Finale: The New Normal
The only thing Anne could do is stare on in absolute horror, her eyes wide open as she stared at Marcy… and the sword in her chest. The sword that Andrias put into her.
He… he really just did that.
Eventually, she found her voice.
Out of sheer horror, Anne completely involuntarily screamed Marcy's name. A horrified screech that the Plantars never thought they would hear from the girl.
While in Amphibia, she had seen a lot of terrifying things. But this?
Literal planets being destroyed couldn't even hope to match how terrifying this was to her.
Hopelessly staring on, she could only watch as Marcy said one last thing.
On her last breath, she said, "I'm sorry… for everything." Then, she began to fall.
Until she hit the ground, the world around them slowed down to a crawl.
Suddenly, the music box hit the ground, causing the world around them to be engulfed in a bright light. When it cleared, they were somewhere else…
Earth.
"Ugh…" Anne groaned out as she opened her eyes.
When she got a good look around, she was surprised what what she saw.
Cars… cars as far as the eye could see.
"Oh my frog!" She heard Sprig say besides her.
"What is this place?" Hop Pop asked.
"…Home…" Anne answered.
"AH! What is that thing?!" Sprig suddenly asked, pointing at a plane in the sky.
"What is THAT thing?!" Polly asked, pointing at a whacky inflatable arm flailing tube man.
"… We… we should probably get off the freeway…" Anne said calmly, before grabbing everyone and running.
Eventually, they were somewhere a lot safer… and quieter.
"This… this is your world Anne?" Hop Pop asked, as the three frogs marveled at the city before them.
"…"
Anne didn't respond. She was deep in thought.
Thoughts of the events of that day flashed into her head.
Arriving in Newtopia… Sasha's betrayal… Andrias' betrayal…
Marcy's…
At that point, Anne collapsed. Falling to the ground and wrapping her arms around her torso, as tears began forcing their way out of her eyes, all while she began sobbing.
"Anne!" Sprig shouted as he went to comfort the girl.
Looking around, Hop Pop noticed some people approaching. The worst thing they could do at the moment was draw attention to themselves, and having Anne in the open, crying her eyes out would do just that.
Then, he noticed a nearby alley.
"Come on kids, let's take her somewhere more… private… so she can get it all out." Hop Pop suggested as he helped Anne to her feet, and leading her over to the alley.
Once there, she curled back up into her ball.
"M-Marcy…" Anne said between sobs.
"What are we going to do? We can't just leave her like this!" Sprig asked.
Hop Pop thought for a while, before getting an idea.
There was someone… or rather, two someones that might be able to help her.
Besides, they would probably love to know where their daughter was.
"I have an idea… just, try and keep her comfortable for a bit." Hop Pop said as he walked up to Anne and reaching into her pocket.
If she noticed him taking her phone, she didn't care.
"Ok… so how does this doohickey work again?" Hop Pop asked himself.
Eventually, he managed to get the phone unlocked, after remembering how he did it when he watched Suspicion Island a while back. After that, it didn't take long for him to figure out how to make a phone call.
He was very thankful that Sprig asked Anne how this dang thing worked a long time ago.
Tapping on the word "Mom", the phone began to ring.
…
…
…
"ANNE?!" A voice from the other side suddenly shouted.
"Whoa! It actually worked!" Hop Pop celebrated.
"Who is this?! Why do you have my daughter's phone?! Is she safe?!"
"Hello, I assume this is Ms. Boonchuy?" Hop Pop asked.
"Yes, that is me, now answer the question!" Ms. Boonchuy demanded.
"Well, I am Hopediah Plantar. I am actually here with your daughter right now." Hop Pop explained.
"Prove it."
"… Huh?"
"Prove that you are with my daughter and that this isn't some trick." Ms. Boonchuy demanded.
"Oh… uh… how can I do that? I'm sorry, I don't exactly know how this… phone, thing works." Hop Pop requested.
"What? Are you crazy?" Ms. Boonchuy asked.
"Nope! Just old!" Polly said in the background.
"Oh ok. Just tap the camera icon on the phone, then point it at Anne." Ms. Boonchuy requested.
Hop Pop just looked at Polly in shock. How did she know that would work?!
Following Ms. Boonchuy's instructions, he heard her gasp in shock.
"What happened to her?" Ms. Boonchuy asked.
"A lot… listen, she is pretty… incoherent right now. I think the best person to get through to her is you and her father. So please come help."
"Of course! It looks like you are right behind our restaurant, so we'll be right there!" Ms. Boonchuy said.
"One more thing… we… well… my grandkids and I are quite different from you. Please, try and not be too startled by our appearance… we mean no harm." Hop Pop explained.
"Of course. You clearly care about my daughter, so we owe you at least that much." Ms. Boonchuy said. "We'll be there soon."
