Amphibia: Calamity Warriors
Chapter Forty-One: Hopping Mall
Years ago…
It was a normal day in Newtopia, the citizens going about their business, and up in the castle, Karlia stood before a blackboard, while Apollo and Azazel were sat at their desks, the boys paying carful attention to her lectures and answering questions to the best of their knowledge.
"Now, remember the Great Battle for Newtopia fifty years ago?" The tutor asked, drawing a picture of what seemed to be a decorated army general. "Igor the Brave single handedly saved the city from a toad uprising. Now, can either of you tell me how he managed to do so?"
"He had carefully placed traps and fortifications around the city?" Apollo guessed.
"He gave a great speech to give people hope for victory?" Azazel gave his answer.
"Correct on both counts!" Karlia declared. "Besides being a master strategist, Igor was also an inspirational leader, his speeches gave the troops hope, despite being outnumbered by a great number. Even after he was killed in battle, his bravery gave his allies more than enough time to provide reinforcements and push back the toad forces."
"Is that why there's a parade in his honor every year?" Azazel asked.
"That's right!" Karlia exclaimed. "Which will be happening tomorrow, as we will soon see!"
"I can't wait to check it out!" Apollo declared with excitement. "He's always been a hero of mine."
"At any rate, that concludes our lessons for today." Karlia said. "Now, remember you two, bright and early for the Igor parade!"
The two boys began packing their belongings before the door to the classroom opened, revealing a large, beautiful female newt, about as big as Andrias in terms of size, having crimson red hair tied back in a ponytail and equally crimson eyes, having bluish skin and a lighter underbelly and wearing royal robes.
"Sorry for barging in, Karlia," She said apologetically. "I hope the boys are doing well."
"As always, your majesty Astrid!" Karlia declared with a bright smile. "In fact, these two are quite the fast learners!"
"That's wonderful to hear!" Astrid said, clapping her hands together. "At any rate, it's time for their training with Master Cody."
Karlia frowned at the mention but quickly hid it away with a smile. "Boys, isn't there something you'd like to give your mother, since today is a certain day?" She said to the boys.
"Mothers days!" Both boys declared at the same time before digging into their bags.
Curious, the Queen watched before the two pulled something from their bags, Apollo stepping forward first.
"Happy Mother's Day!" He said, presenting an ornate pearl necklace.
"Oh, it's beautiful, my boy!" She declared, accepting the gift.
It was then Azazel's turn, as he stepped forward. "It's not much, but maybe it'll be useful one day." He said, presenting a small, decorated dagger in a jeweled sheath.
Astrid gasped at the sight as she accepted it. "It's beautiful, little pup. Thank you, both of you."
The brothers bowed before walking with their mother, holding her hands, Karlia watching them leave as her smile turned into a frown.
"I understand the need for self-defense, but is violence really the answer?"
Present day…
A few days had passed, the human couple, the Plantars and newt had been getting up to more hijinks. First was Sprig, Kaemon, Maddie, and Ivy having attend a program for the Newtopia University. While it seemed to work well for Shadow and Apollo, with some of their best tutors having attended, it seemed to go well for the kids, at first, but they quickly realized how much they disliked the rules and regulations. For starters, Sprig, Kaemon and Ivy weren't allowed to wear hats, they had their weapons confiscated, although the teachers really had to wrestle with Kaemon to get his, and with the prison-like curfew, the four had had enough and made it clear that they weren't fit for college life.
After that day, the group went on another trip into the city, Hop Pop wanting to take the group to a sandwich restaurant where a friend of his worked, but the kids ended up wanting to go to the arcade, leaving Hop Pop to visit his friend alone, with Cody accompanying him. But after a misunderstanding, thinking his friend was frognapped, and after realizing that his friend was doing well and running a factory for his sauce, everything turned out fine. Mostly.
Today, the Plantars, Shadow, Anne, Kaemon, Ivy, Maddie, Cody, Valor and Ina were walking through the Newtopian Markets, the location in the city near the waterfront with many shops bustling with business, the many shoppers going about.
Anne looked out the place, a seagull squawking before flying off, the Thai girl looking in amazement.
"Whoa. Look at this place." She said, walking with her group. "It's just like the outdoor mega mall from back home."
"Mm-hmm. Sure." Hop Pop agreed, still unsure what she meant, the group stopping at a nearby bench. "Anyway, since we only have a couple of days left in the city, I figured we could spend the afternoon shopping for souvenirs. Now get out there and buy anything you'd like!"
