Chapter 3: Portals and Memories
Anne just stood there, suddenly unsure about herself.
"Hey, are you sure you'll be able to do this?" Hop Pop asked. "I mean…"
"I have to Hop Pop, her parents are probably worried sick." Anne said as she looked at the house in front of her… Sasha's house. "I'll wave over to you when you should come out."
The frogs just nodded.
"Ok… here I go…" Anne said as she went up to the door and knocked.
After a moment, the door opened to reveal….
"… Hey Mr. Waybright." Anne said with a wave.
"… Anne?!" Mr. Waybright said in shock.
The older man then quickly kneeled down and pulled Anne in for a hug.
"It's great to see you… but… where's…?"
"… That's why I'm here… but you have to promise me something first." Anne said. "Everything that I am about to tell you HAS to be kept a secret, ok?"
"Ok, please, come in!"
"Ok… but first…" Anne said as she waved over to the Plantars, who walked over. "These three are really important to the story."
"… Very well then." Mr. Waybright said after the shock of seeing giant frogs wore off. "Please, come inside, all of you."
Once inside, the Plantars were amazed.
"Whoa… Uh… is Sasha rich or something?" Sprig asked.
"Yeah, her family does pretty well." Anne said. "Sleepovers here were always the best."
Looking at the Plantars marveling at all of the decor, she couldn't help but remember the first time she and Marcy came here.
A very young Anne and Marcy both looked around with stars in their eyes.
"Sasha… your house is so cool!" Anne said with a sense of amazement.
"Eh, it isn't that special." Sasha said with a smile.
The entire day was spent showing Anne and Marcy around this massive house, ending with a look at the pool in the back yard.
"You even have a pool?!" Anne asked. "I always wanted a pool, but we couldn't afford one!"
"Yeah, it's pretty nice." Sasha said.
After that, they decided to play hide and seek, a game filled with laughter and joy.
Anne smiled at the, currently, bittersweet memory. She really wanted to go back to those days… where things were so much simpler and so much less scary…
Where she and Sasha were still on good terms…
"Anne?" Mr. Waybright said. "Are you alright?"
"Oh uh… yeah, just… thinking about the past." Anne said. "A lot has happened… and… well…"
"Alright, I called Sasha's mother and she is on her way, so please, make yourself comfortable."
And with that, he walked away.
"So uh… is her mom at work or…?" Sprig asked.
"It's… complicated." Anne said. "Let's just say, her parents aren't exactly together anymore."
"Ah… that… might explain a few things." Hop Pop said.
"You're telling me…" Anne said as she sat down on the couch.
"And yeah, that just about sums it up!" Anne said as she finished recounting everything… though instead of telling them about Sasha's actions, Anne simply told them that she and Sasha had a fight.
And Sasha's parents, were in shock.
"So wait… she's still in this… Amphibiland?"
"Amphibia." The Plantars all said together.
"Right, that… with this toad Grime, while this King is trying to invade our world?" Mr. Waybright asked.
"Yeah, pretty much…"
"And… Marcy is…?"
Anne's silence told them everything.
"Oh Anne…" Ms. Waybright said as she got up and hugged the girl. "We know how much you cared about Sasha and Marcy… this must be so tough on you."
"It… it really is…" Anne said.
"Especially with her crush on Marcy." Mr. Waybright pointed out.
Anne leapt back at that statement.
"W-WHAT?! How did you know about that?!" Anne asked.
"What, you really think Sasha wouldn't come to us for advice when she found out that her two best friends were crushing on each other?" Ms. Waybright asked. "Oh wait, you… did know about Marcy's crush, right?"
"I… yeah… we started dating in Amphibia." Anne admitted.
"Ok good! I thought I goofed up there!" Ms. Waybright said in relief. "Sasha wanted to know what she should do about your crushes, if she should help you two get together or something."
"We told her to just let it happen, that you two would find a way to open up to each other one day." Mr. Waybright added. "Never imagined it would be in a frog world though."
"… Thanks you two." Anne said with a smile.
"So… what happens now?" Mr. Waybright asked.
"We have some friends helping us find a way back to Amphibia… where we'll rescue Sasha and Marcy, and take down the King." Anne explained.
"Right… if you need help with anything, let us know." Mr. Waybright said.
"..."
"Anne?"
"Do you… happen to know where Marcy's parents moved to?" Anne asked.
"… All we know is that it is somewhere in Nevada." Ms. Waybright admitted. "We're sorry."
