The frogs looked around in surprise, taking in all of the new buildings, the new sounds, and the new smells as they were now in an entirely new world! Almost nothing could shock them more than this moment.
"Urp! What the?" Polly asked, feeling weird and looking down to see- "Hey! I got legs!"
Hop Pop looked down and saw that it was true, it must've happened when they were going through the portal.
"My little baby is growing up!" Hop Pop shouted, scooping up Polly in a hug.
"This just keeps getting weird." Sprig said as Anne stood up.
She looked around some more before taking a deep whiff of air.
"Oh, pollution, how I've missed you." Anne said, "We should get off the freeway."
Anne changed into a wolf and allowed the Plantars to get on her back before she ran out of the highway. All the way to her home. She looked at her hands and then at her house.
"Guys, wait here, I'll let you know when to come out." Anne said.
"Can do, Anne." Hop Pop said with a thumbs up.
"I still need to get used to my legs, so standing by is cool." Polly said.
"And don't mention anything about Sasha's betrayal, or Marcy's Betrayal, or Andrias' betrayal, or my blue powers."
'No doubt mom or dad are gonna scream when they see my eye.' Anne thought as she rang the door bell to her home.
She waited for a few seconds, hearing footsteps coming towards the door.
'Here they come.' Anne thought, gulping before taking a breath to calm herself.
The door opened and revealed a woman who looked just like Anne, but older and with a small bush of hair in her head. Anne smiled and waved a bit.
"Hi mom." Anne said.
Her mother gasped as she dropped the mixing bowl she held, nearly crying from the sight of her daughter.
"Anne?" She asked, reaching out to her.
She immediately pulled her into a hug. Another person looked around the corner of the house, wondering what the racket was.
"Dad!" Anne said.
The man gasped, dropping his gaming controller before rushing to join the hug!
"My little pup!" He shouted.
Her parents shifted into wolves and began licking her face.
"Ahahahahahaha! Hey hey! Cut it out!" Anne said before falling to her but, still hugging them and letting them lick her face.
'God, I never knew how much I missed this.' Anne thought.
The parents didn't stop for a few minutes. It was long enough for the weight of the situation to come to their minds, pulling back and shifting back to humans!
"Where the hell have you been, young lady?!" Oum shouted at her.
"We've been worried for months!" Bee shouted, throwing his hands in the air.
"It's, uh... a long story." Anne said.
"Well, start telling it! And where are Marcy and Sasha too?! Their families nearly destroyed the town looking for them!" Oum said, crossing her arms.
"That…..is gonna be even harder to explain but I think I can with a little help." Anne said before turning to the side. "Guys, you can come out now."
The Plantars came out.
"Hi, Anne's mom and dad!" Sprig and Poll said, excited.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy, hahahaha. I'm sure this is very confusing." Hop Pop said nervously.
Confusing was an understatement... they passed out.
"I…expected this." Anne said as he walked to her mother. "Come on, help me carry them to the den."
They lifted the parents up and brought them into the house.
"This is a lovely home, Anne." Hop Pop comments.
"Yeah, it's nice. I missed it." Anne said as they put Oum on the couch and Bee on the lazy boy.
Right next to the one thing Anne loved.
"Domino!"
"Meow." A cat with black and white fur and green eyes meows, looking up to Anne.
"Oh!" Anne said as she scooped up the cat, snuggling her face into the cat's stomach. "I missed you so much, my little kitty!"
The cat, Domino, seem to miss Anne too as she purrs from Anne's snuggles. Anne refused to let her go.
"Anne, why is that?" Sprig asked.
"It's my pet cat, Domino!" Anne said, showing her to Sprig. "Isn't she adorable?"
"Uh... sure." Sprig said.
"This reminds me of that monster you brought into the house." Hop Pop said.
"That was an accident and we promised never to speak of it again." Anne quickly said, hugging her cat. "Besides, original Domino won't turn into a crazy monster bug. That doesn't happen here."
"People here have the ability to become animals." Sprig pointed out.
"Yeah, but... that's normal." Anne said.
"Meow." Domino said, snuggling Anne again.
"But you're a wolf, isn't that a problem with a cat?" Polly asked.
"No. Domino has been with the family for years. She's basically a part of the family pack." Anne said, "Besides, she's so cute!"
