Chapter 155 - An Interlude of a Bird Atop A Crystal: Lawphibia Part Two

Summary:

Another trip to Amphibia and our trio

Olivia hummed as she walked into the room of her guest. It's been a week since they've taken in the 'witch'. The term was broad but that's what the biped identified as, so they wouldn't judge.

The girl was a bit withdrawn for the most part. She was quite kind and respectful, never asking for much, or really anything at all. The girl, Amity Blight as she told King Andrius, did seem hesitant to let anyone get too close.

Oliva looked over the room. Dusted furniture, sparkling floors, and folded bed, all before she even touched it. Whoever taught this girl manners was an excellent one at the job. She looked over the girl, who stared out of the window with a dazed look in her eyes. "Amity, breakfast is ready."

The girl kept staring out of the window, slowly turning her head and shaking it. "Oh, Lady Olivia, sorry, you caught me off guard. Sorry, I don't usually find myself daydreaming that much."

"Are you thinking about your old world?" She asked with concern. "If you have any concerns you can talk to me, you know."

"Can I?" She asked, before shaking her head. "Sorry, that sounded too accusatory. I don't get many opportunities to have private thoughts back home."

"It's quite alright. I assure you that you have nothing to fear. I have kept many a secret around this castle. My lips are sealed." She politely bowed.

"... It feels weird here." She said. "You're all rich."

"... And you were poor?" Olivia wouldn't judge, it was just a question. Maybe they had a hard time adjusting from their old amenities.

"No … they just … didn't have the kindness you all do." Amity looked back at the sky. "Back home it's a struggle to be the best of the best. There's so much scrutiny and standards, it doesn't leave much room for empathy. But here….free public health care, equal job opportunities for all amphibians; just the sheer fact you can go through a whole day without someone dying..it feels too much like a dream."

"That's how we thrive." She smiled. "Choosing to advance ourselves instead of simply living life as is, growing with resources to better our kind." Olivia patted the girl's back. "Part of helping yourself is helping others."

"…that's definitely not how I was raised." Amity sighed. "I had these two friends growing up, the two best ones I could ever have, but mom made me cut them off or else she would've hurt them."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She moved in close, hugging the girl. "Cutting away one's friends … something no one should have to do." Witches were not the kindest of creatures, were they?

"The worst part about it? I was starting to believe all the snorseshit she was telling me. I was cruel to one of them and dismissed the other. I thought if I couldn't be happy, I would at least be content with my high standing…fat load that did me." Amity buried her face in her arms. "Now all three of us are stuck here, blaming each other in an endless cycle of spite."

"Sure, the three of you may be stuck here, but that doesn't mean you can't fix this?" Olivia said, rubbing the girl's back. "If they were truly your friends, they could accept you trying to make amends for your mistakes." She looked her straight in the eye. "Of course, what would help is for you to begin learning to forgive yourself."

"... Is it really that easy when you know you're a terrible person?" They asked quietly.

"Trust me when I say that there is a fine line between a bad decision and being unforgivable, and you haven't crossed it yet." Olivia chuckled."You're such a sweet and intelligent girl." She ruffled the young lady's hair. "You just need time to let that part reflect off of you."

There was a bit of a pause as Amity gazed at her. "There's… no catch to this?" The girl looked confused. "You're not going to ask me to do something, blackmail me, or emotionally manipulate my actions like a malevolent puppet master?"

"What kind of companion do you take me for?" She asked. "We only seek to help for the sake of helping."

"… Would … it would be weird to …" She blushed, looking away. "Call you … mom?"

…That was certainly a first for Olivia. A maternal figure was something she hadn't given too much thought into. Yuyan had yet to properly ask her out.

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Hop pop looked over the list. "Alright people, we're heading out into the lands now that the fog is down. And that means we need to prepare for a hard journey." He told the gang.

"We're finally going to fix the music box!" Lucci shouted. "Hop pop, you still have it, right?"

"Yeeeeaaaaaaaaassssssssh." He said with a nervous chuckle. Lucci was a good natured kid and loyal to a fault, but he wasn't exactly the most careful boy in the universe. His power with whatever dangerous magic the calamity chest had could only spell disaster. "I'm going to keep it with my contacts for now. Don't want to keep all our turnips in one basket." 

"That's a fair point. With everything that tries to kill us, something is bound to break the chest." Sprig accepted his logic.

"Aw, does that mean we won't see more of those weird cool glow up powers." Polly complained. "You know, the glowy pink powers that Willow bitch-"

"Language!" Hop pop insisted.

"-used to beat your butt like a rag doll?" Polly finished.

"Rather not think about that." Lucci grumbled. "Besides, I have no idea where those powers came from. Whatever it was, it wasn't any brand of magic I recognized."

"Wait, but you glow pink too." Sprig noted. "Isn't it the same thing?"

"No. That comes from my gem." Lucci pulled off his shirt to show the jewel. "I have no idea where she pulled that from. It felt way older and more… primal.."

"Okay we're getting off track." Hop Pop waved off. "Now it could take months to reach Newtopia, so what we need to do most is pack supplies. Enough food and money to last us the voyage."

"Why would it take months?" Lucci whistled, calling over Queen.

"Because we're NOT taking Queen, we're taking Bessie." He said.

"Queen can fly us all, that snail's just gonna slow us down." Oh no he didn't.

"That cat butterfly is just gonna burn out carrying all of us. Old reliable Bessi can travel for miles upon miles with berries and love." Hop pop argued. "Isn't that right girl?"

" Brrr." Who could deny such an adorable face?

"Besides, no offense Lucci, but Queen still has a habit of craving frog flesh." Sprig made another good point.

"Oh like nobody's ever craved the flesh of another living creature." The witch rolled his eyes. "She can totally control herself. Tell them, Polly." They turned to where the young tadpole once sat … now occupied by Queen with a bulging mouth.

"Polly!" Hop pop dove right in and pried the jaws of the beast open.

"You will never take me alive, beast! I will shred you apart from the inside!"

"Are you sure we haven't justified our point yet?" Sprig asked as Hop Pop and Polly wrestled the beast.

"My girl is just misunderstood in her time." Lucci patted the monster's back. "One day Queen, your time will come." Hopefully when she wasn't hungry.

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Polly gazed upon the wonderful structures. "These, are so, awesome!" She shouted. "Just look over there, and there, and there!" If she could name one great thing about meeting Lucci, it's that she learned the right times to ignore Hop Pop's boring advice. Going off into these weird rock tunnel things was the best decision she's made all month! 

"There's so many levers to pull!" Sprig was getting into it, practically kissing every inch of this pretty old but cool place. It was like the secret hideout in the planter home, except with creepier looking statues that stared into your souls.

"Careful you two." Lucci said. "Mom always said 'if you find a dusty old place nobody lives near, it's probably filled with traps and treasures alike, so ignore all warnings, but carefully'." Lucci's mom sounded amazing!

"Your mother has to be either the bravest or the most foolish being alive in your world." Hop pop piped in with his own opinion.

"It's a bit of both." Lucci shrugged. "S he's drunk on appleblood half the time, but it's that reckless perspective on life that makes her so bold and successful as a criminal." The kid smiled. "And she pulled it off with rarely a hitch."

"She sounds awesome." Sprig smiled. "So … what kind of crime sprees did you do?"

"Oh, the biggest. She's pulls all sorts of cons on people to trick idiots out of their hard earned money. Her biggest scheme so far is convincing people that 'hoomans' exist and selling supposed souvenirs from their world." He snickered. "Could you imagine it, creatures with round ears?"

"We couldn't imagine creatures with fur on their body until we met you." Polly pointed out. "Seriously, how do you function with that face bump getting in the way of your face?"

"Trust me, being punched in said bump does not make it easy." He grumbled. "So does anyone see anything other than dusty walls and paintings?"

"No, just a bunch of buttons and levers….I'm going to press them all!" Spring grabbed the nearest lever.

"Sprig, don't just pull random levers whenever you see them!" Hop Pop chastised. "We've been to enough secret bunkers and temples to know that only leads to bobby traps and disaster!"

"Or like Lucci said, treasure!" The boy shouted as he pressed something … causing the entire temple to glow blue.

NOW RESUMING CONSTRUCTION. PLEASE STATE ADMIN IDENTITY.

"The walls speak!" Polly shouted. "We're inside of a beast!"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure this means this place is haunted." Lucci stated. "Stand back, I'm going to try and see if I remembered what Mom's method was for killing ghosts." Ooh, killing the undead, now that sounded like a useful life skill.

"Hey, look at the walls." Sprig pointed, as they saw some kind of room behind a wall of glass, where a bunch of metal was being pressed together on a moving floor. 

"I guess this is some kind of factory." Lucci observed, pressing his face against the glass. "Huh, this kind of reminds me of Blight industries…and now I have the instinctual urge to burn it down."

"Come now Lucci, you don't set things on fire because they make things." Hop pop said. "You only set them on fire when they're evil."

NO ADMIN DETECTED. INTRUDERS. INITIATING PURGE.

"What's a purge?" Sprig asked … before multiple buzzsaws came into the room while multiple jiggly metal hands tried to grab and squeeze the life out of them. 

