"Okay so looking at your X-ray it seems your bones are setting quite well," said the Doctor, as she looked at the image, "I think we should be fine to take that cast off in another two weeks."
"That's so good to hear!" said Luz letting out a sigh, "It's been rough being able to only use one arm. I'll be glad to be able to use both again."
The Doctor looked at Luz's medical chart, "for the most part you seem okay, though I noticed some brain trauma on your CT scan."
"Yeah I was in a coma for a few days," admitted Luz sheepishly, "but I woke up on my own, so I think I'm okay."
The doctor leafed through her papers looking for Luz's CT scan, "Yes I see, there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage, and you passed the cognitive test so looks like everything is good." She continued studying the scan but didn't see anything that caused her to worry.
"Aside from that, according to your blood test you seem a little malnourished, it looks like you've lost some weight, I'm sure returning to a normal diet will solve that problem," said the doctor.
"Trust me I feel great!" said Luz.
"Is there anything else we need to know?" asked Camilla.
The doctor looked one more time at Luz's X-ray, her medical report, and her scan before saying, "no I think we're done for the day, you can go."
Luz cheered and jumped off the exam table almost flying out the door. Camilla went after her but the Doctor held her back.
"I just wanted to know," she began, "I was looking through Luz's medical records and I didn't see a treatment for her getting her cast. Do you know where she got it?"
"Luz got her arm broken and fixed while she was missing," replied Camilla, "she told me it was done by an "unlicensed" doctor."
The doctor paused a few seconds before replying, "that's…a little concerning." The doctor raised up the X-ray and looked at it again, looking at different angles. Studying it carefully.
"If this was really done by a….back alley doctor, then it was done with a high level of professionalism," said the doctor, "her bone was set almost perfectly, the cast is done correctly, and she doesn't seem to be suffering any pain or discomfort. Was this the same "doctor" who treated her while she was in a coma?"
"I think so, I don't know to be honest," answered Camilla, "Luz told me some things about when she went missing, but she hasn't told me everything. There are some things she…doesn't want to talk about."
"I see," answered the Doctor, "have you talked with her about going to see a councilor to talk about her experience?"
"No, not yet, I'll try and bring it up to her at some point," said Camilla, "I don't want to put any pressure on Luz she's just gotten back, I want to ease her into being home."
"I understand," said the doctor, "aside from that, how are you doing Mrs. Noceda? If I recall it's been about three years since Manny…."
"I'm fine," answered Camilla emphatically, "if that's all can I go now?"
"I suppose so," said the Doctor, "I just wanted to know to complete her records, but since everything seems to be in order then it's fine, I'll make a note of it in her file."
With that Camilla walked out to join her daughter, the doctor once more starring at Luz's X-ray. She looked out the door where the two had left.
"I didn't mean to upset her," she said to herself, "it has been a long time, I wonder if she regrets not moving to Gravesfield, like I advised? I wonder if that clinic could have saved him?"
"I'll be so happy to get this cast off," said Luz as the two drove home, "it's been so hard having only one arm to do things with." She turned to look at her mother, "thanks again for helping me get dressed mama."
"Of course Luz, it's no problem," answered Camilla.
"So hey I know it's going to be another two weeks until I get my cast off," began Luz, "but I was wondering if this weekend I could take Amara to the mall, show her around and let her see how humans act."
Luz looked into her mother's face doing her best puppy dog eyes look to try and get her to say yes. Camilla noticed this, but didn't immediately give in.
"Luz, you only just got back," said Camilla, "I just….I'm not sure I want you to go alone anywhere, and Amara is….well she's not exactly a human, it would be pretty hard to disguise her."
"I mean it's been a whole month at this point," said Luz, "and both me and Amara have been cooped up inside the house this whole time."
"Yes, but you understand why?" asked Camilla, "right now you need to focus on healing your arm, I want you to take it easy and not put any undue stress on yourself. And as for Amara well you know she's different right? It's not like she can just change her shape at will. Do you really think it's a good idea for her to go out in public?"
"I think if she wears some baggy clothes she should be fine," said Luz, "we can probably hide her tail too."
"Oum told me that she's been keeping Anne and the Plantars on lock-down too," said Camilla, "they're worried about the Plantars getting found, and they're also worried about Anne."
"I know, I know, mama," said Luz, "it's just being stuck in the house all the time is starting to affect me. I feel trapped and overcrowded. Heck I was looking forward to this doctor appointment just to have a chance to get out."
"Well tell you what why don't we ask Amara when we get home and see how she feels about it," said Camilla.
"Thank you so much mama!" said Luz.
"Though I'll go ahead and drive you to the mall, I'll also pick you up too," said Camilla.
"Yes that's fine, perfectly fine," said Luz in excitement.
After the two arrived home they talked to Amara who agreed to go with Luz to the mall. Luz was immensely happy to hear this as it meant she would finally be getting out of the house. After they went over the details with her mom she took Amara to her room to try and find her something to wear.
"So I know we haven't really gone out much, or at all, but don't worry the human world is much easier to navigate than Amphibia," said Luz, "there's no deadly predators or dangerous plants to worry about. All you need to do is be cool and blend in."
"You humans sure have invented some interesting things," said Amara, "I've been reading some books and looking on your internet to see what your world is like. Why do you want to go to this human mall? From everything I've read it seems to be in decline?"
"Oh well, it's still gets pretty crowded," began Luz, "and I think you'll like it, it's kind of like those open market you showed me in Newtopia."
"Hmm, very well, I look forward to seeing it," said Amara, "though are we going to be alone or are you inviting Anne?"
"Well of course I'm inviting Anne," said Luz, "but not just her, the Plantars too."
Amara went to the door making sure it was closed and that Camilla couldn't hear.
"I think you tried to explain it to me, though I'm not sure I understood it," said Amara in a low voice, "but why don't you tell your mother about you and Anne?"
"Because…." began Luz, "it's…complicated."
"Are you worried that she'll disprove?" asked Amara, "from what I gather your mother and Anne's have become very close. Is there a class related thing going on that I don't understand?"
"No it's nothing like that," said Luz, "it's just….well. I can't believe I never asked this but, in Amphibia is there any sort of taboo on dating the same gender?"
"Not that I'm aware of," replied Amara, "most species are okay with that. I know that frogs and newts tend to practice arranged marriages so if anything it's more likely that your parents have more of a say in who you'll marry than you will. Especially if you're upper class."
"I see, well the thing is, humans…not all humans but some have a…problem when two people of the same gender want to date," said Luz.
"Why?" asked Amara as though the idea itself were ridiculous.
"Honestly it's mostly a religious thing," said Luz, "A bunch of stupid people think that because book says something that you have to obey it, oh and these same stupid people also believe that they have to force other people to obey it too." Luz said that last line with extreme bitterness in her voice.
