A/N:
Demon dark mezzo sangue: Ah yes, a love triangle, it ain't a one of my fics without a bit of shipping involved! As to your question, Kamen Rider Decade is my favorite, as I was introduced to all of Kamen Rider thanks to him. Say what you will of his character and his series, I loved him and he continues to be my fave.
Killerbull55858: Yep, I wanted to show that there was more to Sasha's inner struggle than just her toxic attitude. There's always a deeper meaning behind such actions. And I'm glad you liked the chap.
WaterDragonMaverick: Fixed the lizard thing, thank you. I felt like Tritonio had a bigger role in Anne's development, she was the one teacher she really connected with, and thanks to Tirtonio, she will not start giving her teachers back on Earth another chance because now she knows they weren't being hard on her because they didn't like, but because they wanted her to live up to her potential. The Bellona name is appropriate for her on that level, on another is an homage to Grime's gladiator days.
Dr. KRC PhD: I felt like it was better to do their "gaining control" chapters together rather than separately, as they were both going through a kind of evolution within themselves. Anne has already developed her physical strength, she needs to work more on her spiritual/emotional strength. Sasha has great physical strength, but she won't realize her full potential until she becomes honest with herself and her feelings.
OMAC001: Same here, I mean when he was arrested, they did say they were taking him to "the tower" and since it was in Frog Valley, there's only one tower, Toad Tower. Now whether or not he escaped before he got there or during the events of the S1 finale, is a mystery. But I do agree, I hope they bring him back.
Now an announcement! Provided I can get everything done before the end of the day, I will post the "Marcy at the Gates" episode on Sunday at 12pm CST. That's right, the third Kamen Rider is about to make her debut! But without further ado, let's begin!
The journey from Ribbtville wasn't as harrowing, especially now that Anne was able to control her powers. Along the way to their next stop, Anne was outside running around in her Amp armor, dashing past Bessie multiple times, racing laps around the snail before jumping up into the air and landing on the roof of the fwagon with practiced grace and stability.
"WOOO! Yeah! Kamen Rider Amp is here and in control!" Amp exclaimed.
"Anne, like we've said, we're really happy that you got a handle on those powers now, but Ah don't think you should be flauntin' them like that," said Hop Pop as he drove Bessie.
"C'mon, Hop Pop, I've been at this power's mercy for weeks now, and finally, FINALLY I can transform when I want, and still be able to talk and know what's going on!"
"I like it!" Sprig added as he hopped onto the roof. "Now Anne can turn into a superhero whenever she wants!"
Amp snapped her fingers and pointed at Sprig. "Sprig gets it. Plus, this'll help me get used to this a lot faster if I stay in this form for longer periods time."
Hop Pop couldn't really fault Anne's logic, not after hearing about her "Trinity Form" and how exhausted she was after using it. Anne deduced that since she was not in control of herself, and just letting the power inside of her fight for her, it was regulating the energy and keeping her from getting really fatigued. But now that Anne was in control, she had to understand how to do that herself. For the most part, Anne seemed to have a grasp on how to do that. From what she had told them, it felt as if the power was still influencing her, but in the form of giving her instinctual knowledge. Just enough to help her on her way, the rest she'd have to figure out herself.
"Ah just don't want ya to be tired if another of those Fallen show up," said Hop Pop.
"Not to worry, with my new Trinity Form, I can bust those monsters up easy! And as a bonus!" A flash of lightning erupted from Amp's body, and she was returned to her normal form. However, Anne's eyes were still glowing blue. "I can still use some of my power even when I'm not transformed. Now if we run into anymore bandits or whatever, I can bust them up without having to go Rider."
Hop Pop hummed with skepticism, while he did like the fact that Anne now has – or seems to have – full control over her power, that could also present its own issues as well. Anne was a normal teenage girl, and now she had real power. A power that was mysterious to her and to them, a power that Hop Pop was willing to bet his life on that no one in Amphibia had ever seen. A part of Hop Pop wondered if there were any long-term effects to using these powers. Sure, it was great now, but kids Anne's age don't often think of the consequences of such things, not until it's too late.
Still, the old frog relented to Anne. This whole "Kamen Rider" stuff seemed more up her alley, and so far, things have tracked with what she knows about them. Perhaps Hop Pop was being paranoid, at least he was hoping he was. Hop Pop spotted a town in the distance, he then turned to Anne and said, "Alright, Anne, put a lid on that power stuff. We're about to head into a new town."
"Sweet!" Anne took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were back to their normal color. "Okay, let's see this new town."
"Do me a favor first, hop on inside before we get there," said Hop Pop.
