Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was a thump that echoed through the halls of the castle.

In the far wing of the main hall, where no one ventured anymore, a frog and a toad danced back and forth, like a waltz, as the toad swinged his hammer in the air and the frog narrowly dodged it.

The poor frog, Leif was her name, holding the box that brought happiness and misery to her land, cried out.

“Barrel, please! What I do, I do for all of us-”

But that toad, her best friend, refused to listen.

The soldier attacked mercilessly, ready to do whatever was needed to stop her and get the box back. The way he moved against her was inconsistent, suddenly jumping or shuffling his feet just to confuse her, trying to make her use her knees until they gave out. He was trying to incapacitate her, not kill her. After all, it was easier to torture than to bear the blame.

He threatened her blow after blow, cornering her body against a wall. Leif barely had time to react before the hammer crushed the floor where she stood, kicking up dust and debris that blinded her for a moment, something Barrel took as an opportunity to lunge at her.

Her friend's- The soldier's fighting style had always had a direct approach, always fast to not let the enemy rest, always ready to take their strength and return it with fierce. When they trained in the past, he used to be careless on purpose, according to him to 'practice his reflexes and see how fast he could be'. Leif was quick to assume that his way of combat was just meant to be messy, that he never sought to be accurate in his attack.

But feeling a punch on her side forced her to wake up and realize that the Barrel she knew wasn't there anymore.

She fell on the ground, but Leif stood up before Barrel got any closer again. As she turned her head around, holding her aching side while looking for an urgent way out, Leif had to jump and stick herself to the wall, dodging a hammer blow that was coming straight at her. Barrel glanced at her sideways, snorting when he saw her messily climb the wall with what stickiness she had left in her hands and feet, before grasping his weapon and trying to land a hit on her again.

His brute force, however, made everything crumble apart until his hammer got stuck in the wall.

Leif fell to the ground soon after, no longer able to hold on. Seeing her within reach, Barrel tried to pull his hammer free, but it was jammed in the rubble, giving Leif a few precious seconds that she didn’t waste on a second glance.

She desperately ran down the hall trying to get as far as she could, knowing well that this was her last opportunity to get away. Watching her escape, Barrel only grunted in response, pulling the hammer out with all his strength until it returned to his hands, and without a second's hesitation he hit the floor hard enough to make it shake.

And Leif could only fall miserably to the ground with a groan.

In her confusion, she could barely think. Her body ached, the fight went on longer than necessary and she hadn't planned an escape route beyond what she knew. How did she ended up in this situation, if half an hour ago she was laughing with them in the same hallways? It was as if fate were slowly laughing in her face.

Leif tried to get up again, but her body trembled as her breath faltered. Heavy footsteps approached her direction and Leif didn't have time to react before her friend's shadow covered her.

With one last boost, Barrel jumped on the wall to drop the hammer at a perfect angle, where Leif wouldn’t escape.

He had aimed at her leg, knowing really well what he wanted.

And, in response, she only saw black for a moment.

Leif screamed as she felt the sharp pain in her foot, where Barrel had dropped the hammer with almost full force. It was an indescribable feeling, one she had never experienced, one she only heard about from other people's experiences. One of his dirty movements.

And all Barrel did in response was to back away, inhale sharply and grasp his hammer even tighter.

It's not that Leif was surprised, she knew it was a possibility, that this was a risk. She just hoped Barrel would be softer, that he wouldn't forget that she got to be his friend at some point. But there was no hesitation in his focus or his walk as he got closer, maybe because they both knew how this was going to end. Leif never had any chance in any fight.

She was just a fool trying to do something right.

His figure stood before her, the hammer rising into the air, forming in front of Leif the shadow of the last thing she would ever see.

And that's how she was defeated, that's how the Crown won.

The day Leif decided to do something for her people ended up being the same day she fell at the hands of her best friend.

And the worst? She not only condemned herself, but her people, but Amphibia, but…

“Oh, dear Frog.”

But then, Barrel stepped back.

Leif could barely see him through the pain, but it didn't take her long to notice the look of horror that had never graced his face before. It's as if he had awakened from his reverie.

It's as if he had realized who he had hurt.

“Leif... oh, no, no, Leif,” his voice is hushed for a moment. The hammer trembled in his grip as he fixed his gaze on her swollen foot, observing what he had done.

He hesitates.

Hesitates because, despite being a soldier, he was supposed to be a friend.

But it’s too late to realize that.

Leif took advantage of his distraction, trying to get back on her feet despite the pain. The adrenaline helped her, at least, to weigh the feeling just a little more to get to safety.

Of course, she needed a plan beyond useless running. If she was right about something, the hall in front of her could take her to the nearest workshop. If she reached the workshop, she could close the door, figure something out and get to a safe room, and if she managed to get out of the castle, she could sneak through the great newtopian walls and escape once and for all.

That was it, that was her last chance.

She couldn't fail again. All Amphibia counted on her.

She had to continue.

“Leif, for the love of the Olms, stay still!”

Barrel’s voice froze her, at least for a second. His cry was desperate, a last request that ran through her in a shiver, bringing so many mixed feelings she has to shut her eyes for a second. Barrel had the power to destroy her right now, to return her to the Crown.

But his big heart, as much as he probably doesn't want to, is giving her a chance this time.

Should she listen? Is there still time to repent, to return back to her old life?

Leif knew she had already failed. She knew she wasn't capable to go beyond her own friends, how could she expect to fool the Crown? With what chance would she do it? She’s just a simple frog.

A simple frog who loves her home more than she should.

“Leif!”

The desperation in his tone is heartbreaking. In all the years they have known each other, he had never screamed like that. There was fear, anguish that a soldier could not process in his mind.

But Barrel does nothing but call out her name as he watches her run away with the trembling box in her hands.

In a perfect life, Leif would never have come into contact with that box. She would have closed her eyes and let everything happen without ruining her life.

But she played the game and paid the consequences for it.

She blamed herself for being so restless, she blamed the box that chose the worst place to put its gems. But still, she couldn't help but silently curse her friend's (were they still...?) family who was going to cause all this, all the destruction of this world for their greed.

And the worst part? They already destroyed the only thing Leif loved.

Leif ran with her heart in hand, limping as best she could with the pain throbbing from her foot. Thousands of thoughts crowded her, but she didn't let them take over her head for she wasn't safe yet. There were still things to do and being emotional wasn't one of them.

Suddenly the floor trembled and cracked beneath her, making her trip over broken ceramics and cough from the dust that went through her lungs. Her pulse quickened as she heard footsteps, too big to go unnoticed.

Leif didn't have to turn around to know who had arrived.

The steps of horror are slow while from the dust appears the figure of a prince, the friend turned into her foe, surrounded by the ashes that their broken friendship left around. Andrias approached without haste because he probably knew that she was hurt, that he had her surrounded. There was no longer that tenderness in his gaze that a few hours ago Leif would have appreciated in her heart.

If only…

She jumped back, away from the fire sword that tried to connect with her body. Leif could see the way Andrias stepped back a little, squinting his eyes, fixated on any movements, reading her like an open book.

He's focused on finishing this task.

“Leif” his tail wags every time he concentrates. It's stressful, even though it used to be charming. “Leif, we're ending this nonsense now!”

She knew she couldn't get past him. He’s not Barrel. He had no mercy if his own father asked him to. If he had arrived was to finish the mission, to kill her. And without one of her functional legs, Leif had no other options left.

“Andrias, please-”

Leif jumped up, throwing a piece of ceramic with all her might at his face. Andrias swung his sword and got disposed of the debris like it was a cake, at least distracting himself enough to give her a millisecond of escape.

Sadly, Leif already knew she was never meant to get far.

As she rushed uselessly through the hall there were more clatters against the ground behind her. Slow, almost weak, all caused by a mocking Andrias who was having too much fun with this. He was taking his time believing he had won.

And who was Leif to say otherwise?

As soon as they catch her, she's going to be left at their mercy. Leif shouldn't have escaped. She shouldn't have thought she could handle this task. She curses having received the vision that dragged her into this, that sent her to defraud the only friends she had. She hates herself for abandoning them in one of the most cowardly acts of her life.

They trusted each other with their lives, but she abandoned everything to save her people.

For a moment Leif thought they would understand. Looking back, she's not sure why.

They had been friends since they were little tadpoles, being just children who loved blindly. They trusted each other even before they met, fighting side by side against any difficulties that came their way. They cemented their friendship through that, and then, when Andrias found the opportunity to bring them closer by working at the castle, their friendship afloat like a proud ship that couldn't be brought down even by Amphibia's best cannons.

No one saw the gap of doubt that grew between them, as Andrias spent more time with his father and Barrel remained immersed in his work.

Maybe it was all her fault.

She trusted them too much, she took a dream image of their friendship without taking into account the problems they had. She never questioned her friends' loyalty, but they did.

And they were right.

That friendship, the one Leif held close to her heart, the one she considered her entire world, was now just a thorn in the side to all life in Amphibia.

And to think about that, that everything Leif ever held dear had to be thrown away for her people...

Despite this, she only pushes herself to move forward. Despite the pain, she doesn't stop to let fate do things just yet, because who cares about three unstable lives, when the whole world is at stake?

Who cares about her own life?

A fiery knife flew past her, taking her out of her thoughts.

Andrias continued walking slowly, mockingly (fearful) as he got near her position. Leif tried to guide herself through the paintings in the hallways, certain that she was getting closer to the workshop where her little, messy plan could take shape.

However, just as the workshop door came into view, the one and only Barrel, with hammer in hand, jumped from the dark in front of her, blocking her path.

She was surrounded.

“Leif, this went too far.” The panic in Andrias' voice had completely faded. So had his compassion. Only a cold newt remained in front of her. “Look at yourself, you're already hurt.”

Barrel was breathing harder than normal. Whether it was because of the race to get there first, Leif didn't know.

“Andrias…”

“No, stop. I know what you're going to say,” the newt blurted out, his sword about to break under his devastating grip. “Enough of this nonsense of 'salvation'. It's over. Just- put that box back, we'll clean up the damn mess you made and pretend nothing happened. That's. An. Order!"

Not seeing her make any move, just glancing at him, Andrias's eye twitched before whistling loudly. Barrel flinched at the sound, but all it took was a look from Andrias to get him going.

The toad swung at her without hesitation. No hammer in hand, just his claws going for the box.

And Leif could have let him, she could have trusted them and given up, she could have returned to the life that she lost.

But she saw the entire future of Amphibia lost, her people done for good, given away to those who do not listen for their own ambition. And she couldn't live with the thought.

“Leif!”

She slipped from his clutches, taking a simple one-foot hop, without giving him a second glance.

Barrel took a moment to process it. Andrias only grunted, starting to draw nearer while clenching his sword tightly.

“Barrel, if you don’t do it, I will!”

Barrel proceeded to take a more direct approach. His claws attacked like a wild animal ignoring everything in his path, including himself. Leif was able to dodge him, over and over again, backing away aggressively and still balancing on her only good foot. Barrel reached for her skin, trying to grab her arm, but it was too smooth to allow it.

In a last attempt, Barrel had to dig his claws into her skin.

"Enough!"

It was before Andrias thrust his sword right between the two of them.

Leif watched the scene happen almost in slow motion. The sword got stuck, Barrel was too surprised by Andrias' unexpected attack that he let go of her arm, and Leif almost saw stars as she took a painfully ill-planned leap away from them.

It took them a second to realize that she wasn’t there anymore, but as soon as they did, they started chasing after her, desperate to not let her get far. But their distraction let Leif take one more leap until she finally reached the precious workshop.

And she had time to close the door right in front of their face.

Finally there, she barely stopped to think about what she was doing. She went to the desks looking for whatever was capable of helping her at the moment, which turned out to be a frobot cannon. It was a dangerous weapon for someone so small, but it was her only defense against Andrias.

The door opened.

“Stop!”

And a sword flew too close to Leif.

The fire weapon swung back and forth, throwing shelves and scrap metal everywhere trying to reach her. A fist from Andrias tried to connect with her body, but it only managed to give Leif the opportunity to dodge it and hit his face in return.

He backed away.

Her attack did almost nothing, but punching back surprised them both. Leif was never the violent type, even though they fought every day as a joke.

It just showed how desperate she was.

Her chest started to hurt from the heavy breaths she could barely release as she got tired. With her last strand of adrenaline, Leif had to climb the wall in a last-ditch attempt to get far away from the prince, trying to get the right angle to think of something, of an exit, of-

The ventilation duct.

But before she could move, Andrias got to stand in front of her, sword in hand, ready to do one last lunge. Leif could barely swallow the squeak that almost escaped her as she looked at the prince in the eyes.

His eyes filled with hesitation for a moment.

Not that it matters, nothing does anymore.

Not while Leif activates the cannon, aims and fires.

Andrias takes cover for a moment, perhaps expecting that the lightning would be aimed at himself, as if Leif were bloodthirsty enough to dare. No, the lightning bounces across the room, slamming into the metal and making a sound so unpleasant that even Andrias himself turns to see what caused it.

“The ventilation?” is his little murmur of confusion.

He doesn't give it much thought, returning to the matter that is supposed to be at his feet.

But Leif is no longer there.

His eyes widen in horror as he turns back around, seeing Leif climbing towards the duct and disappearing inside. He runs in a last attempt to stop her, grabbing his sword and managing to get as far as possible with the fire.

But it's too late, Leif is already gone.

Leif needed urgently a plan, a better plan than what she had. Maybe she could go to a random, empty room or the garden itself and think of another way out from there, fast. After all, if she stayed in the castle any longer, they wouldn't let her get away. Not again.

Ironic. Not long ago they would have talked first. They would have worked things out somehow, coming to an agreement on how to fix this.

But who was paranoic Leif compared to the king himself?

She eventually crashed into a metal wall, realizing that, because of her distraction, she had no idea where she was. The only thing audible from outside the ventilation system were the footsteps of the guards’ echoing throughout the place.

That could only mean the king found out.

(Well, that can’t be good for Andrias.)

With no other option, Leif crawled non-stop through the ducts without having the slightest idea of where she was going. She continued straight, hoping to find something, a smell, a noise or a moldy part of the ventilation to guide her-

Just like the one in front of her.

When Leif reached the moldy vent, she smelled the aroma that reminded her of home, a safe place. She fearlessly kicked the bars, jumping to the ground without warning, trying to contain all her weight on just one of her legs to not hurt herself more. Not the best idea, but her only option at the moment.

At least the pain was worth it when Leif was greeted by a familiar room full of life and greenery everywhere. The royal garden. Her work area. Her second home.

Almost at the same time of her fall there were sounds of surprise across the place. Bush heads everywhere rose from their nap to observe her carefully and cautiously, trying to recognize her scent. As they did so, the Moss Men squealed with happiness.

And thinking about it, who was Leif not to take advantage of the situation as she should?

The Moss Men could help her. Not only they were good company, but they were the best runners in Amphibia, with speeds enough to escape Newtopia in a heartbeat. Hah, she still remembered the exam they took, where she and Barrel and-

In short, they are very good at running.

The frobot beam would be enough to get rid of the chains so, with the tools at hand, Leif decided to free the first Moss Man in sight and flee from there in a hurry. Looking around for a candidate, it ended up being a female tall one, with deep eyes and two short branches in the head. The Moss Man watched curiously as Leif approached, climbing her shoulders and trying to destroy the chains with the cannon at its lowest power, avoiding the soft grass fur so as not to accidentally hurt her.

After a few tries with the frobot beam, the chains fell to the ground with a successful creak, catching the attention of all the other Moss Men present who gathered in a group, watching them with extreme attention, asking in silence what kind of experiment they had for them now.

Leif for now only withdraws to let the Moss Man feel the freedom from the chains. She looked back at her, expressing pure bewilderment. But Leif didn't answer with words, instead offering her hand. Interested, the Moss Man looked at her palm, jumping in surprise when Leif's hand revealed a flower.

And Leif asks the Moss Man, delicately, to run away with her.

The Moss Man just closes her eyes and receives the flower gladly, before kneeling in front of Leif and offering her back in return. Because the Moss Man understands her, because she knows, she can smell the very fear that drives her to do this.

And Leif couldn't be more grateful.

Not wanting to delay things any longer, Leif grabbed the frobot beam to aim at the nearest wall, charging it to a small-medium power, strong enough to open a hole and help them escape. This was it, she could finally leave and...

Unfortunately, before she could even fire, Leif heard a familiar sound calling her from the other side of the garden.

Another Moss Man echoed through the place, distracting and alerting the others. That individual, still chained, looked at her with his big eyes, trying to communicate his plea to help him too, to let him see beyond the garden.

But Leif shouldn't. She couldn't. Time was slipping through her fingers and if she stopped any longer...

But in that moment, with her heart in her hand, the adrenaline of the fight fading and guilty memories pounding her mind incessantly, Leif could do nothing but resign herself, set the box on the ground, and obey.

Not that she was complaining, anyway.

The Moss Men, since their arrival, were always a bit quirky, a strange curiosity for Amphibia. Unfortunately, the Crown saw this as well. Their healing was surprisingly faster than the average amphibian, helping even with more complex limb regenerations than those of the newts themselves. Since their discovery, they had only known this garden.

Without her, would the Crown continue to take care of them as she did? Or would they get rid of them once and for all?

She didn't want to find out.

Leif started releasing them one at a time, enjoying the little squeaks they made as soon as they felt finally free. The freed Moss Men moved uneasily around the room, making noise, but Leif didn't have time to calm them down, since the latter's chains were too tight around their necks and the laser could barely do the job without hurting them.

But it didn't matter yet. Nobody had discovered them. Nobody was on top of them for now. They still had time.

Or so they thought.

Before hearing heavy footsteps outside the door.

All Moss Men got alerted and hid almost immediately. Leif's heart skipped a bit, starting to pound incessantly as she heard armor shaking and a voice muttering, getting closer with each passing second.

She looked around the room, seeing the number of Moss Men still trapped and distraught, all looking into her eyes as if asking for help.

Leif just needed more time. She needed-

The door opened. The sound of a metal necklace falling echoed through the garden. Leif's hand took the box again and went to the button of the frobot beam, charging it to an unsafe quantity of power while aiming at a random wall.

Then, she shot.

The sound of the explosion was deafening. Any amphibian around should have heard it. She had revealed their position to the thousands of guards and frobots who would begin to mobilize against them.

But she didn't have time to think much about it.

The Moss Man she just freed grabbed her with his big hands and placed her on his shoulders. The Moss Man called out to his companions, who replicate the sound making even more noise. Extra footsteps echo in the back of the room, but Leif was too busy trying to guess what exactly those strange beings were doing.

Then, they all start running towards the makeshift exit.

It's a total mess, as all the Moss Men jump and fall on the street, surprising all the amphibians nearby. The herd begins to run restlessly toward the exit gate, while Newtopia gets filled bit by bit with the panicked screams of confused and frightened amphibians crying for help.

If the soldiers hadn't heard them before, they surely did now.

Time’s up.

Leif didn't hesitate to charge the frobot cannon to its maximum power. The artifact began to glow in her hands, almost convulsing one last time before she fired the laser at the walls of Newtopia, shaking the entire city.

The power of the weapon is so big that soon after Leif has to throw it aside before it explodes. It leaves her trembling, although it is a sight to see how a simple overloaded object could destroy entire walls.

Can't imagine what a moon would do against Amphibia.

When they reached the recently-made crater in the walls of Newtopia, the group stopped in front of it. The Moss Men took a moment to look ahead in wonder, analyzing with extreme care the vast world they have never been able to see until now. Nature was waiting for them, with its adventures and misfortunes, with the lessons they had yet to learn.

Some seem fearful, others anxious.

What they do in common, however, is hum with happiness.

The moment that they never thought they would live to tell is reflected in each one's eyes. Finally, after so long, they are free.

Starting now.

With a single group call, the Moss Men herd once again runs side by side. They have no direction, no place to return to, they are only heading towards the horizon to disappear from the radar forever.

Their once haggard faces are deformed into complete happiness. They run with the freedom they didn't even let show in the exams. They become part of the strange nature that awaits them.

And Leif, after all the stress she was exposed to, after all the betrayals and bitterness, was able to stabilize her heart again, relaxing her muscles alongside her companions, thinking she still had a purpose ahead, that she had not yet lost.

It was... liberating.

The group didn't have a path to follow. It didn't bother them in general, since the biggest priority was getting away from Newtopia. Then they could work out the details.

At least that was the plan, before the Moss Man holding Leif gradually slowed down.

“Oh wow- Hey, buddy,” she murmurs to him, trying to get his attention. “Are you ok? Does anything hurt?”

The Moss Man maintained a stony silence. He ignored her, which was strange, turning around to look in the direction they were supposed to leave behind.

Then, Leif could see what was bothering him.

The shadow of a missing Moss Man approached them. She ran slower than the others, as if she had a wound that had not yet healed. She was crying out in distress for something, calling to her companions, perhaps asking them to slow down.

They shouldn't wait for her. The soldiers must have started tracking them, the frobots may have been activated, many things, even Andrias, could have started chasing after them.

But it's not like Leif has a choice. The Moss Man is too loyal to leave someone behind.

Resigned, Leif doesn't do much more than simply watch and wait, observing her surroundings in case any threat was behind them. Eventually the injured Moss Man's shadow becomes defined over time and her Moss Man calls out to his companion one last time, almost as if asking what delayed her so long.

But the injured Moss Man doesn’t answer, she just gives them a panicked look before slowing down in a strange way, as if something had pulled her grass fur to stop.

Something else is going on. The injured Moss Man shakes, before starting to run on another direction, leaving only dust behind. Leif’s senses get alert when they see a shadow form emerge from the dust, hurtling towards them.

And when those familiar eyes meet Leif's again, she realizes that the Moss Man was not hurt.

She had a soldier on her back.

“Leif, stop!”

That's what Barrel yelled when he emerged on sight.

Leif’s hands were shaking as she tried to make her companion to move forward, to not stop. Leif could barely hold her breath steady as Barrel lunged towards them.

The Moss Man started running, unfortunately, too late.

Barrel managed to grab one of his legs in time.

Then, the madness begins.

The Moss Man fled in terror while flailing one of his limbs violently, pushing Leif back. Leif tightened her grip on his grass fur and tried not to fly away, grasping the box as if it were more important than her life.

The moment the Moss Man started running, Leif lost sight of Barrel entirely. Her heart stuttered every time the Moss Man jumped, grunted, or did anything he could to get rid of the discomfort in his third leg.

If Barrel lets go at such speed-

They were moving too far away from Newtopia, as if it were just a distant memory. They eventually got inside a forest, away from the main road, into places where no amphibian had probably walked before. Branches accumulated at every side, rocks interrupted the path and the Moss Man had to make risky maneuvers to avoid losing his balance. As a result, a branch managed to hit Leif in the face, pushing her back enough so that she had a direct angle on Barrel's face.

He was fighting down there, grabbing that leg as best he could with glassy eyes trying to climb up, but failing in every attempt. He looked terrified, confused and probably praying for his life.

Leif's hands ached as she picked up the music box and somehow made her right arm hold it close to try to stretch her left hand up to the toad to help him up. Leif wasn't going to let a dumb mistake like that take Barrel away from her. Even if it put herself at risk again.

“Barrel!” Leif shouted at him. “Your hand!”

Unfortunately, he was so focused on holding himself to that leg that he didn't notice the help Leif tried to offer.

With time, things got bad. Very badly. Barrel was on the edge of that leg and the terrain got worse the further they went. If they kept up the pace like this, it wouldn't take long before the toad slipped and Leif followed him.

And unfortunately, things were about to get worse.

From the sky the squawking of a bird was heard, more specifically a heron. This species was not well known for flying around, especially so close to the Newtopia region, only with the exception of the birds that the royal family cared for.

So, it could only mean one thing.

“LEIF!”

Andrias's voice resonated and seeped into her bones, despite the distance. It was full of pure rage, but still trying to contain mixed emotions. The bird blocked the last remaining rays of sun, leaving those in land in darkness while, unluckily, it began to rain.

Leif’s position prevented her from seeing the prince completely, but his presence was as imposing as he always tried to be. The wings that flutter above them only caused the Moss Man to get confused on his path, making him end up turning in the opposite direction of his pack.

This, combined with Leif's inability to guide him, only left them on the edge of a cliff.

The Moss Man brakes for his life, slipping just before falling over a height of probably more than ten meters. Leif holds on tight and can see Barrel do the same.

As they hang from the edge of the cliff, they breathe heavily. The Moss Man, in a panic, lifts the three of them and moves away from the edge where they momentarily glimpse the gap where they almost fell to their doom.

For a second, Leif allows herself to breathe easy.

Or that's what she was going to do, at least, until she saw a green leaf paw peeking out from the cliff.

Her heart stuttered as soon as she heard the small murmur the Moss Man made before he started shaking his leg vigorously, trying to get rid of what still hold on tight. The toad that was still hanging from that leg grabbed it with all the strength he had, clinging on for dear life.

Leif gasped. The Moss Man's movements became erratic as the seconds passed and Leif, in total panic, had no idea what to do to stop it.

She stretched out her hand again.

“Barrel!”

But he didn't look at her, he just closed his eyes even more.

A few moments later, The ground shook violently. The Moss Man retracted his paw with a howl of terror as everyone looked at the spot where a large bird had landed.

“Enough, traitor!” It was Andrias, desperate, who got off the bird's mount. His crown had fallen off at some point, although he didn't seem to notice. His loose hair moved with the air as he looked at Leif with one of the most homicidal eyes he's ever given her.

The heron approached behind Andrias, giving him that intimidating look that his father always asked him to have.

He drew his sword as he got closer, his gaze asking only one thing.

'Stop'

But Leif had no control over the Moss Man who, regardless of whether one of his paws was still compromised or whether Leif was barely holding on to his neck, he suddenly used his entire body to move out of the way of the fire sword and began to flee in terror.

"NO!" was the last thing Leif heard from Andrias before the wind deafened her.

An odyssey began as they left the forest and began to follow one of the many roads in Amphibia. Andrias soon caught up with them again, flying in the sky, but every attempt to get closer was useless with a panicked Moss Man making it impossible. Somehow, the minutes managed to pass, while Leif tried to hold on to the Moss Man and Barrel remained attached to his leg, being shaken like a rag doll.

Then, from the distance, a mountainous and rocky area suddenly appeared. A reminder to Leif that her time was running out.

She knew that they had reached the most turbulent area of Amphibia, a secret entrance to the home of the Olms. Quarreler’s Pass.

It was a bad idea to continue there, it was-

It was perfect for leaving Andrias and his bird behind.

Leif had to guide the Moss Man towards the mountain before coming out directly into the desert, where Andrias would have more opportunities to attack them. So, taking a big breath, Leif grabbed the last flower in her pocket and tried to talk him out of his panic.

“Buddy, buddy, easy. We're not going anywhere like this."

The Moss Man glanced at her sideways, groaning for a moment at his inability to do something in the haze of panic. Leif patted his head before extending her hand with the flower, wanting to tell him how much she understands, but asking him to trust her this time.

And, in fact, it works. Somehow.

Leif saw how the Moss Man relaxed as soon as the flower was in sight. With a deep breath, the Moss Man received the flower before caressing it and slowing down, letting his muscles relax. The Moss Man coos in response, trying to communicate his trust, and the next time Leif tries to show him where they can continue, he listens, so she guided him through the small path that deviated from the road, going straight to the entrance of the mountain.

Andrias's bird seems to notice their plan, beginning to get dangerously close to the ground, trying to cut them off before they could arrive, but time is not enough. The Moss Man slips into the cave and Leif can hear the bird's flight stop as they disappear. Andrias's growls echo through the place, but does not reach them.

One down, one to go.

Almost at the same time, the Moss Man shudders. From his leg climbs a Barrel that, thanks to the slowness of the Moss Man, has regained the necessary strength to confront Leif face to face. Grabbing the Moss Man’s fur with force, Barrel breathes heavily, looking at her with a type of longing that fades within seconds of appearing while holding his hammer weakly in one hand.

It's time for Leif to be honest.

“Barrel, you know I'm doing the right thing.” She stammers, trying to catch the soldier's distant gaze. She wanted to be gentle, but unfortunately his grip on the hammer tightened. “Please, let me save Amphibia this time.”

Normally, it was the other way around.

But no matter how much Leif had believed in him before, it never assured her that Barrel would do it in return.

It's a shame, because before all this happened, Leif could trust Barrel with her life. Now she just tightens her grip on the box and prays to the Olms for a little luck, to escape from the foe that wants her dead.

The tension is palpable in the air.

But it only takes a few seconds for resignation to come with a sigh.

“Just- why, Leif?” He inquires in that desperate tone he always used when Leif purposely confused him. It’s just old memories now. “Why didn't you... just say anything?”

The real question was more complex than that.

“I was afraid.” She sputtered. “Afraid to get you involved”

"Why?"

“Because you’ve always been just this, Barrel the soldier. Why would you change now?”

It hurts Barrel, she knew. It also burned in her like a dull pain.

They didn't have much time left together. They knew that once the mission finishes, they would never see each other again. Barrel will probably remain in the army until he becomes a general and Leif will get lost in the memory of this land as the thief of the box. This is how destiny has written them and this is how they will end.

But something deep inside asks her to, at least, before forgetting each other forever, explain to him what he truly meant for her.

If only the cave had given her more time, maybe she could have spilled her feelings on the road.

But the Moss Man never stopped advancing and the discussion lasted long enough to reach the other end of the cave.

The cawing of the heron broke the illusion they had. There in the air, without yet noticing them, was Andrias desperately searching for her. His head turned over and over again until his eyes landed on the cave, frowning and taking out his sword as soon as he spotted them.

Her gaze goes to Barrel, but he looked distracted as he watched the bird flying over the place. Leif acted quickly, even if she didn't want to, to throw him off the Moss Man with a push.

Barrel fell to the ground with a muffled sound of surprise.

With no other options, other than a risky last-minute idea, Leif also jumped off the Moss Man a few meters ahead of Barrel and grabbed the box to open it with the key in her pocket. Her hand trembled as she waited for a portal to appear and let her in, to let her escape her grim fate.

If she hurried, Andrias wouldn't be able to catch up with her. If she hurried, then, perhaps, she would be able to leave everything in the past once and for all and face what fate has written about her.

Leif knew she didn't have good luck. Since she was little, she had been the worst at gambling or playing flipwart. She always lost at the last second and didn't remember the last time that won Rock, Paper or Laser.

As the portal shines in her face, Leif's legs drag themselves through.

Unfortunately, Andrias does too.

They are falling.

The portal opened right in the air. Leif was barely able to react in time and grab the music box tightly before it flew out of her hands.

Her heart is pounding, adrenaline coursing through her veins as the fall drags on. She doesn't know where she will end up, if there will be something down there that can save her or if she will land with her face crushed against the dry earth.

Leif is only aware of Andrias' attempts to approach her and try to take the box from her hands.

Andrias swims towards her, and Leif has to kick him a little to push him away. But the prince is insistent. His hand approaches the box, almost close to grab it only by a few centimeters.

Then, they fall into water.

The first splashes are enough to throw Leif out of focus. The water rushed into her mouth in an unnatural way, almost drowning her as she sank with the box still in her hands and a threat hovering nearby.

It took her a few seconds to regain composure and manage to swim to the surface. Her chest burned as she tried to get rid of the water that got stuck in her throat, but the waves that shook her didn't allow her to take in much air before sinking again.

Then, her back hit a piece of wood.

Leif didn't have time to question what was going on. Her body was crying out for solid ground and she could do nothing but obey. With the help of her tongue, she managed to point to a diffuse stick that was above her and tangled it there, to begin climbing the weird wooden wall.

But Leif was halfway there when she heard a familiar roar that made her body suddenly stiffen.

Shortly after, a sword came out of the water trying to attack her from behind. Leif raised her feet in time, causing the sword to dig into the wood and incinerate it.

(That was too close-)

Though despite the tremors that ran through her body, she continued climbing with haste. The sword swung close to her body again, but missed miserably, giving her the opportunity to get to the surface of the strange wooden figure.

And when she got to the top, it was easy to see that she had boarded some sort of strange type of wooden ship.

Andrias was right behind her, slowly climbing up the side of the ship. Leif could hear his exhalations shaking with effort. He didn't have a tongue to swing, so he climbed the old-fashioned way with the help of his tail.

This gave Leif seconds of advantage to think better what the flipping heck was she supposed to do.

She was on top of an incinerable wooden platform in the middle of what appeared to be a river, she was in no fighting condition, she had no chance to escape, and the box was still hanging from her. Time was running out, his gasps soon stop, Leif was going to confront one of her biggest fears and she had no idea if she could survive long enough to finish her mission.

The ship lurched as the extra weight fell hard onto the floorboards. His looming figure interrupted the view of the sun, increasing the shadows that spread from his presence, reaching all the way to Leif's feet.

She backed away a little, trying to remain calm, but it was futile.

In front of Leif, the prince of Amphibia held his fire sword tightly. His eyes, once so full of love, reflected an emptiness that Leif has never witnessed before. It disturbed her to realize that she had never met her friends in that way.

Because they never had problems this big to show such side.

His breathing is slow, the air leaving his nostrils as if he were a rabid animal about to succumb to madness. He raised his sword in Leif's direction, aiming directly at her head, trying to give her a warning.

Then, contrasting with his presence, he began to speak in the softest tone Leif has ever heard of him.

“How did you let us come to this?”

Those simple words are enough to break Leif's heart into shreds.

Oh, she asked herself that question before.

The truth is, destiny has a funny way of bringing pieces together on a board. Before Leif fully realized what was happening, she had already received a prophecy in her hands and the weight of knowledge was on her shoulders. Leif didn't like to play the hero much, that job always belonged to her friends, but when the situation called only to her, how could she ignore that call?

Unfortunately, no amount of words would be enough to explain to her old friend everything she had to say. She was trapped in the middle of the fight and it was too late to fix what was already broken.

The only thing left to do was protect that box with her life, as if she were worthless.

Maybe she was.

“Leif.” Andrias stepped forward. The simple movement of his feet made the wood of the boat squeak and shook the frog's insides. "I don't understand. I thought we were...”

Her breathing tried to maintain a constant balance. She looked at the box in her hands, remembering the life she had before learning of its existence.

“We always were” is what she answers.

Face-to-face conversations used to be a complex topic, something they would do in the middle of the night with only a candle for company and murmured words. Now, as the wind courses through them, as the gems in the box glow with cursed power, they confront each other as they have never done before.

“You betrayed me” Andrias continued to advance. He did it slowly, almost imperceptible to the eye, but in a way that Leif recognized. “You betrayed the Crown, you betrayed Barrel, you betrayed us all.”

“Andrias, please-”

“No, Leif!” He blurts out. The grip on his fire sword tightens, his knuckles almost white for the force he's exerting. “This game is over.”

“It's more than you think.”

Andrias is laughing, trying to keep control of his tongue as best he can, but his tone of voice cracks, just as he seems to. “What excuse do you have now?”

Random words echo through Leif's mind, confusing explanations that not even she can be sure of. There is only one of them that stands out among the others.

“I did it for Amphibia”

When she returned to reality just after falling into that trance, she knew that thousands of amphibians depended on her. The situation stopped being about them the moment everyone Leif knew was threatened with death.

And that thought was enough for Leif.

Too bad it never was for Andrias.

“For Amphibia?” The prince's brow furrows. “How can you-? Don't you realize the damage you’re doing?”

“Everything was going to be destroyed, Andrias.”

“You took the box that supports our way of life, gives us security, helps us move forward. Without it, Amphibia will collapse.”

“We can learn to live without it.”

