It's been a few days since Maddie and Luz were locked in- umm... since they were received as guests and settled in. Their room is quite large, with a fairly large bed covered with a number of different colored pillows of various sizes, a few closets and dressers, a desk, and a separate bathroom. In Maddie's opinion, the food they are provided with is absolutely delicious and better than anything she has ever tasted before. Luz is still a little put off by all the insect pieces within the food, but from what she's tasted on the Boiling Isles, the food here is in the top 5 if Earth food doesn't count.
Aside from a guard who regularly brought food and drinks, both girls were undisturbed for most of the time. Once in-between, Lady Olivia came by to apologize for her rude behavior towards both of them. She was apparently under enormous stress that day. Luz had taken the chance to ask her if they could get some books from the library, but Luz could already guess the answer even as she asked the question.
One night, Luz had snuck out to tell Iva that she and Maddie were being caught and being held at the palace. After a lecture along the lines of 'I told you so', she offered Luz her help. But since no one had been in trouble so far, Luz had politely declined the offer, but had been given a few books by Iva against boredom, before flying back to the palace.
Since the short trip, both girls have stayed in their room, and have used the time to continue working on glyphs. There were certainly new findings, but nothing really useful.
Maddie was complaining about the invisibility glyph requiring her to hold her breath for it to work. After some experimentation, they were able to solve the air problem, but now they have to keep their eyes closed to do so. Whether this is really an improvement is questionable.
Luz, on the other hand, is trying something that is much more challenging for her: illusions. While she knows that what she envisions in her mind can affect the outcome of glyph magic, such as plant- er... glyphs for organic matter, unfortunately there is no glyph for Illusions. The light glyph comes closest, but redirecting, or shaping light to represent complex structures without any physical matter, is incredibly difficult. When she gets back to the Boiling Isles, she definitely needs to talk to Gus about how elaborate illusions actually are...
Meanwhile, a few kilometers outside of Newtopia, and a couple hundred meters above the surface...
"Ugh, I don't like that at all, Joe... The Barbari-Ants aren't in their nest anymore. But at least it's a good thing they didn't find our camp, huh? Those pheromones really work wonders. Soooo... Where are my research notes?"
Knowing full well that Joe Sparrow won't be able to answer her, Marcy rummages through the tent that has been hastily thrown onto Joe's back.
"So, let's go through the whole thing again... In their basic structure, Barbari-Ants are quite comparable to ants seen on Earth: One queen, several thousand to millions of worker ants working in a state. What seems to be different here is the distribution of tasks. You know, Joe, back on Earth all the ants live for their respective colony. Some ants take care of defending the colony, some take care of larvae rearing, some take care of food gathering and so on. Never the whole colony, always just a part of it. But here the entire colony is gone, even the queen. Hmm... On Earth, the only reasons ants leave the safety of the colony are either to search for food, or to go and fight against another colony. But there aren't any other colonies around... ... And I haven't seen them go in search of food either... … Oh no... Joe, hurry to Newtopia! Quick!"
Joe Sparrow picks up speed in a flash and within a minute, he and Marcy are already back in Newtopia. Joe lands on the outermost wall of the city and Marcy jumps off his back, observing the water surrounding the city. In the distance she notices some vibrations in the water and a few holes forming in the sand.
One of the guards patrolling the wall approaches Marcy and sees the worried look on her face.
"Master Marcy?", he reports.
"Trigger the alarm! Bring in everyone who is outside and near the city in, and close all the gates!" Marcy orders.
"And the traveling merchants we're expecting?", he asks.
Marcy thinks for a moment and says with a cold undertone "I hope they know how dangerous Barbari-Ants are and turn around in time if they see any"
"Barbari-Ants?", the guard asks worriedly, whereupon Marcy just nods. The guard salutes and runs toward the main gate. Shortly thereafter, an alarm goes off all over the outermost wall, and Marcy watches people outside the city gates, running quickly back to safety. Shortly thereafter, several dull noises can be heard. A few Barbari-Ants tried to rush through the gate before it was completely closed. Luckily none of them made it into town, and they merely ran into the closed gate before retreating into the ground.
