The Calamity Box was a music box invented long ago by Valeriana that using the 3 Calamity Gems' power, able to generate energy and enable interdimensional travel to Earth, Amphibia, and other planets/worlds/dimensions/galaxies/universes. It was later held in the store Thrift Stop before being shoplifted (unwillingly) by Anne on her 13th birthday.
The box along with the gems were destroyed after using it for the last time to teleport Anne, Marcy, and Sasha back to Earth, as the box with the remaining 3 Gem shards were opened by Valeriana.
Appearance
The box is quite small and can fit atop one's hand. It is ornamented with gold and (pink, blue, and green) Gemstones from the Guardian, each representing one particular trait (strength, heart, and wit, respectively) which lost their colors once Anne Boonchuy, Sasha Waybright, and Marcy Wu were teleported from Los Angeles to Amphibia, transferred into each of them, and turned the gems gray. The box depicts a frog in the tropical woods, praising the gems behind an engraved sun design. It also has a small key on its right side as a possible accessory.
In their quest to return home, Anne and the Plantars along with others visited three different temples in order to return the power to the Calamity Box's gems. The first temple recharged the green gem, draining the power out of Marcy. The second temple recharged the blue gem but only partially after Anne interrupted the process which unknowingly made it flicker while other part of the power remained inside her. The third and final temple recharged the pink gem of the Calamity Box, removing it from Sasha.
Background
A long time ago, the three Calamity Gems were used to in the creation of the Calamity Box by the wisest Newt of them all named Valeriana, who used it to unite the kingdoms under one banner. Unfortunately, its purpose manifested into interdimensional conquest and ambition, leading Amphibia to a golden age of peace. Valeriana was burdened by guilt and sadness over the sight of conquest and subjugation on other worlds, placing her on a long quest for redemption for what she indirectly caused.
The box was then left at the hands of Newtopia's royalty. According to research done by Terri in "Escape to Amphibia", King Aldrich's ancestors used the box's music as coordinates to travel to different worlds. This resulted in the ancestors conquering them by stealing all of their resources and some of its inhabitants, leaving the planets lifeless afterwards.
History
Glory days and theft of the Box
During a flashback sequence to 1000 years ago set in Newtopia in "The Core & The King", the era of sophisticated technology can be shown all throughout the streets because of the box's power. After a younger Andrias is informed by his father King Aldrich about the plans to invade Earth when it was still medieval, Aldrich bestows to Andrias the key to the music box, which entails Andrias as the official new king. Later that night, Andrias and his friends Barrel and Leif use the key to open the door to the room containing the music box. After playing around with the box, Leif's fingers touch the stones, which suddenly fills her head with numerous visions including the wall painting in Andrias' throne room, the Newtopia castle flying into the sky, the prophecy art on Mother Olm's walls, and the red moon heading straight into Amphibia. After this experience, Leif warns Andrias to stop using the music box's power, believing it to likely destroy Amphibia if used any further. The next day in the throne room, Leif pleas her case to Andrias and his father about what she saw, and claims their interference with the other dimensions is only leading to further imbalance within the ecosystem of the multiverse. Then, after Leif states they can no longer use the music box, Aldrich distastefully considers her words to be nonsense similar to that of the Olms, and claims the stones are their sacred birthright, unique to their world alone and proof that only they are destined for conquering. Though Leif attempts to plea to him once more, Aldrich turns down her words and announces the expedition to Earth will still be acted upon. Once the meeting is settled and the room cleared, Aldrich brands Leif as a traitor to Andrias, believing she will merely use Andrias to get to the box now that he's in charge.
Once Aldrich leaves the room, Leif and Barrel enter the room with Leif believing in Andrias to ensure the box isn't used any further. Andrias, however, recalls his father's teachings of how their society relies on the expeditions the box gives them to sustain their way of life, and cold-heartedly rejects Leif's proposal. Andrias soon after apologizes for his harsh tone, and during a make-up hug between him and Leif, Leif manages to snatch the music box key from Andrias' pocket without him noticing. Later when Aldrich asks Andrias to show their workers the key, Andrias notices it to be gone and rushes off to the box room. Once he arrives, he catches Leif in the act of stealing the box as Andrias attempts to chase her down. In the midst of the chase, Andrias collides with Barrel as he then informs him of the situation, leading to both of them pursuing Leif. While Andrias is chasing her on a different path, Barrel takes a secret entrance and manages to cut Leif off. Leif attempts to convince Barrel she's doing what she's doing for everyone's sake, causing Barrel to hesitate for a moment, allowing her to hop over him and towards the frobot armory as Andrias soon arrives. Leif then grabs one of the frobot arm prototypes and begins firing at Andrias long enough for him to be distracted, as she hops into one of the vents and makes her way to the castle's garden. From there, she rides on top of one of the Moss Men and using a frobot arm, she blows a hole through the castle walls and soon after the walls of Newtopia, as she escapes the city with the box in her possession. Leif informs the Moss Man about prioritizing finding the Olms, believing they will know what to do with the box. She then silently apologizes to Andrias for her actions, but believes this to be for the best and the box shouldn't remain in Amphibia.
Some days later, Aldrich informs Andrias and others present in the throne room about the box having left Amphibia. The part of the Core residing in Aldrich's crown soon informs them that according to the Olm prophecy, the box will eventually return to Amphibia, but there is no way to tell when or how, so in the meantime they will bury and preserve their way of civilization until the box has returned. Due to Leif's betrayal, Andrias vows to keep the frogs of Amphibia in line, and re-assigns Barrel to the outskirts to defend other villages due to his failure to re-attain the box.
