AN: I'm a graduate now. I got several job offers. This chapter was really hard to write, so I hope you enjoy it!
The political history of Amphibia can be summarised as complex, yet simple. Whether it was by design or simply built upon generation after generation is a question of historians but alas, such is the nature of politics. Amphibia is technically a kingdom but also an empire. More precisely, it was a kingdom and stays so in name but it functions less as such. This is due to the events of Amphibia's downfall at the beginning of a new monarchy, one led by the well-known King Andrias Leviathan – the sole ruler of Amphibia.
Peacebringer, the Great Wisdom of the North, Big Hubby-Wubby; having held the throne for over a thousand years, it is expected that many names and titles and achievements have been attributed to him. According to historians, among the kings of Newtopia, all of which part of the Leviathan lineage, Sir Andrias has the longest reign in all of Newtopian history, surpassing his own father's reign by over 800 years, a historic lifespan unlike any other. One could say that it was his dedication to the people and general wellness that allowed him to live for so long. Others may claim that this was simply a testament to his leadership and lineage. In reality, his life was full of strife, enough to kill any newt half his size, and his first years were not kind, a complete opposite of what he is known for today.
The Great Divide of the 2nd century was the first of his many conflicts – after his father's untimely departure, Sir Andrias was forced to take up the throne at a young age, unprepared and inexperienced. This, combined with his little support, ended up costing him and Amphibia greatly. The Great Divide, as it is aptly named, was the fracture of Amphibia's kingdom, leading to the decline of the land as a whole, both economically and socially. Due to unknown factors, Newtopia struggled to logistically support its outer territories which eventually, led to its often violent departure from the empire. This trend followed to even the middle and inner territories, causing minor scuffles and up to major civil wars all over until Newtopia was left but a shell of its former glory.
Although the reason for the Great Divide is still contested today, it is generally accepted that the Council – the close consorts and advisors of the Newtopian court – had a lack of confidence in his reign. King Andrias's early years were spent mostly on the battlefield, in an attempt to wane these disruptions and maintain the peace built for millennia. As a consequence, his court was left unattended, lending to many prominent nobles, merchants and those in power to abuse said power. Internal politics and extremist factions led to intense power struggles, and many houses which had existed for thousands of years, found themselves removed entirely, either with a sword through their chest or a drop of poison in one's drink. By the time some semblance of stability had returned, the claws had dug too deep.
T'was the end of the Golden Age.
Despite his title as peacekeeper, the actions he partook in could be seen today as controversial. Segregation of amphibians into selected roles and workforce, the forced expulsion of the Five Founding Families from the Court, the exclusion of non-newts in Newtopian politics, and of course, the caste system. It is agreed by modern historians and philosophers that his actions brought peace. But the question remains: was the peace worth the sacrifice?
— Sir McClincroak, excerpt from "Brief History Of Amphibia Vol 1"
"And 3... 2... 1..." CREEEAAAK! "Ta-da! We've left the desert!" Hop Pop cheered.
That was the celebratory cheer of an old man known as Hop Pop – full name Hopadiah Plantar. Of course, no one actually called him that. That'd be weird. But his excitement was real.
As if instantly, the surroundings changed. What was once a dry and unliveable hell, is now replaced with lush green fields and thick darker-green bushes. It was almost magical how the climates and weather worked in Amphibia and even after so many months here, the new world continued to surprise her.
All in all, she was just glad to be out of that burning heat. And from the looks of it, so was everyone else.
Sprig Plantar, slingshot boy, cheered, throwing his hands in the air. "Finally! It felt like we'd been there forever. Who knew the desert could be so big? How long were we there? 3 months?"
"It's only been over a week, bro," Polly stated factually.
Alongside these wonderful frogs, a human girl – age 14, blonde hair, blue eyes and a lot of attitude – happily stood. "Well, it doesn't matter how long. We're one step closer to Newtopia and that means one step closer to figuring out how to get me home." She said before punching the air in enthusiasm. "There's nothing that can stop us now!"
Suddenly, Sprig gasped. "Oh my frog, look! A double rainbow waterfall! We have to stop now!"
And indeed, it was. A pair of waterfalls neck-to-neck, pristine crystal clear water flowing from above and surrounded by beautiful flowers and glowing grass. It was a sight to see and definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not to say they wouldn't experience it again but it's just that it's such a beautiful location, who wouldn't want to stop by?
Who indeed?
Hop Pop frowned and shook his head. "Nu-uh, no. Unnatural occurrences can lead to unnatural deaths. That's a Hop Pop travelling tip for ya, free of charge!"
The children moaned despairingly, watching the wondrous tourist destination slowly disappear into the trees. It's a shame that they missed it because who knows what wacky adventures they could've gone through.
Thankfully, another opportunity arose as coming into view, they noticed a set of dirt tracks moving in twists and turns and loop-de-loops. Several drivers, all with high-end snails and leather clothing, were also there, driving on these tracks at dangerous speeds. Polly gawked at the scenery and instantly after, she cheered.
"Zoom dunes!" Polly said enthusiastically. "Why stop when we can rev up?! Let's show those snails what a real snail can do! What do you say, Bessie?"
The baby patted the family's beloved snail who in response, purred. Hop Pop, however, was quick to disagree.
"No way. A quick drive is a quick grave." He said, as if keeping notes on the back of his hand. "That's another Hop Pop travelling tip for ya. Hehe, I should be charging you at this point."
Polly groaned the only a baby her age could. Not that it worked; Hop Pop wasn't going to budge. And thus finally, in rules of three, it was Sasha's turn as she saw something of her interest. It wasn't actually that interesting; it just happened to be along the way.
"How about that place? Looks pretty inconspicuous to me." She said, pointing at the large diner beside the road. It was far bigger than Stumpy's and was bustling with customers.
Hop Pop read the sign. Without a second guess, he rolled his eyes. "'Amphibia'ss Best Diner'? Hah! Anything that claims to be the best of something is just lying to ya. Blatant false advertising. They'll even overcharge ya."
Sasha nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like something they'd do."
"But look! They have crickets and cream ice-cream." Sprig yelled as an argument.
"No ice-cream in the fwagon."