Relieved, Marcy turns to Joe Sparrow.
"That was really close... Thank you Joe. You're just the best", she says proudly. Joe lets out a chirp of delight. "How about we take you home and you can relax a bit for the rest of the day? I'll have to gather some specialists for the Barbari-Ants later..."
Joe is very excited about this suggestion after being on a research trip with Marcy for over a week now. Luckily his stable isn't far from where he landed. Marcy jumps on his back, he spreads his wings, jumps off the ground vigorously, and slowly glides towards the barracks.
Once there, Marcy and Joe are greeted by several armored Newts.
"Joe has the rest of the day off! Please store that stuff up there near one of the city gates! And tell Bartley, Branson and Blair to come to my office for tomorrow morning!", Marcy orders. But before the Newts unload Joe's back, Marcy quickly grabs her research notes and heads towards the palace.
Arriving at the palace, Marcy is already expected. Lady Olivia is standing at the gate.
"Greetings, Master Marcy. Am I correct in assuming that you have sealed off the city and raised the alarm?", Lady Olivia asks.
"That's right. Barbari-Ants were about to attack"
"Then we owe it to you, that the inhabitants of Newtopia are safe..."
"Ehh... Not quite yet. Feel free to thank me once the danger is gone and we can reopen the gates."
"Very well, Master Marcy. I assume you wish to report this to King Andrias?"
"Yup. And after that I'll get to work to stop the ants.", Marcy states confidently.
"A good idea. However, before you delve back into work, I have a surprise for you that you will find extremely gratifying."
"Uhh, I'm looking forward to it. I'll watch out for you once I've talked to King Andrias", Marcy says while making her way to the throne room.
"Hey Mar-Mar. Nice to see you again.", King Andrias says quite cheerful. "How was your expedition?"
"Pretty good. Well, at least until the Barbari-Ants have all left their nest, and made their way to Newtopia.", Marcy says, slightly disappointed.
"Oof, that sucks. But... you made sure they didn't come into town, didn't you?"
"But of course. Even if it was quite close", Marcy confesses with an embarrassed smile.
"Great", Andrias says loudly. "A king couldn't wish for a nicer present than uneaten subjects for his birthday."
"THAT WAS TODAY?", she screams in horror.
"Actually already a few days ago…", Andrias corrects her, being quite amused.
"Oh no... I missed the party... I'm so, so sorry..."
"Oh Mar-Mar... After over a thousand years, birthdays are nothing special anymore. I'm expected to show up around town, and give people the impression that I'm enjoying myself on the day. Also, next year I have another birthday party", he said with a wink.
"Thank you", Marcy says, now feeling a little relieved, "I'll be there next year. Nothing will stop me."
"I'm really looking forward to that. Oh, it looks like Lady Olivia is waiting for you...", Andrias looks towards the entrance of the throne room. Marcy turns around and sees that she is actually standing at the door.
"Uh, yeah. She said she had a surprise for me...", Marcy remarks excitedly.
"I think I already know what it is...", Andrias says teasingly.
"No spoilers!"
"My lips are sealed", Andrias motions with a hand gesture in front of his mouth. "You may go."
"Thanks. I'll take care of our ant problem later, too.", Marcy promises while already running to Lady Olivia.
Marcy and Lady Olivia walk around the palace for a few minutes, and Marcy is getting more and more excited.
"What is it? What is it? What is it?", Marcy asks, who is over the moon with excitement.
"Patience, Master Marcy. We'll be right there", Lady Olivia assures her, who can't help but be carried away by Marcy's anticipation.
Marcy walks a few more steps before noticing that Lady Olivia has stopped next to a door with two guards outside. She raises an eyebrow, slightly confused.
"Someone is waiting for you in here.", Lady Olivia announces as she opens the door.
