Arc 5: Home
Chapter 42: Coming Home
"It started with a blind leap,
mad dashing through the streets
escaping off to the skies.
It ended with a dig deep
dead last chance believing
racing into the night.
And now we run wild!
Yeah, now we run wild!
Whoaaaa-oh, whoaaaa-oh, ah-whoaaaa-oh!"
The Lyft Driver sang along to the song, bopping his head along with the rhythm as it played in his car, thankfully he currently didn't have a fare so was able to sing and enjoy the music he was playing. He'd had many passengers who liked his music and thought it was different but in a good way, though he'd also had the occasional one who asked if they could put something else on to which he always said no. Being able to play your music was one of the few perks of being a driver. Plus he had grown up with the rule of "my car, my music" and thought it extremely rude to request that change when you weren't the one driving, especially since he had paid for his own car.
Right now he was caught in traffic along the 10 freeway, it was a typical afternoon in LA with traffic simply being a regular part of life. At the moment not much was happening, though suddenly he saw a bright flash ahead of him. It happened quickly so at first he wasn't sure what it was, but then he saw something strange. Two girls appeared seemingly out of nowhere on the freeway. He saw them quickly run to get off and noticed that there seemed to be more people with them.
Was that a group of people on the freeway? he thought to himself, what the hell are they doing there?
As he looked again two of the figures seemed familiar, one of them turned back and he got a good look at her face, a face that he had seen before.
"Luz?" he said aloud, not sure if that was really her. He took notice of where the group had fled in their effort to get off the freeway and decided to follow them.
As Luz, Anne, Amara, and the Plantars got off the freeway they finally breathed a sigh of relief. The noise of the traffic had died down a bit, and the group finally had a chance to catch their breath. Both Anne and Luz were breathing heavily as they tried to get their bearings. Anne and the Plantars eventually looked up and let out a gasp as they took in the sight of the city, though Luz remained silent.
"Am I dreaming?" asked Anne in disbelief, "there's only one way to be sure." Anne brought out her phone and quickly looked up at the top left corner of it. At first it said "No Service" but after a second it changed showing her full bars once again. Anne's face lit up at the sight and she proudly exclaimed,
"I'm home!"
Anne turned to Luz, "Luz we made it we're home!" Luz didn't respond, in fact, she didn't even look at Anne, she just kept staring down at the ground, causing Anne to be concerned. Anne came over to her and put her hands on her shoulder.
"Luz, are you okay?" she asked.
"Marcy," whispered Luz, still not looking up at Anne, "Marcy's gone…"
Anne didn't know what to say to that, but she tried to think of something, "we don't know that. Maybe she-"
"Anne stop!" said Luz finally looking up at her, her face full of sorrow, "You saw what happened to her, she's….oh my god….Marcy, you saved our lives, at the cost of your own."
The Plantars looked at each other not sure what to say, Sprig finally spoke up, "I think Marcy wanted to try and fix her mistake, that's why she saved us and that's why she did her best to get us home."
Luz looked over at Sprig, trying to take comfort in what he said but still feeling miserable. Amara came over and also tried to comfort Luz.
"We can hold a memorial for her," she suggested, "I assume you humans have some sort of custom for this sort of thing. I can help you set it up, Luz."
"Whoa wait a minute," said Anne trying to change the tone, "why are we all talking like Marcy's dead, we don't know that for sure. In fact, I think she's alive, she gotta be!"
Luz and Amara both shot Anne a look, as though they both couldn't believe she'd say such a thing.
"Anne, if this is your way of trying to cope with what just happened, then I guess I can understand it," began Amara, "but I'm not sure if that's the best way to-"
"I'm not trying to cope," protested Anne, "listen I know she's alive."
"Anne stop!" said Luz again in a more forceful manner, "please stop, that's not helping right now."
"Guys," said Anne desperately, "listen I don't know how to explain it, but you have to trust me. I know Marcy's alive."
"Uh listen, Anne," said Hop-pop, "I know we all just went through some traumatic experiences, and that can be hard sometimes-"
"Listen, this isn't me trying to pretend this didn't happen," said Anne, "I know what this must sound like, but….we don't know for certain that she's….well you know."
"One among you, will shortly perish," said Luz in a whisper, at first the others didn't hear what she said and all turned to Luz. Luz repeated what she said louder, "one among you, will shortly perish…Do you remember the prophecy Maddie said to us, Anne?"
Anne had forgotten, but as she listened to what Luz said she flashed back in her mind to that day when Maddie had drunk the prophecy potion and recalled the grim prophecy she had given the girls. In her mind, she could almost see Maddie talking directly at them.
"No….but….wait….we don't know if…." Anne trailed off unable to finish her sentence.
"Anne," said Sprig coming up to her. Anne didn't respond, she just stared out into the distance, her mind replaying the prophecy again and again in her mind. Even with that knowledge now fresh in her mind, Anne refused to believe it.
"Listen…that prophecy might not mean anything," she said weakly.
"Anne, we saw her get stabbed," said Luz in a serious tone, "that was the prophecy being fulfilled."
"Anne," began Hop-pop slowly, "remember I told you about curses and the dark arts they're real in Amphibia, if Maddie told you a genuine prophecy, then…"
"Guys, stop!" yelled Anne forcefully, "that doesn't mean anything! We can't just assume Marcy is dead because of some stupid prophecy!"
Luz's eyes went wide with shock, she was about to respond to Anne when a new voice caught their attention.
"Luz, Luz Noceda?" said the voice. The group turned around and saw that someone had pulled up their car close to where they were and was talking to them through the window. Luz looked into the driver's face, it took her a moment but she did eventually recognize him.
"Hey, I remember you, I think, you're the guy who gave us a ride that night," said Luz.
"Yeah, that's me," replied the Lyft Driver, "are you okay? What happened to your arm? Are you in trouble?"
"Maybe, I'm not sure," said Luz.
"Uh we're fine actually," said Anne coming over and trying to shoo the Driver away, "yeah we're all good here."
The Lyft Driver looked into Anne's face finally recognizing her too, "Wait Anne? Anne Boonchuy?"
"How do you know my name?" asked Anne incredulously.
"Uh, you both have been missing for months now," replied the Driver, "your parents have a flyer up in their restaurant"
"They do?" asked Anne feeling grateful that her parents had done that.
"Yeah I've seen it a few times when I picked up food from their restaurant," answered the Lyft Driver.
"Hey that's great and all," said Anne trying to end the conversation, "but uh, like I said, we're all good here, we don't need any help."
"Anne what are you doing?" asked Luz pulling her aside so they could talk, "we need help right now."
"We'll be fine on our own," said Anne back to her, "we don't need his help."
Luz glared at Anne, "We need a way to get home right now, we need to tell our parents what happened, we need to tell them about Marcy, and Sasha."
"Whoa hey, umm, look we do need to get home for sure," began Anne, "but we don't need to tell our parents everything that happened."
"What do you mean?" asked Luz now raising her voice, "We have to tell them, I know it's a lot to take in, but we've been missing for a long time. Our parents deserve to know what happened."
"Is everything okay?" asked Amara coming over to them.
"Yeah, we're fine," said Anne, "we're just trying to decide our next course of action.
"Our next course of action is getting home, and telling our parents everything that happened," yelled Luz.
"Luz, we'll tell them some things, but do you really want to tell them that Marcy is dead? Do you think that's a good idea?" said Anne raising her voice and looking into Luz's eyes trying to make her see reason.
"Anne I lied to my mom," said Luz tears forming in her eyes, "I lied to her about what happened at the dance. Now you want me to lie to her some more about what we've been through!"
Anne paused not sure how to respond to that, after a moment Sprig jumped in.
"I mean Luz does have a point," he began, "are you sure you don't want to tell your parents what happened?"
