The New Night Guard

"So Master Marcy is your mother." Rosales said, raising his eyebrows as they walked through the city. Athena nodded and kept glancing back to where Andrias was being held near the gates. Rosales followed her gaze and frowned slightly. "I take it she didn't tell you about him." He said, jerking his thumb back.

"Ma, told me about him." Athena said defensively. "She told me how he found her and helped fix her broken leg and let her join the Night Guard and go on missions." She listed off. Rosales rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yes, that's actually how I know about your mother." He said with a small laugh. "She uh, worked with my parents." Athena blinked and stared at him in surprise.

"Wait." She said slowly as she tried to recall what her mother had told her about her time in the Night Guard. "Does that mean your parents are-"

"Jovi and Nettles." Rosales said with an embarrassed smile. "Yeah." Athena's eyes widened.

"Your mom and dad can probably tell me about their adventures with my Ma!" Athena said excitedly.

"I'm sure they could." He said looking off in the distance. "But that's beside the point." He said, shaking his head. "That newt," He looked back towards Andrias, "isn't safe."

"Ma said he helped fight the moon." Athena frowned. Rosales closed his eyes and crossed his arms. Should he really be the one to tell her Andrias was behind the attacks that set everything into motion? Marcy clearly had her reasons for not telling her but could she have predicted her child would ever meet the deposed king?

"He's not…" Rosales tried to choose his words carefully. Sure Andrias had done horrible things but was he still capable of being a threat? "He isn't as kind as your mother told you." He finished weakly. He couldn't bring himself to tell this small child the horrors the great newt had committed. Let alone the fact that he had almost killed her mother.

"Okay." Athena shrugged. She knew people weren't perfect so it made sense Andrias had probably been mean a few times.

"May I ask why you were traveling with him?" Rosales asked as they sat down outside a cafe.

"Oh, we weren't traveling together very long. I just kinda woke up here and found him in a library." Athena said as she kicked her feet back and forth.

"Woke up here?" Rosales said furrowing his brow.

"My brother and sister and I were at camp and we found this box and then there was this bright light and then I was here." Athena said as she looked around the glittering city. Rosales scratched his chin.

"And your brother and sister weren't with you when you woke up?" He asked.

"Nope!" Athena said brightly as she watched the newts bustling about the city. There was so much to take in. Rosales ran a hand through his hair as he tried to piece together the best course of action. As a member of the New Newtopian Night Guard it was his duty to help those in need.

"Master Athena," He said, clearing his throat, "allow me to put together a troop to help locate your missing siblings."

"You'll help me find them?" Athena asked with wide eyes. Rosales nodded.

"It would be an honor to assist the daughter of the great Master Marcy." He said with a bow.

"Will I get a cool cloak and crossbow too?" She asked excitedly as she pointed at them. Rosales blanched.

"Er, no, I don't think that will be necessary-"

"Will Andrias get a cool cloak and crossbow?" She asked, tilting her head to one side. Rosales frowned.

"He won't be getting anything," He said bluntly, "except maybe a jail cell…" He muttered under his breath.

"Why not?" Athena asked, crossing her arms.

"For you or Andrias?" Rosales asked slowly.

"Both!" Athena said, glancing back over to the city wall with worry. Rosales sighed and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in before opening them again and squatting down to Athena's height.

"You won't need those things." Rosales began patiently.

"Why not?" Athena said, furrowing her brow.

"Because you will get to stay nice and safe in the city walls here." He gestured around. "I'll talk to the other captains and I'm sure we can set something up so you can stay with one of their families while we look for your siblings."

"Does Andrias get to stay with them too?" Athena asked. Rosales glared in the direction of Andrias.

"No."

"So he's going with to look for my brother and sister?"

"No."

"Then where is he going to be?" She asked, crossing her arms. Rosales rubbed his temples.

"He will either be locked away or better yet, exiled." He said straightening up.

"You can't do that!" Athena huffed and put her foot down. "He didn't do anything!"

"He did." Rosales said as his tail swished back and forth in irritation.

"When?" She demanded.

"A long time ago."

"What'd he do?"

"I… I can't say." He said gritting his teeth.

"Why not?" Athena said as her eyes swam with angry tears. Why was everyone being so mean to her new friend?

"You're too young to understand and what he did was too horrible to tell a child!" Rosales snapped. Athena withdrew slightly and Rosales took a step back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I just-" He turned his back to her. He took a breath and turned back to see Athena sprinting off into the crowd. "Mother Olms!" He cursed and tore after her.

Andrias let out a heavy sigh as he sat leaning against the city wall. He raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow and heard the newts that were watching him tense up. He lowered his arm and stared blankly into the sky. He could see the blinding light of the sun but not much else as the heat beat down upon him. He closed his eyes and tried to get comfortable. If he was lucky he could get a nap in before he was escorted away.

"Andrias!" He heard a small voice call out desperately. His eyes flew open and he quickly felt around for Barrel's hammer. The newt guards drew their weapons and pointed them at Andrias. They had confiscated the hammer earlier but it wasn't very far away. It had been too heavy for them to carry so they had instead opted to just move Andrias away from it.

"Athena?" He called back worriedly as he used the wall to stand up.

"Don't move!" One of the newt guards ordered. Andrias ignored him as he continued to look around blindly. He cursed his poor eyesight as he heard Athena call out again.

"Athena!" He called back as he rubbed his cloudy eyes.

"Andrias!" Athena shouted as she ran towards him. The guards shifted uncomfortably as they glanced between her and the former king. They parted awkwardly as she pushed past them and tugged on Andrias's cloak. "We have to go!"

"Why? What's wrong?" Andrias asked as he readied himself against some unseen threat.

"They wanna lock you up." She whispered in distress. Andrias's expression softened.

"My dear-" He sighed.

"We have to go now!" She pleaded as she pulled on his cloak. Andrias shook his head as he prepared to settle back down. An explosion suddenly shook the city walls. The guards spun around as they tried to locate the source. A plume of smoke and dust rose into the air several hundred feet away.

"What happened?" Andrias asked sharply as he began searching for Barrel's hammer once more. The guards hesitated as they looked between Andrias and the explosion. Before they could make a decision as to what to do another explosion went off followed by several screams. The guards shared a look before sprinting off in the direction of the new explosion.

"What are those?" Athena asked as she pointed to several frobots as they rose into the air. Andrias stiffened as he recognized the familiar sound.

"We need to go." Andrias said quickly as he used the wall to support himself. "Where's my hammer?"

"Over here!" Athena said as she led him by pulling on his cloak. Andrias found it and gripped it tightly in one hand as he stumbled back from the wall.

"Little Master-" He said, kneeling down. "I need you to be my eyes." He lowered his hand for her to step on. Athena did so quickly and he placed her on his shoulder before gripping the hammer once more. "Where's the gate?"

"Straight ahead!" Athena said, patting him urgently as another explosion went off. Andrias nodded and took off towards it as fast as he could.