Frogs among the Stars

It was yet another sunny day in Newtopia, and Anne, James, Sprig, Polly and Hop Pop were strolling through the city when the old farmer frog stopped, holding his back.

"City walking is great." He sighed, "But I could use a little city-sitting. Let's stop at this park for a bit!" He pointed at some unidentified green area behind a tall stone wall.

"Works for me!" Anne couldn't agree fast enough, her hand running to her backpack and taking out a small green centipede rolled on itself, "Guys, do you want to toss the old frisbeetle around?"

"To the Moon and back, Boonchuy!" Replied James, before the sound of a loud bell ringing gained their attention, the Plantar gasping as they realized that the 'park' they were planning to stop and relax for a while, wasn't a park at all.

Tall buildings of marble and white coral, surrounded by columns and with green roofs were located within the walls. They were surrounded by a beautiful, classical garden where, among tall multicolored corals and wooden benches, were many statues of newts personalities of the past, dressed in togas and other kind of clothes, stood above all. Moreover, their descriptive plaques and other features made of a fascinating golden coral.

Among them, a multitude of Amphibians dressed in dark blue uniforms (most of them newts, with only a handful being frogs or axolotls) were intent on reading books on various subjects and dissertation (some even while riding around on velocipedes) or practicing various sports and disciplinary activities such as rowing fencing (using mosquitoes with long stingers as exercise swords) and music, some of them dressed in dull red band attire and playing a lively symphony full of joy and energy. Last but not last, rising above the entrance in front of which our heroes had paused, a large lettering in block letters, on a white-gold arched sign, revealed the real nature of such institution.

"Kids, this ain't no park!" Hop Pop called, remarking the obvious, "This is…Newtopia University!" The old frog said with a voice filled with emotion.

"Oh, man. College is the best." Anne replied, looking at Polly and Sprig, "According to movies back home, you can do crazy things and be horribly irresponsible with no consequences."

"Shouldn't you have learned by now, that actual life doesn't work the same way as movies?" James snorted, a part of him irritated by the over-simplistic (and completely wrong) description his friend had of higher education system. "Contrarily to what most people assume, college life is not at all an excuse to behave as you want without facing the result of your own doing, but instead, a golden chance to earn a level of instruction and qualification much more superior than most public schools can provide!"

"Ugh, school." Polly scoffed with a shudder, while her brother was much more interested.

"Wow, you surely look quite an expert on this, James." The young frog commented, while Anne stuck her tongue out at the British teen. "So, places like this exist in your world too?"

"Indeed, Cambridge and Oxford, two of the most famous and prestigious ones, are in my own home nation after all!" The boy smugly pointed out, feeling a sentiment of inner pride surge from the inside. "And every year, hordes of young, bright minds coming all over the world attempt to join the ranks of their scholars. Not only because getting a better instruction also gives you better chance to succeed in life, but because be able to attend such prestigious institutions and fulfill one of their study courses is a status symbol. Something that elevates you and make you welcome on many social events and circles." He looked down for a moment, a pleasant memory resurfacing in his mind. "My parents even said that nothing could make them happier if someday I get the chance to enroll in there."

"I can't believe we're actually here, in front of the University's gate!" Hop Pop cooed, having heard nothing of what happened behind him, the bright light of hope and enthusiasm in his eyes. "No member of the Plantar family has ever gone to Newtopia University until now. And it's my dream that one day, far, far from now," he looked back at his grandchildren with a heartfelt expression, "at least one of you two will be able to attend."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, Hop Pop." Polly snorted, a smug expression on her lips. "I don't think that either of us is cut out for this. Especially Sprig."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You don't have the attention span."

"That's not true!"

"Don't sell yourself short, you both have a good chance to enroll in such a place someday." James nodded, "Polly, while you be overly aggressive for your age, you have a bright mind, and many times you've showed to have genius intellect. And you Sprig, not only you've proved yourself to have a strong determination and an even stronger empathy toward people around you, but you also have many talents like your skill with the fiddle. I bet that, if you keep honing your skill, you could become good enough to be admitted to a conservatory or something like that. Moreover, you both are too young to have to worry about university right now."

"We are?"

"Yes. Your only worries should be about doing your chores, go to bed at 8'o clock… and have as much fun as possible!" The British boy announced with a smile, "Anne, you ready?!"

"Ready and loaded, Peter Pan! Sprig, you and James go long!"

As the two boys backed up, readying themselves for Anne's throw, they unwittingly walked a little too deep into Newtopia University's ground, coming close to a spot where an old, tall magenta newt with a light peach snout, grey hair and a thin grey beard was giving a lecture to a various group of newt students, all dressed in the university's uniform.

"Now," The professor asked to his students, pointing to a drawing of a mantis next to him, "how does one escape from a mountain mantis?" One of the students raised his hand. "Yes, Parsifal?"

"First, we must calculate the probability of escape by average number of mantises per capita." The brown-skinned newt spoke back, "Divided by the average body weight of those fleeing for their lives."

Behind them, James could barely contain his snort as he rolled his eyes: if he had tried to do that back when they were lost and scared in the forest surrounding Wartwood, they wouldn't have survived until now.

"Whoa, whoa, guys." Sprig couldn't keep his mouth shut and answered as well. "All you got to do is tickle it behind its hind legs with a willow branch. You'll escape with no problem."

"That's correct." The old professor said with amazement, apparently unbothered by the 'intruder' presence.

"Guys, catch!" Anne shouted as she threw the frisbeetle, James noticing it and grabbing the bug-item with a small jump, before throwing it back in a continuous, fluid movement.

"Long throw!" James said with a happy tone, the newts scholars who had witnessed it gasping in surprise before clapping all together.

"My, my, my, my, my." The newt professor nodded, approaching the duo. "Aren't you a precocious young frog and…being?" He turned toward James.

"I guess we should introduce ourselves, shall we?" The British boy nodded, hinting a curtsy. "My name's James Blueingham, and I am a human, from Earth."

"You're…one of those otherworldly beings King Andrias himself took under his wing." The old newt's eyes widened in realization. "I heard about you, but I didn't get a chance to see what you looked like…until now that is."

"And this one," James pointed at Sprig, the young frog waving at the group next to him, "is Sprig. He's one of the people who agreed to help us find a way to return in our world."

"I see. He's quite a bright young frog, isn't he? Resourceful and survival-savvy."

"We have to be," Sprig replied. "Back in the Frog Valley, where we come from, mantises of this size are very common. If you can't use your wits to survive, you don't last long."

"That's…quite insightful." The professor commented while some of his students shivered, at the idea that there were places where such creatures were part of everyday life. "Do you perhaps have any other hidden talents?"

"Oh, I can play the fiddle!"

"Show us." The professor snapped his fingers and a newt student with a fiddle on his arm rushed forward and gave Sprig the instrument, the frog quickly beginning to play one of the many music he had worked on together with Marcy, both the professor and his students clearly impressed by his skills.

"Ohhhh."

"Wow."

"Oh, yes. Good." The professor newt smiled amicably, before his attention turned back to James. "And what about you? Do you have some skill or talent you believe it's worth mentioning?"

"I am a stargazer."

"A…stargazer?" The professor repeated, and a small chatter began among the students, none of them having ever heard that word before, yet feeling intrigued by it.

"I am an appassionato of stars and astronomy." James began to explain, his voice gradually filling with enthusiasm as he delved deeper into the subject. "I study the nature and motion of celestial bodies; the fragile, yet harmonic equilibrium that they can assume under the gravitational effect of their stars! The nature of planets learned by direct observation! The ability to be able to analyze and explain celestial events occurring in space! The natural life cycle of stars and the various phases to which they may be subject, and how these elements can be used as hints to indicate that other planets may harbor simple or complex life forms-!"

"That is…quite a feat." The professor gasped, VERY impressed with the explanation the human had given to him. "We do have a study branch here in our university, but-"

"Oh, perhaps they would be interested into review some of my notes?" James's hands rushed to his own backpack, taking out his Journal with all his notes and observations he had done in the two months he and the others had been forced to stay in Frog Valley. "Ever since we arrived in our world, I took the liberty to start some observations about celestial bodies of Amphibia, including its moons and the other planets that may co-exist in the same system, carefully detailing their movement and effects-"

"Wait, did you just say, moons?" One of the students gasped, "That is, more than one?"

"That's right!"

Just then, to break the triumph of Sprig and James, came Hop Pop, a scared expression on his face as he grabbed his grandson, Anne just behind him, with Polly resting on her hair

"Sprig, what did you break?" The old frog lamented, his mind already conjuring countless possible priceless objects and items his grandson may had damaged and had to repay in the meantime, "What did he break?!"

