Chapter 3

"Marcy's Journal,

We are on the road! It's going to take a while for the King to get everything we need for our quest to recharge the music box, so I decided to go back to Wartwood with Anne and the Plantars! We need to get the box back, and the Plantars also have their harvest to worry about, so it's for the best.

We are actually almost back now! Apparently, because there were a lot less wacky adventures going back then when they went to Newtopia, the trip is going by a LOT quicker!

Though, Polly and Sprig DID get a little too enthusiastic to get home, and tried driving the snail at night last night while Anne and Hop Pop slept.

I DID offer to drive, but apparently I needed to read Bessie's owner's manual first before that, and that thing is BIG! That being said, I read through it last night! I uh… may or may not of been 'In the Zone' while doing it, and completely missed the fact that the fwagon was moving that entire time… oops.

Anne was kinda upset at me, since I probably should of kept an eye on Polly and Sprig, but it looks like they learned their lesson, so we decided to let it slide…

I still kinda feel bad though.

Anyways, I can't wait to get to Wartwood, and meet all of the friends Anne has made there! OOOOOOH I SEE IT NOW!"

Putting her journal away, Marcy climbed up onto the roof of the fwagon.

"Is that it?! Is that Wartwood?!" Marcy asked excitingly.

"Yup! We're almost there!" Anne said… though her hair was frazzled out of her mind.

"Whoa, guess it is kinda humid around here, huh?" Marcy asked.

"Yeah…"

"Lemme get that then." Marcy said as she pulled a brush out of her bag and began brushing Anne's hair. "So… can't wait to meet everyone!"

"Yeah… here's the thing… when they first met me, they were VERY suspicious of me. Then there was what happened with Sasha, so…" Anne started.

"You're worried about how they'll react to me being here." Marcy finished.

"Yeah…" Anne said. "So, I am gonna kinda… prepare them first. Then, I'll give you the signal, and you can come out and introduce yourself!"

"Sounds like a planna Anna-Banana!" Marcy said with a smile.

Anne just blushed at this.

Before long, they were pulling in, with Sprig heralding in their arrival with a song.

"So Anne! Did you find a way to get home?" Marcy heard one of the frogs ask.

"Well, we are whittling away at it!" Anne said. "Buuuuuut… we did find something, or rather, someone, very important!"

Marcy then heard everyone outside clamoring.

"Oh boy! Here it comes!" She whispered to herself.

"Now, I have to first say, this girl is NOTHING like Sasha! There is no chance that she will… intentionally, cause anyone here harm!" Anne said.

"Get on with it!" She heard an older woman shout.

"Everyone, I present to you…!" Anne said before opening the door. "Marcy!"

"HIYA WARTWOOD!" Marcy shouted with a smile.

The crowd just stayed silent.

"Oh great… another one…" The older woman mumbled.

"Uh…"

"Guys, come on. Listen, I know Sasha caused some issues, but Marcy here is different! Please at least give her a chance?" Anne requested.

The crowd just mumbled, seemingly unconvinced.

"Great… I was really hoping I'd get through to them…" Anne said. "Sorry Marcy… but it looks like things are gonna be..."

Then, Marcy did something surprisingly bold.

And kissed Anne on the cheek.

The crowd just gasped at this.

"Oh, did she forget to mention that I'm her girlfriend?" Marcy asked, before winking at the currently flustered Anne.

"…Oh! In that case, welcome!" The older woman suddenly said.

"Wait, really? You guys aren't going to even question the fact that two girls are dating?" Anne asked. "Like, I thought…"

"Anne, you do realize that even though we don't have a name for it, there are frogs that fall in love with other frogs of the same gender here… right?" Hop Pop asked.

"Wait really? But… Sprig said…"

"I said I didn't know anyone like that, doesn't mean they don't exist." Sprig said with a shrug.

"Oh… and as for you!" Anne said, before pointing at Marcy, who flinched. "… Warn me next time please? I was not ready for that!"

Marcy just smiled. "Sure thing Anna-Banana!"

