Loyalty Among Worlds (Amphibia AU)

One day, life at the Plantar farm was slow. Darrel and the Salamanders finished magic training for the day and went into the Plantar's house to relax. Cronaxx went into the kitchen for a cup of water. Tint takes off his neckerchief and practices basic handkerchief tricks. Darrel sat upside down feeling bored out of his mind.

Hop pop sat beside him. "You know that's not how we sit in this house," he said. Darrel breaks out of his bored trance and sits back up.

"I'm sorry, Hop pop," said Darrel. "It's just that there's nothing for me to do in my spare time." "Well there's plenty of things to do around here, Darrel," said Hop pop. "But, what do you usually do in your spare time?"

Sprig, Polly, and Tint sit on the couch beside them. "Back home, when I finish my homework, I play things called video games and watch movies. Whenever I have a creative thought, I use them to make my videos and publish them."

"Wow, guess life where you're from is much more simpler," said Sprig. "It's not Sprig, it's just as difficult as it is in this world," said Darrel.

"It may not be the same, but I know what I do when I'm bored," said Hop pop. He gets up from his seat and takes a book from his study. "Whenever I finish a hard day's work, I spend my spare time reading fictional novels."

Cronaxx smiled, "Here's another lesson, Darrel: Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." Darrel looked at his mentor, and raised his brow with curiosity. Hop pop gives Darrel a book about adventure and said, "Just give this a few pages, and maybe you'll understand your new lesson." Darrel smiles and opens up the book.

Later that day, Darrel has gotten into the book. The same time, Sprig and Polly were playing together. Until, "AAAAHHHHH!" The group hears a scream in the basement.

Anne pops out of the door, her phone in hand, looking all excited. "Guys guys guys guys guys! Look!"

The Amphibians look at her phone with confusion, "What are we looking at here?" asked Polly. Darrel glances at her phone and suddenly zips in front of her screen. "NO WAY!" he cried.

"What is it, Darrel?" Tint asked. Anne shows her phone with a title 'Suspicion Island' in front. "Suspicion Island," replied Darrel. "It's like our favorite show back home," said Anne. "Me, Darrel, Sasha, and Marcy used to watch it all the time."

"I got the new season and didn't even know it." said Anne. "It must've auto downloaded when I got here." Darrel was hyped, "The new season?!" Sprig and Polly were confused, "Who's this Auto?" "And how did you 'download' him?"

"Just watch," said Anne as she pressed her phone, starting the video. The video showed more humans, surprising the Plantars and the Salamanders. "They have noses," Polly laughed.

After the preview, the kids were fascinated. Cronaxx was slightly amused. But for Hop pop, "What is this demonic nonsense?" "Hop pop, this shows got beautiful, people doing dumb things, while stuff explodes!" Anne replied.

"It's an amazing show," said Darrel. "Sasha used to host these back home, and she usually gives me the best seat. However, she sits with Anne and Marcy behind me. I thought it was a personal space issue, but I always thought it would be special to share these moments with those close to you."

Anne looked at her phone, feeling guilty, until she came up with an idea. "Well, why don't we make one of these moments? As we watch the first episode together!" Darrel shot a look in amazement, "Really?! What do the rest of you guys think?"

Tint, Sprig and Polly were already on board. Cronaxx shrugged, "I guess it couldn't hurt to view this suspicious island." But Hop pop protested, "Now hold on everyone! Instead of that garbage, how about I treat you to some real entertainment?"

He takes out a scroll and announces, "A scene from 'The Shallow Pond,'" he clears his throat, "Sadness. The world is Sadness. But look, there, a pond! Is it deep or shallow?" At the end of the scene, the room stood quiet.

"I propose we take a vote," said Tint. "All in favor of Suspicion Island? Raise your hand." The whole group except for Hop pop raised their hands. Hop pop, outmatched by a reasonable vote, gave in. "Okay fine. But just one episode!"

The kids cheered and Anne set up her phone in front of the couch. Anne looks to Darrel, remembering what he said offered a spot next to her. "Are you sure, Anne?" Darrel asked. "We're creating a special moment where we get to watch the first episode of the new season together. Get in here." said Anne. Darrel sits next to Anne smiling, and she pushes play on her phone.

For the rest of the night, the group watched more than just one episode of Suspicion Island. The group stare into the phone like they haven't blinked all day. Hop pop however, was still unamused. When the episode ended, Anne paused her phone.

"And that's enough for tonight," she announced. The kids, except for Darrel groaned. "Are you sure?" Tint asked. Darrel nodded, "Don't worry Tint, we'll pick up where we left off another time. Hopefully, tomorrow."