And with that, she hung up.
"Hang on Anne… help is on the way."
Before long, a car stopped nearby, before two humans got out with a cat that looked very much like Domino II.
Rushing over to where they were, the newcomers quickly noticed their daughter.
"Anne!" Her father quickly shouted as they sprinted over, pulling their daughter in for a hug, with the cat rubbing up against her leg.
"…Mom? Dad? Domino?"
"Where have you been? Are you ok? You're hair's a mess!" Anne's mother asked in rapid fire.
"It's… a really… really… long story." Anne said.
"Well, let's go inside and get some food in you." Anne's mother said. "You must be starved."
While Anne was still very upset, the promise of food without bugs in it was too appealing.
"Yeah… I'd like that… wait." Anne suddenly said. "Where are the Plantars?"
"Huh? Oh, the old man that called us and his grandkids? I… don't know…" Anne's mother said.
"Over here."
Then, the Plantars walked out into view.
When the shock of seeing giant talking frogs faded away, they found their voice.
"… Oh…" Anne's father said. "That is what he meant by… different."
"Hehehe… yeah uh… let's go inside and we can talk about everything." Hop Pop said.
"Y-yes! Of course uh… old frog?" Anne's mother said before walking over to a door and unlocking it.
"So… let's start with the obvious question. Where were you this whole time Anne?" Her father asked as she was scooping larb into her mouth.
After swallowing the food, she began to speak. "Me, Sasha and… and Marcy… we all got our hands on this weird music box. Turns out, it was magic, and teleported us to another world called Amphibia."
"Where she met us!" Sprig said with a smile.
"We've… been working towards getting back here for a while but… things went wrong." Anne explained.
"How so?" Her Mother asked.
"… Me and the Plantars are the only ones who made it back… And worst of all… Marcy… she might be…"
Anne's parents looked at each other grimly.
"Hey, if you don't want to talk about it…" Her father tried to comfort.
"Listen." Hop Pop said. "Anne's really been through a lot. So why don't we let her relax and eat, and I'll answer your questions. Ok?"
"I agree." Anne's mother said. "Just relax for a bit sweetie, we'll talk to the old frog for a bit."
"One sec, can I talk to him alone first?" Anne asked.
"Of course."
Her parents then walked out of the room.
"Listen… you can tell them whatever you want… but don't tell them about Andrias betraying us… or Sasha betraying us…"
"No talk about betrayals, got it." Hop Pop said.
"Or the weird blue powers"
"Blue powers?" Sprig asked.
"It was a thing." Polly said.
"And especially not… the fact that Marcy and I were together." Anne said. "I… I want to tell them on my own terms."
She then shot a very stern look at Sprig.
"I understand. I won't say a word about it." Sprig said.
"Good… and guys… thanks." Anne said with a smile.
"Of course Anne." Hop Pop said. "Enjoy the food."
And with that, the frogs in the room went into the kitchen.
From there, the Plantars filled Anne's parents in on everything. At least, everything besides what Anne told them not to.
From how she met the Plantars, to Marcy's fate.
"So wait… there's this whole other world called Amphibiland out there?" Her dad asked.
"It's actually called Amphibia!" Sprig corrected.
"And Marcy is… dead?" Her Mom asked.
"We… don't know." Hop Pop said with a sigh. "I sincerely hope that she somehow survived but… It… didn't look too good…"
"And Sasha?"
"We have no idea…" Hop Pop answered.
"My goodness…" Anne's dad muttered under his breath. "When she went missing, we assumed the worst… but… this is beyond anything we could of imagined!"
"We are so grateful to all of you for keeping her safe." Her mother added.
"It's not like she hasn't contributed." Hop Pop said. "She's grown a lot since we met. I'm sure you'll be happy to see just how much."
Her parents smiled at this.
"I can't wait to see." Anne's mother said. "Now come on, let's go keep her company. Then, when it gets dark out, we'll take you all home."
"Sounds like a plan!" Hop Pop said as they began walking back.
When they got there, they saw Anne, fast asleep with Domino on her lap, who was also asleep.
"Aww…"
"She's had a rough day, let's let her rest." Anne's dad said.
"Agreed."
The rest of the day was spent getting to know each other. The Plantars got to fully introduce themselves and tell Anne's parents plenty of stories about Anne's time in Wartwood. Some of the stories amazed the Boonchuy's… the rest of them horrified them.
"So wait, she almost got eaten HOW MANY TIMES?!" Anne's father asked.
"Oh too many to count!" Sprig said. "But we always managed to keep her safe."
"I am not going to sugar coat it, Amphibia is a dangerous place if you aren't careful. But she managed to survive just fine!" Hop Pop said.
"I guess that is true…" Anne's mother said. "Still, I am happy that she is home and safe."
