'Sup folks. Here I am with another AoD Anne fic. I REALLY should be working on the most plot relevant parts of this AU... but what the heck, this was too fun to let it pass. Just the idea of Anne being summoned for the dumbest reasons xD.
Keep in mind, in this AU, Amphibia and Earth remain connected and the girls (and the people of Amphibia) can walk one world to another.
Anyway, i hope you guys like it!
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it"
—Terry Pratchet, "Reaper Man"
Anne felt the familiar tug at the back of her brain; sharp pain, binding and undeniable. It hit her so suddenly she dropped the pile of books. Behind her desk, the librarian gave her a loud shush. Anne collected the books and put them on the counter. I'll take these, I just have to use the bathroom real quick, she said before rushing to the back. The pain was getting sharper. She kicked open the first empty stall she found.
Finally, alone, Anne focused on the tugging. Were anyone else in the stall with her, they would've seen Anne disappear in a puff of black smoke. To Anne, it was like walking through a door into a different room. She left the stinky college library bathroom and emerged at the Plantar´s backyard, in Amphibia. She fanned the smoke away and saw her favorite frog teen (practically an adult now)
"Anne!" Sprig jumped at Anne's shoulder.
At 18 years old, Sprig was still quite shorter than the usual frog frame —practically miniature compared to Anne's standard human size.
"Sprig!"Anne took a battle stance as she carried the young adult on her left arm. Her golden Reaper armor and cloak manifested. With a hand motion, she summoned her trusty scythe, Rift. She was battle ready. "I'm here buddy. What's the matter? Monsters? Eldritch horrors from space? Tax collectors?" She paused when she noticed no enemies around. She did notice something else, however. "Dude, what are you wearing?"
Far from his usual vest and goggles, Sprig was dotting a formal suit. At least the upper part. The pants were metal trousers, a metal boot on one foot and a formal shoe on the other. He carried both a sword and a bouquet. His hair was laid down with so much grease it made him look like an orange popsicle.
"Is that bad, uh?" He dropped both the sword and the bouquet. Anne put him down and the boy deflated. "I knew it! I found a new sweet spot for a romantic dinner with Ivy, right in the woods outside Wartwood. But we have to go through a horde of monsters to reach it."
"And you need help with the monsters?" Anne asked.
Sprig snorted. "What? No, no, we can take care of them, they're not that many," said Sprig. "The problem is I don't know what to wear! Should I dress casually for the dinner and risk being unarmed and unable to help Ivy in the battle? Or do I dress for the battle, and look rigid and business-like on the date? I couldn't decide so I tried to mix up the looks. It went as well as you can see."
Anne felt a headache growing, but she couldn't tell if it was the boiling anger or the sheer ugliness of the outfit. She lifted Sprig by his suit to stare at his eyes.
"Are you saying you summoned me here, one week away from my thesis deadline, to ask for fashion advice?" she hissed, and the tiny skulls that were Anne's pupils shook their heads in disappointment.
Sprig was unfazed. After years of knowing Anne, he'd grown an immunity to her 'scary faces'. He wasn't afraid of her. Well, he was, but he was sure Anne wouldn't hurt him. At least 95% sure.
"Well, yeah," Sprig answered, matter-of-factly. "Nobody knows more about fashion than you do," he retorted.
The compliment took Anne by surprise, and the skulls in her eyes rolled their eyes-sockets. She dropped Sprig and gave him the cold shoulder.
She wasn't gonna fall for it, no sir. Not again.
Then she made the mistake of looking back and oh no. He was doing the puppy eyes. Don't look at him! He's not cute anymore, he's practically an adult. He shaves, for crying out loud! But Anne couldn't look away from those pretty, teary eyes.
That was all it took. She gave a frustrated screech and did her breathing exercises.
"Alright. But just because it should be illegal to let you go out in public dressed like that," said Anne, summoning her weapon. "Also, you just lost your summoning privileges for a month," Anne warned him.
Sprig beamed. "Yes! The Plantar's stare of pity wins again."
Anne shook her head. This was her life. She chose this life. "Come on, Romeo. Let's see if we can make you look less stupid."
A puff of smoke manifested in the library bathroom. Anne came out of the stall, dressed as her usual self now. The girl washing her hands glared at her, mouth agape. Not every day do you see a girl coming out of a black cloud of smoke. Anne made a hand motion and the girl went stiff. There, now she won't remember a thing except how to breathe.
Anne went to the librarian's desk. Her books were just where she'd left them.
The librarian tsked at her, without lifting her gaze from the computer. "You need to add some fiber to your diet," she said.
"Will do, Doris," said Anne, grabbing her books and leaving the building.
Damn it. It was nearly night. It took Anne two hours of going through Sprigs clothing (and a few of Wartwood clothing stores) to find him something fit for both battle and dinner and smooches. Which means it was her shift at Thai Go. Meaning no more studying for today. She cursed Sprig's cute outfit and cursed him and Ivy for being her OTP.
But mostly, she cursed herself. She was spoiling Sprig. And he wasn't the only one.
At thirteen years old, Anne discovered she was Death. You know, the Collector of Souls, Leveler of Mountains, the Great Harvester, AKA The Grim Reaper. Although Anne preferred the term 'Angel of Death'. It was more family-friendly.
Such a discovery wasn't as mind-blowing as you might think. Anne had always been strange. Seeing ghosts, walking through walls, becoming invisible… You name something weird, she'd done it. Knowing her true nature had brought Anne great peace.
