3. another human in town

Johnny took a deep breath as he followed the frog he had managed to save. Now that the danger was gone he started thinking about the human like frog beside him. What was going on? Did the music box send him to an alternate universe where humans don't exist and frogs rule the planet? The frog did mention another human and that she was considered a one of a kind. Did she get sent here too? If so, how long? Johnny looked at the frog and blinked as he noticed the frog only has one good eye.

"Is something on your mind kid?" The frog asked.

"I.. Just.. Um...

"Thinking about being stuck in this new strange world with creatures you aren't used to?"

Johnny simply nodded.

"Well, when Anne first appeared we weren't used to her as well and treated her rather poorly."

"I trust you no longer do," Johnny responded.

The frog nodded, "Yeah, she managed to change our view of her. You are kinda lucky to appear now, since the town will likely be more friendly to you then they were towards her at first,"

"I would consider getting sent to a world you aren't used to to be unlucky period, but I understand what you are saying," Johnny replied, "Anyway, you have a name?"

"The name's Wally."

"Nice to meet you Wally."

"You think so despite not being used to an animal like me?" Wally asked.

"You are helping me out in a time of need," Johnny explained, "Besides, there are frogs in my world."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they don't talk like us and they only travel on all fours."

"That's strange to consider."

"Believe me it's just as strange for me to be talking to you. No offense."

"None taken."

Anne and Sprig were walking around Wartwood, when they were surrounded by a group of frogs, giving Anne thanks for defending them.

"No problem everyone," Anne said while nervously rubbing the back of her head.

Anne mentally sighed as she felt a few leaves and a twig in her hair. No matter how many times she cleans her hair, she always ends up getting new ones. Thankfully, everyone here doesn't seem to care and she has no reason to keep her hair clean.

"Anne who would have thought you would end up being this popular?" Sprig asked after the two managed to get pass the crowd.

"You mean without my acne?" Anne asked.

"Yeah. I have to say there are things about you humans that are weird, but also interesting."

"I feel the same way about here."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I still find it strange how incredibly dangerous this world is, but it has been much more interesting than home," Anne answered with a small smile, "Though I can't ignore how terrifying it is that I have been gone for over three months. I don't even want to know how my parents are holding up. I..

Anne took a deep breath as she felt Spring's hand on her own. When they first met Anne was grossed out by Sprig's slimy skin, but she has managed to get used to it. Now as strange as it might be, she was actually feeling comfort from his touch.

"Relax Anne. I promise you we will do whatever it takes to get you back home."

"Thanks Sprig. I know you all will."

"What do you say we get a drink?" Sprig asked.

"We don't have any money."

Sprig gave Anne a smirk, "Relax. I have a feeling a certain somebody will get drinks for free after a certain incident."

Anne playfully rolled her eyes, "We will see. Besides, I could relax for a bit."

Johnny took a deep breath as he followed Wally into Wartwood. It was surreal to see a creature like Wally, but to see a whole town full of them is much more so.

"You better get ready when they notice us," Wally said with a chuckle.

Before Johnny could respond he was surrounded by the frogs who gasped in shock at the sight of him. Johnny was only able to hear a few things before the sound of everyone talking formed together into a noise he was unable to understand.

"What's going on here?" Somebody shouted.

Johnny turned and managed to see a toad walking towards the group with a smaller toad following him. All of the frogs moved out of the way letting the two toads through. Johnny figured he must be the one in charge around here.

"Another one?" The larger toad asked.

"Yes, mayor Toadstool. He saved my life earlier," Wally answered.

This caused the group of frogs to start whispering again.

"What do you want?" Toadstool asked Johnny.

"Mainly a way back home, but a place to stay will be fine for now," Johnny answered.

"I am sure Hop Pop will be more than happy to take in another of your kind," Toadstool answered before leaving, "Come on Toadie! We have some planning to do."

"Coming sir," Toadie responded.

"That went well I guess," Wally mumbled.

Johnny didn't say anything as he continued to look at the frogs giving him shocked, yet friendly and welcoming looks. Johnny sighed before turning towards Wally.

"You said when the human before me showed up they treated her poorly, right?"

Wally nodded, "I did too. It's thanks to her they seem more welcoming to humans. You better thank her when you meet her. What do you say we get a drink?"

"I don't know."

"Don't have any money?"

Johnny shook his head, "No, I actually do, but I am sure my human currency won't be good here."

