A group consisting of six people sat at a round table in front of a restaurant. There were five burgers on the table. "Enjoy everyone!" Marcy announced. "This place makes the best beetle burgers in all of Newtopia."
Everyone began to eat the burgers. Marcy was the only one who didn't order anything, instead she sat down and started writing in a journal.
Polly swallowed her burger in one bite. "What's that?" she asked pointing to Marcy's journal.
"Oh, just my journal. I like jotting down theories and observations. You know, all about the indigenous fauna, medicinal techniques, political nuances of amphibious species-based caste systems." she held the journal over to Polly. "Sometimes, I even do drawings."
"It looks just like me." Polly said in awe.
"Wow, Drake have you been keeping a journal too?" Hop Pop asked.
"Nah, I don't have the patience for that." Drake answered.
"How about you Anne?"
Anne had straws stuck in her nostrils. "Look guys, I'm a straw-lrus. Like a walrus but with straws."
Sprig laughed at her antics then quickly calmed down. "What's a walrus?" he asked shortly after composing himself.
A waiter approached the table. "Now who should I give the bill to?" he looked at Anne. "Probably not you."
"Oh, I'll take it! It's, oh let me guess... twenty-eight coppers?" Marcy guessed. She was drawing straw-lrus Anne in her journal.
The waiter held up the bill. "Right you are."
"Wow! Can either of you do math like that too?" Hop Pop asked.
Drake shook his head. "Not really."
Anne blew the straws out of her nose. "Uh, you mean like numbers and stuff?"
"Can you imagine if Marcy got stuck with us instead of Anne? We'd be set for life!"
"Hush Polly, think those words, don't say them." Hop Pop scolded.
"Oh yeah? Well... Ahh! Look out!" Anne yelled, ducking under an arrow that passed over her head. It hit the wall.
"Someone's trying to kill us!" Hop Pop yelled, pointing at the arrow that was stuck in the wall.
Drake looked around to try and find the shooter. He noticed a Newtopian guard holding an arrow running away. Drake was about to get up and chasing him, but Marcy caught his attention.
"No, no. It's fine. It's just a message from the king." Marcy picked up a piece of paper that was attached to the arrow. "Oh ho, correction. It's a puzzle gram from the king." This confused everyone at the table. "He's basically hidden clues around the city and when I collect them all, I get a message. Arg, it's so fun!"
"Wouldn't it be simpler to just give us the message and not bother with a puzzle? Seems a bit inefficient." Drake pointed out not wanting to spend more time on this than he had to.
Everyone ignored him. "Okay, this first symbol is a tree so we should head towards Coral Park. Now, come on team. It's puzzle time!"
"A puzzle tour of Newtopia? Count me in!" Sprig, Anne and Marcy ran off to start solving the puzzle leaving Drake, Hop Pop and Polly who were much slower.
"Come on, Polly. This may be our most exciting adventure yet." Hop Pop placed Polly on his head and was about to walk away when a bust boy approached and started cleaning the dishes.
"Hey thanks for coming in. Would you like to join our customer loyalty program? You can get free gifts." the bust boy said.
"Gifts? Free?" Hop Pop turned around.
"Oh, no." Polly knew how Hop Pop was when it came to free items. "Drake! Take me with you!"
Drake grabbed Polly. "Alright Hop Pop. You do your thing, I'm gonna try and catch up with them." Drake said, holding Polly in his arms. Unfortunately for him, Anne, Sprig and Marcy were so far ahead, he had lost track of them. "I lost them." Drake said.
"Marcy said they were going to Coral Park, right? Take out the map and find it!" Polly said.
"I don't have a map. Hop Pop has our only map." Drake replied.
"Let's go back and get it from him." Polly suggested. "Which way was it again?"
"Uh... give me a second." Drake started to think. He tried to form a mental map of the area. "Alright this way." Drake walked in what he believed was the right path to the restaurant but instead ended up at some kind of museum. "Okay I'm lost."
"Ahh! What do we do?" Polly screamed.
