Evolution [sashannarcy]

Chapter 2

(a/n, haven't written in a while so i'm a bit rusty lol)

Sasha's POV

we sat for a while, discussing what to do next. after all, nobody really plans what to do after they die. after a while, we settled on exploring. I stepped out of the cave, looking out over whatever i could see of the landscape. i moved towards the cliff's edge, peering over and staring down at all the thousands of trees below.

 ''Holy shit...'', i muttered as anne and marcy wandered over, ''This isn't just some woods or something, this is a whole-ass rainforest!'' a distant squawk from somewhere below seemed to acknowledge the idea and confirm it. i stood, glancing at the two girls beside me. wait, where was marcy? 

as if to taunt me, the noirette's voice rang out from the other side of the cliff's edge. ''HEY! GUYS, LOOK AT THIS!!!'' she called. i grabbed anne's hand and dragged her over, only to stop dead in my tracks when we reached marcy. she was floating. like, off the ground, just sorta floating there, just past the edge of the cliff, doing little flips in the air. anne moved closer, looking a mix of confused and intrigued. ''how...?'' she asked. marcy looked at her, clearly excited about this newfound ability. ''I dunno,'' she shrugged, ''but it's cool! come on!'' she motioned for us to follow. ''marcy, we ca....n't...'' she didn't stay to listen, as by the time i started speaking, she had already vanished from view into the fog.

 i glanced back at Anne. ''soooo,'' she began somewhat hesitantly, ''we gonna go after her?'' i nodded. ''lead the way.'' she did so, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. we eventually found a way down the mountain. a long path twisted downwards, though we were low enough to see where the ground flattened out. 

it took a while, but eventually we got to the bottom. by that point, our throats were sore from shouting for Marcy. the forest was humid and damp, making our clothes stick to our skin. i honestly couldn't help but chuckle as Anne's hair fluffed up due to the humidity in the swampy air. ''oh, shut up.'' she grumbled, walking ahead.

 i bumped into her lightly, making her snicker. she squeezed my hand gently, causing me to fall silent, unable to speak past the fluttering in my chest. anne herself looked somewhat red, but i shrugged it off as just the heat getting to her. i shook myself off, continuing to call for marcy. i froze when anne pulled me closer, but figured she didnt want to lose me too, in this vast expanse of trees and foliage. still, i couldn't help but go red as she wrapped her arm around my waist. i glanced up at her, noticing her own red face as she  looked away. right, i thought, keep your eyes peeled. 

i was immediately glad that i'd done that, as i spotted something large in the foliage ahead. bright blue eyes pierced my very flesh and soul, pupils narrowed into slits. i halted sharply, gripping onto anne to get her to do the same. ''hm? what's up?'' she asked. instead of a verbal response, i pointed at the shape in the bushes. her gaze followed mine, and she jerked back a bit when she locked eyes with whatever was there. knowing its cover was blown, the creature leapt out of the brush with a growl that sounded almost like a jaguar or a leopard.

 it was a newt, at least somewhat. it was sleek, though muscles rippled beneath its skin. it was free of clothes, and its eyes seemed to lack the spark of sentience that the others of this world seemed to have. Its face was twisted into a ferocious snarl, and a low growl rumbled in its throat. it  prowled on all fours, carried by strong, long legs. 

as it stalked closer, i heard anne gasp. i turned to see another one of the things behind her, though it seemed confused as it's claws passed straight through anne. the latter seemed just as shocked, shivering intensely as the limb went through her. a third creature leapt out of the trees above us, getting in between me and anne. i stood and, in a small fit of rage, pushed the creature away from me and anne. the one dealing with anne saw what happened to its companion and yelped, stepping backwards. i turned and decided to take out the leader, throwing myself at the first one. i noticed my hand being the only part of me in colour, but didnt acknowledge it. 

the creature rolled, knocking me off. it tried to swipe at me, but only ended up making me shiver slightly as its claws passed straight through me. man, being a ghost was weird. i picked up a nearby stick, jumping off a nearby rock and slicing at the creature. it roared in anger and snatched the stick from my hands, knocking me to the ground. wait, how could it touch me? it didnt matter, as i threw it off of me and rammed into it's side. i glanced over at anne, who was struggling with her own attacker. the 3rd one was lunging at her while she battled the 2nd. then, out of LITERALLY NOWHERE, a familiar one-eyed toad appeared, knocking the 3rd creature away from anne.

 ''GRIME???'' i gasped as the leader called for the others to retreat. he turned to look at me, smiling. ''no need to thank me.'' he said in a taunting tone. oh yeah, it was him alright. i couldn't help myself, and i threw myself at him, tackling him into a hug. ''Grimesy! How are you here?'' i asked. he chuckled, responding with ''I could ask you the same thing, lieutenant.'' I grinned, helping him back up. 

'''so,'' i started, as soon as grime was standing again, ''how long have you been...ya know...'' i trailed off, motioning to...well, all of him. he chuckled. ''around a day. long enough to figure out how ghosts work,'' he answered nonchalantly. i tilted my head, giving him a questioning look.  he sighed, then explained. ''well, firstly, i figured out how ghosts are brought back, thanks to you 3. some frog took the fossilized remains of your stuff, and boom, you 3 appeared. i also figured out how to interact with things, so, that's also helpful.''  

i thought for a moment, before looking back up at him. ''well then... wanna teach us?'' i asked, with a somewhat mischievous grin.

we'd been wandering for hours by the time we stumbled upon the clearing. there, sitting under a tree nearby, was Marcy.  she was holding something in her arms, cooing at it. 

''marcy, there you are!'' anne cried when she saw her. the ravenette jumbed slightly in surprise, then sighed.

''oh, it's just you guys.''

''yeah, who else would it be?''

''i dunno.'' marcy shrugged,before turning back to whatever was in her arms. she had it rocking in her arms like a little baby. i wandered over, curiosity getting the better of me.

in her arms was... wait, what? ''a platypus?'' i asked, looking at the small monotreme in her arms. she nodded. ''when i wandered off, i thought you guys were with me. when i noticed you weren't, i waited here. then, i heard something crying, so i went to check it out and found this little guy! i named him Sir Quincetholamew the |||. Quincey or Quince for short.'' I rolled my eyes, smiling. that was 100% something she'd name something. 

i sat down beside her, wrapping my arms around her gently. anne did the same, somehow managing to rest her hand on my shoulder. then, a thought popped into my mind.

''hey, by the way marcy, guess who we found?'' She looked at me, then looked down in thought. ''hmmm..... i dunno, who?'' she responded. i looked over into the nearby foliage and motioned for grime to come out. he did so, walking right over to us like he owned the place. i mean, in all fairness, it was a forest clearing, but come on! 

''wait, you found Grime??''I nodded, grinning. she held out the platypus to him to show him, clearly excited to have someone else to show random things, even if she didn't know him that well, but she didn't react much beyond that. still, i smiled. 

''so, we figured out how to... "bring people back", or "awaken their ghosts", so...wanna go back and see if we can get the plantars and your newts?'' i asked. marcy looked at me with shining eyes. ''really??'' she asked, clearly excited. i smiled and nodded, grabbing one of her hands and squeezing it lightly. i nodded, responding in a calm tone despite how red i was. ''really.''

(a/n, tried to do paragraphs. prolly looks super bad, idgaf. anyways, next chapter we getting some anne and the plantar action, along with some marcy and her newt moms. hope you enjoyed the sasha/grime father-daughter interactions. cyall who knows when lol)