Months ago…
It was a normal day like any other in Newtopia. Inside the castle, Cody sat in his office with mountains of paperwork on his desk. It wasn't easy being the captain of the city guard, along with being quarter master and trainer for the guard, but at least it pays well.
'There's always a silver lining, I suppose,' The older man thought to himself. 'As long as Valor and Ina have a secured future.'
He still remembered the difficult life he had to lead back on Earth, living as a wondering ronin back home, before he came across a young pair of orphans, both struggling to live, before he adopted them, teaching them how to adapt and survive, but most importantly, to fight.
Stopping his work for a moment, he stood up and looked out the window behind his desk, looking out to the training yard, seeing the two teens training with the guard. He still remembered when they first arrived, how they fawned over the young princes, the sons of the king, and when the brothers were at the age of five, they would train with Valor and Ina, developing a close relationship with them. Now, those days were gone, one had disappeared into the night, with the family treasure in tow.
And the other? Scarred and mentally damaged.
Sighing, Cody moved away from the window and sat back down at his desk, ready to try and get through all this paperwork…
"Pardon me, Master Maelstrom?"
He raised his head at the call of his moniker, the voice belonging to the advisor to the king.
"Olivia? I trust that's you?" He said.
"Yes, it is me." Olivia said. "The king has asked me to introduce the newly arrived to you."
Curious, the older man got up and moved around his desk, and sure enough, at her side, was a young teenage girl that seemed to be thirteen years of age, with her leg in a cast.
"Well, this day just got interesting." He remarked, a finger and thumb to his chin.
Looking up, the girl's eyes widened with amazement. "No way! There's a human besides me here?!" She said in excitement, quickly hobbling over in front of the man and looking him up and down. "Wow! Are you a ronin, by any chance?"
Blinking a bit, Cody chuckled. "Well, I used to be, before I was employed by the king." He told her.
"For real?! That's insane!" The girl exclaimed. "How was that possible?"
Before she could question further, Olivia gave a sharp cough. "Master Marcy, I'm afraid Master Maelstrom is quite busy, as you can see." She then gestured to the desk with paperwork mountain. "So, let us continue with the tour so he can get back to work."
"Well, it was good meeting you, Marcy." Cody gave a nod. "If you're interested, come find me later and I'll give you some hands-on training."
"I look forward to it!"
With the two leaving, the older man sat back at his desk, his mind drifting back to the excited girl before chuckling.
'Perhaps her company will do the kids some good.'
Present day…
The city was just as beautiful as Shadow remembered. The streets were clean with the many newts walking about, tending their stalls and others standing and mingling, some even turning to greet him, and the boy would greet them back. Heck, there was someone singing about the city.
Overall, it was a welcome sight, one that Shadow was happy with.
Eventually, the group had made it to a burger shop, a place Shadow was more than happy to see, as Marcy was more than happy to treat everyone to the finest burgers in the city.
"Enjoy, everyone! This place makes the best beetle burger in all of Newtopia!" Marcy declared.
Everyone chowed down, Shadow took off his gloves before taking hold of his burger and taking a bite, savoring the taste of freshly grilled beetle meat.
"One of the few things I miss about this city." He sighed before swallowing. "I remember Apollo and I would come here so often after a rough day of training, along with Valor and Ina."
"Before you had left, you mean." Apollo said coldly.
There was animosity between them, mostly from Apollo's side, and Marcy could feel it. She really wanted to fix the rift between the brothers, but she wasn't quite sure how.
Polly sucked the whole burger into her mouth, munching before swallowing it whole, before noticing Marcy jotting something down in her journal. "What's that?" She asked, pointing at the journal.
"Oh, just my journal." Marcy answered. "I like jottin' down theories and observations. You know, all about indigenous fauna, medicinal techniques, customs, and nuances of Amphibious species-based caste systems..." Polly started to zone out as Marcy spoke, the polliwog growing bored.
"Sometimes I even do drawings." Marcy said, showing off her drawing of Polly with the burger.
Polly gasped with big eyes. "It looks just like me."
"It's always good to keep a record of your journey." Shadow nodded before turning to Anne. "Anne, have you been keeping a journal too?"
Anne just turned around with two straws up her nose. "Look, guys! I'm a straw-lrus! Like a walrus, but with straws!"
Sprig, Ivy and Kaemon laughed out loud before going silent.
"What's a walrus?"
"Is that a thing in your world?"
"Can I have it as a pet?"
Shadow chuckled at the kid's antics, Apollo merely rolled his eye, Valor and Ina simply biting into their food while Cody looked at the estranged brothers with a worried look.
"Now, who should I give the bill to?" The server said as he approached the table, glancing at Anne. "Probably not you."
"Oh, I'll—" Shadow tried to say as he made to pull up his coin pouch, but Apollo had already beaten him to the punch, almost slamming a bag of coppers onto the table.
