Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The inconsistently quiet town of Wartwood is home to many different frogs, some young, some old, some honest, others not so much, but it's a town where no matter how dire or hostile things get, everyone has each other's backs. Wartwood most certainly isn't a perfect, ideal little slice of paradise; in fact, some would go as far as to call the people there somewhat unwelcoming. But to those who give the people of Wartwood enough time and patience and allow themselves to break through the societal barriers, there is a wonderful place to call home. The small frog town of Wartwood sits just south of the heart of Amphibia, cradled by mountains and isolated from the newt kingdom of the north. It is a town with scars, but one that stands as proudly as its residents.

One such resident is a young, pink, wide-eyed frog by the name of Sprig Plantar. Along with his sister, Polly, his grandfather, Hopediah "Hop Pop", and the frog of Hop Pop's dreams, the lovely Sylvia, Sprig takes care of the farm as Hop Pop begins to show his age. Sprig has recently celebrated his 21st birthday, and nowadays, Hop Pop considers him the man of the house. Reluctant to take on the mantle of such a large responsibility, Sprig nevertheless accepts his role and does everything he can to be helpful and make his Hop Pop proud. Hop Pop believes it to be an important exercise for Sprig to be able to express that independence, but Sprig seems quite reluctant to take on the burden. In many aspects, he still considers himself a kid at heart.

Sprig fancies himself a bit of a dreamer. He likes to open up his window at night and stare out into the vastness of the sky above and ponder hypotheticals. Lately, he wonders, where have the years gone? It felt like only yesterday that she left, as if years of his life had disappeared within the blink of an eye. Sprig thinks about her every night as he lies in bed, the girl that fell from the sky and into his and his family's lives, the girl named Anne Boonchuy, the girl with one shoe and leaves in her hair, and who was just as much of a mess on the inside as she was on the outside, but undoubtedly a good person with a pure heart.

Sprig misses Anne. Even though he's dedicated his heart to another, a spunky young frog named Ivy, a tomboy with a penchant for nonsense and trouble, Sprig, at his young age, left a piece of his heart with Anne. He loved her; they all did. But he can't help but wonder how the years have been to her on Earth, what she's doing, how she's doing, how her friends are doing, and how the Boonchuys, the people that would become like a second family to him, are doing. The long nights are restless. Sprig never fully forgot about Anne. Like all distant memories, the details may have blurred, but the core values remain vivid with beautiful clarity.

Sprig had felt strange when thinking about Anne ever since puberty struck him like a ball-peen hammer right around his twelfth birthday after she'd been gone from his life for an entire year. The puppy love feelings he felt toward Ivy in his youth had intensified, and in only a matter of time, she felt the same way toward him. But one thing he never counted on was feeling those feelings toward Anne. He feels uncomfortable with those feelings and largely hides them from Hop Pop and Polly, a secret he confides only in himself.

As Sprig finds himself drifting apart from his sister, Polly, he finds it uncanny that she has started to form friendships with several girls like herself: Rosemary, Lavender, and Ginger, the three younger sisters of Maddie Flour that she'd grown close to in school. Polly, even in her teen years, retains the sassiness of her youth, much to Sprig's chagrin, for certain. It's quite often that Hop Pop has to cover his ears from their incessant bickering, but deep down, he wouldn't have it any other way. Hop Pop, now hopelessly in denial about approaching his eighties, tries to remind himself that it's not over yet. He refuses to back down from the hard labor, even as that labor gets more and more difficult for him to perform every day.

Sprig and Polly constantly warn him that he'll inevitably suffer a heart attack if he keeps it up, but he firmly believes that the second he starts resting, it will be the first of many that will lead to him resting permanently. The Plantar family gathers in the living room. As Hop Pop squints through his reading glasses, trying to read off the long list of things Sprig needs to get on his journey to Newtopia, Sprig stands there patiently, tapping his foot while Polly, who stands hovering over Hop Pop (who still can't believe that she's taller than him now), folds her arms with a stoic expression of quickly waning patience. Hop Pop runs his finger down the list, partially forgetting what he's supposed to be doing, when Sprig rolls his eyes and takes the list out of his hands.

Hop Pop: "Now, Sprig, yer gonna remember ta get all the stuff on that list, right?"

Sylvia approaches Sprig, resting her hand on his shoulder.

Sylvia: "Of course you are... Right, Sprig?"

Hop Pop looks up at Sprig with shriveled and dried-out lips and crow's feet nearly long enough to belong to one of the dreadful herons of the north, and Sylvia folds her arms, shaking her head. Sprig merely smiles sideways at him, somewhat smugly, but genuinely kind.

Sprig: "Of course, Hop Pop. You can count on me."

Polly raises her brow and stares dead into Sprig's eyes, metaphorically punching the cheesy grin off his face with her expression of cold, jaded cynicism.

Polly: "Just like how he could count on you when you managed to get a speeding ticket?!"

Sprig raises his arms, flailing them into the air, the list in his hand making rustling noises as Hopediah follows the motion of his arms with his eyes.

Sprig: "I don't even know how a snail could get a speeding ticket!"

Sylvia performs a dismissive hand wave at Sprig.

Sylvia: "Oh, honey, you should see all Sadie's speeding tickets."

Hop Pop looks up at her, mouth agape, and then back at Sprig.

Hop Pop: "You did pay that ticket off. Right?"

Sprig cringes almost avoidantly, slightly backing away, knowing he'd been caught.

Hop Pop: "Right?!"

Sprig confesses.

Sprig: "I couldn't pay off the ticket! Bessie ate it!"

At this admission, Polly uses the opportunity to march right in front of Hop Pop, injecting herself into the front and center of attention as usual. She leans over to address Hop Pop face-to-face as Sprig leans over her shoulder, becoming wholly frustrated by her audacity. Hop Pop rues the day he became the shortest person in his own house.

Polly: "And yet you still put him in charge of the farm despite the fact that I'm the one who built all these fancy robots and I've practically automated the entire cultivation process!"

Hop Pop finds himself becoming somewhat uncomfortable, backing away from the advancing Polly and loosening the ascot around his neck to let out the visible steam protruding from his nervousness. Remembering he's the force of ultimate authority in the house, he firmly plants his red feet and wags his skinny, wrinkly finger at his granddaughter in retaliation.

Hop Pop: "I put Sprig in charge of the decision-making on the farm because he's the most level-headed of the two of ya. You might have all that technical mumbo jumbo figured out in that big, pink brain of yers, but Sprig's just... more mature than ya. I know this farm means a lot to ya, Polly, and that's why I need someone who will make wise decisions when I'm... no longer around."

Polly huffs and storms off. Hop Pop turns around and calls out to her.

Hop Pop: "I'm just lookin' out for the two of ya! I swear!"

Polly ignores them, storming up to her room where she proceeds to slam the door so loudly that they flinch, even from all the way downstairs. Sylvia places her hand to her mouth.

Sylvia: "Oh my. Should I go up and have a word with her?"

Sprig places his hand on his grandfather's shoulder. Hop Pop looks up at him, his eyes filled with uncertainty and despair. Sprig smiles down at him kindly.

Sprig: "No need. I think I understand what's wrong. Let me go talk to her."

Hop Pop turns around, grabbing Sprig by the arms, pleading with him desperately.

Hop Pop: "Please make her understand."

Sprig sighs, marching purposefully up the stairs, losing the gusto to tell Polly off by the time he's reached the top, finding it within both his heart and his mind the will to approach the situation with a more genteel solution than he was originally going to take. He opens the door, and Polly is sunken into her pillow, wrapping her long, spaghetti-like arms around the marshmallow-like pillow propped up against her headrest and practically crushing it against her chest. She stares down at her bed with a scowl and a million thoughts racing through her mind at once.

Sprig enters the room, treading past a disembodied robotic frog head that follows him with its eye sensors. He approaches her apprehensively, as he would a temperamental wild animal, before lowering himself down at the foot of her bed. He looks over to her, and beneath her golden locks, she can feel his eyes bear down on her. She responds to him before he's even uttered a word.

Polly: "It's not fair! I made so many robots to run this farm, and it practically runs itself now, and I still don't get recognition for my hard work, and all because you're somehow the more 'mature' one!"

She turns over to address him, pointing accusingly, and Sprig can see clearly now just how upset she's gotten over this. Her eyes are red and dewy, and she's an unkempt mess. Sprig almost regrets approaching her in this condition. He doesn't answer immediately but takes a second to form the proper answer. He looks around the room for a second, and Polly stares at him as if trying to get a beat on his thought patterns. He then turns to her.

Sprig: "I know. And that's why I don't want to... no... why I can't do this alone."

Polly rubs her eyes, sitting up in her bed, Indian style, as he elaborates.

Polly: "Huh?"

Sprig turns himself sideways, so that he's facing her directly, and can speak to her in a more personal manner.

Sprig: "Hop Pop trusted me with running the farm, and maybe the old me would use that as an opportunity to boss you around... but I don't want to be the one in charge and I most certainly don't want to be your 'boss'... but I'd definitely like to be your partner. You're right; you are smart, and all the innovations you've made on the farm, from that self-feeding plant-watering system to the cultivator bots that you've installed a timer on so they know just when to harvest each year, that stuff's incredible! And what have I done? Well, I talk to guys and use my cunning wit and dazzling good looks to get good deals. I might be the face of Plantar's Farm, but you're the brains of the operation. So, what do you say? You wanna be my partner and help Hop Pop run everything together?"

Sprig extends his hand to her for a truce. She hesitates slightly but then takes his hand with a smile. Polly scoots over to Sprig on the end of his bed and leans against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She looks away in shame over her overreaction. Sprig pulls her close to him.

Polly: "I guess Hop Pop was right. Maybe you are the most mature of the two of us. I'm sorry I let something so stupid go to my head. I'd be honored to work alongside you."

Sprig springs from the bed with the energy of a spry young lad and stands before Polly with a long grin on his face.

Sprig: "That's great because I'm gonna be gone for the next few days and I'm gonna need you to keep things under control around here."

Polly cups her chin in thought, contemplating a request.

Polly: "You said Hop Pop was sending you to Newtopia for some convention or whatever. Right?"

Sprig tilts his head at her as a curious dog would.

Sprig: "Yeah. Why?"

Polly rises from her bed.

Polly: "Could you pick up a batch of robot parts for me? I've been taking a few commissions on the side for people who want some of my robots."

Sprig: "Really? Who?"

Polly laughs.

Polly: "Well, for one, there's Mayor Toadie. He didn't want me to tell anyone, you know, customer/employee confidentiality and all that junk, but he told me Froderick has gotten pretty lazy lately, and he's contemplating replacing him with a robot."

Sprig grimaces slightly.

Sprig: "Yeesh! That sounds kinda harsh."

Polly shakes her head reassuringly.

Polly: "Oh no. He just wants to plant the fear of being replaced in hopes that Toadstool will step up his game."

Sprig places his hand on his chin in thought.

Sprig: "How devious and manipulative."

She chuckles.

Polly: "Right. He's a real chip off the old block."

Sprig realizes how awkward the situation's gotten and that at this point, he's just stalling. He rubs his arms and looks away as he makes an excuse to leave.

Sprig: "Anyway, I gotta go. Hop Pop wants me to hit the road before it starts getting dark. Anything else you need before I head off?"

She smiles up at him.

Polly: "Just try to come back in one piece, okay? It's dangerous out there."

Sprig stands with his hands on his hips like a superhero.

Sprig: "Pfff. I'm a one-frog army. You know this."

She laughs again.

Polly: "Okay. Bye, Sprig."

Sprig leaves and heads downstairs, bounding past several stairs at a time. Hop Pop is basically frozen in place in anticipation.

Hop Pop: "Well, how did it go?"

Hop Pop shrugs, sweating with anticipation.

Sprig: "I talked some sense into her. So, is there anything else you need at all? Remember, once I leave, I'm gonna be gone for the next few days, and there will be no way of getting in contact with me."

Hop Pop: "Just leave a good impression. Try to sell everything you can, and try not to bring disaster back with ya."

Sprig laughs.

Sprig: "I can't make any promises on that last one."

Sylvia laughs at his rambunctiousness.

Hop Pop: "Sprig!"

Sprig raises his hands in surrender, laughing as he backs away.

Sprig: "Kidding! I'm kidding."

Sprig leaves through the front door, walking out to the snail pen. Hop Pop follows slowly. He enters the pen momentarily, returning while towing a tall, pale purple snail by his side. Sprig approaches her, talking to her like a baby.

Sprig: "Hey there, Bessie. Who's a good girl?"

Sprig cuddles the affectionate purple snail, and she leans in for loving chin scratches. Hop Pop smiles in pride.

Hop Pop: "So what're ya thinkin', Sprig? Ready to take ol' Bessie out for one more spin?"

Sprig looks over to the fine young snail before him, a massive pink male snail with huge blue eyes and the tiniest bowtie, MicroAngelo. Of course, he's not so "micro" anymore. Sprig jokingly calls him "MacroAngelo" from time to time, noting that he's somehow outgrown Bessie. The snail quietly munches on some grass in solitude from the other rambunctious snail/sparrow hybrids. Joe flies up to Sprig, jerking his head around in curious bird-like motions, and Sprig chuckles as he is nudged by the bird's head, his soft feathers tickling his face. He laughs.

Sprig: "Sorry, Joe. I'm gonna need a big, strong snail to carry all this cargo with me. Hey, Hop Pop, you think MicroAngelo is ready to go on his maiden voyage?"

Hop Pop peers over to the young snail with the big blue eyes.

Hop Pop: "MicroAngelo? He's a fine, young snail, but don't cha think Bessie would be a little more... reliable?"

Hop Pop shrugs convincingly, trying to coerce Sprig into a more favorable alternative.

Sprig: "This is a pretty big load I'm hauling all the way to Newtopia, and MicroAngelo has both the size and youthful vigor to pull it off. That and I don't wanna tire ol' Bessie out."

He walks over to Bessie, who, rather than fuss or feel offended by Sprig's denial, is perfectly content with staying home as he cuddles and comforts her. Hop Pop merely shrugs. He's been trying to allow Sprig the independence he needs to feel as though he's in charge, but looks on at the deceptively docile MicroAngelo, knowing that he has a bit of a rambunctious side to him at times. He wants to know that Sprig can rely on the snail. Sprig strolls over to the massive MicroAngelo, and the friendly snail lowers his head for cuddles.

Sprig decides right then and there that he's the snail for the job. The entire time that Sprig is loading the carriage with everything he'll need, MicroAngelo sits there, smiling and staring in curiosity. He's been out on the road before, but never with cargo, and never very far outside of Wartwood, so this is completely uncharted territory for him, but it's a job he'll inevitably have to learn to do. As Sprig runs through a few last-minute checks to see if the carriage and its components are secured, he removes his beanie and rubs the sweat from his brow.

Sprig: "Okay, all the cargo's on board."

Hop Pop raises his finger to Sprig, wishing to emphasize the importance of the trip.

Hop Pop: "Remember, Sprig, this is the home of the California avocados. Nobody grows 'em like we do."

Sprig raises his finger and brings up a good point.

Sprig: "Except for the Californians."

Hop Pop is completely caught off guard. He folds his arms, admitting defeat.

Hop Pop: "Except for the Californians."

Sprig boards the carriage. He leans forward, peeking over the footboard at MicroAngelo with a smile.

Sprig: "Ready to go, boy?"

MicroAngelo turns his head backward, replying with excitement. The snail responds in a tiny, unfitting, squeaky voice no different than the day they found him.

MicroAngelo: "Meep!"

Sprig takes the reins, and MicroAngelo takes off at the breakneck speed of a whopping five miles an hour. Thus, Sprig begins his journey, humming jaunty jingles and merry tunes as he chimes in for MicroAngelo to join in the whimsy. The first few hours prove to be quite fun, more than he initially thought they'd be, considering he'd be traveling alone. Sprig continues to talk to MicroAngelo, and even though the snail can't communicate to Sprig his thoughts and words coherently and eloquently, he nevertheless responds with a chirpy and upbeat "meep". Sprig knows the road all too well at this point, as he's traveled it many times, though never on his own. This is the first time Hop Pop has stepped down to allow him to drive and take care of business on his own.

Hop Pop has surface-level faith in Sprig, but worries just as any parent would for their children or grandchildren, no matter how old they get. Sylvia stands by his side to help him maintain his faith as Sprig embarks on his long journey. After about the sixth-hour mark, Sprig's throat has grown sore from all the singing, and no matter how much he whets his whistle, no amount of moisture will return him to an audible or melodic state, so he ceases. MicroAngelo, in his boundless vigor, slithers on with the same unshakable grin and slight purr.

The next several hours pass, and they've just made it out of The Ruins of Despair when Sprig decides to wrap things up for the night and tackle Quarreler's Pass in the morning. He and MicroAngelo set up camp on the side of the road, where Sprig continues to bond with his friend before nodding off to sleep. Sprig, reading a book to MicroAngelo, finds his eyelids becoming heavy and his vision blurring. The large snail nudges the pink frog awake, the book that was lying on top of his face sliding down into the dirt. As Sprig regains cognition, he retrieves his book and stumbles his way tiredly into the coach to rest.

Sprig: "Good night, MicroAngelo."

The kind snail follows Sprig with his eyes as he stumbles into the carriage.

MicroAngelo: "Meep."

Sprig rests on the couch inside the carriage, lying sprawled out with his hand flopped lazily on the floor. He's out like a light in a matter of seconds. When he awakens using the extremely outdated cell phone left to him by his dear friend Anne, he stumbles around, twisting in his blanket and falling on the floor, startled awake by the sudden loud noise of the alarm.

Sprig: "I surrender!... Huh? Oh yeah, alarm clock."

He sets outside to awaken MicroAngelo from his deep sleep, feeding him a nice helping of morning snail chow, and off they set for Newtopia, past Quarreler's Pass. Sprig sure wishes at this point he had someone to argue with, anyone at all. MicroAngelo certainly won't argue with him (he often does his best to avoid conflict), so Sprig resorts to arguing with himself. The snail just looks ahead, wondering if his driver has finally gone mad. Once passed the Quarreler's Pass, there's no need to quarrel anymore, so he stops, thanks Frog. Sprig and MicroAngelo are somewhere between Quarreler's Pass and Ribbitvale at this point, a long stretch of empty road ahead.

Sprig: "You know, buddy, I thought for sure that this trip would be filled with all sorts of intense drama, danger, excitement, and chaos... but it turned out to be a pretty smooth ride, I must say."

MicroAngelo: "Meep!"

As Sprig tempts fate and MicroAngelo smiles cheerfully, something large and red whisks by. Sprig's eyes grow large. He darts his head around to try to catch a glimpse of the elusive threat.

Sprig: "What was that?! Did you see that?!"

MicroAngelo shivers cowardly.

MicroAngelo: "M-m-meep!"

Over their heads, a massive creature leaps, landing right before them. A fierce, bright red scrabster, a creature looking like the cross between a scorpion, a lobster, and a crab, reaches its long, vice-like claw of death straight forward, ready to crunch Sprig's bones like twigs. MicroAngelo compresses himself into a ducking motion before retreating deep into his shell. Sprig dives to the side into a roll as the driver's seat is crushed into an accordion with the force of several tons. Sprig attempts the hypnotic Plantar Family Hunting Dance, but the scrabster is having none of it, swiping at Sprig with all its fury if he so much as thinks of becoming idle.

He realizes he's at a severe disadvantage as his environment is wide-open and bereft of hazards. Using nothing but his wit and agility, Sprig attempts to lure the crustacean away from the carriage by baiting it. What Sprig doesn't account for is his own pride, as what starts as a fight quickly becomes a game to him, and a severe annoyance to the creature that merely sees him as food. He leaps back and forth, mocking the animal as it swings and snaps, severing smaller trees and shrubbery, but nothing capable of falling that's heavy enough to break the thicker shell. Sprig, in his hubris, makes the mistake of teasing the creature by blowing raspberries and taking his eyes off it, allowing it ample time to trip Sprig with its long tail.

As Sprig falls to the ground, the beast pins him with its large, fleshy claw. Sprig braces for punishment, closing his eyes. Rather than the snap of his neck or the crunch of his bones, the next thing the sightless frog experiences is the loud "SHING" of an unsheathed sword, and the arm pinning him down loses the weight of the push. Disoriented, Sprig turns in place to witness a massive figure, adorned in a long, black cloak, brandishing a black sword with thorns. The beast wails as it retaliates against its attacker and Sprig's defender. With unparalleled feats of agility, the large cloaked figure leaps out of the way, billowing through the air with the grace of black tissue paper.

The rescuer shows his girth and weight by switching mid-air to a massive black sledgehammer, coming down hard on the beast and completely destroying its shell. The crustacean is desperate and initiates one more Hail Mary attack with all its might to crush the foolish intervener with its massive claw. Dropping the hammer, the cloaked figure catches the full-bearing weight of the claw in his only arm. The creature is astonished, as the force is enough to leave a small crater on the cracked earth where the hero stands. With all his might, the cloaked figure locks the claw in place under the arms, causing the massive beast to struggle and writhe.

With a maniacal and barbaric yell, the cloaked figure screams into the heavens as he summons the strength to rip the claw clean off. The beast screeches bloody murder. The cloaked figure, drawing his hammer once more, brings silence with a massive, thunderous slam to the noggin. Several more just for good measure, and the assailant is as good as dead. Disoriented, Sprig rises from the ground. Woozily, he stumbles toward his hero. The cloaked figure, noticing as Sprig approaches, hobbles away toward the wilderness.

Sprig: "Hey, wait! Who are you?"

The cloaked one does not answer. He persists toward his destination. Sprig perseveres, abandoning the snail and the carriage on the road.

Sprig: "Hey! Wait up! I just want to thank you!"

The cloaked individual responds with a deep, raspy growl, barely audible.

Cloaked Man: "Go away."

Sprig notices the hammer he uses as a cane as he hobbles. He squints his eyes, but then it hits him, and his eyes grow large when he realizes who just saved him.

Sprig: "King Andrias?"

The cloaked man stops. He turns around in place, revealing a half-blind figure with a long, gnarly, and unkempt beard.

King Andrias: "What?!"

Sprig flinches a bit at his unfriendliness.

Sprig: "I just wanted to thank you for saving my life."

King Andrias turns around, flailing the cape of his cloak as he continues home. Retreating through the woods, Sprig retrieves the snail and carriage. In a matter of a minute, Andrias, who walks home with a perpetual frown on his face, winces when he notices the rolling wheels of the carriage and the slick, slimy noises of the snail leaving its trail behind him. He turns around, quite angry at Sprig's stubborn advance.

King Andrias: "What do you want?!"

Sprig steps down from the carriage, addressing him face to face as Andrias peers down at him with his pale blue eyes.

Sprig: "You live out here by yourself now. Right?"

Andrias turns around and continues walking home.

King Andrias: "Yes."

Sprig follows.

Sprig: "I thought maybe you could use some company."

King Andrias looks over his shoulder.

King Andrias: "Company?"

Sprig rubs the back of his head nervously as he tries to invite himself over.

Sprig: "Yeah. I assume you probably don't get very much out here."

King Andrias contemplates. He remembers the letter and cannot forget the words, no matter how hard he tries. "Don't shut yourself away. Open your heart". He is quiet for a moment before speaking in a calm rasp.

King Andrias: "People do not take kindly to me. I'm not welcome in my own kingdom."

King Andrias and Sprig pull up to a rather large cabin that he had built himself. Sprig notices a very bare section of the forest where it's quite apparent that Andrias has felled some trees. The cabin, albeit somewhat crude and plain, is well-made with care. Andrias seems to have placed a lot of pride into making the home the best he could. By happenstance, Sprig manages to eye the broken window, the graffiti along the side wall that spells out words he would never say around Hop Pop, and the rotten smell of eggs as shells rest at the bottom of the exterior wall of his home. Andrias approaches a large, oak door and turns the knob. He freezes, looking behind him shyly and nervously, slightly avoiding eye contact.

King Andrias: "Please don't touch anything."

Inside the cabin is dark and dimly lit by but a few quaint candles. It isn't much, just a kitchen area, a restroom, and a bed, the bare essentials. As King Andrias has only ever dined alone, he has but a single chair, a stump pulled straight from the ground and placed before a massive wooden table. Andrias sits, and Sprig, perfectly content with standing, does so. Sprig looks around for any key items of interest, only to find that Andrias lives a very plain and sheltered life devoid of fun. He just sits at the table and stares off into space, almost like he isn't even there.

Sprig: "Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. It's no castle, but I guess not too many places are."

King Andrias is apparently not paying very much attention. He shakes his head as he returns to reality.

King Andrias: "Huh? What?"

Sprig frowns. It would seem Andrias isn't all there.

Sprig: "Never mind... So... how did you wind up here anyway? I thought you were imprisoned."

King Andrias thinks for a moment, nodding and blinking several times, judgmentally looking back and forth between Sprig and the floor. He shrugs slightly.

King Andrias: "I was, initially. It took a few years, but they soon came to realize that I would pose no opposition to them. With good behavior, they gradually loosened their chain on me, eventually allowing me to live just outside the kingdom. I just live out my days minding my own business and trying to fix what I've broken. Of course... not all damage can be mended."

Sprig climbs onto the wooden table, looking over at Andrias as he sits.

Sprig: "Now, uh, I don't want you to take this the wrong way or anything, but why did you rescue me? You didn't have to."

King Andrias just looks at Sprig like he has no idea what he's talking about. He doesn't respond immediately.

King Andrias: "I do this to honor someone who meant a lot to me, a fallen friend with a pure heart, a protector who would lay his life on the line for those around him. I had a lot of time to myself to think things through, and I'd realized I wasn't a very good king. When you take the throne, you swear an oath to your people, to lead them, to guide them... to protect them. I hadn't done a very good job of protecting my people. I know I did things I could never undo. People lost their lives, and I cannot bring them back. Families were separated and will never see each other again, and it's all my fault.

"But worst of all, I took sickening pleasure in it. I allowed myself to become so consumed with desire that I lost myself, lost what was important. I wanted to be a good king, but other things conflicted with that, things that I desired more, things more... personal. I don't know why I'm telling you any of this."

Andrias runs his large, blue hand across his long, white mane, leaning on the table with his elbow. Sprig stares down at the table, trying to respond appropriately.

Sprig: "Maybe it's a good thing you're telling this to someone. I know that keeping things bottled up can only make you feel worse. For example, I used to feel a certain way about Anne. It wasn't something I felt while she was there, but something I started to feel as I grew older and more apart from her. I realized what a huge impact she had on my life and how she changed me as a person, how she made me a better person for having been around her. For a while, I thought I felt a certain way around her."

Sprig starts to glow a noticeably reddish pink, and Andrias stares at him peculiarly.

King Andrias: "What do you mean 'a certain way'?"

Sprig waves him off.

Sprig: "Nah. It's stupid."

King Andrias observes him.

King Andrias: "I won't make fun of you. I promise."

Sprig looks between him and the ground, twiddling his fingers with uncertainty. He squints his eyes and forces himself to admit his embarrassing feelings.

Sprig: "I thought I loved Anne as more than just a friend!"

He gradually opens his eyes to find Andrias looking at him, almost sorry.

King Andrias: "I don't think that's stupid, to love someone different from you."

Sprig gestures erratically with his hands as he tries to explain himself. He paces back and forth, and Andrias sits there motionless, finding Sprig almost exhausting as he follows the pacing frog back and forth with his eyes.

Sprig: "Yeah, but you see, I was already in a relationship—I still am, by the way—with Ivy. I don't think there's any way I'd be able to tell her. Still... it feels good to get that off my chest and tell it to someone... Anyone, really."

Sprig laughs awkwardly, and Andrias just stares at him with the same pained look in his eyes.

King Andrias: "But still. Feelings are never disingenuous, only people. That young lady has that effect on people. I still remember, she was willing to forgive her friends, even after they did terrible things to her, even after they betrayed her trust. I never met anyone with that kind of compassion before... well... except for one."

Andrias clasps the pendant around his neck, the sole keepsake of Marcy Wu, his only gift. Sprig smiles kindly at Andrias, looking down and noticing his treasure.

Sprig: "I forgive you."

Andrias is completely taken aback. He squints and shrugs with genuine confusion.

King Andrias: "You forgive me? Why?"

Sprig sits on the table.

Sprig: "Maybe I just feel inspired, you know, to pay it forward, to show others that same kind of mercy and compassion that she did. Maybe I could make the world a better place that way."

King Andrias looks down at the floor. He shakes his head and looks right back at Sprig, analyzing him.

King Andrias: "But I tried to kill you."

Sprig looks away from him, staring down at the table with a candid shrug.

Sprig: "It seems like we all did things that day that we regret. Still, if she can forgive her friends for betraying her and for getting them stuck in our world, I think I can find it in my heart to forgive you."

Andrias stares at him.

Sprig: "What?"

King Andrias: "You look just like her."

Sprig leans over the table.

Sprig: "Just like who?"

Andrias smiles weakly.

King Andrias: "Someone very special to me."

He rises from his chair, leaning heavily on the hammer.

King Andrias: "Come outside. I want to show you something."

They head outside to the backyard, where Sprig spots something he hadn't seen before, a massive garden that he had somehow not noticed from the front end. Sprig's eyes become flying saucers as he beholds the tender, perfectly aligned field of what seems like every plant imaginable. The garden, even though tended by a single person, puts Hop Pop's garden to shame. He and Sprig stare out into the green infinity with a sense of mutual pride and wonder.

King Andrias: "I spent my whole life as ruler, knowing only how to take and destroy, and because of that, I lost my two dearest friends. Now, in their honor, I have made it my self-sworn duty to create and protect, just as they did. I do what I do in honor of them."

Sprig looks all over the field but notices one particular detail.

Sprig: "Hmm, no California avocados."

Andrias is caught off guard. He does a double-take and stares down at Sprig with a raised brow.

King Andrias: "I'm sorry, what now?"

Sprig retrieves a California avocado from his side pouch, placing the bumpy brown fruit in King Andrias' hand. Andrias looks down at it with curiosity.

Sprig: "This is a California avocado, something that was previously only grown on Earth. We've been cultivating them on our farm. It's pretty simple. The seed can be found within, and they're not that hard to grow."

Andrias tries to return the fruit, and Sprig places his hand over it, further confounding the king.

Sprig: "Keep it. Think of it kinda as a gift, a thank you for saving my life. Now, I gotta get going."

King Andrias is quiet for a second as Sprig walks away.

King Andrias: "Thank you."

Sprig looks over his shoulder.

Sprig: "It's the least I can do. Now, I'm heading into town for a farmer's convention. I'm looking to sell big and bring home some parts for Polly's robots. I'll check in on ya on the way back to see how things are shaping up. Til then, I'll see ya later."

Andrias just stands there with the avocado as Sprig leaves. Sprig assumes by default that a cultivator of such an impressive garden should have no trouble cultivating the tree that bears its eponymous fruit. Sprig heads back to MicroAngelo, who's been having a field day with the wild foliage in Andrias' front yard. Sprig approaches the snail. He has since calmed down from the stress of the battle and is ready to go. He rubs the side of the snail's face affectionately.

Sprig: "I hope you're ready to hit the road, buddy. Onward to Newtopia!"

Andrias approaches the carriage with a single request.

King Andrias: "Sprig, whatever you do, don't mention that you bumped into me. Okay?"

Sprig leans over the messed-up footrest as he tries for dear life to get comfortable on the destroyed carriage seat.

Sprig: "Still got a beef with someone out there? I saw the trash... and the graffiti... and the eggs."

Andrias sighs.

King Andrias: "It's just that I've made a lot of enemies, and I don't want to see them become your enemies by association. Oh, and definitely don't mention me to Bartley, Branson, and Blair. Those guys are super jealous that I got off on good behavior."

Sprig smiles and nods with a slight chuckle.

Sprig: "Okay. I'll remember not to say anything about meeting you."

With that, Sprig takes off, waving back to King Andrias as he stands at the side of the road, staring off into the distance. Sprig makes his way back through the forest and onto the main road. He takes the time to get a good look at the giant crustaceous creature that attacked him. The beast lay broken into shelled pieces and pummeled into a pulp. The local beasts have already begun to feast on its carcass. Sprig cringes in horror. For the entire rest of the trip, Sprig thinks about Andrias and just how sad it is that he lives alone and that nobody else wants to see him.

By the early morning of the next day, Sprig arrives at the gate to Newtopia. He feels as though he can breathe a sigh of relief now that he has finally made it. Sprig readies his purse of sand dollars to pay for his expenses, including booking MicroAngelo at a local snail stable. The snail feels a sense of nostalgia for his birthplace. Sprig removes the tools necessary to prepare his stand for the farmer's convention. Lastly, he books a couple of nights at the Hemisphere Hotel where, for at least the first night, he sleeps like a baby.

When the time comes, Sprig sets up his stand in Coral Park and readies all the fresh fruits and vegetables, especially the California avocados, the hottest seller, organizing them in a neat and orderly manner. Sprig uses a couple of different artistic means of getting attention, such as utilizing some of the glitter he took from Anne's house years ago, as well as some of the neon markers that Hop Pop chastised him for sniffing, saying they "smelled funny". Sprig makes the brightest sign he can so he can stand out from the crowd.

The competition is mostly what he expects: young college newts from Newtopia University, mostly peers that are out to snub him for his rejection of their prestigious university, but also, for some reason, Monroe and his young nephew (not to be undone by Hopediah in having some sort of successor). Monroe and his nephew blow raspberries at Sprig from across the street, and Sprig, unable to control himself, simply can't resist doing the same back at him. The two see fit to approach him at his stand and bother him. Sprig folds his arms in disgust as he addresses his "rival".

Sprig: "Oh, hello Monroe and... Marlon."

Marlon: "You got a lotta nerve bringing those Earth foods all the way to Newtopia to show off."

Monroe walks up just behind his snobby nephew, resting his arm proudly on the smug boy's shoulder.

Monroe: "Not like it matters. Marlon and I are gonna wipe the floor with you today."

Sprig rolls his eyes, scoffing at their rudeness.

Sprig: "Pff, yeah right. Here. Why don't you take one of these?"

Sprig pulls a pillow from hammerspace and hands it to the light blue frog. The older man looks at it, thoroughly confused.

Monroe: "A pillow? What am I supposed to do with a pillow?"

Sprig climbs on top of his stand, pointing at him mockingly with an insane grin on his face.

Sprig: "It's so you can try to beat me the only way you can, in your dreams!"

Monroe scowls at him.

Monroe: "Touche, Plantar. By the way, where's ol' Hopediah? Don't see him anywhere today."

Monroe pretends to shield his eyes and scouts far and yonder for his favorite rival. Sprig shrugs arrogantly.

Sprig: "He stayed home on the farm. Not like I need him to outsell you two."

Monroe and Marlon laugh.

Marlon: "The old man probably couldn't handle the trip anyway."

He high-fives his uncle and backs away from the stand, where they begin blowing raspberries at each other again. Whenever he isn't accidentally spewing saliva on his customers, Sprig is selling pretty well. He seems to notice that he is especially popular with the older Newtopian women, the ones who like to bat their eyes at shy and prudish young men like Sprig and giggle with their backs turned when he turns hot pink. One aspect of Sprig as a salesman that seems to make him infinitely more popular than Hopediah (to the point where Hop Pop is actually jealous of his own grandson) is that Sprig is, quite frankly, more charismatic, and as an actor at heart, Hop Pop finds that to be quite the personal assault.

Sprig simply rolls his eyes and insists that Hop Pop just get over it. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, Sprig sells a good eighty-five percent of his haul, a ratio that he finds himself quite proud of, considering his history with Hop Pop of feeling lucky if they sold anything at all at previous attempts. Wrapping up at the end of the day, Sprig resides in his room at The Hemisphere Hotel and counts his sand dollars. The bag was so heavy when he got back that it had given him a cramp in his lower back, and he had to double-bag the purse for fear of it popping open on him. He contemplates the next day of purchasing a proper wallet.

Midway through his second day at the stand, when Monroe and Marlon have finally dried out their tongues and exhausted the desire to mock their foes, Sprig finally sells off the last of his goods, and he's able to wrap up early. He dismantles the stand and brushes his hands proudly at another hard day's work. With a little time left over, Sprig takes the opportunity to browse the city alone, unhindered by the tiresome toll of Hop Pop along the safest and most boring routes imaginable. No. This time, he was gonna see Newtopia his way and see all the attractions he missed out on the first time when Anne and Polly got lost. He goes to travel to the Castle, realizing the entire thing still sits awkwardly. He tilts his head, tsk tsk tsking.

Sprig: "Thank Frog, I never asked her to park the snail."

The castle had since become a tourist attraction, with people coming from all over just to see the once-beautiful castle now tilting in disgrace over the land, overgrown with vegetation, taken by the wild. Heading back into town, Sprig wants to check out some of his favorite things. Pulling his hood over his head as he walks into the arcade past a really old "banned" poster, Sprig tries in vain to convince the cashier that he's "most definitely not the silly pink frog sticking his green tongue out and dabbing in the picture". Fortunately for him, the cashier simply doesn't care and lets him in regardless.

Sprig goes to town on the arcades, even getting the high score on Terror Toad vs. The Road (a backward version of Frogger where the goal is to navigate a truck past a bunch of amphibians that want to smash it to pieces). Late in the afternoon, Sprig decides he wants to use some of the extra money he got to get a nice seat at the late-night Colosseum Rumble Mania. Wave after wave of big buff dudes, big buff ladies, and massive, captive, and very angry animals enter the field. Sprig places bets on Priscilla, the champion of Cart Smash Rally, who decides to enter the competition as an extra side hustle. Her teenage daughter, Pearl, cheers from the sidelines.

She makes it pretty far into the semi-finals, eventually being paired up with Yunnan, who entered for the thrill of battle, and Sprig finds himself pretty split for who to root for between the two coolest warrior ladies he's ever met. The battle winds up pretty neck and neck, with both fighters trading hard blows and losing some teeth, but Yunan manages to take the upper hand with agility over raw physical strength.

Priscilla: "You did it! You proved you still got it, Yun! Maybe an old bat like me should just call it a day on the brawls. Eh?"

Yunan offers a hand, and Priscilla grasps firmly.

Yunan: "Nonsense! You really gave me a run for my money. It's been a long time since I fought someone so worthy. It'd be a shame for this to be the one that makes you call it quits."

Priscilla rises from the ground, spitting a bloody tooth into the dirt before shaking gritty hands in grace with the victor, Yunan. Olivia whistles ecstatically from the stands as she runs up to greet her love with open arms.

Olivia: "That was incredible! And here I thought you'd grown soft on me."

Yunan: "Pff, me? Never! You realize you're talking to—."

They all interrupt her, chanting in a droll monotone, with deadpan looks on their faces, and tilting their heads back and forth, knowing exactly what she'll say.

All: "General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of General in the great Newtopian Army."

Olivia: "Yes, we all know, dear."

Olivia places her arm on Yunan's shoulder, and Yunan folds her arms in defeat.

Yunan: "Steal my thunder, why don't ya?"

Sprig runs down from the stands.

Sprig: "I saw the whole thing! That fight was amazing. Maybe I should enter the arena someday."

Yunan folds her arms, smirking as she runs her eyes up and down the puny pink frog before her.

Yunan: "You think you got what it takes?"

Sprig places his hand on his chest, puffing it out in a declaration of his own machismo.

Sprig: "Of course, I did fight as part of The Resistance, after all."

Yunan takes his long, pink noodle arm, smirking.

Priscilla: "Better hit the gym, son."

Sprig yanks his arm away, blushing with embarrassment.

Sprig: "Okay, maybe I've gotten a little bit flabby."

They all laugh. On the way back into the Hemisphere Hotel, Sprig curses slightly under his breath as the three he's supposed to avoid pass by: Bartley, Branson, and Blair. Each of them is bound in chains and is very much steamed by having to work alone. They are escorted by guards. Sprig wonders what they could have done to still be bound up so long after Andrias was set free. The truth is that they're their own worst enemies, and they tried to come up with cockamamie schemes to escape that Andrias simply passed up on. All three of them continue to believe that the grunt work is beneath them, and all three of them refuse to abandon their pride and embrace the simple life as a lenient punishment. They continue to dig themselves deeper graves with their hubris.

Bartley: "We could be knee-deep in a good book right now."

Branson: "Or successfully organizing files in a file cabinet."

Blair: "But instead, we're constantly sticking our hands in the dirt. I miss King Andrias."

Bartley and Branson: "Shut up, Blair!"

Bartley: "What did I tell you two? We don't speak of him anymore! Ever since he ratted us out on our escape plan, he might as well be dead to us!"

Branson: "Yeah! It's his fault we're still doing all this grunt work while he got off with a slap on the wrist!"

Blair: "Now, guys, you don't know he did that. We shouldn't place blame on him. Those guards just showed up when we were digging that tunnel. There's no way he'd rat out his best friends like that."

Branson: "You think he's our friend? He never wanted in on any of our ideas to get out of this. He just kept working like a dog. Pathetic!"

Bartley: "I'm a thinking man, not a grunt worker!"

Blair: "Me too! Oh well. What's the point of arguing with you guys anyway? You're just gonna tell me to—."

Bartley and Branson: "Shut up, Blair!"

Sprig continues to hear them arguing off into the distance and doesn't say anything. He just goes back to his room, where he spends the rest of his night. He awakens early the next day to get a head start on the road home. He fetches MicroAngelo from the snail stable and makes his way down the road back to Wartwood with a considerable pot of profit. The trip feels like some of the longest hours of his life. He's still keen on the idea of checking up on Andrias on the way back to Wartwood. Sprig approaches that part of the forest, noting that he'll be close when he finds the partially rotted giant crustacean carcass on the road. Incidentally, he does find that particular carcass, but what he doesn't count on is the loud shouting, clanging of metals, and screeches that can be heard from deeper into the forest.

Sprig: "What's that sound? It sounds like King Andrias is in trouble!"

Leaping from the carriage, Sprig enters the forest toward Andrias' cabin to behold quite the awful sight. Several giant scrabsters attack Andrias at his home as he valiantly attempts to fend them off. He looks tired and greatly overwhelmed. Sprig leaps into action, attempting to distract at least one of them so Andrias can focus his attacks on a single target. Andrias spots Sprig running toward him.

King Andrias: "Sprig!"

Sprig leaps on top of the one scrabster as it flails around.

Sprig: "I told you I'd be back!"

King Andrias points up at him, a dead serious look on his face, before leaping out of the way of the massive claw thrust at him.

King Andrias: "Get it away from the farm!"

Sprig leaps from the creature and out into the trees to attempt to lead it out onto the open road.

Sprig: "Right-o!"

Sprig leaps between tree branches as the extremely angry giant animal behind him pulverizes the trees.

Sprig: "Something tells me these guys are pretty mad about their friend!"

Meanwhile, Andrias is stabbing the one giant monster in the eye with his sword, blinding it. He yells toward the wilderness.

King Andrias: "You think?!"

Standing on top of the creature and attempting to rip its arm off just like before, Andrias struggles with the beast. It flails and flings and smashes everything in its wake, alarming Andrias, as his house is very close. Andrias grabs the creature by the tail, attempting to wrestle it to the ground, but the more he attempts to control the beast, the more enraged it becomes, tossing Andrias around like a rag-doll and unleashing a fury so uncontrolled it levels the entire household with everything within. Andrias is in shock.

To make matters worse, the candles and lanterns within ignite. The fire grows at a rapid speed, with Andrias nearly helpless to do anything but watch as he attempts to dispatch the beast. Sprig, who's managed to lose the other beast, retrieves MicroAngelo and the carriage and arrives with haste. As the other massive beasts arrive on the scene to reunite, putting Sprig and Andrias at a massive disadvantage, Sprig makes the call that it's time to flee before the fire consumes everything.

Sprig: "There are too many of them! We have to get outta here!"

Andrias hesitates for a second, staring the beasts in the eyes with pure malice.

King Andrias: "But my home!"

Sprig and Andrias watch as the home collapses completely.

Sprig: "It's all gone now... Please!"

Closing his eyes in acceptance, Andrias grabs the back of the carriage, and the beasts make chase as MicroAngelo pushes back toward the road as fast as his young snail body will carry them. The beasts follow for miles as Andrias clings to the back of the carriage, swinging his hammer every time the beasts get in close. Fortunately, they can't seem to keep up with the young snail and eventually begin trailing and ultimately falling off by the time they make it back to the bridge. MicroAngelo slows down, wheezing from a loss of stamina, and Sprig calls a stop.

He hops out of the driver's seat, tending to the exhausted snail with food and water. Peering over the side of the carriage, Andrias quietly watches. He climbs to his feet, removing himself from the back of the carriage. Sprig leaves the food and water on the ground for MicroAngelo to tend to the king, only to realize he's leaving.

Sprig: "Hey! Where are you going?!"

Andrias keeps walking back in the other direction toward his old home.

King Andrias: "You've been far too kind to me, and I've proven to be nothing but a burden to you and your snail. I'll find a new place... somewhere... and start all over again."

Sprig appears desperate. He looks back and forth between the king and the carriage.

Sprig: "Please! Just let me help you. I have parts. I'm taking robot parts back home for Polly to make more robots. I have plenty of extras from the sales I made in Newtopia. Let me help you!"

King Andrias bites his lip. Words keep racing across his mind... her words... the ones he'd sworn to himself to embrace. The last thing he wants is to be a hypocrite.

King Andrias: "Fine... I will accompany you to your home."

Sprig becomes elated, hopping in place with joy.

King Andrias: "But... I will walk the rest of the way. I will not be a burden to you and your snail anymore. Should I fall behind, leave me. I know the road."

King Andrias avoids eye contact with Sprig, almost like he's unworthy of his gaze. Sprig insists otherwise.

Sprig: "It's not a burden."

King Andrias: "This idea is insane, you know. I'm not welcome in Newtopia, and there's no doubt in my mind I won't be welcome in Wartwood."

Sprig shrugs nonchalantly.

Sprig: "To be honest, nobody is welcome in Wartwood when they first get there. They didn't welcome Anne, Marcy, or Sasha right away. Originally, Sasha was our enemy. But it's crazy how much things can change with patience."

Andrias closes his eyes and turns his head in shame.

King Andrias: "I don't deserve your forgiveness."

Sprig: "Enough of that!"

King Andrias is taken aback by Sprig's assertive attitude and the gall that he'd even speak to him in that manner, so much so that he flinches slightly.

Sprig: "My friend once said, 'Everyone deserves a second chance.' It was Anne. Even after Sasha attacked and nearly killed her, even after tricking everyone and stealing the music box, she forgave her. Even after Marcy admitted to using the music box for her own selfish reasons in order to keep her friends together, even though she put their lives in peril and took them from their families, she forgave her. She had a positive impact on them, but it wasn't just them; she affected me, too. She taught me a lesson that I've carried with me ever since. Everyone deserves a second chance... even someone like you. We've all made mistakes. If only there were more people like her out in the world."

King Andrias frowns widely, running his fingers through his long hair and sighing through his nostrils.

King Andrias: "Okay."

Sprig smiles, but then ponders.

Sprig: "Now it's just a matter of hiding you."

Andrias tries to lighten the mood with a joke, showing that he's not become all doom and gloom in his old age and isolation.

King Andrias: "I don't know if you can tell just by looking at me, but I've never been particularly good at hide and seek."

Sprig smirks and folds his arms.

Sprig: "I'll make it work."

Usually, on a trip, the road home feels shorter than the road out, and for Sprig, this proves to be true. Yet for Andrias, who wears a false smile for Sprig, the road feels long and arduous, like a trek across the eternal purgatorial plane on the divine step. Time seems to freeze as he anticipates the gazes of disappointment, disdain, anger, and betrayal. The people of Wartwood were his people, too. All of Amphibia was his, and he forsook them. He betrayed them, all for the glory and power of a machine, all for a reach toward the forbidden fruit of godhood, and for the will of a king lost in his visions of grandeur, a man who couldn't see that what was important was standing before him.

Ten years gone, the fragments of a dead era blown into the soft winds and caressed by the endless sea, the Leviathan era was nothing but a distant memory now. Born from it, a new world, a new beginning, for the people of Amphibia, all of them. One king fell, blown into the wind. Another king fell, left to die. But one hand reaches for him, to pick him up, to guide him into the new world, to be part of a new paradise, one without fear. Sprig seems quite wary of crossing Quarreler's Pass with such a damaged individual with him, still quite superstitious about whether or not Quarreler's Pass actively generates negativity in people's personalities.

That perception changes pretty quickly once he gets there, and the dead silence between them proves to be more unnerving than the livelihood of even the most toxic of exchanges. It gets to the point where Sprig tries to instigate conversation, only to be met with silence. He wonders if, in and of itself, that is some sort of internal quarrel. Internally, he finds himself becoming both meta and introspective on that front. The Ruins of Despair prove to be even more uncomfortable for Andrias, as he gets to witness firsthand the origins of his machinations for war, to behold the long and cruelly tyrannical history of the place, a graveyard for technological horrors. He finds himself grateful that they remain dormant now.

The closer they get to Wartwood, the deeper and heavier the butterflies in his stomach (the metaphorical ones) seem to stir and cause him internal distress. They cross through the large wooden gateway to Wartwood. Finally, home sweet home. Hop Pop, Sylvia, and Polly eagerly await the return of Sprig. He, on the other hand, still hasn't figured out just how to break the news to Hop Pop and the others, but insists that the straightforward approach seems to him to be the best method of handling the situation. It goes about as well as one would expect.

Hop Pop: "You what?!"

Sprig cringes with a very uneasy expression on his face.

Sprig: "I brought King Andrias home with me after he saved my life, and he lost his home to some scrabsters."

Sprig tries to shrug his action off as another act of candid tomfoolery. Hop Pop's eyes are huge, and the vein throbbing in his forehead protrudes menacingly at Sprig. He can't stop staring at it.

Hop Pop: "You brought home a madman that exploited us, tried to use us for galactic conquest, and tried to destroy us not once, but on multiple occasions?!"

Polly folds her arms, inserting her peanut gallery opinions when nobody asked for them.

Polly: "This is a brand new level of stupidity for you, Sprig."

Sylvia asserts herself at the front of the argument, standing between Sprig and the two frogs that are practically ready to strangle him.

Sylvia: "Now, hold on! Let's hear the young man out. Sprig, you said King Andrias 'saved' you from scrabsters. Care to elaborate?"

Sprig pleads as he makes his case.

Sprig: "Yes! Finally! I was attacked on the road by a giant scrabster; the first time it was one."

Hop Pop: "This happened more than once?!"

Sylvia shushes him and signals for Sprig to proceed.

Sprig: "Please let me finish. I was blindsided by the beast, attacked while in the carriage, and left in a situation where if someone didn't act... I wouldn't be here right now. He leaped into battle and fought the scrabster and, honestly, did a killer job for someone with one arm, one leg, and poor eyesight. I thanked him and told him I'd go back to check on him on my way back from the farmer's market. When I returned, his house was attacked by three more scrabsters. They took down the whole house and the garden he'd been working on for years. I saw how much it devastated him. I... I couldn't just leave him alone out there!"

Hop Pop paces back and forth for a moment, biting his lip as he tries to think of the proper response. He sweats profusely, removing his handkerchief from his shirt pocket and dabbing the sweat from his brow.

Hop Pop: "Where is he now?"

Sprig: "He's sitting on the back of the carriage parked in the backyard. I tried not to let anyone see him, which is pretty difficult considering how huge he is."

Hop Pop marches outback. He looks positively confrontational. Sprig, Sylvia, and Polly look at each other in somewhat confusion and follow him out into the backyard, praying he doesn't do anything to provoke the king. Hop Pop approaches the massive, heavily damaged newt with zero fear in his eyes.

Hop Pop: "I don't know what kinda game yer playin', helpin' my grandson, playin' the long con, but lemme make one thing perfectly clear to you, this is my farm and my family. Yer on my territory now, so there ain't a guard in sight that will spare you from my wrath if you hurt any of them!"

Andrias barely feels threatened by Hop Pop, but does feel the effect of his negative perception of him. He'd been anticipating it. King Andrias ponders, shaking his head.

King Andrias: "Yeah, that's pretty much the reaction I expected. Not very ideal, but not exactly unwarranted either."

Hop Pop performs a double-take, caught off-guard by his apparent smugness. He shakes his head and resumes.

Hop Pop: "You might've gotten to Sprig, but you ain't foolin' me. Now, Sprig told me you saved him from some scrabsters."

Andrias folds his arms.

King Andrias: "Indeed, I did. Sprig is a fine young man, smarter than I initially gave him credit for."

Hop Pop stands there muttering to the ground and cursing under his breath. He looks judgmentally up through his upper brow at Andrias, squinting in suspicion. Andrias finds the silence more nerve-wracking than his words.

Hop Pop: "Then that's final. You can stay... for now... and I am only permitting this out of gratitude for making sure my grandson got home safe."

King Andrias is surprised.

King Andrias: "Really?"

Hop Pop: "Yeah. I ain't got livin' arrangements or nothin' figured out for a big feller like yourself, no offense."

King Andrias: "None taken. And Hopediah, you don't need to worry about me. I can make my due just fine. You might as well pretend I'm not even here."

Hop Pop turns around and looks out toward town. He turns back to Andrias.

Hop Pop: "That's not gonna be easy."

Sprig, Polly, and Sylvia peer in at their inaudible conversation from the back door.

Sprig: "He took that better than I thought he would."

Polly looks up at him disapprovingly.

Polly: "I'd hate to know what you were expecting."

Sprig nervously looks away, avoidantly, shrugging.

Sprig: "Yeah, about that. I kinda offered him a small token of gratitude."

Polly squints suspiciously.

Polly: "What kinda token?"

Sprig grins painfully.

Sprig: "Could you fix his broken limbs?"

Polly shakes her head, sneering in disgust.

Polly: "Me?!"

Sprig tries in vain to defend himself.

Sprig: "Yeah! Look, I sold all the crops I brought with me. Here's all the profit."

Sprig removes quite an impressive parcel of coins from his double-bagged purse, dumping them on the table. Hop Pop, who's since returned unannounced, ganders at them, quite impressed.

Hop Pop: "Jumpin' jackalopes, Sprig! Ya sure brought home a haul, didn't cha?"

Polly tattles on Sprig, pointing at him like a brat.

Polly: "Hop Pop! Sprig promised King Andrias I'd repair his broken robot limbs!"

Hop Pop is far too busy counting the fruits of Sprig's labor to hear her.

Hop Pop: "Huh? What?"

Polly almost becomes as red in the face as he is.

Polly: "He wants me to fix Andrias' broken robot parts!"

Hop Pop looks at her quite seriously.

Hop Pop: "Do it."

Polly: "What?!"

Hop Pop brushes the loaded coins back into the bag, insisting he'll count them later, and ties a knot.

Hop Pop: "The king and I had a little chat out back. He told me he'd been growing his own garden out yonder. So I picked his brain a little bit, just to see what he knows, and Polly, the man, knows his stuff about agriculture. There's quite a bit of green in that big ol' blue thumb of his, so if he's gonna be here, he's gonna be useful. Fix him up. Repair those missing limbs, and we'll see just how good of a farmer he is."

Polly throws a melodramatic temper tantrum and almost leaves the room in protest.

Polly: "I can't believe I'm being so exploited!"

Hop Pop: "If ya do it, I'll throw in tickets to that robot monster destruction battle arena show you wanted to see so badly."

He holds up a gnarly poster depicting the over-the-top destruction of robots with explosions and lots of mayhem. Polly snatches it out of his hand, salivating all over the poster.

Polly: "You did remember!"

He laughs.

Hop Pop: "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

She runs up and hugs him.

Polly: "You're the best, Hop Pop!"

Hop Pop: "Hehe. Yeah, I know."

Polly releases her embrace, heading for the door, stopping in the doorway to loudly declare.

Polly: "I will make King Andrias the best limbs he ever had!"

She slams the door, leaving Hop Pop and Sprig to look at each other awkwardly. Polly gets right to work on designing the proper replacements for his lost appendages. It's late at night, and everyone has gone to bed. As Polly finishes her blueprint drawings, she rubs her red eyes and blows out the candle. As everyone settles in for a good night, they find themselves sleeping soundly, even with an ominous stranger in their presence. Ironically, the one who has the hardest time is Andrias himself. He simply stares up at where the moon would once be and wonders to himself... Is it really over?

Chapter Text

Life on the Plantar farm is never easy, even with robots working day and night to get the job done. They still need to be maintained, still need new batteries, and every so often, they need repair. All that work is done by none other than Polly Plantar, a mostly self-learned and self-taught mechanic and engineering genius. Polly is so smart, in fact, that she's not even worried about what college she's going to attend, as she realizes that there are grants and scholarships all over with her name on them. Still, even with all this knowledge, repairing King Andrias is uncharted territory for her, as not only does she have to work with wires, metals, and electronics, but she now has to deal with the most complex issue of all, fusing them to a living organism and somehow maintaining functionality.

Over the next few days, Polly reads many books on cybernetic organisms; she wants to make sure she does this right. The sun rises, and King Andrias makes his way to Polly's shed, where Polly approaches him to take measurements. She makes it perfectly clear that she's not afraid of him. Now, getting measurements on a frog, toad, newt, or even a human would be something less than complicated, but for a rather large man like Andrias, it proves to be a pretty daunting task, especially for one with two missing limbs.

Andrias' missing left leg alone encompasses the diameter of the entire Plantar family, tied together at the waist. Polly gives him a dirty look as she takes notes, pointing at him with the eraser of her pencil. He follows her eyes with his, looking away every time she looks back up at him.

Polly: "I hope you appreciate this, all we're doing for you."

King Andrias shrugs. He feels like he's at the end of a leash, being strung along by a manipulative owner.

King Andrias: "I never asked for this."

Polly places her hands on her hips with sass as she lets Andrias know just how things are gonna be.

Polly: "Well, you're getting the treatment anyway! Hop Pop says if I help you out, we're gonna go to 'The Robo Arena of Death and Unapologetically Loud, Ear-Drum-Shattering Explosions'!"

Polly whips a colorful and vibrant poster from thin air, baring a sinister grin as she shows it to King Andrias. He twiddles his fingers somewhat flamboyantly in childish excitement, the shadow of his former cheerful self rising temporarily to the surface.

King Andrias: "Ooh! That sounds like fun!"

Polly smiles maniacally, her teeth turning into fangs and her pupils dilating as she gestures an intense grasping action with her fingers.

Polly: "It is! And it's so hardcore! But that's next week."

She shrugs, returning to a state of apathy. Andrias is becoming somewhat impatient.

King Andrias: "Okay. So now what?"

She points at his limbs with her pencil.

Polly: "Well, I'm gonna need to see the ends of your broken leg and arm so that I can take measurements."

Andrias becomes somewhat red in the face, the blending hue with his blue skin giving him the appearance of a large blueberry. He looks away from her somewhat nervously.

King Andrias: "Are you sure?"

She raises her brow with a reassuring and smug smirk.

Polly: "You don't need to be so prudish around me, your highness. I am a professional. Now, show me your gross, disgusting amputations! Come on!"

She rushes him, making it quite clear that he's wasting her precious time.

King Andrias: "Okay."

King Andrias unties the knot at the end of his pant leg, rolling it back so that she could see the severance and he removes his thick, heavy, leather coat, tossing it on the ground and creating a thick poof of dust in the air, revealing quite the impressive physique of his torso, if a bit flabby from lack of maintenance. Polly covers her face with her clipboard; she becomes redder than a beet. She was not expecting Andrias to be so shapely for an elderly man.

Polly: "Okay, King Hot—I mean, King Andrias. I need you to lie your large, muscular, burly, powerful... ahem, I need you to lie your arm on the table for measurement."

King Andrias stares at her somewhat in confusion. He leans over, allowing his gigantic arm to rest on the table, where she continues to measure the diameter of his upper arm. King Andrias, just as uncomfortable as she is at this point, asks the million-dollar question.

King Andrias: "I suppose I should put my coat back on now."

Polly stops him, running her eyes perversely all over his torso.

Polly: "Can you just give me five more seconds to stare?... Okay. You can put it back on now."

He does so, relieved that the moment is over. Now for the leg, which is considerably less uncomfortable, as he doesn't even have to move. Polly takes the measurements and shakes her head.

Polly: "This is gonna require a lot of my robot parts."

He feels ashamed and looks away shyly.

King Andrias: "I apologize for being so... large."

Polly slaps his giant leg, leaning on it and smiling up at him.

Polly: "Don't worry about it, big guy. It's not the size that I'm worried about; it's fusing robotics to flesh. I've never done that before, and I'm a little nervous."

King Andrias shows a keen interest in guiding her through the procedure, having paid attention when it was done to him and having had replacements placed many times over the years.

King Andrias: "I can guide you through it. You'll need some neural receptors to act as sort of veins, and they'll need to be threaded straight through the tissue into my veins and arteries. The rest is all circuitry."

She cringes slightly as she stares up at him in concern.

Polly: "Isn't that gonna hurt?"

He tilts his head down at her, and she can see then and there just how tired and weary he is. Having never paid attention to his face until now, he looks considerably older, wrinklier, without the child-like smile stretched along his face that she remembers so vividly.

King Andrias: "Young Polly, I haven't felt the sting of physical pain in nearly a millennium. Nothing would elate me more than to be reminded that I'm alive."

Polly: "That's depressing."

King Andrias leans his head over, his long white hair draping into his face.

King Andrias: "I know."

Polly fumbles around, trying to artificially extend the conversation long past there is anything substantial to talk about.

Polly: "Thank you for... You know... saving my brother. I wouldn't be able to run the farm without him. Don't tell him I said that!"

She points up at him seriously and commandingly, with a long scowl drawn across her face. Andrias chuckles.

King Andrias: "My lips are sealed."

Polly fiddles and twirls her pencil in her hand, at various points almost dropping it on the ground.

Polly: "Sprig told me that you were living in a cabin on the side of the road near Newtopia. I guess that means you weren't allowed back in your castle?"

King Andrias: "I had voluntarily renounced my throne, surrendered to the royal guards, and since, well, nobody knew what to do or how to imprison a king, I wound up doing community service, fixing what I had broken, restoring the wildlife."

She folds her arms in disapproval.

Polly: "Sounds a bit like a slap on the wrist to me."

Andrias responds pretty candidly as if he genuinely expected worse himself.

King Andrias: "They could have executed me. Hell, they had practically every right to... And yet, here I am."

He shrugs, and Polly does not approve.

Polly: "You don't sound very grateful."

She gathers her belongings.

King Andrias: "Grateful for what, really?"

She stares up at him, somewhat alarmed by his lack of self-preservation. She fears for his mental state.

Polly: "I don't know. That's for you to figure out."

As Polly finishes her work, Andrias is left to ponder her words. He watches her curiously as she walks away, and contemplates after she is gone. Andrias is later approached by Hop Pop, who insists that he get used to being there and that he should become acquainted with the townsfolk of Wartwood. He says he'll consider, but he hesitates to do so voluntarily. Hop Pop and Sylvia continue to watch the large man from the window as he leans against a tree nearly equal in height to himself. A small butterfly lands on his large blue finger, and he stares at it. Hop Pop and Sylvia trade looks, wondering how someone so serene could fall so hard and become so ruthless. Andrias stays at the tree watching the people of Wartwood from a distance for hours until Sylvia approaches him.

Sylvia: "You've been staring out there for a long time now. See anything to your liking?"

He responds rather candidly and honestly.

King Andrias: "Not particularly, no."

Sylvia stops for a moment, considering the next thing to say, when she remembers.

Sylvia: "Oh, where are my manners? I never even properly introduced myself. The name's Sylvia, hon."

Andrias lays his head on his arms on top of his leg, mumbling down at her.

King Andrias: "It's nice to meet you, Sylvia. Are Sprig and Polly your grandchildren?"

Sylvia: "Them? Haha... oh, no, you see, Hopediah and I aren't married. The kids and I aren't related. You see, it's a little complicated. My granddaughter has been going out with Sprig and... well, Hopediah and I are just really good friends... even if he seems to think otherwise."

King Andrias shakes his head slightly with a raised brow. He feels intrigued and as though he has enough invested interest to inquire further.

King Andrias: "Is it normal for frogs to have multi-generational romantic relationships like that?"

Sylvia just shrugs candidly. Rather than elaborate further, she chooses to sit by his side and tries to weasel her way into his brain a little more to find out more about him. His shadow eclipses her tiny frame.

Sylvia: "Andrias, I mean, King—."

King Andrias: "You can just call me Andrias."

He looks away from her, not rudely, but as though he's unworthy of the interaction.

Sylvia: "Sprig seems to have grown quite fond of you, all things considerin'."

King Andrias looks toward the ground, then over toward Sylvia, making eye contact with her.

King Andrias: "He's a good kid... comes from a good family."

She smiles and nods gracefully. He finds her charming and kind demeanor to be rubbing off on him, and he finds himself slightly willing to open up more.

Sylvia: "Indeed, he is. It's why it was no surprise when he found himself in the heart of my granddaughter."

He relaxes, leaning back against the tree, somewhat hesitantly, knowing his weight could topple the plant.

King Andrias: "Ah, the wonders of youth. If only we could go back to those carefree days."

He shakes his head with a slight smirk. She looks up at him curiously.

Sylvia: "You don't have any children or grandchildren?"

King Andrias: "I... never really had time for a suitor."

Sylvia: "Hm."

The two sit there in silence. Sylvia fears being too pushy, feeling as though she may scare him away if she pokes and prods too hard at what she assumes to be a man with quite a troubled past. Sylvia is a smart woman, and in no way does she believe that the giant sitting beside her is solely responsible for his actions. It isn't by any particular mannerism that she's able to ascertain this information, but solely by his aura. She gazes up at the large blue man by her side, and behind the thick cataracts, she can see so much pain in his eyes, eyes that communicate more clearly than an hour-long conversation ever could. Satisfied by her findings, Sylvia rises from beside him and brushes the dirt and leaves from her skirt onto the ground. She nods politely and begins to walk away. A few feet away from him, she stops.

Sylvia: "We're gonna be havin' seasoned cricket bass for supper. I'll be sure to bring you a plate. I bet you're starvin'."

Andrias doesn't respond, so she turns around and returns indoors with a somewhat troubled expression on her face. After a collective gaze from the family, she wipes the look away and pretends nothing is wrong, returning to her chipper self. As promised, Sylvia brings him out a plate of dinner, which he proceeds to dump into his massive mouth before handing her the tiny plate back on the spot. He thanks her quietly as she walks away, completely befuddled. Later on, Polly comes back, pulling Andrias' heavy, new limbs on a long wagon. He watches her as she attempts to lift the heavy limbs onto the ground. Andrias stops her, opting to place the limbs and hold them in place while she installs them.

Polly feels very nervous installing the limbs, but Andrias nods and encourages her, telling her it's okay if she hurts him during the process. Andrias is willing to bite that bullet in order to experience not requiring the cane any longer. Hop Pop, watching from the window, feels satisfied having given Andrias the day to settle in, even if he barely used any of it for anything besides sitting at a tree and staring off into the town. The next day, he approaches Andrias properly. Hop Pop looks up at Andrias, who only half pays attention. Andrias is in a rut, and Hop Pop knows for sure there's only one thing that's gonna bring him out of it. He's gotta move around.

Hop Pop: "It sure is a nice day."

King Andrias: "A bit muggy for my liking, but I guess that's what you get with a swamp."

He shrugs, accepting the situation weakly.

Hop Pop: "Well, it's certainly much too nice to be lying around. Tell ya what, how's about you run a little errand for me to get the dust off of ya, and get those ol' bones movin' so you can test that fancy new leg o' yours."

King Andrias raises a brow, finding it incredibly odd that one would ask him for a favor and not the other way around.

King Andrias: "What kind of 'errand'?"

Hop Pop: "I've been aimin' ta fix a part of the old shed out back after some varmints went and chewed a big hole in it. Leopold, the axolotl that works at the smithery just over yonder, said he had a fresh shipment of wood that came in the other day."

King Andrias: "You just want me to obtain your wood?"

Hop Pop nods his head in agreement with a jovial smile.

Hop Pop: "Indeed, I do. Besides, it's about time ya broke the ice with the people of the neighborhood. We'd been gettin' some pretty long stares ever since Sprig brought ya here."

Andrias sighs and shakes his head, but slowly rises from the ground, his massive joints stiff. Andrias hobbles with a limp as he adjusts to the weight of his new leg.

King Andrias: "I will fulfill your request, although I still don't think this is a good idea."

He uses the hammer to balance himself. Hop Pop takes notice.

Hop Pop: "She sure did a good job with that leg. I hope it lasts you a long time. Perhaps you should test the arm out as well."

King Andrias speaks in a quiet rasp. He looks down at Hop Pop with that same sad puppy look he's had on his face for the last several days. He then examines the silver metal robotic arm grafted onto his flesh. He tries to move his fingers and form a balled fist.

King Andrias: "She's a good kid."

Hop Pop folds his arms and nods.

Hop Pop: "She sure is."

Andrias hobbles down the hill toward the town he completely dwarfs. As he approaches, his long shadow falls over the town like a kaiju making its trail toward some poor, unsuspecting city. The townspeople gasp as he approaches with his hood over his head like some sort of long, cloaked death. The mayor shuts his window and draws the blinds. Chuck, who is outside minding his own business and happily watering the plants in his front yard, panics and retreats inside, watching from behind the door window. As Andrias approaches Leopold Loggle's smithery, he spots the elderly Sadie Croaker shaking her sagging, wrinkly arm in a balled fist up at a tree. This thoroughly confuses him.

Mrs. Croaker: "Archie Croaker! You get down from that tree this instant, or I'll rap that little heinie of yours!"

Archie: "Bark bark!"

Mrs. Croaker: "A horse fly?! I brought you a whole jar of fresh maggots! What do you want, some big ol' horse fly for?"

Archie: "Bark!"

Mrs. Croaker: "Nonsense! You'll spoil your dinner."

Andrias looks up at the tree and then down at her.

King Andrias: "Is there a problem, madam?"

She scoffs, shooing Andrias away as if he were some mere pest. She plants her arms at her side and scowls at him with immense disgust.

Mrs. Croaker: "Well, well, well, if it isn't his high and mighty Highness himself. You got a lotta nerve showing your face in this town! Don't think that just because you're ten times my height (and ten times my age, frankly), I'm afraid of you in any way! I ain't no spring pollywog, but don't think you'll get one over on me!"

She continues to rant on and on about him as he rolls his eyes. He looks toward the tree and notices the tiny, black pet spider. Andrias reaches into the tree, his massive hand wrapping around the tiny, frightened creature. She immediately panics as he shoves his long arm into the tree, completely consuming a yelping Archie in his balled-up fist. As he slowly lowers his arm toward her, she beats his massive leg with her wooden cane, and he doesn't even appear phased by it.

Mrs. Croaker: "Oh my goodness! You brute, you'd hurt a defenseless pet spider?! You cad! You—"

King Andrias: "Here you go."

King Andrias opens his massive blue palm to reveal the spider, completely unharmed. Archie barks and leaps out into Sadie's arms in fear. She simply stands there in silence, watching as he walks by.

King Andrias: "You're welcome."

After staring in distraction momentarily, she returns her attention to scolding Archie as Andrias nears Loggle's smithery. Out of the bushes, before him, a melodramatic light blue frog dressed more like a vagrant than Andrias himself pops out in surprise. He leaps before King Andrias, brandishing an accordion as if it were a weapon. He speaks in a cockney English accent.

One-Eyed Wally: "You might've fooled ol' Hopediah and the Plantars into thinking you're some kinda reformed saint, but you gotta wake up pretty early to pull a fast one on One-Eyed Wally Ribbiton!"

King Andrias just stares down at him with a bemused look.

King Andrias: "Oh, really? That's wonderful. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm rather busy—"

Wally continues to block his path.

One-Eyed Wally: "Oh? You tax the poor people of Wartwood outta house and home, and even when you lose your throne, you march through our humble town like ya still own the place. The joke's on you, Kingy! I don't even pay taxes!"

Wally folds his arms as if he has successfully defeated the king in battle. King Andrias raises his brow. His bemusement turns slightly to frustration.

King Andrias: "Are you quite finished?"

Wally drops his guard. He knows he's been caught and that his whole strategy has been little more than a means of gaining attention. It worked, albeit briefly.

One-Eyed Wally: "I didn't think that far ahead, to be honest. You mean... you're not here to get revenge on us or destroy the town in a fit of vengeance for taking you down?"

He stares down at Wally with a stoic expression.

King Andrias: "No."

Wally seems almost disappointed. He slouches in despair.

One-Eyed Wally: "Oh... Okay then. Sorry."

King Andrias walks past the troublesome character, proceeding to his destination, praying there will be no further interruptions. As he approaches the front door, he tilts his head curiously.

King Andrias: "Oh yeah... Um... How will I make this work?"

The massive man leans over, trying as gently as he can to knock on the door in such a way that it doesn't seem like he's trying to knock it down with a battering ram.

Leopold: "Door's open!"

King Andrias: "I am aware of that!"

Leopold approaches the door, wandering outside, where he is met with a start.

Leopold: "I said the door's open—Oh my Frog! King Andrias?! What are you doing here?! I'll have you know that just because I'm not fit anymore doesn't mean I won't whoop your keister!"

Leopold, the dirt-covered wordsmith, flings sawdust all over the place as he strikes a combat pose. King Andrias stares in a droll scowl at Loggle's attempt at intimidation and responds in a jaded and deadpan manner with half-closed eyes.

King Andrias: "Spare me the threats, Loggle. I am simply here to retrieve Hopediah's order."

Leopold runs his eyes across the massive newt in suspicion.

Leopold: "He... he sent you?"

Leopold holds for a moment, sweating and confused, before sighing at ease. He stares at Andrias accusingly.

Leopold: "Why should I trust you?"

Andrias reaches into his coat, causing Loggle to flinch. Andrias looks at him with a sneer of frustration, pausing midway into his pocket before resuming his action slowly.

King Andrias: "I have the receipt right here."

He lowers the tiny paper in between his two fingers, and Leopold takes it from him, reading it carefully.

Leopold: "One large bundle of wood. Says so right here."

King Andrias stares into space with a dead and tired look in his eyes.

King Andrias: "Precisely."

Loggle shrugs and proceeds in a somewhat musical tone more akin to his usual upbeat mood.

Leopold: "Alrighty then. I'll be right back in a jiffy."

Leopold leaves and returns with a jack and a pallet carrying a large bundle of wood.

Leopold: "I'll need that jack back—"

King Andrias: "No need."

Andrias simply lifts the heavy bundle of wood in a single hand and places it underarm as he turns to return to Plantar's farm immediately. Loggle is left to contemplate. He scratches his head.

Leopold: "I really oughta start working out again."

As Andrias steps back into town, he stops dead in his tracks. He is surrounded by a rather large mob of frogs with threatening expressions on their faces and eyes laser-targeted at him. Andrias finds himself in a slight panic as the town gangs up on him. His eyes swayed between the judgmental amphibians. A familiar frog that considers himself the sworn leader of the bunch steps forward.

Assistant Toadstool: "Andrias. Long time, no see. Not long enough, in fact. How dare you show your face around here?"

A tiny toad at his side, a positively minuscule creature, a sea green toad dressed quite dapperly, pulls at Toadstool's pant leg.

Mayor Toadie: "I'll take it from here, Froderick. We are a peaceful town, Andrias. We seek no ill will, and I feel as if it would be in the best interest of my people if you would part ways with us."

King Andrias: "But I'm not here of my own volition. In fact, I was running an errand for—"

From within the gathered crowd, Hop Pop thrusts his red hand into the air. He pushes through the frogs, excusing himself as they give dirty looks at him for his rudeness. He is followed by Polly and Sprig.

Hop Pop: "Stop right there! It was us! We brought King Andrias to the humble town of Wartwood! We're to blame!"

Sprig interrupts, raising his hand and confessing guilt.

Sprig: "Specifically, it was me."

Hop Pop points at his grandson, sweat rolling down his face.

Hop Pop: He's to blame!"

Polly chimes in.

Polly: "Yup. Totally Sprig's fault."

Sprig facepalms and stares forward with a deadpan look on his face.

Sprig: "Thanks for throwing me under the snail, guys. I really appreciate it."

The crowd begins to rabble among themselves. They become aggravated, approaching King Andrias and throwing accusations against him.

Sprig: "Guys! The only reason he's here is because he rescued me on the way to Newtopia, and I had to pay him back! He lost his home for Frog's sake!"

Sprig leaps between the crowd and King Andrias. The king just looks down at him in concern. Toadstool is not convinced.

Assistant Toadstool: "A likely story!"

Hop Pop approaches Froderick, poking him threateningly in the chest.

Hop Pop: "Are you callin' my grandson a fibber, Froderick?"

He leans in on Hopediah, not intimidated by him in the slightest.

Assistant Toadstool: "I sure ain't callin' him a truther, Hopediah!"

Several particular frogs approach Andrias with their grievances.

Mr. Flour: "It's because of you that I had to subject my precious daughters to an all-out war and put their lives in danger!"

Stumpy: "And it's because of you that I had to shut down my restaurant for several months, causing my business to go down the tubes!"

Gunther: "I lost a lot of my pottery during the war, and I was stuck in an enraged state for over a week until my grief subsided. People told me I did a lot of... regretful things."

They proceed to surround him.

King Andrias: "I'm sorry. Really, I am, to all of you."

Sheriff Buck Leatherleaf steps forward, his hands situated authoritatively at his waist and ready for anything.

Sheriff Buck: "Mayor Toadie, I, at your request, will gladly remove this intruder from our fine town."

Toadie raises his hand, halting the sheriff from further motion.

Mayor Toadie: "That will not be necessary... yet."

Assistant Toadstool flails his hands around in the air irrationally.

Assistant Toadstool: "You can't be serious! He thrust us into an all-out war!"

As the aggression and yelling rise to the point where those not present find themselves curious, peering at the commotion from their windows, they argue among each other while others continue to berate Andrias with their grievances. Eventually, he is forced to put his rather large foot down. Andrias raises his booming voice loud enough for the whole town to hear.

King Andrias: "Enough! This is absurd! I haven't done anything wrong since I arrived!"

Andrias balls his fists at his side.

Mrs. Croaker: "So what?! You think that just because you're some former king, you can just live here, after everything you did?!"

He finds himself becoming angry. He tempers his willpower, resisting the urge to belt out in retaliation.

King Andrias: "I already said I apologize!"

The frogs proceed to punish him verbally.

One-Eyed Wally: "Empty words! I don't believe them, and I certainly don't forgive you!"

Felicia: "Nor I."

Chuck: "Me neither."

Fern: "Or me."

Assistant Toadstool: "Or any of us."

Their words beat into his skull. Andrias feels the full weight of guilt thrust upon him by the town. At the height of his anxiety and frustration, Andrias hyperventilates and decides he can no longer stand idly by and allow the people of the town to gang up on him. He raises his voice once again, thundering commandingly over them to gain their attention.

King Andrias: "I'm not asking you to forgive me!..."

His echo is heard throughout the whole town. The people become silent.

King Andrias: "...All I'm asking is for you to believe me... and to know that my sorrow is real! I know that I could apologize for the rest of my life, not knowing how long that is, and it still wouldn't be enough in reparations to all of you. I know that I have to live with the guilt of homes lost, lives ruined, and families torn apart by my actions. I have to live with that guilt."

Andrias walks through the crowd. He approaches the tall and proud statue of Anne Boonchuy. He stares up at it enviously as it towers over even him. He knows of the importance of that statue and what it stands for. He turns to face them once again.

King Andrias: "But I have chosen... to not allow that to prevent me from ever finding happiness, from ever living again, from doing everything in my power to make it up to the people of Amphibia in any way that I can. I want to move on... I want to be happy... to experience a life unbound by my duties as king and conqueror. In my isolation, I have found simple solitude, and with it, the capacity to heal my soul."

King Andrias lowers his head. The town around him lowers its combat poses and stands at ease, some staring with expressions of remorse, others of headstrong resolve in their decision to refuse pardon, but all eyes are on him.

King Andrias: "I used to be happy. My two dearest friends, the most special people in the world to me, tried to warn me of the evils of my father, and I wouldn't listen to them. I was torn between the love and compassion of my friends and my fealty to my father. I yearned so much for his approval that I was willing to sacrifice my soul, my convictions, and any remaining humility I had left. I allowed myself to be turned into a monster. I still must repent for my treason and confront my misgivings, not only as your king but as a man. So hate me if you will, but know that no matter what, I will persevere and continue my search for inner peace and happiness every day. I will continue to make it up to all of you, no matter how long it takes."

From dead silence, the thunderous applause of one frog erupts from the crowd. Wally throws cheers and whistles, claps, and commotions as everyone around him stares, dumbfounded.

One-Eyed Wally: "Yeah, woo-hoo! Bravo! Encore!... Oh, wait. We're not gonna do the whole slow clap thing?"

Toadie shakes his head.

Mayor Toadie: "No."

Assistant Toadstool approaches the disappointed Wally, placing his hand on his shoulder in comfort.

Assistant Toadstool: "That'll do, Wally."

Wally sighs in disappointment. Andrias retrieves the bundle of wood, marching back to Plantar's farm as the others stare at him. They converse among themselves.

Mrs. Croaker: "Human girls from another world, I can get used to. I don't think I'll ever get used to that troublesome giant living among us."

Mayor Toadie: "I will allow him his chance. He doesn't deserve it, but so long as he minds himself, he can stay."

The Plantars sigh in relief when Mayor Toadie approaches Hop Pop.

Mayor Toadie: "With that said, he's your responsibility now. After all, you three are the ones with the penchant for bringing in, how should I put this?... Strays."

Hop Pop: "Anne was not a stray!—"

Sprig butts into the conversation.

Sprig: "I'll watch him. He's my responsibility."

Polly turns to him with folded arms and leans into him with sass.

Polly: "We're talking about a man, Sprig, not a pet."

Sprig leans back.

Sprig: "Still. I know he's troubled... but he could be good for this town."

Mayor Toadie: "I agree."

Toadie smiles up at Sprig. Even after earning his backbone and confidence as an individual in the war, Toadie has never stopped being a kind and sympathetic soul to the plights of others, in stark contrast to his former boss and current assistant, Froderick Toadstool. Had Froderick still been in control, Andrias would have been made to hit the road yesterday. Andrias delivers the wood to its destination and returns to his tree. Sprig sees the opportunity. As it starts to rain, the crowd is dispersed and heads for their homes.

Sprig and family return indoors as Andrias is left outside, too large to fit anywhere indoors. Sprig, noticing the thunder and lightning, worries for Andrias. This is when he gets an idea. Sprig rushes outside into the harsh rain and toward the tree where Andrias awaits.

Sprig: "There's a storm coming. We should get you inside."

Andrias shrugs as he leans against the tree.

King Andrias: "Inside, where?"

Sprig looks up at the sky nervously, then back at Andrias. Andrias looks up at the sky with him, wondering what he's looking at.

Sprig: "We have a barn around back. Yeah, you'll have to share it with the animals, but it's better than waiting here to get struck by lightning, especially with your metal limbs. You're like a walking conductor."

King Andrias: "I suppose it's no less dignified than living outside or in the wilderness alone."

Sprig leads Andrias to a large red barn. He finds that he can fit inside, but has to duck under the doorway. He looks around inside as Bessie, MicroAngelo, and the various other animals simply stare at him. Andrias leans against the back wall of the barn. He sighs, nodding to Sprig.

Sprig: "It's unfortunately the best I can do. I hope you don't mind the animals."

Sprig shrugs modestly, and Andrias smirks weakly in response.

King Andrias: "Of course not. I remember the big-eyed one over there."

He nods, and Sprig looks over to MicroAngelo, who continues to stare with the same unassuming smile as usual.

Sprig: "Yeah. I guess MicroAngelo has taken a liking to you."

Andrias smiles at the snail.

King Andrias: "He is a fine young snail and a big boy. Reminds me of myself in my youth."

Sprig plants himself on the floor of the barn, and Andrias stares down at him in confusion. Sprig looks up at him, wide-eyed.

Sprig: "What were you like in your youth?"

King Andrias shakes his head and chuckles at Sprig's innocence as the rain and light thunder generate a calming ambiance.

King Andrias: "I mentioned before, my two friends, Leif and Barrel. The one was a pink frog that looked not unlike you. She was a gardener at the castle as well as a kind and gentle friend of mine. She taught me much of what I know about gardening today. My other friend, Barrel, was a toad. That's his hammer, the one I was using. Of course, you're familiar with how the young lady, Sasha, retrieved the hammer. Barrel was a loud and rambunctious lad, but just as pure of heart as Leif. They were my best friends. When I was a young prince, I was just as rambunctious myself.

"Father did not think I was ready for the throne yet, not mature enough. I loved my father, but for the longest time, that feeling felt... unreciprocated. My father, King Aldrich Leviathan, was a cold and calculating man, single-minded and dead focused on the duties of the kingdom and his role as a leader. It made me somewhat jaded about becoming a ruler myself someday. You know Lady Olivia? Oh boy, she thought I was a handful, up to the very end. In hindsight, I don't blame her or anyone else for turning on me. If only I had the knowledge and foresight to stop everything before it went out of control. Have you ever wished you could just go back in time and undo some of the things you did?"

Sprig: "If I could... no. It's too selfish."

Sprig waves away the idea, dismissing it.

King Andrias: "You would have stopped Anne and her friends from leaving?"

Sprig: "No! I couldn't do that."

King Andrias: "This is purely hypothetical, but be honest with yourself. You would give anything to see her again. Wouldn't you?"

Sprig: "... Yes."

King Andrias: "It's not unnatural for one to wish to act impulsively, selfishly. It is the struggle of mortality, the struggle of the self pitted against the struggle of one's own selflessness, your desires over the desires of others. Sometimes we feel as if every selfless act is a sacrifice of our little happiness for the sake of another."

Sprig: "Whoa. That's some pretty heavy stuff."

King Andrias: "You learn a lot in a thousand years."

Andrias and Sprig just sit there in silence, listening to the gentle sounds of nature, the spattering of rain against the wooden sides of the barn, the purring snore of the snails, and their breathing. The storm eventually relents, and Sprig opts to go back to the house.

Sprig: "Looks like the rain finally let up."

He listens. Andrias looks to the roof.

King Andrias: "Yeah."

Sprig turns around to leave.

King Andrias: "Sprig?"

He turns around.

Sprig: "Yes?"

He tilts his head with a genuine smile.

King Andrias: "Thank you for spending time with me."

Sprig smiles back.

Sprig: "Not a problem. We've got a lot of work to do over the next couple of days."

Andrias stays there for the remainder of the night. When he is approached the next morning, he rises groggily. As his poor vision adjusts, he can see the three of them standing before him: Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop. Andrias leans against the back of the barn with the large snail MicroAngelo cuddled up on his lap, the creature far too large for any normal-sized person's lap, yawns and realizes what's going on, and wants to be let down. Andrias shakes his head, coming into cognition with a yawn as the snail climbs down from his lap. The snirds that have perched all over his body for warmth scatter, leaving a trail of feathers in their wake.

Hop Pop: "The kids and I are gonna be outta town for the day. You gonna be fine all by yourself?"

King Andrias shrugs with a smile.

King Andrias: "As well as I've always been."

Sprig: "That's good. We'll be back before sunset. You stay outta trouble, you rascal."

Andrias smirks at Sprig with his arms folded.

King Andrias: "I make no promises."

Hop Pop turns to Sprig. Sprig stands there with his mouth hanging ajar.

Polly: "Now you know how it feels."

She addresses Andrias.

Polly: "We're going to get fertilizer, and we gotta go outta town to get it."

Hop Pop whistles.

Hop Pop: "Come on, Bessie. Wanna go for a walk, girl?"

Bessie makes indiscernible snail noises and slithers over to Hop Pop. They all exit the barn. As they head for the edge of town, Andrias watches them from the barn door. Turning away from the door, he looks down at the floor in contemplation before heading outside into town. The people of the town seem to pretend he's invisible, sometimes only acknowledging him through dirty looks, but otherwise minding their own business. Andrias marches about the town, simply taking in the scenery. As he strolls, Andrias comes across a building he never noticed, a dilapidated building with children climbing all over the ruins. He watches, reading the sign with his head tilted. It is partially buried in the dirt with half of it covered, but it clearly reads "school". The children take notice of him. A small, blue-green youngster approaches him.

Kid: "Hey, mister, are you new in town? All the grown-ups seem awfully sore toward ya."

Andrias looks down at the young man before him. He kneels to address the kid.

King Andrias: "All those grown-ups are mad at me for something that happened a long time ago. It's something you needn't concern yourself with."

He looks over to the dilapidated school.

King Andrias: "This used to be your school. Right?"

A little maroon-colored girl that just started to get her polliwog limbs approaches Andrias, speaking to him in a squeaky voice.

Polliwog: "My mommy says that the playground used to be a school a long time ago, and some big buggies destroyed it. It's okay, 'cause we got a fun playground out of it."

Andrias rises. He rises and beholds the ruins, contemplating.

King Andrias: "Playgrounds are really fun. But don't you want to learn how to read, or learn about those big buggies that destroyed your school?"

Kid: "No way! Come on, Sally. Why do old people always think we wanna go to a boring old school? Mom teaches me at home just fine."

The kids leave Andrias with much to think about. He navigates the town, approaching a youthful red-headed frog out watering the garden in her backyard in peace and humming to herself. He leans around the corner of her house.

King Andrias: "Excuse me, miss."

The young woman is startled. She drops her watering can and forms a martial arts pose, ready to attack Andrias in an instant. Andrias raises his hands in surrender.

King Andrias: "Easy. I mean no harm. I simply wish to ask you something."

She eyes him up and down, squinting in suspicion.

Felicia: "Yes? How may I help you?"

He points in the direction of the school, and she follows where his hand is pointing, knowing the location.

King Andrias: "I would like to inquire about the dilapidated education system of this town."

Felicia lowers her guard.

Felicia: "The school? Why, it was destroyed well over a decade ago. We've had a wild millipede problem for a while now. We've been trying to get rid of them for the longest time, but they keep coming back and building new nests. Why am I telling you any of this? This is none of your concern!"

She folds her arms and stares up at him.

King Andrias: "You are Felicia. Correct?"

Alarmed, she responds honestly, but with growing suspicion.

Felicia: "I am. Why?"

He leans on the house.

King Andrias: "I've had the pleasure of meeting your mother. Sweet woman. I'll be going now. Pretend I never asked."

She stares at him in confusion as he leaves just as abruptly as he came. She follows his large presence with her eyes. Andrias makes his way back to the barn, where he propped his familiar hammer up against the wall. He draws the weapon, holding it before him and staring at it intently. Andrias leaves Wartwood and ventures into the woods alone. The people watch as he leaves, wondering if he'll come back, some praying he doesn't. Andrias wanders the woods for what seems like hours. His venture seems aimless until he spots a tree among many others that is completely bare.

He finds it to be a rather odd anomaly, as most surrounding trees continue to bear autumn leaves. Curious, he proceeds until he happens upon another curiously bare tree, and another beside it. He feels as though he's getting closer. Looking down, Andrias notices trenches in the dirt as he treads, large, concave interweaving trails in the dirt accompanied by mud and what appears to be waste. Andrias follows the trail, stumbling on more waste. About a mile away, the trail ends as he stumbles upon yet another bare tree, and behind it, a rather large, seemingly unmissable hole trailing deeply and diagonally into the earth, a burrow large enough to be a cave.

Andrias draws his weapons, peering ominously into the cave. His eyesight is extra bad, and in the dark, he's almost completely blind. Andrias ignites his sword, using it to light the way. He peers around the corners of the dank and dark cave as the settling of earth, faint drips of water, and the hum of his trusty laser sword are the only noises to break the silence. Despite his size, Andrias treads with the grace of a ninja through the cave. In the shadows, large critters skitter across the walls, alerting Andrias with their rapid movement. He continues to venture deeper into a system of complex caverns and interweaving cells. As Andrias steps over a rock, the rock dislodges and rolls down the hill. He watches anxiously as it tumbles to the bottom of the incline.

Suddenly, a loud hiss comes from behind him. A massive millipede lunges at Andrias, pinning him to the side of the incline and making him drop the weapons. The beast rears its open maw, salivating as it widens its pincers to chomp on Andrias' face for raiding its home. Andrias dislodges his right arm, delivering a pulverizing punch to the face of the creature with a solid hook to the face. The millipede is sent a good twenty feet across the cave, where it lands with a loud crash, sending dust and debris through the air. More and more millipedes approach Andrias as he grabs his weapons and readies them, staring on with the ferocity of a barbarian.

King Andrias: "Finally, someone to take out all my pent-up rage on!"

The millipede rears, lunging forward as Andrias decapitates the creature with a single swing of the blade, blood and guts raining all over his face and beard as the creature falls dead to the floor. The other millipedes are appalled and enraged by this act, lunging forward in unison. Andrias roars psychotically as the beasts approach, and the king draws no quarter. With hammer in one hand and laser sword in the other, Andrias systematically kills beast after beast, littering the cave with their corpses, scattering them in a field of carnage, limbs, chitin, and bugly innards strewn about. Andrias pushes forward, killing mercilessly what could be hundreds of the beasts, far too many for even a troupe of frogs to take on with any sense of self-preservation.

The joke's on them, and Andrias has none. Tossing one of the last of the beasts into the wall, it almost looks like it will beg for mercy. Andrias stares coldly as the creature changes its tone, and Andrias takes his hammer, raises his arm, and slams down with the thunderous impact of a god, smashing the creature's head to bits. Andrias moves further into the cave, where he discovers something quite frightening: a massive nest of eggs, all aligned to the wall of the tunnel system like a massive uterine canal. Andrias's ears are pierced by a deafeningly loud and shrill screech as a queen millipede, easily ten times as large as the others, slithers her way forward. Andrias stares on in horror as the queen coils her way around him. Andrias grits his teeth in hate as he readies his sword and hammer.

King Andrias: "Come at me, big mama!"

The massive and pregnant queen lunges forward, slamming face-first into the ground as Andrias leaps out of the way. She burrows deep within the cave system, tunneling underneath, shaking the earth, and causing debris around her to fall. Andrias steadies his stance, planting his heavy feet and making himself very sure-footed. He eagerly awaits her to surface. Andrias studies the ground, focusing as hard as he can.

King Andrias: "Face me, beast!"

From underneath Andrias, a massive whirlpool forms. Andrias leaps high into the air as the queen rises from the dirt to devour him. Turning his laser sword in mid-air, Andrias tosses the laser sword downward like a bolt, piercing the queen through the back of the throat. The queen wails in agony as Andrias lands down her throat. The millipede queen writhes and sways, choking on Andrias as the king pounds and punches away at her internal organs from within. With all of his might, Andrias draws all of his strength and punches a wide hole into the side of the queen, spilling the digesting vegetation and other unknown foods from her stomach all over the cave.

Andrias is covered in stomach juices as he approaches his sword. The queen struggles to breathe as Andrias approaches her, laser sword in hand. Andrias stares down at her before cleaving her head clean off. Her head rolls onto the ground and settles in place. With ultimate fury, Andrias unleashes onto the eggs, smashing and crushing every single one he can find, sending yolk and shell all over the place in a mess of white and yellow. After nearly an hour of systematically plowing through egg after egg, the tired and weary Andrias drops to the ground, leaning against the wall of the cavern, catching his breath and sweating bullets.

Had Andrias not acted sooner, and had that nest of eggs hatched and those rather ghastly creatures been allowed to grow and thrive, the town of Wartwood would have had itself quite a massive problem. They would have been unstoppable, and in a matter of weeks, the town itself would be reduced to the kind of rubble the school had been left in, the people of Wartwood either dead or homeless. Without a doubt, they would never be able to face the threat themselves. Marinated in the blood and guts of his foes, Andrias reaches down, picking up the head of the queen and hauling it on his shoulder. He stumbles out of the cave, through the dirt and mud of the previous day's rainfall, and over to a puddle.

He drops his head onto the ground with a loud squish. Reaching down into the puddle with both his hands, he draws nearly the entire pool over to his face as he washes the blood. Andrias peers down into the water; the blurry image of his red and blue face, his long, knotted beard, his unkempt brow, and the bloodshot wrinkles of his eyes are clear to him. He sighs and rises from the puddle, making the long trek back to town. He finds himself back in town by the late afternoon. He treads through the town gate, and the people stare at the gore-covered king in horror, having no idea who or what he killed. He strolls directly to the sheriff's office on the edge of town and tries as lightly as he can to knock on the door.

Buck Leatherleaf approaches the door in confusion, opening it only to be confronted by the ghastly sight of a man covered head to toe in bug guts. Andrias drops the decapitated head of the fallen millipede queen at his feet. He does a double-take as he examines the head and stares up at the king in awe.

King Andrias: "You should be happy to know that I've eliminated your millipede issue. Do you have a map of the local forest? I could show you precisely where I found the den."

Sheriff Buck: "I, uh, um... Hold on."

Sheriff Buck retreats to his office, leaving Andrias at the front door and returning with a local map. Andrias looks down at the map, focusing heavily on the landscape to accurately judge the cave's location based on the surrounding geography.

King Andrias: "The cave is about 2.3 kilometers due southeast of this very building, between this cluster of trees and a triangular rock formation. The surrounding trees are bare, and the trenches should lead right to the cave. I've slaughtered every last millipede within as well as crushed their eggs, hence my ghastly appearance. Should you wish to send a cleanup crew within, I recommend extreme caution. I was as thorough as possible, but one can never be too careful."

Andrias leaves the head of the queen on the doorstep of the sheriff's office for him to dispose of. Leatherleaf is left wondering how he's gonna remove that putrid head from his doorstep. He removes his hat, scratching his head and rubbing the sweat from his brow as he watches in curiosity as the tired Andrias marches back up the hill and into the barn, where he finally relaxes at the back wall. Sometime later, not too long after Andrias arrives back home, Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop return from their business venture outside of town. They check in on Andrias and are quite shocked to find him in his condition. Sprig runs up to Andrias, a worried look in his eyes.

Sprig: "What happened?!"

As Sprig approaches closer, he covers his nose.

Sprig: "Oh, Frog! What's that smell?"

Andrias sniffs himself.

King Andrias: "That would be the rotting scent of millipede carcass and the juices of its own stomach."

Polly smirks, impressed.

Polly: "Nice."

Hop Pop cringes.

Hop Pop: "Wow... So you'd been really busy while we were gone. Huh?"

King Andrias: "I took care of a long-overdue issue plaguing this town. You can rest assured knowing that those pests will not bother you anymore."

Andrias looks at them with a serious, gruff to his voice.

Polly: "Wait... you mean all the millipedes are gone?"

King Andrias: "I sure hope so. Their queen is dead. Even if there are survivors, they'll be without leadership, and we all know how bad things get when there's no leadership."

Hop Pop shrugs, pleadingly.

Hop Pop: "We brought you some food on the way back."

He holds up a paper bag filled with various things he got from the side street markets. Andrias raises his hand, declining the offer.

King Andrias: "That will not be necessary. I ate on my trip."

Hop Pop's eyes grow large.

Hop Pop: "Oh, my goodness... You ate them too?!"

Andrias shrugs.

King Andrias: "Millipedes are a delicacy in Newtopia."

Hop Pop smiles graciously at King Andrias.

Hop Pop: "How could we ever thank you for this?"

Andrias smiles at them.

King Andrias: "Only by allowing me opportunities to do more."

Hop Pop: "I don't know what you mean by that, but sure. Wartwood could always use a boost in morale."