"No no… it's ok." Anne said. "I just… wanted to talk to them is all."
"You mean yell at them?" Hop Pop asked.
"That too…" Anne said as she got up to leave. "We'll keep you two updated on everything, and let you know if there's anything you can do to help."
"Yes, please do…" Mr. Waybright said. "And Anne?"
Anne turned to him.
"Thank you so much."
Anne smiled. "Anything for my friends."
The Next Day
"UUUUUUUGH!" Anne groaned out as her hair slid in front of her face for the tenth time.
"You alright?" Luz asked as she peeked into the room.
"I'm fine, my hair just isn't cooperating." Anne explained as she brushed her hair out of her face. "It's been so long, I forgot how I did this…"
"Why the new style though?" Luz asked.
"Oh, this is just how I wear my hair whenever I help out at the restaurant." Anne explained.
"Restaurant?" Luz asked.
"Oh yeah! My parents own a restaurant downtown." Anne explained. "And I help out every so often."
"Oh wow! That's pretty cool!" Luz said. "But… are you going to be alright? I mean… with everything going on…"
"… I… I think I'll be fine." Anne said. "Honestly, I think this'll help me get my mind off of things… if only for a bit."
Luz smiled at this. "Yeah… maybe a bit of an escape from all the stress will do you some good."
"Yeah…"
At that moment though, the hair slid in front of her face again.
"If only I could figure out how to fix my hair!"
"Do you have a hair clip or something?" Luz asked.
"Hold on, let me check." Anne said as she began digging through her drawer.
Eventually, her search proved fruitful, as she pulled out a yellow hair clip.
But… she just stared at it, as a memory flashed into her mind.
A ten year old Anne was walking through the halls of her school, sporting a new ponytail.
She had finally convinced her parents to teach her how to cook the dishes in her family's restaurant, so that she could one day help them in said restaurant.
That being said, they told her that she needed to either wear a hairnet while working in the kitchen, something she absolutely detested the idea of, or she had to wear a ponytail.
So, Anne was now trying to get used to the ponytail, but with limited success.
Her hair just wouldn't stay out of her face!
"Anne!"
Turning around, she saw Sasha and Marcy approach her.
"Hey Sasha! Hey Marcy!"
"Hey, what's with the new look?" Sasha asked.
"Ugh, my parents said that if I want to help in the kitchen at the restaurant, that I would have to either wear a ponytail, or a hairnet…" Anne explained.
"Oof, yeah, can't see you wearing a hairnet." Sasha said. "Gotta say though, rocking the ponytail."
"Thanks… but…"
At that moment, her hair got in her face again.
"… This keeps happening…"
"Oh! Well, I have something that could help!" Marcy said as she begun digging through her bag.
Moments later, she pulled out a yellow hair clip, much like her own green one.
"I usually keep a couple of spares with me, but you can have this one!" Marcy said with a smile. "I know how much you like yellow!"
Anne smiled at this. "Thanks Mar-Mar!"
She took the hair clip, and put it in her hair.
"So, how does it look?" Anne asked.
"Wow, gotta admit! It really suits you!" Sasha said.
"BOOM! Helped Anne's style level up!" Marcy said while raising her fists.
This caused Anne to laugh.
"Thanks you two… especially you Marcy." Anne said with a smile and a hug.
"Anne? Hey! Anne!"
"Huh what?!" Anne said, snapping out of her trance.
"You alright there? You kinda spaced out a bit." Luz asked.
"O-oh! Yeah just… memories…" Anne said.
"… Want to talk about it?" Luz asked.
"It's just… Marcy gave me this hair clip…" Anne explained.
"Oh…" Luz said. "Are you… going to be alright?"
"Y-yeah… I just need a bit of time is all." Anne said as she put the clip in her hair. "How's it look?"
"Looks great… now come on, let's go get some breakfast." Luz said as the two of them left the room.
"You four, look into some portals and stuff while we're gone!" Anne said as she and Sprig began to leave to help out at the restaurant.
"So… how are we doing this?" Hop Pop asked.
"Well, we could watch Starzgate, or Quantum Hop!" Polly said, holding up the two movies.
"Wait, were you planning on getting all of your information on how to get a new portal from movies?!" Amity asked.
"Uh… yeah? Why?" Polly asked.
"Polly… movies like these are completely fictional… nothing in these would help us out." Amity explained.
