Chapter 51: Marcy at the Gates

I admit it, I was really starting to get worried.

According to Hop Pop's maps, we had nearly reached Newtopia. That meant we had traveled nearly halfway across the continent, and yet there hadn't been one word about anyone seeing anyone like me. Considering how people tended to react, you'd think that if if anyone saw another human, the word would be spreading. And yet nothing. And, well, considering how dangerous this world is… and how clumsy and easily distracted Marcy is… I was beginning to wonder if the reason I hadn't heard anything was… that she hadn't made it.

The more I tried putting these thoughts aside, the more they kept creeping back in. It was really starting to wear on me by the time we actually made it to Newtopia.

Newtopia is HUGE. Not LA huge, nothing here is, but it easily dwarfs any town we've been to since I got here. We're talking a proper city here, with towers and a huge wall around it and a big ol' castle in the middle. It's located in the middle of a giant bog of waist deep water (especially fun when you've only got one shoe, though by now my right sock is so filthy it's probably petrified).

There's only one gate into Netwopia, and at the moment, it was sealed shut, with nobody getting in or out. It looked like we'd picked a really bad time to visit; the place was under siege by a brood of Barbari-Ants.

[drawing of Barbari-Ant]

YOU DON'T WANT THESE GUYS CRASHING YOUR PICNIC.

These things surrounded us right after we got there. We were able to put up a fight for a while, but there were way too many of them. It looked like we were done for until a lone figure appeared on the wall, laying down some kind of oily substance that they set on fire, driving off the Barbari-Ants for the time being. They then started zip-lining down to us all bad-ass-like, until their line snapped mid-zip and they fell flat on their face into the marsh. Total mood-killer.

That's when I noticed that our rescuer was definitely not a newt. In fact, they were very clearly human. And not just any human.

I'd found Marcy!

And from the looks of things, she'd gone totally native, cloak, armor, cool wrist-mounted crossbow, everything.

Turns out she arrived in Amphibia directly in the middle of Newtopia and since then, she'd managed to get in good with the King himself and worked her way up the ranks of the royal guard. See, back home, Marcy was always trying to get me and Sasha to play this tabletop RPG called "Creatures and Caverns". We never really got around to it, mostly because it didn't seem terribly interesting to either of us. There was all sorts of math and dice rolls involved before you even got started. Seemed like a lot of work just to have fun, you dig me? But it turns out being thrust into a medieval-style world was exactly what games like this had prepared Marcy for, and since then, she'd been fitting in by playing everything as if she was her RPG character. Y'know, maybe we should've gone along with her last time, maybe we would've been more prepared. It took me months to feel at home in this world, and she pulled it off right away!

As happy as I was to finally be reunited with Marcy, though, there was still a giant ant invasion to deal with. Marcy led us to her camp, where there was a meeting of the Newt Knight Guard going on. Besides the five of us, we were saddled with these three goons who I'd call stooges, but that would be an insult to Curly, Larry and Moe. These three wouldn't agree on 2+2 if you gave them a calculator.

Of course, Marcy had an idea. She had some up with a way to drive off the Barbari-Ants for good because she's just that good. Of course she's gonna need a bit of muscle to back her up, so I volunteered us to escort her. Hop-Pop and Polly were immediately on board. They warmed up to Marcy instantly. And who wouldn't? She's smart, kind, [scribbled out] IGNORE THAT! Sprig is still distrustful though… I guess I can't entirely blame him, after what happened with Sasha. Exactly 50% of the human's he knows have tried to murder him. Not great odds when you look at it. Hopefully it'll clear up the more they get to know each other.


So, on the surface of it, Marcy's plan had a lot of moving parts, but the gist of it was that we were going to set off a giant stink bomb. Basically, it's the boys' locker room incident of sixth grade all over again. Remember that, journal? Some guy on the basketball team said that tennis wasn't a real sport, so Sasha got Marcy to formulate the stinkiest stink bomb ever (I can't give away all her secrets, but rotten durian and cat pee were involved). They never did get caught.

Now, to deploy it, we were going to have to sneak into the Barbari-Ant tunnel system, and that was where I was starting to get worried.

Now, bear in mind, since being reunited with Marcy, I had seen her fall off a wall, tumble down a tunnel, and catch fire no less than twice. So, as far as I am aware at this point, she's still the same klutzy Marcy I knew back home. So, understanding that, you can see where I'm coming from if I'm a little bit overprotective. But Marcy didn't see it that way. She thought I was babying her. And well… if I was… you can understand why.

