On June 17th, 2019, five years ago, a new disney channel animated series aired on its channel. The show was called Amphibia, created by one man named Matt Braly. Inspired by his trips to Thailand, Matt developed the story of three teenage girls who got lost in a land of anthropomorphic amphibians. The protagonist Anne Boonchuy must learn to adapt to her new surroundings, learn the true meaning of friendship, find her friends, and get back home. Five years to this day, we have been given a great storyline series. But many others include Kim Possible, the Owl House, Gravity Falls, Star vs the Forces of Evil, and Ducktales (2017). So in honor of Amphibia's fifth anniversary of its first episode, I present to you all the next chapter of Loyalty Among Worlds.
Dyllan Loyalitat couldn't feel more proud than ever before with what he's accomplished. He looked back at the first few days in Amphibia, where he wandered in the wilderness looking for his friends. He thinks about Tint saving his life, and introducing him to his uncle, Cronaxx. Then, he recalls finding one of Amphibia's most magical artifact Lerrad's Staff. And finally, after saving Nightoum's son and the earthworms, he was given a place among the Nightoum tribe as their first, and probably, only human member, Dralmac.
Dyllan smiles at his newly adult pet dragonfly, Clipper. As he feeds him another batch of bugs the salamanders caught for food, he wonders what's next for him. A couple of salamanders wave hello to their human member, and Dyllan waved back to them. He taps Clipper's stubby leg, causing the insect to twitch.
Tint shows up with Spots and smiles at the human. "Are you enjoying life in the village?" he asked.
Dyllan nodded in response. "I sure am." He pets across Clipper's head, making him arch his head backwards.
"You know, these dragonflies are fascinating when they're not trying to attack us," said Spots. He goes over to pet Clipper's thorax, only to flinch when Clipper opens up his wings. Spots quickly hid behind Tint and shook in fear.
"It's okay," said Tint. "The spots where his wings connect to his body are very sensitive."
"Kind of like the funny bone in his body?" Dyllan asked.
"What's a funny bone?" Tint asked.
"Well the funny bone is kinda like the sensitive spot on the bone," replied Dyllan. "If you get hurt in that spot, that sends a painful sensation that shoots up your body and into your brain."
"Where did you hear that?" Spots asked.
"Science class," replied Dyllan. "I got an A in anatomy."
"Sounds like an interesting class," said Tint.
"I only studied that class very hard when I couldn't-" Dyllan stopped talking when he remembered something. He took a deep breath and said, "You know what, never mind."
Spots and Tint shrugged and said, "That's okay." "Feel free to say anything when you're ready."
Just then, Cronaxx and Nightoum come out with something behind their backs. "Hello boys," said Nightoum. "Dralmac, could you come with us? Te'Kaya says there's something that you should see." Dyllan gave them a curious look in his eyes and nodded silently.
Inside Te'Kaya's hut, he weaves what looks like a dreamcatcher. When he was finished, he hangs it up like a decoration amongst the other dream catchers. He smiles as the fire in his hut glows warmly.
Then, Nightoum, Cronaxx, Dyllan, Tint, and Spots enter his hut. "Te'Kaya," said Nightoum. "I have brought him here."
Te'Kaya turns around and smiles at the human's presence. "Ahh Dralmac, so good to see you. Come in, come in, I have made some fresh chopped cooked fish for you." He walks over to his kitchen area, picks up a plate full of strips of cooked fish, and gives it to Dyllan.
"Thank you Te'Kaya," said Dyllan. He takes a bite of the fish and smiles with delight. "Chief Nightoum said you wanted to see me?"
"That's right," said Te'kaya. "I have been communicating with the spirits and recently, they have shown me something. Something strange."
He takes a handful of white powder and throws it in the fire. The fire sparkled with white flames and white smoke. "They communicate using symbols and artifacts. Some objects are confusing, only because I've never seen them before. Maybe with you here, you can see what they are."
He opens his arms to the group. "Join hands everyone," he said.
The group connect hands with each other, and then a gust of wind came swirling in the hut. The winds picked up the sand and ash from the white fires and surrounded the group, like they're standing in the eye of a hurricane. The ash started to glow embers around the group. Then, they start hearing whispers.
