Act 1 – Welcome to Bugaria

Episode 13b - A Budding Time


Author Note: I'm going to try to get these next few chapters out a bit quicker, since I want to finish this current 'arc', so to speak.


As the festivities came to a close, various bugs went to sleep at the Sunset Inn, getting their much-needed rest of the excitement of that night. Thankfully for Team Snakemouth, a group of bugs left the inn after an hour, leaving a free room for them to swoop in and take. Anne had been waiting to sleep in a proper bed again, she was not going to let someone else take it!

And what a good sleep it was. The room had enough beds for each of them, and Anne passed out almost immediately after collapsing onto her bed, having sweet and strange dreams she couldn't quite remember. She did recall one small detail, though...

In the dream, she, Sasha, and Marcy were superheroes with secret identities, saving the world from various supervillains that some unknown person created. Anne couldn't remember the exact details, but it just made her long for her friends again, hoping that she was at least on the right track to finding them or something. She had to be optimistic!

Which was why after she and the others woke up the next morning, they ate breakfast before going over a brief action plan on how to tackle the Golden Hills, despite knowing pretty much nothing about it. They cleaned up, walking back into the lobby, only to stop upon seeing a... bewildering sight.

The lobby was empty, save for Levi and Celia, who sat a table, slumped over on it, barely awake. There were so many empty containers of berry juice strewn about, several of them still having a bit of juice left, spilling all over the floor.

Anne stood there, mouth agape. "Uhhh..." She had no words or even thoughts for this.

Vi couldn't help but laugh at the scene, the sound jolting Celia upright, the ant nearly tipping over in her chair, somehow managing to stay balanced in the end. A few containers of berry juice ended up rolling on the floor, Celia not noticing or caring as she turned her head, attempting to wave to the group of four. "Heeyyyyyyyy Team uhhhh... Snakeeye? No that's n-not right oooogh..." Celia held her stomach, letting out a groan.

"They're drunk." Leif sighed, already tired of this. "They stayed up all night drinking berry juice."

"We sure did!" Celia cheered.

Kabbu gave Levi and Celia weary looks, wishing he hadn't seen two bugs he respected be reduced to... this. "How... how much did you two drink?"

Levi finally pulled his head up off the table, clearly woozy and not thinking right. He stared directly at Kabbu for a few awkward seconds before laughing, trying to speak at the same time. "You wouldn't believe it... so, so much..." He slurred his words, swaying from side to side, unable to keep still.

"I was ready to get that artifact but now I'm not so sure." Vi said, her mood ruined.

"Oh don't act like that!" Celia said, deciding for some reason to stand up as fast as she could. But in doing so, she lost any semblance of balance whatsoever, yelping as she started to fall over. Thankfully, Kabbu rushed in to help, catching her before she fell completely, helping her stand upright. "Whoopsie!"

Kabbu let out a sigh of exasperation.

"This is really weird." Vi said, unsure of what to do.

"That's it. We're placing a team-wide ban on berry juice, starting right now." Leif said, trying to avoid stuff like this happening to any of them.

"Lame." Vi crossed her arms, unhappy.

"Vi, you're too young to drink it in large quantities anyway!" Kabbu chastised, still holding onto Celia. "Same for you, Anne!"

"Aw, what? But I never even got to try it!" Anne complained, already upset that she'd be missing out. Besides, from what she was told, it was only drinking a lot of it that caused the side effects to happen! And it wasn't like she had to enjoy it, she just had to taste it once!

"That's too bad." Leif said. "Wait until you're older and can handle it."

"But I can't wait that long!" Anne said, getting increasingly desperate. "Come on, not even a small tiny sip?!"

"No!"

"Well, if it's a small sip..." Kabbu pondered to himself.

"Hey, count me in on that too!" Vi said, excited at the prospect.

"NO! No sip of any kind for anyone!" Leif yelled, shutting down that conversation entirely. Anne wondered how Leif became the responsible one in this scenario of all things.

"Whatever." Anne rolled her eyes, making a mental note to sneak a sip later when Leif wasn't around. "Let's just help them to their room, I... don't think they're gonna make it on their own."

"Sounds good to us." Leif said, walking over to Levi to try and help him up. Vi went with Leif, while Anne tried to help Kabbu.

