Chapter Text
Andrias’ eyes scanned through another report. It had been quite a while since he had taken a direct approach to what should, technically, be his job. Lady Olivia had been quite surprised when the giant newt had picked up the pile of papers from her hand and ordered to have a day off.
“What do you think Olivia is up to?” Asked Marcy, who hung from an oversized baby carrier secured on Andrias’ chest.
Lady Olivia had forced Andrias to keep Marcy on himself, since, apparently, the smaller newt already had small trust in the King’s good behaviour if he was left alone and did not trust Marcy not to further hurt herself if left to her own devices. Andrias could scarcely blame her to be fair. Marcy had managed to break her leg after less than a minute in a new world and there was that time he had set the sea around Newtopia on fire while Lady Olivia was on holiday.
Uh. He only noticed now, but he didn’t remember the small newt taking any holiday after that time.
“Well, considering I gave her a day off the same day General Yunan is scheduled to return to the capital, I am quite sure she is spending her day with her. At least, judging by the fact that she was preparing to go on a walk in the public park and Yunan asked me which plants Lady Olivia favours before departing” Those two were cute together, Andrias had to admit. Gals being pals, am I right? Andrias told himself. They surely were a good couple of friends. Sometimes, he thought melancholically, they reminded him of what was no more.
Marcy hands went to her cheek as she began to squeal, making the King seriously worry about her. Were humans supposed to make those sounds? Andrias could hear them thanks to his augmentations, but they would be nearly inaudible to any newt, frog or toad.
Finally, the human stopped “You didn’t tell me you shipped someone with Lady Olivia! Come on, tell me about her! Oh my gosh, can I meet her? Wait, I should probably ask Lady Olivia…”
Andrias didn’t know whether to chuckle at Marcy’s rambling or be confused “I’m sorry, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Yunan has simply returned from” What was it this time? Rebellion, bounty hunting, monster hunting… the Sand Wars? No those, had ended years before, right, “deployment.” He said. He settled for deployment, in the end, yeah, that worked. “I assure you I did not send her and Lady Olivia away via postage. I don’t think Lady Olivia would let me do that, anyways”
Marcy looked confused for a second, then she apparently understood something. She promptly planted her palm on her face. She shook her head and sighed “Never mind. I’ll simply speak to Lady Olivia. One day, I’ll explain it to you”
Andrias shrugged. Sometimes, he struggled to understand the child. Was this because she was from a different world or were all children like this? He guessed his father had felt like this with him, before everything.
The subconscious association went unheeded by the newt, as he flipped another page.
Ugh. He grimaced, seeing the rather long report. That was why he delegated things to Olivia. Well, that and the fact that these documents were almost too small for his hands, making the writing annoyingly tiny.
“Uhm, Andrias?” The young girl called for his attention from the pocket “Actually, could I try? I’ve actually been practicing Amphibian script for a while now, so maybe… forget it, it’s stupid, aha”
Andrias smiled at her. “Oh? You’ve been practicing? Let’s see, you got this old newt curious!”
He passed the document to her. She gave it a couple of reads, then looked up to him
“Okay, I’m ready! I’ll give you a shortened version, since we’ve got… a lot of them.”
Andrias nodded, before she continued
“Well, it’s a report. From a… Captain Grime? From Frog Valley”
The newt grimaced slightly, which thankfully went unnoticed by Marcy. Frog Valley… he had never gotten the place searched. If he had done it, maybe he would have found her. And if he had found her… the Core would have her killed.
He hated Leif. She had betrayed him, but he still missed her. Deep, deep down, in his cold, cybernetic heart, old sentiments festered, despite all of the Core’s and his best attempts.
He was scared. Scared, because if he had her at his mercy… he genuinely wouldn’t know what he’d do.
“A-Andrias?” Marcy squeaked, trying to gain his attention
“Ah, yes, go on, Little Master.”
“You… kind of looked out of it. I-If you’d like, we can do something else!”
Seeing the genuine worry in her voice, Andrias couldn’t help but smile. He gently petted the girl, roughing up a bit her black hair “Don’t worry, Marcy. It’s just… bad memories. It’s all in the past though. You’re doing very good, for someone that has begun studying the language a few weeks ago”
Marcy blushed, wether because of the praise or the head pat he didn’t know “T-thank, Andrias! B-but actually, I began only last week”
That caught the Core’s attention, as Andrias could tell from the voices inside his head.
