28. Lily Pad Thai

Disclaimer I don't own Amphibia. Also if anyone would like to help me beta this that be great. But if not I'll try my best. I try to get chapter out as I can.

Thanks to all the all follower and favorite so far. And thanks to Jss2141, redflare5000, Smoking Wrecker, drake wind, Alquimistaarcano77, Kaiju, Nopeknight, TALOS X, Stryker, Mr. Hardcor3, Gojirafan1954, Tearnon, Jason, brentdyedragon, gregorian12, PizzaGuest, Morticon, jjafo2014, schweenieboy, snake screamer, Rodimus973, Pushistaya ten, Shadowcat1083, Liko, Killerbull55858, QuackityFiction, Hamza9236, MarMarFaAnne, Notthenightslayer, Valenthyne, DragonEmperor999, RandomWriter197, AutoHunterJ49, GerardiHistory, Guests for the comment.

Inside Flour bakers, Marcy was helping Maddie out in the kitchen. The young witch frog showing her friend how to knead dough.

"If you think about it. Baking is kinda like potion making. You have to follow the steps careful and if done correct you made something new." Maddie explained, "I was surprised you agreed to help today with baking."

"I seen a sign outside saying help wanted." Marcy then pressed her thumbs together. "Plus I have a feeling your dad doesn't really like him." She never knew she had a need to have people like her. Maybe it was because Maddie was important to her, and because Farine was important to Maddie. She needs to shows that things that matter to her friends also matter to her as well. "So what better way to win him over."

"First my dad does like you," She turned to him, as he was putting a tray of cricket bread in the oven. "Second if he didn't like who cares? I know my interests in magic makes the other kids parents look at me different or tell there kids to avoid me. But were not here to please everyone, all we can do is learn and care for the people around you. Not to waste time crashing after trains."

"Do you just quote Cythina Covens to me?" Marcy smiled, she never had friend her own age take great interests in her own before.

"I believe I quoted. Cythina Covens: And the Magical Tournament."

"Yes. The one when the series stopped beings for little kids and turned more mature." Marcy replied, as she goes back to the dough. "Hey? Think your dad can teach me how to throw dough up in the air and catch it like a pizza?" Marcy then presence to throw dough up in the air, failing to catch it.

"What's a pizza."

Anne along with the Plantar entered Stumpy, the restaurant itself felt more desperate then sad passed out frog drowning in there own misery. Even from Amphibian's standards this place was health code disaster. But when your are the only place in town where family can go out to eat other then the Sundew's Teashop you can't really be picking. "Oh, wow." Anne said as she entered the restaurant, seeing four things that would have gotten her family restaurant shut down on the spot. "This place is not to code."

"That spot looks clean enough." Polly suggested pointing over table.

"Oh, man." Anne laughed as seat down looking over he menu. "The font on these menus is way too small. Rookie mistake."

"Here you are." Stumpy is a sizable Toad with yellow colored eyes and a white shirt, stained with grease and other stains. He possesses an interchangeable hand, usually with a spatula in it. One of his legs is missing and has been replaced with a piece of wood. He also had cigarette in his mouth and a greasy chef's hat. "Four bowls of slop. Enjoy. Or don't. Makes no difference to me." He sounds like he was dead inside.

"Thanks, Stumpy." Sprig smiled, taking a spoonful of his slop before turning to Hop Pop. "So is Sasha coming back so? Or does she still hate you for trying to hide the box." The three sitting next to him, dropped there spoons, Anne and Hop Pop avoiding looking at each other. "I'm glad Anne and Marcy were forgiving though." Polly punched Sprig in the arms, making him groan in pain.

"Dude you have to stop bringing then up." Polly glared at him.

Hop Pop laughed nervously, turning to Anne. "So Anne what do you think of Stumpy?"

"Oh... It's great... It's a little... different from home." Anne laughed nervously, just praying for a direction. The hurt was still there she just wanting things to go back to normal. She wish Marcy was with them instead of going to hang out with Maddie.

"Excuse me," Duckweed from across the restaurant called over to Stumpy. "Hello. Over here. Yoo hoo!"

"There be a problem, sir?"

"Um, yes, there's only one fly in my soup. There should be dozens. I mean, how hard is it to run a restaurant, anyway? You just put food on tables. A tadpole can do it. Is it to hard for your think brain Toad?"

Anne groans, getting flashback to these types of jerks back home. "We dealt with snobs like him all the time back home. Just listening to him is driving me crazy." She groans and walks over to them. "I can't take this anymore."

