The Panda Quest
It has been two days since the group had rescued Bittyburg from the cruel oppression of the Hasselback's gang; and now the fwagon trail was leaving behind the Western-esc desert to travel among a lush forest full of life and green plains rich in fresh grass.
Amelia was flying on the back of Akitsu, alert and looking for dangers or items of interest to report on. Hop Pop was driving the fwagon as usual, while chatting about theater with James, sitting to his right; Polly, Anne and Sasha were sunbathing, all with extravagant sunglasses and holding mirrors just over their chest. Felicia was checking their itinerary on her map and Jacob was lazing around, taking pleasure in the warm kiss of the sun over his skin. Meanwhile Sprig and the others were fighting their boredom the best way they could...
"I spy with my little eye..." Ivy said for what she felt like the hundredth time today, "something tall and green."
"A tree." Maddie replied tersely. To her, the game stopped being fun around an hour ago, but since there was nothing better to do in its place, she kept playing with them. "I spy with my little eye… something hard and gra-"
"The rock!" exclaimed Sprig, maybe with a little too enthusiastically. Still, playing the game was the only thing keeping him from falling into the madness of boredom. "My turn! My turn!" Ivy and Maddie groaned in agreement, feeling as if their brains were going into slow mode to preserve their energy.
"I spy with my little eye… something white that flies!"
"Too easy, Akitsu." replied Ivy with all the boredom her body could express.
"Nope!" Sprig said with a full smug smile on his face, while both Maddie and Ivy suddenly became alert as they tried to think what else on sight could be 'white and that could fly'. Finally, something interesting around here?!
"Huh, another bug?" Ivy tried again, the idea of capturing a giant flying white bug sounding really cool right now for the tomboy frog.
"Nope!"
"A ghost?" Maddie suggested, the young magic practitioner silently hoping for a chance to fight a paranormal threat.
"Nope again!" Sprig shook his head, loving the moment.
Ivy and Maddie kept looking around, becoming more and more confused by the minute. What could have Sprig seen? Surely he couldn't have cheated, could he? Yet, after a full minutes of madly scanning the landscape around them trying to find what Sprig could have seen, they gave up
"Ok Spriggy, it's not fun anymore."
"What did you see?!"
"The clouds." He finally answered, sporting a very smug smile on his face, earning a collective groan from Ivy and Maddie, and a snark smirk from Anne.
"Hey, guys?" Jacob yawned, looking around, "Did anyone see Marcy? I was expecting her to be here with us and take notes."
"That's because she is still inside," Felicia pointed at the Fwagon under them, "I wanted to check on her a bit ago, but she's very busy trying to translate as much as she can from that old book and didn't want anyone to disturb her."
"Wow, Mar-Mar is really working hard to help us find a way back home," Anne nodded, genuinely impressed. "She's been working on that translation ever since we left Bittyburg."
"Maybe she's just bored," Ivy rolled her eyes, "it's been days since we haven't had an adventure."
"Two days, Ivy," Felicia was quick to point out, "and I can guarantee you that boredom is a luxury when adventuring. Don't scoff at these moments of peace and quiet, but rather, treasure them: we don't know how long it will last nor when the next one will be, or even if there will be a next one!"
"I'm not complaining," Maddie replied, "I had more than enough time to write down all the new spell recipes Marcy and I came up with in the last few days, and I even took note of new ingredients to use in the future. If you're bored, why don't you go hunting for bugs?"
"I would, if someone hadn't filled all my jars for their potions!"
Sasha, Anne, and Jacob all rolled their eyes, as Ivy and Maddie started to quarrel once again, with Sprig trying to play peacemaker. After two months of knowing each other better, you could have expected them to form a strong friendship by now. Only, it seemed they kept getting on each other's nerves at the slight disagreement.
"I'm going inside and checking how Marcy is doing," Jacob suggested, "You girls want to come?"
"Sorry, Jacob, too busy working on my tan." Sasha replied, "Still, if Mar-Mar needs any of us, just say so and I'll come."
"Yeah, same for me," Anne nodded. "Plus, I doubt I can help Marbles that much. After all, she is the smartest one among us, so she shouldn't need our help…"
(…)
"Frog, I am so stupid!" Marcy wept, looking over Hop Pop's book and her various translation notes, which by now were covering almost the entire surface of the latter Fwagon's inside. Pages after pages of relentless translation work having taken a heavy toll on the human girl: she had conspicuous dark circles around her eyes, who were still bloodshot and steaming with tears, her hands and arms were trembling, her hair unkempt and dirty, her clothes were sweaty, her skin had become pale gaunt.
Yet, she still refused to take a break, to sleep, to eat something or even just to stop her work, just kept on focusing on the translation in front of her.
"I can't stop, just…not now! I must restore the balance, fix…what I have done…" The dark-haired girl wept, shame and sadness once again taking over her mind as she looked to her left and saw the Calamity Box lying on the table, Anne having left it for her to study.
The Calamity Box that had brought all of them to Amphibia, months ago.
The same box that she manipulated Sasha and Anne to steal, when she found out her parents were planning to move.
The girl lowered her head, desperately trying to hold off her tears. She knew that she had made a tragic mistake, when she decided to tell her friends about it. How she got all of them stuck in Amphibia, a land populated by large bugs and other dangerous creatures. How she ended up taking Jacob, Amelia, and James with them. How she ripped them away from their families, on Anne's own birthday.
She knew that, if her friends had found out about it, they would never forgive her. They would turn their back on her, leave her, abandon her just as she feared it would happen if she had relocated with her family. They would quickly forget about her and would go forward with their lives.
And she would have utterly deserved it.
I took them from their families…I have seen how Sasha and the others reacted when Hop Pop tried to hide the Box! How will they react should they find out I am the reason we ended up here in the first place?!
No, I can't stay idle, my only hope to even out what I've done is to try to fix this as best as I can, and the only way I can do that is to find a way to move back the power inside our bodies back into the Gems, reactivate the Box and bring everyone home!