"Oh you have a religious system here," said Amara intrigued.
"Trust me it's not as cool as the three species creation thing you guys have going on," replied Luz, "plus from what you told me most amphibians don't like hard core follow that. They basically use it as an excuse to say "Oh my frog!" or "Holy Toad!"
"I mean yeah," agreed Amara, "there's very few newts who actually believe that we were created as a single species when the great newt cut their limbs off, leaked their blood into the waters around Newtopia, then had those limbs regenerate into our species. At least nowadays, maybe in years past there were more believers, but seeing all the scientific advancements we've made most newts now just believe that's a myth."
"Uggh…why can't humans be more like newts?" said Luz letting out a sigh, "well in any case, that's the reason why I haven't told my mom yet. I think she would be fine with it, but Anne hasn't told her parents either. We both promised we'd do it together at the same time."
"I see," said Amara, "is that the real reason you wanted to go to the mall then? To see Anne."
Luz's face blushed as she said that, though she did answer, "I mean yeah, partially, but I also am feeling a bit cooped up, and I want a chance to stretch my legs. Plus I figure it's not fair to you to be stuck hiding inside all the time. Although it has been nice getting to know each other more over the past few weeks.
"Yeah it has," agreed Amara, "I miss Yunan, I hope she's okay, but it's been nice having another girl closer to my age I can talk with."
"Oh hey speaking of which," said Luz getting on her bed and resting her face on her hand, "there was something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Sure go ahead," said Amara.
"So seeing as we've been talking about my love life, I was wondering is there anyone special in your life?" asked Luz coyly.
Amara blushed at the question, but after a few moments did answer, "I mean maybe kind of, I don't know….I told you about Bella right?"
Luz nodded her head.
"Right now we're just friends, but we grew pretty close while I was in Newtopia. She's really fun to be around and I think I might really like her. I thought about asking her out," said Amara wistfully,
"Oh so you like girls too then?" said Luz.
"Yeah," said Amara with some hesitation, "I've known that about myself for awhile now, like I said it isn't a big deal in Amphibia, and since I was likely to be forced into an arranged marriage all my parents cared about was if they could find an eligible newt for me to marry."
"You really don't get a say in who you marry?" asked Luz with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"I guess that's why I hesitated about asking Bella out," said Amara, "the thing is…I already know my parents, they won't approve of her, the fact that she isn't from a high class family is already a dis-qualifier. I wouldn't want to get her hopes up just to have to break things off."
"Oh Amara I'm sorry to hear that," said Luz coming up to the newt and putting her arm around her.
"Considering what happened when we left, who knows what's going on in Newtopia?" said Amara, "I wonder what my parents must be thinking? You think the whole class system will still be a thing when we get back?"
"I hope not," said Luz, "because if it's gone that means you can date Bella, and not have to worry about what your parents think."
Amara smiled, "yeah I guess that would be nice." She turned back to Luz, "we'll don't let me bring down the mood. Go ahead and call that girlfriend of yours and tell her we're on for the mall!"
Luz took out her phone and called Anne, after a few rings she answered.
"Luz good to hear you!" said Anne's voice from the other side, "how did your doctor appointment go?"
"It went great!" said Luz, "she said I should be able to get the cast off in two more weeks!"
"Oh that's great to hear!" said Anne, "is that why you're calling me?"
"Well that and I have some good news," said Luz, "mom agreed to let me and Amara go to the mall this Saturday!"
Anne paused a bit before answering, "wow that's great! I asked my parents yesterday and they said it's fine so I guess we're on!"
"Yeah we are!" said Luz.
"Ugggh you cannot believe how much I want to get out of the house," said Anne, "you know this morning when I went to brush my teeth my mom was standing there in the bathroom holding my toothbrush!"
"She was there waiting for you?" asked Luz.
"I think so, I could have sworn she wasn't there when I went into the bathroom, then after I closed the mirror she was suddenly there," said Anne, "like in one of those horror movies!"
"Oooh scary, maybe your mom is a witch!" teased Luz.
"I think if she was she'd put some sort of spell on me to keep me locked in the house," replied Anne.
"I mean we did go missing for five months," said Luz, "I think you should cut your mom a little slack, you can't blame her for being overly protective."
"….I guess you have a point," replied Anne, "but even so, I need space, plus…I haven't seen you since we got back."
"Yeah…I know," said Luz.
"I'll make sure and bring the Plantars they've been going stair crazy being stuck inside, but I'm not sure they're ready for the outside world yet." said Anne "It's been hard looking after them. This morning I took them with me to go get the mail and they almost got into trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" asked Luz.
"Sprig almost got turned into wood chips, Polly got in a fight, and Hop-pop almost got scammed out of money," answered Anne.
"Oh that does sound rough," said Luz.
"Yeah that's another reason I feel I need to take them to the mall, help teach them how things work in our world you know," said Anne.
"That's not a bad idea," said Luz, "I'm sure we can help them learn how to blend in more, plus Amara has been looking forward to going out and seeing them again."
"I'll need to come up with some disguises for them so they won't draw attention," said Anne.
"Amara needs one too," said Luz, "we still have time, so I'm sure we can come up with something."
"Great! Then I'll see you at the mall on Saturday," said Anne.
"Looking forward to it!" said Luz, with that she hung up the phone and turned to Amara.
"Okay, looks like we need to figure out a disguise for you," said Luz looking the newt over, "I think I have some old clothes that will fit you, and we need to figure out what to do with that tail."
Luz walked over to her closet and began rummaging through it trying to find clothes for Amara. After a few moments, she picked out some clothes that looked like they would suit her. She found some baggy brown pants that would cover up her bottom and hid most of her tail. Then gave her a blue shirt with a sun on it for her shirt. Finally, Luz dug out an old green coat that would cover almost everything else. She also gave Amara some sunglasses that would cover her face. Luz said the boots that she already wore would be fine to wear in the human world. The two looked into a mirror and Luz felt confident her disguise would work.
"I think that's good," said Luz stepping back and looking at Amara, "you look pretty well hidden."
"This will convince everyone I'm human?" asked Amara looking at herself in the mirror.
"It should do the trick," said Luz.
"Okay, well now that we've picked out my clothes I need to help you with yours," said Amara.
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Luz.
"Oh come on, you haven't seen Anne in a month," said Amara, "we need to make sure and pick out something cute for you to wear. I mean, won't this technically be your first date?"
Luz paused as she realized Amara was right, suddenly becoming very nervous.
"Wow, yeah you're right…it's our first date, and I'm taking her to the mall, uggh that is so cheesy," said Luz, "why couldn't I think up something more romantic?"
"Hey it's fine," said Amara, "I saw some of your human movies, according to them you take each other to dates all the time at the mall."
