Sorry that I took so long because I couldn't figured out what part of the story that I can come up with, but luckily when my partner, FlamingChainsaw helped me to solve my problems and that's when he offered me his best suggestions. Thank you for your patience and enjoy reading!
Marcy and the Frogs
Chapter 13: Girl's Day Out
During that day, Marcy, Sprig, and Polly are doing their chores on the farm during a hot day, while Hop Pop sits back and watches them comfortably. Their task is to pull some weeds out in order to get their farm straight. Marcy doesn't mind pulling weeds because she knows how it's important to keep this area clean as long as she doesn't get over heated.
Sprig tried his best to keep up, but doesn't like the fact when there were too many weeds. He wanted to get this over with and have some fun rather doing his chores. Then he noticed that there some cowapillars grazing the grass and then his mind pops up, thinking that he had an idea.
"Hop Pop, great idea! What if we trained the cowapillars to eat these weeds? Then we wouldn't have t-"
"Hup, bup, bup." Hop Pop cut off Sprig's word before thumbing over to the barrel. "Suggestion barrel's over there."
They turn their heads at the barrel right by next to their house. Hop Pop is the one that set up the barrel for suggestions.
"Suggestion 89..."
"Hold on, do you think he actually reads these?" Marcy asked.
"Doubt it. I suggested a swimming pool months ago and that never happened." replied Polly.
"Oh, come on, guys. Have a little more faith in Hop Pop." said Sprig when writing his suggestions on a piece of paper. He walked over to the barrel and slide it inside, but his hand got stuck by accident. "Oop...(chuckled nervously.) Hand's stuck."
Then suddenly, Marcy and Polly started to sniff that something's coming out from the barrel.
"Hey, do you smell that?" Marcy asked.
"Something's burning." Polly added.
"Huh?" Sprig pulls his hand out until he reacts horrified. "What the..."
It turns out from what's inside when there was a fire engulfing his suggestions. Sprig couldn't believe how stoop his grandfather is, or as he thought. Marcy and Polly looked surprised that there was a fire inside of the barrel.
"Huh? A fire pit? That's the opposite of a swimming pool." said Polly.
"Why, Hop Pop? Why?" Sprig exclaims.
"Because your suggestions were ridiculous. You can't just dig swimming pools anywhere. It attracts pests. Running a farm ain't easy, kids." replied Hop Pop.
"Maybe. But if I were in charge, I'd listen to other people's suggestions, not burn them." Sprig gives him a glare.
"You? Run the farm? Ha! Run it into the ground, maybe." Hop Pop retorts.
"Oh!"
"Whoa!"
They are watching Sprig and Hop Pop's arguing, but the tadpole realize that it's started to happen.
"Is that an official challenge?" Polly asked.
Marcy was all confused at first while watching the two of them panting and warble. Then Polly knew that it is time to fight.
"Sprig Plantar, you have rung the Plantar Family Challenge bell! What is your challenge?" Polly asked.
"I want to replace Hop Pop and run the farm my way." Sprig answered.
"Hop Pop?"
"I do formally accept this challenge." replied Hop Pop.
"Well, it can't be that bad. Right?" Marcy asked curious about the challenge.
Then few minutes later, Sprig and Hop Pop went to the forest where the pad is in the middle of the mud puddle, then they remove their clothes, but with loin cloth around their waist while putting some mud on. Polly is holding the bell, but Marcy looked a bit dumbstruck at them, feeling uncomfortable.
"Okay, I'm lost. What the heck is going on here?!" Marcy exclaims.
"The Plantar Family Challenge." Hop Pop answered.
"An artful test of skill where the winner takes all!" Sprig added.
"They push each other until someone falls off a lily pad. It's dumb, but fun to watch." said Polly.
"Has Sprig ever won?" Marcy asked.
"I've won in spirit." replied Sprig.
"I'll take that as a no."
"Enough chit chat. Let the challenge begin!" Polly declares before ringing the bell.
