Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Legs! Legs! Legs!”

Polly kept repeating this as she hopped around her family and friends, excited to finally grow her legs. Hop Pop and Sprig watched them all with wide eyes, Hop Pop with a bit of fear and Sprig delighted with it all. Walking in front of the group with her eyes on her phone was Anne, guiding everyone in some direction.

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!... What is this thing? What are these?” Sprig got distracted by a mailbox and opened it, pulling out the letters inside. His eyes widened when he saw a traffic light post and he latched onto it, starting to press the button on it. “Buttons! BUTTONS EVERYWHERE!!!” He screamed excitedly, seeing a small manhole and trying to jump into it, getting stuck. “HELP! This dungeon smells awful!”

“Careful, boy.  There's no telling what dangers lurk in this world. ” Hop Pop scolded him, pulling him out of the hole by his collar. Anne paused for a moment, to make sure she was on the right path, and then continued walking. “So what's our next move Anne? I mean, so much has happened. And what happened to Sasha, do you think she...”

“She’s fine, Hop Pop. She's just gotta be. You saw how she was kicking Andrias’ ass, she probably did it because she knew we couldn’t help her at the time.” Anne answered the orange frog’s implicit question. She looked back at her phone, at the photo she had taken with her friends before they left Wartwood. “And with her facing him and his army alone, one thing’s for sure… We gotta find a way back.”

“Yeah!”

“Alright!”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Anne gave a small smile, which faded as she glanced behind the frog family to the last person accompanying their group. Marcy had wrapped her cloak around her injured arm, creating a makeshift splint, and she walked silently, sometimes frowning or looking away before returning to focus. She hadn't said a word since they realized they were on Earth.

Honestly, Anne was getting a little worried about this. She had already been bothered in Amphibia, when she noticed that Marcy was no longer talking and discussing anything she found interesting like before. Sasha had been told that she would say what she thought if asked, and indeed, when Anne asked something that seemed to catch Marcy's attention, she would start telling her every detail about it, not as excited as before, but still happy to share what she knew. Now? Anne tried calling out to her a few times, but she didn't answer, looking incredibly lost in thought. It reminded her a little of before Amphibia, when she was so focused on a game that she forgot about the world around her, but it wasn't as cute as back then, she had never seen Marcy's face as stressed and confused as it was now.

Was she still upset about her stupid plan? Maybe. Anne had been really hypocritical with Marcy, getting mad at the older girl for doing something Anne was almost ready to do, she would have every reason to be mad at her. But it didn't seem like she was, she seemed to be thinking about something else, and whatever it was, it seemed to be very important. Maybe trying to remember some information from the box that could guide them back to Amphibia or something. Whatever it was, Anne wasn't going to mess with her focus, and she also needed to prepare for something important.

“But before we do any of that... First things first.” Anne stopped, causing the Plantars to bump into her as she turned to the house next to her.

A simple two-story house with blue siding and a brown roof. The ornate mailbox had its flag up, the basketball hoop still hung over the garage, the door leading to the small backyard was locked, the front door was exactly as she remembered.

“Anne, is this...?” Sprig took Anne’s hand as she felt tears well up in the corners of her eyes.

“My house... This is really happening... I'm gonna see my parents.” She hadn't realized how much she missed home until it was right in front of her. Suddenly her stupid plan seemed even more stupid, why on earth was she willing to travel between worlds when the only world she really wanted was this one?

“... How are we going to do this?” Marcy's sudden voice startled the group a little. Anne turned around with wide eyes, Marcy still had a strange expression, but she nodded towards the Plantars. “About them, about us, about Amphibia. They deserve to know. How are we going to explain everything?”

“Okay... you three should probably hide in here for the time being.” Anne opened one of the trash cans, it wasn’t the best or most comfortable place, but it was the only place they could safely hide in such a short amount of time. “I wanna ease them into all of this slowly. And when the time is right, I'll signal.” She mimicked the sound of a bird. “DO NOT come out until you hear that.”

The Plantars nodded, climbing into the cans and hiding, Anne placing Frobo’s head next to Polly. She looked at Marcy, who still seemed a little out of focus, but looked up and started to approach Anne’s house, before Anne gently stopped her.

“Marcy, wait. There are some things I don’t want to tell them, not right now at least.” She began to explain, looking away. “I'm not gonna tell them I plan to go back and stop Andrias. Or that Andrias betrayed us. Or what you did. Or what I did. Or what happened to Sasha. And not A WORD about our weird glowing powers!” She almost shouted the last part and then took a deep breath to steady herself. “Wow... There's a lot going on...”

“... It’s okay.” Anne looked up, Marcy had a small, comforting smile on her face, and she could have sworn her eyes were greener than before. “I know what it’s like to have something you don’t even know how to explain and have to hide it for a while to understand. I’m ready to take responsibility for my part, but I won’t say anything unless you say it first.”

"... Thanks."

Nodding, the two walked together to the door, Anne staring at the welcome carpet for a moment before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door. She waited a few seconds and knocked again, and a warm, familiar voice reached her ears.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Anne swallowed back her tears as the door opened and her mother appeared. Wearing a comfortable blue sweater, white pants, bare feet inside the house, a bowl on her arm with some mixture being mixed. She looked the same as always, maybe with a few extra wrinkles, but exactly as she remembered. Tears once again welled up in her eyes.

“… Hi Mom.”

“… Hello, Mrs B.”

Her mother dropped the bowl in shock, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't hesitate and pulled the two girls into a hug, Marcy seemed to freeze for a second, but soon returned it, the three of them crying silently in the embrace. Footsteps echoed in the house and a man peeked through the door.

“What was that noise? Everything OK?” Her father asked, his eyes widening when he realized who was at the door

“Dad!”

“Hello, Mr. B!”

“Anne?! Marcy?” Her father quickly walked over and pulled the three of them into a group hug, crying along with them. “Anne, you're back! You're safe, both of you!” He hugged a little tighter, only loosening enough for their cat, Domino, to rub against Anne's legs, happy to see her owner return.

“Domino! Come here, my precious baby!” Anne quickly picked her up and hugged her, the family standing together in a group hug for a moment before her mother pulled back a little to look at the girls.

“Where have you been? Are you OK? Are you hurt? Have you eaten? What’s with that outfit? What happened to your arm?” She began to ask worriedly, touching Anne’s armor and Marcy’s improvised splint.

“It's a really... Really long story.” Was Anne’s only response, turning to Marcy, who also had a confused smile.

She heard a bird flying nearby, and then a noise of something moving in the can. Horrified, she turned to the trash cans, and out of them, climbing out with some difficulty to the point of knocking over the trash, came Hop Pop.

Oh, no…

“And we're the Plantars! The lovable frog family Anne's told you all about!” he said, making a cute face right after.

“Hop Pop, that was not the signal!” Polly complained, which would have been nice, if she hadn’t also decided to come out and expose herself to scold him.

"Well, it sure sounded like the signal!"

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Anne's parents. The name's Sprig Plantar!" Sprig suddenly appeared on the balcony, puffing out his chest proudly as he pointed to himself. “Sasha’s best friend and walking, talking frog!” He saw a fly passing by and caught it with his tongue, striking a cute pose afterwards.

Anne slapped her hand to her face, not surprised that her father had fainted behind her.

“Wh... What...” She also wasn't surprised that her mother seemed to be torn between fainting and grabbing the first thing she could to use as a weapon.

“Just give me a few minutes and I’ll explain everything, I promise!” Anne assured, putting Domino down and supporting her father to place him on the living room couch. She turned to the Plantars with a fierce look. “And I guarantee they’ll behave in the meantime, won’t they?”

They swallowed hard and nodded quickly, probably only now realizing how much they had messed up the introductions. They followed her inside as Marcy closed the door and brought in her still dazed mother. Anne quickly laid her father down on the couch, wondering if they had enough notepads for her to explain everything. That was when she saw Marcy shudder as she placed her left hand on her head and suddenly remembered what Sasha had told her a few hours ago.

(“She just passed out while she was trying to convince me not to close the gates.” Sasha explained, carrying Marcy’s unconscious body in her arms. “It was exactly the same thing that happened at the temple, she held her head and started screaming before she passed out… Anne, she’s not okay, there’s something wrong with her!”)

“... Hey, Marbles, how about you get some rest?” She turned to Anne, who gave her a small smile. “I can explain everything important on my own and the Plantars can help me fill in some blanks. Go ahead, after what you’ve been through, you deserve it.”

Marcy stared at her for a few seconds with that vague look before nodding and walking slowly to her room. Anne watched her climb the stairs for a moment before turning to the Plantars for a second and then her parents, her father regaining consciousness and sitting on the couch.

This would be a long explanation…

***

“OK... Where was I?” Anne asked, after finishing the drawing of a planet. She and the Plantars had been explaining most of what had happened on Amphibia, glossing over the scariest and most dangerous parts whenever they could. They were finally getting to the final part after almost an hour or so of explaining, Anne was hoping Marcy had gotten some rest.

“The third temple?” Sprig answered, holding his hand up, making Anne smile.

“Right!” She flipped the page to the drawing of her and her friends with a stone next to each of them. “So, as soon as we charged the last stone, the music box opened a portal that took me back to Earth. Before anything else could happen...” She leaned towards the Plantars, her voice slightly deeper. The three nodded without hesitation. “But, there was an accident in the sudden opening of the portal, and it caused Sasha to not be able to enter the portal in time, and the portal ended up sucking the Plantars in instead. And now they're stuck here until we find a way to get them home. ” She clapped her hands lightly. “So yeah... You're pretty much caught up!”

Her parents just stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.

“Hold on. Back up.” Her father massaged the area between his eyes and nose. “You're telling us there's a whole world of talking frogs called Amphibiland?”

“It's actually called Amphibia!” Sprig corrected excitedly.

“You eat bug food? Was it good?” Her mother’s question made her a little suspicious of her upcoming meals.

“This is a lot to take in. I wish we could've been eased into it.” Her father commented. Anne stared at Hop Pop with an arched eyebrow, he could only flinch a little and shrug as he gave an embarrassed laugh.

“Anyway... Can the Plantars and Marcy stay stay with us until we find them a way home?” Anne asked quickly. Her mother laughed, before realizing that no one was laughing with her.

“Wait, you serious?”

“MOM!” She turned to her father in frustration. “Dad, say something.”

“Anne, all of this is crazy. I wouldn't believe a word of it if the small frog wasn't kicking me right now.” He said, his gaze falling on Polly, who was indeed kicking him.

“New legs. You know how it is.”

“ Your adventure is over, Anne. You're home now. The authorities will take care of your friends.” Her mother gently placed a hand on Anne’s shoulder, but Anne pulled away in alarm at her mother’s words.

“With the police? The government?!” She ran to shield the Plantars with her body. “As soon as they see talking frogs, they'll be probed and dissected in a secret lab and used for all kinds of weird experiments!”

“What's that now?” Sprig looked confused as he asked.

“Can you elaborate on the probing part?” Hop Pop was definitely worried.

“Anne, don't let them take us! DON'T LET THEM TAKES US!” Polly grabbed Anne’s leg and held on. Anne crouched down and hugged the three of them.

“Don’t worry, guys. You did so much to take care of Sasha when she fell in Amphibia, and you even helped us during our adventure to recharge the stones.” She hugged the three of them tighter, her mind returning to what had happened in the castle a few hours ago.

The three of them were Sasha’s family, to the point that she sometimes called herself a Plantar. Anne was already thinking about asking if Andrias could take them with them or compensate them for their help with some of those fancy things at the castle. And after what she had done, not only had Sasha risked her own life to protect them, but they had never blamed her for what had happened.

“The least I can do is return the favor.”

Her parents looked lost and hesitant, her mother and father exchanging worried glances for a few seconds. Finally, she turned her gaze to the four of them hugging and sighed.

“Okay, they can stay. For now.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she was quickly hugged tightly by her daughter, who repeated the words ‘thank you’ during the hug. Her mother returned with an affectionate sigh, before pulling away a little. “But what about Marcy? I understand why you don’t want the authorities to see them, but Marcy deserves to go back to her family.”

“Yes... I’ll let them know as soon as she remembers them or feels better.” Anne’s comment made her parents blink in surprise. “Marcy... She's not doing very well. She suffered from amnesia and most of her memories are kind of messed up or blocked, she’s getting better, but when we met her again, she said she didn’t remember anyone other than me and Sasha. I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave her in a place she doesn’t know with no memories or faces she considers familiar.”

“Oh...” Her mother had a worried expression. “... And her arm?”

“That was something recent, really recent. Like, a few hours ago recently. I think she needs help with that too, but she didn’t seem as worried about it as she did about her memories.” Anne admitted.

Her parents still looked very concerned, and she saw how her mother was examining her, as if she expected her to have an injured limb as well. It occurred to Anne quickly that they probably thought it was the ‘accident’ that caused Marcy’s injury, which… wasn’t entirely wrong.

“I don’t like keeping this a secret, but you’re probably right.” Her father stood and walked to the door. “Alright. If we're doing this, we gotta be extra careful.” He locked the door and slipped the small chain on the door to make sure. “No one out there can know you exist.” He turned to his family and crossed his arms. “You're all on lockdown!!”

“You heard the man. You're all on lockdown, got it?” Hop Pop repeated as he stood next to her father and mimicked his pose. Her father looked at him in surprise and Hop Pop stared back at him in confusion. “What?”

“That’s fine with me! I have a lot of things I want to show the Plantars.” She gently ruffled Sprig’s hair and Polly’s bow. “Just give me a minute to check on Marcy, okay?”

They both nodded and Anne got up and headed toward the bedroom, entering while being careful not to make any noise in case Marcy was still dozing. She peeked in quickly, smiling when she saw Marcy awake and sitting up in bed, and sat down next to her, sighing heavily.

 “So... did everything go well?” Marcy asked, Anne gave a slight nod.

“Better than I expected, I had to make up a story that an accident occurred when we opened the portal, which caused the Plantars to be taken with us instead of Sasha. I think they also believe it was this accident that caused you to get hurt.” Anne explained, pointing to her scarred arm. “By the way, are you better?”

“Yeah, it still hurts a little, but it’s more like I hit it hard somewhere than… You know.” She ran a finger over her arm, wincing a little at the contact. “My skin is really sensitive, though, I think I’ll need some burn ointment and something to wrap it in for now.”

Anne hesitated for a moment, feeling guilty that her friend had gotten hurt like that. She should have known better, should have been smart instead of just following what she was told to do, maybe things wouldn't have ended up the way they did. Anne leaned towards Marcy's arm and gently placed a kiss on her shoulder, close to the scar, but without touching it so as not to irritate the sensitive skin even more. It was kind of her habit to do this to her friend's injuries, especially when she felt responsible for them.

"What about..." The brunette touched her head with a worried expression. Marcy seemed a little better, but she wasn't sure if she could trust how Marcy had acted in the past to be sure of how she was now.

To Anne’s surprise, Marcy suddenly snorted in amusement, which only made Anne more confused and worried.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry! I’m better now, I promise.” She nodded nonchalantly. “So, about the conversation with your parents, did they accept the Plantar family well?” The sudden change in topic made Anne a little hesitant, but she answered anyway.

“Not exactly well, but I managed to convince them that leaving the family that took care of Sasha for all this time in the hands of the government, who can dissect them and do cruel experiments on them, wasn’t a good idea.” Anne stretched, falling onto the bed next. “So, for now, we’re locked down. It could be worse, we can have some quarantine fun, Earth-style.”

“Ohhh, do you still have those games and consoles I gave you? There are some games I miss, and I think it would be fun to see the Plantars’ reaction to them!” Marcy looked ready to jump with excitement, before looking down at herself and sniffing her clothes, grimacing afterwards. “After a shower, of course.”

“Oh, please! I’m lucky Olivia drew me a bath at the castle whenever I asked, but I miss a shower and running water!” Anne jumped up, holding out her hand for Marcy to take and do the same. “Go ahead and take it first, I’ll make sure the Plantars are comfortable and not freaking my parents out for a while. Call me when you’re done.”

“Okay!”

Anne walked back out, down the stairs and watching the two families interact. Hop Pop seemed to be asking his father something, probably the rules of the place. Polly had somehow ended up disturbing Domino enough to be chased by her. Sprig was asking his mother several questions about Sasha, who seemed a little dizzy from the torrent of words coming out of his mouth.

Anne smiled, this is going to be fun.

“Alright guys!” Anne clapped her hands, getting everyone’s attention. “Let's have some Earth-style quarantine fun!”

***

It wasn't as much fun as she thought it would be.

It was pretty cool at first. Anne showed the Plantars around the house, laughing a little at how amazed they were before getting distracted by her things that she hadn't seen in months. Marcy asked her dad for some things to take care of her arm and her mom for help getting the tangled ends out of her hair, but she asked to keep her hair long. Anne and Hop Pop had to clean the bathroom that the Plantars had flooded while Marcy stopped Sprig from putting her cell phone in the microwave. The two of them stopped Polly from destroying the house while riding Domino like she was her steed of destruction. The four of them and their dad played some video games while their mom and Hop Pop warned them about not ruining their eyes. Marcy would sometimes stare into space for several minutes without reacting, as if in a trance while both of her eyes turned green, before she got up and acted like nothing had happened.

It was weird and kind of laborious, but things were still fun and cool.

And then... Things started to get suffocating.

The doors and windows were constantly closed, understandably. But her parents refused to even let her and Marcy look outside. When Marcy tripped while chasing Polly, her mother was already at her side with a first aid kit. When they were trying to find directions on how to get back to Amphibia, her mother appeared out of nowhere and almost saw what they were doing if Marcy wasn't quick to turn the page. One night, she was rudely woken up by Marcy, who had jumped out of bed when she felt someone other than Anne next to her. It was Anne's mother, looking at them both in surprise, with a hairbrush in her hand.

Marcy didn't complain, but it was obvious that she was a little uncomfortable with the whole thing. Anne was too, but she was trying not to react, she knew her parents were just worried because she had been missing for so long.

One day, however, Anne woke up and blindly reached for her toothpaste, only for her mother to startle her by appearing out of nowhere at her side, offering her toothbrush.

This was the final straw for Anne.

“Emergency family meeting! Major boundary violation!” Anne ran screaming down the hallway of the house, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Oh, thank the sacred stones… I was starting to lose my mind.” Marcy whispered as she rubbed her eyes and followed Anne.

“Family meeting? Should we come too?” Sprig asked, holding up a chewed lipstick. “Also, do you have any more of these candy bars?”

Ignoring the destruction of her makeup, Anne called for everyone to gather in the living room. Her parents and the Plantars sat on the couch while Marcy stood next to her, watching with some concern as Anne paced back and forth in front of everyone.

“Mom, Dad, I'm really happy to be home.” Anne began, still pacing. “I know it's a big deal I was gone for so long and I get that it's scary to think about losing me again. ” She turned and clasped her hands together, one of her eyes twitching with stress. “But I need a little bit of space or I'm gonna lose my mind. ”

“Not just you. I know I’m clumsy and I’m hurt, but you don’t have to treat me like glass and grab five first aid kits every time I’m around.” Marcy crossed her arms as she turned to Anne’s parents, looking both annoyed and worried. “You guys are being way too overprotective. It’s getting kind of suffocating in here.”

“Anne, Marcy, I think you're exaggerating. This is a big house. We all have plenty of space to breathe.” Her father said nonchalantly. The words were barely out of his mouth before Polly kicked him.

“Oh, sorry! Just practicing my jump kick.” She tried again, hitting her father again and losing her balance, making her fall back onto the couch. Her father was speechless for a moment, before turning back to the girls.

“...Okay, I'm listening.”

“We're tired of being shut up inside. Let us and the Plantars out. Just for an hour. I'll take care of them and we won't go far.” Anne pleaded, letting the Plantars come closer to her and hugged them, the little family making cute faces. Marcy blinked.

“Let us what now?”

“Absolutely not.” Her mother quickly cut her off, making Anne frown in frustration.

“Oh, c’mon. We can’t go out alone for an hour?”

“Last time you guys went out alone, you got trapped in another world for five months.” Her father replied, Marcy hummed in agreement.

“He has a point…”

“Marcy! You should be helping me out here!” Anne almost yelled at her friend, who shrugged helplessly.

“Sorry, but it’s true. Besides, I thought this meeting was about asking your parents to give us a little more privacy around the house, not essentially asking for a break from quarantine!” She replied, one eyebrow raised. Anne slapped her hand over her own face, a little frustrated.

“Okay, fair enough, but come on, Marcy! Don’t you miss the sun and the outdoors a little?” She asked, almost pleading.

Marcy was quiet for a few seconds, blinking a few times. Anne could have sworn her pupils shrank to slits for a moment, but they soon returned to normal, her left eye still a little greener than yesterday, as they were some days.

“... A little, yeah...”

“Look, your father and I have to go to the market. We'll talk later.” Her mother said as she stood up, starting to walk to the door. Seeing an opportunity, Anne quickly ran over and stopped right in front of the door.

“That's perfect! Let us come.” Her mother glared at her with that look that seemed both angry and disappointed. Anne raised her hands in an attempt to defuse the situation. “I know what you're gonna say: "We can't take the Plantars out in public". But the market's always empty except for a few old people.” Anne hugged the Plantars with a hopeful smile. “Plus, I'll make them disguises and take full responsibility for their safety.” The last sentence made her mother laugh in disbelief.

“You think you can take care of a whole family and Marcy at the same time?” She asked as she crossed her arms, Marcy approached her friend.

“I can help her, and I can take care of myself.” She replied, lightly tapping her fist on the side of her head. Her father raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

“No offense, girls, but Anne, you're the literal poster child for hating responsibility. Just look at what you drew as a kid.” Her father pointed to a drawing Anne had made when she was six that he had framed. A drawing of her screaming about how she hated responsibility. “And Marcy, you may not remember, but we won’t forget that you once managed to trip on thin air and fall down the stairs while you were going to the bathroom.”

Marcy’s expression was neutral for a second, her head tilting slightly. She looked up, looking thoughtful, before returning her gaze to Anne.

“That was a few days before we were transported to Amphibia, wasn’t it…?”

“Oh! You remembered! No, wait! Focus!” Anne quickly came out of the euphoria she felt when she noticed her friend recovering her memories to focus on the subject with her parents. “We’ve changed! I’ve taken care of an entire city with my own hands, probably even more! I can take care of the Plantars for a few hours, especially with Marcy’s help.”

“I can’t say anything about taking care of a city, but I survived the dangerous jungle of Amphibia by myself. Twice.” Marcy held up two fingers for emphasis. “And I’ve survived encounters with very dangerous giant creatures. Three times.” She held up a third finger, stared at her hand for a moment, before opening her hand wide. “Five if you count the Giant Beetle and Scorpoleo.” She gave a small smile as she pointed to herself. “Even if I end up messing up or getting into a bit of a sticky situation, I can handle myself now, believe me.”

“It wasn’t just them, Sasha changed a lot too.” Hop Pop walked over and leaned on her mother’s leg. “She was kind of selfish, but she grew up to be a fierce protector, a hero! Voted Frog of the Year by frogs who used to HATE HER!!!” He shouted the last part, startling the adults a little. “Were there bumps in the road? Sure. Did she almost destroyed the town once? Yeah. Did she almost get us eaten by a large creature numerous times? Also yes. Did she...” He trailed off, looking thoughtful. “What was I saying?”

“...The old one's got a point. ” Her father finally said, looking at the girls. Anne gently had her hand on top of Sprig’s hat, Marcy fixed Polly’s ribbon as Hop Pop walked over. “Ever since they got back, they has seemed... a little more mature.”

“Anne used to beg me not to take her to market.” The two adults were thoughtful for a moment before Anne’s father forced a cough.

“Okay, Marcy, Anne.” They both turned to Anne’s parents, who were smiling slightly, her father holding out his hand. “We're willing to give it a try.”

“But you stay with us at all times. And if anything goes wrong, it's back to lockdown.” Her mother finished, Anne quickly ran and hugged her parents.

“Thank you so much! I promise you won't regret it.” She shouted excitedly, quickly grabbing Sprig and Hop Pop by the arm and running upstairs, Marcy grabbed Polly and did the same.

This is going to be perfect, the Plantars will finally enjoy the Earth and everything it has to offer, and everything will be peaceful. After all, the bugs are tiny, the birds are small, and best of all, nothing will try to kill them!

***

In another world, a king was planning how to kill the two escaped wielders.

Andrias moved his arm, wincing slightly when it still hurt. The Holder of Strength really was worthy of her stone, destroying all the robots he had at that moment, ruining the throne room with cracks and holes everywhere, and even breaking his arm before her body finally succumbed to exhaustion. Honestly, and this Andrias would admit only to himself, he was truly scared of that girl and almost begged his master to get rid of her instead of healing her to try to use her in the future.

But what's done is done. And he could only go ahead with his master's plans.

“Our forces are growing, and soon we will be ready to invade.” He approached the box, stopping near the pillar. “Only two remain between me and my conquest.” He pressed a point on the box, making it glow. “Marcy Wu and Anne Boonchuy.”

Two holographic screens appeared on the king’s side. The first had an image of Anne, making the heroic posture with her sword raised, the same image that served as inspiration for creating her statue in the city. The second was a photo of the group when the castle took flight, focusing only on Marcy’s aggressive and fierce scowl at that moment. The king snapped his fingers and two robots descended from the ceiling.

These robots were different from the others that patrolled the castle with guards, those were Cloak Bots, robots specialized in stealth. They were a little taller, less robust, their arms made of a special alloy that stretched five times their height, ending with four giant claws on each hand. The metallic color was lighter, a shade between blue and green, and what looked like a permanent smile on the face. The only thing that was similar to the others were the glowing red eyes.

“The warrior Anne must be eliminated and the soldier Marcy must be brought here alive. Those are your objectives.” The king ordered, the robots seemed to laugh as they received the order and analyzed the energies of the stones in the box. “This mission requires the utmost discretion. We cannot allow the other world to know of the coming invasion. Make sure no Earthling sees you two.” One of the Cloak Bots changed its eyes to blue and the other to green.

“Energy signature acquired.” They both said, their eyes returning to the red they had before.

Andrias nodded to himself and used the key to open the portal. The girls’ city appeared and the two robots were ready to enter and fulfill their mission.

“And one more thing.” Andrias quickly said, getting the robots’ attention. “Would you mind bringing the new Love Choice movie? Anne introduced me to it and it’s such dramatic nonsense that I simply need to know how it ends. And maybe… Some of those… Genuine Thai Foods she told me about?”

“Eliminate… Genuine Thai Food?” One of the Cloak Bots asked in a somewhat lost tone, the other simply tilted his body slightly to the side in confusion, both with their eyes on the visor in question marks. Andrias seriously thought about how to put all his orders in a simpler way.

“… Okay, forget the food. Kill the Warrior, bring the Soldier, get the movie.” He simplified. With the orders clear again, the two robots entered the portal to continue their mission.

As they passed through the portal, the two Cloak Bots quickly scanned their surroundings, finding a spot where the signatures they had received were strongest. Satisfied with a promising start, they activated their invisibility mode, beginning their hunt for their targets.

In Amphibia, Andrias sighed, looking behind him with slight trepidation. There, near the throne, was a rejuvenation capsule, with the blonde human inside as she recovered from all the damage she had done with the stone's powers. He was supposed to take the human down to where his master was, and that way, his master would keep an eye on her to do what was necessary to use her.

Andrias took a hesitant step towards her.

The human's hand twitched.

Andrias turned around and left the room quickly.

He would have his robots do that later, when he was sure she was unconscious.

***

FREEDOM!!!

After being stuck in that house for so long, being outside is... Nice.

I never thought I would be so happy to leave the house without going to school or meeting our friends!

Marcy smiled slightly, both at the conversation of her other parts and at the conversation inside the car, watching the passage pass by the window of the Boonchuy family's car. Anne was discussing some plans with the Plantars about what they were going to do when they got there, while Mr. Boonchuy drove and Mrs. Boonchuy looked at them through the rearview mirror of the car. It was a little cramped inside the car, but it was a nice feeling to have, a family trip that this side of Marcy is sure she has never had before, and she was really excited about it.

Finally, they pulled into the parking lot, Anne and the Plantars screaming with excitement. The young side of Marcy was also screaming with excitement, and Marcy was preparing to unbuckle her seatbelts, when the car doors were quickly locked.

“Not so fast, you three.” Mr. Boonchuy turned to them and hesitated, probably just now remembering that Sasha wasn't here, but the Plantars.”...I mean, you five.”

“We stick together in there, understood?” Mrs. Boonchuy reminded them, her expression serious. Mr. Boonchuy nodded.

“And if anything goes wrong, it's back in the lockdown for all of you.” He added, and Anne quickly agreed.

“We got it. We got it. Now let's get shoppin'!”

Mr. Boonchuy released the car’s locks, and the two human girls and the frog family quickly ran to the market. The doors opened and they entered the cool of the market, finding several shelves of produce, stands selling fruits and other perishables, and a few people shopping with carts. It was honestly kind of strange for her to see other humans besides her friend and her parents.

“Wow! That thing looks like Frobo!” Sprig and Polly disguised as a tall person by that giant coat was quite an amusing sight for Marcy. He pointed to a computer used to pay for groceries. “Is that a robot too?”

“Kind of. It’s used to make automatic payments, like a robotic wallet.” Marcy replied with a small smile, Sprig seemed to have stars in his eyes.

“Cool. Oh, and is that a robot? ”

The girls looked to where he pointed, where a man working the cashier was almost stoically packing groceries and preparing them for pick-up.

“... Some would say so...” Was the hesitant answer from the black-haired girl.

“Sprig, not everything is a robot.” Was the other girl’s response, looking amused.

Sprig simply pointed to a toy robot that was on the shelf near them, a questioning look in his eyes. Marcy gave up trying to speak, even as her young side begged her to give the young frog a good explanation about robotics and AI. She watched the adults enter, Mr. Boonchuy desperately searching through his pockets.

“Oh no. I left the shopping list at home. Abort mission! Abort mission!!!” he nearly shouted, Mrs. Boonchuy looking worried.

“No worries.” Anne walked over and showed her phone. “I took a picture of the shopping list before we left. Just in case.”

“Oh...” Mrs. Boonchuy looked impressed. “Thank you Anne. That was... strangely responsible of you.”

Runaway cart coming.

Marcy looked to the side, seeing said cart being piloted by two small children towards them. She calmly pulled the Boonchuys out of the way, stepping aside and holding the cart as they were about to exit the store. The children whimpered in disappointment, but their mother came running over and scolded them before thanking Marcy and heading back inside. She looked to the side and saw the Boonchuys staring at her with wide eyes.

“Be careful. Accidents happen all the time.” Marcy grabbed a cart and started walking with Sprig and Polly, approaching Anne, who was laughing at Hop Pop’s grimace as he rubbed his face off the ground. She looked at the fruit next to him and smiled. “First time with durian?”

What’s a durian?

It’s a fruit that comes from the Malvaceae family! It’s very tasty, but it smells disgusting!

...Can we prove it?

Sure! Calamity?

Marcy decided to ask the Boonchuys if they could buy a durian before they left.

“Yep.” Anne laughed some more before helping Hop Pop up. “C’mon. Let’s get you something good.” She looked around and gasped in surprise. Marcy turned and saw a noodle shop next to them. Anne looked at her parents with a smile. “Mom, Dad, can I take the Plantars to try out some noodles?” Marcy pouted exaggeratedly. “And Marcy too.” Marcy smiled.

The Boonchuys grimaced slightly, looking suspicious and worried.

“We’ll keep the Plantars close to us and avoid the other customers as much as possible,” Marcy assured. Mr. Boonchuy looked a little suspicious.

And we’ll stay away from sharp or slippery objects. Preferably both at the same time.

“And I’ll avoid sharp or slippery things. Preferably both at the same time.”

“And I'll keep my phone in my hand in case you guys call.” Anne added. Mrs. Boonchuy raised her hand, a question on the tip of her tongue. “And I won't order iced coffee, even though I love it, because I know it makes me jittery and anxious.”

Anne’s parents looked at each other, surprised.

“…That does sound fair.” Mrs. Boonchuy replied, shrugging.

“Alright, you can go. But be careful.” Mr. Boonchuy warned, and the two human girls nodded eagerly.