Marcy's eyes widen and her pulse increases. She enters the room, and when she sees an unknown human girl sitting on the floor, her brain completely shuts down and her jaw drops to the floor. Lady Olivia smiles contentedly.
"I'll leave the three of you alone.", she says as she closes the door behind her as she leaves.
There is an awkward silence in the room for far too long. Since entering the room, Marcy hasn't moved a bit, as if frozen.
"Hi... I'm Luz. This is Maddie...", Luz introduces herself with a sheepish smile on her face. Marcy then starts blinking wildly.
"I... I can't believe it... Another human in Amphibia...", she mutters in disbelief, before her mind probably switched to the fast lane. "Who are you? Oh wait, you just said that already. By the way, I'm Marcy. Where are you from? How did you get here? How did you travel between worlds? Can you control it? Have you met Sasha? Or Anne? Do you know where they are? Are they okay? Are they mad at me? No, I don't want to know. How long have you been here? Why are you here? Urgh, I have sooo many questions...", Marcy sits down with Luz and Maddie, and pulls out her notepad.
"Maddie, right?", Marcy asks. Maddie doesn't have time to reply, though, before Marcy continues, "Frog, country style, judging by the earth beneath your feet I'd say... Wartwood, right?"
"Impressive", Maddie confirms.
"And Luz... have you ever stood inside a volcano?"
"Um... No...", Luz replies, somewhat perplexed.
"Hmm... The bottoms of your shoes are singed a bit. And there's some blood... Who is it from?"
"Um... It's either mine... Or someone else's you'll meet soon...", Luz says, causing Marcy to look confused.
"Uh, a secret. Alright... Alright..."
"But I can tell you one thing...", Luz starts, "... I've been here for maybe two weeks, I have no sense of time here, and I've met both Anne and Sasha...", Marcy squeals in relief.
"OH MY GOD... They're here... Are they both okay? Where are they?"
"The last time I saw Anne, she was fine. She lives in Wartwood too, and was taken in by a family of frogs, the Plantars", Luz explains.
"Aww, how nice. I like the Found Family trope. And Sasha?", Marcy asks, at which point Luz and Maddie exchange sad looks.
"The last time I saw Sasha... She fled. And if she's still alive-"
"What do you mean 'if'?", Marcy asks worried, "What happened?"
"Please let me finish. If she's still alive, she's in Toad Tower. She's the second-in-command to Captain Grime..."
"What happened?", Marcy repeats her question.
"Something very bad. Anne can tell you more when she arrives..."
"Can't you just- Wait... did you just say that Anne is on her way to Newtopia?", Marcy asks incredulously, whereupon Luz nods, and Marcy's mood increases enormously, which quickly turned into mild panic.
"Marcy, are you okay? You're so red all of a sudden...", Maddie asks in response.
"Oh yeah, absolutely. I'm great..."
"Ugh, I know that look you have on your face... I said something wrong, right?", Luz says, concerned.
"Heh... No, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just not sure if I'm really ready to see Anne again yet... I might have missed her a little more than I thought...", Marcy confesses with an embarrassed smile on her face.
"But that's completely normal. I miss my friends a lot too and I've only been separated from them for a few weeks. It's been months since you last saw Anne and Sasha…", Luz argues, trying to cheer Marcy up, not realizing that Maddie is rolling her eyes. Marcy isn't sure how to respond without exposing herself too much, so she gives a quick cough, and tries to change the subject as gently as possible.
"Um... Thanks, Luz. Another question: How did you actually end up in Amphibia? I didn't know that there was more than the one music box that we originally came here with..."
"To be honest, I have no idea. One minute I was... doing stuff, and the next I'm slamming into a wall at Toad Tower at high speed."
"Ouch...", Marcy comments at that.
"I was told I was hurt pretty badly... And if it weren't for Maddie's skills, I'd probably be dead...", Luz says, causing Marcy to look at Maddie.