"Oh, no, nothing, believe me." The professor spoke as he introduced himself, "I'm Professor Herringbone, Headmaster here at Newtopia University."

"No way, he's the headmaster?" James murmured in undertone. Since when the headmaster of such prestigious university acted as so amicably and easy-going?

"James, that chill dude is really the headmaster?" Anne replied in undertone as well, moving next to him. At least, he looked nicer than Principal Murphy.

"Oh, well, happy to see my grandson and adoptive grandson weren't causing you any trouble." Hop Pop replied to Herringbone, with a nervous voice. "I'm Hopediah Plantar, big fan of your school. Many relatives of dear friends of mine have managed to enroll in your fine institution and I hope that one day far, far in the future, one of my grandchildren will be able to attend as well."

"Really?" The Headmaster questioned, "Well, what if that one day…is today?"

"Huh?"

"Wait, what?" Anne gasped, clearly unable to believe it, as her gaze kept moving between Sprig and James, the two boys' eyes widening in surprise.

"We have a program for young, promising students of the future!" Professor Herringbone explained, taking out a small brochure depicting a newt in a black robe and a square academic cap, holding a book in one hand, gifting a roll of paper (presumably a degree) to a young, frog dressed the same way, tears of happiness coming from his eyes. What's more, in the lower part of the brochure, there was a string of text written on Ancient Amphibian, that however James had no problem into translating.

Goodbye childhood? The human boy repeated in his head, feeling weirded out by the odd sentence. While 'fitting', that didn't sound like the kind of slogan you would put on a brochure for new students.

"And I think that both Sprig and James here would be perfect fit!"

For a second, Hop Pop's throat tightened, and panic took over his mind. Sure, the idea that Sprig could immediately attend such a prestigious institution, moreover on a special recommendation of the University's Headmaster, surely felt like a dream come true for the old farmer. Had the proposal been made three months earlier, he would have jumped at the chance in a heartbeat, if someone had offered it to him.

But so many things had changed in the last few months, and just like his own life had changed, so had Hop Pop. After the whole mess with the Calamity Box, and having realized the hard way how his obsession to keep Sprig and Polly safe had almost destroyed his family, he knew better than try and push them into following his dreams rather than what they wanted.

"That's surely an interesting opportunity." The old Plantar patriarch replied, taking the brochure from Herringbone's hands and looking at it. "And I won't deny it, I won't thank you enough for offering us such chance, but…I apologize, because I don't think we can accept that."

"Huh?" Sprig gasped, clearly surprised by the reaction Hop Pop was having.

"Oh, and why's that?" Herringbone raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting Hop Pop's refusal. "Didn't you say it was your dream for your grandchildren to attend our university?"

"It is, and I confirm it when I say that nothing would make me feel happier and prouder should they be able to do that," Hop Pop countered, "but… I wasn't planning for them to start college this soon. They're too young, plus before starting a new course of higher instruction, they should complete the basic one. Unfortunately, the school in our town got destroyed quite some time ago and was repaired only recently, so for most of their part, I've home-schooled them myself."

"And without intention to sound rude or disrespectful, I don't think I would be able to attend," James nodded, coming on Hop Pop's support. "As I have said, my friends and I are trying to return to our world. And once there we will have our whole life to catch up already and previous commitments to restart." He grimaced, wondering how he could explain such period of absence to his school. "Man, I hope my scholarship is still safe."

"Plus, Sprig's already got commitment so far, even without discounting his study progresses." Anne decided to intervene on his behalf, "He's helping us find a way to return of our world, and that's a full-time commitment!"

"Huh, are you sure that I should refuse?" Sprig countered, feeling disoriented, as he looked at his grandfather. "Wasn't just what you wanted, for one of us to be able to attend?"

"Yes, but I said 'one day', not immediately! I ain't ready to let you go yet!"

"This…is a sentiment I can understand, and share." Herringbone smiled again, and this time, all were surprised by it. "Do not worry my boy, you've proved yourself worthy already, and the offer of admission still stands. That said, you could consider it for the future? We'll be waiting for whenever you're ready."

"I-I think that could be an idea." The Young frog said, not sure of what to say. "Still, I have many doubts in regards, and so many questions I would like to ask."

"Then, how about we satiate your thirst for knowledge with a small tour of our university?" The headmaster suggested, "You would be able to see how life in our college is and get an idea of what kind of degree program you'd like to pursue. Moreover," his glance moved to James, "I would love to hear more about your astronomy studies, and I think many of our professors would be interested into looking into it as well."

James said nothing at first, just thinking of the potential that the Headmaster's offer could mean to him. Herringbone had said earlier that this university held some of the best astronomy experts, and if he could impress them with his own personal study of Amphibia's star system, maybe he could revolutionize the whole discipline for everyone in this world?! Maybe, in a generation or two, more and more young bright mind would learn about the nature of the cosmos through his notes and make new discoveries and breakthrough in their knowledge of space! And his name would become a pivotal figure in their learning system just like Copernicus or Galilei.

"That would be a pleasure, Headmaster Herringbone." He smiled in triumph.

(…)

Meanwhile, far away from Newtopia University, in the tall and imposing castle that dominated the city skyline, (and more specifically, in the tower that currently hosted the six human's temporary quarters) a small reunion was taking place. The 'setting' was the room that, until yesterday had been Amelia's own lodging, and now had become the lodging and laboratory of the new Court Wizard: Maddie Flour.

"Hey, Maddie!" Amelia said, as she walked into the room, the light blue spellcaster Amphibian sitting together with Ivy and Marcy. "I see you've already made yourself home. I like how you redecorated the place!"

The almost completely blank room where the young samurai used to rest and meditate was now completely changed. The walls had been cleaned and repainted, a large circular window had been mounted to fill the previous hole, a mechanical interlocking mechanism that would allow it to be opened outward if needed, the floor had been scrubbed clean, and the walls had been reinforced at various 'strategic' points on both sides of the room.

A small corner of the room was Maddie's quarters, the young frog wizard having at her disposal a padded bunk with a coral lamp to offer her evening light, a shelf carved out of a recess in the wall housing several light read books while on a small bedside table Maddie kept her personal care items and a black notebook that was enriched with new data and notes each night.

The rest of the room was the actual laboratory. A large counter, with a workstation in its center, stood in the middle of the room, with various instruments and equipment used in the processing and refinement of various spell items laid on it while, hanged in a large basin, a sturdy black cauldron was available to the production of more advanced spells and enchantments.

Two large shelving cabinets stood on the right side of the room, holding various glasses canisters containing various spell ingredients gathered from all over Amphibia while, next to them, a tall, armored library held all of Maddie's books about the nature of magic and the production of spells, as well as all the notes she and Marcy had worked on during their time together.

A wide collection of several plants and other flora lifeforms was gathered next to the giant window, and, for as long as they would be taken care of, would provide regular supplies of fresh-produced ingredients and key elements for many spells. And next to the indoor garden, a chalkboard attached to the wall could be used to write down important notes and details to be used as memorandum during work.

Finally, standing on the left side of the room, was a small 'testing' room. Carefully divided from the rest of the room by a resistant wall of steel, with glass portholes to provide monitoring of what happened inside and a small steel door to allow the introduction of items. Inside, Marcy and Maddie could test their newest 'magic production' whose volatility and unpredictability represented a huge risk for everyone.

Noteworthy detail, after the whole shenanigan caused by an intruder stealing the remains of the Polymorph spell and feed it to the six humans, the two spellcasters, weren't taking any more chances: the cabinets and shelves containing ingredients and stored-up spells were now all closed and locked up, as was the library where all their magical knowledge was contained. The door itself having been modified and integrated with a complex lock mechanism that made it impossible for anyone without the key to enter or take one of such items, and the only copy of the key had held by Maddie all the time. It was without saying that the Royal Credit Card had been used tremendously and without sparing any expense, to make impossible for anyone not authorized to get inside.

"You like it?" Marcy gleamed up, smiling as Amelia closed the door behind her and walked where they were all sitting together. "Maddie was all concerned about unknown strangers messing again with her stuff, so she wanted to be sure the place was secure. I personally designed the locks!"

"Well, I hope then you never end up losing that key because I doubt even Jacob could crack such lock." The brown-haired girl sat down, taking a deep breath before resuming the chat. "So, why did you want to see us?"