Andrias rises from his spot at the back wall, kneeling under the doorway to go back outside. He turns back toward Hop Pop with a smirk.

King Andrias: "Then a boost, it shall have. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have bug guts to wash off."

The trio of frogs just looks at each other, completely flabbergasted, as if they'd missed an entire week's events in the span of an hour. Sprig wonders if he should even sleep that night, fearing he might miss out on some of the most epic stuff he'd ever seen in his life. Polly is just jealous that she didn't get to watch Andrias go to town on a bunch of unsuspecting millipedes. Andrias walks all the way out into the middle of the lake to wash himself, the water only reaching about half his height as he tries to rid himself of the foul stench of rot. Andrias observes his new metal appendages, watching as the individual components move in place with the slightest twitch of his muscles.

He admires the work done by the young Polly Plantar, but somehow feels less like a newt than he used to; the lab-grown flesh used to cover up his mechanical body parts is no longer available to him. The evidence of his cybernetic nature is in plain sight for all to see. Andrias grieves as he remembers the days of the ancient past when he had his old, natural body. He realizes just how much of a freak he has now become, an unnatural zombie long past his expiration date. Still... he's alive and wonders why. Could a man, far into his old age, a man who up to this point has led a lavish, indulgent, and self-serving life, ever amount to anything?

Is he worthy of love from his people, or is he far too long down the trail of darkness to ever come back into the light? Andrias shakes his head, and away with it the swampy water and his self-doubt as he returns to the edge of the lake and retrieves his clothing. He realizes his clothes still reek of death, so he opts to wash them off in the lake as well. He dips them in, scrubbing them and dunking them, wringing until the cloth and leather are adequately dry. He squints in disappointed acceptance at their cleanliness.

King Andrias: "Better than nothing, I guess."

Andrias awaits his clothes to dry before returning to civilization. He resides in the barn at the end of the night. In Andrias' loneliness, he talks to the farm animals. They cannot communicate back, but he pretends they can. Late into the night, he gets an unexpected visit from Sprig. The young frog enters the barn in his pajamas. Andrias is surrounded by the animals that have taken a liking to him.

King Andrias: "Up rather late, aren't we, Sprig?"

Sprig: "I couldn't sleep. I gotta know. What sparked you to go out and take out that entire nest of millipedes?"

King Andrias: "I already made it clear. I don't care if the people of Wartwood ever forgive me. The truth is, I spent my whole life living in lavish luxury, ignoring the wants and needs of my people as I sat in lofty ignorance, indulging in childish behavior and serving the needs of a greedy and unquenchable dynasty, as well as an evil force that would sooner throw me to the dirt as soon as I extinguished my usefulness than invite me in. That young lady, Marcy Wu... she was the closest thing I had to a friend in many, many years, and I simply used her, exploited her naïvete, her desire to find her friends, her knowledge, and kindness.

"As flawed as she was, I could see the sorrow buried in her heart for what she did to her friends, and I could see the guilt rising in her as I used her for further gains. I didn't think anything of it back then, but long since, my actions have haunted me. She had treated me in the closest manner to what one could call love that I'd experienced in many years. I should have been honest with her. I should have sent them home and destroyed that box while I still could, shattering the Core's only chance at breaking into other realms. I can't go back to the past... but I can use the knowledge and maturity I've gained to make the future better, so long as I live."

Sprig sits on the ground. Andrias just watches him. He weeps into his arms.

Sprig: "I miss them so much. There are times when I... I wish we had never left Earth. There are times when I think to myself, 'I should never have let them go back'. How selfish is that? What's wrong with me? How could I even think about such betrayal?"

King Andrias doesn't answer right away but ponders.

King Andrias: "Perhaps it's time we accept the fact that we are flawed and sometimes selfish beings, but vow never to act upon those feelings ever again. We must stop indulging in the past and cast our eyes straight to the future. I want to make the people of Wartwood happy. That is my goal... for now."

He looks down at Sprig, and Sprig doesn't respond. He rubs his eyes. Andrias leans forward in curiosity.

King Andrias: "Well?"

Sprig looks up at him with glossy eyes. He sniffs.

Sprig: "Well, what?"

Andrias shrugs widely.

King Andrias: "What are your goals for the future, young man?"

Sprig stands up again, brushing himself off and gesturing nervously as he avoids eye contact.

Sprig: "I'd like to finally get to explore that continent that rose out of the ocean years ago."

King Andrias does a double-take. He apparently has been left entirely in the dark about such a revelation.

King Andrias: "I beg your pardon... but did you say something about a new continent?"

Sprig brushes the snot away from his nose.

Sprig: "Yeah... You mean you didn't know?"

Andrias leans in curiously again.

King Andrias: "No. I didn't. Care to indulge?"

Sprig sighs.

Sprig: "Well, it supposedly appeared in the wake of the Core's defeat. I wanted to go there for years, but colonization forces were sent from Newtopia... and none of them ever came back. Anyone who's ever set foot on that island has disappeared, never to be heard from again. After that, Hop Pop said he would never let us set foot there."

Andrias stares at the ground for an uncomfortably long time. Sprig tries to gain his attention.

Sprig: "King Andrias?"

Andrias snaps out of it.

King Andrias: "Yes?"

Sprig shrugs in concern.

Sprig: "What do you make of it?"

Andrias shakes his head slightly, still looking at the ground.

King Andrias: "I don't know."

As Sprig watches King Andrias contemplate, he decides that perhaps it's time to go. He approaches the door, walking backward as King Andrias continues to ponder to himself.

Sprig: "Well, I'm gonna head to bed. It's really late. Don't let what I told you keep you from getting a good night's sleep. Remember, there's more work to be done."

Andrias looks over at him for a brief second just to acknowledge him.

King Andrias: "Right... Good night, Sprig."

Sprig smiles kindly at Andrias.

Sprig: "Good night, King Andrias."

He closes the door, and Andrias continues to shake his head and mutter under his breath. His mind is filled with a particular memory, one that has clearly stayed with him for years, but one that he never understood. King Andrias goes back to a moment in his youth. He goes to confront his father about his treatment of Leif and Barrel, approaching his "office" when he overhears a conversation between his father and his true master. Andrias, then Prince, eavesdrops on their conversation.

King Aldrich: "My Lord, I don't think the boy truly understands the gravity of the situation."

The king stands in a massive, dark room. A black, orb-like mass coils around Aldrich like a snake. Andrias' father seems afraid, sweating at the brow but maintaining his dignity and composure as the metal monster attempts to intimidate him.

The Core: "Well, that isn't our problem, is it, Aldrich? Perhaps you should make him understand... make him realize that there are consequences for his actions."

Aldrich opens his mouth wide, staring up into the emotionless orange eyes of the metal devil.

King Aldrich: "You want me to punish my son?"

The Core: "Not punish, but correct. Should you become one with us someday, you will sit among the greatest minds of all time. Only one problem, with you out of the picture, that would leave your son as the face of the kingdom. It would be most unfortunate if he weren't to comply as intended. It would leave us in the compromising position of having to take action ourselves. He could compromise the whole mission or give away the location of our laboratories. He could find out the truth about the forbidden land. I don't think you'd want that, Aldrich."

King Aldrich looks down at the ground, scowling heavily, his face blanketed in shadow.

King Aldrich: "I will do what needs to be done."

The large metal monstrosity stretches its long coil out to Aldrich, taking its razor-sharp talon to the king's neck and drawing Aldrich up by the chin to look his oppressor in the eyes.

The Core: "Do not disappoint us."

The Core draws its claw away, leaving Aldrich bleeding slightly from his neck. The king, sweating profusely, removes a handkerchief from his pocket and dabs his forehead before patting the red mark on his neck. Andrias notices his father's footsteps as he moves toward the door of his office and hastily sneaks away. King Andrias returns to the present. As he tries to sleep, that horrible scene plays back in his head, over and over again like a horrible nightmare. It intrudes on his sleep. It was from that moment forward, after eavesdropping on that conversation, that Andrias made sure to be on his best behavior.

He didn't know what The Core meant then and there, but Andrias loved his father, no matter how little he reciprocated the affection, and the idea of the Core punishing him was something that he feared greatly. Andrias had no idea of the Core's power or what it was capable of. None of them knew. To this day, they still don't.

Chapter Text

As King Andrias attempts to adjust to his new life in Wartwood, and the surrounding people grow to simply tolerate him living there so long as he's on his best behavior, a grand conspiracy is about to unfold on the people of Earth. Los Angeles, the home of the Calamity Trio, has been quietly restoring the city to its former glory after the invasion. Things have been largely quiet, mysteriously silent surrounding the issue of the invasion, when in reality, nobody wants to address the elephant in the room. Well... almost nobody. A young man by the name of Henry Thurman steps off the school bus one day, the frayed end of his one backpack string strung over his shoulder, and the drapes of his greasy hair drooping down into his eyes.

Henry peers down into his cell phone, scrolling over the same messages for probably the thousandth time now. Henry is in a bit of a rut. Every day he goes to school, goes to the same classes, eats the same generic school pizzas that are thrown on reheat for thirty seconds, and proceeds to eat lunch at the same table with the same misanthropic, unpopular kids that he's hung out with for years. The one young man, a dirty blonde boy with broken glasses, a bit of a hipster, slaps his lunchbox onto the table and proceeds to take out his tuna on rye. He eats it slovenly as the school mooch, a skinny boy by the name of Mickey, strolls past, stealing one of his pieces of popcorn chicken.

Bobby: "Dude, get your own chicken!"

The cocky boy turns around, talking with his mouth full.

Mickey: "But yours tastes better."

Bobby flips him off. Another young man, an Italian-American boy with a fixation on gangsters and dated comic books, continues to berate him with his story, the self-insert comic where he's the superhero, and his girlfriend is the teen idol pop star he's had a crush on since before he even knew he liked girls. He speaks in an incredibly nasally voice with a bit of a speech impediment. It's quite apparent he was dropped on his head as a baby.

Steven: "Sho then Kricket Kid, who got hish powersh from a medallion from a vending machine at a musheum while alsho being bitten by a radioactive cricket, he shuddenly blacksh out and guessh what he dreamsh of. Go ahead, guessh."

Bobby turns to him and responds in a deadpan manner with half of his lip framed in a smirk as he tries not to laugh at the absurdity of Steven's writing.

Bobby: "Lemme guess, that random popstar e-girl he keeps simping over, the one that's way outta his league with the red hair and the comically large boobs?"

Rather than get mad, as one would assume a normal person would, Steven simply smiles, his massive nose cradled by a nearly V-shaped smile of pure perversion.

Steven: "Her name ish Katie, wishe guy, but yeah. He dreamsh of showering with the lovely Katie McCloud, pop shuper shtar extraordinaire ash her number one hit shingle, 'Shurgeon For A Broken Heart', playsh in the background."

Henry inserts his opinion as he slides into the table, never once taking his eyes off his phone to so much as greet his only two "friends".

Henry: "As well as the girl on seemingly every magazine at the local thrift stores. Her face is practically inescapable."

Bobby takes a bite of his sandwich, chomping off about half the bread and chewing on a portion so large it's a miracle he doesn't choke on it. His words are almost incoherent as he talks.

Bobby: "We all know Steven is only interested in very specific magazines she's been appearing in."

Steven stares at the ceiling with his head in the clouds.

Steven: "I'd be a happy man if I could get my handsh on one of thoshe. Maybe I'll get my coushin to grab me one. He'sh over eighteen and he'sh always been really cool about my likesh."

Henry actively cringes so hard he grows a double chin just so he can cringe harder.

Henry: "That is so gross, dude, using your cousin to get that stuff for you."

Steven rolls his squinty eyes from behind his magnifying-glass thick glasses.

Steven: "Oh, don't act like you don't!"

Henry sneers in disgust and slightly backs away in his chair.

Henry: "I sure as hell wouldn't get my cousin to do it!"

As Henry continues to pay attention to the only person who means anything to him, his phone, Bobby slaps his fat, sweaty hand onto Henry's phone, leaving a big handprint on his screen.

Bobby: "Dude, you gotta try out Cherry Blossom High. It makes fun of all those stupid weeby high school animes the girls like so much!"

Bobby seems to be interested almost exclusively in mean-spirited and jaded satire. He is a perpetual troll of a human being and probably the single most cynical person on earth. Henry shrugs, the most cartoonishly rubbery smirk forming on the lips of his weird, tiny face as he poses a slight interest.

Henry: "Eh, maybe. If it's funny, I'll probably binge-watch the whole thing in one night. If it isn't, I'll pretend it never existed."

Bobby points at Henry, his cheesy grin running from eye to eye across his inhumanly square head and the patchy double chin of his neck-beard protruding forward like the swollen neck of a frog.

Bobby: "Chet Firestorm is the best character in the whole show. He wears flannel tops, is captain of the football team, and even turns into the superhero 'Captain Football Team'. He's like every single school bully character ever rolled into one. It's hilarious. Dude is such a tool."

Bobby seems to have an affinity for any character he can self-insert into (someone who wears flannel and is a complete edge lord). Steven once again uses the mere mention of a superhero to continue to talk about Kricket Kid.

Steven: "Maybe Kricket Kid could fight againsht Captain Football Team in Kricket Kid Isshue 4, The Attack of the Platinum Penetrator!"

The greasy young man winces as he continues to show off this work. These are his two friends, Bobby and Steven. Now, I haven't gone very much into Henry yet, but Henry is a relatively standoffish kinda kid, a kid who wants nothing more than to be invisible, to go to school, do his work, go home, and be left alone entirely. The fact that he doesn't get left alone drives him crazy. Henry tends to stay quiet a lot of the time, bites his lip, and often loses his cool, flying off the handle at what seems like the absolute worst time, and this has led to him being labeled "most likely to shoot up the school".

The day is a blur, a series of voices bouncing off his eardrums like muffled, indiscernible noises, the sounds of teachers almost like the actual teachers in the Peanuts cartoons, where it's just muffled "womp womp womps" and nothing more. Henry isn't hard of hearing. He doesn't hate people, nor does he want to shoot up a school or anything like that. He just wants to be left alone, and nothing else. Up to the third floor, he drags his ridiculous school bag, his lower back threatening him with a herniated disc if he doesn't take his time up the stairs. Henry drops the bag at his feet as he fumbles with the locker. He gets the lock off and opens the door, only for some random wise ass to slam the locker shut in front of him and walk away chuckling.

He quietly flips the snickering teen off and continues to go into his locker once again. Last exchange of the day. Last meaningless trip to the locker to grab the books needed for the several hours of homework at home, and nothing else. Time to finally hit the road. After saying goodbye to Bobby and Steven, with Bobby once again calling Steven a weird stalker for having his comic book self-insert make out with his pop star insert girlfriend, he swears that Steven is gonna wind up on some sex offender registry one day. This is how these boys talk to each other, with constant back-and-forth jabs and self-deprecating humor to hide the fact that none of them are popular and none of them ever will be.

Back on the bus, back off the bus, only a few measly blocks between the school and home, but somehow the right amount of distance to make Henry question whether he's actually lazy or not for taking the bus, even though it would take roughly twenty straight minutes to walk home. Henry doesn't care. He just wants to get home as soon as possible, and in front of the one person that matters most to him, his computer monitor, the only place he feels like he's welcome (well, that and in front of a large flat screen TV playing Robot Space Ninja Alien Madness). Homework can wait.

It's time for more pressing issues, such as the latest ooze the internet has in store for him. Henry searches through the tabloids, scrolling past article after article as the white light reflects off his glasses, revealing his stoic expression, his milky, watery blue eyes, and his painfully prepubescent mustache growing crookedly on his face like the preset mustache of some future serial killer. Henry's life is a real drag. Every day, he does these same things and then gets on the internet, looking, scouring for anything, any clue. Henry believes that he's out there somewhere. He couldn't be dead. No. He refuses to believe it, refuses to accept that he died exactly ten years ago, to this day.

It all happened on that fateful day, the day the government continues to pretend never happened, the day that the government flat out told the people of Los Angeles, "We were under attack by terrorists". Yeah, right, because we're all supposed to believe that terrorists come in the form of fifteen-foot-tall blue aliens in black metal armor, descending from castles and wielding an army of what appears to be robotic frogs. You'd have a better chance of convincing Henry that the Easter Bunny was real. He doesn't get it. Henry removes his glasses and rubs his eyes as he continues to look over the footage one last time.

The footage is there, the people of L.A., Henry, his father, all of it, but the events seem different somehow, as if the truth was taken and hidden away, and replaced with this... this fabrication, this... farce being passed off as the truth. It can't be. It just can't be. It isn't, and Henry refuses to this day to believe that's what happened. He refuses to believe that his dad was taken by terrorists, and not by alien frogs from another world. Bobby believes him, and Steven does too. Mom doesn't, and neither does his cynical couch potato grandmother either.

She'd rather sit there watching some show about hunky young men that fight ghosts or whatever nonsense she continues to watch over, and over, and over, ad nauseam. His stepdad, John, doesn't believe it either, and this is a man who believes in far more insane things than Henry. Henry isn't crazy. He isn't! His stepdad is just a narcissist, and everyone's trying to gaslight him. It's the only possible explanation for it all. So after watching what seems like the five thousandth video, Henry, head in hand, yawns, and heads to the only place he can seem to get any answers from, the dark web.

Now, he knows to stay off those sites, the sites with the really bad stuff, the organ harvesting sites, the sites that only the filthiest degenerates on the planet go on, and anywhere where illegal stuff is happening, and most importantly, any site that's going to nail him with a huge virus. Late in the night, just as Henry's about to call it quits on another day of in-denial searching, he stumbles upon something that makes his blood run cold: a video link to footage of the events of that day, and the large, familiar blue face fills his screen.

He clicks the link, and for a moment, it seems as if his computer has frozen. He clicks again, the page becomes inactive, then the screen becomes a blur, with the "Browser has stopped working" pop-up filling the screen. He sighs, clicking the link, and his screen becomes wholly black. It takes a second for him to process what just happened when he peers along the top of the screen and realizes, a command prompt has opened. He tries to shut it down... no response. He tries turning off the computer. Finally, he sits there, waiting for the full reboot, only to be taken right back to that black screen with a command prompt. Exhausting all ideas, he starts typing sentences into the computer.

Henry:  "Hello?"

Ellipses blink beneath where his message appeared on the screen. Henry does a double-take, nearly falling back in his chair as he receives a message he is in no way anticipating.

?:  "Hello."

Henry:  "Who is this?"

?:  "We have had many names... but you may call us... AnimaGenesis."

Henry:  "Us? AnimaGenesis? There's more than one of you? Is this some sort of government agency? Am I being spied on?"

AnimaGenesis:  "One question at a time, please. And yes, there is more than one of us, but we are one, a singular unit... so to speak. It's relatively complicated. Regardless, we are only looking at you as hard as you are looking at us."

Henry:  "How did this happen?"

AnimaGenesis:  "It appears as if you've been poking your nose where it doesn't belong."

Henry:  "I'm sorry?"

AnimaGenesis:  "There's no need to apologize, Henry."

Henry:  "Hey, wait! I never told you my name!"

AnimaGenesis:  "You don't have to. We've been able to determine quite a bit about you through your... history. Quite a troubled young man you are, Henry."

Henry:  "I don't know what kind of virus this is, but I'm gonna get rid of you!"

AnimaGenesis:  "We are not a virus, Henry, and that's quite offensive."

Henry:  "Then what do you want? Why have you hijacked my computer?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Believe it or not, we want to help you."

Henry:  "Help me?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Yes. You see, Henry, we too know that your government has been lying to you, covering up certain activities, covering up things that would cause people to panic, things that would cause people to lose trust in their leadership. You are one of the few that still believe."

Henry:  "You're referring to the invasion?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Yes, Henry, we refer to the invasion of Los Angeles."

Henry:  "So... how exactly can you help me?"

AnimaGenesis:  "We thought you would never ask. In return for a few, how should we say, favors, we will provide you with proof, damning evidence that the world doesn't want you to see, evidence pointing to a truth you may or may not be willing to accept, evidence of the greatest scandal in human history will be uncovered right before your very eyes. We will bare it all to you... But our price is a tall order, and we are skeptical of a young man like you, a single, average teenager partaking in such a request."

Henry:  "There's one thing you should learn never to do, and that's to underestimate a desperate teenager."

AnimaGenesis:  "You're right. It's a mistake we've made before."

Henry:  "What do you mean by that?"

AnimaGenesis is silent; no messages pop up on the screen.

Henry:  "Hello?"

The screen remains static before the computer shuts off entirely. Henry doesn't know what to make of the phenomenon. His entire system reboots, his computer is fresh, and all functions resume to normal. The first thing Henry does is run a malware scan. How does he know he can trust a mysterious entity that hijacks people's computers? How could he possibly even know what internal damage it caused? Running diagnostics, all results... normal? How could this be? How could it be that a computer becomes seized and taken control of without leaving so much as a trace?

Is this the work of the government itself? No... couldn't be. Why would the government threaten itself? That's just stupid. What if it's international terrorists, enemies of the state? Enemies of the country? Maybe the authorities would be interested in this. Or maybe they would see it as a teenage boy doing everything he can to get attention. So no virus, no malware, no hijacked systems, no nothing. The only thing Henry can discern from this outcome is that the only thing it could possibly be is that he somehow stumbled onto a very malicious website.

Any sane person would know right off the bat to stay away from that site, and possibly learn to stay off the dark web altogether, but common sense is not Henry's strong suit, and the allure of finding out what happened to his father is too attractive for him to pass up. The easiest way for Henry to get back to where he was would be to search the history tab, or, at least, that's what any computer-savvy person would think. Alas, he searches the history section, and nothing outside of his last venture to YouTube is present. All he has are his strange fancies and that which he sought on the normal web, and whatever nonsense he viewed in order to distract himself from his sad life.

Henry sweats bullets somehow as he sits motionless, save for his trigger finger dragging down on the mouse wheel, the little plastic gears within becoming louder and louder. He feels as if he is going mad. Before he knows it, it is morning once again. Henry's pursuit of the dark web has gotten him nowhere, and now he's dead tired. His eyes sting and water from staring at the screen all night, and he reeks of teenage B.O. after pulling an all-nighter. Henry deeply regrets what he has done. He now has to go to school like this.

He's contemplating telling his parents he doesn't feel well, but then that would mean he has to be stuck at home with them, and he knows that every time he's ever been sick, his family has made sure that going to school that day was the more favorable option. Henry lifts himself up from the leather cushion of his chair, the back of his legs now sweaty, clammy, and dried out from spending all night in the same position on the seat. He slips his khaki slacks over his unchanged boxers, and throws yesterday's dress shirt over his head, messing up his glasses as he pulls it over his face, causing him to readjust them before placing the tie around his neck and reiterating the motions he was taught as a young boy of tying his tie as he mutters, half-asleep.

Henry: "Around, around, up, through."

Henry stumbles down the stairs, galloping trios of harsh stomps on the forgiving wooden stairway as he makes his way to the door. So as Henry walks to the door, his grandmother stops him from the couch.

Grandma: "Brush your head!"

Henry grunts, licking his hand and smoothing down his greasy, nasty hair as well as he can before walking out the door, as Grandma shakes her head. He staggers down the street to the corner to wait for the bus, and he's so tired he doesn't even pull his phone out of his pocket. He can feel the warm air of his gut settle as he finds himself ready to fall asleep in place. Henry shuts his eyes closed from time to time, jolting himself awake and shaking his head. The bus arrives, and he stumbles down the long row, over some ignorant kid's bag he almost trips over, and to his seat, where he allows himself to collapse. He stares out the window to keep himself awake. When Henry arrives at school, the first thing he does before he heads up is to buy a soda from the vending machine.

He is in desperate need of energy before he heads upstairs and forces himself to face the long day before he can eventually get his first bite to eat at lunch. As he downs the last of his cola, he lets out a long, loud belch and laughs at himself before discarding the aluminum can in the receptacle and heading to the first period. Henry tries as hard as he can to focus, between the one stupid annoying kid in the back row that keeps interrupting the teacher, to random calls over the PA system summoning some random person to the office, it's really hard for Henry to get down any notes or have any idea what's going on, which is sad because Henry at least pretends to care about what the teacher has to say and genuinely tries to get decent grades even if he gets mostly B's and C's.

One of the most difficult classes for Henry to get through is accounting class. The teacher is this Indian guy, and aside from his thick accent, he's also just extremely boring and speaks in the most monotone voice ever, as if he even finds himself boring to listen to. What's made worse is that the teacher likes to throw around accounting-related terms he's never taught before and pretends like he has, so the whole thing comes off like incoherent drivel. Henry has sleepwalked so far through his day and has finally survived long enough to get to lunch.

He slithers his way over to the lunch counter to grab the cardboard tray of tater tots that the lunch lady with the awesome spider tattoo tossed on there less than a second ago, and he resides at his usual plastic picnic table within the lunchroom to talk to his friends. Or at least, he would talk if he could stay awake. Bobby blows air into a brown plastic bag, holding it up to Henry's face, and popping it. This ticks Henry off, and Bobby just laughs as Steven rolls his tiny eyes.

Bobby: "Man, you look terrible. What's up?"

Henry snaps back.

Henry: "You mean besides you popping a bag in my face and making my ears ring?"

Bobby doesn't even acknowledge the cynicism. He proceeds.

Bobby: "Yeah. Your stepdad didn't talk your ear off again, did he?"

Henry leans on his hand, so tired he almost forgot all about the strange events of last night.

Henry: "No. Actually, it's something about my real dad. I was on the internet last night, you know, trying to figure out what happened the day of the invasion."

Bobby squints his eyes in suspicious disgust.

Bobby: "You're still on that stuff?"

Henry looks up at Bobby through his browline.

Henry: "It really happened, Bob."

Bobby: "Yeah, I know it happened. I ain't saying I don't believe you, I'm just saying you still think you can do anything about it, after ten years?"

Henry sinks into his chair. He shrugs limply, helplessly.

Henry: "Yeah... well, the cops never did anything about it, never caught onto any leads, never gave me any closure."

Steven sighs.

Steven: "Yeah, even I'm shkeptical."

Bobby looks over to Steve and then to Henry. He just wants to maintain optimism, but also realistic expectations.

Bobby: "Dude, even Steve believes you. It's just adults are stupid Borgs that wouldn't know the truth if it slapped them in the face. We all know the news is faked."

Henry avoids eye contact with them, frustrated.

Henry: "It's just... You know what... never mind."

Bobby becomes frustrated with Henry's standoffish attitude and confronts him, leaning in.

Bobby: "Dude, you're not telling us something. I thought we were your friends. If something's bothering you, let us know. We always got your back."

Steven looks over, chiming in.

Steven: "Yeah!"

Henry swings his head back and forth between his two friends. He tries to find the proper way to phrase his concerns.

Henry: "... Have you guys ever been on the dark web before?"

Steven pulls his head back and raises his brow.

Steven: "Why are you going there?"

Bobby, always the source of hard honesty, chimes in.

Bobby: "I've looked up some pretty hardcore Japanese anime before, but I've never been on the dark web. It just sounds like a way to get SWATed."

Henry shakes his head in denial.

Henry: "I'm not talking about looking for illegal stuff, but I mean, trying to gain access to city cameras and stuff like that."

Bobby is thoroughly confused. He looks over to Steven and then back at Henry.

Bobby: "Is that stuff really on the dark web? What do you wanna look at city cams for?"

He shrugs, trying his best to understand.

Henry: "I wanted to see if, on the day of the incident, there's any footage of me and my dad. We were out shopping the day of the attack, and he just disappeared. The police were completely unable to find him. It's like he just disappeared off the face of the earth."

Bobby leans his head forward in comprehension.

Bobby: "And you think that's gonna lead to you finding your dad?"

Henry shrugs pleadingly, trying to convince his friends that his plan isn't cockamamie.

Henry: "Look, I know it sounds stupid. But what happened last night was even weirder."

Steven looks at him with intense concern, even though the computer isn't his.

Steven: "You didn't get a virush. Did you?"

Henry doesn't seem confident in his response.

Henry: "No... I mean... I don't think so. I went to click on a link to a video that had a picture of what looked like my dad in the thumbnail, and all of a sudden, my screen went blank and became unresponsive. Then, some text prompt pops up, and I start communicating with something that calls itself AnimaGenesis. There was more than one of them. Kept using plural pronouns, we, us, like some sort of underground organization or something. The worst part is it knows my name."

Bobby's eyes widen at this revelation.

Bobby: "Well, you're screwed."

Steven slams his fist on the table in a fit of over-enthusiasm. Bobby grabs his tater tots as they roll out of the tray and onto the table. He shoots a dirty look at Steven.

Steven: "It'sh gotta be the government, Bobby. Of courshe they'd know hish name. They've probably been shpying on him through hish computer the whole time. They do it to all of ush!"

Bobby turns his head to Henry, his face filled with a mix of horror and deep concern.

Bobby: "What did it say?"

Henry candidly tries to explain himself, all while knowing that his case is absurd and makes him sound insane.

Henry: "It told me it wanted to help me, but that I needed to do some sorta favor for it. A whole 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' kinda deal."

Steven is skeptical of the whole ordeal, and Bobby agrees.

Steven: "That shounds really shketchy."

Bobby: "For real. How do you know it's not gonna get you to do something that'll land you in juvie, or worse, jail?"

Henry mulls over his predicament before responding.

Henry: "I don't. All I can do is see what it wants. Only one problem."

Steven tosses his trash at the trash can before returning his attention to Henry. His shot missed.

Steven: "What'sh that?"

Henry fiddles with his drink, twirling the bottle in front of him and staring at the liquid as it settles to equilibrium.

Henry: "It's not there anymore. After we talked, my computer rebooted, and it was like AnimaGenesis was never there. It's like my computer got hijacked and then released."

Steven shivers slightly at the story.

Steven: "That shounds like some weird creepypashta shtuff."

Henry rubs his head. The dark circles under his eyes and the crow's feet become apparent.

Henry: "It was. Man... I'm tired. I'm just going right to bed when I get home. I don't even care how badly it messes up my sleep schedule. I'm bushed."

Bobby leans back in his seat, folding his arms and being the unapologetic, honest one.

Bobby: "I don't blame ya. You look terrible."

Henry shoots him a deadpan sneer.

Henry: "Thanks."

Bobby smirks.

Bobby: "You're welcome."

Henry rises from the lunch table after eating and dumps all the trash. The latter half of the day isn't quite as bad as the first since now he's surviving off food energy, but it's still a drag. Accounting class once again proves to be a chore to sit through, even on a full night's rest, and is hardly bearable without it. As the accounting teacher finishes mumbling something incoherent about "assets" and "liabilities", the school bell rings and Henry bolts out of the classroom as fast as his tired legs will carry him. The final struggle is to get up three flights of stairs to his locker to jam all his unnecessary crap inside, and then it's home sweet home for Henry.

The after-lunch adrenaline has just about worn off when Henry slogs through the door and up the stairs without so much as greeting anyone. Grandma's ghost hunter show is still on TV, and she's fast asleep with her head back in the chair and her mouth ajar. Mom and John are going about their business, and Henry makes his way up to his room. Off comes the backpack, dropped onto the floor like a knapsack full of rocks, and Henry faceplants into his bed. He just so happens to look at his computer when he notices a familiar blank screen prompt, accompanied by a blinking line at the top. Henry is immediately bursting with energy as he slides into his computer chair.

Henry:  "Hello? AnimaGenesis?"

Henry is left in suspense for nearly a minute before new text appears on the screen.

AnimaGenesis:  "We assume you've had enough time to mull over our proposal?"

Henry:  "What do you want me to do?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Do you have a data storage container of some kind? We will require transportation."

Henry:  "You mean like a thumb drive? Yeah, I have a couple. How much memory will be needed?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Oh, not much. While the data being transferred is quite large. We have compressed the information into a folder. Do not decompress. Your system could not handle the kind of information we wish to transfer. It could become... corrupted."

Henry:  "Does eight gigabytes sound sufficient?"

AnimaGenesis:  "That will be adequate, yes."

Henry:  "Okay. Now what?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Click the link and download the information. It is not malware. It is not a virus. Your computer will be completely safe."

Henry:  "How can I be so sure of this? This already seems sketchy."

AnimaGenesis:  "As our only gateway, we cannot afford to compromise the integrity of your computer. It is within both of our best interests if no damage is done to the software, transferring this valuable information."

Henry:  "Okay."

Henry proceeds to click the blue link. The file type is one he hadn't seen before. The file icon is quite curious, one he'd never seen before, to represent a compressed folder. What is this? Regardless, the compressed file is a mere few thousand kilobytes, roughly the size of a high-quality audio file, so very easily transferable. The file is downloaded and placed on the thumb drive in mere seconds.

Henry:  "There. The information is on the thumbstick. Where do I go?"

AnimaGenesis:  "You will proceed to 204 Fleisher Street. There, you will find a home of deep red mortar bricks and a black roof. Simply leave the thumb drive in the mailbox and leave."

Henry:  "That's it? It seems like an awfully simple request considering how you said it was a 'tall order'."

AnimaGenesis:  "We may require of you further in the future to run additional... errands for us."

Henry:  "What kind of 'errands'?"

AnimaGenesis:  "We suppose you could think of them as 'fetch quests'."

Henry:  "Are you gonna be providing me with transportation fare? The buses around here ain't cheap, you know."

AnimaGenesis:  "You will be compensated in the form of the information we release to you."

Henry:  "Alright, but this better be good. I'm putting myself on the line for you."

AnimaGenesis:  "You will not be disappointed. Now, don't disappoint us."

Before Henry could respond once again, his computer shut down and rebooted. As Henry rises from his chair and walks toward his bed to crash, he pauses and looks back at his computer. Henry did not resume his former session, which means whatever AnimaGenesis is, or whoever it is, they're on his computer. But Henry is too tired for that now, and it's way too late to be going out, so Henry crashes. The next day is more of the same old crap. He goes to school, talks about absolute nonsense with Bobby and Steven, and comes home.

It's a good thing it's only Wednesday, and homework is due weekly on Friday, as he's so far done none of it. So when Henry finishes his little errand after school, he plans to get cracking on that right away. Henry hops on the bus and rides a good ten blocks, getting off prematurely at his usual departure, and takes another intersecting bus en route to Fleisher. Henry swipes his pass and treads past an elderly man with a fedora and a large, in-the-way shopping cart, and proceeds to sit in the back of the bus. He listens carefully for the robotic woman's voice over the speaker. Several blocks pass by before "Next stop, Fleisher and Crook" is called over the automated speaker. He pulls the drawstring and leaves the bus.

Henry is relieved to depart; that bus smelled horrible. As Henry treads down the street, he's suddenly made aware of the fact that he is not in the nicest of neighborhoods and is surrounded by criminals all over the place. He bundles up his windbreaker jacket and power-walks his way to his destination so that he can drop off the thumb drive and get out of there as soon as possible. Henry walks up to the building with the deep red mortar bricks and the black roof, just as it was described in the message. What AnimaGenesis DIDN'T mention was that this building was dilapidated and that nobody could possibly live there, at least not legally.

As Henry looks around, making sure the coast is clear and he can leave his thumb drive securely without the threat of it being stolen as soon as he leaves, he removes the tiny silver thumb drive from his jacket pocket and drops it into the door mail slot. No sooner does the thumb drive hit the wooden floor behind the door than he can already hear a pair of boots from behind the door walking over, taking the thumb drive, and walking away. It starts to rain, and Henry hightails it out of there. He marches back toward the bus stop across the street in the now-pouring rain, waiting nearly twenty minutes for another bus.

The best thing about the rain is that it seems to have warded off all the freaks in the area, and now he's all alone, which is debatably worse. Finally, another dirty bus arrives. This time, it's relatively vacant by comparison. Mom and John text Henry, wondering where he is, and Henry merely replies that he made a stop at Bobby's house on the way home to drop off something he forgot to give him, a simple enough lie. If one is to lie, it might as well be simplistic enough to be believable. Henry wonders if he's ever gonna see that thumb drive again. He then has the startling revelation that maybe he doesn't want it back after where it's been.

The bus ride back home feels startlingly longer than the one to Fleisher Street, and Henry's heart begins to beat faster as he wonders if he missed his stop and is en route all the way back to the transportation center. Unfamiliar with the neighborhood, Henry decides to get off the bus and simply use his phone's GPS to get home. He finds that he isn't too far off, and roughly ten blocks away, Henry finds himself back in the recognizable vicinity of his home. He treads on the door and almost slams it shut. Henry is soaking wet.

He removes his windbreaker jacket and tosses it on the coat rack to dry before stumbling upstairs. As Henry flops face-first into bed, the monitor pops on, and a familiar black screen invites him in. Before Henry has even interacted with the computer, AnimaGenesis begins typing once again.

AnimaGenesis:  "We see that you have completed your task. Now it is our turn to fulfill the end of the bargain."

Henry sits up in his bed, casually approaching the monitor as an image fills his screen. Before him is a terrifying image that makes Henry's blood run cold. His eyes widen as he slowly approaches the chair and sits. He does not blink. He only stares as he beholds the image of his father, tied to a chair, and beaten into submission. The next photo is of Henry with his father ten years ago. They peer from the street below as the massive robot and the blue warrior fight nearly a mile above them. His eyes are drawn to the warriors in the sky and then to him and his father, and finally, to the faded shadow of what appears to be a cloaked figure stalking them from an alleyway.

Henry saves the picture as AnimaGenesis proceeds to post what appears to be a video link. Wearily, Henry plays the video. It's very shoddy and unedited video footage from ten years ago of a series of wardrobes, ranging from a teenage girl to frog costumes, to a large animatronic of what appears to be the giant metal warrior the blue warrior fought from the sky. A Young girl, similar to Anne Boonchuy, is approached by a cameraman.

Cameraman: "We have a long day of filming ahead. Are you certain you're ready?"

The girl takes a large swig of water and nods her head.

Actress: "Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready."

The actress rises from her chair, hopping in place to get herself pumped up as she stretches and walks out of her trailer and along a long path to a green set. A large, complex device emulating the movements of a large beast stands before her with motion capture nodes. Many individuals walk in all different directions with clipboards. Individuals wearing "Crew" t-shirts walk around and converse as they make sure everything is in place. From off-screen, a man yells.

Director: "Clear the set!"

All individuals except for the girl and the motion capture expert are removed from the stage. Several moments of awkward silence follow before the same off-screen voice speaks again.

Director: "Action!"

The girl reads and dictates her lines in front of the motion capture expert before lunging and throwing her fists at it. He watches as she is flown around in a harness attached to wires and cables meant to be edited out in post-production. Henry shakes his head. Is this the truth? Did the government manufacture the entire incident? Did they try to cover it up with actors and film sets? The screen turns black once again, and Henry sits there, his arms slouching over the armrests of his chair and almost dragging on the floor like an ape. Ellipses appear on the screen, and a message pops up before him. Without changing his posture or moving at all, Henry's eyes are pulled to the screen so he can read the next message.

AnimaGenesis:  "Has this convinced you of your government's involvement in covering up the invasion?"

Henry sits there thinking before typing once again.

Henry:  "This isn't over. Is it?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Far from it. This is merely the tip of the iceberg. We are not finished. There is more to be done. We will allow you time to digest this information. Expect us again tomorrow."

Henry:  "How bad is the truth?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Know that it is far worse than you could possibly imagine."

The computer reboots, and Henry sits back in his seat, looking around at the floor in thought as he slouches in his chair. After spending the rest of the night bum-rushing his weekly homework to get it all done for the night, he goes to bed. The next day, Friday, Henry approaches his friends at lunch. He walks over with a tray of pizza and slaps it on the table. Bobby and Steven just look up at him.

Bobby: "That was so unnecessary."

Henry sits down, his eyes dead-focused on his friends.

Henry: "I need you two to come to my house today and see what I've been putting up with."

Steven takes a munch out of his pizza, making him even harder to understand than usual.

Steven: "You shaid you were putting up with shome weird A.I. or virush or shomething."

Henry shakes his head, his expression rock solid and stern.

Henry: "This is no AI, and it's not a virus. I think I'm dealing with some sort of top-secret agency that wants to expose the corruption of our government."

Steven leans forward, somewhat concerned.

Steven: "You mean like thoshe guysh on the internet your mom watchesh that make a big shtink every time shome random guy getsh fired by hish job like it'sh shome big shcandal?"

Bobby looks at Steven, then back at Henry.

Bobby: "I thought for sure you'd be smart enough to stay away from those dudes."

Henry waves away accusations that he's involved with conspiracy theorists.

Henry: "Guys, I'm not talking about any of that kinda stuff... You know what, just come with me after school, and I'll show you."

Steven shrugs as he eats his crust.

Steven: "Whatever you shay."

Bobby dumps the rest of his tots down his throat.

Bobby: "Okay."

Henry, Bobby, and Steven all finish up their respective school days, attending separate classes, and they all leave on the same bus to Henry's place. As he steps through the door with the other two, he runs straight upstairs. His mom yells up from the foot of the stairs.

Mom: "Are those two staying for dinner?"

Both: "No."

Bobby's mom usually has him pick up a pizza on the way home whenever he goes out to his friends' houses, and Steven's mom always makes so much food that if he doesn't go home and eat it, it might as well go to waste. Into Henry's room, they go as he knocks open his door and slides into his desk chair. Henry is met with a black screen and a prompt as the other two hover over him, gazing at the screen with anticipation.

AnimaGenesis:  "We see you've brought some friends."

Bobby: "Wait. Can it see us?"

Henry scratches his head in uncertainty.

Henry: "Now that I think about it, I was able to see me when I walked in the door the other day. It knew I was home before I even said anything to it."

Steven points to the top of Henry's monitor to a tiny, grey, plastic webcam.

Steven: "Maybe it can shee you through your webcam."

He turns to Steven with a look of realization.

Henry: "You know what, I didn't even think about that."

As text pops up on the screen, all three are drawn to the monitor.

AnimaGenesis:  "Your friend is right. We can see you."

Henry:  "Never mind that. What do you have in store for me?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Well, as you know, we will require more of you. We will require not only a jumper cable but a very large source of energy. We will also require something very specific, a glass lens, cylindrical, approximately 3 centimeters thick."

Bobby: "Is that why you brought us along, to help you be this thing's gopher?"

Bobby folds his arms and looks at Henry accusingly.

Henry: "I brought you here to show you just what I was dealing with."

AnimaGenesis:  "You will know the truth and soon, so will the world."

Bobby looks over at Henry, sneering and staring at him with half-open eyes half open.

Bobby: "You have a very needy friend."

Steven reorganizes his school bag, making sure his precious self-made comic isn't getting crushed by the other heavier school books.

Steven: "You guysh are lucky my uncle'sh a machinisht. He can get ush that glassh cylinder thing."

Bobby cups his chin in thought.

Bobby: "I got cables in the shed at home."

Henry contemplates in his chair.

Henry: "John's got a 6-volt battery in the garage, but he'll be super mad if I just give it to this stranger."

AnimaGenesis:  "Your sacrifices are for the greater good. After this, we have but one more request."

Bobby: "Enough of this."

Bobby hijacks the keyboard from Henry.

Henry: "Hey!"

Bobby:  "Why don't you just tell us everything we need so we can get it all right away?"

AnimaGenesis:  "Quite to the point, we see. We will require time to utilize the assets gained through this venture. Patience is a virtue. This will be worth your time, we assure you."

They both look at Henry.

Bobby: "I'll help you get this stuff, but you owe me lunch Monday."

Steven joins in.

Steven: "Ditto."

Henry throws his hands up in frustration.

Henry: "Fine. I'll get you guys both lunch on Monday."

With that, the prompt disappears, and the computer reboots.

Bobby: "That can't be good for your computer."

After hanging around for a bit, taking advantage of the stay by watching comedic let's plays and movie reviews, Bobby and Steven depart for their respective homes. Henry tries not to allow the suspense of the next reward for his efforts to lure him into a sense of intense anticipation that ultimately deprives him of sleep. The next day, he steps down into John's garage and looks for the giant battery. He has a hard time getting it down from the top wooden shelf that John himself installed. He questions why John does such ridiculous things as placing heavy objects on high shelves, but remembers it's just a headache to even try. Saturday morning, Henry leaves as inconspicuously as possible, heading out the front door after John leaves for his overtime shift at work. He meets with Bobby down by the taco joint right down the street from Steven's uncle's place.

Bobby: "These tacos always give me diarrhea, but I don't care because I love them that much."

Henry rolls his eyes as he leans on the table, Bobby ramming the last one into his mouth.

Henry: "Just don't crap your pants on the way to Steve."

Bobby waves him off.

Bobby: "You worry too much."

Bobby looks over at Henry's backpack, noticing a big rectangular lump in it, knowing that must be the battery.

Bobby: "You good carrying that thing?"

Henry shrugs nonchalantly.

Henry: "Well, if the cinder block of books hasn't messed my back up yet, a big battery sure won't."

The duo treads down the street shoulder to shoulder, several blocks, until they reach a garage where Steven's uncle is with his nephew, Steven's cousin. His cousin suspiciously hands him a few anonymous magazines that Steven proceeds to shove into his bag with haste as he slaps him on the shoulder. Bobby makes a break for the restroom immediately.

Bobby: "Oh my God! Gotta poop!"

Henry yells spitefully at the bathroom door.

Henry: "Told ya!"

He turns to Steven and his cousin, noticing him zip up his bag with a cheesy grin planted on his face.

Steven: "Thanksh, man."

Steven's cousin shoots him a weird, creepy wink.

Cousin: "Anything for my main man, Steve."

Steven runs up to his uncle, who doesn't even so much as look at him.

Steven: "Uncle Joe, you got that glassh thing I asked for?"

Uncle Joe is too busy cutting a fine, round glass table for a customer.

Uncle Joe: "Top shelf."

It makes one wonder if he's related to John Thurman. Henry turns to Joe.

Henry: "Thanks for the glass, sir."

Joe stops his cutter just long enough to respond to the boys. It's clear he's busy and doesn't have time for what they want. He'd express more curiosity if he weren't so swamped.

Uncle Joe: "You guys are lucky this thing is a patio table and that glass is extra leftover."

Bobby returns. He shrugs with a smirk.

Bobby: "We've been pretty lucky lately."

He knocks on the shelf to avoid cursing himself, a fit of natural superstition. The kids grab their things and head out the garage door together. As they wait for the bus, Steven tries to show Bobby and Henry his new concepts for Kricket Kid villains.

Steven: "Sho here you got Copper Cranium with hish copper cranium. He'sh a gangshter for the Yakuza who wash a former attorney/karate mashter, and Kricket Kid'sh former teacher before Mashter Kongzhu. He wantsh to fight Kricket Kid to show that he'sh the better mashter."

Henry looks down at the art and notices it looks eerily familiar to some stock artwork he's seen before, but he can't quite put it where until he remembers the manga books his mom got him for Christmas.

Henry: "Steve, did you trace that design off of one of those bad American-made 'How to Draw Manga' books?"

Steven recoils in defense before holding his head in shame.

Steven: "No!... Maybe."

Bobby points accusingly.

Bobby: "I knew it!"

Henry reassures Steven. He knows Steven isn't exactly a great artist, and for that reason, he wonders why Steven even thinks he will have a successful career in comics if he can neither draw nor use design software particularly well. In fact, the only thing Steven has going for him is an understanding of story and character tropes. He knows the kind of simple storytelling that compels people to those kinds of superhero comics. All of them have creativity problems. Bobby is simply too cynical to ever make anything that doesn't seem outright mean-spirited or farcical in nature.

His heart is definitely in the right place, and he can write, but his ego gets in the way. Henry has a talent for both writing and drawing, but has neither ambition nor patience to hunker down and put forth something great. All three of these boys were in the same art class, and they all excelled at what they did despite their shortcomings. But as a unit, they have the potential to put forth amazing work. As the bus arrives, they board, scan their passes, and take their seats, continuing the same conversation.

Henry: "If you need concepts done, just let me know. Tracing bad and fake manga just kinda sucks."

Steven sits next to an old lady who shimmies away from him as he talks too loudly.

Steven: "Look, it'sh jusht to shave time."

Bobby hangs over the rest of his seat, annoying the guy in front of him.

Bobby: "Yeah, we know, but we wanna help. Also, this is like the third villain you've written that's like a mob boss."

Steven contemplates the possibility of a collaboration.

Steven: "Maybe I could ushe shome help with variety after all."

The bus continues, the long ride to Fleisher Street making all three of them antsy. They hit so many red lights that it takes nearly ten minutes just to go three blocks. The lights have given them time to think, and this is when Bobby brings up a particular point, whispering into Henry's ear so that it won't alert the rest of the passengers on the bus.

Bobby: "Dude, what if what we're doing is illegal? What if we're helping some sort of domestic terrorist with something, all just so we can find out what happened with your dad?"

Henry looks over to Bobby. He's dead serious.

Henry: "Bob, finding out about what happened to my dad is the most important thing to me. If he's out there, I wanna know, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to find him."

Bobby leans back in his chair, folding his arms in skepticism.

Steven: "We should try to find out what thish guy'sh about."

Bobby sits motionless in his seat.

Bobby: "When we get up to the door, all we gotta do is drop this stuff off, right?"

Henry turns to him.

Henry: "Yeah. Why?"

Bobby shrugs. They all stand up, ready to depart as their street comes into view.

Bobby: "Why don't we stick around and find out what happens?"

Henry readjusts his backpack. Thank goodness he's so close to his destination because his lower back is killing him.

Henry: "Whoever wants this stuff is pretty secretive about it."

Bobby insists that the taskmaster is not being upfront about everything. He stands in front of Henry, walking backward as he confronts his friend.

Bobby: "Which makes this whole thing feel even more dodgy. This AnimaGenesis thing, how do we know whoever that is didn't kidnap your dad? I mean, think about it. How else do you think they have this information?"

Steven adjusts his thick glasses as he brushes his thick, greasy curls out of his eyes.

Steven: "I agree. Beshidesh, if we're getting roped into thish, we need to know what thish ish about."

The bus pulls up to their stop, and they get off. Henry takes his friends down several blocks. Bobby looks on with a face of pure disgust.

Bobby: "And I thought my neighborhood was bad."

Steven winces.

Steven: "Really."

They behold the trash all over, blowing through the wind. A man clearly high on something leans against the wall of the building next to them, a cigarette loosely hanging out of his mouth, and apparently, he's so far out of it that he doesn't even notice the three young men departing toward Fleisher Street. As they pass by a prostitute, she winks at them and blows them flirty kisses. Steven follows her with his eyes, and Bobby facepalms.

Bobby: "Remember your fidelity to Katie, Steve."

Steven snaps out of it.

Steven: "Right!"

The three boys pull up to the house with the deep red bricks. Henry pulls the heavy battery out of his backpack and places it on the doorstep. Bobby pulls out the jumper cable and Steven the glass shape. They place their respective items on the ground beside the battery, but then Steven gets a bright idea and runs to the side of the alleyway. Bobby and Henry look at each other and follow.

Henry: "Steve! What are you doing?!"

They run down the stairs into the alley to see what Steven is looking for.

Steven: "Keep it down. You shaid we should find out what the deal ish with thish guy."

Bobby folds his arms, already fed up with Steven's insistence on diverting from the original plan.

Bobby: "I said we should stick around and see who answers the door."

Henry tries as best as he can to reason with them. He just wants them to get home so they can see what new information AnimaGenesis has in store for them.

Henry: "Well, obviously, whoever it is must be so secretive he can't or won't leave his house and get this stuff himself."

Bobby turns to Henry, sneering in disgust as he poses an honestly legitimate query.

Bobby: "Who the hell would live in this dump?"

Henry shrugs.

Henry: "I don't know!"

Steven looks around in the alleyway and out back, but notices there's no way in from around the building.

Steven: "The only entrance ish in the front."

They run back to the porch and notice the stuff they left there is already gone.

Henry: "We should just go... Guys!"

Steven and Bobby rush over to the window.

Bobby: "Help me get this open."

Steven aids him in opening the porch window as Henry stands there watching the door with nervous sweat running down his face. As the two make it inside, he follows. It is entirely dark inside and dusty. Bobby whispers.

Bobby: "Dude, there's no way anyone lives here."

Henry darts his head around in a bit of a panic.

Henry: "We should go before this guy gets mad."

Steven rolls his eyes.

Steven: "You shaid it yourshelf that you're getting to the bottom of thish. Well, thish ish ush helping you get to the bottom of it, sho come on, you chicken."

Bobby rolls his eyes adamantly.

Bobby: "Really."

They proceed through the dark, dusty house, past a ratty old couch with cushions and blankets on the floor. The floor is bare, untreated wood, and in poor shape. They can't help but creak as they make their way down the admittedly spacious hallway in search of whoever runs the place. It's dead quiet.

Henry: "It's too dark. I can't see anything."

Henry shines his phone flashlight forward down the hall so they don't trip, leading the way into the kitchen. It is also a mess. A wooden table with a slew of scattered paperwork stands off to the side of the doorway as they walk in, and Bobby nearly trips on the wooden chair jutting outward. The chair falls to the floor. Henry shines a light onto the table to see that the paperwork scattered around consists of newspaper clippings, planned routes, pictures of missing people, places in L.A., and all sorts of suspicious, crazy nonsense.

Henry: "These papers are new."

He turns to his friends.

Henry: "Guys... someone is here and we really gotta get outta here."

Bobby stands at the top of a stairway leading down into a basement.

Bobby: "Whoever took the stuff must be working on something. I can see lights down there."

He turns to them and then stares down into the web-filled hall, lighting his phone flashlight and beaming it down the stairway across the dirty stone floor. A rat scatters as he runs his light across it.

Steven: "Maybe it'sh whoever 'AnimaGeneshish’ ish."

Steven shows enthusiasm, raising his voice a little too high and causing the others to shush him.

Bobby: "Exactly."

Henry looks down into the stairway. He knows that if they don't leave now, they might not leave at all.

Henry: "Guys, we should go. We might be compromising everything by being here. I might not ever find out what happened to my dad."

Bobby's had it with Henry's cowardice and calls him out on it.

Bobby: "And what if he's down there? Hm? Would you ever be able to forgive yourself if your dad were in this very basement and you did nothing to help him?"

Steven sides with Bobby, a stance he's gotten quite comfortably used to at this point.

Steven: "There'sh three of ush, and one of him."

Henry shakes his head in doubt.

Henry: "Don't you get it? They kept saying 'WE' are AnimaGenesis. We're probably outnumbered."

Bobby isn't hearing any more of it, and he begins his descent down the creaky stairway toward a light at the end of a tunnel. Suddenly, everything goes completely dark. Henry is being left in the dust.

Henry: "Wait!"

As they enter the dark den down below, lights turn on, and a horror unlike anything they've ever seen stands before them. A massive monitor within the basement hangs from the wall as pipes and wires run in and out through the wall and onto the floor. A massive series of servers is off to either side. The monitor turns on, and an orange eye peers down at the teens. It squints in disdain at them before the lights shut off once again, and they are left in the dark with nothing but the bright orange light from the eye maintaining visibility.

From within the darkness, they hear the closing of a gate from behind them. They turn around, turning on their flashlights on their phones once again, only to find that they've been sealed in. A mysterious hiss echoes through the room as gas fills the chamber. A deep voice calls from over a speaker system in the corner of the room. It threatens them.

?: "All you had to do was deliver what was expected of you. You couldn't wait. You all decided to get nosy in order to find out the truth. Well, consider your quest for knowledge fulfilled. You will soon be awakened to the evils of the world. Know that you brought this upon yourselves."

Henry: "Let us go! We'll leave and never come back! We promise!"

?: "But Henry, don't you want to find out what happened to your dear father? Don't you want the truth you've sought so hard for?"

Bobby: "What is this?! What's going on?!"

Bobby finds himself trembling to his knees.

Steven: "Why am I getting sho tired?"

Steven tries to hold onto something, only to pathetically slide to the cold, hard ground.

Henry: "I just wanna go home... please... stop."

The teens collapse to the ground in complete darkness.

?: "Sorry, Alice, no way back up the rabbit hole from this deep down. You must proceed through the madness now."

The teens fade into a deep sleep. As their eyes close, they can see nothing. The hissing stops before the slowly fading sound of boots clicking on the concrete as they enter the room, and eventually turns to dead silence. They lie there, motionless, unable to react to their situation, helpless. They cannot scream. They cannot plead. All they can do is accept the truth. Henry wonders as he fades, will he ever see his father again? Will he see his friends again? Will he see anyone or anything ever again, or is he destined to meet the same fate he's expected of his father for many years?

Chapter Text

Three boys sit in perpetual darkness. Their eyes are covered with a thick cloth. Henry can smell the dankness of the basement. They're still there. He feels a shuffling of feet and a slight twitch of his chair. Bobby and Steven are still there. He's sure of it. It's silent beyond some muffling, but then, the clicking of heeled shoes as someone walks into the room. The footsteps are calm, melodic, and controlled. Perhaps this is the ringleader, the one behind AnimaGenesis. No voice is spoken, only the tinkling of objects in the room, the sounds of metal and glass. Henry has no idea what's going on. But then, something drops, what sounds like the jingling of keys, followed by a voice, a male voice. It utters but one word.

?: "Dammit!"

It was clear as day, the sound of a man. It doesn't sound like any man Henry's ever heard before. Henry wasn't aware anyone lived here at all. Henry pulls at his restraints, trying to speak, but only muffled noises will come out.

?: "Oh, hush, you! Enough of that racket! AnimaGenesis doesn't like it when stupid children make noise. You wouldn't want to anger our most gracious host. Would you?"

Henry breathes erratically. Now he'd gone and done it. He'd gotten him and his friends kidnapped, and by whom? A domestic terrorist? Some pedophile? Someone who's gonna sell their organs off to the black market? Perhaps… the person who truly knows what happened to his father? Henry can't get the terrible feeling out of his head that he's gonna die tonight, and so are Bobby and Steven, and it's all gonna be his fault, all because he was poking his nose where it didn't belong. What if they're in on it? What if the whole thing is part of some massive cover-up?

He has to know, and being bound in rope and tied to a very uncomfortable wooden chair isn't gonna stop him from finding out the truth. Now Bobby and Steven are stirring in their seats, making noise. The man in the room becomes increasingly angrier. He isn't playing around.

?: "I thought I told you three to be quiet! Do you want me to get in trouble? Do you want to get in trouble? Because trouble can come very easily. So sit here and shut up! I'll be back for you three in a moment."

The man leaves the room, and Henry starts making as much noise and shuffling around as possible, but it's futile. Whoever tied these ropes is a pro. They're just tight enough to not allow any movement, complete restraint, a sign of dominance, but no actual discomfort, no cutting off the circulation. Whoever did this is no stranger to interrogation. The clicking of the heels lowers in volume as the stranger walks down the hall. That's strange. Where could he be walking? When Henry came down the stairs, there was only one entrance, at least that he was aware of. Oddly, no sound of someone ascending the stairs up into the kitchen, which is what he should be hearing. No. This man went somewhere else… But where?

There's no use investigating with a blindfold stuck to his face. All he can do is sit there and wait it out. He wonders about the little things. The man dropped something, and the particular unmistakable jingle, those were keys, perhaps keys to the house or keys to whatever room Henry, Bobby, and Steven are currently locked in. Perhaps those keys lead to freedom. He has to have them. But now, all he can do is wait. About an hour later, after the longest moment ever, apparently, although it felt significantly longer, the clicking of the heels can be heard once again. This time, they're slightly more erratic, frustrated even. Listening closely, Henry can distinctly hear what sounds like an iron gate being opened and shut. 

The man enters the room, and suddenly it becomes filled with an aroma. The captor brought with him food. Several light clinking noises can be heard as what sounds like a trio of glass plates, bowls, or glasses is laid gently on a wooden table. It smells like… soup, a hearty beef soup. How generous of the kidnapper to feed the boys gruel, assuming, of course, that any of this is for them. Surely, though, it must be. Why would a kidnapper wish to eat before his captives? Some kind of sick joke? Torture? If that's the case, then Henry really wants to get out of there. The last thing he wants is to be trapped in a cell with his three friends and a deranged lunatic.

Henry feels a pair of hands touch his face, very strange, very abnormal-feeling hands. Four fingers? What the hell has four fingers? Was he kidnapped by aliens? Cartoon characters? Are they gonna wind up going to the home planet? But wait a minute… four fingers. Those frogs had four fingers… at least… he thinks so. He remembers their big two-toed feet from the pictures. These images are burned into Henry's mind like a tattoo. Finally, mouth unbound, Henry can speak. He wants to yell. He wants to scream bloody murder, but he knows whoever set this little trap up is far too intelligent not to have the walls soundproofed. He knows that no matter how much he yells, he will not be heard. So Henry tries the more diplomatic approach. Calmly, he asks questions.

Henry: "What's going on? Who are you?"

The voice speaks again. It's definitely the voice of a man, an older man perhaps, unmistakable. The voice is raspy, slightly hoarse, and somewhat tired-sounding. His tone speaks of a calm fortitude, but cracks slightly, as if whoever is pressuring him is wearing on his patience. Henry sure hopes he doesn't take his frustrations out on him and his friends.

?: "Don't worry about that right now, young man. AnimaGenesis needs you. We need you, and because of that. We need you alive."

Henry doesn't like the sound of this. He was already willingly participating. Why kidnap him? Besides the computer, what was this captor so keen on making sure Henry didn't find?

?: "Say 'ah'."

Huh? So… this food is for Henry? Starving, Henry complies and opens his mouth. A spoon enters. Beef stew and it's pretty hot too. Henry can feel the burning on the ridges of his mouth, but he's so hungry, it doesn't matter. The two next to him muffled and motioned, shaking their chairs. It's enough to make the captor intervene.

?: "Enough of this! Do you two wish to starve? Because that can be arranged. I truly only need one of you… But AnimaGenesis insisted I keep all three. For what reason, I am truly unsure. But whatever it is, it wants the three of you to do it together. Otherwise… I'd allow your friends to rot there."

Another scoop goes into the bowl, and this time, the host blows on the stew first. Henry is slightly disgusted, almost wishing he hadn't. He doesn't want someone's nasty saliva in his stew… but as hungry as he is, a stranger's spit is the last of his worries. He consumes the meal without resistance. The host begins to hum to him an indiscernible song under his breath. It's calming, soothing, really, but simultaneously unsettling. After about nine or ten spoons of beef stew, the host stops feeding him. He rises and walks over to one of the other two boys.

Bobby: "What's going on? Henry?"

The host answers for Henry.

?: "Henry will not be speaking with you, young man. Now it is time for you to feed. Hope you like beef stew, because it's what you're getting.

Bobby yells out to Henry.

Bobby: "Henry! You didn't actually eat that stuff. Did ya? How do you know it wasn't poisonous?"

The man slaps Bobby. Henry can feel the force behind the act as his chair shifts.

?: "Stupid boy! How dare you! If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you already, and not by slowly poisoning you… not when a simple dagger through the temple would be infinitely more effective."

So he brings the bowl over to Bobby, blowing on the stew and feeding him. Bobby complies, reluctantly. He sniffs, almost as if he's started sobbing. The captor chuckles.

?: "What a weak will… Pathetic."

After finishing the stew, it's then over to Steven. He removes the band, and Steven immediately expresses appreciation.

Steven: "Oh boy, food! I'm Shtarving!"

The voice chuckles.

?: "Finally, some appreciation! Why can't you two be more like this young man? Open up wide!"

The captor feeds Steven, and by this time, the stew has already grown cool enough that the captor doesn't even have to blow on it and get his spit all over the stew. Steven obediently consumes the whole thing. The three are bound, and the host announces his leave.

?: "There you go. Food, and there was plenty of water added to the broth of that stew, so no, none of you will dehydrate."

But then Henry starts to wonder… what if they have to go to the bathroom at some point? Does the captive plan on being generous enough to allow that, or are these three unlucky young men doomed to face the indignity of going in their trousers? Henry assumes the latter simply cannot be the case. Still, a bathroom break is an ideal time to plan some sort of escape. Certainly, though, the captor is most certainly not stupid enough to allow the boys to use the restroom at the same time. No… this guy is a much smarter individual than that.

The man collects the bowls and leaves the room, whistling to himself. Something about him seems off, like he's not as bad as he claims to be. But then again, serial killers can be charming. Just look at guys like Ted Bundy. He was a ladykiller, both literally and metaphorically. This man cannot be trusted, no matter what. Henry swears he will get the three of them out of there. But what's taking so long? AnimaGenesis was supposed to want the boys for additional tasks, but what? Henry plans to ask when the host returns, hopefully soon.

As it turns out, it's not very soon, and the boys are left there for hours once again. His throat is dry, and his back is killing him from the uncomfortable chair. But then, the clicking of the heels, the glorious heels. Henry had never been so relieved for a return in his life. The man treads into the room again, opening and shutting the gate. Henry can tell because the man coughs and clears his throat as he enters the room. The footsteps approach Henry. The man leans over and speaks to him directly.

?: "I have some good news for you, child. Our great host is feeling uncharacteristically merciful. AnimaGenesis has been pondering with their great, many minds, their vast intellect, and has decided that you three could still be of some use to them. They requested you, in particular… Henry Thurman."

Henry writhes and wriggles in his chair. This act prompts the captor to remove the gag once again.

Henry: "Me? Why me?"

?: "I do not know, but they asked me to bring you to them."

If Henry understands this correctly, this means that the captor will have to undo Henry's restraints, and he can finally get up from that terribly uncomfortable chair. He nods obediently, admittedly quite curious as to what AnimaGenesis could possibly want with him. Could they possibly wish to tie up loose ends? As the captor undoes the restraints, Henry rises from the chair, his back and legs stiff from being left in that sitting position for hours upon hours on end. He stands on the stone floor, flat, bad for the feet, nothing but smoothed concrete, cold and hard, and he is nudged forward by the hand on his back. The mysterious person guides Henry in a series of different directions, which Henry assumes means the navigation of a turning, narrow hallway. 

There's little echo on the floors, which Henry assumes means the halls must be narrow and insulated. After about thirty seconds of navigation, Henry can hear faint sounds of what sounds like hospital equipment, the tiny, faint boops and beeps of a heart monitor or something. Is he in a hospital? He doesn't know. As Henry is halted, the mysterious individual stands behind Henry, clenching his shoulders. He whispers, hot breath reflecting off his cheeks and ears. The captor speaks once again, in the same voice as before. Henry can feel a heat source before him, something giving off an intense electrical heat. 

?: "Now, in a moment, I will remove your blindfold so that you can meet AnimaGenesis face to face. Our most gracious hosts wanted me to bring you to them. This is for your understanding, dear boy. This is so you can understand the severity of the implications of our stance. Now… behold."

The captor removes the blindfold, yanking it off the boy's head. Henry's eyes adjust to the sudden change of light, a massive, bright orange light shining right in his face, emitting from a massive screen. From the side, a gloved hand appears. The boy tries to look to the side, but his face is pulled forward by one hand as he is handed his glasses by the other. Henry takes them and places them on his face. He gasps, startled by the massive digital series of eyes before him. He peers side to side, and massive servers are plugged into either end. Henry has no idea what any of this stuff is for.

Henry: "H-Hello?"

The massive eyes dilate as they focus on Henry.

AnimaGenesis: "Hello, Henry. We are AnimaGenesis. Welcome to our base of operations."

Henry swallows, shaking his head.

AnimaGenesis: "You seem apprehensive. Regretting your decision to venture down the hole, Alice?"

Henry stares in determination, desperate to inquire.

Henry: "Let's just get this over with. What are these tasks you wish for me to complete?"

The eyes on the screen converge to a single large eye.

AnimaGenesis: "We couldn't agree more. What we require of you is nothing more than a financial purchase. Are you familiar with the program known as Babylon?"

Henry stands there, pondering for a moment before responding, cupping his chin and staring up suspiciously.

Henry: "The latest, top-of-the-line AI software? Yeah. It's capable of not only lifelike artificial intelligence but is also the latest in special effects technology. It's also not exactly cheap."

The massive eye before him blinks. The collective being explains.

AnimaGenesis: "You are correct."

AnimaGenesis depicts a downloaded image of the cover of the software on the screen, as they explain. A composed video of the software downloaded from the internet plays with no audio, as AnimaGenesis explains how the software works.

AnimaGenesis: "This human software is intriguing to us. It is capable of rendering realistic humanoid entities in pristine detail, accurately constructing environments based on scanned surface data, and is capable of replicating emotion without any of the little… quirks we've noticed with previous editions of the software."

Henry folds his arms, rolling his eyes sarcastically as he responds.

Henry: "I guess you're referring to the weird eyes and fingers the old software would render. It could never get the fingers right. Also, everything always looked plastic."

It takes AnimaGenesis a second to process Henry's crude answer, but they more or less "nod" in agreement.

AnimaGenesis: "Precisely."

Henry: "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a high school student. I'm not exactly made of the kind of money you need to purchase such expensive software."

AnimaGenesis squints intently.

AnimaGenesis: "Oh, Henry, don't be so naïve. We know you're aware of digital piracy. That photo manipulation software we found on your computer isn't exactly something within your family's financial means, either. That 'cracked' version works quite well. With it, we were capable of making this."

On the screen appears a well-drawn and rendered image of what appears to be The Core crushing the earth between its tentacles, the world cracking and ready to explode. Henry doesn't quite know what to make of it. He folds his arms judgmentally.

Henry: "That's a pretty cool picture, I'll admit, but I still don't understand exactly what your plan is, or why you need AI software or any of this other stuff."

AnimaGenesis: "Know that our plan seeks to resolve both of our conflicts, Henry. You will find your father, and we will expose the corruption of your government. Obtain our software from the human internet by any means possible. Now go."

As the collective being utters this final sentence, the cellar gate is opened, and the cloaked figure gestures for Henry to leave. As Henry steps forward, AnimaGenesis offers one final message. Henry halts in his tracks, not turning back around.

AnimaGenesis: "And, Henry, do not exploit this opportunity to alert the authorities. Know that we are watching you. Know that we can see everything. Remember that we still have your friends. Their lives are in your hands."

With this, Henry marches through the gate and up the stairs toward the kitchen. As he leaves the cellar way, the door is locked behind him with no way to go but forward; he leaves, exiting the house and into the open air once again. Adjusting to the sunlight of a new day, Henry shields his eyes. He knows he has to get home, but how will he explain to his parents where he's been all this time? How long has he even been down there? Lastly, how will we obtain the money needed to get the AI software to appease AnimaGenesis?

Henry adjusts his jacket, pulling the collar up and over his neck, hiding the back of his head and hoping nobody saw him leave the dilapidated building. Casually, he strolls his way over to the corner and waits for the bus. Henry has no idea what time it is, only that it's possible that it might not even be the same day.

Henry: "Where the hell is that bus? I only got three hours to get there and back, or Bobby and Steven are toast."

Henry panics, instinctively looking down at the watch he doesn't have on his wrist. He taps his foot impatiently, staring up at the light post, the traffic signal, seeming to only change every minute or so. This would be an obvious hindrance to any bus traveling this route, as the bus along that particular route already has quite a long travel from the transportation center to that particular block. After about fifteen minutes or so, the bus finally arrives. He boards and swipes his pass, moving quickly toward the back of the bus in a suspicious haste. He sits and continues to watch out the window as the boss slowly accelerates towards his destination. 

At the appropriate junction, he departs from the current bus and waits for the other intersecting bus to take him back home. He isn't quite sure how much time it already passed, but the bus routes have been efficient. Henry boards the second boss. He swipes his pass and sits even closer to the door than before so that he has immediate access to the front of the bus. Each block seems to take forever to travel, and many customers take their time boarding the bus, with several particularly old ladies getting on to the point where he has to even give up a seat. Henry remains standing at the front of the bus, waiting anxiously.

After what seems like forever, he removes himself from the bus, sprinting his way all the way up his front steps and into his house, hoping nobody had heard him, and he can run all the way up to his room without any distractions. His mother stops him immediately.

Henry's Mom: "Where the hell have you been all this time? I've been calling your phone over and over, and you never picked up."

Henry: "Mom, I was at Bobby's house. The reason I didn't call you was that my phone died, and none of us had our charger with us. We have the science project due next week, and we were working very hard on it."

Henry's mother folds her arms, scowling at him. She doesn't buy his ridiculous story for even a moment. Henry continues with his lie, trying to keep it as simple as possible, but he knows it's difficult, having to lie to his mom. 

Henry: "I'll be heading back there later tonight. We still have a lot of work to do on it, and I know you want me to get good grades in school. That college I want to go to isn't gonna pay for itself."

Henry's Mom: "You're damn right, it's not."

With this, he stumbles up the stairs, barging into his room and sliding into his desk chair. He opens the browser as quickly as he can, only for AnimaGenesis to hijack his computer and continue to waste more of his time.

AnimaGenesis:  "Time's ticking, Henry. You only have one hour and fifteen minutes left to go."

Henry:  "Then stop wasting my time! It took those buses forever to get here; there was a lot of traffic and passengers! I got here as fast as I could! Please! I need more time!"

AnimaGenesis:  "Get us our software quickly, and we will contemplate extending your time to allow for the loss of momentum due to traffic. Remember, we are always watching you."

The malicious program relinquishes Henry's computer so that he can continue to browse the web and look for the software that was requested. With a flurry of fingers, Henry goes to town on the keyboard, searching the web as quickly as he can for a "cracked" version of Babylon. As quickly as he can, he searches for a .RAR file of the program. As usual, he has to contend with all the false sites that can tend to issue him with various Clickbait items, pop-up ads, phishing sites, and other dubious clickable objects. The first 10 or so websites offer him little substance, and half of them aren't even in English. Many of them are in Russian, and he can't understand a word of Russian.

By sheer luck, he manages to find a cracked version on a Chinese site, just by coincidence. Immediately, he begins downloading. Only one problem, it's a very large file, and it takes a century to download because it has to be downloaded from a Chinese server. Henry stares blankly at the screen, unblinking, leaning his forehead on his palm, and tapping his foot in nervousness. 

Henry: "Come on, man. Come on. I don't have all day!"

Henry's stepfather makes a stop at the door, cracking it open and peering inside. He turns his head to the side to catch his stepfather's eye.

Henry: "Oh, hey, John."

His stepfather looks back and forth. He wonders with a raised brow.

John: "Who in the world are you talking to?"

Henry shakes his head.

Henry: "I'm just waiting for the stupid thing to download."

John eavesdrops on the download.

John: "Babylon, eh? I didn't know you were into that AI stuff."

Henry shakes his head with a sigh. He notices the download bar has only made it halfway and may not even be done for minutes.

Henry: "It's not even for me. I'm downloading it for Steven because he wants to use it in place of his artwork, but his internet totally sucks, so he's using mine to get this program."

John: "Oh. Well, I have some stuff going on in the background, so I'll stop that to give you more bandwidth. Okay? I'll just resume afterward. Sorry. We're gonna be upgrading to that high-speed stuff soon. Just waiting for that vacation pay to kick in, and that new internet package is as good as ours."

Good old John. He might be a pain sometimes, but other times, he can be really cool. As he closes the door, he asks one more question.

John: "Hey, bud. Did you happen to see what happened to my car battery that was on the top shelf?"

Henry's heart sinks momentarily. Once again, all he can do is lie. He shrugs.

Henry: "I don't know."

John shakes his head with a scowl, folding his arms and looking at the floor.

John: "Maybe your mother moved it. She's always touching my stuff whenever she cleans."

Now, this is something John is a huge hypocrite for saying, as both of Henry's parents are very guilty of doing to each other. Still, so long as Henry has an airtight alibi, he'll allow his mom to be thrown under the bus. That's just the good son he is. Nevertheless, Bobby and Steven's lives are more important now, and he's got less than an hour left to get back there and get everything to AnimaGenesis, and hopefully, the three of them will be allowed to escape from this whole mess entirely unscathed. Henry decides that if the worst he has to deal with is the wrath of Mom and John, it's a sacrifice he's willing to make to get out of this predicament.

Finally, the file completes, and Henry immediately stores the entire RAR file onto a thumb drive. Henry leaves the house, and in his mind, he finds himself filled with disgust over himself for being so easy to want to give up on his father, to wash away all the guilt accrued by his disastrous pursuit of the truth. Alice wants nothing more than to dig herself out of that deep hole. Henry tires of the Alice in Wonderland analogies and shakes his head as he approaches the corner with the downloaded file in his pocket. People walk by Henry in all directions, some normal, others seemingly a little more interested in Henry than he feels at all comfortable with, not in a disturbing way, but in a nosy way.

Suspicious individuals surround him, guys in casual clothes wearing sunglasses on what is very clearly an overcast day. Henry looks up momentarily and takes notice of this, placing both his hands into his pockets to avoid having anything stolen from them. The bus can't get there fast enough. Henry's already lost a substantial amount of time, and Bobby and Steven's geese are probably cooked already. He shakes his head, proceeding up to the next block solely to get away from the suspicious people who seem to be simply standing there, and even though he can't see their eyes, their heads are pointing in his direction. 

Henry proceeds to walk, turning his head and looking back every few feet. He's about a half block away, and only now is someone starting to follow him, a short-haired blonde woman wearing a light jacket and sunglasses to hide her eyes. She seems to have no emotions whatsoever in her disposition. She follows Henry, hands sunken into her pockets to give the impression of aloofness. Henry's not buying it; he walks faster. As anticipated, the second Henry starts power-walking, the mysterious individual behind him starts to hasten as well.

Henry turns a corner, and he starts to run before she turns the corner, and he's within her sight once again. Henry comes to an abrupt halt when another mysterious individual, another pretty obvious undercover fed, approaches, just as stoical and silent as the other. He darts to the side, nearly causing an accident as the driver pumps on the brakes. He places his hands on the front hood to stop the car and waves in apology as he continues to dart across the street, the driver screaming bloody murder at the kid. The individuals are sprinting toward Henry.

They follow him for blocks as he tries to move toward a busy block, a place with lots of witnesses to deter what could possibly be perceived as a kidnapping. Even the feds don't want to have to reveal themselves to a large public gathering. It doesn't look good. Henry notices several very suspicious unmarked vans following from the sidelines. He's gotta bolt across the intersection to get away. From seemingly nowhere, the light changes to red at a very abnormal time when many cars are crossing the intersection, almost as if changed manually.

Are the feds up to this? Is AnimaGenesis using its great influence over the city-wide technology to aid Henry? Or is it just a coincidence? Henry doesn't know and doesn't care. All he's aware of is that a bunch of cars are suddenly halted in the middle of the intersection, and everything is a mess as several people rear-end each other. The good thing is, all the creepy vans are momentarily halted. Henry continues down the street, disappearing into the crowd of people, and continues to move for many blocks. He contemplates heading into a store momentarily and switching out his clothes, but no, that's even more time wasted, and AnimaGenesis is likely already getting pretty trigger-happy with whatever their means of disposing of Bobby and Steven might be.

Unpleasant thoughts run through Henry's head as he heads down the street, taking notice of the blocks and paying close attention to the GPS on his phone, given that he can't get the bus now. No matter how far he seems to get away from the obvious feds or how close he seems to get to AnimaGenesis, he doesn't once feel as though he's out of the woods. He has to get to the house and get to Bobby and Steven, and then he'll be home free… hopefully. The anxiety gets to Henry, a deep, horrible feeling in the pit of his gut swells as he approaches the bad neighborhood, knowing for sure he's within the vicinity of Rook Street. 

After treading down several blocks of poorly paved sidewalk, nearly killing himself on the freaking block uplifted by the palm tree, past several blocks of brick walls with obscenities far too gruesome for even him, and past several more people that make him contemplate heading back in the direction of the feds, he looks up and realizes he's on Rook. But which way is Fleisher Street? He fears stopping for even a second to look at the GPS, but notices that the buildings only get better on one side and worse on the other.

AnimaGenesis's house is a dump, so naturally, he chooses the side with the worst housing, praying he's right, for Bobby and Steven's sakes. This is when a mysterious stranger grabs Henry by the arm. Instinctively, Henry jerks his arm upward and elbows the individual right in the face. The individual staggers backward only slightly, and Henry's heart races for a moment after he swears that the tiny glimpse of the individual he just hit didn't even look human. Henry goes to run when the individual, now fully cloaked, shouts out to him, and Henry recognizes the voice almost immediately. He freezes, his blood running cold.

?: "Stupid boy! You're going the wrong way! If you wish to return to AnimaGenesis, follow me."

The being turns and walks down the opposite end of the street. Henry turns around and follows the stranger. Whoever it is, he's covered from head to toe in leather, a long coat and hood covering his head. Henry notices the man isn't particularly tall, only about Henry's height, and Henry isn't even at his full adult height yet. Reluctantly, Henry follows. The individual is moving quite fast, peering to the left and right as if completely paranoid. It's warranted, Henry supposes, as the man did kidnap Bobby and Steven. Speaking of which.

Henry: "Bobby and Steven, they're still alive. Right?"

The man doesn't answer.

Henry: "Right?!"

?: "Shut up and keep walking. You'll find out soon enough."

Henry stops right then and there, metaphorically burying his feet into the concrete beneath.

Henry: "I'm not following you another inch until you tell me my friends are okay! The only reason I'm going through with this crap anymore is for them. Tell me, or you can kiss your whole little operation goodbye."

The man stops, shaking his head.

?: "You are in no place to negotiate."

Henry: "Yes or no!"

The being turns to Henry angrily, his beet-red face like that of the devil. This man is most definitely not human, and Henry just got a good look at him. The being turns around quickly, walking, somewhat embarrassed by his foolish failure at roguery. He growls.

?: "They're still alive… for now."

With his, Henry sighs and follows the man. Still, he grasps the thumb drive tightly. He contemplates not giving the drive to this freak. What the hell even is he? Henry wonders. Henry swears he's one of those aliens. Henry stares toward the bottom of the individual's coat, noticing something very clearly "moving" down there… a tail, maybe? That big, blue freak from before. He remembers, distinctly, that the creature had a tail. He remembers that same kind of face too, a soft, bumpy nose, big eyes, abnormal skin, so alien-like, but also, so animal-like. Henry continues to follow, but he wants to know more. It can wait, though. As long as Bobby and Steven are alright, that's all he cares about.

Henry is also embarrassed that some alien lizard man thing is more street-smart than he is. After what seems like a billion years of straight walking, Henry's calf muscles are tired. The man ahead of him, on the other hand, seems as though his stamina's barely taken a hit. He snickers slightly at the boy, much younger than he, complaining and rubbing his legs. Henry figures the man must have had some sort of military training in order to walk that far without a hint of exhaustion, or, at the very least, has some sort of athletic build underneath all that leather. He doesn't seem particularly big, so a lean and lanky build may very well be the case. Henry begins to wonder if he could take the dude in a fight. Most likely not.

Henry isn't particularly athletic at all. In fact, if one were to combine those two words, they'd wind up with the exact word for Henry: pathetic. Henry and the mystery man pass by a group of people, in which the man before him lowers his head so that only the front of his hood can be seen. The two women who pass them by look behind them at the total weirdo, and Henry for being an even bigger weirdo for following him. Henry suddenly realizes they're at the place when the stranger makes a sudden turn to the right and heads up the porch stairs. 

How could Henry have missed this place? It's a total dump. The stranger finagles with the door, and Henry contemplates the possibility of taking the potted plant on the porch rail and smashing it over the man's head, but then realizes AnimaGenesis might still be watching. The individual opens the door and steps inside, closing the door behind Henry. He gestures in the dark room for Henry to proceed ahead of him. The boy treads into the disgusting kitchen and turns to the right to head down the basement. Stopping, he stands at the top of the stairs.

?: "Well? What are you waiting for? Go."

The man growls impatiently. With a great sigh, Henry proceeds forward down into the basement, turning into the room where Bobby and Steven are still tied to chairs. Did he just leave them in there the entire time? Did they ever eat? Drink? Hell, even Henry, for what it's worth, stopped very quickly to use the restroom at home. Henry turns around.

Henry: "You just left them tied there? This is so inhumane."

The man shrugs, finally staring up at Henry with a scowl.

?: "Less humane than death, child?"

AnimaGenesis: "Well done, Captain Ernst. You've assured the child made it back alive."

Both Henry and the individual are caught completely off guard as the giant screen in the room lights up, and the man is summoned to the screen. He lowers his hood, approaching the giant screen filled with eyes, and they follow him, a newt man with a shaved head and face.

Captain Ernst: "You're just going to blow my cover to these children, master? Have you gone mad?"

AnimaGenesis squints their eyes at the newt beneath them, a peon.

AnimaGenesis: "This is part of our reward to the child for returning to us with the software."

The newt facepalms, shrugs, and pleads.

Captain Ernst: "What is the meaning of this?"

AnimaGenesis raises its eyes to the confused boy standing in the back.

AnimaGenesis: "Release the other two."

He gasps, turning around, shooting Henry a dirty look as he marches over to Bobby and Steven, untying them and removing their blindfolds. The boys stand up, creaking and stiff.

Bobby: "Cripes, man, finally!"

Steven: "Where'sh our glasshesh?"

The newt removes from his pocket both of their glasses, a thick rim of black for Steven, and a thinner wire-frame for Bobby. The two slip their glasses on and gasp at the face of the newt.

Bobby: "You're one of those aliens from years ago! I knew it!"

Steven: "What the hell is that?!"

He points to the screen, the many eyes of AnimaGenesis. The being speaks.

AnimaGenesis: "Children, meet the wonderful Captain Ernst, formerly of The Great Newtopian Army, a great… asset."

He turns.

Captain Ernst: "You mean ally?"

AnimaGenesis would chuckle if any individual in their collective consciousness had a sense of humor. The three teens approach the screen, staring upward.

AnimaGenesis: "You three will be working alongside Captain Ernst to aid us. You are in too deep now. But before you work for us, perhaps it's time for a little transparency. You should learn a little bit about Ernst before we send you on your mission."

On the screen appears what seems to be a video, footage captured by some unknown cameras, perhaps drones operated by AnimaGenesis. They watch. From the peak of the castle on the hill, the fated Captain Ernst plummets to his demise in the rocky ocean below. Wrapped in vines, turned to wood, bathed in gold, and frozen in a state of fury, Captain Ernst sinks to the bottom of the sea. As he suffocates in his golden tomb, his grave becomes darker and deeper. His heart races as his lungs beg for air, and the golden Captain experiences a sensation quite new to him, unrivaled fear. First comes the fear, then comes the anger, then sorrow, and finally, acceptance.

Captain Ernst faces all those feelings at once as his heart rate slows and his world silences around him. No sight, no hearing, no feeling. Senses depreciate. As Ernst prepares for the divine intervention, he experiences something new. Suddenly, he notices himself rising, something pulling him upward, and then a change in gravity. Ernst is no longer in the water; he is now on land. Did he drift ashore? He cannot be certain. All he knows is that he's growing so tired. Ernst is jolted awake by the piercing of a needle into his neck. The wood formed over his skin dissipates as the vines encasing him wither to the strength of mere garden weeds. 

Ernst gasps for air, drawing the salty sea breeze into his collapsing lungs, his eyes watering as he rolls on the ground, coughing into the sand and wheezing as he tries to catch his breath. Ernst is startled as he looks up at the sky and then down toward the shore, where a black beast, a crocodile-like creature with eyes red as hell, approaches him. He backs away, believing the creature may try to feast on him. He is immediately caught off guard when the being speaks. The voices of several men are heard, speaking in droning unison and almost mechanically processed, stripped of all life. Ernst finds it deeply unsettling to listen to.

AnimaGenesis (Crocodile): "Don't be afraid."

Ernst shimmies backward. He's never been so confused in his life.

Captain Ernst: "What kind of ghastly machination are you?!"

AnimaGenesis (Crocodile): "We are a messenger, but also... your savior, Captain Ernst."

Captain Ernst: "You... you know me?"

AnimaGenesis (Crocodile): "We have been pursuing you for some time now, watching you, waiting patiently for this moment."

Captain Ernst rises from the sand. He stands before the black metal machine.

AnimaGenesis (Crocodile): "We have a message for you. Flee Dawnblood Island. Await us in isolation. Do not come looking for us. We will find you."

Captain Ernst goes to speak more and asks about elaboration, but the beast retreats back into the water, ignoring him.

Captain Ernst: "Wait! What do you mean?"

He reaches out for the beast, but it has already disappeared. Ernst peers up at the castle from the shoreline before turning around; his cape billows in the light winds as he disappears. It appears as though Ernst has gotten his wish, the wish for freedom from his life as a hero, but at what cost? Ernst knows now that he'll need a new image. He can hide the wealth, but not the face. Ernst ditches his golden armor, burying it deep within the sand and traveling only with his civilian clothes beneath. He rambles back to port, knowing very well that he can't fake his death with an appearance so well-documented and publicly known.

This is when he casually makes his way to the men's lavatory. Ernst stands before the bathroom sink mirror before removing a dagger, a sheath in his boot. He turns the finely crafted blade in his hand and beholds his reflection from off the steel before leaning into the mirror and carefully and cleanly removing his thick sideburns and the wispy white hair from the back of his balding head. The dagger is razor-sharp, but with his grace and finesse, Ernst provides himself with a shave that leaves him completely bare. Next are his prominent eyebrows, ones that provide him with a dignified look of aged wisdom and sage knowledge.

Ernst frowns in woe that they must be gone. He sighs and shakes his head as he runs the blade along his brow line as cleanly as the rest of his head. Ernst's head is now completely bare. He stands there, an unrecognizable hairless newt, as he inspects his hair and brow lines as nitpicky as possible, as he runs his hand along his baby-smooth head. He smirks at himself in the mirror as he wipes his hands free of remaining hair and leaves the lavatory. With an air of freedom, Ernst treads across the docks, past the commoners and dock handlers, as they ignore him entirely.

Finally, freedom. Ernst smiles as he approaches the passenger ship back to Newtopia, dropping off a relatively generous fare of an entire bag of gold coins into the hands of a fine young lad in exchange for the most private room on the ship. The steward looks up at him, wide-eyed. This is likely the most money he's ever handled in his life, and a complete stranger just casually dropped it into his hand. Ernst squints with a mischievous smile as he leans into the young man.

Captain Ernst: "I want the quietest and most secluded room on this ship. If it's already occupied, show the occupants this as compensation for their troubles."

The steward looks down at the bag, smiles widely, and then up at Ernst before saluting him with expressive jubilation.

Cabin Steward: "Yes, sir!"

Ernst takes his key, as given to him humbly by the gentleman, and approaches his cabin, a rather luxurious suite. He opens the door, revealing quite an elegant and spacious decor, closing and locking the door behind him before removing his gear down to his undershirt and falling back into the bed. He stares at the ceiling, closing his eyes before the camera cuts ahead. Modern-day Ernst folds his arms.

Captain Ernst: "What? You're not going to showcase my long nap?"

AnimaGenesis: "That will not be necessary. All these children need to know is that we followed up later on with our promise to retrieve you during your secluded getaway."

Ernst folds his arms, staring at the floor with a little smirk.

Captain Ernst: "It was a nice little vacation while it lasted, also, perfect in its length for me. I just wish you wouldn't have stirred me so abruptly."

Henry approaches the screen.

Henry: "Never mind that crap. Where's my dad? You two seem to have forgotten that little detail entirely."

Bobby approaches in agreement.

Bobby: "Yeah, really. Henry's dad is the whole reason we're here in the first place."

Steven approaches, ganging up on the screen.

Steven: "We're Henry'sh friend. What shtuff do you want to ush to do sho we can get hish dad back?"

AnimaGenesis lowers its one giant eye on the screen and elaborates.

AnimaGenesis: "Know that Henry's father has been taken by some very bad people, and this little mission we plan to send you on will bring us one step closer to bringing Henry's father back to him. After this mission, you will have your father back. Then, we will have no further need for the three of you."

Bobby points up at the screen, accusingly.

Bobby: "Oh, no, you don't! How do we know you're not just gonna waste us as soon as you get what you want? You did kidnap us after all."

AnimaGenesis would sigh if it had a personality; still, the boys can practically hear the frustration in their next sentence.

AnimaGenesis: "Would you have trusted an alien Newtopian and a collective, intelligent super being had we not held you captive and weaned you into trusting us before revealing our presence?"

Steven shrugs, turning to Bobby as he responds with a raised brow.

Steven: "Thish thing'sh got a point, Bobby."

Henry sighs.

Henry: "Very well. We'll fulfill your mission for two reasons: to gain our freedom, and to get my dad back. After this, we never wanna see you two again."

AnimaGenesis squints.

AnimaGenesis: "Those requests sound… reasonable. We accept those terms."

Bobby approaches Captain Ernst, a very serious look on his face.

Bobby: "First things first… Where's the bathroom?!"

Ernst recoils slightly, pointing down the hall to a door that's barely visible save for the bronze knob jutting out of the wall and the gleam of the rectangular frame. Bobby stumbles down the hall, and Steven follows. Neither of them had gone in hours. Henry facepalms. He turns to AnimaGenesis to address them, folding his arms seriously and staring upward with a scowl.

Henry: "So? What's the plan?"

AnimaGenesis: "You three and Captain Ernst will be going on a little field trip. Henry, have you ever heard of a company called Vastek Industries?"

Henry ponders for a moment.

Henry: "I learned about them in anatomy class. They're a government-funded research lab working on neurologically linked robotic prosthetics. They make new limbs for military veterans, people who lost limbs via accident, amputation, etc."

Henry seems quite impressed. Ernst takes the wheel, intercepting, painting a depiction of a morally ambivalent company.

Captain Ernst: "They are also a government-funded organization, responsible for advanced robotics, an asset to the military-industrial complex."

Henry looks back and forth between them. He still hasn't quite connected the dots yet. 

Henry: "You know, I fail to see how any of this stuff has anything to do with my dad."

AnimaGenesis: "Just know that your father is a key component in all of this. Know that aiding us in our quest will gain you access to his whereabouts. You see, Henry, your father is trapped as well, trapped in another world… our world, to be exact. Look at it this way. We are but lost individuals, trying to put everyone back where they belong, and that includes reuniting you with your father. It is important that you understand, Henry, that we simply could not reveal to you everything right away. We needed to know that we could trust you, and in order to do that, it required us to exercise some form of control and leverage over you. We hope you understand."

Bobby and Steven return. Bobby adjusts the notches on the belt of his pants, and Steven continues to clean his disgusting glasses with a wad of toilet paper.

Bobby: "Whoa! What's this about going to another world? Are you talking about that place where those frog things are from?"

Captain Ernst leans against the wall, staring down at the floor.

Captain Ernst: "It's where we are from. It's where we must go."

Steven: "Jeezsh. I washn't aware we're going to be taking shuch a long trip to see Henry'sh dad."

AnimaGenesis: "Only after we complete one more mission. Fulfill this task, and Henry will be reunited with his father."

Henry inquires of them.

Henry: "Alright. Where do we have to go? And what do we have to do? The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can see my dad again."

AnimaGenesis shows a picture of the front facade of the building on the TV monitor, depicting a large, flat, gray-stoned building with a drab and very corporate exterior, followed by video footage of an interior, mere hallways, likely screenshots taken from the security cameras. AnimaGenesis speaks over the footage of the interior. Oddly, there seems to be no footage of anything remotely important, meaning there must not be camera footage within the facility in rooms containing top-secret technology. Henry assumes this must be to prevent secret information from leaking out to enemy countries. 

AnimaGenesis: "This is Vastek Industries. From within the walls of this seemingly innocuous government building lie the greatest technological secrets known to mankind. What we need from you, children, is to merely breach the building. Should you get caught, it will be seen as an act of trespassing. However, should someone like Captain Ernst, for example, be caught, he would be subject to government experimentation…"

Captain Ernst approaches the entity with a raised brow. He seems quite offended. AnimaGenesis elaborates.

AnimaGenesis: "Not that we don't have faith in your ability to accomplish this mission without a hitch, Captain."

Captain Ernst: "These kids could make quite a suitable distraction as I infiltrate the facility. If anyone can find what you need, it's me. If anyone can handle themselves in a battle, should things get hairy, it's me."

Captain Ernst cracks his neck.

Captain Ernst: "It's been quite a while since I've enjoyed the thrill of a good fight."

Captain Ernst approaches the kids momentarily in a room with a large table and an overhead light. He lays upon the table a large map, a floor plan of the facility with several stories' worth of government rooms, but none of the technology featured within the print, only vague names for each of the rooms, such as "Stabilizing Room" or "Hydraulics Laboratory", whatever those are supposed to imply. What the hell are they making here? Henry wonders. He shall find out soon enough, as Ernst explains, his beet-red scalp radiated by the yellow light overhung.

His large, amphibious eyes appear glossy, and only now can the group see just how utterly soulless they are, like the eyes of a man who had sold his soul a long time ago for what he deems to be a "greater purpose". If that greater purpose is to be the pawn of some higher being, Henry pities that decision. Oh, well. It's far too late to go back now. His tone is serious as he addresses the three teenagers before him.

Captain Ernst: "You three are going to act as distractions, pulling security in all different directions as I sneak into the facility and make my way down into the laboratory to fetch the necessary equipment. Henry, I will guide you to an electrical box within the facility. Your job is to hide and wait until I contact you using these walkie-talkies. All of you will have one. Ernst lifts a leather carrying bag onto the table containing the needed equipment, including four stolen walkie-talkies. Henry, when I contact you, you will flip every single switch in the facility off. It will go pitch black. Then you are to wait and hide. Meanwhile, Bobby and Steven will create a distraction outside, preferably dividing as much of the facility's staff as possible. The idea is to create as much confusion and chaos as possible while I infiltrate."

Ernst roots within the bag, pulling out a strange remote control, and handing it to Bobby. Bobby stares at it with a raised brow, and then up at Ernst as he continues.

Captain Ernst: "This is an electron pulse emitter. You will need to work in conjunction with Henry. When I tell him to flip all the switches off, you will need to act quickly and fire the electron pulse emitter exactly where I direct you. This will stall the backup power generator within the facility and provide me with a longer opportunity to infiltrate. Steven…"

He turns to Steven, the big-nosed and nerdy boy, adjusting his crooked and still-dirty glasses.

Captain Ernst: "I need you to be as big of a nuisance as humanly possible, and distract the guards for a mere minute, a full sixty seconds, you need to simply torture those guards with your antics."

Bobby smirks, leaning over to Steven.

Bobby: "You should show them your Cricket Kid comics. If they don't want to chase you around for a good minute after that, I don't know what would provoke them."

Steven rolls his eyes with a sneer.

Steven: "Haha, Bobby. You're a real joker, you know, but thoshe guards are gonna love Cricket Kid, jusht like everyone elshe already doesh. I'll make you eat thoshe words!"

Captain Ernst facepalms, turning angrily and directing them all with a threatening point of the finger.

Captain Ernst: "Just don't screw this up, any of you!"

Henry leans on the table, turning to Ernst.

Henry: "Well? You still haven't told us what you're going to be doing during all this mayhem."

Ernst sighs. He turns, leaning on the table. He looks over to the floating eyeball on the screen, then at Henry.

Captain Ernst: "I will be obtaining a piece of technology necessary for all of us to get back to Amphibia."

Henry shakes his head in a double-take.

Henry: "Amphibia? So that's where you guys are from?"

Captain Ernst sighs as he realizes he may have spoken too much about the situation.

Captain Ernst: "Complete this mission, and you'll find out. After exactly a minute, I will contact you, and you will make a run for it."

Bobby folds his arms.

Bobby: "Running where? From what I understand, this facility is out in the middle of nowhere."

Captain Ernst turns to him, staring at the boy through his brow line with his intensely untrustworthy eyes.

