She was both the first, and last of her kind. No warship in the history of Amphibia's navy gave more to the kingdom's prosperity than the Green Lady. Built among the finest ships of the line and meant to go head to head against enemy giants in ocean duels, she's a full-rigged frigate used during Amphibia's old wars. She featured a brown hull made from wooden planks, and lined with gun ports on two desks. The top half of the ship was primarily mossy-green, with an anchor attached and her name painted in fancy letters on her side. She also featured an emerald-green figurehead in the shape of a frog-mermaid at the front. The two sails of the ship each feature an illustration of a frog's foot.
The Green Lady earned her place through hard-fought battles, and in the end, gave the ultimate sacrifice for her country. She will rest at the bottom of the sea, while her legend would inspire so many amphibians on the surface.
One such person that was inspired was the patriarch of the Plantar household. Hop Pop was blowing on the sails of a small-scale ship model of the Green Lady.
"Hop Pop, stop blowing on the sails. You're getting your breath all over it," said Frank, sitting next to him in Hop Pop's study, working on the model together. Turning back to the boat, he applied glue to a piece of tiny wood and placed it on the ship. Frank then cleaned the hull with a towel, making it shine.
Hop Pop sighed as he leaned back to look at the model. "Well, after five years of work on this gal, I might actually finish," he said, smiling at the nearly completed ship. "Thanks for your help, Frank."
"Eh, no big deal. I'm more of a Lego kind of guy, but this is still cool," Frank said, placing another wood on the ship's hull.
"I have no idea what Lego is," said the old frog.
The two of them were about to continue working on the boat. However, Frank stopped and paused for a moment. He looked down with an anxious frown before looking up at Hop Pop. "Actually…there's something that's been on my mind."
"Oh? Would talking about it help?" Hop Pop asked, not taking his concentration off his model ship.
Needing to know what was wrong with him, Frank took a deep breath and started to explain himself. "I…I think there's something wrong with me, and it has to do with Anne. When we woke up, and Anne said good morning, I felt my heart beating fast and my face getting hotter. I don't know why it happened. And this wasn't the first time. The last time it happened, I was working with Anne in the field, and she said, 'looking good.' And before that, it was always when she fell asleep when we were watching a movie, and Anne's head fell on my shoulder. What's more is that whenever she hugs me, I don't want her to let go—"
"Sounds like you have a crush on Anne."
Frank stopped talking and looked at Hop Pop. The elderly frog stared at him with an expression that said it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What?"
"You have a crush on Anne." Hop Pop repeated.
There was a pause before Frank started chuckling. "That's a good one."
"I wasn't joking."
"B-But how do you know?!" Frank exclaimed, looking anxious.
"Frank, I've been in love—twice." Hop Pop said, holding up two fingers. "And everything you just described is what I felt when I fell in love with Sylvia."
Hearing that, Frank started to panic a little. Standing up, he said, "There's no way I can have a crush on Anne! We're just friends. Not to mention she can be so stupid, which I love." Frank smiled at the thought of Anne, before quickly trying to correct himself with a big blush. "I MEANT HATE! She's always putting us in terrible situations, and I'm always having to save her, which is pretty sweet. I mean, I hate it, and it's dumb!"
The two of them stared at one another in silence for a moment.
"Please, don't say anything to her." Frank pleaded.
"I don't see the big deal," Hop Pop said.
"I mean…Anne and I have just gotten back together, and I don't want to ruin that by falling in love with her," Frank said, sitting down and rubbing his arm with a downcasted expression. "Think about it. What if she doesn't feel the same about me? It would just make things between us so awkward."
The young boy placed his hands on his head and groaned. "Frank, you told her about your past, and she still accepted you," Hop Pop said, smiling as he painted another small wood panel. Just like his grandkids, he was shocked by the story Frank told him, yet he was happy with how Anne comforted him. "I've seen the way the two of you have ground close to each other, and the feelings you both have for one another are clear to everyone watching you two."
Frank looked away with a pondering expression. Looking back on these three months, the Hispanic boy began to realize how right the old frog was. His relationship with Anne has been better than anything the boy could have imagined. Frank completely trusted her with his secrets, and she did with hers. Both have saved each other on more than one occasion, and Frank trusted her with his life. Anne was there for him when he needed comfort, help, or to bandage him up if he got hurt. And in the span of 3 months, his feelings for her grew more and more. Turning from what was thought to have been just feelings of friendship to something more profound. Something more meaningful.
However, just thinking about how much he liked Anne was enough to make Frank nervous about his growing feelings for the Thai girl. "Still…I don't know what to do. Do I tell her how I feel or wait until we get home? Lord, send me a sign!" Frank yelled to the heavens, waiting for God to send him a message so that he'll know what to do.
What he got was a kickball suddenly crashing through the window. Hop Pop quickly shielded the ship and turned his back to the ball. Frank didn't react in time and was hit by the ball in the back of the head.
"Ow, jeez, the back of my head!" He yelled, being knocked to the ground.
Anne came walking to the broken and looked inside with an apologetic smile. "Ooh, sorry about that, Frank."
"What the hell were you doing?!" Frank yelled at her, rubbing the back of his head.
"We're trying to teach Polly how to play kickball," Anne said as both kids appeared in the window.
"Which is challenging for obvious reasons," Sprig said.
However, Hop Pop was unhappy with the three kids for breaking the window. "Dang it, kids! What have I told you about roughhousing near the windows? Come inside and play a quiet game. We're working here."
"Yeah, I can see that. Nice toy boat." Anne said, pointing to the Green Lady.
