"Huh?"
Anne opened her eyes to the shock of a shoddy wooden roof. She was still groggy but she recognized the leaking, walls wet with the moisture of the swamp, the books that didn't have a speck of dust on them from their frequent use and the awful creaking of that darn chair it was clear she was in Hop Pop's bedroom.
"How'd I get here?"
"You've had quite a day." She noticed there indeed was a creature making the familiar creak sitting beside the bedside. He steadied his rocking and closed the hefty "Tubers" book on his lap.
"I caught you shivering in the basement and thought you'd be more comfortable up here for tonight."
"Hop Pop you didn't have to do that."
"Well don't get too used to it." He chuckled as he got up to put the book away. "You did a lot for us today, it's not easy facing an old friend like that. So, you go on and rest up, we still got our chores bright an' early."
She felt a weight melt off her, as if she had been buried for weeks. She hadn't even realized it was there until she heard his words.
"Thanks, Hop Pop."
She took him up on his suggestion and turned over in the bed, quickly falling back to sleep. As she drifted off, she could feel the sheets being wrapped a bit more snugly around her and some faint chuckling.
"It's alright. You're family now."
She slowly opened her eyes and was met with the familiar dust of a failing shop. She was sitting in a chair behind the counter, a small fan was blowing air beside her and a cup of water was within reach.
"What's going on?"
"Oh good! You finally came too." A relieved Humphrey called out from the back. He ran out with a flip phone in his hand. "Don't worry, everything's fine. I was just saying I was getting in touch with your family now."
"OH NO! No that's ok." She jolted up and closed the phone in his hand. "I should be heading back to work actually."
"Are you sure? That seemed like a pretty strange thing to happen to a young lady."
"Well, I feel alright now, but it was super weird, I got so mad seeing them hurt you like that then next thing I know there was all this blue. It felt...strange."
"Hmm strange how?"
"Like, wrong. Like it was missing something. Sorry I don't really know how to explain it."
"You don't think it has something to do with that Amphibia place, do you?"
She looked at him with the bright eyes of a child, gasping in shock and awe. It had been years since she felt excitement like this, but just as quickly the feeling vanished. "Well, if it is, there'd only be one way to find out." She dropped back in her chair and leaned her head against her arm. "So, I'm back to square one."
"Well, I never paid much attention to it before, I just found it on the ground. Thought it was just a cool vintage coin. He began digging in his pocket. "But since those hooligans wanted it so bad, I decided to take a closer look."
He brought the item to her. It seemed like an ordinary brown badge without much ornamentation, until he showed her the letters on the back.
"Frake-tech? Who the heck is Frake?"
"Sounds a lot like Dr. Frakes, a name I haven't heard in some time." He rubbed his chin as he accessed his memories. "She was a scientist who used to run an entertainment center for children, my grandkids loved visiting the Brainsium, until one day they suddenly shut the place down. I can't remember why. But if there was anyone around who could help you travel to a strange world it would be her."
"That's great, but who knows if she's even still around?"
"Well, I can't promise anything, but maybe if you show that to the right person you can find her."
She stared at the badge with yearning, a treasure she had been searching ages for.
"Humphrey I can't take this from you."
"Nonsense after all you went through to get it back you deserve it."
"But if this thing is some crazy scientific portal maker you could probably make some good money off it. I insist." She tried to force it back into his hand. "I can't ruin your life too."
"Anne, I've already had a wonderful life and it's only gotten better with you in it." He placed the badge firmly in her hands and closed her fingers around it. "You have a great life ahead of you and you should enjoy every minute of it."
Anne held her clench fist close to her heart and took a deep sigh.
"Thanks Hop...I mean Humphrey."
"Think nothing of it!" She hopped over the counter, ready to return to adventure. "Oh, and if you do make it back say hello to uh what were they? The Planets for me."
"It's Plantar." She chuckled, waving goodbye as the bell rung again.
"...people will let you down all the time so don't let yourself down. Know who you are and be proud of that!" Her familiar blonde hair swayed and bounced with as much energy as she did sharing this wisdom.
"So don't let guilt hold you back from getting everything your heart desires!" Sasha capped off this declaration by shaping the object around her own chest. She wore a red sleeveless tank top with the faint shine of glitter spread within the fabric and only slightly faded jeans.
"Because if you don't take it, trust me someone else will."