“We will be! Thank you!” They looked to the side and saw the Plantars walking away, quickly taking action. Anne stopped Sprig from putting his hand on the crab’s claw and Marcy pulled Hop Pop back to the group while avoiding the freezer.

They went to the small shop and ordered four servings of everything but chili. The Plantars were praising the delicious ‘worms’ in the dish while Anne explained that noodles were ‘the heart and soul of Asian food’. Marcy laughed a little as she ate her dish, listening to her other parts chattering as well. Her inner soldier, especially, was very happy and pleased with the taste, with her young side explaining in detail how the noodles were made to her. Meanwhile, her inner beast…

Marcy frowned slightly, her other parts pausing their chatter as they noticed as well. Her inner beast was strangely still and silent, she wasn't much of a talker, but she usually spoke when she liked or disliked something, especially food. Was something wrong?

... Can't you feel it?

Feel it? Feel what?

This sense of anticipation... We're being hunted.

Marcy's grip on the bowl tightened, her body tensing slightly.

What?

... She's right. I hadn't noticed before, but now that I've paid attention... Can't you feel something strange in the air?

... The hairs on the back of my neck have been standing up for a while now.

Exactly. Something is observing us.

Something is close, and it's going to attack at any moment.

"KILLER ROBOT!!!" Sprig suddenly shouted, breaking Marcy out of her thoughts.

The group turned to where he pointed, only to find a shelf of bags being held by dolls. Marcy felt her young side relax a bit, but her inner soldier and beast were still tense as she continued to look around. Anne gave a small sigh of amusement.

“Sprig, for the last time, not everything is a...”

ANNE, WATCH OUT!

Marcy pushed Anne out of her chair, and something grabbed her instead of her friend.

Anne yelped in surprise, trying to stand up to help her, but was suddenly held upside down by something that was also invisible. The Plantars, surprised but reacting quickly, threw their bowls in the general direction of what was holding the girls and caused them to reveal themselves.

As Sprig had said, they were robots, more slender than Frobo was, with sharp claws on their hands instead of normal fingers. Their arms were longer and had a more frightening appearance in general than the robots they had seen before. The one holding Anne let go of her when it was attacked again by the last bowl and turned to the Plantars to fight back, while the one holding Marcy seemed almost to be laughing, its grip immobilizing her arms.

What the...?

These are killer robots?! Genuine killer robots?!?!

Use your legs to brace yourself against this thing's chest and jump back to free yourself!

Marcy squirmed, but managed to do as her inner soldier told her. The sudden momentum, plus Anne kicking behind it as it was released, was enough for the robot to lose its balance and release Marcy. She fell backwards and looked for something to defend herself, her hands and the fallen bowl before the robot righted itself and advanced, with her not having a second to react!

Marcy frowned, a serious expression suddenly appearing. She quickly dodged the blow and used the bowl on the robot's head, distracting it so she could approach Anne and the Plantars as they ran away, holding Sprig and Polly while her friend grabbed Hop Pop.

Oh, wow, jeez... Thanks, that was close.

Are you okay?

Yeah... I'm fine. I just got scared and couldn't think or react properly.

We need a weapon to defend ourselves!

"No need to tell me twice..." Marcy whispered to herself, leaving the frogs on the ground to run on their own while she looked around for something.

"Did you see that thing? It's a new kind of Frobo!" Polly exclaimed, still running faster than Marcy thought possible with such short legs.

“It's gotta be from Amphibia. But how did it get here? And what does it want?” Anne wondered, looking around as she tried to find the robots. Marcy swallowed hard, she didn’t want to think about it, but…

“Andrias must have sent them here to capture or eliminate us.” She saw Anne’s expression grow tense, almost desperate, and Marcy knew why. If Andrias managed to send robots to hunt them, that meant he had stabilized enough to send dangerous soldiers to another world. And if he was stable, it meant that Sasha…

She’s fine! She has to be! She just… Must have gotten tired of using those powers and was captured too!

Yes, Andrias can’t kill her now, not when she’s so connected to her stone. For all he knows, that would destroy the stone too.

Is that true?

No. But the uncertainty should be enough to make him hesitate.

“...She’s okay, she has to be...” Marcy heard Anne whisper before shaking her head as if trying to physically get the thought out of her mind. “We have to take this thing out before my parents notice anything's wrong-”

She stopped running, the squad bumping into her and stopping as well. They quickly realized why, as Anne’s parents were in front of them, holding a few things in their hands.

“Oh, hey guys. How were the noodles?” Anne’s father asked with a cheerful smile. Marcy swallowed, unsure how to react.

Just tell me you liked them!

“These were delicious!” Marcy’s voice sounded slightly higher in pitch from nervousness, but not enough to be suspicious.

“Yeah! So… good!” Anne added, her smile incredibly wide as she broke out in a cold sweat. “We were, uh…just taking the Plantars to help out with the shopping list.” The Plantars quickly nodded.

“Oh... that's so thoughtful. Can you also go get a mackerel from the seafood counter?” Anne’s mother asked, pointing behind her. Also behind her, they could see the two robots, invisible except for the leftover noodles on their heads and their glowing red eyes.

“Uh, yeah, sure! Let me just, uh, show them something I remembered!” With that, Marcy hurriedly pulled the Plantars and Anne to the opposite side, the squad quickly running away once they thought they were at a safe distance.

“Anne, Marcy, can’t you use your glowing powers like Sasha did?” Hop Pop asked, throwing a few punches in the air. “Take it down easy like?”

“Powers! Powers!” Polly started cheering excitedly.

Can Marcy do the same thing as Sasha?

Technically yes, but I doubt it’s to the same extent, or even use it now.

We can’t use our power? Why?

I’m not sure about our friends, but we have to be in sync to do that, and I almost froze in shock a minute ago!

Not just you... I also didn't know what to do and I had no reaction.

See? If you and Soldier weren’t so out of sync with us, we’d still be trapped by the robot!

And how do we get in sync?

If I knew, I’d be telling you already!

Calamity! Don’t be mean to Beast!

...I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Beast. It’s just...

“...I don’t think I can, not right now.” Marcy finally answered, looking down. “My mind needs to be in a specific focus, and I can’t focus on anything right now besides running away or fighting.”

“Yeah, I would if I knew how to use them. I'm not sure it's something I can just do whenever.” Was Anne’s response, looking down at her hands. Polly booed at the answers.

“So what do we do? Won't it draw a lot of attention if we fight a robot in the middle of a store?” Sprig asked, waving his arms for emphasis. Marcy looked up in thought.

“We need something to distract people. Something that will draw people’s attention so much that anything passing by them wouldn’t be so conspicuous.”

“In that case, I have a plan!” Anne quickly broke away from the squad, her steps determined as she ran in a specific direction. Marcy led the squad to a part of the store and looked around for weapons.

That's a lot of knives.

Is it safe for us to stay here?

Marcy looked at the knives for a bit, finally choosing a meat cleaver and a kitchen knife for barbecue. Hop Pop looked apprehensive as she studied the weapons.

"Uh, Marcy? Are you sure you..."

Deftly, Marcy twirled the knives in her fingers, throwing them up and catching the handles in the air with her hands on the opposite sides from where they were thrown without looking, waving to herself.

"... Never mind."

WOAH, HOW DID YOU DO THAT?

I'm a little jealous right now... I wish I had that motor coordination.

Do you think that's enough to pierce the iron creatures?

"It'll have to be enough..." Marcy muttered to herself. Suddenly, the store's speakers started playing loud music, distracting everyone from the place, Anne came running in with a proud expression.

“Okay, this will cover any noise we made!” She then looked at the knives in Marcy’s hand and blinked, pointing with some uncertainty. “Uh, Marcy? Are you sure…”

Without letting her finish the question, Marcy imitated the movement she had made before without looking.

“... Never mind.” Anne shook her head and turned to the Plantars and pulled them. “Now let’s go!”

“What?”

“Speak up!”

“This music makes me mad!”

Ignoring the Plantars’ complaints, the girls ran until they found the robots, who were still walking around invisible except for the noodles. Anne grabbed two bags of flour and threw them at them, revealing their upper bodies and making them deactivate their invisibility once and for all, their gazes looking more aggressive.

“Good thinking, Anne!” Sprig commented and turned to the robots. “Everyone, ATTACK!!!”

The squad advanced against the robots, who did the same against them. Anne grabbed a pan and started using it against one of them, with Polly helping with a rolling pin and Sprig trying to hold it back. The trio tried to hit the robot, which managed to dodge or block by rotating its upper body, several times trying to use its claws to hit the human, who managed to dodge in time and retaliate again.

The other one was confronted by Marcy and Hop Pop, who used a small broom as a weapon. Unlike the first one, this one seemed more focused on trying to hold Marcy than hitting her with its claws, something that Marcy blocked with her knives while Hop Pop tried to attack it from above, without much effect.

The two robots dodged another blow and seemed ready to advance again, but they heard footsteps nearby and hid in an empty part of the shelves. A lady was walking along with her stroller and stopped to look at the squad with a curious expression. Marcy noticed her squad pretending to be ignorant of the objects they had in their hands and quickly did the same, pretending to compare the knives.

“Hmm, that’s weird...” Anne whispered, Marcy looking at her from the corner of her eye. “Looks like the robot doesn't want to get caught either.”

“A secret or infiltration mission, then?” Marcy whispered to her friend, still pretending to observe the weapons. “Andrias probably doesn’t want anyone to know about Amphibia, after all. He wants to invade this world, and it would be kind of stupid to let the people you want to conquer know about your existence before you’re ready for war.”

In that case, it should be easy to lure the robots away from the people so we can fight or call a crowd so we can escape.

But if we run away now, they’ll show up when we’re most vulnerable, or go back to Andrias and make him advance the invasion! I think we better try to get rid of them soon.

Marcy looked around, her eyes falling on the room where only employees are allowed. The lady left at the same time, and the robots came out of their hiding places, ready for another round. Marcy quickly dropped the cleaver and grabbed Hop Pop, shielding him from a thrown sack, and pulling him along with Anne, Sprig, and Polly quickly following.

They stormed into the private room, which turned out to be a freezer, and quickly pulled everyone into a specific corner behind some boxes, motioning for them to be quiet. The place was quite cold, vaguely reminding her of the second temple, but she ignored the sensation in favor of focusing on her hearing. She heard the door open again and heavy footsteps echoing near them, letting out a small sigh as they walked right past them.

“I'm getting real tired of this guy. What are we going to do?” Anne asked Marcy, who frowned a little more.

“If they’re anything like Frobo, then they should be pretty tough. Frobo’s been in a volcano, and he could probably survive the ice if necessary, so short of blowing them up with a bomb or burying them in a collapsing building, I don’t know how to get rid of them.” Marcy scratched her chin as she thought. “Hop Pop, Sprig, Polly, any ideas?”

The answer was complete silence, the girls turned and watched the three frogs frozen in two large blocks of ice. The humans stared at the frozen frogs without any reaction, not knowing how to react.

Are... Are they alive?

It seems so, but I'm not sure.

That's the fastest hibernation I've ever seen.

"Oh, yeah, Priscilla said something about the people of Amphibia having some kind of instant hibernation..." Marcy commented, Anne shrugged slightly.

"Makes sense. Frogs. Body temperature. I'm sure I heard that in our last biology class."

***

The boxes where the human girls were hiding were suddenly thrown to opposite sides, and the two turned around in time to see the robots laughing behind them. One of them, the one that had already captured the black-haired girl before, took advantage of the surprise to capture Marcy again. Anne tried to fight back, but the second robot easily threw her to the other side of the freezer, looking ready to use its claws to crush the girl's head and complete its mission.

Even in its frozen state, the familiar Plantar noticed its surroundings and how things were for the girls. They couldn't let Anne and Marcy get hurt without doing anything, not only because they were friends with their granddaughter/older sister, but also because they were considered family by them as well. They used all their determination and strength to try to move and help the girls, but they only managed to move the ice blocks enough to slide and lightly hit the robots' legs. It was enough to get the robots' attention, however.

The one holding Marcy seemed to frown, but simply turned its back on the frog family. It didn't care about them, the frogs were native to Amphibia and therefore it didn't hinder its mission whether it was seen by them or not, it would just ignore them and do as it was told.

Its partner had other plans, however, and prepared its laser gun to use against the frogs. It didn't care if it wasn't part of the mission, they were protecting their targets, getting in the way of the duty they were given, and therefore, they would be eliminated without a second thought. The humans' eyes widened when they saw the gun pointed at the Plantars.

"NO!" Anne reached out, fear coursing through her body as the realization hit her. She wouldn't be able to do anything against it, she was barely capable of hitting those robots.

They would kill the Plantars, and they would probably do the same thing to her and Marcy. Her parents would be devastated when they found their bodies and would blame themselves for it. Sasha would still be a prisoner and would probably be executed for having faced Andrias like that. Earth would be invaded and probably many other worlds, all because of her and her inability to see through the king's manipulations or protect her friends.

Her friends... Priscilla and Pearl, who had decided to go on a risky mission with her simply because Anne said she was a little scared to meet her friends again after Andrias' promises. Yunan, who despite having distrusted Anne at first, quickly warmed up to her and taught her everything she now knew about swordsmanship. Olivia, who had taken care of Anne since she arrived, was practically a second mother to her in that other world. Hop Pop, who had been so kind to let them stay at his house during the search for the temples and who seemed so impressed with Earth's plants. Polly, who despite being a chaotic gremlin, was incredibly brave and intelligent, and loved to play pranks on Anne and her family. Sprig, who wanted to learn more about the world his older sister came from, his excess energy getting him into a lot of trouble, but which always ended with everyone laughing in the end.

Marcy, one of her best friends, who wanted to be with them so much that she ended up locking them up and paying the price for it. Who now wants nothing more than to fix things and become a better friend to them. Sasha, her other best friend, who even after everything that had happened and what Anne tried to do, still did everything to protect her and even decided to stay in that world alone against Andrias to give them a chance to escape.

Those furious pink eyes softening for the first time as she watched her family and friends being transported to safety flashed through Anne's mind. Sasha had already sacrificed so much for them...

(Within her being, something resonated. A power, its emergence as old as a universe, its birth as old as an era, sparked like lightning.

It was not as powerful as it might be due to the distance, much less as powerful as it truly is due to mortal limitations, but it still made her chosen one's heart beat furiously with the energy it emanated. Enough to make the human see red.)

... She could not let her sacrifice be in vain.

(No... Not red.

Blue.)

Anne's eyes glowed blue, sparks shooting from her eyes as she growled, her clenched fist emanating energy.

An antenna signaled the robots of one of the energies they had analyzed exploding near them. They turned to find the brunette human standing up, eyes and fist emanating blue energy in a form similar to lightning bolts. Marcy's eyes widened at the sight of her friend.

“If you think I'm just gonna sit here while you hurt my friends...” She growled, her voice taking on a second, deeper, older tone. “You've got another thing coming!”

Faster than the robots could react, Anne almost seemed to teleport to the robot holding Marcy. She punched it while roaring, her energy-filled fist easily destroying the left side of the robot's chest, creating a small crack in the core as it made it drop its friend in shock. The robot fell and released a few sparks, error screens and malfunctions appearing for it as it desperately tried to regain its composure. Anne growled at the second robot, which had switched its laser sight to the human as it took a step back.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Marcy closed her eyes, trying to focus, trying to harmonize. All parts of her being needed to be in sync, she could do it, they just needed to think of something they all wanted.

I want to help Anne.

I want to protect our pack.

I want to keep our squad from getting hurt.

I want to take care of our friends.

I...

I...

I...

I...

We want to keep our friends safe!!!

(Unconscious, for a being almost as divine as a guardian, but with no memories other than her mortal life, a voice whispered from the gate she was connected to.

How much do you need, the gate asked with a white glow.

Just the enough, was the being's unconscious answer.

The gate changed its glow, and a green light flooded the senses of the body the being inhabited.)

Marcy opened her eyes, an intense green light coming out of them, the green aura being transferred from her hand to the blade she held as she prepared her weapon. She transferred a single thought to her friend, at the same time that the robot Anne was facing received a warning again of its targets' energy increasing drastically.

'Duck.'

Anne didn't hesitate, ducking as Marcy made a diagonal cut in the air. A beam of green energy emerged from the cut, harmlessly passing over Anne and shooting at high speeds towards the robot, which could only do so much as try to jump to the side. It was enough to not be completely destroyed, but the blow still hit its arm with a laser, easily cutting the arm off while also destroying the wall behind the robot, creating a large opening in the freezer.

The fallen robot, finally managing to recover, took advantage of the opening to escape, trying to become invisible along the way, but failing every now and then due to the sparks and errors it still received. The other robot, which now no longer had its right arm, did the same thing, with more success with its invisibility than its partner, both deciding that it was too risky to continue the fight, destroying a few cars with their weight during the escape.

Marcy continued to watch the robots run, finally sighing in relief when their movement on the horizon stopped. The small synchronicity she had with her parts was still there, but she could feel it slowly fading until she was once again four in one being. A small conversation arose and the thoughts of her calamity side took over her body again, she shook her head slightly to try to regain focus.

“Well, that just happened.” She commented, turning to her friend with a small smile.

Anne’s eyes also stopped glowing, returning to the dark blue she now had. Unlike Marcy, however, Anne almost fell from where she was, looking incredibly tired all of a sudden. Marcy quickly supported her and helped her stand up, a worried expression appearing on her face.

“Anne?! Anne, are you okay?” Anne didn’t respond, her eyes closing until she was completely limp in her friend’s arms.

Marcy quickly placed two fingers on her neck, sighing in relief when she still felt the strong pulse of her friend’s heartbeat. She decided to leave the freezer and place Anne against the refrigerator near the door, quickly returning only to take the Plantars out as well. She also took the opportunity to grab the fish that Mrs. Boonchuy had ordered, which was next to the Plantars.

As soon as she left, she went back to check on her friend, the Plantars quickly managing to get out of the ice blocks they were on to also approach, all worried about her sudden fainting.

“Is she okay?” Polly asked, looking a little distressed. Hop Pop put his hand on Anne’s forehead, as if checking something.

“She's OK. I think using those powers takes a lot out of her.” He replied, turning to the other human. “What about you, Marcy? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, maybe a little dizzy, but nothing too bad.” She turned her gaze to her friend. “...Nothing like that.”

But why? Why weren’t we affected like she was?

Well, technically, we’ve been using these powers since we arrived in Amphibia, right? That... Green Light... It appeared whenever I was about to pass out. It must have been our powers forcing a switch there.

Now that you mention it... I remember seeing it whenever I blacked out and regained consciousness somewhere else. And my memories of the Tower are always with flashes of green light.

We’ve been using them for a long time unconsciously. Our bodies must be more used to it than Anne’s.

“Well, we gotta do something. If her parents see her like this..." Polly's comment made Sprig think for a moment, before snapping his fingers as an idea struck him.

“I have an idea! I’ll be right back!” He gave Polly a gentle nudge and she ran to where he was showing her.

Marcy supported Anne on her uninjured arm, gently stroking her face with her other hand and lightly tapping her forehead against hers as her eyes glowed faintly green with the sadness and concern shared by her other parts. Hop had a similar expression, albeit with an extra hint of curiosity. Sasha had done something similar when she saw Marcy lying in her bed when they returned to Wartwood, recovering from the injuries she had received in the wild and, shortly after, from the heron that had attacked the town. Now he was sure that the pink glow in her eyes wasn’t his imagination or something humans naturally have, it was probably her powers resonating with her emotions.

Sprig quickly returned with his plan, one of the Durian halves in his hands. The strong, almost rotten smell made Marcy and Hop Pop instantly hold their breath as they turned their faces slightly away from the fruit. He placed the fruit close to Anne's face and her reaction was instantaneous.

“AHHH, NO! GET IT AWAY!!!” She screamed, opening her eyes and pushing the stinky fruit away from her face desperately. She blinked a few more times, as if trying to reorient herself. “... Marcy? Hop Pop?”

The Plantars and the ravenette human smiled, quickly hugging the other human girl. The five of them hugged for a moment before they heard a voice calling them.

“Oh hey. There you are guys are.” Anne’s parents appeared, with a few small shopping baskets in their hands. Brian Boonchuy smiled at the group. “How was your supermarket journey?”

“It was great.” Anne stood up, ignoring the exhaustion in her body to appear presentable to her parents. “Walking around a boring old supermarket was just the thrill we needed...”

“Yeah, I feel refreshed.” Marcy contributed, remembering what she had taken from the freezer and picking it up from the floor. “Here you go, this is the fish you asked, isn’t it?”

“Oh... thanks, Marcy. Glad you had fun.” On Boonchuy smiled softly.

“And… We're sorry for being so overprotective earlier.” Brian looked away for a moment before turning back to the girls. “Not only can you take care of yourself but it looked like you can even take care of your friends.” On nodded.

“Yes. We are actually very impressed.”

“Awww thanks, but you don't have you apologize. You were just doing everything you could to keep me safe and... ” Anne looked at her friend and then at the Plantars with a smile. “…I get it.”

Marcy and the Plantars smiled back, the black-haired human gently patting her friend’s arm, who simply intertwined their hands. Anne ignored the slight jump her chest gave and Marcy, as much as she wanted to tease, also ignored the fact that she could feel her inner soldier blushing red.

“Yeah well... Some kid made a mess at the cooking aisle and we're just lucky to have a daughter who would never do something like that.” Brian suddenly commented as he laughed with his wife, not noticing how the girls and the frog family suddenly tensed up. They gave a few awkward laughs, nudging the Plantars lightly when they started to overdo it. “Well, let’s finish shopping. Do you want anything?”

“Oh, yeah!” Marcy quickly grabbed the half of the Durian Sprig had grabbed, holding it away from her face as she showed it to the Boonchuys. “Can we buy it? I forgot what the flavor is and I really want to try it, if possible.”

Anne’s parents seemed a little hesitant, less about the price and more about having to carry that stench all the way home in the car, but they agreed. Marcy heard her inner soldier mumble a thank you as they all went to the cashier to pay for their groceries.

Finally, after what seemed like a long day, everyone was heading to the car, ready to head home. Anne still had a few wobbly steps every now and then, but she did her best not to let her parents or friends notice.

“Anne, are you sure you're OK? You didn't look too good back there.” Hop Pop still asked anyway. Anne looked away, looking at her hands, conflicting feelings running through her mind.

“Yeah… I don’t think I should use the Blue Spark  if I can help it. I don’t know why, but using them feels… Weird.”

“Blue Spark? No, forget about it.” Marcy shook her head in emphasis, turning to her friend with an arched eyebrow. “What do you mean, ‘feels weird’?”

“I’m not sure…” Anne looked up, trying to think of how exactly to explain these feelings. “It feels wrong, bad, like I’m trying to eat something I know I’m allergic to and I know it will kill me if I do. At the same time, though, it feels… Right, having this, a strange sense of familiarity. Like this power is some kind of childhood toy I’ve lost and finally managed to get back.” She turned to her friend. “These are such contradictory feelings that… It feels weird, you know?”

... Like, what do I feel about my memories on Earth?

Or what do I feel when I remember my parents?

Or what do I feel when I survive in the forests of Amphibia?

Or, Marcy thought to herself, what she feels every time she faces the stone gates that her calamity side is connected to.

“...A little, yeah.”

“Well, we won't make you use them again.” Sprig commented, somewhat worried.

“Plus, you're sort of taking on a lot already.” It was Polly’s turn to comment. Anne tilted her head in confusion.

“What are you talking about? All I have to do is protect you guys and keep you a secret. Oh! And find a way to reopen a portal to Amphibia and return you home. And somehow defeat King Andrias. And make amends with my friends. And…” Before Anne could continue her spiral, Marcy gently silenced her with a finger.

“Anne, we understand. We have a lot to do. But don’t worry.” Marcy winked as she snapped her fingers. “You’re not alone in this, I’ll help you, and the Plantars will help us, and we’ll help them. We help each other, that’s what friends do, right?”

“… Yeah… Yeah, you’re right.” They stopped beside the car, Anne trying but failing to move her arms to open the door. “Can someone please open this door for me? I'm trying to move my arms and nothing's happening.” Hop Pop opened the door and everyone started to get in.

“Hey, anyone else craving those noodles?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yep. Turns out this world ain't half bad.” Polly replied with an almost smug smile.

“Yeah. As long as that robot never comes back, I think everything's gonna be fine.” Sprig commented, thankfully before Anne’s parents got in the car to hear. Anne frowned and Marcy shivered.

“… He just raised a red flag, didn’t he?”

“Yep. Expect a reunion with those two soon.”

***

Far from where the two humans were meeting with the Boonchuy and Plantar families, two robots were repairing themselves on top of a building as the rain fell.

The armless robot was repairing its body while searching for a replacement for the missing limb. Every now and then, the image of its targets and what they had done to it and its partner would appear on its visor. Its systems sparked as it analyzed what upgrades could be made to better succeed in its mission, a strange sensation like molten iron coursing through its systems. A desire to make its targets suffer as it prepared to accomplish its mission.

Unbeknownst to it, it was experiencing anger and frustration for the first time.

“Upgrades and repairs in progress. Target will be destroyed. At all costs.”

By its side, the other robot was also making repairs and improvements to its equipment, but at a much slower pace, almost as if it were being forced. It needed to be fixed, it needed to be better in order to fulfill its mission perfectly.

And yet... Every now and then, the image of its target with blue powers would appear in its vision, moving so fast that it could do nothing but receive the attack. The image of its target with green powers easily cutting off its partner's arm and destroying the wall behind its. The image of both targets, eyes glowing with power, staring at its as it fled.

The robot's body always shook and sparked more when the images appeared, a desire to ignore its orders and return to Amphibia appearing, but it always ignored it. It needed to fulfill its mission, no matter how much its systems wanted to stay away from its targets.

Unbeknownst to it, unlike its partner, it was experiencing fear and terror for the first time.

Neither of them knew how much these feelings, so different from each other, would completely change the endings they would receive in the future.

Chapter Text

The moment the blonde who should have been dead rose again with her hair on fire, Grime knew he was very lucky that their encounters had only ended with his defeat, not with his life.

The girl, Sasha if he remembered correctly, created a barrier of fire for her friends and advanced against the king and his army. Meanwhile, the brunette, Anne, went to a nearby window and whistled, which made a bird approach the castle and fly around.

"Quick, jump out of the window and land on Joe! He'll take you to safety!" She ordered, her eyes still releasing faint blue sparks, which grew brighter and more powerful. The two red newts nodded, the general affectionately stroking the human's hair before jumping.

Grime followed them and hesitated for a moment, looking back. Marcy was still sitting behind the fire barrier, green flames on her arm broken by that giant blue bastard. The toad hoped the blonde would make him suffer as much as he had made his Strategist suffer.

Former Strategist, Grime had to remind himself. She was no longer his soldier or prisoner, she was free, free from him.

Marcy turned to him, eyes half wet still glowing green, maybe something human. She seemed about to say something, when the portal began to spark and change size, making her turn to the portal with wide eyes.

“S-Sasha, Anne! The portal! We need to go now!” She screamed as she stood up, the green and pink flames dying out and causing the robots that hadn’t been destroyed by her furious friend to start surrounding them.

Grime tried to step forward to help, but some robots also started coming towards him. He growled in frustration, taking one last look at the human before jumping out of the window, landing on the bird the warrior had called.

“Oh, great, you’re here…” The scarred newt complained, making him growl once more. “Argh, never mind! Now we just need to wait for the Plantars and…”

“SASHA!!!”

A scream from the two human voices echoed, as well as a bright glow emerging from inside the castle. Joe seemed to get scared and flew a little higher, to the amphibians' surprise, he flew close enough to the window for them to realize that the frogs, the warrior and his... Former Strategist were gone, only the girl with fire powers remained, who was kneeling and coughing.

"We have to help her!" The scarred newt screamed, the general looked at the room still full of robots and then at the robots that were quickly approaching.

"... Joe, go where Anne sent you." She ordered, and the bird quickly began to move away, to the first newt's surprise.

“WHAT?! What about Sasha?! What about my daughter?! We can’t leave them here!”

“There’s nothing we can do for the human, and Andrias doesn’t seem to have any interest in Newtopia right now, so your daughter should be safe for a while. If we try to attack without a plan, the chances of us being captured are high.” The general replied in a professional tone, but her hands were tightly gripping the bird’s feathers. “What we can do is retreat and plan a way to help everyone.”

The scarred newt looked frustrated, but said nothing, just stared at Newtopia with concern and fear. Grime looked down, seeing some of the robots capturing his army, and then at the green blade that was still at his waist.

He… said nothing on their journey to wherever the bird was taking them.

Neither of them noticed that one of Andrias’ robots had noticed them fleeing and started following them.

***

In Wartwood, things had been a bit chaotic since last night.

First, they felt a slight tremor in the ground in the late afternoon, which in itself was not strange, it could have been some dangerous predator nearby. But then, they saw the Newtopia palace begin to fly on the horizon, and a blue light came out of the top and seemed to explode something even further on the horizon, they could only see a small mushroom-shaped explosion behind the mountains. Finally, the entire palace seemed to light up with a white glow for a brief moment, and then it remained still in the sky.

Everyone was confused and scared, especially when they woke up the next morning and saw that the palace was still flying in the sky, which proved that it had not been some mass hallucination of the city. And it only got worse when they saw Anne's bird land in the middle of the square, carrying Priscilla, an armored newt and a toad that was familiar to everyone there.

Ivy and Maddie frowned at the toad's appearance.

"What in the frog is going on?!" Mrs. Croaker asked, approaching the bird.

"Why are you here?" Stumpy asked.

"Is it just me or is the palace flying?" Loggle pointed to the palace that was slightly blocking the sun from where they were.

" Where are the Plantars? Where's Sasha?" Felicia waved her hands in concern.

"Where's Sprig?" Ivy demanded, crossing her arms.

Yunan and Priscilla looked at each other and then stared at Grime for a moment, who simply looked away, and then the general took a step forward.

“Citizens of Wartwood! My name is General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army!” She began, striking dramatic poses with each title she said, which made the people simply blink without reacting. She quickly composed herself when she finished her introduction. “And you are here because we have terrible news!”

“The king is, in fact, a world-conquering tyrant with tremendous power, and he is planning to invade Anne and her friends’ world to continue his spiral of insanity for power.” Priscilla summarized, which made Yunan look at her with slight disapproval; she wanted to be the one to deliver the news after all. The people of Wartwood gasped in shock.

“Well, I never voted for him.” Mrs. Croaker commented with a snort, she never liked the monarchy.

“Anne, Marcy, and the Plantars ended up going to the girls world while Sasha stayed to fight the king personally, in an attempt to defeat him or at least delay him. Since the king has an army of machines, we couldn’t do anything to help her or bring her with us, unfortunately.” Priscilla continued her explanation, and again the people of Wartwood were shocked, some even gaining tears in their eyes when they heard what Sasha was doing.

“Always being a hero, aren’t you Sasha…?” Ivy whispered to herself, clenching her hands into fists in frustration. Maddie awkwardly patted her back.

“We are planning a rescue mission for her and the people of Newtopia, but we need a place to plan how we will do it. That is why we came here.” Yunan took the lead, placing a hand on her chest. “But fear not, citizens! While we are here, we will make sure that nothing bad happens to you! You are the people who took care of my apprentice’s friend, and therefore, you are under my protection!”

The people of Wartwood applauded excitedly, and Yunan bowed at the attention, causing Priscilla to roll her eyes a little. Ivy still hadn’t taken her eyes off Grime, however.

“What about him?” Ivy’s question silenced everyone, she pointed aggressively at the toad. “What is HE doing here? What have you done this time?!” The people of Wartwood began to grimace and complain about the toad as well, Yunan frowned.

“Yes, about that, he...”

“He came to visit Marcy before she went back to her world.” Priscilla quickly interrupted. Yunan and Grime turned to Priscilla in surprise, but Priscilla continued with her lie. “It seems he knew she was going home, and decided to come to Newtopia to say goodbye to her and ended up getting involved in this whole situation.”

Ivy lowered her arm a little, still irritated, but now a little more confused. Maddie narrowed her eyes as she looked at the toad.

