When Maddie Flour opened the oven, she was confronted with the smell of burning bread, her eyes watered from the smoke, she picked up a baking tray and carried it towards a cauldron beside the oven, she then tipped the contents into the cauldron and started to stir.

After five minutes of stirring the loaves floated up back to the top of the bubbling liquid, somehow the brunt loafs had become golden brown, if she were to tear one open the insides would be white and fluffy.

Using a ladle she scooped them out of the cauldron, after wrapping them in paper she walked to the counter and placed them in front of Ms. Croaker.

"Thank you Dearie." said the impossibly old frog.

"You're welcome," said Maddie, doing her best to say something nice.

Once the older frog had left, she slammed her head on the counter, the will to remain professional leaving with Ms. Croaker.

"I hate my life," she said.

She didn't really hate it, But things were not as good as she would have wanted it to be.

A couple of years ago, she had suggested to her father that maybe she could improve the quality of the bread, to curse it to make it give beneficial effects to those who ate it.

Her father, always wanting to get his daughter involved in the business, was worried but eventually decided to give it a chance.

In a few days, anyone who eat the cursed bread felt better, a general sense of wellness took over their minds, they felt happier, healthier all around better, others compared it to another bakery which used certain plants to achieve the same results.

This led to Flour bakery doing better than ever, more and more customers were coming to the valley to visit.

Maddie had made their business profitable for years, and she hated it.

Before this, her curses had been a hobby, something she did for fun, she wanted to do because she loved working on curses to help people, she still was but doing the same thing day in, day out making the same recipe, using the same cauldron, ironically the magic had gone from her work.

The monotonous days came and went, and now Maddie had grown to hate bread and baking in general.

Right now, she was hoping that no one would come in for a week, that her body would be found and that she would move on.

"Oh, who am I kidding," the white-haired frog said to herself, "I taught my sisters' necromancy, they'd just bring me back."

The bakery doorbell jangled and Maddie sighed, another customer.

"Welcome to Flour and daughters bakery, What do you want today," said Maddie depressed.

"A croissant from an old friend." said a familiar voice.

Maddie looked up to see a familiar figure standing there, she was taller now however she was recognizable, her black hair was longer and her clothes looked different, but it was still her.

"Marcy?" said Maddie, a smile appearing on her face.

"That's me," said Marcy, laughing.

Maddie then jumped on the counter, not caring that she was covered in flour and dough she opened her arms for a hug, Marcy ran towards her and hugged her.

"I heard you were back but… I figured you have more important things to do."

"What and not visit my curse teacher, Who do you think I am."

Maddie laughed, "True.," she then jumped off the counter, pulled a fresh croissant from the display (Cursed food was always fresh), and handed it to Maddie.

"Here, this will help clear your skin up."

Marcy looked at her in a mix of confusion and offense, "What?"

"Cursed food," moaned Maddie, "My best and worst idea."

Marcy looked at her then at the croissant, she raised it to her mouth and took a bite.

It was warm and flaky the chocolate inside was amazing, her eyes watered in wonder, and she felt a few of her worries about the search vanish, it was like eating Mana.

"Wow, this is good." proclaimed Marcy.

"Everyone says that," said Maddie, rolling her eyes.

Marcy picked up as there was something wrong with her frog friend, maybe it was her slumped shoulder, maybe it was the lack of joy in her eyes, Or maybe it was the apron that read, "I hate my job and have lost the love I had for my hobby." (An odd gift from her father, but an accurate one.)

"So… Maddie, how are you doing?"

"Great," said the frog woman forcing the words out, "I'm looking after the bakery now, Dad's on vacation, and well my sisters are around but… well…"

"Well, what?" said Marcy, noting the curse user's hesitation.

All of a sudden, three blue frog girls rushed down the stairs, each wearing a dress of a different color, Pink, Blue, and Green, Marcy was briefly reminded of her powers "Morning Maddie," said the girl in pink.

"We're off to help the town and-" said the girl in blue.

"Is that Marcy." said the girl in green, noticing the human in the room.

Hey girls." said Marcy with a small chuckle.

