26. S1 Finale: Reunion Pt 2

Merry Christmas :)

Wartwood. An average town located on an average swamp in an average valley, literally floating by a hair's weight. It wasn't particularly amazing nor was it interesting. In fact, the town is so subpar that it lacked any tourist attractions. And even if it did, it would've probably been destroyed by the rampaging insects and creepy crawlers all over the place, bringing the town's number of attractions back down to zero. It's in the negative actually, due to the rubble left behind.

But with an average town came quite average people. For example, Loggle Leopold, the town's resident craftsman. He used to be the town's blacksmith as well but after a traumatic injury, he refused to work with any metals of sort and began studying the art of woodcarving. He's very good at it too and even carved a statue of himself one time.

But then came a monster. Initially, he was terrified of her, just like anyone else. But when she returned his statue, he realized that maybe she wasn't so bad. He was still scared of her though but he took an effort not to show it. And with every meeting they had, no matter how short, he learned that she wasn't as beastly as he thought.

That's why he fixed up her metal shield.

Another was Felicia Sundew, the owner of the town's famous tea shoppe. Most of the visitors of that quaint café were on the elder side but that didn't mean she didn't serve to younger folk. After all, one of her frequent customers so happened to be Sprig Plantar, a young farmer boy. One day, he brought a freakish character into her store and like any ordinary citizen, she tried to scream for dear life.

But after Sprig explained his side of the story, she felt sympathetic toward the girl. She knew full well what it was like to walk out into the wilderness. She wanted to make a name for herself and didn't want to depend on her family, so she set out alone. But being alone wasn't as great as she thought it'd be. Only when she met an old coot with an old restaurant, did she realize the importance of having friends and family, and how a restaurant could be the spark to form these relationships.

That's why she gave her food when she looked hungry.

Every single person in Wartwood was average but no matter how average they were, they all had a story to tell, a life to live. They were simple folk with not much in their name. They would not be remembered or written in any history book. But they were real.

A real pain in the a—

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

Back in the real world, things were getting… hectic. One of the tables were even on fire.

At the front door of the hall, a line of toads was formed, acting as a meat wall and preventing anyone from crossing. One of the toads, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but here, attempted to soothe them. "Calm down, you frogs! Calm d—!" Suddenly, a cluster of tomatoes landed on him with a splat. "Knock it off!"

"They're totally going to eat us!" A random frog yelled in panic.

"Not on my watch!" Mrs Croaker defied. Grabbing a handful, she began tossing the food at the guards. "Take that! And that!"

In the back, Polly smiled. "Ooo, a riot! We haven't had those for a while!" She exclaimed, snatching a crab leg from Hop Pop's plate. The old frog quickly took it back, much to her displeasure.

"Polly, don't throw that!" He said. "Throw this potato instead."

Polly gleefully grabbed the potato and threw it at the guards. She missed but it was the thought that counts. Beside them, Sprig's eyes shifted left and right, looking for a specific person. He had hoped she arrived at the banquet at some point but from the looks of it, she wasn't there.

"Where's Sasha? Does she know about this?" Sprig asked worriedly.

"She's with her other humbug friend, remember? The one with the tree hair." Polly reminded, emphasizing the hair part.

With the crowd growing restless by the second, it would only take a small spark for it to finally blow up. And what spark could allow such a disaster to occur? Well, it'd either be a weird frog or a crazy frog. Unfortunately, the only crazy frog in town literally died recently, leaving only weirdos.

"Let me out! LET ME OUT!" One-Eyed Wally, Wartwood's resident weirdo, shrieked. Without hesitation, he leapt with his mighty frog legs up and over the toads, though only to be caught mid-air by one of them. Promptly, the said toad then threw him back to the crowd, albeit a tad too harsh. Wally slammed into his frogs, causing them to tumble loudly.

Ivy Sundew, seeing the injustice happening in front of her, frowned angrily. Spilling her plate empty, she threw the ceramic towards the toads, hitting one of them in the head.

"ARGH!" The toad screamed in pain, his iron kettle helm denting. He fell into his comrade's arm, rubbing his poor bruised cranium. "Ouchie…"

The toad that caught him glared at the rowdy frogs and pulled out his flail. "Okay, that's it!"

"Enough."

Without warning, the doors flung open, revealing a bushy-haired teen in brown armour. Unlike before, she now had a single pauldron over her shoulder and a long cape strapped to her back. Walking forward, she grabbed her blade — one with a golden hilt and an intricately designed guard — and unsheathed it, revealing a blueish glow.

"Gasp! It's the other Sasha!" A frog shouted.

"So Sasha's not her name? Or is she Sasha the Sasha?"

"I thought she was a hummus."

Anne rolled her eyes. "My name is Anne."

"Well then, Anne the Sasha! Tell us; WHY ARE WE PRISONERS?!" A frog asked angrily. "We didn't do anything wrong!"

"Yeah! We even paid our taxes!"

…

…

The townsfolk all glanced at one another, shuffling around and looking uncomfortable.

"… K-kinda."

Anne shook her head. How did Sasha deal with this? "Look, I'm sorry for keeping you all prisoner but this is necessary. Toad Tower can't have any would-be criminal running around and blowing up the place."

"Would-be? Hey, it's guilty until proven innocent!" Wally yelled, only to pause for a moment. "No wait, I think I got that wrong."

The human ignored the frog. "Not to him." She said, staring at the frog in question.