“Thousands of wars were unleashed over that thing and just when everything is in harmony, you-” Andrias is trying to keep it together. “Leif, you're going to condemn us all! Don’t you see it?”

The box felt heavy in her hands. The responsibility she carried on her shoulders was crushing her and intrusive thoughts attack over and over again. She thought of Amphibia, of its population, of Newtopia, of her home.

Of her friends.

Everything she was fighting for screamed at her to stop.

“C'mon, Leif.” Andrias got close enough to have her within arm's reach. But this time, he did nothing but watch her. His gaze was soft, without the resentment he had expressed just a few seconds ago. “Let's go home, let's go back and fix this mess. Leave this stupid mission behind and come back to me, please.”

And then, Andrias kneels like he never did before.

"Please?"

And it's tempting. Leif would love for things to be the same as before. She would love every second of her life, surrounded by her best friends, the job she loves, and safe in the arms of the Crown as her guide.

However…

Sometimes, sacrifices are necessary. If it hurts, let it go, even if you don't want it, even if no one does.

Leif understood, and they may think she's crazy, that what she's going to do is out of revenge against the population or the Crown, that she's cursing them. But Leif must act like her own deceased mother and do everything for this land, even when they can't see why, even when no one understands.

She looked at Andrias' outstretched hand, the one that approached the box temptingly. Her friend was desperate for her to listen, to collaborate with him, because he wanted everything to be as easy as how it was before.

Unfortunately, since Leif took the key from Andrias, things changed.

She changed.

“No,” Leif murmurs, her own tone reflecting the pain those simple words cause. “Andrias, we can’t go back.”

“Please, I'll solve everything. I'll even talk to my father about this! Leif-”

“Andrias.” She couldn't look into his soul. "We can't"

"I can't"

The prince's hand recoils as if he had touched fire.

Andrias stumbled back, his eyes wide as they stared at her in barely concealed horror. He then tried to find something in her, something that could tell him that she wasn't serious, that she regretted her words, everything she's done, but he couldn't find anything in her eyes.

Not anymore.

Leif observed him. He stood up and backed away even further. He looked at his fists, closing them, clenching them to the point where small marks from his fingers remain on his glove. It's a silent frustration that he could barely express, taught to never let others see past his facade.

But Leif knew him, she could see how he looked at her again and again out of the corner of his eye, waiting. He kept wishing for a lie, an illusion caused by the stress of everything that was happening, but the image remained static between them as Leif maintained her point.

Things had changed and there was nothing that could be done about it.

“You…” The breath leaves him. His wild eyes try not to show his deep sorrow, but they do, after all. “So, after all, you- you never loved me, did you?”

It took Leif a second to understand what he had said. She exhaled a shaky breath, hoping that's not what he meant.

Let it not be what she wanted to tell him so long ago.

Andrias stood imposingly in front of her. His once warm face had returned to solid stone, one that his father asked him to forge.

“You never loved me like I loved you.”

Then, Andrias swung his sword at her.

Her body reacts immediately, filling with adrenaline to respond and move away in time. The sword got stuck into the wood where Leif rested just a few seconds ago, burning the place within seconds. The box trembled in her hands, but she kept it steady at her side.

Andrias recovered shortly after, looking directly into her eyes.

“Everything I did for you, and you repay me like this?!”

Andrias started running after her. Leif tried to find a way out, but found herself on the edge of the ship instead, where the water started to look more aggressive than normal. With a roar, Andrias attacked her from behind, swinging his sword from right to left, leaving her almost no rest and making her swollen foot start hurting again.

Leif tried to stay focused, but the smoke from the burning wood made her lose her concentration.

The shadows started to dance as the fire began to emerge bit by bit.

Leif had little chance to escape, but the least she could do was try to get rid of the box as soon as possible.

She had to go up. Maybe throw the artifact in her hands far away and let it sink in the river.

That was the plan.

Leif stopped backing away and, while avoiding a sword blow, she climbed a mast of the ship, ready to throw the music box as far as possible. However, before she could process it, the wood trembled before giving way, the fire reaching the mast as the ship fell apart.

Leif fell next to the pole to the ground with her leg burning in pain, but she couldn't rest, not with Andrias waiting for her. Without delaying, the big newt swung his sword once more, aiming for her head.

“Traitor!”

But he only took her hood.

Unfortunately, this mishap helped Andrias kick her in the stomach and push her a few meters away from the place, crashing against a corner and leaving her defenseless. The pain erupted from her abdomen almost immediately, with the air leaving and not entering again, as if he had hit her lungs and left her without the ability to breathe.

When Andrias noticed her defeat, he stopped for a moment, before approaching slowly.

The sword in its maximum power.

“We could have been so much, Leif,” his footsteps echo. The heavy smoke frames his figure. “Why did you cause all this? Hm?”

He already knew the answer, he just hadn't accepted it yet. Anyway, it's not like Leif could do anything about it.

All she could do was listen to the incessant rhythm of her heart as she looked with interest at the box in her hands.

And an idea suddenly arose.

“You're not going to remain in anyone's memories after today.” Andrias continued forward, his sword glowing at his side. “You’re going to die for what you did, for your sins.”

It takes him a few steps to be behind Leif. She couldn't see him, but she could guess by the large shadow spread in front of her. His sword was pointed at her chest, ready to lunge and finish it.

“I never wanted to come to this, but you left me no choice.” He confesses. His grip on the weapon deadly as he prepares for the final stab. “Goodbye, old friend.”

And so, he attacked, putting his entire body and spirit into that stab. The fiery sword advanced, leaving its particular glow dancing in the air before going out. Leif's destiny had been marked with three simple words.

Until, suddenly, it didn't.

Leif was fast. She moved just in time before the tip of the sword could even touch her. Her fingers moved and open the box, letting the familiar sound be the last thing Andrias heard before he fell from the inertia of his lunge into the portal suddenly created in his path.

Leif couldn't describe the emotions that passed through the prince for a moment, she’s only aware of the small look he gave her, one filled with fear and confusion, before he involuntarily crossed the portal.

And then, the fight was over.

It's just Leif, on her knees, staring at the great portal that saved her life as her mind goes into shock.

Somehow, she is still alive. Somehow, she survived. Leif glances sideways to find her hands shaking with small remaining spasms of adrenaline.

It's all over.

Amphibia's sentence was written.

And Leif's too.

Even though waiting in this strange world for things to calm down would be the ideal thing, there was no way to postpone her return. The boat she was on was on fire. The waves, although not really very aggressive, would set her adrift at any moment.

In addition to that, there was a rare species watching from a distance.

The strange species, tall amphibians with a bump on their faces, observed her from the dock closest to the ship. They looked scared, confused, watching helplessly as she and the ship were almost consumed by flames. Some of them were raising their weapons, tempted to go after her and attack, others kept their distance, watching with interest.

Leif could only hope for them to achieve what the Moss Man and the Shadowfish couldn't: live in peace.

She sighed, before almost having a coughing fit.

Smoke was still surrounding her, threatening and begging her to enter the fading portal now that it was all over. At the end, there was only one final task to complete.

Carefully, Leif took the box that lay open on the floor. She would've love to destroy it, but there was just not enough time for that. Instead, she turned toward the side and threw the box as far into the river as she could, watching it finally sink, ending Amphibia's misery.

Leif only had a few more seconds to enter the portal and return home.

Although ‘home’ is an unfamiliar word now.

Chapter Text

The portal threw her in the same place from which she departed, but it wasn't the same place as she remembered.

The sky darkened, the rain fell harder and lightning came into view only to make a loud crash. The place was cold, barely illuminated thanks to two or three crystals that hung on the walls, though the light was just not enough to see anything beyond her hands.

There was nothing and no one around her, no sign of the Moss Man or those who followed her there. Is it suspicious? Absolutely. Will she get ambushed? Eventually.

However, a break is still a break.

Sliding down the wall to the floor, Leif let out a ragged breath that had been stuck in her throat for a long time. She checked her foot with a faraway look, not at all happy with the swelling that was getting worse with every second. She couldn't even feel it anymore.

And Leif still had a few kilometers to go.

Her mission, even though the box was no longer in her hands, was not yet over. There were questions that needed answers and people needed to be warn about what the vision told her. Getting rid of the box was just an instinct thought, the real work for saving Amphibia was just begining.

And there was only one amphibian who could help her with it.

The good thing was that she was not only close to the home of the Olms, but to one of the wisest elders in all of Amphibia. Mother Olm, the official guardian of prophecies. If Leif was capable of reaching her place and convince her about the vision she had, her journey through this madness could finally end.

The bad thing, though, was the recent conflict between the Olms and the king himself that made the Olms so secretive they no longer even accept foreign amphibians either. And the worst? Leif still looked like a servant of the Crown.

But it was her best, if not her only option.

Leif was close to the access, as far as she knew. The most well-lit set of caves was the hidden entrance the Olms guard by the mountains. The paths to get there could be confusing for normal amphibians like her, but with a little patience Leif was sure she could find her way around.

(It seemed like today was a good day for new experiences).

With another plan (messy as always) defined, Leif finished her break getting up as best she could, grimacing as soon as the pain started to throb from her foot due to poorly placed pressure. If it were up to her, she would stay leaning against that wall forever, but it had always been useless to postpone things that were destined to happen.

Taking a really deep breath, Leif took one step forward.

And she had to stop as soon as she heard the movement of a small rock.

Even if Leif had already expected it, she still shuddered in anticipation, knowing full well who was out there. They had always had the vice of hiding just to make the other jump in surprise. They were never good at stealth, but they were always effective at ambushing, waiting for Leif to step into a place where they can have the advantage in a fight and could prevent her from escaping.

Right now, if Leif could assume, they were scrutinizing every action, every step she could make, trying to observe precisely what weapons or what danger did she bring from the other world. They've done it before as a team and they'll do it again, just to get rid of the threat as effectively as they can.

(Like her now.)

Delaying would only make things worse. It's a fact she has lived with on a daily basis. The more time she gives them, the more planned the attack becomes. If Leif didn't hurry, she could end up trapped and at their complete mercy. The thought is not pleasant in any sense.

She needed to escape as soon as possible.

Leif backed up a little-

“Now!”

But, unlucky as always, they strike just before she can even move.

Andrias and Barrel emerge from the shadows, armed to the teeth and glaring at her with the hatred that Leif never thought they could have. It’s Andrias who, of course, attacks first, but Leif has studied the prince for so long that manages to jump aside just in time.

Although twinges of pain locked her foot into the worst possible position, causing her to stumble with simple air.

Leif fell with a groan as dust rose around her. Her throat stung from all the dirt she swallowed, but she didn't let any of it stop her. She dragged her hand through the ground, trying to get her balance back and as she did so, a small petal from a familiar flower touched her fingers.

Wherever the Moss Man was, Leif could only hope it was better than where she ended.

Andrias’ heavy footsteps echo as he returns to attack once again, spinning in his hands the sword with which he finished off those who questioned the Crown. Carefully, the great newt moves his hands with a hidden message that Barrel receives as the loyal soldier he is.

As Leif rises with spasms through her body, she sensed behind her back the blizzard the soldier leaves in his wake as he extends his hammer and rushes in her direction. Leif’s body stretched when the hammer got close, but no matter how much she desired to avoid his presence, Barrel always knew how to get in the way.

Out of options, the only exit Leif saw was behind a wall of concentration. There was no more teasing from before that she could use to break it, since the three of them had to get over it before the sun even raised. Instead, Leif decided to appear crazy as she changed her direction, leaving Barrel behind just to run where Andrias was standing.

Neither of them were ready for it, which was perfect for taking them out of their beloved routine and throwing them into the chaos that was reality.

And it works, somehow.

Barrel stops in his tracks with a gasp. Andrias backs off by pure instinct, swinging his sword back and forth desperately, trying to land a hit on her as if she were a recently born fly. His response is so uncalculated that even the fire almost touches his own foot, making him lose balance and fall on his tail with a thud.

The exit from the mountain's passage then extends in front of Leif, almost as if it were a miracle calling her name. If she continued out there, she wouldn’t reach the Olms, she wouldn’t fulfill her mission, but she would be alive and Leif had no better desire than that.

She tried, she really did.

But a sword blazed past her to plunge into the ground with a clean cut, almost hitting her, though she barely skimmed the fire that illuminated the cave with devil lights. Leif recoiled, but Barrel's hammer was enough to push her with a charge against the wall.

And in just a matter of seconds, any bright hope that could be found in Leif’s eyes disappeared just to give way to the horror of being left at the mercy of those she betrayed without a second thought.

Al three of them breath heavily as the silence surrounds the place. Despite being on the brink of her end, Leif does not let her eyes stray from their gaze, trying to understand what was happening behind those half-closed eyes that continued to hide things. Or at least tried to. Andrias simply couldn’t hide the rage with which he grinded his teeth and clenched his sword.

The tension was palpable in the air as none of them made a move.

It is Andrias, however, who speaks first.

"The music box," he orders. One hand holding his sword, pointing towards her without hesitation and the other one extended, waiting. Andrias' eyes are sharp, just like he used to look at those enemies who proved to be a blunt threat for them.

Leif understands what she is now.

In spite of that, Leif still puffs her chest, not afraid if they take it as some sort of threat. After all, she already fulfilled her main mission and all the consequences that follow will be her burden to carry. Her excessive struggle was over. She can only wait for mercy or pain from those who allow themselves to judge.

It only takes one more taunt for Andrias to let the flaming sword shine at its full power, ready to pounce on her the moment she does something foolish like try to run away. He looks at her, dares her to do something. Anyway, things would end there one way or another.

Leif sighs, missing for a second the times when she could believe they were joking. Now that seems as far away as a dream.

Regardless, she could do nothing but to conjugate the dreaded words in one simple statement.

"I don't have it."

Her hands had always been empty, after all.

Andrias frowns, his breathing deepening overtime as he tried to kill her with his eyes. Leif thought she had been clear, that there was no evidence that she returned with the box, but like a small child, the prince keeps believing in a false lie.

"Don't lie to me, frog. Give me the box!" his voice echoes through the mountain, bringing his face and sword close enough to make Leif feel too uncomfortable.

Barrel is silent at his side, looking at her with some sort of curiosity that vanishes in horror as he fails to find the precious object that caused all this madness.

Leif doesn't get a chance to respond back before Andrias pulls away with a snarl and settles the sword inches from her neck.

“The box, now!”

"I don't have the box,” she repeats.

"If you don't hand it over, I swear..."

“…‘Drias.”

His voices fade away as soon as she quietly spoke. For a moment Andrias looks almost offended, but Leif can do nothing but look him in the eyes as she tries to make him understand.

She won this round.

"It’s gone.”

When the words have settled in the air, all three of them receive the impact of the statement. It was the final sentence for three amphibians who never had the chance to be anything more than peons in war.

Ah, Leif expected a lot from Andrias. Some massive internal rage that would demolish the entire mountain, or even an act of cowardice like killing her on the spot to avenge the box she snatched from all of them, just as the prince should have done.

But then, the Leviathan that seconds ago was ready to kill her, opens his eyes expressing a pure fear no one had never witnessed before.

His great strides recede at her words as if they were a death warrant. His rigid posture falters, clutching the sword closer to the chest, slumping like rock into an abyss with no end. As if that news undid his whole life.

Leif wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

He wasn't the only one to react strangely. Next to him Barrel is quiet, staring at her with wide open eyes, trying to get a lie that doesn't exist. He holds the hammer tightly, causing his knuckles to shake like an old spider.

"No- it can't be..." Andrias despairs. His eyes roaming the cave, searching for what is not to be found. "No, no, you- What have you done?!"

There is a secret verdict that rests on everyone without having to be expressed.

They are doomed.

Andrias does not continue his attack, too lost in his own thoughts to even do so. He ignores that Leif has an escape route, that Barrel is waiting for his orders.

He doesn't even seem to be with them anymore.

He drops his sword to the side, his hands going straight to his hair, as if trying to make himself react. His eyes bug out, his chest moving faster and faster, backing up without even looking where he's going.

He crashes into a wall, causing them to react.

"Andrias?"

But Andrias doesn't seem to hear them, not as his trembling hands grip his tunic with brute force, the air struggling to enter his nostrils. Faster and faster, harder and harder.

"Andrias!" Barrel called, but hesitated in moving forward, being just another spectator to a crisis that neither of them should have been a part of.

Leif should rejoice, she should start seeking for exits and run. It's the logical thing to do as she sees her former friends (enemies, enemies now) too distracted. She should save herself.

But as sane as she wanted to be, as eager as she was to escape, she does nothing but approach Andrias as if any trace of enmity or betrayal had disappeared into thin air.

Because never in her entire life she saw Andrias like this. He never trembled weak, vulnerable, with a relentless fear rooted deep in his soul. He never allowed himself to be this fragile before, not even with them.

Leif couldn't leave him alone this time.

As he watched her, Barrel decided to also approach, far from his initial stupor or his military rules. He got to stand right next to Andrias and tried to call him back from the hole that he fallen into, offering a hand that was immediately rejected.

The moment is fuzzy, confusing, even the sounds are incoherent for a second as they gaze carefully the face of the prince contoured in waves of suffering that arrive without ceasing, merciless just as the ocean itself.

Until that same red face deforms in a scowl. His ragged breathing turns heavy, as if he were waking up, shifting into a rabid animal, embracing the anger that never dissipated, giving her a gaze in a wild and voracious, senseless way.

Telling her without words how much he wants her dead.

"And you… you don't even know what you’ve done!" the prince shoves them both away. Leif receives the hardest punch, falling a few meters further with a thud. Barrel, on the other hand, gets caught in the crossfire and crashes into a nearby wall that cracks. Andrias gets up, with all the fury he could muster in his veins, pulling out a dagger of fire.

And suddenly, he lunges at her.

Caught off guard, Leif barely has time to think with a stutter before trying to stagger out of there. Her heart skips a beat as her leg gives off a stab of pain that makes her stumble. Andrias’ shadow rises in front of her-

And Leif can barely avoid getting something more serious than a slash in her arm.

An intense pain started to erupt from the new, sudden burn. But Leif had no time to hiss before Andrias continued to charge with all his fury, roaring a war cry that resonated throughout the whole cave, making it shake.

"Andrias!" Barrel starts shouting despite being short of breath. For the first time he doesn't intrude on the fight. He didn’t seem happy doing it, anyway. "Andrias, stop! That's enough!"

But the Leviathan ignored him. Andrias snarled like a wild animal as he stared at Leif with those bloodthirsty eyes he never had before. At this point, the prince would stop at nothing to end this. He would break rocks and move mountains to get rid of her. That hadalways been the royal dictate of his last name.

Leif never strokes back at any point, focused on defending herself, but Andrias managed to turn this to his advantage by launching deadly, relentlessly attacks from all sides, with desperation pouring from him just like water down a river.

In the end, and due to her carelessness, Andrias grabbed her foot and knocked her to the ground. And without even letting her vocalize a groan, he held her neck against the rock floor while aiming the dagger at her face.

And Leif just knows that her fate is done.

"I'll kill you," he starts muttering over and over again. “I'll kill you and he'll forgive me. This kingdom will forgive me.”

Leif’s heart pound in her chest as she tries to remember how to breathe. She can't reach Andrias no matter how hard she tries. She’s lost. Leif would die under the clutches of her former friend and there was nothing to do about it.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry ... I..." is what Leif mumbles as the grip on her neck tightens and leaves her speechless.

"I. Said. Enough!"

Barrel's hammer makes the ground shake, raising dust all around. Andrias emerges from the hole he was in to raise his head in confusion, coughing so hard that he lets go of her neck to let her breathe, though there wasn’t much oxygen to do so.

A weapon straightened to strike directly at the prince's hand that held the dagger, causing it to fall away from its wielder with a quiet whimper. Andrias tried to react in time, but ended up getting a push that knocked him off Leif and made him hit his back against the ground.

Then, as if it weren’t a madness, as if this didn’t lead to his ruin, the fierce soldier of Newtopia stands between Leif and Andrias, with his hammer leveled at his big friend, former comrade, square in the face with no fear.

He is defending her. And Leif has no idea why.

It seems that between them either.

The initial shock leaves only silence. Andrias himself recoils in disbelief, holding his wounded hand.

"Barrel" the voice of the newt cracks. His hard stare disappears, now combined with the horror and skewed anger of realizing. "Not you."

"I can't let you do this" is what Barrel replies in return. The soldier's grip is strong, trying to show his determination and fierceness, but even for Barrel it’s hard to keep his composure. Leif can tell by the way that same grip momentarily weakens.

Tension runs through the air. The change of scenery is so sudden that none of them knows what to do. Barrel confronts the prince as if he had not been on his side a few moments ago. There is uncertainty, fear, as Andrias looks at his hand, his dagger, and then his sword, trying to understand how their long-standing friendship broke apart like it was nothing.

The prince stood up, though his body was shaking. His jaw clenched enough to make it seem painful and his hands were damaging his gloves for the strength exerted in them. But the gaze that tried to be deadly, murderous, only reflected the raw pain hidden between all his rage.

"Why, Leif!?" The prince starts shouting, pacing around the place, trying to get the burning anger out of him. “Just- Why?!”

Leif is unable to respond. Not that Andrias expects an answer, as he surrounds Barrel, imploring him to give him space and let him take care of the guilty frog, of the traitor that was still alive.

The toad leaves him no room.

“You never thought what it would cost us! You and your silly hero complex ruined our lives. Congratulations, frog!" It's derogatory at its best. It shows his repudiation, the inability to do anything but watch. "Thank you! Thank you for everything!"

Out of nowhere, the prince grabs the dagger from the ground and without hesitation throws it in her direction. With surprising accuracy, Barrel hits the object mid-air, only scowling more than he already was.

"And you." Now the prince looks at Barrel in the eye. “Oh, Barrel, and here I thought I still had a friend.” his laugh is bitter. "You're just a traitor tied to a rotten friendship"

The warrior doesn't withdraw, he never did it with simple words and they know it among themselves. With no fear in his body, Barrel steps forward.

"You've gone too far," he replies.

"Too far- Too far!" The prince sulks. "Are you crazy?! Barrel, the one you defend betrayed the crown! She betrayed you! She's a criminal and now, because of her, so are you"

Even though Barrel doesn't flinch, those words hit Leif hard. The fate she had planned for herself never wanted to involve them, but no one was ever safe from the crossfire.

How much damage did she inadvertently caused?

"Andrias." Barrel's voice is soft, hesitant of how to approach when he can no longer. "Listen to me, you're not thinking clearly-"

"I'm the only sane here!"

"You were going to kill her!" The soldier blurts out. It shushes everything around them for the stupor in his voice. Barrel never lost his cool before. It was new. It was terrifying. "You were going to kill Leif, for the love of all Olms, Andrias! We're friends..."

Those words are just a sting of pain now.

"No." The prince is backing away. "No. We never were."

That simple sentence shatters Barrel to the core. Being honest, her own chest constricts at the bitter truths. There was this little pillar that took everything down with it and there was no way to rebuild it back.

Not after what they have done. Each one of them.

Could they ever forgive each other, after all this? Could they ever face each other again, after what they have done? They showed each other who they were, how raw they really knew each other.

And still...

"Andrias, I never wanted this."

They share the momentary silence, even though no one feels present. Everyone is consumed in their own mind, trying to find meaning in statements that now seem like a dirty white lie. How did they change so much? Leif wished to know the answer to that.

"Neither did I" is what Barrel murmurs, despite everything.

The prince's fists clench seconds after. His face contours in anger, fear, sadness, emotions bubbling to the surface that want to make him explode as he never did before.

And suddenly, himself, in a fit of rage, furiously rummages through the pockets of his tunic until finding something. He pulls it out slowly, as if he were pondering, admiring the small piece of wood in his big hands.

Without a second glance, he throws what appears to be an action figure that always carried with him to the ground. Then he stomps on it over and over again to its disfigurement.

He starts to tear up. He is panting with anger.

There, on the ground, the gift that Leif had make earlier for his birthday is torn apart.

The prince starts to breath fast. His chest heaves in sobs of pain and he can't handle the unfamiliar feeling.

Andrias whistles hard, really hard, before turning his back and fleeing to the heron that came for the call. He leaves them behind, not caring about anything anymore. He doesn't stop, doesn't pick up what is his, doesn't finish the futile mission in his hands.

The only thing that Andrias does is run away.

Despite Barrel's cries for them to talk, Andrias doesn’t look back. His call falls on the deaf ears of the mountain as the war heron flutters away, knocking the frog and toad to the ground while the prince disappeared over the horizon in no time.

And no matter how much they want him to, he doesn't come back.

Leif looks in that direction. Her hands shake before she sees the action figure sprawled on the ground miserably. With extremely care, she picks it up and tries to hold it together, but like their friendship the poor wood fell apart when the wind blew.

Now… it's just the two of them.

And it hurts, because it's the end of everything they've ever known, of the friendship that got ruined, the one that was never forged right.

“Barrel…” Leif takes the figure with her and tries to hide it in her pocket, holding it together as best she could. An emptiness spreads around as she approaches up to the soldier. "Thank you for… that"

Barrel does not answer immediately, continuing to look in the direction where Andrias just disappeared. But when he does, his voice is a simple whisper.

"What have you done...?"

Is a simple question. One to which Leif had no answer.

Barrel can feel it, if his change in posture means anything. His shoulders stiffen, his fists clench against the hammer trying to calm the flood of feelings coming to him.

He turns very slowly, and Leif can feel the martyrdom that is yet to come.

"Leif..." he calls her name. The soldier doesn't repeat the question, because she already knows it.

"I..." but what can she answer? That she was carried away by the prophecy that saw only once? That she didn't trust them enough? Or that they themselves proved to be unsupportive when it all happened so suddenly?

Barrel is holding his breath. He is asking for a concrete and accurate answer, no lies involved.

At least, for the last time, they will be able to tell each other the truth.

"It was for Amphibia”

For her world, for everyone's world, but no one seemed to understand. Barrel just stood there, giving her that look that frustrated her so much, filled with an internal conflict as he disappeared into the depths of his own mind. Barrel fought with the idea, perhaps because he never believed Leif would be willing to do it.

Though in the end, he can only sigh.

"You never thought about anything else, did you?" is a conclusion, his own gaze proves it. "It was all for Amphibia and you didn't even show your face to me- what if you'd told me your plans up front, do you think I’d have followed you?"

The question resonates in Leif's within, making her frown only to feel like a little girl without her mother's guiding hand.

"No," she murmurs. Her own fists clench. "Would you?"

Barrel looks shocked, his iron gaze weakening as he also questioned his beliefs, those deep inside himself. His eyes get lost in what appears to be his own hammer, looking exhausted, stray perhaps. The anger dies down little by little, reaching the point of truth.

"No," he confesses, because that’s Barrel, a soldier. "But maybe..."

“Maybe what?”

"Maybe I’d understand better," he blurts out. "Maybe I’d have talked some sense into Andrias before he attacked. Maybe we- I’d have let you escape. Maybe then, none of us would have lost our home."

It's harsh, without compassion.

"You took away our home"

And true.

At a slow pace, Barrel picks up his hammer and begins to walk away without looking back, leaving only a bewildered frog behind him.

"Wait," Leif begs, pleads, as she tries to understand his words. "What do you- where are you going?"

Barrel, soft and sweet Barrel, despite carrying all his sorrows on his shoulders, pauses. Softly, he smiles a little at her, a grimace that tries to convey reassurance, but brings only misery as he waves goodbye.

"To nowhere"

Without looking back, he disappears as well.

And then it's Leif who is alone, for forever.

The path to the city of the olms is slow, ponderous; after all, the caves were built to confuse on purpose. Leif tries to find her way around as she follows the light, getting deeper and deeper overtime.

As Leif continues, she can see glowing writings in some parts, silently narrating the truths of the olms that are connected with this land. They are jumbled, pulled in different directions with no linear story, so they lead nowhere. It was probably made to discourage those who traveled only for curiosity.

Some time later, when the cold runs through her bones and her body asks for a rest, the ground suddenly trembles and summons two beings much larger than herself, with weapons ready to attack at the mere sign of threat she emits. The two olms question her reasons for being there and laugh when they think she's crazy. A heated argument later, they found her funny enough to let her pass. It's not what she wanted, but it serves her somehow, so Leif quietly follows the warrior olms to the city that shines in a way she's never seen before. It is quite majestic.

The walk is silent until they reach the entrance to the city. They are greeted by the paramount guardian who also questions her reasons for being there. Leif has no problem at all in summarizing what she needs again, but apparently this does not convince such old olm.

With weapons and angry accusations, this time they do not allow her to cross the border. They prefer to keep the territory a little more reserved with outsiders after the king's last visit. They leave and order her to retreat to the surface alone even if she gets lost. It’s not their problem anyway.

In the background, Leif listens as the guards are scolded until they disappear beyond the confines of the city.

A sad ending, really.

Leif, however, is stubborn enough to dare sneak past them.

It is somewhat easy for someone her size; she only has to be careful with every step she makes. When Leif passed the defenses and entered the caves across the city, she tried to look for the place where Mother Olm resided. Luckily, the entrance of the cave was illuminated at its brightest with Mother Olm's initials on them.

She falls to the bottom, though, by tripping over a rock.

Her groans of pain are silenced as soon as she observes the new, very cleaned surroundings. The place is interestingly beautiful, decorated with lights of other writings that fade over time, blending in with the natural stone.

And in the middle, the main resident appears.

There in front of Leif, reading some sort of book and living the best of her life, stands the majestic Mother of Olms. She is as grand as everyone described and looks as peaceful as Leif had hoped.

According to tales from the surface, Mother Olm earned her title for her wisdom gleaned from all the experience in prophecies and her incredible connection to beings beyond the understanding of a common amphibian. Everyone used to admire her, at least until her relationship with the rulers of Amphibia waned over time.

The last meeting between the Crown and the olms was, indeed, a loud disaster.

Leif didn't let those events she had no control over affect her, after all she was there on a mission to fulfill. With delicate steps she approached the place where Mother Olm seemed to be enjoying a slightly strange massage that kept her in a rather curious state of drunkenness. She didn't seem to notice Leif at first.

At least, that was before Leif tripped and fell face first to the floor in one of the most embarrassing moments of her life.

"Just a moment, dear" Mother Olm asked without paying more attention than a sidelong glance. She didn't seem too bothered by the fact of her infiltration or if she was a frog from the surface (or if she was on the ground. Thank Frog). “Someone’s helping me with something up here”

"Okay," Leif mutters, lifting her completely red head. Her miserable tone is brittle and her body trembles as she exerts a last effort to stand up. Exhausted, Leif sits down in a nearby rock where she hugs her knees as momentary comfort to get rid of the pain. Yet is not enough; while Leif still feels the emptiness that her mind and body did not allow to show until she was safe.

Moments later, a rather sophisticated amphibian with the label of 'doctor' emerged from Mother Olm's ear. His body was covered in some weird slime that Leif begged not to know where it came from; though this fact does not seem to bother him that much. He spoke quietly to Mother Olm before making a pause as he sensed her presence.

Completely relaxed, Mother Olm hums. "Alright, that’s it" she stretches, her large figure making the floor shake a little. "Nothing like a good brain massage to start the day, eh? Tell me, little- Oh, wow”

Leif struggles to get on her feet, her bones beginning to reflect the pain she had ignored for a while. Now, the fight takes its toll in every possible way, but she still does her best to stand tall just a little longer.

"Mother Olm." probably it would be correct to bow. "I apologize for my intrusion, but I heard you are the wisest being on this land-”

“Just a moment, dear. Doctor, do you think you can help her? Don’t worry about the payment, just write it down on my tab.”

The doctor shows no emotion as he asks for a moment, moving into an adjoining room and apparently disinfecting himself. While that happens, Leif stays in place watching as Mother Olm simply observes her.

“You can tell me in the meantime, dear.”

“O-oh, yes, of course.” Leif decided to sit down as she felt herself about to vanish into thin air. “I have something to tell you, a prophecy about the music box.”

 "The music box?" Mother Olm says, her cheerfulness quickly giving way to worry. Leif watches her carefully as she picks up one of the books that was reading and flips through the pages until stopping on one, reading it with her fingers. “That box… a prophecy? what kind of omen did you get? who gave it to you?"

"Well, I…" Leif took a breath. “It's a complicated story, but look, I'm- I was the royal gardener. Me and some… friends were playing with the box-"

"You played with it?"

"It's complicated" she clarifies. "So, at some point I accidentally touched its gems and it showed me a vision."

Mother Olm gasps. "a contact-induced prophecy?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I was hoping you could explain that to me."

"What did you see, kiddo?"

Leif was about to answer, but the doctor entered the room again. Mother Olm asked Leif to make a pause so the doctor could take care of her wounds. The professional amphibian examined her arm before disinfecting and bandaging it, recommending her to use a specific cream that would help with the burn. He also gave her some ice for the swelling in her leg, as well as a pack of bandages to change into. When the doctor was done, he said goodbye in a hurry, ignoring Mother Olm’s jovial voice that was excited to see him tomorrow.

(He left rather quickly after that.)

After Leif’s healing, Mother Olm asked if she wanted coffee, but Leif’s stomach just wasn’t ready for it.

“Now, little one,” Mother Olm said, sipping from the cup of tea she had prepared in the meantime. “You can continue, what did you see?”

Leif fidgets with her skirt, not knowing if her answer will affect what Mother Olm thinks. It's hard to narrate something she only saw once, but it's worth a shot.

“I saw Amphibia’s doom”

Mother Olm isn't alarmed, but that doesn't take the worry off her face. She gets close, asking her to elaborate on what she meant with that.

Unafraid, Leif continues. "I saw three portals, then the fauna and flora ripping away, bit by bit. The castle was flying, causing all that destruction. There was a whole army of amphibians fighting with frobots with so much chaos going around… Then three weird figures appeared only to fly to the sky, as the moon got closer and closer and after that, there was nothing."

"Ah, I see" is what Mother Olm says before muttering. "So... its plan is on."

“Say what?”

"Oh, child," Mother Olm pauses, looking at her with blind, heavy eyes. "This is what I feared to know since long ago."

There are doubts gnawing at Leif’s brain, though as eager as she was for answers, Mother Olm only left her with a sea of ​​inexplicable questions. Mother Olm seemed to be aware of the abyss of context between them, but she doesn’t delve deeper into the subject, not if Leif still has something to prove.

"Could you show me the box? I have to see it for myself."

The moment Leif dread caught up sooner than later. She forcefully smiled, unprepared for the moment of truth, where Leif would know whether her mission was still ongoing or not.

"I... left it stranded in another dimension. I was being followed and…" The volume of her voice gradually decreases until it falls silent.

"Ah." Mother Olm looks doubtful. Leif doesn't blame her; actually, Mother Olm is taking it better than what she expected. "And did you hide it well?"

"I threw it into a river."

There is an awkward silence that lasts a few seconds.

"It’s okay, we don't need it"

“We don’t?” It's not that Leif wants to question her; she just wants to make sure that her warnings are being heeded.

"No, my dear. You see, I was waiting for another signal, the last piece to pull together a prophecy received decades ago. It's messier than yours, but... wait, let me show you."

Carefully, Mother Olm lowers the book she had before, pointing at the apparently group of words written in doctor's handwriting.

"The dreams have been talking to me for a long time, or at least they've been trying to" Mother Olm begins to explain, her gaze softening. "They always tell me incoherent phrases, repeated over and over again. There's a hidden message that I can't decipher so I asked my doctor to write it down on this ‘prophecy book’ until I can get a clear idea of what's going on."

"Oh, so that means I could help you?"

"I don't know, honey, wouldn't that be too much for your brain?"