"Now it's evil! Now it's evil!" Hop pop screamed. "Lucci, do your thing! Destroy it all! Bring it all down!"

"With PLEASURE!" Lucci smirked, getting out two razor disks and rubbing them against the ground, making sparks fly and creating fire. "Burn…burn…BURN YOU WORTHLESS PILES OF METAL!"

"Dude." Polly said. "I appreciate fire as much as the next gal, but bring it down a notch." Being an arsonist was fine, just don't be insane while doing so.

"Sorry, mama's life lesson number five. 'Fire cleanses more than the soul. It cleans bloodstains and evidence'."

"Hmmm…good point."

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Grime sat on the chair, watching as two small beetles duked it out. "Come on Charles, victory is within your grasp!" After eating nothing but scraps while avoiding the law, he could use a victory himself. He placed good pebbles on Charles. He didn't want his resources going to waste.

"Are you STILL sitting around!?" His lieutenant…or rather ex lieutenant since his army for the most part disbanded…Willow burst through the door in what was now her routine angry outbursts. "It's been two weeks and you haven't done anything!"

"Yes, and there are still months to wait while Newtopia is still hunting us." He stated. "As freakishly strong as you are, I doubt you and I could take on their entire army and advanced weaponry."

"I can take on the whole world. Watch." Several vines popped out of the ground and crushed and crumbled several dummies with a single blink. "I hardly need to move, and I still have the ultimate move."

"Yes, your mysterious power that randomly pops up when you're at your most frustrated, which is also extremely unreliable and leaves you completely drained and immoble afterwards." Grime pointed out. "Or do I need to remind you that you almost killed yourself the last time you used it, and only survived due to Lucifer…who you also failed to kill."

She raised her sword at him. "Utter another word about that, see what happens."

Clearly this hurt her to talk about … "Do you even want to hurt him anymore?" So he did what he was taught as a Toad. Beat in a rookie's weakness until it stopped hurting. "If I recall correctly, you two parted rather amicably."

"We just reached a mutual understanding. He's got his own path, and I have mine." Willow grumbled, turning around making new training dummies out of shrubs and bushes.

"I'm just saying if your hatred really went as deep as you proclaimed it did, you wouldn't have accepted any form of apology. You wouldn't accept any pity and you'd stab him right in the back the moment it was turned." Grime pressed on.

"Stabbing people in the back is for the weak, it means you admit you can't beat them and fuels their ego when they're gone." She groaned. "And trust me when I say that guy doesn't need an ego boost."

"This isn't some kind of game, or some simulation where your honor wins out, this is real life. You take the wins when they come no matter what." Grime countered. "You were afraid of feeling guilty."

The dummy Willow was working on shriveling into dried out dust. "Why is this such a big deal? I hated Lucci. Now I don't. So what?" She glared at him.

"Now it matters because you two are on opposite sides. And he may or may not join our enemies down the line." He stated. "And then could you defeat him?"

"Why would I need to fight him? He's a criminal. If anything, he'll likely want to join us." 

"Would he? He was pretty defiant in defending that town of frogs."

"And he'll murder a million newts before he betrays those guys." She responded. "He's always hated authority and laws …" She groaned in frustration. "And now I'm just like him!"

Grime turned to face her in the eyes. "Willow, you're clearly upset."

"I'm not upset, why would I have anything to be upset about, my life is going just fine!" Willow continued to ignore the issue as vines and branches began to grow around her.

"You're upset because your friend wasn't the jerk that you remembered him being, or that he changed and you didn't notice." Grime put his foot down. "You're upset that you're now the criminal on the run and he has a somewhat respectable reputation. You're upset that now he's the good guy while you're …"

"I'M NOT THE BAD GUY!" Like that, a whole bushels of trees surrounded them, caging them as she continued to get wrapped around in her vines. "I'm not supposed to be the bad guy! I'm the good one…I'm the one who didn't do anything wrong, whose life got screwed over because I actually tried to do the right thing!"

"…And now you're working yourself to the bone to ignore the fact you may have been wrong about both your friends this entire time. It's just like when you were in my cell a month ago. You're lost and confused about who you want to be." He stated.

"....I don't get it…I really don't…" Willow wiped her eyes with more vines. "Why is it that when I finally find myself happy for the first time in years, it's when I know I'm doing the wrong thing?"

"Willow, this situation we find ourselves in…it's a mess, a big…fat…mess." Grime said honestly, slicing the girl out of her vines. "This isn't the time to think about black and white, about good or bad, right or wrong. You said it yourself, you don't trust the Newt's being in charge anymore than I do. Whose to say that life won't be better if we were in charge."

"...Will it?"

"I don't know. But that's the point of overthrowing an empire." He smirked. "Morality is always subjective. Its power and your own charisma that's the factors in leading a rebellion."

"Did someone say, rebel against Newts!?" A voice shouted.

"… Not that specifically, no." He turned his head…and promptly had to avoid getting his head sliced off. "Okay, if you're an assassin, give me about thirty seconds to catch my breath." He heaved. "Haven't stretched my legs out in a few weeks."

"Fool, I am no mere assassin, and I will not give you a second to breathe!" The enemy, which was a pink newt in armor and blonde hair, cackled. "For I am General Yunan! Scourge of the sand wars, defeated of Ragnar the wretched, annnnd-"

"And there's no way I am going to listen to you brag a second longer." Willow growled, sending a vine the wrapped the newt all over, and flung her overhead. "Okay, pack your things Grime, before they send in reinforcements."

"Yeah … problem." He weakly stood up. "She is the reinforcements."

"How incredible!" The woman shouted, breaking out of the bindings with a cackle. "Let us battle for forty nights, winner takes all!"

"… This is gonna be annoying, isn't it?" Yes Willow … yes it was.

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Sprig looked at the lake surrounding the massive castle. "… Hey Lucci?"

"Yes Sprig?"

"Was Boolus's castle anything like this?" He pointed to the massive city surrounded by a moat, the mere presence of it making the small pink frog feel insignificant by comparison.

"Eh, give or take a lot more white and gold designs on the outside." The witch boy shrugged. "I'm not particularly impressed by fancy architecture. Nothing like a bunch of snooty elitists flaunting their money around like there's no tomorrow."

"Okay kids, remember, best behavior. This is Newtopia we're talking about after all." Hop pop said. "… I'm looking at you Lucci. They're the only people who may know how to use the box."

"Fine, but I still won't trust anybody here." Lucci rolled his eyes. "You can't trust people born into money."

"Like that Amity girl you always complained about until you got your butt whooped by Willow?" Polly bluntly assessed.

"...Yes." The witch sighed. "I barely managed to uncomplicate things with Willow. Being amicable with Amity is probably going to be a tougher call. I wasn't exactly the nicest person to her last time we saw each other."

Sprig nodded. Sometimes it was hard to bond with people, like with most of the kids back in Wartwood. He looked around the moat as they walked, noting the holes in the ground. "Where do you think these lead to?"

"Probably to the center of the planet where mole demons await to sacrifice us to their worm god." …Everyone looked to Hop Pop at his rather out of nowhere assessment. "That curator fella had some interesting stories in his wax museum."

"Ugh, do not mention that creep. I felt like one of Vitimir's experiments. That's the type of occasion where a frog-eating butterfly comes in handy." Lucci shuddered.

"Don't worry. That guy is definitely dead. I set fire to all those pissed off wax creatures and saw his blood…..I am probably traumatized for life." Polly stated. All of them were Polly, all of them were. 

They made their way to the gate, looking up. "Hello, anyone there!?" Lucci shouted with a pink megaphone.

"No entry! The gates may not be opened during ant season!" A newt from the top shouted.

"Ant what now!?" Sprig shouted.

"Ant Season! They're mating and eating extra food, so no one's allowed in or out!"

"…" They looked at the holes, which they noticed began rumbling. "So … Still think it's the center of the planet?" Sprig asked quietly.

"It could be..but I'm open to being proven wrong!" Hop Pop shrieked as he got behind Lucci. "Boy, I believe this is your territory!"

"Slice and diced ants, coming up." Lucci cracked his neck. "Now let's see. Cut them up enough times, and I think we can store enough food for the next three weeks."

"I love having trail mix, but think less with your stomach and more with your fists!" Polly exclaimed.

"Alright, eenie, meanie, miney…" Lucci aimed his disk as one began to charge at him…only for purple muck to cover the creature whole, and crush it into a mushy paste. "… Mo?"

"Abamakick!" The muck turned into a boot, before being sent into another one, completely knocking its head off and absorbing it.

"..Is it just me or is a piece of mud kicking more butt in two seconds than any of us have in over a month?" Polly asked.

"Abamaslash!" It turned into a blade, slicing another one in half, absorbing the two halves into itself.

"And is it screaming terrible attack names?" Sprig asked. What kind of mud flinging superhero were they dealing with?

"Oh come on, can't I be creative?" A voice asked, followed by a thud behind them. The group turned around to see a purple suit of battle gear worn by … a witch with long, purple hair. "I mean, I'm working with abomination magic and well, it just felt right to stay on brand and…"

Lucci got closer, looking at the new girl with a narrow gaze, before his eyes widened. "Amity?" Lucci said with shock.

