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Chapter Text

A.N.: So… I go back and forth on Amphibia's finale. Mostly forth. For the most part, I loved it. Yeah, I feel bad that the Trio are separated from their found families, but they're clearly happy and fulfilled people by the time we rejoin them and in the end, that's what really matters. I'd like to thank Matt Braly and the rest of the crew and cast for bringing the series to a satisfying (at least to me) conclusion.

Buuuut… the end isn't necessarily the end…

FIND A WAY TO START AGAIN

Chapter 1: New Horizons

Amphibia, the newly-discovered continent of Boonchuya

If Sprig Plantar could sweat, he would be wiping it off his brow right now.

This biome on the new continent was completely different from anything he'd encountered throughout his travels on the main continent. Funny… they'd never even bothered to give the continent a name since they'd always figured it was the only one. It was now just called "Old Amphibia" by default.

Old Amphibia was mostly swampland. There were some more desert-like areas, some mountainous areas, and even a few icy climates (amphibians, naturally, tended to stay out of those due to being cold-blooded). But there was nothing there quite like this. Humid even for Amphibia, thickly grown with completely unfamiliar flora, populated by animals never seen on the main continent, including a species that almost looked like a furry, tailed human if you squinted.

Sprig had seen something similar – he was one of the few that had – when Anne had taken hm and his family to the LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens. It was called a "monkey" – Anne claimed it was sort of a very, very distant cousin.

Now that he thought of it, weren't there biomes similar to this one on Earth, too? He'd seen them in the movies and TV Anne had showed them. They were called "jungles".

Anne… his thoughts kept coming back to Anne, didn't they. Even now, even ten years later, his distant sister kept creeping back into his thoughts when he least expected her to. In that way, it was kind of like she'd never truly left.

Hop Pop had always said "family always finds each other." Somehow though, Sprig always figured it would be less metaphorical and more literal. Memories were nice and all, but it would've been nice to actually get to see and talk to his best friend-slash-sister.

He wondered what she was up to these days on Earth. Probably something amazing. Granted, it was hard to top saving two worlds, but she would find a way.

His attention snapped back to his surroundings when he nearly tripped on something. He cursed himself for letting his mind wander to such an extent. That's what he got for going out alone today. Usually, Ivy would be with him, but she'd been feeling funny this morning and he'd insisted she stay back at the camp with the others. He hoped she wasn't coming down with something. Who knew what kind of diseases had been brewing here on the other side of the world?

He looked down at what he'd tripped over. Some kind of creeping vine. On a hunch, he followed it.

What he found at the end of it was the last thing he expected.

Expeditions had been coming here for years now, and they'd never found any sign of civilization. But here, in the middle of this jungle, seemingly lost to the echoes of time, stood a massive pyramidal-shaped structure, nearly encrusted in growth. It reminded him a lot of the Temple of Wit from a decade back, though not without differences. How long had it been here, he wondered? Judging by the amount of growth, this temple – if that was even what it was – could even predate the Leviathan Dynasty.

He quickly took as many pictures as he could, from as many angles as he could. This wasn't just another beetle with sightly-different coloration (though there had been plenty of those), this was something huge. The others back at the camp would need to see this.
--
"GUYS GUYS GUYS!" he shouted as he reached the small encampment. "You won't believe what I've found!"

A coral-colored newt with messy brown hair looked up from her notes. "Another weird beetle?" she asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad my mountain of student debt for a degree in exotic entomology is finally paying off, but there's been a lot of weird beetles."

"Not this time, Bella. How does an ancient temple sound to you?"

"No. Way. You got pictures, right? Tell me you got pictures."

"Pfft. What do you take me for. Of course I got pictures." He looked around. "Where's Ivy? I bet she's kicking herself for missing this."

"She's in the med tent," the expedition's doctor, a toad named Garth Sludgebottom, informed.

"She is?" Sprig asked, his excitement melting into concern. This morning, she'd just been a little dizzy, but if she needed the med tent it could really be bad. "Is it anything serious?"

"Depends on what you mean by "serious," he remarked enigmatically. "I think this is something she'd want to discuss with you herself."

Confused, he pushed past the doctor through the tent's entrance, where Ivy was sitting on the cot. If she was sick, it certainly wasn't revealed by her usual impish expression. But there was something else in that expression… a sense of expectancy.

"Uh, Ivy? What's going on? Garth is being very evasive…"

"Well, uh… Sprig? I think I'm gonna have to cut this expedition short."

"What? But I just discovered a tem- wait, why are you smiling like you do just before-"

"My eggs are gonna drop soon, Sprig, We have to go home so they can be laid and… fertilized…" she teased, booping his snout.

"Wait, you mean I'm… I'm gonna be-"

"Ambusssssshhh…" Ivy whispered mischievously.

And with that, all thoughts of exploration were put on hold. They could always come back later. After all... the temple had been here for centuries, possibly even millennia. It wasn't gonna go anywhere.

Earth. Undisclosed location.
--
"What do you mean, you lost an entire temple?"

"Exactly what I said, sir… One moment it was there, and the next, it's like it never existed."

Mr. X rubbed his clean-shaven forehead in irritation. "Well… find it," he barked, disconnecting.

"Man, I tell ya, some days you wonder why you even get out of bed. Lord, send me some competent people!" He glanced back at his slender blond assistant. "Present company excluded, of course, Jen." Jenny Jenners blushed slightly, but otherwise their face remained neutral. "Aw, c'mon… don't be modest, this place would fall apart without you."

"This place" was the headquarters of "Project X" (named not-so-humbly by Mr. X himself), a new international agency formed in the wake of both the so-called "Frogvasion" and another paranormal event referred to only as "The Gravesfield Incident", in addition to further reports of unusual supernatural activity in the sleepy town of Brighton, Iowa, among others. Years before the Frogvasion, there'd been another paranormal event in a tiny lumber town in Oregon; the government had been able to cover it up back then since the town was so isolated, but an alien invasion in the middle of LA? Not so much. It had been clear that the government could no longer pretend such things didn't happen. But what they could do was make sure that they didn't, and if they did, that the general public didn't have to worry about it.

And so, Project X had been born. Mr. X had been put in charge due to his pivotal involvement in Frogvasion, and naturally he'd brought Jenners with him, as well as a few other trusted individuals he'd scouted.

He turned to one of those recruits right then. "So… any ideas where a thousands-year-old temple could suddenly vanish to?"

Terri rubbed their (this week) dark green hair. "I do theories, not ideas. And, theoretically, I'd say that the temple didn't so much disappear as… move."

"Move where, exactly?" asked Mr. X.

"Could be 'where', could be 'when,'" answered Terri. "I'd have to have to take some readings to be sure."

"Then do it. Take Jess and Ally with you. It'll be good to have some competent people on the case."

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Homecoming

For the most part, Wartwood was just like they left it. There were a few more buildings, a few expanded fields, but Wartwood was, inherently, much as it always had been. Even when it changed, it stayed the same.

One thing that had changed was the statue that stood in the town square. It had once been the so-called "town-founder" whose name had been lost to history, and who probably had usurped the real town founders' (a frog couple named Leif and Twig) place in history. In his place stood a monument to the strange beast from another world whose arrival had changed the course of Amphibian history forever. She stood, cheerful yet determined, sword thrust out, the long-gone Calamity Box clutched in her righ hand.

"Hi, sis," Sprig said. "You wouldn't believe the stuff I've seen on the new continent. It's like nothing else on the planet." He rubbed his arm. "I wish you could be there, you know. I know you're back on Earth, living your best life, but… I miss you. Even if sometimes I forget little things… like which shoe you were missing." He glanced at the statue. "Somehow, I think Loggle got it wrong."

"Uh, Sprig?" interrupted Ivy, squeezing his elbow. "I know this is important, and any other time I'd be telling you to take all the time you need, but we're cutting it close here, and we've still got a lot of people to see before…"

"Oh, right! Guess what, Anne! I'm gonna be a dad! Which means you're gonna be an aunt!"

"Oh, come on… you're telling her before me?" A purple teenage frog tackled him. "You should know better than that, Sprig!"

"Polly? I thought you'd still be at school!"

"Newtopia U's temporarily closed due to a weevil infestation. So, you got me all week, bro. So what's this about you being a dad? I call fun aunt!"

"It's true," admitted Ivy. "These babies are about to drop. And mom would kill me if her grandkids hatched too far away for her to spoil them rotten."

"Well, Grandma Syl, and Frobo are back at the house. And if you wanna see Hop-Pop, I think he's over at the new ampitheater working on his latest project…"
--
"Here's a skull now. This skull has lain in the earth three and twenty years."

"Whose was it?"

"A whoreson mad fellow's it was, whose do you think it was?"

"A pestilence on 'im for a mad rogue! 'e poured a flagon of bog-grog on me 'ead once. This same skull sir, was Yorick's skull, the king's jester!"

"This?"

"E'en that."

Francois held up the prop skull dramatically, pausing, before he lowered it again. "Line?"

"Oh, for frog's sake…" groaned Hop Pop. "We open in a week!"

"It's just… what's my motivation?"

"Come on… this is Act Five, you should know this by now! You're Froglet, Prince of Fenmark, out to avenge your father's murder! It's one of the classics of literature!"

"…but I thought… you wrote it?"

"…oh… right… right… yes, that's right, I wrote it. I meant, it's a future classic of literature. Because the themes are so timeless. I mean, it's not like I, heh heh, took a play from Earth, changed some of the names, and passed it off as my own work, I wouldn't do that, heh heh, why am I still talking?" He tugged at his ascot nervously. "I mean, even if I did, which I didn't, hypothetically, isn't adapting as much of a creative process as-"

"Hop Pop!"

"OH THANK FROG. Keep studying your lines, Francois. Wally, excellent as always."

"Oi! I've found me true calling!"

Hop Pop turned to face his grandchildren. "Sprig! Ivy! You're conveniently back!" Hopefully, any questions would be forgotten now.

"We had to come back early so… I can lay my eggs in the family ancestral mud pit."

Hop Pop gasped. "You mean… I'M GONNA BE A HOP… POP-POP?" Despite his hip protesting, he risked a hop for joy. "You know who would be going crazy right now?"

"Anne?"

"I was going to say your parents, but her too. But yes… I'm sure they would all be overjoyed to see the family continue to grow. Well. I say, once you get your eggs settled, I'm getting' the whole town together, 'cause this calls for a big celebration!

"Gosh, you really don't have to-"

"Tough tacos, Sprig!" declared Polly. "We are gonna PARTY DOWN! Hold on, I gotta go tell Frobo he's an uncle!"
--
Earth, Los Angeles

Aquarium of the Pacific

Ten years. It was hard to believe sometimes. It felt like another life, sometimes.

In a way, it had been.

Despite what some would have you believe you do not easily adjust to going back to a mundane life after saving two whole worlds from destruction. There was a lot of therapy involved for all three girls. You see, the average 13-year-old girl should not have to deal with getting displaced from her entire life, spending a month in prison, becoming a child soldier, or leading an underground.

She should not have to deal with being literally stabbed in the back by a trusted friend and mentor and forced to serve as host for a millennia-old gestalt intelligence.

And she certainly should not have to deal with giving her life to save the world, meeting God, and being sent back as a copy of yourself, with the knowledge that at the end of your life, you might ascend to godhood yourself.

Needless to say, the three of them had gone through a lot of therapy to get to a place where they could move on.

"This place… looks… amazing!" squeed Marcy. "Is that a miniature version of the Plantars' house? That is so adorable! And that newt habitat, I swear its laid out exactly like Coral Park!"

"Speaking of looking amazing," Anne remarked. "Long hair looks really good on you, Marcy."

"Oh, well, I kinda figured it was time for a change…" Was that a blush? Was she blushing? What was happening? Probably nothing. Just happy to see her again is all. It's not like this was the first time they'd been together in ten years or anything. And nothing had happened during any of those visits or anything. That was it. Just nostalgia washing over her.

"So…" Sasha interrupted, "Now that we're all together again, it's clear what we need to do. Get married and move in together."

After a beat, all three cracked up. "Sash, I swear you make that same joke every time we get together," noted Marcy.

"And it gets a laugh every time. *chuckle* But, like, really, can you imagine? The three of us living together? We'd kill each other within a week!" She poked Anne. "Between your snoring and her loud chewing…"

"Excuse me, I snore?" Anne replied. "You sound like a cartoon sawmill!"