"I don't know let's just keep walking around." Drake started running around the city hoping to find the other group. Unfortunately, every time he looked down a street, he would find another unfamiliar location. Eventually Drake had to stop, he sat down on a nearby bench. "I'm out of ideas." he sighed.
"Look I'm sure we'll find them." Polly said trying to keep their hopes up. "We better find them. Whoa look at that!" Polly exclaimed.
Drake looked behind him and noticed there was a giant golden statue of Marcy facing away. Underneath it was a plaque that read, Marcy Wu Bridge
"Huh? Marcy has her own bridge?" Drake looked at the edge that was when he noticed something. "Hey that's them right there!"
Drake and Polly started waving their arms. "Hello! We're over here!" Polly tried to call out but they either didn't hear her or were too distracted to notice.
"We're gonna have to find them. At least we know where they are now." Drake looked back and saw they were splitting up. "Oh, for goodness sake! Come on Polly." Drake stood up with Polly in his arms and started running again.
The search was on yet again. Unfortunately, Newtopia was like a maze and without a map, Drake had no idea where he was going. The city was simply too big to learn how to navigate on the fly. Just when it looked like their luck ran out Drake heard the sound of armor rustling.
"Hop Pop? What are you wearing?" Drake asked when he saw the orange frog.
"Oh this? Just a suit of armor the restaurant gave me after a thousand meals." Hop Pop explained.
"Eh, I really hope it was worth all that money you probably spent." Drake replied. "We're still trying to get to the others."
"We'll save you Anne!" someone yelled.
Drake, Hop Pop and Polly looked to see three people gathered around a manhole. "Typical." Polly said. She hopped out of Drake's arms. "Lower me down. I'll grab onto them. Get ready to pull me up." Polly ordered. She jumped into the hands of a massive purple axolotl. Everyone formed a line and prepared to pull as a group.
"Ugh. Looks like this is it." Anne said.
"Grab on!" Polly yelled. "Hop Pop, now!"
Everyone pulled at once, easily lifting Anne, Sprig and Marcy out of the sewers. A giant crocodile mouth tried to chase them up the manhole but was too big to fit through.
"Anne, what happened? Are you okay? Can't you go ten minutes on your own without getting into some kind of crazy danger?" Hop Pop scolded.
"Aww, give her a break, Hop Pop. Anne's already sad because Marcy's so smart, it makes her feel dumb."
"Sprig!" Anne yelled.
Marcy heard everything he said. "What? Anne is that true?" she asked, standing up.
Anne hesitated. "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."
"Anne, that's insane." Marcy stood up. "Besides, I'm jealous of you."
"Huh? What for?" Anne asked.
"Yeah, what for?" Polly also wanted to know.
"You get along with people so well. Three people you met today just risked their lives to save you." Marcy explained referring to the three Newtopian city folk strangers. "Heck, the Plantars here adopted you and would do anything for you. Yeah sure, I'm good at solving puzzles and calculating the check, but you're amazing at making connections. Me, I have trouble looking people in the eye sometimes."
Anne approached her. "Thanks, Marcy. Maybe that's why we make such a good team. Come here you."
"Aw!" Marcy and Anne hugged.
"Hey, anyone else want a snack? That nice lady gave me some gnatchos." Sprig held a tray full of purple snacks.
Anne picked one of them up. "Whoa! Wait a sec, it's- look! The symbol, it's a gnatcho! Sprig, empty that tray!"
Sprig ate all the contents in one bite. Then he held it out for everyone to see. Anne and Marcy gasped at what they saw.
"That means the message is... 'Bring me the Plantars.' Oh guys, we've been summoned! And you solved the puzzle gram, Anne!" Marcy congratulated.
"Self-esteem boost and an audience with the ruler of this world? Win-win, baby!" Anne yelled; everyone began cheering. "So, you guys wanna feed gnatchos to that alligator?"
Anne started throwing gnatchos one by one at the alligator.
"Just look how happy it makes him." Sprig observed.
"Hey Marcy, mind if we talked for a second? In private?" Drake asked.
