What's up, guys? It's pretty hot out there, don't you think? Well, let's cut to the chase. I have decided to bring in a special guest that you may have familiar in this chapter as long as I gave credits to my friends. Please refrain your comments and thank you for your patience.

Amphibia: Living In A Frog World

Cane Crazy

The next morning as the sun rose up from the sky, Sprig was hanging out in the basement with the Anne and Frank they made a makeshift room for themselves. The room was divided, although Anne's side was a mess while Frank has on the opposite side for which he didn't have anything with him. Anne decided to get some stuff out of her backpack and show it all to Sprig while Frank only have his dagger and his scythe when polishing it.

"Wow, Anne, look at all your cool stuff!" said Sprig with curiosity before he picked up her earbuds. "What's this thing?"

"Those are my headphones." replied Anne. "You can listen to any music."

"Oh! What this? A torture device?" Sprig asked as he picked up and clicked a toenail clipper.

"That's a toenail clipper." Anne answered.

"Oh, okay, okay, sure. Oh! How about this? What does this do?" Sprig picks up a bike pump before he put the hose inside of his mouth, then pumps the air into his mouth, he speaks with his cheeks puffs and a muffled voice. "It's painful."

Frank chuckled before he yanked the hose off of Sprig's mouth, making him to fly around in the basement like a balloon until he fell down in a flat and then he gets back up in normal shape.

"Oh! What's this?" said Sprig as he held up a pen. He started rapidly clicking it. "Oh, I love this..."

"You know what? You can keep it." said Anne.

Then suddenly, they heard Hop Pop's hollering from above.

"Kids! Chow time!"

They scrambled upstairs to the kitchen and sat at the table. Polly was already there in her bucket. Hop Pop was cooking up his meal as they kids were chanted except for Frank, Sasha, and Marcy.

"Time to eat! Time to eat!" Anne, Frank, Sprig, and Polly chanted as they banged fists on the table.

"Hold on, you kids. Hold on." Hop Pop smile as served them bowls with green mushy swamp water and passed them over. Anne felt uneasy while Frank were poking their food, feeling disgusted.

"Ugh! Uh, you know what? I think I'm gonna pass." said Anne when pushing the bowl slightly.

"Yeah…" Frank agrees as he pushes the bowl back.

"Why? Is my cooking not go enough for you, princess?" Hop Pop was giving her a stink-eye, Anne just gave one back.

"Well, if I'm the princess, then you're the king of bad cooking." Anne retorts.

"Ohhh!" Sprig shocked.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Polly stunned.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you... I...Hardy, this food may be strange to you, but it's still good. Filled with all the natural nutrition's that growing frogs need." said Hop Pop with pride as he took a sip from the stew.

"With all due respect, sir. As you can see we're humans. Like I don't know if it safe for humans to eat." said Frank.

"What's the matter, Hop Pop? Frog in your throat?" Anne taunted.

"Ohhh!" Polly shouted.

"Burn!" Frank exclaimed.

"Oh, she got you again!" Sprig added.

"Oh, dang it! You know what? I'm gonna take a nap. I don't believe this. I feed you, I house you, and this is how you repay me?! You kids better start shaping up, or I'll kick the two of you out!" Hop Pop stormed off towards his room, slamming the door.

"Jeez! What's his problem? Guess boomers are the same here as they're from are world." said Anne.

"I dunno, Anne. Maybe we were too harsh on him." Frank looked concerned.

"What? Please! Hop Pop's being grouchy." Anne grabs a cane and hunches over speaking like an old man. "I'm Hop Pop, and I cook bad and have a temper problem!"

"That's so Hop Pop!" Sprig laughed, slammed the table along with Frank and Polly.

"Eat your aphids, don't play with them. Elbows off the table!" said Anne acting like Hop Pop thus making them laugh even harder.

"You're killing it, Anne!" Frank laughs.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother putting up with you at all!" Then Anne hit the table with the cane where it split in half.

Frank, Sprig, and Polly immediately stop laughing and were frozen in shock when gasps.

"(gasp) Anne! What did you do?!" Frank cried.