"We have… something we need to tell you." Maddie stuttered, trying to find the right words to use, "It's something big, and we don't know how you all may react, so we want to tell you first and work out on how to tell the others at a later time."

"It is something bad?" Marcy asked, feeling puzzled but also worried about the tone Maddie was using. "I mean, I know I shouldn't talk about secrets since-"

"It's something that we found out during the travel, but we didn't tell you until now because we were afraid of what your reactions may be." Ivy intervened on Maddie's behalf. "And then we finally come to Newtopia, and lot of things were going on, and it was never the right time and-!"

The yellow frog forced herself to calm down. Focus, Ivy. Took a deep breath and just say them. "It's something that is related to all you six. More precisely the Box and… the powers those gems have imbued into your bodies."

Hearing that, both Amelia and Marcy stammered, as a cold feeling spread through their bodies as they looked into each other. Did Maddie perhaps find out some 'nasty side effect' that their powers were having on them? It was such fear that, so far, had sufficed as reason why they've tried to limit the use of such powers, sacrificing training and control over them, using them only in situation that required them. But perhaps, that wasn't enough?

"Of course, if you feel you're not ready-"

"Just tell us." Marcy said, an expression of determination in her face, as she stared down the ghost of her previous mistakes. "I know it may hurt us, or scare us, but… I'm no more my past self, who tried to hide the truth for as long as possible. And whatever it may be, no matter how terrific, we can face it. Together."

"Yes we can!" Amelia nodded, trying to make herself look self-reassured. "No matter what this path may lead us to, there is no battle we can't win if we stand together!"

"Very well," Maddie nodded, her hand moving to her side and searching for a certain object, who she had carried with her all this time. "Marcy, do you remember the day after you told everyone…the truth? You were away at that time, Amelia, so you couldn't witness Marcy test her newfound powers together with Jacob."

"Yes, we ended up crashing into each other, but we were fine!"

In response, Maddie raised her eyes once more, her gaze crossed with her apprentice's, as she took out the small bandages of that day, the blood of the human having by now completely dried up, yet somehow, still leaving a deep green stain on the fabric.

"This is from that day, the bandage that you used to try and cover your bruises." The spellcaster frog said in a solemn tone, as she could feel shock take over the two humans' minds, their eyes widening as they looked at the sign of the blood, Marcy taking it in her hands and starting to analyze it.

"M-my blood…is green?" Marcy said with a horrified tone of voice.

"And it has sparkles too?" Amelia added, noticing the light effect.

"This is what we found out," Ivy intervened. "Apparently, in the book that Maddie bought in Les Flies, there was a whole section explaining it."

"It-it does?" The Night Guard ranger and King Andrias' favorite human muttered, feeling unsure, as Maddie quickly moved to the library and took out the aforementioned book. She quickly opened it as to show the two human girls its content as well as Maddie's translation notes.

"Huh-uh! Apparently, from what I've been able to understand by trying to translate its content, once the power of the calamity gems had been imbued into the body of a new holder for an…unspecified period of time," Maddie looked aside, pouting that she hadn't been able to clarify that point yet, "the magic will start to permeate the living tissue of their holder, concentrating on their bloodstream, and giving their blood the color associated with the gem of their chosen holder. As well as filling it with raw magical power, turning it into a powerful substance known as… the Calamity Blood."

"Calamity Blood?" Marcy repeated as she looked upon her magic teacher's notes, the truth dawning upon her as she kept silently reading. "Then…my blood, as well as Sash's and Anna Banana's-"

"B-but I haven't yet figured how to activate my own powers, just like James!" Amelia protested.

"It doesn't matter, if the power of your associated Gem has been imbued into you at the same time as the others, then the changes inside you should have already started." Maddie underlined, before continuing her explanation, "Apparently, this fact was quite known enough with previous holders of the Gems that their power-filled blood was considered an extremely rare and precious magic ingredient, used to fuel advanced magical spells and devices, or to generate magical nexuses powerful enough to activate large-scale enchantments. What's more-" Maddie's expression now turned into a grin, as she showed them what else she had managed to translate so far "-this book seems to have a detailed explanation of the process used to power up the spells with the Calamity Blood, and some examples of spells that their humongous power make possible."

"Wait a minute, you're talking about… blood magic?!" Marcy said, clearly unable to believe what she was hearing. "That sound interesting… and ominous."

"Yeah, I thought you wanted to demolish those scary rumors and gossip regarding magic users." Amelia was quick to point out. "Yet, now you're showing us a new kind of magic that requires blood to work, and sound more appropriate for an evil lich?"

"Huh, what's a lich?" Ivy asked.

"Is a name used to indicate an evil wind of powerful magic users, usually doing stuff like…raising the dead, or mind control, or corrupt kingdoms, stuff like that."

"Oh."

"Believe me, I do recognize how it looks like, and I am not an ounce happy about the idea of delving into a forgotten realm of magic that stinks of sorcery," the light blue frog hissed, as she thought back to all the prejudice she had been forced through ever since she discovered her passion for spell-making. "However, this was also part of my mission, when I first started studying spells: to rebuild the opinion about magic, and to show that even the scariest-looking ones can be used for positive purposes rather than negative ones. And, if even just half what the book reported is true, the number and variety of spells that the mere existence of Calamity Blood make possible could provide limitless benefits to Amphibia and its inhabitants."

"A self-activating fertile halo released from a control point, that would make even the most harsh and sterile territory fertile and able to provide a number virtually infinite of good crops… a spell that could remove all dirt and filth from whole villages or even small town, reducing both the unhealthiness of its living conditions and reducing the risk of diseases… an energy shield to protect a city as large as Newtopia from attack of dangerous wild critters or other form of natural disasters… potential traveling enchantment that would allow someone to travel from one point to another by opening a door connecting two places at the same time?! This is basically a teleport!" Marcy finished, her amazement pushing away the fear.

"I'd describe it more like a door that allow you to walk to some faraway place in the same way you could walk into the next room, or out of a building." Maddie replied, "What's more interesting, however, is that such door has been hypothesized it could not only move through space, but through time as well. And that means that, if we could manage to produce such magical door, by hypothesis, it could either bring us sometime in the past or in the future, or some other place that we know exist, but we don't know how 'far' it may be, such as-"

"-Earth." Amelia gasped in realization, beating Marcy of a split second, as both realized what Maddie was implying to them. If such spell was feasible, even if their attempts to find a way to recharge the box were for null, they would have a way to return home. And Marcy wasn't going to leave any stone unturned in her quest to right her own wrongs.

"Exactly." Maddie nodded with a smile. "Of course, it could be simply baseless rumors or myth started by word to mouth, yet so were many facts about magic that I found out to be true. It's worth a shot."

"Yes, it is!" Marcy couldn't agree fast enough, "Even if it can't take us back home, if such powerful magic exist it could be pivotal into helping Drias into eradicating the Cult of the Olms! Or alternatively, to repel the attack of Aiden."

"And I'll gladly help you!" Ivy jumped in, "This stuff is too interesting to let you two get it all."

"I guess Akitsu and I would be useful too, wouldn't we?" Amelia nodded with a smirk. "Ok, now that we're all in agreement, what's the first thing to do? I mean, so far we only have a dirty bandage, an unfinished translation of notes from your book and some stuff that may or may not be true. If the blood in our vein is now some kind of superpowered magic ingredient, shouldn't we do some test and fill the empty holes?"

"Funny that you mentioned it…" Maddie smirked with an excited (and unwittingly scary expression) as she moved back to the counter/workstation in the middle of the room, opening a small cabinet and taking out what the two human girls realized was actually a large needle…

"Wow, this place sure looks cool!" Sprig commented as he and James walked down the long hallway and following Headmaster Herringbone (who had kindly offered to guide them), looking around with a curious expression. After the old newt had invited the duo to visit the University, Anne had gone back to the castle (after she realized she forgot about the kitchen duty she was supposed to start today) while Hop Pop opted to go and meet an old friend of his, bringing Polly with him (against the polliwog's vehement wishes).

Right now, the human, the frog and the newt were marching through a section of the University, where various trophies and achievement of their students were gathered in large displays, huge portrait and pictures of various classes hanging over them.

"Every item you see here represent a part of our prestigious story" Herringbone chuckled, as he raised his eyes and looked at the portraits. "Unfortunately, even after our most recent reforms, most of our students only come from Newtopia or the surrounding region, and they're always newts. Newtopia University is supposed to be a beacon of hope, innovation and future for the whole Amphibia, yet the number of frog or axolotl students we currently have can be counted on a single pair of hands, and we still lack any student of toad origins."