"Of course." the two walked away from the group so they could have their private conversation.
Once they were alone, Drake spoke up. "What do you know about the king? I'm a little skeptical about him. Not sure if we should trust him." he whispered, he still remembered Hop Pop's warning when it came to speaking badly about the king.
"You're just being paranoid. He's been helping me out ever since I got here." Marcy explained.
Drake thought about it for a second. "Well, I guess if you trust him, I can too."
A few hours later, the group found themselves inside the castle. The rooms were massive with crystal decorations littering the walls and windows. "I've never seen anything like it." Drake commented.
"Dang, girl. This is where you've been hanging out this whole time?" Anne asked.
"I wouldn't say I 'hang out' here, but yes!" Marcy replied. "Staying at the castle has been awesome."
"Wow, I can't believe we're here." Sprig was in awe of his surroundings.
"And that we're about to meet the king of Amphibia!" Polly added.
"Wow, just look at this place." Hop Pop started to get anxious. "Am I dressed okay? Should I have worn my silk ascot? I'll go back and get it."
Marcy stopped him as he ran off. "Hey, hey. Don't stress, guys. This is no big deal."
The doors to the throne room opened with Lady Olivia coming through. She was flanked by two heavily armed and armored newt guards wearing full plate armor. "Okay, frog family. You're about to meet King Andrias. This is a big deal." she led everyone into the throne room. There they could see giant pillars holding up the ceiling, each with a guard standing in front of it. They walked down a marble path that led to a giant coral throne on the other side. Two more guards stood at the feet of that throne but what was most interesting was the throne's occupant. "May I present to you Andrias Leviathan, Lord of Amphibia. Peacekeeper of a thousand years and the first of his name."
"Now that's king sized." Anne commented.
King Andrias was a giant compared to other newts. He looked down at the family with the sun shining on his back. "Hello, Plantar family!" the king laughed. "Oh, bring it in, you guys. Bring it in." he walked towards the Plantars with his arms held wide open.
"Quick, kids, bow." Hop Pop quietly ordered.
Suddenly, Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly were scooped up by King Andrias who held them close. "It's so good to finally meet you!" then he put them down.
"I love this guy!" Polly exclaimed.
"Dear King Andrias, just once, it would be nice if you followed proper castle etiquette." Lady Olivia said.
King Andrias scoffed. "Oh, etiquette schmetiquette!" then he noticed Anne and Drake standing next to Marcy. "Ooh! And what do we have here?"
"Hey..." Anne said through her teeth while waving, unsure of how to act.
Drake wasn't sure what to make of the king. He had a lot of different expectations about him but none of them fit King Andrias' current behavior. It was more bizarre than anything.
"You must be Anne and Drake." King Andrias kneeled to get a better look. "Sup? Am I saying it right? Sup?"
Marcy gave him a thumbs up. "You got it!"
King Andrias laughed. "Oh, hohoho, the thumb of approval. And here's a thumb for you two." he held a thumbs up at Anne and Drake.
Drake decided to take a step back and let Anne handle this. She was always better when it came to talking with people.
"Oh! Uh... Right back at you." she fist bumped him.
King Andrias started laughing. "Delightful." he jumped in the air. When he landed it created a mini earthquake which caused Anne and Drake to fall to the ground. Marcy was still standing. "Now, let's get down to business, shall we? Getting you back home safe and sound. Hmm... alas, without the music box, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. Marcy doesn't have it, and, well I assume neither of you have it either."
"Oh! Uh, actually, I do have the box." Anne said.
"Really? Are you serious?" Marcy couldn't believe their luck.
"Why, this is marvelous news! Come, come, let's see it." King Andrias eagerly awaited.
"Well, I don't 'have it have it.' Hop Pop left it with some contacts to see what they could learn about it." Anne pointed to Hop Pop who had a nervous grin. "But I do have a photo of it." Anne held up her phone.
"Yes, yes, a photo." King Andrias pulled out a pair of reading glasses. "Let's see here. Hmm. How peculiar. Marcy, didn't you say the gems were colored? Look here. They're- they're gray."
