"So how exactly will this work?" asked Marcy, looking at the electronics in front of her.
"Excellent question, Marcy," said King Andrias. As usual, he removed his crown before he and Marcy got to work. "Amphibian technology used to be much more complex than you see here today. It would even be considered futuristic by your world's standards."
Marcy gasped. "Really!?"
Andrias nodded. "Yes, our advancements were awe-inspiring! But history wasn't kind to us. We suffered a sharp decline over the last 1000 years, so much so that practically no one is even aware of our past."
"That's not good," said Marcy sadly. "But what does that have to do with this?" She held up the half-finished device.
"Well, if our project is successful then we may be able to lead Amphibia to a new golden age," said the king with a smile.
"Wow…" said Marcy with wonder in her eyes.
Andrias sighed. He hated having to lie to her, but Marcy can't know about the Core, not yet. One day he would tell Marcy the truth of Amphibia's history, but he won't do that until his master is no longer a threat. And that will finally happen once the device is complete. The part about a new golden age was partially true, at least. "It will truly be wonderful."
"I bet!" said Marcy. "What's next?"
"The next step is fastening these two pieces to the main shell," said Andrias, pointing to a pair of metal plates. "You'll have to screw a bolt into those two little holes to keep it in place."
"Okey dokey!" Marcy grabbed a bolt and a special screwdriver and began putting the pieces together. Although Marcy is undoubtedly one of the clumsiest people in the multiverse when it comes to standing on her feet, her manual dexterity is extremely skillful. Andrias helped with the assembly of the larger pieces, but much of the work consisted of him guiding Marcy to work on the finer details. After all, the finished device will be only the size of a basketball, and his giant hands don't work well with tiny instruments. He would be able to use the final device, however, and that's what matters.
As she fastened the bolt, Marcy thought back to the party a couple of days ago. Lady Olivia arranged a grand celebration in honor of Marcy's one year anniversary of living in Amphibia. Guests from all over Newtopia were invited and most of them brought the young human presents. And while she had some fun, she couldn't truly enjoy the party because her best friends weren't there to enjoy it with her. At least she knew Anne was safe in Wartwood.
Hopefully Anne knows something about Sasha's whereabouts. If she does, then they can have cool adventures together! But of course, that's assuming they'd even want anything to do with her…
"There's something on your mind, isn't there?" asked Andrias. He was always rather perceptive.
"I wonder what Anne and Sasha have been doing all this time?" Marcy asked aloud. "Are they having fun? Do they have found families as cool as mine? Are their Amphibian homes nice and cozy?" Marcy's mood visibly worsened. "Do they hate me? It's my fault they're stuck here in Amphibia! They probably never want to see me again!"
Marcy began sobbing and set the device down. Andrias walked to the other side of the table and pulled Marcy into a hug. Well, maybe calling it a hug is incorrect— it was more akin to picking Matcy up and softly holding her by his shoulders. The big king would easily crush anyone if he actually hugged them.
"I'm sure your friends don't hate you," he said. "It's not like you brought them here on purpose."
Marcy sniffled. "I guess you're right."
"Besides, true friends will never abandon you." Andrias had a pained expression on his face. Luckily Marcy couldn't see it. "Not if you didn't do anything to deserve it."
That seemed to lift Marcy's spirits a little, but she was still far from her usual cheerful mood.
"Perhaps we've done enough work on the device today," said Andrias, setting Marcy down. "Why don't we play a game of flipwart?"
Marcy's mood finally seemed to lift. "Ooooh… I've heard of that a few times but I still don't know what it is."
Andrias took the half-finished device and moved to the back of the study. "Flipwart is an ancient game of wits, considered by many to be the ultimate test of intelligence. Others see it as nothing more than a fun pastime. I think you might find it to be a little bit of both." He returned with a wooden box. "I'll set up the pieces. It won't take long."
The king opened the box and took out an eight-by-eight board of alternating black and white squares. As Andrias put down the pieces, Marcy couldn't help but notice the similarities to a certain Earth game.
"This looks just like chess! That's a popular Earth game!" she exclaimed.
"Have you played chess often?" inquired the king.
"Nah," said Marcy. "Just a couple of times. "My dad wanted me to learn but I was more interested in video games back then. But now it seems cool!"
Andrias chuckled. "There's never a wrong time to start. The goal is to flip your opponent's wart, that's the toad with the crown. Each type of piece moves in a specific way. The spear carriers in front can only move forward,.the archers on the ends can attack as far as possible in a straight line, not diagonally. The frog priests are the opposite— they attack as far as possible diagonally only. The mace wielders can hop twice toward an opposing piece. The heron riders can attack a piece directly next to it. The swordfrogs can move freely in any direction, while the wart can move one space in any direction.
