Chapter 2

"Marcy's Journal,

OOOOOOH my gosh! I finally did it! I finally found Anne! I was so excited, I completely forgot to record it all in here! But that's not the crazy thing! The crazy thing is that we're dating now! YEAH! DATIIIIIIING!

I mean, we haven't really gone on a date yet… but we will!

The other day, we had to complete a puzzlegram that the king sent me! It was SOOOO much fun! I mean, we almost got eaten by a alligator, but it was fun!

Though… then I found out something about Anne… she said she always feels dumb around me because I am smart. I mean, that's ridiculous! She's so good at connecting to others, I should be the one who feels jealous… and I am… I really am.

I really am not good at talking to others… Anne and Sasha were really the only ones that I was able to connect to back home, I kinda just faked it here…

That's besides the point. I'll have to make sure Anne knows just how amazing I think she is! Like a good girlfriend!

… I think that is what a good girlfriend would do at least… I better research that.

Anyways! We met with the King afterwards, and now the two of us are going to do some research about the music box! Gotta get home after all!

… I… am still unsure about what to say to Anne about that whole thing… I mean, how can I possibly tell her that I KNEW that the box might take us somewhere?!

Ugh… I'll… deal with that later. For now though, I promised Anne I would show her around town. Apparently, she and Polly tried to look around themselves, and caused some real issues… also she's banned from the arcade I guess? I don't even know what happened there.

Anyways, I told her I'd meet her at the hotel, so off I go!"

"I'm telling you! I was right!" Anne shouted.

"Uh huh… you do realize that you can be right all you want about something, but when you get violent or start shouting… that's when you look wrong, right?" Marcy asked.

"I… I… ugh… fine, I guess I did screw up there."

"Glad you admit it!" Marcy said with a smirk. "Now come on! There is a part of town that I have been DYING to show you!"

After leading Anne and the Plantars a bit, they arrived at…

"Plantar family, I present to you, THE NEWTOPIAN MALL!" Marcy said in grandiose fashion.

Anne gasped very audibly at this.

"Oh… My gosh!"

"I know right?! I knew you would be happy!" Marcy said with a smile.

"Well then, I guess this is a great opportunity!" Hop Pop suddenly said as he stopped by a bench.

He then told the group that they should all try and get themselves a souvenir, though he only gave everyone two copper to do so…

That being said, when Polly found out about the concept of haggling, everyone became slightly worried… they decided to leave it at that though.

"So, what are you gonna get Sprig?" Marcy asked.

"Well… I guess I should get an item for Ivy! Since we are an item… hehehe…" Sprig said, sounding quite smug towards the end.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh yeah! Sprig has a girlfriend waiting for him back home. Isn't that cute?!" Anne asked.

"Ooooooh my gosh! I need pictures!" Marcy gushed.

Anne simply smiled before pulling out her phone, and a picture of Sprig and Ivy dancing at the frog of the year party.

"SO CUUUUUUUTE!" Marcy gushed.

"And I helped them get together!" Anne said smugly.

"You HAVE to tell me that story!" Marcy said. "For now though, let's get you guys some souvenirs!"

"I agree!" Sprig said, now holding a staff with a two copper price tag on it.

"Wait, where did you get that?!" Anne asked.

"I dunno! But isn't it perfect?! It even whistles when you swing it!" Sprig said before swinging the staff around… destroying a shopkeepers vases in the process.

"Sorry sorry!" Marcy shouted as they grabbed Sprig, left an IOU from Marcy on the counter, and ran away.

"Seriously dude, be more careful!" Anne scolded.

"… Sorry…" Sprig said. "Let me make it up to you! I have my souvenir, so what do you want to get Anne?"

"A gift for my mom." Anne said bluntly.

Both Sprig and Marcy were caught off guard by this.

"Your… Mom?" Sprig asked.

"Yeah, I mean, since I am gonna accidentally go missing in another dimension, the least I could do is bring her back a gift!" Anne said.

'Yeah… accidentally…' Marcy thought grimly.

Shaking that thought out of her head, she turned to Anne.

"That's really sweet Anne!" Marcy said.

"Yeah well, what about you? What are you going to get?" Anne asked.

"Oh, I already got plenty of souvenirs back at the castle, so let's just focus on you!" Marcy said with a smile.

"Yeah!" Sprig shouted.

"… Thanks you two."

The rest of the day was spent trying to find a gift for Anne's mom. Eventually though, they found out about a contest to win a butterfly teapot, the perfect gift!

That being said, Marcy was a bit unsure about the whole deal.

"Anne, I don't know how to tell you this, but Priscilla? Uh… she's a freaking BEAST!" Marcy pointed out. "I heard all about her in the guard! Apparently, she snapped a herons neck MID FLIGHT!"

While that certainly impressed and intimidated Anne, she was not about to give up.

