The Owl House of Amphibia

by Iron117Prime

Four human girls, so different and so alike, find themsleves thrown into new worlds of magic, danger, wonder, and horror. As they explore their new surroundings, they not only meet new friends and new enemies, but also discover more about themselves than what they felt before. All it took was a box and a door to change their lives, and the lives of all those around them, forever.

15. Seeing New Perspectives

Hi everyone. Welcome back to more of "The Owl House of Amphibia"! We got ourselves another fun little chapter for you as two of our favorite witch students are finally introduced to the frog world the Plantars call home, and they are going to make quite the impact. Things are gonna get interesting here and I'm sure you're all gonna love it.

With that being said, let's get started!

Seeing New Perspectives

Luz paced around excitedly in a small clearing just outside of Wartwood, looking more than a little eager, much to the annoyance of King as he sat on a nearby rock.

"Ugh! You've been walking around in the same circle for the past ten minutes!" King complained. "If you're trying to dig a moat, you could grab a shovel!"

"Sorry, I'm just really excited!" Luz practically squealed. "They should be here any minute! I can't wait…!"

She was cut off as a column of multi-colored flames appeared in front of her, drawing her attention as the flames shot upward before descending to reveal the Salamander, having used his unique ability to bring back Eda, as well as two familiar young witches, from the Boiling Isles.

"Whoa…" Gus' eyes were still wide. "That… was… amazing! I've never seen so many colored flames before!"

"I never knew fire magic could be used like that!" Willow stated. "And it all came from this little Palisman?" She kneeled down to get a closer look at the Salamander, who wagged his tail and stuck his tongue out happily.

"Yep, still trying to figure out how it's able to do that. But it's certainly useful." Eda commented.

"Gus! Willow!" Luz beamed in joy as she ran up to hug them both, much to their own joy and elation.

It was true, Luz's newly acquired witch friends from the Demon Realm were now in Amphibia, all courtesy of the Salamander, as well as Eda who helped to pick them up. But neither of them was in their Hexside uniforms, and appeared to be in their more casual clothing. Willow wore a long-sleeved yellowish-tan dress that had a blue tie with an oval chartreuse gem on it, light-and-dark gray stripped leggings and brown boots. Gus' attire consisted of a cyan tunic with gray-white sleeves, a black belt, charcoal gray tights and dark purple boots.

"Luz! We haven't seen you since the Covention!" Willow said as Luz let go of them.

"And what you did back there was totally awesome!" Gus beamed. "So, where's Anne and Sprig?"

"They're both at the Plantar house, not far from here." Luz explained. "But enough of that. Welcome… to Amphibia!" She announced dramatically, gesturing to the whole new environment that surrounded them. This allowed the two young witches to see everything, which they took in awe. The blue sky, the great many trees, as well as the large insects that flew in the sky and paraded on the ground.

"Oh… my… Titan…" Gus muttered. "This place is incredible! Look at that sky! It's so blue!"

"And all these different plants…!" Willow got a closer look at the variety of flowers and other plants that decorated the ground. That included a flower that stuck out a tongue-like attachment to grab a bug and pull it in to chomp and devour it. "I've read the botanist' encyclopedia from the Isles at least a hundred times already, but I've never seen plants like these before!" She spung her a green magic circle with her finger and pulled in all the various plants to hug her. "Hello new friends!"

"Luz, this place is so amazing! And you actually live here?!" Gus went right up to the girl excitably.

"Only half the time with Anne and the Plantars. But yeah, this place is pretty cool." Luz said.

"Except when half of the wildlife tries to eat you." King put in. "And don't even get me started on the folks who live here."

"Yeah, sorry Luz… I don't mind you hanging out with these kids, but Wartwood ain't exactly open minded about newcomers like us." Eda added.

"Wartwood?" Willow looked to Luz in confusion.

"Sprig and everyone's hometown here." She answered. "And sure, maybe the frogs there aren't exactly the nicest…"

"Not to mention they hate magic." King added.

"What? Why would they hate magic?" Gus asked in surprise.

"Well, according to Hop Pop, frogs tried magic a long time ago and ended up cursing each other." Luz explained. "Though he never really went into all the details about it. But, if we just mind our own business, we shouldn't cause a scene, right?"

---

Two minutes later, Luz, Eda, and King led Willow and Gus through Wartwood. And while the two witch students looked around at the many frog people that went about their daily routine, as well as the various buildings that they've never seen before, they mostly kept it to themselves in order to avoid drawing unnecessary attention as Luz advised.

Unfortunately, the appearance of the humanoids did draw the attention of many of the townsfolk and, as Eda expected, they didn't handle it very well.

"Ah! They're hideous!" One frog who was water his plants screamed and walked away.

"Look away, teddy! Look away!" A frog mother rolled the stroller that carried her polliwog in the opposite directions.

"And there's more of them!" Another frog pointed at Willow and Gus.

"It's an invasion of dangly arm creatures!" A kid frog screamed as all the frogs in the area screamed and ran away, finding places to hide.

"Toldya." King said with lowered eyelids, causing Luz to look away with guilt.

"Sorry guys…" She muttered. Maybe they should have just had the Salamander bring her friends directly to the Plantar farm. But she really didn't think this through. This reminded her of how she was treated back home growing up… and the last thing she wanted was for her friends to go through the same thing she did.

Willow and Gus looked towards each other with mixed expressions. It wasn't exactly the kind of greeting that either of them was expecting. But still, they ended up smiling to each other.

"It's okay, Luz. You know I'm not exactly popular at school, being 'Half-a-Witch Willow' and all." Willow admitted.

"Yeah, we're used to it." Gus said with an acceptant smile. "But Sprig and his family like us, and that's okay."

"So why don't we just ignore all that and have some fun?" Willow offered. "You said Hop Pop runs a vegetable farm, right? I'd love to see what he's grown!"

That caused Luz to smile. "Right. Come on, it's just down the road!" She led her friends through the now empty town, leaving King alone with Eda and the Salamander.

"You sure this was a good idea?" The little demon asked the Owl Lady.

"Meh, I can take on the wildlife and angry mobs here no problem." Eda dismissed. "What's the worst that can happen?"

However, as they walked away, nobody seemed to notice a pair of yellow reptilian-like eyes appearing in the darkness of the surrounding foliage.

---

Hop Pop finished loading up a wheelbarrow of large tomatoes as he worked outside his house on the field, with Sprig and Polly just sitting and playing cards.

"Got any threes Polly?" Sprig asked his sister.

"I ain't telling you nothing." Polly replied.

"Hey guys!" They heard Luz call to them, causing the frog family to turn around as to see the human girl and her witch friends enter the scene. "Look who's here!" She gestured to her friends behind her.

"Willow! Gus! Hey!" Sprig hopped over to join them.

"Sprig!" Gus was the first to go up to him. "High five?" He offered his hand, to which Sprig reciprocated with his own hand for a high five. "No tongue this time?"

"Anne said it was better and healthier to use your actual hand and not your tongue." The pink frog said.

"Oh, wow! Hop Pop! Look at all these vegetables!" Willow went to the old frog's garden. "This is incredible!"

"Finally. Someone who enjoys and respects produce." The old frog smiled with pride as he put his hands on his hips. "Yep, my family's poured my sweat, blood, and tears into this farm for generations and ain't nobody gonna take that away."

"And these…" Willow went to the tomatoes to see her reflection in the shiny red skin. "Oh, they are so beautiful…!" She said with sparkly eyes.

"Glad your impressed." Hop Pop nodded. "Tomatoes were always too dangerous to try and harvest beforehand, so nobody in town sells em. But as the only to sell these babies, I can set my family up for life!"

"Mind if I help with some of that?" Willow offered. "I know a thing or two about how to care for plants and make them grow nice and big." She spun another green magic circle with her finger to grow a series of flowers all around her.

"While I certainly appreciate you wanting to help Willow, I would ask that you tone down the use of magic." Hop Pop told her. "No offense, but I want my family to learn a thing or two about hard work; making things grow with their bare hands."

"Alright." Willow accepted. "Your farm, your rules."

"Glad to see Willow and Hop Pop are hitting it off." Luz observed.

"Hey, where's Anne?" Gus asked, upon noticing how she was absent.

As if on cue, a high-pitched scream came out of the house, startling everyone as Anne herself busted out of the front door, still screaming. This caused Sprig, Luz, Gus, and Willow to all scream for reason.

"Now what?!" Eda complained.

"What's with all the screaming!?" King exclaimed.

"Is someone dead?!" Hop Pop yelled.

"Why are we yelling!?" Polly hollered.

"Just. Look." Anne gestured to her own face, which was covered in red pimples.

"Ew!" Luz cringed, while the Plantars and witch students gasped in horror.

"She's diseased!" Sprig exclaimed as he and his family pulled out various tools/weapons, with Sprig using an axe, Polly wielding a hedge-scythe, and Hop Pop using a rake.

"We have to quarantine her!" Hop Pop stated.

"Don't struggle, Anne." Polly told her.

"A human disease?!" Gus exclaimed as he and Willow clung to Luz. "Should I be amazed or terrified?!"

"We should keep our distance to be safe!" Willow added. "Don't want Luz to get infected either!"

"Guys, no! She's not sick!" Luz escaped from her friend's grasp and went over to Anne defensively. "They're just pimples! Humans get them when they become teenagers! It's a typical human thing!"

"Yeah, it's cool." Eda told them all. "I see human kids with that stuff all the time. No deadly plagues involved."

"Oh, well why didn't you just say that?" Willow said with relief as everyone else felt the same way.

"Whew. Okay." Sprig breathed as he and his family dropped their tools.

"False alarm everyone. Just a human thing." Hop Pop added.

Gus then went up close to Anne's face to get a good look at her. "So, humans get pimples too? But why are they on your face?"

"Wait… witches get pimples too?" Anne looked to Eda in surprise.

"Oh yeah. I even had some for a couple days when I was your age." The Owl Lady conformed.

"So… wait, you don't get them on your face?" Luz asked. "Where do witches get pimples then?"

"Not sure you wanna know the answer to that." Eda said, which only caused Luz and Anne to shiver before the later sat dejectedly on some nearby cobblestone to look at her own reflection in the puddle down below her.

"Everybody in Wartwood already treats me like a monster. This is just gonna make it ten times worse." Anne said as she kicked the puddle.

"Why does everyone in Wartwood think you guys are monsters?" Gus asked. "In the Isles, everyone looks different they seem okay with each other. I mean, most people can just look at Sprig and his family and think they're demons."

"Well, we don't get demons or humans here, it's just mostly frogs and toads, and the occasional newt in this area." Sprig said.

Anne sighed. "I think I'm just gonna hide out here on the farm until this clears up." She gestured to her pimple-ridden face.

"That might be a good idea." Hop Pop said as he hooked the wheelbarrow full of tomatoes to Bessie. "I'm gonna try to sell off these tomatoes today…"

"And you don't wanna scare off the customers with us hideous creatures, right?" King assumed.

"Well, you're not hideous, King. You're adorable." Luz said as she scooped him up, who only sighed with annoyance.

"Yeah, I know. Don't remind me." The little demon groaned.

"Sorry kids. But money's been kinda getting low this month." Hop Pop explained. "I'm hoping that selling off these tomatoes will get some extra coppers."

"I… We understand." Luz said, getting what Hop Pop meant. She'd honestly wouldn't mind helping Hop Pop sell his vegetables and earn some money for his family. But, her brief trek into town with her friends did remind her that most Amphibians did see humanoid creatures like her in a bad light. So maybe sitting out would probably be for the best.

"Well, look at the bright side." Willow offered. "We could all hang out here and have some fun. And if Anne's uncomfortable going out like this…" She gestured to the pimple-faced girl. "All the better."

"Hey, yeah." Anne smiled. At least Willow and Gus we're okay with her pimple-ridden face. "We could even have a Suspicion Island marathon!"

"I'm in!" Luz said excitably.

"What's Suspicion Island?" Gus asked.

"Only the greatest human show ever invented!" Anne perked up.

King them crawled up a scarecrow to stand on its head, standing above everyone. "Alright everyone! With Hop Pop gone, I am now in command of this farm!"

"Nope." Hop Pop pulled the little demon down, who struggled comically in his grip. "Eda's in charge."

"Really? You're putting me in charge of your farm?" Eda questioned somewhat skeptically.

"Only for a couple hours. And you're the only adult here, plus you can fight off any dangerous critters that might happen to show up." Hop Pop said.

"Huh…" Eda blinked for a bit. Was Hop Pop really trusting her to look after his farm? "Well… Thanks, HP."

"Don't call me HP." He repeated. "But of course, if I come back and find my house destroyed, you're cleaning Bessie's stable for the next month."

"Annnnd there you are." Eda said unsurprisingly as Hop Pop got up onto Bessie with Sprig bringing Polly onboard as well.

"Let's get a move on, kids." The old frog snapped the reigns, leading to his snail to pull the loaded-up tomatoes away, leaving Eda alone with the human and witch kids.

"So… what was that about a Suspicion Island marathon?" Eda asked with a grin, causing Luz, Anne, and King to perk up, with Willow and Gus looking curious themselves.

---

The market was at its usual buzz as frogs brought all their respective products to the stands, selling all the food that they've grown, harvested, and/or made with their hard work.

"Fresh crickets, ma'am? Always fresh."

"Worms! We got worms!"

"Are these grubs, organic?"

And yet, despite how busy the market appeared to be, the Plantar stall didn't have any customers, despite the many tomatoes that they had put on display.