At some point, the box was teleported by Leif to Earth, where it came into the hands of the Vikings. Centuries later, it eventually made its way into a thrift store in Los Angeles, California, USA.
The box comes into human hands
Centuries later on Earth, after a notice given by her parents that they were moving away, a girl named Marcy Wu ran away from her home very upset and found the box on top of a thrift store shelf by chance. After recognizing it inside a book from the library that informed her the box could travel to different worlds, Marcy devised a plan and sent a picture via text of the box to her friend Sasha Waybright. To hide the fact of what the box was believed to do, it was sent as a teasing birthday gift for "the frog lover", referring to her friend Anne Boonchuy, as she was celebrating her 13th birthday with Sasha that day at Money Coffee. Shortly thereafter, Anne was forced by Sasha to go meet Marcy to see the box after leaving school, despite Anne's concern that her birthday party at home would begin shortly after Marcy sent the text, adding the fact that her mother and father were expecting her.
Nevertheless, Anne and Sasha met up with Marcy at the store, as Anne went inside and stole the box. The three then proceeded to an old nearby park (where they first met as revealed in a flashback) to open it. Promptly after its opening, multicolored lights began flashing onto the three girls prior to a blinding white light erupting from within the box. This event caused all three to be transported into Amphibia, but none of them landed in the same location (Anne transported to Wartwood Forest, Sasha to Toad Tower, and Marcy to Newtopia), leading Anne to initially believe she was the only one who was transported. The box remained in possession of Anne as she carried it around in her bag, though wrapped in a blanket. It also revealed that after its first use, it became inactive. It seems that because of its dormant status, it is the reason the three gems on top no longer have their color.
Anne's possession of the box
In the present at the end of "Anne Vs. Wild", Anne finally decides to reveal how she got into Amphibia in the first place, which was with what she thought to be a music box. Anne asks the Plantars if they know anything about it, but her friend/adoptive grandfather Hop Pop Plantar claims to have never seen anything like it. However, later that night as Hop Pop is researching in his study, he comes across a page of the box with a picture, resembling the one Anne showed him with danger signs around the page titled "Calamity Box".
During the events of "Bizarre Bazaar", Anne and Sprig decide to go to a secret market in the hopes of finding more information about Anne's "music box". Eventually, they find a stand that has artifacts resembling the art on the box, but the box is soon stolen by a thief named Marnie before they can show it to the stand's owner named Valeriana. Luckily, Hop Pop had followed them to the market and is able to win the box back for Anne, but Anne decides to offer it to Hop Pop instead, believing she can wait a little longer if it means finding the right answers, while asking him to keep that promise no matter what. However, to no one else's knowledge, he decides to secretly bury the box in a patch of dirt next to the Plantar Farm by the tree due to his suspicion of it being "dangerous".
In "Handy Anne", just before Anne and the Plantars are about to hit the road for Newtopia, Anne suggests the idea of taking the "music box" with them, but Hop Pop, not wanting to reveal to her he buried it, lies by claiming the box will be safer with his "contacts" until they return to Wartwood.
Once the Plantars have arrived in Newtopia and met up with Marcy during "The Plantars Check In", they are greeted by King Andrias, who informs them that without the "music box", he can't be of any assistance in helping Anne and Marcy return home. Anne then mentions that she had possession of the box at one point, and gave it to Hop Pop, who claimed his contacts were looking after it. Luckily, Anne had taken a photo of the box on her phone, as Andrias begins to analyze it. He then points out to Anne of the gems' gray state, as he recalls Marcy mentioning to him that the gems were originally colored, to which Anne admits she never actually noticed that point. Andrias then claims he'll need some time to research in the deepest archives for more information about the box, where he will then summon them again once he's found something to make a plan out of. Marcy also notes that she'll try and look for more information herself as Anne is unable to translate ancient amphibian text.
When Anne, Marcy, and the Plantars go see King Andrias in "A Day at the Aquarium", he reveals that his ancestors used this box to travel to other worlds and in order for Anne, Sasha, and Marcy to get back home, they need to power up the gems on the box by taking them to three certain temples.
The box disappears
With the Plantars now having returned to Wartwood in "After the Rain", Anne receives a mail fly message from Marcy explaining that they're ready to soon travel to the first temple, along with placing a checklist for the trip that also includes the music box. Later that night as Anne is too excited for the next adventure to sleep, she overhears footsteps from upstairs and notices Hop Pop leaving the house. She then witnesses him digging a hole near the same tree where he buried the box, only for him to unknowingly shout out in front of her that the music box is gone. Confused, Anne tries to clarify what Hop Pop told her about his supposed "contacts" having the box, causing Hop Pop to admit there were never any contacts. He then frustratingly explains he read about the box from a book in his study and saw it to be dangerous, causing him to hastily bury the box as a way of keeping Polly and Sprig safe. Anne becomes furious and ultimately feels betrayed, knowing the music box is her only ticket back to her world. While also believing Hop Pop intends to keep her in Amphibia forever for selfish reasons and calling him a sicko, this causes Anne to run away. Later that morning, Polly and Sprig hear about the situation from Hop Pop, as they then decide to relocate the music box while telling Hop Pop to search for Anne to make it right. As they enter the town, Polly and Sprig notice numerous holes having made a mess everywhere, as Maddie Flour explains to Sprig that someone dug up those holes and stole numerous belongings from the residents of Wartwood. Immediately following her information after she left, Soggy Joe arrives from the bushes and states this is the work of the Magpie Beetle, an underground habitat insect who every 20 years digs to the surface to steal objects to make a shell to impress mates.