"I assure you, Mother Olm, that I can do more than what I appear"

Mother Olm smiles, quite pleased with her boldness. "Then come closer, little surface frog." She pats the big throne beside her. Leif gingerly approaches and sits down, trying not to feel uncomfortable at the empty space left over. "Ah, that reminds me, that used to be the king’s seat before we barred paths."

Oh boy, it's even worse than what she thought.

Ignoring that specific fact, Leif received the book, reading the mysterious untold prophecy. There were different words scatter around the page with apparently no correlation between them, or at least with the order completely altered in a way to distorted the message and make it unreadable.

Even so, if Leif thought a little about it....

"Maybe it's 'Three Stars'?" she tapped her finger against her chin, scanning the paper. "They're plurals, aren't they?"

"Oh, good one" Mother Olm smiles, before flinching. "Could you write it down for me, kiddo? my memory isn’t what it used to be."

"I'm an adult."

"I've lived long enough to deny you."

Leif smiles a little, at least.

However, despite their determination to get an answer, the truth is that they did not manage to advance more than those words formed by the chance of the universe. Ideas did not take a conclusive order and hours were consumed without finding a suitable solution.

“Expel and fate?”

“Night bright?”

"No, scratch that."

Leif sighs, her eyes flickering between wakefulness and sleep. She wobbles a little as she moves her finger across the chair rest, forming a familiar silhouette, the silhouette of the box.

And perhaps, two familiar faces that will not return.

Shaking her head was the best way to get out of those thoughts.

Silence falls on them as they stare at the paper. Words became a blur for Leif the moment her head started to weigh heavier than usual. She tried to keep an eye open, but failed just as she did in servants' meetings at three in the morning.

Leif continued in that state for a while, at least, before Mother Olm stretched with a yawn and silently grabbed Leif’s hands to gently stop her.

"I think it's time to rest."

This brings Leif out of her drowsiness. Her fuzzy mind tries to comprehend who or what is talking to her. When Mother Olm chuckles a little, Leif opens her eyes, trying to appear more awake.

"I'll be fine."

"No, dear, it's already night" Mother Olm pushes as she searches for some giant sheets which she piles on the throne as a pillow. The olm asks Leif nicely to lie down on them.

"Don't worry about me."

"Although I find your way of rejecting my words very intriguing, I'm not leaving you frame of choice this time" Mother Olm laughs, patting the throne again, the only place available for a bed of such small species. "It’s okay, words won't be erased overnight."

Despite wanting to continue arguing, Leif's body didn't leave her much room for action. It was begging her for a break and after such a difficult day, Leif could only put her head on the pillow and faint on the spot.

"That's it" is what Leif hears with her last rays of consciousness. "It's time to sleep. I'll continue investigating."

Everything went black, shortly after.

Leif entered the dream world.

The field in front of her that extends for kilometers has no near end. It is coarse in familiar flowers, but nothing more than that. The sky is a natural green on the verge of evening dusk. The moon shines high in the sky.

Maybe a little too much.

Just like...

"This is the vision. The moon is slowly approaching," a voice tells her from behind. "You'll see it's less dramatic when it's just beginning."

Leif turns around. Heart pounding in her chest as she stares at... nothing specific. The figure is hazy, blurry, until it defines itself into what appears to be a Moss Man unlike any other.

"May I know who you are?" she asks.

"It doesn't matter who I am," it replies in return. It sits in the field, where a chair and a table with a board on top have appeared. Leif finds the Flipwart's game interesting, to say the least. "One round?"

Leif doesn't question anything else, at least she doesn't feel empowered to do so. She then decides to play what the stranger asks to, mostly because there is nothing to do in the first place.

She does not mention its mystical aura for her own sake.

The game will end fast and that’s a fact. Leif has always been the worst Flipwart player. Even Barrel, who focused more on matters of strength than anything else, could beat her with just one hand move. Needless to mention the fact that Andrias was the best player of it, so she never advanced more than two pieces in any game.

Ah, she'd rather not think about them for now.

As she already guessed, she loses with only five effective moves. Leif sighs as she watches her pieces being destroyed one by one.

"You're not the best at this, are you?"

She snorts, "You think?"

The stranger laughs, though it does not seem to be with bad intentions. Not that Leif trusts much. Something in that being feels strange, perhaps dangerous.

“A lot has changed, don't you think?" is a spontaneous question. It throws Leif out of place more than she would like to admit. Her head lifts from where she rested it in defeat.

“Ah?”

“You had a strong vision, you avoided the king in the first instance, Mother Olm has no immediate answer for you and the box got lost before anyone but you three saw it, in the waters of an unknown, violent river" The Moss Man's eyes sparkle for a second.

Leif feels nervous for a moment, as if that being knew something she would never be sure of.

 "Have you ever been in touch with prophecies?"

“Uh, no?”

"Just this one, right?" it laughs in nervousness, before clearing its throat and straightening up. "Just this one. Good"

Leif would love to ask a few questions, but she feels bad, incapable, as if there's some weird force putting some kind of pressure on her, asking her not to.

So, she doesn't.

The Moss Man holds up a hand, as if seeing a clock that Leif can't make out "I can tell I don't have much time. I wanted to do it slowly, but if things are going to change for good..."

Suddenly, the figures on the board begin to glow fluorescent green. It surprises her. Leif must cover her eyes from the emanating rays that almost burned her retinas.

"Fear not, it's a dream."

She looks sideways at what is happening.

The Moss Man has then become a kind of kill-a-pillar. Flipwart pieces are flying around it in a mysteriously orderly fashion. Little words stand out from each of them, as if trying to tell her something.

Leif gasps as she understands.

"The message-"

"Leif" the unknown being calls out to her. It looks at her with hope, but at the same time with eagerness that she is not sure she'll reciprocate. "It's time for you to make important decisions. You are the heart of a group disbanded so long ago."

Is confusing, cryptic.

"Take this message and change your destiny," it tells her. The atmosphere around Leif changes. Gravity causes her to start floating near the kill-a-pillar, who offers the pieces in return. "I'll be watching you."

"Who are you?!" she asks again.

"I'm just an impatient guardian."

Leif wakes up shaken.

The words burn in the cornice of her eyes, etched by a minimal lapse of time that begins to fade slowly. She urgently admires her surroundings and looks for what she can write with. There’s no pencil nearby, so when Leif finds a colorful rock, she shapes on the throne the words that churn in her brain about to fall into eternal oblivion.

And when she has finished, her voice repeats them as if it was not hers.

“Three stars burning bright,

Come from beyond to expel the night.

Should they fight or embrace their fall?

Their choice will determine the fate of all.”

Mother Olm arrives shortly after, the yawn echoing in the small room give away her presence. She is sipping some tea which she drops in surprise as she watches Leif urgently draw the already known words in a specific order.

The olm watches from afar without a word. Leif eventually stops.

"Huh" is what Mother Olm says, analyzing the message that has been revealed. "That's... interesting. It visited you as well."

Leif rubs her eyes, trying to comprehend what she spoke in a blur of time. Her head throbs as she tries to regain the bearings on where she is, on what is doing. It almost feels like a temporary amnesia that causes her heart to skip a beat.

"I don't remember- I..."

“It's okay, dear. That being acts in very strange ways” The olm puts her cup of tea aside, devoid of any contents. "It's been a lot more active lately, I wonder why?"

Leif's temple starts to ache as if she had not really slept. She doesn't know how long was in unconsciousness before waking up, she just knows it wasn't long enough to recover properly.

"What...?" Leif has so many questions for Mother Olm that she can barely speak. "What does this mean?"

"Let me assume a little" some parts of Mother Olm's body light up as she rummages through her thoughts. Leif wonders if this is how she draws her wisdom. "Three stars, they may be satellites or entities. They come from far away, like a new dimension. It will be up to them to decide if they will help us with your vision or if the moon will crush us all."

"That means..."

"Probably that the box will return and with it will come three beings who will decide our fate."

"But I threw the box away"

“I’m afraid nothing is impossible, dear”

She was right about that.

It is not comforting to know that her efforts had been in vain, but it seemed that many things were inevitable. At least Leif is grateful to have the message, the alert, to be willing to fight.

"When will this all happen?" she must ask, doubt gnawing at her insides. If the three stars arrived soon and they weren’t ready, still under Aldrich's rule… what if the king decides the stars aren't worth it? What if he annihilates them and condemns Amphibia?

She wants to be ready for it.

Mother Olm, however, calms her down. She pats her back in understanding before sighing herself. “It is impossible to define an exact date. It may be now; it may be after thousands of years."

"Should we plan to do something?"

Mother Olm gives her a simple answer.

"No."

That word shouldn't have any effect, but it hit her worse than any physical blow. Her stomach twisted from repeating it over and over again, and Leif knows it's noticeable when Mother Olm sighs and tries to explain herself better.

"Listen, dear, I think you've risked your life enough."

"What?"

"You told me you were a royal gardener" Mother Olm points to the leaf brooch on her chest. "For what I know there is only one gardener in the castle, a close friend of the prince Andrias. If I’m correct, you are now a traitor to the crown and your tall friend is hunting you down."

Leif tries to show that it means nothing, that the truths the olm has blurted out do not burst in her chest. Her stone face, however, crumbles bit by bit as reality settles hard in her stomach. She has no home or place to hide, not even a ride to a new home. Now she’s alone in the world.

Perhaps she was never ready to bear the weight of the consequences, after all.

"And?" Leif dares to ask, despite her fist shaking as she touches her bandage. "Should I just let Amphibia fall apart?"

Mother Olm softens her voice. “I'm just saying it's time for you to rest. You've done enough for all of us."

"But-"

“We will gain nothing by living a life of waiting. It's time to let it go and let things take their course.” Mother Olm turns around, calling something with a whistle. Shortly after, she returns her attention to Leif. "Believe me, I don't like to leave this matter incomplete, but we don't have any clues besides your message."

"There must be something else I can do." Her tone is full of desperation. Leif feels she must do something with the life she now gets by wasting the past one.

Mother Olm, however, refuses to cooperate.

“There isn't. We can only wait.” She confesses. “Any plan we make would fall apart if things don't go as planned. It's useless"

Leif can feel the frustration in her chest. The strength in her fists increasing as her thoughts race, trying to formulate answers to the problem.

But she can’t.

And that makes the anger rise up more, because Leif knows there was never any other option to choose. That the mission had to continue without her.

"I'm sorry" Mother Olm apologizes. She can sense the tension in the room.

But it must all come to an end, somehow.

"It's okay" Leif holds herself. With no idea what to do, lost, friendless, she can only wish for the best in a journey that will probably not last.

Leif is conscious that the olms aren't known for harboring strangers for long and there is no friendly village in Amphibia that wouldn’t recognize her face and send her straight to the prince or king. The forest will have to become her new, lonely home as punishment for the betrayals she has committed.

Her anger dissipates, now filled with the shame of making decisions that harm her surroundings beyond repair.

If only she had spoken to the king before making her decision, would anything change?

Probably no.

"I can barely imagine what you’re going through." Mother Olm keeps a quiet tone, trying to pity her. However, she gets distracted as soon as someone comes into her field of vision. "Oh, there it is! I have a gift for your help."

Leif wasn't expecting anything, really. Nonetheless, the familiar sound that echoes throughout the place makes her gasp in surprise, almost feeling like dropping tears of joy.

"Moss Man!" she squeals, approaching the creature to whom she owes her life. He is happy to see her too, if the way he runs to her and purrs mean anything. "You're okay...!"

“We found it wandering around a bit, running away from something. We thought the king had released it."

"Yeah..." Leif frowns. "I don't think it'll ever happen."

"Well, it won me a bet."

It's a nice break, a moment of comfort to enjoy before having to face all the martyrdom that's yet to come. It's a relief to see Moss Man again, safe and sound, happy. Perhaps, after all he’s been through, he can now live free, find his siblings and built their home.

To have what Leif will never have again.

"It’ll be able to help you find a nearby town," Mother Olm tells her. "It's southwest from here. I think it's called...well, I don't know. It's new."

Leif's soul rests a bit. Her lips widen into a grateful smile at Mother Olm, which she reciprocates. Maybe Leif’s future wasn’t sure, but she wouldn’t disregard such a gesture of kindness from someone who barely knows her.

Nevertheless, Leif knows that her time is up.

That it's time to face the consequences and find the home she took from herself and... others.

"Thanks, Mother Olm. For everything."

“No, thanks to you, dear. May Amphibia remember your name"

Leif's smile turns a little bitter. "I really hope not"

And without further words she leaves together with her friend in the direction of the exit, never to return.

Leif just hoped the road could be less hollowed out than what met the eye.

Chapter Text

The heron spins in the air.

It rises and falls regularly in its flight, doing somersaults and dodging mountains as if it were a show, trying to cheer up the rider on its back.

But the newt doesn't pay attention, he just squeezes the reins before letting them fall in frustration, putting his hands in his pocket looking for something to calm him down.

It's a miserable reflex that simply explodes the anger Andrias was trying to keep contained.

He grabs his hair and pulls it hard, not caring if the pain becomes too much or if his head throbs in response. The only thing Andrias needs is to feel something, to keep himself grounded and not succumb to the already broken memories that swirl around.

The prince can't afford to break apart, even if his chest explodes into an exorbitant fire that burns every part of his body in the most torturous way possible.

And it's so, so pathetic.

Seriously, the prince of Amphibia couldn't deal with something so simple? Was he always a time bomb of oppressed feelings? Shame on him. A Leviathan never, ever lets feelings take control. A Leviathan never lets out the slightest hint of getting hurt, because that will only make it worse.

A Leviathan suppresses it all forcefully, uses it as an advantage.

A Leviathan doesn't scream his anger while on top of a bird.

But Andrias can't help it. He was always weak and his father was never afraid to tell him so. Too young and immature, letting other people see his real self and not the facade that a king should maintain. Always so gullible...

…Oh, what will his father think?

Andrias failed him, he failed Newtopia.

He failed himself.

Andrias digs his fingers into his face trying to suppress the bitter rain that comes out of his eyes. That won't fix anything, it won't help him recover what he's lost, it won't help him gain the courage to turn around and finish the mission he couldn't complete.

Nothing will do it anymore.

He shouldn't have run away with nothing. He should have avenged his land. He should have stuck his sword into them and-

And just bring something to his father.

But he comes empty-handed, begging for forgiveness he doesn't deserve.

His father was always right. He's not sure why he doubted him at first. All amphibians are greedy, they all want something and more when they are aware of the crown that falls on his head (which, apparently, Andrias lost somewhere after so much persecution). His blindness harmed Amphibia in a way from which they will never recover.

He will have to ask his father to guide him so that none of this happens again. And this time Andrias must listen.

He is afraid of what will happen if he doesn't.

(Because Andrias already saw the consequences in the first place)

The sunset soon recedes, darkening everything around. The rain stops for a moment, but the clouds still look just as furious, ready to pour down water again at any moment. Andrias asks his bird to begin a slow descent, now close to Newtopia. If there is one thing he is sure of, it is that he cannot present himself to the population or his father as he is.

So he'll sneak in first.

(Dishonor on himself, dishonor on his last name-)

The first thing that comes into view is the wall, or at least what remains of it. The hole the overloaded cannon made is larger than what he expected to find (not that he put much thought into it before). Cleanup frobots are collecting the debris while another group is trying to rebuild the sides. However, they stop their tasks as soon as their systems chirp at the same time, giving them notification of the change of duty, so their uniforms change to the traditional armor they wear whenever they are on guard.

Those frobots are their only protection from the dangers that lie beyond Newtopia now.

And without the box, how long will they last?

His bird finally lands a few meters from the frobots, hopefully undetected. With a heavy heart Andrias gets off his bird and observes in person the disaster that the traitor left behind. The gap was too big and any creature could easily fit through.

At least it's big enough to not make him stand out too much.

He had a vague idea to go undercover. He caught the attention of his bird with three pats on its back and the bird chirp in response. The great heron looks at him with childish curiosity while Andrias gives it the necessary instructions for it to fly above the army of frobots without him in tow.

It's a trick Andrias taught it when he was young and slippery, when hiding from his father was more of a joke than an insult. The heron looks at his hands with intrigue, barely catching his words as a direct order; but then it shakes off the few drops of rain it had on its plumage before squeaking and pushing its head against Andrias.

It wants to say goodbye. In some way it wishes him luck.

With a small nod, Andrias lets the bird depart. The bird soon flaps away and takes to Newtopia through the air, being as noisy as it is. The active frobots and soldiers passing by are distracted by watching the royal animal fly over the area, losing their attention to their surroundings. And giving Andrias the opportunity to enter silently on one side of the wall.

It is shameful to have the need to hide from his father, from the town, from everyone. It’s stupid and he knows it. Eventually he will have to come clean in front of the population, in front of his father, and any attempt to delay it will be as useless as it is dangerous.

But if he presents himself to his father in the state he is in...

He already lost the box, he can't lose his composure now.

Andrias slowly returns to the harsh reality the deeper he goes into the city. Despite it being night, the dark streets are strangely full of various types of amphibians who are checking the streetlights that have not been turned on. Murmurs lurk around, each one more distressed than the other, wondering why the city has suddenly gone dark and the king has not spoken.

If they knew the answer, they would panic.

Andrias, for his part, prefers to stay on the sidelines. He sneaks between the shadows generated by the houses around him, avoiding the citizens and guards who try to silence the concern of others.

But their concerns are valid. Without technology they will not be able to survive for long.

Those are just the words that the thief of the box refused to hear.

Andrias tries to shake the thought off, or at least to block out the images of smiling amphibians that turned out to be a hoax. He hits his face trying to breath quietly, to act indifferent, just like his father always asked him to do.

But no matter how much effort he puts into avoiding it, how many words he repeats in his head, or how many times he hits himself, the prince ends up in the same thought loop over and over again.

About his people. About his failed mission. How his father will be disappointed.

Maybe worse.

He had broken a promise. When Andrias went to get his bird, just after sending Barrel on a loose moss man, he met the hard gaze of the king of Amphibia behind the stained glass of the main window. His father murmured something behind the mirrors, something that resonated in his ears despite there being no sound.

He warned him not to return empty-handed.

His father… He could still be an understanding newt. Andrias has seen it in the way he does not sentence to death every amphibian who disobeys the law. He listens to the advice around him and acts on it. He is one of the most tolerant kings Amphibia has ever had.

Andrias knows it, he confirms it. He knows his father like the back of his hand because he is his son. His father can be benevolent if only Andrias shows that he still has something to give in return.

He wants to believe in him, just as he deserves it. The prince shouldn't feel his stomach twist like this, he shouldn't be worried. Yes, his mistake is more than just having raided a library or spoken out loud.

And his father is firm in the things he says.

But he is still benevolent.

Whatever was rattling around his brain fades into background noise as soon as the castle rises in front of him. Andrias has arrived home, but the sight that once brought him comfort now causes his throat to close completely.

Never in a million years would he be prepared to step forward and face what he has caused.

But he does it, anyway.

Anxiety swirls inside him. He can feel his hands trembling as he clenches them tightly, walking up the steps in complete silence. The prince now knows a truth that will define his destiny: he is at the mercy of his father and, apparently, a wise giant familiar robot.

It's okay, he’s safe.

This is his true home.

The home that will not betray him like someone else did.

When he reached the castle’s door, he got greeted by two Newtopian soldiers speaking in low voices. Andrias just tries to ignore them (ignore the bloodlust that reaches his heart as soon as he sees their uniforms) to push the doors on his own. The guards notice him a little late, tensing and gripping their weapons more than they should, as if Andrias were a threat.

How dare they?

(Calm. Calm. Calm)

He pushes against the metal with his hands, wincing at the throbbing pain in one of his wrists. The guards next to him give him a simple sidelong glance as they remain stoic.

When the doors open wide, what were once hallways radiating light and color is now a dark void with almost no illumination, apart from the natural little light and some lamps activated by the backup power, the one that lasts even without its source of energy. It is uncomfortably eerie and gloomy, accompanied by the incessant footsteps of servants running through the castle at this hour.

Everything is out of place.

And Andrias is afraid to think that, when the backup power runs out, this will be a permanent event.

He advances then, looking everywhere with caution, allowing the doors behind him to be closed by the silent guards. The stained-glass windows look dark, almost ghostly while a small moonlight illuminates the hallway until it fades into darkness. He walks forward, despite not knowing where to go, letting the servants inside pass him by and the frobots standing like statues at every corner analyze him.

Andrias walks pass the kitchen, through meeting and employee rooms, until he reaches the hallway where he feels weak.

The hallway adorned with the faces of the past. The hall of statues

The figures of his ancestors scattered throughout the place fill him with shame. The cold gazes of the marble seem to pierce his skin without mercy, emphasizing with a murmur again and again what Andrias had failed for showing weakness, for disobeying his father and not having eliminated stupid friendships when he was told to.

The bells of doomsday ring through the place. The hallways soon become long rows of despair that repeat his name over and over again.

The consequences must be paid somehow.

His father must be waiting for him, still on his throne with that hard and deadly look as always, with the ax in hand ready to dictate the sentence to which he must fall. The courtroom is ready, only the culprit is yet to arrive.

When Andrias leaves the hall of statues, he finally sees the front of the doors to the throne room.

And he feels himself swallowing hard as the shadows threaten to eat him whole.

If he were a true Leviathan, he would shake all his feelings away and hide them behind a facade before opening the doors of the throne. If he deserved his title of prince, he would arrive with his hands full of blood to alleviate the bad news.

But it's just Andrias, the coward Andrias. The one who, regardless of whether he must pay the consequences sooner or later, instead of moving forward...

He turns down a hallway to the right, heading away from his destination.

Andrias flees in terror with his heart pounding in his ears with guilt. He was afraid, he was terrified of having to confront the person he had disappointed. He didn't want to see his eyes dull in deep irritation while his son once again showed him that he was worthless.

Andrias wants to keep his home, but fears losing it after such mistake.

His room comes into view and Andrias feels relief wash over him. It is his safe place, the place he has not yet completely lost. When the prince arrives, he closes the door against his chest with a thud that echoes throughout the hallway. He's sure he's alerted more amphibians and frobots, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Now he is safe from the public eye, from the eye of his ancestors, from the eye of his father.

Then, every feeling bottled deep in his soul explodes in him like a bomb.

The anger he contained, the sadness that cursed, the hatred, the misery, the nostalgia, the fear...

The love that faded from his arms like the memories of lost times.

A sob escapes him.

It surprises him, it leaves him stunned.

It blinds him with rage.

His hands are destructive, or at least it was a saying that Barrel had long held, after having damaged those thousands of years old tapestries by accident. The toad always said it with affection, in incessant jokes that they made to each other, but he never realized how painful it was for Andrias to completely agree with him.

At least, while he destroys with mortal blows the painting that he lovingly had order just a few hours ago.

It's sad, really, to see such a detailed work of art go to waste. They spent more than three hours in the same position just for that reason. Those two never expected it to be important at first, but Andrias changed things when he framed it as the official portrait it was meant to be. It was, for a moment, Andrias' favorite thing in the whole world.

Now just one more reminder in his room. One thing about them, one thing they touched.

And Andrias hates it, hates that they are everywhere.

He hates that his safe place is full of memories, of marks, each one with a story that only makes him want to cry, want to kill.

And so, with his own fists and claws, he began to destroy the entire place.

The bed where they slept. The mirror where they looked at each other. The gifts that were given. The walls that got marked.

He almost shattered the glass of the window where they snuck out to be together.

He regrets not having seen that the affection he held so close to his heart was only a cruel lie that they sang in unison, deceived of their true world, of their true colors. As it turns out, there was never anything there, just greed, distrust, fear.

The love they had for each other never existed.

And that hurts, because Andrias had so many plans, so many longings. He wanted them by his side forever, for them to be his life companions, for them to be...

His fingers scratch his face. His head throbs over and over again with painful memories that are now distant. He can't deal with the thought that every moment they spent together was a lie.

Why did Leif ruin everything? Fool him? Flee? Didn't he give her enough love for her to trust him?

Why does Barrel always have to choose sides at the last minute? Why is it never him?

Why did they betray him? Did they just want his power?

Were their murmurs a lie?

Everything was?

His chest burns more than he would like to admit. It is disturbing to know that the prince turned out to be as weak as an average citizen. He was supposed to be the king of Amphibia! The one who would be better than all of them! Not the one who would cry for friends who never cared in the first place.

He’s useless, one more disappointment for Amphibia. Someone weak, with feelings, manipulable.

Just like a small, naive child.

As he retreats, his back hits the wall enough to make it shake. His heart flutters involuntarily, trying in vain to hold back the tears that a Leviathan can never let go.

But they roll in his face like a sea of misery from which he could never escape. Because no matter how much he tries to deceive himself, he was never what his father wanted him to be.

He was just a disappointment. An inept.

A coward.

Andrias slide to the ground, feeling the sobs pierce his soul. The only thing that defends him from the cruel world he has fallen into are his knees and his arms, as he cries in the vast, empty room that was left at his mercy.

He gave them everything, but they threw it away like it was nothing.

He ended up alone, and he's not sure what he did to deserve it.

The sobs calm down with time, only hiccups of misery remain with a lost look and restless hands that play with the hem of his clothing. No one wiped his tears or hit him with love, this time he had to recover alone.

The only thing left for him is emptiness like he never felt before.

“Any news?”

There's a new voice just outside his room. It makes Andrias jump from the surprise, which is a bit humiliating. It takes his fuzzy mind a moment to process who the deep tone is from and what it's doing so close to his room.

His father's voice echoes. Surprisingly, the shadow of his figure is reflected under the door.

There's lightning outside. A powerful one. Apparently, a thunderstorm.

"No. Sir” answers a frobot. “Enemies. Not. Found.”

"None?"

The frobot makes a calculating sound before speaking again. "No. Sir. Energy. From. Box. Lost. Whereabouts. Unknown"

“Check all the valleys. Go to all dirty villages.” Incessant typing sounds rattle the prince's ears. “Bring me the head of the one who dared to betray me.”

Little by little the statements churn in his brain, repeating over and over again as Andrias stands up from the wall, feeling his heart stutter.

He is not aware of why, although he knows very well that it refers to Leif.

…Right?

"Yes. Sir” the frobot makes a bow and flies away to follow the already programmed orders, leaving the king alone.

There is a sigh.

Andrias listens as his father moves to finally leave the place. The king usually takes night walks to clear his mind a little, or at least that's what he confessed to Andrias once. In his words, 'the weight of the crown is felt when it is carried for too long.'

Andrias waited with his heart in his hand for his steps to fade, but when they were about to do so, he stopped.

Ironically, that scared Andrias even more.

“What do you want?” His father hisses at nothing like he never did before. It makes Andrias jump, thinking that for a second, he's caught him. “Can't you see I can't do more?”

There is almost dead silence in response, but Andrias now knows better. The crown was not a simple object for the head, it was a communicator with the Core.

His father was talking to the Core.

“No, there is no news of Andrias or his filthy soldier.”

Andrias's ears perk up at his own mention. The Core speaks next, something so quiet that Andrias can't understand it, but loud enough to hear the small murmur.

“Punish him? No, we can’t… ah.” The king mutters. “Yes, we’ll eliminate his friends after this. The rope sound great”

His breath is ragged for a moment.

Yes, the maximum penalty in Amphibia was death by hanging, a public spectacle that taught the population not to betray the government. Just imagining that those traitors will end up hanging...

Not that it's something that distresses Andrias. It no longer concerns him if something happens to them, especially if it is his father's direct orders.

This makes it easier to accept the idea.

“Yes, the public execution of the gardener and the soldier will teach him a lesson.”

That doesn't make it any less difficult to listen to, though.

Oh well, what else can he do but obey?

It's what a prince does for his king.

“Of course, Andrias lost the box in the first place, I'm not trying to defend him. His actions deserve exemplary punishment. The course is predetermined”

The king begins to pace back and forth, making Andrias' heart pound in his chest. He didn't expect anything more and yet he feels his bones tremble just by hearing what awaits.

At least it can't be that bad, right?

They seem to be just deciding their punishment. His father hums in agreement for a long moment while Andrias waits like the culprit he is. The Core talks and talks until Andrias himself lets out an impatient sigh.

The conversation remains quiet.

That is, at least, until his father talks out loud.

“Kill him too?”

And that statement makes his whole-body freeze.

It makes his heart stop.

It makes fear run through his veins.

No, that couldn't be true. It wouldn't make sense. Of course Andrias failed, he won't deny it, but he refuses to believe that they will go to such extremes, that they will condemn the prince of Amphibia himself just for losing that box.

Please, he’s the king’s son. That has to be worth something.

His father is benevolent, his father…

Just wouldn't.

“No, of course not, do you think descendants come out of trees? He’s my son, the only one, I remind you.”

And despite being a confusing statement, it's there and it’s a relief, after all.

His father growls before continuing to argue with the Core, but Andrias tunes out for a moment to let his body relax. He's not sure why he considered that an option on his father's part. He could be heartless to those who didn't meet his expectations, but Andrias…by all newts, he was his son.

The king would at least try to defend him.

“If you kill him, there will be no one else to take care of Amphibia.”

His father continued to fight the idea for quite some time, long enough to keep Andrias on edge. The Core was too pushy, but at least his father was defending his case. Whatever the Core wanted was not enough to challenge their father and son relationship. It would be fine.

Andrias knew it.

“My lord, we will not kill him. And that’s the end of it”

There are silent complaints, but they are ignored by a determined newt.

And Andrias, after everything he's been through, can finally breathe a sigh of relief. His tail wags in pure satisfaction as the tension leaves his body after such hectic day.

Finally, he can rest, be safe in his own home. Finally, he is not afraid to show up to his father, to tell him that he has failed, because his father will receive him with open arms or at least he will forgive him.

Because his father is benevolent, because his father loves…

“…What?”

Suddenly, something changed. The king pays attention to the words that the Core is saying. The conversation is not over yet.

Andrias' euphoria stops in response.

“Kill…his soul” The king tries the term in his mouth, but this time it doesn't seem sour, it seems sweet. “That is one of the most dangerous procedures, my lord, besides, why would you want that?”

His father hums. A sound that can make anyone tremble.

“Ah, the body. His enormous head is not a sign of intelligence, I remind you. I thought you would choose something wiser than that”

The Core responds somewhat. Something he will never find out about.

His father is smiling, his tone giving it away. “Now that wasn't so hard, was it?” There are two claps. “It's a deal, Andrias is yours”

The statement makes silence. It’s the shock of processing what has been said.

But as soon as Andrias understands, his whole body starts to beat with adrenaline everywhere.

In just a couple of seconds, everything Andrias wanted, everything he believed in, crumbled in front of him.

The Core was going to kill him.

His father was going to kill him.

Andrias’ steps are hesitant as he backs away from the door, the marked words echoing like cuckoo clock sound in his brain. He can feel the blood in his veins rushing, a ringing entering his ears, deafening him, with no way to do anything about it.

His father has accepted the terms and conditions.

His father has agreed with the Core.

His father is going to kill him.

Andrias’ brain does not respond rationally. His panic causes his steps to crash against what was once furniture for sleeping. The noise is clear, powerful, understandable even from meters away despite trying to soften the blow.

His father, despite his age, had to have heard him.

The door handle is suddenly moving urgently. Someone wants to come in. His father. The king. Because he knows he's locked up there.

Andrias can't allow it. They can't see him.

His father will kill him if he does.

The door wobbles again and again as Andrias freezes in place. His eyes eagerly scan the entire upside-down room looking for something, anything, trying to prevent the destiny that has been demarcated. The death they have declared.

But there is nothing. He can't find anything-

And the handle moves...

Until it gives way.

The door squeaks when it is opened slowly. The shadow of the great newt in the doorway covers the shattered empty room. A beam of light passes through the wide-open window, illuminating a shattered painting.

Aldrich is not happy with what he finds.

Apparently, neither is the Core.

“You let him escape, Aldrich,” thousands of voices snap in his thoughts at the same time. The orange eye angrily watches the destruction of the room that only a Leviathan hand could do. “Don't you let us down now.”

“You don't worry.” Aldrich growled, drawing his mystical ax and preparing for the hunt. "I won't"

Alarms echo from the castle.

Andrias started running as soon as he touched the ground, even though he didn't know where he was going. The incessant sound from all the alarms in the city made his head hurt worse than ever, but nothing can stop him at this point. He runs into some amphibians who don't know what's going on, so they let him run away as if nothing had happened.

When a frobot discovers him, Andrias knows his time is running out.

The command has been issued.

"Traitor. Detected” is the only thing they say before firing lasers against the prince.

Andrias dodges them, running through the most luxury neighborhood. The shots hit the polished marble houses or other people's windows. They destroy everything that crosses their path, including beautiful flower arrangements that catch fire.

Andrias has the blessed luck to come away with only a scratch on his heel when he met them head on.

Frobots start to share his position, calling for reinforcements to not let him escape. More of them appear through the streets behind him, shooting without regard for amphibians in the way. The laser hits are enough to make giant holes everywhere, including the bridges. It's chaos.

Leaving the residential zone, Andrias stumbles down some stairs. The pain of the fall fades into the background as he continues running, entering the center of the city, the comercial zone. It's tempting for a moment to go to the stable, but he knows, as he watches the castle recede, that it's too late for that.

He will miss that heron with his life.

The frobots do not stop despite civilians being involved. They fire their lasers without looking around like the killing machines they were programmed to be. The bustle of the city soon takes place everywhere, breaking into what was previously a quiet night.

Andrias finds a convenient alley on his way. Soon he rushes towards it with a messy step, splashing in the residue of the falling rain. His breathing is labored as the frobots pass him searching, apparently distracted by the thunder sounding in the distance. Their radars must be defective because of it. It's just a momentary advantage.

Andrias must flee Newtopia, that's for sure, but he doesn't know how or where. The shadows won't protect him for long. He will be at their mercy and if they capture him...

He had never been so terrified.

And that is-

A frog touches his leg.

"No, prince, don't shout. Don't go alerting them too" the frog murmurs before Andrias can open his mouth. The new meddling individual is unfamiliar in Andrias' eyes, probably just a random commoner who has recognized him and dared to speak out loud. "What a night, don't you think? The frobots have gone wild!"

However, the frog doesn't seem to expect a response from him, apparently too busy leering at the street, shuddering at the occasional lasers and radars that search around from time to time with incessant beeps.

"Do you need help with anything? Maybe find the castle or something?" the frog hums. "I can lead you through my way. I head for the crack in the wall”

For a moment Andrias has no answer. He understands the amphibian's urgency to escape the lasers and the cries of...

Wait a second.

"Why are you planning to go there?"

He looks relaxed, almost clueless "Oh, well, you see majesty, my family and I were planning to... go out..." until he realizes who he is talking to.

Andrias' eyes widen in response.

The frog laughs uneasily as he looks everywhere but at him. In the background the frobots pass by again and again, chasing and looking for signs of life. Their systems crackle confusing codes as a method of communication.

“Oh, d-don't think I'll go out illegally with my family.” The frog is nervous. Very nervous. “We just want to avoid this massacre, uh, yeah?”

When he understands, Andrias can't help but snort in derision. Of course a frog would dare to defy the king's own laws just for an easy way out. That's what they have always been. He doesn't know why it took him being betrayed to realize it.

Love is blind, is what they say.

The frog startles a little, smiling apologetically. Seems even more frightened than what already was with the frobots, slowly recoiling from his presence. The frog has felt the tension, the incandescent hatred he emits incessantly.

“I, uh... I didn't plan on it- it's just that I- forgive me, your majesty.”

But Andrias isn't foolish enough to let him slip away.

His hands catch the frog's shoulders. The individual gets agitated, letting out an involuntary screech caused by the terror that drains the blood from his face. The silence they share is tense, dangerous, as Andrias continues to make eye contact.