“...Was it you she sent the message to?” She asked, catching everyone’s attention. “The night before they left, before the Battle of the Bands, I saw Marcy through the window with a bat. She seemed thoughtful and writing something before sending the bat away. I heard bats are the common means of communication for toads, so was she sending a message to you?”

“Er… yes.” Grime coughed, composing himself. “She told me she would finally be able to return home, so she asked us to meet in Newtopia. One last fight to get over all the bad blood we have for each other and say goodbye on good terms, toad style, so I went there to do just that. The revelation of the king’s true nature was as shocking to me as it is to you.”

The people of Wartwood still seemed suspicious, but they weren’t as aggressive as before. Yunan still seemed confused by Priscilla’s attitude, but she didn’t comment on it either, while the scarred newt glanced at Grime.

“Well, now that we’re out of the castle, I have no idea what he’s going to do. But I believe that, at the very least, he won’t be an enemy.”

“Of course not!” Grime crossed his arms and puffed out his chest a little. “I’ll only stay until I hear from one of the remaining towers that they’re fine, after that, I’ll head over to them and plan an attack on the king.”

“As long as your rebellion doesn’t get in the way of our resistance, so be it.” With that, Priscilla gently pulled Joe toward the Plantars’ house. Yunan glared at him for a moment longer, but soon followed the other newt.

He looked to the side, the town frogs were still giving him dirty looks, but they started to move away to do other things. Ivy was still glaring at him, and Maddie noticed something that made her frown a little, but she pulled her friend away from the toad. Grime huffed and walked in the general direction the newts had gone.

It didn't take long to see a house with two barns nearby, Yunan closing the door to the house as soon as she entered. Knowing he wasn't welcome, Grime settled for sleeping in one of the barns, choosing the one furthest from the city. He entered the door and stopped when he heard a growl.

A weasel, almost his size, with dark fur and red eyes, was inside there growling at him. Grime took a step back and readied his hammer, he had no idea where this animal came from, but he wasn't going to fall into this creature's paws.

"STOP!!!"

Grime and the weasel stopped, turning to face the outside, Maddie was there along with another weasel, looking as big as the one in the barn and gray in color with pink eyes. She petted the weasel next to her and ran to the one in the barn, reaching out her hand to sniff it before petting the animal as well.

“It’s okay, Rex, don’t worry.” She whispered in the animal’s ear, and Rex began to calm down, still staring at Grime. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, looking for a place to sleep? Obviously no one wants me to stay here, so I’m looking for a place to stay until I get some news.” He put the hammer back on his back, narrowing his eyes as the other weasel walked past him and stood next to the frog. “What are these creatures doing here?”

“They’re Sasha’s weasels, she’s been taking care of them since they were babies, their mother should be back from hunting soon.” She then frowned and looked directly at the blade on the toad’s waist. “Why do you have Marcy’s dagger?”

The question made Grime blink in surprise.

“What?”

“That’s Marcy’s dagger.” She pointed to the greenish blade. “It’s easy enough to recognize, she used it all the time, sometimes even inside the house. It’s obviously something precious to her.” She clenched her hands into fists, trying to control her temper. “So… why do you have Marcy’s dagger?”

Grime opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. What could he say in this situation? What SHOULD he say? He didn’t know. He looked at the blade and made to pick it up, but his hand hesitated a few inches from the hilt, retreating back to its previous position.

Neither of them said anything, but the frog seemed more thoughtful than irritated by the lack of response; the way he acted implied an answer, after all. After a moment, Maddie sighed and started walking out of the barn.

“... If you want to sleep here, stay close to Blueberry. She’s the gray one.” She said, turning to Grime. “She also really likes Marcy, and you probably still have a bit of her scent on you.”

With that, she left. Grime watched her back for a moment, before feeling something poke at his waist, Blueberry sniffing curiously at the green blade before letting out a small grunt, looking disappointed. Grime cautiously placed isr hand on the animal’s head, which it accepted without complaint.

***

Grime woke up the next day, some time after the orange mother weasel with red eyes and a small brown one with pink eyes returned to the barn. He looked over, seeing that Blueberry was still lying next to him, and gave her a light pat on the head.

He finally got up, determined to find something to eat. The toad left the barn and walked down a dirt road that looked relatively smooth by the standards of such roads. He was mildly impressed when he looked over and saw something carved into one of the fences.

Marcy Wuz Here.

He remembered this marking; Marcy had done something similar to every structure she had fixed during their travels. Grime had asked her about it once, after she had fixed a wagon to make the journey to the North Tower smoother, and she had simply shrugged, saying it was familiar and comfortable to her.

Grime walked over and touched the marking for a moment. She had come to this town on a mission to distract her friend; it made sense to him that she would decide to fix things while she was here. He just hadn't thought of it when he first arrived. What else had she done in this decaying town? Grime didn't know, but he was sure his Strategist had done something incredible there.

Former Strategist.

Grime shook his head, trying to focus on the reason he had left the barn. Food. He was looking for food. He shouldn't worry about what Marcy might have done in the town, or how she was doing in the other world, or if she had managed to heal her arm or...

He growled to himself and slapped his hand to his cheek, food! Find it! Food!

A soft flutter of wings reached his ears, and he turned to see a bat coming towards him. He reached out and let it hang, petting its head before taking the paper in his mouth. Judging by the size of the paper, it was an official message and not a note like he and Marcy had exchanged on her mission.

It was from Beatrix, a simple message that she had weapons, soldiers, and fortifications. A clear invitation for him to join if he wanted. It was good to know that she hadn't been captured like Bufo had been, or killed like Aldo probably had been. He could go there and start gathering the army that had been taken to begin an aggressive push against Andrias. The king was a much bigger threat to worry about than trying to rule all of Amphibia, and he still wanted the king to pay for what he did to...

The sound of confrontation caught his attention, he quickly released the bat and ran to where he had heard it. In front of the Plantars' house, Yunan and Priscilla were fighting one of Andrias' robots, which was trying to fire its lasers at them. Priscilla dodged and drew the robot's attention enough for Yunan to get close and cut off its legs, making it fall, and Grime took the opportunity to crush the robot's head.

"Signal reinforcements." The robot, however, was fast enough to send a signal for reinforcement before being completely destroyed. The warriors looked at the remains of the robot before looking at each other.

"Dang thing was calling for help. There's probably a whole army of them on their way now. We have to get out of this place." Grime said, Yunan snorted sarcastically.

"And run any further than we did? No, General Yunan doesn't run away from a challenge unless it's impossible!" She retracted the blades of her gauntlets. "We'll stay and take care of this town while we plan to rescue the people of Newtopia."

“These bumpkins will only slow us down, this place is done for! We need to join our forces and make plans for the coming war.”

“No, YOU need to prepare for the war you so desired in your attempted regicide. You can leave whenever you want, but I will stay. A general’s duty is to the people, not their monarch.” Yunan looked down with a dejected expression. “This is the town my apprentice’s friend cares so much about, and by now, she’s probably already been captured by the king and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.” She raised her face again with flames in her eyes as she put her arms behind her back “The least I can do is make sure that what she cares about still exists when we manage to help her.”

With that said, Yunan turned towards the town gate, mentally preparing herself to face an army of robots alone if necessary. She had seen how happy Anne was when she met her friend again, even more so when Sasha sent a message that she had met the other girl again, even though Yunan was a little suspicious of her after their first meeting.

It was obvious that the girls meant a lot to Anne, and Yunan still felt guilty for not doing anything for the blonde with fire powers, even though she knew her help would be useless. So, if this decrepit little town and its citizens were as important to Sasha as Anne said they were, then Yunan would protect them and Newtopia until her last breath.

Priscilla looked at Yunan's back, she planned to team up with another newt, she just needed to finish a few things on the farm before following her, the little frog family had taught her a few tricks and she wanted to see how effective it would be. Pearl would probably love to see that. Priscilla's chest tightened, wondering how her daughter was, she hoped that she and the friend she asked to look after her daughter were okay.

She looked to the side, seeing Grime looking down with a frown. A paper was on his waist, on the other side of the blade, and that made her raise an eyebrow.

“I see the towers have made contact with you, so you’ll be leaving soon, right?” He turned to face her with a frown, but didn’t say anything. She shrugged and turned back to the farm. “Well, whatever. Just don’t get in our way and we’ll be fine.”

“Wait.” She stopped and glanced at the toad. “…Why?”

“Why?”

“Why did you lie about me to the frogs? Why didn’t you say anything about my attempted rise to power?”

Priscilla looked up a little as she thought, she could have said something, right? She had every reason to say something, from petty to righteous, and she knew how tough this town could be when it wanted to be. She could have told the truth and the town would have kicked the toad out and he would have been left to fend for himself in the wild, if the town hadn’t tried to destroy him with their own hands, of course.

And yet... The black-haired human's words from that afternoon still echoed in her head.

“... You know, when I first met Marcy, I instantly recognized her look. It was the same look that some of my friends who worked as guards had, so I knew she had seen some not-so-nice things.” She began, raising her gaze. “I asked her about it at one point, and she explained that she had been in a squad before, serving under a captain.” She gave a wry smile as she looked at the toad. “I think she spent about ten minutes just telling me how horrible he was. Extremely demanding to the point of being kind of sadistic, complained about everything the squad did and almost always discussed with her every plan she made.”

Grime frowned and looked down, feeling a little guilty.

“I praised her ability to put up with all this for so long, and said I was glad she had managed to get rid of him...” Priscilla took a step toward Grime, who turned to her. “...And do you know what she said?”

“Yes... But I know that if he was in trouble or in difficulty, I would still try to help him however I could.”

Priscilla turned to her with wide eyes. The human simply hugged her knees tighter, refusing to look at the newt beside her.

“Wh... What?” Priscilla couldn’t believe what she had heard. “But you just said how horrible that captain was. Why would you do that?”

Marcy gave a dry, almost mocking laugh.

“Strange, isn’t it? Going back to help someone you seem to hate so much...” Marcy sighed, closing her eyes. “I guess the worst part is that there’s a part of me that still thinks I’m crazy, that I’m just imagining things and should just abandon any mention of caring for him. And yet...”

She looked up with a lost expression, almost as if she expected an answer from the sky.

“... He’s trying to be better.”

Priscilla blinked, confused. Marcy looked down at her hands again, clenching and unclenching them as she spoke.

“When he regained his will, the first thing he did was train me. He said he couldn’t let his right arm become weak and unable to defend itself. When he saw the state of my blade, he got me a sharpening stone specifically for the type of blade and taught me how to take care of my weapons. He was the one who bought me the glasses I wear, taught me several things about his culture and even...” She blushed a little as she finished speaking. “... He even played a song for me when I couldn’t sleep while we were traveling.” She closed her eyes and hugged herself again. “And it wasn’t just me, he also tried to be nice to the other two soldiers in the squad. He constantly complained about them, but he took several painting items and jester hats with horns because he knew it would make them happy.”

The more Marcy spoke, the more the newt's expression matched the human's, and she also began to feel contradictory feelings about everything she said. If this was an attempt at emotional manipulation, it was working; if it wasn't, it only made this guy's actions more confusing.

“He's trying, I know that. That's why, even with all his flaws... I know that if he needed me, I would try to help him.” Marcy had a dejected expression, but a gleam of determination in her eyes when she turned to Priscilla. “I've seen and survived the worst version of him, and now that he's trying to be his best version... I can't help but stand by his side and root for him.”

“… Marcy… Said that?”

Grime was stunned, incredulous at what he had heard. He had, in fact, tried to be nicer to his squad, but it was simply because they had decided to stay by his side even after everyone else had abandoned him.

So if Percy wanted to do more tricks with instruments, so be it, Grime would get him more. If Braddock liked tending flowers and had an interest in farms, then they would stay longer than necessary in some agricultural towns. If Marcy was curious about books and how this world worked, Grime would give her everything she needed. If any creature appeared during their travels, he would order his squad to stay behind him or to be careful in the fight when he saw an opportunity for training. It was just common sense, to look after and protect those who wouldn’t let him, right?

… Right?

“Yes, crazy, isn’t it? But from the way you treated her in the throne room, I think I understand a little better what she meant.” Priscilla shrugged, looking down. “I guess that’s why I didn’t say anything, maybe something in me is rooting like Marcy is rooting for you.” She turned to the toad again, frowning slightly. “Then don’t ruin everything like you did yesterday.”

With that, she left, leaving Grime alone with his thoughts. He looked down, and then at the Plantars’ house, the place Marcy had stayed during her time in Wartwood. He hesitated for a moment, but he couldn’t continue to ignore the weight in his head or the uncomfortable feeling in his chest, so he walked towards the house and entered.

It was as simple as he imagined, a few chairs, a table, a couch and a fireplace. There was a staircase to the top and a basement, Grime thought about going up, but decided to explore the basement first. And he ended up finding exactly what he wanted.

The room was a mess, items randomly thrown on the floor, some books and clothes on top of mushrooms, the bed unmade with a poorly made plush toy of one of the weasels lying in the center. Grime looked around, seeing a large golden cup in the corner with a photo on the side, he approached to get a better look.

It was the people of Wartwood, all gathered at the fountain in the square, posing. In the center of the photo, the three humans were sitting, the blonde winking at the camera, the brunette with a wide smile with her eyes closed and Marcy...

... Marcy was next to her friends, making a victory sign while smiling happily.

Grime stopped and gently picked up the photo, looking carefully at the ravenette human. He had never seen her smile like that, so carefree, while she was next to him, her smiles were always somewhat restrained, sometimes just a twitch of her lips, but in this photo she seemed so... Free.

She was obviously happy with her friends.

She could have abandoned him the moment she left the North Tower, not sending him any message and leaving him behind. She could have told them about the rebellion, told them she was forced to help him and rid herself of the guilt. She could have betrayed him at the last moment, led them into a trap and pretended to her friends and the king that this was her plan all along, gained his trust and handed him over to prison. But she never did that.

Despite everything, despite being obviously happy and caring deeply for her friends, she still chose to help him.

Despite everything...

...

He knew what he had to do.

***

“Uh, what’s she doing?”

Priscilla turned to where Wally was pointing, to Yunan in front of the town gates, arms behind her back as she stared at the horizon. The sun was setting at that moment and the whole place was a shade of orange.

“Waiting for the army that’s coming, I think.”She answered, making Wally jump in surprise.

“An army is coming this way?!”

“Oh... She didn’t say anything?”Wally shook his head frantically, Priscilla frowning. “... I should have guessed. Listen, tell everyone in Wartwood that an army of robots is coming this way and we’re going to defend this town.”

He nodded and ran into the town while Priscilla approached the general, who still hadn't moved a bit from where she was. Neither of them said anything as they stared at the horizon, waiting for the supposed army that would appear soon. Waiting always seemed to carry more tension than the battle itself.

Finally, something appeared.

A rounded object was falling from the sky towards them, hitting the ground and making the entire town shake a little. The object was a kind of giant robot, bigger than any house in Amphibia, green and yellow in color with red eyes that became visible as it transformed. Overall, the robot resembled a giant, round version of Frobo.

"HA! Just one? Andrias greatly underestimates my strength!" Yunan laughed, extending the blades of her gloves. Priscilla picked up her combat staff, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah... Kind of strange to send only one robot, even if it's a pretty big one."

As if waiting for them to say that, parts of the robot's shoulder pad opened and small toad-sized robots came out. Their colors were predominantly dark green and they had small tails, as if they were still emerging from their tadpole phase.

"... We should have kept our mouths shut..." Was Priscilla's comment before the two newts advanced.

The new robots were no match for Yunan's blades, and Priscilla had no difficulty destroying them either. The problem was that the giant robot kept releasing several of these small ones per second, and this slowly began to overwhelm the two fighters.

At one point, one of the robots managed to hold Priscilla and others jumped on her, immobilizing her. Yunan tried to get closer, but other robots appeared and distracted her from the fact that the large robot opened its chest and a cannon pointed directly at where Priscilla was. Her eyes widened and she struggled harder, trying to escape the robots that were holding her.

She wasn't fast enough and a bomb was aimed at her. Priscilla could only watch in horror as the bomb approached her...

...And was redirected into the sky with a blow from a hammer.

The explosion caught Yunan's attention, who turned and saw Grime destroying all the robots holding Priscilla. She quickly did a spinning slash from where she was, destroying whoever was still nearby, and regrouped with the other warriors, looking curiously at the toad.

"I thought you would be halfway to one of the towers by now."

"Well, I was thinking, and you're right." He looked at the green blade at his waist for a moment. "This town is the town where my rookie soldier's best friend lived for months, and they also took care of her for a while." He smiled fiercely as he raised his hammer towards the giant robot. "The least I can do now is protect it until they return."

“Heh, now you sound like a real good captain!” Priscilla laughed out loud, giving the toad a light punch on the arm.

“Increasing deployment.” Realizing that the number of targets had increased, the giant robot opened its back, releasing even more robots for combat.

“Sixty against three, huh?” Grime gripped the hammer tightly.

“Now that sounds like a good fight.” Yunan smiled, extending his blades further.

“I don’t really like our side’s chances.” Priscilla frowned a little.

The robots took a step forward and the warriors prepared for the second round. But before either side could make a move, a frog jumped from behind the warriors and hammered one of the robots’ heads with her bare hands, denting it a little and making it fall to the ground.

“Die, robo scum! ”Mrs. Croaker yelled at the robot she had hit, and her pet took the opportunity to vomit its acid, completely melting the robot. It jumped into its owner’s lap, who began to pet it. “Good boy.”

The three warriors blinked in surprise, with Priscilla quickly recovering her smile.

“Oh, yeah! I kind of forgot that Watwood...”

“Oi! Bugger off!” Wally quickly ran into the middle of the robots and began hitting them with his accordion. The blows weren’t strong enough to hurt, but they pushed the robots apart and left them vulnerable to the attacks of Wartwood’s others.

Toadstool took the opportunity to punch each of the robots until they were scrap metal. Loggle jumped and gouged out the eyes of any robot near him. Stumpy used the spatula and knife in his hands to cut and stun the robots he faced. Maddie used every curse she had to transform the robots into some random object, while Ivy and her mother kicked and knocked down any opponent in front of them. The two young frogs smiled at each other and whistled, and soon the three baby weasels and their mother appeared, biting and crushing the metal beasts.

“... It’s home to the most ferocious frogs in this region!” Priscilla finished, turning to the two warriors who were staring at the destruction Wartwood was causing with wide eyes. “Did you think Sasha was the only fighter in this town? HA! I bet it was Wartwood who taught her some of the tricks she knows.”

“By Barrel's belly! They're deadlier than any soldier!” Grime was completely dumbfounded as he watched the metal carnage in front of him.

“Oh... My Frog...” Yunan seemed speechless for a moment, but soon a big smile appeared. “I knew there had to be a special reason for Anne’s friend to like this place!”

With Wartwood destroying the robots with ease, the giant robot stood up and pointed its arms at them, preparing its cannons. The three noticed and quickly advanced, Priscilla extending the staff for Grime to jump and threw it upwards, spinning and dragging the staff on the ground for Yunan to also jump and throw as well. When Yunan reached the peak of her throw, Grime was already descending and it hit the general's feet hard, redirecting her towards the giant robot. She extended her blades and began to spin in the air, looking like a deadly drill, and by the time the giant robot realized her presence, it was too late.

Yunan went through the robot's head with ease, quickly passing through an internal part and exiting through its back while creating a hole. She rolled to break her fall as the robot short-circuited and fell forward, its destroyed head on one side falling to the ground and rolling in front of Loggle, who pulled hard on its other eye as he screamed.

"I think you're enjoying this too much." Mrs. Cloacker watched Loggle’s actions with some disgust. Yunan walked towards the people of Wartwood with a big smile.

“Excellent! You all showed today how strong your warrior spirit is. Thanks to you, Wartwood continues to stand firm despite the adversities, and with your combined strength and determination, Wartwood will stand firm no matter what comes!” She roared, causing the people of Wartwood to cheer as well.

Grime smiled, putting away his hammer as he watched Yunan begin to encourage the frogs to join the resistance she was creating. Blueberry approached him and nudged him with her nose, and he began to pet the animal, Priscilla approaching the two of them next.

“So… I take it that the plan to join the other towers and attack the king with all their might has now been abandoned?” Grime nodded, causing Priscilla to tilt her head slightly. “Why?”

“... I wasn’t a good captain, not really or on purpose at least, I see that now. But that ends today.” Grime looked up with a determined expression. “I will become a good captain, one who deserves the loyalty my soldiers have placed in me... One who deserves the loyalty Marcy has placed in me. And if she never wants to see my face again after everything I've done, that's fine with me, at least I tried to fix and improve what we had. That’s a promise.”

Priscilla said nothing, just crossed her arms with a small smile. Maybe the human was right, she thought to herself, maybe there really is something in this grumpy captain that is worth continuing to follow despite the hardships.

Priscilla has never seen Grime at his worst, not really...

... But she will face the king himself and his army alone if they dare try to stop Grime from becoming his best self.

“... And now, we are only left with the question of what we do now.” Yunan commented, placing a hand on her chin as she thought.

“Isn’t that obvious, General?” Everyone turned to Grime. “We start fighting back.”

He looked down at his waist and gently picked up the green blade, seeing the reflection of his cape's pin on the blade. The symbol of the Frog Army, the same symbol that Percy drew on all the capes of his old squad. Marcy is in another world, but Percy and Braddock are still here, taking care of a very special animal that his rookie soldier tamed.

It seems that he will have to summon his old squad sooner than he imagined, but that's okay. He also wants to be a captain worthy of Percy and Braddock's loyalty, and that way, they can also help him become better if they want. They've always been good at that.

But first, they need more people so the resistance can face the king, and the people of Newtopia can help a lot.

He tossed the blade up and caught it easily when it fell into his hand, tilting it close to his face. Priscilla could have sworn she saw a different reflection on the blade for a second as the blade approached the toad's face, similar to Marcy's, but with pink eyes instead of brown.

Grime smiled fiercely. The other reflection returned for a second with the same smile.

"And for that... I have a plan."

Chapter Text

It was another quiet morning at the Boonchuy house. Hop Pop and Polly were sitting at the table, waiting for On Boonchuy to finish making the scrambled eggs. Anne went to get some juice to give them and found Marcy stretching as she walked.

“Good morning Ann-” As she spoke, Marcy stumbled seemingly in mid-air and lost her balance. At the last second, however, she regained her balance and steadied herself, looking at the floor with furrowed brows. She closed her eyes and opened them quickly, with the happy expression as always. “Good morning Anna-Banana!”

“Good morning Marbles! You’re getting better at this, it’s been a while since you fell from tripping.” Anne commented, giving her friend a light nudge with her elbow, who giggled.

“Yeah, I... I think I finally got a protector... And it’s an amazing one,”

Still, I can’t keep taking over every time you lose your balance. Be more careful, please.

Marcy waited for Anne to leave before nodding to herself.

“Thanks for taking care of me...” She whispered, smiling as she felt her inner soldier blush.

It... It was nothing...

Are you guys flirting again?

WHAT-NO!!! WE’RE NOT FLIRTING!!!

Are you sure? Nothing against it, I just want to know if I should isolate myself in case you decide to go to phase two and all that.

YOU-!!!!

That smells good, what is it?

While her inner soldier continued to fight with her calamity side, which seemed to find this quite amusing, Marcy began to explain about scrambled eggs to her inner beast. It wasn’t anything too complex, but Anne’s mother’s scrambled eggs always tasted better than the ones her mother made. When she made them, that is.

Marcy ignored the slight pain in her chest as she thought about her parents, walking into the kitchen and seeing the Plantars waiting for the food On was preparing.

“Good morning, Mrs. B.” She grabbed two glasses and set them on the table for the Plantars. “Good morning Polly, and you too Hop Pop!”

“Good morning Marcy.” Anne appeared with the juice she was looking for, smiling gratefully that Marcy had already set the glasses, and poured juice for the Plantars, which Polly drank happily. On also served the scrambled eggs, and the two Plantars ate politely. “These are egg-cellent, Mrs. Boonchuy.”

“Yes, thank you for the delicious food.” Polly complimented with a cute face.

“Oh, you're very welcome.” On replied with a serene expression.

“HE-HEEEY!!!”

The scream shattered the sudden peace, with Sprig using his tongue to grab onto the ceiling lamp and swing into the kitchen. Anne and Marcy knew that disaster was about to happen.

“Good morning, fam-fam!” Sprig waved to everyone still in his pajamas, and quickly noticed the frying pan with eggs. “Ohhhh, eggs!” Without hesitation, he began licking the eggs still in it, making a mess. “Mmm... These could use a little something. Got any hot sauce?”

“... Sure, I’ll get...” Before On could do anything, Sprig jumped over to the fridge and latched onto it.

“Don't worry, Mrs. B. I got it” He opened the fridge and started throwing things on the floor until he grabbed the sauce and drank some from the bottle. It wasn’t long before he burped and somehow also spit fire and burned the eggs on Polly’s plate.

On put out the fire with the pan and glared at Anne and Marcy disapprovingly. Anne gave an embarrassed laugh while Marcy shrank a little in her chair in embarrassment. The two waited for On to leave the kitchen before Anne grabbed Sprig and forced him to sit at the table.

“Dude, what are you doing?” Anne almost demanded, confusing Sprig.

“What do you mean?”

“You almost got Anne and I in trouble now, Sprig. I guess we were lucky it was more embarrassing than anything else.” Marcy replied, nervously playing with her fingers.

“Sprig Plantar, you're a guest in the Boonchuys' home. For frog's sake, behave like one.” Hop Pop pleaded, which made Sprig laugh.

“Silly Hop Pop. We’re not guests, we’re family.” He said with a smile, which was quickly erased by Hop Pop pointing at him.

“No, we’re not.” Hop Pop raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What gave you that idea? Anne’s not even officially a Plantar.”

“But Sasha is! And she said the Boonchuys are her other family because she’s not even sure if she’s still a Waybright or not.” Sprig’s explanation made Anne and Marcy shudder slightly as they thought about their friend’s family situation. “And if she’s a Boonchuy, doesn’t that mean we’re Boonchuys too?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Are you sure? I mean, the math makes sense.”

“You're NOT a part of Anne's family!” Polly suddenly shouted as she stepped onto the table. Sprig stared wide-eyed before tears began to well up in his eyes.

“Oh… Anne, is that true?” He asked shakily, Anne patting his shoulder lightly.

“Don't worry about it, man. Being a guest around here is so much better. Being family just means chores, responsibilities and getting yelled at when you mess up.” She said, holding up a finger for each situation.

“But it also means you get to have deep and fun conversations about their culture, or learn some cool tricks that only family can learn… Oh! OH! There’s also those times, on birthdays, when…” Marcy stopped talking when she saw Anne making a cutting motion near her neck, just as Sprig seemed to have more tears in his eyes. “Er… Forget I said anything, okay?”

“I, for one, like being waited on hand and foot, and I should know.” Polly confidently placed both her feet on the table and pointed to them. “I have feet now.”

“...Sorry, guys. I just always wanted a bigger family and I guess I got a little carried away.” Sprig explained, still a little dejected, his family and friends quickly comforting him.

“Anne, come on. We had a lot of work to do in the restaurant! And Marcy, can you come here for a moment?” On’s voice echoed in the house. Marcy blinked in surprise, but stood up from her chair as Anne patted Sprig lightly on the back.

“Well, that's us. See you guys when we get back.” She stood up and started walking towards the door with Marcy. Sprig quickly followed.

“Oh, wait! Can I come with you? I'd like to make up for how rude I was this morning.” He explained, Anne shrugged.

“I guess that'd be fine.” She then turned to the rest of the Plantar family. “Hop Pop, Polly, try to research some portals and junk while we're going.”

“You got it!” Hop Pop and Polly gave each other a thumbs up. Sprig jumped onto Anne’s shoulder, much to her surprise.

“Oops, sorry!” He quickly got down, embarrassed. “It’s customary when Sasha and I were exploring together.” Anne’s heart sank a little at that, but she ignored it in favor of smiling.

“Don’t worry, buddy. Just let me know next time, okay?” She held out her arm and Sprig jumped back up, settling on her shoulder. The three of them quickly got ready and left the house, heading to Anne’s parents who were already in the car. “Hi Mom! Sprig wants to come with us, is that ok?”

“No problem, he’s welcome to join us.” On said, even though she seemed a little wary, turning to Marcy. “Marcy, we’re missing some ingredients at the restaurant, but we can’t delay the opening. Can you buy us a few things while we run the kitchen?”

Marcy blinked, very surprised, but quickly a smile appeared on her face. She had always liked the restaurant and had tried to help out there, but her natural clumsiness always got in the way of her attempts, the best she could do was make sure the refrigerator and the slush machine were working perfectly. Usually it was Sasha, when she decided to help, who did the shopping or Brian, so the fact that On was asking her to do this made Marcy’s chest swell with pride.

“Sure! Leave it to me!”

***

It was a fun trip, especially since she wasn't alone.

Every purchase she made caused one of her halves to ask about it. She or her calamity side explained some of the ingredients and the foods the Boonchuys usually made. Her inner beast drooled at each description, and although her inner soldier complained to her about it, the fact that she also looked mouth-watering didn't help her case.

Marcy was almost attacked by a dog when she tripped over its tail, but her inner beast was quick to take over and calm the animal. There were several times when her inner soldier stopped her from getting hurt, and there was one moment when a creepy guy followed her into an alley, who was easily knocked out by her calamity side. She felt kind of bad for needing to be so protected by them, but they assured her that they didn't mind it, in fact, her inner beast and inner soldier were constantly asking her about everyday things while her calamity side listened to everything with a smile.

Marcy... She liked their company. Maybe it would be a little suffocating with anyone else having three other people constantly by her side, but... Marcy didn't feel that way. She always had difficulty relating to other people, even with her dearest friends, to this day she hadn't been able to get them interested in the things she liked despite her efforts. She couldn't even get them to watch her favorite movie without them falling asleep in the middle of it.

Her other halves, however... Her inner beast didn't understand much about technology, but she liked to hear her chatter about it. She and her inner soldier would exchange ideas about C&C due to their experiences with the toads and they both thought about creating some campaign about it. Her calamity side seemed to be wiser and more intelligent than her, but it still didn't bother her when she talked about subjects she probably already knew about, like the stars. They were all very different, her young side was very naive, her inner beast was very wild, her inner soldier had violent tendencies, and her calamity side seemed kind of sad and lonely. And yet, they got along really well with each other, it was a nice feeling.

Marcy wanted it to stay that way forever. Even if they were to be separated, they could still exist together as a family, right?

She hoped the answer was yes.

Hey...

Marcy blinked, snapping out of her thoughts.

Is everything okay? You looked a little worried for a moment.

Marcy smiled, she was more than okay, just thinking about something.

... Okay. But if something is bothering you, let us know.

Yes. If there is any problem, count on us to help.

We are in this together.

Marcy's chest filled with warmth again.

"Thank you." She muttered, feeling her inner soldier grow embarrassed, her calamity side become pleased, and her inner beast purr with pleasure.

"YOU'RE ALL MORONS!!!"

The scream pulled Marcy from her conversation with her other halves. She looked ahead, finding Sprig in a different human disguise than before, arguing with a group of people in front of the Thai Go restaurant. She also noticed a food truck in front of the restaurant, but her focus was on Sprig in the middle of what was essentially the beginnings of a rioting crowd.

“Oh no…” She quickly walked over and picked Sprig up in one arm, balancing her groceries with the other, an unnaturally wide smile on her face from anxiety. “Hey, sorry about my… er… cousin! He always acts weird after eating good food.”

She gave a forced laugh as she walked into the restaurant, finding Anne and Mrs. B tending to some dishes while eyeing the young frog disapprovingly. Mrs. B picked Sprig up and placed him on the counter next to the cash register, looking about to point at him before turning toward the two human girls.

“Anne, Marcy, this behavior is unacceptable! I'm doubling your chores. Don't let it happen again.” Anne continued to look at Sprig in disappointment while Marcy looked away, feeling confusion in one of her halves. “…But thanks for the shopping.” Marcy gave a small smile as Mrs. B picked up the bags and walked into the kitchen, passing by a Sprig as confused as his inner soldier.

Wait, what?

“Wait. Why'd she yell at you for something I did?” Sprig asked as Anne began to put away the dishes.

“Because you’re a guest to them, a guest we brought, so you’re our responsibility.” Marcy replied, fidgeting with her hands for a moment before deciding to help Anne.

