Episode Ten: The Truth As Told By Hopediah Plantar
"So that is Sprig and Polly's mom?" asked Ash. "It sure is," replied Hop Pop, "And she was the last one to have your powers. She was fearless too. Heh. I remember when she first got those powers. She got em' in the same order you did. She was so excited. She was so happy to finally be able to do something good in Amphibia. And I was terrified for her! Every time she used them, she felt drained. That's why I said nothing when you got the mind powers and felt fine, it got me thinking. Maybe it's just your different body chemistry." "Could you tell me more about their parents?" asked Ash. "Of course," said Hop Pop, "My daughter, when she was about twenty-two, married a frog named Jumpro Versara, so, for a few years, they stayed married and had Sprig, which means his name was originally Sprig Versara. But, after Polly came along, she caught him with the neighbor… She divorced him and changed Sprig and Polly's last names to Plantar." "Okay," said Ash, "Didn't need to know the entire backstory of Sprig and Polly's mom, but carry on." "She was pretty fearless still," continued Hop Pop, "Even after the emotional trauma. But… When Sprig and Polly were still pretty young, a group of herons attacked the house. Jumpro tried to make things right by running into the house to try to save them… and he got eaten. Sprig and Polly's mom hid them in a compartment in the floor and tried to use her powers to fight off the herons. As usual, she got drained… and when she couldn't fight, she grabbed a box and was about to grab Sprig and Polly, but the heron got her before she could. Thank Frog it never found Sprig and Polly." "Why didn't you do anything?" asked Ash. "I wasn't there at the time," sighed Hop Pop, "I got all this from Chuck." "I grow tulips!" shouted Chuck from outside the window. "Wait…" said Ash, "She was holding a box." "So?" asked Hop Pop. "Well it obviously wasn't the Infinity Box, you clearly went to the archives and hid it there." "I honestly forgot it was there," admitted Hop Pop, "But what are you going on about?" "That box she had… that was the Calamity Box!" said Ash, "And if she got eaten… how did the box end up on earth?" "You're saying…" gasped Hop Pop. "Hopediah Plantar," stated Ash, "Your daughter is alive."
"Children," said Hop Pop, "I have something I need to tell you." "Okay," said Sprig. "Why's Ash here?" asked Polly. "Cause she's gonna help me," stated Hop Pop, "Anyway… this is about your mother." "What about her?" asked Sprig. "Yeah, what about her?" asked Polly. "I can't do it," sighed Hop Pop. "That's all good HP," said Ash, "I got it. So… up until last night, your Hop Pop thought that your mother was eaten in a heron attack." Sprig fought the urge to cry. Ash could tell Polly was doing the same. Ash proceeded to tell them what Hop Pop had told her about their mother being able to control the infinity powers that she now did. "Now," continued Ash, "The only witness to the events that caused her disappearance said she was holding a golden box when the heron ate her. Hop Pop found the Infinity Box in his study when he got back and found you two." "Ash thinks that she may have used that Calamity Box that Anne, Marcy, and Sasha got here using to travel to earth," added Hop Pop. "Which means…" started Sprig. "She's alive!" exclaimed Polly. "We think," clarified Ash. "This is amazing!" exclaimed Sprig, "We have to go to the third temple right now!" "Hold it boy," said Hop Pop, "It's storming pretty bad out there right now. We need to hold off on the temple till it clears up." "We're frogs!" protested Polly. The door flung open and Marcy, Anne, and Sasha tumbled in. "Yeah we can't go out there," said Sasha. All three of them struggled to push the door closed. "So," said Ash, "How about we just take this time to look further back into Plantar family history? Considering it just got a whole lot more interesting." "I don't see why not," said Hop Pop. "I guess so," agreed Polly. "Sure," Sprig added. "What are we talking about?" asked Marcy.
"Hey Hop Pop. Why don't we show Ash, Sash, and Marcy the secret rooms under the house?" suggested Anne. "Secret rooms!?" questioned Marcy. "Now we have to go!" exclaimed Sasha. "I think I'll actually just stay up here and learn more about the Infinity Box with Hop Pop," said Ash. "Awww come on Ash," pleaded Marcy, "Maybe there's a room about Sprig's mom!" "Yeah!" exclaimed Sprig. "She's my mom too!" shouted Polly. "Fine," relented Ash with an eyeroll. "Yay!" cheered Marcy, hugging her friend. Sprig jumped up on the fireplace and pressed a button hidden in a depressing painting that was there for some reason, and the fireplace opened up. "Woah," gasped Marcy. "Dang, these farmers mean business," said Sasha, "I'm impressed." "Now follow us," said Anne. The group proceeded to wander into the cave, but Ash stopped just before she went in. "You coming HP?" she asked. "If there is a room for her down there, I don't wanna see it," sighed Hop Pop. "It'll be okay Hop Pop," said Ash with a smile, "I'll have Anne take some pictures… just in case." Ash then turned and walked down the stairs after the rest of the group, earning a small smile from the old frog, who then retreated back to his study.