When he opens his mouth, the frog looks away instinctively, as if asking him not to dictate his sentence.

There is a laser beam in the background.

“…You know where the exit is?”

The frog looks ready to faint, but cautiously opens his eyes when the question has been clarified. Even though panic still runs through him, he finds the strength to respond back.

Those frogs have always been stubborn.

“Y-Yes sir. I... it's this way"

And Andrias leaves him free to guide him better through all the blinding rain.

Right now, if Andrias has to be honest with himself, deep in his soul there is the greatest resentment towards every frog and toad. Those species are only traitors and cowards who have tried to take everything away.

They've always done it, like the time they tried to kidnap him as a baby, like when they excluded him from school for simple pleasure.

And if it were up to him, he would condemn them all once and for all.

But when his life is at risk, he can leave that small detail for another time. Because, despite hating it, that simple purple frog can save his skin from this massacre.

This is how reality began to work overnight.

The frog then peeks out of the alley and starts jumping from the shadows to a colorful house. He waves to Andrias when he sees that it’s safe to cross.

Andrias says nothing as he walks forward.

Through the shadows, taking advantage of the noise of rain, gunshots and screams, they manage to sneak behind some empty food stalls due to the frobot attack. Houses are soon damaged by lasers. People scream in anguish without knowing what is happening.

The lights don't turn on, because there is no power to do so.

They continue in silence until it is easy for them to see the broken wall that gives access to the outside. Since the frobots are dispersed, there is no one guarding that exit. The frog asks Andrias to stop while they see what appear to be shadows in the distance waiting for the amphibian in question. Really excited, the frog waves to the family on the other side, who are very tense, almost as if they were in danger despite being centimeters from the exit.

It is quite obvious to Andrias that there is something else closer to them. The frog, however, does not contain an ounce of patience as he signs to Andrias before taking a step towards the open street.

"Citizen. Unknown” and a frobot catches him right away.

The metal arms catch the small body of the frog that screams in distressing surprise. The sound is enough to attract the attention of other frobots in the area. The frog's family ignores their fear of authority to pick up sticks and stones and try to defend their family member.

Soon, however, they are surrounded by the frobots. The family tries to attack, but it is as futile as can be. They find themselves defenseless in that circle, while Andrias observes everything from a distance.

The frog looks at him for a moment, asking for help.

But Andrias turns his face so as not to meet his eyes.

He'd rather wait for the frobots to get rid of them anyway. It's their fault for wanting to escape illegally on a chaotic night. It's not like Andrias can do anything, he’ll only make it worse.

No, he can't help them. He shouldn't. Screw all the frogs. Let them be dammed for who they are. They're all only backstabbers or freeloaders.

(…But that individual helped him, shouldn't he return the favor-?)

His species are the newts, they are the only ones he can trust. Helping someone else is just a waste of time that he can't carry out. Helping them will only make them betray someone else.

…

But the frog helped him…

He’s Andrias, the prince, and they are just simple...

But in the end, Andrias lets out a sigh of resignation, letting his steps retreat into the shadows where he hides again.

…Moments before grabbing an abandoned market cart and throwing it at the frobot holding the frog.

The frobots' alarms are activated simultaneously when a comrade falls to the ground. Hundreds of red eyes look directly at Andrias as they move away from their victims and repeat the same phrase over and over, calling for reinforcements.

“Prince found”

“Traitor found”

Andrias throws himself into battle. He elbows the frobots that try to attack the frog family, managing to knock down two and deactivate one with just his fists. He knows that if he faces them all directly, he would lose the battle. After all, it's hitting metal.

(At least he trained with someone for this.)

Instead, he takes advantage of the chaos, throwing a fallen frobot at its companions who drop the family to help the frobot. Andrias grabs the five amphibians there and runs towards the crack, trying to avoid the lasers that begin to aim at them without thinking. His steps are disordered as he dodges with what he has, feeling how another laser grazes his legs. He still doesn't stop until reaching a safe place behind the destroyed stone wall.

There, when he has a momentary pause, he places the frog family in the shadows generated by the ruins of the wall, and without farewells or dramatic moments, he himself runs in the opposite direction to them.

“Thank you, my prince!” is what he hears from the frog, while they flee just like him.

Now, with an entire army behind him, with nowhere to run, it becomes his personal fight.

The one that now confronts without fear.

After such a scene, Andrias now has time to wonder in the back of his mind why he helped that family. He kicks a frobot that tried to grab him. There’s still a raw anger against Leif and his elusive species in his body, at least enough to make him feel sick, repulsive. He rips off an arm and uses the laser until it gives out. He scolds himself for being so naïve again.

Although…

Andrias can't help but feel the satisfaction of seeing a family of amphibians safe.

How contradictory. Ah, this is why his father wanted him dead.

Because he has never defined the side he has found himself on.

With a war cry, Andrias grabs the head of the frobot closest to him and tears it from its body. The loose wires crackle, alerting the other frobots who aim lasers at him. Andrias is ready to jump to the side, until he can see through the metal eyes of the severed head that there is a shadow, there is someone on the other side of the screen.

“Andrias” His father calls him. The king. Aldrich. The voice is distorted due to the decapitation. “If you continue like this you will never be able to return home.”

Andrias was about to throw the head, his feelings all over the place as his father's piercing eyes try to stab his soul.

At the end, he freezes in place as his grip falters.

The frobots around him lower their lasers waiting for direct orders from the monarch. Their automatic system is now in the hands of the king. Still, slowly all of them surround Andrias, leaving him with no way out.

There is no escape.

“Listen, son” The king uses that tone, the one that reminds Andrias when he was a child and his father always forgave him. “There is still a way to fix this disobedience.”

“You want me dead!” Andrias snaps, his hands shaking as he holds the frobot's head directly to his eyes. “You're going to let that thing kill me!”

“Show some respect, boy,” the king spits. The eye on the crown becomes more visible through the reddish lenses. Soon, however, Aldrich is sighing from exhaustion. “Son, when a Leviathan comes of age-”

“Were you seriously going to kill me?” Andrias’ voice trembles. "Why…?"

“You won't die,” he responds, frowning at Andrias’ insistence. “You will become the vessel for the best minds in all of Amphibia. And it is an honor to serve your home with such a mundane task.” The king opens his eyes, those that do not seem to belong to him now. “What are you running from, my son, if death will come to us all? Take advantage of this opportunity and become the right hand of the core. That is the promised dream, for which I would give anything to fulfill.”

The words should ease him somehow.

“You didn't try to convince them.”

“It's impossible. The core decisions are not a light review, Andrias. They are the swarm of the most powerful minds in the entire universe, they are never wrong."

"But-"

“It's the best”

It's a madness.

Even for any rational person the idea of death is not attractive, selling your body is worse. But his father wants him to do it to restore the physical form of thousands of minds in one body.

And the thought itself is terrifying, it's crazy, it's...

It's also tempting in some ways.

His father always had that effect on him.

“You won't have to wait like me to be part of its essence,” his father continues. “You will be the image that will represent our planet, our conquest. You just have to return home and you will continue the Leviathan legacy.”

Home…

That word that he thought he would never say again.

Return home… help his father.

Help Amphibia in dark times like this.

Now, without the music box, everyone will be lost, everyone will be helpless. It will be Andrias' time to shine as the king everyone expects.

He must only die - no, share his body with the core. A simple request that any Leviathan, any amphibian, would immediately accept. Death would eventually come to his body.

That sounds good. Sounds correct.

Slowly, Andrias lowers the head of the frobot.

“Come on, boy,” his father murmurs, offering him comfort like he's never done before. “Let's go home”

The frobots lower their weapons.

“Just follow them” he presses a button next to him.

The frobots form in an army line. The metal echoes as it passes Andrias, settling into their place as escorts for royalty. The frobots pick up the body of their decapitated companion and carry it as if it were nothing. As if it were just a sack of potatoes.

“…Andrias, what are you waiting for? Keep it up. Fulfill your destiny.”

His hands are numb, his chest burns. This time he doesn't let the tears fall because a Leviathan would never...

“I…” he says, questioning the direction of the army. They are waiting for him. They point him to where his real home is.

He must follow them, fulfill his now new mission. Let the incoherent ideas of the Core define his life, his destiny.

To make his father proud, to have a home to return to.

But in the end, Andrias sighs.

“I’m sorry, dad.”

He's too afraid of dying to do anything but run away.

Andrias throws the head at the other frobots. He ignores his father's shouts asking him to stop, before notifying the order to fire. The lasers pass by him, some managing to hit hard enough to weaken him.

With his trembling legs, Andrias moves forward without looking where he is going because of the rain. He knows he's reached a forest as soon as he trips on a rock, only deepening the pain, but he still gets up from the mud before running again. Andrias is not sure how long the race lasted, it could have been minutes, it could have been seconds, he only knows that at some point along his journey he found himself falling down a hill, getting lost in the undergrowth. The frobots managed to fly near him, but they couldn't find him. When they left, there was nothing stopping Andrias from continuing.

Unfortunately, he is so exhausted that the only thing he can do is leave his body sprawled on the ground.

His entire body hurts after the chase, too battered by the metal and the burns. His consciousness slips through his fingers.

If he faints in the forest, he may die.

But he lets it go, anyway.

His mind in black finally returns to consciousness.

It's a new day.

Andrias groans as he tries to get up, but only manages to stand on one knee before falling again, feeling the pulses of dry pain reborn after his undue rest. The mud has dirtied his princely clothes and his hair is a mess. His father would be upset with that.

Oh…

Right.

It takes him a moment to remember everything.

Every action, every word, every event.

Each sentence.

And it's… it's something he doesn't want to process right now.

Andrias grabs a stick that was near him and uses it as a cane for his miserable body. It is difficult to maintain his balance due to the pain, but he manages to walk out slowly anyway.

And there, facing a new dawn, Andrias Leviathan realizes that now it is just him against the world.

At a slow pace he leaves the vegetation to be hit directly by the sun on the horizon. The wild animals, the ones that the population hates so much, talk around him with rustles as if they felt it was the perfect time to intimidate Andrias for an easy meal.

But the prince- uh, Andrias is not so easy to defeat like that.

Unafraid despite how sore he is, he emerges from the only protection he had for what appears to be the night (he just had the luckiest thing in the world when he slept helplessly in the woods and nothing happened to him). The landscape that greets him is familiar, but not familiar enough.

Andrias would prefer a thousand times to go home. But unfortunately for him...

He has lost his home, his family, his… friends. Technically he has nothing left of his life to recover. He knows it's his fault, but he will never admit it, because it would be letting Leif win and he can't allow that right now.

The resentment of betrayal flows through his soul, even if now it feels as the most hypocritical thing he could possibly feel.

Andrias is tired, however, of dealing with the burden. He'll have plenty of time to curse life when he makes sure he can stay safe and plan whatever he’s going to do from now on.

Sadly, it is not a hopeful outlook.

His father will start chasing him. No one has ever escaped the clutches of consequences and Andrias will be no exception. It won't take him long to find him and do what a king should do to the insubordinates.

Kill.

It makes him shudder.

And laugh, and cry, and be aware of hundreds of feelings that cross his mind. But he stops before delving into things that will never make sense.

Progress isn’t overnight. If he remembers correctly, there’s a forest located towards the east of Newtopia. If Andrias finds it and with some directions here and there, maybe he will be able to reach a nearby town and regain some strength. Maybe from there he'll go to Amphibia's only toad tower, the one that was built to defend nearby towns from a mysteriously powerful bug, and find refuge as a mercenary or something. It's not the best plan in the world, but it is... something.

Slowly, he leaves behind that piece of land he once called home.

Wondering, just for a moment, if he’ll ever see it again.

Before Andias can process it, nine months have passed.

Nine months since the incident.

Since Leif left him, Barrel behind her.

Since he betrayed his father, refusing to do his job.

Since he has been looking for a home, but hasn't found one.

When he arrived at the first town, he recovered a little, but on the second day of being there some frobots found him and attacked the town. Andrias fled before they even saw him, shaking like a leaf, with images that would not be easy to get out of his head.

It was ruthless.

Anyway, when he reached his final destination, the toad tower, a few days had passed at a lame pace. He knocked on the door and they threatened him upon arrival, however, they soon recognized him and were sorry for their behavior. With open arms, they let him rest a little. Another two days to be exact.

At least, until one day a frobot from Newtopia suddenly appeared. With posters and accusations coming directly from the crown, the frobot broke the news to the soldiers of his capture. The king had issued orders against the traitors who stole Amphibia's treasure. He wanted the toad and the frog dead.

And him alive for one simple reason.

The soldiers, so conceited and unintelligent, received the news with pleasure. They believed for a second that Andrias had not heard everything, that he was not prepared to fight for his life. When the frobot left, leaving the posters behind, the amphibians kindly called him to the kitchen to eat.

But when the toads least thought about it, Andrias had already fled.

And that was, in short, how he began to live.

All his shelters from then on were temporary, from huge towns to small houses on the road. Nothing lasted more than a mere week before the news broke and weapons were raised. He lived mostly under the shadow of the trees that never judged him.

Nature became his own version of a refuge.

It was difficult to adapt to the new lifestyle. When Andrias lived as royalty, he did not have many spaces to practice survival techniques. If anything, he knew how to light a fire, but the lack of resources made everything complicated. He barely knew how not to give himself splinters, the rain caused more sickness than it should, and it was hell when he had to spend nights in other creatures' caves.

At least, Andrias eventually learned to defend himself out there. He even managed to carve an improvised spear with the little knowledge of wood that the army gave, all to avoid being eaten by wild tarantulas that appeared out of nowhere. Many nights, however, he missed with tears the fiery sword that accompanied him in his childhood, probably broken and abandoned in a random place due to his own fault.

Like everything else that ever belonged to him.

The tide changes too quickly to keep up.

Anyway, the food issue was… much more complicated than he likes to admit.

At first, Andrias was forced to steal, beg or juggle to get people to give him something. It was humiliating, disastrous.

He wanted to change that style of his life when he managed to make his own spear.

It cost him. Hunting animals looked a lot easier when done in a group, but when it was just him against a giant, juicy mantis the situation tended to end badly, leaving him with either a headache or a sore body and a new scar to enjoy.

The situation went from bad to worse the first three months outside of Newtopia. He then understood the effects the box had on everyone in Amphibia. Without protection, the bugs were merciless, always attacking those country frogs and their crops. It only made him curse the name of the culprits more than he already did.

Because never, in his life, would he forget the betrayal that marked him.

Time passed by his side and did its thing. Slowly, Andrias managed to make peace with his new life, visiting towns until they became scarce and sleeping in caves until he got used to being attacked in the middle of the night. Luckily, along with that, his resistance and knowledge also increased, becoming someone more sustainable day after day.

Although, even though he would like to forget it, there was a time where he cursed having sink very low.

One very hot day, when he was stressed in the middle of the forest, freshly kicked out of a temporary home that had warmed his soul when nothing else did, Andrias rested in a nearby cave that was apparently empty. Being chased by a mob took away not only his spear but the energy he had to do anything.

Then, as if it were a bad joke, a ground snake had found him.

Without any protection, he only had to run with his exhausted legs towards a later exit from the cave, but luck did not play on his side and he got cornered against a rock wall. With his heart in his hand as the beast roared approaching, he looked for anything to get rid of the animal. He checked rocks and branches, but none would do anything significant against the animal.

There was only one way out of that cave, and that was death itself.

He resigned, falling to his knees in exhaustion and defeat as the snake got close. However, when his entire life flashed before his eyes, a fleeting memory passed through his brain and taught him a secret.

A disgusting, but savior one.

Then, caring about nothing but the wind in his favor, he stood up and prepared his feet for one last dance.

…And after finishing his act, he ended with a feast that lasted a week.

Because that humiliating dance he once saw in action worked.

Don't get him wrong, Andrias felt disgust, anger, hatred every time he had to do it. It was as if he summoned a small version of Leif that insulted him every chance she got, reminding him how useless he was to have to dance for a decent feast. It was worse than when he begged for food or humiliated himself in public. He could feel the repulsion against himself as he ate the dinner that the dance provided.

Because of this, he only danced three more times before vowing to never do it again.

If someone asks why so many times, well, an empty stomach requires desperate measures.

Over time, at least, he managed to stabilize himself and find an effective hunting method. He learned the difference between mushrooms and bugs, went on trips from shelter to shelter, dealt with bounty hunters until they stopped showing up, and wandered the woods for whatever time he had left.

Nine months in solitude.

Nine months of fleeing.

Until he got tired.

Andrias was currently touring southern Amphibia. It was the place where small towns were springing up, if he remembered correctly from his time as prince. Those small settlements were not legal by any means, at least, until the crown destroyed them or certified their existence under the command of Newtopia, depending on how organized and numerous it was, of course.

A perfect zone to gather various resources from random abandoned houses.

His feet, however, began to feel heavy, like two blocks of stone that he could barely move due to the long journey. Fleeing from one town to another had its long-term consequences. He had not stopped in days because he had not yet seen civilization nearby, almost as if that valley was empty or he chose the worst paths.

Although he eventually managed to find a curiosity on his way. A familiar, but at the same time unknown structure emerged into view suddenly. A tower that was not there before, with the similar architecture of the toad tower that was in the east.

If the toad guard at the window indicated anything, it means he's almost right about the place. It was another settlement of amphibious soldiers in the middle of the forest, as if the tower project had suddenly ceased to be a peculiarity of the east.

What is his father planning?

Andrias can no longer have the answer to that.

The tower brought him relief, after all it would be a good place to rest. He can replenish his strength in the lonely warehouses that for some reason the soldiers never check, maybe drink some 'juice' he finds in the abandoned containers, and then continue on his way.

He gets as close as he can to the building to lean against a wall. The view is perfect for planning a distraction to-

Until a cough stops him.

Out of instinct Andrias goes to hide in a nearby bush, spear in hand and heart beating a mile an hour. Luckily, the cough wasn't meant for him, but rather a silent conversation between two toads in a…familiar uniform.

And some horns…

He is horrified. At least for a second.

Andrias thinks for a moment that he's seeing a familiar face, but it's not the one he remembers. Something is missing, the spots and warts that always represented that traitor.

The fact that they are wearing the same uniform alarms him, though. Andrias doesn't remember seeing it in a while and it's not common for the soldiers spread across Amphibia to carry things so valuable in the sense of royalty. Unless there's someone important in there, visiting.

An imminent danger.

He doesn't want to meet someone like that for now. Andrias has successfully avoided capture, but if he is caught off guard, it will be the end of him eventually. He decides better to continue on his way even if he is dying of exhaustion. At least he can keep walking a little until night sets in and hopefully he’ll find somewhere else to spend the night.

No 'juice' needed, for now.

Some time after walking away, sadly, his steps become even more dragged. The sun sucks all his energies, disappearing them into thin air, making him gasp in effort. At least a road end appears in front of him shortly after.

Exhausted, he sits on the edge of the cliff and sighs deeply. Soon the adrenaline drains away and the pain throbs from his feet over and over again. In front of him he sees the green fields that extend on all sides, without signs of life.

Except for one desolate town.

Or at least that's what it seems like.

It's not big, in fact it's made up of seven houses around. Four surround a kind of patch of land, while the other three belong to a separate path, forming the welcome road to the town.

It looks comfortable, calm, silent.

Maybe it even intrigues Andrias more than it should.

All the towns he had visited before were full of amphibians, from the rich to the humblest class. With so many amphibians the news spread quickly and before he even thought about it, he found himself surrounded by a mob that wanted the money his head offered. They never recognized him as the prince he was months ago, for them he was just another fugitive.

However, in his entire path he had never encountered something so small, empty and remote. The houses seemed to be hand-made, not like the rich lodgings he saw along the way. There were hardly any trading posts that were closed at the time. The town had a small sign that Andrias couldn't read.

It looks peaceful.

If Andrias is honest with himself, he’s been thinking about... just stopping, making his home once and for all, building a place where he can live and recover the word he let slip away so long ago.

He can't resist the jealousy as he watches other families rest comfortably at night, doing what Andrias hasn't been able to do in months. He wants, for the first time, to go with the flow and stop running away every time someone tries to attack him.

He wants to stop.

And maybe this town is the one for that. There aren’t many amphibians around so if they tried to attack him, he could fight them all, earn their respect and be left in peace with a house away from the others.

It was the perfect plan. One that had just occurred in the moment, but perfect nonetheless.

If he wanted peace, he had to get it.

Andrias goes down the hill at a fast pace, at least as he can with the pain in his. Walking slowly, he holds tight to his latest spear, the only weapon available at the moment, before reaching the makeshift entrance of the small town.

Now that he can sees the cardboard, relief courses through his body as he reads the resident counter, with a single number nine as the total population.

(Which is specifically weird, but something he won't criticize at the moment.)

It felt a little out of place at first. The town was empty if it weren't for an amphibian swinging on a chair outside what appeared to be a house turned into some kind of town hall.

He was dead.

Or asleep with cobwebs on him.

One of his eyes opened instinctively when he felt Andrias' first step into the village. The great newt gets startled, of course, when the gaze of disbelief falls on his figure. The amphibian analyzes, judging him silently.

Andrias grips his spear tighter out of instinct.

"Traveler!" shouts the old frog, jumping from the chair in which he was dozing. His pet, a mini spider that Andrias had not seen before, flies into the air and falls, almost looking frighten.

Weird.

The old man approaches perhaps too close, surrounding him and touching his tail, making Andrias back away before the sick man can think of doing anything else.

“You're a real newt,” he says casually, confusing Andrias even more.

“What else could I be?”

“A witch!”

He totally lost his mind.

Andrias continues backing away. He doesn't want to seem intimidated, but it's the best way to ward off the sociopath staring at him. Maybe this plan to stay was not a good idea.

However... since when is Andrias the one who gives up so easily? (For a while, actually)

“What are you doing here, big man?” the strange frog asks. “Do you want money, opportunities, a house?”

“Uh…”

The frog gasps. "It can't be. Are you a fugitive from the law?”

"NO!"

“Oh, okay,” the frog smiles at him, his wrinkles spreading through his face. “So, what do you need, giant traveler?”

Andrias can't trust this guy, it just wouldn't make sense to do so. He has only shown himself to be a lunatic with no personal space. However, Andrias can feel curiosity creeping in himself as he comprehends his words.

Curiosity killed the kill-a-pillar.

Even so…

“Do you offer… houses?” Andrias asks, trying not to show strong emotions that would reveal his caution (emotion) about the situation.

“I already told you! But of course, man! Where do you want it? on the outskirts? downtown? on the outskirts of downtown?”

“The furthest from the town,” he murmurs.

“On the outskirts!”

Suddenly, the old man grabs his big hand and pulls him towards the direction he is offering. The frog doesn't seem to care about the fact that Andrias repudiates the contact or that he didn't move an inch until Andrias took a step forward. The amphibian does not pay attention to anything other than pushing him with all his strength down a small path.

Meanwhile he talks about his fight against a butterfly.

And the talk concerns Andrias even more.

He's not sure he'll stay if the population turns out to be this lunatic. He hopes that not everyone is as crazy as the old man because then it would be a headache to even exist. There was one town along the way that turned out to be this disturbing and that was the only one he left on purpose.

"Here!" Screams the old frog when they reach a place of quite dry land. There is rock more than anything and the little vegetation is hidden beneath it. “I've been saving this place for our next addition to Dirtwood!”

Andrias scoffs a little, he can't resist it. “Dirtwood?”

He silences him with many, many hushes. “We’re working on it.”

Andrias simply shrugs. Not that that concerns him.

“Then the house doesn't exist,” he says, highlighting the most obvious detail in his view. “You're just giving me land.”

“Who said anything about giving?”

Andrias' smile fades, replaced with embarrassment that escalates his face into a blush. Of course, sometimes he forgets the details of basic economics. It's humiliating. He should stop getting so excited.

This is not the castle.

Andrias sighs, looking at the terrain carefully, admiring the rock found there. There is not much land to plant, so agriculture could not be applied as a payment method. Maybe hunting? He doesn't know if the locals like praying mantises on steak.

The only thing he knows is that the terrain seems… perfect.

"How-?" Andrias hesitates for a moment, stroking his short, new beard. He clarifies his voice so that the squawk that had just come out would not be repeated. “How much is it?”

“It's easy peasy, man” he smiles evilly. Andrias must swallow a little saliva at this. “I need you to pay a million coppers!”

"A million?!"

Laughter came incessantly from the old lunatic. He started hitting his knee as if it had been the best joke he had ever come up with. He ignores the fact that Andrias' face falls into disappointment, looking at the land with a lost longing and a pain in his back that reminds him of all the distance he will have to travel to flee again.

Oh well, it was a pretty sight.

However, before either of them could notice, another amphibian approaches them, alarmed as she sees the old man laughing maniacally.

She gasps in horror.

“What did you do!?” The new frog grabs the old man's shoulders and shakes him again and again. “I told you the effects of the fungus haven't gone away! Why did you release him?” She asked to the spider that Andrias saw in the frog's lap the other time before being thrown into the air. The spider seems to shrug in its own way. Weird.

Andrias is confused, to say the least. The frog tries to wake up the old man by hitting him on the cheeks again and again until he suddenly stops laughing and looks as if he has returned from the war.

“Thousands of coppers won’t bring your buddies back,” he said with his eyes (which Andrias now notices) completely bugged out.

“Oh, he's still out of his mind,” she sighs. The frog takes a moment before turning around and finally looking at Andrias for a second, taking in his presence. “I'm so sorry… strange,” she says, taking the old man's hands and trying to pull him with her in the direction of the town. “May I ask what you were looking for?”

“A house,” he says before he can regret being so blunt. It's not like he has anything to lose now.

She becomes noticeably emotional when he mentions his business. In fact, she seems elated, forgetting for a second the old frog that falls effortlessly to the ground.

“Oh, really?” She smiles, moving closer and, for some reason, also touching his arm (do they love contact-?). "Welcome! The land you see ahead is free for you and company. I can call old Chuck to get started on plans for your house and outline where your property will end up.”

“Oh, uh…” Andrias stutters. He doesn't know what to expect or respond to that. “I don't have a million coppers to pay for it”

“Million-? No, no” she is laughing, as if she did not believe that price for the land was possible. “You don't need to pay anything, your addition to the town is enough payment.”

He looks at her skeptically. “No, it can't just be free.”

“It's not,” she points to the closed market. “You’ll have to work, of course, but since the land has not been claimed by anyone, it’s yours, and it will be until Newtopia recognizes us as an official town.”

“What will be when the birds fly!”

The lady sighs, returning to pick up the old man who was swimming on the ground.

Andrias remains still for a second, thinking a little about that, looking at the perfect field that has, it seems, been given to him. Unreal. He looks at the frog to see if it's a joke, but she seems to act like everything is normal for her.

So it's true. Finally, after so many months on the run, he has found a place where he will make his new home.

His new life.

The thought sends euphoria through his mind, but Andrias resists showing it to his company.

“I understand if you are… some kind of hermit.” The other frog suddenly tells him as if she had read him (it's probably his tattered clothes, perhaps), and Andrias' heart stutters in fear. “Don't worry, the town is friendly enough to welcome you without a problem”

Well, at least it looks sillier than the other towns.

“Thank you so much, ma’am.”

She smiles.

“Welcome to our town, new guy”

Chapter Text

“So… what’s your name, big guy?”

Ah, there’s the dreaded question.

Andrias stopped the shovel in the dirt, taking a small break from his efforts to level the ground of his future house. Ol' Chuck, the town's main builder, just snorted under his breath, glancing sideways at the frog who, instead of doing the work she volunteered for, peeked out from behind Andrias with curiosity in her eyes.

"My name is..." Andrias thinks for a moment, remembering his new pseudonym, the one he's fooled tons of amphibians with along the way. "Magnus. Just Magnus."

“Huh, nice name. It suits you,” she moves across the place to sit on a wooden beam. Ol’ Chuck just mutters in discontent, but he seems more focused on the blueprints than on her. “Let me introduce myself correctly. I'm Cassandra. I help the town and the newcomers when the mayor isn't available."

“Looks like a hard job.”

Cassandra laughs. “Not necessarily. The mayor is very active and helpful, he just ate the wrong mushroom.”

“He’s an overzealous cook,” is what Ol’ Chuck replies before setting the plans aside to give Cassandra a look. “Just like the frog who offered to bring the screws from the carpentry shop.”

“Oh, what size again?”

“The smaller type.”

“You got it, Chuck!”

As Cassandra bounds away, Ol' Chuck merely shakes his head, at least, before looking towards Andrias and call him with a gesture. “Come here a minute, son.”

Andrias walks forward without thinking much about how that phrase makes him feel wrong, simply approaching Ol' Chuck's workbench where all the blueprints are scattered around. Andrias admires sideways each design, each note that makes up his future home and cannot help but feel the euphoria of being so close to his new goal.

Ol’ Chuck picks up the largest of them all, the blueprint for the structure, laying it out in front of the two of them. His gaze is pure concentration as he scans the writing on the blueprint, before facing Andrias. “Are you sure you want to build it with these materials?”

“Uhm… yeah.” They were the only materials that would be useful to remodel his house whenever he wanted. If his height grew over time (thanks to his genes), he would need more space to move and, taking his father as a reference, that change could be too soon to take more resistant materials for the moment.

Ol' Chuck just mutters, at least understanding his reasons without an elaborated explanation. He asks a few more mundane questions before Cassandra arrives and presents the missing screws, finishing the collect and giving Ol’ Chuck a chance to check everything over one last time before getting to work.

Cassandra wasn't joking when she claimed that Ol' Chuck had a ¿knack for almost instant construction'. Before any of them could expect it, Andrias had already lost sight of Ol’ Chuck as the frog moved around at the speed of light, finishing in mere minutes what would usually take several months. Andrias couldn’t help but unconsciously open his mouth as he saw how one simple frog surpassed the best builders of Newtopia with too much ease.

Though, of course, Ol’ Chuck still had things to fix, like being careful with doors and not throwing screws close at people’s faces.

It ended up not mattering, though, because the house extended proudly in front of Andrias like nothing ever had before. For many, it wouldn't be perfect. The facade was simple, it only had one floor, materials were cheap and there wasn't even a shower implemented yet.

But for Andrias, who had nothing in the last few months, the whole house was perfection at its finest.

When he finished his work, Ol' Chuck wiped his hands as Cassandra joined him with a smile, seeming almost more excited than Andrias himself. "So? Do you like it?"

When he was given the go-ahead to check the house, Andrias then enters, pushing the door gently. He is immediately greeted by a place lit by mushrooms that give a cozy, homely atmosphere while the walls stand firm beside him, with windows tailored for natural lighting and beautiful views that can finally observe and enjoy at the same time.

And for a moment, Andrias felt like crying.

But he didn't for obvious reasons.

Ol' Chuck and Cassandra wait for his reaction. They leave him room to touch every surface and enjoy the sensation that carries the place, his home.

Home... after so long.

"It's... amazing." He navigates the empty rooms, already envisioning the furniture, even the location of the bed and a desk for work. Everything fits just right. It makes his cheeks ache as he laughs a little. "Oh, and to know some frogs did this."

There is a momentary pause in the air, one that makes Andrias hesitate for a second and recap what he has just said out loud.

Cassandra coughed. There was no dust nearby. "What?"

Some customs die hard, but even more so if they were rooted in him for a long time.

Ever since he was young, he considered almost every other amphibian inferior to the crown. His father always had an affinity for pointing out how others simply couldn't match their strength, the strength of a newt. After the traitor's actions, he thought it was all due to jealousy, that every amphibian that wasn't a newt had betrayal in their blood. He hated them, frogs and toads alike, for a while.

The image faded as soon as he saw the newts chasing him mercilessly to claim his reward. It stopped being about species when Amphibia rejected him, when Amphibia itself threatened to get rid of him at all costs.

When the small town of Dirtwood accepted him without thinking much.

Anyway, it's a work in progress.

Andrias pretends not to be aware of his words as he continues to observe the place, opening a window from which the beautiful sunset that Andrias had only enjoyed inside dangerous caves extends. After so long, he was finally able to find that place where he could breathe in peace.

His voice is soft as he continues to stare out the window. If Andrias looks at them, he can't guarantee that he won't shed tears. “I must pay you back somehow. This is… This is just perfect.”

"Don't worry, big guy" Cassandra pats the mattress they plan to give him for his first nights in the house. "You don't owe us anything. We understand you didn’t bring much with you.”

“Thank you, really.”

 “Of course! Don’t worry too much, Magnus. We’ll also help you sort out the job situation so you can establish yourself as a real resident of the town! By the way, what do you do?

“What do I- What?”

“What’s your job like?”

Despite having lived in towns and cities, collecting a few coins and buying other stuff, Andrias never really thought about it. And why would he? He's only had two jobs in his life at his father's request, one as a secretary for unbearable amphibians and another as a boring librarian in an empty library.

Did those jobs even exist there?

There was nothing relevant that he had done to work beyond Newtopia. He had no farmland (and, besides, he doesn't want to remember any of it), he could barely hunt without getting hurt, he didn't paint, he didn't build, he just hung out in his room tinkering with frobot parts and creating-

"-…Tools?"

Of course, Cassandra and Ol' Chuck looked confused for a moment. They glanced each other sideways as they waited for Andrias to elaborate. But he couldn't talk about frobots and there wasn’t another context where he used that ‘ability’ to express some kind of professionalism in the field.

However, Cassandra seemed to come to a conclusion as she poked Ol’ Chuck with one of her elbows. “I think he meant to say he’s a blacksmith.”

“Is that true, son?”

The two pairs of eyes almost pierce his soul waiting for a response. Despite being aware of making a serious mistake as Cassandra's eyes light up in hope and Ol' Chuck's eyebrows raise, Andrias just knew that it was too late to turn back and explain how limited he was in front of that term.

It's not that he bases it on no foundation. Andrias took a blacksmithing course when he was younger and he learned a lot, but it's been so long that he probably forgot all about it. The tools he talks about only served to experiment with frobots and damage them further while thinking he was doing the opposite. He was banned a couple of months from the workshop for that simple reason.

And yet, his chest pushes him to respond.

“Of course, it’s very simple. You just… melt metals and all of that stuff”

Ol' Chuck nods in understanding, without questioning it much. Cassandra, on the other hand, seems to get overly excited as she shakes Ol’ Chuck’s arm (making him grumble) and starts chattering, only making Andrias more nervous.

“Oh, that’s perfect! You'll solve a problem we've had with smithing in this town! You see, we usually have to take weeks-long trips to get to the farthest town just to buy a single shovel, which they never have because apparently they're not interested in agriculture and who cares and blah blah blahblahblah …”

Ol' Chuck stops her rant before it goes on forever with a clearing of his throat. Cassandra looks shocked for a moment, but then apologizes for getting too carried away. Ol' Chuck just mutters before pointing at the declining sun as night sets in. This, of course, alerts her.

“My Frog, when did it got so late? Oh, well” Cassandra moves the mattress and with Ol’ Chuck’s help they hand it to Andrias. Andrias receives it without a problem, feeling his hands itch with excitement at the thought of sleeping comfortably again. “Enjoy your night, Magnus. If you ever need anything my house is always open.”

Andrias admires the two amphibians and can't help but smile. He nods then, trying to communicate how grateful he is after they rescued him from the dark.

Cassandra seems to understand, because she smiles before waving goodbye and skipping off towards the village again. When she disappears from the radar, Ol’ Chuck just huffs before gathering his things and starting to walk home as well.

However, Andrias speaks before he leaves.

“Your work is amazing, let me say. You should share it with Amphibia.” Andrias knocked on the wood of the door frame to emphasize how much he appreciated it. Ol’ Chuck dropped his constant frown before observing Andrias with a gaze that kept some sort of shame.