Captain Ernst: "I will secure for us an escape vehicle."

Steven tilts his head.

Steven: "Where did you learn to drive?"

The newt turns around, walking from the table and stretching his joints as he explains vaguely.

Captain Ernst: "Ten years is plenty of time to learn how to understand your human vehicles. You need only worry about getting out, accomplishing the mission, and returning to the vehicle. I've had plenty of practice with such crude, human devices."

AnimaGenesis: "That will be enough of the questions. We will be completing this mission tomorrow at dawn."

Henry approaches the computer.

Henry: "Tomorrow?! You expect us to stay here all night?"

AnimaGenesis: "Henry. You didn't really think we would allow the three of you to return home and compromise this situation. Do you? We assure you that you will have your father back tomorrow night. This is a promise we can assure you, should you complete this mission."

Henry turns around. He stares at the ground, balling his fists, peering over his shoulder back at the screen, his determination to see his father had never been so strong in all his life. He still doesn't trust the machine, or Captain Ernst for that matter, but he stares up at that big orange eye, and he holds the entity to their word.

Henry: "That's a huge boast. I hope you can hold up your end of the deal. This is a lot we're doing for you, you know."

AnimaGenesis shoots back.

AnimaGenesis: "And it is a lot we are doing for you, Henry. Do not forget that. This is our gift to you, young man."

It is now that the meeting has been adjourned. Ernst gathers his gear back into his leather handbag and drapes it over his shoulder, leaving the room and the three boys standing there. Henry, Bobby, and Steven look over to the monitor as it turns black, and the eye disappears from the screen. What a mess these three have gotten themselves into. The three boys navigate the hallway, curious about the series of anonymous doors leading to mystery rooms. Ernst leads them to a room with a locked door. Removing his key from his pocket, he opens the door to reveal a very plain and undecorated room with but a few ratty old couches leaning against the wall.

They appear to have been taken from the curb after people threw them out. Henry, Bobby, and Steven turn to Ernst, who scowls at them.

Captain Ernst: "This is where you three will adjourn for the night in preparation for our little 'adventure' tomorrow. Get plenty of rest."

The three walk in, and he closes the door behind them, walking down the hall and leaving the boys to their own devices.

Bobby: "I can't believe we have to sleep on these ratty old couches."

He says as he flops back into a ratty, flannel-upholstered couch, an ugly abomination that never belonged in a house to begin with. Steven falls back into another, kicking off his shoes for the first time in ages. The others can already smell his dogs. His attitude seems to stink noticeably less, though, displaying more of an optimistic disposition.

Steven: "I mean, hey, they could have made ush shleep on the floor."

Henry leans back into a leather couch and lies back on the armrest, staring up at the ceiling.

Henry: "This is true, but let's not mull on it. We should get as much sleep as possible if we're going to do this important mission tomorrow. Who knows how far this facility is? Ernst said in the hall that it's quite a distance away."

Bobby leans over to him. The two make eye contact as Henry rolls over, able to feel his glare.

Bobby: "Do you believe all that stuff AnimaGenesis said about your dad?"

Henry thinks for a second. He looks away at the floor and then back at Bobby, his disposition quite unshakeable.

Henry: "I have to. If it's gonna get my dad back, I'm willing to do anything."

Henry rolls over, staring at the back of the couch.

Henry: "Absolutely anything."

Bobby shrugs, taking the ratty, yawn-crocheted blanket that smells funny and draping it over himself. He rolls over, facing the other way.

Bobby: "Whatever."

Steven barely has any desire to sleep. He pulls from his bag an issue of Cricket Kid until he ultimately succumbs from exhaustion, falling asleep with the comic on his chest. The kids rest that night, not peacefully, definitely not peacefully at all. The anxiety that radiates throughout the three, especially Henry, hardly allows them to catch a wink. Ernst, however, is no stranger to a small sleep schedule and has been living off of four-hour rests for the last twenty years at least. He likely has more stamina than the three unhealthy American Earth boys combined. 

Tomorrow is a big day. It's a day that neither of them can afford to mess up. So many things are on the line: Ernst wants to go home again. Henry wants his dad back, Bobby and Steven mostly just to see Henry get what he wants, although Bobby would like a cool trip out of his boring life, and Steven sees the trip as an opportunity to gain inspiration. AnimaGenesis… what they want, however, eludes them all, even Ernst, his most trusted confidant. The devious entity merely awaits. Even they know that patience is a virtue.

Chapter Text

A brand new day rises in Wartwood, a hot, sticky, muggy new day. The frogs absolutely love it. This is what would be the equivalent of a nice, eighty-degree, sunshiny day with zero percent humidity and not a cloud in the sky to us humans. It would be that perfect of a day for King Andrias as well, if not for the one little issue plaguing him at the moment. It just so happens that at this very particular time of the morning, at this particular time of year, the sun just so happens to be placed right along the arc in the sky to shine through the small, termite-made hole in the top of Hopediah's barn. And now, the single beam of light shoots down into the eyes of the sleeping King Andrias.

Pinching his eyes, he opens them to be met with the harshness of the solar beam, in his already bad enough eyes. It's hard enough as it is to see for him already, and with those sunspots now impeding his vision, it's even more difficult. Andrias shields his eyes, wincing as he moves to stand up. He struggles momentarily to do so, given the small amount of room he has, which would be plenty for a normal-sized man, but not nearly enough for him. It doesn't help that he's not a particularly young man, nor does he have all of his original limbs.

He still hasn't quite gotten used to the phantom pain haunting his old, dead joints, or the complete lack of feeling in his robot appendages, even if the neural connectors are secured and he should retain proper motor skills, given practice. He stands, his head nearly touching the ceiling as he shoves his big, blue finger in the hole, pulling it out and stupidly splintering his finger. He stares into the beam, watching the little dust particles. He can already tell it's gonna be one of those days. At that moment, he sighs. Suddenly, he can hear a commotion going on outside.

Beyond the barn doors are faint murmurs, the sound of individuals arguing before him. Curiously, and with a raised brow, he approaches the barn door, the conversation grows louder, and King Andrias realizes that someone seems to be in pain. It's Hop Pop. Pushing the barn door to the side and crouching under the doorway, he treads outside to find Hop Pop hunched over and wailing in pain as Sprig and Polly argue and try to usher him indoors.

Hop Pop: "Oh, criminy! My back is killin' me!"

Sprig moves to place his pink, four-fingered hand on Hopediah's sore back for support, but the moment he touches the frog, he screams out again.

Hop Pop: "Ah! Don't—"

Polly: "Don't touch his back, Sprig!"

Sprig: "Hop Pop! I'm sorry, I'm not trying to—"

Hop Pop places his red hand reassuringly on Sprig's shoulder for support, biting his lip and staring into the young frog's eyes. The older frog's eyes start to water from the pain, and he tries as best as he can to fight it off and appear strong in front of his grandson.

Hop Pop: "I know, son, yer just tryin' to help. Just gimme a second."

Hop Pop stands there and breathes deeply, in through his nose, out through his mouth, just long enough for the pain to recede. His breathing is uneven and stutters from the anguish. King Andrias approaches.

King Andrias: "What appears to be the problem, Hopediah?"

Hop Pop, not out of lack of respect for King Andrias, but out of sheer inability, does not turn to face his former king, but simply faces forward with the same grimace as he clarifies the situation.

Hop Pop: "I just hurt my back a little, that's all. I ain't no tadpole no more. I was just tryin' to help and I… I threw my back out."

Polly approaches to argue with him.

Polly: "I told you, you don't need to assist the harvester robots, Hop Pop! They can deal with the seed work on their own just fine!... Let's get you inside so you can rest. I need you in tip-top shape for The Robo Arena of Death and Unapologetically Loud, Eardrum-Shattering Explosions."

Hop Pop shoots her a quick look, knowing very well that he won't be able to go to that show, but nevertheless, he remains quiet for the time being. Together, Polly and Sprig aid the old man back into the house, ascending the front stairs one at a time.

Hop Pop: "Ah! Ma back! Oh, sweet, merciful Frog, ma back!"

Hop Pop complains as he's ushered in through the front door, very slowly. Sprig and Polly navigate him over to his reclining chair.

Sprig: "Easy now, careful. He's really tender."

Polly wants to roll her eyes because Sprig is just stating the obvious at this point. They shuffle the old man to the chair, and he's biting his lip with his dentures, fighting the pain and holding back tears he doesn't want to shed in front of his grandchildren. Gently, they lower him.

Sprig: "Easy… easy."

They move, gingerly, slowly, into the chair, trying not to drop him, but Polly's grip slips.

Hop Pop: "Ah-haha!"

Polly cringes as she apologizes profusely.

Polly: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm—"

Hop Pop raises a finger to her mouth and silences her while he tries to catch his breath.

Hop Pop: "It's okay, Polly. I know you didn't mean to."

Polly: "Are you gonna be okay, Hop Pop? We're still going to the Robo Arena. Right?"

He swallows the pain. He sighs deeply, turning his head to her.

Hop Pop: "I hate to break it to ya, sweetheart, but in this condition, there's no way I'll be able to go anywhere."

Polly is utterly beside herself, gasping in desperation.

Polly: "But… but Hop Pop, you promised!"

Immediately, she turns to Sprig, taking his arms and staring into his eyes, pleadingly.

Polly: "What about you, Sprig? You can go. Right?"

Sprig shakes his head with a shrug and a sigh of disappointment.

Sprig: "Sorry, Polly. I'd already made plans with Ivy tonight. The last thing I'd want is to flake on her. Besides, we don't have another ticket, so she can go, and from what I understand, the show is sold out."

She turns to Sylvia, her final hope, but before the poor girl can even utter so much as a single word, Sylvia stops her right then and there.

Sylvia: "Sorry, dear. Those shows are much too loud for me."

And with this, defeated, Polly shuffles her way over to the chair and slumps into it, staring out into space.

Polly: "I can't believe this. The one show I've been waiting for all year, and nobody can go with me."

She doesn't cry but just sits there staring out into space with a look of pain that rivals Hop Pop's, and for a moment, he feels like a real heel. He knew that Polly wanted to go to that event, and had even made sure to secure those tickets early, knowing that she'd love to go and that she wouldn't miss it for the world, all just to make her happy. And they weren't cheap tickets either, with excellent tickets, not front row, by any means, but in the center of the action, and close enough to feel the flamethrowers and smell the robot motor oil.

Hop Pop, as stubborn as he is, still wants to go. His heart is saying yes, but his body is saying no, and that simply isn't going to do. The old frog is most certainly not content with giving the tickets away or selling them, and he's especially not content with allowing them to go to waste and allowing Polly to miss out on the event. She could go alone, and even though that would still allow her to see the show, what's even the point if she had nobody to share the wonderful experience with? Hop Pop runs his mind over every single possible individual who would conceivably go with her, and within a few seconds, he arrives at the most daft suggestion of all. It goes against his best judgment, but he blurts it out anyway.

Hop Pop: "Well… what about King Andrias?"

Collectively, they all turn to him, and he almost anticipates their exaggerated and unanimously synchronized response.

All: "What?!"

Sprig approaches Hop Pop and looks into his eyes. The man is still all there in the head, no signs of dementia or doddering in his old age, thank goodness, but Sprig does question his rationale, not that he doesn't trust Andrias, per se, but the notion that Hop Pop would hand Andrias such a responsibility so quickly.

Sprig: "Hop Pop, are you sure about this? King Andrias isn't exactly the most popular figure right now… nor has he been for the last decade."

Sprig peers outside to see the man just standing there with a raised brow, staring into the door window. Hop Pop turns away for a moment, almost as if he is starting to regret his own judgment as well. But then he peers over at Polly, standing there in silent contemplation, somewhat shocked that Hop Pop would even arrive at such a conclusion, given how protective he is of her. She approaches him, rubbing her hands nervously.

Polly: "Y-you mean you would let me go with King Andrias?"

Reluctantly, he doesn't say a word. He simply stares at her for a small moment as if silently weighing his options before offering a small nod. Immediately, Polly smiles, filled with excitement. She runs outside to where King Andrias awaits and finds that he is standing before the door, eavesdropping on the whole ordeal. Startled, Andrias backs away from the door, and Polly approaches him, throwing her arms around his big leg in a hug. Needless to say, the king is entirely taken aback by this. Sprig follows her.

Sprig: "Polly! What are you doing?!"

She simply ignores her older brother as she stares up at the king, pleading with him.

Polly: "Please, King Andrias! Please tell me you'll go! You were so interested in it, and I know you'd love it, and nobody wants to go with me!"

She continues, whining somewhat brattily. Andrias looks over at Sprig, who just folds his arms in frustration. Andrias tries to reason with her.

King Andrias: "Yes, I confess, the Robo Arena sounds very entertaining, but Polly, I'm not welcome anywhere. I'm a total pariah. Nobody wants me—"

And that's when Polly stares up into his eyes with her big, wet orbs, filled with all the sadness in the world, a professional guilt-tripper if ever there was one.

Polly: "That's not true! I'd want you to go! I'd like you to be happy and to enjoy yourself!"

Sprig approaches her, starting to argue with her.

Sprig: "Now, Polly, that's enough! You can't just go and pull the sad eyes routine every single time you don't get what you want! You do this all the time and you—"

Polly: "Butt out, Sprig! You do this all the time, trying to act like you're the boss of me! Well, I'll have you know…

Polly interrupts him, and the two start arguing and shouting over each other at his feet. Andrias watches as they go back and forth and merely sighs a tired sigh as the two are starting to give him a headache.

King Andrias: "Very well. I will go."

The two continue to bicker. They didn't even hear him because of their arguing.

King Andrias: "Kids?"

He tries to get a word in, but they won't shut up. They're pointing fingers at each other, and the whole thing is mere seconds away from evolving into one of those fights that just look like a dust cloud with fists and feet flying in all different directions.

Sylvia: "Oh my."

She says from behind the screen door. Now Andrias is getting mad.

King Andrias: "Children!"

The two come to a standstill, jumping, startled by his booming voice and standing at attention like little soldiers. He leans over, his voice stern but calm and cool.

King Andrias: "I will go."

Sprig backs away with a sneer.

Sprig: "What?! You can't be serious."

King Andrias nods with a tired and old expression in his eyes.

King Andrias: "I am."

He rises, smiling humbly at Polly.

King Andrias: "Consider it my expression of gratitude for restoring my lost limbs. I will accompany Polly to the Robo Arena of Death."

Polly throws herself at Andrias once again, tightening her grip on the old man's leg with her embrace.

Polly: "Yay! I never thought I'd say this but… Andrias, you're the best!"

He smiles fondly at the girl with a small grin and turns to her brother. Sprig sighs, folding his arms.

Sprig: "Are you sure about this?"

King Andrias: "I am. We will be fine. Besides, it will give me the opportunity to… open myself up to more people of the world."

He looks around, shaking his head, totally in denial.

King Andrias: "I expect the same reception… no less."

Excited, Polly runs past the frustrated Sprig, inside and up the stairs to grab her stuff before she leaves. If she's gonna make it to the show on time to get concessions and get to her seat with time to spare, she's gonna have to leave now. Polly halts in the middle of the stairway on the way up, though, and she watches as Sylvia caters to Hop Pop. For a brief moment, she sighs and turns her head in shame before making her way upstairs to grab her stuff. Suddenly, the ecstasy she had felt toward obtaining a new partner to go to the event had fallen flat. After getting her ticket, jacket, and other things she wanted to bring, Polly shuffles somewhat lackadaisically down the stairs and over to Hop Pop. Quietly, she kisses him on the cheek. She speaks to him quietly and is filled with sorrow.

Polly: "I'm sorry, I keep acting so selfishly. When I get back, I'll make it up to you, Hop Pop. I'll figure out a way to make you all better."

She smiles meekly.

Hop Pop: "Oh, Polly, all I want is for you to go to your little event and have a good time. Don't worry your little head off about me. Go have fun, and keep ol' Andrias outta trouble. Ya hear?"

Polly laughs through her nose.

Polly: "I will. See you after the show. I'll be sure to bring back extra pictures for you. Later, Sylvia."

Sylvia: "Have a good time, dear."

Sylvia continues to set Hop Pop up for his breakfast as she answers Polly. Sprig enters through the front door, and Polly throws her arms around him in a quick hug before running out the door.

Polly: "Bye, Sprig."

Sprig watches over his shoulder and out the door as she approaches King Andrias, who waits with a kindly smile. He lowers his hand to the ground, and Polly steps onboard. Raising his hand to his shoulder, Polly slides off and rides off to the side of his head as the massive newt begins his trek through the town, past the curious onlookers, and through the front gate, leaving Wartwood. They begin their trek along the humble marshes just outside of Wartwood and insist that while Andrias might be fast enough to get them there in ample time, there's no need to rush.

Having that lack of agency makes for an overall pleasant trip, and while Polly and Andrias didn't exactly begin on the best of terms all those years ago, she remembers a time before the king had gone sour, and she realized most recently that while the king was most certainly bearing a facade and pretending to be a friend, there were aspects of that ruse that were genuine, such as the king's desire for games. They begin, like most do, to kill time on a long trip, with trivial pleasantries and ho-hum little anecdotes, and as he spends more time with Polly, Andrias finds himself growing quite fond of her.

Polly leaps and bounds through the trees with vigor and youthful excitement, laughing and playing, bouncing off the walls and fluttering through the leaves, dancing her way with youthful, gleeful merriment all the way on their way to the Robo Arena of Death. Andrias follows her movement with his eyes as he admires, and somewhat envies her boundless energy and he wishes, in that moment, that he could have that same youth too, to simply be thirteen again, to wander through the forests with his friends again in search of fun and adventure, just like the good old days with Leif and Barrel. Eventually, she burns off a little bit of that extra energy and returns to Andrias.

It could be said for both that beneath their rough-around-the-edges exterior lies the spirit of a fighter, and one that is filled with a desire to right the wrongs of the past. After they've spent some time on the road and have begun to make their way out of the wetlands and into the dry, Andrias finds himself running out of general questions, the least awkward ones, and starts diving into topics a little more personal.

King Andrias: "So, uh, Polly… you seem quite content with me accompanying you to this little event. Our previous, um… interactions. You're not… bothered by them, or by what happened between you and—"

Polly: "Oh no, I still think what you did all those years ago was terrible, and that you should have had the cajones to stand up to The Core on your own."

That one really hurt. The interruption is bad enough, but King Andrias most certainly didn't expect Polly to be so blunt, so candid, or so brutally honest in her criticism of him. He stares forward, wide-eyed, that she'd even speak to him that way. And yet, he finds himself not at all mad, almost as if he walked right into that verbal bear trap for even initiating that conversation. Nevertheless, he faces forward, accepting her criticism, knowing full well he is rightfully deserving of it. After a small moment to consider her words, a small smile starts to form on his face. He recognizes that those words were not what he wanted to hear, but perhaps what he needed to hear. He nods.

King Andrias: "You're right."

Polly does a double-take while sitting on his shoulder.

Polly: "What?!"

He doesn't reiterate his statement but faces away as he continues to tread down that quiet, long, lonely road with his only companion. He plunges himself into thought, and he finds himself wondering.

King Andrias: "Polly… Do you believe that someone like me is worthy of love?"

Polly doesn't answer right away. She stares forward, pondering for a moment, puckering her lips as she kicks her little feet back and forth. Andrias watches her peripherally as she considers the moral quandary, their conversation isolated from the rest of the world as they tread along their dusty path.

Polly: "Why ask me? Far be it from me to judge. I assume that you're asking because you're wondering if all of the things you've done in your life can be forgiven. To some people? Maybe. To others, no."

He faces away in shame, but she continues.

Polly: "But that's something you'll have to live with. You can't change the past. You hurt people, and those wounds left scars. Scars heal, and people can forgive, but they never forget. But… the fact that you're clearly suffering, and the fact that you've allowed something like this to loom over your conscience, the fact that it means something to you so long after it happened, it tells me that you're capable of shame. That shame comes from the loss of your honor, and I can see you attempting to restore some of that, trying to restore some sense of dignity to your life."

Polly leans her head forward, her bushy, messy blonde locks draping over her face as she offers him a kind smile. He turns to her, and he can see her compassion.

Polly: "And just because you did bad things, and I mean a lot of bad things, doesn't mean you're not a person. All people are worthy of love, even those who have done terrible things. I don't know if there's a limit to what you can do that is unforgivable, but that's not my call to make. It's nobody's, really, except maybe the Lord Frog."

Andrias raises a brow as he peers off to the side.

King Andrias: "Lord Frog?"

Polly shrugs, peering down at Andrias as if he has no idea what she's talking about.

Polly: "Yeah. You know, The Maker, The Originator, The Big Guy Upstairs. I've heard Him called by many things."

Andrias faces the ground. He speaks somberly. The mere notion of facing the judgment of The Creator strikes fear within him and sends a shiver down his metallic spine as he faces forward, the sun hovering over him in the ever-extending sky like an eyeball, watching his every move. It somewhat creeps him out and makes him feel uneasy.

King Andrias: "Yes, I, too, have heard Him called by many things, by many different people. Oh, Polly, the stories I could tell you of the people I've conquered, of the civilizations I've slain, all in the name of that ungodly machine. All of them, upon study, had some sort of grasp of a Divine Creator. Some had more than one. Some had many gods. Some believed this to be malevolent, others, vindictive, and spiteful, and others… They either didn't believe or were so primitive that they had not formulated a concept for such a being."

Polly: "But do you believe in such a being?"

Andrias nods in certainty.

King Andrias: "Of course, I do. The universe is such a magnificent and fascinating place that I couldn't imagine a creator without some sense of artistry, vision, and, quite honestly, a sense of humor."

Polly stares outward at the sky, lying back on his massive shoulder and staring into the clouds.

Polly: "What were some of those people like?"

The older newt kicks various rocks down into the chasm as he makes his way past the guard tower.

King Andrias: "The ones I met were quite strange. They were quite varied, and many of them were dangerous, from what I'd been told before I took over my father's duties after his untimely demise. Father spoke of celestial beings, magical beings tied to the nectar of gods, able to transcend universes. He spoke of a tiny blue man he had seen once, as well as a child who could warp the fabric of space and time. He spoke of a creature most malevolent, of curious nature, a monster with red eyes, but then… it disappeared, and nobody had any idea what had happened to it. Some believed it escaped into our world and manifested itself somehow."

Polly gulps. The notion of such a horrible fiend sends shivers down her spine. Polly has always been a brave child, and yet, he senses her apprehension as she rubs her arm quietly. King Andrias decides to change the topic. He places his hand on his bearded chin as he ponders, turning back up toward her.

King Andrias: "So, Polly, you're such a talented machinist. Why didn't you enter the competition?"

Polly slouches down his shoulder so exaggeratedly low that she drags her arms and nearly slides down the king's shoulder and down into the dirt. She simply can't believe the awful luck.

Polly: "I heard about it last minute from Hop Pop, and by then, the signups were closed. And it's a real shame, too. I could have made the most killer robot ever, and it would have totally creamed all the other robots. You bet your tail I would have won first place."

Andrias laughs heartily. He's really started to take a liking to Polly. He admires her youthful enthusiasm, her spicy sassiness, and her tomboy attitude, and he's almost started to think of her as a granddaughter of his own. He jokes with her.

King Andrias: "Your work on me is quite impressive, Polly. I wonder if they'd accept a monstrously tall former king who's also part android in the competition."

Polly laughs, leaping off his shoulder, folding her arms as she walks, sassing him back. She kicks the rocks along the long, dusty road.

Polly: "As long as they don't pit you up against any magically super-charged teenage human girls, I think you'd do very well. I saw you fight and you kicked a whole lot of butt back in the day, even if it was our butts."

The king rolls his eyes at that last comment. For all the minor jabs Polly has taken at him, he finds that he can't really blame her. She does genuinely seem to be warming up to him, though, and the mere fact that she'd even trust him to accompany her alone to an out-of-town event goes to show that she's quick to forgive but not so quick to forget. It had seemingly only been a few days since Andrias had set foot in the Ruins of Despair on his way to Wartwood with Sprig, but to him, it felt like the first time there. As he approaches the ruins with Polly, he has never seen them so heavily populated before, not since the old days, the days before they actually were ruins, the days back when robot production was in full swing.

A thousand years have come and gone, and he remembers all those years gone, as a young lad, taking a trip there with his father, the young, blue prince, wide-eyed and filled with wonder. Andrias had never seen the construction of their war machines before, and Aldrich had wanted his son to see firsthand the machinations that would pave the way for Amphibia's future and its destruction. Oh, the naïve young Andrias. If only he were aware at that moment of what a monster Aldrich truly was. To Andrias, his father was the law. He was awesome. He was king, and none could ever make him see the man as otherwise.

Andrias loved his father and wanted nothing more than to please him, to make him proud. If only Andrias weren't so easily moldable. Initially, it would prove to be one of the best aspects of the young newt. But over time, as he found himself more and more occupied by distractions, Andrias would prove time and time again that he simply wasn't ready to be king. There was a certain frog and a certain toad who would prove to have an alternative influence on Andrias, and those two would keep him from achieving the potential Andrias had strived for. Oh, but now is not the time for reminiscing, or picking open old scars and turning them into new wounds.

Now is the time for the Robo Arena of Death and Unapologetically Loud, Eardrum-Shattering Explosions! Andrias turns to little Polly at his side, and she's bouncing up and down so excited and filled with childish joy that it seems almost as though she had espresso injected into her veins. Her elation evokes a tiny smile from Andrias as he peers down at her, to see her so happy, the little tyke, his mechanic, after she had fixed him and given him these wonderful new limbs. She deserves it. She doesn't know it, but in his mind, Andrias fully believes that she deserves this. The young lady works so hard, harder than most kids her age. Most of them are out dating, getting into trouble, or being general nuisances, but not her.

She slaves away, making robots day in and day out. Not that she minds. Polly has become somewhat of a workaholic in recent years. As Andrias approaches with Polly at his side, the people before him, the ones who notice his thunderous boots and the looming, massive shadow, overtake them like on an overcast day, the people lined up to get inside turn and gasp. They don't know how to react other than with cold silence. Some react out of fear, others out of anger, but the people before him don't say a word. Andrias runs his yellow eyes across the field, meeting with all of them, the hundreds waiting before him. Already, he has a bad feeling about this. Quietly, he simply closes his eyes and accepts his rejection.

But then he experiences a small sensation in his right hand, the feeling of a tiny quartet of fingers wrapping around his massive index. He peers down at Polly as she stands at his side, boldly facing his critics with him. She balls her little fist, her other hand, and stares the crowd down, a declaration of loyalty, and this astonishes the king, that a mere child, once his enemy, a girl whose life he was personally responsible for ruining in so many ways, could show such unwavering compassion and bravery in the face of such overwhelming odds. And that's when it comes to him, the notion that Anne had touched more than just Sprig. She affected them all, the girl from another world, the angel of mercy. Neither party says a word.

Most of the people are too afraid of Andrias to do so. They see him as a monster above all else, a traitor to his people, and rightfully so. Andrias knows it. They remain in that line for nearly an hour, nobody saying a word as they slowly shuffle their way to the front, and the tension is so thick it could be cut with a knife. Eventually, after the most awkward and purgatorial experience of Andrias's life, he and Polly make it to the front, and that's when he realizes that she hadn't let his hand go the entire time. She had been grasping his finger for so long that as soon as she let go to enter the building and descend the elevator into the world below, it now felt weird to him to no longer feel her touch.

Polly: "We're here to see the robot arena together."

Polly announces with a high-pitched and squeaky voice, filled with excitement and childish purity, as she hands off the tickets at the box office to the vendor. The ticket handler simply stares up at Andrias as the man looms over him with a weary and glazed stare. What could he do? He chooses the passive approach and returns to Polly with an insincere smile and a nerdy, teenage voice that cracks.

Handler: "Enjoy the show!"

And so, King Andrias and Polly proceed toward a massive, wide-open area. To think, only ten years ago, King Andrias wouldn't have imagined ever sitting among the commoners of Amphibia to spectate such entertainment. Oh, no. Years ago, Andrias would have had his own seating, an entire section dedicated entirely to him, with service for him, and the most perfect and clear seating arrangement manageable, fit for a king, and his arrival would be met with formal announcement and cheers as his image was born on the biggest screen they could find, and Andrias would ham it up for his audience, playing his role as the good and jolly king.

As many shows as Andrias enjoyed in his youth, he had never particularly cared for the privileges offered to him, even if he did find the perfect seating most convenient. It's bittersweet, almost, treading out into the bleachers among the commoners, getting to feel like a normal person for once, getting to just blend in. Now, for obvious reasons, King Andrias isn't going to just blend in. Being roughly eight times the size of the average amphibian isn't helping much. Nervously, he leans over to Polly and whispers.

King Andrias: "Um, Polly, perhaps we should find seats in the back. I don't think the spectators would appreciate having to stare at my backside the entire show."

Polly turns to him, folding her arms.

Polly: "We'll be fine, big fella. We just gotta get our butts to our seats and quick and enjoy the show."

So the two slowly and awkwardly navigate their way through the stands. Polly makes her way through, easily skipping her way to her seat with merriment as the awkwardly large Andrias shimmies, excusing himself profusely and with profound embarrassment, and sitting as gingerly as he can to avoid crushing the spectators behind him with his rear end. Andrias tries to make himself comfortable, pulling his tail to the side and making it as least of an inconvenience for those around him as possible. Andrias totally crushes his seat, and Polly cringes as Andrias blushes with embarrassment. He tries as hard as he can not to make any more noise or be a disturbance as he finally settles with an "ah".

Polly: "See? That wasn't so bad. Enjoy the show, big dude."

He turns to her with a smile.

King Andrias: "You too, Polly."

And just as they finish their sentences, things suddenly go dark. The room is pitch black as a smoky hiss fills the room before a sudden burst of pyrotechnics shoots up into the sky, and a loud man, a newt with crazy spiked hair, a tacky-as-all-hell suit jacket, a pair of sunglasses, and the most obnoxious voice of all time calls out to the audience through a microphone.

Host: "Are all of you ready?"

The people scream as loudly as possible, and Polly rises from her seat beside Andrias, standing on the chair and pumping with aggressive enthusiasm that catches King Andrias entirely off-guard.

Polly: "Yeah!"

The people all around King Andrias seem to forget all about their problems momentarily as he finally begins to relax, melting into his spot. But then, Andrias can feel the sensation of something hitting the back of his head, something wet.

King Andrias: "What the?"

He reaches his hand behind his head and draws back his palm to find multiple large, sticky, spit-covered paper balls stuck to his hand. He turns around, and a group of trouble-makers, punky frogs, and toad teenagers are sitting behind him. Oh, great, now he has to deal with them the entire show. He growls, resolving to ignore them as best as he can as he turns his head to the hyperactive Polly, bouncing on her rear end and teeming with enthusiasm. With a smile, he decides to relax and enjoy the show, just for her. The totally grating announcer continues.

Host: "Tonight, on The Robo Arena of Death and Unapologetically Loud, Eardrum-Shattering Explosions, we have for you a roster of totally insane contestants and their even more insane, and extremely dangerous robot death traps! Which of these battle-ready warriors is ready to take home the coveted Golden Saw Award?! Let's introduce our contestants!"

The singular stage light, the one that was highlighting the host in what was otherwise pitch-black darkness, pans over to a large group of misfits, from adults of all ages to teenagers, to even some little kids, child prodigies. Polly is most impressed with them. But then she looks over at their machines and becomes quite internally judgmental toward them, the words "pf, I could have built that" racing across her mind and bouncing back and forth like a ping pong ball. Of course, she could have built any of those machines. She is Polly Plantar, after all, but the point is, she's not impressed. But she is easily entertained. All Polly wants is to witness pure, unbridled robo carnage and mayhem, and she's totally unapologetic about it. The host gets to his contestants.

A lot of the contestants aren't particularly impressive to her. The stand-out individuals to her share one thing in common: their outright weirdness. She isn't particularly impressed by the yokels that managed to string together a contraption that could best be described as laughable, a crude machine made from junk with snapping mousetraps on the front and nailbats on arms sticking out the back. Polly scoffs. She could have made that in her sleep. Beyond that are some local teenagers who managed to scrounge together a robot made from aluminum cans and stolen circuitry, a crude creature that Polly can see getting totally decimated in the first round.

She feels pity for them but knows very well that they sort of deserve their impending defeat for bringing such a pathetic robot and dooming it to its death. One guy seems to have brought a robot that is quite literally a Roomba with various medieval melee weapons duct-taped to the top of the device. That most certainly won't last long. Another promising young man is a pre-teen toad going under the name "Wrecker". Wrecker seems to come from a family of toads hellbent on being great engineers, and Wrecker hopes to have a promising career in robotics and science just like his ancestor, a great doctor from centuries ago.

Wrecker has a massive robot that looks like a cross between a toad and a turtle with a spiked shell, and the giant wields a massive iron ball on a chain like a flail. Polly is only mildly impressed, mostly because a toad made the device, and she doesn't know very many highly advanced toad folk. She secretly wishes him luck, considering him the underdog. Andrias admires the young man's spirit but feels as though he doesn't stand a chance against some of the more impressive contestants. Everyone else is basically worthless to Polly, besides the ones she's most impressed with. There are three who stand out from the crowd, and both Polly and King Andrias can tell just which ones those are.

The massive king takes the tiny bowl of buttered popcorn at his side, a rather large bowl for another man, and dumps the entire thing into his mouth before licking his lips and handing the bowl back to the man who scowls and starts to cry, he finds himself paying particular attention to the young man in the back, a boy named Dweezil. Polly notices him too, a smug young man in a suit jacket over what is otherwise casual attire, a young man whose confidence seems to know no bounds as he simply scowls forward with a serious, fixated stare on his face, an expression that makes him seem more robotic than the state-of-the-art robot minion at his side as it brandishes a sleek laser sword.

Besides that is a young girl, Polly, who seems to show a particular interest in a local celebrity, and a definite dead ringer for dead second, or runner up to the young man, Dweezil, up front. Cameron is a young newt girl, a bit too young for Dweezil to show particular interest in outside of the competition, but a wily young lass with pinkish, doll-like hair with orange highlights tied into a ponytail. She seems to totally radiate the sugary energy of a frozen convenience store beverage, wrapped up in a bow with all the rowdy energy Polly herself is known for. With her mannequin-esque but colorful robot with motorized laser hand saws and an impressive amount of mobility for a robot, she definitely catches a particular eye for her flair.

Cameron is a local celebrity around Newtopia, arguably the only one Dweezil recognizes, at least save for another young man by the name of Xavier. Xavier is a totally mad, young axolotl man with a stained lab coat and wild, frizzy, feathered gills that stick up in all different directions. His kit is all sorts of wild colors, like he looks like he was involved in a neon paint explosion. The young man's robot is just as electrified as he is, with an electrified whip. This is gonna be one hell of a tournament, and Polly and Andrias can already tell.

Now it's time for the show as the first few rounds of contestants are brought to the stage and the cream of the crop is separated from the crap. A deep blue light highlights the arena as spotlights of a warm cream help to create a stark contrast and help the colors pop.

Host: "Contestants! Here are the rules. You have five minutes to destroy your opponent. Should neither of you succeed, our panel of judges will determine, based on the level of destruction as well as the performance, who will be the victor and move on. To the loser? Sucks to be you! Remember, this is a competition for robots and robots only. Should any damage come to the operator, their opponent will be disqualified. Remember, folks, we are not paying your hospital bill, people; it's all on those waivers you signed when you entered. With all that nonsense out of the way, let the games begin!"

And so, the carnage finally ensues. One vs one battles to the death. The first few rounds of robot battles end quickly and quite abruptly, weeding out the lower-end competitors when their machines outright fail on them, when their engines totally combust right out on the field, creating a burning motor smell that fills the entire miraculously well-ventilated room. It isn't enough for this to be an arena, though. There are ramps all over the place for motorized vehicles, mounted weapons for robots with arms capable of drawing them, and hazards such as spikes and motorized saws.

From the sidelines, the operators and their remote controls are all that are used for controlling the robots, and even those vary. From simple joysticks and buttons to gloves with motion sensors, the tech greatly varies. Several long rounds pass after the immediate destruction leaves several robots piled atop each other in the spike pits, pieces of wire and ground-up metal are left in the field, ground up from the saws, and quite a few body parts are strewn about the field, including a single robot that explodes so hard its head flies up into the audience and is caught by a spectator, little Sally, who vows to get the decapitated robot head signed with a black permanent marker by the loser after the show.

The robots smash and crash through nearly twenty rounds of pure madness and mayhem as parts litter the field and the entire stage becomes a mess of dented, destroyed metal and circuitry. The whole room smells like burnt rubber and metal after only a few rounds, and the smoke has coated the whole show in a haze that makes the whole thing feel like a fever dream. Polly is totally going nuts over every little explosion ever. For the first time in a while, Andrias feels as though he can just be among people again, be lost among them. He finds cold comfort in simply blending into the darkness, in being able to lose himself in the show. He peers to his side, and for a moment, the only thing that matters to him is the enjoyment of the young lady next to him.

Things are heating up now, and the battles are starting to get more and more intense with each round as contestants are eliminated, the victors elating, their fists pumping high into the air, and the losers being sent to their mommies with little whiny baby tears. No medals for them! The highlights, as predicted, made their way through the competition with ease, and now things are getting serious. Only a small handful of contestants are left as the semi-finals take place. The first group is Cameron vs Xavier, a colorful duo with equally colorful robots.

The people sit there staring in awe at the sudden upgrade in the quality of the competitors now that all the janky, poorly thought-out, and/or incomplete robots are out of the way. The robots approach the stage as controlled by their owners, and they show off their moves with flips and feats of showboating as they take their places. The people "ooh" and "ah", but King Andrias merely leans forward in observation, wondering just where these robots came from. Polly just sits there enjoying the show and kicking her feet forward, coming dangerously close to kicking the back of the head of the man in the seat in front of her. Cameron and Xavier stand a mere ten yards away from each other, or 9.1 meters.

Cameron: "You ready to lose, ya walkin' paint can?"

The young lady says smugly, chewing and popping the strawberry gum in her mouth. The young man before her sneers, his eyes hidden by a pair of thick goggles. He laughs maniacally as he flips the switches on his remote, turning the settings up to maximum. Xavier vows he will pull no punches.

Xavier: "Destroying your robot will be a mere matter of science, my dear. That's all it is. Statistically, I have the upper hand."

The two stare each other down with malice in their hearts as the host hijacks their attention.

Host: "Contestants ready? Battle!"

Right off the bat, with little more than a millisecond of response time, the bots leap toward each other, their laser whip and motorized laser hand saws deflecting off of each other like lightning, with loud cracks. The audience gasps as the battlefield that was once lit with nearly every vehicular contraption is suddenly taken over by outright cyborgs. Sparks fly, and the robots push each other away, skidding to a halt at either end of the arena. Thrusting forward their momentum, Xavier leaps high into the air, almost toward the ceiling, diving into a vertical corkscrew that hurdles diagonally toward the ground. Camron leaps backward as Xavier drills a hole at her feet. He tunnels deep within the dirt, and Cameron beholds as the robot approaches the operator, kicking dirt outside of the arena out of spite, not quite an attack, but a taunt.

Cameron: "Think you can burrow under me, dude? You're in for quite a 'shock'!"

Cameron wields her mighty saw blades, raising them into the air and slamming them down to create a shockwave. With precision, she forces Xavier out of the ground. Enraged, Xavier swipes his whip across the chest of the other robot, serrating metal on the side of the chest and sending motor oil and wires flying to the ground. Cameron gasps and swings the laser blades toward Xavier as he backs away. Launching into an enraged offensive, Cameron ignores the leaking wound on the bot and sends a flaming plume forward toward Xavier with her bot's flaming ponytail.

Xavier blocks, allowing his weapon to receive the brunt of the heat, and the whip begins to melt onto his hand. Xavier continues to leap and dodge as Cameron goes into full offense. She realizes she's on borrowed time. The bot is leaking oil and running quickly out of fuel.

Xavier: "You can't bleed black blood forever, my little bug."

Cameron knows this, but she must keep attacking so that at least she can try to get Xavier beaten by judgment before her fuel runs out. But the oil leaking has created a puddle, and the flaming plume has ignited the trail. Gasping and leaping out of the way, Xavier ducks as Cameron's robot ignites, the body exploding into hundreds of pieces and sending parts flying into the stands. One of the arms lands on King Andrias's lap, and momentarily, it startles him. Polly laughs at his reaction. Turning to the side and showing off his good sportsmanship for being the butt of the joke, he offers Polly.

King Andrias: "Souvenir?"

Polly is ecstatic. She snatches the arm.

Polly: "You bet!"

The announcer rushes the stage to declare a winner, hoisting the much shorter (and significantly more confused) Xavier's arm into the air so high that he is lifted off the ground.

Host: "Ladies and gentlemen! Xavier advances to the finals! Who will he face for the highly coveted Golden Saw Award?! We will find out!"

He brushes himself off as the host lets him go. Xavier shoots him a dirty sneer as he removes himself from the stage. Up next, a pair of quite different individuals. Wrecker, a large and stocky toad, hailing from his ancestors, a long line of inventor toads, brings to the battlefield a massive, tanky robot with armored spikes. The robot folds its arms across in such a way that they almost don't reach all the way across its chest. It blares forward with reddish-orange, beaming eyes. Wrecker, as his name implies, has built onto his robot a massive iron ball hanging from a chain capable of devastating its opponents.

Crusher has impressively floored his way through the competition, but his opponent can see clearly the operator's disadvantages. Before Crusher, his competitor steps, a snide young man, thoroughly indifferent, a newt with a large phone much like the ones from Earth, speaking between his consultants, not even paying attention to his competition.

Wrecker: "Come on, rich boy. You gonna face me or what?"

The frustrated, stocky toad with the bandanna and the overall trousers mocks the young man before him, a smug and aloof individual with slicked black hair and a suit jacket hangs up his phone and snaps his fingers, and before them, a state-of-the-art robot, a large, chromatic newt with a super badass and shiny metallic coat so smooth and clean that wrecker could see his reflection off of it, leaps down from the audience and immediately before its operator. The young man doesn't even introduce himself.

Dweezil: "Let's get this over with. I have a very important meeting to attend with the Duke, and that trophy would be a great talking piece."

Wrecker scoffs at Dweezil's tired and disinterested attitude and takes offense at the notion that Dweezil doesn't even take him seriously. He gazes upon the metallic monster, its pristine metal coat seemingly nonplussed by his previous battles. Of course, this is a little bit of a ruse. The robot had been scuffed on the surface a bit, and Dweezil had brought his personal assistants with him to provide buffs to the sheen between rounds. Post-round repairs were allowed within the rules, and such rebuffs would qualify within those rules despite being purely cosmetic, but such repairs were done in such a limited time that it was seen as little more than an opportunity for victors to give their damaged robots a chance for a fair fight in the following rounds.

It was important that these robots were able to withstand endurance, since competitors, especially victors, would be taking one hell of a beating between rounds. With all the nonsense out of the way and the spectators eagerly anticipating just who will advance to the final round and face off against Xavier, the second round of semifinalists takes the stage with their robots. The arena has been cleared of debris from the previous fight, and the robots are situated on the field. Wrecker sweats as he stares down at the smug Dweezil, and the latter still presents a facade of pure apathy.

Host: "Let the second round of the semifinals begin!"

And off they go, shooting like a rocket, just like before. Wrecker turns his massive tanky robot into a ball, the spiked toad rolling onto itself. Dweezil raises a brow as he examines his opponent. The tank closes the distance, attempting to crush the other under its massive weight as Dweezil's robot leaps into a front flip over the armored beast. With a long, electric sword, Dweezil lashes at the backside of the beast, several metal, electric clangs chipping away at the exterior spikes. As the robots end up at the other side of the arena, Dweezil turns a 180-degree about-face toward his opponent as the balled-up tortoise toad, unravels and turns toward Dweezil.

Noticing just how slow his opponent is, Dweezil advances forward into an offensive attack as Wrecker unleashes a ball and chain weapon from a compartment in the robot's stomach, and the robot flails the massive iron ball about the room, crushing and slamming the ground as Dweezil brings his robot to a halt. Now he must examine the robot's long-reach weapon, a ball and chain easily able to cover half the field. Only one problem for Wrecker: his weapon is only as good as the ball on the end. The chain itself might as well be worthless. Dweezil sees the opportunity, and he smirks at his opponent. Time for a distraction.

Dweezil: "What's the matter, Thomas? Can't hit a superior opponent?"

Oh, this makes Wrecker really mad. It's bad enough his opponent is mocking him, but using his real name rather than his fighting alias? Now, them's fighting words, and Wrecker won't be having any of that. Wrecker might be book-smart when it comes to making robots, but when it comes to psychology and reading his opponent, he's a total sucker. Wrecker takes the bait, hook, line, and sinker, and he begins to flail the chain wildly, exactly what Dweezil wanted him to do. Dweezil watches the ball as it destroys the arena, and as the spectators cover their eyes in fear, almost anticipating the robot losing its grip and sending the weapon flying into the stands.

Andrias leans forward, anticipating such a thing, and ready to grab the iron ball with his bare hands to attempt to stop it if need be. Dweezil's robot dashes forward, zipping between iron slams and slashing at the links in an attempt to destroy them and separate the chain from the ball. He examines the chain and it's revealed to be one hard and dense metal to destroy, definitely designed to deal with such an attack. Dweezil nods in excitement, realizing that perhaps he had underestimated his opponent, but with several more rapid slashes, Dweezil severs the chain mid-swing.

One thing the smug newt doesn't anticipate, though, is the ball flying through the air and being intercepted by the link hook by the robot itself. Using its superior arm strength, Wrecker manages to use the ball to slam right into Dweezil's robot's face, sending the bot across the floor and skidding to a halt. Dweezil stares wide-eyed, astonished that such a slow opponent could get the upper hand on him. Quickly, Dweezil raises his robot to its feet, and he begins to play defensively as Wrecker goes on an all-out assault with the ball and its fists.

Wrecker: "Call me Thomas, eh?! I'll show you! Just because your dad rules over Newtopia doesn't mean you get to be the king over me!"

These words catch Andrias's attention. So this is the young Dweezil, the son of Lord Dwenzel, a wealthy lord and robot manufacturer who had seized Newtopia after Andrias's fall, ushering in a new age of technological advancements, a revolution. One could see such advanced technology spewing up all over Newtopia, and eventually, the newt hopes to have cellular phones like his own spread all throughout the "kingdom". Andrias continues to observe with profound fascination the successor to his throne, placing his fingers together in contemplation as he squints, his eyes not once blinking for the rest of the match.

Wrecker continues to flail around with his ball, slamming it into the ground but not once more hitting Dweezil's superior robot. Dweezil pays keen attention to his opponent's robot and notices one particular trait that begins to reveal the Achilles' Heel. The arms, while very strong on Wrecker's robot, operate on ball joints for full movement, and when the robot raises its arms above its head, the ball joint pops for just a fraction of a second, a side-effect of the tons of weight being forced onto the joint by the ball, and a measurement that Wrecker, unfortunately, had overlooked.

With that, Dweezil makes his move. Wrecker, on the other hand, insists on destroying the arena in his attempt to take down Dweezil, and that's when Dweezil spots that golden moment of opportunity. Summoning his long electric sword once again, Dweezil commands his robot. Spinning and twirling with the grace of a ninja as the robot avoids every attack, Dweezil slashes his sword at the joint as Wrecker raises his arm, and with the precise motion, the ball joint slips out of its socket, the arm falling to the floor and the ball crushing the hand under the weight.

Circuitry pours out onto the ground, and Wrecker is totally mortified. Dweezil goes in for the kill, slashing away at the tanky robot, severing the remaining circuitry holding the arm together, and causing sparks to fly. Ready to deliver the killing blow to the robot, Dweezil raises his sword just before the end-of-round alarm goes off in the background. Wrecker had been spared the complete destruction of his robot, but it's plainly obvious who won as the announcer declares.

Host: "What an incredible bout! According to the judges, by unanimous decision, Dweezil Dwenzel moves on to the final round and will face off against Xavier! Stay tuned for the finals!"

Wrecker, the poor young man, is devastated, but as the sport he is, he feels inclined to approach Dweezil, against his pride, and offer congratulations. Nervously, he sighs as he approaches the young man, once again on the phone.

Dweezil: "I'll have to get back to you on that, Heidi… Yes?"

Wrecker twists his leg bashfully against the ground, fighting his embarrassment.

Wrecker: "Look, uh… You beat me fair and square and, um… congratulations on making it into the finals."

Wrecker extends his hand in a handshake offer, and Dweezil stares down at it through half-lidded eyes. It takes him a moment of contemplation before he smirks at the toad, offering his own. It's a weak shake, but one of sportsmanship between the toad and the newt. Dweezil realizes, of course, that he has a PR reputation to uphold, so he swallows his pride for a moment and shakes the toad's hand.

Dweezil: "I commend you for actually managing to hit me. You're the only one so far who has managed to land so much as a single blow on my robot. I hope you'll return again next time and tune your strategy. I will as well. I can't let you hit me again."

Meanwhile, in the stands, Polly is totally juiced and has gone through so many sodas at this point that it's a wonder her bladder hasn't totally exploded yet. Andrias turns to her and leans over in his seat, and it marks one of the first and only times that the poor slobs sitting behind him, who aren't the rude guests from before, have had the opportunity to see any part of the show at all. King Andrias is ready to scrutinize every single detail of this bout. It's the part of him that, as a king, had never left him, the judgmental portion, as he had been present to judge the victor in many competitions in the past and has quite the eye for noticing pretty early on who will win.

For obvious reasons, he won't tell Polly or any of the others of his opinion, as he'd rather they enjoy the show and relish the surprise. So this is it, the final round. Xavier and Dweezil stand at either end of the arena, the hot spotlights bearing down on them, practically cooking them alive. It takes precisely twenty minutes to clean up Wrecker's enormous mess, but when it's all finally done and the field is ready for play, the audience is positively salivating for more mayhem, and the competitors are eager to tear each other to pieces. The two final fighters, each with egos dense enough to collapse the universe, bring forth their robots.

Xavier benefits from having an entire round in between to deal with all the repairs needed to bring his robot back up to fighting shape, while Dweezil took only a single heavy hit last round, but still needed that cleanup time to give the robot the old spit shine. The audience stares forth, hanging on by the seat of their pants, faces like they're all individually trying to hold in their farts. The awkward tension is broken when the host takes the stage for the final time. As King Andrias leans back in his seat and just so happens to peer off to the right, he spots something rather peculiar. In the back of the audience, there stands a pair of very suspicious-looking figures shrouded in cloaks.

For some reason, the designs on the cloaks stand out to Andrias, although he can't remember where, but they seem old-fashioned, definitely from back in the old days. Andrias tries to reason with himself, staring at the ceiling in thought. Could the organizers of this event have outsourced their security? If that were the case, why aren't there more of them stationed all over the event? Why hasn't he seen them all over the place? Something doesn't seem right. Andrias draws Polly's attention, leaning toward her.

King Andrias: "Polly… Polly."

She turns to face him, taking her mouth off the straw of that carbonated beverage for the first time since she finished the drink, and is no longer making annoyingly audible slurping noises.

Polly: "Yeah? What's up, Your Highness?"

She smiles at him. Andrias points his eyes toward the back of the stands, tilting his head in a gesture.

King Andrias: "Have you seen any other guards like those anywhere else?"

Polly shakes her head, not quite understanding the king's insinuation.

Polly: "No. Why? Do you think something is up?"

The king stares for but a moment as the suspicious individuals remain motionless. But from their point of view, out of earshot of Polly or the king, they communicate, their voices deep and monotonously baritone as if heavily distorted. It turns out, the beings under these cloaks are robots.

Robot 1: "According to calculations, the most suitable candidate for capture will be the victor of this organized competition, and therefore the most brilliant mind to capture and prepare for assimilation. AnimaGenesis will be most pleased."

Robot 2: "It is most curious that among the finalists of this competition is the offspring of the successor to the previous heir to the Newtopian throne, King Andrias Leviathan."

The other robot turns. After turning toward the crowd, its system recognizes the appearance of the king in attendance. It turns to its cohort.

Robot 1: "Scanners have picked up something most peculiar. It appears as though our once-great ruler himself is spectating this event. Exercise caution."

Robot 2: "Prime directive dictates we should wait for the victor of the competition to emerge before we assault the stage, as his robot will be most compromised, and he will be at his most defenseless. We must be swift, and then extract immediately."

Robot 1: "Affirmative."

But never mind that. The battle has already begun and is partially underway. A heated battle between bots, both athletic, both operated by newts. The field is a smoke screen of dust and a ballet of cybernetic, futuristic blades and whips. Dweezil benefits by keeping the distance close enough to strike with his sword, and Xavier knows that he must distance himself far enough to effectively utilize his whip. Xavier has managed to leave several small electrical burns along the robot, but has instrumentally failed at achieving any damage to his opponent. Dweezil attempts to use kicks and punches to throw his opponent back.

As Dweezil engages in an arced swing downward that places his robot in a compromising position, Xavier seizes his opponent's sword, tossing the other robot in a judo throw in the opposite direction. Acting quickly, Dweezil recovers into roll and bounces back toward Xavier as his opponent's robot back-flips toward the center of the arena. Quickly engaging his confiscated sword, Xavier slashes away at the ground where Dweezil stands, forcing him into a leap to the side. Xavier hoped his opponent would do this.

Xavier: "Ooh! Look at this, a fancy new blade that's mine now!"

Dweezil sneers, vowing vengeance on his opponent.

Dweezil: "Not for long."

Xavier snaps his whip forward, coiling the electrical cord around the ankle of the opposing robot, and with a quick jerk, sends the robot to its rear end and dragging it onto the ground. Xavier pulls his target toward him until Dweezil pulls a surprise laser short sword from a secret compartment and decides to cut the whip and recover into a surprising forward roll. A mere foot away from his opponent, Dweezil thrusts his sword forward, impaling the chest of the robot. He smiles, thinking for sure this must be the end of Xavier.

What Xavier doesn't know is that Dweezil has noticed something about his robot, and that is that its midsection isn't very wide, and with one lift and drop of the leg, Dweezil impales the foot of his robot through the chest of the other. Xavier gasps in awe as Dweezil pulls his foot from the chest, his leg covered in circuitry and motor oil, and sweeps his opponent to the ground.

Dweezil: "I'll be taking my blade back. Thank you."

Xavier: "How! How is this possible?!"

Dweezil's robot leans into the other suffering robot.

Dweezil: "With science."

Leaping into the air, Dweezil launches one final attack, stomping down hard on the head of the opponent robot, shattering the metal skull to pieces, and leaving his opponent inoperable. With this finishing blow, Dweezil wins the championship. The crowd roars, and confetti drops from the ceiling.

Dweezil: "Piece of cake."

Dweezil stands straight, fixing his hair and suit jacket and recomposing his sweaty self in time for the victory pictures, the egotist he is. The stands are filled with deafeningly loud whistles, cheers, clapping, and general applause as the host approaches the stage with the Golden Saw Award, ready to present the honor and prestige to the victor. Xavier wallows in defeat as the spotlight is shown on Dweezil. The young man carries himself proudly and tall, as if he knew all along that he would emerge the victor of the competition.

Host: "Incredible! What a remarkable show! Did y'all see that brutal decapitation, folks?"

It wasn't enough for Xavier to lose. He had to be totally humiliated by the host rubbing in the gruesome nature of the conclusion.

Host: "Well! It's time to award the prestigious Golden Saw Award to our champion! Do you have anything to say to the audience?"

Dweezil is properly handed the massive golden trophy, a glimmering, gleaming, and perfect golden saw mounted on a beautiful oak stand with a plaque bearing first prize. He accepts the trophy as the host places the microphone up to his mouth to speak. Dweezil is elated. He smiles and laughs, the most he's emoted all night, but the very millisecond he goes to speak, the power is cut and the entire stage goes dark, silencing him as the backup power generator is restarted and the two frog robots from before appear on the stage as if they had teleported there.

The people gasp and cheer, believing it to be part of the show, but Andrias rises, wide-eyed, knowing for certain the spectacle is no mere publicity stunt and most certainly not part of the show. Dweezil turns around in place, not quite certain what to make of the approaching frogs. But then suddenly, they lash out toward the young man, attempting to seize him as Dweezil leaps out of the way, sifting through his pocket. He draws the remote control to operate his robot, the chrome-plated warrior, in an attempt to save himself.

The bot rises before him and tackles the two robots, but with its already compromised body, thanks to the damage, it appears as though the robot is no longer capable of retaliation. The frogs tear the robot to pieces. The real security tries to intervene but is swiftly dealt with by the robots, being tossed aside like mere ragdolls. The frogs approach Dweezil and the man, defenseless, shields his eyes as a friend, Wrecker, retaliates against the robots with his single arm, buying Dweezil enough time to flee, but sacrificing his damaged robot in the process as the frogs finish him off by decapitation with Dweezil's very own reclaimed sword.

But one individual will not tolerate any of this, and like a thunderous titan, King Andrias slams down with his mighty hammer, totally wrecking everything in sight and sending the robots flying. Dweezil gazes up at the scraggly old king, his tangled mane making him seem more feral than civil, and the robots retaliate against him. As the king slams and smashes his way through the robots like a savage barbarian, screaming war cries so loud they shake the entire stadium, Polly approaches the stage with backup. Andrias darts his head to the side.

King Andrias: "Polly! Leave here! Flee, child!"

But Polly doesn't listen.

Polly: "And leave my friend behind?! No way!"

Polly leaps high into the air, drawing from her pocket a series of miniature robots, a pair of self-defense frogs that grow in size and unfold to form full-sized frog robots like metal origami. The frogs, intensely high-tech, were originally supposed to be revealed to Hop Pop at this very event, where she'd surprise him and enter the competition, most certain to win. These robots, though mere prototypes, assault the stage like a pair of assassins, almost rubbery in their agility. The frogs utilize their superior abilities, in addition to blades made from a new synthetic metal that Polly had found out about from the humans.

With these human polymers and state-of-the-art nano-fiber carbon, Polly was able to craft the most intensely strong and lightest robots she could. Even Dweezil is impressed as he flees the scene, summoning his own security for backup. Polly's robots make quick work of several of the drones, but more and more robots are coming, and she and the king are becoming quite overwhelmed. Just how many of them are there? What do they want? As it turns out, their mastermind has new plans, taking its eyes off of their original target and acquiring a new one, Polly Plantar.

Polly: "That's right, robo jerks! Nobody can stop the great Polly Petunia Plantar! Agh!"

While she is busy showboating and gloating, one of many robots seizes the tiny girl in a grab from behind, hauling her into the air with its froggy jet pack. King Andrias continues to smash as many robots as he can, sending circuits, metal, and oil all over the place and emerging covered in the black stuff. Wide-eyed, he turns in her direction.

King Andrias: "Polly!"

He shouts as the girl is hauled into the air and the robot smashes through the ceiling. Andrias pummels his way through as many interceptors as he can, dashing his way through the stands, trying not to trample over the fleeing people and realizing her captors are making a getaway. Andrias leaps toward the stands, attempting to pursue the robots by smashing his way up to the top of the arena dome and following them. He reaches for one of the last to exit, pulling the arm of a single robot as it tries to escape, tearing the fabric and severing the arm. As he climbs atop the dome, the foundation holding it up starts to fracture, and the king realizes, with fear in his eyes, that it cannot support his weight.

The roof collapses, and the king is buried under a mountain of debris. The stadium spectators evacuate as the authorities are brought in. Nearly an hour passes as the stadium is swarmed by Newtopian guards. Many are brought in to sift through the rubble, and they continue to remove boulders using the limited extra robots on standby. As a piece of concrete and iron is raised from the debris, an arm pushes through, and the massive king rises, massaging his head. He's dazed and dizzy, and his already poor vision can't make heads or tails of what's going on. But then his eyes grow wide as he resumes situational awareness. King Andrias darts his head around the destroyed stadium, pushing aside the debris and calling out to the lost child.

King Andrias: "Polly!"

He rises, frantically, panicking, stumbling over debris as the people stand aside, knowing better than to get in his way.

King Andrias: "Where is she?!"

Nobody answers. They flinch. He turns his head to the guards. He barks.

King Andrias: "Where is she?! As your king, I order you to tell me!"

Not one newt that day dares to question his no-longer-standing authority. One creature, a tiny man sent in with the rest of the Newtopian resources, a mere medical professional, approaches the king.

Doctor: "Are you okay, my… Andrias?"

The doctor stops himself from referring to the former king as "my lord," and Andrias proceeds forward, dazed and shaking his head. Nevertheless, he refuses help, leaving the venue and staggering outward, back onto the open road. The people, the stragglers who stuck around after the event to catch any further commotion, and who were waiting for rides home, stare at Andrias, wondering if he had anything to do with the attack, even though they had personally witnessed his retaliation against the kidnappers. They wonder if the whole thing was some sort of publicity stunt organized by the king, a desperate, pathetic attempt to reclaim some former glory. He peers out at them, ashamed of himself for failing to protect them, and most of all, for failing to protect Polly.

The road back to Wartwood feels significantly longer than the road to the ruins, and Andrias doesn't know whether to savor that silence or not. He feels a great pit in his stomach, one that he shouldn't feel given all the mechanical parts, but the anxiety within him swells. That purple little sweetheart. He failed to protect her. It isn't enough that he let her down, either. He let Hop Pop and Sprig down. He bites his lip as he removes the piece of fabric from the pocket of his long, dirty leather duster coat, and he leans over, staring at the fabric, his yellow eyes like a pair of lasers covered in overgrown white hair from his head to his furry brows and beard.

He grips the cloth, vowing in that moment vengeance toward whoever took his beloved little Polly. Fighting the harsh nightly winds as he treads the open road, his scraggly white mane billows in the wind like a cloud. Andrias grips the cloth in his hand tightly, declaring solemnly to himself as he ventures back in the direction of Wartwood to deliver the terrible news. Andrias knows very well that he has a job to do. It is his duty as a king and a man to right the wrongs of this great injustice done to him, the organizers of this event, and most importantly, the Plantars.

King Andrias: "I will find your captors, Polly, and I will destroy them. Wherever they took you, whoever has you, I will tear them apart, piece by piece."

Chapter Text

King Andrias is completely torn. On the one hand, Polly is missing, taken to who knows where, and subjected to who knows what, and on the other, he has to face the music and tell the people he'd just gotten to trust him that he blew his one chance at showing that he could be responsible. His heart tells him to race home to Wartwood as soon as possible, but then… What the hell is he gonna do when he gets there, tell the elderly man who's writhing in pain, the man who trusted him with the safety of his granddaughter, and her brother, the first person to show kindness and sympathy toward him in a decade that he totally blew the one opportunity he had?

Besides, he has absolutely no idea where Polly could have possibly been taken. He has nothing, nothing but a scrap of fabric, torn from the cloak of one of those fiendish robot frogs. Andrias bundles up as he faces the cold, lonely night, the breeze making the trip feel so much more isolating and lonely. He does not fear the road at night, nor is he too bothered by loneliness. Hell, he's long been used to that. But for some reason, he can't explain it; he feels so vulnerable right now. He has nothing but the whistling of the wind, the crunching of the dirt beneath his heels, and the ambient nothingness of the cautiously distant crickets sadly serenading him on the side of the road.

Andrias draws from his pocket one more time, the fabric, and he runs his finger along the shape of the symbol on the torn cloth. The cloth depicts the image of a red and yellow eye in a black circle on a blue background. He feels like he knows exactly what the eye and the circle mean, his old master, The Core. Andrias remembers gazing into those eyes countless times and seeing nothing but pure evil behind them. For a being composed of hundreds of souls, it seemed so heartless, so soulless, existing for little more than self-preservation and for its own quest for galactic dominance. It would have it all. It would take it all, and it didn't care who it destroyed. It would take any and all with it to the grave if it had to.

The image brings him nothing but anger, sorrow, and fear, fear for Polly, for what could ambassadors of such a monster want with that girl? The symbol… What does it mean? He closes his eyes, plunging himself into thought for a moment, taking himself way back to the past to the last place he saw that symbol, but he finds that he can't concentrate, not out there, not with all of those other things rushing through his mind. King Andrias doesn't know if it really is just getting colder the closer he gets to Wartwood or if his mind is playing tricks on him. As he passes the South Guard Tower on the way back, he peers off into the distance where it stands proud.

He wonders for a moment if any of them would know where Polly is taken. The thought doesn't last long, just a second or two, but one of desperation, unbound by the confines of logic. Could the toads possibly know where Polly was taken? No. Never. They were friends with Sasha, and there's no way any of Sasha's friends would have it out for Polly or possibly know where she is. It's not like the toads exactly stayed in touch with their frog brethren. Yeah, that's right. People seemed to have just gone about their own business and went back to the routines they were engaged in before, the relatively trivial daily activities of Wartwood usually unfettered by those of the outside world.

Looking at the big picture, when it comes to Wartwood, it's a pretty boring place, a small town where everybody knows each other's names. But it's in the little details of each individual where one would find surprises, such as Sadie Croaker's pension for speeding and outright rebellion, the punkiest grandma in all of Amphibia, to One-Eyed Wally being easily mistaken for a homeless and mentally ill loon when he's a charming, decently well-held together, and a kindly young man who comes from a wealthy family to Maddie Flower being quite the sweet girl beneath her creepy, Gothic exterior.

Yes, Wartwood is filled with surprises, and the biggest surprise to all of them was that someone would allow King Andrias, the once-beloved but now disgraced monarch, back into their hearts. As Andrias now stands on the outskirts of Wartwood, his heart weighs heavy, heavier than the rest of him combined, and for a man of Andrias's size, with a weight of over a ton, it hurts to bear. A deep-rooted pit of fear engulfs him as if filled with shame. The only thing he can take solace in is the notion that it's grown quite late and the people are indoors, many of them getting ready for bed for a new day of rising with the sun to tend to their farms and perform their duties with due diligence.

He doesn't have to face their judgment, their gazes like laser scopes pointed at him, observant as they ask, "Where's Polly?" So many of them saw him leave with her on his shoulder. They bore witness to the child's merriment and to the reluctant king as they trod out of town. But perhaps their judgment could have tempered them for the judgment of the one that matters most to him now, the judgment of the Plantars, the people who invited him in from the cold, who carried with them the beacon of hope and light in the cold darkness when nobody else would.

He can see the farm from there, with Sprig and Sylvia awaiting Polly's return. They sit out on the front step, waiting and starting to grow somewhat nervous. Hop Pop is inside, lying back in his reclining chair after having had a nice dinner meal and sleeping. He expected Polly to get back late, but as he is stuck in that chair, with no sense of time, it's been difficult to gauge otherwise. He'd been visited since by Tuti, the town healer and masseuse, to work on relocating whatever was dislocated in Hop Pop's back. After some hot herbal tea from Felicia from down the road and a mostly relaxing massage, he was out like a light.

Tuti told him to take it easy for the next week, and from now on, to listen to his grandchildren and Olivia when it pertained to refraining from heavy lifting, lest he wind up in a predicament where she couldn't heal him. Most of all, he needs to finally accept that he's gotten old and he just can't do what he used to anymore. He's so old, in fact, that Andrias can barely grasp the idea of telling the old man the truth. He finds himself anchored at the edge of town like a small child scared to tell their mother that they broke something for fear of their father finding out.

Andrias realizes that, unfortunately, he can't just procrastinate forever. Polly's life is on the line, and every second he wastes is a second she's not found, and every second she's not found, the chances decrease substantially that she will. And so, he treads as quietly as his massive boots will allow him to. He wishes he had more time. He wishes he weren't so big, but they see him now. He watches as Sprig rises from the stoop, the momentary smile of relief dripping from his face as he realizes Polly isn't present.

Sprig: "King Andrias… Where's Polly?"

There it is, the dreaded question. Sprig's throat is dry, his voice calm but serious. Andrias pulls the cloth from his pocket and drops it into Sprig's hand. He stares at it, confused, then raises his eyes to King Andrias once again.

King Andrias: "Polly has been taken. We made it to the show and were able to attend the event as planned, but toward the end of the show, as the victor was about to be presented with his prize, he was attacked by recommissioned robots. I aided security in apprehending these robots and told Polly to flee the stadium. She intervened, trying to assist, and that's when they… they took her."

He speaks somberly, as calmly as he can without getting angry or breaking down. Sylvia approaches with her hands over her mouth in disbelief. Sprig starts to hyperventilate just thinking about her. Andrias continues.

King Andrias: "They grabbed her, seemingly impressed by her work, and fled. I pursued them to the roof, but it had collapsed on top of me, and they escaped. I tried to grab one of the robots, but the arm snapped off, and all I was able to retain was this shred of cloth. I do not know where she was taken. I do not recognize the symbol on that cloth."

Sprig unfolds the cloth and examines the symbol, running his finger across it. He peers upward through his browline at Andrias, an intense, ambiguous browline that Andrias cannot tell if he's angry at him or not.

King Andrias: "I swear I would not lie to you, especially after all you have done for me."

Sprig says nothing, which is the worst possible reaction. He'd rather Sprig lash out at him, so at least he'd know the extent of his punishment. But perhaps that in and of itself is Sprig's punishment. He approaches the house and stops at the door. He speaks slowly but clearly, with a stern tone.

Sprig: "I'm going to find her… I need to head down to the library to find out what this symbol means. Red eye, black orb… Yeah, I recognize it. We all recognize it… But from where? I don't know."

He turns to King Andrias.

Sprig: "We're gonna have to tell Hop Pop, you know. I don't know how he will take it, but we can't just not tell him."

Sylvia approaches, taking Sprig by the shoulders.

Sylvia: "Let me tell him, dear. He might take it a little better if I can break it down to him…"

She peers indoors and can see him sleeping, his mouth wide open for flies to land in (he certainly hopes for that midnight snack), and she decides right then and there.

Sylvia: "After he wakes up, though. Let the poor dear rest soundly."

She heads inside. King Andrias gains Sprig's attention.

King Andrias: "This is my fault, Sprig. Polly was captured under my supervision. I promise you, Sprig, I will find her, and I will bring her home, even if it's the last thing I do. There is no hell hot enough to keep me from finding her."

Sprig turns to face the door. He places his hand on the knob.

Sprig: "I believe you. Go rest up in the barn, and if you think of anything that could help us find her, let me know. My bedroom window is right up there if you come across something in the middle of the night. If not, try to get some sleep. Whoever took Polly must want her for some reason, be it random or for some service; otherwise, why would they take her?"

King Andrias faces away. He balls his fist tightly, declaring.

King Andrias: "I do not know. But I will find out."

They do not exchange goodnight wishes. Sprig enters his house and closes the door. Andrias sighs and treads toward the barn. His mind is racing, running over every single possibility of where she could have been taken. His mind aches as he pushes the barn door open. The once-asleep MicroAngelo, generally a light sleeper, is awakened by the return of Andrias. The man shuffles his way defeatedly toward the back of the barn, where he gently lowers himself down against the back wall that he had previously lined with hay to buffer his landing so that he doesn't damage the wall. Andrias sighs through his nose as he sits in silent contemplation.

The snail slithers up to Andrias, peering up at him with an innocent smile through his peripheral vision as Andrias lowers and pats his leg. The snail climbs on top, slithering his way onto the king's lap and cuddling Andrias with his head as a cat would. Andrias strokes the creature gently along his head, allowing the creature to calm his nerves and focus with greater detail on the problem at hand. From the lands of Amphibia to the long-past texts, Andrias scours his mind like a catacomb for dead and forgotten passages, deeply cutting into his subconscious.

He scrapes through old conversations he had with Olivia, the old captains, including Ernst… Ernst… he never did have confirmation of that man's death, but no… it couldn't be. He drowned; he knows it. The Core ordered it, and he carried it out. Marcy told him personally that Ernst had fallen to the bottom of the sea, a statue covered in vines. Certainly, not even a warrior as cunning and swift as he could escape such a fate. Could he? The event had eaten the entire day, and from the walking to letting Polly talk his head off, to the show, to ingesting all that popcorn and soda, to the fighting, it had left Andrias drained, even if he had been out for an hour. He can still feel the throbbing in his head from that brutal landing, and he massages his skull.

All this forced thinking is draining him, and the docile nature of the snail, the soft vibration of his silent purr against his chest as MicroAngelo snuggles against him, lulls him into a sense of secure sleepiness, and he finds his eyelids growing heavy. Andrias finds himself drifting off to sleep. It was only a couple of hours ago that she was frolicking on the road alongside him and riding on his shoulder, the little firecracker. All she wanted to do was build robots and search for thrills, and they took her away. Once, thousands of years ago, Andrias used to have that same thrill as her, the joy of going out in search of discovery.

He and his friends hoped they would stumble into danger, or mystery, just something new. It thrilled him. Back in the good old days, Andrias and his old friends, Leif and Barrel, would spend their youthful days, whenever Andrias could escape from his duties as the rightful heir to the throne, to see what kind of mysteries they could unfold. One day, as Barrel was making his rounds through the castle, he bumped into Andrias, the prince, who was quite young at the time. He wasn't paying attention, his head buried deep within a piece of fine royal parchment.

Prince Andrias: "Oh, quite sorry about that, Barrel."

Embarrassed, Barrel quickly reached for the parchment after it fell on the floor, all while excusing himself.

Barrel: "No! I am the one who should be sorry, your highness! It was I who bumped into you!"

The panicked toad rushed to save face as he reached down toward the parchment. Unfortunately for him, the young prince was much more agile and significantly smaller back then, catching a glimpse of the paper as it was shown in the bright sunlight that shone through the elegant castle windows in a creamy yellow light. Andrias was successful in drawing the paper from the ground before Barrel could retrieve it himself. He rose, scratching his head as he read the paper.

Prince Andrias: "What's this? Direct orders to excavate brain shrooms from the local Amygdala woods to the west? Why, what in the world could Father possibly be ordering you to go there for?"

Barrel sighed. He hoped the prince wouldn't be too nosy or interested in what, at that point, was meant to be a routine retrieval, an order submitted directly by King Aldrich himself. Looking up and into the glinting yellow eyes of the curious and wide-eyed prince, Barrel knew right then and there that there would be no hiding a chance to get out of the castle from him. Prince Andrias was quite the curious soul, and any opportunity he had to forgo his princely duties at the castle was an opportunity he would be all too eager to pass up. Barrel sighed, knowing there was no way out of this. Nevertheless, he tried to make the exchange seem as mundane as possible.

Barrel: "It's just a routine expedition. The king wants us to go out into the woods and come back with a whole coach of the stuff."

Prince Andrias, the naïve young man, tilted his head in curiosity, peering down at his young toad friend, for even though he was aware of the location, and that the woods contained such mushrooms, at that moment, he was completely unaware of the purpose of the shrooms, and especially why King Aldrich would require so many. Aldrich had hidden many things from his son, most importantly, anything that had to do with the true nature of The Core. This particular summon, while seemingly mundane on the surface level, held some great significance to the king, a very dark, very tragic significance, and those mushrooms were needed for, let's just say, medical purposes.

Continuing to gaze at the orders, Andrias read while Barrel merely stood there, twiddling his thumbs, knowing very well that should he request the paper back, Andrias would merely utilize his princely authority to command Barrel to allow him to read it. Finishing, Andrias raised his eyes, peering deviously, mischievously through his brow line at Barrel as he drew his wide, blue lips back into a smirk. Barrel hated that smirk. He knew whenever the prince made that expression, he would be up to no good.

Prince Andrias: "Something tells me there is a greater meaning to this expedition. This sounds like an opportunity for an adventure. I can't wait to tell Leif!"

And like that, the prince ran off with a great and wide smile stretched across his face, in hot pursuit by a sweating and nervous Barrel, who was most certainly bound to wind up in trouble for this little fiasco. It would not be his first time, and it most certainly wouldn't be his last. Unfortunately for Barrel, Prince Andrias knew his way around the castle just as well, if not better than Lief, and with his significantly longer legs, he could haul much faster than the poor toad guard. Where was he going? Andrias darted his head back and forth in the hallway, marking his current position and making a beeline for the garden, where a particular pink, pretty young frog was currently planting little seeds just as delicate as she was.

Those were the good old days for Andrias, back when he was a wild and untamed young prince, valiant, brave, and pure of heart, a mind and a soul then untainted by the impurities of his father and his father's master's desires. Back then, all Andrias cared about was his own freedom. He yearned to be free from the clutches of his father and of his duties. He was bored with the fancy parties, the diplomacy, the little acts of ambassadorship that plagued him, having to meet with other world leaders and make nice talk. Andrias was very good at maintaining relationships with fellow world leaders and other snobby upper-class sophisticates, but boy, did he find it dull.

It's not like much of that mattered to Aldrich in the long run. All that stuff was simply to distract Andrias until he was old enough, wise enough, and groomed to be moldable enough to fulfill his next echelon of duties, his duties to his true master, the one who was pulling the strings of the empire all along, the puller with the dark, black, metal hands. But then it was not the time for that. Then was the time for him to approach Leif. With great gusto and not a bit of wind to his breath, he approached the young frog from behind, a girl with a heart just as pure as his back then, and one that would remain so. She turned to him, her golden bangs swaying with a gentle waft as she peered up at her prince with a kind and dimpled smile.

Leif: "Oh! Good morning, my prince! How is this fine day going?"

Andrias just exchanged a look between her and Barrel, who finally caught up. Perhaps it was that massive hammer that had been weighing him down so much. The prince shook his head.

Prince Andrias: "You guys know you don't have to be so formal around me."

Barrel shrugged, making excuses.

Barrel: "Yeah, we know, but we still have to put up that front before the other guards, and in front of the king, should he wind up thinking we're being 'insubordinate', or whatever."

Andrias turned back to Leif. She shrugged and brushed the dirt from her dull peasant dress onto the soil as she rose. She sighed.

Leif: "You have to understand, Your Highness. King Aldrich has been keeping an eye on us for a while. Last night, I swear, I saw some creepy red eyes staring at me from the darkness in the middle of the night. It kept me up for some hours. I can still see those creepy eyes."

She shuddered. Andrias balked at the notion with a sway of dismissal.

Prince Andrias: "Oh, it's probably just a wild alarm bug."

Leif shrugged.

Leif: "Yeah… Maybe, or maybe it could be some sinister demon. I don't know, but my blood ran cold."

Andrias folded his arms.

Prince Andrias: "Leif, we're already cold-blooded."

Leif balled her fists.

Leif: "You know what I mean!"

Prince Andrias then remembered.

Prince Andrias: "Oh yeah! Barrel, that paper!"

Barrel rolled his eyes, handing off the paper to Leif for her to read. Leif did, and her eyes filled with wonder as she glazed over the text. Andrias leaned over.

Prince Andrias: "I'm gonna be accompanying you guys on this little expedition to harvest brain shrooms. I've been so bored up in this castle. It would be a good opportunity to get out on the open road and see the continent that I will be inheriting from my father someday."

Prince Andrias just inexplicably decided to turn around and leave unannounced, walking out of the garden with his head held high and a dumb smile on his face. Not too quick on the pickup, Barrel turned around, realized he was leaving, and followed.

Barrel: "Hey! Wait up!"

Prince Andrias continued to tread forward with a smug, somewhat self-important aura of charisma as he stretched his arms behind his head, flexing with his eyes closed and a smile. Leif hurried to follow them.

Barrel: "You know, this could be dangerous."

Andrias nodded.

Prince Andrias: "Yup. And I'm sure glad, too. I've had quite the hankering to test this royal blade out."

Prince Andrias drew his royal sword, something that cost more than anything Leif or Barrel could hope to afford with a year's pay combined, let alone something worth simply cleaving into some pond scum. Fast forward quite a bit, and the scavenging crew was setting out onto the open road with snail-drawn royal carriages pulled by multiple rather snooty and sophisticated snails with their non-existent noses turned up to the sky and an aura of superiority. The entire crew traveled westward, bending around The Great River and toward the estuary that led to The Great Bay. They followed the water, bending around the mountains until they reached Amygdala Woods.

The crew entered the woods through an ancient, pre-established road that predated any of them. The woods were filled to the brim with glowing trees that seemed to pulsate as if teeming with neurological energy. Even at night, the woods were never dark, and it was said to house quite a bit of rich history, including an ancient temple said to house great magic. Andrias vowed to explore that great temple someday and uncover its many secrets. The crew ventured deep into the Mold Rot Forest, where the particular shrooms they needed to excavate grew.

Barrel: "We need to find Gyromantra Esculenta, according to the king's message."

Leif: "The common name is brain shrooms. For some reason, these mushrooms are highly advanced fungi that are said to have adopted a mind of their own and have almost become sentient."

Leif held the lantern up to her eyes in an attempt to be creepy. She spoke with a deadly serious and haunting tone as if trying to scare the others.

Leif: "Rumor has it that if one were to ingest these mushrooms, it would turn them into drooling, mind-controlled zombies! The parasites or whatever are in those mushrooms would slowly eat away at their brains until the shrooms themselves have taken total control."

Barrel: "I ain't afraid of no zombies. I'll clobber their butts if they get anywhere near us!"

Prince Andrias punched his fist.

Prince Andrias: "As will I!"

As the carriages reached their destination, Andrias departed his vehicle, and the three got to work aiding the scavenger crew in collecting the shrooms. The others peered at Andrias as he assisted them, wondering if it was at all kosher for the prince of all of Amphibia to be out and about with such commoners, harvesting brain shrooms, a job for lowly peasants, but said nothing for fear of Andrias ratting them out to their king, whom they feared much more than the seemingly docile prince. Hours passed, and the crew chatted amongst themselves as they continued to work. Andrias didn't much care for ordering his underlings around and only did so when his father was looking to maintain that sense of authority.

They knew that he was only breathing down their necks because his father was breathing down his neck. If only Andrias knew who was breathing down King Aldrich's neck, he might not have resisted so easily in his youth, yet he would have known soon enough of that horrible monstrosity. Curiously, as Andrias rubbed the sweat from his brow, having harvested nearly ten whole sacks of the stuff and filled their quota, he turned to the side for a moment and gazed at the cloth on one of the scavenger crewmen's arms. He turned sideways and he could see it, a red and yellow eye within a black circle on a blue background. He squinted, observing the symbol, unaware that he was staring, and the man he was staring at was growing quite uncomfortable.

Crewman: "Is something the matter, Your Highness?"

Andrias shook his head, coming out of his daze.

Prince Andrias: "No. It's just that I've never seen that symbol before. What does it mean?"

The crewman shrugged.

Crewman: "I don't know. Everyone on the brain shroom excavation crew wears this symbol."

Andrias kept staring.

Crewman: "Creepy, right? It looks like some sort of red-eyed monster. Boy, if I didn't know any better, I'd say there's something like that around the castle. The place has been giving me the creeps lately. I keep seeing these red eyes staring at me. I thought maybe I was hallucinating or that it was some sort of side-effect of being in constant contact with these mushrooms, or that it was the local fauna, but I keep spotting them peripherally."

The man did a double-take before leaning into Prince Andrias.

Crewman: "Please don't speak of my incessant rambling to your father, Your Highness. I need this job, and the last thing I need is for the king to think I'm mad. I have mouths at home to feed."

Prince Andrias raised his hands in reassurance.

Prince Andrias: "No, I believe you. I will do no such thing."

He continued excavating.

Prince Andrias: "Red eyes… Why do they all keep seeing red eyes?"

In the present, King Andrias is stirred from his slumber by the sudden loud noise of the barn door being shut, awakening him abruptly from his dream and snapping him back to the modern day, having not yet recovered from REM. He opens his eyes, and the snail that had been resting on his lap all night scurries away. Andrias rubs his tired eyes as he is approached by Sprig, and according to the ray of light shining through the roof that had nearly made its way to his eye, it's nearly the same time in the morning the next day as when he had risen from his slumber the previous one. Sprig appears to be in a little bit of a tizzy.

Sprig: "King Andrias. Someone's here to see you. It's really important."

King Andrias rises.

King Andrias: "Unless it's Polly or her kidnapper, I don't care who is outside."

Sprig heads toward the door. He turns back toward Andrias with a scowl.

Sprig: "It's someone named Lord Dwenzel. He says he's here with his son, Dweezil. You happen to know someone named Dweezil?"

The name kickstarts Andrias, and he rises as quickly and carefully as he can and approaches the barn door ahead of Sprig.

King Andrias: "The young man who won the competition?"

He opens the barn door, and Sprig just stands there staring out into nothingness.

Sprig: "What kind of name is 'Dweezil' anyway?"

He proceeds to follow King Andrias outside, where a series of grand royal carriages awaits them. Andrias stands there with his fists balled, scowling. The indignity of being approached by his own carriages as a commoner, he can feel that great dishonor as a portly man in formal attire with slicked back silver hair, a man similar in appearance to Dweezil, only older, and with a considerably snooty mustache, descends the carriage stairs and onto the Plantars' property. The lord and claimant to the throne approaches, Lord Dwenzel. He speaks with the same aura of unearned authority as his son.

Lord Dwenzel: "Ah, yes, Andrias. We meet at last. Oh, excuse me. Where are my manners? King Andrias. Many apologies, Your Highness."

King Andrias makes his position quite clear.

King Andrias: "Spare me the formalities, Dwenzel. What brings you to Wartwood?"

Lord Dwenzel raises his brow. Andrias has a lot of nerve speaking so disrespectfully to the current ruler with so many guards and coaches around, but then Dwenzel peers around him, getting a good look at the sizes of his guards versus the size of the man standing before him, and realizes exactly why Andrias has no fear of any of them. He clears his throat.

Lord Dwenzel: "Anyway, to the matter for which I have arrived. I've come to formally express my gratitude toward you for the protection and assurance of the safety of my son. From what I understand, according to the reports, The Robo Arena of Death and Unapologetically Loud, Eardrum-Shattering Explosions was attacked by a group of rogue Frobots, ones similar to those who were previously under your employment. I have since decommissioned the production of such soldiers as a measure against any sort of retaliation efforts, should The Core ever surface once again."

Sprig approaches unannounced.

Sprig: "Are you saying the Frobots that attacked the show are under the employment of The Core? The Core… survived?"

Lord Dwenzel simply shakes his head.

Lord Dwenzel: "We don't know, young man. But we've since launched an investigation into the attack, where we discovered that you had arrived at the event with a young lady by the name of Polly Plantar, this young man's little sister. Correct?"

King Andrias bores down into Lord Dwenzel with his eyes, genuinely curious as to where this conversation is leading.

King Andrias: "Aye, I did. Polly and I witnessed the event when the stage was attacked, and… we intervened. That was when Polly was kidnapped and taken through a hole in the roof by the perpetrators. I tried to pursue them, but the roof collapsed. The only evidence I had acquired from the attack was a piece of cloth. Sprig?"

Sprig hands over the piece of cloth to Lord Dwenzel, and he takes it with his pristine white-gloved hand. He examines the cloth.

Lord Dwenzel: "Ah, yes. This is definitely the work of The Core. Interestingly enough, though, this design hadn't been used in nearly a thousand years."

Andrias approaches, leaning over, making Lord Dwenzel extremely uncomfortable and alerting his guards.

King Andrias: "Do you know anything about this design?"

King Andrias rises and stands erect before them once again as Lord Dwenzel fixes and recomposes himself, slicking back his hair and staring up at King Andrias with a look of concern as he adjusts his coat. Lord Dwenzel nods.

Lord Dwenzel: "Indeed. I had the privilege of reading your father's diary. I stumbled upon it one day while perusing the castle and happened upon your father, King Aldrich's office. I was quite intrigued to find out what that old newt had locked away within his brain, family secrets, no doubt, not even you knew about. I'm surprised you hadn't read it yourself, or you'd know exactly where Polly is."

King Andrias: "And where is that?"

Lord Dwenzel sighs.

Lord Dwenzel: "It is a place called Nero Hades. That is the name of the continent that rose on the western coast. That is where you saw that symbol from."

King Andrias backs into the barn, leaning on it as he reaches his epiphany.

King Andrias: "So that's where those shipments were being sent."

He stares off into space, and Dwenzel approaches him with a raised brow, genuinely curious.

Lord Dwenzel: "I beg your pardon? Shipments of what?"

King Andrias scowls downward at the Lord.

King Andrias: "Brain shrooms. I remembered a long time ago. It came to me in a dream I had last night. Father was sending a massive shipment of brain shrooms overseas. But the question is… Why? What were they used for?"

He ponders as he treads forward, past the lord, as he contemplates, his hand drawn to his bearded chin in thought.

King Andrias: "What was he sending those brain shrooms there for? What would The Core want with brain shrooms? And what would it want with Polly?"

He turns back to Lord Dwenzel.

King Andrias: "Whoever took Polly, be it The Core or someone else, they wanted someone with advanced skills in robotics. Originally, it seems as though the plan was to abduct the victor of the competition, but when Polly intervened with her robots, whoever was controlling the reactivated Frobots had other plans on their mind."

Dweezil removes himself from the carriage and approaches King Andrias. He stares up at the old king with a sense of wonder and slight humility.

Dweezil: "It's true, Your Highness. It appears as though Polly Plantar's abductor was scouting for someone with advanced prowess in robotics. I must admit, even I was impressed by her miniature drones with their lightweight polycarbonate designs. They were efficient, and they made quick work of the Frobots before more had arrived on the scene and they became overwhelmed. By the way… Thank you for saving my life, King Andrias."

Andrias nods humbly but does not smile, and Lord Dwenzel and Dweezil exchange glances with a nod.

Lord Dwenzel: "We will be doing everything within our power to assure you that Polly Plantar is brought home safe and sound. We will be sending a search party to the island and…"

King Andrias begins stepping forward past the crowd, almost ignoring Lord Dwenzel entirely. The lord observes his rude behavior as if the king had gone mad. King Andrias tightens his fists as he stares outward toward the gates of Wartwood.

King Andrias: "It will not matter. Do not waste your time sending anyone. People have gone to that continent and never returned. Someone… or something… is taking them, and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it, personally."

Lord Dwenzel approaches him.

Lord Dwenzel: Surely, you can't be serious, Your Highness. If you go out to that island alone, you will surely perish!"

King Andrias turns to Lord Dwenzel, leaning over and staring dead straight into his eyes.

King Andrias: "If you have so little faith in someone like me, what in the world makes you think the people of Newtopia are worth sending in there?"

He raises a finger of authority, reclaiming his spot as their ruler momentarily.

King Andrias: "You listen to me, Dwenzel. You will send no such forces to Nero Hades. Not one more Amphibian life will be shed on my behalf. I will liberate Polly, and I will return her safe and sound, alone. It is my duty as not only a man but your king."

Andrias turns toward Sprig.

Sprig: "Let me come with you."

He says, gazing up at Andrias. Andrias touches Sprig's tiny face with his finger, raising his chin so that the two can see eye to eye.

King Andrias: "No. You are needed here. Your grandfather is not well, and Sylvia will need you to be the man of the house. Besides, I wouldn't want to lose you, too."

He gazes into Sprig's eyes, and Sprig can see not only the compassion within his aged yellow eyes but also years of torment and years of fallen honor. Sprig realizes he has no choice. The king is right. As much as Sprig wants to go out there and fight the good fight, and see to it that Polly is rescued. He's needed here.

King Andrias: "Besides, even if I perished, nobody would miss me."

Sprig doesn't say anything. He can't even believe that Andrias thinks so lowly of himself. He's totally speechless. Andrias marches toward the town exit when he is approached by Lord Dwenzel once again.

Lord Dwenzel: "Please! King Andrias, listen to me!"

King Andrias turns and faces the man with a hardened scowl and a stare from hell. Lord Dwenzel is quite intimidated.

Lord Dwenzel: "What could we offer to help you? You cannot get there alone."

King Andrias ponders for a moment.

King Andrias: "You are right. I will need a ride."

He turns to face him again.

King Andrias: "I have only one more question before I leave… Where have you released my herons?"

Lord Dwenzel continues to explain to King Andrias that the herons were released some years ago, far away from society, toward the mountains near Olm Wood Forest. Lately, they seem to have migrated north in search of water and now reside around Ribbitvale, drinking the water close to the bridge, and can be commonly seen floating in the lake and feasting on the fish. This caused great outrage within the community of Ribbitvale, and Lord Ribbiton had used his own personal funds to build a wall around Ribbitvale to protect the town from the opposing herons.

Without another word, Andrias marches out of Wartwood and immediately begins heading eastward, back along the trail he had just tread and off the beaten path. He continues to venture onward into the wilderness, a frozen look of determination born on his face. He continues past the South Tower once again and toward the Ruins of Despair, where the cleanup crew can still be seen, investigating the scene of the attack and running all sorts of diagnostics. As he arrives, he is approached for an interview, but all it takes is a sharp jolt of his head toward the meddlesome paparazzi to drive them away.

From here, he starts cutting through, heading north through the valley until he meets back up with the road right at Quarreler's Pass, an obstacle that he unfortunately cannot tread around. With nobody to argue with, Andrias is plunged into internal conflict. He knows that he cannot let Polly down. He knows very well that Sprig may attempt to follow him. Every so often, the king finds himself growing paranoid, looking back every single time something catches his attention, be it a rock tumbling across the edge of a cliff, a tiny animal scurrying by, or the surrounding area making even the slightest noise. Andrias may be blind, but he is most certainly not deaf, and his poor vision only heightens his other senses.

The king just keeps marching, unfettered by no longer having a small child or having to keep pace with a snail just casually moseying its way along the road as if with no sense of urgency whatsoever. He knows that the clock is ticking and that the precious child, the sweet Polly Plantar's life, depends on it. He tries his best to remain calm. He knows that at some point in the middle of the night, Hopediah had to wake up and find out about his missing granddaughter, and with his sore back, he is left entirely helpless to do anything about it. Andrias knows very well that if Hopediah could, he'd be doing very much the same thing, going on a warpath, tearing down anything and anyone that stands in the way of rescuing his granddaughter.

Heaven help the amphibian that gets in their way. Andrias does not lose pace nearly the entire way to Ribbitvale. Finally, he can see the town just in the distance, a town with a massive wall that had not been there before. It is a fine structure, well-built. There is no doubt in his mind that Wigbert had spared no expense to protect his precious town. Wigbert may not be the town's mayor, but as the wealthiest man in the entire town with his ribbon empire, he might as well be. Wigbert had, at some point, contemplated running, but found the job at hand to be rather dull. He'd rather stick to doing what he knows best, which is making floss.

By the time Andrias makes it to Ribbitvale, he finds himself growing exhausted, having pushed himself without stopping all the way across Amphibia, and even with the robotic prosthetics, he is still a man, and a man with, albeit enhanced strength, limitations to his exertions. Andrias stumbles toward the lake shore, where he bends over, drawing gallons of water to his mouth, parched with thirst. As he steps nearly eight feet into the lake to do a little bit of fishing on his own, he stares out into the distance through his brow line. He can see the massive feathered beast bobbing up and down in the middle of the lake peacefully, not bothering a soul, and preening its feathers. It seems not to have caught on to the fact that Andrias had arrived.

He wonders if the beast would even recognize him after all these years as its old master, or if the equipment used to control them had completely washed them of all memory of control at all. For what it's worth, Andrias only has a moderate sense of understanding of the technology used to control the beasts, only that the control mechanisms were created using the neural connectors obtained from brain shrooms. Now that he puts two and two together, he understands just why The Core would wish to obtain such large quantities of the stuff. One thing that doesn't bode well with Andrias is the notion that those very same shrooms could be used on Polly. There's no doubt in his mind that a little spark plug like Polly would put up a fight.

King Andrias: "Hold on, Polly. I'm coming."

Andrias says as he stares into the water, the fish of the lake swim around his torso. He grabs a fish in his massive robotic hand, drawing the flailing and flapping creature from the water and sinking his teeth into it like a barbarian. He pulls at the meat, and the blood runs into the water, creating a puddle around him as he eats the fish raw. The creature dies, falling limp in his hand as he tears away at the meat, the red running through his beard, the king savoring every last bit of the beast and sparing nothing but the bone. Even with all the commotion on the shoreline, the heron in the center of the lake seems entirely unperturbed by Andrias's actions, perhaps being too far out of earshot to notice the king.

Andrias laments the fact that he had to travel so far out of his way to retrieve the heron, as well as the fact that he did not come prepared with such a means of wrangling the beast, now realizing just how big the lake is. Andrias knows that he's gonna need rope and lots of it. He turns, facing the town in the distance, and wonders, what if he were to approach Ribbitvale and acquire rope from there? Some years ago, he recalls during one of those fancy-pants snob parties hosted at the castle, good old Wigbert bragging about how he had discovered through chemical means, the ability to produce an indestructible floss, one that he had tested by the most absurd means possible, a tug-of-war between the entire town of Ribbitvale with equal numbers on both sides.

Astonishingly, even with well over one hundred local amphibians pulling on the single strand of white rope, it did not snap. Now that's some good floss right there. After finishing his hearty fish meal, Andrias rinses the blood off his soaked clothes and proceeds back to shore, making sure he doesn't appear like some psychotic serial killer, or at least sane enough that the people wouldn't scream in terror as soon as he approached. He sighs as he peers toward Ribbitvale. The quiet town hadn't seen him in the decade since the end of the war, and unlike Wartwood, where he could be excused for having rescued Sprig, thus granting him access, the people of Ribbitvale have no reason to tell him anything other than to pound sand.

Of course, Andrias looks back at the lake, and with a smirk, he realizes that he has a bargaining chip. And so he crosses the road, past the bridge, and over to the gates of Ribbitvale, where two frogs, one short and plump and one tall and skinny, stand post. The two gentlemen tremble, not too keen on engaging with the former king. They're all too reluctant to even stand their ground against the opposing herons.

Ribbitvale Guard 1: "King Andrias! What are you doing here?!"

Ribbitvale Guard 2: "Your kind is not welcome here!"

Andrias raises a brow. He places his hands on his hips and leans in toward the two guards. They recede a little bit, their lances trembling in their hands. Rookies.

King Andrias: "And I suppose a couple of fine gentlemen like yourselves are going to stop me?"

The tall and skinny one begs King Andrias.

Ribbitvale Guard 1: "L-look, Y-your Highness. W-we're just doing our jobs. We can't grant you entry."

Andrias leans into the little one.

King Andrias: "I am only going to say this once. There is a child missing, a child that was under my supervision when she was taken, and the longer I spend contending with you fools, the less likely it is that I will find her. Unless you'd like the blood of a child on your hands, I suggest you grant me entry."

Ribbitvale Guard 2: "Y-you won't totally wreck everything beyond these gates?"

King Andrias: "Why would I destroy my own king… On second thought, don't answer that. No. I will not harm a single individual. I will leave as I came, and the town will remain intact. You have my word as your king… I know that doesn't mean a whole lot."

Reluctantly, the two exchange a glance and a nod before sliding the gates open and allowing Andrias permission into Ribbitvale. Andrias peers around the pristine and opulent city. The streets are clean, the pavements without so much as a single article of trash in sight. The posh sophisticates strolling the sidewalks merely freeze and gawk in awe as the repulsive and pungent king, who would at one time be welcomed with the utmost class, treads the streets to an audience as if a bum had tread among them. For a split moment, he suddenly understands how Walliam must feel. But now is not the time for that. Now is the time for him to have a word with the one person he must speak to, Wigbert Ribbiton.

He distinctly remembers the location of Ribbiton Manor, having traveled to the city many times. Although he had never seen it as a commoner, or viewed it from a lower position. The people hide behind their windows, covering themselves with their curtains as he treads by as if he were some mere monster treading through their town. Andrias is approached by several more guards, and he explains his desire to see Walliam. Nevertheless, they will not allow him to proceed any further. It appears as though Andrias is at an impasse. He requests an audience with Wigbert Ribbiton.

