If Shadow wasn't anxious already, his anxiety just reached new heights, as he and his group walked through the halls of the royal castle. Despite his five-year absence, he still remembered how it looked, the pillars of marble and silver, the crystal chandeliers, stained glass windows and green banners bearing the gold Amphibian frog foot symbol.
"Talk about fancy." Ivy remarked, looking about. "What's next? An entire room made of gold?"
"Dang, girl. This is where you've been hanging out this whole time?" Anne asked, as Marcy and Apollo led the way.
"I wouldn't say I 'hang out' here, but yes!" Marcy said. "Staying at the castle has been awesome!"
"I bet it has." Shadow mumbled to himself, silently reminding himself the reason he left in the first place.
"Wow, I can't believe we're here!" Sprig said to Polly, the polliwog sitting on his head.
"And that we're about to meet the king of Amphibia." Polly replied.
"I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous." Maddie said.
"Yeah, meeting the king can do a number on your nerves." Ivy admitted with a nervous chuckle.
"Wow, just look at this place." Hop Pop said, looking about in wonder before suddenly getting stressed. "Am I dressed okay? Should I have worn my silk ascot? I'll go back and get it."
Before the old frog could run off, Marcy grabbed him by the shoulders. "Hey, hey. Don't stress, guys. This is no big deal."
"It should be." Apollo said under his breath.
The group was then approached by Olivia and Hemlock, both having just stepped through the giant double doors that led to the throne room.
"Greetings, honored guests!" Hemlock declared loudly, swinging his arms overhead. "You're about to be graced with the honor of meeting King Andrias!"
"Yes, in other words, this is a big deal." Olivia said in a serious tone.
The frog family and friends gulped nervously, Shadow especially was nervous, but Anne holding his hand helped him relax before they were led into the throne room.
The room's interior was massive, supported by pillars of silver with statues of snakes wrapped around them. On the floor was a royal rug with a blue fish scale pattern and on the ceiling were mosaics of various scenes depicting amphibian warriors and scholars. And just like the hallway they were just in, it also had stained glass windows.
Everyone looked in awe as husband and wife then gestured in front of them.
"May I present to you Andrias Leviathan, Lord of Amphibia." Hemlock began with a raised hand.
"Peacekeeper of a thousand years and the first of his name." Olivia finished with a raised hand.
Before them sat the king himself, sitting on a giant throne of coral. Andrias Leviathan was about as gigantic as he remembered. As big as a mammoth, if not bigger, the king was a large newt with bluish skin and a lighter underbelly and pale-yellow eyes. He was stocky and muscular, with white hair and a full-length beard, along with crows feet. He wore a dark purple metal suit of armor that had an X-shaped battle mark on the left abdomen over a lighter colored shirt with cuffs similar to a Victorian aristocrat. He also wore a crown, along with pauldrons shaped like snails shells; the right pauldron having a smaller X shaped battle mark on it. He also wore a gold snake belt and a purple and yellow tunic.
"Now that's king-sized." Anne remarked, amazed by the size of the ruler of Amphibia.
Shadow only stared in silence, a hand resting on the handle of Black Hope as though ready for any sudden moves, the king staring down at the group with a stern, intimidating glare until…
"HELLO, Plantar family!" The king then suddenly declared in a deep, booming yet jovial voice, much to the guest's surprise, the king laughing as he got up from his throne and stepped forward. "Oh, bring it in, you guys. Bring it in!"
"Quick, kids, bow." Hop Pop whispered.
The kids did as the old frog said, only to be surprised when the giant newt approached and wrapped his massive arms around them, Maddie and Ivy and pulling them into a hug, squeezing tightly and rubbing them against his beard.
"It's so good to finally meet you!" The king declared before dropping them back on the floor.
"I love this guy!" Polly exclaimed.
The king laughed before taking notice of Kaemon. "And who do we have here? A wandering swordnewt?" He asked, crouching down a bit and looking at Kaemon closely.
"Greetings, your majesty." Kaemon declared before bowing. "I am Kaemon; Demon of the Four Sword and descendant of Malakai!"