He got close again, however, just to pat Andrias’ arm.

“Get some rest, kiddo. You need it.”

And with those last words, the frog walked away too.

This was the first time he's been completely alone, at least since he arrived in town just three days ago. Andrias allows himself to enjoy the moment, feeling the night's wind blow through his hair and the air enter his nostrils calmly, giving him a freshness that renews his body. After his moment of tranquility, he closes the door and shuts the window so as not to let his home get chillier than necessary. Andrias can enjoy it, but he doesn't want to end up freezing in the middle of the night because of it.

Inside his house, finally, after so long yearning for the feeling, he can allow himself to relax. Now he could finally enjoy from what others took from him, what he was jealous of for so long.

He picked up the mattress to carry it to his master bedroom and dropped it with a loud thud. Some dust rose up, but Andrias didn't give it much thought. He dropped his backpack, the one he stole somewhere along the way, and lay back on the straw mattress to finally let his back stretch properly.

Already settled, Andrias lets out a sigh looking up at the ceiling, watching as the moonlight slowly filters through the window. Safety surrounds him, so he lets his hand resting at his side where they bump into his backpack, which makes a noise that wakes him from his reverie.

There was one item he almost forgot about.

Andrias gets up and kneels in front of the bag, searching for a small object at the bottom of it. His breathing is tense, but he still carefully picks up the picture with the slightly burnt frame, the only reminder of his former home that he could save.

In the small painting, standing side by side, were the king of Amphibia himself and his son, both stoic, looking ahead and never back, hoping for a bright future that eventually faded away in their arms.

Even though it wasn't that long ago, even though it was a bit silly, the image still brought back nostalgia. In another life, Andrias would have followed his orders and fulfilled his role as the prince he was meant to be. He wouldn't have hesitated; he wouldn't have looked back as soon as the traitors stabbed his heart.

Andrias would give a lot to apologize to his father, to tell him he was right about them, about everything.

That if he could, he would turn back time and give himself to the Core just to please him.

But it's too late for that now, his father sees him as useless and Amphibia itself resents him for losing the object for which they fought so hard. He was too afraid to face the consequences and ended up running away from them, without ever making the effort to repair what got damaged. If only Andrias accepted his fate and hadn't hesitated that day, how would things change? Would he be in this mini version of his home or would he be…

With his father and the Core?

(Dead.)

He instinctively shakes his head to get rid of the thought. This is why he always hated facing himself, all he ever did was get into a loop he couldn't get out of. Understanding emotions was never his strong suit, it only made him weaker than he already was. It was a thing that ran in the family, anyway.

With the portrait in hand, Andrias lies back down on the mattress again, carefully letting the moonlight illuminate the object in the majestic way Andrias admires it. Watching it closely wouldn't change anything, but sometimes he liked to do it to let his mind wander, traveling back in time to when he just had to follow his father as he laughed down long hallways. Sometimes the illusion ended when two cursed faces appeared, other times it was because he ended up in front of the Core before it was all over.

Always so indecisive, even in his dreams, took its toll on him.

He settles himself more comfortably on the mattress to try to quiet his mind and find at least a little peace in the night. Andrias is not sure if he will faint from exhaustion or if insomnia will strike again at his weakest moment.

All he knows is that tomorrow will be a new day.

The mayor’s voice wakes him up from his sleep.

Though it probably woke up the whole town as well.

Andrias flinched before jumping up and pointing his fists at nothing. Spending time in the wild taught him to be ready at any second. However, as his muddled mind comprehends where the loud voice and the horn sound is coming from, all of his instincts shut down along with the adrenaline he knows too well.

He takes the opportunity to look out the window where he sees how the sun shines overhead and the bugs fly around, only passing by. The same landscape as yesterday greets him and Andrias can't help but let out a sigh of relief At least now he doesn't have to get up and run away quickly to reach the next cave, now he can sleep until noon and no one will interrupt with a threatening roar or orders to move somewhere to study and start his prince’s duties.

Lying back down on the mattress, Andrias settles again, ready to fall into another dreamless sleep.

His plans are interrupted, though, as soon as there is a knock at the door.

And unfortunately, a familiar voice comes from behind it.

"Good morning, Magnus!"

The jovial tone only makes him groan aloud, wanting to hide his face in the mattress and stay silent until she departed. Unfortunately, the knocks only become more insistent over time, giving the clear signal that she is willing to get him out of bed by hook or by crook.

It used to be something familiarly acceptable. Now it only brings irritation.

Anyway, Andrias gets up reluctantly from the comfort of his bed and with his last spark of morning energy he heads to the door to slowly open it and face the frog with her incessant knocking.

"Go away," he grumpily says. Contradictory as it may sound, he was always an amphibian who liked to wake up on his own terms. Any external interruption would make the day more tiring than what it usually was.

"May I come in?" but Cassandra ignores his attitude in favor of smiling.

"It’s too early."

"It's eight in the morning!"

"My point still stands."

He yawned out of inertia, giving Cassandra room to get into the empty house anyway. She thanked him silently, taking her time to admire the place more thoroughly, studying everything in case Andrias added any more details in the middle of the night or something.

As she moves on, she leaves in a window ledge a basket with the word 'Welcome' written on it. Of course, all annoyance in Andrias dissipates to give way to curiosity.

"That's a nice basket" he says, trying to look disinterested as he points to the seemingly heavy object. Cassandra pauses to then chuckle under her breath before reaching over for the package again and offering it to him.

"Happy first official day in Hollowwood, Magnus" she celebrates, humming a little. The gesture takes him by surprise on several factors.

"Hollowwood? Wasn't it Dirtwood?"

"It's a long debate. Everyone has their own version."

Weird, but valid.

Andrias carefully receives the basket, not really knowing what to do with it in the first place. Cassandra just gestures, giving him permission to do whatever he wanted, it was a gift anyway. Carefully (it could be a trap), Andrias removes the cloth that was covering the basket, only to find a pile of groceries and a nearly king-sized blanket, all arranged with a note at the bottom.

And for Andrias, who had had nothing for months, who longed to eat normal food and get some words of encouragement, felt his chest sink in a silent euphoria that brought him tears of joy.

Tears that he silently wiped away.

Andrias could only look at Cassandra in the eyes and try to convey his deepest gratitude, about how they changed his life, how they illuminated his path even though the torches had already gone out.

“I… This is -” But words just didn’t communicate what Andrias wanted to say. At least Cassandra seemed to understand him, if her smile meant anything.

"The carpenter did the basket, and the town and I picked the rest for you. You didn't bring much from outside, so we hope this can make up for it."

“It's more I could ever ask for.”

Cassandra just dismisses it with her hand, giving him room to enjoy the basket. Andrias quickly took everything to his new kitchen and left the blanket near his room to use it for the first time that same night.

When Andrias returns to the living room after distributing everything around his house, he can see Cassandra's hidden frown as she looks at the ceiling of the place. It wasn't made of a very sturdy material, but the choice was made for a good reason.

“Y'know, the carpenter was as confused as I when we told him about the height of the beams”

“Oh, really?”

“You’re pretty tall. How did you survive out there?” Cassandra laughs as she jokes around, but stops as soon as she sees how Andrias’ face fell hard.

He never thought he would feel self-conscious about his height and the difference against other amphibians, but living on the run from town to town for that reason gave him a pit in his stomach every time someone mentioned it.

Whenever he was questioned about it, it always ended badly.

However, this time Cassandra coughs to quickly change the subject. He can see her stutter for a second, but she's good at hiding it. “Yeah... Oh! That reminds me, I came here to ask you something too”

There is a silence that stretches for a moment as Cassandra seems to search for the best words and Andrias just prays that she won’t say it already.

He has to push her, though, or anticipation will kill him. “And that is…?”

“The others noticed that our counter changed. The mayor was very excited to turn that nine into two digits.” Cassandra laughs for a moment, but her laughter dies down soon after. “They want to meet you. I told them you might need more time and you don’t have to-!”

“Meet me?”

Cassandra grimaces. “We have a meeting every time there is a newcomer to get to know them. Y’know, like a presentation.”

Andrias hasn't made a presentation in years, let alone these past nine months.

Just showing his face was never a problem in the past, but with recent events, having that prospect sends uneasiness down his spine. If anyone, just one, is able to recognize him, it's all over. His father would come to the town, the frobots would invade it, and they would do the same thing that Andrias saw happen before his eyes many times.

The image of fire never affected him until he himself began living in those small towns.

But delaying it would do nothing and avoiding it even less so. Fate would always find a way to put him in the spot and Andrias had to pitch in. At least if something bad happened, he still had his fists and his spear to defend himself, to dominate the ground he walked on.

He doesn't want to go to such extremes, but he'll be willing if necessary. The thought was just his mind panicking anyway.

(A Leviathan controls himself)

“And... when is this 'presentation'?”

Cassandra's grimace only widens. “People want to, uh, meet you already if possible. The mayor just called them to the center of the town and sent me to get you”

They share some silence for a moment, as Cassandra rocks back and forth and Andrias just stares at himself, at how messed up he looks.

He only has one opinion on the matter.

“I look ridiculous.”

“Oh, come on…!” despite her always positive opinion, this time she falters. “Maybe… you are not in your best state, but people will understand.”

The first thing Andrias learned when his father sent him to manners classes was the importance of an impeccable image. First impressions were the most crucial thing in any case of everyday life and Andrias would not treat this one as another exception. His life could depend on this presentation if something goes wrong.

“I still have to fix at least something.”

Cassandra sighs, comprehending then that she wasn't going to change his mind. She kept silent for a moment thinking of a solution until she snapped her fingers.

“Listen, I don’t know if the matter with your clothes can be solved soon, but there is a lake nearby where you can clean yourself up a bit. It’s really beautiful as well.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s here behind your house. You follow a stone path and you get there! We use it for fishing.”

Andrias nods, leaving the place with Cassandra behind him. Before departing, though, he turns around for one last request.

“Please delay it at least a little bit.”

“Don’t worry, Magnus. The mayor’s got it under control!”

Andrias just hoped so.

The walk is short thanks to the well-marked path. Andrias gets deeper into the forest, looking around and noticing the lack of wandering creatures in the morning. He'd like to assume it's because of the nearby town and not because there’s another creature out there hunting them down.

Anyway, he arrives at the small fishing lake shortly after, getting greeted by a rather spectacular sight. Cassandra was right about that. However, even though the curiosity to investigate the place itches through his bones, the first thing Andrias does as soon as he is in front of the water is kneel down, take off his shirt so as not to get it wet and then submerging his hands in an attempt to get used to the temperature.

 As soon as his body makes contact with the water he gets a shiver, but Andrias ignores it in favor of simply splashing water on his face. If Cassandra hadn't woken him up, this certainly did.

He tried to scrub off whatever grime he could, rubbing his hands on his face with all his might. He did this for a while, determined to make any progress that would help him look more decent, but when he thought he had made some, that he had made some difference, his reflection in the water only showed the same gaunt face as before.

There was no point in getting frustrated about anything, he knows this from how much he had to fight with himself out there, but just being unable to change such a simple thing even a little bit sparked a fire in his chest that had never gone out.

He stared at his reflection for a while, as if it would change anything, but he could only notice the flaws that spread throughout himself for never being what his father wanted. The king always told him to take care of his image even in the worst of times to always have the advantage in battle. But here, with a worn-out face and messy gray hair from the dirt he'd accumulated over time, Andrias dares to show himself to those who will judge him in silence.

Oh well, he could do nothing but keep washing again and again. Complaining would only add to his misery and he wasn't in the mood for that. Maybe having wet hair at a presentation wasn't the best idea, but it was better than just showing up without doing anything.

Andrias took a breath and counted to ten before submerging his head completely, trying not to think about it too much. When he raised his head the coldness of the place surprised him, but seeing the water discolor did even more. He tried to ignore that fact by submerging his hair again to clean it thoroughly with his fingers and be free of such dirt.

At least the action made him relax. It wasn't a Newtonian bath, but after everything he went through it felt good, right, like being well wrapped up warm on a cold day.

It was his little moment of peace.

Until the water splashed and something grabbed onto his hair.

He felt a slight tug at first and thought he got caught on something. Andrias blindly tried to find the branch or rock with his hands, but only touched air for a few moments before landing on a rough and smooth texture.

When he raised his gaze, at least as best he could, he only found sharp fangs as a beast covered the sunlight, emitting a low growl that called adrenaline to run throughout his body.

But he was more horrified to see what the beast had between his teeth.

The weird fish creature kept chewing more and more of his hair as if it were food, cutting off strands one by one with the tips of its fangs. And forced to watch, Andrias could only try to do something.

"Easy, boy, easy- NO, WAIT-"

Andrias instinctively closed his eyes as the creature began to thrash, but the newt didn't move. He didn't have to look up to know why, not when the proof was already spilled at his feet.

The monster tried to eat it, but as soon as it realized that it didn't taste good, it spat it out.

And Andrias saw his pride, one of the last intact memories of his former home, sprawled on the ground, damaged forever. The cut was done so haphazardly that his hair just flew in different directions, making him look as ruined as he felt his heart beating.

Andrias always noticed from a young age that his hair was unique. No matter how hard he looked for other non-elderly amphibians with that color, he couldn't find them. His father told him it was a family thing, something they cultivated as their sign of royalty and that in no case should be cut because it was like getting rid of their entire legacy with it.

And now, that sample of Leviathan he carried with him was dead.

And the anger that blinds him is more than what he can control.

Andrias gingerly picks up what was left of the hair, despite the foul slime around it. He would give it a dignified burial if he could, but....

In front of him, the beast snarls. It doesn't seem to be an amphibian-eating animal, but rather an angry beast looking for revenge after tasting an unfortunately sour morsel.

It firmly believes that Andrias will do nothing. That he will stay still on the spot, suffering in silence, mourning the loss of his hair, one of those things he used to cherish with his soul.

But when the bug lunges to bite, what greets it is a punch in the face.

He may have no weapons, he may have no dignity, but Andrias is a vengeful soul who will not rest until he sees those who have hurt him suffer under his claws. He will make their lives hell even if he condemns himself.

His first victim awaits him with a roar.

So he rushes into the fight.

Cassandra taps her foot incessantly, letting panic consume her for a moment. Andrias can see her in the distance, which only makes his walk heavier than what already was. At first, he tried to go unnoticed, but as soon as he sets foot in the land surrounding his house, Cassandra spots his figure. She raises her hand to greet him, but freezes as soon as she gets a good look at him.

And even though humiliation crawled on his back, Andrias continued walking in her direction.

When they get to be face to face again, Cassandra looks shocked. She really tries to find kinder words, but after a moment of consideration, she just resigns herself to ask.

"Are you ok?"

His frown only deepened as he sat down with a big thump.

Cassandra seems to understand his silent frustration and without wanting to make it worse she gets closer, though still lingering her gaze on his hair. Andrias only has one thing to say.

“They’re going to hate me.”

Cassandra sends him a look of pity and that only makes Andrias rub his hands on his face. The frog doesn't say a word as she sits down beside him.

“They won’t. They’ll just be confused.”

“They're going to kick me out.”

“Of course not! You pose no danger, Magnus-”

“Look at me!” He didn’t want to raise his voice, but he was too frustrated with himself, with life. Everything that didn't happen to others happened to him. Sometimes it was as if someone was juggling with his life.

Cassandra raises her eyes, but they seem more thoughtful than anything. Then her gaze wanders off into the center of the town, or somewhere Andrias just doesn't understand.

Then she sighs.

“Most of us arrived like that, y’know?”

His frown relaxes a little, more out of confusion than anything else. When Cassandra realizes she's caught his attention, she continues her train of thought.

“We come from dark, frightening places, with nothing but a simple weapon to defend ourselves,” she looks up. “We’re a mess at the end of the day, but that’s how they really get to know us.”

Cassandra stands up from her spot. “I'm sure they won't judge you because we get it, whether consciously or not. Me, Ol’ Chuck, the mayor. We also arrived in this town with nothing but hope to build our home together.”

Andrias really tries, but he didn't understand it, any of it. Since he fled Newtopia nine months ago nothing made sense anymore. In Newtopia it didn't matter how unfortunate an amphibian was, but the power they applied, their connections.

Maybe he would never understand it, maybe he will eventually, the only thing he was sure of was that he had to try. For himself, for his future.

For his new home.

Cassandra observes him for a moment, before putting her hands on her hips. “On top of that, you have to meet Mrs. Gertrude as soon as possible. She's the seamstress and she is a very, very complicated woman.”

“Oh.” Andrias stands up, silently indicating that he will follow her. Cassandra smiles before heading towards the town. “She bites?”

“Worse.”

By the time they arrive, at least four townsfolk have already gathered there. They are all watching the mayor juggle the mini spider until he finishes the show with a labored breathing. However, his pained smile changes as soon as he sees the two of them finally approaching.

Now without his previous drunkenness, Andrias can see a bit of the kind of frog Cassandra and Ol’ Chuck were talking about.

“Thank you for your patience, residents of Dirt- Hollowwood!" is what the mayor says while lowering the spider and organizing his suit. Still, the residents don’t seem content with the name. "I know, we'll keep thinking " he inhales. "I know you've noticed the change in numbers and are eager to meet our new resident… Well, here he is! C’mere, son, introduce yourself”

Suddenly, there’s a collective gasp and the sharp eyes of four new amphibians turned towards him. Andrias felt them like blades piercing his body that made him shudder silently. However, Cassandra pushes him from behind to make him continue and finish this once and for all.

Andrias keeps walking until he is next to the mayor who also examines him from head to toe. The frog looks at his hair, scratching his head, probably wondering if he imagined a newt with longer hair. Andrias can't help but think that the last time he had short hair was when he was a child the same size as those frogs.

He knows he's been quiet for too long when the mayor himself clears his throat and points at the amphibians who keep waiting. Introductions have never been a problem, but Andrias almost forgot what was like to socialize with other amphibians.

“Uh, good morning. I’m, uh, Magnus” The silence only gets worse. “My house is… there and I, uh…”

There is a whisper. “You make tools.”

“I make… tools”

No one reacts for a long time, at least as the new amphibians stare at him with their mouths open and Ol’ Chuck keeps staring at his hair in confusion. Slowly, an internal chatter begins between them, one that only causes more tension as the time flies by. However, when the amphibians seem ready to talk, the silence is interrupted by a scream coming from afar.

“Intruder!”

When everyone turns to look, most of them grimace. Andrias just watches in confusion as an old lady runs towards him with a cane in her hand, swinging it like a war sword. A couple of frogs approached her in time before she could apparently throw the cane in Andrias' direction.

That was the kind of reaction he was expecting.

“Mrs. Gertrude, he’s not a guard.”

“Don’t forget what we talked about!”

“It’s always her,” Ol’ Chuck just snorts.

The mayor steps forward and grabs the old lady to murmur something to her. She seems to fight the idea in violent whispers, which only increases the uneasiness of the population and Andrias himself.

It continues for a while, but eventually the argument quiets down when Cassandra and Ol’ Chuck also interrupt to say some stuff in his defense. Mrs. Gertrude grumbles one last time, but seems to accept their words as she spots Andrias up close.

“It’s raining amphibians in this town lately,” she rolls her eyes before approaching. As less threatening as she was, something about her presence made her intimidating. “Who are you really, newt? What are you doing in our town?”

“His name is Magnus.”

“Whatever."

Facing the expectant silence, Andrias could only search his thoughts for something to say. If he takes it seriously and expresses his desire to stay, he is accepting this new life. There would be no possibility of returning to where he was born and the idea of ​​forgetting his first home was not pleasant.

But this was his new reality and he has to fight for it.

“I’m Magnus, a simple blacksmith who searches for a home.”

“No last name?”

Andrias just shakes his head. He lost it nine months ago.

Mrs. Gertrude grumbles something about young people these days, but doesn't say anything further. She continues to observe him for a while, perhaps judging him by his clothes, before her gaze seems to soften for a mere second, immediately replaced by a frown.

“You’re not from Newtopia, are you?”

“Uh-”

“Forget it. You’d better not come here to cause any trouble, stranger, or we’ll do to you what we did to Crazy Dave.”

After that mention, all the amphibians around shuddered. Andrias could only watch in confusion as the old lady clenched her fists before letting go. After that, Mrs. Gertrude looks at Andrias before making a gesture of unimportance, giving the mayor space to approach this time.

All the townsfolk started waiting in anticipation as the mayor smiled, thanking Mrs. Gertrude's approval, before offering Andrias his hand, something that, as silly as Andrias knew it was, made his heart skip a beat. Andrias stared at his own hand for a second, unsure if the difference in size would make it uncomfortable. The mayor, however, didn't give it a second thought, taking his hand and raising it as best as he could.

“Let's welcome Magnus, people!”

And as they shook hands, the other amphibians cheered.

Andrias didn't know how much he wanted those words until he heard them properly. This was the beginning of his new life and even though he should be mourning the loss of the other, he can't help but smile sincerely at those who welcomed him when no one else did.

"Alright, people." The mayor says when he lets go of his hand. "Let Magnus give us a few words of welcome, then."

“Wait what.”

The townsfolk waited for him to say something. With nothing on his mind, Andrias could only rub his neck before blurting out the first thing that came to mind, 

“I’m... very grateful for your help. I promise not to cause any harm or problems in the meantime.”

“You’d better not, newt!”

The amphibians just laugh in response, as the meeting seems to come to an end. The first to leave is, of course, Mrs. Gertrude, while the other three new amphibians stay a moment longer to introduce themselves and talk a bit with Andrias. They all seem very excited as soon as they hear Andrias's (invented at the moment) profession and then they say goodbye to return to their routines at the market.

When everyone has left, Cassandra and the mayor get close, both of them standing by his side while chattering a bit about the presentation. But even though they didn’t talk with him, Andrias didn’t feel excluded.

Andrias used to be alone. Surrounded by people, but alone. And those moments when he thought he wasn't ended up being just another lie he lived in ignorance. This is the first time a community truly sees him as someone other than a rich or powerful prince, they see him as Andrias.

Or Magnus, in this case.

“Magnus, I didn’t introduce myself properly,” the mayor interrupts his thoughts. “I’m the mayor. I’m sorry that our first meeting went under the worst possible conditions.”

Andrias just sighs, stroking what's left of his hair. “Don't worry about it.”

“Magnus! I told you everything would be okay,” Cassandra smiles, before placing one of her hands on the mayor’s shoulder. “And I told you that warnings work really well.”

"Yeah, Mrs. Gertrude didn't chase you all the way down the entrance." The mayor lets out a big, guffaw laugh, slapping his leg. "Oh, well, it's official now. I'm so glad to see that ten on our sign..."

Andrias remains silent, just enjoying the view of the small town for the moment. There was no need to attack, to bring out his claws and win or lose in the attempt. It was what he needed and yet it felt unreal, as if it were all a dream from which he was about to wake up.

The only thing that Andrias hopes now... is for it to not slip through his fingers too.

“Okay, so that’s it?”

“I mean, yes. Is anyone else missing?”

However, as soon as the mayor speaks, Cassandra slaps her forehead. The mayor and Andrias stare at her for a second, before the mayor intones a sound of understanding as he burst out laughing.

“The carpenter?”

“The carpenter.”

Andrias wasn't surprised to hear that. He had only seen seven of the other nine residents, after all. But as he's about to speak, hoping to not interrupt the amphibian in his work, Cassandra asks them both to wait for her while she approaches a house close to the townhall and then breaks into it.

Andrias really hopes that isn’t a habit there.

The mayor waits beside him, shaking his head in amusement. "That girl and her energy. Always persistent, always determined.” His eyes crinkle as he slightly smiles. "Y’know, she was a great help in the fight for this town.”

"Wait, really?"

"Yes. You see, as I mentioned, in the beginning there was a fight-"

However, the mayor doesn't get very far before the carpentry shop door is kicked open and Cassandra emerges pulling an amphibian that was apparently unaware to what was going on around him.

Cassandra really tries, dragging him by the apron until she can't anymore. As she sat in defeat, she called out to them to come closer and help her a little, since it seemed the amphibian was still lost in a world that no one could reach.

The mayor, of course, approaches excitedly in a few bounds. Andrias, however, takes a slow pace as he examines the masked individual, hunched in a peculiar position while muttering quietly as he carved a figure out of a small piece of wood.

The carpenter wakes up as soon as the mayor knocks in his mask, making him startle and look around in bewilderment, now noticing where he’s at.

“Roy, guess what?” Cassandra nudges him in a friendly way, causing the amphibian to look at her from behind that mask. “Here’s the new resident! Come and say hello.”

Despite not having his face visible, the amphibian seems surprised, silently standing up and trying to take off the mask, probably wanting to be more professional. However, after a few pulls the amphibian points to his mask, probably because it got stuck in his head.

"Ah, Roy, do you need help?" Asks the mayor who, without waiting for an answer, starts pulling on the jammed mask. By instinct Cassandra joins in, and after tugging together for a few moments the head is released with only a pop as sound.

The amphibian laughs energetically, bringing his hands to his horns as he feels the air on his face again.

"Thanks, it sticks with the heat. It's horrible"

His claws pick up the fallen wood gently. His eyes softening as he looks at his work. He doesn't focus on anything else. He never has.

"Roy, I want you to meet our new resident" Cassandra sounds jovial as she stands next to the great newt. "This is Magnus!"

"Magnus" The toad wipes some dust on his apron. "A pleasure..."

The words die in his mouth soon after.

His face falls, much like his arms as his gaze rises higher than it should. He does so slowly, almost horrified until he reaches the shaky end where someone familiar looks back at him.

This was the irony, the irony of running from his past, of crossing mountains and getting away from civilizations, of searching for a stable home and losing everything he had.

Only to end up facing the one who ruined his life.

Cassandra and the mayor are smiling at first. Gradually, however, the mood declines as they wait for some reaction. There are no words that can describe the heaviness of the air as Andrias involuntarily takes a small step back, watching the toad do the same.

But even so, ‘Roy' is the first to speak.

"Your majes- uh, Andr- uh..."

They had thousands of names for each other because from the beginning they hated formalities, or at least Andrias hated them since it was the easiest way to get him away from people. Some time ago they promised to only break the rule in specific situations, but he couldn't imagine anyone else breaking that pact.

"Excuse me" Cassandra intrudes the moment, because of course she must. If she doesn't, what Andrias would do is unforgivable. "Do… you already know each other?"

Barrel exchanges glances from Cassandra to Andrias, his breathing ragged and his eyes sharp. Andrias just clenches his fists feeling his whole world crumble around him.

And yet, he is the one who answers.

“We do.”

Because it was always useless to pretend, wasn't it?

The toad looks stunned for a moment, though, seeming to process his words as his gaze dares to wander beyond him. Andrias can't help but grit his teeth as feelings he never understood explode in his chest, screaming out what no one will hear.

The mayor crosses his arms worried as they tried to understand what was happening, but comprehend destiny is as difficult as predict it. After the tension became too much to handle, the mayor decided to approach, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"Well, you'll be able to reconnect then." The mayor clasps his hands together. Cassandra at his side just nods slowly, before giving the final blow.

"Y'know, now that you're going to live in the same town."

And just thinking about that brings horror, despair.

Fury.

He doesn't care how wrong it looks, if it raises suspicions. He doesn't say goodbye, doesn't even give him a second glance. He shouldn't care. He never has.

He wants to run, but refuses. It would just be looking vulnerable again.

At a slow pace, he leaves the mayor and Cassandra surprised. At a slow pace, he goes home.

And leaves with outstretched hand the one he once called best friend.

He runs home when no one is watching, as his thoughts create a confusing tornado that takes away his senses. There is a hole in his stomach that grows with time and no matter how much he breathes, how much he forces his body to concentrate on something else, it doesn't go away.

When he hits a fence close to his house while not looking where he was going, anger only roars louder. He pushes and throws everything in his path until reaching the door where he searches almost blindly for the handle, squeezing it hard enough to make his hands ache as he opens and closes the wooden entryway.

And thus, he ends alone, just like he was nine months ago. Some things don't seem to change no matter how hard he tries.

Andrias starts pacing around his house, back and forth, over and over as he tries to push away the thoughts that won't go away. A shivering runs down his spine which makes him scratch his face hard enough to leave red marks on it. But everything irritates him more, everything is a reminder of him.

The one who showed his face again, the one who lives what he doesn’t deserve.

It's the carpenter from the town that took Andrias in.

What is he even doing there?!

He tried not to think about them, about how he hated them, about how they destroyed Amphibia for some stupid ambition until leaving its population with nothing. And when he saw no sign of them in any town in Amphibia, he ignorantly believed that his father took care of them, that he did him that last favor.

But they were always elusive, hatefully persistent.

Always chasing him in dreams, in nightmares.

Why did fate bring them together when they were never made for each other?

His fists clenched in an attempt to stop the churning of his stomach that makes him want to vomit. So long ago he would have handled it so well, always looking for two hands outstretched towards him that would have brought him back to earth. But now, so alone, so lost, Andrias sees only red where there once was the feeling of home.

He roars in anger, blindly directing his fist at one of the walls, hitting it so hard that it creates a loud noise. The whole house begins to shake from the force exerted.​ Even the floor beneath his feet wobbles, threatening to collapse in any moment.

Then, however, everything stops.

It takes Andrias a while to react, at least to remove the hand from the place that has hit. When he does, there is only a fissure in the wall that scales up to the ceiling itself, although it stops just before touching it.

Debris falls from the hole already made.

His fist is bruised.

And bit by bit, Andrias realizes what he had done.

Stepping back, he holds his head as he slides to the floor. As always, Andrias was just a mess of unstable emotions that had no direction, damaging what he loved most because of his ignorance.

Maybe… maybe that was the reason he didn't deserve this peace.

As strong as he wanted to appear, Andrias knew deep inside that he couldn't stay if Barrel was present. He was his past, the one Andrias regrets, the one Andrias failed to end because of invisible strings that prevented him from acting.

If he stayed, the toad would come back into his life in some way.

He doesn't want to be there to see him every day, he doesn't want to see him move forward, to enjoy what he doesn't deserve. How is it that someone like him, who betrayed his land, receives the same as Andrias? Wasn't that unfair? Everything always was with fate, it seems.

But Andrias can't just run away again. He spent nine months in exile, desperate to find a roof over his head and amphibians who would understand and accept him with them. Wasn't Andrias supposed to have suffered enough? Why does he have to go to such extremes, debating to deserve or run away?

Because destiny always preferred to hurt him, that's why.

He rests his head on the wall of... the house, holding the hand that begins to bleed. He sinks into his thoughts, thinks what he will do, where he will go, what he will leave behind just because…

Andrias cannot confront him.

Because he has always been a fool, an inept, a-

A coward.

…

The feeling is somehow familiar.

His father once told him to show his strength, to strengthen his walls so that no one and nothing could break them. He told him to be as stoic as a stone that clings to the ground no matter how hard the current pushes it.

If he couldn't be that, if he couldn't force himself to be what his father wanted, he could at least try to stand his ground one last time.

Enough of running away from his problems, enough of running away from fears and emotions he will never understand. Enough of thinking that peace is something that comes, rather that something that is earned. He found his home and he will take care of it from those who want to destroy it again.

And what does it matter if Barrel lives a block away from the town? Andrias is bigger, more powerful. He can ignore him, fight him, make his life unbearable, make him suffer as much as he made Andrias suffer. If he didn't deserve that life, neither does Barrel. And if anyone leaves the town it won't be Andrias, because he has committed himself to his new home and will fight for it until his bones rot in this land.

He won’t let it all be taken away from him again.

Never again.

"Magnus?"

His heart skips a beat when he sees a shadow at the door. For a moment his irrational mind thinks that he found him, that he dared to come closer just to curse him one last time.

But it's just the mayor, snapping him out of his thoughts with a knock on the door.

When there is no immediate response, the frog peeks through the new gap in the wall shortly after. "Ow, what happened? Did you see a snake or something?"

Right, he destroyed the wall.

Ignoring his heartbeat, Andrias stands up quickly, almost ashamed as he runs to open the door. The mayor gets inside, looking suspiciously at his face, analyzing him from head to toe with questions on the tip of the tongue.

However, alerts go off as soon as he spots his hand.

"For frog, Magnus! You saw a bug, didn’t ya?" He seems in a hurry, checking all around for signs of medical equipment that he can't find. "Don't worry, I’ve got some good new bandages for you. Wait here!"

And the mayor leaves in a hurry, genuinely worried about a dumb wound he caused to himself. Amphibians who didn't even know him were more willing to defend him than those with whom he lived almost all his life.

And if they were willing to give him another chance, then Andrias would take the blood that flows from his hand to sign a pact of a Leviathan.

From that day on, declared by Andrias-Magnus-whatever, he will not let anyone take away from him the things he loves. And if he fails, let death be the punishment, for then he would have failed himself and those who believed in him.

No Barrel or anyone else will ever snatch his life again.

The mayor returns moments later, just as rushed with a questionable amount of bandages, though understandable if the size difference caused him to panic. He leaves everything on the floor and then asks for his hand and begins the treatment. Andrias just sighs before letting him do what he needs to do.

Slowly, the mayor started to wrap the limb cautiously, watching him sideways in case he grimaced in pain or something. There was a point where Andrias got used to that kind of burning, so there was no problem on that part.

As the mayor does his work, he remains silent. But if his furrowed brow means anything, it's that he has more doubts than he can handle.

"I won't ask" The mayor tells him at some point, when the bandage is done. "But please don't punch walls again. They're not that cheap."

"I'm sorry. I got carried away."

The mayor analyzes him for a moment, his critical gaze gleaming with worry. But he remains calm as he goes back to gather up the bundles of bandages that he brought in a hurry.

Andrias is aware of where that concern comes from. No town likes troublemakers and, if he's honest, neither does he. He is not looking for his conflict to pass into their hands, he prefers their mutual hatred to be expressed in silent quarrels rather than property damage.

To see how much they put up with each other.

Anyway, the mayor soon stands up from his spot ready to leave. He doesn't say anything as he walks towards the door, but Andrias has to stop him before he gets away. He has an idea and he can't let it go.

“Mr. Mayor,” Andrias calls him, causing the old frog to stop trying to reach the door handle. “May I ask you something?”

The mayor moves away from the door to get a little closer. “Sure, kid.”

“You know when I can start to build a sales stand?”

He looks a bit surprised, “There's no need for you to worry about it so soon, Magnus. You can still settle down; the town won't have a problem with…”

“It's fine, and I appreciate it. But I really need this.”

Because the only way to stand up to him was to gain ground, respect, reputation.

To put them all against him.

The mayor thinks about it for a while, looking genuinely concerned, but lets it go in order to help him. Maybe he understands, maybe he just thinks he's crazy.

But at least he gives him a hand and not his back.

“There's a possible stall close the road to your house. Oh, lucky you! Right next to her.”

Andrias raised one of his eyebrows. “Next to who?”

The mayor just smiles, grabbing the door handle to exit. "Next to Lily's stand."

Even though he didn't look the way Barrel remembered, even though he looked emaciated and had… less hair than usual, Barrel's heart nearly stopped when he recognized the cause of his nightmares, his greatest regret, extended in front of him. His whole world shattered as soon as he had contact with those eyes again, looking at the toad with such deep resentment, but at the same time a fear that he saw reflected in himself.

Over time, he learned that fate is perverse, always bringing together those who swore never to see each other again. Was it to finish their unfinished business? Or was it to talk for the last time about what they wanted to say to each other a long time ago?

Barrel would laugh at that thought if he could. They had only one pending matter and even if he tried another way, there was no way out that town until his bones were worn out and he grew tired of living.

