Several Months Ago
Grime, Sasha, and Lilly charged at Andrias, trying their best to keep him from getting to their friends. Despite their efforts, he managed to knock all three of them away. Sasha crashed into a pillar, while Lilly was flung out the doors of the throne room. Grime quickly came up to Sasha to help her. Sasha turned to see what was happening and saw Marcy get stabbed by Andrias!
"Marcy!" screamed Sasha as she reached out her hand, unable to believe what had just happened.
A second later, Marcy's lifeless body hit the floor, and the portal to Earth closed, letting out a bright flash as it did.
"No! She managed to open the portal," said Andrias. "Well, no matter." He snapped his fingers and summoned two frobots, who came up to Marcy.
"I still have the box," he said as he picked it up. "So, what about you two?" He turned to Olivia and Yunan, who were both trying to sneak out of the throne room and asked, "Are you with me?"
"We're with you," said Lady Olivia, giving the king the biggest smile she could.
"Definitely with you!" said Yunan, also flashing a large smile and saluting.
"Good, get her to a rejuvenation tank and make it snappy!" he commanded. "She's fading fast."
Sasha had overheard him say that and felt a small sense of relief that this rejuvenation tank could help her. She hoped it would save Marcy's life.
"There's nothing we can do for her," said Grime to Sasha. "Now let's move before…"
He was cut off as a group of frobots surrounded them, preventing their escape and pointing their lasers at them.
Sasha raised her hands and whispered to Grime, "So what's the plan, captain?"
"I'm gonna have to toss you out the window," Grime whispered back to Sasha.
"The window?" said Sasha, not sure she understood him correctly. In the next instant, as Grime wrapped his tongue around her and threw her out the nearby window, she realized exactly what he meant. Sasha let out a scream as she fell out of the castle. Grime joined her a few seconds later.
"Haha! A flawless escape!" exclaimed Grime in triumph.
"And did you have a plan for after you threw us out the window?!" asked Sasha in frustration.
Thankfully, right at that moment, Joe Sparrow swooped in and caught both Sasha and Grime, preventing them from falling to their deaths.
"Well, that's lucky," said Grime, raising his fist. "Excellent work, George Sparrow."
Joe turned his head and let out a huff, but continued to fly Sasha and Grime to safety. Sasha turned back to look at the palace one last time before saying, "Anne, Marcy, Luz, please be alright."
"The toad army lies in ruins," said Grime as he looked down at the remains of the battle from outside Newtopia. The area around the city still bore the scars of the recent battle; broken weapons and bodies were still strewn across the battlefield.
"Bufo is dead, and his troops are scattered. Aldo's tower was destroyed; Beatrix managed to escape, but I have no idea where she is. We could go back to her tower and see if she's there," suggested Grime.
"No, Andrias will be expecting that," said Sasha. "And seeing how easily he destroyed Aldo's tower, we'd be sitting ducks there."
"Hmm, well then, we'll have to go somewhere he doesn't expect, at least for now, until we can regroup," said Grime.
Sasha thought for a bit before answering, "Take us back to Wartwood. We can plan our next move there."
"Alright," agreed Grime, "While we're on our way, you can fill me in on what I missed."
Andrias looked out the window, watching as Grime, and Sasha flew away. "So many loose ends, so little time. Follow them!" he commanded a nearby frobot. The frobot flew after the duo. As it did, Andrias scratched his chin, looking around the throne room as he pondered something.
"Wait, wasn't there someone else who was here?"
Deep in the palace, Lilly scurried away, trying to put as much distance as she could between herself and Andrias. After being knocked out of the room, she returned to the door, intending to charge back in, only to see Marcy get stabbed. After hearing that Andrias wanted to save her, she decided that it would be best to flee. Her father had taught her that sometimes discretion was the better part of valor, and at that moment, she realized there was nothing to be gained by fighting Andrias now. She hoped that whatever treatment Andrias had planned for Marcy would work, and thought it would be best to let her recover for now.
At the moment Lilly was standing next to a large painting of some kind, she stopped to catch her breath, hoping she was far enough away. Her hopes were dashed, however, as she heard the sounds of a frobot approaching down the hall. Lilly ran away from the noise, only to hear the same noise come from the other direction. The frobots hadn't seen her yet, but she knew they would soon. Lilly panicked and ran back to the painting, leaning up against it and causing it to move. She looked behind it and noticed a secret passage behind the painting. Lilly quickly snuck behind it and moved it back into position, hoping the frobots hadn't seen her. From behind the painting, she heard the frobots pass through the hall and continue on their way. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be safe for the moment. Lilly looked down the hall, wondering where this passage led. She drew out her sword, and her eyes lit up blue as she did. She held up her hand and summoned an orb of light to guide her as she looked to see where she was.
After a few days of wandering the palace alone, and taking care to avoid detection, Lilly had a good sense of where everything was and a good sense of where the various entrances and exits were for the secret passages that lined the palace halls. She had spent her time familiarizing herself with them and had even drawn a map to help her. She had managed to find a passage to the basement where Marcy was being kept and had even listened in as Alister and Odalys assessed her condition.
"Ugh, these humans are so weird," complained Odalys as she looked at the screens in front of the tube Marcy was in. "Can't regenerate limbs, no redundant organs, and such weird physiology."
"The rejuvenation tank seems to be stabilizing her," observed Alister. "At present, she is out of mortal danger."
"Hmm, the wound is still serious," said Odalys, bringing up an image of her wound on the monitor. "It will take some time for her to fully heal from it."
"She was unconscious for a long period of time," said Alister. "I hope there was no serious brain trauma as a result."
"There doesn't seem to be," said Odalys, observing Marcy's brain activity. "Still, we shouldn't rouse her from her state. Best to let her heal naturally to make sure her brain is intact since that's what Andrias cared the most about."
"I suppose we'll keep an eye on her condition," said Alister. "In the meantime, we have that other task the king told us about."
"Yes, let's begin preparations for those test subjects the king hopes to acquire," said Odalys. "Do you think he'll get a good batch of specimens?"
"I certainly hope so," said Alister. "It's been a millennium since we had any specimens from a new world. I am most intrigued as to what we can hope to assimilate from them."
With that, the newts left their place at the tank and went around the basement, setting up various different machines. Lilly had overheard their plan and wondered what they meant when they talked about "specimens from another world." Whatever it was, it didn't sound good, so she decided to stay hidden and learn more about it. She was also relieved to hear that Marcy would be okay, even if it would take time for her to heal. In the back of her mind, Lilly began planning how she would rescue her.
Emmanuel looked once more at the sky as he observed the place floating in it. He had no idea what was going on or why the King's Palace was in the sky. He wondered if Lilly was in there; he hadn't seen her since the battle of Newtopia, but he hoped in his heart that she was safe. He turned from the palace to look at his troops; they were in much better shape than the previous days. They'd made good time in retreating from Newtopia and were only a few days' travel from Wartwood. The frog army had suffered heavy losses in their battle with the toads, but he'd received word from other battalions on their numbers and felt that all things considered, it could have been much worse. They still had a sizeable force, and Bufo had died in the battle. He hoped that there would be some good news from either Lilly or Gustav about what had happened at the palace, and his hopes were answered as a night guard came up to him with a familiar toad.