"Eh, I'll still be ready for an attack. Especially since I got legs!" Polly said, holding up Frobo's head.
'What are we going to do with that?' Anne thought.
How exactly could they find a way to save and fox him? His mainframe or brain frame or whatever could still be intact but what would they do to power him up? Hook up a car battery?
"Ugh." Anne's parents let out, slowly waking up.
"Okay, here we go." Anne said.
"My head. What happened?" Bee asked, holding his head.
"I think Anne-" Oum gasped as she stood up, looking towards Anne and making sure it wasn't a dream!
She noticed something about Anne.
"What happened to your eye!?"
"I... got injured trying to protect others." Anne said, choosing to leave out the part about Sasha.
"And your arms?!" Bee shouted, looking at his daughter's arms.
"Same answer." Anne quickly said as Domino patted on her arm scars.
'Please don't ask me to take off my shirt.' Anne thought, knowing that they will want to see if she has scars on her torso.
"How many more scars could you have and who exactly were you protecting?!" Oum asked, crossing her arms.
"Was it these little guys?" Bee asked, pointing to the Plantars.
"Yes, I was protecting them." Anne said, "And I will keep protecting them, no matter what.
"Protect them? Why?" Oum asked them.
"Well, they took me in and looked after me. And….I kind of took to them like they were MY own pack." Anne said.
Anne made sure she was between her parents and the Plantars. She didn't want there to be anything trying to get the Plantars away from her.
"Your OWN pack?! You are too young to have a pack of your own!" Oum shouted, taking a step forward to her daughter.
"That wasn't your choice to make, mom! I took them as my pack and I don't regret it!" Anne shouted back at her.
"I've changed, mother, I am stronger than I was before, I understand responsibility, I have finally accepted who I am!"
Oum growled at Anne, only for her to growl back more ferociously, making both parents take a step back. Anne always backed down when a higher wolf growled, she never challenged it.
"This is MY pack and they are under my protection." Anne said, still protecting the Plantars, "From you or anyone else!"
They saw a fire in Anne's eyes, one that they have never seen in her before, one that made them realize that Anne has changed, and she may finally be ready to take her birthright as the heir, whenever her grandmother stepped down and Oum took over at least.
"Okay, okay, let's all calm down before things get out of hand." Hop Pop said, quickly getting between the trio.
Anne stayed quiet.
"Hop Pop is right, fighting won't help anyone. Let's just start over and properly introduce ourselves." Sprig said, walking to Bee and holding his hand out. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Boonchuy. I'm Anne's best frog friend, Sprig."
They cautiously shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Sprig." Oum said with a shaky smile.
"Question, are you always this mucusy?" Bee asked, feeling it in his handshake.
"Not really but we can talk about that later." Sprig said.
Anne started to calm down a little.
"Just out of curiosity, where EXACTLY did you go for the last few months?" Bee asked out of curiosity.
"Well, it all started like this."
She began to explain the story of how and what happened in Amphibia, excluding a couple of details. If her parents were confused before, which they were, they were now. It was understandable since their daughter was basically in danger 24/7, adopted an entire frog village as a pack, and fought in a war that last only a day! They were stunned.
"So, any questions?" Polly asked, sitting on the couch with Frobo's head by her side.
"Yes."
"Several actually. Like what has Anne been eating if you are all frogs?" Oum asked.
"The bug food isn't exactly that bad. They have huge ones that taste really good after being cooked." Anne said with a small lick of her lips, "Then of course, there was nothing better than hunting down the bugs and eating them raw."
This surprised the parents, as Anne has never shown any interest in hunting before.
"You hunted?" Bee asked.
"Yeah and you should've seen her! Anne was amazing, not to mention she took down a Scorpileo!" Sprig said in excitement.
"A what?" Bee and Oum asked.
"Think of it like a mix of a scorpion and a lion." Anne quickly said, "It's... hard to explain."
"But it helped Anne become a better person and a better wolf." Hop Pop added.
"Yep!" Anne said.
"Plus she's got this cool sword and bone dagger!" Polly said, pointing to the weapons on Anne's waist.
"Polly, don't point those out, I think they've heard enough craziness."
"Let me see those weapons." Bee said.
