The intro opens with Anne's hands on the Calamity Box, opening it. Light from inside the box shines brightly before it switches to a scene that shows Kenji, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, looking inside. Suddenly there was a white light and everything when blank.

Kenji was on the ground when the light faded, covered in mud with Anne next to him. When he woke up, he looked shocked to see he was in Amphibia with Anne. The two friends stood up and looked at their surroundings in awe.

The camera then zoomed out and showed the entire world of Amphibia.

Tenohira ni kizama re teru

Tsugihagi no yona sono sen ni furete

The scene then changed to the town of Wartwood as the frog inhabitants go about their daily lives. As a pair of dragonflies fly past the camera, it followed them until stopping at the Plantar farmhouse while the sun was starting to rise in the sky.

When the camera changed to show the house's front door, Kenji and Anne stepped out from inside and out into the world. Ready to take on the day. But first, they ducked their heads under some dragonflies that passed them.

Hibiware sona atama to

Gurasu ga sasata kokoro de mae hashiru

The camera moves up to a window on the side of the house. Sprig opened the window with a telescope in hand. He looked through it at the horizon before slipping off the windowsill and started falling. Inside the house, Hop Pop was reading one of his books in his study when Sprig's falling and screaming made him look at his window. Down on the ground, Sprig had landed in Polly's bucket. His little sister responded by punching her brother in the butt. Sending him flying out of the bucket. She then dove back into her bucket of water.

Sprig landed on Anne's head, and the three of them smiled at one another. Then Sprig pointed at something. Kenji pulled out one of his Class Cards, and the friends rushed off into the unknown.

The scene changed to show Kenji, Anne, and Sprig hopping across multiple mushrooms that lit up when one of them landed on it.

Koware kake no sekai

Kuzure so o de memai

The next scene showed Anne, Sprig, and Kenji running for their lives from a giant chicken monster. Kenji summons a black steed from his Rider Card then gets the others on and gallops away faster from the giant poultry. The scene begins to break apart as red line spread across the screen.

The next scene showed Sprig, Anne, Kenji, Polly, and Hop Pop fishing together on a lily pad before it suddenly rose into the air. Underneath it was a giant fish that started swimming around as everyone started screaming. Kenji, however, started stabbing it with a black broadsword. The scene to break apart like the scene before.

Another scene showed Sprig in a temple looking at something before Kenji and Anne came rushing down the stairs beside him. Anne picked him up as they ran away from a giant boulder that came crashing into the temple. And just like the last two scenes, it begins to break apart in red lines.

Karappo na karada de

Ibtsuna shikai

The next scene showed a red, dark area. Anne and Kenji had their backs together, and both having looks of determination. Anne raised her card: Alter Ego, and Kenji raised his card: Saber as the cards begin to glow.

Still, in the same scene, the viewer is suddenly pulled back to reveal that they were surrounded by dozens of twisted frog/toad/newt-like creatures and a giant snake crawling up from behind them. Towering over them and hissing.

Zokkuri to myako o utsu inochi no sen

Naifu de nazotte nobashite shimaetara

ne dareka oshiete Tsuki ga mierunara

The amphibian-like abominations started attacking as Kenji now armed with Balmung/Gram and Anne now armed with the Absolute Sword – Endless Three-Stage rushed towards the viewer. Smashing, slicing, and killing any twisted being that came at them. Just as the viewer watched them go past the camera on both sides, the Giant Snake lunged at the fleeing kids. Its mouth opens as it comes towards the camera before the viewer is in the blackness of the snake's mouth, but it didn't last long as Kenji swung his sword and cuts down the snake with one strike.

Kesenai de

mada kesenai de

The scene changed again to a split screen with the left side show Anne's photo of herself, Kenji, Sasha, and Marcy together being held in a gloved hand and on the right is an older man in his fifties with a grin on his face. A flash of light showed the man's face more and the infamous Toad Tower in the background.

Kienaide mada Kienaide

The final scene of the intro showed Kenji standing in the middle of a road looking at the Class Cards he has. He looked to his left and saw Anne walking over to him with a smile. Then Sprig came over to his right and jumped on Kenji's shoulders while Fou jumps on his head with a content smile on his face. Hop Pop and Polly walked/hopped over and joined the trio. The screen begins to pan downwards as it shows reflections not of the group but of legendary heroes of Earth's history.

The intro ends with the title of the story.

FATE / CALAMITY

Book 1: Amphibia

Chapter 11:

Lily Pad Thai-Fate

On this day, Kenji and Anne were doing what they promised to do for each other. They were going to have a pizza together. It wasn't just them that was going to have it. The Plantars were helping in the baking of Amphibia's first pizza.

Covered in bruises from battling yet another tomato monster, Kenji sat at the table with Polly and Fou. Stirring a bowl of freshly made tomato sauce. Even though he was hurting, he never stopped smiling, even when he looked up at Anne, who was teaching Sprig how to toss the pizza dough.

"There you go. Now you're getting it," Anne said, before the dough landed on Sprig's face.

"Anne, want to chop us some veggies for me?" Hop Pop asked while stirring a pot.

"You got it, HP." Anne walked over to a cutting board and grabbed an onion and cleaver. With masterful skill, she sliced the onion up into multiple slices. Using the face of the cleaver's blade, she scooped them up and placed the slices into a bowl.

"Wow! Nice job, Anne!" Kenji said with wide eyes and a big smile.

"Fou!" The little critter said as he was also impressed at the display.

"Where'd you learn to cut like that?" Hop Pop said with Polly on his head.