Then, at thirteen and half years old, Anne discovered that despite what astronomers may think, 'space' was more of a concept than a physical dimension, and that she could skip small distances in a flash ('blink' as she called it). At eighteen years old, Anne was a full-fledged Reaper; the Ultimate Reality. And space was to her what unicorns were to biologists. Death existed everywhere: in any place where there was a rock occupying space, entropy was there to remind it that one day, said rock will be dust.
This wasn't all fun and games, however. It was overwhelming to be one with everything, everyone, all the time. When she closed her eyes, she could feel lives being born and coming to an end, and the eternally expanding Universe that contained everything. Every step she took felt less like she was moving, and more like she was standing in the middle of a narrow hallway, and on the other side came stepping the Universe. And when they were about to crash, the Universe went 'oops, excuse me', and shifted around to dodge her.
So yes, there were cons, but pros too. That's life for you.
A few days after Anne found out about her distance-defying powers, she also discovered the link. Again, Entropy existed in everything. Even in things that are alive. Especially in things that are alive. Even in Anne's loved ones. And that gave her a link; a sort of two-way connection to the minds of those closest to her heart. She could sense where they were and what they were doing and send mind messages to them. And in turn, they could contact her.
In Marcy's words: "It's a sort of 'the Gods need prayers' scenario. Except you're not a God (as far as we know)." She then took a moment to think. "Anyway, thinking of you or calling your name with intention is a sort of prayer. A summoning to a higher power. And as a higher power, you're compelled to obey. Don't you see? We can summon you whenever we are! Isn't that great?"
'Great' wasn't the right word. Useful? Hell yeah. Especially in the early days of the rebellion. Nowadays, it felt like Anne had a personal 911 in her brain. Everyone she loved could call for her. And as Marcy said, she was compelled to obey.
Anne grumbled to herself as she worked in the Thai Go kitchen. Sprig took most of her study time of the day. Today was Monday. Her thesis was due next Monday.
Which meant that Anne had plenty of time to get it ready. Assuming there weren't any more unexpected calls.
On Tuesday, Polly called, and at least it was for a reasonable reason. Anne was head down on her desk, writing the presentation for her thesis when she felt Polly´s urgent tug on the back of her head. She jumped from the table and manifested her armor, cloak, and scythe —because whenever Polly called, there was bound to be trouble.
She was right. Anne blinked inside Jess and Ally's workshop, just in time for a laser beam to burn the sides of her hair.
Filling most of the room was a Frankenstein of a Frobot, seemingly jury-rigged with Amphibian technology and human gadgets. It had a giant laser in one hand and a chainsaw so large it touched the ground in the other. It noticed Anne immediately and pointed its heating laser at her. Anne made a jump and took cover behind a flipped table. Coincidentally, she wasn't the only one there.
"Anne!" Polly jumped over Anne, crushing her with a hug. She was a girl, no longer a pollywog, and she wasn't aware of her strength.
The IT-Gals, Jess and Ally, were there too, looking for the worst, with their clothes either burn or half-ripped and covered in grease and bruises.
"Hey Anne. We're glad you could make it," said Jess.
Polly pulled back to nag at her. "What took you so long?"
That would be laughable if it wasn't offensive. "Well, excuse me if I can't be here faster than the speed of light. I was working on my thesis. Which is super important, by the way."
Ally gasped. "You're already going to present your thesis? That's awesome. I still remember mine. You must be super busy."
"Yeah, you shouldn't lazy on that," added Jess.
Suddenly, she felt less angry. She'd to remind herself she was talking with geeks —people used to speak to computers and robots, not living, fleshy 'normies' who used sarcasm and got mad.
Behind them, something exploded. An oddly shaped ball of debris, which could have been a pinball machine before, felt before them, completely burnt.
Anne winced. "So… context?"
Jess said, "We tried to mix some of Amphibia techno with our gizmos. See if we could control the frobot with my phone app. We accidentally activated its self-defense mode."
"But why does it have a laser arm and a chainsaw?" Anne asked.
All eyes fell on Polly. Her face turned redder. "It made sense on paper, a'right?" she grumbled. Another explosion, louder and wider. "Stop talking and just kill the thing! Just the head 'tho, the body is very valuable."
Anne didn't take kindly being bossed around, especially by a destructive know-it-all teen, little sister or not. She also can't let Franken-bot run around wreaking havoc. Wait here, she ordered and hopped over the table. The robot was busy slicing a computer in half with its chainsaw hand but forgot about it once he laid his eyes on Anne. He aimed his laser against her again and shot.
Anne made the fastest swing ever. Her scythe cut the beam of light into two smaller beams, each one traveling in opposite directions, causing twin explosions at Anne's sides. This made Anne look awesomely cool, but angered the bot. He shot again, and again. Each beam was cut while Anne walked toward the bot. Anne could feel the bot's fear. He knew what was gonna happen. Who was coming to get him. Anne stood in front of the machine; smaller in size but gigantic at the same time. The frobot took one last desperate swing with his chainsaw hand. She could have easily dodged it, but why bother? The chainsaw went right through Anne's form like going through the mist and got stuck into the ground.
The frobot had two brief seconds to make peace with his sins before Anne took a swing. The scythe cut the frobot neck like butter. The machine's head felt, hitting the ground with a clank! Its lights went out as its digital soul, made of ones and zeroes, abandoned its body. It glared at Anne and she glared back. The ghost went even paler and banished, not in dragonflies like regular souls, but in binary code. The body felt down, inert.
