On this bright and sunny day, Frank was assisting the Plantars with packing their camping gear and supplies for their faithful snail, Bessie. After strapping down the last of the supplies, he moved around the side of the giant snail and rubbed her neck. Bessie made a sound of appreciation and licked the side of his head.
"Heh, stop it, girl," he said. He gently pushed her away from him. "Alright, Hop Pop, that's all the gear."
"Thanks, Frank," the old frog said.
Just then, the front door opened and Anne came running out of the house with something in her hand. "Guys! I brought a bath bomb from home and didn't even know it! Oh, yeah! Man, I can't wait to try this baby out," she said, holding up a bath bomb that had a mixture of pink, purple, and light blue colors.
"Where are you going to even try it out in?" Frank walked over and took the bath bomb, looking at the tag that said 'Peony Princess. "Me and Hop Pop are still trying to fix the bathtub."
Anne took her bath bomb back. "I'll just use it in the lake," she said, before her attention was grabbed by the packing the Plantars were doing. "Uh...You guys going somewhere?"
"Yep. The three of us are going to Camp Phlegmington." Sprig said. "Gonna rough it outdoors and get filthy!"
"Wait, without us?" Anne asked, gesturing to both herself and Frank.
"Yeah, how come you guys didn't invite us?" Frank asked.
"Because when we Plantars camp, we camp hard. No sense in you coming with us and being miserable."
Sprig hopped on Bessie and sat next to Hop Pop. "You know you hate dirt, bugs, rocks... and nature."
"You're soft, Anne, like a baby," Polly said on top of Hop Pop's head. "Frank's not as soft, but still soft."
"Thanks, Polly," Frank said sarcastically.
"Really, you should be glad you're not one of us," said Hop Pop.
For both of the humans, that statement really hurt and made them feel upset. After all this time being with them, they would have thought that the Plantars considered them like part of the family. And not just like the monsters that are living with them. "That's a load of bull and you know it. Just because we're not Plantars, doesn't mean we can't have a good time with you guys," Frank said.
"Yeah! Take us with you. Please, please, please?" Anne pleaded with her hands together.
Hop Pop looked concerned about the idea of taking them along. "Are you sure? I wasn't kiddin' when I said 'rough.'"
"And I wasn't kidding when I said you were soft,"
"Super-sure," Frank said, placing his arm around Anne. "You're forgetting, we were having to survive in the wild for a week before we made it to Wartwood. I'm more than certain we can handle wherever you three can handle."
"Well, all right, kid. Hop on," Hop Pop said, giving in.
"Whoo, whoo!" Frank and Anne cheered and climbed onto Bessie's shell and sat next to each other. With everyone on board, Bessie started moving forward. Sprig then leaned back towards the two humans.
"Psst. Hey, since you're coming with us, we gotta lather you up with this gunk." Sprig said, pulling out a bucket filled with a honey-like substance and a honeycomb stick covered in the gunk. "Only way to keep the ticks away."
"How big are the ticks?" Frank asked.
"Uh…"
"Give me that." He took the stick started lathered it all over his face, arms, and legs. "I've had my fair share of ticks in the past thanks to my dog. I don't even want to know what they're like in this world," he explained to the bewildered frog family. He then dunked the stick back in the gunk and turned to Anne. "Your turn Anne."
Frank started brushing the gunk on Anne's face when there was a sudden bump in the road. He fell back and got the left side of his face stuck on Anne's. Both teens looked at one another from the corners of their eyes and blushed with embarrassment.
"Totally not regretting this," she murmured.
Soon the group made it to Camp Phlegmington, ad saw that they weren't the only frogs out camping today. Roughing it up in the woods just and doing things that Frank would see people back home did. Water skiing, sailing, tubing, roasting on an open flame, ax throwing, and catching beetles.
Frank jumped off Bessie and once his bare feet hit the ground, he knew that it was going to be a great camping trip. The grass was so soft and the air was flesh with the smell of the open wild.
"I have to admit, this place looks awesome," he compliment, scanning their surrounding.
"It's it?" Sprig asked, jumping off Bessie's shell. "I can't wait to tell scary stories. The more teen frogs running from deranged psychopaths, the better."
"Just like Jason Voorhees, huh," Frank asked with a smirk.
"Who's Jason Voorhees?"
"Forget it."
Polly giggled as she jumped off and landed next to them. "I'm just happy to get off the farm. So much fresh air, and it's all mine," she said before inhaling deeply, causing her little body to inflate before letting it all out. She giggled while flying around like a balloon before Hop Pop caught her.
"How about you, Hop Pop?" Frank asked.
"I personally love the peace and quiet. A frog can really hear themselves think out here," he said, closing his eyes and listening to his deepest thoughts.
"Did you leave the stove on? The front door unlocked? Will you die alone?!"
"Well, that was a mistake."
Frank looked around the camping ground with his scythe, watching out for any dangerous animals. But there wasn't really any danger to be found. It was so peaceful. Then he looked at Anne and saw her looking rather uncomfortable with her surrounding. She was trying to shoo away a butterfly until a beetle the size of a dog crawled right past her.
"You sure you want to stay, Anne?" He asked, a little concerned for her. "You don't have to if you don't like it here."
"Frank right, Anne," Hop Pop said, walking over with an armful of gear. "You can take Bessie and go home if you need to."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Anne said, pocking Frank and the old frog in the face. "Here's an idea. How about we stop questioning my decisions and get to camping together already? Who's with me?"
The other cheered in agreement.
One of the first activities that the five of them did was fishing, which Frank was more than happy to do. Grabbing a fishing pole, he sat next to Anne and the rest of the family as they waited for a bite. Sprig was the first to get a bite and reeled in his line to reveal he caught a tiny fist. Then Hop Pop caught a larger fish. Then Polly caught a fish that was almost as big as her.
Suddenly Anne was pulled into the water by her catch and started swinging around as the fish chased after her. Frank jumped into the water and killed the fish with his knife, before pulling it and Anne onto a lily pad.