"Oopsies. Guess I don't know my own strength, right, guys?" said Anne, but noticed that Sprig and Polly were still shocked. "You guys okay? What's the big deal? It's just one cane."

"That wasn't just any cane. It was Hop Pop's special cane, passed down from his father, Hop Poppity Pop, all the way from his father, Hop-and-Lock-Drop Soppity Pop." Sprig explains as he pointed to generations of paintings on the wall.

"Oh, crud." Anne realized that she made a huge mistake.

"Anne, this is really bad." Frank fearfully grabbed her shoulder and shaken her a bit. If he finds out, he's gonna blame and kick the both of us out! We'll be forced to go back to living in the cave!"

"No! Not this! Anything but this!" Anne remembers when she and Frank used to sleep in the cave. They were curled up on the cave floor as dozens of bugs surround them. Water falls on her face. "Uhhh! The nights were the hardest."

"Yeah, totally." Frank agrees as he shudders..

"Don't worry, guys. We'll do whatever it takes to help you." said Sprig.

"Really? You mean it?" Anne looked at him smiling.

"Yeah! For sure!"

"Eh, count me out." Polly waved her flippers when she refused.

"Polly!" Sprig scolded.

"What? I hardly know them." Polly replied

"Would you help me for one of these?" Anne smiled when pulled out a candy bar to Polly and looked hypnotized straight towards the candy.

"Candy!? From another world? Lady, you have yourself a deal." Polly smiles.

"Glad, to hear it. Now, let's try to save my skin!" said Anne before they quickly applied glue to the cane and tied it up with a bow that Polly handed to her.

"Yeah!" The group are celebrating. But then, the cane only broke off much to their dismay.

"Okay, maybe we can't fix it, but someone else can? Someone good with... wood?" Anne looks puzzled before Sprig jumps into her smiling.

"Anne, you're a genius! We'll just take it to Leopold Loggle, the woodsmith. He loves wood. Almost a little too much." Sprig smiles.

"Shhh! Do you hear that?" Frank shushed them as he thought he heard something.

"Hear what?" Sprig looked confused at first.

"Listen."

He looked at the window that was opened when he listens to sounds of crickets chirping. He walked closer to the window and looked cautiously about it. So, he picked up his scythe to slip through the open until he quickly jabbed it with bonk, but with a yelp. He drops the scythe and reaches his arms to pick up something or someone as Frank looked in completely shocked as he recognized this person.

"Kenji?!" Frank exclaimed.

"Frank?!" Kenji or KJ react as well.

"KJ?!" Anne was shocked.

"Anne?!" He looked at her shocked, but Sprig jumps in.

"Sprig!" He butts in.

"Dude!" Frank scolded him a bit as the pink frog backs away before he pulls him inside with a grip of his shirt. "You're so lucky that I found you!"

"How did you find us?!" Anne exclaimed, but couldn't even be more happier to see one of her friends again after been separated for this long.

"Uhh… I just lost my way in?" KJ nervously shrugged. He was all too sweaty and a few twigs on his hair and only carrying his blue backpack since Frank lifted him up, then he sets him down on the couch for interrogation.

"How long have you been hearing this?" Frank frowns when he gets suspected. "Have you been eavesdropping?!"

"I haven't dropped no eaves, honest. I just heard some voice." KJ looked nervous.

"What did you hear? Speak!"

""N-n-n-nothing is important. That is all I heard a good deal about a broken cane that belongs to their grandfather and trying to find a way of fixing this. If it's about your grandmother's box, I'm so sorry. I never wanted to be part of this. Please don't hurt me. Don't turn me into anything unnatural." KJ pleaded for forgiveness as Anne and Frank shared their glanced. Neither one of them could reply back.

"I don't know about you, but I think we should throw him out." said Polly, looking suspicious.

"What? No! He's one of my closest friends. Clearly, he's the only one that weren't involved." Anne frowns and explains about him.

"Oh, I believed you." said Frank, but looking suspicious as KJ closes his eyes before he slowly opened his eyes. "However, I have thought of a better use for you."

