It was many years ago, during an incident where an expedition to another world caused an invasion of Newtopia. The ones that attacked their world were vicious and unrelenting, white as a ghost, with sharp needle teeth and long claws, walked on four legs, and had four tentacles with barbed spearhead tips. These creatures were coming through the portal in rapid succession, and the ones blocking most of the horde were the ones known as the Amphibian Knights. And while they managed to close finally close it, a good number of the devil creatures were rampaging through the city and threatening to spread further out into Amphibia.
During this attack, a strong, and brave toad warrior took on the beasts that came her way. The toad in this case was a young female toad in her early twenties, had a pale pink skin tone with ruby red hair that was tied into a long ponytail. She was garbed in Newtopian guard armor, and wielded a dual sided battle ax. But this was not an ordinary ax by any means. One of the devil creatures saw her, snarled, and charged straight for her. The beast was swift, bounding from one wall to the other as it readied to use its spear tentacles to impale the toad warrior.
The toad woman gripped her ax and twisted the shaft. The moment she did, glowing lines appeared on the blade before it opened up, and released a magenta energy field that coated the entire blade, doubling its size as a construct version of that blade formed around it. The toad woman smirked, showing off her own razor-sharp teeth as she ran towards the charging beast and slashed forward, slicing off the incoming tentacles like a hot knife through butter. The creature screeched in pain from the loss of its tentacles, but it seemed to ignore the pain and kept going. The toad warrior skillfully twirled her battle ax around and came down with an overhead strike, cutting straight down the middle as the two halves of the beast flew past her.
That wasn't the only one as two more came at her. The toad warrior twirled her ax around, creating a spinning buzzsaw of death as the tentacles came at her, but were easily sliced up the moment they came near the blade. The monsters decided to attack her from two sides, lunging straight for her with a mentality that at least one of them was going to kill her. The toad warrior jumped straight up, allowing the two beasts to collide, headfirst, into each other. A third leaped off the rooftop, but she quickly lashed out with her tongue, grabbing it by its forelimb, and tossing it down to its two other comrades.
The toad warrior landed on the roof, before jumping back down and cutting through all three of them when she landed in one swing. She wiped the sweat from her brow as she surveyed the goings on in the area and could still hear sounds of battle taking place throughout the city. She never thought an expedition would bring this level of destruction to their city. Countless expeditions had been made in the past, since before she was even born, and this was the first time in recorded history that creatures from a world they entered had managed to flood the portal to the point that it was too dangerous to close it without pushing them back.
{Aja, you there?!}
Aja raised her right arm, the surface of the brace flipped up and released particles that formed a holographic screen of another toad.
"Fritz, what's the status on the portal?! We're getting flooded down here!" Aja asked.
{The Knights have closed the portal, but – son of a–!} There were some squelching sounds, along with the sounds of blades cutting through flesh before Fritz came back. {A lot of these ugly swamp suckers got through! The Knights are attacking the ones that made it outside the city walls so that they don't get to the rest of Amphibia! The Frobots are helping, but these things move fast and their coordinated! Even with their help, we're still getting our asses kicked!}
"Ugh, so we have to hold our ground until the Knights can get back here?!"
{Look, it's not ideal, but we just need to hold on until – AAAAAAH!}
The line suddenly went dead as Aja's eyes widened with shock.
"FRITZ! COME IN! FRITZ, SAY SOMETHING!" Aja yelled but got no response. "Dammit…Fritz…"
Aja balled up her left fist as she gripped her battle ax hard. That's when she spotted a pack of those creatures making their way towards the shopping district. Aja growled as she ran across the rooftops, hopping every so often when there was too wide a gap. She could hear some screaming coming from up ahead and quickened her pace. When she reached the edge of the next roof, she spotted some efts that were about to be eaten. Aja readied to throw her ax to save them but was beaten to the punch by someone else.
"HEY!"
The creature snapped its head in the direction of the voice, as well as the efts and Aja. That's when they saw a navy blue frog with short brown hair. He was wearing a simple pair of brown trousers and a white shirt that had been stained with the purple blood of these creatures. His eyes were fierce and narrowed as he raised a sword. Aja recognized it as a short sword, but for a frog, it might as well be a full-length sword.
"Come and eat me if you think you're frog enough to do it!" the frog taunted.
The creature screeched and turned its attention towards him instead. The monster was moving rapidly, and once in range, attacked with its spearhead tentacles. To Aja's surprise, the agile frog was able to dodge each of the incoming spear tentacles. He jumped and landed on its back, which made the creature redirect the spearheads to attack that spot. The frog smirked and jumped to the right, slipping through a gap between the four tentacles. His swift departure made it so that the monster couldn't stop its attack quick enough, and soon impaled its back with its own tentacles, causing it to screech in pain. The azure frog dashed until he was right under the monster's neck, and slashed upwards, cutting its throat. The monster stumbled backwards as its purple blood poured out of the wound before finally succumbing to its wounds and falling to the ground.
The frog panted but was not out of the woods yet. He turned around and readied himself as another charged towards him. But that's when something struck the monster's side, and sliced through its torso, severing the lower and upper halves. The frog watched as Aja landed in front of him, grabbed the upper half – which was still alive – by its head, and gave it a quick, and violent twist. The sickening sound of a snaping neck could be heard before the upper half went limp.
Aja grabbed her ax and turned to face the frog as she said, "You have some nice moves there, frog."
"Name's Argus, and thanks for the assist. But I had that under control," said Argus.
"HA! Probably, but what about that lot?" Aja asked as she pointed to an incoming pack.
"I was about to get to them," Argus retorted.
"You might want to rethink that."
