Chapter 28: Part 2: Chapter 5: Newtopia’s Gate

Flashback - May 16th

When Frank opened the door to Abuela Rachel's thrift store after coming back from school, the first thing he did was lean over the counter and kiss his sleeping grandmother on the cheek. "Hey, grandma."

"Oh!" Startled, the little old lady opened her eyes and adjusted her glasses to see her grandson. "Hola mi precioso nieto (Hello, my precious grandson)," she said in Spanish, alerting Frank's beagle Roger. The dog barked with joy as he ran over to Frank and jumped on his hind legs.

"Hey, Roger! Sorry for being away," he said, kneeling down and petting his loyal companion.

"How was school today," the elderly woman asked after jumping down from her stool. She walked out from behind the counter and saw Frank heading for the breakroom. The room was small, with a table and two chairs against the wall, a counter with a microwave, cabinets, and a refrigerator.

"Eh, I don't know," Frank said, taking off his backpack and placing it in a chair. "Pretty average. Uh, Hersel and RJ said hello."

"How nice," she said, walking into the room and petting Roger on his back. She turned back to her grandson, who stripped off his school uniform and grabbed his grandfather's army jacket. "Could you please watch the shop? I've got a full tank that needs to be released."

"Could have just said you're going 'number one', abuela," Frank said, meaning it playfully. His grandmother chuckled and strolled to the employee restroom.

Walking out of the breakroom, Frank thought about how lucky he was to have a grandmother like Rachel and how much he didn't deserve her. There hadn't been a day within the past month that Frank thanked his grandmother for the kindness she'd shown him. Abuelita Rachel was the only person to show Frank kindness that didn't make him question her intentions. Something that even the kids he hung out with didn't have from him.

Juvenile detention, and the ordeal he's gone through, left Frank with a warped sense of putting his trust in people. It's not that Frank didn't want to give people his trust. He didn't want to risk handing it out. Not even to friends and family, with the exception of Rachel. His trust was a treasure to Frank, and he was the vicious dragon guarding it from little dwarves wanting to have it.

Walking behind the counter, Frank pulled out the book he was reading, "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. It was a book that he'd started reading in prison. Having never gotten around to finishing it because of his release, Frank could catch up on where he left off.

That is until Marcy pushed the door open, making the bell ring, and rushed in. "FRANK!" Marcy called out, only for her bookbag's strap to get caught on the handle. "Waah!" Tripping the young girl and sending her on her back. "Ow…I did it again."

As Roger barked at the girl who had just burst into the shop yelling his owner's name, Frank was left stunned and confused by it. He didn't even get to see her face before Marcy went down. Placing his book on the counter, Frank leaned over the counter and looked down at the girl with swirling eyes. "Hey, what the hell are you…" Frank trailed off when he saw the green barrette.

The same one that he gave her.

"Marcy?" At that moment, he instantly recognized his former friend. "Marcy Wu?"

Hearing him say her name caused Marcy to let out a loud gasp. "Frank! You do remember me!" Marcy yelled with a big smile as she jumped to her feet. Frank got off the counter as she started rambling. "I mean, of course, you remember me. I mean, we were friends. So, obviously, you would have remembered me, but…"

Frank was taken aback when Marcy squealed."I just can't believe that I'm actually talking to you!" Marcy yelled while reaching over the counter and grabbing his shoulders, which was a mistake to do.

"Get off me!" Frank yelled, pushing Marcy.

Stumbling back, Marcy looked at her former friend in a mixture of shock and hurt. Shocked at his reaction and hurt that he wasn't happy to see her. Looking at Frank, she saw him glaring at her with his body tense and his fists balled up. He was breathing heavily as well."Frank…it's me, Marcy," Marcy said. "Your friend. I know it's been a long time..."

"Not long even." Wanting to get away from the annoying girl, Frank walked out from the counter and started reorganizing some of the shelves.

However, seeing her chance to reconnect with a long-lost friend, the girl followed behind him. "So…" Marcy started and leaned on a clothes rack. However, this made it fall. "Ah! Whoop!" Marcy quickly pulled it back up and nervously continued. "So…You've got a job, huh? Wow. Bet the owner's paying you really well."

"I have to. This is grandma's store, and with grandpa gone, I chose to step in," he said, picking up the clothes Marcy dropped and placing them back on the rack. Frank then turned and walked over to another shelf.

"Aw, looks like this sour lemon drop has a hidden sweet center," Marcy said with her hands on her cheeks. "Hey, I bet Anne, Sasha, and I could work here for the summer!"

For a moment, Frank's body stopped as he was about to place one of the canes they had back where it belonged. "I…don't know if that's a good idea."

"Oh, no, trust me. It'll be great!" Marcy said, holding up her hands. "We could hang out, reform our bond, just like in one of my favorite anime. First off, what's with the rumor going around about you? I mean, it can't be all true, right? You went to prison—"

Having reached the end of his rope with that comment, Frank slammed the pile of books he had on a table his grandma was trying to sell. "Marcy!" he yelled, turning around to face his former friend. "Do you see me going to you girls' homes and bugging you while you...play Pokemon GO? Okay, I don't really know what you three have been up to, but you three haven't been my friends for three years. That's it! End of story. Meaning you don't get to treat me like we are still friends. Just get what you're looking for, pay for it, and leave me alone.

Backing up, Marcy was especially hurt by Frank's words. "I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she said before walking away. "I'm just gonna look for some dice."

Starting to feel awful for what he'd said to her, Frank began to raise his hand to stop Marcy. That was until he stopped himself. He didn't want to feel sorry for telling off Marcy. After all, why should he after what she did? Grunting in frustration, Frank walked away into the breakroom, with Roger following behind. Walking over to the wall at the back of the room, Frank turned around and placed his back against it before sliding down the ground. Sitting down, Frank let out a sigh.

"That wasn't very nice."

Frank opened his eyes to see his grandmother standing in front of him. "You don't even know the story," Frank said as Roger walked over to his owner. Looking at his dog sadly, the boy petted his back.

"Maybe, but I can see something happened between you and that girl," she said, sitting down in a chair. "However, that girl wants to fix what was broken. And it's a request that doesn't come around that often. Nor one that you should deny."

"So, what? Are you saying that I have to forgive Anne, Marcy, and Sasha for breaking our friendship?" Frank said in disbelief.

"No, not exactly," said the old lady, much to Frank's confusion. "Saying that you're sorry and I forgive you are just words. Words have power, but they're so powerful because actions follow them. And your words, while harsh, don't carry that power, Frank."

Frank groaned and stood up. "It's…not that simple, abuela," he said, pacing around the room. Only to be stopped when his grandmother's crane blocked his stomach.

"You're a damaged soul, my child," said Rachel. "It pains me to say it, but your soul has been broken in ways that should never happen to a child. But I believe that you came to me not just to help, but because God has plans for you."

Frank looked at her quizzically. "He…does?" he asked. "Well, what is it?"

"We can't always know his plans, but I believe that, by being here, he's giving you a second chance," Rachel told her grandson. "God is so powerful because he gives us second chances. Chances to write the wrongs of the past and set the groundwork for a better future. It is a power so great that he even gave it to us."

"Are you saying that I should give Marcy a second chance?" Frank said, finally catching onto what his grandmother was saying.

Smiling at her grandson, Rachel moved her cane away. "If someone is truly repentant, then we are obligated to forgive," she said, hopping down from her chair and started walking out of the room. "I know you'll do the right thing."

Climbing up on her stool behind the counter, Rachel watched as Marcy continued searching the store for dice.

"Hey!"

Marcy, with teary eyes, looked up to see Frank walking over to her. He was still frowning, but it wasn't so hostile towards Marcy.

"You…You said that you were looking for dice, right," the boy asked, holding up a pouch filled with dice of all kinds. "I don't know if we've got the ones you're looking for, but…here."

Marcy's eyes widened as she looked at the pouch in total amazement. She then glanced up at Frank, who looked away from her like a tsundere. Nevertheless, she was grateful to him as she took the pouch. After a moment of rummaging through the pouch, Marcy found all the dice she needed for her game with Anne and Sasha. Squealing, the Taiwanese girl jumped into Frank's arms and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Marcy said with joy as Frank clenched his fists and restrained himself. Thankfully, Marcy pulled away. However, looking at the boy, she gasped. "I just had the best idea! Anne's birthday is in five days. Why don't I bring them over?!"

"Oh, no, that's okay," Frank said quickly.

However, it was too late to change Marcy's mind. "I can bring them over before the party starts. We all say sorry, and it will be the best birthday gift in the world!" Marcy threw her arms up in excitement with stars in her eyes. "I can fix our friendship!"

"There is no fixing our—" Frank was cut off when Marcy ran away from him and purchased her dice. "Friendship."

He wanted to say more. The old friendship they had was too far gone, and it couldn't be fixed. He didn't want to go to Anne's birthday party because he was afraid of what would happen. Anne made it clear that she didn't want to be his friend anymore. So why bother having her come over to say hi? But, being able to talk to Marcy after so many years felt so good in Frank's heart that he smiled at her as she left. And to see Anne and Sasha again would be nice.

If only he knew what Marcy would do to him.

Present

If God had a plan for him, as Grandma Rachel said, did it really have to involve being sent to another world? That's the question Frank thought of when he thought about that day.

That was the first time he'd ever talked to Marcy in a long time. Back then, Frank was still in a very dark state of mind and depression, and, to a certain capacity, still is. His name was tarnished, his family had shunned him, and all he had left was his dog, Roger, and his grandmother. Seeing Marcy again and being able to talk to her felt so good that it made Frank afraid to continue talking to her. As if opening himself up to her would be opening the doors for all new kinds of pain and suffering for him.

Marcy promised that by the end of that week, she'd bring over the other girls so that they could reform their friendships. And Frank gave her a chance.

And look at how she repaid that second chance.