"Gustav!" exclaimed Emmanuel. "Thank frog, you're here! Have you any word about what's going on with the palace?"
"I'm afraid I don't," answered Gustav. "I saw it rise up into the sky, leaving the rest of the city behind. I was just as shocked as you."
"After it rose up, some sort of weapon fired from it at the North Tower, destroying it!" said Emmanuel. "Is the king already taking revenge on the toads for the rebellion?"
"If he is, that was a rather strong display," said Gustav. "He hasn't fired on any of the other towers yet."
"Lilly isn't with you, is she?" asked Emmanuel with worry in his voice.
"No, she was going to stay and plead the frogs' case personally to the king," answered Gustav. "She asked me to come to find you and let you know she was alright."
"Well, that's good to know," said Emmanuel, sighing with relief. "Still, something about how the king blasted away the North Tower has me feeling uneasy."
"Oh, maybe Lilly left with Marcy," said Gustav. "I might be mistaken, but I thought I saw that sparrow Marcy tamed fly away from the palace. I think it was heading to Wartwood."
"We aren't far from there," said Emmanuel. "In fact, we should arrive in another day or so, so we'll find out what happened then."
"Hey, is my dad with you?" asked Gustav.
"No," answered Emmanuel, "He and Braddock went on ahead of me, remember?"
"Oh right," replied Gustav. "So, are they already in Wartwood?"
"Yes, they are," said Emmanuel. "I just received word from them earlier today. They arrived, but they're lying low and trying not to draw attention to themselves."
"That's good to hear," said Gustav, "though I will say I am also uneasy about the North Tower being destroyed. I had no idea Andrias even had a weapon that was capable of that."
"At the very least, it's good you're back," said Emmanuel. "I've received word from some of the other frog groups that they're all making their way toward Wartwood. I think we'll get there first, but they should be there a few days after."
"Once we get to Wartwood, we should be able to regroup," said Gustav.
Grime and Sasha spent the whole night flying. As the sun rose into the sky, the two finally arrived in Wartwood. The town residents had gathered in the square and looked up both at Joe Sparrow and also at the palace in the sky.
"Look up there in the sky," called one of the frogs. Joe landed in the square, and Grime and Sasha quickly disembarked.
"What in the frog is going on?" asked Mrs. Croaker.
"Why are you two here?" asked Stumpy.
"Is it just me, or is the palace flying?" asked Loggle.
"Where are the Plantars? Where are Anne and Luz?" asked Felicia.
"Where's Sprig?" asked Ivy worriedly.
Sasha looked nervously at the group that had surrounded them. Not sure what to say, she turned to Grime and asked, "What do we tell them?"
"Not the truth, that's for sure," whispered back Grime. He cleared his throat before continuing, "People of Wartwood, we have terrible news. The King has turned out to be a ruthless tyrant of unspeakable power!"
The crowd let out a gasp!
"Well, I never voted for him!" said Mrs. Croaker indignantly.
"Anne, Luz, and the Plantars had to go on a daring mission," continued Grime, "but they sent us to protect you fine frogs in the meantime. Right, Sasha?"
Sasha was going to respond to that, but before she could, she heard a laugh in her head.
Ha, ha, I like this toad, it said, He's got the right idea, telling a lie to get these frogs on your side.
Sasha ignored the voice and whispered to Grime, "There's no way they're gonna trust us just because we name-dropped Anne."
"Not with that attitude," countered Grime.
"Oh, what a relief!" said Mrs. Croaker.
"Classic Anne, always looking out for us," said Stumpy.
"Ah, I shoulda known that Luz would do something like this," said Mayor Toadstool, coming up to Sasha. "She still takes protecting this town seriously. Rest easy tonight, folks, because Anne and Luz's best friend is here to watch over us."
The crowd cheered, raising their hands in appreciation, safe knowing they were being watched over. Sasha saw the smiles on their faces and couldn't help but feel guilt over the fact that she was lying to them.
It seems it doesn't matter which dimension you're in, said the voice in her head. With the right words, people can be manipulated into believing whatever you want them to. Some things are always true.
Sasha didn't say anything in response to that. Once the crowd had dispersed, Grime and Sasha made their way toward the Plantar's house, unaware that two cloaked figures were watching them from behind a building.
As Grime and Sasha arrived at the Plantar's house, the sun was already setting. Grime opened the door.
"Okay, we'll lie low here, and then in a day or two, we'll ditch this crummy town," said Grime.
"Wait, really?" asked Sasha, with hesitation in her voice.
"Why not?" replied Grime. "It's not like there's anything else we can do. Besides, these frogs are simple peasants. If the king is planning to conquer the whole land, we'll have a better chance with the toads. They'll at least put up a good fight against him."
"In case you forgot, part of the reason we lost the battle was that a frog army delayed Bufo," shot back Sasha.
"We would have won that battle if Uodeela hadn't shown up and driven our forces away," replied Grime.
"Uodeela..." said Sasha in a heavy voice. The mention of her brought back a memory of seeing her on the ground, beaten up. Grime brought his sword down on her tail, cutting it off. Sasha flinched as she heard the sound of Uodeela screaming In her mind.
"Yeah, well, it's our fault that Uodeela is stuck as a rampaging heron, isn't it?" asked Sasha. "If we had never tried to conquer Tadpole Pond, then we might have had a chance at the capital."
Grime actually paused as he considered what Sasha said. "Huh, well, let's make sure we don't bring that fact up to Beatrix if we see her. But the point is, we can lay low at this house for a few days before leaving. I'll send out a message to Beatrix and see if we can join her forces. At least we know the Plantars aren't coming back anytime soon."
"So that's it?" asked Sasha. "We lie to the people of Wartwood that Anne sent us here to watch over them, then we just leave?"
"Yes," answered Grime, "I'm not seeing how this is a problem."
Why do you care about these frogs? asked the voice in her head. A few months ago, you were happy to have one of them killed if it meant getting you home. I told you, greatness requires sacrifice! You need to use others to get what you want.
Stop talking to me! said Sasha in her head, You've done nothing but cause me pain.
Sasha… It's far too late for you to get rid of me, said the voice. I'd reconsider your tone before you make me angry. Then I'll REALLY cause you some pain!
"Shut up!" yelled Sasha aloud by accident. She noticed Grime was looking at her and quickly covered her mouth.
"Uh, sorry, didn't mean you, Grime," said Sasha, trying to play it off. "You know, I think I'll go sleep in the barn tonight if that's alright."
"Wait just a moment, lieutenant," said Grime. "I think you and I need to talk."