"It's not a 'toy boat,' Anne. It's a replica of a famous warship." Hop Pop told her with a frown.
"Potato, tomato." Anne dismissed the old frog before she and Polly walked off.
Sprig, on the other hand, reached a finger out to touch the ship. "Scram!" Hop Pop snapped at him. Sprig slowly backed away from the window before running off to catch up with the other.
Hop Pop grumbled and went back to working on his ship. Frank was about to join him when the door suddenly slammed open.
"Tongue tag!" Sprig yelled as Anne and Polly ran inside. "If you get tongued, you lose!"
"Wait!" Hop Pop yelled as the girls ran around the room, trying to avoid Sprig's tongue as it shot out at them. "No. Kids, cut it out. I said a quiet game. No!"
Anne laughed as she quickly got behind her best friend and used him like a human shield. "Protect me, Frank!"
"Hey! What the hell?!" Frank exclaimed. However, when Hop Pop saw Anne standing in front of the Green Lady with her back turned to the ship, the old frog could foresee the disaster that was about to unfold.
"No!" He called out, trying to stop the rowdy kids. But it was too late.
Sprig shot out his tongue at Frank and Anne. As the boy struggled to escape her grip, Anne moved both of them out of the way, letting the tongue fly right past them. However, this caused Sprig to hit the model boat. Knocking it into the air. Hop Pop tried to catch it but missed.
The old frog could only watch in horror as the Green Lady collided with the floor. Smashing in the front of the hull and breaking off the masts.
Hop Pop screamed in agony and horror as he stared at the broken ship he's been working on for five years. The kids stopped playing, and Frank was released from Anne's grip.
Whimpering, Hop Pop got on his knees and quickly gathered up all the pieces. Grunting in frustration, Hop Pop glared at the kids. "Why don't you kids ever listen to me?!" He yelled at them while picking up the ship. "Okay. Everything's fine. We can still fix her. To Loggle's!"
Bessie quickly stopped before Loggle's shop, with Hop Pop and Frank jumping off. "Okay, Frank and I are going in. Give Bessie some mushroom treats if she acts up." Hop Pop told Anne, throwing a pouch of treats to her.
Anne caught them but was confused. "Wait, you're going with him?" She asked, pointing to Frank.
"I asked Loggle a few days ago to make me a baseball bat, so I wanted to see how it turned out," Frank said with a smile. All they had to play with was Hellcat's Claw, so they desperately needed a bat.
"You got it," Anne said. Frank and Hop Pop walked off toward the shop. Seeing the treats, Bessie purred. And it was at that moment that Anne had an idea.
Hop Pop slammed open the door and rushed to the counter. "Loggle! You've gotta help me save her." He cried out desperately, placing the model down on the counter for the blue axolotl to see.
Putting on his goggles to better see, Loggle gasped in shock and pointed at the ruined ship. "Is that a 1/80 scale model of The Green Lady?!"
"Yeah! And she's damaged!" Hop Pop said, fearful of losing his most prized possession.
"Also, is my bat ready?" Frank cut in.
"It is...Yes, it is. Wait here." Loggle told the two of them, taking the ship and walking into the back of the shop to get it all fixed up. Leaving the old frog and the young boy alone together.
Frank just stood next to the old frog with a bored expression. Waiting patiently for his bat while Hop Pop waited nervously. Drumming his fingers on his chin. However, neither of them noticed a frog standing behind them until he spoke up.
"Excuse me, sir."
Frightened by the frog's sudden appearance, Frank and Hop Pop shouted together as they whipped their heads around to see who it was. Standing behind them was an amphibian of fairly average size for his species, with light green skin and a small goatee. His eyes couldn't be seen due to the black cloak he had on that appeared to be somewhat torn and dirty, as well as brown shorts underneath it.
The oddest thing about him was his head. They couldn't see it under the cloak, but judging by how the hood was standing so tall, Frank figured that he had an oddly shaped head. Or he just had big hair that he was hiding.
"Oh. Uh, hello." Hop Pop said, trying to be polite. However, even he was freaked out by the frog's head.
"Is that your snail out there?" The frog asked, pointing to the open window. Frank and Hop Pop looked to see Bessie doing donuts with the other kids cheering her on.
"Show 'em what you got, Bessie!" Anne yelled as she and the two frog kids put their hands up. They enjoyed the ride for a while, until a cop snail pulled up with the siren whooping. Forcing them to stop as Bessie purred. "Boo!"
Hop Pop and Frank sighed in annoyance. "Where did we go so wrong, dear?" The young boy asked sarcastically.
"It's been like this all week!" Hop Pop exclaimed and threw up his arms. Reaching the limit of his patients with the three of them. "Those damn kids are driving me insane."
"Unruly kids, is it?" The mysterious hooded frog asked, regaining the attention of the two in front of him. "Well, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Apothecary Gary. You can also call me Apothe-Gary if you'd like."
"We'll call you Gary," Frank said.
"That works too. Anyway, I've got just the thing for your troubles." Gary pulled back his cloak and reached into a knapsack he had on him. From it, the frog took out a vial of what appeared to be glowing purple jelly with little white particles floating around in it. Hop Pop took it, and he and Frank stared into the vial. Noticing that the particles were tiny mushrooms. "Just rub a little of this on their foreheads, and your kids will behave instantly. See, it has these special enzymes—"
"Enzymes?" Frank asked, looking at Gary with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. That word alone already told him that what he was selling them was a scam, especially with the ridiculous promise of getting Anne, Sprig, and Polly to behave. "You can't seriously think that we'd fall for this. Not even my grandma would!"
