52. Artifacts of Ancient Times

Chapter 50 - Artifacts of Ancient Times

Los Angeles, a city of wonder in California. By day, it's a wonderful time to enjoy the sights, the landmarks, the beaches. By night, it's still wonderful to hear the sounds, see the lights, and take in the after hours when people start to go to sleep. Today, in the suburbs, our heroes are enjoying the peace and quiet of the night. Well, almost everyone.

At the Loyalitat household, in Darrel's room, there were up to five library books on his desk. Most of them involved dimensional travel and multiple worlds from across the universe. But, Tint and Darrel were sleeping soundly in the living room with the rest of the family. Matthew and Sarah quietly turned off the television and let their kids sleep soundly.

At the Boonchuy's house, Hop pop, Sprig, and Polly were sound asleep. Sprig was on Anne's bean bag chair, Polly was sleeping in Domino's cat bed, and Hop pop was on Anne's bed. Anne, however, was still wide awake. Her eyes grew so dreary, looking at her computer screen all night.

She searched multiple sites on portals to other worlds, multiverse theories, even asked people on the internet for more information. Anne was determined on how to get her amphibian friends home, her human friends back to Los Angeles, and stop Andrias at the same time. Sounds like there's a lot to bear on their shoulders.

Night soon became morning and the two households started to wake up slowly. At the Loyalitat residence, Darrel was waking up from the couch he was sleeping on. He smiles to see Tint in between his two sisters. Then, he gets a whiff of something in the kitchen and gets up to find out what it is. Tint, Jane, and Amelia slowly wake up shortly after.

At the Boonchuy's house, Anne was still researching as the sun reached the sky. Then, her mother called to her, "Anne, Breakfast." Anne was startled at her voice, she wanted to come down, but she still wanted to find other ways to get her friends home.

She looked at the site that she was currently on and smirked, "I'll just hit send real q-" "NOW!" Her mom shouted. Anne jumped again before she could hit send and jumped out of her bed. "Yep, okay, okay."

Turning back to the Loyalitat house, Darrel, his family, and Tint were having breakfast. "So how's that research coming along, Darrel?" Amelia asked. Darrel frowned and shook his head. "No good so far," he replied. "Even the library didn't have much to go on."

"Maybe it's because the calamity box is a combination of both technology and magic," said Tint. "Can't you make another one?" Jane asked. "The stones on the box are magical and are hard to come by," replied Tint. "You can't just find more of them anywhere else. Besides, Uncle Cronaxx was the only one who knew how to make that box."

"And when he found out about Andrias' true intentions, he destroyed all traces of his work. So he can't make another one if the box is destroyed," said Darrel. "I guess the only way of getting Tint and the Platars back, is the calamity box itself." "But how are you going to get it if Andrias has it?" Amelia asked. "I wish I knew," said Darrel.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find a way," said Sarah. "You always do." Darrel smiled as he finished his breakfast. "So what are you going to do now?" Jane asked. "I think I'm just going to take a break from research," said Darrel. "I'll take the books back to the library and decide what to do from here."

"If I could make a suggestion," said Matthew. "You could research something else. You missed five months of school, and I know you don't want to repeat the seventh grade." Darrel blushed in embarrassment, "Oh yeah, okay, I can do that. I'm not flunking school, no matter how much I've learned in Amphibia."

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks, unless the dog teaches itself," said Amelia as she spun her basketball. "Amelia, no ball spinning in the house," said Sarah. "Sorry Ma," said Amelia.

Back at the Boonchuy house, the Plantars were watching a movie while eating cereal. Anne comes in with a bowl of cereal, looking very tired from researching all night.

Anne groans from exhaustion grabbing her friends' attention. "Woah, someone didn't sleep," said Sprig. "Nope," said Anne. "I've spent all night researching ways to get you guys home. And possibly the night before that."

Anne's mother sits next to her on the arm of the couch. "You? Researching? Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?" "Har Har," said Anne in an unamused tone. "So I was thinking, what if there was a second Calamity box, here on Earth? So I mapped out every thrift store in a fifty mile radius-"

"Anne, I'm gonna stop you right there," said Polly. "You heard what Cronaxx said, he created only one Calamity Box." "Polly's right, Anne," said Sprig. "Besides, Primistle Manor isn't going to binge itself."

"Everyone quiet!" cried Hop pop. "Lord Frankerton's confessing his love for Lady Franklin."

"My dearest Lady Franklin," said Frankerton. "I simply cannot contain my passion for you any longer." He closes his eyes and blushes at his confession. "Oh Lord Frankerton," said Franklin. The two touch hands and the screen displays a love banner.

