Attack of the Giant Maddie

by birby6

Maddie never wanted to experience something like that day again. When a painful migraine leads to a full on bodily surge, she immediately finds herself back in a stature she desired to forget...but on a grander scale. Now it's a mad scramble to find a cure for her titanic growth before she has to live as a colossal giant forever, but something doesn't seem right...

9. Chapter 9

Maddie laid waste to the town of Wartwood. In her pursuit to keep the entire town as her playground, she made extra sure to toy around with as many tiny locals as possible. Whether she pressed them between her feet or continuously squeezed them between her fingers she always had her fun whenever she needed it. Whoever refused to demands or failed to meet her expectations immediately had their bodies covered in saliva before Maddie swallowed them whole. More and more as she played the further her mindset devolved into complete chaos. Nobody could pack their bags for the next town either due to the barrier she created from one of her curses. While her size meant her capabilities to leave became possible from all angles, she never left her spot around the town she grew up in. Her ambitions remained only with the town of Wartwood and nowhere else despite her size beyond normal reaches. She called herself queen of the small town as all of the specks around her reviled at her tyrannical reign.

Very few houses still maintained their upright untouched positions. Miraculously, such a status included the town's tea shop which Felicia used to her advantage. Maddie possibly still felt some worry due to her "unbridled rage", but such assumptions became only afterthoughts as such an establishment served an important secondary role as long as the townsfolk remained imprisoned. Polly, Hop Pop, and Frobo handled most of the heavy duty work as they wrangled up as many townsfolk as possible without detection from their giant captor. Polly figured out Frobo's hidden "underground" mode which they used to snatch any survivors away from Maddie's clutches. They then cautiously traveled to the back door before they brought the survivors inside and into the hands of the others, but not on the surface. In one quick makeover overnight Felicia transformed the building's basement into the next big fallout shelter even though Wartwood never set near any edges of radiation. Cupboards of food, drinks, and even a few bunk beds dotted across the walls, and thanks to a few vents air flowed in comfortably. While she still lacked her daughter, Felicia performed her utmost duties to sustain as much of the town under Maddie's clutches until the others crafted the answer to their problems. They others didn't lie about one of her perfect traits, as she prided herself to the top degree in hospitality. She watched Flint after he became injured after all even though she vigorously insisted it. She pulled herself together for the better of Wartwood in their pressing times.

Many of the survivors in the "bunker" continuously shuddered every time they heard one of Maddie's thunderous footsteps. They witnessed her ruthless tactics and wanted to stay off of the menu since they knew what happened when someone defied her. To lift their spirits, Felicia wandered down the stairs with a tray of soft tea cups on top.

"May I offer anyone tea?"

The frogs lightly nodded before she handed them their cups. She watched them lightly sip before the heard Maddie's deafening steps once more and clammed up once again. She couldn't help but feel bad for them due to the town's dark fate brought by nothing but a light magical mishap. They wanted to get back to their normal lives, but the giant frog girl above prohibited such actions. In many ways, she felt similar feelings for her daughter Ivy because she loved to wander off of the beaten path ever time her back turned. However, the more she thought of her the more she disregarded such painful ideas. Wartwood had gone through worse and everyone made it through unscathed, including her daughter, so most of the negatives took a backseat for the positives. They would make it out of their chains, but they needed time. Even someone as massive as Maddie lacked the fervent tenacity to hold an entire town hostage forever. They would find a way to reverse everything back to normalcy.

A couple of firm knocks jarred Felicia and the many rescued townsfolk back to reality. Felicia held up a finger for silence before she walked up the stairs and checked through the peephole. The tension in her shoulders eased once she saw who arrived which prompted her to open it. In came Hop Pop and the others with more townsfolk in tow, although one stayed hoisted atop Frobo's shoulders.

"Got more survivors for ya." Polly stated as they made their way inside.

"I thought I saw the light for a second… Her dirty huge soles…" the rescued frog on Frobo muttered.

"Easy there, for we have you now." Hop Pop stated.

Frobo whirred for a few seconds as his mood dipped before he set the villager back on solid ground. He trembled and made his way to a table where others under the same mammoth anxiety kept each other company.

"Got yourselves noticed yet?" Felicia asked.

Hop Pop shook his head.

"For now, we've managed to avoid the eye in the sky. Unfortunately, we can't keep this up forever though."

Frobo spewed steam from his neck while his long arms sagged to the floor. Even a frog mech like himself ran on borrowed time until he needed a tune up. After so many excursions outside behind Maddie's watchful eye, his metal body creaked and bent from many close calls which Polly understood more than anyone.

"We'll put you back into shape when we get the chance, ol' Frobo ol' pal!" Polly happily said as she gave her large mechanical buddy a few pats on the back.

Frobo seemed to appreciate her kindness as he snatched the young polliwog and embraced her like a soft teddy bear. Polly herself appreciated his kind gesture and snuggled against his head while he beeped some type of sequence in response. Hop Pop and Felicia smiled lightly before a door near the back of the room opened up where everyone heard some brief screaming. Once the door shut the sounds ceased, but two more polliwogs emerged to replace it. They lightly hopped up to the group with worried looks across their faces.

"My head hurts so much…" Lavender stated as she put her stubs for hands on the sides of her body.

"Well, we needed a break." Ginger replied as she shook her migraines off. "You tolerated better than me if that makes you feel better."

"Well… Maybe a little…" Lavender responded.

The others turned their attention over to the young sisters of Maddie.

"Had any luck so far?" Felicia asked.

Ginger deeply sighed.

"Maybe? We've heard less screaming here and there…"

"Doesn't make our toleereeshun any better though." Lavender replied.

Even though she greatly mispronounced a certain word, they understood what she meant. However, they managed to get only a few words out before the back door swung open once more which revealed a crazed foaming polliwog on the verge of breaking down completely. Her intensive shaking and tensed body told them everything they needed to determine what to do with her, and if hiding under a table failed to quell such emotions they only had one option left.

"I'VE SEEN THE VOID! SHE'LL DRAG US INTO THE DEPTHS OF ETERNAL PAIN WHILE THE DEMONS HECKLE AT OUR MISFORTUNES! THE WORLD HAS IT OUT-"

She started on another series of berserk rants while her body went into overdrive. Ginger immediately raced on over and shoved her back into the room as she made her way back inside. From there, she hastily shut the door which left some rather…unnerving noises in their wake. Everyone just watched in pure astonishment as they lacked the proper reactions, but after a couple of seconds everything appeared to ease back. Lavender sadly groaned and sniffed a few times even though she willingly accepted to have a break.

"Still completely bonkers, I see." Polly said.

"Yeah…" Lavender answered lightly. "I just want her back more than anything right now. Ever since our big sister…"

They couldn't help but feel sorry for Lavender and Ginger at the moment. Out of everyone to possibly take the situation to the highest extremes, it just so happened to completely change Rosemary overnight. Sitting under a covered table became one thing, but the further the situation progressed the less her infant mind tolerated the carnage. She fell further into insanity once she witnessed her own sister gobble their dad for a snack, so naturally she concluded that she wanted tiny polliwogs on the menu next. Her outbursts soon became too obvious to ignore, and she risked the discovery of the secret bunker the more she screamed and belted out exclamation after exclamation. Eventually, Felicia forced the girl into the one bathroom in the bunker, which thankfully lacked a mechanism to automatically lock on the inside, where Lavender and Ginger kept her comfortable to…varying results. The more she stayed crazy the more times they risked their discovery by Maddie. Rosemary took the situation rather hard.

Polly hopped on up to the fellow polliwog and gave her a few pats on the back.

"I'm certain you'll get through to her at some point."

"I sure hope so." Lavender replied. "I don't know how much longer Rosemary can hold it together."

"Well, you have us in the meantime." Polly stated. "Maybe I can show you how to wield a mace or…a bazooka!"

"A ba-what?" Lavender asked.

"Ignore that." Hop Pop answered. "She just wants someone around her age to 'go medieval' with."

Polly faced Hop Pop instantly then deeply frowned. Frobo lightly bobbed up and down as he booped a few times which Polly quickly caught onto.

"Seriously, Frobo? I thought you knew better!"

Frobo uttered some fancy robot noises as he put his long arms up to his face. Polly comically puffed up as Felicia discussed some other important matters.

"Have you seen Flint and Ivy yet?"

"Sadly, no." Hop Pop responded. "If they would have shown up at some point we-"

Some very incessant knocking rang through everyone's heads before the old frog could finish. The whole room instantly felt weights in their throats. Even Frobo and his constant beeping fell mute as Felicia motioned for everyone to clamp their mouths shut. She walked up the stairs and glanced through the peephole first, where her positivity went through the roof. She wasted no time and opened the door where the two recognizable ones who left tumbled to the floor in a heap.

