There is an age old saying that is never adhered to nearly enough:
"All wise men fear three things: A moonless night, a raging storm and a gentle man who has reached his limit."
Now, Bee Boonchuy would never call himself a badass par excellence. In fact, that was (albeit worded differently) his mother-in-law's greatest gripe about him; he was too nice. Oum however, loved that about him; she felt he kept her grounded and rational. Plus, it was through him Anne was such a kind girl, if slowly coming to her full potential.
And Bee himself liked being a 'nice guy'…..but there was only so much he could take.
Anne, his baby girl working to return to Amphibia to stop a megalomanical conqueror wannabe was one thing. Her adventures in a realm of witches and magic? Honestly, he was jealous of that. Her boyfriend, his son-in-law in all but paper being the son of a pusedo robin hood figure? Again, jealous and adoring.
But now the Boiling Isles had all been wiped out, or seemed to be. The guilt of that, on top of Amphibia's probable dystopian state, was eating them up. To say nothing of poor Luz, who, if what Anne had told them was right, had, through time travel, accidentally HELPED get Belos into power, and the other witch kids, especially poor Hunter….
As a father, it was his duty to help and comfort...and while Oum was stronger and braver, it was also his duty to protect
So….
OWLPHIBIA
After the reveal that Hunter and Vee had….histor…the adults had grabbed coffee, with Hop-Pop discovering Mochas and falling in love with them; a sight which made Camilla laugh and Oum roll her eyes.
"…Who are you?" Carmilla asked.
"Jacob Hopkins!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"….The curator?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Not the one I know." Hopidiah said. "…Pretty sure he's either dead, a wax statue or some blend of both."
Camilla and Oum gave the elderly, disgused frog concerned looks. Well, at least until Bee whispered 'Anne in wax' to his wife, who then could not care less.
"…Of the Gravesfield Historical Society?" The man in front of them continued.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
THE HERO OF HUMANITY THAT YOU STOPPED FROM DISSECTING A WITCH?!"
THAT got a reaction from all.
"Oh… you." Camilla growled. Yes, growled. A sound that neither Boonchuy or Hop-Pop was expecting.
"Um, what this now about dissecting a witch?" the elderly frog asked in worry, hoping this didn't mean what he thought it did…
"All I did was try and prepare the world fro when they invade!" Jacob snapped. "But SHE took pity on the one I bravely caught…!"
"You scared, knocked out, tied up my daughter and where going to stream cutting her open!" Camilla snapped back, already reaching for her chancla…but she was spared using it, thanks to Bee's limit being reached.
Without any warning, the Thai man punched Jacob straight in the face, seething with paternally fuelled anger.;.and a sudden realization:
The Curator, Hettie, Terra and General Grime were not here. But JACOB was. And he'd do as a punching bad…
At least that had been the plan before the man stumbled back, terrified and Bee's senses came back to him.
"Where do you think Anne got her kindness and energy from?" Oum swooned at her now embarrassed husband, who was, bless him, trying to apologize and lecture Jacob all the same.
Just then, the kids suddenly turned from the corner to find their parents accosted, but before anyone could leap in? A pair of golems suddenly appeared and pinned the crazed man to the ground.
"…"
"…"
"….Those golems weren't from you, were they, Ollie?" Anne asked, fearfully/
"Nope." Olivier groaned weakly.
The eyes of the witches all widened. If Olivier hadn't summoned the golems…and Amity definitely still hadn't figured it out yet…and Maddie had left her potions at the Boonchuy house in California…
"Oh….no…" Amity managed when she realized the answer.
"….That…leaves…only….!" Willow squeaked.
"Yeeeeees."
Dark magic suddenly burst from the cracks and shadows of the golems, converging in front of the teens and starting to take form. Without a word or prompt, Anne, Olivier, Luz and the Hewsquad formed a protective circle around her, Camilla and the Boonchuy parents.
"After everything on the Sunken isles…., HE SURVIVED?!" Hunter finished.
"Who? Who survived?" Vee asked.
"Someone you will learn to hate very quickly." Oum frowned as the dark magic finally materialized, taking the familiar form of a warty toad with thick eyebrows and a sharp, toothy smile:
"Hello Olivier. Anne, Luz. Amity. Hunter. Willow and…I'm sorry, what was your name, illusionist? I want to say…Rus?"
"Grunge." Olivier glared, Fleetwing suddenly manifesting in his staff form.
"..I'm guessing he's a bad guy?" Carmilla asked between her teeth.
"Your worst nightmare, more like!" Hop-Pop retorted, glaring as he leapt in front of the kids, fear of the Toad in front of him be darned!
