Welcome back to the stage of history! At long last, we arrive at my favorite episode of Season 1 that I have toiled away to get to for so long. This episode is my favorite primarily because we're shown a cool dungeon that feels almost like something out of Zelda and we're shown the true part of the ancestors of the Plantars.
Heck, the underground is used as a base of operations for the second half of Season 3, so theres that. But we got a looooong way to go before season 3.
So...what weapon will be shown for Akira. Well, let's not keep the answers waiting for us any longer. Let's go!
Chapter 10: Family Shrub
*phone turns on and it shows Akira, recovering from a cold of some sort. *
Akira: Hello folks! Here's Akira again. *sneezes* Whoo, sorry. I seem to have caught a cold. Probably from all the rainy weather last time. Speaking of which...
Top of the hour, we're discussing what happened here in Amphibia. Anne faked being ill to avoid having to work to keep the crops from being destroyed. Of course, I decided to volunteer along with the Four Cae-Sillies. They had no problem since they come from a wet environment, so the rain was not a huge problem.
The frogs on the other hand got sick and slimy. But that became a problem when Anne fed them soup. *sneezes*
The problem arose when we spotted Hop Pop's legs being red. It was then we learned of a disease called Red Leg. And then we learned of a solution to the problem known as the Mineral Pond. It was the answer to cure the Plantars. But we had to hurry since Sprig and Polly were next. When we came, it felt like it was gonna work...but the redness was still there.
When it felt like hope was lost, I began to tear up.
Zeppy, sympathetic, allowed Anne to stay with them. But...to our surprise, the frogs hadn't passed away. We then learned why. The cause of Red Leg was because Anne included a red mushroom into the soup. The mushroom was used for cleaning pots, not consumption.
Anne even admitted to faking her illness out of guilt.
Needless to say, we were relieved. So what happens now? I don't know. But I'll keep you posted. Akira out! *sneezes*
*Vlog ends*
Weeks later...
Akira was examining his broken weapons from days ago during the camping adventure. His club broken and his whip snipped apart. The only weapon he had left was his boomerang. He came to the conclusion that clubs mattered little in defending himself.
He sighed. Now it felt like it would be harder to defend himself against Amphibia's wildlife.
"Well, that's just great," Akira muttered.
The Four Cae-Sillies slithered to Akira, "Hey, buddy!" Berry greeted.
"Oh, hey guys. Practicing your comedy routine?" Akira asked.
"Indeed we are," Zeppy said.
"What seems to trouble you, young Akira?" Loofy asked with concern.
"It's my weapons. During me, Zeppy, and Skittles' camping adventure when those Mud Men, they managed to damage my weapons," Akira explained.
"Oh yeah. That happened," Skittles remembered.
"So Skittles. You got any bright ideas?" Akira asked.
"Well, even if we had the appropriate materials to repair your weapons, it's gonna take a lot more glue to hold it in place," Skittles sighed
"Say wait. That microwave? If I can just glue it or put a replacement and then glue it, I can fix it easily," Akira suggested.
"If only it were that simple," Skittles said.
"Uh...why is that?" the boy quizzed.
"Mr. Comedian here broke the microwave trying to cook his food. But the food he was cooking with overloaded it and now it's been sent to the shop for repairs," Skittles revealed.
Zeppy chuckled sheepishly.
"Wait! You blew up the microwave?!" Berry snarled before he muttered, "Darn it, I would've love to use something like that as a comedy act. Missed it."
Zeppy revealed the cliff notes.
"Well...looks like for the time being, we might as well go see what Anne and the Plantars are up to," Akira shrugged.
The caecilians agreed, "Yeah. I mean maybe there won't be an adventure today. Maybe they could use some help," Loofy wondered.
Akira and the Four Cae-Sillies began to trek to the Plantar farm in Wartwood. Though he hoped Loofy was right, he wondered what crazy shenanigans Anne would get into.
They arrived to the farm and were greeted instantly by Anne and the Plantars. They were putting pictures on a paper. Basically, there were creating a Family Shrub, which is almost similar to a family tree. This got Akira curious of the ancestors to the Plantars. What kind of things did their ancestors do, he thought.
"You know, Hop Pop, back home we call this a family tree," Anne told him.
Hop Pop lowered the book he was looking into, "That's 'cause everyone in your world is crazy," he said, "Now, where was I? Oh, yes, Great Aunt Gertrude. She was a masterful dirt tiller. I mean, how cool is that?" he asked.
