Previously on Calamitous Intervention
At the Plantar stand, things were going well until Toadie announced that Mayor Toadstool had increased the rent. Things looked bad until Luz had the idea to sell potions, alongside more tomatoes to be able to cover the rent. Unfortunately, this caused an unintended side effect that resulted in the other stand owners rioting due to the Plantars hogging all the attention. Luckily for the Plantars, Mayor Toadstool said something that ruined his reputation and caused the townsfolk to turn on him.
Days later, Luz and the Plantars were shopping at the Grub 'n' Go, when frogs started to tease Luz and call her a scarecrow. She got upset and so they left without question, but they encountered the tax collector toads. After a brief conflict, Bog offered Luz a position as part of his group, but she kindly refused. However, she spied on the toads, knowing they were up to no good. She helped Wally and Felicia before confronting them at the Plantars' house. There, they fought, resulting in Luz getting injured. Luckily, the other frogs, with newfound respect for the human, intervened and drove the toads out of Wartwood.
Chapter Twenty-One - Past and Present
Toad Tower
Today had gone much wilder than Sasha expected. She had gone from rotting in a filthy cell to making Captain Grime's soldiers actually respect him, defending Toad Tower from two herons, and accepting the position of Lieutenant by the captain's side.
While she couldn't really care less about the whole situation, she did find it amusing and knew she couldn't just waste the opportunity to have control over the toad army. As Grime walked away to meet a toad reporting something to him, she pulled out a photo she kept in her jacket pocket.
The photo was of her, Anne, and Marcy, her two best friends. Her expression softened as she gazed down at it, hoping they had made it in this world. "Hold on for a little longer, girls," she muttered to herself. "I'm coming for you. And when I find you, we're gonna get home."
Sasha reached into her pants pocket and pulled out the Azura figurine Grime had found a while back. Inspecting it, she knew for a fact that Marcy had a similar figurine. She recalled seeing it in her room, so that meant she had to be around here. No matter what, she knew she would find both of them.
Putting both items away, a mischievous grin appeared on her face. "But first, I think we're gonna have some fun with this place." After that, Sasha walked forward, following Captain Grime. The two headed toward the big center of the tower, where there was already a big gathering.
Pushing through to the front of the crowd to get a better look at what the big deal was, she saw three toads that she recognized—Bog, Fens, and Mire. They had previously teased and chastised her when she was stuck and nearly starving in the cell.
"Ah, good, you're back," Grime said, approaching the wagon. "Men, help them unload," he ordered, gesturing to the back of the carrier.
A few toads stepped forward, only to stare at the back of the wagon, shocked. "Um, sir," one of them said, "there's nothing here. No taxes or anything else."
Before the captain could respond, Bog hopped off, growling. "It's because of those upstarts that we are in this situation in the first place! It's that creature's fault for riling them up!"
Grime paused, not having expected some of his cruelest soldiers to come up short in taxes. "Creature?" he questioned.
When Bog caught a glance at Sasha, his jaw fell open. "Captain, what's the meaning of this?!" he demanded.
"I've appointed her as my lieutenant," Grime calmly explained, although he showed a hint of annoyance at the way he was addressed. "More importantly, what's this 'creature' you were talking about? And how in the blazes did you fail your mission?!" He yelled that last part.
Bog grumbled to himself while Fens and Mire left to let off some steam in the training ground. "Well, Captain, perhaps you will think twice about trusting Sasha's kind when you find out that another one of them refused to cooperate with us," he said snarkily.
"Watch your tone, Bog," Grime growled, coming up to him. "Don't forget who you're talking to. Now, describe this creature for me."
"That girl has messy brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and could use potions," the brute explained. Sasha rubbed her chin, having a feeling she knew who he was talking about. If Anne was here, then surely Marcy would be here, too.
"Did you see another girl, by some chance?" she asked. Bog turned to her before shaking his head. "No, she was the only one that stood out from those idiotic farmers."