"Ugh, I don't get it! Nobody ever sold tomatoes before! This is a big deal! So why are people avoiding us like the plague?!" Sprig complained.

"Probably because these things are always guarded by frog-eating monsters?" Polly suggested bluntly.

"But we used all this to make that pizza that won us first place at the potluck!" Sprig stated.

"That, we did. But it's still very new to the rest of the town." Hop Pop said. "Not everyone is as open-minded as we are."

"Hop Pop, you said we needed some extra money!" Sprig said before an idea came to him, prompting him to snap his fingers. "Oh! How about we cook some of these? Luz told me how tomatoes can be cooked and eaten? Maybe give out some free samples?"

"Huh, good idea, boy." Hop Pop said as he took out a lantern and used it to light a fire on a small pile of twigs in front of the stand while Sprig poked a stick into a tomato and hung it over said fire, already starting to cook it.

"My Polly-sense is telling me this is gonna go very bad very quickly." Polly commented.

"Come one, come all!" Sprig announced to the market, still holding the roasted tomato over the fire. "Try our roasted tomatoes!"

"Get a free sample! Remember, this is a key ingredient to the Plantar pizza recipe!" Hop Pop announced as well.

This seemed enough to get the attention of several frogs as they came over to look at the roasted tomatoes themselves.

"Hmm, the Plantars are selling tomatoes?"

"But aren't those things dangerous?"

"Hey, it got them first prize in the potluck. And that's never happened before!"

"And that roasted tomato smells pretty good." Another frog said as he took a big whiff. "Think I'll give it a try."

"Let me have a sample, too!" Another frog said as the crowd was being drawn in.

"Hop Pop, we're actually doing it!" Sprig said excitedly. "We're actually gonna sell these!"

"Yep. Looks like growing our own tomatoes paid off after all." Hop Pop smiled.

"Three… Two… One…" Polly counted down. And right when she reached the end, a loud reptilian roar was heard from the forest behind the market.

Every frog turned in the direction of the roar to see a massive iguana lizard emerge, one with glowing yellow eyes and thickly scaled skin. It used its tongue to sniff the air before catching its eye on the roasted tomatoes. It roared again to send all the townsfolk into a panic as all the frogs tried to run, knocking down Sprig and Hop Pop, while also kicking up the small fire they started, resulting in several stands catching on fire and the rest of the market soon being set ablaze.

And while everyone panicked, Polly looked completely unsurprised. "Yep. Called it."

---

Back at the Plantar farm; Luz had set up her phone to autoplay the first season of Suspicon Island for herself, Willow, Gus, Anne, King, Eda, and even the Salamander to watch, which they all did outside as the phone was put on a tree stump in front of them.

"Peruiva, how could you!?" Randy gasped in horror. "You were the least suspicious out of everyone on this forsaken island! I trusted you!"

"Well, I never trusted you! You're the most suspicious of us all Randy!" Peruvia declared. "Your father stole my mother's cybernetic designs and got us trapped here!"

Willow and Gus both gasped at that. "What a twist…!" Willow exclaimed.

"So many suspicious people in this story! I have no idea who's not suspicious!" Gus proclaimed just as the episode came to an end. "Come on! Give me more! I need to know what happened next!"

"Welp, looks like we hooked two more." Eda said with a smile.

"Should we tell them the truth about Peruvia's mother's designs?" King asked. "I wanna see the looks on their faces!"

"No spoilers, King!" Luz ordered.

As they continued to watch, Anne couldn't help but smile. Binge-watching one of her favorite shows with some of her friends, without any kind of life-or-death crisis to worry about, made her forget all about her pimples. It also helped that Willow and Gus didn't seem to mind either. For once… they were having a good day. A good, uneventful, non-life-threatening…

"Hey, is that smoke?" Luz asked, which caused everyone to turn away from the show and look in the direction of a large plum of smoke coming from past a tree-line.

"Looks a fire's started." Eda said seriously.

"Wait… isn't that the direction of the market that Sprig and his family go to?" King wondered.

'Jinxed it.' Anne cursed.

"Oh no! Sprig and everyone could be in trouble!" Luz exclaimed in shock.

"Let's go." Eda pulled out Owlbert in his staff-form, prompting Luz and King to get on.

"Wait, let us come to!" Willow offered. "Maybe we can help!"

"Sorry, only got so much room on here." Eda said, referring to her owl-staff.

Right as she said that though, the Salamander was coated in his multi-colored flames to shift into his Komodo-dragon form and maneuvered behind and underneath Willow and Gus to put them both on his back.

"Okay, guess that problem's solved." Eda commented. "Try and keep up."

"Wait, where's Anne?!" Luz questioned, noticing her friend was missing.

"Coming!" The Thai girl crawled onto the salamander with Willow and Gus, wearing a scarf over her face, one she got from a scarecrow. Even if she was going to save the Plantars, she still didn't want her pimple-covered face being seen and to be ridiculed even further.

"Alright! We're moving!" Eda flew her staff with Luz and King riding behind her; while the transformed Salamander dashed in the same direction with the three kids riding on his back with little issue.

---

Back at the market, the fire was spreading very quickly, so much so that nearly every stand was on fire. And if that wasn't chaotic enough, the giant iguana continued to rampage through the area, tearing up everything it could to eat all the food before it would all get burned up. That included the Plantars' tomatoes as it munched down on several at once.

"Hey, you gotta pay for those!" Sprig used his sling shot to launch a rock at the iguana, causing it to turn around to lash out with his claw at him, but Sprig hopped back to avoid the worst it. "Ha! Missed!" He celebrated too soon as the iguana's tail came in to smack him in the back and knock him closer. The iguana then pinned Sprig down with its right claw and barred its fangs at him.

"Sprig!" Hop Pop and Polly exclaimed as the former tried to rush to help his grandson.

Fortunately, a bolt of lightning came down from the sky to strike the iguana in the face and push it away from the pinned pink frog.

"Claws off the kid!" Eda shouted as she flew in with Luz and King right behind her. She dropped them right beside Sprig before spinning her staff to send several more bolts of lightning at the iguana and push it back.

"Sprig, are you okay?!" Luz asked as she helped the frog up while Eda kept the iguana busy.

"I'm okay. Thanks. But where are Anne and the others?" Sprig asked.

"Right here!" Anne's voice sounded off as the Salamander brought her in with Willow and Gus and they observed the burning market in shock. "Oh man. I've heard of hot sales but this is a bit much."

"We gotta do something about this!" Luz said with urgency as she looked to the Salamander. "Can't you do something? You got fire magic! Maybe you can absorb it all or something?" The Salamander shook his head in response, indicating that even he had limitations.

"The fire's spreading too quickly! At this rate, it'll hit the forest and cause an even bigger inferno!" Hop Pop stated.

"Not to mention that thing's still a problem!" Polly pointed to the rampaging iguana that Eda continued to fight against, using her magic power to zip around it and avoid its claws and tail before retaliating with magic attacks.

"How is that thing able to stand after taking so many hits!?" King exclaimed.

"Iguana's have thicker and stronger hides than that of other lizards." Hop Pop said. "Maybe Eda can push it back, but they usually run away when faced with a bigger predator!"

"Bigger predator…?" Luz wondered before her eyes set on Gus when an idea came to her. "That's it! Gus, can you make an illusion of the biggest most dangerous beast in the Boiling Isles? And even make it bigger and scarier than normal? Like horror-style scary?"

"Uh yeah… I can do that but…" Gus was confused what Luz meant by that and that's when he realized her intent. "Okay, leave it to me!"

"What about the fire?" Anne questioned.

"I can help!" Willow offered. "The Aquarbor is a plant native to the Boiling Isles! It can absorb a ton of water, even from the boiling rains! I can grow one and have it absorb the moisture in the ground and use it to put out the fire!"

"Alright, do it!" Hop Pop nodded. "But keep your distance! Don't want you kids getting burned!"

"Got it!" Everyone nodded as they split up with Luz, King, Sprig, Gus, and the Salamander running in one direction, while Hop Pop, Anne, Polly, and Willow went in the other.

Eda dashed around the iguana's claw swipes and appeared behind it before slamming her staff on the ground, sending a magical current through the ground directly underneath the giant lizard before multiple rocky hands emerged to grab and bind the iguna. But the beast struggled hard in its bindings, already causing the rocks to chip and break.

"Huh, tough guy aren't ya?" Eda mused.

"Eda!" She heard Luz call to her and looked past the lizard to see the girl and her group running closer.

"Kids! You get back! Now!" Eda ordered.

"We got a plan! Trust me! Gus, do it!" Luz shouted.

"Okay!" Gus used his hand to draw a large, cyan-colored magic circle directly in front of him.

And as he did, an illusion of a giant griffon appeared in front of the iguana as it escaped its restraints. One so big that it was easily three times the size of the iguana. And as per Luz's requests, Gus added some extra features to it; such as another set of wings, twenty eyes, and four mouths, all with extra-mouth tongue-like appendages inside. The monster gave a shrill deathly roar so loud, that it drew the attention of several of the panicking frogs.

The iguana took a few steps back underneath the illusion of this giant monstrosity. But it also noticed how it didn't appear to have a scent in it, evident when it stuck its tongue out, something that Eda noticed.

"I see what they're doing…" The Owl Lady then used her staff to fly over the iguana and around the illusion, landing behind it and next to the present kids. "Good idea, kids. But let's give a little more 'life' to this illusion." She thrusted her staff forward, sending a swirl of golden magic into the illusionary monster, which caused it to glow bright gold being filled with raw magic power. The illusion then sliced its claw at the iguana, causing it to feel the force behind it. This led to the iguana to turn around and flee into the woods, much to the group's joy.

"Ah yeah! Eat it, iguana!" Sprig pointed in the direction it ran.

"Yes! Run and cower underneath the rock you crawled from!" King added.

Gus then fell to his knees, dropping the illusion as he took a moment to catch his breath. Luz was quick to kneel to his level with concern.

"I'm okay… the bigger illusions sometimes take a lot out of me…" Gus said in-between breaths.

"That was still amazing, Gus!" Luz smiled, which caused him to perk up.

"Don't celebrate yet! Got a fire to put out!" Eda was ready to move in with a water spell, only for Luz to step in.

"It's okay, Willow and Hop Pop got it covered!" She pointed towards the center of the market, where Willow, Anne, Hop Pop, and Polly had all gathered together.

"Well, what are you waiting for? An invitation? Put out this darn fire already!" Polly told the bespectacled witch.

"I… I know what I said before but… I've never created a plant on another land before!" Willow was already looking nervous, the pressure getting to her. "What if the Aquabor isn't compatible with Amphibia's groundwater!? What if there's not enough groundwater?! What if I…?"

"Hey!" Anne put a firm hand on Willow's shoulder and looked her dead in the eyes with a firm expression, despite the scarf still covering most of her face. "Remember the time you turned your whole school into a greenhouse? You got this, Mega-Witch." Anne said with an assuring smile.

That was true… Willow did manage to overwhelm the entire Hexside security system before. And Principal Bump was so impressed that he moved her into the Plant Track, as she always wanted. And the whole reason she even did that was to help her friends who were in serious trouble. And those very same friends were in trouble now. She helped them before, and she'll do it again.

Taking a deep breath, Willow stuck out her left leg and spun a green glowing magic circle in the ground around her before stepping back as her own eyes glowed a bright green. She shot her hands up, causing an enormous tree-like structure to emerge from the ground, much to the awe of all the surrounding frogs, as well as her own friends, with even Eda looking with an impressed smile and raised eyebrow.

The tree in question had a bright blue wooden trunk and appeared baren without any leaves. That is until all the moisture in the ground was absorbed into the tree's roots, causing the surrounding grass to die out. The water traveled up the tree's body and all the way to the surrounding branches that Willow purposely stuck out in every direction so that it casted a shadow over the blazing market. Water then began to spray out from the tips of the branches, almost like a giant sprinkler and rain down over the market. It didn't take long for the fire to be extinguished, saving what was left of the market.

Willow then fell to her own knees in exhaustion as those near her came to her side. "You good?" Anne asked as she and everyone else around her were now soaking wet.

"Yeah…" She stood back up soon after.

"That was… awesome!" Polly beamed. "You just pulled a giant tree out of nowhere! Lady, you have the Polly Slap of Approval!" She hopped up to playfully smack Willow on the back.

"Wait… really…?" Willow looked in humble surprise at the praise she just received.

"Yep. That was mighty impressive." Hop Pop nodded. "One plant-lover, to another."

"See? Toldya you had it in you." The soaking wet Anne said.

"Awe shucks." Willow blushed at that.

However, the moment would come to an abrupt end as the soaking wet scarf that Anne wore became too heavy and slipped off, revealing her pimple-ridden face to the whole crowd of frogs, all of whom gasped as they saw it.

"Leaping Larva! Look!"

"Oh no!" Luz gasped as she and her group ran to the others to help, but it was too late. They saw her face and Anne knew it.

"No! No! Don't look at me!" She tried to cover her face, bracing herself for the inevitable hurl of insults and cries of fear and panic.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!"

"Yeah, I think so!"

"They're warts…! Beautiful ruby red warts!" One frog said with a wide smile.

"Wait… huh…?" Anne muttered in confusion.

"Beautiful…?" Luz looked just as confused herself, looking to Eda, who only shrugged as a crowd gathered around Anne, all looking to her pimple-ridden face as if it was the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen.

"Stunning!"

"Are they real?"

"I wanna touch them!"

And it wasn't just Anne, several frogs were gathering around Willow and Gus too, much to their confusion.

"Hey, I saw what you did to!"

"Yeah, you made a giant monster out of nowhere!" One frog boy pointed to Gus.