"Yeah, well I am not going to give up!" Anne said. "I mean, I've seen her dude."

"Yeah… I know…" Marcy said. "Just… be careful. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Psh, please! I'll be fine!" Anne said. "Would like you to help though…"

"Anne, we both know that Sprig is the better choice. He's lighter so you'd be able to move around a lot more easily, and probably a lot more physically fit." Marcy explained. "I'd just slow you down this time…"

Anne then put her hands on Marcy's shoulders.

"You'd never slow me down." Anne said reassuringly.

This caused Marcy to blush.

"Still, I'd rather you went with Sprig." Marcy said.

"… Alright. Let's go Sprig!" Anne said.

Marcy then shot Sprig a wink.

She knew that the two still had to hash some things out, with what happened the other day, so she thought that this would be helpful.

As for the derby, it went just about as well as Marcy expected… for a while.

Anne and Sprig were able to completely trounce everyone else in the competition, aside from Priscilla and her daughter. At that point, they decided to take things outside of the ring, and… well… almost demolished Polly in the process.

"Polly!" Marcy shouted as she ran over to the nearly killed Pollywog… and… "Wait, what's with the tiny snail? And the golden bucket?"

"I… uh…" Polly breathed out, still a bit shaken up by almost dying (she'll never admit it though).

"Is that where you've been all day? Dang girl, you really did well for two copper!" Marcy said with pride.

"Y-yeah! Turns out, I am a haggling master!" Polly said smugly, though her voice was still a bit shaky.

"Nice… now then, where's…?" Marcy asked, looking around.

She then spotted Anne in the ring, handing the teapot prize over to Priscilla, before her daughter gave her a blue butterfly in return.

When the two newts were gone, Marcy walked over.

"Hey, what was that about?" Marcy asked.

"I… couldn't just take that teapot Marcy… it's their last memory of Priscilla's mom." Anne explained. "So, I let them have it."

Marcy smiled. "Typical Anne, always caring about others."

"Yeah well… wait, what's Hop Pop doing over there?" Anne suddenly asked.

The group looked over to see Hop Pop and… a massage chair?

"Oh hey kids! Uh…"

Everyone just crossed their arms, and glared at him.

"I… am good at hagglin?" Hop Pop tried to reason.

…

…

…

"OK I ADMIT IT! I USED THE CARD!" Hop Pop exclaimed. "But if you could just feel it! It's…"

"A-MA-ZING!" Marcy shouted. "Seriously Anne, you thought the massage chairs back home were good?! THESE ARE SO MUCH BETTER!"

"Whoa, really?" Anne asked.

"Yeah! Come on! I bet you could use one after that derby!" Marcy said as she began to lead Anne inside.

…

…

…

"Thiiiiiiis iiiiiiiiis AMAAAAAZIIIIIIIIINNNNNN!" Anne groaned out as she got what would probably be the best, and most needed, massage of her life.

That night, the group decided that Marcy should stay with them in the hotel instead of making the long trek back to the castle.

She was trying to fall asleep, but just couldn't. Eventually, Sprig woke up from a bad dream, and began asking where Anne was.

Marcy simply pointed outside.

Then, she heard their conversation… and about how much Anne missed her mother.

And she… she felt so ashamed.

'I… took that away from her… just because I was selfish…' She thought.

Then, when Sprig opened up about his own mother, she decided to get up and join in on the hug.

"Anne… I'm so sorry…"

"Huh?" Anne asked.

"I… I was the one who found the music box… if I didn't suggest getting it for you as a gift, we wouldn't…"

"Marcy, stop." Anne said sternly. "You had no way of knowing that the box would do that, so there is no way that I am going to blame you for us getting sent here."

"But…"

"No buts." Anne said. "We'll get home, just like you said. Then, we'll go out on our first date. Ok?"

Marcy couldn't help but blush.

"Yeah… ok." Marcy said with a smile.

"Good." Anne said before getting up. "I'm going to bed, see you in the morning."

And with that, the group retired for the night, no longer having any issues with sleeping.

The next day was spent preparing for a sleepover, and subsequently, having the sleepover!

The king informed the group that morning that he had found some important information involving the music box while they were shopping the day before, and that they were to have an audience with him to go over it all.

Upon hearing this news, Marcy went back to the castle, and looked through the information, before retiring to her room to get everything ready for that night.

What happened that night? That's a story for another time.

As for what was going on right now… Marcy was conflicted.

She had suggested that Anne stay in Newtopia while the Plantars went back to Wartwood. It was going to take a while for her to prepare for the temples that they needed to go to in order to recharge the stones, and it just didn't make sense for the two of them to separate, since they were so close to getting home, and the fact that they were together now…

And yet… Marcy couldn't help but think that she was being selfish again.

She shouldn't make Anne split up from the Plantars, but it was just… smarter for her to stay…

"Ugh… what should I do…"

"Having a bit of trouble there Marcy?" King Andrias asked.