That wasn't the only source of tension. Sprig was 100% convinced that Marcy could stab us in the back at any moment, no matter how much I tried to convince him otherwise.

Where was I? Oh yeah. The mission. We had to fight our way past a bunch of solider ants. I have to admit, the more I see Marcy in action, the more impressed I get. She thinks fast on her feet and is very good at improvising with what's available in the environment, but she still has that thing where she gets so hyper-focused she doesn't notice things. There was one point I had to save her from a rock falling on her, and she said she was aware of it and was about to move out of the way, but I'm not entirely convinced she was. Although… I have to admit, looking back, she was doing a lot better than expected…

OK, so, back to the mission… we had set the stink bombs up, and it looked like mission accomplished… but that old Plantar luck kicked in and Sprig managed to get himself gobbled up by the Queen Barbari-Ant.

Marcy explained that the ants digest their prey very slowly, so there was still hope for Sprig if someone went in after him and made the Queen puke him up. Naturally, I was willing no matter how gross it was gonna be, but Marcy insisted that she was the only one who could do it.

And she was right. I barely know anything about regular bugs, let alone giant bugs from another dimension, but she's been studying creatures like this since she got there. If anyone knew how to make a giant ant puke, it would be her. But knowing something and wanting to admit t are two very different things, and I didn't want to admit it. Because, what if she was wrong? What if she couldn't do it, and I lost her and Sprig at the same time? But then I realized that I was going to lose Marcy anyway if she thought I didn't have any faith in her. If I was going to keep her, I needed to let go of my worries and believe in her to be able to handle it alone. And… it was hard. The hardest thing, really… but I knew I had to if I wanted our friendship to grow.

And so I watched, helplessly, as she launched herself into the Queen's gullet, and… well, I wasn't sure exactly how to pray, I hadn't really done it for a while, but I certainly tried to.

So when the Queen threw up I found myself letting out a breath I didn't even know I was holding when I saw Marcy and Sprig safe and sound.

Just then Marcy's stink bombs went off, releasing a dense cloud of… jasmine and honeysuckle? Yeah, turns out it's only a stink bomb where ants are concerned. Humans and frogs find the stuff pretty pleasant-smelling. Of course it was still super-toxic so we had to get out of there pretty fast. On the upside, Sprig trusts Marcy with his life now! It's amazing how being saved from slow, painful digestion will change your attitude. Nice to see everyone getting along now…


So, with the ants driven away, Newtopia was open again. And I have to say, as impressive as it looked from the outside, it was even more beautiful on the inside. I've never seen a city so… colorful, yet so organic. It almost looked like it was grown rather than built.

So, it turns out Marcy's been living at the castle. Can you believe it? Seems like she really lucked out with where she landed. It's like she wound up in the best possible place for her. Seeing how she's grown and flourished here, it's like Amphibia brought out all her best qualities.

That's the funny thing, isn't it. Thinking back, Amphibia's changed all of us. Actually… I'm not sure "changed" is the right word. It's… refined us.

Take Sasha. Looking back, she was always kinda this manipulative girlboss, but now she's a literal warlord. And Marcy, Marcy was a brainiac, but it's like it's been kicked into overdrive.

And me? Well, ever since we got here, I've become more… well, aware of people. I've always gotten along with people, but it feels like somehow, I've gotten better at making connections. At relating to others. At standing up for others.

It's… something to think about, I guess…

Anyway, all I know is that after that adventure I could use two things: a good meal and a really long nap. Hopefully Marcy knows a good place to eat around here…


A.N.: Back to this story! I wanted to get "Find a Way" at least to the point of the Anne/Polly/Sprig reunion, but I'm kinda waiting until I get my hands on Marcy's Journal to keep going.

Notthenightslayer: I guess we're lucky they never caught up with our heroes. Aso, I wonder whatever happened to Frog Soos…

MarMarFaAnne: I think Matt suggested that Mr. Ponds doesn't have a twin. And you'll see in two chapters! Don't… uh, don't get your hopes up.

Jose: Thanks!

Matt: No worries

Ashley: I feel like the swearing's in character for Sasha…

RJWI: Yep

Ashley again: That would make sense…

Next: Scavenger Hunt