Episode Four: Boonchuy
Ash snuggled into her pillow, enjoying the sleep she so desperately needed. She felt her pillow move slightly, which was weird, since it was a pillow. She then opened her eyes and found her pillow wearing an oversized t-shirt, tan skin, and Marcy's face. Oh Frog, thought Ash. "Ai caramba!" exclaimed Ash as she shot up, scooting away from Marcy. "Hey," said Marcy, "It's okay!" Ash blushed like crazy. "I didn't really mind," said Marcy with a smile. Ash stayed silent, remembering the drama from the night before. "Ash," said Marcy, "Before we go to find Anne today, we have to find Sasha again!" "Why?" asked Ash, "She'll be fine on her own." "There's a wanted poster, Ash!" exclaimed Marcy. "Sasha's tough," said Ash, "Her and Grime can handle themselves." "What if you're wrong?" asked Marcy. "They'll be brought back to the palace," said Ash, picking up the poster, "It says 'alive' on here. She won't be killed." "Okay," relented Marcy. "Let's just focus on one friend at a time," said Ash, "And the one we're focused on is Anne." "Right," said Marcy. "Now," said Ash, "The final round is at eight, which means we have about- ¡SANTA RANA SON LAS DOS DE LA TARDE!?" "Yeah…" Marcy said, rubbing the back of her neck, "You looked so peaceful though!" "I won't scold you for letting me sleep," said Ash, "But we only have six hours to travel the road from here to Wartwood, looking for Anne." "Lucky for us," said Marcy, "I jotted down all the major stops in between here and Wartwood! Here!" Marcy thrust the list into Ash's hands. "Okay," said Ash, striking a heroic pose, "Now let's go!" "Are we gonna get dressed first or…"
Joe Sparrow carried the pair of humans over the road they needed to follow. "Where do you think Anne would be by now?" asked Marcy. "Not too far from Wartwood," replied Ash, "The barrier just melted, so they should be about to Bittyburg. "That's pretty far," said Marcy, "We might not have enough time." "Then Joe Sparrow's gonna have to fly faster than he ever has," said Ash, "You think you can, Joe?" Joe Sparrow chirped happily in response, speeding up his flight pattern. "So," said Marcy, "We have a while until we reach Bittyburg, so whaddya wanna do until then?" "What is there to do on a giant bird?" asked Ash. "Well," said Marcy, "I brought my flipwart board. You think you can beat me?" "Absolutely," said Ash. She smirked at Marcy as she set up the board. A rainbow flash went through Ash's eyes for a brief second, not even long enough for Marcy to notice.
On a carriage being pulled by a purple snail, a Thai girl was scrolling through her pictures on her phone. She then found a picture of the crumbling Toad Tower. "Huh," said the girl, "I don't remember taking this picture of Toad Tower." A small magenta pollywog jumped on her orange grandpa frog's head and pulled back his eyelids. "Oh, that was me," she said, "Wanted a little reminder of how we messed those toads up!" The old frog smiled. "Heh, sure did!" he said happily. A small pink frog jumped on the back of the snail with his fiddle. "You know," he said, "I've actually been working on a song based on the battle." "Ooh!" said the old frog, "Am I in it?" "Maybe," teased the pink frog. He was about to start playing his fiddle, but a bird in gold armor landing in front of them on the road interrupted this process. The old frog gasped and pulled on the snail's reins. "Anne Boonchuy," said a voice from behind the bird. "AH!" screamed the pink frog, "THE BIRD CAN TALK!" "AND IT KNOWS ANNE'S NAME!" added the pollywog. "What?" asked the voice, "No. It's Marcy Wu. I'm Anne's friend." "MARCY!?" exclaimed the Thai girl. "ANNE!" screamed Marcy, running to her friend and hugging her. "SaY wHaT!?" gasped the old frog. "Marcy, this is Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop!" announced Anne. "Oh," said Marcy, "This is Ashla!" Ash