‘How very… intriguing. She seems more interesting than we thought’, the Core commented.
‘My Lord?’ Andrias thought back.
‘Continue interacting with her. Perhaps she could be even more of use…’ the Core answered his question before disappearing from his mind, or, more likely, simply returning to silence and continuing to observe from the shadows.
Banishing the disturbing implications of his Lord’s words, Andrias returned his attention to the human child, who thankfully had not noticed his lapse in attention
“…-ain Grime, creepy name if I can say, says that more and more frogs are refusing to pay the yearly tributes, basically. He goes in a long rant, with many, many descriptive expletives. I may have learned a couple, if I can say.”
That stimulated Andrias’ interest, even if barely. Normally frogs were content and submissive, accepting the tributes with just a bit of grumbling. Sure, sometimes there was the odd anti conformist, his thoughts ran to his old treacherous friend, but they tended to not be able to stir the rest of the villagers into defiance.
“Does it says something about an instigator?” Andrias asked
“Hold on, let me check” Marcy said, before reading again through the document “This can’t be right…” She muttered “I think they are being instigated by… music?”
“Music?”
“Yeah, it says they’ve been inspired by… Hip Hop? It’s the name of a genre of music, back home.”
“Let me check” the documents were brought close to his glasses, before Andrias let out a chuckle “Oh, it’s a nickname. ‘Hop Pop’, a certain Hopediah Plantar.”
Andrias saw Marcy chuckle as well, even if the newt could see it was somewhat forced “Aha, yes, of course, stupid me! I should have guessed it was my mistake…”
He smiled sympathetically. This girl surely had some high standards, if she blamed herself for something this harmless “Don’t beat yourself up for it, Master Marcy. It’s a common mistake, mistaking the o for an i and the p for an h. Used to do it all the time, when I was a small tadpole.”
Marcy eyes filled with sparkles “I need pictures, now!”
Andrias laughed heartily “All in due time, my dear. Now, I believe we have to read more documents?”
“What about Frog Valley?”
The King made a dismissive gesture with his hand “The Toads can handle it. This Captain Grime didn’t ask for help or reinforcements, didn’t he?”
Marcy shook her head, which Andrias interpreted as a no. “Then he can probably handle it. Being a good King means also knowing when to act and when not to. Onto the next one!”
Wit began to read once more and Andrias allowed himself to close his eyes and lose himself, chiming in from time to time when Marcy had difficulty with a word or asked him a question.
The work went on for another couple of hours, Marcy and Andrias taking turns with reading. Sometimes the human would ask the newt for more info on the places the documents had been sent from. It was with great pleasure that Andrias told her of his Kingdom, a thousand years of his life flowing from his lips for the amazement of an extra dimensional child.
Eventually, though, the work took its toll. Marcy groaned and threw back her head, as much as being strapped to the chest of a gigantic salamander allowed her to.
“Getting tired there, Little Master?” Andrias asked playfully “I get that my life tales are boring, but to that extent?”
“It’s not that, King Andrias!” Marcy assured him “It’s just… I’ve always dreamed of visiting another world and now that I’m here, for real, I am strapped to you, doing paperwork! Again, no offence”
“None taken, Master Marcy. You are right, paperwork is getting rather tedious” agreed Andrias as he put down the half read report. He’d finish it and the rest later or give them to Lady Olivia the day after. “What do you say we explore a bit the castle?”
Marcy sighed “But I’ve already seen it all! I wanted to explore the city, but Lady Olivia says I cannot until the cast is off. Stupid clumsiness, stupid stairs…”
“You’ve seen it all?” Andrias asked, twirling his beard around one of his fingers, an idea forming in his head “What if I told you there was a place you haven’t seen yet? Something truly marvellous, more than anything you’ve ever seen”
At that, Marcy perked up immediately, her fists closed and shaking because of the sudden excitation “Really?”
“Really. But, it’s a secret. So you can’t tell anyone, understood?” To emphasise his point Andrias brought his index to his mouth and winked, Marcy quickly mimicking his gesture with a little snicker.
“‘Kay, my King! None shall hear a peep!”