She looked forward to the text she was currently busy translating, and all the notes with the text she had managed to translate so far: until now, there was nothing that could help her. Rather, the more translated, the more she felt depressed:
"-it was now three months ever since the Gems had disappeared, and already the whole of Amphibia looked completely unrecognizable from how it was once," she re-read the latest part she had translated, "With the Box having disappeared, and no alternative source to produce our power, all our tech by then had stopped working. The energy walls and other defenses we used to protect our settlements and ourselves were no longer available to us, as did many of our weapons. A group of Royal engineers desperately tried to reverse-engineer our tech to power it with other means, but it has been a very long time since it was developed, and they couldn't come up with anything: the King himself was so angry at them he ordered their execution-"
"-With every new traveler reaching our settlement, the situation all over Amphibia keeps getting worse: already there is news that many creatures from the menageries had broken free and started to settle in our world, turning our beautiful cities into their new hunting ground. People are getting desperate, as they see their whole society collapse around them-"
"-I wish I had known before. I don't regret my past actions, and I know if I was in the same situation as then, I would've done it again. Yet, I can't help but feel hurt every time I hear news coming from outside the Valley. The situation has been steadily deteriorating. Land communications are virtually cut off, and so are almost all major trade routes. In just under six months, all the largest cities on the continent except Newtopia were abandoned and lost. Even here in the Valley, the most fertile place in all of Amphibia, life is now harsh and dangerous. Without adequate means to defend ourselves, Frogs are easy prey in this new world saturated with deadly predators. In this new world without the Gems."
"Whoever wrote this passage must have done so while plagued with guilt," Marcy nodded, "just like me."
According to the Book, the Calamity Gems had suddenly disappeared a long time ago, and their disappearance caused the collapse of the old Amphibian society. This meant that probably those factories she and the others had visited at the Ruins of Despair probably dated to that period or before, and yet, with every question solved, new ones formed in the girl's head.
"How did the Gems end up disappearing?" Marcy said looking at the book, "Why were they so vital to the old Amphibian society? And why did the writer keep claiming to be involved in that?" She sighed, her right eye twitching, "I must continue working, we need answers-"
"Marbe-lade!" Jacob announced with a boisterous tone of voice as he got inside, "sorry, I didn't want to disturb, only- what in frog's name happened in here?!" The boy gasped in shock, as soon as he saw the whole interior of the Fwagon covered in pages of notes, Marcy crouched in her chair, the book open in front of her, the girl's face and mannerism clearly telling she hadn't had proper sleep or relaxation for the latter couple of days.
"H-hi Jacob!" Marcy replied, quickly grabbing her closest note and then moving to gather the remainder ones, "S-sorry, it's a bit of mess, now I'll fix that and-"
"Marcy, what the heck happened? You look like a mess!" The boy moved forward and grabbed her, checking her face, "When was the last time you had some rest?"
"Rest? I can't rest, Jacob, not now! I just take another sip of my energy drink and-"
"You've been drinking that non-stop for two days?!" Jacob's shock was now turning into horror, "WHY?!"
"Because I need to keep working! I am so close now, and I can't…I can't…"
Yet, as Marcy kept rambling, the long hours of incessant work and the lack of sleep she was suffering made her trip once again and the dark-haired nerd girl fell to the ground, falling asleep as soon as her eyes were closed.
For a couple of seconds, Jacob stood where he was before moving, grabbing Marcy with both hands and slowly moving her to the nearest soft surface available, before moving to gather her notes and carefully place them near the book.
The boy in a Viking hat sighed, as he gave yet another glance to the sleeping girl, noticing how cute she looked when she slept. He wanted to do something to help her, to show her he recognized her effort, to tell her she didn't have to push herself to the brink of exhaustion, but what?
Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind, the boys' eyes widening as his mind started to elaborate it, his lips twitching as a determined smile blossomed through his mouth…
(…)
"I'm sorry Jacob, what did you say?" Anne asked, raising her eyes from her phone.
"I want to prepare a special gift for Marcy," the boy repeated promptly, "I already have an idea for a gift I want to make for her, and the items we need to make it. I am asking you if you want to join me."
The Fwagon Trail had now stopped, and the group was resting for a bit in a large clearing, Bessie and Liptea eagerly munching the tall grass surrounding their encampment, while Hop Pop and Felicia were busy setting up the campfire. The kids were supposed to be helping, but now everyone was gathering on the round table and listening to Jacob, ignoring their work.
"You want to give something to Marcy?" Sasha asked, disbelief in her voice, "Not that I'm against it, actually this is quite sweet. Only…why now?"
"Because I fear Mar-Mar is on the way to a nervous breakdown, if she hadn't reached it already." The human boy said with a solemn face, Anne, Sasha, Maddie, and many others quickly assuming a shocked expression full of confusion, of fear, sadness.
"Earlier, when I went to check on her, I found she was so buried in work that she had basically stopped taking care of herself! She's not sleeping properly, she's barely eating, almost like she is forcing herself awake to use every second she's awake to do that translation."
"She is?!" Anne asked, her voice now filled with horror, her protective instinct rising once again., "Frog, I appreciate that Marbles was so determined to help, but she shouldn't sacrifice her own health to do that!"
"I agree, we must do something!" Maddie nodded, "Look, I know a spell that can put people to sleep. Maybe we could-"
"Maddie, no." James shook his head. "Look, while we appreciate the support your spell can give us, magic is not a cure to solve every problem in life."
"That's right." Anne sighed, passing a hand through her hair, "Mar-mar needs to rest, that's true, but using a spell of yours to force her to sleep is not healthy!"
"…oh." Maddie replied, for a moment feeling ashamed for having thought of that. To her side, Sprig and Polly grimaced, remembering the time they ended up tasting the humans' energy drinks…and having so many crazy shenanigans they had to fix the next morning.
"Ok, just to ask," Amelia, who until now had been silently listening to the conversation, piped in. "What kind of gift do you plan to make for Marcy?"
"Something that I think she will like, and that may help her in her current state of mind," the boy grinned, taking out his phone and searching through his photos album, until he found the item he was looking for, turning the screen to show it to the others. Soon, Anne, Sasha and Amelia were gasping in awe, Polly and Ivy looked at the picture with emotional eyes, Maddie raised an eyebrow in surprise and James:
"You…you want to make her something like that?" The British teen asked, "I mean, nothing against it, it is quite a nice gift, but…are you sure you can do it?"
"I was hoping someone would ask, bro." Jacob smirked, taking out a small sheet of paper with some writing of his, a list of the necessary materials to the left while, on the right, he detailed what to use for each one of them. "Like I said, and thanks to Soggy Joe's…lessons, I have an idea overall of what kind of items we need to collect to make it and how to find everything. Still, as you can see, there is a lot to do and not enough time."
