." said Hop Pop.
Hearing this had Charlie nearly shed a tear but he managed to hold it back.
"I got to admit. While me and Wally were out there, I've learned that Wally is the nicest guy around. He really is sweet, innocent Wally." Charlie stated. "Which is why I want us to help Wally when ever he needs it. I know Wally can be a bit more free spirited than most people but I've known people like him before and they're turned out alright."
Wally could hear this and he looked up at Charlie with a grin.
"I see, well, if you really are feeling that way towards Wally. Than it looks like we can. Just as long as he's careful with what he does, I once saw him do a daredevil stunt for the thrill of it. He was alright afterwards but I nearly had a heart attack from worrying about him." Hop Pop stated.
"No worries about that, sir." said Wally with a salute.
Anne motioned for Wally to come over and the young male frog came over to join in on the group hug.
"I've missed you the whole time you and Wally were out there." said Anne.
"Anne nearly freaked out." Polly blurted out.
"Oh Polly." said Anne.
"To be honest. I really missed Anne the whole time we were out there." Charlie confessed.
"He was holding onto me closely like a stuffed froggy bear. I think Charlie really likes you." Wally blurted out.
Charlie blushed from the mentioning of that but he wasn't bothered by it. After they released each other's arms from each other. Anne and Charlie looked like they were about to go in for a kiss till a noise interrupted them.
"Big town party coming up in a week! Big party coming up in a week!" came a cheery male's voice.
They turned to see it was Toadie who was handing out flyers to many people in the town while Toadie ran into Anne, Charlie, Wally, Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly and his attention turned towards Charlie. The little frog blushed with a nervous grin as if he ran into a lady he used to date. Charlie tried to make it look like he wasn't looking at him as he too felt a bit weird for some reason.
"Uhhhhh, well, this is awkward." said Toadie with a nervous chuckle.
Just as soon as Toadie was about to walk off. An idea popped into his head.
"Toadie, front and center." called Charlie.
Toadie stopped and saw Charlie reaching for something in his bag and he saw the young male human pull out a golden apple. Toadie stood there confused as Charlie got down on his feet like he was sitting. He was on his feet but his knees were up, he handed Toadie the golden apple. He pulled Toadie to him and whispered something in his ear. The small frog listened and was wide eyed with both shock and confusion. Afterwards, Charlie placed the golden apple in Toadie's bag that he had on his walked off afterwards. Charlie got up on his feet and stood up straight.
"Charlie, what did you give Toadie and what did you just tell him?" asked Polly.
He turned to face them as he yawned and stretched his back.
"I'll explain later. I'm really tired." said Charlie.
Everyone saw Charlie had fallen down on the ground out of exhaustion. Anne caught him in her arms while everyone nearly panicked. But Anne explained to them he's just tired and both Anne, Wally and the Plantars took Charlie to the Plantar farm so he could rest. Somehow, Charlie felt closer to Wally as a friend now but something was going on in his head as he was thinking of the party that was mentioned.
"Light bulb." muttered Charlie.