2. S1: BFFs Across The Worlds

"You know, when I agreed to help you do farm work, I didn't mean it like this."

"Quit complaining. Now hoe that ground, slave!"

"What did you say?"

"Uh, nothing."

Sasha glared at the tadpole in question, Polly if she remembered. Now that she thought about it, she was in another world. So did this world have slaves? Is she a slave? Well, she did look like one at the moment but it wasn't like she couldn't leave or anything. It was just that the wilderness was far worse.

"I don't mind the work and all but why do I have to wear this?", Sasha asked, pointing at the vest she was currently wearing. Said attire was also tied to a rope whose end was connected to a nearby fence pole. She was pretty sure this was a leash for little children.

She was not a child. She's 13 which for all accounts, technically a teenager.

Hop Pop walked by, a hoe in his groggy hands. "The vest is for your own safety, girl."

"My safety?" Sasha sarcastically said. "What, am I going to run off and get myself killed?"

"Okay, maybe not entirely your own safety. Folks around here can be paranoid about newcomers. Wh—" The older frog paused, glaring at a friendly passerby that greeted him. Once out of view, Hop Pop continued, "Who knows how'll people act when you're untethered! It could be chaos!"

"But a baby leash? Really?" Sasha asked incredulously, pulling the rope to prove her point. In response, Hop Pop only shook his head. "No buts. Everyone's still trying to get used to it, me included! You could at least try to follow it for a bit."

Sasha groaned. "Urgh, fiiiineee…"

Hop Pop grinned at the answer. "Now that's more I like it! Come on, we still got a few rows of turnips left to sow before daylight's over!"

Sasha grabbed her hoe and complained no further.

Once the farm work was over, the Plantars (plus Sasha) head on back to the house for dinner. While Hop Pop proceeded to cook dinner, Sasha was ordered to stay in her basement-slash-room till she was called up, leaving the tween a bit miffed. Sprig on the other froggy hand, decided to come with Sasha.

"I can't believe I'm not even allowed to sit in the living room! Like, what's his problem?!" Sasha complained, with Sprig being the sole listener. The two were playing a board game reminiscent of Snakes and Ladders, which was called Toads and Towers for some reason. Sprig threw his dice, managing to land his piece on a tower and climbed up.

"Don't worry about Hop Pop. He's just worried about us, that's all." Sprig exclaimed as he moved his piece in a pitter-patter fashion. Sasha, however, was not pleased with the explanation. She grabbed the dice and threw it on the board. "Worried about what? It's not like I'm going to eat you guys or anything."

"Hop Pop's older than us. So he's got like mad old frog wisdom. Even I don't know what's going on in his head."

Sasha picked up her piece and moved it forward. "Pssh, I bet all that's going on in his head are prunes and apple cider."

Landing her piece just before a toad, she looked outside at the bright moon. "Say, what do you guys do here for fun anyway?"

"You mean Toads and Towers isn't fun?" Sprig asked as he shook the dice in his hands.

"I mean, yeah it's cool but it's just not fun fun."

"I don't get it." Sprig moved his piece, only to land on a toad, pushing his downwards. "Darnit!"

"You know! Like, baseball or going to the arcade! Heck, even going to the beach would be better than this." Sasha took the dice for her turn. Throwing it, it moved her a few steps forward, dodging the toad entirely.

"Well, we don't have a beach here but there is a lake nearby. A lot of folks used to go there."

"A lake, huh?" Sasha contemplated on an idea. Though before she could fully thought it through, the two heard Hop Pop calling them from the kitchen. "Come on up, kids! Soup's on!"

"After dinner, then." Sasha said to herself out loud. Sprig raised an eyebrow in response. "Huh?"

"Don't worry about it, dude."

Later that night after dinner, Sasha planned out her ideas for the next day. If there was one thing she was proud of, it was that she was very good at reading people. Sure, frog people might be new territory for her but people are still people, even if they weren't human.

And they were all so predictable.

