Attack of the Giant Maddie

by birby6

Maddie never wanted to experience something like that day again. When a painful migraine leads to a full on bodily surge, she immediately finds herself back in a stature she desired to forget...but on a grander scale. Now it's a mad scramble to find a cure for her titanic growth before she has to live as a colossal giant forever, but something doesn't seem right...

3. Chapter 3

Grnnnnn…

…

Grrrrrrrrrrnnnnnn…

…

…no…

Not yet…

Soon…

…I'll see it then…

Just…a bit…

…

---

While the few that went after the Spudlies maintained their own agendas centered around Maddie and her needs as someone so massive, that didn't mean anyone else around Wartwood slacked off on the job and did nothing. Mayor Toadstool counted his earnings with Toadie, Chuck watered his tulips…like he always stated, and many others did their best to make sure everything progressed smoothly from their own agendas. This also included Flint and his stay at the local tea shop with Felicia and Ivy, even if he lacked the sight to act on his own. Just because one of his senses went down didn't mean he couldn't perform actions out of his own free will.

…at least not if Felicia had anything to say about it.

From fluffing his pillows to reorganizing the sheets, she did everything in her power to make sure she got noticed on his radar twenty four seven. He stated multiple times that he didn't require such constant luxuries from only one frog, especially since she almost never left his side, but every single time she just brushed the statement off and continued her established duties to acquire his attention. He didn't want to take her deeds for granted, and yet she intended to do so beyond all reason as long as he remained injured across his eyes.

The Sundew family had really skewed priorities at times.

For a spare room that almost never got used by the family in any extensive manner, they knew how to uphold the standards of cleanliness, especially to someone like Felicia. Compared to the other rooms in the building it never contained the widest of spaces, contrary to a majority of the whole place, but it got the job done when it got down to specific essentials. Any worthwhile spare room contained a bed of sorts, and the Sundew household followed the trend as one stood near the back next to one of the windows. Felicia preferred to keep the covers some shade of blue in a kind of "Sundew feng shui" that Ivy didn't fully understand yet, and while she couldn't find any dark types of the color a sky blue sheen fit just as well in her eyes. It didn't extend to the pillows, but she etched in the family's logo in pink on the fronts of the two which took a few days. She almost pricked her fingers a few times once she reached certain edges that made her more alert, and when she finally finished she loved every single woven piece like a young tadpole. Any normal fit frog could lay and sleep in the bed to their heart's content, and to uphold efficiency she even installed a decent sized bathroom below it near one of the room's corners. The door infamous broke down every once and a while, and no matter how pristine or beautiful it ended up, shortly afterward it somehow managed to break down as if fate always laughed at them from the sidelines. Luckily it never got used much so Felicia and Ivy never paid too much attention, but everything else always got placed high on their priority lists. The door to the hallways set on the opposite end of the bathroom, which didn't break down as much as other, and around it across the wall spread some of the most beautiful pink wallpaper anyone in Wartwood ever saw. Felicia even made sure dozens of dotted decals of white flowers spread across like someone intertwined their leaves together to form an everlasting vine that never ended. For such beauty from a room that almost never ended up used in any worthwhile capacity, it almost sounded unheard of, but she made sure there were more to make anyone comfortable. Near the door next to one of the walls set a tall pink dresser with multiple drawers each outfitted with a nob to open each one. It even showed a small fancy vanity kind of mirror on top, and to top it all off a majority of the room contained a long rug in the shape of pink rose plastered across the wooden floor. Felicia claimed she won it in a wrestling competition which many brushed off as a tall tale, although Ivy claimed that it might have had some truth to it. Either way, it made the floor stand out among all of the extra effort Felicia put into the room. In many ways, others considered it a luxury to stay in there…to those that ever came across it. Even though she never brought it out often, when she did it showed the pure standards of the Sundews that brought pride to the family.

Flint the collector sat in the bed while his eyes remained damaged and swollen from the Petoskey Asp earlier. He couldn't do much but lay down and hope the healing process quickened with time. Felicia would have stood by his side with her eyes on him at all times like a crazy predator, but even with that she still maintained duties in the household and had a tea shop to run. After the incident with the snake her abode went through a rush of customers that she couldn't ignore if she tried, so she had no choice but to place Ivy on Flint watch duty until she calmed down the rush downstairs. Even though Ivy didn't quite have the perfect standards in tea preparation and table work yet, she enjoyed the free time when she got down to it, and even though she offered to help her mother with the customers, Felicia insisted she could handle the situation alone. She couldn't argue with that logic, so she tended to Flint's needs even if he never asked for much. If anything she got more excited she would hang around one of the most respected and infamous travelers in all of Amphibia, and since she wanted to travel the world when she aged up a bit the opportunity shined in front of her like pure gold.

While he attempted a couple of times to use the restroom, the fact that one of his senses remained out of order meant it basically became a game of walking in the dark. Combined with the fact that he never went into the spare room before, it spelled disaster from all of the circumstances against him.

"Well…this probably won't end nicely." Flint thought as he slowly stuck his right foot out and tried to place it on the ground. Before he could do so, the main door opened as Ivy walked in with a wooden tray. She made sure to bring in a cup of sweet smelling tea straight from her mother's exotic recipes and a couple of small crackers on a platter, even if Flint missed the chance to see them, but right as she came in the injured frog tried to get out of bed despite his lack of sight.

She lifted her eyebrows a bit at the sight.

"Ummmm, am I interrupting anything?"

Flint instantly stopped and almost froze in place before he turned his head to the source of the voice.

"Oh, uhhhhhhh, nothing! Nothing at all! Just wanted to stretch my limbs a bit! I can't stay in one position forever, you know!"

"Really? Looks like you wanted to get out of bed for something from the looks of things." Ivy replied while she tilted her head lightly. She carefully walked over to him before Flint withdrew and slowly shook his head.

"Okay, okay, you got me there." Flint answered. "I just don't like getting confined to one single bed when I have more business to attend to. I'm pretty sure I promised a certain salamander that I would get him something special…for the right price of course."

"Oof, I know how you feel." Ivy responded while she winced slightly at the thought. "I've had days where I ended up sick and my mom pretty much locked me down in a quarantine. Let me tell you, WORST DAYS EVER."

"From that tone, it must have went down pretty seriously." Flint answered. Ivy cautiously set the tray in front of the injured frog closely so he could detect it without his sight, and she prepared to leave when she noticed his infamous sack against the ground near the bed. Curiosity hit in all of the right spots, and ever since she learned about the traveling trader the contents of his bag stirred up the need to peek inside and see for herself. Even as it laid against the floor, it gave off the impression that it remained flat and never contained any amount of items inside. Of course anyone who came across Flint knew that their eyes provided no deceptions when it appeared bloated in his travels, which brought up so many mysteries that surrounded it. Her eyes never scanned the inside of his bag thoroughly, if at all, and Ivy only heard tall tales and rumors about the insides of his bag for the longest time.

…until now.

She witnessed Flint as he blindly wriggled his fingers through the air until he found the tray and gripped it. Once she saw him carefully take the cup of tea first, she found her chance. She slowly lowered herself to the ground so he couldn't hear her, then cautiously took hold of the bag's lip. For a bag that had went through so many adventures in his travels it sure lacked any sort of dirty or mucky nature. She didn't feel too surprised though since he seemed to care for it to always carry it around with him, so naturally he probably gave it a good wash every now and then. She had her guesses as to what he material he crafted it with, but her priorities told her to pay attention to the main goal ahead. She shuddered at the thought of what she might find, and she couldn't wait any further.

In one swift motion, Ivy flipped the lip open and gazed into the abyss. Her heart sank once she realized a certain fact reared its ugly head and ruined her excitement. Just like everyone had stated beforehand, the sack had absolutely nothing in it even though she knew it contained the contrary when Flint met up with others. Her complete disbelief shattered into shards that wandered into nothingness, and it hurt to think about. No treasure trove for her, just emptiness and the dead ends that it was made of.

"Still wanted to sneak a peek, didn't ya?"

Flint's voice jarred her out of it and perked her back up. One quick turn after and she saw the aforementioned world traveler with his back up and straight. He held the tea cup in his hands while his bulgy injured eyes saw absolutely nothing as he faced forward.

Ivy didn't know what to say at first.

"Oh, uhhhhh, I…I guess maybe a small a little peek or-"

"Heheheh, you don't have to act like that. I get it all the time from the curious ones."

Ivy sluggishly got back to her feet and put her hands into her pockets while she looked down. She shuffled her feet for a second before she addressed him in a less embarrassed manner.

"I…I just don't get it." Ivy said. "Every time you arrive it always comes in completely filled, but no matter who else glances inside, minus you obviously, we never see anything. How does that work?"

