The kids yawned tiredly as they were led to the king's throne room. As Lady Olivia approaches, one of the guards notices her state: her hair was an absolute mess, she had bags under eyes and doodles all over her face. He holds out a handkerchief for her, and the lady newt snatches it from him, not pleased with what the kids did to her last night.
King Andrias grins as the Plantar family approach. "Wonderful to see you all again!" His voice booms. The family all smile up at him, returning the greeting.
The large newt king bounces on the spot, excited to show the small frog family and two humans what he and Marcy found. "So ask me if I found out anything about the box."
"Did you...." Anne starts, but the king interrupts her with a loud "Bingo!" And a cackle. He holds out a large book, placing it on the ground for them all to see. "Ta-da! Take a gander."
Flossie eyes gaze over the books pages. There, that must be the box! It looked identical to the one on Anne's phone, and identical to the one...Hop Pop buried that night months ago...
The axolotl shakes the memory from her mind, as she listens to the King talk.
"According to this book, it's a magical artefact that is thousands of years old. Apparently, my ancestors used it to visit entirely different worlds. They were peaceful explorers, scientists, if you will. These four stones are the key to getting it working again. They need to be recharged." The king explains, pointing to the four colourful gems on the pages.
Flossie tilts her head curiously, as Jean asks. "Recharged? How do we recharge them?"
"The book mentions four different temples, each channeling a different kind of energy.' Andrias explains, holding up his four-fingered hand. "And once the stones are recharged...."
"We'll have a way home?!" Anne pumps excitedly, shaking Jean's arm. Flossie could see the wide grin on the older teens face too.
They were so close to getting the girls home! Floss knew she should be happy for them, but she couldn't help but feel a little upset at the prospect of them leaving.
"Steal my thunder, why don't you? But yes!" Andrias turns the page to show the fully charged box. Anne claps excitedly, looking down at the giant book.
Flossie grabs onto Jean's hand, holding it tight. She put on a smile, reassuring herself as she pushed all the negative thoughts to the back of her mind. Even when Jean goes home, she'll always come to visit! They'll have the box, so it'll all be okay! Who knows? Jean could even take her to see Earth!
Jean's hand squeezed back, giving the axolotl her desired reassurance.
"Right? Now let's get out there and conquer these bad boys!" Marcy shouts. Andrias holds up his hand to stop the girls from marching right out the door. "Whoa-ho. Let's rein those snails in for a sec. The book only gives the location of one temple. Besides, you still have a lot of preparing to do before you go."
Marcy hums in thought, realising the king was right. "Good point. Gotta get equiped for a mega-quest like this. Armour to buy, maps to study...."
As Marcy ranted on, Jean taps Flossie's shoulder. "You excited for another adventure?" She smiles. Flossie returns the grin. "Of course! Another adventure with my besties before they go back home? I wouldn't miss this for the world!" The two fist bump, doing an explosion sound afterward. Jean had taught her this sometime during their trip to Newtopia (and definitely not because author completely forgot).
A voice cuts into their conversation, completely throwing them off. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! It doesn't really make sense for you and Jean to go back to Wartwood." Marcy explains. The Plantars and two girls turn to her, stunned. "What?"
"The last thing we should do is seperate again, now that we're so close to finding our way home." The girl explains. As Anne tries to change Marcy's mind, the axolotl looks to the ground. Everything was crashing down all at once. Jean and Anne were going to stay here, while she and the Plantars return to Wartwood. What if they returned to earth without saying goodbye? What if they decided to never come back? What if, what if...
"Flossie? Are you okay?" Jean asks quietly, placing a hand on the axolotls shoulder. Flossie looks up at the human, seeing her expression was full of concern. "Do you need some air? We can go outside if you want, do you want your cloak?" She asks.
Floss hadn't even realised her breathing had escalated. She gives Jean a nod, too upset for words. Quietly, Jean guides Flossie out of the throne room. When Hop Pop asked if she was okay, the older teen said something that Flossie couldn't quite hear over her own negative thoughts.