“Good, good. Let’s go, then!” He got up, then hesitated. “One thing. It’s better to make this a surprise, isn’t it? So, better to put this on” He pulled out a cloth tissue and ripped a bit of it off. He knew he was going to get scolded for it, but he had tons of the bedsheet sized things. Seriously, one wouldn’t believe the size of those tissues.
Marcy got it on the spot and used the piece of cloth as a makeshift blindfold, before whipping out her hand and pointing a thumb upwards.
Andrias was interdicted for a second, watching Marcy’s gesture in puzzlement.
“It means everything’s good” Marcy clarified.
“Oh, a thumb of approval? Very well then, Master Marcy! Here we go!”
With the blindfolded human strapped on his chest like the world’s most developed baby and shaking her fists in excitement, Andrias directed himself to the secret entrance to the basement, hidden beneath’s his father statue. He could almost feel the eyes of the Core, of his father, boring on his neck, but carried on regardless. He descended, but instead of going all the way down to the hidden chamber where the Core slept, he stopped before, in a place he had not visited in almost a thousand years.
Leif’s garden.
It was unchanged, save for the fact that no pink frog roamed it and no green toad observed the marvellous place. He was the only one left.
“Marcy” He called out “You may undo the blindfold now. We’re here”
Not waiting even another second, the girl practically ripped off the piece of cloth from her face, only to squeal in amusement.
Andrias had to recognise, he had been confused initially by the human’s tendency to express her joy in high frequencies, but he was beginning to grow fond of them.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” He asked
“It’s so great!” Marcy answered, bouncing up and down in her harness “An underground garden! This is awesome! How does it work? How is the light created? I don’t see any special lights, so that can’t be it…” She perked up “Is it magic? Please tell me it’s magic!”
Andrias laughed “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Master Marcy, but I don’t exactly know myself how any of this was created. The one that started and tended to this garden was… an old friend of mine” His tone got melancholic, as he reminisced of the long days he and Leif, most of the times joined by Barrel, spent on the artificial hill of her precious garden.
The Core had urged him to burn it, to do away with the last vestige of her, but he had refused. For all that he may hate her and her betrayal, somewhere, deep, deep, the feelings that had stopped him from obeying his father’s command all those years ago still lived and still held the reins to his heart.
“…We did not leave on the best of terms” he ended, the giant’s voice uncharacteristically quiet. “She has most probably passed away, by now” A single sad chuckle escaped the king “The things living a thousands years do to you…”
Suddenly, he felt a slight pressure around his chest. He looked down.
Marcy had twisted herself as much as she could and tried hugging him, though her small and feeble arms couldn’t quite get around the newt, nor hold him as strongly as he well remembered Barrel could.
For a second he was taken aback, then he smiled and ruffled the hair of his human “You are one good kid, I seriously hope you do know that”
At that Marcy simply nuzzled in with her face, which Andrias didn’t need to see to know it was sporting a big goofish grin. His gigantic arm encircled the girl and returned her gesture of affection.
They stayed like that for a while, just like that, in silence.
Then, they arrived.
Andrias was initially a bit surprised to see a couple of Mossmen approaching him. Generally, they were wary of him, ever since he had chased Leif in here. But now, they approached him and Marcy, one being as brave as to touch the human, even if still cautiously avoiding Andrias.
That, to Andrias’ displeasure, broke that little moment between them, as Marcy turned and once again was awestruck at her new discovery.
“Oh my gosh! What are these!!” She gushed, while scratching the ancient extradimensional creature under the chin. They did not seem to mind, starved for affection ever since the tender of this garden left.
“These” Andrias explained “are Mossmen. My ancestor brought them here from distant lands. My… old friend cared for them, very much”
“Can I go with them? Pretty please?”
Andrias was about to sigh and remind Marcy of the threats Lady Olivia had made about what she would do if he allowed Marcy out of the baby harness, since, in her words, it was ‘a two way baby harness, to keep under control Amphibia’s most destructive children’. But then, Marcy unleashed on him a weapon even more powerful than the superlaser on the top of the castle: puppy eyes.
With a soft smile, Andrias undid the harness and gently put Marcy on the ground “Go. We will attempt to hide it from Lady Olivia, for all it’s worth” He already knew that the smaller salamander would know as soon as she returned, but as of now, the kingdom could burn, as long as Marcy was happy. “Just try to take it easy, okay? You do wish that your leg heals as soon as possible, don’t you?”