Meanwhile, they have arrived at Loggle's workshop where all woods are made for furniture and some other stuff. So they asked Loggle for help, despite being afraid of them and he was much happier to exam the broken cane.

"Uh-huh. Oh, oh, yes. Well, aren't you fascinating? Yes, you are." Loggle muttered to himself as he examined the broken cane while the kids were waiting for him.

"Can you fix it?" Anne asked.

"As a matter of fact, I cannnnnnn...not." Loggle dragged on the words.

"Huh. Can you make a new one?" Sprig asked.

"Absolutely... no way."

"Do you have one we could buy?" Polly asked.

"Of course I dooooooo... n't. I don't."

"Are you kidding me?!" Frank disbelief.

"Why do you keep doing that?!" Anne exclaimed.

"Old smithing accident. You don't want to know." Loggle responded just as Anne speaks.

"Uh, okay, so-"

"Tripped on an anvil. Landed neck-first on a metal pipe. Pierced my voice box clean through!" He pulled down his scarf, and showed them mark on his neck. This made Anne and Frank grossed out from that one.

"Blegh!" Polly grossed out.

"Dude, come on!" Anne disgusted.

"Gross!" Frank added.

"Cool." said Sprig.

"How did this happen again?" KJ asked.

"Switched over to wood after that. Anyhow, I'm afraid I can't do much for you." said Loggie when picked up the cane. "That cane was made with wood from the incredibly rare, extremely dangerous Doom Tree!"

As of cue when opening it to the page about the Doom Tree. All of them were gasped at this, well Frank rolled his eyes.

"Of course, it was evil." Frank murmured.

"Few have made it to the Doom Tree alive, fewer yet returned. It holds many secrets that mortals dare not-"

"Dude, it's a tree. Just tell us where it is." Anne cuts off his sentences.

"Yeah, Loggle, cut the chitchat!" Sprig added.

"You're bald!" said Polly.

"Guys! Please! Let me handle this." Frank told them to ease off before he turn his glance at Loggle. "You have a map or anything?"

"Okay, okay. I got a map to the Doom Tree right here, but it'll cost ya." Loggle laid down a book on the table opening it up to the location of the Doom Trees, but Anne just took a picture of it. "Or you could do that for free."

"Come on, guys. We gotta hurry. Hop Pop could wake up at any second!" Anne urged.

"Right!" said Sprig and Polly with unison.

"Be careful, you kids. It's cursed, I tell ya. Cursed!" Loggle warned.

"Cursed or no cursed, we'll get that wood for replacement." said Frank.

"To the Doom Tree, everyone!" Anne yelled.

"Whoo-hoo!" Polly cheers on Anne's head, as she and her friends followed through the door. Just then, when Sprig came back and gestured to the statue of Loggle that looked like he was buffing.

"Whoa, Loggle. We gotta talk about this, man. We're comin' back. We're gonna talk about this. All right, good-bye." Sprig sped off as he went to catch up with them.

Few hours later, it showed a sort of map with five of their heads like emojis are going straight ahead, passing by Death Ridge, Mushroom Forest, and Swamp Lake before eventually arriving as in the air where dragonfly was just eaten by giant bird with a jagged beak only to get eaten by a bigger dragonfly. Anne swatted away some leaves and a vine.

During their long journey, Frank led the group just to be sure that no other creatures would dare to stalking while Anne was walking along with Sprig that's carrying Polly. But she overlooked at KJ who looked depressed with his hands held on to his backpack. She thought if she could talk to him to make him feel better.

"(ahem) So, uh… how have you been?" Anne asked.

"Hm? Oh, uh… fine I guess." replied KJ.

"Uh-huh. So, you've been alive all this time and luckily you found us." said Anne.

"You know me. The luckiest kid in this place. I guess you hooked up with him as well, huh?" KJ asked.

"Well, it's a long story." Anne rubbed her head in the back. "Hey, have you see the others? Are they with you?"

"I'm sorry, Anne. I wasn't with the others. I was separated when I got here all alone in the forest until this old lady found me and brought me over to a town. They heard rumors about two creatures in this town and I thought why not looking around until I realized that the creatures were you two." KJ told his story to her about his experience.