"Lies! Lies and slander!"

"Do you want me to record you? I'll do it."

Marcy giggled. "Seriously though, Dawn would kill you."

"Nah," Sasha replied. "She'd kill you two."

"Shouldn't you be helping her with her anger issues?" suggested Anne.

"Oh, don't even go there. Girlfriends make terrible patients." Her eyes drifted toward the toad exhibit. "You know… it kinda feels like a dream sometimes, doesn't it."

"I know, right?" Marcy added. "I mean, I know it happened, but the details start to get a little… fuzzy sometimes."

"Would you go back if you could?" asked Anne.

The other two paused. "You know… I haven't really thought about it in a long time," Marcy replied. "I'm pretty happy where I am. Doing something I love."

"What's bringing this on, Boonchuy?" asked Sasha.

"Oh… I don't know," Anne admitted. "I guess… standing here, with the two of you, with all these reminders around." She let out something of a sad chuckle. "I guess… well, the saying would be 'it's like a part of me never left.' But that's wrong. It's more like all of Anne never left. I'm just an Anne that did. Some weird… cosmic echo." She shook her head. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just bumming you out, aren't I. I didn't mean to."

"We're not supposed to get melancholy until after we're drunk," complained Sasha. "But I'll allow it."

"You know, after we got settled again, I used to go to that park all the time. I would just sorta hang around, hoping that maybe… just maybe… like the walls of reality were weak in that particular spot, and I'd just… fall back into Amphibia. I did that for a whole year until I realized it wasn't going to happen. I tried to look up Terri, see if they got the portal working any better, but I could never find them again."

"That Mr. X guy probably made them disappear," remarked Sasha.

"Sashy! Don't say that!"

"No she's probably right. That kind of tech's probably too dangerous to just leave to some grad student." Anne sighed. "Just as well, really. We… I couldn't just live in the past for the rest of my life, right? I owed it to myself to move on with my life. They would want me to. And that Anne that didn't make it back would've wanted me to."

"Yep. That settles it," Sasha grabbed her arm. "C'mon, we're taking this reunion on the road."

"Okay… where?" asked Anne.

"Don't look at me, I haven't lived here in a decade."

"Thai-Go it is." Anne replied.

"No offense, but I'm looking for something a little harder than iced tea."

Anne smirked. "I know where mom keeps the wine."

"Thai-Go it is!"
--
The Amazon

"Yep…" Ally remarked, examining the readout on her scanner. "I'm definitely detecting evidence of a dimensional shift."

"Very similar to the readings taken during Frogvasion, actually," Jess added.

"But why?" asked Terri. "Temples don't usually displace themselves. Not spontaneously."

"I don't know," speculated Ally. "There have been a lot of dimensional incursions in recent years. Gravity Falls, Gravesfield, Echo Cr-"

"We don't. Talk. About. Echo. Creek." snapped Terri. "Ever."

"Sorry," acknowledged Ally. "Point is… maybe the walls between dimensions are weakening, And there are spots like this where things can break through.

"Interesting theory," considered Terri. "Actually, it's a pretty disturbing one. Could you imagine another Frogvasion, or worse, another Weirdmageddon?"

"That's… kinda why we're here, isn't it?" asked Jess. "To prevent stuff like that?"

"You can only prepare for things you know about," Terri replied. "And there's no way of knowing what-"

They were cut off by Pandatron 4.0's siren suddenly going off. "Oh snap. The readings just started going crazy!" Jess warned.

And, as suddenly as it had disappeared, the temple was back. The three scientists found themselves knocked over by the shockwave caused by its sudden displacement of the air it had replaced, but otherwise, nothing but their pride had been harmed.

"Okay, this is starting to bug me," Terri said. "Could you imagine if we were standing where that thing showed up? We'd be squashed flatter than 2-dimensional space!"

"Hey, look at that!" Jess indicated. "There's an open doorway over there. You think anyone got in?"

"There weren't any missing people in the report," Ally replied. "If anyone was in there, it'd probably just be a bunch of monkeys or something."

As if to illustrate her point, a screeching sound came from inside."

"See, what'd I tell-"

"HEY! GET BACK HERE WITH THAT, YOU WEIRD LITTLE MAMMAL!"

A monkey – biology wasn't Terri's forte, but they guessed a capuchin – darted out of the temple, holding what appeared to be a pair of binoculars. More surprising was the creature that followed it… a figure dressed like an explorer, complete with backpack, canteen and pith helmet. But it wasn't their attire or equipment, but the fact that the individual was a giant, pinkish-orange newt.

"Guys!" she yelled. "Stop that-" She cut herself off when she realized she was not addressing who she thought she was. "What the… Are you… humans?"

Terri, Jess and Ally were three of a very small number of humans who would recognize an Amphibian when they saw one… luckily for their guest. "That's right. I'm Dr. Terri Connely. These are my associates, Ally Barrera and Jess Williams."

"Uh… Bella Carbunkle," the newt replied. "So… uh… How'd you get here? There haven't been humans in Amphibia in a decade."

Terri bit their lower lip. "Actually, Bella… you're on Earth."

"Oh. *long beat* I think I'm gonna faint now," she said, keeling over.

"So… which of us is going to explain this to Mr. X?" asked Terri.

"Not it!" the technician couple responded simultaneously.

"…and that's what I get for bringing it up," Terri groaned.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Connecting

Thai-Go (original location)

The remains of several dishes (pad see ew, panang curry, dumplings, green papaya salad, and both shrimp and pineapple fried rice – all peanut free because they wanted Marcy to live), plus the last third of a bottle of one of the better Napa whites, decorated the table. Dinner here always was one of the highlights of those rare occasions when all three of them could get together.

"I.. *hic* I have no idea what you're talking about," Marcy was denying.

"Oh, c'mon," Anne insisted. "Amphibi-Anne?"

"Didn't even change the name," chided Sasha, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

"Coincidence. Nothing more." She blushed. "She's a completely original character. For one, she's Cambodian. And she wields a squash racquet."

"Mmm-hmm… well, how about this." She navigated to the proper page on her phone. "Our heroes are stalked by 'Commander Vunan…'" She suddenly stood up on the chair and struck a dramatic pose. "BANE OF THE SWAMP WARS, CONQUEROR OF XOLNAR THE DREADED, ANNNND…" She suddenly lost her balance and toppled, only to be caught by Sasha.

"Stop rubbing my sobriety in my face," the blonde grumbled.

"Somebody has to drive, and you've got the car," noted Marcy.

"She's right. Rule #... something… or other…"

"I never agreed to any rules. *sigh* Was it always like this? Were you two unbearable when we weren't all exactly the same level of inebriation?

"Oh, you love us, Sashyyyy," slurred Marcy.

"You looooove us…" Anne echoed.

"Right. No more for you two," Sasha declared, snatching the bottle away just as Anne was reaching for it.

"Nooooo…" whimpered Anne.

"Someone has to be the responsible one here. You two can not be trusted."

"'Zat your professional opinion, Doctor Waybright?" teased Anne.

"It's so weird…" commented Marcy.

"What is?" asked Sasha.

"I'm the only one who isn't a doctor."

"Well, now that you mention it…" Anne remarked. "Weren't you supposed to have solved cold fusion by now? And you… you are neither gatekeeping, nor gaslighting, nor girlbossing. None of us are where we thought we'd end up."

"And where did you think you'd end up?" asked Marcy.

"That's the thing… I never even thought about where I'd end up. I never really thought about the future at all, other than 'I can't wat 'til I can drive' or 'College parties are gonna be awesome.' Vague stuff about stuff like that, sure, but, like, concrete goals and junk? Never."

"That made two of us," Marcy admitted.

"…seriously?"

"Seriously! I was always thinking about the next video game or the next anime to drop, but what I wanted to do with my life? Other than 'more video games and more anime?' I had no idea. *snicker* Mom and dad, they had goals for me. I was gonna go to the best college, I was gonna go to the best med school, I was gonna be the best, most prestigious doctor… clearly none of that happened."

"But you're happy, right?" Sasha prompted.

"Darn right I am! Man, you should've seen their faces when I told them I was going to art school. They were furious! But… it felt soooo good. An' just look at me now! Who said an art degree wouldn't get you anywhere? They did! An' theyyyy… were… WRONG! Heh heh heh…" She leaned back I her chair and toppled over. Sasha just shook her head. "I'm okay!" Marcy drunkenly assured, waving from the floor.

"…so… might be time to go home…" Anne remarked.

"Oh yeah," Sasha agreed, "But maybe after we clean up. Don't wanna leave your folks a mess for tomorrow."

"Yeah, that would be bad," agreed Anne. Thai-Go had three locations now, so her parents wouldn't necessarily be at this particular one, but you could never be sure. "So… uh… Marcy… where are you staying?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Sasha assured. "I already talked to Dawn, ad he's fine with her staying with us during her-"

"Nonsense!" interrupted Anne. "She's staying with me. Three's a crowd, after all…"

"Well, it's up to Marcy if she wants to…"

"Sounds okey-dokey t'me!" answered Marcy tipsily.

"If you're sure," Sasha replied, giving Anne a knowing look. What was she implying? Anne was simply being a good friend, offering up her living space to save Marcy the cost of a motel room and Sasha and her girlfriend the hassle of a houseguest. There was no deeper meaning to this! None! The fact that Anne felt her cheeks getting warm every time she looked at Marcy was simply the consequence of the alcohol and a lot of spicy food, nothing more.

"Totally. It's gonna be great."
--
Anne awoke to the sound of her phone going off. Half-consciously she groped for the device, her hangover-addled eyes attempting to focus enough to register the caller. ID BLOCKED, the screen read. Not mom and dad, not Sasha, not work, not Dr. Jan, not anyone she knew. Probably some telemarketer or scam artist, she figured. No big loss there. She tapped the "ignore caller" button and set it down.

The sun was peeking through her blinds… there was no sense in going back to sleep no matter how much she wanted to. She rolled out of bed, bracing herself for the dizziness as she stood.

As she staggered toward the bathroom to splash some water on her face, she glanced at the living room couch, where Marcy slept peacefully. Anne had offered her the bed but she'd refused.

She took a moment to just watch, losing herself in the rhythm of her slow, even breathing. How is she so adorable? she found herself thinking. Where had that come from?

Where had any of this come from, really? She wasn't attracted to Marcy… at least, she hadn't thought she was. Sasha, sure… they'd even tried dating for a bit after the return, mostly due to the fact that nobody else could really understand what they went through… but it hadn't lasted, and they soon decided they worked better as friends. And as their time in Amphibia continued to recede into the past and they developed new, and divergent, interests, they drifted towards new friend groups and new relationships (sometimes unexpected ones – if you'd told 13-year-old Anne that she would take Jamie Krieger, of all people, to prom, she would call you a dirty liar). They still remained very good friends, they simply weren't attached at the hip any more. It was an entirely natural, and healthy process, as Sasha herself would tell you.

Unlike with Sasha, Anne rarely saw Marcy in person. They would video chat sometimes, though not as often as she would have liked; for the most part, they lived very different lives on opposite sides of the country, and had very little reason to interact most of the time.

But she was here, now, and Anne found that it was getting very difficult to think of anything but her. Was this the inverse of "out of sight, out of mind" at play? Or perhaps her rather lackluster love life as of late was coming into play here. It had been a long time since her last date, and maybe just about anyone was looking good to her.

And even if this was the real thing, the odds were that Marcy wouldn't be interested back. Marcy'd never been particularly interested in romance, at least not for herself. Shipping, oh, yes, she could ship 'til the end of time, that was one thing the two of them had in common, but dating? She wasn't sure Marcy had ever mentioned seeing anyone in all the time they'd known each other.

So perhaps it was better that Anne just dropped all thoughts of it from her mind.

Right, then. Focus on things that were doable. Coffee. Coffee was doable. And breakfast. What did she have? Half a box of Bibbsy Puffs, some eggs… had she finished the last of the frozen waffles? It was hard to think.

She had just set the pot of coffee to brew when the doorbell rang. Who could possibly be calling on her this early in the morning? If it was her next-door neighbor accusing her of stealing her paper again – honestly, who actually got the newspaper delivered in this day and age?

She glanced through the peephole and was greeted with a shiny, brown, bad head. No… no way. It couldn't be. Not after all this time. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door.