"Lucci..?" The girl looked at him.

"So … you landed in-" Whatever witty remark the boy was probably about to say was cut off as the girl hugged him.

"It's so nice to see you! I thought I was the only one who landed on the continent! This is great!" She shouted with happiness. "That means Willow landed here too! This is amazing!"

"Yeah…amazing…." Lucci still looked confused, patting the girl's back. "Amity…you seem…different…."

"The hair, I know, longer and purple." The witch girl snorted. "Don't have OLDailia telling me what to look like anymore, so I get to decide what I wear for once! There's NO strings on this witch! Not anymore!" She screamed. "Amphibia RULES!"

"Wow." Sprig said wide eyed. "Are you sure you're Amity?"

"Yeah, why?" She asked.

"Cause Lucci told me that you were a selfish bitch who only cared about status an-"

"Heh, Sprig, don't be silly…I was talking…about someone else." Lucci covered his mouth.

"It's cool." The girl shrugged. "Wanna help me murder some ants so we can get you inside the city?" They asked. "I take it that's the reason you all showed up."

":..Okay, not that I don't want to do that…but now I'm not sure you're Amity….that almost sounded like.."

"Something I'd say back when we were kids?" The girl smirked. "Newtopia has a way of bringing out the best in me."

"Apparently.." Lucci looked at the girl again. "Amity…about before…. I'm sorry. I…I shouldn't have been hard on you-"

"Lucci, if anyone needs to apologize to anybody, it's me." The purple haired girl sighed. "I let my mom rule my life and cut you two out. I shouldn't have let that happen."

"… Your mom?" He asked.

"She threatened to kick Willow from school and send Belos straight to your mom's front door if I 'didn't stop associating with the non-high class'." The girl rolled her eyes. "But she can't touch any of us here." They cackled. "Suck it Oldalia! I'm no one's tool!"

"Lucci, I had no idea what you were worried about, she's nothing like that Bitch Willow!" Polly laughed.

"Language Polly! We're trying to make a good first impression!" Hop Pop chastised. "I swear I'm gonna end up feeding yah whole bars of soap by the end of the month."

"It's fine, Andrias prefers brutal honesty to false fancies anyway … although he still likes respect. Not to mention mom and her soap." The girl shivered. "It gives fire bee honey a run for its money."

"Mom … you got a found family too?" Lucci asked incredulously.

"Two moms, an uncle, aaaaaand a girlfriend."

"....Wait what?" Lucci asked. "You're…You're dating someone….from here?"

"Yeah?" Amity asked. "Your point?"

"Nothing, I just…didn't think you were into amphibians."

"I'm into girls period." She shrugged. "I just never met the right one … or had the freedom to choose … so, there's the nest." Amity pointed to some skittering ants. "We take out the queen, and the rest are history. You trust anyone here to shoot a really small object into her mouth?"

Lucci shared a look with Sprig as they both smirked. "Amity, meet my best friend/surrogate bro, Sprig Planter. The best sniper with a slingshot you'll ever meet in your life."

"I look forward to working with you, Sprig." She grinned, holding out some mushrooms. "Allow me to introduce you to boom shrooms. Hit something hard enough, they go boom ."

"I believe we will get along quite swimmingly…" Sprig nodded, before glaring, "But if you turn out to be anything like Willow, I will use these shrooms on you."

"That's fair." The girl nodded, before pausing. "Wait….what do you mean 'like Willow'?"

"We'll talk it over after we finish this." Lucci said. "Now then, time to crush some bugs!"

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Yunnan laughed aloud. "I must say Lucifer, I had my doubts, but your lust for battle shows the heart of a true warrior!"

"And you're completely ruthless and absolutely dominate the battlefield!" The witch boy, the other friend of the young Amity, and quite frankly, much less annoying, chuckled. "Amity, your other mom rocks. Did you really become a pirate and fight with her?"

" On some occasions, yes." The girl said bashfully.

"Oh don't be so shy." She picked up her adopted daughter and hoisted her high "It may be a trait of witches from what I experienced against Willow, but Amity here is a master of both physical and mental prowess. In my opinion she takes a bit too much from Olivia, but mostly the good parts." The compassionate, lovable parts.

"It's nothing, I'm just really good at using abomination magic." Amity humbly chuckled as she showed off her magical slime. "Amphibia's magic is a little different from the Boilings Isles, but there's a lot of similarities. A lot of the giant bugs here I can use to make more abominations."

"Wait, are you literally beating people up with corpses!?" A small tadpole shouted, looking up at the girl with wide eyes full of wonder. "… I want to be you." They muttered in a dazed voice.

"If you think that's cool, just wait until you see me and her mix our magic." Lucifer smirked as they continued to walk down. "Ah, such great times."

"They were…just you, me…and Willow." Amity looked down at the mention of her former friend. "So she's joined up with a military coup of brute filled toads?"

"Yeah, let's just say that for as angry as I can get, it's nothing on her bottled rage." Lucifer winced. "She got some sort of strange power from the music box. Anything like that happened to you?"

"Be more specific when you say strange power." The girl said. "Are we talking flowers with five dimensions or …"

"She got mad, glowed pink, and beat Lucci up to a bloody pulp." The young frog, Sprig Planter, answered.

"Like Lucci?" The girl asked. "Wait, is your STOMACH a Calamity Gem?"

"One, no, not like me, it's more of a hot pink than a rose pink, and a lot more primal, and two…what do you mean by 'Calamity Gem'?" He asked.

They reached the massive gates to the throne room. "He can answer that." Yunan opened the door with a bit of effort.

There sat King Andrias. A massive figure, a pale blue skin ever present, armor decorative, yet powerful and dense, on his head rested the sacred crown, and his eyes held wisdom, experience … "Yo Amity, did you snatch the latest book of Letera yet? It's wild!" And a hint of childishness.

"Whoa, that's one big newt." Lucifer looked up. She would've smacked him for the disrespect … if the man didn't start laughing.

"What can I say, I eat right." The man chuckled. "You must be Lucci. Amity told me about you. The master thief and rebel to all forms of authority."

"Only those that annoy me. Consider yourself safe…for now." The witch boy snickered.

"It's an honor to meet you, your majesty." The old man bowed.

"Please, the farmers are where it's at. Where would we get food to eat otherwise?" They spoke humbly. "So, sorry to just cut to the chase, but do you have the Calamity Box with you?"

"Not on us. It's back home. Hop pop has it in a secure place, don't yah HP?" The boy looked to the old frog.

"Yep, totally secure." The man nodded quickly. "Say, what's with the name? 'Calamity'? It sounds ominous." They seemed to deflect.

"The Calamity Box belonged to the Newts once." He said, showing off pictures along the walls. "It was a tool to explore new worlds when used correctly."

"... And incorrectly?" Sprig asked.

"It ehh, may or may not tear a hole through reality and crash dimensions where they should not belong as they're erased." Andrius stated before having a quick laugh. "It's a good thing that didn't happen to us, right?"

"Right…so you know how to make it work?" Lucci asked.

"If I had the box, yes. But according to what Amity told me, it hasn't worked for you, otherwise you'd have headed back immediately to your mother."

The boy looked at the man suspiciously, before looking to Amity. "Okay, we both know you would have absolutely ditched me and Willow if you could." The girl defended.

"Not anymore no.." He muttered. "Does it have something to do with the pink powers Willow suddenly gained?"

"Powers?" The newt blinked. "I didn't know the box gave … wait, the gems are colored right?"

"They were, but since I've gotten here, they've been gray."

"That must be the problem." He nodded. "When you traveled, the energy exploded from the Calamity Gems, draining them … some of it must have traveled to the three of you."

"Wait, so I have super cool glowing powers?" Amity asked with sparkling eyes.

"You probably do, my girl, but best not to meddle into that. There's no telling what the energy will do to you and your friends in the long run." The king advised. "Now there are likely ways to return the gems their energy … but unfortunately, they're lost to time." He spoke. "The only inscriptions and instructions would be on the Calamity Box itself."

"Right…I'll get back to you on that." Lucifer answered. "Amity. I'll only ask this once. Is this guy on the up and up?" He whispered.

"Lucci, I know you have problems with Belos back home, but I assure you, Andrias is good. He's one out of three adults I now trust implicitly with my life." Amity said. "And please remember how bad most of the Adults we met back then were."

"True.." The boy sighed. "I'll get the box soon enough. Just got to wait for Hop Pop's contacts."

"Of course, take your time." Andrius assured. "I'll do my best to study the archives and see what I can find. Amity, would you like to head out with the Planters?"

"A chance to explore more of this amazing world; yes!" The girl cheered. "I can fly there on Joe Sparrow!"

"Oh, you got a giant flying pet too?!"

"Yep! They're like a normal sparrow, but he's so big they can be mistaken for a snail!"

"Sweet. I have a giant frog eating butterfly cat. Her name is Queen and she's so loveable and cuddly."

"Oh she sounds so precious." Amity cooed. Glad to see them bonding together.

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Amity twitched as she looked over the board. "You know, given that your lives are on the line, this would be so much easier … IF YOU ALL STOPPED SHOUTING!" She screamed at Lucci and Hop pop.