"Shh," whispered Te'Kaya. "Don't interfere, they're speaking to us."
Dyllan kept quiet as the winds got stronger and the spirits kept whispering. They start making the symbols from the glowing embers. He watched as the symbols take the form of what the spirits are trying to say.
One symbol takes the form of Dyllan himself holding Lerrad's staff. And then, the symbol changes into frogs leaping across the room, then into a giant lily pad. Then, the embers change to trees pointing down, which didn't make sense to the human. The smoke and embers keep changing until it took form of two more symbols. The first one became a human footprint with a human shoe landing on top of it. Then, to Dyllan's shock, it changed into the music box that he saw Anne take from the thrift store.
After that the smoke died down, and the whispers and winds disappeared. Tint, Spots, Cronaxx and Dyllan sighed in relief that it was over.
"So, Dralmac. We were able to recognize a few symbols," said Te'Kaya. He started drawing the symbols on his wall. "The spirits tried to tell us about frogs in the forests of the mainland of Amphibia, but the trees were facing down and they showed you in the mix of all this. What doesn't make sense was that box at the end. Do you know what that is?"
Dyllan takes a moment, thinking back at what he saw. He slowly put the pieces together. "Wait a minute..." He stares down at the symbols carefully. He looks to the symbol of him holding the staff. He takes out his sketch book and draws it in. Below, he writes his name 'Dyllan Loyalitat'. Then, he draws the frogs: 'Frogs'. He shades a page of the giant Lily pad: 'Amphibia'. Next, he draws the trees facing down: 'Forest Down' And finally, he draws the shoe and the music box. 'Shoe, and Music Box?'
"So, any ideas what it could be?" Spots asked.
"Well," said Dyllan. "Before I left home, that music box was the last thing I remembered before coming here."
"Well at least that has something to go on," said Spots. "But I still don't get why the trees are pointing down."
Dyllan pulls out his compass just to watch the little arrow pointing in his direction. But as he turned to the trees, the arrow pointed south. That's when it clicked in Cronaxx's mind.
"That's it!" he cried. He takes Dyllan's journal and crosses out 'down' "It's not 'down', it's South. It's saying 'Forest South.'"
"Okay," said Te'Kaya. "So far we've got: Dralmac, Frogs, Amphibia mainland, Forests South, a strange symbol, and a music box."
Cronaxx pulls out a map of the mainland and points south. "Okay, here's the mainland of Amphibia. There is a place called Frog Valley that's just near south of the mainland."
"Excellent," said Te'kaya. "Now we're getting somewhere. If this music box somehow brought Dralmac here, then its possible that the box may be the only way to get him back home. And the spirits believe that the music box may be located in the South Forests near Frog Valley."
"Alright," said Tint. "So it sounds like the spirits are saying: Dralmac, go to the mainland and find Frog Valley. Within the forests south of the valley, you will find the music box that will help transport you back home."
"Okay," said Spots. "But what does that strange symbol mean?"
"It could mean that by traveling to Frog Valley, we take extra precautions as to..."
As Cronaxx was explaining to Spots about the symbol, Dyllan took a closer look at the shoe. Somewhere in his mind was screaming that the shoe is oddly familiar. But where did he see it? His mind boggled with curiosity. 'Come on, brain. Come on!' he thought. 'It's eating you up somewhere. You know what it is. But what?'
"Excuse me, Dralmac," said Spots. Dyllan turned back to Spots with a smile on his face. "Don't worry so much about that symbol. Because you just need the music box to get you back home."
Dyllan nodded silently, but then. "Home. Home? Home!"
Tint, Cronaxx, Te'Kaya, and Spots were confused as he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his images. "What are you looking for now?" Tint asked.
"Just a second," said Dyllan. "That symbol... It's a shoe!"
"Are you sure?" Te'Kaya asked.
"Yes," replied Dyllan. "I'd never forget the little details unless it's not that important." He finds an image of him, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy all smiling in front of Saint James Middle School. "But it's not my shoe it's..." All the four friends were captured in the entire shot, and Dyllan zoomed in on Anne's shoe. He puts the image and the symbol together and to his surprise, they matched perfectly.