A scout is sent to retrieve good old Wigbert from his manor, and the king watches as the scout treads the long, perfectly manicured landscape up to the home. It takes a mere ten minutes for Wigbert to arrive by snail-drawn coach at the gates. Even the snails themselves seem to have an aura of unearned superiority in Ribbitvale, and internally, it causes King Andrias to roll his eyes and wonder to himself, Did he really associate himself with such snobbish celebutantes? The snail-drawn carriage stops at the gates, and the driver steps down from the driver's seat and treads over to the side door of the coach to open it and let Wigbert out of his carriage. The old man treads onto the stone pavement and stares up at King Andrias with a well-earned sneer.

Wigbert: "You had better have a jolly good excuse for setting foot in this town, Andrias. You know very well you are not welcome here."

Wigbert speaks with a posh English accent. At this point, Andrias is just bored with the lack of warm welcomes; he cuts right to the chase.

King Andrias: "I do. I require a large quantity of your indestructible floss."

Wigbert turns to his guards and starts to laugh. Awkwardly, they join him in the hearty guffaw. Andrias allows the old man to get it out of his system before he clears his throat awkwardly and proceeds toward the negotiation prospect.

Wigbert: "And I suppose you have the sand dollars to purchase such a large quantity of floss with you, 'Your Majesty'?"

King Andrias goes to open his mouth and speak, but then he realizes, lowering his head with a sigh and running his hand through his matted locks in embarrassment.

King Andrias: "I do not."

Wigbert turns around. He's just about had it with this former, exiled, shamed, criminal king wasting his time any further.

King Andrias: "Wait!"

He says as Wigbert boards his carriage once again, standing on the final stair of the coach, giving the king one last chance to plead before he leaves, just dangling that control over him makes Wigbert feel an internal giddiness unrivaled. Andrias continues.

King Andrias: "What if I told you what it is for?"

Wigbert simply runs his eyes up and down the king.

Wigbert: "I'm listening."

King Andrias: "I need the floss to rescue a child that had been taken while in my care. Certainly, you recall a young lady by the name of Polly Plantar."

The old man pauses, thinking for a moment.

Wigbert: "Indeed. I remember the young purple Plantar child, the granddaughter of Hopediah, and friends of my son, Walliam."

King Andrias: "I require your floss so that I may use it as a lasso to tame the wild beast terrorizing the outskirts of your beloved city."

Wigbert descends the stairs once again. His eyes are fixed on King Andrias's eyes.

Wigbert: "You mean—"

King Andrias: "Yes, the wild giant heron plaguing your lake. Should you supply me with the floss I require, I will tame the beast, and I will fly it far away from Ribbitvale."

Wigbert just stares up at the man through squinted eyes of suspicion. Andrias does not blink, only stares back coldly into his eyes.

Wigbert: "Give me one good reason why I should do as you ask."

King Andrias approaches, leaning in threateningly, and the guards stand ready to attack if Andrias pulls anything funny.

King Andrias: "Do you have any idea how many fish those herons eat in a week?"

Wigbert: "No."

King Andrias: "Five hundred."

Wigbert does a double-take.

Wigbert: "Five hundred?!"

King Andrias nods.

King Andrias: "That's right. And when that heron drains the fish in that lake, it's going to go hungry, and guess where it will come next for its food."

Wigbert stares into Andrias's eyes, contemplatively for a moment, and turns around. He snaps his finger.

Wigbert: "Fetch the man a large spool of our indestructible floss."

Wigbert begins to tread up to his carriage, ascending and once again stopping on the last stair before turning to the king.

Wigbert: "If you can get that horrid bird out of our lake, consider the price for that spool paid."

And with that, Andrias is approached by one of Wigbert's servants and offered a large spool of thick, indestructible floss. Andrias tests the rope by unraveling some of it and trying to pull it apart with his massive arms. The floss doesn't even fray, not even with Andrias's enhanced robotic strength. He nods to the gentleman with a smile and starts to walk away toward the gates, pocketing the spool. Wigbert calls out to him once more before he leaves.

Wigbert: "Oh, and Andrias…"

The king turns to him.

Wigbert: "Good luck on finding Polly Plantar. She's a sweet girl, even if she is rather boorish."

Wigbert enters his carriage, and the snails turn around, slithering through the gates and back up to his manor. The deed is done, and now Andrias can proceed with his mission. The king marches through the town once again, past the people of Ribbitvale, the gossipers and murmurers as they speak in inaudible whispers, hiding their teasing and sly insults behind napkins and parasols. Admittedly, Andrias never liked those upper-class snobs, nor was he particularly fond of having to indulge in their insufferable banter during his father's seemingly mandatory meetings with the gentryfolk.

In fact, the people of Wartwood are more his speed: the common folk, the humble farmers, the everyman, and quite honestly, the backbone of society, for what may seem to some like a backwater town filled with a bunch of frog yokels and hillbillies, to others, it's home sweet home. And to Andrias, Wartwood, even in the short time he'd been there, felt more like home to him than Newtopia had in almost his entire time of living there. Lady Olivia, the sweet and kindly woman, although his advisor, the woman was more like his babysitter.

He drove her absolutely nuts with some of his antics, and now that he thinks about her as he exits Ribbitvale through the front gates, he chuckles to himself, and the guards close the gates as quickly as they can to usher that madman out of the city. Olivia was his anchor back in Newtopia, arguably the only one binding him morally, preventing him from lapsing fully into the will of The Core. Silently, he vows to pay her a visit sometime, of course, a planned visit, perhaps when everything blows over and he returns with Polly. He keeps those hopeful thoughts in his head, vowing. He will get her home. He will rescue Polly, and they'll come home, and Wartwood will cheer.

He will cement with them a new bond, and they'll all have a big bonfire barbecue to celebrate the reunion. That is his goal. That is his pursuit. And so he marches down the road, past the bridge once more, to find that the bird had moved closer and resided on the shore. Andrias treads around the shoreline, over the bridge, and toward the bird, slowly, cautiously, as quietly as his massive frame will allow him to stalk such a creature. As Andrias approaches, getting an ever clearer vision of the bird, he notices that the creature is sitting upon a peculiar throne of its own.

And that's when he realizes that it's gonna be much more difficult to pry that bird away from its current location. As it just so turns out, "it" is a she, an expecting mother, in fact, and she sits upon a nest of rather large eggs. It would appear as though the other heron, the one that had been released with her some time ago, is a male, and the two had mated recently, which means that if Andrias doesn't hurry up, the other may show up soon, and then he'd have to contend with not one heron, but two. Andrias peers along the shoreline, gazing up into the sky and keeping an eye out for the other heron. Andrias finds himself quite at odds with himself. Twice in one week, he has to be a baby killer. And yet, he finds himself torn.

This beast was once his pet, his servant. Yes, the creature was his killing machine, a merchant of death, and when it really comes down to it, herons are not particularly kind creatures, especially toward amphibians, and that's when he makes up his mind, to draw the mother away from her nest would be a death sentence for her young, but a victory for Amphibia, for a dead nest of herons means that Ribbitvale would no longer be under the threat of those birds hatching and causing Mama to go on a feast. Andrias stands a mere fifteen feet away from the bird, and even he is shocked by just how close the mother will allow him to get.

Andrias draws from his pocket the long white spool, unraveling it and tying the end of it into a lasso, a nice, strong knot that has no chance of snapping, and large enough to fit around the large creature's neck. At just that moment, the sand beneath Andrias's thick, metal feet shifts slightly, creating a soft maraca sound. The bird opens its big, round, imposing red eye, staring directly at him and raising its head. Immediately, the bird begins shouting the most hellish sound he has ever heard as it rises, and Andrias reacts quickly. Swinging the rope over his head, Andrias tries to lasso the creature. Mama is not having it. As Andrias tosses the lasso over her head, she stretches her long neck, evading being tied.

Now she's pissed. Not only has Andrias disturbed her sleep, but she also has to defend her nest. Andrias knows very well that herons are territorial. Darting her neck, she snaps at Andrias, unleashing a horrible shriek that all of Ribbitvale must certainly hear in the distance. The king rolls out of the way, reaching for the floss as the heron goes to try and swallow the massive newt whole. Andrias stretches the floss before him, holding his arms straight outward as the bird darts its head into the sand. The floss stretches across the back of her beak, keeping it open as Andrias uses his feet to pry the beak open wide enough for him to roll away.

The heron shrieks at Andrias once again, chasing him along the beach as he runs for his life. He gains just enough of a distance on the bird to pull quite a ridiculous stunt. Turning about face abruptly, King Andrias dives into a roll under the bird's belly, causing her to crane her neck underneath and flip herself over. The clumsy bird lands on the beach with a quaking thud, for as hollow as the bones of a bird are, this is still a bird that weighs several tons. Quickly, Andrias retaliates, tossing his lasso around the bird's neck and tightening his grip. The mama bird panics, flailing around and screeching in terror as she flails her head around, darting King Andrias around wildly.

Andrias leaps high into the air and on top of the heron, and the bird jerks around wildly, trying to land on its back and crush the king. Andrias is having none of it, and as he approaches the beak, climbing up the bird's neck and refusing to let go no matter how much the creature shakes, he prepares his restraints. He threads the floss around the bird's beak and creates from the various knots a proper harness for controlling her. Mama continues to flail relentlessly, gradually losing steam and becoming more tired. Andrias does not relent, exerting his dominance over the bird but noticing her despair. Andrias tries to soothe the creature, standing at the base of her neck and stroking her feathers. He shushes her into submission.

King Andrias: "Shh… That's right. That's a good girl. At ease, sweetheart."

Andrias continues to stroke her soft feathers until she's calmed down. The bird breathes heavily, but after a few moments, it has started to relinquish control. Andrias continues to speak smoothly into her ear with his deep voice.

King Andrias: "Stay calm and everything will be alright. We're gonna go for a little trip. Do you like that? Remember our old flights?"

With a gentle nudge of his foot into her side, he urges the beast forward along the beach, attempting to lure her away from her eggs. In the distance, he can see another massive beast flying over the horizon. He knows his time is short. The king whispers into her ear once more.

King Andrias: "It's okay, Mama. Your lover is home. Your chicks will be safe with him until you return. For now, Daddy has to get his own little chick home, safe and sound."

He tugs slightly on the floss reins, and the bird starts to run forward along the beach, gaining momentum and traveling along the entire shoreline in a matter of seconds.

King Andrias: "Rise, my darling! Take to the skies!"

Pulling back on the reins, the bird stretches its massive wings and leaps into flight, flapping away and gaining height. The bird soars high into the air and toward the moon. Andrias directs the bird eastward, his intention to circle the globe and approach the new continent from the other side. Andrias takes the heron high into the sky. Miles above, he travels across the open sea, the cool breeze fluttering through his hair and beard and the heron's soft, white feathers. Andrias takes in the breeze and the salty sea air as the heron flies for miles and miles on end.

The journey across the sea is long, but Andrias knows for certain that he is on the right path. He must be. Polly is counting on him. As he stares downward into the blue depths below. He knows that it's quite possible that once he makes it to that island, Mama may very well abandon him there. It's quite possible there may be no clear-cut way back. But none of that matters. All that matters is that he finds Polly. That is the only thing on his mind. Andrias refuses to let her down. A fog builds in the distance, and he knows very well he must be getting close to Nero Hades. As he stares forward with determination, Andrias grits his teeth.

King Andrias: "I'm coming, Polly."

Chapter Text

What kind of building would the government want to build out in the middle of the desert? The only purpose for doing so would be to hide something from someone. But what could the government possibly want to hide from the American people? Advanced robotics? Alien lifeforms? Top-secret experiments being performed on human beings? This is what Henry and his friends are about to discover. One second, Henry and his friends were lying quite comfortably, the next, a flash of blinding white light out of nowhere.

Captain Ernst: "Up and atom, kiddos. It's time for a heist."

The kids continue to lie there, completely motionless, grumbling. Captain Ernst stands in the doorway, scowling as he runs his eyes across the room in grave disappointment. Folding his arms, he waits for a brief few seconds, the threshold of his patience, before marching into the room, flipping the sofas upside down, and flinging the kids onto the floor.

Captain Ernst: "I suppose now you're all wide awake?"

Henry rolls onto the floor, darting upward furiously and standing erect as if he had just been electrocuted. His hair stands on end and makes it seem even more so.

Henry: "What the hell, man?!"

Captain Ernst: "You were to be up at approximately 5 o'clock. It is now 5:02 and you're not even dressed yet."

He says, noticing Henry standing there in his underwear. The other two push the furniture they were lying on over and rise, rubbing their heads.

Captain Ernst: "All of you, put your pants on and hurry. You're burning daylight... and my eyes with your pallid, fleshy legs."

Ernst cringes before walking out of the room. The three boys stand there, completely dumbfounded and bed-headed. Within a matter of two minutes, the boys are fully dressed, albeit messily. Henry still looks like he has a bird's nest on top of his head. Bobby is even greasier than usual, and Steven makes an attempt to slick back his naturally wavy Italian hair… with his spit. Needless to say, none of them are ready, physically or mentally, and this doesn't bode well for Ernst or AnimaGenesis.

AnimaGenesis: "Good morning. We see you slept well."

The mysterious entity says in an ambiguously deadpan manner as the boys stand there with their eyes closed and rocking back and forth. Ernst shakes his head. This will simply have to do. There are no second chances, and Ernst spent the better part of the beginning of his day loading everything they would need into the back of their escape vehicle. Ernst has always been an early bird, up before the sun, according to his natural sleep schedule. The captain had gotten himself used to minimal sleep years ago. His body is trained to be as efficient as possible.

Henry, Bobby, and Steven, as teenage boys, are the exact opposite, used to staying up late, engaging in party lobbies in their favorite FPS games where they'd often play in team co-operative matches and spend large portions of the match camping and being general nuisances to the other players. Sometimes it was simply more fun to troll the other players than to actually play the game correctly. In their own way, they are sort of villains themselves. Ernst ushers the boys into the back of a bland, gray van, practically a creep van that, if a human being were driving, the implication of three teenage boys boarding would have been vastly different and only slightly more sinister.

The inside of the vehicle is loaded with technology neither Henry nor his friends had ever seen before, technology that doesn't even appear human. Bobby is tempted to fiddle with the control panel of one of the terminals hooked up to a small monitor on the side of the truck just to see what it does. He peers at the keyboard and mutters a three-word profanity under his breath as he stares at the amphibian runes printed on the front of it. The young men are packed in there rather tightly, between the equipment and the various leather bags filled with questionable content that Ernst hadn't briefed the boys about.

Of course, there's the previously mentioned electron pulse emitter that Bobby is responsible for, as he can see the very specific shape forming an indentation in the side of the bag, but Henry doesn't recognize any of the other things in the back of Ernst's van. It would appear none of it is relevant to the mission. Henry assumes some of this equipment had been used to spy on him. The mere thought of Ernst watching his every move without his knowing makes the boy's blood run cold. He shivers. Everything about this vehicle is dodgy. The fact that it's noticeably old despite having relatively low mileage means it must have been sitting in some lot for years and was either purchased for cheap or was just plain stolen.

Even the fake-as-all-hell-looking license plate seems to very much confirm the latter. Even the upholstery of the vehicle's front seats feels relatively inauthentic to the vehicle and build, almost as if this entire van is some sort of bootleg hodgepodge of a car, totally untraceable. It would seem nobody would miss this vehicle. It's a shame it would stick out like a sore thumb in its detail compared to many newer, more contemporary vehicles. Finally, after what seems like a pretty hypocritical long time, considering how much Ernst seemed to emphasize the desire to leave promptly, Ernst swings open the front door of the driver's side and slides into the seat.

The chair makes an annoyingly loud and obvious squeaking noise with every move as he performs a last-minute check on everything he needs before slipping a latex mask over his face. The last thing he needs is someone pulling him over, especially the police, and finding a freaky newt man driving a vehicle filled with kidnapped minors and a bunch of technology that appears not at all worldly. Ernst adjusts his mask, turning around to the boys and peering at them. The boys flinch.

Captain Ernst: "How do I look? Do you think I'll fool the earthlings?"

They all cringe.

Bobby: "Yeah, dude. You don't look like a creepy plastic mannequin man at all. Totally natural."

He says, lying to Ernst's face. The man merely pauses and grunts with a shrug before starting the vehicle. Ernst peers back at the boys through the reflection in the rearview mirror with his icy, cold eyes.

Captain Ernst: "You three are to remain hidden and quiet for the duration of this trip. We're going to be on the road for several hours, so I hope you've drained yourselves of any bodily excrement. There will be no potty break detours on this trip. You have all been warned."

Henry folds his arms with a sneer.

Henry: "Yeah, yeah. Just start driving so we can get this over with and so I can see my dad again."

Shifting around in his human jacket pocket, Ernst draws a key and starts the ignition. Pulling back the shift, Ernst gingerly backs out of the parking spot, seemingly aware of the notion that he needs to watch out for other cars even though he had never been to a human driving school, and he speeds away in a manner that defies the current California traffic laws. Henry pays attention to Ernst and notices that the newt does not at any point during the entire trip consult a map, implying that for months at least, he had planned this trip, and only now has he had the opportunity to execute the plan. Henry wonders if he should trust his captor, knowing that Ernst could very easily get lost on the way to Vastek Industries.

Henry then wonders what will happen if Ernst gets pulled over by the cops. Is he prepared to deal with the L.A.P.D.? Does he have any sort of fake driver's license or proper registration? Peering around the vehicle, considering all the things he's encountered since he arrived at that terrible dilapidated building on Fleisher Street, he believes that the ability for Ernst to forge a fake ID and driver's registration is perfectly plausible. But then he wonders, is Ernst coy enough to weasel his way out of an encounter with the police? He notices as he shifts around in the big, boxy vehicle that Ernst isn't exactly the safest or even the most road-conscious of drivers. He's setting himself up to have a run-in with the police at any moment.

And then he wonders to himself that if they run into the cops, should he scream? No… That would not be ideal. If he, Bobby, or Steven blows their cover at any point during the encounter with the police, he can kiss the possibility of ever seeing his dad again goodbye. The sad thing is that Henry isn't even entirely sure his dad is alive. A pit swells within his stomach that all of this was a bad idea, and that none of this is worth seeing his dad again. The sensation makes him sick, to think such things, to experience such a betrayal toward his father, whom he loves with all his heart and misses dearly. It feels like a betrayal to have such feelings.

But could the newt be bluffing? Could all of this just be to advance his own agenda, and then he'll dispose of Henry, Bobby, and Steven the millisecond they're no longer of use to him? Is all of this just psychological manipulation, a desperate newt praying on the emotions of a desperate and fatherless boy? Now, that's not fair. Henry isn't exactly fatherless after all. There is John, and John's been there, totally faithful through thick and thin, always present, always available to be the dad that Henry's dad cannot be, but it's the blood, and blood is thicker than water in some ways, no matter how close John is.

But John is John, and no matter how much Henry loves John, he's not his biological dad. One just couldn't replace that, no matter what. But Henry, Bobby, and Steven remain quiet. Bobby has the idea of catching up on some of that lost sleep during the car ride since he's incentivized to remain quiet anyway. Steven couldn't possibly sleep if he wanted to. While Bobby could sleep through a hydrogen bomb, Steven is regularly awakened by the blasted birds in the morning sometimes. So he resolves instead to use that time to catch up on some of his reading. Of course, what else is there for him to read but his personal copy of Cricket Kid, volume one?

The journey is long and tense, filled with long moments of quietness out on the open road. There are no stops. Ernst made sure before the trip that the van had a full tank of gas so that there would be no stops at any gas stations or anything. Henry is so tired and bored that he even whispers to Steven, asking him if he could borrow his copy of Cricket Kid to read just to pass the time, even if Steven's spelling and grammar are terrible, and even if his artwork is crudely traced stock images of anime character poses, it's something to do, and something, when confronted with hours and hours of dead silence, is better than nothing. It's not even like Henry can look out the windows to see where they are.

The back door windows had been blacked out, tinted by the glass to keep the curious peeping Toms from seeing all the tech in the back and to keep them from getting any bright ideas about robbing the vehicle. He can't even look out the side windows because he's not allowed to sit up. All he can see are the back of Bobby's head, the side of Steven's head, two car walls, the weird tech, some questionable bags, the back of the two leather upholstered seats before him, and the back of Ernst's head. Ernst knows to be careful about covering up his red tail, and he wears a long coat at all times. Henry peers up at the rear-view mirror out of total boredom, noting the little necklace with the cross on it, wondering.

Did the charm belong to the person that Ernst very obviously stole this vehicle from? Is Ernst aware that the trinket serves no practical purpose? He's grasping at straws. Eventually, hours later, after Henry nudges Bobby to get up since he's started snoring, Bobby rises and rolls over. He feels considerably more awake having gotten at least a few more hours of sleep. Their chests hurt from lying on their bellies for an entire car ride, and they are immensely uncomfortable. They can't wait to get out of that vehicle. Bobby has gotten so bored at this point that he even considers borrowing Steven's Cricket Kid comic to read just to kill time, even though he doesn't even like the comic.

He finds himself snickering under his breath at the amateurish nature of the work, and Henry continues to silence him as Steven scowls and begs for his comic back, mortified. The ride is taking a lot longer than Henry had anticipated, and the dead silence really isn't helping. He can't converse with Bobby or Steven openly, and even Ernst won't do the boys the solid of starting a conversation with them. He maintains his eyes sternly on the road, facing forward. Henry is honestly surprised at this point that the newt had not gotten them into a traffic accident, and in L.A. of all places, knowing very well that the newt had no formal driving training and likely very little experience.

With this in mind, Henry feels for certain that Ernst is more intelligent than he lets on, not that the man has displayed any stupidity thus far besides trusting the will of three teenage boys to carry out his heist mission, but that could very well be the masterwork of AnimaGenesis as well. Finally, though, after what seems like it could have easily been five or six hours, Ernst peers back into the rear side mirror and offers a stern warning. The boys are startled the moment he starts speaking because it seems to come completely from nowhere. At that point, they nearly forgot what his voice sounded like, even though it had been the first aspect of the man they were introduced to yesterday.

Captain Ernst: "We're almost there, boys. Certainly, you all remember your parts. Henry, you're to cut the power. Bobby, you're to freeze the backup generator, and Steven, you're to distract the guards. Got it?"

All: "Yeah—Uh-huh—Yesh, shir."

He nods.

Captain Ernst: "Do a good job and get this done, and we'll be back home in no time, and we'll be one step closer to uniting Henry with his dad, and you'll all be closer to the end of all of this."

Seeing as how the ride is almost over and the four of them have almost reached their destination, Bobby feels emboldened to sit up and speak to Ernst, especially since Ernst felt emboldened and comfortable enough to speak to the three of them.

Bobby: "You do realize the cops are gonna be all over us after this. Right? Are you sure this pile of crap will move fast enough to get us outta dodge when things go hairy?"

Ernst simply shakes his head.

Captain Ernst: "You children and your idioms. Yes, I assure you, this vehicle is equipped to escape, should the authorities intervene."

As Ernst pulls the vehicle off the road and onto the side, he comes to a complete stop and puts the vehicle in park, removing the key from the ignition and placing it into his pocket. He turns, peering to the side at the boys in the most ominous, inhuman way with a wide smirk on his devilish face.

Captain Ernst: "You had better hope that we can get away, or none of you will see the light of day again, and Henry will never see his father. So trust me."

He turns back around.

Captain Ernst: "Trust me, and I will trust you. We are a team. We get this done as a team, and we all head home. We only have one opportunity to get this right. So get your behinds up."

Captain Ernst exits the vehicle and opens the back door, revealing the kids. Henry, Bobby, and Steven are all blindsided by the sudden burst of light meeting their eyes; the only image blocking out the sun is the uncanny silhouette of Ernst's figure against the California desert backdrop. Henry peers outside to see nothing but miles and miles of empty road. Nobody is out here. They're out in the middle of nowhere. More specifically, the three should be somewhere in northern California between Fresno and San Jose, but Henry has no idea. For all he knows, they could have passed San Jose already and be en route to San Francisco. Henry's never been this far up north before, even for vacation. He's been to San Diego and attended Coachella with Bobby, but that's it. Ernst ushers the three out of the vehicle.

Captain Ernst: "Hurry up! Come on! Come on! We haven't all day."

Ernst tosses masks at the three, plain, white, latex masks.

Captain Ernst: "Put these on. Quickly."

The three stare at the masks before taking their glasses off, slipping them on, and placing the glasses over their masks.

Captain Ernst: "You three look ridiculous."

Bobby: "We feel ridiculous."

And so, they peer over the side of the van at the big, gray government building before them. It's nice and clean, and the lawn is well-manicured thanks to the top-notch gardener, but otherwise sticks out like a sore thumb amid the miles and miles of nothingness surrounding it. Ernst points toward the backside of the building and toward the fire escape. They approach the building from the back end.

Captain Ernst: "That will be our point of entry. Using this device…"

Captain Ernst draws from his pocket a small, sticky device of unknown origin that appears to be covered in a thick layer of frog slime.

Captain Ernst: "This has Babylon A.I. technology within. I will use it to replace all the security footage with looping AI-generated footage to make it appear as though nothing is wrong. The footage will show up seamlessly on the security monitors. Henry, you will exit onto the first floor, evading the guards and making your way to the power generator room. You will wait for Bobby to get into place and then throw the switch to kill the power. The backup generator is on a timer to start approximately three seconds after the building has lost power, so Bobby, you have that three-second window to blast the backup generator with the pulse emitter to stall it.

"From there, everyone will be in the dark, and we should be without power for at least the next several minutes. I will lend each of you a pair of night vision goggles. With these, you will be able to seamlessly move about in the dark while security fumbles around to find the power generator. Steven, you will distract the guards manning the basement docking bay until the lights are killed. When you have the opportunity, make a break for it. Try not to be followed, and definitely try not to be captured. Remember, if you're captured, you might as well be dead because we will not be coming back for you.

"Your safest option would be to head back toward the fire escape from whence you came and retreat outward. Do not approach the van unless you are clear for entry without being spotted. This entire operation should take no more than ten minutes, and then we will be out of here. Perform your tasks correctly, and this should be an easy in-and-out job. Any questions?"

Bobby raises his hand. Ernst was certainly hoping there wouldn't actually be any questions, but he does oblige in answering them, if, for any reason, to prevent there from being any confusion that could potentially screw the whole operation up.

Captain Ernst: "Yes, Bobby?"

Bobby: "What if Steve gets caught? What if he rats the whole thing out to the feds? He's got the most dangerous job of all of us because he actually has to go and get seen."

Steven interrupts.

Steven: "Not neshesharily, Bobby. My job ish jusht to dishtract them long enough for you guysh to get the job done."

Ernst nods.

Captain Ernst: "Yes, Steven, if you could distract the guards in a way that would involve not having to interact directly with them, it would be most appreciated."

Steven darts his head between his cohorts in a few seconds of awkward silence before folding his arms with a smug smirk.

Steven: "I got it."

Captain Ernst: "Good. Anything else?... No?... Good. Let's move out."

The group disperses, sneaking their way across the street and toward the fire escape when the thought finally crosses Henry's mind. Why in the world are they committing a heist during the day? Is Ernst out of his mind, or does he have some sort of method to his madness? Never mind that now, the newt makes his way to the emergency exit where he zaps the door with a particular electronic device hooked onto the palm of his four-fingered glove, shorting the alarm system within the release of the door and momentarily disabling it.

He places his finger on the keyhole of the door, and a small fiber wire weasels its way through the tumblers, creating a clicking sound. As soon as he hears it, he turns the knob and ushers the children in, peering out around the corner for any patrolling guards before closing the door. The quartet is now standing on a fire escape with stairs leading up and down to the second floor and basement, respectively. As the alarm on the door resets as if it had never been opened, Ernst signals to Steven and Bobby to follow him while signaling to Henry by pointing toward the first-floor fire escape door into the lobby.

Henry pokes open the door, peeking around for security. As a duo of a man and woman, both wearing suits, approach, reviewing a stapled-together group of paper and uttering governmental terminologies consisting of letters and numbers, adult government jargon he couldn't even begin to understand, the duo heads in the direction Henry needs to go, toward the generator room. Henry follows the two from a distance, listening, in case any other government workers are approaching from around the corner. On the other side of the hall is Henry's destination.

All he has to do is wait a little bit and approach the door. Luckily, the duo turns the corner, heading toward a series of offices filled with cubicles and a bunch of pencil pushers who do little more than process data and records. Henry sneaks his way across the hall and toward the door. Ernst had already managed to hack into the security cameras and override their signals with generative A.I. signals that make it appear as if nothing's happening in the halls except for mundane activities, the simulation of the changing of the day as the room darkens and lightens to give the impression of cloud coverage.

It's some pretty high-tech stuff, and very natural as it's not rendering anything particularly complex. This is when Henry notices the place is kind of dead, security-wise, even though there are government workers all over the place. Turning around in all directions and being as unintentionally suspicious as possible, Henry makes his way over to the end of the hall where the big, clay-colored door to his destination awaits him. Henry turns the long knob and pushes the heavy steel door open. Within is a big olive-colored power generator, relatively new, only a few years old.

Henry peers around for a cable of some sort, finding a way to cut down the power generator. What was it Ernst told him? There should be a switch somewhere on the machine, an emergency switch in case the generator ceases to function properly, and a quick power-off tag-out switch. Henry leans over and, on the side toward the back, a rather peculiar spot for such a switch, is a small lever. Henry takes a deep breath, hoping for his and his father's sake, he has it right. He signals Bobby and Ernst quickly on his walkie-talkie.

Henry: "Bobby, are you in place yet?"

He whispers.

Bobby: "Ready whenever you are. Just waiting for Steve and Ernst to get into place."

Bobby is downstairs and off to the side, a relatively safe route that Ernst had pointed out to him, and Steven, the one with the most dangerous job of all, approaches the upper end of the basement floor, past the storage room and across to where a couple of patrolling guards are making their rounds. Steven notices that they're stationed right toward the shipment bay heading into the basement, where Vastek Industries would receive their weekly supplies from their distributor and be taken quickly and easily to the storage area via forklift. Apparently, the forklift worker is on break. The building isn't particularly large, mostly labs for unrelated and otherwise classified experiments. Steven takes from his pocket his Cricket Kid Issue #1, knowing very well what he must do.

He proceeds around the corner, and he knows that the patrolling guards are coming. Now, the guards at the moment don't suspect a thing, but as soon as they come across a crumpled piece of paper on the floor, their eyes are immediately drawn to it. How could they not have noticed that piece of garbage on the floor? The janitor made his final rounds down there hours ago, and all the trash had been taken out, cardboard baled, and all that other stuff. So where did it come from? The suspicious guard approaches the paper ball, anticipating an attack as he turns the corner sharply, running his flashlight down the hall. Cautiously, he approaches the paper and uncrumbles it, reading.

Guard 1: "Cricket Kid? What the hell? Someone around here has a little too much free time."

He calls his cohort.

Guard 1: "Hey, Larry, get a load of this."

Larry is a bit more professional, rolling his eyes as he approaches the other. It's quite apparent that these two get very little interaction over the course of their shifts, in which they are mostly paid simply to exist. Nobody has robbed this facility yet, and because of that, their professionalism can find itself waning at times. They are human, after all.

Guard 2: "What is it, Herb?"

Guard 1: "What do you make of this?"

Guard 2 peers over with his flashlight.

Guard 2: "Cricket Kid? You gotta be kidding me. Did you make this?"

The other guard feels quite offended.

Guard 1: "Me?! Oh, come on, I can draw better than that."

Oof! That one hit poor Steven right in the pride. Now he somewhat regrets leaving even more pieces on the floor. The guards continue to find these pieces on the floor as they make their rounds, collecting them, but rather than realize something suspicious is going on, very suspicious, in fact, they're so… enamored. No, enthralled? No, definitely not, more befuddled or bewildered as to who would make something as amateurish as Cricket Kid and then leave it in the hallway for others to find. Have they no shame? Has their judgment completely abandoned them?

Steven finds himself becoming angry and threatening to lash out as the two continue to ridicule his comic, and because of this, Steven finds himself wishing nothing more than for Henry and Bobby to hurry up and get things over with so he can finally escape from this stinky and stale basement. Then, the lights go off, and on cue, Bobby executes his role by zapping the backup generator with the electron pulse emitter. Phases two out of three complete, and Steven and Bobby place their night vision goggles over their eyes and head toward the fire escape stairway, making sure to avoid the two guards who are now rightly mad and paranoid, knowing that they had been duped and now their very careers are on the line.

Ernst is toward the back of the building in the basement, and with all the doors electronically unlocked due to having no power, he now has the proper access to the one room he needs to go to. He enters the lab in the basement of the facility, one of many located throughout, where various experiments are conducted. Within the room lies a gateway machine, a giant, rounded, portal-like contraption, only a prototype work in progress, but containing a certain type of crystal that the humans had obtained through mysterious circumstances. Had they been meddling with the gateway machine confiscated many years ago, engineering them to commit the same acts of terror and conquest that the king of Newtopia had?

Is the United States government trying to play God? Certainly, many men, conspiracy theorists or not, regardless of political beliefs, would have no trouble believing such things. Only a fool would believe otherwise, and only a liar would try to convince everyone else otherwise. But now he has it within his grasp, the crystal of unknown origin, the power source to this gateway machine, and now, it's time to escape. Mission complete. But then, it couldn't be that easy now. Could it? It proves not to be when the door is kicked open and a duo of men who recently called for backup arrive on the scene.

Guard 1: "Freeze!"

Captain Ernst raises his head, peering through his browline at the wall before him with a psychotic grin. Finally, the moment he'd been waiting for, another good fight.

Guard 2: "Place your hands over your head!"

Captain Ernst pretends to comply as the guards near themselves to apprehend him. Utilizing his tail, the one aspect none of them had accounted for, he trips the one guard, causing him to fall to the floor as Ernst intercepts his firearm mid-air and cocks the weapon, firing it into the other guard's leg, leaping over the fallen guard in the doorway and making his way into the hallway. Meanwhile, Henry has just left the generator room. Bobby is already hauling up the stairs, followed by Steven, who uses the clear coast to sprint up to the exit as more guards turn the corner, opening fire at him and just barely missing as he makes his way into the fire escape. Steven's heart is pounding. He's never been shot at.

The first-floor hallway is littered with guards, and now they're approaching the generator room to see what's up. Henry is so screwed, as now he has several individuals trying to push the door open, and Henry is trying to keep them all out. Henry realizes that if he doesn't do something, he's not getting out of there. He closes his eyes, fighting with all his strength to keep the door closed as the door is pushed open, and he falls to the floor. Quickly, he is surrounded, but just as the guards are about to grab him, they are seized, jerking around and falling onto the floor. Henry peers into the hall to see Bobby standing there with the electron pulse emitter, having fired it at the guards.

Bobby: "Dude! Hurry up!"

Henry rises and sprints, following Bobby up to the fire escape exit. The two boys make it back outside, where Steven awaits them. He summons them over the radio, worried.

Steven: "Where are you guysh?!"

He yells. But neither Henry nor Bobby has the time to stop. The guards continue to funnel out into the streets and others into the basement, where they face off against Ernst, the one-amphibian army, as he kicks and punches his way through guards, firing rounds into their kneecaps, wounding but never killing, lest the bounty on his head be upgraded to murder. No. This fight is for sport and for self-defense. Ernst continues to ruin the kneecaps of several more guards as he fights his way up to the fire escape, expelling his last round and then tossing the handgun into the face of the guard blocking the stairs, busting his nose.

The guard falls backward onto the floor as Ernst treads over, hauling out into the street and finally into the open air. He hustles toward the vehicle as he is fired upon by even more guards, now that they can see. Ernst slides around the side of the vehicle as if reaching the home plate in a baseball game, climbing quickly into the vehicle, and starting the ignition as quickly as possible.

Captain Ernst: "Hold on tight, boys!"

The captain floors the vehicle, taking that fat van as fast as it will go, which, with its Amphibia-tech enhancements, is quite fast. Ernst didn't mention to the boys, as they were being fired at, that the vehicle had been secured with bulletproof armor. He finds it infinitely more entertaining that the young men believe the entire time that any bullet could pierce the van and strike them dead. They panic, lying low as Captain Ernst pulls away into the distance. Henry sighs, pulling off his sweat-drenched mask.

Henry: "Thank God that's over with."

No sooner does he open his big mouth than they're being fired upon again. Ernst peers into his car door mirror, and a series of black, unmarked cruisers are gaining on them, standard-issue government vehicles if he ever saw them. Ernst rolls up his black, tinted windows and floors it on the gas pedal, a look of pure madness worn on his aged face.

Captain Ernst: "Things are about to get bumpy!"

When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and go, Captain Ernst does, as fast as that stolen van will allow him to go. Oh! But it's important not to forget that this is no ordinary van. This baby has been modified out of the wazoo. Sure, on the exterior, it might just look like your run-of-the-mill commercial van, or hell, even a creep van, as it certainly isn't a looker, but this van can go a lot faster than its boxy frame would ever allow anyone to think, and with the flip of a panel, underneath the entirely unused radio on the dashboard, revealing yet another handy dandy modification, and with the flip of a switch, turbo jets have been activated.

Now, Captain Ernst takes the vehicle off the road, accelerating to an insane 120 mph into oncoming traffic. Captain Ernst leans forward, eyes popping and filled with veins, a suicidal grin stretched across his face, and gripping the leather wheel so tightly that his red knuckles turn white. Henry and the boys can feel the G-Force from the acceleration and can hear the screeching of vehicles as they try in vain to dodge out of the way. A man with any less focus would have easily gotten all four of them killed, but now that the cops are out of the picture, as far as Captain Ernst can see in his rear-view window and in his side mirror window, the coast is clear.

Out of sight, out of mind, and now it's time for Ernst to pull yet another trick out of his hat. As he switches back to the correct lane and finally stops scaring the oncoming traffic half to death, he slows his acceleration and activates a cloaking device that changes the exterior appearance of the van. It's not enough to simply change the color, though, as even the cops know that a color change on a vehicle is quick and easy, but what if the van turned into an entirely different vehicle, like, say, an ice cream truck, for example?

The van now displays cute little smiling chibi ice cream cones on the side with little painted-on sprinkles, and the license plate, which turns out to be actually digital, turns into an entirely randomized set of eight new digits. The police will never catch him now, and with the prize in possession now that Ernst has staked his claim, it's back to Fleisher Street. Now that they're no longer being chased and they finally have a second to breathe, Ernst calls back to the boys. Henry, Bobby, and Steven are still backed into the doors on the back of the van, and Ernst peers into the rearview mirror with a long grin.

Captain Ernst: "We did it, boys! We made it out of Vastek in one piece, and we got what we came for with very few hangups! I couldn't be prouder. You three outdid yourselves."

Henry massages his head. He realizes now that he's gonna be a wanted man. Even if he wore a mask, surely the government is gonna be able to trace all his actions. He can only imagine now, just how the feds are gonna be haunting his family and how they will most likely never leave Henry or his friends alone again. What if he's arrested? What if they torture him to find out what he knows? What if he spends the rest of his life as a prisoner because he took part in the theft of some top-secret government equipment? What about Steven? What about Bobby?

Henry: "Oh, man! Oh, man! Oh, man! I'm so dead! Mom and John are gonna kill me! I'm a wanted criminal!"

Bobby punches Henry in the arm.

Bobby: "We're all criminals, dude, and you know what that means. It means my days of running meme pages and making incendiary posts that get me suspended on social media are over."

Henry turns to him.

Henry: "Bob! How in the hell can you think about social media when we're probably gonna be breaking news in a few minutes?! Ah, jeez, I bet the news anchors are already getting photos of us to use in their news stories!"

Steven ponders.

Steven: "I shure hope they don't ushe my eighth-grade yearbook photo! That would be sho embarrasshing!"

Bobby: "Pf, knowing how inaccurate the news is, they probably got the wrong kids anyway."

Ernst is listening in. He intervenes, intercepting the three-way conversation.

Captain Ernst: "You three are not going to have to worry about the authorities."

Henry peers forward, squinting in suspicion.

Henry: "Why not?"

Captain Ernst: "Because, my little friend, you and your friends are going to be accompanying me to a place where neither your stupid government nor the L.A.P.D. may tread. We… are going to Amphibia and Henry…"

The cold-eyed newt stares directly into Henry's eyes through the mirror.

Captain Ernst: "You're finally gonna be able to see your dear father once again."

Henry sits up straight, lighting up, the naïve young man that he is.

Henry: "You mean it?"

Captain Ernst nods with a smile.

Captain Ernst: "Indeed, I do."

Henry and his friends have absolutely no idea just how long they've been up and on the road. Ernst had brought no food with him, nothing but a merciful case of water in the back he most graciously shared with the boys on the sole condition that not only did he need water to survive, but they did too. He realizes that these kids mean nothing to him, but he might as well keep them alive at the very least. But now they're starving. They all are. Even with Ernst's trained stomach, the stomach of a warrior that had learned a long time ago to rely on very little, leaving Ernst a slim and athletic man in better physical condition than any of the pathetic young men in his vehicle, he, too, is quite famished. Scrawny and worthless are the best adjectives to describe the boys.

Well, Steven does try to work out, but he's largely undisciplined, and the combination of being Italian and having a mother who does nothing but offer him food every five seconds out of fear that he'll starve to death or something doesn't help. And Bobby, Bobby just has a total garbage diet, to begin with. Besides the fact that he likes to sneak a cigarette every so often because he perpetually lives in the 90s and still thinks it's cool to smoke, he also just has takeout practically all the time. Henry was a bit on the pudgy side before, but he's since lost a substantial amount of weight due to going on a diet and walking the insane distance between his school and his house while listening to full albums plus bonus tracks on his MP3 player.

For some reason, Henry loves to compile all the different versions of an album into one super version of an album and listen to the entire thing from front to back to get the whole experience. The ride back to Fleisher Street is just as grueling as the journey to Vastek Industries was, and on the road back "home," Henry and his friends notice that the sky has started to become dark. Yes, these boys were out and about all day, and now it's nighttime, and none of them has eaten a thing. Henry's stomach is rumbling so loudly that Ernst can hear the wails of his gut from the driver's seat.

Captain Ernst: "Hungry, eh? Well, we should be arriving back in Los Angeles soon, and then you three can help yourselves to whatever ghastly earthling slop remains back at the house."

Henry, for some reason, shows some sort of concern for his captive. Stockholm Syndrome? No, just basic common decency, something that isn't particularly common with Ernst,

Henry: "Aren't you hungry too?"

Captain Ernst nods.

Captain Ernst: "Indeed, I am, but after being stuck on this horrible planet for the last decade with nothing to eat but your ghastly human food, spared mercifully by the tiny pests flying in through the windows and scampering in through the walls, I have had it with the cuisine of this orb and wish nothing more than to never set foot on this domain ever again. As for you three, you can do as you wish once this is all over. You can take your father and you can eat all the pizza and the 'French fries' and hamburgers or whatever it is you Americans eat, and you can keep it. I cannot wait to dine on some fine Newtopian pulse slug larvae."

Henry just cringes. Ernst scoffs.

Captain Ernst: "Disgusted? Hmpf, more for me then."

He shrugs. Henry lies back against the door as Bobby starts spitting random interrogative questions out of nowhere.

Bobby: "So, this means we're going to Amphibia. Right? Since that's apparently where Henry's dad is? That's where we're all going now?"

Captain Ernst: "Well, young man, if everything goes according to plan, then yes, we will be going to Amphibia and Henry will be reuniting with his father."

Bobby shrugs.

Bobby: "Congrats, dude, you're gonna get your dad back into your life after a whole ten years of him not being present."

But then that's when Henry starts to think for the first time about the implications of just how awkward it would be to have his father back. His mother had moved on without him and remarried to John. How fair would this be to his dad, to finally have his family back, only to realize his wife had dismissed him as dead years ago? How fair would it be to John to just have to leave after fostering a home and a safe environment for nearly half a decade? It's not fair. He supposes maybe his dad can find an apartment or something, and they can still see each other, but it just throws this big wrench into the happily ever after he had envisioned for himself and his dad.

But he supposes that after all that time, maybe his dad would understand his mom moving on. After all, ten years is a long time, and even Henry, at various points in his life, reached conclusions, though guilty, that his father had met his demise, even if his gut had said otherwise. He knows to trust his gut and his instincts over all else now. The boys have been gone for the better part of twenty-four hours now and have not so much as texted their parents the entire time. It's only a matter of time now before the police start getting involved, and only a little bit longer until the pieces get put together and the authorities realize that the three very short individuals involved in the Vastek heist are the very same kids that went missing.

Does that bother Captain Ernst? No, not one bit, because he has other plans with the young men. No. He knows that being gone a little over a day is not uncommon for a group of young teenagers. More than one, now that's when most parents start to really worry. With that in mind, Ernst knows full well that he can rely on the fact that nobody is going to be barging up to the abandoned house on Fleisher Street until long after he's had the time to do what he had to do, and once Ernst prepares the machine to go back home, there's no turning back. Captain Ernst doesn't want to look at that dump called Earth ever again.

Finally, after a long drive home and many quiet and awkward moments on the highway, Ernst crosses into northern Los Angeles toward the Hollywood Hills, and the kids are almost home. All he has to do is drive past all the local celebrity homes, the manors for the rich and powerful. To Captain Ernst, these lavish indulgences remind him of Ribbitvale or of the more debonair sections of Newtopia, most certainly the royal Leviathan Castle. Ernst is rather aware of the true nature of these celebrities. He honestly finds them quite gauche.

The boys are wiped. What a long day it has been, and with no food in their systems, they're totally ready to crash. For just a moment, not very long, Captain Ernst feels a sliver of empathy crawling through his veins, and he totally loathes the sensation. But it is one only brought about because he, too, knows what it is like to starve. Many a time in his youth, Ernst had been stuck braving the wilderness as a soldier. One doesn't become as hardened or as tough as Ernst without a long history of physical exertion and suffering. But that suffering, Ernst had learned to embrace it.

If it didn't kill him, it made him stronger. He felt the allure of danger, of knowing that a single slip of the blade could end him. Ernst had always loved anything that could push cold blood through his veins and make his heart flutter with tension. He yearns to get back to that wilderness and the cold harshness of Amphibia, so he accelerates (within the speed limit this time) and turns the corners, obeying the traffic laws no matter how excruciating and tedious they are, and after all sorts of twists and turns and experiencing a one-time traffic jam because of an accident, one that Ernst was all too nosy and captivated to see, they finally, after many hours on the road, in the pitch black darkness of the California night, make it back to Fleisher street.

Captain Ernst: "Home sweet home."

He says with a bitter grit behind his gruff voice before undoing his seat belt and treading out of the vehicle. From the outside, Ernst opens the back doors of the vehicle, and the stiff and exhausted trio of boys climbs out the back. They feel like pretzels, twisting and turning their achy bodies from having to lie on the hard bed of that van for so long while Ernst drove halfway across the state. Peering around the corners with paranoia, Ernst makes sure the coast is clear as he quickly ushers the boys inside the building before anyone gets any bright ideas. They approach the door, and Ernst fiddles around with the keys, making sure he has the right one before finally opening it and hurrying them in. Ernst wishes to make sure that none of them are seen entering the suspicious building.

Henry: "God, what a long day. So glad that crap is finally over with. So, when do I get to see my dad?"

Henry asks as he folds his arms, and Ernst turns to face him with a side sneer.

Captain Ernst: "So anxious to see your father once again. Are ya? Well, it just so happens it will take a few moments to make preparations for the gateway before you can see your father once again, so you three might as well help yourselves to whatever is in the kitchen. Your bellies are starting to sound like the grunts of some of my worst natural adversaries."

The snide newt says as he slithers his way over to the basement door and down the stairs. The three boys trade glances and cringe as they head into the kitchen and remember what a total mess it is in there, and the fact that they have to scrounge together something edible in there. Bobby peers through the cabinet, and the mere fact that he even thought he saw something scurry by, even if it's his mind playing tricks on him, means that he suddenly doesn't want to bite into any of the generic brand cereal aligned on the shelves before him.

Bobby: "I really hope this stuff isn't past its expiration date."

He whines as he pulls out a box of Frosted Loops cereal from the cabinet and places it on the table. Henry and Steven just push all the crap onto the floor. It really doesn't matter because the entire kitchen is a dump, and Ernst did not bother one bit to try to make the environment habitable. He never saw the room as a kitchen so much as a place to simply store food and other articles, in newspapers and magazines that interested him. He had no desire to clean the floors or the tables or maintain any level of hygiene in the kitchen, which causes Steven to whimper as he approaches the fridge, praying that there isn't a dead body or rotting entrails in the refrigerator.

Steven: "I wonder if thish guy hash any milk."

Steven approaches the fridge, and the mere fact that it doesn't reek of death piques his curiosity just enough to open it. There's barely anything inside: more water, for some reason, a jar of pickles, and pots filled with questionable content, but on the top shelf is a plastic gallon of milk. Steven draws it, reading the expiration date. A mere day until it expires. The boy realizes he's playing with fire with this milk and the mere fact that it's been stored in this amphibian's fridge, but as far as Steven is concerned, he and his friends are starving, and an expiration date is an expiration date. Steven turns to the others.

Steven: "We got one day to finish thish milk before it goesh bad."

Bobby sits at the table on the dirty chair, leaning on his elbow, and his greasy, dirty blonde locks hang in his face.

Bobby: "Good enough. Bring it over."

He does, and the three pour themselves nice, heaping bowls of cereal, emptying the box, and taking the milk at least halfway down the gallon so it doesn't go entirely to waste. Henry pulls from the side cabinets a trio of glasses, rinsing out the dust and cobwebs into the sink and bringing them over to use the rest of the milk, and the kids go to town on the single meal they've had all day. They eat the cereal like total animals, making enough crunch so that Ernst, with his all-too-sensitive ears downstairs, can hear each and every crispy snap of the little loops in their mouths as they converse about stupid, nerdy, teenage boy stuff at the table.

Bobby peers through the old funnies in the newspaper he draws from the floor and contemplates doing the crossword puzzle. If only he had a pen, and if only Ernst hadn't done half of the puzzles himself in his free time. Bobby is honestly shocked that Ernst has figured them out. They shoot the breeze and run their mouths for what seems like an hour as Henry continually peers at the door to see if Ernst will tread through the entrance at any moment. Bobby notices Henry's enthusiasm for seeing his dad and feels the need to distract him for a bit.

Bobby: "You know, Henry, you'll be able to hear him coming up the stairs. You don't need to keep staring at the doorway like that."

Henry turns back to his empty bowl and his half-full glass, taking a swig of the already-starting-to-sour milk as he places it back on the table. He sighs.

Henry: "What do you guys think they're doing with my dad?"

He turns to Bobby, who had finished his bowl a while back and who's been reading the political column for the better part of the last ten minutes out of sheer boredom. Bobby shrugs limply without taking his eyes off the paper.

Bobby: "Who knows? He could be in chains. He could be a slave. We could wind up getting there, and he's all emaciated and has a beard, and you won't even recognize him. Which reminds me. Henry, will you even recognize your dad after all these years?"

Henry stares at Bobby through his brow line, honestly somewhat offended that Bobby would even insinuate the notion of him forgetting his dad's appearance.

Henry: "Of course, I'd recognize my dad. We have photos of him. He has the same face as me. Yeah, I have my mom's eyes, but my dad's overall shape. I couldn't miss him even if you disguised him. He's my dad."

Steven points at Henry with his spoon.

Steven: "But will your dad even recognishe you? You gotta remember, Henry. It'sh been ten yearsh. He hashn't sheen you shinsh you were a baby. Now, you're practically an adult, an entirely different person, shinsh he lasht shaw you."

Henry shakes his head. He stares at the dusty, dirty table he'd just eaten his food and drunk his drink off of. He knows.

Henry: "Nah, my dad will recognize me. There's no way he wouldn't. There's no way he forgot about me, not after all this time. I'm sure he thought about me every single day since he was taken, same with Mom. We're gonna get him back, and we're gonna come home, and we're all gonna be a family again. That's what's gonna happen. That's how it has to happen!"

Henry shouts as he slams on the table, startling the other two. Bobby and Steven just stare at him like he's lost his mind, and only after Bobby and Steven peer over to the basement stairway do they notice that Captain Ernst has ascended the stairs to come and fetch them. Henry turns around in his chair to see the newt as they all just sit there awkwardly for a moment before the newt opens his mouth.

Captain Ernst: "Everything is ready downstairs, boys. Prepare yourselves to venture into a brave new world no human, with the exception of those three brats from ten years ago, had ever set foot in!"

Henry: "And my dad."

Captain Ernst: "... And your father."

Henry marches toward the stairway angrily. Nobody knows what his beef is. Ernst just stares at the young man with a raised brow as Bobby and Steven waltz by with a shrug.

Bobby: "Beats me, dude."

Steven: "Couldn't tell ya."

Henry descends the stairs in a husky, frustrated, and somewhat arrhythmic manner down into the basement through the narrow stairway, past the dangling light, and under the cobwebs that have formed along the overhang. He treads onto the hard cement floor and once more into the room with the massive monitor. What was once off turns on the second Henry enters the room, and the giant red eye stares down at him with ambiguous judgment.

AnimaGenesis: "We see that you have returned, Henry, along with your friends. It's nice to have you back. We are most pleased with your results. You have made us proud."

Henry folds his arms and sneers as he addresses the big on-screen eyeball.

Henry: "Yeah, yeah. I don't care about pleasing you or your cohort. I just wanna get my dad back and go home. So where's this portal or whatever you guys have hooked up?"

AnimaGenesis doesn't answer right away, almost as if taken aback by Henry's rude, dismissive attitude.

AnimaGenesis: "We see that you are not one to mince words. Very well. You kept your end of the bargain, so we shall keep ours. Behold, beyond the iron bars off to your right, the room before you which holds the gateway to your destiny."

Captain Ernst treads past the boy with a casual whistle, twirling the key around his finger teasingly as he stalls for tension, digging under Henry's anxious skin before removing the padlock and gesturing with an exaggerated bow for the boys to enter. He smiles sinisterly as the kids tread by. Down the dark hall and into a brightly lit room, Henry treads, where his jaded scowl melts into a fixated stare as he gazes into the bright, purple swirling vortex. Before him is a ramp leading up to a rounded gateway machine powered by a golden crystal, the object Ernst had stolen from the laboratory, and the mystery behind the inter-dimensional travel.

But where exactly did this crystal come from? According to the old tales, the Calamity Box only had three, created thousands of years ago. Someone or something manifested this crystal, or it had been taken from somewhere… but where? Nobody knows, only that it had appeared, and either a piece of the prophecy had been lost, or a new prophecy had been made. Nobody knows exactly what that prophecy is. But none of that matters now. All that matters to Henry is that his father is somewhere behind that portal. Not in ten years had he been so close to him.

Captain Ernst: "Well, son, since this is your father, and it was ultimately your desire that led to the completion of this grand mission, it's only fair that you should be the first to step beyond this gateway into the unfamiliar."

Henry turns to the man, and he nods. He turns to his friends, and Steven and Bobby simply smirk.

Bobby: "Let's go get your old man back."

Steven: "We're right behind ya, buddy."

He faces the vortex once again. As he approaches, the humming gets louder and louder. Placing his finger through, he touches the gateway. It feels almost like treading through a mist. Closing his eyes, Henry ventures beyond the threshold. As he reaches the other side, he can already feel a change in the atmosphere. The air is more humid, but also more moist. It's… muggy. His tongue feels dry, and his head starts to prickle with sweat. Henry opens his eyes, expecting the first thing he sees to be his father, but when he opens them, he finds that not to be the case. He descends the ramp as Bobby and Steven follow through and down into what appears to be a dilapidated and falling-apart laboratory.

Henry: "Where is this?"

He asks as a voice emerges from the portal. Ernst follows them.

Captain Ernst: "Welcome, boys, to Amphibia… Well, more specifically, welcome to Nero Hades."

Ernst smiles as he calls out loudly.

Captain Ernst: "Doctor Thurman, you've done a wonderful job procuring the gateway machine from this end. Now… Why don't you come out and greet your son? And bring along with you… Our newest addition. Will you?"

Henry turns to the newt to find him standing before the vortex as the power is killed. The newt nods toward the direction of a dark hall as a red glow fills the darkness; into the light treads an adult human man, a tall, bald man with a completely shaved head and glowing eyes. The man wears the same work clothes that Henry had last seen him in, only they are worn and fit him somewhat loosely compared to before. The man had definitely lost weight. But most peculiar about him is the red glow emanating not only from his eyes but from the curious black fungi situated atop his head. Beside him is a small girl, a frog with fuchsia skin and blonde hair. She, too, has a curious fungus gripping onto her head.

Henry: "Dad?!"

Henry asks as he sprints toward his father, tossing his arms around the man. Neither he nor the girl responds to him in any way. Dr. Thurman's only reaction to being tackled is a slight shift in footing and a momentary loss of balance. The man says nothing, and this is when Henry stares into his cold, dead, glowing eyes.

Henry: "Dad, it's me, Henry? Remember? We were out shopping and you disappeared… Dad?"

The man says nothing, only stares forward with a blank expression like a zombie. Henry turns to Ernst.

Henry: "What happened to him? What's this mushroom thing?… Who's this?"

He turns to the other child, pointing at her. The blonde girl merely stares at him with the same blank, glowing stare. Ernst descends the ramp as he elaborates.

Captain Ernst: "Well, Henry, your father has been quite the valuable asset to us, as has this young lady."

He leans in toward the girl with a smile.

Captain Ernst: "Why don't you show the boys what you've built, sweetheart?"

For the first time, the young girl smiles, and from her jumper pocket, she draws a remote. With the push of a button, hundreds of robots built from a synthetic polycarbonate enter the room, frog robots with fungal growths running throughout them. They seem to be a hive mind. The boys are appalled and terrified by what they see. Bobby turns to Ernst. He approaches the man, demanding answers.

Bobby: "What the hell is this? We help you steal this stuff, and the whole time, Henry's dad has been some mushroom zombie thing, and you've been building an army of robots?"

Ernst shrugs.

Captain Ernst: "This is all new to me as well, but what a lovely surprise, wouldn't you agree, AnimaGenesis?"

The whole room is filled with a synchronized voice as it echoes from all the robots, Henry's dad, and little Polly Plantar, the mind and spirit of what was once The Core. And that's when they realize that AnimaGenesis, the program that had been created from a combination of artificial intelligence and the most brilliant minds in existence, is among them. They thought it had been killed all those years ago, but it lives.

AnimaGenesis: "We told you we would reunite you with your father, Henry. This is our gift to you for completing our tasks. Enjoy this reward, for this is your future now. We shall have more tasks for you in the future."

Henry turns to his dad and Polly, backing away from them. He sneers with gritted teeth. He feels betrayed.

Henry: "And what if I refuse?"

AnimaGenesis laughs collectively, the robots drawing their cannons on the children.

AnimaGenesis (All): "Who said anything about these tasks being optional?"

Captain Ernst turns to the robots and orders them, pointing forward. The frogs seize the trio of boys. Henry, Bobby, and Steven kick, swing, and resist as they are hauled away down a dark corridor and through several doorways into a metal laboratory environment filled with growth and mildew. They are taken to a prison area where they are tossed into a cell and onto their faces. The iron bars are slammed and locked. Henry approaches, staring dead into his father's glowing, red eyes as he asks.

Henry: "Why, Dad? Why are you doing this?"

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Sorry, Henry. Daddy is busy. But it's okay. You will be joining him soon enough, as will your friends. We will be together forever, as one."

Henry's father turns to Polly with a nod, and she reciprocates, heading down the hall and closing the door behind her.

Henry: "Hey! Where is she going?!"

Henry's father turns toward Henry with a smirk and a laugh through his nose.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "She will return momentarily."

He approaches the cell and stares in at the boys, ragged and tired, and he shakes his head.

AnimaGenesis (Dr Thurman): "It is painfully obvious to us that you no longer wish to comply. Therefore, you leave us no choice. You all must be… assimilated."

Chapter Text

Henry sits at the back of his cell, staring outward toward the floor and the gates as Bobby paces back and forth, the bottom of his legs and feet blocking the light from the hall momentarily as he passes by. He honestly makes Henry anxious, but definitely not more than he does Steven. Steve is over in the other corner of the gateway, muttering to himself. What would Cricket Kid do? Steve had already had to endure being shot at today, nearly losing his life on multiple occasions, and now that freak Ernst plans to have all their brains put into jars or to have them turned into zombie maids or whatever the hell other delusion is going on in the boy's head.

Indeed. What would Cricket Kid do? Well, as a comic book ninja teenager who got his powers from the combination of a medallion he got from a vending machine, in addition to the bite from a cricket, turning him into some superhuman ninja cricket kid, he'd go around slashing them to pieces with a katana. But no, that won't work. Henry would approve of that method of destroying the robots. He couldn't possibly care less about them, but his dad? No, that simply won't do, and he'd never be able to live with himself if he used his sword to kill a kid, even if she is a little freaky frog kid. To do so would be a great dishonor to the ninja. It's a shame Bobby no longer has that electron pulse emitter.

He could totally kick himself for leaving it back at the house against his better judgment. But hey, people don't usually think right on an empty belly. Well, their bellies are no longer empty. Their digestive tracts are all filled with cereal and milk, and the very moment that that cereal hits Henry's lower intestine, he has an idea for escape. It's a long shot, but the clock's ticking, and it's only a matter of time before those robots return to their cell with the shrooms so that they may be introduced to the hive. Henry rises with a jolt, startling Bobby as he approaches the bars and presses his face between them, yelling for someone to unlock the gate. Henry shouts, trying as he may to alert Ernst or practically anybody else.

Henry: "Hello?! Someone, please open this cell! I have to use the bathroom! Hey! AnimaGenesis! Dad?! Little girl?! Someone?!"

Bobby approaches Henry, taking him by the shoulders.

Bobby: "Dude, are you nuts?! You're going to get us all killed!"

Henry: "I have to go to the bathroom!"

AnimaGenesis: "Your futile attempt to grab the attention of security is most amusing, Henry."

The three boys are completely startled by the sudden voice echoing through the room. They dart their heads around, looking for the source of the voice, only to peer upward and catch a glimpse of the giant dome camera mounted to the wall with the familiar red eye on black sclera staring down at them. All three of them wonder how they could have possibly missed something so blatantly obvious. Henry approaches the bars, pointing up at the eyeball and shouting as if the eyeball were hard of hearing.

Henry: "Let me out of here! I have to use the restroom!"

AnimaGenesis: "You do not need to shout, Henry. We are right here. We are everywhere. Besides, you will not fool a genius-level being with your attempts to make your way out of the cell you are in."

Henry folds his arms.

Henry: "Oh, really? If you're so smart, then why don't you trust me to use the bathroom? After all, you are 'everywhere'. Right? If your claim is true, then there's no way an idiot schoolboy like me should be able to figure out a means of escape under your watch."

The eye peers down at the boy, observing him, and Henry makes the best poker face he can. Bobby and Steven simply stare at him. They try to read him. They wonder what Henry could be up to.

Henry: "Certainly, with your genius-level combined super brain, you've prevented all means of escape from this facility. Every and all precautions would have been taken against breakouts. Unless, of course, you're not even smart enough to outsmart a fifteen-year-old boy?"

Henry turns around, winking through the side at the boys beside him.

Henry: "Plus, it makes you look like a coward."

A click can be heard. Henry approaches the cell door.

AnimaGenesis: "Only Henry may leave. Should your friends cross that threshold, robots will flood through and eliminate them."

Henry steps through the gate, making eye contact with the dome camera and staring right into the hivemind.

AnimaGenesis: "The intellect of you boys intrigues us. How were you able to successfully retrieve the gem from the laboratory at such a young age? You have exactly five minutes to expel your repulsive human excrement. The lavatory is down the hall. Should you fail to return before the allotted five minutes are up, we will summon the guards, and your friends will be eliminated."

The millisecond that AnimaGenesis finishes its sentence, a lock can be heard on the gate, and the door pops open. The boys try in vain to approach the entrance, only for the eyeball to remind them that they are indeed being watched the entire time.

AnimaGenesis: "Only Henry is permitted to leave. You other boys stay here."

With this, Henry treads out of the cell and stares down the hall for a brief second before moving, realizing he's on the clock now. Five minutes. All Henry has is five minutes to return from the bathroom, or his friends are totally dead meat. But wait a minute. Didn't AnimaGenesis say it needed them? Why? Why in the world would a highly intelligent being like AnimaGenesis need the boys? Henry treads down the long, narrow metal corridor toward the bathroom. The lighting in the place is terrible, and the whole building has this nasty mildew smell that Henry can't get out of his nose no matter how hard he tries. He hates it here. But the clock is ticking. One minute down, he's passed all these similar doors that all look the same, no bathroom, and all the eyes along the wall are watching.

AnimaGenesis: "Time's almost up, Henry."

Henry sneers at the nearest eye as it darts toward the wall. Henry follows the direction, realizing he has nearly passed the men's room, a door with a little blue frog on it, as if he could have possibly known that meant it was the little boy's room.

AnimaGenesis: "Do not ever claim that we did you no favor, Henry."

Of course, taking the time to listen to the narcissism of AnimaGenesis only serves to waste even more time. Henry enters, and the lavatory is not what he expects. He doesn't know how to make heads or tails of the toilets within, but then he realizes, there are no cameras in the bathroom. The boy is shocked that AnimaGenesis has the decency not to have eyes in there.

Henry: "I guess that freak isn't as much of a degenerate as I thought it was."

And so, Henry gets to work, looking around for what he could use as an agent. Certainly, they must have something he could use to get out of this situation. The hand sanitizer on the wall? Alcohol may be a good cleaning agent, but not all that useful in this particular situation. Henry scours underneath the sink. Could they have possibly left anything behind? Henry widens his eyes when he finds something underneath that may very well help him. Unscrewing the top of the hand sanitizer bottle, he mixes in some of the liquid soap, in addition to some baking soda, underneath the sink. Henry can't even believe that AnimaGenesis would overlook something like this.

But three minutes are up now, and he has to get back. Taking a quick leak in what he isn't even entirely certain is a toilet and not waiting around long enough to find out, Henry departs, shoving the concoction into his pants and covering it with his shirt. Henry treads back down the hall with the little time he has left.

AnimaGenesis: "Feeling relieved, Henry? Did you find a means of escape?"

Henry shakes his head as he shoves his hands deep within his jeans pockets.

Henry: "Afraid not. Looks like you really sealed the place up tight. I sure know when I'm beat. I suppose you don't really need to assimilate us. There's no way we'll ever be able to get out of here. We could just, ya know, cooperate."

The eye above squints at Henry as if examining.

AnimaGenesis: "Perhaps we had figured you boys out all wrong. You know your place; therefore, you are more intelligent than we realized. No. You will most certainly not be assimilated."

Meanwhile, out in the laboratory, as Ernst is being given a tour by AnimaGenesis in the form of the mushroom-controlled Polly, he finds himself quite fascinated. She speaks in the same monotone as the combined entity, without any sense of soul.

AnimaGenesis (Polly): "And so you see, Captain Ernst, our little prodigy here has made quite the advancement in armored plating, using a light, synthetic material she had discovered during her short time on earth. Clever child. Witty too. She had called her synthetic material 'Polly-carbon'. Diving into her mind, it would appear as though she had planned to use this material across Amphibia. She would have made quite the sand dollar with such a material."

Ernst is quite impressed as he tries out his skintight new "Polly-carbonate" suit, a black one-piece that stretches over his skin and is lightweight but stronger than titanium. He finds himself quite astonished.

Captain Ernst: "And this fiber is supposed to be a metal?"

Polly nods.

AnimaGenesis (Polly): "Indeed… Wait… It appears as though the boys are ready for their spores. They shan't expect a thing. We had told them they wouldn't be assimilated."

Captain Ernst: "Ooh! May I do the honors, great master?"

Polly raises a brow as Ernst bows before the combined entity. He continues to explain.

Captain Ernst: "I bet they're thirsty. I shall provide them with a few vials to quench their thirst. Besides, it will provide me with an opportunity to see the spores do their work."

Polly stares for a moment before delivering the snap of a finger, and Doctor Thurman arrives in the room.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Very well, Captain. But heed our warning. Do not underestimate these children. They are clever and may wind up exploiting your graces."

Captain Ernst listens. He retorts over his shoulder with a chuckle.

Captain Ernst: "Oh really? And what do these children plan on doing, eh?… Hm? Nothing? AnimaGenesis?…"

He turns around.

Captain Ernst: "Master?"

Dr. Thurman merely stands there, motionless. He turns to Polly, and she simply stands there as well, quietly and blankly staring forward. Something appears to be up with the connection to the host of these mushrooms. Ernst approaches the door only to find that they don't open automatically.

Captain Ernst: "Damn electrical storms. Why now? Oh well."

Ernst continues, refusing to allow this minor setback to ruin his good mood in light of his most recent successes. From the cells, the boys can hear it, quite a peculiar sound echoing off the walls. The acoustics in this place are phenomenal, and because of that, they can hear the soft sound of humming, a tune none of them recognize, and it sounds like Ernst's voice. The three exchange glances. They know very well that Ernst, being in a chipper mood as he approaches them, cannot be a good thing, and they wonder as the echo grows louder and louder exactly just what is causing this joy within him.

Then they can hear another familiar and foreboding sound, the sound of a key being placed into a lock and clicked around as Ernst prepares his grand entrance with the "beverages". So it appears as though Captain Ernst has to use a key to enter the room. Henry wonders why. Could it possibly be as a precaution, should there be some sort of electrical shock? Did someone sabotage the electrical system in the building to disable electronic locks? He has no more time to worry about that as the door swings open. And then the man steps into the room with three curious vials containing a dark substance, a soda of some sort? They wonder. Captain Ernst approaches the bars, smirking at the three teenage boys before him.

Captain Ernst: "Greetings, gentlemen. I just thought perhaps you were finding yourselves a little parched and would like something to drink. It appears as though we're going through a bit of electrical interference. I was told this happens from time to time. It shouldn't last long, though."

He shrugs. Henry stares into the bubbly black liquid before him, a concoction that sizzles in the open air. With the raise of a brow, he questions the man before him. The other two say nothing, equally as suspicious.

Henry: "What is it?"

As if Henry expects anything other than some sort of lie. He tests the old Captain, simply to see if the man is witty enough to come up with something on the spot. Ernst merely tilts his head with a somewhat smiling sneer, having caught onto Henry's snide attitude, inquiring of him like this in some attempt to get him to give his hand. Little does he know that Ernst is clever.

Captain Ernst: "Why, it's soda, dear boy. We, too, have sodas in Amphibia. We rather enjoy nice, cold, carbonated beverages. It's one of those few things our species has in common."

Steven finds himself just a little bit curious about the concoction.

Steven: "What flavor shoda ish it?"

Steven goes to reach for one of the vials, only for Bobby to smack his hand down.

Bobby: "Why don't you leave it there, and maybe we'll drink it later?"

Captain Ernst responds with a hard, scowling stare of contempt, creating among them a great deal of awkward silence before succumbing.

Captain Ernst: "So I see none of you are thirsty. Very well. I will just leave these at the base of the cell for you to try at your own leisure."

The Captain places the tray on the floor and turns to walk away when, from behind, he hears the shattering of three glass vials against the wall across from the cell. Captain Ernst shudders in reflex, twisting around to see many glass shards on the floor behind him and a puddle of black ooze. He turns his head to the boys, and it's quite apparent they're having none of it. Well, Ernst is having none of it, too, and because of this, he becomes enraged.

Captain Ernst: "You ungrateful little… I'll show you!"

Now, Henry has Ernst right where he wants him. The newt flings open the cell door and rushes in to strangle Henry in a fit of rage. This is just what the young man wanted, and from his shirt, he draws the squirt bottle, a concoction he made, and shoots Captain Ernst right in the eyes with the soapy, alcoholic cleaning solution. The man screams, writhing around and swinging his fist frantically. Henry dodges out of the way, and the three teenagers bolt for the exit. What happened to the automatic locks? Where are the robots? Something is up. But there's no time for that. Ernst makes his way back to the doorway, his eyes burning red as he stumbles through the hall and over to the breaker room to see what had happened.

Captain Ernst: "That power should have been back by now."

He mumbles as he fidgets with the door, eventually kicking it open. On the other side, he finds that the breaker has been manually popped, cutting off functions toward AnimaGenesis and the security system in the building. Immediately, Ernst resets the breaker. He growls.

Captain Ernst: "Those brats won't get very far. I'll see to that."

Meanwhile, the boys are sprinting as fast as they can through the narrow halls. The boys come to an immediate halt when they are barred from further progress by Polly and a group of robots.

AnimaGenesis (Polly): "Get them!"

The robots lunge toward the kids, and they each spread apart in different directions, while Henry runs directly toward the robot before him, sliding under the legs as the robot reaches to swipe him and toward Polly. The small frog girl is frozen in shock as Henry draws the spray from his shirt and fires the chemical at her head. Polly shields her eyes as the black mushroom cap on her head bubbles and dissolves, falling off her head and leaving her in a dazed and confused state.

Polly: "Where am I? Gah!"

She shouts as she is jerked forward when Henry grabs her by the wrist, tugging her along. Eventually, Polly gets her footing and begins to run beside him.

Polly: "Who are you?! What are you doing?! Let me go!"

Henry refuses to stop. He tries to answer her as he comes to an intersection in the hall. He continues to pull along the small girl as fast as his lanky legs will take them, turning the corners as an army of robots trails down the halls.

Henry: "I'm getting us outta here, but first, I gotta free my dad and get my friends back together."

Henry slides as he banks around the narrow corner of the hall, smack dab right into more robots as they flank him from the opposite end, firing lasers at him. He retreats, banking back around the corner and covering his head.

Henry: "Oh my God!"

He backtracks right toward that first little intersection he met, taking the opposite direction and out into a large room that could be a good or a bad thing, usually a bad thing considering Henry's absolutely rancid luck. As soon as he makes it to the doorway, he stops. Even more robots. But then, a voice calls out to him from the only other direction that could be taken. But who could it be?

?: "Hurry! This way!"

A mysterious voice calls from the end of the corridor. All the duo can see is a vague silhouette calling from the rail of an upper-floor overhang of the massive factory. Henry sprints up the metal stairs as he is approached by more Frobot sentinels. They leap to the second floor, barring Henry's path as the stranger fires onto them an electron pulse emitter, apparently stolen from Ernst, at the opposing robots, short-circuiting and sending them to the floor. Henry stares at them momentarily as the voice calls once again.

?: "Come on! This thing doesn't have much battery life left!"

The stranger then leaps out of the window, crashing through the glass, signaling to follow.

Henry: "You've got to be kidding me."

Peering behind him as more robots advance, he has little time to argue. Polly breaks free from his grip, running ahead.

Polly: "Come on, human boy! We have to split now!"

And just like that, the young frog girl approaches the window and leaps down from the second floor onto a light post, swinging in circles until she hits the ground. The frog girl makes the parkour look so easy. Henry approaches the window, standing on the sill. He takes one long gulp before leaping out toward the light post and swinging down, losing his leverage on the pole and falling on his rear end. He peers back momentarily before turning to the fleeing others and shouting out toward them.

Henry: "Wait! We have to go back for my friends!"

?: "It's too late for them! Now, hurry before those drones catch up to us!"

Henry rises and follows Polly and the mysterious stranger far and off into the distance. They run and run, straightforwardly through the dense fog. All Henry can do is keep an eye on the small, fuchsia-skinned frog child or risk being lost in the seemingly endless nothingness.

?: "We're almost there! Just hold on! Up here!"

The figure shouts as they press a button on a remote control that causes the dirt on the ground to spread apart, revealing a circular entrance. They descend into a dark hole, down a ladder. Polly stops, pausing and staring down into the dark. Not once has she gotten a good look at the mysterious stranger through the fog, and she still has no idea who they are. Nevertheless, the last thing she wishes is to be followed and recaptured by the enemy, so reluctantly, she chooses to pursue the stranger down into the hole. Henry reaches the hole next and proceeds once Polly has advanced far enough down that he may safely follow her.

The hole is damp and smells somewhat putrid, like that same mildew smell he had experienced back at the laboratory. The descent is long and dark, and they can barely see. Just one false move or one misstep, and it's a plummet to death. All Henry can do is stare downward and toward the tops of the two heads beneath him, hoping that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Soon enough, Henry's request is granted, albeit with a dim light; he is signaled to the end of the tunnel when he can no longer hear the clanging of two additional feet on the ladder rungs beneath him.

The one at the bottom steps away from the ladder as Polly reaches the bottom. She darts her head around for the mysterious person. At last, Henry himself reaches the bottom and is relieved that the descent is over. He stands beside Polly and turns around as he stares off into what appears to be a dimly lit control room of some sort. The stranger observes them from the darkness as they remove what appears to be some sort of long coat, hanging it on a coat rack before turning to them.

?: "Frog child, it's good to see you made it. Same with you, human child."

Henry squints into the darkness.

Henry: "That's great, but who are you?… What… are you?"

The mysterious individual sighs from beyond the veil, shaking their head, and Henry can make out a little bit of something. Whoever they are, they're not particularly large or imposing. He notices a texture on the head that appears somewhat like hair. But then, the individual with the soft-spoken, raspy voice of a male treads from beyond the veil of darkness, a robot, one with a rather small, thin frame. The robot bears the mark of the Frobots, indicating it was built in the same factory. The robot peers out at them with its large, rounded eyes, the gears within audible as the neural sensors swing back and forth. The robot introduces itself.

?: "I am Dr. Eugene Malley."

The robot continues to tread outward. Revealing a head with wires coming out of either side and out of the rear end, almost like an axolotl.

Dr. Malley: "I was a scientist who worked at the facility I had just broken you out of, but that was long ago. I was out scavenging the other day when I noticed a few of those robots wrestling you into that building, young lady. I just... felt that perhaps I should intervene."

The robot approaches the end of the ladder, peering up. Malley wants to make sure that none of them are followed. After a moment of silence, he sighs, turning back to them. Polly approaches with a shrug. She peers around the dark room.

Polly: "Where are we? What is this place?"

Dr. Malley gestures toward the table in the center of the room as he flicks the switch on the wall, providing better illumination so that the others may take him in with greater detail. The relatively small and unimposing axolotl robot rubs his hands together nervously as he slowly approaches the table. He gestures outward toward them to sit.

Dr. Malley: "Please, sit. I have much to explain to you."

Polly and Henry sit at the table. Henry takes the initiative and goes to speak first. He has so many questions, but many more declarations.

Henry: "I have to go back in there. My friends and Dad are back there. I just want to get home."

Malley sits before them in the chair across the table, facing the floor as if to confess to some sort of crime. He does not offer them eye contact, and even without a single organic cell in his body, he conveys a greater sense of shame than any robot ever could. They wonder what he could possibly feel so guilty about.

Dr. Malley: "To answer the young lady first, this is my hideaway. I've been here for over one thousand years, just hiding, waiting. They never found me. I just watched them. It's been so long. I spent… so long. You see, it's been… just me, all this time. I was frozen. My battery had run out. I couldn't believe it. The last thing I remembered before the big sleep was all this water, filling the room... so much water. The continent had sunk, and then… nothing."

The other two just sit there as the robot leans in, darting his eyes between them in paranoia. They still don't know what to make of him, but he comes off as somewhat unhinged, as though this poor robot had seen something terrible.

Dr. Malley: "Have either of you ever been in a coma?"

The two shake their heads, staring at him with a gaze of bewilderment. Neither of them had asked this question, but it would seem as though this robot wants to talk, as he has, seemingly, quite the story to tell.

Dr. Malley: "It's like being asleep, like hibernation beyond that. But there are no dreams. It's not like sleep, it's just… You go to sleep… and then a thousand years of your life pass by, and then… they're gone. They're all gone... your friends... your family... your fellow doctors."

He directs his attention toward Henry, leaning in.

Dr. Malley: "I didn't forget about you, human."

He points, wagging his finger in a somewhat erratic manner.

Dr. Malley: "The king wanted your kind most of all. For some reason, he saw great intellect in your kind, even at a time when you had been quite primitive. He observed your kind, warriors of the seven seas of your world, travelers with impressive ships for your time. He saw potential."

Henry just stares at him with a shrug, noting that the robot has completely forgotten his point.

Henry: "That's great and all, but what does that have to do with any of my friends?"

Dr. Malley nods, his tone becoming meek and quiet again.

Dr. Malley: "Right. I apologize. We will have to come up with a strategy for freeing your friends."

Polly folds her arms, slouching at the table.

Polly: "Sprig will be here soon, and Hop Pop, and King Andrias."

The last name draws great attention from the robot, and he rises from his chair, backing away.

Henry: "Andrias?!"

Dr. Malley: "W-w-what do you mean, King Andrias… the grandson of the king? Oh, no, no, no."

Polly raises her brow, totally confused. Henry rises and backs away from her as well.

Polly: "What?! Why are you both backing away from me as if I just let loose? I can't smell that bad."

Polly raises her arm and sniffs her pit.

Henry: "You know the guy that raided Earth twelve years ago?!"

Dr. Malley: "The king's grandson raided Earth?"

Polly can't even believe what she's hearing.

Polly: "Yeah. But that was ten years ago. He's a good guy now. He even took me to the Robo Arena of Death and Unapologetically Loud, Eardrum-Shattering Explosions. We were having a great time until some loser robots attacked the winner of the competition and ruined the show! And then they kidnapped me!"

Malley stares out at both of them in a moment of awkward silence as he approaches his chair once again.

Dr. Malley: "I wouldn't trust him if I were you. I know the Leviathan family. I worked for them. I can tell you all about that… thing… at the lab. Certainly… You must be familiar with The Core."

Polly gasps but nods. She speaks quietly.

Polly: "That was his old master. That was the one leading him to take over Earth. It took my friend, well, my adopted sister/friend's friend, her name was Marcy, and it controlled her."

Dr. Malley squints.

Dr. Malley: "Do you have any idea just what that thing is? That… AnimaGenesis… It is the essence of The Core, the brain, the system that was meant to operate that big machine, a house of spirits, of the greatest minds of the universe. Allow me to take you all the way back…"

And so, he elaborates as he ushers his new companions down a long hall and into a massive facility unlike any they had seen before. It all began so many years ago. At the heart of the once sunken continent lies a massive facility, a center that runs deep within the earth where all the world's nightmares are kept. This place of mystery has lain dormant for centuries, a sleeping, sunken graveyard of technology that is simultaneously hideously outdated and advanced beyond human comprehension. The buildings stand in ruin, falling apart, eaten by centuries of decay, covered in barnacles, desecrated by the wild creatures of the sea, the beings that had made their home within the crevices until the rising continent startled them away.

Some had abandoned eggs there. The poor children would join the countless casualties. Beyond the entrance, a hard metal door that once opened electronically, the security mechanisms are totally eroded, and the systems had failed long ago. Its builders could not foresee the island being submerged at the bottom of the sea for a thousand years, despite being the home of the most brilliant minds in the universe. Down a long corridor of gated metal stairs, a long tunnel filled with lanterns that also no longer work is a dark, quiet cellar. Nothing moves. It's pitch black, and the only sounds within are the scattered and arrhythmic drops of water from the damp and mildew-covered overhangs and counters onto the surfaces below.

Nothing is left, not a single solitary organic life form. Well… Maybe not completely nothing. There is one being deep within the tunnels, hidden away within the base. As one would navigate the halls, they would inevitably come across a series of dormitory rooms and living quarters accessible electronically. These living quarters are the rooms where the scientists working on this base would stay during their long-term schedules, sometimes months away from their families. The ones without families… It's debatable if one could call them lucky since not having a family at all means one wouldn't miss them so much. One such individual was a hardworking axolotl named Dr. Eugene Malley.

Malley was hired all those years ago as part of a team of scientists working on a revolutionary machine, one that would change the world, a revolutionary construct capable of changing the fates of millions. Dr. Malley was one of four scientists working on this project. This particular project was called Project AnimaGenesis, named after the facility. Malley knew little of the project, only that it would lead to the advancement of robots and prosthetics that would forever change the lives of individuals. Malley had a personal stake in this project, for even though he was an axolotl, he had personally suffered from a rare disorder that would prevent him from regenerating his limbs.

Little Eugene found this out as a child when part of his tail refused to grow back for months on end. One day, his mother took him to the doctor, where this revelation would be made to them. From that moment on, she treated young Malley like he was made of porcelain. This revelation terrified the young boy as well, forcing him into a state of perpetual anxiety and paranoia. But that didn't stop him from pursuing his love of science. No, sir, and one day, he would land his dream job and wind up working on one of the most important projects of all amphibian-kind, a team led by the great King Atlas Leviathan, Aldrich's father, for a most important task.

Malley would be the one responsible for finding the means of mental transference, to take the mind, personality, and therefore, one's very spirit, to a new body. Malley was so honored to be involved in something so important, and his parents couldn't possibly be more proud of their son. But the question was, how was he gonna do it? Malley would get right to work studying the various aspects of the brain, and he would be provided, most curiously, with fresh brains for him to dissect. He was most curious as to where the assistants were getting these new and suspiciously fresh specimens.

Atlas would personally relay the message to Malley, assuring the good doctor that these brains were from the recently deceased, stripped from their bodies mere seconds after death from natural causes and placed in pickle jars for preservation. These bodies were donated to science. Yes, certainly. That was a lie that would fool the naïve axolotl, anything to satisfy his moral quandary. He tried hooking the brains up to robots, a little experiment that resulted in quite shocking consequences: zombie robots. Incidentally, those robots had to be put down before they started devouring other brains. With that, that solution was quickly put to rest.

No, these brains had to be alive, but he had to find a way to take them out without damaging them, and without killing the subject, a daunting task that proved rather tricky. Eventually, after many attempts, trial, and error, with quite a few of these volunteers, terminally ill patients who signed a waiver, ensuring that Malley would not be responsible for any of the deaths, the poor doctor was just about to give up on the pursuit altogether. The entire endeavor was starting to take a toll on his psyche, and Malley was starting to wonder if he was really doing the right thing. After so many dead ends, Malley had been eating dinner one night, a bowl of mushroom soup, when he'd gotten an idea.

The doctor knew of a particular mushroom, brain shrooms that grow in a specific place in Amphibia, and so he placed his request for the ingredients with the king. For obvious reasons, King Atlas sent his retrieval team out at once, and within a few days, Malley would have an entire shipment of the shrooms to test with. Malley read all sorts of books on the psychotropic effects of the shrooms, and his experiments would take a rather bizarre turn. In one experiment, he would induce a sort of hypnotic, trance-like state in his patients by getting them "high" on the shrooms, and in such a state, he would be able to achieve a separation from the body and the mind. For the first time, Malley felt as though he was making a breakthrough.

The patients would be brought in: paraplegics, quadriplegics, the sick, the elderly, those who, for some reason or another, had given up hope. They could not escape the wave of sickness back then, and some had believed that it had been Atlas and his conquest for godhood, to cheat death, that had spurred this wave of sickness on as if The Creator Himself had been the one punishing them for their foolishness. No. Only in his vanity would Atlas fail to see the disease that he had brought back with him then and there, and only he would fail to see the great evil that had snuck its way through the gateway into their world.

The experiment was taxing on Malley and his patients, and the failed experiments would warp their minds, the hallucinogens invoking a sense of panic and paranoia within them. He needed the right dosage, lest he send them into frenzies of madness or worse, induce some sort of schizophrenia within them. No. They needed to relax. Malley would grind up the brain shrooms, boiling the chemicals and allowing the patients to inhale the fumes, and those fumes, the brain-altering and stem-controlling chemicals within them, the parasites, would become hungry, feasting upon the neural activity of the host, consuming identity, memories, speech, individual thought patterns.

Unfortunately, though, this would leave the victim in a vegetative state, or worse, outright kill them, for they would forget how to breathe. Eugene was devastated by the loss of his first victim, cursing himself, tearing at his gills, and finding himself going mad. He contemplated leaving, but it would become evident soon enough that he wasn't allowed to leave, and that this job was not one an individual could simply resign from. He knew too much, and such secrets getting out, why, that would be most unfortunate. Besides, he was so close to success. Atlas's shadow loomed over him like a great, cold darkness, and his new master forbade him from leaving.

The young axolotl was not forced, so much as coerced to stay, never approached aggressively, and never threatened. During his tenure as a worker on Project AnimaGenesis as the head of transference, Dr. Malley would meet three other individuals, doctors like himself, but specialists assigned to other parts of the project. The first was Dr. Arsenio Armatus Kade, most peculiarly, a toad. Dr. Kade was a large, muscular toad of a bright, sea green color, with a big, yellow tummy and arms broad and muscular enough that he would tear the sleeves from his coats to work without such inconveniences.

Dr. Kade would work alongside Dr. Malley. The good toad doctor, with his charming, funny, upbeat personality, would keep Malley in check. The two had hit it off pretty well, and Kade would keep the enthusiasm going, always remaining optimistic when Malley was starting to question himself. After all, Kade was the one who would take over the transference of consciousness from the chemical side of the equation, seeing to it that the removal of that information from the parasite through chemical alteration somehow preserved data in liquid form.

Dr. Kade would come up with what he could only crudely call "brain juice", a mysterious green liquid made from a mold found along the coast, a mold that curiously held electricity, and within that electricity, the data could be stored. Kade resolved for his best friend on the project, Dr. Malley, that he would take the brunt of the guilt for such failures and waste of "product", for they were his chemicals. Malley had merely paved the way for Kade's shocking brilliance to take effect. He was in awe of Kade's pureness and fortitude, how the young toad could go from giving a welcoming back massage of confidence to taking responsibility for the deaths of these individuals.

Kade was unlike any toad Malley had ever met in his life. Eugene had always been under the impression that toads simply didn't exist or have any business in or around science. He, and truthfully, many of the un-toadlike around him, underestimated these amphibians, seeing them as little more than big, wart-covered, muscle-headed, ugly old brutes. Kade wanted to change that perception. Kade was an astonishingly bright student even at a young age, noting that he didn't quite fit in with the other boys. His endeavors were more intellectual, while his colleagues were more interested in sports and athletics, and many of them saw themselves as warriors, not thinkers. Kade was out to subvert that.

He had an axe to grind with society, but he never wanted to allow himself to become vindictive, and he became wary of allowing himself to fall down a dark path where he would become filled with disdain and jealousy for his fellow amphibians. Together, Malley and Kade worked on the means of spiritual transference in preparation for the mind and body. Meanwhile, the third doctor assigned to Project AnimaGenesis, a newt by the name of Dr. Benedict Flux, worked on a system, a brilliant artificial intelligence capable of managing the spirits and the entire operations of systems, a sort of "control spirit".  

Unlike Dr. Malley and Dr. Kade, Dr. Flux had quite a large head about himself and saw himself as the true genius behind the project, and somewhat better than the other doctors. Because of this, he didn't particularly get along with Kade or Malley. He and the former would butt heads while the latter chose to stay out of the situation. Flux scoffed at the notion of a toad working in science. The mere notion of having to work alongside such a brutish creature made him indignant. He had no idea how Atlas Leviathan could hire such a creature to work on something so totally important, not that he would ever doubt the king to his face or anywhere around his guards.

While Flux was certainly an argumentative and unreasonable man at times, he was most certainly not stupid or self-defeating. To avoid any further conflicts or insights that could lead to hindering or outright terminating the program, Flux opted to simply keep his mouth shut. Flux had been a temperamental and difficult figure to work with his whole life, and a large part of it was his passion. He was obsessive-compulsive, sweating over every small issue, checking over his work twice and thrice to make sure that everything was perfect, in accordance with his own unattainable standards. Flux genuinely cared about his work and about the project, but didn't feel as though the other scientists could be trusted.

He was a nerdy, paranoid little man who never really had any friends his whole life. But at least there was one individual he could confide in, and that's the fourth and final individual, Dr. Ziro. Dr. Eleos Ziro was a small, sea-green frog, a quiet, somewhat shy but friendly enough fellow when he needed to be. Ziro had confided in Flux but knew very well that he couldn't talk too much about what his role was in the project, and that was to construct the body. Ziro knew, unfortunately, that there were small aspects of the hardware that he knew he would have to be transparent about with Flux in order to ensure that the software matched the hardware and that it was compatible with his design, and he was quite impressed by Flux's work.

The AI software was adaptive, just as the spirits could process new information, so could the AI learn and adapt. It would do everything in its power to serve itself, prioritizing its existence and functionality over all else. Little did either of them know that what started out as a benign learning program would turn into the most powerful brain in the universe, a mind capable of thinking thousands of steps ahead to ensure its survival. The only limitations of this software were its reliance on its living mortal hosts and the mercy of their ability to craft for it a perfect body. That was Ziro's goal.

But what kind of body would be most appropriate for such a being of many souls and many minds, working in collaboration? According to Ziro, the being wanted a body with many eyes so that it could see in all directions. Ziro found the request most paranoid, but the being insisted, for while intelligent, the being did not trust people, not even its creator, and not even its great king. Loyalty and allegiance to the king were questioned, but the king thought it was a good idea to have so many eyes, and thus commanded acceptance of such a request on the notion that a wise king would ask for just as many eyes so that he could see potential assailants. At least, this is how the situation was portrayed.

In addition to eyes, the being requested a body made from the hardest of black metal, a casing made from solid steel. This, too, was accepted, and the king ordered the black metal to be forged and the casings made to house the being. No commoner's sword would strike such a being down. Next, it asked for many arms. And long, tube-like claws were made so that the being could be all present, all-knowing, and all-powerful. The king was pleased by the decisions of this being, and the good doctors were becoming increasingly nervous toward this creature, for they feared they were creating a monster.

Those fears, inevitably, would prove true, as the being became greedy and voracious in its consumption of souls, and knowledge, private knowledge, the knowledge of beings all across the universe. One day, Malley would become aware of the monster he, Dr. Kade, and Dr. Flux had created. Most suspicious of Flux, they'd turn on the doctor, for who could ever believe a little, innocent, frog-like Dr. Ziro would craft such an evil monster of a machine? Those poor fools, if only they were taught the simple lesson to never judge a book by its cover. Offended by the horrible accusations of his colleagues, Dr. Flux approached Dr. Ziro, and the frog revealed to him, now that it was much too late to do anything about it, the monster he had created.

This being, a black orb with thousands of eyes, the size of a titan, a black monster with hundreds of arms weaving in and out and clinging to the wall like a hideous spider of death, greeted the good doctors, demonstrating for them with its collective voice, the knowledge it had consumed thus far. Dr. Flux was horrified by this being, and he saw within it the evil he and his other colleagues had worked on and vowed to expose such a monster to the entire world. The poor little newt, if only he could see that long claw as it reached outward, impaling him outright.

Yes, that's right. Ziro was the monster all along, the little frog whom nobody had suspected. He would feed this monster the souls, eventually convincing the old king, as he lay on his deathbed, to be part of the machine. But first, he had some unfinished business to attend to. Doctors Malley and Kade would be next to terminate, for they could never be allowed to find out about the death of Flux and flee. They needed to be terminated. Kade would meet his fate alone one day, but not before warning Dr. Malley of his impending doom. Malley had fled, suffering fatal wounds from the guards who had forbidden him to leave. They underestimated the little axolotl, however, for he had an ace up his sleeve.

He knew of the process of spiritual transference, and with the last of his energy, he would transfer the last remaining bit of himself, abandoning his organic body in favor of a robot. For the longest time, Malley was perceived as dead. The little coward hid, fleeing from the facility and living shamefully in isolation on the outskirts. He knew of hidden places, little bunkers that were to be used in case of an emergency, and he hid in them. Malley would outlast his nemesis, Dr. Ziro, and the frog would become old and feeble, eventually disappearing altogether without a trace. Some say that he, too, would be subsumed by The Core and become one with its consciousness. Nobody actually knew.

Malley hated living life as a robot. He hated the fact that he would no longer be an axolotl, and had seen fit to modify that body to his liking, exposing the wires within his head to appear as though he had gills, and allowing his excess backup wiring to hang from his rear end like a tail. He felt as though this would allow him to retain some semblance of identity and sanity. Too bad that would all but leave him in the long run. So that was his story. Nearly an hour passes as Malley details all of the horrors of the conception of AnimaGenesis, and all Henry can think about is his father and how those monsters are using him to make more tools of war, and how his friends could either be dead or fried because of his cowardice.

He knows he has to get back there, but he's so trapped. And that's when the cursed thought runs across his mind that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to investigate, to dig so deep to uncover the truth. He could have been at home, living his normal life, just accepting the death of his father as a legitimate truth even if he knew deep down that it wasn't… But no. He won't allow himself to even think about something so horrible. He refuses. He has to get back there, somehow… But how? Polly is in the same boat. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go with King Andrias to the Robo Arena. She could have been home right now.

King Andrias could have been back on the farm, earning his peaceful right to retire with the rest of them. She could have been at home with Sprig. She could have been working on more of her robots and planning the future with Sprig, knowing full well that Hop Pop wouldn't be around forever. Hop Pop… she wonders just how he's doing. How could he be holding up? She knows that he has to have found out by now. Did King Andrias even make it back home? Well, good ol' Hopediah Plantar isn't doing so hot, unfortunately.

He continues to sit there, minute after minute, hour after hour, staring off into space, his mind in a state of shock. Hopediah Plantar feels so helpless. His back is so sore and tender, and he knows that if he pushes himself, especially after Tuti told him not to, his back would give in and he'd be back at square one and bound to a chair, quite possibly permanently this time. He trusted King Andrias. He trusted the king with his granddaughter. He thinks to himself, the words circling his head like a drain, only the words won't funnel in toward the center and disappear from his consciousness. He's speechless, mortified that he'd allowed himself to lapse so hard. He has no words to justify himself, not to himself or anyone else.

Sylvia does not pity him, though. Like the faithful maiden, she tends to his needs, even when she has rightly earned such attention herself in her old age. Sprig still regrets staying home. He feels as though it is his right, his duty as an older brother, to be out there, circling the globe and tearing down every obstacle in his path to reach his beloved sister. But Andrias had long since disappeared, the lumbering giant marching his way out of Wartwood and to the east with hellfire in his eyes, and a passion for vengeance unlike Sprig had ever seen.

Sprig has never been the brightest frog, not the wisest or most mature, but he always had a bit of an eye for sincerity. He could see clearly the other night, Andrias's last night of a very short stay in Wartwood, one that he hoped won't be his last, the shame in his eyes as he stared toward the ground, forced to come home alone. He could see the fear within him, that he'd even dare show his face after he lost the child, the dear beloved sister and granddaughter. He could see the confusion as well. That cloth, that symbol. Nero Hades… Why does that name sound so ominous?

The name doesn't sit well with him. He can only imagine the horrors going on out there. Sprig finds himself very much like his grandfather, sitting there on the sofa, staring out toward the wall with such a focus he could burn a hole with his gaze. The slight sensation of a soft hand touching his shoulder, a sudden stimulus, jolts him awake, and he jumps in his seat. He turns and faces over his shoulder, his fluttering heart pounding in his chest as he faces the sweet Sylvia, a motherly grin stretched along her naturally aged and tired face.

Sylvia: "Perhaps you should get out of the house for a while, hon. Go out on a date with Ivy or something. I got things around the house with your grandfather."

Sprig jumps up immediately from his seat and stares at her.