He can see the prince now, strolling through the town while carrying the wooden beams the mayor ordered to help him build his stand (probably trying to gain economic stability to compete against Barrel). His step is determined, but his eyes flit between his goal and Barrel's own house, just like they used to look at each other in training sessions. They have that in common, no matter how hard they try, they will never be able to surpass their past so quickly.

How did they get to this? How did they run away from each other just to find themselves again?

He would never know.

At least Barrel made peace with one thing in his mind: This was his punishment; this was his hell.

Getting trapped in the same town as them.

Chapter Text

It was a foggy day, rare for a swamp accustomed to live in summer. The road remained silent as the animals passed by, looking for the perfect shelter to spend the upcoming winter, the one that froze everything in the valley with incessant snowfalls and ice that locks them away from the rest of the world.

Along the paths almost forgotten by time, a snail advances with a determined step, avoiding holes in the ground here and there, trying to be on the lookout at all times. Above it, its driver quickly writes things down on a piece of paper before putting it back in the bag next to her, satisfied.

“And… we’re finish!” With her task done, the frog takes a better grip on the reins. The snail celebrates with his rider, purring a little, but it only takes a small movement of the leaves surrounding them to tense him up again.

The frog only huffs for a moment, giving some pats on the snail’s head to help him calm down. When that didn't work, she searched through her bag for some snacks that always seemed to brighten his day. However, no matter how much she rubbed the food in his face, the snail continued to be on watch, ready to act in case anything happened around.

Leif knew it was her fault. She was the one who got tense for most of the trip after having such good recommendations from the town. But if there's one thing she’s learned from the last ten months living in the valley, it’s that being alert was of no use if destiny was written.

Leif just shook her head before racking her brains for a solution. After thinking for a while, her fingers began to rhythmically strike the rein while her feet moved in a familiar sway that made her instinctively smile.

And feeling the rhythm of the wind, she began to whistle a lullaby she learned on the way home.

The melody wasn't the most in tune, but the snail knew it and wasted no time in starting to whistle along in the process. Together, the duo let go of their worries for the rest of the trip, remembering more old songs after such an exhausting journey through the villages of the valley.

She visited villages and made new friends, people who helped her to deciphered the mysterious place that was the valley. She was told how the soil needed new seeds, how much the villages were far from each other, how there were no guard posts.

it was the perfect place to remain unperceived in the long term.

It was the perfect place for no one to find her again.

Her snail coos as he wakes her up from her reverie, pointing with his eyes to a familiar sign in the right direction. Excitement bubbles up inside her as she pulls the reigns a little, allowing him to speed up and finish the trip as soon as possible.

As the snail runs down the path, humming his own song, Leif breathes the cold air that surrounds the place. The sole thought of kicking open the door to her house and lay her back on the mattress makes her chest express euphoria. Leif never thought she would miss her log so much, but ever since she appeared in the town ten months ago, everything in it became her refuge, her home.

A place where she can continue to build a future for herself and those who supported her against all odds.

The race slowly pays off as the town’s improvised arch comes into view. The familiar smell of the countryside soon fills their insides while the snail stops almost victorious at the entrance. Finally, after such tedious journey, they arrived home.

At first everything looks quiet, with no presence lurking around. The town was rarely seen active since they were very few amphibians, but the mayor made sure to stay alert in case any strangers approached the entrance. He was told many times that this could be counterproductive because of the way he seemed to faint every time he touched the chair in front of City Hollow.

However, even if they heard him muttering in his sleep, even if at night he had one of the deepest sleeps in Amphibia, there was some sort of hidden instinct that always woke him up with a shudder as soon as someone stepped a foot into the town’s entrance.

And this time, as Leif watches him wake up almost terrified, it is no exception.

“Lily-! Lily? Lily!”

The mayor stands up and his pet spider peeks out from the side of the chair. Leif smiles at him and in response gets off her snail to continue walking, stretching her back after spending the entire trip hunched. As she does so, the mayor calls out with his horn to those who were minding their business, alerting the entire town of her arrival.

The amphibians answer the call, leaving their homes to come out and greet her by gathering around. The first thing they do is fill the air with question after question, making it too confusing to understand it all. Leif clears her throat, but it doesn't seem to be very effective. That is, however, until a high pitch scream makes everyone fall silent.

And of course, Cassandra comes jumping from nowhere, as fast as light.

“Lily! Thank Frog you’re back!”

Leif opens her arms and Cassandra hugs her with all her might, knocking the air out of her in the process. She has always been very enthusiastic about welcoming everyone and never showed otherwise, something that seems to have spread through the town as well.

Cassandra lets go soon after, at least aware that Leif needs to breath, but despite nearly suffocating her, she keeps jumping around excitedly.

“Lily, guess-”

However, before Cassandra can begin her rant about what's new in town, Mrs. Gertrude approaches next, “gently” pushing Cassandra out of the way.

“No trouble? No bandits? I swear if I see Crazy Dave-”

“How was it out there? Did they tell you when is the next snowfall…?”

“Did you bring gold-?”

“Anything new? I bet they haven’t fixed the sign in Stinkyvillage …”

Leif raised her hands to ask for space, which stopped the hubbub of the town. Instead of answering, though, she walked over to her snail and took the bag with her, confusing everyone.

But as soon as Leif unzips it, there is a collective gasp.

Since very few traveled outside, Leif took the trip as the perfect opportunity to return favors and complete the list they gave her. Tools weren't easy to get, more so if they are being sold by old and grumpy frogs, but with a little bargaining in Leif’s way anything was possible.

Leif asked them one by one to get closer so she could hand them their desired things. They all thanked her in unison delightfully, appreciating them as the most wonderful thing in the world. Even Mrs. Gertrude seemed pleased with her new pitchfork, and she was not usually easy to impressed.

Leif finished her delivery with a happy Ol' Chuck and his new hammer, watching as Cassandra waited silently in the background, clenching her hands and trying not to squeal. Leif let out an involuntary laugh before pulling out, as if it were a sword of great value, the shovel that Cassandra had been longing for so long.

As soon as Cassandra sees it, she almost lunges at Leif to hold the precious item. Of course, Cassandra’s first instinct after receiving such gift is to hug her and then complain about the time some frogs didn’t sell it to her because they didn't make tools for agriculture.

But then Cassandra falls silent in the middle of the story, looking at the shovel as if trying to remember something.

Not that she has time to say it as she gets interrupted when the mayor pushes everyone aside to approach Leif.

“Lily, please tell me you have more ideas with wood. We tried with Dirtwood, but it doesn’t have that rhythm, that spark!”

“And Hollowwood is just not it.”

Everyone murmurs in agreement with Ol' Chuck as the mayor clasps his hands together in a plea. Leif just laughs before digging through the bag one last time and pulling out the list she wrote while riding her snail.

“Well, I thought about quite a few rhymes. You want me to read them for you or...?”

The mayor opens and closes his hands like a child as Leif offers him the list. He takes it as if it were the most precious thing in the world, reading the words and laughing in joy. The whole town gathers behind him trying to read as well, but eventually the mayor straightens up and clears his throat to get everyone's attention.

“We’ll read this list and decide on the new name today. Please, all those who are willing to vote, go to City Hollow.”

Giving their final welcomes and thanks, everyone then begins to move towards the town hall to decide such important topic once and for all. Even Mrs. Gertrude seems excited as she uses her pitchfork to try to get there first. The town's name has been a problem even before Leif arrived, but she still has the hope that this time they will stick to one.

The mayor stays behind the crowd, laughing at the enthusiasm and participation, at least before looking at her with a smile.

“Thank you, Lily, I have a good feeling this time.” The mayor hugs her before putting a hand on her shoulder. “Everything went well on that trip of yours?”

“Yeah, no weird encounters, everything seems doing just fine for the winter.” Her snail approaches and Leif can’t help pet him again. “I just can’t wait to sleep comfortable again”

The mayor laughs, slapping his leg. “I can imagine, who makes their mattresses out of rocks? Crazy Stinkyvillage. Anyway, I’m very glad to see you back, do you want to come with us and vote?”

“No, thanks. I think we’ll rest first.”

“Deserved. The roads aren’t what they used to be,” and with a friendly pat on her shoulder, the mayor leaves, following the whole town to City Hollow.

Or well, almost all of them.

Cassandra hangs back for a moment, almost frozen as she tries to remember what she was going to say. Leif just dismisses it with her hand, knowing very well how excited she is for the town’s (possible) new name and how much they can extend when there’s gossip.

Cassandra really seems to fight with the idea, but in the end, she can only resign herself to give her one more hug in which she whispers in her ear. “I'll remember, I swear.”

“We’ll catch up later, don't worry.”

Cassandra just shakes her head with a smile, before saying goodbye and then running off to City Hollow.

And now alone, Leif allows herself to exhale before taking the reins of her snail and start to walk towards home.

As they make their way through the quiet village, Leif takes a moment to look more closely at any big changes in her absence. She can notice some improvements to Mrs. Getrude's house, how the patch of dirt in the middle of the town was recently mowed and how Cassandra seemed to have done some redecorations to her facade.

Everything looks good, everything looks correct.

But at the same time, her steps slow down as her gaze ends up wandering too far, landing on the forbidden house, where the only amphibian that Leif didn't recognize in the entire town had made his home.

Where the toad, the soldier, her old friend and most recent foe, became a simple carpenter.

Being this close to each other would have been a dream come true years ago, but fate was always odd in that regard. Sometimes Leif can't fathom the fact that all their ties should have vanished ten months ago in a cave hallway, not while she still has to see the toad of her dreams and nightmares walk past her every morning.

She always felt a hidden force compelling her to hold her gaze in his direction, perhaps fueled by a twisted desire that Leif never knew how to extinguish. Knowing that she shouldn't even look at him still makes her restless at night, trying to understand what kind of enemies they became over time, but no matter where her train of thought ended up, one thing was always clear.

The Barrel in front of her is not the same she once comforted at night.

Immersing herself in those kinds of thoughts never gave her divine enlightenment, only more confusion and sorrow. She shakes her head, alerting her snail, but at least getting herself out of the labyrinth that was her mind. It’s embarrassing enough to be caught looking at him again and she doesn’t want to start explaining to someone why she kept staring in the direction of the only amphibian she doesn't talk to.

But sometimes she can't help it, not if she sees the look of concentration that once intrigued her, almost calling to tease him so they could fall asleep together in a fit of giggles. But memories just feed the irony that neither of them made the effort to change.

If Leif had known in advance that five months after living in her log he would arrive, maybe she would not have set foot there in the first place. But before they could be rational, Leif dared to mark her place in the town and Barrel stayed despite not being able to resist looking into her eyes again. At least there was a tacit agreement between the two amphibians who ended up fleeing the consequences of their actions.

Don’t get caught or you’ll doom each other.

Sometimes Leif just wishes her life was as simple as running down the halls screaming with friends, without being terrified of an uncertain future. But it’s too late now. If the water moves, you follow it, whether you want it or not.

Tightening the ropes more than usual, she and her snail finally walk away from the carpentry shop to get home. After such a long day full of tension and uncertainty, Leif herself was just too tired to deal with her own brain. She didn't come from the outskirts to think about what she didn't stop thinking about for weeks.

When she saw her house in front, relief ran throughout her body. She knows her snail thinks the same thing when he purrs before speeding off, almost knocking her over. Leif then sets him free so he can reacquaint himself with their home on his own and get used to the cozy atmosphere again.

Everything looked perfectly fine, so Leif decided to leave her purring snail in the stable, grab her bag and go back inside. As soon as the door closes behind her, Leif leaves the seeds she bought in the dining room and tries to climb the stairs without collapsing. The reserve energy with which she walked vanished into thin air as soon as she crossed the threshold of home.

She blindly found her room, where she almost fainted on the bed as soon as she collided with it. Already comfortable, Leif touched the wooden base she had missed for so long before letting herself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

However, Leif only managed to sleep for what seemed only five minutes before someone urgently knocked on the door.

She woke up dizzily, wondering where she was and what she was doing, before feeling the mattress beneath her and wanting to sink more into it. However, the knocks on her door became more insistent with time, making her let out a sigh as she abandoned the desired comfort to continue with her day.

As she walks down the stairs she holds onto the wall, trying not to fall in daze. Her steps are a jumbled mess until she approaches the entrance, listening how a constant murmur appeared outside, which only makes her blow like a child in anticipation.

Knowing who it was then, she decided to slowly open the door.

“Lily-! I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”

Leif just tries to organize her messy hair while smiling at Cassandra. It wasn't time to sleep anyway. “Nothing too important.”

“Great,” Cassandra pauses, studying her for a moment, probably coming to a conclusion on her own. However, there seems to be another hidden interest, because after an awkward silence Cassandra snaps her fingers. “Lily! I almost forgot.”

"About what?"

“You have to come with me now. There’s a surprise I’ve got to show you!”

Leif yawns. “Okay, just let me comb my hair a little-”

“There’s no time!”

Cassandra has been impatient for as long as Leif can remember her, so she's not surprised when Cassandra grabs her arm and tries to pull her into the square. Leif just arranges her messy clothes as they walk into the town, passing City Hollow where the entire town was still gathered together and discussing out loud.

“Wait, still?”

“Mrs. Gertrude is making trouble there, so I got bored.”

Leif laughs, but doesn't have much time to watch them before Cassandra stops her race, jumping up and down in excitement as she squeezes both of her arms.

Leif stops her jumping by grabbing her arms as well. “So… what did you want to show me?”

“Do you know how excited I am about this!?” Cassandra takes a breath before continuing. “Look at the sign. Look, look!”

Something about that statement brings surprise, but Leif ignores the twist in her stomach to look at the piece of wood which counts the townsfolks, the one the mayor put up to attract the attention of any future amphibians interested in residing in the town. But instead of the nine Leif remembered, there’s the ten that the mayor desired so bad.

That only meant…

“There’s someone new in town!”

Leif shouldn't be surprised; she's been gone for weeks and a lot can change in that time. But she also didn't expect to have another resident so soon, after all the snowfalls must have already closed the bridge between the rest of Amphibia and the valley, and it was impossible to cross it on foot.

Looks like that amphibian was lucky.

“He’s really, really intriguing. You see, the mayor and I blahblahblah…” Cassandra, still excited, shakes Leif as she begins a rant about the new amphibian, but Leif doesn't pay much attention, not as she stares at the sign intently, immersed in thought.

The last time it changed, her life turned upside down.

That shouldn't bother her, after all there are plenty of amphibians out there who barely know the name of Amphibia's capital. New additions mean new friends, not more danger. And also, very few ever come across the valley to reside there like she's doing.

She shouldn't worry too much. He's just another future friend.

Just another friend.

Leif snaps out of her thoughts as soon as she feels Cassandra's arms start to pull her in a certain direction. Cassandra’s enthusiasm sometimes blinded her from seeing others and herself in the process, which was somewhat annoying. Leif stops in her tracks before forgetting something, which consequently stops Cassandra with a skid.

“Wait, shouldn’t we give him a welcome basket?” It sounds like an excuse, but Leif gave (almost) everyone one of those. She thought it would be a nice tradition, understanding that some amphibians might arrive in need.

However, Cassandra just dismisses it with one of her hands.

“He’s already settled. Come on! The only thing missing is you.”

Not that she had much of a choice at the moment. Cassandra is strong when she wants to be and Leif can do nothing but resign herself to follow her.

She just hoped the town knew who they deal with, that they wouldn't allow someone crazy to stay.

That they didn't bring someone who can recognize her.

Her worries weren't usually that high the first few months in the town. She firmly believed that she was far away from everything and that the nature around took care of enough travelers interested in staying nearby. The closer villages not only had more things to do, but they were official and risk-free, a better option in every way.

Her entire outlook, however, changed as soon as Barrel appeared.

She still shudders when she thinks about it.

But it is just a pointless concern anyway. After all, there’s no way royalty touches mud.

Together, Cassandra and Leif walk down the road of the new house. Apparently, the amphibian's request was to stay far away from the middle of the town, probably for a bit of silence, or so Leif assumes.

Some amphibians prefer to lock themselves away in their own world.

Nevertheless, it doesn't take them long to have the town's newest addition in sight, which excites Cassandra intensely, but confuses Leif.

“Ol' Chuck really outdid himself this time. The interior is very organized and although I criticize the materials, it’s a masterpiece. Lily, you have to see it up close-”

“It’s… big.”

“Ah,” Cassandra turns to look at her again, holding back what appears to be a laugh. “You’ll understand soon enough.”

For some reason, Leif didn't feel like smiling back. Something about that statement just didn't sit quite right.

They continued on anyway, with Cassandra in the front still rambling about the amphibian’s arrival while Leif tried to keep up. Her mind, however, kept drifting away, thinking stupid and unreal scenarios which made the annoying feeling of uneasiness grow in anxiety over time.

As Cassandra's voice faded into the back of her head, Leif glanced at the house’s surroundings, those that seemed to contrast with her own home. The rocky field stretched beyond the horizon, connecting to the forest at some point, as the cold wind called grey clouds, threatening to rain.

“Cass.” It’s hard to distract her from a mission when she’s on it, but Leif has to try. “The clouds look grey. Maybe we should come another time…”

“Come on, Lily, it won’t take long. I once came in the middle of the night.”

Leif let out a defeated sigh. They continued at a slightly slower pace (because hopefully Cassandra noticed her lack of enthusiasm) as the sky grew darker and the landscape became chilly. Leif tried to get rid of the shivers running through by grabbing one of her own arms and squeezing it tight.

But the hole in her stomach only got worse as soon as she saw the big house in more detail.

Something about the design struck her, like something she saw in a bad dream and it got imprinted in the back of her eyes. There are memories knocking on her door, but Leif doesn't understand them and gave up long ago on trying to.

“Cassandra, he might be busy. Maybe he’s not even expecting us.” Her steps begin to slow down, trying to delay the inevitable, but Cassandra is a lost cause.

“He'll be fine. Besides, we need to check on his work. Once you meet him, you'll be able to rest for a whole week. Don't worry about that.”

“But Cass-”

“Look! We’re here!”

Leif's head rises up in response, swallowing hard as the large structure welcomes them both. It seemed even larger when she got beneath it, which only made the whirlwind inside her worse.

Something inside her demands her to stop Cassandra from knocking on the door, that she will invoke danger if she does, but it is a volatile, meaningless thought that drives Leif over the edge. Silently, she pinches herself to wake up, to realize that she is safe.

Even if her throat closes by inertia.

After knocking, Cassandra steps back to her side with a smile. Leif tries to reciprocate, but only manages to grimace as she keeps the pinch on her arm. There is no response for a while, which ironically calms her heart, but also disappoints the frog beside her. Cassandra seems to think a bit about what to do next.

“Maybe he’s tired.”

But no matter how much Leif wanted to run away, no matter how eager she was on finishing this, luck was never on her side.

The ground beneath Leif creaked and then shook, surprising them both. Leif tried to hold her breath steady, but her heart could only start pounding too hard. She clutched her arms together, trying to endure the numbness that was getting worse as everything became unbearable.

She swore the trees shook, animals began to move and birds started to fly away. The tremors only grew worse as a shadow seemed to slip beneath the large door. Cassandra's smile widened, but Leif's body could only freeze as her gaze escalated ever higher.

Her voice is barely a muffled whisper as she grips Cassandra’s shoulder a little too tightly. “Cass, no- this is not a good idea.”

Cassandra turns to look at her for just a second. “Wait wh-? Are you okay?”

“I have to go, now.”

“But we’re about to meet him. How about we just-”

“Cassandra, please-”

Leif can't stay, not with the adrenaline pumping through her bones, begging her to run away. She's barely able to get away from Cassandra, but she's not fast enough and Cassandra stops her with a look of dismay on her face.

“Lily, did something happen out there? What’s wrong?”

Not that she has any room to respond, not as the air cools around, not as the tremors stop as soon as there's the creak of a door opening slowly.

As Leif's feet retreat, Cassandra's advances, maintaining a smile. She reaches out her hand to wave at the newt in front her who just grunts before speaking with a deep, but familiar voice.

A voice that Leif thought forgotten, that she thought would never hear again.

But returns once again to hunt her in her nightmares.

"Who is it?"

And the tone resonates again and again, creating an endless spiral that has no bottom as everything that Leif thought rebuilt crumbles again.

There was no turning back. Leif was a fool to believe she escaped from the consequences.

This was the voice of her beginning, her conflict and her end.

Him.

“Magnus!” Cassandra greets him in response, beckoning him to peek out just a little further. The newt just rolls his eyes before opening the door completely and letting Cassandra speak. “Guess what? Lily’s here!”

“Yes, I noticed that.”

“Too much noise?”

“Too much enthusiasm for a name with 'wood'.”

“Ah, you know... we’re not very creative with that.”

“Yes, I noticed that too.”

“You aren’t, either.”

“I know.”

Cassandra laughs in response, always affirming how funny he is. At least until she calms down and concentrates, clearing her throat. She came on business that needed to get done before she got derailed into endless chatter.

“So, about Lily…”

“Hmm?”

“Today is the day, Magnus! Are you ready to meet her?”

The newt just looked down at his clothes again, muttering in discontent before looking at Cassandra in response. She had to shut him up before he started another one of his rants about personal grooming.

"Yes, yes, these people don't care about presentation."

"Exactly!"

“…”

“…”

"So?"

“Oh, right,” Cassandra began to jump up and down as she got ready. “Magnus, meet…!”

But the moment Cassandra turns around, her face falls when there was no sign of her.

“…Should I be looking at someone?”

“Um… wow, she’s sneaky,” Cassandra laughs to clear her half-panic, frowning for a moment. “I don’t know what… she’s acting really strange today- She’s probably too tired, Magnus! Next time, she’ll be…”

“Hiding in another place?”

“Oh, you…”

Both of them just started laughing, at least easing the anguish that Cassandra had in her chest. It was good to know that he didn't take her disappearance in an insulting way and-

Magnus' laughter cuts off then, making Cassandra notice his sudden change. Looking up at him, his eyes narrow through the road to the town before they open, almost in surprise. She can swear she saw his chest heave as he swallowed heavily in a way Cassandra doesn't understand.

But when Cassandra turns around to look at what he's seeing, there's nothing strange.

She turns around again in confusion, noticing how his jaw tensed as he somehow squeezed the walls of the house, making the brick tremble until Cassandra grows worried.

“Everything okay? Did you see something or…”

“Cassandra, tell me something.” He looks at her with some sort of seriousness in his eyes. “And please, be honest with me.”

Cassandra just raises an eyebrow before nodding doubtfully.

“Describe Lily for me.”

"Eh?"

She tries to jump as far as she can, even if her legs miserably fail her in the process. A phantom pain that still hasn't healed after ten months comes back as sharp and irritating as she remembers. The air hits her face, but she can’t breathe it, not while her chest seems to lock up, refusing to let the oxygen through.

The small stones on the road are enough to make her stumble again and again, but Leif doesn't let herself fall, she can't. It will be a waste of time and if anyone saw her, if he saw her, she has nothing left.

Everything is a confusing whirlwind until she collides with a fence in the middle of the town. It hurts to think straight when the only thing present in her mind are the alarms of danger, but Leif can do nothing but keep running away to save what's left of her life.

There is a muffled sound nearby, but Leif is too distracted to notice him on time. They both crash, making Leif fall, raising the dust and making things worse. She tries to get up quickly, but her body and surroundings shake as a soldier's angry gaze stares back at her.

But Leif can’t process it right. Not if the panic is stronger than her.

“What’s wrong with you-? Hey! Le- Lily!” Barrel can barely watch as Leif slips getting up, but still flees with a fear he only remembers from past lives. As Leif almost seems to disappear into the southern forest, Barrel just picks up the things he had and goes about his business again.

She looked in a hurry, perhaps agitated about something she forgot (always so careless-), but Barrel no longer had the capacity to understand her shenanigans. Besides, he had no business being involved in her problems and he knew Leif wouldn't appreciate his intervention either. Whatever mess she was causing no longer had Barrel in it.

He continued walking towards the town hall as if nothing happened, intrigued to know what name the town chose in the end, but shortly after thinking it couldn’t get worse, the earth shook for a moment, almost like an earthquake, if it weren’t because of the footsteps that now ruin his mood.

Barrel just sighs as he watches the newt getting closer with a determined step. He expected the same newt to head to City Hollow like everyone else, but Andrias just heads off to the southern forest as well. Everyone seemed in a hurry then, but why the southern forest? Why after Leif?

It's not like they hadn't seen each other in a while, it's not like they hadunfinished business, it's not like Andrias was looking for her in the first place.

It's not like they hated each other to death.

…

“Oh no.”

Entering the forest, Leif's steps begin to slow down. She stops next to a tree leaning on it to get some air and rethink how to calm her heart and herself. It wasn't the best place to start self-reflection, but it was far from the town and, hopefully, from Andrias himself.

Andrias.

How did he find her? What was he doing there? Was he sent by the King of Amphibia? Was he planning to torture her?

The questions only made her situation worse, prompting her to rub her eyes in an attempt to regain clarity in her panicked state. She desperately wanted to think of something else, of what to plant tomorrow, of what to tell Mrs. Gertrude to fix her scarf, of what to do with the rest of her life.

But if Andrias was there to finish it, to finish what they started ten months ago, what was the point now?

She was going to die, anyway. He would make her foundations tremble until everything she built collapsed, getting closer and closer, aiming, getting ready to deliver the final blow in the middle of the night and-

A makeshift spear flew in the air and got embedded into the tree, just a few inches above Leif's head.

And the heart that never relaxed just starts pumping harder than ever.

“Stay STILL, FROG!”

Leif starts jumping away as soon as she can, abandoning any thought in the process. The desperation which she almost forgot courses through her veins even faster when the ground shakes and the prince who used to refuse get his hands dirty gets on all fours, running after his prey.

Leif barely had the chance to use her tongue and climb higher into the trees before the claw-like fingers could reach her. She heard his roar of frustration shake the whole place, but even if her hands felt more slippery than usual, Leif didn't allow herself to lose her focus as she began to swing from tree to tree.

Andrias tried to climb alongside her, but he didn't get far. Instead, he started running with all his might, moving at a speed she'd never seen him run before as he waited for her to make a mistake and fall. He ran through branches and rocks as if they were toys, free of the long hair he had the last time she saw him.

The chase won't last long and Leif is aware of this as soon as she misses one tree. Her tongue barely grazes a branch before leaving her almost in a bottomless void, from which she barely saves herself by holding on with her hands to another branch near her. Andrias stops his run with a skid, hurrying to try to climb that tree and reach her with a powerful jump, but before he can get to her, Leif pushes herself off one last time to jump to the ground, trying to get as far as she can.

She hits the ground hard, but doesn't have time to process the pain as she gets up and trips, falling from a mini cliff in front of her. Her landing position isn’t the best as her entire body falls sideways, causing dirt to stick to her and her run to end miserably.

This time, no matter how hard she looks around, no matter how much she wants to run away, to save herself again, she is trapped as his figure runs like a hunter, jumping from the cliff, going straight towards Leif to finish what had to come to an end.

Leif could only stare into his eyes as everything seemed to happen in slow motion. This was her end, the hunter's claws caught her and she couldn’t escape anymore.

But as time itself got confusing, they hear the familiar sound of the one who always intervened in everything.

Before he can even reach the ground, Barrel intercepts Andrias in mid-air to push him out of the way. The toad and newt roll around for a moment until Andrias throws Barrel away, who just skids across the ground, contrasting with Andrias, who falls landing face down in the dirt.

Leif would allow herself to breathe if it weren't for the way Andrias almost seemed to jump up, trying to launch a surprise attack. Barrel, as always, seems to expect it because he moves just in time to let Andrias crash into a tree for his impulsiveness. However, the newt who was so ready to attack again just hits the tree with all his might in silent frustration.

At least, away from the population, they can shout at each other in peace.

The first to start, surprisingly, is Barrel.

“Are you out of your MIND!?”

“You're always defending her. Of course you're always defending her-” Andrias just pushes against the tree before facing Barrel. “Why are you ALWAYS defending her?!”

Leif can barely recover from the adrenaline shock as her shaky legs struggle to get up. Her breathing is slow, trying to stay inconspicuous to save her life, but it doesn't take long for her to be included in the conversation.

It was always between the three of them, after all.

Barrel points at her, almost indignantly. “You think I’m defending her? Do you even know what you’re doing?!”

“I'm finishing what I promised to. And if you don't get out of here, Barrel, I won’t hesitate this time!”

“Wha-” not that he has much time to respond, not as Andrias lunges at him, sending Barrel crashing to the ground. Panicking, the toad uses all his limbs and strength to lift and throw Andrias away from him.

But he falls right at Leif's feet.

Leif tries to get away, but Andrias has always been able to predict such a mundane movement. His large hand grabs Leif's arm and she winces as the phantom pain of a sword seems to become real again.

All she does then is hit him in the snout with her free hand before stumbling backwards, trying with a last-dich effort to survive. Andrias snorts at her pathetic attempt before pinning her to the ground with his arms beside her head.

But he doesn't move, not as he forces her to look into his eyes, as she huffs and puffs over and over.

At least, as Barrel speaks.

“If you hurt 'Lily' you’re condemning us to the only town that took us in!”

Andrias' gaze hardens, but his muscles seem to tense at the same time. He is not at all pleased as he turns his head to look at the toad who remains stoic. Andrias looks at himself and then back at her before growling under his breath.

But he gets up to walk away.

His once familiar form turns to face the toad that was never afraid of him. Andrias approaches cautiously, almost menacingly.

However, before Andrias can speak, Barrel stands his ground, never breaking eye contact with him.

“She's part of the town, whether you like it or not, and an important pillar, too. If you want to stay here, you can't play soldier anymore.” That's ironic.

“Yeah? Well maybe I don’t want to stay here, maybe I’ll break your stupid rules and finish this already. What are you going to do? Sacrifice yourself for a traitor again?!”

Barrel just stays quiet in response, looking away as he mutters something that Leif almost doesn't understand at first, but it resonates in her heart when she does.

“… Maybe I won't. I just want to protect the only home I have left.” And as Barrel speaks, he finally looks at her eyes. “From both of you.”

Andrias just lets his frown fall as Leif looks away. It shouldn't hurt, but she always had that spark of hope with him that still doesn't understand why it was still alive. Barrel was always selfless in one sense or another, but time changes people.

And hard times reshape them into other things.

Andrias can only clench his fists in response before letting go. He takes a few steps away from them while trying to get the two in his line of sight and point at them like he did before giving them orders. Leif can only try to move away as Barrel frowns.

“You can say whatever you want, I don’t care. I will avenge Amphibia one way or another, even if it costs my own life. You two—I will not let you have what you don’t deserve, both of you!”

Leif's stomach only sinks further as Andrias turns around without giving them a second glance, limping from Barrel's blow to head back to the town, to his house, where he will stay until neither of them remain in this land.

This was her sentence. There was no more brilliant future to think about, only a clock that began to count down the seconds she had left.

It's a kind of torture. It's something only he would know how to do.

As they watch him leave, Barrel just shakes his head in response while his claws dig into his face. He lets go soon, but not before frowning in a conflict that Leif will never be able to understand.

He doesn’t turn around as he speaks. He doesn’t have to. “Why are you always causing trouble?”

“Excuse me?”

“Whenever I think you can’t make it any worse…” Barrel just takes a deep breath before letting it go. “Forget it”

They don't need more words between them, at least not anymore. Barrel made it clearer than ever and Leif understands, even though it weighs heavily on her soul. The toad walks away without looking back, because there is no longer an unspoken agreement between them, not since Leif broke it ten months ago.

When the footsteps disappear from sight, Leif finds herself alone in the middle of the forest once again. The day is still dark, but no raindrops are falling at the moment, making the air even colder than usual.

This was supposed to be her new home, but she lost it again for not seeing the danger lurking around the corner.

Leif falls to her knees when her own body, tired of adrenaline, refuses to cooperate. There is no more security that can blind her from the cruel truths of this world and any tranquility or comfort she had will disappear just as her sanity did.

Future is written. She will pay for what she did in one way or another and there is no way to stop it.

All because fate brought them together, whether they wanted it or not.

Even though the distant dream of having them back in her life like before continued to resonate deep in her soul, the love that once brought them together faded with each misstep they took. Now, after seeing their true colors, there was nothing left to fix.

Everything was burned in the past and the ashes are poison for them.

She knows it's her fault. Why did she have to come across the very town that would be her death? Why did she have to become attached so quickly? And if she left it all now, Andrias would come after her to finish it, anyway?

Leif was probably his greatest enemy. He will hunt her down slowly, haunt her in dreams and nightmares until there is nothing left of her.

Until her heart beats too fast to the point of stopping suddenly, until her hair starts to hurt from how tight she is holding it, until everything around her falls apart and-

“Lily…!”

Her eyes widen as the familiar sound of a snail and a voice reaches her ears, almost waking her up from a dream. Her breathing is shaky as she lets go of the hair she was pulling, seeing the shadow of her snail get closer. Cassandra was not far behind, looking around with worry and calling her name over and over again.

And just seeing them was enough to soothe her aching heart for a moment.

Even though the world seemed cruel, she wasn't alone in it. She found a community that welcomed and cared for her. Maybe she doesn't deserve it, not after what she's done, but knowing that someone still extends a helping hand to her after everything is enough for Leif.

She feared for the future. Something was clear about it and it was a truth that she could no longer deny, even if her bones trembled just imagining it.

She would die soon. Andrias never retracted his words, Barrel never defended criminals.

But at least, before all that disaster breaks out, she can tell those who love her how much she loves them in return.

“Lily- Lily! There you are- Wow!”

Cassandra and her snail started running as soon as they saw her. The first thing Cassandra did was grab her face and check her body for injuries. Leif raised a hand to stop her, but Cassandra intercepted it to keep checking her while the snail sniffed her in confusion. He probably heard the commotion; he was good at tracking that kind of stuff.

“Lily, I don’t understand.” Cassandra meant everything that constituted her, her panic, her reasons, but Leif couldn’t just let go of what had been weighing her down for months. Instead, she tried to dismiss it with her hand, standing up (suppressing the annoying tremors) to point out her house.

“I'll be fine, just - a bad moment. I needed fresh air and I fell.”

Cassandra obviously doubts her words, but she stands up with her anyway and, without saying a word, she offers her an arm to walk her home. Despite the phantom pain, Leif allows herself to believe in her help and welcomes it.

Maybe this time she can get some peaceful sleep.

(It’s just another white lie)

The mayor pets his little spider as he waits for them to arrive with news. His feet move relentlessly and he bites his wheat straw more than he should, but at least the little spider stops him from burying his fingers into the chair.

Not that his impatience lasts long as he watches Ol' Chuck, Cassandra, and Mrs. Gertrude herself return almost simultaneously from different parts of town.

The mayor rises from his chair, asking them to follow him inside City Hollow. Together, the four of them stand in front of the meeting table where there is finally a name written down that satisfies everyone. But that is not the reason for the visit.

They each sit in silence, looking at each other as they wait for someone to bring up the matter. Despite being a woman of few words, Mrs. Gertrude begins.

“I already brought him some new clothes. Hopefully he'll smell better from now on.”

Ol' Chuck just raises an eyebrow as Cassandra chuckles, but they wait for Mrs. Gertrude to continue.

The mayor murmurs. “Anything to point out?”

“Tense, a little bruised and avoiding eye contact as much as possible. He’s probably an overthinking mess like today’s youth.”

"As if you didn't-"

“Shut up, Chuck.”

“That’s all I needed to know. Thanks, Gertrude.” Mrs. Gertrude just snorts, but the mayor looks at Ol’ Chuck next. “Chuck?”

“Reserved, concise and apparently he pulled an all-nighter. Too easily distracted, wanting to get back to work as quickly as possible.”

