The intro opens 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. 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 break apart as red line spread across the screen.
The next scene showed Sprig, Anne, Kenji, Polly, and Hop Pop fishing together on a lily pad before it suddenly rose 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 short sword. 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 Balmung/Gram 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 man's 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 shows reflections not of the group but of legendary heroes of Earth's history.
The intro ends with the title of the story.
FATE / CALAMITY
Book 1: Amphibia
Chapter 5: A Fated Event
Last week…was one heck of a trip.
During that time, Anne and Hop Pop argue over various things. With Anne being from the city in her world and Hop Pop sticking to old days, the two constantly bicker with one another and it is driving Sprig and to some extent Kenji crazy.
Heck it even happened one time when Kenji was trying to teach the group about the Class cards one day.
(Flashback)
"So…care to explain why we're doing this?" Hop Pop asked as Anne and the Plantars are sitting in the living room as Kenji is drawing something on a mobile chalkboard that was in Hop Pop's study.
"Well, since we didn't have much to do for today after doing all of our chores, I figured that we have a quick lesson about the class cards." Kenji said as he finishes drawing on the board. It now shows seven symbols: a sword, a bow, a lance, a horse's head, a staff, the upper half of a skull, and a beast skull with horns.
"Let's start with Servants. Servants are spirits made into special familiars of the highest rank that are bound to the Master known as a Magus. Typically, Heroic Spirits under most systems, they can also sometimes be Divine Spirits, Phantoms, Wraiths, and living people depending on various circumstances. Pure Heroic Spirits, the "main body" in the Throne of Heroes, can only be summoned by the World, and summoning even one is a miraculous occurrence. Differing from the normal definition of familiars that can be likened to minor mascots unable to be stronger than their masters, Heroic Spirits are the most powerful of beings with which even five powerful magicians would never be able to forge a contract with it. Rather than it being a hard process to summon them or the fact that they far surpass magi, it is their intrinsic nature in that they are beings beyond magecraft. Magi can perform rituals to borrow their power to mimic them but cannot summon actual Heroic Spirits themselves." Kenji stated as he draws rectangle boxes over each of the symbols he just drawn.
"However, Servant Cards, more commonly known as Class Cards, are artifacts created for a specific Holy Grail War known as the Ainsworth Holy Grail War, a system of summoning Heroic Spirits like Servants. Differing from allowing a Heroic Spirit to manifest, the cards encapsulate the Heroic Spirits, used by the participants of the Holy Grail War to fight amongst each other." Then the young man writes down two words to continue the lesson: Include & Install
"The first use of the cards is known as Include: Limit Expand. It will temporarily materialize the weapon or Noble Phantasm of the hero by overwriting a Mystic Code. Users can Include a card even while having a card Installed. The command to end the Include is Uninclude. The second use of the cards is Install: Phantasm Summon. This is true usage of the Class Cards as it installs the card directly into the user's body, granting the Noble Phantasms, Skills, and appearance of the Heroic Spirit of the card. The user obtains a "fraction of their power", their own existence "overwritten" by that of a hero's existence. The card is stored in an unknown space within the user. Pulling the card out of the space ends the Install. Users can end the Install or switch cards through the command Uninstall. Any question?" Kenji finishes as he places the chalk down. No one said anything after that lengthy explanation of the Servants and the Class Cards until one hand was raised up to ask a question.
"Yeah, I'm a bit lost but I kind of got it. I'm just wondering what the heck is a Mystic Code or the Holy Grail War?" Anne asked as Kenji nodded as he writes down the word Mystic Code, but he puts a question mark underneath it as he didn't know what exactly it is, but thanks to the spirits within his Inner World, he can explain what it is.
"A Mystic Code is a tool that helps its user to perform Magecrafts in some way. Top tier Mystic Codes are said to have the equivalent power to a missile, a powerful weapon from the human world. Others have pseudo-personalities, essentially acting like loyal robots that carried out their users' orders, but many are capable of more adaptive autonomous thought than modern AI."
"Ok that explains that Mystic thingy, but what about the Holy Grail War? You mention that before in your long ass speech." Polly asked as she wanted to know about this concept because while she had a liking for dangerous things, but something about this Holy Grail War didn't sit right with her. The others had the same opinion as the little tadpole as they want to know as well.
"Sure, Polly and watch your language. The Holy Grail War is a competition that decides the ownership of the Holy Grail, a mythical item that grants the one wielding it a wish, through intense battle royale. While there have been many conflicts over supposed Holy Grails in the past, this term refers to those specifically based around Masters, usually proficient magi, summoning Servants, Heroic Spirits brought forth as familiars, and meeting in battle until only one pair is left to claim the Holy Grail." Kenji said as he draws a symbol of a chalice with lines pointing towards it, giving the effect of it shining.
"Geez. And I thought things back home were brutal, but these magus guys are this for a wish granting cup that may or may not grant them that wish. That sounds pretty dumb when you think about it." Anne said with a smile as Hop Pop looked at her with a blank look on his face.
"Well back in my day, Amphibia had its fair share of problems that are worse than yours. There was a time when Amphibia was split into four tribes: The Frogs, Toads, Newt, and Salamanders. We only had a few wars in our history, but after the near extinction of the Salamander Race, we agree to unite into a single kingdom." Hop Pop said with a grim look on his face. Anne narrowed her eyes at Hop Pop as Kenji, Sprig and Polly looked between the two in concern at the potential storm waiting to happen.
(End of Flashback)
…Now that Kenji thought about it, that was the first time they stared arguing about their differences in life.
Not wanting them to end up like their former neighbors who used to argue all the time, Sprig decides to make it his mission to force the two together after getting inspired by Polly's unintentional suggestion of forcing them together. Sprig tells everyone that someone stole Hop Pop's "prize winning" corn and that he and Anne will have to be the ones to catch the thief. Out of earshot, Kenji and Polly deduces that Sprig stole the corn and argues with him about it to no avail, however Kenji slaps the back of Sprigs head for his troubles.