So far, it seemed the younger Plantars and Anne were unimpressed.
"I say that's important though," Skittles said.
"Oh, and you can't forget second cousin Alfred. He was the king!" Hop Pop recounted.
The kids gasped at the mention, "A king?" they exclaimed. It sounded exciting from the words.
"I bet he was a kind king who kept order and justice," Akira chirped.
"Yeah! The king of single-tiered irrigation systems," Hop Pop answered, showing them a picture of Uncle Al
And just like that, they groaned in disappointment.
"Yep, you lost me," Anne deadpanned.
"Our ancestors were boring!" Polly complained.
"Were they really all just farm frogs? Where are the artists? The poets? The dreamers?" Sprig groaned.
"Yeah. I mean you gotta have at least one hero in your midst," Akira agreed.
Loofy played a trumpet as if to sound it's playing the wah-wah-waaaaah.
This offended Hop Pop, "Just farm frogs?" he chastised, "Kids, the point of the shrub is to give you an appreciation for your past. The Plantar family has layers. You just have to know where to look."
Akira thought about it. Hop Pop did make a good point, "Hmmm...you do make a good point. I wonder about Jansen's ancestors now that I think about. I bet we could appreciate them."
"Layers, huh? Okay, then. Well, what's so special about her?" Anne quizzed the old frog.
"Polli Anna? Oh, brace yourselves," Hop Pop informed the group. Anne had a frown on her face, knowing it wasn't gonna be anything exciting.
"She wasn't just any farmer," Hop Pop began. The group's eyes lit up and Polly gasped, hoping for something exciting. But...
"She was a turnip farmer!" Hop Pop informed.
Predictably, once again, they groaned. Even she didn't have anything exciting.
Anne then walked over to the couch and sat down, "Welp, as much as I'd love to help, not gonna find any of my ancestors on your shrub, so..." she mentioned. Anne kicked back on the couch and began playing a game on her phone. The game she was playing was a puzzle game called Slacker Stackers.
"Now I wonder of my ancestors," Berry replied. He wondered if he had a lineage of jesters, clowns, mimes, and/or pierrots.
"Don't have to be blood to be a Plantar, Anne," the elder frog added.
Polly meanwhile was struggling to get wood off of her hand as she had glue on it. The caecilians tried to help get it off.
"No, but you do have to be a master stacker to get to level 46. If I can just...," Anne said. And she lost the game, getting a game over, "Curse you, sudden death round! Why you so hard?" she whined.
"Anne, this is based on nothing at all, but I'm almost certain that game will rot your brain!" Hop Pop scolded the girl. squeezed the glue, but then noticed it was now empty, "Uh-oh, looks like we're out of glue!"
"Does that mean we have to stop?" Sprig asked hopefully.
"Can we do something fun now?" Polly exulted.
"No fun till the shrub's done. Just gonna run to the store real quick and get more glue. Be back in a jiffy," Hop Pop assured, humming as he walked out the door, "Don't go anywhere!" he ordered before shutting the door.
Anne continued playing her game and Akira decided to check out the Plantar history book to look more into their history.
"My word," Skittles said.
"I mean I know caecilians are underground dwellers and all that, but I wonder how they farmed thing," Akira inquired.
"Ah! You're lucky you're outsiders, Anne and Akira. Our family history is weak!" Polly complained
"They didn't do anything weird. Or different. Or fun," Sprig whined. He hopped on top of the fireplace that had a painting of two frogs, "I mean, look at this. Even this painting's making me feel depressed," he said.
The pink frog leaned against the painting. Suddenly, he pressed on it as if it were a hidden button, What the..." he said in surprise before the portrait turned on it's side. Sprig fell off the top of the fireplace, "Whoa!"
Anne, Akira, and the Four Cae-Sillies looked in surprise.
"Sprig! You broke the house," Polly accused.
The fireplace began to change, turning into a hidden passage.
"What the frog is this?" Zeppy questioned.
"Looks like a secret underground dungeon," Berry said.
"I can almost hear that jingle from a certain dungeon crawling video game," Akira noted.
"Whoa," Anne marveled, "Oh, wow. This looks unsafe," she said cautiously before her face lit up, "We have to go down there."
"There could be treasure," Sprig chirped.
"Or dead bodies! Let's do it!" Polly crowed.
"Well Loofy. This might be an exciting adventure. But I wonder what lies down there," Akira asked.