"Wait, why not?" asked Sprig, raising a hand, "I mean, sure they are many, but I think in a couple of days-"
"We don't have a couple of days!" Jacob interrupted him, pointing with his head toward the fwagon where Marcy was still sleeping, ignorant of the conversation going outside, "I want to have it ready for when Marbles wakes up, so we can give it to her and tell her why she shouldn't overwork herself. She is catching up on sleep, but I doubt she'll stay asleep for too long."
"I agree, knowing Mar-Mar, she'll awake in two, three hours at most." Sasha did some math in her head, "Maximum five, if she was really sleep-deprived."
"Then, we have no time to lose!" Ivy jumped on the table, "Let's go gather the ingredients, and return before she wakes up!"
"I'm in!" Anne thumbed up, "After all Marbles has done for us, I think going on some adventure to make her a gift is a good way to show her our appreciation."
"I'm in as well!" Sasha nodded eagerly. "Though, I already considered myself in the moment you said you were going to make a gift for Marbles."
"Akitsu and I will participate too!" Amelia pumped in the air with her fist, "We can cover way more distance by flying than by foot, and we could see the dangers from above!"
"Bri-bru-bru-bru!" The giant dragonfly eagerly nodded, flapping her wings as almost 'anticipating' the endeavor."
"Let's go get what we need, and return before Marcy wakes up!"
"Huzzah!"
"Let's go!"
"Ahem!" A voice called from behind them, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Everyone turned around, seeing Hop Pop and Felicia glaring at them, their arms crossed, Hop Pop even tapping on the ground with his foot.
"Please, Hop-pop," Anne sighed, already anticipating the lecture, "I know we have work to do, but-"
"I'm not angry about the camp work, though I did tell you to do it and you didn't," the old frog said, rolling his eyes, "I can't believe you are actually going to go into yet another crazy adventure through wilderness and nasty predators, uncaring about your own lives, all so you could get the items you need to prepare a gift for Marcy…without us?!"
"What?!" Sasha gasped in surprise, looking at Felicia, "You want to come with us?"
"Of course, Sash," the veteran adventurer and tea expert replied with a smile, "beside the fact that I think it's quite cute and heartwarming how you're planning to go on a dangerous quest all for your friend? Hop Pop and I have survived enough of your crazy shenanigans to know that, even should we forbid you to go, you'd probably go anyway without our knowledge, and almost surely end up in some kind of danger that could've easily avoided if we had been there with you. For this reason, Mr. Plantar and I have an agreement to suggest to you."
"We will allow you to go, but we will go with you and follow our direction until we are back," Hop Pop said, looking at Anne. "That means, when we say no, it's no. And when we'll be back, you'll do all the chores you were supposed to have done already."
"Ok, I guess. Only…how do we do with Marcy? We can't leave her and the fwagon alone and unguarded."
"I may have a strategy to fix this issue," Felicia proposed, "As you were already suggesting, we will divide in several groups, but while the others go gather the items we need to make Marcy's gift, one group will stay here and watch over the fwagon and Marcy. Plus, I do remember something, back from my adventuring days, that may be useful to make this gift even more spectacular…" The teamaker smiled as he saw excitement shine in Jacob's eyes.
"Ok, so… can someone remind me what we are supposed to gather?" Amelia asked as she turned her head to the side, looking at Felicia, Anne, Maddie, and Polly all holding on the back of Akitsu's abdomen, the large white dragonfly buzzing as fast as she could over a wide expanse of trees.
"We need to gather some silk from the Weaver Caterpillars." Felicia repeated. "These fascinating creatures live in the deepest part of the forest, and they can secrete a foaming liquid to build themselves a shelter where they can hide from many predators and keep themselves warm even on the coldest days. These caterpillars often use their own shredded silk to build their own refuges, so we probably won't have to risk entering inside. Assuming whatever we manage to get on the outside is of good enough quality for us to utilize, of course."
"Hey, Felicia?" Anne asked, "Why is that important to not enter unless necessary? I mean, these caterpillars are harmless, right? Even if we bother them, what's the issue?"
"I said these caterpillars are harmless, not defenseless," the veteran adventurer replied, "and while they can't directly hurt you, the Dark Stalker can."
"T-the Dark Stalker?" Maddie gasped, her voice trembling for a second, "What is that?"
"An ugly, monstrous centipede that can follow its prey for countless miles, thus earning the name of 'stalker'. It's a creature that only hunts in the darkest hours of the night, where there is total absence of any kind of light, be it natural or not. Its eyes and exoskeleton are so adapted to the absence of light that even the barest illumination could hurt him."
"And it hunts Weaver caterpillars for dinner, right?" Polly asked.
"Wrong actually, the Weaver Caterpillars are the only creatures the Dark Stalker never attacks. This is why, in order to protect themselves from the light, solitary Dark Stalker individuals use to take refuge in their nest, whose inner rooms are completely covered in darkness even at noon, giving them a light-proof hideout to rest after a night spent hunting."
"So, these caterpillars let those predators live in their house and freeload?" Anne asked, "And what do they get in exchange?"
"Besides not getting eaten themselves, you mean?" Felicia continued, "Well, to protect their hideouts and the caterpillars, the Dark Stalkers are quite aggressive toward any creature sneaking around, especially if they try to hunt the caterpillars or damage their refuge. So, taking some silk from the exterior of the refuge shouldn't be too much of a hassle, but if you try to take those who compose the inner part… if there is a Dark Stalker in there, it's the fastest way to make them angry and make them try and attack you. Thus, better play it safe, kids."
"Hey, Maddie!" Amelia announced, remembering something, "Didn't you and Marcy work out on those Light Spells? Could we use them against the Dark Stalker, assuming we end up meeting one?"
"That's a good idea!" Their magician expert frog commented, her hands rushing to count the spell bags available for that specific spell and ingredients to make more, "We have more than enough to cover a retreat, if that's necessary!"
"And don't forget Anne's powers!" Polly announced, "You said those centipedes hate all lights, then hers should work as well!"
"Yeah, though we should probably keep that as a last resource only," the human girl replied with a shrug, looking far away and thinking back to Marcy.