It was a bit difficult; Celia could barely walk on her own, she spouted off unintelligible nonsense when Kabbu tried to ask her where her room was, making it nearly impossible for them to get anywhere, laughing at his increasing frustration before she glanced at Anne.

"Psss, stick-bug!" Celia yelled at Anne, acting like she was whispering even though she wasn't. "I got a secret I gotta tell you... you can't tell anyone!" Anne didn't like where this was going. "...Okay, I'm gonna say it. I have a HUUUGE crush on Levi!"

Needless to say, Team Snakemouth was beyond mortified at hearing this, Anne staring mouth agape at Celia.

Beat.

"WHOA!" Levi said, nearly tipping over before Leif helped him stand back up. "Levi can't find out about this!" The ladybug then burst out laughing, only making the air in the lobby more awkward.

Anne shook her head, raising her good arm to her face while taking a few steps away. "I'm out. Not getting involved in this." She had more than her fair share of watching others be under the influence today.

Levi was thankfully a bit more coherent when asked where his room was, Team Snakemouth leading him and Celia there. Celia tried but failed to unlock the door, leading Vi to snatch the key and unlock it herself, giving the key back to Levi, to Celia's dismay.

"Go directly to your beds and sleep!" Kabbu called to them as he and the others watch them enter the room, Levi flopping onto his bed before Celia decided to lay right on top of him, despite Levi's protests.

Kabbu quickly shut the door after that, Team Snakemouth standing there in silence, everyone except Leif letting out sighs of relief.

"They won't remember any of this later. ...Hopefully. They just need to sleep it off and they'll be fine." Leif said. Anne hoped he was right, even just imagining the awkward conversation those two would have after sobering up gave her second-hand embarrassment. It was hard to believe those two were the same bugs who saved her from Vesp & Skye, to be honest.

Vi nodded. "I hope so!"

"Well then!" Kabbu said, getting everyone's attention. "Are we all ready to face the Golden Hills?"

"Absolutely!" Vi answered.

"You betcha." Anne gave a thumbs up.

"Yes." Leif said, agreeing with everyone else.

With that, everyone made sure they had everything they needed before exiting the Sunset Inn and taking the lift down to ground level, making their way to the Venus Statue. They were all prepared as they could be for what was ahead, but before taking the next step on their journey, they said their goodbyes to a few bugs still left in the Golden Settlement from the festival.

They briefly talked with Neolith, though it was brief as Kabbu insisted on them moving on, though Kabbu was more willing to talk with Emmet a bit. Chubee found Vi and gave her words of encouragement, and after that was when they decided to get a move on, Team Snakemouth carefully walking under the raised Venus Statue into the Golden Hills for the first time ever...

Anne didn't know what she should've expected when she entered this place. Would it be like the Golden Path? Or maybe like another place she's visited before? She tried to brace herself, but she stopped, immediately marveling at everything she saw.

"Whoa..." Anne said, trying but failing to find the words for what she saw. The place lived up to its name, having many hills upon hills that stretched seemingly so far she couldn't see them all, and despite being daytime, the sky was a beautiful shade of orange, encapsulating the uniqueness and mystery of this place perfectly. "So pretty..."

"This really does live up to the name 'Golden Hills'." Leif said.

"There's leaves falling here too!" Vi realized. Anne was so used to it by now that she didn't even acknowledge it. "Ack, don't let any get on my fluff!" She desperately tried brushing any off that got on her.

"Stay focused, everyone! This could be our most perilous mission yet! Be vigilant!" Kabbu warned, staying at the front of the group.

Anne only brushed him off; sure, this was a place she knew nothing about, but how bad could it be? "Oh come on, this is gonna be easy." Maybe it was the confidence of knowing that she would very likely find some answers soon, but she had a feeling that tackling this place would be a piece of cake.


"This isn't easy at all!" Anne yelled, unable to take it anymore.

Her hair was even more frazzled than usual, her eyes had bags in them, darting around back and forth as if something would pop out at her at any moment, the pressure was too much for her!

Only an hour had gone by, but it felt like so much longer!

"There's too many places to go! Why isn't anything linear anymore?! And the hills! SO MANY HILLS!" The past hour had been nothing but a nightmare, every single other place on the journey so far had been easy to traverse, but this...? This was total chaos! How was she supposed to know where to go?! It felt like she'd gone in a complete circle... and she had! They were all back at a landmark they passed half an hour earlier!