"I…look we don't need to say anything about Marcy alright, Marcy's alive and we'll figure out a way to get back to Amphibia and get back to her," replied Anne.
"How exactly do you think we're going to get back Anne?" asked Luz, "Andrias has the box, there's no other way to get back."
"There has to be!" said Anne, "and if not, then we'll find one! We need to find a way to rescue Marcy!"
"MARCY'S GONE!" shouted Luz, "she got stabbed with a giant flaming sword!"
"WELL MAYBE MARCY BROUGHT IT ON HERSELF SINCE SHE'S THE ONE WHO TRAPPED US THERE!" yelled Anne. As soon as she said that Anne put her hand over her mouth, horrified at what she had said.
"No wait….I….I didn't mean…," began Anne, but it was too late as Luz turned away from her and ran away from the group into a park that they were near.
"Luz!" called The Plantars and Amara. Anne stayed silent falling to her knees, feeling absolutely miserable about what she had said.
"Luz," called The Lyft Driver as he got out of his car and went after her
As Luz ran away tears streamed down her face, she couldn't believe Anne had said that. She kept running not looking where she was going and almost tripped and fell down. As she regained her footing she stopped to catch her breath and brought her hand to her face trying to process everything that had happened. As she was doing this she heard a voice call out to her.
"Luz, are you alright?" asked the voice. She turned around and saw that the Lyft Driver had come after her.
"Get away from me!" yelled Luz, through tears, "I just want to be alone right now!"
The Lyft Driver didn't come any closer to her though he did speak to her from where he was standing, "Luz if you need space I'll give you space, but I need to know that if I leave you alone you're not going to run away again. You've been missing for months. Your mom really misses you."
"You met my mom?" asked Luz quietly, turning to look at the Lyft Driver.
"Yes I did, she was with Anne's mom at a restaurant, and she told me how much she misses you. They've been putting up flyers with your information, that's how I even knew you were missing." said the Lyft Driver.
"Is she okay? My mom is she fine?" asked Luz nervously.
"The last time I saw her she was okay, but she was really sad," replied the Lyft Driver, "I know she would feel a lot better knowing you were safe."
Luz looked into the Lyft Driver's eyes, eyes that were the same color as hers, though lacking any sort of shine in them.
"So hey if you want me to give you space right now I will," he said, "but will you at least promise not to run away?"
Luz didn't answer him instead she turned away and walked towards a bench, she sat down dejectedly and stared off into space. For a few minutes, the Lyft Driver stayed where he was, though eventually he came over to the bench she was on, and sat down next to her. Luz brought her knees up to her chest, she turned and noticed that he was next to her but still didn't speak. A long beat of silence passed between the two before Luz turned to look into the face of the Lyft Driver, looking deep into his brown eyes, she didn't know why but for some reason she trusted him
"I just had a really rough time," she said slowly, "and I really don't know what to do right now, I feel so lost, so helpless, and now I wonder if there was more I could have done to prevent any of this from happening."
The Lyft Driver listened to what she said waiting a bit before responding, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," said Luz, "I just want to find a way to fix it!"
"Okay, well sometimes talking about things is the first step towards fixing them," said the Lyft Driver.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you what happened," said Luz.
"If you don't want to tell me that's fine," replied the Lyft Driver, "I just wanted to know if there's anything I can do to help. It sounds like you have a lot on your mind right now Luz.
"Can you turn back time?" asked Luz half-jokingly, "take me back to a point before all these terrible things happened. Give me a chance to fix them."
The Lyft Driver let out a sigh before answering, "No I can't Luz, but I do know the feeling of having regrets. I know that having regrets can eat away at you, and make you question yourself."
"It's just so messed up what's happened I…don't know what to do," said Luz.
The Lyft Driver paused before answering, "What do you feel like doing right now?"
Luz didn't answer, trying to think of what she felt at this moment was impossible as she tried to process all that had happened to her in the past few days. Being forced to fight Beatrix, learning of Marcy's betrayal, being dropped out the window to her death with Sprig, and seeing Marcy get stabbed. It all became too much for her and she broke down crying.
She cried and cried, and cried letting out all the emotions she'd been bottling up, hoping desperately that crying would help her feel better. The Lyft Driver didn't say anything but stayed next to her and let her cry, as she continued crying he eventually spoke to her.
"It's alright Luz, let it out," he said in a soft tender voice, "let yourself feel, let yourself be sad. Whatever happened to you it's okay to cry. Crying can help you heal."
"I feel so helpless, so useless right now," said Luz through tears, "I feel like…it's somehow my fault, like maybe things would be better if I wasn't around."
"Luz," began the Lyft Driver in a somber tone, "you don't want to start thinking like that, trust me I know."
Luz wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to look at the Lyft Driver, his head now hung over.
"Listen….I may not know what exactly you're going through, but I do know this. If you start thinking that things would be better if you weren't around, then…eventually the idea of not being around starts to make a lot more logical sense in your brain. If that idea stays with you for a long time, then….you start to think that removing yourself will somehow fix things, it will solve problems and then everything will be fine…."
He stopped talking, he had started getting choked up as he said that last part, quickly bringing up his hand to wipe his eyes. Luz noticed this, even though he seemed to be trying to hide it. He regained his composure before continuing.
"….That line of thinking will take you to a really dark place," he continued, "a place that, trust me, is not good to be in, a place where all you are is numb. A place where after feeling so much emotional pain in your life you don't even care anymore, and feeling numb is the only coping mechanism you can think of. You don't want to feel anything because feeling nothing is better than feeling pain all the time, and honestly, there's only so long you can live that way before….you don't want to live anymore…."
As he finished talking he let out a long sigh, feeling mentally exhausted. Luz again looked at the Lyft Driver staring into his brown eyes that lacked shine.
"Did that happen to you?" she asked hesitantly.
The Lyft Driver paused before answering, "….yes, it did, and if I'm being truly honest it occasionally still does."
"What happened if you don't mind me asking?" asked Luz.
"Regret mostly," said the Driver, "as I started getting older I started thinking about all the things I wanted to do when I was younger, and how I hadn't accomplished any of them. Not only that but I had some rough spots in my life, times when bad things happened to me and I didn't know how to deal with them. You combine both of those things together and you start to feel useless, you start to feel like you don't matter, and you start to think that things would be better if you weren't around anymore…."
"How did you deal with it, the pain?" asked Luz.
"For a long time I just tried to numb the pain," answered the Driver, "I don't want to say all the things I did but suffice it to say they weren't healthy."
Luz flinched at hearing him say that.
"But I did eventually find a better method," began The Lyft Driver, "I started going to therapy, which helped a lot. I also fixed things with my mom, which helped too. She and I used to not have a very good relationship, but she went to therapy too, then we both went together and that helped us both. Aside from that, going for walks, listening to music, and yeah sometimes crying when you don't feel good. It helps to cleanse you of those feelings and reminds you that you still care, you still feel."
He turned to look at Luz finally smiling, "and having a good laugh every once and a while has also helped."
"I could really use a good laugh right now," said Luz, "whatcha got for that?"
"Ever heard of Rifftrax?" asked the Lyft Driver.
Luz shook her head, The Lyft Driver pulled out his phone and looked for a certain video before showing it to Luz.
"Why did I say that?!" said Anne still on the ground processing what had just happened.
"Anne," said Sprig coming up to her and hugging her, he motioned for the other Plantars to join him. Soon the rest of them did, supporting Anne on all sides.
"I'm a horrible person," said Anne out loud, her face in shock, "first I wished death on Sasha now I said that maybe Marcy deserved to die."
"Anne we know you didn't mean it," said Polly.
"You were just upset," said Hop-pop, "it's like you said at the hospital, you weren't thinking straight."