Sprig and Hop Pop yells when charging each other as they start wrestling like sumo wrestlers. They've been struggling and grunting that one of them has to win or one of them loose. Marcy couldn't believe that both grandfather and grandson are fighting over whoever like's to be in charge. This is madness! Just as Hop Pop throws Sprig to the edge of the pad, he rush over just to finish the fight.
"Give it up, boy. I've got the experience and the upper body strength." said Hop Pop while sneering at his grandson.
"Oh, yeah? Well, I've got the moral high ground!" said Sprig when he have better plans.
"What?"
Then he flipped his grandfather off while screaming before he fell flat to the mud. Marcy and Polly gasp that Sprig has won.
"Sprig won?" Polly stunned.
"I won?" Sprig blinked. "I don't believe it. I'm head of the farm!"
"Huh?" Hop Pop slowly raised his head up when shocked.
Then Polly bounced off the log and rush to Sprig when they're both chanting.
"Sprig's head of the farm! Sprig's head of the farm!"
Hop Pop couldn't believe that his own grandson just won by flipping him over to the mud, then it means that he have lost for a fight. He stood up before he let out a sighed sadly.
"Looks like my time is over." said Hop Pop before he sadly walks away.
Marcy couldn't believe that Hop Pop is giving up while Sprig takes control over the farm. She has no idea what to say, but she knew that Hop Pop is the only one who knows more about farming like she does. If Sprig takes control over the farm, who's gonna watch over the garden? Or fend for themselves? When she shift her glance to Sprig and Polly's chanting, then she formed her firm look taking seriously when this has to end here.
"HOLD IT!"
Sprig and Polly stop chanting, looking at Marcy. Hop Pop turn his head back quickly when surprised.
"Huh?"
"No one's going to live in exile while I'm around!" said Marcy, taking firm.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Polly asked.
"Well, things are gonna change around here, because no one is going to wreck the farm while I'm in charge." Marcy declared herself.
"You? In charged of the farm?" Hop Pop raised his eyebrows.
"Yep!" Marcy crossed her arms.
"I will not go back to that life. Don't you like being listened to?" Sprig asked when looking serious.
"Hmm, I think I have an idea."
Few minutes later when they got back home, but instead Marcy just handcuffed both Sprig and Hop Pop with their clothes back on by preventing them from escaping each other or doing something far more reckless. Much to their shock, no one has ever seen Marcy taking seriously.
"Are you out of your mind!" Hop Pop exclaims.
"Sorry, guys. But it's for your own good." Marcy apologize.
"But why?! I thought we were friends?!" Sprig felt like being punished.
"I am, but this is serious!" Marcy doesn't have time to argue.
"Then why did you handcuffed us?" Hop Pop asked.
"Because the last thing I did when my dad and my uncle used to argue a lot, so my solution is to locked their hands together until they have learned to get along. Until then, you have 24 hours." Marcy explained her solutions.
"WHAT?! You can't be serious!" Sprig exclaims.
"I am serious." Marcy stares down when showing them sternly. "Look, I'm just gonna go get this farm working while Polly is keeping an extra eye on you."
"Loud and clear, sister." said Polly, focusing on playing Marcy's game switch when not paying attention.
"Marcy, with all due respect, this is not how the Plantar Family Challenge works." said Hop Pop.
"Well, I'm officially cancelling the challenge. From my world, the whole family just recently got banned from zoo by loud and fighting when there so many girls and just one boy. Look, just don't do anything until my work is done. Okay?"
Sprig and Hop Pop were staring at Marcy's walking towards the door until she went back outside to resume her working on the farm. There's no point for protesting when their wrists were locked in chains, feeling like that they're in prison.
"You know, she has a good point."
"Well, thanks a lot." said Sprig flatly.
"Excuse me?! You started this if weren't for your bad suggestions!" Hop Pop argues back.
"Your suggestions are far more worse!"
"WILL YOU STOP BICKERING! I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF FIGHTING KOOPA!" Polly yells out loud while playing the game.
The two of them just kept their mouth shut after the pollywog yells at them like a security guard. They just exhaled sharply while sitting on the couch and start reading their own books.
"At least it can't get much worse." Hop Pop muttered.