Anne and Hop Pop start their stakeout while Kenji, Sprig, and Polly watch from their bedroom. While arguing, Anne presents her Blam Berry Blitz power drink while Hop Pop shows off his Gourd Tea recipe to keep each other awake. They try each other's drinks and laugh about it after having repulsed reactions to them. The two seemingly bond over their similarities until they get into another argument thanks to Anne saying that she has it rougher. It is immediately halted when Hop Pop's head turns into a tea kettle and Anne's hair turns rainbow stardust. The two realize that they are having hallucinatory reactions to each other's drinks due to their body chemistry as the whole world around them suddenly turns into neon colors and presents strange imagery.
Fearing that his plan failing, Sprig and Polly go out to stop Anne and Hop Pop with Kenji right behind them, but in their hallucinatory state, see Sprig and Polly as a giant corn monster. They try to fight them off with magic (in their minds), but nothing works so they grab "power-ups" which happen to be aa sickle and a pitchfork and chase after the two. However, before the two would throw their weapons as Sprig and Polly, Kenji was quick enough to disarm them before they could hurt them. Seeing the opportunity, Sprig breaks down in tears and apologizes for his actions just as the hallucinations wear off. Anne and Hop Pop ignore him as they realize that they tried to protect each other and fall asleep. Sprig passes out as Polly is amazed that his plan worked. Being "parched" she was about to drink the Blam Berry Blitz, but Kenji stops her before she starts hallucinating, causing Polly to pout but she didn't argue.
Like he said, Last week was a heck of a trip.
Today was one of few days that the kids would have a break, and they decided to play some baseball. However, with only three of them, they didn't have enough players to play the game properly. They also didn't have a bat or a ball or a mitten. So, they came up with a new game.
The goal was to see how close you can get to cutting a watermelon thrown at you down the middle. Whoever cuts the melon first will win the game.
Being a former baseball member in junior high, Kenji was the first one up to bat, using the mantis scythe that was in the Plantar shed. Stepping up to the plate, Kenji lightly hits the sides of his shoes on the scythe as if it was a bat before getting position. "Alright, Sprig! Show me what you've got!"
Struggling at first, Sprig managed to roll the first watermelon onto the pitching mound. Then, using all his strength, he threw it at Kenji. The moment Sprig threw it, Kenji went through the motions and took a swing. Cutting the melon in two. The three friends walked over to the two halves, and Kenji picked them up. Placing them together, he saw how close he was to cut it down the middle.
"Wow, Ken! You almost got it!" Sprig said, pointing at the melon.
"Bet I could do better," Anne said with a challenging smirk on her face.
"Oh, is that so?" Kenji asked with a smile, knowing she was challenging him. Holding out his scythe to her, he said, "By all means, Anne, show us what you've got."
"You've got it." Anne took the weapon as Sprig ran back over to the pitching mound. Anne walked up to the plate and got ready to swing. "Hey, Batta Batta Batta!"
Mustering all the energy his little arms could give, Sprig threw the next watermelon at Anne. As it came towards her, Anne took a swing. But she missed the watermelon and lost her grip on the scythe.
"Ah, whiffed it," she said, before gasping when seeing the scythe going straight for Sprig. "Sprig!"
"Huh?"
"Watch out!" Kenji ran as fast as he could and tackled Sprig to the ground, just in the nick of time. The scythe flew over them and into the forest, hitting a tree. The trio starred in the direction it flew off, with Sprig standing on Kenji's shoulder. A moment later, his hat fell apart. Having been cut sliced in two halves. Revealing Sprig had orange hair.
"Want to go again?" he asked the two humans.
"Yeeeaaahhh!" Anne and Kenji cheered.
"Wait, you have hair?" Anne asked, pointing at Sprig's hair.
Soon the three entered the forest to look for the farm scythe. While they were walking, Kenji felt slight discomfort and pain in his ribs, and he placed his hand over where it was hurting the most. Anne saw this and became concerned, knowing there was something wrong with him. Out of the two of them, he was getting hurt the most.
Walking closer to him, she looked at him with worry. "Hey, are you okay, Ken?" She asked.
Kenji quickly took his hand away from where he had it and waved it at her. "I'll be fine, Anne. Really. Just a little sore, that's all."
Anne smiled in relief as the three ventured deeper into the forest. After walking through a large bush, Anne saw the scythe. "Oh, there it is," she said, pointing to it as the weapon was lodged in a tree.
Kenji walked over and yanked out of the tree. But just as he was about to walk back, he heard what sounded like a meow. "You guys hear that?" He asked.
"Hear what?" Sprig asked as he and Anne joined him. Kenji held up his hand, silencing them as they listened for the sound again. Another meow echoed throughout the forest.
"Am I the only one that's hearing a cat?" asked Kenji.
"Sounds like it's in trouble!" Anne said before running off in the direction of the meowing. Kenji and Sprig glanced at one another before running after her. The trio ran until they came to a clearing and saw the source of the sound in front of them.
They gasped in shock when they saw three giant wasps flying around a small creature stuck in the mud. The meowing was being made by the creature, as it struggled to escape while the wasps stung the ground around it.
"Oh my God! We have to save her!" Anne exclaimed before rushing towards the animal.
"Anne, wait! Don't go out on your own!" Kenji said before running after her.
"Right behind ya!" said Sprig, pulling out his faithful slingshot.
Sliding across the ground, Anne reached the creature in distress and grabbed hold of it. Pulling with all her might, she freed it from the mud. Lying on her back and holding it up. "Gotcha!"
But then a wasp dived down with its stinger to kill her and the creature. She rolled out of the way, and Kenji ran in to swing and cut off the lower half of the abdomen. The wasp shrieked in pain as it flew around before falling and dying.
"We've got to go, Anne!" Kenji held out his hand, and Anne grabbed it. He pulled her up as the two remaining wasps were about to attack. Before they could, Sprig hit them with stones.
"Take that, buzz brains! Go sting someone you own size!" Sprig exclaimed.
"Stop pissing them off and run!" Kenji shouted as the two humans ran past Sprig and into the forest.