The kids cheered, although Shadow mostly kept calm while only smiling alongside Cody, although Valor and Ina joined in, cheering and jumping with excitement.
"For two coppers or less." The old frog said, throwing them very small bags of coppers for each kid.
"What? This ain't even enough for a candy bar!" Polly exclaimed in outrage.
"Yeah, you think those expensive silverware come cheap?" Ivy narrowed her eyes at the old frog.
"Yeah, what gives? Let's just use that sweet bling-bling from the king-king." Anne said.
"Oh, yeah. The royal credit card." Sprig said, jumping up.
"Nuh-uh." Hop Pop said, waggling his finger at them. "Kids, souvenirs are only meaningful if you pay for them yourself."
"Shows what he knows." Valor whispered to Ina, both secretly flashing their hidden large bags of coppers.
The kids groaned, and Shadow seemed to share this sentiment. "Hop Pop, I understand what you mean, but don't you think that two coppers is too less? At least twenty coppers per person." He said.
"You could always try haggling." Hop Pop suggested.
"Hag what?" Polly repeated in confusion.
"Haggling, young one." Cody said. "You know, bargain with shopkeepers until they lower their prices to something more reasonable."
"You can do that?" Polly said in surprise before forming a devilish look on her face. "Oh, these newts aren't gonna know what hit 'em." She then hopped away with a maniacal laugh.
"Wait, Polly! Don't actually hit anyone!" Hop Pop yelled.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye one her!" Valor exclaimed, chasing after the polliwog.
"What do you say, Sprig, Ivy?" Ina asked as she looked at the young frog. "Ready to shop till we drop?"
"Heck yeah!" The frog couple declared before running off with Ina.
"Well, we better get to browsing, Cody." The old frog looked up at the human teacher.
"Lead on, Hopediah." Cody replied with a smile before walking off with him.
"And that leaves the four of us." Kaemon said. "I don't know, this sounds exciting." He looked to Maddie. "What're you gonna get, Maddie?"
"There's this new potion crafting kit I've had my eyes on." The witch told him. "And maybe I'll grab some exotic candies for my sisters."
"That sounds nice." Shadow said, before turning to Anne. "Who are you gonna shop for, Anne?"
"My mom." Anne answered plainly.
"Your... mom?" Shadow repeated.
"Yep. I figured if I'm gonna go missing in a different dimension, the least I could do is bring back a gift, right?" Anne explained.
"Seems reasonable to me." Kaemon said.
Shadow seemed to hesitate before nodding with a smile. "Yeah, definitely."
"Alright, come on!"
Anne got up and walked, holding hands with Shadow, while Maddie and Kaemon followed behind, walking past a shop called Easy Street Chairs, a furniture store, where Cody and Hop Pop were, browsing at the furniture inside, the old frog looking at a massage chair.
"'Massage your tucus the right way with this chair full of rumble bugs. Your life will never be the ding-dang same.'" He read the label on it before scoffing. "How good could it be?"
"Don't be so quick to dismiss it, Hopediah." Cody said. "I tried this before and it really gets the ache out of your bones."
Huffing, Hop Pop sat on the chair, the rumbles bugs beginning to move around inside, creating a soothing vibration from within the chair.
Least to say, Hop Pop felt like he was in frog heaven. "Oh, my frog!" He declared loudly, scaring the birds on the roof.
Cody watched the old frog sit in pure ecstasy. "Hopediah? Forgetting something?" He got no response, only the pleased moaning of the old frog. "Well, guess I'm on my own." He sighed, pulling out a list of things to get the citizens of Wartwood. "Now, first on the list is a frog named Stumpy…"
Meanwhile, Valor browsed through the various pictures and other works of art, considering each one before moving on to the next.
"Okay, so Ina really likes paintings, for some reason." He mumbled to himself. "But which one would really grab her attention?"
"This is boring!" Polly exclaimed, having been dragged by the red-head. "Why're we looking through dull paintings for?!"
"Like I said, Ina really likes paintings." Valor replied. "Something about appreciating the beauty in a picture frame or something like that. Trust me, I've seen her room lined with all kinds of portraits."
Polly rolled her eyes, looking over to see the blue-haired girl looking through a stall lined with various weapons and armors, Sprig and Ivy by her side.
"How did you two meet In the first place?" She asked the boy. "You guys seem pretty close."
"Well, I saved her from drowning, a long time ago." Valor explained. "I was just passing through when I saw her struggling to reach the surface, so I jumped in without thinking, and ever since then, we've been close."