Pros of Amphibia? No Oldalia, two awesome moms, complete freedom, a totally amazing girlfriend in Bella, making amends with Lucci, and endless adventure. Cons? A diet that consisted of nothing of bugs, Willow going full villain, the three tribes having a notable prejudice among them, and family drama still being a complete shitshow to deal with.

The diet was easy to overcome, she just needed to compensate, and the prejudice could be a long term project. Given what happened with Lucci and their fight, she was willing to at least TRY and reach out to Willow … the last one was the most annoying.

"I'd stop if he just told me how to amend for my mistake!" Hop pop, her rook piece, screamed.

"Well you can't amend, how's that!" Lucci, her king piece, screamed right back.

"I would've rather kept this discussion at breakfast with the choco-roaches!" Sprig, her knight shouted as he got electrocuted by one of the spaces. "Think about it, chocolate fixes everything!"

"I don't even like chocolate that much!! I was just trying to get the morning over with!"

"I have made you food ever since you got here, and you wait to tell me till NOW that you don't like chocolate!?"

"Well I think it's a lot less of a secret then HIDING THE MUSIC BOX!" Lucci explained. "You buried it in a hole and almost lost it! Do you understand how asinine that is!?"

"It said danger Lucci! Do you think I was just gonna leave that in the open around the house!?"

Amity groaned, deciding to ignore them as she moved another piece. "Check." She announced, watching as Polly, her bishop, obliterated a knight on her opponent's board.

"Hell yeah! I'm crushing enemies harder than Mayor Toadstools skull!" …That girl legitimately terrified her. 

"I expected you to not bury it underground where it could get stolen by any random joe!!! You went through all that trouble to trick me at the night market to tell me not to be careless, and you go and do something downright stupid!"

"Like anyone would know where we buried it! I left it unmarked so that only I would remember where it was. That's kind of the whole point Lucci!"

She watched the piece move and take a pawn as she enclosed the King. "And that's checkmate." She stated. "We won guys, let's rap it up and-"

"Hehehehe." … Did that piece just chuckle? She watched as a black pawn took a knight …. Alright. She moved her rook to take out the king … who jumped over it?!

"Please don't tell me this is a haunted temple,we barely survived the ghosts at the sleepover!" Sprig shouted.

She watched as another piece was taken out, before moving a knight to take the King … who weaves around it - "Worse! It's a rigged game!" Amity realized. "We can't beat it no matter what we do!"

"Wait." Hop pop paused his apologetic streak. "Then what happens if we can't take their pieces?" An enemy Rook looked at the old frog with a grin.

"….Just go back to arguing and don't think about anything else." Okay, you need to focus, Amity. You can't take their King through normal means. Maybe if you take every other piece, the rest will follow suit?

"Great, just what we needed today, stuck in a game we can't win and we die if we lose!" Lucci shouted. "Gee, maybe if we give them Hop Pop they'll stop!"

"Okay boy, now you're just being petty!" The old frog shouted. "You have no problem with lying, you even used it to help with selling the vegetables!"

"That was to help with money; this is about me getting home! I know I'm not the easiest person to live with, but I thought you trusted me enough to tell me you were scared!"

Amity continued to move pieces around their argument, trying to figure out the trick to this game.

"I do trust you! It's the box I didn't trust! I already lost the kid's parents; I wasn't about to lose anymore family!"

"I have family to lose to Hop Pop! If that box vanishes I might never see them again!" Yes Lucci, that's why she was focusing on this game to begin with.

"I know! I know I messed up, and I want to make it right! Just tell me how I can get you to trust me again!

"I TRUSTED YOU HOP POP!" Lucci shouted. "I grew up learning not to trust too many people or wanting to….but you….you were different! You're the closest thing I have to a dad….and….and I loved that feeling.....I saw you as family…...but then you lost the box….you almost kept me away from my mom."

There was a moment of silence, everyone staring at the crying boy. "I want to trust you Hop Pop….I love you…I love this world…and I hate having to choose between here and mine!"

She hated it too … choosing between her friends and this world … she'd make it in an instant but … it still hurt in the end. "Not that I'm trying to barge in on the tender and sweet moment, but tell me you're close to winning!" Sprig screamed.

"I'm trying to figure out a way to take out all their pieces bearing the king while leaving you guys alright … not doing great!" She shouted, watching as Sprig became more and more boxed in.

"It's moments like these where I just flip the board over and end the game before I lose!" Polly explained.

"Flip the board …" She looked down … "Lucci, take out the King."

"I'm on it!" He shouted, aiming at the enemy.

"No, our King!"

Lucci paused. "But … we only have one shot."

"And we can't win!" She stated. "The game is cheating and not giving me a chance! If I'm right about this, then the only way to win is to take a dive!" Amity 

The boy looked back and forth, before groaning. "If this doesn't work I'm holding a grudge longer than I am for Hop pop!" He shouted, throwing a razor disk at their own king.

Creak

The stone frog was destroyed, making the board clear away, and a small podium rose up from the ground. "Yay! We're not dead!" Sprig cheered. "We escape the grim reaper once more!"

"Whoa, how'd you know that would work?" Hop pop asked.

"The three gems follow three themes. Mind. Strength. And Heart. The enemy of the mind is pride." She answered. "So … Andrias didn't have directions for what to do next. Do we just shove the box inside or …"

"Hold on, there's a little hole here." Lucci pointed to the podium. "I wonder." He grabbed one of the gems, and placed it inside.

They watched as green light enveloped the area, the gem slowly refilling … as Amity felt something leave her very soul. "Intense." She muttered. "Guess that means I won't be getting cool glow up powers."

"Believe me when I say it's overrated." Lucci sighed. "For me, I have to focus on everything I hate, and that gets tiring."

"So … I take it we're gonna need Lucci for heart?" Sprig asked.

"No way, clearly I'm strength." The kid waved off. "I'm a criminal deep down … one who won't forget quickly." He told Hop Pop. "I like you, but there's nothing that will quickly fix this. Just give me time to digest everything."

"I guess that's only fair." The old man sighed.

"Honestly this is the fastest he's moved on from being totally pissed off at anyone, so you're practically in the clear." Amity told the elderly frog. "A lot of his revenge plots usually end in broken bones and explosions."

"Yeah, Hop Pop. If Lucci really hated you, he would've fed you to Queen, and I would've spent a lifetime avenging your death by stabbing him over and over again in ways more brutal than the last." Polly snickered.

"Okay, save the revenge talks for later. Rest, and then the next temple!" Lucci shouted.

=======================================================================

Valeriana stared at the boy. So far he had seemed worthy, but there was a problem. His power. If this was a test of the pink temple he would succeed … but for someone like this to be chosen by blue? It made it hard to tell if the acts were worth the effort or not. 

At first glance he didn't seem like the right choice. Sure, receiving the power was all about growing into the part, changing from who they were. This boy, Lucifer Clawthorne, was fairly open about being a criminal, and seemed to revel in such a title. But from giving up his coat, to the stories of defending the village of Wartward, there was definite potential for him to be the perfect candidate.

Fortunately, the last test was always the one to work … playing the villain. "You have failed, Lucifer Cawthorne!" She shouted, snatching the calamity chest away. "You are unworthy to reach the temple, unworthy of the box!"

"I told you we shouldn't have trusted her!" The boy called out over the two away. "This was all a con to snatch the music box."

"Correction, it was my plan to take back the box from your filthy hands!" She waved her staff around. "For I am the guardian!" She slammed her staff down, warping the two of them to an empty space, a pillar that existed nowhere in the world.

"What did you do with everyone!?" He shouted in rage, a spiky bubble forming within his hands.

"... I moved us here, they're still back there-why was that your first conclusion?" She asked.

"I don't know, you're a shady looking woman clad in black, you have a magic staff, and you made us circle a snowy mountain that's likely to get the Plantars killed from frostbite, you tell me" He answered.

She rolled her eyes, tapping the staff again as her clothes became white. "For generations, my people have looked over the temple, guarding it from all those unworthy … like yourself." Valeriana gave a glare. "A no good low life thief and liar cannot be trusted with such power.'

"You want to tell me something I don't know?" The kid rolled their eyes.

"You revel in your lifestyle … but not your mistakes." She stated. "You're the one who dragged your friends here after all." 

The boy looked to the side, likely feeling guilt "I said I was sorry…"

"You actively inspire Sprig and Polly into violent actions, you killed a man who deserved jail at worst, you show no remorse for the devastation you lay on other people, and despite your claims of 'family is the most important thing of all', you fail to forgive a man for looking after his own. Quite the hypocrite." She poked the bear a little more.

"Listen lady, I'm the first one to admit I'm not perfect. I don't deny that." Lucifer answered. "I'm a stubborn piece of work…but I've worked to be better. I'm not from this world, but I care about it. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to protect what I care about in it, no matter what I have to do." They were getting somewhere … but it all relied on that final piece.

"Words spoken out of desperation." She raised her staff in an obvious manner. "I will banish you, and wait for someone worthy to arrive."