Everyone from Wartwood followed her piercing gaze as it travelled across the room. After a few seconds of deliberation, they finally reached their mark. To their surprise, the so-called not-would-be criminal was not a suave and handsome vigilante or some revolutionary frog wearing a beret. In fact, it was the very last person they thought of. Well, second last. The very last would've been their mayor.

Hop Pop blinked, realising that all eyes were on him. "… Why's everyone looking at me?"

"Hopadiah Plantar, you're under arrest for acts of terrorism and crimes against Toad Tower." Lieutenant Anne stated, the toads behind her quickly barring their spears.

Immediately, Hop Pop dropped his plate of crab legs. "WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" He howled, horrified. "BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Didn't you? Right now, you're the central figure of a revolution. Everywhere across Frog Valley are protests, strikes and unrest. It's making it very difficult for the toads to do their jobs and keep the valley safe and secure. Your actions are putting everyone in danger." Anne explained, moving one step closer.

Polly glared at Anne, aghast. "Well, if the toads weren't such buttheads about it, then none of this would've happened!"

Felicia nodded. "Indeed! You're the ones who barged into our homes and stole our precious memorabilia. If it weren't for Hopadiah, it would've ended much worse."

"Also, I kinda paid for everyone's taxes so I don't see why I'm accused." Hop Pop raised.

Anne groaned in annoyance. "Your 'selfless' act is seen as a form of silent protest. Frogs all over are thinking that you gave up a position of wealth for them. You're a martyr to the revolution." She exclaimed. "And that's not the only time you did it. You joined an election and almost won. That sets a dangerous precedent to the others."

"Well, I couldn't help myself! Mayor Toadstool was horrible!"

Nearby, the one and only Mayor Toadstool whistled a tune. While all the chaos was happening, he had taken the opportunity to do what he did best: hide in the back until everything blew over. Though, since no one was paying attention to him, he didn't need to work hard to hide. Plus, he was actually getting hungry and decided to fill his plate with crab legs. So when everyone diverted their attention to him, all they saw was their beloved mayor gleefully picking food from the banquet table.

Hearing his name, the mayor turned to his citizens, confused. "Was somebody talking about me?"

All of Wartwood collectively rolled their eyes and shifted back towards Anne.

Anne proceeded to continue. "Right now, it's just these two. But when's the third? Or the fourth? You're being a bad example to your fellow frogs."

"And what example are we supposed to follow, huh?"

Anne wanted to answer but no words came out. She didn't know what to say. She knew so little about frogs and their culture, being busier with military training and whatnot. Plus, she was never the studious kind, as much as that affected her negatively. Unless she lived with them, there was little to no chance she would've learned anything about frogs at all.

What is the example? Is not what they're doing the best one yet?

Anne shook her head. She couldn't afford second thoughts. "Look, it doesn't matter! Hopadiah Plantar is a criminal and anyone associated with him is also a criminal. So unless you all want to spend the rest of your days behind bars, then step back."

Anne's eyes turned blue.

She swung her blue blade and from it, harsh winds blew across the hall. The plates rattled and the tablecloth fluttered. For a moment, it was as if a hurricane had passed through the room. And although brief, the room immediately turned silent. Even the proud and hostile toads held their tongues. Such unprecedented power, catastrophic even. Was this the true strength of a human?

But Wartwood's citizens did not move. They're a stubborn lot and no calamity was going to change that. Their sharp hostile glares pierced through her, making the girl nervous.

Anne clenched her fist, tightening her grip. "I can see why Sasha likes you guys. You're all just as difficult."

Hearing her name, Sprig's eyes widened. "What did you do to her?!"

Anne ignored him. She had no time for her best friend's fanboy. As she continued forward, the townsfolk began forming a meat wall with Hopadiah at the end. No one, neither toads nor humans, was getting their hands on him.

"I don't want to hurt any of you. So please, just stand back and let us do our jobs!" The girl pleaded.

"Yeah, well, go eat a potato!" Polly spat, throwing a potato and narrowly missing Anne's bushy head.

"This is getting tough! What do we do, ma'am?!" One of the toads asked.

"I-I don't—!" Another potato, this time actually hitting her in the face. "AGH! HEY, THAT HURT!"

Polly cackled. "Yeah?! Well, I got more potatoes where that came from!"

Following suit, more and more of the townsfolk began throwing food, plates and other objects at them. At the front, however, the wall of meat protected their lobbers, ensuring that the guards wouldn't be able to lay a hand on them. In such disarray, the toad guards were forced to lift their shields, protecting them from harm.

They were country folk. And they always watched out for one another. After all that Hopadiah Plantar did, this was the least they could do.

Anne, however, was getting more and more flecked by wasted food. She's never been boo'ed like this before and honestly, it felt kinda bad. She always strived to befriend anyone, even those that disliked her. For example, Maggie. She tried to steal her khao niew bing and Anne saw her as her worst nightmare, but after so long in this hellscape, she actually missed the redhead bully.

She didn't like being hated like this. But sometimes, you just can't get along with people. Like Maggie.

"Enough of this."

With one stroke, Anne lifted her sword up and pulled it down, stabbing it into the ground. As the sword was lodged deep through the stone, she then lifted it back outward at an angle, literally swinging it through the floor like butter. The foundation buckled under the force of her swing, splitting the entire banquet hall up in twain. Before they knew it, the floor lifted from beneath their feet and in between, a small chasm erupted, breaking the crowd apart into two halves.

The entire castle shook from her feat, and above everyone else at the top of Toad Tower, Captain Grime smiled. The giant Venus flytrap was in perfect health.