"Darrel's right guys," said Anne. "You gotta pace yourself with this stuff." Feeling a bit relieved, Hop pop said, "Alright everyone, off to bed." Tint and Cronaxx returned to the stables, while Sprig and Polly complained about wanting to know what happened next.

Darrel, Anne, and Hop pop were the only ones left sitting in the living room. "So what do you think Hop pop?" Anne asked with a grin. "Better than that boring stuff you read to us right?"

Hop pop stood up and said, "That boring stuff is called literature, Anne. And maybe if you had an ounce of culture, you wouldn't reject it in favor of your substandard, puerile, garbage show!"

Hop pop slams the door into his study leaving Anne and Darrel left alone. "Don't take it so hard Anne," said Darrel. "Everybody's a critic." Anne shrugged her shoulders. "I know."

Anne and Darrel simultaneously yawn and prepare to get some sleep. Before Darrel could return to Bessie's stable, he turned to Anne. "Thanks for hosting Suspicion Island Anne, I had a fun time." Anne smiled, "Well hope you're in for more tomorrow, cuz we're going to pick up where we left off." "Depends on what I have planned tomorrow," said Darrel as he left the house.

Darrel makes his way to the stable, smiling with glee, 'That was the best night I had. Watching Suspicion Island with Anne was more fun than when Sasha hosted these events.' He enters the stables and falls fast asleep.

The next morning, Darrel wakes up feeling recharged from last night. He spots the salamanders getting ready to hike out of the farm. "Good morning, Darrel," said Tint. "We're going to explore the misty peaks today."

"What are we going to find there?" Darrel asked. "Elemental strength for the Eternal Staff," replied Cronaxx. "There's word that a creature living in those lands harnesses the power of lightning." Darrel and Tint gaze in thought. "If we could get close enough to this creature, the Staff can call upon this element," said Tint.

Darrel smiled, "Let's get some breakfast and be on our way." The three enter the house, at the same time Anne turns on her phone to watch another episode. However, when she turned it on, she got a notification that her battery was low, surprising her.

Darrel was concerned for his friend immediately, "Anne what's wrong?" This got the attention of the Plantars as well. "My battery is low," said Anne. "But it was fine last night, when I turned it off."

She opens her phone to find that the rest of the episodes from the season have been watched. "Huh? Watched? Who watched all these episodes and used up all the-" Before she could speak anymore, her phone immediately goes off. "No no no no no no no no!"

Anne was left stunned, "it's gone." "What's gone?" Sprig asked. "Pretty much everything on her phone, Sprig," replied Darrel. "Her pictures, her texts." "Videos of MY CAT!" Anne cried. "Now all of my memories from home are gone!"

Anne hyperventilates, knees to her face, and upset that without electricity, she can't view her phone ever again. Darrel was upset seeing her friend like this. Looking back at the Salamanders, Darrel realized something.

But before he could talk, Anne started pointing fingers. "Was it you!?" Anne asked, pointing at Sprig. "What?! No!" Sprig replied. "I didn't watch anything," he points to his sister Polly. "It must've been Polly."

Polly was shocked at the accusation, "What?" "I even heard her get up in the night," said Sprig. "Very suspicious." Polly retaliated, "I needed to PEE! Plus if you heard me, you were awake too. YOU'RE THE SUSPICIOUS ONE!"

Sprig angrily glared at his sister, "Don't change the suspect." However, Polly did exactly that, "Wait wait wait. What about…" she points at Darrel and the Salamanders. "One of them?!"

Tint and Darrel gasped, Cronaxx however was unamused. "I would never poke around my friends' stuff," said Darrel. "We were in your snail's stable the whole night," said Tint. "You know, Hop pop could have done it as well," said Cronaxx.

"Me? Puh," said Hop pop. "In case you all forgot, I despise that garbage." Cronaxx squinted his eyes and said, "Usually it's the one we least expect to use her phone."

Darrel nodded, "Stuff like that does actually happen. It could be you, Hop pop." Hop pop shook his head, "That's preposterous!"

Having enough of the arguing, Anne stood up and said, "Enough! If none of you are going to admit to it, the least you could do is help me fix my phone!"

The frogs squint their eyes at each other before Hop pop spoke up, "Fair enough, Anne. How do we bring this thing back to life? Magic? Live sacrifice? I know a guy in town…"

"We need to find a creature," said Darrel. Anne and the frogs turn their attention on him. "How is a creature going to fix my phone?" Anne asked. "Because this creature zaps lightning," said Darrel. "I think I know what creature you're talking about," said Hop pop. "Quickly, to my study!"

In Hop pop's study, he opens a book on rare creatures. "I've heard talk of a creature called the Zapapede, that lives deep in the Misty Peaks." He points to the creature's location in his book. "It zaps its prey with a small spark of lightning. It's pretty cool actually."

