"Er, why are we doing this again?" Kabbu asked, still confused.
"Just go along with it already!" Anne chastised, followed by Kabbu sighing before the teen cleared her throat, starting the audio recording on her phone.
"One day, a normal girl woke up in an unfamiliar world..." Anne began, her voice lowered.
"And then she met me and Kabbu!" Vi added, excited.
"The three of us journeyed to the perilous Snakemouth Den..." Kabbu continued, still wondering why they were doing this.
"Where they found us." Leif said, pointing at himself.
"Through working together, they found the ancient mask artifact, holding unknown secrets..." Anne said, trying to keep the tone mysterious and intriguing.
"And we got a HUGE reward for it! And a house!" Vi beamed, smiling.
"B-But also, Anne still needs to find a way home!" Kabbu added, a bit nervous.
"...She still hasn't found one yet, no matter how long she's waited." Leif said.
"And in the process... my arm got injured. And still in a cast." Anne said, cringing afterward. "Yeah, maybe I should edit that part out." She ended the recording, everyone else nodding in agreement. Well, at least they got something out of this.
The four of them were sitting in a circle at the house, Anne holding her phone out. After everything that'd happened, she wanted to keep a record of her journey for a few reasons. First, to show Sasha and Marcy when she eventually met up with them again. Second... she didn't know exactly, but it was always good to have stuff like this, just in case.
Once it became clear that the recording was finished, Kabbu, Vi, and Leif stood up, starting to get ready for the journey ahead. Anne sat there, taking a few moments to try and cut that last part of the recording before she forgot later. It proved a bit difficult, since she could only really use her left arm.
Anne mindlessly tossed her phone to the couch once she was finished. She sighed; the events of yesterday were still fresh in her mind. It was a whirlwind of disasters that never seemed to end, huh?
How Vesp and Skye infiltrated Ant City, manipulated Anne into helping them with their dirty work, and then... yeah. Her arm wasn't broken, but it would have to stay in the cast for a while. At least the sling didn't need to stay on, Kabbu took it off her earlier this morning.
When Elizant had heard about what happened, needless to say... she was not happy. Her tone of voice had gone cold, demanding as much information as possible. Team Snakemouth, Team Celia, and Neolith had all gone to report what happened yesterday, giving Elizant as many details as possible. It felt like they were at the Anthill Palace for hours before they were finally dismissed, Elizant telling them that transgressions from the Wasp Kingdom such as this would not go unpunished. Whatever that meant, Anne didn't know... but it was a relief to hear.
Another subject came up before they left; would Team Snakemouth still be capable of going on the Golden Hills expedition? ...Yes. Yes they would. Which led them to the next morning, where they were now getting ready for the long journey ahead.
Vi made sure she packed as many of her berries as possible, both to prevent anyone from stealing any, and to make sure that she had enough in case she needed to buy stuff during the trip. "You know, I thought your arm would've healed by now!" Vi commented absentmindedly.
"...No?" Anne answered, baffled. "That's literally not how anything works. It hasn't even been 24 hours!" Was Vi not listening when Celia said it'd take a month?! Anne stood up, stretching her good arm.
"I-I just want you to feel better, okay?! Those wasps were real jerks for doing that to you!" Vi yelled with a huff, clearly embarrassed. She turned away, opting to just continue what she was doing in the first place.
"Does it still hurt?" Kabbu asked, taking a break from gathering any essentials he thought would be necessary.
"No." Anne said, shaking her head. She soon regretted lying, seeing as how she hissed a moment later from a twinge of pain. "...Okay, maybe a little." It was difficult for her to sleep last night, trying to find a comfortable position that also wouldn't put pressure on her injured arm... At least she managed to get some sleep, though.
"Do you need more ice?" Leif said, already getting ready to conjure up a small block of ice.
"No!" Anne yelled in a rush, extending her good arm out and shaking her head frantically. "I can take care of this by myself!" Her arm never would've gotten injured if she hadn't decided to go along with those stupid wasps. She put herself in that situation, and she could handle the consequences. It was a learning experience; she couldn't get mixed up with those types of people anymore.
In her haste, Anne reached for her phone to pocket it- "Ow!" Only to accidentally try and reach for it with her injured arm, causing the pain to spike to the point where it was almost unbearable, until she retracted her arm. Shoot.
As Anne waited for the pain to dull, Kabbu, Vi, and Leif looked at each other, all of them worried about Anne. After a minute or so, the pain died down, allowing Anne to walk to the couch, reaching for the phone with her uninjured arm, pocketing it.