Hop Pop chuckled in agreement. "He's right. And ol' Hopediah's not fallin' for no scam."
However, Gary laughed and said, "Oh, it's not a scam. I guarantee, once you've tried it, you won't be able to live without it."
For a moment, Hop Pop seemed to consider the idea. "Eh, I don't know. In my experience, this kind of malarkey never–" the old frog cut himself off when he looked up.
The strange frog that had given him the vial was gone. Having disappeared from the shop in the blink of an eye. Frank and Hop Pop looked around for any clue as to where Gary had vanished. But there was none to be found. It was as if he had blipped out of existence.
"Gary?" Frank called out.
"Here we go, you two!" Frank and Hop Pop yelled in fright until realizing that it was only Loggle. The blue axolotl had fixed the ship as best he could and placed it in a small box filled with hey.
Not only that, Loggle also brought out Frank's new bat.
When Frank laid his eyes on the bat and picked it up, he was amazed by the quality and skill Loggle put into making it. The stained maple oak was so smooth that he didn't feel a single rough spot or even the tiniest sharp edge that would have given him a splinter. The bat's weight was perfect for Frank, and he swung it slowly to get a better feel for it.
"This is awesome! Thanks, Loggle!" Frank said, placing a sack of coins on the counter.
A moment later, Frank and Hop Pop walked out of the shop with their items. The cop was gone, and the kids were just standing around Bessie. "Did you get everything?" Sprig asked, waving at Frank and Hop Pop with Polly on his head. Anne's standing beside him with her hands behind her back and a guilty expression.
"Yup. Loggle did an awesome job. All we need is more people, and we'll be playing a game of baseball before you know it." Frank said with his new bat on his shoulder.
"And all I need is a quiet afternoon to fix this old gal." Hop Pop said, patting his model.
"Well, listen, we'll be on our best behavior," said Sprig.
Anne turned her head away and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah. The least we can do is give you the time to fix it," she said, placing her hands behind her back.
"We're sorry, Hop Pop," Polly said, doing the same as the human girl. But then the three of them grinned as Polly held out the ticket given to them by the cop. "This is yours, by the way."
Hop Pop was annoyed to be receiving the ticket but let it go. "Thanks, kids. For the apology, not the ticket."
"Whoo-hoo! Shotgun!" Polly shouted as they cheered and ran for the saddle. Frank rolled his eyes and smiled as he followed them.
Pulling out the vial given to him by Gary, Hop Pop said to himself, "Guess I won't be needin' this stuff after all." But smelling the mushrooms, Bessie leaned over to lick the potion. The old frog quickly pulled the vial away, and a slimy strand of Bessie's spit stuck to it. "Hey, shoo, girl. This ain't a snack."
When the family returned to the farm, Hop Pop opened the door and entered first. "I'll be in my study if anyone needs me," he said, hoping to finish the Green Lady today.
As he walked towards his study, Anne held her glowing stomach. Indicating that she was getting hungry. She groaned and said, "I'm starving."
"I think there's one more Beetle Bite left in the kitchen." Sprig said. Determined to get the snacks first, he, Anne, and Polly rush for the kitchen.
"Guys, wait!" Frank called out to them, but it was too late.
The three of them accidentally shoved Hop Pop in the process. Making him drop the crate his ship was nestled in. Once again, the boat landed on the ground and broke, but not too severely. However, it was still enough for the old frog's jaw to drop to the floor while on his hands and knees. Bursting into tears, he crawled over to the ship.
"No! No, no, no!" He sobbed before looking at the three kids that caused all this trouble.
Feeling really bad for what she did, Anne started apologizing. "Sorry, HP. Let me get that for you," she said sincerely, bending down to help the old frog.
But Hop Pop slapped Anne's hand away and pointed a figure at her. "Take your stinking paws off her, you damn dirty ape!"
"Whoa," Frank said as he and everyone looked at Hop Pop in shock. Surprised that he would even say that.
"What's an ape?" Sprig asked.
As the day turned to night, Frank and Anne stood together in the bathroom, brushing their teeth. "Do you know how to make toothpaste?" The Thai girl asked with a mouth full of toothpaste. She wondered because they'd just used the last of it.
"Nope," Frank said. He spat out the toothpaste in his mouth and looked at Anne with a frown. "But seriously, you guys really made Hop Pop mad."
Anne sighed remorsefully and sat out her toothpaste. "I know. I just have so much energy, and I just don't know what to do with it," she said before they took a sip of water and spat in the sink.
"Well, we'll have to stay out of his way tomorrow so that he can work on his ship," Frank said, walking out of the bathroom with Anne and opening the door to the cellar. Allowing her to go first down the stairs.
"So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" Anne asked, jumping into her bed.
Frank lay down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, we do need to get more fish. We could go fishing."
"Sure. I'll ask Sprig and Polly—"
"Actually…I was hoping that it could just be the two of us." Frank said with a smile and a blush on his face. He looked at Anne, only to become worried when he saw her with a blush on her surprised face. "It's not something weird like a date! It's just, you know, two friends doing friend things. We used to do it together all the time, and I thought it would be fun to do it again. I know this really great spot with many big and small fishes. But not like the Amphibia giant size, but like earth's big fishes."
Anne thought about it for a moment and blushed. It would be the first time she and Frank would be alone together since staying with the Plantars. And being alone with Frank, just the two of them, fishing sounds nice. "Okay. Let's do that."
