Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"It can be the hardest thing to realize: you can't hold onto something forever. Sometimes, you have to let go."

The herpetologist closed the habitat of her froggy charges as she kept her internal monologue. In the reflection of the glass, she caught sight of two of the people most important in her life, and as she turned around, a teary smile formed on her face.

"But of the things you let go, you'd be surprised what makes its way back to you."

Anne Savisa Boonchuy-Plantar greeted her childhood and best (human) friends with a hug.

During their time together to celebrate her birthday, she could not help but think about the other anniversary of the day:

Their adventures in Amphibia.

All three young women lived through joys and hardships, and through those experiences, they became better. They grew into the best version of themselves, and their friendship changed and evolved into something beautiful.

It truly felt like it was all worth it.

"̴̱̳̩͇͍̪̈́̓̀͐̿Y̵̧̫̤̰͋̀͌̒̊͘O̵̼͖̼̞̫͉͍̤̤̫̬̼̙͎͛͛͋̓͜͠Ứ̵̢̨̻̺͙͕̙͇͑̓̊͂̓̋͐͆ ̸͔̫̺̟̲̬̩̽͊̄͛̒͂͗̕͝͠͠D̶̪̠͇͔̘͍́́̈́͗͒̒͂̍̀͒̒̕̕Ḯ̴̡͇̹̝̥̣͍̦͔̟͇͆̈́͊̈́̉̓̈́̋͂̓͜͝͝D̸̬̲͇͖̳̂̌̋̒͊̈́͒̈́̉̃̈́̍͂͊̚͜ͅ ̵̡͖̼̗̤͓̗̻̣͕̻̖́̀͋̏̀̃͒͜N̴̲̖̟͖̯̟̫͎̪̬̝̘̝̏̀O̸̧̢͇͉̼͎̣̰̻͙̮͈̊͛̇͐̕T̸̨̥͇̖̰̪̖͛͛̋̋̓̎͆̉̈́̃̅̑̔͊͝ͅ ̷͚̭̥̳͚͖̿̌̃͐̈́̈́͒͊͑̓͂̆̌͝͝Ḙ̶̱̫͕͎̲̭̱͇̻̬͙̂͋̉̑̑͘Á̶̪̫͕͕̠͇̰̞̝̭̼͑̒̆̒̅ͅR̷̥̤̗̩͙͎͈͍̅͒̈͐͒͋͘͝N̸̘̘͆̉́̓̕͝ ̵̧̡̨̖̙̬̟̦̲̘͇͐̈̋̈̈́̈́̃̅̈́̐͋̓͂̕͜Ị̴̢̻͖̣̞͋̀̋̽͆̀T̷̨̖͔̖̠̟̫̱̰̩͖͓̹͐͛͛̄̂́̑͊͗́̕!̸̡̮̻̖̮̬̦͉͔̟̈̏͂̽̀̅̐͠"̸̢͎͖̠̯̲͈̅̂̽̆̍͛͛̚͠

"Agh!" A sharp pain erupted in Anne's skull.

"Woah! Anne, you okay?" Marcy asked.

"Yeah, ouch. My head hurt all of a sudden."

"Then I think that's enough drinks for you, Miss lightweight." Sasha teased, though there was a caring tone in her voice.

"I'm no lightweight!" Anne lightheartedly protested. "I just... felt something or something."

"Hmmm... Whatever you say, Boonchuy."

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Marcy intruded before her friends' teasing got out of hand again. "So Anne, anything else you wanna do for the day?"

"Hmm, not really. It might be time to go back home for the day. Work, you know?"

"Ugh, don't remind me." "No, I don't. I'm Freelance."

All three laughed for a moment.

"Hehe, but..." Anne took a moment and then looked at two of the people she loved the most in two worlds. "I don't know if you'd like to come to my place. Have a sleepover just like in the old days?"

Sasha and Marcy looked at each other and smiled back at the their friend.

"We'd love to!"

Again, Anne smiled and felt tears forming in her eyes. A quick hug and a slightly longer car ride to her apartment later saw her reflecting on how lucky she was to have her girls still with her even after all those years.

T̴̡̛̖̭̦̼̽̀̅H̴̠̦̱̹͈̬̥̖̲̜̯̫̖̃ͅĒ̸̢̛̺͚̦̦̑͋̽͂̿͗͑̽̍̎̌̑́̈́Ÿ̸̨̧̪͉̺́̽̿̆̒́͛͊̌͋͝'̸̢̛̯̲͎̭̖̪̯̱̘͍̊̃̄͒̈́͊̈́͒̓̚̚͝͠͠͝R̴̝͍͗̿̔̈́̕͝E̸̡̢̢̺͈͇̬̬͍̣̽̒̄͋̄͊̌̄͠͠͝ ̷̨̢̧͙̱̻̲̳͍̲̖͙̮̜̻͔̦̉͊̌̓̋̆͛̿͘͜͝ͅŅ̵̢̘̙͇͔͓̆̆̌͗͋͋̕̚O̵̧̢͕̦̠̜̬̗͉͕͔̓̂̍̾͗̄̓̓͐̃͜T̶̳̬͊͑̈́̑̄́̉͛̋̔̀̔̀̅̊̽̈͘͝ ̴̢̣͍͔̻̬̦̮͎̮̿̓̿͜Y̸̢͓̫̟̱̜͔̬͓̹̭̮̰̭̖͇̝͍̆̀̄͌́̌̓͂͐̒̚͝͠ͅO̷͎̠͍̭̼̥͖̘̰̣͚͋̌́͐̐͑̈́̆͘̚͝͝͠͠U̶̱̟̗̗͔͔͎͖͓̝̬̫̜͕͖̱̗̪̗͕͊̉̋͒̑̽̆͆̋̓̓̍͒͝R̷̪̩̼̦̞̓̉̇̓̂̆̂͂̀͆̿ͅS̸̛̠̝͍̻̲̮͇͓̜̜̼̦͚͈̀̅̄͂͂̋̑̿̍̄͊̈́͝͝ͅ!̵̡̡̯̰̱͍̥͈̻͉̥̟̥͉̣̣̘͇ ̠̓̓̓ͅ

"ARGH!"

"Anne!"

A sharp pain erupted in Anne's head again, this one even worse than the last.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Marcy asked this time.

"ugh, yeah, yeah. I think." Anne opened the door and stepped inside, followed by her worried friends.

"I don't know, Anne. You screamed this time."

"No, no, I'm fine. But maybe we have to think about some simple activities for the sleepover."

"Are you sure?" Sasha inquired.

"Yeah, just... let me take some aspirins and feed Domino 4. Then we can watch a movie or something."

"Well, if you say so," Sasha conceded before moving the conversation on, "What do you want to watch? OH! there's that new War of the Warlocks... series, I think? Do you want to watch-"

"NO!" Marcy protested. "No, no, thousand times no! That is a horrible insult to everything the books are and represent-"

As Marcy rambled about her dislike of the show to an increasingly worried and fearful Sasha, Anne quickly ducked into the kitchen to grab Domino's food.

After putting the food in a bowl, she looked for her cat, passing the living room where her friends had moved the "conversation" to the couch.

"Domino! Here's your food." she entered her room where the cat usually slept at this hour. "DOMINO!" Only to scream at the sight of her cat, injured and breathing hard, on top of the bed.

"Anne!" "What happened?"

"Girls! Domino, he's injured! he-!" Anne stopped short, noticing something in Sasha's arms, another Domino, this one healthy and meowing lightly.

"Wha-?"

"~Anne Boonchuy.~"

Whatever questions she had got caught in her throat when she heard another voice, distinct from that of her friends.

A voice she only heard in her memories, dreams, and nightmares.

Turning towards the injured cat Anne felt the color drain from her face, and her heart rate sped up.

"~Anne Boonchuy, I've made a mistake.~"  The cat talked with a voice far too young yet weighted with years of experience and regret.  "~ SHE  is coming.  SHE  is coming for you. I'm sorry, it's my fault.~"

"You're the Guardian? What happened? Who is SHE?"

The talking cat weakly turned towards her.

"~ SHE ... is... You.~ "

"Huh?"

"~ The original Anne Boonchuy. She is coming for you. ~"

Chapter Text

The clock ticked away inside the apartment; besides the completely ignored television, it was the only sound source in the room as Sasha petted Anne's cat.

Anne's ACTUAL cat, Domino 4. The simple house pet and not-at-all-a-deity Domino 4.

"You are just a normal cat, right?"

"Meow."

"I'll take that as a yes."

The former lieutenant was no stranger to weird creatures or experiences, the adventures the three of them had when they were thirteen made sure of that, but this was another level.

It was like waking up from a bad dream, realizing it was a bad memory, and finding out it was worst than you thought.

She could feel her back burning for the first time in years.

*click*

The door to Anne's room opened, and Marcy stepped out, going to the couch and plopping next to the blonde.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, then two, and finally,

"How is... it?"

"It's tired. Like if it got the life sucked out of itself. Thankfully it seems to be recovering,"

"Thankfully." Sasha spits the word without hiding her vitriol.

"The physical injuries are just minor cuts and bruises," Marcy paused, unsure how to say the next thing, "It's like, like the injuries you get trying to run away from something. And I mean: 'running for your life,' run away."

They both had a lot of experience with that.

"How do you have so much veterinary knowledge anyway?" The blonde asked. No, she wasn't trying to change the subject. Honest.

"Oh! Erm, well, I was the one who took care of Joe Sparrow back in...," she stopped for a moment, "a-and the mom of a friend is a veterinarian. I was curious, so I asked her a lot of things, plus I have to investigate a lot for my webcomic, and I wanted to talk with-" Again, she stopped, more abruptly than the first time, "I wanted to talk with Anne about the amphibians, because of her new job."

Silence descended on the two friends. The clock continued to tick away the seconds, and the tv, locked in a news channel, continued being ignored.

"How is she? Actually, WHERE is she?" Marcy looked around, finally noticing the lack of their third.

"In the Bathroom." Sasha released a weary sigh, "She said she needed some alone time."

"Oh yeah, that-that makes sense."

Silence again, absolutely oppressive.

"Sasha, do you think-?" "DON'T!"

It wasn't a scream, but Sasha spoke forcefully.

"Sorry, but I know what you were going to ask." Sasha looked Marcy directly in the eyes, "You-WE should not even consider it. That-that is Anne, our Anne. The same girl we grew up with, the girl we've known forever. She's the woman we love with all of our hearts."

The blonde clenched her teeth as she spoke the next thing.

"She's not some-some copy."

"Right, you're right. Sorry, I was a little altered." Marcy turned to the bathroom. "That's our Anne, no doubt."

Yet, neither woman could stop the thought that intruded inside their heads:

She has to be.

Distracted as they were, neither of them noticed the news show reporting mysterious lights shining in the sky, the reports of strange energy readings.

Or the three stars (Blue, Red, and Green) seemingly shining directly through the apartment's window as if looking straight at them.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

*splash*

"*huff huff*" It's okay. It's OKAY."

Water splashed the Anne's face as she tried to reassure herself. She'd removed her work blouse, leaving herself in the white tank top she wore.

Arms exposed, she proceeded to check something.

"The left arm," The brunette extended her arm and scrutinized it. Using her finger, she traced over old scars, faded after ten years but present nonetheless, "I got this while roughing it up the first weeks in Amphibia, this one when we tried to make pizza, this one is from fighting frobots..."

She kept pointing to each scar one at a time, remembering how and when she got them, then moved to her other arm.

"Right arm..." this one was harder to do; because the scars were more prominent, "This is from the Toad Tax Incident; I never fully recovered. This scar is from the fight with Andrias; I pushed myself too much then. And this is-" she choked up, "These are from the fight against The Core Moon."

That collection of scars was different from the others that marked the woman's body. While most of them were like what one would expect them to look, these looked crooked and jagged, like a crack on a crystal.

Anne remembers the pain of channeling the power of the three stones well, how it burned her inside and how it felt like it tore apart her body.

And how it killed her.

"And I was brought back. I'm alive. I'm me. I am Anne Boonchuy-Plantar."

{N̴͈̘̒̚Ȏ̴̮!̸̛̲̲̄ ̷͔͖̀Y̷̡̑̔͜͝O̷̟̰͐̃͆Ụ̸̻͆̂͆'̸̘̑̊Ȑ̶͕̀̂E̵̘͙̦̎ ̷͕̥̈̊ͅN̴̖̞̅O̴̗̔T̶̫̃̽̽!̵̙͇̜͗̑͠}

The room shook, and the lights flickered. First, they flashed on and off, but in short order, they started flickering in blue, red, and green colors.

The flicking intensified more and more and more. Anne could only look around the room as the lights started to become too much to bear, paralyzed with a sudden and chilling sense of dread at the event. 

And as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

"*huff huff huff* Is it over?" The woman didn't know when she started hyperventilating, but she tried to get her breathing back under control. She turned to the sink, hoping to cool herself with some water.

And the moment she looked in the mirror.

{YOU!}

"Aaagh!"

The person in the mirror was the spitting image of Anne Boonchuy, yet it was not the human herpetologist. She looked just as she did in that fateful moment when she used the three stones but ten years older.

The crack-like scars on her right arm extended to the shoulders and around the face. The eyes were pools of blinding white with occasional hints of blue, red, and green. Her hair was also white, standing and flowing as if underwater and at the same time like an open flame. On the apparition's chest was a bright light with the faint outline of a diamond, again shining with the RGB colors.

And the most striking difference between them was how they looked at each other.

The herpetologist, in simple terms, was afraid. It was a primal fear present in her eyes and face.

But the nightmare in the mirror was anything but afraid.

Anne was no stranger to the different looks people could give. She'd been on the receiving end of looks of disappointment from her parental figures, a younger Sasha's steely piercing eyes, the hungry gaze of predators, and the furious glare of Andrias.

She even stared down the moon, for frog's sake!

But the look of the Anne in the mirror was nothing but pure, unadulterated hatred.

{YOU! YOU STOLE MY FAMILY. YOU STOLE MY FRIENDS!

YOU! STOLE! MY! LIFE!}

The image in the mirror slammed her palms on it as if trying to break free from a glass prison.

{GIVE IT BACK! GIVE! IT! BACK! YOU FAKE!}

"No, no! Fuck! NO! I'm not a fake! I'm not a fucking copy!"

{YES, YOU ARE!}  Another slam against the crystal,  {YOU ARE A COPY MADE BY THAT BASTARD CAT! AND YOU WILL PAY! YOU HEAR ME!? I'LL MAKE YOU PAY! I'LL MAKE YOU BOTH FUCKING PAY!}

{AND THEN I'LL RECOVER ALL THAT'S MINE. MY LIFE. MY MOM AND DAD. THE PLANTARS. SASHA AND MARCY. EVERYTHING!}

"No!" The mortal Anne screamed as fear overcame her. "No! No! PLEASE! After all this time, after everything that happened, I can't lose them! Not again! I'm not a copy! I fought long and hard to get here! To have what I got! I'm not a copy; this is my life!" The woman from earth cried as her resolve started to crack. Overcome by panic, she wound up a punch.

{IT'S NOT! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT! YOU CAN'T HAVE THEM! I'LL RECOVER WHAT'S MINE!}

The pseudo-goddess in the glass mirrored her movement.

In perfect synchrony, they threw their punch, shattering the mirror.

The image of the other Anne disappeared while her would-be victim felt glass shards cutting her knuckles. Reflected on the fragments remaining on the mirror frame, she could see a faint blue glow vanish from her eyes, and most importantly, she finally heard the frantic knocking on the bathroom door.

"Anne! Anne, are you okay?" That was Marcy.

"Anne! Open up already, or I swear to frog, I'll tear down the door!" And that was Sasha.

Anne opened the door one-handed, and the two women on the other side paused at the sight of her bloodied knuckle.

"Girls, I-"

"Anne, what happened!?"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Where is the first-aid kit?"

They talked over each other, each moving in their own direction in a panic, trying to do something.

" ~Everyone, relax. Please~ " And once again, a voice pulled everything to a screeching halt.

The Guardian had awoken.

" ~Anne, you've reignited your powers. That is good. Focus on your hand, on making the pain stop.~ "

Still reeling from the recent encounter, Anne did as told without complaining. A blue flame, shaped like a lotus, engulfed her hand and soon, the cuts on it closed and disappeared.

All three women stared for a moment.

"Huh. That would have been useful ten years ago." Anne couldn't help quipping in a daze.

"Anne." Marcy took it upon herself to resume the conversation. "What happened?"

" ~What happened was that  SHE  found us. Sooner than I thought at that.~ " The Guardian intruded.

"The so-called 'original' Anne?" Sasha asked.

" Exactly. We don't have much time. We need to-Wah! "

The talking cat couldn't finish their sentence before a very pissed-off Sasha picked it up by the scrub of his neck.

"What YOU need to do, is explain what the hell is happening right now, or I will neuter you." With cold eyes she hadn't used in years, she finished. "Are. We. Clear?"

" ~Yes, yes. I understand! Put me down, please?~ "

Chastised and ready to cooperate, the cat explained.

" ~Ehem. It started what would be ten of your years ago...~ "

Chapter Text

"What do you mean ten of our years ago?" Anne couldn't help but ask.

"~I and my kind exist outside what you mortals understand as time. What would be ten years to you can be either seconds to us or millennia.~"

"Wait, YOUR kind? There's more of you?"

"~In a matter of speaking. Many deities watch over and take care of the fabric of reality. I called them my kind, but to be honest, we have little to do with each other. I take care of my section, and they take care of theirs. That's the start and end of our interactions. Am I allowed to finish my account now?~"

"Right, sorry."

"~As I was saying, my kind exists outside of time. Ten years of yours can either be seconds to me or millennia. Anyway, what was ten years of yours ago, as you are aware, Anne made the ultimate sacrifice and proved herself worthy of being my successor.~"

"Please don't bring that up now."

"~It is necessary I do. As you also know, I made a double of Anne, the same person in mind, body, and soul.~"

"Like saving an archive in a computer, yes we... we've discussed this ourselves at length." Marcy surmised.

"~Well, if you allow me to reiterate, I made a mistake.~"  The divine cat seemed crestfallen. Which only made the already tense trio dread what it meant more.

"~A Soul... it is not something one can copy easily. Not even I can do that. What I did, or thought I did, was move it. Taking the memories, experiences, and everything that one can say made Anne Boonchuy, Anne Boonchuy, from its old damaged container to a new, identical one. But there was a complication.~"

"What kind of complication?" Sasha coldly asked.

"~*sigh* The Stones.~"

As one, three hearts skipped a beat.

"What do you mean?"

"~Originally, they were meant to be nothing more than a power source. The most they could do on their own was gravitate toward people with specific traits.~"

"Wit," Marcy interjected,

"Heart," Anne continued,

"And Strenght," Sasha concluded.

"~Precisely. The stones were my attempt at testing mortals and, if possible, finding one worthy of being my successor. I thought it worked when they found Anne, but they were more than they used to be by then.~

"~I exist outside of time, but that doesn't mean what I create does too. The stones were active for millennia, influenced by all who interacted with them; this changed them. They started developing a crude psyche of their own. One could even say they had a proto-soul of sorts.~"

"Wait, wait, wait! Do you mean to say that the Calamity Stones were alive?!" Sasha disbelieved.

"~Only in the barest definition of the term. It would be comparable to those cyber-pet toys you humans have. Tama-buddies, I think you call them.~"

'Such an old reference.' The trio thought.

"~The stones had latched onto the original Anne's essence.~"  The Guardian did not notice the namesake in front of him squirm at their phrasing,  "~They kept her memories alive in the ether, and from there and with their lingering power, a new astral body, the same kind Anne would have received should she had accepted my offer formed. I never sensed her presence, and when I did, it was too late, and I came under her attack.~"

"So that thing is a God?"

"How did you not notice them?"

"Wait, isn't she the copy then?"

The trio's questions spilled over each other, but if that made them difficult to understand, the cat did not show it.

"~Not in the traditional sense, it is a being of energy that exists outside the boundaries of the physical world, but not a proper God. Her presence was small at first, too small for me to realize something was wrong, and when I noticed it, I confused it with Anne's energy signature. Which relates to the last question.~"

The feline paused for a moment.

"~Effectively, in mind and soul, she is Anne Boonchuy. Everything that made Anne herself; everything that I used to make your new body she has. Strictly speaking, you're both Anne, and there is little to distinguish one from the other.~"  The guardian spoke solemnly to the three girls.

And, in an unfittingly lighter tone of voice, added.

"~But technically speaking, since she was reborn from the stones, she would be the original. In a strict sense.~"

Sasha and Marcy, instinctively and immediately, moved closer to Anne, hugging her lightly as the tactless deity's words washed over them.

Trying to focus back on the current matter and distract her friends and herself from the recent revelations, Marcy continued the inquiry.

"Why did she attack you?"

"~She thinks me responsible for her situation. She believes we've stolen from her what should be hers: her life and future.~"

"What do you mean 'we'?" Sasha interjected,

"~We as in, Anne and Me. She also holds her responsible.~"

"Why is that thing after Anne too? It's not like she asked to be-!" She cut herself, biting her tongue. She could not complete the sentence. It would be admitting the Anne she was comforting right now was a copy. "Anne suffered too much. She deserves what she has. She deserves this life." She said instead.

And in a lower voice, she added.

"She deserves it more than anyone."

Marcy heard. Her ranger training left her a good ear after all. Chances are, so did the girl herself.

"~She is mentally unstable. So her logic and conclusions elude me.~"  The Guardian continued as if nothing.

"And what? Does she think if she can get rid of you both, then we'll accept her?"

"~As I said, she's unstable. I cannot begin to fathom what her logic is. But even then, she would not be able to do that. Just manifesting in the physical is beyond her for now.~"

"What do you mean?"

"~As of now, she is a being of energy that exists outsides the boundaries of your universe. She cannot interact with you or the world.~"

"So we're safe?"

"~I did say 'as of now.' With time she can gain a physical form for herself, and if she does, Anne and the entire world will be in grave danger.~"

"Huh?" The trio felt a cold shudder crawl up their backs.

"~I... My kind is not supposed to be in the physical world. Our sole presence bends time and space. Unless we contain our powers to the absolute minimum, we can rend reality apart just from manifesting somewhere. And if the original Anne manifests physically, that's what will happen.~"  The cat moved towards the table and pressed a paw to the TV's remote.  "~In fact, it's already begun.~"

The television showed a late news program. The anchorman on-screen delivered chilling news for the women.

"Breaking news: sightings of strange lights have been growing more frequent during the last few weeks. Experts cannot determine the source of these lights or why they appeared so suddenly as, quote: The lights don't correspond to any known celestial body. Conspiracy theories abound: from secret government projects to alien messages."

"That's-!" Anne started.

"~That's her, yes.~"  The Guardian intercepted.  "~She is starting to manifest. Should she not be stopped, the original Anner could cause irreparable damage to this universe in her hunt.~"

"And why are YOU not doing anything!?" Sasha finally snapped. "Why are you wasting time talking with us instead of stopping her? What? You got caught off guard once, and now you're scared? Some guardian you are!"

"Sasha!"