"That won't be needed." Apollo said with a side-eyed glare, his expression softening when he turned to the server. "Twenty-eight coppers, my good newt. And an extra ten copper tip, for your good service."
"Mighty kind of you, good sir." The server bowed, accepting the bag.
Shadow frowned at Apollo. "Really? I was going to pay for it."
"And I already said that it isn't required." Apollo replied harshly. "Besides, you probably wouldn't have enough anyway."
"Making a lot of assumptions there," Shadow said with a disapproving look. "I've saved plenty back in Wartwood."
"I miss the part where I'm supposed to care." Apollo said flatly.
Having drawn the 'straw-lrus' in her journal, Marcy frowned at Apollo's attitude towards Shadow. Of course, she understood why, after all, his brother had been away for so long, which led to their relationship to become strained, but that still didn't mean he had to be rude.
"Wow! That's impressive, kid!" Hop Pop said, having missed the rudeness on Apollo's part, before looking at Anne. "Can you do math like that too, Anne?"
Anne exhaled through her nose, blowing out the straws. "Uh, you mean like with numbers and stuff?" She asked.
"Can you imagine if Marcy got stuck with us in Wartwood? We'd be set for life!" Polly exclaimed.
"Hush, Polly. Think those thoughts, don't say them." Hop Pop scolded the polliwog, not wanting to hurt Anne's feelings.
"Or maybe if she got stuck with Azazel instead?" Valor spoke up. "Would those two be dating instead?"
"Perish the thought." Apollo frowned scornfully, pulling the Taiwanese girl close, almost protectively. "As if anyone, much less one shoe there, could ever outclass my kadan."
"Hehe, Apollo." Marcy blushed at his words, although she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about the way he addressed Anne.
"What's a kadan?" Ivy asked with a raised brow.
"Kadan is a newt term for 'my love' or 'my heart'." Kaemon told her.
"And I wouldn't trade my Anne for anything." Shadow replied, pulling Anne close. "Especially for someone so clumsy and oblivious. No offense, Marcy."
"Dude, stop it." Anne chuckled, blushing.
"You dare!" Apollo shot up, along with Shadow, both glaring with sparks between their eyes.
Marcy watched the scene uncomfortably, before turning to Cody, "How long is this going to be a thing?" She asked with worry.
"Marcy, these two have been through a lot." The older man told her. "From allies to brothers in arms. You can't just force the trauma to go away and expect everyone to be friends, that's not how life works."
'I wish.' Marcy thought to herself. Two relationships to fix; between Anne and Sasha, and the brothers.
"Okay, guys, let's not…" Anne tried to say something to get them to back down, but saw something that made her scream. "Look out!"
Shadow raised his hand in time to catch an arrow that was fired in his direction, while Apollo caught the second one, the Plantars, Maddie and Ivy screaming.
"Someone's trying to kill us!" Hop Pop yelled in fright.
"Calm yourselves, hillbillies. Just a message from the king." Apollo said, pulling the note off the arrow before pocketing said arrow and unfolding the note. "Oh, correction. It's a puzzle-gram from the king."
"Same with this one." Shadow said, holding up a similar note.
The Plantars, Anne, Kaemon, Ivy and Maddie looked confused, before Apollo flipped his scroll around, showing them the puzzles. The first one looked like a coral tree with an eye open and an eye closed, the second one had a dragonfly over a compass symbol with only the letter W, and the last one was an upside-down triangle with what looked like a radiation symbol. Shadow's, on the other hand, was completely different, except for the last one, the first one being a parkour symbol with an arrow pointed around it, the second one had a Christian symbol with an eagle moth on top.
"He's basically hidden clues around the city and when we collect them all, we get a message." Marcy declared with excitement. "Ah! It's so fun!"
"Not many appreciate a good puzzle these days." Apollo said.
"Okay, this first symbol is a tree, so we should head towards Coral Park." Marcy said. "Now come on, team. It's puzzle time!"
"A puzzle tour of Newtopia?" Sprig said, sharing Marcy's excitement. "Sounds fun!"
"Count me in!" Ivy chimed in.
"It'll be fun to explore the city." Maddie nodded.
"Well, color me intrigued." Kaemon said.
Everyone cheered, although Cody raised a hand and caught another arrow with a message attached, giving it a quick read.
"Sorry, but duty calls." He said, getting up from his seat. "Me and these two have some work to catch up on."
"Aw, already?" Valor whined.
"Yeah, I wanna stay and solve puzzles with Anne!" Ina added.
"You two will have plenty of time to spend with the others afterwards." Cody assured them. "Now come. We have a lot of work to catch up on."
Groaning, the two teens got up and followed Cody back to the castle, leaving the group to the puzzles.
"At any rate, we should split up." Marcy suggested. "Apollo and I will do ours while you and Shadow do that one, Anne."
"Sounds good to me." Anne said.