"Really?"
"Yup." Valor nodded. "A while back, it was just me and my parents, before our house caught fire. I barely got out, but…" He stopped, looking down at his feet. "My parents…weren't so lucky, and ended up burning alive. I felt so weak back then." He clenched his fist, then looked back to where Ina was. "And when I saw Ina drowning, I didn't think twice and dove in, and ever since then, I vowed to never be weak again, to protect the family I have now."
Polly took in the words before rolling next to him. "I get the feeling. Ever since my parents died, Hop Pop does everything he can to look after us." Valor looked at her with shock, then his expression turned to sorrow. "So, I do what I can to be strong too, like you. So that way, I can protect my family too!"
She looked up at Valor, her eyes turning to worry when she saw him cover his eyes with his arm, as thought to hide the tears that were leaking from his eyes. The boy quickly wiped his face and looked at Polly with a confident expression.
"Anyways, enough sadness already!" He declared. "Let's get back to browsing!" He looked to the side. "Ooh! This can work!"
Watching the boy go off to another section of the store, Polly had worried eyes.
"I wonder if he's just acting to hide the pain…"
Meanwhile, Anne walked with Shadow, Kaemon and Maddie, looking at the stores they passed by.
"Now, this is for my mom, okay? The lady who gave me life." Anne said as they started looking through an antique store. "So, we gotta find something that's one-of-a-kind." She then picked up one of the jars and sniffs it before coughing then putting it back.
"Well, you know your mother better than us." Shadow said. "What does she like?"
Thinking for a bit, Anne counted on one hand, "Antiques, butterflies, drinking tea..."
"Okay, well, how about this box of herbal tea?" Shadow suggested, picking up a box of said tea.
"Too ordinary."
"Giant butterfly taxidermy?" Maddie suggested, holding up a picture frame with a stuffed blue butterfly inside.
"Too creepy."
"This antique vase?" Kaemon suggested, waving his arms in gesture, accidentally hitting the table said vase was sat on, causing it to fall and shatter on the floor. "This broken antique vase?" He then looked off to the side and gasped. "Whoa, is that what I think it is?!"
He ran up to the counter, the item in question being a smithing hammer with jeweled ornaments with a silver head, the swordnewt gazing at the item in awe.
"No way!" He exclaimed with sparkling eyes. "That's the smithing hammer of Harry Forge!"
"Who?" Anne asked with a raised brow.
"Harry Forge was a legendary blacksmith." Kaemon explained with barely contained excitement. "He was the inventor of all manner of contraptions and weaponry; Barrel's Warhammer, even Malakai's four swords! This hammer would be a perfect gift for my mom!"
"That's great, but…" Anne wanted to say something, but something caught her eye. "Wait. Look over there."
The kids walked over to a poster of a white jade teapot studded with sapphire butterflies.
"Beautiful. A butterfly teapot?" Shadow said, admiring the craftsmanship of the teapot.
"And it was made by a revered Newtopian artist?" Anne said, pointing at the picture of the artist below. "Guys, it's perfect!" She then turned to the clerk. "Excuse me, how much for the teapot?"
"Sorry, it's not for sale."
"What? No," Anne exclaimed, slamming her hands against the counter. "200 coppers. No, 600 coppers. I will pay 90,000 coppers!"
"Anne, you only have two coppers." Shadow reminded her, Anne responding by pressing her finger against his lips.
"It's not for sale, because it's the grand prize in the market's annual Shopping Cart Smash and Mash Derby." The clerk said, pulling up a sign-up sheet for said derby. "If you want the teapot, you should sign up."
Anne immediately wrote her name down, although Shadow had some concerns. "Are you sure about this, Anne? It could get rough." He said, hoping to reason with her.
"Shade, it's the perfect gift, and this is the only way to get it." Anne said with determination. "Nothing is gonna stand in my way."
"That's what you think."
Anne gasped as she and the other three turned to see a tall, buff newt towering over them, having pink skin and a lighter underbelly and short, white cropped hair. She wore grey armor and bandages wrapped on her hands and tail, which seemed to have had a bite taken out of it. She also had various battle scars across her body.
"Name's Priscilla the Killa." She declared proudly. "Champion of the Smash and Mash Derby, 20 years running. This is my daughter Pearl."