"Alright, Sprig. You ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"Ready for the lake, duh." Sasha answered, making it sound as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. While planning yesterday, she realized that she didn't have a swimsuit herself and she was not going to go around naked in public. Thankfully, Anne had packed a spare swimsuit in her bag for some odd reason and they fit her like a glove.

Anne sure has a lot of stuff in her bag. Nothing for wilderness survival but there were magazines, spare clothes, a bike pump for some reason, and a whole bunch of body care products which Sasha was eternally grateful for.

Sprig looked at her unsurely. "I don't know, Sasha. Hop Pop told us it wasn't a good idea."

"Pssh, it'll be fine." Sasha dismissed his worries. "Come on, do you really want to be cooped up in here all day?"

"Well, no… But—"

"Up pup pup, no buts! Hop Pop said so." Using Hop Pop's words yesterday to her advantage in a different context. How devious of Sasha.

"Yeah, you're right! Let's go to the lake!" Sprig yelled in agreement. The two stormed towards the front door, cheering "LAKE! LAKE! LAKE!" over and over, until they were forcibly halted by Hopadiah Plantar himself.

"And where do you two think yer going?!" Hop Pop questioned. Sasha shrugged her shoulders, "To the lake for some nice outdoor fun."

Hop Pop, however, was not okay with that as an answer. "Oh noo, no way! I told you yesterday that you're not allowed to leave the house. There'd be chaos and the end of the world as we know it!"

Sprig got confused. "Isn't that a bit dramatic, Hop Pop?"

"NO!"

Sasha didn't care though. If the world was going to end because of a lakeshore visit, then it was a pretty cruddy world anyway. Plus, it wasn't her world so why should she care? Therefore, Sasha rolled her eyes and walked to the front door regardless, forcing the older frog to physically hop in front of her.

"No means no, Sasha!"

"Urgh, you can't expect me to stay in the house all day?! I'm a growing girl! I need to stretch these legs!" Sasha protested, showing off her slightly toned legs. She might not be crazy athletic as Anne but she was still part of the cheerleading squad.

"That's exactly what I'm expecting you to do! Until the townsfolk here aren't scared of ya AND I say so," Hop turned to lock the door with a special wooden key. "You ain't leaving this house without my permission!"

"Oh, COME. ON!" "Hop Pop, why?!"

Hopadiah Plantar walked away from the angry human girl and towards his study room. He didn't expect to start the day with such a foul mood and so needed to cool off for a bit. "If you two need me, I'll be in my study. Until then, don't leave the house, Sasha." Hop Pop warned before closing the door, albeit a bit too aggressively.

Sprig stared at the study and sighed. "I guess your plan was ruined… Hey, wanna play Toads and Towers again?" He asked Sasha.

Looking closer, he noticed that Sasha was not phased at all. In fact, it looked like she was smirking. With a whip of her hair, she turned to Sprig. "Yeah, sure. We got about half an hour anyway."

"Huh? What happens in 30 minutes?" Sprig asked.

Sasha smiled slightly. "Oh, you'll see."

About 30 minutes, and one and a half game of Toads and Towers later, the mischievous duo pushed the door to the study open, causing a light creaking noise from its hinges. They peeked their heads through the gap to see Hop Pop, reading a book about acting or something. He was completely focused and unblinking, just as planned.

"Alright Sprig, I need you to get in there and take the key from the old man's pocket." Sasha said quietly, pushing Sprig forward. Sprig though was reluctant. "I don't know… Isn't this stealing?"

"It's not stealing if we return it." Sasha assured him. "Besides, we'll be back before he even knows it."

"Still seems kinda wrong… Come on, Sasha. Let's just go back and finish our game of Toads and Towers. I'll show you my action figure collection later!"

Sasha looked at her little froggy friend in the eyes. "Sprig, if we don't get that key now, we'll never have another chance at this."

"But—!"

"And I'll be stuck in this house till the end of time. Do you want that, Sprig? Do you really want your human friend to be a prisoner in your own home?"

"Well, no… Still—!"