She was sitting at her computer desk in what was once a bedroom, now a glittering museum of her own merchandise. Plushies shelved atop the Queen bed, with sheets that announced it as such. Posters and pictures lined along the wall, some of which were photos with celebrities the most central being one of her with the president. On her desk were figurines including but not limited to the popular "Sasha Sharp lead guitarist", the rare "Battle-maiden Lieutenant Sasha" and even the fan made "Schoolgirl Sasha" which a disturbing amount of people had been requesting be produced and made available to the public.
"Thank you to all my little hearts supporting me on Paypeon and a big thanks to today's sponsor Circle-"
The door slammed opened and in walked a man who seemed to have just managed to get half way out of his suit. His combover poorly hid the gray hairs mixed in with the brown. "Hey Sash, your mother's fighting with those guys who want the movie deal, and I'm trying to tell her-"
"Dad." Sasha buried her face into her hand. "I'm still recording here."
"You are?" He straightened out his attire, combed his moustache and raced to the screen.
"Hey all you voting millennials, don't forget who helped bring Sasha into this world, along with all the great policies that have made this city shine like golden jewel it is! How about an XD in the chat for another term for Mayor Waybright?"
"Dad it's not a stream!" She groaned as she tried to force him away from the monitor.
"Hey your old man knows how the internet works." He began moving the mouse clicking at every shape and color he could see on the screen. "What are they saying? Are they cheering? Where's the forum on this thing?"
"No one is there, I haven't posted any-"
"There you are!" A cross woman entered the room in a white dress. If not for the scowl on her face fed by years of "battle" and the lack of an iconic mole, she was the spitting image of her daughter.
"Can't you see what you're doing to her?"
"It's fine mom, I can always-"
"Yea she says it's fine!" Her father got up from the screen. "I can't take interest in what my kid is up to? There you go making problems out of nothing."
"You're the problem!" She pointed at him with the force of a pistol. "I'm not going to let you ruin this for me like you ruined everything else!"
"Oh god, again with this?" He smacked his head with both hands and gritted his teeth. "I didn't tell you to quit modelling or to invest in all those stupid business ventures with my money by the way." He slammed his hand into his chest like an ape. "I still don't know what a freakin' NFT is."
"Oh right, because you used it so well on that failure of a campaign." She folded her arms with her retort. "Maybe if you spent less on parties and covering lawsuits you wouldn't have to wait for your daughter to hand you the election."
"I won that election because the people of California respect me!"
"Oh please, the only people who respect you are crackpots and those co-eds who you think I don't notice following you and your little 'advisory committee'."
"Nope! I don't need this, not again!" He charged out of the door with fumes practically billowing from his red face.
"There he goes, my husband the mayor who runs away from all his commitments. What you need is an actual spine." Her words echoed down the hall as she gave chase.
"What I need is a drink and an aspirin!"
As the storm continued, a middle-aged maid sheepishly entered the bedroom.
"It must be hard. Them going at it so often. Twas probably better when they were apart." She began dusting.
"Oh, it's fine Mary, I got a great video out of it."
"With all due respect miss Sasha, don't you think family matters such as this should remain private?"
"Are you kidding? Drama like that keeps people talking about me." She picked up her phone and her fingers went to work. "People start arguing on Chatter, tabloids will make their articles and all I have to do is kickback until I feel like posting a video saying 'Thanks everyone for all your support everything is fine love ya' and the numbers go even higher. The dynamic duo just bought me a few months' vacation."
"...I see. And you don't see anything at all wrong with that?"
"What? It's how the internet works. I wouldn't expect an old maid to get it."
Her thumb work on the phone became more aggressive. "Besides, if they're going to get back together just to keep fighting for their precious little cash cow then I might as well make them work for it." She pressed so hard a small crack formed on the screen.
"Dang it, that's the eighth time today." She placed the phone in front of a small pen looking robot in a holster on the desk.
"Gosh Sasha you're so strong!" a bright blue light shined from its "tip" across the phone. In a few seconds the device was repaired.
"Thanks Marbles. You're so good to me."
Mary studied the scene, shaking her head with immeasurable judgement.
"I DON'T HAVE PROBLEMS, OK!"
Mary simply raised her hands and slipped quietly out the room, closing the door behind her.
