Author's Note: this is the first part of a 2 part chapter, i would like to thank Deviantart user JJVasculist20 for writing most of this chapter, and Wolvenstrom for beta reading it, enjoy
A week had passed since Luz had teleported herself, Eda, King, Hooty, and the whole Owl House to Ribcage Isle, and the group were starting to adapt to their new living situation. Raven had been a major help in getting them adjusted to their new environment, especially with how much more advanced to what things were on the boiling Isles. If Luz had to guess, Ribcage Isle was about 80-100 years more advanced than the human realm, she doubted that her friends would even be able to comprehend half of the stuff that was here, given how 'primitive' the Boiling Isles were compared to Ribcage Isle. Eda had taken full advantage of the special passes that Mayor Jullaré had given her, and had been going on massive shopping sprees.
Today she had finished one such spree and was now in the process of moving her old stuff into the basement, which had also been thankfully teleported along with the house. Luz and Raven were in the Living room watching Eda's new wall mounted TV, yes, you heard that right, instead of crystal balls, Ribcage Isle actually had televisions, though they were called Pictoboxes or PB for short
"wow, the images are so clear, and sharp!" King said in awe with Luz agreeing, Raven, already having one, was less impressed than her two new friends
"so how long do you think its going to be before you can go back to the Boiling Isles?" Raven asked
"after what Luz did, I don't think we'll ever be going back, not that I'm complaining, I love it here" King said
"I think I'll wait another week before I go to the Boiling Isles and snoop it out to see if it will be safe to move back" Luz stated
"hey blobby 1 and 2" Eda said as she entered the room "I need that couch put in the basement cause I'm getting a new one brought in"
"but you just bought this couch 2 days ago"
"so?"
"Well, you can't beat that logic" King quipped, Luz gave a weary sigh before she activated her floating spell and instantly got to her feet "King, Raven, up, up" she said, Raven then floated up off the couch while King put up a fuss
"but I just got comfy"
"do you want to be in the basement without PB?" with a grumble he got up before Luz grabbed the couch and teleported it down to the basement.
Finding it pitch black in the basement she touched her light glyph several times before making a huge glowing ball from her palm that lit up the whole area. After moving the couch to a decent position, she was about to teleport back up, not even wanting to risk taking the creaky old wooden stairs, when the glint of something caught her eye, looking, she was surprised to see that it was a small box, with a gold outline and plating. There were lots of small engravings on the box from what she could see. Luz waddled forward, and got a better look at it. It had trees, lily pads, and a frog on the top of the box, with three gems on it as well. Each had a different color; blue, pink, and green. The box was so beautiful, Luz couldn't help but wonder about its origin.
Luz picked up the box with her spare chubby hand, and gazed over it. She didn't know what it was, but maybe Eda, or even King did. Opening it up she was slightly disappointed to find that it was completely empty "aw I thought that there would be a frog in a ballerina outfit" she said to herself before teleporting back upstairs "hey Eda, I was curious about this thing." Luz said, raising the box up for her maternal figure to see. Eda saw the box, but immediately rolled her eyes. To her that box was honestly something she had forgotten about. She didn't even remember what the purpose of the box was. All she knew was that it had been down there for years.
"Luz, that thing is just a box, with some weird frog symbols on it. Probably a cult thing if you ask me." Eda slyly remarked.
"but why would you have something this pretty kept in a damp musky basement?"
"Eh I've got better things to display, besides, the darn thing doesn't even make sound" Luz then turned the key and opened it up again, only this time there was a mash of colorful lights.
"What the…" King started, before the box cut him off.
A blinding white light exploded out of the box, consuming the quartet in. They all covered their eyes as everything around them turned white.
When everyone could see again they knew one thing, they weren't in the demon realm anymore. Looking around Luz was the first of the group to speak "Eda. Any idea's where we are"
Eda looked up to the clear blue sky "Not sure, but judging from the colour of the sky, I don't think that we're in the demon realm anymore, maybe we're in the human realm?" she suggested, Luz put her fingers to her forehead and pictured her mum, but nothing happened. She even tried thinking of some landmarks in the human realm, but only received the same result. Before she could say anything, they all heard loud footsteps, they then froze up as they saw a giant praying mantis walk by, thankfully not noticing them.
Once it was gone, Luz finally spoke "yeah, definitely not in the demon realm or the human realm" looking at the box in her hands, she opened it up, but nothing happened. After opening and closing it a few times she realised that the gems and the gold on the box were now grey. The box was then engulfed in a black aura and pulled out of Luz's hands where it then floated in front of Raven, who was using her magic to scan the box.
"it's a device that allows one to travel to multiple different worlds, using sound as coordinates…it was used by the inhabitants of this world to conquer other worlds and take their resources…it was sent to the demon realm by complete chance as someone tried to get rid of it…it doesn't work now because all magic has been drained from it when it brought us over here" Raven relayed
"so we just need to charge it with some more magic?" Eda asked
"…yes…there are 3 temples where the gems can be recharged"
"what if I just used my magic, or yours?"
"…don't know, apparently the temples are the only way to charge it, but hey lets give it a go anyway" placing the box on the ground, the two magic users blasted the box with magic. When they stopped, they saw that the gems and the gold were flickering between grey and their normal colours
"you might need to keep doing it until the colours go solid" Luz suggested, the two nodded and fired continuous beams of magic until they were completely drained of energy and had to rest, by this point the colours were now slowly flashing as opposed to the rapid flashing from before.
"Sorry kid, I'm tapped out for the moment" Eda said with Raven agreeing
"it's fine" Luz said before a rustling cut her off. She then watched as multiple giant blue and yellow frilled necked lizards emerged from the surrounding woods, all of them showing their razor sharp teeth. Luz slowly raised her hands up and touched two of the many glyphs that adorned her vast ever expanding belly. They then charged at Luz while hissing. Luz stuck her hands up and a stream of fire shot out of one hand while a beam of pure electricity shot out of the other one. Luz swung her arms around with the beams of fire and electricity, frying and roasting all of the lizards until they all lay on the ground dead.