"You know, my parents actually owned a Thai restaurant back home," Anne said, bringing out her phone and turning it on. Opening her photos app, her cat domino was the first thing to pop up. "Ah, whoops. Hold on." She kept swiping until it showed her family's restaurant, Thai Go. "I used to work there all the time and help out. I hope they're doing okay without me."

Kenji paused what he was doing when he heard that. Thinking about how his family was doing. No doubt they would have been devastated when he disappeared. Especially his grandma. But what about his parents? They weren't perfect, but they did their best for him, even with all their flaws.

Were they sad that he's gone or are they angry with him?

…He truly didn't know.

"Kenji?"

"Fou?"

"Huh?" Kenji looked up and saw the others looking at him. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, what about you, Kenji?" Hop Pop asked. "Does your parents own a restaurant?"

"Ha! Sorry, but no," Kenji laughed, shaking his head. "The only one of my family that owns a local business is my oji-san; my uncle. He's the one that owns a small Japanese steakhouse."

Anne had to pause for a moment to think. Then she remembered as her eyes lighten up. "Oh yeah…Mr. Shun's Japanese Steakhouse!"

"That's right." Kenji nodded with a knowing smile. He's glad that Anne remembered a place they would usually eat. "My Grandma Hana use to own the place was the best cook of the family. When I was staying with her...after Grandpa Tenshin died, I started learning how to cook from her. Then I went to work oji-san who took over for her and learn what I can from him."

"Not bad."

"Very impressive guys."

"Fou!"

Suddenly, there was an explosion. The two humans, Fou, Hop Pop, and Polly turned around and saw that Sprig caused it, having blown up the oven with the pizza still in it.

"Of course, things like that never happened. You ok Sprig." Kenji said, picking up Sprig and setting him on his feet.

Sprig coughed up some smoke as he was covered in ashes. "Yeah, I'm ok, but I blew up the pizza."

"Oh, dang it, Sprig!" Hop Pop yelled. "Well, looks like this meal's a bust. Who wants to eat out?"

"Aye/Fou!"

They walked together through the small town of Wartwood. Kenji remained by Anne's side, with his new sword on his hip. She was the one person that he felt the most comfortable being around. Not that he didn't enjoy being around Sprig and his family. It was just something about being around her that made him feel relatively warm and happy inside. As they walked alongside one another, they looked at each other. Kenji smiled at her, and she smiled back, before the two looked away with noticeable blushes.

"We're here!" Hop Pop said as they arrived at a diner. But to call it a restaurant would be the biggest overstatement the two human kids have ever heard.

When they walked in, they saw that the place was quite literally a dump. The floor was covered in water, and there was moss growing on the furniture, bits of food scattered about, and spider webs everywhere. Sure, Kenji and Anne were used to every building in Wartwood looking like a mini swamp inside, but this one took the cake.

"Oh, wow. This place is not to code," Anne said.

"What is the code for a frog restaurant," Kenji asked as he saw a rat crawl up to a bowl of soup and start eating out of it while the frog just stirred his spoon in it. The rat quickly pulled its head out and threw up.

The family sat themselves at a booth and looked at their menus. "Oh, man. The font on these menus is way too small. Rookie mistake," Anne said with a smirk.

Just then, a frog came over with their food. He was a sizable amphibian with yellow-colored eyes and a white shirt, stained with grease and drinks. He possessed a spatula for one hand and a cleaver for another. One of his legs was missing and had been replaced with a piece of wood. He also had a crab's leg in his mouth and a greasy chef's hat.

"Here you are. Four bowls of slop," the frog said, dropping the bowls onto the table. "Enjoy. Or don't. Makes no difference to me." And then he walked off with a dead look in his eyes.

"Thanks, Stumpy," said Sprig as he and the Plantars started eating.

"Second big mistake. Always place the orders of you customers. Don't just give them out." Kenji said, looking at his soup. He then started scooping up a spoon full and ate it, much to the disgust of Anne.

"You're actually eating stuff?" Anne asked, winching.

"I've had worse," Kenji replied as Fou walked towards the bowl as he takes a sniff and shudders at the food in front of him.

"Excuse me, hello. Over here. Yoohoo!" Said a voice that got all their attention. The five of them looked to see Stumpy being stopped by a newt that, judging by the way he dressed, obviously wasn't from around there.

The green newt with a light green underbelly and darker green spotted tail had teal hair tied into a ponytail with a purple bow. The newt wore a purple overcoat lined with golden buttons shaped like crosses, black pants and purple dress shoes with yellow buttons, and a black tricorn hat on his head.

Stumpy walked back over to him. "There be a problem, sir?"

"Um, yes, there's only one fly in my soup. There should be dozens!" The newt complained. "I mean, how hard is it to run a restaurant, anyway? You just put food on tables. A tadpole can do it."

Kenji and Anne watched from behind their booth before the girl groaned in annoyance. "Who's that jerk?" She asked.

"A jerk that won't shut his trap," Kenji added.

Sprig stood up and looked at the newt before turning back to the two. "That is Albus Duckweed. He writes reviews for the paper," Sprig told them. "They have comic strips sometimes."

"Blah! He thinks he's better than everyone else just 'cause he talks good," Polly said, covered in slug gruel.

"It's true," Hop Pop said.

"So, he's a food critic. Had to deal with a few of those guys before." Kenji said.

Just the mention of that made Anne groan. "Say no more. We dealt with snobs like him all the time back home. Just listening to him is driving me crazy." She complained, laying her head on the table, trying to drown out Duckweed's criticisms. But it was no use. She groaned, slammed her hands on the table, and stood up. "I can't take this anymore!"