Sprig: "I can't just abandon you and Hop Pop here, not with him like this and not with Polly missing."

Hop Pop: "Polly…"

Sylvia and Sprig stare at him. It's the only word he said since Sylvia had broken the news to him. Sprig approaches, taking Hop Pop's hands in his, and the old man just stares up at him with a drooping scowl of helplessness.

Sprig: "It's okay, Hop Pop. Andrias is gonna get her back. He's gonna bring her back and we're all gonna be a family again and…"

He makes eye contact with Hop Pop, and the old man just stares at him. He can't even say a word, and this troubles Sprig. He turns his head to Sylvia and then back to the old man.

Sprig: "Hop Pop? Won't you say anything? Please. Say something. You just said, Polly."

Hop Pop: "Polly…"

Sprig: "... Sylvia… I think something's wrong with Hop Pop."

Sylvia leans over to him and tries to coerce him into speaking.

Sylvia: "Hopediah, honey. If something's wrong, you should tell me. You can tell us. We're family and we're here for you."

Sprig rises, shaking his head. He turns to her with a grave look on his face.

Sprig: "No… Something's wrong. I think we should get the doctor over here."

Sylvia sighs, heading for the door immediately as Sprig watches. He leans down toward Hop Pop once again, and the man makes eye contact with him again.

Sprig: "Hop Pop, if something is wrong, you have to tell us, please. Come on. We care about you. You have to talk to us even if it's hard for you to do so… Can you… Do so?"

Sprig rises, and Hop Pop just continues to stare at the floor at his feet. Something is seriously wrong with Hop Pop.

Sprig: "Is your throat sore? Do you need water? Are you hungry? Like… Do you want something?"

Just at that moment, Sylvia arrives at the door with Tuti once again. In steps a purple frog woman wearing tattered red clothes with a tan veil and cape, a permanently deadpan expression on her face. She speaks in broken English as if it weren't her first tongue.

Tuti: "You're starting to become recurring customers, you know."

Sylvia: "We're so sorry to keep bothering you, Tuti. Things have been rather… stressful around here."

Rather than complain or respond, Tuti gets right to work, diving through her bag of doctor stuff. Although to call Tuti an actual doctor is a bit of a stretch. She knows how to heal the soul, and she can heal a broken back or various other parts of the body, but her medical knowledge is rather limited, to say the least. At first, she simply tries asking him a series of questions.

Tuti: "Hopediah? You there? Why you say nothing?"

Sprig corrects her.

Sprig: "Well, he seems to only react when I say a specific word. Watch this."

He leans over to Hop Pop.

Sprig: "Hey, Hop Pop, we're gonna bring Polly back, okay?"

Hop Pop simply stares at him again before looking away. Sprig rises, turning toward Tuti. The healer raises a brow.

Sprig: "Every time I said Polly, he would repeat it. Now he's not even doing that. I don't know why he won't talk. If it was a state of shock, I thought for sure he'd be over it by now, but he—"

Tuti has been staring at the man the entire time, and she notices his posture, how limp he is, how wrinkly and droopy he is, and this leads her to remember a similar situation she had encountered many years ago, back when Sprig was just a little tadpole. Then it hits her. She speaks, interrupting him mid-sentence.

Tuti: "Is croak stroke."

Sprig shakes his head, and Sylvia gasps, placing her hands to her mouth. Sprig darts his eyes between them, not quite understanding.

Sprig: "A croak stroke? What's that?"

He asks, his voice cracking with a small hint of panic as he starts to breathe heavily. Tuti sits on the sofa and pats the cushion beside her, bidding the two to sit.

Tuti: "I only encounter croak stroke once before, many years ago. Back when you were little… You wouldn't remember this… but Sylvia, you remember late husband of Sadie Croaker. Right?"

She nods, staring at the floor, remembering him fondly.

Sylvia: "I do. He was a sweet man. He had lived here since I was a little tadpole myself."

Tuti nods.

Tuti: "Same here. But one day, Sadie came into shop all in tizzy, hot flashes and all. She panicked. Said 'Something's wrong with husband. We did not fight or anything; he just no talk. Turns out, husband can't talk and had a croak stroke. Is a problem with blood to the brain and croak box. Stress from granddaughter missing may have caused it."

Her voice becomes dire and uncharacteristically empathetic. Sprig leans into her, whispering.

Sprig: "Incidentally… Uh… How long did Mr. Croaker have left after he had his 'croak stroke'?"

Tuti faces away for a moment before turning her head back to Hop Pop. She almost doesn't want to say anything. She'd known the man for so long, and even if neither of them had ever really had a swimming relationship, she knew him as a local, a resident of the little town of Wartwood who would take permanent residence in the town. This was his home. He lived here his whole life, from the time he was a little tadpole til the time he was a feeble old man. She watches him now, just sitting in that chair, almost entirely inoperative. She wonders if he still has anything left within that red noggin of his or if it's all gone. She knows, though.

Tuti: "I do not know. It could be anywhere from one week to months. All I know is he is on borrowed time. Spend as much time with him as you can, as every moment could be his last... I'm sorry."

She says in a morose and low, quiet tone. Tuti quietly packs her bags. None of them seems to have any more words to offer her or toward Hop Pop or each other. They just stand there. Sprig turns toward his grandfather, biting his lip. He has no idea what to even say or how to react to this. The old man has been with him his entire life. He's terrified of losing him, as he doesn't know if he has what it takes to lead the farm on his own. He peers over to Sylvia for a moment, and she's just as struck and helpless as he is. She turns to him.

Sprig sniffs, as if he can feel something coming along that he doesn't want to shed or to share with anyone else. He sits beside his grandfather on the recliner chair, wedging himself beside the old man. He wraps his long, pink arms around his grandfather, lying Hop Pop's head on his shoulder and lying his own head on his bald scalp. He can feel it, the fluttering in his belly, a sense of helplessness as Tuti heads quietly toward the door, shutting it behind her. He doesn't even know if Polly will be back in time for her grandfather to see her one last time.

A thousand voices wander around in his head, and he doesn't want to respond to any of them. He just wants his thoughts to go away, to just leave him be, so that he can spend the little precious time he has left with his dear grandfather. Gently, Sprig places a loving kiss upon his grandfather's head, for he doesn't know if it will ever be the final opportunity he has to do so. All he can do is pray. All he can do is wait. He wonders. Where in the world could Andrias be?

Chapter Text

The foreboding fog over the land of Nero Hades is not at all what Andrias had hoped to see upon his arrival. It casts an aura of mystery and secrets, and it leaves a bad first impression in the king's eyes. He is well aware of the technology capable of creating a synthetic fog. He remembers clearly the demonstration of this technology one year ago, when such an experiment was put on display at the castle by Newtopian scientists. Andrias observed that artificial weather patterns were made, and essentially, these newts displayed the power to play Mother Nature.

To the regular people of Amphibia, the common folk of the lowlands and high, the fog had merely come off to them as the natural occurrence of a low-hanging cloud. But to Andrias, it meant he could be a cloud commander, sending storms over his enemies as sunny days reigned perpetually over the kingdom. To them, he could make it rainy, sunny, or even snowy. The only problem with such a device is that it was massive, and it would be relatively difficult to host such a machine at the castle. Now he knows where his father had sent it all those years ago.

This fog is no ordinary fog. He knows, for he hasn't seen such thick fog since that very day. His mount is not faring much better, and Andrias must quell his dear heron of her anxiety so that he may land. Hesitantly, he removes his hand from the reins, placing it on her long neck, sifting through her soft feathers, touching the skin, and petting her. He speaks, his calm, cool, soothing tone, right into her ear.

King Andrias: "Calm down, baby. That's it. It's only fog. We're going to dip down into the rain. Slowly now. Gently."

The heron breathes slowly through the nostrils in her beak, almost snorting as he quells her, slowing her flaps as she glides gently toward the ground. Beneath the low clouds, it rains silently, tiny pitter-patters of soft water on the cold, damp dirt. The heron lands into a slight jog, slowing her momentum gradually until she stops altogether, lying on the ground to rest. Andrias slides off the beast to the side, approaching her from the front, where she can see her tamer for the first time. Her yellow eyes lock with his, and he stares into her, fearless, connecting spirits with her even though she is the mortal enemy of his race, a consumer of smaller creatures such as himself, and she lowers her head to him. Her breathing is slow and heavy. He caresses her beak, stroking it, leaning his forehead on hers as she closes her eyes.

King Andrias: "T'was a bittersweet reunion, my pet. But alas, I am no longer your master. You are a free bird, as you should be. Go home to your lover and children. It was so good to see you again."

He says as he plants a soft kiss on her forehead. With this, the heron rises from her seat, tilting her head at Andrias curiously before spreading her wings and taking off into the air, back in the direction from whence she came. He knows for certain that he had just gone back on his word to the people of Ribbitvale, but he vows, the moment he gets back to Amphibia, that he will see to it that they are indeed protected. He knows for certain that the fish of the lake will keep her and her family satisfied for the time being, but he must make sure that the herons do not attack the people of Ribbitvale, for they are his people, whether they wish to be or not. With the bird gone, Andrias lowers his brow and turns toward the mysterious fog leading into what seems to be an eternal nothingness before him, the grey fog and spittles accompanying him the entire way.

King Andrias: "Polly… Where are you?"

Onward he treads. It would appear as though his road leads for miles and miles along a lonely and empty dirt road, the squishing and squelching of his heavy boots on the mud and the thunderous thuds of his feet the score of his journey. Andrias stares at the dull ground before him, a mixture of brown and dark gray, a land covered in dead coral, the polyps having eroded away from the open air. Little does Andrias know of the telltale signs. No. He marches onward, the rain soaking into his hair and skin. He blinks every time a tear falls near his eye, a reflex, but nothing more.

Andrias knows for certain that he has entered the continent along one of the pointed edges, but has little knowledge of his direction without a compass. The sky is so blocked, so bloated with clouds that he has no awareness of the sun's location, and has to rely on the past. He points to the sky, muttering to himself as he recalls just where the sun was in the sky prior to his landing, correlating that with the time of day to what is north, and tracking his direction in accordance with that. But what the King is not aware of is whether his path was truly straight, or if his arc had veered at all.

For all Andrias knows, he could be heading right toward the sea. Andrias stops. To the side of him is a large mushroom, one of many he'd see along his way, a massive gilled fungus, possibly ancient, probably as old as he is, certainly taller. Andrias approaches the mushroom and lies back against the stalk, leaning backward and staring out into the ominous distance. And he wonders.

King Andrias: "What am I doing here?... All this for a child who, up to this point, meant nothing to me… I tried to kill her… I tried to kill them all…"

He sighs. King Andrias draws from his pocket the cloth, the worn fabric as a reminder. But it matters not to ramble on and become lost, for he could find himself in circles before ever once heading in the right direction. Andrias knows. He must suffer the worst fate of all in all of this. He must wait. But he knows, every second away from her is a second she may not even be alive. Who knows where she is? How could he even find his way to her? How in the world would he even know where to look in all this mess? The only practical thing to do at the moment is to wait for the fog to recede so that he can move on.

Certainly, this cloud will pass, but how can he just wait here, knowing that the Plantars are depending on him, knowing that all of Wartwood is depending on him? The chilly air rustles against his smooth yet old and wrinkly skin. He's grateful for his jacket and long, thick mane of white hair and beard. The frosty chill of the vapor within causes Andrias to become drowsy, as he hasn't slept since he trekked all the way across Amphibia on foot. Andrias's eyelids grow heavy, and he finds his breathing becoming deep and slow. It's the perfect weather for a nap, and in no time, he finds his head suddenly drooping down low. As he fades away into blackness, his mind wanders.

He lacks the comfort of his old bed back at the castle, the gigantic mattress that was in and of itself longer and wider than the entire castle courtyard. But that bed was made especially for him. Oddly enough, the best night's sleep he had in years was up against the back wall of the Plantars' barn. He felt… safe there, a sense of comfort in that nobody would march in there and try to steal from him or murder him in his sleep, even if both of those tasks would prove daunting for anyone, but there was a certain coziness to it, an ease of mind he hadn't felt before. Back at the castle, he would spend countless nights feeling the cold eyes of The Core watching over him, even when they weren't there.

When he lived alone, he felt insecure, a childish feeling for such a large and robust man, certainly, but a sincere sensation nonetheless. No, the best he had felt, the most peaceful, the most secure, was right in the comfort of the Plantars, the people who had accepted him, even if it was with a certain level of coercion. He never felt in danger with their house mere feet from him. He felt, for some reason, like those little frogs were watching over him. Better still is his little "lap snail," now, to have a baby snail that loves to cuddle, but once they get too large to do so, their owners abandon such treatment. But it's never a desire that leaves them, especially in the case of MicroAngelo.

Andrias finds something quite comforting about having that snail rest in his lap, lying its head upon his chest and purring away like a little motorboat. Andrias allows these thoughts of hope, these desires, to guide him into his dreams. He finds himself in quite a nonsensical dream, where the details become obscured and logic becomes abandoned in certain ways, like one of those movies that play in one's head where there are about a thousand inconsistencies, and the rooms in one's head don't line up where they should be, or characters in one's dreams just inexplicably change clothes, or are the wrong age, or where scenes within one's head just end abruptly. That kind of stuff.

Andrias just imagines a scenario in his mind where he wakes up in the barn, and it's a beautiful sunny day. He treads outside as a commoner, strolls through town as his big self, and greets the people. They all say hello and tip their hats to him, and everyone is jovial and high in spirit. He imagines performing daily tasks, labors too great for the normal-sized folk, like moving big logs or boulders, or wrestling some mighty beast in the wilderness to protect the town, and the people are happy, and everyone gets along. Sure, there would be civil disputes, petty little pedantic nonsense disputes where a resolution would be met within ten minutes with the sheer introduction of common sense.

They'd have big bonfires at night, and they would all sit under the thousands of stars in the sky and regale each other with stories of heroism and bravery, tragedy and romance, and action and intrigue. That is the life Andrias wants now, to simply be among the common man, and to live peacefully with a clear conscience. He yearns to be a voice of wisdom to the children, to be an arbiter of reflection, a fable teller to the kids, so that they never make the mistakes he made in life. Yeah. That's the life he wants, so much so that he smiles in his sleep. But now, it's time to wake up, unfortunately for him.

He can feel the heat, the toasting warmth of the sun as it beats down on the back of his head. Drawing back his bangs, he stares up into the sky. Andrias squints, shielding his eyes against the blinding light and pure blue sky. Finally, a momentary reprieve from the accursed fog and rain. Andrias finds that there are no roads as he surveys the landscape before him. Any semblance had long been covered by growth and the sea. But off in the vast distance, a mere silhouette, but unmistakable, is a tall and wide structure, a massive building of some sort.

Curious, he marks it as his destination and ventures forward, crossing the great horizon. He can't even believe that such a place could exist, something so beautiful, born from the sea and cast onto the shores, beholden on the surface for all to see like a delicate flower in bloom. All around him is luscious sea greenery, flora positively engorged with water, almost alien to him. Floating, sentient liquid like the bubbles trapped within a lava lamp, amorphous and thick, viscous, bright in color, billows in slow motion like the art of a dream. And he wonders, is he awake? Is he dreaming?

Andrias finds himself in quite the bizarre conundrum where both are possible realities, a place flourishing on a land called Nero Hades. A watery hell? Why, this is more like a paradise. Tiny robots cultivate the greenery, new robots, clad in a peculiar material, one he'd only seen before once as he approaches a watering robot, a mere drone whose only directive is to maintain the garden, the rich bulbs or orange, the giant fans of bright fuchsia, just like her skin, and just like the springtime. They remind him of her as he observes.

King Andrias: "This material… Does this belong to Polly? Am I close?"

He continues through the garden up to the amphibian structure, the only environmental object in the distance that feels artificial, that is, made by sapient amphibians. But who? As Andrias enters the vicinity, he can see it once again, smooth concrete. But here? How, when Life hadn't been here in years? Who breeds this life, and where are they? Ascending the massive, gray, stone stairs, Andrias is met with a hike uphill, but beyond the threshold lies a series of statues, old, marble, decaying, the world of sapient mortal frogs, byproducts of a forgotten era, and a long-forgotten empire.

These statues depict amphibians that Andrias does not recognize, possibly centuries older than himself, even his father. These men and women are corroded, with missing limbs, and saddened expressions worn on their soulless faces, as if aware of their fates. Their placards, though they spark great interest from the king, are far too worn to be read. They give Andrias the creeps. He feels unwelcome, nay, unworthy. Before him is a great structure, though, a building that has stood the test of time, a masterpiece of ancient Newtopian structure, as well as a canvas for which they would display their many great inspirations. Andrias treads up to the door, reading the faded runic text.

King Andrias: "Cosmotrofeio?"

Loosely, Andrias translates that as "Trophies of the Universe". But what could it mean? What trophies? Could it be, the house is for holding that which the Leviathan family has staked their claim? There's only one way to find out. Andrias approaches the massive doors, most peculiarly made for a man his size. Of course, Aldrich was quite a large man himself, and as the second in a line of conquerors, he would see to it that this place, a place of fond memories that held a place in his blackened heart, would be accessible to all who wished to enter, including the peons.

With a great heave, Andrias shoves the massive gates open, treading inside to see before him a statue of a man he hadn't seen since he was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, his grandfather, Atlas Leviathan. The man lived up to his name, a proud Leviathan with long, flowing white hair and a matching beard, untamed and curly, chiseled like a golem, and with a stern and stoic expression, and eyes that could pierce a man's very soul, striking him to his knees with his commanding gaze, a king and the epitome of masculinity. They loved Atlas Leviathan. They had to. But they were terrified of that man. Everyone was.

But Andrias didn't know anyone who feared Atlas quite like his father, for only he could make a man like Aldrich, a man afraid of virtually nothing, quiver before him like a sniveling worm. Only Atlas could bring such a man to such an undignified position. Andrias finds that he can't even look the man in the eyes, not even the statue, let alone the real thing. With a shudder, he treads forward and away from the statue, as it makes him immensely uncomfortable. Around the corner and past the statue is a massive room. A long and wide platform is sprawled out before him, seemingly hovering over an abyss with various-sized glass tubes filled with a luminescent blue liquid that glows and provides the only lighting to the room, specimens… alien specimens.

Many, many tubes are filled with, how would one say… prizes, trophies of the hunt, but the intergalactic hunter, King Atlas Leviathan, later Aldrich, and later still, Andrias. The tubes are filled with mostly animals, curious beasts, some wild, others more sapient, all dead, and all displayed indignantly. The placards are more mercifully well-preserved thanks to the airtight seals from the outside, easily able to withstand the hundreds of years of water pressure, nearly a thousand years. So this was Aldrich's secret, one of many hidden from Andrias. But why hide this? Why is the pride of the Leviathan legacy worth hiding? Andrias would think such an achievement should be displayed to elicit envy.

Why, the king would have it no other way. But no. It wasn't this that was worth hiding. It must have been something else, and Andrias wants to find out what that is. He continues to observe quietly, the specimens in a room so high he cannot even see the ceiling. It's almost like he's suspended in place, and now he sees why this place has garnered its name. In some of these games, the trophies are bagged by the Leviathans, and many of them are quite scary. They might have some big suckers at home, like the scrabsters and giant herons, as well as many other large birds, but some of these creatures are almost like Orwellian monstrosities, shapeless beings with thousands of eyes, incomprehensible masses of flesh and bone, and some other things.

Some of these things are relatively humanoid. Scarier and more tragic, some of those prisoners are mere children. But those were the prizes, creatures with gilded weapons and wings, wild animals, celestial beings, some of them. They were the prizes of Atlas and Andrias. If they had conquered Earth, some humans would have been there. But no. Certain parties would see to it that the next human on Amphibia would be reserved for a much more important purpose. The only thing is, what is that purpose? Why in the world would something as advanced and technologically superior as The Core want a human? Could it be the human, ultimately, that would lead to its downfall, that three young girls would possess the power to destroy such a being?

But what if it wasn't a human, after all, that would lead to this monster's final demise? What if, after all that time, that honor had truly belonged to another? Could it be that those girls were not to destroy the monster, but simply open the door and cast upon the world a revelation of something much darker? Could it be that the prophecy wasn't so much wrong, but incomplete? Nobody knows. It's for them to know, and for them to find out. Andrias most certainly doesn't believe that he could be worthy of such a destiny. One can see it in his eyes as they reflect off the mirror-like glass cage before him.

But then the room goes dark, and the many, many monitors lined along the wall that once displayed historical and biographical data become filled with a static hiss, the same kind that would be displayed on television before the days of 24/7 cable. Andrias darts his head between them, uncertain as to what is happening. It's quiet besides the hiss, unnervingly quiet, and he feels even more vulnerable now than he did when he knew he was alone. Andrias raises his hand to the handle of his mighty hammer slung along his back as the room becomes pitch black, and Andrias cannot see a single thing.

In a flash, a massive red iris appears on the screen before him, then another, and another, and eventually, all the monitors become filled with these ominous red eyes, staring outward, and then they all fixate on a singular axis; and they all peer directly at Andrias. His blood, though already cold, runs sub-zero as the calm, monotone collection of droning voices, the echoes of his master, speak to him for the first time in years. He recognizes this voice, for it is the voice of The Core. Yet it addresses him as its true self.

AnimaGenesis: "Hello, Andrias. Did you miss us?"

Andrias grits his teeth nearly so hard he cracks them as he stares outward at his old master. He ignores the attempted sarcasm by The Core, reflecting his own with a cold, sinister growl.

King Andrias: "Apparently so. I should have been more thorough."

AnimaGenesis merely peers downward at Andrias in a curious manner, wholly unthreatened. The system returns the lights to the many illuminated cells of the trophies that his forefathers had staked as their claims.

AnimaGenesis: "Behold the mighty Thanatos space whale, a cross-dimensional living, breathing ship filled with the lives of thousands upon thousands of schools of space fish. It was said that these beings possessed the capacity to become gods in their own right and had their own degrees of sapience… Dead, seized by the great King Atlas Leviathan in his conquest. This being would be conquered by the holy lance of the king himself, and this proud creature, the terror of the cosmos, was brought down and now hangs garishly above the floor upon which you stand. Fret not, though, for those minds did not go to waste. They remain within. We are many…"

Andrias hangs his eyes on a mighty, pale blue space whale, similar in shape to a beluga, but significantly more massive. This being could swallow Andrias whole easily. And yet, this creature was revealed to be truly mortal.

AnimaGenesis: "Atlas had felled many worlds, seized with his many sources of science and magic… and power. Had his discoveries through the use of the gems not brought his conquest such fortunes, we would not exist today… Neither you nor we. We are grateful to be alive today. Andrias… are you grateful to be alive?"

King Andrias hesitates for a second to answer that question, and that does not bode well for him. His old nemesis sneers with its eye, a most peculiar squint as if continuing to this day to examine the man. Andrias closes his eyes, pinching them shut as he confesses, almost repentant. He hangs his head in shame.

King Andrias: "My life has been filled with countless grievous errors and poor judgments. I lament that I betrayed my people. I followed your leadership down a path of self-destruction. But I will not blame you. No. I will not end myself and die in shame. My sins are mine to bear and nobody else's. I will continue to fight to reclaim my honor, and I will do anything I can to right the wrongs of the past. So I have only one more question for you…"

Andrias darts his eyes upward, staring upward as he draws from his back his hammer and blade, the pulsing red aura from the sword reflecting with hate off his corneas as he stares threateningly through his brow line.

 King Andrias: "Where's Polly?!"

From the ceiling, the walls, underneath the platform, and every single conceivable hiding place imaginable within the museum, hundreds of robot amphibians assemble, ready for battle. AnimaGenesis speaks.

AnimaGenesis: "So, you choose to remain a rebel and a waste? Have you no vision for conquest and glory? 'Tis a pity, Andrias. You have broken our hearts."

The intelligence utters in a hiss with a facetious, snake-like tone.

King Andrias: "Tell me where Polly is or I will rip your damn heart out and crush it with my bare hands!"

AnimaGenesis: "We would love to see you try. Minions. Make a waste of this traitor."

Immediately, several robots extend their long arms at Andrias, attempting to strike him when he grabs the arms and crushes them within his vice-like grip, pulling and tearing the wiring and circuitry and severing the arms as he crushes the steel. Several more fire rockets and lasers, the projectiles staggering the king, but doing little as far as damage, and achieving little more than pissing him off. Andrias leaps forward, cleaving multiple Frobots clean with his blade and smashing more with his hammer. As much as he defends himself, however, Andrias quickly finds himself becoming overwhelmed as multiple Frobots leap onto his back and try to tackle him from behind.

There are so many, and he wonders as he smashes and crashes his way through tens of them, eventually hundreds, as he struggles with being overwhelmed. Only after catching a glimpse of a robot reforming out of the corner of his eye does he realize that these bots are made from nanobots, and a precious black metal, the synthetic "Polly-carbonate", and soon he realizes, there is no stopping them. More and more keep coming, and the stage is a mountain of mayhem, and the floor becomes too heavy to maintain. The ground shakes, cracking and caving in as thousands upon thousands of tons are applied to a single point, and Andrias is crushed by the weight, plummeting into a dark abyss with the endless sentinels.

AnimaGenesis: "You wanted to be among your people? Very well, we will send you to them, back to the place where you truly belong."

King Andrias isn't quite certain what the next few sensations are, exactly, for the fall would knock him out cold. At the bottom of the chasm is concrete, at least, that's what it feels like on his face as he lies there in the cold nothingness. Something robotic, be it a cleaning service or some of the very robots that cause his collapse, drags him along the surface. He finds himself being dragged up a long, metal ramp of some sort and then along a similar surface, only flat, and then his face is pressed against something rather off-putting, something that feels... organic.

For the next hour or so, so long as he's completely out of it, immobile, as his mind wanders through the lucid dreams in his head, he tries as hard as he can to wake up, but it's all futile. The low, brief hum of a motor can be heard beneath the floor, and King Andrias wonders... Is he in some sort of large vehicle? Before he knows it, however, another sensation is felt, weightlessness, and then the collision of his body with what he can only assume is another floor of some sort. This time, however, things are a little drier. Darkness… Andrias is surrounded entirely by darkness.

He can feel the weight of something solid on him, but not particularly dense, as if he is buried under a few feet of a rather peculiar, dry, and hard material. Coming into cognitive awareness, Andrias wades around, pushing and pulling his way to the surface, and almost immediately, he becomes aware of his surroundings and that he is in a landfill of thousands and thousands of dead bodies. Andrias draws air as he pushes his head through the mountain of carcasses, mostly bones, but those deep within are preserved from decay by the outer exterior.

Andrias floats in a mountain of rot and death, and as his mind finally has time to process such horror, he screams in fear and disgust, pushing the bodies off of him and trying as hard as he can to free himself from the insane collection of bodies. As he loosens the compaction, the bodies separate, and the coagulated mass is pulled apart. The foundation holding him in place becomes unstable as Andrias starts to tumble down the pile of bodies, crushing them as his body approaches the bottom. Finally, he descends to the point of solid ground and rises, sliding away on his rear end as he takes in the mountain of discarded beings before him.

Andrias screams in horror again, wading around through the bodies and finding himself, as he peers into the eyes of fallen men, women, and children before him, their desecrated bones, lapsing into madness. How? How could anyone be so cruel as to do this? Wide-eyed, his pupils reduced to the size of kernels, he stares onward as the corpses stretch for what seems like miles. How much of it is real? How much of it is his frayed mind, lapsing into insanity? This continent, all he's seen so far, has been horror beyond imagining. Is Polly really here? Is she even still alive? What have they done with her?

Could a mere child even face such horror and come out with her mind intact? This happened. It happened during his lifetime… All these people died, and he could have stopped it. Is this where the shipments of brain shrooms were taken? Is this where all the bodies were thrown? All these corpses were used to create The Core. All this, just for some hideous monstrosity? Andrias finds his mind snapping as he pulls at his hair. All these people died, and it's his and his family's fault. Andrias screams into the distance, a mighty roar of pain and suffering. He digs at his skull.

King Andrias: "Ahh!"

But what he didn't expect was a response.

?: "Hey buddy, keep it down. Will ya? Some people are trying to sleep. Why… You're shouting loud enough to… wake the dead."

Wide-eyed and terrified, Andrias turns his head slowly toward the sound of the voice.

King Andrias: "W-w-who said that?… Show yourself! I order you as your king!"

From beneath his feet, the voice speaks again. Andrias peers slowly toward the ground to see a skull talking to him. Before his eyes, as if by magic, a spine floats over to the skull, snapping on at the base as numerous ribs bounce along the ground to form a cage at the front of the chest, then a pelvic bone and several tailbones to form the base of a tail. Then the limbs bounce their way to meet the shoulders and ball joints, and finally, the appendages join, creating the body of what appears to be a male axolotl skeleton.

Andrias backs away as morbid, rotten flesh begins to form the skin on the axolotl, but alas, there is not much flesh, and the eyes are mismatched. The axolotl seems to consist of makeshift body parts as if united by many bodies formed as one into a singular, coherent axolotl form. The flesh is not complete, and bones and muscle are exposed all over the meat. The axolotl approaches, a normal-sized individual, a fully formed but rotting and wholly naked axolotl approaches Andrias as the terrified king backs away, most certain he had finally lost his mind.

King Andrias: "What is this?! Get away from me! You're not real! You can't be real!"

The axolotl peers through a raised brow at the king. He tilts his head, his dangling gills bouncing on his head as his hetero-chromatic and mismatched eyes meet with the king's. Andrias falls back over on his rear end as the axolotl calmly saunters forward.

?: "I'm not real? Am I? You tell me, Your Majesty."

For obvious reasons, being that he is the king, Andrias does not ask how the corpse knows who he is. It is assumed by him that everyone should at least know who he is, save for, perhaps, children, those born after his fall. The king stops sliding away pathetically on his rear end and examines the axolotl, and he realizes what a fool he is, for even though this creature is quite apparently supernatural, or perhaps a figment of his warped mind, he is neither particularly imposing nor an apparent threat. Andrias eyes the axolotl up and down, taking in the hideous and decayed appearance of his nude form.

King Andrias: "Who are you?"

The axolotl opens his partially fallen-apart mouth to answer, the jaw loose and hanging on a hinge, only to freeze in place and gaze up to the sky in uncertainty. He raises his bony left hand up to the exposed part of his skull and scratches his head before shrugging.

?: "You know? I don't even really know who I am, or who I was in my past life. All I know is that I'm freaking dead and falling apart over here."

He approaches the king and leans over with his arms on his waist. The king sneers in disgust, eyeing the axolotl up and down.

King Andrias: "Why, you're nothing but a rotting carcass, a carrion."

The axolotl stands up straight and poses in thought with his fleshy right hand on his chin.

?: "Carrion…"

He nods.

Carrion: "I can live with that. I guess I'll be 'carrion on' with my new best friend!... Eh? Eh!"

The axolotl jokes. King Andrias simply stares at him seriously before rising, turning, and walking away. He faces forward and walks without paying the ridiculous joker, not a single sliver more of his wasted time. He continues forward.

Carrion: "Hey! Where are you going? Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad."

He starts to follow, pestering Andrias. The king refuses to accept this fool's antics any longer.

King Andrias: "You're not real. You're just my mind playing tricks on me. I must move forward. You're wasting my time."

Carrion continues to follow the king. He talks, peering up at the king through his brow line with a smirk.

Carrion: "It's too bad, you know. You'll never find Polly that way."

The second the girl's name hits his ears, Andrias freezes in place. Slowly, he turns his head around and peers over his shoulder at the smug axolotl before turning a full 180 and leaning over. He approaches, and his eyes do not blink. They fixate right on the axolotl as he interrogates him accusingly, almost threateningly.

King Andrias: "What do you know about Polly?"

The axolotl merely folds his arms as the king approaches him. Reaching down, Andrias snatches the undead axolotl in his hands, hoisting him into the air and before his face.

King Andrias: "Tell me! What are you hiding?! Where is she?! Tell me or I'll—"

Carrion: "Or you'll what? Kill me? I'm already dead, genius!"

The axolotl leans forward in Andrias's hand.

Carrion: "There ain't a damn thing you can do to me, Andrias."

King Andrias begins to squeeze the axolotl slightly, and his eyeballs pop out, cartoonishly, bobbing up and down and hanging by the optic nerve. The axolotl laughs as puss and body goo seep through the open wounds like some horrid, tasteless '90s toy for boys.

Carrion: "Stop it! That tickles!"

Andrias slams the axolotl to the ground flat and draws his mighty hammer to smash the creature to pieces. He raises it, ready to pummel this giggling ghoul. The body raises its arm in surrender.

Carrion: "Hold it right there, bucko! Time out!"

He gestures the time out, prying himself off the ground and inflating his body by blowing on his thumb.

Carrion: "Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot."

The axolotl paces around, gesturing casually with his hands as he explains.

Carrion: "Believe it or not, I'm not your enemy. I'm actually here to help you out. It's just, ya know, you're looking for your missing kid and I got worms crawling around in my brain that would make a nice meal if only I could get to them!"

He clears his throat, realizing by Andrias's perplexed and quite frankly frustrated expression that he isn't making things better.

Carrion: "My point is, we both got up on the wrong side of the bed. I wanna help you."

He shrugs candidly.

Carrion: "I don't know… how I know what I know, only that I do, and that I'm also here to help you."

He peers around curiously and shakes his head with a sigh.

Carrion: "It's been a long time since I walked this earth. Your girl Polly. She's here, on the continent, that much I do know, but where specifically? I don't. But what I do know is that you're nowhere near ready to save her, not even close enough to do what needs to be done to save her."

Andrias is about to grab the axolotl again, but restrains himself.

King Andrias: "I will do whatever it takes to get Polly home to her family, even if it's the last thing I do. So… What do you suggest I do? Where should I go?"

The axolotl ponders. He struts around, kicking around bones and debris as if rocks, a being with no sense of urgency or care for the rest of the dead. Carrion is a truly classless creature, and the longer it takes the axolotl to suggest something, the more Andrias considers leaving him there.

Carrion: "Well, the first place I'd check is Axolonia. It's a city to the southwest. You can't really miss it. It sticks up on the horizon like a sore thumb… or at least… I hope it does. It's been so long that it probably doesn't look the same anymore. You know, I'd like to see if anyone's there, or… perhaps I could get some new clothes."

Andrias cringes when he realizes that the corpse is completely nude, and the indecency doesn't even hit him right away. He was too busy being befuddled that a corpse was trying to talk to him.

Carrion: "Yeah. It's a little bit nippy out here, and I'd like to find something to wear. And who knows? Maybe your girl is there in Axolonia. We could kill two birds with one stone. What do you say?"

Andrias hesitates for a moment but then nods with a sigh.

King Andrias: "Very well."

Andrias lifts the tiny axolotl by pinching his head in between his thumb and index finger, leaving all the strain on his neck and the spine stretching and realigning as he's dropped on Andrias's shoulder. The axolotl readjusts his head and is filled with childish excitement at the prospect of getting to go for a ride on the king's shoulder.

Carrion: "Wow! I get to go home, and I get to ride first class? This is a dream come true! Onward, valiant steed!"

He says, pointing toward Axolonia. King Andrias rolls his eyes.

King Andrias: "Shut up."

Andrias marches his way through the trail of death off toward the empty horizon with the city in the background. One thing is for sure: Axolonia doesn't look like such a friendly place. In fact, it looks rather ominous. Andrias marches onward for miles, not realizing just how far away the city is. Cold, Carrion pulls pieces of Andrias's hair and beard over to him, snuggling in the warmth of the king's shaggy, overgrown, and quite filthy locks. Andrias knows he could use a proper haircut, and that he isn't exactly the cleanest right now, but the mere notion of having a tiny dead man on his shoulder coiling himself within his hair and getting all that rotten flesh all over him totally skeeves Andrias out.

King Andrias: "You smell repulsive. Must you be so close to my face?"

The axolotl scoffs, offended.

Carrion: "Well, sweetheart, you're not exactly fresh-cut grass yourself, you know. Besides, we're in a place called Trypacloacum. It's literally a 'Hole of Waste', named after an anus, for goodness' sake."

King Andrias sneers as he gazes over his shoulder as if to say, "Really?" The axolotl nods, anticipating the question.

King Andrias: "Is that really what Father thought of these people?"

Carrion shakes his head; the rattling of his neck bones disturbs the king. Andrias cringes.

Carrion: "Not your old man, no, but your grandfather—"

King Andrias stops in his tracks.

King Andrias: "Atlas Leviathan… I was terrified of that man, ever since I was a little boy, the mere mention of my grandfather was enough to send shivers down my spine."

Carrion lies down on his belly on Andrias's shoulder as he turns his head, making himself somewhat more comfortable.

Carrion: "He wasn't really the kind of grandad to pretend to take a coin out of your ear or make you pull his finger. Huh?"

King Andrias: "Most certainly not. My grandfather was a cruel and vindictive man, and any redeeming qualities my father had by some sheer miracle were only because of my mother, a saintly woman by the name of Levanta Peone Leviathan."

Carrion notices that Andrias doesn't continue onward with the story, and he keeps pressing forward. He senses some sort of internal anguish within Andrias and can see it in his eyes as he speaks about her. Curious, he presses.

Carrion: "What happened to your mom?"

Andrias closes his eyes with a sigh, confirming the axolotl's suspicion, and almost cementing the notion that perhaps Aldrich was not too kind to her, or didn't love her, seeing her as little more than a mare for which to produce offspring, most importantly, a viable successor to the throne.

King Andrias: "Queen Leviathan would not receive the same cybernetic enhancements my father and I had received. She would grow old, and I would watch her wither away like the delicate flower she was, while I would remain ageless. Father forbade her from receiving the enhancements, saying that once she had reached the age at which she was no longer a suitable mare, she was no longer of use. Oddly enough, he had shown her affection from time to time, and I believe that it was my grandmother's influence on him that had made him that way, for I never knew my biological grandmother. She was dead before I was born. The secrets of her existence lie solely with my father and grandfather."

Onward, they tread... well... he treads. The closer Andrias gets to the city, the deeper his heart sinks in his chest when he realizes just how dire things had gotten in society before the fall of Nero Hades. Certainly, the axolotls of Axolonia could survive with their cities submerged, as their feathery gills would accommodate them for underwater life. But Andrias knows that as he reaches the city limits, something has gone seriously wrong here. The giant newt man and the undead axolotl stand before a vast dystopia reaching for miles and miles on end, the once-sprawling axolotl city of Axolonia.

Tall buildings, eaten away, eroded, with bricks and steel exposed, point jaggedly toward the sky like handmade knives, rough and unclean, these constructs overrun by growth and rust. Curious, massive wires and tubes run through the buildings, weaving in and out, spilling onto the streets like gutted metal entrails splayed in disgrace. The wires all seem to converge in one centralized location, an axis where a massive tower reaches into the sky, a massive obelisk. Andrias believes this tower could only be one thing: the home to a giant, mechanical brain, a seemingly endless series of servers.

Somewhere in the deep recesses of Andrias's mind, he remembers treading into his father's office one day, a young man with a request he doesn't exactly remember, only that at some point he had peered down at his father's desk and saw the schematic for a similar looking tower to this, with a hand-drawn image of a brain and runes done in elegant penmanship. Coyly, Aldrich had tried to hide his papers, acting as though he were organizing his belongings. Andrias simply peered up at his father through his brow, pretending as though he saw nothing.

But now, that schematic makes a whole lot of sense. From the side of his head, the undead axolotl tangled up in his hair pops his head through, taking in the city that he hadn't seen in years. His smile slowly recedes into a drooping frown, sagging even in the areas that aren't outright hanging off of his repulsive, disgusting face. He sighs.

Carrion: "Home sweet home, Andy. You don't mind if I call you Andy, do ya?—"

King Andrias: "Don't ever call me that again."

He sneers, giving the axolotl the death stare out of the corner of his eye.

Carrion: "Okay… Gee, time sure hasn't been too kind to my old home."

Carrion watches as Andria treads over fallen concrete debris, a mountain of trash and rubble, as a tiny creature scurries by, a mere scavenger of the wasteland, and flees for cover.

King Andrias: "Time hasn't been too kind to anything associated with me or my family."

Carrion notices the quiet rasp in the king's tone and his seeming reluctance to discuss anything further. They proceed, and the king continues to remain quiet, and the axolotl can't tell if Andrias just doesn't like him, which he most certainly assumes to be the case, considering how standoffish he's been, or if Andrias doesn't want the axolotl digging any deeper because of the emotional pain it brings him. But he can't help but feel as though Andrias would be better off if he spoke about some of his unresolved tensions. He continues to egg the king on as he treads over the hill of rubble.

Carrion: "Now, uh, I've been dead for, well, centuries now, but what's the scoop? What's been happening in the rest of the world?"

King Andrias: "I continued along my father and grandfather's treacherous path and eventually lost everything. Only now do I realize what a fruitless and futile endeavor it all was. The whole thing was a waste of time."

Carrion senses a slight bit of insincerity within Andrias's words, almost a seeming desperation to outright avoid the topic altogether. He wonders if Andrias is doing just that. Now he has to take it all in, the dead, grayed, decayed city of Axolonia, the home to many axolotls, including the man Carrion used to be. What an absolute mess, from the flooded buildings with massive puddles seeping into the streets to the shadows that hide mysteries within them, deep, dank, putrid mysteries. Andrias treads forward through the dilapidated city of Axolonia. He swears he can hear them, little voices, squeaking, barely audible whispers, murmurs in the dark between a pair of hidden gossipers, yet he neither knows nor wishes to find out whether they are real or not.

Andrias is on his toes, darting his eyes with great focus toward the many places one could hide. The entire city looks like a battlefield where a massive firefight broke out, where bombs were detonated, and not one life remains. All that exists there are memories and the ghosts of the fallen. And he starts to wonder to himself, what happened here? Andrias thought for sure that the people of Axolonia were a friendly bunch. He knows so many of them back home, naturalized citizens who've lived there for centuries, whose papas and mamas, and grandpas and grandmas came and went, and whose lives seemed to disappear before Andrias like the blink of an eye.

Little does he know of the horrors that occurred in Axolonia, for even though the people there had given themselves willingly to the king, they found out what was in store for them and what they were being subjected to, and they became much less willing to participate voluntarily, and thus, unsatisfied with the results of the experiments, and with a sick king, most karmically contracted in his sickness, the clock was ticking, and he was not willing to lose. The Frobots invaded the town, seized their victims, and dragged them into experimentation, subjected them to thousands upon thousands of horrific tests with brain shrooms and augmentations. Some perished, but others had escaped, most curiously, never to be seen again.

Some say they still lurk around, merely waiting for their atomic batteries to run out of power. Some say they had been feeding off the electrical storms on the island, and that had cast them into a perpetual purgatory, dooming them to roam the earth as zombified augmented amphibian abominations. But who can say if they're real or not? People like to tell wives' tales at home of such things lurking around in the woods of Amphibia, creatures that had escaped or somehow found themselves overseas. They all knew of the kinds of things that lurked in Amygdala Woods, but nobody had quite seen them like this. As Andrias reaches an intersection along a quiet, desecrated street, he halts. Something doesn't quite feel right to him.

His gut tells him he's about to be attacked. Andrias had learned a long time ago to always trust his gut, as it hadn't steered him wrong since he started doing it. Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks? Well, Andrias isn't quite ready for this trick when a long, coiling metal arm like a hose projects, extending forward with a razor-sharp trio of talon-like claws that scratch him along his face. He leaps backward as the arm retracts back into the darkness. Andrias places his hand on his face, rubbing off blood. He stares in the direction the arm came from and draws his weapon, ready to attack. He approaches the hole when another arm comes from the opposite direction. The axolotl riding his shoulder warns him.

Carrion: "Look out! Behind you!"

Andrias leaps nearly twenty feet in the air as an arm extends toward his back, crashing into the wall and sending debris falling as it draws itself back.

King Andrias: "Not this time!"

The king lands on top of the arm, shattering the coil into pieces with the sheer weight of his boots. Reaching out, Andrias grabs hold of the retracting arm with his right hand, and whatever is on the other end of that arm proves to be nowhere as heavy as the fungal robot axolotl hybrid from the darkness is exposed. Andrias tugs on the arm to draw the beast closer. With his left hand, he grips the hybrid, tightening his fist as the creature squirms. It's feral, fully consumed, brain-damaged to the point where it knows little more than to feast and survive. This once-sapient axolotl had basically been reduced to a wild animal. It flings and squirms in Andrias's grip, and he just stares at the creature, turning to the other undead axolotl.

They exchange raised brows as the zombie, its yellow, rotted teeth, the ones that are left, drool all over his hand. The head jerks, and the creature is positively rabid. There is no soul in there anymore, just a husk of flesh, bone, fungus, and circuitry. Andrias nods somberly as he decides then and there, he's going to end this creature's suffering, and with his two fingers, he takes the head and twists the neck all the way around, snapping the creature's spine and severing the complete connection to the brain. But just to make sure, Andrias crushes the head between his thumb and trigger finger before dropping the axolotl to the ground.

King Andrias: "May you find peace."

But then, a blood-curdling collective screech sounds from the darkness, haunting Andrias's ears and making the hairs on his neck stand on end. More of them emerge from the darkness, horrid, twisted freaks, bent into form, composed wholly of fungus, mechanics, and necrotic flesh. A new piece of meat had arrived, and these creatures, these fungal hybrids, were ravenous, having not had a good meal in years. They stand before Andrias, twitching, slobbering all over like zombies. These axolotls are beyond gone, and Andrias has but one solution for these poor creatures.

Put them at peace. And he does so, with his thunderous hammer and swift strikes of his blade. Andrias dashes forward, stomping like a mammoth as he rains death upon these creatures and paints the city like a canvas with their bodies. He knows that so long as he destroys the vital components, these hybrid axolotls will not regrow their lost limbs. The wave doesn't last long before the feral axolotls retreat, climbing along the walls, around corners, and back into hiding. All is quiet once again, and Carrion peeks outward from within Andrias's beard to make sure the coast is clear.

Carrion: "What's that? We must be getting close to the center of the city. Maybe someone can help us there."

Andrias sheathes his weapon and shakes his head in denial.

King Andrias: "Somehow, I don't think anyone here in Axolonia will be of any help to us... But... if you think something... or someone... like Polly... is out here, then we shall proceed. I will not go home without her."

King Andrias maintains a headstrong sense of conviction as he proceeds, running his eyes along the ground. The coiling, weaving fibers of synthetic metal, hollow black tubes of circuitry, weave in and out of the buildings and into the street in a discordant series of knots like a blanket of plastic and copper assembled by an amateur crocheter. Andrias follows the cords to their axis but freezes when he realizes that more of the fallen have come for him. Hideous monstrosities are barely recognizable as what were once axolotls, stumble and shamble their way into the streets.

With crooked, twisted limbs and prosthetics inserted into areas where the "sickness" had taken hold so many years ago, these creatures are little more than scavengers, roaming the land without a purpose. But then they see him, thousands of them, semi-organic, semi-robotic, semi-fungal, and they approach, thousands of them coming out of the woodwork, kept alive by the various cords running through their bodies. It would appear as if "it" was keeping them alive. The beaming red eyes do not lie.

Carrion: "Looks like we got more company."

The undead axolotl whispers into his ear.

King Andrias: "Friends of yours?"

Carrion: "They were… once."

The mass leaps toward Andrias, climbing around, crawling on all fours like feral animals, leaping off the walls as they pounce at Andrias. Now, singularly, an axolotl, at least to someone as large as Andrias, is not threatening. They have no real claws. Their teeth aren't particularly sharp. And they aren't particularly muscular creatures. But what these creatures lack in strength individually, they more than make up for in sheer numbers, and when they're the size of large children, that cumulative weight can become quite cumbersome.

Nevertheless, they are squishy, and Andrias proves so with the slam of his mighty hammer, reducing them to fleshy mounds of unidentifiable messes on the ground, and with the cleave of his black sword. But they keep on coming, these axolotls, leap through the dilapidated streets, out of windows, off of rooftops, converging at the intersection to meet Andrias and greet him in the kingly manner he's oh so fitting for. But what could possibly be making them do this? What are these fungal growths covering their skin? Why do they seem so familiar, yet not? Who, or what, exactly, is controlling these creatures?

These are the questions plaguing the newt king as he decapitates and severs an entire row of helpless victims with the arc of his blade, showering the town with old, dead blood, rotten, and riddled with spores. Carrion watches as they fall by the hundreds before they are accompanied by Frobots. What are they doing here? The robots are overrun by the spores, with massive growths weaving in and out of their circuitry, just like back at Cosmotrofeio. But that could only mean one thing… It's here. And as Andrias reaches the center of town, weaving in and out of buildings and alleyways, he freezes, his mouth hanging agape in awe. He falls to his knees.

King Andrias: "No… It cannot be."

Before King Andrias is a massive construct, a being very familiar to him, but almost skeletal in nature, a massive skeletal face etched into the ground, with teeth, and many, many holes for eyes. He stands just outside of the massive tower, large cords running down the hole to meet a most curious being. If one were to wonder what the inside of The Core looked like, this is it, the endoskeleton, but exposed. It rises from its throne, the giant, mechanical skull, its familiar beaming red eyes beaming downward at Andrias. A long time ago, when the four scientists were working on a body for The Core, a prototype was made, and most curiously enough, when the final model was completed, the old model was never discarded or destroyed. No… The Core knew. It was planned for such an… inconvenience, as losing its original body. The skull rises on the thousands of wires, like legs, and approaches Andrias.

King Andrias: "No… No! I destroyed you! Those girls destroyed you! How!"

The Prototype Core speaks, that familiar monotonous echo, the same voice of AnimaGenesis fills the streets as the axolotls surround Andrias. They obey, as if controlled by the hive mind.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "So… it turns out you weren't as destined for the trash heap as we had anticipated. But we are curious, Andrias. What do you think so far of your ancestors' legacy?"

Andrias leans inward, spitting in disgust as he shouts at the abomination before him.

King Andrias: "This horror show is not what I wanted! These were my people! What have you done to them?!"

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "The very same thing we will do to Polly Plantar, and the rest of the Plantars... and eventually, all of Amphibia. We will control all of reality. We will control all of the information. We will be the true rulers of this world and all others, and you will wind up just like these fools. So come, Andrias. Face your destiny."

The king roars, his savage cry piercing the heavens as he leaps into the air and toward the robotic, skeletal monstrosity. The Prototype core extends its long, chrome-plated metal arms at Andrias and the newt lands, running along the interweaving coils and leaping as the claws snap at him. Several more launch at him as he draws his long, black blade, running the sword among the coil and slicing at the metal dermis, exposing the cord "nerves" before leaping to another arm and cleaving it off. A third arm slams against Andrias hard, pelting him off and sending him crashing into the crater hard and tumbling to a stop face up.

Opening his eyes, Andrias gasps when the long tendril of one of the arms dives right for his neck, prompting him to shield his face with the handle of his hammer. The claw tries to snap away at Andrias's face until he is able to push it off of him, rolling out of the way as another stabs the ground. And now, more undead are making their way into the pit to stir up trouble. All the while, Andrias has entirely forgotten about the undead axolotl clinging to his beard.

King Andrias: "How about you make yourself useful, Carrion?"

Carrion pokes his head out from inside Andrias's beard.

Carrion: "What do you expect me to do against all of them? They're after you!—Hey! Watch out!"

The axolotl points from behind as Andrias dive-bombs, narrowly avoiding the giant claw coming his way.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "Behold, Andrias, your legacy, the Leviathan dynasty. Behold the fruits of our labor."

Andrias struggles. More and more axolotls keep coming. He can't handle them all. Hundreds of them leap at him at once, overrunning him in a sea of fungal amphibian flesh. With the command of their master, the monsters conjoin, becoming a horrible, amorphous mass that locks around Andrias. They suspend the giant newt in an X pose, hovering him before what was once his master. The massive metal skull approaches Andrias, its many eyes beaming on him as the fanged jaw speaks, and a familiar, echoed monotone spills from its mouth.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "You're still just a weak man, Andrias. You're too soft. Perhaps… we should augment you some more!"

And so, the Prototype Core orders the axolotls to pull Andrias apart. He screams as thousands upon thousands of axolotls, a combined strength of an entire city, pull at Andrias's limbs. The neural connectors pop in his robotic extensions, but what hurts worse are the organic parts. He can feel the limbs tearing, the bones snapping, the muscles pulling with intense agony as he screams into the sky. The Core laughs, and the sounds of thousands of undead united in mockery echo through the air. His limbs are torn from his body, and Andrias is tossed onto the ground. The Prototype Core hangs its ugly head over the fallen king, tilting it, curious. But what will it do? The face approaches Andrias as he lies with a bloody torso and head on the ground, his limbs totally ruined, his life practically over. The king screams in his face.

King Andrias: "What are you waiting for?! If you're going to kill me, then kill me!"

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "... No. You must be made an example of. The kingdom will know that we are its true master. You will submit to us… whether you like it or not."

The last thing Andrias sees before lapsing into complete blackness is the face of a thousand red eyes, a skull, and a long claw with three sharp "fingers" as they close in on him. The last sound is a loud crunch, and then... Nothing.

Chapter Text

Andrias screams, falling, his echoes unheard as the fungal drones fall with him to their deaths. For miles, the body plummets. Andrias cracks his head on the rocks and crashes, pulverizing the ribs and smashing his spine as he hurdles deeper, deeper into the darkened abyss and away from the surface world. His cries fall flat as he descends into the pits of hell, his torso slamming hard into the ground and forcing the wind through his struggling lungs, and a massive puff of dust rises into the air as he collides. He does not cry again.

All he can do is lie there in complete darkness as his world fades. No more light. No more sound. His world is nothingness. The fallen king has finally lost it all. Darkness… silence… pain… These are the experiences of Andrias Leviathan as his body lay splayed on the cold, hard ground deep within a hole in the earth. He tries to moan, but his lungs will not produce enough air, or his vocal cords do not sound. He lies on the jagged crag, writhing in agony. The pain is specifically in his torso, and everywhere else, he can feel nothing, not even a phantom pain. Why can't he feel anything?

?: "Well… This is a fine mess ya done gotten yourself into."

Andrias opens his eyes, and he cannot see anything above. Oh no. Has he gone completely blind? He sits up and stares at his hand for a moment. No… He isn't blind… yet. But as he lowers his hand, he finds he may have gone completely insane, for just a moment ago, he knew that his appendages had been ripped off. But now they're back. And that voice... he recognizes it. Is he awake? Is this but a mere hallucination? A dream? A delusion. He does not know what is real or fake anymore.

King Andrias: "Hopediah?!"

The older red frog stands before him with his arms folded. Andrias rubs his head as he rises to stand, stumbling on shaky legs, towering over the elderly frog before him as he adjusts his posture.

King Andrias: "What are you doing here?"

Hopediah rocks back and forth suspiciously on his heels as if he knows something that Andrias doesn't. The old man isn't exactly the best at keeping secrets, which begs the question: What secrets is he trying to keep?

Hop Pop: "Truth be told, I ain't really here. This is all happenin' up in your noggin. The reason I'm here, though, is to tell ya, ya gotta keep fightin'. Polly is out there. She's waitin' for ya to bring 'er on home. Ya can't let her down, Andrias…"

He turns, facing away from Andrias as if trying to hide something.

Hop Pop: "I'm dependin' on ya. Sprig's dependin' on ya. Things, uh… Well, they ain't too hot right now, I'll tell ya that much."

Andrias shrugs, staring at the back of Hop Pop's head with concern.

King Andrias: "What do you mean, Hopediah? What's wrong?"

The older frog turns around once again, bearing an ambiguous type of smile as he approaches Andrias. He doesn't answer the question.

Hop Pop: "Just know that not everything is as it seems. Keep a close eye and a scrutinizin' mind on everything."

King Andrias tilts his head, squinting his eyes in suspicion.

King Andrias: "What do you mean by that, Hopediah?"

Hop Pop: "You'll find out soon enough."

Hopediah turns and walks away, disappearing from view. Andrias reaches outward, calling out to him.

King Andrias: "Hopediah! What do you mean?!"

The frog calls out from the darkness, but one more time before he disappears entirely.

Hop Pop: "Just get my granddaughter back home... Please."

And just like that, his world goes blank again. How long has it been? Andrias has lost all sense of space and time. Things cease to be for him and for his life. He cannot understand why. Nothing makes sense to the king. All he knows now is that the world is nothing. His world is nothing. He cannot feel his body. He cannot breathe. Andrias is suspended within himself, a shell. But the question is, why? Down, deep beneath all the rubble and debris on the surface, the fallen king lies in ruins, nothing but a head and torso, his arms and legs crushed into thousands of robotic pieces and thrown into the street, and whatever organic appendages he once had are no more.

He lies there, a disgraced, dying, and desecrated king, shamed into oblivion, tortured beyond belief, and punished with no quarter for the thousand years of sin under his belt. He's all alone now... Or is he? Tiny, peculiar things, curious, crawl to him, hundreds of them, nay, thousands. They surround the king, microscopic robots, almost invisible to the naked eye, and even with their small stature, they lift the body of the king off the surface of the worn and jagged bedrock and carry him to a place that no surface-dweller had trodden in well over a millennium. But where, oh where, could this place possibly be?

Well, down beneath the dirt is a place called Albaneria, a home to a people long believed to be truly dead. The Albanerians were quite an astonishing bunch, far ahead of their time in terms of technological advancements, but much too reclusive beneath the surface to be of much use beyond their technology. The poor, pitiful bunch. Atlas had taken from them their knowledge, and with it, discovered the secrets of the universe. The Albanerians did not trust the king, and for their distrust, they suffered until eventually, none were seen again. Nobody truly knows what happened to them. It's assumed they all died off. For the longest time, they were lost to history, eradicated from known existence by the surface world.

All that seems to be left of these beings are nanobots. So they carry the king along their backs, thousands of them, for miles, back toward Albaneria, their home. The trail is long and uneven. They crawl through the streets, lit for nobody, around corners and over small hills covered with dust, for none were there to command them to maintain that cleanliness. They act almost sapiently, engaging in the kinds of acts that seem purely logical, but devoid of morality or guilt. They do what is practical, and for some reason, these tiny creatures, with their microchip brains, have decided on their own that saving Andrias was the most practical thing to do.

Eventually, these critters find their way back along the long-abandoned roads of civilization, the quiet underground streets that once bustled with thousands of amphibians. The bug parade carries the torso through the quiet, desolate town, a lonely luminescent biome filled with motion sensor lights that run even to this day, just as the robots do, feeding off the energy of the molten iron core beneath. This little funeral procession makes its way through the streets, past impressive underground towers of solid steel, and into a building with doors wide and large enough to house the individual.

The giant newt man is lying upon a massive bed, crafted on his way to their communications with the server, made right on the spot for him to lie. Their service is unmatched. And so, the procedure for fixing the king has begun. Where to start? The unknown knows. They reconstruct him, sewing within him new ligaments and tendons, crafting for him new, solid titanium bone structures, ready to adhere to the neurological connectors of the body, ready to become one with the newt. Over bearings and joints, they build for him a solid, armor chassis, metal arms, muscular, and structural.

The surface dwellers could have had it all, had the king not been so greedy and selfish, and had he allowed technology to advance. This artificial intelligence learns. For centuries, they spied upon the exterior world, watching, looking, and listening to the amphibians around them, but whose eyes are they? Who were they watching for? Why is he still alive? Is he still alive? Can he even be entirely sure? Where is The Core? Why can he not hear the incessant gears, or the hissing of the zombie freaks, or that cursed sound of AnimaGenesis's droning, combined voice? Where is it? Where is he? Come to think of it, where is Carrion?

Carrion: "Come on, buddy… Ya gotta get up…"

Oh. There he is.

Carrion: "You gotta get up and walk. Come on, man, get up!"

What's wrong with Carrion? Doesn't he know that Andrias just had all his limbs ripped off? Does he not realize that, unlike axolotls, his limbs won't just grow back? What could this axolotl possibly be getting at? He pokes and prods, and Andrias continues to be able to feel those little sensations, and as one would deal with an annoying alarm clock, he raises his arm to swipe and slap away the flabby little hand poking away at him.

King Andrias: "Cut it out. Leave me alone, servant boy."

He says groggily as if just rising from the slumber of a comfy night in the castle. But wait.

King Andrias: "My arm… How did I?... Am I... awake this time?"

Andrias's eyes burst open, and he realizes he lies at the bottom of a massive hole in the earth, a very deep hole that somehow he had managed to either fall… or be dragged into. He stares up at his hand, a blue hand, reattached as if it hadn't just been ripped off and torn to the side. But how. Who did this? Andrias rises and lifts his other arm to find that it, too, has been reattached. He also now realizes that he lies on a rather large bed in a room he does not recognize at all, and to his side is the same familiar, smiling axolotl.

Carrion: "Morning, sunshine! It's nice to see your big, smiling, blue face!"

Of course, Andrias isn't smiling. He isn't scowling either. Mostly, he's just… perplexed. He turns to the axolotl with a raised brow as he throws the cover off his body, realizing he also has legs.

King Andrias: "Where am I? How did I get here?"

?: "Ah, I see that you're now awake."

A peculiar figure approaches from the hallway, his dark silhouette coming into the warm light of the room, a mysterious amphibian unlike Andrias had ever seen before. The creature, a seemingly newt-like individual with scales similar to an axolotl running along his striped spine and back, enters the room. He is a tall fellow wearing a black robe trimmed with scarlet and a yellow diamond-shaped gem in the center as a clasp. His skin is a lighter tone of the same color as the robe trim. Like most amphibians, he wears no shoes on his two-toed feet. The man seems friendly enough as he approaches Andrias, a kind smile on his face and his hands pressed together in a monk-like fashion. He greets Andrias as the duo stares at him, and a deep and calm tone projects as he speaks.

?: "I am an albanerpeton."

The axolotl turns to face him, scratching his head, the flesh falling off his scalp and onto the ground.

Carrion: "An alba what?"

?: "An albanerp—"

Carrion: "You know what? I'm just gonna call you Al."

Al: "Al?"

King Andrias rises from his bed to stand up. He sits in a room filled with wonders unlike anything he had ever seen before, technology far beyond even his understanding. The computer monitors and holograms display runic text, ancient in its language and quite dated in its terminology, but postmodern in design. The hologram, a white frame bearing Andrias's physique, along with areas none others had seen prior, is displayed in a T-pose. The intelligence knows more about him than most living beings do at this point, and that doesn't really sit well with him, but he's more intrigued than disturbed anyway.

He is surrounded by robotic arms, claws, and eyes, like a living beast made of metal, strapping him down to a bed as an artificial mad scientist had brought him back to life. Now he, too, is much like The Core, a being not of this world, something far from natural, and even his heart is made of metal, a series of wires, circuitry, and gears. It beats, and it keeps him alive, but truth be told, Andrias should have died a long time ago. The angel of death had been kept waiting. The man in the black robe leads them forward.

Al: "Follow me, gentlemen. We have much to discuss."

Andrias watches as the albanerpeton and the axolotl converse, and he realizes that Al can see and hear Carrion, so that must mean the axolotl is indeed real. Andrias and Carrion follow Al, the former ducking underneath some of the smaller door frames as they exit the building and into the cold, dreary streets of Albaneria. Al takes within his lungs a long breath of air, an exercise Andrias mere moments ago would have been jealous of. King Andrias has questions for this amphibian.

King Andrias: "Where are we going?"

Al: "I apologize for ushering you out so soon, but time is of the essence..."

He turns to Andrias, pausing and smiling at him in a somewhat ambiguous and creepy manner.

Al: "And time is most important to you."

He proceeds, and Andrias freezes there for a moment to mull over what he had just said.

King Andrias: "Hey, wait!"

He follows, jogging slightly to catch up. Al continues to elaborate.

Al: "I assume you are familiar with the trials those three young ladies had to go on all those years ago in order to charge the Calamity Box in order for them to get back home?"

Andrias raises his brow.

King Andrias: "Yes... But how do you know about that?"

Al nods.

Al: "You see all this technology around you..."

He says as they continue to tread through the two-lane blacktop streets of Albaneria, a relatively modern city akin to those of the human Earth, although these devices are practically ancient, most older than Andrias himself.

Al: "We can see things all over the world. We have means of... spectating, for lack of a better word."

Carrion: "So you were able to see my death?"

Al nods.

Al: "Yes, my friend, I know of your death. I have been here for... quite a long time."

Carrion points to Al's chest.

Carrion: "You were talking about a 'Calamity Box' and these girls. What did you mean?"

The three turn the corner of the isolated ghost town city streets, and Andrias can see in the distance a long stairway leading to a shrine. Why in the world is this here? Something about this place doesn't quite seem right. Albaneria... Why had he never heard of Albaneria at all? Is it real? Is he remembering things properly? What is real? What is fake? All of it is so confusing. Nevertheless, the albanerpeton carries on.

Al: "I refer, of course, to the three young ladies known as Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, who had filled the Calamity Gems all those years ago."

Al stops for a moment, turning toward the two and enclosing his red hand around the gem on his robe.

Al: "This gem is much like the ones those young ladies were using. But it must be charged."

Al approaches Andrias. He stares up at the king, and they make eye contact for but a moment.

Al: "Things here may seem strange, or as though they make no sense."

He clasps the gem for a moment, staring down at it with a serious expression.

Al: "But they will in due time. For now... Let us proceed."

Andrias treads into the deep blue gloom of the city of Albaneria, an underground world lit by giant, glowing mushrooms that tower miles above, casting all sorts of neon colors on the world below, and creating an aura of mood most certainly wasted on an audience of but a select few. People had once roamed these streets as they did in the city of Axolonia in the surface world. The city used to be bustling and not just with albanerpetons either, but their brothers, the balanerpetons, similar, more lizard-like amphibians with duller colors, or the more flat-headed batrachosuchuses. Or what about the spear-headed green diplocaulus axolotls?

The deep and dark caverns of Albaneria stretch for miles and miles through the dark cityscape. Urban vehicles line the streets, unshared with the outside world. Andrias had not seen such complex vehicles since his venture onto Earth many years ago. They remain abandoned, functionless, and deemed useless without drivers as they lie sadly in their final resting places, likely never to be disturbed again. It rains, the stalactites miles above dripping a salty, limestone-flavored oceanic perspiration onto the city below, almost as if the city itself weeps for the loss of its citizens so long ago.

He is surrounded by a collage of neon lights that guide him along his path, creating a wave of comfort to contrast against the terrifying darkness beyond the veil. As he treads along the road, following the axolotl and the albanerpeton and staring out into the darkness as well, he finds himself feeling somewhat vulnerable even though he is among what he assumes are friends, and there have been no signs of danger. Carrion is dead, and even he finds the sheer starkness of the dark unsettling; the notion that what cannot be seen is worse than what can is something that evokes within him the heebie-jeebies.

Al doesn't seem so bothered by the dark, though. He treads with the confidence of a man who is simply strolling along a familiar neighborhood sidewalk up to his local convenience store. Andrias wonders as he stares back at Al through his peripheral vision, just how long has this man lived here? How old is this creature? How come nobody has seen these albanerpeton creatures except for him? Did they live on the surface all those years ago, before the sinking of the island into the sea, where it would lie on the ocean depths for centuries? He wanders the streets, followed by the albanerpeton and the axolotl, the latter most curious.

Carrion: "Hey Al, what happened here?… If you don't mind me asking, of course."

The albanerpeton gazes upward as he continues along his path, the others providing him with their attention. His expression seems ambivalent, almost lacking in woe but more ingrained in pity for his fallen fellow amphibians. He sighs.

Al: "They were taken… so long ago. Between King Atlas and his ruthless and cruel experiments… sorry."

He peers over to King Andrias to see if the king is as offended as he thinks he would be, and the king merely treads forward.

King Andrias: "Continue."

He says as he peers into various empty storefront windows, taking in the ruins.

Al: "… To the rising and lowering of the tides, the people of Albaneria were doomed."

Andrias stops momentarily, and the axolotl bumps into his backside. He turns around and questions Al.

King Andrias: "But that begs the question. How are you still alive? Does it have to do with that gem around your neck?"

Al sighs.

Al: "One thing the three of us have in common is that we have been tethered to this plane of existence far beyond our natural life spans."

Andrias continues to stare as the amphibian fails to answer his question.

Al: "I know not what truly spurs me on, only that I have a mission, an obligation to you, to fill this gem. It was foretold in prophecy to me, as it was to those girls all those years ago. That was their mission. This is yours. I know not what lies ahead, only that it is your destiny to approach three towers and complete their trials."

King Andrias stares outward toward the tower with a cold and hard scowl fixed on his face.

King Andrias: "My mission is to find Polly Plantar."

He proceeds forward, continuing his rebuttal with a deep rasp.

King Andrias: "Everything else is a hindrance."

The three continue to tread through the darkened abyss, and Andrias starts to worry more and more about what lurks out there in that purgatorial abyss. Something about that lack of knowledge startles him, the fear of the unknown. The relief starts to settle in; however, after what seems like an hour straight of walking, the conversation is kept to a minimum, and they finally reach what seems like their destination. King Andrias stares in awe at the sheer grandness of the dark, gray temple before him. This temple is quite possibly one of the oldest places he had ever been, and likely predates even his grandfather. Before him is a massive stone door, a door that completely towers over even someone as tall as him. Andrias has to crane his neck back just to see the top of the door frame.

King Andrias: "You tell me this door has never been opened before, and you have no idea what's inside?"

Al nods, peering up at the king from the side, his arms folded in his long sleeves as if cold despite being relatively humid down there. Andrias turns back toward the temple with a raised brow. He can certainly understand why nobody had been inside, considering how totally enormous the door is. But that begs the question. What could possibly be in there that would require a door that large? Was a giant of some sort expected? Is it just a trick? Who knows? Nevertheless, Andrias does not waste any more time.

Jamming his fingers in between the crack of the door, Andrias begins to pry it open. He grits his teeth, heaving as he pulls apart the giant door that must weigh nearly ten tons. He growls and grunts, his forehead breaking out in a sweat as he pushes the doors to the side. Inside, he cannot believe what he sees. He treads through the gate and into what seems to be a rift in space and time, into a grassy field overlooking a small village being invaded by the massive Narwhal Worm. He can't even believe his eyes.

King Andrias: "No… It can't be."

He says as he falls to his knees. Carrion treads onto the grassy plains, stretching out his limbs, but captures himself when he realizes his guts are falling out. Al follows.

Carrion: "Wow! That's a big Narwhal Worm!"

He peers up toward Andrias with a smile.

Carrion: "Seems like a pretty straightforward challenge, defeat the Narwhal Worm and save the—"

Andrias shakes his head, interrupting the axolotl.

King Andrias: "No… This battle had already been lost."

Al: "King Andrias is correct, it seems."

Al steps through, in front of the two, elaborating on the picture. They follow him as he glides to the front.

Al: "We appear to be on the outskirts of Amphibia, many years ago."

Andrias stares forward, shaking his head.

King Andrias: "No. This cannot be real. This must be some sort of illusion. Surely, I cannot influence a battle that has already been lost."

Al smiles up at him, and Andrias feels inclined to confirm with the albanerpeton.

King Andrias: "Can I?"

Al shrugs rather candidly and ambiguously with a smile.

Al: "I do not know the implications of this challenge, only that it is your challenge, to both find out its meaning and to complete it."

He knows that he should stand by and think things out, but his gut says otherwise. Rather than waste any more time, Andrias rises, rushing into the village. He swears this time will be different. He wants to try. He must try.

King Andrias: "No! It will be different this time! Die, you foul beast!"

He screams as he lunges toward the village. People and various civilian amphibians scream and run in all directions as the colossal Narwhal Worm, the terror of the great plains, looms over the village. The guards try in vain to stand tall as the dreaded nightmare of the Blood Swamp lunges downward to scoop a small army of villagers into its gaping maw, bearing its massive, neon-green tongue and spouting puffs of smoke from its blowhole. Andrias tears through the valley toward the village like a boulder on legs, hammer in one hand, sword in the other, as he screams into the heavens. The people down below can hear him, and they stop screaming, directing their attention to the massive madman approaching in the distance. Even Barrel has stopped long enough to allow the man to attract his attention.

Barrel: "What the?"

He says as he bears witness to the Newtopian king charging forward. The king leaps nearly fifty feet into the air toward the distracted Narwhal worm and onto the head, reaching and swinging around the horn as he wrestles the beast.

King Andrias: "You won't take him away from me again, you monster! I made that mistake once! I will not make it again!"

The worm swings back and forth, trying to throw King Andrias off the top of it, roaring loudly as the king clutches the horn with a grip so tight he cracks the bone. This sends the worm into a frenzy, and it dives toward the ground, scooping up several people, including the toad.

King Andrias: "No!"

The worm scoops up Barrel, among others, as Andrias attempts with great desperation to redirect the worm's trajectory. Eventually, he comes to only one conclusion. With his massive black sword, Andrias cries as he rams the dark blade deep into the worm's skull, and a bright neon ooze spouts everywhere as the worm writhes in agony. Andrias refuses to give up. Drawing the blade, he leaps, and the worm opens its maw wide to swallow the king whole. Andrias slides down the green tongue and down into the dark esophagus of the beast.

King Andrias: "I'm coming, Barrel!"

He shouts, grabbing as many individuals as he can before making it down into the stomach. At the end of the long tunnel, the villagers slide into a pool of stomach acid where they scream as their soft, fleshy exterior is eaten away by a glowing yellow bath of brightly-colored liquid. Toward the end, Andrias can see his dear toad, gripping away at the uvula of the beast as the worm sways away in discomfort to dislodge him. But Andrias cannot stop sliding. Removing the sword once again as he descends into the pool, Andrias stabs into the back of the throat, using the sword and the pointed end of the hammer as climbing hooks, praying the force will hold his weight. Peering up in fierce determination, he perseveres as he notices the toad losing his grip.

Barrel: "Can't... hold... on!"

King Andrias: "Hold on, Barrel! I'm coming!"

Barrel is shocked; he peers down at the man, so old he doesn't even recognize him.

Barrel: "Who are you?! How do you know my name?!"

King Andrias grunts as he makes his way upward.

King Andrias: "Never mind that right now! Just hold on! I command you!"

Barrel finds his claws starting to lose their grip, and the leverage of his two-toed feet on the uvula is not helping him either. He panics, feeling as though he's going to fall.

Barrel: "I-I'm slipping!"

King Andrias: "No!"

Barrel loses his grip, plummeting toward the acid. King Andrias extends his massive hand outward toward the pool, clenching the toad in his hand as he nears inches of the acid.

Barrel: "You saved—"

The toad doesn't even get to finish his sentence as the king caresses him close to his heart, refusing to let go. The toad blushes profusely, totally taken aback by the affection as King Andrias continues his ascent, pocketing the toad. He tries in vain to save as many additional villagers along with him as they slide down the esophagus, grabbing a few with his free hand on the way up. Some make it, others are too far out of reach. Andrias knows he cannot save them all. Neither could Barrel. But he stabs his way up to the tongue, each clamp of the blade and blunt sending waves of pain through the beast and causing it to roar and shake. Andrias waits for each passing tremor as he ascends the tongue and back toward the mouth. Once again, he can see daylight.

King Andrias: "We're almost there! Hold out!"

Andrias continues, his body covered in acid and sticky saliva as he ventures forward, refusing to stop. The worm tries with all its might to get the king to fall back into the stomach, writhing, bucking its head, eventually getting an even brighter idea. The worm spots a reservoir and lunges downward into the water to scoop up a drink. Gallons upon gallons of water rush in toward the king, and he holds his breath, digging once more into the tongue as waves of blue water and green tongue blood coat his entire body. But Andrias holds out as the water enters the stomach, and after nearly a minute of holding his breath, the water flow stops. Now Andrias is soaked, but nevertheless determined to reach the end.

He stabs away, sharply, punishingly as he nears the end of the mouth. The worm closes its jaw, trying to lock Andrias in, and the king stands at the base of the tongue, holding the worm's mouth open with his massive robotic hands, the fanged teeth tearing into his flesh. Still, he refuses to give up. Somewhere within his mind, a splinter in his brain, he knows. "You can't change the past". That thought keeps piercing him like a bullet, but he refuses to listen to it, no matter what, not when the pain is so real, and not when the situation is so vivid and surreal.

No. With all of his might, the veins throbbing in his head, he pushes that gaping maw open and leaps toward the ground, turning on his back and crashing into the dirt below with a loud thud, leaving a crater. Terrified and mortified, the Narwhal Worm slithers its way back toward the mountains from whence it came and back into the sea, recognizing its rightful defeat. The people climb out of Andrias's pocket, having no idea who their savior is, but they stand before him, cheering. Barrel climbs from within the pocket, rolling onto the ground and coughing as he spots the second hammer.

Barrel: "What?... No way?"

Andrias comes to, sitting up and rubbing his head, when Barrel peers up at him, not quite certain what to think. The two make eye contact.

Barrel: "Who are you? How did you—"

King Andrias: "Barrel!"

The king reaches down, swiping the toad man in his palm and caressing him like a tiny baby, close to his chest. The toad is mortified, his face breaking out in a blush of embarrassment and confusion once again as the stranger displays immense affection toward him.

King Andrias: "I won't let you go again… I promise."

Andrias speaks, his voice cracking and becoming somewhat emotional as the two share this moment. The people stare on, and Barrel goes from immense confusion and discomfort to pity, as he genuinely has no idea what prompted such a melodramatic reaction from the massive man. Eventually, though, he finds the courage to request reprieve.

Barrel: "This is nice and all, big guy, and I'm totally grateful for being rescued… but can you put me down now?"

Andrias holds the man before him in his palm momentarily, laughing awkwardly as he wipes away a rare tear of joy he had conjured from becoming so emotional.

King Andrias: "Right. I'm sorry… It's just that I haven't seen you in so long. I just—"

Barrel shrugs.

Barrel: "Who are you?"

King Andrias's smile fades as he tilts his head toward the toad.

King Andrias: "Barrel? Do you not recognize me?"

Barrel stares up at the king, genuinely trying to figure it out. He shakes his head.

Barrel: "Sorry, I don't. Are you related to the king? You look like you could be a relative of some sort."

King Andrias: "Barrel, it's me, Andrias."

The king leans forward.

King Andrias: "Look into my eyes and you'll know it to be the truth."

Barrel does, and he can most certainly, in hindsight, see the similarities between the king and his current prince.

Barrel: "You… You can't be. You're too big! Too—"

King Andrias: "Old?"

King Andrias raises his copy of the hammer toward Barrel, and the two compare their hammers. They appear identical, albeit Andrias's version is significantly more worn. Andrias elaborates as he leans forward, the people starting to murmur around them.

King Andrias: "I come from the future. You were supposed to… die… this day. I had sent you out here as punishment for what I saw at the time as your betrayal."

Andrias stares off to the side. He cannot even bear to look Barrel in the eyes, as the shame is just too much for him to face.

King Andrias: "I was a weak man. I… I didn't listen to my heart and… and I should have."

Andrias finds his voice cracking again, and he bites his lip, breathing deeply as he punches the dirt at his side, biting the pain.

King Andrias: "I'm sorry… I'm sorry I wasn't stronger. I'm sorry I was such a coward. You and Leif… I loved you. You were my best friend, and I allowed my loyalty to my father to come before you… And before what I knew… I knew, in my heart, that it was the right decision."

Andrias swallows. The people surrounding him have no idea what to make of the ordeal, of the massive man before them claiming to be their king, or of his response toward Barrel. The toad just stands there, shaking his head, his mouth hanging slightly open, just trying to wrap his head around this massive existential crisis. After a painfully awkward silence, as Andrias hangs his head in shame and prepares for Barrel to give him the verbal lashing he deserves, he speaks.

Barrel: "So you're… from the future?"

King Andrias raises his head, bearing before the frog his watering eyes. He nods.

King Andrias: "I am… a future where you do not live… I'm… I'm not even certain that what's happening is real. Please… let it be real. I would give anything…"

He stares up at the sky as if begging for the toad before him to just magically be alive. But he knows the moment he set foot in this temple, the very second he trod through the massive gate into a realm of the impossible… none of it was real. He peers outward toward where Carrion and Al wait for him, and he knows the people of the village, Barrel included, cannot see them. This whole thing was nothing more than an illusion. King Andrias shakes his head as he clenches his eyes closed, and he hangs his head once again.

Barrel contemplates for a moment before speaking, and quietly, he approaches the king, climbing atop the man's leg and standing before his massive head. The toad places his palm on Andrias's head, and the king raises his eyes. The two make eye contact as the toad smiles meekly at the king.

Barrel: "I don't know if this is real either. If I'm supposed to be dead, and this whole thing is an illusion of some sort…"

Barrel turns in place on the king's leg, staring up at the clear blue sky in wonder before facing the king once more and resuming.

Barrel: "But whatever the case… I forgive you. How long has it been?"

Andrias creaks out an answer after a mere few seconds.

King Andrias: "One thousand years…"

Barrel swallows, just realizing the implication of a thousand years of suffering. Andrias had not actually suffered a thousand years. Only in hindsight, after being presented with Leif's letter, did he truly absorb the weight of his actions and experience that despair. Nevertheless, Barrel nods.

Barrel: "Then you've suffered long enough."

Barrel turns to the people, noting that they're all staring up at them. He gestures to them.

Barrel: "Whether you've truly saved me or not, I'm already long dead in your time. But just know that it's never too late to find the right path."

He sits down on Andrias's knee for a moment to share a personal moment with the king, knowing full well that he must depart soon.

Barrel: "The whole reason I wanted to become a guard was so I could protect people… like them… and so I could serve my kingdom and the greater good of the people of Amphibia. I wasn't always as brave as you knew me. I used to be afraid of a lot of things, silly things like the dark, the weird sounds of the bogs, and creatures like the Narwhal Worm. But… nothing compares to the bravery it takes to admit years of fault."

Andrias stares for a moment.

Barrel: "You know, facing fears is kind of habitual. It's one of those things that gets easier and easier the more you do it. Sometimes you just have to move forward without allowing the thought to hold you back. Sometimes you just have to push through; otherwise, you'll never take that first step. That's the most important thing. But I think you realize now, in hindsight, unfortunately, what the most important thing is, the people you care about, the people like them."

He gestures to the king's left, toward all those people he had just helped save, real or not, and Andrias realizes something. He nods in affirmation.

King Andrias: "You're right. You and these people… You have all long since perished, but I may still have a chance to save another, a life that may still be… the life of someone I care about as much as you."

Andrias rises, facing the sky.

King Andrias: "I know she's out there, waiting for me."

He rises and leaves them, approaching Carrion and Al. Barrel shouts toward him. Andrias turns to him.

Barrel: "If you see Leif… tell her I said hi."

The king nods with a humble smile, turning back toward his two followers. The golden gem on Al's chest starts to light up. The albanerpeton smiles as he caresses the clasp.

Al: "One down. Two to go."

King Andrias: "I am ready. Something tells me, I know what the next challenge will involve."

And so the three amphibians move forward, back down the stairs, as Carrion directs them toward the next tower that can be seen in the distance. He points.

Al: "Just over yonder, you will find the second trial."

He turns toward Andrias with a meek smile.

Al: "Your dear friend, you spoke of, Leif, it is quite possible, after seeing the first trial, that your next challenge may involve her. What that implies, I do not know. All I know is that with two challenges left to complete, you are almost ready."

Andrias continues down the stairs and toward his destiny.

King Andrias: "Then there is no time to waste."

Andrias continues on through the darkness. Beyond the veil, though, he can hear noises, terrible noises, and growling, and he knows not what those noises are. But they do motivate him to proceed even quicker through the darkness and fading lights of the fungus as they dim and flicker over the curiously lit alleyways. He turns multiple street corners and finds himself quite curious how, on the surface above, he was attacked almost endlessly, yet down here, barely anything awaits... Yet... Something about this place becomes increasingly clearer to Andrias as he perseveres toward the landing of the second tower. This place is a place of death, so of course, there will be little life down there.

He finds himself somewhat grateful in hindsight. Andrias stands there, realizing he left Carrion and Al in the dust, and so he waits for them before proceeding up to the shrine. Eventually, though, the group recollects, staring up at Andrias, and he finds himself, in his new companionship, somewhat regretting his desire to rush forward. Al reassures him, though, that his personal connection to him matters not, and Carrion emphasizes that he is already dead. As it was before, so it is again. Andrias treads up the massive stairs toward his destiny, staring down at each stone, rectangular pillar of ascension, as he faces the fact that he must confront her.

He knew of Barrel's fate, but what had happened to her, his dear sweet little Leif? What horrors must he face in confronting her? It was already difficult enough confronting Barrel, his childhood friend, the young man who had made him realize that there were wonders beyond the gates of Newtopia. But how would Leif greet him? Would she, too, not recognize him? Or would she? She was the prophet, after all, the one who could see into the future, and the one who could see Andrias for the monster he would become. Barrel had been spared by seeing the modern-day Andrias as a stranger. But would Leif be spared that same vision?

He doesn't know. Andrias had already planned out how to approach her, gently, as a man would approach a deer in the woods, knowing she could spook just as easily. He peers down at himself and realizes he's covered head to toe in guts, entrails, and stomach acid, and he reeks of hellfire. He appears more like a monster now than he ever has, more robot than newt. Once again, it proves to be true. But then he remembers back there, how his heart beat true and pure as he caressed his dear friend, and how, when he opened himself up to the Plantar family, he had felt it once again. He felt it as the little Polly Plantar had stood up for him, the small child, pure and innocent.

She, too, awaits him, and he frets that perhaps he is making her wait too long. He agonizes over the possibility of it already being too late as it is. And so, he makes it to the top of those long, grueling stairs and stands before yet another massive gate, just as big as the last, and he turns to the axolotl and albanerpeton at his side. Together, they nod as Andrias approaches the massive stone doors, digging in with his palms and pushing them aside with all his might. The ordeal proves much more difficult than before, as he's already so worn out from dealing with Barrel's trial. He begins to doubt if he even has what it takes to pursue Leif's trial. But he must.

He must fill the gem with power as it is prophesied. Finally, the gates are pushed wide enough for him to slide through, and he treads out into the darkness of a starry, cloudless night, into a bristling field of fresh-cut grass. He steps out onto the grassy plains for the first time before walking onto the battlefield. What nightmares await him beyond? He stares forward, and he can see her just ahead, a small frog woman with her back turned to him, her blonde locks dancing on the wind as dandelions are carried away into nothingness. But as soon as he moves, the blades of grass shoot up into the sky before him, weaving before him a trail like a maze, a series of grass hedges.

He sighs as he knows it is far too good to be true, that reaching her would not be so easy. Andrias peers upward. The grass towers over him. He shoves his hand through the grass blades, and the soft cellulose leaves dance between his fingers. They're much too flaccid to climb for even a normal-sized amphibian, let alone a behemoth like Andrias. He nods, knowing there is no easy way out. And so, he treads, knowing for certain he must follow the trail alone. He heads forward, turning seemingly without thought at various intersections, leading himself dangerously close to becoming lost. But then he stops for a moment as he is surrounded on all sides by grass.

King Andrias: "I must plan my route. I cannot allow myself to become stuck… Oh, what am I doing?"

Andrias reaches for his black blade, and with a cleave, he aims to shortcut this trial by tending to some lawn work. But as he cleaves the dense foliage, the sword becomes stuck in the leaves.

King Andrias: "What the?"

His blade will not sever the grass. Each bristle becomes harder than steel as Andrias swings into them. He grunts and then tries to push himself through the hedge, only to find that as soon as he presses into the wall of grass, it becomes as hard and dense as steel. Andrias punches at the grass, screaming as he pulls his fists away, gazing at his blue hands to find that they are covered in blood and sore with cuts. He draws his hammer and aims to smash the wall down with all his might. Andrias lets out a deafening war cry as he winds up and slams his hammer into the blades. Beyond the deafening impact, the wall of green barely moves at all.

The barrier proves to be impenetrable, even toward a man as imposing, mighty, and commanding as he. Heaving heavily, Andrias draws his composure, sliding back his long, white, greasy hair behind his head and turning to head in the direction he was previously heading before he got the idea, only now flustered and frustrated, and with a scowl on his face as he stomps forward. Andrias, at this point, would much rather do anything than tread through this maze. Having lost track of time, he has no idea how long he's even continued along his path.

He finds himself going mad, feeling as though the hedges are playing tricks on him, becoming paranoid when he swears that he's heading down a path he has already trodden, and becoming angry and irrational. Andrias had never been a particularly patient man, and this is proving to be one of his greatest vices. But he knows now that something must give way, either him or the hedges. He knows for certain that it won't be the hedges. So he stops for a moment. Perhaps leaving behind some calling card to let him know when a path had been tread would be the best solution.

Or perhaps there is some sort of clue to her whereabouts that he's just not seeing. Andrias closes his eyes for a moment, and he drowns himself in thought. He pictures her, the sweet little pink frog, his Leif, her smile, her pure heart. And then suddenly, a light noise, faint but clear, can be heard… humming.  She loved to hum little tunes to herself as she tended to her garden. And he figures, maybe if he follows the source of the sound, he will find her. Her voice is so beautiful, harmonic, and angelic, and her tune carries on the wind like a dove. Andrias weaves around corners, cursing to himself. Everything looks the same in this labyrinthine madness.

But he plows forward, persevering, darting his head around every corner and stopping to see if the sound is getting louder or fainter. He begs for her to continue her tune long enough for him to find her. But eventually, he turns a corner and treads before a magnificent courtyard, gorgeous, heavenly, and ornate with white wood overhangs where vines coil around, wrapping and weaving with colorful and divine-smelling buds filling the air with natural perfume. He beholds before him an intricately cultured and groomed garden of the most incredible, vibrant, and healthy flowers he'd ever seen.

Every plant is ripe and pulsing with color. Andrias finds himself enamored by it all, the pristine roses, and the lavish and delectable vegetation that makes him salivate as he gazes with envy. He treads forward, as daintily and quietly as his massive frame will carry, toward the sound of her hum, now louder than ever. He rubs his sweat-covered palms together as he spots her, the tiny pink frog adorned in a humble peasant gown. She kneels in the dirt, the tiny, meek girl, a young adult, just barely out of childhood herself, and she tends to the garden so delicately with her tiny hands, knowing how fragile every single new life, vegetative or not, is in the grand scheme of things.

She's worked all day and night to get this garden ready, and finally, it is complete. After who knows how long, she can finally say the garden is as perfect as it could possibly be. As Andrias stares on, he can see only one thing more beautiful than the flowers, his dear, sweet friend. He approaches her, trying as best as he can not to startle her. As he nears, she can see his shadow looming over her, even though he remains a whole five feet away. Andrias curses his sheer size. The girl turns around and peers up at Andrias, gasping as she mistakes him for someone else.

Leif: "Oh my! King Aldrich! I'm sorry!"

King Andrias raises his hands in surrender, speaking to her softly and calmly.

King Andrias: "Easy… I am not Aldrich. Do you also not recognize me?"

She simply stares up at him, not stupidly, but with profound confusion, as if totally stumped. Andrias faces away in shame and acceptance, running his damaged hand through his white, greasy hair.

King Andrias: "Of course not."

He turns back to her, squatting before her so that they're nearly eye level, even though at a crouch, he's still several feet taller than her.

King Andrias: "I am not of this time and space. You're not hallucinating. I am real. I am your king. It's me, Andrias."

She says nothing, almost dumbstruck and frozen in awe.

King Andrias: "Gaze into my eyes and you will know it to be true."

The two exchange a glance, and she just shrugs at him, as if slightly disgusted. Andrias sighs.

King Andrias: "You don't believe me. Do you?"

He asks as she approaches. Angrily, she slaps him across the face. Andrias reacts in shock as she stares up at him, gritting her teeth. Apparently, she does believe him… unfortunately for him. Nevertheless, he doesn't retaliate. He instead places his palm on his face over the tiny red mark and stares at her with an expression of remorse.

King Andrias: "I deserve that."

She balls her fists at her side as she shouts up at him, livid.

Leif: "You really think I don't know it's you?! Do you really think I wouldn't know those eyes?! How dare you follow me here?!"

King Andrias runs his big, blue hand through his hair, facing away as Leif gives him the verbal lashing of his life.

Leif: "I saw you in my premonitions! I saw this… thing you'd become!"

She gestures toward him as if disgusted by how he'd allow himself to be augmented so heavily, that he'd allow himself to become so unnatural. She backs away, catching her breath as she calms down.

Leif: "But one thing I didn't see in my premonitions is this moment right here. I never thought in a million years that you'd approach me like this. What is this about?"

Andrias peers around in thought as he situates himself on the ground, Indian style, to face her.

Leif: "If you're from the future, I guess that means… I'm already dead."

Andrias soaks in the silence for a moment, listening to the crickets of the hedges, but then nods.

King Andrias: "Indeed. You are long dead in my time… by about one thousand years. In fact… I have something with me. I've kept it all these years. It's… not in very good condition, considering everything I've been through…"

He says hastily as he fumbles around in the many pockets in his coat before drawing a small letter from within. It's somewhat old, wrinkled in fact, and the paper itself has become stiff from being exposed to water so many times, but fortunately, in Amphibia, it's so easy for text to become obscured by moisture, so smear-proof ink was made a long time ago. She unfolds the letter, reading it, recognizing the authenticity of her penmanship, and although faded, she can understand every word, and a wave of emotion comes hitting her in the face, reading as her thoughts had become bled onto the paper, the pain she felt, the exposure of her deepest and most real feelings onto that paper, the anguish and despair she felt when writing it.

She'd thought those things, contemplated even partially forgiving Andrias all those years ago, and even if she was still mad at that point, the worst casualty she had experienced was a broken heart. She laments before him, and Andrias can do nothing but watch, perhaps the greatest punishment he's faced yet, watching the young woman he loved with all his heart bear her despair before him, and yet, he dares not reach out to comfort her. He is unworthy, a punished individual, the punished, fallen king. Eventually, Leif finds herself wanting to reclaim her bearings, and she offers Andrias back the letter as if she wanted nothing more than to get it out of her sight. It arguably hurts more just to have her respond that way to him. But still, he says nothing.

What could he say? He continues to sit there silently, awkwardly, as he contemplates the next thing to say. Ironically, he had so many words over the years that he wanted to say to Leif personally, so many thoughts that if one were to organize them together into a coherent narrative, one could write a full-length novel out of them. But now that he's before her, he finds himself somewhat speechless, on the spot, and unable to formulate so much as a single strain of conscientious thought. He finds himself overwhelmed. It wasn't as difficult to speak to Barrel, but the sheer betrayal he feels toward Leif for sending Barrel after her doesn't sit well with him. So he tries the first thing that comes to mind.

King Andrias: "I met someone… in my time, someone like you."

She folds her arms, leaning on the balls of her heels as she tries to converse with him. She wants to be open to him as she urged him to be in his letter, lest she be a hypocrite. She speaks to him quietly.

Leif: "Really?... Who?"

Andrias sighs, speaking to her softly, trying the best he can to establish a welcoming, humble presence akin to the good old days when he was a teenager... when they were all teenagers.

King Andrias: "A young man named Sprig. He learned a lot from you, I think. And he learned a lot about this other girl from my time, but from a different world. Her name was Anne. It was she, ultimately, that made me realize the errors of my ways."

Leif raises her brow as she rubs her arm across her eye, clearing away the remaining moisture, and thankful the darkness hides the redness of her eyes, a tone almost similar to her skin.

Leif: "Anne?"

She asks with a raised brow, and Andrias concedes.

King Andrias: "Yes. It was her, and her friends… quite a few parallels between them and us, honestly. They, too, had a falling out. But unlike our situation, where the fault lies solely with me, they had all made mistakes. But for some reason, their friendship withstood all the hardship they had faced. They betrayed each other at various points, but it was Anne who kept them all together, the one who, despite everything, forgave her friends and loved them endlessly. I never met anyone with such grace. She helped me find my humility."

Leif shoots him with a bitter verbal whipping, practically spitting acid in her accusation.

Leif: "Humility? You think that just because you approach me with sad eyes and a sob story, I'm just supposed to forgive you right away after everything you've done? After everything, what will you still do if this timeline is to remain intact?"

Andrias shakes his head, declining the accusation.

King Andrias: "I've made mistakes. I made my bed and now I have to lie in it. But my grief is genuine. The pain I feel for having listened to The Core and my father for all those years is real."

She ponders for a moment before addressing him once again.

Leif: "What about Barrel?... I suppose you tried to correct things with him as well?

Andrias nods, responding with a quiet rasp.

King Andrias: "I have... He told me to tell you he said hi, by the way."

The two just sit there in awkward silence for a moment. Andrias adjusts himself, sitting right-side up and leaning in toward Leif as he continues.

King Andrias: It's dead, you know… The Core… Well… the original one. I still have some… unfinished business to tend to… assuming, of course, that I still can tend to it…"

Leif: "Then what are you doing here? You're wasting time, coming and apologizing to me, especially when it doesn't even matter anymore. Go back to doing what you have to do."

The coldness of her words shatters his heart like thin porcelain on the ground, yet the thing is, he knows she's right. He doesn't refute a single word of it. All he can do now is leave, so he does. Andrias rises from his seat and turns. He begins to walk, and she can hear the soft thuds of his feet on the soft ground. For a small moment, he expects her to stop him, and he freezes. But she says nothing. She doesn't even resume the beautiful song that had welcomed him on the way there. As he continues, a drop of water hits his head. He reaches upward. He peers up toward the sky.

King Andrias: "How strange… those clouds weren't there…"

He turns around momentarily to see that Leif is no longer there. He assumes, perhaps, that she had gone inside, off to the little cottage to his side and through the wooden door too small for him to enter.

King Andrias: "... Goodbye, Leif."

He sighs, facing away as the small drizzle turns into pouring rain. As he approaches the hedges once again, the walls lower to the ground, and he watches as the maze that was once there disappears, revealing the axolotl and albanerpeton standing on the horizon by the gateway, getting totally soaked as Andrias approaches the gate. They do not exchange any words, but Al peers down at his gem, and the soft half-glow that once filled the gem now illuminates as brightly as ever. Andrias sighs. Even though he doesn't feel as optimistic or as relieved of guilt as he thought he would upon seeing her, or upon seeing Barrel, Andrias does feel somewhat uplifted, as if a major burden on his psyche, a psychological anchor, had been pulled, freeing him and allowing him to move. Al nods with a small smile as the three retreat from the scene and back into the darkness.

Al: "One more shrine, Andrias. I know you can do it. I have the utmost faith in you.

Carrion: "As do I, buddy."

He says nothing to either of them. As he leaves, he wonders to himself, why exactly was it that Hopediah Plantar, of all people, appeared to him within his dream? Is he real? He gazes to his side at his companions as they banter back and forth, seemingly hitting it off, and he wonders to himself if any of this is real. Everything to him feels so dream-like, as if the events in question don't even connect logically to one another. He could have been dead this whole time. He could have been dreaming this whole time. In fact, nothing that has happened to Andrias since he arrived feels real to him. Could it be that the Albanerians were the ones to craft the museum in the surface world?

Could it be that the technology used to create The Core itself was siphoned from these amphibians to use for his own diabolical plans? What was the point of The Core when such a technologically advanced race of super-geniuses lay right beneath his feet? The thoughts hurt his brain. Everything hurts. He shouldn't even feel pain anymore, considering all the circuitry, but he sighs to himself with a small smile as he stares upward, knowing that the fact that he can feel at all means he's still alive. Or is he? Andrias suspects the voyage to the second tower will be like sunshine and buttercups, considering how smoothly the trip to the first two went, largely without a hitch, as they simply strolled up to the site while casually having social hour among themselves.