Flint weakly chuckled before he took a sip from his cup.

"You learn a lot when you go around this vast world, and with that knowledge-"

"Umm, I'm over here."

Now Flint ended up as the one who perked up more than usual. With his blinded eyes he basically got left in the dark from many details which left him to estimate where certain things set in the world around him. When it came to Ivy at that moment, his head basically faced the wall to his left, which became the total opposite to where Ivy stationed next to him. He hastily corrected himself and turned in the other direction to face her, and even though his eyes gave off dozens of grotesque vibes, it never fazed the young girl as her intrigue in Flint drove her forward at the time.

He continued after.

"Oops, heheheh, sorry about that." Flint said. "Anyways, I've seen so much in my travels and seen so much cultures one could dream about, so likewise I've learned a lot in my time as a trader. From cooking recipes to useless facts, I've experienced it in some capacity. It only takes just one single switch and I learn something new every day. You never know when it might prove useful down the road."

Somehow Ivy couldn't fully believe such statements from the world traveler. If no one else knew how one specific mechanism worked, it seemed natural to ask the one responsible. However, if the answer provided nothing but vague details, it basically begged to get revealed at some point. His sack became full before everyone and empty when glanced into; an enigma nobody understood. Of course she understood that Amphibia had the scientific and magical experts throughout its lands, but if they provided next to nothing as to the happenings behind it then something didn't add up. She didn't want to pester Flint further, but his mysterious bag never left her mind.

Even so, she couldn't leave him hanging on such an explanation unanswered.

"Yeah, I guess you have the expertise on those subjects." Ivy replied. "Geez, I really wish I could head out on my own someday like you. Meeting new species, encountering mysterious monuments, and trekking through thick and thin; I feel bumps all over as I think about it!"

Flint smiled.

"Sounds like you have the spirit of a traveler, and I like that. That's one of the traits required to become one in the first place, and that attitude of yours makes it all worth it in the end. You have a long way to go but I can feel your extravagant start, and maybe someday you might just become as great as me."

His words probably impacted Ivy in more ways than one. Her eyes went wide before she inevitably asked:

"You…you think I have what it takes?"

"Of course! Straight from the expert's mouth, you have a bright future of exploring ahead of you when you eventually get down to it."

She held back the massive urge to scream in delight. She knew she still had some work before she could reliably go throughout the world on her own, but to hear an expert reliably inform her that she contained the potential felt like a fever dream. While Flint never stood out as a major influence compared to Amphibia's leaders and royalty, the ones that knew him enjoyed what he brought to the table and his friendly personality helped form friendships to the ones he passed by, so for someone like Ivy it became a big deal. Her mother required her to understand certain aspects before her dreams turned into reality, and her skills needed refinement here and there, but to hear a minor celebrity complement her on her bright future ahead she never wanted to forget such a moment. His words served as a brilliant jump start for someone like her.

Her mind soared through her extravagant fantasies while Flint finished up his tea and crackers on the side.

"Hey, ummm, do you think you could direct me to the nearest restroom? I can't exactly see in front of me if you couldn't tell."

As much as she hated the fact that she got driven back to reality, because of the situation with Flint she let it slide in an instant.

"Oh, sure. I'll help you out!"

"Thanks kid." Flint answered. Like he attempted before, he proceeded to slowly angle himself to the side which Ivy prepared for and held his hand in assistance. What happened next occurred so quickly that anyone could have blinked and missed it. Despite how careful Flint acted with his actions, because of his incapacitated sight he failed to notice one single factor about the room which Ivy never seemed to take into account as well. In Felicia's haste to make sure everything remained up to snuff for Flint's stay in her humble abode, one part of the polish included the shining floor of the spare room as if it would have made sure it lived up to her standards. Of course it completely blinded her to the fact that Flint lacked the ability to see such cleanliness, and that turned him into the harsh recipient when he determined that she still left some wet spots around. One of the wet puddles just so happened to set right under his feet where he wanted to place them, so right as he put them there he immediately slipped forward. Since Ivy stood before him and at a lower height, when Flint slipped he collapsed right on her and took her for the ride. Felicia's insane desire for cleanliness across the ground sent the two of the forward, which just so happened to lead them toward the bathroom where Flint wanted to go in the first place. The two slipped straight into the room and hit the back wall hard, which simultaneously closed the door from the impact. In any normal circumstance it wouldn't have ended up as a big deal, but Wartwood always had something off in one way or another.

…including innocent appearing bathrooms.

Both Ivy and Flint struggled to get each other off the other, but after they hit their heads it gave them nasty headaches. Once it cleared into a better state they struggled to get each other off the other which resulted in Flint's accidental tumble into the bathtub. While it separated them, it left Flint flailing inside for something to grip on to while Ivy got back on her feet.

She checked up on Flint first while she held her head for the moment.

"Whoa, you okay there Flint?"

"Urrrgh, I'm a bit sore, but I'll live." Flint answered. "I've…dealt with much worse in my travels."

"I'm pretty sure you have." Ivy said. "Well, at least we, uhhhh, got to the bathroom like you wanted, heh!"

She aided the frog by holding her hand out and letting him grab on to it so he could get to his feet. One glance over him and she didn't see any major injuries, which provided a huge relief.

"Yeah, although not in the mode of transport I expected." Flint said. "I'll need you to wait outside while I, you know…"

"Of course, of course, no trouble at all!" Ivy responded before she went up to the door. She thought nothing on it at first, since it only required on simple action, but when she tried to turn it the knob remained stiff. She felt a sense of confusion for the moment while she went at it again, but like before in didn't budge.

"What the…?"

Her frustration slowly rose with each passing attempt, and each time the knob never budged and the door remained shut. One her feelings reached a certain point she even planted her feet against the door and tugged with all of her might like it would actually do something, but in the end she only got a sore back and not the results she desired. Of course Flint detected nothing awry from his broken sight, but when his ears picked up her groaning and mumbling it stuck some red flags in his head.

"Ivy, is everything okay over there?"

"No, just…a minor setback." Ivy answered through the gaps in her teeth. No matter how much she went at it, her efforts stayed futile to the sturdy bathroom door. Eventually, she collapsed and slouched on the floor, but even then she she didn't want to get beaten by a door of all things. She reached up for another attempt, but in her haste her eyes picked up a small paper note near the top of the door. Since a good hop could do the favor for her, she put her legs to work and snatched it up with no sweat. She noticed at first the bright red letters plastered on the slip, and once she read out the whole thing it suddenly made sense as to why she couldn't exit.

"Warning! Door locks from the inside!"

Her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach and remained there. The color in her eyes drained while her limbs went limp, and then all of it came back to her. Because the Sundew family never paid attention to the spare room that often they almost never got around to glance over certain aspects and reliably fix them, which consequently left the bathroom door in a stuck mess. It sounded too absentminded for anyone in the family to think about, especially to neat freaks like Felicia, but Ivy stood as living proof that something always remained off. That note only served as a really bad patch job to the whole problem and both her and Flint served as the horribly terrible outcome of such ignorance.

Even Flint had some color drain from his face once he head the words.

"Ummm, did I just hear…that the bathroom door-"

"Locks from the inside? YEAH, I KNOW!" Ivy interrupted in slight panic. "We kind of got locked in from that maneuver earlier!"

"Hey, hey, I didn't know you made the floor wet back there!" Flint replied.

"I didn't! Blame my mom and her neat freak attitude!" Ivy shouted. She appeared like she could burst a blood vessel at any point, and nobody could blame her. If they found themselves trapped in a bathroom with no exits to speak of, some would probably suffer immense panic like Ivy did. At least the room had air that flowed in from a small vent so suffocation never stood out on their radars, but they had a more pressing matter to solve. They had to find a way out of the claustrophobic space and fast.

Without another moment to lose, Ivy flipped back around toward the door and banged on it as hard as she could while yelling to the heavens above.

"Help! Help! Mom, get me out of here! The door locked! GET ME OUT OF THIS ROOM!"

Flint attempted to walk up and help with the banging, since he too had immense panic built up in him, but with his lack of sight her basically had no idea where everything was stationed. Right as he approached the door the floor won him over again and made him slip straight into the door. As if he needed another blow into the same spot, his head slammed right into it and made him fall backwards onto his back. He saw stars while his head tilted left and right in a dizzied fashion, which left him temporarily incapacitated on the floor in a concussive daze. The lack of sight really did a number on him in more ways than one and came with painful results as if fate had it out for him.

She continued to yell and bang against the door for what seemed like a long time in her eyes, even if in reality she remained stuck with Flint for around five minutes, and she thoroughly expected to end up as fresh remains against the floor before the door opened. However, as if a miracle occurred, something hit a small corner of her hearing.