"We just don't want anything else to happen to you, Anne." Leif said. "You've been through a lot already..."
Anne rolled her eyes, groaning in exasperation. "It's going to be fiiiine!" Besides, she knew people in school who had worse injuries than this. She remembered one kid had to use a wheelchair for a few months, and he turned out fine! What was his name, again?
"Besides, we have to leave for the expedition today," Anne emphasized. There was no waiting for her arm to get better, she just had to deal with it. "Or else some other explorer team is gonna swoop in and take that artifact for themselves!" After all they worked for, the last thing Anne needed was for it to be a waste of time. She could not stand for that.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Vi asked, her tune changing. "Let's go get that treasure!"
"We need to finish getting ready first." Leif deadpanned. "Which includes you, Vi." The bee then sighed, grumbling as she quickly got everything she needed. Anne already had her stuff prepared, thanks to everyone else helping her last night.
"Vi does have a point." Kabbu said. "We should get going soon. If we leave too late tonight, then we might miss the Golden Festival!"
The bee perked up at hearing this. "That's right! It's coming up soon! It's gonna line up with our journey perfectly!" Vi looked like she was about to start cheering, but Anne only raised an eyebrow, having no idea what they were talking about.
"What's the Golden Festival?"
It was as if everything stopped. Vi let out a loud, overdramatic gasp while Kabbu looked as if he could keel over at any moment. Several seconds passed in silence. "Uh..." Anne glanced away, unsure what to say in response to their dramatic reactions.
"The Golden Festival is still around?" Leif asked, Anne thankful that someone else continued the conversation. "We've never been there, but it sounds like this'll be our chance."
"Absolutely!" Kabbu nodded. "The Golden Festival is an important and special tradition in the Golden Settlement. It's a festival that takes place once per moon cycle, on the day marked by the moon."
"Huh?" Anne asked, still confused. What did 'the day marked by the moon' mean?
"Stop asking questions!" Vi yelled, flailing her arms. "It's a huge party and we CAN'T miss it, no matter what! There's no way I'm gonna wait until the next moon cycle!"
"Well, I can't say no to a party!" Anne said, her turn changing almost instantly at the mention of a party. After everything that's happened, a party would be the perfect palette cleanser; a way to kick back and have fun without worrying about anything.
"Count us in." Leif said, smiling.
"Great! Everyone, make sure you have everything packed, and we'll be ready to go!" Kabbu said.
The others all agreed, shouting "YEAH!" at the same time.
From there, everyone moved quickly to get prepared for the long road ahead. Leif and Kabbu worked to finish up grabbing any essentials, while Anne sorted through her backpack to make sure she had everything she needed. But even though she tried to do it on her own, her right arm being stuck in a cast made it difficult to even unzip her backpack, so she reluctantly let Vi help her, the bee sitting down beside her.
"...And here's that weird music box!" Vi said, holding the elusive box in her hands. Kabbu glanced over for just a brief moment before going back to what he was doing.
"It still doesn't work, does it?" Anne asked, already knowing the answer.
Vi opened the box, looking inside before shutting again. "Nope!" She unceremoniously put the music box aside before digging through Anne's backpack, pulling something else out a moment later. "Oi, what's this bag with weird writing on it?"
Vi handed it to Anne, the teen's curiosity piqued as she set the small bag down on the couch, using her good arm to open it up. Whatever was in the bag seemed to sparkle and shine, and when Anne leaned down to get a closer look... "Oh. My. Gosh."
She reached into the bag and got it out, stars in her eyes. It was a purple and blue bath bomb, sporting a 'Peony Princess' label. She couldn't believe she forgot this was in here. She'd seen it a few times before, but always forgot about it- made even worse when she found that small bag to put it in for safekeeping.
"So..." Vi said, trailing off. "Are you gonna tell me what the big deal is, or-"
"It's a bath bomb I brought from home!" Anne explained, to which Vi still appeared confused. "You just put it in a bath or any body of water and it gives you a bunch of bubbles and minerals or stuff like that and it's really really cool!" Anne said all in one breath, taking a moment to breathe afterward.
Anne took a moment to hold the bath bomb high in the air, admiring its beauty. "I can't wait to try this baby out." She whispered, before looking at the others to see their reactions. ...Her excitement faded upon seeing that neither Kabbu nor Leif were paying attention, instead still focusing on getting ready. Vi was also still just helping make sure Anne had everything, showing no interest in the bath bomb.