"Oh, how you flatter me, Hopidiah." The Dark wizard began, his eyes darkening before he snapped his fingers, enveloping himself and his 'guests' in a void of darkness to keep others from getting involved. "In all seriousness, it is good to see you all again. I would've loved to have seen you off as returned to the Isles after that drama in the Sunken Isles, but…"
"How in the Titan did you survive?!" Hunter demanded. "We all…!:
"I didn't!" Gus cut in.
"And neither did we!" The parents added.
They went ignored as Hunter continued.
"…We saw that…THING...!"
"Toss me aside after I took a hit for my protégé?" Grunge finished, his smile vanishing . "I was indeed hurt, yeeees. But compared to other obstacles I've faced, the acidic waters were, dare I say it? Rejuvenating. That and the Music box you left in Amphibaland healed me once I ENDED the Levithan line, proving I could properly wield it's magic.
If Olivier needed any more reasons to blame himself; he had them: He'd left that box there as a sign of good will and to prevent a war, only for his ex-mentor to…!
Anne and Luz also tensed, but for different reasons.
"Y-you mean…?"
"Yes, the young and noble Andrias of the Demon Realm is no more, joining Barrel and Leif. Rest assured, I at least made it painless."
And at that; the two human girls' hatred for Grunge grew as memories of a kind, giant newt prince who had given up so much to aid all his people, who could've lived to be the kind king his fake mural had portrayed him as.
"What do you even want?" Gus, swallowing his fear, asked.
"PLEASE. I only recently arrived in this world. What makes you think I want anything?"
"You're you." Amity and Olivier said together, shocked but focusing on the Dark wizard.
"Hm. True." Grunge shrugged as he gave the group a look over . "I'm getting the distinct impression that we're not going to be 'friends' anymore…."
"Gasp! Ya think?!" Anne snapped with a sassy tone.
"Buddy, I've only HEARD things about you and I KNOW you can't be trusted!" Luz snapped.
"Really? Even after I trained Olivier, Maddie and Hunter? Even if the latter did forget it all?" Grunge smirked, delighting when the three looked down in shame.
"Hey! They only did that because you were the onlty one available!" Sprig snapped. "…That sounded better in my head…"
"Its cool dude." Anne assured her best friend as Maddie gave Sprig's hand a squeeze.
Willow did the same with Hunter.
"Again, a fair point." Grunge smiled, then spying the others. "I can't say that I blame the rest of you either, being the wonderful parents and or friends that you are."
The Dark Wizard said that with a hint of sadness and regret in his tone, his mind briefly venturing to memories of childhood and his dearest ally Moss…He then chuckled.
"I'll admit it; 'mistakes were made', as the youth say, and I have no one but MYSELF to blame for that. Then again, you must understand: Toads like myself were every bit as oppressed by the Newts as the Frogs were. But while the Frogs were complacent in their place below the Newts, the Toads NEVER were."
Bee and Camilla both nodded, having heard speeches like this in their stories.
"The only LAW that matters in Amphibia is this: "The Strongest Survive, while the Weak either PERISH or raise the strongest up'….Something your coven system taught most of you, as I recall." Grunge smirked, delighting in the shamed looks on Amity and Hunter's faces.
"Hey! That was all Belos!" Luz snapped, only to tense when Grunge smiled at her. A worry filled the witch in training.: Did Grunge know what she'd done? Did he know she gave Belos glyphs?
If the Dark Wizard did have such knowledge, he kept it to himself.
"With that being said, I do believe there is something wrong with a society where the STRONGEST race, are subservient to those WEAKER than they are. The Frogs know their place, and even serve a purpose."
"Hey!" The Plantars called out. "Juist cause that's true…!"
Grunge glared at them, silencing them as his anger grew.
"The Newts, however,...are nothing but pompous fools that reap the benefits off the backs of others. They are UNDESERVING of their place at the top of the Caste System that they themselves implemented. With even the STRONGEST among them barely holding a candle to the mightiest of Toad Warriors ."
Anne smirked ever so slightly at that; recalling how easily she'd handed Andrias a tail-whooping when she first went blue.
"Could you wrap this up?" Oum frowned, not at all in the mood for this. She ignored her daughter and husband's worried shushes as Grunge smirked, clearing his throat.
"You wanted to bring down the Newt Regime." Amity cut in.
"And when the Calamity Box returned to Amphibia, you saw an opportunity to finally bring down King Andrias and remake Amphibia into a better world." Luz continued.
"…Cut off my monologue, why don't you?" Grunge pouted.
"It's basic 'power corrupted' villain motivation." Luz smirked.