"Really?" Frank asked, looking at her with a surprised expression. "That's great! It's a date, then! B-But not like a real date, just…just hanging out." He smiled nervously, hoping that Anne would buy it.
Anne didn't buy it. She giggled, turned over in her bed, and snuggled into the pillow. "Silly boy," she said softly, closing her eyes and falling asleep. Frank smiled lovingly at her and did the same. Excited to go fishing with Anne.
However, unbeknownst to him, someone had other plans that would ruin his own.
At midnight, Hop Pop opened the door to Sprig's bedroom. As Sprig snored in his sleep, he croaked. Puffing out his neck as his grandfather approached him, holding the vial of the enzymes. Looking down at his kid who had ruined his ship in the first place, Hop Pop poured some purple potion into his hand and rubbed it on Sprig's forehead.
Next was Polly, who gave him that ticket like it wasn't a big deal. She was sleeping in her bucket of water when Hop Pop rubbed the potion on her with two figures.
Anne Boonchuy, the girl from another world that caused the most damage today. She made Sprig hit his ship. She was why he'd gotten the ticket and knocked the Green Lady to the ground for a second time. Hop Pop has done nothing but show her gratitude and placed a roof over her head, and Anne repaid it by breaking his ship. That earned her an extra serving of the enzymes.
Hop Pop turned to Frank and was about to place the enzymes on his head too. However, he didn't. Frank was the only one of the four kids that behaved and helped him with the Green Lady. So, he took his leave.
"Eh. Probably won't do nothin' anyway." He said, walking out of the basement and going to his room.
The rooster crowed when the sun appeared over the horizon the following day. Frank entered the room with an excited smile as Hop Pop was cooking up pancakes. "Hey, HP!" He said, sitting down at the table.
"Hey, Frank. You're in a good mood." Hop Pop said, giving him a plate of pancakes on it.
"Yeah, Anne and I are gonna go fishing together," Frank said as he ate.
"Well, at least you'll be out of the house. Kids! Breakfast!" He called out to the other kids in the house. However, neither Anne, Sprig, nor Polly came to the kitchen. Sighing in frustration, the old frog turned back to the pancakes he was making in the sizzling pan. "Dang kids. Always taking so long to wake up. Whoa!"
Frank looked up from his pancakes, only to recoil and yell in shock when he saw Anne, Sprig, and Polly. The three kids had appeared out of nowhere and sat on the other side of the table. As if they appeared before him in the blink of an eye. "Good morning, Hop Pop." The three said in a robotic tone, like a machine responding to a command.
But as Frank looked at them, he was unnerved even more by two details. They had perfect smiles on their faces that didn't seem to want to go away or feel natural. And then there was the situation with their eyes. The pupils were enlarged and seemed to lack their typical colors.
"Guys? Are you okay?" Frank asked the three. However, neither of them answered him. Making him worried. "Guys?"
On the other hand, Hop Pop looked pleased seeing his plan work so well. "Okay. Now, I'm gonna start workin' on my ship." He told the kids as he came over and passed their pancakes onto each plate. He then turned his back to them and went to get his plate of breakfast. "So I want you kids to finish your breakfast quickly, then sit on that couch and not say a…."
"They're gone."
"Huh?" Hop Pop turned, only to be just as surprised as Frank when they saw the kids and their food were gone. Their plates rattled a bit before settling down on the table.
Peaking into the living room, Frank and Hop Pop saw the kids sitting on the couch together. Sitting perfectly still until they turned their heads towards the two staring at them. Together, they all said, "Yes, Hop Pop."
"...Don't hate that." Hop Pop said under his breath.
As he walked towards his study, Frank was still concerned about his friends. Walking up to Anne with a smile, he said, "So, Anne. Are you really for a day of fishing?"
Anne did not answer. She just stared blankly in front of her.
"Anne? Anne, can you hear me?" Frank waved a hand in front of her face. Trying to get a response. But got none.
"Why don't you go on ahead, Frank," said Hop Pop as he stood by his door. "Anne might want to stay inside."
"But we were supposed to…."
"Frank, I insist ." Hop Pop said, with a notable edge in his voice.
Frank raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what was happening with the old frog. "Uh, okay…" Frank said before walking down into the basement.
A minute later, Frank opened the house's front door. With Hellcat's Claw strapped behind him, the Hispanic boy was about to leave when he turned his head back to Anne, Polly, and Sprig. Just like before, they remained still.
"Uh, okay…I'm gone now. Don't have too much fun…or whatever the hell this is," Frank said with a nervous smile. He then walked out of the house and closed the door behind himself. Leaving to go to the lake.
A few hours later, Frank was walking back from a lonely fishing venture. He was dripping wet and had up to 10 fishes attached to a rope thrown over his shoulder. It was a successful day of catching fish, but Frank would have wanted Anne to be there. All he had were his thoughts of her, which didn't help him persuade himself that the things Hop Pop said the other day were baloney and that he didn't have a crush on Anne.
"Is it really okay to have these feelings for her?" Frank asked, wondering how he should approach this situation while walking across the farmland and reaching the house. However, when he saw the others outside, he stopped.
Anne, Sprig, and Polly were playing baseball, with the Thai girl using Frank's new bat and the tadpole wearing a catcher's mask. Sprig threw a ball at Anne from close range, hitting her in the face. As the ball bounced off her face, Anne swung the bat. Sprig and Polly then held up their arms. "Hooray."
Frank looked at them with wide eyes, not sure what to say. It was like watching an alien breakdancing in front of him. Even though the Hispanic boy was technically the alien in this world, it was just too bizarre to look away.