"If it's alright with you, Ivy and I will stick with Marcy." Sprig said.
"I can get behind that." Ivy smiled. "That way, we'll make sure she doesn't trip and break her neck."
"I heard that!" Marcy called.
"And Maddie and I will stay with master and Anne." Kaemon chimed in.
In agreement, the group split up, leaving Hop Pop and Polly behind.
"Come on, Polly! This may be our most exciting adventure yet!" Hop Pop declared, placing Polly on his head.
"Hey, thanks for coming in." The server said, taking the plates. "Would you like to join our customer loyalty program? You can get free gifts."
"Gifts? Free?!" Hop Pop gasped.
"Oh, no." Polly said, already knowing where this was going.
After splitting off from Marcy and the others, Anne, Shadow, Kaemon and Maddie going down one street with Shadow leading the way, since he had the map with the clues, as well as knowing the streets of Newtopia as well as Apollo, despite his absence.
"Wow! Whoa! Look at that!" Kaemon said in awe of his surroundings.
"You sound like a little kid, Kay." Maddie remarked, chuckling at the swordnewts behavior.
"This is my first time in such a big city, of course I feel like a tadpole!" Kaemon declared, but frowned when he took notice of Anne's downcast expression. "Anne. You're not marveling. Is everything okay?"
"Well, I don't know. It's just..." Anne said before sighing. "Marcy's always been the smart one in our group. I've always just felt kinda dumb around her. Even Shadow's miles ahead of me."
"What?" Kaemon said aloud, before Anne shushed him.
"Shh! He'll hear you."
"Sorry."
"Hey, you shouldn't worry about that." Maddie said. "Besides, I'm sure you have things that she doesn't."
"Like what?" Anne asked.
"You've got better control over your powers." Kaemon pointed out. "Marcy hadn't shown anything like that."
"He's right, you know."
Anne nearly jumped before turning to see Shadow had stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "And you have nothing to be envious of Marcy over. You have your own gifts, and I taught you everything I know."
Anne gave it some thought before nodding. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She said.
"And, hey, maybe if we can solve our puzzle gram from the king before Marcy and Apollo solve theirs, it'll prove you're just as smart as she is." Kaemon said. "If it'll help you feel better, that is."
Anne thought it over, "Hmm. Well, I did get us out of that puzzle dungeon that one time." She remembered the trap they got into before she solved the door puzzle.
"Yeah, you did!" Shadow smiled. "In fact, why don't you help me? It's been five years, after all, and I might be a little rusty."
"Alright, it's on!" Anne declared with motivation. "Mission 'Prove I'm not a dumdum,' engage!"
She walked forward, right into a sign.
"Might want to watch where you're going first." Maddie chuckled.
"Shut up."
"Wait, what's this about a puzzle dungeon?" Kaemon asked, confused.
Marcy's group had arrived at their destination, a park filled with large, pink coral trees.
"Here it is, guys. Coral Park!" Marcy declared.
Both frog kids looked at the park in awe, Apollo rolling his eye. "Are you country folks this easily amazed by every little thing?"
"Okay, let's solve this!" Sprig declared with excitement. "So, one eye open and one closed. Hmm... Ooh!" Sprig then approached one of the trees. "What if we aren't supposed to look at the trees? What if we're supposed to listen to them?" He then proceeded to hug the tree, pressing his ear against it.
Apollo gave a flat look. "What are you, a hippy?"
"I love it! Hmm, but I was also thinking," Marcy said, approaching the statue with the telescope. "This statue of Ezra Brackish is looking through a telescope. He's got one eye open and one eye closed, right?" She then pulled the back off the head, revealing a part of the telescope and looking through it, seeing the word 'bring' written on the trees. "Gotcha! 'Bring'. So that's the first part of the message. Brilliant!" She then quickly wrote down the word.
"Leave it to Marcy to quickly figure a puzzle out." Apollo praised her.
"Oh stop." Marcy chuckled with a blush. "So, the next clue is..." She then looked at the next symbol. "Oh! I recognize this. Come on, gang! Let's motor!"
After walking a down several alleyways and streets, Shadow's group had reached a medium sized building, inside were several obstacle courses and newts inside doing parkour tricks.
"Okay, so from the look of this symbol," Shadow said, pulling up the puzzle. "It seems to involve parkour, somehow."
"Maybe the clue lies inside the shop!" Anne declared. "Come on!"
"Right behind you!" Kaemon declared.
The duo rushed inside, leaving Shadow and Maddie outside.
"That's not right, is it?" She asked.
"Apollo and I were never allowed inside, due to it being for amateurs only." He told her. "Although, if I remember correctly…"
Walking to the side of the building, Shadow looked down the alley to see several objects stacked in various manners, like an obstacle course.
"Hey, I remember this spot." He said, Maddie standing next to him. "Apollo and I would use this alleyway to practice parkour."
