A week went by after the events with Tritonio and the train robbery, and things seem to have gone back to normal, Anne continuing her training under Shadow, as she said in her own words, that he's a much more preferred option. Things have been going well so far, but Anne still felt warm inside whenever she was around Shadow. After everything he did for her, she wanted to find a way to thank him.
And she had the perfect solution.
Inside the hut, she had a whole list prepared for everything she needed. She already had a picnic basket set up, and on her list was various items, such as food, drinks, and other small things. Once that was written out, she got to work on another project, while Shadow was out hunting, which seemed to be his favorite past time, Anne was working on a small wooden sculpture that was supposed to be a samurai warrior with his katana raised overhead.
"Good thing Loggle taught me about wood carving at a reasonable price." Anne said to herself. "Still, I hope he doesn't end up closing his shops doors."
As she carved the sculpture, suddenly a kickball broke through the window and hit her in the back of her head, dropping her work and tool on the table.
"Ow!" She yelled, rubbing the back of her head, looking up to see Kaemon walking up to the broken window, the boy's bandages having been removed. He now had a vertical scar over his left eye, but thankfully the eye itself was fine.
"Ooh, sorry about that, Anne." He said.
"Kaemon, what the heck, dude?!" Anne yelled at him.
"We're trying to teach Polly how to play kickball, like you showed us before." Kaemon explained, as Sprig and Polly approached by his side.
"Which is challenging for obvious reasons." Sprig added.
"Guys, can you not?" Anne frowned at them. "Seriously, I'm trying to make the picture-perfect plan for me and Shadow, so try to understand that I don't want to mess it up."
"Ooh, planning a date for tall, dark, and cool?" Polly asked with a teasing grin.
Anne felt her cheeks heat up as she averted her eyes. "Maybe…" She said, almost a whisper.
"Oooh~." Polly and Sprig said before they started singing, "Anne and Shadow, sitting in a tree~ K-I-S-S-I-N-G~"
"Will you two stop that?" Kaemon frowned, clearing not okay with their teasing. "How would you two like it if someone teased about you and your crush?"
"Look, I just want to show him my appreciation for everything he's done for me." Anne explained. "So please, just come inside and play a quiet game or something so I can plan in peace?"
The kids complied before leaving the window, Anne letting out a sigh. "I wonder if this is what my mom had to deal with when I was little." She wondered aloud, picking up her sculpture and carving knife to resume her work…
Slam! "Tongue tag!"
Suddenly, the sound of the door slamming open and Sprig yelled made Anne spin around to see the others run in, laughing as Kaemon and Polly ran from Sprig launching his tongue at them.
"If you get tongued, you lose!" Sprig yelled before launching his tongue at Kaemon, who avoided it.
"Guys, no!" Anne cried out as the three kids ran around the hut. "I said a quiet game!"
"Save me, Anne!" Kaemon laughed, ducking behind Anne like a human shield.
"Guys, cut it out!" Anne yelled.
Sprig shot his tongue at Kaemon, who pulled Anne down, Anne looking up in time to see Sprig's tongue knock what looked like a model ship off the table.
"No!" She yelled, trying to reach out to catch it, but it was no good, the ship crashing to the ground, smashing the hull and breaking the masts.
Anne screamed in horror at the sight, as the other kids stopped and saw what happened.
"Oops." Sprig said.
Quickly picking up the pieces, Anne grunted in frustration. "Why don't you guys ever listen to me?!" She snapped at them before calming down. "Okay. Everything's fine. We can still fix it."
"Oh, isn't that the model ship Master likes?" Kaemon asked, pointing at the broken model.
"Obvi, and if I don't get it fixed, he'll throw me out for sure!" Anne said in a panic. "I'd have to go back to living in caves!"
Her mind instantly went to how she first lived out in the wilderness, struggling to sleep in caves on stormy nights, surrounded by giant bugs.
"The long nights were the hardest." Anne said with a shiver.
"No time to lose then." Kaemon said. "Quick, to Loggle's!"
The four kids drove Ironhide to Loggle's shop, Anne bringing the snail to a screeching halt.
"Okay, I'm going in." Anne said before passing Kaemon a small bag of mushrooms. "Give Ironhide some mushroom treats if he acts up. Shadow told me so."
"You got it." Kaemon said as the Thai-American girl hopped off and went inside, Ironhide purring as he spotted the treats, giving the newt boy an idea.
Slamming the door open, Anne rushed inside and to the counter.
"Loggle! You've gotta help me!" Anne cried out desperately as she carefully laid the ship onto the counter.
Loggle put on his goggles and looking it over, Loggle gasped. "Is that a 1/80 scale model of The Green Lady?"
"Yeah! And it's damaged!" Anne said, fearful of being thrown out. "Can you please fix this boat?!"
"It's a warship, actually." Loggle corrected.
"Potato, tomato. Now fix it!" Anne demanded.
"Okay, okay," Loggle said, not wanting to incite the girl's wrath. "Wait here. I have just the thing."