"Ivy Sundew! What sort of commotion have you made up here?! You better have a good excuse, young lady!"

The young frog's eyes lit up before she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"I'm in here mom! This stupid bathroom with the faulty door!"

She heard her mother mumble to herself as she made her way upstairs. In terms of personality, Felicia maintained a humble and focused demeanor when it came to many topics. From tea samples, tabletop rearrangements, and even napkin folding, she took such activities really seriously but remained level headed. Ivy learned the hard way about how she handled and experienced such methods, and even then she never snapped too hard to make sure her daughter stayed on track. However, if it ever came to such tempers, well, Ivy shivered uncontrollably just from the mention. She only managed to see such a fiery wrath on one certain occasion, and although it remained so long ago that she couldn't remember the reason, she never forgot the expression across her mother's face.

They basically stepped on a Muddled Flatfish while it slept in the dirt.

Ivy never felt as gracious to hear her mother in all of her life. Flint still held his head while he had his back to the ground so he couldn't help much, but her mother could end all of it in one simple action. She backed up just in case while she put her hands to her chin in a thankful manner as the footsteps came in closer and closer. Such anticipation put Ivy in high spirits, and she didn't want it to end anytime soon. Anything to push away her panic stood out as an absolute plus in her book.

Eventually, the noises stopped. From what she heard her mother seemed rather close, and once she saw the heavenly motion she heard a chorus in her head. Never had she ever thought that the sight of her own mother would lift her spirits and stick her mood into the elite positives. On first glance she never got driven to her "colorful" extremes of pure rage like Ivy dreaded, but she also lacked the attributes of someone content with a situation. If anything she appeared a bit upset but not too driven to the absolute worst, which came off as a blessing in disguise for Ivy.

Flint sat on the floor completely clueless to the current status of things while Felicia spoke to her daughter with her hands to her hips.

"Just what sort of trouble did you get yourself into now? I just closed shop early thanks to a customer who got REALLY into the coffee, so you better have a good reason to-"

"DON'T CLOSE THAT-"

Ivy's exclamation came out a bit too late in a rather tragic twist. For whatever reason Ivy had no idea about, Felicia took a few steps into the room while she glared at her daughter and proceeded to close the door behind her. The gate to freedom faded from existence once the young frog head the final slam of wood on wood behind her mother. In a sudden spur of the moment, Ivy reached out to grab the knob and, in the process, accidentally kicked Flint straight into the back wall. He suffered more bruises against his already injured head, but soon after he slumped to the floor and moaned in an exhausting manner. He remained immobile after, and while Ivy or Felicia had no idea if he ended up unconscious or not their current attentions aimed toward a different topic. From one simple action of a single door, he took the brunt of all the unintended punishments while Ivy paid attention to the more pressing matter.

Her entire body slumped down before she uttered the single word.

"…door…"

Felicia didn't buy her actions at first, although she grew rather curious.

"And just what did you drag me up here for?"

"Look at the note…on the door…"

Ivy fell to her knees in complete defeat while her mother cocked an eyebrow and turned around toward the place her daughter indicated. She scanned it thoroughly over before she addressed Ivy.

"Okay, fine, I get that this door still misses essential features, but you shouldn't have made a huge fuss about it. We'll get it finished when we have the time."

"There might never BE another time after what you did!" Ivy responded. The wheels in Felicia's head screeched once the lever pulled, and the gears stirred to life and worked to push the mechanisms up to speed. It required a couple of good rotations until it set into a semi working order, and soon after the large wheels followed. The whole entire structure pulled two large wires together that inched closer and closer until the very tips intertwined and formed into one. Once that happened her mentality reached the comprehension Ivy tried to inform her about until the last critical second, which eventually shrunk her pupils and turned her skin pale. She immediately turned to Ivy who read her instantly who in turn understood her back.

The trees rumbled and shook for a few moments before dozens of disturbed creatures crawled away from Wartwood's outskirts that night.

---

Although Marcy pointed out a few wrong turns that made some roll their eyes, for the most part Maddie remained on track while she fumbled in the dark. Her large legs mowed down anything that came into contact with them, which unfortunately became inevitable ever since she ended up huge in the first place. The others sat comfortably on one of her shoulders, which Maddie didn't mind, while the container of the special Spudley potatoes set in the giant girl's grasp. She couldn't believe the fiasco they went through just to obtain them, all while she still stood as a titan to the ants by her feet, but in the end she didn't become too surprised. So many strange and weird occurrences happened in Amphibia on a daily basis, and Wartwood lingered around near the center whether it wanted to or not. Out of everything she learned from back at the hidden enclosure, the fact that the vast landscapes housed an entire community of living potatoes stood out as something she never expected. From everything she saw back there, they almost completely contrasted with everything she knew around her. However, she never wanted to get into it too much since Marcy insisted on researching basically everything they went over. It made her happy to know she got to go out on a special outing with her friends even if she didn't do it much…especially after growing to immense heights.

Before long, the group could make out the dim lights in many of Wartwood's buildings, which indicated they finally made it back. Maddie smiled and glanced over at the ones on her shoulder who shared equal expressions before she set one of her hands near them to climb on. Like the other times, Anne and Marcy wasted no time to do so while Sprig hesitated a little before he followed close behind. The fact that he had to hang around a giant sized version of the one he broke up with, despite the fact that she stated she didn't mind it that much, always leered at him from behind like a predator that waited to pounce. Until Marcy could concoct a hex that would shrink her back to normal, the unnerving tension made its home in his mind. Even so, he always had Anne with him to provide comfort just in case even if he preferred not to get driven to those lows. Everyone had their own thoughts at the current moment that steered them in different directions.

Once everyone made it into her palm, Maddie used her other hand to grab the container of potatoes and set them on the ground carefully. The others followed soon after as the giant frog girl set her hand to the ground and let them get off. She watched as they did so and made their way over to the container.

"Alright, so what exactly do we have in mind next?" Anne asked. "We got the special potatoes, so…now what?"

"Well, we only solved one part of Maddie's living requirements." Marcy responded. "We still have one more matter to speak of."

"So the potatoes only ended up as ONE part of this whole fiasco?!" Sprig exclaimed. "Does that mean we have to fight in that coliseum again? If so…I call dibs on the shiny helmets."

"No, no, not to that level thankfully." Marcy stated. She turned and glanced up at Maddie's planet sized face who understood what Marcy talked about instantly.

"I still need a place to sleep for the nights until Marcy shrinks me back." Maddie's deep voice boomed overhead. "I can't exactly find a mattress at my current size…if you couldn't tell already."

"Oh, that issue." Sprig answered once the realization hit. "Completely slipped my mind, heheheh…"

"I'm not too surprised." Maddie answered while her mouth went flat. She brought up the second issue in full force, and it became a decent problem. Even though she had nearly endless space to work with for when she needed to sleep, the ones down below would suffer the most consequences without some type of plan. Maddie already caused tons of damage already from her walks back and forth from the Spudley hideaway that potentially lost thousands of plant and animal life in the process. The grim reminder painted a dire picture if she ever continued with such actions, and yet she couldn't avoid it. It thoroughly stumped the group of any easy ways out, as it seemed like no other option became available except if she flattened more ground for herself. Sprig saw her nap on rigid trees earlier in the day, but even he could tell from her body posture that she found it a bit uncomfortable. Nothing else wandered through their minds as a potential option, and the others knew it too well.

Marcy acted and spoke up first while she frowned a little.

"I know it might seem harsh, but…I can't think of any other option. You might have to make room for yourself…even if it might cost a large loss of vegetation, greenery, loss of creatures, water, ground and dirt…"

"Okay Marcy, we get it. She'll have to bulldoze some ground for herself." Anne responded. "As much as I feel really uncomfortable about such an idea, I can't conclude on anything else to potentially get it done."

Maddie tilted her head in slight confusion.

"Uhh, you really want me to destroy the dense life around you? I kind of wanted to stray away from that particular notion as far as possible."

"I know you've tried to maintain such actions to a minimum Maddie." Marcy answered in a disappointed vibe. "I'm really glad you've acted as such for a while now, but we can't see this outcome any other way. You need an open space to call your own when night falls, and…that means you'll have to clear everything out. I'm sorry that it had to come to this, but, uhhhhhh, I'll, ummmm…try to hasten my progress on the antidote! Yeah, that way you won't have to do that for, errrrrrr, long! Positive thoughts, positive thoughts!"