Sasha decided to worry about that when she found Anne in Wartwood and possibly Marcy as well. She hadn't expected it to be this easy to find her two friends, but it was a welcome change in luck. A smile developed on her face before it quickly faded.
Right now, her new duties as lieutenant were her top priority, so she knew finding her friends would have to wait a bit.
Back in Wartwood, Luz and Maddie were experimenting with new potion recipes in their hideout, as they often did. Luz was getting more confident and getting the hang of using potions, and she wanted to branch out a bit more.
For a while, she wondered where she could improve her combat skills since her potion tactics were usually all over the place. While that wasn't necessarily bad, she remembered struggling when she fought against the toads. Luz hadn't been able to decide on one tactic, and that's what caused her injury. She still had her cast on, but Maddie's potion was quickly healing her arm, and she knew she would be out of it in less than a week.
Luz thought about becoming a long-range fighter, and she knew it would work well with her potions, but at the same time, she couldn't ignore the possibility that enemies could strike up close, and she wouldn't be prepared for that. Perhaps she could create some sort of strength or speed potion so she could quickly evade her attackers.
Making up her mind, she turned to Maddie, who was skimming through her spell book. "Hey, Maddie, could you get me some terracas?" Luz asked.
The frog nodded and zipped open Luz's backpack. She searched through it, looking for the compartment where Luz brought some of her ingredients, until she came across a set of books she didn't recognize. Out of curiosity, she reached down and took them out of Luz's backpack, studying them. "I didn't know you brought books with you," Maddie said, intrigued.
Luz turned toward her, surprise visible on her face. After her initial shock, she took a deep breath and replied, "Oh, those are the Good Witch Azura books. I've… kind of been reading them ever since I was little. I've been entranced by them ever since. They're about a young witch named Azura who goes on many wonderful, magical adventures. I won't spoil anything in case you want to read them. Guess I forgot to show you the books."
Maddie nodded, then noticed something. "Hey, since this is a series, where's the first book?"
As soon as she asked this, she immediately knew she had brought up a sore subject since Luz's face dropped a little. "Well, it's… gone," the human said in a low voice. "Some little owl took it away into the portal. There's no telling where it went."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Maddie said, frowning. "Based on your expression, I can tell it was worth a lot to you. It's unlikely, but maybe someday we can find that owl and get it back." She paused for a moment. "Well, since I can't read it myself, why don't you recap some of it for me?"
Luz's expression lifted at this request, more than happy to talk about Azura to somebody. She had read the books so many times that she knew just about every little detail in them.
Luz began explaining as much as she could about the main character, then began recounting the story in her head. From Azura gaining her trusty magic staff and meeting her rival Hecate to the battle with the Arch-mage—the antagonist.
Maddie hadn't expected to maintain her interest, but the way Luz described it kept her undivided attention. Before they knew it, it had already been over an hour until Luz finally finished recapping the first book.
After she finished, Maddie sat there for quite a while, processing everything she had learned about the series. After some time, she finally replied, "Wow, that's… That's probably better than any other story I've read, to be honest. I can see why you like it, and the way humans perceive magic interests me. Heck, hearing that just gave me some new spell ideas."
Luz smiled at this, happy to know that somebody finally shared a common interest with her. She was a bit nervous about what Maddie would think about the series, but she was glad she also liked the books. "I'm glad. I can only imagine how amazing it would be to cast magic like Azura." She stared off into space, daydreaming a little. "Just imagine… All my problems in life could be solved with a magic staff…"
While Maddie was glad to see her friend so optimistic, she had conflicting emotions about what Luz had said. She quietly sighed before saying, "Well, speaking as someone who's all about magic, unfortunately, it can't fix everything. Luz, I know magic is cool, but surely you realize how dangerous it can be, right? To cast magic just like Azura, you would need a magic staff to do that, and any information on those is extremely scarce."