"Ugh whatever!" She returned to her phone then noticed a new message.
"Oh, looks like things are finally going to get interesting."
In a few moments she was heading out the house with a stuffed duffle bag at her side. Her parents were still engaged in warfare in the parlor.
"I'm out, don't stay up late."
The odd couple stood in silence staring at the slammed door.
"Oh, look at that, now you chased her out the house. Way to go." Mayor Waybright sarcastically clapped his hands as his "wife" rolled her eyes.
Waybright Futures, formally a junkyard owned by a well-meaning if not eccentric man, became a project of Mayor Waybright in a bid to win over more eco-friendly voters. The scrap and waste were to be repurposed into small new homes for the homeless population but once Mayor Waybright got his title the project was largely abandoned, leaving behind abandoned shacks, half-finished parks, construction gates and an aura more menacing than what it had before.
Left to waste away, it made a perfect spot for the Heart-stompers to gather and run amok when they weren't busy terrorizing the city. They fashioned a mini arena out of the incomplete parks and an arcade from the would-be community center that didn't have a finished roof. The only home that managed to be completed, its living room served as a conference room for them, with a multitude of old cafeteria chairs making the audience and the "throne" a recliner placed behind an office desk.
"Daryll focus! She'll be here any minute." Jojo was sitting nervously in wait. "We have to make sure we give our story straight."
"We failed! That's our story!" He was pacing back and forth, forming a river with his sweat. "Man, we should have just gone back and jacked that stupid thing anyway."
"You saw what that girl did, no way! Besides you were the one who messed everything up attacking that old man."
"He was in the way! What's the point of being a heart-stomper if you can't do what you want?"
Jojo slid back into her chair in exhaustion. "What's the point is right."
BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAM!
They were jolted by the sound and launched away from the chairs. They quickly came together and stood at attention towards the door. Two Heart-stompers, much older men, entered as a red carpet seemed to roll itself out beneath them.
"She graces us with her presence, our leader fearless, cunning and brave." One of the men said, a horn at his side.
"Know your place, or be crushed ye little hearts paving her way." The other replied as they both took their positions at the side of the entrance before kneeling.
"Welcome, Queen Heartache!"
Her attire a custom designed cuirass reminiscent of her time in Amphibia now grey with the depiction of a broken heart embedded in its center. She now sported two pauldrons each bearing the same visage and a cape with the Heartstomper insignia running across it and her greaves were replaced with combat boots. Her hair was cut short, shaved at the sides and her eyes layered in eye liner. She seemed to stand at the entrance for an eternity her air of menace permeating the room.
"HELLO MY LITTLE HEARTS!"
With a twirl and a courtesy, she finally entered. "Good timing, I was starting to believe you guys actually couldn't get it."
"Well about that. We ran into a little...problem."
"And you solved that problem, right?" Sasha rolled right past the two of them, revealing heelies in her boots.
"Well..."
"Because, there's no way swiping a pin from a crotchety old man could be difficult. Especially with the gear I gave you. Was not cheap, by the way."
She slid across the room like a serpent to the desk on the other side.
"Speaking of which, you pull off the jacket much better than I thought Mojo. Oh, My little punk rock warrior."
"Oh really? Uh thanks. I was kind of worried it was too much." Jojo did a once over on her jacket.
"What? Work it girl! Being a heart-stomper is all about making sure everyone hears you loud and clear." She jumped assuming a relaxed position and landed in the throne perfectly. "So, where's my device?"
Jojo regained her senses just in time to forget how to speak. Daryll on the other hand was shaking with enough friction to start a fire and couldn't take the pressure any more.
"There was this chick who saw us and chased us down and-"
"You told her to mind her own business and you're about to hand the device over." She laughed.
"You guys sure like to keep a girl waiting. It's cute." She then slammed her feet on the table leaving small fissure in the center. "But I'm over it."
She leaned back in the seat and spun it around. "So, I'm going to count to 3 and when I'm done, I expect to have the device in my hand."
Both of them were paralyzed as she stretched out her hand.
"One..."
They looked at each other.
"Two..."
Daryll pushed Jojo to the desk and slid back against the wall.
"Thr-"
"Look, it wasn't just any girl, ok! She was angry and... scary."
Sasha's open palm clenched into a fist.