Anne shrugged at the request and went back down into the fwagon. Hop Pop parked the fwagon near the city entrance, once he had Bessie settled, the eldest Plantar entered the fwagon and said, "Okay, kids, let's have a look around. This'll be our last town before we finally reach Newtopia!"
"WOO-HOO!" they cheered.
"Now before we leave, here!" Hop Pop took out a cloak and presented it to Anne. "Anne, put this on."
"Seriously?" Anne asked.
"Anne, yer still a strange being to most people, and Ah don't want these townsfolk freakin' out, or turnin' into an angry mob," said Hop Pop.
"Not like they could do anything to Anne, no mob can mess with her," said Polly.
Hop Pop groaned at Polly, that was exactly the kind of attitude that he didn't want Anne to have. Power can corrupt, and Hop Pop was a little afraid for what might happen to Anne if she started using those powers to solve all the problems she might face.
"I get it, Polly, but I'm not going to do that," said Anne.
"What, really?" she asked.
"Really, just because I have this power, doesn't make it okay for me to go messing with people when they mess with me. Like that old saying, 'With great power, comes great responsibility'. Plus, I'm a superhero now, and it's generally not cool when a hero goes and just uses their powers on random people for no reason," Anne explained.
Hop Pop felt his heart swell with pride. "My, that's quite the sayin', the person who said must've been very important."
"It's from a story in my world, and the guy who said it was just some regular guy. But the person he said those words to, went on to be one of the greatest heroes to ever have been written," said Anne passionately.
"I definitely need to read stuff from your world," said Sprig.
"One day, when I find a way back, maybe you can visit and can bring some Earth stuff here."
With all that settled, Anne donned the cloak and the Plantars went into the town. The entrance read "Stony Gulch", with a banner below it that said, "Travelers Welcome". As the family of four entered, Anne, Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop were repeatedly chanting, "New town, new town!" The Plantars admired the new environment, taking it all in with enthusiasm and wonder. Every new town was like this for them, since they never really ventured outside the valley, they made a point to take in all the sights that each new town gave them.
"Food!" Polly exclaimed.
"Shops!" Anne gasped.
"This place is so cool," said Sprig. "What should we do first?"
"Well let's see," said Hop Pop as he fished out his Wallet. The old frog opened it and found not a single dollar to his name, at the moment. "Nothin', all we can afford is window shoppin' kids."
The kids gave a disappointed sigh.
"We probably should've hit up Wally for some dough, he kinda owes us for keeping his secret when we get back to home," said Polly.
"Polly, we ain't extorin' Walley," said Hop Pop.
The little polliwog had a devious grin as she replied, "You say 'extort', but I say, 'paying for silence'."
While Anne was debating the moral dilemma of grifting money from Wally, she fanned herself repeatedly as the cloak's hood only made her hotter under the sun. "Man, it's hot." Without thinking, Anne pulled back the hood of her cloak and sighed contently. "Ah…better."
That's when they heard a collective gasp. Anne and the Plantars took notice of the townsfolk who had all stopped in their tracks and were now staring right at Anne in shock and slight horror.
"Rrrright, sometimes I forget about the whole 'I'm a freak in this world thing'." That's when another polliwog began to cry. Anne, feeling a little bad for appearing scary to the baby, quickly tried to defuse the situation. "Whoa, whoa, hey, I'm not a monster. I'm just weird, see!" Anne wiggled her nose, and then her ears before striking a pose. "Ta-da!"
The polliwog stopped crying, clapped for Anne, and then said, "Mommy, mommy, give the freak money!"
Really, freak? You're not even going to correct him? Anne thought.
"It was a lovely performance, here," said the tadpole's mother as she handed out some copper pieces to Anne.
Anne, surprised, gratefully took the handful of copper pieces. You know what, you can call me a freak all dang day! The human teen glanced over her shoulder to her adopted family for a sign that this was okay. She got one.
"MILK IT!" Polly shouted as she hopped out of her bucket and pushed it in front of Anne with a sign that read "TIPS" before rolling away.
With the green light given, Anne flared out her arms and performed her next wonderous act. Using her normal human powers, Anne, in a feat of impossible ability, removed her right thumb from her hand. The crowd cheered loudly and began – literally – throwing money at her.
"This is so much better than that creepy oddities museum," said one bystander.
"Oddities museum? What the heck is an 'oddity' in Amphibia, am I right?" Anne asked. The response was met with utter silence. "Stick to physical comedy, got it!"
