After a few days, Anne was allowed to move again and was brought home. But even so, her parents had turned their protectiveness up to 120.
"I'm not a pup anymore, I can handle myself!" Anne said.
"And that's the problem! You clearly can but you are completely covered in scars, missing half your vision, and we literally watched you get stabbed in the chest by a killer robot!" Oum said, "Which you still haven't let us know on what that is by the way."
"You mean we didn't tell you about King Andrias secretly being evil with an army of robots at his command?" Sprig asked.
"SPRIG!" Anne shouted at him.
"No, no you did not. Please, tell us more," Oum said, glaring at her daughter.
"Well, one of his factories is responsible for creating Frobo!" Polly said, smiling as Frobo nodded in agreement.
Anne quietly snuck away and answered a call from Dr. Jan.
"Yeah, Dr. Jan?" Anne asked softly.
"ANNE! YOU NEED TO COME TO THE MUSEUM! You'll never guess who I called!" Dr. Jan said in excitement.
"Does it involve a way back to Amphibia?" Anne asked.
"Just get here! I have a person that can help that I can call to meet here!" Dr. Jan said.
"Wait, a person who can help?" Anne asked, confused.
"There's this scientist that I know of called Terry, she's one of the smartest people I know, if there's anyone that can get a portal working, it's her!"
"And you know her how, exactly?" Anne asked.
"She frequently visits the museum," Dr. Jan said.
"Just get here! This is going to blow your mind!"
Dr. Jan ended the call as Anne looked curious and hopefully at her phone.
'Maybe we should meet this friend. Maybe they can help us,' Anne thought as she walked back into the den.
Plus... getting away from her parents for a bit might be useful.
"Hey, guys, I got good news," Anne said, gaining everyone's attention. "Dr. Jan says she has a friend who's been studying portals and thinks they can help us get back to Amphibia."
"Really!?" Sprig asked.
"That's great!" Hop Pop said.
"Let's go!" Polly said as Frobo transformed into his jeep form.
"No!" Oum and Bee shouted.
"Anne, you just got out of the hospital and now you want to go off on another dangerous lead?!" Oum shouted.
"It will help get the Plantars home AND get my friends back," Anne said.
"We still think you should stay home and rest more before jumping into possible danger again," Bee said, crossing his arms. "A few days at least."
"Relax, I'm just going to the museum."
"The same one that was attacked a while ago?" Oum said, remembering the news.
"And the one we-"
"VISITED. And no other robbery has happened since, so it's fine if we go back there. It's perfectly safe now," Anne said, cutting off Sprig.
Anne was currently glaring at Sprig.
'Why can't you read the room, Sprig?!' Anne thought, sometimes hating how empty-headed Sprig could be.
"Regardless, you are not stepping out of this house! Not without us going with you!" Oum said, her hands on her hips.
"Do you really want to do this?" Anne asked them.
"So long as you live under our roof, YES!" Oum yelled.
"Fine, then you can drive."
"Let's race!" Polly shouted, still in Jeep Frobo.
"No racing!" Oum and Hop Pop shouted.
"….Maybe later," Bee muttered softly, glancing away.
"Polly, can you please leave Frobo here?" Anne asked, "It'll only be an hour."
"But what if we need him?!" Polly asked.
"We don't need him to make more donuts on the museum floor," Anne said blankly.
"Fine," Polly said.
Polly pouted and Frobo whined a bit as he slowly drove away to the garage.
"Come on, it won't be that long."
"Yeah, we'll be back before you know it, buddy!" Sprig shouted at the frog robot transformer.
"Come on, let's go."
The Boonchuys and the Plantars, wearing their disguises, assembled in the car before driving off to the museum.
'Alright, this will be easy... hopefully.' Anne thought.
The drive to the museum was nice, quiet, and safe; just as Anne's parents wanted it to be as they were visibly relaxed when they arrived. They barely got out of the car when Dr. Jan came out to greet them.
"Anne! Plantars! You're here! Great!" Dr. Jan shouted as she greeted her parents. "Mr. And Mrs. Boonchuy, pleasure to meet cha! Anyway, you would not believe what I've found!"
"Lead the way, doc!" Hop Pop said with vigor.
"Yeah! Show us what ya got!" Sprig said with a nod.
