Luz had finished changing into her pajamas, thankfully she had put away some of her clothes into the pocket dimension via the Connect ring. It was an older set as she had upgraded to a pair of pajama pants with stars and a pale purple shirt. So instead of that she had her first set, a tank top and a pair of pajama shorts. Luz was still in a state of excitement, despite being hunted by a Phantom, this was a lot of fun. This world was way different from the Boiling Isles, and a bit more colorful, too.
She loved hanging out with Anne and the Plantars, Polly was a little cutie pie, but she was a complete rebel underneath that cuteness. Sprig was energetic and adventurous, she could totally see herself running around the woods of Sprig's home, exploring, and getting into wacky – life threatening – hijinks and shenanigans along the way. And then there was Anne.
Oh, man, where did she begin? Anne was great, she could feel how much that girl cared about her adopted family, much like how Luz cared about Eda, King, and yes, she'll even admit she considers Hooty family too, Lilith…well, they were getting there. Anne was also brave, despite all the crazy things that happened to her here, the Thai girl never let her fear get in the way of helping her adopted family, the true qualities of a Kamen Rider.
Plus, she's very athletic.
"I can tell, you were eyeing that girl pretty well."
Luz blushed when she heard Lala make that comment. I was NOT checking Anne out! Is she cute? Yes! Is she…kinda…sorta…hot? In an athletic way? Ahem…yes. But that doesn't mean I like her like that!
"I hope not." Lala then quietly whispered, "The drama between you and the Blight girl is as close to entertainment as I'm getting. And I don't need another girl throwing a monkey wrench into this!"
Besides, Anne doesn't strike me as a girl who swings that way. She's also from Earth, or an Earth, so it's not the same as the Boiling Isles.
"Please explain this to me, your human customs are still confusing to me at times. Are you saying every human in your world is against two people of the same gender becoming romantically involved?"
Luz splashed some water on her face and took a moment to word her response. It's…complicated. Used to, way, way, way, back before I was born, there was a time when people thought that being gay, bi, or anything other than straight meant that there was something wrong with you, or that you were choosing to be that way. And people back in those days had to hide how they really felt, pretending to be happy or…going down dark paths because they were left with no other choice.
"Ah, this I know quite well. So, it was a sort of repression that created soul crushing despair in others."
Yep. Of course, over the years people gathered together, protested, and did all kinds of things to fight against that kind of discrimination. And years later, being like me became less of a social stigma, but you still have some people who look at you funny. People who judge you just because you're different from them. So, while things have gotten better as far as acceptance, there are still those who will use your orientation as a weapon…
"Like what that 'Zoey' girl did to you?"
I still hate that she did that to me, but I don't know…I feel like maybe she was hiding something? I try to rationalize it because she didn't say anything. I mean, if she wanted to do more, she could've made me be her gofer for that time, and then told everyone. But I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking it.
"And because of this, you fear opening up to others like that. You're afraid that once they know that side of you, they won't look at you the same way."
You'd be surprised how coming out can alter how your friendship goes. Suddenly, your friend's not your friend, they think you're going to make a move on them. I've heard and seen enough of those things to make sure I don't make that mistake.
"But you are no longer in the Human Realm, you are free of that back on the Boiling Isles. Perhaps you can use this as a chance to…indulge in those feelings you've kept bottled up."
Luz paused for a moment and realized that Lala had a point. Why was she holding back? She wasn't on Earth, she was on the Boiling Isles, she was surrounded by people who – for them – a person's orientation was no big deal, it was just that. Luz started to think back to Amity, when she comforted Luz when she was training. She never said anything, but at that moment, she felt something. An attraction to Amity, but Luz knew better. While Amity wouldn't think that she was weird because she liked her, it wouldn't go anywhere since Amity liked boys.
The Latina sighed and splashed some more water on her face. "That's enough of that, tomorrow will be a new day and I'm looking forward to talking to Marcy. She seems like someone I really nerd out with!"
After drying off her face, Luz exited the bathroom and paused. She saw Anne sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard, playing on her phone. The Thai girl looked up from her phone and said, "Hey, Luz, ready to hit the hay?"
"Uh, yeah. You're, uh, sleeping in the same bed with me?" Luz asked.
"Yeah, I mean, this thing is pretty huge."
Luz blushed at the thought of her and Anne sleeping in the same bed. Now that Anne was in her pajamas, Luz could get a better look at her new friend's physique, and it didn't do her imagination any favors.
"You okay, dude? You look a little flushed," said Anne.
Luz shook her head and put on a nervous smile. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine! Just fine."
Anne put her phone away and said, "You know, if you're not comfortable with me being in the same bed, I could sleep on the couch over there."
Luz made an "X" with her arms. "Nope, that's not fair to you. It's okay, really, let's just head to bed."
Anne shrugged and wiggled under the blankets. Luz took a deep breath as she turned out the lights and slipped underneath the blankets as well. Thankfully for her, the bed was big, so there was little chance of the two of them making any kind of contact while they slept. Luz tried to sleep, but she was too aware of Anne's presence to drift off.
"Hey, you still awake, Luz?" Anne asked.
"Yeah…I am," Luz responded.
"Sorry, I'm just still amped about you being here."
Luz turned a little to look at Anne and asked, "You are?"
"Yeah," Anne turned so that she was laying on her back. "Because you being here means that we might've found a way to get back to our world."
"How did you get here anyway?" Luz asked.
Anne had a pensive look on her face. "I…Long story short, me, Marcy, and Sasha were brought here by some crazy music box that I opened. I still have it, but it doesn't work now. Until you came, Marcy and the King were trying to figure out more about the box so that we can all go back home."
Luz lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry, I'm taking up your guys' time with my problems."
"What? No, if anything, you coming here helps a lot!" Anne stated. "If we can figure out how to open that door, then maybe we can use it to get back home, too!"
Luz smiled and said, "That would be great. I just wish I knew more about it to help out."
"Hey, whatever you do know will help. Plus Marcy's, like, the smartest person I know, if anyone can figure it out, it's her," said Anne with all due confidence.
It went silent now as Anne closed her eyes, Luz's eyes were still open, she felt wrong for not telling Anne how she was, but at the same time, Luz was afraid of Anne's reaction. Images of the past of seeing others treated in the same way haunted Luz, and she had gone to great lengths to make sure no one at school, well, other than Zoey, knew about her orientation less they see her as more of a "freak". The young Latina sighed heavily; she couldn't do this.