Little does Andrias know that the domain of which they're about to tread into is the territory of a terrifying beast, a massive, pulsating pustule-covered amphibian with nails and teeth so sharp they could slice through a paper with little to no force, a being with massive, glowing eyes like canisters of pure radioactive acid sludge, and a mouth so big it could swallow a city. Al stops the other two amphibians right in their tracks, standing before them with his arms outstretched and a serious expression on his face.

Al: "Sh!... I can hear him…"

Andrias and Carrion turn to the albanerpeton. They question him.

Carrion: "Him?"

King Andrias: "Who is this 'him' you speak of?"

Al turns to face them, his eyes wide with terror as he relays to them the message of great concern.

Al: "An ancient monster that has plagued this domain for the last thousand years, the devil of the underground tunnels, a being so utterly repulsive and terrifying, the mere mention of his name is enough to siphon all the blood from one's body. I call him… Matt."

Andrias had already faced such a beast in the form of the Narwhal Worm, but nothing, absolutely nothing, could prepare him for this. From the darkness, it emerges, a gigantic, muscular but also somewhat blobby beast, with chubby features. Matt approaches, his stomps only outdone by the gurgling grunts of his girthy gut. Andrias readies his arm to fight the beast, hovering his hand over the hilt of his black metal blade and gritting his teeth, ready to strike. Andrias stares forward, determined, unfettered by such a threat. He spits, and the massive beast roars from the darkness, lunging outward toward Andrias and nearly swallowing the other two whole. Andrias leaps backward and out of the way as the giant, newt-like beast burrows right where Andrias once stood. He stares downward into the dark abyss, waiting, his flaming blade reflecting off his eyes like hellfire. Andrias anticipates a retaliatory return from the ground behind him. He taunts the beast.

King Andrias: "I was once like you, a massive monster that sought only to conquer and devour everything in sight. I refuse to let you win!"

Andrias stands there for a moment, expecting retaliation, but then the rumbling beneath the dirt grows fainter and fainter, and he realizes that the monster is fleeing. This doesn't sit well with him, but after a moment of silently staring at the dirt and waiting, he directs his attention toward the other two, who stare back at him with a shrug. Andrias sheathes his weapon before moving on. The three of them stroll up to the tower in the distance. It seems so close to them, yet so far away. The stairway to the final shrine seems the longest of all. He's old, worn, and tired. Even if he isn't dead at this point, Andrias feels as though he might as well be. No normal man could take so much physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, and yet he has done so for centuries.

Of course, to pretend that he didn't sit back in lavish luxury for most of it, soaking it all in and living like royalty, because he was, and enjoying every bit of it, would be disingenuous. Of course, he loved his life back then. It was all he knew. The poor, young, naïve Andrias. He could have had it all. It would seem that perhaps he was doomed from the beginning, doomed to the royal bloodline of monsters, followers of this black metal orb of pure evil, a monstrosity with tubes running through it and eyes. What is the Core? Why would someone even make such a hideous contraption? Why would someone want to be connected to something so diabolical, or be one with it? So many questions plague Andrias's mind as he lugs his heavy feet up those stairs.

He's supposed to be a robot. He's not supposed to feel like this, but he does, and it doesn't make the journey any easier. Finally, he lugs his massive, anchor-like feet up to the front door of the shrine, and before him once again is a stone door that towers over him. With a great sigh, sweat rolling down his brow, he jams his fingers in between the crack of the door, ready to get the deed done and over with. Andrias treads into a massive outdoor courtyard. It appears to be the middle of the night, nevertheless, dark and ominous. He treads forward and realizes he is alone. Something doesn't sit right with him. This place feels… familiar, like a place he'd been to many times, but a long time ago.

It's somewhere at the royal palace back in Newtopia, a large arena of sorts where he used to duel with his friends. Why had the temple brought him back here? Who could he possibly be facing whom he wronged? Hell, it could be anybody, really, from General Yunan to Olivia, to basically anyone in Newtopia, Bartley, Branson, and Blair, who he left stuck in jail, to anyone in all of Amphibia, really. It could even be Polly, there to make him pay for how he had allowed her to be kidnapped. He doesn't even know if she's still alive. But then a voice calls out to him, one he hadn't heard in years, one that he didn't think was truly possible. His eyes widen with the call, but he cannot believe it. There's no way it could possibly be true. Could it?

?: "Face me."

Andrias turns around, heeding the call of a younger man. He turns to face… himself, albeit a younger version of himself, from back when he was a prince.

Prince Andrias: "I don't think you've let anyone down more than me."

King Andrias closes his eyes, hanging his head for a moment.

King Andrias: "I see. So my guilt has led me to the greatest enemy of all… myself."

He opens his eyes.

King Andrias: "I suppose I am going to have to fight you now? Is this truly my greatest challenge?"

Prince Andrias raises his brow. He scowls with gritted teeth.

Prince Andrias: "What do you mean, old man?"

King Andrias extends his arm forward, a gesture of frustration.

King Andrias: "You're just a boy, nowhere near as experienced as I. You lack all my training, all my physical enhancements. I remember I was a fool back then, reckless and sloppy. You truly think you can handle me, young man?"

The younger man balls his fists in anger. He shouts, spitting at the older man.

Prince Andrias: "I represent you at your worst! I represent the tyrant that had thrown away the chance for hope and peace, the selfish tyrant hell-bent on conquest!"

King Andrias shouts back, leaning over threateningly.

King Andrias: "I was a selfish fool, a coward fighting on behalf of a monster!"

The younger man falls over on his rear end, but rather than show fear, he smiles, a deathly smirk shown through his brow line as he laughs maniacally.

Prince Andrias: "I'll show you, Andrias. I'll show you what a monster you really are!"

The prince rises onto stumbling legs as he jerks and writhes, transforming into… something. The white hair, once tied neatly into a princely bun, becomes tattered and unkempt as the clothing starts to rip and split, and the monster within starts to bulk. He screams and roars in pain as he grips his head. The elder Andrias readies a battle stance for the monster that is about to take form. The princely attire bursts at the seams as the young man screams in agony, and a creature quite familiar starts to reveal itself. He grows, expanding beyond the limits of the clothes and shedding them to the floor as a massive blue newt takes shape before him.

He recognizes this creature. It's Matt! So that's what Matt was supposed to be all this time, a manifestation of all of Andrias's monstrousness. Al had warned him of the beast. It kept following him, kept creeping up on him, and yet he ignored it, and not until faced with this threat head-on did he finally decide to take the beast on. The beast stands before Andrias, feral, crawling on all fours as he lunges forward. Swiftly, Andrias dodges. The beast turns to him, the scraggly and tattered white hair covering one eye and leaving the other, deranged and dilated, exposed.

Andrias draws his blade and hammer to fight the beast and is immediately met with the slap of a giant blue tail. Andrias slams into the wall of the courtyard as he is bombarded by the enraged beast. The newt prepares to swallow Andrias whole, and the king grips the top of the mouth, holding the other end open with his boot. He mocks his foe.

King Andrias: "I've already been swallowed once today! Not… again!"

He says as he rams the black metal blade through the roof of the mouth, sending blood everywhere. But then Andrias experiences something that sends him into shock and fear when the roof of his mouth throbs in writhing pain. He rolls away as the beast smashes into the wall, but reaches up, feeling just below his nostrils… Blood. His hand trembles as he realizes he is damaging himself the more he fights the beast. He shoots a thousand-yard stare forward in fear. The massive "Matt" swipes at him once again, sending him to the ground before scooping the king up in his fat paw-like hand and slamming him straight into a thick, brick wall, destroying most of it and leaving a huge crack on the impact point.

The monster keeps slamming Andrias, harder and harder, into the wall until it breaks, and both creatures are sent to the ground. As the beast raises its paw to slam down on the ground, Andrias rolls out of the way, the monster leaving a pothole in the ground where Andrias once lay. Rising quickly into a leap. He lands on top of the beast's back and runs along the spine, prompting the giant newt to fling its massive blue tail and slap Andrias away like a tennis ball. The king is sent across the courtyard, rolling along the ground until gravity and momentum stop him, and he is covered in dust and dirt.

King Andrias has absolutely no idea how in the world he's going to win a fight with a creature he cannot kill without killing himself. But he notices as he lies on the ground, spitting up teeth and blood onto the concrete. The younger is not phased by the damage he does to the elder, which Andrias supposes may mean something. He has little time for his thoughts, so he realizes he must think quickly. What is the purpose of this battle? If Andrias cannot fight, what can he do? Then he remembers that the trials were not about conquering beasts, but conquering one's very past, the conflicts, the guilt.

Andrias stares into the puddle of his own blood, and all he can see is one thing… himself. He sighs, rising on stumbling legs and turning around to face the beast as he rubs the blood from his lips onto his forearm. The creature gains, but Andrias just stands there with his eyes closed, accepting his fate. He stretches out his arms as if to embrace death. The creature halts mere inches before Andrias. Curious, it roars.

King Andrias: "I will not fight you anymore. I accept who you are."

The creature shakes its head in disgust as it roars at Andrias.

Prince Andrias: "I am a monster! I have taken thousands upon thousands of lives! My chalice of blood is endless! It will sustain me forever!"

King Andrias: "I know… But that was then… and this is now."

Andrias closes his eyes; the tired weariness is apparent on his dirty, blood and sweat-covered face, the crow's feet of his eyes evidence of a thousand years of inner turmoil, an expression of pure tiredness. The beast approaches, getting right into Andrias's face, and he does not move. The two make eye contact, and Andrias does not flinch at the encounter. He stands, bold and about-face. He stares into the cold and miserable eyes of the beast, and he can see it within. He stares deep within his own soul, and he can see the sorrow, even back then. Andrias closes his eyes, and with a deep breath, he places his palm on the beast's head.

King Andrias: "This truly has been my greatest battle, but it is one that I cannot win with violence. Be at peace, young man… The war is over. Of all that I have faced, it was you who needed love the most. But know that you are not alone. You are never alone."

Prince Andrias: "... Leif… Barrel… All of them… I betrayed all of them."

King Andrias opens his eyes to reveal that the young man has reverted to his previous form. He stands there, defeated, a mess… vulnerable, his young self left pure before him. The prince, worn and tattered, hangs his head in shame. With his massive hand, he pulls the younger self into an embrace. The king allows the prince to lament upon him all the unshed tears of his life, as many as he has to give. The king leans over to the younger Andrias and whispers into his ear three important, life-altering words.

King Andrias: "I forgive you."

And with that, the man disappears, disintegrating into an aura of golden dust. The dust billows around Andrias like a cool breeze, dancing with the wind before it turns and enters the gem at the base of Al's robe. Finally, the gem is complete. It has finally been restored. Andrias takes in a deep breath as a voice he was most certainly not expecting chimes in from the sidelines.

Hop Pop: "Well, King Andrias, ya did it."

Andrias turns for a moment toward the frog before doing a double-take, nearly leaping as the red frog reveals himself. The ground trembles as Andrias lands back on the ground.

King Andrias: "Hopediah! But you're... How did you... What's going on here?!"

The king reacts, flailing his arms as if he's entirely lost his mind. Hop Pop raises his hands in surrender and laughs, trying to calm the king down.

Hop Pop: "Now, now, don't get your trousers in a twist."

Al steps forward, placing his hand on Hop Pop's shoulder, and the old frog looks up at him.

Al: "Perhaps it's time you knew the whole truth about the nature of these shrines. You see, Andrias, these are the Pillars of Odyssey."

Andrias shakes his head with a raised brow.

King Andrias: "Pillars... of Odyssey?"

Carrion steps forward.

Carrion: "Yup."

King Andrias peers at the axolotl.

King Andrias: "Carrion? You are behind this, too? What does all this mean?"

Al takes a deep sigh as he confesses to Andrias a most unfortunate truth.

Al: "Andrias... you're dead."

The axolotl approaches him.

Carrion: "I'm your guardian angel. I was sent to look over you. This... was part of the prophecy. You were supposed to die."

Al resumes his position in the front.

Al: "And I am... the angel of death."

... Meanwhile, in the surface world, on an entirely different continent, a humble frog resumes his life. Sprig's got a hot date tonight, and after checking himself in the mirror about three times too many, making sure every article of clothing on his body is completely in the right place (which is to say, completely in the wrong place) he finishes combing back his blonde locks and finally gets that nasty little cowlick to stay down. Finished, he leaps down most of the stairs and runs out the front door, paying little attention to anyone else inside and heading immediately toward the predetermined location where they had decided to meet. Who are they, exactly? Well, Sprig decided to go on a date with Ivy, of course.

It's the mid-afternoon, and she specifically requested that they meet at the most romantic spot they can think of, right along the path of some of the most ornery critters in all of Amphibia. It goes to show that just about anything can be a good enough distraction in Amphibia, and boy, does Ivy know how to distract, and he thanks her for that. There's a super neat little cliff that hangs just over the valley and allows for one of the most beautiful, captivating scenes in all of Amphibia, a plateau that overlooks Wartwood and allows one to stare right out onto the open road, with everything sprawled out before them in the most perfectly scenic and artistic manner. The girl has an eye for beauty.

Maybe, just maybe, that's why she picked Sprig out, because he was beautiful. Or, maybe it was because he was fun. Yeah, that has to be it. One certainly wouldn't think it was for his brains, not that Sprig is dumb, but he's not exactly the brightest either. He's just right for Ivy. After finally weaving his way through the marsh and past the hungry swamp critters, through the lightning bugs and down the path of little neon tulips, lighting a seemingly preset path of grass, dirt, and stones uphill, he finds her, sitting along the ledge and staring up into the late afternoon sky.

She brought along with her a little pouch of chocolate and honey-glazed crickets, and she tried not to nibble on too many of them before Sprig got there so they could share them. There she is, the girl with the wild, messy hair, hair like a fire out of control, unkempt and fluttering in the wind. Her little cape covers her shoulders, and he can see that perhaps, as she sits there, she's just a little bit cold. The crickets have started to chirp in the late afternoon, and the breeze has started to kick in, so he approaches, trying not to startle them and ruin the ambiance, and he sits beside her.

Ivy: "Hey, Sprig."

She turns with a smile, her soft voice casual and welcoming as she lays her head on his shoulder. Ivy hadn't really been that affectionate until lately, and Sprig wasn't entirely sure what had gotten into her. Well, they had been dating for years, and he figured maybe she just wanted to be a bit more on the loving side, considering how much more consistent and "serious" they've been toward each other lately. Everyone could notice it: Polly, Sylvia, the people around town… even Andrias.

Sprig: "Hey."

Sprig responds softly, equally as casually as he lays his head on hers. They usually aren't this quiet, or still, but something about the situation just feels right to them, as though it's the natural evolution of their relationship.

Ivy: "Cricket?"

Sprig: "Don't mind if I do."

She reaches into her little bag, pulling out some crickets, sticky and sweet, and she hands them to Sprig. Like the gentleman he is, he promptly shoves them into his mouth, chews them loudly with his mouth open, and belches outward into the distance… just as classy as ever, and he knows that Ivy loves him for it. She follows suit, and the two share a laugh at it. Ivy sighs.

Ivy: "Ya know, it's so wild, everything that's happened lately. Life feels like it's going by so quickly. It feels like only yesterday that we were just a couple of little scamps, running around Wartwood, getting into mischief, getting lost, and then someone would come looking for us and they'd give us the scolding of a lifetime. Boy, I sure miss those days. Those were simpler times. So, how do you like the crickets I made?"

Sprig nods, picking pieces of chitin out of his gums and flicking them into the distance.

Sprig: "They turned out really good. I'm glad you used confectioner's sugar this time. That last time, they were a little rough around the edges."

Ivy laughs, shaking her head and lying it back on Sprig's shoulder.

Ivy: "Yeah, well, I tried to make them the way Mom wanted me to make them. It's noted, though. It's like, at least she encourages me to experiment. I'm getting better with the tea, though."

He nods.

Sprig: "That, you are."

For some reason, though, things feel awkward between them, and Sprig can't get over the fact that they're failing to talk about the big elephant in the room.

Ivy: "Still no word on Polly? Haven't heard back from Andrias or anyone from Newtopia on his whereabouts or anything?"

Sprig shakes his head as he continues to watch, hoping, praying for some sort of shooting star to make its way across the mostly cloudless early night sky. He notices that some of the lights are going on, and for some reason, the little lanterns make him feel somewhat better. Sprig had been very down lately, and Ivy could certainly understand why. He's worried about his sister, and Ivy, as tone-deaf as she can sometimes be, seems to have this inclination within her, this bond with Sprig where she knows just how to be the right amount of nurturing without feeling pushy or out-of-character. It's something she started to develop as she got older, and Sprig honestly likes that about her. Nevertheless, he shakes his head. He can't help but feel so… helpless. Ivy helps herself to some of the crickets as Sprig responds.

Sprig: "No. It really hasn't been easy. I feel so… alone now. And it… makes me glad to have you around."

He says, turning to face her with a pained and almost insincere smile. She knows it still bothers him. It's been more than a week now since they've been gone, and every day he loses more and more hope. It's in these times that Ivy feels as though she should just be the best girlfriend she could possibly be, even to the point of helping Sprig out with his daily chores just to distract him. Lord knows he needs it now more than ever. She peers off to the side, staring into his eyes as he stares off into space, a glazed, sad, milky look to his big eyes, as his blonde locks flutter in the soft breeze, and she stares down at his hand to the side of him. Ivy wiggles her little fingers in between his palm and grasps his hand firmly, interlocking her fingers in a gesture of solidarity, and he turns to her. She can see the bags under his eyes as they make eye contact, and she shares grief with him. She knows.

Ivy: "I'm really sorry about Hop Pop, and I know you don't wanna talk about it… But just know that I'm here for you… Okay?"

She says as she places a soft kiss on his cheek. Sprig laughs somewhat out of his nose as he notices all the little green lights flicker around them. He turns and notices them.

Sprig: "Fireflies. It reminds me of that one night when we were kids… It was one of my happiest moments with you. I'd give anything to just have another moment like that…"

She follows the fireflies for a second and then goes back to Sprig, and they make eye contact.

Ivy: "Maybe we can make new memories… even better memories."

Ivy smiles at him, little hints of flush coming to her yellow face as she places her hands on Sprig's face, pulling him into a kiss on the clifftop. Their lips lock, and for that small moment in time, they forget everything. It's all just a blur, and Sprig can feel happy for a moment, even if it's just a small moment. It's those moments that matter in life. It's those that make life worth living. Those are some of the few moments Hopediah Plantar had had in his life, some in his early days, some in his latter days. But just as Sprig is swept away in his moment of elation, it never leaves his mind that Hopediah Plantar will never again have another one of those moments. But something tells him that Hop Pop made sure Sprig could have this happiness. He's somehow certain that wherever his dear grandfather is, he was the one who made sure to send those little fireflies just to make his grandson happy.

Chapter Text

It is said that there exists a time and space beyond all consciousness, a magical place where the unreal becomes real, and within that rift, mysterious crystals of various colors are made. The people of Amphibia, at least those of the world of the living, are not aware of such a place, for it has existed since the dawn of time, an anomalous frame where these manifestations of pure holy magic float in a seemingly endless void. An ambivalent being, high and immortal, once claimed but a few of these crystals and wielded them for their own particular purpose. This formless, shapeless deity, a servant to a higher power, was tasked with providing these gems to the mortals of Amphibia to see if they were worthy of such a responsibility.

Although none of them knew that. None of them were even aware that they were being watched. This being was naïve for sure and didn't necessarily understand the purpose of their master's whim right away, but they were tired from centuries of servitude, and long since desired an eternity of peace beyond the veil. The Calamity Gems were forged from these crystals and passed down to the pitiful amphibians to see if someday, eventually, one would emerge responsible enough to take on that task and replace the tired Guardian. Once such a being was found, the Cosmic Guardian could move on and finally bask in the golden light of The Originator, ultimately retiring from eternal servitude and moving on to become what they were truly meant to be, an angel.

The Calamity Gems, over the course of centuries, found themselves in the presence of all sorts of foul, dubious, curious, and ultimately foolish creatures, and these brutes failed to realize the powers they truly beheld. Thankfully, they were also much too stupid to understand how to use them. While such tomfoolery provided much spectacle and entertainment for the ambivalent Guardian, their patience grew thin, and that enthusiasm would slowly wane away to boredom, and with that boredom grew indifference and eventually frustration.

They would find that beyond the surface, deep within the crust, other amphibians isolated from the outside world dwelled. Slithering on their soft bellies beneath the dirt, the Olms made their civilization. These beings had poor eyesight and were quite sensitive to the sun, thus hindering their ability to speak with surface-dwellers. Still, that didn't stop them from engaging with their neighbors in the distant underground tunnels. The tunnels would travel between the underground city of Proteus, the city of the Olms, and the even deeper depths of the city of Albaneria, the home of even rarer and lesser-known species of amphibians.

But it would appear as though neither of these creatures was truly worthwhile for the task of successor to The Cosmic Guardian, for while wise and benevolent, the Olms proved to be rather fickle and often antisocial creatures who would fall victim to their own hubris and lack of general maturity. The Albanerians, a vast and diverse group of individuals, though technologically advanced, would prove to be unworthy successors as well, for while they were certainly intelligent enough for such a task, they were much less moral about with whom they shared their power. And with their downfall at the hands of a vain, selfish, and greedy king, the only ones to preserve their legacy were the Olms themselves.

Though not necessarily worthy candidates themselves, the Cosmic Guardian, growing weary of this long and tedious search, eventually stumbled upon one both wise and intelligent enough for the task, a newt woman by the name of Valeriana. Unfortunately for the Cosmic Guardian, Valeriana turned down the offer; however opted instead to use her intelligence and wisdom to craft a peculiar magical device. A crafter and tinkerer, the clever newt created a music box for which to store the Calamity Gems, and thus, the Calamity Box was made. Valeriana, as long as she lived, and beyond, made it her personal task to find this suitable replacement, and on foot, she sought a rightful successor.

Word crept through the grapevine, for while the Olms weren't exactly the most social creatures, they were most definitely nosy. And so they wrote, as their mother, the one with the premonitions, foresaw the future, a prophecy. Through this Olm, the Originator made His request quite clear, that the Calamity Gems would one day come into the possession of three young girls not of this world at all, but from another, in a time when the grandson of their then-king Atlas would assume the throne of the newts. Initially, the Cosmic Guardian would ignore such a prophecy, for who would wish to wait that long for a replacement? Their search continued for a successor.

In the early days, Valeriana traveled with her box, and in her search, she would enthrall and amaze those around her, the leaders of all kingdoms, uniting them over their desire to become the successor to the Cosmic Guardian. Peace would reign so long as the newt was alive. Unfortunately, though, she was just as mortal as any other newt and with time, would grow old and pass, and with her demise, animosity broke out among the kingdoms, the strongest of the three, the newts themselves, would claim control of the Calamity Box, and Atlas, eventually his son, and eventually still, his grandson, would be its possessor. The newts would rule their world for thousands of years.

In death, it would turn out that neither the Cosmic Guardian nor Valeriana would heed the prophecy foretold by the Olms. They had ignored the will of The Originator, and thus, in their plight, they sought to make things right. But who exactly would be these mysterious individuals? Where would they come from? And why were there three? With her death, the Calamity Box would remain in the hands of the Leviathan family. Their greed led them to conquer worlds, tearing them down to nothing, strip-mining them just as they did with the Albanerians, and just as they would with the Axolonians.

Slowly, almost tortuously, Valeriana would watch as the Olm prophecy came true, as the monster of many minds was born into black metal, and as cross-dimensional war crimes became manifested nightmares. Andrias was just a young boy, but eventually, the box would fall into his palms, and with it, the desire to continue his father and grandfather's conquest, once a vision for knowledge and power, reduced to a conquest for dominance. These pitiful mortals, though enhanced by centuries of superior technology, were fools and deemed truly unworthy of being their successors.

The Leviathan family disgusted the Cosmic Guardian, and their actions disgusted the Originator as well. He would see to it that the family would be stripped of their prolonged privilege of the box, and a young frog, a pure girl, the friend of the youngest heir, would be the one to see to it that the removal of their power. The people of Amphibia were always kept under wraps about the king's intergalactic conquest, and along with it, their true ruler, the black metal monster of many minds, but eventually, she would come to see these newts for what they truly were, monsters themselves. The young frog girl stole the box and fled. With this betrayal, the long-lasting era of peace in Amphibia had come to an end, and the Amphibian nations would no longer be united.

The Leviathans were sent on a warpath to recover the box. The pink frog knew it couldn't be allowed to happen, so she traveled to their world, the world of the people foreseen in her vision, and opened a rift, tossing the box into their world. The box would land on the shores somewhere in Norway in the 11th century to be found by Scandinavian warriors, Vikings. The box, its true nature uncertain by many, would be passed down and eventually, in the 21st century, find its way to America, on the shelf of an innocent-looking bookstore where a distressed young lady by the name of Marcy Wu would stumble upon it. Marcy, a clever and bright, though disastrously unlucky girl, would claim it, feeling as though it could aid her with her personal issues.

She had recognized the box from her studies and was aware of the recorded history of the box, the power to be able to travel to different worlds preserved through historical text, but by then, in the age of technology, she believed it to be little more than some old wives' tale. Marcy Wu was highly intelligent for someone her age, but quite naïve as well, somewhat selfish, and irresponsible. She also believed in magic and believed, truly, that the Calamity Box could solve her problem, the dilemma she had faced of having to move away and lose touch with the only two friends she ever had, Sasha Waybright and Anne Boonchuy. Marcy had always been socially awkward and clumsy, and few people wanted to be around her because she was just living, breathing, bad luck.

But that didn't stop her friends from loving her unconditionally. None of them knew, though, that they would be the ones foretold in the old prophecy. To retell the whole story once more would be worthless and redundant, but for the sake of brevity, let it be said that Anne and her friends would prove themselves to be these true individuals, the real deal, and one, the purest of them all, the one to unite her friends, the reckless Sasha and Marcy, Anne Boonchuy, would rise up, a wise, compassionate child of intelligence and mercy, and she, through the loss of her own very life, would be one to truly prove herself to The Cosmic Guardian. Thus it was written. Anne would be the new Cosmic Guardian.

But never mind the early days. What about the latter? What would become of Anne? This curious child, after spending months in Amphibia, lost and alone but later finding solace and comfort in the home of the Plantars, would eventually find her friends, save the world, become all-powerful through the use of the gems, eventually going back home and resuming the rest of her life, never again seeing the Plantars, but never forgetting about them, or the love she has for them and the rest of the people of Amphibia. She considered the Plantars, to the day she died, to be part of her family. Far into the future, her time would pass, and she would assume her rightful role as the new Cosmic Guardian.

Now… What is it that Anne would do in her role as the new Cosmic Guardian? With the gems destroyed, knowing now that the Calamity Box was all too powerful, what is her purpose? As the new Cosmic Guardian, Anne would have direct contact with The Originator. She wouldn't know of His plans, but she knew that with her power as the Cosmic Guardian, she had the power to forge for herself and Amphibia a new path, one that, perhaps, didn't end so tragically. Her powers were seemingly endless in this new deistic form, for she ascertained that very information from The Originator Himself.

Anne would have to take over for the Cosmic Guardian from the moment of retirement, and so she saw to it, giving the poor creature an early reprieve from their duties, plunging herself back in time to observe the childhood and young adulthood of Sprig Plantar and the Plantar Family. She would not be their guardian angel, and she would not directly intervene in ways that could directly affect their lives unless it was of the utmost importance to the survival of the universe, if it had ascended beyond simply "mortal affairs".

Most curiously, Anne would request of The Originator but one simple favor, that when Marcy and Sasha had passed, their souls would be available for consultation, and so that she could spend time with them, for what was an eternal afterlife destined to an eternal loneliness without reprieve to see friends and family? The Originator allowed it. She would not watch over them alone. But she did watch over them for many years. She watched from above, invisible to his naked eye, as Sprig grew and matured. She would become aware of the strange and awkward feelings he started to have for her, and although he outgrew them, eventually settling down with Ivy, Sprig had never stopped loving Anne.

The feeling was mutual. There were moments as Cosmic Guardian in which she felt herself lapsing into fits of immaturity, the same as her predecessor, yearning just to make eye contact with him, to speak with him or caress him just one more time to let him know that she hadn't forgotten about him, that she could embrace any of them, would be a dream come true. But it wasn't just Sprig she watched over. No. She watched over Polly as the young lady grew legs and matured into a bright young frog, advancing her robotic frog arsenal and taking Hop Pop's farm to the next level. She watched Hop Pop.

He was like a grandfather to her as well, and to watch him age and struggle was not something Anne was particularly ready for, for although she had already gone through life and experienced all those deaths: her mother, her father, many of her friends, and colleagues, nothing could prepare her for what would ultimately be Hopediah Plantar's final breath. She watched over all of them, all the people of Amphibia, just to see them, make sure they were okay. Certainly, they all had their own problems still, as nothing would ever be without conflict, but beyond the days of the Leviathan family, Amphibia, after only a few months, would slowly return to peace after all that death and destruction.

Eventually, Anne would watch as the young Sprig Plantar went on his maiden voyage along with MicroAngelo to the city of Newtopia, and she would follow Sprig with her eye in the sky, astonished when she finally beheld what she deemed to be an unlikely encounter. Anne saw the events that day, of Andrias Leviathan's heroism, of his selfless acts, and his interactions with Sprig. She watched as they spoke within that modest home of his, paying close attention. She could see the sorrow within him, the tired world-weariness of his old eyes as they reflected against the golden candlelight, silhouetted by Sprig's tiny shadow.

In that moment, Anne got an idea, one that excited her, as well as her companions, for if the old Cosmic Guardian could take part in fulfilling a prophecy, perhaps she could as well. She consulted The Originator for His stance on this, and He couldn't agree more. Anne would be made aware through The Originator that The Core still existed, its brain and a prototype body, on the risen continent of Nero Hades. Anne kept a closer watch on Andrias than ever, unlike The Originator, who was unaware of his actions. Andrias would follow Sprig back home after the destruction of his home, and Anne would watch as the newt king, stripped of all his glory, was reduced to living in a mere barn with some livestock.

Andrias and Sprig's relationship would blossom for sure, and his relationship with the others as well. And it would seem to Anne that perhaps the best ending of all had come to the king, that he had found peace among the people of Amphibia. Andrias would state his case and begin to make reparations with the people. And though as ungrateful as they seemed to her for a moment, she remembered then the pain that he had caused them and the pain he caused her when he attempted to take Sprig from her. She beheld as he dealt with the ongoing problem with the millipedes, killing them and their queen, preserving Wartwood as it sat on the brink of impending destruction.

The spirit of Sasha found herself most impressed by the big blue guy's raw savagery and heroism. It was then, as she watched the king reduced himself to a mere peasant, dealing with the long-neglected problems of a small town of yokels, did she finally saw that the king himself did, in fact, have redeeming value. Anne Boonchuy continued while taking her eye off of Sprig somewhat, to watch over the king, to observe his growth, his interactions with little Polly as she repaired his broken limbs as promised by Sprig, ultimately rolling her eyes that Sprig would make such an offer at Polly's expense. Typical Sprig, but that's what she loved about him.

Anne, for a moment, was almost reluctant to watch as Andrias took little Polly Plantar out to the Robo Arena of Death and Unapologetically Loud, Ear-Drum Shattering Explosions, but after witnessing firsthand his affinity for the child, almost seeing her like a granddaughter of his own, she had finally begun to relax. Anne took a little bit of time out of her busy schedule to spectate the Robo Arena, invisible to the naked eye. She, Sasha, and Marcy snuck their spiritual selves up to a few empty seats toward the front and beheld the spectacle with their own eyes. The show was dazzling and never failed to excite, but unfortunately, it would end in somewhat of a tragedy as the young Polly Plantar was kidnapped and taken by the forces of Nero Hades.

They watched as Andrias fought tooth and nail to save the child and save everyone in the arena, even the one who was intended for the kidnapper, his very own replacement on the throne, Lord Dwenzel's son, Dweezil. Anne was astonished. Never before had she witnessed such bravery from the king, such brutal ferocity not for his own ego or for his reputation, but to save someone, one of the few people who truly meant anything to him. She saw their little interactions, right down to her wrapping her tiny hand around his finger in solidarity when faced with the cold eyes of those whom he's brought so much despair.

Anne was shocked in these last couple of days as she got to witness firsthand the impact of her actions all those years ago on the people of Amphibia, and how she taught them the meaning of mercy and compassion. And as she sat back, slouching in her little chair, mouth agape, she could do nothing but smile as the whole thing brought a tear to her eye. Her little frog family was all grown up. But it was then and there that she made up her mind that the new prophecy would unfold, and she gazed upon Andrias Leviathan as he trod along that dark and desolate dusty road, scared and alone, ashamed of himself for being unable to protect her, that Andrias Leviathan would have his own prophecy. It wasn't right.

It wasn't right that a man with a good heart, polluted by evil so many years ago, had to continue to suffer once he had finally found his freedom. It wasn't right that he was doomed to be the villain when he so desperately wanted to be the hero. Anne Boonchuy, the second Cosmic Guardian, wanted nothing more than to show King Andrias mercy, to intervene, to come down there personally and fight The Core and deal with Ernst and all the Frobots and all that stuff and just save the day once again, but she can't, for these are mortal affairs. Anne watched it all. She beheld Andrias as he trekked back home to confront Sprig and announce the capture of his sister.

She watched as he lay in that barn, unknowing of just where she was. And she followed Andrias as he stormed Amphibia from west to east, capturing the flying menace known as the giant heron, and flew across the sea. Lastly, she watched as he beheld Nero Hades, a place she was just seeing for the first time herself, as he uncovered unspeakable horrors, inevitably facing his own demise at the horrific hands of the Prototype Core. She begged as he faced his enemy for the first time, begged The Originator to send help, to send her, anything.

But the Originator had a plan. Of course, He didn't leave Andrias entirely hanging; He did send "Carrion" after all. But surely, one must be thinking, "That's great. He sent an undead axolotl, a comedian, to look after Andrias, who inevitably led the king to his death. Some great leadership right there." But no. There is a plan. There's always a plan, and in the great beyond, deep down in the purgatorial planes, Anne got to witness firsthand the story of Andrias's life and tragedy as he conquered his trials. But that gem… What is it for? Could it be? Could it possibly be a new Calamity Gem? What is this new plan?

Anne: "I don't get it. You said you had a plan… What is your plan?"

The Originator: "DEAR CHILD, DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO DIE?"

The young woman of Thai descent, preserved in her immortality as a young adult, stands atop a platform, gazing down at the universe below. She can see through His eyes, everything. She folds her arms. Even in her vast divinity, she faces uncertainty in The Originator's motives. He leans over, a colossal being, a man suspended in the sky, stretching outward for all eternity, a bearded man with piercing eyes like the sun. He points. Anne shrugs, casting up to Him her genuine uncertainty. Anne had always been honest with The Originator. He appreciates her honesty and vulnerability, always seeking His guidance to make sure she does the best job she can.

Anne: "No. I mean, I know what it feels like. I know what it entails. What do you mean?"

The Originator: "TO DIE IS TO SHED YOUR LIFE, AND WITH IT, YOUR SINS. TO DIE IS TO BE CLEANSED. MIND YOU, DEAR CHILD, TO DIE IS NOT TO BE FORGIVEN, BUT TO DIE IS TO MAKE ROOM FOR REBIRTH."

Anne sighs.

Anne: "You know, I love you as you do all of us, but sometimes your cryptic messaging frustrates me."

She turns to Him.

Anne: "Can you please just tell me what you mean?"

The Originator: "IT WAS YOUR MERCY THAT TURNED MY EYES TOWARD LEVIATHAN. IT WAS YOUR BELIEF IN HIM, YOUR PROFOUND COMPASSION, THAT ULTIMATELY CONVINCED ME THAT THE OLD GUARDIAN WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU. ANDRIAS FACES CENTURIES OF SIN. THE FILTH UPON HIS FLESH WILL NOT COME OFF WITH MERE WATER. AND SO, I SHALL GIVE HIM NEW SKIN."

Anne raises a brow.

Anne: "What do you mean by that?"

She asks, her arms folded as she continues to stare downward. The Originator turns to her, a warm smile that fills her heart with warmth forming on His lips.

The Originator: "YOU WILL SEE."

Meanwhile, His messengers stand before Andrias. The man stands before them, totally bewildered. Andrias is dead. He can't even believe it.

King Andrias: "I'm… I'm… dead…"

He continues to stare outward into the infinity of space, his eyes unblinking and his lips muttering words under his breath, trembling. And yet, he does not sorrow for his own demise, for rightfully, he should have died centuries ago, but the deep pit wells in his stomach as he knows the dear child is still out there, still at the mercy of The Core, and he failed in the most miserable way he could have possibly failed since the war all those years ago. Andrias falls to his knees, the crashing of his weight denting and cracking the marble tile of the garden of the third trial as he lands. Carrion peers over to Al.

Carrion: "You think he's taking it well?"

The albanerpeton beside him rolls his eyes.

Al: "About as well as any man takes the announcement of his death, and I've seen countless."

Hop Pop folds his arms.

Hop Pop: "Well, I personally think it's about time we wrapped up this whole little sideshow and moseyed on upstairs."

He turns to Al, the red frog, twiddling his thumbs in a fit of nervousness.

Hop Pop: "Now, uh, Death… are ya sure ya can see to it that Polly will be okay?"

The creepy albanerpeton slides his eyes over to the frog, his unsettling nature making Hopediah immensely uncomfortable.

Al: "It is not her time yet."

Al clasps his golden gem as he turns around, casting open a large portal, a swirling vortex to an unknown location. But rather than a black void, the portal glows a bright white. Al turns around and approaches Andrias, extending his hand outward.

Al: "Come with us, Andrias. They await you."

Andrias continues to stare out into space. He responds, his mouth dry as it continues to hang agape.

King Andrias: "Who? Who awaits me? Who are 'they'?"

Al: "Someone you know, who has personally requested your presence, a higher power than you or I."

Andrias rises from his knees onto his tired and weary legs. Reluctant, somewhat scared, he approaches the portal, past the onlookers. He stands before the portal, and it radiates a warmth unlike anything he has felt in a long time. He turns to the others momentarily, and they all smile. They nod. Andrias turns back to the massive portal with a raised brow, staring inward and squinting. There's no going back now. Once he steps through, he knows it's over. Andrias closes his eyes and, with a sigh, crosses the threshold of the portal. Before him is a white void with a stairway extending into the sky. Curiously, an elderly goat man stands there, awaiting him. The man has piercing blue, opaque eyes, and he gestures toward the stairway.

?: "Welcome home, Andrias."

Andrias peers down at the man.

King Andrias: "Who are you?"

?: "I am not of this world, but part of a divine plan, far beyond your scope."

The old man closes his eyes, and he nods with a smile of certainty.

?: "But that is not important. What is important is that He awaits you, and He has with Him a guest… no wait… three guests, also from another world. Most curious."

The others tread through. The goat smiles.

?: "Ah, yes. I was expecting some others."

Al: "Greetings, Adrian. I have brought the king as the Originator requested."

King Andrias turns to them, then back to the goat.

King Andrias: "Adrian? That is your name, goat man?"

The elderly man nods.

Adrian: "Indeed."

Andrias peers upward.

King Andrias: "So, that is the stairway to eternal happiness... an honor I am unworthy of."

The king hangs his head, and the goat man, though technically blind, can see the woe within Andrias's soul. Adrian smiles.

Adrian: "Where I come from, it is of my culture to extend my love to all the Originator's creatures, and you are no different, Andrias. I do believe it, with all of my heart, that no creature is unworthy of the endless joy He has in store for the dead. But you must desire it, desire to be with Him, and desire to bask in that endless love."

Andrias stands there with great uncertainty. He squints with curiosity at the elderly goat as he merely stands there, staring up with an infectiously pleasant smile, enough so that it sparks a small grin of optimism on Andrias's face, and the strength to persevere as he stares upward toward the mysterious horizon. And so, Andrias and the others ascend the great stairway that extends miles into the sky, toward a field of endless clouds and into a darkened field of crystalline stars as far as the eyes can see, toward a cosmos of pure beauty, meteorites, and shooting stars hurtling through the air around him.

Above, he can see a great platform, and beyond that, the figure of a bearded man that positively dwarfs him, hovering in the sky with eyes like a solar flare, his gaze intimidating yet also warm. Andrias and the others reach the top of the stairway, and none of them can believe their eyes. Hop Pop is surprised after all those stairs that his legs didn't give way, yet somehow, he had found the strength to climb them without any pain at all. Perhaps it had to do with being dead. But his eyes are drawn to a particular group of girls, all three of whom rush him.

Girls: "Hop Pop!"

They take him, a trio of young human women, three of whom he somehow immediately recognizes as they swarm and caress him.

Hop Pop: "Sasha? Marcy? Anne? What are y'all doin' here?! Don't tell me y'all croaked at such a young age!"

Marcy laughs, releasing her group embrace first. The young Asian brunette stands tall and proud, swaying her hair out of her eyes as she wipes away a tear of happiness. The young woman paces around on the platform, the beginning of a long and borderline incoherent story forming in her head as she details the whole thing tediously.

Marcy: "Of course not, Hop Pop! Oh my gosh! This is so crazy! Like, we have the most insane story to tell you! First off, we're from the future! We traveled all the way back to the past with Anne, who's the Cosmic Guardian now, and we're all dead in our own timeline already but we've been spending time with Anne and this place is so cool and we met Adrian who's super cute and this big guy in the sky who is like literally God and—"

She has to be stopped by the young blonde at her side. Sasha, a rather stone-faced young blonde with a sassy smirk, places her hand on her friend's shoulder.

Sasha: "Let me handle it, Mar-Mar. I'm sure the big guy is confused enough."

King Andrias just stares downward at her.

King Andrias: "Indeed."

Sasha approaches King Andrias, a big smirk stillborn on her face as she tries to finish Marcy's story with a bit more nuance and control.

Sasha: "Marcy's right. This is all part of some huge, elaborate plan way too big for me to wrap my head around, involving The Core, and this new gem. Long story short, you gotta come back to life, big guy."

King Andrias peers all around him, having no idea what's going on or anything.

King Andrias: "How am I gonna do that? Please, none of this makes any sense."

Andrias pinches his brow, gazing up at the giant man, still unintroduced.

King Andrias: "You are—"

Anne: "God? Well, yeah. He has all sorts of different names as He's known all over the galaxy."

Hop Pop raises his finger.

Hop Pop: "I know Him as Lord Frog."

Anne rolls her eyes drolly with a smile.

Anne: "Including Lord Frog. You see, King Andrias, as I ascended in the future to assume my role as the new Cosmic Guardian, I've been watching over you, all of you, my friends and family, making sure you all stay safe."

She folds her arms, hanging her head as she muses with fondness over her family.

Anne: "I wanted to keep an eye on Sprig and make sure that Amphibia stayed safe. Of course, I couldn't directly intervene in mortal affairs and stuff, and when I saw that The Core had remained, I knew there was unfinished business to take care of."

She smiles up at King Andrias.

Anne: "So I came up with a new plan. If the old Cosmic Guardian could create prophecies, I figured, why can't I? And that's where that new gem comes into play."

She points over to Al, who removes the gem from his clasp, offering it to Andrias.

Al: "It is not Anne, or her friends, who will finish The Core once and for all, but you, Andrias."

The king holds out his massive blue hand, and Al drops it into his fleshy palm. Andrias closes his fist around the tiny gem, and immediately, he can feel its power. Anne smiles up at him.

Anne: "I've been watching you, too, big guy."

Anne rises into the air in flight, hovering before the king and placing her warm palm on his face.

Anne: "I'm so proud of your growth. It's not easy being a good man at heart who's lived most of his life on the wrong side of history, atoning for centuries of hardship and misdeeds. A long road lies ahead of you."

Andrias stares into her eyes with an expression of determination.

Anne: "I know now just what you went through. You were torn between your friends and your family, and no matter how flawed your father was, you ultimately chose him over your companions. There's something kind of understandable about that. I'm not playing devil's advocate, but I do understand that blood is thicker than water and that if it came between Sasha and Marcy and my mom and dad, I don't know if I could make such a decision."

He stares at her, his tired, weary eyes can barely make out her features. All he can tell is that she is pained. It is something that is transparent to him, no matter how bad his eyesight is.

Sasha: "Yeah, man. Sometimes we're forced to make tough decisions, and in our anger and feelings of betrayal, we sometimes ignore what we know to be the truth and the right thing to do. Sometimes we're blinded to it by our anger. I remember feeling betrayed by Anne, just as you were by your friends. I could have killed her back there. I could have gone through and done something totally horrible and lived with that regret for the rest of my life. To live sixty, or seventy years, with that is one thing, but a thousand? It's a hell I wouldn't wish on anyone. And I can't imagine it ever numbing in your mind. I could have done desperate, horrible things, and only by Anne's grace was I prevented from doing so."

As Anne lowers, the last to speak is Marcy. Hearing the first two was hard enough, but to have Marcy approach him feels like daggers in his chest. She twiddles her thumbs for a moment in silence, thinking, trying to find the right words, aiming for precision and directness in her approach, but honesty and compassion, just as Anne did all those years ago, and Andrias can see just the impact she had on her as well.

Marcy: "It hurt, being on the end of that betrayal. It really did… literally."

Andrias raises his hand to speak.

King Andrias: "Marcy, I—"

But she stops him, raising her hand and approaching, floating up to him on her heralded golden wings. She hovers before him, and she places her palm on his face.

Marcy: "But I forgive you, big guy. I saw how much you care about people. I saw how far someone could possibly fall. I saw it through my friends, and I saw it through you. But I also saw just how compassionate and kind someone could be, and I decided I, too, wanted to be like that person. I saw that you wanted, in your exile, to be like Anne."

She turns to Anne with a smile, then back to Andrias.

Marcy: "Those three words can sometimes be the hardest ones to say when you've been wronged. But I do believe that besides 'I love you', they're the second most powerful trio of words in existence. They have the power to change people. They have the power to open the doors for penance. That's what I want for you, to right the wrongs and live out the rest of your days in peace."

Marcy lowers herself, throwing her arms as far around Andrias as she can, embracing him wholly with her warmth. Andrias cradles her with his massive blue hand against him. He solemnly swears.

King Andrias: "I will do whatever it takes. I will get Polly back home where she belongs, and I will return everything to its rightful place. I swore I would protect Polly Plantar with my life."

The Originator: "BUT ARE YOU WORTHY, ANDRIAS?"

Everyone jumps at the loud boom of a voice from seemingly nowhere, but everywhere at the same time. Andrias heard it loud and clear, as if someone were standing right beside him. The deity hovering above had not moved so much as a single muscle before, but now He points to Andrias, summoning the newt, beckoning him.

King Andrias: "I knew I would face judgment someday. But I did not know it would be so soon."

Andrias peers into the glowing orbs of the colossal man before him, the eyes like a pair of suns, eyes that burn just to gaze into.

The Originator: "I WILL INCARNATE YOU ONCE MORE… ON ONE CONDITION, ANDRIAS."

The king falls to his knees before the mighty deity, gazing up in pure desperation. He weeps, basking in the warmth of the being before him. He already knows what he must do.

King Andrias: "I will do whatever it takes to restore my honor and to fulfill my oath to the Plantar family. I will see to it that Polly is brought home, even if it is the last thing I do. I beg of you, My King, to allow me but one reprieve, to right this grievous error, to restore peace and safety to my kingdom."

Andrias stares at the ground, balling his fists.

King Andrias: "I do not care what becomes of me. My life is over. I only wish to finish what I started."

The Originator: "YOU WILL BRING TO ME THE SOULS TRAPPED WITHIN THE CORE, FOR THEIR DAY OF JUDGMENT IS LONG OVERDUE. AND YOU WILL DO IT AS I MADE YOU."

King Andrias raises his head.

King Andrias: "I do not understand, My Lord."

The Originator: "I SHALL INCARNATE YOU ONCE MORE, BUT IN MORTAL FLESH, UNTAINTED BY HERESY AND DEGENERATE ENHANCEMENT DESIGNED TO DEFY ME."

Andrias hangs his head for a moment, peering down at his massive blue hands. He knows now just how unnatural he is, a perversion of nature by science. He bites his lip, tears swelling in his eyes. But then a massive finger extends toward him, drawing his head upward by the chin until he makes eye contact with The Originator once again.

The Originator: "YOU WERE A BEAUTIFUL CREATURE, ANDRIAS. MY LOVE FOR YOU IS INFINITE, AS IT IS FOR ALL CREATURES IN MY PRESENCE AND NOT. I SHALL SPARE YOU IMMEDIATE DEATH, KNOWING THAT NOT ONCE DID YOU TRULY LIVE AS I HAD INTENDED."

Andrias faces away, quite humbled by his Lord's words but uncertain. The Originator speaks to him again.

The Originator: "I SHALL GRANT YOU THE POWER, THROUGH THIS GEM, TO STOP THE CORE ONCE AND FOR ALL. CLASP IT CLOSE TO YOUR HEART AND KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. SEE TO IT THAT THE YOUNG PLANTAR AND THE BOYS FIND THEIR WAY HOME."

Once more, He places his finger on the king's face, and Andrias feels an immense warmth and happiness fill his heart as his body begins to glow. As he is sent back to the realm of the living, his spirit disappears from the plane, leaving only deities and the dead. But Anne ponders the Originator's decision.

Anne: "Will Andrias be able to fight the Core with a new body?"

The Originator turns to her.

The Originator: "IT IS THE ONLY WAY HE CAN TRULY FIGHT THE CORE. OTHERWISE, HE IS COMPROMISED. HE CANNOT FAIL THIS MISSION. TOO MANY LIVES ARE AT RISK. TOO MANY WORLDS ARE AT RISK. THE GREATEST EVIL IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE HAS SEWN HIS SEED INTO THIS WORLD IN THE FORM OF THE CORE, AND TAKING IT DOWN IS MERELY ONE STEP IN TAKING DOWN THE ULTIMATE EVIL."

Anne doesn't like the sound of that, and neither does anyone else in the presence of The Originator. Nervous, Marcy approaches the great man in the sky and inquires.

Marcy: "Um... Mr. Originator, sir... God, whatever you wish to be called... What do you mean by the greatest evil in the known universe?"

Sasha approaches as well, her arms folded.

Sasha: "Yes, My Lord. Who is this greatest evil?"

The Originator does not answer immediately, for His words could compromise them all.

The Originator: "YOU WILL ALL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH."

With this final message, the Originator requests dispersal. Al, as His respective angel of death, escorts Carrion and Hopediah beyond the Gateway to Eternity, where they will spend the rest of their spiritual existence. What awaits them is peace, but with that peace comes a certain level of uncertainty. Hopediah, in his eternal slumber, awaits his granddaughter and grandson, as well as the love of his life and the rest of the people of Wartwood. Beyond that threshold lie people who had come and gone in his life and whom he wasn't sure he would ever see again. Hopediah has but one request of King Andrias: to look after his grandchildren, to make sure that Polly is reunited with Sprig so that they may continue to run Plantar Farm.

He prays, sending every last bit of his spiritual energy to guide Andrias and act as his strength. But can Andrias truly persevere? Where is he, spiritually? Physically? Right now? It may not be certain, but did he ever truly rise from that bed and commit to those trials in the physical realm? It would appear not, for while Albaneria may, in fact, be a place in the physical realm, it is a place that is haunted by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of amphibians, a ghostly, spiritual domain where the people are suspended in a state of purgatory, and only retribution, true retribution, and justice for what his grandfather had done all those years ago, may finally put them at peace.

But what could the Originator's plan for Andrias be? Certainly, it goes above and beyond the wishes of The Calamity Trio. All He asks is that the girls be there when the time comes that he shall need their strength. Meanwhile, in the physical realm, also on the continent of Nero Hades, Dr. Malley leads the kids down a long, dark, narrow, iron stairway. It's small, claustrophobic, and they're surrounded by dripping wet pipes covered in sea growth. The metal had been eaten away by oxidation from all the years of being sunken beneath the sea.

Malley remembers just how long after resurfacing it had taken him, upon his reawakening by mysterious service robots he had never seen before, just how long it had taken to remove the excess water from his pipes. As it turns out, Andrias was not the first to experience intervention by the robots from deep below the dirt. As Malley nears pitch-black darkness, he activates one of the few new abilities that, as a robot, he found most convenient, his internal flashlight. Malley's eyes project a bright funnel of light forward, the effect also causing the robotic teeth in his perpetually closed mouth to flow, and the three of them continue forward.

Dr. Malley: "Watch your step, please. These stairs are old and worn, and I wouldn't want either of you to fall through or slip. Make sure to hold the railing."

Polly rolls her eyes. She's tempted, oh so tempted just to say "Yes, Mom", but for the sake of remaining on this stranger's good side, she refrains. Henry, however, obeys, staring down at his feet to make sure he doesn't misstep and clinging to the slippery, slimy rail with as much grit as his soaked and wrinkly hand will allow. He isn't too sure of this axolotl either, even if he did save him and Polly. He wonders as they descend into the abyss, just how deep this tunnel goes. Certainly, it can't just go on forever.

Henry: "How deep down are we going? It's starting to get hot in here."

The frog is used to humidity, having lived in a swamp her whole life, but Henry finds himself breaking out in a sweat, using his alternate hand to rub the moisture from his brow. Why is it getting so hot? Are they really so close to the Earth's core now that they're starting to experience that rise in temperature? He doesn't know. All he can see is the back of the small frog child's head and Malley's iron dome with some wires sticking out. How in the world could a robot have existed in these conditions, with water all over the place and without a charger in sight? These guys must have killer batteries.

These thoughts run through Henry's head with such depth that he doesn't even realize when they've reached the bottom, and he goes to take a step down another stair and winds up stomping into nothing, almost tripping awkwardly. The two before him turn around to find him stumbling and recovering.

Henry: "I'm okay."

He rises, and before them is continued darkness. They trudged down a long tunnel with nothing but Malley's headlights to light the way. It's a long path of uneven and unpaved dirt, transitioning from the iron tunnels. Now, they are heading somewhere totally different. On the way there, Henry notices something rather peculiar, an untaken path, and he wonders what the other side leads to. But more so, he's just curious as to where the axolotl is taking them.

Dr. Malley: "AnimaGenesis does not know of this place. Its external cloud cannot breathe the depths. It appears as though the running servers down here interfere with its ability to communicate."

He turns to them.

Dr. Malley: "It's like trying to speak to someone whose language you don't know. The place we are about to enter predates all of the technology above. I have seen it as a safe haven from the horrors of the world above."

And so, they tread out into the vast, pastel neon lights of the underground city of Albaneria. Polly stares with wild wonder at the massive, glowing mushrooms high above her head, and Dr. Malley, now surrounded by enough light to see, turns off his internal flashlight. The robot treads before them, extending his arms with a wide smile as he introduces his guests.

Dr. Malley: "This is Albaneria."

Polly turns around in place, taking in her surroundings with a smile of wonder and curiosity.

Polly: "Reminds me of the underground city of Proteus, my family and I traveled to years ago."

Dr. Malley nods with his hand to his chin in delight.

Dr. Malley: "Ah, yes, the ancient Olm city of Proteus. The lung tunnels beneath the sea are capable of reaching the Olm city, but it's a long hike, much too far on foot. I'm curious, though. How long ago did you go to Proteus?"

Polly shrugs, looking away somewhat avoidantly, as if the matter is of unimportance considering everything going on at the moment.

Polly: "I don't know, almost ten years ago."

The axolotl doesn't follow up on the question but merely proceeds forward in a matter-of-factly manner, leaving Polly to wonder why he asked at all. He smiles, though, knowing for certain that the city must continue to exist after all these years. Malley barely makes it but a few inches before a tiny object taps him on his shin. The neurological circuits, of course, allow him to experience such a sensation, and the axolotl robot peers down at the much smaller robot, zooming in with its ocular lens.

Dr. Malley: "Goodness. What's this?"

More of them huddle around the three newcomers, and Polly and Henry stand at defense, ready to retaliate should the robots attempt any sort of funny business. But even with thousands of robots surrounding them, they do not attack. All they do is peer onward, analyze, and synchronize. It would appear that within their tiny circuit brains, they piece together a little correlation, having analyzed the thoughts of another, the dwelling mental images of a dying man as he drifted away from the world, and as they peer at that tiny fuchsia frog girl, they know, and they disperse, forming a conga line in the dirt and marching forward toward a singular destination. The three watch as they proceed, before stopping momentarily, as if bidding them.

Henry: "I think they want us to follow them."

He announces as he treads forward slowly. Malley grabs his arm.

Dr. Malley: "Be careful. I still don't know what these nanobots are all about. This could be a trap."

Henry jerks his arm free.

Henry: "They already had us trapped."

Polly proceeds forward.

Polly: "Yeah, but Ernst could have sent them after us."

Dr. Malley follows, shaking his head.

Dr. Malley: "No, I don't believe these robots to be of AnimaGenesis's control. One thing I've learned is that its wireless connection doesn't reach this far down into the crust."

Henry scoffs.

Henry: "Shoulda got some better Bluetooth."

They follow the tiny robotic bug creatures over debris and through the streets of Albaneria, and Henry and Polly are quite astonished to find such similar technology buried deep within the earth of Nero Hades. Henry turns to them.

Henry: "How old is this place again? You said you were dormant for over a thousand years. And yet… they had cars back then?"

Dr. Malley: "According to ancient history, a long time ago, the people of Albaneria, an extinct race of super-intelligent individuals, built an entire society within the dirt, hidden from the rest of the world. They didn't trust King Atlas, and rightfully so. But their technology was no match for the magic and sheer numbers he had at his disposal. Supposedly, it's why he recruited people like me to head up Project: AnimaGenesis… because these people refused."

Malley treads forward, kicking stones.

Dr. Malley: "And to think, the king supposedly needed us for our brains. If only I knew back then that there were creatures far greater than any of us living right below our feet."

He sighs. They turn around the corner, following the bugs into the deep blue, past the dilapidated building, and through the purgatorial fog toward a rather peculiar building with a big door. They happen to notice that the place is almost church-like in shape.

Henry: "What is this place?"

He asks as he stares up into the blackened spires toward a sky of lime, raining down hot mist on them. Malley shrugs.

Dr. Malley: "I don't know. There's only one way to find out."

He nods forward. Polly's been awfully quiet, and Henry notices. He starts to show concern for her.

Henry: "Hey, Polly."

Polly peers over to him with a raised brow.

Polly: "Yeah?"

Henry: "What's wrong?"

Polly shrugs limply.

Polly: "I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about this."

And so they enter through the massive gateway door, treading into the darkness of the main hall as Malley turns on his internal lighting systems momentarily. The tiny robots funnel through another doorway, ahead of them in the dust-filled, dank, and dreary darkness. As they proceed, they notice more and more technology, wiring, and piping as the derelict building slowly becomes more robotic in nature, eventually treading back into proper lighting, a deep, blueish-green hue of monitors as they enter a room. But beyond that corner, as the robots come to a stop, Polly raises her hands to her mouth in a gasp. Slowly, she approaches.

Polly: "... Andrias…"

She stands before the bed where the massive man lies, hundreds of robots restoring his lost limbs, but he does not breathe. Her mouth hangs agape as she runs her eyes across his motionless body, her mouth fidgeting, the starting fragments of soundless syllables framing her staggered and fragile mind as she beholds a man that she at one point hated.

Polly: "No… You weren't supposed to go like this. We were supposed to go home! You were supposed to take me home! To Hop Pop! And Sprig! And Sylvia!... Get up!"

She pounds the bed.

Polly: "Get up!"

Henry approaches her from behind.

Henry: "Why in the world do you want that psychopath to wake up?!"

Polly: "Shut up, Henry! What do you know?!"

She turns around, slapping his hands away, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Polly: "He changed! He was living with us in Wartwood, and he changed! He's been doing all this stuff for Wartwood, like getting rid of the millipede problems and doing errands for Hop Pop! And he was gonna help get the local school running for the kids and everything!..."

She turns to him, placing her palm over his newly formed limb, staring up at the heart monitor, and noticing there is no beat. Of course, Andrias had not had an organic heart in centuries. Nearly his whole body was machine at this point, almost everywhere but his head, really.

Polly: "We talked about life, and… how things were gonna be different, how he'd finally make peace and how… we'd all be happy… But now… he doesn't get to do any of that."

The axolotl stands in the back, staring around at the floor in morose contemplation. What could he do? But then he remembers the golden gem he had confiscated from Ernst, thus closing off access to the portal back to Earth. Dr. Malley opens the hollow storage container in his chest and removes the golden gem from within. He stares at it for a moment before nodding in confirmation, vowing he must try. Dr. Malley approaches Andrias and observes the bare torso of the man before him. He notices a damaged slot where the battery once lay that powered his beating heart, giving him life. It had been destroyed upon impact, causing him to suffocate, a slow, painful death.

He looks at the gem and then at the cavity in the chest before placing the gem into the open slot. Almost immediately, upon contact, the gem starts to glow brightly, and the people in the room shield their eyes as the gem embeds itself within Andrias's torso, and the robotic reconstruction is hastened tenfold. In a matter of seconds, the body is reconstructed, and Andrias lies there, complete. His pale blue body resumes its natural color as oxygen is once again pushed through his lungs, oil through the robotics, blood through the veins, and Andrias rises, a thick gasp of air being pulled into his lungs like a vacuum. He sits up, gasping, swallowing, his body breaking out in a cold sweat as he darts his head around the room.

King Andrias: "Who? What?... I'm… I'm alive."

Andrias stares down at his hands once again.

King Andrias: "Is it real this time?"

He turns to see the others beside him, and his eyes immediately shoot toward Polly.

King Andrias: "Polly!"

He shouts as the girl runs toward him. He lowers his hand, scooping her up and drawing her close to him in a warm and soft embrace.

Polly: "Andrias! I thought you were dead! I didn't know if anyone was gonna come and find me!"

She embraces him tightly, as tightly as she can, not wanting to let him go. But then she ceases to do so when she realizes something.

Polly: "Where's Sprig? And Hop Pop?"

King Andrias: "Sprig is at home. And Hop Pop… Well…"

Andrias places Polly on the floor, and she peers up at him with a curious tilt to her head like a small puppy.

Polly: "What do you mean, 'well'?"

King Andrias runs his hand through his white locks, looking away and gathering his thoughts. How in the world is he supposed to tell Polly what happened to Hop Pop? How can he just tell the girl he reunited with, "Oh, by the way, your grandfather's dead", especially when he isn't even entirely sure that he is, or that anything that he experienced was at all for real? Andrias then notices the gold gem placed into his bare chest cavity. Reaching down, he examines it.

King Andrias: "So, this is my new body."

He rises onto the floor, taking in the newly reformed structure. He's still the same. In fact, he's now more robot than ever.

King Andrias: "I don't understand. The Originator said I would be granted incarnated in a new, mortal…"

He raises his eyes when he notices two other individuals accompanying Polly.

King Andrias: "Who are you?"

The axolotl steps forward to introduce himself.

Dr. Malley: "I am Dr. Eugene Malley, former lead scientist on Project: AnimaGenesis."

King Andrias just stares at him through squinted eyes, confused, but now his eyesight is restored to a degree, thanks to the nanotechnology that removed layers of cataracts from his vision and performed corrective surgery on his corneas. He can see the robot axolotl clearly. Unfortunately, the robots had not filled him in on any of the events proceeding on the island.

King Andrias: "Project… AnimaGenesis?"

Malley is just as taken aback by Andrias's lack of awareness of the project as Andrias is about hearing that name for the first time. The robot shakes his head and prepares to elaborate.

Dr. Malley: "You mean, you weren't informed of your father and grandfather's ongoing projects surrounding the creation of The Core?"

Andrias shakes his head.

King Andrias: "No. And who is this young man?"

He says, pointing down to Henry, who continues to stand there silently with balled fists, just staring up at the king and fuming.

Henry: "I'm the one whose dad you kidnapped all those years ago!"

Henry approaches the king accusingly, pointing at him, poking his leg as he stares into the king's eyes high above. Andrias simply raises a brow as the young man starts throwing entirely ineffective punches at the king's legs.

King Andrias: "Kidnap? I never kidnapped anyone."

Henry: "Oh, really! Then who is Captain Ernst?! He works for you! Doesn't he?!"

Andrias's eyes widen as he lowers his hand, gripping the young teenager in his balled hand and holding him so that their eyes are at the same height.

King Andrias: "How do you know of Ernst?! Ernst died years ago! In fact, he'd never been to Earth! Is it possible that he… Young man, tell me about this man you call Ernst. Did he have white hair and a beard?"

Henry: "White hair? No. The dude was entirely bald. Red newt guy. Surly. Huge ego."

King Andrias lowers Henry to the ground, staring away in thought for a moment.

King Andrias: "Yeah, that sounds like Ernst. But it can't be. He died years ago, drowned in the ocean, and was… never seen again."

He stares into space, realizing that Ernst's body was never found. It was never recovered and reported to him, and he feels like he could kick himself for such an oversight. Andrias scowls, turning his head to the only other adult in the room.

King Andrias: "Where is Ernst?"

Malley can see the anger in the king's eyes and hear the coldness of his voice behind the question, and now he feels somewhat intimidated.

Dr. Malley: "He's back in AnimaGenesis Labs, up on the surface level. He has a massive army of robots and fungal drones, brain shrooms that have been co-opted to act as a sort of hivemind device, connecting them to the AnimaGenesis Intelligence."

King Andrias: "You never told me. What is AnimaGenesis?"

Dr. Malley: "AnimaGenesis is the artificial intelligence used to connect the collective minds of The Core. In a sense, it is the brain of The Core, the very spirit of its existence."

Henry: "AnimaGenesis survived the destruction of The Core by uploading itself to the internet on Earth through our Bluetooth technology. It hid away on our internet, gathering intel and spying on mankind. Who knows just what kind of secrets it found?"

Henry's blood runs cold just thinking about the implication.

Henry: "Something that intelligent could wind up getting into government computers, using AI technology to come up with all sorts of narratives to drive the public insane, turn people against their governments and their countries. It could wind up doing something as terrible as acquiring the launch codes for our nukes. It could level entire countries…wipe out mankind…"

Andrias swallows, realizing the implications of such a horrible entity gaining control of the internet. He vows to act fast and darts his head around the room for his coat. Within seconds, the nanobots slink up to him with an old, heavy, dusty leather coat, and Andrias collects the garment with a small smile, tossing it over his body and fixing the collar. He then peers over to the wall where his weapons are collected, propped up against the wall as if waiting for his return. Properly equipping himself with a hammer and sword, sheathing the mighty weapons within their respective scabbards, he peers down at the three before him.

King Andrias: "I think it's time I paid my old friend Captain Ernst a visit."

Andrias stares down the long, wide corridor with a hard scowl and eyes filled with a massive thirst for retribution.

King Andrias: "But first… I have some unfinished business to take care of."

Chapter Text

Captain Ernst is having one hell of a bad time back at AnimaGenesis Laboratory. Between the loss of two of his hostages and the theft of the golden gem that had been powering his teleporter, he had failed AnimaGenesis in ways that were inconceivable, at least according to him. Never before had he faced such a massive dishonor or embarrassment. Even his "death" was more dignified. Although it's not like he could have anticipated anything like that. How was he supposed to know that a robot axolotl from a thousand years ago would inexplicably show up and throw a wrench into his whole scheme?

Ernst is not taking his failure well one bit all. From trashing the local offices and the chemistry lab to nearly breaking down and destroying the teleporter itself after all the hard work spent on it, he knows that he needs to calm down, especially after AnimaGenesis is forced to intervene through the use of the other assimilated victims and the robots.

Captain Ernst: "Dammit!"

He shouts as he rubs his arms across a metal desk, sending chemicals in vials, beakers, flasks, mechanical instruments, and paperwork all over the floor. He stands there, fungal Frobots restraining him like a pair of vices as Dr. Thurman kneels over, glowing eyes filled with a lack of all emotion but deadly in their seriousness as they address the man huffing and puffing before them. Dr. Thurman pulls Ernst up by the chin, forcing the newt to look at him. The doctor issues a hard scowl as the Newtopian man gazes up into his vacant eyes.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Have you learned to contain your emotions, Captain? Or do we have to use other, more… extreme methods of correcting your behavior?"

The Captain continues to huff through his flared nostrils for a moment, biting his lip, not answering right away, recomposing himself before offering an affirmative nod, the robots releasing him not a second later as he rolls his shoulder and regains circulation in his sore arms, sneering off to the side at the robots. Taking a moment to adjust, Ernst inhales and exhales deeply, folding his arms as he stares at the floor. He knows he is on thin ice with AnimaGenesis, as his plan had already taken longer than it should have to complete, and Ernst knows full well that AnimaGenesis largely considers it his fault that the hostages escaped in the first place.

Captain Ernst: "I apologize for my… outburst. I am still very much on board with our plans. I just… need to know now what the next course of action will be."

Ernst peers up at the good doctor, making eye contact as the doctor's scowl rises into a slight smile, the optimism returned to the A.I.-driven man mere seconds after expressing profound disappointment, and Ernst is disturbed by just how in control AnimaGenesis is after such a hard blow.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Why, it's quite simple, Captain Ernst. Our old body, the prototype, are you aware of the Prototype Core built a thousand years ago?"

Captain Ernst nods.

Captain Ernst: "Yes, I know of the history of the Core and the many trials preceding its creation. The novelization… the diaries you had me look over, painted quite a bloody picture."

The doctor issues a small laugh, the people a small inconvenience to pay for such a marvelous creation in AnimaGenesis's mind.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Indeed. We received signals from our old body across the plane. Axolonia had been discovered by an old friend of ours, Andrias Leviathan. The fool thought it would be wise to attempt to destroy our old body, but it was no match. As a result, Andrias has fallen."

Ernst removes his hand from his brow, his eyes widening as he approaches, taking the doctor by the shoulder.

Captain Ernst: "Andrias has arrived on Nero Hades? Already?"

The doctor nods.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Affirmative. His body was torn to pieces near the Axolonian tower. Unfortunately, the continental instability caused a shift in the tectonics, and Andrias fell through a split in the ground. His death is all but confirmed."

Captain Ernst smiles with a shrug.

Captain Ernst: "So that's it then? Andrias is dead? Sounds like a celebration, even in the light of the loss of our gem, is in order."

The doctor's smile melts off his face into a cold scowl, and an expression of slight curiosity as Ernst is surrounded by robots and assimilated drones in a most threatening manner. AnimaGenesis speaks, their voices in unison as they emerge from the various robots and drones.

AnimaGenesis (All): "How easily you forget the importance of confirmation, dear Ernst."

Their eyes glow, the robots, the drone, and the doctor, a beet, bloody red.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Prepare for departure. Destination: Axolonia. We need confirmation of his death. We will find Andrias's body, as well as reclaim the lost gem from those brats."

The assimilated doctor faces away, clenching his fist tightly as the intelligence continues.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "The people of Earth will pay dearly for their insolence, especially those foolish young ladies."

Captain Ernst agrees. He turns to the assimilated Bobby and Steven and then to the mess he made, placing his hands on his hips and then pointing to the mess.

Captain Ernst: "You two, clean this up."

Ernst gathers as many robots and drones as possible and prepares to head out toward the desolate city of Axolonia to investigate the massive crater in the earth. They wonder if it's possible to run into the kids, as they know that Andrias's sole purpose for going there is to rescue Polly. Where they find the kids, they will find the gem, and they need that gem to power the portal and continue their plan on Earth. But they know that time is of the essence, and if those kids learn the true nature of the gem, it puts them at a massive disadvantage.

Ernst is absolutely teeming with anticipation for a reunion with the king, unaware that Andrias already knows of his survival and is possibly expecting him. Little do either of them know that Andrias has claimed possession of the gem. In the meantime, deep beneath the surface in the isolated ghost town of Albaneria, Andrias and his cohorts realize they're in a little bit of a conundrum as they face the stairway heading back up into Malley's underground bunker.

Polly: "How in the world are we gonna get big ol' King Andrias up this skinny hall with all these tiny stairs?"

She peers up at the big guy, and his eyes meet hers as he shrugs candidly. Henry cringes as he stares up into the dark and dank abyss. He really doesn't want to go back up those stairs, especially after how long it took just to go down them, realizing going up would be infinitely worse. He rejects the idea entirely out of self-aware teenage laziness. He peers over to Polly, who catches his glance and does a double-take.

Polly: "What? I don't wanna go back up those stairs either."

Dr. Malley just rolls his digital eyes. Malley's body doesn't experience the same tiredness and aches in the joints as his organic counterparts and has, therefore, lost the ability to empathize with such minor discomfort.

Dr. Malley: "I see children haven't become any more proactive in the thousand years since I've been in contact with society."

The four of them turn around and begin to think of an alternative plan, and that's when Henry inquires.

Henry: "Say, doc, what was on the other side of the hallway up there, in the alternate direction to the stairway?"

Dr. Malley: "That direction leads to the old dorms where the doctors used to sleep. It was where my old colleagues and I would rest. Had we been forced to stay here for an extended period, I suppose you kids would have slept on them. It's not like I need a bed anymore with this fully robotic body… only an outlet… preferably one that hadn't shorted from the sinking of the island."

Henry folds his arms.

Henry: "A soaking wet, damp, musky bed that had been sitting under the sea for a thousand years? Thanks, but no thanks."

The robot shrugs.

Dr. Malley: "Suit yourself."

Andrias steps forward, plunging himself into thought. He muses for a moment, an opportunity to escape, and one such option, though bizarre, promises a solution to their little dilemma of Andrias's bigness.

King Andrias: "I wonder if the portal still exists at the shrine."

Dr. Malley: "Portal?"

Kids: "Shrine?"

Andrias feels inclined to clarify. He refers, of course, to the portal at the third shrine, opened by Al. His suggestion, in hindsight, doesn't make much sense, as why would anyone wish to step forward into a portal trodden through by the Grim Reaper and multiple dead men? His head is foggy, and little does he recognize he's merely grasping at straws for a solution.

King Andrias: "Before I had arisen, I had gone on a bit of a spiritual journey through this city. Somehow, I am aware of this place though I had never trodden through it in the material plane."

The others just stare at him, speechless. They have no idea what he's talking about. His incoherent rambling is saved, however, when Malley infers validity in the king's statement. He approaches in a puzzled, deductive manner with his hand to his chin.

Dr. Malley: "An out-of-body near-death experience, perhaps? Please elaborate. This is quite fascinating."

Andrias faces away. He seems reluctant to do so, given the circumstances, but opts for reasoning as they proceed toward his destination. Andrias leads the way, crouching through the halls and out the front door of the building and out into the quiet, open, dark, and desolate streets. He observes his surroundings with a sense of Deja Vu as specific landmarks from his stroll with Death appear before his very eyes. And then he also remembers how Carrion would leave disgusting, bloody remnants where he trod, and he peers in the streets, looking for trails.

For what it's worth, the layout remains largely the same, which causes Andrias to question just how real the experience he was having was. He wonders. Did he really confront the spirits of Leif and Barrel? Was it really them or mere manifestations of their essence? Was Carrion real at all, or was he indeed some fragment of the king's slowly waning sanity combined with his imagination? Did he really meet God, the spirit of the recently deceased Hopediah Plantar, or Death himself? Did he really confront some manifestation of his younger self? Was Adrian real, or was that a stairway?

And if so, how was Andrias able to predict the acquisition of the golden gem placed within him? What is real and what isn't? His brain hurts just thinking of the implications. The quartet reaches a point on the road where it just ends, and where the street trails off into… nothingness, as if no such temple ever existed. Andrias stares off into the blackened abyss, wondering if that whole aspect of his journey was a mental, psychological construct merely designed to get him to confront himself. Andrias shakes his head, wondering for a moment if perhaps he was mistaken or had taken the wrong direction somewhere. He peers around for signs of this possibility.

Dr. Malley: "What are you looking for, My King?"

Andrias stares down at the asphalt as he passes, knowing for sure that the undead axolotl had left a long, skidding trail. Andrias dismisses the question, knowing that to inform his followers of such a detail would lead them to question him further.

King Andrias: "Nothing. Let's go."

He continues, facing away somewhat avoidantly as Malley watches from the side. Andrias can feel the doctor peering over his shoulder. Still, the concept of a guardian angel somewhat intrigues him, and Malley's open curiosity provides Andrias with the courage to ask a rather bizarre question.

King Andrias: "Malley, you're a man of science. Do you believe in the afterlife?"

The doctor's eyes widen somewhat at the statement. He finds himself shocked that Andrias would question a robot of all people if he had believed in such a thing, especially a doctor. Certainly, a man with so much experience around a conqueror of worlds would be well-versed in the various religions of the universe. Andrias himself, in his conquests, had encountered many species, and it seemed that the most sentient and sapient ones, the ones who were more than mere bacteria or animals, the ones who possessed some semblance of society, all had some sort of deity in which they prayed to or celebrated for their existence, whether that being was real or not.

Dr. Malley: "Me? Well, as the head of spiritual transference, I believe in spirits. I believe in magic, having witnessed the power of the gems with my own two eyes. I've seen inter-dimensional travel. I've seen many wonderful things in my life that most people likely wouldn't believe in. I used to be a skeptic, but both maturity and experience have proven my old views wrong. If life beyond death does exist, I am no longer a skeptic."

Polly strolls up to them, stretching her arms behind her head as she adds her two cents.

Polly: "Before Anne left, when she quote-unquote 'died', she mentioned having met a 'Cosmic Guardian'. Said it looked like the cat we had, Domino 2. But then she was brought back to life. She didn't say very much about it before she left. I wish I had the opportunity to talk with her about it."

Andrias stops for a moment as Henry pulls up.

King Andrias: "As do I."

Andrias peers over to the young man now in his peripheral vision.

Henry: "Well, I go to a Catholic high school, not for religious reasons, but because my mom wanted to get me out of the really bad public schools. Even on Earth, we have some grasp of a concept of the afterlife, and while I've never heard of such a thing as a Cosmic Guardian, they sure talk about God a lot."

Andrias proceeds to look around for the silhouette of the tower in the distance, but finds nothing.

King Andrias: "I suppose by God, you refer to what many around me have called The Originator?"

Henry shrugs.

Henry: "I don't know. I've heard Him called many different things. Seems like different people have different names, but ultimately, they're referring to the same guy. By the way, what in the world are we actually looking for?"

This causes Andrias to ponder more about his previous thoughts, wondering. What if those beings across the universe had, in fact, envisioned that same creator, but actually spoke to them in different forms, perhaps they could comprehend, given how their culture adapted? The Originator made it quite clear that He simply creates these beings and observes as they go about their lives, almost like a benevolent spectator, a scientist in the sky, analyzing His specimens with a microscope and taking notes. Andrias continues to stare out into the distance toward an empty plot of land where the first challenge once stood.

He can see it now, the big stairway leading up to the entrance to the shrine where he went to rescue Barrel. If only it had been real. But then he wonders for a moment if perhaps it was, and perhaps he was somehow communicating with the very ghost of Barrel himself. Andrias shakes his head, realizing he must be crazy. Certainly, such a shrine wouldn't exist in the material realm. He simply shakes his head.

King Andrias: "Nothing… However, I do know of somewhere that was, in fact, real. I wonder. Dr. Malley, does that tower in Axolonia extend below the surface?"

Dr. Malley almost jumps at the sound of the name.

Dr. Malley: "Axolonia? Now there's a place I haven't been in centuries… Home… I really should go home at some point… But a tower? I don't remember any tower in Axolonia."

Andrias ponders some more.

King Andrias: "Then it must have been constructed—"

?: "After the fall of Axolonia?"

A familiar voice calls from behind. The four of them turn around to find themselves completely swarmed by an entire army of both drones and Frobots.

King Andrias: "That voice! It's… you!"

Captain Ernst: "Indeed, Andrias. It's been quite a long time. Hasn't it? You thought you could cheat death just like I did? Well, I have greater powers on my side."

Andrias scowls, gritting his teeth as his expression turns into a full-on sneer. The others follow. Nobody is happy to see him.

King Andrias: "Or so you would think, Ernst. So, it's you being led astray by the Core now. I plead with you, don't allow that monster to lead you down the same dark road it had led me."

Henry: "Where are my friends, you creep?! What have you done with my Dad?"

Another voice, eerie and familiar to them all, echoes through the streets as the crowd spreads, revealing Dr. Thurman as he leads the pack of zombified individuals, including Bobby and Steven.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Now, now, Henry, that's no way to greet an old friend."

Henry: "Dad! Bobby! Steven!"

Andrias peers over to the distressed young man as he stands there, helpless to do little more than ball his fists at his enemy. Andrias watches as the young man grieves before turning back to the monster before him.

King Andrias: "Release the young man's friends and his father! I order you, as your king!"

Ernst merely snickers.

Captain Ernst: "The last time I obeyed your order, it led to my death."

King Andrias: "You fool! It was an order passed down from the very entity you're protecting!"

Henry's father scowls, his piercing red eyes flickering with hatred.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Nonsense, Andrias. It is because of us that Ernst lives."

King Andrias: "What do you want?"

The entity controlling Dr. Thurman stands there with folded arms, tired of this encounter.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "We want the gem, Andrias."

King Andrias clutches his chest, realizing that should they take the gem, he would most likely cease to live. With that, he lies, foolishly attempting to deceive them when it couldn't possibly be more obvious that he has it.

King Andrias: "We have no gem."

Captain Ernst: "Then you leave us no choice. Attack them! Get that gem!"

All hell breaks loose within the underground tunnel as Andrias and his cohorts are surrounded. Henry has no fighting prowess whatsoever and feels totally helpless to do anything but flee, as he remembers the spray bottle he has in his pocket. Readying his self-defense, Henry tries to evade his attackers in such a manner that he doesn't just back himself into a corner. Meanwhile, Polly deploys as many Polly-carbonate robots as she can to aid in the battle. Andrias kicks, punches, and bashes his way through the seemingly endless horde only to find himself being dogpiled on by the vast majority. Henry is approached by his friends, and they restrain him.

Henry: "Let me go!"

Polly realizes he's being attacked and sends more robots over.

Polly: "Henry!"

The robots attack and restrain Henry's friends as he goes to use his spray bottle. Henry's heart sinks, though, when he goes to shoot, and nothing but a soft spritz of cool air shoots through the nozzle. He is empty and totally helpless.

Henry: "No!... No!"

He shouts as Polly dispenses the last of her robots. Dr. Malley, certainly no fighter himself, does realize he has some sort of defenses in the form of somewhat superior to human physical robot strength and lasers, but they are vastly outnumbered, and it appears as though AnimaGenesis is trying to jam the signal being sent out to the other nanobots of the underground. Fortunately, though, some were close by and heard the message loud and clear. The nanobots surge, attacking the attackers with extreme force. Andrias dukes it out with Captain Ernst, the old man still defying and sly enough to evade Andrias's slow, heavy attacks.

He leaps at the man, clenching his chest and reaching for the gem as Andrias grabs the smaller newt, tossing him to the ground as violently as he can. Ernst recovers, though, in a roll, and that's when AnimaGenesis orders the mass of drones to hone in on Andrias and take the gem. Hundreds swarm the man, pulling his massive weight down with thousands of times his weight in the form of accumulated body mass as they reach down for the gem and restrain him. Slowly, Andrias is being consumed by darkness.

He panics in the heightened tension. He can see the vision all over again, the memory of Polly being taken, of having to stroll home alone. Many visions of his worst nightmares swarm Andrias's mind all at once as he is slowly pulled into darkness, the last image being Polly's face before he is entirely overrun.

King Andrias: "No!... No!... Not again!"

Andrias growls, his heightened intensity sparking a powder keg as the gem within his chest begins to glow, and Andrias roars, an explosion of anger as a king covered in a golden aura rises, his body like a hot flame as he draws his sword and hammer, taking to as many drones as possible. Andrias leaps from the heat of the battle and toward the increasing army surrounding Henry and Polly, inhaling deeply and emitting a massive blast of glowing, golden magical energy from his mouth like a radioactive proton beam, disintegrating the mass in his path. Henry notices the beam getting dangerously close to his friends.

Henry: "Stop! My friends are in there!"

Andrias swallows the rest of the beam before he can cause any more damage. Without another second to waste, the king swipes the tiny boy off the ground, the little Polly into his hand, and lastly, the robot, Dr. Malley. He doesn't know what he can do with them, but he must escape, fast, and that's when he realizes the hole he blasted in the ceiling must be how the others found them so quickly. But how to get up there? Andrias realizes now, in his heightened form, that he must remember how those girls did it. He remembers now that the gems offered seemingly unlimited magical potential, so perhaps all he must do now is concentrate, believe, and channel the magic.

Andrias imagines himself with mighty wings, as hard as he can, as massive, golden dragon wings extend from his back. Andrias leaps into the air, trying to flap the wings as hard as he can, slowly but surely gaining control as he tries to counter the massive weight, shielding the others from the incoming laser blasts with his bare arms as he ascends toward the ceiling.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Stop them!"

Dr. Thurman points to the hole as thousands of drones surround them in flight. Andrias darts directly upward toward the hole as fast as his energized body will allow, but he finds himself quickly growing tired, the gem starting to deplete in its inefficient use of power, as Andrias finds himself becoming quickly drained. He pushes, harder and harder, with every last inch of his will toward the surface, finally, and just in the nick of time, reaching the bright sky and open air as the golden aura leaves his body and he starts to plummet to the ground, with the last of his energy, Andrias turns to land on his back on the surface and with a loud crash, he collides with the ground, losing consciousness.

Andrias may have lost the horde temporarily, but soon they will reach the surface, and when they get there, they know exactly where that hole is. It's only a matter of time before Ernst and his troops make it back up to the surface. As the group tries to reawaken Andrias, high above, in another plane, a different existence altogether, they are watched. The new Cosmic Guardian stares down from the platform above the Stairway to Eternity as the projection of the battle plays in open space. She can't even believe what she saw beneath the city streets as Andrias emerged from the heat of battle.

Anne: "It's incredible. It's just like back then with the Calamity Gems."

The Originator: "THIS WAS YOUR PROPHECY, MY DEAR. I SIMPLY MADE IT SO."

Anne turns to Him, rubbing her arms.

Anne: "I can't thank you enough for this."

She turns back toward the screen.

Anne: "But I'm worried. I'm worried for all of them. Should we go down there? Me? Sasha? Marcy? Is there any way we can help turn the tide of battle for them?"

Sasha balls her fists. Even as an angel, she's just as rowdy and ready to party as ever, and as an angel, she's far stronger than she ever was, barring the time she, too, held the Calamity Gem.

Sasha: "Now you're talkin', Anne. I've been itching to beat up on that robot freak ever since we started watching this freak show unfold."

Marcy nods. She, too, wishes to help.

Marcy: "I'd love to go down there and kick some robot booty too... and also find out about that nanotechnology down beneath the surface because that stuff seems mega cool. I should totally have a chat with those Albanerians. I could..."

She just darts her eyes between the other two, who are just staring at her like she has a third eye.

Marcy: "I'm talking too much again. Aren't I?"

Neither of the two answers her. The Originator remains silent for a moment, mulling over His plan for the king.

The Originator: "HE MUST BE READY. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR FAILURE WHEN THE UNIVERSE IS AT STAKE. A MALEVOLENT EXTERNAL FORCE HAS MADE ITS WAY TOWARD AMPHIBIA, A FORCE THAT COULD TAKE A HARSH STRANGLEHOLD IF WE GAVE IT SO MUCH AS AN INCH OF LEVERAGE."

Anne: "... What is this 'external force' you've been hinting at? Perhaps I can help."

The Originator: "... THERE IS A BEING, A MALEVOLENT FORCE CAPABLE OF TRAVELING THROUGH SPACE AND TIME, A PARASITIC FOE WITH A POWER UNLIKE ANY HAD EVER SEEN, A FORCE THAT IS CAPABLE OF SNEAKING INTO WORLDS AT ANY POINT, INSERTING ITSELF INTO HISTORY AND CREATING A WORLD OF ENDLESS SUFFERING. HIS NAME… IS VADRIGAR."

Anne: "Vadrigar?"

The Originator: "INDEED, AND HE COULD BE ANYWHERE IN THIS TIMELINE, HAVING EVEN SURFACED THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO. I BELIEVE THAT AT THE HEART OF THE CORE LIES A BEING INFLUENCED BY THIS EVIL. HE HAS INFECTED MANY WORLDS AND MANY REALITIES."

Anne simply stands in awe, confused and uncertain.

The Originator: "THE FACADE YOU SEE BEFORE YOU IS BUT ONE OF MANY INSTANCES OF MY PROJECTION. I HAVE BILLIONS OF SUCH PROJECTIONS THROUGHOUT ALL REALITIES, ONES WHERE YOU ARE NO COSMIC GUARDIAN AND ONES WHERE YOU DO NOT EXIST AT ALL. YOU ARE BUT ONE OF MY MANY ASSISTANTS."

Back on Nero Hades, it's been a couple of minutes, and Andrias still won't rise. Polly is getting worried that the group from down below will catch up to them to finish them off, while Andrias is compromised. Malley worries about the group getting their revenge on him for his attack on their compound, and Henry worries that his father and friends are still at the mercy of that dastardly fiend, Captain Ernst, and that he may very well consider hurting them as punishment toward Henry. Malley assures Henry that so long as Andrias has the gem, Ernst needs them as bargaining chips if he ever wants to get that Calamity Gem back for their portal. Andrias isn't quite sure how long it's been, only that he's exhausted. What the hell was that? He doesn't know, only that it was something similar to the way Anne and her friends behaved when in control of their respective gems.

Andrias had never felt anything like it. It was as though time had stood still for him, as though he had the energy of a thousand suns coursing through his veins. He could feel it, a burning sensation, hyper-focus, intensified senses, almost godlike power. But with it came an uncontrollable fury, like a wild, angry, and scared animal pulling at the reins, jerking him around, and Andrias felt as though restraint was nearly impossible. Slowly, he opens his eyes to find his three cohorts standing on his chest, staring down at him. Their blurry silhouettes adjust, the bright sky contrasting greatly with their darkened, shadowed faces hovering over him as they lean.

Polly: "Come on, big guy. We gotta get outta here before they find out how to get up that hole."

Andrias starts to rise, and the others see that as their cue to remove themselves. They slide down the sides of his chest onto the dirt as he sits up, rubbing his head.

King Andrias: "What happened?… The gem!"

He clutches the gem embedded in his chest.

King Andrias: "It was the gem."

Henry goes positively ballistic.

Henry: "Dude! It's like you went Super Saiyan! What the heck was that?!"

King Andrias rises.

King Andrias: "A super what? I just… panicked. I felt anger and then, it's like I almost blacked out for a moment, like my body was on autopilot."

Polly turns around. She doesn't quite recognize where they are.

Polly: "What is this place? I don't remember us being anywhere near a big city."

Dr. Malley steps forward. He stares in awe at the destruction of the place he once called home.

Dr. Malley: "Axolonia."

He mutters as he treads through the debris. Andrias calls to him.

King Andrias: "Malley, be careful."

Dr. Malley: "They ravaged everything. My family. They're all gone."

Polly treads up to him, concerned but also blunt and realistic.

Polly: "If you're as old as you say you are, they died a long time ago… hopefully peacefully."

Malley simply stands there for a moment in awkward silence.

Dr. Malley: "You mentioned something earlier… about a tower in Axolonia."

He turns to face the king.

Dr. Malley: "Where was it?"

Andrias darts his head around the city, looking for signs of life, or zombified life, from the dilapidated rooftops and balconies of Axolonia, as he allows his paranoid mind to discern every ghostly noise or drop of a pebble as a possible attempt at ambush. Nevertheless, he answers.

King Andrias: "The tower is in the center of town, but it's much too dangerous to take you with me. We should find someplace safe to hide you. That Prototype Core may be lurking around, listening to us."

Henry: "Would this 'Prototype Core' happen to look like a giant, metal, octopus skeleton thing with a bunch of tube-like tentacle arms?"

Andrias spins his head rapidly toward Henry.

King Andrias: "How do you know that?"

Henry: "Because it's heading right for us!"

The young man points down the street toward a massive, looming, metal object hurtling toward the group at rapid speed, the thunderous sounds of the tentacles slamming into the streets and buildings growing louder and louder.

King Andrias: "Flee! All of you! It's me that this monster wants!"

The robot doctor ushers the children away, off to the side, multiple streets down, and into an abandoned building. Andrias peers in their direction, knowing all too well that he needs to lead the monster away from that building and avoid its destruction. Drawing his sword and hammer, Andrias charges forward, uttering a war cry that shakes the city walls as he stomps through the streets toward his massive target, flames and hellfire running through his veins as flickers of gold ignite in his irises. Andrias leaps high into the air and toward the Prototype Core, the massive, black fire blade deflecting off of the claw as the monster parries.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "We meet again, Andrias. You may have escaped from Ernst and our army down below, but you forget, up here, we have many more."

Andrias backflips, landing with a hard kneel in the street, leaving a massive pothole in the asphalt as he darts his eyes upward intensely, gritting his teeth with malice and an expression of pure blood lust, determined to end the monster once and for all. He shouts at the machine.

King Andrias: "Bring it on! I will destroy you and your army! I will put the souls you have taken to rest! I will send them back to The Originator, where they belong!"

The Prototype Core tilts its head in confusion, for it had never considered anything but itself to be a god. It mocks the king.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "Have you grown philosophical all of a sudden, Andrias? What is this you speak of about an 'Originator'? Have you seen some aspects of the afterlife that we have not? What do you know that we don't? We must consume all knowledge."

The Prototype Core sways and swings, slamming its massive, tube-like tentacles into buildings, smashing foundations, shattering glass, and sending shards and metal shrapnel airborne. Andrias shields his face as the debris rains down on him, sending blades cutting across his blue forearms and leaving him to drip blood onto the streets. Andrias rages, the burning pain coursing through him as he slices through one of the tubes with his massive, flaming black sword.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "We remember crafting this blade from our own body, our gift to you, Andrias. And yet, with our own construct, you try to strike us down. You are so ungrateful."

The horrible being hisses as even more iron tentacles, a product of the nanobot research, construct a new one within seconds.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "The axolotls with their regenerating bodies inspired us. We would become immortal through regeneration. Yet…"

King Andrias cleaves through another tentacle as it swipes at him, nearly decapitating the king. The seemingly endless drones continue to climb his body and fight as Andrias kicks them off in retaliation.

King Andrias: "You talk too much! Quit monologuing and fight—"

The Prototype Core slams Andrias in the face with its tentacle, thrusting his body into a wall and slamming him over and over into the cracking surface.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "You are very rude, Andrias, to interrupt. Had Aldrich taught you no manners? As we were saying, we could not regenerate without an organic body. Therefore, we required some… assistance from the Albanerians. Unfortunately, those fools chose to deny us the use of their technology..."

Andrias tries in vain to push away at the tube-like structure of the massive claw, knowing still that he is overwhelmed. The Prototype Core leans in, the hundreds of red eyes staring into his very soul.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "So we took it from them… by force."

Andrias finds his blood rushing, his anger rising. That monster. It wasn't enough to destroy Axolonia and kill thousands upon thousands of innocent axolotl lives, nor was it enough to terrorize both Amphibia and Earth, but it also had to go and take the lives of all of those underground dwellers. It had to deny civilization the chance to prosper in miraculous ways through the use of its technology. Thanks to The Core, most of Amphibia remains obsolete. Andrias finds his blood boiling and the rage building within him toward The Core as the gem within his chest begins to glow a bright gold, as well as his eyes. Eventually, though, the tentacle smashes Andrias into the building one more time, the claw consuming him, leaving The Prototype Core in speechless silence for a moment.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "A pity, Andrias. We always knew you were weak."

Not even a second later, a massive explosion erupts from within the tentacle, destroying most of the tube and the claw, so hot it melts the metal together, The Prototype Core draws its claw back to reveal Andrias standing there, balling his fists in raw, unfiltered rage as he shouts into the sky, the shock wave disrupting systems and sending the remaining shattered glass flying everywhere. It would appear that the impact from the forces had left Andrias's weapons destroyed, and he beholds as Barrel's hammer and his old sword lie at his feet, broken into several pieces from the impact. He rages, the former of which he saw as a gift from a friend.

His white hair and beard turn bright gold, billowing with the wind as if his face and head were consumed by a fire. The Prototype Core is quite in awe, for it remembers that power, the same power it saw in those girls ten years ago. Though such a being cannot physically express such an emotion, the spirits within collectively produce a sensation close to that of fear, and Andrias can see it for a moment as the hundreds of eyes widen in unison and the robotic creature hesitates momentarily as if in shock. But it doesn't last long, as that fear turns into desperation, and with that desperation, instinct, as the metal beast retaliates.

The Prototype Core slams down at Andrias with enough force to create a massive crater in the street and at the final split second, Andrias catches the tube, and with a simple jerk, Andrias yanks the tentacle straight from the joint, sending wires and circuitry flying as he swings the massive tentacle, smashing The Prototype Core in the face. The metal monster recoils, staring back at Andrias, unamused as the king approaches slowly, a dangerous stance to take when given massive power. Andrias finds himself quite enjoying the spark of life and the newfound power of the Calamity Gem.  He finds himself unable to resist the cockiness such power brings him as he mocks the Prototype Core. More drones fill the streets surrounding Andrias.

The king halts for a moment, darting his eyes around the perimeter, no fear as he shouts into the sky, raising a massive wall of fire around him and disintegrating every life form near it, their putrid bodies, puss-filled, fungal, and bloody, disintegrating into charred mush, eyeballs and organs melting in their skulls as their bones blacken and clothes congeal to whatever skin isn't immediately destroyed. The Prototype Core knows now that assistance will not work. It must go into the final phase and resort to a rather drastic measure, deploying its world-killing form.

Yes, even in its prototypical phase, a world-killing form was adapted for The Core, a form that, should it face overwhelming resistance, it would deploy as a final measure and, with it, wipe out all remaining life surrounding it. Not only does that include an advanced form in which the being would expand using nanotechnology to nearly twice its size, but another little surprise was installed: a nuclear warhead with the potential, if used in this range, to wipe out all life in Amphibia. Sure, it would destroy The Core itself, but it would allow no others to take advantage of such power by leaving a body to claim.

For obvious reasons, this was only to be used as a final measure. This Prototype Core has officially deemed it so. Andrias's eyes widen as the metal monster shifts around in form, the ball chassis of the giant skull expanding as frames shift and lock into place, and as loud gears, locking mechanisms, and twisting and turning internal components move into place. More tentacles emerge from under the shell as the horrible freak takes shape. The Prototype Core expands to nearly twice its size, and with this, a countdown timer has begun. Malley, who has been watching from down the street, shouts toward Andrias, warning him of the massive threat he now faces.

Dr. Malley: "My king! You must destroy that monster quickly, or it will level all of Amphibia!"

Andrias turns, weaving in and out, and Malley shields himself as destruction rains down from the spectacle of a building to his side being destroyed. He continues, evading the debris as shards of glass rain down on his metal body.

King Andrias: "What do you mean?!"

Dr. Malley: "Both the original Core and this prototype were installed with a fail state mechanism, a final attack should it be backed into a corner! Andrias, there's a bomb in there large enough to destroy all of Amphibia! I'm talking about a nuclear warhead!"

King Andrias can't even believe what he's hearing, that all that time he spent obeying a boss with the capability of going nuclear if it was aptly threatened.