Anne watch Loggle go to the back with the model, the girl waiting anxiously and drumming her fingers against the counter, completely unaware of a cloaked frog standing behind her.
"Excuse me, ma'am."
Startled, Anne shouted with fright before spinning around to see said frog. The amphibian in question was fairly average in terms of size, with light green skin and a small goatee. His eyes were hidden under the hood and his clothes seemed torn and dirty, wearing brown pants underneath.
The strangest thing about him was his head. Anne couldn't see, but it looked as though he either had a large head or perhaps big hair underneath that hood.
"Oh. Uh, hello." Anne said, trying to be polite, trying to hide the fact that she was freaked out by his large head.
"Is that your snail out there?" He asked, pointing outside.
Looking out the window, Anne saw Ironhide doing donuts, all the while Kaemon and the Plantar kids cheered him on.
"Show 'em what you got, Ironhide!" Kaemon yelled. They enjoyed the ride until a cop snail pulled up, forcing them to stop. "Boo!"
Anne sighed in annoyance before facepalming. "Technically, yes. I swear, they are driving me insane!"
"Unruly kids, is it?" The hooded frog said, regaining her attention. "Well, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Apothecary Gary. You can also call me Apothe-Gary if you'd like."
"Yeah, not happening." Anne said flatly.
"Well, suit yourself. Anyway, I've got just the thing for your troubles." Gary said before pulling a small vial from his cloak and giving it to Anne. It looked like it was filled with some form of purple jelly with small white particles shaped like mushrooms. "Just rub a little of this on their foreheads and your kids will be behaving in a jiffy. See, it has these special enzymes—"
"Okay, first off, only thirteen here." Anne interrupted him. "Second, I'm not a fan of scams, pal."
Gary only laughed in response. "Oh, it's not a scam. I guarantee, once you've tried it, you won't be able to live without it."
Anne looked at the vial with consideration, still unsure. "I don't know. This kind of stuff would never—"
But when she looked back up, the hooded frog was gone somehow. Looking around, Anne saw that she was completely alone, as though he had teleported out of existence.
"Apothe-Gary?" She said softly, utterly confused.
"Here we go, Anne!" Loggle suddenly called, startling Anne as he returned, carrying a crate with the model ship resting in hey.
"Oh, great." Anne calmed herself. "Thanks, Loggle! You seriously saved my butt!"
Taking the crate, she left the shop, meeting the others outside.
"Did you get everything?" Kaemon asked.
"Yup, spick and span!" Anne declared with a smile. "Like it was never broken!"
"That's great." Kaemon said, before giving an apologetic smile. "Listen, we'll be on our best behavior."
"Yeah. The least we can do is give you the time to prepare for your day out with Shadow." Sprig added.
"We're sorry, Anne. This is yours, by the way." Polly said, holding up a ticket.
Anne seemed annoyed, but decided to let it slide. "Thanks, guys. For the apology, not the ticket."
"Whoo-hoo! Shotgun!" Polly exclaimed as the three got in the saddle, Anne looking at the vial of liquid.
"Guess I won't be needing this stuff after all." She said before pulling away to keep it from Ironhide. "Hey, shoo, boy. This ain't a snack."
Putting the vial away in her bag, she then got into the saddle before realizing something.
"I wonder where Shadow's been all day. He seriously couldn't have been out hunting the whole day."
Unbeknownst to Anne, that was exactly what Shadow had been up to, venturing through the woods, hunting for various beasts. Every giant insect or reptile he came across met a swift end by his sword and harvested for their meat, the boy pulling along a sizable sled to carry the meat.
"Hoo boy, today's been quite the haul!" He declared with pride. "I'm thinking some stir fry, or maybe meatballs! Ooh, maybe casserole! Mmmm, so many to choose from…"
His musings were interrupted, however, when he heard a noise coming from up ahead, the boy dropping the rope connected to the sled, a hand hovering over the handle of his sword and taking a stance, his eyes carefully watching as the shadow of a large mantis appeared from the greenery.
"Another addition for the meat locker." He said with an eager grin, readying to attack.
The mantis soon turned its head, looking at the boy, but didn't move. Shadow stepped forward, but stopped when he stepped on the ground, noticing how thin it felt. Looking down, he noticed a shadow underneath the ground.
That's when he realized he was stepping on the trap door of a trap door spider.
Shadow only smirked before jumping back, and as soon as he was off, the trapdoor spider sprung from underneath, aiming to snatch at its prey, Shadow preparing to draw his sword, but the mantis in the shrubbery was faster, swinging its blades down, trapping the spider and biting into its head.
Shadow looked in surprise as the mantis picked at the spider's head, noticing the brown coloring and dragon-like appearance, including the dragon-like horns atop its head.
The boy's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he seemed to recognize the creature. "Cutter?!"
The mantis stopped eating, raising his head as though he was being called, looking at Shadow with some level of affection.
