Anne and Sprig are both sitting in the Plantar family fwagon at a large, solid, round wooden table on which lies an abstract map of Amphibia.
Anne is holding a polaroid photo of herself, Sasha and Marcy, all in their school uniforms, taken some time before they came to Amphibia with Anne being on the left, holding up a peace sign with the widest grin imaginable, Sasha in the middle with an uncharacteristically insecure look but also smiling, and Marcy on the other end, looking at Anne with a raised eyebrow.
While Anne looks at the picture with a rather sad look, Sprig enthusiastically runs two fingers over the map along the route the group has traveled in the fwagon over the past week and a half.
"Ugh, I can't believe it! It's been a long journey, but we're almost there.", Sprig says excitedly, before noticing that Anne Is kinda zoned out. "Anne?"
"Huh?"
"Uh, thought you'd be more excited"
"I am excited. It's just… ", Anne pauses, "We've been traveling Amphibia for an eternity. I thought there'd be some sign of Marcy by now. But nothing… "
"Maybe that's a good thing", Sprig says, causing Anne to look up from her picture. "Your last friend was kind of… totally evil", Sprig sneaks up next to Anne and points at Sasha in her picture, causing Anne to slap his hand away.
"Hey! Look, I know that Sasha has done something absolutely despicable-"
"She killed Hop Pop", Sprig cuts her off.
"-and I'll never be able to forgive her for that either. But... and this may sound absolutely stupid... As much as I try to hate her for what she's done, I can't. Quite the opposite: I'm worried about her. Something's happened to her since she's been in Amphibia that has changed her... I'm just as worried about Marcy, although for different reasons. I mean, since Sasha got zapped here with me, Marcy must be here too, right?", Sprig gives her a skeptical look before continuing.
"Also, Marcy is completely different from Sasha. She's harmless. Back on earth, she would have gotten in all kinds of trouble, if me and Sasha wouldn't be around. She was super smart, but also insanely clumsy and super oblivious… Like, maybe the clumsiest person alive… Back home, we were there to protect her. But here, she's alone and instead of kickballs…"
"She could get mauled by an elephant scarab. Or crushed to death by a heron. Or worse, flayed alive by a-", Anne's hand flashes forward to cover Sprig's mouth.
"Not helping.", Sprig nods in understanding (and in shock) and Anne withdraws her hand, exposing Sprig's mouth. He clears his throat.
"Even if you won't find Marcy here, she will definitely be somewhere... But who will definitely be there, is Luz. Maybe she has a few clues as to where she could be..."
Before Anne can reply, the fwagon's roof hatch shoots open and Polly interrupts the two friends, frantic with excitement, "Guys! Come- It's- I- Not gonna believe- Aaah! Just get out here!"
Polly hops aside and Anne and Sprig peer out of the roof hatch, breathless at what lies ahead: A huge city in the water, with walls taller than anything they've ever seen before… Tons of gigantic, mushroom-shaped structures and a spiraling tower in the center towering over absolutely everything.
Everyone descends from the fwagon and stares at the city in awe. After a few whoa's from everyone present, Hop Pop says "There she is, gang- Newtopia... If there's a way to get you home, it's in that city."
"Well, then let's go down there", Anne calls just before she, Sprig, and Polly jump down the cliff and slide down a sand hill toward the water. Only Hop Pop doesn't jump, turns around and walks with Bessie next to him down the safe, albeit longer, path to the kids. Anne patiently waits for Hop Pop while she buttons all the sand off her clothes. Polly jumps into the fairly shallow water and lets herself be carried along in the gentle current. Sprig, on the other hand, sees a lot of small hills sticking up out of the water and runs from one hill to the next.
It doesn't take long for the group to arrive in front of the town, and Anne cranes her head back to take in the sheer size of the town walls and the gate that leads through into the town. The only comparison she can think of, are the walls of 'Ba Sing Se' from 'Avatar: The Last Airbender', which she watched with Marcy quite a while back.
Anne notices that the Plantars have already moved on and sprints after them, until they all stop in the middle of a huge plaza. It's difficult to capture all the impressions that the big city has on the Plantars. The plaza is surrounded by a number of different buildings, none of which resemble the other. Everything is made of marble or other stones or minerals, with golden decorations and various statues everywhere.
It takes a while before this overwhelming first impression can be digested, and the group can start looking for a hotel. Hop Pop speaks to a few of the locals about where to find a suitable hotel and gets some rough directions in return.