“Well, that’s weird.” The mayor looks at Cassandra, the silent question already repeated several times. Cassandra just makes a concealed face before speaking.

“She looked… scared and lost, looking at the fields as if she were expecting something, maybe… something bad.”

And that statement confuses and scares them at the same time.

Something was going on between those three, something that, despite not being against the town, was worrisome. The mayor remembers a family situation from long ago, one that he himself caused before even daring to think about founding the town. Internal conflicts have always been a danger because, despite seeming harmless, their consequences can impact everyone.

“Maybe we should just kick them out. It’s easier.”

Of course, Ol' Chuck and Cassandra start fighting the idea of Mrs. Gertrude right away. It's a solution that, while it did cross the mayor’s mind for a moment, is too drastic. They may be reading the situation wrong and he's already promised them a home that he doesn't want to take away from anyone by force, if he can.

As the three amphibians in front of him continue to fight, the mayor tries to form a plan, a solution, anything to resolve the situation before it could get worse.

“-Always with your bad ideas.”

“Oh yeah? Give me a better one.”

“We can help them reconcile or-”

“Interfering in someone’s life is the worst thing you can do.”

“We can keep an eye on them.”

“I love your simplicity, Chuck, but you want us to become Spittown? They’re psychopaths-”

“Maybe not like Spittown,” the mayor raises his voice to get his council’s attention. This time, he tries to calm them down with a smile. “But we can keep an eye on them from time to time. Warn them to take things easy and avoid a tragedy.”

“But we don’t even know what they are fighting about.”

“So what? Do we ask them about it just like that?”

There is a snort. “Please-”

“In fact, if you can do that, it would help a lot. Knowing the root of the problem can ease the mood! And maybe then we can do what Cassandra said.”

Cassandra smiles as Ol' Chuck raises his hat in response. Mrs. Gertrude just crosses her arms, rather disgruntled, but the mayor places a hand on her shoulder to reassure her once again.

“We will not lose our home this time. It’s a promise.” The mayor looks at the others. “A promise to all of us.”

“Even for them?”

The mayor just nods.

“Even for them”

Because Wartwood will stick together no matter what.

Chapter Text

Living in Wartwood wasn't for Barrel.

(That's right, the town finally came to an agreement. It took a while, but thanks to… Leif, they found a name that could endure for a long time.)

Here’s the deal.

As a soldier, Barrel experienced some very hard, traumatizing times, according to popular opinion. He saw Newtonian medicine first hand, met fallen comrades, condemned some amphibians to fates worse than death, and all the things that leave a lifelong scar when you are in the army.

But as much as he would like to think that his past is worse, he knows it’s not true. Barrel would choose to finish his military career a thousand times over, rather than to live with both eyes open in the middle of the night while trying to keep in line the stress of organizing his messy life.

It sounds dumb, but knowing that one day someone outside the town (or within it) could come and rob him of the only thing he has…

Unfortunately, what he once believed to be his safe refuge ended up being just the lion's den.

And everything had to get worse when 'Lily' met 'Magnus'.

After that first day (of the rest of their lives if they're lucky) The mood in the town changed. The residents knew something had happened between them and they were not happy about it. Some of the people tried to find the root of their problems with questions that were not discreet at all, but in the end, they resigned themselves to be cautious and keep an eye on them at all times.

Although it may sound a bit extreme, Barrel understands where their concerns come from. He himself has seen how the conflict of a few people can affect an entire world.

That doesn't mean he likes feeling the weight of the gazes.

As a result of this drastic change, the three began to develop their own system of mutual evasion to calm the waters. Keeping their houses far apart was the first and fortunate step in distancing themselves from each other. Avoiding certain places, amphibians or simply not leaving the house were some of the many strategies they unconsciously or not tried. Everything was effective for a while.

But they learned the hard way how impossible it was to live apart in such a small town.

(The desire to end it all, the desire for blood, still beats strongly.

But they can't do anything about it, right?

Wartwood forbids it)

At least, despite their ups and downs, they managed to coexist in the same town for more than two weeks without much problems. The tension was still in the air, but it was something that, if kept over time, they would be able to withstand. This was the best-case scenario Barrel had in mind.

But eventually, the stage always collapses.

The thing is, the town needed new customers.

The townsfolk brainstormed one afternoon, searching the best way possible to boost the economy. With so many good ideas, the mayor, excited to carry out almost all of them, chose the one that Mrs. Gertrude had sarcastically suggested: having a day of extreme discounts to attract traveling amphibians. Despite her disgusted face, everyone thought it was an excellent plan and most of the townsfolk got to work on their stands as soon as possible.

But Barrel had other plans in mind.

He didn't shop often, he did so out of necessity and his groceries at home were already running low. Barrel knew that, despite being a good opportunity to sell his services, he couldn't waste such special day; it was the perfect chance to finish his almost-abandoned shopping list and get some cheap stuff out of Mrs. Gertrude as well.

Or any of them, if luck was on his side.

On a normal day he would dislike the idea, but even if Barrel tried to avoid interacting with ‘Magnus’ and ‘Lily’ at all costs, their stands had useful things he dependent on. Everyone knew that Leif had the best vegetables and Andrias…

Well, if the town was right, he was going to be the only blacksmith around. Barrel only touched metal once in his life and still has a scar on the back of his head reminding him why he sucks at smithing.

Despite his growing anxiety, Barrel knew being afraid of such simple confrontation was dumb. He had already bought from Leif several times and there hadn't been much of a problem before, just glances here and there and short sentences that tried to lighten the situation and make it bearable.

But after Andrias’ arrival and the chaos of dealing with each other’s true presence, the tolerance they had for each other disappeared into thin air.

Not that it mattered in the end, because, regardless of their desires, their regrets or emotions, living in the same town meant to live united.

And if none of them planned to leave yet, then a long, stressful life was waiting for them.

On the Extreme Sales day, Barrel woke up with the little energy he had left from the day before, feeling the exhaustion of not sleeping a wink all night. Nightmares were not pleasant, but he learned to live with them anyway.

After tediously rising from bed, he got ready as fast as he could, putting on his most decent clothes and spraying the best perfume he had (proudly, the town couple’s best work) to then go downstairs and make breakfast for himself.

As he ate some toast, Barrel glanced at his messy workshop from the distance. It was dirtier than usual, with his tools and pieces of wood all over the place. Normally, he would clean the place at least once a week, but his new sleep schedule didn't leave him much time to do so. That could cause a problem with the business.

Good thing he wouldn't be opening today, anyway.

He left his home shortly after, heading into the plaza where the townsfolk greeted him with a smile or a boisterous wave. The sun was shining high above as the number of amphibians around increased overtime, a good sign for a good shopping day.

As he walked around looking at new products and daily deals, Barrel grabbed the shopping list from his bag, holding it up for a moment. He didn't have a lot to buy, which meant it wouldn’t take up much of his time. However, since it was such a short list, his eyes wandered off for a moment, causing him to grimace as soon as he saw the two names at the top of the list.

It was better to finish early what he despised the most, but that didn't encourage him to walk any faster as he headed to where Leif's stand was supposed to be open.

The good thing they seemed to share, despite everything, was the desire to not interact more than necessary. Leif was fast in business and all it took was for Barrel to give her the list to dispatch him in a second. It would be like a vaccine, fast, but mentally painful.

At least, as long as Leif's stand had already open-

His feet stopped with a skid, drawing the attention of some amphibians. However, Barrel could only observe, groan and drag one of his hands on his face as destiny showed him the empty stand of the same frog he was looking for.

Just the day Barrel got the courage to face her again.

Leif wasn’t one to take her job lightly, and somehow that didn't change with her arrival in the town. Since they've lived there, she's been the one to drive most of the activities that many amphibians are too lazy to organize, and not even illness has made her fail.

Only an external calamity could affect her enough to cause such a delay.

Like the arrival of someone new to the market.

As Barrel got closer, he looked intently at the extra stand the town was advertising for. The one that they were building before, the one that's considerably large in size.

The one right next to Leif's.

He felt a little dumb for forgetting that little detail. Heck, he gave the wood to the mayor in the first place. He just didn't expect to see it open so soon, especially since the smithy took time, but no one could deny that Andras was efficient when he put his soul into it.

Whether they were conscious about this arrangement or not was not something Barrel knew about, the only thing he was sure of was how late it was to speak up. The market was already operating and there was nothing to do about it. Something inside Barrel questions if he should have warned them, but it's not like he should care, they were never his responsibility.

And besides, Barrel couldn’t intrude in such conflict. If he leans to one side, he will only cause imbalance, and with imbalance comes chaos, danger. If he wanted to avoid conflict…

(That doesn't stop the pangs of pity and frustration. It will be difficult for everyone.)

Barrel sighed heavily (ignoring the looks of others, those that want to burn looking for answers) before retreating to another stand, ready to reach other offers in the meantime.

All he wanted was to live away from their problems.

Leif eventually arrived first, carrying her products before setting them down on the ground. She looked exhausted, but still got to work immediately, organizing every single vegetable in the stand that was ready to be sold. For a moment, her eyes fluttered around until they fell on the stand next to her, making her take a pause before hunching further in misery.

It's an odd sight for a moment. Barrel has seen her through a lot, but not this kind of exhaustion, not even with the formal visits to the king before her promotion.

It didn't matter anymore.

(It's the past.)

Mrs. Gertrude snaps Barrel out of his fixation with an annoyed cough. His body shuddered, but he gave her an innocent smile as he paid for what he was actually buying before fleeing the place. Mrs. Gertrude's analyzing glances always get on his nerves somehow. She calls it her ‘secret ability’.

Far from the people's gaze, Barrel stopped in a corner where he laid down for a second, taking a really deep breath. After having recovered some serenity, he grabbed one of the cups he bought from the mayor (because, apparently, he was interested in pottery) and examined it closely, feigning interest. Unfortunately, the handle framed the figure of Leif serving her first client of the day, always with that grace and spirit that Barrel only remembers from days when they couldn't stop looking at each other.

It used to be a gratifying sight, but all that emerges in Barrel now is the bubbling of bitterness where there once was admiration. Leif was always so complicated that Barrel regrets ever assuming otherwise.

The butterflies were long gone.

“A copper for your thoughts?”

Barrel jumped almost horrified, gripping the mug tightly in his claws as Ol' Chuck leaned against the wall beside him. With the shame of being caught, Barrel simply put the mug in the bag again, trying to smile back.

“Chuck, what are you doing here? No competing against Mrs. Gertrude today?”

“Not really, I was shopping at Miss Lily’s stand and I noticed someone staring at me.”

Barrel just laughs, as if that would explain it. However, it gives the opposite effect, making Ol' Chuck shake his head in disappointment.

Barrel just coughs. “Sorry, I was just thinking about prices and vegetables.”

“We have some great deals today.”

“I know, just let me decide what to choose.”

“Hey,” Ol’ Chuck pats his shoulder. “Make some carrot soup, it’s cheap and good.”

Barrel just laughs. “I’ll think about it.”

Usually on days like these they would chat for a little longer. Ol’ Chuck is good at holding long, entertaining conversations, and Barrel would rather focus on something like that. Unfortunately, the conversation lasted no more than a few words before an unfamiliar sound echoed throughout the town.

But as the tremors came closer and closer, Barrel's stomach could only sink in recognition.

Earth-shaking footsteps interrupted the calmness of the market, with a rhythm almost robotic. Everyone stopped their conversations to look in that direction, anticipation increasing over time as they watched the horizon.

Sadly, there was only one amphibian of the right size to generate such noise without deliberately causing it.

Barrel let out a sigh as he slowly turned around, in the direction where the two stands were at. Leif was shrugging with every large step, clenching her hands tightly as a shadow covered up most of the sunlight by her side. While Andrias, carrying a bag full of tools, stopped in front of his stand to drop the bag with a clang.

He looked almost as tired as Leif, even worse, sitting behind his stand with such strength that almost seemed to sink the market. Leif 's squeal is enough to alert Andrias, who freezes with a hand in the air for a second.

The same newt rubs his eyes vigorously before staring in disbelief, as if he actually didn't expect to see the vegetable stand next to his. It's after a second of silence that his confusion turns into burning anger, enough to irritate Leif, who looks back at him with a frown.

Even the town falls silent, observing with interest their first direct interaction after the 'incident'. They wait, some with bated breath as Andrias raises one of his hands and Leif just watches…

Until Andrias drops it hard into the bag, searching for his merchandize.

And Leif just looks away.

Though they will never hide their disdain, at least they knew the town was perceptive, that it kept a critical eye on their conflict even more than they do. If they came to love this place, the last thing they wanted to do was let it down.

Even if they had to put up with each other for it.

“Roy?”

Ol' Chuck asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Barrel knew he had a lingering gaze on what didn't concern him, so he mumbled a silent apology that could barely be understood.

Ol' Chuck just dismisses it, before explaining he has things to do and saying goodbye. Barrel watches him walk in the direction of the stand that was just being set up while Andrias organized his things with a shaky hand. The newt struggled a little, but he got the hang of it, placing each tool perfectly and sighing in relief, only to tense up shortly after as soon as he spotted his first client.

Curious, Barrel stared at the stands longer than he should have, interested in how the newt would deal with the first customer's boldness. Everyone had been there, even the mayor, even Mrs. Gertrude. In fact, the first time Barrel sold his services, things didn't go so well, the wood wasn't strong enough to hold what was needed and it took a few sleepless nights to fix that problem.

At least it's a relief to see that Ol' Chuck has always been the first customer. They don't call him Mister Patience for nothing.

The frog grabs the handle of a knife, swinging it carefully before deciding to take it with him. Andrias nods in exaggerated understanding, steeling himself and naming the price. As soon as he did so, however, Ol' Chuck looked at the knife in surprise, setting down the copper coins and hastily taking the tool away.

And that’s how it started, with prices too high or, like Andrias, quite miserable.

Barrel laughed silently as he watched Andrias let out a grunt before correcting the numbers. Even though Barrel would never say it on his face, that was decent for being his first client. Not many of them were lucky enough to actually sell on the first try.

The job fitted him, at least. A big guy ready to be the town's blacksmith. Making trips out of the town month after month for only one shovel was not ideal and having him close was… better, in a way.

Although maybe traveling month to month wasn’t that bad.

Anyway, the mayor’s midday horn and the sunlight of noon woke Barrel up from his reverie. The Extreme Sales day would soon close for lunch and Barrel had to finish all his tasks before that happened. With a long sigh of sorrow, he started to walk slowly towards the place where his body begged not to go, where he could see the tensest amphibians in the history of the valley trying to share space.

Sometimes he wonders why fate was so wretched in bringing them together again.

On his way to the stands, Barrel tried not to grab the list too hard. If he wanted to eat, if he wanted to get better deals than in those old towns far away, then he had to make the simple effort of not thinking about his past for two minutes. Just that.

And then life wouldn't look so bad.

However, before he could even make his presence known, Barrel got a strange shiver down his back. His gaze rose, squinting in their direction as soon as he heard a familiar, but sarcastic laugh that tightened his chest.

Andrias’ laugh.

At least it didn’t seem to be heading Barrel’s way.

“Isn’t this town charming?” It’s a bit disconcerting to see him rubbing the two coins he had won like his father did. However, after not getting the reaction he expected, Andrias simply mutters. “So, prince Andrias still has the upper hand.”

For a moment Barrel can’t understand what Andrias meant with that, but he only needs to look beside Andrias to see how Leif, who had been very calm before, was now frowning. Andrias knew what he was doing.

And it wasn't good.

Leif took a deep breath for a few seconds, before whispering. “How strange, I thought your name was Magnus”

Barrel grimace in response. It also seems to unsettle Andrias, but despite this, he continues to smile with that malice they have learned to hate.

“Oh, who are you to judge, Lily”

Leif 's brow furrows even further, tapping on the wood of her stand. “I make sure everyone in this town is safe.”

“You know your presence is a danger enough”

“At least I’m willing to protect them,” Leif clenches her fist. “At least I make sure to keep this community alive.”

“You’ve only spent, what? Ten months here? Only that and you’re ready to die for them?”

“So what if I am?”

Andrias grips a stick of his stand until it trembles while Leif keeps her gaze fixed, as if challenging him to do something, to finish what he came to do.

The tension is palpable in the air and the town is slowly beginning to notice. Some amphibians have stopped to watch the exchange of words, even Mrs. Gertrude, who was so focused on haggling with a client, started to slowly raise a pitchfork.

The sight is enough to fill Barrel with panic, confusing him enough to propel himself in their direction and, before he could really think about it, interrupt whatever was going to explode.

"Hello there!"

It surprises them both at the same time. Andrias lets go the stick and Leif looks away from him. The town’s gazes all turn for a second, waiting, judging, but Barrel, feeling his heartbeat in his ears, simply coughs before looking at Leif.

“A good harvest this winter?” Barrel smiles, even though it looks a little too fake. Not that he needs to keep up the act for long, not if Leif’s expression doesn’t change at all. “I need these vegetables, please.”

His simplicity puts some people off and makes Mrs. Gertrude frown. Barrel's heart slowly returns to normal as Leif raises one of her eyebrows in confusion, but still searches in the back of her stand, reemerging with the vegetables Barrel had put on the list. After having obtained what he wanted, Barrel only thanked under his breath.

“You know what they cost,” Leif’s voice is monotonous, but is a dull pain now.

Barrel tries not to frown as he silently searches through his bag for the exact copper coins to pay. Leif accepts them without a problem.

He packs the food carefully, glancing sideways at the large newt who continued to glare at him. Barrel took a really deep breath before daring to look back, ready to finish business already.

Even though none of them will ever admitted it, they both know Andrias backed away just a little.

“You offer saws?”

Andrias looks momentarily shocked, before scowling fiercely and muttering, “No. We ran out of those.”

“And you don’t do commissions” is more of a tired statement than a question.

Andrias just shakes his head, still frowning.

Barrel rubs his face instinctively before retreating back, with his chest aching from the lack of air. The reminder of the town watching is enough to not let the anger flow any further.

With one last look, he leaves them behind, carrying his groceries back home. He can hear Leif’s sigh and Andrias’ snort, but as much as he would like to respond them, his own body tells him to leave them behind.

He wouldn’t gain anything by doing so, anyway.

His home is made to his measure. The carpentry is in the front part, facing the square, while the rest of the place hides behind a small door that leads to the kitchen, the dining room and the stairs to the second floor where his bedroom is located.

After such a tedious morning, Barrel couldn't wait to close the door of his house and hide from the world. The first thing he did when he arrived at his place was to take a breath, put the groceries in the kitchen and then start planning what to eat for lunch. A routine already known by heart.

He cooked slowly, unhurriedly, almost lost in thought as he tried to focus on the task. After every interaction with those two, his mind always wandered off into conflicts he'll never be able to understand. It wasn’t pleasant. Even after he finishes making his carrot soup, his eyes wander off the bowl and into a void that will swallow him alive.

He tried to deal with his problem by washing the dishes, but even that didn't make any difference. The only thing that could do so was to move his body, to train outdoors and get some fresh air. To take in his hands the only memory of his former life and get a distraction from his internal conflicts.

And who was Barrel not to fall into such temptation?

Shortly after he had finished tidying up his kitchen, his feet climbed the stairs to the second floor, entering his room. Everything was just as he had left it in the morning, but there was a small ray of sunlight framing that object, that hammer that his hands longed for so long. As soon as he got close to the handle, he felt his body relax, and taking it finally in his hands it brought him the tranquility he thought extinct.

Barrel took deep breaths as he headed out to his yard. There, in the soft grass of his home, he firmly grasped the hammer and swung it around in a fluid motion, as he once did in the army. With his body in action, he let his frustrations rise and fly back into the void from which they came.

Ah, Wartwood will never be easy for Barrel.

Leaving Newtopia five months ago was a nightmare. When he defended Leif, he knew he had been convicted under her name. Andrias would expose him, hunt him down and make him pay. His place in the military was lost forever.

Barrel won't admit this to anyone but himself, but he's been afraid ever since.

Afraid of starting over in a place he doesn't know. Afraid of being able to lose everything in a matter of minutes.

He is not an expert on changes. He never was.

Barrel spent his entire life within Newtopia, growing up in a poor but decent home from where he set out to rise through the military ranks without stopping, at least, until he met Andrias.

It was a new, terrifying, but rewarding experience. The prince and his gardener were enough to enthuse Barrel with a guard position at the castle. They were everything to him. He thought it was a friendship so pure and strong that not even the best winds would destroy it.

Things did not turn out that way, and now, because of their weakness, they ended up far away from everything they once loved.

Things would be easier if Leif hadn't gotten carried away with her silly game.

If he had known them better.

If Barrel hadn't decided to stay in the same place as them.

Why did he do it, anyway? There are so many towns out there, safer, more stable. It cost him nothing to leave and be reborn somewhere else.

Could it be the townsfolk and their wisdom? His own tiredness?

The need to keep an eye on them?

Leaving with hammer in hand and helping strangers along the way would be for sure easier than this. The only things he’d have to bear are the consequences of his actions and his only loyal friend. He could mark his name all over the valley and not be forgotten as his family feared.

Would that be his ideal life?

For a moment, an involuntary laugh leaves his body. Even if that was his dream, Barrel was too loyal for that, always becoming attached to things even if they hurt him back. The town welcomed him when all of Amphibia was against him and he can't just leave them behind, no after what they did for him.

Besides, Amphibia already had its heroes, Wartwood needed him.

And they believed in him.

His hammer stopped in midair, just before hitting the ground. His eyes opened shortly after, feeling the pang of exhaustion that would never fade.

Ah, that was the thing.

The day after his arrival he made a promise to the townsfolk and the mayor himself, and he won’t break it this time.

His desire as a younger man was always to help people, to protect them. Now he has amphibians to protect and he will keep the peace they gave him in return. He doesn't need his name to resonate through Amphibia nor he needs adrenaline to subsist, he just needs to be there for them.

Even if it meant he had to face them for the rest of his life.

After finishing the training, Barrel sits on the grass, exhausted, letting the hammer roll across the ground. He only has to glance at the sun to realize that the day was already beginning to fade (how long had he been out?), meaning the night was getting close.

So, with one last look at the horizon, Barrel retreated with hammer in hand towards his home.

One evening, when dusk was giving way to beautiful, cold colors, the sound of insects got suddenly interrupted by a horn that scared them away. The small town of Wartwood knew what the sound meant, so the townsfolk lazily approached City Hollow, where the mayor and Cassandra were urgently calling for everyone.

When Barrel arrived at the square, the first thing he noticed were his- Andrias and Leif. It was subconscious. Each one was at one end of the crowd, trying to get away from each other as best they could, leaving the center as his only option. Cautiously, Barrel approached the free space and settled right next to Ol’ Chuck.

The mayor, as soon as he saw him arrive, sighed in relief before straightening up and pulling an old paper out from behind his back. He was trying to be quick and not stress out those who looked at him unhappy for his interruption.

“Residents of Wartwood,” he begins, smiling at the mention of the town’s official name. “I have some good and bad news.”

“Spit it out, old man!”

“The good news is: Newtopia is aware of our presence, so we have diplomats looking at Wartwood!”

But as much as the mayor's tone tried to be positive, the tremor in his words gave him away.

Everybody froze in place. Some of them recognized what it implied, while others were a little confused. They all started murmuring amongst themselves trying to guess what that was supposed to mean.

Nobody noticed how three amphibians almost seemed horrified with the statement.

"And the bad ones?"

“We don’t have much time to do anything about it,” Cassandra looks ashamed of herself. “The letter that, uh, they sent us today says that they’re going to show up… tomorrow.”

The murmurs take a pause.

At least, before each individual starts their own, loud ruckus.

“WHAT?!”

“What are we going to do?!”

“Diplomats? They foreclosed my house once!”

“This town is a mess! We’re dead”

Leif is the one who surprisingly emerges from the crowd. The mayor and Cassandra look relieved. Andrias grumbles instead. “Hey, hey! calm down, everybody. It’s bad news-”

Andrias coughs. “No sh-”

“-But,” Leif actually forces the words out of her throat. “We can’t start panicking before we have to! Right…?”

People at least murmur in agreement for a second. The unease still travels through the air, but they will gain nothing if everyone just goes crazy at the same time.

“Excuse me…” Barrel interrupts. “Can we know what these diplomats want?”

The murmurs die down in favor of watching the mayor, who nervously waves the paper once more to begin reciting what is written.

“The diplomats want…” the mayor struggles to read. Cassandra has to give him his glasses to help him. “…to review our potential long-term sustainability. If we meet expectations we will be recognized by the crown, and if not… we will be sued.”

Ah, that.

Being ‘sued’ simply meant the end of the town. They will take down their homes and stands if the crown sees no viability in the future, leaving them on the streets if necessary. Barrel was part of that group once in his youth. Apart from the friends he made, it wasn’t pleasant in any way.

Karma exists, that's what they say.

The town's anguish gets worse at the mayor's words. Murmurs and gossip begin, with worried faces asking what the future holds now. Even Barrel feels his chest tight with these statements.

But it also brings the determination he needed.

Because Barrel knows, deep down himself, that he's going to do whatever it takes to stop some random amphibian from taking his home without a fight.

“This is no time for distress!” Barrel tells the people, catching the attention of everyone present. They jump in surprise as soon as they hear him loud and clear. “We can handle this. We just need to know how to sell ourselves. Play their game.”

Andrias and Leif cross their arms at the same time, but while their gazes remain skeptical, Ol’ Chuck perks up from the crowd. “We can decorate some facades.”

“Well yes, but-”

“And pretend good economy!”

“Wait-”

“If they try to chase us, we'll chase them!”

“Let’s try to stay legal, guys-”

“Wartwood united!”

“Wartwood!”

“Okay, okay,” the mayor is smiling now, looking relieved, “Thank you so much for your enthusiasm. I really thought this was going to go worse!”

“Let’s get started then,” Cassandra says, addressing the population. “Let’s decorate the houses in the center and then we’ll take care of the market. Can everyone open their businesses tomorrow?”

There are murmurs of agreement among the townsfolk as they smile to each other. Barrel gives a thumbs up in response and Leif resigns herself to cooperate. Ol’ Chuck laughs before taking out his tools and starting an emergency redecorating plan.

Andrias just looks on skeptically from a distance.

In the very early morning, as Barrel heads home after helping Ol’ Chuck with his house and planning the clean-up of his carpentry shop (Luckily, he’ll be able to open it on time) Cassandra intercepts him, agitated. Market days are no joke for her and the poor girl had probably been working hard since she got the letter.

“Roy, hey, can you help me with something later?” she started bluntly, looking at all sides distracted. Barrel just smiles at her before nodding.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Would you keep an eye on Magnus and Lily? I’m not implying anything, but they’ve been very tense these days and…”

That takes the smile off his face.

For a moment he didn't understand if it was a joke or a real suggestion, but seeing Cassandra so stressed meant she wasn’t actually joking around. She was serious.

Ironically, he was the worst amphibian to ask for such a favor. If he were to butt into a fight between them, it could turn out worse than it already is. Barrel was the detonator of a bomb that was about to explode.

He tries to soften his blow, making a thoughtful grimace. “Cassandra, you know I have to open the shop.”

“Oh, I know.” She looks very, very dejected. “I understand if you’re busy, but it was either you or Mrs. Gertrude, the others really can’t and I just hope any type of mini-fight doesn’t happen again. We’re depending on today and those two seem to be a little… unstable.”

And Barrel felt guilt, too much guilt. He understood her concerns, but they would be okay. Andrias and Leif were adults. They wouldn’t…

…Nevertheless, he thought about it carefully, thinking that, perhaps, he could help her this time. His shop was in the middle of the town and it would be easier for him than for the others to break up any conflict. And Mrs. Gertrude was out of the question, so…

Even though it wasn't right, he nodded before regretting it. As soon as he did so, Cassandra perked up and sighed in relief, silently thanking him with a smile. As he watched her go, Barrel thought he was doing the right thing.

That, however, didn't stop the feeling of heaviness in his gut.

The sun rises faster than the townsfolk would like. The entire town had stayed up all night for the occasion, nervous and ready to begin the plan that will either leave them in ruin or save them from the reign of Newtopia.

Barrel, after spending the whole morning cleaning up the place, finally extends the welcome sign to his shop. It was new and made in a hurry, not the most elegant thing to present, but it would be enough to distract the diplomats for a while.

As he hammered the sign on the dirt, he started humming a little, remembering a catchy song that probably won't let him go all day. Being so distracted, Barrel barely noticed the shadow that slowly grew beside him before letting out a cough.

“Excuse me, son,” and someone suddenly spoke behind him.

Barrel flinched slightly, his grip tightening on a non-existent bigger hammer. It only reminded him how war reflexes weren’t needed in his new home.

Instinctively, Barrel adjusted the hat that covered his horns and lifted the face mask he got to go unnoticed. These were amphibians of Newtopia, they should know about the price on his head and he couldn't be careless about that issue.

He turned slowly to face the humblest diplomat in Newtopia, with jewels on her fingers and a designer hat. She looked at him carefully, with features that tried to be neutral and non-judging.

But she was, after all.

Barrel straightened up without hesitation, smiling sheepishly at his new customer.

“Hello there!” he laughs a little. “How can I help you?”

And so, time passed by.

It turns out Barrel underestimated the number of amphibians that would visit (judge) the town that day. His shop was soon packed with interested people, even though only two or three amphibians asked for commissions. Most of them were probably undercover diplomats trying to find any security threat that could shut them down. Normally, they didn’t do much about it, but Barrel suspects the government may have gotten tougher after the 'other incident'.

Luckily, after a few hours of business and business, nothing worrisome happened. No one recognized him nor saw any type of problem with his place. Eventually he even lost track of time, waiting and waiting for everything to finally end.

However, before he could actually feel any kind of relief, the door suddenly opened. Everyone's gaze shifted to the entrance, where a strange amphibian was standing, menacingly.

At least, before revealing a simple axolotl that entered the shop.

He had a weird smile on his face as he greeted him, before pretending to be a customer by looking foolishly around the place. He swung his tail around, touching some wood figures with interest and, after some time, he rolled up his sleeve a little.

And Barrel saw the symbol clear as day. The symbol of Newtopia's army tattooed in his wrist.

“You have a very fine hand,” the axolotl told him as he got close, his eyes scanned the warehouse carefully.

“Oh, thank you. It’s the years”

It's normal for the army to take one or two soldiers undercover just to check that there's no corruption in high society. Barrel had that job too. However, this axolotl wasn’t looking at the other diplomats, and with the fact that he was right there in his shop… well, it didn’t give him a good feeling.

After looking around the place critically, the axolotl smiles from ear to ear. “I would like to ask for a commission if possible.”

Logic tells him to refuse. If the axolotl returns and finds Barrel unprotected, it would be the end of all Wartwood. Barrel has seen what the crown can do to get rid of its enemies, and is as vicious as he always feared.

But he can't refuse it, he has no reason to and that would make himself suspicious.

So Barrel waits, tense, almost shaking, praying for an answer to come out his lips.

The axolotl begins to grow impatient for his response shortly after. “Well?”

“I- Uh…”

Then, there's a rumble outside.

The axolotl, surprised, lost interest in the wood almost immediately. When the sound happened again, everyone started to murmur, heading towards the door and into the plaza. Barrel sighed in relief, thinking for a second of the miracle that saved his skin. That was, at least, until he also noticed the noise as well.

With curiosity on its peak, Barrel left the workshop behind everyone else. There was a hubbub forming in the small market square, but there were so many people that it was almost impossible to see what was supposed to be happening. All Barrel heard for a moment was the raising voice of two amphibians screaming to each other.

But as soon as the spark of recognition crossed his brain, Barrel felt his face go pale.

The voices grew clearer over time as he approached. The hoarse tone and strained voice reminded him that, no matter how sane they tried to be, they were always bombs waiting to go off.

In the center of attention, Andrias and Leif were staring at each other with fire in their eyes.

And to Barrel's misfortune, the Newtonian axolotl watched the scene with interest.

Barrel made his way through the crowd, pushing some and apologizing to others. Many gave him dirty looks, but he couldn't care less. In his eyes, the town’s destiny was hanging on by a thread.

And Barrel feared it was too late to fix it.

“-You don't even bother to think-”

“-but you’re just a treacherous, insignificant flea-”

“You’re not even able to defend your last name-”

“Enough, enough!” Barrel shouts, getting between them with a strong thrust. The two amphibians (who, at least, covered themselves a little) pushed against him as soon as he got in their way, ignoring him, as always, in favor of keeping their grudge high.

“This whole town used to be calm until you came along! Always ruining everything!”

“I ruined it? I ruined it!?”

The screams were drawing more and more attention, causing Barrel 's chest to tighten. Whether it was panic from the stares or fury from their voices he could no longer tell.

“Stop!” he stepped away from them a little so they would look at him this time. “You’re making a scene in front of everyone.”

Andrias is the first to react. “Who are you to talk, toad?”

“Roy, stay away from this”

"But-"

“This does not concern you”

“He’s always been too nosy. You both have always been-”

“Don’t you dare-!”

And despite wanting to be the voice of reason, he was always destined to explode by their side, whether he wanted it or not.

He butts in again then, blinded by the anger that aches in his heart while his voice rises as well. “It’s always you two with your stupid fights! You don’t have any shame!”

“Oh, please. 'Lily' started all this! It's always been like this! You're the one who condemned us to live here.”

“If you are so unhappy, go away! You can still go back to your room and throw your tantrum-!”

“You took away my HOME in the first place!”

Leif pauses for a second. Barrel does too.

Because they both knew that there was something strange about his presence after they saw him again. Andrias would not leave his home so willingly, he would not follow them and play this sort of torture game for so long, not in a town like this.

There was a story hidden in his words that they never bothered to think about, and it hurts, because now it’s as clear as day they no longer know their friend.

Their enemy.

But Leif, stubborn Leif, just frowns.

“Maybe some things are better this way”

And Barrel is too tired and angry to think rationally. He can barely stop himself from shaking with anger before looking at Leif with all the resentment he has held since the moment he turned his back in the caves.

“Leif, that’s enough”

And it's somewhat ironic that the crowd falls silent at the worst possible moment.

He always had their names on the tip of his tongue. No matter how much time passes, to him they are still those amphibians he fled from months ago.

And it is too late to change what has already been said.

“Lily” Barrel stuttered as soon as he realized what he just said. “Sorry. Lily.”

The fight fades away over time. As Leif stares at him for a moment, the crowd begins to murmur slowly, quietly, but the sound that should go unnoticed echoes through Barrel over and over again, while it all turns into mockery and condemnation against the traitors of the crown.

Such a foolish mistake could cost them everything, it could cost them their lives, and because of Barrel, the avalanche they had tried to avoid was going to kill them, to scream for the reward on their heads and end what they fought so hard for.

They are going to lose everything again and the only one to blame is-

“Excuse me, move a little.”

A wealthy gentleman soon stands out from the crowd. Everyone's eyes fall on the plump figure who pushes his way through as he gets closer and closer until stopping in front of them. As soon as he does so, he grabs a paper from his bag and shakes it aggressively, worsening the anticipation they were carrying on their backs.

And all Barrel could do to make up for his mistake was to step forward for them one last time.

“Uh, hello there?”

There are murmurs among the people, but the amphibian only looks Barrel up and down before speaking.

“I am the officer sent by the kingdom of Newtopia,” is what he says, before extending the paper in front of himself. “And the one who will judge your filthy excuse of a town”

As Barrel’s breath gets stuck on his throat as his memories fill with incessant flames that he himself caused.

“You,” the diplomat points at Leif next, which makes her and the townsfolk jump. “Are you responsible for this mess?”