Aja and Argus looked to their right and watched as a newt walked towards them. The newt wore a green cloak, a white shirt, and gray pants. He was lithe, light-green in color, about the same age as both Aja and Argus and had a head of wild silver hair. For some reason, he had the right arm of a Frobot that had tubes that were connected to a pack on his back.
"And who might you be, sir?" Argus asked.
"Name's Maurice, and you're going to need my help," he stated.
"And how's that now?"
"Well for one thing…"
The pack charged for the trio. Aja and Argus readied to fight them, but Maurice got out in front of them. He aimed the Frobot arm at the monsters, making the hand section transform into a laser cannon. Afterwards, Maurice started releasing one red energy blast after the other, sniping the monsters' heads off with each successive shot. For the ones he was not able to kill right away, he sniped off their legs and arms, making them fall to the ground and flail about with two missing limbs. After thirty seconds, the back of seven had only three half alive creatures.
"YEAH! CHOKE ON THIS CANNON YA FREAKISH HELLSPAWN! Ahem, so, do I pass the audition?" Maurice asked.
Aja and Argus blinked.
"Well, I see no reason not to bring him along," said Aja, still a bit shocked.
"Welcome to the group!" Argus greeted.
Just then, a louder call came from up ahead. Another of the creatures appeared, but this one was bigger, and had red markings on its face. The creature released a louder cry as it stared down the three in front of it, as if recognizing them as the killers of its kind.
"What in the name of Frog is that?!" Aja asked.
"This is just an educated guess, but…that one might be a queen," Maurice speculated.
"A queen? Like babari-ants or hybeenas?!" Argus asked. "How did that happen?!"
Aja gripped her battle ax with both hands as she said, "The portal was forced to stay open due to the massive influx of these creatures. It must've gotten through without anyone noticing. Although, considering how fast they were coming, I doubt it would've been noticed."
Argus furrowed his brow and got his sword ready as he asked, "So, that means if we kill this thing, then the rest might stop attacking?"
Maurice readied his laser cannon arm and responded, "Theoretically speaking, yes. But if not, it'll at least ensure that they don't start to reproduce and flood Amphibia with more of its kind. So…LET'S FRY THE BI–!"
The monster roared and charged for them. Maurice quickly aimed and fired his cannon, but the queen was smarter than her underlings as she began moving in a serpentine pattern, making it hard for Maurice to get a proper beat on her. Unfortunately, this allowed the monster to close in on their group. Aja swung her battle ax in a wide arc, forcing the monster to jump back so that it wouldn't get cut. That allowed Argus to dash straight towards the queen as he readied to cut her throat. However, the queen noticed and lashed out with her tentacle, but instead of impaling him, she wrapped it around his waist and brought him up in front of her.
"COWARD!" Aja yelled.
"She's definitely very smart," Maurice commented.
One of the queen's tentacles showed off something that seemed to be unique to her. The spearhead tip of the top two tentacles fired the spear tip and lodged it into the stone wall of one of the buildings, showing that it pierced through it with minimal effort. It then brought that same tentacle up and had it hover near Argus' head.
"I take that back, she's too damn smart," Maurice cursed.
"It's taken him hostage! Contemptable beast!" Aja growled.
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! KILL THIS THING BEFORE IT ESCAPES!" Argus urged.
His comment earned him a tighter squeeze from the monster and caused him to grunt in pain.
"He does have a point," said Maurice as he aimed his arm. "I really don't know him, or you for that matter. So, shooting through him to get to that monster is a viable option."
"Hey!" Aja retorted. "Don't talk like that! He saved those kids! He's an honorable warrior!"
"Wow never thought I'd hear that from a toad," said Maurice.
"I don't care if you're a frog, toad, or newt! If you're willing to put your life on the line for others, then you're a true warrior!" Aja argued.
Maurice smiled.
"Ah, well, I'm glad to hear that, makes me glad I chose the right Amphibians to stand beside." The arm cannon began to power up. "Get ready to attack."
Aja didn't know what this newt was planning, but right now she had to trust that he was up to something that could save Argus and kill this thing.
Just then, the arm cannon transformed and produced eight nodes along the length of the arm. The same energy that was building up at the central canon now spread to the nodes as well, and in the next moment, the eight nodes fired eight different red beams that began to bend and curve towards the monster, with the center cannon firing a larger beam down the middle.
The queen was visibly panicked when she saw the beams coming at her from different directions. She decided to abandon Argus as using him for a shield was not a viable option anymore. The center beam exploded against the ground, with eight other beams hitting that same spot and caused one succussive explosion after the other. Maurice glanced to his right, spotting Argus as he rolled along the ground, but managed to recover quickly. The newt glanced at Aja, and somehow, through some unspoken command, she understood where he was going with his plan and jumped straight into the air.
The queen burst out of the dust cloud that was kicked up, and headed straight for Maurice, designating him as the immediate threat. However, the green newt merely smirked as he raised his arms up. Something wrapped around Maurice's waist and yanked him away at the last second. When the queen looked to see what had grabbed him, she saw that it was Argus, using his tongue to get Maurice out of the way. The queen readied her tentacles to fire off the spearhead tips, but that wasn't about to happen. A circle of magenta light came spinning like a saw blade straight for the monster and successfully lopped off all four tentacles in one swoop. The monster queen cried out in pain as it flailed the bleeding stubs around, and twisted its head to and fro to see what it was that harmed it.
That's when the queen saw a battle ax stuck in the ground. The monster heard a thud behind her and turned around to see Aja glaring back at her. The queen screech-roared as it charged like a rampaging bull-beetle right at Aja. The toad warrior released her own roaring battle cry as she let her rage fuel her. The two strong females met at the center as the queen came down with her forelegs, trying to slash Aja with her claws. But Aja quickly thrusted both her arms up, catching the queen's claws at the wrists. The monster constantly snapped its jaws at her, attempting to bite Aja's head off, but the toad was managing to keep it at bay for now.
