FATE/CALAMITY
Book 1: Amphibia
Chapter 1: Friends, Beasts, or Fate.
It was a dark, eerie night in Wartwood as a few dragonflies buzz by and we zoom down to see a large building named Stumpy's Dinner as a couple of Frogs could be seen hanging out of the building, sharing an outside meal and jamming to some up-tempo music that rang out from inside of Stumpy's Diner as the doors were flung open to reveal a small smiling blue hillbilly looking frog standing by the entrance of the building. The hillbilly looking individual is really a 3'5-feet-tall, 30-year-old, anthropomorphic Frog male as he has turquoise skin with long dark turquoise hair that was hidden by his hat, two dark yellow eyes with black pupils as his left eye was closed, a tiny turquoise beard, a long pale lilac tongue, four long limbs with four-fingered hands, a slim built, two-toed long large feet, and his outfit consists of a flat broad-brimmed dark blue/violet hat with a low top that was decorated with a red reed sticking out as it has two narrow green leaves planted onto it, an open indigo vest with an old stitched orange/red scarf that was wrapped around his neck, black denim shorts, and brown boots as the nose of the right boot was torn off and exposes the front half of his right foot as he also carries around a light green concertina, which looks to be a mix between a caterpillar and accordion. His name is Wally Ribbiton, the crazy person who lives under the bridges of Wartwood.
"Welp! Good night, you Frogs!" Wally exclaimed to the Frogs that were standing outside of Stumpy's Dinner as he leaps ahead of them and landed on the ground as he waves at them. "See you in the morrow," Wally says before walking away as the Frogs watched him go oddly, only to proceed to laugh as they watched Wally bumps into a pile of barrels.
A few minutes later, we see a recovered Wally walking through the forest/swamp calmly as he was playing with his accordion and humming in tune as Wally was making his way to his home, but then stopped as the crazy Frog hears a couple of loud rustling sounds originating from the bushes. "H-Hello?" Wally asked fearfully as he turned towards the bushes and felt a chill travel down his spine as an ominous wind rang out and a pair of shadows rushed past him as Wally jumps in shock and turns around as he looks around warily.
"W-What's that!? Who's there?!" Wally asked fearfully as large shadows loomed over him as a trembling Wally slowly turned around and screamed in fright as he saw huge shadowy figures. "No, no, no, no! AAAAAAAAH!" he screamed as he dropped his accordion and runs away.
A few hours later, we cue towards the village of Wartwood Swamp, where we can see numerous Frogs citizens enjoying their normal somewhat peaceful day, which consisted of a Butcher Frog cutting up a centipede-looking creature for a small frog old grey frog as the chopped up half of the centipede suddenly sprang up to life and screeched loudly as the little frog jumped in surprise and watched as the front half of the centipede crawls up a house and crashes through a window as a couple of scared, startled screams rang out. A Frog couple lovingly cuddled against each other as they sat on a large water fountain and smiled at each other affectionately as they lean in to share a kiss, only for a huge dragonfly to appear as it grabbed onto the male Frog and flew away as the female Frog watched on in shock as her lover was carried off out of town. A few kid Frogs laughed as they ran across the streets of their village and laughed as a large green slug appeared while carrying a cart behind him as an old-looking frog rode on it and was using a leaf on a fishing pole-like stick to lead the slug into the village as a young-looking frog rode on the cart behind the old Frog and a small purple baby female tadpole sat beside him on a large bucket filled with water.
The old-looking Frog is a 3'3-feet-tall, 68-year-old, anthropomorphic Frog Male with slightly reddish-orange eyes that has black pupils, white tufts of hair coming out of the sides of his head, a long dark green tongue, wrinkled reddish-orange skin with a light orange chin/chest, four short limbs with four-fingered hands, a stout built, two-toed short large feet, and his outfit consists of a grayish-green waistcoat with a buttoned-up yellow shirt underneath, a light blue ascot wrapped around his neck, grayish-brown trousers, and light brown socks that slightly cover his feet. His name is Hopediah Plantar, but most people tend to call him Hop Pop.
The young-looking Frog is a 3-feet-tall, 10-year-old, anthropomorphic Poisonous Dart Frog Male with short orange hair, slightly orange eyes with black pupils as they have blue irises, large elongated light green tongue, hot pink smooth skin with a paler shaded pink-colored underbelly, four short limbs with four-fingered hands, a slim built, two-toed short large feet, and his outfit consists of a dark forest green hat with light green goggles, a sleeveless light green jacket, and a pair of black shorts. His name is Sprig Plantar, Hop Pop's grandson.
The baby tadpole is a 1-feet-tall, 5-year-old, anthropomorphic Frog female, still in her Tadpole Stage, as she has a globular appearance with white eyes that has black pupils, a long blue tongue, small fingerless arms, light purple-skin, lack legs, has a small Tadpole tail, and her only piece of clothing consists of a yellow bow with lighter white/yellow polka dots. Also, she's often seen moving around on a small wooden bucket filled with water and held together by a cylindrical steel frame. Her name is Polly Plantar, Hop Pop's granddaughter and Sprig's younger baby sister.
"Woah. Woah." Hop Pop says gently as he hides away the leaf stick and caused the slug to stop slithering through the village as it skids to a stop and the old frog turned around to address his grandchildren as he flashed them a warm, gentle smile. "All right, kids, I'm gonna do a little shoppin'. You watch the cart."
"You got it, Hop Pop!" Sprig says eagerly while leaping backwards onto the side of the cart as he stood up straight with a fierce, determined look on his face. "I'll defend this cart with my LIIIIIIIFE!" Sprig shouted while pounding his chest like Tarzan as his mouth open wide in a similar manner to Kermit the Frog from the Muppets...
What it's true and you know it!
"Sprig, I was talking to Polly." Hop Pop says to his grandson with a deadpanned look as Polly beams while Sprig stared at his grandfather with his jaws dropped in disbelief.
"What?! But Hop Pop, Polly's a baby!
"You're a baby!" Polly shouted to her brother childishly while pointing at him as Sprig gave Hop Pop a, 'You see what I mean?' look.
"Sprig, Polly's got more responsibility in her little flipper than you have in your entire body!" Hop Pop exclaimed as Sprig scoffs and crossed his arms.
"Whaaaaaaat? That's ridiculous, Gramps! What makes you think that I'm irresponsible?" Sprig asked as Hop Pop gave him a deadpan, 'Are you serious?' look.
