A/N: I've rewritten the chapter (partly) and there's some spoilers for The Core and the King
The Plantars and their companions were setting up camp, taking shelter in a wooded area. Jean was helping Sprig set up the tent, Flossie collected firewood, Anne was busy laying out a blanket and Polly sat on the log, watching them. Hop Pop hums a tune as he cooks them dinner. Turning to the kids, he brings over a covered tray. "Okay, dinner's ready." He announces. The kids let out cheers. "Whoo-hoo!"
"Yeah!"
"Yay!"
"I'm starving!"
The kids sat down, as Hop Pop placed the covered tray on the makeshift table stump. "Hold on to your butts. Bam!" Taking off the lid, he reveals their dinner: a single stick. "Stick surprise!"
Everyone's excited smiles faded, sighing. Sprig turns to his grandfather. "Hop Pop, this isn't food." He states. Hop Pop grins at them. "But I didn't tell you what the surprise is!"
The kids perked up once again.
"Alright there's no surprise." Everyone let out groans of disappointment. Hop Pop sighs. "Sorry, kids. This journeys been longer than expected." He explains. "And we're all out of food."
Polly chuckles, reaching into her bow and taking out a biscuit. "No food, huh? That's what you plebes think." She mumbles to herself, taking a bite of her biscuit before putting it back in her bow. Anne clutches her hair. Noticing her stressed state, Flossie gives her a pat on the back.
"Ugh! This is all my fault. I dragged you guys out here to figure out how to get us home, and now we're all gonna starve to death." She places her head in her hands. Jean, who'd been sitting quietly by herself, gives Anne a sympathetic glance.
The Plantars and Flossie burst into laughter, and the two humans give them confused looks. Sprig turns to Anne with a smile, wiping away the tears of laughter. "We're not gonna starve to death." He explains. "This is our chance to find food the way nature intended…as hunters!"
The brunette scratches her chin, deep in thought. Jean turns to Flossie. "Hey Floss, why don't we go out and harvest? We haven't done anything together since we started this journey." She asks. Flossie grins. Standing up, she strikes a heroic pose as she pulls out a familiar looking dagger. "It is time to live up to the Harveston name! We'll go harvesting for small bugs and plants to eat!" She announces to Hop Pop. Hop Pop nods.
"Alright. But be back before dark." He orders. Jean gives him a thumbs up in understanding. "Okie dokie! Alright, let's go Floss." She chuckles.
The axolotl lets out a cheer, holding up her dagger dangerously as she charges into the woods. The older teen chases after her. "Flossie, put that away before you hurt yourself!"
—
Jean and Flossie walked through the woods. Flossie's arms were full of bugs, while Jean helped carry the plants.
"This is so fun! I… missed our adventures. Just the two of us." Flossie comments, struggling to carry the pile of dead bugs. Jean chuckles. "Yeah, I missed them too. But hey, we also get to have amazing adventures with Anne and the Plantars, am I right?" She says, ruffling up Flossie's messy, curly hair. The axolotl giggles, but her mind wandered elsewhere. "Jean…what are you gonna do when you…you know- find a way home? What will be the first thing you do when you get back?"
Jean pauses. "Hm. I'm not quite sure. I didn't think that far. I'll probably try and find my phone, if it didn't land here in Amphibia, that is. Have a proper shower maybe, and try on every single one of my clothes again." She laughs at her own jokes. "Then maybe see Charlie and tell her I'm okay…"
Who are you kidding? She's probably forgotten all about you. She's probably moved on, even gotten herself a partner.
Flossie glances at the older teen, who was looking at the ground with a frown. Jean shakes her head, turning to the axolotl with a smile. "Anyway! What are you gonna do when you get to Newtopia?" She asks. Flossie grins, relieved. "Oh! I'll definitely see what the city is like, and find my mum! I wanna know what she's like. Is she nice? She has to be nice, right?" She seemed a little more anxious now.
Jean, after placing all the plants carefully into one hand, brings the axolotl into a side hug. "I'm sure she's great, Floss." She reassured. Flossie leans her head on Jean's side.
Catching sight of a nearby bush, she points excitedly to it. "Oh look! There's some more berries!" Many of the bugs she held fell out of her arms, and she hurriedly picked them up. Taking a look at the axolotl struggling, Jean has an idea. "Hey, why don't you head back? I'll get these berries for you." She says.
Flossie chuckles awkwardly. "Yeah, I should probably do that. Thank you Jean! See you back at camp!" With that, the axolotl leaves.
The older teen watches her go, before turning back to the bushes. She plucks the blueberries for a while, placing some in her pockets. "Huh, wonder what these taste like." She wonders, about to put one in her mouth.
Loud screams resounded throughout the woods, causing Jean to drop the food. "Oh no, they're in trouble!" Getting up, she runs toward where they set up camp.
This has gotten interesting.
—
As Jean ran through the forest, she doesn't watch were she's going. She HAS to get to the Plantars and Floss. Barging into another figure, both are sent tumbling to the ground, and Jean rubs her head as she sits up.