"Dad, they're-"
"Now, young lady. I am still your father and if you have weapons in this house, then I will know of them." Bee said firmly, holding his hand out.
Anne took her sword off her belt and handed it to him, before repeating the process with her dagger.
"Anything else?" Oum asked as Bee looked over the weapons.
'Dang, these are real! And super cool!' He thought, nerding out a bit.
"Nothing else but the armor I'm wearing." Anne said.
Anne took the chest plate off, having her shirt soaked in sweat from the fight.
"Dang, you were really sweaty under that." Sprig comments.
"Too sweaty." Oum said, scrunching her nose.
"Yeah, I was wearing metal in a swamp and in LA." Anne said, "Hot, Humid, and metal, not good combo."
"Then please take a shower. I'll get back to making lunch." Oum said.
"Cool." Anne said, moving up the stairs.
"We'll keep your…pack company." Bee said, putting the weapons aside.
"Good, because if something happens to them." She glared at her parents with a look that made them go pale, "I'll kill you."
She went up the stairs, leaving the parents to stare at each other. What happened to their daughter? It was like she was a completely different person and a completely different wolf, not longer a lazy wolf but an apex predator. They shared a look.
'We should inform the rest of the pack at the temple. Just so they can be prepared for when they see Anne again.' Both parents thought.
They knew that would be an important thing to deal with, as the lost heir had been a big topic of discussion among the wolves. Especially with the wolf elders of the pack, they will have some very serious words for Oum and Anne. It was going to be an interesting meeting. Anne walked into her room, looking at it like she had never seen it before. Like it was completely foreign to her now.
"Home sweet home, I guess." Anne said.
Sure she could smell her scent, but it just felt... empty. Like all of her growth and experiences from Amphibia changed her to the point where she could hardly recognize it. There was nothing of the pack here, nothing of her spirit animal. She hated it.
'I need to get back.' Anne thought, grabbing some clothes from her closet and walking to the bathroom.
The lack of fear creeping up was unnerving. She wanted to feel that brush with death, that feeling of adrenaline, she didn't have that here. Amphibia had made Anne stronger, her senses more sharpened but it also made her a bit more feral and on edge. But it was a good edge that helped Anne grow stronger in the first place. She didn't want to lose that.
"We need to find a way back as soon as possible." Anne muttered to herself, walking into the bathroom.
After her shower, she never realized how much she took running water for granted, she went downstairs. Anne had finally changed her clothes for the first time in MONTHS as well as having TWO shoes on her feet for a change. It almost felt... weird. Like she was used to having tattered clothes from nearly constant battles.
'God, I feel like a veteran for some reason.' Anne thought.
She walked to the living room. Where all of them were sitting on the couches and talking a bit.
"Alright, so, there's probably a lot to talk about." Anne said, "Especially about what to do going forward."
"First, temple." Oum quickly said, needing to notify the pack of Anne's return.
"Which we will go do, you four will stay here for the time being." Bee said, not wanting Anne to show up and get bombarded with questions about her scars.
"Fine by me." Anne said, grabbing the remote and turning on the tv, which was the news.
"And the search for the last two Black Panther spirit animals is still on going." The reporter said, "It is unsure of who attacked their residence in Gravesfield Connecticut, but the authorities are doing everything they can to find them."
"When did this happen?" Anne asked.
"Dang, really?" Anne asked in surprise.
"Really." Bee said, nodding
"What's a panther?" Sprig asked.
"It's a species of cat." Anne said
A few minutes later, her parents left and Anne was watching TV. Little did she know, in a few seconds... a fucking robot broke in through the backdoor.
"AAAAAH!" The Plantars shouted, jumping up from the couch.
"What the hell!?" Anne shouted.
The robot was clearly from Amphibia, which made Anne growl.
'Damn you, Andrias.'
The robot scanned the group, confirming that these were the targets it was eliminate before retrieving the calamity power.
"Guys, get behind me!" Anne said.
They didn't hesitate as they quickly jumped behind Anne, who reached for her sword but forgot it wasn't on her hip anymore. She had no idea where her parents put it.
'Okay, plan B."
She shifted and growled at the robot.
"Grrrrr!" Anne growled at the robot.
"Hehehehehe." The robot actually chuckled at Anne, changing its left hand into a buzz saw!