"Oh, gee. Let me think."
[Flashback #1]
Within the Planter family kitchen, A green liquid substance explodes out of a pot while Hop Pop's cutting veggies because Sprig put something in it.
"Oops." Sprig said with a sheepish look on his face as the lid of the pot slammed his head. Ouch!
[Flashback #2]
Sprig crashes through the wall riding a Cow-a-pillar while Hop Pop is sleeping. Both Frogs screamed in horror!
[Flashback #3]
"Sprig! What have I told you about leaving the light on?" Hop pop had exclaimed through the house which was now shaking due to giant fireflies thrashing into it, causing the Planter family to scream and panic!
[End of Flashback]
"Alright, alright! So maybe I did a few irresponsible things before, but those were all in the past! I've grown up since then!"
"Sprig...all of that happened just yesterday." Hop Pop says with a blank look on his face as Sprig stared at him awkwardly for a few seconds before putting on a defeated look on his face as he sat down on the cart with a grumpy pout on his face as Polly gave his brother a smug, amused look. "Anyway, Polly, make sure that your brother stays in the cart. I'm going to do some shopping. I will be back in twenty minutes." Hop Pop says while hoping off the cart as he landed onto the ground with a grunt and proceeded to walk inside a store named 'Grub & Go', leaving behind the kids as Sprig sighs and rested against the cart.
"I wish that there was a way to prove I'm not such a goof-up to Hop Pop." Sprig says while sighing sadly again as Polly stared at her older brother worriedly and was about to try and cheer him up, but then the kids and all Wartwood were startled to see a screaming Wally running out of the forest as he rushed towards the center of the village and panted heavily from the long run before taking a deep breath as he yelled.
"Monsters! Th-there's a couple of monsters! I've seen it! I've seen it!" Wally yelled in a panic, spooking the villagers as the Major of the town stepped up to calm everyone down. The Mayor of the town is a 4-feet-tall, 33-year-old, anthropomorphic Toad with yellow eyes that has small black pupils, a bald head, a light green beard, light green tongue, light green skin with a paler shaded green-colored underbelly, four short limbs with four-fingered hands, a stout fat build, two-toed short small feet, and his outfit consists of a maroon coat lined with beige over a white shirt, a lilac scarf, puffy black/gray pants, and dark brown boots. He also wears a gold ring with a ruby gem on his left hand and carries around a small golden cane. His name is Frodrick Toadstool, the Mayor of Wartwood Swamp.
"Now, simmer down, Wally. Just tell us what you saw." Mayor Toadstool says as Wally nodded and began telling the tale of his meeting with the terrifying beasts.
"Oh, they were horrifying! They had huge heads, a weird stubby bump right in the middle of their faces, short spiky hair, and long, spindly legs! And one of them were carrying a sword with them." Wally said, finishing his little story, as the Frogs gasped in shock and fear at the description of the three monsters as Mayor Toadstool narrowed his eyes in determination.
"Well, then, we better catch these beasts before they hurt somebody...because for Mayor Toadstool, your safety comes first." Mayor Toadstool added in while flashing the villagers a fake, charming smile as they applauded him in delight.
"Well, it is the responsible thing to do." Wally says offhandedly with the rest of the villagers murmuring in agreement as the word 'responsible' repeats multiple times in Sprig's head, and the young Frog slowly smiled widely as he beams and stood up from the cart as Sprig turned over to his sister.
"Polly, I just had the greatest idea ever! I am going to catch those monstrous beasts and save the town!" Sprig exclaimed heroically as he was about to leap out of the cart to venture into the forest but was stopped by his sister as Polly lifted one of her flippers with a glare.
"Stop right there! Hop Pop said that I was in charge, and he told me to keep you inside of this cart, and that's what I'm going to do! You know that you can't take me!" Polly shouted while flexing her 'muscles' as Sprig gave her a deadpan stare and grunts in frustration...before beaming as an idea popped into his head.
"Oh, oh, Polly, look. Candy!" Sprig says while pulling out several pieces of candy as he blows a raspberry and drops it as Polly stared at it with a look on her face that one makes if they won the jackpot.
"...Bribe accepted!" Polly yelled loudly like a drug addict as she leaped out of her bucket and begins eating the bribe candy like Pacman as Sprig smirks in victory.
"Yes!" Sprig exclaimed before crouching down as he leaped out of the car and landed on the ground as he placed his hands on his hips heroically. "Let the monster hunt begin!" Sprig yelled before running off into the forest as Polly popped her head out of the cart.
"Don't die!" Polly warned jokingly as she watched her brother bounce towards the forest before disappearing as Polly's eyes furrow worriedly...only to then shrugged as she went back to eating her candy.
A few minutes, we see Sprig running along in the dark, scary forest as he was eager to complete his quest and capture the elusive monsters as Sprig jumped onto a log and swiftly pop his head out of the end of the log as the young Frog looks around for any sign of the monsters that Wally had described earlier, but couldn't find anything as Sprig sighs and was about to bounce away, only to stop as Sprig noticed that there was a large bug in his hair...and proceeds to eat it as he leaps away. Arming himself with his slingshot, Sprig warily glances around the forest/swamp as he looks down and gasped in surprise as the young adventurous pink Dart Frog saw numerous footprints laid on the floor, some looking human while the others looked more bestial as there was also huge footprints littered across the ground.
"Seems like the beasts roam these parts. Probably a good place for a tra-,"
SNAG!
Before Sprig could finish his sentence, he was soon lifted upside down by a rope and was left hanging there. He then heard movements in the bushes, causing him to look back and see two people emerge who were both panting heavily.
One of the Humans is a 5'4-feet-tall, Thai-American, 16-year-old teenage girl with dark brown eyes, messy auburn hair that was covered with leaves/twigs, a small nose, C-Cup Breasts, light brown skin, a slender build, a fairly thick ass, and her outfit consists of a worn out and ripped light gray shirt with a purple collar as the shirt has a 'Saint James High School' crest embroidered on it, a short purple skirt, has a pair of white socks, wears a single left yellow sneaker with white lining, and carries around a magnet pink backpack with a TUFSTUF logo on it. In her hands is a makeshift wooden spear. Her name is Anne Boonchuy.