"~I cannot do anything.~"  Whatever chastising the other two were about to make the deity stopped,  "~Time moves differently for me, and she is indistinguishable from Anne. When she first appeared to me, I thought the seventy-nine years had passed and received her with open arms and the offer of my power, an offer she was more than happy to take.~"

"Wait, you mean that she-?" Anne asked what she feared she already knew.

"~She stole most of my power, yes.~"

"Oh, this has to be a fucking joke."

"If you cannot stop her, is there anything we can do?"

"~There is.~"

The trio perked up. The guardian turned back to Anne.

"~Anne, you have a dormant power inside you. A power that's yours alone. It's the leftover from your time using the stones. The proof that you are my successor candidate. With that, you can awaken the power in your friends, and you three can build it up so that we can face the original.~"

And like just that, the three stars deflated. That would mean they'd have to fight. Again, like ten years ago.

"~It is the only way to stop the original. Otherwise, she will manifest in your universe. Hunt you and me down and destroy reality in the process.~"  The god did the feline version of a bow.  "~As I said, I made a mistake; this should be my responsibility, and I am sorry I have to depend on you three to do it for me. I promise, no, swear by my status as a deity that I will help you and guide you every step of the way. Please, I need your help.~"

Anne, Sasha, and Marcy could feel the contrite sincerity in its words. They looked at each other, silent conversation conveyed through their eyes. Finally, Anne said:

"We went through so much. We experienced things children our age shouldn't have to. And while we may wish to have done many things differently, we would not exchange that experience for anything. We came out stronger and better from those experiences. We saved Amphibia and Earth thanks to them. In a way, we owe that to you." She paused.

"You have a lot to answer for, but we owe you for bringing Anne back, I guess," Sasha joined.

"And if it is to protect our loved ones, our world." Marcy continued.

"Then we will help you." Anne finally declared.

"~Thank you, the three of you.~"

"So, what do we do now?"

"~First, we need to escape the attention of the original Anne. She knows where we all are. We need some distance to plan and build up our strength.~"

"Where would we go?"

"~The place that can better help you to master your powers. Where it all began.~"

The three women's eyes widened in shock.

"You don't mean?"

"~Yes. Quick, hold hands in a circle around me. We are going to Amphibia.~"

Chapter Text

"~Umm, girls? I said we'd go to Amphibia over two hours ago.~"

"Shut it, you! We're working adults. We can't leave our jobs just like that. Yeah? No, sorry, Sophie. I was talking to someone else. As I was saying, something came up, and I won't be available."

A muffled question came from the phone.

"No, I can't tell you what. It's highly personal. Anyway, please either cancel or reschedule with other doctors my appointments. And, no, I don't know when I'll be back."

The voice hesitated but seemed to agree, going by Sasha's relieved face.

"Thank you! I owe you big time, bye!"

Before any more questions or comments could come her way, the blonde cut off the call. Then turned an angry gaze to the cat.

"If we lose our jobs because of this. I'm going to skin you."

"Ok! I think I got everything covered!"

Before the deity could answer, Marcy made herself known.

"I made an update in my webcomic site, so my fans know I'm going into hiatus. I called my parents, telling them I'm prolonging my stay here for a while, and the airline will allow me to change my plane tickets for another day."

Huffing in satisfaction, the Noirette placed her hands on her hips.

"I think that covers everything on my side."

"Then the only one left is-"

"Yeah, yeah. Yes, no, it's nothing bad, I swear, mom." Anne's voice cut through their chat like a hot knife. She was pacing as she talked with her mother.

—Anne, I'm your mother. You'll have to think of a more convincing lie. What happened, dear?—

Damn that mother's instinct.

"It-it has to do with Amphibia. Sasha, Marcy, and I found another way back."

—That's great news! You can finally see the Plantars again! But you don't sound happy. There's more, isn't there?—

"Well..."

—Is it Mr. X? If he and the government give you trouble again, I swear.—

"No, no, no! It's not that. It's-" Anne cut herself off, unsure how to say the real reason.

How do you tell your parents that you died ten years ago? That some deity out of this reality brought you back? That you're not the same daughter they knew, loved, and raised? That another "you," the original you, their real daughter, is hunting you down?

And she wants to take everyone and everything that's "hers" back, and in doing so, she'll possibly destroy the world, maybe reality itself, just by getting a body.

It was too much, even by the standards they already had.

Anne's free hand gripped her phone arm, squeezing it firmly.

And felt two other hands fall on her shoulders, pressing soothingly on them.

Anne looked at her girls, Sasha and Marcy, who gave her their most encouraging look.

"Put her on speaker." The blonde said sharply. In other times a decade ago, it would have been an order, harsh and commanding.

Now it was a mark of confidence, of the trust between them.

"Mom, I'm putting you on speaker."

"Hey! Mrs. B! Long time no see!" Marcy greeted. Anne was sure her sunny disposition carried well over the phone to her mom.

—Marcy! Dear, it's so good to hear from you again! How are you? How are your parents? I heard you are getting published! Congratulations!—

"Thank you! I've been great! My parents have a lot of work, as always. Swamped with it even. Between you and me, I think my dad regrets getting that new job." Both Marcy and Mrs. Boonchuy chuckled at the comment.

"I'm also here, btw," Sasha interjected.

—Oh, Sasha! I think I haven't talked with you even longer than with Marcy. Congratulations on your psych degree!—

"Thank you, Mrs. B. But I think we have to leave catching up for another day. Anne already filled you in?"

—She told me you had to leave for a while and that you found another way to Amphibia. But what aren't you telling me?—

"Well. Something is happening; it's complicated. The short version is that there's something dangerous out there, and we must go back to Amphibia. We need their help to face it."

—Oh, girls. Why must you do it again? Wasn't it enough to do it once already?—

"I know, mom. Believe me; I would've liked not to go back like this." Anne rejoined the conversation. "But we are the only ones who know what is happening."

"No one else can do what we can, can help with this." Marcy continued turning to look at the silent Guardian, "We are literally 'Chosen Ones,' either we do it, or everyone suffers."

"But don't worry. This time, we will be together from the start." Sasha said, filled with determination, "We will protect each other. We're no longer the child from ten years ago."

She looked Anne and Marcy in the eyes, a promise shining in them that reassured her friends everything would be alright, better than a decade ago.

—Alright, alright. You didn't need to give me a speech, you know?—

"Sorry. I think I got carried away." The blonde flushed in embarrassment.

"Dramatic dork." Anne could not stop her teasing. Judging from the badly-hidden giggling, Marcy had the same problem with her reaction.

"Hey!" which earned them a glare from their friend, though it lacked any heat.

"Anyway, due to all this, I'm not going to be here for a while. I contacted my work already. If anyone asks about me, say I'm taking some 'me' time to reconnect with friends."

—Ahh, technical truth.—

"The best kind of truth!" Marcy exclaimed.

"Ahaha. Besides that, could you please take care of Domino 4 for me?"

—Of course, Sweetie.—

"Oh! And one more thing! Do you still have Mr. X's number?"

—Yes.—

"Tell him I'm going back to Amphibia. And tell him it has to do with all the weird lights and energies. He'll probably understand."

—...Alright.— There was a pause from the other side of the line. —Anne, please be careful. I don't want to fear for you for months again.—

"I know, mom, I will. I-we won't repeat the mistakes of last time."

"Don't worry, Mrs. B. Anne has us to keep her safe," Sasha reassured.

" You'll  keep me safe?" Anne teased.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"And when these two get in trouble, I will keep them safe!" Marcy clamored.

"Marcy, you tripped three times today."

"Yeah! A lot less than I used to! Besides, I'm the one who knows Amphibia the best!"

"You barely left Newtopia. I traveled with the Plantars in the Fwagon."

"And I traveled on foot with nothing but the clothes on my back... and Grime, Percy, and Braddock. I know how to survive best."

"I survived for weeks before meeting the Plantars!"

"No, you barely survived for two weeks before meeting the Plantars. They told me you couldn't even go camping without getting in trouble."

"That was ten years ago! I've gone on excursions to the Amazon!"

"You know Amphibia is way harsher than the Amazon."

"Yeah, but the point is that I have experience now."

—*snort* AHAHAHAHA—

The argument stopped as the trio remembered they were still on the phone.

—Ok, I'm convinced you'll be safe.—

Anne smiled, "Thanks, mom."

—You keep each other safe out there, girls.—

"We will." Anne thought for a moment and concluded, "I'll miss you, mom."

—And I'll miss you. Good luck.—

"Thanks." "Goodbye, Mrs. B!" "We'll come back before you know it."

With a simple click, the call ended, leaving just the trio in a silence that was neither comfortable nor heavy.

"Girls..."

"~Oh, you're done already?~"

"GAH!" The girls screamed together at the interruption and reminder that there was someone else present.

"Fucking-! I forgot you were here!" Sasha turned to glare at the cat.

"~My apologies, but time is of the essence. If you're all done, we need to leave.~"

"Yeah, I know. Just let me grab some last things before."

Anne jogged to her room, coming back some moments later carrying a heavy bag and having changed her work polo for a shirt.

"Done. Let's do this!"

"Damn girl, what do you have in there? A full campsite?" Sasha couldn't help but quip.

"Among other things. The benefits of going on expeditions and camping with the Plantars."

"~Well then, if you're all ready-,~"

"Oh, my bag!" Marcy quickly grabbed said object before coming back. "Ok, that should be everything. Unless you have something missing too, Sash?"

"Just my car, but I doubt I can take that."

"Then I think we are ready."

"~No more interruptions or delays?~,"  the Guardian asked warily,  "~Then it is finally time. Stand in a circle around me and hold each other's hands~."

The women did as instructed.

"~Before we begin, I want to apologize again. This mess is my own; I did not take enough precautions, didn't think some of my actions through, or failed to consider possible developments. I want you to know if I could take care of it myself, I would. And you have my thanks for the help you're giving me.~"

The trio was stunned for a moment, unsure how to process the sudden heartfelt words of the cat.

"Well, now I feel bad about being so hard on you. Tch, that's not fair." Sasha said.

"~My apologies.~"

"Stop apologizing!"

"Being fair, we have the right to be angry since it is all his fault." Marcy innocently noted.

"Marcy!"

"What? It's true. He admitted it."

"Let's just go before something else derails us." Anne huffed. "What do we do?"

"~Indeed. I'll help with opening the portal and taking us to Amphibia. I need you three to close your eyes and think of your time there, to let the memories flow and fuel your dormant power.~"

As the women recalled the times gone by, a spark of energy started flowing from the center of their chests, slowly growing and feeding into each other through their physical and emotional connection.

The Guardian closed its eyes, focused, and opened them to reveal a gem-like appearance, plus a third eye in the forehead. The growing energies of the girls flowed and converged in him, a ball of tri-color energy with a purple halo forming.

"~Almost done. Brace yourselves!~"

"Hey, a quick question." The web artist interrupted.

"~Erm. Can it wait?"~

"Umm, probably not? It's just, wouldn't this much energy be like a giant beacon for the other Anne? What's stopping her from interfering with our transport?"

There was a silence broken only by the hum of gathered energy in the room.

"~Oh, I knew I forgot about something.~"

"WHAT?!" Three voices cried.

"~We should be fine... probably. Try not to lose focus; we might get separated when we arrive otherwise.~"

"That's a possibility?"

"Again?!"

"I AM GOING TO SKIN YOU!"

"~No time. The portal is ready.~"

Before anyone could say anything else, a bright light, exactly like the one of ten years ago, exploded over those present and vanished just as quickly, leaving no trace of anyone ever being in the room.

In the night sky seen through the window, three stars suddenly blinked out of sight.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Humid air and tropical heat greeted Anne when her vision recovered from the flash.

She stood up hurriedly and took in her surroundings.

Her exploration backpack was on the ground not far from her, giant plants similar to those of prehistoric earth. A blue sky clear of contamination. The sound of wildlife moving through the overgrown jungle. On the horizon, she could see animals flying. Insects. Giant insects.

There was no doubt about it; she was back in Amphibia. She had arrived on the same cliff she originally had ten years ago.

She felt the light sting of tears forming in her eyes and probably would have cried if not for one detail.

As she did another look around, she realized:

She was alone.

There was no Guardian, no Marcy, and no Sasha.

"No. No, no, no, no."

Anne frantically looked around.

Did we really get separated? Did the other Anne, the other me interfere? If so, did they even make it to Amphibia?

Will I have to survive alone again?

"...Again? No, no, please, no. I can't do this alone again! SASHA! MARCY! GIRLS, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

She screamed, and her breathing accelerated.

The herpetologist almost ran into the jungle to look for them.

"ANNE!"

"ANNE!"

There they were. Both the blonde and noirette. Looking just as scared and relieved as Anne herself felt.

They crash into each other in a tight hug. The memories of the first weeks alone were kept at bay by the presence in their arms.

"~Ok. I'll admit that could have gone better.~"

They separated slightly (but never broke contact) at the sound of the cat's voice.

"~Forgive me. It seems I have erred on the coordinates of our arrival. I got distracted by the possibility of being tracked by the original Anne and, well, here we are.~"

"Remember I said I feel bad about being hard on you? I take it back. Damned fleabag." Sasha wasted no time in making her sentiments known.

"~Let's leave grievances till we are in a safer place than the Amphibian jungle, shall we?~"

Sasha grumbled but said nothing otherwise, instead looking at her surroundings properly.

"So we really are back."

"Yeah, it feels like a dream. Or a nightmare, given the circumstances." Marcy commented.

"It would be a worse nightmare if we were not together." Anne responded, her words filled with heartfelt relief. Looking at the panorama again, she declared. "We need to hurry. Who knows when that thing will find us."

"~That is true. This blunder will delay us, but it's not unsalvageable. We-You need to completely reawaken your powers so we can face what's coming.~"

The trio looked from the cat back at each other and reluctantly separated so they could begin this next chapter of their otherwordly adventures.

"Let's hop on in it."

Chapter Text

Entry Neo 1 (should I call them that?)

Hey! Hello! Salutations! Best regards! Hail! Nice to meet you! And any other form of greeting I don't really have the time to think of right now.

This new sketchbook, which I'll call Jo 2 (Jotwo? Second? Jr? The sequel? I'll think about the details later), was initially meant for sketches and writing down inspiration for my webcomic. Now though, it will be my way of recording something I honestly thought would never happen again.

A SECOND JOURNEY TO AMPHIBIA!

Oh my gosh, this is amazing! It could easily be one of the greatest highlights of my life since the first (mis)adventure, the animation deal, and reuniting with my friends!

...

*sigh* Ok, nevermind; this isn't working.

I'll be level with you, Jotwo (yes, I'm going with that one). I'm trying to downplay the events of the last few hours. Originally this day was supposed to be great. Sasha and I would surprise Anne for her birthday; spend time together after I-don't-know-how-long-ago. It's detailed in your predecessor.

But something happened.

It's Anne.

Something is hunting her, or I should say someone.

Herself, or something that claims to be Anne. The real Anne.

There is something in your predecessor that neither Anne nor I wrote down. When Anne defeated the-The Core, she died. But she was brought back. It was a reward from something like a guardian deity that rules over the multiverse.

We thought that was it.

The hero sacrifices themselves for the greater good and is, in turn, rewarded accordingly. She was offered godhood but rejected it and returned to the mortal world.

She came back to us.

It wasn't as clear-cut, though. The Guardian said they copied Anne to bring her back. Identical in mind, body, and soul. Of course, that caused an existential crisis. Eventually.

We, Sasha and I, were there for her then. Helped her, reassured her she was the same Anne Boonchuy we'd known since childhood.

I personally analyzed every word the Guardian said to comfort her. I told her she was the same girl, just in a new body.

So this..." other Anne." It spits in the face of all our efforts.

Anne is my oldest friend.

She was there for me in my every memory.

For my mistakes, my joys, and my sadness, Anne was there for everything.

Even when I jeopardized our friendship, she was still there, ready to forgive me.

I cannot be wrong. THAT IS OUR ANNE! THE ONE AND ONLY!

01001101 01100001 00101101

Sasha agrees. She says that is the same Anne we know and l̷o̷v̷e̷ hold dear.

I want to agree, but I still can't help but have doubts.

No, I'm overthinking. I still get caught up in my worries sometimes.

01001101 01100001 01010010 00101101

And all that is small compared to the bigger problem.

The Guardian got attacked by that other Anne. He was hurt and requested our help. That's why we're back in Amphibia.

We are going to regain our powers! Even with all that's happening, I can't help but be excited about that.

Then we'll face the other Anne and, I hope, we will get a clear answer about her and Anne's existence.

Oh! Have to go! Anne just got done taking stock of her exploration supplies (that's why I had time to write all this, she's carrying a lot).

Well, time for a new Adventure. Wish me luck!

01001101 01100001 01010010 01100011 01011001

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

"Marcy, hurry up!"

"Sorry, I started live journaling again."

Sasha looked at the sketchbook in her friend's hand.

"Oh yeah, you had one the first time too. Right?"

"Yeppers. I still have it, actually," she said, patting her bag, "I found it just before coming back."

"Huh."

"Yeah, the first one was useful for all of us, so I thought keeping a second would be useful again."

"Always with a plan. That's our Marcy." Sasha let the honest and familiar praise out of her mouth.

"It's not that big a deal." The noirette dismissed with a light blush.

"Alright!"

Any further discussion was interrupted by Anne.

"I'm done taking stock of my kit. We have water, food and emergency rations, changes of clothes (though I'm not sure mine will fit you guys), lanterns, a tent, a survival knife, matchsticks, a first aid kit, bug repellent (which I'm not sure will do anything to Amphibia's bugs), towel, sunblock, sleeping mat, a machete, a compass, a water and impact resistant watch, some books and magazines, a peony bath bomb, toilet paper, cooking utensils, and three (3) pairs of boots. Whew." The herpetologist finished swiping her forehead as if she was sweating.

"Whoa, that backpack is big, but I did not think it fit all that." The blonde commented.

"How did you fit it all in?" Marcy asked.

"Ehh, after some time, you learn to do this. Helping mom with the groceries helps too."

"Btw, why do you have three pairs of boots?"

"After the first time here, I decided to be ready, Sash. I lost the spare pair my parents gave me when I returned at the time of the..." There she trailed off.

The other two understood, and the trio sighed together.

"I wanted to come back real bad, you know? I'm not really happy it had to be like this."

"We know, Anne."

"We'll get through this. After all, we are together this time."

"Yeah. Thank you, dudes."

"~Certainly, I cannot thank you enough for assisting in this incident.~"

The trio turned the reason they could return to Amphibia. The Guardian, still with the appearance resembling Anne's previous cat, jumped on top of the backpack.

"~Now that we are here, we have to act with the utmost urgency. Our original landing point would have been where you left near Newtopia ten years ago, but that wasn't the case. Evidently.~"

"I wonder why."

"Sasha."

"What? I have the right to complain."

"~Anyway. From there, we would have gone directly to the seat of the government and asked for help with the next part of the plan.~"

"Yeah, about that: What exactly is our plan? Because I don't have any idea of how to face that 'other me.'" The words felt wrong in her mouth. The  idea  of the other Anne felt wrong.

"~We weaken and depower her.~"  The Guardian straightened as much as the feline frame allowed, "Our priority is to prevent her from manifesting physically and to do that, we need to take the fight straight to her. To do so, you three must reawaken and master your calamity powers.~"

"Do you think we can beat her?" Marcy asked nervously.

"~It matters little if you can or not.~"

At the boggled expressions of the three women, he explained.

"~As I said: the goal is to weaken and depower. The three of you will weaken the Original Anne in a fight, and I will take back my power from her when the chance presents itself.~"

"Wait, so you'll be there to help us?"

"~Of course, this IS my mess to clean after all. Had circumstances been different, I would not have gotten you three involved, to begin with.~

Anne, Sasha, and Marcy stared at the cat for a moment.

"Wow, you need to stop making me change my opinion of you. That's not good for the psyche." The grumpy psychiatrist broke the brief silence.

"~My apologies.~"  The cat tilted its head,  "~I guess?~"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"Gotta say, for someone literally counting the years until his retirement. You do seem to take your job seriously." Anne remarked.

"~I mean, I was basically kicked upstairs after my predecessor got erased from existence, but I still try to do my job correctly.~"

"Wait, what?"

"~In any case, I think we've lost enough time. We must embark towards New Newtopia post haste.~"

"Oh, right." Tacking out the machete and compass, Anne took point. "We are where I landed ten years ago, so we must head south towards Wartwood, and from there, we can find some help to head towards-"

"Wait, did you say 'New' Newtopia?" Sasha interrupted.

"~It got rebuilt.~"

"That makes sense." Marcy quipped.

"Well. Anyway, let's go to Wartwood. If we find the Plantars, we can get to Newtopia fast."

"~New Newtopia.~"

"Whatever it's called. Let's go, dudes!"

"YEAH!"

"Btw Anne, you have leaves in your hair." Sasha pointed out.

"Huh?! Already? We've barely been here for an hour!"

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Amphibia was always dangerous, even with the war for two worlds raging and the damage of The Core's forces on nature that didn't change.

But they did change the environment with their efforts to mine resources for conquest. Yet nature always finds a way to survive and thrive. So after ten years of healing, it was little surprise that the jungles Anne walked during her first weeks of survival, even had she been able to remember them clearly, had changed into something bigger, wilder, darker, and more confusing.

Or in other words.

"We are lost."

"We are not lost, Sash. It's just that I can't find our way."

"That's the literal definition of being lost, Anne." Marcy was taking notes and making sketches in her book as fast as her hands could do it, in part to try to discern their location, in part because she hadn't seen this portion of the southern territories the last time she was here and in part to gather references for future webcomic use.

The Guardian walked around the trio, trying to help locate the direction towards civilization and out of the jungle.

"Do you even remember how far south-argh! Fucking plants!" Sasha was irritated since her skirt kept getting caught up in the greenery, "Do you remember how far away Wartwood was?!"

"Of course I-! I mean, I can guess." Seeing the look her friends gave her, she quickly defended, "Look, I was thirteen and fighting for my life! Sorry if I don't remember everything!"

"Yes, I know. Sorry. I-"  I just thought you would know because you're the original and only Anne, right? You should remember.  "I'm only annoyed my skirt keeps getting caught every two steps."

"Can't you do something about that?"

"I'm not going to tear this skirt, Boonchuy. It's a favorite of mine."

"That skirt is a favorite? It looks like something my Grandma would wear."

"Excuse you?!"

"You could gird up your loins." Marcy cut through the conversation.

"Do what to my what now?"

"Gird up your loins. In the ancient Near East, men and women wore flowing tunics, and around the tunic, they would wear a belt or girdle. While tunics were comfortable, they also would get in the way when fighting or doing hard labor. So if and when the people had to battle, they would lift and tuck their tunics into their girdle or tie it in a knot to keep them off the ground. In effect, they made a pair of shorts out of their tunics that allowed more freedom of movement." The information deluge left Marcy's mouth almost too fast to understand if not for the previous experience of the other two.

"Huh, and how do I-?"

"So first:" Marcy stepped close to the blonde, taking and guiding her hands while Anne watched, "We hoist the skirt up so that all the fabric is above your knees. Then gather all the extra material in front of you so that the back of the tunic is snug against your backside."

Sasha followed the instructions, ignorant of how Anne perked up slightly at the "snug" part.

