This is another chapter I've been looking forward to! Finally, the gang meets Marcy and arrives in Newtopia! So, without further delay, let's get on with then new chapter! Enjoy! And reviews are greatly appreciated!

The city of Newtopia; a city of newts, obviously, and a place where go in search of knowledge. It appeared to bear a resemblance similar to a castle or a palace, with turrets and towers being seen in the distance, including flags placed at the top of the towers which appeared to be shaped like red mushrooms. Likely to be made out of 'Newtopian Marble' and possibly gold, the castle was the most massive structure in the city. There was a winding cobblestone path leading to the entrance and the location seemed amidst a shallow sea. There was a large golden gate that served as the entrance and atop Newtopia was a large silver sculpture with a beak-like carving facing upwards.

In the forest that was some distance from the city, standing atop the giant mushrooms was Sǐwáng, staring at Newtopia, with determination, longing to take the fight to the king. The sound of his hawk moth screeching drew his attention upward, the avian-insectoid flying over him and dropping something from its talons, the toad holding his hand out and catching it, the item being a small voodoo doll that seemed to resemble Shadow, with black fabric for clothing, black threads for hair and green buttons for his eyes.

Narrowing his eyes at the toy that held resemblance to his old enemy, he held it up to his face before giving it a few sniffs, then his eyes widened at a surprising conclusion. He then walked over to the edge of the giant shroom before leaping off, landing on his feet before his waiting soldiers, the commander approaching and tossing the toy to one of his men, who caught it.

"What do you see?" He asked the toad.

"Plowed dirt." The soldier said, feeling the sandy substance on it. "From a farming village."

As the next soldier grabbed the doll, another noticed a bit of slime and pinched it to examine it.

"Excreted mucus, a couple of snails." He said.

The soldier holding the doll sniffed it. "Yeast, from bread." He said before giving it back to Sǐwáng.

"This doll came from a traveling group, from Frog Valley, with the Black Wolf accompanying them." He told them.

"We can avoid him, easily." The archer suggested.

"No, not while the King is almost in our grasp." Sǐwáng said, staring out to the city through the foliage. "Besides, his little pet is returning home, we should throw him a welcoming party..." Sǐwáng had a villainous grin, crushing the doll in his hand.

Amphibia: Calamity Warriors

Chapter Thirty-Six: Marcy at the Gate

Years ago…

It was an ordinary day in the city of Newtopia, as the citizens were up and about, some going to work, some making deliveries, and others were simply standing about and mingling with friends. Overall, the day was as ordinary as any other.

One such individual walked through the streets, humming blissfully to himself. This was Shadow when he was younger, but he was called Azazel Leviathan, adopted son of Andrias Leviathan, the King of Amphibia. The human boy was a bit shorter than his present-day self, was dressed in more regal clothing, and his hair was cut to his shoulders.

The boy continued his blissful stroll, passing by the newts that said hello to him, before he entered an alleyway, turning his head and looking about, when he heard an odd sound. Stopping where he stood, he shifted his eyes scanning his surroundings to the best of his ability, and yet he saw no one.

Up above, a cloaked newt crawled over the edge of the roof, slowly making his way towards the boy, his crimson eyes staring at the boy with fierce determination, before launching himself at him, the boy suddenly spinning around and catching the newt by the shoulders before throwing him forward, the newt catching himself and stopping the momentum. Getting a better look at his attacker, Azazel saw that the newt had bluish skin and a lighter underbelly and bright crimson eyes and ashen blonde hair.

The two stared at each other intensely for a moment, both looking ready to jump at each other…

…before suddenly laughing and relaxing their stances.

"Admit it, brother," The newt said as he approached. "I almost had you!"

"You've got style, for sure." Azazel said. "But endurance is what counts, Apollo."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't one of those fights, was it?" Apollo smirked.

Azazel nodded but frowned when he noticed something. "What happened to your lip?" He asked with a pointed finger.

Confused, Apollo grazed his bottom lip with a finger, and sure enough, there was a cut that went from his lip to his chin.

"It's nothing." He waved it off.

Azazel, on the other hand, wasn't letting it slide. "Have you been getting into fights again?"

"The others were speaking ill of you, Azazel." Apollo quickly defended. "I couldn't allow them to continue."

"Brother, what kind of example are you setting by attacking people over every little comment?" Azazel asked with arms crossed. "This silly reaction over little mean comments solves nothing, but makes you seem easily offended."

"But it's not right!" Apollo complained.

"And I don't care for what they think." Azazel stated firmly. "If they wish to be narrowminded and not ask me for the truth, that is their choice." He then gestured to the newt. "Now, let's get the doctor to have a look at that cut."

"I already said it's nothing." Apollo insisted. "Besides, I don't have any money for this doctor of yours."

"Been wasting it on the arcade again?" Azazel said with a teasing smirk.

"I wouldn't call it wasting." Apollo said, his adopted brother snickering at this. "Alright, then lend me some coppers, or have you been doing the same?"

Both brothers laugh before Azazel approached one of the barrels and pulling it aside, revealing a secret hole in the wall and a small box full of copper coins and treasures.

"Wow." Apollo looked on in amazement as his brother started stuffing a small bag with coin.

"You'd be amazed by how much coin folks leave lying around, ripe for the picking." Azazel said before hiding the hole. "Now come on. The sooner we see the doctor, the sooner we can sleep."

The two brothers climbed up the wall before taking off running across the rooftops, both doing flips and tricks as they ran, laughing with adrenaline rushing through their veins and the night wind blowing in their hair before coming to a stop at the edge, looking down at the street, seeing a newt in a plague doctor's outfit, complete with a black robe and plague mask, sorting through his medicines, before the two dropped down to street level and approaching the doctor.

"Good evening, doctor." Azazel called.

The doctor turned and saw the brother's approach before sighing. "Ah, the Leviathan Brothers. Why am I not surprised." Putting a thumb and finger to the newt's chin, he moved Apollo's head a bit to look at the cut on his lip. "You made quite the mess of yourself, young master."

"It's nothing." Apollo kept insisting.

"Please help him, doctor." Azazel mock pleaded with hands clasped together. "That pretty face is all he has left."

"Go drown in a river." Apollo sneered.

The doctor quickly got to work, cleaning and disinfecting the wound before stitching it up. "There you are, now remember to come back after a day to remove the stitches."

"Thank you."

The adopted brothers left before stopping at a bridge, looking out at the sunset, and admiring the beauty.

"Tonight is a beautiful night, brother." Azazel remarked, his eyes set on the setting sun.

"Indeed. I wish all nights were this much fun." Apollo nodded. "Oh wait. They are!"

The two laughed, leaning against the guard rail.

"We should head home, Apollo." Azazel said. "Father is sure to be wondering where we have gone."

"Yes, and I'd rather avoid a lecture." Apollo nodded.

"How about a race though, before we head home?" Azazel suggested with a challenging smirk. "No powers, of course. Just running and climbing."

"Alright. Where to?"

Looking around, Azazel found a spot. "The roof of that church?"

In agreement, the brothers got into running positions.

"On three; One…two…three!"

The brothers took off, dashing down the street before turning into an alleyway, then climbing up the walls and taking the race to the rooftops, running and jumping from one roof to the next.

"Baby brother still has much to learn, it seems!" Azazel playfully taunted, clearly the superior runner.

Soon enough, the two reached the church, Azazel finishing first, with Apollo following behind.

"A well-earned victory, brother." Apollo said. "Now, follow me!"

The newt started climbing the church tower, with Azazel following behind, before reaching the top, Apollo helping his brother up, the two gazing out onto the cityscape, just taking in the city sight.

"It is a good life we lead, brother." Apollo said.

"The best." Azazel nodded. "May it never change."

"And may it never change us."

The two stood and gazed onto the horizon, side-by-side, enjoying the company of the other.

"Alright, enough of that, we should go." Azazel said before making to leave.

"Wait." Apollo said, stopping him.

"What?"

"Let's make a pact." Apollo said. "So that, no matter what happens, no matter what choices we make, we'll always be there for one another."

Azazel nodded, before Apollo pulled out a knife and cut into the palm of his right hand, then gave the knife and Azazel did the same.

"No matter what, we ride and die together."

They then shook hands, the blood mixing together.

"I promise."

Present day…

Ever since the trip began, no doubt even longer, Shadow's mind drifted to one person; his brother Apollo, the last newt to ever have his back, always ready to defend his brother's honor. Shadow kept telling himself that what he did was for the greater good, that it needed to be done, that he had to leave. And yet, he still felt that he had hurt the last person he could count on, the brother that needed him the most. He had promised he'd never leave his side. And he broke it.

Sighing, Shadow laid on the couch and closed his eyes, hoping to drift off to sleep.

"Master!"

Groaning, Shadow opened his eyes and looked up, seeing the swordnewt standing over him. "What is it, Kaemon?"

"No time to be napping!" The newt declared. "We're merely a few seconds away from arriving at Newtopia!"

Hearing that, Shadow got up and walked over to the window. "Wow, it feels unbelievable."

"Man, I can't wait to explore the city!" Kaemon said with barely contained excitement. "I wonder if there are any master swordnewts there!"

"I'm sure there's something for everyone in the city." Ina chuckled.

"Newtopia! Ugh. I can't believe it! It's been a long journey, but we're finally almost there." Maddie declared, giving one of those rare, adorable smiles of hers, which Kaemon loved seeing.

Shadow gave a small smile, but it soon fell when he looked over at Anne, the Thai girl sitting at the table, staring worriedly at the photo of herself and her friends.

"Anne?" He said.

"Huh?" Anne looked up.

"Are you alright?" Ina asked. "I thought you'd be more excited. Especially since things are going our way, for once."

"I am excited. It's just...we've been traveling Amphibia for weeks." Anne said, placing the photo on the map on the table. "I thought there'd be some sign of Marcy by now. But nothin'."

"Maybe it's better off." Maddie said, pointing at the photo, specifically at Sasha. "Your last friend was kind of...how do I say this without being a jerk…"

"An evil psycho harlot?" Kaemon said with a raised brow.

Anne then slapped Maddie's hand away and swiping her photo away. "Hey! Look, Sasha and I might be going through a rough patch-"

"Ha! A rough patch, she says!" Kaemon scoffed.

Anne looked at Kaemon incredulously before realizing that he was right. "Okay, so she did some rather unforgivable stuff, but that doesn't mean I don't care about her. Sure, she tried to have you and Hop Pop and Shadow killed, but I still believe that there's a bit of the old Sasha in there. And since she got zapped here with me, it must mean Marcy did too."

"No doubt, yes." Shadow nodding, sitting next to her as she scooted over. Anne being able to see the good in people was one of the traits he admired about her.

"So, what is she like?" Maddie asked. "Hopefully not like the blonde one?"

"Nah, Marcy is completely different from Sasha. She's harmless." Anne said.

"I remember you telling me how she was incredibly smart, yet oblivious and clumsy, correct?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, super smart. But super oblivious. And insanely clumsy." Anne said, bags under her eyes, as though the times Marcy got hurt because of her clumsiness gave her PTSD. "Like, maybe the clumsiest person alive."

"Wow, that must be horrible." The newt said, raising a glass of water before clumsily dropping it, spilling it all over the table. "Aww." Ina used her powers to magically water bend the spilt liquid back into the cup. "Thanks!"

"Back home, we were there to protect her. But here, she's alone, and instead of kickballs..." Anne said, Shadow taking her hand into his.

"She could get mauled by an elephant scarab. Or crushed to death by a heron. Or worse, flayed alive by a..." Kaemon said before Maddie grabbed his lips to silence him.

"Kay, I love you, but that's not helping." She said with a frown.

"I wonder how the others are handling this…" Ina said. "Probably just as excited."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"NO! Now stop asking!"

Sprig was no doubt more excited than everyone on this trip, even more so now that their destination was mere minutes away from their arrival. So much so, in fact, he kept asking the same 'are we there yet' line, much to Valor's chagrin.

"Are we there yet?" Sprig asked once again, but then Valor mimicked it in a mocking tone of Sprig's voice.

"That's not funny. That's really immature." Sprig said, Valor once again mimicking Sprig mockingly.