The other Human is a 5'6-feet-tall, Japanese-American, 16-year-old teenage boy with short dark-brown hair and golden-brown colored eyes, a small nose, Caucasian skin, a slim yet streamlined build, and his outfit consists of an open long-sleeved hooded black jacket with a worn-out light gray shirt underneath as it has a blue collar and the shirt has a 'Saint James High School' crest embroidered on it, blue ripped pants with a brown leather belt, white socks with black/white sneakers, and carries around a large blue/black backpack. In his right hand is a two-handed, silver greatsword with a blue jewel embedded in the hilt that boasts a magnificence and enormity that makes it seem as if it was created by inhuman hands(1). His name is Kenji Richards but you can call him Ken for short.
"Caught ya!" Anne said.
"Thought you got the best of us? Well, you didn't!" Kenji said while chuckling maniacally.
"Okay, dial it back a bit man." Anne said as Kenji just chuckled a little in embarrassment.
"Sorry, it's been a long day." Kenji said.
"*gasps* giant heads, spindly limbs, spiky hair, face bumps, one of them carrying a sword!" Sprig said as he analyzed the two's features.
"THE BEASTS!" he screamed.
"Stop following us." Anne said, getting close.
"I have bad news for you beasts. I taste terrible!" Sprig said.
"Wait what? We're not going to eat you." Kenji said as he places his weapon though the opening between his belt and pants to keep it in place.
"Yeah, ew." Anne said as well while putting her spear down.
"You two tried to eat Wally." Sprig said.
"We were trying to ask "Wally" for help." Kenji said while doing air quotes on the name.
[Flashback]
Kenji and Anne watched as Wally was looking around the forest nervously for signs of trouble. "Should we ask him?" Kenji said as Anne looked at the one-eyed frog with suspicion.
"I don't know Ken. He seems a bit twitchy." Anne said.
"We have to at least try." Kenji said as Anne thought about for a few seconds and nodded.
"Alright. Here he comes." Anne said as Wally backed up to the bushes. The two rose to greet him just as he turned around and gasped.
"Hi, my name's Ken, can you-"
"No, no, no, no! AAAAAAHH!" Wally screamed as he drops his accordion while running away.
"Wait! No, come back! Please!" Kenji shouted as he walked out of the bushes with his hand reaching out. He then dropped his hand and said in a dejected tone, "We're going to freaking die out here."
[End of Flashback]
"He ran off screaming like a psychopath the second he saw us." Kenji finished.
"That does sound like Wally." Sprig said. A bestial roar made Kenji and Anne horrified as they looked back and saw it knock down the stalks in the area.
"It's coming back." Anne said.
"What is?" Sprig asked.
"We need to move. Now!" Kenji said, making Anne nodded, grabbed her makeshift spear and the two stared running leaving Sprig behind.
"Where are you two going?" he asked, fearfully.
The roaring got closer as Sprig struggled to get loose. Upon hearing his cries, the two stopped and looked back at him trying to undo the rope. They looked back and forth from the exit to Sprig and then each other; They looked to the ground for a moment until Kenji nodded his head with Anne doing the same as the two ran back and cut him down. Kenji then grabbed him, and the trio ran as fast as they could before sliding under a hole in a log for cover. The three then hid from sight with Kenji holding Sprig's mouth closed as a giant foot walked past them. The three then looked out and saw a red mantis monster walking away making them all sigh loudly in relief.
"You-you guys saved me. You're not beasts at all. You're heroes! Ugly, ugly, ugly heroes!" Sprig said.
"Call us ugly again, and maybe we'll eat you," Anne says half-threateningly/half-playfully as both she and Ken glared at Sprig in annoyance for the unintentional insults.
"Ha. You two are not going to eat me." Sprig says with a laugh as he waves his hand around carelessly.
"Are you sure about that?" Kenji asked in a John Cena tone with an emotionless, serious look on his face as Sprig sweated nervously at this and scooted away nervously as both humans stared at him hungrily/sinisterly...only to then snort in amusement as they started laughed, and Sprig raised an eyebrow at this confused for a few seconds before joining in on the laughter as he wipes away a tear.
"Ha, ha, that was funny, stranger. Anyway, what are you your names?" Sprig asked as the teenagers calmed down and smiled at the pink frog as Sprig climbs down to sit beside them.
"My name's Anne. Anne Boonchuy."
"And my name is Kenji. Kenji Richards. You can call me Ken."
"I'm Sprig Plantar! Put 'er there!" Sprig says cheerfully as he held out his slimy Frog hand for them to shake.
"Uhh... okay," Ann says as she proceeds to shake Sprig's hand...and immediately regretted it as her hand was covered in slime.
"Nice to meet you, little buddy," Kenji says while placing his hand over Anne's hand to not touch Sprig's slimy hand and proceeds to shake it as Anne glared at him in annoyance.
"Hey! You jerk! If my hand is going to be covered in slime, then yours has to be too!" Anne yelled while letting go of Sprig's hand as she roughly grabbed onto one of Kenji's hands.
"Ack, Let go! Anne!" Kenji whined as Anne proceeds to let go of his hand and smacked her hand against his face playfully, covering his cheek with slime as Kenji winced before glaring at her as he smirked mischievously and placed his hand on Anne's face as he covered it with slime.
"Guah! Gross! Dude! Get off!" Anne says as she began wrestling with Kenji for a bit, and both of the teens shared a laugh as Sprig watched this from the sidelines with an amused smile on his face, but then he gasped in shock as he saw Anne and Kenji wrestling getting out of hand and caused both of them to fall down onto the ground as they luckily crashed landed in a pile of leaves.
"Are you guys okay?!" Sprig asked while urgently climbing down from the tree as the teenagers sat up from the leafy floor and nodded.
"Yeah, we're fine. Just a little bruised a bit." Anne says reassuringly with Kenji giving him a thumbs-up as Sprig sighs in relief before they heard a loud growl rang out across the air as the boys turned over to stare at a blushing Anne who was embarrassed that her stomach was growling as the young teen laughs awkwardly. "Hey, Sprig, do you got anything for me to eat?" Anne asked just as Kenji's stomach growled loudly as Anne and Sprig gave him teasing looks as Kenji blushes in embarrassment and laughs sheepishly.
"And for me as well?" Kenji asked as Sprig nodded with a smile.
"Yep! Sure do!" Sprig says as he walks over to lift a log to reveal an assortment of large bugs crawling on the floor, and the teens sweat dropped at this as they gave him blank looks.