"Well, lucky you. I guess." Anne frowns when looking down at the ground.

"Hey, at least it's just the three of us, right?" KJ asked when she smiles back at him. Then suddenly, Frank held his fist up to have his friends halt.

"Hold up." said Frank as Anne looked at the phone and showed it to Frank "We're here!"

They looked up and staring at what is comparing the photo of the Doom Tree to the real thing, which actually looks quite similar.

"Now, that is an ugly tree." Anne looked stunned.

"Just one of Mother Nature's horrible mistakes." said Sprig.

"Like the platypus." Frank joked, but didn't felt like good for a laugh.

"What's a platypus?" Polly asked.

"Beaver like duck mammal." He answered.

"Ah, your nature has everything." Sprig was all fascinated as they moved forward, Polly noticed a skull of a frog.

"Frogs died here." Polly chuckled before she rejoins with the group.

"See any that look similar?" KJ asked.

"Look. That branch is perfect." Anne spoke before she and Sprig leapt up the tree.

"You people and your legs." said Polly.

Both Frank and KJ looked at her climbing up to a dead tree with her athlete skills and tried to remove a branch with Sprig catching up and spitting at his hands in order to help Anne pluck the branch out.

"Careful. The tree is cursed." Anne joked before she laughed as Sprig joined in.

"Okay, seriously though, on three. One, two..." Anne spoke before she and Sprig pulled hard and plucked out a branch, but then it caused a loud roar to sound. "Uh, did the tree just scream?"

"No, I think it was more of a roar than a scream." replied Frank before it roared again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sprig exclaims.

The dead tree began shook the two of them off before they fell down next to Frank and KJ as the boys went to help her up. Then the Doom Tree stood on its long legs and stretched two more arms out and opened its big bug eyes before roaring, spewing out a sort of sticky orange liquid with Sprig licking it.

"Oh, hey, it's maple." said Sprig.

"RUN!" Frank yells as Anne scooped up Polly along the way and followed with the boys.

"That thing is not a tree! It's some kind of grody bug!" replied Anne.

"A bug that wants to kill us!" Sprig added.

"Yeah! No kidding!" replied KJ when running.

"Less talky-talky, more runny-runny!" Polly urged.

The Doom Tree, or should it be called the giant stick bug apparently masqueraded as one, roared as it then tried to swipe its pincers at Sprig

"Whoa! Waaah!" Sprig screams when dodged every time.

Although, the giant stick bug missed its attack two times before they all hid behind the log to evade its line of sight. They ran into a clearing a saw a log, perfect for hiding. They jumped over a log and sat there, covering their mouths as the creature approached.

"Nobody make a sound." Frank whispered to them.

Unfortunately, for the group, the log they had been hiding under came with a huge amount of bugs that were slowly crawling around in Anne's hair and then her face. She couldn't take it when she stood up and screamed, getting the attention of the Doom Tree. It roared and began running towards them. They screamed as they start running again.

"How does it feel, Anne?!" Frank yelled, sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up, Frank!" Anne shouted back at him.

Back at Wartwood, the sun was nearly setting as Loggle began to close up his shop for a day. He switches the sign from open to close, then he locked the door as he let out a sigh sadly.

"(sigh) Well, Loggle, another day, another step closer to bankrupt- Eh?" Loggle puzzled before Anne and the others just shoved him back inside and slam the door. The Doom Bug stops and roaring at the door. The kids held back against the door, leaving Loggle confused. "What the- What's going on?"

"Don't ask questions!" Anne yells as the Doom Bug roared and poked a hole through the door, spooking the others before it then tore down a wall as Loggle jumped into the chest while hiding himself.

"What's it gonna take to get rid of that thing?!" Frank yelled, looking for a weapon if he would've brought his own scythe.

"Hey! Do you have any weapon?" KJ asked.

"No, I don't!" Loggie peeked outside of the chest.

Just then, Anne stared at the wooden birdhouse before she grabs it and throws it at the Doom Bug.

"Take this! And this!" Anne yelled, as she threw different wooden artifacts at the creature, then she picks up the wooden clock. "Oh, this is nice."