He was much as she remembered him, a few years older, a few more wrinkles… if he had any hair, she was sure it would be graying. But he still wore those red-framed glasses that were probably loaded with all sorts of high-tech gadgetry and that stylish purple tuxedo jacket with its yellow carnation boutonniere that probably shot lasers and junk.

"Ms… sorry, Dr. Boonchuy – congratulations on that, by the way – this wouldn't be a bad time, would it?"

Anne resisted the urge to slam the door in his face. She was way too hung over for this right now, but she was under no illusion that Secret Agent Man was going to just go away. "No," she said sarcastically, "I just love being bothered at my apartment first thing in the morning by someone I haven't seen in ten years."

"Well, you're no less sassy than you were back in the day, stringbean. Look… I wouldn't be bothering you without a reason. The truth is… we've got a situation."

"Talk fast. Anne no have coffee yet, brain no work good. Bullet points, please."

"More of a tea man, myself… very well. It seems we have a visitor from a world that you're pretty familiar with."

All of a sudden, the hangover haze seemed to simply melt away and she felt everything go into focus. "Someone from Amphibia is here?"

"Yes. See, there's this issue with a temple in the Amazon that keeps vanishing and reappearing… and now we know where it's going."

"And the visitor…?"

"Is a newt by the name of Bella Carbunkle. She claims to have been investigating the temple in her own dimension,"

"Oh," Anne said, disappointed. As soon as she'd heard "visitor from Amphibia", her hopes had kicked into overdrive. It could be Sprig, Ivy, Maddie, Hop Pop, Polly (she'd be a grown frog by now, would Anne even be able to recognize her?). The odds had probably not been in her favor, but she could always hope. But no, it wasn't any of the people she'd been hoping to see. She did vaguely remember a Bella… hadn't she worked at that wax museum? No… that wasn't it… then again, it had been a long time, it was okay if she got some details wrong. "It's interesting, but why did you come to me?"

"Well… there are only a few people on Earth who know about Amphibia, and most of them already work for me. But you're one of the only three who spent time there, which may prove useful if we really have found a way there. Of course, it doesn't hurt that you're also a herpetologist."

"You know what I do for a living," Anne observed.

"Honey, we're the government. We know everything."

"Heeey, Anne," a sleepy voice piped up from behind. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Marcy, go back to sleep," Anne advised.

"No way… Marcy Wu's here too? How convenient is that? I knew she was in town, but I had no idea she'd be here."

Crap. "Uh… no… no, she's not that Marcy… she's a different-"

"Whoa, it's that Mr. X guy!" And just like that, she was right behind her and any hope of cover was blown. "Are you here to recruit Anne for some kinda secret mission? Have you done it before? ARE YOU A SECRET AGENT, ANNE? Is the museum job your cover? Ohmygosh, are you gonna have to wipe my mind now? I'm not done using it yet!"

"Actually, we need people who have experience with Amphibia… and you certainly qualify. So…" He raised a perfectly-plucked eyebrow expectantly. "How'd you like to go on one more adventure?"

"OH MY GOD, YES! CAN WE, ANNE?"

Anne sighed. "Look, Mar-Mar, I know you work on your own schedule, but I have to clock in at the museum in about-"

"Oh, don't worry about that, we've smoothed things over with your supervisor."

"You can do that?"

Mr. X flashed his badge. "The government, remember?"

Anne took one look at Marcy's eyes, which had grown almost cartoonishly puppy-dog-like.

"Okay. We're in."

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: While You were Out

Sometimes, Sprig was surprised at how quickly Wartwood could get things done. The place was the dictionary definition of a sleepy, out-of-the-way town at least on the surface of things, but when it got organized, it got organized. Part of that was due to Mayor Toadie's influence; he'd spent years getting things done for the former Mayor Toadstool, whose interest in the nitty-gritty of governing was limited to how much he could profit off of it. Actually getting stuff accomplished was usually left to Toadie's discretion.

In this case, it wasn't that impressive; we weren't talking about road repairs or school renovations, but a mere egg-laying party. Still, getting everyone possible together on such short notice took quite some doing.

The party was being held under a tent outside Stumpy's, which, while it had expanded in the last few years, was still too small to host everyone. All the expected attendants were here: Mrs. Croaker, still spry as ever despite approaching her centennial; Loggle, who had never quite reattained the massive physique he'd achieved during the war despite trying to keep up his regimen; Mr. Flour, flanked the triplets, now full-fledged frogs; Chuck, the Tulip King; Gunther Hayseed, author of a successful series of books on anger management; Albus Duckweed, editor of the Valley Bugle and arts patron, Frodrick Toadstool, settled as Toadie's "kept man", and a number of others who played roles just as important despite their names not being recorded.

Not everyone could be reached in time, of course; General Grime was in the capital overseeing the Paladin Corps. Tritonio Espada was there as well, running a (legitimate this time) orphanage to care for the many displaced by the war. To everyone's surprise, the former Captain Beatrix had joined him in this endeavor and much more; there was a development virtually no one had seen coming, but as Tritonio himself put it, "The heart, she wants what she wants, no?"

Once Ivy had deposited her three eggs in the ancestral mud behind the Sundew home, the two had made their way to the celebration, taking the two seats their families had saved them at the head of the table.

Hop-Pop tapped his glass. "Folks… I think I speak for all of us when I say what a joy it is to have Sprig and Ivy back in town on this, the occasion of the birth of a new generation of Plantars and Sundews. A toast to two of Wartwood's finest!"

To his side, a blue newt cleared her throat. "I think it's appropriate that we mark this occasion with the first bottle of Chateau Olivia."

The larger orange newt at her respective side huffed. "I still think we should have gone with Chateau Yunan… SCOURGE OF THE SAND WARS, DEFEATER OF RAGNAR THE WRETCHED, CHAMPION OF THE BATTLE OF THE TWO WORLDS, AAAAAND…"

Olivia hushed her wife. "I told you, dear, there's no way all that would fit on the label."

"It would if you wrote really small," Yunan grumbled back.

Olivia passing on becoming the next queen of Amphibia in favor of a quiet life in Wartwood was another unexpected development. Her reasoning was given in her farewell address: "The last thing Amphibia needs is another monarch. I will be quite content to leave this land to be governed by its people." She stuck around in the capital long enough to oversee the transition to a parliamentary republic with equal representation from all of Amphibia's sentient species (though the Olms representation was mostly token, as they tended to still keep to themselves; they had, however, opened their tunnels to surface traffic, making getting around Amphibia faster), then moved with her new bride to Wartwood, whose peaceful air she found more appealing.

Another, more unexpected guest made herself apparent when she appeared seemingly out of nowhere behind him with a raspy "Heeeeeey, Spriiiiig."

After nearly having a heart attack at the tender age of 21 out of sheer startledness, Sprig turned to face his near-murderer. "You… really should stop doing that, Maddie," he scolded.

"But it's fun," the sorceress replied.

"Not for me!" He took her in. "I am never going to get used to seeing you in white."

"Yeah, it still feels weird, but when Valeriana came to me to help her start rebuilding her order, I really couldn't say no. There are some pretty cool things you can do when you know dark and light magic. So… kids, huh? Weird."

"Yeah… to tell the truth, I don't know if I'm ready to be a dad."

"Hey, could be worse. You could still be married to me."

"Aw, c'mon… it's not like I didn't like you or any-"

"Nah, s'cool… I know I wasn't exactly known for my sparkling personality back then. *snicker* Or now, really. Also… I'm really not what you'd call parent material. You though… you and Ivy'll probably be great."

"Thanks, Maddie."

"So, Sprig…" asked Hop Pop. "I know it's a bit early, but… y'got any names in mind for my great-grandpoles?"

"Well, I was thinking Lily for the first girl and Weed for the first boy, after my parents. The third… Briar if it's a boy, after Ivy's dad, and if it's a girl… Savisa."

"Savisa?" Maddie asked. "That's kind of an unusual name. Pretty, but unusual. Honestly, I'm surprised you aren't naming her after Anne."

"I kinda am. Not a lot of people around here knew this, but Savisa is her middle name. See… using Anne felt wrong, because the real Anne is still alive, she's just not with me. If I used that name, it'd be like she really was gone. But this way, I'm still giving my child a name that reminds me of her… you know what I'm saying? Besides… Anne once told me it meant 'determination,' and that's something I want my kids to have."

"It's a good name, Sprig," agreed Ivy.
--
The evening passed, into night, conversation drifting from topic to topic, most of them light, recent events, engagements, hatchings, etc. As the night went on, the guests began to trickle out. Sprig and Ivy themselves were about ready to call it a night when Maddie indicated that she'd like a few words with them in private.

"I didn't come back to Wartwood just to say hi," she said as soon as the three were alone. "The truth is, Valeriana believes that a new threat may be on the horizon. She's almost certain that it may be connected to the new continent. And, since you two have been exploring it, well… you don't mind if I pick your brains, do you?"

"As long as it's not in the literal sense," joked Ivy.

"Please, what do you take me for? It'd mess up my robe," retorted Maddie. "Seriously, do you have any idea what a pain it is to clean this thing?"

"…I can never really tell if you're joking or not," Sprig admitted. "Well… we did find this weird temple. I didn't really get a chance to explore it much, but if anyplace might be hiding a threat, that'd be where I'd start looking. Here…" He fished for Anne's old phone. "I took some pictures…"

Maddie examined the photos of the pyramidal structure's exterior. "There's nothing I recognize. Those glyphs don't correspond to any sort of Amphibian symbology the order's come across. Granted, I haven't had access to every resource the Order has, but it doesn't look like Ancient Newtopian, or Olmish, or even Caecillian…"

"Maybe it's from some extinct civilization?" pondered Ivy.

"That, or… maybe it's something not of Amphibia. We know at least one other realm, and it's said the ancients traveled to many others. Perhaps we're seeing something from one of those realities." She nodded. "So… when are you two planning to go back?"

"Well… Joe Sparrow needs to rest a while before he can make the trip back. So at least a couple of days."

"Perfect. Do you have room for another passenger?"

"I think we can make room."

"Better make it room for three," added Polly. "Me n' Frobes are coming too. Not… that I was using his sound amplifier to eavesdrop… I wouldn't do that… nope, not me… yeah, I know you're not buying any of this, but I had to try."

"I guess it's settled then." Sprig agreed. "In three days, we'll all leave for the new continent. I kinda feel bad for leaving the eggs, but if it's really some huge threat…"

"We'll just have to make sure to come back, won't we," assured Ivy.

"Good, it's settled!" Polly declared. "Hey, Frobo, it's time!"

"WHAT-TIME-IS-IT" inquired Frobo, holding out a hand for a hi-three.

"Adventure Time!" Polly exuberantly answered, returning it. "What? I saw it in an Earth cartoon once."

Chapter Text

A.N.: So, while I was on break, I found out that this story now has its very own TVTropes page! This is the first story I've ever written that has one and I feel really honored that someone went out of their way to make one, so whichever one of you did it, you have my sincere thanks.

Anyway, on to the next chapter!

Chapter 5: Departure/Arrival

To say that getting a call from someone she hadn't heard from in ten years was a surprise was a bit of an understatement. Especially from someone she never expected to hear from again.

So when Sasha groggily answered her phone that morning, fully expecting to hear some recorded voice on the end, she immediately snapped to full attention when she instead heard the unmistakable voice of Mr. X.

"I hope this isn't a bad time."

Sash'a eyes involuntarily rolled. No, 5:30 in the morning is a perfectly reasonable time to call someone you've had no contact with in a decade. In fact, I was just about to give my former school bully a call. Just because.

She stifled a sarcastic response and simply asked. "What do you want," in a tone of voice that suggested she did not want to be particularly beneficial and was merely observing common social courtesy.

"Well, we've got some trouble that needs the expertise of someone who's familiar with Amphibia."

Okay, he had her attention now. "Talk."

"There isn't much information as of yet. All we have so far is a temple in the Amazon that seems to appear and disappear at random… and the giant talking newt we found inside."

"Giant talking newt, eh? Does she go on and on about sand wars and some guy called Ragnar the Wretched?"

"Mmm, sorry, no, it doesn't seem to be anyone we knew personally. And before you ask, yes, we've already contacted Dr. Boonchuy, but she apparently doesn't feel like answering her phone. We're on route to contact her in person, but in the meantime we figured we'd try reaching you."

"Why? Anne's the amphibian specialist."