"Talk? About what?" said Sasha evasively.
Grime looked hard at Sasha before replying, "Is there something going on with you, lieu–... Sasha?"
"No, everything's fine," lied Sasha.
"Okay," said Grime slowly, "but the thing is that, well, even before the invasion, there were times when I saw you seemingly talking to yourself."
Sasha didn't reply to that, and she let Grime continue.
"Then recently you've begun yelling out random things. It's almost as though you're having a conversation with someone who's not there. Do you want to talk about that?" asked Grime with concern in his voice.
Oh, by all means, tell him the truth, said the voice in a mocking tone to Sasha. I'm sure he won't think you're crazy at all.
"You… uh, must be hearing things, Grime," said Sasha in an unconvincing voice. "I haven't been talking to myself."
"Sasha," began Grime, "if something is bothering you, you know you can tell me about it. Is what Marcy did to you still bothering you?"
"Look, let's just drop it, okay?" said Sasha in a firm voice. Grime looked at her and, for a second, was going to protest, but in the end, he did drop it.
"Well, if that's all, I'm going to head to bed," said Grime. "Dibbs on Hop-Pop's bed. You gonna stay inside or go to the barn?"
"I don't know," said Sasha wearily.
"Your friend stayed in the basement," said Grime. "You could check and see if her bed is still there."
Sasha looked over at the door to the basement. She walked slowly over to it and opened it. Meanwhile, Grime headed off to Hop-Pop's room, jumping on his bed and breaking it instantly as it took his full weight.
Sasha walked down the stairs into the basement. She had only seen Anne's room once when they had all practiced together for the Battle of the Bands. The room was mostly clean, though there was still some evidence of Anne having lived there. There were some scattered magazines, her dragonfly costume, and a pair of her old flip-flops. Among the scattered items was one in particular that caught her eye. Sasha looked down at the floor and saw a book. As she got closer, she realized it was Anne's journal. Sasha brought up the journal and read a passage from it.
"I'm so happy I trusted Sasha again. I always knew that after everything that happened, we'd work it out. And you know what? Luz told me that when we get home, she's going to give Sasha another chance! I'm really glad to hear that! I'm still not sure how I feel about Luz, but I'm sure I'll figure that out when we get home."
Reading the passage caused Sasha to tear up as she felt a deep sense of shame, knowing that she had betrayed Anne and almost gotten Luz killed. As her tears fell onto the page, that sense of shame began to grow even more as she read and re-read Anne's passage again.
"Anne and Luz really wanted to make things right with me," she said aloud. "They gave me another chance to be their friend and I threw it away…"
Sasha began crying louder, not sure what else to do. As she cried, a voice in her head spoke to her.
You really are useless, Sasha, said the voice in her head, sounding crueler than it ever had. You've damaged your friendships beyond repair. Anne and Luz will never forgive you for what you've done! If that weren't bad enough, you also can't even do a simple task like sending Luz to my world.
Sasha didn't respond to that. She wanted to say something to the voice, but she couldn't think of any sort of rebuttal to that. Instead, she stared down at the ground, feeling absolutely miserable, as the full weight of what she had done finally hit her.
"Please," she said aloud, practically begging as she sank to the floor, "just leave me alone."
YOU'RE STUCK WITH ME, SASHA! shouted the voice, causing Sasha to flinch. You're stuck with me until the day you die! And I'll enjoy every second of our time together, tormenting you every time you mess up, because that's all you do, Sasha! You make things worse!"
Sasha panicked as the voice yelled at her. She dropped the journal, got up, and quickly ran back upstairs. She ran out the door of the house and over to the Plantar's barn.
Why are you running, Sasha? asked the voice in her head. You can't escape what you've done. It's too late! I've done terrible things too, but they were necessary for me to obtain the power I have now. There's no turning back from the path you've chosen. Give in to your hatred and use it to become stronger!
Sasha didn't reply, trying her best to ignore the voice. She finally arrived at the barn and opened the door. As she did, she heard a sound that startled her.
"Ahh! Oh, a tiny snail," she said. She looked past it and saw Bessie. "And a bigger snail. Well, don't mind me; I'm gonna go sleep in the corner with the rest of the trash."
Sasha moved over to a large pile of hay and plopped down on it. "It's all someone like me deserves."
Good night, Sasha, said the voice in a fake caring voice, I hope you have a nice dream...
Again, Sasha ignored the voice and fell into an uneasy sleep.
Sasha… called the voice
Sasha… it said again, Sasha, wake up!
Sasha stirred in her makeshift bed but didn't wake up.
SASHA! yelled the voice, causing Sasha to bolt up from her sleep. She let out a gasp as she took in the sight around her. She was in some sort of black void. It seemed to stretch all around her with no discernible end. Sasha stood up and looked around the void, confirming she was alone, yet she was sure she had heard someone call to her.
"Is someone there?" she called out to the void, looking around again to see if she was alone.
No response
"Hello?!" said Sasha again, but still no response. Sasha took a few cautious steps forward, trying to learn more about her surroundings.
Feeling a little lost, are you, Sasha? asked the voice, causing Sasha to turn around, only for nothing to be there.
"Who's there?!" she asked, drawing her swords and getting into a fighting stance. She looked around again but saw nothing.
Over here, called the voice in a different direction. Sasha turned to look, but again saw nothing.
What's wrong, Sasha? Can't find me? taunted the voice. Sasha looked around nervously, frantically searching for the source of the voice, but couldn't see anything. Sasha felt exposed in this blank void and kept looking around her, preparing herself for an attack. As she backed away, she heard the voice one more time from behind her.
"Hello, Sasha," it said plainly.
Sasha turned around and let out a gasp as a figure stood behind her. It was a tall figure cloaked in a white and gold robe with armored gloves and a mask that looked like a cross between a deer and a crow. In fact, that mask looked similar to the one Sasha remembered seeing in that old abandoned house. Sasha was scared but brought her swords up to face the figure.
"Who are you?!" she demanded.
"I think you already know the answer to that, Sasha," said the figure condescendingly.
As she listened to the sound of its voice, a realization dawned on her.
"You! You're that voice that's been talking to me inside my head!" exclaimed Sasha.
"Good to see you aren't completely stupid, Sasha," said the figure.
Sasha launched herself at the figure and began slashing at it wildly. The figure dodged her attacks and began fighting back in his own way. He summoned up some fleshy hands to restrain her, but she cut through them. Next, he launched a blast of fire at her, but Sasha rolled out of the way and came back at him. The figure then blasted some wind out of his hand at her, which blew her back. Sasha powered through the wind and finally got close to him. She slashed at the figure, only for it to disappear. The figure seemed to melt into the ground.
"Huh?" said Sasha in a surprised voice. A second later, Sasha was enveloped in a red glow and felt herself being lifted off the ground. She was flung hard forward and landed roughly, her swords falling away from her. As she got to her knees, the figure appeared in front of her.