"Oh no you don't!" Flashing pink, he ran faster than the eye could blink and grabbed the staff. "Not so tough without this!" He shouted, hitting her in the stomach quite roughly.

She let herself tumble back, almost falling, only holding on by the edge of the tower. "You'll never learn how to use that! You'll be stuck here forever!

"I just tap it on the ground, right? That's what you do every time. I can probably just move straight to the temple. Besides…I'm a witch. I can work with a magic staff."

"Oh …" There it was, all the answers in his hands, she was vilified and ready for the drop … what was his decision? Would she fall to her 'death'? What was the color of this boy's heart? Fearsome, angry Pink, or soft, compassionate, blue.

She fell… and fell… and fell. She felt like this was it, that he truly did leave her to die… only for her back to hit a hard pink construct midfall. "Oh, I am so not letting you off that easily, lady."

She had to admit, it was a mild surprise. "You let a mayor get eaten for taxes, but refuse to let me fall for denying you home?"

"He was a selfish, greedy, remorseless man that took advantage of a struggling farming community for years if not decades. You're an old lady guarding cosmic power. I can have sympathy for one over the other." He rolled his eyes before returning his focus to the staff. "Now lets see … is it one tap here two taps back, or just a focus thing?"

Valeriana stared at the boy … and chuckled. "It seems you truly are a good person."

"I'm not a good guy, I'm a criminal." They rolled their eyes.

She chuckled. "Only the 'good guys' pass this test son. People who put others before themselves and care for what is right over what is 'just'."

"I only look out for the people that mean something to me."

"And yet you ran to that igloo to help frogs you never met." She countered. "The box doesn't lie. Green for mind, intelligence, mental fortitude and curiosity. Pink for strength, confidence, a willingness to put their foot down. And blue for heart, empathy, compassion. That is what rings in your heart…the heart of a hero."

The Newt snapped her fingers, as the staff fell into her hands from the boy's own. "And for the record, Edalyn Clawthorne may have taught you everything she knows, but I doubt she even reached a tenth of my experience."

The boy looked at her funnily, and snickered. "You, Mom, and Ms. Croaker. You've all convinced me old ladies are the most interesting people in any universe."

"Probably." She smirked, making her way to the center. "But others have their tricks … Lucifer Clawthorne!" Valeriana placed her staff in the hole, as the temple glowed. "For letting yourself suffer for your friends, for risking yourself for those you do not know, and for taking responsibility for your actions … you have passed the three trials of the temple!" She shouted. "Hand me the gem."

"This isn't another test right?" Lucifer questioned.

"No … but a piece of advice, kid. Only one thing on this planet is truly beyond redemption. Take that to heart the next time you make an enemy." They told him.

"...Noted." He handed over the piece, letting her place it on the podium.. It began to glow brightly as it filled … and filled … and filled … "This seems a lot longer than last time.

"This place is old. We haven't updated the runes in centuries." She spoke honestly. "So….why are you in love with that three eyed jerk?"

"I have a thing for brutal honesty." They shrugged. "Though given how that's the reason why Willow stopped hanging out with me, I guess I'm better off changing my tastes."

"I see." She nodded as it filled halfway. "... Like the frog girl with potions?"

"She's Sprig's age." He countered, giving her a look.

"When you're as old as I am, twenty years becomes relative." She shrugged. "Besides, ask her yourself. She's more than willing to wait." The dreams of that girl… very disturbing.

" AHHHHHHHH!"

"Oh no, the Plantars are in danger, this seems filled enough!" He quickly grabbed the gem as it was only at seventy five percent.

"If you say so." She shrugged. It was better to let him keep some of the power for himself given what was coming ahead… She could only hope he was ready to handle the mental strain. With his emphatic powers combining with the stone of heart…. it may prove too much for the mortal mind to comprehend at once.

=======================================================================

Willow tossed the weight away as the door opened. "Why was that a challenge?" She asked. "I was expecting something more … athletic." After a month and a half of planning with Grime, she finally joined in probably the most important aspect of their Newtopia takeover plan…joining up with Lucci. Grime was right in that they were more amicable, but that in no way meant they fully trusted each other. Not to mention the add on of Amity Blight…the girl Willow had so much to say to....about 99% of it was too vulgar for the innocent ears around her.

"Probably … because … it was meant … for us." A coughing Sprig spoke up. The frogs weren't doing too well with the heat. Even Grime lost his muscle mass, waddling along the best he could. Which meant that it was up to her, Lucci, and Amity to complete the tests.

"The heat…can't…break me…" Polly gasped as she dragged her round body across the ground. "I…break….heat!"

"Don't worry Polly, just stay rested, I'll be sure to bring back the hammer with us." Lucci said to the tadpole. "... Speaking of, has it ever been this hot on the boiling isles? I think I sweated for the first time since I got here."

"I just think we haven't noticed too much because Amphibia has more moisture than the boiling isles." Amity pointed out. "Plus we're coming across magma, which is apparently super melted rock below the surface."

"No wonder the isles boil if this stuff is at the bottom of it." Lucci said, before turning back to her. "... One last test, ready to take it on … LAW style?" He asked.

"Yeah..." Willow looked to Amity, who waved innocently at her. "You know what, I've been crushing the last two tests, and you guys did yours all on your own. Better I keep taking the lead."

"Oh … okay, good luck." Amity said. "I'll stay on backup whenever you need it." Like she was some fragile flower to look after.

Lucci looked back and forth between them as they entered the room. "Willow, I get that we all have beef we still need to sort out, but Amity's changed for the better. She's nothing like how she was in the Boiling Isles."

"If that's what you say." Willow grunted. There was some merit to that if Lucci of all people was willing to stick up for Blight… but Willow couldn't trust her. Not with having her back. They entered a large room, looking around … as a muscle bound metal toad stood up from the center of the room, flexing itself like it was an egomaniac. "... So the final test is to just beat it up?" Willow asked.

"I doubt it." Lucci said. "Usually they have these last minute tricks that catch you off guard." The ground began glowing pink. "See, like tha-"

THUMP

Willow suddenly felt herself crashing down into the ground, like she had fifty toad towers crumble right on top of her. Lucci and Amity followed suit as well. "Aggggggggg! WHAT THE TITAN IS THIS!?"

"I … feel … heavy …" Grime groaned from the back. "More than … usual …"

"This place… it must… have… some kind… of gravity spell… on it…." Amity grunted.. "We have to push through it … that machine is bigger … so it should be more affecte-" The metal man rushed forward at impossible speeds, slapping the girl into a wall.

"Figures….that would've been…. too…easy …" Lucci glowed pink, pushing himself to his feet. "Strength's here…but it feels like average….We need to keep each other up…." He reached out his hand to her.

"I got this…I got this…" Pushing herself upwards, she stood straight and gripped her sword.

"Come on … I can at least … keep him on his toe-." Lucci made a shield, blocking a punch from the thing, before he punched back, sending the toad flying. "Nice try … you jer-" The ground began glowing brighter.

THUMP

Before everything got HEAVIER, shoving them both down. "FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING TITAN!" Willlow cried out. "I am NOT GOING TO DIE… LYING ON MY STOMACH!" She had to get out of this… she NEEDEDTO get out of this…

She suddenly felt a cold slime covering her, pushing her upright and supporting her back and legs. "Like….Lucci….said…" Amity said, using her abomination magic to keep her steady. "We need to keep each other up…and tackle it head on….LAW style."

Yeah … guess they did … Willow straightened herself out … before ripping off her armor, letting it fall into the ground. "I guess … we do." She growled, running forward with swords poised to attack. "Come on you TIN CAN!!"

"Head's up Willow!" Lucci created a pink disk underneath her, launching her upward on top of the thing's head. "You hit him high, I hit 'em low!"

"That's the plan!" She screamed, stabbing both of her blades into the metal toad's eyes. It let out a soundless scream, wobbling around as it tried to hit her.

"Amphibia's home to a lot of amazing things, but the one thing they can never count on, is the LAW coming at ya with full force!" Amity shouted, creating a spear of goop and sent it hurtling into the thing's chest, making it stumbled back.

"The three strongest witches of the Boiling isles, nothing can stand in our way!" Lucci created a bubble around the goop, making it glow pink. " NOTHING!"

BOOM

The thing fell apart, falling onto the ground in fire and metal as they all breathed, the gravity vanishing. "Oh … that was a workout." She groaned, cracking her back. "What about you two?"

"Pain … everywhere." Amity winced.

"I think that was the first time I was physically challenged by something in this world. The tower incident doesn't count, that was just you beating me senseless." Lucci groaned, cracking his neck. "That felt like old times, didn't it guys?"

"Yeah… it did." Willow had to admit… It was nice. Maybe there was a chance that LAW could rule Amphibia together as a whole. Sure she'd miss her family and Gus … but this was the happiest she's felt in years. "Nice moves Amity. You really kicked it into second gear."

"Traveling with Yunan will do that to you. But it's not as impressive as you. You kick serious ass Willow."

"It's all muscle." She grinned, flexing. "What about the rest of you guys?"

"Waaaateeerrrr." Hop pop whined.

"Right, let's fill up the gem." Lucci pointed over to the podium and placed one of the music box's rocks into it. "In a minute you should feel a slight tingle."