"I say we stick together and see what's down there!" Zeppy cheered.
"Let's go!" Akira exulted.
Loofy chuckled.
Anne grabbed a lantern and the group entered the underground passage. As they got further in, the door suddenly closed behind them.
"Uh-oh," Skittles gasped.
"Uh, did we just get locked in here?" Sprig asked.
Anne and Sprig began to pound on the door as they were locked in. It turned out to be a one-way entrance.
"Come on, let's just find another way out, you babies," Polly commanded.
"Yeah. I mean we came down for a reason. Let's explore. We'll figure the way out part later. For now, let's get going! I want to know what secrets lay here." Akira shouted.
"Great, even Akira is excited for this," Zeppy snarked.
The group began their trek into the dungeon. The first dungeon and there were in awe as they find a dusty room with a bunch of science stuff
"All this was under your house?" Anne asked in amazement. She brushed some dust and coughed, "Oh, there's dust everywhere."
"This place is amazing," Sprig whooped. He looked through shelves of beakers and preserved dead specimen. He then discovered a device, "Oh, what this?" he said pulling on a lever. The contraption launched the pink frog into the air and he landed. He was laughing and having fun.
Akira began taking pictures with his phone, "Ooh, I can't wait to show this to Jansen."
"I wonder what's with all the science stuff?" Berry quizzed.
"Hey, why do you think the entrance was hidden like that?" Polly asked.
"To keep it a secret, obviously. Who wouldn't want to steal this stuff?" Sprig said.
Anne saw in a beaker what looked like a deformed dead carrot. Almost akin to a shrunken head of sorts, "Uh, me, me. I don't wanna steal this stuff," Anne shuddered.
Akira snapped a photo.
Sprig read on pieces of paper and found something interesting, "It says here this place belonged to Great Uncle Skip Plantar. He was a farmer and a brilliant scientist! He experimented with all kinds of stuff. This is wild," Sprig cheered. Akira took a look at the papers and snapped some pictures.
"I wanna know more!" Sprig crowed, "Like, what does this do?" he asked pulling on the lever.
The group saw that the lever opened a gate, "Uh...Sprig...what's in there?" Skittles asked, shivering.
Then out of the gate emerged what looked like a pumpkin monster abomination of some sort. It growled and breathed heavily.
The group stared in awe. So this is what Skip was experimenting on
"Maybe it's harmless," Sprig betted.
The abomination roared furiously, spray goop everywhere. The group screamed and the took cover by tilting the table from afar and taking cover behind it. The monster was screeching and bumping into stuff, breaking the beakers and other things.
"The only weapon I have is my boomerang. But I don't think that's gonna work against a monster like that," Akira noted.
"What do we do?" Anne pleaded
"This abomination must be destroyed," Polly shouted.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a minute. There may be another way," Sprig said.
"And just what way is that exactly?" Zeppy quizzed.
Sprig decided to went towards the monster.
"Sprig wait!" Akira shouted.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Anne wailed.
"Yeah, that pumpkin will squash you," Polly warned.
Without fear, Sprig approached the white pumpkin abomination, "There, there. Easy does it," Sprig cooed.
The monster growled ferociously. But Sprig tried to keep it calm. And he did so by petting it, causing it to stop growling as it calmed down, "There, there, you beautiful, disgusting thing," Sprig proclaimed.
The monster sighed and crouched, it's drool dripping onto Sprig's head, but he heeded no thing.
Even the group was perplexed. How was Sprig doing that?
"What is happening?" Anne asked.
"I have no idea," Loofy said, tilting his head.
"That's right, Mama Sprig is here," Sprig cooed as he coddled the monster. The pumpkin abomination chuckled.
"Oh, you horrible, horrible, sweet boy. Forgive me," Sprig said solemnly before spinning the monster, kicking it back behind the gate, and then closing it, trapping the pumpkin monster back in. The abomination clawed at the bars and whimpered.
Akira and the Four Cae-Sillies actually felt sorry for the thing. Akira approached the gate. He then took out a bag of worms and fed them to the monster. The monster smiled and gulped the worms down, "Um...sorry I guess," he apologized. He then regrouped back to the group.
"Dude... that was ice cold," Polly said.
"Love is the cruelest weapon," Sprig taught them.
"Agreed. Now let's get out of here before something else happens," Anne suggested.
"Too right!" Skittles agreed.
Suddenly, the floor they were standing on gave way and they fell through, landing in a different dungeon
"Ow," the Four Cae-Sillies groaned.