Anne punched herself in the face, and the crowd went wild once again. After she went down, Anne thought she should spice things up just a little, see if she could get some of those copper coins to change into gold coins. Anne got back to her feet and said, "Alright, play close attention to these peepers." Anne put her hand over her eyes for a moment, allowing her to tap into the power within, and when she opened them again, they were glowing blue."
The crowd oohed and awed at the change in her eyes, and then started to throw in some gold coins. Satisfied that this was going somewhere, Anne took a stance and then jumped into the air, she performed some flips before easily landing on one of the rooftops and giving a performer's bow to everyone below. The crowd clapped and cheered even louder when Anne started jumping from rooftop to rooftop, performing aerial flips and poses midair as she made it from one roof to the other. She was practically dancing in the air, hearing the cheers of the crowd was fueling her to perform more and more.
Minutes turned to hours as the day turned to dusk, the descending sun setting the sky ablaze in warm hues as Anne collected the last bits of the money she had received from street performing. The Thai teen was a little exhausted from using her powers, but it was worth it as the tip bucket was nearly overflowing with money.
"Way to go, Anne, you made a bucket of money! Literally," said Sprig.
"Woooo!" Anne exclaimed in triumph.
"While I admire your resourcefulness, did you have to show off your powers like that?" Hop Pop asked.
"C'mon, HP, I'm just a little tired from using them, and no one got hurt. Like I said, I'm in complete controo – oh!" Anne stumbled a bit but managed to catch herself and stand upright. "Control, complete control. Now, how are we goin' to spend all this sweet cash." Anne looked around the shops, which most were closed, that's when her eyes fell on the oddities museum. "Oh, that oddity place is still open! How 'bout it?"
Hop Pop sighed and said, "Well you made the money, so you get to decide. But for the rest of the time, please keep your hood up. I don't want ya drawin' any more attention to yerself."
"Deal, let's do it!"
Anne put on her hood and led the Plantars to the museum. Upon entering, they were greeted by was figures of creatures of Amphibia's origin, at least they looked like they were. On the floor was a rug that had the image of a pyramid with a kind of "all seeing eye" at the center of it, only adding to the creepiness of the establishment.
"Uh…I think this place is closed, sooo let's leave and never come back," Polly suggested.
"Are you kidding, c'mon!" Anne retorted as she ventured inside, ignoring Polly's obvious discomfort with the museum's attractions.
Her discomfort wasn't just her own, Sprig and Hop Pop were a bit freaked out by the by the wax statues as well, forcing them to all huddle together as the shuffled their way inside. Anne was captivated by the wax statues, if only for the fact that they were just fake monsters, compared to the ones she was fighting already, these things barely fazed her at all. However, when she turned around, she saw just how scared the Plantars were and chuckled.
"Guys, it's all fake! They're trying to scare you! I mean, compared to the Fallen, we've seen way scarier things on the way here," said Anne.
"Still doesn't make this any better!" Sprig stated.
Anne rolled her eyes, which then fell on another statue that drew her attention. "Whoa, look at this hot mess."
That statue she was referring to was that of a frog in a suit, in his right hand was a cane with an eight ball for handle. He had orange colored skin, gray bushy brows, an eyepatch over his right eye, and a fez with the symbol of Amphibia on it.
"It's actually pretty life like," said Anne.
She held out her hands as Polly hopped up and into them, allowing her to get a closer look at the statue. "Yeah, it even smells real," said Polly as she reached to touch it.
Polly's flipper was quickly slapped away as the statue came to life and said, "Hands off the merchandise!"
Anne and the Plantars screamed their heads off as they witnessed the statue come alive before their eyes. The statue itself screamed at the same time before breaking into a fit of laughter and slapping its knee.
"Ah, the ol' mistaken for grotesque lifeless being, works every time!" The not-statue switched the eyepatch over to his left eye and continued. "Welcome to my Museum of Oddities! I go by many names, but you can call me…the Curator."
"A little on the nose, but okay," Polly commented.
"And if you chuck some that cash into this here sack, I'll give you a tour of the greatest museum these parts have to offer!" Anne walked up to Curator and threw in some of the money she earned. The Curator looked at her suspiciously and said, "Hmm, what's the matter, honey, face too ugly for public? HA!"
Anne smirked at Curator and replied, "Wouldn't you like to know."
"Oooooh, a mystery, I love it! But enough chitchat, walk with me!" The Curator led them through the museum as he began telling his newest patrons about his wax figures. "I've travelled all over Amphibia, collecting its most rare and frightening creatures!"
The Curator brought them to a statue of a Love Dove with two heads.
"Like the Two-Headed Love Dove! There's probably some sort of marriage allegory in there or somethin'."