"I guess you have a point, plus it won't be a "real date" since you and the Plantars will be there, more like a…lunch date." Luz went over to the mirror and looked at herself, "you know I got so used to wearing the same thing everyday I haven't really thought about what to wear."
"Well that's why I'm here Luz," said Amara, "now let's have a look in your closet and pick out something cute for you, and hey relax, smile! You're gonna get to see Anne again, you'll be fine!
"You think so?" asked Luz.
"I mean, no one's going to be trying to kill you on this date so yeah!" said Amara.
Far away in Amphibia the rain beat down in a dreary and draining rhythm. All across the outside of the castle Frobots stood at attention guarding the castle, waiting for their next order. Inside King Andrias walked down into the basement carrying the music box with him. He finally found the place he was looking for and set it down speaking to himself in the dark recesses.
"My plans are in motion, our forces are growing, and soon we will be ready to invade. There is only one who remain who could stand between me and my conquest, Anne Boonchuy."
Andrias stepped forward towards the Calamity Box and pressed down on one of the gems bringing up a picture of Anne and Sprig together.
"Though I think Luz might be a problem too, probably best to get rid of her as well. But that's not all, it's time we put some other plans into motion too."
With that Andrias snapped his fingers causing two Cloakbots to drop from the ceiling in front of him, he motioned for the first Cloakbot to step forward.
"I need you to eliminate Anne Boonchuy and Luz Noceda. This is your one objective! This mission requires the upmost discretion, we cannot allow the other world to know of the coming invasion. Make sure no earthling sees you."
The first Cloakbot began scanning the box focusing on both the blue and purple gems, after a moment he spoke.
"Energy signature for blue gem acquired, no reading on the purple one," said the bot in a highly synthesized voice.
"Really?" said Andrias, "well that is some good news, it means Luz doesn't have her powers. I didn't think she did but still best to kill her too if only for good measure, she knows too much. Don't worry she's likely with Anne, if you find one of them you'll likely find the other."
With that Andrias turned the key in the box causing a portal to open. The first Cloakbot stepped forward ready to enter the portal.
"And one more thing," began Andrias, "would you mind picking me up the latest Cynthia Coven and Good Witch Azura book. Marcy got me hooked and I'm dying to know what happens in both of those series, and maybe some of those potato chip things she had."
"Eliminate potato chips?" asked the Cloakbot, his eyes turning into question marks.
"Okay, forget the chips," said Andrias, "kill the girls get the books."
With his orders clear the first Cloak-bot jumped into the portal for Earth. Andrias closed the portal and turned to the second Cloak-bot.
"As for you, I have a different assignment, one on a different world," said Andrias, he manipulated the box causing another portal to open, though it clearly wasn't Earth this time. The sky was bright red filled with red colored trees, and what appeared to be giant bones shooting up into it.
"It's time we finished the work my old fiancé started. It's time we figure out how to harvest magic from this species and use it in our own ways," he said, "I need you to go into this world and bring me back some….specimens to experiment on; live specimens I should stress, they aren't useful to us dead, understand?"
The Cloak-bot nodded, then stepped through the portal into the strange new world.
"Well Marcy," said Andrias, turning towards her, her body floating unconscious in a healing tank of some kind, "your friends are about to be eliminated from the equation. And as for you my dear, your part is just beginning, unless…." he paused as a new thought entered his mind, though he quickly brushed it aside.
"No, I doubt one of those witch species would prove suitable," he said.
As the King walked out of the basement chamber where Marcy was he turned to look at an old portrait. The portrait had been slashed and it was hard to make out three of the figures in it. One of the subjects of that portrait had been sparred the slashes, a purple salamander standing to the left of the much younger King Andrias. Her image was still untouched despite the condition of the rest of the painting. As Andrias passed the portrait he looked down at it and put his hand lovingly on the purple salamander.
"I promise my love," he said to the figure, "we will finish what you started."
"Well here we are, the Westfield Santa Anita Mall!" exclaimed Anne as she guided the Plantars inside, they took in the site of the mall starring up at its high ceilings, looking around at the wide open areas, and gazing in wonder at all the different shops and restaurants the mall had to offer.
"Wow this place is HUGE!" exclaimed Sprig
"It's like that shopping center we went to in Newtopia! Only inside," said Polly.
"I can't believe this had been here this whole time," said Hop-pop in amazement, "we should have come here immediately."
"Whoa, whoa, hold on a sec," said Anne trying to calm the Plantars down, "yes this place is big! And there's a lot to see here, but remember we have to keep a low profile. Plus part of the reason for this trip is to help you learn how to blend in and pass as humans."
"I thought we already did that with these clothes you gave us," said Polly.
"The clothes are just part of it," said Anne, "there's more to being human than just wearing a disguise."
"I thought we were coming here so you could see Luz again," teased Sprig.
Anne paused before replying, "well…yes that's another reason too, and hey Luz is bringing Amara with her. So you guys won't be the only Amphibians here."
"Oh it will be good to see Amara again," said Hop-pop, "I hope she's doing alright!"
"Speaking of which where is Luz?" said Anne looking around, "guess she's running a bit late," Anne pulled out her phone and saw a message from Luz saying she had just arrived. As Anne put her phone away she looked straight ahead and saw Luz and Amara walking up to them. Anne did a double take at seeing Luz, her face blushing as she got closer.
Like her, Luz was wearing some new clothes…and she looked extremely cute in them. Luz was now wearing a striped shirt, with pink, purple, and blue stripes. Over that she was wearing a jean jacket with some jean shorts. On her feet, she wore some red sneakers, and on her back, she had a small blue backpack. She waved to the others as she approached, Anne still staring at her speechless.
"Hey," said Luz to Anne.
"Hey…." replied Anne, "you uh, you look nice."
"Thanks, you too, that's an awesome shirt you're rocking!" began Luz, "and I love your new shoes! Glad you kept your hair poufy though. It looks great!"
"Oh yeah," began Anne, "looks like we both like jean shorts." She looked over to Amara, "hey Amara, how are you?"
"I'm good," answered Amara, "a little hot under these clothes, but no one said anything to me coming in, so I guess I have a good disguise," she looked down at the Plantars, "looks like you guys found some good disguises too."
"Yeah Anne helped us pick out our clothes," said Sprig coming up to Amara.
"This wig is a little itchy," said Polly, "but I am digging these boots."
"I have my own human face bump," said Hop-pop pointing to his "nose."
"Nice hat Sprig," said Luz, "You sure can pull off a beanie. You know I have a few extra maybe I can lend you one."
"Aww that'd be sweet!" said Sprig, after a beat he added, "am I using Earth slang correctly?"
"Yes you are," said Luz giving him a smile.
"Good, cause Anne said another reason for this trip was to help us learn how better act human," said Sprig.