"And you grew a ginormous tree out of the ground!" An elderly frog woman said to Willow.

Like with Anne, Willow and Gus both winced as they were expecting to be insulted or even feared given how the frogs before ran away when they saw them upon first entering Wartwood.

"That was… amazing!"

"Huh?" Both Gus and Willow looked to each other in shock, along with Luz.

"For real! You scared away an iguana! And those things rarely scare!"

"You also put out the fire and saved all our livelihoods! Literally!"

Before they knew it; Anne, Willow, and Gus were all surrounded by the many frogs as they continued to praise them for their 'warts' and achievements respectively. That's when an idea came to Luz as she decided to join in.

"Yep, let's hear for the heroes of the market!" She announced to all the frogs. "We got Gus, Master of Illusions! Even the deadliest of monsters fear what he can conjure!" She said dramatically, putting her arm around Gus' shoulder and waving her free hand around for emphasis.

"Uh… Luz…?" Gus had no idea what was going on.

"Mega-Witch, Willow!" Luz then went over to her, crouching behind her as she slowly rose up from the ground. "Who can make the earth itself shake with the army of trees at her command!"

All the frogs gasped in amazement as Luz continued on, finally moving to Anne.

"And finally, our beautiful red-wart Anne Boonchuy!" She grabbed Anne by her face and showed it for all the frogs to face. "Gaze upon her ruby-crusted face and tremble at her beauty!"

"Luz… what are you doing…?" Anne had no idea what was going on.

"That's incredible! That boy can create anything he imagines?!"

"Mega-Witch…! A fitting for someone so mighty!"

"And ruby red warts… I've never seen anything so beautiful…!"

The frogs all came in around Anne, Willow, and Gus and lifted them up in the air. "Three cheers for Master Illusionist Gus, Mega-Witch Willow, and Red Wart Anne!"

"Hip-hip, hooray! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip Hooray!" The townsfolk cheered as they threw the kids up and down. As they did, the three of them couldn't help but laugh and smile at the praise they were getting. This was a total one-eighty from not only Anne's treatment of Wartwood so far, but also the unpopularity Willow and Gus both experienced at Hexside with some of their peers. They all looked to each other with smiles as they continued to laugh and bask in the praise they were getting.

All while Luz stood in the back and couldn't help but smile herself. Her friends were being praised! The people of Wartwood actually liked them! Good. They deserved it, especially after helping to save the market the way they did.

Eda then came up to Luz's side and nudged her arm playfully, looking at her with a knowing smile as she knew exactly what the girl's intent was, something that caused Luz to smile even more brightly.

---

City Hollow

Mayor Toadstool sat in a slump on his desk in his office as he saw his assistant, Toadie, draw a red line moving straight down on his poll chart, indicating just how low they were.

"Oh, this is bad Toadie… people hate us!" The mayor complained.

"With a passion, sir!" Toadie added with a perky tone.

"It's as if embezzling money from the town makes you the bad guy!" Toadstool exclaimed before slumping more on his desk, prompting Toadie to crawl up from behind and massage Toadstool's temples. "Ugh! If we don't fix things soon, we'll lose next month's election for sure! The only thing that can save us now is a miracle!"

The sound of cheers could be heard from outside, getting Toadstool's attention as he stood from his spot to look out the window. As he did, he saw the townsfolk carrying Anne, Willow, and Gus, the three kids looking just as elated as before. And that caused Toadstool to smirk.

"Oh, my dear Toadie, I do believe our miracle has arrived."

---

Plantar Farm

"This is awesome! Just look at all these gifts!" Sprig said enthusiastically as the entire living room of the family room was filled with presents, which everyone looked at with excitement. Many of these presents also happened to be intended for Anne, Gus, and Willow, which included banners with their name on them.

"The town's people like me. They really… really like me…" Anne said in wonder, still having a hard time believing it all.

"Not just you… but us too! Look at this!" Gus unwrapped a present for him that had a note on it, which he read aloud. "'A cape fitting for the master of illusions', please make an illusion for my birthday, Master Gus.'" Gus then gasped. "A cape?!" He took out a black cape which he attached to his back and held it over his face like a magician. "Oh this is so cool! And they called me 'Master'! I'm a master!"

"And look at all these lovely plants everyone's given me!" Willow looked to the various potted flowers and plants that were all wrapped beautifully, and each of them had notes with hearts and stars on them as they read 'Mega-Witch Willow!'. "I don't get this much praise except on my birthday!"

Polly unwrapped one present and saw a snack that caused her to gasp with joy. "Chocolate covered maggots! Come to mama!" She dumped all the contents into her mouth.

"We even managed to sell off all our tomatoes too." Hop Pop said as he counted the bag of copper coins. "Despite that disaster at the market."

"Guess living in the same house as heroes has its benefits." Sprig commented.

"Finally! At long last, we're getting the praise we deserve!" King said triumphantly, standing tall on the table.

"'We'?" Eda asked playfully. "You didn't do much of anything back there."

"Hey, as king and friend of the local heroes, I'm entitled to the spillover." The little demon.

"I'm just so happy for you guys!" Luz said with a wide smile. "Nobody in town hates you anymore!"

"I'm still surprised by that… I thought frogs in Amphibia hated magic." Gus recalled, looking to Hop Pop.

"It's caused problems in the past, sure." The old frog said. "But I guess if you save the town, everyone's fine with."

"Eda saved the town from those scorpions when she first showed up. How come she's not getting any praise?" Luz asked.

"Meh, I don't need it." The Owl Lady waved off. "Being infamous is way more thrilling."

"Willow and Gus being heroes is one thing, but Anne didn't do anything either." Polly pointed out.

"Yeah, they only like her because of her face-bumps." King added.

"Hey, it's way more than that." Luz tried to stick up for her friend. "Anne's got all kinds likeable qualities to her."

"Awe, thanks dude." Anne pointed to her gratefully.

"But… they're not wrong." Eda commented. "The minute they saw those 'ruby red warts'…" Eda used air-quotes for emphasis. "The fell in love, so that did have a lot to do with it."

Anne gasped, realizing that they were right. "I better take care of these money makers if I wanna keep this up." She spotted a stick of butter on the table and grabbed it. "Babies. Babies are hungry." She rubbed the butter all over her face, making sure that every single one of her pimples were soaking in the greasy butter.

However, everyone… Willow, Gus, King, Sprig, Hop Pop, Polly, Eda, and even Luz shuddered in disgust over what they just saw.

"Too much?" Anne asked.

A loud honking noise was heard from outside. The group then got up to step out to see the source of it, none other than the mayor of Wartwood himself, having just arrived on a well-decorated snail with his assistant.

"Ah, Anne, my dear." Toadstool greeted in seemingly friendly manner. "I heard about what happened at the market. Any chance I can have the honor of meeting the heroes who saved the town?"

"Oh, that's my friends!" Anne stepped aside to introduce them. "Mega-Witch Willow, and Master Gus! Willow, Gus, meet Mayor Toadstool, he runs the place."

"Nice to meet you, sir." Willow waved.

"Pleasure." Toadstool nodded. "Now, I heard how you two used extraordinary abilities to scare away a mighty iguana as well as put out a massive fire. If it's not too much trouble, could I ask for a demonstration?"

"Sure. I'm an illusionist." Gus stepped up first, spinning a pair of cyan magic circles in the air with his fingers above him, creating a pair of illusionary clones of himself, both of which bowed alongside him. "My magic is quite flashy with…" Each of the clones created a large fire ball and an ice-sword respectively, which they clashed against each other, creating a puff of blue smoke, with another one appearing next to Toadstool as the real Gus bowed to him. "…Just a hint of showmanship."

"Very nice." Toadstool nodded.

"And I use plant magic." Willow thrusted her hands in the air, causing the ground to shake as an enormous bulb-plant grew from the ground, which then opened up to reveal a beautiful multi-colored flower. "Whatever kind of plant you can think of, I can bring it to life. Though I would need to study any unfamiliar plants."

"Now that is quite impressive." Toadstool pointed with approval. "Perhaps you two talented little folks and Anne would care to join me for a joy ride?" He gestured to the snail behind him, which neighed like a horse.

"We brought the fancy snail!" Toadie added.

"Get. Out!" Anne looked beyond excited.

"I've never seen anything so fancy before! Let alone ride in it!" Gus clung to Willow with excitement.

"Well then, come on! Let's do it!" The plant girl agreed.

"We all get to ride in that?" Sprig looked in joy.

"Awesome!" Luz said with a wide smile, sharing the same look with Sprig, though Eda looked more than a little questionable at this.

"Finally, the luxury I deserve!" King ran over with Hop Pop and Polly right behind him, only to stop when Toadstool held his fancy cane out in front of him.

"Up-up-up. I'm afraid that only Anne, Willow, and Gus are invited." Toadstool said, much to everyone's surprise and Eda's suspicion. "Those two talented little morsels and just look at those beautiful warts!" He held his hands out in front of him, his fingers making a rectangle shape like a frame as he caught a good view of Anne's pimples.

"Well… maybe we can ride alongside you?" Luz offered, looking a bit unsure at this. "Eda as her staff? We got the Salamander, even Bessie…?"

"Hey, don't look so glum, Luz. It's just a ride." Anne said as she, Willow, and Gus quickly climbed up on the snail with Toadstool with Anne putting on her sunglasses.

"Yeah, we'll probably head around town, get in a few sights and be right back." Willow said.

"I'll even make a few illusions of what we see for you when we get back." Gus offered.

With that, the fancy snail gave a neigh as Toadie snapped the reigns and it took off at high speed with all its passengers, literally leaving everyone else in the dust as they all coughed.

Hop Pop sighed as he saw them disappear down the road. "It begins."

"Huh?" Luz, Sprig, King, and Polly all questioned.

"Fame changes people, kids. And not in a good way." The old frog said.

"Well… that's not always the case, right?" Luz asked hopefully.

"Not always but being famous also puts a target on your back for being exploited." Eda said as she looked with a glare down the road. "And that guy has 'exploitation' written all over him."

That caused Luz to look away with concern. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to be used and exploited. She had hoped that bringing Willow and Gus to Wartwood would be a fun time for them all… but if they end up getting exploited and it's her fault… But she hoped that wasn't the case. Anne was with them after all, and she proved to be more than a little protective over their mutual witch friends. So, hopefully this will turn out alright. At least she hoped.

---

"Whoo! Man, this snail is fast!" Anne held her hands up high.

"Heck yeah, it is! Hey, can this thing fly?" Gus asked Toadie with stars in his eyes.

"Sorry, no." Toadie answered.

"Aw." Gus comically sulked.

"Hey, I got a question." Willow said. "I thought the people of Wartwood hated magic. But the town seemed to like us when we used ours?"

"Probably because you helped save them." Toadstool replied. "And that whole 'hate magic' thing was because of something else that happened a thousand years ago, so don't worry about."

"What did happen a thousand years ago anyway?" Anne asked.

"I dunno, it was a thousand years ago." Toadstool shrugged. "But enough of that, kids. I really think we can help each other. I can make sure you all stay popular, and in turn, you can help me improve my reputation. How does that sound?"

"Sounds fair." Willow accepted, seeing no issue with it. "Could I decorate the snail with flowers?"

"Yeah, sure." Toadstool said, prompting Willow to spin a green magic circle, creating a large cluster of vines all around the snail's shell and sprouting all kinds of pretty flowers from it.

"You have lovely taste, Miss Mega-Witch!" Toadie complemented.

"Awe, thank you." Willow blushed at the praise. Honestly, she could get used to this. It was way better than how she was treated at Hexside.

"Even though this thing can't fly, can I make an illusion of giant wings to make it look like it's flying?" Gus asked excitedly.

"Go for it!" Toadstool allowed. Gus then spun his own illusion magic circles to create a large pair of white angle-like wings along the side of the snail shell.

"Nice, dude!" Anne nudged him playfully. "Now let me honk the horn!"

"Absolutely!" Toadstool permitted.

"Wooo!" All three of them cheered as Anne honked the bug-horn on the side.

---

From that point forward; the mayor had set up events for the trio of kids to show off their respective attributes and gain more of an audience and an uproar, and with Mayor Toadstool hosting it all, his popularity would soar through the roof.

One such event included a meet-and-greet in the middle of town. Already a huge line of cheering frogs was forming as they all lined up to meet and receive a gift of some sort, all at a specified price the mayor had set up, of course.

Willow created whatever kind of plant the frog in front of her asked, which they received with extra joy, which included a giant flower that had the face of a frog on it. Gus would put up an illusionary show as per the description of the frog he'd meet, such as a giant and muscular figure of a young kid frog, much to said kid's excitement. Anne would give an autograph or handshake to the frog she was meeting, or even let them touch her pimples, one frog in question received a wink and a smile, causing said frog to faint with a blush on his face.

And as this happened; the Plantars remained at the farm, attending their crops with even Luz providing a hand. Though Eda, King, and the Salamander just stood on the side to watch…

Only for Anne, Willow, and Gus to ride in with Toadstool on his fancy snail through the field, which was followed by raving crowd of rabid fans. The field was almost torn up when the fans went through, much to the annoyance of the Plantars, Eda, and her wards.

The kids and Toadstool even worked together to establish new buildings and services to the town to further increase the mayor's reputation and the kid's popularity.

This included an orphanage, which Willow decorated with several large roses. As Anne cut the opening ribbon and shook Toadstool's hand, Gus created an illusion of large torches on the side for dramatic appeal, earning appraisal from the crowd.