The two then hugged it out.

"Awwww…"

They quickly separated with red faces, and chuckled nervously.

"Hey Felicia… where's Ivy." They heard Sprig ask.

"Oh oh oh! Am I about to meet his girlfriend?!" Marcy whispered to Anne.

"Yeah, I think so!"

"Oh, she said she had something more important to do…" Felicia said to a disappointed Sprig.

"… Or not…"

"Something about an…"

"AMBUUUUUUUSH!" Ivy shouted after taking off a disguise. She then proceeded to tackle Sprig to the ground.

"…Hi..." Sprig said.

"Hey you…"

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Anne and Marcy both cooed at the same time.

The noise caused the two of them to separate in a hurry.

At that moment, they heard a bell, and each ring was followed by a soft "ow" as the noise got louder and louder.

"Alright everyone, simmer down! The market doesn't stop for no-one!" Mayor Toadstool said as he approached the group. "You can welcome back the Plantars and…"

He then noticed Marcy.

"… Whoever this is, AFTER business hours."

And with that, he left.

What happened next… Marcy thought was very strange.

First they were talking about how they were going to have a town dinner that night, then they were all talking about some gifts, and finally, Hop Pop and Polly were rushing everyone back into the fwagon.

"So uh… what was that about?" Marcy asked as she caught Microangelo, who Polly just flung into the air.

"Uh… hehehe… so here's the thing…" Polly started.

"FOUND IT!" Hop Pop said as he pulled out a list from a secret compartment.

"You see… when we were coming back from getting the fwagon, Mrs. Croaker wanted us to get a book for her… then someone else wanted something… and then another… and eventually we had a whole wishlist!" Polly explained.

"We put it into that secret compartment so we wouldn't forget…" Hop Pop added.

"… And then you forgot it…" Marcy finished for them.

"Yup."

"… Ugh, seriously?! How could you forget something so important Hop Pop?!" Anne asked.

"Hey, Polly forgot too!" Hop Pop pointed out.

They looked at Polly, who put on an adorable, yet stupid sad face, causing all possible anger pointed at her to be thrown out the window…

Just kidding, it was thrown straight at Hop Pop.

They all looked back at the older frog, anger doubled.

"So… what should we do?" Marcy asked.

"One things for sure, we have to lie!" Sprig suddenly said.

"Wait, what?!" Marcy and Anne both asked.

"Ivy asked for a red sunshell to match my blue moonshell!" Sprig said, pointing at the list.

"Awwwwww…" Anne and Marcy cooed again.

"She can't find out about this!" Sprig reasoned. "If she does, our relationship might end before it has a chance to really start!"

"Ok ok… I'll do it for Sprivy… no way I am letting that ship sink…" Anne muttered that last part under her breath.

"Still though, lying to the entire town? I mean… I don't want them to think badly of me on my first day…" Marcy said.

"You don't have to get involved if you don't want to Marcy. Let's let this be a Plantar problem, you can just sit this out." Hop Pop tried to reason.

"I dunno…"

"Seriously Marcy, we do crazy things like this all the time! Just leave it to us!" Anne said.

"… Thanks Anne, but like it or not, I am a part of this group now! So I am going to do what I can to help!" Marcy said. "Here, give me that list Hop Pop."

Hop Pop complied.

"What are you going to do with that?" Anne asked.

"Oh, just a little back-up plan in case things go wrong!"

The rest of the day, they were putting their plan into action.

What they decided on was simple enough… summon a demonic chicken to devour a pile of empty presents so that they wouldn't have to tell everyone that they forgot!

"Oooooh man! I can't believe we are about to summon an actual DEMON!" Marcy said, her hands shaking in anticipation.

"You seem a little too excited for that Marcy…" Anne pointed out.

"Well, I am not really excited about the demon, but more the summoning! Oh boy! I LOOOOVE the idea of magic! Have you read the Cynthia Coven books?! Oh! Oh! Or Good Witch Azura?!" Marcy said, her voice filled with excitement.