Right. They had to focus on the mission, after all. It was poor timing, anyway.
With a dejected sigh, Anne shoved the bath bomb in her pocket, telling herself she could put it away later. The couch was getting messy with everything that Vi took out of Anne's backpack, and by now Anne was pretty sure that everything was accounted for.
"I've got the rest of this, don't worry." Anne said, trying to shoo Vi away so she didn't feel like so much of a burden.
"Are you sure?" Vi asked, already starting to get up anyway.
"Yes!"
Vi shrugged, standing up and walking over to where she was earlier as she finished getting ready. Anne didn't know what else to do except sit there and put everything away again, even if it took a bit. "Our last expedition was pretty difficult; what do you think will happen on this one?" Anne asked, changing the subject.
"It was difficult because we were literally in a cave for weeks." Vi deadpanned. "This is gonna be nothing compared to that!"
"Right." Kabbu agreed. "The route we're going should be much less perilous than anything Snakemouth Den threw at us."
"Plus, we're all gonna go to a festival. Snakemouth Den didn't have anything like that, so this is already a step up." Leif added.
"I guess that's true." Anne shrugged. Their reassurances quelled any doubts that Anne had... that she might not be able to keep up with them. If it was going to be as easy as they said, then she might not have anything to worry about after all.
With that in mind, all four of them spent the next several minutes making sure that they had absolutely everything they needed. Once Anne was finished putting everything back in her backpack, she slowly zipped it shut, letting out a small sigh.
"Is everyone ready to leave?" Kabbu asked. Everyone else had everything ready, Anne standing up and slinging her backpack over her shoulder with her good arm. They all gave various signs of agreement, and it was settled. "Fantastic! Let us not waste any more time, then."
Leif was the first to the front door, the moth opening it and stepping out. Vi and Anne followed him, with Kabbu being the last one out, the beetle locking the door behind him. Despite how harshly it'd rained yesterday, only a few stray puddles of water remained, the sky mostly clear of any clouds.
"Goodbye, sweet, sweet house..." Anne whispered wistfully, placing a hand on the wall. "Don't worry, we'll be back sooner than you think..." She took her hand off the wall to wipe a tear from her eye, remembering the good times she had inside this house.
"Anyway..." Vi said, weirded out by that display of affection over a house. "You all better have remembered the way we're supposed to go!"
"Why? Did you forget?" Leif asked.
"N-No, who do you think I am?!" Vi yelled. "We just have to go to the Outskirts and back to that stupid cave or whatever!" Yeah, that was it. Anne still remembered it; she even had it typed down in her phone so she wouldn't forget.
"You're awfully jittery today, Vi. Is everything okay?" Kabbu asked, concerned.
"Yeah, duh! I'm really amped up about this! So quit getting on my case and let's go already!" Vi said, clearly frustrated.
"That I can agree with." Anne said. "We can't just stand here all day, let's go, let's go!" She practically pushed everyone along, all of them complying before they began to walk together out of Ant City.
Along the way, they passed the settler's statue, Anne wincing as she saw the indent in it from when Skye's spear got stuck in it. But those bad memories were soon pushed aside as Team Snakemouth met up with a few familiar faces on their way out.
They saw Bitsy, who'd been working on its anger issues, trying to open up with the other townsbugs more. It'd even gotten a job at a nearby store! Then there were Fry and Alex. The two of them had gotten very acquainted with each other ever since their... 'rivalry' ended. Business was booming for Fry! The four of them also met up with a couple others, exchanging greetings, even if they couldn't stay to chat for much long at all.
When Team Snakemouth reached the outskirts, they passed by the Association, where Eetl said goodbye to Team Snakemouth, the blue beetle nearly crying before Artis had to coax him back inside the building. But nevertheless, the four of them walked across the familiar leafy bridge before going to the path that led to the old tunnel.
The four of them idly chatted for a bit as they crossed the long path, not having much to do otherwise. It was almost like reliving old times, walking along this path again. ...Except now they were going in reverse.
"Hey! I think this is where I destroyed Anne's Cubix Block!" Vi said, stopping at a particular spot. The others stopped as well.
"I think you're right, Vi." Kabbu said. "That puzzle always seemed too complicated for me..."
"We could've solved it if given enough time." Leif muttered under his breath.