"Uh, things that aren't bugs, please?" Anne asked politely with a disgusted look on her face as Sprig blinked at them in surprise.
"No bugs, eh?" Sprig says while nonchalantly using his long tongue to snatch the bugs as he proceeds to eat them in one go which both impressed Kenji and disgusted Anne even more. "We'll have to hunt around a bit first, though, since you two don't want to eat bugs and stuff. Come on, follow me!" Sprig says as he bounces off, and Anne was about to follow him but was stopped by a concerned, worried Kenji.
"Wait, Anne, how do we know that we can trust him?" Kenji asked warily as Anne rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Come on, Ken, relax. If anything, bad happens, we have our weapons to protect us." Anne says as Kenji still looked unconvinced by this. "And besides, does he look like a person that can deceive and hurt us?" Anne asked while pointing at Sprig, who puts on an innocent, cutesy look as Kenji's suspicious look slowly dies down, and he chuckled as he nodded.
"Fine, let's go," Kenji says as Sprig beams and runs over to grab the startled Humans by their arms.
"Awesome! Come on, let's eat some chow!" Sprig says as he rushes off while dragging along a yelping Anne and Ken as they disappeared into the forest.
"Well, that was a good haul." Hop Pop says to himself while humming a small, joyful tune as he finished buying the products that he and his family needed and, after paying for everything, Hop Pop began making his way over to his snail cart as he was about to jump in but stopped as he began hearing loud noises ranging out near him and turned around as the old Frog saw Mayor Toadstool standing in front of a crowd of angry villagers with pitchforks and torches. "Huh?"
"Now, when I say 'kill', you say 'the monsters'! Kill!"
"The Monsters!"
"Kill!"
"The Monsters!"
"Kill!"
"The Monsters!"
"Kill!"
"The Monsters!"
"Heh. Another day, another mob." Hop Pop says with a chuckle as he shakes his head amusedly and continued making his way to his snail cart as he climbed onto it. "Now, come on kids, time to-," Hop Pop says while turning his head as he expected to see his grandchildren calmly sitting behind him in the kart, only for his eyes to widen in surprise as he saw a groaning Polly resting on the floor with her face covered with chocolate as there was a bunch of candy wrappers littered around her. "What the-!?"
"I don't have a candy problem! You have a candy problem!" Polly yelled at her grandfather defensively as a panicking Hop Pop placed his hands on his head.
"Polly, where's Sprig?!" Hop Pop asked fearfully as Polly begins to think.
"Uh... something-something monsters, something-something woods," Polly said lazily as Hop Pop stared at her confusedly.
"Oh, if your boy went into the woods, he's as good as eaten! Those beasts will devour everything in their path!" Wally commented with the rest of the villagers murmuring among themselves fearfully as Hop Pop gasped sharply before narrowing his eyes in determination as he grabbed onto his startled granddaughter.
"Not on my watch! Hang in there, boy!" Hop Pop shouted while jumping out of the cart as he began hopping towards the forest and dragged an annoyed Polly with him. "Hop Pop's a-comin'!" Hop Pop shouted before he and his granddaughter disappeared as the villagers cheered for him.
"Harvest the toenails for medicinal purposes!" Wally shouted as everyone slowly turned over to give him weirded-out, disgusted looks. "What?" Wally asked innocently as the villagers shake their heads before running after Hop Pop and Polly as Wally sheepishly followed them.
"Here you go." Sprig says as he and his new human pals were standing around on a small meadow in the forest as the young Frog had run off to get some food for the humans to eat and had returned twenty minutes later with a bucket full of mushrooms as he dumps it in front of Anne and Kenji. "Enjoy." Sprig says with a cheerful look on his face as a reluctant Anne bends down to pick up a small purple mushroom and sniffs it warily as she turned over Kenji.
"So, what do you think, Ken? Might this mushroom be editable?" Anne asked as Ken places his hand on his chin and begins to think as he hums.
"Well, mushrooms are considered food in some cultures, and people have stated that they can be delicious...although this a new world, so we have no idea how these mushrooms will taste. They might be either delicious or poisonous for us to eat."
"Gee, thanks for the help, Ken," Anne says with a deadpan look as Kenji smiled at her and shrugged as the Thai-American girl sighs heavily before putting on a brave face as she took a bite out of the mushroom...and immediately felt her mouth filled with flavor as she moans in delight. "Mmm, wow! These are pretty good! Ken, you have to try this out!" Anne says while eagerly eating down the rest of her mushroom as a suspicious yet curious Kenji bends down to grab a green mushroom as he bites onto it...and his eyes widen in surprise as he smiled.
"Hey, these mushrooms are actually pretty delicious! Good job, Sprig." Kenji says while chowing down on his mushroom as he and Anne continued eating the meal that Sprig had provided them. After a few bites, Ken pulls out a small handbook and writes something down on it.
"Hey what are you writing?" Sprig asked as Ken looked up to the frog with a smile on his face.
"Writing down what kind of mushroom this is, including the texture and flavor, and thinking of a recipe that I will try with it." Kenji said as he finishes jotting down the last note as closes the book with a snap.
"Wow really, I can't wait to try it myself…If I can have a taste." Sprig said with a grin as Kenji nodded with a smile as he reaches towards another mushroom "Hey, do you guys' mind if I ask you some questions?"
"Sure, I don't mind/Go ahead, dude." Anne and Kenji said in unison as Sprig nodded and began asking them some questions.
"Alright, first question...what the heck are you two, and where did you come from?!" Sprig asked, dying to know what species his new friends are as Kenji stepped up to explain.
"Well, little buddy, we're a race of species named, 'Humans'. The most populous and widespread species from where we come from, and we resemble that of primates." Ken said as Sprig tilted his head at him oddly. "You probably have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"
"Not a clue!"
Figures…
"And where do we come from, you ask? Well, we come from...another world!" Anne shouted dramatically while waving her hand around as Sprig gasped in awe, and Kenji rolled his eyes a bit in amusement at his friend's antics. "...Either that, or this is a dream," Anne says with an emotionless look on her face as both she and Kenji know that this was most definitely not a dream, but hey, they like to pretend that it was a dream to help them cope with this traumatic experienced, so let the kids have their fun...for now.
"Well, I guess that makes sense. Alright, last question, do you two know how you guys got here?" Sprig asked curiously as Anne and Kenji shared a discreet look and nodded subtly as they turned back to Sprig.