The second statue was of a giant praying mantis in a bugball jersey, with a bugball held in its left sickle arm.
"Oh, and over here we have the bugball playin' prayin' mantis, Air Bug! There's nothing in the rulebook that says a mantis can't play bugball!" The Curator waved his arms towards the rest of his statues. "I got the weirdest stuff here! Feel free to look around, but remember, breathing in the dust will be extra! Ahahahahahaha!"
The Curator reached into his pocket and threw down a smoke bomb that created a cloud of purple smoke and glitter, and in the next moment he was gone. Only for him to run away from behind one of his statues. Polly hopped towards one the statues and looked at it. The statue itself was a grotesque chimera that had two legs with cloven hooves, with a right arm that had a paw, and a left arm that was bigger proportionally bigger than the right. On that same arm it had three long claws, and three eyeballs. The creature's head seemed to act as its body, giving it a very large mouth with had many razor-sharp teeth, it sported two eyes on the front, with a growth coming out of its head that had a couple of more eyes on it.
That's when Polly stared at the statue's eyes intensely, and when she did, for a moment, it seemed as if the statues eyes looked down directly at her. Polly screamed in terror and hopped her way back into the arms of Hop Pop.
"It's eyes, they're watching me!" Polly exclaimed.
"Well, I've had enough," said Hop Pop.
"Yeah, me too," Sprig agreed.
"Anne this place is freakin' us out, we're gonna wait outside."
Anne nodded as she said, "Okay, cool. See you guys…later?"
The human teen looked at room that had the word "Artifacts" written over it, and inside that room something caught her eye, something familiar, something that shouldn't be in Amphibia. Anne walked inside the room and looked upon the object. It was a round, turquoise colored disc player, with some headphones attached, and the words "Skip Man" printed onto it.
"Oh my gosh…is that an old Skip Man?!" Anne carefully grabbed the device and stared at it in awe and disbelief. "My parents had one of these! But…how did it get here? Curator! How much for this old – AAAH!" Anne screamed when she found Curator standing right behind her.
Curator took back the Skip Man and said, "Ah, the Skip Man, it can be yours…for a million coppers! Ahahahaha!"
Anne groaned in annoyance when she heard the absurd price for the old piece of tech. "Oh c'mon, man, I can't afford that!"
Curator put the Skip Man away in his pocket, a million coppers would be great to have, but there were other things to bargain with that could generate money. "Okay, fine. How about we trade for it instead? Got anything weird or vomit inducing I could display in exchange?"
Anne smiled confidently as she answered, "As a matter of fact, I do."
The Thai American pulled back her hood and revealed herself to Curator. The frog gasped in surprise as he raised his eyepatch to get a look at Anne with both of his eyes. "Sweet tadpole Mary!"
"That's right, I'm the ultimate oddity, baby! I'll make you a deal, I'll be your attraction for one day only," Anne bargained.
"Say no more, kid! One day of you in exchange for the Skip Man, and everything I know about it! You got yourself a deal," said Curator eagerly as he held out his hand.
"Seriously?! This is huge! Thank you, you won't be disappointed dude!"
Anne shook Curator's hand, sealing their deal.
"I already got some pretty elaborate plans for your exhibit! Come back later tonight after closing time."
"Elaborate, huh? I like the sound of that," said Anne happily. "See ya later!"
Curator watched as Anne left his museum, not noticing the scheming smile that the old frog had on his face when she left. Curator knew a big score when he saw one, and Anne was that big score, despite having the eyepatch, he wasn't blind. He saw everything that Anne was up to out there earlier that day, and since then he had been thinking of a way to get her to come into his museum. And then, as if by fate, Anne saw something of his that she wanted, and now he had the perfect leverage. Her naiveté was helpful, too, he expected more of a fight, but apparently, she was that naïve.
"Looks like we just hit pay dirt, Frog Soos."
Behind Curator was another frog, blue green in color, bigger around the middle, wearing a green shirt with a question mark on it, dirty shorts, and a cap. Frog Soos was casually sweeping the floor and then he answered back at Curator, "Say, Mr. Ponds, do ya ever get the feelin' that we exist simultaneously in multiple parallel universes? Completely unaware of the other's very existence?"
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds.
"You've been lickin' yourself again, Frog Soos?" Curator, Mr. Ponds, asked.
"Ha, caught me again Mr. Ponds," said Frog Soos, after which he immediately began licking his arm.
Mr. Ponds walked up to his handyman and swapped at Frog Soos' arm, forcing him to stop. "This is big, Frog Soos! That creature will make me rich! Then I can finally live in the lap of luxury!"