"Nice work Luz" Eda said while giving the girl a thumbs up
King sniffed the air "mmm I smell barbeque" scurrying over to one of the lizards, he took a bite out of it
"King!" Luz said in a disapproving tone
"hmmm, needs either salt or barbeque sauce" he said and took another bite
"hey skinny" Luz looked at Raven struggling to reach one of the lizard's. With a roll of her eyes Luz moved the lizard closer to Raven "what? Don't judge me, its just meat at this point" and she tore off a leg "now that's a drumstick" Luz giggled at that
"come on its not safe out her, lets at least find some shelter" Eda nodded in agreement and she hopped on her staff along with King, while Luz used a flotation spell on Raven and carried the girl who was essentially immobile at this point.
The town of Wartwood was crowded, with all the townsfrog gathering in the town square. There was a large stage set up near the mayor's office, with Mayor Toadstool and Toadie standing atop the stage. Every frog was murmuring to one another, asking questions, talking or just chatting.
Anne and the Plantars walked over to the statue of the town founder. Well, the Plantars walked. Anne WADDLED, before plopping herself down on the stone wall surrounding the statue. She huffed and puffed as she caught her breath. The world of Amphibia hadn't been so kind to Anne's figure these last two months. When she first landed in Amphibia, she was as skinny as a twig. But now, she was anything BUT a twig. She found out the hard way that bugs in this world, while packed with large amounts of protein, were also extremely fattening, well at least to human's they were, so the once twiggy framed girl had swelled up to just under 600lbs. Anne initially tried to slim down, but found it pointless, as she gained double, so eventually she just gave up, and accepted her new found obesity. Aside from the girth being difficult to squeeze in and out of tight space, as well as it being very tiring to walk sometimes, being fat wasn't as bad as people made it out to be.
Anne looked around, as she absent mindedly scratched her gut. She was honestly used to being fat at this point that she really didn't care about what people thought, and it honestly hadn't been that bad. "Man, what is with this crowd? Are fruit flies on sale or something?" Anne asked Hop Pop, looking down at the orange frog.
Hop Pop chuckled before looking back up at Anne. "No. Today's the day they announce the Frog of the Year award."
"Frog of the what?"
"Frog of the hoppin' Year, Anne." Sprig proclaimed, jumping onto her large belly, causing it to jiggle. "Every year, the town gets together and votes on the frog they think best embodies the values of Wartwood."
"We all voted last week." Polly added. "Don't you remember?"
"Huh. Not at all. Wonder why." Anne pondered, tapping her chin. Toadstool tapped on his microphone, letting the town ooze with anticipation.
"All right, folks. It's time! As you all know, the Frog of the Year goes to the most selfless, noble, blah, blah, blah... Let's get on with it." Toadie handed Toadstool an envelope, to which the mayor ripped it open hastily, like he's hoping for a result in his favor. He smiles, getting closer to the mic. "And this year's Frog of the Year award goes to…" Toadstool starts, before his face squints at the paper in confusion. "Well, this can't be right. Anne Boonchuy?!"
The entire town turned to face the obese teen, who just sat in shock, she couldn't believe it, it was like being named prom queen. She twisted her puffy head, watching all the frogs cheering and clapping and calling out her name. Without warning, Hop Pop pushed Anne to her feet, causing her giant body to wobble and jiggle as she fixed her balance. It was still something she was getting used to, having a new center of gravity that's so hard to maintain. "Go on, Anne. Get up there!" Hop Pop yelled with glee. Anne waddled her way up to the stage, while a tear shed from his eye. "A Plantar, Frog of the Year. I'm so proud." He wiped a tear away, only for it to get stuck on his finger, he desperately tried to get it off, but to no avail.
Anne lugged her stocky legs up the steps, panting as she did so. She got to the top, and quickly caught her breath. Man she needed to get some cardio in, she thought. She waddled over to the front of the stage, seeing the entire town cheering her on. Her eyes welled up, as she brought her hands to her now developed chest. "Wow! Thanks, everyone. I don't know what to say." Anne said, barely holding back tears from streaking down her face.
"I do. Are you people out of your frog-dang minds?!" Toadstool protested, waltzing up next to Anne butterball body. "She don't deserve to host a party!"
"Party? What party?"
"Oh, it's one of our oldest traditions." Toadie replied. He pulled out a scroll and opened it, revealing text the read Ye Old Frog of the Year Bash. "The Frog of the Year has to put on an incredible party for the whole town."
"Yeah. And that party is supposed to demonstrate the Frog of the Year's selflessness. Anne isn't selfless. Far from it." Toadstool said, glaring at Anne's puffy face.
Anne felt her full face blush red, but her eyebrows furrowed, and she frowned upon the mayor. She stomped her fat foot down, cracking some of the stage boards and crossed her bingo wing arms across the top of her gut. "You don't know me. I'll prove I deserve this by putting on a party so big, it'll blow all your minds!" Anne said with energy and pizzaz. The town just stayed silent, looking nervous and anxious at what she just said.
"...I don't want my mind blown" a frog said
"…That's a good thing!" Anne replied.
Suddenly the town was won over by the clarifying statement. Everyone was cheering, excited in anticipation for what the party might be like. Soon the town dispersed, heading back to their homes or to their jobs, for the time being. Toadstool walked past Anne, bumping into her large rear, taking her off guard for a moment. "I'm looking forward to seeing this thing, go down in flames." He snarkily said. Anne grumbled, vowing to make this a party no one would forget anytime soon. The Plantars were soon the only frogs left in the square.