"Hey, Anne, are you still awake?" Luz asked.
Anne opened her eyes and said, "Yeah, still awake. What's up?"
Luz sat up in the bed and hugged her legs close to her chest. "Look, I'm about to tell you something…and I feel wrong for not telling you before you offered to stay with me. And if after I tell you, you want to go and stay in Marcy's room, I'll understand."
Anne sat up as well and gave Luz a concerned look. "Hey, hey, whatever it is I'm sure it's fine."
"…I…I'm bi, Anne."
Anne blinked. "Oh…Oh!" It just now clicked in her head as her eyes widened. "So…you, uh, you like girls and boys, huh?"
Luz only nodded.
"Huh…is this you coming out to me or something?" Anne asked.
"No, I've known I'm like this for a while now, and back in the Boiling Isles, it's pretty commonplace, they don't discriminate based on your orientation. It's one of the things I love about that place," said Luz. "Like I said, I'll understand if you want to go and stay in Marcy's room. I wouldn't want you to worry about me doing something to you."
Anne gave Luz a comforting smile as she asked, "Well, did you plan to?"
Luz blushed as she said, "NO! I wasn't! I would never do anything to a friend that they weren't okay with!"
Anne raised her hands in a stopping motion. "Okay, okay, chill, dude, chill. I wasn't insinuating or anything, I was just joking."
"Oh…sorry."
"It's cool." Silence hung in the air between the two girls for a long minute. Anne hugged her own legs to her chest as she glanced at Luz and asked, "When did you know? That you were bi, I mean."
Luz pondered that for a moment and said, "I think it was when I was eight. I started to notice things I liked in boys for sure, but I also started to notice things in girls that I liked that made me feel the same way. It wasn't until I was ten that I really started to notice what I liked about both. I had kept all that to myself until I told my mom about what I was feeling, and she told me that it was okay that I liked both boys and girls, and that there was nothing wrong with that. But I'm sure your world has people who don't like that kind of stuff too, right?"
Anne thought back to her time at Saint James Middle School, the school never really said that such things weren't allowed, and she really didn't pick up that vibe from her fellow students. But to be honest, until now, she never really thought about it. Never really paid attention to her classmates and their preference in a romantic partner.
"I'm not sure," said Anne, honestly. "I live in Los Angeles, we're pretty laid back and accepting there, for the most part anyway. I guess I just never really paid attention to that kind of thing."
Luz smiled. "Must be nice. Gravesfield is a pretty old town and sometimes isn't always open minded about things. So, I'm happy to know that there may be some places back on my Earth that may be accepting."
"Hey, we may still be from the same Earth, we still don't know anything yet," said Anne.
"It would be cool if were, we could text and Facetime each other, I could come and visit you in L. A., and you could show me around," said Luz.
Anne held up her fist and said, "Count on it, you'll always have a friend on the west coast."
Luz fist bumped Anne and smiled back at her. "I feel better now. It was like a weight on my chest not telling you. I think I can sleep better now."
"Good, 'cause I'm sure Marbles is going to wake us up early."
Luz raised an eyebrow. "Who's 'Marbles'?"
Anne chuckled. "Oh, that's just one of my nicknames for Marcy. I call her either 'Marbles' or 'Mar-Mar', and sometimes she'll call me Anna-Banana."
"Awwwww, that's so cute!" Luz gushed.
Anne blushed as she rubbed the back of her head. "It's nothing, we just made them up when we were kids. I've known Marcy longer than I've known Sasha, we became friends when we were little, and we met my other friend, Sasha, about a year and half later. And after that we've been a trio. Even after my other best friend, Sasha, became a popular cheerleader, she never broke apart from us."
Luz laid back down in the bed and said, "She sounds like a good friend."
"Kind of…" Anne admitted as she also laid back. "We're going through a rough patch right now, but hopefully we'll sort it out before we figure out a way to head back home."
"I hope the door will help with that. Anyway, goodnight, Anne."
"Night…" Anne gave Luz a sideways glance as she added, "Lu-Lu."
Luz squealed in delight at being given a cute nickname.
Right before Luz could completely fall asleep, Anne went and asked in a teasing tone, "So, you sure you're not planning on copping a feel?"
Luz's response was to smack Anne in the face with the extra pillow, causing the Thai girl to snicker.
"Luz…I don't know if we should do this…"
"Relax, Anne, I'll be gentle…"
"AGH!" Marcy exclaimed as he rolled onto her side.
Despite her best efforts to sleep, her brain would not shut up. It plagued her with scenarios about what was happening in that room with those two. Marcy got the vibe that Luz may be into girls, but she wasn't a hundred percent, and that unknown was eating at her mind. And it didn't help that her overactive imagination was very detailed in what kind of scenarios were happening behind those closed doors.
"Hey, Mar-Mar, I figured out that I'm gay, and Luz helped me out."
"Also, I asked Anne out later. Interdimensional girlfriends!"
"UGH!" Marcy whined. "Come on, brain, I don't need this right now!"
The scenarios in Marcy's head kept ranging from the absurd, to the sensible, and often straying into the gutter. So, sue her, she thought Luz was cute, too, but her heart was set on Anne.
"You waited too long, Marcy, and now Anne's all mine. You snooze you lose, chica!"
"Hey, so, I'm not going back to our dimension, I'm going to go with Luz and live with her on these Boiling Isles. Tell my mom and dad I love them!"
Marcy grabbed the pillow from under her head and screamed into it.
Several hours passed by as Marcy laid there on her bed, sprawled out, eyes bloodshot with bags under them. Her eyes were finally so tired that they were drooping lower and lower until she drifted off to sleep.
*Bzzzzzzzzzzzz*
*Bzzzzzzzzzzzz*
*Bzzzzzzzzzzzz*
Marcy's eyes shot wide open as they darted to her phone that was going off again and again. There was a great urge welling up inside her to chuck the infernal device clear out the window. The only thing stopping her from doing so was that it was one of only three advanced pieces of Earth technology in the entire world of Amphibia, and because it had some cute pictures of Anne and her entire collection of Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, and anime shows.
The Chinese girl groaned in annoyance as she grabbed the cellular device and checked the time, it was six in the morning. The correct time she set it for so that she could get an early start with Luz on the door, and potentially get some answers from the Hispanic girl about herself and her powers. Marcy walked over to her bathroom mirror and groaned louder when she saw the state she was in.