"Oh, great! Do ya need me to get the wax machine set up?" Frog Soos asked.
"Not sure yet but get it ready anyway. From what I saw, she's squirrely that one, we don't know what else she can do, and I don't wanna be caught with my pants down, not like with that Marilyn chick."
"Oh yeah, she was fun, until she turned into a scary monster."
"Ain't that what all women are like anyway? HA!"
Meanwhile, outside, Anne kicked open the door to the Oddities Museum and excitedly walked up to the Plantar family. "AAAH! You guys, you'll never guess what I found! A Skip Man!"
Hop Pop, Polly, and Sprig all glanced between each other in complete confusion as to what Anne was talking about.
"Trust me, this is big! And that curator guy said he'd give it to me! All I have to do is be the museum's main attraction for a day!" Anne explained.
This immediately made the Plantars shout out objections to this plan.
"Anne, you cannot by any means do this!" Hop Pop stated.
Anne shook her head in disbelief that they would object to this, considering the importance of the object. "You don't understand! Guys, this is the first time I found something from my world! It could explain so much!"
"I do understand, Anne, but…that Curator guy is…well just look at him," said Hop Pop as he pointed to the window of the museum.
Anne turned her head around and saw Curator standing and smiling creepily in the window for a moment before drawing the curtain. As if to further solidify Hop Pop's point, the curtain conveniently had perfectly cut eye holes for Curator to keep staring through.
"Oh c'mon, Hop Pop, did you forget?" Anne's eyes glowed blue for a moment before returning to normal. "I've got powers now, even if Curator is sketchy, I can bail before anything bad happens!"
"Anne, again, Ah'm glad that you have your powers under control, but there's still too much we don't know about 'em. For all we know you could exhaust yerself and not be able to transform, ya did do a lot with them durin' the afternoon."
Anne sighed heavily, she knew that Hop Pop had a point, as confidant as she was in her control, these powers were still a huge mystery to her. Who knew if they were finite or infinite, or had a limited use, but the Skip Man. It was something tangible, something from her world.
"Tell ya what, let's sleep on it, come back in the mornin', and see if we can get some answers. Okay?" Hop Pop suggested.
Anne relented to Hop Pop's suggestion as she sighed heavily. "Okay, you're right. I can wait…" The Plantars began walking away, and as they did, Anne put on a cattish grin. "…Until you fall asleep."
Later that night, while the Plantars were asleep, Anne snuck out of the fwagon. She respected Hop Pop, but sometimes he tended to get overprotective and overreact to some things. She had Kamen Rider powers, and she could even use some of those powers outside of the full armor transformation, there was hardly any danger in being Curator's main attraction for the day, at the very least there was no harm in talking to him about it.
Anne made her way through the town, the glowing neon sign above the museum read "Curiosity Hut" buzzed insistently. The Thai girl entered the establishment and began calling out his name. "Curator! Yo, Curator!" Anne continued walking through the museum but stopped when a torch lit and revealed Curator creepily standing in the dark with a big smile on his face. "Oh, there you are! Not creepy at all."
"Welcome, welcome, so glad my little star is here! And every star needs…a stage!" Curator exclaimed as he drew back the beaded curtain.
Behind the curtain was a stage, a wooden arrow pointed at the stage itself and a glowing neon worm sign read "New" right next to it. Anne stepped inside and was quite impressed with what Curator set up.
"Whoa…you did all this for me?!" Anne asked.
"That's right! You're going to be a star, honey!"
Just then Frog Soos came in holding a tray of tea with two glasses. "Here ya go Mr. Ponds."
Anne saw the new frog and asked, "Oh, you're new."
"Yep, Frog Soos, local handyman at your service. Here, some tea for ya," said Frog Soos.
"Ah, thanks dude." Anne took the glass of tea and took a sip, enjoying the fruity flavor. "Mmm, this is sweet. So, what do ya got for my attraction tomorrow?"
Curator took his own glass of tea and swished the contents of the glass around. "Oh, I got a few things, but I gotta say, your performance earlier today was incredible. I've never seen anything like it. Tell me, how do ya do it?"
Anne shrugged a little as she took another sip of her tea. "Honestly, I don't know how. I mean, I only got these mysterious powers a few weeks ago. My adopted family and I have been road tripping to Newtopia, and hopefully we'll get some answers there." Anne took another sip. "But it's only been recently that I've gained control over them."
"Interesting," said Curator. "So, what else can ya do? I need all the details if I want to make this show pop!"