Anne began overdramatically hyperventilating, trying to get breath that wasn't there

"Calm yourself!" Without warning, Kabbu grabbed Anne by the shoulders, shaking her vigorously. "I promise everything's fine!"

"Stoooop shaaakiiiiing meeee!" Anne yelled, becoming dizzier by the second. Kabbu let go of her, Anne more annoyed than freaked out now. At least he was careful not to further aggravate her arm. "Thank you." Anne gave Kabbu a small glare.

"Someone's being overdramatic." Leif said. "Have you never been to a wide-open place before?"

"Of course I have!" Anne said in defense of herself. "I just didn't think this place would be so... big, you know?" In hindsight, her freakout did seem a bit silly.

"More places to explore means more chances to find treasure!" Vi said with a smile. "So let's get looking!"

"Vi!" Kabbu chastised, turning to the bee. "We should all take it slow. No rushing into this."

"Um, I'm not rushing anything." Vi said. "Leif was the one who wanted to kept finding every little thing interesting!"

"It was worth it. What's the point if you can't take anything in?" Leif asked.

"You take stuff in by slowing down! Not speeding up!"

"...Whoops."

"Can we not start another argument?!" Anne said, becoming more annoyed by the second. "I just got calm again!"

Leif and Vi said a quick round of apologies, Anne more focused now and ready to explore the area properly. So far, no signs of Venus or anyone else, and Anne finally realized that it wouldn't be so easy. There were a few minor obstacles that they had to overcome, Anne's arm making it a bit difficult for her. What kept her going was her earlier, still unshaken confidence that she'd soon get answers, helping her power through the seemingly not random puzzles placed throughout the massive area.

Soon enough, the team decided to re-examine areas they already went through, this place was so huge after all, they might've missed something! It led into them talking about whatever came to mind, mainly Kabbu rambling on about his favorite topics for a bit before Anne decided to change the subject.

"And get this: even though I said in third grade that I'd never try to climb a rock wall: guess what I did?" Anne asked, knowing that nobody would be able to predict correctly.

"You ended up climbing it?" Leif asked.

"Well... sorta." Anne admitted, cringing upon looking back on it. "I tried, started crying, my dad had to pick me up, it was a whole thing." It took no less than eleven minutes, at least.

"It doesn't make sense to me." Kabbu said. "Why would they build stuff like that when you could just climb real rock walls? Wouldn't you rather do that instead?"

"...She just explained all the safety precautions they put in place. They don't have those on natural rock walls." Vi said, hoping Kabbu would get it.

"You don't want Anne to fall from a real rock wall, do you?" Leif asked, to which Kabbu hurriedly attempted to stammer out a response and an apology, of which neither were intelligible. "We were joking." Leif clarified.

Anne was about to add something else she remembered, noting that they were back at a specific area she remembered from earlier: A place with a massive hill, along with a platform that had an empty slot behind it. It was peculiar, but Anne didn't think much of it, remembering what she was going to say-

But before she could speak a word, she and the others stopped upon hearing something strange. It was... giggling, coming from a feminine voice. Team Snakemouth looked around, trying to discern where it was coming from- but they couldn't. It was as if the voice was everywhere at the same time, but somehow still coming from a single origin point.

"Visitors?" The same voice asked, their tone playful and yet frustrated at the same time. Nobody knew what to expect, all of them standing and waiting, until... several feet away from them, a Venus Bud popped up out of the ground.

"Ah!" Anne yelped, initially surprised before reorienting herself. "Wait, I know you!" She'd never forget the Venus Bud from last night's spar with Aria, after all. Did it come back for more?

"How nice of the three of you to come here." the Venus Bud said, her tone neutral. Anne still had no idea what to expect from it, remaining on guard, while also remembering one of the biggest reasons she came here. She had no idea if this 'Venus Bud' was actually connected to Venus, or who Venus really was, but this was all she had for now, wasn't it?

"Goodness!" Kabbu said, taken aback.

"Eeep! That plant can talk!" Vi said, also surprised. Of all the crazy things in this world, that's what Vi was surprised by?

"...It can't count, though." Leif bluntly said.

"Huh? So there's four of you?" the Venus Bud asked, genuinely confused. She stayed silent for several seconds, thinking. She became agitated for a split second before managing to calm herself again. "I see. Hm. So that's how it is." She spoke fast, as if in shock while trying to move past it at the same time. What was that about?