"Nope, one minute, we were in our world, and the next thing we know, we were teleported over here. We don't know how to get home...or even if we can go back home," Anne says with a sad look on her face as Kenji placed his hand on her shoulder, and a grateful Anne placed her hand on his hand as both kids shared somber looks, and Sprig gave his new friends a sympathetic look.
"A-Anyway, enough about us, tell us a little bit about you. What were you doing in the woods, anyway?" Kenji asked, trying to change the depressing subject as Sprig perks up with a smile.
"Oh, I'm proving that I'm responsible!"
"Oh, yeah? How?" Anne asked curiously, feeling a little bit better, as Sprig opened his mouth to answer...only for his eyes to widen in realization as his face paled.
"What's wrong?" Kenji asked with his brow raised in confusion
"Uhhhh...well...you see, I-,"
"There they are!" A familiar voice rang out as the trio turned around and were surprised to see an angry Wally emerging from the bushes with the rest of the villagers doing the same thing as they began crowding around the group.
"Get them, boys!" Mayor Toadstool shouted while pointing at a shocked Anne and Kenji as all the Frogs leaped up to them and tackled them onto the floor.
"What!? Hey! Get off us! / Let go of us, you stupid Frogs!" Anne and Kenji shouted as they struggled to break free from the Frogs hold and use their weapons to fight them off but failed as the Villagers began tying them up.
"No! You guys got it all wrong! Stop!" Sprig yelled as he was about to rush towards his people to stop them from attacking Anne and Ken but was stopped by his grandfather as he placed his arms around a worried Sprig's shoulders.
"Ha-ha! You caught the monsters! Sprig, I'm impressed." Hop Pop says as Polly popped out from her grandfather's head.
"Yeah, that was awesome!" Polly yelled as the teens heard what they said and gasped as they glared angrily at a nervous Sprig.
"What the hell, man!? You set us up?! Even after we saved you from the giant red mantis earlier!?"
"Yeah! I thought we were friends...well, we're not exactly friends quite yet, but I thought we were connecting!" Anne shouted as both she and Kenji struggled in their bonds and tried to reach for their weapons but couldn't reach it as they groaned in frustration/anger.
"N-no, no, no! This wasn't my plan! We were connecting!" Sprig shouted anxiously, not wanting his new friends to think that he set them up as they glared at him until gasping as the kids and the villagers heard rustling sounds from a nearby bush as they turned around, and their eyes widen in surprise as they saw a large green Mantis emerging from the forest and roared at them as they screamed.
"Hurry! Everyone! Mantis formation!" Mayor Toadstool yelled as his villagers nodded, and everyone grouped up to appear like a big beast to the giant mantis as they roared at it, and the green Praying Mantis gave them a blank look before its eyes widen in shock as it squeaked in fear and turned around to run away.
"Aha! We scared it off!" Hop Pop screamed as he and the rest of the villagers began cheering while the Humans remained quiet as they spotted something far off in the forest that made their eyes widen and gulp in fear as they cleared their throats to gain the Frogs' attention.
"Uh, not to ruin your celebration, but I don't think that mantis was scared of you guys," Kenji says as Hop Pop and the others turned to him confusedly.
"What do you mean by that, ugly monster?" Mayor Toadstool asked with a glare as Anne simply pointed ahead.
"I-I think the mantis was scared off by that," Anne says as they looked to where she was pointing...and their eyes widen in shock as their jaws dropped in fear/surprise at the sight of giant red mantis stoically emerging from the forest and loomed over the group threateningly as the giant insect cast a large shadow over them.
"...Oh, it was that mantis that scared off the other mantis," Polly said in calm realization as Hop Pop nodded with a stunned look on his face.
"Yeah, that makes much more sense." Hop Pop said with the other Villagers murmuring among themselves in agreement. Not at all scared, the red mantis screeched and used its front legs to hit a bunch of villagers off the top of the formation. Everyone started running away in random directions.
Being so close to the large insect and currently tied up, Kenji and Anne screamed. But then something started cutting their restraints while they felt something on top of them. Kenji looked up and saw that it was Sprig standing on the two of them, using the gilded sword to cut them free. "Sprig? What the hell are you doing? This better not be another trick!"
Sprig didn't pay any mind to the accusation and finished cutting them free. He jumped off the humans and handed Kenji his sword back. "I'll distract that thing. You two get out of here!" With that final word, Sprig ran off towards the red mantis with a war cry. Taking out an old slingshot from his back pocket, he grabbed a rock and loaded it. "Hey!" Sprig fired the rock at the Red Praying Mantis' head.
It didn't hurt it, but it did make it angry.
"Ha-ha! Oops." Sprig said as the Red Praying Mantis shrieked and retaliated with a swing of one of its forelegs. Sprig could only scream in terror as he faced death. But in the nick of time, Kenji blocked the attack with his sword. The mantis backed up a bit as Kenji started wildly swinging his weapon at it. Anne ran over to Sprig and picked him up, both watching Kenji in shock, as was the rest of the frogs. The mantis swung at Kenji, but he jumped forward, swung his sword at one of the four legs that the predatory insect stood on, lobbing it off. The mantis screech in pain and turned all its attention to Kenji. He saw it coming towards him, and he started swinging his sword, getting it to back off just a bit.
"What's he doing?" Sprig asked, before looking at Anne as she was still holding him. "Did you know he could fight like that?"
"I...No," Anne said.
The mantis swung one of its legs at him, but Kenji used the blade of his sword to block it. He then jumped up and dodge when it stabbed both legs at him. He raised his sword and was going to cut off the two limbs, but the mantis retracted its legs, making him stab into the ground. Letting go of the weapon, he jumped back when the swung at him again. With a war cry, Kenji rushed at it, grabbed his sword, and went for another one of the mantis' legs. Only for it to fly up, and then come back down to crush him. Luckily, he rolled out of the way and jumped back with the insect swung at him again. But this time, it cut his right leg. Drawing blood.
"Kenji!" Anne screamed, her eyes flashing blue. She then placed Sprig down, grabbed her spear, and charged at the mantis. Surprising Kenji as she ran past him.
The red mantis swung at her with both legs, but she jumped and dodged the attack, before stabbing into the monster's chest. The mantis reared up and screeched in pain, before using one of its back legs to kick her off.
She landed next to Kenji, who turned to her and Sprig. "We've got to work together! It's the only way!"
"How?" Anne exclaimed. Kenji looked around before spotting the rope that the villagers used to tie them up.