"Well, safely, the stuff I did earlier today is probably it. There is something else, but I think it's too much for everyone, and possibly dangerous unless there's something life threatening about to happen," Anne explained.
Curator still swished his drink around, his one unpatched eye glancing at the now half empty glass that Anne was holding. "I see, that's good to know. Definitely don't want my customers to be in danger, bad for business, but also, the danger factor gives them a reason to come back. Nothin' like givenin' a thrill seeker the thrill of a lifetime, ha!"
Anne chuckled. "I get what ya mean, dude. It's like – whoa…" Anne suddenly felt a bit dizzy.
Curator raised his brow and asked, "Ya feelin' okay, kid?"
"Sorry, the room kinda spun for a sec…"
"Well, since you're bein' honest about your abilities, and since you're going to be the museum's main attraction. I'm gonna let you in on this museum's biggest secret!" Curator tossed his glass of tea into the air and let it shatter on the floor. "You see, the secret is, nothing is fake! Every single creature in here is real and covered in wax!"
Anne shook her head, but her dizzy spell wasn't letting up, although what Curator said did manage to draw her out of it for a second. "W-What?! You mean, all of these creatures are alive?!"
"That's right, honey, all of 'em, every single one trapped in a wax prison and perfectly preserved," said Curator.
Anne's legs started to feel like jello, making it hard for her stand. "That's, that's messed up! Y-You can't just…just…" Anne fell to her knees as her mind struggled to form a thought. "What…What did you do to me…?"
Curator chuckled a little as he said, "Sorry, kid, but you're too fast. Trappin' ya in wax wasn't going to be that easy, so I had to slow ya down a bit. Don't worry, the stuff in the tea just makes it hard for you to think. Like some creatures, they need to concentrate if they want to use their more extraordinary abilities, so I had that little concoction whipped up to not only impair you, but also make ya weak."
Anne tried to concentrate, tried to summon the power within her. She had to heal herself, she had to focus her power to rid her body of the poison that Curator gave her. But try as she might, Anne really couldn't form a complex thought.
"I mean it's crazy how easy this was. H-Honestly, I thought I was being too obvious about it with all the creepin' and all," said Curator.
Anne managed to facepalm herself. "UGH! I…I can't believe this…I'm…I'm so stupid!"
Curator furrowed his brow as he said, "Hey, hey, don't talk about yourself like that! You're probably a very bright young lady, who's just having a bad day."
"Aw…thanks…that's actually a really nice thing to say," said Anne.
"Hey, I'm a bad guy, but I'm not a 'bad guy'. Ya know? Anyway, let's get to it! Frog Soos, help me get her on stage."
"Can do Mr. Ponds!" Frog Soos walked up to Anne and grabbed her left arm. "Sorry, dude, nothin' personal."
Anne tried to resist them, but with the drug running through her veins, she was too weak to even try. She could only watch as Frog Soos and Curator brought Anne onto the stage, Frog Soos stayed behind to allow Curator to go and remove a sheet. Under the sheet was a machine with some levers. Curator pulled one of the levers and activated a glass tube that descended from the ceiling. Frog Soos stood back just as it came down around Anne, trapping her inside. Anne managed to lean against the glass, she tried punching it, but again, due to the drug, her body wasn't really obeying her.
Curator threw another switch and just then the machine kicked on. Amber colored fluid came rushing through a tube and began pouring out from the top of the container. Anne managed to move away as the wax started to build up on the floor beneath her. The Thai girl tried to raise her feet, but the thick wax was making the difficult task even more difficult.
"There we go," said Curator. "Thanks, Frog Soos, take the rest of the night off. I got this."
"Okay, Mr. Ponds. Say, do you ever take a moment to question the moral consequences of our actions? That maybe we're depriving these creatures of the lives that they could lead?" Frog Soos asked.
"What did I tell you about licking yourself, Frog Soos?"
"Ah, got me, again!" Frog Soos exited the building while giving his left arm a couple of licks.
Curator shook his head. "Seriously, the guy's a goofball, but he's like the son I never had."
Anne added, "He seems nicer than you."
Curator guffawed as he took a can of food and opened it. "I won't disagree with you there. I keep waitin' for the day when he finally leaves my grifter butt behind so he can strike out on his own! But I guess he sees me as a father figure or somethin'? Eh, I wouldn't be anyone's first choice for that role."
Anne leaned against the glass and asked. "How long will this…this stuff stay in me?"
"Don't worry, by the time the process is done, you'll be clear headed again."