"WHAT?!" Polly asked. "Awwww… but I was excited to watch it…"
"… How's about this, we tell you guys what we know already know about making a portal, then we can take a break with some Quantum Hop!" Luz said.
"I can deal with that!" Polly said excitingly.
"So… what do you two know?" Hop Pop asked.
"Well, let's start with this. Luz, how did you make that portal to Amphibia the last time?" Amity asked.
"Well, we used some information from Philip's diary about his first attempt at making a portal." Luz explained. "It led us to some magical artifacts, that we used in a spell…"
"Ok, so we just need to get Eda to get those artifacts!" Amity said. "That sounds easy enough."
"Yeeeeaaaah… about that…" Luz said. "Uh… Eda might of been the one to activate the spell… and she miiiiight of been under the influence at the time…"
"… Apple Blood?"
"Yup…"
"I'm sorry, Apple Blood?" Hop Pop asked.
"Don't ask…" Luz said. "Stuff is NASTY!"
"… Alrighty then!"
"So… that portal making method won't help us." Amity deduced.
"Sorry…" Luz said dejectedly.
"No, it's fine." Amity said. "It wouldn't last long anyways, and if we want to go and rescue Marcy and Sasha, then we need a two way portal."
"Can't we just… try and steal the Music Box?" Polly asked.
"Too risky." Luz explained. "We would have to go right into enemy territory, and it is safe to say that the music box is going to be guarded by Andrias himself."
"It would put Marcy in too much danger, and she is probably going to be in rough shape when we find her." Amity added.
"Ok, so permanent portal it is!" Polly said.
"So, how did you make your portal home Luz?" Hop Pop asked.
"We used something called Titan's Blood." Luz explained. "Well, sort of at least."
"Sort of?"
"Titan's Blood is the greatest source of magic in the Boiling Isles, and the only thing powerful enough to break through the dimensional barrier." Amity explained. "However, it is incredibly rare, and when we got our hands on some, our supply was really limited."
"So, in order to fix that problem, we managed to make a replica if Titan's Blood, thanks to Eda and our friend Willow." Luz said. "I still have no clue how it works, but Willow said it involved a really rare kind of plant…"
"Anyways, we called it Pseudo Blood. That is what we used to make the portal door." Amity finished the explanation.
"Ok, so do you have some of this 'Pseudo Blood'?" Hop Pop asked.
"Yeah." Luz said as she dug into her bag and pulled out a tiny vial. "Sadly though, I don't think it'll work."
"Why not?" Polly asked.
"Well, unless we have something with a strong connection with Amphibia and include it in the spell, if we were to make a portal with the stuff, it'll probably just lead back to the Boiling Isles. Besides, it's not the only thing needed for the portal, and the rest of the stuff is, well, in the Boiling Isles."
"O…kay!" Polly said. "So what you're saying is, you have no idea how to help us…"
"… Sorry…" Luz said.
"It's fine, we'll figure something out." Hop Pop said with a reassuring smile.
"Thanks Hop Pop." Luz said with a smile.
"Man… it feels good to be back here… and not crying my eyes out." Anne said as she looked around the restaurant.
"This place really reminds me of Stumpy's… at least, when you were trying to please that critic!" Sprig pointed out as he hopped around.
"Critic?" Anne's Mom asked.
"Ugh, don't ask…" Anne said.
"Please tell me you didn't do something dumb when a critic came around, again…"
"Whaaaat? Me? Never!" Anne said.
"She tried to cook a kraken, but it was still alive and almost killed the critic." Sprig said bluntly.
"DUDE!"
"Hey, just being honest!" Sprig pointed out as he went to the kitchen.
"… Uh…"
"Please don't do that here…"
"Right…" Anne said with a sheepish look on her face.
Then, she took a nice look around the restaurant and smiled. She had a lot of great memories in here.
"Ok Anne… are you sure you don't want to practice a bit more?" Anne's dad asked as she tied a bandana in her hair.
"I'm sure! I am ready for this!" Anne said, excited to be helping at the restaurant.
"Alright… but you're only helping! You aren't ready to make dishes on your own yet!" Her Mom instructed.
"But Mooooooom!"
"No buts! You'll get there one day, but we want to start small!"
At that moment, the front door opened.
"Oh, looks like we have a customer!" Her Mom said as she went to greet them.
Anne just sighed to herself as her mother left.
"Oh! Hello Marcy!"
"Marcy?" Anne asked as she went to see what was up.
