Corruption
All anyone knew was the one land shared amongst three races that co-existed in harmony and peace. First, there were the frogs, the cultivators, providers, the farming community that served as the backbone of Amphibia. They worked diligently and passionately to ensure everyone had food on the table. Second, there were the toads, the peacekeepers, security, and strong labourers that helped build homes for the residents and kept everyone safe and happy. Finally, there were the newts, the thinkers, innovators, scholars that served as Amphibia's finest minds, inventing new ways to better the lives of Amphibia's citizens.
All of them brought together by the wisdom of one. Salamandron the Uniter, they called him, who ruled with a benevolent hand alongside his father, King Geckan, and together, they oversaw an era of peace. Like his father, Prince Salamandron was fair, just, and always made time for his people. Sometimes he would walk among them, stopping occasionally to hear any grievances or humbly shake away adoration. When news broke that he would take a wife, all of Amphibia united in celebration as preparations for the wedding ceremony began in earnest. In fact, it was on one of these visits to the eyes of the public that Salamandron made his way to the tailor shop. He was greeted by the head tailor, a humble frog from one of the fringe settlements, upon his arrival.
"My prince, you grace this small shop with your presence," the frog tailor praised.
"Please, I am here only to see how the wedding clothes are progressing. I trust you received payment from my father?" Salamandron informed.
"Yes, of course. The palace sent over the cost. If I may be honest, I'm surprised the Royal Family is paying for everything out of their own pocket," the tailor remarked.
"This is our wedding. Gila and I thought it best if we paid for it ourselves, not the taxpaying citizens. It just wouldn't be right, and our families agree," Salamandron explained. Gila was to be Salamandron's bride. He had taken a liking to her when he saw her teaching her students. It took a lot of courage for Salamandron to even consider wooing someone as beautiful as she was, but after a few dates, Salamandron eventually plucked up the courage to propose, after getting her family's approval. A date had even been set. The wedding was due to take place a few months from the current date.
"How noble, Your Grace. The outfits are complete. I trust they meet your approval," the tailor briefed. He showed Salamandron the groom's attire he had crafted for the prince, as well as the dress for Gila. Salamandron inspected both eagerly.
"I am impressed. This suit is perfect for me. I will arrange to have it delivered to the castle. As for the dress, I don't speak for Gila, so I cannot say for certain whether or not she will like it. However, I will ask her to drop by at her earliest convenience to give her opinion," Salamandron replied.
"I'm sure she will love it, my Prince. I will set aside the suit for your couriers to pick up. Congratulations again on your engagement. Gila will make a fine Queen," the tailor complimented.
"Thank you, but my mother and father are still alive and in good health. I have no plans on Kinghood just yet. Still, in the far future, when the time comes for me to ascend to the throne, I vow to rule with the same benevolent hand as my father does now," Salamandron promised. He left the store, satisfied that the clothes were to his liking.
But this era of peace was not to last. For suddenly, through magical gateways that emerged out of thin air, an army of marauders calling themselves Apes seeped through and began pillaging settlements all across the land. Their toad defenders, merely acting as town militias and not trained soldiers, were ill-equipped for this foe. The invaders were led by one they called Gaul, the Ape King. King Geckan set out to meet the invaders, with his armour polished and a sword at his belt. He, along with his Royal Guard and Prince Salamandron, confronted Gaul and his followers at a distant forest.
"I am King Geckan, Sovereign Ruler of Amphibia and Guardian of its people. Who dares invade our home?" Geckan demanded. The ape soldiers made to rush Geckan, but a loud cry from behind them stayed their hands. They broke formation to reveal a larger, bulkier ape, with a purple gem as a replacement left eye. This, Geckan surmised, was the leader of the invasion.
"I am Gaul the Ape King. I declare myself High Prefect of these lands and make claim to Amphibia on behalf of my Master. To challenge me is to court death," Gaul declared.
"I think not, King Gaul. You and your army will leave Amphibia now. If you do not, then we will give no quarter," Geckan warned. Gaul merely chuckled.