"Jean? What happened? What's going on?!" Anne asks frantically, already up on her feet and holding out her hand to help the older teen. Jean gladly takes it. "I don't know! I thought you were with the gang?" She says, confused. Anne holds up her makeshift spear. "I was hunting."
"But if you're here and I'm here, then the Plantars and Floss-" Jean started, feeling panic setting in. They were alone.
The brunette grabs her friends hand. "Let's go!" With that, they both charge back to camp.
When they arrive, they found the camp abandoned. The wind rustled the tent, the cooking pot's fire was still burning, and Polly's bucket was left turned.
"Sprig? Hop Pop?"
"Polly! Floss!"
Bessie chirps, spooked. Anne rushes over to calm her down, while Jean rushes over to the tent to make sure it was really empty. "Hey, hey, hey, girl. Shh. Any sign?" Anne asks, directing the question to Jean. The older teen shook her head, moving over to the snail. "None."
"Bessie, where's the family…"
A shadow passes over the two girls, as something growls menacingly. The two girls look up, gasping at the sight of a monster towering over them, the Plantars and Flossie being held prisoner by its tail. The amphibians scream in terror, struggling to break free.
"It came out of nowhere!" Sprig screams. Flossie bites down on the tail, but hurriedly let go, spitting out bits of dirt and scales. "Bleh! It tastes terrible!"
"Careful, girls. It still might be psychic." Hop Pop warned. "I'm too cute to die!"
Anne and Jean start to run toward the monster. "Guys!" Anne yelled. The monster runs away, taking the screaming amphibians with it. A biscuit falls out of Polly's bow, leaving a trail of crumbs behind.
Anne picks up the biscuit. "Dang it, Polly. Food hoarder." She grumbles. Looking up, she notices the trail of destruction the monster had left behind. She grins. "It left a trail! Super huntress instincts engage! C'mon, Jean!" Anne waved a hand, motioning for the older teen to follow. Hearing no response, she turns to find Jean leaning against the tree, breathing heavily. She clutched her chest, tears threatening to fall.
You failed.
You were too late.
You could've saved them.
This is all your fault.
"Jean? Come on, we can still save them!"
Jean looked up to see Anne standing in front of her, pointing in the direction the monster escaped.
With a deep breathe, she composes herself as best she could. Staying here and crying wasn't going to fix this. She could still save them. "A-alright. Let's go."
Anne grins. "We can totally do this!"
"Yeah, we-we can't do this." Anne mutters, as the two humans stared at the three paths in front of them. The trail of destruction was gone, leaving them with nothing to track the monster and amphibians. The brunette sighs. "The trail's gone completely cold." She says, defeated.
Jean lets out a groan, hiding her face in her hands as she sinks to the ground.
This is all your fault.
If only you'd been there.
You could've protected them.
"Sprig was right. I don't know what I'm doing. If only he were here with me…" Anne ranted to herself. Jean rested her head on her knees, looking down at the ground sadly.
Hearing Anne let out a gasp, the human looked up, finding the younger teen on the ground as she looked up at something, shocked. She hurriedly got to her feet. "Anne! What is it?!" She asks frantically.
Anne points to thin air. "Sprig?! Holy cow, are you dead? Is this your ghost? Jean are you seeing this too?!"
Jean looked up in the direction she was pointing. There was no Sprig there. She turns back to Anne, concerned. "Anne? Are you okay?"
Anne glances to Jean, then back to nothing. "Oh, she can't see you? It's only me? Oh, I get it. I've finally snapped, haven't I?" She asks the supposed nothing. Jean helps the young teen to her feet. "Anne, I think you need to lay down-" she starts, but the younger teen cuts her off. "No time for chit-chat, we need to find the Plantars and Floss."
With that, she moved toward the paths, continuing to talk to herself. Jean was watching her, now starting to freak out. Being in Amphibia must've taken a huge toll on Anne.
Anne bent to the ground and, after a moments hesitation, put dirt in her mouth. She gags, seeming to be arguing with someone, before realising something. Placing more dirt in her mouth, she starts to chew.
Jean walks toward her. "Oh-ho-kay, Anne. You can spit that out now…" she chuckled awkwardly, Anne ignored her, humming in thought.
"Anne, spit out the dirt." She says more sternly. Anne swallows, leaving Jean disgusted. "ANNE!"
Anne gasps loudly, pointing down one of the paths. "Polly's biscuits! Which means it's this way!" She claims, running in that direction.
The older teen was left behind, confused. "Wha-how-"
Not even I understand.
(inspired by Tomotasauce from Youtube. You gotta watch his videos, they're awesome.)
—
Anne runs through the forest, Jean not too far behind. The younger girl attempts to swing from a vine, but ultimately fails, falling to the forest floor. Jean, catching up to her, looks down at her concerned. "You okay?"
Anne held up a shaky thumbs up. "Yep. I'm okay."
—
The two humans climb up a cliff, thankfully not slipping. But as they ran across a log, it caved underneath them, causing them to fall. They scream as they fall into the stream below them.