"This is why nobody likes humans." Sprig said, once again Valor imitated. "Your loss!" One last time. "I'm gonna just stop talking."

"Good!" Valor snapped, leaning back on the sofa.

"This is taking forever, though." Sprig complained. "We did all the crosswords and word puzzles Hop Pop had."

"In case it hadn't occurred, Newtopia isn't exactly next door to Frog Valley, Sprig." Valor pointed out.

"Just try to hang in there a little longer, Sprig." Ivy said, sitting at the table. "Besides, it's a few seconds now."

"All right, all right, I get it." Sprig said. "I'm just so darn bored."

"Well, find some way to entertain yourself." Valor stated.

Everything went quiet, Sprig looking about the interior of the fwagon, Ivy cleaning her naginata, Valor flipping through the pages of what looked like a magazine, and finally remembering that Hop Pop was at the reigns, with Polly at his side. Sighing softly, Sprig then popped his lips, making the red-headed boy wince. Seeing this, the pink frog popped his lips again. Valor felt like he was going to lose it, especially when Sprig popped his lips a third time.

"Sprig, could you not be yourself," Valor asked before getting in his face. "FOR FIVE MINUTES!"

There was silence once more. Sprig, undeterred, slowly peaked his head out from behind the sofa with mischievous eyes before popping his lips his lips one last time.

"AAAARGH! THAT'S IT!" Valor yelled before pouncing on the frog, choking him by the neck as Sprig choked in pain.

The violence stopped when the hatch opened, everyone looking up to see Polly looking down with wide eyes of excitement. "Guys! Come... It's... I... Not gonna believe... Ah! Just get out here!"

Looking to one another, the three stepped out nearly gasping at the sight of the city. The passengers of the garrison wagon stepped out, Ina staring with stars in her eyes, Anne looking on in amazement, the frog kids staring in equal amazement.

"There she is, gang... Newtopia." Hop Pop declared. "If there's a way to get you home, it's in that city."

"Not just any city, Hopediah, but the beating heart of all of Amphibia." Cody said. "She stood for many generations."

"A beautiful place to call home." Anne said.

"It is. Race you to the gate?" Valor said before he and Ina jumped down from the cliffside.

Anne made to race after them, but halted when she looked up to see Shadow staring at the city. Unlike everyone else, he didn't have an expression of excitement or wonder, only dread and anxiety.

"Hey, you okay?" Anne asked, walking up to him.

Shadow looked at the girl he loved, a worried expression on her face.

"Honestly, I'm terrified, Anne." He said. "Five years since I left Newtopia and I don't know what's the same or different. Or how Apollo or the king will react."

Anne understood how he felt, taking his hand in hers. "Hey, don't forget that you've got me at your side." Anne told him with confidence. "Whatever we face, we'll face it together!"

"Thanks, Anne." Shadow said, smiling.

"Alright, then let's get down there!" Anne exclaimed, pointing at the city.

"Whoo-hoo! Yeah!" The humans, newt and frogs cheered and jumped. Finally, things were going their way!

"Well, my feet are soaked." Anne said as the group continued towards Newtopia, which meant walking through the water. Thankfully, the water was shallow enough for them to walk, as well as for Bessie, Ironhide and the caravan through.

"It's not that big of a deal." Shadow chuckled, walking beside her and holding her hand, Sprig, Ivy and Kaemon running ahead of the group, full of energy. "At least you're wearing shoes rather than running around with only one shoe."

"Now this is the life." Polly said as she floated in the water on her back, before stopping when she bumped into a hole protruding from the water's surface. "Huh?"

"Whoa, look at that." Maddie said before seeing several other holes. "Hey, what do you think made these holes?"

Hop Pop looked at the hole, becoming uneasy as he stared into the black abyss. "Mmm...Better not to ask. Come on!"

"I feel like this is going to come back later." Polly exclaimed as her grandfather pulled her along by her flipper, Maddie following along.

Eventually, the group reached the massive gate, made of gold and stone, showing two newt monks facing each other.

"We're finally here." Anne said, her heart pounding in her chest. Her group was finally about to enter Newtopia. "Yo! Anybody home?"

One of the seashells flipped away, revealing a smaller door, a newt peeking out and looking down at them. "Hello? Who is it?"

"Yeah, down here!" Anne called.

"Yes, I can see you."

"Well, my companions and I came a long way from Wartwood," The Thai girl explained. "We seek knowledge that could help me get home!"

"We're the companions!" Kaemon declared.

The gatekeeper looked at them before saying, "Well, you can't come in here. Newtopia's closed."

"Seriously?" Anne and the Plantar kids yelled.

"Closed? Like closed, closed? Or like closed for lunch?" Ivy asked.

"The city is closed, closed to all outsiders." The gatekeeper said.

"Even to adopted royalty?" Shadow inquired, removing his hood.

The gatekeeper squinted his eyes before they suddenly widened in shock. "Your highness Azazel?! Is that really you?! We haven't seen you since…well, forever!"

"It's a complicated story." Shadow replied. "Now would you kindly let us in?"

"I'm sorry, truly." The newt said. "But the city must remain closed until the barbari-ants are gone."

"What's a 'barbari-ant'?" Anne asked.

"Beats me. We don't got 'em in the valley." Hop Pop told her.

"If it's that serious, then we'll be more than happy to deal with it." Cody declared up to the newt. "You forget, that Newtopia has the most talented monster hunters in Amphibia!"

"Master Maelstrom?! You're here too?!" The newt said in surprise at the sight of the teacher and his students. "We would certainly appreciate it if you'd help us out!" He then looked at Anne with a more careful eye. "Say, you there, with the bush hair! You wouldn't happen to be Anne, would you?"

"Yeah." Anne replied, slightly confused. "Why?"

"Oh, the captain simply must know!" The newt then tried to reach out to grab the handle, but he nearly fell out of the window before catching the ledge. "Stupid handle. Whoa!" It was a rather sad sight, although humorous for Polly and Ivy, as the newt pulled himself up, using his tail and feet to pull himself back into the window. "I'm okay!" He then closed the window.

"Psh, they close the whole city because of a few little ants?" Sprig scoffed.

"Don't be so quick to assume, Sprig." Valor said. "These particular ants are quite large and troublesome in great numbers."

As if on cue, several large ants the size of bears emerged from the ground. They had glowing orange, sometimes blue, coral sticking out of their heads and bodies covered in barnacle.

"Those are the barbari-ants?" Anne asked.

"They are." Shadow nodded.

"Pretty big."

"As big as bears, yeah."

"…Let's do this."

The lovers faced the barbari-ants, Shadow drawing out Black Hope and Anne drawing out Azura's Tear before rushing forward, Shadow jumping over the first one and landing on its back, swinging his katana and severing the head, killing it. Anne slid under a second ant before thrusting her sword upward, stabbing it in the torso and slashing downward, spilling its guts and killing it.

Kaemon ran in with a battle cry at three ants, all three looking to bite down on the newt, the swordnewt jumping over the first one before swinging two swords, slicing it at the torso, killing it, then backflipped over the second one before swinging a sword downward, stabbing it in the head and killing it. He then held up his blades to block the mandibles of the third that charged at him, his tail shooting forward and stabbing it in the head, killing it.

"Well, that was easy." Shadow said, swinging his blade to get the green blood off.

"And hot." Anne said with stars in her eyes and blushing cheeks.

Shadow blinked. "Was that a compliment?" He asked, unsure how to react.

"Yeah, totally!" Anne replied.

"Oh, then you were hot as well." Shadow returned the compliment, only to frown when she started getting giddy. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"We'll work on the flirting." Anne said.

Suddenly, several more barbari-ants busted out of the ground and menacingly approached the group.

"Everyone, get back to the wagons!" Cody yelled. "I have an idea!"

The group did as they were told and huddled near the wagons.

"Ina! Water Cloud!"

Nodding, the blue-haired girl stretched her arms out and did several arm movements before raising them upward, the water underneath the wagons and group rising up, lifting them and the snails up, the floating water separating from the rest, keeping the group in the air. Cody pulled out one of his swords and charged it with electricity before sticking the electrified blade into the water, causing an electric discharge, shocking the ants to death.

With the ants dead, Ina slowly lowered the wagons, snails, and group, before collapsing to her knees, breathing heavily and sweating.

"That is the most I've ever lifted ever." Ina panted.

"At least the ants are dealt with." Cody said, sheathing his sword.

But just as they thought they could ease up, more barbari-ants emerged from the ground, almost surrounding the wagons and the group, both Ironhide and Bessie hid in the safety of their shells.

"Starting to feel a bit antsy." Anne quipped, the ants snapping their jaws.

Before the ants could attack, however, a sack landed between both parties, exploding in black oil that spread across the surface of the water.

"What the…" Shadow said, seeing more sacks land into the water, spreading more oil across the water in a U-shape formation.

Looking up at the city wall, he saw a hooded figure standing on the wall, their cape fluttering in the wind.

"Yo, Red!" They called, their voice sounding feminine. "Use your fire power! Light them up!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Realizing what the figure meant, Valor focused his energy, his amulet glowing as his arms lit up and fire spat from his hands, making contact with the oil and instantly lighting it on fire, creating a wall of fire, making the ants screech in fear. Too scared to press the attack, the ants retreated and burrowed underground, although two did bump into each other before retreating.

"Whoa! Huh?" Anne, Kaemon, Ivy, Maddie and the Plantars said in confusion as the fire died down, Shadow pointing upward and everyone looking up at the wall.

The mysterious figure lifted their arm, aiming a wrist-mounted crossbow and firing an arrow with a rope attached.

"Hop Pop, can I get a crossbow for my birthday? Please, please, please!" Polly begged her grandfather.

The arrow struck into the wheel of the Plantar fwagon wheel. "Eh, we'll talk." Hop Pop told her.

"I so gotta get one of those!" Ivy exclaimed with glee.

The figure then jumped, latching onto the rope with a hock, sliding down the rope.

"That's one cool newt." Maddie admitted.

Suddenly, the rope snapped, causing the figure to fall screaming and into the water with a splash, making the group wince at the sight.

"Ooh, that had to hurt." Kaemon cringed.

"Been there. Didn't really stick the landing." Polly said, the back of the figure facing them so they couldn't see what they looked like.

Upon a closer look, they saw that this figure didn't have a newt's tail, nor the usual skin color of a newt.

"Wait a second." Anne said, pushing past her companions to the front for a closer view.

Picking herself up, and coughing up water, the girl pulled a wet journal from her tunic, "Okay, so, Newtopian rope can hold an average human girl for, uh, 2.3 seconds." She then proceeded to stand up, opening her journal and writing in it, completely unaware, or forgetting, about the people she had just landed in front of. "Maybe I could reinforce the rope with ironspider silk to increase the tensile strength."

Anne's eyes began to form tears as she cupped her hands over her mouth. "Marcy?"

The figure stopped before turning around and pulling her hood down, revealing herself to indeed be Marcy Wu. Her time in Amphibia had also changed her, as she now wore a faded blue hooded cape, complete with a white-furred collar that was held together with a pink shell. She also wore a brown metal chest plate with a light gray t-shirt underneath, a stitched skirt, and grey winter snow boots that were wrapped with studded straps. She also had gray fingerless gloves on each of her hands; moreover, her signature primary weapon seemed to be a hand-mounted crossbow that was fitted onto her right forearm.

"Anne?" The Taiwanese girl said.

"Marcy!" Anne cried, running at the friend she missed and worried over so much.

"Anne!" Marcy cried as the Thai girl jumped at her, tackling her into the water. "Oh! Anne? Is that really you?"

"Marcy! I can't believe it!" Anne said, over come with absolute joy of seeing her best friend again.

"You, me, here?" Marcy said, pointing at Anne then herself.

"I know! I know! I missed you so much!" Anne cried, trying to wipe away the tears before pulling Marcy into another hug.

Marcy giggled and hugged her back. "Oh, I missed you too!"

"Aw..." Polly said, as she, Sprig, Hop Pop, Maddie and Ivy, along with Cody, Valor, and Ina watching the girls with pride, happy that they were reunited. Shadow looked on with a smile, happy that his girlfriend had reunited with her friend.