As the floor shook, Hop Pop lost his footing and fell on his butt. He winched, rubbing his poor back. In that time, Anne marched front, the ominous glow of her blues standing out from the dust and rubble. Once by his feet, she directly grabbed hold of his ascot, lifting him off the ground.

"W-WOAH!" Hop Pop shrieked.

Sprig, who was coughing as the dust expanded out, called out in terror. "CAK! H-HOP POP!"

"Keep the frogs here. Don't let any of them escape until after the execution." Anne ordered the toads before quickly leaving the hall, her prisoner in her arms.

"DON'T FIGHT 'EM, KIDS! I'LL BE JUST— Wait, did you say 'execution'?" Hop Pop did a double-take. Straightaway, he panicked. "I CHANGED MY MIND! SAVE YOUR HOPPY POP!"

Toad Tower dungeons. Despite its name, it was not located in some underground cellar as most popular fiction would have led you to believe. No, the dungeons of this fortress were located in the east section of the building, in contrast to the barracks being on the west side. These dungeons were only temporary as prisoners would then be shipped to a special facility elsewhere. In a sense, they're more of holding cells than they were actual jail cells.

For example, Anne spent her first few months in one of them. Now, it was Sasha's turn. Sharing is caring.

"And here we go!" One of the toads — dubbed Toad #1 — exclaimed, tossing the unconscious body of a teenager onto a pile of hay. The straws helped cushion her fall. "You know, she's a lot heavier than she looks. Are all hummers like that?"

"Didn't you lift the lieutenant into the dungeon when she first got here?" The other toad — dubbed Toad #2 — recalled.

Toad #1 rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's why I asked." He said, locking the cell with the one key in possession.

From the shadows, a pair of eyes opened at the sound of clanking metal. The figure trudged forward towards the girl, his arms and legs bound by old iron shackles. And as he got close, he leaned towards her face and quickly licked her cheek.

"Hm… Salty… sweet… a hint of benzodiazepine and trimethylxanthine…" He muttered before smiling. "Ah, to be drugged by chocolate. Brings back such wonderful memories of my childhood."

"SAVE YOUR HOPPY POP!"

Sasha's eyes burst wide open, her pupils glowing pink for a moment. "BWAAAAH!" She screamed, shooting upright. "WHAT THE—?! WHERE AM I?! WHAT IS THIS PLACE?! WHO—" She stopped, noticing she wasn't alone. "… Who the heck are you?!"

"Ah, you are awake, mysterious creature! And here I thought you'd be out for at least a day. Maybe even a week." He said with a laugh. As the light shone, his full appearance was revealed. He was a dishevelled green newt with an unkempt beard, scuffed clothes and oddly enough, an exposed chest. He also had ridiculously full black hair, even more so than herself.

The newt bowed, though with difficulty. "I am Tritonio Espada — combat specialist, daycare centre owner and a liberator of treasures and jewelleries. A pleasure to be of acquaintance."

Liberator of treasures and jewelleries? Sasha raised a brow. "So you're a thief."

The newt gasped. "¡Jadear! Such foul language! Never once have I been accused of being a lowly and dishonourable purse snatcher! You just insulted me and my entire familia! Shame on you! Shame on you and your future children!" He chastised. "But yes. I am a thief."

Knew it. "Nice to meet you, I guess? The name's Sasha. Sasha Waybright." She reciprocated. "Now spill it; where the heck am I?"

Tritonio obliged. "You are in Toad Tower dungeons. A temporary holding for criminals before we are transported to the actual grand dungeons located in the Red Desert. You and I are prisoners, framed for injustice!"

"You weren't framed, Tritonio! You tried to steal the Tiger Moth's Eye from one of our trains!" Toad #1 said from outside the cell.

"I was liberating it from the hands of the bourgeois and giving it to the people!" He argued dramatically. "And by people, I mean myself. And I would've gotten away with it too, had I not fallen in an accident."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "Look, dude, I don't care about your life sto—"

"It all started a few weeks ago! I opened a daycare centre in hopes of mentoring future thieves such as myself. But then, disaster struck! I had slipped on a banana peel and after hitting my head, I realized that training children to rob trains was a silly idea! I should be doing the heists myself!"

"And that's how I got caught. In retrospect, it was probably the concussion that caused my fault in judgement and the whole point of training kids to do it was because they were gullible and would get caught. A valuable lesson, I'm sure." He finished. "And what of you, Sasha Waybright? What tale of woe do you have?"

Sasha blinked, trying to remember. What was she doing before this? And how did she end up here? Her head was spinning and her senses were numb. She closed her eyes, focusing on the last thing that happened.

That's when it hit her.

"… My best friend Mickey Mouse'd me."

"Oof! That cuts deep. I don't know what that means but my condolences." He said with sympathy. "But it matters not! You see, I have been waiting for a partner-in-crime to aid in my daring escape! I have devised the perfect plan and I will need your help to enact it! You might get left behind but that is a sacrifice I am willing to ma—"

CRACK!

Tritonio froze. Did something just break? He glanced downwards, only to see the stone slabs that made up the floor now cracked underneath Sasha's tense palm. She turned upwards and grabbed him by the collar, her eyes now bright pink.

A very bright pink.

"Listen up, lizard boy. I just got drugged by the one person I trusted and that same person is about to kill one of the few people I actually give a crud about. I am not in a playful mood." Sasha growled. "I don't know what your perfect plan is and I don't care. But so long as you're here, you're going to help me beat those toads and save my family. Otherwise, I'll liberate you from your body."