Marcy hugged rapidly his leg, shooting out at breakneck speed a multitude of “Don’t worry” and “Thank you”
She then went up to the one that had approached her, who gently let the injured human ride on its back.
As the two rode off, Marcy filled with awe at every new facet of the garden that the creature showed her or at the simple fact that she was riding something that seemed straight out of the her beloved fantasy worlds, Andrias sat down with a dull thud, happy to see her have fun.
The other Mossman, much to Andrias’ surprise, remained by his side, watching their companion and the girl as the newt did.
Absentmindedly, Andrias stretched out his hand towards it. The Mossman initially retreated from the touch, but, seeing Andrias didn’t seemingly have hostile intentions, complied and let the King pet them.
“It’s like old times, isn’t it?” The King asked to the creature, who, even if silent, seemed to agree. Andrias sighed “It was simpler, back then. It was us three, against the world”
A sad smile appeared on the monarch’s face “Looks like the world won, doesn’t it, Leif?” He spoke to the Mossman, probably the only living thing, outside of Andrias himself and the Core, that remembered the small pink frog, probably the only one that still loved her without second thoughts, as if they were his old friend.
His gaze returned on the human girl, who was still riding the other Mossman “You’d have loved her. I see a bit of you in her, you know?” His eyes closed as he recalled every good moment he’d ever spent with his old friends “She’s curious, she’s kind… she has your same interest for plants, your same joy at discovering something new. Her energy is just like Barrel’s, I’ll say. He too would have loved her”
Once more, the newt sighed “And… she’s just like me. Fearful of losing those she holds dear, yet perhaps doomed.”
“I just wish that what happened to us will not happen to her as well…”
Then, a scream.
Andrias eyes opened instantly and the newt shot up, his fire sword ready in his hand, dashing towards the direction of the sound.
What had happened? Had Leif trained the Mossmen to attack him when his guard was down and they had attacked Marcy? Did she find the Shadowfish? Did the Core decide to take matter in their hands and kill the girl?
He finally arrived on the outskirts of the indoors garden and found Marcy lying on the ground, the Mossman with their head above the girl’s neck.
Andrias raised his sword, ready to strike, but it was too late. The Mossman’s head went down.
And picked up Marcy by her hoodie, carefully picking her up and lifting her to her feet.
Marcy put her weight on her good leg and pat the green creature
“Marcy?” Andrias asked, his fire sword’s blade still on, just in case.
The girl noticed him “Oh, Andrias! Nothing, I just wanted to get down to investigate that painting, but I slipped and screamed and-” Her eyes were drawn to the newt’s weapon”Woah! Is that a sword made of fire!?!? It’s just like in my favourite JRPG, Vagabondia Chronicles! Man, this place just gets cooler and cooler! Can I see it? Can I use it? Please, please, please!”
The King shut the fire blade down and put it away, seeing there was nothing to worry about, just Marcy being Marcy, as usual. “I’m sorry, Little Master, but I think it’s a bit too big for you”
The human visibly deflated at that “Oh man, bummer!”
The newt chuckled and winked “But perhaps I could find a you-sized weapon. Just, don’t tell Lady Olivia. I doubt she’ll approve”
Marcy bobbed her head and joined hands up and down as much as her cast allowed her “Thank you, thank you! You’re the best, Andrias!”
Andrias made a dismissive gesture “Oh, it’s nothing kiddo. After all, Amphibia’s a dangerous place! Gotta keep yourself safe!”
Marcy nodded and turned towards what had got her attention earlier.
Andrias’ heart stopped as he realised just what it was. The painting.
Before he could do anything to stop her, Marcy had already limped to the ruined piece of artwork and got a good look.
“Woah, Andrias, is that you?”
Seeing no point in denying it, Andrias nodded “That is me, a thousand years younger and a lot more foolish”
“Who are the other two?”
“Those who I thought my closest friends. That’s the thing about friends. The more you love them, the more it hurts when they go.”
Marcy put a hand on Andrias’ leg, in sympathy. “T-trust me, I know how it is…”
Andrias smiled “You do miss your friends a lot, don’t you? Don’t worry, Master Marcy. We’ll find them in no time! Then you can all go home”
Marcy made an obviously forced chuckle “Y-yeah! Home! Thanks, Andrias!”