—
Anne and Jean kneel beside the footprint of the same monster they were chasing. Jean chuckles. "Well dang, I'm impressed Anne."
Anne grins, striking a pose, before she turns to nothing with a scowl. "You really need to stop that." She states.
Even though Jean didn't hear anything, she suddenly felt like there was an emptiness in the air.
"Who ARE you talking to?"
—
Arriving at the monsters lair, the two humans peek through some bushes. They gasp at the sight of many toad skeletons scattered throughout the place. Swaying in the wind, some still had flesh sticking to them. Jean gags. "This has to be the right place."
At that moment, the monster arrives, bringing the Plantars and Flossie with him. Placing them on the ground, he pins the terrified amphibians down with his claws.
"What the heck is that thing anyway?" Anne asks. Jean shakes her head. "No idea." She states.
Scorpileo. Half scorpion, half lion.
"Scorpileo? That's one messed-up horoscope." Anne says out of the blue. Jean gives her a confused glance. Did Anne just read her mind? Even if she did, how did SHE know what it was?
"Okay, we don't have much time. Think. What was step two?" Anne asks herself, hiding in the bushes once again. Jean allowed her to do her own-very concerning-thing. She was going to make sure the younger teen had a nap afterwards.
"Use your environment!" Anne exclaims. "C'mon Jean! Help me!" The older teen looks back to Anne, who was digging. She joins her. "So, what are we doing?" She asks. Anne grins. "Setting a trap!"
The monster growls at the amphibians, towering over them and preparing to feast. Jean starts to dig faster. "Come on! We can do this! We can still save them!"
Once the two were finished, Anne throws leaves over the hole. Jean wipes sweat from her brow. "Alright, what do we do now?"
Anne groans, running toward the bushes. "Okay, just this once. Because I like you guys. A lot. Jean, hide in those bushes." She orders. Jean does so, still confused about the first part of that sentence.
Diving into the bushes, Jean watches Anne and the monster.
The monster growls, licking Polly. The pollywog whimpers, as the Scorpileo raises its tail ready to strike the young frog.
"Hey, furball!"
The monster pauses, turning to the human standing out in the open. With a deep breath, Anne starts to dance. Small, awkward steps, as she tries to get the Scorpileo's attention. The monster ignores her, turning back to its snack. Anne starts to freak out. "It's not working!"
Jean, watching everything unfold, feels panic set in. "Oh no, no, no, no, no! It isn't working!"
Wait…I know this…
Jean looks around, confused. Was that her?
Before she could think more of it, Jean spots Anne making bizarre movements. She's speechless as she watches the brunette. "Whaaaat is she doing?"
…Leif's dance?
Whatever Anne was doing, it had caught the monsters attention. It watches, entranced, as Anne continues her hunting dance. It lets go of the amphibians, approaching the dancing human.
Anne kicks dirt into the monsters eyes, aggravating it. With a growl, it pounces at the human, but Anne bends down as part of her dance. It causes the monster to go head first and fall into the hole that the two humans dug out.
Jean rushed out of the bushes relieved. Shaking, but relieved. "Oh my frog! Anne, you did it!" She yells, shaking Anne out of her dancing trance. Anne looks around. "Wait, I did?"
She looks down at the hole, seeing the monster struggling to escape. "Whoo-hoo! I did it! Danced in your face!"
Jean follows her gaze, realising the monster was almost out. "Uh oh, gotta go!" She yells, grabbing Anne's hand and running away. The Plantars follow her lead.
The frog family and their companions reach the camp by morning. All were complimenting Anne on her hunting dance. "You did it, Anne!"
"That was incredible! I've never seen a sacred hunting dance before, and you nailed it first try!"
"It was the best hunter's dance I've seen!"
Anne was in a daze. "I did, didn't I? I heard the music, Sprig. I felt one with nature. You were right. And so were you, buddy." She says, looking at the air.
Jean chuckles. "O-kay, time for your nap, missy." She states, guiding Anne to the fwagon. Flossie and the Plantars share a confused look. "Who's she talking to?"
—
Making sure Anne was fast asleep and she was completely alone, Jean let out a quiet groan. "This was all my fault. If only I'd gone back with Floss, I could've protected them. Not only that, but I didn't even HELP save them. Anne had done that…"
Letting out a sigh, she rests her forehead on her knees.
"I could've done more…
…
I NEED to do more.
I'll make sure nothing like that happens again. I won't let my guard down this time."
—
Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest, a robotic frog is seen bumping into the same tree several times. Realising what it was doing, it moves around the tree, only to clumsily bump into another.
—
Don't worry, Soul. My time will come….eventually.
—
—
A/N: Sounds like someone's trying to mess with Jean's mental health. Wonder why.
Anyway I might skip Truck Stop Polly because I have no idea what to do with it. Neither Jean OR Flossie could stay with Polly, they'd definitely be noticed missing. And I don't know what they'd do that'd be relevant to the plot lol.
(Ngl I think this is one of the worst chapters I've written lol)
Scorpio+Leo= Scorpileo. I wonder if Sasha is a Scorpio lol, since apparently Anne's a Leo.