"You could have…gave me a heads up…"

"Yeah, sorry kid… I wanted to get to safe grounds as soon as possible."

As soon as everyone realized who arrived to their good graces, the two found themselves swarmed by countless fans who wanted as much of the celebrity as possible over the others. Even Rosemary attempted to break out in her crazed state but Ginger forced her back into the bathroom. Eventually, one came out on top, but not in the way they expected.

"HEY! HANDS OFF OUR SAVING GRACE UNLESS YOU WANT MADDIE TO EAT YOU!"

Felicia's remark did the trick and warded all of the onlookers off as the two got to their feet. The younger one brushed herself off while the older one with the bag nearly threw his back out.

"Yeesh! I'm not as young as I used to." Flint stated as he cracked his back.

"IVY!" Felicia exclaimed.

Before the young frog knew what hit her, her mother instantly provided one of the most motherly hugs a woman her age ever performed. Her eyes fogged up from the amount of tears poured out as Ivy settled down and embraced her back. No matter how much she may have kept it hidden, she never forgot the strict mission her daughter left town for.

"Mom, please! Not in front of everyone!" Ivy said in a muffled tone.

"You'll learn to appreciate gestures like this, young lady!" Felicia said before she released her hold.

As the scene calmed down some, a set of squeak caught the eyes of some onlookers. From behind Ivy as it rolled into view, the small living potato creature teetered on its behind. Its rolling pupils provided a sign into its current thought process, likely from the fall down the stairs with the others, and yet the ones trapped in the basement only watched with awe.

…which caused history to repeat itself.

"NO FROGGIN WAY!"

"AWW, IT LOOKS SO CUTE!"

"I WANT ONE AS A PET!"

The Spudley instantly paused as the crowds once again ran up for first dibs. It barely squeaked and shook as its feet curled backward, which told the ones who knew better everything they needed to know. From there, Ivy put herself before the creature and the crowd as she held her arms out.

"Give it space, why don't ya?! We have a way bigger problem to worry about!"

Like Felicia beforehand, her words appeared to have done the trick and put everyone else back in their seats. Some still kept their eyes glued to the Spudley as it got back on its feet and uttered a series of sequences nobody other than its own kind could understand. It waddled up to the others and lightly tripped over it's own feet as it squeaked a few more times.

Ivy chuckled at the potato's klutziness before Felicia addressed the other business.

"Did you snatch the special shell piece out there? I assume you wouldn't come back empty handed."

Ivy smiled lightly as the Spudley hopped up and down while squeaking.

"Oh, we found something all right, mom."

Flint understood her type of speech and hastily stuck his upper body inside his loaded bag. He would have earned an easier time searching through his stash of rare items if two rather ceaseless bystanders kept their distance…and their endless "fanboyism".

"Flint! You have to try my famous High Fly Flavored Gumbo! I don't typically make this for anyone! PLEASE TRADE ME SOMETHING SPECIAL!"

"Ignore him! LOOK AT MY HULKING ROBOT HERE! HE COMES WITH ALL OF THE ESSENTIALS OF COMBAT! HE CAN ACT AS A PERSONAL BODYGUARD FOR YOUR TREASURES OF ENDLESS FASCINATIONS! WE CAN WORK SOMETHING OUT!"

As a robot who considered Polly as his closest friend, Frobo didn't appreciate the fact she attempted to trade him off just to grab attention. While he lacked crucial facial expressions he still thought for himself and made his own decisions like someone with a soul. With his current feelings in mind, Frobo extended his mechanical arms and grabbed both Hop Pop and Polly before Flint's irritation levels increased. Hop Pop settled down a bit while Polly gazed up at her robotic friend who sputtered steam underneath his neck like a steam engine.

"Oh, uhhhhh… I didn't mean what I said there, buddy! I would never let anyone-"

The noise of a steaming kettle went through her ears as more steam poured out.

"Okay! Okay! No ditching of robots anytime soon!"

Even though she uttered her words as if someone held something sharp between her eyes, the smoke around her subsided. Frobo whirred to life once more and simmered down, but he still never let go for the sake of Flint. The Spudley stood on the fronts of its round feet and gave one really long and drawn out squeak.

"If my bones still kept some juice from my youth, I'd break out of here in no time. Darn it!" Hop Pop thought.

With both of the Plantars off of his back, Flint had a way easier time searching through his empty yet filled bag. His legs wiggled as the lump of his head moved across the surface for a few minutes until he finally settled down.

"Ah, here we go!"

The others heard some heavy breaths as the wandering traveler pushed himself out of his special bag. He exhaled the moment he poked his head back out until he hoisted the rare piece of hardened meteor into the light. It still glowed a rather eerie light as he held the piece in his hands. While a piece of a turtle shell, let alone the extremely rare Meteor Snap, usually maintained durability to offer protection from predators, the others worried that they might lose the substance if someone damaged the surface in any way. With such caution in mind, only Flint firmly grasped their ticket to cutting Maddie back down to size. They solved one step, but nobody knew what came next.

Everyone other than Flint, Ivy, and the rescued frogs in the back endlessly gazed at the sparkly piece in utter awe. Their pupils dilated almost in a hypnotic state like they just saw the lost city of gold. The Spudley pivoted around on its behind and flailed its feet in the air.

"Holy frog biscuits…" Lavender said as her stubs for arms reached out. "So…glittery and…lovely…"

Out of everyone not enamored by such splendor, only one seemed to have reacted differently. The one who held the piece himself had the numerous lights reflect off of his eyes, and yet it never quelled the emptiness behind them. It sort of spooked Ivy as nobody else noticed the signs, but no such stalagmites pointed ready to fire at the faintest order. Bitter coldness and frigid winds blew to the silence of the sniffling child encased in the dark. The offensive whispers prodded the faint skin right around the frequent beats. Such smiles reached the apex of misfortune and malice to the innocence clouded under misery. The slow lullabies mesmerized the onlooker until the mist clouded everything in the white winter. The tension and terror reigned high.

"You okay, Flint?" Ivy asked.

The darkness in his eyes faded.

"Oh, uhhhhh, yeah. For the most part."

"So what do you intend to do with that?" Hop Pop asked.

Flint closed his eyes and thought to himself for a moment. The Spudley shuddered while it squeaked again.

"I'll have to craft something special. I'd rather not talk about it but I'll need some time to prepare everything. Please excuse me."

---

Even though Maddie paid more attention to the victims her own eyes saw near her huge feet, the ones who stuck around inside her innards also had their own issues. After Anne willing became one of Maddie's snacks she witnessed the turmoils the frogs she swallowed went through on a daily basis. They barely stayed afloat the gastric acids and even they knew they ran on borrowed time. If nobody took action anytime soon and solved the giant Maddie crisis, they would experience just how deadly her digestive system worked. At least Marcy thought of a potential route to possibly provide more time for Ivy and Flint, even though it involved slicing into Maddie's stomach wall and an intentional shrinkage from the knowledgeable one. After Marcy had her time acting like she grew as big as Maddie for both Anne and Sprig, she also shrunk before the three plunged into the common circulatory system. Of course, in her own klutzy fashion she inadvertently miniaturized Sprig even further than what Maddie cast on him. He planted himself firm inside Anne's hair as nothing but red passed through their eyes. Once again, Marcy screwed up and instantly hit a curved wall nearby because she never expected such speeds of the currents the moment the three went into the cut. Her empty pockets ripped instantly which sent Sprig airborne for a split second until Anne caught him. With no other place to go, Sprig had no choice but to stick around in Anne's hair even though Marcy felt pretty uneasy about it. For Anne though, her attention focused more on her surroundings because of how different they looked. Nothing sickened Anne even more than seeing nothing but the red juices as if she became a miniature surgeon and never took the time for any incisions.

She put the thought on her bucket list for things to forget.

The long tube ahead lead to other parts of Maddie's body, and the three needed to play it safe so they wouldn't separate. The currents made such an idea rather difficult though in conjunction with the constant red discs that bombarded them when they had their backs turned. Anne and Marcy found themselves bashed against wall, disc, wall, disc, and more combinations of the two the further they flowed through the bloodstream. At the very least they could still breathe and speak, but none of them controlled where they ended up. Marcy may have thought of such an idea too quickly before thorough testing.

Sprig held on for dear life as one huge disc smacked Anne in the back of the head which almost pried him loose.

"I don't know how long I can hold on much longer!" Sprig exclaimed.

"Don't let go or else we'll lose ya!" Anne exclaimed.

"We can't afford to separate at any point!" Marcy added. "Maddie's body will tear us apart individually!"

Soon after, the tube ahead split into multiple junctions where multiple discs took their detours. At their current rate, they only had a few seconds to figure out where to go. Anne and Sprig desperately stared at Marcy as if she knew the correct path, and she responded very quickly.