"Cutter, it IS you!" The boy cried, running forward and hugging the mantis, the bug reciprocating as he nuzzled against his head.
"Buddy, it's so good to see you!" Shadow declared with a smile, the mantis chirping happily. "What have you been up to?"
The mantis moved away, raising his forearm as though gesturing the boy to follow, the boy grabbing his cart and following.
Back home, Anne and the kids had just returned to the hut, parking Ironhide back in the stable before they got off.
Everything was fine, before Kaemon felt his stomach growl. "I'm starving." He remarked.
"I think there's one more Beetle Bite left in the kitchen." Sprig said, before the three rushed off, determined to get the treat first.
"Guys, wait!" Anne said, seeing them coming straight for her.
But it did little to help, before the three accidentally shoved Anne in the process, making her drop the crate she was carrying. Thankfully, the ship was okay, but Anne's fear still made her freak out.
"No! No, no, no!" She sobbed, looking over the ship, sighing in relief at the sight of no damage.
"Sorry, Anne. Let me get that for you." Kaemon said, reaching down to pick up the crate, only for Anne to slap his hand away.
"Keep your damn hands off!" She snapped at him.
That night, Anne lied awake in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't understand why the others wouldn't behave long enough for her to plan her day with Shadow. Reaching into her bag and pulling out the vial, she made a decision.
Creeping out of her room, she saw Sprig and Polly, both staying the night, sleeping in the guest bed off to the side of the kitchen. Apparently, Shadow liked the smell of the lingering scent of the food he cooked, mostly due to the seasoning and spices he would use for the meat. She tiptoed over and rubbed the enzymes on their foreheads, before sneaking over to the door leading to Kaemon's room and gently pushing the door open, seeing the newt boy sprawled out on his bed, snoring rather loudly. She then dabbed some enzymes on his forehead before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.
"Eh. Probably not gonna do anything anyway." She said before returning to her own room.
The next morning came, Anne yawned as she woke up before getting out of bed, brushing her hair before poofing it up, then got dressed and left her room, finding it oddly quiet in the living room. Seeing that, oddly enough Shadow still wasn't home, Anne decided to cook breakfast herself. Getting everything set up, she cooked the steak as she knew the others would like. Spig's medium rare, Polly's extra spicy, and Kaemon extra burnt (for some reason). She placed the steaks on the table.
"Guys, breakfast is ready!" She called.
When she got no reply, she only huffed. "They always take so long to wake up."
She turned back to the stove to put out the fire, but when she turned around, she nearly jumped when she saw the three sitting at the table, as though they had appeared out of nowhere.
"Good morning, Anne." All three said in unison, in almost robotic tones.
Anne blinked, slightly bothered by their perfect smiles and almost soulless eyes, before shrugging it off. "Oookay. I'm gonna be working on my afternoon plan for me and Shadow, so eat up quickly, sit over there," She pointed at the pile of wool. "And don't say a…"
She stopped when she saw they had already finished their plates and sat in front of the wool pile, those expressions never changing.
"…word." She finished.
"Yes, Anne." They all said in perfect unison.
While creeped out at first, Anne quickly shrugged it off. "Don't hate that."
She then proceeded to make her plans, all the while the others just sat in silence.
Back with Shadow, he had just wakened up in his hand-made leaf bed, stretching before getting up, before being greeted by his former pet Cutter, who had just woken up himself.
"Morning, pal." Shadow said, gently petting his friend.
Cutter chirped in response, the two looking over to see several multicolored baby mantis' rising from their slumber, along with a giant, orchid mantis bringing food.
"Still, I'm surprised you managed a mate, AND lived to see your kids." Shadow said. "Usually, the female eats the male, but you must've proved to be one hell of a catch."
Cutter chirped happily.
"Yeah, all that hunting we did together really paid off." Shadow nodded. "I'm proud of you, buddy."
The boy looked over at the mantis family, his heart warming from the sight, before his smile turned into a frown.
"It's weird, you know, how you can grow so close to someone." He said. "And yet, when you least expect it, they're gone."
He then got up and walked over to the lake, looking down at the surface.
"Ever since coming out here, I swore to never get so close, out of fear of heartache." He went on. "Out of fear of losing someone I value so highly. And yet…"
His mind then reflected on the people he grew close to in Wartwood; The Plantars, the Sundews, Mrs. Croaker, Maddie, Wally, and everyone else who treated him as an equal, after having done so much for the town, especially after the incident regarding the toads from Toad tower. He was more of a protector now than a stranger.
Then there's Anne. He couldn't deny that he had grow to really admire the Thai girl. At first, he was just focused on helping her survive this crazy and dangerous world, training her and teaching her to control her powers to an extent. The times they spent made him appreciate and enjoy her company more and more, before that admiration soon started to grow into infatuation.
Looking at his reflection on the water's surface, he saw his reflection change, soon enough, the image of Anne was staring back at him. How he grew to love those features, her smooth facial features, her beautiful brown eyes, her poofy hair, but when straightened, made her all the more attractive.