Frank handed the fish to Anne, giving her two thumbs up. Realizing that she was the one that initially caught it, Anne smiled brightly and held it up to show the Plantars. The froggy family all cheered until Frank's fishing pole was pulling into the water.
Looking down, the two teenagers noticed a large shadowing forming under the water. "Uh oh," Frank said.
Suddenly a giant man-eating fish poked its head out from under the lily pad and started swimming around, all while Frank and Anne screamed on top of it.
Next, they had to prepare the tents. Sprig pitched his tent in less than a minute. Anne, having never pitched a tent before in her life, was having an even more difficult time. Frank walked over to see her poorly made tent fall apart on itself, before spontaneously combusting into flames.
"Come on, kids, throw some dirt on it! Get some water!" Hop Pop yelled, throwing water onto the fire as Frank, Anne, and Sprig threw dirt on it.
Later on, the group was walking towards the river with buckets. However, Anne stopped scratching her back. Frank stopped when he noticed this and looked back at her. "Everything okay, Anne?"
"Yeah, but do I have something on my back?" Anne asked, turning around to face her back to her friend.
Frank nearly let out a shout when he saw what was on her back, but managed to hold it in when he covered his mouth. "Anne, don't freak out," he carefully said, pulling out his knife.
"Why?" Anne asked before looking over her shoulder. Only to come face to face with a huge spider that caused her to scream. "Get it off!" She yelled, throwing off the spider. But then the creature started chasing after her. Anne screamed as she ran from the spider and Frank chased after it. "No, no, no! Get it off! Get it off!"
After a long day, everyone was ready to go to sleep. Anne was still upset over how today has gone. Frank tried to cheer her up by star watching with her. Anything to bring back her smile that he's come to secretly love. Anne appreciated it and
However, the moment would be ruined when Anne rolled down the hill they were one and go falling into a field of large thorn bushes.
"Not gonna lie, Anne. This might hurt a little," Frank said, all covered up in scratches and thorns after spending most of the night trying to get Anne out of the bushes. He was kneeling behind Anne as she had her shirt rolled up, exposing the numerous tick bites she reserved.
With the honeycomb stick covered in the gunk, he started to apply it on her back. "Ow! Careful!" Anne cried.
"Sorry, sorry," he said.
"It's okay, just be careful. I'm pretty sure those ticks caused internal damage," Anne said.
After completely covering all the bites with guck, Frank threw the stick down into the bucket in frustration and stood up. "Alright, that bites it," he said and walked around to face her. "Pack your things, Anne. I'm getting Bessie and we're going home."
"What?! But why?" Anne protested.
"I'm not going to sit around and let you hurt yourself like this. And quite frankly, Old Franky here is tired of putting his life on the line as well, just see you torture yourself.," Frank told her with an upset expression. He then turned to the frog family. "Hop Pop I'm taking Bessie and driving Anne back home.
"Alright, and don't you worry about us," Hop Pop said, placing his arm around Sprig. "Cause we'll be just fine without you."
Frank nodded and whistled for Bessie. The snail came over and Frank took her by the rein.
However, Anne suddenly stood up and shouted, "No!" Everyone looked at her in confusion. "Look, I know it seems like I'm miserable, okay? But I'm not. It's just...It's just, uh…" Anne looked around at her surrounding as she struggled to come up with an idea. But when she looked at some kids playing and adults relaxing, that's when it hit her. "I'm not used to such easy camping."
"Whatcha talkin about, Anne?" Frank asked, just as confused as the others.
"It's like you said, Frank. When we were in the woods together, we were really roughing it. Always doing whatever we had to do to survive," Anne said before gesturing to all the frogs having fun. "Look around you. Singing, butterflies, laughter. I guess I'm just used to something a little more... Extreme."
"ARGH!" Roared a frog that came bursting out of the bush behind her, startling Anne and the others and making Frank grab his scythe. The frog was muscular with dull green skin and several colored tattoos of insects, snakes, bones, and several other objects on his skin. In addition, he had bones of an unknown animal in his shaggy, green beard. He had a hat similar to an Australian outback with a flipped-up side and band lined with teeth. His brownish-green shorts are ripped and a shirt similar to a hunting vest.
"So, this place ain't extreme enough for ya?" The agro frog asked.
Anne looked at Frank who shook his head. "Uh, dang right it ain't," she answered regardless.
This made the Australian-looking frog start to laugh, which started to turn hysterically. "I can take you folks to a real campsite, one where there ain't none of this kiddie stuff, like shelter or potable water. Blech."
"Yeah, no thanks…" Frank was cut off when Anne placed her hand over his mouth.
"We'd love to go! Right guys?" She asked the others, but not Frank.
"Well, if a more extreme experience would make you happy, Ann, then I say let's do it!" Hop Pop said
"If Anne wants hard-core, we go hard-core," Sprig said. "Lead the way, Mr., uh…"
"Name's Joe. Soggy Joe," Soggy Joe said, before he started laughing like a mad man again.
"Okay, dude, you can stop that," Frank said.
"No!" Soggy Joe yelled, before he started leading the group over to Bessie. However, Frank grabbed Anne's arm and pulled her aside for a brief chat.
"Anne, what the hell are you thinking?!" He exclaimed with a look of disbelief. "Are you seriously going to let this guy take us to some dangerous camping site?"
"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Anne asked.
"Anne, you haven't been camping since we used to be friends. And that was in your backyard. Not in the outdoors. If we go out into those parts, we could get killed," Frank said.
"So what? Isn't that better than staying at the farm?" She countered.
"Wha-What are you talking about?" Frank stared at her as if she was crazy. "Look, Anne, it's clear that something's been bothering you, so just tell me what it is?"
"Why is that any of your concern?" Anne asked, looking upset at him.
"Because I'm your friend, and I want to help you," Frank replied.
"You want to help me? Then just drop it, Frank," she said firmly before turning and walking back to the group as they all got on board Bessie. Frank couldn't figure out what was wrong with her or why she was so upset, but shook his head and got on board Bessie.
"No puedes vencerlos, únete a ellos," the hispanic boy said in spanish. Something he doesn't do often, but still knew how to do.