"Second to the left!"

The girls kept themselves close as they let the currents drift them into the aforementioned tube on the side. All appeared fine for the most part until they found themselves jerked near the center, and while Anne kept a reasonable distance away Marcy never felt such a luxury. The divide in the middle ran against her back and sent her spinning further down the shaft. Her head smacked against the ceiling as she changed into a desert twister, which likely made her extremely dizzy.

"MARCY!" Anne exclaimed.

Another red disc brushed against her backside as she paddled forward like mad. Sprig never let go of Anne's hair as the currents attempted to pry him loose. For the valiant tween, she never considered herself the greatest of swimmers. Out of the three of them, Sasha maintained a rather leveled head for such tasks. She even attended a swimming club a few years ago where she met up with a couple of other hobbyists around her age. While not the most professional of clubs, Sasha enjoyed quick dips in the water and the comfortable swimsuits dotted in blue and white. When it ended she focused more on her social life but always kept what she learned in the back of her head. Anne wished she asked her about certain specifics at the time for it would have helped with the current turmoils in Maddie's bloodstream. The thickness and murkiness made it out like she swam through a swamp than anything else, which sounded just about right due to Amphibia's marshland landscape. If Sasha took her place she would understand the correct technique, but for Anne she floundered about like a dog in water. Anne never had it in her to become the next athletic swimmer, but the problems forced her into the profession whether she wanted to or not.

Anne felt her heart race as she put her arms and legs into high gear. Red discs ran against her body as if they had it out for her, which gave her no choice but to keep going. She held out a hand as she closed the distance and Marcy appeared semi conscious. With the odds somewhat stacked against them, the two girls reached forward as the currents and red discs desired to separate them further. The tips of their fingers touched until they wrapped around and locked. Before long the relief hit them hard as they gripped each other firm so they wouldn't lose themselves again. They've gone for months completely spaced from each other, and they wanted to never experience such occurrences again.

The two girls happily locked eyes as the tiny Sprig briefly popped out of Anne's hair.

"Phew! Glad we didn't experience the majority of Season 1 again!"

"Well, you didn't exactly help out in any way." Anne answered.

"I would have if Marcy didn't screw up." Sprig stated while he gave the smart one a nasty glance.

"Yeah, heheheheh. Sorry about that." Marcy answered before she tepidly chuckled.

"We can't stay like this the entire way through." Anne said. "One strong shove and we might find ourselves in that exact situation again."

"Yeah, and we can't hold each other the entire way either." Marcy said rather sadly.

"Well, we could hitch a ride on one of those discs…"

Anne and Marcy could have screamed "Eureka!" as the tiny shrunken frog in Anne's hair provided a very useful idea. The red discs moved at such a pace and kept a certain curvature primed for the perfect ride through Maddie like a large inner tube through a water slide. They also appeared to float through the veins at a faster speed akin to the wildest of roller coasters, which meant they required some slight adaptations so they wouldn't find themselves bucked off. With some careful planning, they might pull such an idea off.

"Sprig, I've never heard something that smart ever come out of your mouth." Anne said.

"Oh, uhhhhh, really?" Sprig answered while slightly flustered from praise. "I…never knew I had it in me."

"Less talk, more action!" Marcy stated. "Let's grab a red blood cell before we lose them!"

From all of the remarks uttered since they entered Maddie's bloodstream, the official name of "red blood cell" completely passed through Anne's brain. She focused so much on the task at hand descriptions never waved their hands for attention. When important topics overshadowed such basic terms they clouded one's perception to the point where facts often took a backseat. Marcy had such occurrences more often than Anne or Sasha, but even they went through a couple of episodes completely missing the point. More often than not they needed another to remind them of the details when it happened. One's attention honed in on a specific point while everything around it painted themselves white.

Anne and Marcy picked out a relatively large sized one as it zoomed up behind them. They needed to act quickly before the currents forced it away, so they prepared themselves. The moment they found the correct distance, Anne shot her arm forward followed by Marcy. Just as the numbers weighed in their favor, the girls' fingers grabbed the bright red before they hauled themselves toward it. The currents made their situation more difficult as they constantly tossed them around the tube, but they never lost their grip. Anne grunted before she brought her left leg up and planted it on the red blood cell's surface, although Marcy required some assistance. She found her cape blown over her head at one point as she lifted her weight up, but once Anne securely placed herself on the back she reached out for Marcy. After a joint effort between the two, Mary also made it on top. The currents still proved as an issue, so Anne and Marcy grasped the top of the red blood cell like an inflatable raft tied to the end of a speedboat. While not the most optimal, in the end they found their ride.

"Geez! This ain't any normal rodeo!" Anne exclaimed through the currents. "Mechanical bulls have nothing on this!"

"Uhhhh, what do you mean by that?" Sprig asked.

"Human reference. I'll talk to you about it later." Anne responded.

"Look alive, you two! We've got another set of junctions ahead!" Marcy shouted.

One look ahead and they saw what Marcy talked about. Anne needed to remind herself of the winded maze of the circulatory system, for not just one junction set ahead but several. With their new ride it made navigation a bit easier, but several choices awaited. One wrong move and they'll end up somewhere else inside Maddie's body, so they required quick thinking. Marcy may have the smarts, but even she had a few screws loose in decision making.

"Let's tilt this thing in the direction we want to go, okay?" Anne said.

"On it!" Marcy responded.

The two girls inhaled then exhaled deeply as they approached the first decision. They fumbled a bit as they attempted to figure out which way the other wanted to go, so they barely scraped by on the right as the red blood cell scraped the wall. Marcy almost lost her grip and fell off, but she steadied herself before the next decision. They cooperated from then on and teetered in unison so they wouldn't have such a problem again. With every left or right jerk it almost felt like they rode down a raft across some dangerous rapids, which some places had for tourist attractions. While Anne never went on such a ride before, she earned a sample with Marcy atop a red blood cell through Maddie's bloodstream. She quickly lost track of how many turns through all of the red and went dazed from all of the constant jerking around. From there she already never wanted to experience such a ride ever again, and she likely would have heaved anywhere else but her current spot. Suffice to say, the three felt differently on their wild ride.

After what appeared like the fiftieth crossroad passed by, Anne held in her breath and felt her forehead.

"Remind me to never ride the rapids in Disneyland." Anne stated.

"I already concluded on that the moment we started!" Marcy responded.

"Even as I'm tiny up in here…I almost hurled my dinner from yesterday." Sprig said as he held his stomach.

"You better not or else you want to tamper Maddie's blood." Marcy replied.

"So, uhhhhh, do you know where we are?" Anne asked.

Marcy became a deer in headlights for a couple of seconds while she stayed a bit still. The signs spelled out everything all over her face, and Anne and Sprig didn't like it.

"Well, ummm…"

"You have no idea." Anne stated in the most nonchalant way possible.

"Hey, I'm not one for body anatomy, okay? Especially for large frogs from another dimension!" Marcy responded. "If anything, you should know more than me because of that frog dissection class!"

"You…WHAT?!" Sprig exclaimed in horror.

"Nononono! Not like that, Sprig!" Anne stated. "I'll…talk to you later about that."

As nobody on board knew where in Maddie's body they found themselves in, they stayed relatively mute and just held on for the ride. It would have helped if someone learned particular anatomies beforehand, for they wanted to stay "up" rather than "down" in the body for…obvious reasons. The entire time Anne and Sprig thought Marcy knew, because out of the three girls she maintained more knowledge on various subjects. The fact she also remained as clueless showed that everyone went in without thinking too hard…which happened more often than not. They basically plunged into the darkest of rooms and held their hands out like a bad horror movie until they bumped into something. The more they thought about it though, the more it sounded like just another Tuesday.

They traveled through Maddie's veins for a few more minutes until some slight undulations bent the tube around them at a steady pace. While they lacked visuals outside of the bloodstream, the relaxing motions almost soothed their bodies like a slow rocking chair. It reminded the girls of when they cuddled up on their mothers' laps and fell fast asleep against the fireplace while a calm lullaby left them asleep. A particular noise also rang through their heads, although because they felt light headed they paid less attention to it. Their grips on the red blood cell also started to slip out of their fingers, and if a certain "third wheel" never accompanied them they likely would have fell off and found themselves lost within Maddie's circulatory system.

Sprig to the rescue.

"HEY! AMPHIBIA TO ANNE AND MARCY! WAKE UP!"

He zapped the two of them and never placed a finger on them.

"What the? What just happened?!" Anne exclaimed. "I swear I almost heard my mother's singing for a second!"

"Ahhhhhh!" Marcy shouted before she shook herself awake. "Whawha-what?"