"THE Malakai?" Andrias gasped. "Why, I didn't know he had any kids!"
"So, you really did know him?!" Kaemon exclaimed.
"Knew him? We were best buds back then!" The king declared with a jolly laugh.
"Dear King Andrias, just once, it would be nice if you followed proper castle etiquette." Olivia said to the king with an unamused expression.
The king then blew a raspberry, before saying, "Oh, etiquette smetiquette!" He then noticed the two new humans next to Marcy and Apollo. While Shadow was hiding under a hood, the other one, Anne, was sweating and looking nervous. "Ooh! And what do we have here?"
"Hey..." Anne said nervously with a wave.
The King approached before getting down to one knee. "You must be Anne. 'Sup?" He looked at Marcy. "Um, am I saying it right? 'Sup?"
"You got it!" Marcy said, giving a thumbs up.
Andrias laughed once again. "The thumb of approval. And here's a thumb for you, Anne." He said before giving Anne a thumbs up of his own.
"Oh, uh... right back at ya." Anne said, giving him a fist bump, much to the king's delight.
The king chuckled, then laughed exuberantly. "Delightful!" He declared with a jump, making the whole room shake, causing Anne to nearly fall over, had Shadow not caught her.
"But now, let's get down to business, shall we?" Andrias said. "Getting you girls back home, safe and sound."
A sharp cough from Hemlock drew his attention. "My king, aren't you forgetting someone?"
Andrias seemed confused before looking at the group, Shadow stepping forward and removing his hood and revealing his face. Andrias' eyes widened with shock, father and son locking eyes in a silent stare down, and while Andrias with riddled with surprise, Shadow was riddled with fear and a hint of suppressed rage, the boy's fingers twitching as his arm rested on the handle of his sword.
The silence prolonged, Army General, advisor, and guests watched in concerned silence, although it was hard to tell with Hemlock wearing shades, until…
Meanwhile, just now entering the castle, Cody and his students walked through the halls, having completed their mission.
"So, to recap, we don't know what these nullifiers are, we don't know where their base is and apart from Siwang," Valor said, frustration in his voice. "We also don't know if anyone else commissioned this tech to be made for them." He sighed as he kicked the ground. "Man, this just sucks. What are we going to do now?"
"Aw come on, Val, it's not like you to focus on the negatives." Ina said, wrapping an arm around her friend's neck. "We'll get some answers and let the others know."
"I know. It's just…you saw what happened last time," Valor said with a shrug. "They were all so powerless and I couldn't do anything to stop Siwang."
"Hey, it was new tech there wasn't much any of us could do no need to beat yourself up over it," Cody assured his male student. "I'm sure you'll find your own way to get stronger, but for now let's keep this mission under wraps. We don't want the others to know without being able to provide any suggestions to stop these nullifiers. Besides, we gotta see how Shadow and the Kings interaction is going."
Seeing that they were coming upon the doors to the King's throne room, both Valor and Ina paused in fear.
"Um, actually I got somewhere to be." Both Valor and Ina said in unison as they tried to walk away, only for their teacher to stop them by grabbing the collars of their shirts.
"Hey, come on now, weren't you both dying to see the group again?" Cody said. "Besides, we can't run away from our duties, just because we feel like it or just want to avoid something."
"I mean, sure, I missed Anne, Shadow and the group," Ina admitted. "But we can't lie and say things haven't felt more tense now than when we were on the road. And what about their past history?"
"And that's not even mentioning you and the King haven't been on the best terms either." Valor pointed out.
"Look, I understand the situation between the King, Shadow and I is complicated, to say the least," Cody said with a sigh. "But we can't just always run away from our problems, just because it's an easy path. If everyone went the easy way, no one would progress."
"Well, I guess you're not wrong about that." Valor said. "Besides, maybe this could be a fresh new start for them."
"If Shadow and Apollo's interactions are anything to go off, I highly doubt that." Ina said. "It's probably super awkward in that room as we speak."
"Well, then I'm breaking the awkwardness the best way I know how: through sheer impulse." Valor declared with a grin.