She turned to show her daughter sitting on her shoulder, a small, light blue newt with tiny black eyes and blonde hair with a blue bow. She wore a purple dress with a blue butterfly pendant below her neck and white Mary Janes. She also had an X-shaped scar on her left cheek like her mother.
"Hello." Pearl said in a sweet voice before she saw Shadow and gasped. "Holy cricket, mom! That's the Black Wolf!" She jumped off her mother's shoulder and jumped at the boy with a hug. "You're finally back! What mission made you leave? Can I get your autograph?"
Shadow looked at the newt child and smiled. "Always nice to meet a fan." He said, gently patting her head.
"I thought I recognized you, kid." Priscilla said, pulling her daughter away. "My daughters a big fan of yours, and after you up and left, she was wondering where her hero went."
Shadow frowned, just now remembering the impact he had on the city and the number of kids that looked up to him.
"I'm sorry for making you sad, little one." The boy apologized.
"It's okay!" Pearl said with a smile. "I'm just glad to see you back."
"BUT! Don't think that means we're going easy on ya." Priscilla told the human couple. "Because that teapot is mine."
Mother and daughter laughed as they moved past the group and approached the counter to the sign-up sheet.
"Hey, Mom, how do you spell 'winner'?" Pearl asked, almost in a taunting manner.
"Just put your name, sweetie."
This riled up Anne, the Thai girl slamming a fist on the counter. "Oh, yeah? Well, I'm Anne, and I'm gonna destroy you in this derby thing, as soon as I figure out how to play."
Priscilla laughed. "This is gonna be easier than I thought."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Shadow said, stepping forward and placing an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. "I'll be her partner in this derby."
"We'll find out what good that does. See you in the ring, Mop Top." Both mother and daughter laughed as they walked away.
"They seem confident." Kaemon remarked.
"And determined." Maddie added.
"Come on, dude. We gotta study up on this game." Anne said, taking hold of Shadow's arm before pulling him away.
Watching his master and fellow student leave, Kaemon was quick to grab the smithing hammer and place it on the counter.
"So how much for this?" He asked with eager eyes.
"And this apothecary kit?" Maddie added.
"Altogether, that's 500 coppers."
The two looked at each other with momentary dread before looking back at the clerk with mischievous eyes.
"Hey, buddy." Kaemon said sinisterly. "Can we talk?"
"So, teams of two push carts around and ram into each other." Anne read from a derby manual, sitting on a bench with Shadow sitting next to her. "If your cart tips over, you're out."
"That sounds right." Shadow said. "Other than that, anything goes. It's always been my kind of game."
"Wait, you mean you played before?" Anne asked.
"Actually, me and Apollo were never allowed to play." Shadow said. "But Karlia would always take me, Apollo, Ina and Valor to a secluded area so we could play with the guards. Me and Apollo would destroy the competitors!"
"Wow, sounds like you had some good times, growing up." Anne said.
"Not all of it was doom and gloom." Shadow replied before cocking his head up at the sound of metal clanging. "What's that noise?"
They turned and nearly gasped when they saw Polly approach with a new golden bucket, a proud look on her face, with Valor following behind.
"Whoa. Polly?" Anne did a double take.
"Oh, hey. Like my new bucket?" Polly asked.
"That had to have been worth at least 50 coppers." Shadow pointed out. "How did you..."
"I don't even know how she did it." Valor said. "I looked away for a split second, then here she comes, bouncing out with that bucket."
"Haggling, baby." Polly said, grunting as she hopped on the bench, placing the bucket behind her. "Turns out I'm a natural. All you gotta do is expose a shopkeeper's weakness, and then exploit it until they're on their knees begging for mercy!" She then laughed maniacally before looking at another store. "Oh, look, bows." She then grabbed her bucket and hopped away, Anne and her boyfriend watching her go, with Valor following after.
Anne then shook her head. "Okay, focus. Let's go win that teapot." She said as they got up.
"First, we pick our cart, which should be pretty easy." Shadow said.
It didn't seem so easy, as when they approached the ring where the derby was taking place, as each participant was fighting over the carts, the couple ducking as one was thrown through a window behind them. Avoiding the other aggressive participants, the two approached one of the carts, Anne analyzed the cart, moving it back and forward a bit, spun one of the wheels, sniffed the handle and even licked it, smacking her lips.
"Pass. This one's a C-plus at best." She declared.
"Impressive." Shadow said, clapping his hands. "You can tell all that?"
"Me, Sasha and Marcy practically lived at the mall." Anne told him. "So, I'm pretty much a cart whisperer."