Next was a community center, with Willow decorating that building with multiple enormous violets. Anne cut the opening ribbon for this building and shook Toadstool's hand again as Gus created another illusion, this one of mighty waterfall behind it, earning even more cheers from the crowd.

Then they revealed a giant statue in the middle of town, this one being of Anne shaking Toadstool's hand with Willow and Gus both hanging out on the sides with open arms. Anne cut the opening ribbon yet again and shook Toadstool's hand just as described in the statue as Willow decorated the statue itself with giant sun flowers and Gus created several illusions of himself, Willow, Anne, and Toadstool, all being muscular and standing like tall and heroic figures. And just as before, the crowd continued to cheer.

Toadstool them drove the kids through the market, pass the Plantars' stand with Eda, Luz, King, and the Salamander still being there. And just like on the farm, a crowd of rabid fans followed through and ended up tearing the stand apart, spilling over the vegetables, much to the further annoyance of the group.

---

Near the end of the day, Toadstool had brought the kids to City Hollow and all three of them looked rather fancy. Anne had her sunglasses, and a fancy cotton worm wrapped over her shoulders; Willow wore a dress and crown of various colored flowers; and Gus had his cape along with a top-hat fitting for a magician. They were led to a special room designed just for them.

"Here we are. Anne, Willow, Gus, from now on… this is your home." The mayor had presented to them.

"Whoa…." All three kids looked in absolute awe at what they saw. It was essentially a two-level, apparent made for three people. It had a shared living space that included a dinning room, a lounge sofa, and even a fountain with all three kids standing tall as water ran through them. There was even a fancy bathroom with the upstairs level leading to three separate rooms.

"This is awesome! I feel like I'm living in a mansion!" Gus beamed.

"And to think just yesterday, people were treating me like a monster and you guys like a bunch of losers." Anne pulled her friends in close. "But look at us now, baby!"

"Oh yeah. I don't think I'll ever be called 'Half-a-Witch' again as long as I'm here!" Willow said with a happy grin.

Toadstool chuckled. "Glad you're all enjoying yourselves. You three stick with me, and I'll make sure you never go out of style. Now take care of those warts Anne, toddles." Toadstool tossed her a stick of butter before leaving.

"I could really get used to this." Gus said, looking around at their spacious living space.

"You and me both, buddy." Anne said as she clapped her hands together rapidly. "Yay me!"

"What was that?" Willow looked in confusion.

Anne had a spaced-out look on her face, just now processing what she did. "Huh… I have no idea… felt familiar though."

A knock was heard on the window behind them, the three turning around to see that it was Luz and Sprig at the window, with the Plantars, Eda, and King right behind them.

"Guys, hey! Got time for a visit?" Sprig asked from outside. Willow smiled as she spun a magic circle, prompting some flowery vines to come up and open the window for her, allowing everyone inside.

"Hey everyone. So, what do you think?" Willow asked, gesturing to the whole apartment.

"Well…" Hop Pop muttered.

"Yeah… it's great…" Sprig said in a partial wince.

"It's definitely fancy." Luz added.

"Bet the rent ain't cheap though." Eda put in.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Mayor Toadstool said it was free." Gus assured as he set down on a lounge chair. "Let me tell yeah guys, being famous was the best thing that ever happened to us!"

"Got that right, buddy." Anne lounged on a couch with a drink in her hand. "Can you guys believe I was living in a basement here, or an attic in the Isles? Ha! It was cold, dusty, not to mention smelly… Oh, no offense."

Hop Pop and Eda's eyelids lowered. "None taken." The former said.

"B-but… I was there to." Luz rubbed her arm, not quite sure how to feel about that remark.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Luz. You were great." Anne said, still lounging on her couch. "But now I got my own room again. A girl needs her privacy, ya know?"

"And I get that… But Willow… Gus… what about your families? Are you just… moving to Wartwood permanently?" Luz asked her friends.

"Don't worry about that. We told our parents that we were sleeping over at a friends' and they were okay with that." Willow answered.

"But maybe we can bring our dads here to Amphibia and see if they'd like for us to move here." Gus said. "I honestly wouldn't mind that."

"Yeah, beats all the garbage we got from Hexside all the time." Willow waved off.

A nearby grandfather clock rang out, getting the kids' attention again. "Oh shoot, we gotta wrap this up." Anne said.

"Already? But it hasn't even been five minutes." Luz said.

"Sorry Luz, but we got a busy schedule." Gus replied.

"Yep, we got autographs to sign, tadpoles to kiss… and I'm opening a botanist garden with Gus providing the show, we'll just reschedule to hang out sometime next week." Willow added.

"Yeah, you know how it is." Anne said as well as she, Willow, and Gus pushed everyone out into the main hallway. "So good to talk to you guys. Love it, mean it, mwah." She gave a kissing noise as she, Willow, and Gus closed the door behind them.

"The heck was that?!" Sprig questioned right as the door closed. "It's like they were different people!"

"Yeah, a bunch of crazy people!" Polly added.

"It's so unfair!" King pouted. "How come they get a luxury apartment when I don't even get a castle?!"

"Really?" Eda looked at him questionably.

"What? They can at least try to share it with us!" King said.

"I mean… if they're happy…" Luz tried to say.

"Seriously, Luz? It feels like they don't want anything to do with us!" Sprig told her, causing Luz to wince.

"I wouldn't go that far…" The girl muttered.

Sprig and King sighed as they both sat down. "This stinks." The pink frog said.

"Ditto." The little demon agreed.

"Hey!" Hop Pop bonked both their heads. "None of that! Kids, when one of your own makes it big, you support them! No matter what! Because deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, down… they're the same person."

"That's not always the case…" Eda looked away somewhat. "I've seen what fame or a high position does to people, how it can get to their head…. At first it starts out with a change on the outside before they change who they are inside." She had seen this even with her own sister.

"But… I mean… they did go through a hard time before…" Luz tried. "Anne's stuck here, Willow and Gus were bullied all the time back on the Isles… but if they have a chance to make it good here…"

"Why are you so supportive of this, Luz?" King asked. "If anything, you should be in on this too! The first human to use magic?! You should be demanding fame just like them!"

"Well…" Luz looked away. "I'm not looking to be famous… and this isn't about me, it's about them. And if this makes them happy, then I'm not gonna get in their way."

While the girl put on a smile, Eda happened to look to Hop Pop as they both got the feeling that Luz meant something else by that… like maybe that she might be holding her friends back or something. But rather than press the issue, they decide to let it go for now and leave.

"Come on, we got a farm to tend to." The old frog said.

"Yeah, okay." King accepted.

"Sure." Polly said reluctantly.

"You're right, Hop Pop." Sprig added with a sad smile.

However, as they left, none of them noticed how Anne, Gus, and Willow were just outside and heard the entire conversation, leaving them to look confused and concerned.

"Excuse me. Sir? Ma'ams?" Toadie approached them from behind. "I think I found you all the perfect outfits for tonight."

"Oh… Yeah…" Anne said a bit more dejectedly than before.

"Sure… sounds good." Gus added in the same tone.

"Thanks…" Willow muttered, a feeling of guilt setting in as she and her friends followed Toadie.

---

The Next Morning

It was dawn as a rooster-caw echoed through the morning, which woke up everyone inside the apartment. Willow arose with messy hair and tired eyes and a yawn as she got up and left her room before a knock was on the small service door on the side of the main room and a letter was slid out from underneath.

"Guys, we got mail!" Willow called to everyone.

"Five more minutes…" Anne muttered, waking up herself while Gus had woken up as well.

Willow opened up the letter to read the note inside. "'Be at the assembly at noon sharp'."

"Looks like we got a busy day ahead of us." Gus said as he had left his room just as Anne did, but when Gus looked at her, he gasped. "Anne!"

"What?" The girl questioned.

"You're face…!" Gus pointed to her, drawing Willow's attention as she too gasped at what she saw.

Anne went into the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. "What… What am I…?" However, she too gasped as she saw that her face was now completely clean. Her pimples were gone, much to her horror. "No! No! No-no-no-no-no-no! MY PIMPLES!" She desperately grabbed a stick of butter and rubbed it over her face. "What do I do!? What do I do?!" However, it was clear that her pimples weren't coming back. She then set her sights on the illusionist in her friend group. "Gus!" She grabbed him by the shoulders. "Illusion! Pimples! Now!"

"Okay! Okay!" Gus spun a cyan magic circle, creating a puff of smoke around Anne's face as an illusion of her pimples appeared, much to Anne's relief.

"Oh, thank god! Problem solved."

"Uh… not completely." Willow said with a wince.

"Huh?" Anne blinked.

"Gus can only keep an illusion up for so long." Willow explained. "I mean, small ones like your pimples can hold up for a while…"

"But I can't make any other illusions while I keep this one up." Gus winced. "So…"

Anne's panic returned. "Oh god… what do I do now…?" She then looked to plant girl this time. "Willow! Use your plants to make cherries! Or raspberries! Some kind of red fruit to squish on my face!"

"I don't know what a cherry or raspberry is!" Willow replied. "I have to know the plant to grow it!"

Anne then spotted a piece of paper and a pen-feather. She quickly wrote down a note and went to the small service door, knocking on it. "Uh… Hello? Anyone there?"

"Just me! Toadie!" The little frog assistant entered the room, though thankfully Gus kept up the illusion of Anne's pimples. "How can I help?"

"Uh… can you deliver this note to the Plantars?" Anne requested. "And it make it quick!"

"Oh and see if Eda and Luz can came to!" Willow added.

"Of course!" Toadie said without hesitation. "But before I do, could I get some autographs? I am a huge fan!"

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Anne signed a piece of paper and handed it to Willow for her to sign and then to Gus who signed as well, who handed it to Toadie.

"Uh… can I also get some flowers on this, Miss Mega-Witch?" Toadie requested.

"Sure…?" Willow spun a green magic circle, leading to a frame of flowers to appear around the paper as well.

"And maybe a fancy illusion on this to?" Toadie hopped, causing Gus to wince.

"Sorry! Too small for me to work with!" He lied.

"Just go!" Anne demanded.

"Yes ma'ams and sir!" Toadie bolted out the door as fast as he could, leaving the three to look more than a little worried for each other.

---

Five minutes later, the Plantars, Eda, Luz, King, and the Salamander were at the door to the trio's apartment with Luz knocking on it quickly, to which her friends opened.

"We got your message!" Luz said.

"We came as fast as we could!" Hop Pop added.

"What's the emergency?" Sprig questioned as Anne motioned for them all to come inside, which they did before Anne closed the door.

"My life is ruined!" The Thai girl said in a panic. "My zits! They're gone!"

"Gone? What are you talking about?" King questioned. "Your face is still red and hideous." Gus then dropped the illusion, revealing Anne's clean face. "Oh. I see."

"Without my beautiful zits… I'm… I'm nothing…!" Anne said in a dramatic panic.

"Oh geeze, don't have a panic attack." Eda rolled her eyes. "And what about you two?" She looked to Willow and Gus. "Your magic didn't up and vanish like Anne's red bumps, so why are you two upset?"

"Well… our friend is in trouble!" Willow added.

"We don't want her fame to end!" Gus put in.

"And we're here to help. Don't worry." Luz promised.

"What? Come on Luz, you know this is ridiculous!" Sprig complained. "I'm sick and tired of all this fame and… and…" He looked to Luz, who seemed to be silently pleading to him. He then his grandfather, who nodded. "We'll do everything we can to help you."

"Eda…?" Luz looked to her, hoping she was on board as well, the Owl Lady rolling her eyes.

"Fine. Whatever." Eda begrudgingly accepted.

"Oh, thank goodness…!" Anne sighed.

Luz began to think for a bit. "So… illusions are only temporary…" She snapped her fingers as an idea came to her. "What about a little red fruit that we can stick to your face?"

"I asked Willow, but she said she could only grow fruit that she's familiar with." Anne said.

"Well, do they got any tiny red fruits in the Boiling Isles that you can use?" Luz asked.

"We got bloodberries. But those thinks suck out your blood when they make contact, so I wouldn't recommend it." Willow replied, causing Luz to shiver somewhat.

"Oh, but that does give me an idea!" Sprig pulled out a plant book and showed everyone a page. "What about these swamp berries? They kinda look like pimples. And they're not deadly at all."

"Great. But how are we supposed to get to the swamp without being seen?" Anne asked. "I have f-Annes everywhere."

"F-What?" King questioned as everyone looked in confusion.

"F-Annes." Anne said. "It's… it's what we're calling my fans."

"I didn't agree to that." Willow said. "How about…Willowphile? It's like Floriphile only… Willow."

"Uh no… That sounds too much like something really… really wrong." Luz cringed.

"How about Gang?" Gus offered. "No that sounds cliché…"

As the trio continued to contemplate this; Eda, Sprig, King, Hop Pop, and even the Salamander just stared blankly.

"I don't wanna live on this planet anymore." Polly said bluntly.

"Don't worry about the crowd, kids." Eda said with a mischievous smile. "Mama's got a pla-Anne."

"Ugh, don't you start too!" King groaned.

"But I'm gonna need your help, HP." Eda said to Hop Pop.

"Sure. But I told you not to call me HP." The old frog replied.

"Too late. It stuck." Eda grinned, while Hop Pop groaned in response.

---

A whole crowd of fans was gathered outside City Hall, all waiting for Anne, Willow, and Gus as most of them wore clothing to try and mimic there's, held up signs with their names on them, or even home-made dolls on sticks. Suddenly, the door busted open and it appeared the pimple-ridden Anne, Willow, and Gus all stood outside.

"Hey, everyone get a load of me! I'm the human who has the fancy red warts!" Anne said aloud.