"You two almost fell asleep!" Sprig replied. "I seriously thought you almost lost your minds!"

The girls felt the slow motions again and attempted to keep themselves awake. Marcy paid more attention to how the tunnels near them moved as the wheels in her head turned. She snapped her fingers a few times as something sparked, but she required a few more seconds until the thought came to her.

"I figured it out." Marcy said. "We must have taken a turn near the surface of the lungs. No wonder the motions felt somewhat familiar…and quiet."

"Did you just speak nonsense or something?" Sprig asked.

"No, Sprig." Anne answered. "She's talking about the internal organs. Have you ever studied anatomies before?"

"I'm also hearing nonsense from you, Anne." Sprig replied. "Do all humans speak like that?"

"I stand corrected." Anne stated.

The currents that drove their red blood cell ride forward steadied and slowed ever so slightly as a certain sight ahead left some worry in them. As the air of Maddie's lungs filled and emptied, the walls of the vein opened around them. From the hopes some particles filtered into the bloodstream which caused the red blood cells to move more actively for a few moments. This included the one the girls rode on, so they planted themselves firm as they found themselves jerked around like a rodeo. They attempted to paddle away as if they sat in a river, but they reached another trouble soon after. Not only had holes opened to release but take in as well, so when one attempted to suck them in their pulled back as much as they could on their ride. Maddie's slow breathing further complicated their dire situation, as the tube often left them closer to bonking into a nearby wall. If they acted too slow, they would become part of Maddie's breathing intakes.

The red blood cell spun and tilted in every possible way as if it wanted to get taken into Maddie's lungs, and yet its only opposition stayed on its back in the form of two shrunken girls and their tinier frog friend. It approached the rim as the hole drew them in. Only a few seconds remained.

"Oh no you don't!" Anne exclaimed. "Not on my watch!"

"Speak for yourself!" Marcy replied as she huffed from pulling.. "I think I may have burst one of my own veins!"

They tugged as if their lives depended on it, and in certain ways it did during that moment. Just as the first part of the red blood cell began to get enveloped the girls went all out and stood up. With their whole bodies pulling, the tugged one more time which resulted in a rather crazy circumstance. As they gave it their all, they may have put in a bit too much muscle since their ride flipped vertically like they just tipped an entire canoe. The cell's underside brushed against the top portion of the hole's rim before it careened backwards upside down with the two girl still attached. Sprig grasped one of Anne's hairs with both his arms and legs while Anne and Marcy gripped so strongly that they dug their fingernails into their ride. The flip only lasted a couple of seconds until the cell hit the opposite wall then continued down the vein like the incident never happened. The three's heads gained a few points for a few moments as they readjusted back into an upright position.

Unfortunately, it didn't end there. Suctions from other orifices further ahead caught their ride as well which forced further actions. The girls tossed and turned at their red blood cell as most of their strength sapped from further attempts. When another hole honed in on them they placed themselves between the cell and hauled it backwards every time which took a toll on their muscles. If they worked out at a gym, they only lost a paltry sum compared to the exercises inside Maddie's body where they pulled their hamstrings several times. Their bodies floundered every time, but they never game up because of the risks if they failed. For once they envied Sprig and the accident that left him even smaller because he never pulled his weight while they struggled as if he cooled off under the sun in a lounge chair. They lost count of how many times they fought against the currents for survival, and by the end they feared the actual number. Gyms had nothing when riding atop a large red blood cell against strong currents shaved even more pounds.

After what appeared like an eternity, the undulations stopped and the orifices left the premises. Anne and Marcy immediately plopped down breathing heavily as sweat poured from their foreheads. For once they cared less about contamination of Maddie's blood and more about how much of their muscles changed into pulp. The red blood cell seemed to have taken it back for a moment into a smoother ride for a better relaxation time.

"I almost…saw the everlasting froggy heaven…like a vision of splendor…" Anne said as she breathed heavily and barely moved.

"Ring me up…a mouthful of roaches…any day…" Marcy muttered, referring to some of the "exquisite" cuisine Amphibia had to offer.

Sprig almost wanted to keep his mouth shut so he wouldn't spoil the moment, but before he decisively did so he spoke anyway…especially from the large drops of sweat around him

"Uhhhhh, Anne? You may want to tone it down just a-"

He quickly found himself enveloped in a giant drop of sweat from Anne's head before he finished. He grabbed a nearby hair and attempted to pull himself free, and while he required a few attempts he managed to poke his head out. His body couldn't break out and he needed to wait for the sweat drop to subside. He only managed to have a brief moment out thought before more drops of sweat completely covered him. Sprig also had his issues despite his smaller stature than Anne's or Marcy's.

"I need OXYGEN!" Sprig exclaimed as his head poked out of a large drop again.

"All of us do, Sprig." Anne wearily said.

If one incident sent all of the three to their knees, then back to back ones spread them out across the ground. They received their first signs that Maddie's body still had more against them when loud sequences of bumping noises hit their hearing. Wire connected almost immediately as they witnessed more red blood cells around them surge ahead like a Black Friday sale. Anne shook her head and Marcy quivered before the two locked eyes. Their minuscule pupils told them everything they needed. They escaped one organ…

"Not now. Sweet frogs on high, not now." Anne stated.

"We don't have a choice at this rate." Marcy nervously said. "Nowhere to go but through."

"You don't mean…" Sprig said.

Marcy responded with a very light but sad nod in his direction.

"WE'RE HEADING INTO MADDIE'S HEART!"

Soon enough, their red blood cell ride sped up as the thumps gave the three headaches. They actually needed to use a free hand to ease their migraines as they approached an upcoming orifice. Flaps pulled back which sucked the three inside, and from there they really couldn't avoid the loud beats any further. Anne, Sprig, and Marcy lightly scanned the premises where the bushy haired one held back a scream. They arrived in a very large red chamber where sphincters opened and closed for the thousands of cells which traversed through the vital organ. The oscillations throughout the whole entire area left the three almost embedded into the walls, which they knew full well they wanted to steer clear of. Some long wall separated two sections into an upper and lower half with the group situated in the latter, but like everywhere else a large flap opened and closed briefly for some traversal. They guessed they probably should head somewhere in the upper portion and work from there while they kept their grubby hands off of everything. No other option existed except to get out and mess with absolutely nothing. Anything heart related required seriousness, which included two tweens and a shrunken frog.

The walls nearly crushed them at every possible angle as Maddie's heartbeat almost made them wish they lost their hearing early on. Concentrations bounced all over the place from the thunderous heartbeats, their teetering cell ride, and their location to the point where all of them suffered "mental free-for-alls". Anne basically cut herself off of the world around her while Marcy's eyes darted everywhere. Sprig dug his head into the back of Anne's hair.

"I CAN'T HEAR MYSELF THINK!" Sprig exclaimed.

"WHAT?! DID YOU SAY SOMETHING, SPRIG?!" Anne shouted.

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Marcy exclaimed.

Her sense of observation left her to scan the premises multiple times until she finally concluded on something. It wouldn't go by easily, but if they played their cards right they could get out in one piece. The less they spent time inside Maddie's heart the better, especially when their final destination existed above it. She needed Anne to cooperate, but since she trusted her for the most part she wouldn't require too much to assist. Marcy had a plan.

"ANNE, I NEED YOU TO HELP ME TURN THIS CELL UPWARD!"

"WHAT?!" Anne shouted.

Marcy's eyes narrowed before she grumbled and pointed to the cell under them and then the opening above. The young genius provided a few extra signals which seemed to have passed over to Anne quite well, so she provided a thumbs up in response. Sprig saw the warning signs and even though he trusted the two girls, he held on and braced himself just in case.

"THROUGH THE OPENING, MAR-MAR?" Anne asked through the deafening heartbeats.

"YES!" Marcy responded. "HELP ME FORCE THIS RED BLOOD CELL UP!"

Marcy gripped the top of their cell ride then motioned for Anne to follow, which she did. The two girls stared each other in the eyes one more time before they acted.

"STAY FIRM, FOR THIS WILL GET VERY BUMPY!" Marcy yelled.

With all of their strength, both Anne and Marcy pulled at the cell again which forced it upward. It almost performed a very rigid cartwheel which almost sent the girls completely off of it, but they wouldn't fall off. The currents picked up in speed again and thanks to the girls' actions the red blood cell headed in the correct direction. Even so, they needed to time everything perfectly so they wouldn't crash as the flap opened and closed upon each beat. They kept a mental timer on each of Maddie's heartbeats, even if they blew their ears out, and Marcy even used a free hand to help count as their ride approached. Their ticket out required a pristine track of time, and they had no such timers or watches on hand which left only their minds to keep track. Their concentrations reached new levels as they waited for the appropriate time…then gunned it. They rocketed their cell forward as another loud heartbeat left migraines and opened the flaps. It only remained open for a split second so their approximation required pinpoint accuracy in timing. Their ride tumbled a bit forward as the orifice instantly started to close, so Anne and Marcy ducked. The red blood cell's end grazed the center of the flaps, but its speed worked out in the end. The two girls twirled past the hole before they found themselves sucked into another orifice above atop their red blood cell ride. They escaped the turmoils of the giant frog girl's heart.