"Sprig out! Peace!" Sprig said, jumping backwards into the bushes and following his friends.
Kenji and Anne kept running until they were deep in the forest, far away from the wasp. Once they stopped, Kenji let go of Anne's hand, dropped his scythe, and leaned forward to put his hands on his knees. He panted heavily for a moment as Anne looked at him. "Dude, are you okay?"
"Yeah...Yeah…" Kenji panted with wide eyes, trying to catch his breathing for a moment. "I'm just...I really hate Wasps! Little bastards will sting you when you make them angry."
"Wait…" Anne stared at him for a moment before giggling and then laughing. "You're scared of wasps, aren't you? Dude, I've seen you kill, like, a ton of insects in this world, and you're telling me you're scared of a wasp."
"Hey! I'm not scared!" Kenji yelled at her with an embarrassed blush that covered most of his face. "I...I just don't like them," he said, looking away and crossing his arms.
"Well, as least we save this little fella," Anne said with a smile as she finally looked at the creature. This made her let out a high-pitched scream that started Kenji and made him look at the animal, which turned out to be a caterpillar.
At that moment, Sprig arrived immediately after hearing Anne's scream. "What's wrong? Are you stung? Quick, Ken!" He picked up Kenji's scythe off the ground and raised it up. "We'll have to amputate!"
Kenji grabbed the scythe and lifted it up. Pulling Sprig up with it before he let it go. "Woah chill, Sprig. Everyone's fine," he said.
"He's right. This caterpillar looks exactly like my cat Domino from back home," Anne said, taking out her phone and showing the two boys a photo of her cat. And the resemblance was strong to the black cat with white stripes along its torso and a white chest. The caterpillar meowed before purring.
"Huh. Now that I see it, they do look alike," Kenji said, rubbing his chin.
"I love my cat more than anything in the world," Anne said, putting her phone away. "She was irreplaceable. But now I found a replacement. Let's take her home with us!"
Kenji and Sprig glanced at one another before looking back at Anne. Neither of them so sure about taking home the caterpillar. "Eh, I don't know, Anne. That's a wild animal," Sprig said, pointing at the black and white creature.
"Yeah, I'm not sure bringing it home is a good idea," Kenji said, putting his scythe on his shoulder.
"Pshh. That's ridiculous," Anne said, shrugging off her concerns as she snuggled the caterpillar to her face. "My cat back home was a stray before I adopted her."
"But Domino was a cat, Anne. This is a caterpillar," Kenji said, trying to make her see reason.
"And cat is in the word caterpillar." Anne retorted.
"For the love of... Anne, we can't take home the caterpillar! We don't know what that thing will turn into," Kenji said, pointing to the creature.
Anne gasped dramatically and covered the caterpillar's ears. "Don't call Domino 2 a thing," she said to him.
Kenji laughed exasperatedly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh my God, she named it," he whispered under his breath before he asked her, "Do you even know how to take care of a caterpillar?"
"It'll just be like taking care of Domino 1," Anne insisted, still holding onto the caterpillar. "All it takes is love and patience and... love."
"You said 'love' twice," Sprig said.
"Please, Ken?" Anne asked as she hugged the caterpillar and gave her friend a show of her big puppy eyes. Being a dog owner and lover, Kenji never stood a chance whenever his dog gave him his puppy eyes. But Anne's puppy eyes showed him an adorable side to Anne that he's yet to see. He tried to maintain his frown as he looked at her. Not wanting to give in to the temptation of her cuteness.
In the end, he sighed. "The things I do for love. All right…"
Anne suddenly ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you," she yelled excitedly.
"But she's your responsibility, Anne," Kenji told her after she let him go. He then looked down at Sprig. "What do you say, little buddy?"
Anne brought the caterpillar up to Sprig's face, and the little cute creature licked him.
"Sold!" Sprig said immediately.
"It's settled." After setting the caterpillar on the ground, Anne took the scythe from Kenji and held it upside down like a wand or a sword. "I hereby dub thee 'Domino 2,'" she announced, knighting her new pet as a ray of light shined on the caterpillar. She then handed back the weapon to Kenji. "Come on, girl. Let's go home."
The trio turned and started walking away but stopped when they realized that Domino 2 wasn't following them. They looked at Domino 2, who just stood there for a moment before falling over on her side.
"Uh, is it broken?" Sprig asked.
"Well, she is a caterpillar. They don't do much," Kenji said.
"Hold up. I got an idea," Anne said, taking off her backpack and opening it. Kenji and Sprig waited as she rummaged through it before pulling out a pink mouse toy. "This worked on Domino 1 without fail."
Anne rattled the mouse in front of Domino 2, getting the little creature's attention. With a meow, she looked up at the toy and became mesmerized by it. However, Sprig did too. Domino 2 got up and started walking towards Anne.
"Holy crap, that actually worked," Kenji said with an impressed look.
"That's a girl. You can do it. Come on," Anne said, before she and Kenji started walking away with Domino 2 following them.
"I want it. Give it to me," Sprig said with a possessed voice, following the two humans while reaching out for the mouse.
"Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad," Kenji said, smiling. "But what are we going to do about Hop Pop? You think he'll let you keep Domino 2?"
"Don't worry. I've got it covered," Anne said confidently.
"Fou."
A strange sound caught the group off as they look around to see what caused that sound. After a few moments a strange little creature of white fluff that, honestly, looked like a mix of a dog, fox, and squirrel with an even fluffier tail jumps out of a bush nearby. It also had a blue and white cape tied together with a pink ribbon, meaning that it has or had an owner.
"Woah! I never seen a creature like that before." Sprig said as looks at the creature in fascination.
"Same here." Anne said as she picks up Domino 2.
"Fou?" The little creature said to them with its head cocked to the side. The little creature moves closer as Kenji kneels and continue to give him a curious look. He reaches out to the creature and proceeds to scratch the hybrid creature under the chin. The white creature happily accepts it and makes the sounds of approval. After a few more moments of petting, the creature jumps up onto his shoulder happily.