For the next few seconds, the dungeon was impossibly quiet. Not a single person breathed, let alone spoke a word. Briefly, Tritonio's eyes turned pink before shifting back to their original colour and the utter confusion and fear from his face immediately disappeared.

Letting him go, the newt cleared his throat. "A-hem… I will be honest; you are a very good negotiator. Your ominous threats have completely changed my perspective. I shall aid you and it's definitely not because I saw el Diablo with my own two eyes."

And so, an unlikely alliance was formed. They even shook on it.

"Hah! Good luck, prisoners. One of you are in chains and the other has a cast around her leg; you wouldn't be able to escape even if you tried!" Toad #1 mocked.

Toad #2 looked at his partner with a worried expression. "Hey, uh, are you sure it's a good idea to provoke them like this? Lieutenant Anne did say about this Sasha girl being super dangerous."

"Pfft, please. Just because the lieutenant killed an ant queen, doesn't mean she's an expert at judging strength. This Sasha is just as lanky as she is; no way she's that strong."

Clink-clink-clink.

…

…

…

Toad #1 immediately turned around. Right behind him, the sole two prisoners stood idly, the amphibian of the duo rubbing his wrists, now free of his shackles. "What the toad?! How did you get out?! We have the keys!"

"Oh, I broke my shackles weeks ago. I was just looking for the opportune moment to escape."

Sasha glared at the toads. "I want my shield."

Ignoring her demands, the two toad guards pulled out their weapons, ready for some good ole fashion excessive violence. Their opponents were a newt and a human, both of which unarmed and one of them disabled. This was going to be a piece of larvae cake.

She raised a brow.

Back at the banquet hall, the Plantars kids were panicking. They were now officially prisoners along with their friends and townsfolk, and worse of all: their captors had un-delightfully devilish plans in the works.

"What are we going to do?! They're going to execute Hop Pop!" Polly screamed. She was a baby and the term 'execute' really shouldn't be in her vocabulary.

Sprig slammed his fist into his hand. "We just need a plan! That's what Sasha would do."

"Well, can you make one?"

"Nope."

Polly began thinking and within moments, she got a brilliant idea. "Well, I'm 5 years old. You're 10. Together makes 12, older than Sasha! If we butt our heads together, then we'll find a plan!"

Sprig gasped. A sliver of hope now turned into a burning flame. "Other than the math, you're right! Let's do it!"

While the Plantars formulate a plan Together™, one of the toad guards yawned. At the same time, his stomach grumbled, demanding sustenance. "Man, watching over frogs sure is making me hungry. Maybe I can take a little bit—"

"Hey!" A toad yelled. "No eating food for the guests!"

"But they're not even eating it!"

All of the sudden, the front door burst open and two toads came flying in, crashing into the banquet tables. The other toads turned around in shock and to their surprise, two familiar figures stood at the door: an oddly handsome newt and a blonde teenager.

"SASHA!" Sprig cried in tears, having been so worried.

Sasha? The toads recalled of that name. Their non-toad superior said something about her before they enacted this plan. Some good, others bad. But one thing was for sure; if she wasn't with her, then that meant she was against her and Toad Tower as a whole.

The toads readied their weapons. Sasha, her shield on her back and was supporting herself with a wooden spear, scoffed.

"Tritonio—" she said. "Sick 'em."

The newt smiled, brandishing a pair of short swords. "Haha! Your wish is my command, m'lady!"

Like a typhoon, the newt with the exposed chest leapt into battle. Kicking a toad in the face, he jumped above the rest, parrying their steels in mid-air. Just as he landed, he crossed his arms and rushed forward, slashing his opponents left and right. None of his attacks was lethal though — he was a thief, not a killer — but they were enough to disarm and disable the guards, all while his hair flowed gracefully in the wind.

Sprig and Polly gaped at the man, watching him take down entire legions on his own. Oddly enough, Felicia Sundew was also left agape but she felt hot under her dress as well, her yellow cheeks turning red.

Ivy noticed her mother's complexion and turned to the man, looking both angry and disgusted.

"Woah, who's that guy?" Sprig asked.

"I don't know, some dude I met in jail. Are you guys alright?"

Sprig nodded. "We're fine but they have Hop Pop! What do we do?!"

Heck.

Heck heck heck heck heck. She was too late.

"First, we—"

"First—" Tritonio interrupted. "—we deal with a specific problem!"

Sasha stared at him. "What?"

Out of nowhere, Tritonio smacked her cast with the blunt end of his sword, leaving a sizable crack on the white surface. The crack slowly spread and within moments, it crumbled apart like wet sand, finally freeing the teenager's leg from its sterile prison.

Sasha froze.

"AAAHHHHH!" She screamed, falling off her feet and clinging onto her exposed shin. "YOU LITTLE— AGH! MY LEG! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Calm down. Kids these days are very dramati—"

"HIYA!"

Before he could finish, Ivy appeared next to him, shouted her war cry and stomped on his tail. Hard. Tritonio flinched, feeling numerous emotions simultaneously, before taking a deep and calm breath, one in and one out.

"… Ow."

Ivy pointed at the newt, sharply glaring in rage. "STAY AWAY FROM MY MOM!"

"Ivy!" Felicia cried, hastily pulling her back. "Don't go stomping on other people's tails! That's very unladylike!" She scolded, then shifted to Mr Espada. "My apologies. She's usually not like this."

"Ah, no matter. Children are a rambunctious group. I would know; I run a daycare centre. But you, however, are quite refined." He complimented. He softly held Felicia's hand, kissing it on the back. "Tritonio Espada, at your service. You, my fair lotus flower, may call me Nio."