"But why does this happen to me when I'm upset like that?" asked Anne still in shock, "I must be a terrible person if I say things like that?"
"Because it's normal," said Amara, the Plantars and Anne turned to look at her. Amara came over to Anne, looking into her face.
"You've just been through a lot of trauma," began Amara, "first Sasha betrayed you, then you found out Marcy trapped you on purpose, then you had to watch as Sprig and Luz got dropped out of the window to their deaths. And while they're both alright now, you had no way of knowing that. After all that you did some weird transformation thing that gave you some strange powers, but also looks like it took a toll on your body, and finally, you had to watch Marcy get stabbed."
Anne listened as Amara listed off everything that had happened, as she did the full weight of all those things started to hit her, Anne went numb, her mind trying to sort through and piece together all that had happened in the past few days. It became overwhelming and she began to cry, as she did the Plantars hugged her tighter. Anne continued crying letting her emotions out and letting herself feel the pain of what had happened while also leaning on the Plantars using them as support. After a long time, she stopped crying and slowly stood up. Amara looked hard into her face before coming forward and enveloping her in a hug.
"A lot of times, when we're in a frantic emotional state we say things in anger," said Amara, continuing to hug Anne, "I think while humans and amphibians might be a different species we still deal with emotions in a similar way. Anne, you're not a horrible person, you're someone who's been through a lot and is trying to desperately make sense of it all in some way. When you said you wanted Sasha dead I think at that moment in your mind you thought that was the easiest way to fix what had happened between you, her, and Luz. Same thing right now with Marcy, I think if you believe that she brought it on herself, then you wouldn't have to deal with the fact that she hurt you. I think despite the fact that Marcy was the reason you even got trapped there in the first place, you still care about her, and seeing her get stabbed still hurt. But if you make yourself believe she deserved it, then you don't have to feel bad for her."
Anne didn't say anything, she listened to all that Amara said to her, as Amara kept talking Anne hugged her even tighter almost afraid to let go. Amara patted her back and stroked her hair trying her best to calm Anne down as she spoke.
"Anne, listen to me, you are not a bad person," said Amara in a soothing gentle voice, "if you were really a bad person you wouldn't be going through this much emotional turmoil over something you said."
Anne listened to Amara and finally began to feel a sense of calm, she took several deep breaths and allowed the newt to rub her back and calm her down. The moments passed by, and eventually Anne and Amara separated Anne looked deep into the newt's eyes.
"Wow….I really don't know what to say, thank you so much! How did you get so smart?" asked Anne.
"I've done a lot of reading, especially after I came back from studying with Uodeela and I wanted to learn more about emotions and mental health. Part of it was also trying to figure out some things from my childhood and why I acted the way I did."
"Huh what do you mean?" asked Sprig.
Amara paused, "Oh that's right, you all have only known me since I came back from Uodeela's. The thing is, before I went to learn magic with her I was a different person and kind of a jerk."
"What you a jerk?" said Polly, "that feels hard to imagine, you paid for us to stay at that hotel, you helped me save Frobo."
"Well trust me, I wasn't always that way," said Amara, "but being able to self-reflect can help you to see things in a different way. Sometimes you as a person will do or say bad things, but as long as you can recognize and learn from it, then you can grow and change."
"Anne," said Sprig, "listen I want you to know Marcy saved me and Luz. She jumped out of the window as we were falling and called Joe Sparrow to save us."
"She did?" asked Anne.
"Yes," said Sprig coming up to her.
Anne burried her face in her hands, "Oh Marcy….I'm so sorry, despite you getting us trapped there you still risked your life to do the right thing. You saved Luz and Sprig, and you got us home. I'm sorry for saying that you deserved to….die."
The group took a moment as Anne said those words, all of them hanging their heads as they thought about Marcy. Eventually, Amara spoke up
"I don't want to rush you, but it's been a while, we should see what happened to Luz."
"Agreed, we should go check on her," said Hop-pop.
"Yeah," said Anne wiping her face one more time, "let's go!" With that, the group went off to find Luz.
It didn't take them long to find her, she was sitting on a bench with the Lyft Driver and they were both watching a video on his phone.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed Luz, "Oh my god, this was a real movie that got made? I mean those birds look so fake! And the dialogue, it's like these actors don't know how to have a normal conversation."
"Yeah, this is one of my favorites," said the Lyft Driver, "if I ever need a good laugh I can always watch a Rifftrax video to make me feel better. That or I can watch a video that has someone playing a baseball game and deliberately hitting every batter in a row. It's hilarious to watch the umpire keep ejecting pitchers until none are left."
Luz glared at him disapprovingly.
"What it's funny," he said defensively.
"Luz," called Amara coming up to her. Luz got off the bench and came up to her, the two sharing a hug.
"Hey, how are you?" asked Amara.
"Better," said Luz "I had a nice long talk and a good cry, so I think I'm doing okay."
"Good to hear," said Amara, as she was talking Anne came up to them slowly. She was rubbing the back of her neck and awkwardly looking between Luz and the ground. As she got closer Amara spoke to Luz.
"Listen, Luz….Anne wants to talk to you, please give her a chance, she didn't mean what she said."
Amara stepped away leaving Luz and Anne alone. Again Anne struggled to look into Luz's eyes, but she did eventually make eye contact with her and spoke.
"Luz, I'm so sorry for what I said back there. I think I have a habit of saying things in anger that I really don't mean. And I think a part of why I said that was to not face the fact that Marcy was….gone. I think in my mind if I blamed her for getting us stuck there, then I wouldn't have to feel bad that she….I'm so sorry. And well we've both been through a lot in the past few hours, I'm not saying that as an excuse, but I just want you to understand."
Luz listened to everything Anne said before replying, "I understand Anne, we've both been through a lot right now and I get it, sometimes we say things in anger that we don't mean. Can I be honest? A part of me wants Marcy to be okay, but at the same time I don't want to get my hopes up."
"I hear you Luz, I…want Marcy to be okay too and that's why I just can't….I can't accept that she's gone not yet," said Anne, "please, I'm not trying to sound unrealistic or in denial, but until we know for sure let's not say that she's….dead."
Luz looked into Anne's eyes wanting to protest, but as she continued to look it became harder to push the point. Amara spoke up.
"Listen I'm not trying to give you false hope, but it might be possible she's still alive. Though the only way would be if Andrias wanted to keep her alive for some reason."
The girls and the Plantars turned to look at Amara.
"I know that Newts have advanced ways to heal the body. We've made many advancements in that area to the point where almost no one in Newtopia worries about health problems. They even have these things called medical capsules, and I've seen them work wonders on newts that were gravely injured."
She turned to look at Luz, "When they brought you to the hospital you were in pretty bad shape, but the newts were able to stabilize you quickly. I gave you a healing potion that fixed the scars, but the newt's medicine is likely what helped you recover from your coma."
"Luz did seem to recover just fine," said Hop-pop.
"Then there's a chance Marcy could be okay," said Polly.
"It would only be if the King wanted to save her though," clarified Amara, "if not then…."
Amara didn't finish her statement though the rest of the group knew what she was implying. They all looked uncomfortably at each other as they processed what Amara had told them. Luz finally spoke.
"Okay then…one thing is clear, we have to get back to Amphibia somehow. Once we get back, then we'll be able to know for certain one way or the other. I guess for now…."
Luz looked into the faces of all that were gathered there trying to decide what to say.
"For now, given what Amara just said, let's try and have some hope, however small, that Marcy survived," began Luz, "but let's not kid ourselves either, when we get back we have to be ready to accept the fact that she could be….gone."
The group hung their heads at this grim proclamation, but at the same time, they also felt a sense of hope. After a while, the Lyft Driver came over to check on them.
