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vinization · 27 days ago

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A Poisoned Heart - Chapter 1

AO3 link

It is truly amazing how much a few lines on a piece of paper can change things. Anne learns this the worst possible way, but fortunately she meets someone who understands her pain. Little does she know said someone has plans for her, plans that will change her life forever.

Or,

Anne reads Marcy's journal and gets a new father figure. Unfortunately for everyone, that father figure is none other than King Andrias.

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Though wackiness and danger were a staple of life in Amphibia, one she had become very used to by now, Anne Boonchuy was sure this was her craziest day here yet. First, she and the Plantars had finally come within sight of Newtopia, after days of traveling on their fwagon (she still couldn't believe they agreed to call it that). Second, they couldn't actually enter the city yet because there were a bunch of giant ants nearby, because what would be a day in this world without some monster to deal with?

And third, Marcy was here.

Marcy was here!

Anne could barely pay attention to the battle plan her bestie came up with to deal with the barbariants - she almost forgot about them entirely, because the only thing her mind could focus on was that MARCY WAS HERE! And she wasn't just surviving here, but thriving! She looked so cool with that armor, crossbow and cloak... which suddenly caught fire for some inexplicable reason.

It was rather endearing, to be honest: despite all the "leveling up" Marcy clearly went through during her time in Amphibia, she was still the adorably clumsy nerd Anne knew since childhood.

Which quickly became a source of stress once they and the Plantars entered the barbariants' nest. As knowledgeable as Marcy was about pretty much everything (including botany, much to Hop Pop's delight), she couldn't stop herself from falling down a hole, or trapping Polly on the wrong side of a wall of insta-vines. And yet she insisted on staying at the front of the group, despite Anne's protests.

This mission couldn't end soon enough.

Finally, they reached the barbariant queen's chamber.

"Okay, here's the plan," Marcy whispered, handing bundles of stinkshrooms to her teammates. "We're going to have to plant these around the room, that way she gets a noseful. They're set to go off in five minutes, so move quickly." She took a breath before continuing. "Also, the queen is nearly blind but hears really well, so be very, very quiet."

Anne and the Plantars grunted in agreement, and so the group split up and began to sneak around the chamber, planting stinkshrooms on the ground as they did so. Everyone except Anne that is, since she chose to continue watching Marcy's back. They were right in the belly of the beast, and so Anne's senses were in overdrive, ready to react to the slightest hint of danger.

While Marcy was busy planting her batch of stinkshrooms, Anne's ears picked up the sound of a huge rock falling from the ceiling. The Thai let out a gasp before shoving her friend out of the way, getting a surprised yelp out of her.

"Anne?!" Marcy began, annoyed. "What are you -" Her train of thought ground to a halt once she saw what was about to happen. She didn't even have time to gasp, or let out any sort of warning.

The world froze, yet all Marcy could do was watch the rock fall squarely on Anne's left leg.

There was a crunching sound, which was soon drowned out by the scream that followed.

The Plantars reacted immediately, Sprig first and foremost.

"Anne!" He shouted. "What - OH FROG!" He immediately rushed to her side, followed by Polly and Hop Pop, but despite their best efforts they couldn't stop Anne from writhing and screaming in pure agony, her hands clutching at her wounded leg.

All they did was catch the barbariants' attention. The queen roared, commanding her hideous children to deal with these intruders once and for all. Her enormous, slimy, pulsating form towered over the group, and she extended her tongue, ready to swallow them all with a single gulp.

And then another scream, this one of pure rage, tore through the air, followed by a crossbow bolt that pierced the barbariant queen's tongue right as it was about to ensnare the frogs and their human family member. The monstrous arthropod shrieked in pain, spilling its repugnant blood and bile everywhere, before the stinkshrooms went off, finally forcing the barbariants to retreat.

Yet Marcy couldn't care less about the pandemonium going on around her - she had to save Anne (whose wails had given way to shaky whimpers), no matter what. The report to the king, the inevitable self reprimand for putting her best friend and her adoptive family in this situation, none of that mattered right now.

"Guys!" She called, ignoring the ugly feeling clawing at her insides. "C'mon, we have to get her out of here!"

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Were Anne not busy being consumed by excruciating pain, she'd likely be amazed at the fact she was still conscious. The world had long stopped making sense to her: shadows of various shapes and colors danced before her eyes, while her comrades' increasingly desperate pleas for her to stay awake were nothing more than jumbled noises to her ears.