"From what I hear you guys are having a tough time of it," said Luz, "Anne said you all got in trouble the other day."
"It was no big deal," said Polly trying to brush it off, "yeah I almost got in a fight with those kids, but I totally could have taken them!"
Anne rolled her eyes and slapped her face, "Polly….that was not the point, you can't just go around antagonizing people!"
"Says you!" replied Polly.
"So what happened with you Sprig?" asked Luz, "is it true you almost got turned into wood chips?"
"I don't know what those are," answered Sprig, "but there was this cool machine outside Anne's house that I was exploring. It looked so fun!"
Anne, Luz, and Amara all shared a look.
"How about you Hop-pop?" asked Amara, "what issue are you having?"
"I'm not having any issue," said Hop-pop proudly, "in fact I'm going to get a free vacation! All I have to do is give them my social security number!"
"You don't have one of those, whoever asked for that likely assumed you were an old man and was trying to scam you out of money," said Amara, causing Anne to look at her.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
"Oh I've been doing some research into human society," she replied, "it's all very fascinating, it seems most countries have some form of "pension" where they give money to the elderly."
"Wait?! What?!" exclaimed Hop-pop," they give you money just for being old?! How do I get that?"
"You can't," said Amara, "for a number of reason, but mostly because you aren't a legal resident of this country. There's a whole process you have to go through."
"Wow Amara, you've really looked into this!" said Anne impressed.
"Of course," said Amara, she turned to the Plantars, "haven't you guys been doing research into this world to try and blend in better? It's all freely avialable on the internet?"
The Planatars all looked at each other before awkwardly shuffling around.
"No," said Sprig.
"Nah-ah," said Polly.
"We've been too busy watching Primthistle Manor," said Hop-pop proudly, "did you see the episode where Lord Frankerton confessed his love to Lady Franklin?"
Amara looked again at the Plantars before doing a double take, "Arrg seriously? You've been spending your time watching trash TV shows?"
"Primthistle Manor is not trash," said Polly getting defensive, "it's an amazing look into the life of the well off. Plus we haven't been allowed to go outside."
"Yeah it's cool seeing how they talk and act in that large manor house," said Sprig, "the rich are so elegant and regal, I think they're incredible!"
"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what we really thought of you," countered Amara.
"Huh, what do you mean?" asked Sprig. Polly and Hop-pop looked towards Amara.
Amara paused before saying, "I mean….I don't anymore, but listen my parents, and a lot of other newts in the upper levels of society all looked down on frogs, they thought of them as dirty peasants. They didn't care about you or your lives. They just saw you as a way to get money. Did you never wonder what those taxes you were paying went towards?"
The Plantars all looked at each other, shaking their heads.
"The newt families at the top got the bulk share of them," explained Amara, "they weren't used to help improve your towns or your way of life. Some of that money was used to improve Newtopia, but again none of it went back to you. The elite newt families didn't care about you at all, they only cared if you stopped paying, then it was the toads job to go and shake you down for the money. That's what the rich families in Amphibia were like! I'm just saying you shouldn't idolize the rich especially because of some dumb TV show."
"Huh I never thought about it like that," said Hop-pop, "I just kinda thought that was how things worked in Amphibia."
"Well what did the elite families use the money for then?" asked Sprig.
"They hoarded it, they enriched themselves," said Amara, "used it on whatever they wanted. And if the human world is anything like Amphibia, I'm guessing the same thing happens here."
Luz and Anne looked at each other before looking back at the Amphibians, Luz eventually speaking, "I mean kinda, it's not exactly the same, but….it's close."
"So you mean we pay all those taxes and don't get anything for them in return," said Polly outraged.
"Why have we never thought about that?" asked Sprig.
"Probably because if you didn't pay the toads would take it by force," answered Amara, "trust me keeping you in a constant state of fear was the goal of the elites."
The Plantars all looked at each other again not sure how to process this new information. After a few minutes Amara spoke again.
"But hey, you aren't in Amphibia anymore and hey now at least you know the truth. I don't know what we may find when we get back, but I promise I will do my best to help change that system."
"So hey Amara," said Sprig, "why do you want that system to change? It seems like you would benefit from it staying the way it is."
"Because it's wrong," said Amara, "though you're right, there was a time when I didn't care about it. My parents….they raised me to look down on other species, said that as newts we were the superior one, and for a long time I believed it."
Amara trailed off as she spoke looking at the Plantar then at Luz, "but I began to change my mind after I got the chance to meet other species, and even meeting Luz helped me think differently. And I'm glad for that chance. I think if more newts could meet more frogs, maybe they'd change their minds too."
The Plantars, Anne, and Luz all smiled at her.
"You're right Amara," said Hop-pop, "now that you put it like that, you young ones should integrate more. I can't believe I never thought of that, it's true though that the different Amphibian species tend to group amongst their own and don't really spread out or mingle."
"Wait I remember seeing a few newts in Wartwood, and there were frogs in Newtopia," said Anne, "plus Mayor Toadstool he's a toad."
"Toadstool doesn't really count," said Amara, "the reason the toads even have him there as mayor is to make sure they get their taxes. As for the newts and frogs you saw living amongst each other, well there's no law that says we have to stay separate, so there are bound to be some who want to live in the city or move to a small town. But by and large it doesn't happen."
"Huh you know this whole species thing sounds kind of similar to something that happens on Earth with humans," said Luz.
"Yeah I know what you mean," said Anne, "but let's not bring that topic up. That's a whole different can of worms for a different time."
"Agreed," said Luz.
"Well now you have me curious," said Polly, "what are you guys talking about?"
"We'll tell you later Polly," said Anne and Luz at the same time, though they gave a look to each other that said they likely wouldn't.
"What, no I wanna know now!" demanded Polly.
"No," said Anne firmly, "besides remember the reason for this trip is to help you learn how to better blend in."
"Exactly," agreed Luz, "it's about time we get started with that!"
"So with that settled let's stick close to Luz and Anne and have them show us the ropes for how this world works, okay?" said Amara. The Plantars looked at her for a second then nodded their head in agreement. As the group got ready to explore the mall Anne and Luz looked at each other nervously before Anne came forward and gave Luz a hug, which Luz returned.
"I've missed you so much," she said.
"What?! We talk on the phone almost every night," answered Luz trying to play coy.
"It's not the same, I haven't seen you in person in weeks," said Anne hugging Luz tighter, causing Luz to blush.
Luz paused before replying, "it has been awhile hasn't it?"
"Yeah my parents had us all "quarantined" so the Plantars wouldn't be exposed," said Anne, "this is the first time I've been out of the house since we got back."
"Mom let me come with her to work once or twice," said Luz, "but aside from that she's been worried about me being on my own. I had to practically beg her to let me bring Amara to the mall."
