Hello again. This time adjustment is quite frustrating for me to understand, but I do believe I've got it right this time. If I didn't, then quite clearly we won't be moving from there for a while. Let's see…

A bright red moon lay against the dark sk-

Yes, I got it!

*Ahem*

Oh, sorry.

…A bright red moon lay against the dark sky, glowing a softly harsh hue of crimson. The light reflected on the forest trees' leaves below, rustling in the slight breeze. Next to the forest stood a rural town. Glow-shrooms lit up the sparse plaza for the few people still awake, though with natural amphibian night vision, they weren't completely necessary.

A loud noise came suddenly from one of the buildings, that of a door slamming shut. A slurred voice accompanied it.

"See ya, Stumpy!" A blue frog with a flat hat, unkempt clothes, and a shut eye walked out of the bar. On his way out, he turned to two frogs having dinner outside. "G'night, you frogs!" He took off his hat in their direction. They waved back.

"G'night, Wally." He chuckled as he put his hat back on.

Nothing but silence surrounded the town. His open eye squinted in annoyance.

"What a borin' evenin'! I know what'll lighten i' up." He pulled out his accordion excitedly. "Ohhhhhhhhhh~ Who lives-" He was interrupted by a rustle in the bushes nearby. Wally froze in place. His eye glanced side-to-side in fear. "Hello?" He attempted to continue moving forward, this time silently. Another rustle prevented that. "Who i'' tha''?" He gasped. "Wha' i' tha'?"' i' tha'?" He whispered in a horrified tone. He tiptoed forward, keeping his movement as quiet as possible, only just noticing that he also had an accordion in his hands, AKA one of the loudest known instruments in the multiverse. He was making good progress towards his house before tripping on a rock. "Curse you, one eye!" His angry muttering didn't last for long, as when he looked up, he saw a creature of nigh incomprehensible terror. He screamed in horror.

The next morning…

The same empty plaza that had been completely empty at night was now a bustling marketplace. Stands littered the place, selling things from vegetables, to vegetables, to vegetables, to dining sets! (made entirely out of lettuce). There…may not have been much variety when it came to most of the stands, but it was one of only two places to get fresh produce from, and the other could only ever use the word "fresh" in quotations. Wagons and carts of all kinds waded through the tight streets, pulled by large animals ranging from a cow-a-pede to a giant snail. Squelching its way forward, it pulled a very particular cart. transporting an elderly orange frog, a younger pink frog, and a very, very, very, loud purple tadpole in a bucket.

"I'm hungry! When are we getting something to eat!?" The elderly frog piloting the vehicle sighed and tried to ignore the child, but she kept yelling. "Fooood!" The pink frog also started chiming in.

"I'm also hungry! We need food!" They then started walking in a circle (the tadpole hopped), and chanted in unsteady unison.

"We want food! We want food!" The elderly frog would have started shouting at them, but he was a bit too tired for that at the moment. He lit up as he pulled the reins, stopping their snail. He turned to the two screaming children.

"Alright, kids. I'mma go do a l'il shoppin'; watch the cart while I'm gone, and I'll get you two some food." He stretched his arms and yawned for a moment before hopping off the cart. The pink frog noticed the older frog's fatigue and a worried look appeared on his face.

"Hey, Hop-Pop. Did you sleep well last night? You've been acting tired all morning." The tadpole nodded.

"Yeah! We want the deets, old man." The pink frog looked at her, confused.

"Why do you want to know?" The tadpole shrugged.

"I'm bored."

"Well, I was kept up for quite a while by-" He is interrupted by a loud yell in the middle of the market.

"Monster! Monster in the woods!" Hop-Pop sighed again.

"...That. You're in charge, Polly." He was about to leave before the pink frog stopped him.

"Hey! Why is Polly in charge? She's a baby." He motions towards the tadpole, who responds back.

"You're a baby!" Hop-Pop shakes his head and holds up his pinkie finger.

"Sprig, Polly has more responsibility in her little flipper than you do in your entire body." Wally was still yelling his lungs out to anyone who'd hear him, running out of breath.

"Monster! Monster…in the woods…" He was deftly ignored.