"You guys okay?" Anne
"More or less," Polly answered.
"I'm okay," Akira moaned.
"Yeah," Sprig agreed. The lantern fell and bounced off Sprig's head. Polly catches it.
"Oh, cool, our lantern," Polly noted. She shined and then the group stared in awe at where they just landed in. It looked like a weapon area. Swords, axes, clubs, shields, spears, bows, and other weapons hung on the walls.
"No way...a weapon area. Who's the Plantar this time?!" Akira asked, stars in his eyes. He was excited
"This is heaven," Polly chirped. She then saw a portrait which answered Akira's question. She gasped, "This is the same Polli Anna from Hop Pop's shrub. She wasn't just a turnip farmer. She was a turnt up warrior!" she exulted, flexing.
It was then Akira noticed another passage. Almost as if it were beckoning him towards it. He slowly walked over to it.
Sprig found a bunch of books and showed it to Anne and the caecilians, "Hey, check it out. I found her diary," Sprig noted. He handed it to Anne and she began to flip through it, finding some interesting stuff,
"The Bogwater Wars of '48. The Western Toad invasion of '53. Man, she was in a lot of battles," Anne noted.
"She was the coolest, most terrifying Plantar ever. Like me!" Polly cheered.
"What do you think of this, Akira?" Loofy said. He looked around and noticed Akira didn't answer, "Akira?"
The group then saw that Akira was entering another area, "Akira? Where are you going?" Anne said. They tried to follow, but suddenly, the door behind the boy closed.
"Akira!" the group cried as they tried to open the door.
From the other side, Akira heard their pounding, "I'm alright guys. I just need to figure out where and how to get out," he assured them.
As the group from the other side tried to get in, Skittles noticed writing on it.
"Guys...look at this," Skittles said.
The group saw writing on the door. It said.
THOSE WHO ENTER MUST DEFEAT ME
"But how can he defeat Polli if she's long gone?" Sprig asked.
"You think that...," Berry then shuddered at the thought of what Akira may go through.
Akira walked through the area as torches lit to lead the way to what looked like an underground graveyard. In the center looked like a statue of Polli Ana.
Akira saw that in the statue, it held what looked like a shovel-like weapon. And in it's chest was a sword stabbed into it. As he entered into the graveyard, torches surrounded the wide area and a giant cage closed around it.
The boy got a closer look at the statue. It was sculpted after Polli Ana herself. Akira thought that it was built in her honor as a hero during some great battle.
Akira was trapped. He wondered what to do. The boy examined the sword and wondered if he could remove it. Akira grabbed the handle of the sword and began to pull with all his strength. It took great effort to remove it and he had to put his back onto it.
Within a few minutes, the sword was removed. He then looked at the sword and then around. The cage was still around the graveyard and he began to wander around. Unbeknownst to him, the statue twitched.
Akira looked around and scratched his head, beginning to wonder how to get out. Suddenly, he heard a shuffling sound, "Huh?" he said. He turned around and dodged in time of a swing from the shovel. The statue had come to life.
Only calling it a statue didn't fit. Now it was more of a golem.
(The Encounter - Kingdom Hearts 2)
"What?!" he cried.
The golem, created in the image of Polli Ana, was alive and moving. She carried the shovel weapon in her left hand. And her right hand dangled, indicating that the arm got loose with aging ever since.
It was clear to Akira now...he had to beat the golem to get out.
"Well then, if it's a fight you're asking for, Polli Ana...then you got one!" Akira challenged, gripping the sword. Whoever stabbed it into the golem probably no longer needed it.
As if answering, the golem lunged at Akira. Both their weapons clashed with each other. Akira attempted to jab at the golem, but the rock monster swung it's weapon at the boy. He dodged as the shovel cracked and sent debris of grave stones in a spray of pebbles.
Akira then threw his boomerang at the golem. The boomerang bounced off of it. The boy tried over and over, but then the golem grabbed it and crushed it.
"Darn it!" Akira cursed. He clashed blades with the golem again. The golem swung it's loose right arm and smacked him away. It used the opportunity to use the shovel's flat part to send Akira into several grave stones.
Akira groaned in pain as this happened. He rolled out of the way of a implant from the shovel. He then used his sword to slash at the arm. He then blocked the slash of the shovel weapon. Akira then ducked away from a full swing of the weapon.