"Yes, but we're not talking ordinary amphibians here. You lived amongst them, you would know what to expect. Frankly, if this is the start of a new incursion, we need all the insight we can get."

She sighed. It had been ten years, and while she still missed Grime and the people of Wartwood and yeah, even that annoying pink frog a little, she had essentially moved on with her life. These days, she was too focused on her career, her relationship, and her future to devote much time to revisiting the past. Still… if she was really needed… "Okay, just give me about half an hour to get presentable."

"Half an hour to presentable? Girl, I envy you. *chuckle* All right, I'll be sending my assistant Jenners to collect you, she/they FYI."

"Good to know. Bye." To be honest, a part of her did want to tell him no. She was in a good place right now. Happy. Fulfilled. Stable. Dragging Amphibia and all the associated traumatic experiences back into her life now after all this time could be a bad idea. Intellectually, as a therapist, she knew that this was probably just avoidance, but who said she had to be intellectual all the time?

But on the other hand, it would be nice to go on one last adventure with Anne and Marcy (if she was coming, and hopefully she was), and maybe, just maybe…

No, no sense in getting her hopes up for no reason. This was just some sort of diplomatic deal, right? Some random Amphibian was here in the dimension, and the three of them had experience with them. Getting her back to Amphibia was a matter for the theory guys.

She slid out of bed gently, so as not to wake Dawn. She'd been on call late last night, and needed all the sleep she could get. She'd leave her a note explaining the situation, hoping that –

No, that was stupid. She owed it to her to explain what was happening face to face, even if it made her grumpy.

As an EMT, Dawn knew how to get quality sleep when she needed it… and, as an EMT, tended to be very easy to rouse. Sasha simply prodded her upper arm gently. It worked every time; Dawn immediately stirred, and blinked.

"Hey," Sasha said.

"Hey yourself, babe," Dawn replied. "Since when do you get up first?"

"Ha ha… look… I have to go out of town. It might be a few days."

Dawn blinked in concern. "Well, that's sudden. The mob finally catch up with you?" Dawn joked.

"This is serious. It's… well, you remember what happened ten years ago?"

"Oh, yeah… you told me you were all mixed up in that Frogvasion thing. That you spent a bunch of time in some crazy frog world." She shook her head. "Some talking head was on the radio yesterday talking about how the whole thing was fake. Like… how do you fake giant robots invading downtown LA and a flying teenager fighting a lizard in the middle of the sky to a K-Pop soundtrack?"

Sasha shook her head. "Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public. Though I'm sure Mr. X probably had a hand in pushing the hoax narrative. There's nothing the government loves more than a good cover-up… and there's nothing talk-radio loves more than latching onto a conspiracy theory for all it's worth."

"Right, Mr. X… that was the bald guy with… was it heelies?"

"Yes, and speak of the devil, he just called me. Somehow someone from Amphibia is here, and he called me to help deal with it.

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Isn't your friend Anne, like, a frog doctor? Wouldn't she be a better choice?"

"She's going too, but thinking about it, I can see where having a psychologist along might be useful," Sasha replied.

"So, just the two of you, huh?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if Marcy also got dragged into this, but…" She gave Dawn a reassuring shoulder squeeze. "Maybe I can convince Mr. X that having an EMT along would be a good idea."

Dawn suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh my god, you think I'm jealous."

"I – I … well, I thought – me, with the ex…"

"Slosh*, honey, you two dated in ninth grade. For like a month. I'm not jealous of the crush you had on Bibsy in kindergarten either."

"…I just thought he was a real good dancer…" Sasha said, blushing.

"Look… I am not gonna play the clingy jealous girlfriend here. You know why?" She stroked Sasha's cheek. "'Cause I trust you, Slosh. I trust what we have. I trust that it's strong enough to take a bit of separation."

"Sorry, D," Sasha replied.

"Eh, I'm actually a little flattered. But I'm not that kind of girl." *smooch* I will be really pissed if you don't come back, though.

"Noted."

The trip to the Amazon wasn't particularly memorable. After Jenners dropped her off at a Project X hangar (blindfolded, to her annoyance), Sasha had about a minute to say hi to Anne and Marcy before they were ushered aboard a transport that quickly took off. Anne and Marcy were sleeping off their hangovers for most of the trip, leaving Sasha mostly on her own. She spent the next hour or so scrolling through her social media and GoobTube until her connection cut out – apparently wherever they were headed was out of her provider's coverage area – and for the rest of the trip, cursed herself for not bringing something to read.

"There wouldn't be an in-flight magazine available, would there?" she asked Jenners. They shook their head.

"So… come here often?" She asked.

Jenners gestured to their mouth and made three motions with her hands that Sasha immediately recognized: A-S-L. Good thing I had to learn that for my job, Sasha thought.

-Got it,- she signed back. -I hope I'm doing this right. It's been a while since I've had to use it.-

-Your accent's a bit hard to understand but otherwise you're doing fine,- Jenners joked. -It's okay if you would rather speak. I can hear just fine.-

-I could use the practice,- Sasha replied. -Is there anything I need to know before we get there?-

-Not much,- responded Jenners. -We haven't yet established any sort of pattern with the temple's appearances and disappearances. Dr. Connelly is still on site trying to determine the cause of the temple's state of flux. Dr.s Barrera and Williams are assisting and watching the creature.- Sasha gave an involuntary sideeye at "creature." She didn't live with these people for nearly a year, she reminded herself.

-Anything else?-

-Not really.-

The two sat in awkward silence – well, more silence. Sasha really didn't have all that much in common with Mr. X's assistant, and couldn't think of any topic of conversation to bridge that gap. For the remainder of the trip, she listened to a history podcast that she had completely forgotten she'd downloaded and never gotten around to listening to, regarding some unsolved disappearances in Gravesfield, Connecticut. Apparently "witches" had been involved, though Sasha knew very well that they were probably the scapegoat for something else. About five minutes in, she realized the podcaster, Jacob somethingorother, was pretty much completely insane, but his rambling was oddly relaxing. Maybe it would help her get some sleep.

As she half-listened, her eyes drifted over to where Anne and Marcy dozed. The two were dressed much as she was, shorts, T-Shirts (Anne's was purchased from the aquarium gift shop, Marcy's was for some anime Sasha wasn't familiar with), and sneakers. Hopefully Anne can keep hers on this time, she mused.

They look so comfy, she found herself thinking. Like they fit each other…

As Jacob Whatshisname continued to drone on about Martian dentistry and the mind control chemicals in stamp paste, Sasha finally drifted off, only to wake with a start as she felt the jolt of the transport's wheels touching down. "Wha… whasgoin' on… don't let the witches get my teeth.." she mumbled.

"Whoa, that must have been one heck of a dream," Anne remarked.

"We didn't wanna wake you," added Marcy. But we're here."

"So… you gonna tell us what that was about or…"

"Never fall asleep listening to a conspiracy theorist," Sasha advised as they disembarked.
--
The camp was small, just a couple of tents, much of it taken up by Ally and Jess's equipment. There was no need for a fire, as it was extremely hot and humid. The three girls thanked frog they'd dressed light.

"Anne!" shouted Terri, waving. "Over here! So… heard you answered the siren call of science too."

"Yep. You know, I almost didn't recognize you…"

"Oh, right…" She gave her green hair a fluff. "I like to change it up every couple of years."

"Well, you're workin' it girl," Anne answered. "So, where's this 'guest' of ours?"

"She's waiting in the tent. She's a bit disoriented but otherwise healthy. Though you'd probably be a better judge of that, wouldn't you?"

"Well… I've studied mostly Earth amphibians… Amphibian, uh, amphibians… boy that sounds weird to say… they're not quite the same. But I'll take a crack at it."

Anne entered the tent to find Earth's newest visitor. Despite not having seen her in ten years, recognition sparked almost immediately. "Hey, I remember you! You worked at that hotel in Newtopia! Becca… no, Bella…"

"Ugh, don't remind me," groaned the messy-haired newt. "There's five years I'll never get back." She blinked. "Oh, wait a minute… you're Anne Boonchuy!"

"Yeah… guess you've heard of me, huh…"

"Well, yeah, everyone's heard of you. You kind of saved the whole world," reminded Bella. "There's a big statue of you and the other humans in the middle of Newtopia. There's songs and poems and plays written about you and paintings and everything. You're kind of a big deal."

"Ohhh… well… that's… nice…" Anne responded, blushing. She'd been a bit of a celebrity in the days after she and her friends had returned from Amphibia for good, but time moved on and so did fame, to other recipients. And though sometimes she still got recognized on the streets, most of the tie nobody paid her much attention and she was fine with that. Fame was actually kind of draining.

Getting to be on Fallon had been pretty cool, though.

"So… how'd you get all the way here?" Anne asked.

"Long story," Bella responded. "See, there I was, buried in college debt for a useless degree in exploratory entomology, when all of a sudden, I see a job notice for a biologist needed for an excursion to a newly discovered continent! Turns out your friend Sprig recommended me. Finally, a chance to stick it to my sister, miss big shot economics advisor. Who's laughing now, Zella? I got to go to another planet!"

"Glad you're looking on the bright side, Bella."

"Anyway, a couple of days ago, we found this temple in a part of the continent we hadn't mapped yet., surrounded by all sorts of new vegetation and animals, when this obnoxious little mammal runs up and steals my binoculars! I chased it into the temple, and when I found it and got out again, I was here."

"Can you remember anything about the temple?"

"You know… temple stuff. Weird glyphs and things all over the place. I'm not exactly an expert on that kind of thing. I know a little bit of Old Newtopian but that's about it."

"So, you don't know if you inadvertently activated something in the temple that makes it travel between worlds, huh?"

"Guess not. It just sorta happened."

Anne had known not to get her hopes up. She'd eventually resigned herself to the fact that she would never see her frog family again, even though they would forever remain a fundamental part of who she was, but the thought of some kind of way not only to travel between worlds, but do so reliably… that was mighty tempting. And also too good to be true. She knew that.

"Well, the sooner we get to checking out that temple, the sooner we can get you back home."

"Well, there's the thing. Shortly after I got here, the temple disappeared again. And it still isn't back."

"Maybe it'd help to take a look at the site. I don't know how, but it's… something at least.

The two exited the temple, where they found Sasha and Marcy being accosted by a local monkey who was trying to grab Sasha's granola bar. "Hey!" She warned. "Get your own, Curious George!"

"That's him!" Bella shouted. "That's the thing that stole my binoculars!"

"That?"

"Yeah, the area was crawling with those things." The monkey took notice of Bella, and leapt up to grab her hat. "Hey! That was fifteen coppers at Banana Slug Republic! Give it back!" she commanded. The mischievous little primate responded by placing it on his head and skittering off into the jungle. "Frog damn it!"

"You say the temple area back in Amphibia was full of those?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, and I bet they're all every bit as annoying."

"I'm guessing you have nothing else like them in Amphibia, right?" noted Anne.

"No. Although Sprig said he saw something like them in a zoo on Earth…"

Flashbacks of Sprig, Polly and Hop Pop trying to take a selfie with a lion came to Anne's mind. In retrospect it was funny, but at the time she'd been scared to death. "He saw something exactly like them. They're capuchin monkeys, and they're native to this part of Earth."

Something seemed to click in Bella's head. "They must have gotten to my world through the temple. I bet some of the new species of birds and insects we've found must have too. They're much smaller than usual."

"Ohmigosh!" Marcy added. "An entire ecosystem of Earth creatures establishing itself in another dimension! For all we know, this could have been going on for thousands of years!"

Bella seemed to notice the other two humans for the first time. "Is that MARCY WU?"

"Heh heh, yup… that's m'name all right." She took a step toward Bella, hand stretched out to shake her tail, when she accidentally snagged her foot on a root and tripped, caught by Sasha before she could completely embarrass herself.

"This happens a lot," Sasha assured her.

"And you're rebel commander Sasha Waybright. The bounty on you was twenty million coppers! Not that, uh, I ever considered going into bounty hunting to pay off my student loans… heh heh…"

"Hey, for that kind of money I would've considered turning myself in."

"Well, I hate to say this, because it sounds real stupid… but I think that money might be our best lead right now," suggested Anne.

"I can think of worse things to do on a Thursday," added Sasha.

"Ooh! Can I say it?" asked Marcy. "I've always wanted to say it!"

"Be my guest," Anne replied.

"AFTER THAT MONKEY!"