"C'mon, Hop-Pop. I promiiiise…" Hop-Pop seemed to mull it over before laughing.

"Ha! Nope." He grabs a bag from his seat and walks over to the shop, opening the door and greeting the owner. "Hello, Mrs. Jonkins, how are you today?" He disappeared into the place, leaving Sprig in a pouty mood, which slowly turned into a thoughtful mood.

"If only I could show him I was responsible…" Luckily, the author of this story heard his trouble and Sprig suddenly heard a familiar voice nearby.

"Now, now, Wally, what seems ta be the matta?" He turned and saw a large aquamarine toad in fancy clothes approach the exasperated frog on the floor. Following him was a much smaller toad with big eyes, holding a large metal circle with cloth hanging off in his hands. Wally looked up at the toad, a tired grimace appearing on his face.

"Oh…Mayor…Toadstool. How are…you doin' today? ...Oh my lungs…" Mayor Toadstool looked down on him and put his hands on his hips.

"Oh, jus' fine, Wally. Now, what's this I hear about a monsta?" Wally tried to stand up but promptly fell down again.

"Ha…ha…it was tall…ha…ha…and skinny…ha…with spindly limbs and…a big head!...ha…a book too…" He attempted to stand up again. He failed. "Oh my frog…it could be watchin' our town…plannin' with that book…waitin' for night time before…eatin' us in our sleep!" Mayor Toadstool put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment before bending over and patting Wally's head.

"Don' worry, Wally. We won' let this monster hurt us." He posed with one foot on Wally, to his great uncomfortableness.

"Why…" The smaller toad took the circle he had and put it behind Toadstool as a dramatic background. The cloth had stars that surrounded Toadstool's head as he pointed a finger forward.

"'Cause Mayor Toadstool is a name you can trust!" Sprig saw all of this unfold and smiled. He had an idea.

"I'm going to get that monster to show Hop-Pop I'm responsible! Let's do this." He was about to jump away before Polly pointed at him accusingly.

"Hey, Hop-Pop put me in charge, and told us to stay here. You're not going anywhere." Her face became incredibly intense. She started flexing her flippers. "You know you can't take me!" Sprig simply reached into his pocket and pulled out some sweets.

"Look, Polly, caaaaaandy…Pfft." He dropped them on the floor as Polly gasped. She excitedly jumped out of her bucket towards them.

"Bribe accepted!" She started chomping, allowing Sprig to have an easy getaway.

"I'm gonna find that monster! All I have to do is get through these woods! This'll be easy!"

Sprig was immediately lost. brandishing his slingshot in a defensive manner. He spun around in an imperfect circle, so that he could have a full view of the environment. It was going well, and nothing had appeared from the surrounding area. He smiled. He then heard his stomach rumbling.

"...Seriously? Right now?" His stomach rumbled again, as if to confirm. He groaned and loosened up. "Fine. Let's see if I can rustle up some…" He heard a fluttering noise to the side of him and turned.

About a bound or two away, Sprig spotted something appetizing. A six legged insect stood motionlessly still in the middle of an outcropping. Its large multifaceted eyes stared blankly forward. Sprig's stomach grumbled with hunger. This was his breakfast.

He went on all fours as he crept up to it through the bushes. Slowly, he approached from behind. He readied his tongue before snapping it forward at the bug. A quick chomp, and it was gone. Success!

Or so he thought.

This jovial moment became short-lived when he spotted a thin rope surrounding the area that he had just jumped into. There was nothing but silence for a few seconds. A breeze blew. Leaves rustled. Crickets chirped. Sprig reacted slowly.

"Uh-" He suddenly felt his stomach flip before realizing he was upside down. He was completely startled, and with blood suddenly rushing to his head. His discombobulation didn't last for long, though, as he could hear a whip!-ing sound, like something was thrown very hard like a…what was it…oh, right.

A SPEAR.

He swung himself forward by his caught foot, narrowly dodging the hurled javelin. He heard another whip!, and did the same the other way, this one closer to hitting him than the previous. He waited for a third, but it didn't come. Shaking in fear, he called out.

