Our second chance is called Amphibia - Road to Newtopia (Season 2)

by TheRealTrunko

Two months have passed ever since the six humans ended up trapped in Amphibia, and they are now ready to set on a new journey out of the Valley in search of a way to return home. On their journey, they will face old and new enemies, uncover hidden secrets and conspiracies, make new friends and allies and experience shocking revelations.

19. An Odd Day

An Odd Day

---

"Bri-bri! Bruz. Bra-bra-bre!"

"Unnnngh." Amelia lamented as she kept rolling on her bed, the reality around her feeling like a lucid dream. "Five more minutes, mom."

"Briz-briz-zanzan!"

"Come on... There is no school to-Akitsu?" The young girl gasped, the surprise fully awakening her as she jumped sitting on her bed, the giant dragonfly looming over her from the ceiling. "What are you doing here? Are there issues at the Royal Stables? Bessie is okay?"

"Brim-zumzum! Bri bre bre bra bru bru bro ba bru, bre bre bre bro. Brai brai-brot!"

"Wow, Andrias surely wasn't kidding when he said he would provide for your accommodations as well! So… what do you think of my new room?" The human smiled, opening her arms as to show off her surroundings. "Now I have my own space for sleeping, meditate and watch anime! And best of all, no Sasha to ruin my mood with her grunts!"

Akitsu buzzed again, her big eyes turning around as she glanced at her companion's new living quarters. Amelia's room had been abandoned for many years before, due to the collapse of a chunk of the outer wall. Yet, the human still called it her own, to the surprise of King Andrias and the strangle cry of outrage from Lady Olivia.

The room had received minimal redecoration from the young teen. A large drape had been hanged over the hole in wall and act as safety measure to prevent the girls from walking into the abyss, while still allowing the giant dragonfly to enter whenever she felt like. A futon-like mattresses had been laid next to the entrance, and on the opposite side, stood a wooden mannequin presenting Amelia's samurai armor in full display.

Finally, hanged on the stone wall that separated her 'room' from the hallway of the tower, a small scabbard made of coral hosted both of her katanas: The one made of wood that she had carried all over from Earth and the mighty Amphibian blade dubbed 'Yamato' who had accompanied Amelia for even more time that Akitsu herself did.

The room was still empty for the most part, and it could have really used some cleaning time. Yet compared to the small, cramped space into the old frog's basement, it was still an improvement.

The dragonfly looked back at her companion once again, and her face clearly told that either she was overselling her own happiness, or she wasn't enjoying her newfound loneliness as much as she said.

"Biz-zub-zub! Biz-ziz-ziz-zaz-sot!"

"Fine, I promise you we'll go on another small flight later today… after breakfast, however! Is that okay with you?"

Akitsu chirped happily, backing away from the room until her wings were once again free to be released. Amelia watching her for a few seconds before finally getting on her feet and opening the door while her mouth opened in a yawn.

The girl, still dressed in a white-and-orange pajama with a hoodie and multiple anime drawings all over it, walked over the door leading to the boys' and the other girls' rooms and toward the large round-shaped chamber on the lower level. It is where the group used to gather every morning, eat breakfast supplied by the castle's staff and chat about their own duties before scattering for their daily events and works.

Amelia was already anticipating seeing what today's breakfast would entail, when she heard someone singing in a happy tune.

"Good morning, Amelì!" Anne welcomed her with a radiant smile, still not losing focus on her own cooking, "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, until Akitsu came to wake me up. What are you doing?"

"Oh? I am making breakfast, of course!"

"Well, duh. But why?" Amelia felt in need to protest at the unnecessary work, "We're guest of the King, his servant brings us different stuff to eat every morning."

"While I am grateful for that, I did feel like I wanted to do something this morning. Plus," Anne confessed, "I was missing the breakfast that usually mom makes me, and since she taught me the recipe-"

"Thai-themed breakfast?!" Amelia's eyes once again widened in excitement, as she came closer to her friend. "I'm in! What are you preparing?"

"Khao kai jeow and Joke, accompanied with a side of patongo." Anne replied, proudly showing the result of her work. "The Joke is like porridge, the kai jeow is omelet with rice while the patongo are salted donuts. This way I should be able to accommodate for everyone's taste."

"Ara Ara, I feel hungry just by the smell," Amelia nodded as she took a deep breath of the food's smell. "Can I try it first?"

"Fine by me, but in exchange, can you do me a favor? Please can you knock on our room's doorstep and warn Marcy that breakfast is ready? She woke up early today, saying she had an idea for a new spell, and she had been working on it until now."

"Oh, so this is why you didn't stay in your room and got the idea of make yourself breakfast, right?" Amelia quipped in realization. "Now I feel even less guilty about having my own room."

"It's not too bad, Marcy's one of the best people you could share a room with on many aspects, same with Sasha. Only, her enthusiasm whenever she gets a new idea means she often forgets to keep her voice low for people who are around her." Maybe, next time we see the King I could request for some more room? Maybe so Marcy can move her own lab where to do and keep all her magic stuff?

(…)

Crixia Bellulung grunted, as she moved inside the room that the King had assigned to these so-called 'humus'. Her eyes keep switching between the two occupants of said room. The blonde one was still asleep, a pillow covering her head to prevent her sleep to be bothered by the frenetic activity of the dark-haired one. The later was so engrossed into her curse making that she couldn't notice her. Crixia barely had to conceal her presence at all!

When the news that King Andrias had granted these 'creatures' the title of Knight only so they could be allowed to live within the Castle, many among the nobility reacted with shock and disbelief. Unable to accept that their king would stand up for such insult to the rules of the land, especially so little time after their leader and spokesperson, Duke Pyrforian, had managed to talk him out of the issue.

Harsh words were spoken, a couple of nobles even personally visit the duke's mansion to invite him to react and put pressure on the King once again, so he would backtrack on his decision. Yet the duke, while also showing his worry about the news and promising he wouldn't let for such indignity to stand, refused to take direct action. He simply asked the nobles of his factions to keep their calm and have faith in his leadership, standing strong and together against the King's absolutism.

The Duke may had chosen to play the long game, but his words alone couldn't stop everyone under his banner. And one of them, the Baron of Pyrminiana, who had been one of the most vocals when it was announced that the 'hummus' were accompanied by an adept of the Dark Arts, surely wasn't going to stand and watch while the dark roots of Magic and the manipulations of those monsters started to corrupt the will of their sovereign.

You'll have to infiltrate in the castle, he had ordered to Crixia, and once you've managed to locate these hideous beasts, you'll steal one of their own dark art potions and use it to poison their food. It will be quite a fitting end, for these monsters to fall victim of the same corruption they are surely planning to unleash on our beloved land.

Crixia shrugged, as she once again watched at the two creatures, moving slowly while she approached the dark-haired one, inspecting the various items and liquids stored on her desk. Surely there had to be something, among all those poisons, who could cause them great pain and incurable death, but… which one of them would be?

She had already killed other newts in the past as ordered by her master, and even a small kitchen knife could become a deadly weapon in her hands, but she had never used poisons before. Moreover, from what little info she had been able to find, these ugly and gangly creatures were completely different from any kind of Amphibian: they wouldn't freeze on colder climates, due to 'something' into their blood; exposed to the sun, their skin wouldn't dehydrate as fast; their bumps on their faces allowed them to feel smells and scents more efficiently than any frog could do with their tongue. So-

The assassin stopped, as she noticed a large bottle containing deep red liquid, far away from the center of the table that the 'hummus' working on it wouldn't notice her, if her hands were quick enough. And attached to the glass, with some scary drawing to underline the tone, there was a post it with the word 'DO NOT DRINK' written over.

Yeah, that would surely make it.

(…)

"Wow, Anne!" Jacob complimented, as he took another bite from the patongo in his hand, "You weren't kidding, these things are delicious!"

"I agree!" Sasha nodded with a smile. "Man, I wish you could have introduced us to these things sooner! Why you never make breakfast like this before?"

"Back home, Mom would make it sometimes, whenever she didn't have anything forcing her into a rush. I only watched over her doing it, so… Well, I wasn't sure I would pull them right." Her friend chuckled, internally happy of the success she achieved.

"Let me tell you this. As someone who used to go at your parents' place anytime I got the chance, I can say your cooking skills are almost at their level, if not the same!" Amelia nodded, stuffing herself with food. "Wish they could have opened for breakfast too, if you could sell this stuff as well."

"Manning a restaurant is not something easy, you know?" James interjected as he laid back, taking some time before finish what was left in his plate? "Plus, in order to open their place for breakfast, they'd have to wake up earlier…or to hire more help."

