Back again | Amphibia

Calamity box or not?

"How did you even get here? Did ya find another calamity box?" Hop Pop asked while sitting on the couch next to Sprig and Polly.

Marcy was sitting on the floor, "nope, a scientist named Terri helped make a portal back here, but it got too unstable and sucked us in."

"The music box must act as a universal stabilizer for interdimensional Travel, so even with an extreme power source like Anne's powers, with the music box having crumbled the portal would still collapse on itself." Polly started spewing words that only Marcy understood.

"That makes sense! Maybe gems emitted frequencies that somehow covered the multiverse, making portals possible. After the gems disappeared, portals didn't have anything to stop them from collapsing in on itself!" Marcy's eyes started to sparkle, talking about something that interested her.

"You're saying the music box crumbled?" Anne lent forward on her chair.

"Yup! It kinda sorta disintegrated after you left." Sprig scratched the back of his head.

"Seriously? How are we supposed to get home now?" Sasha crossed her arms.

"Speaking of powers, I'm assuming you three don't have them anymore?" Hop Pop questioned, gesturing to the girls.

All three of them shook their heads.

Suddenly, Anne had an idea. "We need to get to Newtopia again. Maybe someone there can help us."

"Well..." Hop Pop started.

"Please don't say there's impenetrable mountains around the valley this time of year that will only clear up in two months." Anne cringed.

"Yup." Hop Pop sighed.

Marcy jumped up. "MY TIME TO SHINE BAYBEH!"

Marcy rushed outside and whistled loudly. Sasha and Anne followed, confused at Marcy's actions.

Suddenly, a hawk's cry filled the air, as a tiny shadow slowly lowered in the sky. It landed with a thump. It was a giant fluffy sparrow with golden armor and a helmet.

"JOE SPARROW!" Marcy squealed and face planted into his feathers, whispering sweet nothings. "I REALLY DIDN'T THINK THAT WOULD WORK!"

"Oh! We're going to ride Joe back to Newtopia!" Sasha realized.

"Don't forget about frobo!" Polly came over with a big multicolored frobot, which Polly had rebuilt on earth.

On Frobo's shoulder sat a little bird. Or maybe it was a snail? It was a bird with a snail shell. Guess Bessie and Joe had been getting busy.

"IS. THAT. A. SNIRD?" Marcy gasped and rushed over to inspect the strange creature, "it's adorable! Oh wait, DOES THIS MEAN IM A GRANDMA NOW? JOE SPARROW YOU SILLY LITTLE FINCH!"

Anne turned to Hop Pop and sighed, "well, when will we be leaving? Of course you don't have to come with us, I'm sure you've had enough adventure to last a life-"

"Of course we're coming!" Sprig hopped around Hop Pop.

"I missed this!" Said Polly, pulling a flail out of nowhere.

Anne gave a nostalgic smile, before turning away. "Get ready girls, let's leave at sunrise tomorrow!"

Joe sparrow flew off to wherever he lived now, and the group walked back into the Plantar's home.

"Alright girls, you can stay in Anne's old room. Try not to burn the town down or commit thousands of coppers worth of property damage." Hop Pop opened the door to the basement and gestured for them to go inside.

"No promises!" Sasha snickered as she climbed down into the room.

The three all sat on Anne's bed, looking gloomy. Sure, they had been grateful for what Amphibia had taught them, but if they had the choice, none of them would want to re-live it. It had taken years of therapy to escape the trauma that their adventures had left them with. Anne still had nightmares of her experiences. She also knew that Marcy went to physical therapy daily, as her scar still flared up sometimes and her body still hadn't fully recovered from possession. Anne knew that even though Sasha was always toughing through it, even the littlest things could send her into fight mode, and she practically slept with one eye open. Sure they had made lots of progress, but now they were back, and for what?

The trio looked at each other and sighed. Sasha stood up and took off her jacket, then offered to take Marcy's. She placed them gently near the mattress as Anne took the scrunchie out of her hair and Marcy removed her accessories. They all placed their shoes next to each other, Anne sadly placing her one shoe next to the other four. Sasha and Marcy put their sword and crossbow next to each other on the floor, Sasha put hers with the handle facing the bed so she could grab it just in case she needed to.

Soon enough, the three found themselves laying down together on the hard mattress on the floor of a world they had tried so hard to escape 10 years ago. Sure, there was probably other sleeping bags/mattresses, but they were a bit scared to be alone.

Sasha slept on the edge of the mattress so she could get up easiest if needed. Marcy laid in between Anne and Sasha so she could feel their presence at all times, and Anne slept with her back facing the wall, as she would get paranoid about things appearing behind her, sure it was childish, but it helped her sleep better.

Anne almost flinched as Marcy clung onto her tight, and felt silent sobs from her as she squeezed her back. Sasha looked down gloomily.

It wasn't easy for them to fall asleep. Marcy was probably the one who fell asleep first, as her silent tears stopped after a while. Anne assumed she was next, as Sasha was still flinching at every noise by the time Anne nodded off.

~~~

6/5/2022 - Edited