"Hey, stop trying to kill me!" He could hear a rustle in the bushes nearby and braced himself for whatever was there.

What he did not expect was a tall, skinny creature with tan skin and oval eyes. She was bent over what looked to be a book and weird metal quill. He was too weirded out to be scared of her.

"Okay, so the spears work, but the snare-"

"Hello?"

"-needs to prevent any large movement that the prey can make. I can probably-"

"Hello!?"

"-fashion a specialized version where it wraps around the arms instead so-"

"HELLO!?"

The creature stopped talking and turned to Sprig, an embarrassed look on its face. It wore a shirt with the letter SJMS arranged into a square on a shield, along with a short skirt. Its voice was also distinctly feminine, which Sprig noted.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know you were sentient." She looked up at Sprig with a smile. "While you're up there and free-thinking, on a scale from one to ten, how trapped would you say you are?" He looked at her with a confused expression on his face.

"Uuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…eight? No! Nine and half!" The creature nodded and jotted something down in its book.

"Note to self: make trap discernible to sapient organisms." She closed her book. "I'll help you down from there now. I don't wanna eat anything that can talk." Sprig nodded and let her unwrap his foot. He landed on the floor with a small thud.

"Ow." The creature giggled.

"Sorry…again." As Sprig stood up, the creature held out her hand. "My name's Marcy. And you?" Sprig hesitated before holding out his tongue.

"Thprig. Nithe to meet ya." Marcy's eyes widened as she pointed at the yellow tongue.

"Yeah, I'm not shaking that." Her face shifted from one of disgust to one of concern as she lost focus. Sprig waved his hand in front of her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Marcy squinted her eyes as she stroked her chin.

"I was in the middle of doing something when I heard my trap. I guess I got distracted." She awkwardly laughed. "What was I doing?" A loud screech suddenly sounded through the forest. Sprig jumped, startled. Marcy snapped her fingers in remembrance. "Oh yeah, I was running from a creature of unimaginable horror." Sprig narrowed his eyes at her.

"How-" He did not have the time to finish his question before they heard another screech, this one closer. Marcy waved it off.

"Oh, it's not that close. I'm sure we can walk away safely and-"

"-how the heck is it almost on us!?"

"Didn't you say we could just walk away!?"

"I said that because I'm terrible at running!"

"That's very obvious to me!"

Another screech could be heard, along with the loud pattering of multiple footsteps. They could hear the sound of trees falling down behind them, but they didn't even try to glance back.

Sprig's eyes darted around, wiping sweat off his brow. He couldn't see any place to hide. There was nothing but trees, and more trees, and grass, and a log…and a log! Hurriedly, he grabbed Marcy's hand and ripped her in his direction.

Running to the left of their original course, he pulled her into the log with strength he didn't even know he had and put a hand around her mouth and his. They heard the footsteps get closer and closer until they could be heard right next to them.

A guttural clicking sound from above resounded through the hollow wood. The clicking became quicker and quicker with each passing second until it screeched loudly again, followed by the furious pattering of its legs growing quieter and quieter.

After sitting in silence for about a minute, the two exhaled in relief, loosening up against the rough inside bark. Another minute of silence passed between them as neither of them knew how to start the conversation that needed to happen.

"...So, why do you have that weird bump on your face?" Marcy blinked in confusion.

"...What?"

"That weird face bump. Below your eyes, above your mouth. What is that?" He move in closer and narrowed his eyes at it. Marcy giggled.

"That's my nose, silly. Humans have them to breathe and smell, a lot like your external nares." Sprig was the one now blinking in confusion.

"My what?"

"Your nares. It's the froggy version of nostrils. See, humans like me have complex nasal canals that allow smell to enter, though, interestingly, frogs have four nostrils instead of only two like we do, and-" Sprig put a hand over her mouth again, making her stop. Her voice was muffled. "...Is it coming back?" Sprig smiled.

"Nope." Marcy's eyelids fell down to cover half of her eyes.

"You just want me to be quiet." Sprig's smile did not falter.

"Yup." He removed his hand as Marcy sighed.

"Sorry, I just sometimes lose my focus." There was another awkward silence before Sprig broke it again.