"Pretty convenient." Maddie nodded. "Although, how come nobodies cleaned this place up?"
Shrugging at Maddie's question, Shadow took a running start, jumping on one of the stacks of bricks before leaping up and grabbing the ledge over him, then shimmied over and throwing himself at a pole in between the walls and launching himself to a scaffolding before walking over to the roof, spotting an X on one of the plates.
"Found anything?" Maddie called up to him.
Crouching down, Shadow took hold of the roof tile, wiggling it a bit and felt how loose it was before pulling it out of place. Turning it over, the word 'welcome' was written on the inside.
"Found the first clue!" He finally called back before climbing his way down.
"How come you didn't fly up?" Maddie asked, the boy landing gracefully on the ground.
"It's more exhilarating to climb." He said.
Suddenly, the doors of the parkour building swung open before Anne and Kaemon were tossed out, both landing on their butts.
"And stay out!" The owner yelled before slamming the doors shut.
"Well, that didn't go as we hoped." Anne said, getting up and dusting herself off.
"Almost like they don't take kindly to people tearing apart their studio." Kaemon deadpanned.
"Don't say that out loud!" Anne snapped.
"Well, don't worry, you two, we already found the first part of the message." Shadow said, holding up the roof tile. "Now, come. I think I know where the next part will be."
As Shadow and Maddie walked on, Anne standing dumbstruck as Kaemon offered a sympathetic smile.
"Maybe you'll have better luck on the next one?" He said.
"Yeah, I can do this!" Anne said, getting her confidence back. "Let's go get that next clue!"
The two cheered, but before they could take off, they heard a newt cry out, "Goblin! Come on, girl! Goblin, get down from there!" Looking up, they saw a black coastal kill-a-pillar stuck in a tree.
Kaemon's eyes bugged out. "Uh, kid? That's a wild animal." He said, reaching for one of his swords with intent to kill.
"Wait, don't hurt her!" Efty begged. "I raised Goblin when she was an egg! Please!"
Unsure, the swordnewt looked to Anne, who stepped forward and patted the newt girls head. "Don't worry. I got you." She then flew up and grabbed the kill-a-pillar before flying back down, before handing the animal back to its owner.
"Thanks, lady." Efty said with a grateful smile, Golbin meowing in appreciation.
"No worries. I actually have one just like that back home. But with less legs." Anne said.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Kaemon said, rubbing the back of his head. "I came across a few kill-a-moths that tried to eat me."
Efty held the pet up and she licked the newts cheek.
"That means she forgives you." She said.
"Yeah, totally not tasting me." Kaemon chuckled.
"Anne, Kaemon, come on!" Maddie called.
"Whoop, gotta go!" Anne said, turning and taking off. "Don't let that thing grow up."
"Seriously, don't!" Kaemon added before following after.
"Catch you later!" Efty called, waving goodbye.
Goblin meowed.
The four walked onward down the street before stopping at a church at the center of the district.
"Hey, I recognize this place." Shadow said, looking at the rather large cathedral. "This was where Karlia would go for religious service every Sunday!"
Hearing the name, Anne remembered the conversation she had with Hop Pop, about how Karlia was like a sister to Shadow, but besides how she died, she didn't know that much about this character.
"Hey, Shadow, if you don't mind me asking," She spoke up. "Who exactly was Karlia?"
"Yeah, what's that about?" Kaemon asked in confusion.
Shadow paused for a moment, unsure on how to tell the story about the person who mattered the most to him growing up.
"She…was an extraordinary newt." Shadow explained, a hint of sorrow in his voice. "Ever since I was a newborn, Karlia was one of the newts that volunteered to tutor me and Apollo. Since then, we started seeing her as an older sister, her wisdom having helped us more than once." He looked up at the sky, a sorrowful look on his face.
"And then there was a riot one day?" Anne said.
Shadow looked at her in surprise. "Yes, but how did you know?"
"Well…Cody might've mentioned something about her and how it made you insanely depressed." Anne quickly said.
Shadow looked at her for a moment, before chuckling, "That old fart. He always worried for my wellbeing."
Anne internally sighed, thankful that he bought the half-truth.
"And yeah, there was a riot that resulted in her death." Shadow said. "That day haunted me ever since."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you remember something so sad."
"Nonsense. It's only right that you know, now that we're here." Shadow told her. "Now, enough of my sad life. Let's solve this next puzzle!"
"Let's see, it just hast this picture of a cross." Kaemon pointed out on the scroll. "And what's with the eagle moth?"
Anne cleared her throat. "Let me take this one, boys."
Taking the scroll, Anne looked at the symbol, straining to think up something, almost feeling the symbol taunt her.
You'll never solve me!
Anne let out a startled yelp, but quickly recomposed herself, remembering that Shadow was near.
"Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom! BRB!"
With that hasty statement, Anne suddenly rushed off, leaving the others confused.