"AHHHHHHH!" screamed Marcy as she tumbled down the stairs. Ash then levitated her, just before she hit the next stair. "Thanks," chuckled Marcy. "Don't mention it," said Ash with a smile, "But I will be holding onto you for the rest of the way down. Marcy pouted as Ash brought her to her side. Ash blushed and turned her head away from the cute girl. Ash continued down the stairs with the others, Marcy floating beside her. When they reached the bottom, they wandered into a science lab. Ash then put Marcy down, turning to a giant cage. "Sprig," stated Polly, "Don't you dare release a pumpkin monster again." "What was that?" asked Sprig, who had just pulled a lever. "Sprig!" everyone exclaimed in unison. The cage opened and a giant pumpkin mutant busted out. Ash gasped as she saw the creature. The pumpkin then saw Sprig and swatted at him, knocking him against a wall. It then got ready to squash Marcy. "No!" Ash screamed. Suddenly, a flash of blue appeared under the pumpkin, just as it was about to crush Marcy. A blue portal appeared in the corner of the room and Marcy stumbled out. Marcy looked at Ash and saw that her hair and eyes were dark blue, and she was glowing with blue energy. Ash then made another portal appear under the pumpkin and another appear in the cage. The pumpkin fell through and into the cage, which is when Ash reached up and closed the door. Ash turned around to see Anne and Sasha helping Sprig stand up, Polly sitting on a shelf, laughing at Sprig, and Marcy staring at her in awe. "Are you okay Mar Mar?" asked Ash. "I'm fine!" exclaimed Marcy, seemingly being snapped out of a trance. "Did it hurt you?" stressed Ash, running up to her friend, "Did it touch you? Did it breathe on you? So help me Frog if it breathed on you!" "I'm fine," stated Marcy, "But you're still blue." "Da-ba-dee-da-ba-QUE!?" exclaimed Ash. She ran to the nearest mirror and found that what Marcy had said was true. "Another development," sighed Ash, "Estupenda." "So," said Sprig, who was seemingly unharmed by himself being freaking BODIED by a giant pumpkin, "What I've noticed is that, as you've gotten more powers, you've become more and more in control." "I was literally seeing things on Tuesday!" defended Ash. "But you've unlocked more powers since then," stated Sprig, "You were unfazed by the mind powers, and you're still blue from what I'm guessing to be space." "I guess you're right," admitted Ash. "Can we go?" asked Sasha, "Polly told me the next room was a hidden armory." "Yeah," said Anne, "Let's just go, we'll talk about mystical frog powers later." Ash rolled her eyes and followed the group. They dropped down through the hole in the floor to Pollianna's secret room. "You were right dude," said Sasha, "This is dope." "That's not even the coolest part," said Polly, jumping up and pulling a lever. The training area then powered on. "Let's do this," said Sasha with a smirk, drawing her sword. Polly grabbed her mace. "Race ya through!" exclaimed Ash, running at the course. "You're on!" bet Sasha, running after her. Polly used the mace to fling herself through, smashing suits of armor and dodging axes. Sasha leapt over saw blades and cut through armor suits. Suddenly, it all shut down. They looked at the end and found Ash by the control lever. "Ustedes dos son tan lentas," yawned Ash. "You used your portal powers, that's cheating!" exclaimed Polly. "There was no rule against it!" defended Ash, running out of the room. Anne, Marcy, and Sprig laughed at the two as they passed by. A mad Sasha and Polly then followed the rest of the group.
Hop Pop stared at a picture of his daughter and grandkids together. He sighed and closed the book. "I know there's something down there," he sighed, "But I'm not sure if I'm ready to face it." He looked over at Bessie, who was outside his window. "Do you know what I mean girl?" he asked. Bessie chirped in response. "You're right girl," said Hop Pop, "But I'm still not ready."
The roof of spikes then clamped down on the ground, crushing anything within it. Meanwhile, a blue portal appeared on the other side of it and the whole group stepped out. "OOH!" exclaimed Sprig, "That lever I never got to pull!" "Sprig no!" screamed Polly and Anne. Sprig was just about to pull the lever, when yellow energy surrounded him. Ash had used her mind powers to stop him. Her hair returned to its new normal, her left eye went back to being yellow, her right back to forest green, but her pupils became blue. Ash moved Sprig back to the others. "I wanna do it," she stated. "Ash no!" exclaimed Marcy, "You don't know what it'll do." "Pero lo hago," stated Ash, pulling the lever. The ground began to shake and move downward. "It's an elevator?" questioned Sprig. "And I know where it goes," Ash said confidently. It finally stopped moving and the group stepped off. They then saw as mushrooms lit up the entire room. A picture of Sprig and Polly's mom was shown on the wall, as were pictures of Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop on a desk. "This was definitely mom's room," gasped Sprig. "At least she loved her kids," stated Ash, glaring at the seemingly millions of pictures of Sprig and Polly. "Look!" exclaimed Marcy, "A diary!" Ash picked up the dusty book off the desk and opened it up.