"I guess that's some good tactical thinking," Felicia nodded, before once again turning toward Amelia, "Still, I suggest you and Akitsu remain on alert and watch from above as we try to remove the silk. There are some weak points in their armor, so your katana slash should be able to cut through them."
"At your order, ma'am!" The samurai girl nodded with excitement.
Sleep well, Mar-Mar, Anne thought as she smiled, with any luck by the time you'll awake you'll have an amazing gift ready and waiting for you…
(…)
"There it is!" Jacob exclaimed as he crouched down and hid behind a large rock covered by moss, Sasha and Ivy imitating him, "The cave of Land Pearls!"
"You mean that ugly cavern with a scary entrance, with those Magpie Beetles resting just inside?" The blonde girl pointed out the crab-like bugs with black shells and gray skins visible on the entrance of the cave.
"Ugh, those bugs sure are ugly!" Ivy commented, "I want one for my collection!"
"Soggy Joe told me about them," Jacob narrowed his eyes, as he tried to remember everything the survivalist frog has taught him, "Apparently, these beetles usually live underground, and they come to the surface just once every twenty years, stealing whatever objects they can find to use it as shell during a particular mating ritual called "the love-nado dance". Soggy Joe says the more extravagant and shinier the shell is, the more chance the Magpie Beetle wearing it has to attract a partner. You know, the next love-nado is quite close!"
"Ok, now I am quite happy that the Box is here with us and not dug up back in Wartwood," Sasha grumbled. "I don't dare to think what would've happened if some of these bugs ever found it…"
"You're still angry about that, huh?" Jacob raised an eyebrow before sighing, "Can't really blame you, though."
"Ok, so…what is the plan?" Ivy asked, with a curious expression, "Do we attack the cave, defeat the beetles and walk inside to grab the Land Pearls we need?"
"No, because we have no idea how many Magpie Beetles may be in there," Jacob scoffed. "Rule n.12 of Amphibian hunters: whenever dealing with small predators, if you see one, there are a hundred you cannot see. Plus, these creatures are often attracted by shiny objects: there would be a thousand, maybe even multiple thousands more magpie beetles hiding in that cave, ready to attack us the moment we get inside."
"Then, I assume you have a better plan to deal with them?" Sasha asked, her voice devoid of snark, "Did Soggy Joe teach you how?"
"As a matter of fact, he did," Jacob replied with a smug smile, his hands moving to his backpack and placing it to the ground, before taking out some yellow, smelling ball of spongy material, Sasha taking a couple of steps back as soon as its pungent aroma reached her nostrils, Ivy coming closer with curiosity before immediately retreat, grimacing.
"What is that thing?" The two Sundew girls almost said at the same time.
"This is a beetle bait!" Jacob announced happily, giving one more glance to the cave before continuing, "Soggy Joe taught me how to make these. We just need to pour some water on it, and it will draw out all the beetles currently hiding in the cave. While they're outside, we move in, grab the pearls that we need for Marcy's gift, and we full throttle away before the bait loses effect!"
"That's a nice plan!" Ivy smiled, "Sash, do you think we will be able to capture one of those beetles for my collection?" She pleaded with eyes full of hope.
"Uh, sure, as long as we have the time," Sasha said, ignoring Ivy's getting cheerful as she faced Jacob, "Just to ask, how long this thing is supposed to last?"
"That, is difficult to know," the human boy admitted, scratching the back of his head with his free hand, "Soggy Joe told me that it depends on several factors, including if it's windy, the temperature, if there are other smells that may end up neutralizing its effect before time-"
"Jacob!"
"Anyway, it should last around twenty minutes, maybe half an hour if we're lucky."
"Then, let's try to have everything done in fifteen minutes at most!" Sash said, her face filling with resolve. "Just to be safe, Ivy, you stay with me. As soon as Jacob's bait manages to draw the beetles out of the cave we move to the entrance, I open a passage with my swords while you watch my back. Jacob, can you stay in the rear? If for any reason the bugs return sooner than expected, you do your best to give us a safe escape route!"
"Consider it done!" The boy nodded, holding the beetle bait in his hands, while the girls began to put together a small basin filled with water to sublimate it. "Are you ready for adventure?"
"I was born ready," Ivy smiled, as Jacob dropped the ball-
(…)
"Uhmm," Marcy purred, her body stirring as she savored the comfortable warmth of the bed where she was lying, her body savoring every second of rest after being pushed to the edge for so long, as the girl got to experience a peaceful sleep devoid of nightmares.
She would have probably kept sleeping for a good while, if one large fly hadn't accidentally impacted with one of the wagon's windows, the resulting noise loud enough to push her mind out of her dream, and fully waking her up.
"Uh…still five more minutes," Marcy said, her mind still half-asleep, before she remembered she was no longer in her old room on Earth. When she did, she got up slowly, and looked at her surroundings, confused, her eyes adjusting to the light level inside while her brain tried to connect, the girl feeling a slight migraine as memories of the last few hours resurfaced. What was I doing again…?
"The book!" Marcy gasped, as she moved to sit down. I was working on the book's translation, and then Jacob came inside, and then he asked me how long I had worked, and I was saying to him that I was fine and, and…
Terror struck her again, as she remembered her current predicament. How much time had she lost sleeping? She needed to get off bed and resume her work-
Yet, before she could move back to the table and try and resume her translation, she heard voices coming from the outside:
"-so, this is the item we will go and look for?" Hop Pop's voice sounded incredulous. "I have to admit, this is something I've never seen in my life."
"Not surprised that you didn't." James tried to explain, "The Blue Heron Gem is not like any other gem. According to Felicia, so much time has passed since the last time someone even saw one, that now everybody believes there aren't any left."
"But do we need it? Couldn't we proceed with the original plan?"
"You know how Jacob is, when he gets an idea." James grumbled, rolling his eyes.
"And adventurers once used these gems to make enchanted items?"
"They did. But it was a long time ago when adventuring was a much more common job. Mrs. Croaker told me-"
"What, Mrs. Croaker?" Hop Pop gasped. "How does she know about this?"