"Sprig, we'll distract that thing while you tie that thing up. Anne, let's go!" Kenji got up and charged with a war cry. Anne followed him.
The mantis swung at Ken with one leg, but he dodged it. Then it saw Anne coming at it and swung at her, but she too dodged. Sprig collected the rope and rushed at the insect. With one of the two ends, he ran underneath it and then started hopping all around, over and under the mantis. Kenji and Anne kept its attention on them by swinging their weapons at it. It was only able to swing at them a few more times before Sprig was about to bind its front legs shut.
Once he was done, he landed on the ground and pulled as hard as he could but failed to tie up the monster. The mantis struggled to break free. Anne then looked at the ground and saw the other end of the rope thinking quickly, she grabbed it and pulled. The rope tightened, and the mantis' limbs were pulled closer to its body.
Seeing his chance, Kenji ran around the end of the creature and jumped on its abdomen. The red mantis flicked it abdomen up, sending Kenji flying up into the air. See that he was no in the air, Ken looked down as saw he was falling towards the head of the mantis. So, he grabbed his gilded sword with both hands, and let gravity take him. The wind rushed in his hair as Kenji fell towards the mantis. Glaring at it with teeth-gritting as his eyes flashed silver.
And then, Kenji swung the sword down before landing, stabbing the blade in the top of its head and out the bottom. The body of the mantis went completely stiff as green blood squirted out of its head. It's pupils dilating before blood filled its eyes. Ken held on as the insect died and fell over on its ground with a loud thump. Shaking the ground under its weight for a second as green blood rain down onto the ground.
Kenji panted, shock by what he had done. What he and Anne were able to do together. He pulled the sword out of the mantis' head and jumped off it. He then walked to Anne and Sprig, who were both staring at him with wide eyes filled with shock and awe. He looked at them and said, "Honestly, I'm just as shocked at you."
The frogs that had run off popped out of the bushes when they heard the mantis get killed and stared at it in astonishment. They then started cheering for the beast's defeat and death. Leading to Kenji, Anne, and Sprig cheering, "We did it!"
Kenji and Anne high-fived one another before turning to Sprig and raising their hands. "Up top!" said Anne.
But instead of high-fiving the two with his own hands, Sprig high-fived Kenji and Anne with his tongue. Covering them with his froggy saliva and grossing them out. "Should've seen that one coming..." Kenji murmured, flicking his hand to get rid of the slimy fluid from his palm.
The moment was only ruined when Mayor Toadstool walked up to them with his hands behind his back with Wally walking next to him. "Well, now that that's settled, what the heck are we going to do with these things?" the Mayor asked, as the townsfolk followed behind him with their pitchforks and torches. He grabbed his coat and an evil smirk appeared on his face. "Maybe we ought to run them out of town just to be safe. Let them be someone else's problem."
"What!?" Anne and Kenji shouted, before Kenji stepped forward with an angry expression as he position his sword in front of him to defend Anne and himself from the mob. "Are you kidding me?! We just saved every one of you!"
"He's right!" Sprig shouted, running up to block Kenji and Anne from the villagers of Wartwood. Holding his arms out from his sides, he gave the frogs a firm scowl. "They're not monsters. They're just lost and need our help. We should take care of them." Kenji and Anne looked at the little frog with surprised expressions. They hadn't known Sprig for more than an hour, but he was still willing to stand up for them and protect them. This made smiles form on their faces, grateful that he was with them.
But then again, the moment was ruined when Mayor Toadstool asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you crazy?"
"Yeah. What if they go nutty tomorrow and starts eating people?" Wally added.
"Not going to happen." Kenji said, placing the sword on his shoulder. That's when Hop Pop came to his grandson's side with his hands up. Polly looked weary at the two humans but her gaze seems to be towards the gilded sword than anything else really, while the old frog said,
"Don't worry yourselves silly. I'll keep an eye on 'em, both of 'em," he said, referring to both of the humans as he placed his hand around Sprig's shoulder. Mayor Toadstool took a moment to assess the situation that was in front of him. He really wanted to run out this 'Kenji' and 'Anne' out of town. Appeal to the fears of the town to earn him for favoritism with them. However, Hopediah's farm was far enough away from Wartwood that these two creatures wouldn't cause any trouble for anyone. At least he'd have enough time to intact his plan and get away for a bit. "Hmm," he hummed before throwing his hands up.
"Have it your way, Hopediah Plantar, but I don't like it," he said before turning to the villagers. "All right boys pack it in." This dissatisfied the frogs that were really looking forward to running something like the two humans out of town. But there nothing that they could do but go back to their boring lives. Some of the frogs grabbed the rope around the mantis and started pulling it back with them to town. Talking about how the thing tasted good with butter.
This just left the Plantars, Kenji, and Anne alone in the forest. Sprig sighed sadly and held his arm. Turning to look at Hop Pop and got ready to get a scolding about how irresponsible he was. "Looks like I'm back to causing trouble for the family again, huh?"
Hop Pop and Polly looked at Sprig. The old frog then smiled as he asked, "Trouble? Sprig, standing up to that angry mob to help these creatures out was... Some of the bravest and most responsible stuff I've ever seen!"
"That was pretty cool, Sprig," said Polly while atop Hop Pop's head. "It was also really dumb!"
"Yes. Really, really dumb."
Sprig gasped in amazement. "You think I'm responsible?"
"Well, yeah, I mean, just this one time..." Hop Pop tried to make Sprig understand that he meant something else, but Spring started cheering. Kenji and Anne shared a glance, feeling that they're just the third wheel in this conversation, they checked their phones to see if they could get a signal. Unfortunately, it was no dice.
Putting away her phone, Anne turned to the frog family and said, "Welp, this has been great, but just give us a map. We've got to find our way out of this kooky place."
"Oh, a map won't be enough," Hop Pop get out a map from his coat and opened it. Showing it to the two humans the valley that they were in, and they show the mountains that surrounded it. "This here valley is surrounded by mountains that are impenetrable this time of year."
"It should clear up in a couple of months," Sprig told Kenji and Anne.
Hop Pop then continued by saying, "But until then, you try to cross those mountains-"
"You will die," Polly finished, interrupting her grandfather, as Anne and Kenji stared at the Frog family in complete disappointment/disbelief/shocked/anger as they groaned loudly.
"Oh, come on! Are you telling us that we're stuck here in this crazy place for two months?!"