"Once you gathered the excess fabric in front, pull it underneath and between your legs to your rear-"

"ALRIGHT!"

"OK!"

Anne and Sasha screamed, the psychologist stepping back and letting the skirt down.

"I think I'll risk my skirt getting torn. Thanks, Mars." There was a slight tint on her cheeks.

"I think I know where to go now. Let's hurry up!" Anne turned blindly toward some southern direction, swinging the machete at the foliage. Her cheeks were also tinted red.

"Erm, I guess, if you say so." Marcy looked at them in confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"

"~If I understand humans correctly, they were uncomfortable since you came too close to touching an intimate area.~"  The deified cat spoke from the floor, having stayed quiet during the entire exchange.

"Oh, yeah, that would make-" The woman trailed off into a high-pitch squeal, her face lighting up in a fierce blush, "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Sash. I-I got caught up in the explanation. I did not mean to-to-" Another squeal filled the wilderness.

"No, no, don't worry. Let's just-"

The rustling of leaves, cracking of branches, and loud stepping sounds interrupted the conversation. Swift as lighting, the three women huddled together back-to-back-to-back. Even the Guardian crouched, ready for anything.

"On second thought, tell me all the steps for the skirt thing Mar-Mar. I think I'll need it."

Marcy quickly guided the blonde through the process, all previous embarrassment forgotten.

"Sasha." Once Anne saw they finished, she passed the survival knife to the former commander while holding her machete tight. "Sorry, Marcy, I don't have anything for you."

"Don't worry. I think I can make an improvised sling quickly. Watch my back." Not waiting for a response, she quickly grabbed some vines and leaves, weaving them together as the sounds grew closer.

"~Sorry. I don't believe I will be of much help.~"

"You can keep our stuff safe at least," Anne requested, dropping her backpack, the cat jumping on top of it.

"Also, stay alert. So we don't get jumped," Sasha added.

"~Consider it done.~"

"There!"

From the foliage, a giant and familiar insect burst forth. Its red carapace and scythe-shaped forelegs were unmistakable.

"A red mantis!" The survivalist paused, tilting her head as a thought intruded, "Why do I always face a red mantis when I'm here? I've confronted three with this one!"

The mantis swiped at them, Sasha moving to intercept, parrying with the knife. "Three mantises, really?"

Marcy swung her improvised sling, shooting a rock at the purple eye of the apex predator. "Do you think this is the same one?"

"Nah," Anne sneaked under the insect, aiming for its back legs. "The Wartwood frogs ate the first. That was the day I met Sprig and settled with the Plantars," She swung the machete, trying to hit a vulnerable point in the carapace.

"Oh, yeah! I remember the story! Huh, I guess this means we are close to Wartwood." The ranger kept shooting rocks. They did little but kept the predator from focusing on the other two humans. "What happened to the other one?"

"It attacked Mr. X and the government people when I came back to Amphibia. I think he had it dissected or something."

"As entertaining as this talk is, can we focus on killing this thing!?" The blonde screamed while hacking at their attacker.

"Sorry!"

The trio ran circles around the giant beast, never in a single place for long. Sasha and Anne were at the forefront, deflecting forearms, attacking legs, and looking for an opening to deliver a killing blow. Meanwhile, Marcy stayed at a distance providing support via sharp and precise rock-slinging.

Ten years ago, they may have struggled due to their age and limited training, unknowingly depending on their powers. Even now, it was not an easy fight. The relative safety of Earth dulled their previous mastery, and the old training was left unused and only kept alive for the sake of reliving old memories.

But now, they were in the prime of their lives, the decade-old knowledge never left, their bodies still remembered the moves and postures, and most importantly, they were together, a rare boon during the last visit.

The single red mantis, while not easy, wasn't proving itself as big of a challenge to them, slowly being driven back.

But alas.

"~Girls!~"

The warning was fortunately on time, the humans getting out of the way of a second mantis that appeared from the jungle.

"Argh! Seriously?!" Sasha yelled.

"No, wait, this is good!" Marcy reassured her friend.

"How?"

"Mantises are highly territorial," Anne explained. Herpetology might be another field, but she knew her insects, "now we can slip away-"

It was sudden and painful.

Sasha felt her scars, from the back and cheek, sting and burn.

Marcy felt a headache, like hundreds of voices cried out a warning.

The Guardian's fur stood on end, the celestial being hissing like an actual cat.

And Anne felt it worse, a cold grip on her chest as if a hand tore through her abdomen to rip her heart out.

Both mantises stalked the group, almost ignoring each other, their purple eyes shining in an unnatural tricolor glow.

The words left Anne and the Guardians' mouths immediately.

"~Run!~"/ "Run!"

No more had to be said. Backpack abandoned, the group ran as fast as their legs could carry them, the mantises in hot pursuit with only the thick foliage preventing them from using their wings.

They could hear them try to cut their way with their bladed forelegs, trees falling to their onslaught, another clue something wasn't right. The mantis was a powerful creature. Certainly. But not enough to fell a tree.

The group ran, snaking their way through the jungle. Fortunately, the blind attacks of their pursuers hindered them more than they helped them catch their would-be prey.

Allowing another bout of good fortune to strike,

"Guys! Follow me!" Anne had managed to discern something in the distance. An old dead tree with a small cave underneath, her first shelter when coming to Amphibia. "We can hide there!"

The other two, plus the cat, followed without questions, almost crashing into each other once in the relative safety of the small cave.

For a nerve-racking moment, they waited, holding their breath as the sounds of blind destruction and loud skittering of bug legs sounded. The mantises ironically too focused on the pursuit to properly look for their prey. Like mad beasts.

Eventually, the sounds pittered out, letting the group take in their hiding place.

The cave was damp with moisture from the frequent rains getting caught on the roots, moss, and mushrooms that grew inside. Insects of the smaller kind ran around the rocks on the ground, and the walls were slightly cold; on one of the walls, the faded words "ANNE WUZ HERE" were written.

Anne herself turned to a corner of her first shelter. There a rock covered with moss and a crudely drawn face stood.

"Thanks for watching the fort, Rocky." Anne broke the silence, "Still don't like the hair."

"That's a rock Anne," Sasha said, regaining her breath after the escape.

"Exactly how long were you alone before settling with the Plantars?" Marcy questioned, a slightly worried look on her face.

"Just a few weeks. Why?"

"That's not generally a good sign," Sasha explained. "But I guess we can worry about that later."

"Yeah. There is a more important question, right?"

The three snapped their heads toward the cat.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!"

"What was that feeling?"

"What happened with the mantises?"

"Did you hiss like an actual cat?"

"~Girls, girls. Please, one at a time. Breathe.~"

The trio took a moment to calm themselves again.

"~Alright. So, I have good news and bad news.~"

"What's the good news? We kinda need them right now." Asked Anne.

"~Well, the good news is that the powers of the stones seem to be returning to each of you with no issues and faster than I anticipated. In fact, you seemed to have developed a sixth sense related to their energy. Which relates to the bad news.~"

"Which are?" Sasha all but growled.

"~The original Anne is already after us. But that was to be expected. The unexpected, and what I did not anticipate, was her power starting to leak into the mortal plain.~"

"Leak?" Marcy had her sketchbook out, taking note of all the feline said.

"~Well, I hope it is a leak.~"  The cat looked troubled,  "~The alternative would be a problem for us.~"

"What do you mean?"

"~Deities make their presence known in the mortal world in many different ways. Too many to count, but for convenience's sake, we can divide them into three types: 'Divine Inspiration,' Embodiment/Incarnation, and physical manifestation.~"

The cat started pacing around the limited space of the cave.

"The last thing is what we want to avoid, right?"

"~Yes, that is the complete manifestation of a deity or a being of greater power, as I told you, that would twist reality itself, like a singularity. Embodiment or Incarnation is manifesting through a vessel of some kind. Statues, for example.~"

The Guardian finally stopped its pacing, sitting in front of the women.

"~'Divine Inspiration' is the lowest level of manifestation and quite self-explicatory. It is when we give ideas or strength to an individual.~"

"And that is what happened with the Mantises," Marcy concluded. "Their sudden cooperation and increase in strength."

"~Exactly. The sensation you all felt was, most certainly, related to the power of the Original Anne. Which on the bright side means we have a way of knowing when she'll come after us.~"  The animal lamely finished.

"So, if I understand this correctly, that Other Anne can basically send assassins after us, either on purpose or by accident?" Sasha summed up.

"~Kinda.~"

"Uugghh!" The blonde collapsed against the wall of their shelter, uncaring of the humidity. "Now what?"

"Well, I have some good news," Anne said, "since this was my first shelter, I know exactly how to get to Wartwood from here!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah!" Taking a quick look to confirm they were safe, Anne stepped out of the cave, Sasha, Marcy, and The Guardian behind her, and pointed in the direction of Wartwood, "It's down that..." which, turns out, was where the trail of destruction made by the mantises headed, "way."

The group stood still as the implication settled. And their reaction was mixed.

"~Well, that's not good.~"  Was the understated response of the cat.

The trio had some different, more severe words in mind:

"Oh, fuck me with a wire brush."

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Hopediah "Hop Pop" Plantar watched over the main square of Wartwood with fond eyes.

It was amazing how much could change in ten years, yet his hometown did not seem to change at its very soul.

Toadie has been going strong as Mayor, even with the changes to the election system. He and Toadstool still do some embezzling schemes now and then, but it's rarer than a decade ago. The town still doesn't know who is the bad influence on whom.

The Sundews still have the best tea house in Wartwood, and now they get more varied clientele from outside the valley, but the adventure bug never left little Ivy. By this point, She and Sprig have explored Amphibia almost entirely. And a good chunk of the new continent beyond its shores too. If not for her family, she probably would not settle anywhere.

Mr. Flour's bakery had seen little change, which to Hop Pop is a comfort. It would be wrong if everything changed after all. But Maddie has grown as a magic practitioner in these years, bringing back the old practice. Many folks in town benefit from her potions, Hopediah himself included. Mrs. Croaker is a frequent customer and might outlive Hop Pop if things keep going as they are. The triplets are doing the part of assistants (or minions, depending on who you ask), and they cause as much trouble as always.

Stumpy's still serves Thai-inspired food to the delight of everyone. Hopediah even got himself a good deal to give him ingredients from the farm, including his highly valuable, actually prize-winning, California Avocado.

Best profit in years.

And on the subject of his family.

Polly blazed through and graduated from the New Newtopia's University with honors, and she's dead-set on bringing back the half-remembered technology of the Golden Age. Frobo's simply happy to help her and help the farm. Now if only she'd stop saying she'll conquer the world, her old grandfather could finally relax.

Bessie and Micro-Angelo keep serving the family faithfully though he has to admit the snirds, snail birds, born courtesy of the Plantar's family snail, and Joe Sparrow, who seems to have decided to stay with them, are an odd addition to Wartwood life, but everyone got used to them.

Sprig has grown into a strong, brave, and wise young frog, and with Ivy, Polly, and sometimes Maddie at his side, he has lived many adventures that are sure to become the stuff of legend, yet he never forgot his roots. Hop Pop couldn't be prouder.

Coming back to the present reminded Hop Pop of the most significant change as he amphibian-watched. Precisely that: he is not frog-watching but amphibian-watching. Newts, Toads, and other amphibians had made their way to their little village after all that debacle with the war.

Originally just Grime, Lady Olivia, and Yunan, now the town has many different amphibians coexisting like a proper community. He knows the damage done by the caste system hasn't disappeared completely (boy, did they learn that the hard way ten years ago), but they're getting there.

The new additions to town adapt quickly to Wartwood and often bring something new themselves.

Anyway, right now, Hop Pop is taking part in his favorite past-time of the last ten years: waiting for a new traveler to come into town and watch the statue of the remaining member of his family.

His adopted Granddaughter Anne Boonchuy.

It was admittedly a way to stave off the feeling of longing, but after a few times when he explained who she was to those who didn't know or recalled old memories with those who did, it became a routine he enjoyed immensely.

Save for those nutjobs who called her a goddess and tried starting a cult around her. The less he sees of them, the better.

Anyway, Hop Pop is lazily waiting, enjoying both: the changes in his little town and the things that stayed the same.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Like the local vagrant and weirdo "One-Eyed" Wally Ribbiton. The only nutjob Hop Pop tolerates. Who just ran into town with what's likely another story of some horrifying monster trying to eat him already at his tongue.

"Oh, how nostalgic."

"DEATH BE UPON US! RUN, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

"Wally! What in frog's name got you screaming now?"

It doesn't take much for a crowd to gather in Wartwood, yet another unchangeable fact. Hop Pop could see many familiar faces. Even Lady Olivia was amongst the multitude, and Toadie was in the front, trying to keep the people under control.

"I was walking through the forest for me own reasons when I witnessed two giant mantises in the distance. Their legs were red like blood, and their eyes shone with malevolent colors. I saw them barreling their way, right this way here to our town. Felling trees left and right like beasts out of the worsts of our nightmares! Barely managed to escape with my life and reach here before they did!"

"Uh-huh. And those mantises are where right now?"

"Last I saw them, they be running towards us, so they should be," Two giant mantises burst through one of the houses in the square, their cries like bloodthirsty thunder. "Right behind me. Huh, they were faster than I thought."

One last thing that doesn't change about Wartwood?

"RUN!"

Panic spreads easily and fast.

Struggling against his old bones, Hop Pop stood up as fast as he could. But he isn't going to run away. He isn't staying either; he is not crazy. 

"I'm going to look for help!"

"Stop right there, foul creatures!"

"Huh, I didn't have to look far."

"Turn around and return to whence you came from or face the wrath of Former General Yunan! Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, Aaaaaand sworn protector of Wartw-" The mantises attacked before she could finish her introduction, swiping at her and forcing her to move. "Oh, come on! I've been unable to finish my intro since the war! Now you'll really pay!"

Agile and fast, Yunan attacked the mantises like a rabid animal. She might no longer wear her full armor, but the clawed gauntlets always stayed with her.

Leaping into the air Yunan poised a claw to strike the eye of the insect closer to her.

A hissing-like sound caught her attention, allowing her to see the other mantis taking flight straight toward her.

"Ugh!" Blocking with the gauntlets, the warrior newt was grounded, forced to move again as her original target capitalized on her.

"They're coordinated?"

Hop Pop watched from the sidelines, entranced like many other villagers at seeing the ex-general fight. Lady Olivia is probably worried sick watching. And with good reason. He could read the current situation perfectly.

Yunan needs support.

"Hold on, Yunan! I'll look for reinforcements!"

"RAAAAAGGGGHHH!"

As the saying goes: ask, and you shall receive.

"Huh? Again?"

A gruff and rough toad jumped from the blind spot of one of the predators, graving hold of its mandible with a single hand. They swung using their weight, slamming down the head against the ground.

"Ahahaha! How shameless of you, Yunan. To leave me out of such a good fight!" Ex-captain Grime yelled as he pulled out the heron sword at his hip.

"You're just late to the party, Grime!" The newt yelled back as she made some distance from the other insect. "In all seriousness, watch out. There is something wrong with these beasts."

"What do you mean?"

"One saved the other from my attack, and the first immediately followed up; they can think."

"Bah! Even so. Now that I'm here, there's no reason to worry!"

"Umm, excuse you. I had this covered."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say."

"GUYS!" Hop Pop interrupted. They didn't have time for this, "The mantises!"

"No need to worry, Hopediah. With both Yunan and I, these insects have no chance!"

As if to prove him wrong, the predators spread their wings and took off into the air, circling the warrior pair.

"...huh. OK, I'll admit that complicates things."

The beasts took turns divebombing the amphibian pair, always in a way that left either or both open for a follow-up attack by the other arthropod.

Grime and Yunan held their ground to the best of their ability, but flying opponents are a difficult challenge.

"Frogdammit! There really is something weird with these things! We need anti-air support or a way to ground them!" The former Toad Lord screamed.

"I know who can help! Just hold on!" For the third time, the old Plantar prepared to leave looking for help, specifically his grandchildren.

"Hop Pop! What's happening?"

"Yeah! It's chaos out here!"

"Dang it! Three false starts!" Hop Pop couldn't help but complain.

Sprig and Polly Plantar, accompanied by Frobo, arrived almost as soon as their grandfather turned around to look for them. He also noticed Sprig had brought something with him.

"Sprig, why do you have Tritonio's sword?"

"I was looking at it when I heard the commotion. I guess I brought it without thinking."

"Plantars!" The discussion was put on hold when the ex-general called them. "There's no time to explain! These mantises are far stronger than they should be, and they are coordinating their efforts. Help us ground them so we can tear their heads off already!" The newt yelled.

"I'm pretty sure that counts as an explanation, but we're on it!"

"Frobo! Attack Mode!"

[ROGER!]

"Wait, Polly! I have a better idea."

Hop Pop explained quickly to his family, and they got into action. Sprig using his ever-trusty slingshot, fired mudballs at the mantises to get their attention.

"Time to teach these insects their place in the food chain."

In perfect coordination, the family started a dance known to sway the minds of any being that watches it: The Plantar Hunting Dance.

No known being has proven itself immune to it, save for those with high sapience. It is a surefire way to control rampaging beats. It would give their allies a clear shot to finally down the animals.

[WATCH OUT!]

Frobo moved fast courtesy of its thrusters, pushing the entire family out of the way of what would have been a killing strike.

"Whoa."

"What the frog?!"

"Ghaa!"

The foreleg stabbed the ground and sunk deeply into it, a testament to the strength behind the blow, leaving the family gaping at what could have been their end.

"The hunting ritual didn't work?" Sprig said, stunned.

"Worry about it later, dork! Frobo, move it!"

The robot obeyed and moved the family out of the way of another swipe. At the very least, they managed to distract one of the mantises.

"Gah! What in the name of the old kings is happening!?" Yunan cried as she tried to keep her head on. "No mantis is this strong!"

"Focus! If we can't kill these things, we must at least drive them back!" Grime wasn't holding out better. Even with the two working together (admittedly still a high order, even after ten years), the mantis showed no sign of weakening.

If anything, they seemed to be growing in strength.

"And how do you suggest we do that?!" Polly screamed from the back of Frobo as he carried the Plantars away from the pursuing mantis.

"Well, aren't you frogs the ones who come up with plans?!"

"Since when?!"

"I don't know!"

"Grime!"

Distracted by the argument, Grime could not react in time to evade the blow of the mantis, Yunan jumped to try and intercept. The result was both of them being blown back by the foreleg strike.

"Grime! Yunan!"

"YUNAN!"

Sprig and a voice from the cowering crowd surrounding the fight screamed together. Lady Olivia broke off from the multitude to kneel beside the other newt.

"Lady Olivia! Don't-!" The warning got cut short as the second mantis finally caught up with the flying robot. The Plantars went flying by the sudden stop, and Frobo got caught in the raptorial legs of the insect.

"Frobo!" Polly tried to stand to help her friend, stumbling from the crash.

"Polly!" Sprig and Hop Pop stood after her. Whether to protect her or to save Frobo, they couldn't tell. From the corner of his eyes, Sprig could see the other mantis getting close to the prone Yunan, Grime, and the fussing Olivia.

And something else.

Before anyone in the town or the insects themselves could react, two green-tinted blurs shot out from the ruins of the house the mantises came through, and with them, three voices cried loudly:

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

The blurs (rocks Sprig realized) impacted hard against the predators. The mantis looming over the newts, and the toad, was hit in one of its compound eyes, bursting it. The other hit with pinpoint accuracy the trochanter of one of the legs holding Frobo, letting the robot free, the limb barely staying connected.

All the amphibians lost little time backing away from their would-be executioners, turning to where the rocks came from, and all of them together wondered if this was not a dream.

Three creatures with large heads, a weird, stubby bump in the middle of their face, and long spindly limbs. With hair colored brown, yellow, and black.

There were differences, of course. They were bigger both in height and proportions, with the effects of age clear in their body, but still, the creatures looked as if taken straight out of the memories of all present.

Anne, Sasha, and Marcy were back in Amphibia.

The former ranger, eyes shining with a visible green glow, shot another hail of rocks at the insects with what looked like an improvised sling. The other two women advanced immediately to capitalize on the attack.

Sasha went towards the mantis that was fighting Grime and Yunan. Moving faster than anyone remembered her moving and leaving a red light trail as she ran, she closed the distance quickly and jumped towards it. Half blind from the busted eye and reeling from Marcy's second barrage, it couldn't defend itself from the long, thick knife the blonde embedded in its head. The animal thrashed, the last embers of life keeping it moving for longer than anything with its head pierced should, but it collapsed eventually, dead.

Anne, if anything, was faster in reaching the predator besieging her family. The blue glow in her eyes was more pronounced than the other two as she swung a machete toward the insect.

The creature managed to defend itself, its compound eyes shining with a faint but increasing tri-color glow, parrying the blow, or at least trying. Both the foreleg and the machete shattered with the impact, the insect screaming in pain while Anne stumbled from her momentum.

Insect and human both regained their footing and prepared to continue the fight. Except one was unarmed now.

Like waking up from a trance, Sprig tried to stand up and help, but a tug from the sword strap he'd still been carrying made him stumble, reminding him of its existence. Eyes widening, he took action.

"Anne!" unslinging it from his back, Sprig threw it with all his might toward his best friend and adoptive sister. "Catch!"

His old friend/sister reacted quickly, swiftly catching and drawing the sword from its sheath.

Taking a fighting stance, as if the last time she held a proper sword was yesterday instead of years ago, Anne readied to end the threat to her family and her new and future life.

The blade of Tritonio's Sword glowed blue.

The mantis roared.

Both human and animal moved. The remaining foreleg rose to strike at Anne, but she paid it no mind. Dodging with ease, she swung towards the abdomen of her giant opponent, the blade sinking into the chitin, cutting through flesh, and coming out the other side, all faster than anyone but the other two champions of the stones could see.

The powered-up beast fell cut in half. Anne swept the blade to shake off blood and gore and exhaled deeply.

Everything was quiet as Sasha and Marcy walked sluggishly to Anne. All three of them seemed exhausted.

Finally, after too long without anyone saying anything, Sprig stepped forward and asked what everyone was wondering.

"Anne? Is it-is it really you?"

The woman turned to the little frog, her exhaustion forgotten, a smile on her face and a soft look in her eyes.

"Hey, Sprig. Long time no see. I've missed you a lot, buddy."

Tears stinging his eyes, Sprig was about to run and hug his long-lost friend.

"~Wow! That was an impressive showing, especially considering you're getting reacquainted with long-unused powers, and two of you scarcely used them in the first place. I believe we are on a good track. Great work, girls!~"

Only to be interrupted by what appeared to be Domino, Talking.

"~Oh, you must be the Plantars! It is a pleasure to meet you.~"  The cat did what appeared to be a curtsy.  "~We have much to discuss.~"

Every amphibian present boggled at the feline. Finally, Polly expressed what was on everyone's mind.

"What the flip is going on?!"

Chapter Text

There were a lot of thoughts on the minds of all the Wartwood villagers.

Surviving a giant insect attack was nothing new, just life as always in Amphibia.

Seeing the insects killed and taking the remains for a barbecue was not new either. Especially after a former toad captain and a former newt general moved in; heck, they even managed to get rid of the centipede that destroyed the school (the building is still rubble, though).