Translation: "You can't beat them, join them."
The moment Soggy Joe led the group out onto a vast and desolate plain, the group found itself being chased by a large pack of carnivorous roadrunners. Soggy Joe was laughing maniacally like before as Hop Pop drove Bessie at full speed. Sprig was holding onto Polly, as Frank and Anne were standing up in the back. Frank had his scythe and Anne had only her tennis racket. They are the only protection the frogs have against the hungry roadrunners.
One of the roadrunners screeched and rushed at the back of Bessie's shell. It lunged towards them, before Frank killed it with a swing of his mantis scythe. Another charged in, but Anne hit it in the face with her racket.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! This is more extreme!" Soggy Joe yelled with glee.
"Uh, sure is!" Sprig yelled over the fighting and running.
"This is insane!" Frank yelled before one of the roadrunners landed on his back and scratched at him. Drawing his knife, he stabbed it in the neck and threw it at another bird that lounged at him. "If we die here, Anne, I'm gonna kill you!"
"Just shut up and fight!" Anne yelled, whacking another roadrunner away.
"Hang on, gang!" Hop Pop yelled before driving Bessie towards a large field of tall grass.
Once they entered, Frank and Anne quickly got down and Soggy Joe stopped laughing. The frogs and their snail disappeared completely into the field of grass, just as the roadrunners entered it. Hop Pop steered Bessie through the grass before they emerged out of it, before pulling on the reins and bringing Bessie to a stop.
Bessie chirped nervously as half of the pack of roadrunners stood in front of them. Having gone around to cut them off.
Anne looked behind and saw the rest of the roadrunners emerging from the tall grass. "Uh, guys."
Frank looked behind and saw the roadrunners. Now they were completely surrounded from all sides as the birds started to close in. Shrieking at them as Soggy Joe started laughing again.
"Now we can have some fun!" He said.
Frank and Anne got down from Bessie's shell and stood ready to defend the frogs. But with the sun going lower and lower off the horizon, the visible was going to be cut in half. Making them easy prey for the roadrunners.
But then something happened. The roadrunner seemed to take note that the sun was going down and started to become scared. So much so that they abandoned the hunt and fled into the tall grass. Leaving Frank, Anne, the Plantars, and Soggy Joe
"Uh. should we be worried about that?" Polly asked.
"Look!" Soggy Joe exclaimed, pointing towards the rising moon.
In the time that Frank and Anne have been in Amphibia, they've only ever seen the moon as a crescent moon. But now it was a full moon.
"That is both oddly beautiful...and unsettling," Anne said.
"We room forward," said Soggy Joe. The group got back on Bessie and started driving across the desert again. However, as they drove on, they entered into a large mist, with Joe as their guide.
As they ventured onwards, Frank looked around with his grip on his scythe tight. Unable to shack off the feeling he was being watched. Or that something about this place was seriously wrong. Bessie was starting to become uncomfortable, with Hop Pop rubbing her neck to calm her down. Frank looked at Anne to see she was looking very anxious. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gave her a supporting smile, but Anne just looked away. Trying to hide her fear.
However, their fears and anxieties intensified when the fog cleared, and they found themselves before a giant rock slab that was standing tall before them. One of many that were in a U formation. Frog skulls edged into the face of the slabs, almost as a warning to others to stay away.
"We're here," Joe said, jumping off of Bessie and started walking forward. The other followed on the snail, going past slabs. The extreme frog then jumped onto the ground and tasted some of the dirt. "We bunk here for the night. And in the morning, if we're still alive…"
They all gasped in fear.
"...I'll take you all out for pancakes."
"Oh, that sounds great," Anne said as the group calmed down.
"I do like pancakes," said Hop Pop.
The group settled down in their surroundings after Soggy Joe started a fire. Behind them were their tents to sleep in for the night. However, as Frank looked around, he couldn't help shake the feeling that they were being watched. It wasn't helped by the fact that he could spot pairs of eyes out of the corners of his.
"Want to hear a tale?" asked Joe.
Anne looked uncomfortable. "Uh…"
"No thanks," Frank said.
"I'm good," Hop Pop said.
"Hard pass, old man," Polly added.
"Oh, me! I love scary stories." Sprig said, however. Frank bonked him on the head.
"Gather 'round and hear ye the tale of the Blood Bats. Said to have come from the pits of hell itself, the Blood Bats stalk the inky night, lusting to devour any frogs that might have wandered into their domain." Joe said, before somehow sinking down into a pack of tail grass.
"Ten bucks says he doesn't come back up," Polly said, before Joe suddenly popped out of the grass behind them.
"Just like us!" He yelled, startling the group and making them fall onto the ground. He laughed maniacally. "Ah, yes. Holy honey thistle!"
"What? What is it, Joe?!" Hop Pop exclaimed, holding Polly to his face as close as he could.
"Nature calls. Be right back," he said, running off to do his business
There was a brief silence before Sprig, who was hiding behind the rock Frank and Anne were sitting on, asked, "Is this extreme enough?"
Anne screamed in fear.
"Woah, woah, Anne, easy, it's just Sprig," he said, trying to calm her down.
"Uh... um…," Anne started to laugh nervously. "What? No. I am loving this."
Frank was about to say something when he felt a pair of eyes on the back of his head. Quickly turning around, he stood up, picked up his scythe, and scanned their surroundings.
"What's the matter, boy?" Hop Pop asked.
"I just have this feeling," Frank said, looking around. "Like we're being watched."
A groaning sound brought everyone's attention behind their backs. Standing a few feet away from the campsite was Soggy Joe.
"Oh, uh, hey Sog Man. Everything okay?" Sprig asked, but the frog didn't answer. He just stood there in silence.
"Joe?" Frank asked, starting to get worried.
All of a sudden, Joe let out a groan as he fell flat on his face, revealing a hatchet in his back. And behind him stood a savage-looking frog with a sickle and only wearing a loincloth. The sight of their guide falling dead and the savage frog made the group scream in fear and jump out of their seats.