"Hey, I know you all are having a personal conversation, I didn't listen, trust me, but I just wanna see how you're doing. Do you need to call your parents or need a ride to where they are?"
Anne looked over at the Lyft Driver, a smile forming on her face, glad that there was someone to help them out, "listen can you give us a minute as we figure out what to do? I'm not sure but we might need your help."
"Sure," said the Lyft Driver, "I won't be far, just let me know if you need anything." With that he walked away a short distance, leaving the girls and the Plantars alone to discuss their course of action.
Luz, Anne, the Plantars, and Amara all began talking as they tried to figure out what to do. They also caught up with each other over what happened, Anne explaining her blue powers to both Sprig and Luz who hadn't seen it. They decided it would be best for them to regroup at Anne's house. They began to talk about what exactly they should tell their parents as Anne didn't want to tell them everything. Luz objected as she was already feeling guilty about lying to her own mom. Eventually, they agreed to tell their parents almost everything. They'd tell them the truth about what happened in the palace. They'd tell them the truth about Andrias and what he did to them, though they agreed to leave out the part where he wanted to invade Earth. They also decided to say that they didn't know what happened to Sasha and that Marcy had been "hurt." Anne also insisted that they not say anything about her blue powers as she was still getting used to them herself.
"No way!" exclaimed Luz, "you have powers too?!"
"I guess I do," said Anne as she looked down at her hands, "do you think they're the same as the ones you had?"
"I don't know, maybe?" said Luz, "and it just happened all of a sudden?"
"Yeah, when I saw you and Sprig get dropped out the window I don't know something in me seemed to awaken them, and suddenly I felt an immense amount of power inside me," said Anne, "all I wanted to do was take out my anger on Andrias and punish him for killing you."
Luz thought about this, and as she did she remembered something, "it was similar for me when I first used my powers. It happened when the Toads were beating Uodeela. I saw that happening and in my mind, all I wanted to do was hurt them and stop them from hurting Uodeela. Then before I knew it I felt a power within me and was able to use magic just like I always wanted."
"Wow, that's amazing," said Anne, she paused before adding, "Hey so wait if you had powers and I do now, does that mean….Sasha and Marcy have them too?"
"Maybe," said Luz after some hesitation, "though if so…."
"What is it?" asked Anne noticing Luz's face had fallen.
"I'd hate to think what Sasha would do with her powers if she got access to them," said Luz.
"But Sasha is better now, she helped us fight against Andrias," said Anne trying to defend her.
"She only helped us cause it was convenient at the time," said Sprig, "remember she had no issue stabbing us in the back to get into Newtopia for her stupid Toad Rebellion."
Anne wanted to say something but she couldn't find the words, after some hesitation she spoke, "I mean Sasha did try to warn us about Andrias, and when it came down to it she fought him giving us a chance to escape."
"Maybe she did," said Luz, "but again how do we know she won't sell us out again? Yeah, she fought Andrias at the time, because he was a bigger threat. But after things calmed down, what if Andrias made Sasha an offer to work for him? What if he offered to let her be his new enforcer or something?"
As Luz said this, Anne conjured up an image in her head of Sasha with an evil grin as Andrias smiled behind her. Sasha pointing her sword and leading a group of Frobots into battle.
"I….I hope you're wrong Luz," said Anne, though not in a convincing voice, "I hope this time Sasha learned her lesson and won't make the same mistake again."
Luz paused for a few minutes before saying, "I guess she did apologize to me."
"What?" asked Anne.
"After I freed her from her bonds, she told me how she was sorry for setting up the fight with Beatrix. Apparently, she did it under the impression that I still had my powers, she thought Beatrix would be a way to distract me so I wouldn't use my powers to stop the Toad Army from invading," said Luz.
"Well see that's good," said Anne, "I mean do you think she was being sincere when she apologized to you."
"I….I honestly don't know," answered Luz, "Everything was happening so fast, we were fighting the frobots then Grime came up and joined us, then that whole thing with me and Sprig happened, in the moment Sasha seemed sorry for what happened. Maybe she was, but even so, once everything calms down how do we know she'll make the right choice in the future?"
Anne listened to what Luz had said before turning to the Plantars and Amara.
"What do you guys think?" she asked them.
"Well you already know how I feel about Sasha," said Sprig, "but you are right she did fight against Andrias, but Luz brings up a good point. Maybe she helped us then, but will she help us in the future?"
"Sasha's lied to us twice now," said Polly, "I don't see why we would ever consider trusting her again."
"The real question we should be asking is what happened to her," said Hop-pop, "last we saw she was stuck in a floating castle with Andrias, was she able to get away somehow?"
"I'm not sure I'm qualified to speak on Sasha's behalf," said Amara, "but I do wonder if maybe she's got some psychological issues she needs to work out. But I think it's all a moot point until we know that she even got away."
"Well that's just another reason for why we have to get back to Amphibia," said Anne, "we need to find out what happened with Marcy, and we need to know if Sasha….we need to know what happened to her and if she's on our side or not."
Luz and the Plantars nodded agreeing with that statement before they finished there was also one more thing they needed to talk about for which Anne and Luz asked to be alone. The Plantars and Amara went to stand with the Lyft Driver while Anne and Luz talked.
"So Luz, does your mom know about you…liking girls?" asked Anne with some hesitation.
"No, she doesn't," said Luz flatly, "I'm guessing your parents don't know either."
"No they don't," answered Anne, "listen I want to tell them eventually, but given everything else we have to tell them right now, I…I…I think it would be too much to also tell them that."
Luz paused before replying, "Yeah you're right. Listen if it helps to make it easier we can tell them together in the future."
"Yeah I'd like that," said Anne reaching over and taking hold of Luz's hand. Luz returned the gesture and squeezed Anne's hand to show her support.
"So for now we won't say anything then," said Luz, "but I hope we don't wait too long to tell them."
"We won't," said Anne, "just enough time for them to absorb everything else we have to say," she laughed a bit trying to ease the tension, though as she did she also let go of Luz's hand.
"And it should probably go without saying, but….we shouldn't do anything romantic in front of them until they know," said Anne.
Luz's face fell as she heard that, and though she also understood why, she couldn't help but feel a little sad because of it.
"Hey," said Anne noticing Luz's face, she came up to her and enveloped her in a hug, "I still want to be with you, just let's take it slow with our parents okay."
Luz nodded to indicate she understood.
Anne spoke again, "Also uh….listen sorry to bring this up, but do you still want to go out with me?"
Luz turned to look at Anne a surprised look on her face, "Of course I do, why would you ask that?"
"Because of what I said about Marcy," said Anne looking away and feeling sad, "I'm sorry I said that, but I'd understand if you didn't want to be with me anymore because of that. That was wrong what I said about her, I feel horrible for saying it."
Luz held Anne's face in her hands and looked into it, "listen to what you said, it was human. I get it, you weren't thinking straight and you're sorry about it. But more importantly Anne….if we're going out now, that means we're there for each other in both the good and the bad times. You forgave me for kissing you at the dance, I forgave you for saying you didn't want to be my friend. Anne…I'm here for you and I accept you despite your faults. We've both done things we aren't proud of, but we'll both learn from them and try to be better people."
"Wow, thanks!" said Anne, "you're the best you know that!"
"Eh I try," said Luz trying to be coy, she brought Anne's face close to hers and kissed her forehead.
"So you still want to give "us" a try then?" asked Anne.
"Yes," said Luz reaching down and grabbing her hand looking into her face, the both of them smiling.
"Wait, wait, wait!" said Sprig hopping over after seeing what just happened between Anne and Luz, "does this mean the two of you are…together?"
Anne and Luz looked at each other before looking back at Sprig, Anne speaking, "Yeah I guess we are."
"What?! No way! That's amazing!" said Sprig jumping up and hugging both girls, "I'm so happy for you! Congratulations!"