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: The Eyes Have It

"Good job, Joe Sparrow," Sprig assured, giving the giant bird a pat on the head as he landed in the explorer's camp. Not that this was the most the bird had ever carried – other than Frobo, his passengers were pretty light-weight – but it had been a very long distance, and his wings were exhausted.

Not that the group planned on going back anytime soon. There was quite a bit to explore here, especially if Valeriana's premonition of doom had any weight to it.

Two of the expedition's personnel, the toad doctor Garth and a newt naturalist named Nate (try saying that three times fast) were waiting at the camp when Joe Sparrow landed.

"You're back," Nate noted unnecessarily.

"Good thing, too," added Garth. "We've a bit of a situation here. The temple seems to have a habit of… vanishing."

"…saywhatnow?" Sprig responded. He didn't know much about temples other than the few he'd visited with Anne during the gem quest, but one thing he was certain of was that temples tended to stay where there they were. This was new territory.

"It's the craziest thing," Nate continued. "The whole thing just sorta – blinked out of existence."

"Was there any sort of warning?" asked Ivy.

"NO!" Soggy Joe shouted, suddenly bursting from the shrubbery. "One minute it was there, the next… gone wivvout a trace, it was. And it took Bella wif' it!"

"Whoa… Soggy Joe… dude… you gotta stop doing that. You're gonna give someone a heart attack some day."

"I have to agree," Maddie added. "It's creepy. And this is me saying it, so…"

"But it's me thing."

"Dude, seriously. Think about it. Anyway, what happened?"

"Well… one o' them odd little mammals grabbed Bella's binoculars an' ran inside the temple. Grabby li'l blokes they are. One of 'em made off with me beetle jerky. Anyhow, Bella ran into the temple an' all of a sudden, it's just gone. As if it was never there in the firs' place."

"Can you take us there?" Sprig asked.

"Well, yeah, but I'unno what good it'd do."

"See? There ain't nuffin' here."

The party looked over the clearing. Sure enough, where the temple had once stood, there was now only an empty pit.

"Maybe it's invisible?" suggested Ivy. "Like that robot assassin you told me about?"

"If it's cloaked, Frobo should be able to detect it." Polly pointed out. "How about it, Fro-bro? You see anything?"

"NO-STRUCTURE-DETECTED", Frobo answered, shrugging. "SORRY."

"Maybe it's hidden by magic, not technology," suggested Maddie. Her eyes suddenly glowed white as she whispered a phrase in ancient Olmish while waving her staff. "It's not here, but I am sensing something… as if somewhere else was somehow overlapping our own reality in this spot."

"Are you saying this place is... two places?"

"Basically, yes." Maddie confirmed. "Long ago, using the power of an ancient music box, Amphibians discovered the existence of other worlds. The royals travelled to those worlds for the purpose of conquering them. For this reason, the box came to be known as the Calamity Box. But it wasn't always known by that name. At one time, long before the Leviathans came into its possession, it was known as the Discovery Box. And an order of scholars used it to journey to many worlds. From one of those worlds, one formed from the carcasses of dead gods, they came to learn the secrets of magic. Eventually, they came to be known as The Order of Discovery." She indicated the hourglass symbol on ger cloak's clasp. "Our order. When Argus Leviathan stole the box, he hunted the Order to extinction… or so he thought. One survived. To preserve our order's ancient knowledge, they sought out an apprentice… who, in time, sought out their own apprentice… and so on over the millennia, until we get to me."

"Well, that's all useful exposition, but how does it relate to what's going on over here?" asked Sprig.

"The box was able to breach dimensions artificially, but what we're dealing with here is a stationary dimensional overlap. I don't know if there's an outside cause, or if the dimensional barrier is just weak in this particular spot, but it's causing the temple to shift between the two –" She stopped short. "Something's changed. I… I think it's coming back."

Confirming her premonition, the temple suddenly reappeared before the gathered frogs and robot, its door gaping wide in front of them.

"Holy frog," marveled Polly, "It's like something right out of those Illinois Smith movies. I bet it's loaded with all sorts of traps and treasures and maybe even a mummy… or mummies… We gotta go in!"

Maddie eyed Sprig and Ivy curiously. "Maybe Polly, Frobo and I should handle this one. You guys are parents now. If something should happen…"

Sprig was staring into the doorway. "Maybe you're right, but… I don't know how to put this… I feel like I'm supposed to go in there. Like it's… I don't know… destiny?" He shrugged. "It's probably really stupid, but when has that ever stopped me?" He held his hand out to Ivy. "Well? Ready to do something stupid?"

"When I'm with you? Always. *beat* That… was supposed to sound a lot more touching than it did."
--
They stepped through the entranceway to find themselves in a vast chamber. Luminescent crystals were set at strategic intervals; though they didn't generate enough light to fully illuminate the interior, they did give off just enough to give it a sort of eerie otherworldly glow.

"Turn on the high beams, Frobo," instructed Polly. The robot's eyes flared to maximum brightness in response, revealing more of the chamber's interior. The walls were covered with a variety of strange pictograms. In the middle of the chamber was a raised platform, with what could be some sort of ornate altar. "Yep. Definitely seeing a high chance of running into a mummy at some point.:

"A mummy would be pretty cool," agreed Maddie.

"See? She gets it," said Polly, hi-fouring her.

"Uh… guys…?" Ivy had happened to glance back at the entrance, simply out of habit. She'd naturally expected to just see the jungle exterior through the door. She certainly wasn't expecting to see anything else… and must definitely not an empty black void. "That… doesn't look right."

"Hmm." Sprig walked over to the entrance. "Yep. Empty void. I'ma stick my hand in there." He inserted it into the entrance, or tried to, but found it blocked by an invisible barrier. "Yep. We're stuck in this place. You know, the old Sprig would probably be running around screaming and flailing his arms right now, but I've grown and matured since – ah, what the heck. WE'RE ALL TRAPPED!" he shouted, running around with his arms flailing in the air.

"Probably with a mummy," added Polly mischievously.

"PROBABLY WITH A MUMMY!" echoed Sprig, before stopping. "Actually, that's very therapeutic."

"Well… we were going to explore this place anyway… looks like now we have to," Maddie noted.

"Do any of these picture-dealies mean anything to you?" asked Sprig.

"No… I've never seen anything like them," admitted Maddie.

"I was joking before, but they really do look just like the ones from "Illinois Smith and the Forgotten Tomb," Polly noted. "What'd they call 'em… hieroglyphics?"

"Yeah. We saw stuff like this in that museum back in LA, too. I wish we had Dr. Jan with us right now."

"Who?" asked Maddie.

"Oh, she was this cool museum lady who knew a lot about ancient history. Maybe she could've read this stuff."

"You would've liked her," Polly added. "She was all about dead things."

"I'm guessing this thing in the middle is important, seeing as it's on a raised platform and everything." Sprig stepped closer.

"Maybe we should stay back," Maddie advised. "Since we have no idea what anything in here is…"

"Relax. The Sprig who used to compulsively touch everything he could find is a thing of the past, and – " His eye fell on an eye glyph on the altar. "Hey, what does this do?"

"SPRIG NO!" the others shouted in unison even as he touched it.

"Huh. Nothing happened. I guess it was just some sort of decoration…"

"Uh… Sprig?" Ivy warned, forcing him to turn to the walls, where among the many glyphs, eye-shaped ones in strategic locations were beginning to glow.

"Well, that's ominous."
--
Meanwhile, on Earth…

Apparently, the monkey had decided that Bella's hat wasn't fashion-forward enough, because it had discarded it right next to the huge pit that the mystery temple occasionally occupied.

"Well, that's one problem dealt with," Bella remarked.

"Uh, Bella, I wouldn't put that on right away," warned Anne. "That monkey's head was probably crawling with lice, ticks-" Bella, in response, whipped her tongue out about a dozen times in rapid succession, probing the interior of the hat, before putting it back on.

"Thanks," the newt biologist replied. "I was getting a little puckish."

"Right. Amphibians. I of all people should know better." Anne chided herself.

"So," commented Sasha, "this is where you said the temple was."

"Kind of obvious," added Marcy, leaning in close. "I mean, a pit this size, just sitting here in the middle of the jungle? It's way too regular to be natural. Something must have occupied this -."

"Whoa!" Anne interrupted, yanking her away from the perimeter. "Careful, Mar-Mar. This thing could reappear at any time, and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to be occupying the same space when it does."

"S-sorry," Marcy responded nervously, blushing a little. Try not to think about how cute she looks, Anne reminded herself. It doesn't mean anything. "I just… well, you know how I am."

"Yeah. I know," assured Anne. "And it's okay. Just… be a little more careful. I've already lost you way too many times." ACK! Why did I say that? That sounded way too sentimental! You'll make her uncomfortable! Stupid stupid stupid!

"I'll try to be better," she said, squeezing Anne's hand. "Hey, do you hear a weird humming noise?"

"Probably just mosquit-" Sasha was cut off by the sudden return of the temple.

"Okay, I see what you mean," Marcy admitted. "If I was still there, my head would be like, SPLTTTCH!" She mimed an explosion. "Wow." She got a thoughtful look on her face. "Wow."

Don't remind me, Anne thought. Seeing her die once had been enough for an entire lifetime. The last thing she needed was to see anything like that ever again. And yet, here they were, about to venture into the unknown once again. Anything could happen.

By all logic, the group should give the temple a wide berth. Study it until they were absolutely certain it was safe to go in. But on the other hand, this was pretty much their only opton for getting Bella back where she belonged; besides, she'd already been in the temple and she'd come out okay, so it couldn't be too dangerous in there, could it?

"Do you remember anything from your time in there?" Anne asked the newt.

"Not really," replied Bella. "I was too focused on catching that stupid little mammal to pay attention. The only thing I'm reasonably sure of is that the entrance I came out of wasn't the same one I went in."

"Well… we're not gonna learn more out here," suggested Marcy. "I think we'd better go inside."

Well, that was one vote. Anne glanced at Sasha. "Whatever gets this whole thing over with faster." Made sense; she actually had someone to go home to. As far as Anne knew, Marcy wasn't involved with anyone; come to think of it, she didn't think she ever had been in her memory. Just as well, really. There probably wasn't any more to these feelings she was experiencing than the rush of nostalgia. Yeah. That made way more sense than the thought that she could suddenly be developing feelings for Marcy after all this time. When this mission was over and the two of them parted ways again, this feeling would probably fade away like last week's late-night Hot Pocket-induced nightmare about the two-headed business cow.

"Well, then… let's go inside."
--
"Is it just me," asked Sasha as her Mag-lite – one of several pieces of equipment loaned to the group by Mr. X to facilitate the expedition – illuminated the chamber's interior, "or does this place seem… bigger on the inside?"

"Hmm," remarked Marcy. "It could be our eyes playing tricks on us… then again, this temple is in a state of dimensional flux, so it's entirely possible that the interior space could exceed the exterior if you consider the tesseract principle…

"…and now my brain hurts," Sasha responded sarcastically.

"I'm more curious about these pictograms," Marcy continued, examining the wall.

Anne shrugged. "Aren't Heiroglyphics normal for pyramids?"

"First… these aren't Heiroglyphics. Those are specifically Egyptian, and we're in the Amazon. The symbology is similar, but distinct. For example, both systems use an eye glyph, but these are completely different." She blushed again. "I may have been taking a few symbology courses online."

Anne found herself drawn to those eye glyphs in particular. Was it her imagination, or were they starting to get brighter? Probably nothing, just some optical illusion. She turned her attention back to Marcy.

"And another thing," Marcy continued, before her face suddenly froze. And not just in any position, but one Anne knew well. An expression of shock and betrayal. For, once again, a burning blade had burst through her chest.

Behind her, as if he had coalesced from nothingness out of the shadows, stood King Andrias. Not as he was on that day, but as he was the last time they had seen him. Left arm and leg gone, tail broken, a gash in his side, all revealing the biocircuitry that had unnaturally preserved his life all this millennium. The crown on his head had changed; it was black now, horned, with seven orange eyes open on its face. Tendrils had grown out of it, digging into the flesh of his forehead; as he spoke, the mechanical voice of the Core could be heard over his thundering bass.

"You didn't think this was over, did you, Anne Boonchuy?"

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Eye of the Beholder

"No…" Anne stammered. "You-you can't be here. I-I killed you. I died killing you."

Core!Andrias laughed, a mirthless, soulless sound, as Marcy slowly began to slide off his/their flaming blade.