However, as he looked at Anne, just past her head, Frank could see Hop Pop watching the kids from his room.
Upon seeing Frank having returned, Hop Pop closed the blinds.
Hop Pop quickly went back to painting the face of one of his figures when the front door opened and closed. Then Frank came walking in with a freaked-out look on his face.
"Okay, there's something wrong, Hop Pop," he said, having placed the fish in the kitchen.
"Uh, what do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about." Hop Pop said nervously.
"What're you talking about?!" Frank threw up his hands, incredulous that HP was ignoring what was right in front of him. "Anne just got hit with a baseball and didn't even react. We were supposed to go fishing together, and she isn't even reacting to me. Not Anne, Sprig, or Polly! Hop Pop, something could be wrong with them."
"Calm down. It'll wear off." Hop Pop said, trying to act casual.
However, when Frank heard that, he looked at the old frog with confusion. "Wear off? What're you talking about?" He asked, making Hop Pop's eyes widen. "Do you know what's going on with them?"
Realizing that he had nearly exposed himself, Hop Pop turned his back to Frank and continued working on his ship. "Uh, yes, it's…uh, natural for frog kids at a certain age." He said nervously.
"But Sprig and Polly are different ages, and Anne's a human!" Frank stated.
"Uh…it transcends species?"
"Yeah, that gives me major bullshit vibes," Frank said with a deadpan expression. He then placed his fists on his hips and glared at Hop Pop as the old frog turned around in his chair and looked at him nervously. "What the hell's going on?"
"I…I don't know!" Hop Pop lied, trying to seem clueless to the young boy. "I've only seen something like this once or twice in my life."
"Well, are they in danger?" Frank asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't think so. They just seem to be in a trance. But hopefully, by the end of the day, they'll be back to normal." Hop Pop said, trying to sound confident in what he was speaking to Frank. But even he didn't know for sure. "Just wait. They'll be back to normal before you know it."
The three kids weren't back to normal by the time the red moon was in the sky. As the insects outside made sounds outside the window, Hop Pop sighed as he completed what he wanted to do on his ship. Placing his glasses down, the old frog let out a yawn and stretched his arms.
"Almost done." He rubbed the hull of the ship with the back of his finger. Hop Pop looked behind him into the living room to see Frank sitting with Anne, Sprig, and Polly. The boy watched TV on Anne's phone while she and the frog kids were still in their trance-like state. "Still, I shouldn't use any more of that gunk on the kids. Frank's right. Something about it just doesn't sit right with me."
Frank smiled as he watched Loony Toons, happy that Anne still had the classic ones downloaded on her phone. However, while he was enjoying himself, Anne's eyes started blinking. She then let out a loud yawn and stretched her arms, accidentally hitting Frank in the face.
"Ow! Dang, girl!" Frank complained. But when he realized the effects had worn off and Anne was back to normal, the Hispanic boy gasped and stood up. "Anne!"
"Ah, morning, dude." Anne greeted him with a smile before cracking her neck. "Man, what happened? I feel funky."
Sprig was the next to be free of the enzymes and shook his head. "Like I was a prisoner in my own body," he said, placing his hands on his chest.
And last but not least, Polly came back to reality. "I... I have all this anger, and I don't know what to do with it!"
"You guys were in this bizarre trance all day," Frank explained. "It was like you were possessed and just did whatever Hop Pop told you to do."
"Well, hey! Wanna shake it off with another game of tongue tag?" Anne asked the two frog kids.
"Heck yeah." Sprig said, jumping up with excitement.
"Let's play in Hop Pop's room. I like the obstacles." Polly told the three of them.
"Wait, guys!" Frank tried to talk them out of it, but his three friends were already running into Hop Pop's room. Once again, Sprig lashed his tongue out at them as he chased the girls.
Seeing yesterday's situation play out in front of him again, Hop Pop panicked. "No! Kids! Cut it out!" He yelled, grabbing hold of his model. However, the three kids kept chasing each other around the room. Hop Pop had to stop them and knew how to do it. "Go to bed now, and I'll give you ten coppers each!"
At that moment, the kids froze, with Sprig hanging from the ceiling by his tongue and Anne holding up Polly. They stayed like that for a few seconds, just staring at the old frog. Sprig then dropped down to the ground and ran out of the room.
"Well, good night." He said with a salute.
Polly jumped off Anne's hands and bounced away. "Sleep tight."
"I sure like money!" Anne proclaimed, running out of the room and grabbing Frank's hand. Pulling him along as they both ran into the basement.
That could have ended badly, and Hop Pop realized that these kids would never behave as he wanted them to. He was ordinarily okay with it, but since working on the Green Lady, Hop Pop just couldn't stand it anymore. He needed just one more day to finish his five-year project.
Taking out the vial from his pocket, Hop Pop sighed. "I'll just buy myself a little more time, and then never again."
And that night, he did just that. He placed the potion on Polly's head, then Sprig's head, and then went down into the basement. Frank wasn't in his bed, meaning he must be getting a glass of water. Hop Pop had to work fast. He dumped all the remaining enzymes into his hand and threw them down on Anne's face. Completely coating it in the sparkling purple liquid.
Afterwards, he exited the basement and slowly closed the door. So as to not wake Anne. "Well, that's that." Hop Pop yawned and started heading to bed himself.
However, when he opened the door to his study, he found Frank standing behind it with his arms crossed. "Should have saved some for me, fatass." He said, narrowing his glaring eyes at Hop Pop.