They hopped over to the stage, and stood by Anne "So, Anne, you wanna get back to the farm and start planning?" Sprig asked, his voice beaming with excitement.
"Oh yeah!" Anne confidently said. "We're gonna throw a party that will be exciting. Riveting. Unexpected!"
"Anne, these things are pretty straightforward." Hop Pop clarified. "There's not gonna be anything unexpected."
"You know Hop-Pop, when someone says that, something unexpected does happen" Anne stated with Sprig and Polly nodding in agreement.
Meanwhile
After a while of travelling, Luz, Eda, King, and Raven arrived at the entrance to Wartwood. By this point Eda and Raven had gained the strength to walk again, but their magic was still mostly depleted "Wartwood. 'Slow to accept, and even slower to respect' ha sounds like an interesting town" Eda said as the group entered the town. They quickly realised the type of inhabitants that lived in either this world, or just this town, as they saw bipedal amphibians everywhere. They saw the towns folk look at them silently with wide eyes and a hint of fear
"anyone feeling uneasy right now?" King asked as his head poked out of Eda's hair, receiving simultaneous nods in response. Luz gave shy waves to the townsfolk, but only kids who probably didn't know any better returned the gesture. Eda had finally had enough
"can anyone in this town actually speak?!" she finally said as they entered the town centre, this outburst caught the attention of Anne and the Planter's, the former of the lot stunned that there were other human's here.
And judging by the look of two of them, they had also become victims of the bugs in this world. Hopping off the stage, she waddled over to the new visitors. The Plantars followed suit, curious at the sudden appearance of 3 new humans.
Getting the same feeling that she normally received from Luz, and now Raven, Eda turned and saw another human, quite a bit thinner than Luz, approaching them "uh kids" Luz and Raven turned and went wide eyed
"another human?" Anne said, shocked at the statement. "I don't believe it!" She squealed with glee.
"I don't believe it! More Anne's!" Sprig said exuberantly.
"And two of them are bigger than our Anne" Polly added on.
"wow, so you creatures really can talk" King said as he hopped out of Eda's hair and walked over to Sprig they then heard simultaneous gasps
"¡Ay, que lindo!/oh how cute!" Luz and Anne said in union before they scooped up Sprig and King respectively and embraced them tightly
"this is…seriously…bringing back…memories!" King strained out
"ease up…you're crushing me!" Sprig also strained out, before both girls eased up.
The two girls turned to each other once again, this time taking in the others appearance Raven stepped forward and broke the silence "well I'll get the ball rolling, this is Luz, my name is Raven, that's Eda, and the little bundle of joy in your arms is King" Raven introduced, earning a glare from the latter for the taunt. This snapped Luz and Anne back to reality
"oh, my name's Anne. Anne Boonchuy. And these are the Plantars!" Anne said and she introduced them "This is Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly."
"nice to meet you" Luz said with a bit of a bow
"its so great to finally meet another human *casts a glance at Raven* full human"
"how long have you been in Amphibia for?" Anne asked
"we only just got here" Luz said and she explained her situation
"wait, hold up" Hop-Pop said and pointed a finger at Eda "you're a witch?!"
"sure am" Eda said while using both fire and water magic. Anne, the planters, and all the townsfolk who had become interested in Luz's story, were in awe
"I can also use magic" Raven said and she fired a bolt of mana up into the sky which struck a dragonfly. Everyone watched as it spiralled out of control and crashed with an explosion outside of town
"oooooo" the townsfolk said in awe
"nice shot kid" Eda said giving Raven a nudge.
"I can do magic as well" Luz said, she then wiped her hand across all of her glyphs before thrusting her hand up, unleashing a multicoloured beam of light up into the air resulting in more awes.
Everyone then turned to look at King, expecting him to be able to do magic as well. Feeling his heart drop into his stomach, he got out of Anne's arm and scurried into her hair "cool, just like Eda" Luz said before she decided to ask her next question
"so have you always been that big?"
"nah, I was a twig when I first came here, but it turns out the bugs here pretty much just turn into fat on your body when you eat them, how about you two?"
"yep, turns out magically made food is really fattening for human's"
"add to the fact that demons and witches constantly offer or force you to eat food that they make through pure nature, then there is no way you could remain thin, I'm a prime example of what spending a year in the demon realm can do to a human's figure, and I'm half demon myself so only every second person gave me food" Raven added, before a sly smile came to her face "is there any reason that you're walking around in just one shoe?"
"yeah I lost the other one to a giant centipede *shivers* he was not going to give that up"
Raven couldn't help but laugh at this "ah, I love laughing"
"why do I get the feeling we're very similar?" Luz questioned Anne "Don't know, but something tells me, we're gonna be besties!" Anne replied and she stuck her hands out to Luz and Raven to shake them…well they tried anyway, unfortunately the 3 girls big bellies collided before they got close to even touching their hands. It felt weird for Anne, seeing 2 people bigger than her, and they couldn't even shake hands. The three of them eventually just pulled away, making Anne and Luz giggle, while Raven laughed a bit harder.
They then watched as Sprig jumped up on Anne and reached deep into her hair "aaaaaand, got him" he said and pulled out king "that's my comfy spot"
"fine" King said before he leapt into Luz's waiting arms where she peppered his head with kisses, knowing that there was no resisting her, King just gave a weary sigh and waited for her to stop
"ha, lame" Polly said
"well at least I'm not stuck in a bucket" King said
"again" Eda quipped, Polly then hopped out of her bucket
"let me change my previous statement, at least I have legs" Polly went slightly red while squinting her eyes.
"You want me to rip the skull off your head?" She said in a menacing voice. King froze at that, while Eda laughed her butt off. It brought a tear to her eye, which she was quick to wipe away.
"I am loving the energy the little one is giving off."
"So to back peddle a bit, you said that you found a music box, can I see it?"