She did come back, with Anne and Sasha with her. Not to try and fix their friendship, but to shatter what little trust he still had in her by peer pressuring Anne into stealing the music box and getting them trapped in another world. Marcy broke her promise. And unforgivable act in Frank's book.

And there laid the dilemma he faced. What would he feel about seeing Marcy again? She thought that everything would work out for the four, and yet did nothing to stop Sasha from kicking him out of the friend group. Even going along with her plan. Just like when she went along with stealing the box. Frank gave her a second chance, and she blew it. Thereby, she doesn't get to have a second chance at friendship, right?

Sighing, Frank closed his eyes as he lay on the sofa.

"Hey, Frank!"

Frank groaned as he sat up. "What is it, Sprig?"

"Come on! This is no time for sleeping!" The little frog pointed to the map on the table. "We're just a few seconds from reaching Newtopia!"

Hearing that, Frank got up and walked over to the table. "Wow, for real," he asked with a smile. And Sprig was right. Ribbitvale was two days ago. Meaning that at any minute, they would be reaching their destination. Soon, they will have all the answers to their problems.

"Ugh. I can't believe it! It's been a long journey, but we're finally almost there," Sprig said with a smile on his adorable face.

Frank laughed and ruffled his head, messing up his hat and orange hair. However, when he turned to see Anne, Frank saw her sitting on the other side of the table, looking at the picture of her and her friends. "Anne?" he said.

Anne looked up. "Huh?"

"Aren't you, uh, excited? Things are finally going our way," he said.

"I am excited. It's just... we've been traveling Amphibia for two weeks," Anne said, placing her photo on the table with the map. "I thought there'd be some sign of Marcy by now. But nothin'."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Sprig said. When Anne looked at him, he pointed to Sasha in her photo. "Your last friend was kind of…"

Frank raised an eyebrow. "An evil psycho bitch?"

Anne slapped Sprig's hand away from her photo and said, "Hey! Look, Sasha, Frank, and I are just going through a rough patch—"

"Ha! 'Rough patch' my ass!" Frank scuffed as he walked away and paced for a moment. How in the world could she say it's a 'rough patch?'

Realizing that it wasn't the right thing to say, Anne tried to backpedal. "Okay, she's done some terrible things to you, Frank," she said to the boy she really liked. Hearing this got Frank to stop and look at her. "Yes, I'm mad at her for what she did, but that doesn't mean I don't care about Sasha. I have to believe that there's still a bit of the old Sasha in her. And since she got zapped here with me, it must mean Marcy did too."

Frank took a deep breath and sat down with her after she scooted over. "Yeah, of course," he said. That was Anne for you. Always quick to forgive people. It was one of her best traits that Frank loved about her. However, in this case, he wasn't sure if Anne's mind was in the right place for wanting to stay as Sasha's friend, not after slapping her and wanting to kill Hop Pop.

"So, what's she like," Sprig asked the two humans. "Marcy, I mean. Is she just as manipulative as Sasha?"

The thought of Marcy being manipulative had Frank bursting out a chuckle. "You kidding me? Sasha and Marcy are completely different people. The last time I saw that girl, she hadn't changed a bit," he said with a lop-sided grin. "Compared to Sasha, Marcy's harmless, actually…she…really nice, and super smart. But at the same time…"

"She's super oblivious and insanely clumsy," Anne said as the bag under her eyes became noticeable. Just remembering all the times she got hurt because of her clumsiness gave Anne PTSD. "Like, maybe the clumsiest person alive."

"Wow, that must be horrible," Sprig said as he tried to drink a glass of water, only for it to slip from his hands accidentally. All because he wasn't watching how he was holding it.

"Look who's talking," Frank retorted.

Anne said, "Back home, we were there to protect her. But here, she's alone, and instead of kickballs…" Frank placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She could get mauled by an elephant scarab," Sprig said. "Or crushed to death by a heron. Or worse, flayed alive by a…"

Frank grabbed Sprig's lip to shut him up. "Not helping!"

That's when the roof door opened, and Polly looked down with wide eyes and a look of excitement. "Guys! Come... It's... I... Not gonna believe it... Ah! Just get out here!"

Glancing at one another, Frank, Anne, and Sprig got out of the booth and walked over to the door.

Swinging it open, Frank was the first one to jump off the fwaggon and lay his eyes on a sight that made him gasp. Running toward the edge of the grassy cliff they were one for a better view; Frank gazed upon a sight that took his breath away and left him in a state of wonder at the awe-inspiring view before him.

There, located amidst a shallow sea at the mouth of the lily-pad-shaped land of Amphibia, was the royal castle of Newtopia.

The great city appeared to bear a resemblance similar to a palace, with turrets and towers being seen in the distance, including flags placed at the top of the towers, which appeared to be shaped like red mushrooms. Made of marble and possibly gold, the castle was the most massive structure, and atop Newtopia is a giant silver sculpture with a beak-like carving facing upwards. There was a winding cobblestone path leading to the entrance, but it was buried under the sea, and it led to a giant golden gate that served as the entrance, with ruins surrounding the walls of the city.

Anne and the rest of the Plantar Family ran toward Frank and watched the view as well. Gasping in awe at the sight of Amphibia's most fantastic city. "There she is, gang... Newtopia," Hop Pop said with a smile.

"It's beautiful," Frank said with a glowing grin.

"Yes, she is," he said. "If there's a way to get you home, it's in that city.

"Well, then, let's get down there!" Anne exclaimed, pointing at Newtopia.

"Whoo-hoo! Yeah!" Frank and the Plantars jumped in excitement. Finally, all of their troubles were over!

"Well, my feet are soaked," Anne said as the gang continued to process to Newtopia, which meant walking through the water. Thankfully, the sea was shallow enough for them to walk and for Bessie to pull the caravan through.

"Suck it up!" Frank said, walking alongside her. Sprig ran ahead of the group, full of energy. "I've had to walk all the way here on bare feet."

"Now, this is the life," Polly said as she laid on her back in the water and floated freely. She only stopped when she bumped into a hole that was protruding out of the water's surface. And it wasn't the only one, as they littered the area. "Huh? Hey, what do you think made these holes?"

Hop Pop looked in the hole with her. He became uneasy as he stared into the black obsess. "Mmm...Better not to ask. Come on!"

"I feel like this is going to come back later!" Polly exclaimed as she was pulled away by her flipper.

So, they approached the massive ornate doors of Newtopia. They were made of gold and stone, and showed two newt munks facing one another.

"We're finally here," Frank said, pulling out Hellcat's Claw. This was it. The moment they've all been waiting for. The gang was finally going to step into the city of Newtopia. "Yo! Anybody home?"

One of the seashells flipped away from the door, revealing a smaller door, where a newt peeked out and looked down at Frank and his friends. "Hello? Who is it?"

"Hi! Down here!"

"Yes, I can see you."

"Oh, well, we're travelers from Wartwood and a world beyond this one!" Frank explained. "We're in search of answers to help myself and my companion return to the world from whence we came!"

"I'm the companion!" Anne waved.

"Yes, well, you can't come in here," the newt said. "Newtopia's closed."

Frank, Anne, and the Plantars yelled, "Seriously?!"

"Closed? Like closed, closed? Or like closed for lunch?" Anne asked.

"The city is closed as in closed to all outsiders," the newt informed the travelers. "No one gets in."

"What the heck?!" Sprig yelled angrily. "Why? Till when?"

"Until the barbari-ants are gone, of course," the newt told the group.

"Wait, you guys are afraid of a bunch of little ants?" Frank asked, holding back a chuckle.

"Ha. Ha! Hahahahahaha!" the newt laughed uncontrollably, which annoyed Frank.

"Hey, come on, dude! We happen to be the best monster hunters in the valley. Plus, we got this!" He pulled out Hellcat's Claw and held it up.

The newt squinted his eyes. "What's that," he asked.

This took Frank back a bit as he pointed at his weapon. "It's the scythe of the Frog King! You know, the king you newts stole the throne from!"

The newt thought for a moment. "Sorry, dude, I don't know what to you're talking about," he said, much to Frank's annoyance and frustration.

"Look, why don't we just take care of whatever these ants are," asked Hop Pop.

"Well, we've already got the Captain, but if you can help us with the Barbari-Ants, we'd really appreciate it!" the newt calls out. However, taking a closer look at Frank and Anne, which was next to impossible from where he was, he started to ponder. "Say…you two! The funny-looking creatures! You wouldn't happen to be Frank and Anne, right?"

Frank and Anne glanced at one another, both in confusion and surprise. "Yeah," the Hispanic boy said, looking up with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"

"Uh…no reason! Just–Just stay right there!" The newt tried reaching out for the handle. However, he nearly fell out of the wind before catching the handle and saving himself. "Stupid handle. Whoa!"

It was both sad and funny for the frogs and humans to see, with Polly laughing. Thankfully for the newt, he used his tail and feet to pull himself back into the gate.

"I'm okay!" And then he closed the window.

"What's a 'barbari-ant,'" asked Anne.

"Beats me," Hop Pop said. "We don't got 'em in the valley."

"Psh, they close the whole city because of a few little ants?" Sprig scoffed.

That's when Frank heard something behind him. He took a split-second glance behind him, thinking that it was just Bessie or a fish. However, that's when he saw it: a giant ant with glowing orange coral sticking out of their heads and bodies covered in barnacles.

"Uh oh," he said with wide eyes.

Anne deadpanned. "Don't tell me; one of those ants is right behind us."

"Yep."

"Is it huge?"

"As big as a bear."

".....bring it on."

The barbari-ant shrieked and rushed at the group. Frank, however, jumped into the air, backflipping, and landed on the ant's back. With a shout, he swung down and stabbed his scythe into its skull. Making green blood spill out as it stumbled around and then fell on its side. Frank then jumped off the death ant and swung Hellcat's Cat, flicking off the blood.

"Well, that was easy," he said.