"Coast clear, you guys," called Anne and Polly, Jess and Ally pepped their heads from under the table. They went directly to the frobot's body.
Jess lifted the frobot head. "Great job Anne, thanks a lot. Really saved our skins back there."
Anne shrugged it off. "It's no big deal. But please, don't meddle with these things anymore."
Polly was more busy looking at the body. "Don't worry 'bout it, sis. Now that the positronic brain is gone, handling the body should be way easier."
Smoke began to fill the room as Anne's anger made her cloak light fire. Getting into an argument about the risk of meddling with things they didn't understand and how creating life, robotic or otherwise, was immoral, crossed Anne's head. She discarded it immediately. These three were already talking about the 2.0 version upgrades, including a full memory wipe-out, replacement of redundant components, and adding a flamethrower. Polly was a bad influence on these two. Or was it backward?
Seeing as she was invisible (even though she was fully corporeal), Anne simply blinked back into her room.
Her sudden blinking had made a mess of her desktop, with all her papers littering the room. Anne sighed, took her regular form, and silently picked everything up.
On Wednesday, Marcy called and Anne panicked. All the time as an Amphibian Ranger, and the hardships of the years, had turned Marcy into a strong-willed woman, perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
But her calls were always distressing in a way that made them seem unimportant.
Hey Anne, how are you doing? How's your thesis? I hope you're doing well. By the way, I'm trapped in the tunnels under Amphibia and a monster ate my maps. Just letting you know you might have to pick me up later. Anyway, I'll call you, bye!
Technically, Marcy didn't think 'pick me up now', but Anne couldn't hear 'trap' and 'monster' and not freak out. She was about to go into the steaming tub, taking some well-deserved break, but blinked away as soon as she heard the call. Then she blinked back, summoned her armor over her naked body, then blinked again.
She fell several feet down, slid down a dune, and face-planting over the sand like a fool. The Angel of Death in all her glory.
She stood up, shaking the sand from her cloak and taking a fish-scorpion from her hair. She was in an oval-shaped chamber, wide as a football stadium. Hard rock made the ceiling, and the ground was mostly sand with solid rock under it.
"Marcy?" she called and her voice boomed in the wide chamber. She ignored her human senses and went behind a dune, following the ball of light that was Marcy's soul.
Marcy was just as dusty as Anne, with her armor ragged and her cape full of holes. Regular Marcy look. She'd her face on the ground, holding a stethoscope against the hard rock.
Anne called her again and Marcy lightened up at her presence, hopping up and holding her in a tight hug. "Oh my gosh, it felt like forever since I've seen you." She said and it was right. Anne's thesis had kept her busy and away from her friends. "You're here early."
"Well, your message felt kinda urgent," said Anne and followed Marcy, stepping over the rocks to don't step on the sand.
Anne HATED the sand. Too much time in Wartwood made her familiar with humid, swampy weather.
"I said I'll call you later, so as not to bind you to my will," Marcy said.
"You also mentioned monsters. Monsters freak people out, Marcy."
Marcy's answer was a hmm as she knelt to the floor and held the stethoscope against the rock, listening closely. She tsked, moved a few inches to the side, and tried again. She repeated the process a few times.
Anne said, "So. Lost in Amphibia's subway, uh?"
Marcy chuckled and it made Anne's heart flutter. "You could say that again. Oh, but it's been sooo productive!" she singed at the end. "I've been mapping the tunnels abandoned by the olms. The old kingdom reached far beyond Proteus, its tunnels extended miles under Amphibia's surface. See that pillar? I think it was the entrance to the noble's plaza. A-and over there you can see the archway of an old palace."
"That's interesting." Anne ruffled the sand out of Marcy's long hair. "But I feel its time to call it a day, don't ya?"
"Sure. As soon as I find the eel."
Anne pursed her lips hard. "Sorry, thewhatnow?"
"The dune-eel! Duh! The monster I was talking about," Marcy explained, strangely calm. "It attacked me while I was distracted and threw me far from my position. That's how I got lost. But I know I could find my way back if I had my maps."
Anne took a deep breath. "Aha. And your maps are…"
"The eel ate them, with my whole backpack."
Anne whined because of course it did. She looked at the rock sky and silently asked the gods why one of her soul mates had to be the clumsiest, more lacking in self-survival instinct person in the Universe.
Well, that could apply to Sasha too, so that makes two of her soulmates. Maybe Anne just didn't know how to choose them.
Anne expanded her mind to cover the whole cave, the tunnels, and pretty much half of Amphibia, feeling the souls of all breathing creatures —and the ghosts of the unliving.
"To make things clear, this thing is, say, 10 blocks long, with shark-like teeth, and ugly with capital U?"
Marcy lifted her head from the rock. "I'm sure is pretty from an evolutionary point of view. Why?"
"It's just right under us, dude."
Marcy squealed and jumped to action, pulling her longbow out and steadying her arrows.
Anne said, "Alright, let's do this quick, I have work to come back to," she said, and omitted the part where the work was a warm bath.
"There's no need! I can take care of it," Marcy snapped, showing off her crossbow.
She could let Marcy do it, but Anne was already here. And if she could keep one of her girlfriends away from danger, she will. Marcy's way was blocked as Anne summoned Rift in front of her face.