"Good. It's no fun if you don't fight back," Gaul taunted. His forces then made a circle in between the two armies. Gaul raised his twin blades in a stance that signalled to Geckan a challenge to a one-on-one duel. Left with no other option, Geckan drew his own blade and stepped up.
"No, Father. We can take him together," Salamandron urged.
"My boy, this must be settled from one King to another," Geckan dismissed.
"I couldn't agree more. No interference, from ANYONE!" Gaul bellowed. Both armies were cowed into mere observation. It had been some time since King Geckan practiced his sword skills, and he had never faced an opponent quite like this one. Still, Amphibia's future rested on the outcome of this duel. Geckan could not fail his people here and now. Both combatants were in equal measure, blocking and evading each other's attacks. However, Gaul knew warfare on a regular basis, whereas Geckan presided over peaceful lands and was not prepared for an incursion. It did not take long for Geckan's energy to run out and for Gaul to land a slice across his chest, sending Geckan down to the ground. The apes cheered for their victorious king as Gaul stood over Geckan's body.
"Amphibia…..will never….yield to you," Geckan wheezed.
"I believe that," Gaul replied. He then brutally beheaded Geckan where he lay and held the head up high as a trophy. Salamandron, stricken with grief and at a loss for words, made to rush King Gaul, but the Royal Guard held him back.
"No, sire! You must retreat to live and rally your people together," one Royal Guardsman pressed.
"Amphibia needs a leader. Do not throw your life away here," another Guardsman agreed. Still glaring at Gaul, Salamandron relented and fled the scene. Gaul laughed maniacally as they left.
"We will meet again, whelp!" Gaul called out. Salamandron stopped and turned to face his father's killer.
"I can't wait," Salamandron replied and continued his retreat. Gaul then had his armies ravage Amphibia. One by one, villages and towns fell to the Army of Darkness.
However, as peaceful as Salamandron was, he was not above leading a war effort. Just as he brought his people together in a time of peace, so again did he unite them as a resistance. Taking the mantle of General instead of King, Salamandron was waiting in his war tent for news from his messengers. He had been studying his campaign map. While the initial invasion was devastating and they had lost a lot of ground, over many weeks and months, the Amphibian Resistance slowly liberated their home from King Gaul. They added more fighters to their ranks until they had the numbers to challenge Gaul directly. Salamandron had sent messages to representatives of the frogs, toads, and newts, requesting them to lend their might to one final push, and the battlefield was decided, the Vast Wetlands. Soon enough, his messenger returned.
"All the races are behind you, General. They're waiting on your order," the messenger informed.
"Very good. Tell them the time is now," Salamandron ordered with a heavy heart. The messenger left to deliver the news. Salamandron knew this would be where the fates of all his people would be decided and lamented the losses that would entail. Still, he had come this far, there was no going back. Donning his armour for what he hoped would be the last time, Salamandron left the tent to address his soldiers. When they saw him emerge, they all stood at attention.
"Today, I see not mere farmers and tailors modestly plying their trade. I see not labourers and peace-keepers ill-equipped for warfare. I see not frail scientists and innovators that have never known aggression and war. Today, I see one people united under one banner, fighting for one cause, the liberation of our home. Today, we will send a message to Gaul and his marauders, that this is our home, and we will take it back from them! We will show them our bravery, our resolve, and our determination! Today, Amphibia will be ours again!" Salamandron gave his rousing speech, to which his loyal fighters cheered.
As the battle lines were drawn, a vast army of frogs, toads, and newts marched on the Vast Wetlands and met Gaul and his ape army in the battle that would determine Amphibia's future. The newts delivered the opening volley of arrows, while the toads were at the front of the battle line, with shields raised, ready to take the brunt of any charges the enemy would attempt. The gap between both armies was swiftly closed and a brutal melee ensued. Swords clashed, shields clanged, and losses were incurred on both sides. Salamandron took out his fair share of ape invaders. After some intense fighting, when victory seemed near, Gaul the Ape King stepped into the fray, cutting down anyone that stood in his way with his giant twin swords, until his path crossed Salamandron's.
"Well, well, well, the whelpling. You must be eager to join Daddy indeed to face me in battle," Gaul goaded.