It wasn't until her eyes were suddenly flooded by sunlight that she realized she was resting her head on Marcy's shoulder. Marcy Regina Wu, whose performance at gym back home was infamous to say the least, was the one who had carried her out of the cave. When did she become so strong?

"Alright, we're out!" Anne heard Sprig say. "What now?"

"We get her to a hospital!" That voice definitely belonged to Hop Pop.

"Duh!" And that was Polly, more than a little annoyed at the obvious.

"Wait!" Marcy cut in. "Before we do any of that, we need to stem the bleeding first. Help me lay her down!"

Anne felt herself being lowered to the ground, supported by three pairs of hands. She saw Marcy's face take most of her vision, but try as she might she found herself incapable of focusing her eyes on her.

"Anne, I'm going to apply a tourniquet on your leg." Marcy said, concern and anguish written all over her face. "Please be ready..." She looked and sounded like she was talking more to herself than her wounded friend.

Anne felt a piece of cloth wrapping around and then squeezing her leg. The pain became even worse, but by this point she was so exhausted that the sound which came out of her throat was only barely audible.

It was more than enough to get a reaction out of Marcy. "I know, I know..." She looked like she was about to fall apart, and that somehow hurt Anne far more than her wounded leg could ever hope to. She always hated to see Marcy cry, and this time it was even worse, not least because she was directly responsible for causing it: had the Thai been even a tiny bit faster or stronger, she would've been able to avoid that rock and everything that followed.

With the torniquet applied, Anne saw and felt the world shift around her once more. Her increasingly delirious mind concluded, correctly, that she was being carried by Marcy once again. She saw tears falling from the ravenette's eyes, and all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around her and tell her everything would be alright. That she didn't need to cry for something that wasn't her fault.

Anne heard a bell ringing, and wondered if Marcy was actually an angel carrying her to heaven.

She certainly looked like one.

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Anne had no idea how much time went by after she finally fell unconscious - she couldn't tell if she had been out for minutes or days. She didn't even know what place she was in, no matter how much her body and eyes moved against her will.

It was completely unlike all the movies and shows Anne had seen during her young life. Rather than being stuck in some dark void, her eyes and ears were constantly assaulted by images and sounds she couldn't even begin to make the slightest sense of. She felt her body jerking and her throat vibrating every now and then - was she trying to talk, or just screaming? She couldn't know, for her brain would shut down, like a lightbulb being turned off, before it could interpret the messages sent by her senses properly.

It had become a routine: Anne would 'wake up', squirm, make some noises she was incapable of hearing for whatever reason, then black out. Rinse and repeat, over and over and over, until she stopped bothering to count. It didn't matter how many times it happened, though: she never, ever got used to it.

However, there was another thing that remained a constant, together with the lapses in and out of reality. Namely, a warm, soft feeling on her right hand, enveloping it tightly enough to be felt but not enough to hurt. She sometimes felt something similar on her left hand, but it was much colder and... slimier? Weird.

That warmth was the only comfort Anne had during her spasms, and boy was she grateful it never went away. As much as she squirmed and (presumably) screamed whenever she was 'awake', the feeling on her hand was always a beacon of warmth and kindness, a refuge against the storm that plagued her senses.

Until, at long last, Anne opened her eyelids out of her own volition. Everything was blurry and muffled at first, but as the seconds (or minutes, or hours...) went by, her eyes were able to slowly scan the environment around her. She was in a large room (to put it mildly - the ceiling looked so far away!), probably some kind of infirmary, and everything in it was bathed in the warm, orange light of the afternoon sun, which came in from a nearby window.

She knew where she was (to an extent) and what time it was. Now it was time to solve the big question: where, or rather who, was the warmth on her hand coming from? Anne sort of knew the answer all along, but she wanted to see it with her own eyes.

She tried to turn her head, but her neck muscles refused to budge. She kept on trying anyway, letting out an audible groan from the effort, and felt the grip on her hand tighten, followed by something that sounded very much like a sob. She hated it.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of trying, Anne finally turned her head. And was greeted by the sight of the person she had expected since the very beginning.

"Mar..." She croaked, and felt her throat's soreness almost immediately - so she had been screaming, after all. "Mar-Mar?"

Marcy's head snapped a full 90 degrees in her direction, and at long last Anne got a good look at her expression. To say she looked dreadful would be an understatement of monumental proportions.

"A-Anne?" She stammered, her puffy, bloodshot eyes brimming with tears ready to be shed at a moment's notice. "I-is that really you? Are you actually awake this time?" She bit her lip to contain a sob. "Please be awake, please..."