Everyone around her could tell she really attempted to push all the negative vibes out of her head to forceful results. One of her eyes twitched while her hands clumped together like she gripped something if her life depended on it. While it stood out as a first for the frogs, Anne understood how Marcy could lose control of her emotions if the let off them for a second. It didn't happen too often as, for the most part, she controlled herself in an average manner that never stood out in an awkward and weird way, but when she lost it, whether intentional or not, it usually never ended like everyone around her pictured. The most blatant of incidents she remembered happened during a particular movie where four ninjas went on a mission to take out a tyrannical feudal lord, and near the end of it the villain decapitated the one female ninja, implied and off screen to keep the rating down, that tugged on her heart strings so much that she struggled to maintain a straight face for several days on end. Anne and Sasha never heard the end of it until her birthday a couple of days later where she indulged on a vanilla ice cream cake that wiped all of the forced emotions out of her system. Since then she controlled herself better so incidents like that never happened again…although not to the fullest of extents. Clearly the idea on Maddie and her destruction of wildlife tugged at Marcy harder than everyone else even though it didn't seem like that big of a deal, and it took Anne on a nostalgia trip she wanted to forget.

As for the issue about Maddie and the destruction idea, for the young giant frog girl she understood why Marcy acted the way she did. For herself she didn't like it either especially since one wrong move could potentially damage Wartwood nearby. Her size meant she held all of the power to do so, and yet it felt wrong. She already heard some downsides from the others about unintentional parts that potentially meant disaster down below, and yet their ideas went flat everywhere else. She never fancied herself a destroyer of property, but any lack of comfortable sleeping space wouldn't go by nicely for the witch. She also fell flat when it came to other ideas, so if she had to do so…she would go for it.

She closed her eyes and breathed slowly for a moment before she got back to the other by her feet.

"…okay, I'll go for it. Even though I want keep my wreckage to a minimum, if I'm going to stay like this for a few days I need the space. To confirm, you want me to destroy entire acres for this, right?"

"I…I don't see this any other way." Marcy replied. "I'll make sure to accelerate the pace on an antidote to make up for it, okay?"

Even as she replied, she really held back on suppressing her actual emotions underneath. Anne and Sprig attempted some form of comfort as they put an arm on her shoulders, although Sprig barely managed it due to the height difference.

"Easy there Marcy, it's only one incident beyond your control. You'll survive through this."

"We should probably distance ourselves so Maddie doesn't destroy us unintentionally in the process. We, uhhhh, can't have squished frog here, heheheh…" Sprig said after in an attempt to lighten the mood…which didn't work too well.

"Positive thoughts everyone, POSITIVE THOUGHTS!" Marcy stated with one of the most forced smiles she could muster. Any passing moment and the cracks displayed in full across her face.

As the tones shifted for her friend, Anne turned her attention over to Maddie.

"We'll get in a couple of miles away for safety. Since your growth also gave you increased hearing we'll give you the signal to go forth, then maybe Marcy will finally snap out of it."

"Hopefully, as she looks pretty…into her own mind from what I can see." Maddie replied. Anne and Sprig nodded to Maddie in agreement before they took off in the opposite direction with the container of potatoes in tow while Marcy…had her own issues that made the other two drag her along. A pit formed in Maddie's chest once she saw Marcy get dragged away like that while she acted completely out of her normal state of mind. She never saw that particular side of Marcy before and, for the most part, it hurt to see below. She didn't witness it for too long due to her size and the perspective changes that came with it, but it never changed the fact that she wanted to help but couldn't. She lacked the details required to possibly provide some kind of help for her friend, and it left her with nothing. She could only let it run its course while she stayed back for further instructions, and she hoped Marcy would change back for the better.

The giant frog witch stood up to her full size and waited for a few minutes until she heard a familiar voice.

"Okay Maddie, we should stay safe and far in this one spot! You can go crazy with destruction now!"

She dreaded to hear those words at first. All of the possible consequences that arrived with such power hung like dangling keys right in front of her face. Even as a tadpole she learned the basics of safety and respect that molded a portion of her personality into an etiquette that she followed since. Any form of nature that would hurt the ones she cared never had a pin in her to do list and she ignored such thoughts like they went against her kind. To the ones that knew her closely, which became few and far between, she used her hobbies to help people when they needed it even if the concepts never gained widespread attention, never to outright harm unless they really deserved it. To help with her own problem she needed to lay waste to a huge area, or else she won't have a place to call home until Marcy completed the shrinking spell.

She still felt some uneasiness to go forth with the whole thing, so she started off simple and planted her feet firm before she kicked a dozen or so trees to the ground.

Go on… Keep at it…

She flinched at first from the sight, but then she went at it again and kicked some more down.

There you go… You need this… Show them…

Nothing harmful came of it, and she couldn't take her eyes off of the sight. In a way it astonished her to see such potential from a single action of her height, and yet she knew she went through it on her way back and forth from the Spudley expedition. Anything her massive feet came into contact with fell into oblivion immediately, and her eyes stared at the wreckage longer than she wanted. No damages to her feet either, although the bottoms definitely had some muck underneath from the remains of what she destroyed. Even so, she couldn't leave the others far away while she did nothing.

She shuffled her feet next while her eyes stayed glued to what she caused below. Her cautious nature never replied back, so she next raised one of her feet and slowly brought it down on an open space. She heard hundreds of trees get crushed under it and possibly a couple of harmful creatures that suffered the same fate, and yet she felt nothing. She turned it up a notch and really ground anything underneath into the mess she created, which incentivised her to go even deeper. Her foot really dug deep until she created a city sized footprint deep in the mess below. It served as a sign, and she continued along with it.

"This…might not end up that bad…" Maddie thought.

Maddie loosened up a bit more and took a couple of deep steps in the general area, and anything underneath her feet suffered a grim fate. Every few steps she punted a couple of loose trees and harmful creatures clear across the map which freed up more space. She made sure each step dug hard into the ground regardless of anything underneath, and before long she left large divots and footprints everywhere that helped dictate the space she intended to make for herself. Eventually, after a couple of walks around that mushed everything below and made sure nothing survived for some reason, she went full on giant monster and proceeded with powerful stomps to the ground below. She even wiggled her toes a few times in advance before she set waste to anything unlucky enough to get caught in the makeshift guillotine. Clumps of trees, ground, and possibly creature body parts went flying all over as the giant witch placed her judgment to the harshest degree and made sure everything didn't escape her.

Go further… GO FURTHER…!

Maddie slowly eased more into it as more destruction reigned down below. She raised one foot high at first then slammed it down below at a decimating impact and she left no survivors in her wake. After she lost count of how many stomps she inflicted to all of the helpless ants by her feet, she went for something different. After she cautiously looked over to Wartwood to make sure it would never suffer anything extra, the giant frog witch girl smiled in her own creepy way before she collapsed onto her back which let loose one of the loudest and strongest quakes across Amphibia to date. She couldn't blame Anne and the other if they had to cover their ears from such an impact, but more pressing matters set on her current schedule at the moment.

Do it… DO IT!

Maddie's chest pounded as she glanced one final time at the miniature world below her. Soon after she didn't hold back, and rolled her entire body through all of the land unlucky enough that stood in her way. If, by some miracle, something managed to live from her powerful stomps they soon found themselves mowed down from Maddie's huge body. At that point she lost all will to look before she destroyed and immediately went with the punches, which covered her in trees, dirt, and possibly excess parts in the process. It inevitably put her face into the miniature world, but the care left her head a while back. She even visibly chuckled to herself as she bulldozed over any life that couldn't escape her enjoyment. Her interests in the dark arts meant she enjoyed more…colorful sights when it came to spell creation and casting, but in terms of everything else she remained rather tame…and then she grew. A certain realization hit her as she destroyed the world below, and it leaned heavily in one direction.

Yes… Settle… Sink in…

She held back on outright laughing at how much she enjoyed her destruction, but her actions alone told everything. Even so, she grew incredibly tired from yet another maneuver to the detriment of everything that couldn't hold a candle to her colossal height. She set herself on her front and kicked her feet up in the air like any young girl before she slowly waved them in the air. Her active attitude continued while her menacing gaze glared at the world below, which quickly noticed one little straggler that unwarily waltzed into her line of sight. It didn't stand out as anything too spectacular at first. Just another common Mantisroach that loved to prey on any unwitting creatures, especially of the frog kind, clumsily trotted along the wreckage like nothing happened. Never had Maddie thought that an opportunity of that magnitude suddenly made its way before like they handed her the keys to the castle, which incentivised her to act immediately.

Perfect… Keep it like that…

"I won't let you escape so easily."

With one hand on her cheek and elbow to the ground, Maddie raised her other hand and placed it closed to the puny insect which drew its attention to her. She saw it hiss for a moment, but she wouldn't let the action pass further and swiftly planted her index finger right on the creature's body. It screeched and flailed its legs in the air while it attempted to use its mandibles to chomp on her, but the giant frog witch would let it as she pinned the bug down with no trouble at all.