Luz's smile slowly faded as Maddie continued. "I've only heard rumors about even one of them existing, and I don't know who it belongs to. I don't know how to make one, but what I do know is that ancient practitioners created it out of some kind of… rare wood that conducts magic and amplifies it."
Luz was disappointed at first, but perked up when Maddie suggested they might exist in Amphibia. She wondered if she'd ever be able to find it herself or even make one herself, eventually. "Wait, so this wood… Would we simply be able to just carve it into a staff if we find it?"
"Unfortunately, it isn't that easy," Maddie explained. "If that were the case, information on magic staffs wouldn't be so scarce, and I'm sure there would be more than one by now. There must be some special technique to create them. I think I remember the process having to do something with the olms."
Luz raised her eyebrows. She recalled reading a bit of information about the olms in Hop Pop's study room, though there wasn't much to see there. All she knew was that they disappeared a thousand years ago, and nobody knew if they were even still around. She, for one, had a feeling they were still somewhere in this world.
"Well, alright, I guess we shouldn't worry about that too much, then," Luz replied, pondering Maddie's words. "It would be nice to get one someday so I could easily do long-ranged attacks. Azura doesn't need any potions to use the spells she wants, just incantations and a wave of her staff. She can launch different elemental attacks like fire, electricity, wind, et cetera."
As Luz explained this, she flipped through Maddie's spell book, having most of its spells memorized. She thought about making her own spell book to truly have something to call her own. "Say, Maddie, do you think I could copy stuff from your spell book sometime? That way, it'd be easier for both of us."
"Of course," Maddie replied, smiling. "I was actually thinking of making a copy of it for you, but maybe making your own would be better. Plus, you should write your potion that instantly ripens produce so you don't forget the recipe."
Luz briefly got lost in thought as she stared at some pages she had trouble remembering. There were still some potions in it she hadn't considered trying in combat, such as one that allows her to levitate above the ground, one to breathe fire, one to transform into any creature whose blood she used, and even one that allows one to teleport anywhere you want in the area.
All those ideas intrigued her, especially the transformation one. She heard from Maddie that she wasn't able to use it successfully due to its complexity, so she didn't know how long it would last if used.
Still, being able to transform into some of Amphibia's deadliest creatures sounded really cool to her. While it was very unlikely and too risky for her to try, she wondered if she could even transform into a heron. An intelligent heron sounded very dangerous to her.
Her mind drifted back to the idea of making her own spell book. While she could 100% do it, it would take a lot of effort to make her own original spells, with descriptions, recipes, and all. As she set the spell book down, she realized something. "Hey, Maddie, I've seen level one and level two spells, but what about level three?"
"Huh, I guess I really haven't thought much about that," Maddie said, stirring the contents of her cauldron while she waited for it to brew. "It's possible, but I couldn't find much about them. Even so, it would probably be too advanced for our skill level. For all we know, making a magic staff could be even harder than that."
Rather than feel disheartened, Luz smiled, feeling motivated to discover all this world had to offer. "Well, you never know," she said. "Even if they don't exist right now, maybe we could create them one day. Even if I go back home, I could always come visit if I get the box working."
"I hope so," Maddie says. "You're the only one who's really understood me here. The art of magic has mostly been forgotten, and I was hoping we could maybe make it common knowledge again."
"I'd like that!" Luz said, hugging her friend, which surprised the frog, but she smiled. "Alright, alright, you're squeezing me, Luz," Maddie said, patting the human's back.
After Luz released her, Maddie asked, "So, Luz, there might not yet be level three spells, but have you heard of curses, by chance?"
"No, I haven't," the human replied, tilting her head. "I didn't see them in your spell book."
"That's because that book is reserved for regular spells," Maddie explained, pulling something out of her bag. "Knowledge of curses is even more scarce than that of potions, and for a good reason." She pulled out a book she had created. "I've compiled recipes for every curse I've been able to discover throughout the years. There aren't many, but every single one is dangerous."