Ina's face was filled with dread. "Please don't do that."
"Yeah, you're not exactly great what it comes to breaking the ice." Cody said, clearly not liking where this was going.
"Please, you two need to quit worrying and check this out!"
Valor smirked as he threw off his cloak, revealing his clothing, sporting a red t-shirt, two golden chain necklaces (the bottom one with a cross), gray cropped sweatpants with two red straps on the sides, and white tennis shoes with blue straps. He also wore a crimson jacket, which had a blue luminescent material on the inner lining of the collar. He proceeded to run up to the door before jumping, kicking it open with a jumping kick, landing with a pose.
"Ha! Boom Baby!"
Looking at the scene, he saw everyone in the throne room in deathly silence, watching the stare down between the King and the Black Wolf, the only sound being a cricket.
"Uh, hello?" Valor called, still posing. "I figured someone was needed to break the tension!"
"I don't think now is the best time, dude." Ina said, noting the tension.
The tense silence lasted a few more seconds until…
"MY BOOOOOOOOOOYYY!"
With that bellowing shout and tears forming in his eyes, Andrias stepped forward and swept the boy up in a big bearhug, much to Shadow's shock, the boy not even reacting due to the shock. Everyone else watched with varied expressions; Anne and the frogs looking on in surprise, Marcy with tearful glee, Apollo with a blank expression, and finally Cody and his students with confusion.
"Oh, my boy, it's so good to see you've finally returned home!" The King said, tears running down his face.
Shadow remained frozen and silent, unable to give any sort response due to the King's own reaction. What could he possibly think of this? Was this a genuine reaction or was the King faking?
"Your majesty, while we are happy to see you reunited with your lost son," Olivia said as she approached, placing a gentle hand on the King's leg. "I think you're giving him a panic attack, with the how tight you're hugging him."
From the look of it, Shadow had an expression of someone having a panic attack.
"Oh, of course!" Andrias said, setting the boy down. "Sorry about that. I forget that sudden physical contact can be anxiety inducing."
'That's not the only thing.' Shadow thought bitterly to himself, before the touch from Anne calmed him down.
"Now, onto business." Andrias said. "Hmm... Alas, without the music box, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. Marcy doesn't have it, and, well, I assume you don't have it either."
"Oh! Uh, actually, I do have the box." Anne said with a smile.
"What?" Marcy said in shock. "Are you serious?"
King Andrias gasped with joy. "Why, this is marvelous news! Come, come, let's see it."
"Actually, I left it with some reliable and trustworthy contacts for further study." Shadow said. 'And it will stay there until further notice.'
"Oh yeah, I remember." Anne said. "But I do have a photo of it." She then raised her phone, showing a picture of the music box.
"Yes, yes, a photo. Let's see here." Andrias said, putting on a pair of colorful glasses and leaning forward to get a better look at it. "Hmm, how peculiar. Marcy, didn't you say the gems were colored? Look here. They're... They're gray."
Anne turned the phone and looked at the picture. "Hey, you're right. I never actually noticed that." She said.
"How did you not notice it before?" Kaemon questioned with a raised brow.
"This will require further study in the deepest of our archives." Andrias said, taking off his glasses. "Give me a few days to work with this information. At that time, we shall reconvene and set a glorious plan in motion."
"Great!" Anne said, turning to Marcy. "Mar Mar, what can I do to help?"
"Can you translate ancient Amphibian runes?" Marcy asked.
"I sure... can't!"
Marcy chuckled. "Don't worry, dude. I got this."
"Nice! Just like group projects back home."
"So, Marcy did the majority of the work while you sat on your laurels." Apollo said dryly.
"Go easy on her, Apollo, that was then," Shadow said, placing a reassuring hand on Anne's shoulder. "Nowadays, she's been doing quite well and participating with work on the farm."
"Until then, my dear Plantars, go forth and enjoy the sights of Newtopia." Andrias declared. "We've booked you a suite at the Hemisphere Hotel, my treat." He then stuck both fists out to Anne. "And here... pick a hand!"