"Well, if you think about it, the reason for it is logical." James thought aloud, Herringbone turning head and looking at him like he had suddenly grown a face in the back of his head.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you said the University started the program to try and increase the number of students regardless of their specie and origin, yet most of the frogs lives in the Frog Valley or in other regions too far from the city, where threats like giant mantises are everyday stuff , and where too often corruption and crime cut off any hope they have to allow themselves more than basic commodities. And your program usually requires some kind of mail-order test, right? I doubt many people could afford the money required to buy the books they need to study and prepare themselves."

"He's right," Sprig nodded. "Between the taxes that keep rising every year and the bleak existence we were living before James and the others arrived, most of us couldn't afford an education beyond being home schooled, especially after the school in Wartwood got destroyed by the herons."

"I had…hears some rumors about the situation in Frog Valley." Herringbone replied as he looked away, "Was it that bad?"

"No, it wasn't… at least, compared to other stuff we got to see in our travel to come here." James kept narrating. "Ruined streets and collapsed bridges, small communities under the iron fist of would-be local tyrants, and while some amphibians are masters to fritter their money away, other would do anything for just living another day. Even here in Newtopia, the frogs and axolotls that live among the city walls are regularly discriminated against, and while they may have safer lives or better jobs than they would have anywhere else, they can't hope for any chance to further boost their own social standing or even protection from the city's military beyond the basic one. Do you know that, up to these days, the Night Guard's oath say that you must serve and protect newts beyond anyone else?"

"Sadly… Truly a tragic and yet unjustifiable part of our past that for too much time had plagued Amphibia." Herringbone lowered his head, and James could now see he had a sad expression over his face. "So many bright minds, so much talent, so much hope for the future lost… all because they hadn't been born newts. Ever since I was a youngster, I tried so hard to understand the reason why the social caste stratification of our civilization, yet everyone I spoke to treated it as a simple matter of fact: the newts are made to rule, the toads serve them and all the other races require their guidance and discipline," he spoke with a mocking tone, repeating the words and concept that he had fought against for a good part of his life. "Would you believe that, until now, the toads never ever managed to develop a culture of their own beyond the military? How they end up indoctrinated from a very young age that their life reason is to keep the frogs in line and follow the orders from Newtopia, and they are taught only how to march right and fight? Many can't keep up, and end up living in the street, feeding the already large underworld where all the skills they've learned ends up being used to oppress and pillage rather than to protect, not that the ones that serve their armies are much different!"

"We knew, Grime was generous enough to provide us with a smattering before we left the Valley."

"Grime? You mean Captain Grime of the Southern Tower, once known as the 'Rockwall Toad' the fiercest fighter of the Coliseum?"

"Yup, he turned a new leaf in the Valley, thanks to them." Sprig nodded, "And there are many like them, who have skills and dreams beyond being soldiers."

"Oh, you have no idea how much this news warms my old heart, "Herringbone murmured before stopping at the end of the hallway, the 'path' now going either to the left and to the right, while, right in front of the trio, a small statue in marble, hosted in an offset in the wall. James and Sprig both gasped as they noticed that the 'statue' represented the figure of a female toad dressed in garbs, holding an open book with both hand showing it to the observer, various piece of folded paper and writing items placed around her while, in a small golden plaque attached to its base, a single sentence was written in Ancient Amphibian.

"Imagine?" James read the sentence in his mind. "Professor Herringbone, who's the toad represented in the statue?"

"This, young one, is Unna the Toad, the only historical figure among the Toads known for something completely unrelated from military prowess or act of heroism, and also one of the main figures that inspired me in my life." Herringbone explained, internally happy that someone was listening to the story, "Legend says she was born different, yet instead of seeing her own 'difference' as a flaw, she fully embraced it, the way how the world looked different to her eyes in contrast with other Toads. She was one of the most creative and bright minds in your history, having wrote thousands of books, theater play scripts, novellas, fables and poetry in her life, some of them becoming classics masterpieces of Amphibian literature, even being read by new generations of students in our university each year. And yet, almost no one knows that the writer of such wonderful stories was a toad." The old headmaster clenched his fist, like he felt repulsed by such injustice.

James blinked, as his eyes once again moved on the marble figure of Unna, the toad standing motionless in front of him in a frozen smile. He didn't know about her before, yet, the more he looked at the statue, the more he felt a connection among them, like some kind of bond. What could it be?

"Was she a toad that rejected be a soldier, and instead choose to become a dreamer and write stories?" Sprig asked, he too amazed that a toad could make such decision. "That sound just like one of Hop Pop's favorite plays."

"And it was, under such aspects, but unlike those, she didn't get a happy ending." Herringbone noted down. "Unna died almost one thousand years ago after spending the latter part of her life in a monastery, working herself to the bone to complete her magnum opus, if the legends are true. However, those tales also states that she hid it so well that no one ever managed to find it. And since no one nowadays ever knows where the monastery was located… I guess no one will ever have the privilege to read such work."

"So, this is the reason why you've been such a strong advocate for integration of other frog races in Newtopia University, and why you were so eager to enroll both Sprig and me," James spoke in realization. "You think that, if things do not change, more and more bright talents will be lost."

"And judging by how the kingdom is going on, if we keep wasting prodigies through the racial segregation that had chained our civilization for centuries, our whole society may reach a point of no return." The headmaster sighed, "You claim to have traveled a lot to reach our city, so you must have seen what happens beyond the walls. The Ruins…of our past."

Ruins? James asked mentally, as his mind brought him back to the abandoned factories known by many as the Ruins of Despair. Was Herringbone referring to them… or more in general.

"But… the people, at least in Newtopia, they seem happy." Sprig interjected.

"They do not know any better!" Herringbone lamented, as the weight of his own words was crushing the life out of his lungs. "We were a great civilization once, now we live in ruins. Every year a small city must be abandoned, a region loses contact with Newtopia, some technologies and knowledge end up forgotten, pieces of our culture are lost, maybe forever! The great kings of our past would weep if they could see how far we have fallen."

"I guess this is something I can…agree upon?" James spoke back as she patted the shoulder of Herringbone, trying to comfort him as his gaze moved, once again fixating on the still expression on Unna's statue, Sprig moving to his side as he glanced at the statue as well.

Thus, neither the old newt nor the young frog did see the bright gleam of pure white energy flashing into the human's eyes, the Calamity energy still trapped in his body almost reacting to the shape, of their previous holder…

(…)

"So, you're finally here!" An elegant dark blue newt, dressed in a black chef's apron lamented once Anne entered the Royal Kitchen, already dressed in her so-called 'uniform'. "And why are you late, commis?"

"Late?!But-"

"Answer the question, commis!" The Chef repeated, Anne struggling to repress her own instinct to punch him in face. Keep calm, it's your first day, you can't punch your boss, keep calm-

"I was with my family and close friends at Newtopia University, mister Shattow!" Anne replied, before adding: "Plus, I'm not lat-"

"Oh, already trying to find a way out of my kitchen?" The Newt chef kept on trying to provoke her "Couldn't handle hard work and discipline, commis?!"

Anne could not barley believe her eyes, her mind looking in total disbelief. What in frog's name was going on?

"Hey! I don't know what got into you but-"

CHOUNK! A loud noise echoed through the kitchen, the other cooks and kitchen servants stopping what they were doing and looking at the scene, as Head Royal Chef Shattow Von Lizen slammed a huge cleaver into the cutting board, symbolically 'cutting' Anne's protest before she was done and looking at her with a cold, humorless gaze.

"What was that, commis?"

For a brief second, Anne was tempted to give in and say nothing, and yet, she felt a surge or courage rise from inside her. She was no more the scared, easily manipulable girl who allowed others to decide for herself, the plain pushover for anyone to push their way. That was the most important lesson Amphibia had ever given to her: how to stand up to those who deserved it.

"Look, you may be the Head Chef and thus my boss," the girl spoke with a light stuttering voice, yet becoming more and more confidant as her courage resurged, "but I won't accept to be disrespected in such a way over for no reason at all!"

Silence fell into the room, the other Amphibians working in the kitchen gasping and covering their mouth, fully expecting for the chef to go ballistic on the new entry, as he simply kept looking at her for one second, two, five, ten. And then-

And then Shattow began to laugh aloud, scaring the creep out of many kitchen servants who had never seen him laugh, or even smile before.

"See? I told you guys, Bushy Hair here was giving me a good gut feeling!"

"B-Bushy Hair?!" Anne repeated, doubtful if she should have been more shocked by the unexpected reaction…or offended by the lame nickname the Chef had given her.