She could already feel their eyes watching her from every direction, and she hugged herself, scratching her arms nervously.
Finally, finally, after what felt like forever, they were outside the throne room on a balcony. Jean couldn't find Flossie's cloak, so she gave her her blue jacket instead. Flossie pulled the hoodie over her head, feeling a bit of comfort now she was out of view of everybody. But she was still upset.
"Are you alright, Floss?" Jean asks again. But Flossie doesn't respond. At least, not right away.
They sat in silence, overlooking the city of Newtopia, when Flossie turns to Jean. "Are you...are you going to stay here?" She asks quietly. Jean's face turns to that of guilt, and the axolotl already knew the answer.
"I mean, Marcy does have a point, Floss. I'm sorry, but... if it'll help the girls and I back home..." she trails off, and the axolotl looks down at the newts below, a pit of dread forming in her stomach.
Jean wraps an arm around the axolotl, pulling her close. "Hey, it'll be okay! I'm sure that we'll still get to see each other before I leave. It's not the end of Flossie and Jean!" She informs, giving the axolotl a poke in the ribs. This gets a giggle out of Flossie.
They sit there quietly, holding onto each other like it would be the last time. Flossie zips up the jacket, face fully obscured now. "Can I....wear this today? Just for today, I promise I'll give it back right after." She asks. Jean smiles, ruffling up where her hair should be. "Sure. But don't spill anything on it: it's my favourite." She chuckles.
Hearing the throne room door open and close, and they turn to see Anne and the Plantars exiting with a giant tissue in tow. Jean and Flossie share a confused look, the older teen holding up a hand. "Uh, how is-"
"King-sized tissues." Polly says gloomily. Jean and Flossie "ah", understanding.
"Makes sense."
——
Flossie, the Plantars and the two humans were back in the fwagon outside the hotel, sitting together on the couch with a giant tissue nearby. They let out a sad sigh.
Jean and Flossie had been informed today would be their last day together.
Anne pulls the amphibians and Jean in for a hug. "Hey, it's not like this is goodbye forever!" She tries cheering them up. Hop Pop gets up. "You know what, gang? Anne's right! The least we can do is have a fun last day together."
The elderly frog grabs a map, and the kids all get up to have a look as he opens it up on the table. It was a map of Newtopia, of all the more popular sites.
"Now come on, let's pick an activity." He starts listing off all the most popular places. "There's the opera house, the colosseum..."
Flossie's face falls, remembering what happened only a few days before. "Can we...skip the colosseum?" She asks. She didn't want to have to see that iguana again.
Hop Pop gives her a confused look. "Uh...sure, kiddo. There's also the aquarium." Hop Pop offers. Anne gasps. "There's an aquarium? That's perfect! Anytime I was feeling gloomy back home, the aquarium would always make me feel better!" She explained. Jean nods, remembering all the times she and the girls would visit the aquarium. "Yep! There's nothing more peaceful than being surrounded by water and fish."
"Good thinking, Anne."
"Works for me."
"The aquarium does sound nice."
"Yeah! Let's go have fun and not think about our crippling sadness!" Sprig yells. At that, everyone frowns, depressed and dreading the end of the day. Polly turns to her brother. "Nice one."
——
At the aquarium, everyone sat and watched the beaver bugs build a dam in their enclosure. Flossie let out a sigh, feeling her sadness temporarily go away.
"Look at the beaver bugs! They're so cute!" Polly coos.
"What'd I tell you? The perfect place to relax and take our minds off..."
Everyone screams when a creature bursts from the still waters near them, scaring them. Hop Pop bends down to take a look through the glass underwater. "Oh, hey. Check it out! It's the same kinda eel that attacked you kids when the basement flooded, remember?" Hop Pop says.
Flossie and Jean bend down too, watching it swim by. Jean grimaces. "That thing attacked you? It's kinda freaky looking." She admits. Flossie giggles.
Meanwhile, Anne and Sprig were holding onto each other, trying not to cry. Hop Pop quickly led them out of the room, Polly, Jean and Flossie in tow.