"And I'm Mega-Witch Willow and this is my buddy, Master Gus!" Willow said as Gus was at her side, but he stood on all fours and just stared at them all with his tongue hanging out.

Already the cheering crowd was beginning to circle around them all, only for them to be knocked aside by two large plant roots that emerged from the ground, clearing the way as the trio made a run for it, with Gus running on all fours.

"You want our autographs?! Come and catch us!" Willow called out.

"If you can!" Anne challenged.

"They're getting away!" One rabid fan exclaimed.

"After them!"

With that the crowd screamed as they ran in pursuit…

Completely unaware that the people they were chasing were actually Eda, Hop Pop, and the Salamander in his Komodo Dragon form, all disguised as Anne, Willow, and Gus respectively, via an illusion spell that Eda conjured up. The three looking to each other with knowing grins as they made their way out of town with the rabid crowd behind them.

This was the perfect opportunity for the real Anne, Willow, and Gus to all sneak away with Luz, King, Sprig, and Polly. All seven of them were grouped together as Gus conjured an illusionary invisibility spell for all of them to avoid being seen by anyone who might still be in town.

"You know, I've never seen Eda use illusions before." Luz commented.

"Well, she did say she was a master of all magics, so it makes sense." Anne put in.

"She tries not to use it as much, mostly cause she loves the thrill of fighting her way out of her problems." King said.

"That's a proper role model for ya." Polly smirked.

"Let's head to the swamp and get those berries, they shouldn't be far." Sprig said as the invisible group made their way out of town.

"You think Hop Pop and Eda are gonna be okay?" Willow asked with concern.

"They'll be fine." Anne assured. "Eda's a legit badass, Hop Pop's old as he is for a reason in this crazy world, and the Salamander's a walking tank."

The group them made it to the swamp, and with nobody around, Gus was able to drop the illusion and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Whoa, that was a workout. Not used to all the attention, or having to make an illusion to avoid it all."

"Well get used to it, cause that's what being famous gets ya." King said, much to Gus' concern as the group followed Sprig through the swamp. "You deal with rabid fans every day giving you gifts and offerings, and when you show any kind of weakness… Boom! Instant rebellion! Which is why when I finally achieve my fame, I'll make people so afraid of me that nobody will ever dare rebel against me!" He said dramatically, standing on top of a nearby log for emphasis as he raised his fist up high.

"And famous people have to deal with that… every day…?" Gus muttered. That started to make him a little bit nervous. This whole thing was certainly fun yesterday with everyone praising him and his illusionary magic, a form of magic that is often overlooked in the Boiling Isles. But… the idea of having to use his magic on himself and his friends all the time in order to avoid dealing with all the crazy crowds… that didn't sound as appealing.

"Hey, over here!" Sprig called out from the front of the group as they made their way to a small clearing by a stream. There they spotted a bush of tiny red little berries, which Anne went to immediately.

The Thai girl picked several and put them all over her face, making her look pimple-ridden again. "How do I look?" She asked.

Luz happened to put one berry at an open spot on Anne's right cheek. "That should do it."

Anne got a look at her face in the reflection of the stream. She looked like she had her precious pimples once again, causing her a great sense of relief. "Thanks for sticking with us, guys."

"That's what we're here for." Sprig replied.

"Not me. I'm here for the drama." Polly said.

"Same. And waiting for my well-earned spillover." King added.

Willow giggled before noticing a few extra berries on the bush as an idea came to her. "Hey, Luz?" She picked a berry and offered to her. "We got some extra here? Wanna join in? Get famous like us?"

"No thanks, I'm good." Luz replied, much to the surprise of not just Willow, but Gus and Anne too.

"Wait… what? You don't wanna be famous?" Gus asked in surprise.

"Yeah, come on, dude." Anne encouraged. "Wartwood loves us! And once they see your pimples, you'll be just as famous too!"

"Well… I'm not looking to stick out… at least not again…" Luz said, looking away.

"Wait… again?" Willow looked in confusion.

"Eh… nothing. Don't worry about it." Luz looked away, only for Willow to put a hand on her shoulder, causing Luz to look at her with a concerned expression.

"No, come on. Tell me. I want to know." The plant girl encouraged.

"That makes two of us." Gus said as well.

Luz looked around and saw the concerned looks on Willow and Gus' face, as well as Anne and Sprig, with Polly and King looking more curious than anything. The Latina girl sighed before she explained.

"I stuck out back home on Earth… but not in a good way." She began, holding her arm. "Everyone saw me as a wierdo… the things I would normally do freaked them out. Nobody wanted to be near me." She pulled out her BFF photo to show Willow and Gus, allowing them to see Luz and Anne together with two other human girls that they didn't recognize. "In fact, Anne and her group of friends are the only human friends I ever made, and I only just made them last year. Before them, I didn't have any friends."

"What?!" Willow and Gus both exclaimed, which caused Anne and Sprig to look at Luz with sympathy, even King and Polly's own looks softened.

"That's crazy! You're one of the most fun humans I know, Luz! Why would nobody want to be friends with you?!" Gus questioned.

"Not everyone is so open-minded…" Luz looked down.

"But if you put these on…" Willow offered the swamp berry again. "You'll get everyone in Wartwood to like you!"

"But I'm not looking to be famous." Luz said. "Maybe it's different from how it was for me standing out back home… but… I just don't like the idea of everyone knowing my name. It… it makes me uncomfortable."

"Oh… well if you're uncomfortable with it… then we won't force it." Willow accepted as she put the berry down.

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Luz smiled. "And besides, this isn't about me. It's about you guys. Like you said, everyone in Wartwood loves you, and I'm not gonna get in the way of that or take away the spotlight. It's all yours."

While Anne, Willow, and Gus did seem to understand and appreciate what Luz was trying to do, it was still concerning to see their friend like this… like she was speaking down on herself. But it was probably best not to press the issue, especially since it clearly made Luz uncomfortable.

"Okay… but, we're still here for you, you know that, right?" Anne asked with a smile, putting her hand on Luz's arm.

"I know." Luz knew that much already and it made her so happy to know that.

---

It was an hour after noon and the assembly was all set and prepared. A well-decorated stage had been set up with flowers all wrapped around the pedestals and sides. And at the top was a huge banner that read 'Vote Toadstool! Anne, Mega-Witch Willow, and Master Gus approve!' A fly even flew in the sky, carrying a that read the exact same thing. A huge crowd of fans was already gathered, holding up signs and dolls and all were dressed up to resemble their beloved idols.

Just behind the curtain, Toadstool looked out to the crowd and was starting to get anxious. "Where are they?! I'm losing a point in the polls every minute I'm late!" He complained as Toadie kept his suit tidy, the little frog assistant wore a shirt with Anne's face on it, a flower necklace, and a magician's top hat on his head.

"Wait! Wait! We're here! We're here!" Gus called out as he, Willow, and Anne made it backstage.

"There you are! I was so worried." Toadstool put on an act.

"Sorry… we had this whole mob situation…" Anne said.

"But luckily, Eda, Luz, and the Plantars helped us…" Willow tried to explain.

"The Plantars? Oh, kids, I thought we talked about this." Toadstool said to them. "Hanging out with those bumpkins will only bring you down to their level. And that witch lady brings chaos like moths to a flame. Just the sort to cause problems for us."

"But… they helped us…" Gus said with he and the other two looking concerned with the way the mayor spoke about their other friends. "And Luz…"

"That other human?" Toadstool questioned. "What's so great about her? She's got no warts, she's got no special or flashy talents like you folk, she's worthless!"

'Worthless!?' Anne, Gus, and Willow all thought at the same time in shock.

"I think it's best that you three not be seen with them anymore. Understand?" Toadstool told them.

Anne happened to pull out her phone, looking at her home screen that had a group shot of herself, the Plantars, Eda, King, and Luz all together and having fun. Willow and Gus both looked to the picture themselves before the three made eye-contact with each other, and they seemed to come to the silent agreement.

"Understood." Anne said seriously.

"Yeah." Willow nodded. "We know what to do."

"Thanks for… enlightening us." Gus added.

"Anytime. Now get out there, your public awaits!" Toadstool encouraged, allowing the three to walk out onto the stage.

However, none of them were aware that Eda, Hop Pop, and the Salamander, now back to normal, were present. Having escaped from the crowd into the woods, the trio hid behind a tree and happened to see and hear everything that just went down with Toadstool and the kids.

"Did he just say what I thought he said?" Eda questioned in a growl.

"He did." Hop Pop confirmed, narrowing his own eyes.

The Salamander hissed outward as well.

The crowd was in an uproar once more as Anne, Willow, and Gus took center stage. But once they stepped up, they looked to the back of the crowd where they saw Luz, Sprig, King, and Polly; the former two smiling and waving towards them. The three kids looked to each other with nods before Anne spoke into the microphone as the crowd quieted down.

"Crazy couple days, huh?" Anne began. "When I first came here, I was a monster. And now, my friends and I here are the pride and joy of Wartwood."

"And we feel the same." Willow said, referring to her and Gus. "Back home… people looked down on me because I didn't always meet their expectations. It was… hard."

"But… this town thinks of us as heroes!" Gus spoke next. "And we'd gladly help all of you again if you needed it, no question. But you know… someone else came along to help us when we needed it."

"And they've done so much for us… more than anything we could have asked for… and we only just recently met them." Willow spoke humbly as the crowd continued to listen, with Luz, Sprig, King, and Polly looking a little confused as to where this was going.

"The kind of people who stick by us, no matter what anybody else sees us as." Gus said as well.

"We enjoyed the fame and praise we got these past couple of days, for sure. But if we had to choose between all of that… and the friends we've made… Then it's really no choice at all." Anne concluded the speech, by wiping her face clean of the swamp berries.

Everyone in the crowd gasped in shock, with several frogs fainting and covering their eyes.

"She's hideous again!"

"The truth is, I never had any real warts…" Anne began.

"They were just an illusion I conjured up in the beginning." Gus added.

"And now, they were swamp berries that I grew." Willow put in.

The crowd of frogs gasped even more.

"We've been deceived!"

But none were more shocked than Luz, Sprig, King, and Polly. Why would they not only lie, but throw away all this fame and praise?

"Up, hold on folks!" Toadstool quickly came on stage and pulled the kids away. "Just, heh, heh… give us a minute…" He said with a forced smile as he pushed all three kids backstage so the crowd couldn't see or hear them. "What the heck are you kids doing?! You're throwing it all away?!"

"Yep." Anne nodded.

"That's right." Willow nodded too.

"Looks that way." Gus also nodded.

"Are you kidding me?! Now how am I supposed to get all those idiots out there to vote for me?!" Toadstool complained.

"Um… excuse me, mayor?" Hop Pop stepped out from the woods, with Eda and the Salamander still hiding behind the tree. "What did you just call the people of this town?"

"Idiots!" Toadstool exclaimed.

"What makes you think they're idiots?" Hop Pop asked as the concealed Eda spun her finger, using magic to enchant the curtans and pull them away, revealing the ranting Toadstool to the crowd, as well as exposing the microphone, letting his words be broadcasted.

"Cause they're a bunch of stupid, whinny, frogs!" Toadstool continued. "Why do you think I've gotten away with embezzling this town for years?! Cause these dang frogs will believe anything I tell them!"

"Um… sir…?" Toadie nervously motioned for his boss to turn around with a wince.

"What is it, Toadie?! I…! Oh…!" Toadstool stool turned around, allowing him to see the crowd of glaring frogs as it became eerie silent, causing him to sweat up a storm. "D-did I say 'idiots'?" He chuckled nervously. "I-I meant… lovely, lovely, townspeople… eh?"

Immediately, the frogs pulled out so many rotten vegetables and fruit of nowhere, much to Toadstool's horror.

"Uh… simmer down now… Simmer…" A watermelon was thrown into his mouth as the rest of the booing crowd pelted him with their rotten produce, prompting him to run away off stage. "This is an outrage! Stop it…!" As he ran away, a small multi-colored fireball was shot out of the woods to hit him dead in the rear, lighting his pants on fire. "Yow!" Toadstool held his butt. "My keister's on fire! Toadie! Help!" He ran in a greater panic off the scene with Toadie running behind him with a bucket of water.

Anne, Willow, and Gus could only blink in surprise, even more so as Eda, Hop Pop, and the Salamander stepped out with knowing smirks. "Wait… that was you guys?" Anne questioned.

"We heard the whole thing." Hop confirmed.

"And nobody insults and exploits our kids and gets away with it." Eda said as she and the old frog shared a fist bump, with even the Salamander smirking as his tail wagged mischievously.

---

"Show's over."

"What a waste of time."

"Let's get out of here."

Those were the voices of disappointment from the local frogs as they walked away, leaving the Plantars, Eda, Luz, Willow, Gus, Anne, King, and the Salamander as they all met up in the now vacant square.

"Uh… hey guys…" Anne greeted her friends nervously.

"These are horrifying!" Sprig showed an Anne-doll.

"Yeah… they could have been better." Luz winced herself.

"Thanks for sticking with us." Willow smiled.

"Even when we let the attention get to our heads." Gus confessed with humility.

"It's alright. Just make sure you all do the same when I'm famous and finally ruling my own kingdom!" King declared.

"Never happening." Polly said with a straight smile.

"But why throw it all away? And lie up there?" Luz asked.

"Because if we didn't, then we wouldn't spend any more time with all of you." Anne confessed.

"And I'd rather be known as 'Half-a-Witch' and have my friends, then be 'Mega-Witch' with no friends." Willow confessed.