24 Hours Later...
The next day, they're all sitting in the back of the house where the water is like the docking bay. Marcy is relaxing with Polly on her lap while Sprig and Hop Pop stand nearby with wrists locked up in chains. They were behaved so well and started to get along for over twenty four hours without bickering.
"This one's going all the way, baby." said Sprig before he spits at the pond.
"Heh! You call that a spit? Now watch this." Hop Pop spits and lands in the pond further than Sprig's.
"Hmm, how very interesting." Marcy impressed.
"Well, spiting is practically a sport in Wartwood." Hop Pop explained.
"We even have a town record. Whoever breaks the record gets a trophy." said Sprig.
"A trophy for spitting? Fascinating!" Marcy smile before she took her journals out and start writing about the records. "I can't believe you two are starting to get along ever since-"
"THAT RECORD IS MINE!" Polly interrupts before she spits all the way to the pond by outspitting theirs. They were quite surprised.
"That's my little spitter." Hop Pop smiles.
"You can spit the frown off a widow." said Sprig.
"Polly, that incredible! How'd you do that?!" Marcy ask when smiles.
"Oh, it's easy. I've been practice a lot until I earned the trophy." replied Polly when smirked.
"I always said you'd be the best in the family. Well, you take after your great aunt Gertrude. She was always very good at spitting." said Hop Pop.
"Welp, looks like twenty four hour is up. Not even a single fight." Marcy took her keys out to uncuffed their both wrists. Sprig and Hop Pop are rubbing their wrist before they smiled at her.
"Thank you, Marcy." said Sprig.
"No problem, but next time try not to fight over the farm or any suggestions." replied Marcy.
"(sigh) I suppose you're right." Hop Pop sighed.
"So, I'm just supposed to go back to the way things were? You never listened to us." said Sprig when crossing his arms.
"And I was wrong. I know now that you can't work together unless everyone has a say. Jeremy taught me that."
"Who's Jeremy?" Marcy asked.
"Uh, a little beetle just came by yesterday and have a little chat about it." Hop Pop explains.
"You... You mean it?" Sprig asked when raising his hope up.
"Yeah, but some of your ideas could work. We'll never know unless we try. I promise from now on to actually read your suggestions." replied Hop Pop.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Sprig couldn't believe that Hop Pop made his promise that he will read his suggestions. After everything they've been through for over a day. So they gave each other a big warm hug. Marcy smiles that her suggestion is working.
"Yes." She whispered, but suddenly she heard an alarm going off. She took her phone out and realized that it's almost time. "Oh, shoot! I have to get going!"
"What's the rush?" Sprig asked.
"I have to meet up with Maddie where she can teach me more about magic." Marcy answered.
"Cool! Can I come?" Polly asked.
"Sure! Hop in."
Polly bounced up to Marcy's arm and climbed over to her hoodie just to hanging on while the Taiwanese girl went to gather her satchel and sped off, waving at Sprig and Hop Pop.
"Sorry to leave you like this, but I'll be back before dinner!" Marcy hollered while waving.
"Be careful, you two!" Hop Pop hollers back when staring at them until they left. "So, wanna do more spits?"
"(gasp) Do I?!" Sprig smiles when he looked so forward into this.
Marcy is walking through the woods with Polly sitting on her hoodie of her jacket. It wasn't that far from the household since they have left in a hurry. Polly wants to know why her human friend was such in a big hurry.
"What's rush, Marcy?" Polly asked.
"Oh, I forgot to mentioned when Maddie came by and asked if she can help me to gather some ingredients."
"Well, count me in! I wanna see how this spell turns out." Polly smiles.
"You're not thinking about me doing the curse stuff?" Marcy asked.
"Nope!"
Just then, Ivy jumps down in front of them when Marcy came to halt, but didn't realize that she was expecting company.
"Oh, hey Marcy." Ivy greeted.
"Hi, Ivy" Marcy waved. "What are you doing?"
"Just waiting on Sprig for an ambush. Where is he anyway?" Ivy asked.
"He's with Hop Pop while reconciling." Polly answered.
"Oh, when did that happen?"
"It's a long story. You don't want to know."
"Gotcha. So whatcha been up to?"