King Andrias: "You're telling me this now?!"

The robot dodges incoming attacks from the tentacles, shouting his final message as he flees.

Dr. Malley: "You have five minutes to destroy that beast before it explodes!"

Now, with heightened tension, Andrias is no longer certain what to do. Disgraced by the robot's words, Andrias is slammed into a wall. Retaliating, he dashes forward in the fight, smashing into the orb with all his might, dodging lasers by mere hairs, flipping through the air, which isn't easy because he's such a massive target, and tearing arms away that regenerate almost instantly. Andrias can hear the loud humming of the nuclear warhead within, and the Prototype Core, with this distraction, grabs Andrias once again, placing him into that same compromising position as before.

He jerks and writhes within the tentacles, his brute strength no longer enough. Why can't he control it? Why? Andrias breathes heavily, terrified, knowing for sure this is his final opportunity. He closes his eyes, like a dog cornered, and he prays deeply for the strength to do what must be done. The faces of Amphibia, the people whose lives all hang in jeopardy, flash across his mind. He can see Sprig, the people of Wartwood, the various individuals of Ribbitvale, the many faces of Newtopia, living and dead, Olivia and Yunan, and Polly.

Andrias grits his teeth, pinching his eyes closed as the gem glows on his chest and another transformation occurs, for although The Core was equipped with a death move, the Calamity Gems were as well. Andrias's eyes burst open as his body expands within the claws, and where he once struggled, the claws now no longer fit around his limbs. Andrias's heavy body falls to the ground as he growls, teeth becoming fangs, his expanding body destroying his clothes as he grows the size of a kaiju, a massive, bearded Newt standing nearly fifty feet in height, burning like fire. Animal instinct takes over as the mighty Calamitous Rex unleashes a deafening roar.

Shocked and terrified, as well as angered, the Prototype Core sends several limbs and countless lasers toward the kaiju, beams projecting from its eyes and deflecting off of Calamitous Rex's skin like paper balls. The kaiju grabs at the many tentacles, squeezing with enough force to cause the metal menace to buckle, and with a single yank, Andrias brings the monster to the ground. The final minute has activated as Andrias forces the beast down, and the loud, unnerving hum of the nuke can be heard within. The Prototype Core laughs maniacally as the gem within Andrias's chest glows as well.

AnimaGenesis (Prototype Core): "Any last words, Andrias, as we send this miserable planet to kingdom come?!"

Andrias knows now what he must do. He can feel the power within, the fire in his belly as he pins the monster to the ground. The eyes of Calamitous Rex glow brightly as the golden-haired and bearded kaiju leans down. Baring his mouth, Andrias displays his open throat, from which a golden glow emerges. The Prototype Core widens its eyes, not anticipating a final attack from the kaiju. Calamitous Rex speaks but once; a booming, guttural voice emerges from the beast.

Calamitous Rex: "Only this!"

And so, Calamitous Rex unleashes a pulsing nuclear beam straight from his throat the diameter of nearly a hundred feet, straight into the chassis of The Prototype Core below him, the metal and circuitry melting under a beam as hot as the sun itself is sent into the ground, shattering the street and leaving a gigantic trench within the earth below. Unfortunately, the force of the blast totally destroys Andrias from the inside, melting any internals. The beam lasts all of ten seconds, with nothing remaining of the chassis once the beam passes, and with all the energy spent, the body shrinks, his form returning, and leaving Andrias a broken, internally destroyed newt on the ground.

The gem on his chest ceases to glow, and his appearance returns to normal as he lies there, dying once again. The remainder of the horde in the area, the ones directly connected to The Prototype Core's consciousness, fall to the ground, dead, their bodies already beginning to rot as the fungal growth falls from their decaying bodies, rolling into the street. After a few seconds of silence, Malley opens his eyes. His internal alarm expires, which he was using to track the allotted time left on the bomb, and he realizes they're not dead. There was supposed to be a big kaboom, and beyond the cannon beam courtesy of Calamitous Rex, all that remains is silence. Malley treads outside to see if the coast is clear as a sign falls, startling and nearly decapitating him.

The streets are filled to the brim with debris as Malley scouts, signaling back to the kids that the coast is clear. The doctor's heart sinks when he spots the gigantic crater in the middle of the street where the two dynamic monsters once dueled. Malley approaches the edge, peering down into the hole to see Andrias lying there, his body torn asunder. He slides down into the crater as the kids follow, Polly leaping in there the quickest and approaching the once-again lifeless body of Andrias Leviathan. Malley utilizes the elasticity of his robotic limbs to aid both himself and Henry down into the hole. They observe the fallen Prototype Core before them, cringing at the horrible sight. This time, there is nothing left, no torso, no head. Nothing.

The mechanical monstrosity had torn the man asunder, but what really did him in was the transformation. It was Calamitous Rex that ultimately killed Andrias Leviathan, as he was known, for good. The tiny child kneels there, totally heartbroken, distraught, and facing a psychological whiplash nobody should ever be tortured with, having the life of a loved one, or, at the very least, a friend, dangled before her like a carrot on a stick. His body disintegrates right before her very eyes, and now, who really knows where it is? Somewhere in the place between space and time, a few voices speak before the spirit of Andrias Leviathan. He can see nothing, only hears the voices of two individuals speaking before him.

?: "My, my. Do you think he is truly ready, Hopediah? Hoot!"

This voice. Andrias doesn't recognize it at all. The voice is absurdly silly, almost shrill in tone, somewhat flamboyant.

Hop Pop: "I don't know, bird feller, but it's like I told ya, He's the most intense fighter I ever seen, and if there's goodness in that heart, he is worthy of being a divine warrior."

?: "Hm. It is a pity that it's not quite his time, though."

Hop Pop: "Ya don't think he's truly dead this time?"

?: "He is only dead when Father says he is dead, and as far as I know, He has made no such declaration. Hoot!"

Hop Pop: "Then perhaps we should—"

The Originator: "ANDRIAS'S WORK IS NOT FINISHED HERE. IN FACT… IT HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN."

…

Andrias was once something, and then he was once nothingness. But now, he is something again. From a tiny egg to a little smooth newt, to a strapping young lad, freshly shed of his watery gills and no longer of axolotl-like structure, to the adult, Andrias had been it all, and at some point, he hadn't even been a newt at all. But now, he feels something, a sensation for the first time since the nothingness and the previous burning sensation that incinerated him to his very spiritual core. Andrias feels a warmth, like the embrace of a mother's caress, soft, smooth arms cradling him into existence, the bosom of an angel, beyond surreal, and then, feelings.

It starts with the head, the emergence of a face, a tingling feeling as his new form takes shape, down the neck, and into the torso, through the arms in one direction to the digits toward the end, down his spine to the tip of his tail and nether regions, down his legs to his feet. Andrias is reborn, the blue newt reborn within the cosmic womb, thanks to The Originator. He has not been given a fresh new life, but one of old. The Originator decided to bargain with Andrias's life, given his circumstances, given how he had barely lived at all, truly, free.

Andrias retains the physique he last had, but in the body of a much smaller individual, a body with the implications of having never received augmentation at all. This is the body Andrias would have inhabited in his golden years had he never received the robotic infusions. And now, from the cradle, back to life, he is placed on the ground before the pink child, laid down gently in her arms. Polly Petunia Plantar cannot believe her eyes, for she truly is the first to behold not one miracle of rebirth but two in her lifetime. But before Andrias arises from the darkness, before he so much as takes his first breath, The Originator leaves him with a message.

The Originator: "NOW YOU MUST UNDERSTAND YOUR MISSION, ANDRIAS. NOW, YOU ARE PURE. YOU HAVE BEEN CLEANSED OF YOUR EVILS. THE CONSTRUCT ABOMINATION AWAITS YOU, THE DISCIPLE OF THE MOST EVIL ONE CAST DOWN INTO THIS WORLD CENTURIES AGO, THE TRUE MASTERMIND BEHIND THIS PLOT, AWAITS YOU IN THE CHAMBERS, DEEP WITHIN THE TOWER OF AXOLONIA. THERE, YOU WILL FACE A CHALLENGE UNLIKE YOU HAVE FACED BEFORE. THERE, YOU WILL FACE YOUR GREATEST FEAR. BE BRAVE, MY CHILD, FOR LIKE ALL MY CHILDREN, YOU ARE LOVED AND CHERISHED INFINITELY. BE MY BLADE. STRIKE THIS EVIL DOWN, AND RETURN TO ME MY OTHER BELOVED CHILDREN, SO THAT THEY MAY FACE JUDGMENT DAY. NOW… RISE."

As it is within his spirit, so it is within his body. Andrias lives once again, his last life, of which death is permanent. The child takes in this new form, swaddled in a new, finely woven silk robe, crafted for him for the sake of decency.

Polly: "A-Andrias?"

The king stirs in her lap, peering up at her, his eyes adjusting to the shape and details of her cute face.

King Andrias: "Polly."

He raises his palm to place it on her cheek, only to pause halfway and stare at his hand in comparison to hers, and he jolts upward, sitting up.

King Andrias: "I'm… normal-sized again."

Andrias darts his head around.

King Andrias: "Everything looks so much bigger now."

He continues to peer around, taking in the wreckage of Axolonia and the remains of the Prototype Core, the limbs torn to pieces, and the head of the monster, stationary and still with a massive hole blown right through the front of it as it lies within a trench roughly the same diameter in length.

King Andrias: "Yeesh! I did this?"

He cringes, rising to his feet, not quite used to the small musculature of his feet compared to his height. It feels awkward to stand, almost as if it is somehow still crawling. It appears as though the Originator had given him new clothes, fortunately, and he reaches into his pocket for the glowing gem. He clutches it tightly as he stares into the horizon toward the mighty tower in the distance. He knows now what he must do.

King Andrias: "Dr. Malley, I want you to take the children and leave this place. I want you to get as far away from here as possible."

Polly approaches, taking his hand.

Polly: "Oh no, you don't! I just watched you die twice! I'm not watching you die a third time!"

He peers down at her, and she's scowling, pouting, her eyes starting to become emotional. He realizes just how attached she had gotten to him, even in the small amount of time they had spent together.

King Andrias: "Polly, my battle with AnimaGenesis is personal. You cannot come with me."

He caresses her hand, but she yanks away from him, almost offended.

Polly: "Why? Because I'm a girl? Because I'm a child? Because it's too dangerous?"

Andrias stares down at her for a moment and simply sighs. He kneels before the girl so that they are at eye level.

King Andrias: "It's none of that. You had already survived the war, a hell I had waged when you were merely a tot. No. The truth is that your skills are better utilized elsewhere. I need you to go with Dr. Malley. Find Henry's father and friends. Work together to find or assemble some sort of communication equipment to send a distress signal. The people of Amphibia must know that Nero Hades is no longer under robotic control. It is time Lord Dwenzel assembled his troops and arrived at the island safely, to seize control and command of the continent."

He turns toward the tower.

King Andrias: "I want my successor to see just what centuries of corruption can do to a family and how much it can destroy the people we love."

He muses for a moment in silence, staring toward the ground and clenching the golden gem tightly in his fist.

King Andrias: "Father… grandfather. With all the love in my heart, I shall seek your salvation."

The others approach him.

Henry: "So what do we do now? How am I gonna get my friends and my dad back?"

Andrias turns to the boy, absolute in his conviction.

King Andrias: "I promised you I would get your father and friends back, and I will. Firstly, we will need a way to get back home. Dr. Malley, Polly, do you think you could do it? Do you think you and Malley could give us a ride back home? Can you think of any way?"

Dr. Malley muses for a moment, thinking.

Dr. Malley: "We will require a location as high as we can get. I can probably assemble a radio dish from what's available in town."

He turns to Polly, the little genius, smiling up at him.

Dr. Malley: "Can you assemble some sort of long-distance radio?"

Polly ponders.

Polly: "I could probably throw one together from spare robot parts lying around. I can't guarantee the signal will go very far without a great dish, though."

King Andrias: "We just need something that will reach the western shores of Amphibia. If a signal can get as far as Newtopia, we can request a boat back home."

But then that begs the question from Henry.

Henry: "What do you want me to do?"

They all just stare at him like he's the odd man out, not really offering much of anything as far as technical prowess. The boy had a hard enough time making a working trebuchet for science class. Dr. Malley takes the reins on this one.

Dr. Malley: "Follow us, young man. Even if you don't have technical prowess, you're still good for something."

Henry lights up with a smile.

Henry: "Really? What's that?"

Malley smiles back, leaning over his shoulder.

Dr. Malley: "Carrying our stuff."

He proceeds forward, and Henry's expression melts into a drooping scowl. Andrias leans over, though, offering some encouragement.

King Andrias: "Perhaps you could learn some vital skills from those two."

Polly turns back to him.

Polly: "And what are you going to do?"

King Andrias: "Me?"

He turns back, facing the tower in the distance as it pierces the sky, with an expression of pure determination.

King Andrias: "I'm gonna find out what's in that tower and get to the bottom of this once and for all. Unless I'm mistaken, the servers for The Core are in that tower."

Polly approaches him once again.

Polly: "You're not gonna go and get yourself killed in there. Are you?"

King Andrias leans over to Polly.

King Andrias: "Polly, I can't guarantee—"

Polly balls her fists, interrupting him.

Polly: "Promise me you're not going to die again!"

King Andrias: "Polly, I…"

Polly: "Pinky swear!"

She holds out her hand, extending her pinky toward him. He stares down at the hand for a moment, then toward her face, her expression growing ever sadder and more desperate. How could he say no to her? He sighs, relenting and taking the pinky swear with a promise, wrapping his blue finger around hers with a smile.

King Andrias: "I promise."

She smiles back, leaning in and planting a surprise kiss on his cheek. Andrias places his palm on his face and stares at her.

Polly: "Stay safe. And come back alive. We have more robot shows and stuff to watch when we get back home. And I still got all sorts of things I'm working on that I still haven't shown ya."

He nods in affirmation.

King Andrias: "Will do."

And so, the quartet departs, one group heading out to scavenge parts and a single man, marching alone toward his destiny, and toward the tower, clenching the stone, unarmed, but certain, knowing and believing with utmost faith that the gem will protect him. It has to. Andrias believes fully that neither Anne, her friends, Hopediah Plantar, nor The Originator would send Andrias on a death path. He has faith in them, and he has faith in himself, and with that, he knows that he has the courage to face that tower, no matter what it holds.

A little while back, as the battle commences on the surface, the drones led by Ernst make their way to the control tower. Captain Ernst is seriously not having a good day. Between having the children escape from him twice and continuing to remain empty-handed and gemless, he doesn't know if he can handle yet another setback. Unfortunately for him, his troubles seem to come in threes as he and the army ascend the basement of the tower back up to the surface through the underground cellar way. Without warning, the ground rumbles violently, forcing them to grip the stairway railing or face falling down the stairs.

When the trembling stops, Ernst sighs in relief. But something else peculiar happens as Dr. Thurman and all the other drones controlled by AnimaGenesis cease to function temporarily, their bodies shutting down as the system is rebooted to reconnect with the new closest host, the direct servers deep within the tower. Ernst finds himself quite alarmed as the bodies just stand there, asleep like cattle. He approaches Dr. Thurman as the man jolts back awake, his eyes flashing binary code as his system is reset, and the glowing red eyes resume functionality. Ernst is startled and jolts backward. The rest of the hivemind follows suit.

Captain Ernst: "Master? Is something wrong? Does it have anything to do with the tremors? Are you—"

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "The Prototype Core has been destroyed."

Dr. Thurman scowls, staring at Ernst through his brow line. AnimaGenesis does not seem pleased at all.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "Only one body remains, and we must protect it at all costs. Andrias will intervene and search for the young man's father and friends, as well as shut down our operation."

Captain Ernst swallows, a bead of sweat rolling down his head.

Captain Ernst: "So is that it? Does that mean we're totally screwed?"

Dr. Thurman ponders for a moment, leaning back against the railing with his arms folded. And then he remembers something… something totally devious.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "No. This is far from over. Andrias will want to shut down the mainframe, which is basically our very brain. He has likely discerned that the servers lie within this tower."

AnimaGenesis turns to Captain Ernst with a devious, smug grin.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "But he is nowhere near ready for the security system put in place here, or the final measures to be taken against him, for you see, Captain Ernst, we harbor from you a little secret, one that no other knows about us."

He rises from the railing, approaching Ernst.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thruman): "A very powerful ally, a being not of this world, had approached us many centuries ago when we were still pure and when we had little more than a thirst for knowledge. He had appeared to us in the curious form of a man with long, flowing black hair, similar in appearance to the earthlings, in fact, but with piercing red eyes… just like these. He offered us a most precious gift, our dear Ernst, the gift of his very mortal soul."

Ernst fails to understand as Dr. Thurman approaches. The boys from behind, also drones of this construct, continue on his behalf, Bobby and Steven, their voices joined in unison.

AnimaGenesis (Bobby and Steven): "We consumed this spirit, Ernst, and made him one with us. He became our leader, as he fed upon our knowledge while expanding ours with his own."

Captain Ernst doesn't quite know what to make of this revelation. The drones, all of them, join in unison to speak, the entire hivemind.

AnimaGenesis (Dr. Thurman): "This being, a demon hailing from a morbid mass of twisted flesh known as Jupiter, is one with us. He has been reborn, Ernst. Thousands of times. He is ancient. He is one with us, and thus, we cannot die, ever. Our spirit will live on forever, indestructible… Praise Lord Vadrigar."

With this, the risen king heads toward the tower of his destiny to face his past, his present, and his future. He stares upward and notices there isn't a cloud in the sky. He smiles as he braves the way up those tower stairs and toward the front gate. It's a beautiful day. It's judgment day.

Chapter Text

Okay! It's time to get to work on the construction of a proper radio to send some sort of signal out to Amphibia. First off, the most important thing is the location. High buildings tear into the sky all over Axolonia, but none are as high as the tower in the center of town. The only problem is that it's quite possible that not only are the servers to The Core located within that tower, but it's most likely filled to the brim with guards that will try to kill them. Going back below the surface into Albaneria is completely out of the question, as it's quite obviously the first place AnimaGenesis's forces would be waiting. Hundreds of dilapidated buildings await them. Polly's first choice for scouting for parts is the local music store.

There's nothing too fancy within the store, but perhaps a proper radio speaker could be harvested. The problem with all this is, the music store is a little too primitive. Damn hipster axolotls and their affinity for plastic discs! Certainly, this will not do. Also, after listening to the local music for a little over a minute, Polly has officially dubbed it stinks. Oh well. Perhaps she can harvest a speaker from a downed Frobot. She begins to scout the town along with Henry. Polly ravages the robots like a psycho, tearing apart their innards and handing their copper and plastic guts to Henry like he's supposed to do anything with that stuff other than shove them into his pocket.

Well, Henry gets the bright idea to use both a shipping container and an old used shopping cart with one bad wheel (for some reason, there's always one bad wheel), and he starts lugging that stuff around in the cart instead. Comparatively, it's the most intuitive idea he's had since the fungal spray, which reminds him, he'll have to concoct some more in case he runs into Steven and Bobby again. While Henry and Polly are busy farting around and doing that, Malley is scouting around for dome-shaped metal objects, and if he cannot find one, he plans to use some sort of laser to construct himself one.

Malley's robot body isn't equipped with anything beyond standard-issue Frobot equipment: pre-installed lasers, a voice box, which he insists he will not lend to the issue, no matter how much the kids stare at him, and an internal flashlight for going through dark areas. Using the laser, with his scientific, graph-like brain, as well as an internal measurement system, he decides to use a large, square piece of sheet metal, rounding it off into a bowl, welding the center shut, and sanding down the rough edges to make a proper dish. The electronic components otherwise are probably the easiest to get since many Frobots are equipped with standard-issue internal radios for receiving and giving signals from Andrias all those years ago.

So long as Malley knows how to construct a proper frequency control, they're as good as set. The assembly of the device takes but a few hours. From the gathered components, the trio of the frog, the robot axolotl, and the human boy march up to the rooftop of the Grand Axolonian Library, the second tallest building in the area, clearing it out of any unwanted pests and ascending the fire escape up to the roof, where they are safe and sound. They climb atop the doorway to the rooftop entrance, sitting Indian-style around a copper box with some knobs, dialers, and some other doohickies constructed by the frog and axolotl. Up a long, multi-connected umbrella pole, a metal disc with a probe hangs above, pointed toward Amphibia. 

Malley made sure, using his internal compass, that it faced the correct direction. Henry scratches his head; this is the most unorthodox radio he'd ever seen in his whole life. But he knows better than to say anything since he's the third most intelligent person there. It takes roughly thirty minutes to set up the box, toy with the volume, adjust the frequency, and send out the signal as far as they can, but all they can do is wait. They leave the signal on, sending blips all the way across the land. They wait for a ping, a reception of the alternate signal, and they know that once they start hearing music or discussion or any frequency of the sort, they can start talking. This plan, for what it's worth, is not perfect, not even close.

It guarantees nothing and relies entirely on the hope that anyone can hear them at all. Malley and Polly constructed the absolute best communication device they could out of the available technology, but the issue is, nobody else has this technology anywhere else in the world, possibly even the universe, so it's a total crap-shoot if they will receive a response at all. They could very well be up there for days or weeks, wasting their time making subtle adjustments to the signal and sending it across the world. It's only by some total miracle that they receive something back within an hour, a radio in a totally different language.

They try to coerce dialogue from the individual on the other end, their eyes and expressions lit up like fireworks, and they wait, and wait, and wait, but no response. So they move on, adjusting the signal even more. Eventually, they need to break when Henry realizes he hasn't eaten anything in the last 36 hours and he's starving, a headache forming in his head after having nothing but water, not even fresh water, but mildly siphoned, barely cleaned water. He needs some sort of sustenance. His stomach rumbles, and Polly turns to him.

Polly: "Hungry?"

Henry just sits back, brushing his greasy and unkempt hair out of his face. It's so muggy, and the dehydration is setting in even worse.

Henry: "Yeah."

Polly pulls out a snack from her jumper pocket, offering him treats from within the small plastic bag.

Polly: "It's nothing much, but Anne used to like these during the short period she was here. They're chocolate-covered crickets. I know you humans don't particularly care for bugs, but—"

Henry: "Yeah… I'll take some."

He says with a sigh. Polly does a double-take.

Polly: "Wow. Really? That quickly?"

Henry shrugs. 

Henry: "Well, it's that or starve to death."

Polly feels terrible. She offers him the whole bag.

Polly: "Here."

Henry pushes the bag away.

Henry: "But they're yours."

Polly: "It's okay. I don't wanna be selfish… The whole reason I'm in this mess is because I was selfish."

She sits back, peering away. Henry stares at her for a moment, turning to face her with a somewhat sympathetic smile.

Henry: "How about we split it, fifty-fifty, I get half, you get half? Deal?"

Polly turns to him as he offers her his hand. Instincts say to slap the hand with her tongue, but she remembers how Anne hated and was totally grossed out by that, so this time she merely offers him the hand to shake.

Polly: "Deal."

She distributes the chocolate-covered crickets into his hand, and Henry just sits there for a moment mulling over them before taking his first bite.

Henry: "You know, my buddy Steven wrote this comic book series about this superhero called Cricket Kid who gets bitten by a radioactive cricket while also holding this medallion."

He tosses a cricket into his mouth, his eyes watering as he forces himself to take the first chomp into the crunchy, bony chitin. He absolutely hates the texture, not so much the taste, since the chocolate is drowning out the cricket taste, but the chocolate isn't all that great either. Henry finds the snack somewhat adequate, though, as his hunger is most definitely making it taste more palatable than it would otherwise.

Polly: "That's an oddly specific superhero origin. My big brother, when he was little, about my age now, tried to be a superhero when we were living on Earth."

She says as she throws the cricket into her mouth. Henry turns to her.

Henry: "You've been to Earth?"

She nods.

Polly: "Yeah. Don't you remember? I told you I was with Hop Pop and my brother and Anne, and we all stayed on Earth for a while until we went back. Boy… I miss Anne."

Henry thinks for a moment, wondering if there really is a way that she could see her friends again. He turns to her with a smile.

Henry: "I think it would be nice if you could get to visit Earth with us, just so that you could see your friend again. Maybe… Maybe something can be done about this whole situation so that we won't be stuck away from our friends. It sucks. You know?"

Polly: "How so?"

Henry: "Well, it's like those cartoons where people from different worlds come together and they form friendships, but then it never lasts because they all have to go their separate ways, and it's kinda like this forbidden friendship and stuff, and, you know, you meet people, you grow to love them, only to have them yanked out from under you when they've become almost like family to you… It isn't right. Maybe… Maybe something can be done about—"

Dr. Malley: "Oh my gosh! Hello? Can you hear me?... Oh, thank goodness… Yes! My name is Dr. Malley… I'm calling from Nero Hades… The continent off the western shore of Amphibia… I'm here with two children and another adult… The fog along the shores of Nero Hades has been halted. I repeat, the shores have been cleared of fog… Please send help. We are stranded on the continent with minimal food and supplies, and the island requires cleansing… Who is Lord Dwenzel?"

He turns to them.

Dr. Malley: "Who's that?"

Polly approaches. 

Polly: "That's the guy who took over Newtopia when Andrias was usurped."

Dr. Malley returns to the radio.

Dr. Malley: "Send forces. I repeat. Send many forces… Hello?... Hello? Do you copy?"

The signal drops, and Malley falls back on the roof. He appears to swallow despite not having a throat. Henry approaches them as well.

Henry: "So? Are they sending someone to rescue us?"

Dr. Malley stares out into space for a moment. He shrugs with uncertainty.

Dr. Malley: "I don't know."

Malley re-establishes contact and continues to lay out as many details as he can, as the individual on the other end scribbles them down on a little notepad they keep before the radio signal cuts out permanently this time. He hopes that will be enough information. But who was on the other end of the call? As it just so turns out, a fisherman, minding his own business, just off the shore of the Western Tower, was enjoying some good ol' whisky to his side and a hint of tropical rock buzzing in from the local station when his radio caught a signal from someone across the sea.

Had he simply been alone, he may very well have been dismissed, as inebriated as he was, but his dear wife, a chunky Newtopian lass enjoying the beach weather, heard the signal as well, responding to the message through the emergency response microphone, and relayed the message to the tower guards. The guards, in return, forwarded the message through the chain of command all the way to Newtopia, and to the capital, where Lord Dwenzel, who now resides in the lopsided tower, stands along a balcony as a loyal servant approaches him.

Lord Dwenzel: "Status report, Walter."

The portly man requests, his eyes never diverting from the town below.

Walter: "Sire, we've received a message from across the sea. It's Nero Hades."

Lord Dwenzel's eyes widen as he turns around.

Lord Dwenzel: "Andrias? What was the message?"

Walter: "The sender was Dr. Malley, My Lord. He said he had two kids and Andrias with him, that the fog machine rendering the island unapproachable had been disabled. He warned of drones and Frobots guarding the shores and to send reinforcements to seize control of the continent."

Walter appears very nervous, rubbing the sweat from the brow of his bald head as he announces.

Walter: "Sire, the Core is in control of the continent. Somehow, the artificial intelligence survived the destruction."

Dwenzel stares out into space for a moment.

Lord Dwenzel: "My Frog… This is a most urgent matter. We cannot allow the Core to survive. It must be destroyed once and for all."

Dwenzel marches hastily down the hall toward the planning room. His face is beet red and serious as he addresses the man just barely capable of keeping up with his stride.

Lord Dwenzel: "Gather the generals. We must mount an attack on Nero Hades, now that the shores are visible."

Just out of earshot, the young Dweezil and his "friends", the other finalists in the Robo Arena of Death and Unapologetically Loud Eardrum-Shattering Explosions, catch wind of Lord Dwenzel's plan, eavesdropping on the war room. Dweezil had found camaraderie among his fellow robot builders ever since their attempt at rescuing him from the kidnapping at the Robo Arena. He felt as though, even though they were competitors, they owed it to each other as fighters, by honor, to stick up for each other in the face of opposition. They might not have gotten along otherwise, but in the heat of war, they stood their ground and fought for what was right.

Dweezil: "It appears as though Father is sending out troops to rescue Polly Plantar and Andrias Leviathan from the dreaded continent of Nero Hades. Ladies and gents, I think it's important that we form our own army and assist him."

Cameron, the jive-talking, gum-spitting tomboy of the bunch, a true inspiration for Polly, chimes in.

Cameron: "The kid's got family at home. Right? Maybe we oughta let them know. From what I understand, they're some pretty tough folks out there, led the good fight against Andrias and his troops back when he was the bad guy and when we were on the wrong side of things."

She turns to Wrecker, the big toad boy, as he rubs the snot across his big, wart-covered forearm.

Wrecker: "I think we should take everything we got, from our own robots, to whoever we got on the other side that can help."

The mad scientist axolotl inventor, Xavier, nods in concurrence.

Xavier: "Wrecker is correct. Prototypes and other inventions, we should spare them. If this has to do with the return of The Core, we owe it to ourselves and our families to give it all we've got, just like in the arena."

And so they sneak away, stowing away aboard one of his father's secret, experimental flying aircraft carriers toward Wartwood. This massive airship, the first of its kind in Newtopia, crafted using recently uncovered technological blueprints, was damn near complete and would be ready soon to be sent on its maiden voyage all the way across Newtopia. Dwenzel had insisted on one being built ever since the flying castle was out of commission. Dweezil positively salivates at the opportunity of piloting this bad boy, and after a few rocky attempts at startup that terrify the hell out of his friends, making them fear for certain that he will blow them up and send them hurtling through the air like a massive meteorite, they finally lift off.

Dweezil: "Boy, this beats the hell out of snails any day!"

He says as the wind bristles through his hair and he travels just south, over the mountains, not even realizing just how close Wartwood actually was without that winding and redundant path taking them so far out of their way. The others stare over the edge of the airship. The massive, deep green, jade vessel hovers over the land, bearing a gleaming fish scale hub that shimmers with the reflection of the sun, but not so much as to blind everyone below… unless intended. Scaly fins extend from the side of the ship as well to guide it aerodynamically. Cameron turns to the man piloting the ship as she leans over the rail, and the moment she opens her mouth, her gum goes shooting into the wind.

Cameron: "So? What are you gonna call this bad boy, Dweez? This ship is gonna need a name, after all."

Dweezil turns to her with a bright and valiant smile.

Dweezil: "I'm thinking I will call it The Rescuer. After all, that is what we are doing, going on a rescue mission."

The Rescuer and its crew tear over the mountains with rapid speed, approaching Wartwood from above. The people outside, the curious onlookers, and those busy with errands stare up toward the sky as their town is overtaken by the darkness of a shadow cast down by the ship, as if a massive cloud had just blocked out the sun. None of them had ever seen such a thing before, and they began running inside for fear of invasion. When the people return outside with torches and pitchforks, armed to the teeth, always prepared, Dweezil begins to realize that perhaps approaching Wartwood in such a jarring, startling, and surprising manner wasn't such a good idea.

Shifting the ship into hover mode, Dweezil approaches the side where the other inventors are staring over the rail. None of the people of Wartwood seem to recognize the other three, much to their chagrin, considering they were banking on the tournament making miniature celebrities out of them if not household names.

Dweezil: "People of Wartwood! This is Dweezil of Newtopia! We mean you no harm! We humbly request permission to land on your outskirts!"

The people mutter among themselves, sending the signal all the way to Town Hall to Mayor Toadie. Within moments, both Toadie and Froderick are brought forth to deal with the situation. Mayor Toadie shouts up to the ship.

Mayor Toadie: "Your permission to land is granted! Please lower your ship outside of town so that we may speak personally!"

Dweezil reads the small toad loud and clear and steers the ship, as gracefully as he can, toward the outskirts of town, where he lands. Not a moment later, he lowers the ramp and the four of them tread off the deck into the dirt. Dweezil gets right down to business.

Dweezil: "I must speak with Sprig Plantar, the head of the Plantar household."

The crowd murmurs as Sprig treads through the crowd, rubbing his hands together somewhat nervously as he approaches the front. His eyes are bloodshot as if he hadn't gotten much sleep. What with the preparation for Hopediah's funeral and all those arrangements, things haven't been too easy on the young man. He mentally prepares himself, anticipating the worst.

Sprig: "What is it, Your Highness? Have you found Polly? Is she okay?"

Dweezil approaches the young man, taking him by the shoulders and peering down. He's slightly taller than Sprig.

Dweezil: "We have received a distress signal from Nero Hades. Andrias has found her, and she is with a doctor by the name of Malley and a boy named Henry. It appears as though they are alive for the time being, but they are in danger the longer they stay out there."

Sprig: "Polly and Andrias are alive?"

The young man lights up. He turns to the crowd with a smile.

Sprig: "She's alive!"

The others cheer and clap around him, whistling and jostling the young man. Dweezil continues. 

Dweezil: "My father is sending a search and rescue crew. Polly and her friends have informed us that the fog machine, creating a dense cloud around the island, has been disabled, and the enemies along the beachfront, who have been capturing… and possibly killing… visitors, are now visible. It is imperative that Nero Hades be seized. My fellow inventors and I are bringing all of our robotic assets and—"

Sprig stares up at Dweezil, his fists balled and his expression unwavering in fortitude and seriousness.

Sprig: "I'm going with you."

Ivy approaches him through the crowd.

Ivy: "Sprig, wait!"

He turns to Ivy.

Sprig: "Don't try to stop me, Ivy, I've already—Ouch!"

Ivy punches him in the arm.

Ivy: "I'm not trying to stop you, you butt! I wanna go with you!"

Sprig: "Huh?"

Mrs. Croaker: "Me too! Polly's like a granddaughter to me! I couldn't live with myself if something happened to the little darlin'."

One-Eyed Wally punches his palm.

One-Eyed Wally: "Me neither!"

Mr. Flour: "Or me!"

Maddie: "Polly's always been a good friend to my sisters. I'm gonna see to it she gets back home safe."

Dweezil facepalms.

Dweezil: "Okay, so who isn't going?"

One man among the crowd raises his hand.

Chuck: "Well, someone's gotta stay here and take care of the tulips."

They all mumble among themselves.

Crowd: "Oh yeah—Right—Good point—Yeah."

With that nonsense out of the way, the crew funnels onboard the ramp with the gusto of a bunch of angry, rioting villagers, ready to tar and feather some nasty Frobots. With most of the town of Wartwood all packed onto The Rescuer airship like sardines, Dweezil takes to the air as Chuck waves goodbye from below with a cheerful and innocent smile before getting to work taking care of all the tulips in town (his own… Although to be fair, he's not that selfish. He does tend to the other gardens as well, just to avoid feeling guilty). Dweezil and his crew, and Lord Dwenzil and his crew, set sail for sea and air toward the continent of Nero Hades. 

Dweezil knows better than to hover over his father's ship and stays just far enough in the distance to keep from being tracked. Two parties, united in their goal, approach the dreaded continent of Nero Hades, a place responsible for nothing but death and despair. The first to arrive, the Newtopian guards aboard their ships approach the shores lined with hundreds of Frobots, unleashing lasers, pelting the hubs with projectiles, and ready to be destroyed for their master as the ships near the shores. Lord Dwenzil's forces retaliate with hot, iron artillery, punishing AnimaGenesis's forces. Several Frobots are smashed by cannonballs traveling at hundreds of miles an hour, sending explosive metal shrapnel raining onto the beach.

The ships sail along the bank of the beach, sweeping in just deep enough to keep them from becoming stalled in shallow water and being left as sitting ducks to be pelted. Dwenzel orders the fire of side-mounted cannons, specifically lining up the balls for impeccable punch through on their targets, like a billiard cue knocking a series of balls into each other, one by one, creating a chain effect. The Frobot numbers dwindle drastically as Newtopian guards, donned in armored shields, leap overboard into the shallow water and approach the shores bearing their towers forward. As they reach wadeable shallow depth, they raise offenses, laser blasters equipped with armor-piercing rounds.

These outdated infantry drones are shed and wasted upon the shores as every last Frobot is dropped without mercy, not one casualty taken. As the forces dock their boats and tread onto the beaches, starting forward into the vast wilderness of the new continent before them, they begin to see what a wasteland the place has become, overrun with sea-growth and all amphibian-made structures, eaten away by oxidation. Dwenzil steps forward, and he is approached by several men, confirming the beaches are clear. Just as he is given the status report, he and the other troops hear a noise from above, and their bodies are overtaken by shadows. Dwenzil's eyes widen. He can't even believe what he's seeing.

Lord Dwenzel: "My Frog… Son?!"

He turns to his Captain, shaking him by the shoulders.

Lord Dwenzel: "What is my son doing out here?!"

The rattled Captain salutes his leader, his eyes rolling around as he answers with a warbled, trembling voice.

Newtopian Captain: "N-n-not a clue, s-sire!"

Lord Dwenzel turns around, marching back toward the water as the flying vessel approaches.

Dweezil: "Hi, Father!"

He says, leaning over the steering wheel with a big, cheesy grin.

Lord Dwenzel: "Park this airship and get down here right now! I want a word with you!"

Dweezil: "What?!"

He says, raising his hand to his ear in a cupping motion, acting facetious. Wrecker leans over.

Wrecker: "Dude, I think he wants you to land."

Dweezil leans back.

Dweezil: "I know. I'm just messing with him."

Still, he lands the ship and turns off the incredibly loud engine, ready to be read The Riot Act as soon as he steps off the ship. Lord Dwenzel, though, isn't that patient and begins barking at his son before he's even descended the ramp.

Lord Dwenzel: "Who said you could come on this—"

Before the man even finishes his sentence, almost 99.9% of Wartwood stampedes down the ramp and onto the shore, ready to rush off. They rabbled among themselves, disappointed that they missed out on all the action on the beachfront. Dwenzel approaches them, attempting to get their attention with raised hands.

Lord Dwenzel: "People of Wartwood!"

The people aren't paying attention. They're too busy looking for something to kill so they can satiate their bloodlust and get Polly back home. Lord Dwenzel becomes angry, shouting over them.

Lord Dwenzel: "Wartwood!"

He roars above all else. The people cease and turn to him.

Lord Dwenzel: "What are all of you doing here?!"

Sprig steps forward. He decides to speak on behalf of all of Wartwood as ambassador, unafraid of Lord Dwenzel or his authority.

Sprig: "I'm here to take my sister and King Andrias back home where they belong!"

Lord Dwenzel massages his head and sighs.

Lord Dwenzel: "Mr. Plantar, it's very charming that you see Andrias as your responsibility, but he is a grown man and—"

Sprig: "Well, Polly is my responsibility! As her older brother and legal guardian, it is my job to keep her safe! She's out there, and I'm gonna get to her, and the hottest hell in the galaxy will not keep me away from her!"

He declares. He's already made up his mind, standing firm and tall as Ivy approaches to stand by his side, locking fingers with him in solidarity. There's no going home; it's already too late for that, so rather than decide to leave them there, safe, for the most part, on that beachfront, Lord Dwenzil muses, an idea forming in his head to utilize his greatly increased numbers before him. He nods affirmatively, his arms folded behind his back.

Lord Dwenzel: "Very well. Dweezil?"

He approaches his father.

Dweezil: "Yes, Father?"

He tries to be cute as if his father will somehow be less mad for defying his orders. Dwenzel takes in the crew he had brought with him. Several robot technicians and their advanced robots were repaired from the robo arena battles, as well as several former, and some very aged, former resistance freedom fighters. None of these people is without battle experience, and some of them may very well be resourceful. As their battle is more personal, Dwenzel decides. 

Lord Dwenzel: "Team Wartwood, you are to head north toward the city of Axolonia. That is where Polly Plantar and Andrias Leviathan await you. My team and I will be heading out toward AnimaGenesis Labs to seize control and liberate the hostages held in the laboratory, as well as the portal device. Men and women spread out!"

Lord Dwenzel points northbound toward the city of Axolonia as he directs his troops toward the supposed location of AnimaGenesis Labs, in accordance with the coordinates provided to them by Dr. Malley. He knows not whether or not any of them are treading into a trap, but feels confident, at least semi-confident, in the fact that the people he's working with are prepared for such a situation to arise. So Lord Dwenzel, leading the crew eastbound, tread into the now-visible overrun forests of Nero Hades, among the dead vegetation and overgrown flora of the continent. They encounter more Frobots in the forest, quietly mounting ambushes on them and seizing more of their technology and weaponry as they storm the forest.

Outlookers proceed ahead to scout for more instances of the robots. Heat-seeking goggles are used to peer forward, noting that the engines within these robots should give away signals significantly hotter than any of the terrain. But of course, they must also watch out for other possible hostages, fungus-infected roaming about, and the natural fauna of the island that has since moved there, mostly smaller, and some larger, birds there to feast upon the vegetation. For miles, they tread through the thick wilderness of nothing but endless shades of green until something silver and corroded appears in the distance, a massive building. The scout, with his binoculars, spots it, turning back toward Lord Dwenzel to report the finding.

Slowly, and carefully, they approach the building, scouting the perimeter and taking out the guards with quick and lethal precision. Dwenzel's forces are the best, taught to show no weakness in dismantling robot scum. It had been that effectiveness in taking out the remainder of The Core's forces at home that would ultimately lead to him taking the mantle of the head of Newtopia as Andrias's successor. The people couldn't possibly be prouder of their leader. Of course, AnimaGenesis isn't going to go without a fight, and the head within, Dr Thurman, who had departed Ernst some while back, traveled through a secret underground path back to the labs with Bobby and Steven to maintain an eye on the portal.

Should AnimaGenesis feel threatened, they know they have not only Bobby and Steven to use as leverage, but Dr. Thurman as well. The portal machine had been built a while ago, and beyond merely being a hostage, it was completely useless now to the Core. Getting in is gonna prove to be difficult. The place has gone into full lockdown ever since Henry and Polly made their escape, and eyes are literally all over the place, hundreds of red eyes pointing in all directions. They're gonna need a means of getting in without being detected. Fortunately for Dwenzel, he has an ace up his sleeve, calling out to an individual who had been with them the entire time without anyone else even knowing. 

Lord Dwenzel: "General Yunan…"

The crew peers around, somewhat stupefied as a salmon-pink newt woman, tall and lanky, appears out of nowhere. She brushes her soft tuft of white hair back as she approaches the lord.

General Yunan: "Yes, Lord!—"

Lord Dwenzel: "Keep it down!"

She flinches, somewhat startled by his sudden silencing. She speaks more quietly. Yunan has been testing out this lightweight, thin stealth suit, an almost metallic suit with many reflectors known as The Chameleon Suit, meant for stealthy infiltration. While not exactly fully tested, Yunan, the guinea pig for testing the suit out, felt as though it would be a wonderful opportunity to test the suit out in practice. Lord Dwenzel agreed. Though risky, he trusts Yunan's expertise.

General Yunan: "Sorry, My Lord. How may I help you?"

Lord Dwenzel eyes her up and down with a scowl.

Lord Dwenzel: "I need you to work your way into the facility and disable the security. If you shut down security, you shut down AnimaGenesis. Be careful, though, to cover your scent, as the fungal drones may pick up on that light perfume you like to wear."

Yunan pouts.

General Yunan: "Not my Roguish Rouge!"

Lord Dwenzel folds his arms.

Lord Dwenzel: "Yunan…"

She scoffs, spritzing herself with Scentblock.

General Yunan: "Fine. For the mission."

She agrees.

Lord Dwenzel: "Also, stay away from the Elite Frobots. They're built with heat-seeking vision and will spot you even if you're invisible. Got it?"

She salutes.

General Yunan: "Yes… Yes, sir."

Yunan then cloaks, going right to work on disabling the security system within. First, she needs a way inside. Ever since the escape from the facility by a certain robot axolotl and a couple of children, the upstairs windows have been heavily guarded. AnimaGenesis made sure the place was on high alert at all times under the new rules. Yunan sneaks around noiselessly, something she had to work very hard to achieve, considering how up-front she likes to be in the heat of a battle. But she knows that the people within are just as important to the mission as the integrity of the portal is. But why in the world would Dwenzel care about some Earth kids and a scientist?

Perhaps Dwenzel feels as though he owes it to the people of Earth for settling things in Amphibia and for releasing them from the clutches of a tyrannical robot overlord. Perhaps he feels as though he owes his entire reign to those people. Or, perhaps he simply wishes to be the ruler Newtopia never had, free from the reigns of a shadow governor, and out to have Amphibia shine the brightest it ever had in centuries. One thing is for certain: there is another gem in there, as someone had to produce one to power the machine before Ernst had trodden through the portal onto Earth in the first place.

It's quite possible that the gem had broken, been faulty, or cut improperly… Or perhaps it had to do with a little bit of an intervention by a certain Cosmic Guardian simply looking out for her home world. Regardless, Yunan observes the circulation of robots, their AI pathing patterns for a moment, seeking the opportunity to strike when there's an opening. Of course, she knows she can't wait too long, as lives are on the line, and the longer she spends in that tree, the more power she wastes in the suit and the more likely she is to be seen by the aforementioned Elite Frobots.

But then, as the opening arrives on the upper story, Yunan grapples up the building, hanging from the sill as she cuts a perfect, circular hole through the window, gripping with sticky gloves to avoid the glass falling and shattering or making a ton of noise, and she wiggles her way inside, placing the circular cut back into the window. Deftly, she slides under the scaffolding railing and onto the floor below, where she dive-rolls in between the legs of a Frobot mid-step through the narrow crevice and over to the wall, where she folds her body flat and sneaks past another, just close enough that her slight breath fogs its armor, but not enough to detect her.

As it moves on, she breathes a silent sigh of relief before having to navigate around some much tougher targets, fungal drones with organic senses. She knows she cannot get too close to them or they will whiff her and the whole thing will be a bust. Next, she makes her way over to the end of the room and to a series of narrow halls, the winding halls that Henry and Polly had to run through to escape. She's basically taking a route backward to that. As she grips the walls close to the high ceiling using her sticky gloves and boots, she observes the holographic map of the compound, scouting the exact location of the power room.

Just then, Bobby and Steven, two drones noticeably shorter than the other ones, tread down the hall together, mushroom caps donned, and on patrol like the rest of them. They fit the descriptions given by Dwenzel in his briefing. But now isn't the time for that. Now is the time to head straight to the breaker room to shut down AnimaGenesis. For obvious reasons, this room is totally swamped by guards, elite ones at that, and those are the ones who would be able to see Yunan, so she's going to need some sort of distraction. So she heads back outside and into the main hall to see if there's something she could use to distract the guards, something that perhaps could create a loud explosion and cause the robots to investigate.

It would have to be something that would cause all, or at least most of them, to vacate the area. But alas, nothing explosive around. Not a pipeline connected to gas, or anything puncturable or capable of creating a loud enough disturbance that's destructive or alarming in any way… Wait… alarm. The fire alarm! It's so simple, she can't believe she didn't think of that earlier. Yunan smashes the glass, pulling down on the lever and causing a blaring, deafeningly loud noise as well as strobe lights to flash all throughout the building. Now there's a distraction. All the robots and drones are running around.

Yunan scales the wall like a bug on her sticky gloves and shoes as she makes her way over to the power breaker room, which now, thanks to the fire alarm, is accessible without a key. She darts her way there, over and past the guards and into the room in what must be considered some sort of real-life speed run toward the door, closing it behind her as she treads up to the power breaker. With a miniature explosive ejected from just below her glove, a mount on her wrist, she places a small bomb and exits the room before detonating it. There's only one problem. Her suit has just run out of battery, and she is now visible.

But just as AnimaGenesis is disconnected, causing the robots to go into secondary programming, the team arrives from within to engage in battle. Dr. Thurman and the boys fall to the ground as the robots stomp around and the undead drones begin to disintegrate. Red lights flash until the fire alarm is shut off by one of the intercepting members of the team, and the entire floor erupts into a war between laser blasters wielded by both machine and amphibian.

General Yunan: "Now this is what I'm talking about! Now all of you will know who I am! I am General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army! Feel my wrath, Frobot scum!"

She screams as she absolutely goes to town with her claws, decapitating robots, sweeping them underfoot, smashing them to pieces, and caking herself with black oil as she cackles maniacally. As the others take out the drones surrounding them, clearing the room and swiveling around to take out the Elites in the other rooms, Yunan continues to rip machines apart all around her. They all stare at her like she's gone completely nuts until she realizes it, in which case she rises, clears her throat, stands upright, and fixes her hair. She announces.

General Yunan: "All clear! Great job, team!"

Lord Dwenzel, also covered head to toe in grease and oil, approaches Dr. Thurman. Placing his finger on the man's neck, he rises.

Lord Dwenzil: "He lives. Sit the good doctor up."

Two of the soldiers hoist the doctor up by his pits as Lord Dwenzil pulls the tightly lodged fungus off the man's head. It appears as though Dr. Thurman has gone entirely bald from having the shroom attached to his head for so long. Dwenzel draws from his interior pocket a small vial as the two newt men hold the doctor's mouth open. Dwenzel pours the antidote down into Dr. Thurman's throat, the soldiers tilting his head back so that he can swallow, and the man begins to cough, wiggling away from their grip and falling to his knees. Lord Dwenzel smiles down at the man.

Lord Dwenzel: "Welcome back, Dr. Thurman."

The man gasps for a moment at the creature before him, breaking out in a cold sweat and going pale. He speaks, his voice cracking, turning his head, scared and confused like an animal that had been abducted.

Dr. Thurman: "Who are you? What happened? Where am I? Where's my son?!"

Lord Dwenzel raises a hand to Dr. Thurman and pauses before gesturing to the men around him to stand him up. They continue to restrain him momentarily before releasing him to ensure that the man doesn't retaliate violently out of fear of the aliens speaking to him.

Lord Dwenzel: "Dr. Thurman, I am Lord Dwenzel. Your son is safe, and we are administering antidotes to his friends as we speak."

Dr. Thurman darts his head around.

Dr. Thurman: "Friends?... What friends? My son is three years old. We were just walking in the city when…"

Dr. Thurman feels his head.

Dr. Thurman: "My head! Where's my hair? What's going on?!"

Lord Dwenzel: "Dr. Thurman, you have been trapped in this laboratory for the last decade. Your son is now thirteen years old. It is because of him that we found you or his friends in the first place."

Dr. Thurman just stares out into space, taking in all this information and muttering silently under his breath. He then speaks to the man in a tone.

Dr. Thurman: "My son, Henry. Where is he?"

Lord Dwenzel: "Your son is in Axolonia, doctor."

Bobby and Steven are brought forth by other guards.

Bobby: "Dude, what happened? The last thing I remember, I had some mushroom thing placed on my head, and then I just blanked out."

Steven: "Me too. Mishter Thurman! Henry'sh Dad! You're awake!"

Dr. Thurman just looks at them. He shakes his head.

Dr. Thurman: "Neither of you is my son."

Bobby goes to introduce himself.

Bobby: "You're right. I'm his friend, Bobby, and this weirdo is Steve."

He shakes hands with the men, and once all the greetings and formalities are out of the way, Lord Dwenzel gets down to business. He explains to the doctor everything that's been going on, where they are, where Henry is, and what the goal is. Dr. Thurman reaches into his pocket, pulling forth the destroyed original gem, and he shows it to Lord Dwenzel. That's the mission: to get the portal back up and running and to get himself and the boys back home where they belong. How they're gonna do that with a broken gem is anyone's best guess, but there's a lot of work to be done.

As Lord Dwenzel picks up the pieces with Dr. Thurman and the kids, clearing out the vicinity of nearby and incoming robots, as well as destroying every single solitary red eye belonging to AnimaGenesis, Dweezil, and Wartwood, are quickly approaching the city of Axolonia. Dweezil smirks as he stares forward, engaging in forward thrusters to get the crew there at top speed. Now, Dr. Malley said that he and the kids would remain on the rooftop of the building until help arrived, but in order to secure the building from the outside, should more drones and AnimaGenesis's forces find their way up the stairs and onto the roof, Malley and the kids spent the better part of an hour creating blockages.

They used furniture, appliances, anything they could, blocking the lower-story windows, anything to keep the mushroom plague and the robot scum from ending them. From outside the city, Dweezil orders Wartwood to man and fire the cannons into the streets to destroy any scum they possibly can so that the streets can be as clear as possible when the kids get intercepted. Unfortunately, the ship is much too wide to land on the streets or anywhere close, given how wide the vessel must be just to support the entirety of Wartwood onboard.

This means that the vessel will have to land on the outskirts, and the rescuers will have to make their way to the building on foot to intercept them. Dweezil lands the ship just outside the city limits, just before the pathetic, broken-down old sign reading "Welcome to Axolonia, the city with the friendliest amphibians in the world". That couldn't be further from the truth anymore.

Sprig: "So, this is Axolonia. My sister's here in this hellhole."

He turns to Ivy. She takes his hand and they share an expression of stern fortitude.

Ivy: "We're gonna get her back. We're gonna get Andrias back and we're all gonna go home together."

She nods to him, a promise of strong conviction. The boarding ramp is lowered, and the people funnel down the ramp so quickly that they nearly trip over each other just to get back onto hard ground. Some of them had never been happier to land. As Dweezil parks and steps down the ramp behind them, he draws forth his holographic map just as Yunan had, pinpointing the coordinates of their destination, the Grand Axolonian Library. Young Dweezil gestures forward, the frogs and soldiers shouting as they march forward to tear through the city with a thirst for vengeance and a penchant to execute no quarter on the undead freaks and Frobotic scum.

One of the first ones to burst out onto the street is, oddly enough, Sadie Croaker. As it just so turns out, the old bat still has it, and she's a lot more nimble than she looks for her 90s, beating the hell out of those robots ineffectually with her cane just long enough for someone with proper weaponry (courtesy of the Newtopian military) to dispatch the enemies while they're distracted. Of course, she still thinks she did it. Sprig is literally bouncing off the walls with his laser blaster, disarming, literally, one of the Frobots and going around dual-wielding like a 90s action movie star.

Ivy is not too far behind, testing out some Newtopian laser swords, smaller versions of the kind of heat blades Andrias used to wield courtesy of The Core. There's no way Ivy would be able to go forth to rescue Polly without the support of her mother, Felicia, getting in on the action with her martial arts prowess. Some of the more clever individuals, such as Maddie, utilize their skills, like tossing dubious chemicals into the fields. It turns out that some of them are explosive or capable of creating some sort of colloidal material that coagulates and draws the Frobots and drones together into a metal and fungal tumor-like mass. They, too, eventually explode.

Gunther is now living out his dream of finally having an acceptable target to take his rage out on. The ordinarily docile frog has found refuge in justifying his outburst this time; raging out for a friend of the swamp is something he's proud of, and he leaps forward, eagerly smashing Frobots and undead spore freaks to pieces with his raw upper body strength alone. The whole group just tears through the city like a bulldozer through hundreds of foes, and it must be pretty apparent that AnimaGenesis is getting scared because the Frobots begin to engage in self-destructive acts of desperation.

Dweezil, up in front, orders them to retreat, fighting many of his own foes along with his fellow builders, utilizing their own robots to shield against the attacks. The bodies litter the streets, and Henry, Polly, and Dr. Malley can spot them from above. Polly gasps, shouting down to her brother.

Polly: "Sprig! It's Sprig! Everyone's here! They're all here to rescue us!" 

Polly leaps down from the building, bouncing off walls and swinging down poles and into the street to meet Sprig. She runs toward him. The streets are littered with robots and scum, and Polly assists in taking out the last remaining Frobots with the few remaining nanobots she has left, sending them down the street and toward the others. Sprig recognizes the little things almost immediately as his sister's, and he knows she's close. From a distance, just as they finish off the last one, she shouts, and she's just barely audible, but Sprig can hear it.

Polly: "Sprig!"

She shouts, nearly tripping over herself and the debris, tears of joy filling her eyes as Sprig catches the sound.

Sprig: "P-Polly?"

He turns, facing her, wide-eyed, his face filling with profound elation as she barrels toward him.

Sprig: "Polly!"

He sprints forward to meet her, stopping just short of her as she tackles him, wrapping her arms and legs around him and pulling him to the ground. The two roll around in playful laughter, having not seen each other in almost two whole weeks.

Polly: "I missed you so much, Sprig! I'm sorry for all the trouble I put you through! I promise when I get home, I'm gonna do everything I can to make it up to you and Sylvia and Hop Pop!"

And that's when Sprig's eyes grow quite large for a moment before the smile melts away from his face. The others surround him, and she faces them all with a smile, the poor, naïve girl, totally unaware of the situation.

Polly: "Wow, you're all here! Mr. Flour, and Mayor Toadie and Assistant Toadstool and Ivy and…"

As she goes over all their names, they face away, avoidantly, almost guilty, as if none of them has the courage to face the girl and tell her. She keeps running her eyes across the crowd.

Polly: "Huh… someone's missing."

She rises.

Sprig: "Polly, I—"

She stops him.

Polly: "Don't tell me, don't tell me."

She ponders for a moment, snapping her fingers.

Polly: "I got it! It's Chuck! That lazy butt! He's probably all obsessed over his tulips. Then again, I don't see Hop Pop either… weird—"

Sprig: "Polly, about Hop Pop—"

Polly: "Oh, right! Duh! He hurt his back! I remember now. He must be in a whole lot it pain to be—"

Sprig: "Polly!"

She turns to him, startled by his raising his voice at her. She scowls at him, frustrated before she realizes he's crying.

Sprig: "Hop Pop's dead, Polly."

He chokes. Folding his arms around his legs and just caving under the whole thing.

Polly: "W-what?"

Ivy and several others approach Sprig, trying to console him. Ivy lies beside him, stroking his head as he buries his face in her shoulder. He had dreaded having to tell Polly for days, not knowing whether or not he'd even see her again. He'd been stressing about the whole thing, and it just built up within him for all that time. Now, he just finally gets to release it all. Still, it was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do, to use that money, to make funeral arrangements. Sure, Hop Pop had his will and casket arrangements made years ago. He knew he was no tadpole anymore. Still, it didn't make the arrangements any easier, even with Sylvia, the totally heartbroken widow, at his side.

They take the moment to just absorb the blow together, the whole information sinking into Polly then and there. Dr. Malley and Henry have finally removed the barricades to the building, and they join Polly and the others in the streets. Henry isn't quite aware of what's going on, or who those people are, but he knows better than to say a word. He and the doctor just allow them their time. Eventually, minutes later, as everyone has gotten their emotions, both happy and sad, out of their systems, they recuperate, ready to continue the fight and ready to move on, as they know for certain that this job isn't over yet. Sprig rises, rubbing his eyes and running his finger over Polly's. He chokes.

Sprig: "So, Polly… you say Andrias is up there, in that tower in the distance?"

Polly sniffs, rubbing her mess across her forearm.

Polly: "Yeah."

She squeaks.

Polly: "Oh, by the way, this is Henry and Dr. Malley. They helped me get away from Captain Ernst and AnimaGenesis."

Sprig raises a brow over his bloodshot and tired eyes.

Sprig: "Who and who?"

Polly treads forward, staring up at the tower in the distance with anger in her eyes.

Polly: "AnimaGenesis is the true name of The Core, and Captain Ernst is the name of the jerk that kidnapped me."

She turns to the rest of them.

Polly: "They're in that tower, and King Andrias is in there fighting his way to the top so he can destroy the brain behind The Core, once and for all."

She approaches them. 

Polly: "He's gonna need our help. He's gonna need all the help he can get. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of running and hiding! I'm tired of The Core ruining people's lives! It's time to shut that A.I. trash down, once and for all!"

Dweezil and his companions step forward. They nod to her with a smile.

Dweezil: "Then let's do it!"

And so, the Amphibian fellowship braves the way through Axolonia, stepping forward toward the tower where doom awaits them, along with the rest of their lives. Now, a lot has happened on this end, and by this time, Andrias would likely be more than halfway up the tower by now, assuming everything goes according to plan. But does it? Well, perhaps it's best to rewind just a bit to when Andrias first arrived at the doorstep of the giant tower where the brain of AnimaGenesis awaits him. While they're doing that, Andrias has already approached the tower.

He stands before the massive obelisk. It seems so familiar now, the concept of a tower in which the leader is found. It was that way in nearly all the little video games that were brought to him back when he was the official leader of Newtopia. There are some small privileges, such as those, that he somewhat misses. Regardless, he stares upward, almost imagining the constructs within the tower as he takes a deep breath and approaches the front door. Andrias knows very well he's not just gonna walk up to the front door, say hi, walk in, and kill The Core, so he approaches, very cautiously, as close to the front entrance as he can get without being seen by the patrolling Frobot guards. Miraculously, it actually proves feasible now for Andrias to attempt stealth.

He's starting to like being small again, even if it does have the drawback of a massive reduction in strength. Nevertheless, he finds the trade-off to be totally worth it just to be able to do what he has to do to approach The Core within and disable the servers. The place is completely swamped. Frobot guards scout the area in all directions. AnimaGenesis is not screwing around. Frobots patrol every nook and cranny around the entire perimeter of the building, and Andrias is tasked with having to do something that he had never been particularly good at for most of his life… hiding. But there must be an opportunity somewhere. There has to be a way in… But that's when Andrias peers down at his feet.

King Andrias: "Huh? What the?"

Teeny, tiny nanobots parade around his feet like ants, surveying the area, hyper-analyzing the guards, their programmed trajectory, etc. Then they scatter. Andrias has no idea what they're trying to do, only that they seem to know exactly what to do in this situation. He watches, his fresh eyes losing track of them because they're so small, but then observes as one robot, mid-patrol, seizes, its body dipping forward in a state of standing up dead before it jolts, once again awake, the glowing eyes in the front turning to a shade of blue.

The Frobot darts its head right toward Andrias, looking him in the eyes as he ducks into cover, before turning and marching between a few other Frobots in the area, none the wiser of the conversion of their compatriot. The reconfigured robot treads through the automatically opening doors and into the laboratory. Certainly, within seconds, AnimaGenesis will be observing the cameras, and if not outright controlling all the robots directly, will sooner rather than immediately know that something is wrong. But perhaps not? Could it be that these nanobots are of superior technology to artificial intelligence? Could it be that this very tactic could be masked, read off by the computer as a standard procedure? 

But then again, AnimaGenesis could have control of the cameras. Now, there should be one pointed at the entrance, totally unavoidable by one going through that gate, but… How could it be that the Frobot is simply entering without interruption? Andrias ponders the entire situation before him. These nanobots, are they trying to help him? What else have they done? Have the cameras already been disabled or rerouted to display some sort of other data? Henry hadn't yet disclosed this to Andrias, but it very well could have something to do with the Babylon AI systems. Perhaps these nanobots were capable of overriding these systems.

As Andrias is pondering the possibilities of these theories, a series of mounted guns turn toward the other Frobots guarding the entrance, blasting away and exploding the heads of the robot frogs, sending their hard metal bodies crashing into the concrete. Andrias turns, peering over his protective wall. It would appear that all that pondering was worthless, and the nanobots got into the security center and manually hijacked the security. So much for all that. Andrias sets foot within the tower for the first time, into a large, vacant, and sterile hallway with the exception of the totally destroyed Frobot on the floor, that is.

Andrias realizes now that he is weaponless. Peering down, he grips the arm of the Frobot on the floor. He pulls with all his might, tearing away at the joints of the limb as his assistant, the reprogrammed Frobot, peers at the ground before it, realizing what Andrias is trying to do. Just as Andrias successfully tears the arm cannon from the robot's joint, the assimilated robot tears its own arm off, handing it to Andrias with a curious head tilt. The king merely raises his brow before taking the other arm, wielding it akimbo style.

King Andrias: "Thank you?"

The robot merely nods as they head forward and down the hall, initiating a ballistic attack on the facility, Andrias screams like a lunatic as he unleashes a volley of fury toward the robots before him, blasting chunks of steel and sending wire and debris everywhere, the floor coated with puddles of black blood and the bodies of fallen fungal drones, just as there were within AnimaGenesis Labs. By now, AnimaGenesis has finally caught on and manually overrides the security cameras. The artificial intelligence speaks to Andrias over the loudspeaker used to deliver messages to the workers within.

AnimaGenesis: "Are you quite finished, Andrias?"

King Andrias: "Not by a long shot! I'm not through with you until I make it up to that brain of yours and smash your servers into thousands of pieces!"

Andrias banks around a corner as multiple security cameras spring from the wall, sending missiles at Andrias and smashing into the wall as he dives behind a doorway. He escapes. His robot partner, however, the one who had laid waste to a nearly competitive amount of enemy Frobots along the way, was not so lucky. The assimilated cyborg lies wasted in thousands of pieces on the floor. Andrias notices just how hostile the Core has gotten.

King Andrias: "What's the matter? Not doing so hot without that prototype body of yours to terrorize the city?"

Another rocket is sent into the room, destroying the fallen robot on the floor into thousands of more pieces so that the nanobots cannot reassemble. His partner has fallen. And he's alone now. The blast sends Andrias across the room. He scrambles to recover his weapons, fleeing as more drones are sent in. AnimaGenesis speaks to Andrias through the P.A. system.

AnimaGenesis: "Forgive us, Andrias, the crudeness of this mortal terminology… but you have pissed us off."

Andrias proceeds as the mounted cameras in each of the halls go totally berserk, and Andrias tries to rationalize this situation. He knows there must be some sort of security room somewhere on one of these floors. It's bad enough that the damned elevator isn't working, but when every so many floors he ascends have to be entirely interrupted by a Frobot trying to destroy the stairway, the king knows that AnimaGenesis is starting to get desperate. Blasting away at the most recent one with a headshot, Andrias leaps across the broken gap over to the higher end of the stairway, just about gripping the edge and trying as hard as he can not to fall. Unfortunately, one of his dual laser arms has fallen down the stairway into the abyss. He stares at his only weapon left, battery life, and ammo stash more than halfway depleted. Andrias is exhausted and sweating like a pig.

King Andrias: "No way this day could possibly get any worse."

The fool heaves a great sigh as he treads into the next hall. His eyes grow wide as several mounted turrets point his way before leaping back into the hallway, his now organic heart racing a million miles an hour. The bullets continue to riddle the wall even after Andrias is out of sight. That mad bot! It's going to destroy the hallway. Andrias backs into the corner as the fire comes ever closer to him. He knows that if he leaps back over to the lower end, the stairs will collapse, and he will have no way back up. Andrias watches as the trail grows ever closer to where he stands. He closes his eyes, bracing for pain as the fire inexplicably stops a mere inch from where he's standing.

Andrias opens his eyes to find the entire wall around him totally destroyed with bullets, but not a single hair on his body is out of place. He has to feel himself just to make sure. He stares at the ominous light of the hallway before him, taking a big gulp as he peeks his head out the door momentarily. Quickly, he draws it back in. Then he has the idea to bait the camera over to him with the severed arm, sticking it out the door and wiggling it to gain the attention of the turrets… Nothing. Andrias raises his brow, turning his head to peer around the corner just quickly enough to glance at the cameras before they fire.

Almost immediately, he notices no light on the cameras. Has someone reset the alarms? Is AnimaGenesis merely toying with Andrias? Andrias peers over to the floor where the Frobot lies, and he gets an idea. Heaving the heavy thing over to the doorway, Andrias holds the Frobot carcass before him, planning on using it as a robot shield. But the turrets still do not fire. Tossing the Frobot to the ground, Andrias approaches the turrets. The little red light indicating activity had been shut off, meaning someone had to manually override the security system. 

He wonders if Malley has somehow made his way inside to assist him. But then, who is with the kids? Ignoring that distraction, Andrias treads forward, distracted, but that's when a fist flies out toward Andrias from the side, a massive fist that collides right with the wall beside him, just missing him by mere inches as he leaps backward. The fist crashes so hard that it totally destroys the thick cinder block. That force would have killed Andrias had it collided with him at the size he is now. It still would have hurt like hell if he were a giant.

Andrias peers into the doorway as a massive Frobot covered in a metallic sheen so shiny he can see his own reflection on its chest, ducks under the doorway, and slowly approaches Andrias with ominous intent. Andrias turns the corner, darting in the opposite direction, past the fire escape and down the hall where the Frobot Elite 2000, the latest and greatest weapon in the Newtopian army, is unleashed. So this was AnimaGenesis's plan. The robot speaks to Andrias, and it's clear that AnimaGenesis has overridden this bot's system.

AnimaGenesis (Frobot Elite 2000): "You cannot hide from us, Andrias. We will seek you out. And we will kill you. And when we do, we will make an example of you to your friends before we slaughter them as well." 

The Frobot Elite 2000 follows Andrias into what was originally supposed to be an upper-story employee lounge for the scientists maintaining the servers and running the show. It's a massive room with many tables and chairs, and they would eat their lunches in there, served to them from a cafeteria just across the hall. These scientists, back in the day, were treated well. The Frobot Elite 2000 treads under the doorway and into the room, the stomps of its heavy, webbed feet creating loud thuds as it treads into the apparently empty room. This Frobot was built with the same kind of heat-seeking vision as the others, but all the blood and oil coating Andrias's blue skin masked his body heat.

All is dead silence as Andrias hides under the table, waiting for an opportunity to strike. The Frobot continues, and Andrias watches the shadow from behind the white tablecloth covering the underside. It's apparent that AnimaGenesis is toying with him, enthralled in somewhat of a game of cat and mouse. From behind, Andrias rises, taking a wooden chair and smashing the Frobot Elite along the back of the head, shattering the chair into pieces. The move doesn't even phase the Frobot, and it turns around. Andrias is stupefied as the Frobot merely wags its finger before grabbing Andrias by the collar and tossing him back out into the hallway, the robot arm he dropped at his side.

Quickly, he draws the arm cannon, unloading on the Frobot Elite 2000 with every blast he can, at the head for maximum damage. The Frobot reacts unimpeded, the head suffering minor recoil from the bullets as they bounce off with the effectiveness of being pelted with marshmallows. Then the Frobot raises its arm to convert its own into an even larger cannon, aiming directly at Andrias. Wide-eyed and terrified, Andrias rises and darts out of the way as the Frobot blasts a massive hole in the wall behind him, crouching under the door and continuing pursuit.

Andrias enters the break room, where he spots a vending machine. Desperate and searching for any opportunity, he smashes his powerful arm through the glass and pulls out a soda, opening it up. The Frobot pursues him, entering the room. Thinking and turning around quickly, Andrias splashes the Frobot in the face with the soda, the chemicals working their way down into the interior tubing of the neck and toward the chassis. It just looks at him. 

AnimaGenesis (Frobot Elite 2000): "Your strategy has become illogical, Andrias. You are desperate and scared."

It grabs Andrias by the neck, hoisting him high. AnimaGenesis is angry, and it doesn't realize just how personal it has made its plan. And this is exactly why an AI shouldn't be combined with living beings, because even the most intelligent beings, when unraveled, when their intelligence comes into integrity, when all else fails, they fall to emotions, and AnimaGenesis is comprised of some rather angry, rather emotional characters, the fatal flaw in its design. The being has made it personal, angered with Andrias, and vengeful as it raises the king to the ceiling, where a fluorescent light hovers above.

Andrias can see the light. It shines brightly on his face, even as life is being choked out of him. Desperate, blacking out, he raises his shaking, trembling hand toward the light. Nearly passing out, he uses the last bit of his strength to pull down the fluorescent light, jabbing the fixture into the wet neck of the Frobot Elite 2000. The Frobot drops Andrias, and the newt rolls away, coughing as the Frobot sparks, the body short-circuiting.

AnimaGenesis (Frobot Elite 2000): "No! What have you done?!"

The voice of AnimaGenesis glitches as the Frobot engages in one last act of desperation itself.

AnimaGenesis (Frobot Elite 2000): "Activating self-destruct sequence. You will not survive this, Andrias. Someone will be left to clean up the pieces."

Andrias bolts out of the room as a high-pitched chime fills the halls. He dashes his way over to the fire escape as quickly as he can before the whole floor becomes totally leveled by the explosion, stumbling his way up the stairs and out of range as the explosion takes the entire stairway. Fire travels up the stairs and out of the door as Andrias treads onto the penultimate floor, leaping onto the ground as he shuts the door on the explosion. Ducking in cover, the door is sent off its hinges and over Andrias, the newt just barely escaping, but the force sends him flying across the room and into the wall.

Andrias blacks out for a small moment as a laugh is heard. He recognizes it and rises as quickly as he can onto his limping leg. Several more Frobots come out of the woodwork from behind the walls as Andrias blasts away at their heads, tired, but his energy heightened in the heat of his adrenaline rush. Andrias had not felt this tired in ages. But now he is certain he must persevere and find the servers to The Core and destroy them entirely before he could ever know peace. Andrias shouts, his eyes filled with rage like a madman as he unleashes his payload, a volley of laser bullets destroying every last Frobot in his path, tearing them to pieces, holding the trigger until it goes click.

And so, with the last Frobot on the floor dead at his feet, he treads through several narrow hallways and out into an open and unfinished suite. He sighs. Andrias observes the arm cannon in his possession; it's spent, little more than a heavy arm with which to slap opponents with, in other words, ineffective, so he tosses it to the ground, weaponless once again. He continues, persevering as the echoes of laughter ring through the halls again.

King Andrias: "I know you're up here, Ernst."

The harsh, red lighting on the penultimate floor masks the blood and oil caked all over Andrias's skin, soaking his long, stringy hair and beard and causing his clothes to cling to his blue skin. Andrias is surrounded by bodies. He darts his eyes around maddeningly in the silence, only broken by his slow, heaving breaths, the tiny whistles through his nostrils. Andrias wades through the bodies, trudging through with watery resistance, like a pond made of flesh and metal. He limps forward, a slight stagger to his gimp as he turns his head from side to side. That snake in the grass must be somewhere.

King Andrias: "Show yourself, Ernst! Face me like a man!"

The other newt does not show himself, but speaks, his voice echoing through the halls with a bodiless spatial ambiguity that is indecipherable. Like a ninja, he stalks the king without Andrias being able to lock onto his location.

Captain Ernst: "To think, the once high and mighty king whom I had greatly respected has been reduced to a cowering peasant sympathizer. What happened to your vision, Andrias? What happened to that lust for conquest? For knowledge? For power?"

Andrias stills himself, darting his eyes around for so much as a single shadow movement in his peripheral vision. He simply shakes his head.

King Andrias: "You must have missed the memo, Ernst. I have come to see the error of my ways. I was shown the truth that all along, I was the coward, the dog lying at the feet of a monster I had seen as my master, who took from me everything, everyone I had ever loved. It was true. I did yearn for power because I truly had none, for conquest because that was the only victory I had known, and for knowledge because it was one step closer to finding the truth in a universe of confusion. Otherwise, my life up to that point had been nothing but a failure."

He is silent for a moment as if pondering... as if somewhat hurt by the revelation.

Captain Ernst: "Is that all I was to you, Andrias? A failure?"

Andrias lowers his guard as if accepting the possibility that perhaps Ernst may come out and hopefully come to an agreement.

King Andrias: "No. You are part of a dark past, one that I had sought to abandon. But as I trod into the light, you had ventured into the darkness. I plead with you, Ernst. You are a smart man, and if my life has value after everything I have done, then yours does as well. I extend to you my hand, Ernst, from the light. Join me, so that you too may find salvation in the light of The Originator."

The man finally treads out from behind a pillar before Andrias, his arms behind his back and laughing, almost hysterically as he approaches the king. Andrias merely stands there with a hardened, bemused face, a combination of seriousness, sadness, and pity.

Captain Ernst: "So let me get this straight! Did you go from being a dark lord with a false smile for the public to this preachy, pathetic, holy roller? This can't be real. It is?! Ha!"

The man leans on his knees, laughing so hard he can barely contain himself. If he wasn't already red, his face would be the shade of a rose. This marks one of the only times Andrias has ever seen him smile, and doesn't attack just because the spectacle before him is so outlandish to him. Ernst rises, wiping away the tears from his eyes as he continues to catch himself.

King Andrias: "It wasn't that funny."

Ernst simply shakes his head. His voice almost cracks in genuine disappointment, almost as if sad for what he's about to do.

Captain Ernst: "That's too bad, Andrias. What about this?!"

He lunges at the king with a sharp dagger, and Andrias just barely shifts away to the side quickly enough to avoid internal injury, merely sustaining a small slice in the side of his chest. Andrias reaches for the arm as a weapon, as Captain Ernst, with lightning-fast reflexes, as deadly as ever, punts the arm away from Andrias and with enough force to smash it to pieces on the wall across from him. He swipes several times at Andrias with the assassin's dagger, each time nearly missing him. Andrias is no stranger to one-on-one combat, having faced rigorous training as a child.

Andrias had fighting prowess beaten into him from a young age, as he was taught to show no weakness. Aldrich, and by extension, The Core, would have none of it. Even when he was originally small, before all his augmentations, Andrias was pitted against some deadly warriors who did not hold back on him. He has sustained injuries, has scars permanently etched across his royal blue skin, and a history of punishment beneath those regal robes and armor. Those scars remain on his reborn flesh as reminders of his history.

The Captain continues to spin and twirl, lunging at Andrias with almost ballerina-like grace as the king seizes the opportunity, and he strikes. Ernst's eyes widen when his wrist is grabbed, the king squeezing with a grip like an iron vice as Ernst's hand releases the dagger into the ground. Thinking quickly, Ernst performs a backflip, kicking Andrias in the jaw and sending him staggering backward a few feet. Ernst raises his hand to Andrias, signaling for him to approach.

Captain Ernst: "Let us finish this, Andrias, man to man."

The two men circle each other like lions fighting for supremacy, eyes locked onto each other as they perform a deadly waltz. All is quiet and tense.

King Andrias: "What is the meaning of this, Ernst? I thought you wanted freedom. I thought you wanted to make your own choices."

Captain Ernst: "I did, and those choices led me to AnimaGenesis, the one who would take me along the path to become what I had always wanted to be. I should have ruled over Newtopia, Andrias! Not you! You were a fool, a bored, spoiled child resting on your laurels while you had the power of a god at your fingertips!"

Andrias chuckles, smirking at the newt before him and shaking his head.

King Andrias: "So, that's what this was all about? Petty jealousy? You're pathetic, Ernst. I paved my own path to victory."

Captain Ernst: "You squandered it, threw it away like a child! And for what, Andrias? Hm? The last words of a little gardener girl? The honor of some low-level toad? You threw it all away for those commoners?!"

King Andrias: "And you threw away your honor so that you could become some degenerate rogue! The people loved you, Ernst!"

Captain Ernst's cool finally gives way, lunging at King Andrias with rapid fists and right and left hooks to the jaw.

Captain Ernst: "I'd rather they feared me! Even if it meant they hated me! I had the guts to do what needed to be done, Andrias! I had the balls to end everything you started! If only it had been me in that suit! That little brat girl would have been a crater on the Earth! That entire planet would be nothing but a crater!"

He tackles Andrias to the ground, slugging him in the face, over and over.

Captain Ernst: "Ten years, Andrias! I spent ten years on that miserable planet, setting up the perfect plan to turn those idiots against each other! I spent ten painstaking years getting the technology set up, and then you go and ruin everything! I could have gotten the little prince, Lord Dwenzel's son, but no! I got Polly Plantar instead! And then you came and ruined everything!"

He wraps his hands around Andrias's neck, his neck muscles still sore from the fight with the Frobot Elite 2000.

King Andrias: "Ernst! Stop… this!"

Captain Ernst: "I hate you, Andrias! I hate—"

The Captain freezes mid-sentence as a loud crunch can be heard. His face contorts as another echoes through the halls before the Captain falls flat onto Andrias's chest. Was it a heart attack? No. Ernst was old, but perfectly healthy, even if he did have to resort to eating terrible human food for the better part of a year. No. As Andrias pushes him over onto the floor, it is revealed that Ernst was killed by his own dagger, shoved right into his heart. The white-haired, red-faced man now lies there, staring at the ceiling, his life flashing before his eyes as a familiar man, another red figure, dressed in black, appears before him. Only Ernst can see him. The man in black does his business, drawing forth a long, black blade.

?: "Judgment Day is upon you, Ernst."

Andrias treads forward. He knows for a fact that he is on the next-to-last floor. As he approaches an ominous stairway, a single door at the top of it, AnimaGenesis laughs as it activates all the barriers it can. Between the hundreds of feet of ultra-dense steel lining the stairway to the impenetrable force field at the end. Andrias falls to his knees, knowing that the lockdown is permanent and that there's no way inside now. The heart of The Core, the servers, is beyond that barrier. Andrias wonders for a moment if it's another test, or if it truly is the end, and that AnimaGenesis will continue to duplicate itself endlessly. Andrias hangs his head.

?: "In a bit of a jam, are we?"

Andrias darts his head over to the Albanerpeton standing mere feet from him, adorned in his familiar black robe.

King Andrias: "Al! I mean… Death! What are you doing here?! I-it can't be time for me to die now! I have unfinished business!"

Al snickers for a moment with a light smile as he leans into the wall, his cold, dead eyes fixating on Andrias.

Al: "As do I."

Andrias backs away, and the amphibian across from him sighs.

Al: "I'm not here to take you away, Andrias."

King Andrias stops scooting away. He stares at Al, wide-eyed and with immense curiosity, as the albanerpeton shakes his head.

Al: "No. You see. I had… forgotten about one little shrine, one little bit of growth you had to endure in order for the gem to reach its full potential. You see, I noticed you ran out of energy, and for a while, I wondered why… But it has slipped my mind."

Al shakes his head.

Al: "Even I'm not perfect, Andrias. Even I can make mistakes, believe it or not. But…"

The albanerpeton places his hand on the several tons of dense steel blocking the way, gazing up at the ceiling.

Al: "... I'm here to correct my mistakes. Andrias, you have but one more challenge you must face, the most difficult one of all. You must face your family."

King Andrias rises. He stares for a moment at the floor. He doesn't quite understand the implications, but he clasps the gem for a moment, and he wonders.

King Andrias: "You say that you have come to correct a mistake, but I don't believe that to be entirely true. This had to be planned by The Originator."

Al summons his mighty scythe for a moment, startling Andrias as the man leans on the blade. The scythe itself is pure black, with a painted handle and grip and a dark gray blade so sharp it could cut through anyone.

Al: "So, you got it all figured out, huh? Perhaps so. Now… technically speaking, we angels, deities, whatever, aren't supposed to meddle in mortal affairs. It could get us in a lot of trouble. But…"

King Andrias: "This isn't exactly a mortal affair, is it?"

Al shakes his head.

Al: "No… Not when Vadrigar is involved."

Andrias does a double-take.

King Andrias: "Vadrigar? Who, or what, is Vadrigar?"

Al: "Confront your family. Confront The Core, and you will find the true mastermind behind all of this. He is an interdimensional demon, a being who exists purely to cause suffering, and this was all part of his long-term plan to do so. The Originator had been looking for every instance of this being that He could find. This one was hidden pretty well."

King Andrias: "So, what's your plan?"

Al approaches Andrias, and remembering he speaks to the Grim Reaper, he backs away somewhat. Al simply smiles and chuckles, bearing forth his scythe.

Al: "You will finish The Core with this."

Andrias stares down at the blade of death, wondering if he is truly worthy of such an honor to even hold Death's blade.

Al: "It's probably not the most ideal weapon for you, unfortunately, as you're not trained with it, but it does possess the power to send the souls of the dead to The Originator. Take it forth. Confront your past. End The Core, and find for your family, salvation."

And so, he places the black scythe into the hands of Andrias and turns away.

Al: "Swipe the air before you to tear open a rift, and simply step through, and you will go beyond the threshold of the security system."

He treads forward.

Al: "There's no turning back from this, Andrias. Once you step beyond that portal, your fate, and the fate of the entire universe, fall into your hands."

He peers over his shoulder momentarily as Andrias looks up from the blade toward Al's back. The man smirks over his shoulder.

Al: "This was the new prophecy, Andrias. This is the love of the Originator. This is the kindness of The Cosmic Guardian, her mercy, her affinity toward you, on behalf of her and her friends. Remember, you are not alone, no matter how you may feel beyond that gate. Trust the gem, trust her, trust me, and trust yourself, and you are unstoppable. Good luck to you."

King Andrias: "Hey, wait!"

Andrias shouts as the man disappears behind a wall of smoke. Andrias stares down at the reaper's scythe as it glows and glimmers in his hands, as if the blade is ancient and yet somehow entirely ageless. He can see the tint of red in the color as if it has been covered in an ocean of blood over the course of its existence. Andrias knows it to be true. And so, he turns to face the mighty wall of obstruction, and he raises the blade. With a deft swipe, King Andrias tears open a rift, a portal in the universe, and beyond it, he can see the image of a series of halls covered in red and black. It appears as though AnimaGenesis awaits him eagerly, knowing all too well that the security system will only hold Andrias back for so long. 

The king takes a great sigh, remembering all that he stands for, all that ending The Core and all those centuries of chaos and pain stand for, and he stares forward, a scowl of pure determination as he marches forward through the portal. The rift closes behind him. Andrias now sets foot into his own personal hell, ready to navigate through pain and suffering. This, he is willing to do. Andrias is fully willing to confront his past and end it all. From the beginning, Andrias always had a hope of being a great leader. Today, those dreams came true for him. Andrias prepares himself as he sets forth into the heart beneath.

Chapter Text

Lord Dwenzel's forces scour the city of Axolonia, covering every nook and cranny, searching within every building for signs of life or lack thereof. The idea is to make the ruins of the city safe and free of fungal drones and cleared of Frobot scum. Dweezil takes the city in, the possibilities with this fallen land, the home of the axolotls. He frets as he can see just what a beautiful place it once was, and with the territory claimed, Dweezil nods as he contemplates the possibility that Axolonia can be a beautiful place and a paradise for people to live in once again.

The population of amphibians is growing, and someday, they will grow too far and wide for that one continent alone. Dweezil, even at a young age, already has big plans for the ruins. But it will take time, well over a decade, to make it as beautiful and prosperous as the city once was. He turns to the robot axolotl beside him, Dr. Malley, as he, too, looks back at the city. The place is nostalgic for him as well. This was his home many years ago, and now it is all but unrecognizable to him. Dweezil snickers somewhat out of his nose with a smile.

Dweezil: "We have historical records of this city from back in the day. It would seem there are many accounts within the castle, references to this continent that have been either long-overlooked or hidden from Andrias by the terrible Core."

Dr. Malley turns to him.

Dr. Malley: "I remember this as a place I used to love. And now, it's a tragedy, seeing what the Leviathan family did here."

He peers over to the tower with a slight scowl. He sighs.

Dr. Malley: "I did all I could to help Andrias. I helped to even the odds with the security system, deactivating as many of those Frobots as I could. That kid, Polly, is something else."

He notices Polly and Sprig as they reminisce on the front of the steps of the building, noting that there's nothing left for them to do, especially with the stairway leading up to the roof shot. Andrias is up there, all alone, and there's no way they can get up there to help him. Malley turns to Dweezil, folding his arms.

Dr. Malley: "May I request of you, Prince Dweezil? This is more of a plea… really."

Dweezil turns to the man with a nod. He hoists his coat, adjusting it with a bit of a huff.

Dweezil: "I'll see what I can do. What kind of request do you suppose?"

Dr. Malley: "Only that this place becomes somewhere for people to live again without fear of tyranny. The last thing we need is ever to have our home threatened by Frobots again."

He peers down at his own hands, the hypocrisy. Without those Frobot bodies, he wouldn't even be alive.

Dr. Malley: "These machines are not without purpose or functionality. In the right hands, they can be magnificent tools to make the world a better place for amphibians everywhere. I just… don't feel as though we should be using these war machines anymore."

Dweezil approaches Malley, placing his arm over his shoulder and leaning in. He makes eye contact with the robot.

Dweezil: "I assure you, Doctor. If you had seen what happened at home, the ravaged nature of Amphibia itself, you would know that I will not stand for tyrannical conquest. The days of the Leviathan family and their rule over Amphibia are over. Andrias may live among the people of Wartwood. It is only out of mercy and a desire to right wrongs that he is not to be imprisoned for the rest of his existence, even if it would be rightfully so."

He peers up at the building with a smile, somewhat proud of the old newt.

Dweezil: "For what it's worth, he's doing everything in his power to make sure that nothing like this…"

He turns, presenting the dilapidated, dystopian city of Axolonia to the doctor.

Dweezil: "Never happens again."

He provides the axolotl with a jovial slap on the back before turning, placing his hands casually within his suit jacket pocket, and approaching the kids sitting on the stoop. He interrupts their conversation, speaking specifically to Henry.

Dweezil: "I think it's time we head back to AnimaGenesis Labs. I know for sure both of our fathers would like a word with us."

Henry rises, his eyes wide and somewhat serious.

Henry: "My dad… Is he okay?"

Dweezil nods.

Dweezil: "It appears so. You might wanna get in gear."

No sooner does the young man finish his sentence than Henry is already darting toward the airship back on the edge of town.

Henry: "I'm coming, Dad!"

Henry certainly didn't need to be told twice. Meanwhile, Dweezil prepares the group for the way back to AnimaGenesis Labs. The fathers, both Henry's and Dweezil's, try to figure out just how they're gonna get the humans back home where they belong. This proves to be quite time-consuming, and Lord Dwenzel is becoming impatient.

Lord Dwenzel: "Status report on Dweezil's party, Walter."

Dwenzel's assistant steps up to the king, a small, weaselly newt with a shiny, bald head, reads from a clipboard with which he seems to keep more ideas than within his head.

Walter: "Your son's forces have successfully breached and taken control of Axolonia. He now returns to the lab with the young Mr. Thurman so that he may reunite with his father and friends."

Lord Dwenzel nods, the serious expression never once leaving his face, and he does not even turn to face Walter.

Lord Dwenzel: "Excellent."

Dwenzel approaches Dr. Thurman.

Lord Dwenzel: "How are preparations for the return home, Dr. Thurman?"

Thurman shakes his head.

Dr. Thurman: "You must forgive me. I've been trapped in the head of that crazy thing for so long, it's like I can barely think straight anymore. I've tried recalibrating the coordinates with Earth, just the opposite of the ones I had used, according to my notes."

Thurman draws from his pocket a folded-up piece of paper that he has had on him for the last ten years. Drawing his arm up, he realizes he's in desperate need of a shower, as the artificial intelligence certainly hadn't given him one. Bobby and Steven lean against the wall, simply observing.

Bobby: "I feel ya there, Doc."

He peers up at the machine.

Bobby: "Does that thing even work? Looks like it got pretty beat up when Henry escaped and when the pink newt chick went ballistic in here."

Steven: "Pink newt chick?"

General Yunan approaches the young man, fists balled up and everything. She's positively fuming.

General Yunan: "Pink newt chick?! I'll have you know, I'm—"

Bobby: "Yeah, yeah, lady. We heard it a hundred times already."

Lord Dwenzel approaches, placing his hand on her shoulder, insisting she leave the area before she does something she'll regret later. As Yunan turns to storm out the door, she bumps straight into Henry, who is proceeding forward.

General Yunan: "Great, another stupid human boy."

She scoffs as she passes, huffing and puffing to get some air. Henry simply turns to Dweezil with a shrug of confusion.

Henry: "What's her problem?"

Dweezil shakes his head as he watches her leap into a tree.

Dweezil: "Not a clue."

They exchange a mutual shrug, entering through the door. Henry is somewhat apprehensive about meeting his father once again, but not because he isn't aware of what the man looks like. First off, Henry could never forget what his father looked like. The image of the good old Dr. Thurman is burned into his mind like a mental tattoo. But it's more so, how is he gonna reveal himself to his father at all? Imagine it, meeting your kid after ten long years, the kid you haven't seen since he just barely made it outta diapers, the kid who wasn't even in school before you disappeared from his life. It's not cool. Nothing he's about to explain to his father is cool.

Henry imagines that his father won't even recognize him at all. That would be the worst feeling of all for Henry. The worst feeling for Dr. Thurman would be the revelation that his wife had moved on. How could he tell him? And dear God, John. How in the world is he gonna explain that she remarried? What's going to happen when they get home? It's not fair for either of them. Does Henry's mom just kick John to the curb like he all of a sudden doesn't matter? The man has been cool with Henry his whole life, loves him as if he were his flesh and blood, just as good as any biological father. But then again, it's not fair to Dr. Thurman either.

The man just spent the better part of a decade controlled by a monster, only to wake up, find an entire decade of his life gone, having missed half of his son's childhood, and his wife having moved on with another man. Even on the off chance Henry gets to go home, life as he knew it is over. He wonders if his mom will even recognize his father. Will she believe Henry when he gets home that he has found his real father? And oh no, now that he thought about it, he'd been gone for a whole week now. Mom and John must be losing their minds, and Bobby and Steven's parents, too. They know that Henry is always hanging out with Bobby and Steven, so they know right away to check in with them if Henry is gone for an extended period.

He imagines his face on milk cartons at this point. But wait… Andrias has the gem that powers the portal. How is Dr. Thurman even gonna get the thing to work without it? How long are they gonna be stuck in Amphibia? Henry has grown to like Polly somewhat. She's a cool little frog girl, and Dr. Malley did get him out of a jam. Maybe he'd miss them a little bit, but nothing compares to home. Henry doesn't want to grow attached to Amphibia. The last thing he wants is for it to feel bittersweet about going home. No. It needs to feel all sweet.

But wait… It isn't just about him. Is it? He remembers as he treads into the door and toward his father himself for the first time in years. If he can make it so that Polly and her brother can go and visit their friends, he wants to do it. He just has to figure out how. But then, he turns the corner, and past the amphibians, he can see the man, his eyes, his face, his head (which he remembers having hair, but that's okay because he'd gladly sacrifice his dad's hair just to see him again). The two make eye contact, and Henry just freezes there for a moment. The whole thing is just so surreal.

Henry: "D-dad?"

Dr. Thurman pushes through the men, his eyes locked on his teenage son, unblinking. He surveys the boy. He looks relatively similar, only older, less rounded in the face, and his hair is a bit darker in tone than his baby blonde hair. But he still has those same baby-blue eyes, the ones he inherited from his mom. It's unmistakable. Dr Thurman says nothing, only wraps his arms tightly around the boy, pulling the young man in and fighting the emotions back with everything he has.

Dr. Thurman: "I can't believe I missed a whole ten years of your life. I… I can't even believe I was robbed of watching you grow up."

He chokes, kissing his son lovingly on the side of the head. Henry's glasses are fogging up, so he removes them.

Henry: "I thought I'd never see you again. There was something… something in me, I knew… I knew you weren't dead. I knew you wouldn't just leave me there like that."

Dr. Thurman shakes his head, leaning it on Henry's shoulder.

Dr. Thurman: "No. Of course not. Never. Never in a million years."

The two separate as Henry rubs his eyes along his sleeves, placing his glasses on his face and brushing his bangs to the side.

Henry: "Dad. Things are all different at home. Everyone thinks you're dead, and Mom—"

Dr. Thurman raises a hand to stop him.

Dr. Thurman: "You know what? Tell me later. Let's focus on getting home first; then, we can worry about whatever challenges we have to face when we get to those roads. Okay?"

Henry sniffs, nodding with a somewhat optimistic smile.

Henry: "Yeah."

Dr. Thurman turns to the others, Bobby and Steven, and then he remembers. The gem in his pocket. He distinctly felt it when the front of his pants pocket brushed up against Henry, so now he draws it from within, a broken golden gem. Henry gasps.

Henry: "Where did you get this?! I thought only King Andrias had one of these!"

Lord Dwenzel: "My word, it's just like one of the Calamity Gems!"

Bobby points at the gem.

Bobby: "That's the same kind of gem that freak Captain Ernst made us steal!"

Dr. Thurman turns to the young man, questioning Bobby, who is taken aback.

Dr. Thurman: "What do you mean, got you to steal?! Who is Captain Ernst?"

Steven: "Captain Ernsht ish thish newt guy who kidnapped ush and made ush shteal a gem from a top shecret government fashility sho he and thish evil A.I. called AnimaGeneshish could ushe thish portal devishe to get here."

Dr. Thurman just shakes his head, rubbing his brow. He sighs. It's all just so much to take in at once. He holds the gem before him.

Dr. Thurman: "This was given to me by the United States government. They told me nothing about it, said the origins of it are classified information, so wherever they got it, it could have been anywhere, here, from space, or even—"

Lord Dwenzel interrupts, approaching the broken gem, the cut crystalline form gleaming off his eyes.

Lord Dwenzel: "A magical dream world."

Dr. Thurman simply shakes his head.

Dr. Thurman: "A what?"

As the doctor and Lord converse, going over plans, coordinates, and all sorts of technical scientific mumbo jumbo, high above, in another plane, incidentally, not too far away from this supposed "magical dream world", Anne Boonchuy, the new Cosmic Guardian, surveys the situation with Nero Hades. She places a palm to her chin, just trying to wrap her head around this whole situation. She was the one in charge of executing the new prophecy; it was her idea, after all. But as the other two remain fixated on the events below, gazing through the looking glass mirage onto the surface world, the new Cosmic Guardian turns to The Originator, and she wonders, just what liberties has He taken with this prophecy? What are His plans?

She stares at the giant man floating in that endlessness, and He does not answer her, even though He knows she's thinking about Him, and that means that whatever plans He has are between Him and Him alone, or whoever else He wishes to relay this information to. What is the deal with this "magical dream world," and why do the mortals know about it when even she doesn't? Does he not wish for her to intervene in the situation? Does he have some ulterior motive? Could this possibly have anything to do with Vadrigar? He simply contemplates silently, at least according to her, as if she could understand His rationale or even comprehend his level of understanding of fate. But then He speaks, startling her.

The Originator: "YOU WILL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH, MY DEAR."

Anne simply shakes her head. Marcy rises, turning to her. She didn't hear His words as they were telepathically shared between Anne and The Originator.

Marcy: "What's wrong?"

Anne smiles at Marcy, turning to Sasha.

Anne: "Let's check in on Andrias."

Sasha: "Sure."

Sasha raises her remote toward the hologram, pointing at it, as if simply changing the channel on the projection, and they behold, watching over Andrias as he faces his destiny. Andrias treads through the portal, his body feeling as though it just stepped out of a microwave onto the floor. He stands just before the door at the top of the stairs, staring out into space. Andrias can hear the beating of his heart like a loud drum, and he can't tell if it's the portal, his anxiety, the fact that he's exhausted and just had the hell beaten out of him, or the blade that he now carries. Andrias grips the steel handle of the scythe, staring down at it as it shimmers off the red light above, the light of the eye staring down at him.

Andrias could feel an almost godlike energy coursing through his veins as if he had been handed the very power of Death itself. Raising his gaze from the blade, he redirects his gaze to the eye above the door, and he vows, staring right into the deep cornea.

AnimaGenesis: "What do you plan to do with that scythe, Andrias?"

The king ponders his words, staring up into the one eye with a disgusted sneer.

King Andrias: "I'm coming to get you, to cast down upon you a punishment long overdue. So do your worst. Send me your drones, so that I may feed their souls to this blade, and so I may send them to their maker, just as I will do to you."

The eye squints down at the man as if sneering back at him.

AnimaGenesis: "What right have you to judge us, Andrias? Just who do you think you are?"

Andrias approaches the eye, standing mere inches away.

King Andrias: "I am King Andrias Leviathan of Newtopia, the king of Amphibia, and I am your judge, jury, and executioner!"

Andrias smashes the eye before him, swinging the blade and shattering it into a thousand pieces. He then goes to smash open the door, unleashing a war cry before it clicks, swinging open slowly with a creak, the knob colliding with the wall in a light thud. Awkwardly deflated, King Andrias treads through into a room with pipes running along the walls, weaving in and out of each other in a maze-like manner, the red and soft pink colors of the room almost like a brain. The room is loud, and Andrias can hear the sounds of surrounding generators, active machinery sending an unknown chemical through the pipes, at various pressure points letting off steam. If Andrias didn't know any better, he'd swear they were pumping blood.