“Yeah, she's not about to yell at a guest, Sprig. She only yells at family..” Anne also responded, which made Sprig’s eyes water.

“Ouch, Anne... Thanks for rubbing it in...”

“Look, Sprig, I know what you're doing here and I get why, but please stop. Or I’ll be cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush while Marcy sweeps the floor with a dishrag for the rest of our lives!” Anne walked past him, making room for Marcy to enter the kitchen first. “Just knock it off, OK? ”

I still don't understand... Why did you take the blame? Bad behavior can be related to leadership, but it's not always the cause.

Maybe in the military, but families can be more complicated than that.

Sometimes packs and herds have arguments and someone decides to take the blame to calm the situation. It's normal, you just need to talk later to resolve any tension left in the air.

...

“So... What did I miss? And since when did your mom have a food truck?” Marcy asked curiously, ignoring the young frog’s mumbling as they passed.

“That’s because... Hold on.” Anne stopped her explanation to turn to Sprig again. “I HEARD THAT!” She yelled, which made Sprig yelp as he ran off. “...That’s because she doesn’t. Do you want to hear the summary or the whole story?”

“You know I like the lore!”

***

It was already dark, the restaurant would be closing soon, so Mr. B started to pack up the car while Anne took out the trash and Mrs. B and Marcy finished cleaning up. Sprig had left a little while ago, but Marcy believed that it wouldn't be long before he returned, probably after having caused some new trouble or something.

Suddenly, the door opened and a somewhat familiar man walked in. Ned, the restaurant's loyal customer and the reason why there was a Thai Go food truck in front of the restaurant. He approached Mrs. B excitedly while Marcy approached the window.

That's when she saw the truck start to move. With Anne and Sprig fighting inside.

"ANNE! SPRIG!"

Her scream caught the adults' attention, but she was too busy rushing out of the restaurant to try to catch up with them. The truck was getting dangerously close to the slope; she wouldn't make it in time!

Chase? Leave it to me.

Marcy's pupils shrank to slits for a second before dilating a little bit. A soft growl escaped her throat as she leaned her body forward a little more, giving herself the momentum she needed to reach the big car and grab the empty window with the folding wooden table.

It was at that moment that the machine began to pick up speed.

Marcy let out a startled meow, nearly losing her balance with the sudden increase in speed, but jumped just in time and braced her feet on the back of the car, on the iron part that separated the machine from the wheels. She heard the screams from her other parts, but ignored them in favor of focusing her vision ahead, seeing a tree approaching quickly. She waited for the right moment and, supporting her weight on her hands that were holding on to the window, she threw herself towards the approaching tree. Her foot touched it long enough for her to redirect her momentum and throw herself into the car to safety.

... Okay, that was epic...

Epic?! THAT WAS WORTHY OF AN ACTION SCENE!!!!!

How the hell did you do that so well and without getting hurt?

Marcy shrugged, she had already done evasive maneuvers more difficult than that while hunting in Amphibia, so it wasn't that complicated to do.

... You scare me sometimes.

She stood up, feeling her pupils shrink from the light in the room, and saw Anne and Sprig seeming to be arguing over the control of the machine. Marcy quickly approached, giving an interrogative chirp. Anne was the first to notice her entrance.

“Marcy! You’re here!” Her Beta smiled, looking at her strangely for a moment before returning her focus to the machine, stepping on something. “I’m trying to stop this thing, but the brakes aren’t working!” Marcy looked up, seeing a small note that reminded the owner of the machine to fix the brakes. She nudged her friend and pointed to the note. “... NED!!!”

“It's OK, Anne. I've got this.” Sprig grabbed a part of the machine and began to pull. “Whoa, girl. Whoa!”

Marcy quickly pulled it out of there, she still didn’t understand machines, but she was sure they didn’t work like animals.

If we could get to the truck's machinery, I'm sure we could get the brakes to work.

We can?

Sure! If this truck has a disc brake system or ABS, I think we can activate the necessary levers to work them manually.

Doesn't that mean standing in front of the truck with the engine open or underneath it where we can easily be run over?

Yeah... That's the problem...

Under the car, Marcy got it.

Wait, what?

Marcy went to the back of the car and tied a rag around her hands to keep them from getting burned. She growled at Anne, getting her attention, and pointed to the window before pointing to the floor of the car and imitating Anne's movement, stepping on something to stop. It took Anne a few seconds to understand.

“You... You want to manually activate the brake!?” Marcy nodded, her Beta seemed torn between yelling at her or not, but turned her gaze forward to avoid another tree. “ARGH, FINE! BUT BE CAREFUL!!!”

Marcy nodded again and leaned on the window, balancing herself on the side of the outside of the car. She put her other hand on the window where Anne and Sprig were, almost being thrown to the ground when a glowing metal branch brushed past her back. She looked at the window and hissed.

“Sorry! My bad! I'll be more careful!”

Marcy huffed, but believed her, and began to climb down while shifting her grip and balance, until she was basically lying on the side of the car, between the wheels. She took a deep breath before she began to move towards the bottom, her pupils dilating abnormally to better absorb the little light where she now stood. Sweat ran down her face and her sensitive arm stung a little, it was warmer under the machine after all, but she also knew she would need to be extra careful here or her back would hit the ground, and at this speed, these cloth clothes would have very little defense.

Try moving forward a little more, there must be some cable or piston that isn't working.

She grunted and continued forward, getting between the front wheels of the car. She stopped moving for a moment as the car seemed to make a sharp turn, but quickly focused in front of her. There was a lot of metal moving, others still, and Marcy had no idea what to do, she hoped her young side was having more success than she was.

Okay, okay... I'm not an engineer or mechanic, but this truck looks a little old, so I think this trick might work... First, can you see any wires out of place? Like, a rope dangling without being tied to anything?

Marcy looked around, finally seeing what looked like a loose rope, she picked it up and grunted in satisfaction.

See that smoky iron to your left... It's about the thickness of a lemon, the width of your open hand and has a beak that looks like a goose's?

Marcy turned around, it took a moment, but she could see it.

Connect the loose end of the rope to the beak, then try to move the iron up or down, but be careful! It might be hot, and I don't know if it can shock you or not.

Marcy locked her limbs in place, reaching out with her non-sensitive hand to place the rope in the beak. It was really hot, probably would have burned her hand if she hadn't been wearing her makeshift gloves, and the position she was in didn't help her task much. But she eventually managed, and then she tried to pull the iron out before pushing it as far as she could. It didn't move much because the iron felt stuck, but it seemed to work.

The car stopped abruptly, and Marcy almost hit her face on the car and fell to the ground. She stood still for a moment, both to make sure the machine wouldn't move again and to calm her racing heart. When she was sure everything was okay, she sighed in relief and let go of the car, falling to the ground in a controlled manner and crawling out, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

When she opened them again, she blinked for a moment to adjust to her surroundings, realizing that they were only a few meters away from the skate park. Marcy gave a soft groan of pain, her body didn't seem to have been affected much by the James Jones-style action scene, but her scarred arm felt a little sore. She heard her inner beast whimper in regret, but Marcy simply smiled and silently thanked her for what she had done.

“I don’t believe it…” Marcy turned around, only to see Anne and Sprig leaning against the window, wide eyes bright and smiles huge. “YOU DID IT!!!”

“Oh, it was nothing…” She gave an embarrassed laugh, which made Anne blink.

“Wait, you remember?”

“Er…”

“I don't believe this!”

The three kids jumped, turning to find Mrs. B and Ned opening the back doors of the truck, Mrs. B looking furious while Ned was shocked.

“Me either.You send your daughter to destroy my truck? What? Are you people insane?” He asked, oddly sounding confused rather than angry that his truck had almost been destroyed.

“Anne had NOTHING to do with this, it was ALL me.” Sprig quickly explained, approaching the two adults. “I was just-!” He looked at Mrs. B’s expression and sighed, pulling his beret off and twisting it in his hands. “… I just wanted to be a part of the family, but I should've respected your boundaries instead of pestering you into something you didn't want.” Mrs. B stared at him for a few seconds before sighing and kneeling in front of him.

“It's okay, pink frog... I mean, Sprig. I know how much you mean to my daughter and her friends.... And how much they means to you.” They looked at Anne, who was still a little dazed as she got out of the truck, with Marcy quickly helping her down. Mrs. B gently placed her hand on Sprig’s shoulder. “I probably shouldn't have treated you like such an outsider.”

The moment was cut short with Ned crying loudly next to them. Anne and Marcy watched as he apologized for being so insistent about wanting the restaurant's recipes even though it was said to be a family secret, while Mrs. B apologized for being so harsh with her rejections, offering a job as a delivery boy for the restaurant.

“... So, Marcy. About what happened in the truck...” Anne began as the adults talked, Marcy felt her heart stop for a second.

“Yeah? What happened in there?”

“Do you... Remember what you did there?”

Marcy surreptitiously swallowed.

... You can talk if you want.

“... Not really. I remember leaving the restaurant to try to catch the truck and now I’m here.” She looked away for a moment, feeling a little guilty about the lie, before turning back to her friend. “What happened?”

“...” For a moment, Anne just stared at her without saying a word.

Don’t look away any more than we normally do, it’s proof that you’re lying.

Marcy tilted her head slightly, using all her will to act as natural as possible.

“... It seems like you had that blackout thing, followed by a personality change.” Anne finally said, running her hand over the back of her neck. “Sasha was right, it doesn’t seem like it was really dangerous. You were acting pretty wild and almost animalistic, but you also seemed to recognize me and were still friendly with us. You should probably go see a doctor at some point, though. I don’t want you blacking out while playing and starting to chew on your controller or something.

Controllers taste bad, I’ll never do that.

How do you know controllers taste bad?

Young here licked it once out of curiosity! I think Beast has that memory of her.

...

Marcy did her best not to cringe in embarrassment at the look her inner soldier was giving her.

“If it gets worse, I will. But I don’t think I need to right now.” She gave her friend a small smile. “Thanks for letting me know.”

Anne smiled too, but something seemed a little strange in her eyes, and it wasn’t the normal strangeness of getting used to the fact that she now had blue eyes. They both heard the truck doors close, and Ned started driving excitedly with him, probably forgetting that the brakes still didn’t work.

“Welp, I guess we're all done here.” Sprig commented, getting ready to go before Mrs. B grabbed him by the coat and pulled him off the ground so he was level with her.

“Not so fast! If you think you're getting ot of here without an earful, you've got another thing coming.” She held up a finger. “Firstly, how dare you disobey me?” She raised another finger and poked both of them in his chest. “Secondly, how dare you put Anne, Marcy and yourself in danger? Thirdly …” She raised an eyebrow. “Why are you smiling?”

“You're...  You're scolding me. Which means...” Sprig's eyes were filled with tears as he smiled at Mrs. B. Anne gently punched him in the arm.

“Yep. You're family now, bud.” Her comment made Sprig rush to Mrs. B and hug her while crying and laughing, leaving Mrs. B a little dazed.

“... Already having second thoughts about this..”

Marcy laughed a little, still feeling her inner soldier's confusion over the whole thing.

***

‘Young... Hey, Young, are you awake?’

She whimpered a little as she sat up, yawning a little as she looked around, seeing the void a light shade of green. She remembered that after Anne’s mother punished everyone, they had gone back home and eaten before going to bed. It made sense then that she would wake up inside their shared mind.

Young looked to the side, seeing Soldier kneeling down and staring at her.

‘... Soldier...? Smthin...’ She let out a yawn, rubbing her eyes. ‘Something wrong?’

‘No... Not exactly... Sorry for waking you up, I just...’ Soldier shifted uncomfortably and looked over to where Beast was sleeping peacefully curled up in a ball and Calamity was leaning against the gate, sleeping so soundly she would have looked dead to the world if it weren’t for the drool dripping from her open mouth. ‘I just have one question that’s been eating away at me for a while now, and you’re the only one I can ask. Calamity would make fun of me before she answered, and Beast isn’t the best at explaining things.’

‘Oh, okay...’ Young sat up more comfortably, looking at Soldier with a small smile. ‘What is it?’

Soldier opened her mouth, hesitated, looked down, before looking up.

‘... Promise you won’t make fun of me?’

‘Sure! I would never do that.’ Young was starting to get a little nervous about that, but she kept smiling.

‘... What is a family?’

That... Wasn't the question Young was expecting.

'What?' She saw Soldier's ears turn red as she looked away.

'It's just... I know more or less what it means, they're people you share blood with. That's why you want us to be family, because we're the same person, right? But you said Anne's mother only punishes family, and she punished you and Sprig, and neither of you are her blood...' Soldier looked down, fiddling with her gloves. 'I thought then that there would be a hierarchy system similar to an army, but that doesn't seem right either. I was essentially Cap-Grime's right-hand man, but he didn't punish me when Percy or Braddock missed a move, so...’

For a moment, Young just stared at Soldier with wide eyes, unsure of what to do while the other continued to try to explain herself. It sounded strange, almost impossible, to believe that someone like Soldier didn't know exactly what being family meant. She knew so much about things, how could she not know something like family?

And then her gaze fell on the scars on her face and she remembered.

Technically... She never had a childhood, did she?

Soldier was born from the power of the pink gem, and unlike Beast, who had several personal memories of Marcy because she had time to develop, Soldier did not have that chance. She was forced to take control while her personality was still developing, and Young's unconscious block after the Tower made her only absorb the minimum necessary for her to still be Marcy. A human who lived on Earth, had a lot of knowledge and two friends she cared deeply about.

She does not remember Marcy being carried by Mrs. B when she accidentally scraped her knee. She does not remember the favorite games Mr. B shared with Marcy on a rainy day near winter. She does not remember Marcy and Sasha having lunch or dinner several times at the Boonchuys' house. She only remembers the basics of being a human being and being sent to another world that she knew nothing about, where her first interaction was with members of an army, where she learned to be a soldier.

Young shifted her gaze to the gloves, placing her hand on top. Soldier immediately fell silent, straightening her posture as she turned her attention back to Young. Gently, she removed one of her gloves, seeing Soldier's hands, who was now watching her with some discomfort, but didn't try to stop her from doing so. There were many calluses, a few cut scars, and a burn right in the center of her hand, as if she had been holding something boiling at some point.

Young had scars, but they were the usual scars of a clumsy person, small cuts on her knees and arms from falling in all sorts of places. Calamity, as far as she could see, didn’t have any, maybe there was something under her armor that even she didn’t know about. Beast had a few scars, mainly on her arms and legs from her hunts to find food or defend herself from predators. None of them were really ashamed of them.

Soldier... She said that in toad culture, having scars could be a sign of strength or weakness, and depending on which one it was, toads would hide their wounds.

...

...How many scars did the armor that covered almost all of Soldier’s body hide?

‘...Young?’

She raised her gaze, Soldier still watching her looking uncomfortable, and looked back at her hand. The memory of what Anne usually does with her wounds came to her mind.

Young took Soldier’s hand and gently kissed it. Soldier’s face instantly burned.

‘Y-Young!?’

Young fixed her gaze on Soldier's eyes, only now noticing a slight pink tint around her pupils. She would have to see if Beast or Calamity also had something similar in their eyes. For some reason, Soldier turned redder, pulling her body back a little, although she still let Young hold her hand, which was shaking slightly. In fact, her body seemed to be shaking from the moment Young held her, but she never asked to let go.

Normal symptoms of someone suffering from touch starvation.

Young gave a sad smile as she stroked the hand, feeling Soldier shiver a little more each time she did so. This was kind of her fault, wasn't it? If she hadn't isolated herself at that time in the Tower, things could have been different for Soldier, maybe even better, knowing basic family things, even if it was changing in a way that her train of thought could follow, like Beast always comparing interpersonal relationships to packs and herds.

‘... It’s a long explanation.’

She couldn’t help her before, but maybe she could help her now.

Soldier blinked, the blush on her cheeks fading as she tilted her head slightly, Young’s smile softening a bit.

‘How much time do you have available?’

Soldier glanced at the two other girls sleeping further away.

‘... How much time do you have today?’

‘Calamity will take over tomorrow, so... All night.’

‘Me too.’

‘Okay. Then we’ll have a sleepover tonight.’

‘... Your wish is my command, General.’

Chapter Text

It was early afternoon in the city, people were walking around, cars were passing by on the road, animals were playing in the street. Everything was peaceful.

For a moment, of course.

“MARCY, WAIT!!!”

Marcy, in fact, didn’t wait. In fact, she ran even faster down the hill thanks to the skateboard she was kneeling on, her pupils abnormally dilated as a maniacal smile spread across her face. She let out loud growls and howls that startled pedestrians as she passed. Behind her, Anne’s mother’s red car drove quickly to try to catch up with her, Anne with her head outside as she desperately tried to keep up with her crazed friend.

“Why didn’t you tell me Marcy would act weird on the medication?” Her mother almost screamed at her.

“Because I didn’t know?! How was I supposed to know that temporary amnesia and personality changes would cause THIS as a side effect?!” Anne complained, still looking desperately at her friend, her heart nearly dropping when she realized she was heading straight for a busy lane of cars with a green light. “MARCY, NO!!!”

(A few hours before...)

Anne and Marcy were at the Boonchuy house trying to figure out a way to get back to Amphibia. They saw the way Hop Pop looked nervous when he realized they had been there for a week or so as a visitor, thinking he was just like a really nasty relative they once had. At one point, however, her mother showed up to take them both to the dentist.

“Our what?”

“You have been missing for five months and I have a feeling you haven't been brushing.” She explained with her arms crossed, Marcy playing with the drawstring on her hoodie.

“I mean… She’s probably right… I’m sure I didn’t do that while I was in the jungle.” Marcy muttered, pausing for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I didn’t.”

“Another reason to go.”

“Aaaw, but, Mom! I'm supposed to take Domino to the vet today..” Anne almost begged, hoping her mother would accept her excuse. It wasn’t even much of an excuse, she really needed to take her precious baby to make sure she was okay.

There was hope for a moment when they realized that neither her mother nor father could take Domino without interrupting their duties. And it was brutally crushed when Hop Pop excitedly said he would take her, causing her mother to accept, Marcy to hand over a piece of paper with an address and a tip to appear more human and both of them quickly pulled her into the car.

Anne stood the entire way with her arms crossed and a pout on her face, trying to ignore the sad puppy dog ​​look her friend was giving her. It didn't take long for them to get to where they needed to go, with both of them ready to be seen practically as soon as they arrived...

...And that's when everything went downhill from there.

***

Marcy shifted a little nervously in her chair. It had been a long time since she had been to the dentist and she was a little uncomfortable with the situation. But some of her teeth were really hurting and she wanted it to stop soon, so she had no other option.

Don't worry, they'll use that gas and it'll be like we're at an amusement park or like we blink and we're in the car again.

"Okay, let's get started with the procedure." The doctor gently placed a mask over Marcy's nose. "You may feel a little strange at first, but it will soon pass."

She nodded, watching the doctor release the gas into the mask and directly into her respiratory system. For a moment, nothing seemed to be happening, she felt perfectly normal with everything around her.

And then, things started to get weird.

Her head started to hurt, her voice sounding strange and echoing, she opened her eyes and saw the doctor's room or a greenish space in her vision. Her mind felt fragmented, spaced out, together, tight, everything and nothing at the same time.

Heh... This is cool...

I feel... *sob* Dizzy...

Are those stars...? The space seems so small...

...

Something wasn't right, an unexpected side effect due to Marcy's current situation did something a little different than it should. The young side of her went numb as it should, the inner soldier felt like she had just downed an entire bottle of alcohol, the calamity side felt strangely sleepy and slightly drunk too.

And her inner beast?

Marcy closed her eyes for a moment before suddenly opening them, pupils completely dilated.

She was hyper-excited.

Quicker than anyone could react, she ripped off her mask and jumped out of her chair, falling on all fours for a moment before running out of the room. She slammed the door open, startling everyone nearby, and paused for a moment.

“…Marcy?”

She quickly turned to where the voice came from, her Beta looking worriedly at her as she stood up from her chair, her mother standing next to her with wide eyes. Marcy quickly lunged at her, tackling her to the floor, before grabbing her face and planting several kisses on her cheek, her Beta deserved to know how much she was appreciated!

“H-HEY, MARCY! ST-STOP IT!!!”

A sound was picked up in her ears, she stopped her affectionate outburst and stood up straight, trying to find the source of the noise. There, outside the shelter, a possum was peering in, staring at her. The two stared at each other for a moment without moving.

The possum ran away

Marcy chased.

***

Anne knew her friend wasn't herself when she almost broke down the door to the room where she was. When she stood still for a moment, lunged at her and started kissing her cheek, she was more than convinced that that weird personality change thing had happened again, even though a part of her was happy with the sudden affection.

She knew things were going to get worse when Marcy stopped moving on top of her.

She felt her heart stop as she ran at an almost superhuman speed towards the outside.

"MARCY, NO!"

Without hesitation, hearing her mother call out to her but ignoring it, Anne also left the dentist to follow her friend. She looked in the direction she had seen her run from, her eyes widening when she realized how far away Marcy was from her. Since when had Marcy been so physically fit?

She went anyway, trying to catch up to her before she got hurt. Marcy made a sharp turn into one of the alleys she knew was a dead end, and for a second, Anne thought she had her cornered, only to gasp when she saw her friend climb the building while using the window frames to steady herself and propel herself up onto the roof. Marcy laughed almost maniacally, looking from side to side before running again, making Anne lose sight of her.

“Oh no… MARCY, COME BACK HERE!!!” Anne screamed, hoping her friend would hear her. If she did, she ignored it, and Anne began pulling at her hair as she paced back and forth, thinking.

Okay, this was definitely not normal. Sasha had said that Marcy seemed more adept at fighting and running when she changed, Anne had seen it firsthand in the food truck accident, but not to this degree! She almost looked like an animal running like that, the sudden stops as she seemed to try to focus on something, the way she seemed to want to play with everything that moved...

Anne stopped.

“Um, kind of reminds me of when Domino gets really excited...” Could that be it? Somehow Marcy was, what was the term? On the ‘zoomie’? It shouldn’t be possible since she’s human, but then again, none of them should have shiny powers coming from magical stones, so any explanation was worth it.

A car horn caught her attention. Anne turned and saw her mother inside the car, a frown on her face.

“Explain, now.”

***

Beast was on top of the world!

No, wait, her name is Marcy, right? Since she’s controlling the body and everything? She didn't know, and for some reason, it just made her laugh louder as she kept running.

She jumped from the roof of one of the shelters to land on one of the metal branches, rolling to break her fall as she hit the ground. She heard something behind her and growled, making people jump, before she started running again, the energy coursing through her body felt overwhelming, different from the energy of the stone, but still too much for her to stand still and she needed to release as much of it as possible.

She was vaguely aware that what she was feeling was not normal, especially with the way her other halves were reacting. She felt her young side completely out of it, she would probably be lying on the floor if she was being hugged by her inner soldier who was crying with emotion while her calamity side stumbled and talked nonsense...

You... *sob* you are the most beautiful and sweet person I have ever seen!!

Awww... I like the color green too, Soldier... It tastes like cotton...

You don't understand! We have to stop the moon before it devours everyone we love!

... But she was too busy feeling euphoric to care!

Marcy barked happily, jumping over a wall of thin, interspersed iron, entering a place full of holes and ramps, with some humans having fun using shields with wheels while doing maneuvers. She made a curious gurgling noise, finding one abandoned on the ground, and imitated what they were doing. She moved quickly from one side to the other in a hole, the thrill of speed making her chest beat hard and fast, and she didn't hesitate to take the shield that slides out of that place, she remembers a slope where Anne and her family made food and needed to test how fast she would be!

She climbed the wall again, climbing one of the shelters to run across the rooftops until she got to where she wanted, quickly going down and placing the shield with wheels on the ground. She heard a scream, a familiar scream, and turned to see her Beta approaching with a car.

Marcy smiled excitedly, Anne hadn't given up on her game of tag yet! With her Beta still playing with her, what she wants to do will be much more fun.

Giving her an affectionate howl, without hesitation, Marcy climbed onto the shield and pushed herself down the slope.

***

“MARCY, WAIT!!!”

Marcy, in fact, didn’t wait. Adrenaline was beating furiously in her chest from the excitement and she leaned forward to run even faster down the hill thanks to the skateboard she was kneeling on, her pupils abnormally dilated while a maniacal smile was on her face. She let out loud growls and howls that scared the pedestrians she passed. Behind her, Anne’s mother’s red car drove quickly to try to catch up with her, Anne with her head outside as she desperately tried to keep up with her seemingly crazed friend.

“Why didn’t you tell me Marcy would be weird with the medication?” On almost shouted at her, quite stressed with everything that happened. It was already the second time she had been in a high-speed chase and it hadn’t even been two days since the last one!

“Because I didn’t know?! How was I supposed to know that temporary amnesia and personality changes would cause THIS as a side effect?!” Anne complained, for the third time since explaining her theory to her mother, still looking desperately at her friend, her heart almost dropping when she realized that she was heading straight for a busy lane of cars with a green traffic light. “MARCY, NO!!!”

To her surprise, Marcy lay down completely on the skateboard, somehow managing to pass under all the cars without any problem, getting back up when she passed them all. Fortunately, the traffic light turned red for them, which allowed On to continue following the one she considered her second daughter without any problems.

Marcy quickly looked to the side, purring in happiness when she saw Anne being close to her, that was the most fun tag she had had in years! She looked ahead again, widening her eyes a little when she noticed that there was another place full of cars, but this time with the view of the sea right behind them. Her smile widened again, excited about it, it had been a while since she had swum, this hunt was getting more and more exciting!

She prepared to jump over the cars, mentally calculating how to jump straight into the water without hurting herself. She could feel that strange power rising inside her again, giving her the ability to do what she wanted without hurting herself, her chest sparking with the familiar, unfamiliar power.

...

... Her chest sparking?

Just before she hit the moving car, she jumped with enough momentum to leap over all the cars, clearing the metal fence and heading straight into the ocean, getting a good look at her reflection as she fell.

Marcy blinked.

Was it her imagination... Or were her eyes blue?

She didn't have time to think before she hit the water.

Inside the car, Anne felt something in her chest as Marcy jumped over the cars. It wasn't her heart stopping in fear as she expected, it was more like something had given it a slight tug before letting go. She blinked a little in a daze, her scream coming out a little late as she saw her friend fall on the other side of the guardrail. On quickly parked nearby and they both ran out to try to find the girl, fearing that she had hurt herself.

For a few frightening seconds, they saw nothing, Anne was starting to fear the worst. And then, as if someone from above decided to take pity on her, she looked to the side and saw her friend lying on the sands of the nearest beach, it seemed that the waves had carried her there safely. The two Boonchuys didn't hesitate to run towards where she was, On up the stairs while Anne jumped from above where she was anyway, she had already jumped greater heights in Amphibia.

“MARCY!!!” Anne knelt down where her friend was, feeling her heart stop when she realized how quiet she was. She couldn’t lose her too! “No, no, no! Marcy, please!

 She quickly pulled Marcy onto her lap, On also kneeling down and putting her ear to her chest to listen to her heartbeat. It was steady, beating a little faster, but it was quickly slowing down to a normal rate, her chest rising and falling normally, not seeming to be bothered by anything.

“Hmmm, she seems fine. No signs of injury or drowning, thankfully...” On commented as he examined the girl. Anne looked closely at Marcy’s face. It was peaceful, her eyebrows twitching slightly in a familiar way, her mouth opening slightly as a soft snore escaped her lips. She was asleep.

Slowly, feeling her chest spark, she raised her hand and punched her friend in the head, startling her mother.

“MARCY!!!”

***

When she woke up, her head felt fuzzy. She lay still for a moment, letting all her halves settle down.

Ouch... My head... Anyone else getting a massive headache?

I feel a little dizzy, but other than that, I'm fine.

Me too, my head hurts a little, but I'm relatively fine.

...

She felt her halves turn to her inner beast, who was still out of it, completely dead to the world with a satisfied smile on her face. They shrugged and had a small conversation before the young side took over completely.

Marcy blinked, trying to get her bearings. Her mouth hurt a little and she put her hand to her cheek, feeling a cloth on it. She followed the cloth and realized it was wrapped around her head, like a head sling. Memories quickly flashed through her head.

“Oh, right... I went to the dentist...” She commented, her voice a little slow like the rest of her body.

“You did more than that, young lady.”

Marcy blinked, looking back to the front and seeing Mrs. B looking at her in the rearview mirror. That was when she finally noticed that she was inside the car, Anne looking dazed in the front seat, drooling a little as she stared into space. Marcy sat up straighter in her seat, feeling nervous from the intense look Mrs. B was giving her, she had a feeling she had done something stupid. Had she said something embarrassing while under the effect of the gas?

“You broke down a door, probably broke several vases from several people's windows, stole a skateboard and almost killed us both with heart attacks several times today.” Mrs. B said, and Marcy turned pale, she did what!? “Anne said it had to do with the personality changes you’ve been having since Amphibia.” Marcy felt cold sweat run down her face. “Want to explain that to me?”

WE DID WHAT?!

Note to self: Don't let anyone use substances on us again. No matter how licensed they are.

“I… I would explain if I knew…” Marcy lied, playing with her fingers. She saw Mrs. B raise her eyebrow skeptically. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry. I… I didn’t expect this to happen, I don’t think any of us expected this.”

“You should have told me anyway, we could help you.” She turned her gaze forward. “Tomorrow, we’ll go to a psychologist to see what we can do...”

“No.”

The answer was quick, almost instinctive, coming from Marcy. They both blinked in surprise, with Marcy quickly recovering, Mrs. B quickly parking the car to turn to the girl.

“Marcy...”

“I don’t need help with this, I’m fine as I am. Whatever happened today was just an accident...”

“An accident that could end with you getting hurt! You may not remember, but the things you did were dangerous, bad things could happen if you continue like this!”

“It’s because I’m this way that I’m still alive despite everything!”

The car was silent again, but in a heavier way. Mrs. B stared at her with wide eyes, and Marcy could feel her other halves were also in shocked silence.

“You don’t know what Amphibia is like… Anne and Sasha were lucky to crash near civilization, but me?” Marcy hugged herself, she still vividly remembered being hunted by that Rhinoceros Beetle. The way she was used in Toad Tower. How to save Sasha, she… “Amphibia is not safe, not if you’re alone. They protected me, took care of me even if they didn’t know or were fully aware of it. I almost died in the first five minutes of my arrival!”

Marcy looked at her hand without the splint, noting the small cuts and calluses it now had. She remembered Beast commenting on how painful it was to climb trees in the beginning, doing her best to survive even in such a weak body. She remembers what Soldier's hands look like, scarred from her time serving the toads, continuing to move forward even when she didn't liked it. She remembers the way Calamity desperately tried to use her powers to heal their arm broken by the king, using all her knowledge to get everyone out of danger.

“... When a wild animal tried to hurt us, they protected us or tamed them. When they were in a tight spot, they picked themselves up and kept going until they found a way out. When it seemed like all was lost, they found a way to get out of the situation alive.” Marcy looked up at Mrs. B, a rare serious expression on her face. “If I’m here talking to you now, it’s because of them. I know you’re worried, but I’m not going to let you or anyone else talk about them like they’re some disease I need to get rid of to be ‘normal’.”

... Young...

... I... I don’t even know what to say... Thank you.

No, she’s the one who thanks them for everything they’ve done. Marcy thought to herself, feeling her calamity side and her inner soldier blush and look away with similar shy, grateful smiles. Mrs. B still stared at her intently for a moment, before sighing and starting the car again, focusing on the road again.

“… Just promise me you’ll be more careful… All of you.” She pleaded, which made Marcy feel like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“We promise.”

The rest of the ride home was uneventful, Anne seeming to recover a little enough to start babbling nonsense, like she’s sure Marcy and Domino are omnipotent cosmic entities. When they got home, the Plantars were already there with Mr. B, having come back from the vet before them. Anne went back to talking about Domino being the alpha and omega of everything while Marcy went upstairs to go to the bathroom, stopping for a moment to look at herself in the mirror, seeing herself and her other halves at the same time as she often does lately.

Her expression softened, running a hand over her scarred arm, feeling her inner beast finally awaken and being quickly questioned by her inner soldier what she did, with her calamity side trying to pacify both of them. They were all very important to her, her little family inside her head.

