This continues on from the timeskip in The Hardest Thing. Also, in this story Polly will remember Anne, as Anne gave Sprig her phone (which had all the videos and photos that they recorded) and it's pretty hard to forget someone if you see their face every day on a statue in the middle of your community. Both my gender headcanons and general headcanons may be different from others. I will be referring to the characters as their given gender (sorry for those who like to give certain characters they/them pronouns). I headcanon Sasha as bi and Anne and Marcy as lesbian. Sashannarcy later on?
Sasha
"Happy birthday, Anne!"
Today is Anne's 23rd birthday. We've come a long way since Amphibia and we've all grown, but some things never change. We're all still together. It's been a while and we have jobs now. Well, everyone apart from Marcy that is - she draws webcomics online. Does that count? I'm still not sure. I got a psychology degree and now work as a therapist, and Anne now works as a herpetologist. It suits her. She even designed the amphibian section in the Aquarium of the Pacific after Amphibia and named a little pink South American Tree Frog after Sprig!
We bring out the presents and I can't stop myself from laughing as Anne pulls a face and brings us into a hug. "You guys! You didn't have to get me presents!"
I just smirk at her and say, "Oh, yes we did Boonchuy. Yes we did."
As Anne unwraps the presents we start talking about our jobs and what we want to do with our lives in the future. Terri called us earlier and said the portal has managed to open up, if only slightly. She said it was like when they first tried to open the portal 10 years ago, though she isn't sure about why it started working just now. Something about the calamity gems' destruction making it so that the portal couldn't be reopened? Eh, probably nothing. We might actually have a chance at getting back to Amphibia! Though last time they only managed to do it thanks to Anne's heart calamity gem powers. Anne then unwraps the final present and starts crying. It's a little sprig plushie, perfect down to the last detail.
"Awww... Thanks, you guys," tears are streaming down her face, but she's still smiling. "I miss him." Me and Marcy share a knowing look, and we start comforting her. Marcy puts a hand on Anne's knee. "Anne, we know how you feel. I miss Olivia and Yunan so much, and Sasha misses Grime even more than I miss my found family." I join Anne and start crying very lightly; can't let them know I'm going soft on them! Marcy then rambles on about how much she loves the found family trope and Anne joins in.
"You guys ready for the first sleepover we've had in, what, 10 years?" I have to constantly remind them that we came to Anne's place for a sleepover, as they're getting carried away in their conversations. I know we haven't seen Marcy in a while but come on, people! I mean, it has somehow shifted from the found family trope to what type of dolphins live in the aquarium - how on Earth has that happened??? Marcy looks up and smiles while Anne punches the air. "Oh, heck yeah!"
I can't help but smile to myself. I wonder if it will be like this forever, 'cause I sure as heck hope so! This is the perfect night for a sleepover as well. It's raining outside and there's a soft glow basking the city. What could go wrong?
Sprig
Ten whole years. Ten whole years since Anne first arrived in Amphibia.
I sit down next to her statue and get ready for my speech. Hop Pop and Polly are sitting next to me, talking about improvements Polly could make to her tech to improve farming efficiency. She's renowned all over Amphibia for being an expert in tech and for helping Anne - or as she's sometimes called, The Savior - defeat King Andrias and The Core. Ten years and still not used to Polly being a tech whiz. She's managed to recreate human phones just by examining the phone Anne gave to me all those years ago! Talk about being a fast learner.
I'm happy, like, 90% of the time. It's days like these when I can't distract myself from Anne's absence. I miss her; it sometimes feels like I'm just floating through a dense fog, waiting for it to clear even when my rational mind knows it's not going to and I have to overcome it myself.
"I don't get it." Polly throws me out of my thoughts as she looks over my shoulder at the speech. "I know this is supposed to help us remember Anne better, but why always a speech? Why can't you do something like a play or a song?"
I honestly don't know how to respond to that. I guess it might be because Wartwood is an old-fashioned place, but change is nice once in a while. Anne changed us for the better, so why don't we change things up in a while? A speech is required though, and nobody else does one so I usually end up doing one every year.