This thing is strong. It's gonna take alot just to bring her down. What should I do? Akira thought. And then, he had an idea.
I got it! Maybe if I slash at the joints, particularly the legs, maybe I can disable it, Akira thought.
But first he had to go for the arm. Akira ran at the golem again and slashed at the arm, shattering it.
"Gotcha," Akira boasted. But then something happened, "What the?"
Suddenly, in it's place was a ghostly arm that replaced the arm. The golem then summoned what looked like a ghostly doppleganger of Polli Ana.
"Wow. Two against one? That's not fair...but you know what? See if I care. I'll defeat you and then get out of here!" Akira challenged again.
The doppleganger went at the boy first. He dodged and blocked a slash from the shovel with his sword.
Akira attempted to slash at the golem, but his carelessness landed a block from the doppleganger and then a tackle from the golem. Akira was hit.
He tried again. The same result, only for the golem to dash away. The doppleganger ghost punched Akira in the chest, taking his breath away. The golem then kicked him into several gravestones.
Akira got back up from the rubble. He was breathing hard from the attack.
It's no use. I try to attack it, it's ghostly doppleganger will just block it. There's gotta be a way to bypass it, Akira thought frantically.
Seeing no other option at the moment, Akira decided to just swing away. The doppleganger once again blocked the attack. The golem waited to strike. Akira then blocked the attack with his sword. Seeing another opportunity, the doppleganger went to blitz the boy.
Akira then ducked and saw the attack hit the golem head on, leaving a slash mark and causing it to stagger.
Ah, of course. Tricking it into attacking the golem head on. That should do the trick, Akira thought, smiling. He went to work.
Akira went face to face with the doppleganger. He then stuck his tongue out, blowing a raspberry. The doppleganger in response went to attack, "Uh oh," he said.
He then slid underneath the legs of the golem and in an instant, the attack cracked on the golem before it accidentally beheaded the golem. Now dazed, the golem thrashed around wildly in an attempt to hit something.
Akira then slashed at the legs, tumbling it down. And then at last, he stabbed the sword onto it's back. First, the doppleganger vanished. And then, the golem began to crack and wither and died with a crumble. The only thing leaving behind was the shovel weapon.
Akira sighed with relief. And then he sees the shovel. Slowly, he reached for it...and then grabbed it.
Suddenly, Akira appeared in a sort of galaxy limbo of sorts.
"Huh? Hey...hey what's going on?" Akira asked, looking around.
And then, appearing in front of him...was the spirit of Polli Ana.
"Polli Ana?" he asked.
"That's my name, soldier," she said.
"But...why am I here? And was this one of your weapons?" Akira asked.
Polli nodded, smiling, "That, boy, is the Shovel Glaive. It was the first I ever wielded in my life. Many enemies mocked it. But once I put it to good use, they feared me more."
"And what about that golem?" Akira asked.
"That was my automaton. I had a friend build it when I switched to other weapons. Then, I had a wizard put an enchantment on it that allowed it to give it a fighting chance. I knew that one day I'd pass away. It was there in the dungeon so that anyone who enter this area could surpass me one day. Many have tried and many fell, as you saw from the gravestones."
"So that's why...so does this mean?" Akira began.
"That's right...you passed and are now worthy to wield it. In fact,..." as Polli Ana spoke, several frog spirits began to converge. One of them in front was a type of frog wizard. He approached the boy.
Akira looked in awe at what he saw.
And then, the wizard spoke, "Young boy, you have surpassed the test and are now worthy to wield the Shovel Glaive. Which means one thing: Amphibia and your world need you and your friends. A darkness threatens the very foundation," he explained. He used his magic to construct a resemblance to a mural. It showed a tentacled monstrosity, "Consider this your adventure throughout Amphibia. And fear not. The people of Amphibia shall guide you in ways you could never imagine."
(Princes of the Universe - Queen/The Protomen)
With that said, the wizard began to put an enchantment on Akira.
Akira was enveloped in light as some things began to appear on him. Also, this healed his wounds from the test.
First, over his school shirt came a silver chest plate with a frog foot symbol on it. And then, an arm guard appeared on his right arm. Next came the fauld, which covered his waist and hips over his shorts, which came with a belt with satchels. In them appeared both a new and improved whip and a boomerang.
His plant scarf began renewed and his cape tunic began to flow in the wind. The transformation was complete as Akira began to take the Shovel Glaive and swing it around, testing the weapon out. He then raised the weapon in the air.