But seeing a trio of weird lanky creatures do the deed. That was a new sight, or rather, a sight not seen since ten years ago.

Their friends. Their family. Their saviors: Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, were back. That was a lot to take in.

The talking cat was weird too.

Everyone wanted nothing more than to ask the whys and hows of their return, but the trio looked tired after taking down the mantises.

"~We're more than willing to tell you everything, but after so long without using their powers, the girls will need rest. After that, we'll talk.~"

Or, so had said the cat. So with nothing really left to do, the villagers let the three (now full-grown women apparently) rest in the mayor's residence while they readied a welcome-back party.

Their return was something to celebrate, after all. Circumstances be damned.

"Sprig! Stop pacing and come help us already!"

That didn't stop some people from worrying.

"But Hop Pop, what if they wake up and get sent back to earth? Or if they get confused by the new layout of Toadie's manor and get lost? Or if they suddenly lose their memories? Or-"

"Alright! We get it! You're worried. Shut up already, you dunce!"

"Polly! There is no reason for name-calling."

"What? You know he's catastrophizing too, Hop Pop."

"In that, you're right. Sprig, I know you're worried, you want to know how the girls returned and see Anne again, but you'll tire yourself out. All that worrying won't help either you or them. Better come help the rest of us with the party so we can properly welcome the three back to Amphibia."

"But Hop Pop! It's been ten years! What if she doesn't remember me or she forgot about our adventures? Polly almost doesn't remember her!"

"Hey, that's not fair! I was five back then! Besides, she recognized you and said she missed you."

"W-well yeah, but..." The pink frog looked down, "What if she's changed? What if she is a different Anne from back then? What if we're not as good friends anymore?"

"Sprig." Hop Pop put a hand on his grandson's shoulder, squeezing lightly and noticing the slight musculature years of adventures and farm work (mainly farm work if you ask him) gave him. He's grown so much and yet was still so young. "The bond between you two is stronger than time and distance. She could never forget you, or the friendship you shared, just like you never forgot her. And even if she did change somehow, that doesn't mean the girl who touched our lives ten years ago isn't there anymore; Just like deep down, you are the same troublemaker you've always been." The old frog smiled before returning the conversation to a more serious subject.

"Now, I don't know why the girls are back, but the talking cat makes me think it might not be something good, so we need to be ready to support them, and you need a clear head for that. Think you can do that, kid?"

Sprig hesitated but looked back up at Hop Pop with a little smile. "Yes, I think I can Hop Pop, but I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Haha! You'll always be a kid to me, Sprig." The old Plantar ruffled Sprig's hat and hair lightheartedly.

"Ugh, enough with this mushy stuff. Can you come and help already? Frobo can't do the work of the entire family. Well, he can, but I don't want him to." The youngest interrupted.

"Yeah. Sorry, Polly. I'm ready to go!"

"That's good because we want to see how much Wartwood has changed over the years." Another voice interrupted the family. 

The farmers turned to see all three girls standing under the portal of the mansion's entrance, all of them with smiles on their faces.

"Anne!" Not a second later (despite the previous talk), with tears in his eyes, Sprig jumped straight towards his returned friend, who barely caught him. "Anne, I missed you so much!"

"Sprig!" Anne felt tears forming in her eyes, "I missed you too, dude. I missed you, HP, Polly, Bessie, and Frobo. I missed all of you. So, so much."

"So did we, if you care," Sasha interjected.

"Let them have their moment, Sashy." Marcy jokingly chastised, "Because we know you and Grime will be worse."

"Hey!"

"Well. I, for one, am glad all three of you are here." Hopediah said, "Also, Anne, don't call me HP."

"Sure thing, HP."

"Hrmm."

"Yo! When did you guys wake up?" Polly asked.

"Like about ten minutes ago-POLLY! You've grown so much!" Marcy had started before being sidetracked by the youngest member of the family's appearance.

"Hehe, yep! No more marble Polly. I'm grown, strong, and ready to kick butt!"

"And looking good doing it. When did you grow hair?" Sasha wondered.

"The first hair grew, literally, the exact second you all left." The pink menace's grandfather related, with some nostalgia in his voice.

"What?! Oh, come on! We missed that by so little!" Marcy cried.

"Oh, sweet frog, we probably missed a lot," Anne added.

"Don't worry. We can tell you about the adventures and everything else that happened while you were gone! Like how we rebuilt Newtopia or how we restored the land. Oh, oh! You don't know about the new continent! We discovered a new continent! And  I  explored it! There's so much to talk about!" Sprig rambled excitedly.

"Can't wait to hear it, but I think you mentioned a party?"

"Yes! The villagers are preparing it to welcome you back!"

"And  you  are supposed to be helping," Polly grumbled to her brother.

"But-"

"It's okay, dude. I want to see what you can do. Besides, I still need to shake off the sleep anyway."

"Come on, lame-o. You waited ten years already. You can wait a few more hours." And so said, the little sister dragged her big brother off under the amused eyes of the human trio.

"And what about you, Hop Pop? You're not going to help?" Marcy asked the old frog.

"I don't have the energy for such heavy lifting anymore. Besides, someone has to do the part of a guide for the three of you for the moment. Are you okay? I remember those weird powers you three had, and they always took a lot out of Anne."

"Honestly, we could rest for a little longer," Sasha confessed.

"Yeah, Sasha and I never got a chance to acclimate to them," Marcy supplied, "and even Anne got tired."

"And I'm still a little tired; I hadn't used them for so long. They drained me more than I thought. I still woke up first, though."

"How did you get the powers back anyway? For that matter, how are you back?" The frog couldn't hold the question any longer.

"It's..."

Hopediah noticed the look in the eyes of the trio. His adopted granddaughter especially. And how her friend's eyes snapped to her for a moment before looking back at him.

"Something bad happened, didn't it?"

"It's complicated," Sasha uttered.

"The Guardian hasn't told you anything?" Marcy asked

"The who?"

"The talking cat that looks like Domino. He was with us." Anne clarified.

"Oh, the cat? He told us to let you rest and then just wandered around. I think it was near your statue last I saw him."

"Okay, we kinda need him so we can explain-my what?" Anne boggled.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

"I HAVE A STATUE?!"

"No need to scream, Anne. I don't want to go deaf just yet."

"Wow, this is really well made!" Marcy said as she scribbled in her notebook.

"Loggle's work; lost his muscles but not his talent. He got the thing done around nine months after you left."

"Lost his muscles? Whatever. I guess now all three of us got our own statues. Why were mine smaller, though? Meh, at least I had lots of them." Sasha mused.

"Yeah, we still have one in the house tunnels. I think. Grime might have taken it."

"This would be my second statue, I think, maybe? I don't remember." Anne remarked, "The other one as big as this burned down during the disaster of the Frog of the Year party."

"Mine probably crumbled down when Newtopia castle took off. If not in the following conflicts." Marcy said with a somewhat distant and sad look in her eyes.

"Marcy?"

"Sorry, I just-that memory stings a little. It was one of the genuine moments with-"

"Mar-mar, you don't have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable." The blonde immediately said.

"No, it's alright," Marcy reassured. "But I can't help wondering what happened to him."

"~If you mean the former king, he's wandering the lands.~"

The human trio and the old frog turned upwards towards the voice. The Guardian was resting on the stone box in the statue's hand.

"What are you doing up there?"

"~I wanted somewhere to look over the village while you rested. You asked me to be alert, and I will be. This statue is the highest point with the best visibility. Plus, I never got to see the famous box in person, and this stone copy is the closest I'll get to that.~"

"Wait, back up. Andrias is still alive?" Sasha asked, her voice tense.

"So it seems." Hop Pop interjected, seemingly as perplexed as the girls. "Honestly, we don't know what became of him either."

"What do you mean?"

"When all was said and done, the people decided that his sentence would be to restore the environment after the damage caused by all the machines before and during the war. Once it recovered, we left Andrias to his own devices since he couldn't do anything to hurt anyone anymore, but no one's seen him since. I'm as surprised as you are to know he's still alive. " Hop Pop explained.

"But you didn't lock him up? After everything he did?"

"As I said, he can't do anything to anyone anymore, Sasha. Trust me. It is a little hard to explain why, though. You'd have to see him to understand what I mean. If we ever find him again."

"Huh." The three women mused the information.

"~Leaving that aside, how are the three of you doing? After the first time you've used your powers in a decade, I mean.~"  The Guardian redirected the conversation.

" Drained ." They groaned together.

"I don't remember them being that hard on me," Anne added.

"~Well, of course.~"  The deity started explaining.  "~Anne, when you accessed your powers, it was only a fraction. And when the three of you accessed the total, boundless energy of the stones, it was only for a few minutes. Despite your experience, you never used them or had time to acclimate to what you could do.~"

"W-wait, exactly how much power would we have had? How much  do  we have?" Marcy had taken out her notebook, but her notetaking was stilted and slow.

"~I mentioned it to Anne once.  Unlimited power .~"  Their voice echoed in the plaza, the implications slowly sinking into the humans and the old frog present.  "~Or at least a third of unlimited power each.~"

"That's still-" Marcy moved to correct but thought better.

"And the royal family used it to power machines? Hoowee, talk about short-sighted." Hopediah commented. "Then again, I don't think anyone would know what to do with all that power. Umm, is it okay for me to hear all this?"

"~I see no problem with it. Since you are important to Anne and the girls, you and everyone else deserve to know. Especially regarding what we'll be facing.~"

"Oh, yeah! We wanted to ask about that. Why and how are you girls back? We are happy about it, sure. But something tells me it is not anything good."

"~It isn't. The situation is-"

"HOW ABOUT WE WAIT!?" Anne's scream was as abrupt as it was loud. "I mean. Wouldn't it be better to tell everyone together so we don't repeat ourselves more than necessary?"

"Yeah, it saves us a lot of trouble." Sasha concurred.

"It is more efficient," Marcy finished.

"~Hmm, I guess you are right.~"

"Well, then we'll wait until your welcome back party."

"~Very well. It makes no difference when you find out. By the way, we ought to recover your backpack from where we left it.~

"Oh, I'll gather some people to do that so the girls don't strain themselves. You three still need some rest, I believe, and then you'll be able to enjoy the party and some good ol' Plantar family food to replenish your energy."

The idea of eating Hop Pop's food again made Anne both happy and fearful for what was coming.

"I can't wait."

"I know you can't. Welp, I'm off to see if someone can get your backpack, maybe Soggy Joe."

"~Let me go with you. I know where the backpack is.~"

"Fine by me. You girls rest while we're gone."

"We will HP. Thanks for everything. It's," The brunette smiled, a pleasant smile straight from the heart, "It's great to be back."

"It's good to have you back." Giving a smile of his own, the old frog left. The Guardian followed him close behind. As the trio relaxed and sat at the foot of the statue, the smile slipped away from Anne's face, something her friends noticed.

And they knew the reason.

"We have to tell them."

Who said it; they didn't know. Maybe all three of them, but it didn't matter; they stayed silent in response.

The minutes passed by, the three women sitting under the stature, watching the villagers not currently helping with the coming party go about their days. Every few moments, one of the three would turn to the engraved "We miss you, girl!" on the statue's pedestal.

"I couldn't tell my mom. How am I going to tell the Plantars?"

"I think it would be best," Marcy offered, "to be honest and straightforward."

"But you've heard Sprig. He is so worried I changed. He is worried I'm different."

They told the family of frogs they'd been awake only a few minutes. In truth, Anne had woken up a full hour before what she said. Sasha and Marcy awoke thirty minutes later. It was enough time to listen to everything her adoptive family said.

"We're all different, Anne. That's what ten years do to you. But you are still you." The blonde reassured firmly. "At your core, you're still the same Anne the Plantars knew."

"Sash, you know that's not the issue."

"IT CAN'T BE ANYTHING ELSE BECAUSE YOU'RE-!"

The outburst startled everyone. A few frogs walking by gave them some concerned looks, but she quelled herself; the last thing they needed right now was unwanted attention to themselves.

"...Sorry," it was rare, even now, to see Sasha so subdued.

"It's okay." Anne tried to ignore the pit in her stomach from her friend's reaction, "It's just... The Guardian keeps calling it 'The Original Anne' and I..."

"You cannot let the Guardian or that... 'thing' get in your head, Boonchuy."

"You're the real you, Anna-Banana." Marcy took her friend's hand to reassure her. "We know that, and so will the Plantars and all of Wartwood. Besides, if we're honest, we don't have any hard evidence that other Anne the Guardian mentioned is what they say it is."

Seeing the still unsure look on her friend's face, the raven-haired woman decided on a different approach.

"Look, girls. Unfortunately, the other option would be not to tell them about it."

The look Anne gave her was pure befuddlement, "What?"

"Yeah, Marcy. What?" The blonde seemed just as confused.

"I mean, the only other option is to keep it a secret, and we all know we don't have the best track record on secret-keeping. If we try and keep the information to ourselves, there is no telling how our loved ones will react if and when they find out in any other way. We don't want to keep secrets like this anymore, do we?"

The other women shared a look among themselves. They remembered what keeping secrets did to them and their amphibian families. Thinking of keeping this to themselves, of not confiding with those who cared so much for them, weighed on their souls.

"It'll have to be when we're ready, but soon hopefully. And I think it'll be better if we tell only those closest to us, for the time being, at least." Anne declared finally.

"That won't be a fun talk."

"Nope."

The three sighed wearily.

"How do you think they'll take the news?"

"No idea. We can only hope it goes well."

"Hey, girls!" The trio looked up to see Sprig, full of energy and sheer, waving at them. "We finally got everything ready! Come on!"

"*Huff*, well," Anne stood up, Marcy and Sasha following close behind, "Let's see what happens."

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

"Citizens of Wartwood! Today, we celebrate an event we thought we'd never be able to! Today, we celebrate the return of our saviors and friends, our dearly beloved Anne, Sasha, and Marcy! Let us welcome them back with cheer and make sure they enjoy themselves to the fullest! Cheers!"

" Cheers! "

"Cheers."

The stars shined on the night sky, paper lanterns illuminated the swamp, music filled the event plaza, and amphibians danced, ate, and drank to their heart's content.

If there was something Wartowood villagers knew how to do, it was how to throw a party, a leftover from Toadstool's bread and circus management, not that any of them complained, but after so long, it did leave an impression on the three returned humans, and their divine companion.

"It is still a little hard to get used to the idea of Toadie as mayor," Anne muttered to her friends.

"I don't know. I always thought the little guy had potential. Remember the Marauder raid?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Well, he definitely seems like a better mayor than Toadstool," Marcy added.

"Do not let yourself be tricked, dear. Those two still try many money-making schemes. We're just wiser to them." Accompanying the trio at the table of honor were their amphibian families, overjoyed to reunite with them after so many years. Olivia and Yunan, in particular, were delighted to talk with Marcy again.

"You should have seen their plans for a 'Human Day.' Hah! Now that was a disaster and a half!" The retired general laughed loudly.

"But enough about them. How are you three doing? What have you done since you returned? Are you taking care of yourselves properly? I can see some bags under your eyes, Marcy. Are you getting proper sleep?"

"Uwaa, it's like being with my mom. Yes, Lady Olivia, I'm fine. But, thanks for your concern." A small smile painted itself in her mouth.

"Oh, I'm not a lady anymore, dear. Once we formed an official council to rule over Amphibia, I left my title and retired here."

"And I'm glad you did love, but those sad excuses of councilors in the capital still call every time the smallest of problems arises."

"OH, you have a new government! I forgot! How did that happen? It's a council, so how many members does it have? Is it composed of all manner of Amphibians? That would make sense since you'd want to avoid the centralized power structure of the previous caste system." The ravenette lost little time in questioning her old caretaker.

"Hehehe, I see Masha hasn't changed."

"Marcy, Grimesy. Even if it was a joke, could you please try to remember the names of my friends?"

"Ahahaha! My apologies, Lieutenant. In my defense, it's been ten years. I think you can forgive me for forgetting some names."

"Not on my watch, you old toad."

"Hey, I'm not that old yet!"

"Sure, sure."

"Ack, this is insubordination!"

"Oh, certainly. You can't talk like this to the rebellion's commander."

"Why you-! Pfft-Ahahahahaha! OH, how I missed you, you troublesome girl!" The gruff toad paused. "*sniff* I truly did miss you, Sasha."

"Oh no, don't you dare go all emotional on me now, Grime, or I'll, I'll-"

"BWAAAAHHHH!!!"

Both the toad and the human started crying.

"Ugh, Sasha and Grime are crying again."

"Leave them alone, Polly. They missed each other, and" The old frog threw a whimsy look at his grandson, who was clinging to Anne's arm like a tick to a vein. "It's not like we are different."

"Sprig, I missed you too, dude, but could you let me eat? I also missed Amphibia's food, you know?"

"Sorry, sorry. It's just-I still can't believe you are here! All of you!"

"*sniff* It's okay squeaky toy. We know who you really care about."

"Sasha, don't start with the nicknames."

"No, no, it's alright! Holy frog, I can't believe I even missed those nicknames. And I'm serious: I did miss all of you." Sprig paused and let out a sobbing hiccup, "I-I missed you all so much! So, so much!"

"Sprig."

"F-For years, I thought I'd never see you again. D-during my explorations in the new continent, I always hoped I'd find some clue that we could open a portal again, but I never found anything."

By now, the other guests at the table turned towards the frog, intently listening as he poured out his heart.

"I know I'd always have my memories of you, your cell phone, and all the junk you left in our basement." No one could help but chuckle at the comment, "But I always wished we could reunite again."

Anne looked at Sprig: time had obviously been good to him; he was taller, his hair longer, and broader with muscle from years of adventuring and farmwork.

But at that moment, Anne saw the little frog kid who, ten years ago, shared kindness and friendship with her.

"Sprig, I missed you too. I, no, the three of us," Anne, the start of tears in her eyes turned to Sasha and Marcy, who smiled gently at her, "also wished so many times that we could return. There is so much we wanted to talk with you about, so many experiences we wanted to share."

She paused a moment before continuing.

"I gotta be honest; there is a reason we came back, an important reason. A reason I wish I wouldn't have to deal with. But I'm glad I came back, and I want you to know if we could have found any way to return before. Hell! Any way to at least communicate with you, we would have taken it immediately."

"I know, Anne. I'm just glad to have you back."

Human and frog shared a tight heartfelt hug, shortly joined by the others.

"~Now that you've brought it up. I do believe it is time to talk about why you are back.~"

Only to be interrupted by the last guest at the table of honor. The tuxedo cat was sitting on the far end, on top of the table, as opposed to a chair like everyone else, and was enjoying a plate of fresh fish.

"Can't you see we're having a moment here!" Polly and Sasha yelled.

"~I understand that, but we need to address it sooner rather than later.~"  The Guardian gave the best solemn face his feline features could make,  "~I say this for the good of everyone.~"

Anne answered with a pleading one, unshed tears clinging to her eyes. "We know, Guardian-"

"We need to find another way to call you. Saying Guardian all the time is getting old." Marcy muttered.

"But we've barely reunited after a full decade. We need some time to appreciate this before we bring up heavier news. We only need a few more hours. Please."

"~...Anne.~"

"There is another reason." Sasha interrupted the cat before they could start sermonizing. "We've all been receiving an onslaught of news of serious nature, one after the other." The psychiatrist had a professional face on, way different from the annoyance she used to look at the deity with.

"It's barely been two days since you reached Anne-holy fuck! It's only been two days." The blonde cursed aside before continuing her speech. "Ahem, sorry. It's only been two days. We need time to decompress. Otherwise, we and our friends. Our families. Will suffer under severe stress. Stress that will compromise us and the mission you're pushing onto us. We must be at the top of our game, especially given what we'll face."

With a steely gaze, Sasha concluded.

"And you better than anyone know what is at risk should we fail."

No one spoke. Everyone looked between the blonde therapist to the deity in feline form and back.

"~*sigh* very well. There is logic in what you say, Sasha. We can wait for a little longer. But we have to tell them soon.~"

"And we will. We only want to enjoy this."

So said the Guardian returned to his meal, resembling an ordinary cat. Everyone else at the table had to take a moment after that exchange. Eventually, Hopediah took it upon himself to break the tense atmosphere.

"Ahem, so Anne? Did you ever get yourself a boyfriend in these last ten years?"

His answer was a kick that knocked him out of his chair with a scream, the laughter of friends and family, and, unnoticed to the amphibians (and even themselves), a fierce glare from Sasha and Marcy.

Festive mood restored, the reunited families talked and laughed throughout the night, all under the watchful and intrigued eye of a deity and the glow of the stars.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Hours later, the party finally started to die down. Most of the villagers returned home. The amphibians who knew the girls stayed longer, but after some time, they said their goodbyes, leaving only the girls and their families to enjoy what remained of the night.

Olivia and Yunan were regaling Marcy with all the information the young writer-artist could want, including the tale of their courtship, exchanging embarrassing anecdotes from that part of their lives. Marcy shared anecdotes of her own. Talking of the life she made for herself after moving out; and the stories she created for others to enjoy.

Grime had convinced Sasha to listen to his tales of adventure in guarding Sprig and Polly during  their  misadventures. Sasha, in turn, talked about the changes in her life and her newfound purpose in helping the young; this eventually led the old toad to start teasing and prodding his former Lieutenant about her combat skills, wondering if they were still sharp. Anne has no doubt he'll regret that.

Anne herself listened as Sprig and Polly rambled on and on about their exploration of the new continent, the adventures and near-death experiences they lived through. She spoke to them about her herpetology vocation and some of her adventures when she went exploring looking for amphibians. But the pair of siblings dominated the conversation, not that she minded. Hop Pop piped in with simpler tales of creating a farming monopoly with Californian avocados (which Anne didn't know he somehow got ahold of), though the old frog contented himself on listening to his grandchildren speak when he wasn't dozing off.

"-and then Polly actually orders Frobo to fly into the Komodo's mouth!"

"No way."

"Yes, way! We could take it. And I thought: if they're going to eat us, it might as well be on our terms."

"What happened then?"

"Remember the water snake?"

"The one from my first days here? Yeah."

"I had prepared a bag filled with Hop Pop's Pain Peppers for our travels to eat ourselves."

"So I took it out of this lame-o's pouch and threw it in, then Frobo shot a sticky round, so it stuck on the overgrown lizard's tongue."

"Oh, I see where this is going."

"You'd think so, right? But no. When the komodo tasted the peppers, it stopped dead on its track (giving us time to get out of his mouth) and, get this, gives a cheerful yum."

"...What?"

"Yup, as it turns out, the peppers so hot they make you wish you were dead are like candy for the giant fire-breathing reptiles."

"So then, what happened after?"

"We made a deal with the komodos, we give them pain peppers, and they'll let us through their territory and protect our settlements. Everyone wins!"

"Alright!" Hop Pop clapped his hands to call attention to himself, "I think that's enough celebration for today."

"Aww, but Hop Pop!"

"No buts, it is getting late, and we all have things to do tomorrow. Also, we need to do something about where the girls will stay."

"Fiiiiineee." Sprig moaned, "Just let me show Anne one last thing before we go. Brb."