then fell off of Joe Sparrow and landed face down on the road. "Ow," she groaned, "¡Estoy bien!" Anne looked at Marcy with a confused expression. "She came here a few days ago," said Marcy, "She saw a bunch of missing posters for you, me, and Sasha all around town! And now she has no idea how she got here!" "That's a lot," said Anne. "Yeah," replied Marcy, "Oh! We have a music competition to get back to! Do you guys need a ride?" "I'm sure Bessie can find her way home from here," said Hop Pop, "So I guess we should go." "Great!" said Marcy, "Hop on guys! No pun intended." "Ugh," groaned Ash, "More flying?" "Yeah," replied Marcy, "Sorry girl. You can sleep on the way back if you want. You don't have to play flipwart this time." "Thanks Mar Mar," said Ash. Marcy noticed a look on Anne's face that just screamed jealousy. "Hey," said Marcy, "She may be a new friend of mine, but she'll never replace you." "Okay Marcy," said Anne with a smile, "I just got you back though, please don't let me lose you again." "I won't," said Marcy, "I promise, but I have to take care of Ash. She may look rough on the outside, but she's really just scared…" "I understand," said Anne. "Anne," said Sprig, "Do you really trust her?" "Of course," said Anne, "She's not like Sasha." "Now let's go," said Marcy, "Ash and I have a music competition to get back to!"
Distorted circus music started playing, which slowly turned into trumpets and ax bugs playing an upbeat song.
Panic! At The Disco - The Greatest Show (from The Greatest Showman: Reimagined) [Official Audio]
Crowd: Woah~!
Ash: Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for.
Crowd: Woah~!
Marcy: You've been searching in the dark, your sweat soaking through the floor.
Crowd: Woah~!
Ash and Marcy: And buried in your bones, there's an ache that you can't ignore… taking your breath, stealing your mind, and all that was real is left behind-
Ash: Don't fight it, it's coming for you, running at ya-
Marcy: It's only this moment, don't care what comes after
Ash: Your fever dream, can't you see it getting closer?
Marcy: Just surrender 'cause you feel the feeling taking over!
Ash and Marcy: It's fire, it's freedom, it's flooding open! It's the preacher in the pulpit and your blind devotion! There's something breaking at the brick of every wall, it's holding all that you know…
Ash: So tell me, do you wanna go?!
Ash and Marcy: Where it's covered in all the colored lights! Where the runaways are running the night! Impossible comes true, it's taking over you! Oh! This is the greatest show!
Marcy: We light it up, we won't come down!
Ash: And the sun can't stop us now!
Ash and Marcy: Watching it come true, it's taking over you! Oh! This is the greatest show!
Crowd: Woah~!
Ash: Colossal we come, these renegades in the ring!
Crowd: Woah~!
Marcy: Where the lost get found and we crown 'em the circus kings
Ash and Marcy: Don't fight it, it's coming for you, running at ya! It's only this moment, don't care what comes after!
Ash: It's blinding, outshining anything that you know!
Marcy: Just surrender 'cause you're caomin' and you wanna go!
Ash and Marcy: Where it's covered in all the colored lights! Where the runaways are running the night! Impossible comes true, intoxicating you! Oh! This is the greatest show!
Marcy: We light it up, we won't come down!
Ash: And the sun can't stop us now!
Ash and Marcy: Watching it come true, it's taking over you! Oh! This is the greatest show!
Ash: Where it's covered in all the colored lights!
Marcy: Where the runaways are running the night!
Ash and Marcy: Impossible comes true, It's taking over you! Oh! This is the greatest show! We light it up, we won't come down-
Ash: And the walls can't stop us now!
Ash and Marcy: Watching it come true, it's taking over you! Oh! This is the greatest show!
Ash: This is the greatest show~!
Marcy: Oh! This is the greatest show!