Their cell ride bonked a couple of times against the walls of the artery they escaped into, and before long they found themselves within the confines of another one of Maddie's veins. They hoped the next part within her circulatory system lead directly to the large pink thinking chamber in her huge cranium, but first they needed to catch their breath and hold in their lunches from another crazy joyride. Anne's own heart nearly accelerated from the experience and Marcy held her stomach from the motions, but for the most part they made it through. They went through all of it for the sake of Maddie.

"Everyone…still in one piece?" Marcy asked as she recomposed herself.

Anne quivered as her skin felt incredibly clammy.

"Does Maddie's body want us to not make it? I swear it desires our heads gone in the blink of an eye!"

"WELL, I HAVE IT WORSE THAN BOTH OF YOU!" Sprig shouted.

The tiny frog atop Anne's head twisted around one of Anne's long strands of hair before he plopped down on her scalp. His eyes spun around as he held his head like someone placed him on the fastest merry-go-round for hours on end.

"You, uhhhhh, don't need to shout anymore, Sprig." Anne said.

"Just…give me a few minutes…" Sprig stuttered through his lightheadedness.

Anne and Marcy gave Sprig his moment as he fell back in silence. Ever since Marcy shrunk and brought them into Maddie's bloodstream they've encountered nothing but troubles one after the other. It sounded rather off until they realized nothing maintained such a thick padded suit in the world of Amphibia. Either creatures killed or found themselves killed, which sounded more like a miracle for Anne and Marcy since they've survived for months out of their comfort zones. Anne even ate bugs many common stereotypes detested, like cockroaches, in order to never starve. In fairness, Hop Pop beat the gigantic scavenger with nothing but twine and a wooden plank after it devoured the beloved Plantar family wheelbarrow. "It always passed down from our fathers in loincloths" he always stated, so he mounted the roach's head above his bed for a week for the satisfaction after such a tragedy. The family feasted on its cooked body for a few days until Hop Pop threw its husk down a river. Anne admitted that even though she would never think the same after the incident, the old frog knew how to cook anything into something scrumptious, even a giant monster cockroach. While she escaped with her skin intact, she knew Marcy had the easiest life since she arrived in Newtopia. She kept her questions to a minimum, but in the end none of it mattered since they found each other again. The girls' survival tactics may have elevated since Anne opened the music box, but for the general wildlife of Amphibia they endured hardships on a daily basis. They lived dream lives and yet incidents still stuck to them like magnets.

One false move and they would get it.

"Uhhhhh…" Anne stammered as she glanced at Marcy.

The smart one herself glanced back at her.

"Yes, Anne?"

"Please tell me you know how much longer until we reach Maddie's brain." Anne responded.

"Weeeeeeeeell…" Marcy uttered as she nervously tapped her fingers. "I…sort of slacked off a little with anatomy…"

"Of course." Anne said as she sighed with grief and smacked her forehead.

"Hey! Just because I'm smart doesn't mean I automatically have the knowledge of scholars." Marcy responded. "Besides, you don't have complete innocence either. You gunned it to the counselor's office when science class required slicing open a sheep's loose eyeball, remember?"

Anne really wished Marcy never brought up such a moment again. She nearly hurled when it became time to dissect frogs, but the moment with the sheep's eyeball never left her head even when she tried to bury it. She initially learned about it from Sasha when she managed to sneak a couple of peeks when passing by the door. From there her body went rigid and still until science class actually started when she finally saw her sample on a tray. She really wished she never sat down and watched a particular horror movie where the villain appeared with an empty eye socket. The dozens of optic nerves that wiggled and hissed like giant thick maggots left Anne against the light of her family's refrigerator for the entire night. By the time morning came, two red tomatoes took place of Anne's eyes and she required multiple days in therapy just to settle down back into her normal mindset. By the time the small sphere plopped up in front of her the empty corneas stared directly into her soul. Her memory failed her at a certain point, but she clearly remembered screaming followed by one loud smack. The next time she came to her parents stood over her while she had her back against a seat in the school's counseling office. She only learned of the mess left behind after the adults told her about it, and from then on she detested the name "Ivan" and anything similar sounding.

Loose eyeballs and Anne Boonchuy mixed as well as cream filled donuts and sandpaper.

"…point taken." Anne replied. "I just want to get there before more troubles come up."

"Don't we all." Marcy answered. "Although, if I had to guess we should get there pretty soon. I mean, we have our lungs and heart above the abdomen which leaves only the head left. Nothing like a 'head' start, right?"

"Haha, very funny Marbles." Anne stated in a playful nonchalant way.

"You'll appreciate humor more when we grow older." Marcy said before she cutely winked.

The two girls chuckled a few times before they looked forward once again and concentrated on the diverging paths ahead. Legions of red bloods cells blocked their path which required careful navigation, and by the time they picked out their next series of directions they heard Sprig shake himself awake. He firmly grasped one of Anne's long hairs for stability while he held his head.

"Ugh, that forced the bug juice out of me…" Sprig muttered before he addressed the two huge girl. "Don't tell me I missed much. I want to stay up to date on incidents too!"

"No, Sprig. Nothing terrible happened yet." Anne replied. "Just typical blood traversal stuff. At least we estimated that we should arrive at Maddie's brain soon."

"Oh, good." Sprig answered. "I can tolerate innards to a certain degree, and after that I sort of feel a bit queasy."

"Well, we won't have to wait much longer…hopefully." Marcy replied.

As they settled on a few more junctions ahead of them, other shapes soon populated the bloodstream that caught the three's eye. Certain pills forms drifted along the red blood cells near some large white amorphous blobs. At first they thought nothing of them, but the further they moved along they always caught a glance of one or the other on their travels. Since the white blobs maintained a size around the same as the red blood cells they couldn't hide too well, although they stayed on their tail which creeped the group out. Not just one of them followed after them either, because more joined in the longer they traveled. Eventually, ignoring the shapeless blots became nearly impossible. The three had a bad feeling about them.

"Marcy?" Anne asked in slight worry. "I may have forgotten some of the basics, but what other cells exist in our body?"

Marcy gave Anne one of the flattest expressions imaginable.

"You seriously forgot certain anatomy basics from elementary school?"

"Well, certain facts sort of put themselves on the back seats." Anne said. "I've lived for months in a foreign land, so give me a break here!"

"She…has a point." Sprig said.

"You know I've also stayed trapped here for months and not once forgotten anything?" Marcy said.

"Just give me the four one one Mar-Mar." Anne stated rather nonchalantly.

While her appreciation went down a few pegs from Anne's words, Marcy caved in and gave her what she wanted.

"Okay, fine. In terms of cells from what I've learned, typical humans have nerve cells which stimulate our senses of touch and pain, platelets that help block blood after skin injuries, red blood cells which help carry oxygen throughout our bodies…"

"And…?" Anne asked.

"Oh! We also have white bloods cells that help fight diseases and viruses!"

As soon as she finished, one of the giant white blots rammed against their white blood cell ride and almost toppled them off. One glance back at it as more legions piled up behind it, Anne quickly put two and two together and tensed up. Sprig and Marcy seemed to have concluded on the same idea as all three of them exchanged worried expressions.

"Marbles… How likely do you think these cells behind us match your final statement and consider us foreigners worthy of elimination?" Anne weakly asked.

"Do I…really have to answer?" Marcy nervously replied.

"Only one option now…" Sprig worriedly stated.

The large blot bashed against their red blood cell ride again, which almost catapulted them off.

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Sprig exclaimed.

Even when they tried to avoid trouble, Amphibia dictated that no such occurrence existed.

Anne and Marcy went into high gear and dug their feet into the red blood cell in an attempt to force it to speed up as the white blood cell behind them continuously rammed into them. Sprig screamed before one final bash sealed the deal and pried both girls loose. They tumbled through the tunnel of the vein as they started to separate once again, but one of them thought one step ahead and reached out. Before they drifted too far away from each other, Anne saw Marcy off to the side with her hand out and snagged her just in the nick of time. They twirled in the current for a few seconds as Anne checked on Sprig still in her hair. While a little sickened from the motions, he held on tightly and never let go of the bushy girl's hair. The white blood cell went for another round, but then Anne vigorously brought her sword out. Right when the cell expanded as if to envelop her, she sliced it right down the middle and sent it to the curved floor of the vein below. More white blood cells followed after the girls as if to avenge their fallen comrade. Their troubles only just started.