At the time, Vi destroying the Cubix Block had indeed been hilarious. But the series of events it led to only left a bitter taste in Anne's mouth; if she hadn't brought it out in the first place, then Neolith wouldn't have found it and come back to Ant City, and...
"Eh. It's in good hands now." Vi shrugged. "I think. Are Neolith's hands good?"
"True, we have been wondering what Neolith's been doing with it." Leif said.
"He probably just threw it away or something." Anne said, wanting to move past the subject as fast as possible.
"Right, we shouldn't dwell on the past. Er... come on, we're almost there." Kabbu sure seemed to be in a rush to stop talking about Neolith as well.
Without much argument, the team continued forth, eventually making it back to the entrance to the old tunnel. They all woke up here weeks ago after the near disaster involving the spider, and now they were back on an entirely new quest. The waterfall next to the entrance was louder than Anne remembered, and the lake nearby looked deep. Aside from that, though...
It was finally time to go in.
Kabbu and Vi walked in first, followed by Anne and Leif. The four of them walked a few feet in before stopping to survey the area. The tunnel itself wasn't anything too special; heck, Anne could even see the exit, it was just a straight shot from beginning to end. A long shot, but still. The tunnel was littered with rocks, large weeds and vines (a few even protruding down from the ceiling) and a bit of dripping water.
Not to mention the new monsters Anne had never seen before; one looked like a snail with spikes and one eye, while the other type appeared to be... a mosquito? Or something that looked like it, at the very least. "What are those things?" Anne asked.
"Be careful, everyone." Kabbu warned. "These Numbnails and Midges may appear harmless, but they mean business."
"That means no trying to tame one!" Vi yelled, her frustration aimed at a certain blue moth.
But in trying to prevent a disaster from happening, she inadvertently caused another one, her yells echoing off the tunnel walls. This attracted the attention of nearby Numbnail, the lesser bug not too happy. To make matters worse, two Midges flew over, their wings buzzing with clear rage at being disturbed.
"Oh no. Look what you did, Vi." Leif sighed.
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Vi argued.
"Cease your banter; if they attack us, we must take them out!" Kabbu said. Vi and Leif agreed, the three of them charging forward to take care of the monsters.
Anne wanted to join in too, until she remembered her injured arm. Would she still be able to fight like this? If she couldn't...
She watched as Leif summoned an icicle to strike the Numbnail from below, followed by it retreating into its shell. In retaliation, Kabbu gave the Numbnail a mighty upstrike, forcing it out of its shell, the Numbnail spinning around a few times. They sure were ignoring those Midges...
The Numbnail shot out some sort of yellow laser out of its eye; was it supposed to be a numbing laser? Kabbu shielded his face, guarding against the laser before Vi swung her beemerang at the Numbnail, finally knocking it out.
They were doing well without her, but that was just against one of those things. Anne grew incredibly nervous, seeing those Midges buzzing in place, waiting... She couldn't take it anymore.
Anne let out a battle cry, using her good hand to get her tennis racquet out before charging at the Midges. The others froze in place, only watching as Anne clumsily swung her tennis racquet at the nearest Midge, the teen not used to using her left hand for stuff like this.
Still, she managed to land a direct hit, square on the side of the Midge's body. "Yes!" Anne stepped back, satisfied with herself. That satisfaction turned to confusion and fear as the Midges slowly turned to face her, glares all over their faces.
"Oh cru-AH!" Anne tried to shield herself as they both swooped down at her, her eyes shut, and head turned away as she randomly swiped her tennis racquet at them to try and get them to back off. Maybe this wasn't a good idea, after all.
"Anne!" Kabbu yelled, running over to help.
"No, I got this, I-" Anne suddenly yelped, instinctively moving her right arm to shield herself, only for a shockwave of pain to crash all over her, originating from where her arm was injured. She fell to the ground on her knees, hissing, experiencing the pain all over again, as if Vesp had just smashed his spear onto her arm. If that wasn't bad, the Midges wouldn't stop attacking her-
A large icicle hit the Midges, taking their attention off her and onto Leif, the source of the new attack. Before Anne could even open her eyes, she felt Kabbu's arm wrap around her waist, the beetle helping her stand up and checking to make sure she was okay. Anne opened her eyes just in time to see Vi and Leif making quick work of the Midges, defeating both of them in seconds.
Afterward... silence filled the tunnel, save for the sounds of everyone breathing, and the dripping water. Despite her pain, Anne felt guilty for nearly causing a disaster of her own, going in and charging at the Midges like that. She should've learned her lesson after the time she tried doing that with a Seedling.