"Boooooo!"
Despite the complaints and the overreactions, none of the two frog siblings was able to convince their Hoppy Pop. With age came wisdom and the old frog was no exception; he left the valley countless times before, travelling all over and doing all sorts of odd jobs. At one point, he was even a carriage driver, this world's version of a taxi driver. He even had full blonde hair. Weird, right?
And with his experiences, came a lot of life lessons. He knew the dangers outside the valley and created a set of guidelines to help him and anyone with him whenever they travelled. He even wrote it all in a book but unfortunately, he forgot to bring it. Not that it mattered because he basically internalised everything already. If he can't show the children the book, then he'll be the book.
Sprig and Polly though didn't seem to care. They were young and rambunctious. It's expected that their first time out of the valley was supposed to be special. Yet, Hop Pop was determined to make it the most boring road trip ever much to their dismay.
Sprig groaned and rolled around. "I can't take it. All of these once-in-a-lifetime experiences are literally passing us by. How are you okay with this, Sasha?"
Sasha shrugged. "Look, dude. I just want to get to Newtopia as soon as possible. If missing out on all this cool stuff means that, then I don't care."
Sprig's eyes squinted. "I don't believe you."
Sasha looked away bashfully. "O-okay, maybe these things are a little bit interesting. Well, everything except the crickets in ice-cream. But you know, getting to Newtopia is really important to me! I can't have us waste time stopping at every tourist trap. I needed to be there, like, yesterday."
Polly raised a brow. "Yesterday? How could you be there yesterday?"
"It's a figure of speech."
Just then, Hop Pop coughed. "Red alert, kids. We're coming up to the Ruins of Despair."
Ruins of Despair… Oh, what a name. For a place to have such a mysterious and foreboding title, it must be a location of great significance, yes? Unfortunately, Sasha didn't think so. See, when someone says 'ruins', her first thoughts involved crumbling castles or broken stone bridges.
Instead, it's gigantic pimples protruding through the earth. Gross.
"These ruins here have been long abandoned for years, even before written history. Nobody knows what they're for and why they exist. A mystery best left unsolved as far as I'm concerned." Hop Pop explained, flicking the reins just so that Bessie, the family snail, moved just a tad faster.
Well, when you say it like that, even Sasha was curious. These ruins of iron and brass, partially buried with vegetation growing on all sides; they were completely different from anything else in Amphibia. One could even say they seemed otherworldly or even alien. For some reason, just looking at them made her uncomfortable. Every hair on her body screamed 'DANGER'.
"Huh…" Sasha hummed, pulling out a small biscuit from her pocket.
Polly, upon hearing the crunch, immediately turned to her in shock. "Hey, where did you get that biscuit?!"
"I don't tell you guys everything."
Suddenly and without warning, a familiar uninvited guest appeared, floating within Sasha's field of view. A pink frog with a hood whose appearance oddly resembled Sprig. You know, if he was 10 to 20 years older and the opposite gender.
"What is up, guuuurl? Did you get into trouble lately? Don't tell me – you did." The figure, Ms Pinky, said with a smile.
Surprised but not taken aback, Sasha continued her munching. "Oh, you're back. Where have you been for the past week?"
Ms Pinky waved dismissively. "Oh, you know… Places… Just minding my own business, like playing pool with Mr Fluffykins."
For context: Mr Fluffykins was Sasha's old plush doll from when she was still a child. Now dull pink and somewhat torn, the rabbit fluff-filled doll was her oldest and most beloved possession. Compared to her large collection of huggable plushies and expensive plastic dolls, Mr Fluffykins was special for it was a gift from her grandmother. She even used to sleep with it every night.
Though nowadays, she's grown up and no longer needed it, so it stayed in her closet, never to see the light of day again. At least, that's what she claimed. In reality, she brought it out and slept with it much more than she cared to admit.
Back in the present, Sasha blinked. "Wait, did you just say you were playing pool? My head has a pool table?!"
"Oh yeah, your head has a lot of things! School work, video games, repressed trauma regarding your non-existent parental figures, and a big library full of anime fight scenes and AMVs. Among other things, that is." Ms Pinky listed. "I see you've arrived at the automaton factories. Even after 1000 years, it's still standing."
Ms Pinky turned to her with a smile – not a trustworthy thing to do. "Why don't you check it out?"
Sasha raised a brow. "Eh, why?"
"What, aren't you a rebel? Isn't that what rebels do?"
"Yeah, I'm a rebel, not an anarchist!" Sasha argued. "I don't see a reason why I should even go here. It's like visiting Stonehenge; no one visits it because they want to. They just do it because everyone else does it."
Note: Sasha has never been to Stonehenge.
Ms Pinky floated to her side, leaning lazily in mid-air. "What if I told you that this place might have answers for you? Answers to the questions that you have? For example…" She paused, checking her nails. Do frogs even have nails? "A certain box of musical properties?"
Sasha's eyes widened as she gawked at the apparition, the implied notions clicking. "This place is connected to the box?" She whispered under her breath.
The music box – her biggest mystery. The very reason she and her friends got sent here and no matter how much she fiddled with it, she couldn't get it to work. But there's one thing for sure; Amphibia was where this box came from. Well, she had no proof of it but the box did have frog imagery on the surface so that probably counted.
She couldn't find anything regarding the box during her time stuck in Frog Valley. The old library, Hop Pop's personal bookcase, heck she even checked the Plantar basement. Most of the caverns were inaccessible but the ones that she could go to had nothing useful.
She was, in every sense, stuck.
Sasha shook her head, dispelling those worries and refocusing her thoughts. She glared at the ghost, looking offended. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
Ms Pinky chuckled, making a farting noise with her lips. "Oh, please. Do you really believe I'd lie to you?"
Sasha raised her brow.
"Okay, you made your point. But I assure you from the bottom of my non-existent heart that I am not lying to you. This place has significance!" She stated with confidence. "What kind of significance is up to you."
Sasha frowned at the reply. That was so unsatisfactory. Regardless, the teenager leaned to her best friend and whispered. "Psst! Hey, Sprig!"
"Huh?"
"Wait for my signal." She spoke quietly. Sitting back upright, she turned to the driver. "Hop Pop?"