"Um, what's a human?" Marcy perked up for a moment. "And please don't give me a super long explanation!" Marcy settled down and groaned.

"Fiiiiine." She managed a small smile. "Well, humans are sentient beings that inhabit the planet Earth. Which I'm guessing is not where I currently am." Sprig gasped.

"Wow! So, you're from another world?" He grinned impishly. "Super jealous." Marcy giggled again.

"Yeah. I've been doing okay on my own for the moment, but…" Her smile faded. "..." Sprig's grin disappeared as well. He looked at the creature in front of him. This wasn't a beast. This wasn't a monster.

"...Hey, you know what always makes me happy?" He reached for the ceiling of the log and ripped down a portion. The inside was entirely coated with bugs and insects of all kinds. "A nice snack."

Marcy looked at the bugs with a fascinated twinkle in her eye.

"Ooh! Let me see…" She picked a random blue one and took a bite out from the thorax. "Hmm…surprisingly sweet. A bit crunchy." She bit off another piece, this one the torso. "Huh. What's that aftertaste?" Sprig took the head from her and tried it, scratching his chin.

"HmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmMhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…" He snapped his fingers. "Inevitability!"

"Yeah!"

Hop-Pop was exiting the store when he saw a gathering of frogs outside, holding pitchforks and torches. Mayor Toadstool was heading it, a torch in his hand as well. He raised his fist up for people to see.

"Alrigh', everybody. When I say 'Kill', you say 'It'. Kill!"

"It!"

"Kill!"

"It!"

"Why, that was a great 'It', Maurice."

"Why, thank you, Mayor." Hop-Pop shook his head with a smile and sighed.

"Another day, another mob." He walked over to the cart and hopped up. "Alright, kids, I got the things, so let's…" He stopped when he saw Polly lying on the ground lethargically, candy wrappers laying around her like they had been savagely torn apart. She noticed Hop-Pop and lazily pointed at him.

"I don't have a candy problem, you have a candy problem!" Hop-Pop gasped and started worrying immediately.

"Where did Sprig go?" Polly waved her hand around.

"Something, something, woods. Something, something, monster. I didn't really hear. Mostly 'cause I didn't really care." Hop-Pop started panicking. He took a breath before jumping towards the forest.

"I'm comin' for ya, boy!"

"So, how did you get here?" Marcy chewed off the last piece off of the centipede before answering.

"Hm. To be honest, I'm not really sure. I was in my world one moment, and then…" She wiggled her fingers menacingly. "...I wasnnnnn't." Sprig chuckled at her 'spooky' voice. Marcy put down her hands. "And you? What were you doing in the woods?" Sprig stood up heroically, chest puffed out.

"Proving I'm responsible!"

"Ooh! How?" Sprig paused, his eyes widening.

"Uhhhhhhh…" Sprig's ruminations were interrupted when an almighty hillbilly's voice sounded through the forest.

"Ther' they ar'!" The sound of many feet thundered in their direction. Before Marcy could process it, she could already feel hands grab her by the back.

"Wait, what?" She was pulled down to the ground in an instant. "Ah! What the heck?" While four or five frogs held her down, the others pulled out hammers, rope, and small wooden pegs. Two teams wrapped the ropes around the pegs, two more wrapped them around Marcy, and a fifth hammered them down into the ground. Within less than thirty seconds, Marcy found herself unable to move. 'Huh. Efficient, though, I gotta admit." She yelled in fear. "Heeeeeeelp!" Sprig worriedly pulled at the edges of his hat.

"Wait, don't do that! You've got it all wrong!" Hop-Pop jumped over next to him with a jubilant hop.

"Ha-ha! You caught the monster! Sprig, I'm impressed." Upon hearing this, Marcy looked at Sprig with a hrt expression.

"What? You betrayed me after our first bonding moment? Even after the bugs? Booooo!" Sprig pulled at the edges of his cap.

"Please don't get worse, please don't get worse, please don't get-"

Literally not even a full minute later…

Marcy barely saw the red mantis' foreleg in time as it dug into the ground behind her. It lightly grazed the rope around her body, providing her with slight relief from the tightness. Sprig screamed as he wildly flailed around on the mantis' back. Frogs were running left and right through the trees in panic. Sprig was currently yelling his lungs out in fear.