"Marcy is meeting up with Maddie to put up some spell. Wanna tag along?"
"Gee, I don't know..." Ivy felt uneased about the spell.
"Come on, it'll be fun. We could spend some time together for girls day out." Marcy smiles.
"I don't see why not." Ivy shrugged.
"Sweet! Maddie is this way." Marcy sped off with Ivy follows.
Later on, Maddie is mixing her ingredients for her latest success. Just then when she noticed that Marcy has arrived with Polly on her hoodie.
"Hi, Maddie!" Marcy greeted.
"Hey, Marcy." replied Maddie, but then noticed that Ivy is here as well. "And you brought Ivy."
"Hey, Maddie. Haven't seen you a while." replied Ivy when felt a bit nervous.
"Uh huh." Maddie turns her glance at Marcy. "Anyway, are you ready for more training?"
"Sure am! So, what's our next ingredient?" Marcy asked.
"Okay, our next step is to make some growth potions." Maddie answers.
"Sweet! You're gonna go big?!" Polly looked more ambitious as ever.
"Well, I try it once, but only if I can help Marcy by growing some seeds at the farm and it'll be fast enough to finish up those farming."
"Aw, nuts."
"Wait, does your grandfather know about this?" Ivy asked.
"Hmm... I don't really know, but I'll have to ask him first before I made a suggestions." replied Marcy.
"Enough chit chat. Our first ingredient is to gather what's left for the remains." said Maddie.
"What kind of remains?"
Ivy spoke too soon by the time they have arrived where Marcy and Polly has been there before along with the other two for her own meal. All girls were staring at what's left is the remains of dead tomato monster, leaves nothing but rotten plant as flies scattered. Maddie has brought her two wooden buckets to picked up what's left while Ivy looked more surprised.
"Okay, I take it back. It looks so gross." Ivy cringed.
"Uh, why are here again?" Polly asked.
"Like I said, to gather what's left for the ingredients." replied Maddie.
"You got it." said Marcy before she went to help her out when digging out fast.
"This is taking longer than I thought." Ivy mumbled.
Several minutes later, they got what they need when they're done digging out some roots and filled up in the buckets that was carried by Marcy and Maddie. Polly is looking at the list from Maddie's note when sitting on Marcy's hoodie.
"Okay, so what's next?" Marcy asked
"Do we need any dead bodies for this to work? 'Cause I think I just found one." Polly pointed her flippers at One-Eyed Wally, who was lying flat on his face in a mud pile, a bunch of glass mugs by his side.
Suddenly, he's lifting his face up from the mud, and turned to the girls.
"Did you hoodlums just mistake me for a corpse?!" Wally shouted offendedly, shaking his fist at them.
"Uh, of corpse not, Wally." Marcy chuckled nervously before the girls screamed and ran off as he threw a couple of the mugs at them to chase them off.
And finally, they have gathered some limbs from praying mantis and crickets that came from the dump, just right outside from Stump's Diner. Ivy was lifting up a left arm with the claw and hoping that she could asked Maddie's permission.
"Hey, Maddie? Is it alright if I can keep one of these?" Ivy asked.
"Sure, but try not scare your mom when you're gonna use it as a scythe." Maddie answered.
"Cool!"
Later on, they made it back to Maddie's hideout when the blue frog is mixing up with her fully ingredients. Ivy looked a bit bored when there is nothing else to play with, but then she laid her eyes at Polly's playing the game switch she was borrowing. Ivy looked curious and walks over where the pollywog is.
"What's that?" Ivy asked.
"Playing videogame." Polly answered, but focusing on the screen.
"What's a videogame?"
"It's from Marcy's world."
"Wow. Can I try?"
"Eh, knock yourself out." Polly handed the game switch to Ivy when start pushing buttons as her eyes went wide with sparkles.
"Ooh!" Ivy looked impressed while playing. "What do I do?"
"All you have to do is punch him in the face." replied Polly when instructing her.
"Got it." Then she does what she was told until she's beginning to get a hang of this. "Aw, nice!"
"Thanks for helping out, Maddie." Marcy thanked her friend.