This leads Sprig and Polly to inspect the hole Hop Pop had dug, as upon further inspection they notice a burrow to follow through with the hopes of locating the box. After a small slide through the burrow, they arrive in front of a large hole filled with Magpie beetles known as the "lovenado", but luckily they manage to locate the music box. However, in an attempt to retrieve it back, Polly and Sprig end up surrounded by the beetles. Anne and Hop Pop soon arrive on the scene, as they eventually manage to put aside their differences and rescue Polly and Sprig while getting back the music box. Nevertheless, Anne slips the box back in her backpack with the intentions of leaving once again, but Hop Pop still requests Anne to at least hear him out about his reasoning for hiding the box. He then tearfully explains that a few years ago while he was on a journey outside of Wartwood, a large pair of herons attacked the village that led to the death of Sprig and Polly's parents, and ever since then he swore to never let his family out of his sights again while doing anything to protect them. Then, when Hop Pop learned about the box as a dangerous object, he hid it away because he thought it would be the safest option for protecting his family. He then confesses his realization for his reasoning being flawed since he sees Anne as his family too, and now he's let her and everyone else down.
After Hop Pop's numerous apologies instantly following his confession, Anne decides to forgive Hop Pop, as the family share a warm hug and return home. Hop Hop then shows Anne, Polly, and Sprig the book he was referring to, claiming it to be something that's been in his family for as long as he can remember. He then shows them the same page of the music box titled as "Calamity Box", but without any other specific information to work with, Sprig believes all they can do is wait for Marcy to hear what she has to say about it.
Temple runs
The next day in "The First Temple", Marcy arrives in Wartwood alongside her pet Joe Sparrow to greet Anne and the Plantars. Once Anne shows her the music box, Marcy uses the research she studied on the box and taps in a certain combination on the tiles of the box, causing a small harmony to be played and the three gems to slide loose. Once Marcy takes out the faded green gem, she, Anne and the Plantars depart for the first temple. Once entering the temple, Marcy translates the words on the wall reading "Keeper of the box, one strong of mind, three trials await that will return the stone's shine." The group manages to succeed in the first two trials, but Marcy is forced to throw the game in the final trial out of fear for Anne and the Plantars' safety. After the match, a pathway of green arrows are lit up towards the temple's exit, with Marcy believing the temple is merely directing their way out. However, to the groups' surprise, the pathway of arrows continue to glow beyond the exit, as they are eventually guided to a small box originally thought to be an outhouse. As they open it once more, they discover that not only is the box now glowing with art, but Marcy realizes it is in fact the place to charge the gem. As they approach the small hole in the room, a pedestal rises above it with new writing reading "Only the worthy will have the wisdom to choose whether it's more important to win, or have the humility to lose. A choice is made to save thy friends, and honestly doesn't that make you a winner in the end?"
Marcy then places the gem on the pedestal, as a large green light soon flashes upon everyone, which soon leads to the gem gaining its green color back while at the same time, the green glow in Marcy's eyes drains symbolizing her losing her connection with it. Before the group can celebrate, a small light ray is shot out of the green gem, allowing Marcy to realize that with a bit of work to triangulate the ray's endpoint location, they can make their way to the second temple. Although Marcy believes they can make their way to the next temple that very night, they all mutually agree they should take a break first.
A few days later in "The Second Temple", Marcy, Anne, and the Planters travel to the Amphibia Arctic to recharge the blue gem of the music box. Following the light ray from the green gem, the group comes upon a gate and there, they meet Valeriana who reveals that she last member of an order dedicated to studying the gems and temples of the music box. Valeriana agrees to take the group to the temple and shows interest in the music box, though Anne refuses to let her have it. As they traverse the mountain on their way to the temple, the group survives various challenges which Anne makes many sacrifices for and Valeriana berates her for them. Valeriana eventually decides to abandon the group and Anne becomes fed up with Valeriana, berating her as well. Seemingly angered, Valeriana kidnaps Anne, taking her atop a platform and tries to take the music box while also reminding Anne of all her past misdeeds, many of which Anne believes to be taken out of context. However, whilst fighting Valeriana, Anne admits her responsibility for stealing the music box reluctantly, and saves Valeriana when she nearly falls from the platform. Once Anne explains that her actions taught her it's best to do the right thing even when you don't want to, Valeriana then reveals that this was all a trial for Anne for to show responsibility as well as empathy, and that she and her friends were in the "temple" all along. Valeriana asks what Anne wants, to which she states she wishes to recharge the blue gem. Valeriana agrees, taking the gem out of the music box and places it inside her staff. A large blue light soon flashes which leads to the gem starting to regain its blue color back while at the same time, the blue glow in Anne's eyes begins to drain symbolizing the potential loss of her power.
However, the recharging process is slower than the last gem due to Valeriana's staff being old and Anne soon hears the screams of Marcy and the Plantars from down below. Worried of what is happening to her friends, Anne takes the gem before it finishes charging and impatiently demands Valeriana to send her back. Valeriana does so and Anne reunites with the group who reveal they were simply watching ridiculously cute animal videos on Marcy's phone. Anne shows her friends the seemingly recharged blue gem and they all begin their trip back home. However, unbeknownst to any of them, the blue gem begins to flicker.