Hop Pop yelped in fright at Frank's sudden appearance. Backing away from him, the elderly frog started laughing nervously. "Oh, uh, Frank. How's it going?"
"Don't play dumb!" Frank said, pointing his finger at Anne. "I saw what you did!"
"Wait! I-It isn't what it looks like!"
"You brainwashed your own grandchildren, and my friend with the potion Gary gave you!" Frank yelled at him.
"...okay, it is what it looks like." Hop Pop relented before dropping down to his knees, putting his hands together, and looking at Frank pleadingly. "I'm so sorry! It was the only way to get them to behave! I just wanted one day of peace and quiet to work on my ship!"
"Who cares about your ship? You don't just do that to your family! Who knows what that stuff will do to them!" Frank exclaimed, throwing his arms up in disbelief at what Hop Pop was doing.
Suddenly, the door to the basement slammed open. Frank and Hop Pop turned around to see Anne's arm holding the door. However, there was an eerie purple glow coming from the basement. Then, to their terror, Anne pulled herself up to reveal she was in a zombified state. Her eyes were glowing bright purple, and there were mushrooms growing out of her head.
"AAAAAAH!" Frank and Hop Pop screamed in terror as Anne pulled herself out of the basement, moaning like the undead. Then Sprig and Polly came down the stairs in the same state as the Thai girl.
"Holy crap, they're zombies!" Frank yelled in terror. As his zombified friends started moving towards him, Frank saw the baseball bat leaning against the wall to his right. Rushing over and grabbing it, the Hispanic boy quickly ran back and stood between himself and Hop Pop.
"Guys, I don't wanna…." Frank trailed off when the three zombified friends turned right and walked to the door. Opening it and leaving the house. "Uh, what?"
"Kids!" Hop Pop moved past Frank and ran for the door. He was about to chase after them to bring them back. However, the old frog stopped at the threshold when he saw a familiar hooded figure standing in front of the house, with the kids standing around him.
"Knock, knock," Gary said in a sing-songy voice.
"Gary? What the heck are you doing here?" Hop Pop exclaimed in total shock and confusion. Frank ran over to see the hooded frog from Loggle's shop.
"I'm here to witness the birth of my new children," said the hooded frog as he gestured to the zombified kids with his hands.
"Wah...You?! You turned them into zombies?!" Frank glared furiously at the mysterious frog.
"Not quite. They're still alive, but their bodies belong to me," Gary said. Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out a large glass jar that held more of the potion that Hop Pop used. "That potion I gave you was no ordinary elixir. It was made with a special blend of my very own spores."
"Your spores?" Hop Pop raised an eyebrow.
Gary smiled, before grabbing the edge of his hood and pulling up. Revealing the same glowing eyes Anne, Sprig, and Polly had. But the hood just kept going and going. Unveiling what Frank had thought was just hair.
However, when he saw what was really under that hood, the Hispanic boy and Hop Pop gasped in shock.
Sitting on top of the frog was a giant, glowing purple mushroom. It had a long stem with strong white roots and had much resemblance to the white button mushroom, the only significant change being that the spots looked more like water droplets or bubbles, and he also had some tiny root-like sprouts growing out of the frog's neck.
However, it was soon proven that the frog wasn't controlling the kids. It was the mushroom that was the puppet master. "Behold! My true beautiful self," it said, glowing when it spoke.
"Oh my God!" Frank yelled in shock. "You're a talking mushroom?!"
"Yes, amazing, aren't I? You see, I am a rare species of mushroom able to control the mind of its host. And soon, all of Amphibia will be under my command!" Lightning struck behind him in the sky as the evil mushroom cackled maniacally.
"Like hell, you bastard!" Frank yelled, holding his bat up to fight.
"You'll never get away with this," Hop proclaimed, pointing at the mushroom.
"Silence!" Gary thundered. But then he pointed up at the mushroom on the frog's head. "Also, eyes up here, buddy."
Understanding that he was saying that the mushroom was talking to them and not the frog, Frank and Hop Pop started apologizing. "Oh, sorry."
"It's just he's got the mouth and eyes…." Frank added.
"I know, right? It's totally weird. I completely get it." Gary said, dismissing them for not looking at him properly. "Now, where was I? Oh, right. To me, my mushroom children!"
The full extent of Gary's takeover was shown when frogs from all over the town started emerging from the trees and bushes. They all had mushrooms growing out of their heads, and their eyes were glowing purple. Gary's spores possessed even Mayor Toadstool. Frank and Hop Pop watched in ever-growing horror as more of the townsfolk marched toward the Plantar's home.
"Welcome to the family, Hopediah and Franklin!" Gary exclaimed with a big grin on his face. The possessed horde moaned loudly behind him.
"Okay, for one, it's just Frank. And number two…." There was a moment of pause, before Frank slammed the door shut. "Barricade the doors! We have to hold them off!"
Hop Pop quickly pushed the couch in front of the door before the mushroom zombies started banging on it. Trying to bust down the door and get into the house. Some of the frogs opened the winds to get in. Frank was quick and hit them with the bat. Not hard enough to kill them but enough to get them down. He then shut the window and quickly knocked it back up.
However, the couch started being pushed back from the door, and zombies started walking into the house.
"We've got to get out of here!" Hop Pop yelled.
Frank whacked a few of the zombies in the head. "I have an idea! Come on!" He grabbed the old frog and ran into Hop Pop's study. Setting him down on the floor, Frank bashed another zombie away and slammed the room doors. "Quick! The window!"