"I feel the same way." Gus added. "You guys are stuck with us. Especially you, Luz."

The girl in question was surprised by that… but soon found herself smiling. "Thanks guys. Oh, and for the record… You'll always be Mega-Witch in my book, Willow. And you, Gus, are a true master illusionist and it is so cool!"

Willow and Gus both shared smiles as they hugged Luz.

"Hey…" Anne leaned down to their level. "Any chance I can go back to being your roommate in the Plantars' basement or Eda's attic?"

Luz smirked as she pulled Anne into the group hug with her other friends. "That's fine with me. BFF." Anne chuckled at that as Sprig, King, and Polly joined in on the hug too with Eda coming in to ruffle Anne's hair as the Salamander was on her shoulder while Hop Pop just looked with a smile.

"We missed you, Anne." Sprig said.

"Thanks, you guys." Anne replied as they all broke out of the hug. "Hey, you know what? We still got the key to the apartment!" She showed off said key. "You guys wanna try out the hot tub before they change the locks?" She asked mischievously.

"There's the Anne I remember." Eda grinned as everyone cheered.

"Hot tub! Hot tub! Hot tub! Hot tub!" The kids all cheered as they ran back to City Hollow.

"Can't wait to feel those bubbles in my pants!" Hop Pop said as well.

---

A couple hours later, after spending a good amount of time in that fancy hot tub, the Plantars, Owl House crew, along with Willow and Gus, were all kicked out of the fancy apartment, but none of them complained. In fact, they seemed to be enjoying a nice and slow ride back to the Plantars' house. While Eda rode on Owlbert with the Salamander on her shoulder as Luz and King sat right behind her just above the road; Hop Pop drove Bessie just beside her with Anne, Sprig, Polly, Willow, and Gus all as passengers.

"Now this is nice." The old frog said with a relaxed sigh. "After a couple days of insanity, nothing beats a leisurely ride."

"I gotta say, this is a very nice beast you have here, Mr. Hop Pop." Gus complemented, referring to Bessie.

"Why thank you, Gus." Hop Pop nodded. "Bessie has been part of the family since before these grandkids were born. Nothing beats a dependable snail like her. She can really go anywhere. Do anything."

"Oh! Oh! Can we get slump slushies?!" Sprig hoped excitedly. "They have new flavors!"

Hop Pop chuckled. "Nope." He said, much to his grandson's disappointment.

"Can we go off-road? Do some crazy stunts?" Polly asked, pulling up on Hop Pop's eyelids for emphasis.

"Double no." Hop Pop said with a smile still on his face, causing Polly to let go of Hop Pop's eyelids while hers lowered in annoyance.

"How about a race?" King suggested. "Eda and Owlbert against you and Bessie! Winner takes all!"

"Tripple no." Hop Pop pointed up, still smiling.

"Yeah, that's not happening." Eda agreed, causing King to pout.

"Hey, when we get back home, think I can feed Bessie?" Luz asked.

"Maybe I can take a turn at driving?" Anne requested as well.

"Sure for both of you." Hop Pop confirmed.

"Oh come on, Hop Pop." Anne complained.

"Uh Anne, he said 'sure'." Willow told her.

"Wait… really?" Anne looked in surprise.

"And it's okay for me to feed her too?" Luz also asked.

"Absolutely." Hop Pop confirmed. "Bessie is due for dinner anyways, and I've been trying to teach this guy how to drive for years." He gestured to Sprig.

"It's true." Sprig himself confirmed.

"And he hasn't crashed and burned Bessie? That's a surprise." Eda commented.

"Well, I ain't gonna crash and burn!" Anne said enthusiastically. "Now give me those reigns! I'm ready to drive!"

---

Once they made it back to the Plantar farm, the group was gathered by Bessie's stable as Hop Pop dropped a massive book on a tree stump for Anne. "Not before reading this, you ain't." The old frog said.

"Wha…?" Anne blinked.

"A book?" Luz wondered as she picked up the book herself and had to give a bit of effort just to lift it. "Whoa, this thing is huge!"

"This here is Bessie's history." Hop Pop explained. "Before touching a snail's reigns, you gotta know them. Feel their heartbeat next to yours. And become one."

"Huh, you don't say…" Eda muttered as she looked to Owlbert on her shoulder, the Owl Lady giving a slight smile to her beloved Palisman.

"Come on Hop Pop, it's just a vehicle." Anne tried to brush off. "We had a family car back home. It's no biggie."

"Anne, Bessie's a living creature, not a car." Luz told her as she set the book down on the log "Driving a car is different from riding a horse."

"What's a horse?" Gus asked.

"An animal on Earth that people used to ride around on." Luz explained as she pulled out her phone to show a photo of herself as a kid at a petting zoo, feeding a horse. "I never rode one, but I know riding a living creature is different from a non-living vehicle. But do I need to read your book before I feed Bessie?" She asked Hop Pop.

"Nope, feeding is fine." Hop Pop said. "Just make sure Bessie gets plenty of greens." He gestured to a pile of leaves at the corner of the fenced area.

"You got it, Hop Pop." Luz said as she went over to the leaves.

"But Anne, you can't ride Bessie until you read this…" The old frog practically shoved the book into Anne's arms. "…Cover-to-cover. And that's final."

"Are there… pictures…?" Anne asked with a wincing smile.

"There are diagrams!" Hop Pop sung with sparkles in his eyes.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Anne shouted, her cry of despair echoing throughout the entire area.

Eda laughed hard at that, getting everyone's attention. "Sorry, but that was the perfect Anne-reaction." She chuckled.

"And totally overly dramatic." Hop Pop's eyelids lowered. "Now, if ya'll excuse me, Polly's due for a wash." He walked over to his giggling granddaughter as she rolled around in a pile of mud.

"Wha… No, no. Wait! No!" The dirty Polly cried out as she struggled in Hop Pop's grasp. "I'll just get dirty again! You can't stop me! I learned this from watching you, Eda!" She said as she was pulled inside.

"Okay, this I gotta see." Eda cackled. "Don't you kids blow anything up while I'm gone." She told them as she and the Salamander walked into the house, closing the door behind them.

Anne set the book down for most of the other kids else to see, all while Luz went to get some leaves for Bessie. "I can see why it took so long for Hop Pop to teach you, Sprig." Willow commented, taking a look at the large book herself.

"Yeah… page five was as far as I've got." Sprig said as he laid on the ground, playing with the flies with his fingers. "Too much description, not enough plot. The Azura series is way better, cause it puts more emphasis on the actual story."

"Thank you, Sprig." Luz complemented as she handed a pile of leaves to the large snail. "Here, Bessie. You hungry?"

Bessie gobbled up the leaves with little issue before leaning against Luz with a purr.

"Awe, aren't you cute?" Luz hugged the snail, who chirped.

"Wow Luz. I didn't know you were good with beasts." Gus said, looking impressed with Willow.

"My mom works as a veterinarian back home." Luz explained. "Think like an 'animal doctor', so I've seen a lot of pets in my world. But yeah, I just love animals." She said as she patted Bessie.

"Hmm, you love animals, do you?" King looked viciously towards Anne, who smirked with a similar expression.

"So much so that you'd want to take one out for a ride…?" The Thai girl looked her friend knowingly, and Luz instantly picked up on her intent.

"Whoa, guys! I get you wanna ride Bessie, but I don't think we should go all Snail Theft Auto! We can't just ride her out against her will!" Luz protested.

"Who cares what the pet thinks? It's the master's command!" King declared.

"But… aren't you a pet though?" Willow looked to King in confusion.

"I am not a pet!" King exclaimed as he crawled up on Bessie's shell. "I am the ferocious king of demons! Even the mightiest of beasts cower in terror over me! So, cower, Bessie! Cower and ride as per your master's command!"

Bessie, however, just ate more of the leaves that Luz brought her, like King's command went over her head.

"I said I command you!" King reaffirmed.

"Delusions of grandeur aside, King's got the right idea." Anne said as she put Bessie's book in the satchel tied to her shell. "I don't need history! I need experience! Heeeeey, here's an idea. Why don't we all take a harmless test drive?"

"What?" Luz, Willow, Gus, and even Sprig all looked in surprise.

"We'll just take a small ride around town, no harm. And we'll prove to Hop Pop that we're fast learners." Anne said.

"Now that I can get behind!" King agreed. "We'll show Hop Pop that no beast is untamable to us!"

"And we'll be back here before he even knows what happened? What do you guys say?" Anne offered everyone else her hand.

Luz, Sprig, Willow, and Gus all looked to each other nervously. "I don't know Anne…" Luz confessed.

"Yeah… it feels like we're crossing a line here." Willow muttered.

"Aren't we stealing?" Gus wondered.

"And what if Bessie gets hurt?"

"It's not stealing." Anne said. "We're just going around the block. What's the harm?"

"Plus, if anything bad happens, Mega-Witch Willow and Master Illusionist Gus can get us out of a jam, no problem." King added. "They fought off a giant lizard on their first day here."

"Um… is anybody else getting a feeling that this is one of those decisions that we'll look back on and say, 'Ooh-boy, we probably shouldn't have done that'?"

"I am." Luz already saw this going bad.

"We'll get Swamp Slushies while we're out." Anne sung.

Sprig immediately hopped onto Bessie's shell. "No regrets! Come on, guys!" He gestured for everyone else.

Luz looked to her witch friends as Gus shrugged. "We did fight off a giant lizard and saved the town."

"So… maybe if we're all together, it should be fine even if it goes bad." Willow said as well.

With a sigh, Luz seemed to cave in. "Okay, but we're only going around the block. Nothing crazy." She, Willow, and Gus both climbed on.

"That's what I like the here. Hyah!" Anne snapped the reigns, signaling for Bessie to drive off the farm. And the second the snail sped up, Anne, Sprig, and King all cheered as they felt the wind blow across their faces. The minute they hit the road and sped up even more, Luz, Willow, and Gus found themselves in the thrill of the ride and started to cheer as well.

"Hey, let's get some flames on the side going!" Anne exclaimed.

"Sure!" Gus spun a magic circle, creating illusionary flames along the side of Bessie's shell as they continued to speed along.

---

Mrs. Croaker rode on her ladybug with her beloved pet spider, Archie, just minding her own business when she looked in one of her side mirrors to see a dust cloud coming up from behind.

"Huh…? What in tarnation…?" Suddenly, the speeding Bessie sped past Croaker's ladybug, causing it to spin out of control. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" She pulled hard on her own reigns to stop her spinning.

"Out of the way, slowpoke!" Sprig smacked his own behind in Croaker's direction.

"Make way for the king of the road!" King also slapped his behind.

"Eat our dust!" Gus shouted.

"Hooligans! Ruffians! Swamp suckers!" Croaker yelled from behind.

"Whoa… what was that…!?" Luz exclaimed in surprise as her friends sat back down.

"I always wanted to try road rage." Sprig said.

"Same here." Gus agreed. "But we call it 'air rage' in Isles, cause everyone is flying instead of riding."

"And the verdict?" Anne asked.

"Exhilarating!" Both Sprig and Gus said at the same time.

"Don't you think that's a bit extreme though?" Luz winced.

"Not in the slightest!" King crawled up on Anne's shoulder. "Now let's see how fast this baby can go!"

"Live your truth!" Anne hollered as she snapped Bessie's reigns again, causing the snail to move even faster, much to the joy of everyone else, all except Luz, who couldn't help but feel a tad nervous for Bessie's sake.

---

After making a quick stop to pick up Swamp Slushies, the group continued to ride down the road with Bessie, and so far, no problems have come up. Now they were going at a natural pace as Gus tried a Swamp Slushy himself.

"Hmmm… Tangy." The illusionist student smacked his lips.

"I gotta admit, this is a good ride." Willow said. "Surprisingly, nothing bad has happened. Usually when you guys are involved in something, there is at least one explosion."

"Come on, we're not that bad." Luz replied with a wincing smile.

"But this still turned out really well." Sprig said as he finished up his Swamp Slushy. "We didn't need some silly book. Anne drives just fine."

"'Just fine'?" Anne scoffed. "Boy, I'm a natural."

"And it's all because of my great influence!" King stood proudly.

"You didn't do anything." Anne teased.

"Well, I think that's enough." Luz brought everyone in. "We'd better get back home before Hop Pop finds out."

"Yep, and I know the perfect short cut." Anne said. "Who wants to go off-roading?"

"Yeah!" King, Sprig, and Gus all cheered, much to Luz and Willow's concern.

"Wait… Anne! I don't think Bessie can…!" Luz tried to reign her friend in, but it was too late. Anne had already veered Bessie off the road and into a nearby forest, with the group going downhill and Anne kicking up the speed.

"Wahoo!" Anne, King, Gus, and Sprig all cheered and laughed while Luz and Willow held each other in screams, all while the six were hit repeatedly in the faces by the surrounding tree branches. "WHOA!" They went up off a ledge and came down hard with a thud on the ground, shaking them up through Bessie's shell.

"Is it over?!" Willow clung to Luz.

"I think so…" Luz said shakily.

"So… yeah… off-roading… fun." Anne shook as well, despite her smile. "But how about we go back to on-roading?"

Sprig sat back up, revealing his messy face. "Good old reliable on-roading…" He moaned.

"Yes please…" Gus said in the same tone as his face was slightly messed up to.

"Let's move, Bessie! Your king commands it!" King pointed forward, crawling up on Anne's shoulder.

"You heard him, let's move!" Anne snapped the reigns. But Bessie didn't move from her spot, much to the group's concern. "One more time, let's move!" Anne snapped the reigns but got no response. "Um… Bessie…?"