She plopped the book in front of Luz, who took it and opened it to the first recipe. After Luz read through it, her eyes widened. "Well, I can see why. No way people would actually use these, right?"
"Users usually curse those who they believe really deserve it," Maddie explained. "They can range from simple allergies or warts to slow, painful deaths. It's a good thing there are few who know how to use them. I have yet to meet anyone else who can. No offense, but I know teaching them to you is pointless since you have to really really hate the person you're targeting. Otherwise, it won't work. You're too pure for that, Luz."
"Well, I wasn't really planning to go that route, anyway. I'm sure there are better ways to resolve issues like that," Luz said.
"How did you come to learn about the Good Witch Azura?" Maddie asked, handing the book back to Luz, whose smile faded slightly. Luz trusted Maddie, but she still didn't want to talk about that subject. "I'm… Well… Let's just say that someone close gave it to me years ago."
Maddie understood and decided not to pry. "Just know that I'll be here for you, 'cause we're friends, Luz," she said. This cheered the human up. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the second Azura book. "Here. I wouldn't mind if you read the second book on your own."
The frog accepted Luz's offer, taking it out of her hands and studying it. "Huh, so that's what she looks like," she murmured, looking at the cover art. "Thanks, Luz. I'll let you know what I think once I'm done."
As Luz excused herself with a forced smile on her face, not wanting to work on her potion anymore, Maddie noticed it and knew the human was hiding something from her. Despite this, she was determined and motivated to continue learning magic and go beyond what the spell book had taught her. Before Luz had arrived, she lacked the confidence to go further beyond what she previously knew, but it was like the human had pulled her out of her shell and made her feel ready for anything. Maddie was happy to have a friend like her.
Later on in the afternoon, Luz was back in the Plantars' house, humming to herself while trying to make one of her favorite dishes with Amphibia's ingredients, which was her mom's quesadilla recipe. At this point, she was pretty hungry, and she wanted to experiment with the ingredients this world had. Sure, by themselves, they didn't look very appetizing, but Luz had a feeling she could make something good. After all, she was able to win the Pot Luck with her guacamole.
While Luz was looking at the ingredients, trying to figure out what would work best, the thought of missing her mom started to overshadow every other thought. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how much she missed her mom, now that the discussion with Maddie brought the thoughts fresh again. Her mom was the only person back home she felt close to and comfortable with other than… her deceased father, and she never felt like she could fit in or belong at school, much less anywhere.
To Luz, making quesadillas made her realize she relied a lot on her back then. Perhaps the idea of cooking her favorite dishes in Amphibia was her mind's way of coping with the chance of being stuck here for the rest of her life. Even if she had been improving here in Amphibia, such as building her confidence and courage, something still felt like it was missing. If only she could introduce her new friends to her mom.
Luz quickly found herself opening the Photos app on her phone and scrolling through it until she came upon a wholesome selfie that the two of them had taken together. While she was currently worried about her mother, she couldn't imagine how much worse her mother must be feeling about her. Unlike Luz, Camila didn't know if she was okay or not, or where she was.
Suddenly, Hop Pop walked into the kitchen, spotted her, and was ready to scold her for not doing her chores until he saw her expression. At that moment, he knew that something was wrong, and that she was troubled. Immediately, his irritation turned to concern as he carefully approached her.
"Luz, are you okay?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
Luz looked up, blinking a few times before she realized what was going on. She forced a smile on her face as she waved him off. "I-I'm okay, really. It's nothing. I'll do them right now."
She gave him a nervous chuckle before hurrying away to do her chores. Hop Pop knew better than to believe what she had said, but he decided not to press the issue until she was ready to talk about it.
As she scurried away with a nervous chuckle, he realized in her haste that she had forgotten to grab her phone off the counter. As the phone was still on, he figured a quick glance wouldn't hurt. He looked at the screen to see the photo of Luz and her mom still on the screen before it began darkening, meaning it was gonna shut off soon.