"Just thinking about what to do about Anne." Marcy explained. "Like, I know that it would be smarter for her to stay… and I really do want to stay with her… but…"

"Yes, she does seem rather close to the Plantars." Andrias finished for her.

"… Am I being selfish again?" Marcy asked.

"Non-sense. It is the smarter move for her to stay with you, with you two being girlfriends and all now." Andrias comforted.

"I just… wish there was a way to make all of us happy…"

"Well… maybe there is!" Andrias suddenly said. "Let's make a deal, Marcy."

"A deal?"

As Anne said goodbye to the Plantars later that day, Marcy couldn't help but think back to her conversation with the king.

He really wanted her to bring the music box back to him when it was fully charged, so that he could use it to explore other worlds. In exchange, not only would he agree to take Marcy and her friends along with him, if they so wished… but…

"You know… I was talking with the king earlier." Marcy suddenly said. "And… he said that it might be better if someone he really trusted went with the Plantars to get the music box right away."

Anne then turned around hopeful.

"So, we agreed that it would be for the best if Anne went back with you gu-." Marcy added.

"REALLY?!" Sprig interrupted with a shout before jumping up and hugging Marcy. "Thank you!"

"Marbles… are you sure?" Anne asked.

"Yeah I'm sure. It'll all be fine, don't worry." Marcy said. "Now go… I only have a few things to take care of… so I'll see you guys soon."

Anne smiled before kissing Marcy on the cheek. "Thanks Marcy… see you soon."

And with that, the group hopped aboard the fwagon, and began to ride away.

Marcy then turned around to see the King. "You're sure about this? It's not too late to change your mind."

"I'm sure." Marcy said as she took a small bag. "See you soon!"

"Yes… see you soon."

And with that, Marcy called her friend Joe Sparrow, and began riding him to the gates.

"Anne… are you alright?" Sprig asked.

"Yeah… I'm just… gonna miss her is all." Anne said.

"Hey, it'll be fine. We'll see her again soon." Sprig said. "We're all here for you."

"Thanks buddy." Anne said before hugging him.

At that moment though, a familiar crossbow arrow hit a nearby rock.

Looking back, they saw Marcy on top of the gates, before she began zip-lining down, just like when they first got here.

And just like when they just got here, the rope snapped.

"Marcy!" Anne shouted as she got up and ran over to her.

"*cough* Ok… really need to get on upgrading that rope…" Marcy said as Anne helped her up.

"What are you doing here?!" Anne asked.

"Oh, I did mention the King wanting someone he REALLY trusted to be there with you guys, right?" Marcy asked.

"Uh… yeah? Isn't that why I'm going?" Anne asked.

"Nnnnnnnope!" Marcy said. "That's why I'M going!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Anne asked.

Marcy then took Anne's hands.

"I… I really don't want to lose you again Anne… so, I talked to the King, and he said that they'll be able to get all the preparations done without me. Then when everything is ready, they'll send a representative to get me caught up and give me the supplies I need!"

This put a huge grin on Anne's face.

"Well what are we waiting for?!" Anne asked as she began running back to the fwagon. "Let's get going!"

"YEAH!" Marcy shouted as she followed.

And with that, the group was off, on their way back to Wartwood with Marcy in tow.

Meanwhile, Andrias watched them ride away into the sunset with a smile on his face.

Everything was going according to plan.

End of Chapter 2

Chapterly reminder: Please let me know if you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community and I did anything to offend you so that I can fix it ASAP!

So, first things first, the Marcy's Journal thing at the beginning. I got the idea from another story I have going on right now, called "Tangle's Log." Basically, it is going to be used to kinda lay down what part of the story we have reached. Not every episode is going to be covered, and there will be a bit of skipping around. As such, I wanted to have a way to kinda… include those episodes, and if there are any small changes or gags I wanted to include, then that would be where I do it.

So yeah! The biggest change is that, instead of Marcy staying behind in Newtopia, she is going to be going to Wartwood with Anne and the Plantars! At least, this is the biggest change for now. There are more, even bigger changes down the line, but more on that when we get to that.

Something else you might notice: We are following Marcy around a lot. In fact, she has basically been the main focus of this chapter. That is going to be the norm for this story, with only two exceptions. The first chapter, and one other. Marcy is my personal favorite character, so I wanted to kinda have her perspective on everything. That being said though, this also means that we will be taking a look into her mind a bit, and you might of noticed something with that: She feels guilty about the whole music box thing. I honestly do think that Marcy wanted to help Anne get home at first, since she was working hard to find a way to get the Music Box to work until Anne left. That is when Andrias talked to her, and she decided that maybe it would be a great idea to go on more adventures. In this story, we will see that she is still keen on going more adventures, but because she is already closer to Anne… well, you'll see.

Next time, Marcy's first day in Wartwood!