Anne charged at it, and while she was able to avoid the blade, the other hand swatted her away and she hit the wall. The blade almost hit the Plantars, which Anne noticed. She felt rage at her pack almost being hurt. Anne got up as both her eyes, even the blind one, turned blue and her fur turned white. This shocked the robot as its scanners were going off the charts!
"Calamity energy detected!" It said, focusing only on Anne.
Anne charged and bit down on it. Her teeth sank into the metal as the robot stumbled into the backyard!
"Anne!" Sprig said, running destroyed back door.
The white wolf didn't care about anything around it, she just wanted to destroy this thing. with a firm chomp, Anne cut the robot's arm off before landing and roaring at it as a blast of energy hit it in the chest!
'Whoa! I have energy blasts?!' Anne thought.
She was a little out of it during her fight with andrias, so she doesn't remember them. But that didn't stop Anne from firing more energy blasts, destroying more parts of the robot as it tried to cloak itself.
"Damage extensive, cloaking malfunctioning." It said as it flicked between visible and invisible.
The wolf growled at the robot. It still tried to fight as it produced a laser from its remaining hand, aiming at Anne. The white wolf was too fast for it. Anne blitzed to the robot, ripping a it's legs out as it fell to the ground!
"Whoa!" Sprig said in awe.
The robot realized that it had not prepared enough for this.
"Retreat! Retreat! Must retreat!" The robot said as it transformed its hand back, stretching it to grab a tree!
It zoomed away and swung from tree to tree in the neighborhood.
'And stay away.' Anne growled.
The energy slowly faded as Anne's fur turned brown again, her legs slowly growing weak before falling to the ground.
"Anne!" Sprig said as he, Hop Pop, and Polly rushed to her.
"Anne, wake up!"
Anne slowly changed back to her humans self, mumbling a bit as she was so exhausted. The Plantars had to help her up. They brought Anne back into the house and laid her on the couch.
"I'll get her some water, you two watch her." Hop Pop said.
"You got it, Hop Pop!"
Hop Pop rushed to the kitchen as Anne slowly turned up, staring at Polly and Sprig.
"I'm inside?" Anne asked.
"Yeah! You just went crazy on a robot and destroyed it like it was nothing!" Polly screamed. "It was awesome!"
Anne groaned.
"Ugh, we gotta fix that door before my parents get home." Anne said.
"We'll worry about that later, you need to rest first." Sprig said as Hop Pop came back with a glass of water.
"Exactly. Whatever that was seems to take a lot out of you." He said as Anne took the water.
Anne drank it, downing it in seconds.
"Aaaaaah." Anne sighed in relief, wiping her lips. "Thanks."
She looked back at the busted door.
"One of you knows how to fix a door, right?" Anne asked.
"Don't worry Anne, I've had to repair a lot of things in my day." Hop Pop said.
"Mostly stuff Sprig broke." Polly said quickly.
"I apologized for those." Sprig said.
"The point is, I can fix the door. I just need the tools, they can't be that different here." Hop Pop said.
'Note to self, keep Hop Pop away from the power tools.' Anne thought.
After several minutes, the door was looking good.
"And done!" Hop Pop said with a smile, clapping his hands clean. "Now we just need to paint over the cracks."
It wasn't like before, mainly hammered back together with boards and some wood glue.
'Hopefully they don't notice.' Anne thought.
"So, you have a paint?" Sprig asked.
"Yeah but not any that matches the door. I might need to run to the store to get some." Anne said.
"I'll be back, I need you guys to stay here."
"But Anne, we can help." Sprig said.
"Do any of you actually know where the store is?" Anne asked.
They did not.
"But you're probably still weak rom that power surge." Polly said, pointing to Anne's still wobbly legs.
"Doesn't matter." Anne said.
"But Anne." Sprig said.
"No butts, dude." Anne said.
Anne shifted and ran out the door. With how fast she had gotten from Amphibia and how skillful she is, Anne could make it to the store in a matter of 7 to 10 minutes. Then she would put her hood up and sunglasses on. Anne didn't want anyone to recognize her and cause a scene just because she returned after a few months being gone. And... you know... they whole eye thing. That would just get her stared at by little children and people who just liked to stare, again too much attention. She had a limited time.