"I… I never.. got to tell you… I… lo…" The life slipped away from her eyes as her body slid to the ground.

"No…" Anne repeated. "You should be dead. I made sure of it."

"What was it Mother Olm said? Something that never sleeps, and cannot die," the abomination before her reminded her. "Unlike your friend here. Don't worry though… you'll be joining her soon enough." He/They raised his/their blade in challenge.

Anne drew her taser baton, another loaner from Mr. X. It wasn't Tritonio's blade or even her trusty old tennis racket, but it was the only reliable weapon she had on her person. Anne knew it wasn't even close to a match for Core!Andrias's flame sword.

It didn't matter. She would make it a match.

Core!Andrias chuckled again. "Well, look at you. Even after we killed your friend it seems you still have a sense of humor. After all, your powers are long gone, you haven't held a weapon in years, and yet you think you can actually challenge us? That's the funniest joke I've heard since the one about the Olm who took up target shooting!"

"Laugh all you want," Anne replied, as she charged forward with her baton. "I'm sending you back to Hell!" And with a howl of rage and grief, she lunged at the possessed salamander.
--
"Guys?"

Anne, Marcy and Bella seemed to have frozen in mid-sentence.

"Guys! Anne! Marcy! Other one!" Sasha snapped her fingers in front of them. "Wake up. Snap out of it. You're creeping me out."

Anne suddenly turned toward her. "You know what? I'm starting to remember how annoying your voice is."

"Well, that came out of nowhere," remarked Sasha. "Boonchuy, you okay?"

"Okay? You have the nerve to ask me that?" Anne growled, advancing on her. "You know… I tried. I really did. And for a while there, I even succeeded. I forgave you, Sasha. At least I told myself I did. I even dated you." She shuddered. "But deep down… there's still a part of me that never forgot. That could never forgive."

"Anne…"

"You know why I've been pulling away from you over the last ten years? It's not because our interests diverged. It's not because I found other friends. It's because I wanted to get away from you. But fate just keeps pushing us together, doesn't it? There's really only one way to be rid of you, isn't there?" She drew her baton and began to advance.

"Anne… stop… this is crazy!"

"'Crazy?' I thought you therapists didn't like that word. Then again… when you think about it, isn't therapy just one more way to manipulate people? Defining what's healthy, and what's not?"

Sasha brought up her own baton to block Anne's. True… deep down in her subconscious, Sasha had questioned how easily Anne had forgiven her upon her return to Amphibia. She'd even wondered if their breakup and slow drift away from each other had been due to lingering resentment on Anne's part. But why was it suddenly flaring up now, of all times? "Anne, stop! I don't know what triggered this all of a sudden, but we don't have to fight! We can talk about this!"

"Talk? So you can get in my head again? Forget it, 'Sash'! You'll never manipulate me again! You'll never manipulate anyone again!"
--
"Guys…?" Marcy asked. Before her, Anne, Sasha, and Bella had frozen up. "You there?" She waved her arms in front of Sasha. "Are you all right?"

And then Sasha seemed to… flicker.

"Wha…?"

She turned toward Bella and Anne. They, too seemed to… glitch, I guess you could call it. Like the time she'd tried to install some really old RTS on her laptop. It had run all right at first, but eventually it started to randomly freeze up.

"This has gone on long enough," an elderly voice spoke. One she hadn't heard in ten years, but recognized immediately.

"You… how can you be here?"

The image of Aldritch Leviathan seemed to coalesce from the shadows. "I am always here, child. We have always been here."

"No… I rejected you. I was released. You were destroyed."

"Is that what you believed?" He chuckled, as a dozen orange eyes opened on his face "I must admit, you were a challenge. We had to craft the most complex simulation ever devised. A simulation using your own mind as the template."

"No…"

"Oh, yes. A simulation designed to give you the closest thing to real life possible… with all its delights and its disappointments. Triumphs… and losses. It was a masterpiece, if we must say so ourselves. But alas… all things do end. It's time for you to join the core."

"No! I refuse!"

"How amusing. You speak as if you have a choice in the matter." Black cables sprouted from the form of Aldritch and snaked toward Marcy. "We will have you, Marcy Wu. All you have, all you are, will become a part of us."

"No!" Marcy backed away from the Core's avatar. In her haste, her heel accidentally struck an uneven joint between two stones and she found herself stumbling, falling backwards. Her eyes clenched shut as she braced for her rear's impact on the stone. The expected pain came. But that was all that came.

The tentacle-like cables should have reached her by now at the rate they were going, but she never felt them reach her.

"What the…?" She opened her eyes again. Adritch was there, his cables exactly where they had been when she closed her eyes. They began to move again. Her eyes snapped shut as she once again braced for contact. Nothing.

"Of course," she realized. She once again opened her eyes, and this time let the cables reach her. And while her eyes tried to convince her that they were wrapping around her, restraining her, preparing to embed themselves in her, she knew, she knew, they weren't really there.

"Your time ends now, Marcy Wu," the Aldritch-thing declared. "Prepare to be assimilated into-"

"You're not there," Marcy stated. "You're just an illusion forced into my mind, constructed out of my subconscious fears. Probably through my optic nerves. A pretty clever defense mechanism, actually. Incapacitating intruders through completely nonviolent means. It's just like back in the castle basement. Not exactly the same… this is a much more sophisticated system… but the principal's the same. Use the target's own fear against them. Of course, now that I know how it works… it can't do anything to me anymore."

In response, the Aldritch-thing faded away.. leaving Marcy on the floor with a sore butt. Figures that part would be real, she thought to herself ruefully as she got to her feet.

Now she just had to shake her friends out of whatever delusions they were stuck in. Hopefully, they weren't as traumatizing as the one she'd been through… though she deeply doubted it. However this system worked, it really knew how to go for the jugular.
--
"Give up, Anne Boonchuy," Core!Andrias demanded. "You can't win. Why fight the inevitable? At least this way, you'll be with your friend again… in whatever passes for an afterlife for your kind."

"Joke's on you, Andri-ass," Anne replied. "I have it on good authority that I'm not supposed to die for another 68 years."

"That's the thing about prophecies," Core!Andrias retorted. "They're always being undone."

He/They brought the sword down, faster than Anne had a hope of blocking. The King had been right… she had no powers, she hadn't fought in a long time, and while she did try to keep active she wasn't even close to in the same shape as she was in her early teens. Her eyes instinctively shut as she braced for the end.

"Anne!"

And now her guilt and grief over losing Marcy, again, and failing utterly to avenge her, was starting to play tricks on her. "I'm sorry, Marcy…"

"Anne!" Louder this time, more real. And… she felt something on her shoulder. A hand.

Marcy's hand.

"Marcy?" she replied. "Is… are you…"

"I don't know what you think you've been seeing," Marcy's voice explained, "but none of it's real. You haven't even moved."

Marcy's voice was right, she realized. She had been holding her stun baton – she'd thought she had, at least – but now she realized her hand was empty; it hadn't even moved from her side.

It wasn't real. Now that she was aware of it, it hadn't really made any sense… how would either the Core or Andrias had known about something Mother Olm had only told her, Sasha, and the Pantars? And how would they have been aware of her life after she'd left Amphibia?

It had just seemed so real… but even now as she slowly opened her eyes, it was fading. Gone, like yesterday's nightmare.

She looked at Marcy, there, solid, real. "Are you oka-" Anne didn't give her a chance to finish. She just hugged her, as tightly as she could. "Whoa. Huggin' a bit tight there."

"No I'm not, Mar-Mar." Anne replied, tearing up. "No I'm not."

"Um, wow. Heh. I… I guess I shouldn't ask what you saw."

"The worst thing I ever saw." Anne replied.

"Oh. Well… I promise, I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm holding you to that, Wu." Anne replied before finally releasing her, finally secure that this was real. "So… would it be too much to ask what you went through?"

"Oh, not much, just an existential nightmare that has been plaguing me recurringly for the last decade," she answered mock-dismissively. "You ever seen The Template: Rejiggered?"

"Oh… so you dreamed you-"

"Never left the simulation, yes. It doesn't happen as much these days, but still… every once in a while, I wake up in a cold sweat after dreaming that I'm still in the core."

"Hey. You managed to get out of it on your own."

"Not entirely on my own. I'd probably still be stuck in that nightmare if I hadn't tripped and fallen on my own butt. Still hurts, BTdubs…" She rubbed it gingerly. "I guess for once my clumsiness saved me."

"Still counts!" Anne assured. "C'mon, we still have to snap Sasha and Bella out of it."
--
It was all Sasha could do to keep Anne at bay.

It wasn't as if she was completely out of practice… she had done fencing club in high school (and slayed, girlfriend), so those skills hadn't totally faded… but Anne was fighting light she'd been doing it all her life. Even back in Amphibia, she'd never been this good. It was like this sudden (but apparently not so sudden) rage had given her an almost superhuman level of skill.

No… an actual superhuman level of skill, because her eyes were glowing blue. Something that she knew should be impossible. And yet… given everything ese that had happened to them, could she really just dismiss it when it was clearly happening?

"Sasha…"

And now her voice was starting to echo. Almost like it was coming from behind her. Then again, Anne's voice did kinda do that the first time she went all "Super SaiyAnne" as Marcy jokingly called it.

"Sasha!" Now it kind of sounded like Marcy? Must be her mind playing tricks on her. She continued to deflect Anne's attacks, but they were getting faster and harder to parry.

She was starting to hear more voices now, mostly unintelligible, though she thought one of them might have said "getting through" and the other, higher one said "try and". It didn't matter. She needed to focus on-

And suddenly everything had gone dark and she became aware that she was restrained and a hand was clamped over her eyes. "HEY!" she said. "I don't know how you're doing this but-"

"Sasha!" Anne's voice said. "It's us."

"Whatever you think you've been seeing isn't there. Whatever you think you've been doing isn't happening," added Marcy's voice. "The temple has a defense system that makes you think you're facing your worst fears and traumas. But it can't affect you once you're aware of it. You need to shake it off."

"Wait…" Sasha shook her head. "So, you haven't been secretly holding a grudge for ten years and suddenly decided to act on it now of all t- wow, when I say it out loud it really doesn't make any sense."

"Fears always make sense at the time," Anne noted. "What I saw was just as ridiculous, but it sure felt real. Can I take my hand away now?"

"Sure, I think I'm okay." She felt Anne's hand fall away as she was released. She slowly opened her eyes. The enraged version of Anne was still there, but fading quickly, a mere residual image.

"So your worst fear was that I never forgave you? Not something more, I dunno, outright monstrous."

Sasha blushed. "Your forgiveness was really important to me. It's what drove me to change myself. The thought that maybe a part of you would always hate me… well, that's always been something that lurked in the back of my mind." She shook her head. "Maybe… maybe that's why I started to move away from you back in high school. Maybe I thought if I gave you more space, it'd be better for both of us."

"For what it's worth, I never resented you. Well… maybe a little right after Newtopia, but after we got back, and I saw you'd really done the work of becoming a better person… whatever lingering resentment I've had faded away."

"I… guess I aways knew that, but there was still that stupid little doubt all the way at the back of my mind."

"We all had them," Marcy reassured. "That's kind of the reason the trap works so well. But… it's good to finally confront them and realize that's all they ever were. Stupid little doubts."

"This is a surprisingly cathartic security system," added Anne.

"We'd better get moving, before we trip anything else." She shook Bella. "Hey, you. Everything you're seeing is fake. Snap out of it."

"Sasha!" scolded Marcy.

"What? I'm a child psychologist. Adults are on their own."

"I don't think that's how it works, but whatever." Anne covered Bella's eyes. "Bella, listen to me. This is all an illusion."

"You mean my parents aren't disowning me again?"

"No. It's just us," said Sasha. "Wow, your parents disowned you? That's messed up."

"Wait," realized Marcy, "I knew your last name sounded familiar. The Carbunkles were a pretty highly ranked family in the nobility. They're a major player in Newtopia finance."

"Yep, and I'm the daughter who didn't go to business school. And I didn't go along with my parents' backup plan of marrying me off to some rich newt noble. So, boom, seeya, Bella. They already had a good daughter, they didn't need to keep the black bee of the family around."

"Fam disapproves of your career path, huh? Totally relate," Marcy replied. "My folks wanted a doctor. I went to art school."

"Ouch," empathized Bella.

"I know, right? In the end, you have to do what makes you happy. Are you?"