"This was a long time coming, Gaul," Salamandron responded.
"Yes, it seems so. You've been quite a nuisance these last several months. That ends now. Amphibia and its people are now under the subjugation of the Dark Master. Surrender now and I will ask him to be merciful," Gaul bargained.
"My father said Amphibia would never yield, and I shall honour his words," Salamandron vowed.
"So be it," Gaul resigned. He and Salamandron engaged in a long-overdue battle to the death. Unlike Geckan, Salamandron had been hardened by months of guerrilla warfare with Gaul's forces. The two were on equal footing, with neither combatant giving an edge. Eventually, Gaul had Salamandron on the ground, disarmed and defenceless. "What a waste, and here I thought you'd put up more of a fight than your father," Gaul taunted. However, Salamandron learned to be crafty. Using the wetlands to his advantage, Salamandron quickly splashed water into Gaul's face, temporarily throwing him off-guard before picking up his blade and slicing him across the face, dislodging Gaul's gem eye. Disorientated, Gaul could not retaliate or strike back when Salamandron turned the tables and quickly disarmed Gaul and had him on the ground. However, unlike his honourless foe, Salamandron did not immediately strike down his beaten foe.
"It's over, Gaul. Your subjugation of my people ends today," Salamandron declared.
"Weakling! Finish me!" Gaul demanded.
"No. I am nothing like you," Salamandron denied Gaul the death in battle he craved. Instead, he took his enemy's weapons as his own and held them up high for his army to see. "Your King has been beaten! This war is over! Amphibia is free once more!" Salamandron decreed. The Amphibian army cheered in celebration while the ape army lay down their weapons and surrendered en masse, not wanting to incur the wrath of Salamandron. It was at that moment, on the wetlands that would one day play host to the city of Newtopia, that Amphibia's freedom was won. Salamandron had Gaul and his army sailed to a far-away continent where they could live out in peace, as long as they never left nor make any further attempts to enslave the Amphibians. Thus was the first royal decree of King Salamandron the Merciful.
However, Amphibia's legacy would not remain peaceful. Centuries later, the Amphibian people would become what they fought off so long ago, invaders decimating entire worlds not to rule, but to exploit for resources in a never-ending cycle of death, destruction and malice, using not their flesh and blood soldiers, but mechanised automatons. But this would also become undone by the actions of three other-worlders, humans from the world known as Earth.
In the present day, Polly Plantar, grand-daughter to Hopediah Plantar, younger sister to Sprig Plantar, was looking over the story of Salamandron the Merciful in a book she had possessed since childhood. Given the adventures she had, both in Amphibia and on Earth, she had since gone over old tales of Amphibia's past and wondered what was true and what was fiction spread by Andrias and the Core. Hopediah, or Hop Pop, as he was affectionately called by his grand-children, walked in on Polly reading her book.
"Salamandron, huh? I remember you loving that story as a wee polly-wog," Hop Pop recalled.
"Yeah, but I still wonder how it really went. Knowing what we know now, was Salamandron a part of the Core that nearly rammed a moon into us?" Polly wondered.
"I guess we'll never know," Hop Pop answered. Polly then closed the book and put it back on the shelf.
"I guess it doesn't matter now. That's the past, one we don't need anymore. What matters is what we do now," Polly resolved. Hop Pop chuckled.
"You know, for a second, you sounded like Anne," Hop Pop compared Polly to his human adopted grand-daughter, who the Plantar family miss every day. Polly smiled at the compliment.
"Yeah, wonder what she's doing now," Polly pined.
"Getting on with her life, I reckon," Hop Pop replied.
On Earth, specifically, in the city of Los Angeles, the human known as Anne Boonchuy was volunteering at the thrift store where she found the music box. Ever since she returned from Amphibia after having saved it from the Core alongside Sasha and Marcy, Anne felt compelled to right a past wrong; stealing the box from the thrift store. The store's owner did not hold a grudge against Anne. After all, the box did power an invasion of LA, one Anne saved everyone from, and in her mind, that more than made up for the theft, but Anne was insistent on it, and the owner was short-handed, so how could she refuse? She let Anne work here on weekend mornings, which Anne appreciated. She even used any down-time to get in some school-work because it tended to be quiet and Anne could think. Anne had just finished stocking the shelves when the owner came to check on her.