"Fresh meat!" The frog said with a wicked grin. The sight of that grin sent a cold chill up Frank's spine.
Soon more frogs started to rise out of the ground. Hiding under the rocks, they pushed them aside and climbed out of their hiding places. Each one holding a weapon in their hands and advanced on the group.
"What the hell are these guys?" Frank exclaimed, holding his scythe up to fight.
"Cannibals!" Sprig exclaimed.
"And they're here for our delicious meat!" Polly screamed as she jumped on her brother and pulled his eyelids down.
However, just before fighting to break out, there was a strange, yet very audible swooshing sound coming from up above. When the cannibal frog heard the sound, they stopped and quickly looked to the skies in alarm. Another swooshing sound was heard, and they all started to scramble back to their hiding placings.
"What's going on?" Anne asked, looking up at the sky to see what they were all hiding from.
"I don't know, but we better get in the tent!" Hop Pop said. They all quickly turned and ran for the inside of the tent as Bessie quickly retreated into her shell.
Once inside with the others, Frank looked back out to see one cannibal running around, trying to find himself a hiding place. "I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!" He panted in a panic.
Then he turned and spotted the tent. With sickle in hand, he rushed towards the tent with a look of hunger in his eyes.
Frank was alarmed by this, but then another swooshing sound came from the sky. However, this one sounded different.
This sounded much closer.
The cannibal was upon the tent and was just about to open the flaps. Frank got ready to kill the frog when it suddenly disappeared. First, there was a red blur, next, he was gone. But Frank saw for just a fleeting moment that blur had talons that grabbed onto the frog and picked him up.
"IT'S THE BLOOD BATS!" Sprig exclaimed as he and the Plantars huddled together in fear.
"Oh, man, this is all my fault," Anne said to herself. "Frank, we've gotta get out of here!"
"It's okay," Frank said, placing a hand on hers to calm her down. "As long as we stay in this tent, they can't get to us."
But then, something really large and red landed just outside of the tent. With his back turned towards the entrance, Frank's eyes widened. He knew that something really bad was right there, and all he really had to do was look at his friends to know that it was something horrible. Their face's morphed into horrified expressions as a large, red bat head rose up from outside. Looking right into the tent with its green eyes.
"There's something really bad behind me, isn't there?" Frank asked.
The Blood Bat let out a god-awful shriek before swiping the tent away with its wing. Not only did this eliminate the humans and Plantar's only cover, but it also allowed them to see just what kind of creature they were dealing with.
It was huge bats, almost the size of a Bessie with an almost humanoid physique. True to its name, the fur was crimson with a thick mane running down the spine. The bat possessed large green eyes with seemingly no pupils, dagger-like teeth, large ears, talon-like feet, and massive membranous wings that could be folded and used as forelimbs while walking or standing.
"You are one ugly mother-"
The Blood Bat let out another shrieking roar before trying to bite Frank. However, the young man jumped high up, over the head of the bat, and came down. Swinging his scythe down and stabbing the blade deep into the skull of the bat, killing it before yanking the weapon out of it.
Another Blood Bat came up from behind him, but Frank swung his scythe and slashed it across the beast's face.
Having killed two of the bats, Frank was suddenly snatched up by another one. It lifted him up and was about to carry him away when he swung up and cut the head clean off.
He landed back on the ground, but was picked up by another one of the Blood Bats. Again, Frank killed the beast. However, when he landed on the ground, he looked back to see more of the bats flying down towards the Anne and the Plantars.
Frank raced back towards his friends as two bats descended from the sky upon him. He killed them both with swift swipes.
Anne and Sprig were doing their best to defend Hop Pop and Polly from the bats. Armed with an ax, Anne killed one of the bats that tried to grab Bessie. Sprig was shooting at them with his slingshot, keeping the monsters away from his family.
However, one of them swooped down and grabbed Anne. She screamed as the bat started to carry her away.
"Anne!" Frank yelled. He ran towards her and threw his scythe at the bat holding her. Like a boomerang, the scythe flew to the left before turning towards the bat and sawing right through its neck. Severing its head clean off.
The talons let go of Anne and she screamed as she fell to the ground. Frank rushed towards her and caught her just before she could hit the ground. Behind him, the Blood Bat crashed to the ground.
"Anne, are you okay?" He asked her with a serious expression.
Still being held in his arms, Anne stared up at him. Her cheeks were blushing. Was it just the red moonlight, or has Frank always looked so handsome? "Uh-huh…"
Frank was glad to hear that when something caught his attention. "Look out!"
The boy tossed Anne aside before a Blood Bat grabbed him and flew off.
"Frank!" Anne yelled in horror as she watched him be taken away into the sky.
Grabbing his mantis scythe from the ground, she rushed after him. But the third Blood Bat came down to get her.
"Get the hell out of my way!" She yelled, jumping at the bat as it attacked her. She slashed it across the chest, killing the monster bat. Anne then ran off in the direction the other bat took Frank.
"Anne, wait!" Sprig yelled, but Anne continued on.
Frank struggled to free himself from the clutches of the Blood Bat. Twisting, turning, bending, anything to get himself free of the beast's grasp. But the bat wasn't going to let him go. Grunting as the talons tightened on his shoulders, Frank suddenly had an idea. Reaching for his knife, Frank pulled it out and started stabbing and slashing at the foot of the bat. The Blood Bat let out a pain-filled shriek. It then swooped down towards a nearby rock and slammed Frank against it.
When Anne saw this, she gasped with a horrified expression. She could see his body going limp in the talons of the bat before it flew off.
Rushing over to the rock the bat slammed Frank against, Anne looked down as saw his grandpa's knife lying there on the ground. She picked it up, cradling it in her hand before starting to run again.
"Anne! Wait!" Sprig's voice called from behind her.
"I can't stop, Sprig! I have to save him!" She yelled back at him, but was stopped by what she saw.
The Plantar family rolled up to Anne on Bessie. The body of Soggy Joe, with the axe still in his back, was placed on the shell behind the frogs. "Come on, Anne! Let's go get Frank back," Hop Pop said with determination.