Marcy nodded absent mindlessly, her focus still on the magical formula and spell recipes she had been working on earlier. "Say, Anne. Maybe we could ask 'Drias if he could offer you some kind of remuneration for this? I know that you said that you wanted to find your own path, but…"

Anne smiled as she suppressed a laugh, as she heard the nickname Marbles had made for the King. To call him with a pet name after so little time had passed since they arrived in Newtopia? Surely Marcy's friendliness and trust into other people was on the same level as her intelligence.

"I guess that's something I could ask, maybe later? Today Hop Pop said he had some private 'stuff' he needed to do, so I was planning to give Sprig and Polly a tour of the castle."

"Lucky you, I was originally planning to have yet another field day with Maddie and our squad, but last night Headmaster Albert sent a message saying I didn't have to come." Marcy mused, still a bit bitter about her own failure, "Seems like the guy we failed to capture the other day was dropped right in front of the Night Guard's headquarter. As well as a nice letter giving us the names of many low-level criminals who collaborated with the Order of the Olms, AND where to find their hideouts."

The other humans didn't notice, but as he heard Marcy lamenting, James looked away as he focused on his food, trying to appear inconspicuous.

"I don't understand, isn't that a good thing?" Jacob asked, raising an eyebrow, "The guy who you were after is in your hands, as well as much info about the Order."

"But I wanted to be present and help!" The dark-haired ranger/spellcaster replied, "Only for the headmaster to say that, since we aren't fully trained, we must stand back and let the 'experts' work on the clues. Plus, we didn't capture him, it was handed to us by someone else!"

"Excuse me, esteemed guests," a newt dressed in a servant uniform walked into the room, pushing a small cart filled with many delicious food as well as a large jug of ruby-red drink, smaller glasses made of wood surrounding it. "I brought your breakfast, but….it seems like you weren't needing it?"

"Oh, on the contrary!" Amelia replied, turning around to look at the servant who she couldn't recognize, as she approached their table and started to unload the content of the cart. "Anne wanted to show some of her cooking, but I'm curious to see what your prized chefs prepared for today. What did you bring us today?"

"Nothing much, lady Amelia," the disguised Crixia said, doing the best to keep her tone of voice neutral and not show any emotion who may betray her, "just some pill bug pancakes, Saltwater coral syrup, pastries with seaweed cream, crab slices and cooked in butter, and of course, a ruby currant juice from the Diamond Coast. If I may say so, I would recommend a glass of juice to everyone: according to the chefs, besides being very thirst-quenching and refreshing, it provides energy for those who have a very long day ahead of them."

"Then, can I have a glass of that?" Sasha volunteered, "Today going to a busy one for Jacob and I. Yunan said she wanted us to work on our Calamity Powers today. Something about working on our stamina and channeling our power more efficiently."

"Is this going to end like the last time?" James mused as she took a sip of the red drink, the cold drink feeling strangely bitter and stingy as it touches his tongue. "When you two ended up fighting against each other into a superpowered duel-"

Yet, the rest of his words died on his throat, as the six humans suddenly felt like an explosions in their stomach, a couple who had been on feet feeling dizzy, Marcy feeling like her heart was making one thousand beat for second, her ears ringing as the truth suddenly appeared to her, the servant newt rushing outside of the room as fast as her legs allowed her, shouting for the guards to come as she abandoned the humans behind her.

That wasn't currant juice, Marcy realized too one second to late, that was…

The six humans yelped as the polymorph potion took full effect on their bodies, reshaping their physiques and body attributes, Anne and Amelia being submerged by their now too big clothes while Jacob and Sasha rolled on the floor, their skin assuming the color of their toad forms. As for Marcy, she felt her legs tightening and a ripping sound come from behind, as she realized she was once again spotting a long newt tail, like James a few steps from her.

She heard footsteps, and a small group of guards rushed into the room, called by the servant's yell, only to stop in shock as they saw them, their strange, exotic humanoid bodies replaced now with shapes of frogs, toads and newts.

Frog, what are we going to tell Drias now? Marcy thought as she turned around, looking at the guards with an awkward, embarrassed smile…

---

"A magic potion?" King Andrias repeated, his voice full of disbelief and shock, as he kept looking at the six former humans standing right in front of his throne, changed into Amphibians. Around them, the Royal Guards (as well as the various servants who had been in the room when they entered) looked at them with wide eyes, their face expression filled with surprise and incredulity, with only a token few finding enough easiness in the situation to exchange quips with their closest coworkers.

"Yes, your majesty." The one called Anne nodded, her body and shape now being that of a light blue young frog, while keeping her haircut from her original body. "It's a potion that Marcy," she looked at her friend, now a bright green newt whose tail kept moving from side to side, a clear hint about her inner awkwardness, "made during our journey to the city. We only have tested it once, but we do have some experience with this."

Andrias nodded, as his gaze passed upon the six, the purple frog that was Amelia was busy playing once again with her frog jumping skills while, a couple of steps behind, the two humans called Sasha and Jacob (now both in toad bodies) were exchanging antagonistic glances with members of the Royal Guards.

Yet, they weren't those who had the king's most attention.

Now I understand, Andrias realized as he glanced upon James's newt skin, and the color it had turned. Now everything started to make sense: those groundless rumors about a royal heir spreading in the last few weeks, those ridiculous reports about another member of the Leviathan bloodline appearing on the eastern region, the enthusiasm of the nobles… all of this could be explained as he kept gazing on James' newt form, feeling like he was watching another member of his family. A younger brother, maybe a cousin. Or even a son, if that could have even still been possible. And judging by how everyone reacted after seeing him, he wasn't the only one to see the similarity.

By the Olms, it's not only his skin, but his hair is also of the right color!

"Your majesty," the door opened again, and almost as she was 'summoned', Lady Olivia spoke as she walked in the throne room, in her typical diplomatic neutral tone of voice and expression, "I was told to come to you as soon as possible. Is there some urgent state situation that may require my-" her words died in her throat as the gazed upon the center of the room, and as soon as her eyes felt on the six, she stopped, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping open.

"Huh... Hi, lady Olivia." Marcy said smiling at her, the royal advisor blinking as she kept looking at her new newt body, then her head turned and looked at the others.

"What? How? When? Why?!"

"I guess it was quite a shock for you too, huh, Royal Advisor?" King Andrias chuckled, amused by the reaction of his own assistant. "To answer your questions, it seems like lady Marcy and her friend apparently had… knowledge of some kind of magic potion that allowed them to temporarily turn into amphibian version of themselves. This info, together with observation with Sir James' current condition, shed some light about the rumors who had been circulating recently about a…supposed heir to the throne."

Upon hearing Andrias' comment, the realization finally hit James like a train. Looking once again at his new skin color, and how everyone in the throne seem to focus mainly on him, the teen understood why he was the center of the attention.

"Oh Frog, I am so sorry!" The British teen exclaimed in a very apologetic tone, bowing as low as he could before the king. "I guess I should have connected the clues earlier, when you told us about the rumors spreading from Les Flies. The same city we tested this potion on the way to Newtopia..." To say that he was embarrassed was an understatement.

"This explains the origins of all of those strange rumors." the Royal Advisor replied after taking a deep breath, no time to be flabbergasted, you are the Royal Advisor, do your job! "But then, why did you choose to use this potion again?"

"We didn't!" A red toad with blonde hair, presumably lady Sasha by her voice, countered. "We were simply having breakfast, only to turn like this! The only thing we know is that the potion was served to us disguised as currant juice!"

"I already had my own men investigate, your majesty." The current acting captain of the Royal Guards nodded in agreement, "None of the usual workers report going among their private quarters, nor bringing them breakfast. From what we had been able to piece together, someone infiltrated among the staff, probably using a fake uniform to move unnoticed, and escaped immediately after that, before our guards could catch her."

"Someone infiltrated among the servants and fed the potion to them?!" Lady Olivia could barely repress her anger, at the idea that the security of the castle itself could be violated so easily. "Why?!"

"We don't know, Royal Advisor, but the good news is, even if the intruder managed to escape our clutches so far, there is no way they could have left the castle's premise yet!" The Royal Guard smirked with a badly repressed smug, "I had soldiers stationed all over the main entrances and we are proceeding with screening the servants whose circumstances aren't clear. We will find her, and then we'll find out the reasons of her action."