Fwoosh

Almost instantly she felt the excess power she had held onto for months leave her. That meant her edge against Lucci was gone if they had to fight each other… but Willow was fairly confident her fighting power still trumped his. "Wait, why didn't you glow pink against the robot?" Amity asked.

"It's not the most controllable power, and I'm severely drained for about a week." She answered, looking at the colored gems of the music box. "Pink, Green…Do you guys find it weird that we got each other's color schemes?"

"I got blue, I don't see how that fits into anyone's color scheme." Lucci rolled his eyes. "If the last one was purple, maybe you'd have a point, but as is, it's just random choices made by the universe." Maybe … "So, lets activate the box and head hom-"

"NO!" Amity shouted suddenly.

"... No?" He asked.

"You heard Andrias, if used incorrectly we could tear holes in universes. Do you REALLY want to endanger Amphibia after going through a whole trial about admitting your mistakes?" The abomination user asked.

"...I hate being more responsible." Lucci sighed, handing the box over to Amity. "Alright, but I won't be patient about it. Mom's probably drowning in apple blood by this point worrying about me."

"I know I know. Don't worry Lucci, once we head back to Newtopia we'll reunite you guys with your families." Amity reassured.

"Yeah…" Hm, maybe if she had control of the music box, Willow could bring their loved ones to THIS world, that way NO one had to give up anything. A perfect plan. "So … party?" She suggested.

"Heck yeah! Leaving this dimension party!" Lucci shouted.

"Will… there… be… water… … BECAUSE WE NEED IT!" Grime shouted. Right, fix them first, then focus on the party.

=======================================================================

Maddie found herself in quite the pickle. Today was it. The last day she would ever see the best creature that had ever entered wartwood in her life. The boy had talked about this day for a long while, and if Maddie was honest, a small part of her had hoped, as selfish as it was, the day would never come and he'd be stuck here forever.

But, the boy was a family man, and he'd sooner rip apart the world than be apart from his own for a moment … something she found quite admirable and hot. She would just have to be content and be happy for the dashing Lucifer Clawthorne on his last days, and honor his memory by being the greatest witch in all of Amphibia.

"It's time for the final act of the night folks!" Wally shouted. "Someone you've all feared for your lives and hated, but slowly grew in your hearts like a parasite!" Most accurate choice of words for most people. "Give it up for … the witches!"

"Hey, hey, hey, Wartwood! How's it going!?" The lovely voice of the witch of her dreams announced cheerily in the air as he, and those other witches(who he claimed he had no romantic interest in, but one could never be too sure) came out on the stage. "I know it's been a crazy three and a half months. I crashed into your lives, beat up giant bugs, and fed mayor toadstool to my lovely pet Queen."

"I WILL HAVE VENGEANCE FOR TOADSTOOL!" Toady shouted from far in the back as a bucket was thrown at his head. "..EVENTUALLY!"

"But all the crazy times are coming to an end … so, I hope to leave you with a really good memory." The boy smiled, pulling out a guitar. "Music has helped me through a lot of problems in my life, and it's become a part of me."

"A very destructive part of him." The mean girl that almost killed all of them, Willow, chuckled as she was sitting by the drums. "Like once you heard the first note, you'd been sent flying across the isles."

"Only my enemies." Lucci laughed. "It's the greatest gift I have, so I hope to make it memorable for the rest of you. It's a little song I wrote myself." He adjusted his guitar and took in a deep breath. "Special call out goes for the Planter family, who's lived with my insanity the longest out of anyone here, and who will always hold a special place in my heart as family."

"I shall be immortalized in music!" The elder Planter shouted.

"As for the rest of you….stay crazy, stay happy, and most of all, never bow to anyone taking advantage of you."

"I won't." She whispered her response as the crowd cheered in applause.

"You and I, we both know well, I couldn't do this by myself." The boy sang out. "And every day it's all the same. You picked me up when down I fell."Truly someone who cared about others in his life.

"But I'm still standing through and through, I know exactly what to do." He continued, moving across the stage with a smile on his face. "I'll give it everything I got …. Although I'm not stronger than you."

 The girl with purple hair went hard on the keyboard she was playing, leaning into the mic that Lucci had lowered down for her. "But I'll be your shield, I can be your lion. I'll dry your eyes if I see you cryin'. Believe in me…..And I won't let you down!" Lucifer had certainly never let any of them down yet. Crazy and destructive, yes, but he was always there to defend this town…to defend her.

"But now we've come so far! I know just who we are!" The three witches sang together in harmony as three colorful lights began to dance all around the stage, dancing in the air in a spectacular light show. "And we shine brighter than any gem, Between us and the sun!"

"Now it's just you and me!" He continued, gazing at the two of them. "Like it was meant to be!"

"And I'll protect you, I'll defend you!" The purple one shouted with a smile of her own. "If you let me try!"

"We'll stay together, now and forever!" The one that tried to kill them all sang. "Just let me try!"  Those words were much more dubious coming out of her.

"You and I, yeah we both know. We couldn't do this on our own. I want to keep fighting for my mother, Though she hasn't seen how much I've grown. " The boy seemed much more melancholy singing those words. "But I can't believe everything that I'm told!" Lucci went on, regaining his stance. "I'll fight 'til the end while I'm young and when I'm old!"

"But I'll be your shield, I can be your lion! I'll dry your eyes if I see you cryin'!"  Amity continued to sing as a giant sparrow and Queen flew into the air, the two kids hopping on top of them.

"Believe in me, And I won't let you down!" Willow continued, using plants to help create a bouncy platform for the two flying creatures to have fun with.

"But now we've come so far! I know just who we are!" She mouthed the words as the three sang in unison, wishing she could join them in the air."And we shine brighter than any gem, Between us and the sun!"

"Now it's just you and me! Like it was meant to be!" If only it could be him and her. "And I'll protect you, I'll defend you! If you let me try!" She would always let him try.We'll stay together now and forever!" If only…if only. "Just let me try!"

"Stay with me, fight with me! Victory's abound!" Willow sang loud and hard as she joined on top of Amity's bird. "Now we've got this, you can't stop us!"

"And I won't let you down!" Amity continued, playing a bit higher as the tempo lowered. "I know you never asked to be made." Well … that sounded pretty personal.

"But now we've come so far…. " The voice of Lucci became softer as the trio landed. " I know just who we are."

"And we shine brighter than any gem…Between us and the sun." Amity looked at the two softly.

"But now we've come so far….I know just who we are…" Willow pulled the two into a group hug.

"We'll stay together now and forever! Just let us try!" An unbreakable trio.

The audience roared with excitement and cheers, clapping loudly. "Great job you all!" Wally said to the group. "I'd just hand you the trophy now, but we still technically have one more entry."

"We do?" The purple witch asked.

"Oh right, I heard Grime wanted to take a shot at this." The buff witch nodded. "Honestly took me by surprised. He's a softy, but I didn't take him for a secret musician."

"He can go ahead." Her love spoke confidently. "We've got this in the bag."

=======================================================================

Queen watched as her master prostrated himself to the really meaty looking meal she couldn't eat. "Teach me your ways, oh musical maestro!" Her boy looked to the buff toad with one eye in awe. Ever since the music stopped the boy had looked to the toad with fascination. She never saw the boy eat amphibian flesh before, so she didn't quite understand what that was all about.

"Depends. Are you willing to subject yourself to a thousand hours of plucking the hardest and sharpest strings in the world, where your calluses grow calluses when you're not sewing them together." The toad, who was drinking out of a giant gold cup he had received after the music stopped.

"Yes … although I'd have to find strings that cut me first." They muttered as they took a bite of bug flesh. "Maybe the Boiling Isles has some enchanted gear."

"Speaking of, we've heard all about this place from Lucci, but what about you guys?" The small pink frog boy she wasn't allowed to eat asked the purple one while flinging bits of mashed potatoes at the girl with glasses.

"Not much to say." The girl with glasses muttered, wiping it off. "The culture is pretty similar to Toad culture, but we run under a monarchy of Belos instead of tribal fights."

"Survival of the fittest at its finest." The purple girl that smelt of death stated with a groan. "It's honestly kinda the worst."

"I've been saying it for years! Of course it takes going to another world to get you guys to admit it." Her boy snickered.

"Some things are good about it, people just use the coven system as a way to impose superiority instead of allowing people to develop talents." The death girl sighed. "Not to mention elitists constantly take advantage of whatever they can and create a cycle of abuse by forcing their children to live out their own fantasies, leaving all options locked as you're removed of free will and forced to live your life in a coven where happiness goes to die as you listen to a man who's probably full of it."

…Even for a monster butterfly that didn't understand a lick of what these creatures were talking about half the time, Queen understood that this girl had issues to sort out. "Parental issues." Plant girl simplified. "I can only semi-relate. My dad's were afraid of plant magic because my grandma got eaten by one once, so they pushed me to develop any magic that wasn't plant."

"Oh come on, you guys make it sound like I'm the only one who has family to go back to." There was an awkward silence at her master's statement. "...You guys…are planning on going back, right?"