Felicia blushed, giggling and fanning herself like a schoolgirl. "Ohoho, oh my~!"

Ivy screamed.

Nearby, Polly leaned towards her brother. "What is going on?" She whispered.

"I have no idea." Sprig whispered back.

Keep in mind that while all of this was happening, Sasha was still wincing on the ground, holding her now cast-free leg in pain. Being Sasha was suffering.

"Hmm, I feel like I am forgetting something." Tritonio exclaimed, snapping his fingers. Only upon seeing the lying child, did he remember. "Ah, yes, the leg thing." He said, kneeling down next to her.

"Screw… you…" Sasha spat.

"Now, now, no need for such hostility. In fact, why don't you check on that leg of yours, hm?"

Sasha scowled. Although reluctant, she slowly released her grip on her lower limb, biting her lip the entire time. When she finally let go, allowing blood to flow normally, she slowly came to a realisation; there was no pain. "… It's fixed. It's fixed! How in the world?!"

Tritonio grinned. "I've seen enough injuries to know that yours have healed for quite some time. You must've forgotten to keep track."

Sasha examined her leg. There was a clear line between the casted and uncasted parts, the former being a lighter shade than the latter. In addition, the casted part — from her shin to her foot — was a bit hairier than usual, a common side effect to wearing a cast.

But other than that, her leg looked brand new. No scars nor marks were left behind.

Smiling widely, Sasha wiggled her toes before standing on her own two feet for the first time in over a month. "Alright, we're back in business!" Sasha cackled. "Now back to the plan; first, we get the heck out of here. Obviously, we can't take the front entrance. That place is chock-full of toads. So, any ideas?"

The crowd began mumbling, discussing amongst themselves. As if on cue, a single hand was raised, its owner revealed to be Maddie. "I've got one."

Sasha smiled. Always dependable, Maddie was. "Alright, hit us — what do you got?"

Maddie slowly lowered her hand, moving it from upwards to horizontal but at a slight angle. "We could escape through there." She said, gesturing at the sewer grate nearby. The grate was dripping with green gunk and Sasha was convinced she could see stench lines coming out from the slits.

Sasha blinked. "… Anyone else got any ideas?"

"Ooo, ooo, me! Pick me!" Wally yelled enthusiastically. He then ripped his vest open, revealing a worrying amount of blue mushrooms — boomshrooms — strapped to his body. "What if we go kamikaze on them and blow our way out?! Eh? Ehhh?"

"The sewers it is then! The perfect escape tunnel!" Sasha cheered. "Great plan, Maddie. Totally didn't doubt you for a second."

Prying the grate off, Sasha hastily crafted a few torches from the tablecloths and broken furniture, dousing them in oil (there were a lot of barrels of oil around for some reason), before lighting them using the brazier nearby. With one lit, she handed the first to Tritonio.

"Tritonio, I need you to lead the frogs to safety. Get each and every one of them to Wartwood." She ordered.

Tritonio grabbed the torch, though with a look of surprise. "You trust me with such a responsibility? How do you know I wouldn't just leave them the moment I taste freedom?"

Sasha crossed her arms. "I don't. I still don't trust you at all. But I know you won't leave them." She then shrugged. "Let's just say I got a hunch."

The newt was baffled. To be trusted/not trusted so easily; children really were gullible. He already knew that but now, he actually felt a bit guilty for taking advantage of that. Guilt? What an odd and foreign feeling. He rarely had that.

Tritonio cleared his throat and nodded. "Then I shall do as you wish and escort them back to their homes. I swear upon the Espada familia name."

Stumpy's nieces — two very nice newts from Newtopia who just arrived earlier today and had no idea what was going on — blinked.

"Wait, did he just say—" Middy started.

"—the Espada family?" Chiddy followed.

Unfortunately for them, no one bothered to answer and with a salute, Tritonio dropped down into the sewers, his torch lighting up the way. One by one, the townsfolk took their turn to climb down, a number of torches distributed to a selected few.

Eventually, the banquet hall was left empty, barring the human teenager, a few unconscious toads and a pair of frog kids.

Sasha sighed. "Sprig. Polly. What are you doing?"

"Going to save Hop Pop! Obvi!" Polly stated.

Sasha frowned. "Ooooh NO! Absolutely not! I'm not going to put you in harm's way like this!"

As if to convince her, Sprig scoffed. "Oh please, when are we never in peril? We're Plantars! Life-threatening danger is in our blood!"

"You just made that up! And still no! You're not coming!"

"Or what? You're going to stop us? You couldn't even walk until a few minutes ago."

"B-but—!"

'This is my fault.'

'I don't want you to get hurt.'

'You shouldn't get involved.'

'I'm the one who has to fix this mess.

Sasha wanted to say those sentences. Nay, she wanted to scream them out. But when she looked at Sprig and Polly, she just couldn't. No matter what she said, no matter how she said it, there was no way she'd be able to convince them. They were involved in this, just as much as she was. And they had every reason to stay.

Sprig placed a hand on Sasha's own. "Hop Pop needs us. You need us. You can't do this on your own." He said softly. "You gotta trust us on this."

She did trust them without question. That was the problem.

Sasha gritted her teeth. All she had to do was say one word. One very simple, two-letter word. Starts with an 'N', ends with an 'O'. So utterly, almost brain-numbingly simple. And yet, she struggled, the word choking her to death. Why was it so hard?!

"MMMM…! MMMM!" She hummed, a futile attempt of keeping her mouth shut.

It didn't last.