"And we both know the townsfolk will never trust me if I just stay indoors all day. I am literally in prison, Sprig. You're the jailer and only you get to use the key."

"Sounds a bit harsh—"

"You either get that key and we have a great time at the lake, or you get to be my jailer. And from what I know, jailers and prisoners aren't friends."

Sprig couldn't even retort. He only lifted a finger before Sasha continued.

"End. Of. Discussion." Sasha ended it harshly, promptly pushing Sprig towards Hop Pop. Nervously, he tiptoed his way forward, sweating bullets. Every creak in the floor made his heart jump, forcing him to move as quickly as possible lest he'd suffer from a child-size heart attack.

Finally reaching the jacket, he pinched the key with his two sticky fingers and slowly fished it out of the pocket. "Gently, gently…" He whispered to himself.

And in an instant, the key plopped out of the pocket and fully into Sprig's hands. He beamed, "I DID IT!"

"SSHHHHHH!" Sasha shushed from the safety of the other room, causing the little frog boy to immediately slam his mouth shut with his hands. The two stood still and unmoving, waiting for any reaction from Hop Pop. After a few seconds had passed, they sighed simultaneously, followed by Sprig tiptoeing back more frantic than before. Once outside of the study, Sasha closed the door behind Sprig.

"We got the key!" Sprig cheered. Sasha too smiled back. "Yeah, we did. I had full faith in you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure, whatevs. Now come on," Sasha picked up her (Anne's) bag. "To the lake!"

"To the lake!"

Okay, so the lake was a bit farther than she thought it was. They've been walking for like half an hour and only then did the forest start to clear a bit. It'd be nice if she had her bike with her, then going there would've been a breeze.

Before they left, Sprig decided to pack with him some pain peppers, apparently said to be so hot that you'd wish you were dead. He offered Sasha one but she decided against it, seeing that Sprig was literally breathing fire and rolling on the floor beforehand. Still, there was no harm with bringing some with them anyway, even though Sasha would rather die than taste one. Sprig did cheer at that notion, saying "That's the spirit!" like it was normal.

"You know Sprig, I never really asked you this but where are your other froggy friends?" Sasha asked curiously.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"I mean, I've never seen you with other frogs before. What gives?"

"Well, I don't really have much… friends…" Sasha laughed at the answer, only to see Sprig wasn't laughing with her. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Yeah, well I did try to make some friends before but I kinda scared them off. They just don't get me, I guess."

"Don't get you, huh?" Sasha looked at Sprig and smiled. "Yeah, I get what you mean. You know, I don't have many friends either."

Sprig, surprised, turned to Sasha. "Wait, really? What about your BFFs? Anne and Marco?"

"Marcy." Sasha corrected. "But yeah, they're kinda the only friends I have that I truly trust. Sure, I know a bunch of other kids my age but… I never got close to them."

Sasha contemplated on her own words. She knew so many people back home and she was pretty sure everyone in school knew who she was too. The cheerleading squad, the chess club, even the school's swimming team. Even so, she never truly got to know them. Anne and Marcy though? She knew the two of them like the back of her hand.

Anne was a sports freak and among the three of them, even Sasha had to admit she'd lose in athleticism against Anne. But she's just so competitive! It's why she doesn't join any team sports; she'd just fight with her own team. Marcy though, Sasha knew she was super lazy and wouldn't budge an inch unless she's got something in the end. And yet, she's the smartest girl she knew and always knows how to find all the cool and weird stuff, online or offline. It was how they found that weird magic chest in the first place.

Sasha knew she was great but without these two, she's pretty sure she'd never got this far. She depended on them, just like how they depended on her and each other. They were a team, always.

Though now, they aren't here and she didn't even know where to start looking.

"Well, I can be your friend." Sprig suggested.

"Huh?"

"I mean, you have no friends here with you, so I can fill the role as your BFF!" Sasha stared at Sprig's notion for a second, and snorted. "What? It's a good idea!"

"Hahaha… Sprig, I'm pretty sure you're no Anne or Marcy."