"Well, that was sudden." Kaemon said.
Anne panted heavily as she ran before stopping, looking around frantically.
"Okay...Gotta find help. Um..."
She looked around, desperate for a solution, before spotting an elderly newt sitting on a bench across the street.
"Aha! An old person! Old people love puzzles."
She then walked over, sliding over before whispering, "Psst, hey. Wanna solve a puzzle?" She asked, holding the scroll out to her.
Looking over, the elder newt immediately threw away the crossword puzzle she was originally doing. "Ooh! Looks like a juicy one. Pull up some bench, dear. The name's Doris." She said, patting the spot next to her.
"Anne." The Thai girl introduced herself, sitting next to her. "Okay, any idea what this symbol has to do with the church?"
"Oh! My son, Harris used to work at the church." She then paused. "Oh, wait, no. Harris worked at the library. Jerry worked at the church. Or was it Dave?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on." Anne held her hands up. "How many sons do you have?"
In response, Doris opened her wallet, showing a long line of photos.
"Whoa."
Back with Shadow, he and Kaemon stared at the church with intense stares, all the while, Maddie walking around and inspecting the building.
Finally, Kaemon broke the silence, "Hey, maybe the eagle-moth has something to do with the top of the church?" He suggested.
Giving it some thought, Shadow began climbing the building, using the ledges and beams sticking out to reach the top, then climbed up the pole, then took notice of a note wrapped around the tip. Pulling the paper off from the tip, he then floated back down to the ground.
"What's it say?" Kaemon asked.
Unfolding it, Shadow read the word 'home' on the paper. "'Home'. That's word number two; 'Welcome home'. Just one more to solve." He said before pocketing the paper.
Marcy's group arrived at the next destination for their next clue, which was the museum.
Holding up the scroll, Marcy looked at the symbol with a critical eye. "Why the 'W'? I mean, what's that supposed to mean?" She asked no one in particular.
Looking at the symbol, Ivy said, "Perhaps we're supposed to look westward?" Everyone looked to the left but saw nothing. "Man, I feel dumb."
There was a moment of silence before Sprig asked Marcy, "Hey, can I see your crossbow arm?"
"I don't see why not?" Marcy said, handing it to the pink frog.
Looking at the building, Apollo then craned his head to the left, raising a brow. "I wonder if..."
As the newt prince approached the building, Sprig accidentally fired off the crossbow, shooting down a bird. Apollo looked on the left side of the building, the wall covered in cracks in a curious shape.
"Hey Yeller, I think you were on to something." He said.
"I was?" Ivy asked.
"The lines between the bricks of this west side wall of the museum match up perfectly with the street grid of Newtopia." Apollo said, pulling up a map of Newtopia, and sure enough, he was right.
"I knew this looked familiar!" Marcy exclaimed. "Which puts us right about..." She then reached out and grabbed one of the bricks before pulling it out. "here!" On the side of the brick, it read 'Me.'
"Bring... me..." Marcy said before pocketing the brick and gasping. "Only one clue left to go!"
"We're on a roll today!" Ivy declared. "I wonder how Anne and the others are doing…"
Meanwhile, back with Anne, the Thai girl was still sitting with Doris, and at some point started painting the elder newts nails.
"Well, if Dusty is upset about what Buster said, he should just tell him so." She said, the conversation clearly deviating from what she originally came to the newt for.
Just then, Maddie slid into view. "Hey, Anne. So... Shadow figured out the second puzzle." She said.
This made Anne gasp before she jumped to her feet. "The puzzle! Sorry, Doris. Gotta run. It was nice talking to you." She quickly said to the newt before running with Maddie.
"You too, Anne." Doris called, waving goodbye. "Don't forget my offer to set you up with one of my sons."
"Doris, stop it!" Anne called back with a laugh. "Besides, I'm already taken!"
"Hey, Anne. Glad you could catch up." Shadow said, showing her the scroll. "Take a look at the final clue." He pointed towards the last symbol. "It's referring to the big bridge downtown. Come on!"
Shadow took the lead, running ahead, with the others following behind, although Anne had a disappointed look on her face, as the group passed by the burger place, where Polly and Hop Pop were still sat, the table stacked high with plates.
"Hop Pop, Polly! We're goin' to the bridge!" Maddie called before they kept running.
"Take me with you!" Polly called, but they were already out of sight.
"Polly, look! Just 987 more lunches, and we get a free suit of armor!" Hop Pop shouted, his mouth stuffed with olm knows how many burgers.
Polly groaned.
The four ran down the street before they were joined by Marcy, Apollo, Sprig and Ivy.
"Guys, you made it!" Kaemon declared.
"Yeah, we just finished the second part of the puzzle gram!" Marcy told him, showing the scroll. "Just one more and we'll have it solved!"
"It was quite easy, once you know where to look." Apollo shrugged. "Then again, we are blessed to have someone with quite the intelligent mind."