"Yes, Sasha?"
"Long drives make me queasy and I need to puke my guts out. Can we stop?"
Eyes widened, Hop Pop pulled the leash and stopped Bessie with a lurch. "Dagnabbit, Sasha! How do you humans cope with such unreliable innards?" He complained, clicking his tongue. "Just let me know when we can start moving again. I don't like being here too long."
Sasha gave him a thumbs up and leapt off the passenger seat. Now on solid ground, she began stretching a bit, rotating her upper body left and right and pulling it backwards. She crouched a few times, relieving tension from her shoulders and knees, and twisted her head into easing her neck muscles. Upon halfway through her little exercise session, Sprig joined it, copying her movements. He quite enjoyed himself.
As Sasha did her final stretch and finished up, she took a deep breath in and out, relaxing her entire body. To her side, Sprig did the same.
"... Is this the signal?" He asked.
Sasha took another breath and gave a thumbs up.
Straightaway, both Sasha and Sprig bolted off. "Go, go, go, go!"
"FREEEEEDOOOM!" Sprig cried.
Hop Pop, who was watching the whole thing, looked aghast. "What the— Get back here, you two!"
He leapt off his seat and gave chase to the runaways, hounding them like the worried parent he was. Those two were going to put themselves in danger and he'll be damned if he let that happen. The place was literally called the Ruins of Despair, for frog's sake! It's self-explanatory.
Meanwhile, back at Bessie, Polly sat alone. "Okay, yeah, sure. Leave the baby unattended in the fwagon. Nothing could go wrong." She sarcastically said to no one in particular.
Have you ever been to a museum?
Scratch that – have you ever been to any form of an exhibition? Now, the point of these places and events was to showcase 'something' aka the thing the event was about. You go to a museum and they show historical artefacts. You go to an art gallery and you get paintings. Car shows have cars and performances have, well, performers.
In all of these places, there was one unwritten rule which was written on several signs and plastered all over the place: Do Not Touch. There are many reasons why you should abide by this rule but those aren't important. What's important was that Sprig, upon choosing one of these ruins and getting into close proximity, decided to do the exact opposite.
Sprig and Sasha stood right in front of the metal dome, slowly looking up to the top. It was a lot bigger up close. "The Ruins of Despair..." Sprig muttered. He then placed his hand on the cold iron walls. "Touch."
His pupils dilated as a wave of euphoria crashed through him. This feeling right here? It was the best feeling ever and the very peak of his 10-year-old life.
On the other hand, Sasha wasn't at all interested in slapping the walls for fun. No, she had other motives for being here and the first thing she needed to do was find a way to get inside. Annoyingly and without warning, Ms Pinky appeared once more, humming a tune from one of the many anime available in her head.
From nowhere, Ms Pinky pulled out a pair of pom poms, probably also from her memory bank, and began dancing. "Congratulations, Sasha Waybright! You did it! You wrecked the old man's plans, just like how much of a wreck your home life is."
"Okay, first off; that was super personal and completely uncalled for." The teenager scoffed. "And second; you're the one who told me to come here. Now make yourself useful and help me find a way to get in."
The ghost threw away the balls of fuzz and rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, I'll help." She said.
Ms Pinky floated to the walls of the ruins. She then flew up, down and around, examining the old metal surface with scrutiny. She even phased into the ruins, though only for a moment. After a minute or so which, for the whole time, Sasha was tapping her foot at increasing frequencies, Ms Pinky let out a response; she hummed.
"Mmm, interesting…" She then turned around and shrugged. "I have no idea how to open this door."
Sasha's foot stopped tapping. "WHAT?!" She shouted incredulously. "How do you not know how to open this?! You're the one who told me to even come here!"
"Hey, contrary to popular belief, I'm not actually omniscient. I don't know everything. I've only got this pink frog's memories and right now, I'm still rummaging through the mess that is yours."
Sasha stared at her. She stared at her in the most bewildering way possible man and frog. It took everything in her to process that response and even then, it was too much. All this has been nothing but a waste of her time.
Sasha turned pink. Or more precisely, she turned red in rage. "Oh. My. God. Why did I even listen to you?! Now I have to give Hop Pop a stupid apology, even though all that was completely avoidable!" She groaned and turned to the ruins, its metallic dome figure mocking her. "What a load of sh—!"
THUNG!
In a fit of rage, Sasha kicked the ruins with all her might. The impact of her shoe and the metal reverberated across the entire structure like a bell, shaking the whole area. Feeling pain creep up from her toes, Sasha quickly pulled back her feet and hopped around comically. "Owowowowow!"
Suddenly from above, Sprig fell, landing on all fours like a cat. "W-what just happened?! Was there an earthquake?! I wasn't done touching yet!" He then saw Sasha in pain and worriedly ran to her side. "Sasha! Are you okay? Did you get attacked?"
"Just… hurt my toes…" She squeaked. "Stupid ruins…"
Sprig frowned. The ruins, which were not alive or moving in any way, did this? He won't stand for this! "Don't worry, I'll avenge you!"
"I… I'm not dead."
"I'M AVENGING YOOOOOUUUUU!"
Sprig pulled his hand back and with the rage and ferocity of the Plantars, he slapped the ruins.
The Plantars were not a violent family. A slap was already quite a lot.
Coincidentally and with a chance smaller than the number of sand particles in a desert (approximately 30 million), Sprig somehow slapped in the right place. See, Sasha and Ms Pinky were doing it wrong; they were looking for a button. In reality, these ruins didn't run on analogue buttons. No, they ran on touchpads which were far more advanced. It's just that due to the degradation of the structures, these touchpads blended into the environment, and weren't so responsive and needed an additional push.
Also, Sprig, being a frog, was quite wet. Wet hands plus an old touchpad, plus excessive force?
FOOOSH!
Suddenly, the ruins beeped twice and without further warning, the ground shook and an invisible door creaked open, the vegetation falling off, revealing its bronze-plated surface. Inside and through the entrance, all they saw was nothing but pure darkness.
"… Whoa." Sprig whoa'd. He slowly looked at his hands and his eyes lit up in divine revelation. He, Sprig Plantar, was blessed.