"Well, yeah! I'm Sprig!" Sprig countered. "I might not be the BFFs of your world but I can be the BFF of this world!"

Sprig shot out his hand. "So, what'd ya say? Should we shake on it?"

Sasha looked at Sprig's mucus-covered hand and shivered. She pushed it away with little force. "I'll… I'll think about it."

"That's not a no!" The little frog boy pranced along the road, while Sasha followed him from behind. Sasha watched as he moved forward, a slight beat and skip to his step, and she couldn't help her mouth curling upwards ever so slightly. However, she was cut off from her train of thought when her guide called out for her. "Hey, you coming?"

"… Y-yeah, I'm coming! Wait up!" She didn't notice it but her own steps had a little skip in it too.

After a few more minutes of walking, the duo finally reached the lake. And honestly to Sasha, it was the most beautiful view she had ever seen. The water was glistening and clear like the tears of an angel, while the plant life flourished around and in the lake with an assortment of colors and shapes, giving the lake a more idealistic approach to any outsider. There were bugs there and while Sasha didn't like them, they did bring more life into the already incredible view of the lake.

"Wow…" Sasha awed as she stared at the scenery. At this point, she almost felt guilty for wanting to take a dip in the pool.

Well, almost.

With one fell swoop, Sasha threw away her clothes, revealing a swimsuit (which she gracefully borrowed) underneath. "Alright, let's go!"

"WooooOOOOO—ooooo?" Sprig and Sasha screeched as they ran towards the lake, only for their call of the wild to be cut short by the sign sticking out on shore. Sasha took a look at the sign, reading it. "'Don't swim'… Huh, I guess English exists in this world too."

"I don't remember there being a sign here last time."

"And when was the last time you came here?"

"When I was still a pollywog. So a few years ago, give or take."

Sasha nodded in respond. "Well, it doesn't matter because that water is just asking us to be dipped in. Come on, Sprig!"

"Uh, Sasha?" Sprig called out. "I know we walked a long way to get here but…"

"But what?"

"Well… I don't think it's safe to go for a swim. The sign looked like it was written in a hurry!"

Sasha pouted. "It's fiiine, Sprig. The sign's probably a prank or something. Heck, maybe some dude's trying to claim the whole lake for himself!"

Sprig, however, was not convinced by that. "I don't think so. I just have a really bad feeling about this!"

"Uuuugh! Come. On. I had to figure out a plan all night just to get here and you're bailing out on me right now?!" Sasha argued, albeit too aggressive. "I thought you wanted to be my BFF!"

"I do! It's just—!"

"Just what, Sprig?! BFFs are supposed to help each other! They're supposed to watch each other's backs whenever they get in a bad spot! If I say I wanted something, you're supposed to help me get it! If I get into trouble, you're supposed to pull me out of it, even if it puts you in my place!" Sasha yelled, getting louder by the minute. "If you don't watch my back, what kind of friend are you?"

Sprig stared at Sasha, dumbfounded by her arguments. Was this really how Sasha saw her friends as? It didn't seem right. In fact, it felt wrong; so very wrong. Not knowing what else to do, Sprig sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sasha. I just can't."

For the first time in her life, Sasha was rejected, from someone she thought as a friend nonetheless. She was shocked, thunderstruck, and stunned. She involuntarily took a step back, too surprised by Sprig's final answer. This… this had never happened before. Sasha wasn't sure what to do, what to think, what to say. Her heart, it didn't feel right. Whatever she was feeling now, it felt so out of place.

So she did the first thing she thought of; she hardened her gaze and turned to the lake. "You know what? FINE! I don't need a friend like you anyway!"

Her muscles tightened, her focus sharpened and with all her might, she ran straight towards the lake. Just before the water touched her toes, she jumped forward and cannonballed into the pool. She managed to dive a full meter under the surface before breaching back upwards, taking in a full deep breath as she surfaced.