"So what brings you here?" the Venus Bud asked. "Come to take in the sights? Observe the wildlife? Admire my beauty?" Venus or whoever else had to open the way, so she must've known, right? Then again, that was just the reward for the fulfilling spar; Venus didn't know the reason why they wanted to come in.

And now was as good of a time as any for Anne to take her chance. She stepped forward and shook her head, addressing the Venus Bud directly. "It's not any of those things. I want to ask you something, and I didn't think I'd get to so soon, but..."

Despite her best efforts, she struggled to form the correct words. She knew what she had to say, but actually getting out there seemed like an impossible feat, nervousness and anxiety overtaking her due to a simple thought. What if she, like everyone else, didn't know anything?

Elizant's research turned up nothing. Kabbu, Vi, and Leif didn't know anything. Vesp & Skye had only used her for information, Aria didn't know anything either... it was as if all knowledge and information about the music box or anything relating to it had been forgotten by everyone in some kind of weird mass hallucination, or it was kept secret so well that nobody knew about it. The mere possibility of this turning out to be another failure caused Anne to stumble over her words, second-guessing herself-

"We're here for the artifact! Fame and riches!" Vi spoke up, jumping in because of Anne's long hesitation. Anne gasped, only just now finding the correct words.

The Venus Bud scoffed. "Hmph! Such reckless greed! How impure!"

"Impure!?" Vi challenged. "I'll show you impure!"

"Dear plant, we assure you there is more at play than mere riches…" Kabbu said, trying to calm the situation down. "And Anne did have a question for you, please hear her out!"

"Yeah right, you bugs always say the same!" the Venus Bud said, much less patient than she sounded before. Great.

"Nice going, Vi." Leif said, elbowing Vi. To add to this, Anne gave Vi a glare, the bee shrinking down under her harsh gaze ever so slightly.

The Venus Bud didn't leave yet, thankfully. Anne was about to ask her question, opening her mouth to speak- only to yet again lose her nerve. The Venus Bud took that as her cue to continue talking.

"If you want to get the artifact, you'll have to get to the top…" the Venus Bud said, craning her head upward. Everyone else looked up, only now getting the real scope of how tall it was, unable to even see the top of the Golden Hills from where they were standing.

"Whoa mama..." Anne said, wondering how they were possibly gonna get up there.

"Let's see if some flytraps don't eat you before then!" the Venus Bud taunted, laughing at them before swiftly tunneling back into the ground.

Anne ran over, vainly attempting to get the Venus Bud to come back. "No, wait!" But it was already long gone, just like her chance to get information on how to get home.

Her fist shook, frustration boiling within her faster than she could process, stomping the ground where the Venus Bud once was. "Well I got rid of some flytraps recently with a bath bomb, so HA!" Too bad she didn't pack anymore, otherwise she'd be able to clear any further flytraps with ease. The small amount of satisfaction she felt from her comeback soon faded, Anne just wanting answers more than anything.

Kabbu let out a sigh, glancing in Vi's direction. "Vi, announcing openly you are here to take treasure wasn't very smart... nor is interrupting others when they're about to speak."

"I mean, I wasn't gonna lie or anything!" Vi said, annoyed, though her expression softened upon seeing how frustrated Anne was.

"We're sure that's the reason." Leif said, sarcasm oozing from his tone.

Anne's frustration faded, sighing as she turned back to the others. "Lying or not, I just lost a chance to potentially get a lead on a way back home!" The others stayed silent, all of them knowing very well how important this was to her. "I really need this, now more than ever!" Every passing moment was another second she wasn't back home, stuck here!

Eventually, Kabbu walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "There'll be other chances, I'm sure of it. You just have to be patient." At least Kabbu always knew what to say. Anne could count on him for support if she needed it.

"There might even be other Venus Buds around that could help you." Leif pointed out.

"Yeah! No need to mope around! Treasure's at the top, so let's get climbing!" Vi said.

With the encouragement from all of them, Anne couldn't help but crack a smile. Despite this being a setback, it was just that. A small setback, and she's had more than her fair share of those at this point.

"Let's be careful." Leif warned. "Something feels... off about this place." He looked around, trying to place what exactly it was.