"It'll be faster this way. You can kill as many creepers as you want when you don't summon me," Anne said, not hiding her nagging.
Marcy was about to retort how she didn't actually summon Anne, but a nasty glare from her girlfriend cut her off. She hummed and her face illuminated. She rummaged inside her cloak and took out a pencil and a small notebook.
"At least let me draw you. Or you think that's too much work for me to do, mmm?" Marcy said.
Anne shrugged. "Suit yourself. But it's gonna be over very fast."
"I can draw super-quickly. It's my webcomic artist superpower." Marcy took a seat on a large rock, legs crossed, with her notebook ready.
That settled on, Anne summoned the beast. Now, if you're picturing a summoning with a magic circle, a strange chant in an ancient language, and lots of scented candles, you would be wrong. Anne didn't need those things. She lifted Rift and smacked the blunt end on the hard rock. The following THUD was loud but silent at the same time. There was no feasible way Anne could 'talk' to the eel. But words are just vibrations that carry a message, right? And this thud carried a very simple message.
'Come.'
A quake shook Marcy but barely moved Anne. The ground trembled like it was about to be split apart. And it did. The dune-eel was massive in size, occupying most of the cave. Anne's descriptions haven't done it justice. It was like the devil and a worm had a baby. It opened its maw, not to the size but upwards, revealing more teeth than what any animal could need, and letting out a guttural screech.
Anne looked pleadingly at Marcy. "Do you really need your backpack?"
Marcy gave her a knowing look.
Anne sighed. Just checking. She walked slowly to meet the eel, which quickly slithered towards her. When they were at the meeting point, Anne lifted her cloak, extended her dragonfly wings, and took off. She reached for the mouth and went in on the first try.
Three things happen after the devouring of Anne. One, Marcy freaked out and dropped her notebook, running to meet the beast. Two, the eel's brain ignited with happiness for having devoured its prey with ease. And three, something moved in the eel's stomach, making its brain go Oh no.
The eel's side burst as Rift's blade, now the size of a small truck protruded from its side. The blade slid down the beast's length, reaping the flesh apart on its way down. The eel screeched its last screech as it was cut in half, and fell, completely defeated. Its soul, simply in nature yet eternal in essence, abandoned its body. Soon enough it will reincarnate as a rabbit in dimension 55X-09. A more complex, yet still natural life.
As soon as the gargantuan beast slumped down, Marcy flew towards its side. She followed the opened, oozing wound, calling Anne's name. A portion of the beast exploded in chunks and a figure, covered in guts and gore, dragged itself out of the hole.
Marcy dashed to the figure. "Anne! Are you alright? On a scale of one to ten, how grossed out you are?"
Instead of answering, Anne threw a ball of goo that Marcy caught. She recognized it and squealed.
"My backpack! And all my maps are here too. Everything seems to be fine. Seems we reached it as it was in its first stomach. Lucky us! The second stomach is full of acid and it would have melted it away. Uff! We dodged a bullet there." Marcy rambled. Anne said nothing. Her body was covered in blood, greenish goo, and other fluids we should leave unmentioned. Marcy found it very funny. "No offense Anna Banana, you're my hero and all, but don't expect kisses from me until you shower."
Anne kept an aloof expression as she cupped a bunch of goo from her face and threw the ball at Marcy. Marcy barely reacted.
"That was fair," she said, and it was.
It took Anne a while to clean off the worst of the monsters' innards. One could only imagine the sheer wrath of Anne's mom if she dripped alien goo over the bathroom floor. By the time Anne blinked in the bathroom, the water was deadly cold. And not even Death liked cold baths.
She emptied the tub and flipped the faucet, filling the tub with warm water again. She's gonna get an earful for wasting water but Anne was too tired to care.
On Thursday, her dad called in a panic and it freaked Anne out. She closed her laptop with her notes on her thesis with such strength she fear she'd broken it. Then she blinked out of the bedroom.
And blinked out in the Boonchuys' backyard.
This time she made a quick check around. No monsters, no bandits, no killer robots or government agents. Just her dad and Hop Pop. Once the old frog found Anne's dad was into gardening, they became best buds on the spot. They were wearing matching farming outfits, too. Not creepy at all.
Her dad approached her first, pulling her into a hug. "Kiddo! Thank goodness you're here."
"We have a code red and we need your help!" Hop Pop added, even more alarmed.
Anne slithered away from their tight grasp and looked at the men's source of panic. She was more flabbergasted than the time she heard Marcy order pineapples on her pizza.
"Dandelions," she stated.
"Weeds." Hop Pop corrected her.
Anne facepalmed so hard she considered getting insurance on her face and her sanity. No, never mind. Nobody would be brave enough to indemnify her sanity.
"Clarify me this," she hissed, and frozen vapor blew out of her mouth. "I nearly smashed my laptop blinking here because you guys want me to take care of one weed?"
Mr. Boonchuy protested. "No! We summoned you to take care of these."
He opened his arms wide and for a moment Anne didn't know what she was looking at. Then it hit her. Dandelions, daffodils, and other 'weeds' had taken over the Boonchuys' backyard, competing for space with the actual flowers, bushes, and trees.
Anne couldn't care less. They were pretty. However, her dad was inconsolable.
"How could ya let this happen? To your own backyard! Shame on you, Aran Boonchuy. Shame," said Hop Pop, rubbing the wound with salt-covered sandpaper.