"Appa, you're making me blush!" Marcy laughed, her face indeed red.
"Okay, Anne. One clue left." Kaemon said, hoping to cheer his human friend up.
"Yeah, and I bet Marcy and Shadow will probably solve it before we get there." Anne said, looking down in disappointment.
"Oh, come on. So, they're good at puzzles." Maddie said. "That doesn't mean you're any less intelligent."
"Thanks, dude." Anne said, smiling a bit, but her smile dropped when they reached their destination. "Huh?"
Sure enough, upon arrival, at the center of the bridge, was a massive golden statue of Marcy, holding a book and a pair compass.
"They seriously built a statue of you?!" Kaemon asked in astonishment.
"Oh, yeah, yeah. I know." Marcy said, as though it wasn't a big deal. "I made a few suggestions on how to increase the weight limit, and they kinda, like, named it after me."
"It was falling apart and was in desperate need of repairs." Apollo added, standing next to her. "So, imagine my shock when she rolled up her sleeves and asked for as many laborers and artisans we could provide to whip this bridge back into shape."
"Okay, now you're just spoiling me today." Marcy chuckled. "Now, come on! Let's see where this triangle fits in."
As the couple walked off, with Shadow and the others following, Kaemon and Maddie noticed the sad look on Anne's face. "Okay, so she designed a bridge. That doesn't mean..." Maddie tried to say.
"Please stop." Anne said, holding her hand up.
"Yeah, okay." The witch said, now her turn to look sad.
"Why don't you go ahead? I think I need a moment alone." Anne said before turning and walking away.
"Uh, okay. Just holler if you need something." Kaemon said, watching her go. He wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything, before following the rest of the group. Shadow, on the other hand, did notice and followed.
Alone, Anne sat on a bench next to a gnatcho stand, groaning in frustration. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind picked up and blew the gnatcho trays away, the vendor, a plump, purple female axolotl tried grabbing them. "My trays!"
"I got 'em!" Anne yelled, jumping up and catching the trays before they could hit the ground.
"Thank you, sweetie!" The axolotl said as Anne returned the trays. She then prepared a tray of gnatchos. "Here, have some gnatchos on the house."
"Thanks! My name's Anne, by the way." Anne said, accepting the tray.
"I'm Gertie. Nice to meet ya." The axolotl said before noticing how down Anne looked. "Something got you down, Anne?"
"Have you ever had a friend who's so smart, they make you feel dumb?" Anne asked.
"Honey, this is Newtopia. Everyone here's a genius." Gertie said. "And then there's me, with my dumb old gnatcho cart."
"What? Gertie, don't say that." Anne said. "You're an independent businesswoman. You've got it goin' on!"
Gertie chuckled. "Oh, aren't you a sweet one! You wanna know my trick? Fake it till you make it. If you act like you're smart, everyone assumes you are."
"Really? That works?" Anne inquired, taking a bite of her gnatchos.
Gertie nodded. "I don't know the first thing about cooking, and look at me. I'm a famous chef!" There was a pause. "Well, I'm a chef." Another pause. "Well, I'm in the food business."
From a distance, Shadow heard the whole conversation, his heart felt heavy for Anne. He had no idea she felt this way, before he sprung an idea and approached.
"Hey, Anne!" He said. "We're kinda stumped here with the last puzzle. We could use an extra mind."
Anne turned to Gertie, who gave a thumbs up, before she walked with Shadow back to the group, who were waiting on the bridge.
"I still don't see where she can find the answers where we struggled." Apollo said flatly.
"Just give her a chance." Shadow admonished him.
"All right. What do we got here?" Anne said before looking at the two scrolls, straining to think up a solution. 'Come on, Anne... fake it.' She though to herself before coming up with something. "So, a triangle has three sides, right? Three rhymes with, er..." She struggled a bit before saying, "'tea'. You brew tea with water, and there's water in, uh..." She thought hard, before spotting an open manhole. "The sewer! Let's go down there."
Apollo gave a deadpan stare. "That has to be the most ridiculous reach I've ever heard." He said flatly.
"Wait, she might be on to something!" Sprig declared.
Apollo gave him a look as though the frog had grown a second head. "Seriously?"
"Hey, why don't you and Shadow stay behind this time, Appa?" Marcy suggested. "You guys already helped so much."
Apollo wanted to reject the idea, but Shadow interjected. "I don't mind. I trust Anne to find the answers."
Marcy and Anne jumped down in the sewers, with the newt and frog kids following behind, leaving the brothers in awkward silence.
"So, wanna grab some gnatchos?" Shadow suggested. "It's been a while since we grabbed some together."
Apollo narrowed his eye at him. "You don't say?" He said sarcastically.
Dropping down in the sewer, the group walked on, taking notice the lack of filth.
"Whoa! This sewer's shockingly clean." Sprig said.