Then seconds later, Akira was back in the normal realm. Back in the area. The cage was gone, and the door back out opened. The group that was waiting for their friend anticipated who came out.
To their surprise, they saw Akira emerge from the door as the door closed behind him.
"Akira?!" Anne said in surprise.
"That's my name," Akira joked.
His friends tackle hugged him, "Oof," he yelped as they fell to the ground.
"Also dude, what's with the getup? And...is that a shovel weapon?" Anne asked.
"Yep. Say hello to Polli Ana's first weapon she ever wielded, the Shovel Glaive," Akira said.
"That was her first weapon? How can a shovel be a weapon. It's no longer she switched to the weapons she had here," Polly responded. Akira could see that she was carrying a flail in her hands.
"Skittles, do you have a log?" Akira asked.
"Why do you ask?" Skittles asked.
"Just bring it out," Akira said.
Skittles reached into the sack and took out a log. He threw it into the air. Akira used the shovel to slash the log in half with the glaive.
The group was in awe, "I take back what I said. Never mind," Polly whispered.
"So, I just learned that Polli Ana was a warrior. Is there something you found out about?" Akira quizzed the group.
"Yeah. She's must've been in a lot of battles. The Bogwater Wars of '48. The Western Toad Invasion of '53. You name 'em," Anne explained.
"Okay now I wonder our ancestors now!" Zeppy crowed.
"Wow, we sure are learning a lot. I'd like to learn more. Like, hey, what does this do?" Sprig asked, pulling another lever. Instantly, Akira saw, just like the automaton, a suit of armor came to life.
"Sprig, look out!" Akira shouted.
Sprig dodged the axe of the armor just in time. They then gasped as suddenly, the armors began moving, spears, hammers, axes, and buzzsaws were activated
"Will you please stop pulling levers?" Anne scolded
"Levers are for pulling, Anne!" Sprig protested. They dodged a spiked ball, "Why is there a death trap here, anyways?"
Anne looked through the book and found out why, "Says here this is Polliana's training simulator."
"A training simulator?! Cool!" Akira cheered.
"Look out!" Sprig suddenly yelped before ducking Anne's head in time for arrows to zip past them, "Okay, how do we turn it off?"
Anne looked at the page again, "The shut off switch is by the exit on the other side," she pointed at the switch on the other side of the room.
"Okay, we can do this. We just gotta go very slowly-" Sprig cautioned.
Suddenly, Polly bursts past them, shouting.
"Polly!" Anne and Sprig cried.
"Oh, she's going for it...in that case...WAIT FOR ME, POLLY! I WANT IN!" Akira shouted running headlong into the training simulator. He began uttering a battle cry. The battle cry sounding like a Tarzan yell.
"Akira, what are you doing?!" the Four Cae-Sillies yelled.
Together, both Akira and Polly went through the training sim, smashing the automaton armor, dodging traps, and reflecting arrows using their respective weapons: Polly with his flail and Akira with his newly acquired Shovel Glaive. Polly had a crazed look in her eyes as the two smashed their way through. Anne, Sprig, and the Four Cae-Sillies looked dumbfounded at this. The two made it to the end of the room near the exit and Polly shut the simulator down.
Akira was laughing heartily, "Oh my goodness, Polly. That was fun!" he whooped.
Polly smiled, "You're pretty cool, Akira. Not as great as Polli Ana, but still cool."
"I'll take it over nothing," Akira acknowledged.
Anne, Sprig, and the caecilians walked over to the two, "Well, that was intense," Anne commented matter-of-factly.
"So, you guys wanna do it again?" Polly asked.
"Let's do it again!" Akira agreed.
"Nope, nope, nope, nope," Anne and Sprig said quickly, taking Polly and shoving Akira out into the exit.
The Four Cae-Sillies met up with Akira, "So this is your new weapon?" Skittles inquired.
"Yep. The very first weapon she ever wielded. Heh, imagine the looks on the enemy's faces when I smack them around with this," Akira chuckled.
"Don't get carried away just because you have a new weapon. A weapon like that requires lots of training," Loofy warned.
Akira's frowned, "Well, now that you mentioned it, when I was in that room after defeating the automaton, Polli Ana's spirit wasn't the only thing I spoke with. There were others. Which I think were spirits of frogs that tried to claim the weapon and failed based on the gravestones I've seen. It was then I encountered a sort of frog wizard," he explained.
"Frog wizard?" Berry asked, confused.