"Sure, Eda could I have the box please?" Eda reached into her hair and pulled out the calamity box before handing it to Luz
"that looks just like the one I have" and she showed them a picture that was on her phone"
"looks like yours is depleted of magic as well" Raven said
"huh? How can you tell?"
"the gems are grey"
"Hey, you're right. I never actually noticed that. Why are yours flashing?"
"they still need to be charged with more magic, and mine and Eda's magic is currently too depleted to charge it all the way. We could go to the temples, but we don't know where they are"
"how much do you know about it"
"I can used my magic to know anything about any artifact"
"that's so cool"
"yep, Raven is just full of surprises"
"Hey, Anne, I know you have new friends, but you gotta be prepping for the party!" Hop Pop interrupted between the three giant gals.
"Party? What party?" Luz asked.
"Will there be apple blood?" Eda added on.
"No, I'm just supposed to plan a big party for the town because I was named 'Frog of the Year.' you know, if you guys want to help…"
"We'd love to!" Luz blurted out.
Raven gave a shrug "why not, sounds like fun"
"Awesome!" Anne said, giddy with excitement. "Come on, let's go back to the farm, and we can talk more there."
"Sounds good to me"
And the 3 huge girls made their way to the farm, while the rest followed behind them "word of advice, try not to look at them from behind when they're walking, their jiggling butts are hypnotic" Eda said only to see that King and the planters had blank looks on their faces while drooling "oh for the love of titan"
Both found families, plus Raven, were huddled in the Plantar's living room. Eda, King, Hop Pop and Sprig all sat on the couch, while Polly rested in her bucket and both Luz and Raven were sitting on the ground. Eda was sipping some tea Hop Pop made, only to spit it out.
"Bleh. It's like Trash Slug mucus" Eda said.
"Why thank you, its my own special brew" Hop Pop stated.
"I must say, your house is very nice Mr. Planter. It reminds me of a gnomes house…well the human realms depiction of gnomes" Luz said
"And you don't have an annoying owl-tube screaming 24/7, so that's a plus." King added
"hey, don't you talk about my Hooty like that" Raven said in a mock disapproving tone.
Anne waddled in carrying a large blueprint under her meaty arm. She laid it down on the table, and rolled it across, until it was fully open. She took a seat in front of the table, leaning in as far as she could.
"Boom! Here are my plans for throwing the best party ever and proving that mayor wrong. Stupid mayor with his stupid dumb face." Anne said, mumbling under her breath.
"Anne, don't worry about what the mayor said. Just have fun planning your party. You're Frog of the Year." Hop Pop pointed out.
"Right, right, right, right. Okay, guys, listen up. A great party has three ingredients: entertainment, exclusivity, and spectacle. Hop Pop and Eda, you're in charge of entertainment. I dub thee Master's of Ceremonies."
Anne pulled a microphone out from one of her fat rolls "ha, who needs pockets" and she handed it over to Hop Pop. He gasped, and accepted it with grace, like he was getting an award of some kind.
"I've been waiting for this day my whole life." Hop Pop said with glee.
"don't worry kid, I'll knock em dead with my magic" Eda said with her hands getting engulfed in flames
"not literally Eda" Luz said, not entirely liking the way Eda said that
"eh we'll see how the night plays out"
Anne turned to Polly, and pulled out a pair of stanchions. "Polly, exclusivity. It's your job to decide who gets into the party and who doesn't." Polly took the stanchions and giggled maniacally.
"I can't wait to abuse this power!" She said, swinging the poles around like nunchucks.
"Raven, seeing as you're basically a wall, you'll be in charge of making sure nothing gets too wild or out of control"
"you got it" Raven replied
Sprig looked like he was getting more and more excited. He kept hopping up and down on the couch, like he was about to burst. "And what about me?" Sprig asked.
"Sprig, you have the most important job of all: the spectacle." Anne said with lots of flare.
"Oh, my frog, oh, my frog, oh, my frog!" Sprig squealed, hardly able to keep his excitement in check.
"At the party...you're gonna tell Ivy how you feel about her!" Sprig stopped dead in his tracks, with his excitement gone from his face, and replaced with fear and confusion.
"Wha–huh?" Sprig said, confused.
"ooo, does someone have a crush on someone else?" Luz asked cheekily
"yep, Sprig's in love with a cute little frog named Ivy, and a legendary party needs a legendary spectacle. Can you imagine how excited party-goers will be to see true love blossom before their eyes?" Anne gave Sprig her dating magazine, for him to look over.
"I can definitely see it." Luz said, her eyes glowing with excitement. "I always love a good ship."
"I'm not really sure I'm ready for this." Sprig said, sounding a little on the fence about the option, his voice wrecking of nervousness.
"well if you're not ready to date or be in a relationship with someone, then don't force it, let it happen naturally" Raven said, making everyone look at her
"what? I'm more than just a pretty face you know"
Anne looked slightly crestfallen "well when you put it like that…hmm what could I do to replace it"
"oh how about I show my fiddling skills" he then pulled out his fiddle and played a quick tune, resulting in a enthusiastic clap from Luz "boom, done"
Luz's eyes then widened "I have an Idea!" Luz said while waving a hand around "why not get Eda to do catering as well?!"
"well I was just going to get Stumpy to do that, what can you make?" Eda responded by making a burger the size of Anne's head, a pizza that was a meter in diameter, and a wheelbarrow sized bucket of fries before she made them float over to Anne, Raven, and Luz respectively. Raven tore into her pizza immediately, Anne took a massive bite out of the burger and was instantly brought to heaven, and Luz gave a shrug before she started shoveling handfuls of fries into her mouth. "Okay, you're doing catering as well, no backing out" Anne said
"sure kid, as long as you three eat more than your fair share of the food as well"
"deal" the three girls said in union.