Anne was quick to hop on before Bessie took off. They raced across the desert in the direction the bat took Frank. The dust of the sand kicked up behind Bessie as she slid on the ground. However, they wouldn't be traveling for long.
Raising up in the horizon as they drew closer was a massive rock pillar that reached high into the sky. It was so high that it crossed over the moon from where Anne and the frogs were.
They approached the base of the rock and stopped. Bessie quickly hid back into her shell as the four got off. Anne looked up and saw two Blood Bats fly into a cave all the way at the top of the pillar.
"Alright, better start climbing," she said, placing Frank's scythe down and his knife in her teeth. She was about to start climbing when Hop Pop's tongue reached out and grabbed her and pulled her back.
"Hold it, Anne. You'll never make that climb," he said, after pulling his tongue back into his mouth.
"But Frank's up there! I have to save him!" Anne protested.
"But you'll never make it without falling off," Sprig said in agreement with his grandpa.
"And I'm pretty sure you can't fly," Polly said, pointing her flipper at the Thai girl.
Anne groaned in frustration and walked towards the rock. Placing her back up against it, she looked up at the sky. She rattled her brain to try and think of a way to get to Frank. The shrieking of a bat got her attention as one of the monsters flew out of the cave.
With her eyes widening, Anne thought of an idea.
"I've got an idea! Guys, hide!" Anne said, pushing the Plantars towards Bessie.
"Wait, what?" Hop Pop asked.
"Just do it!" Anne shoved them, forcing the frogs to do as she said and hide behind the giant sail. Backing away from them, Anne looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. "HEY, YOU BIG UGLY RATS!"
The Blood Bat looked down at her.
"Anne, what are you doing?!" Sprig exclaimed as she waved her arms around.
"Catching a ride," Anne said, still waving her arms. "Yeah! That's right! You want something to snack on, I'm right here! Blegh!" She then fell over with her tongue hanging out and pretended to play dead.
Within seconds, the bat landed next to Anne.
Still trying to play dead, Anne held in her fears as the bat sniffed her. Its jaws were close to her face, and its breath was awful. But she had to keep up the act. Tocked in her skirt was Frank's combat knife.
The Blood Bat let out a roar, before flapping its wings to hover above the young girl. Then it lowered down and grabbed Anne's torse in its talons. The Plantars watched as the bat started to fly Anne up to the cave. "So, does anyone have any cards?" Polly asked. Sprig and Hop Pop looked at her.
The bat carried Anne into the large cave and placed her on a pile of dead animals before moving away. Expecting that she was going to have to fight the monster, Anne opened her eyes in confusion and lifted her head up.
She walked as the Blood Bat flew off into the red tint night in search of more food.
With the coast now clear, Anne quickly jumped off the pile of caresses and pulled out Frank's knife. Scanning around, she saw more piles of bodies about as tall as her.
"Blegh, smells awful," she said. Pinching her nose to block out the smell, she approached one of the piles and looked around it. Frank wasn't in it. Anne then saw another passageway that led deeper into the cave and started jogging down it.
When Anne turned a corner, she stopped and stared at what she saw in tool astonishment and bewilderment. "Whoa…"
Attached all over the walls and ceiling of this chamber of the cave were hundreds and hundreds of large, web cocoons. All of them have a pale yellow and green mixed color and varying in size.
Slowly entering the clamber, Anne stepped over littered bones from both amphibians and animals, as well as whatever remained of the insects that were eaten. As she stepped over some of the bones, something caught her attention.
Laying on the floor of the cave was a recurve bow made from ash wood and with ivory tips, as well as a leather quiver with what looked like twenty-four arrows.
"Ooo," Anne said, putting the knife away and picking up the bow and quiver. Slipping on the quiver, she pulled back the string on the bow and let it go. "This is mine now." Anne put the bow on herself and walked over to one of the web cocoons.
First, she touched it with her fingers before grabbing fistfuls of the webs. She pulled and yanked off a large chunk of the stuff, only to come face to face with the rutting and decaying face of a dead frog, with most, if not all of his blood and fluids drained out of his body.
"Oh my God!" Anne yelled as she stumbled back in horror. But then her foot tripped over a rock and she fell straight back on an almost complete rib cage.
The snaps and cracks that came when she broke the bones echoed all throughout the cave, making Anne flinch. However, her troubles were just beginning. Because a few seconds later, a shrieking roar came from another part of the cave. But this wasn't like the shriek of the Blood Bats. Either way, Anne quickly got up and took off her newly acquired bow.
Anne's eyes widened in fear as when the creature revealed itself.
Stepping out from around the corner and entering the chamber was a giant, mega-size spider. It had a smaller cephalothorax compared to its larger abdomen with a hunched position, a lower jaw under its chelicerae covered with teeth, a red-furred body covered with black shades, eight purple eyes, and eight woolly legs covered with sharp tips.
The Mega Spider stared at Anne with all eight eyes as she started to step back from it. She reached over her back, grabbed an arrow, and notched it onto the string of the bow. She knew next to nothing about archery but had seen enough fantasy movies to get the idea. The Mega Spider started crawling towards her slowly. Its long legs moved one after another, making the cave tremble with each step.
When it came to a stop, Anne stopped too. Putting on the best brave face she could, she raised her new recurve bow and pulled back on the arrow. Her arms slightly trembled under the pressure of the string. "I'm not leaving here without Frank," she growled.
The Mega Spider stared at her as droplets of venom dripping from its fangs. Then it opened its mouth and fired webs from its mouth at Anne.
"Woah!" Anne jumped out of the way of the web before another one was set her way. She dodged that one too. Pulling back on the notched arrow, Anne let it loose.
The arrow didn't hit the spider in one of its eyes like she was hoping. But it did go throw one of its big hairy legs. The Mega Spider let out a pained cry before trying to grab her with another one of its legs.
Anne out of the way of the leg before notching another arrow. Standing straight and taking aim again, she fired another arrow. This time it flew true and hit the Mega Spider in one of its eyes.