Cutter soon approached the boys side, nudging at him.
"Yeah, I can deny it no longer, old friend." Shadow sighed happily. "I am in love with Anne Boonchuy."
"SHADOW!"
The boy nearly jumped when her heard the sudden shout, before Hop Pop emerged from the bushes, breathing heavily and his clothes tattered.
"There you are!" The old frog yelled. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find ya? Not to mention how worried I was? Why, I thought you done—"
He then stopped when he took notice of the dragon mantis that is Cutter, the giant mantis staring down at the old frog with curiosity. Before Hop Pop could scream in no doubt absolute horror, Shadow quickly slapped his hand over the old frog's mouth.
"Please, whatever you do, do not scream." He warned. "You'll startle him and we'll both be in trouble."
After Shadow removed his hand, Hop Pop stared up at the mantis, who stared back at him, lowering his head to eye level before rubbing his head against his, making Hop Pop smile nervously.
"There's a good boy." He said before then remembering why he was out here in the first place. "Dang it, boy, you almost made me forget! Somethin's goin' on with the kids!"
"Whoa, slow down." Shadow said. "What exactly happened?"
Hop Pop kept calm before explaining. "Well, it was yesterday when I left Polly and Sprig at your place, and when I went to go pick them up, somethin's wrong!"
"Show me."
"Something is definitely wrong."
After leaving his mantis friend, the two returned to the hut, they saw Kaemon, Polly and Sprig outside, somewhat playing baseball, all sporting blank smiles and standing in place.
"Seriously, what's wrong with them?!" Hop Pop demanded.
"That's something I'd like to know myself." Shadow remarked. "Hold on."
He then approached Kaemon, waving a hand in front of his face, then snapped his fingers, no reaction. He then spat in his hand before smacking the newt boy across the face, sending him to the floor.
"Ow!" Kaemon suddenly cried out, rubbing the side of his face where Shadow had struck him.
"Well, that's one way." Shadow shrugged before turning to Hop Pop. "Don't suppose you'd want to handle your grandkids?"
"Yeah, I'd rather you not hit them." Hop Pop said with a frown before approaching Sprig and Polly.
"Kaemon, care to explain what's going on?" Shadow asked the newt. "Why were you standing there like zombies?"
"I don't know, master." Kaemon said before getting up, Hop Pop soon shaking Sprig and Polly out of their trances. "But I felt like I was imprisoned in my own body, yet I didn't see what was happening."
"I... I have all this anger, and I don't know what to do with it!" Polly exclaimed.
"What do you recall before?" Shadow asked.
"Well, we were playing rough yesterday, playing kickball, and trying to teach Polly," Kaemon explained. "And we ended up breaking a window, sorry about that by the way, and then we started playing tongue tag inside."
"That couldn't have gone well." Hop Pop grimaced.
"You said it." Sprig nodded. "Then Anne screamed about a model ship we accidentally broke-"
He was interrupted when Shadow pulled him up by the shirt color, meeting the sudden angry eyes of the boy.
"You. Did. WHAT?!" Shadow snarled.
"I assume that ship has some value?" Kaemon inquired with a nervous gulp.
"That ship was a gift from Conrad!" Shadow snapped, taking Kaemon by surprise.
"Who's Conrad?" Kaemon asked.
"Conrad Plantar." Hop Pop said. "My son."
"And our dad." Polly added. "Who passed away."
Kaemon's eyes widened in realization. "Oh. Master, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize-"
Shadow raised a hand, making the newt go silent. The human boy breathed a few times before putting Sprig down.
"No, I'm sorry." He said. "I shouldn't be getting angry like that."
"But we got it fixed!" Sprig said. "Like it never happened!"
"And I appreciate it." Shadow smiled, ruffling the frog boy's head.
"So, we're not in trouble?" Kaemon asked.
"Oh, you're in trouble all right." Shadow said. "For breaking my valuable possession, roughhousing indoors, and breaking the window, you three will be on snail cleaning duty for a week."
The three groaned before Hop Pop said, "Still, what made them act like that in the first place?"
"I'll have a word with Anne." Shadow said. "Why don't you keep them entertained for a while, HP?"
Before Hop Pop could reply, Shadow had already entered the hut, the boy spotting the Thai girl scribbling something on a piece of paper.
"Yes, just about done." She said with barely contained glee, completely unaware of Shadow's presence. "Shadow's gonna love this!"
Curious, Shadow approached from behind. "Love what?"
Screeching, Anne jumped out of her seat and turned, as though trying to keep what she had written behind her back.
"Oh, hey, Shadow." Anne said nervously. "What's up?"
"Perhaps you could answer my question." Shadow said. "Like, what you're up to."
Anne seemed to hesitate, not wanting to spoil the surprise she had planned. "Uuuhhh…okay, so I know this looks weird, but I want to keep it a secret, okay?"
Shadow raised a brow. "And why is that?"