"How does it feel to be on the other end of the spectrum for once? Feel like death is breathing down your neck for once? I want to hear you cry for mercy."

Her creepy smile emerged from underneath once the insect cried out again like music to her ears. All of the power in one simple action and she decided the fate of an inconsequential speck that never stood a chance. Never had such satisfaction flowed through her than the moment she trapped a predator to frogs like her to forced it to beg for its release like a worshiper. For once she didn't care if she somehow grew higher than mountains, as she witnessed one of the major benefits of such a consequence with deadly pleasure. Despite her supposed thirst for death, she still maintained a sliver of sanity left that helped prevent her from a potential rampage, and even with that she still said that she desired to not snatch anyone normal sized and swallow them, even if her anatomy pretty much relied on such a tactic. If she wanted to dispose of something inconsequential under her finger she had other plans.

Finish it… Dispose of the trash…!

Even as the Mantisroach screeched out again, it never fazed the giant girl.

"Aww, you want me to let you go? Such a bold move for the hunter to become the hunted, especially to me. I only used one single digit and I sent you to your knees. Let me do the honors of such nobility…under my terms."

She still watched the bug scream out from under her finger with wicked intrigue, but it became rather tiresome in the process. To finally end the whole thing in one fell swoop, she pressed her finger harder into the creature until she heard some pretty disturbed cracks. The Mantisroach yelled out even louder, and she could feel some type of liquid fall from her tip that she never cared for. She could have ended the insect right there, but the final pieces prevented that kind of situation from progressing further. Instead, the incessant cries made Maddie frown and she finally lifted her large digit off of her victim. However, its freedom only lasted for half a second as the bug's whole body suffered a massive blow as the giant frog girl flicked the critter off into the horizon. Due to her height it amplified the power of such a minor action which careened the Mantisroach clear across Amphibia's skies. Whether it perished on impact from her finger or not, Maddie didn't care about the bug's outcome. It gave her the entertainment she wanted even if it seemed like something incredibly minor to her.

"So insolent…and yet I loved every second of it." Maddie thought.

She would have enjoyed her alone time further if her ears never picked up the sound of some rustling behind her. At first her mind raced for another game to possibly play with another potential victim, but once she set her eyes on the ones that emerged from the bushes those ideas got tossed aside. As if a switch flipped under her head, her grim attitude dispelled and fled once the reminders became apparent. She still had some by her side after all.

One glance around the area she destroyed and the three below seemed to undergo a slight bit of astonishment at first before they addressed her.

"Whoa, you really went to town here." Anne said. "It almost seems like I just stumbled upon the destruction of a giant monster, just like in the movies. Yeesh, good thing we got away when we could."

Sprig kept his mouth shut at first one he set his eyes on the landscape. It really put up dozens and dozens of foreboding signs that painted a picture of what might happen if Maddie ever decided to go at him, even if she claimed it would never happen. From desolate pieces that contained multiple crushed and dead trees to thousands of loose uprooted bushes that lost most, it not all, of their leaves, from his angle she basically ruined an entire habitat from her personal gain, and it haunted Sprig to no end. He swore he witnessed a loose appendage from a large monstrous bug wriggle like it still had life in it from one of the many logs across the mucky swamp land that Maddie laid waste to, and from that alone he never wanted to come back to the particular spot ever again, even if by some miraculous circumstance where everything grew back. It provided too many deadly consequences that bottled Sprig's worry into one blacked out bottle with a wooden cork that displayed a decal of a skull. If at any point she decided to get back at him for something he did in the past that upset her, such a certain break up that never left his head, he could mortally find him in a mangled heap somewhere under the dead plant life and bodies in piles of the giant girl's wreckage.

As for Marcy, after her near breakdown from such a concept of Maddie's destruction, she calmed down a bit even though she still showed signs of distress. While Maddie lacked the ability to notice pristine details up close due to her growth, she imagined that Marcy showed a couple of wrinkles under her eyes and some visible red capillaries in the sclera around her iris from the stress she went through behind the scenes. Even then, she definitely saw the teen as she rubbed her forehead and shook it a couple of times, which probably helped clear up a headache or two. In the brief moments Maddie experienced with Marcy she appeared like one of the perfect friends that shared similar interests, but she never witnessed that particular side of her until then. In many ways she wished to never see it again, and for Marcy she probably felt the same way.

"Yeah, you wrecked the place up in a devastating fashion." Sprig said after. "I'd hate to see how you did it, especially from what I'm, urrrrrrp…seeing."

Her shivered uncontrollably and frowned but didn't take it any further. Maddie already thought of guesses as to his current feelings, but before long she heard Marcy next.

"Okay, I'm…I'm perfectly okay with this." she said. "As long as I keep it together…deep breaths Marcy, deep breaths…"

She took a couple of extra moments to do so and rubbed her forehead some more in the process before she stabilized into a better stature, much to Anne's and Sprig's relief. They couldn't let her feel down any further than she expressed before.

"Phew, it feels really nice to get that out of my system! Anyway, where were we again?"

"Maddie clearing her own personal space, Marcy." Anne answered at a pretty flat tone.

"Oh, right! Almost forgot that!" Marcy responded before she glanced at the cleared area herself. Everyone watched her shiver and shutter for a quick second as her eyes scanned the entire place before she glanced up at Maddie's huge face.

"Well, I can't say you did a bad job. As much as I don't like sights of…certain scenery, you seemed to handle the general scope to your standards."

"I think I got it for the most part." Maddie's deep voice boomed. "I can take care of any excess trees and plants in case it gets uncomfortable. I'm pretty sure I can settle in this general area…even if I've never handled outdoor life, especially as a hulking behemoth."

"Knowing you, I'm sure you'll get through it no problem." Anne answered with a smile and nod. "You want us to place the container of potatoes anywhere?"

Maddie shook her head.

"Nah, I can take care of that."

The three normal sized ones moved out of the way and revealed the container of potatoes behind them. Even after everything they went through it remained completely intact, which didn't surprise her too much especially from their importance to her survival as a froggy titan. Just one small piece and it would fill her up for the whole day, but for now she needed to put them in a spot where she could pay attention to them while she stayed huge. She loomed over the group, which cast a large shadow over them, before she started to reach down to grab it. However, she didn't get that far until a very faint squeak hit her hearing, and one glance down at the group revealed that they heard it too. Maddie attempted to ignore it and try to pick up the container again, but she heard the same squeak quickly after and stopped.

"Hey, did anyone hear that?" Anne asked while she glanced at Sprig.

"What are you looking at me for? I didn't do it, I swear!" Sprig replied while he waved his hands in an innocent manner.

"Ah, so I didn't just imagine it then." Maddie said. "Good to know, but did any of you make that weird squeaking sound?"

"No, definitely not me." Marcy answered. "And from what I'm hearing from you, I'm certain you-"

The squeaks hit their eardrums again, and it perked everyone up more than usual. Their curiosities hit a new high once they heard the noises continue to get uttered from somewhere else. It took a few moments for the comprehensions to kick in, but once those feelings hit they easily pinpointed it over to the container of potatoes they brought back from the Spudlies' habitat. They hesitated at first to check it out, but eventually Anne mustered the courage to check it out. She carefully walked up close and scanned over the top, only to notice nothing outstanding. She went up for a closer look only for the squeaks to sound out directly from the container, and due to its sudden nature it took her aback for a moment and even made her stagger a little.

"Yup, definitely coming from the container here." Anne said with slightly wider eyes than usual. The others watched in silence as Anne recomposed herself and took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. She rubbed her forehead a few times before she got up close to the container as the sounds continued. Before long she barely noticed as it shook mildly, not to an extreme extent, which spooked her a bit more but not enough to deter her away. She took one final listen at the sounds that came out, and after a brief moment of concentration it slowly emerged that some familiarity hit her in certain spots. She only required a few extra seconds until she figured it out, and once she did she proceeded to move a couple of the large potatoes out of the way.

The culprit had its place under one of them and their wide girths.

"Uhhhh, guys, I think we may have picked up a hitchhiker on accident."

There it sat, after Anne pushed the huge potato out of the way, in its small and simple style while its eyes locked with Anne's, which even twinkled in the moonlight as it shined down. Both Anne and Marcy lit up at such a sight, especially from cuteness, even if it didn't move much at first. Of course they lacked the communication skills necessary to determine its true feelings, and from what they saw they could only guess. It didn't stand out too much from its vast community back home. From round green stubby feet, two basic small eyes that tickled Anne and Marcy fancy, and general shape of a certain food it specialized in, it maintained all of the hallmarks standards for such creatures, but its top around the eyes showed some pretty deep dents that possibly touched its brain from such depth. It would have brought Marcy some underlying gross vibes if she never got enamored by its sheer adorableness, and Anne knew it too. If it somehow went into the container on purpose or waddled into it unintentionally, especially from its similar appearance to the special food, it managed to get outside the walls of the enclosure and into the world around it, although from what the group saw earlier the creatures contained the knowledge to do so in the first place.