"It was Mad Franne!" Daryll screamed from the back. "Boy she was WAY freakier than any of the stories-"
"Hold on." The queen spun the chair back around. "So, you're telling me, you got the device and of all people never leaves-her-house Franny stopped you?"
"It's not that simple she wasn't normal." Jojo flipped through pictures on her phone.
"Nothing about that girl is normal. Why do you think we call her friggin' Mad Franne?"
"She was like some kind of blue rage monster! There were sparks and flames shooting out of her and she sounded like some sort of demon! My pants are still wet if I'm being honest."
Jojo handed her the phone. "She said her name was actually Anne Boonchuy and..." Queen Heartache studied the photo. The image was somewhat unclear due to blur and brightness, but all the same in the chaos, Sasha recognized her former friend.
"She said if she sees any of us in town again, she'd come after you." To this Sasha's eyes widened. Jojo took a few steps back. The two grunts stayed silent, unsure of what was to come.
"Heh heh...HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Ha…ha…ha?"
Their nervous chuckle drowned in the cackling of their leader. The chuckles then became whimpers as Sasha approached. Jojo backed up to the wall with Daryll, their voices finally dropping silent as she put a hand on their shoulders.
"Ok, clearly giving this job to you was a mistake."
"eep!"
"I'm not mad."
"Phew."
"Just disappointed."
"Oh."
"In myself."
"Yay?"
"For not realizing how incapable you guys are!"
" Eep it is!"
"But it's ok." She sighed as she turned her back to them. "Because I love you guys, I'll make sure big bad Franny never bothers you again."
"Really?"
"But how?"
"Jeez boss you're really the best!"
"I know." She caressed Daryl's head. "I'd do anything to make sure my little hearts feel safe and you would do anything to make sure I get what I want right?"
Daryll dropped to his knees.
"My queen, I am but a humble servant to your majesty and would stake my life to see that majesty continue to bless this world as it has my life."
"…Cool why don't you spread that majesty in the arena or something."
"Yes, my Queen!" Daryll ran out of the room giggling like a school girl.
"Uhm are you sure about Anne?" Jojo approached her. "We weren't kidding, she was like nothing I've ever seen."
"Don't worry your pretty little head Mojo. I know her very well." She tossed her back the phone. "Anne likes to think she's some kind of hero but once people see her for the weirdo she really is, she'll buckle like a newborn spider."
"Huh?"
"Anyway, all we need to do is remind Anne of her place, so you're going to follow Anne for a day. See what she's up to, take a few candid shots and then make a story on social media about the 'mad girl of LA. Once I make a video in response to the story and give my expert opinion, she'll be the talk of the town. She'll crawl back to her room and you guys won't have to worry about her ever again." She began to giggle. "They may even look at us as heroes."
"Sasha, I don't know. This is a little much don't you think?"
"Come on Mojo, who's the social media Wizkid who helped make the 'Sasha Says' brand a household name?" She put an arm around her shoulder and motioned towards the sky before sliding away. "This job was made for you."
"It's not that it just... this seems a little harsh don't you think?"
"What and bullying a couple of kids wasn't? I can still smell Daryll's pants."
"Well, technically we were the ones stealing."
Queen Heartache made her way back to the throne. She sat leisurely with one foot on the broken desk.
"Do I need to remind you that the only reason we have to do this is because you messed up your simple task in the first place?"
"No but-"
"Then get to work! END. OF. DISCUSSION."
Jojo hesitated, but couldn't find the strength to continue the argument.
"Yes Sasha."
"It's Queen."
"...Yes, my queen."
Jojo exited the room with her head in shame.
Sasha sighed, resting her head in her hand until she noticed something.
"You two can go too." She shooed away the two men at the door.
"With all due respect, we kind of like this gig more than being your dad's bodyguards."
"Yea he's kind of a tool, no offense."
"Fine, just go to arcade or something."
"Sweet!"
"No one better be on frogger, I'm going for the high score!"
It was quiet in the room. Sasha opened her phone and scrolled through some photos. Pictures of the three of them, back in their middle school days. Pictures of her time in another world. She then stopped on the photo from the evening before every changed. The night of the battle of the bands.
"I don't know what's gotten you out of the house Anne, but I'm not going to let you ruin everything for me." Her fury continued to build as her eyes lingered on Grime.
"Never again!"
The last sound to echo out of the room was the cracking of her phone screen.