"That was a test!" The Head Chef explained, both to her and the other people currently in the kitchen. "You don't take crap from anyone, and that's the attitude you need to have to succeed in life. I was deliberately treating you rudely and disrespecting you to confirm if you had the guts to stand your ground… or if you were one of those other grubs who thank you even when you're punishing them, believing that sweet words and sycophancy will lead them somewhere." He turned head and looked of attendants, two young newts who as soon as they realized he was talking about them went 'eeep' and rushed outside of the kitchen, suddenly the idea of going to throw trash outside sounding less bad than before. "Now, fix you apron kiddo, there is some vegetable that need to be cleaned!"

"R-right away, sir!" Anne saluted before starting her work, still feeling confused about the situation.

"Don't worry about him," to her left, a low-level cook whose job currently was 'assisting' the Main Appetizers Chef, whispered. "That's just a trait of his personality. If you disappoint him, you'll be fired on the spot, but if you impress him, you're golden."

"Less talking, more kitchening!" The Head Chef yelled again, "We have a lot of work today! And I won't accept anything less but excellence from anyone of you. And that's because-"

"Because we're Royal Palace' Kitchen Staff, sir!" Everyone exclaimed at once, everyone so used to yell it at random they didn't stop working.

"Frogging right we are!"

"So, as you can see-"

"H-Headmaster Herringbone!" A female voice called out and a dark green frog with aquamarine hair, dressed up in a university's uniform, approached them carrying several stacks of paper and folders in her hands, so many she could barely see where she was going. "I wasn't… expecting to meet you. I was gathering sources and papers back at the library to work on my research and-"

"Wait a minute, Gweronica?!" Sprig gasped, recognizing the voice as he moved to see the frog's face.

"Sprig?! What are you doing here?"

"You know each other?" The headmaster asked with a puzzled look, not expecting this turn of events.

"Well, we could say that." Sprig started to explain, oblivious of the fearful expression Gweronica was giving him. "She comes from Wartwood, like me, and my grandpa is a good customer of her mom. He goes to her to buy ascots whenever he has the chance."

"And what in frog's name is that?!" Gwen turned and looked at James with eyes fill of shock, the human teen rolling his eyes as he felt a deja-vu coming up.

"It seems like you two have a lot of catch up to do," the human nodded, before turning to herringbone. "Professor, how about we stop the tour for a bit so I can show you the result of my research, and Sprig has a talk with his friend? She's been missing a lot of stuff happening back in the Valley."

"That, would be a great idea." The old headmaster nodded, "Of course, if it works for you too."

"I'm in!" Sprig enthusiastically jumped, before Gwen could react or even fully assimilate what was going on. "Come on Gwen, let's find a place to sit down and chat, we do have a lot of catching up to do."

Gwen could barely whimper as Sprig pulled her into a study room currently unoccupied, closing the door behind them, while headmaster Herringbone walked away, followed by the same gangly creature Sprig had been accompanied.

Only when the sound of the door closing reached her ears, confirming that no one would hear her now, Gewn finally unleashed the result of all her pent-up emotions.

"What in frog's name was that?!" She yelled at full lungs as she turned toward Sprig, the male young frog taking a couple of step back. "That was Professor Herringbone, the headmaster of the University and also one of the main teachers, one word from him could make a student the next valedictorian or expel them without warning, and you were treating him like you were buddies?!"

"Well Gwen, you see-"

"And what about that ugly, freaky creature that it was with you? What was that even supposed to be! It had long, spindly limbs, a huge round head, oh my frog, was that a bump in the middle of its face?!"

This scene is awkwardly familiar, Sprig thought as Gwen continued her charade. The poor frog student's mood kept switching between if she should rather worry about the casual way he had acted with the Headmaster or panic about the 'weird' feature of James. Only when Gwen stopped, needing to catch breath after her outburst, he intervened.

"That 'creature' name is James, and he is a human." Sprig said, Gwen turning around and looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Hoo-man?"

"Human," he repeated, "seriously, didn't your mom tell you anything of what happened in the Valley after you left? Didn't you write her once a while?"

"I do!" Gwen protested, "but I never got any reply, you know how difficult is for a letter from Newtopia to arrive someplace far away like the Frog Valley!"

"Well, then you better sit down and listen," Sprig replied, "because you have a lot of catching up to do-"

And so, Sprig told her all. He told her the whole story( well, most of it) starting from the day he decided to show how much responsible he was by giving hunt to the so-called monster Wally had sighted in the woods surrounding Wartwood, how those 'monsters' turned out to be a group of creatures from another world desperately looking for a way back home, how his grandfather had given them hospitality and eventually adopted them, how their influences had changed Wartwood and eventually the whole Valley for the better. Sprig's tales culminated in the frogs, the toads and the humans fighting side by side against Aiden, Gwen's eyes widening in shock with every new revelation about the adventures they had been through, until-

"I can't believe it… so, Toadstool's reformed?"

"Believe me, I was impressed too."

"The Toads are no more pillaging on us?"

"Nope, actually, many of them were quite kind and interesting to befriend, after a gruff first beginning."

"And the whole Valley is better than it had been for centuries?!"

"Indeed, even your mom shop's business is booming. Seems like she won't have to worry about her ascots for quite some time."

"Wow, you-you had quite so many adventures while I was away," Gwen lamented, a part of her wishing she didn't take the chance to enroll if just she could have been present to see that with her own eyes. "Fighting mantises and tomatoes, exploring ancient ruins and learning more about Amphibia's past… and one of them is now your adoptive sister?!"

"Yes, though technically Hop Pop adopted all of them, but Sasha's spending all her time with Ivy and Miss Sundew, Marcy is Maddie's apprentice, while Jacob and Amelia-"

"Wait, Maddie and Ivy are here too?" Gwen gasped once again. "They came with you?"

"Why yes, maybe if someday you got the chance, we could all met someplace. Yet so far, I'm the only who has done the talking," he looked at her, "How is life in Newtopia University?"

"It's…good, all considered." Gwen replied, her inner instinct making sure no one could hear her. "Here I got a chance for a good education unlike anything Wartwood could have provided when I left, but I must study hard and work even harder each day, plus there are so many rules you have to follow and obey.

First, there is a dressing code, you must tuck your uniform, straighten the tie.. and you're not allowed to wear hats nor any kind of dressing accessories unless it is something health-related like glasses. Then, you must always pay extreme attention in class and take note on anything, because there are exams almost every week and failure to note down any apparently meaningless info may make the difference in your grade. We are provided with a huge library for our studies, but we must search for the info we need without any kind of support and dedicate at least two hours of study each day in order not to be left behind. Look, I'm not saying I am against it, after all this school gave me a chance I could have never believed to be possible, but… let's just say that if you don't have your heart in it, and the determination to follow through, this place may become reclusive very soon."

Wow, now I'm feeling a lot happier about not accepting Herringbon's offer, Sprig added mentally, though maybe, someday in the future, once Anne and the others are back home?

"Do you know what was the most difficult thing I had to get acclimated in the first days? The whole defense system they have in place. It literally seals us into our own room! I mean, I appreciate the idea of being protected, but sometimes, it feels like they're overprotective! Even more than your Hop Pop!"

"Defense system?" Sprig repeated with a curious expression, "Why?"

"Oh well, some time ago, there was this frog student known to be extremely brilliant. A true genius working on multiple fields at once, and who was so smart that King Andrias himself invited him for a private dinner, the night before his graduation as Valedictorian. The problem is… he never made it to the castle."

"Really? What happened?"

"That's the point, nobody knows! Anyone working in the castle that night said he never arrived, yet no matter how long the investigation went and how many soldiers or Night Guards were involved, it was never found what happened of them. What was assumed was, of course, that something terrible must have happened to them, so the University made up a whole bunch of new security measure and protocols to protect the lives and wellbeing of its students, even if that means locking them in their own rooms at night!"

"Wow, college surely looks different from what Anne told me," Sprig looked aside, James' words about reality not being like a movie replaying in his head. "Still, if they're going this far only to ensure you're safe, it proves they greatly value the life of their students, be their newts or not."

"Yeah, that's one of the nice, pleasant discoveries I had on my first days: while a couple other students sounded dismissive toward me because I was a frog and I come from a place they see as 'hillbilly's paradise', most of the staff were quite accepting and announced in plain terms that any harassment toward me or other non-newt students would be severely punished. Still," Gwen took a deep breath, "to think we have to be counted twice at day, and to be locked in our own quarters when night come only because of what happened to a former frog student with five fingers for hand-"

"FIVE FINGERS?" Sprig gasped, as the words of her friend and fellow Wartwoodian awakened a memory inside him. "Tell me! This one valedic-frog-whatever! Whose disappearance triggered it all, what was their name?!"