Many disgusted and derogatory looks from the residents, as well as some disorientation later, the Plantars actually found the hotel. Hop Pop has been told that this is the only hotel that also includes a stable for Bessie to use.
Hop Pop and Anne enter the hotel lobby, while Sprig and Polly are tasked with watching over Bessie and the fwaggon, as long as it's in the middle of a street.
Hop Pop and Anne are astonished as they enter the lobby.
The splendor seen from the outside, and to a lesser extent throughout Newtopia up until now, extends to the buildings as well. On the floor is a huge noble carpet, surrounded by equally noble marble with golden ornaments. Next to the carpet are a couple of sofas with coffee tables between two sofas each, and across from these is the reception desk, which is staffed by an older axolotl wearing a fancy suit. Sitting at one of the coffee tables is a similarly aged couple of Newts, dressed rather flamboyantly, giving Hop Pop disgusted looks, which he skillfully ignores. Anne notices this.
"Why are they all looking at you so weirdly?", she whispers to him. Hop Pop takes a deep breath before replying.
"Remember what I told you in Ribbitvale about society here in Amphibia?"
"Umm... That Newts are discriminatory assholes who act snooty and look down on the frogs? Yeah"
"And also, that even the more affluent have a hard time?"
"Mmm"
"Well, as a farmer, people look at me the same way people looked at you back in Wartwood when you first got there"
"I don't see any torches or pitchforks..."
"You know what I mean, Anne."
"Yeah... I think I do...", Anne says, feeling slightly bad now. Hop Pop walks towards the receptionist, who greets him in an unexpectedly friendly manner.
"Hello and welcome to the Golden Seaweed Hotel. How can I be of service to you?"
"Yes, good afternoon. I would like a room for four. And how much does it cost to use the hutches for my snail?"
"Use of the stables is free for all guests of this hotel. How long do you plan to stay here?"
"One week."
"Excellent. Then all I need is your name and you can move into your room immediately."
"Before I answer that, I have one more question: How much is a night here?"
"A room with four beds costs 20 coppers per night. Breakfast included"
As Hop Pop hears that, all the color drains off of his face, and Anne gave him a worried look.
"Hop Pop, if that's too expensive, I'm sure we'll find a cheaper hotel. O-Or we'll sleep in the Fwaggon. Or-"
"No, Anne", he interrupts, "this family vacation has been in the planning for longer than you think, and I've put some money aside for the occasion. It's alright."
"Well, if you say so..."
"Name's Hopediah Plantar", Hop Pop tells the receptionist.
"Oh...", he replies in surprise.
"Oh? What oh? What do you mean by oh?", Anne asks, still concerned.
"Calm down, ma'am. I'm just seeing that the name 'Plantar' already has a reservation." Anne looks at Hop Pop, who in return just shrugs his shoulders. The receptionist continues, "It appears a suite in the penthouse has been booked for your name-"
"What? We can never afford that", Hop Pop shouts.
"- and paid in advance...".
Both Anne and Hop Pop's jaws drop and their eyes widen in disbelief. "What? From whom?"
"Unfortunately, I don't have this information. However, next to your reservation it says that I should give you something. One moment, please...", the receptionist says, before quickly disappearing through a door behind the reception.
"Luz maybe?", Anne asks.
"I don't know how she could have made so many coppers in such a short time... Penthouse suites are expensive everywhere, not even Mayor Toadstool could afford a night in here..."
Before the two can continue brooding over who might have given them such an amazing gift, the receptionist comes back holding both a key and a colored envelope.
"Here, for you, sir.", the receptionist says, handing both items over to Hop Pop. "Enjoy your stay"
"We- Well then, let's get the kids and unpack...", Hop Pop stutters and turns back towards the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the two Newts still sitting at one of the coffee tables in the lobby, glaring at him. But instead of staring in disgust, they look completely aghast. The Newts must have overheard the conversation. A huge grin spreads across Hop Pop's face.
Back at the fwagon, Sprig and Polly are sitting on Bessie and they seem to be arguing about something.
"What do you mean you get the top bunk when there are bunk beds?"
"Well, if we get attacked, you'll get eaten first. Also, you're older, which means-", Polly interrupts herself and looks towards Hop Pop and Anne, who have just left the hotel.
"Whoa, I've never seen you smile like that.", Sprig asks, noticing the gigantic grin that spreads across Hop Pop's face.
"Well, dear kids, that's a smile of superiority.", Sprig and Polly give him a confused look. Anne explains.