"Sorry, guys." Anne apologized after Kabbu stepped away. "That was my bad." Though to be fair on herself, how was she supposed to know that attacking one of the Midges would cause the rest of them to go aggro on her?
"Anne, uh..." Vi sounded nervous about what she was trying to say. "Maybe for right now, while you have that cast, it might be for the best if you... stay back for a bit. You know, when we have to take care of those guys and stuff." She was referring to the monsters like the Midges and Numbnail.
"What?!" Anne asked, her pride hurt. "That was just a fluke! I'll just be more careful next time, I promise!"
"We agree with Vi." Leif said. "If anything happens to your arm, it'll just make it worse. And then it'll be even longer until you can get that cast off."
"Don't worry, Anne. I'll protect you, no matter what!" Kabbu added, determination in his eye.
Anne wanted to say something back, to argue why she should be given another chance, but they were right. It was her fault that all this happened, so she needed to deal with the consequences. That was the fact of the matter. Nothing more, nothing less. Anne hissed in pain as she rubbed her cast, and seeing the looks of worry on everyone else's faces... yeah, she should stay back from any fights.
After waiting a minute or two for the pain to dull, the team moved on, quickly moving through the old tunnel with ease. Around halfway through, Leif stopped, turning to stare at a particularly... empty part of the wall. The others soon noticed this, doubling back to catch up with him.
"What are you doing?" Vi asked, snapping Leif out of his trance.
"Huh?" Leif turned to face the others, his face a bit weary. "Oh, we're sorry. We couldn't help but feel that this part of the wall is... different from everything else." Leif gestured to the wall in question. Just a solid gray wall.
"Really?" Anne asked, putting her good hand on her chin. "Hmm..." She stared at the wall, the others joining in moments later. Was Leif correct? Did something appear strange about this wall? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but anything was possible in this world, after all...
Beat.
"Nah. I don't see it." Anne abruptly said, shrugging. "It's probably nothing." At first it looked a little strange, but it was just the lighting of the tunnel.
"Right, there doesn't appear to be anything suspicious about this. This is a fascinating wall, though!" Kabbu said. How could a wall be 'fascinating'?
The four of them soon forgot all about that they made it across the tunnel in a matter of minutes. The only obstacle left was the exit to the tunnel, it was on a much higher, steeper part of the ground, so it was impossible for them to climb onto it. Thankfully, the solution to get up there only involved a short ice puzzle involving Leif's ice magic; it was perhaps once of the easiest puzzles the team came across.
From there, they climbed up and exited the tunnel... entering the Golden Path.
The first, most obvious thing to point out... "This reminds me of fall." Anne commented.
The grass was orange, the falling leaves were orange, the massive weeds were orange, so much orange! It was beautiful, as if they'd stepped into the start of another season altogether. The four of them looked around the surrounding area, all of them absolutely marveled by what they saw. Anne almost shed a tear at how majestic and wonderful it was...
After taking a few more moments to take in the scenery (with Anne taking a picture of it for good measure), the four of them walked down the makeshift steps into the Golden Path proper, passing by a large, blue crystal. Before Anne could get a good look at what was ahead, she saw something else waddling around nearby.
"What is that..." Anne said. It looked like a Seedling, but with a hard, acorn-like shell on its head. It didn't appear to notice any of them.
"That... is the cutest thing we've ever seen." Leif said.
"You can't tame that either!" Vi chastised.
"And you're no fun." Leif said, letting out a 'hmph' noise afterward.
"That's an Acornling, Anne." Kabbu explained, providing an actual answer. "Fun fact, there's several different types of Seedlings all across Bugaria!"
"We're going to collect them all. There's no way you can stop us." Leif said, ignoring how Vi gave him a dangerous look.
"That's it!" Vi said, getting out her Beemerang. "I'm beating that Acornling up and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Don't you dare..." Leif whispered threateningly.
"Anyway!" Anne said, trying to move on to another topic. Even if they did beat up the Acornling, Anne wouldn't be able to participate, and plus, it wasn't even attacking them, so why try and attack it? "How long do you guys think it'll take for us to get to the Golden Settlement?"
"Hm..." Kabbu thought about this for a few moments. "Assuming no detours or delays, I estimate around a few days."
"And how long until the Golden Festival?" Leif asked, forgetting about the Acornling that was now waddling away from them.