"I'm going to need at least thirty buguccinos to get on my 'A' game after that night…"
After brushing up and splashing some cold water on her face, Marcy suited up in her normal attire and headed to Luz's room. Her pace was slow, although the cold water helped to jostle her mind awake, her body was slow to catch up. Thankfully, she arrived at around six-thirty and knocked on the door.
"Anne, Luz? It's me, Marcy, I'm coming in."
The Chinese girl opened the door and her jaw dropped open. She saw Anne and Luz in the bed, sleeping peacefully, but that wasn't the issue, oh no, there was a bigger issue at hand. Somehow, in the middle of the night, Luz had cuddled up next to Anne, her left arm draped across Anne's chest, while Luz's head was resting in the crook of Anne's shoulder. Marcy's left eye twitched as she just stood there, blankly staring at them. Finally, her brain decided it wanted to work and she immediately uttered a "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"
"Eh…five more minutes…" Anne groggily spoke.
"Don't 'five more minutes' me! WAKE UP!" Marcy shouted.
Anne used her right hand to rub her eyes, her vision was blurry for a few moments before coming into focus. She turned her head to the right and waved at Marcy. "Hey, Marbles…" The look on Marcy's face worried her. "What's wrong?"
Marcy marched over to Anne's side the bed and gestured with her hands towards Anne herself.
Anne glanced down and just now took notice of the sleeping position Luz had found herself in. Marcy expected Anne to get freaked out, possibly bolt out of the bed, but she didn't. Instead, Anne chuckled and shook Luz awake.
"Hey, Lu-Lu, wake up," said Anne.
Lu-Lu?! A nickname?!
Luz stirred awake, she blinked her eyes a few times before she said, "Oh, good morning, Anne. I – EEP!" Luz bolted out of the bed, retreating further and further back until she fell off the edge and took the blankets with her, and getting wrapped up in them.
Anne rushed to the edge and Marcy walked around the bed to check on Luz. The Latina flailed in the blankets as she tried to find her way out. Luz managed to get herself untangled but judging by the blush and embarrassed expression on her face, Luz looked as if she wanted to hide in them.
About twenty minutes later the girls were walking through the halls of the castle, Luz had raised her cat hoodie and tried to hide her blushing face. Anne was smirking as she walked with her hands behind her head, snickering every now and again. Marcy was at the head of the group, keeping her mortified expression hidden from Anne and Luz.
"Just couldn't help coppin' a feel, huh, Luz?" Anne teased.
"Shut up! I didn't mean to do that! I usually sleep alone, in a sleeping bag back on the Boiling Isles! I forgot I was in a big bed and I just…cuddled up against something warm and nice…"
"Hey, I'm not mad or anything, don't worry about it," Anne assured.
Marcy took a deep breath and said, "Soooo…Let's head to the kitchen and get some breakfast, afterwards, Luz and I will head to the lab and, Anne, you can head to the hotel to meet up with the Plantars. While we're there, we'll work on finding a way to activate the portal door." The young genius then spoke in a low voice, and she discreetly glanced at Luz, "And interrogate you…"
Luz sighed and said, "Sounds like a plan…I'll send you to the hotel through my Connect ring."
Anne hummed as she tapped her chin for a second, she then glanced to one of the balconies and said, "Hey, hold up, I wanna try something." Anne walked out to the balcony, with Luz and Marcy following behind. "Marcy, how do you call your bike? Is there any special thing that you do to make it appear?"
Marcy shrugged. "I don't think so. I just say 'Come! Machine Zefyr!' and then I snap my fingers and it appears from somewhere in the distance," Marcy explained.
"Okay…ahem…Come. Machine Stormer." Anne snapped her fingers immediately after saying that, but nothing happened. "Uh…"
"I usually have to yell it," Marcy clarified.
"Got it." Anne cleared her throat again and bellowed loudly, "COME! MACHINE STORMER!"
Anne snapped her fingers and waited, for a couple of seconds there was the sound of lightning crackling and a running motorcycle engine. Within half a minute Luz, Anne, and Marcy watched as the motorcycle, Machine Stormer, ran up the walls of the palace, did a one-eighty, and then landed on the balcony in front of Anne.
All three girls' eyes were wide with amazement, practically nerding out about how the bike just appeared.
"Your bike just climbed up the walls, jumped off, and then landed in front of you…that was so cool!" Luz exclaimed.
Marcy broke out her journal and started jotting down her observations, her hand moving as fast as lightning as she did a rough sketch of Machine Stormer. "Amazing, it does have lightning wheel constructs. And it seemed to use electrostatic magnetism to help it cling to the walls. This is incredible, I wonder if it can use that same function to fly as well?"
"I'll settle for wall crawling for the time being, I'm still getting used to flying on your bike, Marcy, I'm not too confident on my flying skills," said Anne.
"What about your bike riding skills?" Luz asked.
"We're about to find out."
Anne mounted Machine Stormer and noticed the control panel was displaying everything in English. The Thai girl twisted the throttle a couple of times, listening to the roar of the engine underneath her, and the crackling of the lightning tires. Anne angled Machine Stormer towards the wall, with Marcy and Anne standing back, and standing at the ready to come to Anne's rescue, with Luz quietly switching out her Driver On ring for her Ride ring, and Marcy readying to call on her bike.
"Let's ride, Machine Stormer!" Anne exclaimed as she went full throttle.
The engine roared mightily as the entire bike lunged forward and straight for the wall as Anne released a loud, but excited scream. The lightning wheels released arcs of electricity as they approached the wall and right before she hit the wall, Machine Stormer angled upwards and clung to the wall, scaling it easily. Anne was very aware of the shift in gravity, but somehow, she remained glued to her seat. Anne eased up on the throttle and turned the bike around, aiming it downward and zooming past her two friends.
Luz and Marcy ran to the railing of the balcony and watched as Anne continued to scream in delight as she rode her super bike down the side of the wall.
"Heh, heh, nice to see that part hasn't changed," said Marcy.
"Huh?"
"Oh, Anne's a pretty sportsy person. She's got natural athletic ability and it shows when she's playing tennis. She's so focused and strong when she's playing that it's hard not–" Marcy stopped herself before she could say something that would give her away to Luz. "Okay! Let's grab a bite and get to work!"
Luz watched as Marcy awkwardly walked away, leaving Luz to cup her chin as she hummed in contemplation. Lala, is it me, or was Marcy about to say something revealing?
"Oh no, I don't think that at all. It's not like that human was hiding a possible crush on the other one at all."