"Anne, don't get involved," Kenji warned her, but she was already getting up and walking over to Duckweed and Stumpy. Knowing that she would get them into trouble–again–he got up and followed her. "Oh great."

The two walked over to the two amphibians as Duckweed kept complaining. "I mean, seriously, look at this place!" He yelled, gesturing with his hands at the whole restaurant.

"Hey. Lay off, buddy," Anne said as she approached them. "Running a restaurant is hard."

"Kid, what are you doing?" Stumpy asked nervously.

"Ha! Well, what does a creature like you know about running a restaurant?" Duckweed asked mockingly.

"Well, what does a little lizard like you know about anything?" Anne retorted as Kenji walked over to her. "Besides, my parents ran a restaurant back home, so I know what I'm talking about."

Duckweed was not a fan of that lizard comment. "Well, if your parents are anything like you, I'm sure their restaurant was terrible."

"Hey! I've had their food before, and it's quite good," Kenji said, coming to Anne's defense.

"Fou!" The little critter said.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed. "In fact, you don't believe us, why don't you come back in, I don't know, two days or something?" She said, grabbing Duckweed and started pushing him to the door. "And we'll have completely turned this place around."

"I, uh, I beg your pardon. What?" Stumpy asked, completely taken aback.

"Wait, Anne, you can't be serious," Kenji said, just as nervous.

"Oh, a wager, is it? Fine, I'll be back in two days. Looking forward to writing my review and shutting this place down," Duckweed said, taking off the napkin around his neck and dropping it to the floor. He then turned and walked out of the door.

After he was gone, Kenji turned his head to Anne with a frown. "Anne! Are you out of your mind!?" He yelled.

She thought for a moment. "Nope! Pretty sure I'm in my mind," she said, walking off to a booth.

"Kid, what have you done?" cried Stumpy as he and Kenji walked over to the booth. "That was the most popular critic in town. One bad review from him and we're finished."

"Stumpy, I know I got carried away, but we can do this. The Boonchuy family's pride is at stake," Anne insisted with a determined grin. "What do you say?"

"I say...you just put me out of business," Stumpy told her. Then he turned and limped back to the kitchen. "Bound to happen eventually, I suppose."

Hop Pop walked over to Anne and Kenji. "Anne, did you just promise to save this restaurant?" he asked as Sprig hopped over to sit next to her.

"In two days?" He added.

Polly landed on his head. "By yourself?"

"Yep. That's, uh, that's pretty much what just happened," Anne said, now realizing that she was in way over her head. "Uh, me and my big mouth."

"Not by herself, she won't." The four of them looked at Kenji, frowning at her with his arms crossed. "Look, Anne's an idiot for making that kind of bet, but she's not doing this alone. Not when I'm here to help her out."

"Thanks Kenji," she said with a grateful smile but stops as she just realized something. "Wait, did you just call me an idiot?"

"Took you that long to process that?"

"Fou!"

The next day in the early morning, Kenji rolled over on his bed when he opened his eyes. He looked at Anne's bed but saw that she wasn't there. Knowing where she was, Kenji groaned and sat up.

"Fou. Stay here." Kenji said as Fou only yawned and curled up into a ball. The young man left the house as he made his way towards Stumpy's

Kenji approached Stumpy's and walked in through the front door a few minutes later. "Anne? Anne!" He called out to her, but the dining area was completely empty.

But as he scanned the area, he noticed a light coming from inside the kitchen. Narrowing his eyes, Kenji walked towards it. Opening the kitchen door, Kenji found her standing under a lamp with a big, creepy smile on her face and her hair a mess. Well, more of a mess than it usually is.

"Hey, Kenji!" she exclaimed, giving him a two-finger salute.

"Anne, it's the ass-crack of dawn," Kenji said, walking over to her. "How long have you been here?"

"All night. Couldn't sleep, I was so excited! Now let's get down to business!" Anne said.

However, before they could start doing anything, the backdoor opened, and Stumpy came into the restaurant. Dragging in the carcass of an alligator-like creature he had just killed. Kenji watched as the frog reached out and tapped a mushroom that tried to light up. On the first tap, it didn't light. On the second tap, it finally lit.

"Damn mushroom needs replacing. Not that it matters anymore," Stumpy grumbled to himself and was about to start dragging in his catch when he saw Kenji and Anne. "AH! Sweet mother of pearl!"

"Hey, Stumpy!" Anne greeted.

"How did you get in here?!"

"Your front door," she said. "So, you ready to beat that critic?"

Stumpy scoffed at that and carried the dead alligator to the table to be cleaned and cut up. "Creepy kid," he muttered under breath.

"What do you want to start with? Change the menu, redecorate…" Anne trailed off as the roof over Kenji's head caved in and spilled green gunk and goo all over him.

"I vote to burn this place to the ground and start over," Kenji said, trying to wipe the goo off his face.

"Second that."

"Look, kids, you're on your own," said Stumpy. He turned to them with a look of apathy. Like he was absolutely done with life and just didn't care anymore. "Do whatever you want. It's not going to make a difference in the end, anyway."

Anne laughed. "Oh. That is where you're wrong," she said, before walking off.

"She does know what she's doing, right?" Stumpy asked Kenji.

"Oh yeah," he said. But after a moment, he rushed after Anne to make sure she knew what she was doing.

And so began a long day of cleaning the entire restaurant from head to toe. As Anne started mopping the floor, Kenji tied a mask around his mouth and started dusting the walls and furniture. He peeled away the moss that had been growing on the tables and booths before he and Anne gathered up all the trash to take out to the dumpster. But before they could do that, they first had to deal with Wally, who wouldn't leave.