Dr. Jan led them to the office. Inside, they saw the same vase as before on her desk as well as the friend Dr. Jan was told them about sitting in one of the chairs.
"Okay, what have you found out?"
"First, let me introduce you to my friend. This is Dr. Terri, a scientist from the local research facility." Jan said, introducing Terri.
"Nice to meet you." Anne said.
"Likewise. Even more so even." Terri said in excitement as she got up and shook hands with Anne.
"So, has Dr. Jan filled you in on... everything?" Anne asked.
"She did and I almost didn't believe her until she showed me the vase and the hidden message. There is no other recorded language like it on Earth." Terri said, excited. "Or the unique material it's made off."
"Material?" Hop Pop asked.
"Vases have come in many different shapes, sizes, materials... but this one... it's like nothing on earth."
"Well, during my last visit, I brought this over." Terri said, reaching into her lab coat and pulling out a special device. "I was carrying this experimental scanner my boss was working on to tinker with at home but when I passed the museum, it started going off."
"Oh?" Anne asked.
"What's so special about it?" Bee asked, interested in the scanner.
"Its main objective is to scan for special properties and minerals. And when it came face to face with this vase, it nearly went haywire and fried itself!" Terri said in excitement. "I have to keep it off just to keep it from frying again."
Safe to say the interest meter has gone up.
"And what does his mean about a portal Dr. Jan told Anne about?" Polly asked.
"That brings me to my next point." Dr. Jan said, "There's another message on the inside."
"A second message?" Sprig asked in surprise.
"Uh huh, come and see!" Dr. Jan said, gesturing for them to come to the vase. "I'll show you with the blacklight."
The text was in the Amphibian language, which reminded Anne about the previous message.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Anne said, "I looked through Marcy's notes and translated the previous message."
"Oh! Then can you tell us what is it? Along with this one?" Dr. Jan asked, leaning the vase down and shining a black light inside.
Anne pulled out Marcy's journal and looked at the message she translated before.
"Find the Mother of Olms, she will lead you to your destiny." Anne said, "Which... does not really answer any questions."
"And what exactly is an "Olm?" It almost sounds like your mother's first name." Bee said, gesturing to his wife.
"I believe I can answer that." Hop Pop said as everyone turned to him. "Back in Amphibia, Olms are a race more ancient than all others combined. Some say they're long gone while others say they are in hiding."
"Well, that doesn't really help, then." Anne said, "And I truly doubt they're talking about Olms here, as they're just normal animals."
"I guess that's something we'll take care of once we find a way back." Sprig said with a shrug. "What about the second message? What does it mean?"
Anne moved closer to the vase and looked inside, seeing the message and grabbing a pen from Dr. Jan's desk. She started translating it and realized something... it was instructions on how to build a portal.
"Holy shit…." Anne said in awe.
"ANNE!" Oum, Bee, and Hop Pop shouted from the foul language.
"We... oh frog..." Anne said, her words starting to fail her.
The rush of hope and sudden adrenaline was too much for Anne, almost making her pass out as she stumbled to stay standing.
"Anne, we need to talk about you blacking out so much." Hop Pop said, seeing her nearly pass out... for like the 100th time since he met her.
"Are you not getting enough to eat? What have you eaten since you came back?" Oum said, rushing to help Anne stay stable.
"Mom, I'm eating enough." Anne said.
"Then why do you keep fainting?! Was there something in those giant bugs you ate in Amphibia?" Bee asked his daughter.
"The bugs were fine, dad! I just got overwhelmed by what I translated, it could be the only way to get back to Amphibia." Anne said as she moved back to the vase and wrote down the portal ingredients/instructions.
"Also, it's usually from blood loss." Sprig said, "Not food."
"SPRIG!" Anne said.
"Once again, you are going to worry me into the grave." Oum said blankly.
"Hey, I'm not afraid of a fight if it means protecting others." Anne said.
As Anne finished writing down what was inside of the vase, Dr. Jan and Terri moved to look over her shoulder at the translation.
"Guys? Personal space?" Anne asked them.
"Sorry."
"This is just so exciting! Maybe this information will be enough for our portal experiment to finally work!" Terri said as she and Dr. Jan backed away.
"Yeah, well, it might be a while before that, this is just step one." Anne said, "Use the power within... power within? What could that be?"