Yeah, you're probably right, it's just my shipper brain at work.
La Lechuza sighed and spoke to herself in as low a voice as she could so that Luz wouldn't hear, "Amity Blight, I truly pity you for falling for this girl."
A few hours had passed since Luz and Marcy finished breakfast and the two of them got to work. Marcy continued to run tests on the door portal, but just like yesterday, her instruments all came up with nothing, at least nothing that was detectable to them. Luz tried to activate the portal herself, she placed her hands on the crystal demon eye and focused on funneling mana into the door with La Lechuza. However, despite this, the door did not react, nor did it accept the mana.
Marcy was currently holding the key to the door portal, well, the key to the previous door portal before Luz destroyed it. Luz had gotten through telling her about the key and the previous portal that she had destroyed in order to keep her world safe from the evil Emperor Belos. Despite her current feelings towards Luz, Marcy couldn't help but feel bad for Luz, she made the ultimate sacrifice, she had an out, she could go back home at any time she wanted, but in order to keep her mother – her world – safe, Luz destroyed her only way back home and stranded herself in another world with little hope of returning.
"So, this is supposed to open it?"
"Yeah, it used to work on the previous door portal, but I'm not sure if it works on just one door or any door," said Luz.
Marcy placed the key on the workbench beside the briefcase, so far there was no reaction. "Luz, this may seem like a random question, but what color was the door portal you destroyed?"
Luz thought about it for a moment. "Um, I think it was kind of a reddish color? Yeah, definitely a reddish color. Why?"
"I was working on a theory here, but bear in mind it's only a theory. What if these door portals were made to go to specific alternate universes?" Marcy pondered aloud.
Luz gasped. "Like one goes to the Human Realm and one goes to somewhere else?!"
"Precisely, the one that you encountered might've been made solely to connect the Boiling Isles to your Earth – or our Earth, still not sure if we're from the same universe – and this blue one might've been made specifically to connect the Demon Realm to Amphibia."
Luz looked upon the portal door. "If that is true, then why would they want to make one that comes here?"
"Maybe Amphibia and the Demon Realm have a connection," said Marcy.
The Latina nodded and said, "You might have a point. Eda, my mentor, told me that the legends of witches, monsters, and other creatures all came from the Demon Realm, including giraffes."
Marcy looked at Luz and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Wait, you're saying that giraffes are creatures from the Demon Realm? Was she messing with you?"
"Nope, I checked it out in their library, apparently they were notorious soul sucking creatures. But I guess they stopped 'cause they're not soul sucking anymore," said Luz.
Marcy was never going to look at a giraffe the same way again. The young genius shook her head and continued, "Well, if that's the case, then the same may hold true here. I've read that there are some groups of newts, frogs, and toads that practice magic, 'Curse Wielders' their called. There are even books on the 'dark arts'. Maybe whoever used this portal in the past was someone who taught Amphibia about magic? How long do the beings of that world live?"
Luz scratched her head; she never did ask about that. "I don't know exactly. I never bothered to ask. I do know that the witches and demons there are stronger than me."
Marcy took out her journal and said, "Tell me everything you know about the citizens of the Boiling Isles."
And so, Luz did, she went into as much detail as she could remember about King's lessons on demons, explaining the three "Bs", Bug, Biped, and Beast. She spoke about witch anatomy; about how all witches and biped demons were born with a "magic bile sack". Their increased strength, durability, stamina, and bone structure were above average compared to a human, and with their magic, any one of them was a match for a single human. Someone like one of the Coven Scouts, or Lilith, people who trained and fought, were probably stronger than a human in their peak physical condition. Of course, Luz was speculating based on what she knew of the witches and demons.
"But take this with a grain of salt, since I'm the only human in the Demon Realm, I'm just comparing them all to me. And although I've gotten stronger since becoming a Rider, I still wouldn't exactly call myself a good measuring stick," Luz admitted.
Marcy shook her head. "No, no, this is good. Having something to measure with is better than nothing." She had gotten a lot of good information about the Demon Realm, and Marcy hoped that she'd get to see it, a world of magic and crazy creatures, it sounded like even more fun, and a possible second adventure she could convince Anne and Sasha of going on, especially if they had a working way home. But now it was time to get down to brass tacks.
The Chinese girl grabbed one of the chairs in her lab and presented it to Luz.
"I'd like to ask you some other questions, Luz Noceda."
"Um, okay, go ahead! I'm an open book!" Luz declared.
"Good to know." Marcy waited until Luz was seated in the chair and began her "interrogation". "Okay, 'Luz', so…WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ANNE?!"
"Huh?"
"Uh…" HOW COULD I JUST ASK THAT RIGHT OFF THE BAT?! SUBTLE WU, REEEALLLLYSUBTLE!
Luz wasn't sure what Marcy meant by that. "Uh, my relationship with Anne? Well, I like her. She's funny, kind, supportive, and strong, and really fun to be around. I consider her a good friend. Probably a best friend."
"Oh…okay…so, what was all that this morning? Huh? You were all over her?!" Marcy asked.
Luz hissed as he rubbed the back of her head, her face giving off a noticeable blush. "That…was an accident. I really didn't mean to be all over her like that! I guess I got too comfortable last night…I swear I wasn't trying to do anything to Anne!"
Likely story, most ecchi anime start out like this. Accidental groping, weird sleeping positions, and then some time down line, things happen!
"Um, Marcy, I may be going out on a limb here, but…do you like Anne? Like really like her?" Luz asked.
Marcy blushed furiously as her brain scrambled to try and make up an excuse. Marcy finally shook off her shock and responded. "What?! No! I mean, I do like Anne, she's my best friend! My childhood best friend! I'm just asking because I'm looking out for her, that's all. Anne never told me which way she swung, but that's fine and I totally respect that she hasn't, but I'm here if she ever wants to tell me."
Luz smiled at Marcy, but it was a smile that held a bit of sadness. "I'm happy for Anne, it's good that she has a friend that would accept her no matter which way she was."
The sad tone in Luz's voice did not go unnoticed by the young genius. "You…You don't have anyone back in the Demon Realm?"
"Oh no, the Boiling Isles doesn't care which way you swing, or apparently if you're into polygamy. It's just commonplace there," said Luz.
Marcy's interest for going to the Demon Realm just went up.
"No, I'm talking about Earth, my home in Gravesfield. I don't have many friends at school there…actually…I don't have any at all…the Boiling Isles is the place where I've made real friends that care about me and who I care about. Although, I'd be just as happy if I even had one friend back there who was okay with me the way I was," said Luz.