"We just need to get close to one of those things with my Staff," said Darrel. "If we can get it to zap the Staff, then the Staff will harness the power of lightning. It'll be like carrying an ultimate battery."

"Sounds like it's worth a shot," said Anne. "How far away is this bug HP?" "Don't call me HP," said Hop pop. "It's half a day's travel. But that should be no trouble for this gang."

"Oh yeah," said Sprig glaring at Hop pop. "Well that's just what Chad Vanderblood said. Right before he was stabbed in the back! By a Backstabber! ON SUSPICION ISLAND!"

Sprig kept pointing his fingers at Hop pop while he kept constantly swatting them away. Poly jumped off Sprig's head and said, "I would never stab Chad in the back. But one of you two would!"

"Guys," said Tint. "We're not going to get Anne's phone fixed if we keep arguing! Keep your thoughts to yourselves. Because as far as I'm concerned, we're all suspicious."

"Tint is right," said Cronaxx. "We need to get moving while it's still daytime." "He's right," said Anne as she walked out the study. "The sooner we move, the sooner I get my memories back."

Darrel followed her out of the house shortly after. "It's gonna be okay Anne." Anne turned back to Darrel, "Are you sure?" Darrel nodded, "I promise we're going to get your phone fixed."

Anne squinted at Darrel, "You didn't use my phone, did you?"

Darrel shook his head and pulled something out of his pocket. It was his own phone. "I lost all my battery when I didn't charge it before school. I tried calling for help, but it was useless, and it just turned off. I was upset because all my work, my pictures with you guys and my family are gone. There was no way I was going to use your phone, because I didn't want you to feel how I felt when I lost my memories."

Anne expressed a guilty look on her face and said, "I'm sorry I almost accused you of using my phone." Darrel smiled, "It's okay Anne, because we're going to fix it." The amphibians exit the house and the group sets off to the Misty Peaks

Along the way, Sprig took out his fiddle and started playing. Tint took out his flute and played along with him.

Suspicious Isling - (Sprig Plantar)

My family distrusts each other,

On a dangerous mission,

Like the nearly-naked humans

on the island of Suspicion,

Peruvia, Felicia, and Randy - So hot!

Beguiling, hostiling,

We're all suspicious isling!

"You can stop playing now boys," said Cronaxx. "We're here." The group stop in their tracks as Hop pop points out. "Look. There's one now."

The group looks toward the Misty Peaks and spots a Zapapede resting. It's yellow with eye pupils in the shape of a positive and negative symbol and sparks electricity from its antennas. "Huh, looks pretty cute," said Anne.

Tint looks at an old bridge that stands between them and the Zapapede. "This bridge looks too rickety," said Tint. "It can't hold all of us," said Cronaxx. "Me and the Salamanders will go first," said Darrel. "The rest of you can follow us after."

Darrel and the Salamanders reach the other side of the bridge carefully, trying not to wake up their sleeping bug. Darrel nodded at Anne and the Plantars, giving them the go ahead to get across.

As he turned back around, he looked up at the Zapapede. The insect looked back at him as he drew closer. The Zapapede zapped lightning more quickly, preparing to attack its trespasser. Darrel took his staff and prepared to point it at its antennas.

But before he could, he heard a loud snap. The bridge broke and the Plantars fell. Darrel was scared, "ANNE!" The clouds disappear showing them that they're still alive. "Are you guys okay!?" Tint shouted. "Rope bridge? More like Nope bridge," said Anne. "Just hang on! We'll climb down to you," said Darrel.

Darrel got both the Salamanders to climb on his back and he climbed down the chasm carefully. He gets to the bottom and rushes to Anne. "Anne. Are you okay?" Anne places her hand on her head. "Yeah, I think so. Good thing I landed on this bush."

Darrel looks at her and breathes in relief. "Other than a few cuts and bruises, you'll be okay." "But you didn't get to the Zapapede," said Anne. "Anne, the Zapapede is the least of my worries," said Darrel. "You are more important to me than getting more power for my staff." Anne smiled at his dedication and concern. "Thanks, Darrel."

As Hop pop comes to, he looks down and says, "Look, down there. More Zapapedes." The group looks down to find a colony of Zapapedes all feisty from the bridge falling on them.

"They're pretty far down," said Hop pop. "And angry," said Tint. "How are we going to reach them?" The group started thinking of an idea.

"Oh," said Anne, "Let's just link arms and lower someone down, just like the teens did in episode eight." "Sounds simple enough," said Darrel. "I'll go down there."

"Puh," said Sprig. "So that Polly can drop us to cover her tracks, just like Vivica did in the very same episode?" That question made Polly angry. "You calling me Vivica?!" Sprig rolled his eyes to annoy her more and said, "Maybe.."