That got both the King and the Core’s attention
‘She doesn’t wish to go home? Or perhaps her relationship with her friends is not as perfect as she portrays it? This could weaken their bond. All three are required for the prophecy. Investigate, Andrias.’ The Core ordered.
The newt nodded, both to Marcy and to his Lord, knowing that the hive mind must have been watching them.
“F-forgive me if I’m too intrusive, but… how were they?”
The King faltered for a second and Marcy flushed with embarrassment.
“Forget that I said anything, it’s dumb, I’m dumb, ahah…”
“Calm down, Little Master. It’s fine, really. Just, I haven’t spoken about my friends in a long time, if I have to be honest.” He made a little pause, then resumed “But, considering that is you… I suppose I could talk a little”
And so they stayed there, Marcy sitting on the back of her Mossman and Andrias lying on the side of the hill, while the old newt spoke at length of the daring escapades of an unbreakable trio of friends, of Barrel’s courage and strength, but also of his kindness and of Leif’s intelligence and curiosity, but also of how much she cared for anything, be they plant, animal or amphibian.
Meanwhile, a couple of floors under them, something that did not sleep or die observed the newt and human and saw something they had seen a thousand years before, something that had caused them to lose Amphibia’s greatest treasure.
Their minion, their Andrias, their puppet seemed to care for someone. And this someone was one of the heroes of the Prophecy, the Gem of Wit, destined to cast out the Night with the Gem of Strength and Heart.
The minds of the Core had to discuss.
“We cannot be sure he cares about her” An orange hooded salamander said “Andrias did say that he wanted to lure in her friends. Perhaps this is part of the ruse. It would be best to confront him”
“If he did care” Another newt argued “he would not reveal it to us. If we lose Andrias, it is over, since we lack a body. We need to do away with her and fast. I say we force Andrias to kill her”
“Fool!” An axolotl bellowed “For too much fear of losing control, you would relinquish it! If he does care for this human, forcing him to kill her would make him disloyal!”
A diminutive green newt stroked their long white beard “The other two heroes of the Prophecy are to be considered as well. If they were to discover their friend was killed by our order, they could awaken the power within them and lay waste to all we have worked for”
The bickering went on for a while, only to be broken by a gentle cough. Twelve minds of the Core, kings and queens of a bygone age, and many more of Amphibia’s greatest minds turned to see the thirteenth, who towered over all of them. King Aldrich, the last addition to the Core, the one who retained the most individuality, the one who knew more than all of them how to control the current King to fulfil their desires.
He spoke with a calm voice, like always, but no one dared to interrupt him “Fellow minds of the Core. Your points are all indeed valid. For now, I propose to leave Andrias to his own devices, let him attempt to win over the Gem of Wit”
One large newt had something to say at that. She scoffed “You think too much of Andrias, perhaps because he’s your son. Aren’t you aware of the fact that he nearly cost us everything, one millennium ago?”
With a smile and an accommodating, but ice cold voice, Aldrich answered “Oh, trust me, General Crablaw, I am well aware of the fact my son can’t be relied on. Are you aware of the fact that you were almost refused access into the Core because of your frankly average intellect and only assimilated because the Core needed military experience? You are a glorified encyclopaedia and only continue to exist because of that. Keep that in mind the next time you want to voice your thoughts.”
The other newt being silenced, Aldrich went on, his tone unchanged “Let that be clear. My son is a sentimental oaf, who has messed everything up for us. If he was not the rightful king, I very much doubt I would allow him assimilation in the Core.” He shrugged, a smile still on his face. “He’s sharp, no doubt, and smart, plus an accomplished fighter and general. But he’s sentimental. He gets attached.” The word was pronounced as if it was a foul thing “He has to be reigned in, because he’s not strong enough to make the right choices, even if he knows they are the most logical ones.”
“But he’s somewhat good at forming attachments with people. The Newtopians love him. His friends did too. I think there is a good chance that he is able to get the girl to love him. We just need to see if he gets attached to her in the process.”
“B-but how would we do that?” One axolotl questioned
The smile on Aldrich’s face got slightly wider “Perhaps a test is in order. Let us see what are his priorities, once the chips are down”