"The only thing off is that we haven't found the treasure yet!" Vi said.

"Anyway, how are we supposed to get to the top?" Anne asked, changing the subject and looking up, trying to find anything that they could use. She looked back down, spotting the platform with a large, empty slot behind it. Would that be of any use? Anne walked over to the platform, the others following her.

"Hm..." Kabbu was deep in thought as they approached. "There were other platforms with slots like this, weren't there? Maybe we have to find a crank to put in here."

"This crank would appear to be bigger than the others, that slot is pretty big." Leif said, inspecting the slot carefully. He was right, that slot was huge.

Vi let out a groan. "We gotta search this whole place for a stupid crank?" If that platform was how they were gonna get to the top, then finding the crank was their only choice.

But Anne couldn't care less about a crank, or what they had to do to get it. No matter how much reassurance she got, she couldn't help but keep thinking about what the hidden, unknown answers might be. She had to know; it stewed within her, wishing she had even the smallest modicum of something.

She'd been so close, and yet it was ripped right out of her hands. So close... as she and the others set out once again, now a new mission in mind to find the missing crank, Anne couldn't stop fixating on what she didn't know, the answers she craved, to the point where even trying to think about something else wasn't possible.

...

The Golden Hills was vast, to say the least. As they ventured through the place, Anne tried to find any sort of distraction to pull her away from the neverending thoughts pestering her. Joining in on the conversations her friends were having didn't help, and neither was looking at old photos and videos on her phone. Although... there was something.

Anne couldn't help but wonder how many people- or rather, bugs had been in this place beforehand. There were certain... things that didn't appear to be naturally placed, but rather built after the fact, if that made sense. Aside from the platforms, there were other obstacles, seemingly placed deliberately in order to try and ward off anyone wandering this area.

Such as the puzzle Team Snakemouth came across only an hour into their search for the large crank.

It seemed simple enough, they just had to turn different platforms that were over a pit of thorns in order to make a path to get across. There were three levers for them to pull, but the problem was that each lever was actually connected to two platforms, making it difficult to find the correct pattern in order to get the platforms lined up so they could cross.

Everyone tried their hand at it, but Anne stepped in, determined that she could solve it; she was an expert at puzzles after all. But she kept getting distracted by her other thoughts, leading her to make the same mistakes over and over again, refusing to give up.

Anne was jolted out of her thoughts as Kabbu tapped her shoulder on her good arm before spinning her around. "Let me take care of this, Anne. I've been watching you for a bit, and I think I might've found the solution."

"Suit yourself." Anne said, turning away. She was so close to solving that puzzle, just like how she was so close to finding a way home- "Hey!" Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a Venus Bud, watching them from a distance. A bit creepy, but whatever.

Without thinking, Anne ran over as fast as she could. "I still have something to ask you!"

The Venus Bud looked directly at her-

A spike of hesitation shot through her, tripping her up, Anne letting out a grunt as she tripped, Anne rolling to one side to avoid landing on her injured arm. To her horror, the Venus Bud started laughing at her, not loudly, but just enough to get under Anne's skin, the teen looking away, embarrassed.

She swallowed her embarrassment, standing up- but the Venus Bud had already disappeared. Anne's mouth was agape; did the Venus Bud really leave that fast? But why?

Anne scowled, only more frustrated than before as she walked back to the others, seeing that Kabbu had solved the platform puzzle, him and the others walking across. Anne joined them, so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even realize she was about to fall until Kabbu caught her, pulling back upright.

"Careful!" Kabbu warned, Anne snapping out of it.

"Sorry, sorry!" Anne was already embarrassed enough, she didn't need everyone else boring down on her this way.

No closer to finding the large crank, it wasn't too long before they came across the next puzzle. Instead of needing to move across a large area, this one involved moving platforms up and down in a specific pattern to get to a higher level.

Leif took charge on this puzzle, everyone following along, Anne only snapping out of her thoughts once in a while-

"Where are you going, that's the wrong way!" Leif called, Anne realizing now where she'd gone. Instead of walking to the raising platform like the others were doing, she found herself in a small cave that led somewhere else.

"Hold on, maybe there's something here!" Anne called, jogging through the short cave. With a short turn to the right, she found herself out of the cave and back outside... but the only way off where she was would be to go back to ground level.

"How's that shortcut going?!" Leif yelled, trying to make sure Anne could hear him.