"Attention all smashers." The announcer declared. "The Smash and Mash Derby is about to begin."
"Oh, shoot. We gotta hurry." Anne said. "Let's split up and find a cart already."
The two split up, Anne inspecting another cart, seemingly in better condition than the previous one, before taking notice of Priscilla walking over to a nearby cart, with Pearl on her shoulder.
"But, Mom..." Pearl whined, both her and her mother didn't seem to notice the Thai girl.
"Ah, stop worrying, Pearl." The champion said. "I've been the Derby champ 20 years running. There's no way anyone else is winning that teapot."
"That's not what I'm worried about. It's your tail." Pearl said, jumping off her mother's shoulder and standing on the handlebar of the kart and gesturing to her mother's tail. "It hasn't healed from your last derby."
"Relax. I can beat these chumps without it." Priscilla said with confidence, much to the daughter's chagrin. "Now, come on. Let's get outta here."
Watching the two leave with their chosen cart, Anne chuckled lightly to herself. "Very interesting." She said to herself, rolling to the back of the cart and pulling it away.
Soon enough, the participants were ready to begin, standing in a circle some feet apart from the other, Shadow holding the handlebars of the cart while Anne sat inside.
"Priscilla suffered a tail injury?" Shadow asked, Anne having told him what she learned.
"Yep." She nodded. "Don't know how that's gonna help us yet, but... Whoa!"
The two looked and saw Polly once again, this time her golden bucket sporting wheels and attached to the back of a small, young snail. He had a pink skin tone, his underbelly being a lighter pink. He had blue eyes and a brown patterned shell. He wore a vest and gold bow tie.
And Valor was nowhere to be seen.
"Polly?" Anne gave the polliwog a quizzical look.
"Guys, meet Micro-Angelo, my private chauffeur." Polly introduced.
The small snail chirped happily, giving the most adorable look ever seen, making the teen couple awe at such cuteness.
"Well, nice chatting with ya, but I've got more haggling to do." Polly said, before driving off.
Anne shook her head before regaining her focus. "Okay, focus. Let's scope out the competish." She stopped and nearly gasped at the sight of several other competitors, all dressed like they were in a Mad Max movie, dressed in punk leather armor and holding all kinds of weapons.
The sight made Anne gulp nervously.
"It's okay, Anne. We've got this." Shadow said with confidence, despite the beads of sweat on his forehead. "Look, even Hop Pop believes in us."
Looking to where he was pointing, the old frog was still sitting on the massage chair, moaning in pure pleasure, the couple looking at him with raised brows.
"Actually, I don't know what's going on there." Anne said.
"At any rate, take this." Shadow said, pulling out a long, bamboo bo staff and giving it to Anne. "It's an old training staff I used back then. Use it to bash the competitors."
"Yoo-hoo." The two turned to see Priscilla and Pearl near them, their cart decorated with paint and spikes. "Ready to lose?" She taunted before laughing.
Shadow and Anne grunted and readied themselves, the boy gripping the handlebars of the cart while Anne readied the bo staff.
"Players, on your marks..." The announcer declared. "Get ready... All right, you crazy animals, smash and mash!"
Most of the contenders charged into a free for all, running into each other and beating the tar out of one another, but Shadow steered clear of the carnage, keeping his speed and momentum steady while Anne knocked away anyone that tried to charge them with her bo staff. She swung it against a competitor that tried charging them, applying a small amount of Calamity Energy into the swing, knocking them out of the ring.
She looked to Shadow, the boy shrugging. "I'm sure he's fine." He said.
"This is it, ladies and gentle-newts. Only two carts left." The announcer declared.
"Alright, last stretch, Anne." Shadow said. "We can do this..."
Suddenly, they were rammed in the side by Priscilla, almost knocking them over, but Shadow managed to regain control quickly, but couldn't stop his momentum as they smashed through the ring, with Priscilla chasing after them.
"Looks like this battle is too big for the ring."
"Wait, this is allowed?!" Anne questioned.
"Anything goes, Anne!" Shadow replied. "I feel like you should know this by now."
The remaining two rammed each other, determined to knock the other over, before looking ahead to see Polly and Micro-Angelo, the polliwog reading what seemed like an instruction's manual, in the path of the derby participants.
"'Page two, using the brakes'." Polly read, before looking over to see the carts coming her way, both her and the snail screaming before Micro-Angelo hid in his shell.
"NOT THE BABY!" All four screamed.