"No… but I did meet a witch once!" Anne pointed out.

"Oh yeah! I wonder how better dressed Anne is doing." Polly wondered out loud.

"Wait whaaaaaa?!" Marcy asked.

"I'll explain later, let's get this summoning done first." Anne said.

At that moment, Hop Pop approached, and raised a hand.

"Play the forbidden note!"

As Sprig blew into the horn, Marcy imagined a base boost playing over it.

"Hehehe…"

"So wait, this Luz girl is stuck in a magical world?!" Marcy asked.

"She called it a child friendly demonic hell-space on top of a giant carcass, but yeah! It was really surprising seeing another human to be honest." Anne said. "This was just before I met up with Sasha after all."

"Cool! When we make it back, we HAVE to figure out how to get in contact with her!" Marcy said. "At least, if she made it back herself by then…"

"I agree." Anne said.

At that moment though, the wind picked up, as a terrifying screech was heard.

"Here we go…"

What happened next went as followed: Chicka-lisk appeared, started eating the presents, the town tried to fight it, but it was not going well, as townsfolk were being turn to stone.

"Split up! We gotta get it surrounded!" Anne shouted as everyone began to approach it.

Chicka-lisk then fired it's petrification beam at her, but she was able to split it with her sword.

Although, she lost her balance.

It began to charge the beam again.

"ANNE!" Sprig shouted.

Anne closed her eyes, and prepared for the worst…

…

…

"NOOOOOOO!"

When Anne opened her eyes, she saw Marcy, taking the beam herself.

"MARCY!" Anne screamed.

Anne rushed over as Marcy's petrified body hit the ground.

"No… please no… I just got you back…" Anne said, tears falling down her face.

Everyone just watched this, all feeling sad for Anne's loss.

"Ok, this overgrown chicken has gone too far!" Ivy said. "GET HIM!"

And so, the rest of the town continued to fight, as Anne grieved.

"Marcy…"

At that moment though, a small sack hit Marcy's stone body, before she turned back to normal.

"Did you seriously forget that I had antidotes?" Maddie asked.

"Uh… hehehe…" Anne laughed out sheepishly.

"My hero…" Marcy said as she put her hands together.

"Psh, you were my hero this time." Anne said as she kissed Marcy's forehead.

"Hehehe…" Marcy said as she got up.

"Seriously though, you could of just pushed both of us out of the way." Anne pointed out.

"I was trying to do that… but…"

"You tripped didn't you?"

"Yup."

Anne couldn't help but laugh at this. "Oh well, let's go and finish this!"

And so, the two humans stood up, ready to continue fighting.

Marcy then ran ahead, and used her crossbow to tie the monster's beak shut as it was breathing fire at some towns people, most likely causing burns in there.

"Haha! How do you like that?!" Marcy asked.

It seemed unfazed by Marcy's actions, as it easily snapped the rope.

"… REALLY need to re-enforce that rope!" Marcy groaned out.

"This thing is unbeatable!" Anne shouted out.

"Nothing is unbeatable! Everyone! Chicka-lisk formation!" Mayor Toadstool shouted out.

What happened next, Marcy had no idea what to think of it.

The entire town just jumped on top of each other, forming a tower of some sort. When she got a good look at the finished product though, it did kinda look like Chicka-lisk.

Chicka-lisk seemed to say something, before teleporting away.

The town then began to celebrate.

"But… it destroyed the presents you all worked so hard to get for us…" Mrs. Croaker pointed out.

"If only we had fought harder… ugh, we let you all down…" Ivy said dejectedly.

The Plantars then looked at each other, feeling guilty.

Before Polly could say anything though.

"Psh, those presents were empty anyways!" Marcy suddenly admitted.

"What?!" Everyone, including the Plantars shouted.

"Yeah, they were just there for decoration." Marcy said. "After some of the stories Anne told me, I figured something like this might happen, so I put fake presents there just in case."

"So wait, where are the real presents?" Mrs. Croaker asked.