"I think he likes you." Anne smiled for a moment.
Kenji looked at the little creature with a smile as he continues to scratch the creatures chin causing the little creature to sigh in content. "Well, I guess you can come with us, little guy. Or do you want to go by the name Fou?"
"Fou!"
…I guess that's a yes.
When they got back to the Plantar Farm, Anne told Sprig to wait outside of the house while she and Kenji, with his coat zipped up to hide Fou in, went to talk to Hop Pop. Walking into the kitchen after hearing sounds coming from it, the two humans found the elder frog chopping a worm into small bits.
"Hey, Hop Pop, do you have a minute?" Kenji said, casually greeting the elder frog.
"Yeah, old buddy, old pal," she said with a smile, trying to butter him up.
"What do you want, kids?" Hop Pop asked, already knowing that the two were just coming to him because they wanted something. Having heard that same line from Sprig and Polly before.
"We were just thinking. Doesn't this house feel empty to you?" Anne asked.
Hop Pop turned his head and looked at the piles and piles of dirty dishes that were needing to be cleaned. "Not especially."
"What she means is," Kenji said with a smile, "sometimes the only thing that you need to liven up a house is to have a pet around. I remember Kilo would always be in the kitchen, just waiting for me to drop a piece of food…"
"Great idea, Ken," said Anne before turning to Hop Pop. "What about we get a pet-" Hop Pop stopped by pointing the cleaver he was using at her.
"NO PETS! Every time we get one, Sprig and Polly swear they're going to take care of it!" Hop Pop told the two humans, who were looking at the cleaver the old frog kept swinging around. "Like this one spider we had, Charlie Big Bottom. I mean, sure, they were there for all the cuddling and the snuggling, but who gets stuck doing all the work? Good old Hop Pop, that's who!" He then started chopping up the worm into even smaller pieces as he vented his frustration. "I swear to Frog, whoever brings a fuzzy critter into this house will be on dung duty for a month!"
Kenji chuckled nervously before saying, "Well, you're the frog of the house." He then started backing away with Anne next to him.
"You're dang right I am! I told Charlie Big Bottom to stay out of the-!" Kenji closed the door after he and Anne made it outside, where Sprig was waiting for them. Leaving Hop Pop to continue ranting.
"Well, that was a bust," Kenji said as Fou pops out from the opening from the top of the coat.
"Fou!"
"Yeah. Sorry, that had to happened, but I had to hide you since you didn't want to be far from me."
"Fou."
"Ok it's time for Plan B. We're going to have to sneak both Domino 2 and Fou inside," Anne said.
Kenji looked at her with a frown. "How are we going to do that? If Hop Pop finds out about them, we're going to be shoveling dung for a month!"
"Hey, guy. Should we be concerned about this?" Sprig asked, before lifting his left leg up showing Domino 2 biting on his leg. It didn't hurt too much, but it did make the young frog start to be concerned.
Also concerned for his friend, Kenji grabbed Domino 2 and pulled her off Sprig's leg. "Why'd you do that?" Anne asked, looking a little upset. "That was called 'play biting.' And it was cute."
"Anne, I know what play biting is like, and that wasn't play biting," Kenji argued before looking at Domino 2 while still holding her. "Besides, I'm pretty sure she was tasting Sprig." To prove his point, Domino 2 licked her lips, but stops as Fou looked at her with a cute scowl on his face.
"That's ridiculous. Trust me. I know cats," Anne said, shrugging off the concern the two boys had.
"Again, this isn't a cat, Anne. Domino 2 is a caterpillar," Kenji said with a scowl.
Anne shrugged. "Same thing."
"No, it's not!"
"Fou!"
"See? Even Fou agrees."
"Look just help me sneak her into the basement," Anne said, taking Domino 2 from him.
Kenji groaned in annoyance, but also in defeat. " Fine. Sprig, you distract Hop Pop and keep his eyes off the basement door while Anne and I take the caterpillar and Fou down there."
Sprig saluted before going over to the door. Slowly opening it, he looked inside and saw Hop Pop was still ranting on about having to take care of the family's last pet. Seeing that he wasn't going to come into the living room and facing away from the front door, Sprig signaled for the humans to come inside. Kenji entered the house, opened the door to the basement, and then signaled for Anne to come.
Just as she was about to reach the basement door, Domino 2 suddenly sneezed.
"What's that?" Hop Pop turned around while still holding the cleaver.
Kenji, Anne, and Domino 2 were gone. Then Sprig popped up in front of his grandpa with a nervous smile. "Uh, hey, Hop Pop, what's the worst thing Charlie Big Bottom ever did, since we're talking about Charlie Big Bottom?"
"Heh! How can I even choose?" Hop Pop exclaimed, going off on another rant. Unbeknownst to him, Kenji and Anne were hiding behind the couch with Anne covering the caterpillar's mouth. When Hop Pop looked away, the two crawled over to the basement door and opened it. Anne crawled down into it first, before Kenji followed her and shut the door.
Kenji sighed in relief before walking down the steps to join Anne and her caterpillar. "That was close," he said, sitting down on his bed.
"Eh, it wasn't so bad. At least we got inside," Anne said with a shrug. Kenji rolled his eyes in annoyance before walking up the stairs to do his chores. Hopefully, he won't come to regret this.
When the next morning came, Kenji was awakened by the sound of something cuckooing like a rooster. Opening his eyes a little, Kenji groaned. "Another day…" he sighed before trying to sit up.
However, as he did, Kenji felt his arm being restrained by something sticky and strong.
"What the?" He pulled his arm hard, and the thing holding his arm ripped. Freeing him. Looking at the arm, Kenji was shocked to see what looked like a spider's web hanging from it. "Wait…"
Kenji reached for a mushroom light and turned it on. Light returned to the room, and it was a complete mess. Cobwebs surrounded his bed, and there were webs all around the room. Scratch marks were on the walls and even the sacks.