Wally nodded, "No worries it's on me. My thanks for saving my life. Afterwards, we will see if Hop Pop will take you in. I am sure Anne will be happy to see another of her kind, especially after everything that happened."

"Uh..."

"I will tell you on the way."

Johnny said nothing as he followed Wally.

Anne and Sprig were both sitting at a table outside, each with a mug in their hand.

"What did I tell you Anne?" Sprig asked with a smirk before taking a sip.

"Yeah yeah. Enjoy it while it lasts," Anne simply said before taking a sip herself.

"With the way things are going, I am sure we are going to get into more situations like the one at the tower," Sprig said.

"Sprig, right now all I want is some peace," Anne told him.

Sprig placed his mug on the table, "I know you do, but I doubt it will last long."

Anne sighed before closing her eyes, "I figure as much and a part of me actually welcomes it. I have been here for about a quarter of a year and want to find a way home as soon as possible, but I don't want to go through something like the incident at Toad tower anytime soon."

"Relax. We will figure something out."

Anne opened her eyes and before she could respond she noticed a few frogs talking to each other with stunned looks.

"What is everyone talking about?" Anne asked.

"There is only one way to find out," Sprig told her before getting up.

Anne got up and followed Sprig to a small group of frogs.

"Are you sure it wasn't just Wally spreading another story?" Anne heard one frog ask.

"I don't think so. Apparently, mayor Toadstool saw him to."

"I hope it's true. I can only imagine Anne's reaction to this if it's false."

"if what is false?" Anne asked alerting her presence to the group.

The frogs gasped as they noticed Anne giving them a nervous questioning look. The frogs looked at each other for a moment before one took a deep breath.

"Anne, there are rumors of another human in town. Wally is showing him around."

Anne gasped in shock and excitement, "Is it true?"

"We don't know. We have just heard."

"It better be true or I swear...

"Relax Sprig. It's not their fault if it's a false rumor," Anne interrupted Sprig, who was glaring at the group of frogs.

"Fine. I will give Wally a piece of my mind if it doesn't turn out to be true," Sprig responded.

"Trust me I will too," Anne told him while crossing her arms, "I doubt he would spread a rumor like this, but if he did...

"Come on Anne. We might as well go look for him."

Anne took a deep breath before following Sprig.

"It was day when we all finally made it back here, tired and shaken up, but still alive," Wally told Johnny, finishing the story.

"Interesting story."

"Well, that is one big reason everyone is fond of Anne. She really helped us all out."

"What about you?" Johnny asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You were the one who set explosives in the tower. You played a part in saving the day," Johnny answered giving the frog a smile, "You deserve some of the credit."

"I appreciate you saying so, but I also risked everyone getting hurt, or even killed."

"True, but if you haven't Hop Pop would have died and who knows what else would have happen."

"You do have a point kid. Still, I am kinda used to this treatment," Wally told him.

"Doesn't make it right though."

Wally waved his hand dismissively, "Relax kid. Don't worry about it."

Johnny sighed but nodded.

"Johnny, how do you feel about eating insects?"

"I rather not, but I can if I have to. One of the things I learned from scouts," Johnny answered.

"Good. Let's just say you won't like it here if you are picky."

"From where I am from not wanting to eat insects isn't picky, but I get what you are saying."

Johnny and Wally arrived at a table outside of a pub.

"Go ahead and take a seat. I will get the drinks," Wally said before entering the pub.

Johnny took a deep breath before taking a seat at the table. Johnny took off his backpack and began to quickly look through it.

"Good thing I managed to end up in a town. I am running low on supplies. I am going have to get a job here. A real job instead of the random ones I did for strangers." Johnny mumbled to himself.

Johnny took his phone out from the small pouch on his backpack and turned it on. He sighed when he noticed the charge is at less than 50%. He had managed to make it last for over a week, by only using it to view pictures of his friends and love ones when he was feeling extra lonely. Hopefully, there is a way to charge the battery here, or it won't last long despite his best efforts.

Johnny decided to go through old texts from his friends and blinked as he noticed a text, he didn't see before.

John, I have a job for you when you get back from your camping trip. It will be just you and me like the old times. I still don't understand why you left the group, but I hope you won't turn down this opportunity. We both were the best at our craft and I hope you won't let your skills go to waste. Doing those random jobs are beneath you. You will always be welcomed back. I hope you will consider this- Derek.