As the young-adult frog hopped away, apparently to retrieve something from his bag, Anne turned to the rest of her frog family.

"Some things don't change, huh?"

"Nope, Sprig's just as much of a brat as he was when you were here." Polly didn't miss a second to slander her brother.

"Now, you are no better, young lady. Neither now nor back then."

"Yes, but I'm adorable. Now and back then."

"I'm back!"

Sprig returned running, carrying with him a small bundle.

"Oh, it was that." Anne heard Polly mutter.

"Hmm? What is it?"

The frog just stepped closer and unwrapped the bundle, revealing a telescope with an engraved message.

"That's-"

"The telescope you gave me on my birthday. I kept it with me through all these years, and I, well. I wanted to show you I took good care of it."

"Oh, Sprig." Anne felt a deep warmth in her chest from seeing how much his best friend held her dear.

"I love this thing, you know! It helped me a lot during my adventures, and it feels like I see something new everything I look through it!" as if to demonstrate, he started looking through it and swinging his head around as if he received the gift that same day. "Like now! I never noticed those three stars until now!"

And like that, the warmth disappeared, replaced by a cold pit in her stomach and the same gripping feeling from when the mantises attacked them.

"...What stars?"

"Those three. There is a blue one, a green one, and a red one. Wow! They're really bright and oddly close together. They almost look like eyes."

"Sprig, let me see!"

Anne took the telescope and looked in the direction Sprig previously did, and just like his friend said, three stars burning bright were shining in the night sky. Anne could swear, on her life, they burned brighter when she looked at them. The pit became deeper and colder.

"Sasha! Marcy! Guardian!"

Her fellow humans stopped what they were doing and ran to her side immediately, a question on their lips. The amphibians all shared concerned looks with each other.

And the Guardian.

"~It seems we had less time than we thought.~"

They had no words of comfort.

"~Girls, it is time to tell them everything.~"

Chapter Text

The mood in the Plantar house was heavy. After the sudden yell of Anne and the Guardian's declaration of telling everything, the humans and feline rushed everyone impatiently to the farmers' house, citing a need for a "safe space to talk in."

That said. Right now, the four were in the kitchen arguing in hushed voices, apparently about how to tell them whatever was happening.

That was not a good sign.

Sprig fondled the telescope that started the emergency reunion, wondering what could have his best friend so worried.

"What do you think happened?" Apparently, he wasn't the only one with such thoughts, as Olivia voiced what they were probably all thinking.

"No idea, but it cannot be good. The last time I saw Sasha so worried was during the rebellion."

"Which one?" Yunan growled out, still somewhat sore from the toad rebellion. Though, there were hints of honest concern in her voice.

"The second one," Grime spoke with a subdued voice, not responding to the old grudge, a sign he was taking this as seriously as death itself.

"Hmm. That cat did leave the impression it was no good thing. I'm starting to wonder if that might be an understatement." Hop Pop said.

"Well, we've all already faced some real bad crises before. We can do it again, no problem! Right?" Polly tried to keep her bravado up, but she was clearly anxious. Frobo stayed close to her in silent reassurance.

"..."

"Sprig?"

"Huh? What? Oh, sorry. I was-" The pink frog looked at the telescope in his hands again. "Something's different. Anne looked worried. Afraid, more afraid than I remember seeing her ever. And we faced death more times than I bothered counting."

He looked back at the humans and the cat.

"I am worried for her."

"OKAY!"

As if summoned, Anne came back, the other three in tow.

"I know you all have questions, and we'll answer all of them, but first, we'll tell you the basic information."

She took a deep breath and started explaining.

"The Guardian, who I'm going to call 'Domino 3' from now on because Marcy is right, saying 'Guardian' all the time gets old, came to us two days ago. He was injured and told us there was a grave danger to the universe. And to me, too."

"To you?" Questioned Polly. "As in, to you specifically, Anne?"

Anne looked down as she answered, "Yes."

"Someone's after you?!" Sprig let the worry in his voice sound clear.

"Yes."

"Who?"

The wielder of the heart gem, savior of two worlds, and god candidate grabbed her right arm tightly as she gave the answer that would change the lives of all present.

"...Me."

There was silence in the house for a moment, finally broken by a combined " Huh? " of all the amphibians (and one robot).

"What in the name of a heron's beard does that mean?!" Yunan screamed.

"*sigh* To explain that we have to go back to the beginning of the end, to the day I used the stones to destroy The Core."

Anne told them everything: How, after dying from using the unlimited power of all three stones, she met Domino 3, who introduced themselves as The Tri-Gem Deity and The Guardian.

There, the Deity explained to her they were the creator of the stones and sent them to Amphibia as an experiment and test on its people.

And that after her sacrifice, Anne proved herself a perfect successor.

Anne told them how she rejected the offer, and the Guardian returned her to life, reborn in a perfect copy of her body, along with the stone shards she and the others used to come back, with the caveat that he would ask again when she dies naturally.

And then she mentioned how, unbeknownst to the God, another Anne was born from the remaining energy of the stones and the memories of her old body.

This other Anne grew stronger over the ten years since they left Amphibia, and she attacked Domino 3, stealing most of his power.

She had her sights set on Anne because she wanted to recover the life that (she believed) was rightfully hers.

Through all this, the amphibians remained silent, listening unbelieving to the tale.

After Anne finished, they remained silent for a long, pregnant pause.

"Wait, wait, wait! Shouldn't that other be the clone, then?" Polly, as always smarter than some gave her credit for, asked.

"That's what I asked." Marcy quipped.

"~As I told the girls: in mind, body, and soul, both she and the Anne here are Anne Boonchuy. The other one was 'born,' for lack of a better term, from the stones, so she would technically be the original.~"

"You didn't need to add that," Sasha growled.

"~If it makes you feel better, you could also say neither of them is the Anne you used to know.~"

"Why would that make us feel better?!"

"Let's return to what's important." Hopediah abruptly changed the subject. "That other, star Anne or whatever. What does she plan to do exactly?"

"~Take back her life, and to do that, she will come for both me and Anne. But fortunately, we have time before she does. She needs time before she learns how to manifest physically in our reality. The bad news is that she is learning fast. There are already signs of her influence here.~"

"The mantises." Grumbled Grime.

"Yeah," Anne confirmed. "I don't know how long we have until she can manifest physically. But when it happens, the whole universe will be in danger. And in the meantime, her powers will be causing problems."

"~If not full calamities.~"

The weight of the situation settled for a moment.

"What are we to do then?" Olivia asked calmly as the mask of the royal advisor slowly got back on her face the more she heard.

"More importantly, how do we deal with this other Anne?" Yunan was more eager in her question. The idea of fighting such a mighty opponent appealed to her.

"According to this fleabag." Sasha started. "He'll deal with her. But to do that, we need to occupy her, weaken her by facing her."

"And to do that, we need to master, or re-master, in my case, our calamity powers. It is the only way we stand a chance against her."

"I see. How can we help?" Hop Pop asked.

"~We need to reach New Newtopia, for starters. I was going to transport us there from the beginning, but~"  The cat shrunk on himself,  "...I got distracted."~

"New Newtopia? Why exactly?"

"Actually, I've been wondering that too," Marcy asked the cat. "Why do we need to go to Newtopia-"

"~New Newtopia.~"

"-for this."

"~I thought it made the most logical sense to go directly towards the seat of power.~"

"And?"

"~And what?~"

"Wait, that was it?!" Sasha called out. "You just wanted to go there because it's the capital?"

"Easy, Sasha." Anne tried to calm her friend. "But I have to agree with her. I don't know what we could find there that would help."

"If I may offer a suggestion?" The girls turned towards Olivia. "We may be able to find information on the stones. To better help you three grow and control them. The newts held the stones for longer than any other of the tribes. There may be some records of their capabilities and how to use them. Maybe even something that helps against the other Anne."

The women thought about it for a moment.

"I guess it's worth looking into it. I mean, former Captain Ernst and his fake cult did destroy much of the records, but only related to the prophecy. We might find something." Marcy reasoned.

"Besides, we need to warn them about the beasts." Grime added, "If what happened with the mantises happens again, Amphibia is in grave danger. Well, more than usual."

"And! We need to give you girls back your weapons!" Finished Yunan. "And Armor! You'll need it for your quest!"

"I guess."

"New Armor!"

"Oh, Hell yeah!"

"I see some things about you haven't changed." Hop Pop laughed. "I don't know about everyone else, but I think we better rest before doing anything else. It is getting late, and from the looks of things, we'll all have some long days ahead of us."

"Thank you all. I'm glad you took it so well. I honestly thought this would be harder." Anne relaxed as she saw her family and friends ready to face what was coming. Until she noticed some had remained quiet all this time. "Uh, Polly, Sprig? You okay there, dudes?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Yeah, I'm okay; this is a lot to process, that's all. I only need some time." Saying this, he stood up from the couch and headed toward the basement. "See you all tomorrow."

"Yeah, actually, I need some time, too," Polly added. "Need to overhaul Frobo for what's coming." The frog hopped up the stairs, Frobo lumbering close behind. "Good night."

"Good night, Polly. You too, Sprig!" Hop Pop called out to both his grandchildren. Turning to the last grandchild, he told her: "I know what you're thinking, but don't worry, Anne. As they said, this is a lot to process. Give them time."

"Right... Right." She felt the arms of Marcy and Sasha wrap around her. She appreciated that.

"Where are we sleeping?" Marcy asked.

"Oh, right! Felicia's is full right now, and Sprig took over the basement after you left Anne. So, if you don't mind, we can clean the Fwagon for you three. It might be a bit of a tight squeeze, though."

"That's alright with us."

"We were going to have a sleepover before all this anyway." Sasha joked. "Just like old times."

"Yeah. Just like old times." Anne said distractedly, her gaze fixed on the basement door.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Endless darkness.

That's the only thing Marcy sees.

"Hello? Anne? Sasha? Anyone? W-where am I?"

She doesn't understand. The last she remembers is going to sleep in the Fwagon, and then she's here. But where is it here?

And more importantly,

"Why does this feel so familiar?"

Having nothing better to do, Marcy wandered in an arbitrary direction, trying to see if she could find anything or anyone. All the while, the feeling of familiarity never left her.

"Have I been here before? But when?"

As she kept questioning the weird empty space, a voice reached her.

[SHE IS HERE.]

Or rather, many voices overlapped over each other.

"Who's there?" Marcy knew that voice. Something told her she knew it, and it was best to stay away from it, but nonetheless, she felt compelled to look for it in the darkness.

As she advanced towards where the voice seemed to originate, it started talking more.

[SHE WILL ACCEPT THE PROPOSAL.]

[SHE WON'T.]

Closer still, she walked. The voice, previously like a chorus, started distorting in different tones. It sounded like an argument. Whoever was talking was holding a debate with themselves.

[SHE HAS TO!]

[WE GAVE HER NO REASON TO!]

She got closer.

[BUT SHE MUST LISTEN!]

[ONLY WE HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE THEY NEED.]

[NO MATTER.]

[SHE IS SMARTER THAN US, MORE INTELLIGENT.]

[THE CHAMPION OF WIT, WITH THE POWER THAT COMES WITH THE TITLE. SHE HAS NO REASON TO LISTEN TO US. SHE DOESN'T NEED US.]

A figure was growing distinctive in the void, sitting with their knees up.

[SHE WILL BE AT RISK.]

[AMPHIBIA. THE UNIVERSE. WILL BE AT RISK. SHE HAS NO CHOICE.]

[AND SHE MAY YET REFUSE.]

[SHE WILL REFUSE AS LONG AS WE'RE DISHONEST WITH HER. AS LONG AS WE DELUDE OURSELVES.]

As Marcy grew closer to the figure, she saw they were wearing a cloak: a faded blue hooded cape with a white-furred collar.

A very familiar hood that covered their body completely.

[WE HAVE TO MAKE A DEAL WITH HER, AND SHE HOLDS ALL THE CARDS.]

[WE HAVE TO CAPITULATE TO HER. IF NOT, WHAT'S LEFT OF US WILL CEASE TO BE.]

She finally reached the figure, stopping a few meters away from them.

"Hello?"

The figure stilled and slowly stood up, lowering its hood as they did, revealing short black hair with a small green hairclip. Marcy could also now see the clothes under the hooded cape. They were wearing black form-fitting armor.

It was a very familiar armor with an unmistakable orange eye-like gem in the center of its chest.

The figure, no, the girl, had their eyes closed and remained quiet, giving Marcy the time to process what she was seeing. This was her thirteen-year-old self, just like she remembered.

But with one exception.

The younger Marcy opened her eyes.

They were orange.

[WHY, HELLO THERE.]

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

"AAGH!"

Marcy woke up in a panic and disoriented. She could feel a weight pressing on her, keeping her in place, and she had little room to move.

"W-where am-?!"

"Ugh, Marce, keep quiet. It's too early."

"*snort* Five more minutes."

Sasha, Anne. Those were Sasha and Anne.

Marcy slowly got back her bearings and looked around. She was inside the Plantar's Fwagon. That's right. After the talk yesterday night, they went to sleep in the Fwagon.

She was still disoriented, with a light throbbing in her head, and vaguely remembered she had a dream, but it was foggy. 

Marcy, once again, tried getting up, but the same weight she felt was still on her, pining down one of her arms.

She struggled, trying to free the appendage, which amounted to nothing, but she managed to feel some shuffling around herself.

The black-haired woman finally decided to try and use her free arm, turning herself to place it on the ground.

But what she felt was not the ground. It was firm but yielding.

"Mnnh!"

That, coupled with the sound she suddenly heard, clued Marcy into one last detail about last night.

Anne was feeling down, so they decided to cuddle together when they went to sleep, just like in their old sleepovers.

The last vestiges of fog in Marcy's head cleared as she realized that the weight that trapped her was Anne's body and Sasha's (bare) arm stretched across it, and most importantly, just where she put her free hand while trying to free herself.

"HOLY FUCKING FROG!"

The woman sprang up from the floor of the small wagon, but because her friends were tangled together, she took them with her.

"Wah!"

"Yagh!"

That, combined with her natural clumsiness and the claustrophobic space of the wagon, launched her and her friends against one of the walls.

"Uff!"

Disoriented and with old combat instincts awoken from returning to Amphibia, the still sleep-groggy former commanders of the rebellion tried to answer the perceived attack, which only led them to trip over themselves, knocking down various knick-knacks from the shelves and crashing back into their third due to lack of space.

The next few minutes were a repeat of this domino effect, the Fwagon shaking left and right from the calamitous chaos within until finally, the three girls burst out the door and into the farm ground.

" Uuuuggghhh. "

"What's all that racked out there?!" They heard Hop Pop scream from within the house. The old frog shoved open a window to look outside. "What the? Girls, what happened to you?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Grumbled the blonde.

"Sorry, my bad." The noirette answered.

 "We had to have an early start today anyway." The brunette said, trying to be optimistic. "At least we're up already."

"~Technically, you're still laid down.~"  The too-young voice of Domino 3 called at the girls.

They turned as best they could towards the cat sitting on top of the Fwagon with seemingly nary a care in the world. The three just groaned again.

"...so, do you girls want breakfast?"

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

A quick dusting off later saw the trio back at the Plantar living room enjoying plates of fresh choco-bug pancakes, a treat to celebrate their return.

"A nightmare?"

If only they could enjoy them.

"I guess. I don't remember it. But I know it wasn't pleasant."

"You're sure you don't remember anything?" Sasha probed further.

"No, it's all fuzzy. Only darkness and..." She paused, and for a moment, orange eyes flashed in her mind. "And something else."

"Must have been a pretty bad nightmare then," Anne remarked.

"Yeah."

"Well, I think that's enough talk about bad dreams. You three should be eating. We have a long day ahead of us." Hop Pop intruded on the conversation.

"Right. I guess we better leave it for now. But you tell us if you feel wrong. Alright, Marce?"

"Sure."

"Anyway, what's on the schedule today, HP?" Anne turned to her grandfather.

"First, we meet up with everyone to do all we discussed yesterday night. Which reminds me." The old frog took a deep breath. "SPRIG! POLLY! GET UP ALREADY AND COME EAT BREAKFAST!"

"I KNOW, I KNOW! I'M GOING, OLD MAN!"

"Don't call me old, young lady!"

"Geez, some things don't change, huh?" Anne mussed as she and her friends recovered from the ringing in their ears.

"You could say that." Hop Pop answered her. "Sprig! I'm not hearing you moving!"

The door to the basement opened as soon as he said that, and a still sleepy Sprig dragged himself into the main house like the living dead.

"Ugh, Hop Pop, can you lower your voice? I didn't sleep well."

"I can see that. What happened to you, kid?"

"I just," Sprig took a look behind his grandpa and locked eyes with Anne, only to turn away. "I had things on my mind."

Hop Pop noticed the pause and look, as did Anne, but experience told them it was best not to press him just yet.

"Okay, go wash your face and then come eat. We'll wait for Grime, Olivia, and Yunan so we can discuss how to help the girls."

"Sure thing, Hop Pop."

Sprig hurried up the stairs, passing by Polly and Frobo.

"Dude, don't you know how to say 'good morning'?" Turning to the people in the kitchen, she asked, "What up with him?"

Nervous grimaces were her only answer as three women and one frog exchanged looks.

"What's with you too? You all looked as if the world's endi-oh. Right. Sorry, Anne"

"It's okay. Yesterday was a lot for all of us." She reassured them, all while looking up towards where the bathroom was.

"How long do you think the others will take?" Sasha asked, trying to change the subject, if only temporarily.

*Knock knock knock*

The knocking on the front door answered her before Hopediah could.

"That's them. I'll open it. You girls finish your breakfast. You're all going to need the energy."

"Right, the day's only beginning."

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

For the second time in as many days, the Plantar living room filled with people, this time all of them informed and ready to face an incomprehensible danger.

"Good morning, girls, Mr. Plantar, Grime." Olivia took charge of the impromptu meeting. "I'd like to start by telling you that I've already sent a foreword of your return and an abridged recount of the events via mail fly to Newtopia-"

"~New Newtopia.~"  Domino 3 introded.

"Why are you so hung up on that?"

"So they'll, at least, be ready to receive us when we go there. We should receive a reply tomorrow."

"Thanks a lot, Olivia," Anne smiled at the newt, as did Marcy and Sasha.

"It was no problem, dear. But we must address the next issue: How are we getting to Newtopia?"

"What do you mean how?" Sasha asked.

"The valley still gets closed off due to the glaciers, remember?" Hopediah reminded the girls. "So we cannot take the ground route, and even then, that would take too long."

"From what you told us, time is of the essence, so we cannot wait the two months the land route would take." Grime summarized while stroking his beard.

"Not to mention, Bessie is getting old. So it would take longer." The old farmer added.

"Why don't we use Joe Sparrow?" Marcy offered. "Like we did when..."

Images of a taken city, her friends betrayed looks, and a burning sword flashed in Marcy's mind. And for some reason, she could swear she heard an annoyed scoff inside her head.

"When I gave him the box."

The others stayed silent at the reminder of old mistakes, each giving the black-haired girl some sad looks.

"Marcy, you know we forgave you long ago, right?" Anne uttered at her friend with worry.

"And we know Andrias was manipulating you, hell, all of us," Sasha added. "I thought you made peace with all of it already."

"No, yeah. I did. It's just- I don't know, I think I'm still out of it from the nightmare."

There was a moment of silence before the group decided to continue the previous talk.

"*cough* Well, getting back on track. About Joe, while still strong, like Bessie, he's getting in on years." Hop Pop started. "He barely managed to get us there last time. I don't think he'd be capable of carrying all of us now," Hopediah concluded before adding, "Then again, we could use the snirds."

"The what?" the trio asked.

"Hmm? Oh, right! With all the recent uproar, we didn't get a chance to present them to you, did we?" The frog mused. "Well, to make a long story short, they're the offspring of a snail and a bird, specifically, Bessie and Joe."

A beat passed as the humans processed the information.

"WHAT?!"

They took it well.

"When did that happen?" Anne questioned.

"More importantly, how did it happen? That should be biologically impossible." Marcy said in a daze.

"I don't know about the how, but I believe it happened somewhen during the rebellion since the first snird was born some months after you left," Grime answered.

"SASHA!" The Asian women yelled at their third.

"What?! You can't blame me! I didn't even know they had the hots for each other!"

"~Leaving all that aside. Do you believe the snirds can take us to New Newtopia?~"  

"Did you know about them?" Anne grilled the Deity.

"Well," Hopediah scratched his chin in contemplation, "Bertie and Johnny might be capable, being the oldest, but they're still inexperienced; maybe if Joe himself comes with to help them. We still need seats for everyone, though."

"~I believe that settles it, then. We'll get the snirds fitted for the travels and gather supplies. How long do you think that will take?~"

"We still have some weapons under the Plantar house," Grime smiled with all his sharp teeth, "We can use those until we get something better in Newtopia."

"I'll help with that," Yunan added.

"I'll talk with Loggle about saddles for Bertie and Johnny," Polly said. "That'll allow me to tweak them to my standards too."

"I'll go with Polly so she doesn't put rocket launchers under our seats." Hop Pop reassured everyone.

"Oh, come on! It was one time!"

"Unfortunately, I don't think there's much more I can do to help you three, but I'll see about gathering some food for the journey. Someone has to wait for Newtopia's response."

"~I believe that's perfect.~"

"No, wait."

The amphibians turned towards Anne, who was still collecting herself from the knowledge of the snirds.

"What do  we  do then?"

"Yeah, you kind of left us out of the discussion," Sasha grumbled.

"~Oh, that's simple. You'll be with me. ~"

"What for?"

"~The threat of the Original Anne grows by the second. So, you have to grow in turn. In other words, we really need to start working on mastering your powers.~"

"Oh, right."

"~You've been growing stronger naturally, but it would be better to train you so you can use them at will. We only need to find where we can train safely.~"

"I think," everyone present turned towards Sprig, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet during the entire meeting, "I think I know a good place. But, can I ask something first?"

"What is it, Sprig?" Anne asked, with an almost imperceptible tremor in her voice.

"Can I go with you?"

"Huh? I mean, yeah. I don't see why not. Domino 3?"

"~Neither do I. What place is it?~"

"Thank you. And well..."

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

"Hey! I remember this place!"

The three humans, one frog, and one deity-turned-feline stood at the edge of a great lake; lilypads dotted the scenery in what was a plenty idyllic place, perfect for a vacation. It was also familiar to Anne, as it was the same place where she and Sprig started their friendship.

"Yeah, the lake has been safe to swim at for years. I think the snake left during the chaos of the war. We've been too busy to come back, though."

"~Well done, Sprig Plantar. This place is perfect for the girls to relearn their powers. Let us waste no time. Girls, if you'd please activate your powers.~"

"Sure thing D3! How do we do that?" Marcy asked excitedly, journal drawn.

"~...what do you mean how?~"

"What do you mean 'what do we mean'? We haven't used them in ten years; only Anne has used them with anything resembling consistency, and before you say anything, the thing with the mantises was different. A matter of adrenaline and urgency. We have no idea how to use them at will." Sasha summed up.

"Don't you know a trick for that, Anne?" Sprig asked.

"No. I mean, there's what Valeriana said way back when we fought the Moon. Erm, what was it?"