"Name?" Gewn stopped, trying to remember it, thinking back at the portrait she had seen hanged over the wall on a specific part of the large University, where she had to pass through each day to go and gather the books she needed to study at the library. "I seem to remember they were called Stanford, Stanford Pons. And since the new security measure were developed after their disappearance, they named it after them as an homage, the Stanford Ponds NU Security Protocols!"

Sprig said nothing as his memory brought back to one of the small various stops they had done on their travel to Newtopia, to a place called Stony Gulch and a very weird house museum called the Curiosity Hutt, and of a couple of adorable frog twins who he was still in contact with.

I guess I'll have to write them a new letter sooner than I had expected, he thought in realization.

(…)

"Owww," Amelia grunted, holding her aching left arm, a grimace off pain over her lips, before her attention focused on the working table where Maddie (with Ivy's help) had collected all the blood samples from her and Marcy (the dark-haired ranger/spellcaster also holding her arm) into two large glasses of cylindric form, one for each kind of blood. On the left, it was the container holding all the Calamity Blood Maddie had collected from Marcy, the unnaturally emerald-green blood producing glow of clear magical nature while, on the container to the right, it was her own: it wasn't shiny as Marcy's blood, and it was still baseline red, yet from time to time it seemed to release some kind of glow of purple, just like...

-just like the flower that the Moss Man had gifted her on their first meeting, a long time ago.

Amelia groaned, as her gaze kept moving between her blood and Marcy's: Marcy had volunteered to give 'for experimental purposes' a quantity of liquid blood three times the one she had provided, yet beside a noticeable uneasiness in her left arm, she didn't seem to suffer any kind of side effects. Meanwhile, Amelia could only hold onto the chair she was sitting as she felt her own head become dizzier, feeling that, if she hadn't been sitting already, she would have dropped to the floor already.

Frogs, I guess I won't be able to go flying with Akitsu later at twilight, the young samurai girl realized just as Maddie spoke once again.

"Ok, I guess we should thank you girls for your…'generous donations'" the spellcaster frog looked at the two human girls, "don't worry, the healing spell I used on you should make any scar from the needle disappear in a couple hours at most, and if my calculations are right, the enhanced blood production of your bone narrow should kick on soon and replenish your reserves. Meanwhile, by observation alone, I can see that some of the rumors about the calamity Blood are true, or at least, they seem to be."

"I'm still weirded out at the idea that this is my blood," Marcy commented, looking at the container of her own Calamity Blood like it was liquid light or condensed mana, "that's strange, it had been exposed to the air for several minutes by now yet it doesn't seem like it's starting to coagulate or even dry."

"But then, why Amelia's blood in not glowing?" Ivy asked, pointing to the container where Amelia's product was stored.

"I guess that's because she hadn't activated her powers yet," Maddie replied. "There is not much about it in the book, but it said that Calamity Blood can be harvested only while a holder has activated their powers and releases the magic energy into their bloodstream. Blood samples taken when a holder isn't activated still have a certain amount of magic in it, but not as much to be used for spellcasting."

"So, you're saying that I didn't have to be stung by that needle and suffer this arm ache?" Amelia grunted in annoyance, before looking away. "Story of my life."

"It's too early to say that, I'll have to do some more proper checks to see if the magic properties of your blood can be activated earlier, or if there are other side effects we may have to be wary about. Of course, first things first," she attention moved to Marcy's container. "Let's try some low-level Calamity Blood-powered spell in a controlled environment and see the results. Preferably something small enough not to cause huge explosions or any other effects that may uncover what we were doing. On that regard, I have already worked up to three choices among which we could pick…"

"Decanter of the endless waters?" Ivy read aloud, "What is that?"

"I remember it, it was supposed to be an item that grant an unlimited quantity of clean, fresh water no matter where you are or how much water you and your companions require each day." Marcy quipped, remembering a similar-sounding item from her 'Creatures and caverns' game. "Do things like that exist in Amphibia too?"

"Well, that's a possibility." Maddie replied, "According to the specifics, with enough Calamity Blood to power up its self-refilling properties, there is no way to know how much water it could generate. Though, I was expecting you would go for something cooler-"

"As the daughter of a world-famous adventurer, I think that an item that gives you an endless supply of water surely is cool!" Countered Ivy, "Mom told me that many times during her adventures she and her companion had to bring with them items and equipment to stockpile water, so something that could take care of that would be invaluable."

"And let's not forget, water is a priceless item for agriculture, or whenever you live in desert areas like the little fellas back at Bittyburg!" Amelia intervened, "If such a device was available back home, we could turn the Sahara back into a green, lush land in a matter of weeks!"

"Looks like we have a winner here," Marcy nodded, "it produces water, so it should be quite safe to experiment, and it has already the approval of two of us. What do you think, master: shall we give it a try?"

"Not sure, maybe I should give the schematics one more look- oh, frog that, I want to test it too!" The blue Amphibian spellcaster admitted. "Besides, it is just water: how bad it can be?"

(…)

James and Herringbone, meanwhile, had by now arrived in a large, circular-shaped room where classes in astronomy and the study of space were held. In the center of the room was a large brass telescope, hooked to the ceiling by an iron support rig, and with several mechanisms operated by levers and pulleys that allowed even one person to move it without difficulty. Several smaller telescopes, along with a pair of hourglasses and an oil lamp, were gathered on a workstation near a large window while a large wood and metal barometer, hanging by the door, provided valuable information about which times were the most favorable for observing the starry sky. Tall wooden bookcases filled with volumes occupied more than a third of the walls, and on a round wooden table across from the entrance was an orrery depicting, in broad strokes, Amphibia and the surrounding planets: interestingly, however, the large green sphere representing Amphibia was fixed in the center while a yellow sphere (representing the sun) revolved around it.

Several students, all newts, were gathered in one side of the room to listen to the lesson held by two newts with dark green and aquamarine skin. The former, an old male with handlebar mustaches, and the latter, a younger female with pale blond hair. As the two teachers were so focused into explaining the lesson, and the students engrossed into listening to their speech and taking notes to study later, they didn't notice the newcomers until Herringbone let out a fake cough, drawing attention on himself.

"P-Professor Herringbone!" The dark green teacher gasped, as he recognized the headmaster. "What an honor for you to come and join us today. Did you perhaps come to check on our class's progresses?"

"Actually, I am merely here as a visitor, as well as acting as a guide for… a very special guest." the old newt moved aside and allowed everyone to see the human behind him, James trying to smile and wave as both teacher and students looked at him with eyes full of wonder and surprise. "Everyone, this is James, and he's one of the 'being' currently hosted by King Andrias himself. Since he's a great passionate about astronomy and he personally started his own study on our system during his stay, I believe it would be a great opportunity to allow him to participate with today's lesson and compare your notes with his own."

"Well, if the headmaster vouches for him…" the aquamarine teacher murmured to its colleague, clearly feeling unnerved a lot by the strange appearance of their 'guest' yet trying to suppress her own emotions. "That said, we were in the middle of a lecture so if you have any question-"

"Oh, I have many questions already! For starter," the human boy asked, pointing at the orrery next to him, "why do you keep a model set with the old geocentric system? Or it is Amphibia-centric here? Is that as simple item of the past, or to illustrate an old theory?"

"Old?!" One of the students, who clearly wasn't happy about James' presence, scoffed. "Of course Amphibia is the center of the Universe! What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you're still at that point?" James gasped. "Sorry is just that, it's been centuries since we used to believe the same thing of our world. But we made several progresses-"

"Wait!" Another student quickly caught on his words. "Your world?"

"Oh yes, I suppose I should have mentioned this." Professor Herringbone chuckled, almost embarrassed by his own forgetfulness. "James and his…friends came from another world compared to Amphibia, were their own kind, and not frogs, are the dominant species."

The news quickly caused a new wave of surprise and astonishment among the students, who were all trying to elaborate these new revelations. A creature from a different world? A civilization beyond their own?

As he watched them murmur, James snorted: he felt like an extraterrestrial landing in the middle of Galilei's process, and from a certain point of view, the situation fitted.

"Maybe we could discuss something I got the chance to observe during my own sightseeing of Amphibia's space, for example, your four moons-"

"Four?!" This one was the aquamarine professor, "Amphibia has more than two moon?!"