The only person that didn't seem pleased was Kaemon. The swordnewt glaring at Marcy with arms crossed and narrowed eyes.

"Look at you. Look at this outfit." Anne exclaimed, getting up before helping Marcy up. "You're like an Amazon warrior queen or something."

"I know, I know, right?" Marcy said, showing off her cape. "It's nuts! This is real!" She said that last part unknowingly pointing a loaded crossbow in her friend's face.

"Yeah, very real." Anne said, gently pushing the crossbow out of her face.

"And look at you!" Marcy said, looking at Anne's outfit. "You look like Link from the Legend of Zelda!"

"I know! Cool, right?" Anne said, spinning to show off her outfit.

"Anne, care to introduce your friend here?" Shadow spoke up, finally approaching the two.

"Oh, right!" Anne then posed while gesturing to the cloaked boy. "Marcy, meet Shadow, my boyfriend, teacher, and caretaker!"

"Hello." Shadow smiled and gave a friendly wave.

Marcy gasped before getting up in his face, her face riddled with excitement. "Oh my gosh! You're Anne's caretaker?!" She then turned to Anne. "Did he find you and take you in? Oh! I love the found family trope!" She then turned back to Shadow. "Gosh, this is just like the hero in my favorite game, Vagabondia Chronicles. The greatest JRPG of all time. Have you played it? Do you wanna play it, borrow it? Just say the word and I'll lend you my copy. Man, it'll change your life!"

Shadow stared back with blank confusion before gently pushing her back with one finger. "Personal space, please."

"Ah, sorry! Isn't this place wild?" Marcy declared. "What an adventure. Aw, man! I've really grown out here, Anne. Come into my own. Leveled up. No more clumsy, klutzy Marcy. Can you believe it?"

"You're capes on fire." Shadow pointed.

"What?" Marcy looked back to see that her cape was, in fact, on fire. "Help!" She started screaming and running in a circle.

"Don't swing it around!" Anne yelled, Shadow then stuck out a foot and tripped the Taiwanese girl, knocking her into the water. "Dude!"

"There's water everywhere and her cape was on fire." Shadow said, pointing at the extinguished cape.

Marcy got back up and wrote in her journal. "Note to self: nonflammable cloak, preferable."

"So, Anne, who's your friend?" Hop Pop asked, as he and the others approached.

"You guys, meet Marcy!" Anne declared, gesturing to Marcy.

Marcy looked at the amphibians before gasping. "Oh, my gosh. Who are these cuties?"

"Uh, Anne?" Sprig said, uncomfortable with how close she was.

"Yes, the Plantars took me in." Shadow told her. "And thanks to them, I made it for five years on my own in the woods. The one you got there is Hop Pop."

"On your own? In the woods?!" Marcy repeated with excitement, turning to Shadow once more. "Oh, like Mowgli from the Jungle Book! Or Tarzan!" She took notice of his attire and weapons. "Just with more clothes and armed to the teeth." She then took notice of the Black Hope katana at Shadow's waist. "Oh. My. Gosh! Is that the Black Hope?!"

Shadow did a double take. "Wait, you know about Shen's sword?"

"I sure do! I've been looking into myths and legends and old tales!" Marcy said with glee. "I've been trying to find evidence of its existence! Did you know that the Frog Shogun named his blade after his home tribe, the Black Hope! The tribe were honorable warriors that were masters of the katana and archery! Their leader, Shen, along with the leaders of the toads and newts, and with the help of the salamanders, unified the land and founded the continent of Amphibia!"

Shadow blinked a few times. "That's…impressive that you know that." He said.

Marcy nodded before suddenly gasping. "Wait! Anne, did you say that he's your BOYFRIEND?!"

"Uhh…Yeah?" Anne said, slightly afraid.

The reason became clear when Marcy suddenly let out shrill yell, causing everyone to plug their ears, lest they lose their hearing.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She said extremely fast and excitedly. "The teacher/student romance trope! An underrated and overly hated trope! That's super CUUUUUTE!~~"

Both boyfriend and girlfriend looked at each other with wide-eyed expressions before looking back at the hyperactive girl.

"Oh man, this reminds me of Tarzan and Jane, you remember that movie, right Anne? Did you draw a picture of him? Did you dance in the moonlight?" Marcy asked before taking notice of Cody and his students, gasping once again. "Oh my gosh! GUYS!"

The couple watched her run and jump at the trio with a hug, the three laughing as they returned the hug, both lovers sporting looks of confusion.

"Wait, you guys already KNEW Marcy?!" Anne pointed at them.

"Certainly. Trained her myself, alongside these two knuckleheads." Cody said, before Valor and Ina lifted Marcy up. "I mean, we didn't know she was your friend exactly, but we soon found out how insanely capable she had proven to be."

"Good to see you again, girlfriend!" Ina declared, rubbing the side of her face against Marcy's.

"How's life been without the Three Musketeers?!" Valor yelled, giving Marcy a noogie.

"It's so good to see you guys!" Marcy laughed, wringing her arms around the duo.

Watching the scene, Anne had a dumbstruck expression. "Man, imagine if they had mentioned it sooner."

"Anyways," Marcy then turned her attention to the amphibians, pulling out a measuring tape and wrapping it around Hop Pop's head. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. As I thought, 62 centimeters!"

"Yep! All brain." The old frog said before Marcy pulled away with the tape.

Marcy pulled out her journal again and wrote some things down, such as a description of the old frog. "Judging from the size of your cranium and flecks of sediment, you're from Frog Valley, right?"

Hop Pop let out a happy gasp. "You can tell all that from my head?" He asked.

"Oh, Anne. Asides from the wild boy as a boyfriend, I'm so jealous you found a farming community." Marcy said while writing in her journal. "I've been studying Amphibia history, and farm culture is super underappreciated in my opinion. You're the backbone of society and do not get enough credit for it."

"Hub, bub, bub, bub. Hub, bub, bub, bub..." Hop Pop stuttered, his mind broken, before he let out a gasp and clutched his heart before he fell on top of Polly.

"Get off of me!" The polliwog yelled.

"Thank you, thank you!" Hop Pop got up and shook Marcy's hand.

"Hey, are you two from Frog Valley too?" Marcy quickly turned her attention to Maddie and Ivy, quickly drawing and writing descriptions of the two.

"Yeah, I work at a tea shop with my mom. I also do martial arts on the side." Ivy said with a wave. "I'm Ivy, by the way."

"And I'm Maddie. I help my dad at a bakery." Maddie said. "I also practice dark magic."

"A curse user?! Amazing!" Marcy gasped again, getting up in Maddie's face. "How many curses do you know? Do you know any other curse users?"

"There was one." Maddie said. "Although he had to be punished."

"Oh, understandable." Marcy chuckled nervously, before turning her attention to Polly. "Hey, a pollywog!"

"Hi."

Marcy then lifted the polliwog up to the sun and held up a magnifying glass and focused it on the lower part of her body, showing her innards. With the light from the sun, she saw her inner organs and a pair of developing legs.

"Hmm. I'd say those legs should be coming in in about..." She paused for a moment, as though doing the math in her head. "Bub, bub, bub, buh... two months, give or take."

Polly, still being held upside-down, let out a gasp with sparkling eyes. "Can I get that in writing?"

"Oh, yeah, absolutely." Marcy said, putting Polly down before giving her a note.

Legs in 2 months – Marcy.

Polly squealed in delight and snatched the note and hugged it. "Thank you!"

Marcy then approached Sprig, who was smiling. "Oh! And hi there. Wow. I've never seen a frog your color before. You're not poisonous, are you?" She asked, reaching out to shake his hand.

Sprig shook her hand and thought for a moment. "Huh. I don't feel poisonous." He then gasped. "Wait! What if I've been poisoning Ivy every time we kissed?!"

"I'm still here, Sprig." Ivy said as she walked over.

"Oh." Sprig said, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head. "My bad."

Marcy then turned her attention to Kaemon, approaching the swordnewt who had his arms crossed and his head turned away, but his cautious eyes were on her at all times. "Whoa, that outfit! Are you a ronin, by any chance?" The Taiwanese girl asked excitedly.

"…maybe." Kaemon answered cautiously.

"Whoa, four swords!" Marcy gasped, looking at his swords. "Roranoa Zoro, eat your heart out!"

"What the heck is a 'roranoa'?!" Kaemon demanded, throwing his hands in the air.

"I mean, you have a tail, so it makes sense you'd use four swords." Marcy rambled on, unaware of the question. "Ooh, can I have a look at your swords?"

She then reached for one of his swords. Unfortunately, the one she reached for happened to be the sword in the blue sheath, which he valued the most. Before Marcy could reach another centimeter, Kaemon's hand shot at lightning-fast speeds and grabbed her hand, pulling her up to his face, the newt glaring daggers at her.

"You reach for my sword again. In fact, if you ever so much as dare touch any of my swords," He said in a deathly, warning tone. "And you'll lose both your arms and both your legs, and then you'll lose your face. And you'll be nothing but a limbless, faceless thing, won't you? Rolling down the street. Like a turd, in the wind. You feel me?"

Marcy blinked a few times before laughing, much to Kaemon's confusion, before she pulled away. "Wow! So, it's true that some swordnewts are pretty protective of their swords."

"No, just me, over this sword in particular." Kaemon said, patting the blue-sheathed sword for emphasis.

"Ooh, sentimental value! Of course!" Marcy said, smacking her forehead. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disrespect."

Kaemon softened his expression a bit, but rehardened it and turned his head away. "I'll let it slide this time." He said.

"So, what about you, Mar-mar?" Anne asked, her and Shadow walking up to her. "Have you been in Newtopia this whole time?"

"Here and there, but, uh, mostly here." Marcy said with a wave of her hand. "I actually warped in right inside the city walls. Pretty lucky, right?

"Good luck, or bad?" Shadow inquired silently.

"Yeah, like, what are the odds," Marcy said before a new thought entered her head as she snapped her fingers. "Oh, oh, okay! Oh, my gosh! Remember that game I tried to get you and Sasha to play, Creatures and Caverns?"

"No." Anne said honestly.

"It turns out newts are just like Cephalons!"

Anne's eyes slowly drifted to the side to Shadow, the boy holding his hands up, "Don't look at me."

"From Shadows of Xel'noth!" Marcy declared. "Anyway, I just role-played like your typical artificer/rogue and the next thing I know, BOOM!" Marcy said, fist pumping. "I'm the chief ranger of the Newtopian Knight Guard!"

"Uh... Were those words?" Polly asked.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake, getting the attention of everyone as the shaking intensified.

"Uh, you guys feel that?" Sprig asked.

Suddenly, a much larger barbari-ant busted from the ground with a loud screech, the size of an elephant, the group looking up in shock at the giant ant.

"That's the biggest barbari-ant I've ever seen in all my years in this world." Cody said.

"Anne, Kaemon, to me!" Shadow commanded, the two joining his side with swords drawn.

"Valor, Ina, to my side!" Cody called, the teens joining his side, Ina conjuring water whips while Valor conjured fireballs in his hands.

"Kids, behind me!" Hop Pop called, the frog kids huddling behind him.

"What about me?" Marcy called.

There was a moment of silence, as though they were deliberating what Marcy could do, before Valor yelled, "Just stand to the side and look pretty!"

"Oh, that's fine!" Marcy replied, backing up.

Back up on the wall, however, the white-cladded stranger stood at the edge of the wall, watching the scene, before sliding a golden, ornate spear from the right sleeve of his cloak, lifting it up and allowing it to levitate outward, the spear hovering over the scene and the tip of the spear pointed downward towards the giant ant. The strangers only visible eye glowed a bright white, the spear glowing in turn, before several other white spears manifested around it, from one to two, then four, then ten, and soon fifty.

Looking up, Kaemon raised an eyebrow at the sight of over fifty light spears levitating overhead, all pointed at the ant.

"Uh, guys?"

Everyone looked up, their eyes nearly bugging out at the sight, all those spears pointed at the ant.

"Move!"

At Shadow's command, everyone jumped back, the barbari-ant looking up in confusion.

Raising a hand, the white-cladded stranger clench it into a fist before bringing it down, silently commanding the light spears to shoot down, all hitting and causing the ant to screech in pain as the spears pierced its body, piercing through the coral skin and even cutting off several of its legs, immobilizing it.