"Warrios of Amphibia arise?" Marcy supplied.

"Before that, Mar-Mar."

"It was... 'think of your memories of Amphibia.' Oh, right! I remember now! Then the stones would resonate with us and bring forth the power!" Marcy exclaimed as she wrote down what she remembered.

"But that was when we had the stones. What do we do now that it's only us?" Sasha questioned.

"She also shot a beam from her staff through Anne and into the box." Sprig remembered.

"She did?"

"Yeah. You had your eyes closed, so you didn't see it."

"~Let's get back on track. From the look of things, it seems you need a 'pilot flame,' so to speak, to access your powers, and you no longer have the box or the stones to play the part. But you have me.~"  The cat walked towards a clear part near the lake's shore.  "~We must simply repeat what we did when I brought you back here. Stand around me if you would.~"

The trio did as asked, getting in the same position as when they traveled back.

"~Let's do as you remember. Think of Amphibia, the memories you have, and of its people. I'll guide the power so you can use it.~"

The girls did as instructed, not just with memories of a decade ago but fresher ones from the night before. Anne's eyes went to Sprig, her best friend, who was standing to the side, a smile painted her face.

Soon, a line of energy came out of Anne, going to the Guardian and from him to Sasha and Marcy.

"~Good, focus on the power. Let it fill you and spread throughout your body.~"

With a burst of light, the energy settled into each woman, their hair standing slightly and shining with blue, green, and red colors.

"Woah! WE DID IT!" Marcy excitedly claimed, quickly going for her journal to document the new-old sensation.

"Wait, and the armor?" Sasha wondered.

"~You're powers are still weak. Even with the boost of using it together, this is the most you can do, for the time being at least. Not bad, if I'm honest, more than enough to face most of Amphibia's dangers.~"  The Guardian tilted their head the way cats are wont to.  "~Can you move?~"

The three blinked at the innocuous question, exchanging looks before trying to run to the lake's shore.

The flashing trails colored red, blue, and green were the only evidence of their movement. A tricolor light show for an audience of two shined as the girls moved in every direction, finally stopping at the lake shore, barely stopping from taking a spill into the body of water.

"Woah!"

"Okay, that'll take some getting used to," Anne said as she flexed her fingers. "How are you, girls?"

"I'm good, but that was dizzying. How fast are we?" The blonde wondered as she threw out a few lightning-fast punches.

"We can definitely reach escape velocity, at the very least." Marcy, once again, took out her journal, "That's 25,020 mph or 11.186 km/s, btw."

"We moved that fast!?"

"Oh no, that was ten years ago, with our full powers. Now? We can only reach Mach 1. I think. We're using around a tenth of our full power. Maybe. That's a rough and optimistic estimate. I wonder how much we can lift?" She muttered the last bit as she wrote, her hand moving with the same green flash as her body.

The prospective Goddess barely paid attention to her friend's rambling. Being more habituated to the energy, she focused and shaped it into a familiar lotus flame. "Could we really have been this strong the whole time?" Anne wondered, looking back at her memories of the powers. And, looking at Sprig, Sasha, and Marcy, the dangers they could have helped against, what she could have protected with them.

"~Don't beat yourself up, Anne.~"  Domino 3 told her as if they read her mind. Maybe they did.  "~You were alone and lacked the knowledge to use these powers, but that's what I'm here for now. When you wake up, we can start with more proper training.~"

"Thank y-what do you mean 'wake up'?"

"~Like with the mantises, and when you use them the first few times, your bodies are unused to the power. So they will shut down briefly. It's a small side effect of jumping into the deep end so soon. But you should wake up sooner than the other times.~"

*Thud*

As soon as those words left the cat's mouth(?) Marcy collapsed into the sandy lake shore.

"You're not... making it... easy to like you." Was the only thing out of Sasha's before she collapsed herself.

"Sprig."

"I got you, Anne. I'll take care of you, don't worry." The pink frog reassured his friend as she lay down.

"Thanks, dude." So said, Anne collapsed as well.

With the girls out cold, Sprig moved to get all of them in a comfortable position and lay them next to each other, which was not easy given his size, but he managed.

Picking up Marcy's journal, he sat down, unsure what else to do.

"~Is there something on your mind, Sprig?~"

That's when the cat, which called itself a deity, talked to him.

"...She is Anne, right?"

"~There is no reason to think of her as anyone else. I made a perfect copy of her in mind and body, so she is indistinguishable from the Anne you knew.~"

"And the other one?"

"~I had nothing to do with her. Her very existence can be called nothing short of a miracle.~"

"But is she Anne?"

"~She doesn't have a body. Yet. But the soul shapes the body, and memories shape the soul. She is Anne. As much as this one is.~"  The Guardian paused.  "~I'm only repeating myself. What is it that's bothering you?~"

"You really don't understand what you've been telling us? The implications and weight of telling us Anne, our Anne, was replaced one way or another?" Sprig was talking with a heavier tone than ever in his life. "I haven't seen her in ten years, and you come out of literal nowhere saying I-we did lose Anne, she got replaced, and now we have to fight another copy of her."

"~She... They are perfect copies. They're both Anne Boonchuy.~"

"You don't get it! Anne is my best friend. Was? Argh!" Sprig grabbed his hat in frustration. "This is what I mean! I don't know how to look at her now. Or how I'll look at the other Anne. You call them copies, but Anne isn't an object you can copy!"

Sprig looked back at the woman, almost unrecognizable with her adult body but still clearly the Anne he knew.

"Anne is special and dear to us. More than you clearly understand."

"~...I~"

"Forget it. You obviously can't give me the answer I'm looking for." Not wanting to speak with the cat anymore, Sprig sat down, looking over the lake where his friendship with the human started. Out of curiosity and with nothing better to do, he opened Marcy's notes. "...What's with all the ones and zeroes?"

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Two hours later, Anne began to stir awake.

"*yawns* Man, I hope I get re-used to that quick. The nap was good, but I don't want to collapse  every  time."

Standing up, she soon saw Sprig throwing rocks into the lake and Domino 3 some ways off with his back towards them, seemingly in deep thought.

"Guys?"

"~I'm glad to see you awake, Anne. Do you feel anything off?~"

"Uhh, no? No, I think I'm alright."

"You sure, Anne?" Sprig asked as he walked closer.

"Yeah, I'm fine, dude. Thanks for taking care of us." 

"Always, Anne. I'm your best friend, no matter what."

Anne smiled, relief washing over her.

"How long until Sasha and Marcy wake up?"

"~Since they're still new to their powers, and given the rate at which they've been regaining them, I'd say between ten and thirty more minutes.~"

"Cool."

As they waited, Sprig returned to skipping stones, Anne joining him.

"Hey, Sprig."

"Yeah?"

"I know our reunion did not go how we would've liked, but I want you to know I am glad to have your help now. Especially after ten years of fearing I'd see you only in my memories. I don't know what we'll face, but I'm happy I will have you, Hop Pop, Polly, Grime, Olivia, and Yunan with us for it."

"...Always, Anne. I'm happy to be with you again."

"Spranne against the world?" Anne asked as she extended a closed fist.

"Spranne against the world," Sprig answered with a fist bump.

The pair shared a quiet moment, enjoying each other's company.

"It's a shame we had to come here for training, though we didn't do much of that-"  "~All in due time, Anne.~"  "I would have liked to have another beach day with you and everyone else."

"Yeah, but it feels like something would have happened when we least expected it."

"SPRIIIIG, GIIIRRRLLLSSS!" precisely on cue, Polly's voice rang overhead with pretty noticeable urgency. Her shouts roused the other two humans.

"*snrk* Huh? Is my deadline here already?"

"Urgh, what's with the noise?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean, dude. Down here, Polly!"

Polly, mounted on Frobo's back, touched down on the beach. "Thank frog, I found you fast. Come back to Wartwood, we have a problem."

"What happened?"

"Olivia got a response from Newtopia." The remaining drowsiness of Sasha and Marcy disappeared with that news, standing quickly to the side of their third.

"~It's New N-"

"Not now! Already? Didn't Olivia say it would take until tomorrow?"

"What did it say?"

Polly hissed, delivering unexpected news. "...The city's under siege."

Chapter Text

Joe Sparrow flew as fast as his old wings could take him. His offspring, Bertie and Johnny, followed close, the latter pulling the fwagon with him. The three brought a varied group: Three frogs, one toad, and two newts, plus three creatures Joe never imagined he'd ever see again: humans.

Age and the sudden urgency of the travel kept old Joe from doing a happy dance at meeting his master, Marcy, again, but that could wait. The important thing was getting everyone to the apparently sieged city of Newtopia.

His old age be damned. Ten years ago, he could have made the journey in a few hours. Now, it would take him a lot longer.

At least he doesn't have to carry Frobo this time.

Leaving all that aside, the human trio, the amphibians, and that small furry thing that puffed Joe's feathers up and made his instincts scream were deep in conversation.

"I still don't get it. Who is sieging Newtopia?" Sasha screamed over the rushing air as they flew.

"The letter didn't say, dear," Olivia screamed back from atop the back of Bertie. And boy, the snirds were offputting. "Or rather, it is hard to make out. The letter was written hurriedly, much to the detriment of its calligraphy." She grimaced as if that was a worse predicament than the attack itself.

"Just for the record," Grime yells from the top of the fwagon hitched to Johnny. "I'm sure it's not the toads this time. My sister is quite happy with her current position, and the Toad chancellor would not forgive or allow it."

"Must be some intimidating toad then. Who is it?" Sasha asked.

Grime hissed, the sound swallowed by the rushing wind, "I wanted to bring that up before. The toad chancellor is-"

"I see Newtopia!"

Any further conversation stopped when the group came upon the reconstructed capital of Amphibia. They could see the mushroom-shaped buildings made of newtopian marble and gold and simple wood and stone buildings similar to those of frogs and toads, respectively, which replaced any destroyed structures from the castles' take-off and the war. In the capital's center, a combination of coral forest and more traditional park grounds filled the hole where the palace used to be.

The capital's walls, still intact despite everything, stood as tall and imposing as the girls remembered. The royal palace was still where the human trio left it, or rather, where Polly crashed it, slightly tilted, outside the walls that protect the metropolis.

However, they didn't have time to dwell on nostalgia, as something caught the attention of everyone.

Or rather, the absence of something.

"The letter said the city was under siege, didn't it?" Marcy wondered.

"That's correct, dear," Olivia replied, obviously reaching the same conclusion the human did.

"Then where is the assaulting army?"

As the former ranger pointed out, despite the urgency of the letter and their hurried flight to reach the city, there was not a sign of any invading forces, no siege engines, no screaming horde of battle-crazed amphibians or otherwise battering the giant doors to try and pry them open.

At most, the only thing that betrayed the presence of any such force were several craters that dotted the waterscape outside the walls.

"There's nothing, no one. What the actual hell?" Sasha succinctly said what was on everyone's minds.

"I think we'll have to go down and find out." Anne declared.

"Very well, dear. But we must let the gate guards know. So we're not shot down." Olivia elucidated.

"You go do that. I have to go somewhere quickly. Brb." Grime said before jumping off Johnny's back into the water below.

"WHAT THE FUCK, GRIME?!" The toad's former lieutenant screamed.

"Meh, he'll be fine." Polly said, dismissing the blonde's distress, "Let's go already!"

The group dived into the waters, stopping in front of the door.

"Hark, guards of Newtopia. Tis I, Lady Olivia, accompanied by Ex-General Yunan and several comrades. We came as soon as we received news of the sieged capital."

"Oh, I so need to use that for the comic!"

"Not now, Marcy."

"Lady Oli-! Wait. Wait, wait, wait!" A voice from the other side of the door answered, along with the sounds of dropped armor and weapons. The guard was clearly agitated. Finally, a panel in the giant doors opened, letting the crowd see a disheveled guard.

"Is that the same guy from ten years ago?"

"That's what guard duty is like. It's all but a dead-end job."

"Lady Olivia! You shouldn't be down there! We can't open the doors, but we'll have someone get all of you into the city!"

As the newt and the guard talked, Sprig turned towards the many craters around them. Something about them seemed familiar, but he couldn't place what exactly it was.

Seeing no risk, and with the others occupied, he decided to investigate and go to one of them.

"Greg," ("His name's Greg?") "Can you at least tell us who has the city sieged? We don't see anyone here."

Sprig got closer to the crater, which, on closer inspection, he realized was actually a hole, a real deep hole. Again, he felt an uncomfortable familiarity.

There was a faint light in the darkness.

"We're under attack of the-"

Before the guard could say anything more, a pair of mandibles, many times Sprig's size, jumped out and attacked him. Only old, well-honed instincts saved Sprig from being caught, but that took a back seat to the recognition as he finally remembered why the holes were familiar.

"BARBARIANTS!"

The group turned towards Sprig, just in time to see him backing away from a giant ant with many more coming out of the many holes around them, resulting in three distinct reactions.

An exclamation of "Barbariants?!" from most of the group, including Marcy, an "Oh, not these things again!" from Anne, and a "What are those things?!" from a surprisingly caught off-guard Sasha.

The group gathered their weapons from Joe and the snirds as fast as possible, hurrying to help the small frog.

"The Barbariants are bloodthirsty insects that swarm every ten years!" Marcy recited from memory the answer to her blond friend's question while loading her improvised sling. With the group coming in such a hurry, they couldn't get her a better weapon, "Which, in hindsight, I guess we got back to Amphibia just in time for."

As she threw rocks at the formicidae, something came up in her mind, "Wait, did we never tell you about the barbariants? It was the moment Anne and I reunited."

"No! You never told me that story!" The psychologist screamed, heat in her voice, as she used her blue heron sword (returned by Grime) to deflect mandibles and strike at the insects. "You didn't tell me what you did when we were divided, in fact. I'm getting upset just remembering that!"

"You never told us what you were doing either!" Anne screamed back as she finally reached her frog brother and helped him return to the group. "I would've liked a heads up about the toad uprising, y'know?"

"...I apologized."

"Girls! Now is not the time!" Olivia screamed from behind Yunan, wielding a laser gun, a relic from the war at this point, while the pink newt slashed away at the ants with her clawed gauntlets.

"Foul creatures! They're lucky I wasn't around the last time. I would have ripped the queen's head off and mounted it on the walls!"

"Yeah, you were too busy hunting me and my lieutenant and getting your tail kicked back then!"

With a splash, Grime landed amidst the mass of barbariants and swept them away with his sword.

"Grime, where the hell were you?" Sasha screamed at him, though she was clearly relieved.

"I had to recover something." saying nothing more, Grime tossed something to each girl, objects the three recognized immediately.

"Grime."

"This is-"

"We left them on the same cliff you left this world. I felt it was right for you to have them back."

"Oh, hell yeah! Now we're cooking!" Sasha brandished her recovered pink heron sword. Despite being at the mercy of the elements for a decade, the blade seemed not to have lost its edge, much like its wielder. It sang alongside its blue twin as if the swords themselves were glad to be reunited, and the blondezerker launched herself like a beast toward the small horde of giant insects.

"You all left this thing loaded?" Marcy incredulously asked as she tried to fit her old wrist crossbow. "Dammit, I need a new strap!"

"On it! Frobo, keep them away from Hop Pop, Joe, and the others."

[ROGER THAT]

Polly answered Marcy and hopped off Frobo's back while digging into her overalls.

"Here! I also have some bolts."

"Thanks!" A quick adjustment later saw Marcy let loose the first bolt of her new adventure. "Oh, I missed that." Loading another bolt, Marcy fired away.

"Grime, I'm thankful, but this thing is more nostalgic than useful for me!" Anne had to keep relying on Tritonio's sword, as her old middle school racket would not hold against the carapaces of the giant ants. Thankfully, Anne's best friend and adoptive brother counterbalanced with his slingshot the relative uselessness of her old racket.

"Watch out!" Sprig warned as he fired at an ant that got dangerously close to them.

"Thanks, dude."

"Anytime."

"~I'll keep it safe. You focus on keeping the barbariants back.~" Domino 3 said before taking the sports instrument from her and running back to where Hop Pop was under Frobo's protection.

"Girls, everyone, we won't hold on like this!" The old frog screamed, and they could all see he was right.

Marcy and Sasha, having recovered their old weapons, helped a lot in stemming the tide, but the ants were an endless horde. With no way to retreat towards and no time for Joe and the snirds to take off, it was only a matter of time before the group got overrun.

"FIRE!"

Thankfully, they didn't have to hold much longer. A rain of flaming cattail arrows came around the group, the fire scaring away the Formicidae or at least driving them back enough for something else to come down from the city walls.

"Alright, men, let's give this six-legged freaks a taste of amphibian might!" A rugged but distinctly feminine (and familiar) voice screamed, and an armed group of amphibians landed in the water, ready to face the horde.

"Wait, Captain Beatrix?"

"Well, I be damned. You hummus actually came back!" The female one-eyed toad laughed. "The council is sure to be relieved. Also, it's General Beatrix now. But we don't have time to talk, move it. The council would like to talk to you, and even I can't keep the ants away for long."

"Right, everyone, let's g-no, wait. How do we get in?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, we can't open the doors. The ants will get into the city." Marcy continued.

No sooner had they asked their questions when Beatrix screamed over them, "Lower the platforms!"

A giant platform lowered from the wall into the water, just big enough to hold everyone plus the fwagon.

"That's how, now move! Everyone back into the city! Fall back!"

Losing no time, all amphibians, the humans, Joe, the snirds, and the cat-shaped deity hurried up, leaving behind the insect army whose stragglers screeched before they themselves retired to their own tunnels.

Once the danger finally passed, the group collectively sighed in relief.

"Thanks for coming to our aid, General." The former royal advisor said in the name of everyone else.

"No prob', it was worth it to save my brother's sorry ass. Again."

"*grumble*" Said brother grunted.

"Oh, don't be like that, Grimothy. You, of all people, should know there's nothing wrong with getting help."

"Don't turn our lessons on me!"

"Wait, Grimothy?" Anne snickered.

"Yeah, that's his full name." Sasha laughed back. "I tried to keep it a secret at his request. Oh, well, too late now."

"Anyway, leaving Grimothy aside." Marcy interjected with amusement, "I know the Barbariants come out every ten years, but from what I remember, they're early and in greater numbers. Something is wrong. What happened?"

"Oh, that. I think it will be better for you to talk with the Amphibia Council for the full details. They're the ones who wanted your help when they knew you humus came back."

"~That works in our favor.~" Domino 3 intruded into the conversation. "~We need to talk to them about something important, too.~"

"*sigh* It's just one thing after the other, huh?" Anne breathes out.

"Sorry, girls. It seems Amphibia always got you occupied with something." Hop Pop commiserated with the girls.

"Yeah, what else is new?" Sasha declared. "Let's just go to those guys and sort this out."

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

New Newtopia was not much different from what the girls remembered the capital to be. They could see better the repairs from both the toad invasion and the war against The Core, plus the new wood and stone buildings that replaced the destroyed old ones. Beyond that, the city was the same bustling, somewhat claustrophobic metropolis they remembered from ten years ago. If anything, the only noticeable thing was more frogs and toads among the newt population. It was uplifting for them to see that the amphibians managed to get over their differences in the ten years since the trio was last here.

Newts, toads, and frogs walked through the street with nary a care in the world (despite the city being under siege from an army of giant ants, but that was just Amphibia), merchants in their little stalls peddled their wares, the group could see old statues of famous newts, now alongside with some of frogs and toads, and even some olms, and overall the city was brimming with life.

Though Anne was a little preoccupied with something else to appreciate it.

"Thanks again for retrieving my old racket for me, Grime, but this thing is falling apart."

"Well, it's not my fault your human weapons are so fragile."

"This is a sports instrument, not a weapon."

"Didn't stop you from using it as one." Marcy chuckled.

"I had to use what I had."

"Okay, but why did you still use it after getting a sword? Two swords even."

Anne shrugged. "It was comfortable for me. But, yes, I'll admit, after some point, it wasn't worth it. It did nothing to Frobo or the Cloackbot, so I had to use swords. At least those are durable."

"Tell me about it. I remember you kept using some old toad sword rather than Tritonio's. That thing looked old as dirt."

"It probably was," Beatrix interjected, "Back during Andrias' reign, Toads got scraps and had to make do with old equipment, very old. We learned to make the best of it, and everything we had lasted a lot thanks to that."

"It doesn't hurt that some of those old things were from the golden age of the empire. They knew how to make long-lasting things back then, as the frobot factories and Barrel's Warhammer attest." Grime added.

"Oh, yeah, where is that thing anyway?" Sasha wondered.

"Andrias has it."

"Fucking-! Seriously?!"

"It was the one thing he asked for. Despite everything, we couldn't deny him that in good conscience."

"I'm starting to think that beard is turning you senile. After all the trouble we had trying to get the damn thing."

"Hey! Don't diss the beard!" Grime went to say something else, but the group finally reached a building similar to Wartwood's Mayor's office, but bigger and with tons of tulips growing from every visible surface. "And talking about the hammer, now that we're here, there is one thing I've neglected to tell you."

Before he could elaborate, the doors to the building opened, letting a group of amphibians run out in barely controlled panic.

The first to reach the group was a young, heavily disheveled light-orange newt who practically threw herself at Olivia's feet.

"Lady Olivia! Thank frog, you're here! The barbariants cut off our supply lines, and I have no idea how to ease the populace into the rationing efforts!"

"Bella."

"And the ants are trying to tunnel under the city. We need to plan our defenses and relocate the sewer alligators so they don't try fighting any ant that gets inside!"

"Bella."

"And the anniversary banquet for the war's end is right around the corner, and the colorsofthedecorationsjustaren'trightandwecan'tfinggoodcatering-"

"BELLA! Breathe! The usual caterer will work."

"Uhh, what's happening?" Anne asked out loud.

"You're meeting the Amphibia council members," Beatrix answered with amusement.

"That is Bella. She is Olivia's substitute after she retired to Wartwood." Yunan explained. "Being new to the job, she is still a little inexperienced. That aside, I think she's the only one we have to introduce to you."

"Huh? What d'you mean?" Marcy wondered.

"Yeah, with all that is happening, we couldn't get you up to speed with everything." Hopediah started, "The council members are, or were, all people you knew previously. Funny how that turned out."

"You sure? I don't remember this guy." Anne pointed to the frog member of the council.

He was wearing worn overalls with a straw hat that covered his eyes.

"Anne, this is Chuck! How did you forget him?"

"Chuck?"

"I grow tulips!" The frog said as if that explained everything.

"Oh, yeah! Chuck!" and it did.

"Well, that explains the tulips," Marcy commented. "Hey, Sash, do you know Chuck?" Receiving no answer, the black-haired woman turned to her friend. "...Sash?"

The blonde didn't answer; she was rooted in place, looking at the last two amphibians that came to the group. Grime was at her side, laying a calming hand on her.

The last two were both toads, one a male light-green in color and wearing a jester hat of all things, the other a light-purple female with blonde hair tied in a bun.

They were also unmoving as they took in the human.

Both parties were frozen, as if not knowing what to do or say. Grime kept opening and closing his mouth, trying to break the ice, but unsure of what to say to do it.

After what felt like a small eternity for everyone, finally, the female toad spoke.

"Sasha, you're so big."