"That's... That's Anne's Shoe!" Dyllan gasped in realization. If he got stuck in Amphibia, then maybe...
"My Friends!" he shouted. He rushes out of Te'Kaya's hut, into the Tormak's hut, and swiftly grabs his backpack. "They're out there somewhere! I have to find them! Guys, we gotta go! Guys?" He rushes out to the cave entrance, only to be stopped by Tint.
"Woah, Woah, Woah. Hold on Dyllan," said Tint. "We don't even know if your friends are here."
"That was Anne's shoe," said Dyllan. "She must be in Amphibia, I just know it! And that must mean Sasha and Marcy are out there too! We have to go to Frog Valley now!"
"Now hold on," said Tint. "Uncle, is it safe to go there?"
"Wait, what do you mean safe?" Dyllan asked.
Cronaxx silently shook his head and takes out the map of Frog Valley, revealing a mountain pass that surrounds the area. "The valley is surrounded by mountains that are impenetrable this time of year. If we try to cross those mountains, we won't survive."
"It should clear up in a couple months though," said Tint.
"Months?!" Dyllan cried. "I can't wait for months! I have to get there now!" Tint and Cronaxx stumbled back at his outburst. Cronaxx had to levitate the hysterical human.
"Dyllan," he said. "Even if there's a chance your friend is in Frog Valley, she can't go anywhere with that mountain pass being so dangerous. You should be grateful that she's stuck for the time being."
Dyllan stopped struggling and focused his attention at Cronaxx. He takes a deep breath to calm himself down. Then, Cronaxx puts him back down slowly. Dyllan looks back out at the horizon with a sad look on his face.
"Please," he begged. "I have to find them." He looks back outside again, this time with a tear dropping from his face. "I just… I miss them so much. I've had that feeling before, and that pain is never going to go away. Do you know what that feels like?"
Tint looked down in despair and never said a word. He never felt any connection to any other amphibians in the world, and the only other people he knew were just Dyllan and his uncle. But for Cronaxx, that's a different story. He looked down at Tint and sighed.
"Yes, I know what that's like," said Cronaxx. "I've surpassed almost all of my close family members in my lifetime. Tint is all I have left in my family. But, I do know what it's like to miss those you care about."
"I can't leave them out there all alone," said Dyllan. "Somewhere, out there, my friends are lost. And if I don't try to find them, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Please guys, help me find my friends. I can't do this by myself."
Tint sighs in defeat, and looks at the map again. Then, he comes up with an idea. "Can't we go over those mountains?" he asked.
Cronaxx looked back and thought. "It's still impossible," said Cronaxx. "Climbing those could take weeks, depending on the conditions."
"What about teleportation?" asked Dyllan.
"Teleportation is a very hard spell," replied Cronaxx. "I'm too old for it, and you're not ready to master something like that. Even if we had all the knowledge and energy to get past those mountains, it could take us a long time to recover our strength. Magic can really take its toll on wizards."
"Okay," said Dyllan. Then he comes up with another idea. "So, why don't we fly across?"
Tint smiled, "Now who do we know who can fly?"
Cronaxx sighed in defeat. He wasn't going to make his student regret his choice of finding his friends. "I think I know someone who does. Pack your stuff boys, we leave first thing tomorrow."
Dyllan smiled as the three re enter the cave. He pulls out the photo of him and his friends. He stares down at the photo with hope and determination. "Hang in there girls," he said. "Now I know you're out there somewhere. And I won't stop until I find you. And when I do, we're gonna get back home, together. So just sit tight. I'm on my way."
Dyllan and Tint gathered as much as they could to fly their way across to Frog Valley. Dyllan was so happy to know that he could finally reach his friends in no time. And Tint was pleased that he could finally get off the island and learn about more magic on the mainland.
"What are we waiting for?" Dyllan asked. "We got everything! Let's strap in Clipper and get to flying!"
"Now hold on," said Cronaxx. "Being impatient will only lead to reckless acts and could cause repercussions in the future," said Cronaxx. "We should at least practice some basic flying lessons before we take off."
Then Tint stepped up to defend his friend. "Uncle, it's his best friends we're talking about," he said. "What if it was your friends? Would you want to go after them? Grab everything we need Dyllan, and let's set up our ride."