"That is, if they don't have inside help or are skilled enough to escape unnoticed." Marcy pointed, looking at Andrias with a wary expression. "What if this girl is somehow connected to the Order of the Olms? Maybe their mission was related to the investigation I was helping the Night Guard with?"

Andrias silently gulped. Of course, he couldn't admit that Marcy's hypothesis could not be true, as he was the one behind the Order of the Olms and wouldn't have agreed to such action taking place in his own home. And Ernst was way too smart (and he loved Andrias' gold too much) to do such a move without his approval. But if it was another member of the cult, acting without clearance for the so-called 'purpose' of the Order...

If that was the case, I would need to have a very important talk with the "dear" captain. On how to keep his own underling on a tight leash!

This was for later, though. Right now, the king of Amphibia needed to play along. While at the same time, try to divert the attention from the Order. There was no way to link him to the Order of the Olms itself (Andrias made himself sure of that), but better be safe than sorry.

"Maybe, Lady Marcy. Maybe... For such a hostile group to be able to infiltrates this very palace is a horror tale to be! However-"

The monarch couldn't expose his own "hypothesis" of the current situation, as Jacob immediately barged in. And to Lady Olivia's chagrin, without any respect for the rules that a good gentlefrog had to follow.

"That is a sound logic," Jacob nodded, evidently agreeing and supporting her friend's deduction. "The Order has all the reasons to try and sow chaos among the Kingdom, and according from what General Yunan reported us, they surely have the skill to infiltrate the Palace."

"Hey…"

"And if the Order can do something like this to us," James continued, and due to his temporary shape change, everyone stopped and listened to him, "then the health of the King and all his closest collaborators are in danger as well! Your Majesty, this attempt is a clear sign that the Palace's security is compromised, and unless we can reinstate this fast, before news spread around, the trust on the government will be irredeemably damaged!"

"Now, now-"

"That's for sure," lady Olivia nodded, her expression now filling with anger and determination, as she turned to start and issue orders. "Commander, have your men inspect all the servants' quarters and check if there may be hidden stashes or hideouts. Have the Newtopian Army and the Night Guards send reinforcements to help you, if they protest use freely my name! Block all possible entrance and passages, inspect everyone who wishes to enter and stop all those who want to leave until the investigation will be completed! I may be a newt of diplomacy rather than violence, but I won't allow for hostile cultist to infiltrate the palace while I am in charge!"

"You can count on us too!" Amelia quickly jumped with an eager expression, "Those guys are the reason why we'll have to spend the next hours as this? Then the least we can do is assist you at best of our capacities!"

"I'm in!" Jacob roared. "Those cultists won't see what had hit them!"

"In that case, I might have a couple of ideas that may help us to locate them." James agreed, walking among them and starting to explain as Lady Olivia listened. "First, we should-"

Andrias stuttered, as he saw the three humans turned amphibians standing next to each other, Amelia jumping on James shoulder while Jacob stood to his side, the old king feeling an odd sense of warm and nostalgia coming from inside him the more he looked at them, until they vanished from his sight and were replaced by a different newt-toad-frog trio, in the same position as them.

A pinkish female frog with bright orange hair, dressed in a brown-red dress and cowl, with a leaf brooch just over her chest, leaning onto the newts' shoulder with a bright, excited expression.

A strong toad warrior with light green and yellowish eyes with red pupils, dressed in a bronze toad armor and with a large war hammer on his back, standing to his side and listening in attention.

And among them, a tall, yet still young newt of azure skin, his eyes hair tied in a bun, a small mustache decorating his face, yet still lacking the crows' feet and bears he would spot almost a millennia later, dressed in brownish clothes pauldron and a tiara around his head, explaining to them a plan that would guarantee their success on the upcoming quest.

A newt who still hadn't had his dreams and prospects destroyed, by the people who he considered the closest to him and had spent the rest of his life trying to fix the mistake he himself caused.

A newt who still hadn't experienced the bitter pain of betrayal and disillusion, as well as centuries of reprimand from the ones who he strived so hard to appease, only to be rebuked and rejected every time.

A newt who could still genuinely smile and laugh, who still valued 'friendship' and the immaterial value of bonds, who found enjoyment and self-fulfilling by having adventures with his closest acquaintances.

A newt, who was still happy.

"I might have a couple of ideas on how to face the situation in the most efficient way," the younger Andrias said, as Leif and Barrel listened to him. "First, we'll have to-"

And King Andrias, king of Newtopia and Amphibia internally wept, a small invisible tear dropping from his right eye and running through his cheek, as he was brought back to a past that he was forever lost to him, yet he secretly earned with all his heart…

(…)

"So, this is your office, lady Olivia?" Marcy commented, noticing how the room was literally filled with unlimited quantities of paper, be it letters with sigils still to be opened and read, large parchments and scrolls collected on wooden containers and boxes or other kinds of documents. "That's…quite an impressive quantity of paper."

"Well of course, that is related to my duties as Royal Advisor after all." the veteran diplomat replied, still struggling to get herself acclimated at the idea that this bright and cute-looking newt next to her was actually lady Marcy. "Many people, most from Newtopia, the others from the rest of the Kingdom, contact me every single day to address me with their problems, reclaim the government focus on whatever they say is most important, protest our decision or criticize our slowness, and so on. As you can guess, it's basically impossible to appease everyone, and one of my duties is to find the right equilibrium."

"Since I'm stuck with you today, maybe I can try and help." Marcy immediately volunteered, "What kind of issues are you facing currently?"

"Let's see," lady Olivia rolled her eyes as she sat behind her desk, inspecting the various open paper, each one of them one thing she had to address, "the representatives of the Merchant Guild are once again protesting because the main bridge above the channel is showing hints of decay and is in dire need of renovation; however, while the bridge is an important piece of the history of our city, the Royal Architect is currently busy inspecting the defenses on the southern wall, to check the damages left by the Barbari-Ants, and they still have a long list before-"

"A bridge?! I can help with that!" Marcy happily chirped, taking the paper and beginning to inspect it, before grabbing a spare pencil and begin to sketch on a white piece of paper, "Let's see, to increase the weight limit-"

"Huh, lady Marcy?" the Royal Advisor asked, looking at the sketch of a blueprint Marcy was already drawing down. "Do you have…experience with bridges architecture?"

"Yes, back home I was member and president of the Saint James Middle School Young Architects Fellowship, and I was quite passionate about the argument. Moreover, while we were stuck in Wartwood, my friends and I helped Toadstool secure better trading connection with other town and villages in the Frog Valley by building a bridge over the Frog River, did you know? I even gave Yunan a copy of the blueprint!"

"Oh, you did?" Lady Olivia gasped once again, her eyes for a brief moment running to the package of small documents that Yunan gave her when she returned, and that it was still laying there unopened, completely forgotten by her up to this moment. "What is your solution, then?"

"I think I already have a nice idea," the human-turned-newt nodded, passing her paper to lady Olivia and showing her suggestion, "if we could replace this parts in the pylons while at the same time remove this feature, if possible, we could reinforce the overall archway resistance and augment the weight limit of thirty-five percent, and at the same time remove any height limit for passing vehicles or carriages…"

"This…this is quite a professional project," the newt advisor realized, her keen eyes analyzing the drawing, before looking at Marcy once again, "how about you could give me more architecture insight? How do you feel about giving me a hand about the three-hundred years old project to restructure the city's sewage system?"

Marcy stopped, her gentle smile blossoming into a large grin, as her eyes once again widened at the new challenge.

(…)

"Hello, hi, no worry, just…passing through," James apologized as he kept walking, doing the best he could to ignore the glances and expression of the courtesans as he strolled through the castle's hallway. Even the fact that he was somehow turned again in a newt was less awkward than the fact that he looked like he was Andrias' son, or at least a close relative.

I guess this explains why everyone looked like they were walking on shells when I went in exploration with Marcy, back in Les Flies, the British teen sagged, his tail moving around every time he didn't focus enough, wait, does that mean they were trying to bribe me?

"Sir James, can I have… a word with you? Alone?"

He turned around, almost gasping as he saw the tall figure of King Andrias approach him, the coral crown removed from his head, the other newts scurrying away as fast as they could as they realized the hidden message behind the King's words.

"Y-your majesty!" James said as he once again dropped on his knee, showing the minimum basic decorum toward the monarch. "Please allow me to apologize once again for causing such ruckus. I should have understood, from the very first day when we met, that I was the reason of why such rumors spread, and yet-"

"You don't have to apologize for that, it wasn't your intention, and people came to their own conclusions when they saw your…skin color." The King said with a low, almost tired voice, as his eyes once again ran over the former human's newt physique, and heartwarming feeling surging from his heart. "My boy, you look just like me, back when I was firstly granted a public audience by my father, so I could be introduced to the nobility. I had just celebrated my fiftieth birthday.