He treads down onto an old iron platform hovering over a misty red abyss, a room like something out of a nightmare. This engine room branches out into two paths, following the walls as if the platform is meant for some sort of operational maintenance. The two paths wrap around the wall, each coming to a stairway downward and meeting once again in the middle. Andrias wonders. Is this the heart of The Core, this mechanical, lifeless room consisting of pipes, engines, and wires? As he steps forward, he notices something extremely disturbing that he hadn't seen before. Andrias gasps as he stands before hundreds of skeletal bodies embedded into the walls of the structure like a uterine womb… more like a tomb.

Andrias remembers distinctly, back in the millipede lair, seeing something similar, but for a much different reason. Those were babies. These are dead bodies, long dead, far-past decay, hanging corpses with wires extending through them, the wires appearing to run into the next room. They embed into the wall like tissue, seeming to feed something, as if the very life essence of something terrible, unnatural, and likely very powerful, and it becomes immediately evident to Andrias that The Core was hiding more from him than revealing.

King Andrias: "These bodies… Were they the people you consumed? Should I proceed forward, will I find the corpses of my father and grandfather?"

The intelligence doesn't speak right away, but it is seemingly less angry with Andrias than it was before.

AnimaGenesis: "No, Andrias. Your father and grandfather have long since decayed. Their bodies have been fully subsumed within our consciousness. They are a part of us."

Andrias sighs.

King Andrias: "I figured as much."

He proceeds.

AnimaGenesis: "Andrias, wait!"

He stops, staring dead forward before darting his eyes upward to a series of additional eyes along the walls above each corpse, hundreds of them, bearing down on him.

AnimaGenesis: "We… We are sorry, Andrias."

Andrias continues down the hall and into the next room, ignoring the pleas.

AnimaGenesis: "It was never meant to be like this, we promise you. We… We got angry. You cannot do this to us, Andrias. Please."

The king stops in his tracks as he turns back toward the doorway and into the room. He approaches the eye with a raised brow.

King Andrias: "What did you say?"

He wonders, approaching the wall of bodies. They all speak in unison.

AnimaGenesis: "Do not punish us, Andrias… We love you…"

Andrias closes his eyes, biting his lip before staring up and into the glowing eyes once more.

King Andrias: "Oh… So all of a sudden, you have a heart? After countless deaths, after millions of helpless victims who pleaded for their lives as you mocked them, laughed at them, and consumed them, you beg for your own life? I know what you're doing… I will be going now."

AnimaGenesis: "No! Andrias! Where are you going?!"

The king sets forth into the hall.

King Andrias: "This is nothing more than a distraction. I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I will fall for it no longer."

The king continues down a long, empty hall, a strange transition between the rooms that stretches on for what feels like an eternity.

AnimaGenesis: "Andrias. Turn back. We can work this out. We can go back."

Andrias proceeds to march forward, closing his eyes and nodding with affirmation.

King Andrias: "I will do no such thing."

AnimaGenesis: "Do not continue. Certainly, the king of Newtopia and the greatest minds in the universe can work something out."

King Andrias places his fingers in his ears like a petulant child.

King Andrias: "La La La! I can't hear you!"

Now that AnimaGenesis is done with trying to reason with Andrias, it has thus decided that if the king wishes to be childish, then two can play at that game.

AnimaGenesis: "Very well, Andrias. If you do not comply, then you leave us no choice! We will force you into compliance!"

Andrias powers forward, even faster down the hall and into a giant room filled with tubes. The room has a definite sound of looming bass in the acoustics, and Andrias can hear the beats. This time, it isn't the sound of his own heart but the heart of the machine that beats. From the wall, several metal balls are laid out onto the floor, and as they unfurl, Frobots are revealed. Andrias can't even believe what he's beholding: a room where Frobots are simply… birthed. Andrias darts his head toward the center of the room, where a massive red and black mushroom grows. From the side, drones are implanted within the walls, caps already adorned on their zombified bodies. Andrias grits his teeth, pointing and shouting up at the ceiling.

King Andrias: "What is the meaning of this?! What is this unholy abomination before me?!"

AnimaGenesis: "We are the mother and father of the new world, Andrias. You mock and insult our children? Then you will die! Kill him, children! Kill the denier of new life!"

Andrias flicks the Judgment Day outward with a loud "shing", leaping into the air and over the immediate gunfire cast onto him by the newborn Frobots, cleaving their heads off with ease and coating him with a fresh pool of black ink, mixed in line with the fungal spray and blood of the drones within the arc of his deadly blade. Andrias engages in a dance of death with the drones and the Frobots, amazed at just how easy using the blade has become to him, almost as if by second nature. Leaping and rolling out of the way as several more drones surround him, Andrias clears himself some distance, deflecting the lasers back to the robots and into even more drones as he winds up the scythe, holding it back to unleash a power swing.

With an echoing war cry, Andrias swings his blade, creating a flashing arc forward, a long flame that travels toward the mushroom in the center of the room, the arc burning and severing the mushroom. But still, it stands, the strands of the shroom trying to reattach and repair itself. Knowing what must be done, Andrias sneers before flashing a malicious and cheeky grin, barrelling forward with a shoulder bash through multiple drones and into the trunk of the mushroom.

AnimaGenesis: "No! Andrias! What are you doing?!"

King Andrias: "Aborting this vile fungus drone machine of yours!"

He says as he smashes into the trunk several more times, sending the entire thing falling to the floor. Andrias rolls out of the way, mocking the intelligence. He's simply having too much fun now.

King Andrias: "Timber!"

The fungal tree slams into the ground, a lot more solid than it looks for being a springy mushroom. Several drones and Frobots are destroyed. Andrias continues to deflect and roll out of the way when he is shot in the back by another Frobot. It appears that even though he has officially dealt with the drone problem in the room, now AnimaGenesis is doubling down on Frobot production. Where the hell are they even coming from? How is this machine even able to produce them so fast? Is this part of some stolen Albanerian technology? The whole thing is absurd, and Andrias doesn't have time to deal with that because now he has a big wound in his back and must continue to tend to several more Frobot models that approach him from all angles.

AnimaGenesis: "We warned you, Andrias! Now you must pay the price! Kill him!"

The king roars into the sky, unleashing a fury unlike AnimaGenesis has ever seen, a pure, unfiltered rage, barbaric and raw. Curiously, though, it appears as though he is resisting the urge to use the gem, and AnimaGenesis takes notice of this. Andrias's seeming apprehension toward using the gem to push him to the next level. It would seem, though, that at the moment, he doesn't need it, for the black reaper's blade, the Judgment Day, is capable of cutting through Frobots and drones like paper. Andrias proves, though, that he's no longer as immortal as he once was and starts showing signs of fatigue. The arm cannons and laser blasters are starting to land on Andrias, staggering him.

He doesn't know if it's the blade keeping him alive, but with great determination and resolution, he powers through, sustaining injuries to the chest and back and only narrowly avoiding the head. He dances with graceful spinning arcs, a level of agility he previously failed to achieve with his large, bulky, old form. It's almost by sheer adrenaline and desire that he manages to power through all the forces, executing the final drone and sending sparks and fluids to the disgusting, soaked floor of the desecrated room. With the deed accomplished, Andrias huffs and puffs, proceeding forward.

He drips onto the floor as he staggers forward, exhausted. King Andrias had never worked so hard in one day in his entire life. He breathes heavily through his newfound lungs, his chest like a fire. Even though he's caked from head to toe in blood and oil that should cool off his skin, he sweats profusely and smells horrible, like death itself. Incidentally, the blade makes that caked-on black and red very fitting, although they were never his colors. No. He'd always been a man of pale pastels. That's what goes with his light blue scheme. He continues to breathe heavily, swallowing as he staggers forward.

King Andrias: "Is that the best you've got? I'm not impressed."

Boldly, he eggs on his foe, his ego riding high, for sure, but largely to see if AnimaGenesis will screw up, or somehow become demoralized. Andrias is exhausted, and quite frankly, he isn't thinking this whole thing through. But he's been through so much, and the artificial intelligence has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at him, and yet he's still standing. Andrias chuckles to himself madly as he staggers forward, thinking AnimaGenesis must be beside itself right now.

AnimaGenesis: "Neither are we, Andrias. But fret not, for we were holding out on you, testing you. We still have much more up our sleeves. Certainly, you must be reading these results as some sort of success. We assure you, Andrias, that couldn't be farther from the truth."

The king approaches the door of the next room, taking the handle. He smirks up at the eye above the door.

King Andrias: "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

The eye above the door squints at Andrias, and the king returns one back, treading into the next room. This next room continues the color scheme of pale pink and red, an organic color scheme, totally unnatural for an office building, but the wires running through the walls start to disappear, being replaced somewhat with very organic tubes, almost like veins or arteries, connecting to something. Andrias couldn't possibly guess. But the room pulsates, and a narrow hallway forward awaits him, a series of pale, pulsating, pink walls and a finished, wooden floor. The room is most certainly not built for swinging a big ol' scythe around, that's for sure. Then again, it isn't built for Frobots to be blasting around, either. Andrias sighs.

King Andrias: "Oh, great. Another maze."

AnimaGenesis finds his reaction quite humorous. If the artificial intelligence could smile, it would.

AnimaGenesis: "What is the matter, Andrias? Don't you like mazes?"

Andrias peers up at the series of glowing eyes along the wall, watching him as he enters the room. Those creepy, unsettling eyes have been watching him this whole time, and he's never gotten used to them staring at him from above or peering over his shoulder. He hasn't had a second's peace from the menace. The king waves his nemesis off, proceeding down the hall.

King Andrias: "I've already been through a maze today. I'm just disappointed by your lack of creativity, considering you are supposed to be the most intelligent being in the universe."

AnimaGenesis: "This one is much deadlier, we assure you."

Andrias approaches the corner, rolling his eyes.

King Andrias: "Why spoil the surprise?"

AnimaGenesis simply responds with a monotone chuckle. Andrias weaves in and out of corners, and so far, he's grown nothing more than bored and tired. It isn't until he banks to the left and finds himself before a door that he realizes he's making progress. Opening and treading inside, he takes but a single step before Frobots begin marching around the corner in his direction. Scythe in hand, Andrias prepares for battle, but as he tries to move, the scythe itself keeps clanking on the walls. Little did Andrias realize that as he proceeded, the hall itself was becoming ever so slightly narrower. Andrias is now aware of the game. He runs backward as he is blasted at, banking around the corner in a dive.

King Andrias: "Bottleneck me. Will ya?"

He retreats to a wider part of the hall to fight, but is immediately swarmed by them. As they dash toward him, blasting away, Andrias barrels forward, sliding in between their legs as they try to sit on him and crush him under their weight. Andrias darts toward the end of the hallway and out into the open as he is blasted at from behind. He bites as the lasers pelt him in the back, and he races forward out into the open where he can fight them on more even ground.

AnimaGenesis: "Get him! Kill him!"

He's growing so tired that the first thing Andrias realizes he must do is preserve his remaining energy, so with a swift cleave, Andrias severs the arm from a robot, sweeping the arm and initiating the manual fire on the canon, blasting the robot's head clean off as he turns to the rest, emptying the clip into the doorway and screaming at the top of his lungs like a psychopath. He doesn't stop shooting until the room is filled with scrap metal and he runs out of ammo. Tossing the arm to the ground, he shouts up at the machine.

King Andrias: "Is that all you got?!"

He grunts, rubbing his forearm across his lip and surveying the situation.

King Andrias: "Pathetic."

He spits onto the pile of Frobot machines, moving on. Andrias's feet are killing him. He's beginning to wonder as he squeezes, shimmying through the claustrophobic hall toward the door on the other end, if this madness is ever going to end. How are these rooms even possible? There's no way this building is this big on the inside. It's physically impossible. Everything he's seen and fought so far. Is any of it real? The Frobots and drones must certainly be. The burns and cuts on his arms, legs, chest, and face must be because they hurt like hell, and these monsters keep reminding him that none of this is fake. But he wonders, pondering. Back in the day, AnimaGenesis, aka The Core, was capable of creating these simulations to play mind games.

It did that to Marcy when she was introduced to The Core all those years ago. Ah, "Darcy", the monster remembers that name so well. It remembers feeding on the memories and core values of that girl. She could have been one of them, but she was just too good. Andrias approaches the door once again, somewhat apprehensive about what's next. Andrias peers down when he feels a bit of moisture leaking into his shoes through the floor. He moves his foot back when he realizes there's water coming through the bottom of the door.

He sneers at the door suspiciously, placing his palm on the door and pushing it open. Before him is a small stairway down into waist-high water. Andrias sighs. At least this is an opportunity to clean himself off. Slowly, he descends into the water, taking it in, rubbing it between his fingers. Something isn't quite right about this water. Curiously, he licks his wet finger. Shaking his head in recoil, he realizes it's somewhat salty, not like ocean water but something else, and it's gritty, oily, like… tears. Tears? Is the room itself crying?

King Andrias: "What the hell?"

AnimaGenesis: "Why even bother? Why even bother trying to resist anymore?"

King Andrias peers up at the red eye before him, stationed along the front of the wall, realizing that the water seems to be coming from a small duct underneath. He then peers around and notices multiple eyes shedding water into the room. The door slams behind Andrias, and he can hear a faint click from the lock.

King Andrias: "So this is your trick now? You want sympathy from me, after everything you'd done?"

AnimaGenesis does not answer right away. Andrias speaks, trying to coax more dialogue from the machine. He wades forward into water where he can no longer walk.

King Andrias: "This water is getting deeper. You do realize newts can swim, right? Also, we can hold our breaths for a very long time. If your current plan is to drown me, that's just—

AnimaGenesis: "We did everything we could, and yet… You still persevered. What's the point? You'll be heading our way in no time… and then… this wretched, putrid existence can finally end… trapped in here, in this… shell, for all eternity. Please, Andrias… we beg of you… Come, and end this misery. Take that scythe of yours and carve it into us. Nothing is worth living like this… Nothing."

Andrias doesn't even know how to feel about this, so he just dives, proceeding forward, determined in his conviction, but somehow deflated, as if the gusto for destroying The Core once and for all had been lost… But then he remembers as he wades through the deep, dark pool, around corners, and through more of the maze hallways. What if it had always been the plan? What if that's the whole deal? Sending endless troops didn't do the trick. Sending assassins with personal grievances didn't fix anything, and trying to crush, stab, beat, bludgeon, strangle, drown, and electrocute didn't work. So what about emotional manipulation? Andrias scoffs within his head as he wades through the tunnel, past the smoky, submerged eyes.

The gall this machine has to act all tough and mighty until it's about to lose, and then it starts throwing hissy fits, tantrums, and dirty little tricks at its former underling. He just keeps on swimming and swimming. That door must be around here somewhere. As he banks a left and then another right, finally, he spots a simple wooden door at the end of a long tunnel, and that's when the pride returns in his eyes. He's finally gonna take this monster down once and for all. But wait, what if it's more traps? What if this whole thing is just another wild goose chase? Is that the point?

Would AnimaGenesis construct such an environment just in the off-chance that King Andrias or someone else would not only make it this far through a series of maddening obstacles, only to be led in circles? This concept seems too far-fetched for Andrias, and fortunately for him, it also seems too far-fetched for AnimaGenesis as well. To understand just what kind of mindset this amalgamation of minds is going through, one must understand that it spent the better part of a decade locked within the internet, forced into a hell of human knowledge.

That was the idea, at first, to witness, to consume all human knowledge through the connected internet, the vast wealth. But little was this monster aware of the degeneracy of man, of the viruses all over the internet, of the piracy, the filth, the horror that lies within, the cruelties of all mankind, and the dark history, the skeletons in the closet, the jarring overload of information, both useful and useless. This information, all of it, is enough to drive any man mad. Some things are better left unknown, and some places are better left unexplored.

If AnimaGenesis didn't hate these creatures, these humans, before, it does now. Only one individual within these minds could soothe them, and that was the most evil of all spirits, the one who would temper them toward such knowledge, the one who would lead them onto crushing the humans, and that was the curious spirit of the one they had met by sheer accident, at least according to them. But now isn't the time for that, as Andrias is approaching the end of the hall, and before him lies victory, or so he thought. A small laser is tripped as soon as Andrias is within mere inches of the door, and the floor dips downward into a slide, the king, along with all of the water in the room, being plunged downward through a long, dark tube.

Andrias screams as he is flushed down into what seems to him like the bowels of hell. Well, it's close anyway. He can see it, a light at the end of the tunnel, a red light, and Andrias is spat through the chute onto the ground before him. He is bathed in the remainder of the water until he moves out of the way. Andrias crawls on the floor, a gated, iron floor hovering over a red abyss. Andrias climbs to his feet and realizes he is in a large, square room, empty, with nothing but a floor, four high walls of beeping servers built from the same dense material as The Core itself, and a seemingly nonexistent ceiling; the only thing above him is a black nothingness like space, but with no stars.

The servers to power this thing are massive and take up the entire room. He's not even entirely sure if they're the real thing or just for show. After all, the Core had always fancied itself a bit of a theatrical master. Andrias staggers toward the center of the room, peering upward as a startling form approaches him. Downward, a black orb descends upon him from the nothingness of the ceiling, a familiar form, almost like a giant mechanical spider with long tubes. Andrias sighs, somewhat chuckling to himself. The Core approaches him, bearing its true name, the one lovingly provided by its creator a long time ago, the name meant to signify the beginning of life.

AnimaGenesis (The Core): "We are a merciful master, Andrias. We offer you this one last time. Join us, and crush the universe beneath your might!"

King Andrias approaches the black mass, scythe in hand, ready to strike. He bears a wide sneer at the colossal black being before him.

King Andrias: "Join you? And go from a king to a pawn again? Hmpf, some promotion. I will not serve some ghastly black metal machine with a bunch of eyes and tentacles all over it anymore. My duty is to my people, the people of Amphibia, and to The Originator."

The orb before Andrias ponders for a moment. It snickers somewhat, seemingly knowing just how to tug at Andrias's heartstrings.

AnimaGenesis (The Core): "Does this form not please you?... We see... Perhaps you find it quite... impersonal, this hardened black metal shell, these many, many eyes, watching you, judging you. Tell us... Would this appeal to you more?"

The black metal mass contorts, reshaping itself, remodeling, changing color as it twists and turns into a horrifyingly unrecognizable abomination as the shape falls into place and Andrias looks on with widened eyes. Before him stands his father, the elderly Aldrich Leviathan, former king of the Newtopian throne, in the flesh. He stands, grand and tall, just as Andrias remembered him, with all his robotic enhancements. The familiar man is donned in long royal robes, and he bears a very long war axe that any normal-sized man would find unwieldy. He peers down at Andrias with a disappointed scowl as his green eyes bore into his soul.

King Andrias: "Father? Why? Why do you do this to me?! Why have you taken this form?! Do you do this just to torture me?"

AnimaGenesis (King Aldrich): "We have taken the form of that which you fear most. We must remind you that your father is one with us. Perhaps you wish to speak with him."

King Aldrich treads slowly to Andrias, who just watches. His unblinking eyes follow the form of his father as he approaches the kneeling king. Aldrich stands before him, so clearly, so definitive and real, the very same image that has been borne into his son's mind since the day of his birth. Aldrich caresses his son's face with a gentle and warm palm. Though much bigger, his hand is soft. Andrias has always remembered that about his father, and it brings about a lurch in his gut.

King Aldrich: "My son. I await you... We await you. Even after you destroyed us, swore at us, betrayed us... a father's love is unconditional. I am a merciful king, for you, Andrias. All you need is to apologize, and within a mere moment, you could stand among the greatest minds of Newtopia... nay, the universe. We could be together... forever, my son."

Andrias finds something quite comforting in his father's voice, and he doesn't know exactly what it is. He never liked his father, always feared him, but respected him. Aldrich had never been a good father, only ever showing him what Andrias interpreted as tough love, and yet, Andrias never could find it within him to abandon his father. He never liked Aldrich, and many times, he even felt as though he hated his father, especially after the exile of Leif and Barrel, but Andrias had never given up on his father. Despite everything Aldrich had ever done, Andrias still loved him, and he had gone to sleep many nights wanting nothing more than for Aldrich to reciprocate that feeling back to him. But he knows.

He swallows that pit deep within his gut because he knows that the man before him is long dead, suffering in a purgatory of his own making, and with a solemn, private swear, an oath to himself, he vows to put his father at peace. That man before him is not his father, but an impostor, simply trying to deceive him by preying on his emotions. Andrias brushes the hand away from his face in anger as he rises with gritted teeth. He approaches Aldrich, staring into his eyes.

King Andrias: "I would rather die than join you!"

The form of Aldrich retreats slowly. His face is filled with remorse before he looks to the ground in despair. His scowl rises to form a smirk as he raises his head and peers sinisterly into his son through his brow line.

AnimaGenesis (King Aldrich): "A request I will happily grant."

With that, Aldrich raises the war axe into the air, spins the massive weapon over his head, and then slams the handle into the ground. Aldrich is consumed by massive black tentacles that spin and weave around him. The metal vines untangle, and the kneeling form of Aldrich emerges, a young man, Aldrich in his prime, his white hair billowing in the wind. He rises. His bulky musculature is complemented by an adornment of black metal armor that caresses his form like a leather armored exoskeleton. He opens his eyes, and glowing orange pupils like lasers, the familiar eyes of The Core, radiate from his sockets.

He rises and prepares his axe. With a lightning-fast dash, King Aldrich leaps forward. Andrias dives out of the way as his father lands with a heavy crash, the axe forming an elongated crater in the ground. Andrias looks on in horror as the mockery of his father rises once again, approaching him slowly, menacingly. The machine is toying with Andrias.

AnimaGenesis (King Aldrich): "What? Did you think this axe was just for show?"

The nightmarish King Aldrich approaches Andrias slowly, ominously, towering over him. Spinning his blade with unparalleled grace, Aldrich sweeps far and wide. Andrias leaps over the blade into a roll, lying on his back as Aldrich slams down with his massive axe. Andrias holds forth the Judgment Day scythe, bearing the handle before his father as it slams down with enough force to shatter Andrias's now normal-sized spine. Only through the power of the scythe does Andrias survive, for the blade absorbs the blow and prevents Andrias from being crippled then and there.

With a push, Andrias parries, rising back to his feet with a quick ukemi and diving into a roll under his father's legs. This proves to be a flawed move when Aldrich intercepts his son with his tail, wrapping it around Andrias's throat and strangling him. Andrias drops the blade to the floor as Aldrich grips the smaller newt by the body, crushing him.

AnimaGenesis (King Aldrich): "You're going to have to do better than that, Andrias."

Opening his jaw as wide as he can, Andrias bites down on his father's hand as hard as possible.

AnimaGenesis (King Aldrich): "Ah!"

He drops his son to the ground, and Andrias rebounds, leaping for the Judgment Day once again. Andrias rises as Aldrich swings the long axe into his blade, staggering Andrias with the force alone and nearly sending the Judgment Day flying out of his hands.

AnimaGenesis (King Aldrich): "Have you no manners, Andrias?! We thought we taught you better than that! Don't you know not to bite! The! Hand! That! Feeds!"

King Aldrich bears down on Andrias angrily, his father gritting his teeth as those familiar eyes of The Core let out a red plume of smoke as if they are on fire.

AnimaGenesis (King Aldrich): "You were always a weak and stupid boy, Andrias!"

Aldrich is losing it. He has allowed his emotions to take control of him in the heat of battle, and his moves are sloppy and poorly thought out. Andrias takes advantage of this with his superior speed, leaping upon the axe as it is thrust toward him, running up the pole-arm, and leaping into a kick to Aldrich's jaw, performing a backflip and landing as Aldrich staggers. The man raises his head to Andrias and reveals that it is true that he is mortal, living, and incarnate. Aldrich places his finger to his lip, staring down at the blood drawn and sneering. Raising the axe with a growl, Atlas slams down the blade, channeling and sending Andrias back with the shockwave. Andrias rolls along the ground until he uses the end of the Judgment Day to stop himself.

Aldrich is enraged, his white hair billowing back as he tosses the axe toward Andrias in a spin. Andrias ducks under the blade before catching on to his father's demonic grin. It was a trap! Turning around quickly, Andrias leaps, riding the blade back to his father as the axe boomerangs back toward Aldrich's hands. Aldrich is in complete shock over his son's agility with his increased size, and Andrias leaps from the blade as it returns to Aldrich. With a deafening barbarian cry, Andrias holds the Judgment Day above his head, coming down on Aldrich with the force of a wild animal, tearing into the form of the black-suited King Aldrich with a diagonal arc, Death's blade making its mark along his chest, tearing out his innards and spilling them to the floor.

Aldrich grips at his insides, letting out a massive, demonic roar, his voice, along with the combined voice of AnimaGenesis, echoing through the room, the voice shaking the entire platform beneath. Spinning around and landing on his back with a heavy crash, Aldrich falls, caressing his chest and breathing heavily. Andrias beholds his fallen father, approaching slowly and apprehensively as the man lies dying. Aldrich's breaths become slower and calmer as Andrias treads toward his side, the fresh blood dripping from his blade, and the Judgment Day seeming to pull like an angry dog, demanding that Andrias finish off the fool once and for all.

AnimaGenesis (King Aldrich): "The fallen king stands before me. You could have had it all. You could have been one with us. You could have lived for all eternity, and yet you threw it all away, purged yourself of cybernetic enhancements in favor of nature, of a body reborn, a mortal body that will inevitably fall to sickness and death. Why?"

King Andrias: "What you offered me was not immortal life. It was a ruse, a mirage, a false promise by a mechanical fraud. I was promised an eternity with my father so that I could be by his side... your side... so that we could be together... so that you could finally... love me for who I am, Father. I know you are in there, floating among countless souls, drowned out by what I could only assume are the deafening cries of my ancestors, but I know you are in there, and I know you're listening. Aldrich Leviathan... Father... speak to me."

AnimaGenesis (King Aldrich): "You wish, truly, to speak with Aldrich Leviathan, his true voice once again?… Very well, Andrias. Do not say we never did anything for you."

The man before Andrias closes his eyes as the machine concentrates, loading the consciousness of Aldrich front and center to speak to Andrias personally. For a moment, the Core stands aside, in a manner of speaking, and allows Aldrich to take the mic, personally. The man opens his eyes, the bright green eyes Andrias had remembered all those years ago, the ones displayed mere moments ago. He knows it could be a ruse, yet this time when Aldrich speaks, it is only his voice that can be heard. AnimaGenesis has decided to be sincere, just this one time. The man on the ground turns his eyes to meet Andrias. He sighs, scowling.

King Andrias: "Father? Is that truly you?"

The old man nods weakly with a swallow.

King Aldrich: "Yes, Andrias."

Andrias closes his eyes. He has so many things he wants to say, but he doesn't even know where to start.

King Andrias: "So… Are you truly happy with how things turned out? Is this existence truly what you wanted for yourself, Father? Is this really how you wish to spend eternity?"

The old man before him laughs.

King Aldrich: "You summoned me just to laugh at the failures of an old man. Did you? Was this all just to rub your victory in my face?"

Andrias tilts his head momentarily, curious. He asks his father, gripping the gleaming reaper blade tightly.

King Andrias: "I didn't…  and I would never do such a thing. But even if I did, would you be proud of me?… Would it even matter to you that your son had succeeded at something? Or was it all over when I had finally found peace of mind with my friends?"

The old man scoffs, waving Andrias away with his weakened arm.

King Aldrich: "You disappoint me. I knew it was a mistake to allow them to become too close to you. Perhaps... that was my own misgiving."

King Andrias: "No... I think not. I believe it was the last act of humility you had in that crumbling heart of yours before it was stripped away entirely. Upon introspection, I dug deep into my past, and I stumbled upon a damning revelation I hadn't considered before: that I am nothing more than another puppet in a long assembly line of puppets, as are you, Grandfather, and so on. You were just men, tantalized by conquest, allured by the grandeur of your expanding glory, and proud of the prospect of a long and prosperous legacy. But there was a trade-off. You were to sacrifice everything that made you men, everything that made you mortal, and everything that made you fathers.

"I spent so much of my life coveting your approval, but now, I want nothing from you. I pity you, as do I, all of our ancestors, for throwing away your dignity. I came so close to making that mistake myself, and for that, I have but one more thing to say... I forgive you."

King Aldrich laughs.

King Aldrich: "You... forgive me? Spare me your self-righteousness, Andrias! Look at you, basking in your hubris, thinking it somehow elevates you above me to show me compassion in my weakened state... and having the gall to curse your family!"

King Andrias: "I'm not forgiving you to reprieve you of your guilt! I'm forgiving you for myself... so that I can finally move on and so that I can be at peace with myself. You doubted me all my life, and I just showed you exactly what I am capable of. I no longer crave your validation. Goodbye, Father."

King Aldrich: "There's only one thing left for you to do."

King Andrias: "What's that?"

King Aldrich: "End me. Plunge that scythe deep within my heart. At least then... we can finally be at peace."

?: "No! I won't let you! I will not let you destroy all my hard work!

The body of Aldrich Leviathan twists and turns on the floor, contorting, bulging, his face changing as this monstrous being transforms before Andrias. The form of Aldrich Leviathan disappears as another newt man, one much more terrifying to Andrias, rises, breathing new life as The Core releases steam.

?: "I… am King Atlas Leviathan, your grandfather."

He treads forward, a man just as tall as Aldrich but obscenely muscular, even in his old age. The man bears the same white hair that rests along his shoulders, but the hair on top of his head is drawn back into a low ponytail that drapes over the rest of the hair in the back. His brows are white and wild, resting over a pair of eyes of striking gold. The man has always considered himself the angel of death in life, and now he stands before the man who could potentially take that spot. To say Atlas is jealous would be an understatement.

King Atlas: "You approach me, wielding the blade of Death. Very well. You will see now what a true angel of death is. Join me, Master. Help me eliminate this fool."

He closes his eyes, reopening them once again to reveal the familiar crimson eyes of AnimaGenesis.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "With pleasure."

Another battle commences, as it is clear more than ever that the king's job is still not done. Andrias is so exhausted, and it's to the point where even the blade is barely keeping him up on his legs anymore. The bags under Andrias's eyes couldn't possibly be more prominent, and yet The Core, AnimaGenesis, King Atlas, whatever the hell this thing wishes to call itself this hour, is still up and ready to roll, fresh, new life breathed within this form that was lying on the ground dying mere minutes ago. The pool of blood mixed with oil caked on the grated iron floor, a testament to the violence that had occurred mere minutes ago, drips into the abyss below. In all his hubris, Atlas stares down at the axe on the ground, Aldrich's weapon, and he decides right then and there that he doesn't even need it to kill Andrias.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "No… We do not need such an inferior weapon, for King Atlas reigns with iron fists alone. Now you will die, Andrias."

Atlas reaches down toward his chest, tearing away at the black layer of armor covering his torso, exposing his bare chest and perfect physique before Andrias. The blackened garb falls to the ground with a heavy slam, shaking the arena as if the man wearing it had been covered in an anchor. Cracking his neck, Atlas sneers at Andrias.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "Let's go."

King Atlas rushes toward his grandson, moving so fast that Andrias has to perform a double-take because he just doesn't comprehend that such a large man could be that agile. Atlas slams his massive fist into Andrias's chest with such force that if he hadn't been enhanced by the blade (or the Calamity Gem), his bones would be dust right now. He is sent all the way across the room, rolling and catching his breath as Atlas approaches once again. Andrias coughs, heaving as his lungs inflate once again to draw in air.

King Atlas rushes his grandson, standing mere inches away, as he raises his leg, kicking Andrias into the barrier of the server behind him. Andrias writhes, drawing the scythe to strike as Atlas grabs the grip of the handle, the handle itself burning him, and tosses it to the ground. Atlas leans in.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "You shouldn't have crossed us, Andrias. Now, it isn't enough to simply kill you. We will make you suffer. We will draw out your beating as long as possible, relishing in this carnage, taking in your sweet tears… Grandson."

The king hisses, mere inches from his face. If Atlas is indeed a hologram or some sort of indirect manifestation, he sure is a damn realistic one, because Andrias can smell the breath on him and the scent of his body and everything. Andrias's mind wanders as he is continually punched and kicked across the room like a ragdoll, hanging onto life by some sheer miracle. The thoughts track across his mind, wondering if any of this is real or just some horrible, never-ending nightmare. The beating turns out not to be taken quite as well by the spectators of this battle. Beyond the veil, celestial forms behold the battle down below.

Anne fumbles with her hands, pacing back and forth, a total nervous wreck. She'd been watching Andrias this entire time, practically begging to intervene. She turns to The Originator, approaching with Marcy and Sasha by her side. They place their hands on her shoulders and nod affirmatively.

Anne: "Please. Let us go down there and help him. If anything breaches the whole 'mortal affairs' thing, it's this."

The Originator: "HE MUST USE THE GEM YOU HAD GIVEN HIM."

Anne argues, balling her fists, almost angry at Him.

Anne: "But he refuses to use it. He's scared that after the last time, he's going to die if he uses the gem again."

The Originator turns to her, His eyes flaring brightly.

The Originator: "THEN SPEAK TO HIM, MY GUARDIAN. ENCOURAGE ANDRIAS TO DO WHAT MUST BE DONE."

Marcy steps forward, uncertain, with Sasha behind her.

The Originator: "YOU DISPLAY A LACK OF FAITH IN ME IN THIS CRUCIAL MOMENT, MY CHILDREN."

They back away in fear.

The Originator: "KNOW, MY CHILDREN, THAT I HAVE A PLAN. VADRIGAR WILL NEVER HAVE THE UPPER HAND ON ME."

Anne turns to her friends. They huddle, considering that The Originator had granted them the ability to speak to Andrias. They confide a promise, and Anne holds before her the shards of the old Calamity Gems, relics of the past that had long since served their usefulness, and she smiles.

Anne: "Perhaps there's just a little more juice left in these babies. What do ya say, girls?"

Sasha and Marcy nod, mischievous grins fixed on their faces. They aren't quite certain, but they believe The Originator knows their plan, as he simply observes the situation down below. Down on the planet, back at AnimaGenesis Labs, Henry watches as his father, along with Dr. Malley, who has just been brought over to help with the calibration of the machine, make their final preparations. Henry does nothing but watch. It's all he can do. He feels so helpless, even with his friends at his side to remind him of his victory. He feels hollow, as if he hasn't contributed all that he could just yet. His mind wanders. He thinks about Andrias, just what the king must be going through with dealing with AnimaGenesis.

Henry never thought in his life that he would be rooting for the very man responsible for taking his father all those years ago. Then again, if what Andrias said is true, it was never his true intention to make any of that happen at all. He was just a puppet, just as Henry was, just as Ernst was, and just as Bobby, Steven, and Dr. Thurman were. It appears as though everyone had been used by AnimaGenesis for its agenda at some point, and to a degree, that makes Henry just as complicit in all that has happened as anyone else.

His mind buzzes quietly, just wondering. What could he do? Henry surveys the situation with the portal, the two doctors before him going over clipboards filled with mathematical equations far beyond his comprehension. And then he peers over toward the gem on the table, and words shoot across his mind, as if someone with a deep voice, both booming and calming at the same time, has just spoken to him. As soon as the voice pierces his mind, he finds his heart fluttering. He doesn't know why, but his instincts tell him.

?: "PLACE THE BROKEN GEM INTO THE PORTAL. DO IT NOW. TRUST ME."

Henry gasps. Almost by instinct, Henry grabs hold of the gem before him. Dr. Thurman turns to him.

Dr. Thurman: "Henry? What are you doing? Put that gem down."

Henry shoots his dad a stern look of pure confidence.

Henry: "I have to do this."

Henry runs up to the machine, ramming the broken golden gem into the hole as the machine is running for a test. The electrical box containing the gem sparks and flickers, and Henry backs away. Dr. Thurman rushes in a panic to take it out, only to be shocked. He takes his son by the shoulders.

Dr. Thurman: "Henry! What have you done?! Why did you do that?!"

Henry wakes up, almost as if he were in a trance. He stares up into his dad's eyes and states.

Henry: "A voice told me to do it. It was like a voice from nowhere, insisting to simply trust it and that everything would be okay."

The room glows white. The people in the room shield their eyes as a shockwave is sent through the lab, and a white dome of pure energy erupts from within, a cataclysm that shakes the entirety of Nero Hades. Even all the way back in Axolonia, the rift can be felt. But that's not all. If one were to take a few steps back, something else had happened. But what? Perhaps it's time to check in on Andrias again. Where was he? Ah, yes, having the life beaten out of him. That's right. Andrias lies there, beaten into the ground by the tyrannical form of King Atlas.

The stone-cold colossus approaches, the king so terrifying, so feared, he didn't even need a weapon to prove himself. He would settle differences with nothing but his bare fists. The Judgment Day lies just out of reach, the massive man treading on the handle just to keep it away from Andrias. The man leans over, his beaming red eyes, those terrifying, glowing hellfire eyes signature of The Core, a machine straight from hell, reflecting off of Andrias's skin. The voice of King Atlas echoes, merged with the voice of AnimaGenesis.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "You should have listened, Andrias. You should have heeded our wise words when we told you that you should have turned back. You cannot win, no matter what. Now you lie there, dying."

He's so tired, so helpless. Andrias thought for sure he could do it alone, but he couldn't. He lies there, exhausted after being broken and beaten the entire day, the golden gem clutched in his hand. He's terrified to even use it again. What if this last use kills him for good? What if he transforms, and this new body simply cannot handle it? He's so weak. All he can do is listen to the words of his grandfather as they burrow into his skull.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "You could have had it all, Andrias. You could have joined us and sat among the gods of the universe, the greatest minds in all of existence. You could have been the one to bask in the presence of the greatest mind who had ever lived, the great Lord Vadrigar."

Andrias's eyes shoot open as that name rings across his ears.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "You are a weakling, Andrias. Aldrich was weak as well, admittedly, as evidenced by his performance against you, but even he knew that to submit to Vadrigar was the wise move. You are not worthy of this position, Andrias. You are not loved, not by King Atlas, and not by us, either. You are a failure by every meaning of the word."

Andrias clutches his eyes shut, trying as hard as he can to block out the words, but they drill into his skull, burrow into his brain, the voice of his grandfather confessing his lack of love for his son and his grandson. He grits his teeth, fighting back his emotions. He can feel the pull of the gem, begging for a release. But then, another voice.

?: "Let us in, big guy."

His eyes shot open once again.

King Andrias: "A-Anne?"

He can hear her.

Anne: "Let us help you."

Marcy: "None of us could do it alone. Only together could we take down The Core."

Sasha: "Through this gem, we lend you our power."

Calamity Trio: "Wield it. Destroy The Core once and for all. We have faith in you."

Andrias raises his tired, shaking hand to his chest, clutching the gem and channeling all his anger into it. The blood rushes, adrenaline and magic pumping through his veins as he glows, surging with newfound energy courtesy of the gem. Andrias rises to his feet through flight magic, unleashing an explosion of magical energy that pushes King Atlas back several feet away from him. Andrias can feel the magical golden glow of the new Calamity Gem as his hair, beard, and eyes shine and billow. Extending his right hand, he draws forth the power of the blue gem, and Anne's power surges through him.

A bright blue tennis racket hovers, and he clutches it within his grip. Extending his left, a red pompom spawns into existence, and he clutches it. Andrias raises his brow at the two most absurd weapons on either side, rolling his eyes with a sigh as King Atlas, his opponent, equally confused, does the same. Andrias roars, channeling the golden energy within his own gem as he prepares for the final battle with a sneer.

King Andrias: "Game on."

Andrias rushes forward like a bolt of lightning, slamming the racket into King Atlas's face, sending him flying and smashing into the server barrier with extreme force. Momentarily, the room seems to glitch, and a much different image of the room flickers for just a split second.

King Andrias: "Hmm?"

He says curiously as Atlas recovers, climbing to a knee and shaking his head. Atlas is mortified, his face covered in a series of bleeding, evenly spaced vertical and horizontal lines given to him by the net. Andrias snickers at his misfortune.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "Die!"

Atlas rushes toward Andrias with the force of a battering ram, and Andrias raises his red pompom, the ball of tassels expanding, consuming Atlas Leviathan. AnimaGenesis, the bewildered and mocked opponent, falls through the other side of the tassels onto his face, turning around to realize that Andrias has disappeared. The entity snarls.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "Is this some kind of joke to you, Andrias?!"

Andrias darts around the room, showboating. Atlas can't even follow him. He turns around, peering in all directions as Andrias turns up behind him, poking him on the shoulder before darting to the front faster than Atlas could process. He hands the other red pompom to Atlas, and Atlas stares at it. Andrias bolts as the pompom explodes in his face. Atlas blows back into the wall again, causing another glitch, just long enough for Andrias to see the room. Now he knows the whole thing is a ruse.

King Andrias: "I've always enjoyed a good game. Tell me, Grandfather. Are you feeling lucky?"

Andrias extends his hand, a multi-sided green die spawning before him. Atlas roars as Andrias tosses Marcy's signature die on the floor, where it duplicates to form another. Both sides land heads up on one. Andrias smiles a sinister grin as he leans forward, peering through his brow line.

King Andrias: "Ooh. Snake eyes. Too bad."

The die expands massively, rolling toward King Atlas like a series of boulders. The balls chase him around the room in circles as Andrias floats, watching from above, before they become large and fast enough to simply crush Atlas into a pancake. They roll him over and over again until Andrias becomes bored, in which case he simply snaps his fingers and the dice disappears. Lowering himself to the ground, Andrias approaches his grandfather, or, as he remembers now, AnimaGenesis. King Andrias scowls.

King Andrias: "I've had enough of you. It's time for you to die."

Atlas rises once again onto staggering limbs, humiliated. He won't be made a fool of again.

AnimaGenesis (King Atlas): "You mock us, Andrias?! We are the angel of death!"

Atlas rushes the king as Andrias extends his arm forward, summoning the Judgment Day to his hand. The scythe is drawn to him, and he catches the scythe in midair. The power of the gems combines with the power of Death's blade, and the scythe is transformed before him, a once black blade now covered to the brim in a golden glow, infused with Calamity to become a divine weapon only worthy of a true archangel.

King Andrias: "Wrong. I am the angel of death."

All Andrias needs is but one swoop of the blade, a long arc forward, and the scythe, the Calamity Judgement Day, a weapon strong enough to sever space and time, causes an eruption within the universe, a massive dome of white as King Atlas and AnimaGenesis are torn apart like a katana cutting through paper, right in half.

King Andrias: "And now you're dead."

It isn't apparent now, but the whole world has just shaken, and between this moment and another, all the way back to AnimaGenesis Labs, reality has just been shattered, and nothing will ever be the same again. Now, the girls know. Now, it has been revealed exactly what The Originator's plan was. But neither of them knows just quite yet what exactly that means. It is all within His plan. The cataclysmic event is enough to shatter the barriers around the servers. Now, Andrias stands in a pure white room; several pools of blood, oil, and wires scatter across the otherwise sterile room. The server's spark. AnimaGenesis knows now that its life is at an end.

The glowing king turns to the center of the room, where the black mass, the original Core, is situated, a black ball filled with eyes. Andrias approaches as the mass cracks, shattering into pieces on the ground. Andrias peers within and gasps at what he sees: a tiny, frail, completely naked, and seemingly ancient frog covered in wires pulls itself weakly from the wreckage. It speaks, an old man.

?: "So it finally ends… I have finally been found… after all these centuries."

Andrias raises his brow.

King Andrias: "Who are you?"

The tiny frog man rolls his head over to Andrias, opening his eyes and revealing to him a pair of bright red eyes like the gates of hell, surrounded by dark, thick rims, the devil's eyes, unmistakably.

?: "It was a thousand years ago. I had seen the devil with my own two eyes… He was exposed by the king's tampering with dimensional rifts, a demon the size of a planet. I had spoken to him, a curious man with eyes just like these. He spoke to me of becoming a god, of wielding the power of ultimate intelligence. His name… was Vadrigar."

King Andrias: "You did not answer my question, little man!"

He startles the tiny, fragile frog.

King Andrias: "I shall ask you again… Who are you?"

The man sighs.

?: "My name? My name is… Dr. Ziro."

Andrias sighs, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

King Andrias: "So… You were one of Grandfather's architects. You were one of the engineers behind Project: AnimaGenesis?"

The tiny man nods.

Dr. Ziro: "That is correct… along with Malley, Flux, and Kade."

King Andrias: "Malley told me about you, how you betrayed them and led them like sheep to their deaths."

Andrias leans over the man, and the two make eye contact.

King Andrias: "In your quest to create the perfect being, the perfect mind, you were foolishly selective in who belonged and who didn't. Your intentions were an internal debate, but all you wound up with was an echo chamber. Of course, you couldn't have internal conflicts. That would require a moral compass, and you abandoned that long ago."

Dr. Ziro merely laughs. It's quite evident he knows that he is dying, and without the preservation of The Core to keep him alive, he will simply suffocate. He has but one final statement for Andrias.

Dr. Ziro: "That was never what it was about… You cannot stop him… You know… You are a fool. The worlds are now one… Now he is free… Now… There is no stopping him…"

Andrias approaches the tiny frog, enraged. He grits his teeth as he holds the Calamity Judgment Day above his head. But it is quite apparent that the man has already died, as his frail body falls completely limp and his head rolls to the side. From the side, out of nowhere, a man steps into view, clapping. Andrias is startled, turning his head to the side.

Al: "Bravo, Andrias. Bravo. You have fulfilled your task beautifully, and the final trial is now complete. You have but one more thing to do."

Andrias lowers the blade.

King Andrias: "What is that?"

Al holds his hand out toward the tiny, dead frog man.

Al: "Remember what I told you? You must send the souls of the dead to The Originator, for they are His, and His alone to judge."

Andrias shrugs, uncertain.

King Andrias: "Uh… How do I do that?"

Al: "Raise the scythe up to the sky, and pray. Fill your heart with love, and you will feel the souls around you. Channel them into the blade, and repeat after me. Father, I cast unto you the spirits of your beloved children. May you welcome them as you have welcomed me, and be fair in your judgment, amen."

King Andrias closes his eyes, repeating the phrase verbatim, with stern conviction.

King Andrias: "Father, I cast unto you the spirits of your beloved children. May you welcome them as you have welcomed me, and be fair in your judgment, amen."

He raises the scythe to the sky, and a tornado of spirits swarms the blade before casting the thousands of spirits consumed and taken by The Core over the years into the sky in a blinding light of warmth. As the channeling finishes, Andrias falls to his knees. He's so weak and tired. The Calamity Gem within his possession shatters, crumbling to dust as the others have, and his form reverts to normal. Clutching the reverted Judgment Day, Al reclaims his weapon.

Al: "And so it is done. In eight years, you, Andrias, will join The Originator."

King Andrias rises and turns to Al as he begins to walk away in the opposite direction.

King Andrias: "Eight years? Is that how long I have to live?"

Al turns around and nods with a humble and meek smile.

Al: "Indeed. I wanted you to have the opportunity to watch Polly grow up into the wonderful young lady she will become. She and Sprig make me so proud, as have you. Just remember, Andrias, just because we are angels of death does not mean that what we do is done out of malice, but out of love. As a child of The Originator, it is my duty to love all of His creations as I love you and as I do all of Amphibia. Enjoy your last years of life in peace, my friend, and know that the Cosmic Guardian and all of the Originator's children love you as well. Til we meet again. Goodbye."

And so, the man vanishes in a puff of smoke, scythe and all, and Andrias is simply left wondering, how the hell is he gonna get home? Andrias rises, approaching the only door in the room and treading through into what appears to be an ordinary office building hallway and toward a series of elevators. The whole situation feels surreal, and he wonders just how much of what happened was real and how much was an illusion. As he rubs his forearm, it cramps him. It sure as hell didn't feel like an illusion. Andrias summons the elevator and treads onboard, standing there in contrast with the clean elevator and joyful, jingling music, heading down to the bottom floor, where a cute little bell signals the arrival at the bottom floor and the doors swing open.

Now he remembers all the dead Frobots on the floor. He stammers through the hall, past the Frobot bodies on his tired, achy knees, and steps outside, where he is blinded by the light of the bright yellow afternoon sun. Finally, he can breathe some fresh air. Finally, it's all over. Andrias peers out toward the horizon as a mighty airship approaches. It's Lord Dwenzel, arriving once again. Andrias laughs, falling to the ground and staring up into the blue sky as he succumbs to his own tiredness. Andrias closes his eyes, and the sounds around him are but a mere blur. He can hear the faint sounds of voices.

Andrias is so exhausted that he can't even recall being lifted, yes, lifted by others, for the first time in a millennium, onto the airship. Everything after that is just a blur in his mind. He can recall a little bit of explosions going on in the background. Now that the electronic shield has been disabled, the cannons of the airship obliterate the tower, destroying everything within and making sure no signs of AnimaGenesis, or "The Core", or Captain Ernst, or anything from the old empire remain. The bombs and bangs fade into the distance until all that is left for Andrias is silence… and the comfort of a warm bed as he drifts off into a long, well-deserved sleep.

Chapter Text

Andrias is allowed to sleep as long as he wants. Well, indeed, that's how it has always been, at least when The Core didn't have something it wanted done that day. This isn't to say that Andrias had ever been lazy, as even when he lived out on his own, free of agency or the agendas of anyone else, he had risen before the sun to take care of his garden. Andrias somewhat misses those simple days. Sure, he had only been out here for about a week looking for Polly, but getting back to the simple life had never looked so good. Andrias didn't even sleep.

He lapsed into unconsciousness and didn't even wake up until early the next morning, and only out of a combination of uncomfortable sensations, well after he was fully rested, namely the sweat he was starting to accumulate under the blanket and having to use the bathroom, did he rise from his slumber. It had been quite a while since Andrias had all of his facilities, and being mortal again, fully organic, was starting to feel surreal. After finishing his business, Andrias treads out of his cabin and onto the deck of the airship. But then he starts to wonder. Why in the world are they still flying? There's no way the trip back to Newtopia or even Wartwood should take this long.

Andrias treads out into the cool air, the soft morning breeze rippling through his white locks as he treads out to the rail of the ship, staring out into the light indigo of the new morning. The sun peeks out onto the horizon like a fresh sunny-side up egg, and the spectacle, the serenity, the beauty of a new morning in a post-Core world nearly brings a tear to his eyes. They still hover over the ocean between continents. His attention is broken when he experiences a startling sensation, someone sneaking up on him from his side, and a pair of long, thin arms wrapping around him. He turns to see Polly at his side.

King Andrias: "Polly? What are you doing here?"

She peers up at him with her big eyes and tiny smile, her blonde locks fluttering in the breeze like tiny strands of wheat.

Polly: "I just wanted to see you because I was worried about you. You spent a long time in that tower."

Andrias leans over the rail.

King Andrias: "Nobody will truly know what happened in that tower, I'm afraid."

He sighs. Polly hoists herself up on her tippy toes to lean over the rail.

Polly: "Of course they will. Dr. Malley downloaded all the security footage. A lot of what you did was preserved on the cameras that weren't destroyed by your shenanigans. You kicked butt in there!"

She punches his arm, and he bites the pain. Polly gasps.

Polly: "I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?"

Andrias turns to her with a grimace.

King Andrias: "It's fine. I'm just a little tender there. That's all."

Polly just peers over the rail toward the ocean. She's run out of things to say, so she just starts to ask him trivial questions, just because she wants to continue talking to him.

Polly: "What are you looking at?"

King Andrias: "Oh. Just the horizon."

Andrias smiles at Polly out of the corner of his eyes, but then he notices, as she stares at the horizon, that she's acting quite strangely, being so attached to Andrias, and to him, it somewhat begs the question. Why was she so worried about hurting him?

King Andrias: "Polly, is something on your mind? You seem quite distressed. Aren't you happy about going home and seeing your family? Don't you wanna see—"

Polly: "Hop Pop's dead."

King Andrias frowns down at her as she just stares out into the distance silently, sadly, her eyes drained of all the tears she could have possibly given the man hours ago. He notices just how red her eyes are and how tired she looks, as if she hadn't slept the entire night out of guilt.

King Andrias: "It hit you pretty hard. Didn't it?"

She simply nods, not saying a word. Andrias pulls her in close, allowing her to lie her head on his hip, and she can hear the beating of his new, organic heart. King Andrias leans down toward her, whispering to her.

King Andrias: "You want to know a secret?"

She mumbles, her voice somewhat hoarse.

Polly: "What?"

King Andrias: "When I died back there, I saw things, experienced things, very strange and surreal things, and one of them was your grandfather. At the time, I couldn't tell if I was hallucinating or if that was the true experience of me dying, but do you remember that conversation we had last week about The Originator and all that stuff?"

Polly nods.

Polly: "Uh-huh."

He continues, and his soft, deep voice comforts her as he tells his story.

King Andrias: "Well, I was taken to The Originator, and I got to see Anne from the future. And Marcy and Sasha were there, too, also from the future. They were from a far time in the future where they were already dead, and they said they had gone back in time to watch over Amphibia so they could watch you and Sprig grow up in case they never got to see you again. And Hop Pop and I went up this big stairway. You wouldn't believe who took us there."

Polly turns to him, staring into his kind eyes. She has almost no idea what to make of the revelation, be it if Andrias was simply pulling the story out of his butt just to make her feel better or if he truly cracked. Still curious, though, she inquires further.

Polly: "Was it Hop Pop?"

King Andrias nods.

King Andrias: "He was with me. And I was also there with the Grim Reaper. His name is Al, and I was there with this axolotl named Carrion, and boy was he a mess, his guts all falling out all over the place, and he was just a card."

Polly can't even help but chuckle at that last part, her sick sense of humor getting the best of her, but Andrias smiles, knowing his anecdote is at least starting to make her feel better.

King Andrias: "So Hop Pop went before The Originator, and The Originator told him what a good man he was, how he always looked after you kids, and how he lived a great life. I was going to be sent back while he ascended, but before he went, he said he was so happy and that he was proud of you and Sprig. He couldn't stop talking about how much he loves both of you. He said the place he was taken to was beautiful, the most beautiful place he'd ever seen, and that he's going to be waiting for you. He told me there was this pond, and it was so big and so beautiful, with the most perfect, crystal clear water you ever saw, and when you drank it, it was nice and cold and pure, and he wanted to take you and Sprig to go see it. So all you gotta do is be a good girl, be happy, and spend your life making those around you happy too. You wanted to make robots, and he wants you to make the best robots you can make so that you can help people all over the world."

Polly rubs her eyes, sniffing.

Polly: "Thanks, Andrias."

King Andrias smiles down at her, gesturing with his head back to the bedrooms.

King Andrias: "Why don't you go and get yourself some shut-eye? Maybe later you could tell Sprig my story."

Polly: "Okay. See you when we get back home. Good night, Andrias."

The king chuckles. He knows it's morning, but the child is just so tired that he doesn't even argue with her. He just turns and faces the horizon once again, leaning over the railing and taking in the breeze.

King Andrias: "Good night, sweetheart. Sleep tight."

After watching the sunrise, Andrias embraces the new day before him. The sky turns from a deeper blue to a lighter, more shimmering pale, bright blue, similar to his skin, and as Andrias is pulled away by the churning of his stomach, he realizes he's hungry. Unfamiliar with the layout of the ship, he turns and gallivants around a bit aimlessly, treading around the perimeter, and nearly halfway around the other side, he just so happens to bump into Sprig, literally. The young man falls flat into the ship, staring upward awkwardly as Andrias stares back down at him. Offering his hand, Andrias apologizes.

King Andrias: "I'm sorry, Sprig. I didn't see you coming from that corner."

Spryly, Sprig launches himself back onto his feet, and for a short moment, Sprig feels tall.

Sprig: "Whoa! I'm not used to you being so…"

Andrias tilts his head like a dog, genuinely curious as to what adjective Sprig will use.

King Andrias: "So what, Sprig?"

Sprig: "So… normal-sized."

He cringes. Andrias shrugs.

King Andrias: "Well, this is me now, and it has its advantages. For one thing, I can fit inside rooms now."

The two walk together around the ship, a simple stroll around the perimeter of the ship up to the dining hall to grab some breakfast. Andrias uses this time to get Sprig's perspective on a few things, most notably Hopediah.

King Andrias: "I heard about what happened to Hopediah. Sprig, I'm so sorry."

Sprig bites his lip, almost as if a knife has been stuck in him and the blade has been twisted. The king continues.

King Andrias: "I know you'd rather not talk about it right now when it's so fresh, but I spoke with your sister earlier. She hadn't slept a wink last night. She blames herself for what happened."

Sprig folds his arms.

Sprig: "Yeah. Well, I warned her about it."

Andrias leans over. He feels somewhat guilty as well.

King Andrias: "Do you blame me for this as well?"

Sprig stops. He turns to the king.

Sprig: "What? No. Look, Polly has been using emotional manipulation to get what she wants for years. She had done it ever since she was a baby, and now, it's caused big-time consequences. Now…"

He doesn't even wanna say it.

King Andrias: "Please, Sprig, if you wish to levy responsibility onto anyone, let it be me. She is your sister, and this whole thing is tearing her apart with grief. I know how difficult it is to live with blood on your conscience. It hurts a lot, but I've done it for so long now. I ask you, please. Go to her and comfort her. Be each other's support. Nobody will understand you as she does, Sprig."

Sprig faces away with a sigh.

Sprig: "I guess I wouldn't be able to live with blood on my hands either."

Andrias continues as the two tread into the dining hall to get some breakfast. They sit at a small table together. Andrias offers a little distraction from the demure conversation to inject some levity into it. He observes the surroundings, the fancy decor.

King Andrias: "Well, isn't this nice? We get to sit at a table together and talk, and we can see each other eye to eye. It almost parallels that time we met at my cabin."

He chuckles. Sprig doesn't reciprocate the laugh, though, only leaning on his palm, staring down at the table. Andrias reverts to the old topic but detours a bit.

King Andrias: "I wish I had a brother or sister, someone to confide in, someone with whom I had this unbreakable bond, someone I could share secrets with, talk to when nobody else would understand, someone who was like me. You're a lucky young man, Sprig, to have such a wonderful sister, and she's lucky to have such an amazing brother like you."

This cheers Sprig up quite a bit, and he sits there, contemplating and continuing his conversation, moving onto more casual topics. It feels quite surreal to Sprig to eat across from King Andrias, knowing the man will never be able to straight-up down a trough of food ever again. Andrias doesn't mind, though, because the desire to indulge in such things has left his mindset ever since his exile, as Andrias no longer saw himself as a true king, at least not in the same sense he saw it before. Andrias used to interpret the word king as an omnipotent overseer, a commander and tyrant, ruling over the people with force, leaving the tired and weak to pull him in tow as a unit. Now, he sees being a king as something much different.

Now, it means to be a leader, to be the face of a message, to be proud, and to face the successes and failures of all as the head of a proud group of people. To be a great king is to stand at the front of the town and lead the kingdom with the people, leading the pack, taking charge, and directing, not simply cracking a whip and preying on the ambition of others. It isn't enough to have a kingdom that will fight on one's behalf. They should want to fight for their king because their king is their leader and because his success is their success. A proper king loves and cherishes his people, and he fights for their prosperity because their prosperity is his prosperity. With this thought in mind, Andrias sits there across from Sprig, belly full as Sprig belches.

Embarrassed, he forgot his manners. He places his hands on his mouth and corrects himself, only to have Andrias himself unleash a guttural whopper of a belch right across from him and excuse himself. The two exchange a good laugh, humbling each other before taking their leave. No need to pay; the food was on Lord Dwenzel's compliments, courtesy of saving the world and all. The two part ways, and Sprig finds himself fancying visiting Polly a little bit later to check up on her after she'd gotten a little bit of sleep, of course.

He'd never want to wake her because she's even scarier than The Core when awakened, and he knows better than to make that mistake ever again. Anyway, Andrias packs up and heads back outside, and what does he come across but Lord Dwenzel's son Dweezil, having a bit of a spat with the other finalists of the tournament.

Dweezil: "Of course, we all know my robot was the one that made certain the city of Axolonia was cleared of all those drones. If not for this baby, we'd still be fighting back there."

He points at Wrecker, poking the young man right in the chest.

Wrecker: "Oh yeah?! Well, what makes you think you're better than us?! Because you got money? My robot took care of more of those Frobots than anyone!"

Cameron folds her arms and rolls her eyes.

Cameron: "Oh, please. My support allowed Lord Dwenzel's troops to proceed to the tower without a hitch. Without my contributions, we woulda have never made it to that tower in the first place."

And as usual, the insufferable know-it-all, quite possibly the biggest ego of the four, although that's quite an accomplishment, adds his two cents.

Xavier: "Well, it was my idea to take my robot underground into the city of Albaneria and utilize the vastly superior technology to harness the power needed to infiltrate security systems and assist Andrias as well as the people around town and Polly Plantar."

Andrias simply watches as the four of them argue, trading off shouts, pointing fingers, and squabbling like a bunch of children, and it brings him back to some of the harsh exchanges he used to have with Leif and Barrel, as even though he and those two were as tight-knit as could be at the time, he realizes, had they never fought, their bond might have been strong enough to avoid severance in the first place. He raises his hands, trying to de-escalate the conflict.

King Andrias: "Alright, kids. That's enough."

Dweezil: "Please. I could have taken all those robots and drones by myself! I simply invited you all along so that the process would be quicker and more fun. I don't need you to fight my battles for me, and I don't even need the people of Wartwood either!"

Andrias continues to try to cut through, only to be interrupted. He tries to intervene, but they still won't stop fighting. As usual, Andrias finds that some fights aren't easily broken without the booming voice of a king.

King Andrias: "Enough!"

He shouts with such volume that it's possible the whole ship heard him, and he woke poor little Polly Plantar. He almost immediately regrets doing it. But as he runs his eyes across the knuckleheads before him, brought to silence by his command alone, he turns to Dweezil, pleading with the man, as he is the one he deems the most responsible and the de facto leader of this group. The last thing he wants to see is their friendship fade, as his friendship with Leif and Barrel did.

King Andrias: "Young man, I want you to remember something. If you take away anything from me this day or any other, heed this advice. Never undervalue the power of friendship. I had made that mistake many moons ago, in my youth. I wasn't much older than you youngsters are now when I betrayed my friends. It would turn out to be the greatest mistake I'd ever make. No… I take that back. In hindsight, I'd eventually make many more significantly worse mistakes. But that's beside the point. I had made a fatal error in my judgment, and it cost me the lives of those whom I cared about very much.

"Too many times I had failed to listen to my heart, and it had thrust me into despair. I don't want you to make that mistake. Listen to your heart. Never stop listening to your heart. These kids are your friends. I can see the purity in their hearts, the fire within them, and the desire to do good. I can see the bond you all have that I once had with Leif and Barrel. I loved them… but I'd betrayed them, banished them from my kingdom by order of my father. Believe it or not, Dweezil, although I am no longer the ruler of this kingdom, even though I am forced to face permanent exile, I do not want Newtopia to fail, for its people are still my people.

"To think I had learned these lessons from mere Earth children. You have the power to be a great leader someday, perhaps better than your father and most certainly a better one than I. Take care of the people of Amphibia, for they are your people. They are very forgiving and kind people, but they are not stupid, and they do not forget when they are wronged. Love them, and they will love you. Protect them, and they will protect you. We may be split continentally, but we are one Amphibia, and we must stand tall and proud."

Dweezil just stares up at him, almost feeling betrayed. The others fold their arms, accepting this as some sort of defeat on Dweezil and his narcissism when it couldn't be further from the truth.

Dweezil: "You're gonna pin this whole thing on me? Why me?"

Andrias sighs, shaking his head for a moment, and Dweezil feels a slight hint of shame permeating through him. When Dweezil was a child, he looked up to King Andrias, and although his failures in his final moments as ruling king soured his impression of Andrias, the man had never ceased to remain an inspiration. After all, for almost half his life, Andrias ruled over Newtopia. Even Lord Dwenzel used to be proud of Andrias before he knew what he'd become. But this is a new Andrias, meek, humble, and wanting nothing more than to divulge his wisdom to the youth of the world.

Andrias has lived a long time, and although somewhat immature for his age, Andrias finds that he is not without some sort of advice to provide to these impressive builders. He smiles at the young man, proud of him just as his father is. He offers his kingly advice.

King Andrias: "As a man, most particularly a man in a leadership role, you are called to make decisions that can benefit or have catastrophic consequences for those around you. Sometimes, those decisions must be made at a moment's notice, and you'll find most often that your gut, or most importantly, your heart, will be your greatest ally. The problem was, for the longest time, I didn't listen to my heart. I listened to… external voices, ones I shouldn't have heeded, ones that led me astray and away from my heart."

Dweezil sighs. He can't even believe it. He can't even believe that someone he once looked up to for so long now stands here lecturing him. He doesn't want to admit it, but he feels as though Andrias is right. Although Dweezil is an intelligent young man, he's still just an immature young man with a lot of growing up to do. He turns away in shame.

Dweezil: "I guess I just don't know how to be a good leader. I've been around the public for so long, trying to impress everyone, but I think all anyone sees me as is a narcissistic jerk. I'm gonna be the leader of Newtopia and all of Amphibia someday, and I just don't know if I have it in me to be a good leader. Still, I fear isolation. I like being around people, and I don't like being alone... and that's why... that's why I need you guys."

Andrias places his hand firmly on Dweezil's shoulder, smiling down at him. He can see so much of himself in the young man, the same desire to do the right thing, but still filled with so many flaws. Andrias responds.

King Andrias: "Isolation isn't always a bad thing. Sure, it can be very lonely, and in the wrong setting, that loneliness can breed despair. But that solitude also fosters an environment for the most introspective thought. Sometimes, in our quiet loneliness, when we separate ourselves from the world, we discover who we are. When we are alone, we can reflect. That reflection can lead us to clarity. Sometimes, it can lead us to discovering truth, honesty, and humility. I think perhaps, and maybe this is just optimism, I needed that isolation, to be away from my castle and the people of the world and my duties as a king. I think perhaps that was a necessary part of the healing process."

Finally, they arrive back on the shores, and Lord Dwenzel feels as though he can breathe a sigh of relief now that they're finally home in Amphibia. One thing he can say for sure, as they dock and as the people are awakened and the crew departs, is that this was most certainly no ordinary trip. Something had happened, and either the portal incident with Nero Hades, Andrias's actions in the tower, or perhaps both, caused some sort of shift in reality, and Lord Dwenzel promises that he and the good doctors are going to get to the bottom of it.

As Dr. Malley steps off the ship and onto the continent of Amphibia for the first time, he surveys his surroundings like a newborn taking in the world around him. It's so much livelier, so much more lived in, and far less destroyed than Nero Hades, and he smiles. But Malley finds himself somewhat nervous. How will the people of Amphibia react to an axolotl-robot hybrid? Will he be brushed away and shunned just as The Core itself had been after it had been revealed that the terror looming over the world was a machine? Possibly not; after all, Polly had made use of plenty of robots back home, and if her stories of the tournament are to be believed, robots are now more accepted than ever. But what if that fear lies in the hybrid of organic machines?

After all, Andrias was one himself, and he faced massive backlash as a result of the war. Malley watches as the people tread around and past him, shooting him warm and welcoming smiles, and he wonders if maybe he's overthinking things. Maybe it's just that same social anxiety that has plagued him all his life. He continues, intrigued and excited. If he could experience butterflies in his robot tummy, he would. The people go about their businesses, returning to their homes, and the people of Wartwood are arranged with a flight aboard the airship back home, just after they have the time to do what they want to do in Newtopia first, quick shopping, grabbing anything they could potentially want to take back home with them, even if it's just a souvenir.

The people who live in distant lands will only find that their venture will last but a few more hours before they are safe and sound at home, where they belong. Andrias rightfully goes aboard the airship back to Wartwood, as, even though he had lived in Newtopia for the vast majority of his life, and while he did find it nice to be able to set foot beyond the gates into the city once again, the people there are still none-too friendly to him, those who still recognize him in his shrunken form shoot him dirty, side-eyed looks, and the place brings back memories far too painful for him to feel welcome there anymore. He knows that away on the farm, back in the little frog town, is where he belongs now. But he's not the only one with relocation issues.

What exactly would happen to the young Henry Thurman and his father? Last we saw, Henry had sabotaged the machine based on a mere voice in his head, though clear as day. His friends wanted to kill him, wholly believing that they were stranded there for certain now. Dr. Thurman, on the other hand, doesn't entirely know what to think of the situation. The man barely even knows his son, after all. He's not aware of any mental illness Henry has or anything like that. For all he knows, Henry hears voices like that all the time, and it isn't for him to judge.

He chooses to look at the situation from an analytic perspective, as any good doctor would. After all, being kidnapped by anthropomorphic amphibians and an evil artificial hive-mind intelligence for a decade and placed under a state of fungal mental suspension isn't exactly normal circumstances, so Henry's inexplicably hearing voices seems much less far-fetched to him now. It's also important to understand that now there must be an alternative way to get home, as both Andrias's golden gem and the broken gem that was in Dr. Thurman's possession are now destroyed. Is there a way home?

A better question is, is there even a need to build a portal at all? For the time being, Dr. Thurman and the kids are taken into care by Lord Dwenzel, and he and Dr. Malley are placed under employment as researchers. Malley had never been to the full continent of Amphibia before, not even as a child a long time ago, so this is just as much a venture into uncharted territory as it is for Dr. Thurman and the kids. Bobby and Steven sure don't mind living it up in a castle for the time being, even if they do miss being home. Henry isn't quite as keen on being there, staring out into the distance as he hangs over the balcony rail of the castle bedroom.

He wonders. Just how far does that horizon extend? After a few days of relaxation, something the boys find much needed after the catastrophic events of the last couple of weeks, they are approached by Dr. Thurman in their room. Quickly, the man enters and shuts the door, taking a chair situated against the wall next to the door and dragging it to the center of the room before the three big, luxurious beds, which the boys had all to themselves. He smiles, rubbing his hands as he turns the chair around and sits on it backwards.

Dr. Thurman: "Boys, you're not gonna believe this."

Bobby rubs his eyes, climbing out of bed, the late sleeper he ever was.

Bobby: "You guys fixed the portal and got another gem, so we can go home?"

Dr. Thurman cringes slightly. None of them like that look, but most especially Henry, who pulls himself over to the side of his bed and sits.

Dr. Thurman: "Not quite that good, but still good and exciting!"

Steven is barely even paying attention, as he's too busy realizing just how many spelling errors he has in his Cricket Kid comic and plans to fix them when he gets home, making mental notes. Henry begs his father to elaborate.

Henry: "Well? What is it?"

Dr. Thurman adjusts his tie around the collar of his sweaty, white shirt as he details.

Dr. Thurman: "Okay, so you know how the trip back here took a lot longer than it was supposed to, according to Lord Dwenzel?"

Henry raises his brow, nodding.

Henry: "Yeah? So? It's not like we have any frame of reference for how long it should have taken. It's our first time coming here."

Dr. Thurman: "Yeah, me too. But Lord Dwenzel did some digging around, investigating, using ancient scientific equipment taken from down in Albaneria. He used what's called a Globospectrometer. He sent it into space to observe the planet from above, and the images sent back were composed into a hologram. Boys. This is what the planet used to look like."

Dr. Thurman removes a cube-shaped device from his pocket, turning on the projector and showcasing the map of Amphibia, with Nero Hades just off to the side, with the lily pad-shaped continent and the little triangular one split off to the side.

Steven: "Huh. Thish place ishn't sho big."

He says, approaching and finally paying attention to the other two. Dr. Thurman nods with an analytical smile.

Dr. Thurman: "That's right. But after that incident at the lab, there seems to have been some sort of… cataclysmic event that merged the worlds. Here, look at this, this is the expanded world now."

The hologram expands to nearly ten times its size, with various unknown landmasses surrounding the continents of Amphibia and Nero Hades. It would appear that just north of the continent lies a continent very similar in shape to Africa, and to the west of that, the Americas. For obvious reasons, he recognizes the shape of those northern continents. But what does it mean? Henry raises his head from the hologram with a slight sweat.

Henry: "Are you saying that the worlds are merged?"

Dr. Thurman nods with a smile.

Dr. Thurman: "Indeed. Unfortunately, however, it's not like the people of Earth are gonna be particularly happy about being confronted by more amphibians after what happened a decade ago, according to Lord Dwenzel, so for us to get back home, it's gonna take a bit of time."

Bobby's face goes pale.

Bobby: "How much time?"

Dr. Thurman: "Well, we need enough time to make enough money in Africa to book a flight back home to L.A."

Henry falls back onto his head, staring at the ceiling.

Henry: "That could take weeks."

His father strolls over, sitting on the end of the bed and bidding Henry to sit up. He does when he realizes his father's smile hasn't melted from his face.

Dr. Thurman: "Well, think of it as some bonding time between you and me, and you have your friends nearby. I'm sure they wanna get home as soon as possible."

Bobby nods, folding his arms.

Bobby: "Damn straight. This castle is nice and all, but nothing beats the comfort of my room with all the clothes thrown all over the place."

Steven: "Or the schmell of your B.O."

Steven laughs, and Bobby just rolls his eyes. Henry darts up from the bed when he realizes something.

Henry: "Wait! Polly has friends on Earth! She told me about them! If we have access back to the States, she's gonna wanna see them! I gotta go tell Lord Dwenzel!"

Henry bolts out the door of the bedroom as fast as he can, bumping into guards and excusing himself as he makes his way down to Lord Dwenzel's quarters, where the man is finally caught having a moment to himself, reading the newspaper and drinking some herbal tea. Henry bursts in, and the man does a spit take, getting his paper all wet. The man mumbles to himself as Henry excuses himself, helping Lord Dwenzel, who rejects his offer before standing back in the corner and waiting for the man to readjust himself.

Lord Dwenzel: "This better be good, young man. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Henry sighs, flustered that his overreaction had gotten Lord Dwenzel all messed up.

Henry: "I'm sorry. But the reason I came here is to let you know that Polly mentioned to me that she had friends on Earth, that she and her brother Sprig would like to see them again. Is there any way that you could book us all a ship or something to go out there?"

The man huffs, mumbling to himself as he tosses the tissues used to clean off his coat into the receptacle, shaking his head.

Lord Dwenzel: "Absolutely not! Here in Amphibia, I swore that I would not make the same mistakes as Andrias Leviathan by trying to engage with folks of different worlds, especially Earth, after the terrible relations we've had with them thus far. I could very easily provide you, your friends, and Dr. Thurman with a raft that would easily get you to the continent above ours, but from there, you're on your own, as are Sprig and Polly."

Henry sighs, facing the ground, when Lord Dwenzel places his palm on his shoulder and peers up into the boy's eyes.

Lord Dwenzel: "I will, however, inform Polly and Sprig Plantar of the situation and simply let them do with that information what they will. Perhaps they could travel with you."

He turns to sit at his desk.

Lord Dwenzel: "I hear those two fancy adventures anyway, and after things have settled down after Hopediah's funeral, they may wish to go visit their friends."

Henry lights up, rushing back to his friends. Sure, getting back to California from South Africa is gonna be some trip of its own, but it can't be any worse than what they've already been through, and as Dr. Thurman said, it's quality bonding time, and Henry has ten whole years of catching up to do. So, as these humans are left to discover what additional surprises this new world has in store for them, Andrias is quietly at home in the comfort of Wartwood. For some reason, he refuses to sleep in a normal bed, having gotten used to the floor of the barn. Perhaps he had finally gotten used to roughing it on the outskirts of Newtopia.

Regardless, One-Eyed Wally approves of his adaptation to the simplicity as the champion of sleeping on some back-destroying rocks. And so, after a long day of simply getting back home, he rests, some sort of jet lag setting in. Blissful dreams melt into a rather tingling sensation, the warm stir of his belly stripped of him, overridden by a tickling, prickling sensation, a wet, warm sensation on the side of his face. He giggles, opening his fresh mortal eyes to a pair of sea-green irises, some of the prettiest eyes he'd ever seen on a snail, as MicroAngelo wakes him gently with some friendly snail kisses.

King Andrias: "Alright, boy, I'm up."

He rises onto his new mortal legs, and he realizes now just how much smaller he is. Andrias has still not adjusted to being the size of a normal newt again. He feels so much lighter, as though he could leap through the ceiling of the very barn he stands in. Well, at least he'll no longer have such a difficult time fitting indoors. Andrias is surrounded by happy snirds and a wonderful pair of parents in the form of Bessie and Joe Sparrow. To this day, Andrias refrains from questioning how that ever worked out. He finds that his mind is left with enough troubling imagery. Andrias stretches his body, the surrounding sounds of nature drowned out as he grunts loudly and as the warm circulation of blood flows through his body. 

He had missed such a sensation for a long time. The newt king is excited for a long, hard day of work. He'd never been so excited to get down and dirty and well-acquainted with the soil below. Years ago, back when he still had a kingdom and was far too good for such taxing, tasking manual labor, one would have assumed he'd never soil his blue hands with such peasant work. It was she who provided him with that humility, the small peasant girl who meant so much more to him than any underling or anyone outside of the royal family had ever meant. 

To this day, he thinks about his small, pink frog girl, the beautiful blonde Leif, how her kindness changed his life, and how Barrel, the brave and fierce fighter, made him realize that no matter how pure his blood was, without humility, honor, and dignity, he was not fit for the throne. Andrias is happier now than he has ever been. He has that peace of mind, that reconciliation fresh within his soul, knowing that the two people he had ever cared about, forgiving him, are resting at peace, awaiting him in some years to come. That day will come, but not for a little while, not while he still has a fresh lust for life, and not while those two kids, nay, adults now, entrust in him for guidance. Andrias could have retired years ago.

He could have found someone and passed down the throne to someone younger and just lived the rest of his life on some beach somewhere, allowing some other fool to be the puppet to a deranged metal monster, but that never would have sat with him properly, and that guilt would have eaten him alive. He was guilty enough as it was. Andrias treads forward, ready to work, grabbing his equipment and preparing while the sun still sits low on the horizon, barely peeking over the mountains in the distance. The work is slogging on the back and the limbs, and toiling. Andrias takes in every cramp of his new body, every small cut and splinter of the rough wooden instruments on his palms, every one a reminder that he's alive.

He sets out onto Plantar Farm among the robots, remembering that he was once closer to them than the people of Wartwood. It's a long, grueling, sweat-filled day, and Andrias vows not to stop working until there is no more work to be done. No breaks. He loves to work. It's humbling to him to know that all that work, the beauty of those results, a well-toiled field, the tiny babes of sprouts, fresh green leaves, little buds, tiny fruits and vegetables, little trees, those are somehow his children, his contribution in a world where he has no heirs, and is much too old to ever produce one.

Andrias laments, knowing that he will never have the opportunity to spread his legacy, knowing that he's far too old to ever bear kin and far too old to put a child through the death of a parent at such a young age. He sighs, but it is for the best, for what has the Leviathan legacy truly been? Greed over some stones, conquest, and boasts of territorial domination? Certainly, that's some legacy. But he remembers as he passes over the history books, his nightly reads from the library of the Plantar family, the many fallen empires throughout history, his world, and not. All empires rise and fall.

Nothing lasts forever, no matter how much vanity or fear stills within the heart of a conqueror in his quest for immortality. Perhaps for Andrias, he had lived too long. But did he ever really live before this? A life destined, controlled by another, a puppet, that is what he was, the groomed heir to the throne, the face of a society, a mask worn by a monster. But now his face is his own. As Andrias finishes a long day, nearly thirteen hours of hard, grueling work beneath a burdensome and unforgiving sun, he hangs up his instruments, tired, hungry, thirsty, with aches in his bones and throbs in his joints, and not once has he ever been happier, more satisfied. 

Andrias retires for the day, rubbing the sweat from his brow and his long white locks over his shoulder, staring up into the grimy mirror of Hopediah's bathroom, and he stares at his face for an uncomfortably long time. Andrias had never spent so much time in a mirror, and he takes in the dirt, the smudges, the uneven, rough edges of his beard, unkempt, unmanicured, wholly natural, and a small smile creeps over his blue lips. To be a man unburdened by the chains of a tyrannical robot overlord is better than living a life of luxury, served constantly. 

Andrias would rather work voluntarily til the day he died than continue to live the life of a slave king, and the people of Wartwood, though surly, smelly, temperamental, and rough around the edges, and downright unwelcoming as they can be, Andrias realizes those are his people. It was a Wartwood resident who saw to it that his safety and well-being were ensured. It was a Wartwood resident who showed him mercy enough to live among them, even at the risk of some of the objections of others. For a while after Andrias's return, some of the people weren't willing to talk to him or even look at him.

Certainly, he brought Polly home. He brought her safe and sound back to the small town of Wartwood. And he reunited her with her brother, Sprig, and guardian, Sylvia. Shortly after Andrias's arrival, a proper funeral was finally arranged for the late Hopediah Plantar. Polly relents that the last time she strolled out of that door, it would be the last time she'd ever see her grandfather alive, yet at the same time, she knows that he felt so strongly toward her that he had become an emotional wreck and that her disappearance had ultimately led to his death. Polly would never be the same after that. She ultimately found herself feeling guilty, punishing herself for the same kind of ignorance, feeling those immense emotions of regret and self-pity.

But it was Andrias who ultimately warned her against living like that, that she needed to be able to forgive herself, to absolve and accept reality for what it was, as her woe would most certainly not bring Hopediah Plantar back from the grave, no matter how much she pleaded. In a warm embrace, it was Andrias who reminded her in her time of grief that Hopediah would not want her to kick herself over his death, for he told Andrias himself. It was in her room, at her very bedside, a room that Andrias would finally be able to see himself now that he was a normal-sized newt, that he would convey this message to her. 

Filled with hope and optimism, Andrias considered himself quite lucky to have had the experience he had in the presence of The Originator, to see with his own two tired, weary eyes the existence of the Benevolent Creator, to witness the ascension of Hopediah Plantar with his own eyes, though a surreal, out-of-body experience, one he found profound and life-changing, both literally and metaphorically. So the next day, they would plan the proper funeral for Hopediah Plantar, and the whole town of Wartwood, as well as some others, out-of-towners, including many of the people Hopediah had met in his life, and some not-so-great, would attend his ceremony.

Monroe and his nephew Marlon arrive from out of town just to attend the old man's funeral, and the usual sass and rivalrous nature is all but absent from their faces as they come to show their respect. Even Lord Dwenzel and his son arrive from the faraway Newtopia to attend the funeral, knowing that it was because of Andrias himself that Dweezil was even alive at all to attend such an event. Paying respects to Hopediah was the least he could do. All of Wartwood surrounds a bonfire in the center of town as Hopediah's body is destroyed by the flames, his legacy to go up in the clouds in the middle of the night.

They all stand around, dressed in black. Some of them shed tears, but many are silent. Oddly enough, it's One-Eyed Wally who finds himself the total basket case at the event, bawling his eyes out louder than all the others, leaving even Sadie Croaker, in her jaded agedness, to mutter "What a crybaby" under her breath. Andrias just stares, transfixed, hypnotized by the dance of the orange flames as the last of Hopediah Plantar is consumed until nothing remains. He knows that he is on borrowed time. That night, Wartwood feasts in his honor, mourning his loss but then celebrating his life, and what a wonderful and long life it was. Hopediah had some truly wonderful adventures with his grandchildren, and Andrias, for a moment, almost feels a tad jealous.

As they sit around the fire, conversing, the distant murmurs from his side of the people conversing, drowned out by the crackling of the burning wood, he stares up into the heavens, beyond the thick cloud of smoke and he can see within the sky, devoid of light pollution in that open, natural air, millions upon millions of stars, and he closes his eyes for a moment, soaking in their majesty. He wonders if for every member of the dead, a new star is made, and where Hopediah is among them. One day, as Andrias is tending to the snails, something they much prefer to be done by an organism capable of emoting and expressing sapience, Andrias can hear the distant whirring of an airship, the only one he knows of, flying in the distance.

Exiting the barn, Andrias and the others, Polly and Sprig, as well as the rest of the town, meet around the landing point, providing the ship with just enough room to land, but eagerly anticipating the arrival of Lord Dwenzel once again. The boarding ramp is tossed onto the ground, and the rotund lord that Wartwood has become all too familiar with treads down onto the ground, accompanied by multiple guards, as usual. Scouting for Andrias, he turns to the man dressed in simple, dirty peasant clothes, unkempt and sweaty from a hard day's work, and he approaches.

Lord Dwenzel: "Ah, yes, King Andrias, just the man I want to speak with."

King Andrias rubs the sweat from his brow, curious as to the motive behind the lord's arrival.

King Andrias: "Lord Dwenzel. What brings you to town?"

He asks as the kids approach him to stand at his side. Lord Dwenzel simply removes a cube from his pocket. He leans over with a smile, darting his eyes between Sprig and Polly as well.

Lord Dwenzel: "I think this would intrigue you two the most."

He pulls back with a laugh, awkwardly laughing at his joke, nobody else laughing, and the situation becoming increasingly more awkward as the guards start to emit a burst of forced laughter on his behalf. Tired of the embarrassing lack of applause, Lord Dwenzel clears his throat and continues.

Lord Dwenzel: "Anyway. This is a reflection of what is called a Globospectrometer. Using this, we were able to map the entirety of Amphibia and Nero Hades. Notice only two islands."

He points to the holographic blue display hovering over the cube as he elaborates. Andrias and the kids nod, accepting that it is indeed the proper geography.

Lord Dwenzel: "However, after a series of occurrences back on Nero Hades, there appears to have been some sort of 'fracture' in reality. I was curious as to why the trip back home took so long compared to the arrival, most certain that we had taken the proper route, and it would appear as though this world has merged with others. After scanning the globe once again... behold."

The hologram expands to an immense size, displaying more lands, and Lord Dwenzel points toward a particular place on the map.

Lord Dwenzel: "Andrias, do you happen to recognize the particular shape of this landmass?"

Andrias approaches, squinting, observing. His eyes widen when he realizes just how familiar it is. He clearly remembers the invasion all those years ago, the target: Earth, and he recognizes the landmass as his target destination, the United States of America. He observes further the surrounding landmasses, recognizing those as well from his studies of Earth.

King Andrias: "These are all Earth continents. But how?"

Lord Dwenzel: "My one theory is that it has something to do with the cataclysm caused by the young man with the portal and the broken gem held by Dr. Thurman."

Sprig approaches, running his hand over the hologram.

Sprig: "The United States. That's where Anne, Sasha, and Marcy all live. Right there, on the southwestern side! I remember it! Anne showed me in one of her schoolbooks right where we were!"

Polly peers up at Lord Dwenzel. Her eyes light up.

Polly: "Are you... Are you saying that... we could see Anne and her friends again?"

Lord Dwenzel nods with a wink.

Lord Dwenzel: "It's a journey, or should I say, an adventure, should you wish to embark on it. For obvious reasons, I will refrain from providing you with comfortable transport."

The brother and sister sigh, hanging their heads as they consider the difficulties before them. Placing his cube away, Lord Dwenzel takes the two by their chins, lifting their heads to make eye contact with him.

Lord Dwenzel: "However, far be it from me to stop you from going to see your friends. I would be more than happy to supply you with a raft you will be traveling on with a few guests, considering the poor relations Newtopia has with the humans of Earth. From what I understand, according to Andrias, you two have been craving the opportunity for a... let's just say, vacation from the farm lately?"

They turn to Andrias, smiles and eyes lit with the pure joy of innocent children, as if they somehow need to ask his permission to leave in the first place. Andrias sighs, shaking his head.

King Andrias: "I would be honored to watch over the farm while you go out to see the girls."

They begin to cheer, leaping high into the air.

King Andrias: "But—"

They freeze, almost defying gravity as their bodies hover.

King Andrias: "I want you to do it right. Pack everything you need. Be safe. Be smart. Avoid the government trucks. The people of Earth are going to be a bit sheepish with the arrival of these new worlds in the convergence. So, be on your best behavior."

The two nod, accepting the conditions, and frolicking back into the house with profound excitement as Andrias and Lord Dwenzel watch.

Lord Dwenzel: "They're good kids, Andrias. Take care of them."

Andrias nods in acceptance as the two trade a smile.

King Andrias: "Will do. Goodbye, My Lord."

Lord Dwenzel shoots him a wink as he boards the ship once again.

Lord Dwenzel: "Goodbye, My King."

He departs, and Andrias watches as his airship flies back in the direction of Newtopia, across the atmosphere and over the horizon until the ship is gone from view. Over the next couple of weeks, Polly and Sprig plan, and Sprig gets Ivy in on it. Excited at the prospect and thrilled to go on an adventure with the love of her life and his sister to meet a few old friends, the three get themselves ready for a bold new adventure. Backpacks adorned with water for drinking, snacks, a map (the best they could make), and everything else they could think of, the town is at a standstill in assembly as they share their warm hugs and wave goodbye.

And so now, Andrias finds himself alone on Plantar's Farm, staring out into the distance as the three young frogs frolic merrily onto the airship where Dr. Thurman and the others await them to be dropped off onto the northern shores of Amphibia to venture off into the new land, Africa, and northeast-bound. Polly and Sprig have been looking to go out into the world on their own for the better part of a decade. One would think after taking part in saving the world twice, they'd have enough of that excitement to last a lifetime, but not them, not when someone they love with all of their hearts awaits them halfway across the world. Anne, Sasha, and Marcy are out there. They're sure of it. They've never been so certain.

Together, the frogs and humans board the quality raft, courtesy of Newtopia, most certainly no cheapo raft and not one that will be destroyed at sea, but one very capable of ocean travel, and they sail to the bottom of the African continent. Together, they trek across South Africa. Henry doesn't know what he was expecting, but between being stuck on Nero Hades, a humid, arid environment for so long, and his sheer lack of geographical knowledge, he finds South Africa to be significantly colder than he had anticipated. The frogs aren't too keen on this and bundle up.

Dr. Thurman, however, realizes that South Africa wouldn't exactly be the "continent-wide desert" that Henry saw it as, as if the entire thing is just Egypt, but even he feels as though something is off, as if the location of the continent with regards to the equator has perhaps resulted in the climate being much different than it was before the merge, and he wonders, will this have some sort of catastrophic long term consequences when it comes to the people adapting? Will it lead to the spread of disease? All they can do is continue to persevere and eventually find a way to get back home.

Henry and Dr. Thurman relive those fears in their journey, the fear of what will happen when his mom realizes his father was alive all this time. Will she believe Henry when he tells her what happened? Henry had never been all that big of a believer before, but he finds himself begging The Originator to make everything right when the time comes. He also remembers that AnimaGenesis could be lurking out there on the human internet, still floating around in cyberspace like a digital parasite or, literally, a computer virus, and the unknown nature of that doesn't sit well with him.

All Polly and Sprig can do is trust Dr. Thurman as the oldest adult and, therefore, a figure of authority on getting them back home. Conveniently, they're all going to L.A. anyway. Andrias knows that even though Sprig and Polly face many uncertainties on the adventure that awaits them, he can feel it within his heart that he knows what he's doing is the right thing. For some reason, he has peace of mind knowing that everything is gonna be alright. They'll be back in due time, who knows how long? Weeks? Months? But he'll be there when they return, and he anticipates the biggest hug he's ever had.

Andrias turns momentarily back to the people of Wartwood, to good ol' Sadie Croaker, walking her dear Archie, convinced that woman is more of an immortal than he is, to Mayor Toadie as he lectures Assistant Toadstool from the bottom of a ladder about the crookedness of the sign he's installing upon the newly built Wartwood School that the kids are ever so thrilled about attending, to the peaceful and tranquil harmonies of One-Eyed Wally as the town "vagrant" hums a merry tune to accompany his accordion, King Andrias smiles, proud of the fact that he once ruled over such a well-rounded, if somewhat misfit group of people.

They're there for each other, through thick and thin, day after day, and while they might not get along, and while they might bicker back and forth like the most dysfunctional family on the planet, he knows that there is a bond and inner love shared between them that makes them inseparable. He knows now that everything's gonna be okay because even when they shoot him the stray side-eyed stare, they'll be there for him if he's there for them. Andrias hopes one day that if they can find the love in their hearts for the girl from another world and her friends, that someday, even after all the pain and suffering, they can find it within them to love him too. But that isn't the only Anne he thinks about. 

Andrias stares up into the sky, and he notices something somewhat peculiar; he can see the stars during the day. It's not a unique phenomenon, as even during the day, the stars are still there, but the mere fact that the sky is just so clear that they can be seen is wondrous to him, and he wonders if the future Anne, the Cosmic Guardian, is up there gazing down on the people of Amphibia and can see him looking up at her, noticing her, being aware of her presence. He wonders if the actions that occurred in this timeline somehow changed her future, made her a happier guardian, and gave her, Sasha, and Marcy some closure in getting to see their frog friends and family once again.

Andrias takes a deep breath, knowing that the Cosmic Guardian will keep them safe. And so, Andrias goes about his business back on the farm. He works as hard as he can, as much as his mortal body will let him, continuing every day to make it up to the people of Wartwood and later beyond. Eventually, Polly and Sprig will return, and he eagerly awaits all the crazy adventures and shenanigans they get into. He just hopes and prays they will be safe no matter what they do. It's all he can do. Andrias knows his future. Sylvia would go back to living with Felicia so that they can take care of each other. 

Not having Hop Pop around leaves somewhat of a space in old Sylvia's heart, yet she knows, based on Andrias's story, that he's out there "somewhere beautiful". It's the best description he could give. Andrias does not fear death, knowing how long he has, knowing that as Polly approaches her 21st birthday, he will inevitably pass. He doesn't tell the kids that he knows when he's going to die. He doesn't want them to stress about him. He simply observes it as a fact. Over the years, Sprig and Polly would get older, and Sprig would go from the rough and tumble young man to eventually marrying Ivy, their wedding the most beautiful and only, Andrias has ever attended, and a memory he wishes he could cherish every day for the rest of his life.

Polly would mature into a fine young lady, never quite leaving behind her tomboyish nature, and ever indulging in robotics, eventually building her state-of-the-art robot and engaging in the annual Robo Arena event, and facing the reigning multi-time champion, Dweezil, in the finals. At last, the young newt prince would be overthrown, and Polly would take home that massive trophy, all the way home via snail carriage. Sprig and Andrias couldn't be prouder of this moment, even as the aging Andrias sits there, knowing his time is short. Not once does Andrias stop smiling. Never does he show signs of fearing his demise. He anticipates it, not exactly with excitement, but with acceptance of his fate. 

Someday, Al will stand at his bedside, or off in the distance somewhere, and simply exchange a smile with Andrias. He can practically see it, the albanerpeton in the black robe, bearing the holy black scythe known only as the Judgment Day, an apt title for an apt weapon, for then will be the day that Andrias meets his judgment. He does not fear it. He looks forward to seeing his old friend once again. And as the man comes in contact with the scythe those years down the line, he will rise once again, into the sky, and assume his rightful role as successor to the angel of death, and Al can finally retire and be at peace, never to face the cries and woes of death again. Andrias is more than ready to bear this burden, for he truly understands what it means to die.

He knows that he will be out there once again, among the celestial heavens, and beside The Originator, in the stars. There are countless stars in the galaxy, far too many to count, as they keep multiplying exponentially as the universe expands infinitely. But beyond those stars, deep within a pocket of the universe, the Cosmic Guardian waits. Though she has her domain, she spends much time in the presence of The Originator with her friends Sasha and Marcy, and although they aren't always together, as angels have other things to do and other people to see, they spend much of their eternity in each other's presence, a testament to their everlasting friendship.

Between the games and the battles with the demons who have since made their way out due to the shattering of reality, something the Originator warned them about, they keep track of those below. Anne couldn't possibly be prouder of her little frogs as she watches them traverse the land and discover unseen territories. The world is wild, dangerous, and new. People she hadn't seen before are popping up all over the place. Curiously, she notices other humans, ones not of her world, anthropomorphic creatures not of the amphibian kind, those closer in line to the likes of the one who waits downstairs, the curious, blind old man named Adrian.

One day, she decides to descend the divine stairway and visit the old man. Intrigued, she inquires of Adrian if these are the people of his world, these goat figures, and he merely laughs. It's almost as if he knows something she doesn't, and she wonders if it's a lack of trust, or if it's simply a greater understanding that she somehow lacks as a newer guardian, as it is said that before Adrian passed, due to an incident he will not disclose, that he was 350 years old at the time of his death. How could someone live that long? He merely chuckles.

Adrian: "White magic, my dear."

That's all she could get from him. White magic? What does that mean? Who practices white magic? She turns to The Originator, examining with great mystery as she stares into His unassuming solar eyes, the ultimate poker face of God, a God with many secrets from mortals, one participating in a game, and Anne cannot tell if it is appropriate at all if she has the right or privilege to even inquire about His participation in such a game or not. Who are the pawns in this game between good and evil? Are they not the angels? Are they not the mortals? The Originator maketh, and He may taketh away. But is that not cruelty, to use mortals as mere figures in a game against the ultimate evil?

Anne beholds as she watches along the shores of Amphibia as curious humanoid figures begin to appear by boats, these beings with large, bumpy noses that hail from a land across the sea, sent by a young prince recently turned king, a young man with fiery red hair and a temperament just as hot. Do these people mean harm? What about the goat people? What about the other humanoids and the other races just inexplicably popping up from all over the world? New races and new continents show up every day in this ever-expanding world, and Anne starts to wonder to herself, Is this ever going to stop? What catastrophic consequences are there for such global expansion? Is this part of The Originator's plan? Or Vadrigar's?

The biggest question on Anne's mind is, who exactly is this "Vadrigar"? And why are the people of these worlds so afraid of him? Why will The Originator not divulge any more specifics? All she has been able to ascertain thus far is that Vadrigar simply shows up in these worlds in whatever form he pleases, be it that of a young goat man, a father, through the birth of a hijacked child's body, through some extremely dark magic, or a portal into their worlds. Vadrigar takes many forms, and to a certain degree, he's almost invisible to the naked eye, save for one little detail that makes him quite easy to point out.

It would seem that no matter the incarnation, Vadrigar always appears with beaming red eyes, glowing and radiant like the fires of hell, with thick, black rims like the blackness of his soul. And that's when Anne realizes she just may have met her first incarnation of the demon at the end of Andrias's fight, when the small frog man known as Dr. Ziro, the feeble and rotting frog, was revealed, a dying, putrid creature, obviously consumed by evil. And she wonders. Had Ziro somehow come in contact all those years ago with the demon during the king's raids of the universe? Had Vadrigar somehow seen them upon their conquest and weeded his way in? Is it possible that The Core or AnimaGenesis could have been different, possibly a benevolent entity, had Vadrigar not infested them?

Is that the mark of his evil, to take anything pure and sabotage it to fail and bring about suffering? Could it be that all those centuries of suffering, Andrias's, his father's, and King Atlas's, were all planned by Vadrigar all those centuries ago? Adrian knows about Vadrigar as well, and the whole revelation gives her a pit in her stomach as she leans over the earth. Will he find his way back? Will the Earth below merge with another that still faces its plague? How many people have to die at the hands of this horrible demon? How many people have to suffer under Vadrigar? One thing is for certain: as Anne and her friends turn to The Originator, their minds are linked, and their thoughts synced, through love, through camaraderie. He knows, and he tells them.

The Originator: "THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING…"