The last spear, that being the golden ornate spear, shot downward at great speeds, hitting the head of the ant and killing it, the remains of the ant collapsing to the water-covered ground with a splash.

The group in shock looked up to see the stranger step off the ledge and float downward, descending as though they were an angel descending from Heavan, the figure wearing a long, white cloak with a golden sun peaking from the bottom, a yellow interior, and a chin-high collar, fur around the cuffs of the sleeves and the rim of the hood, but the most stand out thing was the mask they wore, white in color and having a golden spiral pattern that focused on the left eye, the eye itself from pure white to red now, red seeming to be their natural eye color. They also seemed to be wearing gray trousers, but no shoes, the skin on their feet being a bluish color.

The group watched the stranger approach their spear, which was still lodged in the ants head, reaching down and grabbing the top near the blade of the weapon before pulling it free, twirling it in between their fingers to get the blood off before sliding it back up their sleeve.

"I take it back; I want that spear instead." Polly said, staring at the spear with wide eyes. "Hop Pop. Birthday. Make it happen."

Shadow watched the figure standing on the head of the ant, the stranger staring at the corpse still, before the boy stepped forward, sheathing his katana.

"Apollo?"

Their head perking up, the stranger turned their head, their single crimson eye staring at the boy in black, before stepping off the head and floating downward, standing before Shadow at full height, both matching in height.

They stood in silence before the stranger reached a hand up and gripping their mask, pulled it down, and sure enough, it was in fact Apollo Leviathan, his adopted brother for ten years.

The same brother he had left behind.

The newt before him looked almost the same the day he had left, a bluish skin color, a lighter underbelly, although his ashen blonde hair was cut short and slicked back, and a crimson eye. An eye, not eyes? Well, the right side of his face was covered in special plating that covered the top right side of his face, covering the eye and reaching the mouth, leaving only his left side uncovered, his only crimson eye visible.

The now estranged brothers stared at each other in pregnant silence, as though waiting for the other to speak first, the rest of the group waiting as though they were watching an intense Mexican standoff.

"Man, this seems intense." Sprig commented, looking on in worry.

"Are they gonna fight, or…" Polly tired to ask, only for her question to trail off.

The two brothers stared in silence, silently daring the other to speak.

"Azazel." Apollo was the first to speak, his voice cold and holding hints of venom. "It's been a long time."

"It has, Apollo." Shadow nodded solemnly, looking him up and down. "Like the attire. Changed up your wardrobe?"

"Father insisted." Apollo replied. "Training's been rough, but I manage."

"I admit, I've been slacking. But thankfully, Master Maelstrom was more than happy to help me catch up." Shadow said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder and at Cody, who gave a friendly wave.

"I can tell, just by looking at you." Apollo said. "You've fallen behind, brother. Gotten too lax in your new environment out in the boonies."

Shadow could hear the venom when he said the word 'brother'.

"Yeah, well, I've been accepted by a rather welcoming community in Wartwood." Shadow said. "It took some time and work, sure, but they accepted me as one of their own."

"That's great. That's great." Apollo said blandly, almost sarcastically. "Must've been nice, isn't it? Living out in the woods amongst the frogs, not worrying about the troubles of the world."

"I've had my fair share of troubles, if you must know." Shadow calmly countered. "The occasional monster hunt, villain of the week and toad bullies have offered their fair share of challenges."

"Is that so?" Apollo said, narrowing his eye. "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

Silence once again, both waiting for the other to voice a rebuttal of some sort, or worst case scenario, throw the first punch…

"APPAAAAA!"

Suddenly, Apollo was tackled by Marcy into the water, Shadow and the others watching in confusion, with the exception of Cody, Valor and Ina, as the Taiwanese girl rubbing her head under the cloaked newts chin like a puppy happy to see its owner.

"Appa, it's so good to see you!" Marcy exclaimed, looking up at the boy with sparkling eyes.

Apollo looked at her with a blank eye, blinking a few times, before his brow lifted. "It's only been a few minutes, but okay." He said, closing his eye and shrugging his shoulders.

"Can someone explain what the heck is going on?" Polly yelled.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Marcy then got up and pulled the cloaked newt to his feet. "Everyone, meet Apollo Leviathan; Official Captain of the Newtopian Knight Guard, Prince Heir to the throne of Amphibia and son of the king! Also, my teacher and boyfriend."

Anne blinked a few times before the last part sunk in. "Wait. BOYFRIEND?!"

"Oh boy, not again." Valor groaned, as he and the others covered their ears, even Apollo plugged his ears for the sake of his hearing.

Both Anne and Marcy squealed in absolute joy so loud, the sound echoing across the area, both girls jumping with joy in each others arms.

"This is amazing! We both have boyfriends!" Marcy declared, squealing with excitement. "The wild boy romance and the prince romance tropes, both at the same time!"

Shadow and Apollo watched with confused eyes. "Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" Shadow asked.

"Not a damn clue." Apollo replied with a shake of his head.

"That's amazing, Marcy!" Anne said happily. "When did this happen?"

"A few months after I dropped in and ranked up!" Marcy declared, taking Apollo by the arm. "After a while, we just clicked and made out under the moonlight. It was so romantic~." She swooned over the last bit, her face blushing as she leaned up and kissed the left side of Apollo's cheek.

"Mars, please, not in front of the guests." Apollo said, his cheeks blushing.

"Right, romance and intense standoffs aside," Anne side, remembering their predicament. "So, Marcy, can you and Apollo get us into the city? We tried the gate, but they won't let us in."

"Unfortunately, those gates will stay closed until the barbari-ants are dealt with." Apollo said.

"Luckily, we've got a plan. Come on!" Marcy said, gesturing everyone to follow.

At the far side of Newtopia's walls, there was a single red tent with a pair of newt guards guarding it, armed with sand-dollar-shaped shields and seashell shaped spears and their hoods covering their eyes. Inside were three newts in cloaks standing around a wooden table covered in maps, charts and other documents. Around the tent were a large map of the area and diagrams of the barbari-ants.

"I'm telling you, Branson, what we need is a direct frontal assault." The first newt said.

"And I'm telling you, Bartley, a sneak attack is what's called for." The second newt, Branson argued, poking Bartley in the chest.

"Yeah, well, you're both wrong." The third newt said, putting down a book that said 'Pacifism' on the cover. "We need to learn how to communicate with our ant brethren and live in sweet, sweet harmony."

"Ludicrous!" Bartley declared, throwing his arms up.

"Yeah, shut up, Blair." Branson said.

"You shut up!" Blair yelled, hitting Branson in the face with his book.

The three newts started fighting, pulling the book to hit each other in the face.

"Are you three quite finished with your idiotic bickering?"

The three newts froze before turning their heads to see Apollo standing at the entryway into the tent, his face riddled with unamused disappointment before Marcy joined his side.

"'Sup, Triple B?" She said.

The three newts quickly straightened up. "Ahem. Ah, your highness Leviathan, Master Marcy." They then took notice of Anne, Shadow and the Frogs. "Are you lost?"

"Relax, they're with us." Cody said as he and his students entered the tent. "My, a little crowded, eh?"

"Ah, Master Maelstrom! So good to see you!" Bartley said.

"These guys traveled here all the way from the valley." Marcy said, gesturing to the guests.

Anne gave a friendly wave, wanting to make a good first impression to who she assumed were Marcy's friends. Shadow and Kaemon remained silent, while Hop Pop, Sprig and Ivy ate three flies buzzing around, Maddie gave a creepy smile and Polly hopped on the table and let out a massive burp.

"Ah, welcome, dirty peasants." Bartley said.

Marcy then gestured to a smiling Anne. "And this is my friend, Anne..." Anne poked her cheek. "Ow." Marcy said, holding her cheek and looking at Anne.

Anne laughed. "Sorry. Just...still can't believe you're here." She then before playfully drumming on Marcy's head, making her giggle.

"Stop that." Apollo said, swatting the Thai girl's hands away.

"All right, all right. Keep doing what you're doing." Anne said, backing off.

"And this is Shadow." Marcy finally gestured to the boy in black, who pulled his hood back.

Triple B let out a shocked gasp. "No way! Your highness Azazel?! You're back?!"

"It's a long and complicated story." Shadow said, unaware or trying to ignore the one-eyed glare from Apollo.

"At any rate, Master Marcy, your highnesses, you'll be glad to hear we've agreed on a battle strategy." Bartley told her.

"What?!" The other B newts said. "We've agreed on nothing!"

"Well, no worries. I think I got it figured out." Marcy said, leaning on the table and over the map. "Anne, do you remember when we studied insect migration patterns in biology class?"

"Nope." Anne said.

"Well, since the weather warmed up, those ants have been sending scouting parties deeper into our territory." As Marcy went on, Anne was distracted playing with the hood of Marcy's cloak. "In fact, I predict a full-scale invasion is just around the corner."

"The king has asked us to stop them before they turn Newtopia into a giant anthill." Apollo said, and to prove his point, he crushed the model of the city with a model of what said anthill would look like.

"Wait. You work directly for the king of Amphibia?" Kaemon asked, staring at Marcy suspiciously.

"Uh-huh."

"Kaemon, behave yourself." Shadow scolded the swordnewt.

"I remember Shadow mentioning a king." Anne said, turning to Shadow. "The one you used to live with, right?"

"That's right." Shadow nodded. "We're not anarchists."

"Speak for yourself." Polly said.

"Okay. Plan is we're gonna sneak behind enemy lines and drive the ant queen away." Marcy explained, pulling out her journal. "With her gone, the rest should retreat."

"Oh, yeah? And how are we doing that?" Kaemon asked.

"See for yourselves." Apollo said, holding up a leather strap that help several brown-orange mushrooms with yellow tips.

Polly gasped at the sight. "Boom shrooms?" She asked, with explosions going off in her eyes.

"Not quite. These are stink shrooms!" Marcy said.

"The king wouldn't let me use boom shrooms." Apollo shrugged, strapping the leather sash around his torso.

"Oh. Carry on." Polly said in disappointment.

"They're designed to release pheromones that should drive the queen away instantly." Marcy explained.

"But we will have to fight our way through a bloodthirsty hoard of ants for this plan to work." Apollo added.

"My interest has been restored." Polly smiled.

"We'll have to be extra careful. If one thing goes wrong... Whoa!" While leaning on the table, Marcy nearly toppled it over, only to be caught by Apollo. "Flimsy table." She chuckled before picking up the fallen figures.

Watching her friend fumble around like a klutz didn't give Anne much confidence. Remembering all the times she had to look after Marcy due to such klutzy behavior, she especially didn't want to risk losing her again.

"Uh, Marbles, this sounds pretty dangerous." She said.

"I agree, why don't you leave the mission to me, Anne, Kaemon, and the Plantars?" Shadow suggested.

"You lot?" Apollo raised a brow, gesturing to the whole group. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, we did stuff like this all the time in the valley." Anne declared, before she and the Plantars posed, Ivy, Kaemon and Maddie joining it, with Shadow finishing.

"And don't forget us!" Cody declared, posing with his arms crossed before Valor and Ina joined in.

Apollo felt a sweat drop from his head, staring at them with a deadpan look, before pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.

"Ugh. Come on, Anna Banana. I'll be fine." Marcy assured.

"Banana?" Sprig said with a raised brow at the nickname.

"I've changed, remember?"

"Hey airhead, your capes on fire again." Kaemon pointed.

And sure enough, it was, causing Marcy to scream, as well as Triple B, the B newts having no survival skills, who ran around in a circle and screamed, "Fire! Fire! Fire! Somebody do something!"

"Oh for-Hold still!" Apollo shouted, ripping the cape off Marcy's back before throwing it on the ground and stamping it out.

"Those capes sure are flammable." Hop Pop commented.

"Aw, my cape." Marcy said sadly.

"You'll live, Mars." Apollo said, using his nickname he had given her. "Besides, remember what Edna from the Incredibles said about capes? They're as pointless as they are an invitation for death."

"But Shadow's wearing a cape." Marcy pointed out.

"It's a gift from a friend." Shadow said. "And for combat."