"Huh…let's say she had a chance to learn many things in her… previous occupation," the British teen replied. "Anyway, she told me such gems can still be found in some old ruins all over Amphibia, and even gave me a map to locate them. As you can see, there is one nearby where we have good chances to find one of such beauties. Then, once we bring it back here, Maddie can use it and-"
What are they talking about? Marcy thought with a puzzled expression, if they needed information about magic, they could just ask for Maddie's or my help. We are the magic experts of the group after all- wait a second now, where is Maddie? Why can't I hear her anymore? And Sash, Anna-Banana, Jacob? Why aren't they here?!
"Hop Pop, are you ok?" James asked, sounding concerned. "Ever since Sprig and the others left on Akitsu, you've been pacing around the camp. Are you concerned about them?"
"Well, can you blame me? Of course, I know Anne's with them, and so are Felicia and Amelia, but I can't help but feel nervous. I mean, it's been a while since they've left."
Wait, they are already gone? They didn't even wake me? Marcy's eyes widened in surprise.
"Maybe they're just a little late because they are playing it safe, isn't that what you recommended? Plus, someone must stay here and watch over the fwagon and Marcy," James replied, the girl flinching for a second as the boy said her name, "Do you think she's still sleeping? Maybe I should go inside and check on her-"
"No need for that!" Marcy came out of the fwagon in a rush, opening the door with a slam, scaring both James and Hop Pop. The old frog holding his chest from the fright.
"Marcy, for frog's sake!" Hop Pop scolded, taking deep breaths, "Don't scare me like this! Please think of my old heart, will ya? I'm not a youngster anymore!"
"S-sorry Hop Pop," the dark-haired nerd girl apologized, standing there in meek silence.
"You're already awake, Marbles?" James asked, "How do you feel? Are you ok?"
"Yes, absolutely!" Marcy replied lying through her teeth, trying (and failing) to appear like everything was fine, "Why do you ask?"
"Actually, we're a bit concerned about you, kiddo." Hop Pop said, looking back at her, "Did we wake you up with our chat? Maybe you should go back to bed, lie down and-"
"What?! Pfff, naaaah. I'm ok, don't you see?" Marcy waved, trying to convince them. "Look, I was a bit tired, but…I'm ok now! Say, where is everyone?"
"Huh…" James and Hop Pop shared a glance, sweating a little as they tried to come up with an excuse. How could they stop Marcy from finding out the others were busy gathering the items needed to make her a gift?
"Guys?" The aforementioned girl raised an eyebrow, worried by their silence.
"They…went on a small errand," Hop Pop said, the best he could come up with at this moment.
"There were a couple of items we needed for our trip, and so they went on a short adventure to gather them!" James nodded, trying to support the old frog's version. "Don't worry, they should be back quickly!"
"They went on an adventure of their own?" Marcy took a step forward, noticing how nervous both of them looked, "So, why didn't you ask me to join as well?"
"B-because you were exhausted!" Hop Pop responded, trying to hide his nervousness by playing the parent, "You had overworked yourself, so we agreed to give you proper time to rest!"
"But now I'm awake, so I can join them!" Marcy clenched her fist in excitation, "Let's just go now so-"
"NO!" James and Hop Pop shouted at the same time, the girl shutting up.
"Well, huh…I mean…"
"Please Marcy, just go back inside, lay back and relax. We have everything under control, right James?"
"Absolutely, Hop Pop! There is absolutely nothing going wrong!"
"But-"
"No buts, Marcy!" Hop Pop began to push her back into the Fwagon, "Now, go back to bed, or lie down, just try to relax, and restore yourself. Ok?"
"Ok…" Marcy nodded, feeling dejected, as she walked back inside the fwagon. She was going to lie down on the couch when she heard the two of them start talking again. Once more, she tried to focus on what they were saying, but she had a harder time listening to their conversation, as if they were whispering.
"This is bad…not supposed to wake up until…do now?" She could hear Hop Pop frantically whispering to James, even if she couldn't hear the full sentences.
What, are they talking behind my back? Marcy gasped, beginning to hyperventilate.
"I know…we can do it without her…need to keep her ignorant…did you see her… tell the others?"
"Not now…once they get back…we will tell her…we mustn't let her suspect anything…until the moment…I know she will be shocked… but everyone agreed."
Tears began to fall from Marcy's eyes, sentence after sentence, as her deepest, darkest fear began to rise from the most remote parts of her brain, surrounding her like a black cloud.
They think they can succeed…without me? Do they think I am useless? Did my attempts to prove myself fail?
"Anne and Sasha…get back with what we need…then we'll tell Marcy…Maddie already agreed to help us."
Maddie? Marcy's eyes widened in shock, hearing the name of her magic teacher, her adoptive sister and best friend in Amphibia. Does that mean she is with them? But why-
…what if she told them? The thoughts seemingly formed by itself in her head, Marcy trembling as she felt her knees weaken, slumping down on the couch the simple idea had sapped all her strength. Did she tell them what I told her? That's my fault that we are trapped in Amphibia?
Marcy shook her head, trying to deny it, swearing to herself that her friends would never abandon her…
…but she couldn't.
Anne, Sasha, Amelia, guys, you…you don't understand! She wept, covering her eyes with her hands, as she imagined all of her 'friends' glaring at her; I did it for us... my parents were going to tear us apart, I ran away from home and then I found the Box! And I didn't know it would work for real, I didn't mean to strand all of us in a world of large creatures and monsters…
She took another sigh, her silent plea crashing down as her guilt poured from her heart.
…but it did, Marcy admitted in her head, recognizing her own excuses. Because I didn't want to lose you, I lied and manipulated you, and now we are here, and you've found out and you want to cut me off because I made a tragic mistake? Or is that because I hoped I would get away with it?
She looked to the table, to the Book she had been attempting to translate, her notes, every single word she had so hardly worked to decode in the last couple of days. Maybe, if I resume my work, and I get enough info by the time they'll be back, I can prove to them I am not a burden. I don't care if they hate me, as long as they- as they-
No, Marcy shook her head, if everything I've done so far won't help me, then it won't matter even if I manage to finish the whole book. I may have caused this mess, but sure as frog, I'm going to fix it!
She stood up, and walked to a small part of the fwagon where she was storing her spells. Silently, an idea started to form in her mind…
(…)
"Ambush!" Ivy screamed, as a dozen or more of Magpie Beetles rushed toward them, Jacob and Sasha fighting side by side as they tried to open themselves a way out of the cave.