And Marcy would not let anything, or anyone, separate them from each other.

Chapter Text

It was the dawn of a new day, the sun was slowly rising on the horizon. In the Boonchuy family house, everyone was still sleeping in their rooms, in different positions, like Marcy hugging a pillow like it was a plush toy, Sprig and Hop Pop on the mattress on the floor almost sprawled out while drooling and Polly sleeping next to Domino.

Everyone except Anne, who had spent the night awake researching.

She couldn't stop researching, she couldn't stop. She had to find a way to open the portal, she had to save Sasha, she had to stop Andrias, she had to help the Plantars get back home, she had to protect her world and Amphibia from whatever scheme Andrias was planning. It was her fault that all of this was happening, she had to take responsibility for what she had done.

So she researched. For hours, she did thousands of searches to try to find some answer to her problems, from science books to internet searches asking if anyone knew about other worlds. She searched everything from the wiki to youtoob videos, and took the opportunity to do some research about the situation of her friend sleeping next to her, asking if memory loss and personality changes were normal or curable. No answers to her questions were given.

But she didn't stop, she kept searching, and searching, and searching...

“ANNE!”

Anne jumped and turned around, red eyes from sleep deprivation staring at green and brown eyes looking at her worriedly.

“Your mother called us for coffee a while ago, let's go.” Marcy gently took the laptop from her friend's lap, Anne quickly realized that Marcy was already completely dressed while she was still in her pajamas. She blinked and looked at the window, seeing that the sun had already risen some time ago, how long had she been awake?

Not enough to find the answers she was looking for.

“...Come on, Anne.” Marcy pulled her out of bed, starting to guide her to the bathroom. “I think you need a coffee.”

Yes, a cup of coffee sounds good...

She still had answers to find, after all.

***

The Plantars were in the living room, eating while enjoying the new episode of the series they were watching. They were excited, maybe those two would finally confess their feelings for each other!

Marcy soon appeared with a piece of toast in her mouth and a plate of cereal in her hand, guiding an exhausted Anne carrying a cup with the other. She made Anne sit first between her and Hop Pop before sitting next to her, returning the cereal to her friend, who made incoherent noises of thanks.

“Whoa. Someone didn't sleep.” Sprig commented, observing the way her fluffy-haired friend was.

“Nope. I spent all night researching ways to get you guys home, and possibly the night before that.” Anne explained, resting her head on one hand. On appeared and placed her hand in her daughter’s hair.

“You? Researching? Who are you and what happened to my daughter?” She asked playfully, making Anne narrow her eyes as she watched her mother head to the kitchen.

“Har, har…” She clasped her hands together as she began to share her findings with her friends. “So I was thinking. What if there's a second Calamity Box here on Earth? So I mapped out every thrift store in a 50-mile radius and if we leave right now-”

“There is no other box, Anne...”

“Pass. 'Primthistle Manor' isn't gonna binge itself...” Marcy and Polly spoke almost at the same time.

“Everyone be quiet! Lord Frankerton is confessing his love for Lady Franklin!” Hop Pop exclaimed, causing Marcy and the Plantars to quickly focus their attention on the TV with wide, hopeful eyes.

“My dearest, Lady Franklin. I simply cannot contain my passion for you any longer.”

“Oh, Lord Frankerton!”

The two held hands, finally ending this week's dramatic episode of this series. The Plantars were openly crying while Marcy tried unsuccessfully to hold back her tears.

“Amazing!”

“I'm shook!”

“And it only took three seasons!”

“My ship... It's finally happening...!”

Anne watched everything with exacerbation, running her hand over her face.

“Argh... Why does it feel like I'm the only one trying to find a way back to Amphibia?” She nearly screamed at her friends, who wiped away their tears and approached her.

“Anne, we have been trying. But, it's okay to take a day off to recharge every now and then.” Sprig tried to explain, with Marcy nodding.

“Yeah, everyone deserves a break, Anne.”

“We don’t have time, guys! We have to...” Anne trailed off, her tired mind finally processing a small piece of information. “Wait, what did you say, Marcy?”

“Everyone deserves a break?”

“No, before that.”

“You need a coffee?”

“No, no, after! Something about the box?”

“Oh!” Marcy snapped her fingers. “There’s no second Calamity Box, so there’s no point in trying to look for one.”

“Yes, that!” She grabbed her friend’s shoulders, bringing their faces so close that their noses were touching. “How do you know about that? Why do you think that? Did you find anything?!”

Marcy heard a faint, familiar squeak from one of her other parts in her mind and quickly pushed Anne back to sit, separating the two from the almost uncomfortable proximity. She wouldn’t mind being close to her, but not like this.

“Because of the stones. They’re obviously unique and special, remember?” She pointed to her green eye that was a little brighter than usual. “So even if someone could replicate the box itself, they couldn’t replicate the gems that work as batteries. If they could, probably half of the things we went through in there wouldn’t have happened.”

“...” For a moment, Anne seemed to have completely lost her will, worrying her friends, but she quickly regained her composure. “Okay, so no more Calamity Box to solve our problems. Which just proves that we have to continue our research!” Marcy and the Plantars glanced at each other, worried for Anne’s sanity, not that she seemed to notice. “Come on! Let’s get back to research!”

The TV was suddenly turned off, On entering the room and having only caught the end of the conversation to know more or less what the small group was talking about.

“Since you seems to enjoy research so much now, what if you all spent a day at the museum and wrote a report?” On asked as she crossed her arms. “You two have a lot of make up schoolwork to do.” Anne and the Plantars shuddered at that.

“Oh... Do we have to?!” They asked in unison, Marcy shrugged.

“I already did mine, so...”

“YOU WHAT?!?!” Anne turned to her friend who, to the brunette’s surprise, gave a slight teasing smile.

“What did you think I did when I had nothing to do while we were locked up here? I did it right away so I would have more free time later, and no, I’m not going to give you cheating.” She explained as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms and legs, making Anne and the Plantars groan loudly again. Anne’s tired mind slowly wrote down that interaction in her pile of suspicious acts of her friend.

“I'm also cleaning the house. There's slime everywhere and I'm not pointing fingers, but I need you all out of the way.” On spoke, making everyone finally pay full attention to their surroundings. In fact, there was a lot of green slime in several rooms of the house, mainly the ceiling and walls, Polly turned to Anne with a dry look.

“Gross, Anne.”

***

As the small family prepared for the trip, two robots tried in vain to use their sensors to find their targets.

One of them, the one that replaced its arm, was becoming increasingly irritated by the delay in finding the person they needed. It looked at one of the antennas in one of the houses where they were and had an idea.

“Energy sensor unresponsive. Will attempt to hack in local frequencies.” It turned invisible again and approached the antenna to connect.

The other robot, with the glass in its chest and visor broken, just watched its partner take the lead. It remained invisible while trying to track as it had been doing before, a part of it hoping its efforts would be in vain.

***

“I’ll pick you up at six. Have fun, but also learn.” Mrs. Boonchuy urged as the kids and Hop Pop got out of the car, most of them grumbling. She turned up the volume on the heavy rock in her car before getting out.

The five of them walked into the museum, a bit taken aback by its interior. It almost seemed bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, but that was only because of how much stuff there was to see. From skeletons…

“Whoa! Looks like you guys used to have a monster problem too.”

“Luckily most of them went extinct before us, or we’d be in a lot of trouble...”

... To a room full of astronomy...

“Wait, your people think the world is round?!”

“I’m not going to argue with you on that, Hop Pop, and can you stop trying to change things in the museum, Mar-Mar?”

“Bu-But the star Alpha Aurigae is at a different angle than it should be compared to Beta Tauri!”

... To a room with a representation of human evolution.

“I like these guys. They get it.”

“We’re not buying you a weapon yet, Polly.”

“Damn it!”

Overall, it was a peaceful walk through all parts of the museum. The Plantars and Marcy seemed quite content with all the exploring, each with a satisfied smile on their face as they continued to wander around the place.

“See? We can have a fun one-off just like we did in Amphibia.” Hop Pop commented, making Marcy nod.

“Yeah, it’s… relaxing, a little, to stop what we were doing and rest. I feel like when I continue our research, I’ll be in a more prepared state of mind.” She sighed contentedly. “Don’t you think so, Anne?”

She turned around with a smile, only for it to disappear when she realized that Anne was back on her laptop, researching things about interdimensional travel. Marcy closed the laptop in Anne’s hands, startling her, and pulled it towards her while looking at her in disappointment.

“Last time I checked, I was the one who was in the zone and needed to be taken out to notice the world outside.” She commented, making Anne look away, a little embarrassed. “Anne, I understand. I know what it’s like to be obsessed with something and not be able to think about anything else, and you’re obsessed with portals to Amphibia. But you have to take a break from all this research, because otherwise you’ll get too tired and won’t be able to do what you want anymore.”

“Don’t worry, Marcy. I’m fine.” Anne casually ignored her friends’ concerns, staring unfocused ahead.

“Marcy’s right, burning yourself out isn't going to help us get home to Amphibia.” Hop Pop tried to make her listen to reason, but as soon as her vision focused, Anne’s eyes widened.

“Amphibia...”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re saying.”

“No, look!” She made Hop Pop and Marcy look where she was looking, and they both blinked.

A few meters away, in a glass enclosure, there was an antique gray vase with gold details. The vase itself was not interesting, but the design on it was. An embossed drawing of what appeared to be a frog coming through a portal and handing a box to humans with Viking helmets. The group quickly approached the vase, surprised by what they saw.

“Wow...” Sprig placed his hand on his mask, thoughtful. “Call me crazy. But that looks like...”

“... One of us.” Polly completed, also fascinated.

“I don't believe it... Could this be the clue we've been looking for?” Anne ran her hand through her hair, a glimmer of hope rising in her chest. Anne turned to her friend with a smile, about to ask if she knew the time of those humans, but any thought stopped when she looked at her.

Marcy… Wasn’t reacting. She was completely still, eyes fixed on the drawing, it almost seemed like she wasn’t breathing. She could feel something in her being, in her calamity side specifically, something in that drawing seemed strange…

… No, not strange…

… It was more like this was…

(The rain fell heavily that night, thunder roaring in the sky as the prince’s roar of fury echoed from the castle you were fleeing. You never wanted it to end like this, but if that thing was going to play its twisted game again, then so were you.

“Where should we go?” The royal gardener turned to you with tears in her eyes, one hand tightly gripping the box and the other holding the Mossman’s broken chain collar.

“First we must go to the one who created the box, warn her that the worst has happened and she will be needed to watch over the temples.” You said, looking away to the skies, where you knew your only living friend was watching. “Then? We will deliver the box to the people who will make the prophecy come true.”

“To the Olms?”

“To Earth.”)

... Familiar to her.

-lamity. CALAMITY!

Marcy jumped, shaking her head as she tried to focus. She was vaguely aware of the worried way Anne and the Plantars were surrounding her with arms that seemed ready to catch her if she fell while they were staring at her worriedly, but she focused on their other halves first. Was everything okay?

We should be the ones asking this, what the hell happened?

Yeah, are you okay? Your thoughts suddenly closed off, and we and Anne were trying to get your attention, but you weren't responding to anyone!

You suddenly became so quiet, you seemed in a trance.

Marcy blinked, was she? She hadn’t realized, she was too focused on thinking…

… Thinking…

…

… What was she thinking about?

“Marcy, is everything okay?” Anne asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Marcy gave a small, uncomfortable groan.

“Yeah, I guess so… I… I don’t know what came over me.” She turned to her friend with a slight smile. “Sorry for scaring you, Anne.”

“Could it be one of those moments where your memory was trying to come back? Back in Amphibia, you would sometimes get like that before you came to.” Sprig commented, which made Marcy blink again and turn to the vase.

“Maybe? I’m not sure why I would be here, though...” After all, this side of Marcy has the memories of all her other halves, so there’s no reason for her to have flashbacks. She didn’t even have memories of her own for that to happen!

... Right?

A hand on Anne’s shoulder startled everyone enough to momentarily forget what had happened.

“Didn't expect to see frogs in here, eh?” The owner of the hand commented, making everyone turn to her. She was a woman with red reading glasses, dark hair tied in a messy ponytail, skin a little darker than Anne’s, wearing a yellow blouse with dinosaur skeleton designs and simple khaki pants, as well as a belt, gloves and earrings with UFOs.

“What?! Frogs?!HUH?!?!” Anne briefly panicked, did that woman realize what the Plantars were? Marcy quickly nudged her and subtly nodded at the vase. “... Oh, you're talking about the pot.”

“Sure! What did you think I was talking about?” The woman gave a small laugh and pointed to herself. “Name's Dr. Jan. I'm a curator here and an AVID lover of all things ancient. ” She winked at Hop Pop, much to his confusion.

“Why'd she wink at me?” The four of them did their best not to laugh at the question.

“So, staring at this pot, eh? Interesting, isn't it?” She approached the exhibit and looked at the vase, pulling the closest person to her, who was Anne. “The frog here is depicted in a very unconventional fashion, bipedal! Oh!” She pointed to the frog in the picture. “It must have been some kind of deity.”

“Oh. You don't say...” Anne commented, half uncomfortable, half intrigued.

“Maybe it's a frog-shaped alien, right? From another dimension!” Dr. Jan commented, half joking, not realizing how uncomfortable most of the group was getting.

“It could be.” Marcy’s comment nearly made Anne’s heart stop as she watched her friend approach the curator. “I mean, some people believe that the Egyptian gods are a representation of alien contact with humans, after all. If aliens really do exist, maybe the conspiracy theorists are right about that.” Marcy gave a light laugh, which was shared by the museum curator.

“Right?” She released Anne, taking a step back. “Sorry about that,  I'm really into cryptids. You know, UFO's and stuff.” She presented her earrings shaped like little aliens in spaceships.

“I get it. I had a similar time before I shifted my focus to space in general, not just possible alien contact. Sometimes space is almost as bizarre as any crypto, after all.”

“Then I hope we get along well here!” She rested her arms on her hips. “Anyway, you got any other questions?”

“Do you know anything about portals to-” Sprig’s question was interrupted by Anne, who covered his mask with her hand almost desperately.

“Nope. Not at all. Actually, I hate history and museums. Yuck.” She said, looking up uncomfortably.

“And I’m here to see if I can change her mind, as well as give our friends here a good start.” Marcy subtly kicked Anne’s foot, silently asking her not to overreact.

“Oh. That's too bad. And kind of insulting!” The cheerful way Dr. Jan spoke didn’t match her words. “Well, I hope you have luck on your mission, stargazer! If you changed your mind, just holler  ‘Dr. Jan’, and I'll fly in like an information superhero.” She struck a hero pose about to fly away, causing the group to blink blankly. “Uh... Dr. Jan away! ” She made flying noises as she left the room. The five of them were silent for a moment before Sprig walked away.

“Hey! Why did you blow her off? Maybe she knows something.”

“What? Come on, dude. We don't know anything about that lady. How do you know we can trust her?” Anne complained, Marcy putting her hand on the back of her neck.

“I don’t know. She seems relatively harmless...”

Seriously? Why would you trust some stranger so quickly?

Marcy mentally pointed to her young side, who was excitedly creating a conspiracy theory chart about how many gods were actually beings from another dimension who had come to Earth using something similar to the Calamity Box. Her inner beast was looking at it with such curiosity and admiration that if she had a tail, it would surely be wagging excitedly.

... Okay, I’m listening.

“... But I also think it’s best to keep an eye on her. You know, drop a few hints that we know something crazy and see how she reacts. Maybe, if she’s trustworthy, she can help us find a way to get to Amphibia.”

“What if we said something and she got suspicious and called the government? The Plantars would be in danger because of us!” Anne almost seemed betrayed by Marcy’s opinion.

“Paranoid much?” Polly commented casually.

“But that thing's our first real clue.” Hop Pop said as he aimed at the vase.

“Agreed. We can't just drop it. What if there's a map painted on the bottom? Or a secret code that only shows up under black light?”

“So we need help.” Marcy sighed, happy that her friend seemed to finally see reason. “Otherwise we would have to do something stupid and crazy that could end very badly, like robbing the museum or something like that.”

***

“You’d really rather rob the museum than talk to Dr. Jan!?”

“Shhh!” Anne quickly asked her friend. They were back in Anne’s room, sitting on the floor with a map of the museum in between them, some red markers pointing out routes or emergency exits. The sound of footsteps sounded behind the door and Anne quickly turned the map to the other side.

“Anne? You guys okay in here?” Her mother asked, peeking into the room.

“All good! Just finishing that report!” Anne quickly replied, her friends doing their best to look innocent. Her mother narrowed her eyes.

“Don't believe you, but okay. ” She left, still with suspicion in her eyes. Marcy sighed tiredly.

“And now your mother thinks we’re going to pull pranks like before. Are you sure about that?” She turned to her friend, only to find her still sitting up asleep.

“ANNE!” Sprig’s scream quickly woke her up.

“Where was I…? Oh, yeah!” Anne turned the map over again. “We’ve all done more dangerous things in Amphibia. At least nothing’s going to try to eat us for lunch.”

“That you know of.” Polly crossed her arms, skeptical. Anne stood up and went to the closet.

“Anne, please, this is getting ridiculous.” Marcy quickly grabbed her friend’s hand, a worried expression on her face. “I know we have a history of getting into trouble, and we’ve all stolen something silly from a grocery store. And I’m really sorry for forcing you to take the Calamity Box, but robbing a museum is on a whole other level!”

“Come on, guys. If you don't break a few rules for this, how are we ever gonna get back? Or save Sasha?” Was Anne’s question, one that made the other four hesitate and look at each other. None of them spoke for a moment before Sprig sighed.

“So, what’s the plan?”

***

It was nighttime when they put their plan into action. The first step was to disguise themselves, where Anne handed out clothes from her edgy phase to everyone, including cutting one to fit Polly. Marcy asked where hers was, only for Anne to zip up her coat and unfurl her sleeves, as well as pull up her hood to partially cover her face.

After they managed to sneak out of the house, the five hid in a bush near the museum entrance. Hop Pop disguised himself as a cat and stole a shoe from a guard, drawing their attention as he fled. The four then approached the door, with Marcy examining the lock before using her lockpicking equipment, easily opening the door.

“You never explained to me or Sasha where you got it.”

“You can get anything on the internet if you know where to look.”

Then it was Sprig’s turn, who used his tongue to disable every single camera in the place. One camera still caught him for a moment, however, and soon that would become a problem for everyone. For now, Hop Pop caught up with the group again, saying that the guards had stopped at a nearby café and they had a few minutes to spare.

“Great. Now all we need to do is...” Marcy trailed off when she felt something leaning against her. She looked back and realized it was Anne, sleeping upright while leaning on her shoulder. Marcy tried to nudge her awake, to no avail.

“Hey, Anne! Not a good time to nap!” Without the same gentleness as Marcy, Polly climbed on top of the other human and slapped her across the face, waking her instantly.

“Right! Sorry...” She stumbled over her own feet before standing up straight, her voice tired and sleepy. “Let’s get this thing.”

“... When we get back home, we’re going to make her get some sleep, even if it’s force.” Marcy muttered to the Plantars, who nodded before following the other human. They all stopped in front of the room where the vase was, which was surrounded by several security lasers, making Marcy whistle. “That's a lot of lasers...”

“Don't worry. I got this.” Polly said, somehow cracking her neck before advancing.

Since she was small, Polly easily got past all the lasers until she reached the vase, where she jumped and used her teeth to open a hole in the glass, using her tongue to pull the vase out, triumphant. Marcy felt her inner beast grow curious about the power of the little pollywog's bite, but temporarily ignored it when she heard Sprig speak.

“Wow, that was easy.” Anne smiled sleepily.

“This isn't a movie, Sprig. Not everything has a dramatic twist.” She commented, making Marcy shiver.

“...Why do I feel like you just raised a red flag, Anne?”

Almost as if they had expected this comment, the glass on the roof shattered and two familiar creatures emerged, triggering the security alarm. The two robots from the market stood up, the one with a new arm seeming to laugh maliciously while the other was silent and simply prepared for the fight.

“Oh, no...” Marcy took a step back, feeling her inner soldier prepare for the fight.

“Not you again!” Anne’s drowsiness was temporarily nullified at that moment.

The robot with the new arm tried to hit Polly, who quickly ran to her friends and everyone tried to escape, the robots soon starting the chase. Anne quickly grabbed the vase and put it in her backpack while Marcy closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, her green eye glowing less and a serious expression appearing on her face. The group separated, with the robots following the girls in different locations.

Anne tried to hide in a sarcophagus, only for the newly armed robot to quickly find her. It started shooting lasers from its eyes, but was soon hit by a flail in the side, Polly continuing to swing at her enemy while using Sprig as a mount, who wore a suit of armor to protect him from any attacks. The robot picked up the flail and threw it at them, hitting Sprig's armor and knocking them both down, but it was enough time for Anne to grab a statue and hit the robot in the head, stunning it long enough for her to grab the frogs and run again.

Meanwhile, Marcy grabbed two medieval swords, using both to block and attack the robot with cracked glass. Something about the way the robot moved seemed to draw the attention of her inner beast, but Marcy was too busy focusing on not getting caught to pay attention. At one point, the robot managed to throw a sword away and tried to grab the human, who quickly dodged and made the robot's claw get stuck in the wall, right in the middle of a guillotine, which Hop Pop took the opportunity to use and cut off the robot's hand before he and Marcy also ran away. The two groups met again as they fled.

“How're we gonna stop this thing?!” Hop Pop asked, Anne looked around until she saw a giant dinosaur skeleton in another room. She turned to Marcy, who was also looking at the skeleton, both of them nodding at each other.

Meanwhile, the two robots had also regrouped, the one chasing Anne now with a dent in its head while the one chasing Marcy was missing one of its hands. The first robot seemed even angrier, rushing to find its prey while the other one slowly followed.

“Hey, can openers!” They both heard Anne's scream and went there. In a large room on a level below, there were both humans, the warrior with a sword in her hand while the soldier had a spear in one and a shield in the other. “Wanna fight? We’re here!” The two robots soon came down to confront the girls and finish their missions. “Let's rumble, robot!”

“... May Barrel's will bless this fight.” Marcy muttered before the humans stepped forward.

Both robots created axes to fight, Anne having a little difficulty defending the attacks of the one attacking her while Marcy blocked them all with her shield, attacking whenever possible with her spear. The robot that was fighting Anne managed to knock her down, but Marcy threw her weapon at it and distracted it enough for Anne to return to the fight. The two were just giving the Plantars enough time to execute their plan for victory.

... Something's strange...

Hm? What do you mean?

The creature we're facing... Something's different about it...

Different? How?

It almost seems... Afraid.

Marcy blinked, blocking another attack before moving a little away from her opponent. It also stopped, seeming to analyze her as well. She narrowed her eyes, listening to the sounds of her friend and the other robot fighting fiercely without rest, but this one almost seemed... Hesitant.

Marcy took a step forward. The robot took a step back.

Her eyes widened.

Was it... afraid of her?

The sound of a falling blade caught her attention, seeing her friend fallen while the other robot threatened her. Trying to take advantage of the distraction, the robot that was fighting Marcy advanced to capture her, only for its attack to be blocked again at an almost superhuman speed.

The robot seemed to widen its eyes when Marcy, her pupils as thin as needles, jumped back to create space between them before advancing against the robot using the shield with frightening force, pushing it against the other robot and unbalancing it. Anne quickly gave the signal, and the Plantars brought the giant skeleton down on top of the robots, the human narrowly dodging it. Her friends quickly approached her with worried expressions.

“Don't worry, guys. We got them!” Anne said excitedly, vaguely noticing her friend's eyes.

Before she could ask if it was ‘the other one’, one of the robots broke free from the rubble, its head even more crushed and with one of its eyes broken. It tried to grab her, only to be stopped when Marcy stepped forward and blocked it with her shield, letting out a defiant growl as the second robot also came out, one of its shoulder pads broken. Anne quickly picked up the fallen sword, the Plantars arming themselves with some of the bones nearby, both groups looking ready for a second round.

“FREEZE! PUT YOUR HAND IN THE... air?”

The shout caught the group’s attention, who turned to the entrance and noticed two guards there, as well as Dr. Jan. The robot with the broken eye tried to take advantage of the distraction to attack, but was quickly stopped by the other, who held it tightly in its handleless arm before jumping and destroying a part of the ceiling to escape, dragging its partner away against its will. It would not allow its master's orders to be ignored, not one of them, no matter how much it wanted to.

Anne took a deep breath, nearly collapsing on the floor as the adrenaline left her system. She was helped by Marcy to sit up, the Plantars seeming to check whether she had been hurt or not. She looked directly at her friend, noticing her normal pupils and slightly glowing green eye, watching her with concern, and she mentally filed this fight away to analyze when she wasn't tired.

“Thank frog no one got hurt." Hop Pop commented, and it was then that Anne realized the hood that protected his face was no longer there.

“Oh no... Guys, your disguises! " She almost screamed, hiding Hop Pop and Sprig's faces in the hood, Marcy doing the same with Polly as Anne turned to the guards and Dr. Jan at the door.

Dr. Jan’s eyes seemed to light up, and Anne quickly realized with dread that she knew the truth. To her surprise, however, instead of threatening to call the government as she had expected, she made up an excuse to the guards about it all being an act of historical reenactment they were doing at the museum. Anne watched the two guards leave before approaching Dr. Jan.

“Oh, heeey, Dr. Jan.” She began, looking quite worried as she tried to come up with an excuse. “Sooo... There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this.”

“And I can't wait to hear it!” Dr. Jan turned around excitedly, her eyes shining like stars. “Frog aliens? Robots? Spill it, kid! This is a dream come true!!!” Anne turned to her friends with a slightly perturbed expression.

“I told you we should give her a chance...” Marcy said, giving a small, awkward smile.

“We can't do this on our own, Anne. Maybe it's time we try trusting someone.” It was Hop Pop’s turn, shrugging. Anne seemed to hesitate before sighing.

“... Okay...”

***

“Wow. Sounds like you've been through a lot.” Dr. Jan commented as she opened her office. It appeared to be an organized mess, the kind where no one but the person who did it knows exactly where everything is. The only thing that didn’t look like a mess was a wall with several conspiracy theory posters on it. “I see why you're in such a rush for answers, but why the heist? Why didn't you just ask me?”

“Uuhh... made sense earlier” Anne replied, blinking wearily. “If I'm honest, I'm sort of running on empty right now.”

“Yeah, Anne hasn’t slept in a while. And to be completely honest, the last time we trusted someone who seemed to know more than us, he ended up hurting me and our friend before we came here.” Marcy confessed, rubbing her cheek in embarrassment. “So, we kind of have a bit of trust issues.”

“Well, that's no good.” Dr. Jan commented, concerned. “Here, look at this.” She led them to a small glass dome with a pile of what looked like dust inside. “Back when I was younger, I would stay up for days on a dig. I couldn't go home knowing we were so close. One time I got sloppy with a dynamite charge and well…” She gave an embarrassed laugh as she pointed to the pile of dust. “… This was a Triceraptops.”

Everyone but Polly shuddered. Anne and Marcy knew what dinosaur she was talking about and how unrecognizable it was in this private exhibit. Sprig and Hop Pop might not have known what the animal looked like, but it certainly didn't look like a bone from one. Polly was just curious to know what animal the curator had said it was.

“...I get it. So what you're saying is, if I keep this up, I may do more harm than good?” Anne looked away, Marcy gently touching her shoulder to hers.

“Here. I'll make you a deal. I'll keep your secret and help you research this artifact if you go home and get some sleep.” Dr. Jan asked as she sat down in her chair with the vase in her hands.  Anne smiled.

“Deal. Thanks, Dr. Jan.” Anne intertwined her fingers thoughtfully. “Real quick. Before we go...” Anne approached the vase, staring at it intently. “...do you have a black light? I wanna check and see if this baby has any secret codes on it.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Marcy pulled her friend away and began dragging her out of the room. “Thank you so much for your help, Dr. Jan. I’ll make sure she gets the rest she deserves!”

Dr. Jan waved at them as the five of them left. She turned back to her computer, ready to set up some tabs to start her research tomorrow when Marcy reentered the room.

“Uh, before we go, here’s our phone number.” She handed over a piece of paper with two numbers on it, which Dr. Jan accepted with a smile.

“Oh, thanks! I should have thought of that before we made the deal.” She laughed, which Marcy returned before she started to leave. She paused for a moment, staring at the vase with an odd expression.

“... Anne is right, though.” Dr. Jan blinked in surprise at the other human’s intensity toward the artifact. “You should use a black light at some point in your research. Something tells me the answers are right in front of us, we just need to change the way we look to find them.” And then she left, leaving the curator alone as she thought about what she had said.

The next morning, Dr. Jan would do just that. The next morning, she would find a text in a language unlike anything she knew on Earth. In the days that followed, she would tell the two girls about her discovery, a warning that would bring them closer to the prophecy that awaited them. But for now?

For now, the most important thing for all of them was to finally get Anne some rest.

Chapter Text

“PLANTARS, ASSEMBLED!”

“Present!”

“What’s up?”

“Any new?”

“I’m not a Plantar, but I’m here too!”

It was a new morning at the Boonchuy house. After a good night’s sleep, Anne woke up happy and energized, even more so when she received news from Dr. Jan on her cell phone. The Plantars and Marcy were gathered in front of her at her call, each curious about what the fluffy-haired human would say, but Marcy suspected what the answer would be given the message she had received a short time ago.

“I got a text from Dr. Jan!” Anne exclaimed excitedly, confirming her friend’s suspicions. “It says ‘Come see when you've got a moment! I think I found something!’” She showed them her phone. “Which means, the sooner we talk to her, the sooner we get you home and saved Sasha!”

The entire group cheered, the Plantars jumping for joy while Anne felt a familiar spark pulsing in her chest and Marcy felt a joyful synchrony in all her halves. Everyone quickly went upstairs to get ready and ran outside, so excited that they almost bumped into On, who was loading several items into the car with Brian.

“Oh, good. You're here.” She commented, holding a few plates in her arms. “Help us finish loading the car.” The Plantars and Marcy quickly complied without complaint while Anne sighed in annoyance.

“Okay... But then we gotta get to the museum.” She warned her mother, making On frown.

“No way. It's market day at the Thai Temple and we are all going to be there.” On’s words piqued Marcy’s inner soldier and beast’s curiosity, but she continued loading the car, promising to explain later.

“But Mom, it’s super important!” Anne tried to convince her with a cute expression, one that her mother easily ignored.

“So is this. The Thai community hasn't seen you since you came back. And this is the perfect opportunity.” She picked up a box of vegetables, seeing her daughter about to try to argue again. “Look, I'll make you a deal. Just stay for one full hour, then you can go do whatever.”

“Ugh, fine...” A thought crossed Anne’s mind. “What about Marcy? She can go to the museum to get what we want while I’m gone, right?” Anne smiled, clearly pleased with her quick thinking, while her mother raised an eyebrow.

“... Actually...” They both turned to Marcy, who was rubbing her protected arm shyly. “... I kind of want to be a part of this, if you don’t mind, Mrs. B.”

“Of course, you are family and always welcome.” On gave Anne a victorious smile, who had a betrayed expression as she looked at her friend, Marcy gave a small, embarrassed laugh. The laugh faded when she looked behind Anne and saw some poorly disguised classmates in a bush taking pictures. Anne quickly noticed the same.

“HEY, I SEE YOU, DESI, RICO!” She yelled, startling her classmates and sending them running.

“What was that all about?” Brian asked curiously to his daughter, who sighed in frustration and put her hands on her hips.

“Nosy gossip bloggers from the school paper trying to get an exclusive photo of ‘the girls who went missing’.” She explained, making air quotes at the end.

“Oh! Well I got some photos they can use!” To Anne’s horror, her father pulled out his cell phone and started showing her some baby pictures of her. “Here's you eating spaghetti when you were two. Oh! And here's you when you were-!”

“DAD!! OH MY GOSH, STOP!!!” Anne screamed as she started running towards her father, who ran away with a smile.

“NEVER!!!”

***

'You want me to do what?!'

‘Take control while we are at the temple. It’s simple!’

‘Young... Is there anyone here you don’t like and want to get hurt?’