"Had enough?" it asked.
Sasha didn't reply, instead launching herself at the figure, only for it to disappear again. Sasha looked around, trying to find where it had gone.
"You're the one who made me do all those bad things!" she yelled. "You're the one who convinced me to set Luz up at the dance. You made me keep attacking her at Tadpole Pond! You're the one who made me mess up my friendship with Anne for that stupid plan to send Luz to your world!"
"Did I make you do any of that, Sasha?" asked the figure in a haughty tone. "Or did I merely suggest those things to you?"
"Shut up!" yelled Sasha, trying desperately to convince herself that she wasn't at fault as she rushed at the figure again.
"Come now, Sasha," said the figure as he casually dodged her attacks. "Deep down, you know the truth... I didn't make you do any of those things; I merely suggested them to you. You're the one who ruined your friendships. Anne and Luz both hate you!"
As the figure said this, it waved its hand, and in a puff of smoke, Anne appeared in front of Sasha, causing her to stop her attack.
"Anne?!" said Sasha in surprise.
"I hate you, Sasha!" said the figure of Anne in a cold voice. "You tried to kill Hop-Pop, and I forgave you for that. I gave you another chance to do the right thing. And what did you do? You stabbed me in the back and tried to kill Luz!"
"No, wait!" pleaded Sasha. "I'm sorry for what I did. I didn't mean to hurt Luz!"
"You almost got her killed!" yelled the figure of Anne. "Did you honestly think I would ever have feelings for you? Why on earth would I want you as a girlfriend?"
Those words cut deep into Sasha. She sank to her knees, trying to recover. While this was going on, the white figure waved his hand, and Luz appeared next to Sasha.
"You know when I first met you, I looked up to you," said the figure of Luz. "I thought you were so cool and so awesome! But then you hurt Uodeela!"
"I… I'm sorry, Luz," pleaded Sasha, "At the time, I thought... I thought I had to..."
"You took my mentor from me!" yelled Luz to Sasha, "then you tried to have me killed so you could have Anne all to yourself!"
"No, I didn't want you killed!" said Sasha. "I just wanted you out of the way!"
"Well, you definitely failed in that regard," said the figure of Anne coming over to Luz. "In fact, I'd say things are better than ever for us now that you aren't a part of our lives anymore, aren't they, Luz?" As Anne said that, she and Luz looked into each other's eyes and clasped hands.
"Oh, they most certainly are," said the figure of Luz, fluttering her eyes at the figure of Anne.
"Hey, Sasha," said the figure of Anne in a flirty voice, "I like Luz, not you."
With that, the figure of Anne pulled the figure of Luz in for a kiss. Sasha felt a pit form in her stomach as she saw this. She felt a horrible feeling of sadness and rejection as she saw Anne and Luz kiss. Anne opened her eyes and shot a look at Sasha as she continued to kiss Luz. A look that taunted Sasha.
"No… please, no…" pleaded Sasha. She stood there, continuing to look at the scene in front of her, unable to take her eyes away. Tears began streaming down her face.
"Poor Sasha," said the white-robed figure as it came up behind her, "rejected by the one she loves. How sad it must make you feel."
Sasha didn't respond, as she kept looking forward even as the figures of Luz and Anne faded away. The figure in white brought its hands up and put them on her shoulder.
"It's alright, Sasha," he said, trying to sound comforting. "I'm here for you. It's not too late to help me."
Part of Sasha wanted to wriggle free and get away from the figure, but another part of her craved the comfort he offered.
"What do you mean, help you?" asked Sasha.
"Your friends are gone, Marcy is dead, Anne and Luz hate you, and you have no one left," said the figure, tightening its grip on her shoulders while bringing its face down to talk in her ear.
"But you still have me," continued the figure, "and I can help you. I can be there for you and be the father you always wished you had." As it said that, it brought its metal-gloved hand up to wipe the tears Sasha had been crying. Sasha remained silent.
"All I need you to do is get the box from the king and bring it to me in my world," said the figure.
"I thought you wanted Luz," said Sasha.
"I did, but that doesn't seem possible now, so I'll settle for the box. All you need to do is sneak back into the palace with that sparrow and steal it from Andrias. If I had that box, I could speed up certain plans I have," said the figure.
"What kind of plans?" asked Sasha apprehensively.
"I'll tell you when you bring me the box," said the figure, "And once you do, you can stay with me. I can make you a member of my guard and teach you amazing things."
As he said this, he waved his hand and brought up an image of Sasha dressed in a white and gold robe similar to his. The figure of Sasha was smiling and holding a staff with a red stone on the top and what looked like a single wing.
"This could be you," he said in an encouraging voice. "I appreciate your fighting skills and your desire to control other people. I can help you live up to your potential! All you have to do is help me."
Sasha looked at the image and considered her options. The figure was right about how Anne and Luz must hate her now. Considering all she'd done to Luz, she doubted she'd ever forgive her. As for Anne, before the fight in the throne room, Anne had said that they were no longer friends, and that she wanted nothing more to do with her. Why try to fix things with her friends if they won't forgive her?
As Sasha kept thinking about what she would do, she began to hear a loud knocking. She wasn't quite sure where it was coming from, but it seemed to grow louder. Sasha looked around, trying to find a source for that noise, but couldn't see one. The knocking noise grew louder, to the point that it began to grate on her.
"Where is that knocking coming from?!" she asked in frustration.
Right at that moment, Sasha shot up in her bed. As she looked around, she realized she was back in the Plantars stable, lying in the hay. A second later, she heard the knocking again and realized someone was pounding on the door of the stable.
"Ugh," groaned Sasha, as she got up and walked over to the door. "What do you want, Grime?"
As Sasha opened the door, she was greeted by an unfriendly sight. A large group of frogs stood in front of the barn, many holding torches, pitchforks, and other weapons. Some were from Wartwood, but others were ones Sasha had never seen before. It was still dark out, and the sun was only barely in the sky.
"Get her!" called one of the frogs, a blue one. As he said this, a group of frogs jumped up on Sasha, quickly overpowering her. Sasha was still sleepy, so she was caught unaware. The frogs dragged her down to the ground and quickly tied up her hands behind her back, preventing her from moving. As Sasha fell to the ground, she finally noticed Grime. He had also been overpowered, his hands tied behind his back.
"Grime!" called Sasha desperately.
"Lieutenant!" replied Grime, finally noticing Sasha.
"Well, well, the great Captain Grime," said a voice as he came over to Grime, "Your crimes against frogs have gone unanswered for too long."
Sasha looked up and saw a blue frog standing over her and Grime. She'd never seen him before, but as she looked up, she recognized some other figures that were part of the mostly frog mob.
"Percy? Braddock?!" said Sasha in surprise, "What's going on?"
Percy and Braddock didn't answer. Instead, they gave a disapproving look to Sasha, after which they both turned away.