Akira motioned the caecilians to him. They do so and whispered in their ears, if they had them. It was because he did so since he wasn't sure what it meant. But he had to relay the information to them and Jansen, "I was told that Amphibia and the world me and Anne come from need us. There is a darkness coming," he whispered.
"That...sounds ominous," Zeppy commented.
The group continued their trek through the dungeon. It seemed that the group entered another chamber. They wondered what ancestor they were looking at now, "Whoa," Anne and Sprig said.
"Oh, wow. Can you believe it? Another mysterious hidden chamber," Polly commented.
Anne examined the area and found something that made her brighten, "Oh, cool! This place is filled with games and puzzles," Anne chirped. Akira, the caecilians, Sprig, and Polly were looking through books, "Let's see if we can find which Plantar this stuff belonged to," she said, picking up a book. She found something interesting, "No way. Emma the Newt? Honorary Plantar?" she turned the pages, "Hey, check this out. She travelled all over the place, collected all this cool stuff, and settled with the Plantars. She wasn't even a frog!"
"For real?!" Akira gasped.
"No way! Get out of here!" Zeppy marveled.
"Wow, so cool," Sprig gushed/
"I guess even an outsider like me can be a Plantar," Anne said.
Akira and the caecilians teared up at the words, "Yeah...I guess it does," Akira sniffed happily.
Skittles took out of his sack a tissue, which Akira blew on it.
Oh, Anne, Akira, and the caecilians. Looks like you've solved the puzzle...of your own hearts," Sprig mused
"Wow, thanks buddy," Anne teared up, hugging her best friend.
"No, thank you, buddy," Sprig thanked.
"I guess that makes us honorary Plantars. Now we all fit in on goofy adventures they go on!" Berry beamed, putting his mechanical arms around Akira and his caecilian buddies.
Akira began to weep. He never felt the privilege of being an honorary family member. It touched his heart in so many ways.
"Hey! How about we solve the puzzle of getting the heck out of here!" Polly hollered.
"Oh right, thanks for reminding us," Loofy said.
"Oh, we think the exit is that way," Anne said, pointing to it.
"Oh," Polly said.
They approached the door that would seem like the exit. Sprig pushed on it, but, to no surprise, it didn't work, "Well, it's locked," he pointed out.
Anne began to think. She noticed something familiar on the door.
"Maybe I can smash it," Polly said, hitting the flail on the door. It wasn't very effective, "Well, that didn't work."
Akira tried to do the same, but knew it didn't work, "Mine too."
"We're gonna die down here!" Sprig panicked.
"Wait a second," Anne said. She took out her phone and looked at the app. She gasped, having found a eureka moment, "Guys, this isn't just a door. It's a puzzle!" Anne announced.
"And it's based off Slacker Stackers!" Akira concurred.
"All right, let's do this," Anne said. She began to arrange the blocks to solve the puzzle, "There, I did it!" Anne gasped.
Suddenly, rumbling was heard. The group looked up to see the ceiling filled with stalagmites coming down on them. They all screamed.
"Anne, what did you do?" Polly thundered.
"Oh, no! I know what this is. It's the sudden death round," Anne cried in fear. She inhaled deeply, "You can do this, Anne," she said to herself. She began to participate in the sudden death round. The ceiling closed on the stacks of board games as they crumbled.
The group dodged the falling board games, "Anne, no pressure, but we're gonna die," Sprig warned.
"Come on, Anne!" Akira encouraged.
"Almost... there," Anne said. She then finally solved the puzzle and then the door opened, "Woo-hoo! I did it! Take that, Hop Pop. Who's brain is rotten now, sucker?" she boasted, forgetting that the ceiling was getting close. The group grabbed her before they were crushed.
The group sighed.
"Reminder: do not celebrate before getting out of danger first!" Skittles hollered.
"We had your family history all wrong, guys. The Plantars weren't just farmers," Anne concluded.
"Nope, they were twisted," Sprig concurred.
"And they had such moments in history," Akira chimed in.
"Yeah, they were pretty cool. Now, can we finally find a way out of here?" Polly said.
Sprig saw a lever, "Yeah, and I think I know how."
But before Sprig could reach it, Anne grabbed him, and they began to leave. Understandably since the times Sprig pulled a lever, stuff happened, "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope," the group said.
"Never again," Loofy commented.
The group then emerged as the clock rotated and the group exited from the dungeon. They were breathing heavily. Akira then saw Hop Pop covered in glue, "Whoa, Hop Pop. What the heck happened to you?" he asked.