"Anne," Hop Pop sighed, "just ignore it and enjoy your slug gruel." He looked up to see she already gone, "Anne?"

"She gone." Polly pointed over to Anne, who was walking over to Duckweed.

"I mean," Duckweed scanned over the restaurant, with disguise. "Seriously, look at this place. Not surprised you toads just love the cold, muddy places. Not class at all."

"Hey!" Anne got between them, "Lay off, buddy. Running a restaurant is hard."

"Kid," Stumpy was stunned, "what are you doing?"

"Ha!" Duckweed smirked and folded his arms. "Well, what does a creature like you know about running a restaurant?"

"Well," Anne was really feeling bad about Hop Pop thing. This guy was already insulting her, she just needs something to take her angry out all. "What does a little lizard like you know about anything? Besides," Anne smiled, "my parents ran a restaurant back home, so I know what I'm talking about."

"Well, if your parents are anything like you, I'm sure their restaurant was terrible." Anne was just about to throw the lizard outside a window. He didn't just insult her families pride.

"Oh, yeah? Well tell you what, then. Why don't you come back in, I don't know, two days or something? And we'll have completely turned this place around."

"I, uh, I beg your pardon. What?" Stumpy panicked.

"Oh, a wager is it?" Duckweed smiled. "Fine, I'll be back in two days. Looking forward to writing my review and shutting this place down." He laughed as he walked outside the restaurant.

"Kid?!" Stumpy said, "what have you done? That was the most popular critic in town. One bad review from him and we're finished."

"Stumpy," Anne smiled, "I know I got carried away, but we can do this. The Boonchuy family pride is at stake. What do you say?"

"I say... you just put me out of business." Stumpy slowly walked off towards the kitchen, as the Plantars walk over. "Bound to happen eventually, I suppose."

"Anne, did you just promise to save this restaurant?"

"In two days?"

"By yourself?"

"Yep. That's, uh, that's pretty much what just happened." Anne came to horrible realization that if she fails, she made how just cost Stumpy his job. "Uh, me and my big mouth."

Marcy was waiting for oven to finishing cooking, as the Flour wait nearby. Wanted to see what she had made. She happily removed them from the oven.

"Here you go. Dumpling, you can use bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fish, tofu, cheese, vegetables, fruits or sweets. Heck just for you guys I added bugs!" Marcy smiled as she hands some over to the Flours.

"Whoa!" Maddie smiled, "These our amazing."

"Yummy!" Rosemary cried, as the other two triples burp loudly.

Farine look a small bite, tasting it slowly, before given the girl a smiled. "These are pretty good kid."

"Thanks." She smiled, "I can show you how to make them. Maybe people from town might like them as well."

"Sure thing kid."

"Now Sasha I told you I don't mind you staying here with us. But I'm not giving you a handout either. You'll have to help around here." Felicia spoke sternly to the newcomer to her room.

"Tea making is pretty boring." Ivy smiled, laughing at her mother's frown. "But I loving making bake goods. Like muffins and scorns. Especially if I can lick the spoon afterwards. Chocolate dung scorns are my favorite. I can show you how to make them."

"Desert huh?" Sasha raised eyebrown and smirked. "I can make a meal batch of brownies that will knock your socks off."

"What is a sock?" Ivy smiled with excitement.

"Never mind." Sasha said.

"Can I put bugs in it?" Ivy asked already reaching for a jar of flies.

"No bugs!"

"There you see these things are that hard to make," Marcy smiled as she was Farine how to make dumpling. "Of course there many different away to make them."

"Yeah this ain't that hard." He replied, as Marcy went off to help the triples with stocking supplies along with Maddie.

"These are amazing," Ivy smiled as she shove another brownie in face.

"Now Ivy don't eat too much or you'll get yourself sick." Felicia waved a finger.

"Not too bad? Huh?" Sasha asked.

"Why I say this are quita a delight." Sylvia smiled.

In was nearly sunrise as the self-loading old sea captain arrived to his restaurant to get already for yet another terrible die. He groans to himself at find his lights were broken. "Dang mushroom needs replacing. Not that it matters anymore." He finds Anne standing in the corner with a wide smile of excitement. "Mother of pearl!"

"Hey, Stumpy!"

"Kid? How long you been here?"

"All night. Couldn't sleep, too excited! So, you ready to beat that critic?"

"Creepy kid." Stumpy scoffs.