But she would not have to wait long, as Maurice took aim with his Frobot arm, and fired from the eight nodes. The energy output was a bit lower than the main cannon, so when all eight struck the queen, they only managed to blast off small chunks off the monster's flesh. The queen, feeling the pain, was going to retreat, but it was being held in place by Aja.
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, MONSTER!"
The queen kept thrashing about, trying to get free, but then released an echoing cry that rang out for quite a distance. There was a rumbling sound, and Maurice knew exactly what she had done.
"SHE CALLED FOR HER DRONES! THEY'RE COMING!" Maurice warned.
Aja was distracted for a moment, and with that distraction, the queen opened her mouth, and snapped her jaws around her left arm. She didn't stop until her fangs pierced through her own flesh and crushed her bones, and with one violent jerk of her head, she managed to rip off her own arm. Aja was shocked and lossed her stance, which allowed the queen to headbutt her in the face. Despite the blow, Aja wasn't letting go.
"AJA!"
The toad warrior opened her eye and watched as Argus latched his tongue around the hilt of her ax and used his momentum to throw the ax in her direction. Aja held out her right hand and quickly grabbed the ax before raising it to cut the queen's head off. When the queen saw this, she moved her body just enough so that Aja's ax cut her right arm off, finally freeing her. Despite having moved on all fours, the queen's hind legs were strong enough to allow her to move in a bipedal fashion, but without her forelimbs she would be much slower. However, as she was about to run, Argus came in from behind and shoved his sword through her back, causing the monster to cry out in pain.
Aja was about to cut through this monster and end this, but the ax ran out of energy, and made it return to that of a normal ax blade. But she was not deterred. Aja swung her mighty ax straight into the monster's exposed abdomen, burying it deep into its guts and pressing it in there as she tried to slice it through. Aja and Argus kept their weapons lodged in the queen, making her unable to get away now that she had lost her forelimbs, and tentacle weapons, all she had left was her strength and fangs. But Maurice as not about to let her have that. The newt ran and dove into a slide as he aimed the Frobot's arm at the queen.
The rumbling got louder, and all three could see the horde coming their way. Believing that this was their last stand, the Amphibian trio were going to make sure that this horde would not consume their world, and it started with killing this queen. The toad, newt, and frog released loud battle cries as Aja raked her ax back, splitting the monster's abdomen open, while Argus pulled out his sword, and stabbed it in in the back of its head, with the blade sticking out of its mouth. The frog and toad moved out of the way as Maurice fired his cannon, hitting the upper torso of the queen and blowing up that half, leaving the lower half to stumble about before falling to the ground.
The three Amphibians panted from their work, but it wasn't over yet. Even though the queen had been killed, the horde was not about to let that injustice go without exacting revenge. The creatures surrounded the three Amphibians, snarling and snapping their jaws as they readied to turn this into a feeding frenzy. Argus, Aja, and Maurice circled up, going back-to-back as they assessed their situation.
"So, any more juice left in that cannon?" Aja asked.
"Nope, I just used up the last charge," Maurice answered. "What about your ax?"
"Out as well. I can still cut with it, but not as effectively as before. Argus, you?"
"I think Maurice exploded my sword along with the queen," Argus replied.
"My apologies."
Argus chuckled as she said, "Well, if we're going to die, then we die together. It was an honor fighting side by side with you fine fellows."
"Honestly, I was hoping to live through this, but…yeah, I concur."
"We'll face our end together, comrades," said Aja.
The monsters snarled louder and inched closer to them.
"COME AND GET IT YOU SORRY, MISERABLE CREATURES! COME AND GET A TASTE OF WHAT I GAVE YOUR QUEEN!"
That is one crazy newt, Argus and Aja thought.
The newt, toad, and frog readied themselves for their end, but just as the creatures were about to pounce, multiple beams of magenta, azure, and emerald light blasted down from the sky, annihilating the monsters and keeping the trio safe from harm. Three pillars of light shot down from the sky and appeared before each of the three Amphibians. When the lights faded, they were greeted by three warriors clad in gold and white armor, each one holding a different light construct weapon. They were known as the Amphibian Knights.
"Sorry it took us so long, those creatures were scattering everywhere, but suddenly came back this way," said the Emerald Knight.
"We…We killed their queen. It let out a distress call before we managed to do so," Argus informed.
"Huh? Seriously? You three took it down? Impressive," said the Magenta Knight.
"You did Newtopia a great service, and now, thanks to you three, we can wipe out the lot of them right here and now!" The Azure Knight proclaimed.
With the three Knights gathered, they combined their powers and released a multiple energy blasts and construct weapons upon the remaining monsters, slaughtering them where they stood while keeping the trio at the center of their formation as a form of protection for them. When it was over, all the monsters had been slain, and the threat had finally been neutralized. The trio glanced between each other, smiled, and then collapsed onto their backs in exhaustion as they laughed at having escaped the jaws of death.
The Amphibian Knights looked at the tired trio, and then to themselves. Their faces were covered by their helmets, but even without seeing each other's faces, they knew what the other was thinking and nodded their heads.
"Say, you three," said the Azure Knight, "How'd you all like to be our successors?"
Argus, Aja, and Maurice immediately sat up, looked at the Azure Knight, and released a collective, "WHAT?!"
(Five Years Later…)
It was time. The nobles had been summoned, the families gathered, and the King of Amphibia awaited them. Argus, Aja, and Maurice were currently waiting in a room together, all three dressed in ceremonial garb which consisted of three robes that were colored azure, magenta, and emerald, and each one bore the Amphibia insignia on the back. It had been five years since the incursion of the White Devils, the tentacled creatures that nearly caused a devastating infestation of Amphibia. When it was all over, Argus, Aja, and Maurice were brought before the young King Aldrich, where he was regaled by the Amphibian Knights about their important role in ending the small invasion.