Kabbu was about to speak, however- "Er... I'm not sure of the exact day. But I imagine it's less than a week from now." The beetle wilted slightly.
"Then we've gotta hurry!" Vi said. "If I miss the Golden Festival, then I'm blaming all of you!"
"I don't wanna miss it either. ...Is there any way we can speed this up? You know, so we can get to the Golden Settlement faster?" Anne asked, both because she actually didn't want to miss the Golden Festival, and... so there weren't as many opportunities to embarrass herself when something attacked them and she wouldn't be able to help out.
"Perhaps that sign can give us a clue." Leif pointed at the sign that Anne hadn't noticed before. It was next to a spring that led up to a higher vantage point, though Anne would be careful to avoid jumping on any springs if she could.
"Good thinking!" Kabbu said, walking over to the sign. He cleared his throat before beginning to read it. "This says... 'Warning! Don't jump on the flytraps!'"
"Flytraps?" Anne said to herself. She looked to her left, her eyes bugging out as she saw the rows of massive, open-mouthed flytraps ahead. Below the flytraps were rows upon rows of prickly thorns, as well as a thin layer of water. ...If there was a way around it, Anne wanted to avoid the flytraps as much as possible.
"'Use the safe line express to reach the Settlement!' signed by the Golden Hills Tourist Center." Kabbu continued reading the sign. Anne noted that on the higher ground that the spring led to was some kind of mechanism, activated by a button.
"Huh. Guess this'll be pretty easy!" Anne said. They could sit back and relax as the safe line transported them to the Golden Settlement, making this infinitely easier than the trials they faced in Snakemouth Den.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Without wasting a second, Vi ran over to the spring, bounced up, ran over to the mechanism, and pushed the button. "Golden Festival, here we come!"
However, as several seconds passed, nothing happened. Vi pressed the button several more times, growing more impatient to the point she repeatedly pressed the button until her arm got tired. "Nothing's happening!"
"There's one more thing on here." Kabbu said, still looking at the sign. "'PS: In case the safe line is out of commission, please wait until an associate comes to escort you.'"
Vi let out a loud groan, rolling her eyes. "So this stupid thing's out of order? Well, it was just junk anyway!" Vi hopped off the higher ground, meeting up with the others.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Anne asked, already getting impatient. "Wait for that associate guy to show up? Who knows how long that could take!" She couldn't just stand around! There had to be another way... if only Marcy were here, maybe she'd be able to rig something up and fix the safe line.
"If we can't use the safe line, then our only other way to get across is to jump across the flytraps." Leif suggested.
"No no no, out of the question!" Kabbu shook his head several times as he walked back over to the others.
"Why?" Vi asked.
"Were you not listening when I read the sign?! It's incredibly dangerous!" Kabbu said.
"Not for Vi, though. She can just fly across." Leif pointed out.
"Exactly!" The bee agreed.
Though Anne wasn't really participating in the conversation, even just listening to it made her incredibly nervous. If they couldn't cross, what then? Did they just have to... give up and go back home? Without even making it to the Golden Settlement or the Golden Hills? If they did that, then Anne might lose out on a vital clue to go home, or worse... no, it couldn't end so soon!
"There has to be another way across!" Anne spoke up, accidentally interrupting Leif while he was in the middle of saying something. "Like uh... no, that wouldn't work..." She muttered that to herself, hoping the others didn't hear. "Well, I can't think of anything, but we can't give up!"
Kabbu, Vi, and Leif all glanced at each other, not sure what to say in response. Why were they so quiet? But eventually, Kabbu nodded. "Right. Anne, you stay right there while the three of us think of something."
"...Alright." Anne said, knowing why they wanted her to stay back. She didn't know why her friends were acting so weird, though.
With that, Anne settled in a spot to sit down as Kabbu, Vi, and Leif all tried to come up with a way to cross this area with no cable car and without going across the flytraps. Anne mindlessly checked her phone, scrolling through past photos in an attempt to distract herself from her current thoughts, flooding with anxiety and nervousness.
The three bugs tried several different things over the course of around a half an hour, Anne occasionally looking up to check their progress, and to see if they were still acting weird.
First, they tried to find another path around the flytraps. That proved impossible; either they were blocked off by waves of foliage or massive walls. This only brought upon other ideas, such as trying to cut through the foliage (it was too thick to cut effectively) or to try and climb over the walls (there was no way for them to climb), and despite how grim things appeared, they wouldn't give up.