"Why did it get worse? Why did it get worse!?" He looked down in between bursts of the creature he rode, seeing Marcy helplessly running about like a headless chicken. In the corner of his vision, he could see the mantis' other foreleg raised above her head. "Hey, look out!" Marcy turned her head towards his voice and widened her eyes at the claw above her. Quickly, she jumped out of the way, hitting the floor. She quickly realized it was a dumb move when she tried to move her arms, only to remember that her hands were currently pinned to her sides.

"Oh, come on!" She wormed her way forward, rolling side to side as she dodged one foreleg stab after another. It seemed like she would get out fine. Those hopes were dashed when she found her way blocked by a long red claw. She was trapped.

Sprig could see all of this from his chaotic ride at the top of Mount Mantis, holding on like a jockey on a mad horse. He could find some success in controlling it, albeit only a small amount as the best he could really do was prevent it from skewering Marcy. The mantis tottered forward in unsteady lurches, allowing him a few glances of her situation. He narrowed his eyes, a mission in mind. He prepared to jump over to her, but froze before finishing the motion. He could feel a slimy grip on his shirt for a moment before being propelled back faster than a slingshot stone.

The next second he found himself in familiar arms as an old voice spoke to him.

"Sprig? Oh, I'm glad you're okay." Sprig looked back at Hop-Pop's wrinkly face for a moment before thrashing against his hold.

"Lemme go! Lemme go!" He could feel the grip loosen until Hop-Pop turned him around to face him.

"Sprig, all the townsfolk retreated into the trees. We're safe! Now, let's get out of here." Sprig continued thrashing until he was out of Hop-Pop's grip.

"I can't! Marcy's still out there!" Hop-Pop faced Sprig towards him, a worried look on his face.

"That creature came out of nowhere! And it scared Wally, frightened the town." Sprig thought about it deeply for a moment. A switch flipped in his head.

"Come on, Hop-Pop! You're only against her because she's the reason Wally was yelling last night. Don't be such a cranky old man." Before Hop-Pop could respond, Sprig jumped away with one large leap.

Marcy was done for. She knew it. The mantis knew it. If anyone in the world could see her, they'd know it as well. She'd done well for a few minutes, but it was mostly thanks to that pink frog, Sprig, who she saw keeping the beast back, that she was still alive. With nowhere left to go, she turned around and up, hoping to see him. He was gone.

I'm screwed.

The mantis took a few moments to right itself after the chaos Sprig had put it through, but Marcy could see that its focus had turned back to her, along with its claws. Bracing, Marcy closed her eyes, hoping that it wouldn't hurt too much.

…

…

…

Nothing.

She didn't know what being stabbed felt like in the literal sense, but she knew that it had to feel painful, right? So, why was there just…nothing?

She slowly opened her eyes to see that was holding the mantis' claw with a strength like no other. Her eyes widened as he looked back at her.

"...Never fear, for Sprig is-" It moved suddenly, causing him to lose grip and hit the ground in front of him. "Oh, crud." He quickly grabbed Marcy and ran the rope on her right side through the mantis' stuck foreleg, cutting her free. He motioned with his head towards the forest. "I'll deal with it. Get out of here!" Marcy froze for a moment, unsure what to do. Sprig was already in the middle of fighting the thing one-on-one, dodging and zipping and keeping it away as she sat there, slightly stunned. She couldn't move. It took a foot to the face for her to understand.

She ran into the woods, jumping behind a tree to see if Sprig was alright. He was doing fine, but he was mostly playing a defensive role. Marcy didn't know what to do, but was about to go help in whatever way she could when she heard footsteps behind her. Already spooked, she joltingly flipped around to face whoever it was she heard.

"Oh! Don't be afraid, miss. I, uh, just want to help." She came face-to-face with an orange frog man. She immediately went up in front of him, talking rapidly with an excited look on her face.