"… AGH, ALRIGHT, FINE!" Sasha yelled, livid at everything. "But you have to follow my lead! Don't do anything stupid!"

Polly saluted. "No promises!"

"I'm already regretting this."

If you ask any prison-escapee, they will always say the same thing; the best way to escape was through the sewers. Why, you ask? Because so long as there is civilization, people will want a way to move their gross biological matter from one place to another. A prison was no exception; it was technically a forced hotel where guests couldn't leave until they finished their terms. And like anyone else, prisoners pooped.

Although the sewers were dirty and ridden with diseases, they happened to have the most suitable environment for certain forms of life, mainly the fungal variety. For example, mushrooms.

"Wally, what in the devil-horned toads are you doing?" Felicia asked, watching as the one-eyed frog leave a trail of blue bioluminescent mushrooms behind them.

"Planting the boomshrooms I brought! I actually took them to the party in case I needed to add some spice to my food!" He answered, placing another.

Felicia shook her head. "You use peppers for that, Wally. Not high-grade explosives. Also, that still doesn't explain why you're planting them."

"I didn't want the toads to follow us! So why not blow up the tunnels on our way out? Genius, ain't it, Wally?" He explained, praising himself on the way. "Yes, it is, Wally! You are quite a genius!"

"Don't these tunnels run directly under the fort? This would destroy the entire area."

Wally shrugged. "Eh, so what? A little demolition wouldn't hurt anyone. Plus, in case I ever get caught, I can plead for insanity, avoid jail time and no one can prove otherwise!" He added, wagging his finger. "Sometimes, my genius... it's almost frightening."

Felicia wanted to contest that. For one thing, claims of insanity only worked to a certain degree. Not all crimes were eligible and definitely not one that translated to an act of terrorism. Second, considering the weight of the crime, he wouldn't be sent to jail. No, he'd be executed, just like what Hop Pop was going through. And third, it didn't matter if the toads followed them. They already knew where their homes were. Covering the trail wouldn't do anything.

Which meant that the only way to truly escape was to ensure they'd never be able to come to them at all. Break apart their organization, destroy the evidence and no one would be able to do anything, not even the toads. So maybe Wally had a point…

"Do you have any more of these boomshrooms?" Felicia asked.

Wally chuckled, revealing even more underneath his vest. "Who do you take me for? A stingy weirdo?"

He was just a weirdo but not at all stingy. Oh, good ol' Wally!

Sasha's plan on saving Hop Pop and the people of Wartwood was simple but brilliant. One could even say it was brilliant because it was simple.

Step 1: Free the townsfolk. That was easy enough.

Step 2: Get them out of the castle. Thanks to her observation skills, she figured out that the sewers were the best. Go, Sasha!

Step 3: Climb up to the execution platform at the very top, beat up any toads on the way, beat up the bad guy with the wicked scar, convince her BFF with the power of friendship, rescue Hop Pop and save the day.

She might've fumbled up that last step.

At the very top of Toad Tower, our heroes were surrounded by a legion of hardened soldiers, their spears literally inches from their soft squishy skin. "Wow! I can't believe we got caught almost immediately! Who knew fighting against countless toads and climbing up a tower to be so difficult?" Sprig exclaimed.

She knew. She definitely knew. It was obvious in hindsight and was just as obviously in foresight. Only in cartoons were the heroes able to perform such a feat. Imagine having enough strength to defeat the Great Demon Lord of the Heavens after climbing 50 flights of stairs. Beating the final boss would've been a cakewalk compared to that.

Now she understood where she got the idea.

"I blame Marcy." Sasha said a bit too quickly.

At the edge of the same tower, on a wooden platform, a half-naked Hop Pop was being smothered by a dark brown liquid. He looked mildly annoyed and the toads responsible for coating him looked a bit uncomfortable. In a sense, no one was happy. That was, until Hop Pop saw his grandkids nearby.

"SASHA! YOU'RE HERE!" Hop Pop cheered. One toad continued to smear more of the liquid on him, only for Hop Pop to slap his hand away. "Stop that! I can put on my own barbeque sauce!"

Sasha stared at the old frog and the numerous soldiers surrounding this. This had taken a turn for the worse. And just to add the icing on this haphazardly-made cake, Anne was also there, standing next to the creepy scarred guy they met earlier. Anne, noticing Sasha's presence, steeled her nerves and walked towards her friend.

"I guess you can't even stay in your cell for a day. Always the rule breaker." Anne grunted. "I see your leg is okay now."

"Anne… This is INSANE!" Sasha furiously roared. "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

She flinched. "What's wrong with me? You're the one going out of your way to save a bunch of slimy frogs!" Anne shouted back, only to turn towards Hop Pop apologetically. "Sorry about that. No offence."

"Considering you're about to kill me, I actually take full offence." Hopadiah hummed.

Sasha scowled. "That doesn't excuse all of—" She waved her arms around. "—this! Why are you like this?! The old you cried when I said how snakes had no arms!"

"We promised not to talk about that!" Anne snapped. "And I've changed! 3 months is a long time, Sasha! I'm stronger and tougher now! I don't need your permission!"

"W-wha—? WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Sasha shouted back, clearly confused as to Anne's complete 180. She then groaned, massaging her temples. "You know what? I don't care! I'm stopping this crazy phase of yours right now before you make a stupid mistake! Anne, call off the execution now."

"Y-you can't tell me wha—"

"I said now."

Her body tensed. She thought she was already over it. She thought she had moved on. Acknowledging Sasha's selfishness lifted a weight off her shoulders, giving her some peace of mind. But the scars of the past weren't so easily healed. Every part of her screamed to comply as if it was her nature to do so.