She swam towards the centre of the lake, causing the landscape to alter itself. The water rippled and waved to her movements, changing the calm lake into sinusoidal movements of ups and downs. The bugs all flew off under the localized chaos and the fish underneath swam away. The once peaceful and serene scenery was disrupted by the blonde teen, splashing water all over the place.

"See that, Sprig! I can have fun in here all on my own! WoooOOO!" Sasha laughed and smiled but it was all forced. She thought that jumping into the lake anyway would ease this feeling of hers and yet, it didn't. The feeling stayed and continued to pester her, much to her annoyance. Looking at Sprig, he was still there on-shore, determined to not move an inch closer into the water. The more she looked at him, the more the uneased feeling grew.

Suddenly while looking at Sprig in vain hopes that he'd join her in the lake, she saw him jumping up and down, his arms flailing and his face full of panic. Sasha wasn't sure what he meant but she believed that he was still trying to convince her to leave the lake. Well, she was having none of that.

"If you're trying to get me out of here, well too bad! I'm not leaving until you come in, Sprig!" Sasha yelled back. With the feelings occupying her thoughts, Sasha did not notice the ever-growing shadow looming over her. Only after said shadow reached her face did she wonder why it suddenly turned dark.

"Huh?" Sasha voiced, turning to see who turned off the Sun. She found herself staring a weird thick and somewhat scaly pillar and following upwards, she saw the face of her end; a giant reptilian lake monster with very sharp teeth.

Sasha gasped, for that was the very last thing she did before the beast lunged downwards, its jaws opened wide, and chomped the teen whole.

"OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOOOOSSSHH!" Sprig panicked, not knowing what to do. He just saw his hooman 'friend' get eaten by a giant lake monster. He ran around in circles, trying to figure out what can he do.

First up off the list; he screamed. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Now for step two; saving Sasha. Using all of his little froggy brain, he brainstormed for an idea, any idea, that he could use to get her out before the lake monster digested her. He hit himself in the noggin several times, hoping that something would come up. With his frantic pacing, however, he never realized that his pain peppers that he packed with him at fallen out of pocket. Only after accidentally stepping on it, did he get an idea.

"I'm coming, Sasha!" Sprig shouted, taking the pain pepper with him and jumped in the lake. Being a frog, he swam faster than any human could ever try and in a moment of desperation, even faster than what most frogs could. Once at the centre, he leapt onto one of the lily pads and looked around for the monster.

A few seconds later, he saw one of its fins surf above the water. Sprig took a deep breath and flailing wildly, he screamed. "COME HERE, MONSTER! I'M RIGHT HERE! WOO HOO! LALALALALALALALA!"

To his fortune, the lake monster noticed his crazed behaviour and swam straight towards him, the fin being the only visible part of it. The little frog boy clenched his butt and strained his thighs. Once the lake monster got close enough, he took up a war cry and jumped up towards it.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!" Sprig cried. The monster leapt out of the water and with its massive jaws, chomped up Sprig completely in one go. Satisfied, it landed in the water and dove back to its deep domains.

Meanwhile in Sprig's perspective, he was currently travelling down the monster's long oesophagus, being pushed the pulsating diaphragm in a somewhat relaxing and massage-inducing motion. Once noticing an opening, he quickly reacted by grabbing the inner walls of the stomach, narrowly avoiding the intense stomach acid underneath.

The stomach was dark which in hindsight pretty obvious due to the lack of natural lighting. He couldn't see anything in there but he wasn't about to give up. "SASHA?! ARE YOU THERE?!"

The frog gods blessed him that day, as he heard a voice shout in the darkness. "SPRIG?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"SAVING YOU, DUH!" Sprig said, making it sound as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Due to the lack of lighting and the enclosed space, his hearing was a lot better than it was outside. Because of that, he heard the slight whisper from somewhere around him.

"Why?"

An eyebrow raised. "Why what?"

"Why come and risk your life like this? I thought we weren't friends."

On habit, a small smile formed itself. "Of course we're friends! If I got eaten by the lake monster first, I bet you'd save me too."

"No, I wouldn't."

"Huh?"