"Err, it's roughly two to three months actually." Sprig sheepishly says with a shrug as the kids groaned harder.
"Ugh, great, we're stuck in a village filled with Frog people, who absolutely hates us and consider us to be ugly, terrifying monsters! Where are we going to find someone that will allow us to stay with them for next few months?!" Kenji asked, exasperated, as Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly gave him and Anne sly looks. "Why are you looking at us like that?"
"Alrighty, then, welcome to your temporary home for the next couple of months!" Hop Pop says to Anne and Kenji, who were wearing their backpacks and had sleeping bags in their arms as Sprig and the others had earlier suggested to the humans that they can sleep in their house for a while until the mountains cleared up and, seeing that they had no other option except sleep in their filthy dark and scary cave again, Anne and Kenji quickly took their offer as the Plantar Family took them to the outskirts of the village where they arrived at their home.
The Plantar Home consists of a large farm that was surrounded by multiple big fields, a little red shed where the tools were placed as the house itself looks like it aged a bit and is made from the stump of a tree as there is a small yellow wooden front door with a circular window beside it as there was also a bio-luminescent mushroom implanted on the side of the door, acting as the light of the front porch as the house appears to have three floors, a red wooden roof with a large branch protruding from the side, moss/grass are also seen prominently growing throughout the exterior of the house, a small wooden chimney set atop the third floor's roof, and the back porch also has access to a lake where the Plantar's ship is also moored.
"This is where you two are going to sleep in." Hop Pop says while leading the kids downstairs into the basement of his home as Anne and Kenji looked around as they sweat dropped at their temporary room, which consisted of a medium-large stone-walled room that was lighted by multiple bio-luminescent mushrooms, a small hatch located in front of the main door and a wooden staircase connected to it as it leads back upstairs.
"Sorry if it's not to your liking, but it's the only room of the house that I can put you two in, since I don't feel comfortable enough to have you two sleep in my grandkids' room...no offense."
"None taken, we understand." Kenji says with Anne nodding in agreement as Hop Pop smiled gratefully.
"That's good to hear. Thanks for understanding, kids. The kitchen's upstairs if you two ever feel thirsty or want to have a midnight snack but be sure to be quiet while making your way upstairs to not wake up the kids or me." Hop Pop says as the two humans nodded. "And there's a bathroom in here if you two ever need to do your business, and I made sure to place a curtain over it to give you kids some privacy." Hop Pop says while pointing ahead as Anne and Kenji looked to where he was pointing...and sweated awkwardly as they saw a toilet placed at the end of the room with a large curtain hanging above it.
"Anyway, I'm going to leave you kids to get settled in. Be sure to sleep early since breakfast is at sunrise, sharp," Hop Pop says as he made his way upstairs but stopped by the staircase to give the kids a stern look.
"Now, kids, I'm not sure how you 'Humans' as you call yourselves behave, but what I do know what happens when I leave two hormonal teenagers in a room together alone, so I want you two to sleep on separate beds FAR away from each other. I don't want to come in here one day and find you two doing something here that I don't like and have this one lays an egg or whatever." Hop Pop says to the teenagers firmly as Anne and Kenji blushed heavily at what he said and glanced at each other nervously as they looked away from each other.
"U-Understood, sir," Anne says through gritted teeth, both her and Kenji feeling really awkward and embarrassed right now as Hop Pop nodded in satisfaction and climbed upstairs as both Anne and Kenji turned to each other and blushed again as they remembered the old Frog's words and quickly power-walked away from each other as they set up their sleeping bags on opposite sides of the room just as Sprig pops his head in as he held several plushies and pillows in his arms.
"Hey! You two getting comfy?" Sprig asked while jumping onto the room as he tosses the pillows over to the surprised kids and drops his plushies onto the ground as he looked up to smile at the two humans. "I brought some of my old toys of mine to keep you guys company."
"Aww, Sprig, that's so sweet of you." Anne gushed as Kenji nodded towards Sprig.
"Thanks, Anne, and besides, I'm too old to play with these toys anyway...oh, except for this one...and this one...oops, this one too, sorry... this one as well." Sprig says while basically grabbing all the toys that he was willing to share with them as Anne giggled at his antics and Kenji chuckled amusedly as he patted Sprig's head, who beamed at the head pat as he smiled up at his new friends. "I'm glad you're living with us, you weird and ugly monsters."
"Yeah, me too, weird little Frog boy." Anne says playfully while crossing her arms as Ken nodded with a grin.
"Yeah, thanks for taking us in and defending us when we needed it. We really appreciate it." Kenji as Sprig nodded with a smile.
"You're welcome, Ken. Anyway, good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite...seriously, they can drain a body in seconds."
"Ew! / Gross!" The two humans says with a grimace as Kenji winced a bit, and Sprig laughed a bit at the kid's reactions before leaping out of the basement as the teens composed themselves and continued unpacking as Anne placed her backpack onto the bed and unzipped it as she took out a small music box that was ornamented with gold as it had 4 non-colored gems planted onto it and depicts a frog in the tropical woods, praising the gems behind an engraved sun design as it also has a small key on its right side.
"Anne." A serious Kenji said as Anne turned to her best friend and saw him walking over to her as Kenji placed his hand on her shoulder, and Anne nodded somberly as the teens look down at the music box and the young girl warily placed her hand on the music box as she opens it and the two humans flinched as they expected for the box to do something...only for nothing to happened as they groaned in annoyance.
"Come on, come on!" Anne grumbles in annoyance as she closes and opens the music box a couple of times, but nothing happened as Kenji squeezed her shoulder to calm her down, and Anne groans as she hides away the music box in her backpack. "Great, it looks like that we're going to be here for a while."
"Yeah, but at least we have a couple of people who's willing to help us go back home, and, hey, at least we have each other, right?" Kenji asked with a warm smile on his face as Anne smiled at him gratefully and reached over to give him a side hug.
"Thanks, Ken," Anne says as Kenji nodded and patted her back as he walks over to sleep on his bed. As Anne was laying on her bed, Kenji was looking at the sword that he was carrying with him with an intense look on his face. After a few moments, the sword begins to dissipate in a shower of silver lights as the only thing that remained was a card that was now in Kenji's hand. It depicted a knight, holding a sword with both of his hands.