"What's going on is justice, Sasha," said another familiar voice. Sasha turned to see who it was and recognized another toad.
"Gus!" she exclaimed.
"It's Gustav, not Gus," he said in a firm voice, "and it sure is lucky that my dad and Braddock saw you. They wrote back to me and the rest of the frog army. They told us you were here, and that you had lied about Anne asking you to protect the town."
Sasha moved her head around and saw some of the townsfolk, including Wally, Felicia, and Stumpy.
"I can't believe we fell for it again," said Wally.
"Arrgh, you're here to try to trick us, aren't you?" accused Stumpy.
"What have you done with Anne and Luz?" demanded Felicia.
"And where is Sprig?" asked Ivy.
"I'm more concerned about what you're really doing here," said Gustav angrily to Sasha. "I know for a fact that Anne did not ask you to come here and protect the town. You were both in prison after the failed uprising. I also know that Anne wants nothing to do with you anymore."
The frogs let out a gasp at hearing that, all of them turning to Sasha and giving her a harsh look. Sasha flinched as she heard that, not wanting to believe it but also accepting that it was probably true given what Anne had said to her in the throne room. Sasha and Grime shared a look, trying to think of what to say before Grime suddenly exclaimed.
"Alright, we'll tell you the truth. Just give us a chance."
"I'm listening," said the blue frog.
"Look, the king really is a tyrant," said Grime immediately. "He has a device that will let him conquer other worlds. He wants to take over the world that Anne and her friends are from."
"Why would he want to do that?" asked Gustav suspiciously. "He's already king of Amphibia."
"Did you miss the part where I said he's a ruthless tyrant?" said Grime in an exasperated voice.
"A ruthless tyrant that you and the other Toad Lords happily served for centuries," countered Emmanuel.
"That was just business," pleaded Grime. "His true ambitions are far worse than you can imagine."
Emmanuel shared a look with Gustav before turning back to Grime.
"Okay, next question: why are you really here?" he asked Grime.
Before Grime could answer, Sasha spoke up, "Okay, listen, we did lie about Anne asking us to come look after Wartwood, but we just needed a place to stay."
Emmanuel turned to Sasha, looking her hard in the eyes, and said, "I've heard about you, Sasha. You were the one who helped Grime get his tower running efficiently. You were the one who suggested the whole Toad Rebellion idea in the first place."
"Wait, how did you know that!?" asked Sasha, her eyes moving from Emmanuel to Gustav, Percy, and Braddock, who sheepishly turned their heads away, their looks answering Sasha's question.
"Wait… Gus, were you spying on me?" asked Sasha in a hurt voice.
Gustav was about to reply before Percy jumped in, "Not just him, all three of us."
Braddock joined him, "We saw how badly Tadpole Pond was destroyed by the Toad Army. I realized at that point I wanted nothing more to do with that."
"I KNEW IT!" yelled Grime, still tied up on the ground. "You're the reason that pesky frog army showed up to Newtopia! I was right to kick you out when I did."
Gustav stepped forward toward Sasha and said, "My only regret is that I wasn't able to warn Luz about your plan to have her killed. I would have found her and told her if I knew."
"No, wait, listen, I wasn't trying to kill her," pleaded Sasha.
"Oh, really?" answered Gustav in a sarcastic voice. "So the reason we found her beaten up to a pulp and about to be killed by Beatrix in the arena had nothing to do with you setting her up?"
Sasha winced at that, as she knew part of it was true, but couldn't find the words to explain.
"Wait… I… well… It's complicated," began Sasha, "But I swear, I was trying to save Luz!"
"Oh, speaking of Luz, where is she?" Gustav asked angrily. "You lied about Anne sending you here, so what have you done with Luz?"
"We didn't do anything with her," said Grime. "She, Anne, and the Plantars went home to Earth."
"It's true," said Sasha. "They're safe, at least for now."
"Is Lilly with them?" asked Emmanuel. Grime and Sasha looked at each other, not really knowing for sure.
"Uh, I don't think so," said Sasha. "She was with us in the Palace, but I don't remember what happened to her."
Emmanuel looked Grime hard in the eyes and asked, "How do I know you're telling me the truth? How do I know you haven't done something with her?"
"We haven't," pleaded Sasha.
"So, let me see if I have this straight," began Emmanuel. "You expect me to believe that King Andrias is discontent with ruling over only Amphibia and has plans to conquer other worlds? You want me to believe your word, even though you and Grime lied about the real reason you're here in Wartwood, and you want me to believe that Anne, Luz, and everyone else who was with them is safe. Is that right?"
"You did see how Andrias just casually blasted away the North Tower, right?" asked Grime indignantly. "Have you ever seen anything like that before?"
"Yeah," added Sasha, "Aren't you at all worried that Andrias will use that weapon against all of us?"
"I'll admit seeing the Tower get destroyed like that was unsettling," said Emmanuel. "But honestly, to me, it looks like he just took revenge on the Toads for the rebellion. Yes, that weapon he used was new and terrifying, but who's to say he hasn't secretly had something like that for years and only just now waited to use it to send a message to the toads?"
"That's not all Andrias has at his disposal," said Sasha. "He also has a ton of deadly robots!"
Emmanuel, Gustav, Percy, and Braddock all looked at each other.
"What's a robot?" asked Percy.
"Enough," said Emmanuel in a loud voice. "It's obvious these two are lying, but are we really surprised?"
Felicia, Wally, and Stumpy all shot a look at Grime.
"We thought you had turned over a new leaf, Sasha," said Wally.
"I still remember when those toads ransacked my tea shop," said Felicia.
"Arr, I've had it with having to pay taxes to the toads," agreed Stumpy.
"Sprig was right to be suspicious of you," said Ivy.
"I assure you, you won't have to suffer under the toads anymore," said Emmanuel to the frogs in a calm voice. He walked up to Grime and pulled out his sword…
"NO!" yelled Sasha.
"I doubt you remember me, Grime," said Emmanuel to the toad, "but years ago, you killed my wife and forced me and my daughter to watch as you did. I never thought this day would come, but I will say... I am glad to have this opportunity. Bufo is dead, Aldo was likely blown up in the North Tower, and once we get rid of you, the only one left will be Beatrix. Your reign of terror against the frogs ends today, Grime. Any last words?"
"You know, technically, I'm not the Lord of the South Tower anymore," said Grime desperately as he looked at Emmanuel's sword. "Newtopia appointed a new Lord. Bog is in charge of the South Tower now. Why don't you go get him?"
"I wasn't aware of that," said Emmanuel. "Thank you for the new information. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you'd attempt to sell out Bog in order to save your own skin, but it won't work. We'll take care of Bog later. Besides, this is personal."
"PLEASE! DON'T KILL HIM!" yelled Sasha as she struggled against her bonds.
Grime's eye looked between the sword in Emmanuel's hand and Sasha. He tried to struggle free, but the frogs were holding him down. He knew this was going to be the end for him, but he thought he might as well try to help Sasha in his last moments.