"Hello, sir! How are you? You look very similar to someone I just met. His name was Sprig. I'm assuming you're the same species he is, unless you're not. Am I being offensive? I hope I'm not being racist or speciesist, I guess. Are those wrinkles a byproduct of your biology or are you just really old? By the way, my name's Marcy." Finishing with an outstretched hand, she said everything within the span of about fourteen seconds. The orange frog awkwardly stood there, processing everything that she had just said before holding his hand out to shake Marcy's.

"I'm Hopediah, but you can call me Hop-Pop. I'm Sprig's grandfather." He cleared his throat. "On that note…" He motioned his head to something behind her. She turned and was greeted with squeaky yelling.

"Oh my frog, oh my frog, oh my frog, oh my…" Marcy stared and pinched her chin for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I don't think he'll last much longer if we do nothing." She turned to Hop-Pop with a smile. "Wanna help me take that thing down?" He looked back at her with a raised equivalent of an eyebrow.

"How exactly are we supposed to do that? The village already tried the Mantis Formation and everything!" Marcy thought deeply, her eyes becoming fuzzy for a moment. She looked around, searching for some inspiration, before her eyes settled on a group of vines hanging above her. They seemed to have a weird bright green outline, but she might have just been seeing things. She smiled mischievously and turned to Hop-Pop.

"Two questions: How fast can you bring everyone back here, and how high and far can you jump?"

From how much acrobatics that was necessary to keep avoiding the mantis' attacks, even Sprig was running out of energy. Its movements were slowing down though, making it easier to evade the coming strikes. But as the mantis' energy dwindled, so did his, making it harder and harder to keep up the evasion. Sprig kept dodging and weaving, dodging and weaving, claws coming from left and right. He was doing good, doing good, doing good, trip. His face hit the dirt, stopping him for a moment. He flipped around and saw a claw coming for his face.

"AUGHHHHHHH!" Right before it hit him, an orange blur zoomed just above, before wrapping itself around the leg. The mantis let out a confused screech as Sprig saw who the orange blur was.

"Now, everyone!" The mantis looked down and saw the rope attached to its ankle and let out another confused screech. It was cut off by a sudden and powerful tug, throwing it to the ground. Hop-Pop fell with it and hit the ground next to Sprig face first. He peeked an eye from the dirt over to his grandson, his awkward smirk hidden in the ground. "Hey there, boy. How are ya?"

"Hop-Pop?" Sprig jumped up from the ground and over to Hop-Pop, giving him a hug. "What's happening?" Hop-Pop reached his hands up and grabbed the air. Sprig stood there confused before realizing what he needed to do and pulled Hop-Pop up. "Sorry." Hop-Pop got to his feet and patted himself down.

"Don't worry, Sprig. As for what's happenin', you might wanna ask your, uh…" Behind him, the mob gathered around the fallen mantis, applying the same technique they used on Marcy as she cheered them on. "…new friend." After making sure Hop-Pop was upright, Sprig ran over to Marcy, who was sitting on the ground, catching her breath.

"Marcy?" Marcy noticed Sprig and turned her head to him.

"Oh, you're okay!" She jumped up from the ground and hugged him. He was unsure what to do for a moment, but hugged back. "I'm so sorry for leaving you behind. I wasn't sure what I was doing or whether I was going to get help or just running like a coward also sorry if the hug is a bit too much right now we only just met and I don't know if you see me as a friend or just an acquaintance though I'm fine with you thinking of me that way and-" Thankfully, she was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat in a semi-mayorly way.

"Well, now tha' that's ova with, wha' do we do with the beast?" The mob looked among each other.

"She's still a bit unpredictable."

"Yeah, I dunno if I can sleep at night with her around."

"Oy say we throw 'er out jus' te be safe."

"Yeah." "That sounds good." "A'ight."

The mob started to group around Marcy once again before Sprig jumped in.

"Woah, guys! She just helped you stop that thing. She's trustworthy." The mob stopped and looked back at Mayor Toadstool, unsure what to do. He rubbed his chin, just as confused.

"Well…she tried ta eat Wally las' night."

"Yea, she di'!" Marcy stood up and waved her hands in denial.