For their heroism, they were granted many boons, and chief among them, was the honor of becoming the successors to the Amphibian Knights. They were the protectors of the realm, as well as the spear tip of the expeditions into other worlds.
It was normal for the Amphibian Knights to choose successors before reaching a certain age. And once they did, the Knights were to officially retire, allowing their successors to take their place. The three current Knights, all toads, had been searching for some new blood to bring into the Knighthood, and they found it in a frog, toad, and newt. It was unheard of to be sure. Never before had a member from each race been chosen to wield the power of the gems. Up until now it had been only toads that made up the Knighthood, but while a toad was chosen, others questioned if it was wise to allow a frog and newt to join. They could see why a newt was chosen, who better to bring out the full capabilities of the Mind gem's power than an intelligent newt. However, a frog? A former poor farmer no less, was chosen instead of another toad.
As far as the Azure Knight was concerned, Argus proved not only his bravery, but also is nobility in his willingness to sacrifice his life if it meant ending the threat to their home. Lesser frogs would've run away from the monsters, and did, but Argus took up a sword and fought to save innocents. That was more than enough for the Azure Knight to choose him. And now they waited for their summons so that they may soon take on the power for themselves.
"Frog dang it, I'm going to sweat through my ceremonial clothes," said Argus.
"Relax, Argus, it's just a ceremony," Aja assured.
"It's not just a ceremony, Aja! We're about to become Knights! Defenders of Amphibia! And that also means we're going to be heading up the vanguard of each expedition!" Argus argued.
"Well, that is true, we will be fighting. But we simply have to fall back on our training. Our masters taught us well, and we should have faith in our training," said Maurice. "Plus, I can't wait to take those powers for a test drive!"
Aja could see that the frog was still nervous. The female toad walked up beside him, smiled, and gave him a hearty pat on the back.
"Hey, we're here with you. You're not alone in this. And…truth be told, I am a bit nervous as well," Aja admitted as she rubbed the back of her head.
"You?" Argus questioned as he looked up at her. "I thought toads loved fighting?"
"Oh, I do, to a degree anyway. But fighting in a coliseum, or defending the gates of the palace and city, is one thing. This is a whole different level of combat. New territory, and while it's exciting, it's a bit scary."
Argus smiled a little as he patted Aja's hand.
"I guess even tough toads can get nervous and scared, huh?"
Aja crossed her arms and said, "Despite my tough exterior, I am just like anyone else."
Maurice closed a book he was reading and said, "Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the willingness to stand your ground in the face of fear. Foolish is he who follows a fearless fool. You were afraid, as was I and Aja, when we faced that White Devil queen together. But we stood our ground in spite of our fears."
Argus' smile broadened some as he said, "You're right. Besides, the Amphibian Knights are powerful, but their greatest strength comes from when they fight together. As will our strength be the same."
"Now that's what I want to hear, Argie," said Aja.
"Thanks, AJ," said Argus.
"Oh, we're whipping out the nicknames?"
"Why not, Reese? We've been training together for five years, and we'll be fighting for longer. Might as well, right?" Argus asked.
"Heh. Yes, well said, Argie."
A knock came at the door to their room, and when it opened, a Newtopian Royal Guard came in and said, "It's time."
The three nodded and followed the Royal Guard down the hallway. Along the way, they saw many nobles lining both sides of the hall, some had expressions of awe, others had looks of uncertainty, and others of rejection. It was the latter two that seemed to be more prevalent. Everyone already did not approve of Argus, and it showed, but despite that, Argus held his head high with pride, and his companions flanked him, showing their solidarity with their friend.
The trio eventually reached the room where the fabled music box was stored. And outside that door stood the current King of Amphibia, Aldrich Leviathan. He was a pale blue newt, a large one that stood heads over everyone in the hall. He was a young king of thirty-five and had long white hair that stopped just above his shoulder blades. His robes were dark blue with gold embroidery, and a black vest. Upon his head he wore a crown made of pale coral, and in his left hand was a halberd that was black and gold with red edges along the dual ax blades.
"Welcome, one and all! Today is a momentous occasion for more than one reason. Today we are here to anoint the chosen successors with the power of the gems. But this day is not only history making for that alone, no, because we induct not only the first newt to become a Knight, but also the first frog to receive such an honor!" Aldrich announced.
The people clapped out of obligation to the king and smiled for the same reason, but it wasn't hard to tell that they really did not like the fact that farm frog was about to become one of the strongest Amphibians in the world.
"As I speak your names, step forward. Aja Strouse."
The toad woman stepped forward.
"You have been deemed worthy by the Magenta Knight, Huey. And as such, shall henceforth be known as Aja the Strong, for your unparalleled strength in the fight against the White Devils," King Aldrich proclaimed.
The toads attendance whooped it up, and the former Magenta Knight, who was old and had a white beard, nodded his head towards her.
"Maurice Alensby, step forward."
The green newt did as commanded.
"You have been deemed worthy by the Emerald Knight, Louie. You shall be known as Maurice the Wise. For your quick thinking, resourcefulness, and tactical knowhow."
The newts, which made up most of the nobles, cheered loudly for one of their own.
"Last, but certainly not least, Argus Croaken."
Argus was about to take a step forward, but paused when someone had the audacity to speak out of turn.
"I'm sorry, my King, but I object to this frog being allowed to join the ranks of the Amphibian Knights," said one of the nobles.