"Yeah, seen it before." Amity finished.
"…They're not wrong, it IS picking up in popularity…" Bee noted.
"And anyways, all you were doing was trying to take over Amphibia for yourself!" Olivier cut in, rage clear. "Heck, even on the Sunken Isles, that was your plan! If anything, your just like the Levithans anyways!"
Luz, Maddie and the Plantars clapped with a 'here, here!' while Anne smiled warmly at her boyfriend…just as Grunge's annoyed face turned cold/
" I will confess...In my 'eagerness', I may had 'burned bridges' that I shouldn't have. Blinded by my own ambitions, and lost sight of the best way to achieve my goal..." Grunge looked directly at Olivier. " ...I can admit that now."
A brief silence overtook them all.
Harsh as he might've been? And badly as things had gone? The Dark Wizard and the Half-witch boy had lived together for quite some time. They'd trained together and taught each other many things. Titan and Olm, Olivier had come to see Grunge as a male role model fugure…maybe even the father he never knew he'd wanted.
Tragic as that may be, however? Some where not going to allow them this.
"Grunge, buddy? If this is your idea of asking for forgiveness? You REALLY suck at the Redemption Arc thing." said Anne, Amity nodding in agreement.
Grunges face then returned to its usual smirk.
"Oh, I don't expect any of you to forgive me...ESPECIALLY after what I plan to do with THIS world."
And if possible? Even MORE dread filled the group. But they had little time to question, as
Grunge suddenly fired a purple beam from his palm that struck Olivier clear in the chest, sending him skitting into an alley.
"OLLIE!" the others hurriedly called out and rushed to his side, all but one: One who'd normally be moving faster than the rest, but in that moment was so overwhelmed by anger….
"You just signed your death warrant…!" Anne started, reaching for Domino before Grunge boredly pointed to where the others were and her eyes widened in shock: Olivier was completely healed; no scars, nada!
"A courtesy, my student." Grunge explained, his smile now a frown of disappointment. "This'll be no fun if you're injured…"
In the blink of an eye, Grunge suddenly blitzed to the others and grabbed Vee, leaping onto a nearby rooftop with her in a chokehold.
"VEE!" Camilla and Luz screamed, the teens then using their Palismans to fly up onto the roof…and pause when Grunge reading an orb of dark magic at his hostage.
"Now. Listen to what I have to say. No magic. No callings for help? And I'll let her go once I'm done. But any hint of anything…?!"
Olivier, Anne and Luz recalled their Palisman instantly, the others close behind.
"And don't YOU try anything." Grunge then snapped at Vee, clenching his grip slightly. "I don't know what if any magic you have, but its clear that you are the least experienced of all."
"NO TE ATREVAS A TOCARLA!" Luz snapped before Grunge leveled his spell closer. She then rejoined the others, Amity trying to comfort her.
"Good children." Grunge smiled. "Now, as Olivier and or Anne have no doubt told you: In my own world, I was a powerful wizard. but I was only master of my own while it was rare, I often had to fight to keep my power from ambitious upstarts…like that fool, Barry."
Grunge gave the city a look over: Not very impressive.,but there was a potential.
"Then I had an epiphany on the Sunken Isles. There, with the royals gone and leaderless, I was quickly given power, which did indeed fill me with great joy and will aid us against Andrias when the time comes. "But HERE...on this…aging and ignorant world…I could rule this WHOLE world unchallenged. Not as a King, like that PRETENDER Andrias. no. more like...a GOD."
"a GOD?!" exclaimed Anne, she and the other kids almost scoffing.
Heck, Grunge himself chuckled.
"Well, what can I say? LORD Grunge is a title that I have grown accustomed to."
"Like you deserve it." Hunter grumbled.
"You were born into that title." Amity added, recalling some of what she'd heard of Grunge from Luz and Olivier.
"Hello pots. I'm kettle." Grunge smirked
"You're also insane." said Olivier. "No one would be stupid enough to believe you're anything but mortal."
"Says the witch boy from a world where even the most powerful of witches submitted to an idiot in a mask who CLAIMED to speak for their long dead god…who was the father of his own little brother."
Olivier, Luz, Amity, Willow, Gus and Hunter fell silent, unable to think of anything to counter Grunge's statement. Vee also looked down in sadness.
Anne however, did.
"One: Low blow, dude. Two: We got Gargoyles. Superheroes. Pretty sure ghosts too! You're not fooling most and even if you do, I doubt you'll last long, Grungie."
Grunge just smiled.