Anne found herself unable to speak, so she held Marcy's hand a little bit tighter and smiled at her. It was a tiny, nigh imperceptible thing, the corners of her lips moving only a few millimeters upward.

It was more than enough for Marcy to fall apart.

"I'm sorry!" She wailed, now grasping Anne's hand with both of her own. "I'm sorry, I'm SO sorry!" Tears poured out from her eyes as if they were waterfalls, glistening on her cheeks. "I went on and on about how I wasn't a klutz anymore, how you didn't need to protect me, and then..."

"Marcy..." Anne managed to utter, her voice low and hoarse.

It wasn't enough to stop Marcy's increasingly broken monologue. "You were just worried about me, because you had every reason to, and I just HAD to get in the Zone! You nearly lost your leg because of me! It's because of me that you're-"

"Marcy!" Anne shouted with all of her might, and her bestie snapped out of it at long last. The two girls kept staring at each other, not making a sound, for what felt like several minutes, but was probably only a few seconds.

Finally, Anne spoke up once more. "Marbles," she began. "How long was I out?"

"Three days."

Another pause.

"You haven't slept yet, have you?" Anne asked.

"I never left your side." Marcy replied, and her tone was completely different from before. It was confident, direct and, above all else, proud.

"Marcy..." Now it was time for Anne's eyes to fill with tears.

"And I'd do it all over again."

This was too much for the Thai, and she finally began to cry. Marcy stayed there holding her hand, just as she had for the last three days, and all Anne could think about was how lucky she was to have her as a friend. Her tears dried up at some point, and the two girls engaged in small talk (Marcy handed Anne her phone, allowing her to show all the photos she took of her past adventures) until the sun began to set, the warm orange which filled the room slowly giving way to darker, colder tones.

"Okay Marcy, I think you can go to sleep now." Anne spoke up, her eyes fixated on her friend's bloodshot counterparts.

"No way," the ravenette replied without hesitation. "I can't, what if something happens?"

"Aren't we in the castle?" Anne retorted. "Like, the safest place in not just Newtopia, but all of Amphibia?"

"I know, but-"

"She speaks the truth, Master Marcy." A feminine voice Anne never heard before suddenly barged into the conversation, and she craned her head in its direction. It was a short, long haired and aquamarine skinned newt, wearing what was probably the fanciest dress Anne had ever seen.

"But Lady Olivia," Marcy replied, "I need to at least tell the Plantars about this! I also have to--"

"They fell asleep not long ago, and they've barely had any rest of their own." The newt, whose name Anne now knew was Olivia, stated. "You shall inform them of this tomorrow."

"But--"

"Go to bed, Marcy." Olivia's tone and expression were stern, but she quickly softened. "Please."

Marcy locked eyes with Anne last time, before slumping her shoulders in defeat. "Fine..." She got up, let out a long sigh, and exited the room. Something fell on the floor, but nobody paid attention.

"Thanks for that." Anne gave a small smile to Olivia. "She really needed it."

"I look forward to talking with you in the future, young lady." Olivia replied with a warm smile of her own. "Marcy speaks very highly of you."

Anne let out a giggle, and saw the newt give a short bow before she too left the room. The Thai was completely alone now, and she quickly concluded her best option was to get some sleep of her own in preparation for tomorrow - she couldn't wait to hear the Plantars' voices again.

It didn't take long for her to stumble upon a problem, though: she couldn't. Whether it was because she was too anxious to talk to her adoptive family or because she had slept for too long already, Anne couldn't keep her eyes shut for long.

With nothing else to do, she began to stare at the ceiling... until that too became too boring to do.

"Ugh..." Anne facepalmed. She fiddled with her phone for a while, but the lack of anything resembling the internet here meant her entertainment options were very limited. And she had already binge watched every episode of Suspicion Island with the Plantars, so...

"Dang it..." Anne groaned, an irritated expression on her face, until she suddenly had an idea. If she couldn't get up from her hospital bed, she could at least check out how her body was holding up.

Her left leg was in a cast, as she expected, and said limb was, to her immense relief, still in a recognizable shape. She couldn't feel anything in there yet, which made sense since she probably spent the last three days hooked up on who knows how many anesthetics. Her other limbs were fine, if a bit sore from, well, everything she went through.

It was a shame she wasn't wearing her old school uniform anymore, even if Anne couldn't fault the doctors for getting rid of it. It was a painful loss, since that outfit was one of the last reminders she had of home. Speaking of doctors, she wondered how they treated Marcy after she appeared in Newtopia - according to the nerdette, she was so busy gawking at the scenery she fell down a flight of stairs and broke her own leg in the process.