‘What? No! Of course not!’

‘Then why do you want Soldier, of all people, to take control now?’

‘And what exactly does that mean?!’

Beast continued to watch the discussion without much reaction, distracted every now and then by the insects flying around her. When Young let their body rest on the car ride while she called for a meeting between everyone, no one expected it to be this kind of meeting. They had been at it for a few minutes now and still no results, Young would have to convince them quickly before they arrived on time.

‘Look, just listen to me, okay?’ Young took a deep breath, massaging the area between her eyes. ‘We know we can’t let Beast take on too much, as much as I wanted to give her some freedom, because of last time.’

Everyone looked at Beast, who simply smiled. She didn’t feel any guilt for the little adventure she had in the city, even if the results after that weren’t the most favorable. Those were the best hours of her life and nothing would make her regret it!

‘But Soldier can still pretend to be one of us and experience what life on Earth is like without risking your life!’ Young continued after a moment, turning to her pink-gem-born half. ‘Besides, the Thai community treats everyone there like family, and it might be good for you to have some human contact.’

Young blinked cutely and Soldier looked away, understanding what she really meant. This could be her chance to see a little more about what a family is and how different dynamics exist within one. Their secret conversation that night had been quite explanatory, but Young had said she would probably have a better idea if she watched instead of just listening.

‘...Yeah... Maybe... Maybe you’re right, Young.’ Soldier hesitated, rubbing the back of her neck. ‘But... I’m not sure it’ll be safe to be there alone.’

‘Don’t worry, Soldier! I’m here to help you whenever you need!’

Soldier gave a small shy smile, feeling a slight blush on her cheeks as Young smiled excitedly at her. Calamity looked a little suspicious, placing a finger on her chin as she seemed to study the two. Finally, to Soldier's horror, a mischievous smile appeared on the green-eyed girl's face.

'Oh... I see what's going on...' She muttered, pulling away a little and placing a hand on Beast's shoulder, getting her attention. 'In that case, how about we split up into pairs? You help our friend who's more tense than a rope suspended outside, and I'll teach our wild friend here a few things to expand her vocabulary. What do you think, Beast?'

'... Can you tell me why there are so many metal trees around here?'

With Calamity's nod, the wild girl stood up and they both started walking to a more distant part of the place. Soldier narrowed her eyes, suspicious of the green-eyed girl's behavior, but quickly changed her focus when she felt Young touch her arm.

'So, shall we?'

'... Okay.'

Soldier closed her eyes and concentrated and...

... Marcy opened her eyes just as the Boonchuys were parking the car, getting out to get the things stored in the trunk.

She shook her head a little to focus, feeling her hands shake a little with nervousness. This was the first time she had taken charge outside of combat, what if she ended up doing something suspicious? What if she blew their cover even more? What if...

Don't worry, Soldier. I'm here with you.

Marcy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, in and out, in and out...

When she opened them again, Anne's mother was watching her worriedly.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, Marcy swallowed hard, but nodded as she got out of the car.

“Yeah, just...” She looked around, seeing the parked cars and food stalls everywhere. “... Is my first time doing this, I don’t want to ruin it.” She mumbled, which Anne’s mother heard.

“Right, this is your first time at the temple.” Luckily, she interpreted her words differently. Marcy just nodded. “Do not worry, Marcy, this will be just as peaceful a morning as any other at the restaurant.”

Marcy nodded, feeling her young side smile at her as she began to follow the adult.

***

The two families walked through the temple, the Plantars watching everything in wonder and commenting on a few things. Marcy also seemed amazed, but with less intensity. Anne realized that it was a similar reaction to when she was in Wartwood, perhaps the amount of new information and people important to her parents made Marcy withdraw a little.

“The stalls sort of remind me of Wartwood!” Hop Pop commented at one point, happy with the whole place.

“Look! There's even a statue!” Sprig pointed to one of the statues next to an information board. Polly approached to take a look.

“No way! Is this you?” Polly pointed to a picture of some people dancing, Anne was in the middle looking a little younger and with a grimace on her face, completely different from all the smiles around her.

“Yep. I've been coming here since I was a kid.” Anne explained, leaning on the board. “It seems cool at first, but believe me, it gets old quick.”

It didn’t take long for them to set up the restaurant’s food stand, the dishes were still piping hot and the aroma would soon attract people. On put some barbeque sticks on a plate and handed it to Anne, as well as a hat from her restaurant.

“You're on sample duty today.” She said, pointing to the parasol next to her. “Now stand out in the open where everyone can see you.” On then left to finish getting things from the car, making Anne blink.

“Wait... By ‘everyone’, you don't mean...”

Faster than she could react, Anne was quickly surrounded by several elderly ladies who began talking to her, surprised by her return. The Plantars blinked in surprise at her almost sudden appearance while Marcy tensed for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm herself. They watched as Anne made up an excuse for her disappearance, talking to them with both palms together and bowing slightly until they left.

“Hey, what does this mean?” Polly asked, mimicking the gesture.

“It's called a wai. It's how you show respect to your elders.” Anne explained casually. “Super important in Thai culture.”

“Make sense to me. You kids can learn a couple of things here.” Hop Pop said, handing the plate Sprig was eating from to Anne.

“Well, we've got some time to kill. You four are free to explore if you want.” Anne adjusted her cap. “Just be careful to keep those disguises…”

She didn’t get to finish her warning before the Plantars ran off in each direction to explore the place. Only Marcy remained, her slightly suspicious gaze looking around hesitantly.

“You okay, Mar-Mar?” Anne asked, a little confused by her friend’s change of mood between the trip. Marcy turned to her and blushed, looking down.

“... Just a little lost...” She replied, which made Anne blink. It wasn’t ‘the other one’, then. “I’m not sure what to do here, and I don’t want to ruin it.”

You won’t. I know that.

“Hm...” Anne thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. “Oh! I have an idea! There’s a part of the temple here that teaches people how to make paintings and sculptures. Why don’t you go there and see if you like it? Worst case scenario, you can always come back and help me out here.”

Marcy frowned a little in thought. It was worth the risk, right? Like Anne said, if she didn’t feel comfortable, she could help Anne with the stall. Besides, her young side had given her a chance to take control and relax, she should take advantage of it.

“Okay then. If I don’t get back soon, I think I found something I like.” She turned and paused for a moment, giving her friend a small smile. “Good luck with your work.”

“And good luck finding something you like.” Anne winked at her friend, for some reason making Marcy blush even redder as she turned sharply and ran off. Anne shrugged, cataloging yet another of her friend’s new oddities and pulled out her phone, the image of her and her two best friends just before they left for Newtopia greeting her. She glanced wistfully at her blonde friend’s smile and then at the time on her phone. “Hold on, Sasha. Just one hour and Dr. Jan will help us save you.”

***

“I'm walking like a human! Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh!” Polly sang as she continued to walk a little awkwardly. Her walk stopped when she heard laughter coming from a room, she peeked out and saw a room full of children with a woman explaining something in front of a board full of Thai letters.

“And if we want to say "it's bedtime", we say...” The woman waited for a child to finish, Polly took her chance.

“(It's time to sleep!)” She said in perfect Thai, surprising the people in the room.

“Very good!” The woman said, clapping her hands as Polly sat down among the children. “You taking Thai before?”

“(No, but I HAVE watched Mrs. Boonchuy's entire Thai romcom collection!)” Polly explained, feeling very proud of herself, especially with the way everyone made sounds of admiration. She ignored the one who called her a show-off.

***

Hop Pop was admiring his surroundings when he heard music. He approached and found a room with masks and musical instruments, a small group dancing with the masks while another small group played for them.

“Excuse me, what's all this then?” Hop Pop asked excitedly to the person near the door, who was wearing a mask that looked like the dancers.

“It's Khon dancing. A performance art where dancers tell a beautiful drama of epic scale through intricate movements and expressive gestures.” The man explained, demonstrating some moves.

“Intricate movements? Expressive gestures? DRAMA?!?!” Hop Pop felt like he had reached heaven. “I'M IN!”

He didn’t hesitate to go to the center of the room and show everything he knew, moving to his own rhythm in a dance that only he understood. Still, his moves impressed the artists and soon everyone was around him, wanting to learn his moves and teach theirs to Hop Pop. Hop Pop couldn’t help but cry with happiness.

***

“I wish Anne had told me about these earlier.” Sprig mused to himself as he ate some sweets. He soon noticed movement near where he was and went to investigate.

A group of humans were playing some kind of game with a ball, separated by a net that outlined half of the field, both teams kicking and heading the ball over the net, apparently trying to make the ball land on the opposing side. One player failed to hit the ball and it went straight to Sprig, who quickly controlled it with one foot and threw it to the players with a bicycle kick, accidentally hitting one in the head.

“Hey! New guy! Join our team!” Instead of getting angry, the one who had his head hit waved, admiring the boy’s talent.

“Hey! We saw him first!” Another from the opposing team complained.

“Calm down, everyone. Plenty of Sprig to go around!” Sprig commented, his mask preventing anyone from seeing his smile, but it was quite obvious from his voice and the sparkle in his eyes.

***

“These are your sculpting tools.” A woman graciously handed a small sculpting kit to Marcy, who was sitting in the room her friend had mentioned. “Be careful. Many of these can hurt and even cut your finger if you’re not careful or rushed.”

Marcy nodded, watching the woman walk away to help someone with painting before returning her focus to the small piece of wood. It was a little soft to the touch, clearly a beginner’s type of wood, which she was grateful for.

“What should I do?” Marcy asked quietly, feeling her young side shrug.

I don’t know. Something that’s kind of easy, I guess. Maybe an animal you like?

Something easy to make... An animal she likes...

A certain grumpy captain with a scar over one eye crossed her mind.

She couldn't make him completely, his armor had too many details and she didn't have the technique to make a cape. But maybe the general idea? A normal earth toad with a cut on the right side should be enough.

Marcy got to work, cutting off the excess until she had the general shape of what she wanted. With that done, she began the slow process of shaping the piece of wood, feeling her young side basically leaning on her shoulder as she watched with a smile as the wood was transformed into something new.

Marcy felt her cheeks heat up and a shy smile appear on her face as she worked.

***

Meanwhile, Anne continued working at the stand, a bored expression on her face as she continued to offer Moo Ping. Those who took them always greeted her with smiles, which honestly surprised her a little. At one point, her mother came out with her arm full of things.

“What you got there, mom?” Anne asked curiously.

“Just returning a few dishes some of the community members lent me.” Her mother replied, leaving the stall to do just that. Anne watched her mother walk away for a moment before grabbing her phone.

“All right. It must've been almost an hour by now...” She muttered, looking at her phone to check, only to nearly drop the plates and phone when she saw the time. “IT’S ONLY BEEN FIFTEEN MINUTES?!?!” Shock turned to anger and she quickly devoured the remains of the Moo Ping. “That's it! Sorry, mom, but I have more important things to do today than hand out samples.”

She called Dr. Jan and let her know where she was and that she would be arriving at the museum soon. She had no idea that a certain robot was hacking the sound waves and had heard the entire conversation between the two. It wanted to go, it wanted to tear its target apart with its own claws, but it knew its partner would stop it because its invisibility no longer worked and it could now be seen by anyone in this world. Something their master had said they couldn’t do. That didn’t mean it didn’t have a plan.

“Deploying drones.” With the location of its target, it released drones that looked similar to dragonflies. “Search and destroy.”

A part of it thought it should give an order to make sure the green gem holder wasn't killed, but ignored it. Its priority was to eliminate the blue gem holder, what happened to the green gem holder wasn't its concern.

In the meantime, Anne found a young girl who looked like her and paid her to pretend to be her for a while, giving her the hat and plate. Once she did that, she went to find her friends. Maybe they weren't as bored as she was, but they must be eagerly waiting for them to go to the museum too, right? She hid when she saw her mother nearby and noticed Sprig in a Sepak takraw field, approaching with a smile.

"Sprig! Hey, Sprig!" She went to call out to him, but stopped herself when she noticed how much fun he was having playing with other people. One of his kicks easily hits the opposing team, causing the team he's on to celebrate. "Wow. He is really good at that. Looks like he's having fun too... Maybe he can give this one a miss."

She decided to go straight to her friend who knew where she was. Marcy had warned her that she would be in the crafts section if she didn’t come back to help her, after all. She probably got distracted by some statue or something.

“Hey Marcy, I managed...” Anne hesitated as she looked around the room. Not because she couldn’t find her friend, she was right next to the door, but because of the look of concentration on her as she made something with the wood, vaguely shaped like an amphibian. She still had a blush on her face, but she was completely focused on her sculpture. “Hm. Guess I was right after all. Maybe it’s best to leave her alone, she’s done a lot for us even with her own problems.”

Anne quietly left the room, starting to walk to find the others. She really hadn’t expected her friends to have so much fun here, but she was happy for them. She should have better luck with Hop Pop and Polly.

She was clearly wrong, as when she peeked into a room, she saw Hop Pop dancing in a traditional Khon dance mask along with a few other people.

“Psst, Hop Pop!” She tried to get his attention, but he was too focused on the dance to notice her. Sasha had told her that Hop Pop loves drama, and based on his performance in the Toad Rebellion and his taste in TV shows, it was kind of obvious, but she didn’t think he would be fascinated by dances as well. In retrospect, she should have guessed from some of the shenanigans Sasha had told about him. She walked away from the room. “Man, they really gotten sucked in…”

“(And then I said, ‘I know you are, but what am I?’)” Anne heard a familiar voice nearby, she went into the room and found Polly surrounded by children and an adult, everyone was laughing at what she had said, some joke that Anne only caught the end of. What shocked Anne was the fact that Polly was speaking fluent Thai.

“What the heck? I sat through Thai school for years and can barely string a sentence together.” She leaned against the doorframe, still surprised but smiling, watching Polly talk to the kids. “It is sort of neat to see them connecting with Tai culture like this. I'll just update them after I see Dr. Jan. ”

Anne left her friends in time, heading out to meet with Dr. Jan. If she was quick, she could make it on time. As she left, however, she ended up bumping into her mother.

“Mom?!”

“Anne?” Her mother frowned. “You're supposed to be at the stand.”

“Oh, well, yes.” Anne broke out in a cold sweat, looking away as she tried to find an excuse. “You see...”

“You were sneaking out to visit your museum friend. Weren't you?” Her mother asked with a blank expression.

“Whaaaaat?” Anne tried to hide it, but quickly caught her mother’s gaze. “Ok, you got me.”

“I don't believe this. You really couldn't wait one hour?” Her mother looked disappointed, which made Anne frustrated.

“Look, I already said hi to everyone. Now I have to get to the museum so I can get my interdimensional friends home and bring my best friend to her home.” And stop an invasion that was all her fault, but her mother didn’t need to know that last part. “It's super important.”

“So is this!” Her mother complained, taking a step forward. “We owe so must to this community. Why do you think I'm returning all those dishes?”

“I don't know? Because you had a potluck party?”

“No! Everyone here cook us meals and took care of me and dad for all those months you were gone.”

That made Anne stop. Sure, she knew her parents missed her, but she never stopped to think about how exactly they were back then. While Anne was in Amphibia, she had little time to really reflect on her homesickness, there was always a new person to help or a new danger to face that consumed her mind.

Here there was none of that, the maximum distraction was the restaurant and even there she could spend a good amount of time reflecting without disturbing anyone. Anne suddenly remembered the many ‘what if I had done this instead of that’ thoughts she had about the fight with Andrias since she arrived on the tranquility of Earth, how to this day she thinks about what she could have done to prevent it, to prevent her friends from being hurt, to prevent Sasha from sacrificing herself.

Her parents had similar thoughts about her disappearance. And they had for months.

“…Oh…” Anne looked down, rubbing her arm as shame and self-disappointment hit her. “... I... I had no idea... Wow, I feel like a jerk.”

“They were worried about you and us.” Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder, a small smile on her face. “The community ran our store here and sent us the money. Even helped out at the restaurant. And never asked for anything in return.”

(“It’s not about being a hero, Anne, it’s about being a community.” Sasha said, looking fondly at the photo of Wartwood she was showing Anne. “If one of them needs help and I can do it, I will help. And I know they would do the same for me. Nothing more, nothing less.”)

“Community, huh…?” Anne muttered, looking at her hand for a moment. It didn’t have as many calluses as Sasha did these days, and yet only one of them was known as a heroine by many while the other was content to be just a neighborhood helper in a small village. “I guess… I guess I forgot what a real one is like… That's really cool.”

“It is pretty cool.” Her mother agreed, the two sharing a small smile.

That’s when they both noticed things flying around near them.

***

We're being hunted.

Marcy blinked in surprise, almost accidentally cutting her hand, also feeling the surprise of her young side. The sudden appearance of her inner beast, as well as her warning and the seriousness of her calamity side that also reappeared, quickly made Marcy change her focus to the surroundings.

The first thing she noticed were large shadows on the ground, seemingly scanning. Marcy placed her statue and kit on the ground and approached the door to get a better look, stopping herself from cursing when she saw what they were.

This side of Marcy had never seen a real drone, only in the movies they had watched with everyone, but she was sure that was what was flying around there. Worse, by the dragonfly design, they must be drones sent by one or both of the robots. Marcy saw Anne approaching and went to her too.

“Anne, please tell me I’m hallucinating.” Marcy begged, even though she knew the truth. Why, on her first day off, did there have to be an attack on them?

“I wish I could, Marcy. But unfortunately...” She pointed at the people watching the drones still flying above the temple. “...I can’t, unless everyone is hallucinating together.” Marcy let out a frustrated groan, and Anne gently patted her shoulder, turning her gaze back to the drones. “They must be from the robots, right?”

“Probably.” The other option would be Andrias’ invasion, and they were both hoping that wasn’t it.

“What robot?” On asked, startling the girls a little.

“Er... The robot is...”

“The name the gossip blog those girls from school run!” Marcy quickly made up, nudging Anne lightly with her elbow.

“Right! That’s right! And they must have sent the drones to take more photos of us!” Anne quickly pushed her mother inside. “Just tell everyone they have to take cover!”

Marcy watched her friend walk away and turned to the drones, ready to...

... Yeah, no.

She felt a little dizzy and shook her head, looking up at the drones, her green eye glowing slightly.

Wh... What?

This is your day off, Marcy thought. So stay there and only take over when the danger has passed.

“Come on, Marcy!” Anne jumped from the balcony where they were, heading for a bench and almost getting hit by a laser if Marcy didn’t pull her out of the way in time.

“Be careful! Don’t rush or you might get hurt.” She urged, making Anne look away guiltily before waving. The Plantars appeared soon after, Hop Pop still with the mask on his head.

“We heard a blast! What's going on?” Sprig asked, approaching the girls.

“Looks like the robot sent some scouts after us! We have to protect the temple of everyone in it!” Was Anne’s answer, the Plantars nodded.

“We're right behind you.” On’s voice rang out, they turned and saw everyone in the temple, looking ready for a fight.

“Mom! I told you to tell everyone to take cover!”

“This is OUR temple and OUR community. When one of us is under a threat, we ALL are.” On said with determination. Again, that memory of Sasha talking about Wartwood echoed in Anne’s head. She looked around, noticing everyone ready to help in what they believed to be a very invasive and cruel persecution.

(“It’s not about being a hero, Anne, it’s about being a community.”)

A small smile appeared on Anne’s face.

“All right, everyone! (CHARGE!)” Polly commanded with a microphone and everyone stepped forward.

The vendors didn’t hesitate to throw their utensils at the drones, the amount thrown made it easy to hit at least one, even accidentally. The dancers used their art instruments to hit anyone who came close, with Hop Pop getting help from one to hit one of the drones with his mask, not noticing that his human disguise fell off with the force of the impact.

Sprig helped the Sepak takraw players, kicking hard at the drones whenever he received the ball. At one point, Polly saw a drone going to attack Brian, who was unable to defend himself, and ordered Sprig to kick her at it. Both the kick and Polly's blow took away parts of their disguises, but neither noticed and continued fighting.

Marcy looked around, seeing a piece of metal similar to a cable. She picked it up and looked around, it was just her and Anne against the drones there, perfect. Marcy cracked her neck, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Anne prepared to create a plan with her friend when Marcy opened her eyes, her green eye glowing as brightly as when all its halves were in sync. She stopped spinning the cable in her hand and a curved green blade appeared at one end, as well as a crossbow made of light in her injured arm. Without hesitation, she fired an energy arrow at a drone and jumped, using her scythe to destroy an entire half with the attack. One tried to charge, only for her to use it as leverage to swing her weapon and hit the other half, quickly firing a second arrow and destroying the last one she was standing on.

All of this lasted no more than five seconds.

Anne's mouth fell open, the tray in her hands threatening to fall when she noticed the scythe and crossbow disappearing and her friend falling, quickly throwing the tray aside and catching her before she hit the ground. Marcy let out a pained groan, snuggling into her friend's arms as she tried to make the world stop being so dark and noisy.

...

...

...

... What... The... Hell... Did we just  see?

The reason I don't fight, was Marcy's tired mental response. Sensing her distress, her young side quickly took over, feeling her body a little slow, but quickly regaining consciousness compared to her calamity side. Marcy opened her eyes and found her friend staring at her with an expression of shock and realization.

“... Marcy?”

“Yeah?”

“I think your ‘other you’ is more connected to the stones than your memory loss.” The completely neutral way Anne said that made Marcy laugh a little.

“Yeah, basically. That’s one of the reasons I don’t want a psychologist.” Marcy patted her friend on the shoulder, who put her down. She was still a little dizzy and leaned on her friend. “The other part is that I really like them. From the way they act and take care of me and who I care about, I think they’re cool.”

“Cool?! Your other you created a scythe of light and destroyed those drones like they were toys! That’s more than cool!” Her friend basically had stars in her eyes, Marcy pretended to be surprised as they walked to where the rest of the group was.

“Wait, seriously? They can do that too?”

You could always do that and you never told us? That’s mean!

Heh... As you can see... There’s a... Reason why I... Avoid doing that... It’s so tiring...

What pit of hell did you come from exactly?

Marcy frowned, mentally crossing her arms and looking disappointedly at her inner soldier.

Er, I mean... Thanks for covering for me.

... Sure... Just... Give me... A few minutes...

“Yeah! And apparently...” Anne looked away for a moment and sighed in terror. Marcy looked in the direction her friend had looked and stopped herself from doing the same as they approached the Plantars. “Guys, your disguises! They've fallen off!”

In fact, most of their human disguises had come off, revealing their mucus-filled, amphibian-like skin to the world. Anne and Marcy were already used to their relatively alien appearance, but the people in the temple were not, and they too looked at them in surprise and fear.

“E-Everyone, we can explain.” Anne quickly shouted, turning desperately to her friend, who frantically thought of an excuse.

“You see, there is a skin problem…”

“No no no no. No need to know.” An old lady said, approaching. The people in the temple had recovered from their shock and seemed at ease. “If they're your friends...”

“...Then they are our friends too.” Another added.

“No matter how ugly they are.” Another lady commented. The Plantars felt a little hurt, but it made sense. Sasha was considered ugly by Amphibian standards, it’s only fair that they’re ugly by Earth standards.

“Wow. Thanks, you guys.” Anne felt touched by that, a shy smile crossing her face. “ I don't even know what to say except... ” She looked at her friend, who nodded.

“(Thank you so much.)”They both said doing a wai, with the Plantars imitating the movement.

***

Soon, everyone was helping to clean up the mess. It wasn't long before most of the drones had been thrown in the trash, leaving only a few left. Marcy was sweeping up a section near the temple, clearing away the small pieces of debris that had found their way there.

Well... That was quite a lot today, don't you think?

Yeah. And it started out pretty peaceful.

It seems to be the norm here... I'm sorry your day off wasn't so relaxing.

“... Don't worry...” Marcy muttered when she realized it was relatively empty where she was. “It was fun, relaxing even. I enjoyed it.”

Yeah, well, if we were going to give any of us another day off, we need to get rid of those robots first.

The one that's afraid of us... It might be easy to scare it back home, but the other one is a problem.

“Yeah... And I know they’re going to come at us in full force soon.” Marcy looked up, her brows furrowed slightly as she thought. “I can feel it.”

Me too.

I hope you're wrong, but I'm prepared for the worst.

Same.

Marcy nodded slightly, finishing gathering up all the metal shards there.

... Hey, Soldier.

Marcy blinked, unconsciously straightening her posture as she listened to her young side.

I just want you to know that we're going to get through this. And when it's all over, you and Beast are going to have the best vacation ever!

Marcy felt her cheeks heat up, a small smile forming as she felt the cheerful smile of her young side.

"I can't wait..." She murmured, feeling the smile of her young side grow. Marcy closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the feeling of her other halves around her. The calm expression of her calamity side, the happy purr of her inner beast, the cute face of her young side that makes Marcy want to hold her hands and get closer and...

Marcy suddenly opened her eyes, punching the wall next to her hard, scaring both her other halves and the people around her.

“Is everything okay, Marcy?” Brian asked, stepping closer to the girl.

“I’m fine!” She replied, her voice slightly higher pitched than usual. “Just, uh, realizing a few things about myself.”

Marcy could feel the concern from her young side and her inner beast. But her calamity side?

She looked surprised…

…And then the bastard grinned mischievously!

Oh… You finally noticed, did you?

Hmm? What are you talking about?

Oh, no big deal. Just teasing her as usual.

You really need to stop antagonizing each other…

Marcy heard her other halves start to have a small argument, but ignored it in favor of looking up with a dejected expression.

First Sasha. Then Anne. Now Young?!

…

…The universe hates her, doesn’t it?

Meanwhile, Anne was helping her mother throw the remains of the drones into the market, with On looking at the head of one in her hands.

“Man, middle school equipment is really advanced these days.” She commented, throwing the head in the trash and turning to her daughter. “Well, hour's up! You're probably itching to get out of here.”

Anne looked away at her friends, seeing the Plantars having fun with the people of the temple even without their disguises. They were having a great time, like the small community they were. Anne smiled.

“I... I think I'd like to stay a bit longer.” Anne said, making On smile in amusement.

“I thought you had more important things to do.” Anne gave a small laugh, playfully complaining as On raised her hands in surrender, still smiling.

The sweet moment between mother and daughter was interrupted when the sound of a horn caught their attention. The two turned to find Dr. Jan in the car, waving at her.

“Sorry, guys, this couldn't wait, it's just too dang exciting!” Dr. Jan said excitedly. Anne turned to her mother, who just nodded, and quickly went to get her friends.

It didn’t take long to gather everyone, with Marcy looking dejected for some reason, and they gathered near where Dr. Jan had parked. She led them to the shade of a nearby tree and picked up the vase, using a small blacklight to show them what she found.

“Here’s what I found. It's written in some kind of ancient language.” Dr. Jan explained, the writing glowing with the blacklight. “If only we could read it...”

“Wait, we’ve seen this kind of writing before…” Anne put her hand to her chin, she could have sworn she’d seen it in temple texts. She couldn’t read it, but one of her group could.

“‘Seek the Mother of the Olms. She will guide you to your destiny’.” Marcy translated, looking a little thoughtful. The group looked at each other for a moment, trying to see if anyone had any tips, only to be met with blank expressions from the Plantars and a curious look from Dr. Jan.

Anne looked at her friend to ask if she had any theories, but was quickly silenced by Marcy’s finger on her mouth, her friend with her eyes closed, apparently trying to concentrate. And she was, because inside her, again, her calamity side wasn’t reacting to them, no matter what her young side or her inner beast tried.

She was just standing there, staring blankly into space, as if in a trance. And the only thing they could do was try to wake her up.

***

(The Order looked at you in surprise. It made sense, after all, you had just warned them that the bloodline of the king you chose to rule Amphibia could end up destroying the world. You really wanted plan A to work, but it was always good to have a plan B, even if it included using those you wanted to protect.

“I don’t understand...” Valeriana placed her hand on her chin, confused. “If you say the king can destroy the world, why choose him then?

“I never said he would destroy the world, I said his bloodline can do it.” You calmly corrected her. “I believe that King Aldrirch, the First of His Name, is a righteous king and will bring glory to his reign, it is his descendants that concern me.” You floated towards the Calamity Box, looking at the three stones for a moment. “Power corrupts those with weak will. And those who have power and weak will are fated to be dominated by the fear of becoming irrelevant and will do whatever it takes to remain powerful and important. No matter how cruel their actions and decisions are.”

You let your words sink into each member of the Order, some shifting uncomfortably, but no one tried to argue. Either they knew you spoke the truth, or they didn’t want to argue with someone with your powers. Anything goes as long as they listen to your request.

“Of course, I will do my best to ensure that this future does not occur, but I cannot promise anything. Unlike what many people think, I am neither omniscient nor omnipotent. And everyone knows where my presence exists.” You poked the stones, making the Order lower their heads in respect. “But fear not. If the worst happens, I have a countermeasure plan. There are people who are born with a strong connection to the stones, almost destined to use them.” You only know three people who have this, in fact, but that is just a small detail that they don’t need to know. “If necessary, I can summon them to wield the power that is rightfully theirs and help them purge the evil that threatens the worlds.”

“And how can we help them if the worst happens, Watcher?” The leader of the Olms asked, making you turn your attention upwards. The cave blocked your view of the stars, but the meeting would not last much longer, and if everything went well, you would soon be able to return to your only friend still alive.

“I want the Order to make a change to the temples. In the transfer chamber between the holder and the stones, I want them to install an older and more time-consuming system, the longer it takes, the better.” That way, if plan B happens, there’s a good chance everyone will keep their powers. “As for you, Olms...” The leader straightened and you extended your hand to her, a small, gentle smile on your face. “I want your people to keep something that must be passed on to the chosen ones, should their appearance be needed. I want you to pass it on... A prophecy.”)

***

A hand on Calamity’s shoulder snapped her out of her trance. She shook her head, trying to focus. She felt like she was forgetting something, something important, but her head was hurting too much to care.

‘Calamity, are you okay?’ Young’s voice helped her focus on her surroundings. She felt Beast and Soldier helping her sit up, a plush, comfortable rug being where they left her. They were quiet for a moment, letting Calamity recover from what had happened.

‘…Did it happen again?’ She asked, receiving nods of confirmation. This made Calamity let out a frustrated groan, straightening up. ‘Okay, then it’s official. I probably have the same problem you guys had in Amphibia.’

‘By the same problem, you mean…’ Calamity turned to the three with a serious expression.

‘I have memories of my own, and something caused me to lose them.’

Chapter Text

It was a quiet afternoon on Earth, with many people leaving work or school, ready to go home and rest. Others were getting ready to leave, ready for a busy afternoon or evening. At the top of a large tower, two robots were repairing themselves with Earth equipment.

One of the robots, with a new arm and now a new leg, was testing all of its new settings. Reinforcing its head with extra plates, the robot finished attaching its new electric circular saw leg and tested its excavator arm, then checked that the nail guns responded to its commands. It fired at a few objects, easily destroying a bag and a watermelon, taking a slight satisfaction in its processing as it thought of the watermelon as the head of its target.

The other robot, with broken glass in its chest, was replacing its missing hand with a loading claw, filing down any existing edges so that it wouldn’t risk piercing its target. In addition to reinforcing the part near its core with metal plates and replacing the broken shoulder pad with a large tire, it replaced its laser gun with one that fired rope, hitting one of the gargoyles and tying it down completely. With these settings, the chances of successfully containing its target had increased significantly.

As they tested their new limbs, the first robot's communicator began to blink. The two stopped what they were doing to watch the communicator float in front of them and the image of Andrias appeared.

“What's good, Cloak-Bots? Checking in to see how things are going.” The king said excitedly, not noticing, or perhaps purposefully ignoring the appearance of the two. “Did you get the film?”

“Film secured.” The second robot said, showing a small circular device on its normal claw.

“Well, that’s great! Wh...” Andrias stopped, approaching the screen to get a better look. “Wait a moment. This is our recorder and data storage! Where’s the DVD?”

“DVD not released.” Was the robot's response, looking away, making Andrias sigh in disappointment.

“Olms, have mercy... Next, you're going to tell me Anne isn’t dead or Marcy hasn’t been captured yet.” He said sarcastically. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

“... Working on it.” Finally the first robot responded, also looking away from the screen. Andrias’ left eye twitched involuntarily.