"No problem. It's nice to have a friend who's really interested some magic." replied Maddie when dropped a silver stag beetle to the cauldron.
"Anything else I can do to help with?" Marcy asked.
"Not quite, but I'll give you a little warning. One drop of potion at a time and nothing will fail, but more spills meaning that things can go wrong. Got it?" Maddie adviced.
"Got it." Marcy replied.
"Good, now let's head back to the farm and test it out."
The girls have made it back to the Plantars farm with Maddie's new potion. As they approached to the garden, everything's all clear since Marcy is the one that pulls the weeds off while the others are inside. Marcy knelt down on her knees to put the seed inside of the dirt, then use the potion to let one drop at a time to test out the seed until it landed on the ground.
She waited patiently to see if it works, but Polly looks really bored that she really wanted to do some spell stuff. Maddie warns her that she cannot abuse magic and do what she wants. Ivy paid no mind while watching next to Maddie. It only takes a few seconds before Polly breaks the silence.
"How long is this going to take?" Polly asked looking bored.
"In about ten minutes." Marcy answered.
"(groans) This is taking too long. Let me try." Polly bounced off from her hoodie and snatched the potion from Marcy and pouring the whole jar into the dirt.
"Wait! Maddie said-"
"Done!"
Marcy went a bit shocked that Polly did pour the whole jar. Maddie facepalm at the pollywog's impatience.
"(exhaled) You started to sound like my sisters. No offense." Maddie sighed.
"What's the worse thing can happen?" Ivy asked.
Before she's about to reply, but suddenly they felt the ground was started to rumble like earthquake until the ground burst when the seed grows into a giant tomato monster like the weed burst out and then it lets out a huge roar at the girls. All four of them were in quite shocked before they gave the pollywog a hard glare while Polly nervously chuckled.
"Heh heh, oops." Polly nervously chuckled.
Hop Pop and Sprig opens the door as they come out from the house after hearing all the ruckus, but didn't know what's going up until now.
"What's with the ruckus?" Then he paused and looking off into the fields before switching his expressions. "HUH?!"
"Whoa!" Sprig was shocked.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MA' FARM?!" Hop Pop yells.
The girls turn their heads at Hop Pop, realized that they kinda screwed up a bit.
"Uhh...I kinda used the tomato seed to garden up?" Marcy nervously smiling.
"You WHAT?!"
"It was all Maddie's idea." Polly accused her.
"ME?! You're the one who poured all the jar!" Maddie argues.
"I wanna see how the spell works!"
"I told you NOT to abuse magic! I only use it for good!"
"Uh, hate to break the news, but it started to grew big." Ivy noticed that the tomato plant started grew a little big. Marcy was all in deep trouble.
"Well, that ain't good." said Marcy.
"So, do you have some way to get rid of that thing, or should we start packing our bags now." Sprig was asking.
"Of course! In case of the emergency, I made some shrinking potion. But it's not enough." said Maddie.
"This shrink curse should do the trick! It says here it could shrink someone to the size of a brown ant." Marcy explained when taking out the book she just borrowed and then she turned to Hop Pop "brown ants are small in this world right?"
"Yup, they don't get much smaller." Hop Pop assured
"Great. We're gonna need a few things. First soil from a sapling..."
"I saw one just the other day!" said Sprig sped off to fetch the sapling.
"A heaping of snail slime..."
"I'll go get some from Bessie!" Hop Pop offered when rushing to the barn.
"Lastly, a tear from a baby." Marcy looked down at Polly who looked up at her with the stone cold expression of someone who didn't fear god.
"Listen, I'd start running for another baby." Polly advised.
"Well, is there any way that makes you sad?" Maddie asked when putting her hands on her hips.
"Listen, feel free to try, but I won't cry."
"Or we could tickled her instead." Ivy suggested.
"That's a good idea!" Marcy agrees.
"Wait, what?" Polly puzzled, but then she was scooped by Marcy when holding her tight without squirming. "H-hey! What are you doing?!"
"Sorry, Polly. You started this and we're gonna end this." Maddie holds out a feather that she picks up before she started to tickle the tadpole.