The Plantars gasped. "And it only took three seasons," cried Sprig. Anne sighted, "Why does it feel like I'm the only one trying to find a way back to Amphibia?" "Anne, we have been trying," said Sprig. "But, it's okay to take a day off to recharge every now and then."

"There's no time you guys," said Anne. "Come on, let's get back to research."

Just then, Anne's mom turns off the television. "Since you seem to enjoy research so much now, what if you four spend the day at the museum and write a report. You have a lot of makeup schoolwork to do."

She points to Anne's untouched school textbooks and daily planner, covered with dirt and cobwebs. Being gone for five months made her books feel like a display of art.

The four groan, being upset with the idea. "Ohh, do we have to?" Mrs Boonchuy was firm with her suggestion. "Yes. I'm also cleaning the house, there's slime everywhere, and I am not pointing fingers. But I need you all out of the way.

She wasn't kidding when she said there was slime in the house. There were slime patches coming from everywhere in the living room. A drop of slime suddenly dropped on the living room rug. "Gross Anne," said Polly.

Meanwhile, outside the streets of Los Angeles, the cloak-bot removed his camouflage and tried to scan for Anne and Darrel's locations. "Energy sensor: unresponsive," he said. His scanners were not working to their full extent. He scans the nearest cell phone tower and says, "Will attempt to hack into local frequencies."

Mrs Boonchuy takes Anne and the Plantars to the Museum of Natural History. Outside the museum stands a full scale model of the woolly mammoth. "I'll pick you up a six. Have fun, but also learn," she said as she opened the door. Anne and the Plantars climb out and Mrs Boonchuy drives away.

As they approach the front gates, they hear a familiar voice call out behind them. "Anne!" She turns around to see Darrel and Tint, then Jane and Amelia tackle her in excitement.

"Look out," he said. "Darrel. Girls, it's good to see you," said Anne. "We were so excited we got to join you guys this time," said Jane. "It may not be looking for a way home," said Amelia. "But it's still something."

"Wait, you know about our plans?" Anne asked. "I had to tell them that," said Darrel. "I missed them so much, and they wanted to help any way they could."

"So you guys are frogs?" Amelia asked. She touches Sprig's exposed frog skin and gets grossed out of the substance that catches on her fingers. "Eww, it's so slimy." "Actually, it's not slime," said Tint. "It's mucus." Darrel gives Amelia a disinfectant wipe and the group enter the museum.

The Plantars and Tint were amazed at the site of historical artifacts. "Woah, looks like you guys used to have a monster problem too," said Sprig as he pointed to a dinosaur sculpture. "They weren't our problem, Sprig," said Darrel. "Humans didn't exist during that time period."

Then, the group arrives at the solar system display. Jane twirled slowly with the planets. "The solar system is my favorite science topic," she said. "The planets spin around and around, just like me." The amphibians gaze at the planet Earth with delight. Anne yawns out of exhaustion, and Darrel smiles at their interest. "Wait," said Hop pop. "Your people think the world is round?" "Of course it's round, Hop pop," said Tint. "And so is Amphibia." "WHAT!?" Hop pop cried.

As Darrel and Tint enter the knights and armor exhibit, they turn to see a mage overlooking a cauldron. "So you have wizards in your history, too?" Tint asked. "If only they were real," said Darrel. "Most of these folks are doctors from the medieval times. Providing medicine for the sick and the poor." "I like these guys, even if they're not all powerful."

That's when Jane and Amelia walk up to Darrel. "Hey Darrel, can we ask you something?" Amelia asked. "Sure, what is it?" he replied. "After your dentist appointment, you said some things that got us concerned." Darrel stopped in his tracks, scared about what he spilled about his adventures in Amphibia. "What did I say?" Darrel asked.

"You told us you like Anne. Like, really like her," said Jane. Darrel stood in shock as if a cannon blast went off in his head. "Is it true?" Jane asked. Knowing there's no going back, or hiding from here, Darrel took a knee and said, "Yes, it's true. I really like Anne."

Jane and Amelia were shocked. "But, what about Sasha?" Amelia asked. "The time I spent on Amphibia made me reflect on the choices I made," replied Darrel. "I realized that I've been there for Sasha, and she's done little for me. So I've decided that I don't want to stay with her anymore, to be who I want to be. Then, after spending time with Anne, having fun, I realized she and I have been through thick and thin since we were kids. So we've decided to give this a shot."

Jane and Amelia were touched by his story. "That's so sweet, Darrel," said Jane. "But do Mom and Dad know?" "Not yet, I want to tell them myself," replied Darrel. "And it would mean much to me if you didn't tell them. It has to come from me." Jane and Amelia nod in agreement, "Okay, but you have to tell them immediately." "Deal," said Darrel.