As time passed, Anne grew more frustrated, paying attention to what they were doing less and less, angrily tapping through various photos and videos. Her phone may still have around 7000% battery left, but that hardly mattered, less so than how Vi took her phone one time a few weeks ago to take a bunch of random pictures.
Anne overheard them arguing about an Acornling, the teen rolling her eyes. Trying to distract herself wasn't helping. It wouldn't make the thoughts of inadequacy and being a burden go away, how Kabbu, Vi, and Leif only started acting weird after her injury...
Eventually, Kabbu, Vi, and Leif stopped completely, taking a break. Anne listened in on their conversation, making it look like she wasn't paying attention; they must've thought they were out of her hearing range, but they were wrong.
"None of this is getting us anywhere. We're just wasting time!" Vi yelled. She, Kabbu, and Leif were huddled up in a circle of sorts, trying to keep their voices low.
"Kabbu, we can't beat around the bush any longer." Leif said. "Those flytraps are the only way we're getting across, like it or not." Well, if they had to go across them, Anne hoped it would be quick.
"I know..." Kabbu said, weary. "I was just avoiding it, because... well, you know, Anne's already injured, and I don't want to put her in any more danger!"
That was it. Anne had a feeling all along, this is what this was about. She could handle herself! A small injury wouldn't change anything! Before doing anything rash, Anne continued to listen.
"Come on, those flytraps aren't as dangerous as they look!" Vi said. "They don't even snap immediately; it takes like several seconds! All of us can run across each one way before they snap!"
"But Anne's injured. If she jumped onto one of those flytraps but then froze because of a flare-up-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Vi said to Leif, Kabbu shushing her afterward. Anne's cheeks grew flushed out of embarrassment; she could handle a bit of pain! She could do this!
Vi let out a sigh. "So what are we gonna do, huh?"
Kabbu groaned, wilting a bit. "I hate to say it... we might have to send Anne back to the house so her arm can heal. It's too risky for her to come along, and I..." Kabbu couldn't finish his sentence. Vi and Leif nodded in agreement.
Anne was at her boiling point. She visibly shook, putting her phone away before she accidentally broke it. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, there was no way she was going back. Maybe she had an injured arm, but people have gone along fine with worse. Some small part of her wanted to understand why her friends would even consider this, but she saw red, all rational thought leaving her body as she shot up, furious.
"Seriously?!" Anne yelled, all three of them turning on a dime.
"Ah!" Vi yelped. "Uh, I think she heard all that!"
"What's wrong with you guys?!" Anne said, beyond embarrassed. "I can do this! Just because I have one small injury doesn't mean I'm helpless! I'm not a baby, I can take care of myself! You won't give me a chance!"
Leif raised his hands to his chest, trying to diminish the flames of fury within Anne's heart. "Anne, we didn't mean for you to hear all that, we just-"
"Just what?!" Anne didn't let him finish his sentence. It was just like the situation with Vesp and Skye all over again. It didn't matter what she wanted, just what was 'best' for her. No, she couldn't experience something like that again.
...If she could prove that she wasn't just a burden, then maybe they'd stop acting weird and drop this. But how could she- Anne's eyes rested upon the rows of flytraps ahead. The path continued after several of those flytraps... so maybe she could... yeah, that was it. An idea formed in her head; after remembering what Vi said about the flytraps a minute ago, Anne knew what she had to do.
"I'll show you guys that I can do this! Just watch!" Anne made sure her backpack was on all the way, the teen bracing herself for what was about to happen.
"...What are you-" Kabbu froze as Anne sprinted toward the flytraps, far too fast for anyone to stop her.
"ANNE!" Kabbu, Vi, and Leif all cried at the same time.
At the edge of the path, Anne jumped as far as she could, time slowing to a halt as she prepared to land on the giant flytrap. Time resumed, Anne landing and running across the flytrap without missing a beat. The flytrap lowered slightly, anticipating biting down on whatever stood on it-
But it never got the chance; Anne leapt off it far before it would ever snap shut. She easily landed on the next one, using her momentum to leap from flytrap to flytrap.
That is, until the fourth flytrap. Anne tried to land on it just as she did with the others, but she didn't account for her foot to land at an awkward angle, Anne letting out a scream as she tripped, falling flat on her face. In that moment, Anne remembered just how little time it would take for the flytrap to snap shut, her previous feelings of jealousy and embarrassment washing away in an instant.