Anne wasn't sure if that would be better or worse, being in her current state might not be so bad if she didn't have to think about it. "I can't believe this…I…I survived getting attacked by Fallen…the wilderness…and…this is how it ends…?"
"Fallen, huh? What's that about?" Curator asked.
"You…really want to make…conversation…right now?" Anne asked in an incredulous tone.
"What? I want to know more, that way I got somethin' to tell the customers. I mean, I can just make up a story, but somethin' tells me your story is much more interesting than anything I can make up. So, c'mon, dish, tell me your life's story," said Curator as he began dipping a spoon into the food inside the can.
What part of Anne's mind was still clear thought that she could appeal to some part of this frog's emotions, failing that, she could make herself out to be more of a liability than an asset? So, Anne told Curator all about what has happened to her on her journey to Newtopia, the powers she had, and the Fallen she had fought along the way. The whole time Curator listened to her story, intently. At least she believed he was intently listening, her head was still a little loopy, if it wasn't for the thick wax – which was now around her knees – there was no way she'd be standing right now.
"So…if you keep me here…you'll only put yourself and the people in this town in danger," Anne warned. "And if I can't fight them, they'll just get hurt…"
Curator stopped eating the food in the can and glanced back at Anne. "Wow, that's…wow. Had no idea you went through all that."
Anne smiled a little. "So…does that mean…you'll let me go?"
"Nope! But I couldn't come up with a story like that in a million years, so that'll definitely be a good story for when I talk you up," said Curator.
So much…for that…idea.
"Anyway, it wouldn't be the first crazy thing I've heard. Although, I'm kinda wishin' you had that belt on ya so I can put it up in the Artifact's room." Curator took a bite of his food. "I needed a way to generate more money, and then it hit me, artifacts, you charge people for breakin' them. And heck, Newtopia is full of 'em. That's where I found that Skip Man thing."
Anne's eyes widened. "Newtopia…! Of course…so we were on…the right track…"
"Oh yeah, you should check out this other thing I found when I was there, hold on!"
Curator left the room and went into the Artifact Room, Anne tried to concentrate, tried to summon her powers, but her mind was still clouded. Too muddled to focus. The wax was now waist high, it felt as if her lower half was wading through a tub of thick molasses. Curator eventually came back with some kind of object, it looked like a suitcase. It was weathered and had scratches all over it. The suitcase itself was gray blue in color, but at the center of the suitcase was a crystal eyeball with a black slit.
"Check this out, I heard someone say that this was, like, some door to another world. Literally, this thing can fold out into a door. At least that's what the guy I stole this from said," Curator explained.
Anne raised an eyebrow. A doorway…?
The machine that was filling up the cylinder suddenly stopped. "Ah, that's what I get for buying the cheap machine." Curator put the suitcase down and walked over to his wax machine. He began beating on the tank that housed most of the wax for at least a minute before he noticed where the problem was. A buildup of wax created a clog in the pipe. Curator kicked the tube hard and dislodged the piece of wax, watching it dissolve into the solution. "There, now we're cooking with gas. Or whatever it is we frogs use."
The buildup of wax came rushing in faster, dumping a large amount, and raising the wax level to her chest. Panic was starting to set in, but she couldn't figure out what else she could do. That's when Anne heard the sound of Sprig's voice, Anne turned her head in the direction of that voice and saw her surrogate little brother running straight Curator. Curator took up a weapon and was about to strike Sprig until Hop Pop came out.
"Eh, just a couple of common frogs. Oh, I can stick 'em in the same mold, call 'em the 'Two-Head Frog of Froglantis! Ha-ha, it's…GENIUS!" Curator exclaimed as he raised his weapon and struck.
Anne watched helplessly as her adopted frog family was fighting against Curator, but the wax was getting higher and higher, and her vision. Panic was setting in more and more, her heart raced as fear started to grip Anne's heart. The wax was now at her chin. She stretched her neck and body up as high she could, as much as she could, trying to buy herself even just a few more seconds before the wax completely engulfed her, she had to give the Plantars more time to get her out of this.
I wouldn't…be in this…situation if I just…waited…this is my fault…I'm going to be trapped…
…
…
…
No. I won't be trapped! I-I have to get free; I will get free from this!
The wax had filled the entire cylinder. But a few seconds after, electricity started to arc off the cylinder. Those same electrical discharges surged up the tube and right back to the wax machine. An incredible amount of electrical power that was shot into the machine, making it overload and caused a strong explosion that broke the wax container, along with more of the machine parts being sent scattering across the floor. The cylinder that contained Anne shattered apart, allowing the wax to spill onto the stage.