"Well, I guess I should thank- wait, fiftieth?!"

"Oh yes, the blood relatives of the Leviathan family were known for their longevity, as well as their patience."

"I apologize in advance if my question may seem rude, or even offensive, but this is something I would like to ask: what happened to the other members of your family? From what I was able to hear, there were others, once. So, did something happen to them?"

Andrias didn't reply, only looking aside for several instants before he took a deep breath.

"That is a long and sad story that I don't wish to recall too often, as it gives me great grief and despair even many centuries after it happened. Maybe I will tell you, someday, but for now, you can know only that I am the very last one of the giant newts, the only survivor of a once thriving and well-known dynasty, and that once I'm gone… there won't be anyone else left."

James took a step back, suddenly feeling even more ashamed for asking such question. It was clear that, whatever happened, it meant the king had been forced to face the world on his own, with the understanding that he was an endling, the very last specimen of his species.

"Do not be ashamed for asking," the King continued, like he had guessed the teen's inner turmoil, "you were curious, I can understand that, for I was the same way a long time ago. In fact, would you allow me to ask you a question, James Blueingham of England?"

"Sure! What do you want to ask me, your Majesty?"

"I wanted to ask… what is your relationship with your friend?"

"Oh, I couldn't have hoped for better companions! I admit we had some hard times, especially at the beginning, since I was trying to get to know them all, but-"

"All of them? From the way how close you acted with each other, I assumed you had been friends for a long time."

"Oh, Anne, Marcy and Sasha surely are, they've been known each other since they were little, and Jacob too. Amelia, from what she told me, joined much later, and only because her parents left her with Jacob's family because they couldn't take care of her on their own. I was the intruder, the one who got thrown into this mess all by accident!"

"By accident?!" The King stuttered, clearly not expecting this turn… and yet, a part of him, welcoming it.

"Kind off, I was there when they opened the Box and got all six of us stranded in here. You see, I am a passionate stargazer, a huge fan about the movement of stars, planets and stuff like that, and I was out watching the sky when I heard some sound close. I tried to get close, to understand what was happening, and then… BOOM! We were in Amphibia, with no clear idea on how we ended up here or how to get back home."

"I promise you, the instant we find more info about the Box and how to get it powered again, we'll tell you." The king said with a kind tone, disguising his straight lie as an attempt to cheer James up. "Meanwhile, could you tell me more about you and your friend's adventures? I would like to hear some more details about them, maybe…during a game of Flipwart?"

(…)

"So, what do you think, Donato?" Jacob asked, ignoring the glances that Irpina, Donato's shop assistant, was giving him, "is it doable?"

"Well, it is difficult to say," Donato Ironfire, the armors and weapons manufacturer and blacksmith, replied as he kept studying the project. "I have worked as a blacksmith for over thirty years now, and I can admit without shame that I have worked on every possible combination of weapons existing, yet it's the first time I see something like this. You say weapons like this are common in your world?"

"Yup! It's a long-range weapon, like a bow or a crossbow, but it's much easier to use than the former and doesn't require long times to recharge like the latter. Just add new bullets in the chamber once you need to reload, move back the trigger onto shooting position, take aim, and as long as you can repeat this process and you don't run out of ammunition, you can keep shooting at will."

"And this stuff you say it requires to work, this gunpowder…you say you have some with you? Where did you find it?"

"I didn't find it, I made it, so I can keep providing it if you need more for the test!" Jacob replied with a proud smile, "Moreover, this weapon not only is ideal for close or ranged combat: if you augment the muzzle's dimension and the bullet, the same concept could be used to develop artillery guns, useful to protect a city's wall from incoming enemies…or in the event the roles are reversed, to breach them, allowing your allies to storm the fortress without to be forced to a long siege or risking to lose many of their own soldiers."

"Well, the schematics seem to be accurate," Donato nodded, "yet, even taking aside finding the steel and wood necessary to build a test batch, it won't be an easy task. Irpina, do you think you could handle the assembling part?"

"Huh?" His toad assistant murmured, as she once again regained her contact with reality. "Oh, what were you saying?"

"Seriously!" Jacob groaned in frustration, "Didn't you hear me earlier? The reason why I look like a toad right now is only because of a messed-up potion, and its effect are temporary! By this time tomorrow I'll be back like my old self!"

"But you look so good and muscular in this form!" She replied in protest, "Are you sure you can't stay like this for a couple more of days? I could you introduce you to my parents and spend some time together, I could even offer you a meal."

"Look, I'm not looking for… a girlfriend right now," he looked down, trying to dispel the image of Marcy instinctively forming in his mind, "and besides, the potion that can make such transformation possible require a long list of ingredients, many of them are quite rare and hard to find. What we drank this morning without our knowledge, was the last batch that one of us kept for…research purposes."

"Oh, I see," Irpina replied with a low, disappointed tone. "Too bad. Anyway, I think the job you're asking us is feasible, but we won't be able to start for another month. You'll have to wait until then."

"What? No way!" Jacob protested, "Yunan specifically recommended you to me, saying that you're the best weapon maker in Newtopia."

"And that's the reason why we can't simply take commission at a finger's snap." Donato countered, "Many newts, both private or government-mandate ones come to my shop, asking for new upgrades on their existing weapons and armors, or to order new personalized ones. And even discounting the stuff I do for the Army or other government-mandated clients, the list of works I still have to do is too long to allow me to move you request ahead of the queue. And before you try to ask, no, I won't accept 'donations' just to make your request more urgent."

"The Boss has very strict business standards, even those snotty nobles wouldn't get their way with money or bossing around their authority. There is one way to move your request ahead, but is not one private clients can ask, only reserved for the Army or people like them."

"Oh yeah? And what kind of way is?"

"Large-scale commissions," the blacksmith answered, turning his back to Jacob as he checked some of his working tools, "the kind ones that only those who request big quantities of weapon, like the Army, the Royal Guards and sometimes the Night Guards come here to request. Such orders means that I have to focus myself completely on them and hire any available resource at my disposal to accomplish the task, that means everyone else has to wait until that is done before I can finish their own personalized items. And since most of such commissions comes from the Military branches and are paid by the king's coffin-"

"- you have to make everyone else wait because this is treated like are request from the King himself!" Jacob grinned in realization, "Ok, let's do it then! I'm a member of the Newtopia Army now, so I'll make the request in their behalf, even if I'm paying for it myself."

"Didn't you hear me? Large scale commissions, not the kind of ones private usually do, either on their own or as soldiers of Newtopia. I doubt you even have an idea-"

"I'll commission the research and development of around one hundred muskets," Jacob interrupted him, "for starters, and five hundred more once the prototypes are good enough and the assembly process has been refined. If you need help, you can hire other assistants or convince other blacksmith that you can trust for their work quality to join us. I'll cover the expense for their work, as well as the ones for the resources and the payment for you and your assistant."

Donato stopped, as he turned again, looking at Jacob with eyes wide open in shock, as Irpina could barely keep herself together. Among her duties, she was Donato's bookkeeper, and she was experienced enough to have an idea of the money requested.

"Do you- do you have the money to afford that?!" Donato tried to counter, clearly disbelieving the notion that the human-turned-toad could afford to pay such huge sum. "I don't know if you've already checked the math, but you've promised much more money that many people can afford to see in their whole lifetime."

"I think I have something on my hand that would cover the whole sum nicely," his client replied, as Irpina noticed then what it looked like a golden-looking credit card, dancing on his fingers…

(…)

"So…it happened again?" Felicia asked rhetorically. Hop- Pop and the kids were around her as she looked at Anne, the human girl once again turned into a bright light blue frog. Sprig and Polly were at her sides while, a few meters from them, a couple of Royal Guards were giving them nasty looks.

"Yup, back to froggy I guess! And sorry about the body search procedure. The guards are all incensed ever since the idea dropped that someone may had been able to infiltrate the castle."

"It wasn't nice, I can agree on that," Hop Pop scoffed, giving back an irked look at the two guards, "yet... If it's true that someone was able to sneak inside and force-fed you your own polymorph potion, that is worth of wariness. What if, instead of serving you the potion, they had tried to serve you actual poison?"

Anne tried to counter, only to realize to her own chagrin that Hop Pop was right. She was already making their own breakfast, so if they had tried to poison the food the whole thing could be averted, but that didn't mean they would be safe. On the opposite, they would still completely unaware of the danger, thus giving the assassin more time and occasions to accomplish their own mission.