"I don't know!" Mr. Boonchuy confessed. "A new season of HeartRock just opened. They introduced heavy changes to the gameplay and 3 brand new sets of cards and it forced me to change my whole strategy. I have to work hard to keep my rank up."
"We'll finish this conversation later," said Hop Pop, probably because he didn't have a clue what Anne's dad was talking about. "So what you say, Anne? Care to give your old folks a hand? Ole time's sake?"
Anne really couldn't care less about this. "To get things straight. Your first idea on how to deal with weeds was to summon me, the Grim Reaper, to do your gardening for you?"
"No. My first idea was to burn them back to Hell with my laser gun," said Mr. Boonchuy.
"Laser gu- didn't Mr. X. got those confiscated?"
"He took away the ones he could find." Mr. Boonchuy's smile was shameless. "But your mother was pretty clear about not starting fires near the house. Again."
Nope. No way, no how. Anne had work to do and this was insignificant and unimportant. On the other hand, everything was unimportant and insignificant if you really put your mind to it. The secret was not to think about it.
"Plus, you'll get to bond with both of your old men at once," retorted Hop Pop.
And that did it for Anne. She was weak, not so much for Hop Pop these days but her father. Sasha was right: Anne was such a daddy's girl.
A quick inspection of the backyard proved the problem to be complex. She wasn't going to rip the weeds one by one and neither were the old men, else they wouldn't have called her. They wanted a Reaper solution. She let out another cold breath. Her breath was always cold, even on hot days like these, especially if she was feeling stressed. That's what gave her the idea.
"I got it." She turned to her old folks. "Bring me two buckets full of water, pronto."
Mr. Boonchuy and Hop Pop did a comical routine of rushing inside the house and coming out with two big buckets full of water. Anne instructed them to get each side of her.
"Alright, you guys. At my signal, you empty the buckets in front of me. Not at me. This Reaper Armor is not rust resistant," she said, lying.
She received confirmation from both men and closed her eyes. She breathed in, inhaling the first-morning breeze and the last afternoon gust. Her lungs were filled with the coldness of the highest mountain and the deepest point of the ocean. The darkest void and the oldest, colder star. Her face turned blue and she gave a thumb up.
Both buckets were emptied, and as soon as both streams collided, Anne breathed out.
Have you ever gone out on the first hours of a cold winter day, the ones with fog so dense it was nearly a living creature and you can't see the palm of your hand? That's what happened here in the form of a gust coming from Anne's mouth.
The effect was instant. As soon as the fog dispersed, they were all hit with a flash of white. Every plant and every tree and every weed in the backyard was covered in a thick layer of ice and snow.
Naturally, the two grown men with chest hair shrieked like ladies. Anne told them to —heh— chill.
"Entropy is my friend." She explained and hit the ground with Riff's blunt end. The ice melted and the snow watered down. Time, after all, is just another concept. And as life and death are cyclical so are spring and winter. Two sides of the same coin. Easily exchangeable.
Not that it mattered since it was a thousand Fahrenheit now in California and the ice would've melted anyway, but Anne chose to spare her old men hours of panic.
The garden was exactly as before, with one difference. All those pesky little weeds were in the afterlife for plants —which didn't actually exist but sounded cool.
Hop Pop smacked his forehead. "Holy Frog in its Heavenly Lair!"
"Anne, did you just make winter for us?" squeaked Mr. Boonchuy, just as impressed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best super-powered daughter ever.
Anne shrugged and rubbed her chest. That was a bit too much coldness for her partially human lungs. "It's no… biggie," she let out in a fit of cough.
She was again sandwiched in a dad-daughter-adoptive grandfather hug. It was hard to get mad at her dad. Hop Pop was easier but meh. No harm done.
"Now come," said Mr. Boonchuy, grabbing her hand. "Help me trim these bushes into a shape your mom would like. I was thinking me but with big muscles."
After two hours of trimming, cutting, planting, and seeding, Anne blinked back into her room. She was beaten, not to mention covered in mud and with a woodpecker nesting on her hair.
However, it was still better than Sasha's call the next day.
On Friday, Sasha called and it was just plain offensive. Anne was an observer in a class. She'd taken this course already but it never hurt to go over some things again. The call was sudden and painful; Anne was proud of how fast she picked up all her stuff and ran to the bathroom.
She felt slightly alarmed. Back in the war, Sasha never used the link except for talking about tactical plans. Once back at home, and through her time spent apart, Sasha would mentally call her from time to time. How are you doing? Everything OK? And 'I miss us'. After rekindling their relationship, Sasha hasn't used the link, not even once.
Please come, she said and it sounded pretty urgent.
Anne blinked and landed on soft grass. A million flashes blinded her and instinct took over. She took a swift swing with her scythe, ready to destroy her invisible enemy.
"Wowie! Careful with that Anna Banana. It's just us."
Marcy's voice brought Anne back from her flash frenzy. The 'Us' she was talking about meant Dr. Jan, Terri, and Maddie Flour, plus Marcy herself, and Sasha, slouched over a giant mushroom with her back against a tree, eating from a bag of chips.
Anne knew the place. It's the clearing Maddie used as a laboratory. Anne had been here once before, and that was enough. Alchemy and curses weren't her things, ironically as it sounds. Death was undeniable and easy to understand. Magic? Too chaotic.
"Oh no, no. My babies! Are they all OK?" asked Dr. Jan desperately.