“Well... Looks like we'll have to up the stakes.” Andrias pressed a button on a device in his hand. Almost at the same time, the robots’ chests opened, showing a red screen with a counter that read sixty minutes and began to count down. “You have one hour to accomplish your goals, or the bomb implanted in your chest will accomplish its own.” The two robots stood up, startled, touching the red screen where the countdown continued. “Okay, cool! Andrias out!” He winked, making a peace sign and a silly face before disconnecting the communication.

The first robot quickly felt the familiar anger combine with worry, hitting the wall hard. That was it. It needed to eliminate its target quickly or it would never have the chance to do so again. It needed to find the human as soon as possible so it could crush her skull in its hands and stop this ridiculous limiter the king had placed on them.

The other robot had a very different reaction, not moving for a moment as it watched the countdown on its chest. If it had lungs, it would be hyperventilating right now. It didn't want to do this anymore, didn't want to face those... Things again. But if it didn't, it would die, and it didn't want to die, especially when it had been created so recently. It had to get to its target quickly, or nothing but scrap would be left of it.

It didn't want to die... And it wouldn't die.

It jumped to the top of the tower, startling its partner with the sudden movement, connecting its signal with the last source of data on its target. Doing a quick scan of the information network of that world with the face of its target, it found a more recent photo, with the two targets together with the three Amphibian frogs and two adult humans in a locomotive. Using the photo as a reference, it located with the map the most likely place where the photo was taken.

A location was found, several blocks away from where it was.

Sharing the location with its partner, the two ran to the marker.

***

The Boonchuy and Plantar family were comfortably gathered in the living room, watching an action movie on TV. While they relaxed, Anne and Marcy finished tidying up the house, with Anne ironing and folding the laundry at an impressive speed while Marcy collected the trash and threw it with impressive precision into the trash can outside. The two then teamed up and quickly washed and dried all the dishes, with Anne quickly placing a plate for Hop Pop to use as a cup once they were done. Both families applauded the girls, who smiled proudly with a slight blush on their cheeks.

“You know, girls?  It is really remarkable how much you have grown. Especially you, Anne.” On commented with a smile, making the two blush even more.

“Aww, thanks mom.”

“It’s no big deal, Mrs. B.”

“I mean, you used to be so irresponsible!” Brian chuckled lightly. “Like change the grade on your report card irresponsible.” That made Anne laugh awkwardly.

“Heh, heh… Didn't think you guys knew about that.” She flinched a little, causing Marcy to pat her friend’s shoulder with a sheepish smile. She was the one who helped change the numbers on the report card, after all.

“But you've really changed.” On stood up and approached her daughter along with her husband. “And you have been so upfront and honest with us this whole time.”

It was subtle, too subtle for anyone to notice, but both girls shivered at Anne’s mother’s words. Marcy felt her other halves trying to comfort her, that was their plan after all, while Anne simply remembered the promise she had made to Sasha, about trying to be a better person for those she cared about.

“Right... Upfront and honest...” The two looked at each other, discomfort shared in their eyes.

“We're just... So proud of you. Come here, girls. The adults came over and hugged the girls, commenting on how proud they were, making the two even more uncomfortable.

“Er... HEY!” Anne suddenly shouted, startling everyone in the room. “I'm, uh, gonna go and get some coffee ice cream! Anyone want any? Marcy?” She turned desperately to her friend, who nodded frantically.

“Yes! I want some! Let’s go!”

They ran to the kitchen, the two families in the room looked at each other and shrugged. Anne led her friend into the kitchen and whimpered, leaning her head on Marcy’s shoulder, who gently placed her hands on her shoulders.

“You okay, Anne?” She asked, making Anne whimper even louder.

“I can’t do this anymore!” Anne nearly screamed, pulling away from her friend to pace back and forth with her arms outstretched. “We never told them about Andrias, or the robot hunting us, or the honking invasion!” She put her hands over her face and let out a muffled groan of frustration. “They think we’re being up-front and honest,, but we’re not.”

“It’s not entirely our fault, how could we explain everything that happened?” Marcy began to play with her fingers, a little uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going. “Don’t you think it’s better if we explain it when things calm down a little?”

“Maybe... But that’s not right. It was keeping secrets like that that almost tore us apart, remember?” Anne’s answer made Marcy shiver slightly.

She kind of has a point. Packs are better together, and secrets can ruin harmonies.

Still... how exactly could we explain it? We still don't know exactly how or why this happened to us alone.

As always, the choice is yours, Young.

“... Maybe some secrets are better kept. At least until we understand the situation better.” Marcy’s voice was barely above a whisper, but Anne understood perfectly and frowned a little.

“Is this about your powers and the connection to the ‘other you’?” Her friend tensed, which was answer enough for Anne. “I understand, I’m also wary of sharing about our shining powers, but I still think we should tell the truth. Maybe not all at once, but enough for them to understand the situation.” Anne carefully intertwined her hands with Marcy’s, completely unaware of the way Marcy’s inner soldier blushed. “I’ll tell them everything, right now. At least the truth about the king and what he plans to do. Will you come with me?”

Marcy hesitated, looking at the hands clasped with Anne’s, Anne’s hands were stronger than Soldier and Beast’s, but had far fewer scars than them. Maybe... Maybe Anne was right. Maybe she can share some things, even without knowing the answer to why this thing existed. Maybe she can tell the truth to her friend.

“...Okay.”

They held hands, a silent comfort between them, before separating and returning to the living room. Hop Pop was talking to On and Brian while Polly and Sprig were arguing about which was the strongest monster in the movie when the two girls entered the room.

“Mom, Dad...” Anne and Marcy exchanged glances before turning to the adults. “There’s something we need to tell you...”

Before they could say anything, a loud bang echoed outside the house, making the earth shake a little. The girls and the Plantars looked at each other, startled by a shared thought, before running to the window to look out. As they feared, in front of the house, in small craters from the fall they had made, were the two partially modified robots, staring right at them.

“Anne, what...?” On tried to ask, but was quickly silenced when Marcy and Anne jumped on top of the Boonchuys.

“GET DOWN!”

The window was broken, and the two robots entered the room, one furious with a sound similar to a growl and the other still quiet, but with faster movements. Without hesitation, the second tried to hold Marcy, only for her to throw the cup of coffee at both of them, temporarily blinding one and stunning the other. Anne quickly led everyone up the stairs, with her mother ushering them into her workroom, quickly closing the door.

“Okay, we can hide out here while we......” Anne stopped, taking a closer look at the room. The room was full of photos of them, dolls made of plastic and cardboard with various different clothes and calendars with the last count being 89 days after she disappeared in Amphibia. “Mom! This is not a workout room!”

“Yes, it is.” On said, with a completely serious expression. “When I thought you ran away, it's where I work out all my stress.”

“Why are there so many dolls of Anne dressed as a doctor?” Marcy asked, holding up a lab-coated plush toy as she pointed to a larger version on a mannequin.

“A mom can dream, can’t she?”

“Why do I get the feeling I'm not living up to your expectations?”

The floor of the room was destroyed, interrupting the discussion. The robot hunting Anne entered through the hole to face its prey, only to be confused by the amount of targets that appeared on its visual sensors. With parts of its circuits still damaged from the battles, it could not use its heat sensor and only facial recognition. And every corner of that room had the face of its target.

“Multiple Anne Boonchuy’s confirmed.”

“IT'S AFTER YOU?!” Anne’s parents almost screamed when the robot decided to attack.

Luckily, it attacked the doll next to Anne, throwing it out of the house and starting to crush what it believed to be its head. Before they could sigh in relief, the one hunting Marcy burst through the door, its gaze focused on the other girl.

LEFT, NOW!!!

Marcy jumped to the left, dodging the robot's arm. She quickly ran towards it and ducked under its legs, running down the stairs.

“MARCY!!”

“DON'T WORRY, THIS ONE WON'T HURT ME, REMEMBER?” She screamed, jumping the last few steps of the stairs. She almost fell, but quickly regained her balance. “I'LL TAKE CARE OF THIS ONE, YOU GET RID OF THE OTHER!!!”

“I'll go with you!” Polly jumped on top of the other robot and landed in Marcy's arms, both of them running out the back door as the robot began to chase them. Anne looked away to her parents with a forced smile.

“OK... Maybe there's a couple of things we haven't told you guys.”

***

This is a hunt! Beast!

Got it!

Marcy closed her eyes briefly, her pupils narrowing to needles as she opened them. She gave a soft growl, holding the pollywog protectively in her arms. The metal creature was still close, and she ducked into a tight space to try and lose it, gaining momentum again to run the other way. Her growl worsened when she heard the creature approaching again.

“That way!” Polly pointed to a large building, looking only partially completed. Marcy jumped over the wall and set the pollywog down on the ground, the two of them looking at each other and nodding before running inside.

The metal creature quickly entered the building, looking for her. Marcy crept towards it until she saw Polly on top of several metal planks suspended in the air, cutting the ropes that held them up with her teeth. Her bite is really strong. Knowing they needed a distraction, Marcy advanced, drawing the attention of the metal creature to her, who ran towards her. Its attacks were almost relentless, trying to use its arm and a rope to grab her, Marcy used the structures around her to dodge them.

Growling furiously, Marcy pushed herself upwards, climbing inside the structure as she heard the metal monster approaching. She reached the top, looking down and seeing the pollywog give a thumbs up, as well as a rope that went from the top to the bottom and a piece of metal just below where she was. Marcy heard the creature behind her, and turned, its hand with flat claws opening and closing in anticipation. She gave a slight smile and leaned back, causing the creature to widen its eyes and rush to catch her, too late to grab her foot, but close enough for the plan to come to fruition.

Without hesitation, Marcy grabbed the metal she was approaching, using the momentum of the fall to spin and shift her momentum upwards. Stepping over the creature, she used it to propel herself again, falling back onto the top of the structure while the metal creature, unbalanced, fell towards the metal planks that Polly was standing on a few seconds ago. The extra weight along with the ropes weakened by the pollywog caused the planks to collapse along with the creature and other things on the edges of the building that became unbalanced with the impact on the ground, burying it.

Marcy used the other rope to quickly descend to the ground without danger, Polly running to meet her on the way. Having no doubt that it was still alive, the human grabbed the pollywog and ran away again.

“How much time do you think we gained?” The pollywog asked, Marcy made a frustrated expression and grunted impatiently. “Yeah, agree. I don’t want to be close to find out.” She jumped onto the human's shoulder, placing a hand near her mouth. "So... Do you have a plan for where we're going to hide?" Marcy pointed to a mound of dirt as she ran, making a movement similar to the explosion right after. "A place like that, only bigger? Okay, but where...?"

She can understand you?

Makes sense. Wilds, dangerous, smarter than they look...

“Oh! How about the dump? Anne said it’s full of piles of metal and rubble, we can arm ourselves there.” Marcy nodded, Polly then took a small object from her ribbon and looked at it for a moment before pointing in a direction. “That way!” Nodding again, Marcy followed the path pointing.

Okay, now that we have an escape plan in place... Anyone else find the way the robots are acting a little strange?

Oh, good, you thought so too! I was starting to think I was getting paranoid.

No, it's not just you. They're definitely acting different, more intent on eliminating Anne and capturing us for some reason.

So... What do you think it is?

My guess? They're on a time limit. Andrias must have given them a certain amount of time to accomplish their goals, or else they'll be punished in some way. Maybe reprogrammed as cleaning robots or forced to do a really bad task or something.

... Like... The Toad Tower?

Unconscious Marcy shivered slightly at those words, and she felt her other half do the same.

... Yes, like the Toad Tower.

So... Why isn't it trying to escape? It's literally worlds away, it could just walk away, right?

It's not that simple, Young. Not everyone has the strength to face their captor. Sorry to stir up painful memories, but you didn't run from Captain Grime when he gave you the chance. And neither did Soldier when she walked away from him.

That... That was different! If I tried to leave back then, he'd probably send a squad to capture me again! I had no choice!

No, you didn't... And maybe it's the same with its.

I was on Grime's side because I believed he could improve, but in the beginning, I stayed because I had no one else to count on besides him and I was afraid of what he might do to me. Maybe... Maybe the same goes for its. Maybe Andrias has some tracker on it that prevents its from running away, so its only option is to carry out its mission.

... That's not fair...

No, it's not.

It really isn't. But unfortunately, sometimes we have to do bad things to make sure the ones we care about are okay. And it seems like today is that day.

...

As she felt her inner soldier hesitantly embrace her young side and her calamity side whisper words of comfort, Marcy saw a few other humans nearby with sliding shields. She grabbed one, ignoring the scream of one of the humans, and used it to put as much distance as possible from the metal creature, which by this point, had already escaped its prison and was in pursuit again.

Indeed, the robot had emerged from the rubble, parts of its body having been crushed by the impact, but nothing that prevented it from continuing. It looked again at its chest, the still-functional bomb marked twenty-two minutes remaining and counting down. The robot trembled slightly, the feeling of fear of its self-destruction almost overwhelming its system before it focused on pursuing its objective.

***

“Honey, why is there a robot chasing us?”

“Well, the thing is... And we was totally gonna tell you! The King of Amphibia kinda has it out for us.”

“Anne cut his cheek and Sasha punched him in the face!”

“I know how overwhelming all of this is, Mr. And Mrs. B. Why, the first time that robot attacked us...”

“YOU WHAT?!”

“THIS ISN’T THE FIRST TIME?!”

“IT’S NOT HELPING, SPRIG, HOP POP! AND EYES ON THE ROAD, EYES ON THE ROAD!!!”

Anne, her parents, and the rest of the Plantar family were inside the car, driving as fast as they could to get away from the robot that was chasing them, jumping over houses to try to catch up faster. Between dodging distracted pedestrians, overtaking cars that bordered on getting tickets on the busy road, and generally arguing about everything that was happening, Anne hoped that things with Marcy and Polly were much calmer than they were with her.

The robot approached with fury in its eyes, using the saw on the ground as a tire to get closer to the car on the ground. Anne noticed her tennis equipment and opened the back of the car, using a tennis ball to try to hit it, but all her attempts were repelled with the same force.

“Oof. Your backhand is looking pretty rusty.” Her father suddenly commented, looking in the rearview mirror.

“DAD!!!”

The robot, tired of it, used a nail gun to shoot, Anne quickly closed the back door, seeing some nails embedded in the roof of the car. Her parents began to argue about where they should go, with the robot approaching to try to use its excavator arm. Anne screamed to swerve, her father going left and going up a bridge, which the robot accelerated to get in front of them. Without hesitation, her father stepped on the gas, running over the robot in the process.

“All right, Dad! That was awesome! Can you take me for driving lessons sometime?” Anne asked excitedly, hesitating a little when she saw how terrified her father was. He drove a little further and stopped under a nearby bridge.

“Did we lose it?” Her mother asked, looking out the windows. Her father did the same.

“I hope so...”

Their prayers were not answered, as the robot cut through the road above, opening a hole almost where they were standing. The robot gave a sinister laugh, ready to attack with its excavator arm, and their father quickly put the car in reverse, evading the attack and putting as much distance between them and the robot as possible.

They made several twists and turns before entering a dump, parking the car in a random spot and running away. Neither of them saw the robot, which had lost sight of them when they entered, stopping for a moment and looking at the bomb on its chest, annoyed by the ten minutes left.

***

Anne led her family and friends to a large pile of scrap metal, to hide from the robot's sight. Marcy, who was also in that dump, heard footsteps nearby and braced herself, relaxing a little when she saw that they were her friends. Polly quickly ran to her brother and grandfather, while Anne ran to Marcy.

“Marcy, Polly! You're here!” Anne said happily, Marcy chirped in the same tone. Anne hugged her friend, looking into her eyes with abnormally large pupils. The other her. Anne smiled. “Thank you for taking care of her.” She whispered, a cheerful smile and a sound similar to a purr was her response.

“ANNE SAVINA BOONCHUY! MARCY REGINA WU!”

Anne and Marcy shuddered, turning to On, who looked at them with clear disappointment while her husband crossed his arms and seemed more disappointed than anything else. Marcy flinched slightly, feeling her young side do the same as she nervously fidgeted with her hands, her calamity side breaking out in a cold sweat, and her inner soldier standing at attention. Anne swallowed hard, unconsciously stepping in front of her friend.

“What is going on?” On demanded, Anne looked away.

“What do you mean? There are two robots that are after us... I thought that was clear.”

“Yes! But why Anne? Why?” On took a step forward, which made Marcy frown slightly. “Is there something you want to tell us?”

“Mom, take it easy...”

“Honey, maybe we should hear her out...”

“No!” On took another step, neither of them noticing Marcy start to growl slightly. “She's lying to us! You've done something, haven't you?! That's why that thing is after us!”

It hurt. The accusation wasn't entirely wrong, but the fact that her mother was so certain that Anne, among so many people, should be the only one to blame for the situation hurt. A spark pulsed briefly in her chest, and noticed only by Marcy's calamity side, something similar happened with the stone gate and Marcy's body.

Uh... Guys?

"It's complicated..." Anne tried to calm the situation, but it only made On take another step forward.

"I knew it! We were wrong about you. You're still the same irresponsible little girl who used to cut class." Anne shuddered and cringed, Marcy felt her chest throb harder. "When are you going to grow up? When are you going to stop getting in trouble? When, Anne?!"

On took another step, ready to point at her daughter, when something hit her hand. It wasn't strong enough to hurt, but painful enough for her to pull back in surprise. Her surprise spread to everyone in the group when they realized who had done it. In front of Anne, Marcy held a piece of plastic tubing, pointing it directly at On with a protective growl coming from her mouth.

...Oh, shit...

WHAT THE HELL?!?!

BEAST!!!

“Marcy...?” Anne looked at her friend, worried about what she was doing. She had attacked her parents, she had never been violent like that, even her ‘other her’. Whenever the other her took over, they tried to help or protect...

...Oh...

Anne gently placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder. She was still pointing at On, but the growl lessened with the touch.

“It’s okay. They’re my parents...” She glanced at her parents, who were still looking at Marcy in surprise, before turning back to her friend. “They won’t hurt me.”

The implication of her daughter’s words left the Boonchuys stunned, but their surprise only increased when Marcy let go of the plastic tube, turned to Anne and began to sign.

Sign language.

‘But they already did, didn’t they?’

Marcy felt her other halves stare at her with wide eyes, but ignored them as she waited for her friend’s response. Anne opened her mouth, but nothing came out, and she looked away, the answer clear for anyone to see. Marcy turned back to the Boonchuys with a soft growl.

‘We did wrong. We know that. It’s no reason to hit someone who’s already hurt,’ she signed. ‘You have reason to be angry. We have reason to not say anything. Don’t take your anger out on someone who’s making the best of a bad situation.’

“…Dad, Mom, I don't know when I'll be the daughter you want me to be.” Anne began, coming to Marcy’s side. “And I'm sorry. It's true, I did lie... But I did it to protect the people I really care about.” She looked away from the Plantars for a moment before returning to her parents. “I've learned so much from you two in these past few weeks. I finally appreciate how much you've done for me. Now I'm asking for your help.” She looked at Marcy, who stepped back and let Anne hold On’s hands. “Please, we can’t do this without you.”

For a moment, no one moved, no one seemed to know what to do, On still alternating her gaze between her daughter and her friend. A part of her wanted to be outraged by what Marcy did, but knowing why she had done it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Finally, Brian approached and gave his wife a side hug.

“We’re with you, girls. Right, mom?” He asked, looking at On. She looked down for a moment, before sighing.

“This is all just too much...”

Before she could answer, a loud crash interrupted the moment, the group ducked and realized that the two robots had gathered again, starting to turn over or destroy everything in their path as they searched for them. Marcy looked sadly at the robot that was hunting her for a moment before going back into hiding.

“So, is there a plan? Really hoping for a plan.” Sprig asked, Anne looked around and saw a pile of items very similar to her mother’s workshop, then a pile of hanging wires that sparked a little.

“Hey Marcy, how fast can you run and jump? And Mom, feel like putting your artistic skills to use?”

The response Anne got was a wide, wild smile from her friend and a raised eyebrow from her mother.

***

You know sign language?! Since when?!

Do you really prefer sign language over speaking?

Honestly, that's kind of cute.

Marcy didn't answer, just smiled slightly as she helped set the trap. She looked at the sharp metal in her hands, probably sharp enough to pierce the shell of the creature chasing her. The entire group prepared for combat, metal tubes in hand.

The robot that followed Anne was the first to approach, quickly noticing the amount of Anne imitations around it. Almost overwhelmed and irritated, it used its nail gun to start shooting, realizing too late that it was a trap when the frogs and Brian jumped on it with their improvised weapons in hand.

The other robot noticed its partner's predicament and was ready to help it, when a whistle caught its attention. Marcy was leaning on a pile, slowly waving at it with a lazy smile, giving it a wink before running off. The robot hesitated for a moment, but soon began to follow the human, desperate to complete its mission before the time limit.

Anne quickly attacked with a wooden plank, but was easily destroyed by the robot. It got rid of everyone around it by spinning, throwing them to random sides. The robot turned towards Anne, using its clawed hand to hit her.

"ANNE, WATCH OUT!" Sprig yelled, pushing Anne away and getting hit in the process, causing him to crash into a pile of metal.

"SPRIG!" Anne tried to get up, but the robot quickly grabbed her with its excavator, immobilizing her. It lifted her up and readied its nail gun.

“Target confirmed. Mission complete.” The robot laughed, happy that its mission and, most importantly, revenge, would finally be completed.

“HEY, ROBOT! LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE!!” On suddenly shouted, carrying a demolition hammer and hitting the robot right in the head, causing it to accidentally let go of Anne.

It tried to fight back, but On was furious and attacked without mercy, destroying the robot’s saw leg. Anne, taking advantage of the distraction, also picked up a metal plate and started hitting the robot with everything, piercing it with the broken tip and hitting it with the heavier part next. The two continued attacking until the robot was unable to move, too damaged for that. Anne took a deep breath and gave a light laugh.

“Wow, mom! Good arm!”

“You too.” On laughed, dropping the hammer and hugging her daughter. The Plantars and Brian walked over.

“I like your style, Mrs. B.” Polly said excitedly as she looked at the remains of the robot.

“Wow, that was crazy...” Sprig commented, Anne turned to him and knelt down, looking worriedly at the cut he now had on his cheek before giving him a smile.

“Hey, thanks for helping me out back then.” She held out her fist for him to hit, which he happily returned. Hop Pop looked at the robot’s near-pile of scrap.

“Were you surprised by that display of ferocity, Mr. Boonchuy?” Brian looked at everything with a completely neutral expression, before replying with a simple:

“No.”

Meanwhile, during the Boonchuy and Plantars fight, Marcy ran a little further, luring the robot into her trap. The robot tried desperately to hold her, growing increasingly frustrated as she dodged its attacks. She ducked under some cables and stopped, the robot jumped to capture her, only for her to dodge again, this time plunging a piece of metal into its leg, pinning it in place.

The robot couldn't pull away fast enough to stop Marcy from activating a nearby lever and lightning began to strike it from the cables.

Electricity forced itself into its body, overloading its system and temporarily paralyzing it. Marcy powered down again and, taking advantage of her stationary target, struck it with a nearby chair, breaking the chair and knocking it to the ground. She picked up a piece of cinder block and slammed it into the robot's legs, crushing them, before pulling the piece of metal out of the ground and aiming it at its head.

... You did it. You got it, Beast!

...

... I think it's time...

Marcy aimed her weapon, preparing to hit it in the head, but hesitated. She looked into its eyes, noticing how eerily calm they looked as its stared at her. The eyes of a terrified prey, but accepting of what was going to happen.

... Something's not right.

What do you mean?

It's just as terrified as before, but it's strangely... resigned. Like it knew this would happen, no matter if it accomplished the mission or not.

It's been threatened with death by Andrias, then?

Maybe... Do you think you can talk to it, Beast?

Marcy puts her weapon down, kneeling beside the robot. She puts her hand on its head, making it look warily at the human, and gives it a small smile, tilting her head a little. It didn't take long for the robot to understand her intention, she didn't want to fight, and she knew it didn't either. It hesitates for a moment, but finally shows the reason for Its desperation, opening its chest.

The bomb would explode in fifteen seconds.

WHAT THE HELL?!

Oh, that explains so much... And that's too bad!

Can we disarm it?!

I don't know! If I had time, maybe, but we don't now!

Marcy stares at the bomb, the seconds passing slowly for her as she understands the situation. The situation the creature is being forced into, taking away its freedom and forcing it into a tight leash like Young and Soldier were back then.

She feels something different in her chest, a strange throbbing, as if it's trying to reach something.

At the same time, the robot that the Boonchuy and Plantars had faced began to laugh cruelly. The humans and amphibians turned to it and it showed the bomb on its chest, marking its remaining seconds. If it couldn't kill Anne with its own hands, it would take her with its bomb.

"Self-destruct in T-minus. Ten... nine..."

The Boonchuy and Plantars began to despair, while Anne felt panic for a second before looking at her friends and family. Those she cared so much about, who she promised to protect with everything she had, who swore not to fail them like she had failed Sasha.

Her chest sparked, and she felt herself stretching in a specific direction.

Inside Marcy, the stone gate glowed white for a second before blue sparks shot out from it, startling the other halves of Marcy. Her chest began to pound loudly, sparks echoing inside her chest as her split mind replaced the green with blue.

For a second, the power wavered, unaccustomed to being divided like this.

And then, Marcy and Anne's eyes glowed blue as an aura surrounded their bodies.

Anne growled, crouching down for a moment before running at full speed towards the robot, kicking with everything she had, ripping off its arm and throwing it upwards, through the stratosphere. Meanwhile, Marcy charged at the bomb, easily removing the object and tearing off any connection it had to the fallen robot before throwing it into the sky, also through the stratosphere. The robot that was now in space saw its partner's bomb pass by it, and for a small moment, its anger and fear were eased, knowing that its partner was okay.

And then a double explosion parted the clouds enough for two star-like glows to be seen.

Anne fell to the ground on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She felt dizzy, dizzier than last time, but not as weak as before. Sprig helped her sit up, while her parents looked at her in astonishment.

“Anne...?”

“What was that?”

“Gosh, guys... I have so much... To tell you..” Anne couldn’t say anything else before she passed out, leaning on the pink frog. Anne’s parents approached her, making sure she was okay, before Brian and Polly went to look for Marcy.

Meanwhile, Marcy had completely passed out, falling on top of the robot. For a moment, neither half of Marcy knew what to do, but quickly her inner soldier took over, letting her young side and her calamity side help her unconscious inner beast.

Marcy blinked, a little confused, but quickly straightened up, turning to the robot, who looked both scared and in awe of what had happened. She gently placed her hand on its head, its body almost completely destroyed, but its motherboard seemed intact, so she could rebuild it like she planned to do with Frobo. She heard footsteps, seeing Brian and Polly approaching her, both of them tensing and reaching for something to hit the robot with before Marcy got in the way.

“No! Don’t hurt it! It’s fine now!” She pleaded, making both of them hesitate.

“Are you sure…?” Brian looked wary, but Marcy nodded determinedly.

“I took out what was forcing it to obey the king, everything is fine now.” She looked at the robot and gave a slight smile. “We’re fine now.” Polly hesitated before dropping her makeshift weapon and approaching the robot.

“It seems more advanced than Frobo, do you think we can fix it? We don’t even know how to make Frobo turn on...” Polly looked down, head down, but Marcy patted her head.

“Well, the worst part, which is that it turns on, is already made. And maybe creating a new body for itwill help us figure out what to do with Frobo.” She looked back at the robot with a glint of recognition in her eyes. “Besides, even if we can’t fix it back to its old self, I have a feeling it wouldn’t mind finally resting from its mission, right?”

The robot did its best to nod, looking relieved. Marcy picked up its remains and, with a little effort, lifted it to look directly into its red eyes, now noticing a faint green glow around them.

“...I'll call you...Stubby.”

Stubby smiled.

***

The trip home was uneventful. They managed to put the rest of Stubby in the trunk of the car, On decided to stay next to Anne in the back seat while Marcy stayed in the front with Brian. On had an emotional conversation with the Plantars, understanding why her daughter hid things from her and asked them to always count on them now. They hugged and Brian complained about being left out of the hug while Marcy looked out the window, feeling her other halves taking care of her inner beast.

What happened to Beast is not natural. She was born by the blue gem, but that should be her only connection, she shouldn't access those powers like that!

I agree. Whatever happened to Beast, it could happen again... We can't tell them anything, not yet.

Marcy raised an eyebrow, wouldn't it be better to talk to them then, or at least to Anne? Beast used the same powers as her, after all.

But we don't know how it happened! And you've seen how Anne gets when she's worried about something! She can go back to staying up for days without sleeping, searching for an answer that doesn't exist, or having a breakdown, or-!

Young, breathe.

... I don't want to worry Anne. She has enough on her shoulders already.

I agree. This is a mystery that we'll solve ourselves and fix if it's a problem.

Marcy frowned a little, worried about their choice. After everything that had happened, it didn't seem wise to hide something like that.

Soldier, please...

Marcy blinked, her cheeks slightly red for a moment before she took a deep breath and sighed, focusing on the view outside the car.

"... Your wish is my command, General." She whispered, looking away to the starry sky.

None of them knew that the peace they thought they would have would be stolen by another threat. A threat that arose when the FBI found footage of them during their escape and decided to call in an expert. A threat that would be a thorn in their side until they found a way to return to Amphibia.

For now, they would just relax after a long, long day.

Chapter Text

It was a new day at the Boonchuys' house, everyone was doing something they wanted to do. In the middle of the living room, Anne grabbed her laptop and placed it on the table between Hop Pop and Sprig, ready to present something she'd wanted to do for a long time.

"And now... The internet." She opened the laptop and clicked on the doogle icon. It was as if the two frogs had just touched forbidden knowledge.

"The answer to the mysteries of the universe right at your fingertips..." Sprig whispered in wonder.

" It's an endless well of knowledge...!" Hop Pop stared as if he were seeing some kind of deity.

"More like an endless well of cat videos!" Anne quickly went to youtoob and accessed her favorite link.

Soon the three of them were inundated with various cat videos, from them playing and dancing to them playing with something, each one cuter than the last. The three were so mesmerized by what they were watching that they almost didn't notice the door leading to the garage suddenly open.

"Guys, guys, guys! I did it! I fixed Frobo!" Polly shouted excitedly, covered in dirt and oil stains. "Come on, check it out!"

"...Fixed him?" Anne turned to Sprig, who just shrugged. The three decided to follow the pollywog, curious if she'd actually managed to fix their metallic friend.

"Okay, show us Fro... WHAT THE?"

Hop Pop's scream was shared by the other two at the sight they saw. Frobo's head was taped together in an old laundry room the Boonchuys own, as were parts of his arms and legs. Random pieces of metal were glued together to join parts that weren't the same size. And finally, everything was wrapped around several electrical wires, including Christmas lights, all plugged into a single extension cord that hadn't yet been turned on in the house. Somehow, Stubby's half-broken body that was leaning against a wall still looked less messed up and destroyed than Frobo.

"So, what do you think?" Polly was looking quite smug, using Frobo's head as a support. "Pretty impressive, right?" She patted Frobo, letting out a slight yelp when she ended up getting a shock from touching an exposed area.

"Impressive's one way to put it..." Anne looked at all this worriedly. She didn't quite understand it, but even she knew that what Polly did to Frobo violated many safety laws. Polly climbed off Frobo and grabbed the last remaining cables.

"You guys ready for this?" She asked determinedly and anxiously. Anne and the Plantars swallowed hard.

"Polly, I don't think you should turn him on yet..." Hop Pop tried to warn, stepping forward.

"Yeah. Are you sure you even know what you're doing?" Anne squirmed a little in her position, with Sprig stepping behind her. "At least let Marcy take a look and..."

"Of course I know what I'm doing, Anne." The pollywog almost growled at the human, gripping the cables tightly. "Everything's gonna be just fine!" And then she plugged it in.

Frobo remained off.

"... Something's supposed to happen, right?" Sprig asked warily.

As if waiting for the words, Frobo's eyes glowed red. A laser beam shot out from him and began to shoot chaotically everywhere, narrowly missing the four of them. Anne vaguely heard her father whimpering on the other side of the gate and quickly pulled the plug, deactivating the robot again and leaving the entire garage in disarray, with a few holes in the walls and ceiling, miraculously none of which hit the other robot.