"I wouldn't put myself into danger like this. I'd run away and never look back. That's what I'd do."

A moment of silence drew itself heavily into the atmosphere. It was too dark to see but Sasha knew exactly the new feeling that came in, replacing her previous uneasiness. It was shame. She felt ashamed of herself and she knew she deserved it.

Sprig, however, did not care. "I don't believe you!"

Sasha was surprised. "It's the truth, Sprig! I would've run away and left you to get digested."

"And I'm saying that you're LYING!" he argued back, louder than ever. "The first time we met, you saved my life from a frog-eating mantis. Then just after, we worked together and, pardon my language, beat the creek out of it!"

"I may not know you that long, but I do know you never run away from a fight! Ever! You're smart, brave and super cool and weird! If I ever get in trouble, I know you'd be there to get me out of it. And if you ever get in trouble, you can always count on me to help you out! Because THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS DOOOOO!"

At this point, something wet streamed down Sasha's face. She was glad it was dark at the moment, or else she'd never be able to live with herself if Sprig saw what was happening. Hanging by the stomach's inner layer, she wiped off whatever wetness there was off her face and grinned in determination.

"Alright, Sprig! So how do we get out of here?" Sasha shouted at the general direction where Sprig might be at.

"Easy! When I say 'now', let go, alright?"

"Got it!"

"Okay, then…" Sprig pulled out a bundle of pain pepper and with the strength of his forearm, he threw the delicious method of suicide into the acid, causing it to bubble like crazy. "NOW!"

Sasha felt a blow of wind from underneath her and it was getting really hot. She let go like Sprig said and suddenly, the wind grew so strong that it pushed her straight up and out of the stomach, back through where she entered. It was tight, moist and honestly felt really weird but she knew it was working the moment she saw a light.

The lake monster was having a pretty neat day. Two full meals in one afternoon? What a treat that was. Though, the lanky one had a pretty unique flavour, something this lake monster had never tried before.

Too bad the rest of the afternoon wasn't as good.

Out of nowhere, it felt a sudden heat surging from its stomach. The lake monster wriggled around underwater, unable to escape the incredible pain it was suffering through. No longer able to continue, it swam upwards into the fresh air and released a massive stream of flame that looked like it could burn down an entire forest. And with it, out came the duo in a ball of fire.

Thankfully they were in a lake, else they would've burned themselves to death in their escape attempt.

Sasha and Sprig crashed into the cool water, washing away the corrosive stomach acid they were avoiding in the first place. Sasha quickly breached the waters, taking a huge breath as proof that she was alive. Calming down, she looked around "Sprig? SPRIG?! Where are you, buddy?!"

"Ack, I'm right here, Sasha!" Sprig called as he swam towards his human friend. Sasha looked at him, feeling happier than ever. "Sprig! Oh thank gosh you're okay!"

"Yep, all okay here. A few burns here and there but they'll heal."

Once close by, Sasha stared at her little frog friend, followed by a giggle and then, genuine laughter. Seeing her laugh, Sprig joined in on the laughing spree and soon, the duo were laughing together, all wet and covered with diluted stomach acid.

"ROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"We should leave."

"Yep, swimming right now."

The entire day had been suspiciously quiet at the Plantar household. Unbeknownst to the SS duo, Hopadiah Plantar had apparently fallen asleep with his eyes opened, reading a book about acting. The moment he woke up, he realized it was evening already. He yawned, blinking his eyes momentarily.

"Hu-buh wuah, how long was I out?" Hop Pop asked out loud, though expected no one to answer. Suddenly, he remembered why he went into the study in the first place; he was mad at Sasha and locked the front door. His eyes shot open, a sudden realization hit him like a ladybug. He immediately checked the pockets of his jacket behind him.

"It's gone… IT'S GONE!" Hop Pop madly ran out of his study, searching around. "Kids, where are you?!"

He ran towards the door to look outside but realized that the front door wouldn't budge. "Wha?" Looking down, he noticed that the lock he placed was still there, untouched. Hop Pop felt very confused but decided to cut it short by checking the basement where Sasha was staying. He opened the cellar door and immediately he saw Sasha and Sprig, playing a different game that was not Toads and Towers.

