Chapter 11

Meanwhile, on Earth

Flashback

It was Anne's thirteenth birthday.

Matt's sister, Caroline, better known as Carol, was walking home from Quizbowl practice, when her phone vibrated. She brought up her phone and read the text. It was from her mother, Julia. It read, "Have you seen Matt? He ran off."

Carol was prepared for a situation where someone she cares about will disappear, so she went to an app on her phone meant to track other phones. According to the app, Matt's phone was over at a playground not far from where she was at.

Carol headed over to the playground and saw her brother with his three friends.

Carol texted Julia, "I found him. He's with those girls."

Carol looks in front of her to see Anne opening a music box. A light emerges from the music box and engulfs Matt and the girls. Carol covers her eyes so the light doesn't blind her. When the light fades, Carol looks to see her brother and his friends gone. Carol was instantly shocked about what she saw as tears started to form around her eyes.

Carol looks at her phone and sees Julia texted back. "Where are they?"

Carol thought about what she would say. If she just said, "They were eradicated by a magic music box" she'd sound crazy. She simply replied, "False Alarm."

The Next Day…

Oum, Bee, Daniel, and Julia were in front of the Wu residence, talking to Marcy's parents, Shang and Bai.

"If you find Marcy, tell her we're safe and sorry," said Shang.

"We will," Daniel replied.

Shang and Bai get into their car and drive to the airport.

Oum, Bee, Julia, and Daniel stood by each other, praying that wherever their children were, they're okay.

End of Flashback

It's been three months since that infamous birthday, and there are still no clues of what might've happened to Anne, Sasha, Marcy, or Matt.

Carol spent the whole summer grieving over Matt's death. When the summer ended, Carol went back to school at Saint James. When she first entered the school, the first person she saw was her secret girlfriend, Veronica.

"Hey Carol," Veronica greeted.

"Hi," Carol greeted back.

Veronica saw the sad look on Carol's face, so she could infer Carol is still grieving over her brother's disappearance, so Veronica decided not to pry.

Carol gets her stuff from her locker and heads to her first period.

When Lunch Period came, Carol saw a certain face in the Cafeteria. The boy had messy hair and wore a red and white Jersey. Carol recognized him as a kid from the Track Team, Spencer.

"You're Matthew's sister," he commented.

"What do you want with me?" Carol asked, annoyed.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened to him," Spencer replied. "He was a great kid."

"Thanks, but I really don't need your pity," Carol said.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Julia decided they should start going to Church.

After mustering the courage, Daniel goes to the priest for a confession. He confessed, "I thought about having my son, Matt, end his friendships. I felt that his friends were leading him down a dark path and in an attempt to save him, I caused him to run away. Now, because of me, he's out in the open and anything could happen." Tears start flooding down Daniel's eyes. "Matt, if you're out there, please know I love you, and I'm sorry for everything."

The priest hears Daniel's prayer and says, "I feel your pain. I've been through what you're going through. God can help you through it, but only if you choose to accept it."

"I accept," Daniel said instantly, knowing he's gonna need all the help he can get.

Meanwhile, Oum and Bee were over at LAs Thai Temple at a support group with other people.

"I know I can be a little hard on her," Oum confessed. "But it's not that I expect perfection from Anne, I just want her to reach her fullest potential. I may have gone a little too hard."

One of the people put his hand on Oum's shoulder and said, "It's okay. We've all been there. We'll all help you with your struggles. Reā pĕn khrxbkhrạw læa khrxbkhrạw khxy dūlæ kạnlæakạn xyū̀ s̄emx." (We are family, and family always looks out for each other.)

Oum thinks about Daniel and Julia. During these past couple years they have developed a close bond, and she sees them as family as well. She would say, "Well, there's a tiny favor I want to ask."

A while later, people of the Thai Temple and the Catholic Church came together as they both helped Oum, Bee, Daniel, and Julia with their struggles.

The four parents stood by each other.

"Thank you both, for all of this," said Daniel.

"The pleasure is ours," Oum replied. "After all, Khrxbkhrạw khxy dūlæ kạnlæakạn xyū̀ s̄emx." (Family always looks out for each other.)

Meanwhile, Sasha's dad, Bruce, and her mom, Heather, were sitting in his house grieving over the loss of their daughter, knowing that they're to blame for Sasha running away. After they divorced, they instantly found new boyfriends. Bruce realized that he was bisexual when he fell in love with a boy named Jason, while Heather found a boyfriend of her own, Benny. These boys turned out to be super controlling and made Sasha's parents ignore her, so of course Sasha would feel neglected and eventually run away.

Ever since Sasha disappeared, her parents' boyfriends didn't care about Sasha and just treated it as if nothing ever happened, and tried to get Sasha's parents to do the same. However, Bruce and Heather occasionally spent time together to help each other get through the pain, doing it in secret in hopes that their boyfriends wouldn't find out.

On Saturdays, Heather would head over to Bruce's house when Jason left for work, and they just spent their time in Bruce's room reminiscing about Sasha.

On one particular Saturday, Jason came home early and came into Bruce's room. He saw Bruce sitting on the bed with Heather.

Jason instantly gets mad and shouts, "Have you been cheating on me?!"

Bruce tried to calm down his boyfriend. "No. We're just hanging out as friends."

"Liar!" Jason accused. "Here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna get that bitch out of here or our relationship is over. End. Of. Discussion."

Whenever Jason said those three words, Bruce would always do what Jason said with no more hesitation. This time, however, Bruce has had enough.

"No."

"Care to repeat that?" asked Jason.

"I said no," Bruce said more clearly. "Ever since we got together, you've been pushing me around. I chose to do what you wanted because I loved you, but it cost me my daughter. No more. I'm doing something I should've done a long time ago. I'm standing up to YOU!"

Jason was shocked seeing his boyfriend stand up to him. He regained his composure and said, "I hope you're happy, because we're done."

"I can live with that," Bruce replied with no hesitation.

Jason just stomps out of the house angrily and says, "I'm taking the car."

"Jokes on you," Bruce replied. "It's a rental."

After Jason left the house, Bruce sat on his bed again next to Heather. The two lied on the bed together and continued talking about stuff until eventually they leaned in for a kiss. When they pulled out of it, they were completely shocked about what they did.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Bruce said instantly. "I know you're still dating that Benny boy."

"You're fine," Heather replied. "That relationship is definitely going to end, but I still think we should take things slow."

"Good idea," said Bruce.

A little while later, Bruce and Heather made their way to the Boonchuy household and approached Oum and Bee.

"I got your text," Oum told Bruce. "We both understand what you're going through."

"You're welcome to visit us any time," Bee added.

Oum and Bee brought out their hands to shake, but Bruce and Heather hugged Oum and Bee respectively.

A.N.

This chapter was definitely one I had fun writing, as it takes a break from Amphibia to show how the parents are handling their kids' disappearance.

I mostly looked forward to how I would write Sasha and Marcy's parents in the narrative. I, along with many Amphibia fans, hate that Sasha and Marcy's parents never showed. Brady said it's because "they weren't needed" but that's bullshit. Marcy's parents planning to move was the reason Marcy wanted to run away, and it's heavily implied that Sasha's parents' divorce had a major impact on her life. There was a lot of potential with that and it sucks that Braly never showed it, and it was all reduced to implications, dialogue, and Marcy's Journal.

I won't give too much away, but let's just say I have big plans for Sasha and Marcy's parents in the 4th and final part of this story.

Personally, this is my favorite chapter. Do you agree or disagree? Please leave a review and tell me.