Anne looked at the closed fists, unsure which to pick, looking up as the King cleared his throat, nudging his head to his right.
"This hand?" Anne said, tapping the right hand.
Andrias opened his right hand, revealing nothing. "Psych!" He declared, laughing, much to Anne's annoyance, especially Shadow. "But wait, what's this?" He then pulled a trick that only a master could pull off, presenting a golden credit card. "The Royal Credit Card! It will grant you access to do anything in Newtopia. Be safe with this now. Wars have been waged for less."
Anne looked at the card as it was placed in her hand, as Sprig jumped on her shoulder. "Whoa, ho, ho, ho! We get to explore Newtopia with unlimited money?! This is a dream come true! Onward, family! Time to see Newtopia!"
"Hold on, boy." Hop Pop said. "First, we should get settled in before we go exploring."
"Yeah, I can go with that idea." Anne nodded before looking to her boyfriend. "What do you think, Shadow?"
Shadow didn't answer. He stared at the King with a stern glare, which Andrias took notice of.
"Cody, will you take our guest to their rooms?" He requested. "I think it's about time a heartwarming family reunion."
"I can do that." Cody nodded.
"Marcy, you and Apollo go get some rest." The King said, turning to his son and the Taiwanese girl.
"Apollo stays." Shadow said firmly.
Apollo seemed surprised by this, but otherwise accepted. "Go on ahead, Marcy. I'll catch up."
Marcy nodded before pecking him on the lips before walking out of the throne room, the guests soon following after. Once the Army General, advisor and the guards left, it was just the King and his sons, all alone.
Outside the throne room, Anne stopped some distance from the door before pulling Kaemon to the side.
"Kaemon, I need a favor." She whispered. "Can you sneak in and eavesdrop on them? See what they're talking about? I've got a suspicious feeling about it."
"No problem." Kaemon nodded before making his way to the doors.
Anne remained silent as she walked on to catch up with the frog family and friends, following Cody and his students to the hotel. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was going down between father and son. She could feel the animosity from Shadow towards the King, and all she heard was Shadow's side of the story.
Regardless, she had a feeling that this reunion wouldn't go well, and she wanted to make sure Kaemon got a look at what was going on.
'Shadow, I hope there's nothing to worry about.'
Anne wasn't the only one worried about the boy in black, not to mention curious about how the meeting would go down. Ever since arriving in Newtopia, Kaemon could sense the anxiety emitting from his master, as well as sense the animosity he had towards the King. For what, he wasn't sure. But he was determined to get to the bottom of things.
Returning to the doors to the throne room, Kaemon scaled up the wall and reached the window just over the doors. Pushing it in a bit, he could see the King and his sons in silence, and the swordnewt kept a low profile as to not be discovered.
There was an intense silence, before Andrias broke the silence.
"Well, it's been a long time since we saw you in these walls, Azazel." The King said. "How were things on your, let's be nice and call it a journey, hm?"
Shadow remained silent, only keeping that scowl on his face, much to Andrias' confusion.
"Usually, you'd have something to say." Andrias said, sitting on his throne. "The silence is almost…unsettling."
Again, Shadow remained silent.
"Regardless, it's nice that you've decided to come home, after so long." Andrias went on. "Things have been quiet, since you left. Even the—"
"Why bother trying to hide it?" Shadow finally spoke.
Andrias seemed caught off-guard, even Apollo seemed surprised by this question. Kaemon, on the other hand, was confused as he watched and listened from his hiding spot.
"Hiding what?" Andrias asked, unsure what the boy in black meant.
Shadow walked over to the side of the room, approaching the tapestry depicting Andrias surrounded by many amphibians and a rainbow in the background. Watching out of sight, Kaemon cringed.
"Yi-Yi-Yi-Yikes. Talk about tacky." He whispered to himself.
"Do you like the tapestry?" Andrias asked with a hopeful smile. "I figured that a change of—"
"Let's stop pretending things are different."
With that statement, Shadow grabbed hold of the tapestry and pulled it down with a single tug. Behind it revealed a mural, this one depicting war and destruction, with the king holding the box and standing over a pile of bones.