"The bait must have worn off earlier than expected!" The human male yelled, hitting another beetle with his hammer and sending it crashing into other insects, "We must get out of here before the rest of the swarm cuts off our retreat!"
"Move aside, you bug-brains!" Sasha roared, rotating her heron swords in both hands, the Land Pearls they had gathered for Marcy's gift dangling from her backpack. "Why don't you-ah!" The blonde human yelled as yet another Magpie Beetle jumped on her, landing on her face.
"Get off my sister!" Ivy yelled in anger, using her bug net to capture the beetle and remove it from Sasha's face. Yet, the assault didn't stop, more and more beetles rushing back inside the cave with every second, to deal with the intruders who dared to violate their nest.
"ENOUGH!" Sasha roared, the pent-up frustration in her body activating the power lying within her blood, her iris and hair becoming pink.
And then, a blight of pink energy exploded through the cave, burning the Magpie Beetles to ashes in a matter of seconds, as the Calamity-powered girl released her power. The blonde humans were standing in the middle of the now-cleared passage, while Jacob and Ivy were gripping really hard on the cave's wall, trying not to be noticed by the moody teenager.
"Don't move a muscle," Ivy whispered, "her vision is based on movement…"
"We're back, Hop Pop!" Sasha announced as the three of them walked back into the camp, covered from head to toe with remains of Magpie Beetles, both James and Hop Pop coming toward them.
"Blimey, what happened to you?!" James asked.
"We found a cave for the Land Pearls; however, it turns out it was filled to the brink with Magpie Beetles," Jacob replied as he sat down, his muscles aching in pain, "And we had to fight our way out."
"Fight your way out?!" Hop Pop gasped, rushing to check them, "Are you ok? Anyone gotten wounded?"
"Thankfully, no." Ivy replied, "Sasha used her powers to blast a way out through the beetles, destroying all of them. Except for one!" The young yellow frog proudly presented the only survivor of the big swarm, carefully trapped in one of her glass containers.
"Look, we got what we needed to take!" Sasha opened her backpack and showed them the Land Pearls they fought so hard to fetch, "Now, if you want to excuse me…I need to take a shower."
"Hold up, Sash?" James stopped her before she could move toward the fwagon, "Maybe it would be better to take the shower outside. See, Marcy got up earlier, and asked us where you had all gone."
"Marcy woke up?!" Jacob asked, his face betraying his nervousness, "How is she? Is she still sleep-deprived? Can I do anything to help?!"
"No, nothing of the kind!" Hop Pop replied, trying to calm him down, "The problem is…she found out you guys were gone, and she wanted to go and join, but we told her to stay inside and relax. Besides the need to keep up the surprise, that girl already went through a lot, and I don't want her to burn herself out."
"The point is," Jamed intervened, looking at Sasha, "if you go inside, you either risk waking her up again, or to be questioned about where you went if she's awake."
Sasha rolled her eyes but nodded. "Fine. I guess I can wash myself in the river, but…I'm doing it only for Mar-Mar, do you get me?"
"I wonder how Sprig and the others are currently going," Ivy wondered as she looked away, "Still, I am sure they won't face as many dangers as we did…"
(…)
"Go away, you oversized millipede!" Anne roared in anger, glowing in blue light as the Calamity rushed through her blood, her hair, and her eyes, the dark large bug hissing in response before quickly withdrawing back inside the large caterpillar-built refuge, the girl panting heavily as her hair and eyes returned to normal, and so did all her friends behind her.
"Guys, you told me those Stalker Centipedes were bad, but I wasn't imagining them to be this rabid!" Sprig groaned, still holding in his hands with what caterpillar silk they've managed to snatch. "Mrs. Sundew, did all the bugs you faced were like that?!"
"I met quite many crazy centipedes back in my day," Felicia said, her eyes keeping glaring in the direction where the Stalker Centipede has disappeared, "but none were this…ravenous."
"Bad news, I used up all of my light spells!" Maddie lamented, checking her belt, "And I don't have any ingredients left to make more. At least until we're back to the camp."
"Please, tell me that we've gathered enough silk," Amelia pleaded, checking on Akitsu's health, "because sure as frog, I'm not going back there for a third time!"
"I think we still need more," Anne said, looking over the white-and-black silk they had assembled through sweat, blood, and scratches, "nevertheless, I agree with you. I don't think I could keep using my powers like this!"
"Anne?" Polly raised one of her flippers, "Maybe I have an idea. I mean, those centipedes don't tolerate light, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Your point?" Maddie replied.
"Anne, you and Amelia have your phones. Can't you use them to illuminate the inside of the silk refuge and scare the Dark Stalker away?"
Everyone stopped, looking at Polly and then at each other in shock, as they realized it was a good idea. Moreover, a good idea they could have implemented from the very beginning.
"Ok, now I feel stupid." Anne grumbled, her hand slapping her forehead.
"Polly, why didn't you suggest this before we went inside the first two times?" Sprig looked at his younger sister, "You know, before we ended up facing the black Centipede of Doom?!"
"You already had Maddie's light spells and Anne's powers," the tadpole explained, "plus-"
A horrific screech coming from the trees behind them stopped Polly's explanation as she jumped into Sprig's arms, everyone gathering in defensive formation as a huge, creepy deep-green lizard with red, bloodshot eyes and long, elongated claws appeared before them.
"W-what the heck is that?!" Sprig yelled, Akitsu buzzing frenetically while Amelia gritted her teeth. She already knew this kind of creature.
"A Frill-Neck Land Dragon!" Felicia gasped, putting herself on defensive position, her body tensing up. "Don't let yourself be fooled by its slow movement, kids; with one leap it would be onto us. And it's go a venomous bite to boot!"
"Poisonous?!" Anne screamed, holding on tightly to the sword in her hand, her eyes focused on the new foe.
Frog, this is not like the frilled lizards at the aquarium, Amelia silently though, taking a step back, holding her katana with both hands, sending a nervous glare to her companions. If she was quick enough, she could jump on Akitsu's back and-
Unfortunately, neither of them had time to finish planning any strategy as the giant frilled reptile, attracted by the smell of the silk-made refuge full of bugs, screamed at the top of its lungs, his frilled collar opening suddenly before launching itself forward, attempting to attack Akitsu. The white dragonfly, however, had quick reflexes and, in less than a second, she buzzed out of the way and toward Amelia, the human girl jumping on its back while Anne and Felicia rushed to assist her, both trying to flank the humongous lizard.