Polly walks over to the two cavemen displaying themselves hitting each other. "I like these guys, they get it." "See," said Hop pop. "We can have a fun one off just like we did in Amphibia." However, Hop pop was upset to see Anne who is looking on her laptop for more research on how to get them home.

"Anne! You gotta take a break from all this research," said Hop pop. Anne was startled at his outburst. "Don't worry HP," said Anne. "I'm fine, I'm fine." "Burning yourself out isn't going to help us get home to Amphibia," said Hop pop.

"Hey Anne! Plantars!" cried Darrel. "I think I've found something," Anne and the Plantars race over to find Darrel, Tint, and his sisters gazing at an antique pot. "Look at this," said Tint. He points to a picture gram of what looks like a group of vikings and a creature holding what looks like the Calamity Box, jumping from a swirling vortex.

"Call me crazy," said Sprig. "But that looks like.." "One of us," said Polly. "I have to agree with you on that one," said Darrel. "Could this be the clue we're looking for?" Anne asked.

Suddenly, a hand reached out to her shoulder and she freaked out. "Didn't expect to see frogs in here, eh?" Anne screamed, and Darrel was startled. "Woah, you surprised me," he said. The person standing before them was wearing a yellow shirt with dinosaur bones, a badge indicating she's an employee of the museum. She wears red glasses, ufo earrings, and her hair is bunched up in a messy ponytail.

"Oh, you were talking about the pot," said Anne. "Sure, whatcha think I was talking about," said the woman. "Name's Dr Jan. I'm a curator here, and an avid lover of all things ancient."

"Okay, Dr Jan," said Amelia. "What can you tell us about this pot here?" Dr Jan goes over to observe the pot. "Interesting isn't it? The frog here is depicted in a very unconventional bipedal. Oh! It must have been some kind of deity."

"Deity?" Darrel asked. "Possibly a frog shaped alien from another dimension, right?" That question made the Plantars and Anne sweat. "So sorry," said Dr Jan. "I'm really into cryptids. You know, UFO's and stuff. Anyway, you got any other questions?"

"Do you know anything about portals to-" Sprig tried to ask, but Anne covers his mouth to prevent asking any further. "Nope, not at all! Actually, I hate history. And museums, yuck."

"Now that wasn't nice," said Darrel. "I'm sorry Dr Jan, I'll make sure my friend here watches what she says." "Okay," she said. "Well if you have any more questions, just give me a holler and I'll fly in like an information superhero. Dr Jan away!"

Dr. Jan takes her leave, leaving the group to ponder over what just happened. "Hey, why'd you blow her off?" Sprig asked. "Maybe she knows something?" "What? Come on dude," said Anne. "We don't know anything about that lady. How do you know we can trust her?"

"Still," said Darrel. "It's not nice to just blurt out that you hate museums. That was kind of insulting." Ameilia smirked, "Yeah, Anne." "You should listen to your boyfriend more often," said Jane. "I'm not trying to-" Anne's face suddenly dropped when she heard the term boyfriend from his sister's mouth.

"Whaaa? Hahaha, no that's ridiculous. Your brother's not-" "Anne, give it up," said Darrel. "They know." "But how?" Anne asked. "When we were hopped up with whacky gas at the dentist. They're not stupid, Anne," replied Darrel.

"Well that pot is our first real clue," said Hop pop. "He's right," said Tint. "And if that thing's ancient, maybe there's a hidden message or a map somewhere on that artifact." "Tint's right," said Anne. "We gotta get a closer look without attracting attention." "Well if you don't want to ask that Dr Jan for help," said Hop pop. "What are we going to do? Rob the museum?"

Anne snaps her fingers, "That's it. Darrel, meet me at my place after dinner. Come alone." As she took the Plantars with her, she looked to Jane and Amelia for one more favor. "Think you could keep this thing between me and your brother a secret?" Anne asked. "Sure," said Amelia. "As long as Darrel tells our parents."

Anne and the Plantars leave the museum, leaving Darrel, his sisters and Tint behind. "So what are we going to do?" Jane asked. "Knowing Anne, she's up to some crazy scheme," said Darrel. "But I'm going to handle this the right way. Dr Jan!" Hearing her name being called, Dr Jan returns to the Loyalitats. "Yes? How can I help?" she asked.

Anne and the Plantars return home to come up with a plan, one Hop pop was sarcastic to hear. "I still can't believe we're robbing the museum." Anne wanted to keep this quiet from her parents, so she hushed the frogs.