"Someone reserved a room in the penthouse for us and even paid for it in advance. A few snobs probably noticed and maybe died from it or something.
"This. Will. The. Best. Vacation. Ever!", Polly roars, grabs Sprig, and shakes him vigorously.
"Y-Y-Yeah P-P-Polly. Th-This will b-bbe a-awesome", Sprig stutters.
"Hey HP", Anne asks Hop Pop, "can we see what's in the envelope? Maybe they'll ask for something in return."
"Maybe... but no. First you help unpack, then you get the envelope"
"Uggghhhh", Anne wails, "Fine!"
Luckily, it doesn't take long before everything necessary is unpacked, and Bessie and fwagon are quartered in the hotel stables and the Plantars can finally have a look at their hotel room. But while Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly try to agree on who gets which of the four huge beds, Anne's mind seems to be on something else entirely. Before the three frogs went to explore their penthouse, Anne asked Hop Pop for the envelope, which she is now holding, reluctant to open it.
"What is it, Anne?"
"AAHH... Dude...", Anne jumps out of her skin
"Sorry", Sprig apologizes with a smile on his face
"You can't just sneak up behind me like that..."
"Understood", Sprig salutes, bringing a small smile to Anne's face. "So, what's wrong?"
Anne sighs. "I don't know. I guess I'm just a little scared of what might be in here. Maybe it's from Luz finding out that Marcy... isn't... anymore... Well, or it's an extortionist who captured Luz and Maddie and wants me in return-"
"Anne."
"-Or it's a threat because someone-"
"Anne!"
"Huh?"
"Open the envelope!", Sprig says firmly.
"But..."
"No buts. Open it and only then will you know for sure. Otherwise, you're making yourself crazy..."
"You're right, buddy. Alright, here we go"
Snailswood Way 12, Lower Ring
We'll meet there
"That's an address... Probably somewhere around here in Newtopia", Sprig assumes.
"Hey Hop Pop, there was an address in the envelope. Mind if Sprig and I take a look around?", Anne asks.
"Of course, I mind... big cities are dangerous.", Hop Pop claims, whereupon Anne just rolls her eyes.
"But after you, everything is dangerous"
"But that's just because it is..."
"You... That's... argh... Listen, I don't want to argue with you right now. Would you change your mind if you came with us?"
"Of course, it is. After all, this is a family vacation."
"Thanks, Hop Pop", Anne says, "We'll wait in the lobby", The door to the room slams and Hop Pop turns to look for Polly.
"You're getting weak, old man", Hop Pop hears coming from one of the bedrooms.
"Excuse me?"
"Your hard shell is softening. You let us get away with more and more things that you would never have allowed us to do, just a few months ago...", Polly states.
"And what made you think of that all of a sudden?"
"Anne and Sprig want to go visit someone we don't know who it is and what they want from us. And you're ready to fall into a potential trap..."
"And you'd really like to come with me, right?"
"Absolutely. Someone has to take responsibility here sometime.", Hop Pop laughs at that and heads towards the hotel lobby together with Polly. Arriving in the lobby, Hop Pop notices Anne and Sprig standing by the receptionist. Shortly afterwards, she tells him that she has asked for a few directions for that address.
Exactly 207 minutes and 12 seconds later, the Plantars finally seem to have found the right street.
"Ugh, finally... The directions from the receptionist guy sucked...", Anne complains.
"Think of it as a kind of city tour. But we'll also be doing a real city tour soon, kids", Hop Pop announces, ignoring the boo-sounds coming from his grandchildren. "So, where were we? Snailswood Way 8, Snailswood Way 10... Aha! Snailswood Way 12... We're in the right place"
He walks towards the wooden front door and reads the sign that is right next to it.
"Odal... Anne, that name doesn't mean anything to you, does it?", Anne shakes her head. Hop Pop knocks on the door.
No Response. He knocks again. This time noises can be heard from inside. Someone is coming to the door. Through the cathedran glass built into the door, a taller, slim, blue figure can be seen walking towards the waiting group and opening the door.
"Er, hello... Can I help you?"
"Good afternoon. Miss Odal I presume?", Hop Pop asks.
"That's right...", she says with a hint of skepticism and caution in her voice.
"My name is Hopediah Plantar. We arrived here in Newtopia a few hours ago, and upon checking into our hotel we were given an envelope with this address on it."