"Fine," he sneered, "take your revenge, but if I may have a last request, after you kill me, let Sasha go. She had nothing to do with that business between us."
"Grime, no!" pleaded Sasha, tears forming in her eyes.
"Lieutenant..." began Grime somberly. "You know, before I met you, I did harsh things to keep the frogs in line. We were going to feed Hopediah to the flytrap to teach the other frogs a lesson, but I'd done something like that before. I always thought I'd stay in power and never have to answer for what I did to the frogs, but here we are. For what it's worth, I'm glad I met you, Sasha. I never had any kids of my own, but if I had, I would wish that they'd have your spirit!"
Grime smiled at Sasha before turning back to Emmanuel. "So please, will you honor my request and let Sasha go?"
Emmanuel looked between Sasha and Grime, pausing before saying, "Yes, but not for your sake, for hers."
"Good," said Grime. "Now if you're going to kill me, go ahead and get it over with!" Grime closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate.
"Listen, please don't kill him!" pleaded Sasha to the blue frog. She began struggling against her bonds, trying to break free, but the frogs held her down and prevented her from moving.
"He means so much to me! He's like a father to me! Please, I'll do anything, anything you want, please," begged Sasha, tears forming in her eyes.
Emmanuel looked into Sasha's eyes. He saw how desperate they were, and it uncomfortably reminded him of how Lilly had begged for her own mother's life. For a second he remembered how Valeriana said he had to trust Grime if he met him after Newtopis. There was a seed of doubt in Emmanuel's mind about whether he should kill Grime or not, but he couldn't bring himself to trust the toad who murdered his wife and couldn't let himself be swayed by Sasha's pleas.
"How ironic, Grime," said Emmanuel to the toad. "Someone is pleading to spare your life the same way Lilly pleaded for her mother's. But since no mercy was shown then, none will be given now."
He turned toward Sasha and said, "I'm sorry, Sasha. I promise to be swift. I won't make him suffer. Take some comfort in that." He raised his sword above Grime's head.
"NO! PLEASE!" screamed Sasha in a raw, desperate voice.
Right before Emmanuel brought his sword down on Grime, a figure whizzed by the frogs. They were all distracted as they had no idea what it was, but Sasha recognized it right away as one of the frobots. It used its eyes and began scanning the group of frogs.
"Large number of frogs gathered. Awaiting orders," it said in its heavily synthesized voice.
"Kill them!" came a reply in Andrias's voice. "Make sure you get Sasha and Grime too."
The frobot charged up its laser and, a second later, blasted into the crowd, scattering the frogs. Grime and Sasha quickly got up and ran back towards the barn, where Sasha had her swords. The two rubbed their rope bonds against Sasha's blades, finally freeing themselves. As they opened the door to the barn again, they saw the frobot still randomly firing at the frogs. A few bodies lie around the area, burned by the frobot's laser. Some frogs had tried to fight back, but they had barely managed to damage the frobot. One frog tried to stab it with his pitchfork, but it wasn't even able to pierce it. Even so, the frobot decided it needed help.
"Requesting backup," said the frobot. As it said that, an antenna came out of its head.
"Come on, lieutenant," called Grime, "now's our chance to get away."
Yes, flee, said the voice in her head. Those frogs were going to execute Grime. Now's your chance to get away! Maybe with the toad's help, you can get back onto Andrias's castle, get the box, and bring it to me.
Sasha looked between the attacking frobot and Grime, trying to decide what to do. After some hesitation, she charged at the frobot, surprising Grime.
"Sasha," called Grime, "what are you doing?!"
"The right thing," said Sasha with conviction.
As she ran up to the robot, she sliced its laser with her sword, cutting it off in one stroke. Next, she went for the head and managed to cut it off in a single stroke too. The frobot collapsed to the ground, and the frogs came over to Sasha.
"What the heck was that?!" asked Wally in terror.
"I've never seen such a strange contraption like that before!" exclaimed Felicia.
"Is that one of those things you were talking about, a robot?" asked Stumpy.
"Yes, it was," answered Sasha, "and that's not the only one. Right before I destroyed it, it called for backup, meaning there's going to be more of them."
"Wait, where's Grime?" asked Emmanuel. He and the other frogs looked around. Off in the distance, Grime could be seen running as fast as he could.
"Grime..." called Sasha futilely
"Forget him for now," said Emmanuel as he turned to Sasha. "Did you say there would be more of these things coming to attack the town?"
Sasha nodded her head.
"Then we need to prepare our defenses!" he exclaimed.
"Wait, let me help you," said Sasha. "Please, I want to do the right thing, for real this time. I… I know I lied about Anne sending me to protect this town, but I want to help you. I'm sorry for what I did to both Tadpole Pond and Uodeela, and I want to make it up to you. Please give me the chance to make up for my past actions. The chance to be someone that Anne and Luz would be proud of!"
Emmanuel looked hard into Sasha's eyes before finally saying, "Alright. You did well against that single robot, and you've fought them before. If you are sincere in your intentions, then I will allow you the chance to prove it."
"Thank you," said Sasha, bowing her head.
"Let's get ready!" called Emmanuel to his army and the frogs of Wartwood.
The frogs and the villagers regrouped outside the town. They had set up some crude barriers to try to fortify themselves against attack. They had gathered supplies around the edge of town and set up lookouts. Sasha sharpened her swords, getting them ready for the battle. As she continued sharpening them, two figures walked up to her.
"Hey, uh, Percy, Braddock," said Sasha to the figures, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Well, not that long," said Percy.
"Honestly, I think only a few weeks," said Braddock, "Listen, uh, I'm sorry about Grime."
"It's fine. At least he got away," said Sasha. "Even if he abandoned me, well, at least he's safe."
Percy looked hard at her and said, "Listen about what Emmanuel said about his wife. That's true, that really happened. Grime killed her."
Sasha didn't respond, but instead looked up into Percy and Braddock's faces.
"We were both there when it happened," said Braddock, lowering her head in shame. "I even remember Lilly begging him not to do it."
"I was going to do the same thing to Hop-Pop," said Sasha, "And at the time I thought nothing of it. I suppose I should be glad that I wasn't able to. While it might be hard to imagine, I bet Anne would hate me even more than she does now if I had been able to go through with it." Sasha let out a small laugh, trying to find humor in that statement.
For a while, none of the three spoke, though Sasha did eventually speak up again, saying, "Hey, uh, sorry about abandoning you two back at the North Tower."
"Well, we were actually spying on you," admitted Percy, "so, uh, I guess no hard feelings about that."
"We are the ones who told the frogs about the attack on Newtopia," admitted Braddock sheepishly. "But you know... I did still like you, Sasha. Part of me wished we weren't spying on you and could still be friends."
"But we saw how bad things are for the frogs under our rule, and we didn't want to be a part of that anymore," said Percy. "If anything, we should apologize for lying to you."