"Okay, if we're gonna have a sadness free day, we need to avoid anything that might trigger our very delicate and emotional states." Hop Pop explained, guiding the kids into a water tunnel. All around them, jellyfish and small fish float by. This calms Anne and Sprig down. "Actually, this is pretty peaceful." Anne admits. The other kids agree.
Looking through the glass, they let out sighs of relief. Flossie stands between Anne and Jean, wearing the older teens hoodie over her head. She plays with the strings, looking out calmly at the large tank before them.
That's when a large creature passes by them. A mud-skipper. Flossie found this weird. Why was it in this enclosure?
"Hey, look, a mud-skipper!" Sprig points out. Polly laughs. "It is! Ha! Anne, it's like the one you tried to feed to Wartwood..."
"At the Frog of the Year Party." Jean finishes.
They all look at each other, remembering the memory. They hug each other and start bawling for a few seconds. Anne gets up, clapping her hands together. "Okay, that's enough! Time to switch rooms, every body!"
She leads the Plantars out of the room. Flossie rubs her still teary eyes. Jean bends down to her level, pointing to her back. "Want a piggy-back?" She asks, still sniffling herself. Flossie nods, hopping onto the older teens back, who in turn carried her into the next room.
They enter another room. "Oh, cool. A marine geology exhibit! Nothing to remind us of our adventures here!" Anne exclaims.
Flossie looks around, noticing all the coral decorated around the room. Sprig hops over to a section, the others following close behind. "Wow, this coral is so neat! Oh look, that stalk looks like..."
They all gasp, looking at the strange looking coral. "A barbari-ant!"
Anne points to another. "Oh, no! That one looks like the snow weasel!" Flossie follows her gaze, looking at the creepy coral that resembled the weasel Jean had told her about. She felt the older teen shiver underneath her at the sight of the creepily accurate creature.
Sprig gasps. "The cannibal couple from the inn!" He points to it. Flossie tries looking around the room, but her gaze only fell on another familiar creature. "The Scorpileo!" She says, gesturing to said coral that looked like the creature that attacked them on their trip to Newtopia.
"The bat that tried to eat Sprig!" Polly points, followed by Hop Pop's cry of "Apothecary Gary!" And Sprig's "Veggie-robo!"
Anne sniffs loudly. "Who knew coral came in such variety?" She whimpers. She draws the Plantars in for a hug, and they all sob loudly. Flossie sniffles cartoonishly herself, hugging onto Jean's neck tightly. The older teen starts gasping for air. "Floss! Flossie! I can't breathe!"
Security approached the wailing family. "Excuse me, folks, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. Your misery is scaring the efts." He informed gesturing to three newt kids. One begins to sob and his mother snaps at him.
With a sigh, the family get up, and as Flossie lets go of Jean's neck, the older teen dramatically takes in a big gasp of air.
"Sorry, guys. Looks like my grand plan for a sadness-free day at the aquarium is a total bust." Anne says sadly. The guard scratches the back of his neck. "Well, if you folks are feeling blue, you could try the Stingray Stage Show." He offers. At that, Anne gasps. "Ooh, a stage show? Those are the best!" She exclaims.
"Wait! Did we have any run-ins with stingrays? Anything even slightly resembling a stingray?" The Plantars shake their heads no. "What about you two? Any stingrays for you?" She asks, directing the question to Flossie and Jean.
The two shake their heads no.
"Then let's go!" They all cheer, heading off in a random direction, until the guard calls out to them. "Show's that way, folks."
——
The Plantars and their human companions make it to the stage show just in time. They sit down as a newt lady rode on a board, the stingrays jumping out of the water right beside her.
Flossie leans back to enjoy the show, feeling relaxed once more. Everything was calm, peaceful, and there was nothing to remind her of any sad memories-
"And then that monster threw a piece of rubble with its water magic, and it nearly crushed me and my family." A familiar male voice whispers. Flossie's blood runs cold, and she turns her head slightly to look out of the corner of her eyes.
There, sitting only a few seats away, was the father newt from the other day. The one that had called her a freak. The one she nearly killed trying to hit the iguana.