The two walk away to get Clipper's saddle strapped on. Cronaxx looks down at his cane and tried to remember his old friends. But when he tried to remember, all he could recall was blurs and muffled voices. But within those blurs and muffles, he could hear laughter in his head.
Dyllan and Tint look at their teacher with smiles on their faces. "We leave tomorrow!" Dyllan and Tint high five and run off to their hut to pack up for their journey. Cronaxx smiled at them sadly, worrying what's going to happen to them along the way. 'Those boys are having a hard time listening to me,' he thought.
The very next day, the whole salamander tribe was out on the coast, waiting for the moment Dyllan, Tint, and Cronaxx leave the island. Despite staying for almost three weeks, Dyllan could not help feeling sad leaving the tribe. "You know," he said. "I wasn't planning on staying here forever. But I'm already going to miss you all."
Chief Nightoum walked up to him with a smile on his face. "Before you came to our tribe, we were strong and secluded from the outside world. But, you taught us that sometimes having a little faith in outsiders, can make our community much more stronger." He gives him a small blanket and stuffs it in his backpack. "Thank you for everything, Dralmac."
Dyllan looks at Flaps, who is still harboring resentment with the human. Knowing he may never see him again, Flaps nodded with respect. "Try not to crash," he said.
Dyllan nods at the salamander with a small smile and says, "You take care of yourself Flaps."
Tint said goodbye to most of the competitors from the race. Then, he said goodbye to Balkan and Mole. For a moment, he thought that maybe making new friends wasn't so bad. 'Maybe Cronaxx was right. Maybe I should try to make some friends when we reach the mainland.'
Then Spots comes up to give him a handshake. He approaches quickly, then trips on the sand making Tint chuckle. "I'm gonna miss you Spots," he said, shaking his hand.
"Me too," replied Spots. "And next time, I'll watch my step."
Cronaxx bid farewell to most of the villagers and grouped up with Tint and Dyllan. The three turned to Clipper who was anxious to fly. "Are you ready boys?" Dyllan and Tint look at each other, look to Clipper, then back at their teacher. They nodded, signifying that they're ready.
"Then let's go."
The trio climb onto Clipper's saddle and strap themselves in. Dyllan grabs onto Clipper's antennas and taps his thorax with his heels. Clipper's wings start to flap rapidly. The tribe steps back to give the dragonfly some wing room. Clipper floats in midair, getting ready to fly. The salamanders wave goodbye, and Clipper zooms full steam ahead. Dyllan, Tint, and Cronaxx bid the tribe farewell as they make their way to the mainland.
Clipper zoomed across the ocean as fast as his wings, and his companions, could carry. Cronaxx could smell the fresh salty ocean breeze. Tint kept his eyes open for the mainland. And Dyllan, he kept his eyes on his new friends. Then he takes out a photo of him and his human friends and smiles at it.
'I'm on my way you guys,' he thought. 'No matter how long it takes, I will find you.'
As he was looking down on the photo, he saw a tread of water coming up from below them. "Hey look, look, look!" he called. "Do you see that?"
Tint and Cronaxx look below to see a couple of large fish swimming below them. "Oh dear," said Cronaxx. "We better climb higher."
"Why?" Tint asked.
"Because dragonflies are part of a fish's diet," replied Cronaxx.
He takes Clipper's antennas and pulls them gently to climb higher. As he did, the giant fish pops out of the water and chomps its jaws in mid air. It missed the group and the dragonfly zoomed with the winds in the sky.
A few minutes later, Tint was watching the horizon. And then he spotted land in front of them. "Land Ho!" he called out. Cronaxx and Dyllan looked up to see land coming their way. They have done it. They reached the mainland. "Welcome to Amphibia's mainland!"
"You're going to like this place," said Cronaxx. "There are more adventures as far as the eye can see."
"That's nice to hear Cronaxx," said Dyllan. "But the only quest that matters to me is finding my friends."
"Perhaps," said Tint. "But it wouldn't hurt to follow us on our adventures once in a while. You could enjoy our company, even with your best friends."
"I'll have to think about it, Tint," said Dyllan. "Let's just focus on the task at hand."
Tint shrugged and said, "That's fine by me."