"I mean, I don't really see a rush to go back home right away." The Death girl scratched the back of her head. "Mom's just worried she won't have a proper heir, dad probably hasn't noticed, and the twins just miss their old punching bag." She rolled her eyes. "And here I have Olivia, Yunnan, Andrias, Bella …." They let the silence hang for a moment. "For the first time in years I've felt happy …"

"If you're happier here, then I say go for it." Plant girl suggested. "It's a great place, who wouldn't want to leave.

"I was planning on it … I just wanted to wait, spend my last few days with friends." They gave a small smile. "You and Lucci … I'm sorry for everything … I feel like I ruined your lives with that party …"

"So…you're really planning on staying…." Her master said softly. "That's….that's cool, I guess….yeah, glad the choice is so easy for you."

"Lucci…"

"No, I get it, I get it….I'd want to escape Moldailia too….It's just….things were starting to feel like old times between us." Her boy sighed.

"Lucci." She gave a soft smile. "Once Andrias has the portal, Amphibia can go back to the interdimensional travel lifestyle it once had. I can visit you and Willow whenever. I won't leave you guys forever now that I'm actually free."

"Yeah…YEAH, she's right!" Pink frog boy jumped on the table. "The adventures never have to end and you won't have to choose between your families! It's the best of both world!"

"It'll all fix itself tomorrow." Plant girl gave a smile. "We'll be rocking the … I wanna say universes?"

"Adrias called it the multiverse. Omniverse works well as an alternate title."

"Party forever!" The young frog shouted.

"To companionship!" The buff frog held up a cup.

"To companionship!" They cheered.

=======================================================================

Frobo found themselves ducking under an ax as he scaled the walls. "To companionship my but!" Subject 'Sprig Planter' shouted as they used a weapon known as 'sling shot' against subject 'Grime'. "So the whole time it was horseflyshit!?"

"First off, Language, you should stuff that mouth full of soap." Subject 'Grime' chastised as he swung a warhammer against subject 'Sprig'. "Second of all, only partially. We were always going to take over Newtopia. Willow just wanted to do it with her friends. I told her that she'd end up fighting them and we should've kept them in comas for a few months."

"Okay, despite how evil that is and how much I want to stop you … how though? Lucci takes more damage than you can dish out, and he eats poisons for seasonings." Subject 'Sprig' asked while jumping on 'Grime's' head..

"I suggested placing him in ice for an extended period of time. Can't die from frostbite and it would slow his healing." Subject 'Grime' hopped and brought the hammer down. "Now just stand still and let me squash you into a frog flapjack before I change my mind and pound you into pudding!"

"No way!"

Frobo left the argument, continuing to scale the wall and prevent this disaster from taking place. He would've rather stayed right near master Polly's side, but she was busy expressing her own brand of anger on the toads that snuck in. "HAH! There goes your nearkeeps! Legs are overrated!" The sound of cracking and popping could be heard from her direction.

He finally made it to the wall where the most destructive fight was taking place. "Lucci, this isn't what it looks like!" Subject 'Willow' shouted as swords clashed between her and subject 'Lucci'.

"It looks like you're double crossing us and plan on keeping us from home while you assume control of an entire nation!" Subject 'Lucci' argued as he pushed back. 

"Okay, yes, I was planning on doing that, but there's something wrong with this place! If you stop the toads from coming in, something worse will happen!"

"Like I'm going to trust ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY AFTER ALL THE SNORSHIT YOU PULLED!" The boy produced a shockwave that cracked the part of the wall 'Willow' was standing on, who stabilized herself using vines. "I worked hard to be better, to be someone that's good enough to be your friend, and you throw it all away!"

"I didn't throw it away!" The girl shouted back, using vines to pin the boy down. "I chose us, Lucci! We all could have had power for a change, be in charge and NOT bow down to authority like you SAY you want!"

"I'm not a power hungry maniac, and neither were you!"

"Maybe we should be! Maybe getting all the power available is the only easy way to live!" Willow shouted. "Life's just going to step on us over and over again! If we don't fight back we're going to be trampled! It already happened to Amity, do you want it to happen to us again!?" Subject Wille summoned tree hands that stopped the boy in his tracks. "Come on Lucci, is this really what you want to do!? You're not built to be a hero, you should be joining me! It'll be like what we talked about as kids about taking out Belos, but in an entirely new world we can do whatever we want! We have the box! You don't have to give up either family or either world! You can have EVERYTHING YOU WANT!"

The boy growled, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. "Maybe….but if everything I want involves stepping over a whole world for my happiness…..then I'll gladly… throw it all away."Subject 'Lucci' glowed pink once more, as a spike bubble made up of hexagons bursted him out of the trees, before he sent his bubble out and encased her in it. "You're coming home with me, Willow. You're never going to hurt anyone…. ever again."

She tried screaming something, but it couldn't be heard past the hexagons. "Bweeep?" Is it wise to not listen to any warnings?

"Everything she's been telling us has been one stinking lie….we can't trust anything she has to say." Lucci sighed. "Maybe this world's better off if we never come back."

=======================================================================

Andrias smiled down on the witches. "I truly thank you all for saving our kingdom. Without you, all would be lost." Their way of life mostly.

"No problem, it was my friend, my problem." Lucci responded. "I'll make sure she never hurts anyone again." The plant girl incoherently screamed something from the bubble she was trapped in.

"I'm telling you, you're making a big mistake trusti-mgkgmgmgmg–..." Former General Grime couldn't get anymore words in as Amity used her abomination magic to cover his mouth. Using corpses as tools. A very handy resource that would for sure come in handy once they reached this 'Boiling Isles'.

"Any final words before we open up the portal?" He asked. Or final words at all.

"Yeah …" The witch boy turned to the Planters. "Thank you guys, for taking me in. I don't think I could ever pay you back."

"Aw, you don't ever have to pay us back for anything, Lucci. You're family….and you saved me from going bankrupt under Toadstool's taxes, so you've paid me back a hundred times over already." Hopidiah Planter hugged the boy.

"And you showed me several dozen ways to pinch out a clavicle without putting in too much effort." The tadpole girl laughed. "I shall name my special attack the Clawthorne in your honor."

"And … you were my first friend." Sprig Planter hugged Lucifer. "I wish you could keep living in our basement. It's not going to be the same without you…"

"Sprig, you were my first friend too…the first real friend I've heard in years. You broke down the cracks that lead to the soft center of my heart." The witch boy ruffled the frog's head. "Besides, it's not going to be too bad. You still have Ivy to keep you company… if you know what I mean."Lucci winked.

"Oh not fair, I can't tease you at all!" The kid shouted back.

"And you never will!" Lucci chuckled, handing over the box. "I already said my goodbyes to Amity, start up the portal Andrias."

It … is ours …

Yes … yes it was.

"Lucci, are you sure this is what you want to do?" Amity looked to the boy. "We can still travel…"

"No… after what Willow did, I don't want anything else to happen in this world due to us. When I take her back… don't open it back up." The boy looked firmly at his friend. "... It was nice to see you become awesome again Amity."

"And it's great you're still as amazing as I remembered you being." The purple haired witch hugged the boy. "Tell Willow that I still believe in her."

"Will do." They smiled as Andrias took a hold of the box.

"It's here … after so long …" He smiled, walking forward … and pressing a button on his throne, bringing up the pedestal.

"... Did you know his chair had buttons?" Lucci asked.

"It's as surprising as those secret rooms we found." Amity said with a slight tremble. "Andrius… this is to help create the portal, right?"

He placed the box down, letting it lock in place, filling the kingdom with power … as they rose once more. "Of course it is, our way of life is around them after all. I've never lied once … oh, except for one, teeny tiny part." The King chuckled.

"And … what would that be?" Sprig asked.

"Well you can ask the two captives who tore down my decorations on the wall over there." Andrius pointed to a nearby wall, where it showed off his ancestors, setting fire to world after world.

"... AMITY!" Lucci shouted as he released the bubble on Willow.

"No … no this can't be!" She shouted, panting rapidly. "You were a good person, you said this would help us all!"

"Yes … the conquerors of the multiverse!" Andrius stated proudly. "Our kingdom thrived from pilfering the resources of other worlds… and thanks to you three, we can resume our grand conquest once more!" 

The way is restored. Well done, Andrias.

"I … but …" He could see the tears forming in her eyes. "No … no …" The witch turned to his head general and head servant. "Have you been in on this!? Did you know!?"

"No, no, this is a surprise to us as well!" Lady Olvia swore.

"They are telling the truth. When the box was stolen, it was decided that we'd bury our history until the right time came." He smirked as he pressed a button on his throne. "We even lost our ability to create functional frobots." Multiple robots jumped into the room, aiming weapons at the group. "It surprised me that you had one that worked. But going by how it's not turning on you, we'll have to break it down into scrap to be put to better use."

"You're not going to get away with this Andrius!" Lucifer shouted, throwing a razor disc at his face. One the king caught with his bare hand. "... Okay, unexpected."

"Oh, and that toad army?" He asked sarcastically, pressing another button as a low humming emerged. "Say goodbye."

"What are you-" Grime couldn't finish that sentence.

KABOOOM

Because it was too late to save a single soul from the laser. "You…You monster…" Willow growled.