The small potato creature squeaked to the ones before it while it curled up and shuddered uncontrollably. No language barrier was required to understand its current emotions especially after a trip away from others of its kind, while mirrored over to Anne and the others.

"No way, how can a cutie like that suffer that kind of damage?!" Marcy stated. "Aww, it must feel frightened after such endeavors! I…I think I might cry along with it."

"No need to put us through more mood swings, Marcy." Anne answered. She attempted to get up close and pick it up for some kind of comfort, but the creature loudly squeaked back and shuddered some more. Clearly it didn't appreciate whatever it just went through.

"Easy there little guy, I'm not going to hurt you."

Its shuddering slowed down some, but it still kept its face away from her. She heard some lowly squeaks, which painted some grim pictures, before she tried again. With its sight in the other direction, Anne took her chance and crawled her hands up to it at first, and when she determined the right moment she grasped the Spudley from its sides. The creature when crazy for the moment and uttered many loud squeaks that made some of the others cover their ears from the volume, but not Anne. Its feet kicked and thrashed in the air for some kind of protection which almost hit her at certain points, but eventually she flipped it around to face. It almost hurt as she saw dozens of small tears pour from its eyes, and the others felt it too, but Anne remained adamant like she was the creature's guardian.

"Listen, calm down a bit, okay? I can't help you if you keep crying, so pull yourself together so we can figure this out. Your kind learned to trust us in the end, remember?"

The Spudley's outbursts continued for a little while after, but as time passed it slowly went quieter. It's feet decelerated until they dangled in the air and the tears cleared from its eyes enough so it could see ahead. It's watery gaze stared at Anne while it gave off a couple more low squeaks and calmed into a manageable state. It still showed intense worry, and possibly nervousness, to the others before it, but at least it reached a point where they could properly communicate with it despite the obvious language barriers. Of course they still lacked many pieces of knowledge to properly understand the critters, but they obtained enough to calm one down at least.

Anne probably became the most amazed after the Spudley's sorrow shortened to a minimum.

"Wow, I didn't think that would work. They definitely have shorter temper tantrums than infants then!"

"We still don't know everything about them Anne, so don't put a pin in that just yet." Marcy replied. Both her and Sprig walked up to Anne and the Spudley for a closer look while Maddie loomed over them. The critter lifted its legs and closed its eyes as if it wanted to curl up with its bulbous body, even though its shape made it difficult if not impossible.

"This sure beats those times we tried babysitting for the first time, huh?" Marcy said.

"Don't remind me. I'll never get that one baby's puke out of my head." Anne replied with a grossed out expression. "So…unfortunate."

"You mean with that fan?" Marcy answered as it came to her. "Oh right, NOW I get it."

"Please keep it to yourself." Anne requested before she got back to the Spudley in her grasp. "Sooooo…did you willingly stow yourself away with us or fell into the container on accident?"

The worn down Spudley took a glance at each one of the group before it settled back on Anne. It puffed up a small bit before it let out one quiet squeak and let its feet hang in the air as Anne held it. Soon after it provided combinations of different squeaks in a sequence that basically never struck the group in any way, but they went along with it anyway. Of course now that they actually had a Spudley to work with they could potentially decipher their language down the line, but for not they could only roll with the punches and focus on it later.

The creature went on and on for a couple of minutes before it suddenly stopped, and when it did the others looked at each other nervously for a second. They couldn't leave the Spudley at that though, so Anne tried to get back to it the best that she could.

"Uhhhhh…interesting story!" Anne answered while she put on a cheap and lukewarm smile. "That must have been quite the experience to reach this point! So terrible and, ummmmm, awful!"

"Yeah, uhhhhhh, you took the words right out of me!" Sprig spoke up as if to support the charade. Even Marcy and Maddie played along and expressed similar faces which caused the Spudley to tilt its body for a moment and utter a skewed squeak like a slide whistle. They could take their wild guesses as to how it felt, even if they had no idea if the creature saw through it or not.

Once all of that finished, they still had a pressing issue with it to figure out. Nobody understood how the single living potato escaped without notice, but since it now accompanied them they had to deal with it in some capacity. If it knew how to get back easily it probably would have done so, but because it didn't it gave impressions that it truly remained stuck with them. The group arrived at their habitat after they got knocked out, so they had no idea where to head off to in the first place which limited more of their options. They couldn't just leave it alone either, as its eyes and sounds gave off the adorable appeal of a lost puppy, at least to Anne and Marcy, which kept it it their eyes until they solved the issue. No matter where they tried to steer the situation, they couldn't find an easy way out of it.

Of course Marcy ended up as the one to break the never ending streak. Her eyes opened wider than usual and she slammed a fist into her other hand like an epiphany just occurred.

"Oh my gosh, why didn't I think of this before? It's such a simple answer that completely flew under my nose at first!"

"And what sort of answer have you come up with?" Sprig asked while everyone else listened in. Marcy's smile slowly rose eagerly.

"It should totally bunk in with me!"

Her statement hit their ears like a freight train. It sounded so simple yet complicated at the same time. So many questions popped up in their heads that required answers before they could comprehend such an idea. However, since it came from Marcy, she probably had some details set in stone already.

"How would that solve anything exactly? Don't we have to bring it back and not hold it to ourselves?" Maddie's deep voice boomed.

Marcy remained in high spirits as she explained.

"Okay, so my idea doesn't exactly hit the crux of the issue, but we know next to nothing about the creatures to potentially help bring the Spudley home. Luckily for us though I have the research skills, and if given the time I can crack this case wide open! I can't leave something that adorable to the sidelines, and I've wanted to study them the moment I laid my astounded eyes on their cute bodies! Besides, it gets really BORING in that carriage and I NEED someone to hang out with me while I flip through pages upon pages of unnecessary junk! You have your companions, so I deserve at least one in the process!"

Her visible and apparent excitement nearly made cracks that held its full extent back. She clearly wanted it to happen more than anything like an impatient child at a toy store, and the adults around her cocked eyebrows at the massive teddy bear she pointed at. The underlying moods took her for a ride, which became all too common for her at that point, but at first the others didn't know for sure if it became the best course of action. They already had more than enough at the Plantar household, which included two kinds of snails and an ancient robot with a friendly heart, so another already sounded like it pushed the barrier a bit too hard. A couple times it served as a detriment, like a large tarantula and wormy caterpillar that nearly turned the family into ruined wrecks, but the small potato creature displayed next to no offending traits at surface value. If anything it wanted to stay out of the limelight and zip back home the instant the option became available, so if progress went by smoothly they wouldn't have to keep it for too long. Besides, for a majority of its time it would remain in Marcy's carriage so she could research it, which equaled less room in the house if not any, and they already expressed their distinct interest in their customs and ways of life. Even though Marcy already had somewhat of a companion in a large bird she could call at any time, to have one on a smaller scale didn't seem like such a big deal especially with the creature's current timid nature. It had the potential to become just what she needed during troubled times, like the current times with Maddie's growth, and provided something to hold dire emotions down. While not exactly a pet per say, it would give her a nice companion to look over while the main problem with Maddie persisted under her watchful eye.

The others pretty much never took a single opposing thought seriously.

"I can't help it. You pretty much had me the moment you said that the cutie should stay with us!" Anne stated while her eyes glistened adorably as she stared at the Spudley.

"Woohoo! I won't disappoint any of you with this decision!" Marcy exclaimed and lowly squealed in pure joy like a young teenage girl. She inadvertently squeezed the small potato against her chest from the overwhelming emotions, which caused it to squeak loudly to get their attention. The instant she heard that her actions ceased and she pushed it away from her instantly while she kept the creature in her grasp.

"Oops, sorry there! I didn't mean it!"

The Spudley shook itself off a bit from Marcy's strength and seemed to breathe in and out deeply a couple of times from the long and drawn out squeaks it uttered after. It still shuddered a little, but otherwise it didn't steer too far off into its worried sorrows.

"I saw that coming from a mile away." Sprig stated with a flat expression before he switched gears. "Well, the more the merrier I'd say!"

"Ahem!"

The deep and powerful interruption rang through everyone's ears like a church bell. It took no trouble at all to figure out who stirred their attention, as she literally stood over them and stretched to the skies above. Once their sight steered in her direction they noticed that she didn't exactly appreciate the news to the same extent as everyone else. Her mouth formed a light frown and her visible eye remained half open at a slight angle, which meant only one emotion stood out on top. With one more trouble added to the mix, it came as no surprise for her to think that her own problem would get shoved to the side for something that seemed like a minute point.