"Good. I do enjoy a challenge, And speaking of which: You can try to return to Amphibia and or the Boiling Isles and stop King Andrias and the Collector, respectively...but when you inevitably fail...I will ensure this world is protected when his invasion force arrives. And, who knows. Perhaps once I kill him, and save this world, the humans willing submit to me all on their own."
The kids all glared at Grunge, equally angered by the Toad Wizard's twisted fantasy.
"Tough as you are, forgive me for thanking you can take on this Andrias guy and his army." Willow cut in.
"Oh, I know I'm not ready. Not yet." Grunge assured them. "Tell me…Luz? Amity? In your books, were their any…relics of great power? Don't bother answering, I already know there are. After all, all fiction draws from fact."
Now, to most, this would seem like an odd question. But, be it ever his bond with Grunge or his own smarts, Olivier was quick to realize what his meant, as were Luz and Anne,
"…Dios mio…"
"Oh, don't tell me…!" Anne gasped.
"You're going to find the current three great objects." Olivier spoke loud,
"…The what?" Gus asked.
"An old legend mom told me about." Olivier explained. "At any given time, there are three objects of great magical power that if brought together…well…"
"Lets just say that according to Miss Lilith, everything and nothing will matter." Amity finished.
Their fears confirmed when Grunge chuckled.
"Astute as ever, Olivier. You too, Blight. Yes, I am. And while their locations are not exact? I know at least WHAT they are. Struggle all you like to return to either relam, but if you lot are as smart as I know you are...you would try to help me defend this world, rather than fight a battle you cannot win."
TWIP!
BONK!
"RARRGH!" Grunge said as something hit his eye; a pebble fired by Sprig. Frobo then rolled over his feet, making him release Vee, who instinctively sucked up his dark magic as Luz pulled her away.
"Oh, that magic tastes awful!" Vee gagged as her sister helped her up.
"A Basilisk?" Grunge mused in shock before he smiled again . "..Intriguing."
He then turned to grab several pouches Maddie had thrown before Fangora webbed his hands, which gave Olivier time to push him off the roof
"OLLIE!" Anne and Maddie screamed in worry before they saw him on Fleetwing, pursuing Grunge into the sky as the Dark wizard tried to escape.
GET OUT VEE, SENORA NOCEDA AND YOUR FOLKS OUT OF HERE!" Olivier called out, his focus on his former teacher.
Grunge forced Dreadwing to stop mid-air as Dark magic enveloped his fists, reducing the pouches to nothingness.
"Petrification, shrivelling and rapid aging." Grunge smiled, picking up hints from the spells. "You've taught Maddie well."
Olivier said nothing, just glaring at his ex-mentor, who remained unworried.
"But it shall avail you not: For I am more powerful than I've ever been and the last times we've come to blows, you could barely keep up."
"Funny, I don't recall it that way." Olivier smirked, which Grunge returned.
"Then allow me to refresh your memory, my student."
He then leapt off of Dreadwing and pounced onto Olivier, knocking him off of Fleetwing. The two Palismen reached for their respective master, initially ignoring each other…but then the bat smirk and slammed into the falcon, a sadistic grin on it's face. Fleetwing simply smirked back, and the third true fight of the two began.
Meanwhile, Olivier and Grunge, their respective magics enchancing their blows, traded fists and feet as they fell. Olivier mixed in wind, water and even fire while Grunge kept at with his darkness.
"Listen to me, BOY." began Grunge. "We both know that King Andrias WILL invade this world . And when he does, the meager humans of this realm will be no match for his mechanical armies."
"We'll...stop him." spoke Olivier, glaring at the Toad. "Me...Anne..the Plantars…Luz, Willow, Gus, Hunter and Amity… We'll get back to Amphibia...and we'll STOP HIM AND BELOS!"
He then kicked his former mentor skywards and raced forward, forging a sword of light that Grunge met with a saber of shadows.
"And, what if you lot can't?" inquired Grunge, smirking. "Are you REALLY going to risk this world never mind your own, and their people on mere hopes?!"
Olivier said nothing, managing to grab Grunge in a chokehold and
"Not exactly anything new…'master.'" Olivier smirked, wiping some blood from his mouth
"I don't believe I showed you this…" Grunge smirked, before roaring: "DREADWING, TERRORIZE!"
The Bat Palisman abandoned his clash with Fleetwing and smirked as he raced towards his master, a dark gleam overtaking them as their bodies molded and squished together.
"…Oh, that is just Minotaur-scat." Olivier managed with a deadpan look on his face before a speeding, clawed fist sent him flying.
"I GOTCHA!"
