Amphibia: The Fourth One - Heart

Prologue

Anne and Riley walked out of their middle school, in the middle of a mildly heated argument.

"Dude, it's completely fine! My parents would gladly let you stay over for the night!" Anne relented.

"But then you'd need to explain why you have a boy over, and I don't want you to have to go through that. It's the day before your birthday, Anne! I'll be fine." Riley attempted to reassure her, but she was still unsure.

Anne hesitated for a little before continuing. "I don't know..." She put one of her arms behind her back and looked away for a bit. "The streets are dangerous, dude. I worry about you sometimes." 

"I've already lived through this, what? 7, 8 days? I'll be okay." Anne still didn't seem convinced, so Riley continued. "And, if anything does happen to me, you can always get revenge!"

Anne sighed and rolled her eyes, a smirk growing on her face. "Hardy har har. That's not funny."

"That's cause it's not supposed to be, dummy." Riley told her. Anne was about to refute when she heard Sasha call her name.

"Ooh, sorry. Gotta go. You know how Sasha can be!" Anne awkwardly chuckled, but Riley was unamused.

He feigned a smile. "Of course! See you later, Annagator!"

"Peace!" Anne did finger guns at him as she walked away.

Riley waved at her for a couple seconds until she was out of earshot. He then sighed to himself and saltily muttered something about Sasha as he walked back to the place he stayed at. It wasn't "home", but it was close enough.

He walked under the bridge and his eyes widened. "My blanket!" He put his arms on his head as he looked at the spot he usually rested. His blanket, one of the things he brought with him as he ran away, along with a variety of other items, had been stolen.

He groaned to himself. He looked around, sighed, and laid down on the ground. The sun had set around an hour ago, so it wasn't that late in the day, but Riley knew he needed the time because it took him a while to sleep considering his living conditions. Or, more accurately, his surviving conditions.

Riley laid down on the cold sidewalk. He could hear the sound of cars right above him, but he was used to it. What he really couldn't stand was the cars' horns. Every time he was about to doze off, 'BEEEEEEP'! He finally fell asleep around a quarter after midnight.

The next day...

Riley opened his eyes, groggily. He couldn't tell the time by heart, but judging from the sky and prior experiences, he guessed it was around ~6:30 AM.

He got up, stretched a little, and shivered from the loss of a blanket. The coldness of the nights were way more intense without one. If this continued...

Riley snapped himself out of it and tried to think of something else. That's when he remembered: It was Anne's birthday!

Unfortunately, most of his savings were stolen. He put his hands in his pocket when he felt something. Coins!

He scattered them across the floor and started counting. "Another quarter... a nickel... 2 pennies... that makes $1.24!"

"...I mean, maybe I could buy her a muffin." Riley pondered to nobody in particular.

He forced himself awake and slumped however many miles it took to the local bakery, which conveniently happened to be next to a thrift store. The woman running the stand beamed. "Welcome to Miller's Baked Goods and Baked Greats, how may I help you?"

Riley put the cash he collected onto the counter. "One blueberry muffin please!"

The woman stared at the cash for a little before replying. "Uh... we only sell by the dozen."

"Oh." Riley said.

They stared at each other for a little before Riley started to leave. But before he could, the woman stopped him. "Wait."

Riley turned around and looked at her. "I've seen a lot of customers in my times working here. You're not trying to be cheap. This is desperation."

"Whoa, are you like a psychologist or something??" Riley asked, half-serious.

The woman chuckled to herself for a little before sliding a dozen blueberry muffins in a plastic container for him. "It's on the house."

Riley stared at her in shock for a little. "...Well, I don't have a house, so I can't accept this."

"Just take it." The woman persisted.

"...Fine. But I'm not taking back the money." Riley persisted.

The woman nodded. "Okay." Riley left shortly after.

As Riley walked out, he saw... Anne! Carrying a strange box with three gems on it... how odd.

He was about to call her name, but he figured that it would be better to surprise her. So he sneaked up on her... slowly peering behind her... Oh, she's next to Sasha and Marcy, how nice. 

He crept closer and was about to yell "SURPRISE!" when a big flash of light hit him from in front of Anne.

He struggled to open his eyes, but when he did...

"What in the...?!" Riley found himself transported somewhere new, deep in the middle of the woods. What looked to be a gigantic mosquito flew far overhead. Wherever he was... it definitely wasn't Earth.