Once they had all the trash, Kenji and Anne worked together to carry out the garbage to the dumpster. They carried the massive bag out of the restaurant and were just a few feet away from the dumpster when it burst. Covering them is trash. So, they tried to grab the waste by hand and throw it into the dumpster.

But then the dumpster grew eyes, limbs, and…. yeah, it wasn't a dumpster, but a garbage lizard. It rose and started to attack Kenji and Anne, who began running away from it. Stumpy watched them from the entrance of his restaurant with a smile. He knew about that lizard.

Then came the dishes, which were stacked as high as the ceiling. With a sigh, Anne grabbed a plate and handed it to Kenji, who grabbed the eel that acted as the sink's faucet. He took the plate from her and squeezed the eel, making it shoot out water from its mouth. But then it started to go crazy in his hands while spraying him and Anne.

He tried getting it under control. However, the jet of water hit the top of the towering stack of dishes. It started to topple over, and Kenji was about to pull Anne out of the way when Stumpy rushed in and saved her. He tried getting it under control. Grabbing the plates and pushing them back upright. He then offered to help, which the two humans very much appreciated. Together, they got the dishes down in record time.

They'd completely turned the place around by the end of the day, and it looked brand new. "I got to hand it to you, kids. This place looks great," Stumpy said, leaning on one of the mushroom seats as Anne wiped down the counter.

"Sure does, Anne," Kenji said, walking over with a broom. "It took some effort, but I finally kicked Wally out."

"That's what you think! Hahaha!" Wally said as he messed up the kitchen. Seeing this, the boy threw down his broom.

"…Fuck it. I tried. Veto." Kenji said, raising his hands in defeat. "But seriously, that uptight critic is going to be blown away."

"Blown away? Ha! No," Anne said, walking over to a window that had its curtains closed. "All we've done is mop the floors and clean some dishes. This place is still a house of broken dreams."

She pulled back the curtains and looked out the window. Even though they thoroughly cleaned up the inside, the outside was another story. Her point was further driven home when the diner's sign fell off.

"Harsh, but on point," Stumpy said.

"If we're going to impress that critic, we've got a lot more work to do," Anne told the boys before raising her hands over her head with an inspired smile. "We need a complete and total transformation."

"So, what do you have in mind?" Kenji asked, crossing his arms.

Apparently, she had a lot of time on her hands, because Anne pulled out an already complete blueprint of her vision for the restaurant. "Behold!" She proclaimed proudly, laying out the blueprint on the table.

"Oh. I'm going to need me hammer hand for this," Stumpy said, taking off one of his hands to put on his hammer hand.

And so began more hard work to transform the restaurant into what Anne envisioned it to be for tomorrow. By the time the project was complete, it was already late, and the moon was high in the sky. As Stumpy went home, Anne decided to camp out in the restaurant. Kenji stayed with her, wanting to keep her company.

"Alright, we're all ready for tomorrow," he said, walking over to her with a lantern. He sat down on the other side of the booth, and she sewed together her outfit for tomorrow.

"Yeah, I can't believe we got it all done in just one day," she said, finishing her dress and setting it down. Anne blushed as she looked away with an embarrassed smile. "Hey, thanks for helping me with this. I know that I got us into this mess, but…."

"Don't worry about it. I know that you were just trying to help," Kenji said with a smile. "And I know that you really miss your parents."

Anne looked down at the table sadly. Truthfully, she genuinely did want to help Stumpy, but that was because he and Duckweed brought back many memories of her parents and their restaurant. Back then, she wasn't allowed to speak out against the critics that tried to ruin their business. Anne now had a chance to make a difference. To do what she never had the opportunity to do. Tell the critics where to shove it.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Kenji placed his hand over hers. "I'm sure they miss you just as much as you miss them," he said with a warm smile.

Smiling back at him, Anne held his hand. "Thanks. And I'm sure your parents miss you as well."

Kenji tried keeping the smile on his face, but he couldn't. He let it drop as a bitter expression formed on his face. "Yeah, sure," he said, pulling away from her.

However, his sudden bitterness worried Anne. She watched him open the lantern and blow out the fire before lying down on the booth. Anne did the same on the other side. However, while laying on her back, she turned her head and looked at Kenji.

"Hey, Kenji?"

"Yeah?" He asked, turning his head to her.

"Well…don't take this the wrong way, but what happened to you?" She asked hesitantly. "I mean, you were there for one moment, and then you disappeared for nearly four months. No one at school knew where you were, and then you suddenly showed up again."

Kenji remained silent as that bitter expression returned. "…We've got a big day tomorrow, I will tell you afterword." he said, turning over to have his back facing her.

This worried Anne again. The young Thai girl didn't press the issue any further, even though she didn't like it when her friend shut her out. Knowing that something was seriously bothering him. And she had a good idea what it was. After all, she did lie about one thing.

Everyone in school did know what happened to him.

The next day, the entire town of Wartwood woke up and went about their day. However, they were amazed when they laid eyes on Stumpy's diner. The crowd that formed in front of the restaurant attracted more attention. They too were amazed to see just how much the place had changed.

Lotus flowers surrounded the restaurant in the ponds surrounding it. There was a lotus-themes water fountain sitting in front of the building and paper lanterns hanging from strings. The most noticeable change to the building was the entrance. Anne and Kenji added in a sweeping, multi-tiered roof over the door. It was a design choice based on Thai temples. All made Stumpy's new Lily Pad Thai diner stand out on its grand opening.

The frogs entered the establishment, and Anne greeted them in a traditional Thai attire known as a "Sabai." It consisted of a green wrapped skirt with geometric print, a cream breast cloth draped over one shoulder, a chain of flowers in her hair, and an elaborate flower bracelet on her wrist.