Sasha gazed at the opening with awe. "Holy potatoes, Sprig. Honestly, I was just using you as a distraction but I take that back! You're my good luck charm now."
"I was a distraction?"
"KIDS!"
Before they could ponder any further, Hop Pop called out to them, finally caught up and wheezing exhaustedly. He hunched forwards, his hands on his knees, taking short and audible gasps. The two kids simply stared as he caught his breath.
It took a while.
Hop Pop, still somewhat short of breath, shouted. "D-don't you dare jump into those ruins!"
"Into the ruins!" Sasha declared, leaping in with zero hesitation. Sprig followed suit with a howl of his own, jumping with her.
What adventures awaited them?
Sprig and Sasha, in a daring move still debated till today, jumped into the unknown. Quite literally actually.
The two slid down into the depths of the mound, the walls around them entirely clad with metal plates and rubber cables. As they gracefully moved to the flow, the path before them lit up, revealing more and more of the abandoned ruins. Eventually, after several long seconds of sliding, they reached the bottom as evidenced by the lights' abrupt end.
Just before the slippery slope ended, Sasha leapt off, doing several flips in mid-air before landing perfectly on her two feet. She wasn't the cheerleading captain of Saint James Middle School for her queen complex, that's for sure. And people say acrobatics plus performance arts wasn't a sport. Hah!
Sprig, however, did none of that. Instead, just as they reached the bottom, he went the opposite route and decided to relax. Once he was at the end, he simply slid across the room, rotating slowly like a kebab and passing Sasha. Thankfully, he didn't crash into anything and only succeeded in amusing the teenager.
Pop, pop, pop! The lights by the walls began lighting up one after another. Gradually, the whole room became visible and to be honest, it was not at all what she expected.
"OOOOOOOOOH!" Sprig made a noise – a gleeful noise but no word fully explained it. Before one could crack open a thesaurus, he ran off to fulfil his childhood dream. "SO MUCH MORE STUFF TO TOUCH!"
It wasn't that much of a dream.
Meanwhile, Sasha examined the now-visible room, surprised by the abundance of machinery. See, when you use the term 'ruins', you never expected it to be something so advanced and industrial. Yes, she already had an inclination towards it being something non-medieval based on its outside appearance but 'alien' was not on the list.
However, at the end of the large circular room, an object of interest appeared in her view.
"Is that... a computer?" Sasha asked out loud. It was at the top of a frog-looking statue and had a large black screen and a keyboard in front of it. It kind of reminded her of those spy movies or superhero films where the main hero has to shut down a doom device by hacking a large-screen computer like this one. Never did she dream of even seeing one in person.
At a nearby wall, sticking to the metal like a lizard, Sprig raised a brow. "Computer? Is that a thing made to be touched?"
"Okay, this touching phase of yours is getting old."
"WAAAAH—OOF!" Just on time. Having followed them closely, it was only a matter of time until Hop Pop finally caught up to them. And from the looks of him rubbing his behind, he was prepared for the makeshift slide at the beginning. "Dang floor... It's too slippery..."
After a few seconds, the soreness on his back faded and Hop Pop was back to his hoppity self. And oh boy, was he not happy. "What the—Sprig! Get down from there! As for you, Sasha Waybright Plantar..."
Sasha's eyes widened. "Oh crud, he full-named me."
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DANGEROUS THAT WAS?!" Hop Pop yelled in justified fury. "This place ain't called the Ruins of Despair for nothing, Sasha! Who knows what monster lurks in the shadows?! Or whether or not this place was booby-trapped! There are so many ways this can go wrong!"
"W-well, nothing went wrong yet so it's probably okay. Have some optimism!" Sasha exclaimed, forcing a laugh.
Hop Pop frowned. The laugh did nothing. "I'll have some optimism when I'm dead. Like, what were you thinking of even going here?!"
"It's complicated, okay?! I think this place has some clues about getting me home. I really, really need to check this out!"
"How'd you figure that?"
Sasha raised a finger, her mouth agape and ready to answer. Yet, she stopped. The words had miraculously travelled through her brain for processing before escaping her throat and when she thought about it, she realised… it sounded really stupid.
"The ghost lady... told me...?" She said it anyway.
If one could witness the turmoil of the inner person, they'd see Hop Pop's spirit pinching between his eyes in disappointment. In the physical realm, he did the same thing but more impactful. This whole thing with ghosts was getting really out of hand.
"Once we're in Newtopia, we're definitely getting you to a doctor. Until then, we're heading straight back up and out of this forsaken hole!" He barked harshly, causing her to flinch. He then turned to the second child who, at the moment, was climbing across the walls. "Sprig! I told you to get down from there!"
"But Hop Pop! You don't get it! This is a computer!"
"What's a computer?"
"I don't know but it's made to be touched." Sprig assured. "I mean, look at that lever. Hanging loose and free, untethered except for whatever it's connected to by a chain. It's just there, in the middle of the room but slightly off-centre, enough to entice you without standing out too much. It's asking—no, begging to be pulled."
"Do you feel that, Hop Pop? Do you feel that urge?"
Just to make a point, he softly slapped the lever as if he was teasing it in a way no 10-year-old boy should. If the lever was alive, it would surely blush from his aggressive advances.
Unfortunately for him, Hop Pop only felt more disappointment.
"No. And don't you dare pull that lever, Sprig. Unlabelled levers are an invitation to traps."
"The lever has invited me, Hop Pop! It's begging me to pull it after bringing us here from far away. And what kind of guest would I be to refuse it? A bad guest, that's what!" Sprig dialogued. Before any further conversation could occur, he pulled the lever without warning with a smile only the devil could love. "Bwap!"
CLICK!
"GAH!"
Hop Pop quickly shielded himself, closing his eyes and waiting for the sweet release. And yet, much to his surprise, there was nothing. The lever did not respond outside of Newton's Third Law of Motion. It was pulled, there was a click and… nothing.
"Huh. Nothing happened." Sprig exclaimed. He looked at the lever, his hand still holding it. "Maybe I didn't pull the lever hard enough."