Everyone looked down off the side, to see that the snail had retracted herself into her shell, her eyes just barely sticking out as she sputtered nervously.

The group got off as Sprig was the first to address the snail. "You alright girl?" He asked but got another nervous sputter in response from the snail.

"Hey, what's going on here? Does it need fuel in the tank? Is the oil low?" Anne wondered.

"She's not a vehicle, Anne!" Luz told her before looking with concern as she massaged Bessie's shell. "Maybe she's scared."

"You said your mom worked with animals, right? You got any idea what's going on?" Sprig asked Luz.

"But we don't have giant snails where we're from." Luz said.

"Maybe she's scared of us?" Willow suggested. "Maybe we took it too far with our joy ride…"

"Maybe…" Luz looked away with guilt.

"Ugh! What kind of steed cowers at the first sign of trouble!?" King complained. "Watch, I'll get her out!" He tried to crawl into Bessie's shell through the small opening. "Bessie, this is your king speaking here! I order you to come out and give us a ride! Weh!" He found himself unable to fit into the opening, and this only seemed to make Bessie cower even more. "Don't make me come in there! Weh?!" King was than yanked out by Luz.

"King, that's enough! You're making it worse!" The girl scolded.

"So… what do we do now? We're lost!" Gus said.

"Let's try pushing her." Anne suggested, only for Luz to stand in front of them and hold out her arms in defense of Bessie.

"No! We're not going to force Bessie to move when there is something clearly wrong with her!" Luz stated fiercely, much to the surprise of her friends.

"Yeah… Luz is right. Maybe we did push Bessie too hard, so pushing even harder is going to make it worse. We might even seriously hurt her." Willow said.

That seemed to get everyone to step down, even King. "So, what… we're just gonna stay stuck here?" The little demon questioned.

"We got no choice." Luz said. "Sprig, you know these woods. Take King and Gus back to the road to see if you can get a ride back to the farm. Get Eda and Hop Pop, the rest of us will stray here and look after Bessie."

"Good idea. It's the right thing to do, even if we get an earful." Sprig agreed.

"Ugh. This is gonna be so painful." Anne groaned.

"Yeah. A king is never supposed to be lectured!" King groaned in agreement.

"Follow me, guys." Sprig led the two other boys into the woods.

"We'll be back soon!" Gus told the girls as they left in the trees, leaving the three girls to sit against the side of Bessie's shell, which Luz patted as she looked with concern for the snail.

"You must really like Bessie, huh Luz?" Willow noted.

"Yeah… I've never seen you that… defensive before." Anne said. Though she did recall that one moment last year when Luz and Sasha got into an argument over their shared story project.

"I just love animals…" Luz began. "And seeing them hurt… or worse… people intentionally hurting them… that just… makes me so mad…" Luz clenched her fists but she tried to suppress her anger because she knew that Anne didn't purposely try to abuse Bessie.

Anne looked away slightly, having a feeling that maybe Luz was upset with her, not that she blamed her as this stunt thing was her idea anyway. "Wish I knew what was wrong… We could help her."

"Well… there is a way we can find out." Willow suggested, looking to the satchel on the side of Bessie's shell, where the old and large book was still present.

"Hey, good idea." Luz beamed as she took out the book, but she also noticed the annoyed look in Anne's eyes. "Come on, Anne. What could it hurt?"

"Fine. But only cause we got on other options." Anne reluctantly accepted.

Luz set the book down on the ground as she, Willow, and Anne all crouched down to get a good look at it as Luz opened the first page and began to read the contents aloud…

"'It was an especially cold morning the day Bessie was brought into this world. The leaves had just changed color, and now I shall describe those leaves to you in great detail…'"

"Nope!" Anne backed away, raising her hands. "Sprig was right! Too much description! Not enough plot!"

"Um… I'd kinda like to hear the detailed colors of those leaves…" Willow raised her hand slightly.

"Okay, how about we all take turns reading it?" Luz suggested. "I'll start, then Willow, then back to Anne."

"Do I have to?!" Anne groaned, sliding back on Bessie's shell, causing Luz's eyelids to lower.

---

Meanwhile, Sprig hopped up on a tree branch, which gave him a clearer view of the road just outside the forest. "We made it! This way!" He pointed for Gus and King down below, who followed him through the foliage and made it to the road with the pink frog. And it was there, they spotted something incoming down said road.

"Hey, someone's coming!" Gus said as he quickly drew up a pair of illusionary clones of himself, all of whom waved along with Sprig and King to try and get the passerby's attention. "Over here! Over here!"

"Help! We need help!" Sprig called out.

"Pull over! I demand it!" King shouted.

The passerby came to a stop just in front of the boys, kicking up some dust in their faces and briefly obscuring their vision, but they were still nonetheless glad to have some help show up.

"Thanks so much for stopping! We, oooh…" Sprig winced with Gus and King realizing that the person they just pulled over was none other than Mrs. Croaker on her ladybug.

"Bless my socks, if it isn't Sprig Plantar." Croaker greeted in a friendly manner with her pet spider, Archie, giving a friendly bark. "And we also got that furry little critter your family took in, and one of them famous magic heroes."

Gus and Sprig both chuckled nervously. "Uh… yeah. The name's Gus. Gus Porter." The former introduced.

"And I'm not just a furry little critter, I am King!" The little demon stated, only for Sprig to slightly nudge him. "A king… in need of some assistance." He admitted reluctantly.

"And… sorry about earlier, Mrs. Croaker. We got a little carried away…" Sprig put on an apologetic look alongside Gus.

"Oh pish, posh." She waved off. "Saddie Croaker never holds a grudge."

"Whew, that's a relief." Gus sighed.

"Hey, like I said, we need some assistance over here." King said.

"Yeah, can you give us a lift back home? It's urgent!" Sprig requested.

"Oh absolutely!" Croaker allowed.

"Thanks a whole bunch!" Gus said as he, King, and Sprig mounted the ladybug. Gus also spotted the little spider in the seat next to him. "Awe, aren't you cute?" He patted Archie, who barked.

"Archie sure likes you, honey. But be careful, now. His venom can cause paralysis." Croaker warned with a slight laugh, causing Gus to pull his hand back in a fright. "Now you boys get comfy and hold onto your eyebrows." She and Archie both put on a pair of glasses as they prepared to drive out. "Cause here… we…" She pushed on the stick-shift. "GO!" She snapped her ladybug's reigns.

"Yes, charge forward!" King got up front and pointed down the road.

"Wahoo!" Sprig and Gus both cheered.

Only for the three boys to blink in surprise upon seeing how the ladybug was moving very slow. So, slow that it made a snail's natural speed look like a formula one race car by comparison.

"Can't this thing go any faster?!" King exclaimed.

---

Back with the girls, it was Willow's turn to read aloud once they reached chapter twelve. All three of them leaned against Bessie's shell as Willow read and they were thoroughly invested in the biography. Willow had even used some of her plant magic to conjure up some fruit for them to eat as they read.

"'…And it was in that moment, I realized that Bessie was no ordinary snail! But a kind, clear soul, who would help others at the drop of a hat.'" Willow continued to read. "'I raised my bid to four hundred copper pieces, winning the auction. And in the process, saving Bessie from the nefarious Jim Snapes!'"

"Yes! In your face, Snapes!" Anne gloated.

"That's a relief." Luz breathed. "He was the absolute worst."

"Yeah, Bessie's really been through a lot in her life, hasn't she?" Willow asked, looking very impressed.

"The story itself isn't bad either." Luz granted. "Though I have a few critiques, Hop Pop's actually a pretty good writer."

"Well don't stop now, let's keep going! It's my turn to read, now!" Anne said as she took the book.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Anne Boonchuy?" Luz joked.

---

Back with the boys, they continued to ride in Croaker's ladybug, which continued to move very slowly with no change in speed so far. If anything, it seemed like their ride was going slower. And the boys were getting more agitated with every second.

"Come on… come on…" Sprig groaned.

"I can't take this anymore!" King exclaimed as he went up into the unfazed Croaker's face. "Make this thing go faster!"

Gus, however, quickly pulled King back. "Uh… Mrs. Croaker… I don't wanna sound rude… but this is kind of an emergency. Is there any chance we can… pick up the speed?"

"Oh, I know something that'll make this ride go a whole lot faster." Croaker said.

"What? Anything what?" Sprig asked urgently.

"Some kind of special juice that'll make this bug fly?! Or run at the speed of lightning?!" King wondered.

"Maybe some kind of magic?" Gus hoped.

"A song!" Croaker revealed. Before any of the boys could protest, she already started vocalizing. "Oooooh! Ninety-nine jugs of juice on the wall! Ninety-nine jugs of juice! Take one down, pass it around…"

But as she sang, the three boys could only stare blankly as they felt themselves being pulled into a slow mental agony that none of them could escape from.

---

"'…The snow swirled around us, and I knew we were doomed!'" Anne read the book aloud, with Luz and Willow looking worried as they could only picture it in their minds, they even held their hands together as Anne continued to read. "'I could feel the strength leaving my body, bit-by-bit… The sweet embrace of eternity crept closer…and closer… Until suddenly… I heard a sound pulling me back! B-Bessie…'" Anne's voice began to crack as she read. "'Bessie… was singing…!'"

Tears already welled up in Anne's eyes just as the sobbing Luz and Willow hugged her, all three embracing each other tightly. "You go, girl! Don't you give up!" Willow cried.

"But she didn't! She's still here!" Luz cried as she hugged Bessie by her shell. "You strong… beautiful… creature…!"

Anne and Willow, both still crying, hugged Bessie's shell too. "I'm sorry I called you a vehicle…! You're way more than that…!" But they soon calmed down. "Man… this is really messing us up."

Willow conjured some large leaves with her plant magic and handed two to her friends. "Here…" She said as she used one leaf to wipe her face.

"Thanks…" Luz took a breath with a sigh. "Want me to read now, Anne?"

"No… I'm good." Anne, now calm, took the book back up. "Where was I?" However, one passage got her attention, causing her to look serious. "'The reason Bessie had hid in her shell was now very clear to me.'" That got Luz and Willow's attention. "'A predator was close.'"

"Predator?" Luz and Willow questioned.

"'And not just any predator… A natural enemy of snails…'" Anne continued to read, only for the snap of a twig to get their attention.

"Um… hello…?" Luz called out nervously.

"What kind of predator are we dealing with?" Willow looked to the book as Anne tried to find a picture or something.

"Come on…" She soon found a diagram of the predator in question. "It's a… hedgehog?"

"Hedgehog?" Luz looked at the book herself, wondering if that was indeed the case. And it was as she and her friend looked at a diagram of what seemed like a typical Earth hedgehog. "Awe, is that all?"

"What's a hedgehog?" Willow asked.

"They're these adorable little rodents back home." Luz said with a smile. "Seriously, they are so cute."

"They also make awesome video game mascots." Anne added. "But if it's just a hedgehog, then we got nothing to worry about."

However, when she lowered the book, she and her friends all screamed at the sight of a hedgehog from Amphibia's wildlife and it was not cute at all! In fact, it was downright hideous! It looked like an oversized hedgehog with spiked spines on its back, with the body and demeanor of a carnivorous canine. And it wasn't the only one. The trio found themselves surrounded by a whole pack of these vicious hedgehogs appeared out of nowhere, having concealed themselves as bushes as they unfurled and revealed their sharp teeth and claws.

"Not cute! These guys are not cute at all!" Luz screamed as she and Anne quickly climbed on top of Bessie's shell. But Willow stayed on the ground as she slammed her hands on the ground, creating a long circle of green magic that encircled around Bessie's shell, which resulted in a circular wall of plant tendrils and roots to shoot straight up, separating the hedgehogs from their prey.

"Whew, that should keep them out." Willow breathed with relief. Only to gasp in horror as the hedgehogs began to tear and bite at the roots, tearing apart the defense she had just set up. "What in…?!"

"Uh… yeah! It says here that hedgehogs are omnivores!" Anne said, refering to a section on the book as Luz helped Willow up and onto Bessie's shell. "They eat plants as well as flesh!"

The hedgehogs began tear apart the plants that kept the trio safe and would soon get to their fleshy meals. "Well, what does it say about how to deal with them?!" Luz exclaimed.

"I'm looking for it!" Anne skimmed over the pages in the book until she found what she was looking for. "Yes! 'When Bessie senses danger, you gotta sit on her shell and yell at the top of your lungs… BESSIE! THINGS ARE GETTING MESSY!'"

Bessie immediately shot her head out of her shell and zoomed away at high speeds, tearing away what was left of the plant barrier and knocking away several hedgehogs while Luz, Anne, and Willow clung to the seat.

"Yes! Welcome back, Bessie!" Luz cheered.

"WHOO!" All three girls hollered as Bessie made a sharp turn around a corner with the hedgehogs attempting to pursue them, but Bessie seemed to keep a good distance away.

"Eat our dust, hedgehogs!" Anne mocked, only to scream and duck as the hedgehogs shot their quills out to them.

"Heads up!" Willow warned as Bessie jumped off a large log and landed on the ground below a bit shakily, but she was quick to move again. However, the hedgehogs ended up jumping down after her and landed quickly to resume their pursuit, shooting more of their sharp quills at them. Though Willow was quick to try and raise any plants on the ground as make-shift shields, despite being constantly moving. "We can't shake them!"

"These guys don't give up!" Anne exclaimed before she looked in the book again for anything that can help them. "Come on… come on… what are these things weakness?!" She found a description of the hedgehogs and read it aloud. "'Hedgehogs typically hunt in packs… they're not intelligent… like to hunt either at night or in shaded areas… they're sensitive to light…'"

"Sensitive to light? That's it!" Luz realized. She reached into her pocket to pull out a piece of paper, which Anne seemed to understand.