She hoped they didn't treat her like the Wartwoodians treated Anne at first - Marcy deserved better than that.

Time continued to go by, yet sleep continued to elude Anne despite the darkness surrounding her. The boredom was becoming unbearable for her, and the longer she laid wide awake in her bed the more confident she felt about doing at least something with her body. She wasn't about to attempt to walk around, she wasn't stupid, but maybe she could at least try to sit up.

Anne took a deep breath and, despite her back muscles' protests, rose ever so slowly before finally stopping. The world shifted around her, and from her new position she could see her surroundings in a different angle. The first thing she realized was that the room she was in was, in fact, huge, so much so it seemed almost unnecessary to have so much space, especially when it came to height. She'd have to ask Marcy about this later.

Anne began to look around, using her phone's flashlight in the hopes she'd find anything interesting. After a few minutes, the Thai eventually found an object that caught her attention: a book on the floor, close to where she was. It took some effort, but she managed to extend an arm and grab it.

"Now what's this?" Anne thought aloud as she brought the book closer to her eyes, which grew as wide as saucers once she got a good look at the cover.

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Marcy's Journal

A Guide to Amphibia

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"Whoa..." Was all Anne could say to herself at the moment. She had completely forgotten Marcy had a journal - she kept writing things on it even as she, Anne and the Plantars entered the barbariants' tunnels, eagerly documenting everything she saw - she must've dropped it while leaving the room. Anne wondered, for the briefest of moments, if she could--

NO, she immediately shot that idea down. If Marcy's journal was anything like her own, it was likely full of very personal thoughts she had no business knowing about without her bestie's permission. And yet...

"Grr..." Anne growled, irritated at her growing curiosity. She still wasn't sleepy (this latest discovery didn't help), and she loathed the idea of continuing to stare at the ceiling even a second longer. But she couldn't read the journal behind Marcy's back, that would be beyond awful. She had just gotten her back, after all, and she saved her life.

Yet she also hadn't told Anne about her own adventures besides some vague hints here and there, even as the Thai poured her heart out about all the times she nearly got eaten by some random giant monster, or the time she adopted a freaking kill-a-pillar... the fight she had with Sasha, even if she omitted a few details...

"Urgh..." Anne cradled her head in her hands before letting out a loud sigh. This should've been an easy decision, just keep that journal shut and ask Marcy about it tomorrow! Why was this so difficult?

Finally, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Just a peek," Anne told herself. "Just a teeny tiny little peek..." She slowly opened the journal, her hands shaking like tree branches in the wind.

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WARNING

You can only read this journal if you do one of the following

1. solve my password

2. defeat me in battle

3. get my permission :3

Belongs to:

Marcy Wu

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An ugly feeling settled into Anne's stomach. She didn't meet any of the requirements, and the longer she stared the more chills ran down her spine. She really, really shouldn't be doing this.

She turned the page anyway.

Next came a drawing of the Music Box, so perfect and precise it looked almost like a photo - Marcy had always been an excellent artist, and it showed. Next to the drawing were three questions, each focusing on a different aspect of the Box: what the three gems on it could mean, what was up with the frog drawn on it, and, last but definitely not least, how it worked.

By this point Anne's unease had given way to outright dread. She couldn't stop her eyes from wandering to the next page.

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OMIGOSH

OMIGOOOOOOSH!

It worked!

The music box actually worked!

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"... What?" Anne's heart skipped a beat, and she rubbed her eyes in the hopes she'd see something different. When that didn't work, she shook her head. It didn't change anything.

She kept on reading.

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This is unbelievable. I am smack dab in the middle of another flipping world!!! I know the book said... but I didn't actually think it was gonna... but it DID and I'm here and--

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Anne felt like her brain was about to shut down, just like how it did so many times before. This... this couldn't be real. The Marcy she knew would never... and on her birthday?

Her lungs kicked into overdrive, the sound of her breaths deafening. Her heart pounded inside her chest, but it did little to diminish the feeling she was on the verge of blacking out, nor did it fill the gaping chasm in her stomach.

She kept on reading, hoping to find something that would indicate at least a little bit of regret, but all she saw were more 'omigoshes' all over the page, plus some irrelevant information. It wasn't until she saw the very last words that it finally hit her.

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Time to take the first steps of my very own Isekai adventure!!!!

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...

An adventure.

Marcy knowingly tore Anne away from her family so she could go on an adventure.

The pit in Anne's midsection continued to grow. She turned page after page, and all she saw were vivid, utterly delighted descriptions of all the places and people Marcy met during her stay in Newtopia, plus everything else that caught her interest. The more she read the journal, the more she remembered how her first days in Amphibia went.