"Maybe something in the vase?" Sprig asked, jumping on the desk and picking up the vase.
"I don't think so, I've looked inside AND outside of the vase. There's nothing inside of it." Dr. Jan said.
"Hm... let's just go slow and figure it out in time." Anne said.
Anne took the vase from Sprig and put it down on the desk before looking over the list of instructions/ingredients again.
"Huh? A lot of these have alternatives in this realm... weird."
'Maybe it's a parallel universe similarity kind of thing?' Anne thought as she gave Terri the list.
Terri looked over the list.
"Mmm, interesting. I think I can get this stuff by this afternoon and have you guys meet me at my lab." Terri said with a smile.
"Perfect." Anne said.
"What do we do in the meantime?" Polly asked.
"How about we go back to the Thai temple?" Sprig asked.
"Might be the best option." Hop Pop said.
'No doubt the temple pack is going to be happy I'm okay. But I wonder how they'll react to seeing me after the whole robot incident.' Anne thought.
As they went to the temple, little did they know, they were being watched.
"Eyes on the suspects. Proceeding with caution." The person said, driving behind the Boonchuys from a distance.
In the Boonchuy vehicles, Anne was thinking to herself.
'What's going to happen when we get back? What if this is a one way trip? What happens if this doesn't work?'
Even when a solution was so close and possible, Anne was still thinking about all that could go wrong. They had been on Earth for months and she could only imagine what'd happened on Amphibia since.
'I can't think of that right now.' Anne thought, shaking her head to stop her worries for now.
"Anne? You alright?"
"Huh? What? Sorry, I was lost in thought." Anne said to Sprig.
"Well, we're here at the temple." Sprig said as he opened the door. "Let's go! I'm up for more foot volleyball!"
"Yeah, I'm not surprised."
"Oh don't be like that. I'm sure you love playing as much as Sprig. Just as much as I love that dancing department." Hop Pop said with a smile.
"You do know your dancing is terrible, right?" Anne asked him.
"Not in THIS world!" Hop Pop said, walking towards the dancing department.
Anne decided to follow her mom. She might as well learn a bit about being a pack leader instead of just doing what feels right by instinct.
"So, what does a pack leader do?"
"She makes sure everything is running smoothly. Check supplies, make sure the pups are healthy, and attend meetings with the wolf council on other matters." Oum explained.
"Okay, that sounds pretty simple." Anne said.
"It's not as easy as it sounds. Plus, there are meetings with the other spirit animal packs or tribes in L.A.," Oum said to Anne.
"I've tried forgetting about them," Anne said, remembering what happened when she was younger and another pack tried to take over their territory.
A pack of bloodhounds to be exact, people with canine spirit animals similar to wolves.
Before she went to Amphibia, Anne thought they could get along because of their similarities and pack mentality.
'I really was a stupid kid back then, wasn't I?' Anne thought.
A mistake she wouldn't make again.
"Anne, we're here." Oum said, knocking Anne from her thoughts. "Last chance if you want to leave."
"It's fine, mom. Let's go to the meeting." Anne said, looking at the door to the Thai Wolf Council room.
"I have to learn... I carry on a legacy, hundreds of years old... I want to carry it with honor." Anne said.
'She really has grown from being away for a few months. I hardly recognize her.' Oum thought as she felt a new sense of pride in her daughter's maturity.
They entered and just like before, Anne saw all of the elder wolves sitting and waiting as her grandmother was still there. Acting as the first advisor to the new pack leader, her mother.
"Greetings, everyone." Oum said as she and Anne bowed.
They came down and sniffed them, making sure the scent was right.
The wolf council still weren't used to Anne's new smell but they would have to get used to it in time as Oum took her place at the leader's spot.
As this was happening, a van pulled up outside of the temple.
"I've arrived at the Thai Wolf temple. The girl and her family have entered the premises." The man said.
"Good, do you see the creatures anywhere?"
"Negative. They're most likely inside of the temple, but it would be surprising if they've been integrated into the Thai Wolf Pack. It might make things difficult going forward." The man said.
"Do whatever you see as necessary, Mr. X."
"Copy that." Mr. X said as he adjusted his suit before casually walking into the temple, looking around with a friendly grin on his face.
'The best hiding place is in plain sight.' He thought.