"I mean… took a while, but I got there eventually…"

"There you go! Okay, who's up for finding a way out of this place?"

"As long as there aren't any other nasty little surprises hiding around here," Sasha replied. But somehow, she doubted it was going to be that simple.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Breaking the Spell

"Well, that's ominous…" noted Sprig. Moments ago he'd touched some kind of eye glyph on an alter in the middle of the chamber. Now, matching glyphs were beginning to glow along the chamber walls.

"What are they?" Polly asked. "Some kind of ancient surveillance system?"

"DETECTING-INCREASED-LEVELS-OF-ALPHA-WAVE-RADIATION", announced Frobo.

"Detecting the who know?" asked Polly. While she was quite the engineering prodigy, there were areas of knowledge the teen frog didn't have a ton of experience with… areas that if she did, she might have anticipated what was to come next.

So as it was, she was taken entirely by surprise when she saw a massive bird she'd seen only once before, and heard only twice. The first was buried deep in her subconscious, from before she'd even hatched, the second from a decade ago, when she was still only a polliwog.

"What's that doing here?" she asked. "I thought we left it back on Earth?"

She turned to Sprig, only to see the heron's mate's jaws snap down on him and Ivy.

"NO!" She shouted. "This can't be happening! We tamed them! Frobo! Cmon! We can still save them!"

The robot barely had time to move before the first heron tore it apart with her mighty talons.

Within seconds, her family had been taken from her a second time.
--
When the eye glyphs started lighting up, Ivy had felt a rumble beneath her feet. The rumble she'd come to associate with burrowing millipedes.

Anyone who knew Ivy Sundew-Plantar would tell you she was the single most fearless frog anyone had ever met.

But no one is truly fearless. And Ivy was no exception. That fear was sparked into overdrive now as the rumbling grew more intense. Cracks began to spread through the chamber as the very walls began to shake apart. She braced for the end as the rubble fell, but what came was far worse; rather than crushing her, she was merely sealed into a tiny, enclosed space.

Eleven years ago, she had been in the Wartwood schoolhouse when the building had been collapsed by a swam of millipedes. All the other children had managed to get out, except for her. She'd been trapped in the rubble for three days, surviving on ground water and aphid larva. When they'd finally dug her out, she claimed she was all right; she would even continue to play in the schoolhouse's rubble long after. But the incident had left its mark; a deep-seated fear of being buried alive.

A fate that had befallen her now.
--
"So… should something be happening, or…" pondered Sprig, when suddenly the doorway they had come through began to glow. A silhouette appeared in the doorway, tall, bipedal, and seemingly topped with a curly mop of hair.

"N-no way… it can't be…" he stammered…

The figure stepped forward…

"A-Anne…?" Sprig whispered, tears beginning to well.

Hop Pop had always said that family always found each other. Had destiny guided him here, to this very spot? It was clear to him now that the glyph had activated some sort of magical portal, that had brought Anne here, virtually unchanged from the day he'd last seen her. Destiny had compelled him to trigger the glyph, and destiny had reunited the two once more. Spranne against the world, forever.

"Anne, it is you! I can't believe it! I thought I would never see you again! There's so much I want to-"

"Ugggh," Anne said with a look of utter disgust. "Is that a giant frog? Gross."

"Y-you… you don't remember me?"

She turned up her nose. "I think I'd remember something as disgusting as you." She turned away and began walking back toward the portal.

"How… how could you forget me… " sobbed Sprig. "It was supposed to be Spranne against the world…"

But she was already gone.

And then it happened again. And again. And again.
--
As soon as the weasel had appeared, Maddie knew what was happening.

Seventeen years ago on Hiberday, the town had awakened from there hibernation cycle to find one of their own mysteriously gone. Over the next six years, the same had happened every year. No one had ever been able to figure out why, until that Hiberday ten years ago, when Anne, thanks to her kind's gift of a stable body temperature, was able to stand guard over the town. She had discovered that the disappearances were due to a hungry weasel who dwelled in a nearby cave and would prey on the helpless citizens during their dormancy. Since that year, the town made certain to leave an offering of food for the weasel and her brood just before Hiberday, and there would never be any more disappearances.

The last Wartwoodian to be taken, the winter prior to Anne's arrival, had been Semolina Flour, Maddie's mother. And while the threat of the weasel had been neutralized, for Maddie, it would always represent the knowledge that at any time, for any reason, your loved ones could be taken from you.

As Valeriana's student, Maddie had become familiar with a number of Amphibia's ancient languages, including several that were glyph-based, and while this particular system didn't seem to match any of them, many had an eye-shaped glyph in common. These were often used to connote dreams, illusions, and images… that which had the appearance of reality, but was not real.

So it was clear, then, that what Sprig had triggered was some sort of illusion-based trap, perhaps related to whatever the "alpha waves" that Frobo had mentioned were. Whatever the cause, the result was obvious; she was seeing her deepest fear. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that her friends were undergoing the same thing.

Shaking off the primal terror that was threatening to consume her, Maddie clamped her eyes shut and reached for her pouch. "Pollen of heronbane," she whispered to herself. "Powdered bloodroot. Ash of the Doom Tree's bark. A murder crow's toenail." There was no reason to speak the ingredients aloud, but the rote repetition aided her focus, especially when her brain was screaming at her to run and hide.

She combined the ingredients and whispered "By blackened sky and sea of blue, show me only what is true." Truesight was one of the first spells Valeriana had taught her, and the ingredients wee used commonly enough in other spells that it always paid to have them on hand. The incantation wasn't strictly necessary but again, it helped her focus.

Before her, the weasel faded away. She could see the others; Sprig, Polly, and Ivy were frozen in place, quivering, their faces frozen in a terrified expression. Frobo seemed to be attempting to get their attention.

"Frobo!" She shouted. "We need to-"

"MADDIE-IS-FUNCTIONAL-AGAIN? POLLY-SPRIG-AND-IVY-ARE-MALFUNCTIONING. REQUIRE-ASSISTANCE-TO-REBOOT."

"Frobo, I think those glowing eye symbols on the walls are causing this… uh… malfunction. Can you take them out with your lasers?"

Frobo saluted and produced a number of little protrusions from his chassis, firing off a volley of bright red beams that struck all the eye glyphs, leaving nothing but char marks behind. Abruptly, Maddie felt an odd buzz that she'd barely even been aware of leaving her mind.

"ALPHA-WAVE-LEVELS-DROPPING" confirmed the robot. Around them, Sprig, Ivy and Poly were beginning to stir.

"…they're… gone?" Polly remarked, looking around bewildered.

"It's… all right. Everyone's all right," Ivy said incredulously. "It… it wasn't real, was it. But it felt real. But everything's okay now. Now you know not to touch anything else, right, Sprig?" She glanced over at her husband, who still seemed to be staring into his own private abyss.

"She… she doesn't remember me…" Sprig began to repeat. "She doesn't remember me. She doesn't remember-"

"Sprig!" Ivy shook him. "Wake up! It's not real!"

Sprig suddenly blinked his inner eyelids. "I-Ivy… she… she was here…"

"Who was here, Sprig?"

"Anne. She was here. But… but she acted like she didn't know me. She just… she just walked away."

"It wasn't real, Sprig." Maddie informed him. "The temple was making you see what you fear the most."

"But… what if she did forget me?" Sprig responded. "It's been ten years. A lot can happen. I… I have all these old pictures on her phone to look at, but…" He shook his head. "Sometimes I look at them and they don't match the memories in my head. Sometimes I ask myself 'was her hair really that color? Wasn't her nose bigger?' And she gave me this specifically so that I could have something to remember her by. But what does she have that reminds her of me?"

"Sprig," Polly interjected. "Trust me when I say tat you're a hard guy to forget."

"You can be kind of a lot," added Maddie.

"Guys… that's my husband," scolded Ivy.

"Thanks, I-"

"So if anyone gets to make fun of him, it's me!"

"Aw, man…"

"But seriously, Sprig… there is no way Anne would ever forget you," Ivy assured.

"…unless they have some kind of memory-eraser technology," mused Polly. "Like in Season two of Suspicion Island, where the Consortium brainwashed Chad and turned him into an assassin…"

"Not helping, Polly," warned Maddie.

"Sorry, sorry," Polly replied. She hopped back over to the temple entrance. It still led to an inky void, with no sign of the new continent visible. "Well, looks like we still can't get out that way. Nothing left to do but press on further."

The corridor on the opposite side of the chamber led to a veritable maze of passages. A conscious effort was made to stick together, with Polly having Frobo use his GPS circuitry to compile a map of the of the labyrinth so that they wouldn't get lost or wind up going in circles.

Which they almost certainly would have, since the twisty passages were all alike, just yard after yard of stone walls with barely-still-functioning luminescent fungi here and there; for the most part the only illumination came from Frobo's high-beams.

"Well, looks like that corridor just crosses back to the first one," Polly remarked crankily. "What kind of sadistic creep laid out this place?"

"I don't think we've been down this tunnel yet," indicated Sprig. He held up Anne's old phone to illuminate it. Just then, Something leapt out of the darkness, snatching it out of Sprig's hand.

"Hey!" Ivy shouted. "It's one of those little hairy guys! The *finger snap* mundy!"

"Hey! Get back here, you little thief! ANNE gave me that!" Sprig growled, already chasing the tiny primate.

"After him!" Polly shouted.

"I dunno… does something seem weird about this whole- do you hear something?" asked Ivy.

Maddie nodded. "I think there's someone else in these tunnels. Look!" She pointed to a tiny light in the distance that seemed to be coming closer. Behind it, they could hear low whispers.

"All right…" whispered Ivy. "I'm not sure they've seen us yet, but we might still have the element of surprise. Frobo, kill your lights and hide around the last corner. Maddie, hug the wall as they get closer." Maddie nodded and flattened herself against the wall. "Right… wait for it…" The two frogs held their breath. They make out two tall figures, one of them holding some kind of stick with a light shining out of it.

"I think it was around he-" the second one began to say, as…

"AMBUSH!" Ivy shouted as she and Maddie leapt on them.

"Hey!" the first one shouted, Ivy squinting as she shone her light-wand directly in her eyes. "Get off of- wait… no ****ing way… IVY?"

Ivy blinked, adjusting to the light. Her target had the unmistakable build, face bump, ad side-head-flaps of a human… and not just any human. "SASHA? What the frog are you doing in Amphibia?"

"Amphibia? What are you doing on Earth?"

"If that's Sasha…" Maddie realized, "then this must be…"

"Hi," Marcy said bashfully. "Whoa… look at you! You look just like…"

"GRENDLEGORB THE BRIGHT!" the two said simultaneously.

"Whaaa?" Ivy asked.

"Oh, you know… the wizard from War of the Warlocks?" explained Marcy. "Well, he starts off as Grendlegorb the Drab, but then in the third movie he seemingly falls to his death on the Great Causeway while fighting the Dravern Lord-"

"-but then he returns at the climax of the fourth movie just as the final battle with the Lich King is starting…" continued Maddie, "and when Brubo the Burrower complains he's late, he says-"

"'-Nonsense. A wizard is always on time, it's everyone else that is early!'" the two concluded in stereo.

"Maddie and I had a sleepover a couple of nights before we did the third temple," explained Marcy, "and we binged the whole series."

"Yeah, figured that," acknowledged Sasha. "You two dorks haven't seen Anne go by here by any chance, have you?"

Ivy's eyes darted back and forth. "Well, we haven't… exactly… there was these weird eyes on the wall that-"

"Been there, done that, got the trauma to show for it," dismissed Sasha. "So, Anne's here with us, but we lost her when she ran off to chase this monkey that stole our flashlight…"

"That's exactly what happened to Sprig! Well, it didn't take the same thing, but he did chase after it. Polly went after him, and we were going to follow them but then we ran into you two… oh, Frobo's here too… you can come out, Frobo!"

The robot lumbered out of his alcove and scanned the newcomers. "SASHA-MARCY-RECOGNIZED. INITIATING HUG PROCEDURE."

"Whoa," Sasha interrupted, holding out a hand out. "I'm, uh, happy to see you too, but I'd like to keep my bones not-crushed, thanks. So… now what."

"Well," Marcy replied. "I've been mapping out this labyrinth using graph paper. It's pretty fun, actually, like playing a reallllly old-school CRPG… anyway, judging from the basic dimensions of the temple and the layout I've already mapped…" She displayed her map. "This seems like the most likely direction to go."