"Not well!" Anne yelled back before groaning, facepalming and wishing she hadn't been so side-tracked. But she still was, craving any new information- Was that another Venus Bud?!

"You!" Anne made sure to get its attention this time, pointing at it. The Venus Bud turned to her, giving her an odd look.

But at the same time, a nearby Acornling took notice of her, antsy and ready for a fight. Anne didn't even see it coming as it rolled at her, Anne letting out a scream as it knocked her over, rolling over her before heading into the cave, Anne knowing she would never be able to find it.

"Oooogh..." Anne groaned as she stood up, trying to tune out the sounds of the Venus Bud laughing at her, mocking her- Anne spun around- "Listen here, you-" The Venus Bud was gone.

Again.

"There you are." Leif said, walking out of the same small cave Anne had gone into. "Don't worry, we'll help you catch up."

And with that, they redid all the progress and made it past the puzzle, progressing further but still with no crank or answers as they unsurprisingly found themselves at yet another puzzle they needed to solve. Anne had all but tuned out by this point, not even caring what the puzzle was.

Why were the Venus Buds popping up only to laugh at every small error she made? Anne wasn't perfect, but she didn't deserve to be laughed at for- Without even thinking, she had walked right into a wall, bonking against it, a bit dazed from the impact.

"Anne, watch where you're going!" Vi said, running over. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Anne said, trying to move past it. "Okay, what's this stupid puzzle ab-" She let out a yell as she tripped over a large rock she didn't see before, Vi narrowly catching her.

"What's up with you?" Vi asked, a mix of worried and annoyed.

"Nothing's up except the sky!" Anne snapped, walking away. She hissed, her head pounding with an incoming headache. Just what she needed right now! Kneeling down, she didn't bother asking anyone for help as she managed to zip open her backpack with one hand, digging through it before finding a water bottle, opening it and gulping it down, desperate for relief from the headache.

It thankfully helped a bit, Anne leaving the others to solve the puzzle on their own. The headache faded fast, but what replaced it were the same thoughts over and over again, caught in a web that she couldn't escape from.

...Even if she couldn't see it, she knew that a Venus Bud was staring at her again. Silently judging her, just waiting for her to mess up, but she wouldn't give it the time of day- heck, if it ignored her existence, then she'd ignore its existence as well.

Anne took another sip of water, only for her to start coughing, the water going down the wrong tube. She'd been so absorbed in trying to focus on one thing that she'd forgotten about everything else, and now she was trying to get the water out of her throat.

"C'mon, you can't drink water so fast!" Vi was soon by her side again, making sure she was okay.

And in the distance, Anne heard the distinct laughter of the Venus Bud, Anne boiling with fury.


Anne's hair was frazzled once again, bags in her eyes, her body somehow adorned with her minor bumps and bruises. Under normal circumstances, she would've been able to push through, but considering the big block plaguing her thoughts, it made doing anything that much more difficult, which in turn made her so tired, despite it only being the early evening. It was less from being worn out, but more from... mental exhaustion.

"How... much... longer..." Anne weakly asked. Her feet dragged across the ground as she walked.

Kabbu led the group, diligently scanning the area. He stopped when he noticed something just barely sticking out of a bush, craning his head to get a closer look. "What is..." He said to himself, speedwalking over to the bush and parting it, letting out a gasp at what he saw. "Team, I think I found it!"

He moved out of the way, allowing the others to see the crank within the bush. Anne let out a cheer upon seeing it, relieved that they found it with relative ease.

"Finally!" Vi said.

Leif took a closer look at the crank, noticing something odd about it. "We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that crank is too small to fit the slot." He said, Anne just wanting to collapse immediately after hearing that.

"This sucks!" Vi said, about ready to smack something with her beemerang.

"N-Now now, I'm sure there's somewhere else we can put this in!" Kabbu said, walking back to the others. As if that was much reassurance at all, they were just back at square one!

"We may as well take it with us." Leif said. "Anne, get your backpack ready."

But before any of them could attempt to get the regular-sized crank, two Venus Buds blocked their path, Team Snakemouth stepping back a bit. Great, of course they decided to show up again... but it was another chance.

"Oh!" Kabbu said, surprised. "Excuse me, plants! Could you perhaps let us pass?"