Marcy started to feel sorry for Luz, even if she came out to Anne and Sasha, Marcy still felt that her two best friends would still accept her even if she was a closet lesbian. She couldn't imagine not having anyone to trust the way she does Anne and Sasha; it was times like this that made Marcy…glad that she stranded them in Amphibia. Anne and Sasha were more than friends to her, they were family. And, all things permitted, perhaps she could make Anne part of her family in the matrimonial sense?
Luz sighed and then slapped her cheeks. "Okay, enough with the pity party. We got a portal to figure out! Let's try poking the door with the key and see if there's a reaction!"
Marcy watched as Luz rushed to the workbench and started her poking experiment with the key. Now she felt kind of bad that she went off like that. Maybe Luz was just happy to meet other humans who accepted her, since the only ones she's met have only shown that they aren't exactly accepting.
"Hey, Luz, how about we do something fun?" Marcy asked.
Luz stopped her poking and asked, "Like what?"
"Liiiiike…compare Kamen Rider shows? See how much of our media is the same? It might help us figure out if we do come from the same world or prove that both our worlds have the same media ideas anyway," said Marcy.
Luz's eyes widened with delight as she broke out her phone. "Let's!"
The Tomb of Legends, a place where renowned frog, toad, and newt warriors of old were honored. Their remains enshrined in a place where nothing could harm them. At least, not until Lich was through. The undead Phantom stood before the giant stone structure, gazing upon the huge columns that supported the roof that were engraved with runic symbols. The stone steps before him, which were about fifty of them, were cracked, a sign of time's ravages. Lich entered the hundred-foot-tall doorway and looked upon the various marble caskets that were neatly arranged according to their species. Bronze name plates were attached to each of the caskets, each one having the name of the one who rested within, as well as a short summary of what they did in life that earned them a spot in this place.
Lich stopped and fell to his knees, releasing his staff as it clattered against the stone floor and echoed loudly in the large hall. The undead Phantom coughed several times, and each time black ooze would spill out from the deer skull's mouth. Lich's breathing was ragged for a few moments, but after a bit he managed to compose himself. He growled in annoyance as he realized his condition was getting worse.
"I need her magic," said Lich as he continued to float further into the tome.
Eventually, the necromancer managed to find the one called Barrel among the toad caskets. He was at the center of the gathered dead, showing just how much they revered this fallen hero, but to Lich it was only an indication that he was more than likely stronger than any of his predecessors. The dark sorcerer thrust his staff in the casket's direction, creating a black colored magic circle underneath it. Lich brought his left hand up and into a prayer position as he began to speak in a forbidden language that commanded the dead.
Dark lightning began to arc from the circle, piercing through the casket and striking the remains of the once famous toad warrior. The power of the circle began to magnify as Lich chanted louder, the power emitted from the circle was causing the tomb to shake and rattle, as if the very land of Amphibia was protesting this unholy ritual and defilement of the dead. But that didn't matter to Lich, he never cared for the laws of mortals, why should he care for the laws of nature? Lich raised his staff up high, the skull's jaw dropped and from it unleashed a deluge of dark energy that filled the circle and created a dark pillar that rose into the air and pierced through the roof.
Inside that column of darkness, the casket's top was punched off from the inside. A thick, boney arm grabbed one side of the casket, and another did the same for the left. A skeleton rose from the casket and somehow released a loud, bellowing roar that echoed very loudly throughout the tomb. As the skeleton began to exit the casket, something else occurred. Its bones were quickly covered in a black sludge that came out of the circle, it continued to wrap around the bones as it took shape, replacing the deteriorated muscles, organs, and skin. Lich tapped the ground with his staff and finished the spell, releasing the circle and revealing his work.
The legendary warrior, Barrel, stood a good head and a half taller than most toads, his body was riddled with the scars of his past battles, but that did nothing to hamper his impressive physique. There was not an ounce of fat on this creature, it was pure muscle. His coloring was deathly pale green, with eyes that glowed the same color as the one who resurrected him, and at least four horns on his head. Barrel's armor was reconstituted as well, but it was black and silver, the armor looking macabre, more suited to the one who brought him back.
"What's happening…? I was dead!" Barrel exclaimed.
"You were, and now you are alive. Well, undead, but alive. I pulled your soul from the other side to inhabit your body. I could've just made an artificial one, but I need the expertise and skill that can only come from the real deal," said Lich.
"Abomination, what have you done?! Release me! I have lived my life and died a glorious death in battle! You spit on my honor by bringing me back to his mortal plain!"
Lich chuckled darkly at the warrior toad and replied, "I care not for your 'honor', creature. I care for what I want, and you will help me get it."
Barrel growled and yelled, "NOT BEFORE YOU DIE FIRST!"
The legendary toad warrior dashed straight for Lich, the undead Phantom was surprised by the speed of the toad, believing all his muscle would slow him down a tad, but it seemed that was not the case as he was nearly on him in a matter of seconds. Lich had to teleport away from Barrel's punch, reappearing in midair. Barrel caught sight of him and hopped towards a wall, used it as a springboard, and propelled himself straight towards the monster.
Lich smirked as he raised his left hand and made a stopping motion, the moment he did this a black aura appeared around Barrel, freezing him in the air. "I see that I was not led astray in seeking you out. You have great speed and strength, with my power added to that, they will be no match."
"Whatever you seek to endeavor, I will not assist!" Barrel stated.
"That's valiant of you to say, but…" Lich waved his hand downwards and Barrel plummeted several feet back down to the ground. He then got back up and, against his will, got into a kneeling position before Lich. "You don't have a choice."
After going through several conversations about their worlds' Kamen Rider shows, Luz and Marcy found that every Kamen Rider show in Luz's world matched up perfectly to the ones in Marcy's world. Starting with Showa Era's Kamen Rider Alpha to the Heisei Era's final Rider, Kamen Rider Omega.
It was fascinating, it either meant that they were from the same universe, or from two separate universes that had very similar media. Either way, it was an exciting development. Marcy decided to end their research on the door for the time being, as she needed to help King Andrias look into the mystery of the music box. Luz used her Connect ring to open a magic portal directly to Anne and the Plantars. Once she stepped through, Luz found herself in the hotel room, she then stuck her head through and said, "Hey all! It's your favorite magical girl, Luz!"
"GAAH!" Hop Pop yelled as she tossed a glass at portal.