Sasha's the leader. Sasha's always right. Sasha knew better. That's how it was and never once did she have the gall to contest. Why else would she use such underhanded methods — for example, drugging her drink — to take her out? Anne knew full well she wouldn't able to truly fight back, even if she wanted to.

It's easy to list out one's problems. It's astronomically harder to actually face them.

Without her knowing, Anne began hyperventilating. Her body was frozen and her thoughts were in chaos. She needed to comply. She needed to follow. There was no other choice.

Grime gently held her hand, his cold and rough palm yanking her back to reality. Hesitantly, she turned her head to him and despite his gruff exterior, Anne saw a glimpse of concern in his eyes. The colour in her eyes, once drained, came back in full force. She wasn't alone this time.

Anne took a deep breath.

"No."

"… Excuse me?"

"I said no. En. Oh. No." Anne repeated. "I'm sick and tired of you telling me what I can or can't do! You're always pushing me around, making me do things I didn't want to! I didn't want to skip class, I didn't want to miss my own birthday party and I definitely didn't want to get stuck in another world!"

Sasha recoiled. This was new. "You think I wanted to be stuck here too?! News flash, Anne; I didn't make the choice either."

"But you did." Anne shot back. "You're the one who forced me to get the box as a stupid joke present! If you didn't bring it up, none of this would've happened! I would've been back home with my parents, having the time of my life. Instead, I got stuck in this world, fighting for my life and without any guarantee of getting back!"

Tired, Anne sighed, catching her breath. Gradually, her eyes began to water. "I didn't want any of this. And from the looks of it, you did. You're the only one out of the two of us actually enjoying this place. I've seen how your eyes light up when you talk about them. All of them. It's… it's so unfair…"

"A-Anne, I didn't mean all of this…"

Anne wiped away her tears, yet they kept flowing. "It doesn't matter. It happened and there's no turning back." She sombrely exclaimed, lifting her head to face her old friend. "You, Sasha Waybright, are the worst friend I've ever had. You're nothing but a cruel, manipulative and uncaring person. And… and I'm done with you."

"Meeting you was the worst day of my life."

Sasha's heart stopped.

Clank!

Her grip loosened, the shield from her hand falling uselessly. She stared at her best friend at a loss of words. Her entire body quivered and slowly, her eyes swelled and tears began to build up. Within moments, it all flowed freely down her cheekbones to her chin. Anne Boonchuy, her best friend for over 8 years, one of the two people she could've counted on before her life in Amphibia…

The bridge between them went up in flames. Although Anne started the fire, it was Sasha that drenched it in oil.

Anne couldn't even watch as it slowly burned away.

At the execution platform, a toad coughed. "Sir, the marinating is complete. Should we, uh, begin the execution?"

Grime spun at him and snarled. "Are you dense?! Can't you read the room?!"

"Sorry…"

Anne took another deep breath, her hands trembling. She actually did it. "You don't have anything to say? No more witty remarks and empty promises?"

Sasha didn't say a word. She looked away, unable to look at the girl in the eyes.

Anne growled. So this was how she was going to act? "Fine, whatever! Once this is all done, I'll look for Marcy. So you can go and be horrible somewhere else!"

SPLAT!

"AGH!" Anne screamed as a handful of mud suddenly came in contact with her face. "WHAT THE HECK?!"

Sasha blinked, quickly turning towards the culprit. "Wha— Sprig?!"

Sprig Plantar, boy frog and farmhand. Grabbing another handful of dirt, he loaded his slingshot. "For someone who's Sasha's best friend, you sure don't know her very well!"

Anne realized — that's the kid Sasha talked about. "I don't know her well? You've only known her for 3 months! I've known her for years and let me tell you, she's not everything she tells you she is."

"She's not selfish, vulgar and manipulative, and has an ego the size of a Toad-O-War battleship?" Sprig listed out, rolling his eyes. "Oh, I know. She also lies a lot and does her own thing whenever she wants, all while dragging everyone else with her. She even got us in trouble a few times, got herself in trouble way more, and never ever listens to us."

"If you knew all of that, then why follow her around?!"

"Because she's more than that." He pressed. "She's kind when there's nothing to prove and cares for those around her. She'll always make up for her mistakes and never cheats on a deal. She keeps trying to make us better and help us up, even when we don't care."

"She always had my back, through thick and thin. And you're right; I don't know her like you do. And you know what? I'm glad. Because if I know all the good stuff and you don't, then that means I know a side of her that she never showed anyone and that she's a better person than I thought."

Sprig puffed up his chest. "She's Sasha Waybright! End of discussion!"

Sasha stared as the little boy frog attempted to protect her honour. He was right; she was selfish and had an enormous ego. She did tend to do her own thing and drag everyone else with her. She rarely took input from others and would often ignore their advice. She's rude and crass and hardly cared about other people's feelings.

She wasn't a good person. That didn't mean she didn't have any good.

She laughed when Sprig made a party for her and cried when she couldn't help them win a cooking contest. She smiled when they showed kindness and fought back when people were unfair or cruel. She placed high expectations on herself and when she failed, she became frustrated. But never once did she give up.

She was, by no means, perfect, always making mistakes and always trying to fix them. Sometimes, she succeeds and in others, she fails.

She was, in simple terms, human. And what's wrong with that?

Sasha smiled. He really was too good for her.