"Here, here! It's absurd! A newt and a toad make sense. But a frog? It makes no sense! Nothing in this frog's past shows any sign that he is fit to fight on the frontlines, or protect this world," another noble protested.
Aja growled at the nobles who spoke, while Maurice shot a glare at them. Argus, on the other hand, simply turned around to face his hecklers, and then bowed his head.
"Argus!" Aja exclaimed.
"Hmm," Maurice hummed.
"I am sorry that you do not approve of my appointment to this station. Truth be told, I never thought something like this would happen to me. But I did not fight that day in hopes of obtaining a higher station, nor did I have any delusions of grandeur that I would become a Knight. We are all one people, though we are three different races, we share one world and one destiny. I was once just a humble farmer but lost my land and became a wanderer. Call it fate or happenstance, but I was here when the incursion happened, and I could not stand by and do nothing against those monsters."
Argus raised his head and gave the condescending nobles a determined glare.
"I promise you, I will fight to protect this world, to go to these different worlds to bring back what we need to continue the prosperity of Amphibia. I still don't think that I am worthy of this honor, but I promise you, I will do my best to ensure I do not tarnish it and become worthy of it in the end!"
King Aldrich smirked as he said, "And now I see why the Azure Knight, Dewy, chose you as his successor. Fighting skills can be honed during combat, wit and strength developed over time, but what you have is already powerful. A strong heart. Even in the face of such adversity, you do not falter, nor do you meet criticism with hate. You are Argus the Noble."
The King then glared at the assembled nobles.
"And the next person to speak out of line and interrupt this ceremony will be sent to the dungeons for a week! Am I understood?" King Aldrich asked.
The assembled nobles and toads merely shook their heads in unison, not daring to speak another word.
"Very good. Now, come, it is time to accept your destiny."
King Aldrich turned around, took out a small key, and pressed it into a keyhole in the doors. A moment later, the two doors opened, revealing a room lined with portraits of the past kings of Amphibia, and at the center of the room was a pedestal that had the music box on top of it. King Aldrich was the first to enter, and once he had, he waved his hand, motioning for Argus, Aja, and Maurice to enter with him. All three gathered before the pedestal as King Aldrich stood behind it.
"As you know, your predecessors returned their portion of the gems' powers. And now, it is time for you three to take on this power. Remember, you are only to take half the energy of the gems. Any more than that will leave our city powerless. Now, before we begin, have you chosen a leader?" King Aldrich asked.
Maurice and Aja glanced at each other and answered as one, "We choose Argus the Noble as our leader."
Argus' eyes widened as he looked at both of his companions and asked, "Y-You want me to lead?! Why me?"
"Do we really need to spell it out," said Aja.
"I think the King said all that needed to be said on the matter," Maurice added.
Argus sighed and then smiled at his friends as he said, "I may be appointed as the leader, but we are a team." The blue frog turned around and faced the king. "We are ready, your Highness."
King Aldrich slammed the butt of his halberd against the floor as he spoke, "Then let the power of the gems flow through you!"
The room began to glow with magenta, azure, and emerald light. The three gemstones glowed brighter and brighter before each of them fired a beam at one of the three assembled Amphibians. Argus was hit with the azure light, Aja the magenta light, and Maurice the emerald light. In the next moment, a bright flash of tri colored light lit up the room and forced those outside to cover their eyes.
When the light faded, King Aldrich raised his arms high and announced, "It is done! Warriors of Amphibia, arise!"
Maurice had a helmet with a green visor, and green energy that appeared in the form of a crest in the middle of the helmet. The armor resembled something similar to that of an ancient samurai warrior, and behind him flowed an emerald-colored cape.
Aja's had the same white and gold color scheme, but had several spikes popping out around the bracers, pauldrons, grieves, and knuckles of the gauntlets. She also had a war skirt around their waist, which was colored a deep crimson red and had plates of gold metal sewn onto it. Her helmet fully enclosed her head, with magenta colored energy forming a war plume that ran from the top of her head down the back, and two sharp magenta glowing eyes.
Argus' armor looked closer to that of a medieval knight and was sleeker than his two companions. A blue cape made of blue energy flapped behind him, and the sharp eyes of his helmet glowed blue.
"Behold, your new Amphibian Knights!"
Argus, Aja, and Maurice glanced at each other before standing proudly before the assembled crowd, and none could help but cheer as they saw the majesty of their transformations. Even the toad trio, Huey, Dewy, and Louie clapped for their apprentices, proud to see them wearing the armor and wielding the power that they once held.
"Though we are three, we fight as one," Argus began.
"Though our strengths are diverse, we are united in a common goal," Aja said.
"Though we are newt, frog, and toad, we are bonded by fate and friendship," Maurice announced.
"TOGTHER, WE SHALL DEFEND AMPHIBIA, WE, THE AMPHBIBIAN KNIGHTS!"
(50 Years Later…)
The planet Ardos was a primitive world, filled with primitive lifeforms. But if there was one thing that his planet had going for it, it was its abundance of a unique ore that allowed for the creation of weapons, armor, and other such machines. It was very light weight, but incredibly durable. And could even be imbued with different kinds of energy to further enhance them. The inhabitants, although primitive, were not slacking in their knowledge of how to use their resources to their advantage, forging weapons that were very effective against the invading army of Amphibia. The people of this planet were dinosaur-like in appearance, with some resembling such creatures as triceratops, stegosaurus, ankylosaurs, raptors, tyrannosaurus rexes, Spinosaurus, and many others. They were all bipedal creatures, with thick hides, horns, spikes, and came in varied colors depending on their tribes.
The vanguard of Ardos' forces were made up of ankylosaurus, stegosaurus, and triceratops warriors. With their thicker hides, strong muscles, and armed with armor and weapons made from the special ore material, they were able to bash through several of the Amphibian robotic legions, practically tearing right through them. Hammers fell, axes slashed, and spears pierced as one robot was downed after the other, and crushed under their huge feet as the dino people of Ardos pressed their advance.