"Yep, that's chess!" said Marcy. "Well, kind of. The pieces look different and some of them do different things but the basics are the same." She pointed to different pieces on the board. "These ones in front work like pawns, and these are rooks and bishops. Chess doesn't have anything like the mace guys and the heron riders but it does have a piece called a knight which is a bit like them. The wart is just like the king and the guys with swords work just like queens."
Andrias hummed. "Interesting." Perhaps that ancient scholar who postulated parallel development between worlds was correct.
And so they began playing. It started off as simply a friendly game, but after they had each taken a few of each other's pieces it became a lot more competitive.
"That was an interesting maneuver you just did there with your swordfrog, or 'queen', as you called it," said Andrias.
"Well, they are the best pieces," said Marcy. "Maybe I like them 'cause my middle name means queen."
Andrias raised one of his big gray eyebrows. "Does it?"
"Yep, Marcy Regina Wu." She smiled.
"Interesting." Andrias smirked. "I suppose that means if you win you'll have to take my throne for yourself." He chuckled again before becoming serious. "That was a joke, please don't take that seriously."
As they continued playing, it became increasingly clear that Marcy either downplayed her ability, or was simply unaware of how good she is at chess/flipwart. And while she wouldn't get the throne as a prize, it became increasingly clear to Andrias that the girl might beat him. Eventually it got down to Marcy having 6 pieces left and Andrias with 4.
The king saw Marcy looking at the board with green, calculating eyes. She made her move: an archer went three spaces to the left. Andrias nodded and prepared to make his move, but that's when he realized his big mistake. He'd focused so much on Marcy's skill that he wasn't paying enough attention to his own pieces. He no longer had any possible moves that were beneficial to him.
No matter what he does next, his wart will be on the path of one of Marcy's pieces. He moves it one space to the left, knowing it'll either be the swordfrog from the front or the mace wielder two hops away that flips it.
Check and mate.
Marcy brought the mace wielder to the king's wart and flipped it over. A few seconds later she seemed to exit the slight trance she had fallen into. "Did… did I win?"
Andrias smiled. "Yes you did. Congratulations, Young Master Marcy."
Marcy squealed in excitement. "I won! I can't believe it!"
Her celebration was interrupted by Olivia entering the study. "Marcy, are you in here?"
"I'm here, Lady Olivia!" called Marcy from her seat. "I won at flipwart!"
Olivia gaped at Marcy in astonishment. "Against King Andrias!? He's the most skilled flipwart player in Amphibia!"
The king shook his head. "Not anymore, it seems. Marcy is extraordinarily gifted."
Olivia's shock quickly turned to pride. She walked over to the table and gave Marcy a tight hug. "Excellent job, Young Master. I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished." She pulled a letter out of her dress pocket. "I received a reply from Hopediah Plantar."
Marcy gasped. "News about Anne!"
"Indeed," said Olivia. "Hopediah profusely apologizes for the year-long delay and promises he won't resort to Sloth Postal again. Anyway, I am pleased to announce that not only is Anne Boonchuy still safe in Wartwood, but Anne and the Plantars recently came into contact with Sasha Waybright.
A louder gasp came from Marcy. "Is Sasha okay?"
Olivia nodded and handed Marcy the letter. "She is. Rather surprisingly, considering she's been adopted by Captain Grime of the South Toad Tower."
"Ah, yes," said Andrias. "I've read in some reports that Grime has 'gone soft', but they didn't explain why. I guess we know now."
"Yes, apparently Sasha and Captain Grime have a strong bond," said Olivia. "Hopediah claims the captain has extensively trained Sasha in swordfighting."
"Sasha got into fights sometimes," said Marcy idly.
"Well now that we finally know where both your friends are," said Andrias, "we can prepare for them to come to Newtopia."
"How soon!?" asked Marcy excitedly.
The king thought for a moment. "It should take a few weeks to make full arrangements, but your friends and their 'found families' will be coming to Newtopia soon."
Marcy smiled. After all this time she would get to see Anne and Sasha again! Surely nothing can stop this from going well…
Deep below the dungeons of the castle, a massive digital amalgamation with orange eyes spoke to itself.
"This girl is smarter than I anticipated, but that doesn't change anything. Enjoy your fun, Andrias. Because it won't last."
End of Act One
Author's Note: Hey everyone, college is starting up for me again in a few days, so updates for this and my other fics are going to be less frequent than they have been this summer. Apologies to everyone who's been enjoying the fastish update times.
For anyone who doesn't know, zugzwang is a term used in chess (and sometimes other games like checkers or Connect 4) to describe when a player no longer has any advantageous moves.