"WAH!" Luz exclaimed as she ducked back into the portal and dodged the incoming glass. The Latina stuck her head back through and said, "Hey!"
"Oh, sorry, Luz! Ya surprised me," said Hop Pop as he waved for her to come in.
Luz exited the portal and found that Sprig was in the bed, moaning and groaning and holding his stomach. "Oh no, what happened to Sprig?"
"Don't worry, it's just a stomachache. Sprig went ham on the ice cream sundaes down in the lobby, and well, this happened," said Anne.
"I…regret…nothing…!" Sprig croaked.
Luz walked up next to Sprig and said, "Oh, pobrecito (Oh, poor little guy)." The Latina sat on the edge of the bed and reached out her hand towards Sprig, she then placed it carefully over his achy stomach. Sprig, despite the pain in his stomach, felt a sense of relief at Luz's gentle, soothing rubbing motions. While Luz was doing this, she sang to him.
"Sana colita de rana,
Si no sana hoy, sanará mañana."
The pain in Sprig's stomach was still there, but compared to a moment ago, it was starting to lessen a little.
"Sana colita de rana,
Si no sana hoy, sanará mañana."
Sprig was feeling more soothed by Luz's voice and gentle rubbing that the pain was almost nonexistent, but there was no way he was going to get up and declare that he was cured, as the rumbling inside told him otherwise. Anne watched with intrigue, gazing upon the gentle smile of Luz and her soothing singing voice as she spoke in Spanish to Sprig. It was kind of cute.
Whoa, what did I just think?
Luz stopped her rubbing and singing as she said, "You'll be fine soon, Sprig, I promise."
Hop Pop blinked and asked, "Wow, what kinda magic spell was that?"
Luz giggled and said, "It's just a little something that my mom would do for me whenever I was hurt or not feeling good. So, I guess you could call it 'mom magic'. Guess we'll call off the search for today then."
"No, you need to find the guy who made the door, you should go without me," said Sprig.
"Well Ah ain't leavin' ya alone."
Anne shook the "cute" thought out of her head and said, "Why don't we both go, just you, me, and Polly?"
The little pollywog hopped onto the opposite bed near Anne and Luz and said, "Oh yeah, let's find this guy!"
Hop Pop immediately shot that down. "Nuh-uh, you're stayin' here. As much as Ah don't like leavin' you two girls alone to find this mysterious door maker, at least you have the means to defend yerselves. And the last thing Ah need is to be worryin' about you as well!"
Polly frowned as she crossed her arms. "Humph! I wanted to punch someone."
Anne patted Polly on the head and said, "Hey, don't worry, maybe we'll have our own solo adventure while we're here."
"You promise?" Polly asked.
"Promise."
"Okay, I'll make sure that Anne's safe, Mr. Plantar," said Luz.
"Please, Luz, call me Hop Pop," the old frog insisted. "After the way you've helped Sprig, ya earned it."
"Alright then, Team LuAnne is a go!" Anne declared.
"Team LuAnne?" Luz asked.
"Yeah, Luz and Anne, LuAnne. Sorry, I know it's silly, but I like to combine names and–"
Luz grabbed Anne by the shoulders and gave her a serious look. "Anne…I LOVE IT!"
With the Plantars remaining at the hotel, Luz and Anne restarted their search for the maker of the door portal. They headed into District Two and decided to grab a quick bite while they were there.
"Oh, shoot, I forgot the card," said Anne.
"No worries, I think I know how to make some more money," said Luz. The Latina looked around as if she was making sure no one was watching them and said, "In that alley."
Anne followed Luz into the alleyway and watched as Luz took out her Copy ring and put it on. She then took out the pouch full of copper coins and activated her ring.
[Copy, Please.]
Luz placed her right hand over the pouch as the Copy ring shined, releasing a magic circle that scanned the pouch. She then turned her right hand over and another circle materialized a similar bag of copper coins. "I think I just commented a counterfeiting crime, but at least this way I can make as many coins as I want."
Anne went wide eyed at the display of magic. "Wait, you can seriously make a copy of anything?! Can you copy yourself?!"
"I can, but then my magic is halved, and it keeps getting divided the more copies I make. But if I use it on an object it doesn't do that, so I can copy almost anything," Luz explained. "Although I haven't tried it on food yet…Anyway, late lunch is on me today."
Luz and Anne had another bug themed meal, something that Luz found herself getting used to fairly quickly. Once they were done the Latina recast the Sight spell and took out the shades that Anne bought her. The two teenage girls searched as much as they could, but so far, they weren't finding anything, much to Luz's disappointment, but rarely were things that easy.
"Guess we'll move on to District Three then," said Anne.
"Guess so," said Luz as she deactivated her spell and took off her shades.
"Youse gals lookin' for someone?"
Luz and Anne turned around and spotted a little newt boy standing there behind them with his hands in his pockets. He had baggy pants on, with a dirty shirt and a newsboy looking cap.
"Who's asking?" Anne questioned.
"Me? My name's Ned, Nosey Ned, and it's my business to know what's what in this city. And somethin' tells me you need some help," said Ned.
"Thanks, little newt boy, but we're fine," said Luz.
Ned shrugged at them. "Cool, if that's what youse two want, but maybe some free advice. If you're lookin' for someone who doesn't want to be found, then ya need to be lookin' in District Six. Now ya could go and look, but District Six is a rough place, if ya don't know the area. But I live there, if ya want to find 'em, you'll need my help."
Anne reached out with her right arm and slung it over Luz's shoulders as she said, "Would you excuse us for just one second?" The Thai girl walked Luz away from Ned a few paces and brought them into a huddle. "I don't like this kid, it's too convenient."
"But we don't exactly have any leads, plus, we did find out that District Six is a shady place. It would help to have a local guide," Luz suggested.
Anne took a quick glance at Ned and then returned her gaze to Luz. "I still don't like it, but…you're right. We just need to keep our guard up, agreed?"
"Agreed," said Luz. The two girls turned around and addressed the little newt boy. "Okay, Nosey Ned, take us to District Six!"
Ned smirked and said, "Follow me. We can take a few buses that'll get us halfway, but the rest of the way will by on foot, not a lot of buses and taxis go to D6 'cause of its rep."
Luz and Anne followed Ned, they got on a few buses that took them to the last and closest stop before it could get to District Six. The rest of the way was on foot, Ned led them the entire way, but the two teens were always on the lookout for anything. They eventually arrived at the border to the infamous area, District Six. A place where some of the criminal elements of Newtopia went to hide, and where the poverty stricken were forced to go when they found themselves on hard times.