"Oh crap!" Kenji yelled with his hands on his head. Freaked out by the state of the room. Pulling out his knife, Kenji cut himself out of the cobwebs that were warped around his legs and jumped off the bed. As he did that, Fou jumped out from underneath his bed and jumps on Kenji's shoulder.
"Anne?" He ran over to her bed and threw the covers off. Finding his girl companion sleeping with her hair covering her eyes and Domino 2 sleeping on her stomach. Kenji pushed her hair up and away from her eyes. "Hey, wake up, wake up!" He yelled, shaking her with his other hand.
"Huh?" Anne woke up to see Kenji and Fou looking down at her with a worried look on their face.
"Anne, what happened to the room? Are you okay?" He asked with concern.
"Hmm? Yeah, totally," she said with a tired smile. "Domino 2 just had a bit of a rough first night indoors." Kenji let her go, and she rolled back over on her side to get some more sleep. However, in doing so, revealed cuts and scratches on the left side of her face and back.
"Eesh, Anne. Domino scratched you up really bad," Kenji said with a frown. "Why didn't you wake me up if you were having trouble?" He then slapped himself on the head with his eyes widening in disbelief, gesturing to the web-covered room. "How did I even sleep there all of this?!"
"You were pretty out of it once you were finished with work, so I didn't want to wake you up," Anne said with her eyes closed.
Kenji was a little surprised by this, and it made him smile a little. But then he looked around the room again and started to become a little worried. "Hop Pop is definitely going to notice something," he said.
"Oh, this is nothing. We just got to keep an eye on her while she's adjusting," Anne told him before pulling out Domino 1's mouse toy, and Domino 2 woke up. She played with the caterpillar, and Domino 2 tried reaching for the toy. "Isn't that right, Domino 2?" She cooed to the little caterpillar.
Feeling a little skeptical, Kenji turned towards Domino 2. The caterpillar looked at Kenji, and her pupils slowly started to widen and then cover the yellow of her eyes. Reflecting the image of Kenji inside both of her eyes as she drooled. Like she was hungry.
A little nervous, Kenji grinned slightly and sweated a little. "This is still fine," he said, before he was shot in the face with Domino 2's cobweb, knocking him onto the ground. "Ah, my face!"
"That's just how she says 'I love you,'" Anne said before kissing Domino 2 on the head. Kenji groaned in annoyance as he pulled off the web with a little help from Fou.
That was the beginning of a long few days of Kenji and Anne trying to keep Domino 2 out of sight from the rest of the Plantar family. Thinking it would be better if the caterpillar had something to hang out on, Kenji built her a cat tree from logs, branches, and boxes. It seemed to make Domino 2 happy, as she was popping out of one box and then another- somehow. But when Anne and Kenji tried to see where she was in the cat tree, they heard a meowing from the stairs and saw Domino 2 opening the door and walking out of the basement.
The two freaked out before Kenji ran up the stairs to try and catch her. Domino 2 entered the kitchen as Hop Pop was trying to make a sandwich and ate it the moment he wasn't looking. Kenji quickly grabbed her and ran out of the kitchen before Hop Pop could turn around. Leaving him baffled as to where his sandwich went.
Later that day, Kenji and Anne came back to the basement after a hard day of work and were disguised to see a chewed-up bug on her bed. Domino 2 turned to them and meowed. While Kenji was still grossed out, Anne thought it was cute. Thinking it was a gift.
However, things almost went bad when Domino 2 tried to eat Polly. Using her webs, she lowered down to the polliwog with her mouth open. But Anne quickly grabbed her and ran before Polly, who was reading a book, noticed.
When the two friends returned from working the field, Anne cringed but smiled when she saw that Domino 2 brought her another 'gift.' This time in the form of a large pile of dead and mangled insects.
Kenji was sharpening his knife when he heard laughing. Looking up, he saw Anne playing with Domino 2. Spinning around while holding her caterpillar. Kenji's scowl turned into a smile. He hasn't seen Anne this happy in a long time, especially since coming to this world. The young boy understands how she was feeling. They both were far from home in a world of whimsicalness and savagery. Having Domino 2 with her was like having her cat, a piece of her home, with her.
Domino 2 was a troublemaker, but he had to admit, she's pretty darn cute. Just like Anne.
Kenji's eyes widened, and he blushed brightly. Where the hell did that come from!? Did he just think that Anne was cute? Well, she was. He shook his head and quickly got back to sharpening his weapon. Trying to ignore those thoughts. Anne was happy. That's all that mattered. Fou notices this and jumps on Kenji's shoulder as he pats his current owners face with his small paws to get his attention. Kenji notices the little creature as he smiles and pets Fou's head.
On the third day of having Domino 2 with them, Kenji was out in the field sweating from hard work as he picked carrots from the ground. His jacket was hanging on a fence post, leaving him with his white t-shirt. Fou was hiding behind the fence post so that no one else can find it.
Kenji grabbed another carrot by the leaves and grunted as he pulled as hard as he could, until the vegetable was pulled out of the ground. Panting from exhaustion, he threw the carrot over onto the wheel barrel he was using. It landed on the other carrots that were there.
Standing up, Kenji whipped the sweat from his brow and turned his head to look at the setting sun. A moment later, an apple was offered to him. "Need little something for your troubles," Hop Pop said with a smile.
Gratefully taking the apple, Kenji bite into it. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was. "Thanks, Hop Pop."
The two watched the sunset before Kenji saw a flock of wasps coming in their direction.
"Oh crap!" Kenji reached and grabbed it from the ground. Ready for a fight. But then the wasp just flew over them and went over to some giant flowers. Once there, they started pollinating and collecting the nectar from the flower.
"Wait, what? Why didn't they attack us?" Kenji said, confused.
"Boy, just because they're big and scary doesn't mean that they want to kill you," Hop Pop said with a voice of wisdom. "They're just animals, and sometimes animals have to fight when something threatens them or their family."
Kenji took Hop Pop's words to heart as he looked back at the wasps as they worked. He smiled at them and leaned against the wheel barrel. "I guess you're right. Just like us," he said. Hop Pop nodded. However, that got him thinking, and he turned his head towards the elder frog. "Hey, Hop Pop, if that's the case, why would a bunch of wasps attack a caterpillar."