He was talking to another newt, who huffed in response. "This is why albino amphibians should be outlawed." The unknown newt responds.
The young axolotl turns back to watch the show, pulling the hoodie further over her head and pulling her tail out of view, sweating nervously.
The lady newt jumps off her board, bowing to the clapping audience. "Alright! Give it up for our stingrays, Sugar Ray and Billy Ray!" The crowd cheers at the performance.
"And now, for the main event, I'll need a volunteer." The lady newt says, putting her board down. At this, Sprig starts waving his arm wildly, trying to get her attention. "Oh! Oh! Me! Me!"
"You, the pink frog over there!"
Sprig laughs giddily, and Jean gives him a high five as he passes. The small frog excitedly jumps to the front, as the crowd claps for him.
The newt bends down to his level. "What's your name, and where are you from?" She asks. Sprig grins. "Sprig Plantar from Wartwood!"
"Wartwood represent!" Polly cheers. Anne had her phone out, recording the whole thing.
The lady newt guides Sprig to the end of the platform over the water. "Well, Sprig Plantar, all you gotta do is put this fish in your hands and hold it out over the tank." She explains, handing him a fish. The pink frog takes it excitedly. "And the stingray will jump out and eat it?"
"Usually, but we have a very special guest today." The newt heads back toward the crowd. "Everyone put your hands together, for Wanda the Water Snake!"
At that moment, a large snake jumps out of the water, doing a trick in the air before crashing back into the water. Not only did Anne and Sprig gasp, but so did Jean and Flossie.
Floss and the older teen share a glance. It looked exactly like the one that attacked them that day they were looking for Lilly in Wartwood.
Flossie starts tearing up, and Jean quickly brought her in for a hug. "No no, don't cry! Come on, you can stay strong! If you start crying I'll start crying!" They comedically hug each other, while Anne, Hop Pop and Polly started sobbing loudly.
"Now, Wanda will leap up and eat the fish right out of this lucky kiddo's hand! And so long as he doesn't do anything to surprise her, this should be perfectly safe." The lady newt says, oblivious to the teary eyed Sprig.
Anne gasps. "Oh no! Sprig's about to...."
The water snake leaps from the water, heading straight for Sprig. But the pink frog starts bawling loudly, startling the snake. She tried to retreat mid-air, knocking into the platform. It cracks and breaks, causing Sprig to fall into the water. He climbs onto a piece of the broken platform, still sobbing.
Anne, Hop Pop and Polly immediately rush to his aid. Jean goes to follow, when she notices the axolotl not following. She was frozen in place. "Flossie?"
Flossie looks up at Jean, a look of fear on her face. Out of the corner of her eye, Flossie looks at the father newt, who was still watching the show.
He couldn't see her. Not now.
Jean follows her gaze, confused, but she gives the axolotl a pat anyway. "We'll be right back." She informs, running down to the stage.
Anne pushes the newt out of the way. "We gotta get Sprig away from that snake!" She states. The lady waves her off. "Oh, you've got nothing to fear from ol' Wanda. The gal's afraid of her own shadow!" She explained. This calmed the Plantars and Jean (who'd now reached them), as they nod in relief.
"Oh, no, no, no. it's the rays you should be worried about. Yeah, they love the taste of frog flesh." She adds.
In the tank, the rays were circling the still sobbing Sprig. The family panics once again, as Anne rushes to Sprig's aid.
Flossie watches as Anne and Sprig use boards to knock the rays down as they attacked. Another jumps out of the water to attack Sprig, and Jean throws Hop Pop at it, who punches it away.
Then, as both rays attacked Hop Pop and Sprig, Polly spat water at them, knocking them hard enough into the wall to cause a crack. All the while, Flossie feels helpless and guilty as she watches.
The family quickly reunite back on the broken platform, giving each other a hug. That's when the two rays sneak up on them, jumping out of the water to attack the unsuspecting family. They didn't have any time to react.
The axolotl panics. Flicking up her arm, she uses the tank water to shoot a jet of water at the two rays. They're hit mid-air, the force of the water enough to knock them clean over the wall into the ocean.