"As much as I don't want to harm Maddie's inner workings-"

"Immune system, Anne." Marcy interjected. "Technically they're part of the immune system."

Anne stared at Marcy for a few seconds before she continued.

"Okay, then. As much as I don't want to compromise Maddie's immune system, when push goes to shove I have to fend for myself. You poked the wrong girls, white blood cells."

"And frog!" Sprig stated from Anne's hair.

"Thanks for the backup Sprig, but we got it from here." Anne responded.

"But I would also help out if given the chance!"

"I know you would, buddy. Just leave it to us this one time while you stay safe."

Sprig deeply frowned comically before he sat down and pouted like a young child.

"Stupid Marcy mishap leaving me out of the fray…"

As Anne brandished her weapon, Marcy also cocked hers and prepared to fire. When taken into consideration, a typical hookshot appeared as nothing but an extra traversal tool. Many inhabitants throughout Amphibia used such a tool as intended and never thought outside of the box. However, the intelligent human girl of the three who found themselves warped into another dimension experimented deeply into such items and theorized different uses for potential instances when applicable. Because she never came across such incidents such experimentation remained unnecessary, but the legions of white blood cells arrived with giant bullseyes across their fronts which lightened her mood. She held her giddiness behind seriousness as she stood side by side with Anne like a dynamic duo. Marcy knew how to make something inconsequential useful.

"I got your back, Anne."

"Let's do this." Anne replied back as she grinned from ear to ear.

The next few white blood cells rushed for the girls as Anne slashed away and Marcy fired her hookshot. They couldn't afford to have them too close, but they risked their lives anyway. Anne found her legs snagged on more than one occasion which required some swift slices, and she ended up surrounded numerous times. Marcy went for a different approach and actually encouraged the cells to get up close. Any cell unfortunate enough to stick to the other end of her hookshot instantly dragged forward until she had them mere inches from her face. Once she spent a few moments smiling at her success, she kicked them away and ripped a clean hole from the hookshot before her victim collapsed to the ground. She thought of plenty more maneuvers, but the initial idea sufficed well enough. They laid a beat down on any unfortunate white blood cell attempting to attack one of the them. Failure against Maddie's immune system meant they failed her restoration, so they couldn't afford to lose.

Anne's vision became obscured as a couple of white blood cells expanded then released dozens of the small pill shapes out of their blots. They surrounded the girls and lunged at them which caught them off guard. Their skin burned something fierce as Anne stepped back and saw numerous nasty red marks across her arms, and the pain lingered. The pills went after them again, and the girls performed everything to avoid any further strikes.

"Oof! It burns!" Anne exclaimed as she shook her injured arms a bit. "As if fiery capsules always existed in our bodies! Have I gone insane?!"

"No, Anne!" Marcy responded as she whacked a few of them. "They've brought in reinforcements in the form of antibodies! Whatever you do, don't let them touch you!"

"Kind of a bit late there!" Anne replied as she showed off her stricken arms.

"ANNE! YOUR BACK!" Sprig exclaimed.

Once she heard his warning, Anne instantly flipped around and saw a white blood cell ready to envelop her. Without warning, she thrust her sword forward and plunged the blade deep into its formless shape. It dripped of white, but her weapon left one gaping hole behind. The cell floated weightlessly downward before Anne sent it packing.

"Thanks for the head up, Sprig!"

"No problem, Anne!" the shrunken frog answered.

As for Marcy, she found herself on the short end of the stick. Her first tactic ran its course to the point where she couldn't keep up with the onslaught of white blood cells and antibodies. She took cover behind a nearby red blood cell as the wheels in her head turned. Thanks to her quick thinking she needed only a few seconds before she brought herself into the fray again. As quick as a flash, Marcy fired her hookshot into a nearby white blood cell which plunged and stuck into it like glue. Even though she faltered a bit in terms of strength, she calculated everything so the percentages worked in her favor. She hauled her arm which wore the hookshot off to the side and dragged the cell with it. With her makeshift wrecking ball, anything that came into contact with the particular stuck cell flattened like a french crape and lightly floated down to the curved ground below. Marcy even mentally considered such a maneuver an abridged version of whack-a-mole and racked up quite a hefty score. While not the greatest tactician, she thought hard enough for her age and considered every possible outcome for her benefit.

"Alright, you overgrown milk puddles, LET OL' MAR-MAR GIVE IT TO YA!"

She twirled her hookshot around like a helicopter and smacked next to everything around the vicinity. Her carelessness almost left Anne on the other end which forced her to duck under the mangled white blood cell as it whizzed over her head. She would have shouted at Marcy for her recklessness, but the color drained from her face upon another revelation. Because of her naive obliviousness at times, she never saw one large white blood cell behind her as she enjoyed herself. Anne started to should, but she acted a second too late. Marcy managed only a single horrified look before the large cell completely engulfed her. Her hookshot detached and withdrew as only her head and arms remained, but not for long.

"ANNE! HELP!"

Her neck disappeared which left almost no time to dawdle for the Anne. In an act of desperation, she brandished her sword outward and rushed forward. Sprig yelled like he stubbed his toe before Anne unleashed a flurry of slashes at the cell that held Marcy. She cut it into neat ribbons which freed her friend and gave her a moment to breath. She only had a brief moment before more legions of white blood cells approached them. They spread antibodies which stung on contact which almost made them out like large swarms of bees. While they wanted to keep their thoughts to themselves, they admitted that Maddie's immune system kept up with them like it trained for the fateful moment. In hindsight, it basically kept the young frog healthy since she arrived into the world. It literally fought for far longer than Anne or Marcy when they first learned about weapons. Their opponent broke concrete with their bare fists while the girls struggled to rip loose paper.

"They…just keep coming!" Anne exclaimed as she sliced an antibody in half.

"Well, Maddie's immune system honed its entire attention on us!" Marcy responded before she kicked a white blood cell off. "We need to hold it off for a bit until we reach Maddie's brain!"

"I'm not sure you can do so much longer without tiring out!" Sprig stated as a drop of sweat almost hit him. "I'm already seeing sweat in here!"

"We don't have a choice, Sprig!" Anne replied. "Would you rather have Maddie's white blood cells destroy you before we can escape?

"Actually, most, if not all, white blood cells dispose of viruses by completely devouring them!" Marcy said. "So their choices of tactics makes perfect sense!"

"Too much information, Mar-Mar!" Anne answered.

The girls almost had the skin ripped off of their bones countless times in the bout, but they continued at it. One minor mishap and they would get it. As such, they attempted to size themselves up so they showed no weaknesses. The two hammered away at the white blood cells and antibodies as much as they could, and they focused so hard on not letting up that they never noticed an anomaly near the back of the pack. In hindsight, their oppositions up front took up a lot of their vision which helped cloak the weird occurrence. As they fought, a group of white blood cells slowly built up and merged together as if formed a very distinct shape. It grew bigger and bigger as indents cut around the surface and long flabs drooped across the sides. It almost displayed like a horror movie as the titular monster controlled center screen and screamed through the loudspeakers, and the girls watched their fair share of monster movies. The longer Anne and Marcy continued, the bigger the large blobby mess grew. They would have their hands full even more so than earlier.

Anne sliced and diced more incoming opponents while Marcy skewered them with her hookshot until even the white blood cells couldn't ignore the large presence behind them. The girls found themselves sidelined once the huge combined gather of white blood cells in the back assimilated the ones in front of them. Even red blood cells around it required a tight squeeze to bypass as the biggest gathering of cells floated aimlessly in the blood. The mere sight of it stunned the three since they recognized the shape, and it left an unnerving tension in the air.

"Mar…Marcy?" Anne stuttered. "What…do you call that?"

"For once, I actually don't know!" Marcy responded. "Maddie's body must REALLY want us out of here!"

"Then call it an abomination and leave it at that!" Sprig nervously stated.

The large gathering of white blood cells shaped up into a giant version of Maddie's angry head. The large red eye bulged out a slight amount like a chameleon and twisted everywhere as the outer surface throbbed ever so lightly as if it matched Maddie's soft heartbeat. Where Maddie's blob of pink usually set drooped down and wiggled through the currents and appeared like they acted on their own. Anne imagined large giant tentacles "well armed" but they swayed like a pendulum almost in a hypnotic fashion. The gigantic mouth near the bottom gnashed the flat squares for makeshift teeth as some type of intimidation tactic, and after what Marcy stated about white blood cells it became rather obvious what the writhing mass intended to use it for. The cavernous depths of darkness left the three squeamish, and yet the needed to deal with it. Color completely left it as the three saw nothing but white, which made sense considering what combined to create it, and with the red eye one could mistake the collection of cells as just an albino floating head. Of course they knew better, but on the surface level common stereotypes may possibly assume such a rare enigma of the animal world just so happened to set on such a sight. From one monstrous Maddie to another, she hogged all of the spotlight ever since she found herself huge again. Anne and Marcy stomached the hard parts for the sake of Wartwood, but even they haven't gone through all of it yet.