"Yes!" Anne exclaimed as the Mega Spider screamed in pain. "How do you like me now?!"
How, when she stopped gloating, the spider grabbed her shoeless ankle.
"Uh oh."
Dropping her bow, Anne quickly grabbed onto the nearest web cocoon behind her and tried to hold onto it as the Mega Spider tried pulling her towards it. Grunting as she tried to pull herself towards the cocoon, Anne felt the arachnid's leg start to slip from her limb. However, the webbing she was grabbing onto was starting to tear away. It was only a matter of which would be the first to give out.
Luckily for Anne, it was the spider. The leg of the Mega Spider slipped from her leg and Anne fell down on the floor. When she dropped down, Anne was still holding onto the cocoon, causing her to rip it open. But, in the stroke of fortune, that same cocoon happened to be the one Frank was in.
"Frank?" Anne exclaimed in surprise. She quickly stood up and pulled out his knife to cut him loose. But then the Mega Spider grabbed her and pulled her away, and the combat knife slipped from her grasp. "Frank!"
That pleading scream woke Frank up and he gasped in shock at what he saw. The Mega Spider held up Anne as she struggled to break out of its grasp. Then it slammed her onto the ground.
"Anne!" Frank cried out. Needing to help his friend, he tried desperately to break off the webbing around his body. But all he was able to do was detach himself from the wall and fall down on his side.
As Anne tried stabbing at the leg holding her with one of the arrows, Frank saw his knife inches away from him and tried breaking out of his cocoon again. When he was finally able to free his hand, he grabbed the knife and started cutting away the webbing. Freeing himself before rushing towards the spider.
"Let her go!" Frank yelled. With a downwards swing, he cut into the leg holding Anne as it held her down.
The Mega Spider let out another shriek of pain as it let go of Anne.
Anne laid on the floor, having been bruised and battered being thrown around by the spider. Frank was about to help her up when one of the other legs swatted him away.
Frank yelled out in pain as he landed on the ground. He was about to get up and was about to attack again when he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. Another web cocoon, but this one was much larger and in the distinct shape of a Hercules Beetle.
"Hang on, Anne! I've got an idea!" Frank said, before rushing towards the dead beetle.
"Whatever it is, just do it!" Anne yelled before getting up and running from the Mega Spider.
Frank reached the cocoon and ripped off all the webbing around the head. Uncovering the great big horn that gave it its name. Jumping up on the back of the beetle and walking over to the base of the horn, Frank started stabbing at it repeatedly until green blood started to slatter out of it. He then stepped out onto the horn and started jumping up and down on it, until it broke off.
"Frank!" Anne yelled, on the ground and covered with webs from the Mega Spider. She couldn't break free from it, no matter how much she struggled to pull away from it.
The Mega Spider crawled towards her. Anne screamed in terror as the spider roared at her.
Suddenly, Frank came flying at the Mega Spider and stabbed it straight in the head with the Hercules Beetle horn. Blood flew from its skull as the Mega Spider let out horrible, dying shrieks of agony that echoed through the cave and went out of the entrance. Even the Plantars heard it as they were playing go-fish.
When it stopped shrieking, the Mega Spider's body collapsed on the ground. The life in its eyes faded away.
"Anne!" Frank ran over to his best friend and quickly started cutting away the webs. Freeing her. "Are you alright," he asked, looking at a bruise she had on her forehead.
"I'm fine, but what about you?" Anne asked worriedly, as she grabbed her bow and stood up.
"I'm okay. Just a little stiff." He rolled his right shoulder a little before noticing her recurve bow. "Hey, when did you get a bow?"
"Hm?" Anne asked before looking at her newly acquired weapon. "Oh! I found it on the ground. What do you think?"
"It's nice. Just need to polish it a little and it'll look like a new bow," he complimented. Frank then paused for a moment. "You hear something?"
"Anne! Frank!" Sprig's voice yelled from outside. Frank and Anne ran to the entrance of the cave and looked down. All the way on the ground, Sprig was jumping around and waving his arms around. "Get out there! They're coming back!"
Frank and Anne looked over the horizon and their hearts sank down into their feet. A giant horde of Blood Bats was on their way towards the rock pillar.
"We can't fight all of them!" Anne exclaimed. They then looked down at the ground below.
"And there's no way we're climbing down. It'll be too slow," Frank said with a frown. "Unless…"
Frank turned and ran back into the cave. Wondering just what he could be thinking of, Anne followed him. She found him rushing over to the dead Mega Spider and trying to open its jaws.
"Uh, are you trying to hide inside its mouth?" She asked, confused as she watched him struggle to open the jaws.
"No, now get over here and help me. Quick!" Frank said. Anne ran over and together, the two forced the mouth open. "Alright, I'll hold it open and you reach down its throat and grab the web."
"What? Ew! I'm not doing that," Anne said, still holding the jaws open.
"You want to get out of this mess, then get in there and get the web!" Frank grunted.
That's when the whole weight of the spider came down on him when Anne let go. He held the jaws upon his shoulders as Anne got down and stuck her hand down into the monster's throat.
"Ew. Ew. Ew!" She cringed as she searched for something to grab.
"Could you 'ew' a little faster Anne? This is heavy." Frank said in a strained voice, struggling to stay standing.
Anne pulled out a sting of webbing. "I've got it!" She quickly crawled out and Frank dropped the mouth.
"Alright, tie that web to one of your arrows and shoot it. We're going to zip line out of here," Frank explained as he started pulling more webs out from the mouth of the Mega Spider.
"Oh, hell yeah! I've always wanted to do that," Anne said with an excited smile. She pulled out an arrow and started tying the end of the web around it.
"Really? Did you imagine you'd be ziplining to save your life?" Frank asked jokingly as he continued to pull more lines for Anne.
"Kind of."
After trying it with the web, Anne rushed to the entrance of the cave and fired the arrow across the air. It stretched for yards as more lines of webs were pulled from the mouth of the Mega Spider. As it started to lose momentum, the arrow started to plummet down to the ground, before stabbing into the ground below.