"Sawatdee kha," she greeted, bowing to them with her hands together. "And welcome to Stumpy's, Wartwood's first frog-Asian fusion restaurant, now with napkins." Anne held up a folded napkin.

Behind her, Kenji poked his head out from behind the kitchen, wearing an apron and a black sushi chef headband with a Japanese symbol of "Chef" on the front.

"Minna-san, konnichiwa!" He spoke in Japanese before switching back to English. "Who's hungry!" He then showed them a fleshly cooked fried rice with meat that the frogs can eat.

The smell of the dish flew into the nostrils of every visiting frog, and they all thought it smelled amazing. It didn't take long for everyone to grab a table and start ordering food. Within a few minutes, the place was packed and filled with the sounds of happy frogs chatting and eating.

"Need a refill of fly iced tea? On the house, sweetie," Anne said, refilling one customer's glass.

"Order up. Enjoy!" Kenji said, setting down plates filled with food for three frogs. They picked up some of it with their tongues and pulled it into their mouths. They hummed at how good they were.

Kenji walked back into the kitchen and started working on the next order when he heard Mrs. Croaker. "I'll take the maggot larb. Did I say that right? Larb?" she asked. Kenji looked out of the kitchen window and saw Anne taking the old frog's order.

"It's actually pronounced 'laap'," she corrected.

"Well, how about that? One foot in the grave and still learning new things," Mrs. Croaker said with a smile.

Starring primarily at her, Kenji smiled at his friend working. Though he wouldn't say it out loud in fear of embarrassing himself, Kenji couldn't help but think Anne looked terrific in her dress. Going as far as to say beautiful.

Stumpy walked over with freshly made maggot noodles. He rang the bell and handed the plate to Anne as she walked past them. "Amazing…" he said.

"She sure is," Kenji said, still gazing at Anne as she dropped off the order.

"I meant the place, loverboy," Stumpy said, making Kenji blush in embarrassment and look away from Anne. "I've never seen this place so packed. What- What's this weird feeling in my chest?"

"That is called hope, Stumpy." Kenji said, pan-frying a fish. "I think we might actually pull this off, dude."

A moment later, someone was ringing the service bell multiple times. And that someone was none other than Sprig, along with Hop Pop and Polly. "Please. Please stop ringing that bell," Anne said, walking over to them.

"Anne, this place is amazing," Sprig exclaimed.

"Fou!"

"You weren't kidding when you said you were good at this," complimented Hop Pop as he held up Polly in one hand.

"Oh, yeah! Score one for Anne!" Anne cheered victoriously.

"Oi!"

"Oh, right. You too, Kenji!"

"Fou!"

"So, table for three." The old orange frog requested.

"Ooh, sorry guys. All the tables are full," Anne told the frogs as she looked around the diner. However, just as it seemed like everything was going great, it would all change.

It happened when a frog cleared his throat loudly, gaining the attention of the humans. However, it turned out to be a costume when it unzipped and revealed Albus Duckweed inside it. "They can have my table," he said smugly. He pushed his plate away before crossing his arms with an unimpressed expression. "I am done here."

Anne gasped and dropped her menu in shock. "It's…"

"Duckweed! He's here!" Stumpy said as he and Kenji walked out of the kitchen. Together, the three of them started heading towards the critic.

"I have another question," said Mrs. Croaker as she walked up to them. But the humans and the large frog breezed past her.

"Thanks for coming."

"Okay, great, see ya."

"Tell your friends about us."

Kenji and Anne walked up to Duckweed's booth with frowns as Stumpy stayed close behind them. "Duckweed, you actually came," Kenji said with disdain for the newt. "What's with the disguise?"

"Oh, this?" Duckweed asked, holding up his disguise. "It's kind of a critic thing. It's to guarantee that we get a genuine experience, you know. If you knew it was me, you'd probably spice it up a bit, make it a little bit better. But in a disguise, you're just going to serve me like anyone else."

"That's...actually really clever," Anne commented.

"Thank you!"

"So, did you like the food?" Kenji asked, hoping that he did.

"Oh, right... No!" Duckweed yelled, slamming his fist on the table. "I found the experience had no cohesion. Like one thing was clumsily grafted on top of another. And when I publish my review, your restaurant will be ruined." He pulled out his review on a piece of paper, before crushing it as he hugged it and laughed maniacally. "I love my job."

Realizing just how bad things were getting, Kenji, Anne, and Stumpy glanced at one another. "Will you, uh... Will you give us a moment? Stay right there!" Anne requested before she and the other two rushed back to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, but I must–" Duckweed's smug attitude was cut short when Kenji's knife was thrown and stabbed into the table.

"YOU'LL FREAKING WAIT!" He yelled, before going into the kitchen.

"…okay."

Stumpy was already freaking out while Anne was pacing around. Trying to think of a way to turn this disaster around. "That's it. It's over. We're finished!" He exclaimed. "The second that review goes up, this restaurant goes down."

Anne suddenly grabbed him and smacked him across the face. "Pull yourself together, man!" she shouted, shaking him. "We can do this. It's time to bring out the big guns. My parents' squid and basil special. No critic in town could resist."

"Then let's do it!" Kenji said with a grin.

"Yeah!" Anne cheered, then smacked him across the face too.

"OW! What was that for?!" Kenji yelled, holding his cheek.

"Sorry, sorry. I am amped!" Anne exclaimed with a determined grin. The three of them ran out of the kitchen and headed towards the door. "Hey, we've got a special dinner just for you. Be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"Amusing. All right, I'll play your little game," Duckweed said with a smirk.