"Thanks, Sprig!" said Luz, "I guess I owe you one for being such a great wingman."
"Aw I was just trying to pay Anne back for helping me get together with Ivy," said Sprig.
"Wait, you were?" said Anne in surprise, "Aww dude…that's….thank you so much!"
"Hey when we get back to Amphibia the four of us have to go on a double date," exclaimed Sprig.
"I'd like that," said Luz smiling.
"Okay, so why don't you go ahead and give your mom a call, tell her to meet us at my parent's place, and then we'll get going," said Anne.
Luz nodded and reached into her pocket to get her phone though as she did it began ringing on its own. Luz looked at the phone and saw that her mother was calling her, quickly she answered the phone.
"Mama!" said Luz in an excited voice.
"Mija! Is that really you?" asked her mother.
"Yes it's me, Mama," answered Luz tears streaming down her face, "I'm home. How did you know to call me?"
"I got a bunch of video texts right now," answered her mother, "a whole bunch of messages just came through. I only watched the first one, it showed you and what looked like a talking blue frog. What happened to you?"
"It's a long story, and I promise I'll explain it to you in just a bit, listen Anne's with me," said Luz.
"Hi Ms. Noceda!" said Anne into the phone.
"Anne?!" exclaimed Camilla, "Oh it's good to hear your voice too."
"We're on our way to Anne's right now actually," continued Luz, "can you meet us there?"
"Okay, I'm on my way, I'll see you at Anne's house," said her mother, "Luz please stay safe! I love you!"
"I love you too Mama," replied Luz, "I'll see you soon and I'll explain everything."
With that the call ended and Luz cried some more, happy to have heard her mother's voice again. Anne came over and hugged her. With that the two girls joined the others and got into the Lyft Driver's car, Anne giving him her address. The Lyft Driver typed it into his phone to guide him to Anne's house.
"Oh Monterrey Park," said the Lyft Driver noticing the city Anne lived in, "yeah I know that area pretty well, just off the 60fwy, north of Montebello, they built a new Spendco out there."
"Uggh, I hate that Spendco," said Anne, "it's such a pain to get in and out of."
"Yeah, it is," agreed the Lyft Driver, "especially with everyone going there to get gas. I've seen the line go all the way to the street on some days. Well anyway, everyone buckled in? We all ready to go."
"Yes," answered the group together.
The Lyft Driver started his car and made his way toward Anne's house, as he was driving off he finally asked, "So uh what's with the frog costumes?
"It's uh Frog Con," said Luz quickly, "you're supposed to dress up as your favorite frog."
"Oh okay," answered the Lyft Driver, for a moment he seemed to buy it, then he asked, "What about the newt costume? Is there a Newt Con going on as well?"
"Yes," said Anne quickly, "Frog Con and Newt Con go on at the same time, there's a whole Amphibian theme going on this year!"
"Uh-huh," said The Lyft Driver as he gave the frogs and newt another look.
About an hour later he pulled up to the address Anne had given him, Anne looked out the door and recognized her house.
"Is this it?" asked The Lyft Driver.
"Yeah it is," replied Anne as she took in the sight of her house, a sight she had missed for so long. "Okay uh listen for now let me off and I'll go in and explain things to my parents. Is it cool if everyone else waits in your car for now?"
"Yeah that's fine," said the Lyft Driver.
"I think I'll get out too," said Luz, "Mom should be here soon, so I'll keep a lookout for her."
"Good idea," said Anne.
"So listen guys," said Luz to the Plantars and Amara, "wait here in the car, and let us explain things to our parents, we'll give you a signal when we're ready to introduce you, understand?"
"Yes," answered the Plantars and Amara. With that Luz and Anne got out of the car, Luz standing near it looking for her mother, while Anne went up to the front door of the house. She looked back and saw Luz give her an encouraging thumbs up! Anne took a deep breath and finally knocked on the door
The air inside the Boonchuy house was one of misery, it had started the day Anne had gone missing and had never really gone away. At the moment Oum Boonchuy was in the kitchen mixing together a dish. Her heart wasn't in it though as she wore a grim and sad expression on her face. Around the house were various pictures of previous happy days hung on the walls, yet still they did nothing to improve Oum's mood. There was a new recent addition to these pictures though, a new image of Oum, Bee, and Camilla together at the Thai Temple as they passed out flyers doing their best to smile and hold out hope that their daughters were still alive. As Oum continued stirring her dish she heard a knock at the door, which was strange as she usually didn't get many visitors.
I wonder if Camilla stopped by to say hello, thought Oum as she made her way to the door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," said Oum, as the knocking continued. She eventually answered the door and stared into the face of her missing daughter.
"Hi Mom," said Anne looking directly into her eyes.
Oum could barely contain her excitement as she dropped the bowl she was holding and lunged forward to envelop her daughter in a hug, tears streaming down her face. The noise of the bowl falling had gotten the attention of her father.
"What was that noise everything okay?" he asked appearing from around a corner.
"DAD!" exclaimed Anne, Bee looked over to the front door and was aghast to see Anne there.
"Anne?!" he said, not sure at first if it was really her, though as he got closer he knew without a doubt it was his daughter, "Anne you're back, you're safe!" Bee joined in on the hug.
As the group was hugging a familiar meow was heard and a black and white cat came up to Anne's feet. Anne instantly recognized that sound
"Domino!" exclaimed Anne, "come here, my precious baby." Anne bent down to pick up her cat, the cat allowing itself to be picked up and cuddled.
"Where have you been? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Have you eaten? Your hair's a mess," said Mrs. Boonchuy as she pulled out a leaf from Anne's hair. Anne smiled at seeing her other fuss over her.
"It's a really, really long story," began Anne, she was about to say more when another voice called out from the yard, catching the attention of not only Anne but her parents.
"Luz!" said Camilla as she quickly parked her car and exited the vehicle looking to where her daughter was.
"Mama," said Luz taking in the sight of her mom and rushing forward to her. Camilla raced towards her daughter's arms open the two of them colliding in a hug. Camilla and Luz both began crying loudly.
"You're back!" exclaimed Camila tears streaming down her face, "I can't believe it."
"Mama…." began Luz, "you have no idea how good it is to see you again!"
"Oh my goodness what happened to your arm?" asked Camilla noticing Luz's cast.
"I broke it," said Luz plainly, "don't worry I have a cast. It should be fine in a few weeks."
"Still let's take you to a doctor and make sure the cast is set right," said Camilla.
"Camila?!" said Oum in surprise. Camilla turned to see her friend.
"Oum, hey good to see you. Anne, you're back too!" said Camilla finally noticing Anne.
"Hello Mrs. Noceda," said Anne respectfully. Camilla and Luz walked up to the porch to join the Boonchuys.
"We have so much to tell you," said Luz to both her mother and the Boonchuys.
"I guess I'll start," said Anne, "on my birthday, Sasha and I hung out. Then around 6pm, we got a text from Marcy…."
"So how long is this Frog Con going on for?" asked the Lyft Driver to Sprig.
"Oh it's going on forever," he answered in a straight voice, "yep, from now on you should just assume that there are going to be people dressed up as frogs on a regular basis."
In the backseat, Amara slapped her face in frustration at Sprig's response.
"Uh you'll have to excuse my brother, he has no idea what's going on," answered Amara more forcefully while putting her hand over Sprig's mouth, "I believe this Frog Con is only lasting until the end of this week then it's over."
"Oh okay, so how about Newt Con?" asked The Lyft Driver.
"Same time," said Amara flatly, "yep after that you won't see anymore humans dressed as newts or frogs."
"Still it's pretty odd that I haven't heard about this before," said the Lyft Driver suspiciously, "I drive people around on a regular basis and no one's ever mentioned anything about either of these Cons. Plus you four are the first ones I've ever seen dressed as frogs."