"Weeeeelllllll…" Marcy said, looking at the sky.

Then, she spotted what she was looking for.

She then whistled, before a large, flying figure began to approach, and landed in front of her.

"Everyone! This is Joe Sparrow!" Marcy said. "My trusty steed!"

"Whoa…" Anne said.

"And look!" Ivy said, pointing to Joe's back. "The presents!"

"Yup!" Marcy said as she went up onto Joe's back and began to toss the presents to the townspeople.

First was Stumpy who when he opened the present…

"I can't watch…" Hop Pop said as he closed his eyes.

"Hey look! The coral hand fitment!" Stumpy said, holding it up.

"Wait huh?" Hop Pop asked.

"Hehehe…" Marcy laughed out.

"Marcy? What did you do?!" Anne asked.

"Oh, I may or may not of sent some express fly-mail to the king, included the shopping list, and had him get it all packaged and delivered here!" Marcy explained. "What did you think I was doing with that list earlier?"

"And you didn't tell us, because…?" Polly asked.

"I figured that it would take a while for Joe to get here with the presents, so I needed something to stall for time!" Marcy explained. "Chicka-lisk just so happened to stall for just long enough!"

"Wow… great thinking dude!" Anne said with a smile.

"Hehe… And look."

Anne turned around just in time to see Ivy giving Sprig a big hug.

"Thank you soooooo much Sprig!" Ivy said before pulling away and giving Sprig a kiss on the cheek.

At that moment, two tea kettles began to let out steam…

Just kidding, the noise was just Anne and Marcy.

"I gotta admit, I am surprised." Stumpy said suddenly. "I was honestly expecting you to forget!"

"Wait, what?!" Anne asked.

"Yeah, I mean, you guys are always attracting trouble and learning life lessons from it. I was thinking this would be one of those times!" Mrs. Croaker added.

"And when Chicka-lisk came out of no-where, I thought that was where this was all going!" Stumpy finished.

"Oh… uh… hehehe… you should uh… have more faith in us!" Anne said. "I mean, Marcy here is super smart! She would never let us do something that dumb, right Marcy?"

"Oh yeah! Totally!" Marcy said.

Sometimes, the less that people knew, the better.

"So… quite the first day, huh Marcy?" Anne asked.

"Oh yeah, what a crazy first day here!" Marcy said with a yawn. "I can't wait to lay down and sleep!"

"Oh uh… about that…" Hop Pop said. "I uh… don't really know where you're going to be sleeping Marcy."

"Wait, what?!" Anne asked.

"I figured we'd have more time during the day to get you a bed or something… then all of this crazy happened and, well…" Hop Pop said before sighing. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's cool. I already got it figured out." Marcy said as she walked up to the fwagon. "I can just sleep in here for now!"

"Oh! Yeah! That's a great idea!" Anne said. "It has a bed and everything!"

"I… guess that'll be alright." Hop Pop added.

"Great! In the morning, I'll put on my own personal touch!" Marcy said. "Oooooh! I am so excited!"

As Marcy went inside the fwagon, Anne couldn't help but smile.

Things… really were looking up for her.

End of Chapter 3

Imagine your first day in a new town, and the first thing you do is summon a demonic chicken because your GF's adopted family doesn't want to tell the town that they forgot to bring back gifts…

But hey! It all ended well! I think Marcy would be able to come up with a plan to make sure everyone got their presents, even if the Plantars forgot.

Worth mentioning, since Marcy's first day in Wartwood in this universe went a lot smoother than in canon, that means that the events of "New Wartwood" don't actually happen in this universe. Marcy has already been accepted by the citizens of Wartwood, since she is Anne's girlfriend, and they just like that she makes Anne happy, so Marcy really has no reason to try and gain their trust. So sorry, but that episode ain't happening.

Also yeah! I referenced the crossover audio drama they did with The Owl House a while back! Something neat I thought I would just kinda throw in here, since demonic summonings kinda fit that theme.

Next up… After the Rain. See you then!