And that opened the floodgates as the blonde cried.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

A few minutes later, the group (minus Beatrix who had to return to her duties) found itself inside the council building, drinking warm cups of tea and enjoying little canapés sprinkled with, as told by a full of second-hand pride Hop Pop, the special sauce of his friend Sal.

Olivia formally introduced the humans to Bella, a former bellhop at the Hemisphere Hotel, where she happened to meet Sprig ten years ago.

"During the war, the hotel got destroyed, so she found herself without a job." The former noble explained, "After you left, I found her helping refugees and newts who lost their homes. She proved herself a capable manager, and so I took her under my wing to help in the restoration."

"My Newtopia U. major was in management," The nervous newt added, "I'm just happy I could use it at all."

"When I decided to retire to Wartwood, I appointed her my successor. In my opinion, she's done a fine job so far."

"Cool, cool."

Anne and Marcy nodded along with the explanation, clearly not paying attention to the talk. Instead, they concentrated on their third. After they entered the building, Sasha, Grime, and the two toads moved to a table of their own, and they seemed to have been in deep conversation since then.

They were just far enough away they could not hear them.

"Anne, do you know who they are?"

"I vaguely remember seeing them in Toad Tower, but that's it."

"She never told you about them?"

"No." Anne paused, "She never did tell me what happened after Toad Tower."

"Huh."

As the two friends talked, Sasha and Grime were catching up with the two other toads.

"Sometime after the war ended, Captain Grime... erm, sorry, Grime found us and told us about everything that happened: The toad rebellion, King Andrias, and you and your friends," Braddock explained. "I'll be honest, Sasha. We didn't really know what to think."

"Yeah, I don't blame you. I was-I was a mess back then."

Braddock and Percy looked at the hesitative blonde, taking in her posture and demeanor before continuing their tale.

"Well, we didn't have much time to process that. There were still refugees and a lot of damage that needed repairing. So Percy and I followed Grime back to help with the reconstruction efforts. And well, one thing led to another and-"

"My wife is now the representative of all toads!" The bell-donned toad exclaimed.

"Wife? You two finally got married? Oh, my frog! Oh, my frog! Oh, my frog! I'm so happy for you!" Sasha squealed. "You need to tell me the deets!"

"We sure did! It was a small ceremony with just the survivors of Toad Tower and some friends. With entertainment provided by yours truly, of course!"

"So you finally got your career off the ground, huh? I'm glad. Honestly, you really should've never been a soldier, Percy." Realizing what she said, Sasha panicky added, "No, wait! Sorry, I didn't mean it that way, it's just-"

"Sasha. It's okay," The toad reassured her. "You're not wrong. But back then, warriors were all toads could be."

"No matter how good or bad we were at it," Braddock added. "We are thankful that's over, though some toads still adhere to the warrior life."

"I'll die on the battlefield and nowhere else." Grime intruded, which just earned some chuckles from everyone.

"Getting back on track, exactly how did you turn into the toad representative?" Sasha asked.

"*sigh* Honestly, even I wonder how it happened," Braddock stated as she took a contemplative look. "It was chaos after the war. There were still loyalists with both the Toads and Newts who either wanted to keep following Andrias or were ready to try and seize power themselves. Having the support of the remaining Toad Lord, Beatrix, meant most toads listened, and Olivia took care of the newts, but there needed to be someone who could reign in those who were left."

"And our options were limited, as much as it pains me to admit it. Neither Bufo, my sister, nor I could do it," Grime added. "After the failed invasion, Bufo lost a lot of respect. My sister is good, but she is a wartime leader, not ideal, and if I learned anything from back then, it was that I am not a good leader."

"What? Grime, no, you were-"

"A tin tyrant who didn't know how to lead troops without threats and violence. Don't let nostalgia blind you, lieutenant. I was nothing but a bully. I told you as much once before."

Sasha quieted at that.

"Hehe, we actually had a very similar conversation back then," Braddock commented. "It led to the eventual decision. We needed a representative who would not be a warmonger. Who understood the plights of both the toads and the other tribes, and who could stand up to the other representatives and any naysayers if necessary."

Gesturing at herself, she finished, "And that someone was me."

Sasha couldn't stop the questioning look on her face, which the others noticed.

"Hehehe, after the deal with the Narwhal Worm, Percy and I decided we would not stand any more abuse."

Sasha winced at that.

"Braddock is way better at it than me, though."

Grime nodded, "I said once that Braddock is the toughest toad I know, and I stand by that. Given that you've known my sister, you know the weight of that statement is not small."

"With some help from Grime, I took charge as the representative, and the rest, as they say, is history."

"Even having seen it myself, I'm still surprised. For such a lousy soldier, you are a pretty good leader."

"You say that every chance you get, Captain."

"And every time I mean it."

The three toads laughed at the evidently recurring joke, but Sasha remained quiet. Again, the toads noticed.

"Sasha?"

"I think I've put it off long enough."

The toads seemed confused, but the human kept talking.

"Percy, Braddock. I owe you both an apology."

That caught the toads by surprise, but stayed quiet and listened.

"You mean about the Narwhal Worm?" Well, Braddock stayed quiet and listened.

"The Narwhal Worm, the manipulations when I was locked in Toad Tower, forcing you to go along with my plans to get Grime out of his funk, the ketchup incident. I-I want to apologize for everything."

Sasha took a breath before continuing.

"I don't have any excuse for my behavior back then. I needed, I thought I needed to have control over everything, that I knew better, that  what I wanted was the best for everyone, and because of that, I stepped over the boundaries, opinions, and wishes of others.

"I almost lost everything because of that, and more importantly, I hurt many who didn't deserve it. People who loved me and only wanted to help me." Sasha looked the toads in the eye, "I hurt you, I ignored you, I mistreated you, and disrespected you, and I'm honestly sorry from the bottom of my heart."

Sasha bowed her head as she finished and kept it down. The usually effusive blonde turned uncharacteristically quiet.

A moment passed, and then another, the silence left by her declaration only broken by the barely audible conversation the other group was having. Finally, Braddock spoke again.

"Sasha, please raise your head." The human did so, but she stayed wary, tears forming in her eyes, but the toad continued before she could say anything.

"Grime had already told us how much you changed when leading the rebellion. About how hard you fought for Amphibia and to atone for your mistakes."

"Being honest," Percy added, "we didn't really know if we could forgive you. The captain's words are one thing, but you were still a sore subject for us. But as the years went by, we wondered about you, if you really changed, and what you were doing now, if you tried to better yourself."

"Ten years is a lot of time." Braddock resumed, "We ultimately decided to move on and try not to hold any grudge against you, and if by some miracle you came back, we'd listen to you and make our final decision."

The toad couple looked at each other with faint smiles.

"Sash, I think I speak for both of us by saying we accept your apology and we forgive you."

That did it. The last of Sasha's composture cracked, and the blonde launched herself at the two toads that, besides Grime, stayed with her until she pushed them away, the two non-human friends she didn't appreciate as she should've, and hugged them with ten years of pent-up emotion.

Emotion the was reciprocated as they hugged her back.

Finally getting their fill, the reconnected friends separated.

"I think it's time we get back to your friends. I understand there is something important going on?"

"*sniff* Yeah, and it's related to why we're back. You better brace yourselves. It's a bit hard to swallow."

"Oh, I'm sure it can't be worse than what happened ten years ago."

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

"Oh, that is... so much worse than what happened ten years ago."

With the Amphibia council now included, the group needed to explain the situation again, and despite only doing it twice, the human trio was already exhausted from explaining it.

"Tell us about it."

"~We came to the city hoping to find something that helped us against the Ori-the Other Anne.~" The Guardian explained. If anyone noticed his correction, they did not bring it up. "~Information about the stones mostly, but the Calamity technology of the old empire might help, too.~"

"Oh! Right, right. That was in the letter Lady Olivia sent." Bella recalled. "The situation with the Barbariants was so dire we didn't have time to process it."

"Yeah, about that, how are the Barbariants attacking again?" Marcy wondered. "I thought my Stink Shrooms countermeasure would've prevented that?"

The amphibians stared at the woman as if she said fishes have legs.

"I'm sorry dear, your what?" Olivia asked.

"My countermeasure plan to plant Stink Shrooms around the cliffs of Newtopia that I..." Marcy trailed off as she realized something, "That I never told you about because I was so happy to reunite with Anne. Ohhh, fucking dammit."

"Don't beat yourself up, dear. It happens to the best of us."

"At least now we have an idea after we deal with the ants now."

"Which we have to do first and fast," Braddock's authoritative tone called attention to herself, "Newtopia is better prepared than it was ten years ago thanks to the combined efforts of all tribes, but we can only hold on for so long."

"With the ants sieging us, Newtopia won't be able to receive supplies," Bella explained, taking out a notepad. "We have enough reserves to hold out for months thanks to councilor Chuck's inner farms. But that's only a stopgap meassure, and there are other things we need as well." She looked nervously at the humans, "Oh, but we can still spare some people to search whatever archives we have to help you. Don't worry."

"We can help with the ants." Anne quickly offered.

Braddock smiled kindly at the human. "Thank you, Annie," ("Annie?") "But you have so much on your own plate right now, we couldn't impose on you like this."

"Screw that!" Sasha opposed, "We hurried here because you were in trouble. There is no way we'll sit on our asses and do nothing."

"Yeah!" Marcy exclaimed. "Besides I feel responsible since I could have prevented this situation."

"Marcy, no."

"What? It's kinda true."

"It IS kinda true."

"Polly!"

"Girls, thank you. Really. But you can't put your mission on hold for us."

"Our mission is to protect Amphibia. It was ten years ago, and it is now, and we'll do it no matter if it's a crazed quasi-deity-"

"~It would be a full extradimensional deity, actually.~" The group decided to ignore that.

"OR the crazy bugs of this place."

"And besides, the girls are not alone." Hop Pop declared. "They have us Plantars, Olivia and Yunan, Grime, Joe and the snirds, and now, you council members too. All of us together, we can do everything with no issue."

"Amphibia gave us a lot. We want to help protect it."

The councilors looked at the varied group on the other side of their table, the group of heroes that opened the way to the new Amphibia and made their decision.

"Very well, thank you. All of you. For helping us again." Braddock accepted, and the three leaders gratefully bowed, "But that can wait. You had a long flight and came under attack as soon as you landed. So rest for today. Tomorrow, we'll all work towards solving all our problems."

"The rebuilt New Hemisphere Hotel has some empty rooms you can use, and we've already taken care of your mounts," Bella told the group while taking out a familiar golden card, "And you can have the Royal Credit Card to make your stay as comfortable as you want."

"Sweet!" Sprig moved to grab it.

"Oh, heck no!" Only for Polly to grab it first, "You had it last time. It's my turn now!"

"Wha-!? What do you even need it for? You're the best haggler in all of Amphibia. You've made people pay you to buy something."

"And?"

"Kids, stop arguing in front of the council! It's embarrasing. And Polly, give me the card. There are some things I want to buy now that we're here."

"Nuh-uh."

"What do you mean 'nuh-uh'?"

"Are they always-?"

"Yes," Anne responded with an exasperated but fond smile. "I'll take care of that later. Thanks a lot for the help."

"It's the absolute least we could do."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Braddock, Percy. We still need to catch up on a lot of things. I want to know everything."

"Likewise Sashy."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Please set up an appointment with Bernardo." Olivia said to the councilors as the group left. "The girls need new armor."

"We will, Lady Olivia."

With that last note, the group left the council building, hoping to rest for what was sure to be even more eventful days.

"Enjoy the tulips!"

Chapter Text

The New Hemisphere Hotel kept its predecessor's tradition of being the most elegant, beautiful, decadent, and comfortable lodging in the city. Something the tired group appreciated as they woke up from the previous day's chaos.

Due to their numbers, they had to take multiple rooms instead of the single one Anne and the Plantars had a decade ago, though at least all were on the same floor.

From there, the group had a perfectly picturesque view of the city, with the old castle barely visible over the walls. However, they did not give themselves time to enjoy it, having decided to go to bed to have an early morning.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Anne! Girls! It's morning already, get up!"

"*snort* five more minutes."

Did we mention the ultra-comfy beds that made said early morning nigh impossible?

"Girls! You'll miss the new continental breakfast at the food court!" The voice of Hop Pop screamed from the other side of the door, every word and knock slowly rousing the human trio from the clutches of sleep.

"And also the meeting with the councilors." The voice of Olivia added. "I received a message saying they wanted to continue the discussion as soon as possible."

"Ugh, fine! We're getting up." Sasha begrudgingly rose from the bed, disentangling from the limbs of the other two (and dismissing why they were so tangled up). "Anne, Marcy, c'mon, get up."

"Mmm, okay. I need to go to the bathroom anyway," Marcy mumbled, slipping out of the covers and moving to the room's bath.

"Anne, get up already, or I'll yank you out."

"~Allow me to wake her.~"

Sasha started at the voice, looking down to see the Guardian, alias Domino 3. The divine cat jumped on the bed to do as felines are wont to and bother the woman into wakefulness.

"Right, I forgot you were with us."

"~It is best for me to stay with you every moment for all of our safety.~"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you yesterday. You finally with us, Anne?"

"Mmph, Yes."

"Cool. Let's get cleaned up and dressed. Braddock and the others want to speak with us."

"Alright."

"Hey, Anne! Do you have toothpaste in your backpack?" Marcy asked.

"Yes, and spare brushes for you, I'll get them."

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"GIRLS! THE NEW CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST!"

"We're going! Stop banging on the door!" Sasha yelled back, finally alleviating the old frog enough to stop bothering them. "Geez, what's his problem?"

"It's free breakfast," Anne answered as she got up to pick up the toothbrushes and toothpaste from her backpack. "Hop Pop does anything for free things. Even spend money."

"Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose?"

"Yes. Yes, it does. You have no idea how many scams that old frog almost fell for back on Earth."

"And what about here?" Marcy asked from the bathroom. "Scams are not exactly rare in Amphibia either. Also, the toothpaste, please?"

"I'm going, I'm going. And well, aside from Toadstool, he hasn't dealt with much of that." Anne passed the cleaning instruments to her friends as she talked. "But he almost started a scam selling trash juice."

"Trash juice?"

"It was a whole thing. It also was my fault, technically."

"Oh, I don't think I've heard that story," Marcy noted.

"Me neither, so you became a scam artist, Boonchuy?" Sasha ribbed her friend.

"Not on purpose!"

"Then how? Come on, spill the beans!"

"~As entertaining as Anne's misadventures here were, may I remind you that your friends are waiting.~" Domino 3 reminded the girls of his presence and that of the group that was probably still waiting outside their door.

"Oh shoot, yeah, we better hurry. I'll tell you the story during breakfast."

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

After finishing their morning routine, the trio greeted the amphibians. They then descended into the food court, enjoying their breakfast while waiting for the councilors and listening to Anne's old adventures.

"...And then some giant flies come in looking for the trash potion."

"Don't you all normally eat flies?" Sasha asked, amused.

"You try eating an animal four times your size," Hop Pop indignantly answered, though with a fond smile at the old memories.

"I'm glad to see all of you are in good spirits."

The group's recollection ceased as Braddock and the rest of the Amphibia council greeted them.

"Braddock! Percy! Good morning!" Sasha was the first to greet them back as they sat down at the table.

"Good morning, Sashy! I wish we could have a more relaxed talk, but there is a lot of business we still need to address."

"Right. No rest for the wicked, I guess." Anne breathed out.

"Actually, that's part of what we wanted to touch upon, but let's do things in order."

"What do we start with then?" Grime asked his former subordinate.

"Well, to begin with, we already have people looking over the old archives to see what they can find about the stones," Bella stated as she consulted a clipboard.

"Ooh, who do you have doing that?" Marcy asked as she took out her new journal.

"The triple B."

The web artist cringed slightly at the old nickname she coined herself. "Are you sure they're the best newts for the job?"

"Marcy, that is not nice of you to say." Olivia gently chastised her old charge. "But I will admit I understand your reticence."

"Wait, who are we talking about?" Yunan asked.

"Triple B, Yunan. You know Bartley, Branson, and Blair."

"Oh? OH!" Recognition flashed in the face of the general. "Wait, those three knuckleheads? I'm with Marcy here. Are you sure they can do it?"

"Y-yes, I know the Triple B has a... spotty track record." The former bellhop stuttered. "But they are good researchers. They'll find the information we're looking for. Probably from various different sources, so we can cross-reference the data."

Marcy still looked unsure but decided to trust Olivia's successor. "And what sources would those be? Ernst destroyed numerous books ten years ago. Did you find more?"

"Oh, yes, dear," Olivia answered instead. "Do you mind if I explain this, Bella?"

"Go right ahead, Ms. Olivia."

"Thank you. Indeed, Master Marcy. While under Andrias' orders, or rather the Core's as it were, Guard Captain Ernst and his fake Cult of the Olm destroyed much of the information on the old Empire and, in turn, the prophecy and the stones, when cleaning out the palace after the war, we found many secret rooms filled with old Golden Age books." The lady's eyes shone with joy as she recalled that. "I'm guessing they filed them away to keep them safe in case something happened to the realm, which it did."

"Heh! You should've seen how Liv's eyes lit up when we discovered them," Yunan added. "It was as if her child had just hatched."

"Yunan!" The lady blushed fiercely. "The girls don't need to know about that just yet."

"What?"

"No matter, getting back on track. The books shed a lot of light on the old Empire's ways. Needless to say, we are not exactly... proud of them."

"Pfft, yeah. That tracks."

"Not like we humans can talk."

"An empire is an empire, no matter the world. We can't say the ones in ours would've acted differently had they had the stones." Marcy clarified to the amphibians.

"~There is a reason I chose Anne after seeing her use the stone's powers after all~." The Guardian added, "~Around ten thousand years, and she was the only one to use them for good.~"

"That's my granddaughter!"

"Wait, ten thousand years?" Marcy spoke up, perplexed. "It feels statistically impossible for no one else not to use the stone's powers for good all that time. No offense, Anne."

"None taken, that's... actually a good point."

"How do you define using for good anyway?" Sasha questioned.

"~Well, I-~"

"Is it because she sacrificed her life?"

Everyone turned to Sprig, who was, in turn, eyeing the cat intensely.

"Did you choose Anne because she sacrificed herself for us?"

"Erm, Sprig?"

"If you didn't like how we were using the stones, you could have done something earlier instead of just waiting for someone else to do your work for you."

"~There are rules that prevent me from interfering in the mortal realm, and the stones were meant to be a test~."

"If you wanted to make a test, you could have done something else instead of the stones! Then we wouldn't have this problem now!"

"Sprig," Anne interjected before her brother could say more. "I get where you're coming from, and believe me, I understand how you feel about D3, but-"

"But it's not fair! Anne, you shouldn't have to deal with this. If you hadn't- if the calamity box didn't exist, or if he didn't make the stones-"

"Then we wouldn't have met."

That stopped the pink frog's tirade.

"Not only that, I don't think Sasha, Marcy, and I would still be friends if not for the box and the stones." The other humans moved on impulse to say something, but stopped themselves. They couldn't really deny it. "I won't lie, I also would have liked to not deal with this situation. I don't think I'll ever process it completely, but if it meant knowing you, Hop Pop, Polly, and everyone else, and preserving my friendship with Marcy and Sasha." Anne smiled warmly, though everyone who knew her realized it didn't reach her eyes. "I would sacrifice myself every single time."

"Please don't ever do that again."

Anne jumped slightly as everyone at the table exclaimed together.

"Annie, while I don't know you personally, I believe I speak for all of Amphibia when I say we are infinitely thankful for what you did. If not for you, Amphibia's past would have stolen its future, and more importantly, we'd be all dead." Braddock spoke. "But if you ever have to do something like that again, we'd rather sacrifice ourselves first than let you do it."

The other councilors nodded in agreement, and Braddock continued solemnly.

"The old Empire was our mistake; The Core should have never been created, and it was nothing but the height of unfairness that you, the three of you, were the ones who had to save us from ourselves. Your death should've never happened." Looking at the human in the eye, she continued. "Call it guilt on our part if you want, but this feeling, this debt to you from all of Amphibia, will never go away, but we can at least prevent it from happening again. And let me repeat, this comes from someone you don't know. I can't even begin to think what your family and friends think."

Anne looked at the Plantars, Sasha, Marcy, Grime, Yunan, and Olivia, and saw their concerned looks.

"I-"

"Before you say anything else," Braddock interrupted, "I think it's better if you talk with them in private. Right now, there is something I wanted to bring up with you three."

"Erm, sure."

"As I said, it is unfair that you three have to take the burden of saving us again, so the councilors and I talked and decided that you should take this time in Newtopia to rest and not bother with the barbariants. At least for a moment."

"What? But you called us here!" Sasha shouted.

"Yes, but that was before we knew of the bigger problem. We won't take you out of the issue completely, but it's clear that you need time for yourselves. Tell me: How many days have you been back for?"

"...erm, only three going to four as of today?"

"Exactly. You need rest, proper rest, and time to reacclimate yourselves to the new Amphibia. We don't want to swing you around from one problem to the next when you already have so much on your plate. Now I know you girls, or at least I know Sasha enough to know you'll find that difficult, especially when you want to help us, but we can take care of ourselves long enough for you to do the same."

The group looked at each other as they considered Braddock's words. It was true that they rushed into this new adventure, and they were all still recovering from many world-shattering revelations. To keep going like that was unsustainable.

Plus...

"~I think you should take the offer, girls.~" D3 spoke up and shuffled into the middle of the table. "~I won't stop or rebuke you from helping them, but you need the rest. That way, you'll acclimate back to your powers sooner, and the sooner you do, the better you can help against the Other and assist your amphibian allies on their own issues.~"

"...Yes," Braddock conceded as she narrowed her eyes at the cat to no one's notice except for Sasha's. "There's that, too. The point is: let us worry about the ants for the time being, and the search for information on the stones, and you enjoy some downtime. If we need help, we'll call you."

"Are you sure you don't need help right now?" Marcy asked.

"I'll admit I panicked," Bella sheepishly said, "But after you mentioned the stink shrooms yesterday, I had someone dig up your old plans. We believe we can still use them. We would only need to find the Barbariant Queen. This is another point that we wanted to discuss with you today."

"Huh, I guess you do have it all controlled." The web artist admitted.

"And there is one last thing," Chuck spoke up for the first time, a gentle smile on his face. "Isn't that right, Braddock?"

"Oh yes! Yes, we've been putting it off long enough now."

Saying no more, Braddock released an ear-splitting whistle, catching the humans, their amphibian friends, and the cat off guard. But before they could complain about it, a rumbling sound came from somewhere on the other side of the great fountain of the Hotel. The source revealed itself as what could only be described as a convoy of armored wardrobes.

Leading that convoy was an aged but stylish newt, one that Anne and Marcy, in particular, knew well.

"Bernardo! It's been so-whoa!" The former ranger jumped from her seat to meet the amphibian, tripping over the table's bench in her hurry and joy, "I'm okay! It's been so long! How are you?"