"May I take a look at it?", she asks, reading the message on the note. She looks up from the note and looks skeptically at Hop Pop. He tugs at his collar nervously. She continues to watch Sprig and Polly. And when her eyes finally fall on Anne, her expression changes from skepticism to a slight smile.
"I think I know why you are here. Come on in"
Slightly unsettled, the Plantars enter the house and are led into a rather cozy living room.
"So, Miss Odal-"
"You can call me Iva."
"All right. So, Iva, you mean you know why we got this message?"
"First of all, please sit down. Can I get you something to drink?"
"Some water would be nice."
"Alright.", Iva leaves the living room and comes back with a couple of cups of water.
"So-", Anne starts, "now can you tell us what it's about?"
"No. I don't know why you're here. But I might know someone who does...", Anne and the Plantars exchange confused looks when Iva knocks on a door just past the kitchen. They hear some whispering, but you cannot make out clear words.
Everyone is startled when they hear a sudden loud bang and see Luz running out of said door.
"LUZ!", Anne screams, jumping up, and running to her for a tight hug.
"Anne. Hop Pop, Sprig, Polly... It's so nice to see you guys", The remaining Plantars rise from their seats and join the embrace. "How did you know I'm here?"
"Didn't you leave this note for us?"
"Uh... nope. That must have been Marcy-"
"WHAT? MARCY IS HERE? Where is she? I need to see her!"
"Anne, come down. Marcy wanted to come by today.", Luz says, while Anne literally cannot stand still because of her excitement, and keeps walking through the living room trying to calm down.
"Oh my god, Marcy is actually here. Luz, what does she look like? How did she end up here? What is she doing here? No, wait. Better not tell me. Does she miss me? Did she know we were coming and did she leave us that note paying for our hotel suite? Is she-"
"Anne, you're hyperventilating. Look at me... ... Good, good, and now take a deep breath in... ... and a deep breath out... ... And again, a deep breath in... and out again...", It takes a while for Anne to get over her initial excitement and calm down again. Everyone is now spread out on the couches, and Iva has also taken out some of the beanbags from the room where Luz was earlier.
"Hey Luz, where's Maddie by the way?", Sprig asks after looking around the room a bit.
"Oh... Yes... She's sleeping next door. Must be 26 hours or so by now...", Luz says with concern in her voice.
"Did something happen?", he asks.
"Well... We may or may not have helped Marcy repel a possible invasion of Barbari-Ants yesterday, and Maddie fell asleep in the middle of it, and was eaten by the ant queen before Marcy saved her."
"Dafuq?", Anne asks in disbelief.
"Oh, and Anne, Marcy might have... powers too. I saw her eyes light up green...", Luz says. Suddenly Anne plans to dig out her smartphone, which Luz comments in surprise, "How is it possible that your phone is still working? My battery has been dead for more than a week now..."
"I still have a few thousand percent"
"A few what?"
"There are electrically charged centipedes here, Zapapedes. We ran into a bunch of them a while ago and they charged my phone. My battery had a change of like ten thousand percent", Anne explains.
"I still feel the tingling today", Hop Pop comments. Luz and Iva look at each other in confusion, while Anne seems to be looking for something on her phone.
"Aha, there it is.", Anne says and shows Luz the picture she was apparently looking for. "Did her eyes look like this gem?"
Luz's eyes widen. "Is that... the box you came to Amphibia with?", she asks to which Anne nods. "I've seen it before. On the Boiling isles... Eda had shown it to me once..."
"WHAT?", Anne and Hop Pop shout in unison. Anne looks questioningly at Hop Pop, who is tugging nervously at his collar. Before Anne can ask, however, Luz continues: "The gems in the box were all grey, though. And yes, Marcy's eyes were the same color as the green gem."
"Okay, ok, ok... That means I have powers, Marcy has powers that she may or may not know about… and Sasha then probably has powers too... Oh boy, that's bad", Anne concludes.
"Um, I'm sorry-", Iva raises her hand shyly, "But why is that bad?"
Anne seems to have completely forgotten that Iva is not one of the people who actually know about Anne's powers, and she realizes that she just admitted to having powers before her. Her face turns red. Luckily, Luz speaks up. "We'll explain that as soon as Marcy gets here. That way we don't have to explain it twice."
Iva seems to accept that for now. The conversation in the large group splits into several smaller ones and about half an hour goes by when there is a sudden knock on the front door.