Sasha let out a laugh before replying, "Heck, if anything, I've got to hand it to both of you. You had me fooled, and I never would have suspected you. You both did a great job of lying to me. Believe me, I would know."
She stood up and put her arms around the two toads, all three of them smiling.
"Lies, schemes, manipulation—I used to be quite good at those," said Sasha, "But I've seen the consequences of what can happen when you use those on friends. I don't want to rely on lies for the rest of my life, and I don't want to hurt my friends anymore! And you guys, well, I consider you both my friends."
Percy and Braddock smiled as she said that, and the three came together in a group hug! Sasha felt happy for the first time in a while.
"I'm glad we got the chance to reconnect like this," said Braddock, wiping away a tear.
"Yeah, me too," said Percy. "I mean, don't you think it would have been really dumb and unsatisfying if we never saw you again after our falling out at the North Tower?"
"Oh yeah, totally," agreed Sasha. "I mean, as much as I'd love a story about Toadie trying to be tougher, or Sprig trying to become a superhero, or a parasitic mushroom taking over a small community, I think I'd prefer this story instead."
Right as she said that a large, gold-colored robot landed outside the town, its weight causing the ground to shake. Emmanuel and the frogs got ready to face it.
"Only one," said Sasha in a cocky voice as she marched toward it. "Honestly, that doesn't seem that bad."
Just then, the robot opened different chambers across its body, deploying smaller versions of itself into the field. Sasha looked at the other robots, a bit dismayed, but held her resolve.
"Of course," she said, bringing up her sword and charging into battle. She swatted aside three of the robots with ease. But then one of the robots used its arms and tied Sasha up, dragging her toward it. She was freed when Emmanuel came over and cut the arms off. The two gave each other a look and charged back into battle, cutting down many of the robots who got in their way.
At that point, two more large golden robots landed next to the town and began launching their own drones around the town, trying to encircle it and attack it from all sides. Emmanuel motioned for his army to engage them, and his troops joined the battle, taking care not to let the robots into the town. For a while, Sasha and Emmanuel did fine against the robots, but the large golden robots kept launching more and more reinforcements. At one point, they overwhelmed the heroes, and a group of them tied up Emmanuel with their arms, preventing him from moving. One of the golden robots readied a cannon and pointed it straight at him, firing a missile. Sasha turned around and raced toward the captured frog, but realized she wouldn't make it in time. Emmanuel closed his eyes, thinking this would be the end for him.
Thankfully, at the last second, Grime leaped in front of the missile and used his hammer to swat it away into the sky, where it exploded. Emmanuel opened his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Grimesy, you came back!" said Sasha in disbelief.
"Well, I couldn't just leave you alone, lieutenant," said Grime in a smug voice. "With everything we've been through, it just didn't feel right to let you face those mechanical monsters alone. I was touched by what you said about me back at the barn, and well… a good father wouldn't abandon his kid!"
Grime used his hammer to bash away the robots that were holding down Emmanuel and offered his hand to help the frog up. Emmanuel hesitated for a moment, not sure if he should take the offered hand, but after a second, he did, though he didn't say anything to the toad.
"Look, I understand if you hate me," said Grime to Emmanuel, "but now you at least know we were telling the truth."
Again, Emmanuel didn't answer but did give a curt nod to Grime as the three turned to face the robots again. The golden robots opened their back compartment and launched many more drones in an attempt to overwhelm the frogs. So far, only the frog army had been participating in the fight. The villagers of Wartwood stood back, but now Percy and Braddock turned to them and tried to rouse them into fighting.
"Come on! They need our help!" said Percy to the townspeople.
"Grime and Sasha can't face all those robots on their own," said Braddock.
"Let's get in there and give them a hand!" shouted Percy, raising his fist. "Who's with me?"
A loud shout of approval came from the town, and the citizens of Wartwood rushed forward, led by Percy and Braddock. The group joined Grime, Sasha, and Emmanuel and began attacking the robots. Mrs. Croaker leaped straight at a robot and pounded it with her fists, stunning it, then she let her spider spray it with acid. Wally charged into battle, swinging his accordion and using it to bash the robots. Maddie used her various curses to transform the robots into harmless objects, while Ivy and her mother used their martial arts skills to fight against them. Even Mayor Toadstool got in on the act and began using his fists to bash the robots.
Percy pulled out a pair of cymbals and brought them together on a robot, destroying it in one blow. He then crashed them together near another robot, stunning it with the noise while Braddock came up and punched it. Across the way, the frog army had engaged the robots and were winning the fight against them. Most of the smaller drones had been destroyed, leaving only the large golden bots. Emmanuel pulled out his sword and rushed up to one of the golden bots, slicing it. Then he jumped, doing an impressive backflip away from it and sheathing his sword while he did that. The blow didn't seem to hurt the golden robot that much, so he charged at it again, slicing it again while backflipping away from it. Still, the blow didn't seem to have fazed it. Grime and Sasha came up to him.
"That thing is a lot tougher than the rest of them," said Emmanuel. "I don't know how we can hope to harm it."
The golden bot stood up and opened its large fists. Its eyes locked onto Sasha and Grime, and then it fired two missiles at them. The two ran away from the pursuing missiles, only to realize they were being pursued by them.
"Those blasted things are following us," said Grime.
"Then let's lead them in the right direction," said Sasha.
The two kept running and quickly changed direction, causing the missiles to change course and follow them. While this was going on, Emmanuel closed his eyes and concentrated. When he was ready, he threw up his sword and shield into the air in an arc right over the head of the large golden bot, then jumped up after them. Sasha and Grime had just jumped over the golden bot, and the missiles were close behind them. The missiles struck the golden robot, staggering it. Right after that, Emmanuel came crashing down onto it with his sword drawn, landing right on its head and delivering the finishing blow! His shield fell a few seconds later, and he caught it in his other hand before again backflipping away, sheathing his sword, and landing on his feet.
"Dang, you got some good moves there," said Sasha, complimenting the frog.
"I am the leader of the resistance for a reason," answered Emmanuel. He looked toward the destroyed robot before continuing, "So I think we have a lot to discuss."
After fighting the robots and informing the villagers and the frog army of what had happened in the palace, the group needed to form a plan for what they would do. Sasha, Grime, Emmanuel, and Gustav had gathered around the Plantar table to discuss what to do next.
"King Andrias has a floating castle in the sky," said Emmanuel. "You might have that sparrow, but one sparrow is not going to be enough for us to assault him in his stronghold."
"Perhaps we could try to get more sparrows of our own?" suggested Gustav.
"We could, but it would take a long time," said Emmanuel. "And even then, there would be no guarantee it would work. I imagine Andrias has defenses to prevent us from just flying up to the palace whenever we want."
"I'm more concerned about that weapon he has," said Grime. "He can use that to strike us from anywhere, and we have no way to counter it."
"Can we even hope to beat him, considering all the advantages he has?" asked Gustav.