As one newt claps at the freed rays, other amphibians started to whisper amongst themselves.
Jean grins up at Flossie, giving her a thumbs up. But Flossie wasn't paying attention. The 10yo was frozen, hearing the many whispers around her.
"What was that?"
"What did that?"
"Was that a new trick?"
"Who did that?"
"That looks like the same magic from that albino amphibian."
Flossie had already lowered her arm by now, but she couldn't help but feel like she'd been seen. Turning her head to look at the father newt, she realised his eyes were fastened onto her.
He knew.
As the security guard came and escorted Jean, Anne and the Plantars out, Flossie hurriedly got out of her seat, leaving the area as fast as she could. All the while, the father newt never took his eyes off her.
——
Flossie met Anne, Jean and the Plantars outside. As she exited the building, they quickly surrounded her. "Dude! You saved us back there!"
"You totally kicked those rays butts!"
"Amazing quick thinking, Flossie!"
"That was awesome!"
Flossie, not used to being the centre of positive attention, blushed, pulling the hoodie further over her face. Jean pulled her in for a hug. "You did amazing out there, Floss." She said.
"I-it was nothing! Anything for you guys." Flossie says quietly.
The family hear a cough from behind them. They turn, and Flossie's heart dropped. Before them, stood the father newt. He had his arms crossed, looking right at Flossie with an unreadable expression. Flossie wanted the ground to swallow her up right then and there. What was he doing here? Was he here to call her more names? To yell at her?
"Uh, can we help you?" Jean asks, sensing her little sisters distress. The father newt's gaze turns up to Jean for a split second. "No. I'm just here to say something to the albino."
Sprig frowns at what he calls her. "Her name is Flossie." He informs, staring at the newt suspiciously.
The newt hums, walking closer to Flossie. The axolotl stands frozen, as the newt is only a few steps away from her. Arms crossed, his gaze falls to the ground. "I would....like to apologise. For how I acted the other day." He admits.
Flossie looks up at him, confused. "Wha-huh?"
The father newt sighs. "It was wrong of me to call you all those things, especially after you saved a lot of amphibians from a blood-thirsty iguana. It wasn't your fault that reptile almost crushed us. I'm sorry." He adds genuinely.
Flossie stares wide-eyed at him, at a loss for words. But Jean wasn't so convinced. "Why the change of heart?" She asks suspiciously. The father newt meets her eyes. He chuckles slightly. "My son, the one who wasn't there that day, had told me that he'd met a friend. A little red-haired axolotl, with a heart of gold and a curiosity of the world around her."
"I didn't realise it until today, but when I'd seen her save her family, I now understand that I was wrong about her. This little girl," He points to Flossie. "She has a family, just like me, who she's willing to protect. She has a life, and she has emotions. And she shouldn't be treated any different just because of her appearance or magic abilities."
He bends down, pushing Flossie's hoodie down. "Young one, don't hide yourself. Show the world who you are. And if they don't listen? Put your foot down, and show them. Make them listen. Be proud of who you are." Standing up, he smiles down at her. "And remember: your family will always have your back. Rely on them."
"I think it's time for a change. It's time albino amphibians are welcomed back into society as real people." He concludes, standing back up.
Flossie, with tears in her eyes, smiles back at the father newt. Hop Pop, who was very confused on what the newt before him was talking about, smiles as well. "Thank you, Mr...."
"Call me Mr. Thyme." With that, he turns and leaves. Everyone is silent. Sprig turns to Flossie, raising a brow. "So....mind telling us what that was about?" He asks. Flossie, wiping a tear from her eye, waves him off. "L-later. Just gimme a minute." She sniffles happily.
——
Jean and Anne helped Flossie and the Plantars finish packing. Once the last box was put in the fwagon, Flossie knew it was time to say goodbye.
"Have a safe trip back, Plantars." Marcy says. "Let us know when you get the music box, and we'll send someone to come get it." She places a hand on Anne and Jean's shoulders.