Anne, who is sitting on a beanbag with direct eye contact to the front door, watches Iva getting up and walking to the door. She tries to get a glimpse through the glass in the door before Iva opens it, but unfortunately Anne doesn't quite see who's in front of the door. Luckily, that's not necessary either. Luz had already revealed that Marcy would be coming. Her gaze is focused entirely on the front door. Her heart is racing with anticipation
Iva opens the door and Anne's eyes well up with tears of joy.
"Marcy?"
"Anne?"
"MARCY!"
"Anne!"
Anne jumps up from her beanbag, running towards Marcy with open arms, throwing them both to the ground.
"Oh my god, Marcy... I missed you so much..."
"Aww, I missed you too", Marcy giggles, hugging Anne even tighter. Eventually, Anne lets go of Marcy, but continues to kneel in front of her on the floor.
"Marcy... You look absolutely amazing. Your outfit, wow... You look like an Amazon warrior queen or something", Marcy blushes a little at Anne's compliments.
"I know, I know, right? This is my uniform", Marcy begins, standing up, "I'm the Chief Ranger of the Newtopian Knight Guard."
Polly, who has been watching the whole scene, asks "Were those words?", while Anne just looks at Marcy with wide eyes. One could almost believe to have seen a sparkle in her eyes. When Marcy realizes that there are more people in the room, a certain nervousness rises in her.
"Umm... Anne?"
"Oh, right. Marcy, meet the Plantars. They are-", Anne introduces them in an amused tone.
"Oh, my gosh. Are they your surrogate frog family? Did they find you and took you in? Ugh, I love the found family trope!"
"Yep, the Plantars took me in. The one you got there is Hop Pop", Anne notes, while Marcy seems to be measuring Hop Pop's head.
"As I thought, 62 centimeters!", Marcy says, "Judging from the size of your cranium and flecks of sediment, you're a farmer in frog valley, right?", Hop Pop gasps at that.
"You can tell all that from just that?"
"Kinda. Maddie told me you're from Wartwood. But not, that you're a farmer. Oh Anne, I'm so jealous that you've found a farming community. I've been studying Amphibia history-", at that moment Iva listens up, "-and farm culture is super underappreciated in my opinion. You're the backbone of society and do not get enough credit for it."
Luckily Hop Pop is sitting on a couch as he is about to fall backwards with his eyes wide open and dropped jar. "Thank you, thank you!"
"Hey, a pollywog!", Marcy says, turning to Polly.
"Hey there- Whoa", Polly says as she is held up by Marcy and against the large window that floods the entire living room with sunlight.
"Hmm, I'd say those legs should be coming in about... lemme think... two months, give or take.", Marcy guesses, to which Polly gasps.
"Can I get that in writing?", she asks hysterically.
While Marcy gladly creates a note for Polly with the approximate date, Sprig gives Luz a skeptical look, as if he wants to ask her something. He nods his head towards Marcy, whereupon Luz raises a hand and shakes her head. Sprig nods to Luz in acknowledgment and pulls a slingshot from his pants pocket. With a sense of confusion and concern, Luz watches Sprig, and as he picks something up off the ground to load his slingshot, Luz's arm shoots out to prevent what she thinks he was about to do.
"Don't.", she whispers.
"But I thought-"
"No!", Luz admonishes and Marcy turns to Sprig.
"Uhh, cool slingshot. Is that hardened hard-bog wood?", Marcy asks, to which Sprig nods. "Look, my crossbow is made of the same wood but has a ceramic coating on it. This makes the base pretty much indestructible. If you want, I could offer that for your slingshot as well."
"Interesting offer... But no, thanks", Sprig denies her offer in a clearly faked uninterested tone.
Meanwhile, Anne hears Polly and Hop Pop talking about a crossbow of her own, but quickly focuses her attention back on Marcy.
"Um, hey Mar-Mar..."
"Huh?"
"Just out of curiosity: did you leave this note for us?"
"Hm? Oh, that one... Yes. After I told King Andrias that you were about to arrive here in Amphibia, he insisted on taking care of your accommodation."
Suddenly Hop Pop screams.
"What? You know the king of Amphibia?"
"Uh-huh", Marcy confirms, "As Chief Ranger, I report directly to him. He also took me into his palace when I first arrived here in Amphibia-"
"You live in the palace?", Anne asks incredulously.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool", Marcy says as if it's nothing special while all the Plantars stare at her wide-eyed. When the silence in the room starts to get uncomfortable, Anne is the first to break the silence.
"I... I still can't believe you're actually here... You have to tell me everything you've experienced so far."
Marcy giggles "So do you. I hope you have photos... But that will have to wait a while. Because I have to talk to Luz first. Preferably not here."