Hop Pop had already suspected Luz was feeling rather iffy because of her life back home, but seeing Luz sad and pulling up that picture of her mother made everything click for him. He understood how, even with things going well for her over here, she still felt homesick, which also meant that Luz cared a lot about her mom and her family. One thing that struck him as slightly odd was where her father was. He thought at first he simply wasn't in the photo at the time, but he worried that something bigger and tragic may be behind it.
Learning about Luz's family made a lot of her moments click in hindsight. One night, she was happily telling the Plantars about the oddities and differences that she had on Earth compared to here. The night went pretty well, but Hop Pop could tell she sounded and looked a bit… off when describing those memories, even if she otherwise seemed happy.
With Luz still off doing her chores for a while, he seriously began to wonder what the future would hold for her and how she might possibly get back home in the first place. He knew that she apparently landed here through a portal door, but that didn't line up with her somehow ending up with a dangerous box that didn't resemble any kind of door. He assumed either she wasn't being honest, which was technically possible, even if her personality and attitude suggested absolutely otherwise, or there was something else going on behind the scenes. This whole incident was already scary on its own, but if something or someone meddled with it, it could only make it more frightening.
As he watched Luz tend to the crops near the front door, he couldn't help but sympathize with her. He hadn't told her what happened in his family's past, but he wasn't ready to face that subject again. He remembered it like it was yesterday. He wished more than anything that he could've saved his daughter and son-in-law.
Hop Pop sighed and contemplated making a difficult decision, since Luz deserved to know about them . When she first arrived, he had potentially buried her only way to get home, all without her knowing. He didn't know how she would've reacted or handled it at the time, but after seeing that she was a sincere person who wasn't malicious or the one who would get aggressive, he felt that it was time. Seeing her like that urged him to do it much sooner than later, and while no one knew how she would handle this, the day had to come at some point.
He walked over to her, who was outside tending to the crops in front of the door, and he could tell by her stiff movements and blank expression that she was trying to forget about all her troubles. He knew now was the best time to talk to her while she was hardly occupied.
"Luz, can we talk?" he asked, making her jump since she was staring off into space. "I need to tell you something important. Let's talk inside, okay?"
Giving her no chance to argue, Hop Pop walked back to the living room to wait for her. Reluctantly, the human obliged, following in after him after wiping some sweat from her forehead. She saw him sitting on the couch, so she pulled up a wooden stool and sat across from him.
A period of uncomfortable silence followed for a minute before Hop Pop finally summoned the courage to speak. "Luz, I've never told you what happened to Sprig and Polly's parents. After all we've been through together, I think you deserve to know what I've been hiding from you."
As he said this, he noticed that Sprig and Polly were coming down from their rooms when they overheard the conversation. Their expressions turned from curious to solemn as they listened in.
"It was many years ago when I adopted Anura, my daughter," Hop Pop began, a bitter smile forming on his face. "The other kids stayed away from her because she was too rough with them, a lot like Sprig when he was younger, but she had a heart of gold. She always put others before herself, protecting anyone who was in danger. I'm almost ashamed to admit she even saved my behind on a few occasions."
He chuckled half-heartedly before continuing. "Eventually, Anura met Jeremiah. He was, of course, her husband. Jeremiah was always that shy kid when he was younger. However, he loved to study this world's creatures. He wanted to learn all its secrets and even learned about the existence of the Calamity Box. When those two met, it was clear they were like two sides of the same coin."
His smile slowly faded as he continued. "I loved them both so much, and they were so happy together. They settled down here and had two kids, who, as you know, are Sprig and Polly. Unfortunately, that was… before the incident…"
Luz's heart fell, as she knew something tragic had happened. That feeling was confirmed when Hop Pop continued.