The girls kept their eyes open as they took in the sights of the district, it was rundown, just walking into the district you could feel the depression and hostility that was in the air. There were several shady looking newts that were eyeing the two teenage girls, while there were others, the ones that were just trying not to draw attention to themselves or get involved with anything, quickened their pace whenever they got too close. It was disheartening to see such a thing in such a grand city as Newtopia.
This did raise the ire of Luz, remembering her meeting with the newt king and how friendly he was, but now she wondered just how good he was if he allowed his own people to live in squalor like this. "Hey, Ned, why is it like this? Everywhere else in Newtopia looks happy, bright, and shiny. But here…"
Ned shrugged. "Probably somethin' to do with the crime. Every place gots its dirty little secrets. District Six is where those secrets go to find shelter. Way I hear it, D6 wasn't always like this, it was actually meant to be a place where newts who were down on their luck could start over and get a fresh start. Cheaper accommodations, shoppin', food, etc. But that just made it easier for criminal types to swoop in and use it for themselves. Offerin' 'jobs' to desperate people who need 'em."
Luz furrowed her brow when she heard that. "They're using people's despair in order to get them to do what they want. They're no better than the Phantoms."
"This is messed up, why hasn't the king done anything?" Anne asked.
"Not like he hasn't tried, but the crime organizations around here keep findin' ways to slip out and under the king's grasp. Whenever he cracks down on 'em and takes one out, 'nother two pop out to take their place, kind of an endless cycle," Ned explained.
The trio continued walking through the unkempt streets, heading deeper into District Six. Luz and Anne were starting to wonder where Ned was taking them, as they never really described who it was they were looking for in the first place.
"Sooo, Ned, where are we going?" Anne asked as she gave the newt boy a suspicious look.
"Eh, just a contact."
They rounded the corner and headed into an alleyway. They continued along the corridor until it opened up into a rotunda-like area. There were some trash cans off to the side, a couple of windows high up on the second story, and some powerlines. Ned kept walking until they were at the center of the rotunda and stopped. Luz and Anne were about to ask why Ned had stopped, but their answer came quickly in the form of several newts coming out of the four different corridors, and some others on the roof. In total there were about twenty of them, all of them armed with knives or brass knuckles, some had eyepatches, some were scarred up, and others were big and burly while some were thin and scrawny.
"What the heck?!" Anne exclaimed.
"Ned, what's going on?!" Luz asked.
Ned put his hands into his pockets and sighed as he began walking towards the assembled gang. He then stopped before a newt with an eyepatch and said, "Brought 'em like I promised."
"WHAT?!" Luz yelled.
"I knew it," said Anne.
"Good job, Ned, we've been eyein' that one with the bush on its head since it got here, but that one, you said it could do magic, right?" the leader asked as he pointed at Luz.
"Yep, saw her do some crazy stuff at Coral Park the other day, and I've been seein' the other one do some crazy stuff, too."
"Heh-Heh, gonna fetch a good price, exotic creatures like that, especially the cheery one, could be useful." The leader of the group took out a pouch that jangled with each movement. "Here ya go, Ned, as promised."
Anne furrowed her brow and said, "Dude, you sold us out for money?!"
Ned took the money and said, "Nothin' personal, gals. Just business, ya gotta do wha'cha gotta do to survive 'round 'ere." The newt boy took his payment and opened to check it. "Hey, what gives, this is only half!"
"Ya get the other half after we get 'em. Go on boys, do your jobs already!"
The group of thugs began to slowly encroach upon Luz and Anne, forcing the two teenage girls to go back-to-back.
"What do you think? Should we Rider Up?" Anne asked.
Luz took a moment to gauge their situation, the newts were dangerous, but she didn't think they rose to the level of transforming to beat them. "I can use my glyphs and I can still use my rings even while not transformed, so I got us covered. I'll protect you, Anne."
Anne smiled and said, "Thanks, dude, but I got my own power, too."
Luz watched as Anne's eyes shifted from dark brown to bright blue, with sparks of electricity surging around her body. "So cool!" The Latina took out a couple of glyph papers and added, "Let's rock, amiga!"
One of the burly newts came at Anne, but using her speed and power, Anne quickly got within striking distance and threw an uppercut to his face. Her punch landed right under his jaw, sending the newt flying into the air and away from them before landing on top of some trashcans. The other newts' jaws dropped in shock of the display of strength.
"My turn!" Luz announced.
Luz took out two Plant Glyphs and slammed them against the ground. Thick vines erupted from the glowing symbols and shot out towards the gang members, wrapping them up and tossing them like ragdolls in different directions. Anne spotted one of the scrawny newts making a break for Luz while her back was turned, but Anne used her speed to quickly close the distance and deliver an elbow strike to the newt's face, sending him flying into another of his buddies. Luz glanced over her shoulder just as Anne gave her a wink, but at that same time, another of the burly newts raised his cleaver and readied to bring it down on Anne. Luz acted quickly as she pulled out Light Glyph and funneled her mana into it, transforming the orb of light that it created into a saber.
Luz swung upwards just as the cleaver came down, the saber of light held up, creating sparks as two weapons grinded against each other. Anne watched this all transpire and chuckled when Luz gave her a wink back. Luz gripped the saber with both hands and pushed parried the blade away along with the burly newt. Two more thin newts came in with their blades and tried to slash at Luz. The Latina took out another Light Glyph and created a shield of light around her left arm. She blocked the first newt's attack with the shield and parried the second. While off balanced, Luz swung her saber and struck the newt on her right. The blow, instead of cutting down the newt, was more of a blunt force hit, like getting hit with a baseball bat since the saber was made of hard-light and didn't emit heat per her command.
With that newt taken down, Luz used her shield and backhanded the second, sending him spiraling until he hit the ground. Anne took advantage of this and started dashing around, delivering elbow strikes, knee strikes, punches, and kicks to every newt that was about to come at them.
"GRRR! That's it, shoot 'em!"
Luz heard their leader and looked up at the newts that were on the rooftops, each of them broke out a crossbow and readied to fire. "ANNE!"
Anne looked up and then dashed towards Luz. The Latina took out another of her Plant Glyphs and pressed it against the ground. Vines erupted and began to wrap themselves into a dome, right before the dome could close, Anne dove into it just in time. The archers on the roofs fired their crossbow bolts, each one striking the vine dome, but unable to pierce through them.