"So, I get to buy this property, right?" Sasha asked.

"Yep! And when you've bought all the same colour places, you get to buy farms, rivers and inns. Farms create more food, rivers for water and inns for money. But inns need food and water, and you only get money if you land on them again the next turn." Sprig explained. "Wait, I think I got the rulebook somewhere. I'll go check my room."

Sprig stood up and walked towards the stairs, where he then saw Hop Pop watching them. "Hop Pop, you're here! For some reason."

Hop Pop stretched his collar. "Kids, have you happen to see the key to the front door?"

Seeing Hop Pop, Sasha too walked towards the stairs, her hands rummaging in her pockets. "Oh yeah, you mean this? You kinda dropped it. We wanted to give it back but you were asleep and stuff."

Sasha gave the key to Hop Pop and dropped it in his froggy hands. "Huh… Alright then, thank ya, Sasha."

"No probs." Sasha exclaimed, doing a lazy salute.

"I'll go prepare us some dinner. If ya kids wanna help, you're fine to join me." Hop Pop told the duo, leaving the basement door open on his way. Sasha and Sprig both mildly shouted their response.

"We'll be there in a sec!" "Got it, old man." Once they were sure that Hop Pop was out of hearing range, Sasha closed the door as normal as possible and the two proceeded to sigh in relief.

"Hey, Sprig?"

"Yeah, Sasha?"

"Thanks for backing me up at the lake. I wasn't being very fair to you but you still risked your life to save mine. You're… You're a good friend."

Sprig awed. "Does that mean I'm your BFF of this world?!"

Sasha rolled her eyes with a smile. "Yeah, Sprig. You're my BFF."

"WOO-HOO!" Sprig cheered, jumping in joy.

Watching Sprig all happy and dancing, Sasha can't help herself but feel genuinely happy herself. She wondered, when was the last time she felt like this ever since she came here? Sure, she had her moments here and there but that was all they were; moments. Fleeting moments, never lasting more than a few minutes, never that strongly.

But here, this moment, she can truly say she'd remember forever.

Said moment however was ruined when Polly slammed the door opened, carrying a kitchen knife. "YOU'LL NEVER EAT ME, BEAST!"

"I've said it two times already, I'm NOT going to EAT YOU!"

Sprig turned to his little sister. "Polly, where have you been?"

Polly lowered her knife. "Oh you know, somewhere."

"Somewhere?" asked Sasha, eyebrow raised.

"Yep, somewhere." Polly answered. "So… You're not going to eat us?"

"Never."

Polly's little baby shoulders drooped. "That's soooo boring! YOU'RE so boring!"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"Polly!" called Hop Pop from the kitchen. "Where did you take mah kitchen knife?!"

Polly turned. "Oops. Sorry, Hop Pop! I'll be there with it!" Polly shouted, hopping back to the kitchen with her tadpole body. Now once more alone, Sasha and Sprig looked at each other.

"So… Wanna keep play Newtopoly?"

"Sure, what the heck."

Somewhere in the outskirts of the valley, an old and battle-hardened toad walked into a dark, cramped room during a thick thunderstorm. In front of him, a cell was housed, lined with bars of scarred steel. The floor on both sides of the room was littered with skittering bugs, overgrown moss and other unmentionables. The cobblestone walls that made up the room had leaked rainwater from outside, staining whatever it touched.

"This…" the toad said, revealing a yellow smartphone with a cat-like design. "Was found in the woods nearby, south of here."

"You told me that there were no one else except you that came here. So tell me, Anne…" he moved forward, revealing his ugly and scarred eye. He snarled, "Who else of your kind is here?"

The storm rumbled and lightning flashed abruptly, briefly revealing Anne, a young dark-skinned girl with thick hair in the cell, her leg shackled to the wall. Her eyes had bags underneath and from her perspective, taking that box was the worst choice of her life.