"Had some healing potions with me that day. I'm a student of magic and witchcraft", Maddie explains as Marcy widens her eyes and lets out a squeal of delight.
"Oh my god that's sooo cool", she almost screams, "I've been looking for people to learn from for ages. But people with knowledge about this, are few and far between... Can you teach me?"
A certain sparkle can be seen in Marcy's eyes. But even without it, it's not hard to see how excited Marcy is right now. What Luz told her about Sasha or that Anne is about to arrive in Amphibia, she has completely forgotten by now.
"Actually, magic was one of the reasons why we came to Newtopia. We wanted to do some research here in the Royal Library before Lady Olivia caught us and locked us in this room.", Maddie explains.
"Luz, are you interested in magic too?", Marcy asks.
"Absolutely. Ever since my mom got me the first issue of 'The Good Witch Azura' I wanted so badly to be a witch myself-", Luz explains before being interrupted by Marcy.
"AHHH! Another 'Good Witch Azura' fan... I've been trying to get Anne and Sasha excited about the series for ages... I've got the whole series", Marcy beams.
"Me too.", Luz replies with the same energy.
"Uh, before we were transported to Amphibia, I picked up a rumor online that the latest book was going to be made into a movie. Do you know if there's any truth to that?"
"Really?", Luz asks surprised, "I thought the actress ended her career when she suffered a concussion while shooting the last movie"
"I wouldn't be surprised if they recast their role. Even though I love all the films apart from the third one, the studio behind it really sucks...", Marcy complains, "When I was on Earth, the studio had just sponsored a campaign against queer portrayals in media. To be honest, I'm glad I'm not there anymore. Even though I can't wait for the upcoming one movie would love to see... I hate this dilemma"
"I think I can understand you. The only reason to return to Earth is my mom. Before I left, she wanted to send me to a summer camp to 'fit in better with society'... I don't know if I'd want to go back forever, but I'd give anything to see my mom again...", Luz says, who is now a little sadder. Marcy is not unaffected by the sudden change in mood in the room.
After a pause, Marcy recounts, "The day we were stranded in Amphibia was, up until that point, a total disaster. Well, not quite... It was Anne's birthday. I had spent most of the day in the library before Sasha reminded me of the party at Anne's later. At the same time, a message came from my father telling me to come home because he had something to discuss with me. And 'discuss' in this case means that he told me that he had taken a job in another state and that we would be moving there. I would have lost everything. And here... I'll soon be reunited with the most important people in my life. I fulfill a purpose here, people like me for what I do. On Earth I did well in school and my parents had everything planned out for my life, but... the fact is, I was a nobody there. I didn't fit in there. I couldn't go back there...", Suddenly Marcy realizes her eyes are a little watery and a few tears are rolling down her cheeks. Luz leans forward and gives Marcy a tight hug, which Maddie also joins in.
After a while, the hug breaks up and Marcy just says, "Thank you both. I really needed that..."
"Sometimes the best thing to do when you don't know what to say, is just listen to someone and offer a hug.", Luz says with a warm smile on her face. Marcy turns her head towards the window.
"Froggers, it's dark already. I still have to write a report...", Marcy remembers as she stands up.
"Maddie, Luz, I'm going to talk to Lady Olivia so that you're allowed to leave, and I'll see that you get access to the Royal Library. Hopefully you can teach me a little about magic soon then", Marcy says hopefully.
"That would be nice", Maddie says.
"I'll come back tomorrow and let you know what Lady Olivia has decided. See you later", Marcy says before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Now alone again, Maddie turns to Luz.
"So, what do you think?", she asks.
"I like her. She seems... sincere", Luz says.
"Do you feel the same way about her as you did about Andrias? Or Sasha?"
"Not at all. Though I'm not sure if I can tell her about the Boiling Isles yet. Or the glyphs..."
"I think at some point she'll find out one way or the other..."
"You're probably right. But she works directly for Andrias, and you know how I feel about him. I... need to think about it..."