"Shadow, initiate secret special cart maneuver, ollie pop!" Anne ordered.
"Already ahead of you." Shadow responded.
The boy in black pressed his foot against the carts wheel, slowing it down and launching him the cart and himself in the air, over the polliwog, landing on all four wheels. Unfortunately, Priscilla was going too fast and couldn't stop her momentum.
"Ah! I gotta use my tail. It's the only way to not murder that pollywog!" The mother yelled.
"But, Mom, your injury!" Pearl protested.
"Hush. I have no choice." Priscilla reached out her tail, the minute it wrapped around a nearby signpost, she felt a great deal of pain, spinning out of control before planting her feet on the ground, stopping mere inches from Polly, who opened her eyes to see the spike mere inches from her face.
"I wasn't worried." She said, trying to act tough.
Priscilla fell to one knee, panting heavily from the pain in her tail and almost causing the death of a polliwog. "Hey, you guys okay?" Anne called.
"Yeah, we're fine." Priscilla said, holding a hand up.
"Good." Shadow said. "Now, Anne!"
Before anyone knew it, Shadow had rammed the cart with his, Anne smacking Priscilla upside the head with her bo staff, so hard that it snapped in half, much to her disappointment.
"Mop Top and the Black Wolf wins. Mop Top and the Black Wolf wins!" The announcer yelled, the crowd cheering loudly at the new champions.
"Uh, can we not make that a thing?" Anne requested.
"Be happy that we won, Anne." Shadow chuckled, helping Anne out of the cart.
"Here you are, sir and ma'am, just as promised." The announcer said, handing the teapot to Shadow.
"And here you are, Anne." The boy said, handing it to Anne. "I'm sure your mom will love it."
Anne squealed happily. "I know she will! Also, sorry about your staff, dude." She said, handing the broken staff to Shadow.
"It's okay. It was rotting anyways." He said, tossing the broken staff into the garbage. "I'm honestly surprised it lasted as long as it did."
"Hey, Mop Top." Priscilla said loudly, standing before them with a snarl, before extending a hand. "Congratulations. You won fair and square."
"Oh, uh, thanks." Anne said, accepting the handshake.
"Just make sure you take care of that thing, okay?" Priscilla requested. "The newt who made it was special. One-of-a-kind."
"One-of-a-kind?" Anne repeated curiously.
"Yeah, the kind who encouraged you to follow your dreams, even if they were wacky and dangerous." Priscilla said with a chuckle. "The kind who cut the crust off your sandwiches 'cause she knew you didn't like 'em. That teapot was the last piece of art she ever made. So, like I said, take care of it."
Anne and Shadow looked at the teapot with frowns, in thought, before looking up at the newt. "Was the artist your mom by any chance?" Shadow asked.
Priscilla seemed surprised by this before sighing, "Yeah."
Anne looked at the teapot, feeling guilty. It explained why Priscilla was so determined to win it; it was the last memory of her mother.
"I was gonna give this to my mom when I got home, but I think she'd want you to have it." The Thai girl said, holding it out to her.
"No, I couldn't." Priscilla denied, holding her hands up.
"Please, I insist." Anne appealed.
Priscilla wanted to deny, but relented with a sigh, taking the teapot. "Thank you. This means so much to us." She held the teapot close to her chest, looking at Anne with a smile. "You're not half bad, Mop Top."
"Anne. My name's Anne." She corrected.
"I'm proud of you, Anne." Shadow told her with a smile.
"Hey!" Pearl exclaimed, making Anne gasp in surprise as she popped up from behind her mother's shoulder. "Thank you for being so generous. Here." She then removes her butterfly broach and handed it to Anne. "I'd be honored if you gave it to your mom. I'm no famous artist, but I made it myself and it's one-of-a-kind."
Anne looked at the broach with teary eyes. "Thank you. It's perfect." She said, giving Priscilla a hug, while Pearl patted er head.
"Don't be a stranger, Anne." Priscilla said, walking off. "See you around, Black Wolf."
"Bye." Pearl waved.
"Well, now that that's over, you guys seen Hop Pop?" Polly said, still riding in her golden bucket.
"Wait, where's Valor?" Anne asked. "Wasn't he supposed to be with you?"
"Polly!" Valor called, running over before stopping to catch his breath. "I swear, I can't turn away for one second without you disappearing on me!" He then looked down at the snail before frowning. "I won't ask."
"So, did you find something for Ina?" Shadow asked.