While Anne landed in the middle of a swamp, Marcy landed in a cozy city.

While Anne had to sleep in a cave, surrounded by giant insects and other monstrous creatures, Marcy was pampered and coddled.

While Anne had to earn the Wartwoodians' respect with blood, sweat and tears, Marcy became besties with the freaking king without even trying.

A sob forced its way out of the Thai's throat.

This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair!

All Anne wanted to do was enjoy her birthday! She didn't want to get transported to a world full of talking frogs who saw her as a monster, all while the wildlife kept trying to eat her or worse! She just wanted to spend some time with her Mom and Dad, was that too much to ask? What did she do to deserve this?

She felt sick, angry, betrayed, enraged. Above all, however, she felt powerless. She had come to terms with the fact Sasha wasn't that good a friend, but this... this was too much.

So Anne sat there in her bed, tears gushing out of her eyes as she did her best to contain her sobs. So focused she was on keeping the storm raging within her under control, she didn't notice how her surroundings were shaking as if an earthquake was going on.

"Um... hello?"

A deep, booming voice 'whispered' from above, snapping Anne out of her little world of pain and tears. She looked at the direction it came from, and her eyes were greeted by the single largest newt she had ever seen. Anne felt her heart threaten to leap out of her mouth the moment she laid eyes on this stranger, for if his gigantic size and white beard weren't enough of a hint, the crown sitting atop his head surely was.

She was looking at none other than king Andrias Leviathan himself.

"H-h-hi..." Anne managed to stammer.

A long paused ensued, and Andrias sat down. It didn't make his size any less intimidating, not least because of how this simple act made the entire room shake.

"So... you're Anne, right?" He asked hesitantly, and the Thai forced herself to nod.

"Lady Olivia told me what happened, so I figured it was time I checked on you in person." The giant newt continued. "I didn't expect you to be up at this hour..."

Anne didn't reply. She just kept staring at Andrias with wide eyes, as if expecting him to crush her at any moment.

"What are you reading?"

The question hit Anne like a ton of bricks, for she immediately remembered she was still holding Marcy's journal.

"N-n-n-nothing!" She stammered, trembling like a leaf, before hiding the journal behind her pillow. "It was nothing, j-just a sad book! Yeah, a really sad book!" She forced a smile, and quickly assumed the worst after seeing how Andrias didn't look a single bit convinced.

"I'm sorry!" Anne tried to shield herself, as if that would make a difference against an attack from someone ten times her size. "I-I know what I did was wrong, I'm sorry! I promise I'll--"

"It's okay."

Anne froze upon hearing those words, before slowly craning her head in Andrias' direction. Rather than the furious frown she expected for daring to peek into his closest advisor's deepest secrets, the Newtopian monarch's expression was full of concern and sympathy.

"Wha-what?" The girl managed to ask.

"Marcy told me of what she did." Andrias looked pensive before continuing. "How she knew about the Box all along."

Anne took a deep breath to regain some of her bearings. "Did she tell you why?" She asked.

"Something about her father getting a new job out of state," Andrias replied. "She said she was afraid of losing you and your other friend, the one called Sasha."

"So she took me away from my parents instead." A laugh escaped Anne's throat, one so bitter even she was surprised. "My home, my life..." Another sound came from her throat, this one a sob.

"I'm sorry." Andrias extended a finger towards the Thai, and she leaned on it for comfort. It was soft and pliable, like a huge cushion. "If it's any consolation, Marcy told me she regretted what she did."

She sure didn't seem like it, Anne wanted to reply at first, before remembering the ravenette's breakdown after she woke up. She recalled how sunken her eyes were, the way her hair was a complete mess, how she never left her side during her coma. "I hope so."

A moment of silence went by, before Anne broke it. "But even then..." She began. "I still can't believe she'd actually do this. I've known her all my life, I never thought she'd be willing to..." A shudder ran through her body before she could finish the sentence.

"I know what that's like."

Anne's head turned so fast she almost got dizzy. "You do?"

"Yes." Andrias repositioned his hand so that it was roughly level with Anne's bed. "Say, there's something I'd like to show you. Care to come along?" He asked, his solemn look giving way to a warm, inviting smile.

"Um, sure!" The girl replied with careful excitement before crawling towards the king's gigantic hand. It took a while longer than she would've liked, but she managed to do it. Her point of view suddenly shifted upwards as Andrias stood up to his full height and brought Anne close to his face. The mysterious, intimidating giant was gone, replaced by a kind old man who was willing to comfort even a complete stranger.