There were other creatures that fought with the robots, dark monsters that were created from the bodies of their fallen comrades. Although painful, they were slain by their still living comrades. These tasks were often left up to their fierce fighters, those who resembled a tyrannosaurus, Spinosaurus, and of course, the swift raptors. The campaign for Ardos had been a long one, and it looked like the Ardorian people were going to be successful in pushing back against the invaders. Well, until now.
As the Ardonian people cleaved through the dark monster and robotic legions, several explosions broke their front lines. The Ardonians watched as three spheres of light appeared in the sky. One was magenta colored, the other was azure, and the last was emerald. The orbs of light shattered apart, and from them they were able to see what was inside. There were three beings, newt, frog, and toad.
Argus glanced at Aja and nodded. Aja nodded back and quickly dropped out of the sky as she landed with a big "BOOM!" sound echoing throughout the area. The robotic army and dark monsters retreated, granting the empowered warrior plenty of space to fight. The Ardonian vanguard bellowed out their battle cries as some of them charged for the barbarian toad. The toad had no intention of dodging them, in fact, she dismissed her axes and waited. The huge reptilian people came down like a hammer, smashing their war hammers and axes down on Aja, and kicking up a cloud of dust from their efforts.
But that's when a burst of magenta light erupted from the center of their attacks, throwing them backwards onto the ground. Aja quickly grabbed the nearest Ardonian by the leg, picked them up, and tossed them far into the distance where they collided with the rest of their comrades. The other warriors managed to get back up, and charged in again, but Aja was ready. She jumped straight up and threw an uppercut into the lower jaw of one of them, sending the dino flying into the air. When she landed, the barbarian toad formed a chain construct that she threw at another one of the Ardonian vanguards. The chain wrapped around their neck, and with a swift tug, began spinning him around. The toad warrior used that unfortunate vanguard as a wrecking ball as they were forced to crash into one comrade after the other before she eventually let them go, not caring which direction that vanguard was going to land. Aja then recreated her battle axes and began slashing through one warrior after the other.
"C'MON, IS THAT ALL YA GOT! SHOW MOMMA WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!" Aja yelled.
As this was going on, the Ardonian air support finally arrived. These consisted of aerial bipedal dino people that resembled pterosaurs, pterodactyls, and the largest among them, the Quetzalcoatlus'. They too were armed with their specially made armor, and weapons. They had spear weapons, and each spear tip was infused with energy, and with a twist of the shafts, the spear blades released several energy blasts that sailed towards the newt samurai and frog knight. The two Amphibian warriors created shields made of their respective lights, allowing the beams to explode against their surfaces.
Maurice didn't need directions to know that they needed to take out their air support. So, Maurice ascended higher into the sky, making half of their air force break off to pursue him. The newt samurai drew his bow, and as he did, an arrow of light was formed. The squadron decided to take evasive maneuvers, they knew that one of them might get hit, but he couldn't hit them all, and there was no way a bow and arrow could accurately hit them from such a distance anyway, but it paid to be cautious.
"I applaud you all for thinking tactically, but unfortunately, it won't help you against us."
The newt samurai locked onto one of the aerial Ardonians and shot his arrow. The Ardonian he aimed for noticed he was the target and quickly flew up to avoid the arrow, but the moment he did, the arrow quickly changed course and zoomed straight up, piercing through their chest and out their back, killing the Ardonian in one shot. The other aerial Ardonians were stunned to say the least, but they didn't have time to contemplate how that happened as the newt samurai fired more of his arrows, each one, instead of traveling in a straight line, began zigzagging, winding around other Ardonians and hitting the ones behind them, above them, or below them. It made it impossible to know who Maurice was targeting specifically since the arrows were moving in a seemingly erratic way.
The aerial Ardonians decided to throw caution to the wind, if they were going to be sniped at so easily, they might as well just attack and forget about evading. The flock surrounded Maurice, like vultures about to descend on a dead carcass. The aerial Ardonians began firing energy blasts from their spears, forcing the newt samurai to form a barrier. Explosions went off continuously around his shield. He figured this would be their next plan of attack, and it was going according to his plan. Now that they were in a more predictable pattern. Maurice decided to end this.
The newt samurai raised his bow into the air and drew the bowstring, creating an arrow of light. But this arrow began to flare up with energy as he charged it up. Maurice opened a hole in his barrier at the top and fired the arrow. The arrow looked like a shooting star as it flew higher and higher into the air. Once it reached a certain altitude, it turned into a ball of light and then burst into a barrage of light arrows that rained down. The arrows didn't just fall in a straight line, much like the ones before, these arrows zigzagged, and homing in on selected targets. The arrows found their targets, piercing through the huge squadron of aerial Ardonians, but then the arrows sought out the other half of the aerial army, and began taking them out next. When it was over, the arrows disappeared, and the bodies of the dead aerial Ardonians fell out of the sky and crashed onto the ground below.
It was then a huge roar echoed through the battlefield, causing the Ardonian vanguard and warriors to stop in their tracks. Even Aja stopped her rampage to see what was going on. The largest Ardonian came stomping towards the battlefield, armored, and wielding a great sword in his left hand. The creature resembled the likes of a giganotosaurus, the huge Ardonian raised his sword, which now glowed and flared with barely contained energy. The warrior brought down his sword, striking the ground as he created a huge explosive energy wave that blasted in all directions. The Ardonian vanguard and other warriors were getting caught in the blast as it just kept spreading outwards.