Time for yet another menacing foe to want to rip their hearts out.

The huge white floating head of Maddie whirled its long loose flabs that made up the blob on the frog's head like a manic helicopter. The girls only had seconds to dodge as loose white blotches flew everywhere. Anne chopped most of two while Marcy dug in her hookshot then ripped them clean off. Any separated white blood cell fell to the curvy floor in an immobile heap, and the giant head regenerated any missing pieces like it never suffered any damage. Despite the special property, Anne, Sprig, and Marcy knew it couldn't do it forever as it only had a limited amount stored in its formless mass. From its giant maw, it spewed out hundreds of antibodies like a beehive which nearly surrounded the girls. They hovered around them like swarms of bees and aerial dive bombed them as they lost focus from the sheer amount. Many hovered in front of Anne so she pivoted around on the spot until she picked up speed like a hurricane. She blitzed through antibodies like paper although she still suffered a couple of nasty stings. Marcy had it worse due to the drawbacks of her hookshot but nevertheless worked with what she wielded. She waited until she saw a clear line then fired at the opportune moment which skewered multiple antibodies at the same time. Both Anne and Marcy contained as many opponents as they saw.

Because Anne moved everywhere it also left Sprig nearly sick to his stomach as he held on for dear life. The constant swirling his huge best friend performed changed his eyes into spinning wheels as clucking reptilian chickens around his head. He would have talked to Anne about possibly staying low on the actions, but he wanted her to always stay on her toes during a fight. If she showed weakness one could easily take advantage and lead to a possible loss down the road. With all of it in mind, he kept his eyes peeled even though he lacked the size for the coveted "SprAnne combo". While he felt not so good from the continual motions, he never let up even for a second.

Anne's second set of eyes came in clutch.

As he scanned all of the insanity around them, he barely noticed something from behind the clouds of antibodies. While not all of the details painted a clear picture, he learned enough to figure out a general estimate. Something large and white in one distinct direction meant-

"MARCY, LOOK OUT!" Sprig exclaimed.

…if he acted at the right time.

Marcy pierced another set of antibodies and tossed them to the floor before she prepared to fire again. Such a chance never came though when an incredibly large appendage plastered all over her front which stiffened her on the spot. Anne and Sprig watched in horror as whatever snagged her dragged the unlucky tween forward until she ended up between the jaws of the large white Maddie head. Once the flat whites of the makeshift teeth slammed shut, the red eye glared at Anne's stricken body as it went for seconds. Another appendage shot out of its mouth, but the other girl had other plans. It reeled back the moment the tip of her blade chopped the tip straight down the middle which spewed white gunk in the process. More antibodies swarmed and surrounded her as she held hope that Marcy never suffered a terrible fate.

As for the eaten girl herself, she found herself in yet another awkward situation. From getting swallowed by the giant frog girl herself to experiencing a repeat with the white blobby mass she appreciated no such irony. Even though she heard such phrases about her cuteness to the point where one might want to eat her, she considered it more subjective than literal. To think it actually happened not once but twice in a different manner left her groaning more than laughing. While her eyes failed her in the dark, she didn't need the sense of sight to understand what happened. Her skin burned something extremely painful, which likely came from the clusters of white blood cells breaking her down like what they typically performed on viruses. The lack of common sense left Marcy seething in pain which left almost no time at all to plan an escape. For once she would have liked to stay in Maddie's stomach just to keep herself away from her crazy immune system. It performed its job perfectly, whether Marcy wanted it to or not.

The constant sloshing inside the cramped depths tossed stability out the window, and her mind scrambled for an answer. After she pretty much beat her head into submission, something came up. The fact the giant head lacked a stable surface should have sparked something earlier, and she wished the wires connected so her skin never suffered such burning sensations. If anything, she may have just spotted a pot of gold in the corner as she glanced up. Every cell, even a giant group of them, operated under some type of nucleus like a brain. While she only guessed where inside the mass she ended up, her hookshot pierced when shot and if her calculations rang true…

She needed to go for it.

As her skin burned something fierce and the cluster continued to break her down, Marcy pointed her hookshot at a precise angle above her. The point sank a little into the white which oozed out some juices that nearly singed her skin off. She took a few deep breaths, made extra sure she cocked the device correctly…

For the ones on the outside, Anne had seen better days. Various parts of her clothes suffered rips and tears as her skin displayed bruises and blisters in large splotches. Sprig managed to avoid any injuries mostly unscathed, although Anne's quick moves left him dizzy most of the time. The antibodies wore her down and they never let up unlike her tiring body. The giant white Maddie face and the antibodies it hurled out worked like machines, because as long as their main functions still worked they performed at the top percentage. It became yet another bout of man versus machine, and as many theorists have concluded machines came out on top.

Anne gripped her sword tightly but still stood firm. She grimaced from a sprained shoulder as another large white tendril shot forward. She sliced in clean in half but the antibodies dive bombed her when she opened herself up. She suffered even more lethal stings and panted heavily at her opposition.

"They…don't know when to quit!" Anne exclaimed. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up…"

"Don't fall now, Anne! You can still take them!" Sprig said from her hair.

"Says the guy who stayed safe within the confines of my hair." Anne responded.

"Hey! Blame Marcy for screwing up because I would have put in my own elbow grease!"

"Yeah, I know you always have my back. Doesn't make this any less forgiving though."

She lost count of how much perspiration poured across her cheeks, but if she had to guess it probably hovered around the quadruple digit mark. The giant floating white Maddie head leered its dangerous red eye at the girl as white ooze dripped from its maw. The antibodies beat her into a gooey pulp ripe for a huge cluster of white blood cells, as as they continued to unleash stings her strength sapped away. They needed another tactic to gain the upper hand, although Anne never elevated into high IQ charts. As long as her opponent maintained intense concentration on her she never stood a chance. Even through the slight gurgling they always honed all of their attention-

Wait. Gurgling noises?

Anne barely peeked ahead through the constant stinging to see where such noises came from. She found it very weird to see the giant Maddie head rumble a few times as its red eye glanced downward. Its mouth remained clamped shut, but the bright white cheeks wriggled and puffed up rather uncontrollably. The way they jiggled made Anne a little sick because she knew the sort of feeling and wished to never go through it again. Of course, thanks to sicknesses it became impossible, but she remembered the times when she woke up bolted to her bed with a huge bowl beside her. Bad Chinese food often spelled multiple trips to the number two can, and Anne vowed to always pay attention to the manufacturer label from then on. Suffice to say, she understood what often happened next.

The head swayed in the current as it compressed and expanded over the next few seconds until it finally had enough. Once it opened its spacious mouth, it spewed not clouds of antibodies, but a genius tween prodigy with a hookshot. She spiraled through the bloodstream and smacked right into dozens of the tiny pills like a bowling ball. Such a surprising maneuver sent Anne downward until she rebounded off of the circular floor then back up next to her close friend. Her head temporarily turned into a mental merry-go-round until it halted back into stability. Once their eyes met, they smiled and prepared themselves for more. Time to fall back into the young tween tag team.

The antibodies and giant white Maddie face wouldn't allow such a happy reunion and attacked once more. The girls kept their distance as they attempted to come up with their next course of action.

"Marcy!" Anne exclaimed.

"The one and only!" Marcy responded.

"You…actually got out?!" Sprig said in astonishment. "I thought those white blood cells had the advantage!"

"They did, but in the thick of the moment I remembered something about cells that came in handy!" Marcy responded. "I shot directly at the cluster's nucleus!"

Both Anne and Sprig gazed at her expressionlessly as her words rebounded off of their incomprehensible mentality.

"The brain of the cell?"

"Ohhhhhhhh!" both Anne and Sprig stated.

Marcy's expression went flat.

"You realize I found our ticket to escape with that fact, right?"

"In that nuclesomething you mentioned?" Anne asked.

"Yes, the nucleus." Marcy explained. "One shot through the whiteness and I snagged it effortlessly. I only needed to tug on it downward once and it automatically hurled me out."

"So, we pull that thing out and it'll go down?" Sprig asked.

"Not quite. Remember that dozens of white blood cells joined together to form that menacing face? They likely also combined their nuclei together, and we'll need your sword to split them back."

Marcy motioned over to the dirty sword in Anne's hand which became covered in lots of red from the bought inside Maddie's bloodstream. Anne herself took a moment to glance down at her sword than back over to Marcy, as she seemingly understood what needed to happen.