Luz goes into an adjoining room with Marcy, and Iva, Anne, and the Plantars are now sitting alone in the living room.
"So... What do you guys think of Marcy?", Anne asks euphorically.
"I like her", Polly is the first to speak up.
"Oh, me too.", Hop Pop says.
"And you, buddy?", Anne asks, looking at Sprig who is visibly undecided. "I still don't know what to make of her. Luz seems to like her too and sure, on the surface she seems nice and harmless and all... But don't you remember Sasha?"
"Eh, I try not to", Hop Pop throws in between.
"Maybe it just takes time before you can trust her...", Anne says.
Meanwhile, Luz, Marcy, and the still-sleeping Maddie are in the next room, next to the stairs to the upper floor.
"Ohhh, cool...", Marcy marvels after Luz has closed the door behind her.
"Yeah, right? I had a friend on the Isles, Amity. She has a job at the largest library there and has her own private study room there. Except for the sleeping bags and the selection of books, this room looks exactly like her study room...", Luz recounts.
"You miss her…", Marcy observes.
"I miss all my friends... but yeah."
"Then I have good news. Here, for you.", Marcy pulls out two cards from a small fanny pack, which she hands over to Luz. "This will give you both unlimited access to the Royal Library. I have one for Anne too, but I'll give it to her later."
Luz is speechless and Marcy smiles slightly. Luz lunges forward and gives Marcy a big hug, which she is only too happy to return.
"Thank you.", Luz whispers.
"But there's also something else that you probably won't like that much...", Marcy says, now a bit more serious, whereupon Luz looks at her questioningly. "It's about what you told me yesterday before I left…"
Luz, needs a few seconds to remember what it was about.
"So? Do you believe me?", she asks, but Marcy hesitates.
"... ... I'm sorry, no.", Luz is disappointed, even though she actually expected this answer. But Marcy continues: "I... believe that you don't trust him. But try to look at it from my perspective: He took me in to his palace and took care of me. He helped me to become a better person and to reach my true potential. I trust him... But I trust you too. However, I don't know of any evidence that he has anything other than the best in mind for me, as well as for Amphibia, and he will also help find a way back to Earth."
Suddenly, Luz isn't so sure about her doubts about King Andrias anymore.
'She's right... I don't have any evidence-'
Luz is jolted out of her thought process when suddenly something moves on the floor next to her.
"Could you two talk a little quieter? Some of us are trying to sleep...", Maddie mutters, in an extremely sleepy voice that is even deeper than usual.
"Maddie! You're awake", Luz rejoices and kneels down next to Maddie, "How are you? How are you feeling?"
"What? I just closed my eyes for a few minutes. No need to worry...", Luz and Marcy look at each other with concern.
"Maddie... You've slept for almost 30 hours...", Luz states, causing Maddie's eyes to widen. Marcy kneels down next to her.
"Maddie, what's the last thing you remember?", Marcy asks. There're a few minutes of silence while Maddie tries to remember.
"You and Lady Olivia came bursting into our room. You were saying something about ants..."
"Extreme drowsiness, above-average sleep duration, partial memory loss...", Marcy murmurs to herself.
"You don't remember our fight with the Barbari-Ants? Or that you were eaten by their queen?", Luz wonders.
"I was what?", Maddie asks in shock and a certain concern is now visible on her face.
"Maddie, when was the last time you slept?", Marcy asks and Luz turns to her with a questioning look.
"The last time we were here I guess..."
"You haven't slept for almost a week?", Luz asks, a little louder than intended.
"Apparently…", Maddie replies.
"How? And why?", Luz asks.
"I guess I just couldn't. I mean, the occasional all-nighter is pretty normal for me, but almost a full week is something I would never do voluntarily..."
"When I'm back at the palace, I'll check what you guys got to eat. Maybe I can find out something..." Marcy says in a serious tone.
"Or maybe the palace is haunted...", Luz says jokingly, causing Maddie to roll her eyes.
"I should go back. Anne and I have a lot of catching up to do...", Marcy says, getting up from the floor.
"Anne? The Plantars are here?", Maddie asks, to which Luz and Marcy both nod.
"Oh, Marcy. Before you go, one more question: was your reunion with Anne the way you thought it would be?", Luz asks, and Marcy blushes slightly.
"Oh, um... actually, yes!", she says, looking at the floor, "I'm really curious about her adventures... And what happened to Sasha... See ya later"