Terri inspected the bodies of Anne's victims. "They're mostly fine. The tripods are cut to pieces and the camera one is all chunks. But cameras two and three are intact."
Anne gave camera one's remains a nudge with her foot. Each camera was connected to a series of computers, which in turn were plugged into an electric eel-fueled power generator. There was also a full lighting kit, each one as big as the ones used in movies, and each one pointing at the spot Anne was. Under her feet was a tape X mark.
HOW did they know where she was gonna blink, she'll never know. What she knew was the primal fear oppressing her heart.
"I'm in a set. Guys, why am I on a set? I hate acting, I hate cameras. You can't put me in front of cameras, that's illegal!"
Her cloak began to fire blue in panic. Before she knew it she had Sasha on one side and Marcy on the other.
"Anne, chill. You're not on a set, you're not acting, and this isn't theater class," Sasha held her hand ever so softly, and even though she'd had chips' grease on her fingers, it was soothing. "The girls just wanted a good picture of you."
"A picture?" Anne asked.
Dr. Jan broke in. "Yes! A test of your teleporting powers. Your 'blink' as you call it. Oh oh, let's see the results!"
Dr. Jan, Terri, and Maddie scrunched their faces to the computer screens. Their expressions turned into lead-heavy frowns.
"We got nothing. Typical," said Maddie.
"…test?"
"It's all a smudge. How could it be? We opened the aperture all the way."
"Maybe that's the problem? Too much divine light? Let's close it down and set the shutter speed up."
"Last time we did that, it came out all black."
"Excuse me, can we go back to the part about you running tests on me?" Anne broke in.
Dr. Jan tilted her head like a confused newt. "Is that a problem? Marcy said it was OK."
Anne tightened her grip on Marcy's hand. "She did that, uh?"
Marcy's face turned red and she knelt from the pain in her hand. "Hurthurthurt! Also, the president said it was fine."
"President? What president?"
At this point a figure came out of the bushes, carrying a trail full of roasted beetles, sugar-coated pill bugs, and other Amphibian snacks.
"Alright club, who's ready for some snacks, 'cause I got- Hey Anne! You're already here. I got the cicada cookies you like and… oh, this isn't a happy time is it?" said Sprig at Anne's reddening face.
Anne lost it. Shadows shoved their way in from behind the trees and pushed everyone to the center of the clearing. They also snuffed out the lights, turned the computers off, and put the eels to sleep.
"Are you guys trying to tell me you gathered here to run tests on me? Are you… Did you guys make a cult around me? Because that's a big NO for me. Maddie, I'm looking right at you, gal. I know we talked about this before. I'm not a god, and even if I were, I don't want to be worshiped as one."
The culprits (or are they cultists?) shared a concerned look, trying to decide who should talk. All eyes fell over Maddie.
"OK, I'll talk." Maddie took a step forward. "We don't worship you and this isn't a cult. You were very specific about that, Your Lordship," said Maddie, with a hint of sass. Anne had no problem with the nickname if it was used ironically. She wasn't sure if this was the case. "But as soon as I met Marcy in Amphibia we clicked immediately. We're both enthralled and confused by your physiology and powers. So we… started a little journal."
"That we kept to ourselves. A friend's journal about another friend" added Marcy.
"Yeah, and Terri and Dr. Jan were curious about your existence too and contacted Marcy about this, and she contacted me and we arranged a meeting and we all sorta, you know, make a connection."
Terry felt the need to defend herself. "Please, be comprehensive. I worked for years for Dr. Franz and we couldn't open a single portal. Then you slashed a hole into reality with a scythe. A magical scythe! How could I not be impressed."
Anne put her hoodie up, trying to hide her reddening face. "Alright. And what's Sprig doing here?"
Sprig scoffed. "How could I not be here? We're a group dedicated exclusively to discussing how cool you are. And whose best to talk about that than the boy who saw it all? Who is also your brother. And your biggest fan."
Anne felt herself heating up. "Alright… and what is Sasha doing here?"
Sasha went back to her mushroom chair. "I have to be here. I'm their moral guardian. You know, somebody has to make sure these guys stay in line and don't start summoning Cthulhu or dwelling too deep into the Dark Arts." She dug inside the bag of chips. "Plus, Maddie promised me to teach me some cool Death Magic if I taught her Blood Magic in turn."
"And Death Magic and Blood Magic are not considered 'the Dark Arts'?"
"Not the way I use them."
As proof, Sasha made an eerily hand movement. The tattoos on her arm shone red, as the vile red liquid flowed out from each line. It materialized into a bird and perched on Sasha's finger, chirping happily. Anne had seen Sasha using Blood Magic often. She used it for fighting, to defend herself in Amphibia. And sometimes as party tricks, like this one. If it hurt Sasha physically in any way, Anne never asked.
"Gross," said Anne. By this point, she was more tired than mad. "I'm still not sure I'm into you guys making a cult around me."
Marcy groaned and looked to the sky. "You got it all wrong, Annie. We don't hurt nobody or wear cloaks or try to overturn the government." She explained, in the overly excited way she talked about everything. "We talk about you, we exchange stories, and yes, we do study and perform Death and Blood Magic, but in responsible ways. We're very careful about it; we never hurt anyone. They are the closest way we have to understand your skills. You're a unique creature and we are big fans of you." Marcy clapped and flapped her hands. "There! That's what we are. A fan club. Anne's Fanclub."
"Uh-uh. And does Anne Fanclub have a name?"