"Anne! Don't throw the clock!" Frank warned her, but she just shrugged and toss the wooden clock at the Doom Bug, thus broke into pieces. It made the creature more angrier at them.

"ANNE!" Frank scolded.

"What?!" Anne raise her arms in defense.

"That took 20 years to carve." Loggle complained.

Then Polly is now coated with wooden arms and wooden legs, waddled towards the creature and began hitting it multiple times.

"Yah! Yah, yah, yah, yah, yah! And that! And that! Hi-yah!" Polly shout, only to lose one of the wooden legs, which was then caught by Anne while Sprig grabbed a sandpaper.

"Charge!" The two charged towards the beast.

Sprig hopped on its head, while Anne whacked the limb. Frank tries to slice off the Doom Bug, but it's too hard to come off because it's made of wood. KJ grabbed a wooden limp using it like bat to beat the creature.

"I'm gonna sand your face!" Sprig scream as he sanded the creature's face until it roars in pain.

The Doom Bug striking the kids, knocking them around the room. Polly land safely with only an arm by wooden statue of Loggle's buff.

"Phew." Polly felt relieved.

"That thing is too strong! I can't even cut it off!" Frank exclaims.

"Any suggestions?!" Anne asked when KJ looked around the room, but then his eyes landed on a jar of termites as before he picks it up.

"Hey, why would a woodsmith have termites?" KJ asked

"I'm a complicated man!" Loggie yelled from his chest.

"Let's hope this works. FIRE IN THE HOLE!" KJ yells.

He tossed the jar until it shattered into pieces, the termites crawled out and began munching down on the bark until the dust has settled. But then the once terrifying Doom Tree was now a smooth, green, skinny bug. The kids were both puzzled and confused.

"Uh..." Polly was puzzled.

"Cool." Sprig grinned.

"This world is messed up." said Anne.

"Yeah, literally." Frank mumbled.

The creature realized that it was all too skinny waddle back into the forest when whimpering until they started to smile and cheered.

"Up top!" Anne gave Sprig a high five.

"That was awesome, you guys!" Polly smiles.

"Woohoo! Score for Kenji" KJ raise his fist up in the air.

"Dude, I would've killed it when I had a chance." said Frank.

"Hey, he just saved us." replied Anne when defending the Latino boy.

"Who cares! We did it!" Sprig smiles.

"Alright, let's get it back to Hop Pop." said Frank, but was stopped by Loggle after coming out from the chest.

"Give me that!" Loggle snatched the cane from Anne's hand.

"Hey!" Anne exclaims.

"What gives, Loggle?!" Polly shouted.

"What gives? What gives!? I'll tell you what gives!" Loggie waved the cane at them. "This doesn't even begin to cover the damages you've caused to my shop!"

They looked around and realized that they did damaged his shop by luring the Doom Bug in and break things at it. They all felt pretty bad for all the damaged they did.

"Ooh. We messed up pretty bad." said KJ when rubbing his left arm, shamefully.

"Darn right! You're gonna have to give me something else. Come on. Pony up." said Loggle.

"But we don't have anything else." said Frank when he doesn't have any money or copper.

"(sigh) Will this work?" Sprig asked when handed the pen to Loggle.

"What? What is this, uh..." Loggle puzzled.

"It's a pen. You can write down on a piece of paper. It has a lot of ink. You can click on it when it works like that." KJ explains as Loggie started to click the pen repeatedly fast.

"Oh. Oh! I like this." said Loggle while clicking the pen repeatedly fast. "You can go."

The group left the store, everyone was sore and tired from the fight. Couple with the fact they were so close only to fail in the end, they all were feeling miserable. They have failed to replace the cane all because of one fatal mistake.

"Sorry, Anne. After all we worked for too." Sprig apologize.

"It's okay. We'd better head home. Hop Pop's probably already awake and furious." said Anne.

"Well, if you get kicked out, then I'm going with you." KJ suggested.

"Thanks dude, but it's really my fault for breaking his cane. You guys shouldn't pay for my mistake." replied Anne.

"Then we'll have to face him, together." said Frank.