'Get in, buy the wood paint, and get home.' Anne thought, grabbing a hand basket.
Shouldn't be too hard. Anne walked through the store, heading for the paint and decor aisle without drawing any attention.
"Alright, what color was the door again?"
Anne lowered her sunglasses a bit to look at the colors more clearly, needing the color to be an exact match or her parents would know. She found the color and grabbed it. A single can would be more than enough.
$7.99, good price." Anne said as she checked her wallet, seeing old but still usable human currency.
She paid and left.
'Just as planned, in and out.' Anne thought.
"Boonchuy?" A person called out.
"Shit." Anne muttered as she walked faster than before.
The last thing she needed was this.
"Hey, wait up!" The person shouted, running after Anne. "I wanna talk to you!"
"I don't have time!"
Anne transformed into a wolf, holding the paint in her mouth as she ran off.
"Wait!" The person said before transforming into a cheetah!
'Oh, come on!'
The only person Anne knew that had a cheetah for a spirit animal was her old school bully, Maggie.
'Okay, Cheetah's can run fast, but they can only do it for a short period of time, I can out run her.'
"RUFF RUH!/Try and catch me, bitch!" Anne shouted as she ran faster.
"ROOOOOW!/Oh it's on, Boonchuy!" Maggie roared, running after Anne.
They each kind of understood the tone, but they couldn't understand each other, as they weren't part of the same Genus, as Wolves were canines and Cheetahs are Acinonyx. But it didn't matter as they raced through town, dodging people and cars. Maggie was persistent but she wasn't going to give up. Anne was smart though, she knew Maggie was reaching her limit.
'You've been running for too long, Maggie.' Anne thought, 'A cheetah can only run at full speed for thirty seconds before they need to rest.'
So Anne kept running as Maggie was indeed slowing down but was still trying to keep up.
'No! Come on body, don't give out on me now!' Maggie thought, starting to pant.
Anne jumped over a fence, finally escaping her.
'So long, Maggie.' Anne thought.
She raced back home. Anne saw her house in the distance and changed back while grabbing the wood paint from her mouth.
'And hopefully mom and dad aren't home yet.' Anne thought.
Thankfully, they weren't.
"Great. Now to paint the door and that robot attack will have never happened." Anne said, walking into her house.
She wasted no time. She ripped the top off and went to the shed to her a paint brush, quickly painting the door.
"Okay, guys, watch out and let me know if my parents come home."
"Sure thing, Anne!" Sprig said with a thumbs up.
The group watched the front door.
"So, how was the store?" Polly asked, still watching the front door.
"Fine. Nothing I couldn't handle." Anne said, painting.
After several minutes, she was done.
"Alright, door is fully fixed." Anne said, walking to put the bucket and paintbrush in the shed, "And now we just sit on the couch and act natural."
"Sure, Frobo can join us too." Polly said, pointing to Frobo's deactivated head on the couch.
'Note to self, fix Frobo.' Anne thought as they all went to the couch and watched tv.
It didn't take long for the parents to return home.
"We're home." Bee said as he and Oum walked into the den.
"We've been here."
"Anything happen while we were away?" Oum asked.
"Nothing much, just sitting around and watching tv." Anne said, "How did it go with the pack?"
"That meeting went…well." Bee said, not exactly being honest.
Anne gave him a blank look, her blind eye making it seem like a glare that was looking into his soul. Almost exactly like an alpha would.
"Mom?" Anne asked as she glanced at her mother.
"... The pack leaders want to see you." Oum said, "In a week we have to go back."
"Ugh, well at least a week is better than nothing." Anne said with a groan. "At least it will be nice to visit the temple again."
"In the meantime, try not to cause any trouble."
Anne rolled her eyes at her mother.
"I'm not the same omega you raised months ago, I've changed." Anne said to her mother.
"I know it's just... I'm so worried that something will happen to you."
"Mom, I'll be fine. After everything I've been through, there's nothing in this or ANY world that I can't handle." Anne said, turning back to the tv.
'That's what worries me.' Oum thought, glancing at Anne's scars and blind eye.
This took longer than I hoped it would, but we're in the final stretch, the final arc, then the third story can get posted. Follow, Favorite, and Review for more.