Hiding or not, nobody could truly hide their scent and his scent immediately caught attention.
His scent was different, not just in the term of not being a wolf, but something different entirely.
Fast. Feline. Predator. There was no mistaking it, it was a cheetah.
'What is a cheetah doing here?' All of the older pack members thought.
Cheetahs aren't really a threat to wolves, as even a lone wolf is still stronger than a cheetah... not to mention that cheetahs actually get bullied by birds in the wild, so they aren't really that good at much besides running.
Still, it raised questions how this cheetah/man could just walk into their temple with so much confidence.
"Alert the council." a man whispered to another, who nodded and transformed out of sight before running off.
The wolf ran towards the Den, the council room.
"And that handles the business of the upcoming full moon." One wolf elder said. "Are there any objections to it?"
Nobody said anything, not even Anne as she was paying close attention to the meeting.
"Then this meeting-"
Suddenly, there was then a howl. Altering the elders and Anne. They turned to the doorways and saw a wolf bursting inside, transforming into a man as he kneeled before them.
"I'm sorry for breaking in during a meeting but a mysterious man just entered the temple grounds. From his scent, he's a cheetah, and from his stature, he's calm and collected." The man quickly said.
"A cheetah? Here? What reason does a feline have to be here?" The council asked among themselves.
"Keep an eye on him, we shall arrive shortly." The pack Leader, Oum, said.
"Yes, pack leader." The man said with a bow before he turned back into a wolf and ran out.
Anne watched him leave with a curious yet determined gaze. This was something she had to check out for herself, her instincts were telling her this cheetah man was more dangerous than he appeared.
Little did she know how accurate that was.
Back at the temple grounds, Mr. X was looking over a food stand for anything that caught his eye.
Even someone like him needed to eat.
"Do you have any specials?" He asked in Siamese.
"Ah, you speak the language." The vendor said, also in Siamese.
"A bit. I learned it when I was stationed in Phuket a while ago. The service and all." Mr. X said in English as he looked over the food. "It's been a while since I had genuine Thai food. Do you give samples?"
"Sure. Just a moment." the vendor said, now in English.
The vendor pulled out a tray of sample foods.
Mr. X took one and ate it, humming with a smile at the taste.
"Aaaah, now this is good food. I'll take one bag, please." Mr. X said, glancing around for where to do next.
"Coming right up." The vendor said.
From behind, some of the other wolves looked at him, not trusting him.
'Now, if I was a suspicious creature, where would I be?' Mr. X thought before seeing the Takraw/Foot Volleyball court, where loud cheering was heard. 'Let's try there.'
He began to walk over and observe before being called back.
"Excuse me, sir. Your food." The vendor said.
"Oh! Sorry, my good man. I was lost in thought." Mr. X said with a chuckle as he quickly went back to take the food and pay for it. "Keep the change."
He went over to the court and could see various Thai temple members, both as wolves and humans, knocking a ball back and forth over a volleyball net. But one of them caught Mr. X's attention the most, one that was short but with very strong legs by his jumping ability.
'Oh... this is almost too easy.' Mr. X thought as he ate some of the food he got and sat on a bench, continuing to watch the game while paying the most attention to Sprig and his movements. 'He's fast. Agile. And has reaction time to match.'
"Heads up, Spring!" One man said, kicking the ball into the air.
"I got it!" Sprig shouted, jumping with a backflip and kicked the ball.
Sending it flying and crashing into the sand on the other end of the court. Scoring his team the winning point.
'And those legs have more power than you think too. Interesting.' Mr. X thought.
"Phew! Good game, guys! I'm gonna take a break!" Sprig said, wiping his forehead.
"Sure man. Take it easy." A man said as he gave Sprig a water bottle.
'Now that I know where one of them is... let's see if I can find the others.' Mr. X thought.
Mr. X seemed to finish his food already, having eaten all of it while just watching the game, before he crumbled up the bag and got up from the bench to explore more of the temple.
Gathering intelligence was sometimes his favorite part of the job. And the easiest.
He walked towards the more modern buildings and up the steps, continuing to look around the temple.
'I've always wondered what a place is like compared to my church back home.' He thought.
The sound of music drew his attention, making Mr. X gazed into a room where people were wearing costumes while dancing to music.
'Could it be one of the others?' He thought as he leaned against the doorway to watch until a very short man came out.