"It was a few years ago. I was on a journey when herons attacked Wartwood," he said. "Sprig and Polly survived. But their parents... weren't so lucky." He clenched his fists as he remembered the destruction that those monsters had left behind. Being left with two traumatized children to take care of after two of his loved ones died while the village was being rebuilt was the worst time of his life.
Luz's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat as she heard this. Her silence prompted him to continue. "It was so painful to lose my daughter and son-in-law. They both didn't deserve what happened to them. I can remember Anura insisted on evacuating civilians from burning homes, and she did. She saved fourteen people before one heron noticed her and ate her. Jeremiah rushed forward to rescue her from its maw, but he was… crushed under the other's foot."
At this point, tears were running from his eyes. "Gone… in an instant. If I just had been there... I know things would've been different! Ever since then, I swore I'd never let my family down again. That I'd swore to protect them."
As he said this, Sprig and Polly walked over to comfort him, while Luz was wiping tears from her eyes. She couldn't get any words out before Hop Pop looked at her with a pained expression. "So when I found out the box was dangerous, I… took it from you and hid it away. I thought I was protecting my family. But now I realize how foolish it was. You're my family too. And I've let you down. I let us all down. I've taken your only way to get home because of my selfishness."
At this point, he had completely broken down, unable to face any of them. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm just so sorry!"
Luz, without another word, got up and walked over, hugging him tightly. "It's okay, Hop Pop," she assured him. "I'm not mad at you. I was never mad at you." At that moment, she wanted to tell him the truth about her finding the music box and taking it, but she didn't want to ruin the trust he had in her, so she decided against it.
After Hop Pop stopped crying, he wiped the remaining tears from his eyes before cracking a smile. "Thanks, Luz. I'm glad you are a part of our lives, but… I just can't help but feel concerned about you. I know how you are feeling. Trust me, I've been through it before. You lost somebody too, didn't you?"
Luz paused, realizing this was why he brought up the whole subject in the first place. She sat down, knowing she had no way out of it now. If she refused to talk, it would only worry the Plantars more, and she didn't want them to feel like that after what just happened. Plus, Hop Pop had told her what happened to Sprig and Polly's parents, so it would be selfish of her not to come clean about it as well.
"Yeah, you're right," she said, looking down at the ground. "Well… It happened when my dad was diagnosed with kidney cancer, which is a type of rare disease that we can't really cure back home." Her voice broke a bit at the last part before she continued. "We moved to a town named Gravesfield so we could get to a hospital that could help him, but…"
She began trembling, and Sprig and Polly took the chance to hug her while she struggled to keep her composure. "H-He… d-d-didn't make it… But before he did, he… gave me th-the Good Witch Azura book. That's why it… it hurt to lose it when I first got here."
Silence followed as Luz silently wept. Hop Pop got up and walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You've been so brave, Luz. Despite the burden you've been carrying on you this whole time, you stood strong and even helped everybody else when you didn't need to. Those kiddos back in your world are missin' out by not being friends with you."
Luz briefly smiled as he continued. "Take the rest of the day off, kiddo. Sprig, Polly, and I will do your chores, alright?"
Normally, she would've protested against this, but she knew he wouldn't let her, even if she begged. Instead, she nodded before saying, "Well, I was about to make a dish from back home. It's a dish Mom and I used to make. It's called a quesadilla."
"Well, if that's what makes you happy, then I will not stop you," Hop Pop replied, helping her up off the stool and patting her back. Feeling motivated, she quickly got on it, finding the best substitutes to use for the dish she was preparing. Thankfully, she found some alternatives that she thought would work.
Before she knew it, it was time for lunch. She had made enough for everybody, and, despite her worries, the quesadillas turned out surprisingly decent, even though they looked a bit weird. She just hoped she didn't have any stomachaches later in the day.
Later, just as the Sun dipped below the horizon, Luz walked down into her basement and began packing some stuff into her backpack. Now that she had learned more about the Plantars and finally felt as if a huge weight had lifted off of her chest, she felt a new determination to start finding a way home. All she wanted to do at this point was see her mom again, and nothing would stop her.