"And hot…" Anne said with stars in her eyes and a big blush.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

However, the good times didn't last, as the ground beneath their feet started rumbling. "Uh, you guys feel that," asked Sprig.

A moment later, ten more ant mounds started forming their way to the surface of the water. From those mounds emerged the barbari-ants, who set their sights on Frank and his friends. Soon, they had them surrounded.

One of the ants crawled up to Bessie, who retreated into the safety of her shell. "Starting to feel a bit antsy," Anne said with a quip as the ants clattered their jaws.

However, just as the ants were about to attack, a sack landed in between the group and the creatures. It then exploded in a burst of black oil that spread across the water.

"What the…" Frank watched as more sacks hit the water. Spreading more of the black oil until it formed a U-shaped wall around them. Wondering where it came from, Frank turned around to face the wall of Newtopia.

High up on the wall was a lone figure with a hood over their head and a cape fluttering in the wind.

That person raised their arm and what appeared to be fired an incendiary arrow into the air. It traveled for a short moment before losing momentum. From there, it came flying down and hitting the oil, instantly catching it on fire and making the ants screech. Too scared to continue, the barbari-ants dug under the water and retreated. Though, two of them bumped into each other on the way.

"Whoa! Huh?" Anne and the Plantars said in confusion. Frank pointed up at the person on the wall with wide eyes and a hanging jaw.

That same mysterious person who saved their lives fired another arrow. One with a very long length of rope attached to it.

"Hop Pop, can I get a crossbow for my birthday? Please, please, please!" Polly pleaded with her grandfather.

Hop Pop was interrupted when the arrow stabbed into the wheel of the fwaggon. "Eh, we'll talk," he told her.

Their savior then pulled out a hook from their waist and jumped off the wall. Ziplining down the rope with grace and skill, as Frank, Anne, and the Plantars watched in amazement.

"That's one cool newt," Hop Pop said with a smile.

And he would be right, if only the line didn't snap on the newt. Causing her to fall flat on her face with a big splash. Making the frogs of the family wince.

"Been there. Didn't really stick the landing," Polly said, as the body of the newt lay in the water. Only her back was facing skyward, so they couldn't see what she looked like.

However, as she looked closely at the person, Anne pushed Frank aside as she saw that they didn't have a tail, nor the vibrant skin colors newts usually had. "Wait a second…"

Picking herself out of the water, coughing, the person revealed that they had a nose and black hair under their hood. "Okay, so, Newtopian rope can hold an average human girl for, uh, 2.3 seconds," said the hooded figure as she pulled out a journal. Standing as if she hadn't just landed in front of a group of people, the human girl started writing in her journal. "Maybe I could reinforce the rope with iron spider silk to increase the tensile strength…"

Anne formed tears in her eyes as she cupped her hands over her mouth. "Marcy?"

Gasping, the person turned around and pulled back her hood. "Anne," asked Marcy. "Frank? Guys, is that really you?"

Frank couldn't believe his eyes. It was Marcy Wu. Her time in Amphibia had resulted in a new look, just like Sasha. Now, Marcy was wearing a faded blue hooded cape, complete with a white-furred collar that was held together with a pink shell. She also wore a brown metal chest plate with a light gray t-shirt underneath, a stitched skirt, and grey winter snow boots that were wrapped with studded straps. Each of her hands had gray fingerless gloves; moreover, her right arm had a hand-mounted crossbow.

"She's alive…" Frank whispered as a smile formed on his face. Dropping Hellcat's Claw, Frank ran towards her. "Marcy!"

"Frank!" Marcy cried with joy as she rushed towards him.

Time slowed down as Frank and Marcy approached each other with their arms spread out. It looked like they were going to hug each other after months of being away from each other.

"Marcy!"

"Frank!"

"Marcy!"

"Frank!"

"Marcy!" Frank's happiness turned to anger.

"Frank?" Marcy stopped running and became confused by Frank's changed behavior.

"MARCY!" Frank yelled out with all the rage he felt towards the clumsy girl.

Realizing that she had gravely misread the situation, Marcy turned around and started to run. "Oh, sugar honey iced tea!" Marcy exclaimed.

"MARCY!" Time returned to normal as Frank chased Marcy around in a circle.

"Hey! Hold up! Hold up!" Marcy, panicking, tried to get him to stop and let her explain before he unleashed his wrath on her.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Frank pointed at her.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Marcy tripped over. She hurried back into the water as Frank tripped forward and continued chasing her.

"Come here!" Frank yelled. "Don't run away from me!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Marcy yelled in a panic. "Calm down! Calm down!"

"If you keep running away, I'm gonna," Frank lept in the air and pointed down at her, "kill you more!"

"Marcy!" Luckily for Marcy, Anne ran in and stopped the situation from getting any worse. Overcome with joy, the Thai girl knocked the air out of her best friend when she crashed into her and tackled her to the water.

Startled for a moment, Marcy instantly recognized Anne's hair, and a big smile grew on her. "Anne? Is that really you?" she said with joy as she pushed the other girl away to get a good look at her crying face.

"Marcy! I can't believe it!" Anne cried.

"You, me, Frank?" She pointed to Frank. "Here?!"

Anne tried wiping away her tears, but it was no use. "I know! I know! I missed you so much," Anne said, pulling Marcy into another hug.

Marcy giggled and hugged her friend back. "Oh, I missed you too!"

"Aw…" Sprig said as he, Polly, and Hop Pop looked at the two girls with pride. Happy to see them reunited.

At the same time, Frank stopped for a moment and stared with a bitter expression as the two girls had their heartfelt moment. Marcy saw him and stood up with Anne. "Heh, hey…Frank," she said nervously. "Uh, long time no see?"

"Yeah, after you three stole from my grandma and got us trapped in this world!" Frank yelled at Marcy, making her coward a bit.

"....Well, it could be worse?"

Anne sucked in a breath through her teeth. That was not the best thing to say, and Frank made that clear as he started chasing Marcy around again. "I'm gonna kill you, Marcy!" he yelled, making the other girl run away from him all over the water. "I'm gonna strangle you, bury you, dig you up, clone you, and then kill all your clones!"

"Thirty-second timeout!" Marcy screamed fearfully. The two of them ran to Anne, and Marcy tried hiding behind her, but Frank just chased her around his best friend.

"And then, I'm never talking to you again!"

"STOP IT!" Anne grabbed Frank by the front of his poncho and held him in place. "We just reunited with Marcy, so why don't we just calm down and be happy we're all back together."

Frank glared at Marcy and sighed. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's okay," Marcy said, waving it off. "You're not the first person to try and kill him."

"Who said I was apologizing to you?" Frank snapped.

Seeing that the situation wasn't going to be any better than what it was at the moment, Anne sighed and put back on a smile. "Okay, now that that's settled, look at you!" Anne exclaimed, letting go of Frank to gesture to Marcy's outfit. "Look at this outfit. You're like an Amazon warrior queen or something."

"I know, I know, right? It's nuts! This is real!" Marcy pointed her loaded crossbow at Frank.

"Point that thing at me again, and you're losing an arm, bitch!" Frank yelled and used Hellcat's Claw to push the crossbow away from his face.

"Ah, sorry!" Marcy then saw the scythe, and her eyes lit up like New Year's fireworks. "Oh. My. Frog. Is that what I think it is? You found the legendary Frog King's scythe!?"

This outburst took Frank by surprise. "You…You know about the Hellcat?"

"Know of it? I've been trying to prove that it's real!" Marcy proclaimed with a giant grin on her face. "Did you know legends state that the Frog King named it after his pet bird, who he ironically called Hellcat? But that's all people in Newtopia believe it to be. Legends and stories! Myths that were made up, but now I can prove that he existed!"

"I'm…glad to see you've become adjusted to this world," Frank said, still scowling at her.

"I haven't just been adjusting. I've been living!" Marcy proclaimed. "Isn't this place wild? What an adventure. Aw, man! I've really grown out here, guys. Come into my own. Leveled up. No more clumsy, klutzy Marcy. Can you believe it?"

"Your cloak's on fire," Anne said, pointing to a small fire that had formed at the right end of her cloak.

"What? Help!" Marcy screamed as she ran around in a panic.

"Don't swing it around!" Anne yelled. Luckily, Frank tripped Marcy over and knocked her into the water. "Dude!"

"What? She was on fire, and there's water everywhere," Frank said, pointing out the fire being extinguished.

Sitting up on her knees, Marcy pulled out her journal and wrote in it. "Note to self: nonflammable cloak, preferable."

"So, Frank, Anne," Hop Pop said as he and his grandkids stood on a mound of sand sticking up out of the water. "Who's your friend?

"Friend is a strong word," Frank said, getting an elbow in his side by Anne. "Ugh, alright. Marcy, I want you to meet the Plantars."

The moment Marcy saw the frogs, her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, my gosh. Who are these cuties?"

"Didn't you hear me?"

Marcy gasped as she rushed over to the frogs. "Are they your surrogate frog family? Did they find you and take you in? Oh! I love the Found Family trope! Gosh, this is just like the hero in my favorite game, Vagabondia Chronicles. The greatest JRPG of all time. Have you played it? Do you wanna play it? Borrow it? Just say the word, and I'll lend you my copy. Man, it'll change your lives!"

"Uh, Anne?" Sprig was uncomfortable with how close Marcy was getting to him and his family.

"Yep, the Plantars took Frank and me in," Anne said with a smile. "The one you got there is Hop Pop."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh." Marcy pulled out a measuring tape and wrapped it tightly around Hop Pop's head. "As I thought, 62 centimeters!"

"Yep! All brain," Hop Pop said, with the tape in his eyes until Marcy pulled it away from him.

Marcy pulled out her journal again and started writing down a description of the old frog. "Judging from the size of your cranium and flecks of sediment, you're from Frog Valley, right?"

Hop Pop gasped and smiled happily. "You can tell all that from my head?"