"Or, hear me out, this place doesn't have any more juice. I mean, look at it. It's like a thousand years old or something." Sasha theorised. To prove a point, she climbed up to the computer and haphazardly smashed the keys. Much like the lever, there was no response. "See, Hop Pop? Nothing to worry about. It's all cool."
Sasha leaned on the console, her arm supporting her like a crutch. Unbeknownst to her, at the base of her palm, electricity buzzed. Small flashes of pink, minor yet noticeable, crackled excitably. Eventually, they grew at an exponential rate and at one point, gave her a little Happy Birthday present.
BZZZZT!
Sasha pulled her hand away, yelping in pain. "YEOWCH! WHAT THE HECK?! IT SHOCKED ME!"
In actuality, it was Sasha who shocked it, seeing that the electricity came from her and not the other way around. Still, it was just some unnecessary detail and the computer didn't seem to mind. In fact, it seemed to like it, considering that the whole structure was coming to life at the very moment. From inside, the three visitors felt the room shake and suddenly, a machine-like voice boomed from some nearby speakers.
"START-UP ENGAGED."
Sprig gasped. "Whoa! The building can talk! Not sure how I feel about that."
"ASSEMBLY LINE ACTIVATED. ROUTINE PROTOCOLS ENGAGED."
Sasha raised a brow. "Assembly line? Is this place some kind of factory?"
"Hey, look! It's making something!" Hop Pop said, pointing at the glass panels nearby. Previously, despite the lights, it was too dark to see through it. But now, with more lighting suddenly appearing, the space behind the panels became clear.
On a conveyor belt, an undescribed metal 'something' went along the line. From there, the line would occasionally stop where then, several devices would appear and begin cutting and assembling the metal 'something'. Across the process, more and more would be tacked on, welded, glued and screwed tight onto the 'something', making it larger and more complex with each stop.
The Plantars weren't sure what the assembly line was making but it was unanimously agreed that whatever it was, it was neat.
Hop Pop hummed. "Wow. This here is mighty impressive."
Sprig nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I wonder what it's making."
"Probably something basic like a TV," Sasha said, rolling her eyes.
"Whoa!" Sprig said, impressed. "I don't know what that is!"
"You don't have to. I don't think Amphibia has Netflix." Sasha replied. "Besides, this isn't what we're here for."
"And what exactly are we here for, hmm?" Hop Pop asked with an accusing tone.
Sasha sharply drew her breath. "L-like I said, I'm looking for clues that can lead me back home."
"I thought we were going to do that at Newtopia!"
"We can do multiple things! I'm a multi-tasker!" Sasha claimed, despite having no proof of such. "Look, it's going to be fine! So what if the factory suddenly turned on and started talking? I mean, what's the next worst thing that could happen? Eh?"
Sasha smirked at him with the stupidest and most confident smile she could muster. Hop Pop pinched the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh. As for Sprig, he was still admiring the many mechanical arms and lasers performing their operations through the looking glass.
All in all, it was a lost cause.
BWEEEP! BWEEEP! BWEEEP!
"WARNING! UNIDENTIFIED PERSONNEL DETECTED. LEVEL 2 HAZARD DETECTED. ACTIVATING PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES…"
"U-uh, what does that mean?" Sprig nervously asked.
It was then and there, preceded by hissing steam, whirring gears and screeching metal, a pair of gigantic mechanical hands appeared from within the large statue/computer. Sasha, Hop Pop and Sprig gazed in horror as their luck had turned to the worst, for that statue did not look at them kindly. With cold, calculating precision, one of the hands swung down onto them, slamming its metallic palm with no greater intention than to crush everyone into chunks of flesh.
""AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"" They all screamed.
Hmm… All of this excitement makes one wonder where the youngest of the Plantars was.
Meanwhile, in an ironically safer place on the surface, Polly drove Bessie up to the starting line, holding the reins with her flipper while sitting in her bucket. She turned to the other drivers, wearing a pair of star-shaped sunglasses which she lowered slightly in dramatic fashion.
"Hey, boys~ Room for one more~?" She asked playfully. The drivers in their black leather clothing all glanced at one another, confused, before turning back towards her.
"Hey, aren't you a bit too young to be driving a snail, let alone participate in an open snail derby race?" One driver asked.
"Yes, yes I am."
...
...
The same driver smiled. "Alright! That's rad!"
At the stands off the road, the announcer shouted. "You have 10 minutes to reach the finish line! First one there wins!" He raised his flag and all the participants revved up, wearing their road rage faces.
"Ready!"
"Set!"
"GO!"
The flag was waved and at full throttle, all the drivers and their snails, Polly and Bessie included, left the starting line, leaving nothing but clouds of dust.
KHOOOOM-SSH!
Back at where the drama was occurring, there was much rejoicing! The remainder family with their innate survival instincts have managed to avoid the deadly strike from the machine.
Just before the metal hand could land on them, Sasha grabbed both Sprig and Hop Pop, tucking them under her arms and leapt out of the way, dodging by a hair's breadth. The entire room shook, roots cracking and dirt sprinkling from above. The force was so strong, the winds alone threw the trio further, leaving a large imprint on the equally metallic floor.
Forget chunks; that would've turned them into a fine red paste, similar to Bolognese sauce.
Was Italian food a thing here? None of the frogs knew what a pizza was and that was the definition of Italian.
"I-is everyone alright?!" Sasha asked, coughing from all the dust being billowed about.
"I am in one piece!" Sprig said, giving a thumbs up.
Hop Pop grumbled. "I could be better..."
Sasha nodded. "Good, good! Now let's get the heck outta here!"
KHOOM-SSH!
As was before, the computer-statue hybrid slammed its other hand at their position, forcing Sasha to once more jumped to safety, only to get blown away by the residual impact. Having learned her lesson, Sasha tucked herself in and reoriented herself as she flew, reducing the force she would've gotten had she simply landed on the floor on her back.
"That thing is throwing us around like dolls!" Sprig yelled. "How are we supposed to escape if we keep getting pushed all over?"
Sasha clicked her tongue. "I-I don't know! Maybe we should split up! I'll act as a distraction and you two can get back to the entrance."
Hop Pop gawked. "And leave you behind? Not in a million years, young lady! Family sticks together no matter what!"