In "The Third Temple", Anne, Marcy, the Plantars, and Frobo travel to the location of the third temple to recharge the last gem of the music box. The light ray from the blue gem leads them to the temple entrance, where Marcy notices the unusual language and Frobo opens the way forward. Anne, Marcy, and the Plantars head inside the temple, leaving Frobo to look after Joe Sparrow. Unbeknownst to Frobo, Sasha and Grime sneak past him and follow the group inside. From within the temple, Anne, Marcy and the Planters arrive at the first challenge, to cross a narrow pathway through a moat of lava while also dealing with worm-like lava monsters. The group is provided weapons to deal with the monsters, though none of them are strong enough to lift them properly. Just as they are about to be attacked by a lava monster, the group is saved by Sasha who kills the creature. Marcy is excited to see Sasha, though Anne and the Plantars are hesitant due their past experience. Sasha claims she is sorry for what happened and group continues through the temple. The group eventually arrives at the second challenge, where a barbell must be lifted in order to open a door. Believing there is more to the challenge, Anne suggests exploring the room first. Sasha, however, believes the challenge to be as simple as it appears and proceeds to lift the barbell which does open the door. Arriving at the last challenge, the group is tasked with fighting a Stone Monster which becomes harder when the gravity in the room increases, incapacitating the Plantars and Grime. Anne, Marcy, and Sasha attempt to fight the monster which nearly gets Marcy before Sasha saves her.
Marcy remains immobile due to the gravity and Anne and Sasha press forward. Whilst trying to fight the monster, Sasha states how she knows that Anne still doesn't trust her and the two get into an argument about it. Things become worse when the gravity in the room increases even more, pushing Anne and Sasha to the ground. Sasha begins to lose hope, stating how she was always such a jerk to Anne. Fortunately, Anne encourages Sasha to keep trying, reminded her how she never gave up before. Reinvigorated, Sasha removes parts of her armor to lessen the weight of the gravity and fights the monster, defeating it by cutting it in half. The monster gives a thumbs up before exploding and the gravity in the room returns to normal. Marcy and the Plantars reunite with Anne and Sasha. Soon after, a pedestal emerges from the floor and Anne gives Sasha the honor of placing in the gem. A large red light soon flashes upon everyone, which soon leads to the gem gaining its color back while at the same time, the glow in Sasha's eyes drains as she loses her power as well. A final message appears which Marcy translates, revealing that the temple was testing persistence as well as strength. With all the gems seemingly recharged, Anne wonders if they should open the music box now, but Marcy interjects, stating they should take the box back to King Andrias.
Andrias' true colors
Once the group arrives in Newtopia to see Andrias in "True Colors", Sasha betrays Anne and Marcy by revealing her and Grime's intention to invade Newtopia with a toad army, as she then takes the music box for herself. After Anne expresses her frustration to Sasha over her betrayal and declares they're no longer friends, Sasha decides to open the box on Anne and Marcy with the intention of traveling them away from the city. However, to her surprise, nothing happens. Later as Sasha and Grime's plans are thwarted and the two are captured, Marcy, Anne, Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, Frobo, Olivia, Yunan, and Andrias return to the throne room as Anne gives Andrias the box so he could send her, Marcy and Sasha home. Instead, however, Andrias proceeds to explain that in the past, he with his ancestors used the box as an energy source to power their technologically advanced empire from Newtopia Castle located at the capital of Amphibia to the rest of the continent as a whole more than a thousand years ago. However, he was betrayed by his own friends and one of his friends stole the box, thus leading to the city to shut down on its technological accomplishments due to the loss of its main power. Andrias was 'glad' the girls got him back the box charged as well, which he uses to power his castle to fly up into the sky. at the same time, it sends a signal to the factories outside of Frog Valley to recreate his Frog-bot military force similar to Frobo, but made differently for combat. Andrias then states that he will not allow the girls to go home now, as he intends to use the box's power to invade all worlds, and he wouldn't want them to warn earth about the coming invasion. As Anne and Sasha begin to intimidate Andrias, he then decides to show them the capabilities of the box, as he uses it to power up a massive weapon atop Newtopia Castle that shoots a large blue beam straight towards Captain Aldo's North Tower, completely obliterating it.
Marcy then attempts to reason with Andrias as he promised to her previously that no one would get hurt. Unsure of what she's talking about, Anne and Sasha ask Marcy for clarification, as she then states Andrias promised to take her and her friends to the other worlds the box had access to teleport to. Still unsure of her reasoning, Andrias then points out to everyone that Marcy knew about the box's teleportation power and had gotten her, Anne, and Sasha stuck in Amphibia purposely, much to Anne and Sasha's disbelief. Forced to reveal the truth, Marcy confesses that earlier on the day they got teleported into Amphibia, she was scared to learn her dad got a new job away from their state of California, and she was going to be forced to move away from Anne and Sasha while believing it would tear apart their friendship. When she found the box in the thrift store, she was unsure if it would actually work, but when it did, she saw it as an opportunity for her, Anne and Sasha to be somewhere they would never have to grow apart and they could remain friends forever. Anne then accuses Marcy of taking her away from her family and life on Earth, while Marcy tearfully attempts to convince her that her actions allowed them all to grow as people, along with giving them new friendships and everything they've experienced in Amphibia. However, as everyone steps away from Marcy, she falls to her knees out of guilt and admits all she wanted was to not be alone. Nevertheless, Anne still decides Andrias is the main adversary to face their attention to, knowing she has to stop his evil intentions with the box, as she then cuts Sasha loose and everyone prepares to fight.