The group fly past the coast and reach the tree lines. They climb up to get a better look at the landscape. As they flew higher in the sky, Dyllan and the Tormaks could see almost everything. From the chilly mountain peaks, to thick mushroom jungles, and the lava spewing volcano near the north side of the mainland. "So, where is Frog Valley?" Dyllan asked. Cronaxx took out his map to look at where they were.
"We need to know which direction we're heading," said Cronaxx.
Dyllan takes out a compass from his backpack and sees the red line pointing south west of their position. Tint relayed his uncle the directions and Cronaxx looked at the map. "We're flying in the southwest area of the mainland," said Dyllan.
"Alright, I know where we are," he said. "We need to head east and-"
"Then let's go!" Dyllan cheered. "Full steam ahead!" He kicked on Clipper's thorax and Clipper flew at top speed. Cronaxx tried to stop him, but Tint was lucky enough to do it for him. He shrugged his shoulders to stop, and Dyllan pulled Clipper to slow down.
"If you had just been a bit more patient," said Cronaxx. "You would know we've just over-shot our route to the mountain pass."
"Oops," said Dyllan. "Sorry."
"It's okay," said Cronaxx. "But next time, please wait for my directions."
Tint takes Dyllan's compass and passes it to Cronaxx. He looked in the direction they were in and pointed to where they needed to go. "We were heading east most of the way. Turn to the mountain near the center of the mainland," said Cronaxx.
Dyllan changes direction and heads towards the mountain. Along the way, they started to feel a little chilly. "Brr," said Dyllan. "It's getting cold around here."
"That means we're heading in the right direction," said Cronaxx. Hearing his statement made Dyllan tap on Clipper again to make him go to the mountains faster. "The pass is just to the left of the mountain. Once we fly over, the journey will be dangerous. So it's important that you do what I say and-"
Before Cronaxx could say any more, Dyllan turns to see Cronaxx and Tint frozen solid, looking at the map. "Cronaxx! Tint!" Dyllan cried. The weather suddenly got colder and colder, causing Dyllan to put his hood on and wrap his cape around his body. Clipper also found himself to have trouble flying at a fast pace and the cold breeze slowed him down.
"Hang in there guys," said Dyllan. "We're almost there." He takes his dragonfly's antennas and gives him a firm kick to get his attention. Clipper reached the mountain pass and flew as high as his wings could carry. "Come on Clipper, you've got this!"
Clipper reached the highest point of the pass and the group flew over the first few peaks. Then, the winds started to pick up and blow hard against Clipper and the group. Dyllan tried very hard to keep everyone together and to stabilize his flying friend. At one point, Tint's frozen body slipped out of his strap and Dyllan had to act fast and catch him with both his hands.
Catching Tint started to make Clipper fly lower at a fast pace, so Dyllan re-strapped Tint to the saddle and gripped on Clipper's antennas tightly. By pulling him up Clipper slowed down and flew straight into a cave. Then Clipper crashed into the wall, causing a cave in. Blocking the entrance where they flew in. Then, a loose boulder falls on one of Clipper's wings, snapping it like a twig. Dyllan took a breather, but his sigh echoed across the chasm.
Dyllan knew he had to be very quiet in this situation. So he took Clipper near the ledge to take a breather. As they did, the two unfrozen travelers grew silent. Dyllan could see an opening just beyond from where they're standing. But beyond the stretch were stalactites and stalagmites. One false move could cause the whole cave to collapse.
Dyllan didn't know what to do at this point. By now he would have either his mother, his human friends, his girlfriend, or his wizard teacher tell him what to do. But now, he feels like a dog off a leash. He just froze, like his salamander friends.
Dyllan closed his eyes and just listened to the absolute silent ambiance in the cave. Then focused on the task at hand. He was all by himself, his friends are frozen, and his mode of transportation is about to freeze up too.
He realized if he didn't rush through the mountain pass, he would learn what to do next. But all that mattered now was getting him and his friends warmed up. So he had to act carefully to get them all out of here.
He bandages Clipper's wing and climbs back up on him, makes sure his popsicle friends are strapped tightly, and prepares to fly again. He kicks on Clipper's thorax, causing the insect to start flapping his three good wings, and his broken one. The caves started echoing across the chasm again and cause some small rocks to fall from the ceiling. Dyllan commanded Clipper to fly across the chasm as slowly as they could.