"Okay let's get started, we have much to do and less time to do it" Anne said, before taking another bite of the burger
"can't work, eating" Luz and Raven said in union.
The town square of Wartwood looked nothing like it did that morning. Lights were being strung up all across the different shops and houses, all lit up thanks to an 'eternal light spell' Luz had made. Tables were being rolled in and set up by the townsfolk. Loggle was busy carving a statue of Anne, trying to get her size just right. It seemed everything was coming together.
Anne waddled around, looking at how everything was coming together with Anne now sporting a FOTY hat atop her head, and a checklist in her chubby hand. She gazed around at the decorations, and a smile of satisfaction came across her face. It was going smoothly so far, but she wanted to make sure that things kept running smoothly.
"All right, let's see how things are going." Anne said. She waddled up to the table where the food would be served to see Eda with her feet up while reading "Gold Tooth Monthly" "I take it that you're just going to make the food when the party starts?"
"You got it kid" she said before she made an apple and gave it to Anne, taking a bite out of it, she found it to be the most applie flavoured apple she had ever had
"wow, this is awesome"
"I only make the best" Anne continued walking around checking things off her list
"okay, Decorations are up, glassware's looking polished."
She glanced up at the statue Loggle was making. He looked like he was almost done with it.
"Loggle, love that statue!" Anne and Luz said, both giving a thumbs up to the woodsmith. Loggle just went back to carving and sculpting Anne's love handles.
Making her way over to Luz and King, she saw that Luz drawing more of the glyphs "hey Luz, what are you working on?"
"I'm currently working on a light show as well as some glyphs to really make things go 'wow'" she then turned to King and gave him a stack of glyphs "see all of the plants on the tables, put one of these on each one and activate it"
"sure thing Luz" and he scurried off, the two watched as he climbed onto a table put the glyph on the plant in the centre of the table, and activated it, what resulted was a large flower with royal blue petals, a glowing yellow bud, and a very pleasant and calming scent.
"Wow, that's beautiful" Anne said in awe
"thank you, its amazing at what you can do with magic"
"I'll say, I can't wait for the light show"
"It'll look great at night" Anne gave a nod and continued moving around. Making her way over to Hop Pop, who was up on a small stage not that far off the ground. The backdrop of the stage was a giant wall of bricks. "Hey, HP. How's the comedy coming along?" she asked. "hey Anne, have you heard about the snail who went on a diet? He's a shell of his former self!"
"hmm. Okay, okay. A little soft, but keep working on it." Walking over to Sprig she saw that he was using Luz's phone to see something while he practiced "Hey Sprig, what are you doing?"
"I'm practicing these two fiddle songs Luz said I should try, I should be able to remember these"
"well I don't want to be spoiled, so I'll just wait for the big show"
Looking around Anne then spotted Polly using the stanchions as nunchaku's "Polly? That's not what those are for!" Anne yelled.
"Says you." Polly replied with snark.
"You tell her, kid." Eda called out. As Polly kept swinging the stanchions, back and forth, she didn't realize that a caterer was right behind her. With a quick swing, the stanchions collided with the caterer, sending him backwards into several crates of expensive beverages. The drinks spilled everywhere, and the soil absorbed the liquid until it was gone.
Toadstool and Toadie walked by, like they were just going out for a stroll. But Anne knew that they were there just to see how bad of a job she was doing. And her suspicions were confirmed by Toadstool's passing remarks to Toadie… "What'd I tell you, Toadie? She's gonna be the worst Frog of the Year ever." That last sentence echoed in Anne's mind for what felt like an eternity. It felt like her parents telling her she might have to go to summer school. It just…rubbed her the wrong way. She felt the whole world spinning around her, like everything was crashing down right in front of her eyes. She did NOT want to be remembered as the Frog of the Year who put on just a mediocre party. She then felt something large and soft press up against her, turning she saw Raven
"I saw that, don't listen to that windbag. In my limited experience if you try to outdo someone's expectations, it will most likely lead to disaster, plus culturally these frogs are different from what a city girl's culture would be like, what you find 'edgy and lit', could be interpreted as weird and strange to them"
"…wow…I…are you actually an adult?"
"no, I've just grown up differently than you. Instead of being raised on cartoons and a poor educational system, I was raised by pacifists who were really big on philosophy and educating each new generation through leaps and bounds, essentially once we knew how to write and read, we were taught things that most adults know instead of slowly learning towards that"
"wow, you're really making me appreciate my childhood, how old are you?"
"I'm 16, I was 15 when I came to the demon realm over a year ago"
"wow, I've only been here for almost 3 months, I can't imagine what it must be like being away from your family for so long"
"well family is a bit complicated for me, especially when your father is the true embodiment of evil, but I did have good friends, that I now realise, were like family to me and not just a team. Well I've managed to start a new life in the demon realm"
"after say another year or 2, if you found a way to get back to your world, would you take it?"
"that's a dilemma I'm currently dealing with. I've changed a lot in the demon realm, and not just physically, before I was unable to emotionally express myself, if I didn't keep my emotions in check, my powers could have gone out of control and caused widespread devastation. I was also the only way for my father to be able to travel to the world I came from. But now, thanks to two spells, I have full control over my powers, and the link between my father and I has been permanently severed. Depending on how my life continues in the demon realm I might very well just stay, even if I did find a way to get home"
"I hope that decision doesn't become too difficult for you to make. Back to the party I was planning on having a DJ instead of a jug band, and also have a giant chocolate fountain in the centre of the whole party, what do you think?" Raven tapped her chin "well I'm pretty sure no one would complain to a chocolate fountain, myself included, but do DJ's exist here?"
"Well only one way to find out" and she walked off to find someone who knew where to get a DJ
The day had come and gone, and now Wartwood was lit up by neon lights (multi coloured light spells made by Luz) blasting blue, green and pink lights into the sky. It was truly a beacon in the night. The party was bonkers!