After that happened, Kenji reached into his backpack and pulled out nine different cards that each having a different artwork. The first one depicted a young woman, bow in hand, and a quiver resting on the back of her hip. The second one depicts a man dressed in light armor, a lance in his hand. The third one is a man on a chariot with a few assortments of weapons with him, riding to battle. The fourth one shows an old man with a long beard covered in robes carrying a staff and book. The fifth one is reveled to be a shirtless man with dark clothing/armor on the lower part of his body and arms, but the most distinguish part of the man was the dual black daggers in his hands and the skull mask that he is wearing to cover his face. The six card shows another shirtless man but with a wolfs head and carrying a giant cleaver in hand with a snarl on his face. The seventh card depicts a beautiful woman dressed in robes, holding a set of scales in one hand and a spear-like weapon in another. The eighth card is that of a knight but instead of a sword he is carrying a massive shield that he is using to defend against incoming attacks. And the ninth and final card shows a human being with long hair held in chains with one eye glaring towards whatever it was staring at.(2)
"Hey Ken?" Anne spoke out as Kenji looked towards the girl who has a concerned look on her face. "Have you figured out what those weird cards can do? Can you make them work?"
Kenji sighed as he places the knight card with the rest of the cards and places them back into his backpack. "No Anne…I wasn't able to figure out how the other cards work. The knight card seems to be the only one that works right now...Let's head to sleep and we can figure something out tomorrow. Ok?" Kenji said to himself as Anne nodded and lays her head down and finally goes to sleep. After a few moments, Kenji yawned and finally heads to sleep as well.
The intro opens up with Anne's hands on the Calamity Box, opening it. Light from inside the box shines brightly before it switches to a scene that shows Kenji, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, looking inside. Suddenly there was a white light and everything when blank.
Kenji was on the ground when the light faded, covered in mud with Anne next to him. When he woke up, he looked shocked to see he was in Amphibia with Anne. The two friends stood up and looked at their surroundings in awe.
The camera then zoomed out and showed the entire world of Amphibia.
Tenohira ni kizama re teru
Tsugihagi no yona sono sen ni furete
The scene then changed to the town of Wartwood as the frog inhabitants go about their daily lives. As a pair of dragonflies fly past the camera, it followed them until stopping at the Plantar farmhouse while the sun was starting to rise in the sky.
When the camera changed to show the house's front door, Kenji and Anne stepped out from inside and out into the world. Ready to take on the day. But first, they ducked their heads under some dragonflies that passed them.
Hibiware sona atama to
Gurasu ga sasata kokoro de mae hashiru
The camera moves up to a window on the side of the house. Sprig opened the window with a telescope in hand. He looked through it at the horizon before slipping off the windowsill and started falling down. Inside the house, Hop Pop was reading one of his books in his study when Sprig's falling and screaming made him look at his window. Down on the ground, Sprig had landed in Polly's bucket. His little sister responded by punching her brother in the butt. Sending him flying out of the bucket. She then dove back into her bucket of water.
Sprig landed on Anne's head, and the three of them smiled at one another. Then Sprig pointed at something. Kenji pulled out one of his Class Cards, and the friends rushed off into the unknown.
The scene changed to show Kenji, Anne, and Sprig hopping across multiple mushrooms that lit up when one of them landed on it.
Koware kake no sekai
Kuzure so o de memai
The next scene showed Anne, Sprig, and Kenji running for their lives from a giant chicken monster. Kenji summons a black steed from his Rider Card then gets the others on and gallops away faster from the giant poultry. The scene begins to beak apart as red line spread across the screen.
The next scene showed Sprig, Anne, Kenji, Polly, and Hop Pop fishing together on a lilypad before it suddenly rose up into the air. Underneath it was a giant fish that started swimming around as everyone started screaming. Kenji, however, started stabbing it with a white curved shortsword. The scene to break apart like the scene before.
Another scene showed Sprig in a temple looking at something before Kenji and Anne came rushing down the stairs beside him. Anne picked him up as they ran away from a giant boulder that came crashing into the temple. And just like the last two scenes, it begins to break apart in red lines.
Karappo na karada de
Ibtsuna shikai
The next scene showed a red, dark area. Anne and Kenji had their backs together, and both having looks of determination. Anne raised her tennis racket, and Kenji raised his cards: Saber as it begins to glow.
Still, in the same scene, the viewer is suddenly pulled back to reveal that they were surrounded by dozens of twisted frog/toad/newt-like creatures and a giant snake crawling up from behind them. Towering over them and hissing.
Zokkuri to myako o utsu inochi no sen
Naifu de nazotte nobashite shimaetara
ne dareka oshiete Tsuki ga mierunara
The amphibian-like abominations started attacking as Kenji now armed with Gram/Balmung and Anne rushed towards the viewer. Smashing, slicing, and killing any twisted being that came at them. Just as the viewer watched them go past the camera on both sides, the Giant Snake lunged at the fleeing kids. Its mouth opens as it comes towards the camera before the viewer is in the blackness of the snake's mouth, but it didn't last long as Kenji swung his sword and cuts down the snake with one strike.
Kesenai de
mada kesenai de
The scene changed again to a split screen with the left side show Anne's photo of herself, Kenji, Sasha, and Marcy together being held in a gloved hand and on the right is an older man in his fifties with a grin on his face. A flash of light showed the mans face more and the infamous Toad Tower in the background.
Kienaide mada Kienaide
The final scene of the intro showed Kenji standing in the middle of a road looking at the Class Cards he has. He looked to his left and saw Anne walking over to him with a smile. Then Sprig came over to his right and jumped on Kenji's shoulders. Hop Pop and Polly walked/hopped over and joined the trio. The screen begins to pan downwards as it show reflections not of the group but of legendary heroes of Earth's history.
The intro ends with the title of the story.
1: The sword recorded within Germanic and Norse mythology: Balmung
2: The Class Cards of Kenji Richards:
Saber: 'A warrior king who saved others but could not save himself.'
Archer: 'A broken hero on a lonely hill of blades.'
Lancer: 'A Hero of Charity and Son of the Sun God.'
Rider: 'A man who nearly conquered the known world to see the eastern sea.'
Caster: 'A False Human with the Heart of a Dragon.'
Assassin: 'The first of many to become Death itself.'
Berserker: 'GOLDEN!'
Ruler: 'The one who sought for an endless dream.'
Shielder: 'The knight who returned the holy relic to Heaven.'
Avenger: 'A betrayed European Count who sought vengeance.'