The next thing she knew, she was on the floor, being hugged by the trio.

"Okay, it's good to see you too." Replied Marcy laughing.

After a few more moments, the girls let go.

"Are you going to be here for long?" Said Rosemary.

"I'm staying for a while, but right now I need to find Andrais."

"Why not ask Frog Marcy?" Said Lavender.

Marcy's eyes widened, "What?"

"Frog Marcy, she's best friends with him basically, sometimes she goes to have a picnic with him."

"You didn't know this?" Said Rosemary.

"No, I didn't," said Marcy, she thought back to yesterday, Olivia had been against the idea and only Yunan had changed her mind, in all fairness she didn't blame them after all that had happened over ten years ago, but still they could have pointed her in the right direction, why not tell her.

She still remembered talking to Yunan and Olivia about what happened on the day the core took her, they apologized for failing to help her, Of course, Marcy didn't blame them, after all, they tried to rescue her to fix their mistake.

The awkward whistling that came from the two newts was probably unrelated to the matter.

Maybe it was to protect their daughter, Marcy could be a little overexcited when it came to getting information back then, they probably thought that she would react the same way again and wanted to prevent their daughter from being exposed to full research Marcy.

"Do you know where she went?" asked Marcy.

"The king has a small shack on the outskirts of town, but they've probably gone somewhere else by now," answered Rosemary.

Marcy's eyes widened, she'd have to wait a day to get the information then, Just another day to kill in Wartwood.

"See you later, Marcy," said the triplets, who then ran out the door.

"Be back before night." shouted Maddie after the three, the curse user turned back to her pupil, "You going to be okay?"

Marcy sighed in disappointment, "Yeah, I guess, It just means I need to spend a day, looking for Andrais, with a lot of ground to cover."

Maddie stood there and smiled, "Well, Maybe not."

Marcy noticed the frog bakers smile, "What do you mean?"

The room started to get a lot darker, and the shadows started to grow, Marcy felt a chill go up her back, but one that she didn't mind.

"I think you might need a curse," said Maddie before she started to cackle, for so long she had been held back from doing what she loved that wasn't for her job.

Marcy could only do one thing to this laugh, she took a strand of hair and covered her right eye, "Good to have you back, teach," before joining in with the cackling.

….

Ten minutes later they were in the triplets' room, Maddie was putting several ingredients into a cauldron, said cauldron was odder than the others, it was a mix of Pink, Green, and Blue.

"So your sisters are curse users?" asked Marcy.

Maddie let out a grunt, "No, They're worse, Blessing users."

Marcy blinked. "Blessing users?"

"Yeah, think of Curses but replace it with girly stuff and pastel," said Maddie trying to stop herself from gagging, "They just do good for everyone."

"Don't you?"

"Yeah, but I do with cool dark magic, They do it with lame magic," scoffed Maddie, "Now do you have something that belongs to Marcy Yunan?"

Marcy looked down at her shirt and noticed a stray hair, picking it off her shirt, she handed it to Maddie, "This might be hers."

Maddie took the strand and dropped it into the cauldron.

They stood there for a few seconds and watched the bubbling liquid.

"So how long does this…"

A hand reached out of the cauldron, like a zombie's hand reaching out of the earth to feel the air for the first time in years.

Marcy jumped a little, Maddie started to laugh, "It's alive, It's alive."

Another hand erupted out of the cauldron and took hold of the rim, Marcy watched in confusion, what was going on?

Whatever was in the cauldron started to rise. a weird green shape came out of it well to the floor, Marcy could see that it seemed to be the same shape and size as a frog child.

Marcy couldn't help but noticed it looked like her frog namesake.

All of a sudden, it ran towards the door, leaving footprints of goo on the floor.

"She'll lead us to the other Marcy and Andrais, Let's go," said Maddie.

"What about the bakery?" said Marcy.

"Don't worry, I've got something to cover for that," said Maddie with a smile.

Thirty minutes later, One-eyed Wally walked towards the bakery, hoping to buy some cricket pie.

However, as he reached the door he saw a sigh, "Back in Twenty minutes."

Wally shrugged and sat down, waiting for Maddie to return.