"Also, doesn't that hurt?" Anne asked, pointing at Apollo's bare feet. "I mean, I know you're tough, but…"

"Not even a little." Apollo said. "I went through intense training to develop a high tolerance to pain of any sort." He then kicked the ruined cape away.

"Look, you're better off staying behind." Kaemon told Marcy. "With how much of a kluts you've shown to be, you'd jeopardize the mission simply by tripping over your own feet."

"For your information, she can handle things just fine." Apollo told him, as one of the newts brought Marcy another cape and fastened it on her. "Take it from me, she's proven to be quite capable."

"Yeah, trust me, Kaemon. I can handle this." Marcy said in agreement.

"Trust you?! Why in the hell would I trust you?" Kaemon yelled, getting in her face, much to Marcy's shock, Apollo looking as though he was about to pull out his spear.

"Kaemon, stop it!" Shadow snapped, pulling the swordnewt away from Marcy. "Could you two give us a moment? We'll be along shortly."

"Right…just let us know when you're ready to engage the mission!" Marcy declared, pointing her finger up before pulling out her journal and walking out of the tent, with Apollo following behind.

"What is your problem?" Shadow questioned sternly, Kaemon crossing his arms and turning his head.

"Me?" Hop Pop said, thinking Shadow was talking to him. "Well, to be honest, my cholesterol's been a little..."

"Not you. Frownzilla over there." Polly said, pointing a flipper at the swordnewt.

"Oh, come on, guys." Kaemon said, throwing his hands up. "Surely you don't trust this 'Marcy' person already."

"I do." Hop Pop said.

"With my life, actually." Polly added.

"With my children, even." Even Sprig was in agreement.

"She seems alright." Maddie nodded.

"Yeah, she seems pretty cool." Ivy said.

"Come now, Kaemon. Just look at her. She's completely harmless." Cody gestured, Marcy standing outside looking in her journal with Apollo by her side before several pink butterflies started flying around her. Looking up from her journal, noticing them and giggling.

"Yeah, believe us when we say that you can count on Marcy in a pinch." Valor added.

"On the surface, maybe, but it's just a front." Kaemon stated firmly. "Master, you remember Sasha, don't you? How she tricked us and tried to kill me and Hop Pop? And then you?"

Shadow's face fell at the mention of the blonde human, the events of Toad Tower repeating in his mind. "Yes, and I'd rather not think about it."

"Kaemon, that's not a fair comparison." Anne frowned. "I told you, Marcy is different. She's not controlling like Sasha."

"How do you know that?" Kaemon questioned with narrowed eyes. "How do you know that this isn't some setup by Marcy to get us killed?!"

"Look, I grew up with Marcy ever since we were kids." Anne argued. "We've been best friends ever since."

"The same could be said about Sasha, and look how that turned out!" Kaemon growled.

"Look, I know things didn't exactly go well with Sasha, and she tried to kill you guys," Anne said. "But believe me when I say that Marcy isn't like that."

"Why should I?" Kaemon demanded.

"Because Anne and I haven't tried to have you killed."

Kaemon looked at his master in surprise, even Anne looked at Shadow in surprise.

"Think about it, Kaemon. We haven't tried to kill you, and we never will." The boy went on, placing a hand on Kaemon's shoulder. "Because we value you. Anne wanted to be your friend and I wanted someone who would defend Amphibia against any injustice. I understand that you're wary, especially after Sasha, but you shouldn't let one bad experience color your whole view. At least try to give Marcy a chance. I am."

Kaemon gave it some thought, looking over at the Taiwanese girl with uncertainty. As much he wanted to give her a chance, deep down, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea. If what happened with Sasha could happen once, it could happen again. Still, a part of him wanted to give Marcy a chance. After all, like Anne said, she's harmless.

Sighing, the swordnewt turned to his master and fellow student. "Alright, I'll do it. For you guys."

Anne hugged him before backing up. "Thanks, Kaemon. Don't worry, everything will work out."

"I hope so." Kaemon nodded, watching Shadow and Anne leave the tent, with Cody and his students following, before making to follow.

"Hey, Kay." Kaemon stopped and looked back, seeing Maddie holding something. "I think you dropped this."

Curious, Kaemon took the item and took a closer look, the item revealing to be a small pin of a golden caterpillar. The newt stared at it for a moment, as if remembering something.

"No matter what people say, you're our hero!"

Those words echoed in his mind, the newt wrapping his fingers around it, his hand shaking a bit.

"You okay?" Maddie asked, placing a hand on his leg and a concerned look on her face.

Kaemon breathed in before letting it out and placing the pin back in his pocket. "I'm fine, don't worry." He said before walking out, Maddie and the other kids following behind.

"You guys coming?" Hop Pop asked, turning his head to Triple B.

"What, us?" Bartley said, chuckling. "Of course not. We're analysts. We don't do 'field work'."

Hop Pop glared at them, taking offense at the jib on his family profession. "And what's wrong with field work? I'll have you know we farmers are the backbone of society!" He yelled, ribbiting and puffing out his neck before leaving.

The newts could only watch. "Weirdos."

As the group walked across the water to their destination, with Marcy leading the way, with Anne and Hop Pop guiding the snails. Shadow looked ahead at Apollo, the white-cladded newt walking in front of him. Five long years since he last saw him, since his had abandoned him, and he could feel the venom on every word since the reunion. Still, despite that, Shadow wanted to try and rebuild that bond they once had.

Gathering his courage, he caught up with his estranged adoptive brother. "Apollo. I trust things are going somewhat well in Newtopia these days?" He said.

Surprisingly, Apollo replied, "Despite your departure, the city's got by."

"It's obvious you've gotten along well with Marcy, haven't you?" Shadow pressed some more. "To the point of romance, no doubt."

"As if that's any of your business." Apollo sneered, his left eye glaring at him.

Just then, Cody caught up and got in between them. "Look, you two. I know we all have issues, and this mission isn't going to make them all disappear." He told them. "All I ask is for simple cooperation."

"Easier said than done," Apollo said dryly. "With you and the rest of your RPG gang of misfits accompanying us on this mission."

"Who are you calling misfits?" Cody frowned.

"And since when did you know what an RPG was?" Shadow asked with a raised brow.

"You and your band of frogs, your students and then bush head one shoe over there." Apollo replied, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at Anne and ignoring Shadow's question. "Frankly, it's amazing she didn't die in the woods."

"Hey, don't talk about Anne that way." Shadow said, jumping to Anne's defense. "I was the one who gave her a home and taught her everything I know."

Apollo stared at him with a narrowed eye before turning away. "My mistake, Azazel. I didn't know you had a heart to get attached to things." He then walked up next to Marcy, away from the two.

Shadow sighed before Cody spoke up, "Guess there's going to be a lot of that, huh?" He asked.

"Did you expect anything different?" Shadow replied with a question.

"No, I didn't expect you to hug and sing a song, if that's what you're asking." Cody said with a shake of his head. "It's just…you two are my students and seeing this animosity, this hatred, I feel like I've failed you."

"Hey, come on Master, you taught me everything I know." Shadow told him, a hand on his old teacher's shoulder. "Besides, deep down, we both know he cares. It'll just take time."

"When doesn't it take time?" Cody chuckled. "Although, if it helps, I'm not too excited to see the King either."

"Ha. You and me both."

Eventually, they had arrived at their destination, a small island with the entrance to the underground ant hive, a large mound of dirt and stone with several other large holes as well as several red and blue corals stuck on them. The mound seemed connected to a rather large mountain.

"Okay, we should be arriving there shortly!" Marcy said, looking in her journal and not paying attention to where she was going and almost falling into the hole, had Apollo not caught her and pulled her back. "Whoa, thanks, Appa!"

"It would be beneficial to everyone present if you'd pay more attention to your surroundings." Apollo politely suggested.

"Wait, guys, look at this!" Sprig called, getting everyone's attention.

Shadow, Anne, Apollo, Cody and Marcy moved to the niche on the side of the entrance where Sprig was before the frog boy pulled down a curtain of vines, revealing a hidden stash of weapons and what appeared to be gun powder.

"What's all this stuff doing here?" Anne asked, looking at the weapons stash.

"That's weird," Marcy got closer to inspect, picking up a note.

'Here's the latest shipment of weapons. We need as much as we can for the invasion plan.'

"An invasion? Could there be more to this than just the barbari-ants?" Anne asked.

"You might be right, Anne." Shadow said. "Something isn't right here."

Cody stepped forward and inspected the gunpowder, taking a pinch between his index finger and thumb and taking a sniff. Looking further, there were many cases for what one could assume to be bombs or rockets.

"An invasion that involves explosives." He said. "Who could be behind this?"

"Only one way to find out." Apollo said, approaching the entrance.

With the white-cladded boy going first, with Shadow following after, then Anne and Marcy, the Plantars, Maddie, Ivy, Kaemon, Cody and his students, with Sprig being last, as he approached the parked snails.

"All right, Bessie, Ironhide, something big is about to go down." He told the snails. "If we're not back in three hours, send for help."

The snails chirped, Bessie nibbling on Sprig's head while Ironhide nuzzled against his back.

"Good snails."

Sliding down the tunnel, everyone landing carefully at the bottom, while Marcy almost fell on her face, but thankfully Apollo caught her, with Sprig being last to enter. The tunnel they entered was wide and spacious, with several corals lining the walls.

"All right! Let's go." Marcy declared, making to go ahead, but Apollo stopped her.

"Marcy, I recommend staying behind me." He said.

"You know, I'm with Masky here," Anne spoke up. "Let me, Shadow and Kaemon take the front."

Kaemon grunted, still unsure about trusting Marcy, but nodded regardless, moving up front with his friends, alongside Apollo.

"Okay, if we can just stay in this formation-" Anne began to say, but saw Marcy walk ahead, once again looking in her book. "Wait!"

"This is gonna be a cinch, guys. Trust me, I know these tunnels better than anyone..." Marcy screamed when she almost fell down a hole, only for Apollo to catch her by her belt before pulling her back. The Taiwanese chuckled and gave a thumbs-up. "Thanks. Okay. Note to self: Do not step in holes." She said before walking away.

"Marcy, please learn to listen, otherwise, the barbari-ants will be the least of your worries." The cloaked newt said sternly.

"Yeah, seriously, let us handle this." Anne said. "You'll be safer in the back."

"I gotta say, I do feel pretty safe back here." Sprig said.

Suddenly, several barbari-ants emerged from the holes, screeching as they surrounded to group. What stood out the most was the toads riding their backs, much to their surprise.

"Sǐwáng sends his regards, dog!" One of the toads shouted before charging with his barbari-ant at Sprig.

"Why me? Why always me?!" Sprig screamed, bracing himself, only for Apollo to dash in and stab the ant with his spear, throwing the toad off his mount screaming.

"Don't just stand there slack jawed!" He yelled to the group. "Get to fighting already!"

"All right, guys. Fight mode!" Anne declared, pulling out her sword and shield.

"On it!" Hop Pop and Polly declared, the old frog putting his dukes up while Polly pulled out her flail, Ivy pulling out her naginata and Maddie pulling out a few curse sacks.

"Yeah, on it!" Sprig said, pulling out his slingshot.

"Okay, so Marcy, stay behind us." Kaemon said, readying his swords, before seeing Marcy wander off yet again. "I swear, what do you and Apollo see in her, Anne? Seriously?"

Despite the danger of the ants, the toads riding said ants, and the sounds of combat, Marcy stayed calm as she walked about, gathering ingredients. "Ooh! Nice." She said, walking over to a cluster of purple flowers with yellow stigmas, not noticing two barbari-ant toad riders approaching her.

Shadow saw them and rushed in with Black Hope, swinging his katana and severing the heads of the ants and sending the riders flying with swift kicks, before noticing Marcy picking at the flowers.

"Marcy, what are you doing?" He yelled, before seeing two more ant riders charging at him, Anne and Cody able to intercept and dispose of the riders.

Practically toning out to combat, Marcy plucked out one of the stigmas and chuckled. "Essence of Heron's bane. Just what the doctor ordered." She said, pulling out a flask with bubbling yellow liquid and popping off the cork with her thumb.

"You're gonna need a doctor if you don't quit screwing around!" Kaemon yelled, slicing at several barbari-ants, sending the riders flying.