"The King… is already taking care of the situation." Anne said, trying to appear more self-confidant than she was. "The guards are already checking the whole castle, if the mysterious infiltrator hadn't left already, they will catch him!"

"But in the meantime, he could still try to hurt you!" Sprig lamented, clearly shaken at the idea that Anne's life was in danger. "I'm not leaving you alone!"

"Me neither!" Polly said in anger. "I don't know who this guy may be, but to try and mess with you means to mess with all of us!"

"That's for sure, but even taking into account your determination, that doesn't change the fact that you're too young to take on evil cultists all on your own!" Hop Pop pointed out, "This is why I'm coming with you!"

"Hop Pop?!" Anne gasped, taken by surprise by the old frog's uncharacteristic bellicosity.

"Hey, an assassin may be trying to hurt my adoptive granddaughter, and you expect me to stand aside and do nothing? I faced way worse threats back on my days for smaller stakes!"

"Aren't you forgetting about me?" Felicia bumped in, a determined glance on her eyes, "The mere fact that the security of the castle got compromised is enough reason for me to step up. But to threaten the lives of my daughters, and everyone of you… it seems like a good time to remind this city why it's never a good idea to mess with a Sundew!"

"Then, I propose this course of action." Hop Pop said with a solemn tone, once again taking charge. "Felicia, you and I will try to find hints and help the guards locate the intruder; meanwhile, Sprig, Polly, you stay with Anne and-"

"Excuse me, lady Boonchuy?" A female voice called, the group turning to see one of the kitchen servants, a guard escorting her (both to protect and check on every action of her). "I apologize if I am interrupting, but… your presence is requested elsewhere."

"What? Why is the King asking for me now?" The former human raised an eyebrow, mentally trying to make sense of the situation. "There was some new development?"

"No, it's not the King requesting your presence," the servant apologized, looking aside like she herself wasn't sure of her own actions, "I'm sorry but…I can't say more, it is not my place to speak."

"Then, we're going with her!" Sprig immediately jumped forward, putting herself between Anne and the servant.

"But this-"

"Yeah, we'll protect her!" His blood sister agreed.

"But-but…"

"Hey, they are my family, and besides, whatever it is, can be said in front of them. That is, of course, unless is some kind of ultra-secret stuff that may put the whole Amphibia on jeopardy. It is?"

"No, it's not," the servant nodded, "Very well, please follow me."

(…)

"For too long, we've allowed the dark cloud of ignorance, prejudice and stupidity to compromise our judgment," Maddie read aloud the King's decree to Ivy, which was soon to be announced and shared to the rest of the city later on, "and thus we allowed magic, one of the strongest forces of our world, to lay uncultivated and forgotten, severely weakening our kingdom and the power of our nation. For this reason, I, King Andrias Leviathan, Lord of Amphibia. Peacekeeper of a Thousand Years, yada yada yada," Maddie obviously skipped all the names and titles following that, both her and the yellow-skinned frog sharing a bored expression as she did, "assign to Lady Maddie Flour, from Wartwood, the title and role of Court Wizard, whose spot had remained vacant ever since the death of Pergrin the Untrusted, over one thousand years ago. With this decision, it will be now her duty to rebuild long-lasting bridges of wisdom and truth between Newtopia and Amphibian's magic practitioners and dispel groundless rumors and fears that have plagued our society for too many years. Therefore, she will be granted- and yada yada yada again. Short version, looks like I'm King Andrias' expert on magic now, and that I get both the permission to reside with his court and all the perks connected to it.

"So, the surprise of this morning did leave quite an impression, right?

"Seems so," the spellcaster frog replied. "I guess they realized how much Newtopia is unprepared to face magical threats or issues, and since I'm their only possible choice-"

"I say, that's not fair!" Ivy pouted, "You get to live in the Castle and stay next to Sasha, Marcy and the rest of our friends while mom and I must stay at the hotel because of some stupid old law? No fair!"

"On that, I can agree with you, that is a very stupid and nonsense law." The light blue frog nodded, a part of her still feeling irritated by the glances other newts in the court often gave her, just because she was a frog among newts. "Still, maybe there are ways to circumvent that? If I could request your presence to help me-"

"Please tell me you're not going to ask me to become your assistant. I'm a fighter, what I know about magic is just stuff you told me!"

"It wouldn't be nothing serious, after all I already have an apprentice, and that's Marcy. Just some kind of loophole we could use to have you get inside the castle and stick it to those obnoxious nobles."

"The nobles… you think they may be the reason of what happened to Sasha, Marcy and the others today? Mom said to me that these people are used to get what they want by every mean necessary. And they surely seem the kind of people to hire an assassin..." Ivy said the last sentence with a whisper, looking at everyone around with suspicions

"I like the way you think but, if that the case, why would they hire someone so incompetent that would end up mistaking our own polymorph potion for poison? Wouldn't a professional assassin have, you know, their own stuffs to kill their targets?"

"I know, and this is why the whole story make no sense yet. Plus, from what Mrs. Croaker taught me-"

"Wait, Mrs. Croaker?!" Maddie's expression was now a mix of surprise and amusement, "The old frog taking care of those cowapillars? What does she know about spies and assassins?"

"Believe me, way more that we can imagine! From what I've heard, she used to deal with such individuals every day, back when she was mom's age. And she taught me that no self-respecting assassin would ever allow their own presence to be betrayed, and that they would never give up after just one try."

"Geez, I guess I really should find a better solution for where to stock my potion, spell ingredients and equipment."

"Anyway, maybe I could ask mom about it? To help us understand this whole mess and, maybe, finding who was the instigator? Perhaps I could also ask Sprig for-" she stopped, as Maddie noticed a very large smile blossoming on her lips. "You know, I just realized an upside of not live in the castle. Do you want to know about it?"

"Really? What could that be?" Maddie was surprised by the sudden change of topic, but after months of dealings with the youngest Sundew on the daily basis, she had simply come to accept most of Ivy's strange habits.

"Well, if YOU're living on the castle, it means Sprig and I will have more time to spend… with each other." the yellow frog said with a teasing tone while harboring the smuggest look on her face.

"Ivy Hibiscus Matcha Sundew!" Maddie gasped at the implication, "This is not what we agreed upon! We were supposed to share him, so we could both have the same amount of time with him!"

"We did, but since you're all going to be Court Wizard now, and working on potion and spells each day, while Sprig and I are still staying at the Hemisphere-"

"That doesn't mean you can take advantage of the situation!"

"Then try and catch me!"

"Oh wait, I just have the spell I need for that!"

(…)

"Mussels, mussels!" A triton fishmonger loudly announced, while behind him, a pair of younger tritons went back and forth depositing crates full of fresh catch in front of his counter. "The tastiest, freshest mussels ever caught! A copper coin for a pound, a whole basket for only three coins! Come forward, come and buy: catch of the day!"

"Seaweed, freshly harvested seaweed!" Another vendor, whose booth looked like a strange mix between that of a greengrocer and a fisherman declaimed in turn, trying to attract the attention of new customers. "Perfect for healing soups or wraps against rheumatism! Sea urchins for acupuncture, new and valuable corals for your home decorations!"

The port-commercial district of Newtopia surely was one of the liveliest areas of the city. Here, shipment coming from all over the continent arrived each day, carrying their precious products and commodities bound for the welfare and well-being of the city's inhabitants or to be used as feedstock by the various artisans and small industries located within the walls, and with the same frequency, many more ships left each day.

Either to bring finished resources to the places that needed them the most, carry passengers or envoys to those regions who the royal authority had to keep on check. Or transport small expeditions into the open sea to hunt scary, mysterious creature that would be later sold once returned into the city, sometimes to small, private collections, other times to museum or menageries.

And mixed among the crowd, carefully wearing a hood and clothes to conceal his own skin color, a former human boy turned into a newt (once again) strolled, scared with each step that his disguise may drop off and people would once again see his amphibian form and jump at the wrong conclusions.

Maybe I should have just stayed inside, he thought with a sorrow, regretful expression, lady Olivia told me they would issue a decree later today to explain what was really going on, so by the twilight the misunderstanding would be cleared. I didn't need to come here, I could have simply gone back at the Hemisphere, or maybe-

He shook his head: he needed a good walk, both to calm himself down and clear his head, and to try to not focus on the words King Andrias had told him. Sure, he knew that the King had their best interest on mind, yet, the way he used to express himself…

(earlier that same day)

"Tell me, James," King Andrias said as he moved an archer on the chessboard, now threatening James' heron rider, "would you say you could trust your friend to the end? After all, by your own admission, you didn't even know them before you all ended up in Amphibia. An action that they themselves caused."