Before Sasha could argue, the machine moved, swiping at them horizontally. Sasha's eyes widened in panic and she pushed the two frogs down, ducking out of the way. Even though the hand didn't hit them, it was so large and heavy, they could feel themselves losing their footing from the strong air trail.
KHOOOOM!
"We're sitting ducks so long as we're in one place! We need to break up!" Sasha barked.
"B-but if we escape, who's going to cover your back then?" Sprig asked.
Sasha turned to him and closed her eyes. "I'll be fine. I can handle myself." She said, unable to look straight at him.
Sprig frowned. Sasha was always the kind to tell things outright. Yes, she was a liar at times but recently, she hasn't been able to mislead them properly. There was a certain nervousness behind it that Sprig had yet to figure out why. And this was one of those times.
"I don't believe you."
She scowled. "Look, just run to the exit, okay?! I don't need you guys to get hurt just because I wanted to be stupid and selfish this one time!"
Surprisingly, Sprig slumped, defeated, and sighed. "Okay..." He replied mournfully, unwilling to argue any further. It seemed he fully understood the depth of the crisis at hand.
Sike.
To the shock of many, Sprig dashed away, leaving Sasha and his grandpa in his wake. He grabbed a nearby broken metal pole and hit it repeatedly onto the ground and surrounding objects. "HEY, HEY! OVER HERE! LOOK AT ME!"
The computer 'turned' towards him, following the disturbing clanking. One of the three intruders had broken off, leaving him alone and defenceless. Although he was an easy target, the Level 2 hazard still took priority. This facility had been shut down for centuries and suddenly, a power source appeared and 'shocked' the factory to life. That made it extremely dangerous.
A prepubescent frog was nothing compared to an unidentified creature with an unfathomable amount of energy.
"WOLO, WOLO, WOLO!" He chanted.
The ancient art of conversion, lost from the age of empires? Sprig's risk assessment rose significantly, from Level 1 to now Level 3. The computer raised its arm, rearing for a strike.
Sprig blinked. "Wait, maybe I didn't think this through..."
"SPRIG!"
KHOOOOM-SSH!
Alas, poor Sprig. We all knew him, now gone too soon. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He may not have been the brightest nor the dimmest of wits, yet in the young boy carried a spirit of pure gold. T'was a shame that this happened to be his fate...
...
...
"A-am I dead?"
"Oh, you will be, WHEN I KILL YOU!"
Sprig blinked, his teary eyes moist no longer. Behind him, holding him up like a wet rag, was his sister-from-another-mother Sasha Waybright. Neither of them was at ground zero; in fact, Sasha hadn't moved an inch. It was Sprig who moved, somehow back to where he started, along with Hop Pop who could only gawk at what occurred.
What did occur by the way?
"WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING?!" Sasha yelled furiously, shaking him around by the nape.
Sprig popped his lips. "B-being a distraction?"
"THAT WAS FOR HOP POP, NOT A MURDER MACHINE!"
Next to her, Hop Pop tugged her arm. "Sasha... How did you do that? You just pulled Sprig away like magic!"
The boy in question nodded, only to gasp and point. "Oh my frog, your eyes! They're pink!"
Hop Pop was in shock. "Just like back at Toad Tower! Een your hair's pink but only the tips."
Exactly as Hop Pop and Sprig pointed out, Sasha's eyes were bright pink, almost magenta-like. Not only that but surrounding her was an ominous and ethereal aura of a similar colour, blanketing her lightly but not overpowering her natural tones. The aura was more visible as an outline to her figure than it was on her. This was far more apparent in her hair where the ends were highlighted but not the roots.
Not that it mattered to Sasha.
"WHO CARES WHAT MY HAIR IS LIKE?!"
Hop Pop crossed his arms and huffed. "Look, I'm just pointing it out. No need to get your radishes all croaked up."
All of the sudden, Sprig shrieked. "AAAHHHHH! IT'S DOING IT AGAIN!"
Away from the trio, the hostile metal monstrosity geared up, lifting its hand for the umpteenth time. It was a dumb machine with very rudimentary security systems in place; you can't expect much variety. If it worked, why fix it? So far, it hasn't worked but that's what happens when you're locked and depowered for a millennium.
KHOOOOM-SSH!
The hand pushed down with great might, propelled by state-of-the-art ancient drive systems and good ol'gravity. Unlike the previous few times, the gang did not evade, standing in place, frozen and terrified. A foolish manoeuvre; the metal giant crushed its targets like peanuts, shattering the very floor beneath and sending shards and dust flying all over.
A direct hit. The threat was finally eliminated.
PWOOOSH!
Suddenly, the dust was blown away. At the epicentre of impact, what should've been organic mush was instead the same three individuals, unharmed and unbothered. Well, actually, extremely bothered, not simply due to the fact they were still alive but also how the hand didn't reach them.
Just as the 2-tonne palm was about to pulverise them, Sasha, without looking, lifted her arm and grabbed the high-velocity hunk of iron.
The hand stopped dead in its tracks.
My Chemical Romance – Teenagers
They're gonna clean up your looks,
With all the lies in the books,
To make a citizen out of you;
"Is that music?" Hop Pop asked out loud.
"I dunno but I like it!" Sprig said, ever so optimistic.
Because they sleep with a gun,
And keep an eye on you, son,
So they can watch all the things you do.
Sasha twisted to the computer and glared. Rapidly, from the tips of her finger, a mysterious pink aura spread over the limb, washing it brightly with a magenta hue.
Because the drugs never work!
They're gonna give you a smirk!
'Cause they got methods of keeping you clean;
She then squeezed her fingers—
CRRRNG-K!
–and the metal cracked.
They're gonna rip up your heads,
Your aspirations to shreds,
ANOTHER COG IN THE MURDER MACHINE!
With bared fangs and a bestial roar, she ripped the entire arm of the machine off its reinforced joints, bits and pieces of scrap metal flying along with sparks. 5 full tonnes of iron and brass, torn and broken in mere seconds. Sasha threw away the junk to the side, shaking the whole structure.
They said, "All teenagers scare the livin' sh-t out of me!";
"REASSESSING THREAT TO LEVEL 5. DEPLOYING COUNTERMEASURES."
