Chapter Text
Anne opened her eyes. She looked around, but she saw nothing except the color black as she floated in pure darkness.
“Where am I?” She thought out loud.
Anne saw something in the corner of her eye. She looked to see a small gem, emitting a faint blue glow. It drifted towards her slowly as quiet, incoherent whispers emitted from it. Anne reached out and held it in her hands.
“Do you know where I am?” Anne asked.
She got no reply, so she simply stared at the gem, trying to decipher what the whispers were saying.
All of a sudden, the gem began to grow and shift in shape. Anne let go of the gem, letting it float in the void as it finished its transformation. Anne watched as the gem morphed into…herself? The other Anne had white skin and hair with several cracks running along her body. Their pupils were shaped like stars and she emitted a blue glow like the gem had been doing earlier.
The two Anne’s stared at each other. The original Anne spoke first. “Um, hello?” She said with a little wave. “Do you know what’s going on?”
The other Anne stayed silent as she pressed her hand to the original Anne’s chest.
“What are you–?”
Anne suddenly saw flashes of memories. They were her own memories yet they didn’t look familiar.
“Did you hear me X? I said I can do anything!”
“The only person I can trust is myself.”
“Guess I got some training to do.”
“I am so gonna rub this in Sasha’s face when I see her!”
“Darcy said you needed some help.”
“The world won Sprig. There’s no going back.”
Anne’s mind returned to the void as she breathed heavily. “What *huff* the heck *huff* was that?”
The other Anne looked at her sadly before replying. “You need to remember who you are.”
Before Anne could question her further, the other Anne disappeared leaving the original Anne alone in the void once more.
“What am I supposed to do now?”
Before Anne could think any longer about what she had just seen, the darkness surrounding her started to close in. Anne looked around in panic, but there was nothing she could do.
“SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP ME PLEASE!” She yelled out, but nobody came.
Anne closed her tear-filled eyes as the void consumed her body, silencing her cries for help.
Wartwood, Two Weeks After the Battle of Toad Tower
Sprig looked between his slingshots as he was forced to make the same difficult decision he had to make 8 whole months ago. “Hmm, well maybe I should just let fate decide. It can’t be much worse than last time.” Sprig said as he closed his eyes and began spinning in a circle.
Just as Sprig was about to choose a w-shaped slingshot, Polly walked into his room. “Hey Sprig, have you seen my–?” Polly paused once she recognized the oddly familiar situation. She rolled her eyes. “Ugh, not again!”
Polly swatted Sprig’s hand away with her tongue. Sprig opened his eyes and looked down at his sister. “Hey, what’s the big idea!?”
Polly ran up and grabbed a normal-looking slingshot. “Just use this one, okay? I thought about messing with you, but it’s almost time to go!”
Sprig looked at the clock in his room. “Oh shoot, I almost lost track of time! Thanks, Polly!” Sprig said as he ran out the door.
Sprig ran down the stairs into the living room. He turned to Hop Pop in the kitchen who looked back at him with an annoyed expression. “Dang it boy! I said to be ready by noon.” Hop Pop chastised him. “We’ve got a long journey ahead of us with no time to waste.”
“Sorry, Hop Pop!” Sprig quickly said as Polly descended the stairs.
“I told you he would overthink what slingshot to bring again!” The pollywog said, looking over at Hop Pop.
The old frog sighed. “Let’s just hurry up and meet up with Andrias, Olivia, and Yunan before we’re late.”
The Plantars walked outside and hopped on top of the fwagon. Hop Pop took Bessie’s reins and began driving towards Wartwood. Sprig sat next to Hop Pop and started playing with his hands. “I love Bessie and all, but wouldn’t it be faster if we took Joe Sparrow?”
Hop Pop glanced at Sprig before looking back at the road. “It would be, but he refuses to fly with anyone but Sasha. That girl really does know how to invoke loyalty, that’s for sure.”
Sprig leaned back in his seat. “I guess it works out anyway. There’s no way Joe could carry Andrias, let alone the rest of us.”
Hop Pop hummed in acknowledgment as they arrived at Wartwood. The Plantars approached the wall that still stood strong, surrounding the town.
“Yo Wally, let us in!” Polly yelled.
The turquoise frog stuck his head over the side of the wall and looked down. “Ah it’s you frogs, just gimme a minute will ya?” Wally turned around for a moment and a few seconds later the gates began to open.
“Thanks, Wally!” Sprig said as they passed through into Wartwood.
Sprig then turned back to look at the town. There were still a few signs of the battle that had taken place a few weeks ago, but most of the damage had been repaired. The fwagon reached the town statue where Andrias, Olivia, and Yunan were waiting for them.
“It’s about time you frogs showed up.” Yunan said as she grabbed her crutches. While her leg had healed a little bit, it was still far from 100%.
The Plantars hopped off the fwagon and approached the newts. “Sorry we’re late, someone couldn’t decide what slingshot to bring.” Hop Pop said as he shot a glance at Sprig.
“Don’t worry about it.” Andrias replied. “We were busy gathering food and tools to use on our journey anyway.”
“Not to mention weapons!” Yunan added.
Olivia looked a little more impatient than the others were. “Well come on then, we’re losing daylight!”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Olivia helped Yunan into the fwagon while Andrias walked alongside it. Sprig looked at Andrias in concern. “Hey, aren’t you gonna get tired from walking everywhere?”
Andrias looked at Sprig confused, but then laughed. “Did I forget to mention that I’m a cyborg? Most of my body is robotic so I don’t get tired very easily.”
Sprig seemed to be at a loss for words. “Oh, uh okay. But why?”
Andrias looked puzzled. “What do you mean ‘why?’”
“Why did you make yourself a cyborg?” Sprig answered.
“Well, living for a thousand years isn’t exactly an easy thing to do without making some sacrifices.” Andrias said with a deflated chuckle.
Sprig looked away awkwardly, trying to think of something to say. “That’s cool…I guess?” He finally said after a few seconds.
An awkward silence settled between the two as the group reached the gate to leave Wartwood.
“Oi, you lot can’t just leave without saying goodbye.” Wally shouted down at them before putting his fingers in his mouth and whistling loudly. All at once, the citizens of Wartwood flooded the entrance.
“Come back soon!” Ivy called out.
“Don’t get eaten!” Soggy Joe shouted.
“Stay outta trouble.” Toadstool laughed.
Hop Pop gave everyone a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, we’ll get back here as soon as we can.”
Hop Pop looked up at Wally and nodded. Wally nodded back and opened the gates again. “Farewell, you frogs and newts!” He said as they departed.
As the group got farther and farther away from Wartwood, Sprig became more and more anxious. His encounter with Anne had taught him that Amphibia was no longer safe beyond the valley. Things could go wrong at any moment.
Hop Pop noticed his grandson’s nervousness. “Don’t worry boy, the olms are gonna tell us how to save Anne! She’ll be your best friend again in no time.”
Sprig didn’t meet Hop Pop’s eyes. “I hope you’re right.”