"Yeah, it doesn't have that sewer smell." Ivy added.
"There's actually a reason for that. I..." Marcy made to say.
"Rehauled the sewer system?" All of them said.
"How'd you know that?"
They walked on before coming upon a valve.
"Hey! Check that out." Anne declared, pointing at it. "That looks just like the circle in the clue. Kinda. We obviously have to turn it."
She then proceeded to turn the valve, after turning it, there were several clanking sounds before a pipe overhead opened, and to their shock, a massive allegator fall out, splashing in the water.
"Speak of the devil!" Marcy declared, for some reason not showing any concern. "Here comes one of my improvements!"
The alligator saw the trash in the water before devouring them.
"Would you guys believe that in addition to eating live meat..." Marcy explained to the group, completely unaware of the gator now towering over them, with a hungry look on its face. "...these babies love eating trash?"
"Go, go, go!"
"Let's move!"
The group took off running, Anne grabbing hold of Marcy's arm before running, barely dodging the snapping jaws of the gator as it gave chase, the group ran down the tunnel before climbing up a ladder, only to find the manhole blocked by a cover.
Anne strained as she tried to push the cover off. "Holy crud, that's heavy!" She then began charging her fist with Calamity energy.
"Glad to see you came back, Azazel!" Gertie said, giving the brothers their own trays of gnatchos.
"Always good to have your awesome gnatchos, Gertie." Shadow said with a smile.
The boys sat on a bench, Apollo scooting away from him.
"Say, Apollo, doesn't this scavenger hunt seem odd to you?" Shadow asked.
"Why would it be?" Apollo asked blandly.
"Think about it; each place we've found the clues hold some significance to us." Shadow explained. "Like the alleyway where we found the first clue; you and I went down that way to practice parkour because we weren't allowed in the studio. Or the church where we found the second clue, since it was the same church Karlia worked."
While it bothered him hearing the name of his sister figure coming from his estranged brother's mouth, Apollo had to admit that what he said had some merit.
"Now that you mention it, that's not too farfetched." He admitted. "The coral park, where we found the first clue for our puzzle, was where Karlia would take us to play with the coral trees. And the second clue was found at the museum, where we were taken to learn history."
"These places were where we'd spend the most time at." Shadow said. "Back then…when we were kids…"
The two fell silent, both frowning and unsure how to continue, before Shadow sighed.
"What happened to us, Apollo?" He asked. "Where did we go wrong?"
Apollo looked at him as though he had stepped on his tail. "Are you serious?"
Before he could rip into him, tell him exactly where his adopted brother went wrong, the manhole cover nearby was sent flying into the sky before it came back down, getting the attention of both the boys and Gertie.
"What the-?!" Gertie gasped, when she saw Anne crawl out. "Anne?"
Anne then pulled out Sprig, then Maddie, followed by Ivy. Marcy made to get out next, but the gator latched on to her cape, forcing her to discard it before crawling out. Kaemon made to crawl out, but the gator clamped its jaws around his tail, making him scream in pain as it nearly dragged him back down.
"Kaemon!" Maddie scream, she and Anne grabbing hold of the swordnewt. "Get off him, you overgrown lizard!"
Gertie and the boys rushed over to help. "Don't worry, Anne. I got ya!" She said.
Just then, Doris and Efty got off a tour bus when they heard the commotion.
"Did you say 'Anne'? The tall, gangly creature?" Doris asked.
"She saved my Goblin. We gotta help her!" Efty stated.
Meanwhile, Polly and Hop Pop had just left the burger joint, Hop Pop now cladded in a suit of armor he had won.
"Okay, they said they'd be at the bridge. Do you see 'em?" Polly said, looking around, and imagine her surprise when she saw Anne, Marcy, Shadow, Apollo, Sprig, Maddie, Ivy, and three strangers trying to save Kaemon from being eaten by a large gator. "Typical."
"Hang in there, Kaemon!" Maddie yelled.
"We'll save you, youngster!" Doris added.
Finally, Shadow charged his fist with Calamity energy before punching the gator in the snout, making it leg go a falling into the water, the group pulling the newt out.
"That's gonna leave a mark." Kaemon remarked, hissing from the pain.
"Hang tight." Maddie said, pulling out a first aid kit.
"Anne, what happened? Are you kids okay?" Hop Pop asked with worry before becoming stern. "Can't you go ten minutes on your own without getting into some kind of crazy danger?"
"Aw, give her a break, Hop Pop." Kaemon said, as Maddie bandaged up his tail. "Anne's already sad because Marcy's so smart she makes her feel dumb."
"Kaemon!" Anne snapped.
Upon hearing that, Marcy looked at Anne in confusion. "What? Anne, is that true?"
Anne paused for a minute before confessing. "I don't know. Maybe? I guess I get a little jealous of you sometimes. I mean, you're so smart, and I'm... not." She then gestured to Shadow. "Even Shadow makes me feel miles behind."