She looked around to make sure nobody was watching before sticking the music box into her backpack. There was only one person she knew who could help her figure out how this thing worked.
Luz slowly opened the basement door, looking around to make sure nobody was in the living room. She tip-toed to Hop Pop's study room and peeked in. Hop Pop was sitting there, snoring, as he often did. She reached under the desk, found the book mentioning the Calamity Box, and took it as well.
After she left, she went out the front door, being as quiet as possible. She ran through the trees, making sure to keep her right hand on one of her potions in case she was ambushed by a creature. Before she knew it, she had reached her house. Silently thanking her greatly improved stamina, Luz wasted no time in climbing the side of the house and knocking on a window on the second floor.
After a moment, it opened to reveal Maddie, who was still wide awake and in the middle of jotting down notes. "Luz? What are you doing here so late?"
Luz climbed in and took off her backpack, zipping it open. "I need to find a way home. I can't keep waiting," she explained, pulling out the music box. She just now realized this was the first time she had ever shown the music box to Maddie, but she was glad she did.
The frog stared at the box, enamored by its patterns and gems. "Wow… What is that thing?"
"It's called the Calamity Box," Luz explained. "I'm sorry for not telling you about it earlier, but I need your help in figuring it out."
Before Maddie could reply, the human had already grabbed the book that had details about the Calamity Box and flipped to the page where it was. As Luz showed it to her, she continued. "I know this is sudden, but this thing is able to travel between worlds. It has three gems that need to be charged, and I don't know how to do it."
As she looked up, she saw Maddie staring at the box. She could almost see the gears turning in her head before the frog replied. "I… thought it was a myth."
"Wait, you know what this is?" Luz asked, perplexed. Maddie nodded. "There are some very obscure references," the frog said. "There was so little info about it before, but now that I know it's real, it's… Wow…"
She reached out to take it, and Luz reluctantly let her hold it. Her friend studied it closely, looking at every little detail to make sure she hadn't missed anything. "This music box is really dangerous," Maddie said. "How did you get it?"
"I don't know, but I found it when I first arrived here through a portal door," Luz explained.
"Portal door?"
Luz's eyes widened when she realized something. "Oh, my gosh… I never told you how I even arrived in Amphibia! Why did you never ask me?"
Maddie shrugged. "I considered it, but I figured you'd tell me if you wanted me to know. Besides, why should I care where you come from or who you are? You're as much of a resident here as anybody else."
As shocked as the human was, she was really grateful to Maddie. "Well, don't be afraid to ask me questions."
The frog nodded. "Anyway, I think the best way to get this recharged is to experiment with it."
"That's too risky," Luz countered. "I've already tried recharging the gems before, and I'm lucky I didn't break them. However, when I used the Reanimation spell on one of them, it had a weird reaction. I had some weird… feeling when it happened, and it created a shockwave."
"Huh, I've never heard of something like that before," Maddie said, setting the box down on a nearby table.
"I also never told you this, but… We found a secret family basement in our house, and when we were close to death, I felt a strange boost in strength. I was able to push an entire stone that was about to crush us back up," the human added.
"That doesn't sound normal," Maddie murmured, writing this information down on a new page as Luz explained it. "Hey, I just realized something. The gems are gray, unlike the drawing in the book. Maybe they need power!"
"I was actually thinking that too, but I don't know what we need to charge them. I really don't want to risk breaking them," Luz said.
"We need to experiment if we want to make any kind of progress, Luz," Maddie told her. "Of course, we can be more careful and use weaker potions that aren't too potent, but we need to figure out what makes them tick."
Luz sighed, knowing her friend was right. "Well, alright, but when we do, I want to be there. Okay?"
"No problem," the frog said. "I wouldn't have it any other way. What are you going to do with the box right now?"