Hop Pop put his hand under his chin. "Well, that depends. Wasps wouldn't attack unless it were a Coastal Killapillar. They're dangerous amphibivores that start off as cute and cuddly caterpillar before they turn into a vicious moth-like monster."
Kenji stared at Hop Pop with a look of shock, but then terror started to settle in his chest. Anne and Kenji found Domino 2 when the wasps were attacking her. Was she really in danger? Or were the wasps defending themselves…
...from Domino 2?
Sweeting droplets the size of bullets, Kenji pulled the collar of his shirt and laughed nervously. "Uh, the caterpillars wouldn't happen to be black with white stripes on its back and a heart-shaped spot on the chest."
"No. They're just black."
Kenji sighed in relief.
"Those spots don't come in until they're about to transform into their killing form." Kenji gasped in horror. Which didn't go noticed by Hop Pop, and he looked at the boy suspiciously. "Wait, why do you ask?"
"Oh my God, ANNE! SPRIG!" Kenji turned and bolted for the house with his scythe in hand with Fou coming out of his hiding spot, catching Hop Pop by surprise. They were all in danger because of him, Anne, and Sprig.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Anne and Sprig were eating a heavy amount of food after a long day of working and keeping Domino 2 away from the rest of the family. Just then, the door swung open, and Kenji rushed into the kitchen.
"Anne! Sprig!" Kenji yelled. The sudden entire started the two and got their full attention. He ran to the table and looked at them with big eyes filled with fear. "Where's Domino 2?!"
"Whoa! Ken, what's going on?" Sprig asked, confused as to why he was freaking out.
"We've made a terrible mistake, and now we're all in danger!" Kenji exclaimed, still in a state of panic.
"What the heck are you talking about?" Anne asked, a little worried after seeing the way Kenji was acting scared.
"Anne, Domino 2 wasn't-"
"Who's Domino 2?" Anne and Sprig gasped in shock with their eyes widening. Kenji turned around and was met with the sight of Hop Pop standing behind him with a stern expression. "You want that sounds like? It sounds like a pet name! Did you kids sneak a pet in here? And what exactly is that on your shoulder Kenji?" He questioned, pointing an accusatory finger at them as he also points at Fou who tilted his head at the old toad in confusion.
Anne laughed nervously. "Wh-What? No! Nooooo, we wouldn't have done that," she said anxiously while Hop Pop gave her a 'are you sure you want to lie?' face.
Kenji said, "Hop Pop, you've got to take Sprig and Polly out of here now!"
Suddenly there was a loud banging that came from below the floor they were standing on. The force of the impact was strong enough to shake the house. Silencing the family and two humans.
"Kids."
"Yeah?" Kenji asked.
"What was that?" Hop Pop asked, turning towards them with a suspicious glare.
"Mmm, basement ghost?" Anne lied with a shrug.
"Don't be ridiculous. Basement ghosts don't sound anything like that…" At that moment, the reality of the situation sank in for Hop Pop. Now he knew why Kenji asked about killapilars. "Oh, my Holy Frog..."
"I'll go deal with Domino 2. You guys get out of here," Kenji said before walking towards the basement door. Scythe still in hand.
"Wait, Ken!" Anne followed him, before Sprig and Hop Pop followed them.
Kenji opened the door to the basement and started cautiously walking down the stairs. The basement had even more cobwebs with larger scratch marks on the floor and walls. Kenji looked around for Domino 2, but he looked towards Anne's bed when he reached the bottom of the steps. He and everyone behind him gasped in shock.
When Anne last saw Domino 2, she was sleeping after wrapping her lower-half in her webbing. But now, all that was left was an open cocoon that was made from webs. A green mist was rising from the blossomed opening. Kenji walked towards the cocoon, and his eyes stung from the horrible smell. It made him cover his mouth and nose with his left arm.
"What the heck is that?" Anne asked, freaked out by the sight of the cocoon.
Kenji looked inside it and found it to be empty. "We're too late," he said, looking back at the others. "Domino 2 must have transformed."
Anne gasped in fear. "Domino 2, where are you? Baby precious!" She called out for her pet.
"Anne, don't!" Kenji rushed over and covered her mouth. "Domino 2's a killapillar. A predator!"
Anne pulled away from him and looked at Kenji in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Domino 2 isn't like that," she said defensively about her pet.
"Not when they're a caterpillar," Hop Pop said, squinting his eyes. "But when they turn-"
The four suddenly hear something crawling on the ceiling. Sending a chill up their spines. They moved closer together in a group looking around the basement for any sign of Domino 2. Kenji held the scythe with both hands, ready to defend himself against whatever the caterpillar turned into.
However, all four backs were facing a dark, shadowy part of the basement. And from that corner of the basement opened a pair of glowing red eyes and a blood-curdling grin filled with rows of sharp pale-yellow teeth.
As sweat formed on his brow, Kenji looked around until he felt something breathing down the back of his head. The moment he felt it, his eyes widened, and his pupils shrank. As the large creature swooped down, Kenji turned around when the killapillar appeared in front of them. Now in its butterfly form.
The killapiller's appearance took on the form of a cat-butterfly hybrid and had grown considerably in size, with the body and wings like that of a monarch butterfly and a white feline's head and legs.
The killapillar let out a screeching roar while bearing its claws, making the two frogs and humans scream in terror. However, as she looked at it, Anne suddenly realized who it was.
"Domino 2, is that you?" she asked, reaching with her hand before Hop Pop stopped her by shushing her.
"Shh. These monsters respond to sound. Let's back away slowly and quietly," Hop Pop said in a whisper. The four did just that. Backing away from the killapillar to escape the basement and trap Domino 2 down there until they could figure out how to get rid of her.
"HEY, FAMILY! What's happening in here?!" shouted Polly after busting open the door.
Dang it, Polly!