"Oh duh! A Light Glyph!" The Thai girl smiled.

"Oh shoot, I don't have a pen!" Luz realized.

"What?!" Anne exclaimed.

"Hey, what's going on back there?!" Willow questioned as she tried to shoot out several vines and roots from the ground and nearby trees to shake off the pursuing hedgehogs, but they proved too quick and nimble for her.

Luz got a good look at the vines that her friend was using before an idea came to her. "Willow, I need you to make a giant circle from your vines!"

"What?! Why?!" Willow questioned.

"No time to explain! Just trust me!" Luz exclaimed.

"Okay!" Willow raised her hands to shoot up a cluster of vines that attached themselves to Bessie's shell, even as she weaved around a trail with the barking and vicious hedgehogs in hot pursuit. The vines Willow summoned began to swirl around themselves and take the shape of a giant circle. "Now what?!"

"Now make a triangle in the middle!" Luz began to instruct, prompting Willow to untwirl a few vines from the circle and bring them together at two different spots, forming a triangle. "Now a line from the middle of the bottom of the circle to the top of the triangle! And two diagonal lines in the middle of the larger one pointing up on the right side!" Willow did just that, creating a line of vines from the bottom of the circle and pointing up to the top of the triangle, with two diagonal ones in the middle of that. "And finally, a smaller circle at the top of the line with a cone at the top of that to connect to the top of the bigger circle!" Luz finished. Willow didn't quite understand the necessity of such a complex shape but did so anyway.

Anne looked in awe as she saw the enormous Light Glyph that was being made from the vines alone. "No way…"

"Now what?!" Willow questioned, finishing her work.

"Now you close your eyes!" Luz responded as she slammed her hand on the vines. This caused them all to glow yellow as a bright light traced along the glyph before the entire thing light up in a bright flash.

The girls onboard all closed their eyes, but the Hedgehogs were forced to stop as the bright light overloaded their own eyes, causing them to tumble as they crashed and bashed into each other, piling all on top as they were rendered blind for a brief moment.

"Wahoo!" Anne cheered as they all made it to safety, escaping onto the main road, resulting in all the other girls cheering to. "We did it!"

"Bessie, you are amazing!" Luz hugged the snail, who chirped happily at her.

"And it wasn't just Bessie… I can't believe you made a Light Glyph out of Willow's vines! That was awesome!" Anne praised Luz.

"Seriously, Luz! What even was that?!" Willow questioned in excitement.

"That's… how I'm able to do magic." Luz explained as she pulled out a piece of paper. "Anne and I don't have a bile sack like you, but if we draw this symbol…" Luz saw a stray spine attached to the back of Bessie's seat and took it to lightly poke her finger, which caused a small drop of blood to appear, which she used to draw a small Light Glyph on the paper before she pressed it, causing the paper to fold in on itself and turn into a ball of light for Willow to see, which she looked at in awe.

The plant girl had no idea how to respond to that. Luz… a human… just did magic…! Without a bile sack! She did it with a glyph! She had never seen magic cast like that!

"How… did you…?"

"I don't know…" Luz confessed. "I just saw that symbol when Eda was showing me a light spell and… it just works for me."

"That's… amazing…!" Willow smiled. "I… I didn't think magic could be used like that…! Luz… why didn't you say anything…?! Wait… is that how you guys beat Amity and the others at the Covention?! With a Glyph?!"

"Yep." Anne confirmed with a prideful nod.

"I guess I just never had the chance to tell you." Luz said, looking away with a smile.

"Can you do that, Anne?!" Willow looked to her with excitement.

"Eh… yeah. I can do that, so can Sprig." She answered, albeit a bit more nervously. "But mine are… different."

"Different? Different how?" Willow asked in confusion.

"That's not important." Luz said, much to Anne's relief as the former girl knew the later wasn't ready to confide in about a certain artifact that may or may not be connected to Anne's own 'unique' touch to magic. "But yeah, we can do magic like this. I know it's not as amazing as yours but…"

"Are you kidding me?! That's still incredible!" Willow praised. "You just used a basic spell to save all our lives! And you did it using my magic too! Luz, you're a genius!"

"For real, dude. No way I could have thought of that." Anne pointed to her friend approvingly.

Luz found herself blushing at the praise of her friends. "Thanks guys… but I don't deserve all the credit. Bessie's the one who got us out of that mess."

"That's right." Anne said as she and Willow both hugged the snail. "You are the queen of the road, baby."

"Thanks Bessie. And sorry for all the trouble we gave you." Willow added.

The snail gave a happy and loving chirp, indicating there were no hard feelings.

"Let's go home." Luz said contently as Bessie began to move down the road.

---

"…Take one down, pass it around… no more jugs of juice on the wall!" Saddie Croaker finished her song as her ladybug continued to move very slowly. Gus, Sprig, and King were all curled up in fetal positions, having listened to the entire song, but now it appeared to have finished.

"I think it's over…" Sprig muttered.

"Oh, thank Titan…!" Gus breathed in relief.

"One more time!" Croaker was ready to sing the whole song all over again.

"NNNNOOOOOO!" King screamed loudly in the sky. "Please whoever is in charge up there, if this is your idea of karma, then I've learned my lesson! I'll never force people to do anything they don't want to do ever again! I'll be a good little tyrant! I swear!"

"We'll be holding you to that." Anne practically sung as she, Luz, and Willow pulled up along the side of the ladybug on top of Bessie, much to the overjoy of their friends.

"Anne! Luz! Willow!" Gus exclaimed.

"Thank goodness!" Sprig hopped up to hug all three of them, with King crawling up to cling to Luz as Willow helped Gus up onto Bessie.

"Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Croaker!" Gus thanked, trying to still be polite.

"I'm really sorry for all the trouble earlier! And I mean it!" King told her sincerely.

"Oh, I believe you, darling. Next time, you and the rest of them boys try to keep that road rage in check." Croaker cackled. "Ha, ha, ha! Yee-haw!" She whipped her ladybug which then took off at high speeds, even faster than how Bessie was previously going. "Woo-hoo!"

All six kids looked with wide-eyes and dropped jaws.

"Did… did she just…?" Gus stuttered.

"Yeah, pretty sure we just got played." Sprig commented.

"She hustled the king of demons…" King muttered. "That woman… is a monster…!"

"And she's everything I wanna be…!" Anne said in awe.

"Oh yeah, Eda would definitely get along with her." Luz nodded before Anne snapped the reigns and Bessie took off down the road again.

With all of them being completely unaware of Eda herself hovering in the sky on Owlbert's staff form with the Salamander on her shoulders, both having seen everything that went down with the kids and Bessie.

She had a feeling they'd pull a stunt like this, well at least King and Anne would. And not only was the whole venture entertaining, but it seemed that the kids were even to learn more about those Glyphs, primarily how they can be constructed from anything and not just drawn, if Luz's creative idea was anything to go by. Though she and the Salamander would have intervened if those hedgehogs proved to be too much for the kids to handle, but she was glad they were able to.

"Hmm, you think those kids have learned their lesson?" Eda asked the Salamander, to which it nodded. "Yep, I think so to. Let's head back. And yeah, Luz was right… that Saddie Croaker is one fierce woman." She said as they flew back to the farmhouse.

---

It was now nighttime as the kids made it back to the Plantar house with Bessie, and the minute they made it back, all six of them breathed in relief with Sprig, King, and Luz all sliding off Bessie's shell.

"We made it!" Sprig cheered before looking into his home's window. "And it looks like Hop Pop's still washing Polly!"

"You'll never take me alive!" Polly screeched as she hopped across the family room, making an enormous mess in the process.

"Dang it, Polly! You're getting filth everywhere!" Hop Pop chased after his granddaughter.

"What about Eda?" Luz asked as she looked in the same window herself, the two of them then saw the cackling Eda leaning against the wall with both Owlbert and the Salamander on her shoulders.

"Go on Polly, hop like your life depends on it!" Eda chuckled.

"You're not helping, Eda!" Hop Pop scolded.

Eda laughed again before walking towards the front door with the two Palismen on her shoulders, prompting Luz and Sprig to move back to Bessie just as she stepped outside.

"And what have you kids been up to, all day?" The Owl Lady questioned.

"Oh, just hanging out, ya know?" Anne pointed to Eda as it seemed like the six kids were just casually hanging around Bessie. "Nothing crazy going on or anything."

"Hmmm, alright." Eda shrugged. "Anyway, it's time to get these two back home." She pointed to Willow and Gus. "Don't want their folks thinking I've kidnapped them or anything."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks for having us over." Willow said.

"Hey, guys." Luz got both their attention. "Sorry your first time in Wartwood ended up being so crazy."

"Are you kidding? This was the most fun I'd ever had!" Gus said with a wide smile, much to the other kids' surprise. "We fought a giant monster, got to be famous for a couple days…"

"And even got to know this amazing creature!" Willow patted Bessie's shell, who chirped in response. "Seriously, this was so much fun. I'm glad that we got to come here."

"So… you guys will be coming back again?" Sprig asked hopefully.

"Oh absolutely!" Gus guaranteed.

"But only if you guys keep coming over to the Isles." Willow teased.

"Count on it." Anne nodded as she, Luz, and Sprig all hugged their two friends.

Eda shivered. "Okay, this is getting too sappy for my taste. Come along you two trouble-makers." She pulled Willow and Gus away a bit. The Salamander then hopped off her shoulder and began to run around in a circle around the three, it's body then lighting on fire to engulf all of them in a multi-colored column of flames before vanishing.

Luz then yawned as she stretched her arms. "I'm gonna go get some sleep."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Sprig agreed as they went to the front door. "You guys coming?"

"I think I'm gonna spend a little more time with old Bessie, here." Anne said as she took out the book again.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" King requested. "Looking back on it, what happened was kinda my fault too. And Bessie sounds like she was really awesome. I'd like a chance to get to know her too."

"Sure thing, buddy." Anne hopped up on Bessie's shell with King crawling up to join her.

"Awe, they're bonding." Luz smiled and gushed as she and Sprig both went inside.

"So, we'll start off at the beginning again." Anne leaned back on Bessie's shell, opening the book for her and King to begin reading as the snail helped herself to some grass as she purred gently, enjoying the company. "Chapter One…"

---

The Next Morning

It was just about dawn as Hop Pop slept soundly and peacefully in his room… that is until he was violently woken up by Bessie's history book being thrown on top of him.

"Oof! What the hey?!"

The old frog could only look in surprise to see Anne and King, the latter clinging to the former's shoulder, as both had red and tired eyes, indicating they got zero sleep.

"Good morning, Hopadiah…" They both said simultaneously as their tired eyes twitched.

"Anne? King?" Hop Pop muttered in confusion.

"We did it…" Anne muttered. "We read the whole thing…"

"In one night…" King said in the same tired tone.

"Impressive… Kinda scary…. But impressive." Hop Pop granted.

Anne then collapsed into a nearby chair as King scurried up onto her lap. "We were both wrong about Bessie…" Anne began. "She's not just a vehicle… she's a noble, beautiful creature…"

"With the heart of a true warrior…" King went along. "She was never unworthy of the king of demons… the king of demons was unworthy of her…!"

Hop Pop smiled as he held the book. "Well only Anne was supposed to read it, but I'm glad you gave it a chance, King. And now that both of you have read it, all you need now is experience!"

That caused both of their eyes to shoot open. "Experience…?" King said before he began to chuckle like a maniac. "Heh… heh… he…Experience…! Ha…Ha… Ha…!"

"Heh, heh, heh…Anne soon joined in on the laughter, both of them sounding like tyrannical supervillains and mental asylum patients. "Muh, ha, ha, ha, ha!" as they stood up and began to walk out of the door, bumping into the wall before walking out.

"HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!" Their combined laughter echoed throughout the whole house.

And Hop Pop could only stare with a blank expression on his face. "I don't feel safe."

Done.

With that, the first word for my title acronym is complete 'WITCHES', all made from the first letter of each chapter title. Keep your eyes peeled for the next words to appear as each new chapter is posted.

Now that was a fun chapter, wouldn't you agree? We got Willow and Gus' first impression of Wartwood, and they became famous almost right away just like with Anne's pimples in canon.

Probably not what you were expecting for their first time in Amphibia, especially given how slow Wartwood is to accept outsiders, but it just seemed fittingly ironic in that Willow and Gus are often looked down upon by their peers in their own home realm, they are praised for their abilities in a world not their own. And like with Anne in canon, Toadstool was quick to exploit them as the fame went a bit to their head too. But they were able to come back and rejoin their friends in humility, but at least Willow won't be called 'Half-a-Witch' in Wartwood, which is nice for her.

We also got the same episode where they all take a joyride with Bessie and get to know the snail a bit better. Most of that was the same as canon, but with a bit more craziness. But in a surprisingly epic moment, Luz was able to show off a Light Glyph spell, by making one out of Willow's vines, more-or-less combining their magics! This introduces Willow to the concept of Glyphs which seems to make her very excited.

It seems a little weird to switch the order of these episodes as in canon "Anne Theft Auto" is just before "Breakout Star", but narrative wise, it made sense to switch them around. As I've said before, I'll be sewing many of the Amphibia episodes together into single chapters given their lengths, with only a select few being extended due to their contents.

But all and all, I enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed reading it as we got some more craziness in Wartwood coming in the next chapter which I am looking forward to showing you all. Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there. Love you guys.