"Sasha," began Gustav, "I know you've done things you aren't proud of, but even so, I remember how you were nice to me. You encouraged me to try training, even when I wasn't good at it. You stood up to Grime on my behalf. Honestly, in some ways, you remind me of Luz."
Sasha wasn't sure how to feel about that, but she eventually smiled.
Gustav continued, "I think I said this before, but being nice suits you better than being aggressive all the time. I don't regret giving you the elixir at all, not after seeing how much you've changed and how you were willing to kill yourself in order to prevent whoever that was from hurting us. You're not the same Sasha from before, and if anyone deserves another chance at life, it's you."
Sasha teared up hearing him say that. After a few moments, she leaned forward and hugged Gus. The toad returned the hug, stroking her back as he did.
As they separated, Sasha spoke, "You know, I never could understand why Anne liked that annoying frog so much. I thought he was just a slimy little pipsqueak, but I think… I think I finally understand why Anne cares about him."
As this was happening, Uodeela landed next to them. She let out a small screech before showing her notepad. Honestly, I feel Gustav is being too nice regarding you, Sasha. I'm still mad at you.
Sasha read the note and gulped. Uodeela wrote some more. But I have to admit that if it weren't for you, I'd likely still be stuck as a mindless heron. So even though you're the reason I was in that state, I am grateful to have my mind back.
"Thanks… I think," said Sasha to Uodeela.
Uodeela did her best to smile before writing again. Still getting used to this new smaller heron form. Not quite as powerful as when I was a huge heron, but I do appreciate being more nimble. I can still fly, though not as long as I could, and my eyes are still more powerful. I still have telescopic vision and can see in the dark. That's how I was able to find Lilly the other night.
"I'm just glad you have your mind back, master," said Gus. "Do you remember anything from when you were stuck as the Red Heron?"
Bits and pieces, but it's all a blur, wrote Uodeela. The last concrete memory I have is the conversation I had with Luz right before I transformed. After that, I think I ate a few toads. I felt a strong surge of anger when I was eating one particular toad, almost as though I wanted to make her suffer.
"Yeah, you ate Fens," said Gus plainly.
Ugghh, I bet she tasted terrible, wrote Uodeela. I think I was also at Newtopia at some point.
"You were," said Sasha. "That was right before all that stuff with Andrias happened."
I see, wrote Uodeela. Still, I'm glad to hear that Luz was able to make it home. I know you'd like for your friends to return, but it would be a lot safer for them if they didn't.
Sasha wasn't sure how to feel about that. While she did agree with what Uodeela said, she also would have given anything to see Anne and Luz again, especially so she could apologize to them for what she had done. So much had happened since that day many months ago in the King's Palace, and while Sasha had done her best to try to keep a handle on things in Amphibia, the fact that she had parted on bad terms with both Anne and Luz weighed heavily on her mind.
"Hey, Teach," began Gustav, "what do you think about those witches and how they can do magic?"
Uodeela cocked her head before writing on her pad. I've seen a lot in my time, but I've never seen anything like them. I'm very concerned about the fact that Andrias had their bile drained and what he intends to do with it, though I am glad they're on our side now.
Uodeela was about to take off before she remembered something, asking Gustav a question. Hey, can you show me the other form of magic you learned?
"Sure," said Gustav. He took the notepad from Uodeela and drew out three different glyphs on three pieces of paper. He tapped them, causing an orb of light to appear, followed by a burst of wind, and then a small splash of water.
Uodeela and Sasha looked at the spells with intrigue before writing. That is certainly fascinating! A way to do magic that doesn't require a gem. I've never heard of anything like this before. And you just found these glyphs?
"Sort of," answered Gustav. "I heard from Maddie and Luz that they found the wind glyph in some leaves. I found the water glyph in a puddle left over from when Lilly was training with magic. I'm not sure where the light glyph came from."
"Hey, uh, do you think I could try something?" asked Sasha.
"Sure," said Gustav. Sasha reached out her hand, asking for the pad and paper.
"I've seen these glyphs do different things," said Sasha. "How do you get it to make something you want?"
"You just have to imagine it in your head," said Gustav. "Before you activate the glyph, think of what you want it to do."
Sasha drew the light glyph on the paper but didn't immediately tap it. Instead, Sasha drew out her sword and brought the paper up to the sword at the point where the blade met the hilt. She paused for a second before tapping the glyph. In the next instant, instead of forming an orb of light, her sword began to glow. The glyph activated and covered her sword in a bright golden glow, making the blade look as though it were made of light! Gustav and Uodeela both let out a gasp!
"Whoa, that's amazing!" exclaimed Gustav.