In a row at the edge of the ceiling, numerous turrets popped from the walls one by one, immediately aiming at the human girl. Sasha clicked her tongue, irritated, and stared at each turret, keeping them in her sight. Pulling her hand back, she swiped at them from afar, clawing their image.
They could care less as long as someone'll bleed!
All at once, the turrets began to bleed their metallic chrome hues, replaced by none other than bright magenta. Slowly and with great stress, they began to twist along their hinges, creaking as they go, as if an invisible force came at them relentlessly. Eventually, instead of her, they ended up lining their sights on one another.
So darken your clothes, or strike a violent pose;
Sasha lifted her hand and snapped her fingers.
Maybe they'll leave you alone, BUT NOT ME!
PYOOO-B-B-B-BJOOOOOOM!
Hallelujah.
The turrets fired at each other, forced by their master; their conqueror in pink, an emperor of strength. The sky within the enclosed room was filled with sparks and fireworks, raining droplets made of light and fire. The cacophony of burning eruptions and shattered steel brought panic to the frogs who witnessed such explosive catastrophe, yet was nothing but background noise to her.
In mere seconds upon deployment, the security system was not only utterly destroyed but the entire structure was heavily damaged from the unexpected friendly fire. The computer—nay, the entire factory was not designed with such a level of threat in mind. There was always a risk of saboteurs and wild animals breaking in and it should've been enough.
But these intruders were none of these. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, courtesy of a certain someone's karmic luck.
Sasha clapped her hands free of dirt and huffed proudly. "Guess that's done. Now let's get out of here. I hate this place and I want to leave."
Hop Pop blinked. "U-uh, right, then! Let's get out of here!" He cheered, walking to the exit.
Before doing that as well, Sprig ran to her side and tugged her arm. "That was amazing, Sasha! I didn't know you were so strong! Is this like a human thing?"
"What? What do you mean?"
"I mean, you did beat that statue at an arm-wrestling contest and kinda caused those weird shooting spikes to explode. I don't think I can do that." Sprig stated.
Sasha chuckled lightly. That's not a human thing. Why should she be able to do that? "I..."
BA-DUMP!
But then, Sasha paused, her chest feeling tight.
That's right; she did do all that. The superhuman feats that were impossible were made possible just moments ago. But she's just human, so that shouldn't be possible, right? She was a cheerleader and she knew her limitations. So how did she do all that?
And why did it feel so natural, as if it was always hers?
Behind her, the computer calculated its odds and honestly, it was not that good. With only one arm left at its disposal, it could only accept one method to solve this crisis; slam its hand down to crush its targets, just as it did before.
See, computers weren't programmed to be adaptive and change tactics. They were meant to take the best course of action with the highest chance of success. It just so happened that this was the said action, even though the chances are thinner than spider silk. But 2 percent was better than 1, so why not?
It went as well as expected.
The hand came out of nowhere, silently ambushing the duo with their backs turned and their attention divided. Sprig managed to witness the shadow looming over them but was unable to shout a warning in time. It was too late.
"WILL YOU QUIT IT?!" Sasha screamed in anger.
Without meaning to, her first was emboldened by a pink glow and as the hand reached close, she clenched her fist and punched the incoming object with all her might. It just happened to be a tad too much.
Before she knew it, her punch sent a shockwave upon contact, cascading through the entire structure with waves of staggering force. In mere seconds, in another impossible show of strength, the whole computer-statue hybrid was ripped off its foundations.
In mere seconds, the giant icon was sent hurtling through the ceiling, drilling through layers of concrete, dirt and bedrock. In mere seconds, the gigantic metal statue in the form of a frog disappeared to the horizon, leaving nothing but a huge gaping hole in its wake.
Sasha had accidentally and quite literally punched the roof off the place.
Sasha's eyes transformed back to their familiar baby blue, the ethereal aura blanketing her vanishing like mist. The realisation of her deeds immediately dawned on her, crashing down on her poor mind like a cave-in. She did it again and this time, even greater. Human beings weren't supposed to be able to blow a massive tunnel through several metres of compacted earth.
BA-DUMP!
Again, her heart; it felt squeezed as if someone was clutching onto it. Filled with pain and unease, she immediately emptied her stomach, removing contents from her organic fleshy form, before proceeding to sleep on the same putrid vitriol she ejected.
Incredible.
…
…
… It was dark.
That was the first thing Sasha noticed – how dark it was. There was no end to the abyss, nor any beginning. She couldn't see the limits of the sky and even the ground was pitch black. It was pure and complete darkness with nothing else in sight.
Except for a small glowing light, blue in colour, just beyond her reach. She tried to get closer but she couldn't feel her arms or legs. Yet, the light still glowed, ignoring her existence, bouncing slightly in the air.
It was then Sasha heard a voice. It came from the light. She couldn't hear it properly but it was getting louder and clearer. Sasha strained herself, pushing her body as close as she can. And as she got close, so close enough to even touch, she finally heard its words, a familiar voice ringing through her ears.
"You should've stayed dead."
SLAP!
Suddenly, a pair of hands appeared on the other side, slapping the light in between its palms. It flashed and fizzled, disappearing in an instant, leaving nothing but luminescent dust. Sasha turned to the owner of those hands and to her surprise, it was the only person that could be there.
Ms Pinky smiled, the same way a person would after smashing a bug in their hands. "Well, that's the last of them. At least, for now. I can't exactly get rid of all of this, not without her permission. But hey, maybe someday, you two will patch things up and get yourself fixed. But for now…"
"It's time to wake up, kid."
Ms Pinky clapped her hands.
Hnng... What's… huh?
Groaning, slowly and gradually, Sasha's eyes opened, allowing light into her. Her vision was blurry and unclear, and her hearing was numb. Her whole body felt cold on the inside, especially her chest, but outside of that, she felt warm as if she was embraced with love.
Where was she? And why was it so warm?
"And remember; always keep your hands on the reins. Never let go when Bessie is on the move. A snail depends on the driver to tell them where they're going. They have pretty poor eyesight." An old man's voice said, his mumbling accent somehow soothing to her ears.