Anne looked at the picture. "Hey, you're right. I never actually noticed that."
"Why would a gem lose its color though? Is there something magical about the gems themselves? Isn't it a bit risky to be messing with these things?" Drake asked.
Everyone ignored him. Everyone that is, except King Andrias. "Unfortunately, Drake, I don't think we have much of a choice on the matter. Based on what Marcy has told me, there are many mysteries about the box we will need to uncover. If that box brought you here, it's probably your only way home. But don't fret, I will be extremely careful with how we handle this situation. This will require further study in the deepest of our archives. Give me a few days to work with this. At that time, we shall reconvene and set a glorious plan in motion."
"Great! Mar Mar, what can we do to help?" Anne asked, implicitly volunteering Drake.
"Can you translate ancient Amphibian runes?" Marcy asked.
"We sure can't!" Anne replied still sounding enthusiastic.
"Don't worry dudes, I got this." Marcy reassured them.
"Nice, just like group projects back home." Anne said.
"Until then, my dear Plantars, go forth and enjoy the sights of Newtopia. We've booked you a suite at the Hemisphere Hotel, my treat. And here, pick a hand." Andrias held out two fists.
Anne stepped forward having trouble deciding. She looked up at King Andrias who gestured to his right hand. Anne decided to go with the suggestion. "This hand?"
King Andrias opened his hand. "Psych!" he laughed. "But wait, what's this?" he pulled out a golden 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." King Andrias handed the credit card to Hop Pop.
Sprig inspected the credit card. "Whoa! We get to explore Newtopia with unlimited money? This is a dream come true. Onward, family. Time to see Newtopia!"
"What do you mean nobody wants to see Newtopia?" Sprig complained. Everyone had made their way to the Hemisphere Hotel. Unfortunately for Sprig, the moment they arrived everyone wanted to relax and go to sleep.
"Not happening." Hop Pop said, he was reading a book.
Polly kept her eyes closed. "Polly happy right here."
"Anne, come on. You're with me, right?" Sprig walked up to her.
Anne was lying in bed getting ready to sleep. "Sorry, dude. The only thing I want to explore is that gift basket." she reached her hand towards a nearby gift basket. It was just out of her reach, but she was too lazy to get closer. After struggling she gave up. "Maybe later."
Sprig protested. "But we have the Royal Credit Card. The city's our playground. Drake, you want to explore with me, right?"
"Nah, I've already seen enough for one day. I'm too tired to keep exploring." Drake said as he walked towards the balcony. He didn't want to share a bed with anyone. Then again, he wasn't sure if he could ever relax in a comfortable bed.
"Sprig, the city will still be there tomorrow. Probably." Hop Pop said.
"Probably? What? You think the city might blow up, or the castle would suddenly start flying or something?" Drake joked.
Nobody found his joke humorous. Sprig spoke up, annoyed at Hop Pop. "Tomorrow? Or I could take the card and-"
Hop Pop grabbed the Royal Credit Card. "Sprig Plantar! Under no circumstances are you to take that card outside of this hotel!" Hop Pop placed the Royal Credit Card in his pocket.
Sprig sighed. "I won't, Hop Pop."
"Good!" Hop Pop fell asleep. Apparently, Anne and Polly were already asleep as well.
Drake was already out at the balcony. It overlooked much of the city. No doubt a room with a view like this would cost a fortune. He had never been to a five-star hotel before. There was a nearby lounge chair sitting outside. After taking a good look at the view, he laid down on the lounge chair and closed his eyes as the sun began to set.
Author's Note
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Well, looks like the characters are getting settled in Newtopia. Personally, I'm a little proud I was able to knock out two episodes in one chapter.
I apologize in advance if uploads start to slow down. What happens next in Newtopia is extremely important, especially for Drake. Not only that, but I also need to start tying up loose ends when it comes to Drake and the Plantars. All of this needs to be done before the Plantars leave Newtopia. So yeah, things will probably start to slow down. Hopefully you all will enjoy how it plays out.