Kaemon stared in shock, his eyes staring in disbelief. "Is that the King…with the box?" He whispered to himself.
"You might have fooled the others, but you can't fool me." The boy in black said, facing the King with narrowed eyes. "So again; why bother trying to hide it?"
"I'm not hiding anything." Andrias denied. "I'm trying to prove to you that things have changed."
"You think a blanket covering the tapestry changes anything?" Shadow said, anger in his voice. "The hell you put me through? What you put Apollo through?"
Apollo remained silent, although he did avert his eye.
"Azazel, I've had some time to think about everything. About the box." Andrias said. "Thinking back, when my friends left, then you, it all circled back to the box. How it shaped my ancestors and made us into who we were. How it also destroyed countless worlds. How it made me hurt my family in ways I should never." His eyes averted downward, his face riddled with guilt. "I can't change the past, my boy. I've made my mistakes, many that I regret. But-"
"Mistakes? Mistakes?!" Shadow said in outrage. "The harsh trainings, the beatings, the constant hazing. Those were willing choices you made because you wanted war machines for your conquest campaign! Don't you dare try to write off what you put us through as something so trivial!"
"And I deeply regret it!" Andrias shouted, slamming a hand on the arm of the throne. "For five years, I looked back, thinking about how awful I was towards you, for treating you the way I did, how I should have been a better parent for you both." Tears formed in his eyes. "I was wrong and I'm sorry for what I did. All I ask is for a second chance to be the parent I should have been."
Kaemon was taken aback by the scene he was watching. All this information he was processing was putting his master and the King in a whole new light he never expected. For Shadow, he always looked up to the boy, seeing him as an older brother, a teacher that inspired him to pursue his dreams. As for the King? He heard from many of the villagers in towns he visited that Andrias was a benevolent and just ruler. So, to hear things between father and son was something else.
Shadow didn't seem convinced of the King's words as he turned away. "It's gonna take a lot more than empty words to convince me." He walked to the door and stopped, looking over his shoulder with a serious expression. "I'll be watching you, Andrias. If you so much as think of bringing harm to Anne or the Plantars, I WILL make you regret it."
Seeing his cue to leave, Kaemon took off down the hall, heading to the hotel to inform Anne about his findings.
With the wayward son having left, Andrias sighed as the guards picked up the tapestry to put it back over the mural.
"He's become paranoid." Apollo commented. "It'll be tricky to earn his trust."
"I know." Andrias nodded in agreement. "But it'll all be worth it in the end."
Back with the swordnewt, he made it to the Hemisphere Hotel, making his way up several elevators and completely oblivious to the shenanigans involving Sprig, Ivy and Maddie, and went straight for the hotel room that Anne and the Plantars were supposed to be. Walking up to the door, he prepared to knock before pausing, wondering how he was supposed to explain the things he saw. Shadow being a war machine? The King planning conquest campaigns? The father and son having knowledge of the music box that they're not telling them? It made him feel conflicted.
With a sigh, he pushed open the door and was greeted with the sight of Hop Pop and Polly asleep in one bed, while Anne occupied the other bed, all dressed in bedtime robes.
Almost sighing blissfully at the sight, Kaemon walked over to Anne and gently shake her awake.
"Anne, wake up." He said in a quiet tone, as to not wake up the Plantars.
Anne groaned before opening her eyes, seeing Kaemon standing over her. "Kaemon? What's going on?" She asked groggily.
"We gotta talk. About Shadow and Andrias." The swordnewt said. "There's some stuff that went down that might pique your interest."
The mention of the meeting immediately woke Anne up, the two stepping out onto the balcony, shutting the door behind them.
"So, what'd you find out?" Anne asked, eager to hear the news.
"Well, it went about as well as one would expect." Kaemon said, nervously rubbing his arm. "There was some yelling, Andrias claiming to have changed, but Master wasn't buying it."
"Given what he went through, I don't blame him." Anne nodded in understanding.
"There's more." Kaemon said. "From the sounds of things, I think they both know more about the music box than their letting on."
"How so?" Anne asked.