Domino 2 let out a screeching roar, prepared to attack. Polly screamed in terror as Kenji rushed at Domino 2 and tried to attack her, but the killer butterfly flapped her wings and created a strong gust of wind that sent Kenji crashing to the ground.
"Ken!" Anne rushed over and helped him up.
"Run, kids!" Hop Pop yelled, and the Plantars ran out of the basement, with Sprig yelling about not wanting to die in a basement.
Kenji and Anne were about to leave when Anne stopped and turned towards Domino 2. Kenji turned around and saw Anne approaching Domino 2. "Anne? What are you doing?!"
"Domino 2? It's me, Anne," she said, trying to calm the monster down. And for a moment, it seemed to be working. Domino 2 stopped flapping her wings and lowered down to the ground. "We bonded. I gave you treats. You gave me dead things. Don't you remember?"
She placed her hand on Domino 2's head. Kenji stared with amazement, thinking it had worked. However, that changed when Domino 2 suddenly bites down on Anne's arm. Anne screamed in pain and agony as the teeth sank into her arm, drawing blood. Domino 2 then threw her to the right and into the wall.
"Anne!" Kenji yelled before he was knocked to the side by Domino 2. The killapillar then crawled out of the basement.
Getting back up, Kenji ran over to Anne as she was holding her bleeding arm. "That...wasn't play biting," she said in disbelief. The two then heard the screaming family upsets. Kenji pulled out his knife and ran upstairs. When he reached the living room, he gasped when he saw what was going on. Domino 2 was on her back and tossing the Plantars up and down. She's going to bite their heads off as soon as she's done toying with them.
"I would like to get off the ride now!" Polly screamed.
Kenji ran and jumped over Domino 2, grabbed the frogs before landing on the ground. He set them down before turning to face a now angry Domino 2.
Domino 2 lashed out at him with her long, spike-covered tongue. Kenji ducked under the attack and rushed at the killapillar. But Domino 2 swatted him away from her claw. Kenji yelled in pain as with his white shirt cut and scratch marks on his chest. And landed hard on the ground and got up before Domino 2 shot a web at him.
Getting back up to his feet and got ready to fight. "Alright, Domino 2. You ready to lose all 9 lives?!" He yelled in anger. Domino 2 roared at him, but it turned into shrieks in pain as she felt something biting her ear. Kenji was surprise to see Fou was on top of the moth creature as it took a piece of its ear off. Fou stood in front of Kenji as it begins to growl towards Domino 2 and surprisingly Domino 2 stood still as it engages into a stare down with Fou, but Kenji knows the Moth was slightly shaking at the small creatures presence.
'But why is Domino 2 afraid of Fou?'
"Hey, Domino 2! Over here!"
Kenji looked and was shocked to see Anne, with a blood-covered left arm, waving the mouse toy above her head. When Domino 2 turned her head towards Anne, Kenji started to get scared. "Anne! Are you crazy?!"
But it was too late. Domino 2 turned from the young man and charged at Anne.
Anne said, "Oh, crud." She turned and rushed out of the house with Domino 2 chasing after her.
"ANNE! Fou, stay here with the Plantars" Kenji said as the little creature nodded as the young man started chasing Domino 2, who smashed through the wall of the house. Kenji ran as fast as he could behind the killapillar as it started to fly after Anne. Jumping up, Kenji grabbed onto the backside of Domino 2 and started climbing onto her back. Once he was on her back, the boy looked to where Anne was going and gasped.
"ANNE! LOOK OUT!" He yelled.
Anne stopped in her tracks. Just inches away from running off a cliff. With her safe for now, Kenji started pulling the back of the killapillar thick fur causing it to rear back. Domino 2 screeched in pain before crash landing on the ground. Kenji jumped off before she crashed and ran over to Anne.
"Anne! What the hell were you thinking!?" He yelled at her. "You could have-"
He was interrupted by the sound of the predator meowing angrily. Turning around to see the injured Domino 2 getting back onto her paws, Kenji got in front of Anne to protect her.
"Stay back!" Kenji shouted, swinging his combat knife. Domino 2 growled and started at the two humans. Ready to pounce.
"Ken, I'm so sorry," said Anne, looking down at the ground with a guilty expression. She looked down at her injured arm. "This is all my fault. I thought I could change her. Making her be like Domino. But I guess I was wrong."
Domino 2 started coming closer to them. Hissing and growling. "Anne, it's okay. I know you miss your cat, but it's time to let Domino 2 go," Kenji said sympathetically, looking back at her.
Anne looked down at the toy mouse, and her mind started flashing back to all the good time they had with Domino 2. But Kenji was right, and this thing wasn't her cat. She was going to see her cat again. But not today. She closed her eyes as she cried before looking at Domino 2.
"It's time to go!"
Anne threw the toy off the cliff, and Domino 2 jumped into the air going over Kenji and Anne as it flap its wings. The two watched as Domino 2 flies after it, and disappears in the trees. Anne fell on her knees as Kenji walked up to Anne's side and kneed down beside her. Placing an arm around her for support. Anne sobbed a little before saying, "Sayonara, Domino 2."
"I'm sorry you couldn't make it work out, Anne," Kenji said. "For what it's worth, I miss your cat too." Being to sob again, Anne threw her arms around Kenji and pulled him into a huge, which he returned. Whispering to her that it would be okay.
"And look who's cleaning up after the pet! Hop Pop, that's who!" Hop Pop ranted as he paced back and forth in front of Sprig and Polly.
"Fou!"
Hop Pop stops ranting as he looked towards Fou with narrow eyes. "And I don't even know where to start with you."
"Fou?"
At that moment, Anne and Kenji came walking back into the house. Safe and sound. "Hey," Anne said in a melodic depressed voice.
"Anne, Ken, you two are okay!" Sprig cheerfully exclaimed.
"Tell me that thing is gone!" Polly pointed her little flipper at them.
"Yeah, it's gone." Kenji said, looking at Anne with a sad look.
Anne sighed and grabbed her injured arm. "I'm so sorry, you guys," she said to the Plantars, and even to Kenji again. "I had no right to put you all in danger, no matter how much I miss my cat. I hope you understand."