Marcy dropped the stigma into the flask and pulled out another, this one filled with glowing pink liquid. "Steady, steady." She carefully poured the yellow liquid into the flask of pink liquid, popped the cork back on it and shook it until it turned purple. "Done! Guys, this way!"

She then threw the flask at a rock wall, creating an explosion that created a small hole for them to crawl through, Marcy going first with everyone following. They crawled through the tunnel before coming out on the other side. Once she was sure everyone had gotten through, Marcy pulled a sack from her bag and threw it at the hole, another explosion creating several purple vines with thorns to cover the hole.

"Insta-vines!" Marcy declared proudly, pointing at the plant she made. "Bred 'em myself."

"Uh, guys? A little help here."

Everyone looked to see Polly, still in the tunnel and behind the vines, with the barbari-ants coming down the tunnel behind her.

"Whoopsies!" Marcy gasped, Apollo facepalming the left side of his forehead.

"NOT THE BABY!" Everyone else exclaimed, Shadow, Anne, and Kaemon ripping away the vines before Anne pulled Polly out, Marcy pulling out another sack and throwing it, creating more vines to cover the hole, preventing the ants from chasing them further.

"You airhead!" Kaemon snapped. "You almost got her killed!"

Before Shadow could admonish the swordnewt, Apollo had already beaten him to the punch when he stepped forward. "First off, do not yell at her over an honest mistake! Second, she's already out of danger. And thirdly," He then gestured with both hands pointed towards Polly. "WHO BRINGS AN OLM DAMNED BABY DOWN HERE IN A DANGEROUS AREA?!"

Before Kaemon could retort, Apollo had already moved past him and picked up the polliwog and held her as though she were his child. "I'm sorry, little one. Are you hurt? Any nicks or scratches?"

"Nope, all good. It was an honest mistake." Polly said.

This reaction surprised Shadow greatly. He remembered a time during his days in Newtopia that Apollo would fawn over any tadpole or polliwog he'd come across, acting like a nanny, even taking on babysitting jobs for children.

"Sorry about that, but it all turned out okay, thankfully." Marcy said before pulling some of the insta-vines from her pouch and showed it. "Anyway, isn't vegetation in Amphibia just the coolest?"

"You think vegetables are cool?" Hop Pop popped up next to her with a smile before taking her and Anne by the shoulder and walking onward. "Marcy, how'd you like to be adopted?"

Kaemon still had narrowed eyes as he walked with the group, going down a long tunnel, the swordnewts eyes glued to Marcy, watching her like a hawk.

"What's with those toads back there?" Anne asked. "I didn't know those ants were ridable."

"No one's ever tried before, obviously. At least not on official record." Apollo told her. "However, only one toad comes to mind when it comes to such a thing."

"Sǐwáng." Shadow said bitterly.

"Yeah, one of those toads mentioned some guy with that name." Hop Pop said. "What was that all about?"

"Sǐwáng was a barbarian obsessed with taking over the land." Cody explained. "He's an old nemesis of the crown and defeated by Azazel, when he was only eight years old."

"I had help, Master." Shadow told him. "But how can this be? He should be dead!"

"He had to have survived somehow. That bastard knows how to take even the nastiest of hits." Valor chimed in.

"At this rate, we'll need to be careful." Marcy said. "This mission just went up in terms of difficulty."

The group continued down the tunnel before reaching another wide area of the tunnel, surprisingly empty, much to the group's confusion.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Anne said, her sword and shield at the ready.

Just as Anne suspected, more barbari-ant riders emerged from the holes, wielding a variety of weapons, and surrounding the group, all sporting wicked grins on their faces.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Sprig gulped, he and his sister and frog friends huddling closer to Hop Pop.

"Well, well," Out called a voice all too familiar. "Look who decided to come home."

A chill going up his spine, Shadow looked up and saw the familiar face of a toad he was certain he'd never see again. One of the barbari-ants approached, on its back being none other than Sǐwáng, the toad with sickly yellow eyes and dressed like a Mongolian general, and his moth-hawk perched on his shoulder.

"We meet again…Black Wolf." The toad said. "And you've brought company. How delightful."

"So, you're alive after all this time." Cody sneered. "What I want to know is 'how'."

"Nothing too complicated, really. I was lucky to survive the fall from the cliff and into the ocean." Sǐwáng declared. "After that, I traveled, regaining my strength and rebuilding my army, so that I may claim my revenge."

"Does that happen to include attempting to invade Newtopia?" Valor demanded.

"Of course, only my invasion is more than guaranteed, boy." Sǐwáng said confidently, as he walked over to the far side of the room to a hanging tarp. "And it's all thanks to this lovely lady here."

With a strong tug with one arm, he pulled down the tarp, revealing much to the groups shock a caged barbari-ant queen. The queen was massive in size, the length of three elephants, having two sharp claws that were separated from the rest of her legs, and her armor was a lot thicker. The armor covered half of her top back side, and her head was adorned with a massive V-shaped, glowing green, coral-like horns. As the queen, her role was making more of her kind, spewing out eggs from the large, dark-green birthing organ, the eggs themselves being a transparent green color with larvae floating inside.

"So, the queen and her ants didn't come this way willingly," Maddie growled, a sack of curses in her hand. "You forced them to come this way!"

"Right you are, sweet child." Sǐwáng chuckled, picking up one of the eggs. "With the queen as our never-ending generator, our army of barbari-ants will never cease, giving us more than enough to overwhelm and take over."

Seeing that the egg the toad was holding wasn't covered in slime, the queen leaded over and barfed green slime all over it, including Sǐwáng's hand, tucking the egg under the fluid as though it were a blanket, cooing and blushing at her baby.

"Well, at least she's a good mother." Ivy said.

Growling, Sǐwáng slammed a fist against the metal cage, making the queen shrink back in fear. "Eventually, revenge will be ours, and there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop it." He said with a wicked grin.

"Don't be so sure of that, you demented psycho." Shadow retorted. "We've beaten you once and we'll do it again!"

"You're free to try, Black Wolf." The toad sneered before drawing out his sword. "Attack!"

The ant riders charged, Shadow darting forward with Black Hope and cutting down any toad that charged at him. Anne held up her shield to block the attack of an oncoming rider, slamming her shield against the side of the ant's head before stabbing it in the head. Rather than flying off, the toad riding just jumped off and landed on his feet, pulling out a pair axes and charged, only to be met with a mudball to the face, blinding him, and Ivy jumping in and swinging her naginata, hitting him in the back of the head, knocking him to the floor.

Several ant riders had Apollo and Marcy surrounded, the ants clacking their mandibles hungrily before the riders charged forward. Apollo summoned five spears and stabbed at the ants, allowing Marcy to leap off his shoulders, aimed her crossbow and fired an arrow with a smoke shroom, creating a cloud of smoke, blinding the toads as Kaemon rushed in, slashing at them with his katanas and sending the toads flying.

Hop Pop mostly tried to avoid the fight, understandable given his age, but when one rider rushed his way, he did land a solid punch on the ant, knocking it out cold, but injured his hand in the process. Angry, the toad made to swing his mace, only for Polly to launch at him and bite the top of his head, the toad trying to get her off before Maddie threw a curse at him, turning him into a small rubber ducky.

Cody struck down several toads that foolishly tried to rush him with his one katana, the blade electrified for more damaging effect, before the older man ducked down and allowed Valor to lunge forward and shoot a stream of flame, incinerating the ants and toads alike. Ina conjured a pair of water whips and whipped several toads off their mounts before launching several water spikes, piercing the ants heads and killing them.

Sǐwáng roared as he charged forward, swinging his sword downward at Shadow, who was able to block with his katana, the two combatants putting every ounce of force, trying to overpower the other before jumping back from the other, both swordsmen/toad circling each other like wolves before Sǐwáng lunged again, Shadow jumping to the side before swinging horizontally, the toad blocking the swing before jumping forward, aiming to stab at the boy, only for him to block the hit before backflipping back, putting enough distance between him and the toad.

"Is this the best you can do, boy?" Sǐwáng taunted with a menacing grin. "Has all that time in the boonies mad you soft?"

Grunting, Shadow closed his eyes, and when they opened, his green eyes turned black, his veins popping and turning black and his hair flowing like a flame. He had entered Semi-Dark Form, unleashing a small portion of his power.

"Be careful what you wish for."

He then sped forward, faster than the eye can see, and kicked the toad in the gut, sending him crashing into a wall. Before the toad could fall, Shadow rushed forward, punching him several times before grabbing him by the neck and throwing him into the air, then flew up and delivered an ax kick, sending him crashing into the dirt.

Coughing up blood, the toad pushed himself to his knees, bringing a hand to his lips before bringing it into view, a smudge of his own blood on his hand and still drooling from his mouth. Looking up, he saw the semi-powered boy approach, and rather than quivering in fear, he laughed.

"That's more like it." He said with a grin. "As expected from the King's Dog."

"I'm nobodies' dog, Sǐwáng." Shadow said in a dark tone. "And by the time I'm done, you're gonna wish you'd stayed dead."

"Your king should've thought about that before sending you to the valley." The toad retorted.

This statement prompted Shadow to raise a brow in confusion, as he powered down. "What're you talking about? Nobody sent me."

Sǐwáng grinned viciously before shouting, "NOW!"

Several rocks popped out of the walls, revealing several toads holding stereo-like devices before turning them on, the devices giving off a high frequency. The minute they reached Shadow's ears, his eyes dilated before he screamed in pain, gripping the sides of his head in agony before falling to his knees. He wasn't the only one affected, however, the same happening to Anne, Marcy, and Apollo, the two girls falling over squirming and screaming, while Apollo struggled to stay on his feet, but fell to one knee, grunting in pain as he gripped his head, as though trying to fight the pain.

"What's happening?!" Sprig shouted, shocked by the sudden turn of events.

Sǐwáng let out a sinister chuckle as he approached the fallen dark-cladded boy with sword in hand. "I've spent years, trying to find any way to overcome that power of yours." He said. "And over those years, I discovered that your kind have a unique equilibrium that can be disrupted by a certain frequency. It could even kill you if turned up high enough." He held his sword at Shadow's neck. "But I'll do that the old-fashioned way."

Ina watched the scene unfold, her eyes wide with terror at the sight of her friends at the mercy of these savages, the barbari-ant riders closing in on the frogs, the human girls, the swordnewt and the newt prince. Her mind raced with panic.

"No…No….No!" She said, before something inside snapped, "NOOOOOO!"

Suddenly, her eyes turning dark blue and her hair snapping free from the hair band as water suddenly rushed in through the holes, some water torrents destroying the devices, saving Shadow and the others. But it didn't stop there, the water streams rushed in, hitting the surrounding toads and ants as water surrounded the ivory-skinned girl, the water spinning and enveloping her in a giant water tornado, the other streams of water pulling the group together into a large, protective water bubble, shielding them from the stray water spikes that flew about, hitting anything and anyone not protected.

Everyone looked on in shock at what was occurring from inside the bubble. Sǐwáng was sent flying into a wall before rubble fell on him.

"Teach, what's happening to Ina?" Valor questioned.

"Our Amulets react strongly to our emotions and for Ina it reflexively activated," Cody replied. "Sîwáng was going to kill Shadow and hurt the people she views as family and is protecting us. She just doesn't have any control over it and could greatly hurt us if we get too close."

"Well, how do we stop her?" Shadow asked.

"Valor, you have to talk to her and calm her down." Cody said as he placed his hand on the red-head's shoulder.

"What? There's no way I can get through her! Not when she's like that!" Valor commented.

"Of course, you can." Cody assured. "Out of all of us, she's the closest to you and you're aware of that."

Valor gave it some thought, looking at the chaos unfolding, his friend within the water tornado. For as long as he could remember, ever since his parents died, he pretty much grew up with Ina, the two forming a close-knit bond before Cody found the two and took them in.

'He's right we've been close right from the beginning,' He thought, his determination renewed. 'And if anyone can talk her down, it's gotta be me!'

"Alright; I'll do it!" He nodded.

"Well, What's your plan of getting out of this bubble?" Apollo questioned. "Your water witch put us in quite the bind."