Polly waited by the entrance, checking people before they went in. She was constantly opening and closing the stanchion. "You. You." Polly said, letting some kind frogs through. As soon as Wally came up, she stopped him. "Uh-uh! Not you." She said, in a dismissive way. Wally deflated in sadness, as he looked down at the ground. Polly then snorted and opened the stanchion for him. "I'm just kidding. Get in there, you crazy frog!" she laughed.
"Validation!" Wally blurted out and front flipped in. The townsfolk all made their way to the center of town, where the party was starting to heat up. All they gasped in shock and awe at the scope and beauty of the party. There was so much to be seen, that it took some frogs off guard for a couple of seconds.
A giant statue of Anne, dabbing with her obese body, sat atop a pillar next to a staircase. Below, was a giant chocolate fountain with multiple layers of sparkling chocolate, with a table next to it covered in an assortment of different bugs. A huge disco ball that shone many different colours was suspended above the center of town. Anne had managed to procure a DJ, who was currently blasting out music that were techno -ish versions of music the citizens of Wartwood would normally listen to. Hop Pop as well as King were at their stage, both with mics of their own, and bouncing off each other with various jokes. To the left was Eda who had conjoured up types of food that the citizens of Wartwood had never seen before (pizza, burgers, fries, and all kinds of dipping sauces), and was serving guests who had already entered, including Toadstool.
Raven was now wearing a suit, with a fake ear piece, and dark glasses. Luz had suggested that because Raven was going to be security, to make sure nothing got out of hand, she should look the part. Surprisingly Raven had been all for the idea, and was now trying to keep up an intimidating persona. She had also found that if she stayed in one spot too long she would sink into the ground, so she was currently floating an inch off the ground.
Anne was standing on another stage waiting for everyone to arrive. Thanks to Eda taking some time to learn how to do some tailoring spells, she had been able to make outfits for both Anne and Luz. Anne was now wearing a clean, sleek white tuxedo with a blue shirt that, thankfully, covered her bulbous belly, and a nice black bowtie. She had a sash draped across her large chest, indicating her 'Frog of the Year' status. She even her hair styled down to look more glamorous.
Luz on the other hand, wore what she had worn to Grom, only it was a much larger size, and her belly was fully exposed, allowing her quick access to any of her glyphs and spells.
"Welcome, my friends, to the best Frog of the Year party ever!" Anne confidently decreed.
And with that, the party was up and off. The entire town clapped and cheered, as they all went to explore the different activities and venues. Some went to the catering table where they indulged in the food Eda had made, others got caught in the beat of the DJ and started showing their moves on the dance floor, and others went to listen to Hop Pop and King comedy hour.
On the backside of the crowd, Sprig wandered by, looking at some of the firefly balloons they had. He looked up, and he saw Ivy. She was kicking one of the balloons before it popped, startling her. Sprig gulped, but felt a big belly brush up against him. He whipped around to see Luz, who was also looking at the young Sundew.
"Is that the Ivy girl you wanna ask out?" Luz asked.
"Mm-hm." Sprig nodded.
"she really is cute"
"*sigh* yeah"
"why don't you ask her to dance? you could show her some of your moves"
"hey that's a great idea, thanks Luz" and he made his way over to Ivy. Luz decided to mingle with the locals, especially the one named Wally, from what Luz had heard from Anne and the planters, he sounded like the type of frog she could get along with.
A lot of the frogs didn't really know how to dance to the music being played, the beat was good, but they couldn't get into it dance wise, well that was until Sprig and Ivy made their way onto the dance floor and Sprig started dancing freestyle with Ivy quickly joining him, slowly the rest of the townsfolk walked onto the dance floor and began doing their own freestyle.
Anne walked up to Raven, with a large tray of food and handed it to her "here you go, have to keep up our end of the bargain"
"thanks, I've got to say, you look good with your hair styled like that"
"thanks, it took two tubs of styling gel to get it down *poof* dang it!"
"ah never mind *wolfs down a slice of pizza* no trouble in sight yet"
"good, lets hope it stays that way. By the way, thanks for your input before, this party might have turned into a disaster if I had gone the way I was"
"don't mention it"
While the party was going great, what no one suspected was that the lights of the party would catch the attention of an extremely unwelcome guest…
Everyone, even Mayor Toadstool, were now thoroughly enjoying the party, Luz and Wally had started chatting like old friends, Hop Pop and King had the townsfolk in stitches, Polly had started enjoying the party while also becoming a hazard with her nunchaku skills, thankfully Raven had confiscated the stanchion, much to the party goers relief, Anne was receiving praise for how good the party was, and Sprig was now on stage playing his fiddle as a way to cool down after having a mini dance off with Ivy.
Eda however had astoundingly found out that she was receiving the same feelings she got when feeding Luz and Raven from the townsfolk, while she did feel it on a low level, due to how many townsfolk were eating her food, it was like she was feeding 10 human's at once.
As the party neared the halfway point a loud screech made everyone freeze in fear before what looked like a giant heron landed in the center of town. Unlike other heron's this one had a red and black plumage "Hop Pop! What is that thing?!" Anne shouted
"that's a Hellfire Heron, the most dangerous creature in all of Amphibia!" Hop Pop explained before the ground underneath the heron gave way under its immense weight, up turning all of Wartwood in the process and engulfing the whole area in a thick cloud of steam. With a screech a stream of white flames came out of its mouth and lit a good amount of buildings on fire. The Hellfire Heron flapped its wings, blowing away all of the steam allowing it to see all of the helpless frogs clinging onto anything they could that wasn't in danger of collapsing into the now boiling swamp.