"Well, it's starting to get dark out, so we should get home." Anne's father said, looking out the window.
Walking back to Anne, they saw that she was awake now, and scratching Domino behind the ears.
"She really missed you." Anne's mother said. "Every night, she would fall asleep in your bed, and she was always so sad that you weren't there."
"Awww… my baby!" Anne said as she hugged the cat. "I missed you too!"
"Mew."
"Anyways, let's get you guys home." Anne's father said as he began leading everyone outside and to the car.
The Next Day
Hop Pop was sitting in the kitchen, looking out the window and wondering what their next move was going to be.
The obvious thing would be trying to get back to Amphibia. While this world was new and exciting, Wartwood was his home.
And as far as he knew, it was in danger.
There was also the matter of Anne and her friends. Anne was family to him now, and he was going to do everything he could to help her.
"FAMILY MEETING! MAJOR BOUNDARY VIOLATION!" He heard Anne call out from upstairs.
... Maybe addressing that should come first.
Hop Pop then went into the living room.
What happened next was… interesting. They established the previous night that they would be on lockdown and wouldn't really be going out as to avoid causing trouble…
That being said, it was obvious that Anne's parents were being a bit… overprotective.
Thankfully, they were able to get through to them, and were now getting disguises ready for a trip to the market.
"Oh Anne! I almost forgot!" Sprig suddenly said as he reached into his pocket.
He pulled out Marcy's bracelet.
"I uh… managed to grab this before the portal closed…" He explained as he gave it to Anne.
"… Thank you Sprig… Thank you so much…"
She felt more tears begin to form, before she wiped them away.
"Anne, before we go, I have to ask. Are you doing ok?" Hop Pop asked.
"Yeah… I think I'll be fine." Anne said.
"Are you sure? You seem… out of it." Hop Pop asked.
"Yeah… it's just… I don't know…" Anne said. "Everything that happened… it was just… a lot… but… it also feels like I am forgetting something… something important."
"Couldn't of been that important if you forgot about it!" Polly pointed out. "No point in worrying about one small thing."
"Yeah… I guess you're right…"
Little did they know, that One Small Thing, would end up being just what they needed to save both worlds.
To be continued…
And so ends the first act of this story.
Season 3 is going to be covered in a whole other story… but not in the way you'd be expecting. When it is about to be started, I will be posting a preview. That being said though… I dropped a major hint somewhere in this story as to what is going to happen in the sequel. It is going to be a first for me, and I can't wait to share it all with you. That being said, something else major has to happen before I can begin that, and I am not talking about Season 3 being done.
I guess one more hint I can drop is: Nothing happened in this story without a reason. Nothing at all. Something you might think was minor and pointless, might actually be the key to everything I have planned. Just saying.
Season 3 in this universe is going to be very different from what happens in the show. Events in the show will still happen, not all of them, but a lot of them. But, they will be in the background.
As for this chapter, yeah, Anne really isn't doing as well as she did in the show. In this story, she was a LOT closer to Marcy than in the show, so her apparent death for sure would have a much larger impact on her, hence her breaking down at the beginning.
Something I wanted to do with this story is to not make it a "Everything is better than in canon cause they are together" kind of story. Sure, some things went better for the two of them… but between last chapter and this one, I hope I drove something home for you all…
In the end, things are a lot worse than in canon.
Anne is not doing nearly as well, and she is going to be struggling, a lot. This will become even more apparent in the sequel. Some things will be different simply because Anne is not taking things as well as she did in canon.
As for Hop Pop, I do really think that he would be the one who would take charge and do what is needed to help Anne in that situation. This is for one big reason: He has experience in this. He was most likely the one who was there for Sprig and Polly when their parents died, so he has experience with helping children with that kind of emotional trauma. That being said, this was worse for Anne, since she had to watch Marcy die, so he wouldn't feel like he could handle things alone, resulting in calling Anne's Parents.
Now then, something completely unrelated to this story. It is gonna be a month or two before I can start posting the sequel. That being said, I don't want to leave Wednesdays without something for you all to read. As such, starting next week, I will begin posting the sequel to my story "Love Duel." For those of you who don't know, that was my first "The Owl House" fic, taking place just after Eclipse Lake. The sequel takes place after Yesterday's lie, and will be called "Tomorrow's Truth." It is kinda an aftermath kind of thing in that universe.
Hopefully, by the time that story is done, the sequel to this story will be ready. So, I hope to see you again in about a month for this stories sequel!
Oh? Were you hoping for a title? Yeah… don't want to spoil what is going to happen in that story, so I am gonna leave it up to your imagination!
… Ok! That is another story down… time to relax and enjoy some internet…
…
…
...
WAIT THERE'S A TV TROPES PAGE FOR THIS STORY NOW?! (Thanks to whoever worked to make this happen! Really made me smile :D)