"Hi Ms. Boonchuy! Hey Anne!" Marcy greeted.
"Hey Mar-Mar! What are you doing here?" Anne asked.
"Well, since today is your first day in the kitchen, I thought 'geez, a good friend would absolutely come and support her' and well… here I am!" Marcy said.
"You get that from a book?" Anne teased.
Marcy's face turned red, as she remembered that she got the idea from a children's book she read when she was younger.
"Noooooooo…" Marcy said. "Oh, Sasha wanted to come too, but it looks like she came down with a cold…"
"Oh no! I better wish her well then!" Anne said as she pulled out her phone.
"Well Marcy, we appreciate you coming. Now, take a seat and we'll make you something to eat, and make sure that Anne helps out plenty!" Anne's mom said.
"Huh? Help? Isn't she going to make it?" Marcy asked.
"She's… still a bit inexperienced, so we wanted to ease her into it." Anne's Mom explained.
"Awww… I was looking forward to some genuine Anna-Banana cooking!" Marcy said sadly.
"Sorry Marcy, maybe some other time." Anne said sadly.
Anne's mother just looked between the two of them.
"Alright fine, I guess Anne can make your food Marcy."
Anne gasped at this. "Really?!"
"But ONLY Marcy! We don't need the other customers complaining about a drop in quality!" Anne's mom instructed.
"Wow… rude." Anne said flatly.
"Trust me, it hurts when a customer doesn't like something you made and you worked hard on." Anne's Mother explained. "I just don't want anyone to hurt your self esteem is all."
"Ok… thanks I guess…" Anne said.
"Ok! Gimme that menu Anne!"
After a little while, Marcy picked out what she wanted to eat, and Anne went to work in the kitchen.
Eventually, Anne came out with the food, and a Thai Iced Tea for Marcy.
When Marcy took the first bite, Anne waited with baited breathe.
"Well…? How is it?" Anne asked.
"Anne…" Marcy said, the shadow from her hair covering her eyes.
Anne swallowed thickly.
"This, might very well be, the best thing I have ever tasted!" Marcy said, eyes sparkling.
"Really?!"
"Wait what?" Anne's mom said from the kitchen.
"Don't lie to me Anne, you had your Mom make this, didn't you?!" Marcy said.
"Nope! All me!" Anne said smugly.
And it was the truth!
"Well then! You really have a talent for this!" Marcy said.
Deciding an investigation was in order, Anne's mom took a bite out of some of the food that was left over…
And she was pleasantly surprised!
It for sure wasn't restaurant quality, but it was still really good for Anne's first time!
But… there was no way that it was the best thing Marcy ever tasted… was it?
She looked back out to Marcy and Anne, and came to a realization.
Marcy really was a great friend.
Little did any of them know though, Sasha, who was certainly NOT sick, was watching the whole time from the window.
"Good job Mar-Mar."
Anne smiled at the memory.
Marcy and Sasha came by quite a bit after that day, and Anne had always cooked for them. It was a good way for her to practice until she was ready to cook for other customers on her own.
But then, her smile dropped.
"Are we… never going to do that again?" She asked herself, as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Anne?"
Anne looked down to see Sprig staring up at her.
"Are you… alright?"
"… No… not really…" Anne said as she wiped her tears out of her eyes.
Sprig said nothing as he hopped onto a nearby table and began hugging her.
"We'll save them… I promise."
Anne hugged him back.
"Thanks Sprig…"
…
"Now get off the table, this is a restaurant."
"Right, sorry."
End of Chapter 3
Guess who had to rewrite a bit of the Waybright segment of this chapter after Froggy Little Christmas?! THAT'S RIGHT! MEEEEEE! This will be the last of Sasha's parents before the end of the story btw, they aren't SUPER important.
Also yeah, if you recall, in One Small Change, I mentioned that some things will be different solely because Anne wasn't doing too well emotionally. This is shown by the little flashbacks of Marcy that will be showing up. These flashbacks are also just… supposed to be cute, yet tragic, considering Marcy's fate. Expect more of these.
Last week, someone asked about why Luz didn't just take everyone back to the Boiling Isles and use the portal spell from last time. In case it isn't clear here, the reason is that it wouldn't really last long enough for them to rescue Sasha and Marcy, and, much more importantly, Eda was under the influence of Apple Blood, and most certainly did not remember exactly how she activated the spell, so while it could send them to Amphibia, it most likely wouldn't.
Anyways, see you next time!