"You bet!" Valor declared, holding up a large painting covered in a blanket. "But it's more something for her, me, and Cody!"
"Hey, there you are!" Maddie called, her and Kaemon approaching, both holding their respective items. "We just managed to score a better deal for these items."
"It took a lot of haggling…and threatening the clerks life." Kaemon said, chuckling.
"Hey, so this is where you guys have been!" Ina called, her and Ivy approaching. "I was wondering what all the commotion was about. Typical of you to get wrapped up in hijinks."
"Aw, you mean I missed the derby?" Ivy said with a pout.
"Oh, heya, kids. Yoo-hoo!" Hop Pop called, standing outside the furniture store, as a pair of movers were packing the massage chair into a box labeled 'Ship to Wartwood'. "Eh, just packing a small souvenir, uh, then we can head out."
"Whoa. You got that for two coppers?" Anne said in surprise.
"I sure did." Hop Pop chuckled. "Amazing what you can get for two coppers these days."
Everyone gave him the stink eye, not believing it.
"Okay, fine. I used the credit card!" Hop Pop confessed loudly. "I'm so ashamed. But if you could just feel this thing, kids. It's heaven on your rump. Nirvana on your tush. Bliss on your buttocks."
"We got it." The kids said in unison.
Just then, Cody approached, carrying a variety of bags full of souvenirs. "Well, that takes care of the gifts from the wish list." He said.
"Gifts?" Sprig repeated with a raised brow.
"Wish list?" Anne added.
"Funny story, you see." Hop Pop said nervously.
Night soon fell, and the gang returned to the hotel to turn in. Anne lied in bed, trying to fall asleep, but couldn't quite nod off, before getting up and going out to the balcony, looking up at the stars. She then pulled out the sapphire broach, rubbing a finger against one of the wings, her mind drifting to her mother, wondering if she was okay.
"Can't sleep?"
Anne nearly jumped before turning to see Shadow walk up beside her, the boy dressed in his casual attire, before he leaned against the railing and staring out to the cityscape.
"Yeah, you?" Anne asked, earning a nod from the boy. "So, still didn't feel right sleeping at the castle?"
"It didn't feel right anymore." Shadow shrugged. "I'd grown adjusted to life in the woods, on my own." He looked over to Anne with a smile. "And then I met you, and I started to really miss the company of another."
Anne smiled back, the couple looking up at the stars before Shadow asked, "What's she like?"
Anne looked at him with surprise. "My mom?" She asked.
Shadow nodded. "I've grown to read you like an open book, Anne. Not that hard."
Anne gave it some thought before speaking. "Um, kind... in her own way. But strict too. She wanted me to study more. Thought I goofed off too much. We didn't always see eye to eye. She annoyed me sometimes too. Like, in the kitchen, she'd always sing these goofy Thai love songs, and, man, was her singing bad. Woof! That woman was beyond tone-deaf." Anne chuckled, before her heart started to ache. "You know, the funny thing is, right now," Her eyes started to water. "I would give anything just to hear her singing."
Shadow looked at her with sympathetic eyes before taking her hand into his. "I understand the feeling, Anne. Sometimes, I think about my mother a lot too."
Anne looked at him in surprise before wiping the tears away. "You know, you never really talked about your mom much. What was she like?" She asked.
Shadow's face fell a bit, but before he could answer…
"Hey, guys!"
The two looked up to see Marcy sitting on the edge of the roof, legs kicking back and forth.
"Marcy? How did you…" Anne made to ask, only to pause when she witness her friend gently float down. "Oh."
"Sorry to bother you guys, but Apollo wants you to meet him at the Newtopian cemetery, Shadow." Marcy told the boy in black.
At first, Shadow seemed confused at first, but then it clicked.
Eventually, the trio flew through the sky before touching down at the entrance to the cemetery, where the Newtopian Prince waited for them, the prince wearing his formal attire.
"I brought them like you asked, Appa." Marcy said.
"Thank you, Mars." Apollo nodded to her.
"Why're we here, exactly?" Anne asked.
Nobody answered, the Newt Prince pulling a key from his pocket and using it to unlock the gate.
"Follow me."
The group walked in, the prince leading the way, walking past the various graves of the many newts that had died. Eventually, the group arrived at a burial mausoleum. Apollo pulled out the key and unlocked the door, leading everyone inside. Turning on a light-up coral, Apollo lead the group down several flights of stairs before entering a large room with a high ceiling. At the center of the room was a stone coffin decorated with flowers and candles.