"Huh, yeah." The human teen walked forward and took out his own note paper, beginning to show them, "While the Red one is the one most visible, the green ones and the blue ones are observable even by naked eye in some specific period, the latter's appearance having strong cultural and social influence on several communities outside of Newtopia. This said-"

"So, the green moon and the blue one are actually two separate moons?" The moustache newt said, grabbing James' notes and starting to read them as fast as he could. "I heard such a theory once, but I had my own doubts related to that."

"Oh, I believe it is quite correct, from what I have been able to get through my own observations." The British boy explained, almost as he was trying to apologize. "I suppose it may all be related to their ellipsoid revolution system around Amphibia, that makes it harder to clear good observation of the lesser three moons from Newtopia. Most of my sighting had been done in the Frog valley, so-"

He stopped once again, as he realized the whole class, students and teacher alike were looking at him with interest. Even Herringbone, in the back of the class, seemed to look at with an interested, approving look.

"Well, I guess you do seems to be quite an expert on the field, though there is something I would like to ask you," the aquamarine teacher spoke, "this world you came from… how is called?"

"Earth!"

"And… how does its system looks like?"

James smirked.

"Royal Advisor, here are the reports you requested. It seems like lady Marcy's suggestion turned out to have exceeded our best expectations once again!"

"Thank you, Bartley," Lady Olivia nodded, before opening the folder he was offering her and starting to check the details. "Wow, this is good. Very good."

"Royal Advisor," Branson ushered into the room, trying to steal the spotlight and push Bartley out of focus, "I have brought three new concept ideas lady Marcy herself left you earlier in case you want to check them; one is a feasible plan to reduce the city's dependency on food imports by planting crops on the hills surrounding Newtopia, while the other two-"

"A plan to boost the water supplies the city requires by filter seawater and removing the salt?" She read one of the documents, "Thoughtful, but maybe a little too extreme for now. It would be quite a considerable expense, and the King is still feeling the large payouts from the Royal Credit Cards." Thought maybe selling the salt collected by the process could ease the burden a little?

"But milady, the city is in dire need for new supplies of fresh water, especially with the new sanitation and healthcare measure implemented recently. With due respect, how the nobles can expect us to find enough water-"

The conversation was cut short as suddenly, a huge explosion-like sound came from, as the Royal advisor and her helpers rushed to the closets window and gazed outside, just to see what it looked like a constrained ocean wave erupting out of the tower that currently hosted the six human's living rooms, an endless stream of water pumped out of every window.

"What-what is that?"

"Another attack?! Alert the guards!"

Lady Olivia said nothing standing motionless as Branson and Bartley (plus Blair, who had just rejoined them) started to yell orders to the guards, unable to take her eyes off the mass of water who had suddenly burst from inside the tower. Was it another attempt on the human's life? Or maybe it was something else? If she remembered it right, their newest Spellcaster had recently moved her own lab in the tower-

"Royal advisor?" One of the servants spoke to her once again, as lady Olivia felt like the beginning of yet another headache starting to stun inside her brain.

"Go to the kitchen and bring me the strongest stuff they have. I do feel like I'm going to need it soon enough…"

(…)

"So, in conclusion," James spoke in a solemn tone, pointing at the depiction he had drawn on a near chalkboard, "the Solar System has one yellow star, eight main planets with their own natural satellites and several smaller bodies, up and including the former planet of Pluto, recently reclassified as a dwarf planet, and the mineral-rich asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. However, as we have already mentioned and discussed aplenty, it is just one of millions of star systems in the Milky Way Galaxy. And, there are billions of galaxies in the observable universe, each one a collection of uncountable star system and spatial features. We can assume that either Amphibia is already part of this universe, though so far away from Earth that there is no visible space mark we can use as reference point, or it is set in its own universe which, unless proved otherwise, should be quite like ours. So…. Anyone has questions?"

He looked in front of himself. Headmaster Herringbone had been sitting on a chair all on his own, he was supporting his chin with one hand, looking at James with a thoughtful expression. The dark green professor (whose name apparently was Myrkon) looked like he had just undergone a learning breakthrough of the most traumatic kind; while his colleague (named Marzelyn) was filling out pages and pages of notes about things she wanted to remember and to check out later, as for the students…

"We are insignificant blips in the vastness of the cosmos."

"Space is so big… I'm scared of it now."

"Countless galaxies… each galaxy millions of star systems… each system so many planets and celestial bodies…"

"No question we are good."

Frog, I probably traumatized them for life, did I? James realized, as he tried to 'fix' the damage he himself had caused. "Look, I know that this may be shocking, it is still unsettling if you start to think about it, and we had centuries of slow progresses and scarce discoveries before we fully managed to grasp these facts about space. It is raw for you, and yet, you should not allow for the fear of the unknown to dictate your actions, nor discourage you to follow the road of discovery and exploration. To those among you that fear the unknown and would rather want to be stuck forever in the past, to those that doesn't want things to change because you don't want to feel uncomfortable, look upon the story of Man and come upon your senses!"

The British teen began to speak louder and louder as the enthusiasm filled his lungs, and renewed determination vibrated trough his blood. "Countless species may have arisen yet, and countless more may rise of the future billion of years to pass before the Universe itself comes to an end. The lesson that Humanity struggles to learn, has the same value and importance for Amphibia and for any other civilization who may feel itself stymied as soon as they gaze upon the limitless scenario of possibilities that lays beyond the sky! It is not the destination, but the trip that matters, and what you do today influences the tomorrow that will come, not the other way around. So don't let fear condition your existence, but rather learn to grow from your lessons and your mistakes, even the most hard-learned ones, and look upon change not with fear and suspect, but rather with awe and hope. Love Today and seize All Tomorrows!"

The students, who at first looked still nervous after the whole lesson, began to feel their own morale rise once again, and one by one, they cheered James, the human boy doing a small reverence, like a musician at the end of a concert before walk away, toward Herringbone, only for Myrkon and Marzelyn to both get up from their chairs and move on his path.

"That was… quite an astonish lesson, I won't deny it. Young lad, would you be so kind to accept my invitation to participate to more of my lessons? I am sure my other students would surely profit to hear more about your knowledge-"

"Unacceptable! Sir James will assist me with the lessons of my students! Don't try to pull a fast one on me, he is mine!"

"Yours? Hah, I got seniority!"

"Just because you're ancient it doesn't mean you can expect to monopolize him!"

"No one should!" Herringbone intervened. "Especially when there are so many classes and promising students that could genuinely benefit to have their horizons widened."

"Huh, look, I appreciate the interest you're showing on me," James replied, "but the matter is, I am not some kind of genius. I am merely passionate about astrology, but beyond it, I don't have much I can share with your students. You know who you should ask for? My friend Marcy, she's the best choice you could ask."

"Oh, did perhaps this friend of yourself do something to prove herself in the past, either in your world or… here?"

"Well, she is the smartest girl I've ever met in my life."

Herringbone smiled.

"So…" Sasha asked, gazing upon the table they were all gathered, humans and frogs, while in the background a large coming and going of palace servants kept streaming inside the tower, doing their best to dry it up, "could anyone of you explain to me how in the frog's name you managed to create an in-room tsunami?!"

"We have a perfectly good explanation for that, Sash." Amelia shivered, holding onto the warm blanket currently covering her body, "But I don't think it is safe to tell it fully now. The walls have ears." She looked aside, pointing with the eyes at the servant who kept strolling into the room, taking out the water-damaged furniture and cleaning the issues caused by the tidal wave.

Sprig turned head, checking the nearby wall before replying: "No, they don't."

"That's a way to say, it means it is a delicate matter and we shouldn't talk about it unless we're sure there is no one else listening to us." James explained, "I mean, the palace got violated once already, didn't it? And while the Royal Guards did raised the security, we can't be sure if there aren't any more spies who may try to eavesdrop in our conversation."

"Just so you know," one of the servants spoke, "we are, indeed, listening to what you're talking. We simply aren't paid enough to care."

"Oh. Well, thank you for letting us know." Felicia nodded, as she and several others looked aside.

"By the way, I think we've cleaned most of the mess the water caused," the servant continued, "So if you want us to stop and leave you alone while you talk, we can do that. Just make sure where you're walking because the floor is still slippery, and it should dry up in a couple of hours at most. Your stuff is safe, well, most of it."

"We're sorry for causing such a disaster-"

"Lady Marcy, don't be," the servant replied, a smirk blossoming on her face. "Actually, I guess we should thank you: we did need some overtime pay."