"Sure it does!" Marcy hesitated. "It's the… The Death Knights. But it was Sasha's idea."
Sasha gasped. "It's a cool name! Don't tell me it doesn't sound epic." Sasha made the chip bag into a ball and threw it at the trash can by Anne's side. She missed it
Anne stomped the bag of chips, which went through the whole process of rusting and decomposing in the span of half a second, leaving a dust pile. In its place, blue mushrooms quickly bloomed. Terri and Dr. Jan went 'ooh' and took pictures with their phones while everyone else clapped.
"See? How do you want us to not be amazed by that?" Sprig decided to speak.
Anne was ready to protest when her phone buzzed. Its timer went off. Anne nearly crushed the object with her hands.
"Great! Now my study time's over. Meaning my thesis is still on hold."
Terri beamed "You're doing your thesis already? Man, time sure flies by."
"That's great Anne! I'm so proud of you. How's is it going?" said Dr. Jan.
"It was going swell until my Fanclub called me for a meeting," Anne spat, and her words left everyone's ears ringing. Anne rubbed her eyes. She felt tired to the point of collapse. "Look guys just… I don't care what you do. This Fanclub? You keep doing it. But don't let me catch you performing sacrifices. And don't go crazy with that Death Magic. I don't want anything from Death's world hanging around here. And don't. Summon me. Ever again."
That said she blinked, leaving the Death Knights both scared to their socks and excited as Hell.
"I think that went pretty well," said Sprig, not reading the room. "So you guys want snacks or not?"
She blinked back into her room, and she barely had time to drop her books over the table when her mind buzzed again.
Anne went livid. That's it. Now they're gonna get it.
She blinked again and manifested, this time in a trail of blueish fire.
"What! What is it this time?!"
It was the longest time before Anne realized she'd materialized in Thai Go's kitchen. And she'd yelled at her mother. Oh, I'm so dead, she thought, no pun intended.
"It's your shift at the restaurant," said Anne's Mom handing her an apron. Her face was aloof if maybe a little taken back by the cloak of fire around her daughter's head.
Anne turned red to the ears. She even felt like crying, for some reason she couldn't point. She felt like utter crap.
"By the way, I don't appreciate you coming here screaming," Anne's mom continued. "The armor looks cool but I don't think the apron will go with it."
Anne lowered her head, as a dutiful daughter should do, and banished her armor, cloak, and scythe.
"I-I'm sorry. I was in class and I did put an alarm for the shift but then Marcy called for a meeting of her stupid club."
Mrs. Boonchuy blinked. "The Death Knights? Don't they usually gather on Tuesdays?"
Anne was agape. "You knew about that? And you didn't tell me?"
"I think it's cute," said Anne's mom like it was so normal, "I asked to be made a member, but their meetings clash with my Thai Chi class."
Anne groaned and shut her eyes. She blindly reached for the apron and hastily put it on, as she rambled.
"This week has been impossible," she whined, nearly in tears. "Work and my thesis already have my brain fried. But you know what I can't stand? It's Marcy and Polly, and Dad, and Sasha. Everyone has been calling me, summoning me all week to do their chores for them and I barely even started working on my presentation. And I can't sleep because it has to be perfect or I'll never graduate and I'll live like a hobo on the streets. A hobo who could have been a Herpetologist but got sidetracked by her friends summoning her."
Anne stopped and took a breath. At some point, she'd begun cutting onions and peppers. Perfect slices, as usual. Her mom was leaning against the counter, staring.
"So I'm stressed and I snapped at you. I'm sorry."
Now she was crying, in pathetic hiccups with ice cold tears. It was the onion. Just that. She flinched when she felt her mom's hand on her shoulder.
"I didn't know you were so stressed," said Mrs. Boonchuy softly. "I called you with my mind because you said it was easier than the phone and you didn't care."
"I don't," said Anne, "but everyone's been calling me all week and I can't work on my thesis a-and what if it turns out to be crap and-"
Anne's head was dragged into a warm embrace. She wept in her mom's chest. She couldn't blame the onions now.
"First of all, that's nonsense," said Mrs. Boonchuy in her no-nonsense voice. "You're a smart woman and you worked your butt like no one else these years of college. I'm sure you can tackle this thesis as well."
"But-"
"Especially because you're free from your restaurant shifts for the rest of the week."
Anne searched for any joke in her mother's eyes.
"I can't do that. You guys need help."
Anne's mom waved this with a laugh. "We'll just get Sprig in disguise and have him do it. If he wants to be part of this family, he'd have to do the part."
Anne chuckled, full of mucus.
"And Anne? Don't let people walk over you. Not even people that you love, OK?"
Anne shrugged. "I just like to help. Besides, I'm compelled to be summoned."
"But not to help, are you?"
Anne considered this. No. She didn't have to do anything except show herself. All this week she'd been blaming her powers and her friends for all the extra work. But the truth was deeper: she'd been letting others walk over her again. Accidentally, without ill intent. But they'd been walking over her and she'd let them. Heh. Old habits die hard it seems.
After crying some more, and feeling humbled by her mother's words, she blinked back to her room. Then blinked back into the kitchen and hugged her mom again, kissing her on the cheek. If there was ever a good reason to blink, this was one.
Then she blinked into her room. She took a few encouraging breaths, like Hercules about to tackle a beast, and sat down on her desk to tackle that thesis.