During the fight, Andrias gets a hold on Sprig and drops him out one of the windows, filling Anne with a sudden heavy mix of sadness and anger. This causes the half-charged blue gem's essence on the box to flow back into Anne due to her still retaining her connection with it, only this time it changes her appearance to glowing blue hair and vines coming out of her head, as well as her eye color turning blue. It also triggers Anne to gain abilities to fight Andrias and his robotic military force head on while also beating Andrias tremendously during her sudden rage of power. Eventually however, Anne's powers wear off and she briefly passes out, as Andrias then admits his surprise of Anne still having the 'gift', but now decides he can't let her live because of it. During which time, Sprig is revealed to have been saved by Marcy and runs over to Anne, while Marcy additionally takes the Calamity Box away from the power stand and opens a portal in front of her that could get back to Earth. Seeing the opportunity, Anne and the Plantars (including Frobo's head) quickly evacuate to the portal while Grime and Sasha attempt to slow down Andrias. As the Plantars are within the portal, Andrias manages to shove Sasha and Grime away as he runs for the box. Before Marcy can finish what she's saying and move into the portal, she is stabbed by Andrias' sword from her back right out of her chest. As Marcy apologizes for her actions with Anne screaming to her, Marcy collapses on the floor, causing her to drop the box which emits a bright light, closing the portal that quickly sends Anne, the Plantars and Frobo to LA on Earth, along with Marcy, Sasha, Grime, Yunan, Olivia, Andrias, and the box remaining in Amphibia.
In Andrias' hands
Later during "The New Normal", it's revealed Andrias had managed to re-acquire the box for himself, and placed it back on the charging station. He then orders one of his Frog-Bots to hunt down Anne on Earth and kill her because she's the last obstacle in his plans, but to ensure Earth doesn't learn about the coming invasion right away, tells it to stay hidden as much as possible. Once the Frog-Bot acquires the blue gem's energy signature, Andrias uses the box to open a portal to the human world, and closes it once the Frog-Bot has stepped through. At a supermarket, though the box is not present, Anne's connection to the blue gem still allows her to use her newly gained abilities to fend off the Frog-Bot, as it flees from the market soon after with a destroyed arm.
A few days earlier in "Turning Point" during the time Marcy dropped the box after being stabbed, once the flash occurred that sent Anne and the Plantars to Earth, the box is seen next to the unconscious Marcy on the floor with black smoke coming out of it. Andrias then closes the box reclaiming it for himself, while Yunan and Olivia are then stopped from leaving by Andrias, and Sasha and Grime manage to escape from the window with the help of Joe Sparrow.
A few weeks later in "If You Give a Frog a Cookie", it's revealed that on the day Anne, Sasha, and Marcy were teleported to Amphibia, the Calamity Box caused a massive energetic blast which spread throughout the city. This ended up affecting numerous electrical circuits, including the lights in one of Dr. Frakes' research rooms at the Brainasium, which caused a chain reaction that affected two tesla coils. This resulted in a portal to Amphibia to open up and immediately begin sucking in anything close to it, including Frakes' CD Player, while her assistant Terri held onto her to ensure she wouldn't get sucked in as well.
During the holiday season in "Froggy Little Christmas", Andrias uses the box again to send a controllable drone prototype to Earth in another attempt to eliminate Anne himself since the Cloak-Bot failed its mission, but fails.
Some time later in "Mother of Olms" once Anne and the Plantars have returned to Amphibia, they and Sasha enter the subterranean city of Proteus. There, they meet Mother Olm with the hopes of learning more from her after an ancient pot found by Anne and the Plantars on Earth offered a clue to seek the mother of olms to discover answers. Mother Olm claims herself to be the keeper of the prophecy of the stones and the music box, but had forgotten what it was due to migraines she was experiencing with her brain. After a failed attempt to help her remember, Mother Olm eventually recalls she left notes about the prophecy on the ceiling of the room so she wouldn't forget. The prophecy reads "Three stars burning bright come from beyond to expel the night. Should they fight or embrace the fall, their choice will determine the fate of all." Mother Olm then asks if the power of the stones from the box flows through either Anne or Sasha, to which Anne answers yes, but with a lack of control on the power. Anne then informs Mother Olm of King Andrias' thievery of the box, but Mother Olm claims as long as Anne retains part of her power, she can also restore it to Sasha and Marcy. Anne then questions Mother Olm about the meaning behind the prophecy as well as the stones' origins, to which Mother Olm explains that the olms believed the stones served a greater purpose and should be left in peace, while others believed they should be used for conquest, and in the midst of which the conquerors created an unnatural being that neither sleeps nor dies. She further elaborates the prophecy is their only chance at salvation, and that the olms believed Anne, Sasha, and Marcy were brought to Amphibia with the box to save the land from its corrupted self.
Soon afterwards in "Grime's Pupil", Anne reminds Sasha about what Mother Olm stated, with how their best chance of beating King Andrias is to regain possession of the music box. Sasha then adds that in order to do so, they need more allies to assist them, the first of them being Grime's sister Captain Beatrix, who has also been gathering a secret army made up of toads on her own. After a sparring match between Sprig and Beatrix to determine which army would join the other, in which Sprig was the victor, Beatrix pledges to fight along side the resistance.