"Woah, woah, woah. I didn't try to eat him. While it would already be completely unsanitary and unintelligent as I wouldn't know if he was poisonous or not, I saw that he was singing really loudly and tried to ask for help. Also, he stinks." Wally narrowed his eyes at her, but sighed and nodded.

"Yea, I do." Mayor Toadstool hummed in deliberation.

"…I'm not takin' you in, bu' if somewun is willin' to, you can stay in our town. Jus' don' eat nobody." He raised his voice for the mob. "Alright, everybody! Mob's ova. Les' go home." Everyone grumbled in annoyance. They were occupied enough that they didn't notice the mantis escape from its bindings, though no one would have cared either way.

Marcy stood in confusion, unsure how to continue. At that moment, Polly appeared from the woods and lethargically hopped over to Sprig, whispering.

"What did I miss?" Sprig leaned over, whispering back.

"A lot." After a bit more silence, Marcy spoke in a bewildered tone.

"So, uh, who am I staying with?" Hop-Pop walked up to her with a small smile on his face.

"Well, if you want, you could stay with us. You helped save my grandson and, while I can't fully repay that anytime soon, I can at least offer you a bed and a place to stay for the time bein'." Marcy clapped her hands in excitement.

"Oh, thanks! I've been sleeping in caves until now. Though, I do think at some point I'm going to need to get out of here." Hop-Pop shook his head.

"Unfortunately, the valley's impossible to leave this time of year." He pulled out a map from his pocket. "The mountains are impenetrable. You could try to cross in a couple months, but, until then…" Polly crossed her arms over her bucket.

"You. Will. Die." Marcy nodded nervously.

"Okay…I can stay with you guys for now, I guess." She began walking. "I already know where the village is, but I wanna look around a bit. I'll see you there!" As she left, Hop-Pop took Sprig aside with a big smile on his face.

"Sprig, I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you."

"Wuh? I thought you'd be mad at me?"

"Mad? You stood up to that mob and went toe-to-toe with a red mantis even when I tried to hold you back. Anyone would be proud of that." He paused and thought for a second." Anyone other than the mob, of course." Sprig's eyes widened with joy.

"So, you're saying I'm responsible?"

"Eh, well…"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As Marcy finished settling in, she lay back on her bedroll to think, to soak in and process what was happening. She was in a completely new world, without her friends, without anybody she knew to help her get through it. A world full of new, cool, never-before-seen-by-the-eyes-of-mankind things, but no one to share those discoveries with. Also, where were her friends? Were they also brought here? Was she the only one? She was even starting to miss Sasha, even after…

She put her mind to other things as she pulled out a photo from her pocket. She was in the photo along with faces that wouldn't stay out of her mind.

Anne.

Sasha.

Luz…

It was a little difficult to see them all so happy at a time like this, so she shoved the photo back in her pocket just as Sprig came down the stairs holding about twenty stuffed toys.

"Hey! Gettin' comfy? I brought some of my old toys to keep you compa…" He saw a tear fall from her face. "Um…you okay?" Marcy noticed him and wiped the tear away, hiding her face.

"Oh! Yeah, I'm alright. Good night." Sprig stood on the stairs for a moment, awkwardly balancing with his multiple plushies. Marcy lay in her bedroll with her back to him, a frown making up most of her expression. She suddenly felt something softly hit her back, and rolled over to see a small beetle plush. She looked over to the stairs, but Sprig was nowhere to be found. She looked at the plushie for a moment before holding it in her arms and lying down, a small smile forming in her sleeping face.

I'm glad I was finally able to get to the right time and place. You have no idea how long it would have taken for me to readjust it if I got it wrong again. I'll need a bit of rest now. You can talk to the big guy in the meantime.

Hello again. Sorry this chapter took a while. It was a wild few weeks. I contracted a mild case of bronchitis, which wasn't particularly fun. One of my relatives died and the Shiva lasted a week. A bit of educational stress, existentialism, and general fatigue, the works. But with the power of Glass Animals, Kendrick Lamar, and a touch of AJR, I pulled through to finish a chapter that I didn't fully enjoy. The first episode wasn't always one of my favorites, and I'm much more excited to do the rest than this one, so I hope you're ready. Thanks for reading. Thirteen-Seven out! Later.