Maddie quickly caught Olivier, and Anne and Sprig caught her as they brought Olivier down. Willow reached to heal her friend as Hunter and Amity readied to defend…
"Um…" Hunter asked. "Is it just me….does he look different?"
With a powerful landing, Grunge revealed that he now possessed bat wings and horns that looked like bat ears horns with Dreadwing's eyes decorating his shoulders and his already sharp fangs more pronounced.
"I take it this isn't something any of you can do? Noooooo…." Grunge smirked as the Boonchuys, Camilla and Hop-Pop stood in front of the children.
Anne went blue and leapt upward, Grunge dodging or catching her Muy Thai before Luz jumped in suit…and the two girls accidentally hit each other when Grunge slipped into a shadow.
Willow then willed some nearby flowers to grow and try and entangle Grunge, who broke free easily, only to be hit by Hunter and Amity emulating the Muy Thai they'd seen…and suffering a similar takeout as Grunge then slammed Willow into the ground before yet another pebble hit him and he grabbed Sprig.
"YOU…are INCREDIBLY irksome with that thing!"
" Something you and your brother can agree on…!" Sprig smirked despite it all.
"Leave him alone!" Maddie demanded as she and Fangora struck, but Grunge simply grabbed her with his other free hand…before he felt something prick him and his magic drain. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Polly had stabbed him as Vee was fighting back her disgust as she tried to tire him out. With an almost amused smirk, Grunge threw Sprig onto his sister and Maddie into Vee's arms…
"ENOUGH OF THIS, BRO…!"
Grunge grabbed what appeared to be Grime, but was actually Gus.
"Here's a free little tip illusionist." He said as he readied to toss the youngest witch. " Go for the ACTUAL loved ones!"
Then the Dark wizard realized he'd lost sight of the adults.
Oum then slammed a nearby chair from a café onto Grunge's head while Camilla hit him with her Chancla. Surprisngly, the latter hurt more.
"…I see where Anne and Luz get it."
He then grabbed Hop-Pop's tongue and was dealt a surprisingly strong punch by the elderly frog before Bee, desperate to do ANYTHING to slow this villain down grabbed a garbage can…that missed,
"Why can't I ever hit anything!?" The Thai man sobbed comically in spite of it all…and Grunge advancing onto him.
"You have my respects, Mr. Boonchuy. Foolish as it…Why are you smirking?"
Bee just pointed to Olivier, now back on his feet and smirking before he called:
"FLEET!"
And the Falcon Palisman smirked as he dive-bombed onto his master, a light overtaking them before they two merged.
"WOOOO!" Anne cheered. "KICK HIS BUTT, BABE!"
Hunter's eyes widened as he began to imagine himself fused with Flapjack, as Amity did with Ghost
"HA! YOU'RE SCREWED NOW!" Polly beamed.
Despite it all, Grunge smiled in pride as Olivier sped to meet him, clearly more comfortable with this than he and Dreadwing were… before he heard sirens.
"Curses….We'll settle this another day."
He then vanished into the shadows in the blink of an eye, leaving behind the battered teens, exhausted parents and now a rambling Jacob.
"Oh yeah…forgot about him…" Bee mused.
To be continued…
Next: ROAD TOUR, ALL WE EVER NEEDED! And yes, that WAS a Beast Wars reference!
Credit to MetroXLR99 for the funny bit with Jacob; lord knows this chapter needed a bit of comedy. And also credit to a vast majority of Grunge's dialogue, lifted and edited from 'Far from home' chapter 22.
All in all? Not a great first fight, right? The hope here is, come that fateful Halloween night, the gang will have grown into that well oiled machine we all saw through the adventures they go on.
Hope everyone got a chance to shine at least.
And yes, the references Grunge has made could be counted as Spoilers for my other story 'Sunken Isles Saga', which has been in development hell for some time: I have the ideas but finding the right words and way of ordering of events is tricky. So, until then, I'm focusing on the others and making references.
But next time after meeting the Cabin 7 gang, we start the crossover of all crossovers; visiting each and every animated Disney town with a magic themed show in search of either ways to return to the Boiling Isles or stopping whatever plans Grunge has!
Suggestions for the order and events to happen are welcomed (you will be credited), with locations including but not necessarily limited to:
New Mewini (Star Vs.)
San Francisco (American Dragon)
Gravity Falls
Oceanside California (Hailey's On it)
Danville (Milo Murphy's Law , possibly Phineas and Ferb as well)
Brightfield (The Ghost and Molly McGee)
New York (Gargoyles , possibly the MCU and TMNT as well)
Any underlined are not for certain.
Hopefully will update the main story Monday. Until then? Read, review and stay safe, would ye kindly?