A few days from Andrias' invasion in "The Three Armies", Sasha explains to the leaders of the frog, toad, and newt rebellion that all of Andrias' power comes from the music box and their intentions are to take it away from him, therefore immobilizing his operations. Initially the leaders and soldiers from all armies refuse to cooperate due to their races' perception of one another, but after Anne steps in and sets them straight with the help of her calamity powers, the armies decide to come to a truce and form a proper plan. Hop Pop, Beatrix, and Tritonio all explain to Sasha and Anne that if Beatrix and the armies can attack Andrias' army by the front of the Newtopia castle, they could cause enough of a distraction for a smaller group to sneak into the castle and steal the box without the enemy noticing. Soon after, however, Mother Olm arrives abruptly and informs everyone that the source of the invasion date was false, and that Andrias is instead planning to use the box to invade Earth tonight.
The invasion
Later that day in "The Beginning of the End" while the newly formed army is battling the frobots and mind controlled creatures of Amphibia in front of the flying Newtopia castle, a small group consisting of Anne, Sasha, Sprig, Hop Pop, Polly, Grime, and Frobo move into the castle with the help of Joe Sparrow and Domino 2. After sneaking their way through the guards and saving Lady Olivia and General Yunan from their mind controlled states, they enter the throne room and discover the music box. However, to their surprise the box on the pedestal was merely a hologram trap, and everyone in the room is suddenly captured by mechanical tentacles placed all throughout the room. As the room begins to light up, the group notices Marcy holding the real music box. She claims she's no longer Marcy, but rather a collection of Amphibia's greatest minds uploaded into a unified consciousness, naming themselves Darcy. Anne demands to know where the real Marcy is, to which Darcy claims she's still in her mind with everyone else, and it's how they managed to figure out their ambush plan in the first place using Marcy's memory of a movie Anne and Sasha watched with her. After taunting them further using Marcy's other memories, Darcy eventually displays the group in front of the rebellion army, claiming their leaders have been captured and the rebellion is over. This causes the rebellions to retreat, and for Andrias to then join the core after fighting on the front lines. Darcy then states to Andrias the risks of already having used the box to this point, while believing Anne must die because of her state being a possible drawback due to retaining a piece of the stones' power. This leads Anne to further realize both Darcy and Andrias are also as clueless about the stones as they are.
Just as Darcy is about to stab Anne with a flaming dagger, Anne brings up a sudden possibility that killing her may also drain the power of the box entirely. After the failure to reach a proper consensus, Darcy obliges to Anne's argument, believing they must first confirm the energy can be safely extracted before murdering the host. Although Anne managed to spare herself for the time being, Darcy still claims they fully intend to dissect her alive if it means finding a proper solution to take the energy out. Darcy then orders the rest of the group to be fitted for collars, and Andrias to activate the box to open the portal to Earth. The box then powers up the tip of the castle, causing a large beam to shoot out and open a massive portal, to which the castle and Andrias' army proceed to move through. On Earth, the portal opens up in front of the city of Los Angeles.
During the invasion in "All In" once Anne's group escapes Andrias and the Core's grasps, they meet up with Anne's parents and an old adversary Mr. X, as they all decide to reconvene and talk strategy at Anne and Sasha's school Saint James Middle School. There, Anne and Sasha devise a new plan, which is for Anne, Sprig, Hop Pop, Polly, Frobo, Mr. X, and Anne's parents to fend off all the frobots attacking the city. Meanwhile Sasha, Grime, Yunan, and Olivia will use Joe Sparrow to infiltrate the Newtopia castle once more, and though the box will be heavily guarded, they can still shut down the forcefield surrounding the castle. Meanwhile during a flashback of Andrias' to when he first met Marcy, the Core orders Andrias to kill Marcy, but Andrias interjects, believing killing her to be too severe. Instead, he explains that judging from the ancient writings, there is a ritual that ensures the powers from the chosen heroes can be taken away from them. Because of this, Andrias suggests they lure Marcy and her friends to them, allowing them to retrieve their newly gained powers and restore it back to the music box, to which The Core accepts. Back in the present, due to the unexpectedly strong retaliation against Andrias' army, Andrias reveals himself within the Dyoplosaurus armor, and offers to call off the invasion, but on the condition that Anne shows herself and defeats him in a single combat. If she refuses, he will cause further chaos to Earth, and proving it to her by using the box to power up the weapon atop the Newtopia castle once more, causing another blue beam to shoot out and destroy Hollywood Hills.
Without hesitation, Anne approaches Andrias at the top of a building. Andrias proceeds to elaborate to Anne on his belief for why the stones picked her, as initially when they first met, he judged Anne as merely a little girl with poor style, when in reality she is a fierce warrior, with Andrias seeing it as the perfect deception. Anne in return sees the hypocrisy in his statement, reminding him of his minor evil doings such as the Christmas parade attack, to now enacting on pure evil with his invasion of her home. Regardless, Andrias states his awareness of the limit Anne has to her powers from the box, believing she's at a disadvantage since her powers could drain out at any time. Unfortunately, his words ultimately become true, as Anne's battle against Andrias eventually causes her to drain out her powers. Just as Andrias is about to deal the final blow, Sprig arrives using a Heron and declares he has a message from Leif. Stunned, Andrias demands an explanation, to which Sprig explains he found it within his family's basement and that the letter was addressed to Andrias himself. Leif's letter reads how after hiding the music box on Earth, she knew she couldn't return to Newtopia, believing it would be difficult to open her heart to others once more. She believed they spent their lives afraid of change, but after many years began to realize the beauty of life is change itself, during which she spent many amazing memories with Andrias. She also believed that even though she, Barrel, and Andrias were no longer together, they never left her side, and she hoped some day her love would reach Andrias enough to encourage him not to close himself off and open his heart to others. Saddened, Andrias always assumed she had forgotten about him, but still believes his years of hurting others is something he can't return from.