"Yeah." Kenji walked over and pulled his knife out of the table. "You will," he said in a threatening tone before running off after Anne and Stumpy.

"So…" Hop Pop walked over to Duckweed. "Does this mean we can't have your table?"

A few seconds later, Kenji kicked the door to the backdoor. Then he, Anne, and Stumpy dragged a massive white squid into the kitchen. Leaving a trail of slime behind them. "Man, squid here are huge here," said Anne as she grunted.

"It's not a squid," Stumpy said. "It's a Kraken."

"Eh, potato, tomato." Kenji shrugged.

Together they got to work on the squid and basil special. First, Kenji started a fire and placed a large sauté pan over it. As he poured in the oil for the basil, Anne cut up the vegetables and threw them in. Then, the two worked together to throw the squid into the pan. Anne took over the cooking, pouring in an entire bottle's worth of Arroy Arroy fish sauce as Kenji and Stumpy took care of the last few steps.

When they completed the squid and basil special, they placed the squid on a large plate and covered it. They then put it on a cart and Anne rolled it out of the kitchen with Kenji following her.

"Make way! Coming through!" Anne exclaimed with an excited smile. Everyone's attention was on the giant dish as Kenji placed it on the table. "All right, dude. Get ready to be blown away."

Anne then removed the cover and revealed the squid to Duckweed. The sight and smell attracted the critic as his interest and appetite peaked. "Oh, my...What an exotic selection," he said, picking up his fork.

Kenji and Anne glanced at one another and winked. It looks like they are finally going to win, just if nothing goes wrong.

And that's precisely what happened.

You see, for squid and basil, you're usually supposed to cut up the squid. But Anne didn't.

Just as Duckweed was about to dig into his meal, the meal opened its eye. The newt screamed as the squid warped its tentacle around his neck. It then lifted him up into the air and let out a mighty roar. Flailing its other arms around.

"Assassinating your critics, I love it," Poly said. However, the squid grabbed her and the other Plantars. It then lashed out at Kenji, Anne, and Stumpy. Forcing them to run and dive behind the counter.

"Okay, this is a disaster," Kenji said, taking off his chef hat and putting back on his baseball hat.

"Guys, I'm so sorry," Anne said, looking down with a look of guilt. "I never should have made this dumb wager."

"Anne, calm down. Maybe we can't save the restaurant, but we sure can save those people's lives," said Stumpy. "What do you say?"

"I say...let's crush this oversized squid!" She said with determination.

"Kraken!"

"Good, because I've got an idea," Kenji told her. He reached over the counter and grabbed a cup. It was the same cup Wally had for days, and it just so happened to have a large lemon. "Stumpy and I will create an opening. That's when you get it with this."

Kenji handed Anne the lemon before drawing his sword from his hip and shield from his back.

"You ready, Stumpy?" He asked.

"Read as I'll ever be," he replied, replacing one of his hands with a large tenderizing hammer hand.

Together, the two jumped over the counter and rushed towards the squid.

The monster attacked them first, swinging its tentacles at the two. Kenji was about to block the attack with his shield and then cut off the limbs. This made the squid shriek in pain and fury.

Cutting off the tentacles created an opening for Stumpy. He jumped towards the squid and bashed it in the face with his tenderizing hammer hand. The hit knocked the squid back, before it countered by spraying black ink at Stumpy. Taking down the chef. He landed on the ground, face covered in ink. Stumpy licked some of the ink on his lips. "Mm... Oh, that's good."

Kenji saw another tentacle coming at him as the other customers took cover. He quickly dodged and cut the tentacle off before blocking another one with his shield. "Now Anne!" Kenji yelled, turning to Anne.

"Pad See Ew, you later!" Anne jumped over the counter and squeezed the lemon in her hands. Sending the juice flying out of the fruit and into the eye of the squid.

The squid screeched in agony as the lemon juice stung horribly, making it let go of Duckweed and the Plantars.

Seeing his chance, Kenji rushed towards the squid and jumped at it. With his sword raised in the air and holding it in reverse, Kenji landed on the head of the squid and stabbed it in the eye. The squid let out one final death screech as Kenji drove the blade deep inside, causing its black ink blood to spill out and splatter onto him. The mighty creature then fell to the ground with a great thud.

Once the danger was over, the frogs all peaked out from behind their covers around the now tarnished restaurant. Kenji pulled his blade out of the squid and jumped down. He looked at the ink on it and hummed. Then the boy gave it a lick, tasting the ink.

"Hey, that's not half bad!" He said with a smile.

With the squid now killed, Anne turned to Duckweed with her hands behind her back. "So, Duckweed. Guess you got a bad review to write, huh?" She guessed. After what had just happened, they could kiss Stumpy's Diner goodbye.

"Bad...Bad? That was incredible!" Duckweed exclaimed, however.

"I'm sorry what?" asked Kenji with a surprised look on his face.

"A food that tries to eat you. The irony, the ecstasy! I simply must tell everyone. To the message board!" And with that, the newt rushed out of the restaurant. After he left, the customers still there started clapping and cheering for Anne and Kenji.

"You go, girl!"

"Go, Kenji!"

"They live in my basement."

"Fou!"

"Wait, you guys have a message board?" Kenji asked, cleaning off his sword and sheathing it.

"Sure do. It's a literal board," Sprig said, pointing out the window at a message board that was sent up in the middle of town. Kenji and Anne looked to see Duckweed pinning his restaurant review on the board. Giving the place five stars.