Ash and Marcy: Oh! This is the greatest show! Oh! This is the greatest show! Oh! This is the greatest show!
The crowd erupted with cheering and clapping. "I think we have our winners!" exclaimed the judge.
Ash smiled at the trophy that sat on the shelf in hers and Marcy's room. "I think it looks good," said Ash. Marcy then walked into the room. "Anne and the Plantars are staying at a five star hotel," said Marcy, "So I don't have to worry about cramming anyone else into this tiny bedroom." "Great," said Ash, "Hey, you did good tonight." "So did you," replied Marcy. The two sat in awkward silence, having no idea what to talk about. "Hey, here's an idea," said Ash, "Why don't we go join Anne and the Plantars in their hotel?" "Welp," said Marcy, "We got nothing better to do. Let's go!"
Anne laid on her back on her bed, her head wrapped in a towel. Sprig was arguing with Hop Pop on whether or not to go out to the city and spend a bunch of money with their royal credit card. "How's my froggy family!?" exclaimed Marcy, kicking open the door. "Tired!" groaned Anne. "Just go away," Polly exclaimed. "Para el registro, I didn't think she would enter like that," said Ash, "Especially after she got the wrong door twice." "Say," said Hop Pop, "If you two are gonna be rowdy at this hour, why don't you take Sprig out into the hotel to explore?" "I guess it couldn't hurt," said Ash, "Also, I found a bellhop in the hallway." She reached out into the hallway and grabbed the Plantars' bags. "I got your bags from her," finished Ash, "You're welcome." "Okay thank you let's go!" exclaimed Sprig. He then pulled the two humans out of the room and into the hotel.
"Okay," said Sprig, "I got a whole plan on how to spend this night." "Lay it on me, little dude," said Marcy. "I was thinking go get some ant-cream, a fancy hat, maybe get a new hairstyle, some buggacinos, and finally, go to the ferris wheel!" exclaimed Sprig. "You really think you need a buggacino?" asked Ash, "Those things have so much caffeine, you'd have so much energy that you'd practically become the time lord!" "Exactly," said Sprig, "But I'm rich so deal with it!" Sprig then ran around the hotel, forcing Marcy and Ash to chase him. "¿¡Por qué esta pequeña rana es tan rápida!?" asked Ash. "Maybe he already had a buggacino?" replied Marcy. Sprig ran to an ant-cream stand. "One ant-cream sundae please!" demanded Sprig, slapping the royal credit card on the counter. The cashier rang him up and sat him at a table. Marcy and Ash walked up to him just as the server brought out the giant sundae. "This isn't gonna end well," said Ash. "Would you like a napkin, sir?" asked the server. "What do I look like, a slob?" asked Sprig, planting his face in the sundae.
Sprig smiled as he tried on a bunch of fancy hats. "I know what he's doing," said Ash. "And what is that?" asked Marcy. "He's not gonna buy a hat," replied Ash, "He's just gonna try them all on, get the salesman's hopes up, and then leave." "Sounds like Sprig," said Marcy. "Hey Ash," said Sprig, "You wanna come try on a hat with me?" "I'll pass," said Ash, "But I'm sure Marcy would." Sprig frowned. "Maybe just one," said Marcy.
Ash watched as Sprig and Marcy tried on their fifteenth matching hat and smiled. Who'd've thought? thought Ash, Ashla Moltono, a normal human girl, made Sprig Plantar like and trust Marcy Wu. This is too much. "Would you like to buy those ones?" asked the salesman. Sprig and Marcy gave each other knowing looks. "Nah," they said in unison, running out of the shop, leaving Ash, the salesman, and a pile of hats behind. "Sé…" sighed Ash, "I'll help you clean up."