Though Darcy attempts to mind control Andrias to kill Anne from the castle, this causes them to be distracted long enough for Sasha to slice the cord attached to Darcy, cutting off the Core's connection to Marcy's mind. With Andrias stalled for long enough, Anne's powers recharged and return, allowing Anne to finish off Andrias. Though he is furious to see Anne about to deliver the final blow and that he had been tricked, Andrias chooses to give into defeat, instead of fighting back anymore, as Anne out of surprise places the final blow on him. Anne and the rest of the group then rush towards the Castle now that the forcefield is deactivated by Sasha, as both Anne and Sasha check on the unconscious Marcy. After stating their forgiveness to Marcy, Marcy awakens and tearfully apologizes to both of them for her actions, claiming the idea of losing them was too great for her and that their friendship wouldn't last if they were no longer together. Anne then assures to Marcy that although things are bound to change for better or worse, there is nothing that can ever break the bond they share, as the memories they made together will always remain a part of them. After some minor celebrations, Anne phones her parents and informs them of her, Sasha, and Marcy returning to Amphibia with the box to ensure everything there is alright. Anne then activates the box, allowing the entire Newtopia castle to return to Amphibia, as they announce to the Amphibia rebellion of Andrias and Darcy's defeat. However, after a heartfelt conversation between Anne and Sprig about the future of their friendship, Sprig notices the red moon in the sky approaching them.
The box's last stand
Picking up right where the events of "All In" leave off, in "The Hardest Thing" the Core helmet is revealed to have engaged a last resort by connecting itself to the red moon, causing a chain reaction of creatures to reveal themselves. Andrias explains when Amphibia's advanced society had reached its peak, the red moon was used as a property for the Core's pet projects, one of which being a plan to eradicate all life on Amphibia by activating rocket engines and ramming the moon into Amphibia. When Anne demands an answer, Marcy believes the Core fears its destruction and fate of irrelevancy, and it will do anything they deem necessary to reclaim the stones for themselves. Soon after, Mother Olm shows up on the scene and announces the prophecy has now come to pass. However, although Anne recalls the prophecy of her, Sasha, and Marcy saving Amphibia, Mother Olm clarifies that the prophecy doesn't guarantee their victory, rather it's a call for help. She also warns the girls that tapping into the remaining essence of power within the stones may also drain them excessively to the point there won't be enough power to return back to Earth. Nevertheless, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy without hesitation all unanimously agree to use the stones, knowing the entirety of Amphibia is at stake. While everyone else heads to the music box, Mother Olm halts Anne and secretly informs her that if the stones aren't powerful enough, she should use the secret spell for the stones. Unsure of what she's referring to, Mother Olm claims the stones supposedly hold a hidden power that can vanquish any foe, but summoning such power will also bring the cost of the user's life.
When Anne meets up at the music box with the others, Anne notices Valeriana has now arrived at the scene and was waiting for the girls to prepare them for the final battle. Valeriana orders the girls to close their eyes, focus and recall their memories of Amphibia and how much it means to them, as it will allow the stones to resonate with their hearts once more. Valeriana then uses her staff to pierce a laser through Anne's chest and towards the music box, as it activates the power on the stones and transfers them into the girls. After a sudden flash in the room, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy have all transformed into their activated calamity forms with the stones' power. Anne notes the intensity level of their powers compared to before, as the girls make their way towards the red moon. The Core then deploys a defense unit of creatures to stall them, as the trio use their calamity powers to attack them head on. Anne's calamity powered attack manifests in the form of a large tennis racket similar to the one she carries, as she uses it to whack an energy blast that splits up into cat-shaped entities and destroys a handful of Core creatures. Sasha's calamity powered attack manifests into a set of wings and two pom poms, as she swifts through the beasts and destroys their critical points to deactivate them, while then combining her two pom poms to charge them up and obliterate a large Core creature. Marcy's calamity powered attack manifests into a D20 dice, as she throws it towards a Core creature that bounces off to attack other enemies until it's caught, to which Marcy then detonates the D20 in the Core creature's claws, and destroys it and any other enemies around. With all the Core's creatures defeated, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy direct their attention towards the red moon and push from the bottom in an attempt to halt it from moving any closer to Amphibia.
Back on Amphibia, Andrias decides to activate the surviving frobot drones and send them towards the red moon. Though initially believed to be sending them as backup for the Core, he instead reveals he's sending them to assist the girls in pushing the red moon back. Having finally chosen to turn against the Core, he destroys his crown which contains his only connection to the Core within it. While pushing with all their might, Sasha and Marcy's calamity powers suddenly begin to drain, with Marcy believing the reason to be because their bodies aren't as used to the power as Anne is. Running low on options and with the frobots slowly getting destroyed, Anne declares to them she's going to call upon the power of all three stones, but Sasha and Marcy oppose, knowing Anne will be greatly risking her life in the process. Anne then states how her whole life she followed their lead, but now it's time for them to follow hers, as Marcy and Sasha tearfully accept while handing Anne their stones. Once Sasha and Marcy revert back to their original forms and offer one last hug to Anne, Anne sends them back to Amphibia with her powers. With the Core baffled that Anne would use Amphibia's greatest treasure on it, Anne proclaims the stones are not Amphibia's greatest treasure in retaliation, as she remembers all the friends and loved ones she made on her journey. She recalls Mother Olm's words that she merely has to ask the stones themselves for the power, and once asked, the stones shatter into fragments and the power flows into Anne. All of a sudden, Sprig approaches her with the help of Frobo, begging Anne to not go through with it while stating she's changed his life. Anne softly replies he's changed hers too, to which Sprig then tearfully flees back, as she bids him farewell. She then charges up a large ball of light and shoots it directly into the center of the red moon, destroying both it and the core in the process. Sprig recovers Anne's gray and shattered body, as he returns her to Amphibia in front of Sasha, Marcy, Hop Pop, Polly, Grime, and other members of the Amphibia rebellion. Unfortunately, once Anne bids farewell to Sprig, her body dissipates in front of him.