Meanwhile, Anne looked at the pink frog incredulously. Was he insane or something? Was this entire town utterly bonkers? She thought it was crazy that they would protect a known terrorist so willingly and now, this family of frog farmers were really going to justify her behaviour?

Anne snarled. "I'm starting to really hate those words…" She mumbled venomously under her breath. "Fine! Have it your way! Do it now!"

Anne gave the word and the toads by the execution platform turned to Captain Grime for confirmation. The toad captain nodded in response, raising a hand to signal the go. With both captain and lieutenant having given the orders, the soldiers proceeded with the execution of one Hopadiah Plantar.

They would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for the shield flying at their faces.

BONK! BONK! "AAHHH!"

Breaking through the lines, Sasha rushed to the platform, snatching her shield as it bounced off the toads' puffy cheeks. Seeing her approach, the other soldiers nearby poised their spears and charged at her. Sasha didn't hesitate though and easily parried one of the spears before jumping over another. Using the soldier's face as a springboard, she leapt over the rest and landed right next to Hop Pop who, by the way, was still naked and covered with sauce.

One brave toad ran after with an overhead axe, slamming it down at her back. Sasha, however, used her shield and pushed it aside, into the wooden planks and finally, kicking them in the face. She then ripped the axe out from under and threw it at Polly. The pollywog saw the axe flying at her and jumped, grabbing it by the handle.

"ALRIGHT! IT'S SHOWTIME, BABY!" Polly yelled maniacally, swinging the axe around and scaring the toads. Sprig took the chance and shot a few mudballs into their eyes, breaking their ranks. And those left stunned were at the mercy of a baby with an axe.

With the toads in disarray, a window of opportunity emerged and Sasha, with all her usual boldness, grabbed Hop Pop and lugged him at the kids like a bowling ball. The sauce on his body ended up being a good lubricant, allowing him to slide around until it reached its mark, leaving a trail of brown goodness behind. The toads tried to catch him but failed, ending up slipping off the sauce and hurting themselves.

Sasha dashed forward, jumping into the sauce trail with her shield beneath her. Using her shield as a wakeboard, she slid along the sauce, grabbing a mace on the way and hitting any bypassing toads with a hard thonking. She even sledded near Anne and Grime, splashing them with some sauce, leaving them in startled.

All of this happened within less than a minute and by the time the toads were able to properly react, their numbers had been reduced drastically, the rest left out of commission.

Eventually, Hop Pop slowed down, stopping just next to Sprig, and not too long after. She stepped off her shield and kicked it up, strapping it back to her arm. "If you're going to touch him, you're going to have to go through me." She threatened. "You okay, Hop Pop?"

"I feel delicious but otherwise fine!"

Next to him, Sprig raised his arms in awe. "Holy bullworm! Sasha, how did you do all of that?!"

"Honestly? I have no goddamn idea." She croaked. "I was just moving through the motions, you know."

"Well, I like it! I just slapped a few toads with this axe! I never would've been able to do that at home!" Polly cheered.

Hop Pop chuckled, taking her axe away without a pause. "Hehe, and you never will again."

"Noooooo…"

Back on the toads' side, Grime wiped the last of the sauce off his face. He wasn't even sure why he agreed on letting the soldiers dress the criminal in sauce to begin with. It wasn't like the carnivorous plant they were going to feed Hopadiah to had any taste buds. It was a plant, for crying out loud!

But when he looked at his surroundings, he was left shocked. Almost every soldier in his imminent disposal was knocked out or disabled, which isn't a lot considering the size of the tower area but it was still a significant amount.

Captain Grime sighed. All that training, wasted. Why did he even bother?

"Well, this has been nothing but a disaster." Grime stated, somewhat disappointed. "Still, it's not unsalvageable."

Grime snapped his finger and while Sasha and the Plantars celebrated, a trapdoor AKA their only way of exit suddenly opened and from it, countless toad soldiers poured up and onto the tower floor. Before they could blink, they were again surrounded by soldiers and this time, they were ready.

Sasha gawked. "What?! There's more of you?!"

"Oh please, what you beat wasn't even a tenth of the toads here. Did you really expect to have beaten an entire army?" Grime remarked. "I knew your ego was big but this is just too much. In any case, your attempt was quite charming, I admit. You have the skills of a hardened veteran. Who trained you such techniques?"

Sasha raised a brow. "I don't know. I learned skateboarding from Cheyenne."

"Then I'll keep that name in mind should I ever meet this 'Cayenne'." Grime exclaimed. "Still, I heard from Anne that you were going to be troublesome. But I didn't expect it to be this much. I'm genuinely impressed."

Next to him, Anne finally got the sauce off of her. "Ech, gross! Nice try, Sasha!"

"Indeed. Nice try." Grime reiterated. "Very nice. Say, I have a proposition for you."

Anne looked at the toad in shock. "Grime, what are you doing?!"

"I'm doing you a favour." He hissed. "I'll explain the stakes! The warriors will be Sasha of Wartwood against Anne of Toad Tower! The challenge: trial by combat! The stakes shall be as such; if Sasha wins the bout, then Hopadiah walks free, no strings attached. But if Anne wins, well…"

He glanced at the edge of the tower. Sasha and the Plantars followed his gaze and only then did they notice the giant Venus flytrap in the courtyard. The very same courtyard they entered the banquet hall from. How did they miss that?!

Sasha took a deep breath. This was it then.

"Deal."

Grime grinned. She didn't have a choice anyway. "Then it's settled. Gentlemen, it's time for a Toad Tussle!"

The two girls stared at each other. And without another word, they primed their weapons. The moon glowed an ominous red.