"Probably a bad time to bring this up, but I still get the candy, right?" Polly asked.

"No." The teens said with unison.

"Darn it."

Back at the Plantars' household, Hop Pop step out from the office after all the nap he was taking. He's been asleep all day since breakfast, but now it's almost time for evening.

"Whoa, boy. I needed that. Hope nothing happened while I was asleep to make me mad again." He paused as he saw the kids that looked like they did something wrong. Especially Anne with her backpack on her back. "Oh, no. What did you do?"

"What's up with canes? Who even needs them these days, am I right?" Sprig words were cut off when his head was slapped by Frank. "Ow."

"(sigh) I'm really sorry, Hop Pop. I was goofing around, and I broke your favorite cane." Anne handed the broken cane to him.

"You what?!" Hop Pop was shocked when looking at the pieces.

"I know, I know. I'll show myself out." Anne was about to leave, but Frank stops her.

"Wait! If you go, I'll go with you too." said Frank, marching towards her.

"So do I." KJ added as he stood next to her while Sprig jumps into her

"We'll come visit you, guys. We promise." said Sprig with tears in his eyes.

"And just when I was starting to like you!" Polly cried after bounced up to hug her.

"Don't make this harder than it is." said Anne almost choking up herself, pulling the two of her friends into a big warm hug.

Frank and KJ felt really bad when she's going to kicked out from the house. Hop Pop has no idea what's gotten into them, looking all confused.

"What the- What's going on?" Hop Pop asked.

"You're throwing me out. You know, like you said you would." Anne sniffs after wiping her eyes out. "Please, look after my friends for me."

"Mmm. Kids, truth be told, I was never gonna throw you out. I was just talking tough so that you'd show me a little bit more respect." Hop Pop explain to them.

"That's kinda messed up, man." replied Anne.

"Yeah. My grandpa was a tough man, but he'd never do that." said Frank.

"Heh heh heh." Hop Pop chuckled before he inhales and then spoke to them. "Yeah. I probably was a little bit too harsh. But I only did it because you remind me of myself when I was your age. Rough around the edges. Now, put that bag down, you two. You're not going anywhere!"

"Whoo! Yeah! I like that." Sprig grinned.

"Yeah! I wasn't worried." said Polly.

"Wow! I don't know what to say, but… thank you." Frank smiled.

"Wait, what about him?" Anne referred to KJ.

"Huh?" Hop Pop took a glanced at KJ, but looked a bit of surprising when there's only three of the humans. "Another one?

"Yeah, it's a long story. But he's one of us." Frank explained.

"Sorry for the intrusion, sir. If you let me stay, I'll do everything as you ask me to do." said KJ with his pleaded look.

"(sigh) I guess three is enough. Alright, you can stay. But if ya promised me not to wander off on your own." Hop Pop reminded him.

"Whew." KJ sighed with relief.

"Thanks, Hop Pop. So you're not mad about the cane?" Anne asked hopefully.

"Oh, I'm furious about the cane. You're on dish duty for a month!" replied Hop Pop when he scolded her with a fake smile.

"Ugh." Anne shuddered before she salutes to him. "Yes, sir!"

"Now that that's settled, I wrote a long list of comebacks to get Anne back for this morning." Hop Pop got out a list and cleared his throat. "Hey, Anne, is that your hair, or is it a dandelion? Ha. Uh- Oh. 'Are those long, lanky limbs, Anne, or are those, uh, twigs?' Ah! Eh..."

They spoke nothing when there is nothing to be laughed about due to Hop Pop's poorly jokes. He chuckled nervously while Sprig coughs until the silence broke.

"The moment has passed, hasn't it?" Hop Pop asked.

"Yep." replied Frank.

"Well, my jokes aren't good enough to laugh after all."

And that's the end of this chapter. If you're wondering why KJ first showed up, I thought it would be a little funnier when I made that reference from "The Fellowship of the Rings" and I say it's a good start. Hope you enjoyed reading and I'll be seeing ya real soon!

Amphibia (c) Disney

Frank Ramirez (c) Cowboy-Alchemist

KJ Loud (c) KevinToons915