"Don't worry Maddie, I didn't forget about you." Marcy said. "I still have you on the top of my priority list."

"Really? Looks like you have a lot on your plate after you've taken in that Spudley." Maddie boomed.

"One single extra won't hold me back from figuring things out with you." Marcy answered. "Trust me, I have everything under control. We're pals, remember?"

"Yes, I know that…" Maddie replied with a small dip in tone. Her irritation faded as something else took its place, which the others understood from a single glance.

"Well, ummmm, we're also in this too you know." Anne said with slight unease in her tone. "Sprig and me don't have the same magic savvy interests like you and Marcy, but we'll help out in any way we can. We'll, ummmm…take over your job at the bakery! Yeah, we can totally do that in your stead until everything gets sorted out!"

"Wait, what?!" Sprig interjected. "When did I suddenly get dragged into this-"

Before he could even start the next word, Anne swiftly turned her head around and leered at him in the most cheesy and serious vibes imaginable. He could feel the tensions in her mind fuel such muscles into a mighty expression that shook him to his very core, and he got the message immediately.

"Okay, okay, I got it! No need to act so dramatic!" Sprig stated while he nervously waved his hands lightly in front of him and slightly sweated under his cap. Even so, it didn't shake up Maddie too hard.

"I…guess you can cover for me until I get cured of this growth. I would have still preferred to handle it, but I suppose my presence can give some intimidating vibes. Just don't slack off and I'm fine with it."

"You got it Maddie." Anne said with an appreciative smile on her face. She then turned her attention back to the others.

"So, we have everything covered so far, right? It's pretty late out and I'm sure a lost around half of my forty winks already."

"Yeah, I think we should…head in for the night." Marcy said with a couple of yawns in between. Her slight drowsiness almost made her drop the Spudley in her hands, which would have happened if the creature didn't squeak to jolt her back awake.

"Whoops, sorry again!" Marcy said with a tepid smile. The Spudley stared at her with half open eyes and squeaked again in some kind of response. Even though everyone lacked the skills required to translate, they didn't think about it too much especially since they still needed to sleep for the night. They definitely handled more than enough for one day, even for someone like Anne and Sprig who basically dealt with troubles daily, and they earned the right for a peaceful slumber.

"You…think you can handle yourself in all of that space for the night? I'm not…quite convinced yet." Sprig asked with a couple of yawns in between.

"Sprig, I can probably handle myself no problem." Maddie answered. "I'll just keep the special potatoes close by just in case."

"That's…nice to hear." Marcy answered while she yawned herself. "We'll check in with you in the morning, okay?"

"Fine by me." Maddie answered. The giant frog girl kept watch as the three, plus Marcy's new potato companion, made their way into the trees out of harm's way, and after a couple of minutes she didn't hear them close by. They still had a way to go to arrive back at Wartwood in one piece, but at least they made room for her finally lay down without personal casualties. She needed sleep herself after all, and she would never forgive herself if she accidentally crushed them.

She let loose her own deep yawn that shook the trees below before she prepared herself and carefully placed herself across her front. While not the most comfortable of places, especially since she destroyed lots of it to make room for herself, it held up well enough so nothing would irk her too much in her sleep. The container of potatoes had their place near her head, and due to the close proximity she actually noticed a certain detail she failed to see at first. For some reason one of the large potatoes had a large chunk of it cut out, but since just one part, no matter what size, of the food filled anyone up instantly she never thought of it as a big deal. If anything Anne or Marcy could have snatched a piece while she went on her destruction spree.

She let her mind wander to help fall asleep, although one particular thought never escaped her head. The moment where Marcy seemed like she ignored the obvious part just to care for something as inconsequential as a Spudley constantly buzzed around her and even provided a slight headache. She stated her priorities soon after and insisted she never forgot in the first place, but part of it felt like she lied in front of her just so she could endlessly place her eyes on something that didn't stand on the same level as an unknown growth. The seriousness and tension behind any unintended calamities from Maddie's titan height possibly carried underestimations for someone who maintained interests in the world around her, and the frog couldn't let it out of her system. In many ways it almost hurt to think about, since she got to understand Marcy to a degree where she called her a friend, and yet she possibly turned her attention over to something she deemed more worthy of her attention than a literal giant girl frog in need of her help to regain her normal size. She could have never cared in the first place and only did so to stab her in the back when she least expected it.

She deserves it… Let her have it…

Right down to her beating-

She hurriedly cast it aside and let her other thoughts do the talking, which eventually put her to sleep in her own wide space.

---

When it came to cheapskates around Wartwood, nobody came close to someone like Mayor Toadstool. The crooked leader seemed to always have some type of money laundering scheme in the back of his mind to possibly swing the masses into his favor, and with his young assistant Toadie they progressed pretty quickly depending on the circumstances. From shoehorned taxes at the last minute to persuasion campaigns that spread his awareness, nothing became off limits when he got his grubby hands on them. He actually thought some plans pretty thoroughly at times, but for the most part they ended up in flames and always backfired right in front of his face. Of course some of the incidents involved the infamous Plantar family, but for the most part he always acted like a Saturday morning cartoon villain that never succeeded in painting himself as a hero of the small town. To anyone that fit the bill of someone that had their schedule as "#1: Count my money, #2: Count my money, #3 Count my money, etc.", they would easily point to Mayor Toadstool as someone who fit the bill perfectly.

One time he even resorted to following a how-to guide he read from a book called "Easy Money", where by the end of it he almost got a severe jail sentence. If he didn't pardon himself because of his status he probably would have served it out in full, and by then he learned a valuable lesson.

Never trust that kind of guide written by the author Robin Banks.

He wore his special nightcap, which displayed a decal of a diamond ring on the front, to bed since he felt pretty peppy when he tucked himself under the covers and even though all around his house he felt massive quakes from Maddie's far off destruction and shifts in her sleep, he remained out cold as he counted the coppers that bounced over the wooden fence. He made extra sure that he got the most out of the luxuries he had, which became next to nothing in Wartwood, and hired expert house builders to create a bedroom fit for a king. Despite his lack of wealth, the hired help made the best out of what they had to create his vision of authority and greed. His bed stood out almost immediately as something that pushed the boundaries, as it came royally sized and could fit next to two and a half frogs under the covers with no problems at all. The brown frames and legs consisted of a few trees from around town, but Mayor Toadstool made sure that they each displayed multiple curls and curves just like all of the high royalty he heard so much about. He played himself up as important from one piece of furniture, but the rest of the room maintained vibes very similar to his visions. He made sure a small drawer set next to the bed on the right that had a clock that displayed "Roman" numerals, even though they went under a different name in Amphibia, while another set to the bed that showed a vase sized lamp with fancy carvings around the surface. He placed a large picture of himself in a regal pose above the frame near the wall early on during the building process, and every time he looked at it the reminders of his authority echoed all around him and made him proud. His bedroom had such a large scope that he even managed to fit in a large flat blue rug near the bottom of the room near the door to help "settle in" like he usually stated about it. A long wooden cabinet stood up near a wall that contained his usual choice of attires, from his typical standard vest to a fluffy red coat he bartered from another local town he never saw again after his initial visit, and he made sure they stood the test of time or else he would have to spend more on "unessential business" and not what his future held. Some personal belongings had their place in a long black chest near the opposite wall that he tended to ignore in many conversations, and when someone brought the topic up he steered the conversation in another direction. For the most part anyone who asked never thought too much after and he intended to keep it that way, which stirred up more question than answers. Even so, even a crooked frog like him required some privacy and for the most part the citizens of Wartwood respected that. While the room contained an average square window near the chest he never got to use it much, especially since he could accidentally tarnish the dark green wallpaper he obtained at a bargain during one of Wartwood's market days. It even glittered at certain points when the light hit at just the right angle, something that got Toadie to stare at it for minutes on end just from the shiny appeal on many occasions. Even so, he appreciated the stylistic choice that livened up his bedroom and helped top off his top notch ambitions he had for a personal bedroom. If everything didn't exemplify himself and his greatness from a single bedroom then if didn't belong to Mayor Toadstool in the first place.

Since the moon shined high in the sky he currently had his head in the clouds while he sawed logs with a smile on his face. Eventually the saw transformed into a chainsaw and it would have continued that way if nature never called his name. The pleasant dreams popped as reality set back in, which he didn't appreciate but understood why. He had dreary and crusty eyes as he grumbled to himself and pushed the covers away. His fluffy slippers stationed right where he always placed them, so he comfortably put them on and slogged over to the door. He accidentally hit his head on the door from his tipsy nature, but he didn't care as he grasped the knob and pushed the door open.