Frank took off his jacket and looped it over their makeshift zipline. Anne did the same with her bow. "Ready?" She asked.
"No..." Frank took a deep breath. "Alright, let's go!"
Together, the two ran and jumped from the edge of the cave. The web held together, and the humans started ziplining down to the ground.
Down on the ground, Hop Pop watched from a pair of binoculars as the two humans descended towards the ground at high speeds on the zipline. He turned to the kids with a look of determination. "Come on, kids! The moment they land, we better be out of here.
Halfway down the web zipline, Frank and Anne saw the Blood Bats were coming closer. "There has to be hundreds of those things!" Anne exclaimed.
"And there's going to be all over our butts if we don't get out of here!" Frank said.
"Frank! Anne!" The two humans looked down to see the Plantars on Bessie as she raced underneath them on the ground.
Just as Frank and Anne were about a few feet above Bessie, they let go of the line and dropped down onto her shell.
"Bessie! Things are getting messy!" Hop Pop yelled. Bessie then chirped and took off at high speeds.
After hearing the final cry of the Mega Spider, Blood Bats all entered the cave. Only then did they discover what Frank and Anne had done.
All the bats landed on the ground, with only one of them crawling up towards the mega-size beast. The same creature that they feared and respected. They feared it because of how powerful the spider was, but they respected it for allowing them to stay in the cave for shelter and protection. It was why they were always bringing food to it. A simple trade between two species.
The bat sniffed the spider, but it's clear that the giant was dead. The red bat let out an agitated and distressed cry, which was followed by its brothers and sisters. Seeking revenge, the bats all poured out of the cave and into the sky. And they knew exactly where those responsible were going.
As Bessie started to slow down, Hop Pop decided that it was time to call it quits for. He pointed Bessie in the direction of home and they all took a moment to catch their breaths. "Well, guess we were wrong to doubt you two," Hop Pop said as he drove the snail. "You really are used to extreme camping."
"Honestly, this was more extreme than anything camping I've ever done," Frank said as he leaned back. "And I'm not doing it again."
Anne looked at him for a moment before a look of guilt formed on her face. "Guys, I have a confession. This extreme camping stuff is a bunch of bull crap. I was miserable back there. I was just trying to cover it up."
"So you dragged us to this horror show for no reason?" Polly asked, seemingly in anger, before her expression changed to an impressed look. "Twisted. I love it."
"I don't understand. Why lie about it? Why be miserable?" Sprig asked.
"I guess I've been feeling kind of left out lately," Anne said, rubbing her arm as she averted her eyes. "I'm not a frog. I'm not like Frank. I'm not a Plantar. Heck, I wasn't even invited on this trip. I really like you guys and wanted to be with you, miserable or not."
"And worst of all, I didn't listen to you, Frank," Anne said, turning to Frank. The young man looked a little surprised. "You tried telling me that it was a horrible idea and I just shrugged you off. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been taken and almost eaten. I'm really sorry, Frank. Can you ever forgive me?"
Frank looked at his friend for a moment before giving her a genuine smile. "It's true that you almost got me killed...but you did also save my skin, Anne. I think I can forgive you for this."
He pulled her into a hug as the Plantars gathered around the two and joined in. "I don't know if it's the dirt and sand or the overwhelming emotions, but dang it, I'm a mess," sobbed Sprig.
"Next time, we'll include you, Anne, even if we know you'll hate it," Hop Pop said. "Heck, we'll even ask Frank to come along too."
"Thanks, you guys," Anne said. However, she then heard something behind them. Looking back, she squinted her eyes for a moment, before they widened. "Uh, guys!"
They all looked back to see the Blood Bats flying towards them in a massive swarm.
"BESSIE! THINGS ARE GETTING MESSY!" The five of them yelled together. "BESSIE! THINGS ARE GETTING MESSY!"
Bessie chirped two times and went racing across the desert as fast as she could. Frank grabbed his scythe and Anne notched an arrow on her bow. Sprig held Polly in her bucket close to his chest as the shadows of the bats moved over them.
Anne aimed up into the air and fired. Knocking out one of the bats. This caused the others to begin their attack on the family and humans.
While Anne continued trying to shoot down the bats, Frank saw one of them making a dive for him. He slashed at it with his scythe and killed it. He continued to fend off the bat from the front as Anne used her arrows to shoot them down.
After firing another arrow, Anne reached over her shoulder for another one, but couldn't grasp any. She looked and saw there were no more. "I'm out!"
Suddenly, Frank was grabbed by one of the bats and pulled into the air. "Frank!" Everyone yelled.
"Whoa! Hey now!" Frank exclaimed as he was pulled high in the sky. He swung his scythe and stabbed the bat into the side of the head. He fell back down towards the ground, only to land on another bat. "Alright, now I've got it!"
He killed that bat and then jumped onto another one. Using it to jump away towards another one. A Blood Bat tried to get at him, but Frank slashed it with his scythe and killed it. He hopped from red bat to red bat down towards Bessie.
Right when he was at a good distance, he jumped and landed back on Bessie with the others. "Quick, grab an axe and get ready to fight!" Frank told Anne, before yelling out in pain when a bat slashed at his back with its talons.
"Frank!" Anne exclaimed, before grabbing the axe and started hacking at a bat that came at her.
Sprig and Polly stayed with their grandpa as the two humans protected them from the swarming bats. Together, with many scratches and claw marks on their bodies, Frank and Anne fought off the bats. They've killed each and every bat that came at them and had the blood of the monsters on their arms.
"We can't keep this up forever!" Anne said, before bringing the axe down onto the skull of a bat.
Frank turned to look ahead and his eyes widened. Bessie was heading straight for the same tall grass they went through hours ago. That's when an idea hit him.
"Go straight ahead Hop Pop and wherever you do, don't stop!" Frank exclaimed, pointing towards the tall grass.
Everyone looked at where he was pointing and their eyes widened. Sprig pointed at the grass nervously. "Uh…"
"Isn't that where the…" Polly trailed off.
"Yes," Frank said with a smirk.