"Ready?" He asked, his smile widening.

"Lead the way, big guy!"

"With pleasure!" Andrias let out a giggle that, although low for someone his size, was more than enough to rattle Anne's entire being.

The Newtopian monarch began to walk through his castle's myriad hallways, all illuminated by the dim light of Amphibia's moon. Anne had a bird's eye view of her surroundings, and it was all so cool! There were tapestries and paintings all over the walls, stained glass windows and columns with sculptures of snakes coiling around them. She couldn't wait to see what this place looked like during the day.

Finally, after a few minutes of walking, Andrias entered his throne room, and Anne couldn't help but gasp at the sight. It was everything she had already seen, yet somehow even more beautiful. The blues, purples and aquamarines of the walls, tapestries, columns and windows combined with the moonlight perfectly.

Topping it all off was a huge coral throne full of intricate designs. Anne could only imagine what it was like to sit on it.

"Wow..." It was all she could say.

"Pfft, this is nothing." Andrias waved his free hand dismissively, an easygoing smile on his lips. "You see this place once, you've seen it a thousand times." His smile changed in an almost imperceptible way. "What I'm planning to show you is way more interesting."

Something about the king's tone and expression sent shivers down Anne's spine. "O-okay..."

Andrias walked away from the throne, in the direction of a seemingly ordinary statue. He pushed a hidden lever, and the sound of stone shifting from its original position filled the duo's ears.

A secret passage.

The dread Anne felt when she read Marcy's journal returned in full force.

"... What's down there?" She managed to ask.

"I could tell you," Andrias replied, his smile so sweet it was almost sickening. "But I'd rather not spoil the surprise." He walked down the spiral staircase, a blue coral torch on his other hand.

Anne really, really wasn't liking this, but she couldn't muster the strength to say she wanted to go back to her bed, assuming the giant newt would even listen to her. She was completely at his mercy, and that terrified her to an extent she hadn't felt since her first night in that cave.

Strange, ghostly creatures appeared, and Anne did not like how they scurried away the moment Andrias approached them.

Finally, the stairway ended, and Andrias entered a large, dark chamber. Try as she might, Anne couldn't see an inch ahead of her.

She shivered nonstop.

"We're here," Andrias began solemnly, before turning his full attention to Anne. "You're about to see something no one in Amphibia knows about, not even Marcy." He paused briefly before continuing. "This is a secret I've guarded for a thousand years, and I'm about to share it with you."

"Why?" Anne asked right away, her dread giving way to a careful excitement. "Why me?"

"I'm tired of lying, Anne." The king replied, and for the first time since the Thai met him he actually sounded his age. "I can't do it anymore, not to you. You deserve better than that." He put the torch on a slot in a nearby wall, and the entire room lit up.

Anne's anticipation gave way to complete and utter astonishment. She blinked several times, struggling to comprehend that what her eyes were registering was in fact real. Her mouth was so wide her jaw looked as if it was about to fall off, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't utter a sound.

"What... what am I looking at?" She asked after what felt like an eternity.

"Our history," Andrias replied without skipping a beat. "Our real history."

Every inch of the room was covered in murals and reliefs, not unlike those one could find in an ancient tomb or monument. Anne couldn't understand a lick of what was written in them, but she didn't need to: there were more than enough images all over the room, all very easy to interpret.

They showed various scenes, depicting workers, merchants, warriors, scholars and nobles, depending on the context. One element Anne found particularly interesting was that they didn't seem to be divided by race: from what little she bothered to learn in between all her adventures, modern Amphibian society was a caste system, with frogs serving as farmers, toads as soldiers and newts as intellectuals.

These murals showed a different story: all three species proudly standing side by side as equals. Anne's eyes wandered, and she saw various other reliefs, some showing seated figures with crowns on their heads. They were undoubtedly Andrias' ancestors, if only because of how big they were compared to everyone else.

Anne's eyes landed on an image depicting a huge, walled metropolis, its magnificent spires dwarfed by a building whose outline looked very familiar. Before she could ask anything about it, however, she saw something else, an image that brought her train of thought to a screeching halt.

"The Music Box..."

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Andrias spoke, sounding proud but also... sad? Forlorn? "It was my ancestors' dearest possession. It was with it that they united Amphibia, and led it into an age of prosperity unlike anything seen before. And nowhere was this clearer than here in Newtopia." He looked like he was about to cry for a second, but kept himself together.

Anne had never been so eager for a history lesson before. "What was Newtopia like back then?" She asked.

