Chapter Text
Ding.
“Uuugh, it’s way too early to be worrying about a work text,” Anne muttered grumpily.
Ding.
“Fine, I’ll answer it,” Anne said aloud.
She was enjoying her quiet life working as a herpetologist, or “frog lady” as some kids called her, but she deeply missed her friends. Sure, she’d just seen them a few months ago to celebrate her twenty-third birthday, but Marcy had gone back out of state, and Sasha was busy at work. As soon as she checked her phone, a cascade of questions flowed from her mind.
TERRI : We found another world.
ANNE : Wdym? Also did u have to text me so damn early
TERRI : We found another world, and the people there might be able to help us get back to Amphibia.
ANNE : Slooow down. How are we going to get there?
TERRI : We’ll need to go to an uncharted and potentially dangerous territory- Connecticut.
TERRI : How fast do you think you can get the crew together?
ANNE : Depends. With X’s help, probably no more than a day
TERRI : X is busy with other govt stuff. Any other ways to get everyone together?
ANNE : I have the perfect idea.
—----------------------
“So you want to have a little get-together here at the restaurant to discuss something and get everyone back together?” Mrs. Boonchuy asked.
“Y- yeah. After all, your food is irresistible. Marcy and Sasha would travel across the country just to have a taste,” Anne stated happily. “Plus, you wanna see my old friends again too, right?”
Mrs. Boonchuy laughed. “Of course, sweetie. We’re both so glad you’ve found your people. They’re both such lovely girls, and it’s always a pleasure to see them.”
Anne knew that Marcy and Sasha wouldn’t be able to resist a Boonchuy feast- especially with such good news. As for logistical details, the restaurant would have to be closed for a day, to give her family enough time to make all the food and prepare the place for the event. Anne would need to get decorations, clarify the details with Terri, and notify the people she knew she wanted involved.
ANNE : Hey girls! Terri has great news- we might have found a way back to Amphibia!
SASHA : I have loads of questions but I’ll save them until we see each other again
ANNE : About that, I think we should all get together at the restaurant next sat to discuss plans. My parents, Terri, Ally & Jess, and Dr. Jan are all going to be there, and it’d be lame if my besties weren’t going back to Amphibia with me
MARCY : OMG OMG THAT SOUNDS GREAT
MARCY : How’d they do it though?
ANNE : According to Terri, they found the same kinda readings around a town called gravesfield as when they’d opened those portals years ago
SASHA : Does that mean we’ll be able to see everyone again? So exciting! I’ll def be there
SASHA : Saturday, you said?
ANNE : Yup! Marce, will you be able to make it?
MARCY : I think I can get a flight for saturday. It'll be great to see you guys again!!
SASHA: Omg girlfriends I can't believe we can see each other again so soon!
ANNE: I'm so excited!! I should really be getting to work tho... see you girls on saturday!
—----------------------
The days flew by as the Boonchuys prepared for the event. Anne reached out to Terri a bit more to make sure they had everything they needed to present the expedition. Summer was just ending, meaning that Anne's workload was about to lighten up a lot. Today, she had to find suitable froggy caretakers to make sure her little friends would stay fed and healthy during her likely extended time away from Los Angeles. She'd also texted with Sasha a bit, who was upset to learn that she wouldn't be able to spend time helping the kids work through their issues. She'd also checked to make sure that Marcy didn't need to make any preparations from an extended time away from her home. Marcy was a web comic artist, so she didn't really need to do much other than prepare a few extra segments to be posted while she was away. Last Anne had heard, everything was moving along smoothly. Dr. Jan was especially excited to learn about new worlds beyond Earth. In her words,
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a historian worth anything who would pass up such an opportunity! I'd be truly honored to travel to other worlds with you and your crew, Anne."
The sentiment was appreciated, as Anne was very nervous about the safety of her friends. She didn't know what would be beyond this magic door in Connecticut. And she was also unsure that it would be worth the trouble, as, well, the door was in Connecticut.
And suddenly- almost too soon- it was Saturday, and Anne had to go to the airport to pick up Marcy. It almost felt surreal, seeing her again. Sure, they'd seen each other a few months ago, but she was still thrilled to be able to see one of her dearest friends again. As soon as Marcy got in the car, they started talking about each other's lives.
"So, Marce, how's your web comic doing these days? I'm all caught up, and I LOVE IT!!!"
"I thought it was doing well when we last saw each other. HA! It completely blew up! Every time I post, I get comments saying that it makes them feel better or brightens their days. I love how doing something that makes me happy can make other people happy! It feels incredible!"
"That's incredible! Do you know what Sash is up to these days?"
"Is she doing anything different than the last time we got together? If so, I couldn't tell you. Buuuuut anyways, how's your time as Monterey Bay Frog Lady?"
"It is the best thing EVER. I love teaching the kiddos about frogs. And lately, they've been getting verry popular on the internet, which means more people come to see them in my exhibit. I love knowing that what I do matters. Funny to think I didn't really care about them before going to Amphibia. It really was a life-changing experience, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. Even though it took a year away from us here, I know things wouldn't be the same. And look at us, staying friends for more than ten years after all that,"
"I'm so thankful that there's even a chance of getting back to Amphibia. I miss those frogs sooo muuuuch aaaaaaaa!!!"
The two of them reflect more on their time in Amphibia. When Marcy talked passionately about Yunnan and Olivia, Anne swore she saw a green flash in Marcy's pupils. She was sure she was just imagining things. The three of them had used up their calamity powers... right?
—----------------------
"Thank you all for gathering here. Today marks the first meeting of our new Multiverse Investigation Team, complete with... drumroll please... yogurt covered pretzels!"
Terri pointed at two large containers of yogurt covered pretzels, positioned on a back table in the quaint Thai restaurant. As they pointed at them, they seemed to sparkle a bit.
"Anyways," they gestured vaguely at the small crowd sitting at pushed-together dining tables, made up of the calamity trio, engineers Ally and Jess, museum curator Dr. Jan, and the Boonchuy parents. "We are meeting here under the idea that we will be able to see our friends in Amphibia again. However, I would like to clarify that that isn't a given. I don't know how much Anne filled you in on, but we are researching a location in Gravesfield, Connecticut that has similar energy readings to portals opened here in the past. This means that this portal could lead to a whole other world. We aren't really sure of much here at all. Our goal will be to track down the source of the energy, travel to the other world, locate what created the portal, and try to use it to open a portal to Amphibia. We'll complete as many of these tasks as possible, but if we run into an impasse, we will return home and work with our sponsor to find a solution. Does everyone understand?"
Terri had delivered their whole speech on a single breath, and started wheezing afterwards. Anne ran up and patted them on the back.
"Nice one, Captain Terri!" She exclaimed joyfully.
After taking a moment to catch their breath, Terri launched into another, smaller, speech.
"And now that we've just dumped a load of info on you, you've been given time to process it all over the Boonchuys' lovely cooking. Make sure you're all prepared, we have plane tickets for this evening for all of you!"
Any remaining tension in the room was shattered, and everyone started sampling the delectable dishes prepared by Anne's parents.