Argus quickly shot down towards the blast and struck the explosion wave with both of his hands. The frog knight's helmet eyes glowed bright blue as he used his power to counter the explosion wave, sending a pulse of his own energy through it to breakdown the dome of destruction until the energy had completely dispersed. Argus glared at the giganto Ardonian, seeing that many of the huge warrior's comrades were killed by his own attack, and he didn't even seem to care in the slightest.
"You're willing to kill your own!" Argus shouted.
"TO KILL YOU INVADERS! WE WILL THROW ALL OF OURSELVES AT YOU!" the giganto Ardonian bellowed.
The frog knight held out his right hand, and within seconds, a blue light construct broadsword appeared in it. Taking the sword into both of his hands, the frog knight widened his stance and dared the giganto Ardonian to come and face him. The reptilian creature roared mightily into the air and charged straight for him, causing the earth beneath their feet to quake with each footfall. When the giganto was upon him, he raised his huge, long sword and brought it down on Argus. However, the frog knight swung upwards, causing the two blades to clash. A shockwave erupted from the impact, making the giganto Ardonian stumble backwards.
When the giganto regained his balance, he slashed with his sword again, in a wide horizontal arc. The giganto Ardonian paused when he noticed that Argus was no longer standing where he once was, but a blue glow to his left caught his eyes, making the reptilian turn his head and growl in annoyance as he saw that the frog knight was now standing on the tip of his long sword.
Before the reptilian creature could react, Argus had disappeared and reappeared a few feet away. The armored reptile didn't move for a moment, but then thin blue lines appeared over his body. In the next second, those lines exploded, releasing a devastating amount of energy that obliterated the giganto Ardonian with minimal effort. Aja and Maurice joined their companion, standing on his left and right respectively. When the rest of the opposing army saw this, they knew they had no way to defeat them. And so, they threw down their weapons and got down on one knee, bowing their heads in surrender.
"Hey, hey, c'mon!"
"We're moving as fast as we can Leif!"
"Yeah, some of us aren't as speedy as you!"
"Heh-ha! Barrel, 'Drias, you two need to work on your speed," said Leif.
It had been a few months since the last expedition took place, and now it had come to an end. Three Amphibian friends were running through the halls to get to the throne room to see the conquering heroes' return. One of them was a pink frog girl with orange hair and wore a tunic and hood. The second was a horned, green colored toad who was adorned with armor, and had a war hammer strapped to his back. The last of these three friends was a large, pale blue newt. His hair was white, with a coral crown upon his head, and clothes that were emblazoned with the royal sigil of Amphibian royalty.
There was already a crowd gathered there, but once they saw 'Drias appear, the other nobles and soldiers parted for him, Leif, and Barrel. They eventually made it to the edge of the crowd and looked upon the three great Amphibian Knights.
"Aja the Strong, Argus the Noble, and Maurice the Wise. We all bid you a joyous return home and applaud your success with the conquest of yet another world."
Aja the Strong was a buff toad warrior, dressed in a white and gold uniform that bore the insignia of Amphibia in the middle of the chest, and had an ax slung on her back. Her skin was a pale pink color and had grown wrinkled with age, crimson red hair with some gray streaks, and a scar over her right eye. Maurice the Wise was a lithe, light-green colored newt. He had long silver hair that was tied into a ponytail, a long goatee, and was wearing a similar white and gold uniform to his two fellow Knights. Argus the Noble had short brown hair that was graying, a sword at his belt, and in addition to his uniform, there was a badge pinned to the right side of his chest.
King Aldrich Leviathan had aged just as much as the three Knights. He had long white hair that went down his back, and an equally long white beard around his chin. And sported a wrinkled face.
"We are honored to be in your presence, sire," said the three Knights in unison.
"I hear this mission was a bit difficult, was it?" King Aldrich asked.
"A bit, your Highness, but nothing that we couldn't handle," said Aja.
"The Ardonians lacked sufficient battle strategy, which is a shame. Considering how expertly they were able to forge their rare metal ore. Had they'd been wiser about its applications, it may've been a different outcome," Maurice commented.
"Regardless, we were able to defeat them. Although their savagery led to many of their own people taking heavy losses. They didn't even care if they had to cut through their own, barbaric," said Argus.
"Indeed, such resources are wasted on uncivilized creatures as they. But that is why we of Amphibia were gifted with the power of the gems. And why you three were granted that power as well. Like the many Amphibian Knights before you were. In order to advance our civilization, and continue our prosperity, we conquer, we fight, and we take what is needed. You three, our Knights, are the swords and shields of our empire, our greatest heroes. Everyone, three cheers for our heroes!"
The crowd cheered loudly and boisterously for the Amphibian Knights, throwing up their hands, and one noble ripped his shirt in half as he screamed, "YEEEEEEEAH!" 'Drias, Leif, and Barrel were whooping it up as the little pink frog girl stood on the tall blue newt's shoulder, all three of them trying to cheer the loudest for the Knights.
King Aldrich raised his hand in a silent command for everyone to quiet down. Once the room had become quiet again, King Aldrich said, "But, alas, the time will soon come for you three to choose your successors. And when that time comes, we will once again anoint the newest heroes in our book of legends. For now, my Amphibian Knights, rest and enjoy your stay at home."
The three Amphibian Knights bowed to their king and replied, "We thank you, King Aldrich."
"You are all dismissed, go about your days peacefully and gratefully," the king added.
The nobles of the court filed out of the throne room, with the three Knights leaving last. Once in the hallways, the three Knights stopped and looked upon 'Drias and Leif curiously.
"Ah, Prince Andrias, I see you're missing one of your companions," said Argus.
"Oh, he's not missing," said Andrias.
"YAAAAAAAAH!"
Barrel suddenly launched himself from the ceiling and rammed into Maurice, the two of them rolled around on the floor before Barrel managed to get him in a headlock.