Johnny sighed before turning the phone off. The last thing he wanted was a reminder of his past, that he wanted to forget about. He put his phone away and place his backpack back on his shoulders. it wasn't long before Wally returned with the drinks.

"Sorry for the wait. There was a bit of a line."

"It's fine."

"No worries kid. I am sure Hop Pop will take you in and if not, we will find someone who will."

Anne and Sprig continued to search the Town for any signs of Wally and the supposed human.

"Where could Wally be?" Anne asked before groaning in frustration, "I just want to see if the rumor is true or false."

"I do too Anne. If it's true I hope they are nicer than Sasha. No offense."

"None taken Sprig. Let's keep looking."

"Is the town protector looking for something?"

Anne turned and saw mayor Toadstool giving her a questioning look.

"Yeah, we heard rumors of wally coming to town with another human."

"I can confirm it's true. I told him Hop Pop might take him in."

Anne's face lit up in excitement.

"That's great!" Anne exclaimed before giving the mayor a questioning look, "Did you say he?"

"Yeah, from what I can tell he's a boy. Why? Do you have a problem with that?"

Anne shook her head, "No, it's just surprising."

"Come on Anne. We just have to head home and wait for him," Sprig told her.

Anne shook her head, "I want to see him now."

"Knowing Wally, he most likely took him to get a drink," Toadstool told her.

Anne groaned, "We were there earlier," Anne put her hands on her face, "Unbelievable all we had to do was stay put."

"Isn't life funny?" Sprig asked with a chuckle.

"Hilarious," Anne said sarcastically.

"How long have you been here?" Wally asked.

"About a week now. It was an experience surviving out there alone."

"Well, you are here now and soon you will have a roof over your head."

Johnny nodded with a small smile, "It actually was kinda fun surviving the elements. Had it been for different circumstances and If I had company, it would have been great."

Wally laughed, "If only you came much sooner. You are going to fit right in."

"I hope so."

"You want to see if Hop Pop will take you in?"

Johnny nodded, "I do, but I am not in a hurry. I am enjoying your company."

"I am glad to hear it. We can always spend time together later," Wally assured him before getting up.

Johnny got up and decided to follow suit.

"I can't wait to see how Anne will react to you," Wally said with a chuckle before gasping, "Speaking of which."

Johnny looked around and spotted a human girl around his age running with a frog, trying his best to keep up with her. The girl was somehow familiar to him. He knows he saw her somewhere before. Johnny gasped as he recall seeing her imagine on the news about 3 months ago, on a report about 3 missing girls. Is this where they all went to? Before Johnny could continue to ponder it, the girl was right in front of him and breathing heavily.

"Uh.. Hi," He greeted nervously.

The girl began to touch Johnny's face, making him slightly uncomfortable. The girl gasped in excitement before grabbing one of his arms and rubbing it on her face. Johnny became more uncomfortable when the girl took a sniff.

"What are you doing?" Johnny finally asked.

"You are real after all," The girl said with a smile.

"Are you sure about that? Are you sure you don't want to taste it?"

The girl blinked and let go of his arm in embarrassment, "No, I'm good."

"Are you sure? You confirmed it by seeing, touching, smelling, and hearing me. Might as well do it with taste too, to complete the set."

"Sorry. I just... I Just couldn't believe that there is another human here, aside from me and my friends."

Johnny sighed, "It's fine. Just don't do it again."

"I have to say the show was better than I could hope," Wally said while chuckling.

Johnny and the girl gave Wally a glare.

"Anyway, nice to see the rumors are true. Come on we better go see Hop Pop and ask if he will let you stay," the girl told Johnny.

Johnny looked at Wally, who gave him a nod, "Sure, Anne right?"

"Yeah, nice to see I am famous around here."

Johnny playfully rolled his eyes, "If that is how you greet people. I wonder why you are popular."

Anne blushed in embarrassment before giving him a mock glare, "Let's just get to Hop Pop's farm."

"Wow, seeing two humans interact is interesting," Sprig said with a chuckle.

"This whole day keeps on getting stranger and stranger," Johnny mumbled.

"Did you say something?" Anne asked.

Johnny simply shook his head before following the two.

I hope you all enjoyed Anne and Johnny's meeting as much as I did, when I thought of it. I wasn't sure about this chapter at first, when writing it out, but now that it's done I am more ok with it. Hope you all enjoyed it.