Sprig looked at his mother after she finished telling him what happened. Overcome with emotion, Sprig hugged his mother, followed by Polly.
"I am so sorry...I promise that from now on, I'll be there for you two..."
Sprig smiled at his mother. "I know...and I'm sorry for not hearing you out..."
There was something Anne didn't quite understand about Helena's story, though.
"But, the box had a charge in it when me and my friends found it...that's how we were able to get to Amphibia..."
Hattie stepped forward. "I did research into the box, and...was able to find a way to charge it...at least partially...but before I could tell Helena that I successfully charged it, the box was stolen..."
"How did you charge it?"
"There's a temple hidden nearby...it seems it was built just in case someone got stuck here..."
"A temple in the human world? But, wait, when we had to charge the box, there were three temples to go through. And even then...we needed all three of us to charge it..."
"Huh, I don't know...maybe someone got stuck here once and developed their own means of charging the box..."
"One problem though...we don't have the box..."
Helena became immediately concerned. "What do you mean? Where is it?"
Anne lowered her head. "King Andrias has it..."
Helena let out a gasp. "Oh no...no, I was trying to avoid this!"
"I'm sorry...he...he promised he would get us home...we didn't know that he'd..."
"Wait, Helena, did you know that Andrias was evil?" Hop Pop asked.
Helena took a deep breath. "Yes...I knew...I just didn't want you or the kids involved...now listen to me...King Andrias will try to invade this world soon...we need to be prepared to fight...are any of you willing to lay your lives on the line to protect the Earth?"
Anne stepped up. "I am..."
"Anyone else?"
Sprig stepped up, followed by Polly and Hop Pop. Maggie hesitantly stepped forward as well. Finally, Hattie stepped up.
"We're gonna need weapons, then...follow me..."
Helena walked into her house, and everyone followed her. She opened the basement door and there was a whole armory in there, filled with all kinds of bladed weapons. Anne was stunned. She looked at a claymore and decided she'd pick it up. It felt nice in her hands.
"Where'd you find all this stuff?" Anne said as she swung the claymore.
"This was all already here...the previous owner must've collected this stuff."
"Yea. Alot of these must be hundreds of years old...and very well taken care of...alot of...shiny swords..."
"Ooh, I call the ball and chain!" Polly yelled as she ran over to the wall.
"No fair, why do you always get the ball and chain?" Sprig whined.
"Hey, I didn't say you two could take anything!" Helena shouted.
Anne looked over at Sprig and Polly and let out a little chuckle. She then looked back at Hattie.
"Is there another way of getting to Amphibia?" Anne asked Hattie.
"I...don't know..."
"Do you...think that temple might hold some answers?"
"You might be onto something...I'll show you where it is...but whoever took the box the first time might still be there..."
"How did it get stolen?"
"It was taking too long to charge the box, so...I left it overnight...I didn't think anyone would be down there..."
"Well, in any case, I need to know if there's a way..."
As Hop Pop was bringing Sprig, Polly, and Maggie back to Anne's house, Anne, along with Hattie and Helena, set off to find the temple, in the hopes that they could find something...anything...that could help them. Anne brought her new claymore, and Hattie and Helena each had their own broadsword, just in case anything happens. After hours of traveling through the wooded areas outside the city, they came across a clearing with a tree that was much larger than the trees in the surrounding area.
"We're here..."
"Okay, but how do we get in?"
Helena hopped onto the branch closest to the ground, which acted like a lever that opened a hidden door in the trunk of the tree, leading to a staircase.
"Clever, huh?" Hattie said. "It was a little more difficult for me to figure out since I can't hop like a frog can."
Anne looked down the staircase. It looked ancient, possibly as old or older than the Calamity Box itself. Anne slowly made her way down, followed by Helena and Hattie. They walked down a long hallway lit with candles into a room that had some sort of pedestal in the middle.
"That's where I left the box," Hattie said.
Anne studied the pedestal. There was a spot on top that was shaped to fit the box. Anne walked past it to a doorway. It didn't seem like it was able to be opened though. No matter how hard Anne tried, she couldn't get the door to budge. Frustrated, she took a moment to rest, and layed her hand on the door.
Anne then noticed a blue light emanating from where she placed her hand. Her eyes glowed blue as the door opened right before her.
"H...how did you do that?" Helena asked, stunned.
"I don't know...it might have to do with my Calamity powers..."
"Calamity powers?" So, the box chose her?
Anne walked into the room. It seemed...empty. Why is there just an empty room in this temple?
"There doesn't seem to be anything in here guys..."
"Who's there?"
Anne heard a voice...
"Wait, who's in here?"
"Anne?"
Anne was confused. How does this person know my name? Wait, I know that voice...
"Sasha? How...how are you here?"
"What do you mean? I'm in Wartwood. Where are you?"
"I'm in the human world...in this temple...wait, can I communicate with you in here?"
"Anne, listen to me carefully...King Andrias is gonna begin his invasion soon...Grime has been captured...and..." Sasha trailed off.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Marcy's alive..."
Marcy's...alive?