A Change of Plans

Polly continued to sit outside and leaned against the house as she stared up at the stars. She didn't know how to feel. On one hand she thought Sprig was being completely irrational and yet on the other hand what he said sounded entirely plausible. She heard the front door creak open and saw Troy trying to sneak out.

"Oh. Hey kid. Where are you going?" Polly asked. He jumped when he spotted her.

"Uh, I was just, uh," He stammered before coming clean, "I was going to leave. I really don't want to cause any trouble. Plus, I kinda think Sprig hates me."

"No, he doesn't." Polly waved a hand, "He's just being stupid. It happens when you get older." She said, standing up. "Here, let's head back inside and you can get some sleep."

"I can't sleep." He admitted, "All of this has been so much. I keep thinking this is a dream and I just need to wake up."

"I know the feeling." Polly said with a half smile. They stared at the stars together for a moment. "You know, when I couldn't sleep, Sprig and I would read by the stone fence on the hill over there. He used to do it all the time with…" She trailed off. "We have books if you want to borrow one to keep your mind off things."

"It would be pretty cool to read a book from another world or universe or whatever this is." He gestured vaguely. Polly laughed.

"I'll grab a good one for you." She said as she headed back inside. A moment later she returned with a book in one hand and a lit candle in the other. They headed up to the stone fence overlooking the cornfields. Polly sat down and leaned against it. Troy slid his backpack off and did the same. Polly passed him the book and Troy took it eagerly. She stuck the candle on the stones behind them.

"Hold on, I've got a book from my world that you can read." He said digging through his backpack and pulling out a worn copy of The Halfling, "My Ma read it to me a lot growing up. I take it everywhere with me." He said, slightly embarrassed. Polly took it gently and carefully flipped through the pages.

"Wait, your Ma? Didn't you say Mæ̀ before?" Polly asked puzzled. Troy fidgeted.

"I have three moms." He said slowly. Polly blinked.

"Lucky." She snorted, "So I guess you have different terms to tell them apart?" Troy nodded quickly.

"And that doesn't upset you or anything?" He said cautiously optimistic.

"What's supposed to upset me?" Polly asked confused, then it hit her, "Oh, the three moms part." Troy watched her closely. She shrugged. "It's not uncommon here. One dad, two moms, one mom and two dads." She listed casually.

"That's good to know." Troy said scratching his head, "Thanks for-"

"Don't mention it." Polly waved a hand as she opened the book to the first page. Troy smiled and opened his book. A few moments later Polly's eyes widened as she started to put the pieces together. She looked Troy up and down. The blonde hair suddenly made sense. "No frogging way." She accidentally let slip aloud. Troy glanced over and Polly hurriedly looked back at the book. "Uh, this dinner party scene is outrageous! Who would sing about breaking plates when they're a guest?" She demanded. Troy laughed.

"Mæ̀ and Ma would sing that part aloud and then Mom would always insist on voicing the dragon Smolder."

"I bet she would." Polly said quietly to herself.

"Hey Polly?" Troy asked, uncertainly.

"Yeah?" She replied as she tried to refocus on the book.

"Did you know Sprig's human friend?" He said, looking off into the distance. Polly considered her words carefully. She decided on the truth or part of it anyway.

"I did." She said slowly and closed the book, "It was a long time ago. Even I have a hard time remembering it sometimes. I was only five or six, just a tadpole." Troy listened with rapt attention. "I do remember the day she showed up. Everyone in town thought she was some sort of monster. Sprig thought he could prove how responsible he is by catching her. I don't know exactly what all happened before we caught up with him but he ended up defending her from the townsfolk. She lived with us for a couple of months and-" She bit her lip. "-and then she found a way back home. We haven't seen or heard from her since."

"It must be hard to never see a friend again." Troy said somberly as he pulled his knees up to his chest. Polly tried to read his face.

"Are you scared you won't be able to get back home?"

"Yeah."

"Well, don't worry about it too much. We'll find a way to get you back. After all, we've done it before." Polly said with certainty. He didn't seem fully convinced but she didn't push the matter. He returned to his book and Polly to hers. After a while his eyes started to close. Polly blew out the candle and stared at the sky for a long while. Just as she was about to fall asleep a loud explosion shook the ground. Polly bolted upright and looked for the source. A bright pillar of fire had set part of the forest ablaze. Troy began to stir and Polly started to tug on his sleeve.

"Wake up kid!" She said urgently as another explosion happened even closer.

"Five more minutes." He muttered as he tried to wave Polly away.

"We might be dead in five more minutes if we don't get moving!" Polly said, shaking him. He groggily opened his eyes and saw the fire in the distance. He shook himself awake. Frobo hurried over.

"See what started those fires and see if you can't put them out before they reach town!" She said to Frobo quickly. He nodded and took off. Polly took Troy's hand and started running for the barn. Another explosion made them almost trip over themselves. A fully grown MicroAngelo burst through the barn doors, shepherding a flock of snirds out. They scattered in all directions. Polly whistled and MicroAngelo rushed over. She leapt on and held a hand out to Troy. "Get on! We have to go!" Troy hesitated as he looked back at the approaching flames.

"Shouldn't we help?" He asked as Polly grabbed his hand and started to pull.

"And risk you getting hurt? Not while you're my responsibility kid." Polly said urgently. Troy could see the apprehension in her face and scurried on behind her. Polly snapped the reins and they sped off. "We're going to warn everyone in town, find Sprig, and get you out of here safely."

"Polly?" Troy asked as he glanced behind him, "What are those?" Polly looked over her shoulder to see a swarm of frobots rising out of the forest. Her eyes widened and she snapped the reins again. They tore down the road and Wartwood quickly became visible in the distance. Polly pulled on the reins as she saw the fires in town. She glanced behind them and spotted Frobo engaging with the frobots. Frogs were already running around town trying to put out fires as others battled the frobots. Polly swallowed hard before making a split second decision.

"I thought we were going into town?" Troy asked looking back as they headed in a new direction.

"Change of plans." She said as she started to get tunnel vision.

"But we can help!" Troy argued as he tried to reach for the reins.

"Are you crazy?" Polly asked as she held them out of his reach.

"We can't just let them handle this on their own! We could help. I could help." He argued as he got a hold of the reins and tried to pull them away from Polly.

"And how are you going to help stop an invasion?" Polly retorted, "You're just a kid!" A frobot suddenly landed in front of them, making MicroAngelo screech to a halt and throwing them forward. The frobot caught them both.

"Targets acquired. Returning to base." It said in a mechanical voice.