May 5, 1995-
Today I discovered something amazing about my powers. I've discovered that they have the ability to allow me to see into the future, that they have given me insights into the things that haven't happened to me or to others yet. On that note, I've been having this recurring nightmare- that I'm with what seem to be my future children and I get eaten by a heron. After that, one of two things happen. One, I wake up in a cold sweat, or two, I see a world full of tall buildings and metal motor vehicles. And then I wake up in a cold sweat -_-
"Hey they had emoticons back then!" interrupted Anne. "Cállate," said Ash, "I'm trying to read." Ash then flipped farther on.
November 24, 2009-
Today has been the best day of my life. My son, Sprig, was born today. Jumpro and I are so happy! We've been expecting it, but we were still surprised when it came time. On a side note, with all good things, something bad must come. Today, I have been seeing constant visions, while I was having and after I had my son, of some creature. A creature with long spindly limbs, a big head, wearing a hat much like the one I plan to give to my son when he gets big enough, except it was a different color, and this creature had hair like mine, and eyes as well. Though, as I had originally hoped, Sprig will not be getting my power, I hope whatever this creature I have seen uses them for the greater good.
"SHE JUST PREDICTED YOU!" exclaimed Sprig. "It was also the day you were born but yeah that too," said Ash with an eye roll. "Don't you get it?" asked Marcy, "Sprig and Polly's mom just predicted… you! A human from another world!" "Don't forget," said Ash, "The last one mentioned a different world. So that means…" "She's on earth!" exclaimed Polly. "Then we have to get there ASAP!" said Sprig. "Remember the violent storm?" asked Sasha. "I could just portal us to the temple," stated Ash, "But Sasha's right, we gotta be prepared for anything, and a lot of our supplies are in the barn, and that's too small of a space to portal to." "You were able to make a portal appear in a cage," stated Anne. "For a giant pumpkin monster," argued Ash, "And I was still blue then." "She's right," sighed Sprig, "It's just not time yet. Earth will still be there tomorrow." Ash put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "I'll take the diary and a few things that have to do with the powers and the box and then we'll go back up." Sprig nodded and looked around, finding pictures of him and Polly when they were younger. "I'm done," said Ash, a small pile of books and pictures levitating beside her, "Should I portal us outta here? The living room is just big enough."
Hop Pop poured seven bowls of soup and put them on the table. Suddenly, a blue portal appeared in the living room, scaring the living daylights out of Hop Pop. Ash, Sprig, Sasha, Marcy, Anne, and Polly came out of it. "I always hated it when Hopla did that!" exclaimed Hop Pop. "Her name was Hopla?" asked Ash. "Is it weird that I think that kinda sounds like Ashla?" asked Marcy. "Not at all," said Sasha, "I heard it too." "Did ya find anything?" asked Hop Pop, walking into the living room. "All these," stated Ash, presenting the books and pictures, "I found her old diary, and in it, it mentioned a journal on everything her powers had, so I found that." "Great," said Hop Pop, his expression turning slightly solemn but returning back to normal. "I also got you this," said Ash, handing Hop Pop a picture of him, Sprig, Polly, and Hopla all together. "Thank you Ashla," sighed Hop Pop, "I can't tell you how much this means to me." Ash smiled at him and set the rest of the stuff down.
A few hours and a lot of beetle jerky later, all the humans made an executive decision. "Let's just all get some sleep," suggested Anne, "The faster we go to sleep, the faster we go home." Everyone agreed and retreated to their respective rooms. All except Ash. "HP," said Ash, walking into his study, "I need to grab the Infinity Box out of your study." Hop Pop wasn't in the room… neither was the Infinity Box. Ash looked all around the house, not finding him anywhere. "Hopediah Plantar, I swear to Frog!" whispered Ash. Ash then made a portal into Hopla's room in the secret Plantar layers. Sure enough, she found Hop Pop, standing over the desk with the Infinity Box beside him. Ash levitated the box to herself and approached Hop Pop. "Why'd you come down here with the box?" "I wanted to learn more about it," lied Hop Pop. "I'm just like Hopla," stated Ash, "I'm a living lie detector." Hop Pop sighed audibly. He looked at the human and started crying his eyes out. "This is all I have left of her," he bawled, "I was trying to see if I could use it to get to her." "One," said Ash, "All the stones aren't fully charged, and two, that's not all you have left of her. You have two loving grandkids that think the world of you. And guess what, they're her children. You have so much more than this box. And you can't just take it. As much as I hate to take it from you, it's mine now. I'm responsible for whatever happens to it, and if it got broken under my protection? It's too risky, Hopediah. So please, next time you take it, tell me." "Okay," sighed Hop Pop, "I'm sorry Ashla. You know, you remind me of her a lot." "I wonder why," said Ash sarcastically, running her hands through her hair." "I meant personality wise," corrected Hop Pop, "But that too." Ash smiled at the old frog. "It'll be okay Hop Pop," she said, "Now get some sleep. You look frog tired." "Will do," replied Hop Pop, "Just give me a few minutes." Ash nodded and portaled back to the living room to crash on the couch. "After we find you," said Hop Pop, looking at a picture of his daughter, "I'll make things right… I promise."