"Anne," called her mother. "You guys okay in here?" Anne smiled in a suspicious way, "All good, just finishing that report." "Don't believe you," said her mother. "But okay," she squints her eyes as she closes the door to her room.

"Looks like she bought it," said Polly. Anne instantly falls asleep, until Sprig wakes her up again. "Huh? Where was I?" she asked. "We did way more dangerous stuff in Amphibia, at least nothing here's going to spit acid at us." "That you know of," said Polly.

"Come on guys," said Anne. "If you don't break a few rules for this, how are we ever going to get back?" The Plantars look at each other with unease. They want to get back home as much as possible, but not at the expense of breaking the laws in the human world. But knowing that there may be a clue on the artifact, they decided to take that chance.

"So, what's the plan?" Sprig asked. Anne grinned as she took out a few of her dark sweatshirts and gave them to her frog friends.

They arrive at the museum at the dead of night and initiate their plan. Hop pop dresses up like a cat and takes one of the security guard's shoes. At the front door, Anne launches Polly to get in the vents and open the door from the inside. Once inside, Sprig uses his frog skills and tongue to take out the cameras.

But little did they know, was that the Cloak-bot hacked the security camera footage and caught the little frog on screen. He took the image of Sprig from the security camera and compared it with an image of Anne and himself to obtain a perfect match. He pinpoints the location of the footage to the museum. "Target found," said the Cloak-bot.

Sprig returns from taking out the cameras, and Hop pop returns without the guards chasing him. "The guards got tired of chasing me and stopped at a coffee shop," he said. "We got a good twenty minutes."

But then, a shadowy figure swoops past them. "What was that?" Sprig asked. "We're not alone," said Polly in a sneaky tone. They turn to Anne who falls asleep again. "Anne, something else is in here," "Huh, what?" Anne says.

She looks at the figure who goes over to the exhibit where the pot is located. They race to the exhibit, and find the place filled with lasers. The figure is seen on the other side and removes the display case carefully.

"He's going after the pot!" Hop pop cried. "Not on my watch," said Polly. She races under the lasers, not being able to touch them. Then as the cloaked figure put the display case down, Polly bites him in the ankle.

"Ow! Polly, what gives?" The cloaked figure sounded very familiar. "Wait, Darrel? Is that you?" Anne asked. The figure removes the hood covering his face and reveals himself to be Darrel. "Of course it's me," he said. "Who else would be going after this vase?"

"What are you doing here?" Hop pop asked. "Are you here to steal the vase too?" Sprig asked. "No," replied Darrel. "I was asked by Dr Jan to get it so she could study it more."

Suddenly, a crash was heard from the glass roof above. The Cloak bot jumps in and surprises the group. He jumps in the path of the lasers, turning on the alarm. "Not you again!" Anne cried. "Let's get out of here!" Darrel shouted.

The group runs away, grabbing the pot in the process. The Cloak bot chases them until he hears a whistle coming from behind. He turns to see Tint, Amelia, and Jane coming towards him dressed in armor and equipped with a mace. "Leave our brother alone!" Amelia shouted as she threw the mace at the robot.

The robot catches the mace and throws it back at them. "Girls! Duck!" cried Darrel. The girls do so and run away too. The Cloak bot starts to shoot lasers from its eyes and the group dodges them.

Amelia stands in front of a guillotine, and comes up with an idea. "Hey Butt Bolt! Bet you can't catch me!" Amelia blows raspberries at the robot, causing him to launch his arm at the athletic girl. Amelia dodges and the robot gets its arm wedged in the wall.

Jane and Hop pop climb on the guillotine just as Tint prepares to cast a lightning bolt on the robot. "Off with your arm!" Jane cried. "Eat the rich!" Hop pop cried as he dropped the blade. The arm of the robot is chopped off, then Tint focuses on what little power he has to stun the robot.

Jane and Amelia ran in one direction, while Darrel, Anne, and the Plantars ran in another direction. "How are we going to stop this thing?" Hop pop asked. Darrel points to the skeleton of the mosasaurus, "I've got an idea."

Cloak bot crawls out without his arm and finds Anne on the first floor of the museum. "Hey can opener! You wanna fight? I'm all yours!" The robot jumps down and equips himself with a hatchet blade. "Let's rumble, Robot!" Anne cried.

Anne and the Cloak bot fight each other, swinging swords, all while the Plantars and Darrel cut the supporting wires that hold the mosasaur skeleton together.

The Cloak bot gets the upper hand when he disarms Anne's sword, knocking her down. "Any last words," said the robot. Anne smiles, "You're history."