"I have an idea," Valor said before he engulfed his body in a fire cloak and ran through the bubble.

"I was half expecting his fire to go out." Anne admitted.

"His fire can run so hot that not even the coldest of waters can put it out." Marcy told her. "Heck, his flames could evaporate water, if he wanted to!"

"Let's hope this works." Valor said, slowly approaching the tornado, his childhood friend floating inside. "Hey Ina! I want to talk to you!" He yelled, the blue-haired girl turned around in her water tornado.

"Look, we're all okay! There's no need to fight anymore!" He yelled, trying to reason with her. "I get you wanted to protect us, but is this destruction worth that outcome?"

Unable to tell friend or foe, Ina created a water whip and lashed at him, but Valor quickly evaded it and shot a fireball at her before she blocked it with a water shield.

"I get it; Sîwáng was going to hurt us and you can't lose any piece of family again," Valor pressed, not willing to give up on his friend. "But is this power worth it if you can't control it?"

She stared at him, the water tornado losing its speed.

"Look, I might not have a clue what that power is like or what it's doing to you, but I care about you." He continued. "We've been close right from the beginning and I'm not about to turn my back on you now."

Hearing those words, Ina's blue eyes slowly start to return to their lighter color, the water tornado slowing down and dripping. "Val…." She replied as she lowered herself from the water tornado and slowly walking towards him, her best friend.

"That's right, it's me; your friend." Valor said with a gentle smile, his arms outstretched and offering a hug. "Please come back to us."

Hearing those kind words, Ina made it to him before collapsing into his arms, crying into his shoulder as he rubbed her back.

"I'm so sorry. I almost hurt you guys." she said in between sobs.

"Hey, you weren't in control, Ina, but that doesn't matter." Valor replied, wiping the girls tears away. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Thanks, Val. I needed that." She said as she smiled at him.

"Yeah, now, do you mind removing the bubble that our friends are in?" He asked, pointing at their trapped friends.

"Oh frog! Sorry, guys!" she replied as she removed the water bubble.

"Hey no problem, Ina. Dangerous water danger aside, you were amazing out there." Anne replied.

Looking about, the group saw the damage caused. Most of the fully grown barbari-ants were killed and the remaining raiders were either killed during the water storm or had already fled. And Sǐwáng was nowhere to be found.

"Dang, girl." Ivy said. "Talk about eye of the storm."

"Yeah, remind me to never get on your bad side." Polly said.

"Well, that's two problems dealt with." Apollo said, before looking over at the queen still trapped in the cage. "Now, what do we do about this?"

"She was forced here against her will, obviously." Maddie reminded the prince. "I think she's been through enough as is."

"But is it really a good idea to just set her free?" Hop Pop asked.

"Don't worry, I've got an idea." Maddie said. "Kaemon, I'll need your help."

Nodding, Kaemon followed his girlfriend to the door of the cage, the barbari-ant queen looking at them with curiosity.

"Relax, we are the help." Maddie said, trying to assure the queen that she was safe. "Do not eat the help."

Pulling out one of his swords, Kaemon struck at the lock with a single blow, breaking the lock and allowing Maddie to pull the large gate open, both newt and frog stepping back and allowing the queen to crawl out, looking around before staring down at the group, every individual unsure if they were really in the clear…

…and the queen spat out two eggs from her sack before pushing them at the feet of Kaemon and Maddie, both staring in surprise.

"She must be trying to thank us!" Marcy exclaimed.

The queen nodded her head, lowering herself to the couple's level, allowing Kaemon and Maddie to pet her head, before she burrowed her way into the ground, the remnants of her hive following after, and away from Newtopia.

The group stared in amazement at what had occurred.

"Well, that turned out well in the end." Marcy said. "Looks like we didn't need the stink shrooms after all."

"There's always a next time, Mars." Apollo assured her, taking off the sash and giving it to her.

"And we got barbari-ant pets!" Kaemon said as he and Maddie each picked up an egg. "That was pretty unexpected."

"Yeah, and one of the craziest ideas I ever thought up." Maddie said before turning to Ivy. "If I ever get an idea like that again, hit me."

"If it works, why hit?" Ivy smiled.

"What was with those machines though?" Anne asked, pointing at the destroyed machines on the ground. "It felt like someone was jamming a drill in my ear."

"A weakness of our, it seems." Apollo said, picking up one of the machines. "Not only does it damage our equilibrium, but it also prevents us from using our powers."

"Wait, it affected you too, Marcy?" Anne asked, turning to her friend. "Does that mean…"

Smiling, Marcy winked and stuck out her tongue as her eyes turned green, much to Anne's surprise.

"No way!" Anne gasped, her eyes sparkling. "That means we all have cool anime powers!"

"I know, right?!" Marcy shared the excitement. "How cool is that?!"

The two girls celebrated, Apollo watched before sighing, "I'm surrounded by fools, with one being smarter than the other." He said under his breath.

With their mission completed, the group eventually made it out of the anthill, Marcy almost falling on her face, but Apollo caught her, again.

"Mission success!" She exclaimed, Apollo chuckling at her energy before releasing her, after making sure she was on her feet.

Looking at the Taiwanese girl, Kaemon sighed. After watching her actions, he realized now that she was no trickster like Sasha and felt like he could trust her. Building up the courage, he approached her.

"Hey, uh, Marcy?" He spoke, gaining her attention. "Sorry for all the suspicion, the threats and yelling earlier. I was wrong about you and shouldn't have been so quick to judge."

Marcy looked at him for a moment before smiling. "Hey, I'm just glad you're okay. It's obvious you mean a lot to Anne and Shadow."

Kaemon smiled before Marcy said, "Although, I'm curious; why were you suspicious about me?"

Kaemon frowned before turning away, "Let's just say that one human already tried to kill me, my master and Hop Pop. I'm just glad you didn't try to repeat it."

Marcy seemed confused about it but pushed the thought to the side. She was just glad that their mission was a success. Not only that, but she was reunited with one of her best friends.

"Marcy, you're on fire again."

Hearing Apollo say that, Marcy looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, her cape was once again on fire, somehow.

"Oh, come on! There wasn't even any fire this time!" She yelled as she started stomping the fire out.

Eventually, the group had started leaving the island and towards the city, unaware of a fuming Sǐwáng hidden in the foliage nearby, the toad barely having escaped the hive without being seen. Once again, his plan had been foiled by these unnatural brats, even though he had the advantage with the frequency machines and the barbari-ants. He wanted to roar and let out his frustrations, but he couldn't risk his presence being made, lest they finish the job.

For now, he needed to retreat with what little army he had left and rebuild once again. Sǐwáng was not one to give up so easily.

Once the fire was out, the group started to make their way back to the city, with Marcy walking next to Anne.

"Thanks for having my back, Anne." She said.

"Not that you needed it." Anne replied with a smile. "You were right. You really have changed."

Before their conversation could continue, the bell tolled, signaling that the threat had ended, the gate doors finally opening. Anne, the Plantars, Kaemon, Maddie and Ivy stared at the entrance with hanging jaws.

"Now, come on. Who's ready to go to Newtopia?" Marcy declared with so much energy. "And write up a detailed report!"

"Yeah!" The amphibian kids yelled as Hop Pop and Cody drove the wagons further, until the kids registered what the intelligent girl actually meant.

"Wait, what?"

"A report? Boo!"

"Lame!"

Anne watched Marcy with impressed eyes. "Wow. Marcy hasn't just changed, she's flourished. I've never seen her so happy." She said, feeling pride in her friend's transformation.

"It's always impressive what people are capable of, isn't it?" Shadow said with a smile, but then frowned when he looked at Apollo. "I doubt the same could be said about Apollo."

"He wasn't always like that, was he?" Anne asked.

"Back then, he was much more carefree and smiling." Shadow told her. "Now, I feel his resentment, his venom. It's like he's a whole different person…and that scares me."

"Maybe give it some time." Anne suggested. "Who knows? The old brother you know might be back before you know it."

"I hope so."

Looking up, Shadow saw, a larger than average bird dive bomb from the sky before landing on the head of the seat of the garrison. The bird had a longer neck and a curved beak with a black tip.

"Whoa, where'd you come from?!" Anne exclaimed in surprise.

"Relax, Anne, it's just Skye." Shadow said, petting the bird. "You remember, from the pit stop fiasco?"

"Oh yeah, when Polly made a mess and snuck off." Anne said, relaxing. "I'm surprised you kept the bird."

"Thought it'd be a good idea to have an extra eye in the sky." Shadow said before looking over at his newly acquired pet bird. "So, what'd you find, Skye?"

The bird reached up and chirped as though she was whispering into his ear.

"…I see." Shadow nodded. "Good eye, Skye."

"I still don't understand how you understand her." Anne frowned.

"I learned to speak bird, over the years." Shadow shrugged. "I knew it would prove useful one day."

"Well, what'd she say?" Anne asked.

"She said that she caught sight of Sasha and Grime." Shadow told her. "She says that they recently left Swamp Shiro."

"Where are they now?" Anne inquired.

"Not sure yet." Shadow said before looking at the roc. "Good job girl! Keep following them and report back to me soon."

The roc chirped before taking off to the sky in breakneck speeds, disappearing into the clouds.

Entering the gates, the newcomers stared in awe at the architecture. The buildings were made from stone and accented with golden decors and red roofs, some with flags hanging over them. There were newt statues, some being warriors and others being scholars. Giant coral plants grew in the city as well, through the streets and buildings, making the perfect blend of nature and civilization. Some newts roamed the streets, dressed as wizards, at least to Anne. Soon they were in front of the water fountain with a statue of a newt with a crown on his head, holding a shield and spear. Around it, on the edges of the fountain, were green statues of newts pouring water into the fountain.

"Whoa, look at this place!" Anne said in awe.

"Mighty impressive." Hop Pop commented.

"I want to touch everything!" Polly exclaimed from atop Sprig's head, the pink frog rubbing a hand against the base of one of the statues.

"This is like a city, city." Kaemon said, spinning around as he looked around.

Shadow's ears perked up at the sound of marching coming their way, and then he saw several troops marching in their direction, all holding spears and shields.

"What's going on?" Kaemon asked, about to pull his swords free from their sheaths.

"I didn't do it!" Polly exclaimed.

"Everyone, calm down." Shadow said with a raised arm. "No need to break out into a brawl already."

The guards hit the ends of their weapons on the ground several times before they parted, allowing a familiar figure to approach. Standing before the group was a very beautiful aquamarine newt with a lighter underbelly and long navy-blue hair tied in a bun with a shell band. While she looked like she might be a princess, Shadow, Apollo, Cody, Valor, Ina, and Marcy all knew her as Lady Olivia, royal advisor to the king.

She cleared her throat before Marcy and Apollo stepped forward and gave a formal bow. "Well met, Lady Olivia." She said.

"The king sends his greetings, Marcy, Apollo. He trusts you have succeeded?" Olivia said, returning the bow.

"Indeed, we have." Apollo nodded, before nodding to Marcy. "Present the trophy."

Marcy imitated trumpet fanfare as she pulled out a barbari-ant head and throwing it forward, the head hitting the ground and plattering its blood on the pavement.

"Ah, still fresh, I see. Excellent work. As expected of the great Marcy Wu and the supreme Apollo Leviathan." Olivia said, snapping her fingers.

A guard came forward, picking it up, walking away saying 'ew, ew, ew, ew, ew' as he carried the trophy.

"In other news, we've discovered someone was forcing the barbari-ants down this way." Apollo told her. "Have the scouts keep an eye out for someone matching the description of Sǐwáng."

"The barbarian?" Olivia gasped. "But how? Wasn't he killed seven years ago?"

"He should have been, but he apparently survived." Apollo said. "As I said, send the best we have, and give them search and destroy orders. Shoot to kill, understand?" He then pulled the machine out from his cloak. "And see to it the analysts give look into this machine."

"I'll see to it that your father is informed, sire." Olivia nodded, as a soldier took the machine and carried it away, before taking notice of the rest of the group. "I see you have... company."

Marcy squealed in delight as she pulled Anne forward. "Lady Olivia, meet Anne, one of the friends I was telling you about. Turns out she got transported to Frog Valley."