"It's a surprise." Anne said, keeping it vague. "So, if you don't mind waiting, I'll tell you in…" She looked over at the calendar, then back to her caretaker. "The day after tomorrow! Promise!"
Shadow considered this before nodding. "Okay, now can you explain what was going on with Kaemon and the others? Why were they standing around as though they were in some sort of trance?"
Anne tried to think of some sort of excuse. "Maybe it has to do with frogs at a certain age."
"But Sprig and Polly are different ages." Shadow pointed out. "And Kaemon's a newt."
"Uh…it transcends species?" Anne tried to lie.
Shadow didn't buy it and narrowed his eyes, giving her a look that said 'are you sure you want to lie', which clearly made Anne sweat.
"I don't know, okay?!" Anne said, throwing her hands up. "I don't know anything about frogs and newts to make any sort of guess!"
He looked outside, seeing the kids rough housing. "Well, as long as they're not in any danger, I suppose it's nothing to worry about."
Suddenly, the door flew open and the three kids came running in, playing tongue tag, as Sprig was lashing out with his tongue, trying to tag them, Hop Pop running in, trying to stop them.
"No! Kids! Cut it out!" The old frog yelled, trying to get them to stop, but failing miserably.
Yelping, Anne knew only one way to stop them. "Everyone, go home, go to bed, and you'll get ten coppers each!"
Suddenly, the three rough housing kids stopped before proceeding to leave.
"Well, good night." Sprig said with a salute.
"Sleep tight." Polly said as she followed her brother out of the hut.
"I sure like money!" Kaemon said before going to his room.
The main room fell silent, Anne slumping in her chair, a hand to her forehead as she breathed heavily.
"I…think I'm gonna go to bed now." She said, getting up and going to her room, Shadow and Hop Pop watching as her door shut.
"I don't suppose she gave you an answer?" Hop Pop asked.
"She did, but I suspect it wasn't the truth." Shadow said. "I have a feeling that it'll bite us later."
That night, Anne crept out of her room, making sure no one was awake, before sneaking into Kaemon's room and applying the purple goo like she did before. She then snuck out of the hut and made her way to town, sneaking into the Plantar home and applying the goo to Polly and Sprig. Once she finished, she left Sprigs room and made to leave the house.
"Forgetting someone?"
She nearly jumped when she saw Shadow and Hop Pop standing in the corner of the room, arms crossed and both sporting looks of disapproval.
"Oh, HP, Shady. How's it going?" Anne said nervously, trying to play dumb.
"Do not play dumb with us." Shadow said sternly as he and the old frog approached. "We saw what you did."
"Wait, it's not what it looks like!" Anne said before Hop Pop snatched the vial away.
"You're brainwashing my grandkids and Kaemon!" The old frog snapped.
"…okay, it's exactly what it looks like." Anne relented before dropping to her knees, putting her hands together and looking at Shadow pleadingly. "I'm so sorry! It was the only thing I could think of to get them to behave!"
"All this for so damn plans?" Shadow said with narrowed eyes. "Where'd you even get this from?"
"Some apothecary guy gave it to me." Anne said. "He said it had enzymes that-"
"Anne, these aren't enzymes." Hop Pop said with wide eyes. "They're spores!"
Suddenly, an audible moan could be heard coming from upstairs, the three turning to see Sprig hobbling down the stairs, his eyes glowing purple and mushrooms growing out of his head.
"AAAAAAHHHH!" Anne and Hop Pop screamed, even Shadow looked on in horror, seeing Polly follow Sprig, the pollywog in the same state as her brother.
"Oh my God, they're zombies!" Anne yelled, seeing the two move towards them, the Thai girl moving back with Shadow and Hop Pop, but her horror turned to confusion when the two kids moved past them and towards the door.
"Kids!" Hop Pop said, moving past the humans to get his grandkids, only to stop when he saw a hooded figure standing outside, the two kids standing near him.
"Knock, knock." Gary said in a singsong tone.
"Gary? What the heck are you doing here?" Anne demanded.
"You know him?" Shadow gave her a quizzical look.
"He's the guy that gave me the potion!" Anne exclaimed.
"I'm here to witness the birth of my new children." Gary said, gesturing to the zombified kids.
"Children?" Hop Pop repeated with confusion.
"That's right. That potion I gave you was no ordinary elixir." Gary said, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a jar full of the purple goo. "It was made with a special blend of my very own spores."
"Spores?" Shadow raised an eyebrow.
Gary smiled before pulling his hood down, the trio gasping at the sight. Atop his head was a rather large mushroom glowing an ominous purple color. That's when it clicked for them; this frog wasn't the mastermind, the mushroom was.
"Behold! My true beautiful self!" It declared, glowing when it spoke.
"Oh my God, a talking shroom!" Anne gasped.
"Wait, if you're Gary, then who's he?!" Hop Pop asked, pointing at the frog.
"Just an unlucky frog that crossed my path." Gary said. "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!" The mushroom cackled through the frog.