As the frogs all started walking out of the restaurant, Anne turned to Stumpy. "Well, guess we better clean this place up. Again," she said, before looking at the chef frog with shame. "Stumpy, I'm sorry about all this. I took things way too far."

"No way, Anne," Stumpy said instead. Smiling happily at both Anne and Kenji. "This whole thing was a big success. You even convinced this old grump to care. If your parents could see this, I'm sure they'd be proud."

"He's right, Anne," Kenji said. "I mean, look at all that you've done in just a day. You were able to turn this whole place around into a thriving restaurant and manage it like a boss."

Anne smiled gratefully at the two. "Thanks, guys. Put her there," she said, holding out her hand to Stumpy. The chef happily gave her his spatula hand, and the two shook hands. Making Stumpy's replacement creek. "Oh, this feels nice. What is this? Oak? Mahogany?"

Stumpy said, "It's carved from the bones of me missing hand."

"Oh, come on!" Anne complained as Kenji and Fou laughed.

After the whole Lily Pad Thai fiasco, The Plantar family returned home to eat some food that they brought from the restaurant. When they finished up, The Plantars went to their rooms for the night while Anne and Kenji went to their rooms. As Kenji was about to turn in for the night after the whole ordeal today, Anne walked up to him with a serious look on her face.

"Hey Kenji. You got a minute to talk?" Anne asked as Kenji looked towards her in confusion as he sat in his bed.

"What's on your mind Anne?" Kenji asked as the Thai-American girl looked down for a moment before she looked at him straight into his eyes.

"Kenji… I heard what you were accused of… that you were called a criminal, but-"

"Anne…" Kenji said, his head bowed low as Anne looked at him in concern from the sudden change of mood. "What did you hear?"

"Kenji-"

"What did you hear?" Anne frowned deeper as Kenji looked at her with a dark look on his face, his whole-body trembling as he clenches his fist. Fou looked towards Kenji with sad look as a small whine came out of him, showing that he was concern for him.

"Fou..."

"I heard that you were accused of stealing something… and then-"

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Kenji exclaimed, his voice cracking. "I… I didn't do it. But no one… no one believes me…even though they found the true culprit, I was still sent there…"

"Kenji…" Anne started as the young man looked towards her with a pained look on his face. "I want you tell me what happened to you."

"...It all began about three months ago."

The night fell over the city of Los Angeles when Kenji was walking down a lonely path that led towards the underpass of a bridge. He took this way every time he came home late from baseball practice for the Saint James High School team. His home was in the part of town where many of them middle-class and lower-middle class families lived. His life at home was good, even though his parents could be a little too overbearing and strict with him. Especially his mom, who was a teacher at his school and expected nothing less than perfection from people. But Kenji knows that they still love him and just wanted the best for him.

That thought will be put to the test. It was a long and tiring day, and Kenji just wanted to get home. He walked under the bridge and just when he stepped out of the underpass, it happened.

As the sound of police sirens started getting closer from far away, something fell from the top of the bridge and hit him on the head. Knocking him down to the ground and knocking his hat off his head. Groaning in pain from the impact, Kenji got up and looked behind him to see whatever it was that hit him.

To his surprise, they were shoes. Really nice-looking sneakers that were tied together. Picking them up and putting his hat back on, Kenji examined the sneakers before looking up at the bridge.

He noticed someone running off.

"Hey! Buddy! You forgot your sneakers!" He called out to the person, before a pair of lights shined brightly on him. Kenji turned and to his shock saw a really expensive-looking white car coming right for him.

Kenji quickly ran out of the way and onto the sidewalk before the car could run him over. But instead of driving off, the car came to a shrieking halt right in front of him. The young man stared at the car with wide eyes, before the driver's side door swung open.

Stepping out was a fat-looking man in a business suit with a bald head and very unpleasant glare. "You! I caught you, you little bastard!" He yelled, red in the face as the door on the other side opened and a woman in a business suit came running out. "You thought you could steal from me!?"

"Wait, what?" Kenji asked in shock and confusion, taken completely aback by the accusation.

"Don't think I don't know! You're the one that stole those shoes from my store!" The manager shouted at Kenji, looking obviously drunk now.

"What?! I didn't steal these things! Someone else did!" Kenji exclaimed, pointing to the bridge. "Someone was up there and-"

"Oh, yeah, sure! That's a likely story!"

"Sir, I think he's telling the truth." His nervous assistant said, trying to calm down her boss. "Our surveillance showed that it was another person."

"Shut up!" The manager yelled, startling the woman as he directed his anger at her. "If you had done something to stop this thief, we wouldn't be out here in the first place!" He then whirled back again to Kenji and pointed a finger at him. "You've got the shoes, and that means you're guilty!"

"I'm telling you I didn't do it!" Kenji yelled back.

"Sir, please-" She was suddenly slapped hard across the face by the manager, shocking Kenji as she fell to the ground. The woman let out a cry when she collapsed with a large red mark on her face. She looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey! Hey!" Kenji shouted, rushing towards the man. Before he could turn, Kenji had placed himself between the woman and the drunk manager. However, his swift movement caused the man to stagger backward before snarling at him. Kenji turned to the woman and asked, "Are you okay?"

The assistant nodded meekly at him.

Kenji turned back to the manager and glared at him. "I didn't steal these shoes! But I did get them back, so here!" He held the shoes out towards the man. "Take them, get the hell out of here, and don't touch her!"

"You think you're in a position to negotiate, kid!? I'm gonna…" as the older man stepped forward, he lost his balance and slipped on his heel. He tripped over and fell face-first on the ground.

The impact surprised Kenji. The woman behind him cupped her mouth in shock as her manager rose with blood on his face. Coming from his nose, which looked bent out of place.