"Right, got it! Thanks for the free lessons, Hop Pop!" A younger and free-spirited voice replied, cheerful and innocent. Though, deceptively so.
Next to her, she could hear a slightly older voice, a male one, huffing annoyedly. "How come she gets to drive Bessie? I'm the older brother! It should be my turn first!"
The old man nodded, his figure still blurred in her eyes. "True but she's really good at it! So might as well cultivate the skill early, as they say."
"But Polly drove off with Bessie to a derby race! Shouldn't she be jailed in her bucket or something?"
"What are you, a cop?"
"I'm not rewarding her for doing something completely reckless and endangering herself. I just don't want to let her skills go to waste, that's all." The old man rebuffed. "She's still getting punished later."
"Aw, what?!"
Sasha blinked and with each passing motion, her vision became clearer. After only a few flaps, she could finally see with 20-20 vision and her hearing was also back to normal. To her pleasant surprise, the talking figures were none other than the Plantar family – Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly. She then took a second to think as to why she was surprised to begin with and quickly threw those thoughts away.
"W-what's going on?" Sasha asked with a low voice. Not low enough as immediately, all members of the family turned towards her, their eyes widened in shock.
""SASHA!"" The three frogs shouted together. Hop Pop pulled the reins, stopping the snail in her tracks and shaking the fwagon. Along with his grandchildren, they leapt from the seat outside and jumped into the carriage, swarming the teenager like hungry animals.
"Sasha! You're okay!"
"We were so worried about you!"
"We thought you were dead!"
Sasha blinked. "C-calm down. I can't hear you guys with all of you talking at the same time."
Sasha tried to stand up. Emphasis on the 'try'. She leaned forward from her 130-degree position, only to find herself struggling. She tried to prop herself with her hands but was unable to move them. It was then she began looking around her body and to her confusion, she was, for some reason, wrapped in thick blankets from head to thigh into a roll similar to a cigar or a breakfast burrito.
"… Why am I a burrito?" Sasha asked.
Hop Pop smiled, scratching his cheeks bashfully. "Oh, you mean the huggy-buggy healing wrap? It's an old family technique, supposed to make you feel as if you're being hugged by loved ones to help you recover. I haven't done it since 5 years back but I gotta say, I think I did pretty well."
Ah, so that explained why she was warm.
"How are you feeling, BFF?" Sprig asked, nervous and with a worried tone.
"I'm…" Sasha began, thinking of what to say. "… feeling okay, I guess."
Sprig leaned closer, even going as far as grabbing her restrained self. "Are you sure you're okay? Because you kinda say you feel okay in everything and it's a bit hard to tell whether you're actually okay or you're just saying okay."
"N-no, no! I actually am, I mean it!"
Sprig frowned but only briefly, transforming to a smile just after. "Okay! I believe you!"
Sasha turned – and by that, she just moved her eyes – to Hop Pop. "What happened? Again, why am I a burrito?"
"I don't know what a burrito is but if you need a recap, well, basically, you magically destroyed everything, expelled your insides to the outsides, as is with you humans and your unreliable innards, and then passed out." Hop Pop recalled.
Beside him, Sprig nodded. "Yeah! And you were cold. Like, dead cold. We were really panicking and dragged you to the fwagon as fast as we could." He then glared at Polly. "If the fwagon was there."
Polly threw her flippers up. "Oh, come on! I was late for like 2 seconds!"
Sprig scoffed. "Anyway, when Polly finally got there, we cleaned you up and put you in all the blankets we have! It wasn't working that well, so Hop Pop tried wrapping you in this ancient technique and it seemed to be doing something. Since then, we were back driving on the path, hoping to get to the nearest town as fast as possible."
Sasha took her sweet time to process that. "Huh…" She said, still putting things together. They went that far for her, huh? The teenager blushed, coughing lightly. "W-well, I feel better now. So uh, t-thanks."
She'd never admit it but hearing how worried they were for her kinda made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And that's a secret she'd carry to her grave.
"Hey, Hop Pop? Sorry for putting you in so much of a hassle. I should've listened to you when you said the ruins were dangerous. Instead, I was being stupid." Sasha apologized, looking downwards in shame.
Hop Pop smirked knowingly but instantly softened. "Heh, I know. And I accept your apology. You were just trying to find clues on how to get back. I can't exactly stop you from that but maybe next time, you'd actually think twice about doing these stunts, kay?"
She smiled back. "Yeah, okay, that's fair."
"You're still in trouble though."
"That's also fair."
In a historic moment, for no special reason whatsoever, everyone laughed. It started with Sasha, then Sprig, followed by Polly and finally, Hop Pop. They just stood there in the carriage, laughing to the point of tears. Everyone just laughed for whatever reason it may be. It could be to show how grateful they were to be alive or maybe just a shared bonding moment.
It didn't matter though. What mattered was they felt good doing it, as empty as a gesture it was.
That's just what a family does. They laugh together.
Sasha slowly turned quiet, her laughter dying down. "Heh... A-hem! So... I have powers."
Sprig hummed. "So that's not a human thing. Neat!"
Yep. That's one way to describe it.
At the ruins of the Ruins of Despair – the Ruins-Squared, you could say – there was a huge hole in the ground.
Now, that itself wasn't exciting. Amphibia was home to many great and famous holes of various sizes, some even on persons. Some had 2, others had 3 and a rare subset of people had more than that. And like these holes, unknowns were crawling in them.
From the dirt of the remains, a figure—nay, a machine uncovered itself. Before today, it did not exist, its body parts welded and bolted together within minutes. But something went wrong in the process and it left the machine missing something important. It couldn't remember or more precisely, it never had it. It wasn't vital for its function but without it, the machine lacked purpose.
Maybe that's what it lost. Purpose.
If one did not have a purpose, then the only solution, the very possible and best solution, was to find it. The machine had memory of the same energy that brought it to life. It was pink in colour and carried great strength within. Through a rudimentary scan of the surroundings, the machine was able to track the signature of this mysterious energy. It was faint but still rich.
This energy was the reason it existed. Thus, the source of this energy could provide it with a purpose.
And so, ridding itself of the earth that latched on its body, the machine marched for who knows how long.