Hop Pop jumped on his desk and opened the window. He hopped through it while Frank dived out the window. However, the old frog went back to the window to reach in and grab his ship. "Well, I can't just leave her here." He said, pulling the model outside.
As the mushroom zombies invaded the house and ransacked it, trying to find the two that had escaped, Frank and Hop Pop ran down the road. "We gotta get help." Hop Pop said, panting as he jogged behind Frank. "But everyone's infected except—"
"Not everyone," Frank said. He and Hop Pop then took a left and rushed towards the open barn. Entering the barn, Frank looked around for Bessie before seeing her sleeping in her stable.
He was about to walk towards it when he heard a family bouncing sound.
Frank froze where he stood and slowly turned his head back towards the barn entrance. His eyes widened in horror. Seeing this, Hop Pop did the same and saw zombie Polly standing a few feet from them, staring.
Polly blinked, then let out a horrible screaming sound while pointing at both of them.
"Oh shit." Frank groaned as he and Hop Pop backed away from the girl.
"Shh! No, no, no. Polly, don't!" Hop Pop pleaded, trying to get his granddaughter to stop. However, unbeknownst to them, Anne and Sprig were standing right behind them. As Frank and the old frog backed into them, they grabbed them, with the possessed Thai girl holding onto Frank's arms and the pink frog taking ahold of his grandfather's.
"Anne! No, don't do this!" Frank yelled, trying to pull away from Anne's grip.
Gary cackled as he was carried over the heads of mushroom children. They were about to enter the barn when the giant mushroom hit the top of the threshold with a thud. All because he was being carried around and was too tall. "Little lower, please." The zombies moaned, lowered him down so they could bring him inside, and then raised him back up. "Ah, there we go."
As their leader approached them, more frogs joined in to restrain the two struggling survivors. "Enough games. Time for your assimilation," said the talking mushroom. Pulling out his jar of spores, Gary popped one of his bubbles into it, filling it with more.
"Okay, one, that's super gross, and two, sorry to disappoint you, but we've got you right where we want ya, you compost-eating motherfucker!" Frank yelled at Gary with a grin before shouting out loud. "NOW, HOP POP!"
As one final goodbye, Hop Pop looked at his model with tears in his eyes before kissing it. "Goodbye, sweet lady. May you find safe harbor in the beyond," Hop Pop told the model representing the old Green Lady of the sea.
Then, with all his might, he threw the ship as hard as possible. The Green Lady flew over everyone, looking just as majestic as she did when she sailed. Her voyage ended when she smashed into the latch on Bessie's gate. Unhooking it from the hook.
"BESSIE! Snack time!" Hop Pop called to the snail.
"Who's Bessie?" Gary asked. "Is that your wife?"
Bessie came charging out of the stable and ran towards the crowd in front of her. Frank and Hop Pop jumped out of her way before she slammed into the zombies. Knocking Gary to the ground and hitting the jar out of his hands.
Seeing the jar coming at him, Frank grinned. "Batter up!" He exclaimed and took a swing. He smashed the jar into hundreds of pieces with one hit and splattered the spores everywhere.
"My spores!" Gary gasped in horror. Hop Pop jumped onto the mushroom, making him scream.
"Take this, you overgrown vegetable." Hop Pop yelled, punching the head of the mushroom.
The two of them tumbled and rounded on the ground until Gary kicked Hop Pop off himself. "A vegetable? How dare you?" He yelled. Both the mushroom's host and the old frog grappled with one another and fought.
"WOOHOO!" Frank cheered at the top of his lungs as he rode on top of Bessie. The snail ran around the barn, not missing a single mushroom, which she ate off the heads of everyone she passed.
Seeing this, Gary cried out to his minions. "Stop her! She's eating all the mushrooms."
The remaining zombies crowded around Bessie, but Frank wouldn't let them hurt his cute snail friend. He started whacking away anyone that came close to him and the giant snail. Leaving them easy picking for Bessie.
Eventually, she cleared all the infected citizens of Wartwod. Still hungry, Bessie turned to her owner, who was still fighting off Gary. That's when she laid eyes on the enormous mushroom. It was the biggest she'd ever seen. Big and juicy, and she purred with happiness seeing such a sight.
Frank grinned mischievously. "Get him, Bessie!"
Bessie cried out in joy as she charged towards Gary. Getting the attention of the mushroom. Panicking, Gary quickly let go of one of Hop Pop's hands to push against Bessie's neck. Stopping her from eating him. "Ah! No. Stop. Please!"
"You're finished, you piece of shit!" Frank yelled at him.
"Have mercy, I beg of you," begged the talking mushroom. He looked at Hop Pop with pleading eyes as Bessie tried licking and biting at Gary's real body. "I'm the last of my kind. Destroying me would wipe us off the planet forever."
"...…I can live with that."
Hop Pop then yelled as he pushed Gary back. Bessie seized the moment. Opening her mouth as wide as she could, she sucked the heads of the mushroom in and started pulling as hard as she could. Gary's host screamed in complete and total agony, echoing the pain and suffering the mind controller was feeling. Bessie continued pulling up, making the roots in the frog's head stretch out. Blood spewed from where the roots were embedded, until the snail finally ripped Gary off his head.
With blood covering the frog's head, the glowing in his eyes finally faded, and he was back to normal. Blinking his eyes, he snapped out of his possessed state and looked around, very confused about what was happening. All around the barn, everyone was awakening from their possession, returning to normal after being controlled by Gary. For some, it was just a wonderful dream they were having. But others were perplexed about why they were there and what happened to them.