"I admit there were moments when I was…irritated at the idea of being taken away against my will," James replied as he continued to analyze the disposition of his pieces and Andrias, "however, my mom often used to tell me that everything happens for some reason, and that everyone has a place and a role to fill. It took me some time and hardship, but I made good friends, not only with the others, but among the inhabitants of Wartwood itself. I had so much fun, I helped people in need, I learned new stuff and made so many memories. And they are the best friends a guy like me could ever hope to make."

"The best friends, huh?" Andrias pressed on the point, "And aren't you afraid that someday…they might prove themselves not to be as trusting as you judged them to be? Aren't you afraid there might be some secret they aren't sharing with you?"

"Oh, we all have our secrets, they have stuff they're not telling me, and I have stuff I'm not telling them. Is no matter of trust however, as the reason why I am keeping my secrets is to keep them happy and avoid giving them useless fears and worries. If the situation arises, I' will tell them, but not earlier."

"But how can you claim to know someone who is not wholly sincere with you? Not that I'm anything against it, in fact I think it is quite admirable that-"

James tuned Andrias out, internally wondering why the King seemed so strangely worried about him and his relationship with his friends. When the king had invited him to a play of Flipwart, he assumed they would share some low-level chat, maybe to get closer and more familiar to each other and (possibly) he could ask the giant Newt more detail about the mysterious disappearance of his bloodline. Instead, once the servants left and they were left alone with their game, the King's question kept getting much more personal and complicated, making the human-turned-newt feel like his bonds with the others had been put under scrutiny.

Was Andrias really only worried about him, and excessively paranoid on the side? Did he perhaps have some bad experience in the past, with other people who he considered his friends until they 'betrayed' him? Or was something more hidden behind his words?

"Check!" The British boy said, Andrias shutting up as he saw the only toad left to his adversary moving in position to threaten his wart. He internally sighed in disappointment, for he had already foreseen such move. With a small movement of his pieces on the chessboard, he moved his wart out of danger; a couple more of turns, and the situation had fully reversed, and now his own pieces threatened Jame's wart.

"Checkmate." The King nodded, almost relieved that this creature couldn't beat him at his own game. "You are good, but you still need to learn. Perhaps would you be interested in another game?

"Perhaps later, wise king." James replied, apparently unbothered by his loss. "If you would allow me however, I'd like to request permission to take a walk out of the castle's wall. It's been a long day, and I think a walk may actually be doing some good for me."

(back to the present)

He continued his way, ignoring the voice of the various shopkeepers and street tellers who tried to get his attention, as he tried to distract himself from his own woes by looking at the magnificent landscape of the seaside and the harbor. So many amphibians of different accent and clothing gathered at the same place. It warmed his heart, to see so many-

The boy stopped walking, as something definitively grabbed his attention.

On a small corner of the large harbor, barely visible and much less glamorous than the 'commercial' area of the docks, there was a long stone pier, from which several smaller piers branched off. Three large wooden and brick buildings, with roofs made of coral, bordered the area, and a tall tower of stone, perhaps a kind of primitive lighthouse, occupied the end of the main pier.

Anchored at each smaller piers, several wooden vessels, equipped with masts and sails to move about, were looked after and maintained by a small crowd of mermen dressed in uniforms with horizontal blue and white stripes. And on top of one of the larger buildings, moved by the little wind present, a flag depicting a vessel waved.

"That's… that's…" the boy gasped, recognizing the forms of the ship, as he started to walk toward them, almost feeling 'attracted' by such vessels, so exotic yet familiar at the same time. As he approached, he quickly noticed that the ship and the piers, as well as the amphibians working on them, had seen better days: the pier was dirty and degraded, pieces of wood and barrels of an unknown nature were piled here and there in no apparent order, the ships themselves were very old and had several damages or breakdowns that had been repaired in a hasty and haphazard manner, the sailors worked slowly, with tired and hopeless looks. Overral, they were…pirate-looking, in a way.

"Halt!" A voice called, as James stopped right in front of the entrance of the pier while a newt dressed in an oversized and outdated uniform, who various patched of fabrics placed to fill the holes, marched toward him, a rusty sword in his hand. "Who are you? Identity yourself!"

"No worry, I'm just…new here, and I was quite captivated by the sight of such vessels." James replied, neither lying nor telling the full truth. "What is this place?"

"This, you ignorant fellow, is the Headquarter of the Newtopian Navy," the newt guard said in a dramatic tone, clearly overplaying the importance of the place and his own job. "You may not be aware of them, but once, they were Newtopia's best branch of the kingdom's military forces, protecting our traders from the threat both of sea monsters and pirates."

"I wasn't aware Newtopia had its own navy!" James gasped, feeling a bond of patriotic connection surge from his heart, "But then…what happened to them?"

"Beat me, I'm just the guard stopping noisy foreigners to walk into a froggin' military zone. You should ask the Admiral, he is the one who could answer all your questions, but I wouldn't count on it."

"Why? Can't you simply lead me to him?"

The guards laughed, so hard that it was clear it was mocking Jame's words. "You sure are crazier than most! You're talking about Admiral Blueocean, there is no way a simple commoner like you can walk up here and expect-"

Yet, the next words of the guard died in his throat, his laugh turned into horror, his eyes widening as James came closer and, moving his cowl with both hands, raised it just enough so the guard could see his newt-looking face… and the light blue color of his skin.

"Now, could you please accompany me to the Admiral? I believe it is very important than he and I have a talk…"

(…)

"…his mind is sharp, and he's quick thinking too." King Andrias explained as he bowed, his crown lying in front of him, not even daring to look up and challenge his masters' never-ending glare. "Even as he lost, he lasted much more than most of the participants."

"I agree, the results are encouraging so far." The large machine nodded, "Seems like these hoo-men are much more interesting than we initially assumed."

"It's humans, actually."

"Whatever." Another voice spoke, silencing the previous one. "Yet, we haven't made any new progresses into figuring out the nature of the new three gems, as well as how to neutralize their threat!"

"I-I have already started to try and get closer to the one I assume is the central and most vulnerable figure of them, the ones calling himself 'James'. Even if, so far, their interaction seems to resemble the ones among…the former holders of the Gems…"

"Don't you mean yourself, as well as your so-called 'friends' who ended up betraying you, when you trusted them?!" The Core's voice now become mocking, almost as it took pleasure into reminding him of his own failures… and ingenuity. "Did you assume we haven't noticed your reaction, when you saw them? Don't you think we know the reason why you took one of them aside, the ones who by a twist of fate had been chosen to be turned into a newt resembling our bloodline?"

"My Lord!" Andrias tried to protest, but he felt his heart sank deeper, his throat become sore as the harsh, cold words of his master cut through him, striking their intended target.

"Even after over a thousand years, even after witnessing with your eyes what your 'friends' caused, you're still crying about them? You're still longing for them fakery? Still the same weak child crying over a friend!"

"I-I…" the large newt muttered, for his master was right: he did miss them, even after all they did.

"Be glad that we still need you. Focus on your effort to find a way to neutralize the new gems and bring us others test results for their intellect and brain skills. Depending on your success, we may even reconsider allow you to join us… son."

(…)

General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and youngest general of the Newtopian Army, marched through the halls of the Royal Castle, a roll of paper in her hands. While she could have easily dispatched a cadet to deliver her report, she had decided to do it herself to seize a golden chance to go and visit lady Olivia and report her findings directly to her.

"Excuse me, Royal advisor?" The armored newt knocked on the door to her study, ignoring the glances the two Royal Guards on both sides were giving her at the sight of her Newtopia Army uniform, "It is me, Yunan. I have come to report the result of my findings."

"Come inside, general," the sweet, welcoming voice of lady Olivia replied, from behind the door, the general smiling as she pulled the handle…

…only to realize, as soon as she looked inside, three surprising facts.

First, lady Olivia wasn't alone. Lady Marcy was with her, still under the effect of whatever magic spell gave her the body and appearance of an emerald-skinned newt, and with her the three Royal Analyst Bartley, Branson, and Blair were also in the office.

Second, while lady Olivia was sitting behind her desk, everyone else was gathered around Marcy, who was showing them drawn sketched and projects, the 'triple B' (as Marcy had called them) all showing excited, almost euphoric expressions.