Then out of nowhere, Jane, Amelia, and Tint pierce the robot's chest with three swords. Anne calls to her friends above and they cut down the skeleton above them. "Darrel! Anne!" their friends cried. "Don't worry guys," said Anne. "We got him."

Suddenly, the Cloak bot emerges from the skeleton, with a damaged eye and exposed wires from his chestplate. He grabs Anne and Darrel with its only working arm and gives them a squeeze. "Now, you're history," said the robot. "Well it's a good thing we called for help," said Jane as she put her phone in her pocket.

The doors to the museum open, and Dr Jan along with security enter the building. Knowing his objective is to not be seen, the Cloak bot freezes in place. Anne and Darrel kick the bot, loosening its grip on the two and dropping them. The robot activates its jet boosters and takes off.

Dr Jan was amazed, "No way, a robot?" Darrel looks to his sisters and Tint to make sure they're okay. As Anne did with the Plantars. However, during the rukkus, Hop pop's hood was opened revealing his froggy nature to the curator.

"Uh, guys," said Darrel. He points to Dr Jan making them freeze in fear. Realizing the secret may be compromised. "Disguises!" Amelia cried. Dr Jan was more amazed than before, "Frog aliens?"

She turns to the security guards who were confused with what's going on. "I can't believe I forgot! Mitchell, Rodney, this has been a terrible misunderstanding. These are... performers rehearsing an exciting historical reenactment of some kind. We'll clean this mess up tomorrow. You two can go home. I'll take it from here."

And with that, the security took off for home. Darrel was impressed, "Thanks for covering Dr Jan. I think you want an explanation for all this?" "And I can't wait to hear it," said Dr Jan. "Frog aliens, robots, and-" She looks to Darrel's staff he had equipped behind his back. "Is that an authentic ancient wizard staff?"

Darrel takes his staff and shows her the hidden written inscriptions on the wood. "Yep, but I'm afraid it's not working," he said. "It looks like it's also losing its color. But it is authentic either way." "This is a dream come true!" Dr Jan cried in excitement.

Anne was still hesitant on trusting her, however Tint spoke up. "There are some things we can't do on our own, Anne. That's why the Loyalitats and I contacted her, to meet her tonight and discuss more about the pot we saw today."

"It's true," said Dr Jan. "I even gave them access to bypass the security lasers." Anne was in complete shock, but she knew that now the truth is out. So she started from the beginning.

The group entered Dr Jan's office with the pot in her possession. The office was filled with books, fossils, and sticky notes all over the place.

"Wow," said Dr Jan. "Sounds like you've been through a lot. I see why you're in such a rush for answers. But why the heist? Why didn't you just ask me?" "Ugh, it made sense earlier," replied Anne. "If I'm honest, I'm sorta running on empty right now." "She hasn't slept in days," replied Sprig.

"Well that's no good," said Dr Jan. "Take a look at this." She shows them a sample of dirt she displays on her desk. "Back when I was younger , I would stay up for days on a dig. I couldn't go home knowing we were so close. One time I got sloppy with the dynamite charge and this was a triceratops."

The group groan in embarrassment at the dirt of the remains of a triceratops. "So you keep that to remind yourself to pace carefully?" Tint asked. "I sure did," replied Dr Jan. "So what you're trying to say is if I keep this up, I may do more harm than good?" Anne asked.

"Kind of like tonight," said Amelia. "Here, I'll make you a deal," said Dr Jan. "I'll keep your secret and help you research this artifact, if you go home and get some sleep." Darrel smiles and nods in agreement, "You've got yourself a deal."

"Before we go," said Anne. "Do you have a black light? We should check to see if this pot has any secret codes on it." Darrel then grabs Anne by the shoulders and drags her off. "Sleep first, hidden messages later," he said. "The world will still be spinning tomorrow," said Dr Jan. "Still not sold on this spinning globe theory," said Hop pop. "That's been a debate that's been questioned a long time ago," said Darrel.

The next day, Dr Jan was in her office until she decided she couldn't wait any longer. "Oh what the heck." She turned off the lights, turned on her black light flashlight and shined it on the pot. Next thing she knew, she stood jaw dropped, seeing that Anne was right about secret hidden messages on the pot. "No way," she said. "You've got to be kidding me!"

I wonder what Dr Jan has found on the antique pot. Guess we'll find out when we return with Loyalty Among Worlds. And just so you're aware, I'm doing the Owl House episode structure again where the first letter of every episode title writes a secret message. So far we've got THE TA_ _ _ _ _. We'll get more episodes in due time. Until then, have a great day.