Unfortunately, not everyone was this quick to react.
"Ahhh!" Polly yelled as she and Sprig were thrown to the side by the reptile's assault, Maddie pinned just under them.
"No, my spells!" The magical expert girl lamented, as her last spell bags fell out of her hand and dropped to the ground, activating on a couple of unfortunate mushrooms.
"Move, move!" Anne yelled, the large lizard noticing the three young frogs and deciding to focus its attention on them, "We'll deal with it!"
"Get off our friends, you cold-blooded monster!" Amelia roared, she and Akitsu charging the frilled dragon, the human girl giving one slash of her katana and making the monster scream in pain, but not being able to stop its assault. "Frog, it'll take time to pierce that armor!"
"Just attack its eyes and the tip of its muzzle: they are its weak- AGH!" Felicia yelled as the large lizard counterattacked, hitting her with its tail and sending her to crash into an old log, slapping Anne to the side with one of her claws and lunging forward, nothing left to stop it from making the children its next meal. Amelia screamed, and so did Sprig, Polly, and Maddie, for the human was too far away to reach them in time and they knew that they were defenseless, as the monstrous reptile attacked them with his mouth wide open-
-only to scream again in pain as a large explosion hit it on its side, damaging his left eye and part of its frill, and forcing it to stop its attack as another figure joined the battle.
"Leave my sister and my friends alone, you guàiwù." Marcy said, an angry glare on her usually cheerful face, as she threw more spell bags at the giant frilled lizard, each one of them generating a small explosion that hurt the creature and forced it to back down, while around it, Sprig, Polly and Maddie had managed to shake themselves from the shock and were now helping Anne and Felicia get back on their feet.
"Anne, are you ok?"
"I'm…fine, Sprig," the human replied with a dozed voice, her head spinning. "I just need to… Marcy?!"
"Amelia," the dark-haired nerd shouted, taking charge, "you and Akitsu try to hit it in the area just behind the frilled collar, it's armor should be weaker! Sprig, Polly, you help Anne and move it to someplace safer, Maddie, you do the same with Felicia. I'll take care of it!"
"Wait, Marcy, you can't seriously-"
But she wasn't listening to her anymore. The battle resumed, the large lizard now shifting its attention to Akitsu and Amelia, trying to pin the dragonfly on the ground to devour her, only to miss every attack as Amelia kept hitting her enemy with fast slashes from her katana, aiming at the creature's eyes, its muzzle, and the weak skin behind its frilled collar, creating small wounds that Marcy could exploit.
Meanwhile, Marcy was completely different from her usual self: gone was the cheerful yet skillful tactician that had assisted them so often, now Marbles was hitting the monster with spell after spell, trapping its legs with ensnaring liquid, flooding its mouth with some pinkish, sticky substance, hitting every opening with explosive spells or arrows from her crossbow. From where she and Felicia were currently hiding, Maddie could barley let out a gasp of surprise: since when Marcy had been this skillful in direct fights?
Soon the battle approached its end as the large lizard, weakened by its wound, its movement slowed down and incapacitated, blinded in both eyes (the last one courtesy of Marcy's crossbow), couldn't keep fighting efficiently and attempted one last, desperate charge toward Marcy.
Just as she had predicted.
As soon as the large lizard rushed toward her, Marcy moved to the side, out of her enemy's trajectory, grabbing one more explosive spell with her right hand, and as soon as the giant reptile charged past her, shoved it into one of its largest wounds, created in one of Amelia's previous attacks. Immediately after, Marcy rushed to take cover as the large reptile stopped her charge, wondering where she may have gone, only for the spell inside his neck to go off and explode, its frill ripped into pieces as its body laid off on the ground, the reptile's blood and flesh falling spreading around.
"Wow!" Sprig said, as soon as he felt courageous enough to leave his cover, "That was… epic!"
"Marcy, you are hardcore!" Polly complimented her, "You took that monster almost on your own, and won!"
"Guess that proves that I am able to pull my own weight, right?" The dark-haired human girl replied with a bitter tone, Polly's eyes widening as she heard that. She wasn't alone: as Anne began to approach her and Amelia dropped from Akistsu's saddle, both realizing there was something wrong in her friend's voice and expression.
"Mar-Mar…" Anne began to say, only to be cut off as Marcy turned around, and began to pour all of the emotions she had tried to hold inside her all this time.
"How could you do this, Anne?" Marcy shouted so loudly that even Felicia was shocked, "How could you, and Sasha, and everyone else try do this to me?! You're leaving me behind, you're seeing me as useless! YOU'RE GOING TO CUT ME OFF BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT!"
"Knowing… what?" Anne could barley mutter, unable to understand what Marcy was referring to.
"Don't play me as a fool!" Marcy kept yelling, tears pouring from her eyes, "Maddie told you, didn't she? I trusted you, and yet you told them, behind me back! How could you betray my trust like this?"
"I didn't tell them anything!" Maddie protested, stunned by the unexpected accusation, "What even was I supposed to say?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! You really don't need me, right? Did you decide if after Maddie told you, or were you planning this already? Were you planning to leave me behind after returning home, or you weren't even going to wait for it? AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO TELL ME?"
"We have no idea what you're talking about!" Amelia replied with force, yet watching Marcy in that state, make tears starting to go off from her eyes as well.
"I know what I did was wrong, and I tried everything in my power to fix it, yet…" Marcy felt down on her knees, covering both of her eyes with her eyes, crying copiously, the anger that had fueled her outburst a few seconds ago now replaced with sadness and despair, "I…I just didn't want to bealone."
Marcy kept crying, while her friends, both humans and frogs stood motionless, looking at each other, trying to make sense of the whole situation. Only Maddie knew enough to start putting some pieces together, and as she did, she shook her head with a sorrowful expression: the poor girl had misunderstood everything.
"Marbles…" Anne said, as she felt herself starting to weep too, unable to understand what was going on yet so desperate to help her friend, just as Felicia grabbed her hand, a knowing expression in her face.
"Maybe we should talk."
(…)
"Oh, is that what it was?" Marcy said, desperately trying to hide her blush of shame, feeling guilty for having thought and said such things, "You weren't cutting me out?"