" Polly, what were you thinking? You could've just killed us." Hop Pop immediately scolded his granddaughter, who simply jumped up to check on Frobo again.

"Sorry, sorry... I know he's got some kinks to work out, but... "

" Nuh-uh. Enough of this. I forbid you from working on this robot further!" Hop Pop's order made Polly turn to them, eyes wide.

"What?"

"I'm with Hop Pop, Polly. I think we should wait till we get back to Amphibia. Then maybe we can find someone who knows robots, you know?" Anne tried to defuse the situation, noticing a box of old things and starting to look for a toy robot. Maybe Polly would be less tense with a new robotic friend to play with?

"I know you miss him, we do too, but you just need to be patient." Sprig tried to touch his sister, but she slapped his hand away before he could. Polly's face was so angry it was almost fury.

"Why... This is unfair!" She screamed, jumping on Frobo again. "Marcy can play with an enemy robot, but I can't try to help my friend?!"

"Marcy isn't playing with Stubby, she's studying him." Anne quickly defended her friend, grabbing the toy she wanted. "She's learning how he works, and maybe she'll learn something about Andrias in the process."

"And I'm fixing Frobo! We're both doing something dangerous! How is that any different from what I'm doing?!"

"She's trying to learn things from him so nothing bad happens when we get back to Amphibia! You're just mindless throwing a bunch of things together and hoping for a miracle that won't happen, and putting us all at risk in the process!"

Anne's scream and words made Polly recoil, eyes wide. Hop Pop and Sprig also stared at the human, frightened. Regret quickly overtook Anne, especially at the way Polly's eyes began to water and she turned her back to them.

"...Polly...I..."

"...I just want to help him." Polly sniffed slightly. Her mumbled words sounded like a scream in the silence of the garage. "...I can help him, I know I can... So I...I just..."

(Flaming pink eyes softened for the first time since they'd opened. A small, satisfied smile appeared on her face.

Anne could only scream her name, helpless to do anything to help her best friend as she was sent  away.)

Anne shivered slightly, her gaze dropping downward. She looked at the creepy teddy bear she had and sighed, dropping it in the corner and ignoring the words it was saying as she focused on the pollywog.

“Okay.” The three frogs turned to Anne, confused. “You can work on Frobo.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Anne! I just said...!”

“BUT!” Anne raised her voice, ignoring Sprig and Hop Pop and holding up two fingers to Polly. “You can only work on activating it, nothing more, nothing less. And you’re going to ask Marcy for help with that.” She looked at the older frog. “Is that okay with you, Hop Pop?”

“...Well, if it’s just going to be activating him, I don’t see why not.”Hop Pop shrugged after a moment’s thought. “But without any bodies or anything until we go to Amphibia! Did you hear me?”

"... Okay. Maybe you guys are right" the tadpole replied, one hand on its back and the other wiping its eyes. "Hey, can I borrow your laptop?"

"I don't see why not. But no Marcy, no work." Anne emphasized the part about having her friend's supervision. As clumsy as she is, she was currently the only one Anne trusted to work on this without blowing up the garage and the house in the process.

"And where exactly is she now?" Sprig asked curiously. Anne looked up, toward the second floor of the house.

"Probably where I was when I woke up. In the bedroom, working on Stubby."

***

Marcy shivered slightly.

Is everything OK?

You didn't get shocked again, did you?

No, Marcy thought as she went back to work, it was just that she could swear she felt someone talking about her.

Shouldn't you sneeze, then?

I'm pretty sure that only happens in anime... But it would be cool if it were real!

I'm not so sure, sneezing every time someone talks about you seems pretty annoying.

Marcy chuckled lightly, but ignored the rest of the conversation to focus on her work. A few more loose wire connections and putting everything back in place before she closed the compartment and looked her other companion in the eye.

"So? How are you now?"

Stubby was quiet for a moment, Amphibian numbers and letters appearing in his optics as he analyzed everything. Due to the significant damage to the body and the delicate nature of the processor, Marcy separated the robot's head to ensure nothing major was seriously damaged. Stubby's eyes soon returned to their new normal, green color instead of red, his gaze fixed on the human.

"Analysis complete. System recovery activated. Functionality at 87%."

"87, right...? It's not complete, but at least it's much better than the 43 you were running before." She pulled up a chair and sat in front of the robot. "Okay, let's start with the basics... Introduce yourself."

"Cloak Bot Serial Designation 0X0010010."

"Define 'Cloak Bot'."

"Assassin robots with stealth capabilities. For target elimination and protection against intruders."

"List of skills."

"Invisibility. Hacking. Flexibility, agility, and superior strength. Ability to elongate arms. Laser eyes. Drone creation. Energy signature tracing. Scanner."

"Who is your master?"

"Former master King Andrias Leviathan. Current master Marcy Wu." A small smile appeared on the human, but she quickly returned to neutrality.

"What was the mission your former master gave you?"

"Capture Marcy Wu. Get the sequel to the Love Choice movie."

Marcy blinked.

"...Repeat the last part."

"Get the sequel to the Love Choice movie."

"..." For a moment, Marcy didn't know what to say, nor did either of her other half. Slowly, she rested her head in her hands and let out a frustrated groan. "I don't know if the fact that Anne said he was kind of a goofy is true is better or worse..."

Yeah...

I... I don't know either...

Let's focus on what matters, okay?

"Okay..." She straightened and looked back at the robot. "What was the mission your former master gave your partner?"

"Kill Anne Boonchuy. Get the sequel to the movie Love Choice." Marcy's eye twitched slightly at the second part, but focused on the first.

"So he really wants us, but not Anne for some reason..." Marcy looked away for a moment, hesitant, before summoning the courage to ask the question that had been plaguing her for a long time. "In your former master's castle... Was there an Earthling like me and Anne?"

"Affirmative." Marcy swallowed.

"What was her status when you left?"

"Stable."

"Elaborate."

"Internal wounds repaired. Stone energy active in the damaged areas. In a coma inside a rejuvenation tank."

"So... Is she alive?"

"Affirmative."

If Marcy hadn't already been sitting, she would have fallen to her knees in relief. She'd imagined it and hoped for it, and there's still a horrible chance something might have changed during their time on Earth, but hearing that Sasha had managed to survive after what happened was like music to her ears. She could feel the tears of joy streaming down her young side face as her inner soldier tried to calm her, even though she too looked on the verge of tears. Her inner beast didn't seem too affected, despite the giant smile on her face, but it made sense; she never doubted for a second that Sasha was alive.

"That... That's good to hear." The human sighed, standing still for a moment as she let all her halves recover. After a few seconds, she straightened up again to focus. "What's the estimated date for the invasion your former master wants?"

"Unknown." This made Marcy frown a little.

"Doesn't have an estimated date, or has he never told you?"

"Unknown."

Marcy rested her head on her hand as she thought. Unknown to both questions... It could be something very good or very bad. If the first option, Andrias might not yet be as stable in Amphibia as she feared, perhaps he doesn't have enough resources for his army, or he's facing some kind of rebellion. This would be advantageous to them. Perhaps it would buy them enough time to reach Amphibia and put an end to the Tyrant King and whatever the Night Core is once and for all.

If the second option... Andrias might be perfectly stable and simply didn't bother to give Stubby a date, probably even considering eliminating him when his mission was over, even if he'd fulfilled his duty. Which is a horrible thought to have, the invasion could happen at any moment, and they were pathetically unprepared for what he planned to unleash, and...

No. Stop thinking about it.

Marcy frowned a little, she couldn't stop thinking about it, what if...

That's why I'm asking you to stop. Listen, I know all too well what it's like to be thrown into uncertainty and start imagining the worst-case scenarios. That's why I'm asking you to focus on what you can do now.

 Soldier is right. Wasn't there something else you wanted to do with us?

Something else... Yeah, there was one more thing Marcy wanted to do. Taking a deep breath, she stood and moved her chair before returning her focus to Stubby.

"I want you to scan me four times, pausing for five seconds between each scan. Then analyze the results and tell me only those related to the stones' energy."

Stubby's eyes glowed, and a thin light passed over Marcy's body for a moment before disappearing. She closed her eyes for a second and opened them again, her green eye less bright, and a more relaxed, yet worried, expression appeared on her face. Another flash, and when Marcy closed her eyes, her expression became serious, her face slightly furrowed. When the light appeared a final time, Marcy had already closed her eyes and opened them with needle-like pupils. Stubby began the scan while the human's eye glowed faintly once more, and she let out a groan of pain, stumbling a little before sitting back in the chair, clutching her head.

I feel... Dizzy... Everything is spinning...

Me... Me too... I feel like I've... Been upside down for hours...

Let's not... Try to... Change so quickly without it being an emergency... Okay?

As far as I'm concerned we'll never do that again, was Marcy's reply, her inner beast and soldier quickly agreeing as well. After a few seconds, the human sat up straight and turned to the robot, which had just finished processing the information.

"Analysis complete. Results related to the stone. Green stone energy oscillating within the holder. 1,190%. 1,631%. 1,050%. 1,050%. Power surges previously recorded. 5,957%. Theorizes that the low energy level is due to the distance between the stone and the holder." Marcy frowned.

“The last two recent results, did you feel any energy other than the green stone?”

“Negative.”

“…I see…” Marcy sighed, resting her head in her hands. “…You’re relieved of duty for now.”

“Entering sleep mode.”

She rubbed between her eyes as Stubby shut down. She hesitated for a second before leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes, and…

‘This doesn't make any sense!’

‘I think we need some context here, Calamity.’ Soldier commented casually, she, Young, and Beast watching Calamity pace with her head in her hands. ‘There are so many things happening that don't make sense...’

‘What happened yesterday! Beast using the power of the blue stone! The moment the power of the blue stone entered this body and submitted to the green, she shouldn't have had the necessary connection to do that!’ Calamity was almost pulling her hair out with the force holding it. ‘If she could do this all along, Stubby should have noticed remnants of the power, but she hasn't! So how did she do it? What does this mean?! How...!’

‘Breathe.’

Beast's voice was barely louder than a whisper, yet Calamity quickly stopped her movements and began to gasp for air, but without much success. Beast walked over to her, gently placing her hand on her shoulder, and making the necessary movements, which the green-eyed girl imitated. It took a few seconds, but soon she was calmly following the wild girl, resting her head on her shoulder. Young and Soldier approached with concern.

‘...Is everything okay?’ Young hesitantly placed her hand on Calamity's shoulder.

‘...Not really...’

‘I have a feeling it's not just Beast doing something unusual that's bothering you.’ Soldier stated, crossing her arms. ‘You've been acting a little strange since you discovered you, too, have lost memories.’

‘I just... I'm kind of worried.’ She confessed, pulling away from Beast to look at Soldier. ‘For a long, long time, I've felt like... something's wrong. That something we're doing shouldn't be happening, like we've broken some kind of invisible script.’ She put her hand on her arm and squeezed it as she looked down at the ground. ‘I thought I was just being paranoid, you know? Everything that's happening is so strange, it makes sense that I'd feel something's wrong. But ever since I realized I have memories of my own, the feeling has gotten stronger, and I can't stop wondering if that's why. Maybe... I'm forgetting something really important, something that could help us, and the fact that we're not doing it leaves us vulnerable to Andrias or...’

‘Calamity.’ Again, Beast's voice wasn't very loud, and again, Calamity stopped and focused on her breathing to calm herself. The two of them had grown quite close these past few days, Young realized with a small smile, much like she and Soldier. She hopes that soon, this will happen between all of them.

‘...I think... I'm scared.’

Young didn't hesitate to hug the green-eyed girl tightly, doing her best to comfort her other half. Beast did the same on the other side, letting out a deep, soothing purr, while Soldier held Calamity's hand tightly, her hand trembling as always with the contact, but refusing to let go. Calamity let out a shaky sigh, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

‘I just... I keep having these nightmares of orange eyes staring at me and consuming everything around me, and it's starting to get to me.’ She squeezed her eyes shut, a single tear falling down her cheek. ‘I can't fail. I won't get a second chance to fix everything, so if I fail, that's it! Everything will be lost, and it will be my fault!’

‘We won't fail.’ Soldier's voice was firm, making the three of them look at her. ‘No matter how difficult it was, I've never failed a mission before. So trust me when I say that I will make sure you don’t fail at yours.’

‘Soldier's right, we won't let that happen.’ Young reinforced her words with a tighter hug. ‘Whatever problems we face, we'll be in this together. The four of us, Anne, the Plantars, and soon, Sasha.’ She smiled. ‘There's nothing we can't do as long as we're together, right?’

Calamity sniffed before nodding with a slight smile. Beast gently headbutted Calamity's cheek and began rubbing it with her forehead, making Calamity laugh and lower her head to return it. With the four of them calmed down, they moved away from each other slightly.

‘Anne.’ Beast suddenly commented, making the other girls turn to her. ‘You said I couldn't receive the blue gemstone's powers, right? I didn't. It was Anne.’

‘...What do you mean?’ Beast frowned slightly as she looked up, the butterfly landing on top of her head.

‘When I helped Stubby, I felt something different. I didn't feel the power coming from within me like it does with the Green Light.’ She placed a hand on her chest, lightly clutching her shirt. ‘My chest... Was racing, the sound like thunder. And I felt... A tug, it came from the direction Anne set her trap.’

‘... So, what you're saying... is that you were able to channel Anne's power when Anne activated the Blue Spark. Like someone receiving electricity from someone else's house. Or how some animals receive their food from hunting others.’ Beast nodded. Calamity crossed her arms as she looked down.

‘That... Actually makes a lot of sense.’

‘It does?’

‘Yes, it does. Remember how I mentioned that the blue stone's power surrendered to the green stone's upon entering this body, causing Beast to lose all connection to it?’ The three nodded. ‘Well, Beast lost the connection, but theoretically, she still has the right to be the holder of the blue stone. If the current holder wants, they can share the power with a potential chosen one temporarily.’

‘So, basically, Beast used the Blue Spark yesterday because Anne allowed it?’

‘Theoretically? Maybe. It would make more sense than Beast channeling the blue stone's power on her own, at least.’ She placed a hand on her chin. ‘Still, it just raises more questions. Why did Anne allow this to happen? If it was an unconscious act, why didn't it happen sooner? What made yesterday the moment it happened and not other moments, like our first encounter with the robots?’

As they pondered the situation, a strange sensation hit them all, the entire room shaking slightly as if they were in the middle of an earthquake. Young stumbled and nearly fell if Soldier hadn't caught her, Beast falling to all fours, her hair standing on end as she growled, and Calamity aggressively flailing her arms to keep her balance, stopping when the tremor passed and leaving them stretched out.

‘What the heck was that?!’ Soldier nearly shouted, looking around as if expecting to find what had caused the earthquake.

‘Someone must be trying to wake us up.’ Calamity replied, looking up. ‘Should I go, or do you want to take over, Young?’

‘Today's your day, Calamity! I'll only take over if you're not feeling well.’ Young's smile was gentle as she turned to the green-eyed girl. Nodding, Calamity closed her eyes and...

...Marcy opened her eyes and found Polly in her lap, her arm raised ready to hit her. And judging by the slight sting on her cheeks, it wouldn't be the first time.

"...Did you really have to hit me?" Marcy asked, raising an eyebrow. Polly lowered her hand and climbed off the human.

"Sorry! You were sleeping like a log, and I really need to ask you for something." Marcy stood up, rubbing her cheek, glancing at Stubby's still-disconnected head for a moment before turning to the pollywog.

"What do you need?"

"Can you help me fix Frobo? I already made the body, but it needs some calibration. And everyone said I can't work on it without you there. You don't have to do anything, just staying close and making sure I don't blow it up is enough." Marcy blinked in surprise.

"You already made a body? But we don't have enough Amphibian technology for that..."

"Well, it's not the best body, I kind of used whatever electronic waste in this house nobody uses..." Polly admitted, rubbing the back of her head. Body? Marcy wasn't sure, she was still in that weird amphibian stage where the head and torso aren't well defined and limbs other than the tail are developing, after all. "But I think it should be a good replacement until we get home and build something better!"

"That's... Impressive, actually, that you could do something like that so young." The human turned to the deactivated robot once more. "I was already considering making a replacement body for Stubby too, his original is too damaged to be used without him suffering any problems. Maybe your design will inspire me to make him a new one."

"So... Can you help me?"

"I don't see why not!"

***

"And now... The internet." Back in the garage, Marcy opened her laptop and clicked on the doogle icon. Polly's eyes widened, as if she'd just touched forbidden knowledge.

"So much information... So much randomness... A sea for you to get lost in and never be the same again..."

"And the best place for you to distract yourself by learning things you probably shouldn't!" Marcy logged into her account, opened youtoob, and started typing. "Do you know anything about mechanics or engineering?"

"No."

"Well, too bad! Because you're going to learn now!" She selected a playlist and clicked.

Hours later, Polly was finishing the last video while Marcy continued to analyze the pile of Cloak Bot's remains. She tried to get a look at Frobo, but Polly was determined to be the one to fix him, so Marcy limited herself to observing the areas that clearly needed more work to make him work and gave her observations before turning to Stubby's body to find useful parts for her own body project.

"Well, that was two hours of my life I'll never get back." Polly commented suddenly, and the human stepped closer and leaned in slightly.

"I guess this means you're done, right?" The pollywog nodded. "Do you regret it?" She shook her head. Marcy started fiddling with her laptop again. "Great! Now that you're educated enough, let me introduce you to my favorite robotics channel so we can get started."

She clicked on a specific video, her smile widening slightly as she felt her young side gasp with excitement when she recognized the two teenagers and their mechanical panda on the screen. A new video had been released a few days ago, with them explaining the basics of how their little metallic friend worked and its settings.

"These are Ally and Jess, the best robotics building tutors you'll ever find. They'll teach you the steps better than I ever could, and it'll give me time to start working on Stubby's body too." She glanced at Polly. "Last chance to get out before you fall down headfirst into this rabbit hole of no return."

"I took the fall the moment I asked for help!"

Marcy clicked on the new playlist and let it play as she walked back to the remains of Cloak Bot's body. With a smile and a crack of her hands, Marcy got to work.

Neither of them spoke as they worked, but that didn't mean the garage was silent. The two girls' voices on the laptop echoed in the room, as did the sound of tools being used and scraps of unnecessary metal being thrown onto the floor. Polly fixed any problems she could find while Marcy carefully separated each component she wanted for her future projects, drawing the attention of her inner soldier.

Some time later, the pollywog gave a victorious cry, catching the human's attention.

"I think I’m just about finished!" Polly climbed off Frobo and grabbed a button. She pressed it hard and waited, growing frustrated when it didn't budge an inch. "Ugh! Why aren't you turning on?!"

"Maybe it has something to do with the power source?" Marcy asked as she approached, crossing her arms. "I don't know what power source you're using, but you might need a more powerful one to work."

"I just took some batteries out of the TV remote."

"Oh... Yeah, that definitely won't work. Frobo is a large, advanced robot, it'll need more than a few batteries to activate him."

"So what do I use?"

Marcy opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated and stopped, placing a hand on her chin. Her automatic answer would be the power of the stones, but she couldn't be sure about Frobo specifically. Stubby was powered by the energy in his core, an advanced piece that contained a fraction of the box's power, just enough to sustain itself, but Frobo was already active before Andrias used the box to create his army.

"I... I'm not sure..." She confessed, feeling her other halves shrug as well. Her inner soldier and beast had no idea what they were doing, while her young side gave her an idea. "Maybe you should talk to professionals? Ally and Jess probably will take our call and give us some tips on energy sources. We can even get them to help us turn on Frobo tomorrow." Polly grimaced slightly at the last sentence, but simply sighed.

"Okay... Hey, are you thirsty? Because I am. Can you get me something?"

"I don't see why not. I'll be right back!"

Polly went to her laptop while Marcy went home. She entered the kitchen through the back door and opened the refrigerator, grabbing the pitcher of juice and pouring it into a glass before doing the same in another glass and drinking it.

Okay, now that we're alone, I'm curious. What are you doing with Stubby's remains?

She's making a new body, isn't she?

Yes, with the claws and feet, probably some spider-like body, but that's not all. You were analyzing something in his body, some kind of component, weren't you?

"I really can't hide anything from you, can I…?" Marcy murmured with a small smile. Most people would find it uncomfortable to be read so easily by someone, but Marcy found it endearing that, despite the two of them constantly arguing and fighting, her inner soldier still looked out for her in her own way. “Well, it’s impossible to completely repair Stubby’s original body, and what I’m going to do for him will be much smaller, and it would be a waste to leave so much material lying around, so…”

Do you want to do something else with what's left.

Any plans?

"Not really. I'm torn between making new armor or extra weapons for us and Anne. It'll depend on what I find and what's left." She finished her juice and rinsed the glass, taking Polly's and starting back to the garage. "Who knows? Maybe I can make a laser sword with what's left."

If you can, please let us use it to hit Andrias in the chest.

Soldier!

You were thinking the same thing.

...But you didn't have to say it out loud...

Marcy smiled, peeking into the room. Anne, Sprig, and Hop Pop were watching a familiar old movie, the human looking slightly sullen. Almost as if sensing her presence, Anne turned to Marcy and smiled.

"Oh, hey, Marcy!"

"Hi Anne." Marcy leaned against the doorframe, staring at the TV. " Galaxy Battles?"

"Yeah, can you believe these guys like the prequels more?" Anne pointed at the two frogs, feigning disgust.

"Look, Anne, we just watched them in order with no context." Sprig shrugged, Hop Pop nodded.

"You can't blame us for not having nostalgia."

"In their defense, the prequels are very good. They're not my favorite, but they don't deserve the dislike many give them," Marcy commented. Anne looked at her with a frown.

"Traitor." The two stared at each other for a few seconds before laughing, turning back to the TV. "So, what are you doing now? I thought you were still working at Frobo with Polly."

"We are, I just came to get her a glass of juice." Marcy shook the glass gently. "We've fixed his new body, now we just need to find a way to turn it on." Anne and the Plantars froze, slowly turning to Marcy.

"A... New body?" Anne asked tensely. The older girl suddenly felt like she'd done something very wrong, but she just nodded. "What... Why did you do that?! We told her not to work on the body, only on Frobo!"

"Wait, seriously?" Marcy blinked, tilting her head slightly. "Polly never said that. She just said you wouldn't let her work unless I was there to supervise her so nothing exploded." Before she could continue the argument, the culprit appeared with a victorious smile on her face.

"I did it! I fixed it!" The two humans and frogs quickly turned to Polly.

"POLLY! We told you you could activate Frobo, not continue your attempts to create a body for him!" Anne almost screamed, leaning toward the pollywog. She shrugged.

"Meh, nothing's exploded yet, right? And Marcy was there helping me build it, I don't see you complaining about her."

"I only helped because I didn't know it was forbidden." Marcy put the juice down and put a hand on her neck. "If I'd known that, things would have gone a lot faster, you know? I mean, Stubby's fine without his body, and I bet Frobo would be fine too, just finally turning on after several weeks of being off."

"Listen to the professional, Polly!" Marcy tried to say she definitely wasn't professional at all, just a little bit sensible, but Hop Pop continued. "It's way too dangerous for you to be messing around with things you don't understand."

"Yeah. My hair is still singed from the last time you ‘knew what were doing’." Sprig made air quotes with his fingers around the last part. Polly felt tears of frustration welling up on her face.

"I don't believe this! After all of the work I've done, after how much I've missed him, you four wanna leave him dead?!" She yelled at them. Marcy raised her hands in surrender.

"I never said that, just wait until tomorrow and we'll turn him on. There's a place in the dump full of energy we can connect him to and..."

"You really want to activate him?! Do you know how much damage he caused last time? What if it's worse this time?!" Anne turned in disbelief to her black-haired friend, who shrugged.

"It's practically done, Anne. Polly worked hard on him, and if there's anything wrong, we won't know until he's active." She turned to the pollywog with a small, tense smile. "That's why I'm saying wait until tomorrow. We can call our experts to check it out, too..."

"NO!" Anne stood up suddenly, Marcy could have sworn her eyes were brighter than before. "No more attempts to build that deadly robot today or tomorrow until we get back to Amphibia! End of Discussion!"

That sentence. Marcy felt her body shiver instinctively, her young side cringing slightly as her inner soldier and beast tensed. The Plantars also seemed uncomfortable, staring at her with wide eyes, and even Anne blinked in confusion, taking a step back as she looked down.

And then Polly growled angrily.

"WELL, WHO NEEDS YOUR PERMISSION?"

With that scream, she ran toward the garage, making everyone in the room scramble to follow her before she closed and locked the door. Sprig and Hop Pop pounded on the door, trying to reason with their sister/granddaughter while Marcy stopped Anne and made her turn to face her.

"What was that?" She demanded with a piercing look. Anne shivered and looked away.

"I... I don't know. I just think I've been tense since yesterday. Waiting for a new problem to happen." Marcy's gaze softened a bit, but still remained serious.

"I understand. I was like that this morning too." Anne looked at her in surprise, and the other girl gripped her friend's shoulders tightly. "It's no reason to take your frustration out on her, though. What you said was pretty insensitive. You need to apologize to both of them."

"I know... I know. I will."

The power began to flicker in the house as electricity spurted from a few light bulbs, miraculously not blowing any circuits. They heard a robotic voice from the other room and something breaking along with Polly's frightened scream. Without hesitation, the four of them left the house, Sprig and Hop Pop taking a little extra time to put on their disguises, and saw Frobo flying upward with Polly on his back.

"Marcy!" Before they could think of anything, they heard two voices approaching. The girl with the hair turned to find two teenage girls in mechanic outfits approaching on an electric scooter, one with the tips of her hair dyed pink and the other taller with brown hair.

"Ally? Jess?" Marcy felt her young side squeal with delight, but ignored it for the moment. "What are you two doing here?"

"Your friend called us, she was building a giant robot and wanted to know the best power source to use." Ally replied, looking around worriedly.

"Have you seen Polly? I don't think she listened to our safety tip..." Jess tightened her grip on the handlebars, and Marcy laced her fingers together as she tensed.

"Yeah, about that..." Unsure of what to say, Marcy simply pointed upward.

Frobo's arm thrusters didn't stay active for long, and now, Polly and Frobo were falling. Polly grabbed Frobo's head and said something, and whatever it was seemed to have worked, as his blue eyes turned the familiar yellow. He then placed Polly inside the laundry room that was his body and softened his fall slightly with the remains of his thrusters before crashing into the back of the house.

The six of them ran toward the impact, finding Frobo's remains in the crater and a dazed Polly with a few scratches, but largely unharmed considering the fall. Sprig quickly grabbed his sister and hugged her, Polly looking around and noticing the remains of her robot friend, tears beginning to stream from her eyes.

"You guys were right...  I was so impatient with bringing him back to life that I killed him all over again!" She cried, clinging to her brother. Her grandfather and her human friends hugged her too.

"I'm sorry too, Polly. I shouldn't have been so hard on you. I only made things worse..." Anne lamented, tears threatening to well up in her eyes.

"...Po...Polly..."

The four of them separated, looking at Frobo's head. His eyes began to charge before fully activating, yellow and looking worriedly at the pollywog. Polly gasped happily and ran to him.

"FROBO! YOU BIG LOVABLE LUG!" She hugged him as best she could, still crying.  I'll fix you right this time and be slow and careful. No matter how much I miss ya."

"I told you he'd be fine without a body, didn't I?" Marcy commented, approaching the two with a small smile. "And now, we have expert help in person." She stepped aside, letting Ally and Jess approach, their eyes bright with what they saw.

"Sturdy! Looks like his hard drive is still one piece at least." Ally commented, studying Frobo closely.

"Impressive! I think next time. we just need to tune the PID controllers." Jess walked over and placed a hand on Frobo, then pointed at Marcy with a serious expression. "And don't think we won't talk about your disappearance, young lady! We were very worried to hear that our number one fan suddenly disappeared."

Marcy gave an embarrassed laugh, nodding as she let Ally, Jess, and Polly continue their conversation about the modifications they could try to make to Frobo. She turned to find Sprig, Hop Pop, and Anne doing ridiculous dances to a cat video. Anne immediately noticed Marcy staring at her, raised an eyebrow, and quickly straightened, her cheeks flushed. The black-haired girl simply nodded toward the front of the house, and the younger girl followed without complaint, both hearing Brian yell something in the background.

"So... Is there anything else you're worried about, or do I have to wait for you to take your frustration out on our friends again?" Anne shuddered, holding her arm as she looked down.

"No, just that... I'm sorry."

“It’s not me you have to apologize to, Annie.”

“I know, I’ll apologize properly to them when they’re done talking.”

“…You can tell me, you know?”

“Hmm?”

“Something’s bothering you, isn’t it? Something recent, probably. Is it about Amphibia or Sasha?”

“No, no! I mean… Maybe?” Anne sighed, putting a hand on the back of her neck. “It’s just… Usually when Sasha says that, everyone obeys her. I’m just a little confused why it didn’t work this time. Is it because I’m not her?”

Marcy vaguely remembers a moment of her inner soldier, when they finally reunited. She remembers Sasha saying it to Sprig, but definitely not with the same intensity, just firm. Less like an order and more like she was stating an opinion she wouldn’t back down from.

“Or maybe… Because she doesn’t do that anymore.”

Anne looked at her wide-eyed, as if the very thought of it were some kind of unspoken insult.

“What…? But… But Sasha always did that when we started arguing! It’s her way of stopping conflicts before they escalate!”

“Yes, but you’re forgetting something, Anne.” She gently placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “We spent months in Amphibia, and it changed us a lot. Sasha would be no exception to the rule. Do you remember her acting like that in our last days in Amphibia?”

Anne looked away, and Marcy frowned slightly. Something about Anne’s reaction seemed off, less like she was thoughtful and more like she was… resigned.

“…Anne?”

"I know... How much we've changed, I know it well. You're very different, I'm different, of course Sasha is different too. I just..." She hugged herself, looking down. "...I guess I'm a little scared. I've known you both since we were kids, and everything is changing so fast and..." She closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall. "...And one day I'll realize that the friends I know so well are completely different from the ones I remember. And that scares me."

Her friend's confession made Marcy's eyes widen, also averting them downwards. Because she's right, isn't she? This Anne isn't the same as her the Anne she remembers, and Sasha is the same. Marcy, for example, are four completely different people. Sure, they're all Marcy, but it doesn't change the fact that the friend Anne knew has become someone very different from the one she remembers...

Anne felt the hand on her shoulder tighten for a moment. She looked up and saw Marcy's eyes closed, slightly tense. When her friend opened them again, the green in her eyes was less bright, and she gave her a small smile.

"As long as we're still ourselves inside, does it matter?" Anne blinked. Marcy looked away and scratched her cheek with her other hand. "Sure, things will be different between us, but that's the thing about growing up, right? Finding new things that suit you better and leaving others behind. I won't deny that I miss the 'old us' a little, but..." She turned to her friend with a bright smile. "...I'm also very happy and excited to learn more about our 'new selves'!"

The two of them fell silent as they observed each other, Anne looking at her with slightly wide eyes and Marcy still with her smile on her face. She could feel their other halves, the way her calamity side smiled and complained to herself that she was overthinking such a simple solution, the way her inner beast almost seemed to jump in place as she nodded, the almost shy smile her inner soldier gave her with slightly red cheeks.

Anne looked down thoughtfully...

...And then she smiled.

Because she was right, wasn't she? Because despite learning to fence and becoming the greatest heroine known in Amphibia, Anne is still a girl who loves to cook and helps her friends in trouble without hesitation. Because despite becoming a soldier and strange things happening to Marcy, she's still that nerdy girl who loves sharing what she knows with those she cares about. Because despite becoming a farmer who avoids the spotlight like the plague, Sasha is still a girl who doesn't take any nonsense and will punch anyone who picks on her friends in the face.

Because despite everything, deep down, they're still those little girls who met by chance on a playground years ago.

And even though she's a little worried, Anne can't deny that she's also excited to discover all the new sides of her friends.

"Yes... You're right, Mar-Mar. I'm also excited to meet the 'new you.'"

"Same with you. And soon, we'll meet the new Sasha and help her learn about us!"

"... Together?"

"Together."