"Well, it sounds like Andrias owned it at some point." Kaemon told her. "And then, after another period of time, Master ran off with the box because of how dangerous it was."
"Wait, dangerous? How?" Anne asked.
"The King mentioned how it caused the suffering of other worlds." Kaemon said. "How, I don't know, but it was enough to make Master take it and run."
Anne gave it some thought, thinking back to when she first showed the boy the box, the look of dread on his face when she unwrapped the cloth and the way he asked, no, demanded to know where she got it from and why she had it in the first place.
All she knew was, whatever importance that box had, it terrified him.
"Think we should ask him about it?" Kaemon asked.
Anne looked at him before shaking her head. "No, I'd rather wait until he's ready to talk about it. He's clearly uncomfortable talking about it."
"I understand." Kaemon nodded. "I just hope he doesn't keep quiet for long."
Sighing, Anne pushed open the door back into the room, before noticing the absence of a few certain frogs.
"Where'd Sprig go? And Ivy and Maddie?"
Shadow followed Cody down the halls of the castle, passing by the occasional guard or noble that greeted the two, before they stopped at a decorated door.
"And here's your room." The teacher said. "I had the maids keep it clean and dusted while you were away."
"I appreciate it." Shadow said blandly.
"Just let me know if you need anything, my friend." Cody said, patting him on the shoulder before leaving.
Watching his teacher leave, Shadow looked at the door to his old room before pushing it open. Stepping inside, he took in the atmosphere of his old abode, the room itself being quite large, with walls painted black, light-up corals along the walls near the door and bed, the bed being queen-sized, a mahogany carpet along the floor, a desk pushed up against the wall and a window that overlooked the city. On some of the shelves there were action figures of famous war generals, in addition to the posters that lined the walls, the posters depicting his favorite music bands.
Walking up to one of the shelves, he picked up the figure of General Black Tooth, fiddling with the arms before walking over to the window and pushing it open, sitting on the sill and looking out onto the cityscape. On some occasions, he would stare out and admire the beauty of the city, the sounds and sights from such a height in the castle's tower was always captivating.
Looking at the highest city tower, however, his eyes caught sight of a newt standing at the window, staring back at him. He then looked up, another newt standing on the roof, leaning on the guard rail and staring at him. The boy looked down towards the river that ran through the city, seeing a small boat float through, and sure enough, there was another newt, standing on the boat and staring up at him, even as the boat floated past. The boy in black then look towards the street, catching sight of Gertie's gnatcho cart, smiling a bit at the sight. But that smile soon fell into a frown, when he saw the same disheveled newt pulling his cart, stopping before looking up at him.
So many eyes on him, it was clear to the boy that Andrias was watching him.
"This city is a prison." Shadow sighed, the action figure close to his chest. "How long must I wait for Andrias to quit playing clueless until I can be free of these walls? …eh, bro?"
He turned his head, and sure enough, there Apollo stood in the doorway.
"Is that how you see this city nowadays, Azazel?" Apollo asked with the usual venom in his voice. "A gilded cage?"
"It sure feels that way." Shadow said. "At least, this time, I know nothing will stop me from leaving."
"Except for that human girl and her froggy friends." Apollo pointed out. "You've gone soft."
"And you too hard." Shadow countered. "What happened to the little brother I used to know?"
Apollo glared at him in silence before turning away. "He grew up after you left. And learn some very harsh lessons."
The newt soon started to leave, Shadow watching him go before he followed after him.
"Apollo, wait!"
The newt stopped, the human stopping some distance away. "Where's mother? I haven't seen her around the castle since we arrived." He asked.
Apollo stood in silence for a moment before looking over his left shoulder, his left eye filled with hate and distain.
"She's dead."
Shadow was frozen with shock for a moment.
"Out of everyone, you mattered the most to her. Even more than me, her own son." Apollo told him. "When you left, it destroyed her, and she died from a broken heart." He looked away. "Another reason I hate you; our mother died because of you."
With that statement, Apollo walked away, leaving Shadow with shock, guilt, and denial.
"That can't be…"