"Make way! Art is about to be made!" He said confidently.
"Go on, Hopediah! Show us that magic." One of them cheered for him.
That made Hopediah happy as he danced to the music, more irrationally and strangely than a human could do, but in a way, it was entrancing and beautiful.
'He's old but he's surprisingly quick on his feet. Still, he'll be easy to take.' Mr. X thought.
With two of his targets confirmed, Mr. X left to find the last and smallest of the trio he came to find.
'The little one should be the easiest. Once I find her.' Mr. X thought as he went back to the lower floor, still searching for the youngest of the mysterious creatures he'd seen with the Boonchuys.
"Hey."
Mr. X turned around and saw Anne, who was checking her nails while leaning against a wall.
'When did she sneak up on me? I didn't even hear her sneakers squeaking Mr. X thought, glancing at Anne's shoes.
"What brings you to our sacred grounds?" Anne asked.
"Just looking around," He said, shrugging casually. "Who might you be?"
Anne faced him, revealing her blind eye.
"Anne Boonchuy, heir to the pack, and protector of those in this temple," Anne said firmly.
"Oh! Heir to the pack? My apologies." Mr. X said with a short bow. "I didn't know I was in the presence of royalty."
"Save the bowing, this isn't England and you're not one of the pack." Anne said as Mr. X raised his head. "But onto WHY you're here. This is wolf territory."
"And they call me quick." Mr. X joked.
"Stop joking and answer the question. The pack has been on edge since you got here and that is a BIG problem." Anne said with a growl, glaring at Mr. X.
"Well, then I guess I should cut to the chase." He said, moving closer to Anne to stare down, "You have something that I want."
"Something you want? What could I have that you would want?" Anne asked.
"No nothing much. Just…three little people that your friendly government had no records on. Do you know some people like that?" Mr. X asked, adjusting his collar.
'He works for the government and knows about my pack?' Anne thought, her instincts in full protective mode now.
"You know, funny thing about wolf packs... we're very loyal to those close to us, friends or family..." Anne growled, showing off some very canine like teeth, "And those that try to break that... well... we have a good meal after that... so if you so much as harm one person in this temple... you'll have hundreds of wolves on your ass."
Mr. X put his hands up to show he meant no harm. Even if he knew how dangerous and protective animal packs can be, he still had a job to do.
"I get that, but you have to understand things from my viewpoint and my orders. A job is a job after all." He said to Anne.
"I don't care." Anne said, intensifying her glare. "If you want them, you have to get through me."
"Sigh…I assumed as much." Mr. X said, lowering his hands and reaching for his watch.
'Time to put the dog to sleep for a bit.' He thought.
Quickly pushing a button on the side of his watch, Mr. X fired a tiny sleep dart at Anne. Hitting her right in the neck as she stumbled back.
"What…was that?" Anne asked before losing consciousness, falling to the floor.
"Sorry, kid. But my job overrules all animal and pack laws." Mr. X said before picking up Anne. "Now, just gotta hide you before anyone finds you."
He looked to see a janitor's closet close by, smiling as he opened it and set Anne on an empty mop bucket.
"Sleep tight, kiddy." Mr. X said before he closed the door.
'Now to continue my mission.' He thought.
He continued walking through the upper floor, searching for where a young boy or girl would be right about now before it hit him.
'Children's class. Or a pup nursery since they're wolves.' Mr. X thought.
It was his best bet.
Upon reaching the children's class/pup nursery, Mr. X peaked inside to see they were all in the middle of a Thai language lesson.
One of them really stuck out compared to the others. One that was shorter, rounder, and actually shaded pink like something not of this world!
'Could they truly have accepted something like that as one of them?' Mr. X thought in surprise before he refocused.
Now that he knew where they were, he needed to come up with a plan. And Mr. X LOVED himself a nice sneaky plan to capture government targets.
'Sometimes my job is just so fun.' He thought with a small giggle.
Meanwhile back in the meeting room, Oum was beginning to worry and wonder where her daughter ran off to.
'She should've been back by now.' She thought.
That's when all the lights went off in the temple. This made everyone jolt up in shock, some of them shifting into wolves to properly see what was going on or hear any commotion outside of the council room.
Suddenly, a fast moving creature ran past them.