"Whoa." Anne said, unsure what to feel about it.
Apollo stepped forward, pulling a ruby necklace from his pocket and placed it on the coffin, then pulled out several flower petals and sprinkled them upon the coffin.
"So... who's grave is this?" Anne asked.
Backing away from the coffin, Apollo didn't face her when he answered, "Astrid Leviathan, the Queen of Amphibia, ...our mother."
Anne gasped at this in surprise. Sure, she figured that Shadow had a mother figure, but she didn't remember her boyfriend talking about her much in the past.
"Really? He didn't say anything about her." The Thai girl said.
'Not surprising, considering it was his fault she died.' The one-eyed prince thought bitterly.
Anne watched Shadow approach, standing in before the coffin, growing a look of sympathy for the boy she loved. Shadow then pulled out the gift he bought for her, a decorated ruby knife and placed it at the head of the coffin, the name of his mother bore on the head of the coffin. Drops of water then fell onto the stone, Shadow couldn't hold it in anymore and broke down into tears, collapsing to his knees.
As he cried, Anne walked over to him, knelt next to him, and gave him a comforting hug.
Apollo watched, feeling his heart ache, much to his annoyance, before sighing and walking over, standing over his estranged brother and holding a hand out to him. Shadow looked at the hand before looking up, the newt nodding to him, before he accepted the hand, allowing himself to be pulled up.
"Look, there's no going back, or fixing what's broken." Apollo told him harshly. "And I can't forgive you for the hurt you caused and how you left me alone. How you left mother heartbroken." He then sighed. "However, we have a long journey ahead, one that requires us to work together. Despite everything, I want to bury the hatchet, at least for now, for Anne and Marcy's sake."
Shadow thought it over before wiping away the tears and nodding. He can see that his brother is genuine and wants to work things out.
Although shaky, the brothers are united.
Meanwhile, back out in the woods, Sasha and her group walked through the forest on their way to the Northern Toad Tower before stopping to make camp.
"Alright, we make camp for the night." Grime said. "And in the morning, we'll take a break and start hunting and training."
"I can work with that." Damien nodded.
The group soon got to work setting up the tents, with Damien setting up a campfire.
"Won't be long now before we reach the northern tower." Grime said. "I can already feel the invasion within our grasp."
"Don't get too excited, sir, we still need to get there.'' Damien reminded his captain. "And hope they don't kill us on sight."
"This shouldn't be too big of a problem." Sasha spoke up. "I mean, how hard can it be?"
"Oh, quit heard, my dear."
Startled, the group readied themselves, although Braddock and Percy seemed nervous, as a toad with sickly eyes emerged from the bushes, along with five other toads.
"Who are you?" Sasha demanded.
Grime studied the toad carefully before his eye widened. "I don't believe this. Siwang the Barbarian?! Shouldn't you be dead?!" He demanded.
"Nothing kills me so easily." The barbarian chuckled. "Anyways, I couldn't help but overhear your plan to reach the northern tower."
"What of it?" Sasha asked with a raised brow.
"You see—Sasha, was it?—we have a common goal." Siwang explained. "To take over Newtopia and claim the throne. However, we both ran into a common enemy."
"The Black Wolf." Sasha said with narrowed eyes.
"Correct. I propose an alliance." Siwang said as he approached. "You let me and my men join you and we can help each other. Not only to take Newtopia, but to also put the Wolf down for good."
Sasha gave it some thought, unsure at first. She didn't trust this toad and was already getting suspicious vibes from him. But deep down, she knew that she couldn't afford to be picky with her allies. After all, there's strength in numbers, especially if one of those numbers has potential knowledge about the Wolf.
"Alright, you've got a deal."
Siwang gave a sinister smile. "Excellent. I'm sure this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
And there's the new chapter! Besides mostly being the same, with additional characters, there was also Valor's backstory, as well as him bonding a bit with Polly. And then we have the name of Shadow and Apollo's mom; Astrid. I think this was a good chance to show just how much she meant to Shadow and how it affected him with her gone. And of course, Apollo offers to bury the hatchet, for now at least. These boys have some serious baggage, and Apollo ain't about to let it go, but there's progress.
And we see Siwang again, this time forming an alliance with Sasha and her group! Yeah, sorry guest, as much as I like your idea, and trust me, I'm gonna use it, I will be saving it for when we reach True Colors. I will be using the ballroom dance idea though.
And of course, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! As always, I hope you look forward to more! Reviews are greatly appreciated!