"Sounds like we both need some space to just be ourselves right now," said Anne, pulling back from Luz and looking into her face.
"Yeah," agreed Luz, as she said this she reached her hand down finding Anne's and holding onto it, interlocking her fingers with hers. The girls smiled at each other before leading the Plantars and Amara off to explore the mall.
As it turned out Anne had come up with a series of challenges for each of the Plantars to do, that corresponded to the problem they were having at home. Anne wanted to send each Plantar off on their own, but Amara argued it would be better if they took the challenges one at a time. She also offered to go with each of the Plantars to help them in case they needed it. While at first Anne insisted they needed to do it by themselves, Amara said that it would be better for them to learn gradually rather than trying to force it. With that Amara and Polly went together to the "Construct a Carnivore" at first Amara hung back and let Polly take the lead in building her very own creature. Soon however many of the other children began bothering her and Amara stepped in to remind Polly to be calm. She helped Polly pick out her parts and even began shooing the children away from her. It took awhile but Polly eventually managed to make her toy, the two exiting the store and Polly holding up the stuffed animal in triumph.
"Ha! In your face Anne, I knew I could do it!" exclaimed Polly.
"Uh-huh," said Anne in a deadpan voice, "and how much did Amara help you with that?"
"She was good at getting rid of those other kids," said Polly, "I gotta say human children are cruel."
"Hey they're just jealous cause they aren't as fierce as you," replied Amara giving Polly a pat on her head."
"Dang right!" said Polly.
"But you were supposed to do the challenge by yourself," protested Anne, "you have to learn how to control your temper."
"Amara helped me with that," answered Polly, "she told me to take big breaths, to focus on what I needed to do, and to just get a new piece if the kids took mine. And she also got the kids away from me when it became too crowded."
"I guess that's fine…." said Anne.
"You know Anne," said Hop-pop "we were always there helping you out when you got in trouble. Maybe you should let Amara help us out, we're still trying to figure this place out you know."
"Yeah remember that time you were looking at your phone and walked right into that pool of quicksand?" asked Polly.
"Oh right that," said Anne as she recalled the memory
"Or when you were napping outside and a swarm of skullsuckers tried to carry you away?" asked Sprig.
"Wait I don't remember that at all," said Anne.
"Well duh, you were asleep," said Polly, causing the rest of the Plantars to laugh.
"The point is, we were always looking out for you Anne," began Hop-pop, "even if you didn't always notice."
"Huh, I guess you have a point," admitted Anne, she turned to Amara, "thanks for helping out Polly, I'm really glad you're here with us too Amara."
"No prob," answered Amara, "I'm glad to be here too, this world is so fascinating and different from Amphibia, and when am I ever gonna get a chance to explore a new world like this?"
"So Anne, do you want to continue the challenges? Or should we maybe take a break first?" asked Luz.
"I guess we could take a break," said Anne.
"You promised to let us try noodles, you've been hyping them up ever since we got back saying how amazing they were," said Sprig.
"I did," said Anne, "alright why don't we go and get some noodles, there's a good restaurant for that here in the mall."
After lunch the group walked around the mall some more taking in the sights and checking out the different stores (the rest of the challenges forgotten). At one point Luz and Anne passed one of the kiosks in the mall selling consumer jewelry. As they did Luz went over to look at some of the pieces there, the girl who was manning it wasted no time in trying to sell her something.
"Any particular piece you're interested in?" she asked.
"I was just looking," said Luz not sure if there was anything she wanted. She stepped around the kiosk seeing all the different pieces they had to offer, her eyes eventually settling on a purple necklace. It was made up of a purple stone formed in the shape of a star held in place by a piece of gold wrapped around the center; it hung off a plain black chord. Luz looked intently at the charm liking it's look and thinking about buying it, though before she could say anything Anne came up to her.
"Hey there you are," she said coming up to Luz, "I think the Plantars are getting distracted again, we should check on them." Anne looked to where Luz was looking.
"Oh do you like that one?" she asked.
"I was thinking of getting it, thought it would go well with the new look I have," replied Luz, "but I wasn't sure."
"We'll take it," said Anne to the girl manning the kiosk, while also pulling out her wallet. The girl smiled and went to get the necklace.
"What?! Anne no, you don't have to-" began Luz.
"I want to," said Anne smiling.
"But-" protested Luz.
"Trust me, it's no big deal," said Anne, "my mom said if today goes well and I'm able to be out and about she'll take me back to the restaurant in the future, and I can start helping out again and earning some money. Plus it turns out my parents sold a lot of my clothes after I went missing, they gave me the money so I could buy more if I wanted."
"Anne," said Luz in a sweet voice, her face blushing.
"Come on, let me buy my new girlfriend a present," said Anne giving Luz a pleading look, a look that Luz couldn't resist. She finally relented and let Anne purchase the necklace for her. She then took the charm and put it on Luz. Luz smiled and hugged Anne thanking her again.
As thanks for her buying the charm Luz decided to get a large tea drink for her and Anne. Amara agreed to watch over the Plantars so the two could have some alone time. Luz proudly came over with the drink and two straws so they could share it. At first they competed with each other to see who could get the most boba, but that ended when Anne sucked too hard on the straw and launched a boba straight into her throat almost chocking. She was okay though, after that the two laughed and simply shared the drink looking into each other's eyes as they did. Anne realized just how cheesy this was, but had to admit she was having a good time. Both her and Luz smiled as they looked at each other continuing to drink their tea. This was interrupted though as a voice called out to them.
"OMG!" I can't believe it!" said the voice. Luz and Anne turned towards the source of the voice to see a red headed girl standing near them. She looked familiar to Luz but she couldn't remember her name, luckily Anne did.
"Anne, Luz, the two of you are back?!" said the girl coming up to their table.
"Hey Gabby how are you?" asked Anne.
"How am I?" said Gabby incredulously, "how are you two? Is it true you ran away together after your parents kicked you out of the house for being gay?"
"Wait, WHAT?!" exclaimed Luz.
Anne's eyes went wide at hearing that, but she tried to quickly regain control of the situation, "don't be ridiculous Gabby. We were both….uh, at my parent's farm….in Alaska…."
Luz glared at Anne, but Anne pleaded with her to just go with it. Luz turned back to Gabby.
"Oh yeah, we were out there raising…..penguins," she said, adding onto the story, "but that's not important. What I'd like to know is where you heard that rumor about us."
"Oh Jesse Bliss has been saying that's what happened," said Gabby, "she said the two of you ran away because your parents kicked you out of the house. She says Sasha and Marcy joined you to help you survive on the road."
Luz let out a loud growl at hearing this only barely managing to hide her rage.
"So wait if that's not true are the two of you actually together?" asked Gabby. The question actually caught both Luz and Anne off guard they looked at each other both thinking the same thing in their heads. They knew they hadn't told their parents, and the last thing they wanted was for someone (especially Gabby) to start spreading more gossip about the subject. For awhile the two paused not sure what to say, until Anne finally had an idea.