Five Years ago

Andrias opened his eyes, it took a few minutes for his machine eyes to focus to in the darkness of the shack, the focusing process took longer now, and his eyes were starting to malfunction.

Five years ago he would have gone to the palace basement and would allow the thing that was his father to fix them, Polly Plantar had offered her services to fix them, but he turned her down.

He had decided a long time ago that when his time came now he would not fight against it.

Also, he was worried when Polly mention giving him laser eyes.

There wasn't that much furnishing in the small (Still large by frog standards) shack he called home, all he had was a giant cloth sack he called a bed, a map of Amphibia, which showed many of the areas still affected by his deforestation, and a picture of the human who had changed his life, a gift from Yunan and Olivia, there was a small pile of books, mostly for planting seeds, with the odd fantasy book mixed in.

He reached for his hammer, which had become his cane in the past five years, holding it for a brief second he got lost in his memories of his old friend, he remembered ordering the hammer to be made for his friends he remembered how the toad squealed in enjoyment the moment he saw it, how the two of them started crying while Leif looked at both of them and smiled.

He was surprised just how much he remembered those adventures, and the heartbreak, He could have taken the hammer back whenever, but he wanted but decided to leave it there to be forgotten.

It was the story he told to the newt girl, he was glad that he helped her, but he also was haunted by just how he had treated the other Marcy he knew, still at least she was safe, and he would probably never see her again.

Standing up, he walked towards the door, he always had to start early, there was a lot of planting to do today.

When he opened the door, however, he was surprised to see an army of young Frogs, Toads, Newts, Salamanders, Polliwogs, and Nymphs, all just standing there.

"There he is, He's the one that saved me," said a familiar voice.

Andrias looked down to see the same polliwog as yesterday, a large smile plastered on her face.

"Hello," she said in a friendly tone.

"What are you all here for?" he asked, confused, did she bring all of them?

"Well, I told my friends about you, and they wanted to hear a story as well," said Marcy.

Andrias heard snickering from the army at what Marcy had just said.

He looked at all of them around him. "I'm sorry I don't do stories, good day,"

He started to walk towards them, and the children parted for him to step through, as he kept walking however he heard whispering and murmurs behind him, he looked back to see that they were following him.

For three hours the children continued to follow him, Once in they asked him various questions, stuff like how big was he, and did he know any monsters.

He would plant a seed and would leave it for one of the small water can robots to water, he was surprised how patient these children were.

"Scuse me, Mr. Drais?" said a particularly small Polliwog.

"Yes?" he said.

"How long do you have to do this for?"

"Forever."

"Why?"

"Because I did something wrong."

"Did you steal some cookies?" said another polliwog.

"No."

"Did you kick one of the snirds?" said a Newt boy.

"Again No."

"Did you say one of those words Polly Plantar uses?"

"No," said Andrias nearing the point of duress.

"What did you do then?" asked a young Newt

Andrias decided that there was one move he could use, it might make the town fear him, but it was better than this.

"I ate a Polliwog." replied the ex-king flatly.

The children went quiet.

"What?" asked Marcy.

"I ate a Polliwog, they were delicious, Who knows I might do it again," said Andrias making each word more sinister than the last, he put on a mock sinister smile, (this would make these children run.

"Mr. Giant Newt?" asked a nasally voiced Toad girl.

"Yes?"

"Could you eat my little brother?"

Andrias turned around and looked at the girl in shock, "What?"

"Oh, I have an annoying cousin, could you eat him?"

"No, I won't…"

"My mom grounded me, eat her, eat her."

All the children were now suggesting people for Andrais to eat, he placed his face in his palm, was there something about the smaller towns that just made the kids both annoying and murderous?

He sighed, "Okay, Listen, I'm not going to eat anyone, I'm not telling any stories, just go home."

There was a collective groan from the children as he walked away.

"Great job, Marcy." said a gruff Newt girl.

"This is why no one likes you."

Andrais looked back to see the Polliwog standing there surrounded by the children, there was a look of fear on her face.

"I didn't know, I thought…"

"You thought what? Did you just think that you had a friend?"