"Meh, probably." He shrugged. "So, Olivia, Yunnan, Amity, I suggest you take your sides now. Hesitation leads to suspicion after all." He stood up, imposing his presence over the rest of them. "As for the rest of you, I figure you're too stubborn to swear loyalty to me. So either calmly walk to the dungeon, or be obliterated on the spot right now. It's your choice, no pressure."

"You already know the answer to that." Lucifer growled as he and the rest of the group got ready.

"I did. I just wanted to see if one of you was actually smart enough to realize how futile this would be." He took out his plasma sword. "Luckily for me, I was itching for a party today. Haven't moved these bones in a thousand years. Hope I'm not too rusty."

=======================================================================

Lucci was calling it now. Today was officially the worst day of his entire life. "You could have just looked at the wall!" Willow shouted as she stabbed three robots through the torso, only for six to take their place. "Why did no one look at the wall!?"

"NOT the time for I told you so Willow!" He shouted, slashing through ten more frobos. "Why do I never chop off the heads of anyone I know for a fact are evil!? He was a giant imposing looking king, of course he was going to turn out evil!"

"Yeah, I don't think it's time for that either!" Sprig shouted as he tried his best to snipe them with boom shrooms. "You know … with that."

"WHY DO I TRUST ADULTS!?" Amity screamed as she blazed through bot after bot. "All they ever do is stab me in the back and ruin everything I have! Screw it all, you're going down with me! " She began drowning the robots.

"Lucci, you have very terrifying friends." Hop Pop noted as he led a frobot out a window. "For once I won't count that as a bad thing though!"

"Oh yes, quite terrifying, for a rag tag trio of pointy eared primates." Andrius snickered. 

Lucci raised his sword … but paused. "You know, I don't actually know what a primate is." And was met with a punch to the face by the giant newt, sending him flying across the room

"Just know you should feel insulted either way." 

"You punch hard for an old guy….you got metal under your skin." Lucci cracked his neck, peeling himself off from the wall. "You're not all Newt, are you?"

"Had to keep up somehow." They answered, rushing at Lucci with the sword. "Then again, at this point it feels like overkill!"

Lucci blocked with a shield, growling. "Allow me to c orrect that!" He pushed back, throwing his own punch at the man.

The man responded with his own shield, light up big and tall as it counted the punch, the bastard barely able to move at all. "You think you measly magic can do anything here?! We've conquered hundreds of worlds, taking every bit of science and sorcery they had and improving them to their maximum potential!"

"Then clearly you've never seen magic like mine!" He went in blow for blow … but just that, a stalemate. Worse, if this guy really was metal underneath, he probably didn't get tired, like some sort of abomination.

"I will admit, a living magic rock isn't something you see every day!" They shouted, hitting Lucci into a wall again. "It'll be nice to see what makes you tick."

"Oh yeah, well I already know what makes YOU tick, Andrias!" Polly grabbed the Music Box, taking it from the podium it was resting on. "Can't rule the manyverse without this thing!"

"Every frobot, grab that box!" He shouted, as the robots began ignoring the gang, going solely after Polly.

"I immediately regret my decisions!" Polly shouted as she rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting grabbed. "Hot potato time! Hop Pop, go long!"

"Ahh! Don't point them at me! I'm too old to die!" Hop Pop snatched it, passing it over to Sprig. "Sprig, present time!"

"I've got it!" He shouted, running to the window. "Catch me Queen!" A robot knocked him back in, sending the box sliding across the ground. "Why was she not here the moment we needed her?" The boy groaned.

"Didn't want her to get hurt!" Lucci quickly explained as he dashed through the bots, grabbing the box. "It's over Andrius!" He bubbled the box. "Make any funny moves and I destroy the music box! No one opens a portal, no one travels anywhere!" He wouldn't see mom again….but he'd protect both his old and new family at least.

"Oh I don't think you will." He stated … standing over Polly . "One wrong move and frog guts go everywhere."

"Come on!" Amity screamed. "She's a child!"

"So was Barrel when he died, but I still sent him out to fight!" Andrius yelled, getting his foot far too close to Polly.

"Don't do it Lucci! I'd probably take over the world if Andrius loses anyways, so it'll save everyone some trouble!" The brave little girl shouted defiantly.

"If you give him the box he'll kill the tadpole anyway!" Grime shouted. "If we're smart enough to backstab you, then he definitely is.

"We gotta do something Lucci!" Sprig shouted.

"I can fight my own battles Sprig!" Polly shouted back.

"Your time's running out." The bastard placed his boot closer and closer.

Everyone was shouting, everyone was telling him what to do, and his head was full of thoughts and ideas. If he was even a second off with Pink state, Polly was a goner. If he gave the bastard the box, everyone was. Sprig and Hop Pop would lose their family again, but the whole world was at stake. He couldn't be selfish, but the planters would hate him, but he couldn't…but he had to.

Why wasn't he good enough here?!

Why couldn't he do anything!?

Why…why… why wasn't he strong enough!?

The king went on. "Annnd-"

"Take it!" Lucci shouted, tossing over the Box. "Let her go!"

"Predictable." Andrius grabbed the box with one hand. "You know, Clawthorne. I was part of a group of friends myself. We had so much fun together." The bastard smiled like a sick maniac. "And then I learned an important lesson …"

Stomp

"You can't trust anyone but yourself."

She … Polly was … he … "You … You … You …" There was nothing but Pink.

"Come on now, I've warmed up enough, lets finish-"

Spark

Blue came into the picture, leaking from the box. " You…..you...you…" Purple was covering everything….his hair…his face….everything was purple. His sight, his taste, every sense he had, all of it was was purple. "YOU WILL PAY!!"

Before they could even raise their shield, Lucci threw a punch, feeling every atom in his fist connect with every atom on their face. Before inertia kicked in, he moved behind Andrias and kicked him, then he punched his arm, then kicked his leg, and again and again and again. By the tenth time he punched the bastard in the stomach, Andrias finally felt the first punch thrown.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM KAAAAABOOOOOOM

Every punch cracked the ground as it traveled all over Andrius, sending him into a crater where his body sunk in deep. "...Did Lucci even move?" Amity asked.

"If he did, it was far too fast for us to see." Willow observed.

The bastard of a king tried to raise their sword, but Lucci sent a shield right through it, chopping off their arm. As if he deserved one. He kicked right through the stomach. With every bit of pain he caused. He grabbed them by the chin, staring them in their eyes. "There is no good place you'll end up when I'm through with you." Lucci heard clunks of metal, sending out hexagons to destroy everything to his right, from the robots, to the wall, to a mountain in the distance.

KABOOOOOOOM

"....Okay, never pissing off that boy again." Hop pop muttered in slight terror.

Lucci raised his hand up, ready to smash this bastard to dust for EVERYTHING he caused, gazing into his eyes … the three of them … wait, why did a crown have-

Apathy AngerAbuse WisdomSuperiority SadismSUFFERING

He could do nothing but stare into the abyss of man which was not meant to know not meant to live with wisdom and evil growing beyond comprehension as the soul of entropy laughed with never ending suffering-

Slash

Suddenly, every sensation, every new feeling he had was gone, the awareness, the power, the darkness he just stared into…it was gone…replaced by the pain of his right leg…..getting sliced off.

"LUUUUUUCCCCCCCCI!" Everyone called out to him as he fell to the ground.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" So much for a DURABILITY INCREASE!

"You're a strong little monkey.." The bastard snarled as he raised his foot, and squashed his chopped leg into a mush. "But a monkey all the same. Just an unevolved primate."

"I don't know, if a monkey can beat your ass, I say you're undressing him!" A familiar playful voice called out as Frobo smashed himself against Andrius as the familiar purple orb hopped on top of his head.

"What the … Polly!" He shouted in relief. "How did you …"

"I grew legs!!" She cheered. "...Though I'll save the bragging until we…you know…" She pointed to his own dismembered leg.

"Wor-worry about it later, we need to grab the box!" He limped upwards. "Where …" He kinda lost it while … well, obliterating everything.

"Lucci!" Amity called out, holding it open while twisting the dial. "You and your family! Get them to the portal!"

"But-"

"Do it! You're our best chance now! We'll buy you time!" Willow shouted as she and Grime rushed to keep the bastard back…the bastard….and that…horrible….HORRIBLE crown.

"The crown!" He shouted to the two of them as he was carried by Sprig and Hop Pop. "It's wrong! Beware the crown!" If he was leaving them, he at least had to warn them about the thing.

"Noted!" Amity gave it a final twist, lighting up the air as a portal of green, blue, pink, and white lit up…a portal out of amphibia…a portal home. "I promise everything will be okay! We'll see each other again, I swe-"

Shing

The world was silent again….as Andrius stabbed Amity…. in the back…. through her chest!

"Trust me … this hurts me worse than … it hurts you." The man spoke.

"AMI-"

FLASH

Lucci saw nothing but white for a while. After what felt like forever, he shook his head, laying down right next to the planters as he stared up into the sky….the nice…purple sky where red grass laid everywhere.

"What … what happened?" Sprig asked.

"... We went home." Lucci said, for the first time not sure if that was a good thing "... To the Boiling Isles."