Grunge and Belos

THE PREVIOUS NIGHT

The not boiling rain was a welcome sensation.

Oh how Phillip had missed this; the quiet nights, the cold but welcomed rain…if oinly he could truly see it. Thank goodness for Oracle magic, much as he hated to admit it: It allowed him a mental picture of his surroundings; green grass, pine trees…

To be home again after so long? Knowing he had destroyed those witches? It had all been worth it for Phillip Whittibane. He'd leave out the Coillector reducing him to this state, but Luz and her friends would be maytars; figures that parents would warn their children to avoid becoming like.

He DID feel a twinge of guilt over….the boy that the Clawthornes had stolen and corrupted….If only he'd known and found him sooner…

His Oracle magic started to fizz out; the adrenaline from the day of unity, his fights and the euphoria of finally being home after so long catching up to him.

Oh well, at least he knew where Luz, Hunter and the others where. He'd rest for now.

OWLPHIBIA

"Such impressive work, those Acid Archipelago amphibians do, yeeeeees."

Stirring from his nape, Phillip felt a twinge of worry.

That voice…there was an echo to it and it was quieter, but the witch hunter recognized it.

"Mixing Oracle and potions are no easy feat; I considered it a wonderful surprise they were able to make adequate Calamity stones. But an actually tangible so…? Ah, Hello, Phillp."

And if the former king of the Boiling Isles had a face, it'd be frozen in shock and horror, which only compounded when he tried to slither back…and hit something. A glance behind revealed he was in an empty jar, the lid sealed.

The speaker stepped into the candelight, revealing a warty, human sized toad with bushy eye brows and razor sharp teeth, matched with sharp, cruel fangs.

"It's been some time, hasn't it? …The destruction of the Petrification machine and Maddie's little liberation of your statues, yeeeeees?"

"N-no! This can't…!" Phillip said, fearfully. "Hunter…!"

"Told you what Olivier saw." Grunge cut him off. "Yes, I did indeed not fare long against…that abomination… But, unlike you, I cover my bets. And! Thanks in part to your cowardice during that whole debacle? Not only is my own power even greater than it was in my home-world, but I have defeated an alternate form of my detested target AND an entire nation at my beck and call!"

Phillip's fear subsided, replaced by anger.

"Cowardice?" He snapped. "Its called strategy; while inconvenient I'd have easily made another Hunter in time for the Day of Unity. And the gem in my staff was essential to the draining spell…!"

"And a trophy of your first true victory." Grunge cut him off. "Further proof of your childish nature. And no, that gem was not essential; any could've worked. By the way, where IS your staff and that gem, anyways?"

Phillip lost his anger toward Grunge and turned it to Gus; on top of making him relive Caleb's betrayal, the illusionist had tossed his staff down into the darkness below where they'd fought.

His musings where short lived as the Toad wizard picked up the jar he was keeping Phillip in and with a sadistic smile, gave it a shake.

"I'd call your current status the result of a rookie mistake, but that would imply you were a player in the first place. Shame you didn't take that potion I left for you; you'd at least be young."

…Wait. What?

The potion Grunge had left.

"Oh? Surprised?" Grunge asked, feigning shock. "Yes, that potion was the real deal; would've cleared all that magic out of you and brought you back to your….30's, I believe? It fluctuates between users. After all, you DID release me from the mirror Dimension, so I was obligated to keep my end of the deal."

…And Phillip had had Kikimora toss it away like it was nothing…

"But enough about your failures." Grunge said, putting the jar down and reaching behind him. "Please, permit me to…THANK YOU!"

Belos fell to his goopy…lower half, feeling intense pain all over. He screamed and felt tears stinging his non-existent eyes as he writhing and tried to escape from the jar in spite of himself.

"H-how…?!"

Grunge then revealed what he had been hiding behind his back: A crude doll in Phillip's statue's likeness, with a tiny glow coming from it.

"Yeeeees!" Grunge beamed. "Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there was just enough of a soul in your hideous state to take a book out of your world's Voodoo and my own world's Curses: A piece of your soul in a cute little toy that can take great amounts of abuse…because you'll feel the pain in its place."

Grunge then tossed the doll into a wall, Phillip doing the same in his jar. The Toad Wizard then stabbed the doll's limbs with small needles, smirking evilly as Phillip screamed and wailed.

"THOSE? Where for your actions towards my protégé. And while there is more to come, believe you me, I didn't bring you here solely for this." Grunge smiled. "You see, while I have never forgotten my goal of destroying the false leaders of my world; rising to your former status in the Sunken Isles has given me a idea: Where once, the liberation of Amphibia would be more than satisfying enough? Why should Moss and I settle for heroism…when we can rule a world?"

Phillip, righteous man that he was, forgot his pain and tried to, for what little good it would've done, attack Grunge. The jar's walls stopped that.

At least Grunge got a laugh out of that.

"I do admire your determination, Phillip. And that is, in a way, why you're here: You wish to save this world. In your mind, you already have. I wish to rule it. But! You're three or four hundred years out of touch. I barely heard anything of this world in either Wartwood or the Sunken Isles. Not even spying of Luz and Anne was of much help."

"Good luck learning whatever savage magic you came for! They've probably been wiped or beaten out of them, if they're allowed to be living where…!"

Grunge SQUEEZED the doll with his claws, shutting Belos up.

"Watch. Your. Words." Grunge growled, then sighed…and smiled. "And yes, perhaps they have lost their roots. But…I highly doubt all roots were collected. And as you would know; all fiction does have a modicum of true, yeeeeeeees….."

The Toad wizard then showed several newspapers: Dragons, gargoyles, monsters, princesses…And all in the recent years.

"And it seems that while you were in the Boiling Isles? Magic moved in."

Phillip, the pain subsided, was silent in shock and fear.

"So, the two of us are going to explore and look for magic and or , I am. You're just lucky enough to be the only person I know of here that can be of some company. Just? Don't forget one thing about your new life…"

Grunge lifted the doll again, waiting until Phillip saw him.

"It belongs to me."

Another squeeze of the doll made the witchhunter screech and groan.

"Welcome, Phillip…To a whole new world."

And as the frog wizard laughed maniacally., the former emperor of the Isles did something he had not done in hundreds of years: He whimpered and cried.

To be continued…

Sorry for Vee and Hunetr fans! Their chapter is taking a bit longer to write than I thought. So to make up for it?

A little intern chapter and to set up the later 'Cross Country' arc. That and there is not nearly enough Grunge in mine or MetroXLR99's stories (YET!) and I was in the mood for some Belos torture. And, at the suggestion of several readers, to set up Belos having a season long villainous breakdown.

Some light spoilers for 'the sunken Isles saga', as you can tell, but I like to think I kept it to a minimum.

Stay safe and happy holidays!