"Oh, Frank, Anne. I'm so jealous you two found a farming community," Marcy said while writing in her journal. "I've been studying Amphibia history, and farm culture is super underappreciated, in my opinion. You're the backbone of society and do not get enough credit for it."

"Hub, bub, bub, bub. Hub, bub, bub, bub…" Hop Pop's mind was broken, but his soul leaped with joy as he gasped, clutched his heart, and fell back onto Polly.

"Get off of me!" Polly yelled.

"Thank you, thank you!" Hop Pop shook Marcy's hand.

Marcy saw Polly and pushed the old frog out of the way to kneel in front of her. "Hey, a pollywog!"

"Hi." Polly greeted her, only for Marcy to pick her up and hold her upside down over her head.

The girl then examined the inside of her body using the light of the sun, which allowed all of her inners to be visible. She uses a magnifying glass to focus on the lower area of Polly's body. There, the Taiwanese girl saw a pair of developing legs. "Hmm. I'd say those legs should be coming in about…" Marcy had to pause for a moment to work out the math in her head. "Bub, bub, bub, buh... two months, give or take!"

Still being held upside down, Polly gasped with sparkling eyes. "Can I get that in writing?"

"Oh, yeah, absolutely," Marcy said with a wink. She put Polly down and gave her a written note.

Legs in 2 months - Marcy

Polly squealed and giggled as she took the note and hugged it to her little body. "Thank you!"

And then Marcy ran over to Sprig, who smiled at her. "Oh! And hi there. Wow. I've never seen a frog your color before. You're not poisonous, are you," she asked, reaching out to shake his hand.

Sprig shook her hand and thought for a moment. "Huh, I don't feel poisonous," he said. However, a horrible thought entered his mind. "Oh, no. What if I've been poisoning Ivy every time we've kissed?!"

"Shut up, dumbass," Frank said, walking over with his arms crossed. Anne followed beside him. "You're not poisonous."

"How do you know!?"

"Dude, remember all those times you used your tongue on me and Anne?" Frank pointed to himself and Anne.

"Oh yeah…" Sprig then turned to Marcy. "Okay. So, Marcy, I've got a couple of questions," he said, before jumping on her shoulder. "How'd you get so smart? What's your cloak made out of? What's in this pouch? Where'd you get that wrist thing?"

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Anne pulled him off. "So what about you, Mar-mar," Anne asked her best gal pal. "Have you been in Newtopia this whole time?"

Marcy waved her hand. "Here and there, but, uh, mostly here. I actually warped in right inside the city walls. Pretty lucky, right? Like, what are the odds," she said. However, a new thought entered her head as she snapped her figures. "Oh, oh, okay! Oh, my gosh! Remember that game I tried to get you and Sasha to play, Creatures and Caverns?"

Anne answered with complete honesty. "No."

"It turns out newts are just like Cephalons!"

Anne's eyes slowly drifted to the side.

"From Shadows of Xel'noth!"

Frank yelled at Marcy. "English, dammit!"

"Anyway, I just role-played like your typical artificer/rogue, and the next thing I know is BOOM!" Marcy said, fist-pumping. "I'm the chief ranger of the Newtopian Knight Guard!" She stood in front of the group with her fists on her hips and a big grin. She looked so proud of herself, while everyone else looked confused.

"Uh...Were those words," asked Polly.

"Right, whatever," Frank said, walking up to Marcy. He continued glaring at her as he pointed at the wall. "All I care about is if you get us into the city, Marcy. We tried the gate, but they won't let us in."

Marcy placed her arm on his shoulder. "Unfortunately, those gates will stay closed until the barbari-ants are defeated," she said. Frank moved away from her, making Marcy fall into the water before she quickly got back up. "Luckily, we've got a plan. Come on!"

There was a single red and gold tent on the far side of the Newtopia's walls. Outside were two guards with spears and shields. Each guard had their eyes covered with a hood, their spears had seashell-shaped spearheads, and their shields were in the shape of sand-dollars. Inside the tent were three newts in cloaks. They stood around a wooden table that was covered with maps, charts, and other documents. On the floor around the table were books. Around the tent were a large map of the area around the city and a diagram showing the anatomy of the barbari-ants.

"I'm telling you, Branson, what we need is a direct frontal assault," the first newt said.

"And I'm telling you, Bartley, a sneak attack is what's called for." Branson pocked Bartley in the chest.

"Yeah, well, you're both wrong," said the third newt, putting down the book he was reading. "We need to learn how to communicate with our ant brethren and live in sweet, sweet harmony."

"Ludicrous!" Bartley threw his arms up.

"Yeah, shut up, Blair," Branson said.

Blair hit Branson in the face with his book. "You shut up!"

The three start arguing and hitting each other, fighting over the book to beat each other with. However, the fight would end when Marcy entered the tent. "'Sup, triple B?"

The three newts quickly became saints and acted on their best behavior. "Ahem. Ah, Master Marcy," said Bartley. At the same time, Frank, Anne, and the Plantars entered the tent. "Are you lost?"

"No, no. They're with me. The Plantars traveled here all the way from the valley," said Marcy.

Anne waved at the newts, wanting to impress those whom she assumed to be Marcy's friends. Frank said nothing. Sprig and Hop Pop each ate a fly buzzing around them while Polly hopped onto the table and let out a massive burp.

"Ah, welcome, dirty peasants," Bartley said.

Marcy gestures to a smiling Anne and a scowling Frank. "And these are my friends, Anne…" Anne poked her cheek. "Ow," Marcy said, holding her cheek and looking at Anne.

Anne laughed. "Sorry. I just... still can't believe you're here," the Thai girl said as she started playfully patting Marcy's head like a drum. Making Marcy giggle.

"Anne, quiet it," she said, nudging her with her arm.

"All right, all right," Anne said, backing off. ''Keep doing what you're doing."

"And my other friend, Frank," Marcy said, placing a hand on Frank's shoulder.

However, the Hispanic boy swatted her off. "Former friend," he said, glaring at Marcy.

Marcy looked hurt by his abrasiveness. Something that was noticed clearly by Anne. Just from this morning, she knew that the road to repairing their friendship was going to be a difficult one. The biggest obstacle was, of course, Frank. This was especially the case with the grudge he held against all of them for their role in trapping him in this world.

However, the Taiwanese-American girl hid her pain and turned back to her happy self. "So, what's the stitch," she asked the newts.

"You'll be glad to hear we've agreed on a battle strategy," Bartley told the human girl.

"What?!" The two newts with him yelled.

"We've agreed on nothing!" Blair said.

"Well, no worries. I think I got it figured out," Marcy said as she leaned over the map. "Anne, do you remember when we studied insect migration patterns in biology class?

Anne said, "Nope."

"Well, since the weather warmed up, those ants have been sending scouting parties deeper into our territory." As Marcy goes on, Anne gets distracted playing with the hood of Marcy's cloak. "In fact, I predict a full-scale invasion is just around the corner. The king has asked me to stop them before they turn Newtopia into a giant anthill."

To prove her point, she crushed the model of the city with a model of what said anthill would look like.

"Wait. You work directly for the king of Amphibia?" Frank asked, raising an eyebrow. Becoming suspicious of Marcy for working for the king of Amphibia.

"Uh-huh."

"Frank, behave yourself." Anne scolded her best friend.

"Okay," Marcy said, pulling out her journal. "The plan is we're gonna sneak behind enemy lines and drive the ant queen away. With her gone, the rest should retreat."

"Oh, yeah? And how are we doing that?" Frank asked.

"Check it out!" Marcy pulled out a leather strap that held brown-orange mushrooms with yellow tips.

Polly gasped upon seeing the mushrooms. "Boom shrooms," she asked, with little explosions going off in her eyes.

"Not quite," Marcy said as she strapped the leather sash around her torso. "These are stink shrooms!"

"Oh. Carry on," Polly said, disappointed.

"They're designed to release pheromones that should drive the queen away instantly," Marcy explained to the group. Frowning, she looked down at the map again. "But we will have to fight our way through a bloodthirsty hoard of ants."

"My interest has been restored," Polly said.

"We'll have to be extra careful. If one thing goes wrong…Whoa!" While leaning on the table, Marcy cried out and nearly toppled it. Some of the papers and items fell off before she quickly corrected the table. "Hehe. Flimsy table."

Seeing Marcy fumbling like a klutz did little to build Anne's confidence. To her, Marcy, the clumsiest girl ever, was still the clumsiest girl ever. And having just got Marcy back, the Thai girl was determined not to let anything happen to her friend. "Uh, Marbles, this sounds pretty dangerous," she said, rubbing the back of her head. Then Anne had an idea and smiled at Marcy. "Yeah, why don't you leave the mission to me and Frank? We did stuff like this all the time in the valley."

Anne struck a pose. However, Frank didn't.

"Dude," she whispered.

"Oh, was I supposed to do a post too?" He pointed to himself.

"Yes."

"No."

Marcy rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Ugh. Come on, Anna Banana. I'll be fine," she said. The use of her old nickname for Anne rubbed Frank the wrong way. "I've changed, remember?"

"Hey, dumbass," Frank said, raising his hand. He then pointed to Marcy's cape. "Your cape's on fire again."

Sure enough, it was. Not only did Marcy scream, but the Triple B did, too. The three scholarly newts, having no survival skills, ran around in a circle in a panic. "Fire! Fire! Fire! Somebody do something!"

"For fuck sake, hold still." Frank walked over to Marcy and swiftly sliced the cape off with his knife. Throwing it on the ground, he gritted his teeth as he stomped the fire out.

Marcy looked at Frank with wide eyes in surprise for his actions. "Aw…my cape," she said sadly.

"You'll live," Frank said harshly. And he didn't just say that because he was still mad at her. Marcy's seen The Incredibles. She knew capes were a death sentence. Flammable was just tempting fate to hit you with lightning.

"But didn't that hurt," she asked, pointing to his bare feet.