"Like hell you are!" Shadow snarled.
"You'll never get away with this!" Hop Pop proclaimed, pointing at the mushroom.
"Ain't no way I'm getting enslaved by a pizza topping!" Anne yelled.
"Silence!" Gary roared before pointing at his mushroom form. "Also, eyes up here, buddy."
"Oh, sorry." Hop Pop said, realizing what he meant.
"It's just, you're glowing, he's got the mouth—" Anne added.
"It's very confusing." Shadow admitted.
"I know, right? It's totally weird. I completely get it." Gary said, everyone standing in awkward silence. "Now, where was I? Oh, right. To me, my mushroom children!"
His reach was shown when every citizen of Wartwood emerged from the bushes and trees, all having mushrooms growing from their heads, even Toadstool. Anne, Shadow and Hop Pop watched in horror as the mind-controlled mob began to swarm at the front of the house.
Gary cackled loudly. "Welcome to the family, Hopediah, Annebelle, and…uh, actually, I don't know what your name is." He said, pointing at Shadow.
"First off, I don't really have a name." The boy told the shroom.
"Second, it's just Anne." Anne said. "And three..." The was a pause before she pulled the door shut, Shadow quickly pushing the couch against it to keep it shut.
"Quickly, barricade the doors and windows!" He yelled.
Anne was quick to lock the windows, but some of the zombified frogs punched holes in them, trying to reach out and grab the Thai girl.
"Better back up, I've got a chainsaw!" She yelled before making noises imitating a chainsaw, the arms retracting, as though it was working, only for her hopes to be dashed when the purple glowing eyes peaked through the holes, the girl slowly ceasing her chainsaw imitating before the mob returned to reaching and grabbing, Anne quickly running back to the living room. "We've gotta get out of here!"
"Quick, through my studies!" Hop Pop replied, the three retreating to Hop Pop's study before the mob soon pushed the door open, pushing the couch out of the way, but the trio managed to barricade the door to the study.
"Quick, the window!" Shadow said, him going first out the window, with Anne following behind, and soon Hop Pop, the three running down the road.
"We've gotta get help, but everyone in town's infected." Hop Pop said, panting as he jogged behind the humans.
"Not everyone." Shadow said. "But Bessie's too close to the mob, and they'll spot us before we release her."
"Bringing us to plan B!" Anne added.
The three ran to the hut and to the stable where Ironhide was resting. But just as they ran up to release the lock, they froze when they heard a moaning come from behind, slowly turning to see a zombified Kaemon standing at the entrance, before the newt let out a horrible scream as he pointed at them.
"Oh crud." Anne said, as she backed up against the pen.
"Quick, Shadow, open the lock!" Hop Pop yelled. "Break it, if you have to!"
"You know how expensive these locks are?!" Shadow snapped back.
Suddenly, the mob swarmed the stable and soon restrained the three.
"No! Kids, let me go!" Hop Pop yelled, struggling against his grandkids grip.
"Kaemon, stop!" Shadow yelled, him and Anne trying to break free.
A cackling came from outside, as Gary was being carried over the heads of his mushroom children. But before they could enter, he seemed a bit too tall. "Little lower, please." He commanded, his children complying and lowering a bit before entering. "Ah, there we go."
As the leader approached, more frogs entered to restrain the three survivors. "Shadow, Anne, do something! Use your powers!" Hop Pop yelled.
"We can't risk hurting these people!" Shadow replied.
"Enough games. Time for your assimilation." The mushroom said, pulling out the jar of spores and popping one of the spore bubbles, filling the jar more.
"First off, super gross. And two, sorry to disappoint you, you compost-eating fiend, but we've got you right where we want you!" Anne yelled, raising a hand and creating a tennis ball and throwing with all her might, the ball ricocheting all over the stable, before soon slamming into the lock, breaking it.
"IRONHIDE! Snack time!" Shadow yelled.
"Who's Ironhide? Is that your son?" Gary asked.
"Even better." Shadow said with a smirk. "He's my best friend!"
Ironhide came charging through the stable, charging towards the crowd in front. The trio managed to jump out of the way as the snail slammed into the crowd, knocking Gary to the ground, causing the frog to drop the jar of spores, and breaking it.
"My spores!" Gary gasped before Hop Pop jumped at him.
"Take this, you overgrown vegetable!" The old frog yelled, punching the mushroom several times.
"A vegetable? How dare you?!" Gary yelled, before seeing the snail racing around, slurping the mushrooms off the mob's heads, with Anne and Shadow cheering him on.
"Stop him! He's eating all the mushrooms!" Gary yelled before Anne suddenly grabbed him.
"Yeah, and you're next!" She yelled.
Eventually clearing the infected civilians, Ironhide looked at Gary, Ironhide's eyes widened with hunger before rushing forward, the mushroom gasping and tried to push him back.
"Ah! No. Stop. Please!" He begged.
"Begging won't help!" Anne declared, trying to push him in.