Andrias looked pensive for a few moments, as if searching for the right words to say. "I can't put it into words, it wouldn't do it justice." He began, a smile on his face as he recalled memories from a long bygone era. "It was a city where all Amphibians could live in harmony, thanks to the Music Box's power." The king's chest swelled with pride. "We were proud, united, with a future to look forward to. And our technology, oh don't even get me started on it!" The jovial smile Anne was now used to returned to his face, yet it still carried a hint of sadness.

"C'mon, tell me!" Anne was sure that, were her leg not in a cast, she'd be jumping in excitement. "Come on!"

"Well kiddo, I asked Marcy about your world's technology once." Andrias replied, a hint of smugness in his voice. "I know it's not nice to brag, but it doesn't hold a candle to what we used to have. We had factories, airships, robots! Believe it or not, this castle could fly!" The newt smiled upon hearing Anne's amazed gasp. "And since we had the Box, we were free to visit all kinds of different worlds and learn from them."

Anne needed a minute to process all the information she just heard. "Dude... that sounds AWESOME!"

"It really was." Andrias let out a long, exhausted sigh. "And then everything fell apart."

"What happened?" Anne asked before she could rein her curiosity in.

"I happened. Or rather, my 'friends' did." The way Andrias said that one word unsettled his little listener to her core. It was a deep, near animalistic growl, which betrayed the rage that still boiled inside him a thousand years latter.

Anne kept her mouth shut this time.

"Their names were Leif and Barrel." Andrias resumed talking once he got his emotions under control. "We knew each other since we were tadpoles, and got into all sorts of trouble together while growing up." He couldn't help but giggle a little, as he remembered some of the many shenanigans they got themselves into. "We were inseparable."

"And then...?" Anne asked hesitantly.

"They betrayed me. The day before I was meant to become king, Leif stole the Music Box, grabbed a weapon and blasted her way out of Newtopia. And Barrel?" Andrias looked at Anne for a moment, expecting her to try and guess the answer. "He did nothing." The giant newt continued when no such guess came. "Leif ran away, and Barrel let her." He balled his free hand into a fist. "I've had to deal with the consequences ever since."

A pause ensued, giving Anne the time she needed to gather her courage and speak up once more. "So that's why everything here's so... medieval? Because the Box was stolen?"

"That's exactly it, my dear." Andrias, and for the second time that night he sounded his age. "I was forced to watch my civilization, my home, be reduced to a shadow of its former self, all because of me." His voice dripped with venom, all aimed at himself. "Our technology, everything my ancestors worked for, it all went down the drain because I couldn't see that the people I trusted my life with were nothing more than--" A strange force snapped him out of his monologue, and he looked down.

His eyes were greeted by the sight of Anne hugging one of his fingers with all her might. "It wasn't your fault," he managed to hear between what sounded way too much like crying.

"You're a good person, kiddo." Andrias said before patting the girl's head with another finger. The gesture, combined with his words, soothed Anne's cries, and the old newt found himself immensely relieved for a reason he couldn't quite explain.

A few minutes of hugging and patting later, Anne let go of Andrias' finger and turned to face him.

"I'll help you." She said confidently.

"Hm?" The giant raised an eyebrow, as if unsure of what he just heard.

"You heard me right, big guy." Anne repeated, her eyes shining with determination. "I'll need the Music Box to get back home anyway. You can keep it and bring Amphibia back to what it used to be! Everybody wins!"

"I do like what I'm hearing," Andrias replied, doing his best to conceal his mounting excitement. "But do you even have it? It could be anywhere..."

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Anne said enthusiastically, and Andrias' eyes grew as wide as saucers. "Hang on, I don't have it with me right now," she added. "Hop Pop left it with some contacts back at Wartwood. I have a photo though!" The Thai grabbed her phone, searched for the right image, and held it up for Andrias to see.

"Hmm..." The king squinted his eyes and put his free hand on his chin. "That's definitely the Box. The gems are grey, though..."

"Hey, you're right," Anne scratched the back of her head, slightly embarrassed. "I, uh, never actually noticed."

"No matter!" Andrias beamed. "I'll just search through the deepest of our archives, there should be something we can work with in there."

"Great! What can I do to help?"

"Well, can you translate ancient Amphibian runes?"

"Eeeeeh..." Anne couldn't help but look away.

"Hahahahaha!" Andrias bellowed. "Don't worry about it kiddo, I got this. You just enjoy your time here in Newtopia, okay? You deserve it."