'What was that?!' One of the council growled out.
'It was fast, faster than a wolf!' Another said as they stood up. 'It's the cheetah!'
Everyone in the council started running after him. Whatever the cheetah/Mr. X wanted, they would make sure he wouldn't get it…..unless he already has.
'ANNE!' Oum thought as she halted and began sniffing for her daughter.
The fact that she wasn't here is what truly concerned her as Oum ran off to find Anne as the rest of the council rushed after Mr. X.
But he had tricks up his sleeve.
'First, I'll get the youngest one.' Mr. X thought as he outran the council.
Thinking Polly would be the least likely to fight back.
"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" Polly shouted in the nursery, looking around in the dark.
"Everyone remain calm and stay together." The woman in charge of the nursery said.
Suddenly something came in through the vents and began to fill the room.
"What's that gas?" One of the kids asked before they began coughing.
One by one, they began to pass out. Thanks to her years of foul smells, Polly had some resistance as she was the last one awake and covered her mouth.
'W-What is going on?' Polly thought, looking through the darkness before seeing a glowing pair of eyes. 'I-Is that Anne?'
The eyes slowly got closer as a growl came out, making Polly stumble back as she did NOT recognize that as Anne's growl. That was someone else!
"W-Who are you?" Polly asked before falling back, losing consciousness.
Mr. X quickly returned to human form and picked her up.
"That's one down. Two more to go." Mr. X said, walking out of the room.
'Now to stick this one in the van and come back for the other two.' Mr. X thought before he dropped something.
A gift to the pack to keep them off his tail.
Back with Anne, she had groaned as she rose from the floor and held her head in pain.
"What the frog happened?" Anne asked.
"Anne!" Oum yelled
Hearing her mother, Anne jolted up and looked to see Oum opening the broom closet door.
"There you are!" She said before helping Anne up. "I don't know why-"
"The cheetah guy!" Anne said as her memories came back. "I found him and he knocked me out! He's trying to take Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop!"
Anne stumbled out of the closet... no that was not a metaphor... and started to sniff the air, but the "gift" he left... released a potent smell in the air that made it near impossible for the wolves to pick up his scent.
"Fuck, I can't smell him anymore," Anne said before she started running, making Oum follow. "Come on, let's just hope we can get to them before it's too late!"
The two shifted into wolf form and ran at full speed.
Being the closest spot, the two of them headed for the performing arts part of the temple to find Hop Pop. What they saw when they arrived was a group of unconscious performers.
'He beat us here!' Oum growled as Anne began sniffing and looking around for her adopted grandfather frog.
'I can't pick up his scent!' Anne thought.
'Shit! That means he's already got Hop Pop!' Oum thought with a glare as Anne turned back to normal.
She punched the wall in frustration.
"Fuck! I hate cheetahs even more now!" Anne said before rushing out of the room. "We have to hurry before Sprig is taken too!"
Her rage was building up inside of her. So much rage that her calamity powers were flashing in her eyes, but she knew she had to suppress them or else the government would know about them.
'I'll have to do this without relying on them.' Anne thought as she transformed back to a wolf.
Her and Oum then headed to the courtyard. Seeing various other members of the temple knocked out or injured and licking their wounds. Some of them even looked fresh, meaning Mr. X was still here.
'I can make it! I can make it!' Anne thought as she and Oum ran towards the sound of commotion.
"Get away from me, you weird cat!" Sprig shouted.
In the sports field, Mr. X looked forward to this target.
'The old man and little creature girl were too easy. This one is more of a challenge.' He thought as he chased his last target, who was hopping around the temple stands to escape him.
Seeing this, Anne growled and charged at him.
'Get away from my brother!' Anne thought, using a little calamity power to blitz to the cheetah!
BOOM!
'What was that?!' Mr. X thought before Anne slammed into him, making him crash into a food stand!
Standing in front of the wreckage, Anne growled at the cheetah.
"Anne! Thank frog, you saved me!" Sprig said with glee as he hopped onto her back.
Anne wasn't moving, not until she tore this feline bastard apart!
"Ugh, what hit me?" Mr. X asked, coming out of the stand in human form while adjusting his glasses.
"Anne did!" Sprig shouted as Mr. X turned to them.
"You?! You should still be asleep in the broom closet!" Mr. X said in shock.