What was she doing?! Did she think she was some kind of daredevil or something?! Anne struggled to stand up, wishing she'd never tried something this stupid; they were right, this was too dangerous. She got onto her hands and knees, the precious seconds passing by all too fast. Anne looked down at the flytrap, it was just about to- wait, what was that?
The purple and blue ball- the bath bomb! It must've rolled out of her pocket! Anne gasped, picking it up with her good hand. She didn't have time to think, there was only one way she could save herself and prevent certain doom.
As fast as she could, she ripped the label off with her teeth, standing up and grunting as she threw the bath bomb down into the thorns, the ball getting jammed in between two particularly large thorns that were surrounded by water.
Another second passed; bubbles flowed out of the bath bomb at an alarming rate, a weird fizzing noise coming out of the circular object. The flytrap stopped in its tracks as the bubbles spread faster than Anne anticipated, the teen gulping before trying to brace herself.
BOOM!
A violet explosion filled Anne's vision, one so big that someone from far away might've been able to see it, filling the entire area. Kabbu, Vi, and Leif attempted to shield themselves as Anne shut her eyes, and the flytraps shrieked, unable to take the effects of the foreign liquid. The flytraps wilted slightly, losing part of their color and rendering them benign. The plants were dead, unable to do anything anymore.
As the purple clouds from the explosion slowly dissipated, Anne opened her eyes, the air sparkling from the effects of the bath bomb. She took several deep breaths, looking around. The flytraps were wilted, none of them moving, not even the one she was standing on, which meant...
"Woohoo!" Anne cheered. "I told you guys I could do it! Look, now there's no danger!" There was a smug smile on her face, more than confident that she proved them wrong.
But a split second later, she saw the worried, fearful looks on them as they carefully hopped across the flytraps, Anne moving over when they got close to the one she was on, so they could all have room to stand.
"Anne, you could've..." Vi trailed off, her antennae twitching a bit. "Hey, that smells nice. But Anne, you could've gotten yourself killed! Again!" Vi yelled. Anne winced. The bee had a point; this was far from the first time Anne almost got herself in serious danger.
"If it weren't for that... object you had, you'd probably be dead right now!" Kabbu added. "You can't keep doing this!"
"I know! I know!" Anne groaned, already frustrated once again. "But do you hear yourselves? You wouldn't give me a chance! Just because I made a mistake with those Midges or whatever they're called, it doesn't mean I can't do anything! Sure, my arm is injured and needs to be kept in a cast, but sitting around doing nothing won't help it heal any faster!"
"We just want you to be safe, Anne..." Leif said, wincing. "But we can't leave anyone on the team behind, either. We're sorry for forgetting that." Anne softened up a bit, almost smiling.
"I'll admit that bath bomb trick was pretty cool." Vi said with a giggle, before she gasped. "Do you have any more of those?!"
"Nope." Anne shook her head. "However, they're only $6.99 a pop!" Now that she thought about it, how would berries convert to her currency back home?
"Ngh..." Kabbu still sounded worried. "Well, you did clear a path for us. But please, promise me you'll be more careful in the future."
"Don't worry." Anne nodded. "I'll do my best. Plus, I can still use my left arm to fight. I guess I should thank my tennis coach for those left-handed practice sessions, huh." Anne always hated doing that during practice, but now she'd have to thank her tennis coach when she got the chance.
"If you think something's too much, please take a break." Leif said. "But otherwise... we won't stop you."
"Thanks. I appreciate that." Anne said. "Just wait, I'll be out of this cast before you know it. A month's gonna pass just like that!" Anne snapped her fingers, eliciting chuckling out of the others, all of them having wide grins on their faces.
"Can we get off these flytraps?" Vi asked. "They're not moving, but uh... yeah. It feels weird standing on them this long." Nobody could argue with that, all four of them carefully crossing the flytraps until they were back on the path, out of harm's way.
And just like that, things were back to normal... well, as normal as it could get with a group like the one Anne was part of. Even if her arm was injured, it was a setback so minor that it may as well not exist. She just had to be careful and pace herself, and everything would be fine. They'd find the artifact, and hopefully a way to get Anne home along the way... all they had to do was just hope for the best.
...Team Snakemouth continued along the Golden Path, eventually coming across a blue ant wearing a hat, sleeping on a log. ...Was he sleeping on the job?
"Hey, I think this is the associate!" Vi realized. "You know, the one that was supposed to escort us... if the safe line wasn't working..." She trailed off, noticing Anne's eye twitching. "Uh-"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"