Frank's face turned a shade of red, and tears welled up in his eyes as he held in his cries of pain. "No," he said through gritted teeth. He then took his foot off the cape. "And Anne's right. With how much of a clutz you are, you'd mess up your own mission."

"Frank, trust me. I can handle this," Marcy said. One of the newts brought over another cape and fastened it on her.

"Trust you?! Why in the world would I trust you," Frank asked incredulously, getting in Marcy's face as she looked at him with a shocked expression.

"Frank, stop it!" Anne yelled, pushing him away from Marcy. "Uh, could you give us a moment alone? But we will be coming with you."

"Right…meet me outside to engage the mission!" Marcy said, pointing her finger up. Pulling out her journal, she walked out of the tent.

"What's your problem?" Anne scolded Frank, who crossed his arms and looked away from her.

"Me," Hop Pop asked, thinking she was talking to him. "Well, to be honest, my cholesterol's been a little…"

"Not you. Frownzilla over here," Polly said. She, too, wanted to know why Frank was so angry lately.

"Oh, come on, guys. Surely you don't trust Marcy," Frank said.

Hop Pop said, "I do."

"With my life, actually," Polly added.

Sprig even joined in. "With my grandkids."

"Come on, Frank, I mean, look at her," Anne said, pointing outside where Marcy was studying her journal, surrounded by butterflies. She noticed them and giggled. "She's still the same Marcy you and I knew."

"Really? The same Marcy that went along with whatever Sasha said? The same Marcy whom I trusted, only to break that trust by peer pressuring you into stealing from my family?"

"That was Sasha's idea," Anne said, frowning at the mention of the blonde girl. "All Marcy did was send her the picture."

"But she did nothing to stop it, Anne!" Frank said in frustration. "She knew it was wrong, yet stood by and let it happen!"

As much as she hated to say it, Frank was right. But the same argument could've been made about her actions. Anne sighed and looked at the boy she loved with a sympathetic expression. "Okay, dude, listen, I know that you've got a lot of unresolved anger towards Marcy," she said.

"Great story," Frank said. "Just let me get in a good punch on Marcy. Sasha gets one, so why not give one to Marcy? You knew, even it out."

"No! No one is punching anyone," Anne ironically punched him in the arm.

"Ow!"

She took a deep breath and started again. "Frank, listen," Anne said, placing a hand on his cheek and getting him to look at her. "I know that we each hurt you. I'm not innocent of what happened that day or in our past. But now we have a second chance."

Frank rolled his eyes. "Right, second chances. Well, second chances also require trust, and I trusted her five days before your birthday. Remember that story? And she broke her promise!" Frank threw his arms up, gesturing to the tent, in the world they were currently in. "That trust is gone, so why would I give her a second chance?!"

"Because you gave me a second chance."

Frank stopped and listened to Anne.

"Frank, don't you remember? I was the one that stole the music box, even though I knew it was wrong. I did it because I was too weak to stand up to Sasha, just like how I was too weak to stand up to her when she wanted us to dump you. I've broken promises, too, and yet you still trust me. If I'm deserving of a second chance, even after that, then don't you think Marcy deserves one too?"

"Because you—" Frank stopped himself.

"Because I'm what?" Anne looked at him, intrigued.

Groaning in frustration, Frank turned away. Every rational brain cell in Frank's head was telling him not to give Marcy a second chance or his trust. She's already hurt him two times in the past: when she turned her back on him and for getting the four of them stuck in Amphibia. While they were fighting for their lives, Marcy was living a life of luxury. It seemed like she wanted to be there. So, what was preventing him from telling Anne to take the idea of giving Marcy a second chance and go shove it up her ass?

Well, the reason was Anne.

His grandma was the secondary reason, but the girl in front of him was the one that made him reconsider his decision to stay mad at Marcy. The way she looked at him with her big brown eyes melted the bitterness and anger fueling his soul. Frank closed his eyes and sighed.

"Come on, we came all this way to find her. Let's not mess up a chance like this," Anne said, holding out her hand when Frank turned around to look at her. "Just…please trust her on this mission."

Looking at her hand, Frank felt compelled to take it and feel her warmth and affection in her skin. "Alright, fine, but I'm only doing this for you," he said, grabbing her hand. "I want you to stay here with the Plantars until I get back."

"What? No way! I'm going too," Anne protested.

"Nope. You're going to stay behind and make sure these three don't get in trouble," Frank said, pointing to the Plantars.

"B-But what about Marcy? Frank, I've got to be there to make sure she doesn't hurt herself," Anne pleaded with the young boy. "I just got her back."

"I'll protect her, but Marcy seems to know what she's doing…kind of," Frank said, but now even he was sure. Marcy was clumsy, and her cape would likely kill her or Anne if she were to go down with her.

Anne knew this. However, from where she was standing, this could be a good thing. If movies and television taught her anything, it's that if you have two people who don't like each other forced to work together, it's sure to make them friends at the end of the journey. Frank and her were a prime example of that.

"Okay. But you're going to have to protect Marcy," she said.

"I make no promises."

"Frank!" Anne punched him.

"Ow! Jeez, I was kidding. What happened to no one punching anyone?" He grimaced and rubbed his arm. Frank then saw the newts were still in the tent with them. "Uh…you guys coming or not?"

"What, us?" Bartley chuckles, finding the question to be utterly ridiculous. "Of course not. We're analysts. We don't do 'fieldwork.'"

Hop Pop glared at them, taking great offense to their dismissal of his and his family's profession. "And what's wrong with fieldwork? I'll have you know we farmers are the backbone of society!" He yelled at the newts, ribbiting and puffing out his neck.

Frank glanced at Anne. "If we're not back in three hours, come get us."

Marcy was initially surprised that Frank wanted to come with her. The Taiwanese-American girl thought that Anne and the rest of the Plantars were going to be coming along. But no, it was only the Hispanic boy with the scythe on his back, bare feet, and a grudge against her tagging along. A grudge that Marcy was determined to turn around and gain his friendship. And this mission provided her the opportunity to do just that.

The two walked across the water until reaching the entrance to the underground tunnel system. The two walked on a small island of sand with multiple holes dug out in the surface. On the island, there were also blue, red, and yellow coral growing and a large rock with yellow mushrooms attached to it.

"Okay, we should be arriving there shortly!" Marcy said, looking down at her book and not paying attention to where she was going. And it almost caused her to fall into the largest hole, if it weren't for Frank seeing it and reacting by reaching out, grabbing her cape, and pulling her back. "Whoa, thanks, Franky."

"Don't call me that." Frank looked down into the hole. He felt a shiver coming up his back as he looked into the black abyss. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out Hellcat's Claw. "Let's get this over with."

Frank jumped into the hole first, followed by Marcy. Together, they slid down a steep slope until they reached the bottom. The sand tunnel they were in was a large one, with multiple holes leading to other sections of the tunnel system. Growing from the walls were glowing mushrooms, luminosity lighting the walls and allowing the duo to see.

Marcy, eager for adventure, sprung to her feet. "All right! Let's go," she said, walking ahead of Frank. However, she was stopped when the boy pulled her back again.

"Hold up. Stay behind me," Frank told her sternly. "Okay, if we can just stay in this formation—"

He was cut off when Marcy, looking at her book, walked in front of him and away from Frank.

"Hey!"

"This is gonna be a cinch, Frank. Trust me, I know these tunnels better than anyone…" Marcy screamed as she fell down a hole. Frank rushed over, caught her by the cape, and pulled her up. Laying on her back, Marcy chuckled and gave a thumbs-up. "Thanks. Okay. Note to self: Do not step in holes," she said as she stood up and walked away.

Frank sighed and rubbed his face. "The sooner we get this mission over, the sooner I can get as far away from you as possible," he said.

Hearing that made Marcy stop and turn to him. "If you didn't want to be here with me, why did you come?"

"Trust me, being here is the last place I want to be," Frank told her. "Anne wanted to come because she thinks you're still a klutz, but I wasn't going to let that happen. Not when I know that you're going to put her in a dangerous position."

"But…Why don't you want to be around me?" Marcy asked.

Frank looked at her incredulously. "Are you serious? Remember that promise you made? About fixing our friendship? Well, I believe you! I thought I could open myself back up to you when you came back into my life. I trusted you, and look at what happened. You got us lost in a world of frogs after you and Sasha peer-pressured Anne into stealing from my grandma!"

Frank knew that she didn't peer pressure his best friend. Anne made that clear when she talked to him. However, from his perspective, Marcy was smirking a smug look when she saw Anne taking the music back. No matter what Anne said, that face she made was all the proof Frank needed to know Marcy had taken pride in the theft.

Marcy's eyes widened, and she held her hands up. "Frank, I swear to you, that wasn't how I wanted it to go," she said.

"Oh? Then how was it supposed to go?" Frank walked up to her, tightening his grip on the Hellcat. "Let me guess, I wasn't supposed to stop you, right? I wasn't supposed to try and stop you?"

"No, it's…It wasn't supposed to be like that," Marcy said. "When I got to your store…I-I took a picture of the box because…I wanted to keep the reunion a secret. You know, a surprise reunion. We were never supposed to rob your grandmother."

"And yet you looked so smug about it," Frank counteracted her claim. "You didn't even try to stop it."

Marcy was about to say something when she spotted an ant approaching him from behind. "Uh, Frank!" She pointed at it.

Frank gasped when he turned around and saw the ant. However, things went from bad to worse when more of the giant ants came out to feast. Their jaws snapping with anticipation, as Frank gritted Hellcat's Claw with both hands.

"Alright, stay behind me," Frank told Marcy.

However, when he turned around to look at the girl, she had her book out and was walking away.

"I'm going to break that girl's legs."

Despite the danger she was in and the harsh conversation and anger that Frank had directed at her, Marcy was able to keep calm as she worked on a way out of the situation they were in. With Fank taking care of the ants, she had all the time she needed to find the required ingredients to escape."Ooh! Nice," she said, walking up to a cluster of purple flowers with glowing yellow stigmas, not noticing two ants stalking up to her.