"(laughs) STOP! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" Polly yells, but laughing out loud while struggling to escape until her tears coming out.
Just in time, Sprig and Hop Pop rushed back towards them with the bucket of slime and the sapling. Maddie stops tickling and set aside her other ingredients, and grabbed a small glass, and scooped up the tear.
"There!" said Maddie.
Then Marcy set Polly down gently before turning her glance at her.
"Well, you better hurry because that thing is keep growing!" Polly warned her.
Marcy just nodded, getting a good hand full of the slime and then shaking out the sapling for its dirt. She took a nearby fork and started to whip the mixture up. What started as a gross muck, but soon blended into a sky blue oobleck-like substance. She looked about for some kind of cloth she could use as a curse holder.
"Perfect!" Marcy smirked.
"It's getting closer!" Sprig exclaims.
They looked at the tomato monster when it roars out loud as the vines crawls closer while the group took their step back against the door. With no other options, she fumbled to scoop up the substance into the scrap of cloth and tie it into a bungle. The form of the monstrosity grew closer at the corners of her focused vision as she double knotted the curse.
As the plant monster open it's jaws, she reared back her arm and hurled the curse into its open mouth. The curse poofed on contact making the plant monster lets out a roar as it all started to go shrinking and shrinking as the roar went down to the pitch roar until it stops. All of them looked down into the pit where the tomato plant had grown out of. What remained was a tiny piranha plant, she guessed it couldn't be taller than her knee.
"Huh, it worked." Marcy smiles.
"(sigh) What a relief." Ivy sighed.
"That was too close." said Maddie.
But then, they heard Hop Pop making a sound as the girls turns their head at him with arms crossing.
"Care to explain, young lady?" Hop Pop asked skeptically.
With no other options, she sighed before she started to explain.
"It was my fault, sir. I used magic to make the seed grow fast, but my suggestions was a total bust. Like you said, not all suggestions are good." said Marcy when looking down in shame.
"So, you leveraged a skillset you only started learning a week ago to do all that? In the Plantar house we call that gumption. If I had been there to guide you like I said I would, we could have avoided all this." replied Hop Pop.
"N-no I shouldn't have made assumptions, I could have asked you what was best to grow."
"Then let's say we were both in the wrong place, and call it even." He winked his eyes at her.
"So, you're not mad?" She asked hopefully.
"Well, maybe a little bit." replied Hop Pop.
"Mr. Plantar, it was really my fault for not telling about the seed. I just wanted to help her finishing her chores." Maddie tried to convince him.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of. All is forgiving. For now, let's get this messed cleaned up around the field."
"I've got nothing else for today, but if it's alright that I can help you out." Ivy suggested.
"The more, the merrier." Hop Pop turn his head at Polly. "That means you, Polly."
"Aw, nuts." Polly grumbled.
"You know, it looks kinda cute when it's too small." said Sprig.
Marcy looked down at the creature with fingers rubbed under her chin.
"What'cha thinking Marcy?" Hop Pop asked
"Well, it might be a little risky, but I was thinking if we took a tiny tomato, and applied a curse antidote, would we get a giant tomato?"
"Come try the fruit that bites back! Plantar's new patented tomatoes here for you to try!" Sprig announced.
The whole crowd was surrounding the Plantar stand like it never had before. Mayor Toadstool walked up with a grouchy expression next to Toadie who looks more interesting.
"Hopidaiah, how in the world have you come to sell tomatoes, no farmer in the valley is crazy enough to grow those things." said Toadstool.
"Sorry, but I can't say. Trade secret." said Hop Pop with a wink back towards Marcy, who beamed right back before slicing off another chunk for a new customer.
Then she looked at Maddie talking to Ivy with her mother about their days going before she glanced at the Taiwanese girl and gives her wink as Marcy winks her back. She may have messed up for a day or two, but deep down she can still fix this in order to be patient and soon the whole town will slowly accepted her as their own.
Finally I got this done! It's been over a half of week to finish this! Man, it's killing me! So anyway, that part of the dialogue I based off was one of the chapter from "A Witch In Wartwood" and I hope you enjoyed reading. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Amphibia (c) Disney