The two Venus Buds stayed unmoving for a few long seconds, giving each other a quick eyeless glance. The Venus Bud on the right shook her head. "Nope. After what I've seen from you? Absolutely no way!"

Anne didn't care about the crank anymore, if she got answers, then that was good enough. They were directly speaking to all of them, which meant that there was no way they could ignore her now. "Can you tell me-"

"Vi, apologize for what you said earlier." Leif turned to the bee, scolding her.

"Why should I? Treasure is the best part of the mission!" Vi said.

This wasn't the time! Anne's heart pounded, so many familiar feelings washing over her. She loved her friends, but she wished that they would shut up for a moment so she could speak, this was important! "Hold on guys, let me-"

"The best part of the mission is the experience and growth you gain!" Kabbu said as she shook his head at Vi in disapproval, the bee responding childishly by sticking her tounge out.

Leif raised an eyebrow. "No, it's the places you get to see, and-"

Anne couldn't take it anymore. "HEY!" She screamed, her frustration finally boiling to the surface. She took several deep breaths, barely noticing the shocked and surprised expressions of her friends... but as she stared at the Venus Buds, their expressions remained even, neutral, as if they didn't care at all.

"Listen to me! Or say something!" Anne yelled, pointing a finger at them with her good arm. She wasn't going to get angry at her friends, they weren't the ones who consistently laughed and impeded her progress, making a mockery as if she were some exhibit put on display.

The Venus Buds apparently didn't like her tone, instead turning to face each other again. Not another word out of them.

She was being ignored all over again.

Nobody would listen to her- Everyone else decided what was best for her, Anne rarely if ever getting a say. Whether it was stealing a music box or being made to stay in a building and not go anywhere, she always had to go to great lengths to get a say in anything.

It was tiring. How did she not mind this before?! ...Maybe because she did have an issue with it-

Faster than she herself expected, she reached backward into her backpack with her good arm, grabbing her tennis racquet. Letting out a battle cry, she saw red and charged at the Venus Buds. No more sitting around and putting up with anything like this. The others were frozen in place, snapping out of it as Anne hit one of the Venus Buds with her tennis racquet.

"I-I guess we're fighting them now!" Vi said, getting her beemerang. She, Kabbu, and Leif focused their efforts on one of the Venus Buds while Anne unleashed her fury on the other one.

Anne wasn't stupid, she learned from the spar with Aria. She knew the tricks the Venus Bud might pull. After her initial attack, Anne stepped back, the Venus Bud angry. Hmph, that's what it deserved.

It tried to catch her off-guard by immediately shooting spores at her, but she was prepared, holding up her tennis racquet to block it, sending them right back at the Venus Bud. And instead of staying in place, she sidestepped to the left, just as a large, thorny vine popped out of the ground where she once stood. Anne took the opportunity to leap forward, striking down on the Venus Bud yet again. If she was right, then it was about to...

Right as Kabbu, Vi, and Leif defeated the other Venus Bud, the one Anne focused on did exactly what she expected, uprooting itself from the ground before attempting to fly upward-

"Gotcha!" Anne said, dropping her tennis racquet so she could grab the Venus Bud by the stem, her grip so tight that the Venus Bud couldn't pull away, no matter how hard it tried.

Now, she finally had it where she wanted. An evil, devilish smile crossed Anne's face, taking a moment to revel in her accomplishment- her accomplishment... what...

What did she accomplish by doing this?

In an instant, her fury evaporated, replaced with a strange emptiness that she couldn't quite explain. She was still frustrated over not getting answers on how to get home, but did that really necessate violence? But then again... her thoughts still swirled, becoming even more conflicted as she took a glance at Kabbu, Vi, and Leif, all three of them staring at her in disbelief.

Anne's expression softened. This wasn't going to get her anywhere. Nothing would, apparently.

"I can't do this." Her tone was that of acceptance, Anne slowly loosening her grip on the Venus Bud until it was able to free itself from her grip, rooting itself back to the ground.

Anne stepped away, the realization washing over her that she just screwed everything up even more. As if her chances to get anything from a Venus Bud weren't low enough already, after attacking it, she may as well kiss those answers goodbye. But she still had to make things right before anything got worse.

"I'm sorry. You weren't listening and I- no, no." Anne backtracked; she didn't want to offer up an excuse or explanation, but at the same time, she had to say something, otherwise she might look even worse- but that was the problem. "That was dumb. I just... argh."