"Oh it's very niche," said Amara trying to deflect, "do you fancy yourself an expert on this human city."
"You mean LA?" asked the Driver.
"Yes, is that its name then? LA, of course," said Amara trying to recover. "sorry we're from out of town so we don't know much about this place. Perhaps you can give us some pointers? What is the most dangerous place in this city?"
"Uh well, I'd say the area to the south of the city, between the 710, and the 110," said the Driver, "if you're tourists I wouldn't advise going to that area after dark."
"Pssh I'm not scared," bragged Polly, "I've got my mace!"
"Aren't you a little young to be carrying mace?" asked the Driver.
"Don't mind Polly," said Hop-pop quickly trying to regain control of the conversation, "so tell me, young sire, where do the elders of your city congregate?"
"In retirement homes," answered the Driver flatly.
"Where are these retirement homes?" asked Hop-pop.
"I mean they're everywhere," answered the Driver, "literally just do a search and you'll find some. Do you need to get back to yours Gramps?"
"Wait do I have a home already set up for me?" asked Hop-pop, "that's great. It means we don't have to worry about being a burden on Anne. Which of the retirement homes is mine we'll stay there instead."
"Uh I don't know which one is yours," said the Driver, "only you do, unless…" the Driver turned to Amara.
"Is your Grandpa okay?" he asked, "is he like "all there?"
"Well of course he's all here," answered Amara, "how could he be in two places at once."
The Lyft Driver turned to look at all of the passengers in the back of his car glaring at all of them.
"You guys aren't tourists are you," he said in as plain a voice as he could manage, "you're actually frogs and a newt aren't you."
"What no, why would you think that," said Sprig
"Nope we're definitely humans," said Amara while trying to smile.
"I've been human all my life" answered Hop-pop.
"I've always had legs!" yelled Polly triumphantly.
The Lyft Driver looked at the frogs before noticing a bug that was flying around inside the car.
"Eww a bug!" he said pointing to the fly. No sooner had he said that then Sprig shot out his tongue grabbing the fly and eating it in one move, he realized his mistake a second too late. The Lyft Driver gave him a smug smile. The Plantars and Amara looking at each other nervously.
"Relax, I won't say anything," said the Driver breaking the tension, "trust me it's not the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
"You've seen weirder things than human-looking frogs?" asked Sprig in surprise.
"Try riding the LA subway, trust me you'll see a lot of freaky stuff on there," said the Lyft Driver in a deadpan voice.
"Looks like Anne and Luz are talking to their parents," observed Amara as she looked out the window.
"What do you think they're telling them?" asked Polly.
"I hope Anne told them the part of how I defeated that giant snake by feeding it pain peppers," said Sprig, "or about when I found where Mayor Toadstool hid the taxes."
"Ugggh it's so boring having to wait here while she talks," complained Polly.
"I could put on some music," offered the Lyft Driver.
"Yeah sure, what ya got?" asked Sprig.
The Lyft Driver moved to his phone and began looking through it for something to play, he finally settled on a song.
"Whatcha say, whatcha say?
I know that you wanna
Get away, getaway
Come on in the water's fine
I don't wanna do it alone
Where you been, where you been?
Seems it's been forever Come on in, right on in
Tell me you remember the time
Where we were running the road
Don't you let it go, don't you let it go
Come on, come on
Are you ever dreaming of then?
Who all, who all Says we couldn't do it again?
Bring a story, I'll bring the map of the skies
Jump right, jump right in tonight!"
"Huh this is pretty cool," said Sprig, "I like this song."
"Yeah it's got a nice beat to it," said Amara.
"I like their music, found them about a year ago," said the Lyft Driver, "they're an indie band called "Oh Geeez."
"What's an "indie" band?" asked Polly.
"It's short for independent," said the Lyft Driver, "it means they're a small group that isn't as well known as some other bands."
"This song sounds so cool though," said Sprig, "why aren't they more well-known when they make music this great?"
"Sometimes that's how it is," said the Lyft Driver, "in the age of the internet and social media it's a lot easier to put yourself out there, but at the same time there's a lot of competition to be heard."
"The internet, Luz mentioned it a few times while she was with us," said Amara, "but I never really understood what exactly it was."
"Wow you guys really are frogs," said the Lyft Driver, "I'm guessing they don't have that in your world?"
They all shook their heads.
"Well it's a little hard to explain, but basically imagine if you had access to the sum total of all your world's knowledge. I guess kind of like a library that you could access from almost anywhere," he said. "But the downside is that not all the knowledge on there is true. Sometimes people make up their own things either out of ignorance or because they actually want to try and mislead people. But in addition to all the info that's on there. You can also put things you want on there. For instance, if you're a band that wrote a song, like "Oh Geez" you can put your music on the internet and others can listen to it."
"Oh hey you said there's information on this internet," said Polly, "does that mean you could find a way to fix a robot?"
"I suppose so," answered the Lyft Driver, "just make sure that the source you're listening to is correct and actually knows how to fix robots."
"How about information on Portals?" asked Amara, "would that information be available on this internet?"
"Uh what kind of portal are we talking about?" asked the Lyft Driver.
"A portal back to our world," clarified Amara.
"Maybe…." said the Lyft Driver honestly unsure, "that sort of might just be theoretical, again with something like that I have no idea if the information you find on it would even be real or if it's just someone making things up."
Amara let out a sigh, "Looks like we might be here a while…."
"…and that's what happened," said Luz as she finished the story. Oum, Bee, and Camilla all looked at each other absorbing everything Anne and Luz had told them.
"This is a lot to take in," said Bee.
"You've been trapped in another world all this time? And you barely managed to escape from a newt King who tried to kill you?!" said Oum.
"and you don't know what happened to Marcy and Sasha?" asked Camilla.
Anne and Luz looked at each other before turning back to their parents, "Marcy and Sasha got hurt helping us escape from King Andrias," said Luz.
"We don't know what happened to them," said Anne in a soft voice, "they're both still trapped in Amphibia and Marcy might be…"
Luz reached over and grabbed Anne's hand trying to calm her down, this was noticed by all the adults present.
"We don't know…" said Luz flatly, "Marcy might have been hurt real bad, but we don't know. That's why we have to find a way back."
"This Andrias person sounds dangerous," said Camilla, "maybe we should get the government involved?"
"NO!" said both Anne and Luz at the same time.
"You can't," pleaded Anne, "otherwise the Plantars will get locked up and experimented on in some secret government facility."
"It's still a little hard to believe that there are amphibians who are human," said Camilla, "I wonder how their biology works?"
"Well you might have a chance to see for yourself," said Anne, "as we told you some came with us, if nothing else they'll at least prove our story is true."
"Are you ready to meet them?" asked Luz to her mom and the Boonchuys.
The three adults looked at each other before nodding their heads. Luz and Anne went back to the car and opened the door motioning for the Plantars and Amara to come out. They exited the vehicle and slowly walked up to where the adults were. Oum, Bee, and Camilla all looked surprised at their appearance but took it in stride as the amphibians approached. The Driver of the car also came forward.
"We're the Plantars!" said Hop-pop waving his hands in the air, "the lovable frog family Anne's told you all about."
"HI, I'm Amara," said the newt waving nervously at the adults.
"Hello," said Camilla looking at Amara, "I'm Camilla Noceda, pleased to meet you!" Camilla held out her hand, and Amara hesitated for a second before taking it.
"I'm Bee," said Bee to Hop-pop.
"I'm Oum," said Oum introducing herself to Sprig and Polly.
"Hello Mister and Misses Anne's parents," said Sprig jumping up to them, "the name's Sprig Plantar, Anne's best friend and walking talking frog."