"I think beating him will have to wait," said Emmanuel. "For now, we need to focus on fortifying our defenses and possibly getting more recruits. If we can do that, perhaps we'll stand a chance against him. Though-"
Emmanuel trailed off, not finishing that sentence.
"What is it?" asked Sasha.
Emmanuel paused before continuing, "No, never mind, I thought... If we had Uodeela here with us, it might help. She was, of course, well-versed in magic, but she was also a brilliant tactician, and she knew things about Amphibia. I wish she was here to help us. I know she could help us defeat Andrias."
"Wait a minute," said Gustav. "I just remembered Amara may have found a way to cure Uodeela!"
"Cure Uodeela?!" exclaimed Emmanuel. "But I thought curses could only be healed by the caster? How can we possibly cure her?"
"It's a long story," explained Gustav, "but Amara got the ingredients for some sort of cure from another world. Luz and Marcy told me that the box they have can go to other worlds, and apparently, this cure comes from one of those worlds. It's capable of curing curses in that world."
Gustav reached into his cloak and pulled out the cure Amara had given him back in Newtopia, spreading it on the table. The others looked at it for a few seconds before Emmanuel said,
"We don't know where Lilly is, but is there anyone else here in Wartwood who is familiar with the magic that could help us make this?"
"That creepy girl!" exclaimed Sasha, the others shooting her a look. "Oh, uh, sorry, I think her name is Maddie. Luz and Marcy told me about her."
A few minutes later, Maddie was found and invited into the Plantar house to be consulted on the cure. Gustav quickly brought her up to speed on what was happening. Maddie took a long look at the cure before speaking.
"I recognize most of the ingredients on here. Some might be hard to get, but there are some on here that I have no idea what they are."
The group all looked at each other. Finally, Gustav spoke up.
"Maybe we could try using substitute ingredients in place of those?"
"You really shouldn't substitute things when making an elixir," said Maddie. "You know that, right?"
"I do," replied Gustav, "but this cure is the best lead we have on helping Uodeela. We should at least try it and see if it will work."
Maddie looked carefully at the list one more time before saying, "I guess it's worth a shot. Getting some of these will be hard, and it might take a while."
"Whatever you need, I'll help you get it," said Sasha. "It's my fault Uodeela is in her current state, so please, let me help you in any way that I can."
Gustav and Maddie looked at Sasha before nodding their heads.
"I'll help too," said Grime, stepping forward. "Whatever Sasha wants to do, I'll help however I can." He looked at Emmanuel and Gustav before continuing.
"I know you might not trust me, and working together might be hard, but believe me when I say this is for Sasha's sake. For now, we have a bigger enemy, and I think you'll both agree that having someone like me on your side will be worth it for now."
Emmanuel paused a long time before speaking, "I never thought I'd say this, but you're right, Grime. I don't know what we're up against or how this will end, but at least for now, we need your strength."
He looked hard at both Grime and Sasha, again remembering what Valeriana had said to him about trusting Grime, before continuing
"I hope neither of you gives me cause to regret this decision."
After that, Gustav and Maddie began looking more thoroughly at the cure for Uodeela. They copied it down onto other pieces of paper to make sure it wouldn't be lost and began going through the list of ingredients, trying to determine what would be easy and what would be hard for them to get. As they continued working on that, Sasha pulled Grime aside.
"Grime, why did you ask the frogs to let me go up there?" asked Sasha.
"Because I didn't want anything to happen to you, Sasha," answered Grime. "At the time, I thought that was going to be it. I was finished for sure, so I wanted to make sure that at least you would be okay."
Sasha was touched to hear that. "Thanks, Grime, but I honestly don't know what I would have done if they killed you."
"You'd get over it and be alright-" began Grime before he was interrupted by Sasha.
"NO!" yelled Sasha, coming forward and hugging Grime. "NO, I WOULDN'T! Please don't say that, Grime! I've already lost Anne, Luz, and Marcy! I can't lose you too!"
Sasha began crying loudly while continuing to hug Grime. Grime was taken aback by this, but he hugged Sasha back and brought up his hand to stroke her hair gently.
"Lieutenant… I..." said Grime softly.
"I meant what I said back there," said Sasha through tears. "You're like a father to me. I never really had a close relationship with my real father. That's why I didn't even care about returning home."
Grime listened to what Sasha said, absorbing her words before responding.
"I mean what I said too. I like your spirit. You have such a natural strength within you! If I'd had a daughter, I would wish that she would be just like you."
Sasha smiled, both from hearing Grime say that and from feeling him stroke her hair. The two eventually separated and looked into each other's eyes. Sasha wiped the tears from her face.
"Thank you for helping me with this, Grime," said Sasha. "We may have done bad things in the past, but maybe by helping Uodeela, we can start to try to make up for it."
"I don't know if the frogs or Uodeela will ever forgive me for what I've done, but if you want to try to help, then I'm with you all the way," said Grime. "So, let's do our best at helping Uodeela then. Right, lieutenant?" said Grime.
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Sasha agreed. "Let's make amends for our past and make a better future!"
Later, as Sasha lay in her bed, she drifted off to sleep and once again found herself in the dream realm. She opened her eyes and looked out across the black void, her gaze finding the figure in white.
"Why are you trying to be better, Sasha?" it asked in a condescending voice. "You've done terrible things. You know Anne and Luz won't forgive you. Why are you even trying?"
"Because I want to be better! I want to be someone who's worthy of Anne!" exclaimed Sasha.
"Even if you try to be, it might already be too late," taunted the figure. "For all you know, Anne has no romantic interest in you. Or worse, she and Luz might already be together. What will you do then?"
"I don't know," said Sasha, her voice falling a bit. "But if that's the case, then... so be it. If Anne and Luz are together… then I'll try to be happy for them. I still want to be worthy of Anne's friendship."
"You've already thrown their friendship away," said the figure. "There's no point in trying to go back. Believe me, I know. I've done terrible things myself. I had to do them to accomplish my goals. There's no going back from the road I've chosen."
"What even are you?" asked Sasha, looking quizzically at the figure.
"Oh, Sasha, you have no idea what I truly am or what I've done to get there," answered the figure.
"Maybe not, but that's even more of a reason to not want to be like you," said Sasha defiantly. "And yeah, you're right! You didn't make me do all those things in the past; you only suggested them to me. I was the one who was stupid enough to listen to you and follow your advice. Well, you know what? I'm done listening to you! I'm done trusting you! You're a horrible person, and I am done being your friend!"
The figure seemed unfazed by Sasha's declaration, instead letting out a laugh!
"Oh, Sasha, do you really think it's going to be that easy?" said the figure. "You have no idea what I'm capable of! And if you really are done listening to me, I can make your life so unpleasant! Are you sure that's what you want?"
Sasha marched confidently up to the figure, giving it a firm, assertive stare!
"Bring it on!" she taunted.