"Just a few doors down and you'll make it. Nothing to worry about." Toadstool thought through his murky state of drowsy mind. He walked at his own pace instead of an immediate beeline, which would have meant something if nature provided the message at any other time, but due to his inattentive carelessness from the night his priorities skewed all over the place.

He recognized the doors that lead to his office down the hall and Toadie's room a short time after. His personal devoted assistant stated he wanted to have his room close to it for efficiency, which Toadstool took on face value and let him have his wish. The door remained halfway open, and he understood why since he sent him out in the first place. Of course he had no idea if he would succeed or not, but because Toadie sometimes went to extreme lengths to get whatever Toadstool wanted he didn't mind it too much. If he ended up with the correct results it would greatly benefit him, but if not it wouldn't become too big of a deal. Toadie insisted he would go for it after all, and Toadstool couldn't reject the face of someone who desired to always keep him on the top of his priority list. Whatever he wanted, Toadie would do whatever it took to make sure he got it even if it would heavily injure him in the process.

He felt some relief when he finally reached the door to the bathroom, which even displayed a little sign on the front that showed himself on the toilet with a big grin on his face. He would have lightly chuckled if his current mood didn't hold him back, so without hesitation he opened the door and headed inside. Once he made sure it ended up locked tight he got down to business.

It didn't take too long.

He yawned deeply as he closed the door behind him.

"I need my shuteye…pronto." Toadstool thought as he walked at a sluggish pace down the hall. The crust in his eyes continuously made him rub them multiple times, and the walk back to his bedroom never flipped his awareness switch at all. Soon enough, he arrived back and grasped the doorknob before he swung it open.

…only to almost hit the ceiling when he saw his assistant behind it.

His soul nearly left his body and left for another world until it realized what it came across and bolted itself back to reality. If nothing else managed to wake Mayor Toadstool out of his sleepy nature, it seemed natural that Toadie would become the only one to fulfill that requirement.

If anyone else stood on the other side of that door they would never hear the end of it.

"Sweet galloping ghost, boy! You better have something worth my time to wake me up at this hour!"

Toadie didn't flinch and maintained his typical attitude toward his supposed boss. Even though it was the middle of the night, he lacked any sort of sign that indicated that he shared the same tired condition that Toadstool had earlier. In fact, his eyes even appeared slightly wider than usual, although Toadstool could have blamed it on his fatigue that made him see things.

"My apologies, sir." Toadie answered. "I just got back from my excursion you told me to do."

"Oh, really?" Toadstool asked. "And the results?"

"Taken care of." Toadie replied with a nod. Soon after his statement he made the reveal quick and showed off the objects in his hands. Toadstool's eyes lit up like a lantern and they practically shined a divine light for such a money hungry toad. He had his doubts at first that he might not actually pull it off, but the dedication under his assistant's skin hardened stronger than diamond. He made it clear that he would go for ANYTHING to make sure Toadstool got what he wanted, even through thick and thin.

While he felt some disappointment about the quantity Toadie obtained, if he heard the rumors correctly it wouldn't matter.

"So you actually managed to snatch some of those special potatoes from under their noses? Call me impressed!" Toadstool said with a small smile.

"Well, not exactly to that degree sir." Toadie answered. "I managed to convince that other human to hand me a couple of slices, which she complied with…to these sizes."

Once Toadstool got a closer look at the slices he understood what Toadie meant. While the appearances of them seemed totally fine, they maintained around the size of a slice of bread than anything else. It would have ended up as a big deal to him if he never heard the tales about them, especially the one where they filled you up instantly no matter how much you ingested. Just one single nibble and he basically ate a full course meal for the day, so as long as one single piece remained he could live off of them until he had none left.

Of course he also had other plans in store just in case.

"Well, you did good Toadie in the end." Toadstool said. "We might finally get something out of them in the future, but for now I don't want anyone knowing about these. Put them in the storage out back for safety, okay?"

"You got it sir!" Toadie answered while he perked up with a smile. He hastily made his way out of the room while Toadstool, now fully awake from the scare his assistant provided, walked near his bed. He noticed the window wide open which Toadie probably came in from and tightly shut it to keep the wind out. As long as he counted the coppers as they fell into his wallet he should find himself asleep pretty quickly.

"I shouldn't have any more problems now." Toadstool thought as he got back under the covers. He made his pillow nice and fluffy before he deeply sighed to himself and prepared for a nice long…

…

…

…

His whole house immediately shook a few moments later.

Mayor Toadstool quickly found himself airborne before he smacked right into his comfortable mattress. His face hit the fluffiness hard but suffered no injuries, and once he picked himself up he wouldn't take as if he reacted in retaliation.

"What in tarnation?!" Toadstool exclaimed. He only managed to get a few motions in before another loud quake sent in into the air again. He hit his mattress for a second time, and by then he wanted it to end immediately.

His mind scrambled for answers, but it didn't take long before he settled on the obvious.

"Geez boy, what have you got going back there?! I didn't aggressively lock the storage back there!"

One more quake across the ground knocked him out of the bed and onto the wooden floor, but because he hit his bed first on the way down he suffered next to no injuries. He got up on his feet with one of the most deepest of scowls he ever expressed, and immediately he made his way over to the door right as another deafening boom sent him into the air again. He hit his face on the door but only managed to muster up some low grumbles before he got back up and headed into the hallway. He wanted to let off some steam from Toadie's actions and get back to bed soon after.

He arrived into the hallway before more quakes shook up the place and nearly made some pictures collapse off of the walls. From walls, floors, to even the ceiling at times Mayor Toadstool hit nearly every single corner and took multiple bruises across his body. While it hurt, it wouldn't compare to what he had planned for Toadie once he got his grubby mitts on him. He expected the loud and damaging quakes to continue further, but contrary to what he thought, as soon as the whole thing started it suddenly ceased. After all of the blows he took his legs shook and wobbled and almost seemed on the brink of complete muscle failure, but even that wouldn't stop Mayor Toadstool and his dedication to berate his assistant for poor management of such a simple task. Toadie was going to get it whether he wanted to or not.

His head gained many tons from all of that shakes and once he found the front door to his establishment he knew he endured the worst of it. However, right before he could turn the doorknob and march over to the back of the house, he picked up one loud distinct noise. He found it hard to describe at first, possibly due to his tired and frustrated feelings at the time, but it struck a chord in him that hit a certain wave of nostalgia he couldn't put his finger on. To an extent it worried him some, but for the most part he tossed most of his brainstorming aside. Whether by large quakes, indescribable noises, or some other factor it wouldn't stop him from an intense talking to with his young assistant.

Without any more hesitations, Mayor Toadstool burst through the doors and into the outside…while in his pajamas no less. Like he expected, the rest of the town remained fast asleep and not a single window illuminated overhead, which left only him as the sole one awake. Because of the certain ecosystem Wartwood stationed in it left next to no sources of light other than the occasional giant predatory fireflies that everyone always prepared for before they went to bed, so he went in completely blind at first until he found it troublesome and walked back inside for a small lantern. After the quick trip he mustered himself back up and stormed back outside to figure out what sort of trouble Toadie got himself into that banged him up before he could fall back asleep.

He knew the outskirts of his home perfectly, so Toadstool took next to no time at all until he figured out where the entrance to the underground storage unit was situated. Immediately he began to shout.

"Alright Toadie, what in blazes have you got yourself into to absolutely shake up my slumber and nearly…?! Huh?"

He fidgeted around with his lantern as he shined it around the general area behind the house. He saw the doors to the underground storage, in typical old styled cellar fashion, all tidy and pristine like he always desired, along with some sufficient worn radiators he usually turned on during cold seasons, before hibernation periods obviously, but one thing went missing in the whole picture. He knew he told Toadie to lock the special potatoes up tightly, and yet not a single trace of him remained in the area. Already it aroused some suspicion in the old toad, but what made it even stranger was that Toadie always strived to carry out any duty he directed to him. Even when his skills didn't perform up to the task, he always made sure to report back like any good assistant did, and yet he disappeared off the map without his knowledge. It didn't add up to the nature he always knew about him.

"I swear Toadie that if you're trying to play a joke on me…" Mayor Toadstool thought. His first instinct wound up as a thorough inspection of the underground storage, which seemed reasonable since he could have ended up stuck down there to some extent. He prepared to unlock the doors when his foot stepped into something right before it. He shined his lantern over it and discovered a clear sticky kind of liquid that made his hairs stick on end…if toads had any. Something about it stirred him the wrong way, and yet it almost felt like…

His thought process got interrupted by one of the most disturbing noises behind him. His heart rate accelerated and paralyzed him stiff for a quick moment, but eventually he knew he had to turn around. He got around half a turn and barely managed to catch a glimpse…

Mayor Toadstool's existence fell off the map.