"I really hope you know what you're doing!" Hop Pop said.
He drove Bessie towards the field at full speed. All the while, the Blood Bats were gaining on them and were diving towards the humans, Plantars, and the corpse of Soggy Joe. Ready to kill and eat them all. The snail ran as fast as she could as the creatures of the night got closer and closer to the end of her shell.
She entered into the tall grass and the Blood Bats followed. This would prove to be a fatal mistake, as Frank's plan worked like a charm.
One Blood Bat tried to fight out of the grass, but a roadrunner jumped up, bit down on its leg, and pulled it back down. A second later, there was a large splatter of blood. Another bat tried escaping, but it met the same failures and had the same bloody results. And this would continue as both Blood Bat and roadrunner cried out in agony as they tore each other apart.
Bessie would emerge from the field of grass and come to a stop. Frank, Anne, and the Plantars looked back at the carnage they left behind as the bat flew above the roadrunners.
"Wow! Your plan actually worked!" Sprig exclaimed.
"Yeah, that was awesome," Anne said with a smile.
"Thanks you guys -AH!" Frank screamed when he spotted Soggy Joe's body, which miraculously didn't fall off during the battle, started to move. The body started to groan, but he stood up on his own foot.
Soggy Joe stretched his back, making audible cracking sounds before the axe that was in his back popped out.
"Ooh-wee!" Soggy Joe laughed as everyone stared at him. "Good thing I wore my axe-proof vest, eh? So, what'd I miss?"
"Oh, pretty much everything," Anne said.
"Really?" Joe asked.
"Oh, Joe, there were these crazy cannibals," Sprig said.
"Wow."
"Then the Blood Bats attacked us," Hop Pop said
"Oh, serious?"
"Yeah, actually, it turned out they were working for this Mega-Spider," Frank said.
"Oh, no way."
"Frank and I were able to kill it," Anne said.
"Unbelievable."
"And then we ran, then the bats came after us," Polly said.
"Keep going."
"There was this huge fight and we almost died," Frank continued.
"Yeah, how'd you escape?"
"We just led them to that pack of roadrunners and now they're killing each other," Anne explained.
"Yup, that'll do it."
"And that's pretty much it. You're all caught up," Frank said, bringing the story to a conclusion.
"Oh, great." The six of them sat on Bessie's back for a moment as a cricket chirped and the sound of dying bats and birds were heard. "So, you all want to get pancakes early?"
"Oh, yeah, that sounds great," Anne said with a smile.
"I like that idea," Frank said.
"Let's get outta here," Hop Pop said, turning Bessie towards Wartwood and setting off on their way as the sun started to rise over the horizon. Starting a new day for the world and ending their night of terror and hardship.
"I've always been more of a waffle girl, myself," Polly added.
Later that night, as the normal crescent red moon appeared in the sky, Frank was laying in his bed with his eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping. Just resting his eyes. That's when Anne walked over to his bed and sat down, the music box in her hands still covered in the cloth.
She looked at her friend as his chest raised up and down with each breath he took. Frank looked so peaceful as he slept. Hard to believe that the same person that's fought tooth and nail and rest his own life more than once for everyone in this house was still just a boy no older than she was. But he still did more for her than anyone.
"You just going to sit there or are you going to snuggle with me?" Frank asked, startling Anne slightly before she rolled her eyes with a blush.
"W-Whatever," she said. Anne shook her head. "Frank, I think it's time to tell them."
Frank opened one eye and saw the covered music box. He realized what she met and sat up. "You're absolutely sure?" He asked Anne.
Anne nodded. "Positive."
A moment later, they exited out of the basement and gathered everyone in the kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table, Frank and Anne sat at one end while the Plantars sat on the other.
"Guys, now that we've been through a lot, there's something Frank and I would like to share with you," Anne said, before placing the box onto the table and unraveling the cloth. Presenting the music box to the frog family. "This is how we got here."
The Plantars were fascinated by the box, having never seen anything so expertly crafted before. "How'd you get it?" Sprig asked.
"Let's just say that those I considered my friends made Anne steal it from grandma's gift shop," Frank said with a bitter look when he thought of Sasha and Marcy. "I always thought that it was the same old music box granny bought and could never get rid of or something. But then Anne opened it and it transported us here. I don't suppose you guys have seen anything like it before?"
"May I?" Hop Pop asked, pointing at the box.
Frank glanced at Anne, who shrugged. "Sure. I mean, it's busted," she said.
"Hmm." Hop Pop took the music box and examined it. He gave it a sniff. "Hmm." He then opened it and looked inside. "Hmm!" In the end, he closed it and said, "Nope. Never seen anything like it."
"Well, it was worth a shot," Anne said as she placed her chin on her hand with a hopeless look. "Still stuck with a worthless, empty box."
"We can't just give up hope, Anne," Frank said, placing his hand on hers and giving it a squeeze. "There's got to be someone that knows what it is or how it works."
"He's right, Anne. We're gonna find a way to get you home," Sprig said.
"Thanks, guys. That means a lot to me," Anne said as she started to brighten up again.
"So are you going to keep holding her hand or…" Polly trailed off as she pointed at the two humans' hands.
Frank and Anne looked at their hands and quickly pulled away from each other and instantly looked away with blushes of embarrassment.
Hop Pop broke the embarrassment when he let out a yawn. "Well, that's enough excitement for me today. I think I'm gonna turn in," he said before walking off and out of the kitchen.
"Good night, Hop Pop," the kids all said together.
However, Hop Pop didn't go to bed. Instead, he went for his study. He was lying about what he said back there. He has seen that box before. And it was in one of his books. Pulling out some of his books, the old frog started looking through the pages, trying to find what would give him the answers that he needed to know.
It was only until he reached his third book that he found the page and he gasped in fear. "It's just as I feared," he said, glaring at the page.
The page showed the box, along with the four gemstones on it. However, it also said "Danger!", "Destroy!", and "Beware!". However, he now had a name for the box. One that only added to the danger that the object presented to not only Frank and Anne, but to his family.
It was called the Calamity Box.