Third, and this was the fact that caught her attention the most, lady Olivia wasn't looking like suffering from a terrible headache, or grimacing in front of some document, or groaning in frustration. Rather, she was lying on her chair, savoring a simple cold drink some kitchen servant must have brought her, and she was smiling.

When she found out that the six humans had been turned into Amphibian that morning, all due to some spell that a wannabe assassin feed them believing it was poison, Yunan believed he had seen it all, but now, she realized she had seen nothing yet.

"L-Lady Olivia?"

"Ah, Yunan!" The royal advisor replied in a relaxed, dreamy voice as she took another sip of her drink. "Welcome! Please sit, what did you find out?"

"Do you feel okay, Royal Advisor? You look strange."

"Strange? I have never felt any better in my whole life!" She pointed at the area of her office where Marcy was talking to Bartley, Branson, and Blair, Yunan tilting her head to hear better what they were saying.

"-in this way, the amount of accumulated waste is drastically reduced, thanks to the combined action of the alligator disposers and the breakdown filters, resulting in a 96% collapse in noxious emissions of unpleasant odors, and the risk of any leaks contaminating the city's water supply is likewise reduced to zero. Moreover, under this scheme-"

"Genial!"

"Astonishing!"

"A complete breakthrough!"

"Huh, what is she doing?" Yunan asked, as her gaze moved to the other documents piled on Olivia's desk… and realized. "Are these-"

"All the issues and problems I was expected to work and solve, for the next five days." The Royal Advisor nodded with ill-repressed pleasure, like Yunan often did as a cadet, looking back at all the exercise he did on for her training regime. "All done, finished and ready to be forwarded to their appropriate representatives."

"General, lady Marcy is amazing!" Branson nodded, showing her a blueprint project on paper. "She designed a way to restructure and upgrade most of our city administrative infrastructure to simplify its bureaucratic process and make it more functional and efficient!"

"She personally developed a plan to reconvert most of the abandoned boroughs downtown!" Bartley yelled as well.

"This is a blueprint on a see creatures farm!" Blair enthusiastically waved, "If such things could be spread enough, it would greatly reduce the city's utterly dependency on food import from the continent!"

"She did all of that…in just one day?" Yunan couldn't believe her eyes.

"I wanted to help, and lady Olivia agreed on show me some of the issues the city had been facing. Apparently, some of these had been unresolved for years: isn't that crazy? Oh, by the way," she grabbed a small folder of papers and passed it onto Yunan, a large 'TO BE REVIEWED' on the front, "this, is a practical scheme of architectural restructure of current existing facilities of the Newtopian Army and the Night Guards, as well to build new ones, that I believe they would greatly reduce the time of deployment of both corps as well. While at the same time allow you a more thought control of the city's district in the event of a revolt… or to catch members of subversive groups such as the Order of the Olms." She smiled, and that was when Yunan realized the hidden value of her plan.

"I…I guess I could give it a look, as well as check with the other generals." Yunan replied, before trying to straighten herself out. "However! Don't expect any favorable treatment just because it is a plan of yours!"

"I never expected any," Marcy replied, focusing back on the three royal analysts. "Now, as I was saying earlier-"

"So, I guess you had a good day, after all?" The young general asked as she moved back to lady Olivia's side, her gaze keeping moving between the folder lady Macy had given to her and the smiling, blissful expression on the Royal Advisor's face.

"I had forgotten how good it is to have nothing to do, all work for the day done so you can simply lay back and relax." Lady Olivia replied.

"If that's so, what do you want to do now, Royal Advisor? Shall I accompany you for a walk, or maybe you can review the troop's uniform, or should I accompany you to that new sweet shop that had just opened on the upper district-"

"I want tadpoles," Lady Olivia spoke, completely unaware of the words that had just escaped her mouth, as she once again looked at Marcy while she kept explaining her brand-new ideas. Somewhat, the more she looked at the human-turned-newt, the more she reminded lady Olivia of herself, or rather, a younger version of herself, before the amount of everyday work and the strain on her mental peace started to bitter her.

Three seconds, maybe five, before her brain realized what she had just said, her relaxed expression turning shocked, her cheeks growing red, as she turned around and looked at Yunan, the general apparently having heard and understood her that she looked aside, repeating a mantra in her head.

Try not to look horrified, try not to look horrified, try not to look horrified-

"You look horrified."

Duh!

(…)

"So, how long it will be before the spell's effect wears off and we're back in our everyday mammal bodies?" Amelia asked Sasha, the transformed toad who was actually a blonde human girl shrugging in response.

"Beat me, you'll have to ask Mars for the specific. However, last time we used it lasted barely a day, didn't? This means that in a couple of hours almost," Sasha looked outside one of the windows, noting the position of the sun, "it should be over."

"Let's hope so, being a frog is not all bad, you can jump way higher and you're much faster than I could ever hope to be as a human, but… I'm still having a hard time getting used to the downsides. Keeping yourself hydrated all the time, not being able to stay under the sun for too long, feeling your own skin being slimy and gross-"

"Do you want to trade?" Sasha replied, crossing her arms and snorting. "Being a toad is good if you're in a fight or doing stuff that requires great physical strength, but it's a mess when you're walking in a narrow living place. Plus, whenever I am in toad shape I constantly feel like I need a bath."

"Oh, I believe that's all right." Amelia began to chuckle, quickly gaining the blonde human/toad attention… and irritation.

"Anyway, since apparently Jacob had disappeared for the day and we both have the rest of the day free, how about we go down in the kitchen and check how Boonchuy is doing? Being offered an apprenticeship by the Royal Chefs is not something that happens everyday."

"Sure, that's a good idea. But, before we go…" Amelia trailed off, taking a deep breath as countless emotions gathered in her brain and her heart, "can I ask you a question? A very personal one?"

"No, Amelia," Sasha replied immediately, almost pleading, "This is not the time nor the place to have your first period!"

"I wasn't going to ask about that!" The would-be samurai yelled, equally embarrassed and angry of the implication that Sasha's question held. "What I wanted to ask was… tonight, can I move my bunk…back with you?"

At first, Sasha didn't really register Amelia's question, and when her brain finally did, for a couple of seconds she assumed it was a prank of some kind. Only after looking at Amelia's expression, and realizing that she was serious, her reaction came.

"Wait, what?! WHY?!"

"Because-" Amelia tried to reply, letting out a big sigh. "Because I miss you. Back when we were all forced to stay in Hop Pop's basement, at first, I thought it was overbearing, and sometimes it was, you know, since we were six all sleeping in the same room. However, as the time passed, I realized that I liked to be in your company late night, it was like a permanent sleepover. And even after you moved out and went to live with Ivy and Felicia, you ended up spending a lot of time with Marcy and Anne so it was like you hadn't moved out at all. Even back when we were on the Fwagon and traveling to Newtopia, we were all together at night. But… after the King offered us a chance to stay here, and I got my own room…I won't lie, it was quite cool at first, you know, the whole 'have a room all for yourself' and all but after the first night, the sound I keep hearing as I try to get to sleep, the wind passing through the window, but above all, I feel alone. Do you think that maybe, you, Marcy and Anne, may be interested in, you know…"

"Believe it or not," Sasha replied, a large grinning smile on her current-amphibian face, "we did miss you too."

"So, let me get this straight," Jacob said as he looked at James, the two boys enjoying being back in their humanoid bodies now that the potion's effect had worn off, "you found out that Newtopia has a Navy, whose sailor still man wood-built ships like in the 1700, and your first idea was to go and try to see if they could use your help?"

"Pretty much, yeah." The British boy replied with a hint of pride, "Since you and Sasha already serve as cadets in the Newtopian Army, and Marcy's got her stuff with the Night Guard, I decided to follow your footsteps and take a chance with the people down there. Plus, judging by what I could see, they could use some direct help."

"What's about you British people and wooden ships?" Jacob mocked, jokingly teasing his 'bro'. "From what Marcy told me, the Amphibian Navy is a joke: a dumping place where they gather all the most troubling and irregular recruits!"

"You're talking like an Army cadet already," James scoffed. "The King gave me his permission, and I have many ideas on how to help the Admiral and his people regain their honor!"

"You're going full Hornblower!"

"Hey, it's a classic!"

"You're going to work with the Newtopia Navy?" A female voice announced the arrival of Marcy, followed by Anne, Sasha and Amelia, all four girls back on their humanoid bodies and redressed in their usual clothes. "That's so amazing! Did you know that, during the Great Storm of Lamprey island-"

"So, I guess we all had a good day, did we?" Sasha looked at Anne, her friend smiling back. "How was your time with the Royal Chefs? Did you show them some Thai-themed recipe?"