"Well, you're the expert. Any other-worldy artifacts of doom on my shelf?" the owner joked.
"Nope, don't see any portal-making music boxes anywhere," Anne responded in kind.
"Good, that's the last thing I need," the owner lamented. She paused before speaking again. "You know, a young thing such as yourself should be out having fun on the weekend, not holed up in here. Where are those friends of yours?" the owner inquired. Anne thought back to Sasha and Marcy. Another reason she decided to volunteer here was to take her mind off Marcy moving away, and the pain it brought both Anne and Sasha. While it was inevitable, it still stung. She also found herself drifting away from Sasha more and more. Like Anne, Sasha felt like she had a lot to make up for and spent her weekends clearing away any graffiti tags she spray-painted on the walls and returning stolen shopping trolleys.
"Marcy moved out of state with her family, and Sasha's doing her own thing. It's just me on my own," Anne answered.
"Oh, what a shame. Still, you should try and make time for them whenever you can. Friends like that can last a lifetime," the owner advised. Anne sighed heavily.
"Maybe you're right. After I'm done here, I'll hit up Marcy online and see how she's doing," Anne resolved.
"That's the spirit," the owner encouraged. Before Anne could leave, a stranger walked in carrying a rather peculiar item, a necklace with a purple gem encrusted into it. "Can I be of assistance to you?" the owner asked politely. This stranger, Anne noticed, was keeping his hood up, as if he didn't want to be noticed. Anne thought it best to stick around and keep an eye on this person.
"I'd like to leave this here. You don't have to worry about paying me for it. I'm just clearing space," the stranger said. He put the necklace on the counter and the owner inspected it.
"I must say, this is a most beautiful specimen. Where did you acquire this, may I ask?" the owner probed.
"A yard sale," the stranger abruptly replied. Something told Anne that this was not the whole story. She positioned herself in such a way as to get a better look at the amulet without arousing suspicion. She felt a sudden chill, and she swore she could hear a voice coming from the necklace, but the words were difficult to decipher.
"Well, if you're insistent on just leaving a gorgeous thing like that here, I'll consider it a vast donation, for which I am very grateful. Thank you, kind sir," the owner relented.
"Of course, you're doing me a great service by taking this off my hands. Thank you," the stranger responded and left without another word. The voice Anne could hear coming from the necklace grew louder, more sinister, and the more Anne heard it, the quicker her heart began beating, almost as if she were having a panic attack, or if she was on a seat near the principal's office. Still, Anne didn't want to alarm the owner, so she tried breathing techniques to calm herself down before the owner could see. Anne wanted to leave and get as far away from that thing as possible, but the owner stopped her before she could.
"Don't tell that nice gentleman who dropped this off, but I'd like you to have this. Call it payment for your services here," the owner offered. When presented with the necklace, Anne grimaced at the sight of it.
"I volunteered here. Volunteers don't get paid," Anne corrected.
"Then call it a gift. I insist," the owner pressed. Not wanting to touch the object Anne convinced herself was cursed, but not wanting to seem rude either, Anne took the necklace, against her better judgment.
"Thanks, I guess," Anne said gratefully and left the store with the necklace in hand. Unbeknownst to Anne, another figure, a girl dressed in blue with brown hair watched her leave with dread.
"Son of a Gnorc!" she muttered to herself under her breath. She held up a small, green sphere with yellow bands, and spoke into it as if it were a cell phone. "Albert, we have a problem," the girl updated her contact.
Author's note: I hope everyone had a good Halloween. In my area, we don't get a lot of trick-or-treaters, which usually leaves me with a stash of candy tucked away in the cupboard. After so long, I am finally getting back into the Malefic Arc, after updating mine and Grace's Sharuby Saga with two entries that can be considered teasing. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing, all properties belong to their respective owners. Enjoy, and feel free to tell me the most creative costumes you had knocking on your door on Halloween night.