Kenji placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled softly. Showing her that he understood. Sprig shared this same smile, while Polly looked blankly at them and Fou heads up to its favorite sitting spot on Kenji's shoulder. However, Hop Pop looked ready to tear her a new one.
"Understand?" He asked, walking towards the two humans, before throwing his head up. "Understand!"
Kenji and Anne looked a little nervous. But then Hop Pop looked at them with big eyes filled with bottled up tears.
"I miss Charlie Big Bottom with all my heart and soul!" Hop Pop started crying a river of tears before walking over to Anne and hugging her legs. Anne looked at Kenji with a look that asked what she should do.
"Just let it happen," Kenji said, patting Hop Pop's head as the old frog continued crying his heart out. "I think he needs this."
Polly said, "Uh, can we please fix the GIANT HOLE IN THE HOUSE? THIS THE SECOND TIME!"
"Fou!"
Everyone stop as they now looked at Fou who was still sitting on Kenji's shoulder with his head tilted towards the group. Everyone looked towards Hop Pop with big puppy dog eyes as they want to keep this little guy here with them. After all, it did help the group with Domino 2. Hop Pop, knowing that he was not going to win this fight, just sighs and accept what was going to happen.
"Okay, we'll adopt it."
Everyone's faces brightened up.
"But first, we must neuter it. Don't want a flock of them overnight."
No one knew how Fou was able to make a flying kick towards Hop Pop's face with enough force to bring him down despite its deceptively innocent, cute and small frame.
The very next morning, Kenji with Fou resting on the boy's bed came down into the basement while holding something behind his back. He found Anne still sweeping up what was left of the cobweb from the walls and floors.
"Hey Anne," said Kenji, wearing his jacket again and has his hands behind his back. "Are you okay?"
Anne sighed before going over to her bed to sit down and leaned back on it. "Yeah, I guess. Just goes to show you. You can't take some wild animal you found in the woods, have it live in your basement, and think everything's going to be okay. Fou being the exception of course."
"Fou!"
Kenji smiled and walked over to sit next to her. "Maybe you're right. But then again, the Plantars took us in," he said. Anne looked around at both of their living quarters and smiled.
Kenji then started blushing brightly before coughing into his fist. "Hey, um, well I...um." Kenji struggled to form the proper words. In the end, he held out the thing he was hiding from Anne. "Here."
Anne looked and was surprised and touched to see a well-made a stuffed doll of Domino 2 with button eyes. She took it from Kenji and stared at it.
"I-I knew how more the little guy meant to you, so I wanted you to have something to remember her, before she turned into a giant moth creature. Sprig helped me collect Domino 2's hairballs to make the fur," Kenji said, blushing with embarrassment. He didn't know why he was blushing. All he was doing was giving something to Anne.
When Anne didn't show any reaction to the stuffed animal, Kenji started to doubt himself. "You hate it, don't you," he said before sighing as he was about to reach out for the doll. "This was a bad idea. You know what? I'll take it back-"
"I LOVE IT!" Anne cried as she suddenly hugged both the stuffed animal and Kenji.
"Fou?"
(?)
Meanwhile in another plane of existence called the Garden of Avalon, Flowers bloom in profusion above the ground, and no matter what sort of darkness or hell that might be, a warm sunlight shall shine upon it. Even if the space that he has been permitted with is nothing but a jail of a mere 10 meters in all directions, and the scenery that was given to him is only an isolated sky found far away in the horizon, it continues to eternally exist as a utopia.
The place where Merlin, the Magus of Flowers, must be not a hell, but a land filled with hope.
However, said mage who wears a robe woven with the finest fabrics, though he still looks modest, his long hair appearing with the colors of the rainbow under sunlight was dying of laughter at what he saw in Amphibia though a screen made of magic. "Castrating Cath Palug! That's comedy gold! Why didn't I think of it?"
"Maybe because it would kick your ass, Merlin?"
Merlin stopped laughing as he turned his head toward the voice that spoke to him as he saw projection of an old man in a fine black suit. He had hair of fine white, slicked back, and a beard just as fine. He had no moustache, and the wrinkles on his skin were visible. But his eyes held a spark, a mischievous glint, as if he were a child that were about to pull an excellent prank.
"Oh? I never thought that you would be here in that state…Wizard Marshall Zelretch." Merlin said with a smile as the old man now known as Zelrecth gave a fanged grin towards the wizard.
"Just thought I drop by. So, how's the show from that world going?" Zelrecth said as he walks up to Merlin, who nodded with the same smile on his face.
"Going good so far. The young man can now use three of the eleven cards he was given. He also allowed his friend, and that frog family to use the cards that is produce from the box as well." Merlin said as Zelretch hummed in surprise as he strokes his beard.
"Now that's a surprise. I thought he would keep that kind of power to himself or at least keep it a secret from the others." The old man said as he continues to stroke his bead. After a few moments of thinking, an idea sprung into his head, and a grin slowly spread across those aged cheeks.
"Hohoho!" He laughed merrily. "Yes, yes! I should have done this from the very start! This will spice up the entertainment and make life for the two kids a little bit harder! And if they do succeed, then they get a bonus! Oh yes, this will be great to watch! Nobody has interested me this much since Shiro Emiya!"
"You really like tormenting that poor boy, don't you?"
"Like a fat man and his family making cutaway gags." Cackling madly, the Master of the Kaleidoscope held out his hand. In them were fourteen glimmering cards, a wicked smirk on his lips as he held them. Fourteen small wormholes formed around the wizard. With a toss and a wave, a single card flew into one of the fourteen wormholes, scattering them throughout Amphibia.
"With this, the game is set!" Zelretch laughed, resting his chin on his palm as his crimson eyes glowed with delight.
"Let's see how you'll fare in the world now, Kenji Richards and Anne Boonchuy! Don't disappoint me!" With a final cackle, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg image disappears as Merlin looks back towards the magic screen as he still has that smile on his face.
"Now then…let's see if you make things interesting in Amphibia, Kenji and Anne."