"Thanks, I'm sure I will." Anne's lips curled into a warm smile, though it didn't last long. "Um, I've got one last question, if you don't mind."

"Sure, go ahead." Andrias replied. "What is it?"

"Okay, so, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to," Anne began, her body language betraying her unease. "But, why did Leif steal the Box in the first place? I mean, she must've known how important it was to you guys, right?"

Andrias' eyes widened in surprise, and Anne immediately regretted asking. Before she could apologize, though, the king spoke up.

"She did," he began. "As to why she stole it, you saw what the Music Box can do firsthand. It takes a lot of power to open portals to other dimensions, and that power can do a whole lot of damage if it falls in the wrong hands." He felt his little listener shudder at the thought. "Leif didn't trust me with it, so she took that choice away from me."

"Ah," something clicked inside Anne's head, and her eyes narrowed. "So she was that kind of friend."

Andrias raised an eyebrow, prompting her to continue. "The kind of friend who bosses people around. The kind who says they care about you, but don't listen to anything you say." Her hands balled into fists. "The kind who bully and threaten you into doing all kinds of stuff you don't want, and get you in trouble for it." The brunette finished with a snarl.

"I'm sorry you had to know someone like that." Andrias replied with a sympathetic look. Deep down, however, he felt an urge to find out wherever this person lived and then crush them beneath his boots.

"Don't worry about it, I stood up to her." Anne smiled. "She won't push me around anymore."

"That's good to know." Andrias couldn't help but sigh in relief. He thought of asking about this mysterious bully's identity, but concluded his conversation with Anne had gone on long enough. Besides, if his previous talks with Marcy were any indication, he could guess with a reasonable amount of confidence that this person was Sasha Waybright - he'd have to deal with her sooner or later.

First things first, though.

"Say Anne, I think you've learned enough stuff for one night. Want to go back to bed?" Andrias asked. He was answered with a yawn, and so the giant newt exited the room without further ado, climbing the same stairway that led the pair down here.

The walk back to Anne's room was short and uneventful, Andrias' footsteps surprisingly quiet despite his size. It wasn't until he reached his destination that he realized Anne had fallen asleep on his hand.

He couldn't help but stare. Here was one of the three champions of the Prophecy, more vulnerable than ever - she was no longer aware of her surroundings, and even if she was she wouldn't be able to do a thing if Andrias even thought about harming her. It would've been so, so easy to just crush her into a bloody pulp right then and there.

Yet he didn't. He had several opportunities to dispose of her this whole night, but he did not take a single one.

The idea of turning one of the Calamity Gems' bearers against the prophecy they were supposed to uphold was one he had considered since he first met Marcy three months ago. Despite her immense intelligence, however, the Taiwanese girl was way too similar to Leif for Andrias' comfort (she even called him 'Drias' when they first met), and that unease skyrocketed after the confession she made over that game of flipwart. She'd be a pawn and nothing more.

Anne, though? Everything Andrias knew about her indicated she was a person who did right by her friends, even though they clearly didn't deserve her. How could he not comfort the girl when he first saw her, crying her eyes out after discovering Marcy's true colors? She had been failed by one of the people she trusted the most.

Just like him. And he knew that, if he didn't help her, she too would be left to deal with the consequences of that betrayal all by herself.

She deserved better.

Andrias sat down, picked Anne up with as much care as he could and slowly tucked the girl into her bed, making sure she was in a position where her cast wouldn't cause any unnecessary discomfort. Once her head was resting on a pillow and her body covered by a blanket, he got up and prepared to leave. Before he turned around, however, he heard a sound that made him stop in his tracks.

"Mhhhmm..." Anne mumbled before opening her eyes. She sat up, blinked a few times and looked around. "Whoa, I don't remember getting here..."

"You fell asleep on my hand," Andrias explained. "So I put you in your bed myself."

Anne stared at him for a few seconds, as if she didn't understand what he said, before her lips curled into a tired yet happy smile.

"Hey, Andrias?" She began. "Thanks for everything, I needed this."

For the second time that night, Andrias was on the verge of tears. "Anytime, kiddo." He wiped his eyes for good measure.

------------------

I've had this Tumblr blog for years now, yet I never really used it much. So I might as well start posting this Amphibia fanfic I've been working on for the past few months, because why not?

#amphibia #amphibia fanfic #amphibia au #anne boonchuy #king andrias #andrias leviathan #evil anne au #evil anne #marcy wu #sprig plantar #hop pop plantar #polly plantar #a poisoned heart #alternate universe #canon divergence #canon divergent au #lady olivia #hurt/comfort #angst

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