The human scratched the back of her head, contemplating this question. "Well… I don't want Hop Pop to know that I have it. He buried it since it was dangerous, but I secretly grabbed it since… it's my only way home."
"Guess I can't blame you for that," Maddie replied. "Hey, maybe I could hold on to it for you. I'll hide it somewhere where nobody can find it except for me."
"Thanks, Maddie," Luz said, smiling. "I owe you one for this. Oh, before I go, I guess I should tell you how I got here."
After telling Maddie everything about the owl, the portal door, and her first week in Amphibia, they hugged before Luz left, leaving Maddie to process everything she had learned that night. She hadn't expected her human friend to keep so many secrets from her, but she understood why she did. They had a lot of work to do to figure out how the Calamity Box worked.
The strange energy Luz mentioned tapping into was the strangest bit of information. If the human didn't know what it was, then it definitely wasn't natural. She wondered if there were any connections between her and the music box.
Back at the Plantar house, the front door slowly creaked open as Luz walked in, nobody spotting her thankfully. At this point, it was early in the night, and most of the Plantars were already asleep, except for one.
She opened the basement door and went down the stairs, happy to be back in her room. She set down her backpack and started to get ready for bed when she heard a knock on the basement door.
"Come in," she said. It opened to reveal Sprig, who had a pensive look on his face. "Hey, Luz. Are you busy?"
"I'm getting ready for bed, but I can talk. What's up?" Luz replied. Sprig walked down the steps and sat down on her bed. "I've… been thinking about what we talked about earlier," he said.
The human didn't reply, instead sitting down next to him. "Yeah… I'm sorry about what happened."
"Me too," Sprig muttered, managing a smile. "What's your mom like?"
"She's very sweet and protective," Luz replied, resting her chin on her hand. "She isn't someone you would want to mess with when she's mad. Ever since Dad passed, she's done her best to support me, but has always wanted me to fit in with the rest of society. She means well, but I just want to be myself." She paused for a moment before smiling. "But that doesn't make me love her any less. Say, do you know what a veterinarian is?"
Sprig shook his head, which prompted her to explain. "To put it simply, her job is to help sick or injured animals. I'm sure she knows all about their anatomy, even that of frogs."
"Whoa, that's really cool!" Sprig said, amazed. "I bet she'd be the best doctor if she lived in Amphibia."
Luz giggled at this, feeling relieved that Sprig was here to talk to her. "I guess you're right. She knows about a lot of animals."
They sat there in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Sprig spoke up. "It's cool you know your mom, though. Since mine passed away when me and Polly were young, I… don't even remember what she looked like, really."
Hearing this, Luz hoped there was some photo of his parents that Hop Pop had kept somewhere. She would have to ask him about it when she remembered.
"You know, I've always wondered… Can you miss someone you actually never knew?" he asked, chuckling a bit. "That's silly. I mean, of course you can't."
Without another word, Luz pulled him into a hug, feeling bad for him. He had never had any kind of mother figure in his life, from what he remembered. She could relate to his pain since he lacked a mother figure while she lacked a father figure. Luz wasn't ready to admit it, but Hop Pop was starting to fill that hole in her heart.
Sprig was initially surprised, but he smiled and felt his tears welling up, leaning into the embrace.
To Be Continued in Chapter Twenty-Two
This chapter was quite an emotional rollercoaster, but I hope you liked it! I've taken scenes from After The Rain and Hopping Mall, and I think they fit well into this chapter. Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I was dealing with some issues with my anti-depressants and switching to a new one, only to realize that one made me feel way worse than my previous one, so I eventually switched back and I feel a lot better. Definitely not trying that again.
Special thanks to RobTheWrecker and ChampionElCid for helping with this chapter! At this point, I can consider them both to be co-writers of the story, as they have made it that much better so far. Also thanks to ShinHedgezilla23 for being my beta reader!
~ Scruffy