"So once we bring it out…" Anne started.

"Then we literally cut it down to size." Marcy finished. "You in?"

Anne couldn't help but grin at such an idea. Leave it to the genius of the three to come up with a plan ridiculous enough to work. She had to give it to Marcy for her quick thinking even if she got lost in thought more often than she could count. Not all of her plans came to fruition, especially some of the more outrageous ones like "escaping detention using nothing but pink noodles and some pasta sauce", but for the most part something in her head intertwined into a magnificent light bulb of bursting ideas. Anne and Sasha talked about how she had a gift in knowledge, but every time she always called it something natural and nothing to write about. Even so, they knew who to go to for when serious brainpower required attention.

"You know I'll always follow through with your plans, Mar-Mar." Anne answered as she lightly smiled.

"I'm with you too, even though I'm more moral support until I get my size back." Sprig stated from Anne's hair. "Can your weapon single handily propel something potentially huge out though?"

"I don't know, but we have no choice anyway." Marcy responded.

From there, the three broke off and faced the antibodies with the giant white Maddie head floating behind them. They knew what they had to do, and now they needed a tight execution without a single error. Anne lead their charge forward which the antibodies responded to in the blink of an eye. Burning surfaces at the ready, and swooped in for multiple stings while many ended up cut in half by her sword. While they suffered countless stings which sapped at their strength, they still marched through the dozens of antibody clouds with valor in their eyes. At one point Anne turned her back for a split second and took a sting to the eye which sent her to one knee for a brief moment. It hurt like crazy and felt like she would have lost her vision permanently on that eye alone. Marcy warded off some more clouds as Anne recovered a bit then charged again. The redness around her pupil throbbed but she cast the pain aside for the moment as they approached the giant white Maddie head.

Step one down…

As the giant head opened its mouth wide and shot out giant appendages to snag the group, Marcy acted fast. She aimed near the middle of the giant face and fired her hookshot. The point soared through the bloodstream at blistering speeds until it pierced the white plasm and sunk deep into it. Anne cut any appendages in half when they came in close as Marcy went for her big catch. The giant Maddie face thrashed about which tossed the girl around like a rag doll, but she refused to let go.

Step two down…

"Anne! Hold everything back as I reel this bad boy in!"

"With pleasure!"

Antibodies surrounded the girls as blotches of white fell from the huge face. Anne dealt with them for the most part as Marcy went fishing for the first time in her life. She dug her heels into the walls of the vein around her but the head refused to comply. She barely hung on, but in the process she caught a few glimpses of a curvature shape underneath the white which gave her hope. Her plan had something going for it which kept her mind focused on her big catch. She saw the light at the end of the tunnel and if it required a couple of broken bones she definitely never minded it.

As he watched both girls give it their all from the safety of one's bushy hair, Sprig's spirit died a little inside. He wanted to help more than ever, but thanks to a Marcy mishap he lacked the size to lend a hand. As one of the founders of "SprAnne Against The World!" one side always supported the other, and yet such a situation missed the mark. It went against what him and Anne established which left a hole that stayed empty. He only kept himself safe next to all of the long follicles on Anne's head in no condition to help.

"I wanna be a big frog, not a tiny shrimp!" Sprig thought.

He kept his hands gripped on a strand of Anne's hair as she went crazy on many antibodies around her. Her actions nearly caused Sprig to fly straight off her head. In the process he noticed Marcy on the side as she pulled with all of her might against the giant collection of white blood cells in the shape of Maddie's head. He knew how tough a large catch exhausted someone, especially if they refused to surface by any means necessary. From there, he felt Marcy's struggles and yet he couldn't help with any potential tugging which he wanted to more than anything. If anything, she would have a lot more leverage if she inched herself a few spaces-

Hop Pop's lectures reared back like that giant cockroach he personally dealt with.

It started with yet another "bonding trip" he insisted the family take during a hot summer day. He recently bought a rickety fishing boat during a big sale a few weeks prior and a few fishing rods as extras. Once he convinced the two to get on, he set off and they floated through the marshlands for half an hour until they hit a certain stillness in the air. Polly wasted no time casting her hook into the water while Sprig hesitated so we wouldn't accidentally pierce himself. The elder frog then went off on one of his long explanations about fishing as Polly furiously cast her rod in an attempt to catch a mythical "magmafiershay" which Hop Pop and Sprig knew nothing about. Sprig kept his attention to a minimum, but he remembered Hop Pop talk about a particular set of motions his great grandpa passed down from generation to generation. Apparently their ancestors fished for big game and managed to catch something called a "megalodon" which almost chomped their heads clean off. One of them even had once of its teeth embedded into his knee that couldn't come out without major damage to his leg. Such a travesty meant he lived the rest of his life with a giant tooth stuck in his leg, and once Sprig heard such a tale his brain forced him to listen to the rest of Hop Pop's explanations that day. They caught nothing in the end despite the trip…although Polly swore she saw something huge underwater.

"Marcy! Try twisting around ninety degrees and let up strength a bit until it tires out!"

Such an exclamation caught Marcy off guard to the point she almost let go of her snag. Even so, she kept Sprig's words in mind and performed the actions as told. The giant white Maddie face wrestled for control as the girl kept firm and refused to move too much. Even though Sprig provided nothing but fishing tips, Marcy saw results rather quickly as she stood firm. While it continued against her, its constant tugs began to slow into a more manageable state. The watered down speeds provided the opening she desired, so she struck one more time and tugged at just the right moment. From out of the huge head, a large combination of small spheres that formed into a large one hit the ceiling before it subsided. Bits and pieces of white plasm fell from the surface as the large head deformed into a light puddle on the ground. While the antibodies still attacked, the girls found their one chance of escape.

"NOW ANNE! CUT IT DOWN TO SIZE!" Marcy exclaimed.

Once Anne heard Marcy cry out she temporarily turned her attention forward where the giant combined nucleus hovered before them in a vulnerable state. With her sword in hand, her legs pumped before she performed her own version of a breakneck run. Antibodies bounced off her body, and even though they still stung her over and over she honed everything on the combination of nuclei held together in one large cluster. She raised her weapon high into the air and aimed the sharp point at her target before she drove it down and bellowed her own crazy war cry. She put some much pressure into her strike she sunk downward through the blood until her feet left an impact into the ground. Her bushy hair covered her face until she looked back up toward the giant nucleus where the three immediately noticed the intensive quivering of the large sphere. Light undulations ran across the surface until large ripples formed followed by some light compression. From there, the entire hive mind ruptured in one spectacular propulsion as smaller sphere rocketed everywhere and hit the curvature walls like shuttle launches. While most remained stuck where they landed, many trickled down until they set unresponsive on the curvature ground.

The three won the battle.

Anne became a little grossed out from the loose pieces of plasm and unresponsive nuclei everywhere but held it together as Marcy floated down to her.

"Yuck! I'm so glad I don't want to become a surgeon in the future!" Anne said.

"Well, we did it at least." Marcy replied. "It should buy us enough time until they regenerate."

"Wait a minute. We DIDN'T end them?" Sprig asked.

"We may have gone through a few casualties, but for the most part…we didn't compromise Maddie's immune system too much." Marcy stated.

"They've never come across intruders like us, and after today they won't ever again." Anne responded. "I got to admit that they helped release a lot stress from that last slice."

Marcy chuckled.

"Maybe we should get eaten by Maddie more when we feel down, heheheheh…"

"Yeah, no thanks."

"I figured." Marcy responded.

Pieces of plasm near their feet slowly started to wiggle near some loose nuclei as Marcy addressed the tiny frog in Anne's hair.

"Thanks for the advice at the right time, Sprig. Where did you learn that?"

"Oh, an experience back in my youth." Sprig replied. "I'd rather not talk about it too much."

"Understood." Marcy stated. "We made great progress toward Maddie's brain in the process."

"We'd better reach it in only a few minutes before we have more white blood cells on our butts." Anne stated. "We barely managed to come out on top this time."

From there more pieces of white plasm covered several nuclei as the general blobs of white blood cells formed near them. Once the three noticed them knew they needed to book it.

"Let's get out of here before we have to deal with that monstrosity again."

"Agreed!" Anne and Sprig stated in unison.

The two girls instantly followed the currents in the vein as the slowly forming white blood cells disappeared from view. The less they had to deal with Maddie's immune system the better, and they neared her brain after many close calls. They still needed to figure out how to halt Maddie's destructive activities using her own brain against her, but for now they focused on actually getting there. They hoped Flint and Ivy had a better time and obtained the special shell piece even though they didn't understand why it maintained such importance. The girls and Sprig performed their duties along with the other parties, but everything needed to come together perfectly to bring Maddie back down to the ground.

She needed their help more than ever.