“Uh…”

However, before the situation can escalate, the mayor arrives to interrupt, pushing them aside.

He doesn't look happy, but at least he knows how to keep his cool better.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry. I’m managing the town for now”

The diplomat’s leader looks at him as he ticks something off his list. He looks bored, almost tired. “Good.”

The murmurs around the square grow louder. Doubts spread almost like wildfire as the diplomats gather and the townsfolk tremble in place.

Barrel keeps an eye on the Newtopian soldier.

“Okay, I’ve seen enough,” The amphibian declares, marking a full stop on the paper with his pen. The entire town of Wartwood got tangled in an anxious wait for the final statement.

“This town is a mess,” The diplomat says. “Its facades are deceptive, it’s hidden in a hidden valley, the road is disgusting, its people are smelly and disrespectful, and there are fights for what it seems every day.”

Wartwood is aware of what lies ahead. They all gather close with their faces full of fear and scourge. Everything they worked for hung on the word of an amphibian.

And this amphibian just sighs. “Everything a town in the south needs, I guess,” and reluctantly signs something on the paper. When he finishes, he hands it to the mayor. “You’re official or whatever. We have other towns to officialize and I don’t have time to call in an army.”

“O-oh,” the mayor says, holding up the silky scroll that welcomes them. “Okay, good luck then.”

“Thanks, we’ll need it,” the man claps his hands, and what appeared to be common amphibians line up. “Okay, boys, we’re done here.”

And suddenly, the town empties almost completely. The diplomat goes last, giving Barrel a vague side glance before gracefully leaving the town.

And whatever happened there, well…

Barrel has never been so grateful to a stranger.

After seeing almost all the customers leave, the entire town stood in the center, almost frozen in shock. The silence lasted a few solid seconds.

“Uh…” Andrias interrupts it. “Mission accomplished?”

And with his words, the people let out a sigh of relief so loud that it resonates in everyone's ears.

When the quiet moment passed, the townsfolk looked at each other, each with a deep frown on their faces. Barrel knows that, despite not being able to stand each other, the three of them agreed to retreat almost at the same time, as if that would save them from what came next.

“We saved our skin because they’re tired,” the mayor speaks with his back turned on them. They can see the tension in his shoulders. “What made you fight like that?”

“Roy” Casandra doesn’t need any more words to point her disappointment as she crosses her arms.

Barrel lowers his head in response. “I’m sorry, Cass.”

She just sighs.

However, even though all the townsfolk were ready to start shouting about how their childish behavior almost destroys the town, their voices stopped when they heard slow clapping behind them.

“Wow, what a great show,” the only remaining axolotl laughs for a moment. “This town is better than I thought.”

Barrel 's eyes widen before he takes a defensive stance. Leif looks at him confused, but Andrias notices what's going on. He frowns almost immediately.

Maybe he saw the symbol too.

“I’m very, very intrigued now, I won’t lie to you. Could you tell me what the accommodation situation is like? I want to buy a house here if possible.”

Despite their initial confusion, the people put their bitterness behind them and approached the axolotl with smiles and kindness, as they always did with new folks.

But what once warmed Barrel inside, now gives him a pit in his stomach as he watches the axolotl be driven to a plot, close to his house.

Not that Barrel could do much. He never had power enough to do so.

Beside him, now free to do as they please without feeling the weight of each other's presence, the three of them stand almost paralyzed watching the interaction. Moments later, however, Andrias snorts loud enough to wake them from any reverie they may have.

“How clever, toad” The newt suddenly spits with his face full of hate. But deep within those eyes there is a spark of something, of fear, and Barrel understands what it truly wants to communicate.

Because all three of them were fugitives.

As much as it may surprise them.

Barrel dares to apologize, even though it is as useless as a band-aid on a hemorrhage. “I’m sorry, I got carried away.”

“He’s from Newtopia, isn’t he?” Leif asks, looking closely at the new visitor.

“Perfect. Now we have to keep another eye open. Thanks, Barrel.”

Barrel himself hisses under his breath. “Careful, man. If they find one of us, they find us all.”

For if none dared to leave Wartwood, they were now trapped as easy prey in it.

To survive long, no matter how much grudge they held, they had to protect each other to avoid any disaster.

Just like before.

…

But Andrias wouldn’t do that, would he?

Chapter Text

 There are nights in which he can’t close his eyes.

They began after he was forced to abandon his old life. At first it wasn’t much of a deal, he was used to staying up late reading book after book until his eyes grew tired anyway. Unfortunately, posterior to the ‘incident’, his day-to-day depended heavily on the energy that sleep provided, and without it everything became a nightmare.

After the town received him with open arms, he hadn't had to worry about his problem. It became a thing in the past, the sign he needed to leave those bitter days behind and embrace the peace he had found with Wartwood.

But guilt would always come back to Andrias, whether he wanted it or not.

A random night, even if his tiredness exceeded normal levels, he stayed awake staring at the ceiling of his room intently for what felt like hours. There was nothing else to do but wait for dawn to appear and save him from the annoying echoes that agitated his thoughts with speeches that he already memorized.

Andrias hates the nights like this.

The minutes moved slowly as the imaginary tick-tock pierced through his ears and his eyes fluttered around the room without a clear objective. It was miserable. However, despite his obvious boredom, he could do nothing but remain still on his bed, preferring to focus on the distant whisper of the wind rather than what roared so hard to get out.

Andrias once tried to understand those thoughts, he really did, but they never got him anywhere but a void from which he could barely recover. Most of the time it only made things worse than they were, and Andrias got tired of dealing with the same thing over and over. He needed no more reminders of how much of a failure he was as heir to the throne, as a prince, as a son.

When he was in the castle, the royal library used to be the perfect place to escape from moments like this. Whenever he failed at something, he would just hide among the thousands of words in his favorite books, letting the consequences of his actions fade as sand in his hands.

Andrias had always been good at avoiding his problems.

Maybe that was the reason why he lost everything in the first place.

Sighing, he brought a hand to his head before rubbing it against his face. Being on the edge was not his ideal, but no matter how hard he tried to shut his mind and his heavy eyes, something deep inside him kept him rooted to reality, to his consciousness, almost like a divine punishment that would not stop until his death.

He started shifting in bed again and again trying to move his body a little. Some mushroom light sneaked into his room, dully illuminating it in a way that, for a moment, caused him to remember his old bedchamber, if it weren't for how empty it currently looked.

There used to be more things within his reach.

If his past-self had been told how much he would lose, Andrias would have smashed mountains to avoid this same fate. He used to be attached to things and the memories they brought with them since he was a child. It was a hard blow.

The only good thing about his new room was the opportunity to create something new, to achieve everything by his own hand and actually feel proud of it, to not hate it.

To have no intact memory of them around.

Ah, but what an irony it was. He hated how his life was so connected to them, and still, despite months of growing apart from each other, he had to still tolerate the nonsense, deal not only with their presence but also with every irritating thought of their past that he could never erase.

His father always warned him not to let anything buy time, it would only make things worse than they already were. In the end, and as always, his father turned out to be wiser than Andrias ever assumed.

If only he could go back in time…

(There is a way to change his destiny.

He doesn’t consider it for now.)

At the end, Andrias decided to get up from his bed, (unfortunately made by the local carpenter who, despite hating him, knows how to make things halfway comfortable) to walk towards the window, open it and have a look outside. It was the only way to shake off the irritation that crawled through his bones in the face of such a frustrating night.

Admiring the distance, the fields were unusually calm, almost serene. There was no sign of disturbance or danger to alert anyone, letting the entire town slept peacefully without carrying worries from their past plaguing them at night.

Not even they got affected by the consequences Andrias had to bear. They were able to do what he longed to do without feeling the remorse that should be killing them inside.

They always got what they wanted, leaving him struggling to survive with their disaster weighting on his back. It was too unfair, a cruel joke of fate that cost him everything he once loved, leaving him stranded in the long path that was life.

If Andrias were free to act on his own, he would have already finished them off, taken from them what they do not deserve, avenge not only his people, but himself.

Sadly, he never got the chance.

And he had to endure their presence if he wanted to keep his home.

Andrias closed the window soon after, aware that the peaceful sight only worsened the whirlwind of his thoughts. No matter how much he tried to avoid it, his own mind would always defeat him in the fight for control. He wasn’t strong enough to be the prince who would lead his people.

He wasn’t enough to be the son his father dreamed of.

Andrias stepped back, planning to go back to bed and try to sleep one last time, even if it probably was as useless as himself. However, before he could even turn around completely, his feet got tangled in something, maybe the new desk he had bought only a few hours ago, causing him and the object to almost fall face-first to the floor. His first instinct, of course, was to stop the fall of the desk with his own body.

It was not a good idea.

Andrias hissed tensed, immediately holding his crushed foot and resisting the urge to blurt out the rude things his father would never let him say. As he jumped with the pain spreading throughout his body, he slowly put the furniture back in its place with his fists clenched, taking deep breaths to try to contain what was about to boil.

It was his fault, anyway. Whenever he thought about them, things around went from bad to worse. They always found a way to hurt him in one way or another. Always them, present or in thoughts, always-

But overreacting would only bring to the surface the irrational amphibian he was trying not to be.

Slowly, Andrias placed his sore foot back down on the floor, where the cold made the pain worse almost immediately. Despite this, he resigned himself to sit in the desk chair and try to overcome the irritating sting that had him fuming even more.

As he waited, Andrias took a quick look at his latest purchase (which he apparently forgot in the haze of the night). It was a normal desk made for his size with three drawers on each side, perfect to kept all his plans and notes on blacksmithing organized. Despite being made of wood, with an annoyingly familiar design, it was a nice addition to his almost empty room.

His hand instinctively went to open the first drawer on his right, taking out the papers where he wrote down the step-by-step of every single tool he had to design. It was an efficient way to remember the recipe just in case he had a bad day (like probably tomorrow).

That gave him an idea.

Maybe he couldn't sleep at the moment, maybe his mind wouldn't leave him alone anytime soon, but at least he could do something productive while spending the night awake.

Enthusiastic, Andrias grabbed one blank paper and left the others scattered around the place. Sadly, when he applied a little too much force, some fell off the desk and scattered across the floor, even reaching under his bed. His eye twitched as he turned his head around, trying not to give it much thought at his mistake; after all, he was distracting his mind, not doing the opposite.

Putting everything in place, Andrias took out his quill and inkwell, ready to write down the step-by-step for making a shovel. For some reason, it was one of the things Cassandra asked for the most. However, as soon as he dipped wrong the quill into the ink, the inkwell spilled almost completely onto the blank paper, damaging it completely. From the shock, Andrias tried to lift the inkwell and the sheet of paper before the ink soaked into the new desk.

But no matter how hard he tried to avoid it, it was already too late.

It was something insignificant, something replaceable, something a prince shouldn't even react to, but it all piled up enough until it became the straw that broke the newt's back.

His hands throw the paper away as he tosses the quill in the inkwell, further sparking the scene of disaster. But everything was already ruined, his feelings all over the place while his own hands held hard onto his own hair, just making the pain worse.

He messed up the paper, he messed up his life, and he messed up everything he loved. Only an idiot is blind enough to live with what ultimately condemned him. If he hadn't fought with his father, if they hadn't rebelled, if they hadn't been his friends in the first place-

On the verge of throwing everything out of the desk, he desperately searched for a new clean paper. Despite being an unpleasant experience, writing anything was the only thing that could truly make a difference, at least before he became the uncontrollable bomb that would destroy his room once again.

However, his haphazard hand searching for peace stopped dead in the air as soon as he noticed the moonlight falling on the desk, on the trail of papers he had left behind.

Highlighting the words on a specific sheet of paper.

For a moment it's as if his own heart stops for a second. The sudden shock forces him to act on instinct, pulling his hand away, pretending he didn't see it. But since he was still as alone as he had been months ago, Andrias dared to pick up the sheet of paper and spread it out in front of the moonlight.

It was the paper hidden deep in the drawer.

The almost transparent words on the paper (because, despite having the recipe, Andrias still hadn’t found the ingredients for the invisible ink) spoke of the very things he himself had thought about on nights like this, the plan that would end the matter that was still pending.

His main mission.

His final mission.

Andrias has always been loyal to his father, despite the thousands of times he has disappointed him as well. Since he was a little tadpole, he was willing to do anything to be what his father wanted him to be, even if it took him a while to really understand it. As soon as he did, he tried to hold his family name high and proud until his last day as a prince.

Until he disappointed him on the final trial.

There was no way to fix things between them now, Andrias knew that. Nothing in the world could assure him that his father would be benevolent after what he did.

But maybe, Andrias could still try to make him proud. One last sacrifice for his father, for Amphibia, to avenge them for the pain they put them through. He could give his new life as an offering and, if the world had mercy on him, Amphibia would give him the chance to be reborn as the prince, as the son the king had always hoped for.

Anyway, what he had wasn’t worth anything. It's not like it was his real home. Maybe it would never be.

Maybe…

Andrias shakes the thought away as he clenches the paper tightly in his hands, crumpling the words that marked the sentence of Amphibia's greatest traitor.

Leif.

No 'Lily'

It has always been Leif.

There are many sayings out there about not judging without the right, but Andrias was the prince once and his job has always consisted on helping his father with anything he needed. The newtopian justice could not do what Andrias had to do and, besides, if his father were by his side, whispering what to do...

He knows his father better than most amphibians, he is his son, after all. Andrias knows for a fact that the king never forgave any act against his law and any betrayal that shook the lands of Amphibia would be punished with death.

No one ever escaped that punishment.

Andrias had to execute the law.

And he knew who was going down first.

(Barrel could wait)

He didn't have much planned out on how to proceed specifically, just an outline of the routes Leif took to get to her house, set times, and close contacts to be aware of. Most of the time, he resigned himself to not continue with the plan since there was always something, down to the smallest detail, that went wrong.

This time, as he sees the moon high in the sky, he realized that no one, not even Ol’ Chuck, would be able to stay awake to notice him.

He had been given a chance this time, luck was on his side, all he needed was the weapon.

Andrias had already forged a special knife for the occasion some time ago, which he left in the other drawer of his desk. He had been waiting to test it out, but with so much work his time was limited. Finally, with no more distractions nor obstacles, his hand reached out confidently to open the drawer and pick up what would seal their fate.

But as soon as he looked at the knife…

Sometimes he cursed having been born so… sensitive with his feelings.

Andrias wasn’t a strange to death, but this was the first time he would strike the first blow. Unfortunately, although it was easy to recall his father's wise words in his head, his heart did not want to reciprocate the euphoria of finishing what he eventually had to.

(Who he had to-)

But it was either keeping that strange home and dealing with his nightmares for forever, or having the chance to return to his old, cozy life.

He just had to make one last sacrifice to conclude his job as a prince and, perhaps, bring peace to his mind once and for all.

(It was time to claim what Leif owed him)

(And so, stop the anguish that plagued him every single night)

(Right?)

(There was only one way to find out)

The town was deep asleep that night. After such a hot and hard day’s work, no amphibian would be able to stay awake in the middle of the night.

It would just be Andrias, alone as ever, walking through the town with knife in hand.

Even though his body roared against him, trying and inventing every possible excuse to not leave the house, this time Andrias couldn't deny his responsibilities. This was the perfect opportunity he was waiting for and, besides, he had put it off long enough.

So, keeping his mind clear of any intrusive thoughts, Andrias grabbed a cloak he had bought from Mrs. Getrude and walked to the entrance almost at a slow pace. When he closed the door behind, determined not to turn back, he couldn't resist the temptation to take one last look at what he had managed to obtain in all the months he had been away from Newtopia.

It was… bittersweet to see that everything he suffered through had to be thrown away to complete his destiny.

(For a moment he wonders if this is what they felt that day.

What nonsense.

They probably didn't even think about it.)

Not wanting to stop when he was already so far, Andrias walked down the road and into the town. His steps were heavy, but not loud enough to draw any unwanted attention, advancing slow just in case there was any sign to abort his mission immediately.

But without any problems on his way, he continued until reaching the center of the town.

His stand stood out in the market for its size, which could not prevent the usual smile from creeping across his face as soon as he had it on sight. Andrias never believed that he would ever work as a simple peasant, but at least it was not as bad as many made him out to be. In fact, finally being useful to the townsfolk felt exciting, liberating.

At least it was liberating.

(Without him, they’ll have to travel month to month again)

He shouldn't feel like he owes these people anything. They helped him without even asking, so it was not Andrias’ responsibility to reciprocate their care. They had learned to live without him and would continue to do so if necessary.

So, if that was the case, why did it feel different this time? Why wasn’t it like before, when bothering any other amphibian was more of a game than an insult?

It's not that he should listen to himself right now, he's not being rational, he's being stupid. His father would never hesitate to remind him of that every time Andrias dared to think of being weak.

“The weak are the first to starve” is what his father used to say.

Andrias’ feet moved for him as he walked through the town, observing it for what appeared to be the last time. He scanned the sign that welcomed him once, the City Hollow, Chuck’s house and finally Cassandra's hotel. For a moment, the familiarity of it all silently called him to wait just one more day to enjoy his final hours in the town.

(Nostalgia could be treacherous at the worst moments)

After leaving the center behind, the ground became dirt while the wind blew over his messy hair. He kept walking determinedly, fighting the invisible strings that dragged him back as all his thoughts swirled together, wondering how much pain he was going to cause to those who opened their arms in the first place.

(How much harm he was going to cause to-)

But he had to do it. For his father. For himself. To end the cycle that he, unfortunately, opened.

He would miss this town, its people and everything they offered him, but he won't say no to an opportunity like this.

Because if he does what he must, he will have a chance to return to his father and that is enough.

Andrias imagines the scenario in a perfect world. He himself, arriving with his hands stained to Newtopia and presenting them to his father. His father, probably forgiving his sins and then…

Then being killed to let the Core take possession of his body.

(Sadly, the image still sends senseless shivers down his spine. Andrias hates the feeling.

But he’ll accept that fact over time.)

Andrias came back from his thoughts as soon as he crashed against a fence. He gripped the handle of the knife almost instinctively in case someone had gotten in his way, but his surroundings remained as quiet as ever.

It always happened every time he stood pondering over misfortunes.

Even though the road to Leif's house was a bit confusing, Andrias managed to find his way through. In no time, despite his slow pace, he found himself in front of his final destination: a tree transformed into a home with a small outdoor farm. In the house there were barely any windows and its main door was small, at least small enough to make Andrias bend down to try to get through.

Made perfectly for her.

It was ironic, enough to make Andrias recall a conversation deep in his mind, one he wanted to forget, but was stubborn enough to stick around.

Leif always wanted a big house. She told him so long ago that she planned it that way so that he would fit through the door, right after he grew enough. Andrias found that funny, mostly because no one was sure if he would be as tall as his father. If he did, the house would have to be huge if they ever wanted to share it.

Leif accepted the deal that time.

But, like all promises made over time, she broke it.

Frowning, Andrias left the front door alone to walk to the back of the house, the one that lead to a small pond and had a slightly bigger door. Once he managed to unlock it with the knife, Andrias squeezed his way into, closing the door behind to not call any extra attention to himself (just in case).

At first glance, it looked… pretty comfortable. There wasn’t much furniture, just the necessary in the kitchen and a couch in the living room. It was mostly empty, but, as if that were possible, it still had Leif’s touch inside.

She didn't use to be extravagant.

Leif was simple, trying to make the most of the moment rather than the memento. According to her, it helped her appreciate life from a new perspective. Objects would not stay with her forever, nor would memories, but at the end time could never wipe the past out.

Andrias always considered it a confusing philosophy, but he never expressed an opinion on it. It was unique, it was hers, and he enjoyed that.

(As if)

Despite already being inside, the newt continued to be careful not to stand on any noisy boards, looking at his big tail from time to time to avoid hitting something by accident with it. If anything went wrong on the mission, even if it was the most insignificant thing possible, he would ruin both of their lives one way or another.

He moved through the house carefully, until finding the stairs to the second floor. They looked incredibly small, almost intimidating, as if they would break under their weight alone. If Andrias applied a little too much force on them, it couldn't end well.

But with no other options, and with a leap of faith, he still took a step forward.

The wood squealed a little, making him grimace, but at the end Andrias managed to control his pace as best he could, trying to be gentle and slow with each step he took.

As soon as he got to the second floor, Andrias sighed in relief before making a silent celebration. His tail started to move without his permission, whipping through the air and making more noise than necessary as he did his dumb act.

Until it crashed into the only piece of furniture in the whole hallway.

His tail straightened in fear as soon as the rumble echoed around, making him hold his breath like it could make any difference. But it was too late, the contents of the wooden box had scattered across the floor and the quietness of the night became a thing almost unnatural.

And he had done so well until now…

Andrias approached the damned piece of furniture to place it back down in the most passive-aggressive way he could before it got worse, mentally hitting himself over and over again until drilling into his brain with his own words.

Only a fool would be carried away by emotion. Only a fool would give himself away in the most stupid way possible.

And so, that was the end of it. Leif must have woken up, ready to flee from his grasp and accuse him with the town. There was no way anyone would not have heard that.

But if so, where was she?

Andrias took a break from his anguish to look at the hallway that stretched out in front of him. It was divided in four rooms, two with doors and the others awaiting renovation, apparently newly made as an afterthought.

Not seeing any sign of Leif, Andrias walked through the hallway until stopping in the middle, looking at every room with curiosity. That frog could be mysterious when she wanted to be.

He then stared at the two doors, half expecting to see them suddenly open. However, the only thing he got to observe with time was the peculiar design on each of them. One he's seen in his own home, in the houses in the town.

Despite believing he would never think of him again, Barrel comes into his thoughts almost immediately.

If Barrel were close, the mistake would have been fatal. That toad was the lightest sleeper in the world, and nothing, not even the greatest precautions Andrias took, could dissuade him from waking up after such an alarm.

(For a moment he can’t help but wonder if he would be able to defeat him in a fight to death)

Andrias abandons that fleeting face before focusing on his reality once again, on the fact that Leif was so deep asleep that not even the loudest noise could wake her up.

He had to take advantage of it.

Approaching the first door, Andrias gently gripped the knob before slowly turning it. As soon as the door opened a little, he squinted, expecting to see a room and a sleeping frog in it. But inside there was only a desk surrounded by packets of seeds.

Her working zone was empty.

So there was only one option left.

The second door loomed in front of him, almost calling to finally end things. He took a breath before carefully opening it.

Inside, he would be face to face with his target. Inside, he would do what his father wanted him to do. Inside…

There was nobody.

The room had a wardrobe, a nightstand and even a bed, ready to receive someone, but the sheets were intact, as if they weren't touched at all. Andrias inched his way in, in case the perspective was playing tricks on him, but around him there was only stillness where he was supposed to meet his destiny.

Lightning could be heard striking outside. Suddenly, rain was starting to fall.

Andrias held tight the knob until making it shook, barely resisting the urge to bend the metal with all his might. If he did so, he could be easily caught.

The night wasn’t over yet; he could still check the entire house.

(She can't hide forever)

Andrias effortlessly cleared the second floor, scanning each room for anything left behind. The rain helped him get down the stairs faster without worrying about the noise, while the falling lightning illuminated his surroundings making them clearer than before.

Everything was still, almost untouched as if she had vanished in thin air. Nothing made any sense. She could be at someone else's house, she could have gone on a trip, but Andrias had the feeling he was not seeing what he had to.

Maybe she somehow learned of his intentions, maybe she was aware that she's been in danger ever since Andrias arrived in town. Maybe she had a trick up her sleeve that he was not seeing, something she had planned to use against him

So, if there was a secret hiding place, where would she put it?

A lightning bolt stuns Andrias, pulling him out of his thoughts. As he listened to the strong gust of rain falling even stronger than before, he let out a puff of cold air that made him look towards the fireplace.

And there, he found something out of place.

All the bricks were basically the same, except for one more sunken than usual. To someone less perceptive, that would just be a construction error, but for Andrias it was a clue, an answer.

Without hesitation, he walked over to the brick and pressed it hard. As soon as he did, strange sounds appeared behind the structure before showing, bit by bit, a familiar system opening up in front of him.

One he knew perfectly well, one he made himself.

Or he perfected it, at least. It was a project Barrel asked him to do so he could store things in a secret bunker and Andrias took the idea from his father. It was frustratingly fruitful, with Leif helping him figure out the best way to make the structure look as natural as possible, so it would blend in with its surroundings without losing any effectiveness with the mechanism.

She… remembered it after so many years.

Using it to her advantage at the worst time for Andrias.

With shoulders slumped and the knife handle held tightly, Andrias slowly entered the cave, closing the door behind him, just as he knew how to do. The mechanism was almost the same as he remembered, just a little messier, almost done in a rush. Andrias had the foolish desire to do something about it, but he resisted the tentation before leaving more evidence in the place.

The stairs lead down into a basement of sorts with a simple cave system, currently under construction and barely illuminated. There were plenty of empty rooms around, but only one in particular had a decent door.

Leif's real room.

At the sight of his target, Andrias approached more carefully, observing in detail the final door. It had no markings, nothing to suggest anything out of the ordinary, but there was a bit of mushroom light seeping beneath it. Someone, awake or asleep, was inside.

And Andrias, so ready to complete his mission, so eager to get rid of all those feelings that weighed on his back and finally be free of his doomed destiny, can do nothing but to stop in his tracks halfway through.

This was the moment he had sworn to do as soon as he saw their faces again. Andrias was about to do what his father had wanted him to do all those years ago.

The knife he held trembling in his hands was no longer a simple decoration.

That was the problem when adrenaline wasn't coursing through his body. His father had once complimented him on how he tuned out the world when he was in danger, how he was more efficient that way. When his heart was racing, Andrias didn't have time to think on any kind of nonsense.

But now, as his thoughts resonate like a drill in his brain, everything he once believed safe starts to crumble around him. If he kept going, if he got rid of the frog that hurt Newtopia, if he stabbed the one who once hugged him at night…

She wasn't the same frog, she couldn't be. This… amphibian might have had her face, but she wasn't the Leif Andrias had once loved.

(Why was it so hard to convince himself this time-?)

No matter what excuses tried to stop him, there was one thing that couldn't be changed even if he tried. Deep within those caves, once and for all, he would finish what he promised months ago. He would not only confront the traitors, but also everything he had ever known. Andrias would force himself to bring out his inner Leviathan and become who he was meant to be in the first place.

(A murderer)

A prince.

Closing his eyes, Andrias advanced with delicate steps and bated breath. Soon, the door got closer and closer as his heart pounded hard, until it was the only thing Andrias could hear around.

If the Andrias of the past could see him right now…

Carefully, he grabbed the knob and opened the door.

The room that welcomes him is small and simple. There is only one bed, a coat rack and a desk. It was dark, but somehow the light from the mushroom manages to illuminate it evenly, giving the room an enigmatic shadow.

And his eyes, so tempted to drift away, can only fall on the only living figure in the room.

There, deep asleep in a small bed, lies Leif's body, with her arms by her side and her chest rising and falling in a self-assured sway. Her face was contorted into a relaxed expression, ignorant of what was truly going on around her.

This was the frog he once held in his arms, this was the frog that stabbed him in the back.

This was the frog he had to kill.

Taking his time, Andrias observed his surroundings carefully just in case there was more traps, but in the lonely room, as the mushroom light made the shadows rise around, nothing stopped Andrias anymore.

This was the end. Of his new life, of his home, of his town.

Of a broken friendship so long ago.

He just had to do one simple thing, a movement of his hand, stab the knife into her chest and flee to Newtopia as soon as possible. The weather was perfect so that the rain and lightning outside covered any possible noise. Any scream would not be heard until they stopped and no one would be awake to see Andrias run away.

Wasn't it ironic how things suddenly turned in his favor?

(At the worst possible time-?)

So Andrias raises the knife.

Nothing stops him from doing the thing, so why does his hand shake for a moment? Why is he fighting against himself? What is stopping him from finishing this?

Are the townsfolk themselves? Is it for what he has to do?

Is it-?

There is suddenly a gasp.

And when Andrias' eyes open, so do Leif's.

There's a thunderous lightning bolt outside, ironic for the pair of old friends observing each other under strange, yet familiar conditions.

For what appears to be the last time.

Leif looked at Andrias, then at the knife, then back at him. Despite everything being covered in shadows, Andrias could still feel the horror emanating from Leif as she comprehended who was there, who the knife belonged to, what was he really doing there.

On such a random night, Leif found herself in danger.

And she knew it, she knew he was there to kill her.

...

But she didn’t fight the idea.

It took her a moment, but soon enough Leif let her gaze fall in resignation, sighing with the tiredness she had contained for so long. Her grip on the small sheets got tight, all filled with too many mixed feelings, but her shoulders fell as her strength abandoned her in place.

Almost as if giving him permission as well.

Andrias should have just finish what he had come to do, no more second looks before he dared to think about any regrets, but it wasn't until he saw Leif's eyes close that he realized everything he was doing, how things would end that random sleepless night.

And it was-

He was-

And fleeting memories flash before Andrias as the knife is held high, as he positions the other hand close to her body, as Leif's face shows deep sorrow.

As they say goodbye one last time.

Andrias has only one task left. All he has to do to end this whole thing is stab with the knife once and for all.

Everyone is waiting for this. His father wants him to do it. Amphibia wants him to do it.

Leif wants him to do it.

This is the moment Andrias had been waiting for. He just had to stab her, get home, meet his father, die.

Stab her, get home, meet his father, die.

Stab her.

Get home.

Meet his father.

…

Andrias lets the knife fall on Leif.

Barrel is not usually an anxious amphibian.

In fact, he would dare to say that he is the one who best keeps his cool in stressful situations. At least better than most amphibians he has met.

But that random night, as the rain raged outside his home, Barrel got out of bed agitated and more sticky than usual. He had dreamed something, something bad, but couldn’t exactly remember what, only that his memory didn't want to tell him either.

As he slowly calmed down his heart to go back to sleep, Barrel couldn't help but feel his tongue too dry, probably from sleeping with the mouth open almost all night. So with barely any energy to move, he got out of his bed, stretching until his bones rattled, to then go downstairs and search for some glorious night water.

He walked slowly towards the kitchen, trying not to trip in the dim light, touching some mushrooms on the hallway to make them brighter as he found his way to the cupboard where he took a glass to pour the water in.

With the glass in hand and feeling more awake than usual, Barrel got close to the window in the living room, where he could see the intermittent lighting far away and the rain pattering on the ground. The tapping sound was soothing somehow, relaxing.

After such a hard day’s work, it was the perfect weather.

He drank the water slowly, without any worries in the world as he looked the town in complete darkness, the wind moving the branches back and forth and someone running from his neighbor’s crops.

Although Barrel ended up spitting the liquid out before he could start to choke.

Barrel got closer to the window as he observed how a giant figure was approaching in the distance. The amphibian- no, the newt was running in fear, holding one of his hands in urgency as something that was not rain dripped down it.

Barrel shouldn't be interrupting whatever he was doing, but the toad didn’t have a single rational thought as he opened the door to his house and stood on the porch, expecting something he wasn’t sure of.

It took a while, but as the newt got closer, Barrel had a better look at Andrias' face. There was complete anguish on his features and the hand he was holding—

It's blood.

Andrias stops dead in his tracks as soon as he makes eye contact with him. Barrel is not sure if he can see his fear, his horror, he just knows that Andrias is barely able to hold on to his own hand before shaking his head and continuing running away, in the direction of his own house.

Leaving behind the land that belonged to just one more amphibian.

Andrias could be a newt full of surprises, but not even he would dare to visit someone at such hour of night just because, he wouldn’t interrupt in the rain just to give a casual greeting to the one they defined as an enemy.

Andrias was not there just because he was a sleepwalker.

Seeing him run in the opposite direction of Leif's house, with a bloody hand, only gives Barrel one clear answer. One that chills him inside as soon as he thinks about the consequences.

Because if Andrias dared, if Andrias did something to Leif…

Barrel doesn't have time to change out of his pajamas or grab an umbrella. Before he can truly process any thought inside him, he started running towards Leif's house with his heart in hand and fear pulsing hard through his body.

There was blood, too much blood to be a simple cut, and for the first time since Barrel joined the army, blood horrified him to the core.

This was all his fault. How could he have thought she was safe? Why did he leave her alone, on a night like this? What kind of soldier was he, if he couldn’t even protect his people?

If Barrel finds Leif's body-

No, Andrias wouldn't do that.

Except that he would, and that has Barrel terrified.

His steps are haphazard and his vision is even worse in the dark. The confusing path to Leif's house makes him stumble, but he never gives up, because he had to get there before things got worse.

(She can’t die, not today)

As soon as he had the tree house in sight, Barrel noticed a shadow in the distance, someone outside Leif's house. She was kneeling down, holding her hands together as her body trembled, heedless of the rain falling on top.

As Barrel got closer, worry and anxiety burst through his body like never before.

“LEIF!”

As soon as she heard his voice, she shuddered almost terrified. Slowly, however, Leif's head rose towards his direction.

And it only takes a few seconds for Barrel to fall on his knees in front of her.

“Barrel.” is what she answers in a soft, quiet voice that only scares him more.

“What did he do? Are you hurt? Where!?” Barrel’s hands flutter over her in a professional manner. Years of training activate in the back of his brain and guide him to look for any mortal wounds to be aware of.

At least, until she stops him.

“I’m fine,” she says, her voice shakier than usual, but it was obvious to Barrel that it was not for the cold. “I’m-”

“What did he do, Leif?” he asks, with a plea he thought he would never ask them again. “Please, let me help you.”

And as if a dam were breaking, Leif begins to sob.

It's loud, so loud that Barrel can hear it echoing in his ears like a broken melody. The sound stings. He never wanted to see those closest to him cry.

(It's good they aren’t anymore)

Carefully, and despite it being something he thought he would never do again in his life, he wraps his arms around her body and welcomes her in. She clings to him in her weakest moment, despite not knowing each other well, despite having been marked enemies so many months ago.

“He tried- He tried…” is what she tells him between murmurs and hiccups.

And Barrel can only let out a shaky sigh.

It was so obvious that this would happen. Andrias made it so clear that day that he would do whatever was in his power to get rid of them.

So what had him feeling sickly in pain in his chest? Was it that forgotten feeling of love that fades away with the wind?

Oh, what happened to them all this time?

Barrel cradles Leif even tighter, because the prospect of losing her to Andrias is too terrifying for him to bear. He feels that if he leaves them alone, if he lets her go, it will all be his fault. The soldier promised to protect them from all danger, but he failed to protect them from themselves.

“…He,” she murmurs as her grip on the shirt gets tightly, no matter how wet it was from the rain. “But he- he didn’t dare.”

Barrel got more confused at her words.

What was going on? What was he supposed to understand, then?

"What happened?"

Leif lowered her head. “He stabbed himself.”

Ah.

That… that explained a lot.

At least now he can breathe easy knowing that the blood he saw wasn't hers, but his.

(A wound like that was not easy to treat. He needed bandages, clean water, someone there-)

“Did you fight him?” Because, even though it was not his responsibility, he had to know. To know if he could do something, to know if he could…

“I…” she looks embarrassed. “I gave in.”

And the words hurt. They hurt too much.

He squeezes her in his arms even tighter trying to resist the urge to break down. Hearing Leif's ease in letting go, Andrias' ease in showing his true colors…

And he hates it. Nothing of this would be a problem if everything that happened was his own fault, but everything had become so out of his control that Barrel could barely fight with his thoughts.

“Why?” he asks in a whisper.

“I’m sorry” is what she answers.

And his heart can't deal with it anymore.

There, half-embracing each other under the gentle rain, in a place they will never return to, Barrel realizes something he had not accepted until now.

He can't protect them, not anymore.

Because they were doomed from the start.