Hop Pop places the last of the suitcases in the fwagon. "Thank you kindly, Marcy."
Marcy takes a step back as the family hug each other tightly. Hop Pop looks at his grandchildren. "No more tears, ya'll. We'll see each other again."
"Will we, though? When?" Anne asks. Hop Pop shrugs, taking a step back. "I don't know, but we're family, and family always finds each other."
Jean smiles at that. "I like how that sounds." She sniffles. Flossie turns to Anne, giving her a quick, extra hug. "Bye, Anne." She whispers. Anne pats her back. "Take care, little dude. Remember what that old newt said. And, hey! You'll have to send me a letter telling me what happened. Promise me that, okay?" She says, elbowing her. Flossie smiles. "Yeah, I will! I promise."
The axolotl then turns to Jean, taking off her jacket and holding it out to the older teen. "Here's your jacket back, Jean." She says. Jean looks down at it, smiling softly. "You know what? Why don't you hold on to it for me. You can give it back to me when we meet up again. Can you look after it until then?" She asks.
Flossie nods her head, holding the jacket close. She then hugs the human tightly.
Stepping back, she hops onto the fwagon and, with one final wave, she and the Plantars were off. Heading down the streets, Flossie turns around once last time to see Marcy and Jean waving goodbye.
—
Marcy waves at the disappearing fwagon, letting out a sigh at Jean and Anne's sad and dejected looks. "I'm sorry, guys. This just made the most sense." She explained. Anne nods, getting up from the cobblestone street, as Jean places a hand on the brunette's back. "We know, Mar-mar." The older teen says softly.
"Logical thing to do." Anne adds, wiping her nose.
There's silence from Marcy, before the two heard a sigh. "Y'know, the more I think about it, maybe sending a servant to get the music box isn't such a good idea. We need someone looking after that thing the second Hop Pop gets it back. Someone we trust."
Anne and Jean turn to her, realising what she's getting at.
"I'm sure I can handle the preparations here by myself. I'll just come pick you up on the way to the first-" she lets out a grunt when Anne and Jean run into her, almost tackling her to the ground as they embrace her in a tight hug. "...temple."
"Thanks, Marcy."
"Yeah, thank you."
Marcy chuckles, giving them a pat on the back. "Now go. Follow your heart."
The two immediately dart away, yelling their byes as they hurry to catch up to the fwagon and the Plantars.
Running through the streets, they say bye to all the people they'd met, and eventually spot the fwagon outside the city. Jean wondered how it got that far in such a short amount of time.
Running in front of the fwagon, Hop Pop pulled Bessie to a stop, shocked. "What in the-girls?!"
"We're coming with you to Wartwood!" Anne informs. At that, the family grin widely, moving over for the two girls to fit on the seat. "Glad to have you girls back."
"Hop on up here, sisters!"
"Thank frog! I really didnt know how I was gonna make it without you!"
"Don't you ever do that again! Oh! And here's your jacket!" Flossie quickly gave it to Jean. Jean smiles, pulling in everyone. "I'm glad we could make it."
"Now let's go home."
With that, the fwagon moves forward, disappearing into the sunset.
——
Meanwhile, in Newtopia....
Marcy stands in the same spot Jean and Anne left her, her cape blowing softly in the wind as the setting sun cast her shadow behind her.
"Always sad to see someone go, isn't it?" A voice says. Hearing footsteps approaching, she looks up to see Andrias.
"So, did you find out more about the axolotl's powers? And where exactly she got them from?" The king asks. Marcy pulls out her journal, flipping through the pages.
"Not really, all she said was that she came across it in a family book, and only activated them under stress." The young girl explains.
Andrias scoffs at that. "If only." He mutters. Marcy tilts her head, confused at what he meant. But before she could ask, the king continued. "By the way, I have a proposition for you, Marcy. And I think you'll find it very interesting."
———
A/N: I know that this a bit cliche, but I felt Flossie deserves happiness (before the big angst).
If someone had gone back in time to tell me I was going to give Flossie some form of separation anxiety, I probably wouldn't have believed them.