"Ah-ha! Finally, gotcha! Gettin' slow there, Maurice!" Barrel mocked.
"Ugh! My boy – umph! – there's a difference between – oomph! – 'getting slow' and waiting for your chance to strike," Maurice retorted.
Maurice suddenly leaned his head forward, and then threw it back, striking Barrel in the middle of his face. The toad guard yelped in pain, loosening his grip on Maurice, and allowing the newt Knight to flip around and grab Barrel by the horns. Once in hand, Maurice began turning and twisting, making Barrel stumble in different directions, before he was aimed at a wall. Once he was, Maurice released Barrel's horns, backflipped, and kicked him in the back with both legs straight into the wall. The Newtopian guard's whole body crashed into the wall, leaving a minor indention of his body.
"YES! AH-HA! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET! THOUGHT YOU COULD GET THE DROP ON 'OL MAURICE! BUT YOU WERE WRONG!" Maurice yelled as his hair had come undone from his ponytail and flared out wildly.
Barrel fell onto his back and groaned.
"Dang it! I've been working on that ambush for months now! Thought I had you," Barrel complained.
"Heh, dream on." Maurice put his hair back into a ponytail before dusting off his uniform. "But you're improving, and that's the best thing. Brawn only gets you so far, but when coupled with brains you become an even deadlier fighter."
Aja sighed as she looked upon her own companions and stood next to Leif.
"Honestly, Leif, I don't know how we put up with these two," said Aja.
"Ah, c'mon, Aja, you know it'd be too quiet without those two causing a ruckus!" Leif exclaimed.
"Weeeeeelll…eh…I guess you're right. Oh, by the way, how is the rose garden doing? I've been hoping to see it in bloom by the time we got back."
"Oh! The roses all bloomed just yesterday, and they are beautiful~ Do you wanna to go and see them?" Leif asked.
"I would love to," said Aja, but then she looked up at Andrias. "With the young prince's permission, of course."
"I don't mind, we have some catching up to do anyway," said Andrias.
"In that case, c'mon kid!" Maurice wrapped his tail around Barrel's horn and began dragging him along. "We got some training to do! I'm gonna whip you into shape while I'm here!"
"Alright! Score!" Barrel shouted as he was dragged around the corner.
Aja rolled her eyes as Leif chuckled, afterwards, the toad and frog headed off to the gardens. Which left Argus and Andrias alone.
"It's been awhile, Argus," said Andrias.
"Yes, it has, Andrias," he replied. "Walk with me, will you?"
"Sure."
The Amphibian Knight and the Prince of Amphibia began their walk down the hall. Neither of them had any particular destination in mind, they just walked.
"You look a little off, Argus. You alright?" Andrias asked.
"Andrias, let me ask you something." Argus slowed down and raised his right hand. Sparks of blue energy began forming around his fingers, making Andrias focus on them. "Why do you think we have these powers?"
"What do you mean? They're to help us, to make sure Amphibia and its people can live in prosperity," Andrias answered.
"Hmm, I've been wondering about that lately." The two of them reached a balcony area, and from there, they could see the entirety of Newtopia. A sprawling, technologically advanced city, beyond anything the other civilizations they conquered could imagine "Do you think we're overstepping? Treading where mere mortals like us should not?"
"I never thought so. What brought this up?"
"Whenever we come back from an expedition, do you know the first thing I do when I come back is?"
Andrias shook his head.
"I do what I'm doing right now. I look out into this city and past the horizon. I've done this to help remind me what I am fighting for. I'm sure it's different for Aja and Maurice, but this is what I do. And lately, as the years have passed, I wonder, have we done enough? I mean, look at this, Andrias. Can you not tell me that our people are living in the peak of our prosperity."
Andrias never really thought about it. Conquering other worlds was just normal for his family, for Amphibia. However, hearing Argus talk, he wondered if they did have enough?
"Where's all this coming from, Argus? You've started acting – I don't know – weird lately. You used to just tell me your war stories," said Andrias.
"Heh, guess it's just me in my old age. I do have to choose a successor soon, and I had the crazy notion of appointing…" Argus jumped into the air, flipped backwards, and landed on Andrias' head as he gave him a noogie. "This rascal of a prince to my position!"
"Ahh! Argus! C'mon! Quit it! I'm a grown newt! Stop treating me like an eft!" Andrias complained.
"Oh, pardon me." Argus flipped off of Andrias' head and landed on the guardrails of the balcony. "I didn't notice. I still see you as that wide eyed little eft that would tug at my cape and beg to hear my war stories."
Andrias blushed at being reminded of how he used to act.
"C'mon, Argus…"
"And I'm glad to see you still act in much the same way around Leif and Barrel," he added.
"Well…They're my best friends, so it's not unnatural that we get rowdy once in a while," Andrias defended.
"Heh, good." Argus jumped and landed on Andrias' chest. Once there, he pressed his right finger against Andria's chest. "Don't forget that. The heart is strong, and it is strongest when surrounded by those whom you love and cherish. It's what will make you a good king in the future."
"T-Thanks, Argus," said Andrias with a smile.
The Amphibian Knight backflipped off Andrias' chest and said, "Now, let's go and get some grub. And I'll regale you with some of my recent stories."
"Sweet…Oh, and were you serious about making me your successor?" Andrias asked, a hopeful tone in his voice.
"Sure."
Andrias gasped.
"When the moon falls out of the sky!"
"Ha-ha…"
A/N: In case anyone is wondering, the "White Devils" are a reference to the alien monsters known as "White Spikes" from the movie "The Tomorrow War".
Also, I did a retcon of the Spirits. I will be going back and changing them. Their appearance anyway.