Suddenly, Anne wakes up and finds herself on a small island with a home on it in the middle of space. Anne enters the home and notices it's filled with all her valuable belongings, picture frames of her loved ones, and a box computer on the table. As Anne approaches the computer, a user titled 3_STONES_DEITY pops up on the screen and wishes to chat. When Anne asks who they are, they claim themselves to be the cosmic guardian who has watched over countless worlds for countless eons. After Anne questions their appearance, the guardian takes on the form of Anne's pet cat Domino. With Anne unsure if she's dead or not, the guardian claims to have made a copy of Anne right before she passed on, while assuring her she's still the same Anne Boonchuy. The guardian proceeds to explain they brought Anne here to offer her an opportunity to take their place, admitting after enough time they have grown exhausted from their duties as a guardian. They then state they created the music box's stones to analyze how mortal beings would handle unlimited power, to which their conclusion was inefficiently, but discovered in the process that Anne was the only user of the stones in the last 10,000 years who used the power for good. The guardian assures Anne she has a choice to go through with it, which encourages Anne to immediately decline their offer, believing she's not fit to keep watch of the multiverse and that nobody's perfect for such a task.
She elaborates her time in Amphibia made her realize that everyone's changing every day, recalling how at one point she thought Sasha and Marcy would remain stuck as their old selves, but they proved her wrong and their bond only grew stronger. She also recollects her memories of Wartwood, and how their reputation of lacking acceptance still didn't stop Anne from gaining their trust, as well as the residents eventually seeing her as one of their own. After her informative speech, the guardian believes if Anne can improve further in the future, she may deem herself worthy of their position. Anne considers it but knows she can't now that she gave away her life already. However, to Anne's surprise, the floor disappears, and a tunnel of light opens up beneath it. When Anne asks to know what's going on, the guardian declares they're sending Anne back to the world of the living, claiming she's made them realize the flaw in their beliefs. They also add if she can make them understand that as a mere 13 year old, they can only imagine the potential she'll have as a guardian once fully lived. After being fully revived, Anne wakes up and finds herself back in Amphibia in front of her allies and friends as they tearfully hug her out of joy and surprise that she managed to survive the battle. Soon after, Sprig notices Anne's pocket glowing, only to discover fractions of the music box's stones with power still in them as a gift from the guardian.
The next day, Marcy analyzes the fraction pieces and deduces judging from the size and luminosity, they're only good for a one time use. Anne then concludes once they use the music box to open a portal back to Earth, they can't return to Amphibia. Knowing this, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy bid one final farewell to their friends and loved ones they've made in Amphibia, as Valeriana places the fractions of the stones onto the music box and activates a portal to Earth. As they walk in front of the portal, the girls give one final bow to the residents of Amphibia. Just as Sasha and Marcy enter the portal, Sprig gives Anne one final hug before making her departure too. As soon as Anne walks through the portal, the portal closes up, leaving just a leaf that was stuck on Anne's hair behind. To Valeriana's surprise, the music box suddenly begins to dissipate in her hand as its ashes are carried away by the wind.
Nine months later,[1] a monument of Anne is built in the middle of Wartwood Swamp showing her holding her sword in one hand, and the music box in the other.
Gallery
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Trivia
- Calamity defines "an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster", further showing the box was dangerous.
- A real-life version of the chest appears at the 2019 D23 Expo. It is presented by Matt Braly, who gives it to Kermit the Frog to look at while advising him not to open it. However, Kermit gets the urge to do so and, after giving in, ends up in Amphibia. He mistakenly calls it the "Magical Calamari Box" at one point and says the journey is "faster than taking the 5 freeway" due to way less traffic.
- In "Anne Vs. Wild", the key at the side is missing, but in "Bizarre Bazaar", it reappears.
- The gems are removable from the box via a combination on the lid.
- Due to Anne's trial, the blue gem was the only gem not fully charged. After Anne reunited with the box, the gem was fully charged.
- In the The Owl House episode "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door", while Luz descents into the basement of the Owl House, the box can be seen on a shelf.
- The interdimensional portal developed by Dr. Frakes, and then Terri, serves as alternative options for the box even if the portal size seems to be smaller. It's possible with better technology/and or time the portal could be big enough for people to travel through.
- The Calamity Box can be heard playing a broken tune of the "Anne's Theme" leitmotif in the end credits of "All In".
- The final shot of "The Hardest Thing" before the end credits resembles the wood carvings on the box.
- Sprig is the only character out of the main cast to have never touched the Calamity Box at all.
References
- ↑ Braly, Matt [@Radrappy] (May 17, 2022). the first time skip (before the chyron) is about 9 months give or take - thank you for all your reaction vids btw...I worked really hard to get you and many others (@IAmZamber, @EdDaWiz, @HopeMullinax, etc) early screeners of The Hardest Thing but it never worked out (Tweet). Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved on 2022-05-17.