The silence was deafening.

"It was pretty stupid to try and pick a fight with a Venus Bud." Leif commented. Anne gave him a soft glare, even if she agreed with him.

"Obviously! But it was still a good fight!" Vi said.

"We really should avoid fighting them if we can..." Kabbu said, weary.

Anne jolted as the remaining Venus Bud let out another bout of laughter, but this wasn't mocking or demeaning. It was more... joyful, not laughing at her for once. "You sure are a feisty one!" the Venus Bud said.

"I... Thank you?" Anne wasn't sure how to respond. "Wait, now you try and talk to me? After I went into a rage? Is that what it took?!" She was getting more baffled by the second.

The Venus Bud tilted its head. "Well... no." That was blunt. "Think of me however you like, it doesn't matter to me. I have my own ways of going about things around here."

"Way to be mysterious." Vi said. "So, know where any big cranks are? No reason in particular!" She had an overly sweet smile on her face.

"Before you waste any more of your time, let me tell you this. Trying to squeeze any answers out of me... useless! Don't even try it!" The Venus Bud said, making its stance firm. Kabbu gave it a nod.

At least Anne knew that the Venus Bud wasn't an avenue worth exploring. But then... "Why didn't you tell me that in the first place?" Anne questioned. "I spent all that time trying to ask you something!" Since she knew now she wouldn't get answers, she didn't bother trying to elaborate what that something is.

"Let me tell you this. All of you are still here, right?" The Venus Bud asked, to which everyone said yes. "Good. I don't like others in my territory. But I can't keep anyone out, either, because... well, that's a secret of mine. Still, just because I have to let bugs in doesn't mean I'm gonna like it. And you lot... didn't give me the greatest impression."

"W-Wait!" Kabbu said, worried. "Is there anything I can do to correct this?! Please, I must..."

The Venus Bud let out a low chuckle. "Don't worry. I mean as a group, your first impressions weren't favorable. Which is why I tried to discourage you."

"Mere discouragement isn't enough to faze us." Leif challenged.

"It wasn't just that!" Anne said. "Did none of you notice when it kept popping up to laugh at me?!" The looks the others had told her all she needed to know.

"Oi, what the heck!?" Vi yelled at the Venus Bud. "Why were you laughing at her?"

"I do hope you have a very good reason." Kabbu added.

"Again." The Venus Bud started, Anne unsure if she would like whatever explanation it gave. "My way of thinking might be different than yours, and I don't care. I didn't recognize your abilities at first... but now I do." ...Was that it?! "Hm. You didn't like that, did you?"

"Nope." Anne deadpanned.

"Then we aren't really going to get anywhere, are we?" The Venus Bud asked, Anne already knowing the answer. The more it spoke, the less she understood it; an enigma that she couldn't comprehend. "How about this. I'll leave you four alone, no more buds popping up while you explore this place. And if you manage to reach the top, any questions you have will get answered. You might not like the answers, but they'll be there. How does that sound?"

Finally. Clear communication. And with a clearer head, this was an easy decision for Anne to make. "I can deal with that." She nodded, the Venus Bud returning the nod before swiftly disappearing into the ground.

Despite having no answers, Anne was... content. Those old feelings of being talked over and ignored still stewed inside her, but she was calm, deciding to ignore all that for now. "I'm really sorry about-"

"We know you're sorry, Anne!" Vi said, a smile on her face, immediately ready to get back to the mission as she rushed over to the bush, grabbing the crank. "The faster we find that big crank, the faster we can get what we all want! Including treasure!" Good ol' Vi, always ready for more. Even if Anne didn't have any answers, Kabbu, Vi, and Leif always provided a distraction from that; she was more than glad to continue spending time with them.

Anne grabbed her tennis racquet off the ground and set her backpack down to put it and the crank away, only to realize- "Ow." Her injured arm was in pain again. She hissed, realizing she hadn't been careful during the brief fight with the Venus Bud.

"Are you going to be okay, Anne?" Kabbu asked, worried.

"Absolutely." Anne said after Vi put the crank in her backpack, zipping it up and tossing it back over her shoulder. "Now let's get a move on!" With that, Team Snakemouth continued their journey through the Golden Hills- "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."

"We'll get you some ice." Leif said, already preparing to summon some.