Andrias saw the look on the Polliwog, he saw her close her eyes, she saw the tears appear in the corner, and he thought back to the time her human Namesake cried.

Five years ago Andrias would have lied and put on a show trying to comfort her, while secretly thinking this was a waste of his time, now however he felt responsible for this,

He sighed, "You shouldn't pick on her."

Around forty heads turned towards him.

"Why not?" asked a small frog girl.

"Because I remember when I did something similar myself, Have you heard of Barrel the Brave?"

Several of the Toads nodded. Toad children were told the story of Barrel the Brave as soon as they could understand stories.

"Well, when I first met him, I thought he was Barrel the Blunderer."

The children laughed. Some of the Toads looked upset at this revelation.

"However, in time I came to know him as something more, the same with a certain ancestor of the Plantars."

The children became more interested, they all knew of the Plantars, the family of Anne, heck bumping into one of them was a frequent occurrence, Polly babysat many of them before she was fired and replaced by Frobo.

"It all began a long time ago…"

He told them the story of how he met Barrel and Lief for a second time, being forced to spend time with them, it had been as a part of his father's scheme to try and make the royal family look approachable, however, due to a series of mishaps involving a freed heron in the Palaces zoo, the three had come together to save Newtopia, it was barrels insane idea to jump on the Heron and ride it's back that had earned him the title of brave from both Andrais and Lief.

It was bittersweet to tell the story of those he loved and lost, but telling it to these children did something to him.

The children watch enraptured at his story, as he finished he was surprised to hear them ask for more.

He couldn't help but chuckle, "I'm sorry, I can't, I have more seeds to plant, and your story has gotten me off schedule."

Andrias was almost blown away by the collective groan.

"How about tomorrow?." said Marcy

Andrias should have said no, however, two things changed his mind, the first was the looks of the children, they seemed generally excited, he remembered the same look on the human he knew five years ago.

Secondly, he had enjoyed the nostalgia of the past, of a more innocent age.

"Yes," said Andrias smiling.

The cheer made him laugh, he watched as the children gathered around Marcy and told her how she was lucky to have such a cool friend.

Andrias couldn't help but smile for the both of them.

Andrias woke in his shed, he looked around, there were still the bags of seeds all stacked on top of each other, but there was also more, in another corner, there was a small desk (Though for his size most desks were small), with a small book open, Andrias was used to writing in small print.

His eyesight took a few minutes to focus now, but he didn't mind, It meant he could lay in bed for a few more minutes.

The book was a collection of the various tales he had told the children of Wartwood, the adventures of him and his friends.

Telling the children of Wartwood stories had become his favorite part of his community service, originally there were complaints from the town's parents that they should not be listening to one of the greatest monsters in Amphibia history.

Support however came from a surprising place.

Lady Olivia, who had argued that this should be part of his community service and told them that despite his actions he deserved a second chance.

She never did mention that he had saved her daughter.

There were still complaints of course but over time as they saw just how much their children enjoyed his stories allowed them to spend time with him.

So Andrias daily routine had changed for the better, at dawn he would start planting, and at noon, a crowd of children led by the Marcy Yunan would find him.

Many of the stories were about him, Barrel, and Leif, but there were also stories about his long life about many of the people he met, it was bittersweet, on one hand, he kept their stories alive, on the other hand, he remembered how he treated them when they were alive, he had dismissed many of them, he wished he treated them better.

Of course, the children remained interested and visited every day, it was something that made him feel better than he had for years.

All around his room there were pictures drawn by the children of him, of the stories that he had told.

On one shelf there were gifts that had been given to him over the years, nothing much just small homemade toys, a very small mug, and other objects they had given him.

Each of them was worth more than any treasure he had as a king.

He heard a knock on the door and smiled a small smile.

Walking up to the door, he opened it to see a small frog girl wearing a dress standing there, in her hand was a basket.

"Good morning Marcy."

"Morning Andrias." said the sweet voice of the young frog.

As the years went on a lot of the children who listened to his story stopped coming to see him, either they discovered what really happened or they just stopped wanting to hear stories, many of them just got too old, and they were however replaced by the next generation.