"What do you wanna start with? Change the menu, redecorate..." Suddenly part of the ceiling fell to the ground. "Burn this place to the ground and start over?"

"Look, kid," Stumpy signed, as he put on his apron and hat. "you're on your own. Do whatever you want. It's not gonna make a difference in the end, anyway." He just didn't have the spark anymore.

"Oh. That is where you're wrong."

"I gotta hand it to you, Anne. This place looks great. We even scrubbed the Wally out."

"That's what you think!" Wally laughed.

"The critic is gonna be blown away."

"Blown away? Ha! No. All we've done is mop the floors and clean some dishes. This place is still a house of broken dreams."

"Harsh, but on point."

"If we're gonna impress that critic, we've got a lot more work to do. We need a complete and total transformation."

"What do you mean? Like placemats?"

"Bigger."

"Oh. I'm gonna need me hammer hand for this."

The next day a crowd gathered around Stumpy, chattering amongst themselves.

"What are you all looking at?" Croaker asked.

"Stumpy's changed overnight." Loggle replied.

"Wow, look over there!" Barry replied.

"It's so exotic."

"Oh, my goodness."

"swadi-ka'' Anne smiles as she does a wai, "And welcome to Stumpy's! Wartwood's first frog-Thai fusion restaurant, now with napkins." crowd chattering interested an in aww of the newly design restaurant.

The scene fades to an aerial view of inside the restaurant, with people eating inside.

"Need a refill of fly ice tea? On the house, sweetie." Anne smiled. "Order up. Enjoy!"

"I'll take the maggot larb. Did I say that right? Larb?" Croaker asked.

"It's actually pronounced "laap.'"

"Well, how about that? One foot in the grave and still learning new things."

"Jeez Anne you really fix this place up." Sasha replied.

"Thanks Sash."

"I made have so challenge now." Felicia smiled.

"You know it." Anne winked.

"I like your outfit its pretty." Ivy replied.

"Oh... Thanks." She turned to Sasha. "You think of coming back to the basement?"

"No," Sasha glared, "I have my own room, plus you expect me to just go back there? After everything that old man do."

"Sasha..." Anne sighed.

"What he did was super messed up, and what you want me to just forgive him?"

"Now, girls." Felicia replied, "Lets not fight about this and just enjoy are meals."

Anne nods before walking over to Stumpy, for some reason seeing the old cook smiling made it forgot her troubles.

"I've never seen this place so packed. What- What's this weird feeling in me chest?"

"That is called hope." Anne smiled as she saw the Plantars arrive with the Marcy, while Sprig was ringing the bell. "I think we might actually pull this off, dude." She told the cook before going over to me her frog family. "Please. Please stop ringing that bell."

"Anne," Sprig smiled, "this place is amazing."

"Holy Moldy," Marcy looked around the restaurant.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were good at this." Hop Pop glanced around impressed.

"Oh, yeah! Score one for Anne."

"So, table for four."

"Ooh, sorry guys. All the tables are full."

A frog clears his throat loudly, unzips costume to reveal Albus Duckweed, "They can have my table. I am done here."

"It's..." Anne gasped.

"Duckweed! He's here!" Stumpy finished, as the two ran over to him.

"Duckweed..." Anne glared and pointed at the suit. "What's with the disguise?"

"Oh, this? It's kind of a critic thing."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. It's to guarantee that we get a genuine experience, you know?"

"Oh, interesting."

"If you knew it was me, you'd probably zhuzh it up a bit, make it a little bit better. But in a disguise, you're just gonna serve me like anyone else."

"Oh, that's actually really clever."

"Thank you!"

"So, did you like the food?"

"Oh, right..." Duckweed smiled then slamed his fist down. "No! I found the experience had no cohesion, like one thing was clumsily grafted on top of another. And when I publish my review, your restaurant will be ruined." He laughs, "I love my job."

"Like anyway cares what you think." Sasha called out from her table, with the Sundews.

"I do." Toadie replied, "I love that people have opinion. That why I don't need to think for myself."

"After all he is a Newt," Monroe replied, "Newts are the wisest of all Amphibias."

"That's right!" Duckweed folded his arms.

"I for one never cared about people opinion on things," Marcy smiled, as she stood by the Plantars."Like I believed the Amazing Tarantulad series were overhated. And that fact it didn't get it third movie is a shame."

"Will you, uh..." Anne laughed nervously, "Will you give us a moment? Stay right there!" She grabbed Stumpy by the arm

"That's it." Stumpy lead against the wall. "It's over. We're finished! The second that review goes up, this restaurant goes down."