Anne was covered in wax, but the inside of the wax started to glow brighter. With another discharge of electricity, Anne's wax prison was destroyed. The Thai girl fell to one knee, but she managed to raise her head and take in what was happening. The creatures were freed from their wax prisons, Curator was standing in the middle of the room, and the Plantars were off to the side holding torches. The creatures and Curator stared at Anne, afraid to move.
The teen's eyes glowed a little brighter as she stood up to her full height and glared at the creatures and Curator. "Leave. Now."
The creatures that Curator had trapped didn't think twice as they all bolted out of the museum, heading off to, well, Anne and the Plantars didn't know. Anne's body was encased in an aura of lightning as she walked towards the edge of the stage, when she took the next step, she didn't fall, but merely floated down until her feet touched the floor. Curator gulped as he dropped his weapon and looked up at the teen, only now realizing that Anne's story wasn't just a story, it was real.
"K-Kid, listen, I-I'm sorry! Take the Skip Man, heck, take the suitcase thing!" Curator begged.
Anne continued to glare at Curator, but after a few more moments the aura around her body dissipated. She was about to fully collapse, but Sprig and Hop Pop hurried to her and caught Anne before she could hit the floor.
"Anne!" Sprig cried.
"We gotcha, Anne, don't worry," said Hop Pop.
"Thanks, guys…" Anne looked at Curator for a moment before reaching out and taking the Skip Man from him. "I'm taking this…and that suitcase!"
Anne stood up on wobbly legs and walked over to where Curator had set down the suitcase. She handed it over to Hop Pop, and after, all four of them got out of the museum. Leaving Curator alone in his Curiosity Hut.
"Well, that's great…no more monsters for my display."
Just then, Frog Soos came walking in, but he wasn't alone. Next to him were a pair of twins. One was a girl with long brown hair and wearing a pink sweater with a star stitched onto it. The other was a boy who had blue and white cap on his head, he also wore a navy-blue vest, an orange shirt, and a pair of blue shorts.
"Whoa, Grunkle Stan, what the heck happened?" the girl asked.
Curator rubbed the back of his head and said, "Uh…let's just say that one of my business ventures didn't pan out. Wait, why are you two here?"
"'Cause Frog Soos told us what you were up to, and we came here to talk you out of it, and possibly stop you, but…" The frog boy waved his hand around to the damage that was caused. "Seems like that already took care of itself."
"Sorry, Mr. Ponds, they wore me down," Frog Soos apologized.
Curator sighed heavily. "Well, I definitely learned something today."
"Never drug people?" Frog Soos asked.
"No."
"Don't trap living things in wax?" the young frog boy asked.
"Nope."
"The power of love is stronger than anything in the universe?" the frog girl asked.
"Nope. What I learned is I need to find a new wax that's more resistant to fire!"
The twins facepalmed themselves, and Frog Soos chuckled as he said, "Good ol' Mr. Ponds."
Anne was taken back to the fwagon, Hop Pop had laid Anne on the bed so that she could rest up. It took a few hours, but Anne eventually got her strength back, along with the spiked tea having worked its way out of her system. When Anne woke up, she looked to each of the Plantars and sighed. "I messed up."
Hop Pop had his arms crossed as he said, "Ya think?! This is why I told you to keep a low profile! And Ah know you have yer powers, but you can't just go jumpin' into things without us!"
"I'm tired of facing my fears, Anne!" Polly added.
"I know…I know, I shouldn't have gone out on my own. And besides, we work better as a team," said Anne.
The frown that Hop Pop wore softened upon hearing how contrite Anne was about her actions. "Well, the important thing is yer alright, and we're alright."
"Oh, by the way, Anne!" Sprig walked over to the table and presented Anne with the spoils of last night's adventure. "We got this from that Curator, plus a bonus!"
Anne's eyes widened with joy at seeing the piece of old human tech and happily took it into her hands. "Thanks, you guys, oh, and that Curator guy said he found these things in Newtopia! It looks like the answers I need really will be there!"
"What about that thing?" Polly asked pointing to the suitcase.
"I don't know, he said it's a doorway to another world, I'm not sure if he was just messing with me or not, but right now it's probably best to hang onto it, just in case it turns out he wasn't messing with me," said Anne.
Sprig hopped onto the table and gazed heroically towards the rising sun. "Then onward family, to Newtopia!"
"Hey, guys, wanna see something cool?" Anne asked as the Plantars gathered around. "Did you know that this thing has a laser? Wha-Bam!"
Anne opened the Skip Man disc player, and immediately after a thin beam of red light shot out of the center and struck Hop Pop in the eye.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"