The humans and their friends gasped in silence, as the castle servants walked out, the last one closing the door behind her, almost to make sure no one would interrupt them, then-

"So, accidental destruction of stuff CAN make people happy!" Polly squeaked in approval, "I knew it!"

"I guess we should be happy that at least someone got something out of this mess," Sasha puffed, before turning back her attention on Marcy, Amelia and Maddie. "Still, next time you're trying an experiment of yours-"

"We'll be careful." Maddie interjected. "In hindsight, I realized I shouldn't have ignored my own rules and given a proper look at the whole spell schematics, but the truth is… I don't think I would have had the time, since I'm always busy."

"Busy?" Ivy asked, "You?"

"Yes, since I am now the Court Wizard in addition as Marcy's assistant in the Night Guard, that means that I didn't have much time to do things for my own pleasure. And since now Marcy and I will resume our duties soon-"

"You're going back with the Night Guard rangers?!" Amelia looked at them with an expression full of awe. "Cool!"

"Well, the Headmaster said that the Night Guard's manpower is stretched thin due to 'stuff' and thus all available in-training teams are getting 'learning by experience' qualifications." Marcy nodded, "And while we didn't have as many adventures as we did with you, I am finding myself liking the company of Javi, Kettle and Femur." And I think I'm also getting a new shipping vibes with Kettvi, she added mentally.

"I can understand that vibe." Jacob, who until now had been listening silently, spoke in agreement. "At first I didn't think too much of them, but as Sasha and I kept training with the other cadets at the Newtopia Army barracks, those newts surely have started to earn my sympathy. Frog, they even invited us to some kind of initiation ritual for tomorrow."

"I'm glad you've having fun and making new friends," Hop Pop agreed with a solemn expression. "How's Bella?"

"Earning her paycheck and putting some muscles," Sasha replied. "I guess Yunan really took her under her wing, given how much attention she gives to her."

"By the way, how was your day?" Amelia asked. "Do you have something to tell us about your today's adventures?"

"Oh, we got to visit Newtopia University!" Sprig announced, "The Headmaster was so surprised by what James and I could do that he wanted to enroll us right then, right now! But we choose to take our time. Also, I got a chance to meet an old friend, and even found some stuff I need to write back to Dippit and Mabbit."

"Some stuff?" Anne raised an eyebrow. "Of what kind?"

"I'll tell you later. What about you? What did you do after we separated?"

"Oh, I rushed back at the castle because apparently I had my first turn into the Royal Kitchen today." Anne shrugged before continuing, "The Head Chef is an absolute tyrant but still fair. And I guess he does like me."

"And what about you, Hop Pop'" Sprig turned his attention toward his grandpa. "Did you went and meet that old friend of yours? How was his sandwich, Polly?"

"Well, let's say we did find him, just… he was different from what I remembered."

"Turns out, Hop Pop's friend Sal stopped selling sandwiches that no one wanted, and instead focused on his sauce." Polly quickly summarized, "Got a big factory producing that stuff and selling to everyone in Newtopia. He even gifted us a family-sized bottle!" The tadpole proudly showed a large bottle with a label showing the image of a smiling frog in a classy suit and fedora and the words 'Sal's famous sauce' written on it.

"Wow, this stuff surely looks…tasty." Jacob said, taking the bottle and looking at the liquid contained within, "Hop Pop, do you think this friend of yours could sell us some of this? We could even bring some home to Earth for…experimental purposes, of course!"

"And I'd like to meet him and hear his story," Marcy gleamed up, adding newt notes in her Journal. "He was a frog, yet he was able to make it big and become rich and successful in a city where frogs are usually relegated to the lowest strata of society? This surely looks like the story of a movie!"

"It surely does, and what Sal told me was a lesson I am only too happy to have learned already on my own, thanks to you too." The old frog started to repeat Sal's own words, looking at his image on the label. "If you embrace change instead of clinging to the past, you get a say in what your future looks like. And you may even be able to bring some of the past along with you."

"Plus, we got to live our own detective adventure like in one of Anne's movies," Polly said with a large smirk.

"Oh, and I wasn't invited?!" Amelia feigned feeling hurt, her hand running over her chest. "You're breaking my heart!"

"Hey, you flooded the whole tower with that magical item of yours!"

As the conversation kept resuming, Amelia and Polly trading playful rebuttals while Anne and Sasha began to mediate, Marcy couldn't help but feel a heartfelt emotion surge from within her chest, as she realized she was now ready to reveal another piece of the truth to his friends.

"Huh, guys?" The dark-haired ranger/spellcaster/genius/ fantasy nerd raised her hand. "About what happened today…I think it is time we share the truth with all of you."

"The truth?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow. "What truth?"

"Don't blame her, this is my secret I choose to keep from anyone of you, and I didn't let anyone else know until today." Maddie quickly moved in her apprentice defense, sharing a look with Ivy before continuing. "However, before I continue, let me say that the reason why I kept this secret from you is because it is dangerous stuff, and I was afraid that such knowledge could become dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Dangerous 'it may cause huge explosion stuff' or dangerous 'it could spell doom for everyone in Amphibia' thing?" Sprig asked, internally not feeling sure if he wanted to know.

"Let's say it is both, while more leaning on the latter." The light blue frog nodded, and she could see nervous expression appear on anyone who hadn't been introduced to the secret yet. "It all started quite some time ago, after our roundup in Les Flies, when I got my hand over a very rare and special book of magic spells long thought forgotten-"

(…)

"How-how many letters did the Royal Office receive, so far?"

"Counting only the letters that we've managed to authenticate, Your Majesty?'" One of the guards asked rhetorically "Over seventy-three letters."

"All from the Newtopia University?"

"Yes, your Majesty. Six of Headmaster Albert alone, more than half of the remaining from extended professor and teachers of the embellishment, among them many great names of newts who gained considerable recognition for their research, their accomplishments and their breakthroughs. The remaining come from students of university itself, all of them either young representative of noble households here in Newtopia or the surrounding regions."

"All of them sent today?"

"Unless the dates on the paper are wrong, it seems so."

"And all of them requesting that lady Marcy comes to give lessons and lecture to the University?" The large newt king groaned, as his plan once again hit a snag.

"Technically sir, they are no requesting only for Lady Marcy. It seems they're pleading for Ser James to be allowed to give more lecture and astronomy lessons in the foreseeable future, given the success his short unintended visit had on the morale and interest of both teaching and student. That said, Headmaster Herringbone seemed to have specified he wouldn't be against all and six the humans, as well as their 'companions' to be given an opportunity to visit the University from time to time."

King Andrias Leviathan grimaced, as the issue turned out to be much worse than he had imagined: if he Marcy and James to freely visit Newtopia University and hold lectures, it could severely compromise his plans to isolate the six humans and try to conquer their trust in hope to find out what secrets they were hiding from each other. But unless he had a good reason, his refusal would have led to questions, doubts, and probably to resentment, maybe even accuse against his intention to 'monopolize the otherworldly mammals'.

Newtopia University keeps giving me nothing but trouble, even before that Stanford Pounds refused Master's offer to join the Core, the large, blue-skinned king newt thought, what's worse is his disappearance caused the security measure to be upped, so I can't use safety concerns to say no. But maybe-

"Your Majesty!" A voice shouted, the guard turning around as the Royal Advisor lady Olivia, accompanied by a younger female newt in a pitch black uniform, walked into the room. "Urgent news."

"Uhm, from our expedition forces sent to the North?" Andrias asked, realizing then it had been almost a whole week since he last heard of them.

"No, your Majesty. Actually, it's an important message from Newtopia's Royal Central Bank."

King Andrias said nothing as one of the guards grabbed the message from the other newt, opening if before passing it to him, the King wearing his glasses to get a better view.

Let's see, he began to read in his mind, Gentile Royal Client, we are very regretful to inform you that-

…

What?

What?

What?

WHAT?!

It…it couldn't be…

"Long story short, your Majesty," lady Olivia began to explain, "there was an 'incident' at the Tower earlier today, and while none of the humans or their friends got hurt, the internal structure and most of the furniture behind were damaged due to an unknown in-room tidal wave of wave erupting without apparent reason. And since lady Sasha said she was already into another shopping mood-"

Lady Olivia never had a chance to finish her speech as King Andrias collapsed on his throne, the guards rushing to his assistance while lady Olivia called (once again) for the Royal Physician to come and bring his smelling salts with it.

The Royal treasure will NOT be happy about this, was the King's last though before his mind slipped into unconsciousness.