Forget me not // AMPHIBIA AU

Return to Newtopia

3 HOURS LATER...

After tracking the forest for what felt like ages, and getting lost several times, the group had finally found Joe Sparrow and were on their way back to Newtopia. 

The Plantars fell asleep shortly after departing from the forest, while Anne and Marcy stayed awake talking about everything that had gone down. 

"Do you remember anything while you were in that state?" Marcy asked gently, "If you don't wanna talk about it, that's totally fine, I won't push." 

"Yeah, not a whole lot though, most of it is pretty blurry, but I can remember some small stuff." Anne shrugged as she watched the clouds, resting her chin on her hand. "I remember the emotions I had during it very vividly, I was scared and angry for the most part."

There was a moment of silence, neither of them knew what to say next until Marcy broke the silence to ask another question. "Sprig said you told him to do it...Did you?" 

"I did" Anne responded, "I mean, of course, I didn't want him to do it, but Hop Pop was in danger and I didn't know what else to do. Looking back, I guess there were other options I could've taken, but that didn't occur to me in the heat of the moment. I just wanted him safe, that was my only priority." 

"It's all a lot to process..." Anne sighed, leaning against the chair. "I'm just glad it's over" 

"Me too, it was pretty scary" Marcy agreed, patting Anne's shoulder with her other hand that wasn't in control of Joe. They continued flying until they reached Newtopia, Marcy landed right outside the main entrance, and Anne woke Sprig and Polly up shortly after.

They all hopped down together, Anne went to help Hop Pop out of his pouch, and once everyone was ready, they headed inside.

---
AT THE NEWTOPIA HOSPITAL...

"Well, her vitals are surprisingly stable, and her condition is relatively fair considering what she's been through. I'd keep an eye on the wound for now, it should heal on its own, but I'm gonna prescribe some medicine and ointment to help with it." The doctor listed from her chart

"Change the bandage daily, and reapply the ointment with every change. If you don't change the bandage, it could get infected which is what we're trying to avoid." She paused, "I want to see you back in 2 weeks to see how everything is healing, we'll go from there, alright?"

"Okay, doc! In two weeks" Anne said with a smile, "Oh, and would you happen to know how Sprig is doing? The pink frog?" She asked, the doctor gave her a perplexed look. 

"Uh, never mind" She quickly said, sensing the doctor didn't know who she was talking about. 

"Okay then...You're free to go, have a nice day," The doctor said before leaving the room. 

"Alright, you ready?"Marcy asked as she helped Anne down from the bed, "Sprig should be in the other room, we can go ask if we can visit him." Marcy had already finished with her check-up, and she was in perfect condition, surprisingly the worst injuries she had were a couple of bruises and a sore leg. 

"I'm gonna change first, this hospital gown is so uncomfortable, even in a different world they make these gowns practically unwearable." She muttered with irritation as she grabbed her clothes from the countertop she had left them on. "I'll be right back" 

Anne walked into the nearest washroom she could find, locked the door behind her, and then placed her clothes on the sink. Just as she was about to take the gown off, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and she froze. 

At that moment, it hit her how close to death she was. Her heart stopped beating, her lungs stopped working, and her body took its last breath. Within those 6 minutes, she was dead. 

"What happened to you, Boonchuy" She said to herself as she stroked her cheek gently with her hands, she shook her head, trying to change the subject in her mind. She took off the gown and then changed into her regular clothes, she tossed the gown into the trashcan beside her and left to go find Sprig. The gown felt like garbage anyway, it belonged there. 

"You'd think for an expensive city, they'd spend a little more on their gowns to make them more comfortable." She complained in her head as she joined Marcy, they headed over to Sprig's room where Hop Pop and Polly were already waiting. Anne paused in the doorway, taken aback by Sprig's chest and leg cast. 

"Don't worry, it looks worse than it feels" Sprig interjected, "How'd yours go?" 

"It was fine, I gotta wear this bandage for another two weeks until my next appointment though." Anne leaned against the rails of his bed, "So, what did the doctor say?" 

"He's gotta stay in the hospital overnight so the doctors can run some tests and make sure his vitals don't drop. They said he can leave in the morning once we pick up his prescription from the pharmacy." Hop Pop answered for Sprig. 

"If you guys want to leave and come back, I won't mind, this place wreaks." Sprig chimed in 

"Nah dude, we're gonna stay" Anne responded, "It's only one night, and it wouldn't feel right to leave you here by yourself after...All of that." 

---

THE NEXT MORNING...

The morning started rather normal, Sprig was discharged, they stopped at the pharmacy to pick up their prescriptions, and then they went to find Joe Sparrow so they could head home. Throughout the search, Anne remained reserved, only speaking when spoken to, and rarely engaging in conversation. Marcy and Sprig sensed something was up, but neither of them wanted to bring it up. 

 After spending almost 20 minutes searching for Joe, they flew back to Wartwood. The trip was rather quick, only lasting 40 minutes, which was shorter compared to their previous trips. Once they arrived, they headed over to the house, Marcy decided to stay for a bit in case Anne needed her, and because she wanted to discuss the issue that remained. Who is the Toad that poisoned her? 

"Hey, Anne, are you okay? You've been acting strange, is something wrong?" Sprig asked Anne lightly as he held onto her hand. Anne didn't respond, she simply let go of his hand and went to sit on the couch, her eyes blank and empty. 

"Anne?" Sprig asked again with concern, this time catching her attention. "Are you okay?" 

"Oh, sorry, yeah I'm good," Anne replied blankly, her response seeming automated. Sprig was about to say something but was interrupted by Marcy barging into the room. 

"Okay guys, I know this might be too soon, and if we need some more time we'll take it, but I think we need to start considering who poisoned Anne since that Toad is still out there, and who knows what he could be up to." 

"You're right, we need to stop him." Anne agreed, snapping herself out of her daze. "Do we know if anyone else had ingested it? I remember before everything started, we were trying to figure this out." 

"I don't know, I'm gonna go speak to Maddie and the townspeople and see what I can find. You all should stay here, especially Anne, we don't know if you were targeted specifically yet. And if he's still out there, the last thing we need is for him to know you're okay." Marcy said before leaving and shutting the door behind her. 

"Well, I'm gonna make us some breakfast." Hop Pop declared as he stepped out of the room and into the kitchen to prepare some food.