"Oh uh, hey so forget about that for a second," said Anne, "how's about instead you catch us up on the latest hot goss!" Anne winked at Luz.
"Yeah," said Luz catching on, "we're dying to know what's been going on."
"Great!" said Gabby sitting down at the table and speaking in a fast voice, "so Bridget got mad at Carlos cause she thought Carlos went to the movies with Johanna. But it was actually Yoko. Yoko and Bridget stopped being BFF's until they both got mad at Tommy, because Tommy said we've only been dating since the second grade, we're not soul mates. You know I even saw Carlos and Johanna at the movies together. I asked him Carlos what are you doing? He said I'm going on a date with Johanna, besides Bridget is out of town. And I was like, dude you're going to get caught, so obvious. So then later I hear from Johanna that afterwards Carlos took her to a restaurant, they didn't know it but they went to the same restaurant that Bridget's brother worked at, so he knew what was going on and that's how Bridget found out. Which as you know means that Bridget, Carlos, and Johanna were now involved in a love triangle! Then Tommy got involved when he took Bridget out on a date, so what started out as a love triangle is now some kind of disgusting love rhombus."
Luz and Anne were both starting to become worn down by Gabby's talking, luckily at that moment a security guard walked past them talking into his walkie-talkie so that both girls heard what he was saying.
"Yeah don't worry Dave I'm checking out the report of the senior who jumped into the fountain."
Anne and Luz both heard that and became worried thinking it was probably Hop-pop. They both looked at Gabby before quickly getting up from the table.
"Sorry Gabbs, gotta go," said Anne as she rushed away.
"Yeah nice catching up!" said Luz.
"Okay, but wait you didn't answer my question," called Gabby as the girls ran away.
"Please sir, I promise it won't happen again," said Amara to the security guard.
"Your grandpa jumped right into the fountain and started stealing pennies," said the guard in a stern voice, looking over at Hop-pop.
"The fountain was filled with coppers!" exclaimed Hop-pop, "we'll be rich and never have to worry about money again!"
"Uh grandpa has brain disease," said Amara, "he has dee-men-tee-ah."
The guard looked at her suspiciously, "you mean dementia?"
"Yes that one!" said Amara rapidly.
"I'm telling you with all these coppers we'll be kings!" said Hop-pop. The guard gave him a look before turning back to Amara. At that moment Luz and Anne came up to group.
"Oh thank goodness you found grandpa!" said Luz to Amara trying to get him away from the guard, "he hasn't done anything rash has he?"
"He was swimming in the fountain trying to take all the pennies in it," replied Amara.
"Grandpa," said Anne, trying to keep up the charade, "how could you?" She turned to the guard quickly shaking his hand and thanking him, "thank you for helping grandpa, I'm so sorry if he's caused any trouble. We can handle it from here."
The guard looked at both Anne and Luz, "aren't you two a bit young to be looking after an elder who has mental problems?"
"Please sir," said Luz in a pleading voice, "he gets better when he's around us, we were his pride and joy before the disease began to affect his mind. I assure you we'll keep a closer eye on him from now on."
The guard starred hard at both Anne and Luz, while the girls tried their best to smile and charm the guard into leaving. After a few moments he relented, "okay, no one was hurt so this time I'll let you go, be a bit more careful with him." With that the guard left, as soon as he was out of sight Anne, Luz and Amara let out a heavy sigh. The three finally turned to Hop-pop.
"What the heck were you thinking?" asked Anne.
"I mean he's right there are a bunch of coppers in there," said Sprig looking into the fountain.
"Those aren't coppers," corrected Luz, "those are pennies."
"They are still money aren't they?" countered Hop-pop, the girls both nodded, "well then they must be worth something."
"They're pretty much useless," said Amara, "you need one hundred pennies just to make a dollar. That's why humans throw them in the fountain."
"What?!" said Hop-pop in shock, "why would humans make a currency that's worthless?"
"Trust me we do a lot of things that don't make sense," said Luz with a sigh.
"Well at least we didn't get into any trouble," said Anne.
"And we managed to get away from Gabby," said Luz.
"Here's hoping she won't think too much about us at least for now," said Anne. With that the group left the fountain and continued to explore the mall unaware that they were being watched….
From a few feet away the Cloakbot focused in on Luz and Anne, confirming the energy signature of the blue gem and having visual confirmation that it was indeed Anne. He was fully cloaked and therefore invisible to the many humans who were walking through the mall. He had to remain invisible as per his mission parameters but concluded he could still kill the girls in a public space so long as he wasn't seen. Thinking about it more the Cloakbot realized that if he could make the girls die in a way that seemed to be a freak accident he could throw even more suspicion off. With that he climbed to the second floor of the mall watching as Anne and Luz made there way towards the Plantars. He surveyed the area he was on and quickly found a large heavy trash can, stealthily he moved the trash can until it was right over where the girls were and in one swift motion picked it up and threw it down at the girls.
Amara had thankfully been watching and yelled for the girls to get out of the way. They both managed to dodge the trash can, Amara pulling the Plantars away from the deadly missile.
"Are you alright?!" she asked in a concerned voice.
"Yeah I'm fine," said Anne pulling herself up from the floor, she looked over at Luz, "how are you?"
"Alright," said Luz dusting herself off, she looked up at where the trash can had fallen and for a second thought she saw something.
"What is it Luz?" asked Sprig.
"I…nothing, I thought I saw something, up there," said Luz.
"Are you alright?" asked a security guard coming over to where the group was.
"We're fine," answered Amara, "a little shaken up, but we're okay."
"I can't believe that trash can just fell like that," said the guard looking up to the second floor. As he was busy looking up Anne and Luz ushered the Plantars away.
"I don't think it just fell," said Amara to group, "the second floor has a railing, how could an object that heavy have just fallen from there?"
The guard made a call into his walkie-talkie asking for back up and trying to prevent other customers from approaching the trash can. The girls and the amphibians also moved away wanting to put some distance between themselves and this incident. From above the Cloakbot continued to watch them as they ducked into a nearby shop.
The group turned around and looked to see what kind of shop they had wandered into. They looked over at the shelves and saw them stacked with an assortment of toys, plushies, and various board games. Luz's eyes went wide as she looked at one of shelves spotting something she recognized.
"No way?!" she said coming up to it, "they have the Good Witch Azura board game!"
"Yeah," said a familiar voice, "we got that in a while ago. Hasn't really been that popular, but-" he trailed off as he looked at Luz.
"Oh hey Luz, is that you?" he asked. Luz turned around and saw the person working the store, recognizing him as the Lyft Driver.
"Hey!" said Luz coming up to the Driver, "what are you doing here?"