Camilla looked hard at the amphibians, after a second she picked up Polly in her arms and put her ear to what she thought was her chest. After a few moments, she announced to the group.
"Well this one has a heartbeat, and from what I can tell she honestly seems like a tadpole, just much bigger than any tadpole I've ever seen."
"Are you like a frog expert then?" asked Polly to Camilla.
"I guess you could say that, I'm a veterinarian," said Camilla.
"What's that?" asked Polly.
"It means she's a doctor who looks after animals," said Luz.
"Wait so does that mean you can help us live longer?" asked Hop-pop.
"Uh maybe," answered Camilla, "it looks to me like you've already lived a lot longer than any frog is supposed to live."
"Wow I'm a record breaker for something!" said Hop-pop in triumph.
"And you," said Camilla turning to Amara, "a newt as tall as my daughter, your hair is so long and pretty."
"Thank you," said Amara.
"I thought Anne returning would be the strangest thing that happens today," said Bee, "guess I was wrong."
"So Anne, Luz are you all good?" asked the man who had approached with the Amphibians.
"Yes I think so," said Anne, "thank you so much for giving us a ride!"
"Yeah no problem, I was in the area, glad it all seemed to have worked out," said the Driver.
"Who are you?" asked the Boonchuys coming up to the man.
"Oh I found your kids," said The Lyft Driver, "I was out working when I happened to run into them. I gave them a ride here, just want to make sure you're all good."
Oum and Bee stared into the man's face, it took them a second, but they both recognized him.
"Hey don't you work for Grubhub?" asked Bee, "I've seen you before at our restaurant."
"Yeah I do, I have a few jobs, some days it's Grubhub, some days it's Lyft, and some days at the mall," said the Driver, "I remember your restaurant you had that flyer up there. That's how I recognized your girls."
Oum and Bee looked at each other then at the man, "I'm so glad we had that flyer," said Bee, "it ended up helping bring Anne home."
"Thank you so much," said Oum and Bee to the man.
"Next time you come to our restaurant we'll give you free lunch," said Oum.
"Oh, that sounds great! I'll be sure to take you up on that offer. But right now I have to get back to work," he turned to leave and walked back to his car. Luz saw him leave and after thinking for a moment went after him.
"Hey wait," said Luz as she approached the Driver right as he got to his car.
"Yeah, what's up?" he asked.
"Thanks," she said, "thanks for staying and talking with me back there. I really feel I needed that."
"You're welcome Luz," said the Driver, "I hope it helped you."
"It did," she looked up into his eyes one more time, "and hey…take care of yourself too I hope things work out for you."
"Thanks," said the Lyft Driver.
"Mija, there you are!" said Camilla running up to where Luz was.
"Mama," said Luz.
"Sorry, I just got you back and then saw you run off, I guess I got a little nervous," said Camilla.
"Oh didn't mean to worry you, I just wanted to say goodbye to the man who helped us," said Luz.
Camilla turned to look at the Driver, "Thank you! For helping my daughter, you have no idea how happy I am to see her again!"
"Me alegro ayudar," said the Lyft Driver, "Espero que cosas vayan bien por ustedes!"
Camilla hugged Luz again the both of them tearing up a bit, the Lyft Driver watched them for a few seconds. Seeing Luz and her mother together reminded him of his own mother. After a few moments, he got in his car. As he turned it on his music began playing again, he had forgotten where it had stopped and was a little surprised at the song that was playing.
"Where was I when you said you were drowning
In the ocean that I had thrown you in
How was I so certain of my piety
To be blind to how you begged for it to end?
I should've given a hand in the fiercest winter
Time when your heart would splinter
Space to find a place for you to grow
And now I know, and I'm
Throwing out my empty ways
Running to your side to say that I'm
Hoping I am not too late
I'll show you that some people change,
I'm Giving up a win-less fight,
I just wanted you to shine so bright
But we are made of light and darkness, too
And I love every part of you
And I love every part of you…."
Those lyrics… always affected him, every time he heard them. It was the reason this was one of his favorite songs, but as much as he loved it, it also brought back memories, painful memories, of growing up with his parents.
Listening to the lyrics triggered something in the Lyft Driver and he wept….he tried to compose himself, but this time it was even more powerful. The conversation with Luz, seeing her with her mother, it overwhelmed him and he wept even more, as the memories became more vivid, more real. He took his time and allowed himself to cry and feel sad, eventually, he composed himself and took off returning to work and his normal life.
As she watched his car go, Luz made a sound.
"What is it Mija?" asked Camilla.
"I just realized," said Luz, "that guy, he helped us out, talked with me, and helped me feel better, and he brought us to Anne's, and…I don't even know his name…."
Camilla and Luz looked at the Lyft Driver's car as it disappeared down the road. After it was gone they went back to rejoin the others.
"Listen, Mom, Dad, The Plantars are really nice and they need a place to stay until we can figure out how to get back to Amphibia," said Anne.
"Anne I'm not sure we have space for them," said her mother.
"Please, they took me in and let me stay with them in Amphibia," said Anne, "the least we could do is return the favor."
Bee whispered something into his wife's ear, and after a beat she spoke, "Well if that's true then I suppose we could let them stay for a little while."
"Yeah but you're going to have to stay In the house," said Bee, "you'll draw too much attention going out looking like that."
"I mean maybe we can come up with some disguises for your guys at some point," said Anne. As she said this Camilla and Luz reappeared in the front yard.
"Mom can Amara stay with us then?" asked Luz in a pleading voice.
"Of course, she can," said Camilla, she looked closer at Amara, "So do you eat bugs, worms, and small crustaceans, like shrimp?"
"I prefer bugs," said Amara, "but I won't say no to worms. And well shrimp are like a delicacy in Amphibia. Do you have them here too?"
"Yes we do," answered Camilla, she turned to look at the Boochuys, "You should probably stick to feeding them their natural diet. I don't know how human food would affect them."
"Oh well we eat fruits and vegetables too," said Sprig, "in fact back home we have a farm where we grow them."
"Really?" said Camilla intrigued, "That's interesting, frogs on Earth mostly eat bugs and don't eat much else."
"Well let's get you all settled in the house then," said Anne as she began to lead the Plantars inside.
"Wait a minute Anne," said her mother now giving her a stern look, "is there something else you want to tell us?" As she said this she glanced over at Camilla.
"No, not that I can think of," said Anne.
"How about you Luz?" asked Camilla, "was there anything else you needed to let us know?"
"No, I think that's it," said Luz plainly.
The three adults looked at each other before Oum spoke, "Okay, well why don't you show the Plantars around the house? Give us a second and we'll be right inside"
With that Oum directed Camilla and Bee away from the house back to the sidewalk. While Anne, Luz, and the Plantars went inside. Camilla looked back at the house making sure that neither the kids nor the amphibians were eavesdropping on them. She turned back to Oum and Bee.
"So it looks like they're okay for the most part, but neither Anne nor Luz said anything about what happened at the dance."
"Well it seems that incident didn't have anything to do with them disappearing," said Bee.
"Does that mean they're not gay?" asked Oum, "I would have hoped Anne would feel safe telling us."
"Should we press them about it and ask them for an answer?" asked Bee.
The three adults paused as they all considered what to do, finally, Camilla spoke up, "From the literature I've been reading we shouldn't force them to talk about it. We should let them tell us when they're ready. Plus you heard what happened, they've been through enough right now."
Oum and Bee looked at each other considering what Camilla had said, after a few moments they turned back to Camilla.
"I agree," said Oum, "Let's all be on the same page here and not bring it up to either Anne or Luz. We'll let them tell us when they're ready." The three adults all nodded in agreement.