That's when Polly and Sprig started fighting. It started to become more violent and the rest of the group was having enough of it. "Alright, cut it out you guys!" Anne said, before Sprig accidentally kicked her in the face.

Darrel gasped, which got Tint's attention, "Don't get angry at them Darrel," said Cronaxx. "It was just an accident." Darrel shook his head, "It's not Anne I'm worried about here." "It's not?" Tint asked. "Last time someone did that back home, Anne attacked them."

They hear Anne's battle cry and she attacks Sprig and Polly. Not wanting anyone to get in more trouble, Darrel and Tint come over to break up the fight. Hop pop watches in agony, and Cronaxx looks at him with a disappointed glare. As if he knows something the rest of the group doesn't.

Hop pop caves in and shouts, "IT WAS MEEEEEE!" His shout was heard across the chasm. Cronaxx smiled, "I knew it."

The kids looked to Hop pop. "It was you?" Darrel asked. Hop pop nodded, "That's right, I watched all the episodes. Every. Single. One." "But you hated Suspicion Island," said Anne. "Hated it?" Hop pop asked. "Hated it? I LOVED IT!"

So Hop pop explained that after watching the last episode, he could hardly sleep. So he snuck in the living room to get the closure and find out what happened next. He thought he would be able to watch one, but the show had his hooks in him. And before he knew it, he finished the season.

At the end of his tale, he covered his tracks, and the kids were dazzled by the surprising twist. "What did I tell you all?" Darrel asked. "It's the one you least suspect."

"But now, I'm going to make things right," said Hop pop. He takes Anne's phone and shouts, "I WILL REDEEM MYSELF!" He jumps into the Zapapede colony, and the group looks with shock.

Hop pop apparently landed softly. Until he was getting zapped multiple times. "He can't last much longer!" Sprig cried. "We have to work together!" Polly shouted.

The team linked arms and lowered Darrel down close enough to get to Hop pop. As he grabbed his arm, he suddenly realized something too late. As the Zapapede shocks Hop pop the electricity passes through to Darrel, to Anne, then to the rest of the group.

Before long, they are shot out of the nest and fly back to higher ground. The group is all charred and burnt from the shocks they were given. Hop pop looks to Anne's phone and the battery is charged up to ten thousand percent. "Holy smokes, that's a lot of percent."

Anne looked to Darrel to find him face down, covered in soot. "Darrel?" She rushes to his side and flips him over. "Darrel? Can you hear me?" Darrel didn't respond, until he coughed the soot out of his mouth. "Rough landing," he said.

Anne smiled seeing that he was okay. "Are you okay Darrel?" Anne asked. "I'm a little cooked, but other than that I'm fine." He looks to Hop pop holding onto her phone. "At least we got your phone charged."

Suddenly, Anne hugged Darrel, surprising him. "My phone is the least of my worries. You're important to me too. You're my friend." Darrel returned Anne's hug and said, "I'll always be your friend."

The two let go and look to Hop pop with a smile. "So, you love Suspicion Island, huh?" Anne asked. Hop pop looked away in guilt and confessed. "Yeah, and I'm sorry I lied and drained your memory box. Can you ever forgive this old, silly frog?"

"Dude, you just risked your life to recharge her phone," said Darrel. "Plus, you helped give my staff the power of lightning." Darrel shows his staff sparking with electricity. "I think you two are square, and I owe you one."

Suddenly, Darrel's pocket vibrates. He reaches in finding his phone charged up as well. "Alright! My phone is charged too." Even though his phone charged, he turned it off anyway.

"Now that the staff has the power of lightning, you can call upon the element whenever you want," said Cronaxx. "That's good to know," said Darrel.

"Alright everyone, enough fiddle faddleing," said Hop pop. "We gotta get home so you all can finish the season. If I don't talk to someone about it soon, I'm going to explode." The group turns away from the Misty Peaks and journeys home. "I mean that part when the island itself is actually revealed to be-"

Before Hop pop could talk anymore, the kids spoke up, "NO!" "DON'T SAY ANYTHING!" "DUDE SPOILERS!"

For the rest of the journey, the group remained quiet on the trip back. Darrel and Anne walked side by side, and they didn't even realize how close they were.

Back in the Plantar Farm, they started watching Suspicion Island. Tint and Cronaxx went into the stable to take a break from the show. While the Plantars suddenly dozed off. That just left Anne and Darrel watching Suspicion Island together.

Darrel soon grew tired and unknowingly fell asleep on Anne's shoulder. She looks down on him and smiles. 'He's really cute when he sleeps,' she thought. 'Wait! What am I thinking? He's Sasha's boyfriend. Still, is it wrong to crush on your friend's boyfriend?' She pushed her thoughts back in her mind and drifted off to sleep when she turned off her phone.