On Saturday, nobody called. On Sunday, nobody bothered either. Anne's head was empty, except for endless data about amphibians. And with her weekend deemed restaurant shift-free, she'd all the time in the world to focus on her thesis. The few times she left her room to get some fresh air and relax, she was hushed back inside by either of her parents —her mom even used the cat spray on her once.
But it was worth it. After two days of all-nighters, and at least a dozen extra-sugared buggachinos (Sprig's courtesy), her thesis and presentation were, officially, done.
On Monday morning she gave her presentation and showed her thesis to her teachers. It was impressive! Anne feared she was so sleep-deprived she would fall asleep in the middle of the whole thing. But she'd a Marcy moment and went into 'the zone'. As soon as she began her presentation, all sleepiness left her body. Perhaps she talked too fast at times, yes. But that thesis… It wasn't just amphibians, it was Amphibia. It ignited something inside her so primal and strong it gave her a push to power through it.
The teachers seemed pleased enough with the presentation and told her to wait for the verdict in the next few days. Anne nearly fell to the ground. She felt 50 pounds lighter. As soon as she abandoned the college, she texted her mom to let her know she was on her way.
Then the call came. The strongest one ever. Dozens of voices flooded her mind with thoughts and emotions and the desire to see her. It was an undeniable summon, and Anne didn't even bother to put her armor before summoning Rift and blinking.
She landed on a wooden floor and was flooded with flashes of lights. Geez, not again! She thought, and when she could see again, she found herself surrounded by people.
"Congratulations Anne!" said several voices, speaking one over the other.
In the room were Ally and Jess, along with Dr. Jan, Terri, and Maddie. Polly and Frobo were there too, next to Hop Pop, Sprig, and Ivy. Sasha and Marcy sported their biggest smiles. And finally, her parents, since this was her house after all.
Her mom was the first one to pull her into a hug, ignoring the lethal instrument in Anne's hands.
"Congratulations sweetheart! We're so proud of you," said her mother, full of emotions.
Her dad keep flashing Anne with the camera the best he could with tears in his eyes.
"Look at my daughter. The herpetologist." He took yet another photo. "The first Boonchuy to get a degree."
Hop Pop patted Anne's leg. "The first Plantar too if I may add."
Once her dad decided he'd taken enough photos, Anne took a better look at her surroundings. The Boonchuys' living room had been turned into a party zone. There was a sound player playing pop music at low volume, and the tables were covered with plates and plates of food; the best the Amphibian-Thai fusion could offer. And more importantly, there were frog decorations everywhere. The cherry on the cake was a giant sign hanging over the couch. It read 'Congra-FROGGIN-letions'
Anne didn't know if cry a river or laugh madly. "You guys did all this? For me?"
Sprig snorted and grabbed Anne's hand, guiding her to the center of the room. "Well duh! Who else would it be for? It's a little weird that you're majoring in 'frogs' but, as the president of your Fanclub, maybe I should feel honored."
Anne rubbed the side of Sprig's slimy hand with her thumb. Then it was Sasha and Marcy's turn to talk and they looked rather shy.
Sasha spoke first. "Hey girl. You know, we also wanted to apologize. Your mom told us —very loudly— how stressed you were and how we were keeping you away from your study. I more than anyone else should've known better. If someone had messed with my head with Jedi telepathy when I was doing my thesis, I would've strangled them."
"Yeah, we're really sorry, Anna Banana. But here! We got you an apology gift."
The gift was a frog plush. All green with big white eyes and a smile as wide as its big head. It was handmade; Anne recognized the stitches Sasha was famous for. Anne dived her head into the plush and wept. Because she was tired and she could finally get some rest. Because she succeeded in something she didn't believe she could. Because she was loved. Because everyone in this room didn't even doubt she would fail. But mostly, because she loved everyone in this room so much. Family and friends could be overwhelming from time to time. But Anne wouldn't trade them for the world.
Her crying panicked Marcy. "Aaah! Anne are you alright? Oh no, no, no, I knew the frog plush was a bad idea.
"I LOVE IT! It's so anatomically incorrect," She shouted. "And I love you guys!"
Anne extended her arms and her shadow extended too. Two giant black hands materialized in the room and pulled everyone in there into the world's biggest hug. When she heard her dad whining about his back, she let them go.
She felt the need to clarify something. "You guys know I'm technically not a herpetologist yet, right? The council has to approve my thesis."
"Who gives a fuck," said Sasha, always the delicate flower. "As soon as you give your thesis, your job is done. Let's get this party started! Pump up that music, Frobo."
The living room turned into beautiful chaos. Gifts were given, and people laughed and chatted. Telling stories about Anne. Sprig and Ivy doing a 'who can eat the spiciest food' contest. Marcy gathered with the IT-Gals and began to doodle something; maybe that drawing she couldn't get done the other day, since she kept glancing at Anne from time to time. Sasha chatted with Anne's parents as they shared their latest adventure as FBI spies and Sasha told them stories of her deeds in Amphibia. And Anne? She mostly kept to herself and enjoyed the show.
"Having fun, Anne?" said Hop Pop, a bit worried about her quietness.
Anne was tired as hell and this close to passing out on the couch. But she decided that yes, she was having fun. But more than that, she was happy because she knew that, even though she could be everywhere, anywhere, whenever she wanted, her loved ones had the time to gather around just for her.
There it goes
I hope you guys had fun reading it, cause i sure had fun writing it.
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