"There were a couple who were interested, though the head ones were all 'this new stuff is weird' and 'we have done these recipes for centuries'. Seriously, a couple of them could keep up with Hop Pop's relatives on traditionalism!"

"But you did show them, did you?" Jacob leaned closer, a smirk on his lips.

"Well, I did. And while I am not sure if this may the career path I could choose for my life, it is something that I like to do and I can do quite well while we try to find any useful information on how to reactivate the Box and dealing with Aiden. Moreover," the girl's smile grew again, "I got official permission to cook our own breakfast from now on!"

"Yo-hoo!"

"Atta girl!"

"Boonchuy, you're amazing!"

"And there are even better news!" Marcy quipped, "Apparently, what happened today was such a show of the power of magic that Andrias finally approved the idea of restoring the ol' 'Court Wizard' position and give it to Maddie. This means that soon, she will join us in the castle on an everyday basis!"

"Wow, we are happy for you Mar-mar. And for Maddie too."

"I'd say it is good political savviness for King Andrias to do so," James nodded, "After this kind of demonstration, it won't be long until people will stop believe all those baseless rumors about magic and try to learn it for their own aims."

"I bet Maddie is excited!" Jacob agreed, "Wasn't her lifelong goal to prove that magic wasn't inherently evil? This will surely speed up her plans to do so!"

"I almost wish I could see Farine's face, once the news will reach Wartwood."

"But…" Marcy stopped for a moment, her previous joy drying up as confusion and fear quickly replaced it. "Where will she stay? I told her we will be moving all of our spell-making stuff someplace else, where it can be properly contained and kept safe, plus I do miss the chance to have my own lab where to work on spells and magic-related items. We would need a new room to do that, but most of the interior of the towards are unfit for use, and it could take weeks before-"

"Huh, actually?" Amelia raised her head, the thorn of her insecurity now dying out and instead the pure, beautiful blossom of opportunity flourish on its place. "I may have just the right idea on how to solve that…"

(…)

"So, you've found the intruder who dared violate the wall of my fortress, and tried to use one of lady Marcy's spell against her and her friends?" King Andrias said, looking at Yunan kneeling in front of him, lady Olivia standing next to the young general, a group of several Royal guards surrounding him. Far from his usual kind and generous tone of voice than the old king often used with his six 'guests', now Andrias sported a glare empty of friendship, but rather, filled with authority and anger. It was a glare rare to see on the king's face, yet everyone had learned to fear the days when such expression appeared.

For it mean the king was truly, royally pissed.

"Affirmative, your majesty. We found her while we were inspecting the lower level of the castle, we assume she was trying to find an alternative way to leave after discharging her servant disguise."

"Then, bring her to me!" The King's voice raised of an octave, "I want to interrogate them…personally."

"With due respect, your majesty… I think that will be extremely difficult." Lady Olivia said, looking aside with an unnerved expression that made the king raise an eyebrow.

"What does that mean?"

"Your majesty, I think it is better you see with your own eyes," Yunan got back on her feet, turning to one of the guards standing next to the room's entrance, giving him a silent order with a nod of her head.

The guard nodded, and rushed outside, Andrias hearing a sound like of squeaky, rusty wheels coming from outside as two more guards left their position to open wide the throne room's doorway, as a group of Royal Guards and Newtopia Army soldiers pushed a small cart into the throne room. And lying on the cart-

King Andrias's eyes widened in horror as Crixia Bellulung was brought into the throne room, a large blanket covering all her body minus her head, her face pointing upward, eyes wide open in a frozen expression of terror. The total absence of movement, even the smallest ones produced by a working respiratory system, and the stench that was starting to spread from under the blanket were clear proof that the breath of life had long abandoned her body.

"W-what happened to her?" King Andrias could only say, his gaze focused on her still-opened eyes.

"Your Majesty, THIS is what happened to her," Yunan replied, walking next to the cart and grabbing the blanket, before pulling out with a sudden movement of her arm, the guards present in the room all taking one step back in horror, lady Olivia closing her eyes as she struggled to keep her composure, Yunan waiting for a couple more of seconds before dropping the blanket on the body once again.

Even Andrias on his throne could barely reign his emotion: in his long life he had seen many people being killed, and he was not a stranger to the pungent smell of death, neither to what the interior of a newt usually looked like. But this… it was sick!

"We found her like this, your majesty." Yunan resumed her explanation, her too unnerved by the gore hidden under the blanket. "There was no sign of stab wounds over her body, no evidence that a weapon was used. However, from what we've been able to see so far," Yunan stuttered, like she was having trouble into saying what was next, "every bone in her bone was broken, and much of her issue looks like it had been damaged to excessive stress force. As hard as is to believe it, the intruder, whoever she may have been, was beaten and quartered up alive… by someone using only their bare fists!"

As the words of Yunan sank into the room's occupants, generating more shock, fear and horror, King Andrias leaned on his throne, his brain trying to make sense of the utter mess that this day had turned into: the intruder who had violated his castle had been killed by someone else? Using their own raw strength to do…that?

Perhaps the assassin and its murderer were in cahoots, and he killed her for failing her mission and to hide his traces? Or maybe it was someone belonging to an opposing faction? How could it be that Captain Ernst knew nothing of this? Was he involved perhaps, even without his knowledge?

And now, where were they?

(…)

Genphen Lucreignamus, Baron of Pyrminian, coughed in pain as he breathed, dips of blood falling on his chest as he struggled, yet failed to move, feeling like something was constricting him. He moved his head, trying to look around, only for darkness to surround him, envelop him, seal him into an endless pitch-black prison. At first he thought he was held into a dark room, or that he was wearing a blindfold…before a sharp pain coming from his own eye sockets and realizing there was nothing left on them made him realize the truth.

The memories from earlier flowed back into his brain, the events who he had been forced to endure unfolding, one after another. He was resting on his home, planning what amusement he would choose to rev up his evening, when he heard the sound coming from the entrance. The rumor of his guards attempting to stop the intruder, the scream of his servants, hiding into one of his cabinets, heavy footsteps searching for him all over the house. Then, a hand clad in iron ripping the door of his cabinet and a dark shadow start looming over him-

He stopped, for even without his eyes, he could still realize he wasn't alone.

"I can't see you, b-but… I can hear you." Genphen called out at the darkness, "I can smell you! You reek of blood and death and… hate." He stopped for a moment, "Where are you? WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Close," an unholy voice, who couldn't have come an amphibian, answered, the direction of the sound and the smell of blood indicating that it was towering above him, "You know, a part of me feel disappointed by how cowardly you tried to run and hide while I slaughtered your own soldiers, rather than trying to fight to their side. But then, what else could you expect from a newt?"

"You worthless vermin!" Genphen's response was all reactive, the same words he used again and again in life whenever something didn't go the way he wanted. "Unhand me immediately, or I'll-"

"You what?!" The voice seemed to mock him and scream at him at the same time, "You Newtopian nobles are all the same: from the moment you're born from the moment you die, you can only scream and shout orders for your underlings to carry... just like that 'assassin' you send toward my brethren! The only assassin in the whole city who could infiltrate in the Royal Castle itself yet was also dumb enough not to carry a disposable poison on herself and had to improvise!" The voice seemed to come closer, as saliva spit landed on Genphen's face. "Yet, this act of dumbness has spared her so much pain: had she actually succeeded into hurting even one of them, I wouldn't have granted her such a fast death."

"Death? You-you killed my Crixia?"

"Just like you ordered her to do on my brethren. That said, fast doesn't mean painless, quite the contrary instead."

"Your brethren? Do you mean-"

"Yes, you filthy, disgusting mud spawn!" The voice's anger surged once more, and Genphen could feel the pressure of an armored boot land on his knee, making him yelp in pain. "We are everything that you and all of your disgusting race can only mock and insult with your existence!"

"You…you can't do this to me!" Genphen replied, hoping to scare him. "I have friends, I have connections I'm a noble! I am a baron under the wing of Duke Pyrforian, nobles stick with each other!"

For a moment, nothing happened, leading Genphen to believe he had successfully pulled that off. The next second, the cold, merciless steel blade of a knife cut his throat, his blood pouring on his body, as he felt the voice mock him for the last time.

"Animals can't be nobles, that is something only humans are worthy to be. And whoever hurt my wives-"

Genphen's conscience collapsed, as his brain, deprived of its oxygen supply, began to shut down.

"-only deserves the greatest of all sufferings."