"Hop Pop! We found those Plantar family layers you were talking about," Anne announced.
"Eh? Found them? Kids, I wasn't being literal," Hop Pop told them, removing some glue off of him.
The group began to explain their adventure in the dungeons. How Sprig found the entrance, the secret rooms they found from Skip Plantar's lab, Polli Ana's weapons keep, Akira fighting an automaton in her image, receiving the Shovel Glaive, family heirlooms, the pumpkin abomination, Emma being an honorary Plantar, and other things.
"Secret rooms? Full of Plantar family heirlooms? Why, this is incredible! And most importantly, once again, I was right," Hop Pop declared.
The group went back to working on the family shrub.
"Our ancestors were the most amazing scientist, warrior, farmers ever!" Polly crowed.
"Everyone needs to know," Sprig exulted.
"Well, I want to see these rooms, too!" Hop Pop cheered.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there, Hop Pop. They're full or traps and super hard but satisfying puzzles," Anne warned.
"Oh, and there was a pumpkin abomination! A real affront to nature. I loved it! And then betrayed it," Sprig explained.
"No offense, but I'm not sure you could handle it," Polly said.
"Not only that, but the automaton was also tough. It required smart thinking, something which I'm not usually a fan of," Akira pointed out.
Hop Pop laughed, "You have no idea what I can or can't handle. What do you say, Loggle? Up for another adventure?" Hop Pop asked, turning around to reveal an axolotl.
Akira was surprised, "No way! Is he an axolotl?"
"Oh him? That's Loggle. He's a wood carver here in Wartwood. We turned to him during the one time Anne broke Hop Pop's cane when we were goofing around," Sprig explained.
"Absolutely..." Loggle said before Hop Pop began running to the dungeons, "NOT!"
"Hop Pop, no!" Anne cried. Too late. They were already in the dungeon. She sighed.
"Should we go help them?" Sprig asked.
They then heard noises from the dungeons and Loggle and Hop Pop screaming for help.
"Yeah, probably," Polly said, taking out her flail. The group smiled. Except for Skittles
Skittles groaned, "Here we go again."
"Oh, oh, oh! Let's adopt that pumpkin monster," Sprig suggested.
"I want to go through that training sim again!" Akira whooped, taking out his shovel.
In the hours that followed, the group managed to keep Hop Pop safe from the many things in the dungeon. Hop Pop was amazed and terrified of the things that they had found down there. Loggle managed to later flake off of the old frog. Though terrified, he was impressed with the ancestors. And also horrified. Anne admitted that to being proud of being an honorary Plantar, which moved the old frog.
Akira and the Four Cae-Sillies went back home. Akira arranged for a meeting with Jansen, the first thing he decided to upon returning to Murkwell. The guards allowed the boy to head up to the mayor's office. The guards were amazed and shocked at the new gear Akira had on.
Akira then arrived at the office. Jansen beamed at seeing the boy, "Akira, my boy!" he greeted. He then saw that Akira was dressed differently, "And... what are you wearing?" he asked.
"Well, I'll tell you. However, I should begin to tell you of the day we had," Akira said, taking out his phone.
He showed and explained to Jansen the many things he and the Four Cae-Sillies encountered. They learned of the secrets of the layers of the Plantars. He mentioned the automaton he found that had the Shovel Glaive, which he showed. Jansen was amazed at the design. It was then Akira got serious.
"But...I had spoken with Polli Ana's spirit and the many frogs that fell trying. The wizard in particular told me something. What it was came with a warning. He told me that both the world me and Anne came from and Amphbia need us. There is a darkness coming," Akira said.
"I see..." Jansen agreed.
"So...I need your folks and Four Cae-Sillies to construct a training simulator similar to Polli's so that I can be ready for what's coming," Akira suggested.
"Will do," Jansen complied.
"And hey. I wonder of your lineage based on the exodus to here and the Four Cae-Sillies," Akira smiled, his eagerness returning.
Jansen chuckled. Afterwards, Akira left to train for awhile, so that he'd be ready to take on any threat.
Well, there you have it! Akira has a new weapon that he will keep on his journey in Amphibia. So let me know what you guys think? I will mention that the idea of a shovel weapon came from Shovel Knight. I figured it'd be unique whereas Anne and Sasha used swords while Marcy had a crossbow.
So, till next time, may your heart be your guiding key!