Marcy on the other hand still visited, not every day, of course, she had things to do, but she still managed to come once a week, today however was a picnic.

The food would be small (Everything was to him), but he always ate whatever Marcy brought, it made her happy.

"So, do you want to have the picnic here or maybe near one nearer to the town?"

The frog girl shuffled awkwardly for a second.

"Um, actually, I wanted to give you something."

Andrias feigned surprise, she had said she was going to get him something for a while now, today was the day, apparently.

"Oh, what is it, then?"

"Close your eyes," Marcy replied.

Andrias obeyed, he heard the sound of the basket opening and something being pulled out.

"Now open them."

He did so and saw that Marcy was holding a large paper ring in her hands, it looked just big enough to fit around his wrist.

"Ta-dah." said the frog girl

"Oh, a paper ring, you shouldn't have."

"No silly it's a friendship bracelet, I worked really hard to make one in your size."

Andrias smiled, he reached out and put the bracelet on his wrist, it fit perfectly.

A warm feeling entered his chest, it was hard to believe he would be touched by such a simple, but it had been given to him by someone who believed in him.

"Thank you, Marcy."

Marcy only beamed back at him and then reached inside her picnic basket.

"I brought some Jellied Worms, I don't if you like that but…"

"Jellied Worms," he said thoughtfully, "I think I was one of the first people in Amphibia to consume one."

"Really." Said the frog, enraptured in his words.

Andrias laugh and started to tell her the tale, he was near the end when he spotted something in the distance, something small and green.

"Marcy did you invite someone else?" he asked raising a finger in the direction of the figure who was running towards them.

Marcy turned and looked at the figure, "No, I don't know who that is."

The Ex-king stood up and walked in front of Marcy, the figure was getting closer, he could see slime dripping off their body, he knew about the cannibals in the deeper parts of the food, though he knew that many of them had given up that life after becoming clean.

As the figure drew near, however, Andrais noticed it had a similar appearance to the frog girl next to him.

"What is it?" asked Marcy.

Keep back, Marcy, I think it might be a curse."

"For you?" said Marcy, scared.

Andrias knew little about curses, before his defeat he believed that technology had replaced the need for such magic, he had read a few things in books but not much, it was possible someone was going to curse him, but a part of him fear that someone would be out to hurt Marcy.

He didn't know what it was, but whatever it was for, he would protect his friend.

The figure was near now, Andrias raised his fist and as it got close he slammed it into the figure,

It exploded into slime, Andrais looked down and saw it on his robes, he turned to Marcy to see that some of it had gotten on her dress.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I-" she started to say before she narrowed her eyes at something in the distance, "No, what's she doing here?"

Andrias was confused by what she had said, but then he turned and saw her.

His eyes widened, he saw two futures, one a frog with blue skin wearing a black dress and apron, he knew this was Maddie, that explained the curse, the other was a figure he had seen two nights ago.

It was her, she was taller and wore different clothes, but it was still here.

Over the last ten years, he had thought of Marcy often, and it hurt him every time.

The moment Anne had shown up in the camp he knew she would have followed, he left to avoid seeing her, he hoped she wouldn't find him, he should have known she wouldn't give up that easy.

"I'm sorry Marcy, I have to go," he said knowing it break her heart.

What?" she said upset, "Why?"

"I just cannot be with her," he said, turning around and entering the shed.

"Andrias." said the voice that still haunted his dreams.

He stopped briefly, wondering if he could stop being a coward.

He remembered everything he did, how he had manipulated her, how he had broken her, how he had almost taken her life, how he allowed his father to take her.

No.

There was no going back, he closed the door, Despite the frog Marcy's protests.

He leaned against the door, and closed his eyes, he tried to forget what he had done that day, he tried to pretend that all of his actions since the fall of his father mattered, that his efforts to regrow Amphibia helped, that his stories kept his friend's memories alive, that his friend with the Marcy mattered.

But whenever he tried, he kept thinking back to that one moment.

The throne room, the sword, Marcy.

It would always be the thing that would define him.

He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pleas from outside.