"Have mercy, I beg of you! I'm the last of my kind." Gary said, pointing at himself. "Destroying me would wipe us off the planet forever."
Anne seemed to think about it before saying, "I can live with that." She then yelled as she pushed Gary forward, right into the mouth of the snail, Gary's host screaming as Ironhide bit into the mushroom before finally pulling the shroom out of the host, chewing and swallowing the shroom whole.
Soon enough, the citizens that were under the mushrooms influence returned to normal, all looking around in confusion before one by one. Once they left, the host of Gary turned to Anne.
"Hey, lady. Do you know where I live?" He asked her.
"Nope. Sorry, Gary." Anne told him.
"Gary? The name's Lloyd." He said before taking off the cloak and throwing it to the side and walking off.
"Well, all's well that ends well." Anne said with a smile.
"Ahem."
Anne turned around to see Kaemon, Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop and Shadow, all staring at her with glares and crossed arms.
Anne sighed. "I know. No matter how important my plan was, it didn't give me the right to use mind control on you."
"Ya think?!" Kaemon snapped. "Not to mention putting us all in danger!"
Anne cringed from her newt friend's anger, but Kaemon's 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."
Anne chuckled. "Yeah. I guess we're even."
"Anne, all we did was get on your nerves. You crossed all kinds of ethical and moral lines!" Polly exclaimed.
"Like I said, even." Anne said, walking over and pulling them into a hug.
"You're still gonna be punished for this." Shadow said.
"Understandable."
"Now come on. I'll make y'all some mushroom soup." Hop Pop said, stepping out of the stable.
"Change mushroom to tomato, and we're in." Shadow chuckled as he and the others followed him out.
Unbeknownst to them, however, the spores were still active. Soon enough, Jeremy, the blue beetle Hop Pop befriended entered, walking over to the spores near the wall and started feasting. However, some of the spores would drip onto his head, and soon enough, a mushroom formed on his head.
The possessed beetle looked around, as though confused.
"What a confusing layout."
And with that, the beetle was gone. It was clear that Apothecary Gary was gone, but so was Jeremy, replaced by a whole new entity.
The next day went by quickly, everything seeming to go back to normal. Once night came, Anne led Shadow through the forest, the boy wearing a blindfold.
"Okay, we're almost there." The Thai girl said as she kept leading him before they soon arrived at their destination. "Okay, you can look now!"
Removing the blindfold, Shadow nearly gasped at the sight. They currently stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking a lake, the stars sparkling high in the sky.
"Amazing, right?" Anne asked hopefully. "Honestly, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to the lake, given the water snakes, but I thought it'd be nice! What do you think?"
Shadow looked out over the cliff, as though he was staring off to the distance before looking downward at the water below. He was feeling a large mixture of emotions, mostly involving sadness and doubt.
"Hey, you okay?" Anne asked with concern.
Shaking out of his trance, Shadow looked to Anne. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just remembering some sad moments, is all."
Understanding, Anne then laid out a large blanket before setting he picnic basket down, the two sitting down as Anne laid out the food and drinks, the two eating and chatting, sharing some laughs.
"And Marcy was so focused on her game, she completely forgot she was supposed to man the rope holding me up!" Anne declared, the two laughing at the story about a school play she was a part of.
"My, it sounds like she goes off in her own little world sometimes." Shadow said.
"Yeah, she calls it being 'in the zone', but I swear, she forgets to pay attention to her surroundings." Anne said.
"I can understand the need to watch over her." Shadow nodded. "All the more reason to find her."
They continued their mingling before they noticed a change in the sky, as the aurora borealis shined bright in the sky.
"It's beautiful." Anne said. "Wanna have a closer look?"
"Sure." Shadow nodded.
The two stood up and took hold of each others hands, the two flew off into the sky, flying into the aurora, taking in the natural light show with no special effects. Suddenly, the two saw illusions of various animals flying or running by, even some animals that went extinct.
"It's truly an amazing sight." Shadow said, seeing a wolf run past, along with a flock of birds.
Soon enough, the two flew back down to the cliff.
"I really wanted to show how much I appreciate you, Shadow." Anne said. "You've done so much, even though you didn't have to, and I've learned so much. You taught me so many lessons and helped me grow."
"I admit, I was worried at first." Shadow said. "After five years, I was content with living in solitude, until we met. You helped me shed my shell and helped me change as a person." He gave a warm smile. "I'm so glad we got to meet."
Anne smiled, a blush on her lips, the two looking into each others eyes before pressing their foreheads together, just bathing in each others company.
"No matter what comes next, we're in this together." Shadow declared. "Shadanne against the world."
"Shadanne against the world." Anne agreed.
No matter what, they'd be by each others side, no matter what the world would throw at them. Come Hell or high water.
Meanwhile, far away in Toad Tower, Sasha was training her sword skills, striking at a training dummy before stopping, sweat pouring down her face before dropping her practice sword on the rack and grabbing a bottle of water and taking a drink.