"Why am I in the barn? What day is it?" Mayor Toadstool asked out loud as he and everyone started walking out.
"Well, not the first time I've woken up in a shed," said one frog.
"I gotta go home. My wife's gonna kill me." Another one said.
As everyone left, the original host of Gary turned to Hop Pop and asked, "Hey, buddy. Do you know where I live?"
Hop Pop frowned. "Nope. Sorry, Gary."
"Gary? The name's Lloyd," said Lloyd before throwing off the cloak he had on and walking away.
Hop Pop sighed in relief and looked up at Frank. "Welp, all's well that ends well."
Frank glared at him. "Look behind you."
Confused, Hop Pop turned around. He saw Anne and his grandkids glaring at him with their arms crossed. Not at all happy with the elder frog for the stunt he pulled on them. Knowing that he had to answer for his crimes, Hop Pop sighed and turned around to face them. "I know. No matter how important my ship was, it didn't give me the right to use mind control on you."
"No shit, Sherlock! You put us all in danger!" Frank yelled, jumping off Bessie and walking around to join Anne and the grandkids.
"Yeah, what the hell!" Anne exclaimed. However, her expression softened. "But…I guess we're sorry too. Looks like we pushed you pretty far. We'll try to be better about listening to you in the future."
Hop Pop chuckled. "Yeah. I guess we're even."
"Hop Pop, we broke a model ship. You crossed all kinds of ethical and moral lines!" Polly pointed out.
"Like I said, even." Hop Pop said, walking over and pulling the four of them into a hug. But the kids were still annoyed that Hop Pop wasn't as remorseful as they hoped he'd be. However, they just let it go.
"Yeah, whatever," Frank said, patting his head.
Hop Pop released the kids and said with a big smile, "Now come on. I'll make y'all some mushroom soup." Together, the five family members walked out of the barn with Hop Pop closing the door behind him.
However, unbeknownst to the family was that even though the mushroom was gone, his spores were still very much active. And while splattered across the ground, it would find itself a new host in the form of Jeremey, the blue beetle Hop Pop befriended.
The little insect walked over to some of the spores near the wall and started feasting on them. However, some of the potion staining the wall over the beetle dripped down on Jeremey's head.
Before long, a mushroom formed on his head. Jeremey was gone, and Apothecary Gary was in.
Meanwhile, far away, there was a tower people dreaded ever being sent to. And it was this tower that Tritonio found himself locked up in. He didn't appear distressed about being in the dreaded Toad Tower. He just casually sat against the wall, his arms behind his head, looking relatively relaxed at the toad standing in front of him.
"So, Tritonio Espada, was it? Are you sure these... gangly creatures who helped you rob that train did not look like frogs?" Asked the toad, Captain Grime, Captain of the Toad Army garrison of Frog Valley's Toad Tower.
Grime was a green toad with a large and muscular build. His eyes did not have visible pupils, and he possessed sharp, yellow teeth. His left eye glowed yellow-green and was in a constant squint, while his right eye was marked with a pink scar, pale blue, and dull due to the injury. For his armor, Grime was clad in brown metal armor with a dark mauve cape.
"That is correct," Tritonio said, smiling lazily.
Behind Grime came Bog. "And was one of them wearing a green jacket and a blue hat?"
"Ah, you speak of Frank Ramirez!" Tritonio proclaimed, pointing a figure up before moving his normal hand over his heart. "Boy with a terrible past with a heart of gold and a spirit of fire!"
"Yes, we know about the boy's past," Grime said, then turned to his soldier. "This all confirms your claim, Bog. The murderer of Tartarus has shown his face yet again."
"There's more," Tritonio said, holding up his right arm, which was still a stump. It'll take time for his hand to regrow, but it mattered little to the newt. "The boy was wielding a scythe among his other weapons."
"What? He made another mantis scythe," asked Bog, not seeing how that was important.
"I wasn't certain in the moment, but I believe it looked like…." Tritonio paused for dramatic effect. "Hellcat's Claw."
This information shocked the toads in the room, including the guards. "The weapon of the Frog King? But...that's impossible! That scythe is just a legend!"
"Ah, but I assure you it was real! I saw it with my own eyes!" Tritonio said, standing up with a grin on his face.
Turning away and placing his hand on his chin, Grime thought for a moment. "So this boy is both a rebel and wielding a legendary weapon," he said, realizing that the plan would be much more complicated than initially thought. Especially with Hellcat's Claw. "How shall we approach him?"
"Well, the Frog of the Year ceremony is coming up in a few days. We might find him there, including that other creature," Bog said, referring to Anne. "Heck, we may even find that old frog who tried to beat Toadstool in the election."
Grime pondered some more. Bog did make a good point. All of their targets would be in one place at the same time. And all they would have to do is go to the celebration under cover of darkness. They'll have the element of surprise. "Yes, but let's hear what our soldiers have to say," said the captain. With a menacing grin, Grime turned towards the door, where the silhouette of a tall figure stood. "What say you, 1st Lieutenant?"
The shadowy figure stepped into the room that used to be her prison for a month. Revealing herself as none other than Sasha Waybright.
The blonde girl had changed since coming to Amphibia and being separated from her friends. She was clad in brown toad armor over gray clothing, a black cape, a large brown pauldron on her right shoulder, and a studded belt with a holster and pink heron sword attached. She had a dagger in a holster located at her back. She also wore wraps on her right hand, a glove on her left hand, and armored boots.
Sasha smirked and simply said, "Sounds perfect."
Friends will fight, loyalties will be tested, secrets will be revealed, and calamity shall be awakened.