I open my mouth to answer, when Hop Pop beats me to it. Classic Hop Pop. "Well, Polly, it's probably because we have to respect the culture and tradition of this place. We have always done speeches. Ever since this here town was founded by our ancestors. Sprig just chooses to do the speech."
Polly mutters something that I don't quite catch, and I go back to memorising the speech. Turns out, it's pretty hard to concentrate on doing something when your brain keeps getting distracted on things like a new continent, or the fact that your best friend left 10 years ago, or that everyone is going to be watching you and if you mess up it will be the most embarrassing thing ever. I have to literally step on my foot to stop it from shaking with anxiety.
I wait for my name to be called. Everyone in Wartwood that was around when Anne was here is doing something that showed how she was special to them. I have to do a speech every year since it's a mandatory thing. I'm fine with it though, as I wouldn't even know where to start when it came to how special Anne is to me. We may not have seen each other for 10 years, but she still holds a place in my heart.
"...And now for Sprig Plantar, with a speech."
Hop Pop and Polly give me a thumbs up and I walk to the stage. Mayor Toadie motions me to start. "This speech is dedicated to Anne Boonchuy, a town protector, honorary Plantar, saviour of Amphibia, beloved friend and our Heart." I do my best to hold back tears, as my memories of Anne come back with each word.
"It has been 10 years since she left Amphibia, but we still hold her close to us. She was strong, brave and pretty headfirst when it came to doing things, but she always did what she could to protect us all. At first, we saw her as a monster as nobody had seen a human before. She had odd, dry skin, a face bump, was very tall and her hair was a literal leaf magnet, but Anne proved herself to us with time and hard work. Of course, there were some bumps in the road, like when she set the town on fire that one time."
This brought a few chuckles out of the crowd. That day wasn't easily forgotten, and we were literally celebrating her as Frog - or in this case human - of the Year!
"She then reunited with her friends and worked on finding a way back to her home. Along the way, she discovered the truth behind King Andrias and was stranded on Earth with me, Hop Pop and Polly. The Boonchuys took us in and Anne never stopped trying to find a way to get us and herself back to Amphibia."
"When we eventually returned, she instantly joined the rebellion and, along with Sasha, helped us move forward and recruit more members. We eventually stood up against Andrias and Anne beat him up." I smile at this part, remembering the epic battle. "In her own words, it was like she was an anime character fighting evil. They even had the K-pop! I still don't know what that means, but I'm going with it. While this was happening, Sasha helped Marcy get free from The Core, as they were using her as a host."
"After that was done, they all returned to Amphibia, only to discover that the moon was actually a massive weapon built to destroy all life. The Calamity Trio put up a good fight but even that wasn't enough. Anne ended up sacrificing herself to save us all. We still don't know how, but she came back to life and returned to her home on Earth. Anne, you will forever be missed."
I step off the stage as the crowd cheer and applaud. There are tears streaming down my face and I'm twisting my hat in my hands. All this just reminds me of when she left. My heart is beating like crazy and I simply walk to the nearest bench, sit down and start quietly crying. Polly and Hop Pop are quick to comfort me, and I eventually calm down. I take out her phone and look at some of the pictures we took together.
I smile softly to myself as I flick through the memories. I put my hat back on and slowly regain my usual cheerful mood.
"Anne," I whisper to the stars, "Wherever you are, I miss you and... I hope you're doing well. Happy 23rd birthday." I get up, put a present in front of her statue and walk back to the house, watching three stars shoot across the night sky. One green, one red and one blue.
Art by me
End of the first chapter, hope you liked it! I need to build up where the characters are at this point in time, so that's why there wasn't much action in this first part. To add more context to the story, this is after the Calamity Trio meets up at the aquarium. They are going to have a sleepover, just like old times. In Wartwood I made it so that they have a tradition that takes place every year on the day that Anne came to Amphibia. It's kind of like the battle of the bands they had but instead of music they show why Anne was special to them in their own way.