"Ah! My fucking nose!" He shouted in pain as he cupped his bleeding nose. He glared at Kenji hatefully. "I'll sue!"

"S-Sue?!" Kenji retorted in anger and worry. "I didn't do anything! You did that to yourself!"

"Leave him alone!" The woman said, standing up with an angered look in her eyes.

"Shut your fucking mouth, bitch! Now, this is what you're going to say to the police." The manager ordered in a nasal voice. He then pointed at Kenji. "He was the one that stole the shoes, and when we found him, he attacked both of us. Got it? Say anything else, and you're fired! And I'd think about it before you go against me. After all, who's going to pay for your son in the hospital?"

"What the hell?! You can't just do that!" Kenji interrupted. The woman looked beyond distraught at her ultimatum. Submit to him and sell out an innocent boy, or let her son suffer. "I didn't steal the shoes! Just take them back!"

"Shut up! You're done for, kid." The manager growled as a police car pulled up to them.

"Alright folks," said one of the two policemen that exited the car. "We've got a complaint about an argument-oh! It's you, sir." He said when he saw the manager.

"Well, I caught the thief. No takes to you! But then he attacked me and my assistant!" the fat man said, pointing to his broken nose and his assistant's bruised face.

"No, officers, I didn't do anything," Kenji said, trying to get a word in, but was interrupted by one of the cops.

"I'd stay quiet if I were you, especially since you're holding those shoes," he said, pointing to the shoes in Kenji's hand. Kenji instantly dropped them. The officer then turned to the assistant. "Is this true, ma'am?"

The woman seized up as all eyes fixated on her. Her manager, the officers, and Kenji looked at her. Kenji looked at her pleadingly, praying that she'd do the right thing. But then his heart dropped when she looked at him with an apologetic look.

"This young man stole from our store. When we caught him, he suddenly attacked me and my manager. He...punched this man in the face...breaking his nose...and slapped me across the face."

At that moment, everything just seemed to go slowly for Kenji. He felt his limbs lock up and his body just felt cold. His ears almost stopped working. Feeling like he was punched in the gut and had his heart ripped out, Kenji was far too stunned when the officers pushed him onto the ground and clamped a pair of metal cuffs tightly around his wrists. Kenji didn't resist as the men pulled him to his feet and dragged him. He was escorted to a police cruiser and forced into the back.

With a pale, dumbstruck face, Kenji looked out the window at the woman, who watched with great shame. His face expressed utter betrayal as she was ordered to get back into her boss's car. As he was driven away, Kenji's world became a complete blur the second he was framed for the crime he never committed.

"It's been almost 4 months since that fateful night. I was wrongfully convicted and thrown in jail for theft and assault. Turned out the guy wasn't a manager, but a big-name brand owner that had a lot of influence. How that was even possible, I had no idea, and I didn't care. I still got a sentence for a full year because of some random thief. However, they found the real thief and I was released by the 3rd month. When I got out, I was sure that he would work hard to get his life back on track. Whether it was possible or not was unknown. But things were never really the same. While my family believed in me, the community of San Francisco still believed I was a criminal." Kenji finished as Anne looked at him with a shocked look on her face. Fou also had a shocked looked on his face at the history of his current caretaker.

"Kenji…"

"Now you know…" He mumbled, his head bowed low again as he refused to look at her. "I guess you don't want to be around me huh? Don't want to ruin your image when we get back home."

"…No Kenji. I believe you. You're not that kind of person.."

"How can I believe you, though?! I thought that you were my friend, but you never showed up when I returned back to school." Kenji said with gritted teeth as kept gripping his fists tighter.

"… Kenji. Listen to me closely," Anne continued to move forward, even as he curled back from her in a sitting position. He shook as she approached, but she didn't stop. "I want you to believe me. I wanted to be there for you, but I wasn't told the full story of what happened. Now that I know…I should have been there from the start."

"What?"

"Even if the world turns on you and blames you… I won't. I'll be there. And I will always say…" Anne reached out and clasped his hand, causing Kenji to freeze for a moment. And just as he stopped, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his head, and pulling him into a deep embrace.

"I believe you… I know that you didn't do it."

Kenji was still for a long moment, as if a heavy weight that was on him was beginning to fade. He relaxed into Anne's arms, accepting her hug for a moment.

"I believe in you, Kenji." Anne repeated with a gentle smile.

SLAM!

The two humans looked up to see the Plantar Family in a dog pile as they groan in pain from the fall from the basement door. Kenji looked at the frog family with a dead

"How long where you three there?"

"When you went through that whole backstory." Sprig said causing Kenji to groan at the answer that was given to him. Now that they know what happened to him in the past and he's sure that the Plantars would have something to say to him now.

"Kenji." Hop Pop said, shifting his gaze to the young man. The young man looked up at him, watching as Hop Pop gave him a small smile. "I want you to know something. Anne isn't the only one who believes in you. I do too."

"Wh-What?"

"Same here, Ken. No matter what people try to say about you, I don't care. I've seen the kind of guy you are, and I'm not turning my back on you." Sprig declared with a big grin on his face. "So, know that there's always going to be someone who knows the truth, even if the whole world tries to tell them different. So, try and find it in yourself to believe in us, too."

"Yeah man, you don't need to be all moody." Polly said with a small smile on her face as she sends a small punch to Kenji's shoulder. "That doesn't suit you at all."

"Y-you guys…" Kenji said as the frog family and Anne hugged him with Fou laying on his head as if was trying to give him a hug as well, causing him to break down as he begins to let loose some tears. A broken yet grateful smile appears on his face.

"Thank you."