Shadow blinked at this, remembering her talk with Gertie and the start of the hunt before Marcy stood up. "Anne, that's insane. Besides, I'm jealous of you."
"Huh? What for?" Anne asked, confused.
"Yeah, what for?" Polly asked, equally confused.
"You get along with people so well." Marcy said, gesturing to Gertie, Doris, and Efty. "Three people you met today just risked their lives to save you." She then gestured to Shadow and the Plantars. "Heck, the wild boy of Wartwood here adopted you and would do anything for you. Even the Plantars treat you like family. Yeah, sure, I'm good at solving puzzles and calculating the check, but you're amazing at making connections." She looked away with a shy blush. "Me, I have trouble looking people in the eye sometimes."
"She's right, Anne." Shadow said, helping Anne to her feet. "What you lack in book smarts, you make up for it in heart."
Anne smiled at this. "Thanks, Marcy, Shadow. Maybe that's why we make such a good team. Come here, you." She then pulled the two into a hug.
Apollo watched, a smile crept on his face and his expression soften.
"Hey, anyone else want a snack?" Sprig said, him and Kaemon holding trays of gnatchos.
"Yeah, that nice lady gave us some gnatchos." Kaemon said, now sporting a bandage on his tail.
Anne grabbed a chip, but nearly gasped. "Whoa! Wait a sec, it's... Look!" She held the gnatcho up and one of the scrolls up. "The symbol... it's a gnatcho!"
"Sprig, Kaemon, empty those trays!" Shadow said.
The frog boy and swordnewt quickly ate the gnatchos, inside the trays were written phrases. In Sprig's was 'the Plantars', while Kaemon's tray was 'my son'.
Everyone gasped.
"That means the messages are... 'Bring me the Plantars'." Marcy said. "And the other…"
"'Welcome home, my son'." Shadow read, surprise written on his face.
"Oh, guys, we've been summoned! And you solved the puzzle grams, Anne!" Marcy said.
"Self-esteem boost and an audience with the ruler of this world? Win-win, baby!" Anne declared with pride.
Everyone cheered, but Shadow remained silent, staring at the message in silence, that expression never leaving his face. He had no idea what to feel.
"He…wants to see me?" He finally said.
"Of course, he does." Apollo said, standing next to him. "Were you expecting father to simply forget you exist, or not want to see you after five years?"
Shadow didn't say anything, feeling a whirlwind of emotions inside. On one hand, he was terrified out of his mind, frightened of what the king could want from him. On the other, he was curious, genuinely wondering if the king just wanted to see him.
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, turning his head to see Anne next to him.
"Hey, like I said, we're in this together." She said with confidence. "So don't think you're facing this alone!"
Shadow smiled, his hand taking hers. "Thanks Anne."
"So... you guys wanna feed gnatchos to that alligator?" Anne asked, holding up a tray.
Oddly enough, everyone, including Shadow and Apollo, agreed, Anne throwing one chip after another down the manhole and into the gator's jaws, the gator happily eating the snack.
"Just look how happy it makes him." Sprig said.
Hop Pop hummed in thought. "I wonder where Cody and those teens been off doing."
Somewhere…
Bomme Frite never felt more scared in her life. Not only had some unsavory toads forced her to make nasty weapons of war, but now she heard word of an agent of the king was asking around. She now hid behind the curtain of her office, looking out the window.
"I swear, it's only a matter of time before those cursed things lead back to me." She said in a frightened tone. "As if this couldn't get any worse."
"Probably best to not jinx things."
With a startled yelp, Bomme turned and, sure enough, there stood the Maelstrom, standing in the doorway, with a deadly look on his face. If Bomme wasn't already scared, she certainly was now.
"Wait! Please don't hurt me!" She screamed, huddling in a corner and her hands over her head, waiting for her end to come.
"Relax, I won't hurt you." Cody said. "But that would greatly depend on how cooperative you are."
Bomme relaxed, but still fearful. "Wh-What do you need?" She asked.
Cody then dropped the broken device on her desk. "How did this end up in the hands of a barbarian?" He demanded.
Looking at the device, Bomme gasped. "That thing…it was commissioned by the Tower Lords. They call these things 'Nulifiers'."
"Why?" Cody pressed.
"They wanted a counter for Andrias' Calamity Warriors." Bomme told him. "They insisted that it's for defensive purposes, in case the king uses them against everyone. But the prince would never raise a hand against the people!"
Thinking it over, Cody turned to the door. "That's all I needed. Good day."
Leaving the frightened engineer, Cody walked down the halls, walking past the many bodies of cut up toads that littered the halls before he reached the roof, looking out onto the horizon.
"Whether it be in Andrias' hands or the toads, this could complicate things." He mumbled. "I need to do something about this."
He then raised his sword, and in a flash of lightning, he was gone.