"NO!" Sasha repeated for the -nth time, passing her hands through her hair, asking how they could have created such a misunderstanding, "Why in frog's name would you ever think such a thing? How could you believe we wanted to get rid of you?"
It was early evening already, and everyone was now back at the camp, a friendly vibrant fire crackling as several large pieces of meat were roasted on makeshift skewers, as a long-awaited confrontation finally took place, and through the power of words and listening, misunderstandings were cleared up on both sides.
"So, this is why you were burying yourself with translation work, neglecting your own health?" Anne sounded almost horrified by the implication. "You thought we saw you as useless, and we would abandon you if you couldn't pull out your own weight?"
"Yes!" Macy explained, "And when I woke up to find you were already gone and only James and Hop Pop were left here, I eavesdropped on them talking about 'keeping it a secret from me'…"
"That's why you shouldn't eavesdrop on other people's conversation, kid," Hop Pop shrugged, checking the cooking level of the meat. "You may end up missing important bits of context that drastically affects the meaning of that statement. I already experienced such situations more than once when I was younger-"
"But you were acting all mysterious, insisting that I should stay inside and relax, and refused to tell me anything! If you were doing all that for me, why you couldn't just say so from the beginning?"
"If we told you, we wouldn't be able to surprise you, would we?" James chuckled, reflecting how absurd today's event turned out. "Plus, I wasn't lying when I said we were worried about you. And the fact that you believed we would go as far as cut you off doesn't justify it!"
"You're right," Marcy sighed. "In retrospect, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions based on circumstantial elements. I must be the only gullible girl who ever overheard snippets of her friends planning to make her a surprise, and believe you were going to leave me alone!" As she spoke those words, Hop Pop looked away, self-consciously loosening his ascot. "I suppose I owe apologies to all of you, for the things I have said and…for what I thought was true."
"Sure, but the first person you should apologize is not me or Anne, but Jacob." Sasha with a grumble, "That boy may be an idiot, but he was the first to suggest the idea for making you a gift, and he fought a horde of Magpie Beetles just to get one of the items we needed."
"So, all those items you went to gather were to…build something for me?" Marcy moved one of her hands over her chest, feeling a heartfelt warmth spreading from the heart to the rest of her body, "A gift?"
"IT'S DONE!" Jacob happily announced from inside the fwagon, gaining the attention of everyone. A few seconds later, the door opened with a slam, and out came Jacob, Amelia, Sprig, Polly, Ivy, Maddie and Felicia, all of them holding a large pink box, wrapped in a yellow ribbon.
"It's…is that…"
"This, is a gift we worked together to make for you, Marbles," Jacob said, looking at her with a happy expression, "We gathered together the items we needed, and everyone did their part to assemble it." He waved around, "Hope that you…well, like it."
Marcy said nothing, simply looking at the large box as it was placed on her legs, unraveling the knot on the ribbon, and removing the box's cover. And inside-
Her eyes widened in wonder, as he saw what kind of gift her friend had put together for her. Inside the box, there was a large plushie depicting a giant panda, its fur made of black-and-white silk from the Weaver Caterpillars' hideout, the Land Pearls brought from the Magpie Beetles' cave forming its eyes.
"It's a panda!" Marcy happily chirped as she moved the plush outside of the box, and instinctively hugged it, "It's so soft…"
"Sprig helped me with making the fur," Jacob announced. "After seeing the Domino II plushy he did, I knew I needed his expertise for this."
"Happy to lend a hand, though I am still curious what kind of creature this should be. Anne, what's a panna?
"It's a panda, and it's a widely loved animal in our world," the human girl replied, happy by Marcy's reaction. "An animal that survived millennia by simply being cute, and it was also used as a diplomatic gift among nations. Many zoos in our world have at least one pair of these."
"It's SOOO cute…" Ivy couldn't help but coo, "Don't you agree, mom?"
"Yes, it is. And it's not just a stuffed animal you can hold: Marcy, try pressing its nose."
"Like this?"
Marcy's jaw dropped as the panda started moving, dropping onto the ground, and walking on all four its 'paws' around her, just like a real-life panda would have, everyone around her cooing again noticing how cute it looked. Marcy's brain, for her part, was going to experience what could be described as 'cuteness overload', her face blushing red.
"Polly and Felicia helped me use some of those pieces I scavenged back at the Ruins into a makeshift inner 'skeleton'," Jacob's smile grew again, "and with the help of the Blue Heron Gem James and Hop Pop brought us, Maddie was able to pull a spell to make it move on its own. It should last from one month to three, depending on how much you use it and if you recharge it."
"Maddie, you…you did this?"
"You're my friend, my student, and my adoptive sister. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you," the light blue frog smiled, "And while I am a bit sad we had to lose such valuable magical gem, I'd say it was still worth it."
"Maddie…I want to apologize first. For what I-"
"There is no need for that," she replied, "in truth, I would have hated myself if I ended up revealing such a secret behind your back."
"What secret are you talking about?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow, prompting both of them to gasp, their eyes widening.
"Nothing!" Marcy began to chuckle nervously, "Just some… magic-related stuff, very private. Things I don't feel comfortable to tell."
"Yeah, that's right!" Maddie nodded, playing along. "Just some boring old stuff for magic-experts only…"
Sasha decided not to press the question, nor anyone else decided to ask, and thus the evening proceeded on a peaceful, cheerful mood. Marcy loving her gift with every fiber of her body, internally feeling relieved that her fears turned out to be groundless. And Hop Pop started to serve the well-done meat of the giant lizard and her friend continued to shower her with her love, for the first time since a long time Marcy felt loved, desired, appreciated, but above all, happy.
I know now that moments like this won't last forever, the dark-haired girl thought as she looked above, as the sky began to fill with stars once the Sun left beyond the twilight, but I want to enjoy this happiness for as long as it will last.
Later that night, Marcy was asleep in her bed, with a huge smile on her face and with her new stuffed animal in her arms, for the first time in a long time, able to sleep without fear of nightmares.
Far away from the campsite, near the Weaver Caterpillar hideout and the carcass of the giant lizard in decomposition, a Dark Stalker centipede retreated inside in fear as the imposing robot, its metallic body unaffected by its jaws, kept walking through the trees, searching for clues of the fwagon's passage…