As it was about to make a meal of the townsfolk a multi coloured beam of light struck it in the side and launched it out of Wartwood. Everyone turned and saw Luz with her arm extend "Eda! Put out the flames and then join us, Raven, lets go!" Raven nodded and the two disappeared as Eda used Owlbert to help make a water blast spell to extinguish the flames.
The Hellfire Heron corrected itself and screeched before it was struck multiple times with ice blasts. Seeing that the attacks were originating from Luz, the Hellfire Heron went in to eat her only for black bands to wrap around it and pin it to the ground "ha! You ain't going nowhere" Raven said as she held it down "now Luz!" Luz then began making the most powerful ice blast that she could. As she was about to unleash it the Hellfire Heron's feathers began to glow red and a continuous blast of hot air came off of it. It kept getting hotter and hotter which was starting to give both Luz and Raven 1st degree burns. Luz fired the ice blast but the Hellfire Heron was now so hot that it had no effect. Raven changed her bindings into a shield, but the heat still came through. Nearby trees and plant life burst into flames and the ground started to melt. Adjusting the shield, it constricted around the beast while also freeing its head, at the same time, Luz was wiping her hand across her glyphs multiple times. Luz then finally thrust her hand at the heron unleashing a massive multicoloured blast of magic at it which it instantly countered with a stream of lava.
As Luz struggled to keep the beam of magic going, the Heron lunged its head forward and its beak snapped shut around Luz. This shocked Raven to the point that she lost concentration and the heron broke free of her bindings. Raven and Eda, who had just arrived, watched in horror as the heron gulped down a large bulge.
Raven grit her teeth and was about to unleash everything she had on the beast when she felt a massive surge of magic coming from Eda. Eda was angrier than she had ever been in her life as tears rolled down her cheeks. Raven's eyes widened as Eda's hair went from orange to what looked like green flames "give me back my Luz!" She shouted before she shot up and punched the heron across the face. She then shot down to the ground, pushed herself to the side and then shot up, kicking the heron in the stomach with enough force to make it throw Luz back up, who was now covered in stomach acid as well as second and third degree burns.
Eda was so engulfed by rage that she hadn't realised that Luz had been thrown up. Grabbing the heron by the beak, she began swinging it around and repeatedly slamming it to the ground. After the 20th slam she let go of it. The heron scrambled into a correct position and tried to fly away. Eda, still engulfed with rage, brought out her staff and spun it around before unleashing a large beam of green light that took the form of a colossal owl with Hooty's face it opened its mouth and engulfed the Hellfire Heron before it exploded, leaving behind not even a feather of the beast. Eda wobbled on her feet before she passed out, turning back to normal as she fell back, thankfully Raven caught her with her mana before she hit the ground. Turning to Luz, she saw that the horrifically burnt girl was now being buried in snow that was now coming out of her raised arm. Raven flew over to Luz and began using her healing abilities on her, even though her powers had increased since coming to the demon realm, her healing abilities were still inferior compared to the healing that witches and demons could do.
"I'm sorry that my healing abilities aren't that good" Raven said as she had started healing one of Luz's arms
"its fine Raven, if you can just heal my arm to the point where it doesn't hurt to use it, I can do the rest" Luz replied, making Raven raise a brow, but continue healing. Once Luz's arm was fully healed, she moved some of the snow away, revealing her healing goop spell. Using it she was able to heal her front with Raven helping to get a lot of places that she couldn't reach, by this point, all of Wartwood's citizens had arrived to see their heroes and tried to see if there was anything that they could help with. By the time Luz was fully healed, Eda had regained consciousness and despite feeling completely drained, She stumbled her way over to the girl she saw as a daughter and hugged her, having gotten used to the concept by this point.
"So Luz" Sprig started "what was it like inside that thing?"
Luz shivered "fire, lava, and stomach acid, I almost fell into it, thankfully it threw me up but I was still temporarily engulfed by it as it came up with me" Mayor Toadstool turned to Anne "well Boonchuy, this is definitely a party no one will forget. Now come, everyone. Let's try and savage this party, shall we?" and everyone headed back to the town centre with Raven using her mana to carry Eda.
Despite the massive cracks, partly destroyed houses and buildings, and the fact Wartwood was now about 10 feet lower thanks to the swamp being evaporated, the townsfolk were able to continue with the party. Luz, King, and Raven stayed with Eda for the rest of the party, due to the latter still being tapped out. "Everyone, seeing as how Luz and King didn't see it, and Eda was too engulfed by her rage at the time, I'm 99% sure the reason the calamity box is the way it is, is because the power that was in it was transferred into us. Eda got the powers of the green gem" Raven explained
"cool, what powers do I get!" King asked, Raven closed her eyes, she could sense and "see" the green aura surrounding Eda, but she was getting nothing extra from Luz and King, as well as herself
"I can't detect anything, it must be sealed away until something happens to trigger it" she stated, before their attention was drawn to the stage, which had surprisingly stayed intact, as Mayor Toadstool tapped the mic
"everyone I'd just like to say that despite the Hellfire Heron and the almost total destruction of our town, this party has exceeded my expectations. Anne, would you come up here please" Anne made her way up to the stage "now I'm sure you've also prepared your speech to give to the citizens"
"*gulp* speech?...well uh *she walked up to the mic* thank you everyone for voting for me to be frog of the year…*sigh*…though I have to ask why? During the party I thought over things that made me worthy to be frog of the year, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why? I've lied, been irrational, over compulsive, irresponsible, and over all not worthy of receiving an award, let alone one of this honour. Why did anyone even vote for me?"
The townspeople looked at each other, then back at Anne. Hop Pop stepped forward, and cleared his throat, drawing Anne's attention to him.
"Anne, we didn't vote for you because you're flawless." Hop Pop said, chuckling. "Far from it. We voted for you because of how far you've come. You've grown so much in your time here, and this town just wouldn't be the same without you."