"Good lookin' out, Luz," said Anne.
"No problem, but there's gotta be a way to take these guys down without…you know, eeek." Luz dragged her right index finger across her throat in the universal death sign.
Anne thought for a moment, but it only took a second for an idea to come to mind. "Luz, one of your glyphs is ice, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"They're cold blooded! Like, literally, they're cold blooded."
Luz brow raised as she understood what Anne was getting at. "Oh, okay, I'm pickin' up what you're puttin' down."
[Connect, Please.]
Luz opened a portal beneath them, and the two girls jumped through. Another portal opened high in the air as Luz took out two Ice Glyph papers and pressed them together in her palms. With some mana, she managed manipulate the ice and break it down into a swirling ball of freezing cold. Once it was ready, Luz released the cold in a wintery blast that blanketed the entire area, rooftops included. The archers turned their crossbows to the air too late as the cold wind blew through and dropped their body temperatures almost instantly. In just a matter of seconds, all of the newts froze, incased in blocks of ice much like the frogs of Wartwood.
Luz took out one more Ice Glyph and activated it, channeling her mana into the glyph to form an ice slide that the two girls slid down on. Unfortunately, the landing was rough, tossing Luz onto her back. "Ouch…AAH!" It was at that moment that Luz watched as Anne came flying towards her, ending up with the Thai girl atop of the young Latina.
"Ouch…" Anne groaned as she propped herself up on her hands. She then looked down and saw that Luz was blushing a little, and for some reason, Anne felt her face getting a bit warm, too. Anne quickly backed off of Luz, only to slip on the icy ground and fall on her butt. "Dang it…sorry about that."
Luz slowly got to her feet, she offered Anne her hand and said, "I-It's cool, get it?"
Anne chuckled at the cheesy joke as she grasped Luz's hand and hoisted herself up. "Well, looks like they're not going anywhere anytime soon. Score one for Team LuAnne!"
"Yep!…Um, you're sure they're not dead, right?" Luz asked.
"Totally, they'll be thawed out and probably feeling like a million bucks after." Anne walked over to where Ned was, the young newt boy being among the frozen newts. "But the real question is, what are going to do with him?"
Luz stood next to Anne and said, "Well, he did try and sell us, but he only did it because he needs money, and…can you really blame him after seeing this place?"
Anne glanced about the area and sighed. "Guess I can't. But that doesn't mean we can't at least scare the crap out of him a little."
"Scared straight, sounds good to me!"
After moving the remaining gang members together at the center of the alley, Luz and Anne picked up Ned's ice cube and walked off to another spot far from the gang members. It was there that Luz used her Fire Glyph to hasten the thawing process, after about a couple of minutes, the ice began to crack, and the trapped Ned busted free of the ice.
"HOLY FROG! Wha-What happened?!" Ned looked around and saw that he was no longer in that same alley but was now alone with the two girls he sold out. "Oh…uh…heya girls…no, uh, no hard feelins'?"
Anne crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Ned. "Dude, you literally tried to sell us to some gang so they could do frog knows what."
"So, yeah, lots of hard feelings right now," Luz added.
"Okay, okay, okay! I know I messed up! But like I said, it wasn't personal, just business! Hey, I'll make it up to youse! I'll find the guy yer lookin' for! What do you say?!" Ned bargained.
"Ha! Puh-lease, you tried that to get us out here with that lie, and now you're trying to get out of this mess with the same lie," Luz accused.
Ned shook his head and waved his hands. "No, I mean it! I know a lot of what goes down on the streets! You'd be surprised how much people blab when I'm around, people don't pay attention to some random street urchin kid, and that lets me listen in on a whole heck of a lot! And I's got a mind like a steel trap! Once it's up here, it ain't goin' away."
Anne glanced to Luz and asked, "What do you think, Luz?"
"Not like we have a lot of options, I guess. Just blindly walking around one district after the other hasn't gotten us any results," said Luz.
The Thai girl sighed and looked directly at Ned. "Okay, 'Nosey Ned', here's the deal. We'll overlook this whole 'selling us into possible slavery' thing, if you can find the person we're looking for, capeesh?"
Ned nodded furiously. "Yeah, yeah, for sure! If they're here in Newtopia, I'll definitely find 'em! I just need to know who I'm lookin' for first. Got a name? Description?"
Luz rubbed the back of her head. "Well, that's the thing. We don't know their name, and they could possibly look like anyone."
Ned gave Luz a deadpan look. "I kinda need more to work with…"
"They might look similar to me and Anne, but with pointy ears instead of round ones like ours. They'll most likely walk on two legs like us, or they could look like a monster but one that can talk. And they can probably do magic," Luz explained.
Ned slowly nodded as he took in the information. "Okay…I guess that's somethin'…anythin' else?"
Luz thought, there had to be something that could help Ned find the doormaker.
Anne snapped her fingers and said, "This person had something stolen from them, a briefcase with a crystal eye on it. We're not sure how long ago that was, it could've been weeks or months ago, but we're pretty sure that they're desperately looking for it. And it may or may not have something to do with travelling to other worlds."
Ned looked at the two girls skeptically, wondering if they were yanking his chain and sending him on a wild goose chase just to get back at him. But Ned hadn't gotten this far in life without trusting his instincts, and his instincts were telling him that these two were being serious. Considering that one of them was using magic and other was superfast and super strong, and took out twenty gang members, there was little doubt that they were making this up.
"Alright, give me a couple of days and I'll find who yer lookin' for," said Ned.
"Huh, cool, so how do we contact you?" Anne asked.
"Uuuuuuhhhhh…"
"You totally know where I live, don't you?"
"Eheheheh…" Ned chuckled nervously. "Well, I better hit the pavement!"
Ned scurried away as fast as he could, leaving both Anne and Luz alone.
"Do you think he's really going to come through?" Anne asked.
"All we can do is have hope," said Luz with a smile. "Now, let's get outta here, I really don't want to run into anymore gangs."
"Heard that…" Anne glanced over at Luz and smirked. "Wanna race back to the palace?"
"Heck yeah!"
[Ride, Please.]
"COME! MACHINE STORMER!"
A/N: I decided to tap into a little of my own heritage with that song that Luz sings to Sprig. Ironically, it fits really well especially when I looked up the translation for it.
For those interested, here's what the song is saying:
Heal, heal, little tail of the frog.
If you don't heal today, you'll heal tomorrow.