Anne grunts and smacks him. "Pull yourself together, man. We can do this. It's time to bring out the big guns. My parents' squid and basil special. No critic in town could resist."

"Okay," Stumpy smiled, if this was the end might as well go all in. Anne smacks him again, "I already said okay!"

"Sorry, sorry. I am amped!" Anne yelled before turning back to Duckweed. "Hey, we've got a special dinner just for you. Be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"Amusing." The Newt smiled, "All right, I'll play your little game." As the two left the Plantar stood next to the table.

"So..." Hop Pop asked. "This mean we can't have your table?"

Back in the kitchen Anne and Stumpy returned with giant Kraken. "Man, squids are huge here." Anne groan struggling to carry it inside.

"It's not a squid. It's a kraken."

"Eh, potato, tomato." Anne grunts as they carry the Squid over to Duckweed. "Make way, coming through. All right, dude. Get ready to be blown away."

"Oh, my...What an exotic selection." Duckweed hmm with interests, as the squid growls picking up the Newt who screamed in terror. The customers left screaming in horror, Sasha picked Ivy up and took her outside along with Felicia.

"Assassinating your critics, I love it." Polly smiled as the squid began smashing up the restaurant.

"Stumpy! The lemon!" Anne called out.

"Coming right up!" Stumpy flung the lemon with his spatula, Anne catches it in the air.

"Pad See Ew, you later." Anne squeeze the lemon juice into its eyes causing it to screeches in pain.

"Yeah," Sprig poke the squid in the eye with a stick. "I don't think this thing's getting back up." Everyone took a breath of relief that the danger had been pasted.

'"So," Anne rubbed the back of her head. Feeling terrible for everything, "Duckweed. Guess you got a bad review to write, huh?"

"Bad...Bad?" Duckweed glared hissing through his teeth, before a grin grew on his face and began laughing. "That was incredible! A food that tries to eat you? The irony, the ecstasy! I simply must tell everyone. To the message board!"

"Well, guess we better clean this place up. Again. Stumpy, I'm sorry about all this. I took things way too far."

"No way, Anne. This whole thing was a big success. You even convinced this old grump to actually care. If your parents could see this, I'm sure they'd be proud. If you need some money, I wouldn't mind the help."

"Thanks, Stumpy. Put her there." Anne put out her hand to shake Stumpy's. "Oh, this feels nice. What is this? Oak? Mahogany?"

"It's carved from the bones of me missing hand."

"Oh, come on!"

At nightfall a group of frogs were gathered around eating there summer in a small town miles and miles away from Wartwood. "I'm telling you I was there. I seen him stand up to three Toads."

"There's no way that's true."

"If some old man can stand up to three Toads. Then so can we."

"Wether true or not, it's still a great story. A frog standing up to Toads. I don't think I could."

"Is this the same Frog that ran for Mayor?"

"Yes. If we can just find more frogs like him. He can lead us."

I know this was a short chapter and kinda light and not that different then canon. I love Stumpy so wanted to do this chapter. Also having a few ideas for Duckweed as well for future. Nothing big.

Also wanted to upload one more chapter before the show is over. Only one episode left. NOOO! I can't believe were nearly there.

Anyway theories. Obviously Calamity Sasha and Calamity Marcy. I will be upset if they don't. Core get locked away for alone. It's against friendship so it being alone forever will be a good ending for it.

The girls will be separated. Marcy moved as it makes the most sense for her character story to end. Sasha stays in Amphibia if one girl stay in Amphibia I'm guessing it will be Sasha. Anne goes home (Lief's words of how despite Andrias and Barrel not being in her live. They're were still with her. Could be foreshadowing.) Anne saying goodbye to the Plantars will be heartbeaking. Getting one more Spranne against the world moment.

Anne and the Plantars will probably be separated.

Or second theory Amphibia can't be saved. They also agreed the box needs to be destroyed. The girls fly around Amphibia looking for everyone they can find. Andrias stays behind to open the portal sending everyone to Earth while Andrias stays behind to die alongside the mess he caused and he finally step up to his father and the core. I think the box will be destroyed regardless of what happens. Andrias making a sacrifice will probably happen. Because if he lives he just be put in jail or something.

If Amphibia is saved. The Monarchy ending and Newts, Frogs, Toads sharing power. Olivia for Newts, Grime for Toads, Hop Pop for Frogs. Box will be destroyed. OliviaxYunan canon, a time skip.