"Frobo's been mapping the temple too. Can we cross-reference his map with yours?" asked Ivy.

"I don't see why not!"

Frobo projected his map against Marcy's graph paper. "Okay," Marcy instructed. "Now shrink it by about thirty percent to match the scale… rotate 90 degrees clockwise… perfect! Looks like we need to go… here."
--
"Where'd that stupid thing go?" grumbled Sprig. He'd come to yet another large chamber, and though he'd seen the monkey go down this hall, there was no sign of it as he emerged from the corridor.

"Hey!" Polly's voice complained from behind him. "Warn a frog before you go running off like that! Getting separated in here would be a really bad idea… whoa." She looked around. "I think we found the central chamber."

This was an assumption, but the chamber did seem far larger and ornate than the one at the entry, with a higher ceiling and a more ornate central altar. It was set with luminescent crystals that provided enough light to illuminate the entire chamber. "Frog, this place absolutely reeks of significance, Still doesn't get me Anne's phone b-"

"Sprig, do you hear footsteps?" Polly interrupted, tugging Sprig's sleeve.

"Probably the others catching up with us."

"No, that would be coming from behind us. I'm talking about-" She pointed that the opposite doorway. "Look!"

A familiar figure emerged. Sprig cringed. "Oh no… it's happening again. That defense system must still be active!"

"Sprig? SPRIG!" And then the figure was running toward them and swept Sprig up in her arms. "You're here! You're really here! But you can't be here! Is the temple playing tricks on me again? But then how can I be touching you?"

"Who cares?" Sprig said. "All that matters is you're real and I'm real and we're together!"

Polly cleared her throat. "Ahem? Other surrogate frog sibling here?"

Anne looked up. "Whoa, Polly! Is that you? Your… your body!"

"What… about it?"

"You have one! Get over here, you little psycho!" Anne swept her up into the group hug.

"Okay, I said I wasn't gonna question it, but… how is this possible?" Sprig asked.

"I think this temple somehow exists in both of our worlds. I don't know if it's always been this way or if it's just started, but… we just found out about it after Mr. X contacted us to investigate 'cause we have experience with this sort of thing. He says there's been a lot of stuff like this happening in the last twenty-odd years and he's with this special branch that tracks that kinda thing…"

"We? So… I guess you still hang out with Sasha and Marcy?" Sprig asked.

"…not as much, but Mr. X caught us on one of our occasional reunions. See, someone from Amphibia found her way to our world, so, we're bringing her back…" She suddenly facepalmed. "And, we left her in the entry chamber."
--
"*sigh* ….any minute now…" Bella groaned, boredom setting in.
--
"Well, even if she was with you, I don't think it'd matter 'cause… we can't get out." Polly explained.

"What do you mean?"

"The way we came in is blocked off," Sprig explained further. I think we're stuck here until we accomplish something…

"That is indeed why you are here, young ones," a familiar voice spoke. Standing upon the central altar was none other than Valeriana.

"Okay, no, no, you were not in here a second ago. I call shenanigans on this hooey!" Anne declared.

"What the frog is going on?" demanded Polly.

"All will be explained once all are gathered," replied Valeriana. "That is why I had my student gather you and your friends." She turned to Anne. "She could not gather you three, though, so I had my agent lure you into the temple instead." To illustrate her point, the kleptomaniac monkey that had been tormenting our heroes scurried into the chamber and perched on her shoulder. "By the way, I believe these are yours," she said, handing Sprig and Anne back their phone and flashlight.

"So you were in league with that stupid monkey?" Anne asked.

"Stupid monkey!" repeated the monkey, before changing back to a purple parrot-fly. "Stupid Monkey! AWK! Stupid monkey!"

"You have done well, Leander. Have a cracker."

"He can do that? Anne, did you know he can do that?"

"How would I? Val – can I call you that? Don't care. I'm callin' you that anyway – you got a lot of 'splainin' to do," Anne said impatiently.

"As I have said… all shall wait until we are all gathered." She tapped her foot. "…this may take a while. I should never have arranged a meeting in the middle of a labyrinth."

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

Reunions and Revelations

In the central chamber of the temple, human, frogs, and salamander stood awkwardly, waiting for the party to complete itself.

"…so… this appears to be taking longer than expected," Valeriana started, interrupting the uncomfortable silence.

"It does feel like we've been standing here for months," remarked Polly, glancing aside at seemingly no one.

"If you wish, I did bring this travel bogjump set… no? I also have a deck of cards…"

"No, I think we're good. We… kinda have a lot to catch up on." Anne replied.

"That's right! We haven't seen each other in ages!" Sprig noted. "So, whatcha been up to? You better dish, gurrrl! Any crazy adventures? Been to any other worlds?" He leaned in closer. "Have you found loooove?"

Anne blushed. "Not really, definitely not, and… uh… well, nobody serious…I've mostly been focused on my career. I, uh… I study amphibians for a living. It's not really that exciting… I did discover a new species of frog in the Amazon, though. I, uh… named it after you, actually. Well, it's called the 'South American Pink Tree Frog,' but the scientific name is Phyllomedusa Spriggus."

"Lucky," grumbled Polly.

"Next one's gonna be named after you, I promise," assured Anne. "What about you two? Been busy?"

"Well, you know," Polly said nonchalantly. "I'm at Newtopia University. First step on my eventual path to world domination, unless, y'know, I feel like doin' something else."

"Got into Newtopia U?" Anne said, impressed. "I knew you had the brains."

"'Got into?' Uh, no. I'm on the faculty." She smirked. "Head of the engineering department, since, y'know, no other frog understands technology on the level I do."

"Impressive," Anne remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's my sister, the evil genius… well, more chaotic-neutral, really…"

"So what about you, fam?" Anne asked, prodding Sprig. "What's happening in your life?"

"Oh, not much, really… well, Ivy and I have been exploring this mysterious new continent… I also wrote a book about my travels, across Amphibia and on Earth… but I guess Ivy and I are probably gonna have to settle down soon on account of the kids…" He paused, noticing Anne had suddenly frozen up and was vibrating like she'd had a major malfunction. "Anne? Anne, are you…"

And Anne let out a squee so loud it woke colonies of bats within a two-mile radius.
--
"What the heck was that?" asked Sasha.

"Hmm… it sounded like the call of a blue-tailed shrieker," Marcy suggested. "Shouldn't be a problem, they're fierce, but harmless unless provoked. I would recommend assuming a submissive pose-"

"Relax," advised Ivy. "I'm guessing Sprig just told Anne about the babies."

"BABIES?" Marcy squealed.

"Do all humans do this?" asked Maddie.

"You have no idea, sister," Sasha commented.
--
"-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

"Is that one all right?" questioned Valeriana. "She is damaged, perhaps?"

"Nah, she just does this sometimes," Polly explained. "She'll stop when she needs to breath, which should be-"

"*gasp*"

"About now."

"Kids? You're having KIDS? Sprig, you DOG!" *friendpunch*

"Yep. Ivy and I just had three eggs. It's gonna be a while before they hatch, but when they do…"

"…I'm gonna be an aunt!"

"Well, I already called fun aunt, so that's off the table," warned Polly.

"Well then, I call cool aunt."

"COOL AUNT WAS AN OPTION? Is it too late to change my call?"

"Yep. I'm Cool Aunt." Anne put on a pair of sunglasses from some unknown source. "Deal with it."

Whatever response Polly had was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the group.

"Look who we found!" Ivy announced.

"We just followed the squee. Have we missed anything?" asked Marcy.

"I'll say we have. Look who's here," Sasha said.

"Mistress?" asked Maddie. "You didn't mention you would be joining us."

"Forgive me, my student." Valeriana apologized. "I did not want to make my presence known too early."

"Why? Anne asked. "Why are you always so vague?"

"For… DRAMA!" Valeriana declared grandiosely, waving her good arm theatrically.

"…that's fair," conceded Sprig.

"Respect," added Sasha.

"Well, then, if you would permit me to continue… your return to Amphibia was no accident. A new evil threatens this world, and it is once again time for is greatest champions to come to its aid. But first… there are some things you must know, about how all this came to be."

"Long ago, before our ancestors first crawled from the oceans, there was only… the Guardian. They who watch over our multiverse and all the realms within."

"Yeah, I met them. They were really nice," mentioned Anne. "And soooo fluffy!"

"May I continue? Yes? Good? Some say the Guardian was not the only one of their kind, but part of a race of beings dedicated to preserving life in the multiverse. But their race grew corrupt, becoming more concerned with permanently sealing life away, and violently quelling any resistance. And so, they cut off this realm from all others, lest it be found by their more militant colleagues.

"Here, life was free to grow and develop in its own fashion, give rise to all the great civilizations… olm, newt, frog, toad, axolotl, caecilian, and salamander. The Guardian was pleased, and decided to grant the world of Amphibia three gifts: the Emerald of Wisdom, the Ruby of Power, and the Sapphire of Courage.

"For centuries, the people of Amphibia were content to regard the gems as holy relics, but with time, ambition grew. Wars were fought over them, until eventually, the kingdom of Newtopia acquired all three. Soon, the great scholars of Newtopia sought to find a way to harness their power. They thought it would lead to a new golden age.

"One such scholar, her original name lost to time, found a way to tap into the stones energies. She constructed a device designed to harness their unique harmonic vibrations, and found that she had found a way to travel between realms.

"At first she saw the device as merely a way to peacefully explore, but again, ambition proved our undoing. We discovered many things. In the realm called The Green, we discovered advanced techniques that greatly expanded our lifespans and eradicated disease; in the realm of the Titans, we learned how to harness the power of magicks; and in the realm of the so-called First Ones, we learned of highly advanced technology.

"But soon, everything changed. Legend has it, The Good King Argus Leviathan used the box and gazed into a dimension of madness. For months, he spoke only of a beast with one eye. He would recover his wits, to an extent, but he was never the same. His thoughts turned to paranoia, and conquest. Instead of learning, we plundered. Amphibia did indeed reach a golden age… but the expense of great suffering. In trying to become the best version of ourselves, we instead became the worst.

"Eventually, the one known as Lief stole the box and hid it on the next world set to be conquered – yours. And the rest, you know."

"Whoa. I was able to piece together some of this from a few record fragments I found, but not all of it!" Marcy said. "Of course, the records also said that the creator of the box still walks the Earth… well, not the Earth, because that's where we're from, but you get what I mean… but that would be impossible, right?

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "…really? After all this, I think the whole skepticism ship has sailed."

"She does indeed walk this land," Valeriana confirmed. "For I AM SHE!"

"Okay, Hop Pop isn't here right now, so I'm gonna say it. SAY WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" Sprig interjected. "If you were the creator of the box, there is no way you could possibly be alive."

"Unless she's a ghost," reminded Polly. "Dude, we met a ghost."

"It is true," confirmed Valeriana. "I am indeed a spirit. Cursed to find no rest until my soul knows peace. I had thought it would come when the Core fell, but I still remained. My work was not done." She turned to Maddie. "At the time, I thought there was merely some sort of delay until it happened, so I began training you as my successor. But when years had passed and I was still here, I knew it must be something more. And so once your initial training was complete, I began to investigate. My journey led me to the new continent."

"…yeah, this is a lot to take in," Maddie replied uncertainly. "So you've been dead this whole time? I gotta say… you really hide it well."

"Can we get to the point?" Sasha asked. "You know, this big new threat that we've been called upon to fight."

"Very well. My investigations led me to this new continent, and this temple. Join me on this dais, if you please."

The frogs, humans and robot shrugged and, with no other, better options, climbed up. Valeriana tapped her staff on the ground and the dais began to descend into a lower, even more ornate chamber decorated with symbols none recognized, though an eclipsed sun-and-stars motif repeated.

And, set into the walls…

"No way," Anne said.

The three stones were larger than those that had decorated the music box, but they were unmistakably in the three same colors, magenta, blue, and green.

"The Guardian, it turns out, was not the only one of their kind to come here. Another – we shall call them "The Adversary" – pursued her, to force them to rejoin the rest of their people, bending to their philosophy of preserving the ideal and purging the rest. The Guardian defeated their pursuer and sealed them in this tomb, hiding it, and the entire continent, so it would never be discovered or interfered with. But the global disruptions caused by the War for Earth and Amphibia caused the seal to break." She indicated a crack on the red gem.

"The Adversary… is free. And they could be anywhere."