"Feeling better yet?"
She looked over to see Damien enter and approach. Admittedly, she wouldn't say it to anyone else, she was terrified by the idea of facing the Black Wolf, so she poured everything into training. Yet no matter how much she trained, she felt no more ready to face someone so dangerous.
Yet, she still felt like she could tell Damien anything and he wouldn't judge her for it. He'd always lend an ear when needed and advice whenever possible.
"To be honest, I don't feel ready." She said, leaning back against the wall. "I still feel anxious about facing this Black Wolf guy."
"I understand. I'd be the same way too." Damien nodded, sitting next to her. "The Black Wolf was the stuff of legend. A boy of focus, commitment, sheer will." He then looked out the window. "I still remember when I was younger, Grime and I were attending a parade in Newtopia, the king on a parade float, accompanied by his wife, his son, his mercs…" He shuddered. "And there he was, standing at attention like a soldier on duty. I swear, he looked right at me, staring right into my eyes. Sometimes, I still shudder." He then smiled. "And yet, I feel excitement, from the idea of meeting him in person."
Sasha looked at him with worried eyes. "Sounds like you're afraid of him."
"Oh definitely. As well as respect, and admire." Damien said. "But even still, looking into those eyes, I also saw pain."
Sasha seemed confused, but before she could ask, Percy entered the room.
"Hey guys. Captain Grime wants you in the interrogation chambers."
Looking at each other, the two got up, Sasha cleaning herself up before getting dressed into her uniform, consisting of brown toad armor over gray clothing, a black cape, a large brown pauldron on her right shoulder, and a studded belt with a holster with her pink heron sword in the sheath. She had a dagger in a holster located on her back. She also wore wraps on her right hand, a glove on her left hand and armored boots.
The two followed Percy into the prison section of the tower, where Sasha was once held, meeting with Grime and Bog, with Tritonio locked up within the cell.
"So, if I'm getting this correct," Grime said. "Are you sure this gangly creature that helped you rob the train wasn't a frog?"
Tritonio didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was held prisoner. In fact, he looked bored.
"That is right." He said lazily.
"And the three that stopped you were as followed," Grime said before reading names off a sheet of paper. "The Black Wolf himself, Kaemon; the Demon of the Four Sword, and a creature called Anne Boonchuy, correct?"
Sasha nearly felt her heart skip a beat at the mention of her friend's name. What in the world was she doing getting involved in train robberies?
"Ah yes, quite the pair, they were." Tirtonio chuckled. "Especially that Kaemon boy. Such passion, such drive!"
"And you're certain the Black Wolf was there?" Grime asked.
"Indeed he was." Tritonio nodded. "Watched as the Demon gave me quite the thrashing."
"I see." Grime then turned to Bog. "This confirms your claim, Bog. Charon's killer shows his face yet again."
"There's more." Tritonio said. "He holds a blade like no other. The legendary…" He then paused for dramatic effect before finishing. "Black Hope."
"That's what that sword was?" Bog gave a quizzical look. "The same sword that belonged to Shen the Unifier?!"
"That's not all." Tritonio smirked. "His students also have possession of Azura's Tear and Amaterasu."
"The sword and war bow of Shen's wife and kid?" Bog did a double take. "How is that possible for the three legendary weapons to be all in the same place?!"
Sasha could already feel her head spin, a hand tugging at the collar of her shirt, feeling as though she was going to vomit, which Damien quickly took notice of.
"Hey, you alright?" He asked, placing a hand to her back and gently rubbing.
"This is just a lot to take in." Sasha said. The Black Wolf, all this talk of legendary weapons…it's kinda overwhelming."
"One step at a time, partner." Damien said.
"So, he's a rebel, a runaway, and holding three legendary arms of the Frog Shogun." Grime said before turning to Bog. "How shall we approach him?"
"The Frog of the Year ceremony is coming up in a few days. We'll no doubt find him there." Bog said with a grin. "We'll also come across that Anne creature, as well as the Four Sword Demon, as well as the old frog who tried to beat Toadstool in the election."
After pondering, Grime grinned. "Excellent. We'll crush three birds with one stone." He then turned to Damien and Sasha. "How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me." Damien gave a confident smirk.
"Try perfect." Sasha added.
"Good. Go and prepare yourselves."
The two left, heading back down the stairs, before Sasha stopped and looked out the window. Soon, she was going to see her best friend, who she had vowed to find. Which also meant she was going to come face to face with the Black Wolf. She knew now was not the time to show fear or hesitation. All that mattered was finding her friends.
"How you holding up?" Damien asked.
Taking in and letting out a few breaths, Sasha soon pushed those fears out, then looked at him with renewed confidence.
"I'll be so much better when we do this." She declared. "I'll find my friends and we'll find a way home. And if the Black Wolf gets in the way? He'll be put down."
It was only a matter of time. Friends will fight. Loyalties will be tested.
And the Black Wolf will reawaken.