Frank saw them, however, and rushed him. With a swift slice of his crescent moon scythe, he cut off the head of one ant. Blood splattered from its body as Frank turned around and chopped down on the skull of the other ant.

"Marcy! What the fuck are you doing?" He yelled at Marcy, but another ant was already attacking him.

Toning out the fighting going on behind her, Marcy pulled out one of the stigmas with a chuckle. "Essence of Heron's Bane. Just what the doctor ordered," she said, pulling out a conical flask filled with glowing, bubbling yellow liquid and popping off the cork with her thumb.

"You're gonna need a doctor when I'm done with you!" Frank yelled as he pushed back a head-butting ant.

Marcy dropped the stigma into the flask and pulled out another one, one with a round bottom with a glowing pink liquid. "Steady, steady." With steady hands, Marcy poured the yellow liquid into the round bottom flask, closed it with a cork, and then shook it until it turned purple. "Done! Frank! This way!"

She threw the flask toward a wall, and the impact created an explosion that created a hole large enough for the humans to duck their heads and pass through.

"Come on!" Marcy called out to the Hispanic boy. She then turned and ducked into the hole.

Dodging an ant that was about to bite him in his head, Frank used his baseball experience to race to the hole. His leg muscles throbbed with every step he took as if they were reawakened to the physical force needed to run as fast as they could to the next base. And just like a baseball player, Frank slid across the ground and made it into the hole, coming out the other side to another tunnel.

When coming to a stop, Frank turned back and saw that his hat had fallen off, just an inch away from the hole. He quickly grabbed it and pulled back from the entrance, before Marcy pulled out a sack from her bag and threw it at the floor of the hole she made. It exploded in a puff of smoke as a wall of purple vines with glowing thorns grew from the place of impact. Creating a wall that the ants couldn't break through.

"Insta-vine!" Marcy proclaimed, gesturing to the new plant species she had come across during her travels. She then pulled out one of the insta-veins and showed it to Frank. "Bred them myself. Isn't vegetation in Amphibia just the coolest?"

Frank grunted and stood up. "Would have been cooler if the plants of this world weren't trying to kill us," he said, dusting off his poncho. "The same world you got us stuck in."

Marcy's face fell, realizing that Frank was still upset with her. Shaking her head, Marcy pulled out her journal and started walking away. "We should keep going."

Now came the part Frank hated. The guilt. Just like the last time he hurt her feelings, Frank began to raise his hand to stop Marcy, to apologize, and to say that he wanted to forgive her. That was until he stopped himself. Just like last time, he didn't want to feel sorry for telling off Marcy. Why should he after what she did? Despite the fact that Marcy seemed to be genuinely upset and ashamed of her actions. Was he just trying to hold onto a grudge that he didn't want to? If so, why? Marcy wasn't like Sasha. She didn't destroy his life and ruin his friendship with the three of them. She was just in a bad situation.

Grunting in frustration, Frank glared at the ground and walked behind Marcy. The two of them walked in silence for a while, both too afraid to say anything to them. Marcy, out of the immense guilt she felt for the things she had done to him. However, looking ahead, she suppressed the gasp in her throat and stopped.

"Frank, stop," she hissed in a whisper, blocking him with her arm. "We found the queen." Marcy pointed. Frank followed her finger, and his eyes widened in awe at the ant in front of him.

At the size and length of three elephants, the queen was a lot bigger and stronger than the rest of the barbari-ants. She had two sharp claws that were separated from the other eight legs, and her armor was much thicker. That armor covered half of her top back side, and her head was adorned with massive V-shaped, glowing green, coral-like horns. As the queen, her role was to make more of her kind, a role that was accomplished by the large, dark green birthing organ from which fresh barbari-ant eggs are laid.

Frank and Marcy quickly ducked to the ground when the queen groaned. However, this was because she was merely laying another batch of eggs. Eggs that were transparent, sickly green with larvae floating around inside them. Lowering her head to the eggs, the queen opened her mouth and baffled out a slimy green fluid, covering the eggs.

One egg, however, wasn't covered in her slime. Seeing this, the queen sprayed a small amount of her fluid on it, and then she tucked the egg under it like it was a blanket. The queen cooed and blushed at her baby.

"Huh, at least she's a good mother," Frank commented. "What are we doing?"

Taking a breath, Marcy said, "Here's the plan, Frank." She placed her journal down and pulled out the stink-shrooms. "We're going to have to plant these around the room. That way, she gets a nose-full. The moment they're planted, they'll go off in five minutes, so we need to move quickly. Also, the queen is nearly blind, but hears really well. So be very, very quiet."

Frank nodded and pulled out Hellcat's Claw. He followed Marcy as she walked into the main chamber of the Barbari-Ant's tunnels. On guard, Frank watched the queen ant, while Marcy bent over and planted the shrooms in the emerald-green ground.

About half a minute later, Marcy planted about half of the mushrooms. Turning to Marcy, Frank's ears picked up the sound of cracking over her. Raising his gaze upward, Frank gasped when he saw stalactite beginning to break off the ceiling.

Acting quickly, Frank ran to Marcy, who didn't even look up and tackled her to the ground. Just seconds before the stalactite could come crashing down on top of her.

The queen instinctively looked in their direction, and the two humans quickly moved behind the piece of earth. Hiding as the terrible vision of the ant prevented her from seeing where they were. Seeing nothing, she turned back to her eggs.

"Frank, what are you doing?" Marcy glared at Frank.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know saving your life from a falling rock was such a bother to you!" Frank snapped back.

"Well, you didn't have to. I was about to get out of the way, myself."

"No, you weren't," Frank countered, peeking out from behind the rock. "The last thing I need to do is explain to Anne that her friend got her clumsy ass killed. No wonder she always felt like she had to protect you."

"But she doesn't, Frank."

"Tell that to all the times you nearly got yourself killed or hurt back home," Frank said, poking her in the chest. "Do I even need to remind you of the zoo incident? You basically burdened Anne with your safety because you were a total klutz back home."

"But we're not back home," Marcy argued. "I've been doing just fine by myself."

"Oh, sure, said the girl who couldn't even pick her head up to see where she was going, almost fell into two holes, fell flat on her face, and whose cape kept catching on fire every five minutes," Frank said, glaring at Marcy as he listed off all the things she did that proved she hadn't changed a bit since she got stuck in Amphibia. "Speaking of which." He pointed to Marcy's cape.

It was on fire, again.

"What? Oh, come on!" Marcy exclaimed as she got up and started stomping on her cape. "There wasn't even any fire this time!"

This was heard by the queen, who turned around as swiftly as a whip and shot her tongue out at the rock. The tongue, the end of which opened like a demogorgon's head, smashed the rock into pieces and revealed the two humans. The queen ant roared, summoning more of her ants into the tunnel to defend her.

Frank stood up and got into a fighting stance with Hellcat's Claw. "Alright. Plan B, killing the queen!"

He was just about to charge at the ant when Marcy pulled him back by his arm. "Wait, Frank, don't do it!" Marcy said.

"Why not?" Frank saw an ant charging at Marcy from behind. Pushing her to the ground, he cut the ant down with a chop to its head.

"If you kill the queen, the other ants will attack the city," Marcy said, shouting an ant in the face. "Without her, they have no direction and will go berserk. We have to wait until the stink-shrooms go off."

"Are you insane? There's no way I am sticking around for that," Frank said, cutting down two more ants. Another one charged at him, but like a bull, Frank jumped out of the way at the last moment.

Loading her weapon, Marcy groaned in anger. "Can't you just trust me on this?" She yelled, shooting another ant.

"Trust?! You have broken my trust," Frank yelled back at her. He turned back ahead, just in time to see another ant coming at him. The boy got ready to go in and fight the massive insect, but he was interrupted when an arrow, fired by Marcy, hit it in the head. The ant went down in front of him, and Frank turned back to the girl whom he was angry with.

"I'm sorry! Okay?" Marcy said, loudly. "Is that what you wanna hear? I'm sorry that we stole from your grandmother. And I'm sorry that I got trapped in Amphibia."

"Say sorry for that changes nothing!" Frank said, turning his back to her as he fought off the ant. Now realizing that he and Marcy were being pushed away from the queen, away from the other shrooms that Marcy dropped, and to a wall of the cave. The ones that they planted would have to do, because they weren't going to have the time to plant the others.

"Then what will," Marcy begged, standing behind him with her back against his. "Please, tell me!"

"How about acknowledging the fact that you are a terrible friend?" Frank slashed into an ant.

"What are you talking about?" Marcy shot an ant. She looked over her shoulder and glared at the Hispanic boy. "How was I a terrible friend? I've been trying to find you, Anne, and Sasha ever since coming to this world. I'm nice to people. I was always there for the four of us when we were growing up. How could you say I'm a terrible friend?"

"BECAUSE YOU ABANDONED ME!"

Silence filled the tunnel as Marcy looked stunned at Frank. A cold wave slapped her insides, as she looked at Frank's back, his poncho covered in ant blood.

"Anne, she told me what happened. The real reason you three left me. And how you were the first one to agree with Sasha."

Marcy's eyes widened, as her heart was overwhelmed with guilt and shame. How could she have forgotten the deal she made with Sasha? To abandon Frank and keep her and Anne as her best friends. Back then, Marcy felt uncomfortable making that decision, but it didn't take much for her to be persuaded by her blonde friend to accept the deal. Not when Sasha told her she would be losing all three friends if she didn't play along. Not knowing better at the time, Marcy agreed.

"I…I-I…. Sasha…she—"

"Sasha doesn't rule your life, Marcy," Frank said, turning around in one quick motion. Ignoring the ants as they formed around their queen, creating a barrier between her and the intruders. "You're fucking smart! You had to have known I didn't snitch on you girls to the school. You knew that Sasha breaking our ties was wrong. But what did you do? Nothing! You just stood back and let it happen. You did it then, and you did it again when Anne stole the box."