"I work here," replied the Driver.
"Wait," said Anne coming up to him, "you have another job, I thought you just drove for Lyft."
"Yeah….welcome to being an adult," he said with a bit of a sigh, "I'm not the only millennial who works more than one job, I actually have four, but hey what are you gonna do? Here's hoping things get better by the time you two get older."
Anne and Luz shared a worried look at each other.
"Aw sorry, don't mean to be a buzzkill," he said, "I'm trying to not be so pessimistic even though the world can seem harsh."
"Is that hard to do?" asked Luz.
"Yeah, it is," answered the Lyft Driver, "but hey don't mind me. How are you Luz?"
"I'm fine," she answered, "it's great to be out and about, this seems like a really cool store! You guys have a lot here!"
"Yeah, we do. I personally like the various board games though I haven't played many of them myself," said the Lyft Driver.
Luz and Anne continued to look around the store taking note of the various board games. Anne's eyes lit up as she noticed one in particular in a very large box!
"No way?!" she exclaimed, "is that Cosmic Wars Imperium?" Anne and Luz going over to see it.
"Yeah it is, the original," said the Lyft Driver, "One hundred dollars if you want it, tons of strategy, intrigue, alliances, betrayals. Win by either conquering the galaxy or bringing it to peace. I've heard games can last for hours, sometimes even days!"
"My dad claimed to have been part of a session that lasted for weeks," said Anne, "he and his friends called in sick to work and took meal breaks as the game went on."
"It's based off the Cosmic Wars series right?" asked Luz.
"Yeah it is," answered the Lyft Driver, "I was real into that series back in the day. They had a lot of stories that really made you think and asked deep questions. A lot of those stories are still relevant today."
"My parents were big fans of it too, my dad has all the old books," said Anne, "that and also Galaxy Trail. We used to have Boonchuy battles at the house all the time. Dad would put on a mask and mom would wear a black cloak, then we'd fight with those play light blades in the living room." Anne smiled as she recalled those memories."
"That's cool that your parents both had an interest in Sci-fi," said Luz, "I wish mine did."
"They tried to reboot Cosmic Wars," said the Lyft Driver, "but from what I hear it wasn't that good. A lot of people say that the new show spends more time doing references to the past than actually trying to develop their own story-line. I haven't seen it myself, but I also don't have the streaming service it's on."
While all this was going on the Cloakbot had moved close to the entrance of the store, there was only one other customer inside apart from the two girls. The robot began calculating trying again to think of the best way to kill both targets. Andrias had warned it not to be seen, but the robot realized that it wouldn't matter if it was seen if anyone who had seen it was killed as well. It scanned the store finally noticing the gate that hung above the entrance. It realized that if the gate was shut it would cut the store off from the rest of the mall and it could take care of the girls and the other human without worrying about any other interference. The Cloakbot stood in waiting taking care so that other customers wouldn't bump into it. After the other customer had left the store it made it's move quickly grabbing the gate in the ceiling and slamming it down, it bent the locking mechanism at the bottom of the gate so that it couldn't be easily re-opened. This noise grabbed the attention of the girls and the Lyft Driver.
"What the heck was that?" said Anne in worry as she turned around and saw the gate closed.
"That's not supposed to happen," said the Lyft Driver, "what's going on?"
He moved closer to the gate to try and see what the problem was, but was immediately shot backwards by an unseen force, slamming into a shelf and knocking it over. Anne and Luz quickly began panicking unsure of what to do. The Plantars and Amara all looked around trying to see who was attacking them.
"There's something in here!" said Amara, she moved her head all over but didn't see anything.
Anne and Luz joined her in looking around but didn't see anything, though in the next instant they both were picked up off the ground and began struggling to breathe, almost as though an invisible force was strangling them.
"Anne!" exclaimed Sprig he quickly reached over and grabbed a large toy off the display and threw it at what he guessed was the spot where the attacker was. It hit something and caused the unseen figure to reveal itself. It was a robot, similar yet different from the ones they had fought in the palace. It was about the same size as those frobots but its arms were longer, and it seemed more nimble. The robot turned to look at the Plantars and Amara. Hop-pop reacted quickly and grabbed another toy throwing it at the robot. The robot responded by dropping Anne and Luz and catching the thrown toy throwing it back at them.
"Guys run!" called Luz as she and Anne got up from where the Cloakbot had dropped them. The Cloakbot turned invisible and moved away in the opposite direction. The group ran towards the exit. Anne tried turning the lever to unlock the gate, but it wouldn't budge.
"We're trapped!" said Luz in desperation.
"Then we have to fight," said Amara, "we need to stop that thing!"
"Is that some new kind of robot?" asked Polly.
"It's obviously from Amphibia," said Anne.
"Andrias must have sent it to capture us," said Hop-pop.
"We have to take it out somehow." said Anne, she began to look around in the store for any trace of where the robot could have gone. The group heard a noise and saw a box on the ground get pushed out of the way, their eyes all turning towards it.
"It has some sort of cloaking ability," said Amara, "it can turn invisible, we need to find a way to disable that."
"But how?" asked Luz.
Amara looked around the store for anything that could be useful in fighting the robot, her eyes settling on a box that had the word magnets written on it. She rushed over and grabbed the box quickly ripping it open. As she did a shelf that was next to the girls tipped over, seemingly on its own, Luz getting pinned by the shelf.
"Luz!" yelled Anne, she barely had time to react as once more she was picked up off the ground and began to be strangled. Amara threw the magnets at Anne hoping her theory would work.
The magnets all attached to the robot, sparks shot out as they did, and a second later it had reappeared, its invisibility no longer working. The robot again dropped Anne and began desperately trying to get the magnets off of it. Anne and the Plantars used this opportunity and grabbed anything they could find to rush forward and attack the robot with. Unfortunately most of the objects nearby were toys. Polly had grabbed a toy foam sword that did nothing, Hop-pop found a plastic shield and tried bashing the robot with that, but wasn't able to do much. Sprig grabbed one of the discarded shelves and threw it at the Cloakbot. Anne did the best finding a broom and landing a considerable number of hits on it. Amara had grabbed another box of magnets and threw them at Cloakbot again preventing him from turning invisible. While this was going on Luz tried despertaly to free herself.
If only I had my powers, she thought, she closed her eyes and tried desperately to activate them. She was pretty convinced that they wouldn't work, but was thinking of anything at this point. She wasn't able to activate her powers and continued struggling against the shelf that had fallen on her.
The Cloakbot became annoyed at the group attacking it and quickly brought its arms close to it before rapidly spinning around. It managed to knock the group away The Plantars crashing into Amara, and Anne being knocked back in the other direction.
"Anne any way you can use your powers to help us?" asked Hop-pop seeing the trouble they were in.