The crowd cheered on, saying Hear, hear. It truly brought a tear to Anne's chubby face. Wally played his accordion "that's why I voted for her." He said.
"Gosh dang it, I tried to fight it, but I have to say, even I'm a little impressed with how you've come alone since you arrived here" Toadstool admitted, tears trickled down Anne's chubby cheeks before she hugged Toadstool who gave her a light pat, Luz, Eda, King and Raven couldn't help but smile at the scene going on the stage.
"And…we all have a little something for you." Hop Pop said. Anne let go of the mayor, as Hop Pop approached her with a box, covered in wrapping paper. She looked back at HP, who simply nodded. Anne tore open the gift, and her eye beamed when she saw what was inside. They were new clothes! Pink and purple clothes. The tears were still coming as she looked back at the residents of Wartwood. She wanted to say something, but didn't have the right words. But Hop Pop did.
"We thought since you've done so much for this community, we wanted to reciprocate that."
"Thanks, HP." Anne softly said, with tears still fresh on her face.
Anne clipped the last button of her new suspenders on, as she got a chance to finally feel the comfort of her new clothes. After having to simple tear her old clothes off, Anne got to try on her new attire, and they were lovely! It was a soft, large pink T-shirt that fit her well. It felt like she was wearing a blanket. But she also got some nice purple overalls that covered her belly, and showed no signs of stretching. She wore new pink socks, and the town was even kind enough to make her some hiking boots. Anne finally remembered what it was like to have a shoe on her right foot. She also wore a handkerchief like a scrunchie, tying her bushy hair into a nice ponytail. She giggled at the sight, and turned to Luz and Raven, who both had changed back into their normal clothes.
"So, what do ya think?" Anne asked her fat friends.
"You look so adorable!" Luz squealed. "I'ma hug you!" and she squeezed Anne tightly, making the big girl blush slightly.
She turned to Raven who nodded in approval "the farm girl style actually suits you"
"thanks, they also make me feel completely free" she said, as Luz let go, Anne did a few movements "no restraining at all" she said as her new clothes stretched, she then caught Sprig in the corner of her eye, walking over to them
"looking good Anne"
"thanks, I absolutely love them"
"yeah we didn't know exactly how big to make it so we used 6 frogs for size, and made it out of Rubber spider silk"
"good call, also sorry that I suggested that you should confess your love to Ivy earlier. You do that when you're good and ready."
"Thanks, Anne. When the moment strikes, I'll know it." Sprig said.
"Hey, Sprig." Ivy announced herself to the quartet. "There's something I've, uh, been meaning... to ask you. I, uh... Do you, um…" Ivy was struggling to find the strength to speak the words she wanted to. "Do you think you'd wanna go out with me sometime?" She shut her eyes and braced for a reaction. When she opened her eyes she saw Sprig, gasping, while Anne and Luz squealed with delight, and Raven rolled her eyes with a smile. Ivy blushed in embarrassment. "Never mind. I'm stupid. This is stupid. This is stupid." She started to walk away, but Sprig grabbed her by the hand, drawing her attention back to him.
"I'd love to. Mlep!" Sprig said, pulling his pilot cap over his eyes. "Wanna dance again?"
Ivy took his gesture in stride. "Heck yeah!" Both went off screaming, in a good way. Anne and Luz laughed at the sight of it finally happening "not exactly what you originally planned, but the result is the same" Luz laughed out. As Anne nodded in agreement, Toadie came forward. He cleared his throat, announcing himself to the obese girls.
"Ahem! Miss Frog of the Year? There's someone waiting at the entrance to Wartwood for you. They say they're a friend."
"A friend?" Anne asked, and she headed over to the entrance with Luz and Raven following. To Anne, it felt nice being able to walk with two shoes again. As the trio approached the entrance, which had mostly crumbled away making a slope, they saw a figure, covered in a hood. The figure was tall, skinny, had white skin, and when she turned, Anne saw blonde hair sticking out. As soon as the figure pulled off the hood, Anne recognized her right away…it was Sasha!
"Anne?!" Sasha exclaimed.
"Sasha?!" Anne retorted.
Instantly the girls went crazy, giddily screaming and laughing like teenage girls would. Anne waddled toward Sasha, whilst Sasha slid down the slope and toward her ample friend. Both embraced each other with open arms. Sasha leaped up and down, while Anne could barely get off the ground. Anne pulled back, over the moon with excitement.
"well, looks like at least one of her friends has survived being here" Luz said
"yeah, surprisingly if this world is full of monsters like that Heron" Raven added
"Oh, my gosh! I can't believe that it's you! You're here too? I wasn't sure. I woke up all alone and…" She gasped. "Is Marcy with you? Where have you been? I've missed you so much!" She squeezed her best friend tightly.
Sasha pulled out of the hug a few seconds later, looking Anne up and down. She tried to keep an open mind, but her discomfort at her friend's "new" form was apparent. "Well, it seems some things happened while you were by yourself." Sasha said, poking a finger into Anne's gut, letting it sink into the fat.
"I-I… may have let myself go. But I'm just so happy I found you!" Anne screamed with joy.
Sasha giggled. "I'll fill you in later. For now, I'm just glad I found you. We came as soon as we heard."
Anne paused, and tilted her head. "We?" She asked.
"Yup. Just me and some friends of mine."
She gestured to up above where they saw many toads with glowing pink eyes lining the edge. They watched as a firefly buzzed on by one who quickly snatched it up with his tongue. The toad had a green and blue eye, and stared menacingly at the quartet.
"Nice to finally meet you, Anne Boonchuy." The toad said menacingly.
This sent a small shiver down Anne's spine while Luz raised one hand to her glyphs and Raven's hands became surrounded in orbs of mana...
Author's Note: and there's the end of part one, i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and until the next one, see ya