"Master Marcy! It is absolutely divine to see you in good health! And, my oh my, you've grown SO much." The newt had to take a moment to properly look at the human, noticing he had to crane his neck back quite a bit. "And I've been doing quite well for myself, thank you. Even better, in fact. Now that frogs and toads are part of the greater amphibian community, I have more clients and many more ideas." The newt adjusted his shades proudly. "But I have to say, your armor has always been my proudest work."

"Well, don't be too proud yet. These three need to be armored up." Braddock spoke up from the table.

"Ah, yes. I'll admit, I was surprised by the sudden request for human armor after ten years of not seeing anyone or anything like them again, but it is nothing the best armorer of Amphibia can't do. Fifi!"

"Here I Am, Berny." A toad (of all things) walked up next to the armorer. The trio finally noticed a small contingent of amphibians of all tribes had come along.

"Master Marcy, this is my new assistant, Fifi, whom I've told not to call me that."

"Hahaha!"

With an exasperated sigh, that said this was a common occurrence, the newt gestured to the gathered crew.

"And the rest of my team. With all the work for the new government, I had to hire more personnel, as you can see. Fifi, in particular, used to be a blacksmith for the North Toad Tower, and she proved herself a toad with a keen eye for decoration. Fifi, prepare some armor samples, and..." Bernardo looked back at the three humans. "Also, bring out our long measuring tape."

"Right away, you old newt." The toad headed towards the wardrobes, saying no more to anyone else.

"Huh... wait, we're changing right here?"

"Oh no, dear, it's just best to have everything ready at once. I do have some portable changing rooms."

"I think it might be better to go back to our room," Anne said as she stood up from the table.

"Whatever makes you more comfortable, dear."

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

The group returned to the human trio's room, which was rather cramped between the amphibians, humans, and armored closets all squeezing together inside. After rearranging some furniture, Bernardo was ready to work his magic with armor.

"Alright, girls, we are ready. But before we start properly, I have some ideas, but do you have any requests for your new armor?"

"Ooh, ooh, me first!" Marcy lost no time stepping forward, journal in hand. "I've been thinking about new armor for years! I already have it sketched and everything!"

"Let's see then." The armorer took the journal and looked over Marcy's sketches, his eyes widening in awe. "Master Marcy, this is a brilliant design! We'll need to adjust some parts to fit you, but I think we can make it right now. Fifi!"

"I'm on it." The toad assistant immediately grabbed the journal and some measuring tape, her own eyes looking impressed at what she saw, and headed towards the armoires to pick the pieces to begin the armoring process.

"You can just make new armor like that?" Sasha asked, surprised.

"When you are as good as I am, of course you can! And my people are all highly qualified, too. It helps that Master Marcy's armor is relatively simple. Anyway, who's next?"

"Erm," Anne said, raising her hand, "I'm okay with just another chest plate, thank you."

"You should at least get some greaves, Anne!" Marcy chastised her. "It slipped my mind last time, but I'm getting you some now."

"Greaves?"

"The feet armor, Boonchuy." Sasha clarified, "Are you sure you don't want anything else?"

"Ah. And... no, no, I'm okay with just the chest plate. It's what felt more comfortable for me, after all." Anne smiled, recalling the day she first got her original chest plate so long ago. "I may take you up on the feet armor, though."

"Hmm, personally, I'd like for you to wear something more, but I'll accept it." Said Bernardo, somewhat disappointed. "Fifi, give the order to bring out the cuirass selection. We might have something there for her, and our greave selection, too."

"You heard him, guys! Bring armoires 6 and 2!"

"And what about you?" Bernardo addressed Sasha, "I never had the chance to work with you before, and I heard you used to wear toad armor. I'll give it that it's resistant, though thoroughly lacking in style." One could feel how the newt's eyes rolled in disdain at the subject. "Fifi and her designing talent are a notable exception among the toads, let me tell you. When I offered her work, she gladly accepted, just so she would stop making armor that looked like it was forged in crud anymore. No offense, Madame councilor, Sir Grime."

"None taken," Grime grumbled from the sidelines, where he and the rest were watching. Under his breath, he could be heard muttering, "Pompous prick."

"Down, Grimey." Sasha smiled at her former captain, pausing momentarily as she looked at his clothes. "Hey, I have an idea of what I want."

Sasha leaned in and whispered to Bernardo, who only gave a coy smile in return.

"Oh, that can be perfectly arranged, my dear. Fifi, come here." The newt whispered to his assistant, who nodded, sporting a smile of her own, and moved directly towards a specific wardrobe. "So, I suppose you're all ready?"

"And excited!"

"I guess."

"Of course."

"Very well. Fifi?"

"The changing room is ready, and I have my measuring tape if there are any corrections to be made."

"Then let us begin. We'll begin with you, Master Marcy."

"Whoo!"

Marcy was given a bundle of clothes, and she lost no time in getting into the portable changing room the armorers had brought.

"What do you think Mar-Mar is gonna wear?"

"Knowing her, probably something really fantasy-like."

"I don't know what you consider 'fantasy like', but I believe Master Marcy's new armor will be practical and stylish," Olivia said with a tone similar to that of a proud mother. "I remember back when she was first introduced into the Night Guard, how she was brainstorming ideas on her uniform and how to improve it. We still use some of them, in fact."

"Yeah, that sounds just like Mar-Mar. Always filled with ideas and ready to help." Anne said, reminiscing about her younger days. "I still feel bad sometimes about how much we took her for granted."

"Yeah, I don't think I'll ever get over that," Sasha added. "Marcy deserved a lot better than how we, I, treated her."

"Sasha."

"You're not alone in that sentiment, dear," Olivia confessed, giving the two women an understanding look. "Looking back, there are a lot of things I regret doing, not doing, saying, and not saying. A lot of people in Newtopia feel the same way." This, she said, sending a look at the general beside her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Believe me, you two, you're far from being the ones who've treated Marcy the worst." Yunan admitted with a rare hint of shame in her voice. "I'm glad Marcy has returned so we can get the chance to make amends to her for all she's done for us... and all we've done to her."

Sharing a look, Anne and Sasha nodded to each other. They understood that sentiment pretty well.

"Okay! I'm ready!"

Marcy interrupted any further conversation by stepping out.

She wore a dark suede sleeveless tunic, leaving her arms bare. It bore heavy-grade leather plates, the same color as her gem on the chest area, ornamented with attractive grooved patterns, which were also on the right thigh. The armor included adjustable bracers, greaves, and sabatons adorned with fur, just like her old Night Guard boots used to have. It is also slit below the hips at the front, back, and sides.

She had sleek pants, and finishing the ensemble was a new hooded cape, also like her old one, with the seashell clasp replaced by a medallion bearing the Amphibia foot symbol.

"So? So?! What do you think?"

"Holy frog, Marcy, you look awesome!" Anne said, gushing over her friend, with a slight rosy tint in her cheeks.

"You look fantastic, Master Marcy." Olivia joined in.

"Not only that, you look straight-up badass." Sasha complimented, her eyes looked Marcy up and down appreciatively. "You designed this?"

"Yes! I never stopped thinking of designs for myself and for you two, being honest. It helps when you're making a webcomic."

"I have no idea what that is, but the design IS praiseworthy, Master Marcy," Bernardo commented. "We crafted the clothes from lightweight, high-strength polyester, providing unparalleled durability and flexibility. The contoured design ensures maximum freedom of movement, allowing you to effortlessly draw, aim, and release your arrows with precision and grace.

"The chest and back plates feature a unique, aerodynamic design inspired by the falcon's flight, which not only looks striking but also enhances your mobility. The reinforced and adjustable bracers provide added protection to your forearms without hindering your movements, ensuring you maintain optimal form.

"The sleek, custom-fitted greaves and sabatons provide protection for your legs and feet, and the non-slip soles give you the stability you need to maintain your stance on any terrain. To offer easy access to your arrows and ensure a smooth, uninterrupted shooting experience, we integrated a quiver designed to seamlessly blend with your clothes.

"It is finished in a stunning matte black with silver accents. This armor is not only a functional masterpiece but also a striking statement piece. The interior features moisture-wicking, breathable fabric to keep you cool and comfortable during long hours of practice or intense missions."

The armorer finished his explanation with a proud huff, only to turn and see the group barely paying him attention in favor of continuing to fawn over Marcy.

"Umm..."

"Alright, old guy. It's my turn!" Sasha stepped forward, almost bowling over the newt. "You have what I asked for?"

"...yes," Bernardo said, lightly dusting himself from the near tackle. "We have it ready. Fifi, help her with the fitting."

"Right away. Come with me, Commander."

"Commander?" Marcy asked as she sat down with everyone else to wait.

"Sasha was declared Grand Commander and Lord of all Toads ever since she recovered Barrel's Warhammer," Grime explained, Percy and Braddock nodding, and cringing, at the memory. "She never really flaunted it, even before the fiasco of Andrias' true nature. I guess she was focused on other things, but for most toads who knew her back then, she's still the effective leader."

"Barrel's Warhammer..." Marcy muttered the name in what seemed to be a trance. "The name sounds really familiar."

"Y'know? I don't think Sasha ever told us how she got control of the toads for her rebellion."

"Well, it's not exactly her proudest moment," Grime admitted. "Or mine."

"Or ours," Braddock said, with Percy nodding along. "Though in our case, the context is slightly different."

Anne sensed it was a sensitive subject, but couldn't stop herself from asking, "What exactly happened?"

"We'd rather not talk about it without Sasha. I don't think we can be unbiased otherwise, despite everything." Braddock admitted.

"You know how Sasha used to be," Percy said to try to give an explanation. "I think we can leave it at that."

Anne and Marcy looked at each other, old memories they'd rather not recall coming to the surface.

"Yeah, we do," Anne concluded. "Sometimes I'm still surprised by how much she changed."

"We're really proud of her!" Marcy expressed with warmth in her voice.

"You guys ready?" Sasha called as she stepped into view, and to everyone's surprise, the inspiration for her new outfit was quite clear.

She wore an off-white suit ensemble with puffed-out sleeves at the tops. The gloves and other lesser aspects of the outfit were a dull brown, and her boots were a slightly lighter shade, tipped in gold. A large complementing half cape with teal shoulder pads and golden accents completed the outfit.

All in all, it was clearly her own take on Grime's outfit.

"BAHAHAHA! Well, well, Lieutenant, I never took you for a copycat!" Grime boisteriously laughed at the woman.

"Whoa, Sash. You look incredible!"

"OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! Sasha, you look amazing!" Anne and Marcy looked in amazement at their friend, the latter losing no time in stepping and fawning over her looks. "You look like a Paladin!"

"That's what the outfit is, Master Marcy," Bernardo clarified. "Our paladin line was created almost a year after the end of the war, and Lord Grime here was one of the first to use it.

"Despite its appearance, the suit offers complete protection to all forms of harm thanks to being made of special spider silk threads. We managed to uncover some old manufacturing methods the royal family kept hidden from the rest of the population and applied them to these suits.

"The result is a lightweight, resistant, and stylish piece that can resist any and all conditions, and they're not listening to me, are they, Fifi?"

"Nope, they are not."

Precisely, just like before, everyone was crowded around the human, not caring for the explanation of the technical aspects of her outfit.

"Well, at least they appreciate it. Miss Anne, do you want to pick your Cuirass at once?"

"Hmm? Oh, Right! Yes, please!"

"Fifi, show her our cuirasses."

"And the greaves!" Marcy reminded them.

"And the greaves."

As Anne rummaged through the vast selection of chest plates, Sasha sat down with everyone else and took advantage of her distraction to whisper to the frog who had once annoyed her the most. "Psst, squeaky toy. What was that back in the cafeteria?"

"What was what?"

"Don't play dumb. I've always been good at reading people, and my psychology training only made me better, not to mention how obvious you were." She sent a look at the god in a cat's body, who so far had remained quiet while they changed clothes. "It's because of the cat, isn't it?"

Sprig didn't say anything, but the way he was wringing his hands told the whole story.

"It's a little more complicated than that."

"How so? Marcy intruded in the conversation, "What? I have good hearing, and like you said, Sash, he is pretty obvious." She clarified when Sasha looked at her questioningly. "Well, what's the problem?"

"Well..."

"A lot of things happened while you were gone." The humans and the frog turned towards Polly, she had her sight set on Anne, and was fiddling with a screwdriver. "And there are some wounds that were reopened when you came back."

"...We're sorry we had to leave," Sasha said defensively. "Anne is sorry she had to leave. It weighed on her a lot through these years."

"We know!" Sprig exclaimed in a harsh whisper before lowering his voice again, self-consciously looking to see if anyone noticed his outburst. "We know. But it's just, I don't want to talk about it. I'm not ready to talk about it."

Sasha and Marcy looked at the siblings. There was something there, something they seriously were not ready to bring up. And as they shared a silent conversation with their eyes, they debated if they even wanted to know what it was.

"Guys! Not a single one of these armors fits me!"

Their deliberation was abruptly interrupted by Anne, who, now that they bothered looking, had an armory's worth of discarded chest plates at her feet.

"What do you mean none of them fit you?"

"Exactly that!"

"Hmm, that's curious. Fifi, did you take her measurements?"

"Yes, I did. The shoulder and waist measurements are correct. I've double-checked them to make sure."

"Weird, would you care to tell us how exactly the armor doesn't fit you?"

"Well..." Anne looked embarrassed as she mumbled something no one could quite make out.

"What was that?"

More mumbling.

"Dear, you're gonna have to speak up, otherwise we won't understand you," Olivia said gently.

"They're tight on my chest, I can't even clasp some of them." She admitted, slightly red-faced.

"Oh, it was only that? That should be a quick fix, Fifi, start measuring." Bernardo didn't miss a beat in doing his job, while everyone else...

"Thank you, Bernardo. Though I'm curious, why would you be ashamed of that, Master Anne?" Olivia inquired.

"We-well, the thing is..." Anne stammered out, her cheeks tinting with a blush. So distracted was she that she barely noticed Fifi wrapping the measuring tape around her bust.

"Is it a human thing?" Sprig piped up, looking between the humans, only to see they all had a slight blush on their faces, and Sasha and Marcy were clearly trying to look anywhere but at Anne. "Are you two okay?"

"YES!" Marcy yelled, only to realize her outburst and cough awkwardly, "Yes, I am fine."

"So. Am. I," Sasha grunted out in turn. "There is nothing wrong."

"Are you sure?"

Before they could respond, Fifi finished the measuring and spoke up.

"Got the measure, it's ninety-"

"DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!" Anne interrupted the toad, only to cringe at herself for the outburst. "Sorry, I'm just... a little self-conscious about that." She admitted, wrapping an arm over her chest.

Something compelled her to turn towards her friends, only to see they clearly lost their fight against their impulses, if their slightly wide eyes and lowered line of sight were any indication. "You're staring."

"Sorry!" They yelped in unison, averting their gaze, and blushes ever clearer.

"This is why I use loose clothes." The also thoroughly blushing woman muttered.

"...This is totally a human thing we won't understand, right?" Polly deadpanned.

"Yes." The trio answered back, and so everyone decided not to say anything else on the subject.

"Well, I reckon the armorer can find a proper chest plate now, no?" Hop Pop decided to rerail the conversation.

"Erm, yes and no." Bernardo looked at them after writing down the measure. "Master Anne's size will need a specially made chest plate to fit her. It's not a hard job or that uncommon either, we Amphibians also come in many varied sizes after all, but it will take some time."

"Oh, man. Really?"

"I'm afraid so, but don't worry, compared to the old king, and even some of the other custom armors we've made, this is nothing." The armorer smiled at her. "It'll take a week at most, and mostly because forging is a slow process, even with our current technology."

"*sigh* Alright, thanks dude."

"Thank you, Bernardo. Your services are always appreciated." Braddock said as she approached the newt and human.

"It was nothing, councilor, just doing my job. Master Anne, I swear your Cuirass will be ready in a week. Fifi! Give the order to pack up, we have work to do!"

"Pack it up! We have an armor to forge!"

As the newt, his assistant, and the rest of their crew left, the humans and amphibians sat down to continue their conversation.

"Sorry about your armor, Annie."

"Wait. Oh, frog damnit! We forgot the greaves! Again!"

"Ahaha, it's okay. It's not like I need it right now anyway."

"And on that note, let's return to what we were talking about in the cafeteria."

Everyone gave their full attention to the toad.

"If you let me repeat myself, we want you to try to relax as much as you can while you're in New Newtopia. We can take care of the Barbariants for the time being, and we have the best minds of the continent-"

"*cough*Debatable*cough*"

"Yunan, shh!"

"Working on finding information on the stones. If anything comes up, we will ask for your help, but your main priority should be reacclimating yourselves to Amphibia. A lot of things happened while you were gone after all."

"~There is also the matter of your powers.~" Domino 3 commented. "~Even now I can feel them grow by the second, but they'll do no good if your bodies can't handle them or if you don't know how to harness them at will. We need every moment allowed to us to train you. Also, you need to, what's the phrase? Shake off the rust from your combat skills. We will need to retrain that too.~"

Braddock took a deep breath through the nose before resuming. "That too. I'll make sure you have a space for you to train. I'd wish we could do more."

"You're doing more than enough already, Braddock." Sasha comforted her. "Really."

"Yeah, having a place to sleep and the full resources of Newtopia takes a huge weight off our backs." Marcy continued.

"We can't thank you enough." Anne finished.

"There's no need for you to thank us. We owe you this and much more." And I wish we didn't have to rely on you again. The toad thought, hiding her sadness as much as she could.

"Oh! Miss Braddock, it is about time we leave for the council house," Bella pointed out, showing a pocket watch. "We still have other matters to attend to."

"Right, thank you. I guess our time is up for now, girls."

"Allow me to thank you again for how much you've done already," Olivia said with a bow. "Please remember that you can ask us for our help with anything while we're here, and I don't mean just the girls. We would be more than glad to aid you in anything."

"That means a lot, Lady Olivia, thank you." Bella bowed back.

"Before we leave, we also prepared a full tour of the city for you all," Braddock commented as she prepared to leave. "And remember, you have the Royal Credit Card for any expenses we are not already covering. Don't be afraid to use it."

"Oh, believe me, they won't."

"Oh, believe me, we won't!"

Anne and the Plantars spoke in unison, getting a laugh from all present.

"Take care, we will see you as soon as we can, and Annie?" The councilor toad brought her in for a hug and said with a warm smile. "Please remember to talk with your friends and family."

"I-yes, I will."

"That's all I ask, sweetie. OH! And the tour bus should be here shortly, so you'd better get ready."

"We will, thanks!"

Anne watched the councilors leave, the toad's words, and those of her friends back in the cafeteria echoing in her head. She knew there was much she had to talk about with her family, and her friends, amphibian and human alike. Still, it seemed it was even more than she herself expected.

That seemed to be a recurring theme with all of them, even ten years ago. Anne knew some things were hard to talk about, and that everyone found it complicated. The brief conversations she had with Olivia and Grime showed they carried their own baggage regarding Sasha and Marcy. Mistakes they wish they could undo. She understood that.

But it scared her that the Plantars, that Sprig felt the same. She noticed how awkward Sprig acted after the existence of the Other Her was revealed. There was something that bothered him deeply, and he did not want to talk about it. Neither did she, if she was honest.

"Anne?"

Her train of thought was interrupted by the frog himself.

"Ah, yes. Sorry, I was lost in thought. What is it, Sprig?"

"I think the tour bus is already waiting outside. We'd better hurry."

"Oh, cool! Lead the way, dude. Man, I can't wait to see how the city has changed."

"Tell me about it!" Marcy excitedly squealed as she hurried to leave. "Just the architectural combination of the three tribes of amphibians makes me excited to see what the city looks like now, not to mention the mixing of cultures!"

"I just want to actually see the city," Sasha said. "I never really got a chance to do it last time."

"Yeah, you were too busy invading it." Anne laughed at the memory, something that surprised her.

"IT WAS ONE TIME!"

As the group left the room and headed towards the bus among laughs, Anne thought some more. She could laugh at a memory of betrayal, that was... odd. But if she could do that, if she could move past that and not only still regard Sasha as a friend, but also laugh about it, maybe so could the others.

It was something worth contemplating.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

It was late in the night back in Wartwood. The streets were deserted as very few frogs dared to venture outside at night, especially after the moon's destruction left the night darker than ever, with naught but the fireflies' and mushrooms' light to fight the darkness.

Polly once swore she'd find a way to bring old empire grade artificial light for the town and all of Amphibia and, while the town's residents had no doubt she could do it, they also believed she would get distracted with some other project, or some crazy scheme to take over the world but, it was okay, they could wait.

Still, that left the streets of the town completely empty as the residents were more than aware that in the darkness danger lurked. So naught but small bugs, dangerous predators, and weird creatures roamed the vacant night of Amphibia.

"Ooohhhh~ I can't see past two steps ahead, and the night is cold just like my bed."

Except for one crazy vagrant, who bravely, or better said, foolishly danced and sang under the moonless, starry night, the sound of a concertina echoing far and wide.

"The moon is gone and the stars do shine, and I enjoy my jug wine~. Though I don't have any right now. Stumpy cut me off."

Despite the danger, Wally, as the town's resident vagabond and fool, knew better than anyone the streets of the village, so he could walk through them with his single eye closed if he so wanted, and as for the danger of beasts...

"Oh! Look at that, I'm already here."

Wally plopped himself down at the base of Anne's statue. For some reason or another, no beast that somehow made it inside the town ever came close to the statue. The only exception was the mantises that attacked some days ago when the actual Anne and her friends came back. No one knew why exactly that was so, not that they really cared, dismissing it just as a happy coincidence (Or divine protection if you were one of those out-of-town nutjobs), and Wally was more than ready to use and abuse that fact to play away during the night.

"Oh, Anne, what a shame you had to leave so soon. I would've loved to sing some songs to you, or tell you the tales of all that happened." Wally smiled as he looked at the starry night sky. "Sprig can tell you all 'bout that new continent over across the sea, but that doesn't begin to cover all that has happened in these years."

As Wally talked and reminisced, he did not notice a trio of stars, in perfect triangle formation and shining red, blue, and green, starting to pulse.

"I hope New Newtopia has what you're looking for, and that whatever mission you and your friends are on goes well."

*crack crack crack*

Distracted as he was, Wally didn't notice the grinding sound coming from behind him.

"*Sigh* We've all missed you dearly. I hope nothing bad happens to you out there."

Wally leaned his head back against the statue's base, to look directly up at the sky... and something, someone looked back at him.

Anne's statue was bending to look at him, the engraved smile seemingly diminished, but not gone, sword still held tightly in its hand, the stone replica of the calamity box held under the other arm like luggage... and then the statue blinked.

"Wha-"

{I missed you too, Wally.} The voice sounded just like Anne's, but it had a weird ring to it, like it was younger and older, and spoken through a broken microphone, yet clear as a bell. All at once.

It... She did not say anything else. Only gently setting down the stone box on the pedestal, and slowly turning in the direction Wally knew Newtopia was on. Her every move was punctuated by the sound of stones grinding against each other.

Before Wally could process what was happening, the statue crouched and jumped!

The blast of air almost blew away Wally's hat and the frog himself. Once he recovered, he could clearly see that he couldn't see the statue anywhere. The only evidence that it ever was there was the stone calamity box lying on the pedestal.

Wally blinked, and a beat passed, then another.

"Wow, I gotta cut back on me drinking."