Ash groaned as she walked out of the hat shop, seeing Marcy and Sprig both with stupid hairdos. "And now to put on my hat," said Sprig, walking out of the shop. Ash saw the hairstylist burst into tears. Marcy obliviously pulled up her hood, which only made the hairstylist cry more. Ash winced and walked over to them. "Where have you been?" asked Marcy. "Cleaning up your mess in the hat shop," replied Ash. "Oooh," said Sprig, "Sorry about that." "It's cool," Ash told him, "It was worth it to see you getting along with Marcy. I can tell it means everything to Anne to see her friends from both this world and her home getting along with each other- especially after Sasha." "What do you know about Sasha?" asked Sprig. "We found her in the woods about a day after Toad Tower," replied Marcy, "I stood up to her- with a little help." Marcy smiled at Ash. "It was really nothing," said Ash, blushing slightly, "Now how about those buggacinos?" The trio walked up to the place, all feeling pretty acquainted with each other at this point. Ash and Marcy each ordered one buggacino apiece. Sprig walked up to the counter. "Five please," he said. "Are you sure?" asked the server, "They're really strong." "Five I say!" demanded Sprig. The server shrugged and slid five cups on the counter. Sprig used his tongue to drink all five at once. "Disgusting," said Sprig, spitting out the cups, "Ha. And she said they were strong. I don't feel a thing." "Uh oh," said Ash, "Aquí está la parte en la que actuamos como si no lo conociéramos." Sprig's eyes got super dilated. A fly flew by Sprig's face, which slowed down a lot. Sprig ran to the fountain and touched the water, watching it fly down into the fountain. "I am the time lord now," he said in a deep voice. Sprig put his arms out and fell off the fountain, his mouth watering and his eyes dilating and undilating like crazy. "I'll have what he's having," said a newt in a fancy outfit to a server. Ash and Marcy quickly ran over to Sprig and picked him up, dragging him away.
"And now for the ferris wheel!" said Sprig. "You sure you're okay little dude?" asked Marcy. "Never better," replied Sprig. "For the record," said Ash, "I hated them. I'm more about energy drinks." "Let's just go already!" exclaimed Sprig, running over to the wheel. "We've been running around all night!" groaned Ash. "Maybe if you would've drank the buggacino, you'd have more energy," said Marcy, "Now come on. I hear the view from the top of the ferris wheel is beautiful!" Marcy then dragged the tired Ash to the ferris wheel. She, Sprig, and Ash then got in a carriage and headed for the top. When they got there, they saw the sunrise on the mountainside. "Woah," gasped Marcy, "Isn't it beautiful!?" "Yeah," said Ash, slightly glancing at Marcy, "Realmente es." Marcy leaned over the edge to look closer. Marcy then lost her grip on the rail and fell out. "Marcy!" screamed Ash and Sprig in unison. Everything then slowed down, all time seeming to stop. A flash of green ran through Ash's eyes. Her hair then glowed green, her eyes doing the same. She jumped out of the carriage after Marcy, leaving a surprised Sprig behind. "What's going on!?" exclaimed Sprig, seeing all time stopped, except for Ash, "I really am the time lord now." Ash flew down towards Marcy even faster, grabbing her midair and landing on the ground safely, all time starting up again. Marcy looked up at Ash, who was still powered up. "Ash!?" she exclaimed. Ash's expression then faded, her eyes closing. She dropped Marcy and reverted back to normal, falling on her back. "Ash!" exclaimed Marcy, noticing that she still had green streaks in her dirty blonde hair. Marcy crouched down and found that she was unconscious. "Is she okay!?" stressed Sprig, who had jumped out of the carriage and into the pond below. "I think she's just drained," said Marcy, "Let's get her back to the room."
Sprig opened the door to the hotel room, allowing Marcy, who was carrying Ash, to enter the room before him. She placed Ash on one of the beds and went to grab a rag. She ran warm water over it and laid it on Ash's forehead. Anne's alarm went off, waking up the whole family. She looked beside her and found Marcy tending to Ash. "What happened?!" she stressed. "She saved my life," said Marcy, "She- she's not normal."