"Uh-huh."

"A little town called Wartwood." Apollo added.

Nodding, Olivia stood before the Thai girl and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Anne."

"You too, dude!" She blurted out with finger guns before correcting her speaking and bowing. "Oh, uh, I mean... milady."

"And nice of you to return, Cody and company." Olivia said to the older man, seeing them sat atop the wagon.

"Eh, had to make sure our old friend returned safely!" Cody declared.

Confused, Olivia looked back before gasping as Shadow removed his hood, showing his face. "Your majesty Azazel! You have returned!"

"Actually, I-" Before the black-cladded boy could speak further, the short newt stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug.

"It's so good to see you again, young master." She said, looking up at him. "My, you have certainly grown over the years."

Shadow smiled before Olivia stepped back.

"Oh, oh... And these are the Plantars." Marcy gestured to the frogs. "As well as Ivy Sundew and Maddie Flour!"

"Hey there!"

"'Sup."

"Hello. We can bow too." Sprig said as he bowed.

"Your Highness." Ivy said as she and Maddie bowed.

Hop Pop bowed too, but Polly fell off his head and onto her brother, causing him to fall, making one of the guards snicker.

"And this right here," Anne said, gesturing to Kaemon. "Is Kaemon of the Four Sword!"

The guards gasped in shock, Olivia staring wide-eyed, staring at the swordnewt.

"Wait, as in THE Four Sword?" She demanded. "The one claiming to be the descendant of Malakai himself?!"

"Wait, you know about the Sword Master?!" Kaemon gasped.

"Know of him? My mother told me stories about him!" Olivia declared proudly. "A strong, skilled newt that fought with four swords at once! Legends say that he once battle using EIGHT swords!"

"EIGHT SWORDS?!" Kaemon exclaimed in shock, his eyes sparkling with awe. "How?! IS there some secret scroll about this technique?!"

"Nobody knows, any knowledge related to this skill was lost when he passed away." Olivia said, before clearing her throat and straightening up. "Sorry, I happen to have a strong interest with history…"

Before she could speak any further, there was loud cackling from above. Confused, everyone looked up to see a rather tall newt in armor standing on the roof. Olivia, being the first to recognize him.

"Oh dear…" She gulped anxiously.

"Who's that?" Sprig asked.

Hemlock Longclaw jumped from the roof and landed before the group, startling almost everyone present, with the exception of the advisor, the Leviathan Brothers, Marcy, Cody and students, the General of the Army standing at full height, towering over them.

"Holy hoot, he's huge!" Polly exclaimed, pointing a flipper at the rather tall newt.

"No offense, Kae, but he makes you look short." Maddie said.

"Eh, not a big deal." Kaemon shrugged.

"I'm hurt, dear. You were about to welcome them into the city without a warm welcome from a soldier of the highest rank?" Hemlock said to the advisor, mock hurt.

"I thought you were out on a mission…dear." Olivia said. "Late, as always, yet you're back already."

"Managed to wrap up early, so I figured I'd come home for some family time." Hemlock said with a grin as wide a Texas. "Figured you and the kids needed some time with daddy~."

Olivia cringed at the mention of the word 'daddy' but quickly composed herself. "Everyone, this is Hemlock Longclaw; General of the Army, Slayer of the Witches Covenant, and the Bane of all Terrors." She introduced the large newt. Hemlock let out a sharp cough, making Olivia sigh. "As well as my husband."

"Welcome, one and all, to the beating heart of all Amphibia!" The army general declared, along with waving arm gestures. "Welcome, welcome, to Newtopia; the city of knowledge and great history that spans for eons!"

"As my…husband says, this is an old city, but one rich in history and splendor." Olivia said. "Please don't touch anything that looks important."

"Hey, look what I did!" Sprig called, sitting on the arm of one of the statues, said arm breaking under his weight and causing him to fall. "I'm okay! Statue's broken."

Olivia strained to keep her smile as her left eye twitched, while Hemlock let out a boisterous laugh. "Ha! I like this one!"

"Do enjoy your stay." Olivia said before turning and walking away, the guards following after, leaving the army general with the newcomers.

"It's always nice to have visitors from outside newt territory." He said with a predatory smile. "Especially if said visitors happen to be the farmers." His smile suddenly dropped into a frown, his eyes hardening behind the sunglasses. "But I must advise against breaking anything or causing any disruption of the peace. Otherwise, there will be severe consequences."

The frogs gulped nervously, as the tall newt turned away.

"Again, do enjoy your stay."

The army general then left, leaving the group standing in the streets.

"Those two seem friendly... ish." Hop Pop commented.

"One with a stick up their but, while the other seems too eccentric." Kaemon added.

"So, are you like a big deal here or something?" Anne asked her friend.

"Let's just say I have a perfect record when it comes to missions." Marcy said with a smile. "That and I had a great team watching my back." She walked over to Apollo and leaned against him lovingly. "With Appa here being the best right now."

Apollo smirked with his one eye closed.

"Okay. So, Marcy, I've got a couple of questions." Sprig said as he jumped on Marcy's shoulder. "How'd you get so smart? What's your cloak made out of? What's in this pouch? Where'd you get that wrist thing?" He then whispered, "What was Anne like back home?"

Shadow cleared his throat, pulling Sprig away from Marcy. "Come on, everyone. We need to get the wagons unloaded."

"Fwagon."

"Don't care." Shadow waved it off. "Let's give Anne and Marcy some space."

The sun started to set on the horizon, as the group began unloading their wagons, all the while Anne and Marcy sat at the fountain.

"So, you haven't found a way home either, huh?" Marcy inquired.

"Nerp." Anne said, throwing a rock that skipped across the water. "You know, it's funny. I've been hoping to find you for so long, but now that I actually found you, I have no idea what to do next."

Marcy chuckled. "I know what you mean. First things first though. We have to find Sasha."

"Oh! Actually, I did find Sasha." Anne said, slightly hesitant. "We, uh... we had a fight."

Marcy almost gasped. "No... Was it bad?" She asked, alarmed.

Anne cringed at the memory. The fight involving herself and her boyfriend against Sasha and the newt called Damien, then Kaemon and Hop Pop's lives being at risk, and then Sasha being ordered to kill Shadow, and then Shadow's rampage in his True Dark Form and almost killing Sasha.

"Er... There were maybe some swords, minor explosions. And…" Anne hesitated before sighing. "Sasha almost killing my friends."

Marcy gasped in disbelief, unsure if she should believe it. "What do you mean?"

Anne then reluctantly recalled the events during the Frog of the Year celebration; Sasha tricking them with a fake banquet, Grime wanting to execute Hop Pop and Kaemon to set examples, herself and Shadow fighting Sasha and Damien to save their friends, and then Shadow going berserk. After Anne finished, Marcy was in total shock.

"Oh my." Marcy said, a hand over her mouth in disbelief. "So that's why Kaemon didn't trust me at first."

"Yeah. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can forgive Sasha, after that." Anne said, hugging her knees to her chest. "Shadow was right though; I had been letting Sasha dictate my every move, and it was time I stood up for myself." She then sighed. "Anyways, I don't know where she is now."

"I understand." Marcy nodded. "Still, even if we find a way home, it's pointless without Sasha."

"So, what now?" Anne asked.

"I don't know. Back home, Sasha always decided the plan." Marcy admitted.

Anne chuckled at this. "Yeah. Maybe it's time we started making our own decisions, huh? Like Shadow said."

"Yeah! I mean, it's worked out for us so far, right?" Marcy nodded, excited as she stood on the edge of the fountain. "Come on, stand up!"

"Uh... okay." Anne did as she was asked before standing up.

"Come on, Anne. Let me see that power pose!"

Anne took in a breath, puffing up her chest and cheeks. "This good?"

"Good enough!" Marcy declared before clearing her throat. "I'm Marcy Wu!"

"And, uh, I'm Anne Boonchuy!"

The two locked hands and did a pose. "And together, we're gonna find Sasha and find a way home!" The two grunted before breaking into laughter.

"Oh, my gosh. Okay, so I wanna know everything that's happened to you since you got here." Marcy said. "You got any photos?"

"Do I?!" Anne exclaimed, pulling out her phone and showing several pictures. "Here's me and Domino 2. She tried to eat us. Here's me, Shadow and Sprig by the lake. There was a snake that tried to eat us. Oh, oh! Here's us running from a giant centipede that..."

"Let me guess. Tried to eat you?"

"How did you know?"

Watching from the sidelines, Shadow watched the two girls interact, a smile on his face. While his reunion with his estranged brother went about as sour as he expected, at least his girlfriend's reunion with Marcy was going well so far. And so long as she was happy, so was he.

However, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, the boy looking over to see a newt in shabby clothes pulling a cart full of what looked like garbage, slowly walking towards the fountain. The newt stopped before looking up, straight at Shadow. The two locked eyes for a moment, both holding a deadly silence, before the newt looked away and proceeded with his original path.

Shadow could feel the hidden eyes staring at him. He knew he was being watched.

The disheveled newt wasn't the only one aware of his presents in the city. From a distance, high in the tower, stood a mysterious figure, watching from the tower window, watching the group, specifically watching the three humans. And mostly, at the boy in black.

The figure moved away from the window and walked over to a flipwart board. Off to the side were the usual game pieces, knights, kings, queens, bishops, rooks, and pawns. At the center of the board, however, were two particular pieces; one took the shape of Marcy with her cloak, and the other took the shape of Apollo with his spear.

The figure stopped in front of the table the board was on. After waiting for so many years, he thought he finally had what he needed in his possession. But then, the adopted son he raised made off with the gems before he could begin his plan that had been postponed for centuries. Finally, the boy returned, and with him, the thing he desired the most and needed to claim his birthright.

"The pieces are starting to fall into place." The figure said, taking another piece and placing it on the board with the Marcy and Apollo ones, this one taking the form of Anne in her armor and drawing her sword. "And the wayward son comes home." He then placed a fourth piece, this one taking the form of Shadow with his cloak and katana. "It's time for the game to begin."

And there's the new chapter! This was the chapter I was eager to do for so long! Not only the gang meeting Marcy, but also Apollo's introduction as well! Apollo Leviathan, son of Andrias, and inspired by Vegeta from DBZ, Obito from Naruto, and a little hint of Infinite from Sonic Forces. And overall, my favorite OC to create, besides Shadow, Damien and Kaemon! His design was mostly inspired by Obito, to a degree, with the Akatsuki cloak and his spear was somewhat inspired by the black receiver rod Pain uses, but it's mostly based on the Draupnir Spear from God of War Ragnarok. And yes, he and Marcy are dating, please don't murder me. And of course, the reunion between him and Shadow is less than pleasant. I hope you guys enjoyed the flashback, as I wanted to show their relationship before Shadow decided to abandon ship, so to speak. There's gonna be some tensions, for sure, and Apollo's definitely gonna be holding a grudge. Still, there might be a chance these brothers can patch things up, but it won't be easy, as they have a sort of Dante/Vergil and Kakashi/Obito relationship at the moment.

And then we have Sǐwáng, the toad with a vendetta. This guy was another idea from the generous guest, inspired by Shan Yu from the animated movie Mulan. Don't worry, he'll be back, I've got plans for this psycho. As the guest pointed out, this was a unique take on the episode, giving a more intense threat besides just barbari-ants. Again, thank you Guest!

And then there's Ina going berserk. This was a good chance to show how much she values people she considers family and just how tight her bond is with Valor.

Also, I hope Kaemon didn't seem too out of character here. This is meant to be the start of his own character arc that will happen down the line, involving trust. You'll see soon, once we get further in, promise.

And then we have the machines that render them helpless by attacking their equilibrium with a certain frequency. I was wracking my brain, trying to figure out a solid weakness for the Calamity Warriors, so as to not make them too overpowered. Hopefully, this works well and you guys don't mind, but admittedly, I still have my doubts.

Finally, we reach the Newtopia arc! I'm super excited write some of these chapters, as well as having a few original chapters in mind! And with the inclusion of these OC's, I have a feeling it's only gonna get more chaotic!

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter, and I hope you look forward to more as we dive into Newtopia and explore more of Shadow's past! Reviews are greatly appreciated, as always!