"Powers! Powers!" cheered Polly.
"I don't know how," cried Anne, "I can't just do it whenever."
"Yes you can!" said Luz still trapped. All eyes turned to look at her.
"You need to concentrate!" continued Luz, "close your eyes and center yourself. Let the powers flow through you!"
"I don't know how to do that!" yelled Anne desperately.
Luz was going to say more but at the moment the Cloakbot came up to her, yanking her out from under the shelf and beginning to crush her with its hand. The Plantars and Amara immediately jumped onto the Cloakbot punching it with their fists trying to make it drop Luz. The Cloakbot became annoyed and again rapidly spun itself around trying to shake them off. The Plantars and Amara landed together in a heap dazed after being shook off. The Cloakbot advanced towards them still holding Luz in one of its hands, it transformed the other hand into a laser cannon and aimed it at the Plantars and Amara.
"NO!" screamed Anne as she saw what was happening, in the next instant she closed her eyes, when she opened them they were glowing a familiar blue color. As she did a small scanner popped out of the Cloakbot back pointing towards Anne, the Cloakbot turned around and began to scan her. As it did Anne spoke again in the same deep distorted voice she had used before.
"If you think I'm just gonna sit here, while you hurt my friends. You've got another thing coming!"
With that Anne brought up her hand and began charging a blue beam of energy in it. After a few seconds she unleashed it at the Cloakbot. The blast knocked it back through the downed gate forcing it to drop Luz and inflicting heavy damage on it, including destroying its scanner. The Cloakbot landed outside the store in the main area of the mall no longer able to turn invisible. Many of the other people began to stare and take notice of it, causing the Cloak bot to worry. It took a quick inventory of its systems and realized it was badly damaged, that plus the fact that it was now visible made the Cloakbot decide to flee. It jumped high into the air, breaking the mall's skylight and ran away to repair itself.
As this was happening Anne's blue glow faded and she suddenly felt tired, collapsing onto the floor.
"Anne!" said everyone together, Luz quickly rushed forward and got to Anne first.
"Anne, are you alright?" asked Luz desperatly. Anne didn't reply, Luz attempted to pick her up, but quickly realized that was impossible due to only having one arm to work with. Amara glanced between Anne and the entrance to the store seeing that people were starting to gather and stare at the scene they had caused.
"Did you see that thing!?" asked a random person.
"What the heck was that?" asked another.
"It came flying out of that store!" said a third.
"We need to go," said Amara to the group. She came over to Anne picking her up before throwing her over her shoulder and motioning for the Plantars and Luz to follow.
"What about him?" asked Luz pointing to the Lyft Driver, "we should make sure he's okay."
No sooner had she said this, than the Lyft Driver began stirring slowly waking up.
"What happened?" he said in a dazed voice rubbing his head as he tried to get his bearings.
"He looks okay to me," said Amara, "come on we need to go before people start asking questions."
They all made their way to the back of the store exiting out into the back halls of the mall. They luckily managed to avoid security; eventually leaving the building entirely. They made their way outside to where the trash and cardboard were, finally stopping to rest. Amara laid Anne down on the ground and put her ear to her chest.
"She's fine," announced Amara to the group, "she's tired but she'll be alright."
"Thank goodness," said Sprig coming up to Anne.
"Are you okay Luz?" asked Hop-pop.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Luz not really listening her attention focused on Anne. After a few more minutes Anne began to stir finally waking up.
"Oh…my head Is killing me," said Anne as she brought her hand up to her head.
"How are you feeling?" asked Amara.
"Tired," said Anne as she slowly stood up, "I think using those powers takes a lot out of me."
"It would seem so," said Amara, "you were tired after you used them back in the palace. They must take some kind of toll on your body."
"They do, at least at first," said Luz, all eyes turning towards her.
"The first few times I used my powers I always felt tired afterwards," continued Luz, "it took some getting used to but I was eventually able to use them for longer periods without tiring."
"How long did that take?" asked Anne still rubbing her head.
"A few weeks, I always made sure to practice using them everyday, that's why I went on those morning walks," said Luz.
"I guess I need to start training myself then," said Anne in a dismayed voice, "hey wait a sec, what happened to the robot?"
"It fled," said Sprig, "after you blasted it through the gate it took a look around then ran away, it didn't attack us anymore after that."
"That was pretty cool by the way!" said Polly, "I didn't know you could shoot out blasts from your fist!"
"Neither did I," said Anne looking down at her hands.
"Why do you think the robot ran away?" asked Luz concern in her voice.
"I don't know," said Amara, "though I wonder if it had something to do with the fact that it couldn't cloak anymore. Did you notice that it seemed to quickly look around at the people who were looking at it? It was almost as though it didn't want to be seen."
"I sure hope you're right Amara," said Polly, "that would give us an advantage against it in case it tried to attack us again."
"Guys…." began Luz in a serious voice, "it found us at the mall. How was it able to track us? Can it find us again at our homes?"
The group all looked at each other as they considered the possibility, no one sure of the answer.
"I…I don't know," said Anne in a worried voice.
"Anne should we tell our parents about this?" asked Luz.
"Why? Just so we can worry them even more than they're already worried about us," replied Anne, "besides what could they do against a robot like that?"
"I guess you have a point," replied Luz, as she said this she looked down at her hands, once again wishing she had her powers so that she could help in some way. As she thought about it some more Luz realized that this was the third time Anne had saved her life. The first time had been when she was in danger from Bog, the second after her fight against Beatrix, and now again today. Luz began to feel a pit in her stomach as she wondered if she was a burden to Anne, was she inadvertently putting Anne in danger? Her face began to fall, though Anne quickly noticed.
"Hey are you alright?" she asked Luz.
"Yeah I'm fine," lied Luz. At that moment she got a text alert on her phone, it was her mother saying she was here and ready to pick up Luz and Amara. Luz left in a bit of a hurry saying a quick goodbye to Anne and the Plantars, before she and Amara went to go meet her mom. Luz left in such a hurry Anne didn't get to kiss or even hug her goodbye. As she watched her leave Anne couldn't help but feel as though something was bothering Luz, though Anne was unsure if she should bring it up to her. As she watched Luz leave rain began to fall over the city.
Far away from the mall on top of a large mountain overlooking the San Gabriel Valley the Cloakbot was hiding. It was using a device on its arm to try and fix the damage that Anne had inflicted on it. As it began repairs it spoke in a mechanical voice.
"Upgrades and repairs in progress, targets will be destroyed….at all costs."
Meanwhile in the distant land of the Boiling Isles the second Cloakbot observed the various witches and demons walking about through the town. It had journeyed around the Titian mapping out the various towns it came across taking note of where the major populations were. The Cloakbot would keep monitoring the denizens of these towns as it tried to find the perfect specimens to take back to the King….