That fact alone hurt her the most. How could she have thrown away a friendship that she had treasured for so long with such little care? Marcy was reminded of the mistake she made three years ago when she first saw Frank at the thrift store. Due to her guilt, she felt a need to make amends. Their friend group must be repaired as a result of her mistake.

But to add to her shame, Frank was right. She did know it was wrong, yet she just stood by and let it happen.

"Frank, you're right. I did do nothing to stop it, even though I knew it was wrong, and I'm so sorry." Marcy placed her hands on his shoulders as she continued pleading with him. "But, I have a chance to make amends. I-I can make everything all better. If you just give me another chance." She looked at Frank with a hopeful smile, her eyes begging him to let her make things right between the two of them. "Let me regain your trust."

Frank was about to protest when the queen ant roared. Turning back to her, the two humans saw more barbari-ant advancing towards them, crawling on the ground and up the walls, completely surrounding them. With their backs against the wall, Frank and Marcy had no chance of escape. He could easily jump on the backs of the worker ants and make it to the queen to kill her. However, what Marcy said about the ants losing control and attacking the city gave him a moment of pause.

"And…And what if I regret giving you another chance," he asked, still feeling hesitation.

Marcy's lips turned into a gentle smile. "You won't. I promise."

Out of options, Frank sighed.

"Okay, I trust you," he said.

"Good, because my plan is about to kick in, in…" Marcy pulled out her phone, which was already on a five-minute timer, which she started before planting the first stink shroom in the ground. "Three, two, one…"

The timer ended with a chicken clucking sound, setting off a chain reaction. All of the mushrooms Marcy planted in the ground exploded into clouds of orange smoke that filled the tunnels. Ants that were near them were hit in the face by the intense and stinky smell. The queen roared, commanding a few worker ants to grab her freshly laid babies. Then, she and all her children dug into the earth and tunneled away from the two humans, retreating from Newtopia.

As the smoke cleared away, Frank saw the ants were gone. He was stunned and looked at Marcy, whose eyes flashed green as she winked at him. A wordless way of telling him that she told him he could trust her

"Marcy…you did it!" Frank said with a smile growing on his surprised face. Catching a whiff of the smell, he became confused. "Wait, are you sure these are supposed to be stinky? It actually smells kinda nice."

Marcy, holding her nose, said, "I mean, it will liquefy your lungs if you breathe too much of it, so…"

"Well, time to go!" Frank yelled as he and Marcy booked it to the exit.

Within a few minutes, the two friends made it exit. Frank hopped out of the hole first, followed by Marcy, who grunted as she faceplanted on the sand. However, that did little to sour her mood. "Mission success!" The Taiwanese girl cheered, raising her fists over her head. Glancing at Frank, she lowered her hands and said nervously, "Hey. Thanks for having my back."

"Not that you needed it. You're right. You really have changed," Frank said with a smile. He then looked away with a look of shame. "Hey, uh, Marcy? Sorry for, well, everything earlier. I was wrong to still be mad at you. It's just…"

"No, Frank, it's okay," Marcy protested. "You don't have to apologize."

"It's just…well, it's been nearly 3 years now, and when you go through what I've been through, you start to forget all the things you should remember. The memories of the good times, when we were still together. Just seeing you, I just couldn't stop remembering the things I should forget…"

Marcy, too, expressed shame. She could understand that despite wanting to find her, seeing her must have been hard for him. Reminding him of only the bad things, which could last a longer time in a person's mind than good memories.

Grabbing her left arm and rubbing it, Marcy was about to say something when she saw a person running towards her and Frank.

"Frank!" Anne surprised the Hispanic boy by jumping into his arms, hugging him in relief, as Frank stumbled a bit. Behind her, the Plantars pulled up in the fwaggon. Letting him go, she turned her attention to Marcy and ran over to her. "Marcy! Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Why do you smell like that? Did you trip? Tell me you're okay!"

"Anne, chill!" Frank yelled, pulling Anne away from Marcy. "Marcy did fine. She did…well, more than fine."

Calming down, Anne looked at Frank with wide eyes. "She…what?"

Before Frank could clarify what he meant, the conversation was interrupted. Over the gate of Newtopia, a bell was tolled, ringing out loudly over the surrounding area. Signifying that the danger was finally gone.

With the threat having been eliminated, the gate doors finally opened to the city.

Frank, Anne, and the Plantars looked at the opened entrance with hanging jaws. Marcy grabbed both of her human friends by their hands and tried pulling them toward the city. "Now, come on. Who's ready to go to Newtopia?"

"Yeah!" Sprig and Polly cheered. Sprig then said, "Frank, Anne, get in!"

Anne, however, said, "Uh, actually, Mar-Mar, Frank and I will hang back and walk ourselves inside."

Marcy blinked in confusion at first before shrugging. "Okay. Come on, Plantars. Let's go write up a detailed report!" She ran towards the entrance.

"Yeah!" Sprig and Polly cheered, as Hop Pop drove the fwaggon forward. That was until the intelligent girl's words were registered in their brains.

"Wait, what?"

"A report? Boo!"

Now alone with Frank, Anne walked beside him toward the gate. "So…it seemed like you two were able to talk it out," she said with a hopeful smile.

"I guess," Frank said, scratching his head. "But, honestly, I just felt so mad at her. All of the negative emotions were still inside of me. Even though I knew it wasn't right to hold a grudge."

Anne grasped his hand and interlocked their fingers, making the boy she loved blush and smile. "It's okay. I understand," she said. "So, what was she like? Did Marcy get hurt?"

Frank's eyes widened as he thought back to how his friend was in the cave. "Honestly, Anne, I don't think you need to worry so much," he said as he looked at the girl in question. They were a few meters away from the entrance. "Marcy hasn't just changed; she's flourished. She's more confident and brave. Honest, I've never seen her so happy."

Hearing Frank praising her best friend gave Anne a moment of pause that turned into her smiling at the boy she loved. If there was one thing Amphibia has taught her, it was that people are capable of changing, and it's always impressive what people are capable of.

Soon, the two of them were stepping into the walls of the city, and it allowed them their first view into the heart of Newtopia. And what a city it was to lay their eyes on. Joining the Plantars in a large circular street, Frank looked around at the awe-inspiring architecture. All of the buildings were made from stone and accented with gold decors and red roofs, with some having flags over them. There were newt statues, with some being warriors and others being scholars. Giant coral plants grew in the city as well, through the streets and the buildings, making a perfect blend of nature and civilization.

Newts roamed the streets, most clad in cloaks that made them almost seem like wish wizards to Frank. Soon, he and the others were in front of a large water fountain with a golden statue of a newt with a crown on his head, a shield, and a spear. Around it, on the edges of the fountain, were green statues of newts pouring water into the fountain.

"Whoa, look at this place!" Anne said, spreading her arms out while spinning around, looking at everything around her.

Polly exclaimed, "I want to touch everything!" She jumped off the fwaggon and hopped over to a nearby booth. One that was built like a Newtopia building, with a sign that said 'Information' on it, and another that said 'Pull' and pointed down to a leaver.

Going up to the information booth, Polly pulled the lever as her family and friends walked over to join her. However, this caused the booth to start ticking, making Polly jump back and behind Frank's leg, as he pulled out his scythe.

However, instead of something like a bomb, after the ticking clicking, the doors of the booth opened, and many mechanized marionettes popped out and began singing.

Welcome to Newtopia, such a perfect town

Here we have some rules; let us lay them down:

Don't make waves, stay in line,

And we'll get along fine,

Newtopia is a perfect place!

Please keep off of the grass

Shine your shoes, wipe your... FACE!

Newtopia is,

Newtopia is,

Newtopia is a perfect... PLACE~!

And just like that, the booth closed, and the singing stopped. There was a bright flash of light, and a photo of the three humans and frogs was printed out of a slot, capturing the confusion they had for just what the hell just happened. Marcy, on the other hand, smiled and posed for the camera.

"Pretty cool, right? This was one of my ideas," Marcy said, walking up to the booth and taking the photo. Looking at it with a smile at first, she was disappointed with the results. "Aw, you guys weren't even smiling. No worries. Let's do that again!"

She reached for the lever when Frank grabbed Marcy's arm. "No! No, I think we're good," he said.

However, just as one odd moment ended, another, more threatening moment was about to begin, as Frank's ears picked up the sounds of troops marching in formation. Looking in the direction of the marching, Frank was shocked to see a group of newt guards coming at them with spears and shields.

"Marc, what's going on?" Frank asked, standing ready to fight. The guards circled around him, Anne, Marcy, and the Plantars.

"I didn't do it!" Polly exclaimed.

However, instead of pointing their spears at the group and charging to kill them, the guards hit their weapons on the stone floor. Then, they parted ways to allow an approaching individual through their ring.

Walking up to the group of humans and frogs was a very beautiful aquamarine Newt with a lighter underbelly and long navy blue hair tied into a bun with a shell band. Her appearance gave her the appearance of a princess, or a royal member of the king's court: a purple and yellow taffeta dress with scale-like designs stitched into a pattern. She also wore white gloves and a golden brooch with a purple semi-transparent shawl.

Frank kept up his guard; however, Marcy approached the newt and gave her a formal bow. "Well met, Lady Olivia."

"The king sends his greetings, Marcy," said Lady Olivia with her hands pressed against each other. "He trusts you have succeeded?"

"Frank, present the trophy!" Marcy said to the boy.

Frank looked at her with a raised eyebrow, especially when the most intelligent girl he knew started imitating trumpet fanfare. Nonetheless, he reached into his poncho and tossed a barbari-ant head forward. It hit the ground, splattering its blood on the pavement.