'I used an elephant tranquilizer on her! How is she already awake?!' He thought.
'Where are Polly and Hop Pop?!' Anne shouted in her mind while barking at Mr. X.
"Let me guess, you want to know where the other two are?" Mr. X said, fixing his suit. "They're safe... for now."
Anne growled louder as she stalked slowly towards Mr. X.
"BUT that can change on a dime if you don't cooperate." He said, putting his hands behind his back.
"You think you can just bust into their temple and make demands!?" Sprig shouted with his arms in the air.
Anne lunged at him, but Mr. X easily dodged it.
"Ah ah ah. Temper, temper." Mr. X said before Anne lunged at him again.
Like playing limbo, he once again managed to avoid her.
"Girl, I can read you like a comic book!" Mr. X said as Anne turned to him again.
'Then avoid this!' Anne thought as she lunged again.
Mr. X rolled his eyes as he dodged the attack, only for Anne to turn human mid jump and kick him in the face!
"Read this, asshole!" Anne shouted as she landed and used Muay Thai, sending an elbow to his chin!
But to her surprise, he quickly caught it.
"…" Mr. X said nothing as he fixed his glasses and glared down at Anne and Sprig. "Okay, I think this joke has gone on long enough."
He pushed her back and sent a spinning back kick into Anne's stomach, knocking her back.
"Anne!" Sprig let out as Anne moved to hold and protect him from the fall.
"Little girl, you might have SOME skill in Muay Thai, but I have YEARS of combat training and experience. Do you really think you can beat me in a physical fight?" Mr. X asked, rubbing his bruised cheek.
Hearing him taunt her, Anne's temper had far surpassed its limit!
"I am going to fucking kill you!" Anne shouted as her eyes flashed blue.
Mr. X was surprised by that. Not just by the sudden death threat but by the sudden flash of blue in her brown eyes.
"Save some for the rest of us." Oum said.
Mr. X turned around and gasped, seeing Oum standing with about 30 wolves at her beck and call.
'This many have recovered already?! What is with this wolf pack?!' He thought in shock.
Mr. X knew he had to be careful; he only had one chance at this.
"Ha! You're out of luck now, buddy! You can't take on all of them!" Sprig said before glaring at Mr. X. "Now tell me where my sister and Hop Pop are or I'll give you a lashing you'll never forget!"
'Ew.' Anne thought, knowing Sprig meant lashing at the man with his frog tongue.
Acting fast, Mr. X reached into his pocket and threw something to the ground.
"LOOK OUT!" Sprig let out before lashing his tongue out, quickly catching the object and pulling it into his mouth.
"What?!" Mr. X shouted in shock.
"Ha! In your-" Sprig shut his mouth as something exploded in it, making his cheeks expand.
Smoke came out of his mouth and he fell to the ground.
"SPRIG!" Anne shouted in worry.
"Ugh…..That was nasty." He groaned out, alive but a little sick.
With Anne distracted, Mr. X took his chance. He turned back into a cheetah and bolted, making the rest of the pack rush to stop him from leaving or else they would lose two of their members!
Unfortunately, he was more prepared for something like this.
Cheetahs are not just fast but they're agile too, using their tails like gear shifts to make split second turns to dodge terrain or enemies.
'I may only have two of them but that is more than enough. I can get them back to base and see what they are.' Mr. X thought.
Seeing the rest of the pack falling behind, Anne growled as she continued to chase after Mr. X.
'No! You will not get away with my family!' Anne thought, her eyes flashing blue again.
Using more calamity energy, Anne ran fast enough to follow Mr. X wherever he went. Knowing that eventually he would stop from exhaustion or lead her right to where Hop Pop and Polly were.
'I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!' Anne thought, before her powers started to flicker.
Her speed kept increasing as Mr. X looked back, seeing Anne's cold blue gaze as if she was hunting him!
BA-DUMP!
Until Anne suddenly stumbled and passed out.
'Huh?' Mr. X let out as he came to a halt, confused by the sudden drop. 'Did she just pass out mid chase?'
Well, he wasn't going to waste this opportunity.
So with a Cheshire grin, Mr. X continued to his van with Hop Pop and Polly tied up inside. Even if he didn't get Sprig, his mission was a success.
Next, came the fun part. Getting information from them.
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