After showing the Plantars around the house Luz and Anne sat down on the couch exhausted. They let themselves relax for a few minutes before Camilla called out to Luz telling her it was time to go. It took a second for Luz and Anne to realize that now that they were back home they wouldn't see each other all the time. It was weird as they were both happy to be back home, but at the same time a little sad to think they would be separated. Luz asked for a second so that she could say goodbye to Anne. The two girls going up to Anne's room to be alone.
"I guess this is it," said Anne.
"Yeah I guess so," said Luz, "but hey we have each other's numbers so we can talk whenever."
"You're right, but still, it will be different," said Anne, "we just got back, and it feels like there's still so much to do. We have to find a way back to Amphibia."
"We will," said Luz, "I know with you, me, the Plantars, and Amara we'll figure something out."
"We'll make it back, we'll find out what happened with Sasha and Marcy, I know what we saw, and I know about the prophecy Maddie gave us, but until we know for sure….I'm not giving up hope that Marcy's alive," said Anne with determination in her voice.
"You know I guess having some hope is better than none," said Luz agreeing with Anne, "and if it turns out that Marcy is….gone and that Sasha isn't on our side, then at least we'll have each other, and our friends."
"Yeah," said Anne wistfully giving Luz a hug. The two continued hugging for a while before finally separating.
"And hey, we'll tell our parents the truth about us," said Anne, "I promise we will eventually, and we'll do it together."
"Thanks, Anne," said Luz, looking into her eyes, "I hope our parents will be accepting when we do." After a beat, Luz spoke again, "I guess I better get going."
"Goodbye Luz," said Anne, "call me when you get home."
"I will," said Luz as she left Anne's room and headed back downstairs to join her mother and Amara in the living room.
"You guys will be safe here," said Luz turning to the Plantars, "I'm sure I'll see you around, but since I'm gonna be leaving for now, take care of Anne."
"No prob Luz," said Polly,
"We'll do our best," said Hop-pop.
"Don't worry we'll keep an eye on her," said Sprig, "but I'll miss you, Luz."
"I'll be around, I'm sure we'll see each other," said Luz, "just not all the time."
"Yeah we'll make sure and visit often," said Amara coming up to the Plantars, "we're the only Amphibians here in this world, so we gotta look out for each other."
"You're right," said Sprig, "I guess we'll see you too Amara."
Amara came up to the Plantars and gave them a hug, Luz did the same. Camilla said goodbye to Oum and Bee. then the three of them left out the door and back to Camilla's car. The Plantars and Anne waving at them from the porch.
It didn't take long for Luz, Amara, and Camilla to get back to their home, Camilla fussed over Luz and asked if her cast hurt and if she was hungry and wanted anything to eat.
"The cast feels fine. Marcy told me how she broke her leg and how the newts fixed her up so I think I'm good to go," said Luz.
"Well let me see if I can schedule a doctor's appointment just so we know for sure," said Camilla.
"Yeah that's fine, they told me my arm should be fine in a few weeks, so hopefully the doctor comes to the same conclusion," said Luz.
"Are you sure you're not hungry?" asked Camilla, as the two walked through the kitchen.
"No I'm fine, maybe a little thirsty," said Luz, she grabbed herself a cup and poured water in it taking a nice long drink."
"Honestly I'm just really tired," continued Luz, "I'll show Amara around the house, and uh she can share my bed. I think I'm going to go straight to sleep."
As Luz walked through the kitchen though she noticed something, she looked at the fridge and saw a new magnet that she was pretty sure hadn't been there in the past.
"Mama, what's that?" asked Luz.
"Oh I think if I remember correctly it's the Bi-pride flag," answered Camilla, "there was a girl who was selling them at the Thai temple and I thought I'd buy one to help her out."
"Oh…." said Luz.
"And I wanted to show my support for queer people as well, they've gone through so much and I was told this flag is a good way to show your support!" as Camilla said this she looked hard at Luz.
"I'm glad you noticed that," she continued, "and I just want to remind you Luz you can always feel free to tell me anything."
Camilla looked at Luz giving her a smile, for a second Luz thought of telling her mother right there, but she remembered her promise to Anne and how they both wanted to tell their parents together. So for now Luz resisted.
"Thanks, Mom!" she said smiling, she came up to her mother and they both shared another hug.
"I love you mija," said Camilla.
"I love you too Mom," said Luz, the two held onto each other for a long time before finally separating.
"I'll go show Amara around the house then get to bed," said Luz.
"Mija, if you need anything please let me know, you know where my room is so don't hesitate to ask," said Camilla.
"I know, thank you for everything," said Luz, "Goodnight mama!"
Luz took a minute to show Amara around her house and to her room.
"It's a good thing I have a bunk bed," said Luz, "Uh do you want the top? I think it would be better so that your tail can hang over if you want."
"Yeah that's fine," said Amara, "thank you for giving me a place to stay."
"You're welcome," said Luz, "thank you for everything you've done, and just for being a great friend."
"Oh hey I have something for you," said Amara, "I've been holding onto it for a while, and now that we have a place to unwind a little I thought you should have it."
Amara reached into her bag and pulled out the pieces of Luz's old staff. It had been broken into four pieces roughly the same size. Amara handed the pieces to Luz.
"After your friends rescued us from the Arena, I made sure to grab these," said Amara, "I know it's broken, and I don't think it can be fixed but I thought you might still want them, as a souvenir of your adventure."
Luz held the pieces of the broken staff in her hand gazing down at them with a sad look in her eyes.
"You know it's funny," she began, "for the longest time, I wanted nothing more than to go on a fantasy adventure of some kind. I always felt like regular life was boring, and thought how great it would be to live in a world where magic was real. I thought it would be the best thing ever! I've read my Azura book so many times But now having gone through it, I don't know anymore. I feel that this adventure was a lot more traumatizing than fun."
"There were some fun parts though weren't there?" asked Amara, "I loved putting on that show with you and the others. You and I became friends eventually, you learned about magic from Uodeela, and you proved how brave you were in your temple challenge."
Luz perked up a bit at hearing Amara talk, "I guess you're right, there were fun parts."
"You've grown Luz," said Amara, "yes there were bad things that happened, but you found a way to deal with the challenges you faced. Don't forget you helped me become a better person, your adventure may have ended badly, but there were good parts along the way. I for one am glad that you came into my life, and I wouldn't trade that for anything."
"Thanks Amara," said Luz.
"You know Marcy said something similar," began Amara, "about going on an adventure. I had no idea she trapped you on purpose, but she told me how happy she was when she first arrived in Newtopia and even happier when she learned magic was real in our world. She was so eager to learn because it was a dream come true. And hey there were fun times with her too right?"
"Yeah I guess there were," agreed Luz, "we met another magic user in Wartwood and the three of us ended up discovering a new form of magic together."
"Oh right those glyphs," said Amara, suddenly getting an idea, "hey wait a minute, do you have some paper?"
Luz went over to her desk and got out a paper and pen, she had caught onto what Amara was suggesting and quickly drew out the symbol for wind. Luz tapped her hand on it….
….only for nothing to happen.
"Ugggh I should have known," said Luz in frustration, "if magic was real in our world then someone would have discovered it by now."
"Maybe it's just the symbol?" suggested Amara, she took the paper and pen and drew out the symbol for light and water tapping them both, but nothing happened.
"No I guess not," said Amara, letting out a sigh, "I wonder why they work in our world but not here?"
"Who knows?" said Luz, as she said that she looked again at the broken staff in her hand. She went over to a trash can in her room and threw three of the pieces away. She kept the top piece that had the ribbons on it and placed it on her desk. Next, she took off her cape, neck-less, and belt placing them in her closet. Finally, Luz took off her boots and laid down on her bed, stretching out her fingers and toes trying her best to unwind, finally feeling the full weight of everything that had happened in the last few hours. She lay on her bed for a few minutes before falling into an uneasy sleep.