"It'll be okay, bud," he whispered. "Just trust me on this one."
The human acted patiently and carefully. But the more Clipper's wings buzzed, the more noise the chasm made. Thankfully, the small rocks kept falling until they finally stopped. "Okay Clipper," said Dyllan. "Let's move."
Clipper paced a little faster to the exit, but the faster he went, the more strain he puts on his hurt wing. Dyllan focused on making sure he and his salamander friends got out safely. "Don't hurt yourself anymore than you already are bud," he whispered. He kept his focus in check the closer he got to the end of the tunnel.
As he saw the exit just a few meters away, he looked up to see no more rocks falling above them. "we're almost there," he said.
With one more quiet thrust to the exit, Dyllan and Clipper leave the caves, and the cavern behind him started to fill up with rocks and Dyllan just kept flying. Before long, he realized he reached the other side of the mountain pass into Frog Valley. Dyllan was so happy he started cheering in the sky.
"WOOOHOOOO!" he shouted. "YEAH! That was awesome! Right guys?"
Dyllan turns around to see that Tint and Cronaxx are still frozen solid. And turns back to see Clipper is flying funny due to his injured wing. "Oh, right." Seeing that his impatience has done enough for one day, Dyllan decided to land Clipper in the wilderness to warm up the group.
In the wide open swamp, Dyllan was sitting by the fire waiting for the salamanders to thaw. He turns to Clipper, giving him a large mosquito. Clipper gnaws on his meal while Darrel smiles and properly treats his friend's wing.
Just when Cronaxx and Tint were out of the ice and shivering by the fire, Dyllan sulked in shame. "Well," said Tint. "At least we're still alive."
"I know, and I am so sorry for putting you all in danger," he said. "I was so focused on finding my friends, that I wanted to do anything to find them. Even if it meant losing my patience. And look where that got me. My teacher and my friend are thawing from the cold, and my dragonfly is hurt and exhausted beyond belief. I hope you guys can forgive me."
"I suppose I can let this one slide," said Cronaxx smiling. "After all, wisdom comes from making mistakes."
"That," replied Tint. "And that being impatient has repercussions in the future." He points to Clipper's wing that is bandaged thanks to Dyllan. "But don't worry. As long as we keep our heads together, we will find your friends."
Dyllan smiled and hugged his salamander companions. "Thank you guys so much. For everything." The three stay seated by the fire, passing the time with stories from Tint and Cronaxx's adventures. Dyllan listened carefully until he pulled out his photo of him and his friends.
"So Cronaxx," he said. "Now that we've reached Frog Valley, where do we go next?"
"Luckily, there are four major locations in Frog Valley," said Cronaxx, taking out his map. "Here, in the center of the Valley, is Toad Tower." He points to the tower on the map. "It's mostly known as the South Tower. It's inhabited by toads, and they are the most unfriendly of brutes."
"Surrounding the Tower are four major locations. You've got Swamp Shire, Lily Paddington, Bog Bottom, and Wartwood. And one more thing, the frogs in the valley most likely keep to themselves. But they are more friendlier than the toads."
"Sounds like the frogs and I have that in common," said Dyllan. "I like to keep to myself as well, and not draw any attention."
"And maybe we should keep it that way," said Tint. "The frogs are known to be very paranoid with new sightings and always scare out horrific creatures. No doubt that you fit the description. No offense."
Dyllan just shrugged, "None taken." He didn't argue the fact that he was a creature that no one has ever seen before. Or maybe because he was just too tired to argue.
Then the human yawned just as the salamanders thawed from their icy cold prisons and warmed up close to the fire. With a new plan in place, the group settle in for the night and prepare to take the next step to finding Dyllan's friends. By traveling to the four major locations of Frog Valley.
And there we have it! Dyllan Loyalitat has at last, reached Frog Valley! Of course he's still got a long ways to go before he could find his friends. But at least he's on the right track. Until next time, Keep on Truckin'!
A/N: I know it's a day early before the fifth anniversary, and on Father's Day no less. I just really wanted to post this chapter before I forget tomorrow.