"Ah, still fresh, I see. Excellent work. As expected of the great Marcy Wu," Lady Olivia said with a pleased smile and snapped her fingers.

A guard came forward and grabbed the head off the ground. Disgusted, he walked away with the trophy. "Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew."

"I see you have... company," Olivia said as she took a glance at the humans, frogs, and the scythe being held by Frank.

"Lady Olivia." Marcy let out a squeal before presenting Frank and Anne to the royal newt. "Meet Anne and Frank, two of the friends I was telling you about. Turns out they got transported to Frog Valley. A little town called Wartwood. Guys, meet Lady Olivia, the royal advisor to the king."

Olivia smiled at the two humans, while glancing at the Hellcat's blade. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Anne and Frank. You may lower your weapons, for you are safe."

"Call off your goons, and we have a deal, lady," Frank told her.

"Dude, be polite," Anne scolded him.

Frank sighed and placed Hellcat's Claw back on the hook on his back. "It's an…honor to meet you, milady," Frank said, bowing with Anne. When his frog family stood behind them, the young boy gestured to them. "And these are the Plantars."

"Hey there!" Hop Pop greeted.

Polly simply said, "'Sup."

"Hello. We can bow too," Sprig said, bowing.

"Your Highness." Hop Pop tried to bow as well, but ended up rolling Polly off his head and into Sprig's back. "Oh!" He quickly tried picking them up to try and preserve any kind of dignity they had left, while one of the guards behind him snickered.

Lady Olivia kept up a smile. "Yes, well, uh... Welcome to Newtopia, Plantars, Frank, and Anne. This is an old city, but one rich in history and splendor," said the beautiful newt with big, sparkling eyes. That shine went away when she said, "Please don't touch anything that looks important."

"Hey, look what I did!" Sprig said, sitting on the arm of a statue. However, his weight broke it, and the pink frog fell. "I'm okay! Statue's broken."

Olivia strained to keep her smile up as her left eye twitched. "Do enjoy your stay," she said. Then she turned and started walking away, taking with her the guards that accompanied her. Leaving the humans and frogs standing together in the street.

Hop Pop commented, "She seems friendly...ish."

"Friendly with a stick up her ass," Frank added.

"So, are you like a big deal here or something," Anne asked Marcy.

Marcy smiled and said, "Let's just say I have a perfect record when it comes to missions."

Frank looked at the two girls as they began talking to one another. Feeling out of place and not wanting to intrude on their reunion, he looked to the frog family. "Come on, let's get the fwagon unloaded," he said, walking away to the carriage. "Anne and Marcy need some time to catch up."

The sun started to set on the horizon as Anne and Marcy took a moment to talk to one another. It's been so long since they had a moment like this. Just two girlfriends (non-romantic) talking to each other about what was going on in their lives. And they had a lot to talk about, especially when it came to their experiences in this wild world.

First, of course, was their plan of how to get home.

"So, you haven't found a way home either, huh," Marcy asked Anne. Both girls were sitting on the edge of the fountain, with Anne leading on one of the pouring statues.

"Nerp," Anne said, tossing a rock into the water. "You know, it's funny. I've been hoping to find you for so long, but now that I actually found you, I have no idea what to do next."

Marcy chuckled and said, "I know what you mean. First things first, though, we have to find Sasha."

"Oh...wow…wow, how do I say…wow," Anne said, slumping against the statue, down to a sitting position. This was the conversation that the Thai girl had been dreading having with Marcy. How was she even supposed to explain to her best friend that their other best friend, the one that they abandoned Frank for, caused so much pain and suffering in the boy's life? It was a thought that kept Anne up at night.

Anne cringed as she tried to explain to her friend what happened between the three of them. "Actually, Mar-Mar, Frank and I did find Sasha. We, uh, we had a fight."

"No... was it bad?" Marcy asked, alarmed. Anne and Sasha never fought back home. And if Frank was involved in the fight, she couldn't imagine how that went down.

Anne cringed again. "Errrr... there were maybe some swords, some minor explosions…and…some major truth bombs."

"What kind of truth bombs?"

That was another thing she didn't feel prepared to tell Marcy: the truth about Frank's imprisonment. The revelation had rocked the foundation of her trust in Sasha, and shattered all chances of Sasha becoming friends with Frank again. Not that Anne blamed Frank.

"Well... you know how Frank went to juvie for ten months," she said slowly.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that, for stealing shoes and beating up a couple of people," Marcy said, glancing at Frank as he carried a suitcase out of the fwagon and set it down. "He's really sensitive about it."

Anne sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Well…it's actually because of Sasha that he went there."

"What?" Marcy looked at Anne with wide eyes, getting a bit of defense for the absent blonde girl. "Why would it be her fault? She didn't steal the shoes."

Anne became silent, then closed her eyes and hung her head.

"...Oh…" she said. The realization made her let out a horrified gasp. "O-Oh, my God! Sasha…did she…?"

"Yeah. Sasha was the shoe thief. Frank was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she had him take the fall. And after that, one thing led to another, and the next thing Frank knew, he was being arrested for assault and theft," Anne said, wrapping her arms around her knees. Tearing up at the thought of the pain and suffering Frank went through. "And what's worse is that almost no one believed him. No one was there to hold him as his world fell apart, and by the time he came out of juvy and he came here, he was a broke person."

Marcy felt a tear rolling down her eyes. Sasha did some bad things, but to frame another person for a crime like that? It made Marcy realize just how much she'd missed Frank and how much their friendship breaking affected him. If she and the girls hadn't abandoned him, none of that stuff would have happened. They would have still been together, and Sasha might not have been tempted to steal.

"Why…Why would she steal those shoes," Marcy asked.

"Hell if I know," Anne said with a bitter frown. "I don't know if Frank will ever forgive her, and I'm not sure if I will either, or even stay friends with her. Anyway, we don't know where she is now." Anne put her head down on her legs in misery.

Marcy felt that same misery, and it left her so confused. How was she even supposed to fix something like that? Glancing at Frank, Marcy stood up and started walking towards him.

"Frank, do you have a moment?" Marcy said, catching the Hispanic boy's attention.

"Uh...sure, what is it?" Frank asked, confused. Together, the two of them walked back over to the fountain, where Anne watched the scene unfold.

Turning back towards her former friend, Marcy took a deep breath and released everything she felt. "Frank…I'm so sorry…for everything. I can't even imagine how much you must have suffered in juvenile prison. And it's not just what happened in prison. I knew that what we were doing was wrong, but I was just so afraid of losing Sasha and my friendship with Anne, I…I wasn't thinking about how much it was going to hurt you. But I realize now that wasn't the right thing to do. I let my fear hurt you, and I was blinded to the pain and suffering we were reflecting on you. If I had known, I would have done anything to help you. I really do want to be your friend again. And I hope we can start our friendship again just like you did with Anne."

Touched by her apology, Frank stood there in silence as the wind blew through his hair and poncho. "Marcy…"

"Wait, before you say anything, I wanted to give you something." Marcy dug through her bag and found what she was looking for. She took out the gift and showed it to a curious Frank.

"A pair of sandals?" Frank asked as Marcy held up the pair of sandals.

"Not just any pair of sandals; your pair of sandals! Now you don't have to walk around barefoot," Marcy said, winking her right eye.

"Whoa, Marcy, that's..." Despite the fight and the lousy meeting they had, Frank couldn't help but smile at the gift given by his old friend. "Thanks, Marcy." Taking the scandals from Marcy, Frank slipped his mud-covered feet into them.

They were a perfect fit.

"So, what do you say?" Marcy smiled nervously as she held up her hand for a handshake. "Second chances?"

Frank stared at Marcy for a moment and her hand. Then, he took her by surprise when he pushed her hands aside, giving himself an opening to grab her, and pulled Marcy in for a hug.

"I missed you, Marbles," Frank whispered in her ear, using the nickname he had given her a long time again. This made Marcy smile as tears formed in her eyes before she hugged him back.

From the sideline, Anne smiled tearfully as she watched the two former friends make up. Her mind was reminded of the moment Frank gave her a second chance. And now, Frank gave that second chance to Marcy, who the Thai girl was more than confident was going to give their second chance at friendship all she had.

The two friends held each other in their arms for a moment before letting go. "Oh, my gosh. Okay, so I wanna know everything that's happened to you since you and Anne got here." Marcy said. "You got any photos?"

"Do I?!" Anne exclaimed, pulling out her phone. Marcy ran over to see the photos she took, while Frank walked behind her. Instead of trying to be away from the two girls, maybe it was best to try and get comfortable with being around them together again.

Today did not go as planned, and it was too clear to Frank that the past still haunted him immensely. He was still a very broken person. By allowing the pain and anger that still lingered in his heart to come out while being around Marcy, he could have pushed not only her, but Anne away too. Thankfully, he was able to move past the pain and sadness left behind by Marcy. No thanks to the same girl who caused it. Just like Anne, Marcy expressed genuine regret for what she did to end their relationship and wanted to start over again.

And Frank could confidently say that, just like the girl he loved, Marcy would honor her second chance at friendship.

However, unbeknownst to the heroes, someone was watching. From a distance, in a high tower, this mysterious figure watched the three humans, the off-worlders that had brought him the means to obtain that which he desired most.

Turning away from the window, the mysterious figure walked over to a flipwart board. There were the usual game pieces: knights, queens, kings, bishops, rooks, and pawns. However, there was also a piece that wasn't a normal one. It took the form of Marcy, with her cloak over her head.

The mysterious figure stopped in front of the table the board was on. Oh, how long he's been waiting for this moment. After 1000 years, the gems were finally where they belonged. Finally, he shall begin the plan that was set for him so long ago. At last, he shall finally claim his birthright.

"The pieces are starting to fall into place," he said, placing two more pieces on the board. One was of Anne, in armor, drawing a sword. The other was of Frank in his poncho with a scythe. "It's time for the game to begin."

Calamity had awakened. Now calamity will rise.