Sasha took the sword in her hand and swung it a few times. At first, nothing happened, but Sasha eventually concentrated and focused on a fence in front of her. She swung the sword again, and this time, a beam of light shot out of it in the direction she swung. The beam went straight forward into the fence and sliced clean through it. Sasha's face widened into a smile as she saw that. She looked over at Gustav and Uodeela, who were both grinning as well.
Bella put down the spear she was training with. She had picked one up from the weapon pile that Lilly had brought up and had started practicing a few moves with it to get herself more familiar with the weapon. She found it similar to using a broom, something she had used a lot of at the hotel. She had decided to take a break from training, and the frog she was practicing with decided to strike
"So, you and Amara were friends?" asked Lilly as she looked into the newt's face.
"Yeah, we'd been hanging out for a few weeks before all that stuff in Newtopia happened," answered Bella. "She told me about you and Gustav. It's nice to finally meet you in person."
"Same," said Lilly, shaking the newt's hand. "I hope she's doing okay in Luz's world."
"Yeah, me too," said Bella, "but I hope she'll find a way back."
"If Luz, Anne, and the others can't make it back on their own, then I suppose our only recourse will be to defeat Andrias ourselves and get control of the box. Then we can go to Luz's world and find them," said Lilly.
"That sounds impossible," said Bella.
"It may seem that way, but we have to try," said Lilly. "In any case, we have to find some way to make it back to the palace. There are still two prisoners in there who need to be rescued."
"You'll find a way to free them," said Bella, trying to assure Lilly. "I know you will."
"Thanks," said Lilly. She looked out over the army that was training in the field.
"I have to say, I'm impressed with how your dad was able to get so many frogs to join his cause," said Bella. "I hope once all this is over, we can do something to make Amphibia a better place for all."
Lilly looked at Bella. "Thank you. I'm glad to hear you say that. It means a lot coming from a newt."
Bella was slightly taken aback by that statement, but replied, "Do you think that everything is fine in Newtopia?"
"I guess?" replied Lilly. "Honestly, I've never been to the city before the Toad Rebellion."
"Then you probably didn't know, but it's not exactly a 'perfect city' as you might think," said Bella.
"Really?" said Lilly.
"Yeah, trust me, the city has plenty of its own problems, not the least of which is student loans. The city may look nice, but only if you're an elite newt," said Bella.
"Elite newt?" said Lilly, confused. "I thought all the newts were elite."
Bella let out a laugh. "Ah, sorry, no, it doesn't work that way. Among newts, there are a few families at the top who control basically everything. Below that are a few more families who have a little less money but are still rich, and after that is basically everyone else. I'd say about 98% of the newts in Newtopia are just regular newts that live regular lives."
"Oh… Really?" said Lilly as she processed this, not sure what to say. Bella seemed to pick up on this.
"I used to work as a bellhop at a hotel in Newtopia," said Bella. "I had to take out loans to go to Newtopia University. I barely made enough to survive and had to move in with my mom to save money."
"Oh, wow, that sounds rough," said Lilly. "It's so weird to hear you say that, 'cause I thought life was easy for newts, especially in the city."
"I suppose it can be a bit easier if you're a newt," admitted Bella. "The thing is… well, how do I explain this? Those elite newts I told you about try to get it into the heads of other newts that they are the superior species. Even if most newts don't have a lot of money, the elite newts still tell them, 'You're still better than the frogs and the toads. It doesn't matter that you don't have money, and many of you work jobs you hate. You're still naturally smarter and stronger than either of the other two species.'"
"Whoa, that's… I don't know what to say to that," said Lilly in a heavy voice.
"The ironic part is that some newts get swept up in that idea and think that just because they're newts, they truly are superior to other species. The whole thing is so manipulative!" said Bella, a hint of anger in her voice. "I've seen so many newts who are poor and work minimum-wage jobs shout and complain that the reason they're poor is because of the frogs and toads."
"Why do they blame them?" asked Lilly.
"Because elite newts tell them that's whose fault it is," said Bella, "and they don't bother to think about or investigate that statement themselves. The fact that all those taxes Newtopia collects don't really go to help regular families never seems to cross their minds. Instead, they think of the elites as better than them and feel they should be worshipped and adored. They accept whatever the elites tell them as true."
"Dang, I had no idea," said Lilly. She paused before adding, "It's so weird. Usually, I get defensive over people thinking all frogs are peasants, and well, I just assumed all newts were elites, so I guess I made an incorrect assumption about you. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," said Bella casually. "I'm just glad that we may finally have a chance to change the system. For so long, I've felt so trapped and beaten down just going through the daily grind, but now I can be part of a resistance to help change things."
"We're glad to have you," said Lilly, "and I'm glad to have another newt friend."
"Oh, hey, so you knew Amara pretty well, right?" asked Bella.
"Yeah, I'd say so," said Lilly.
"Cool, so, uh, just wondering…" began Bella in a nonchalant tone. "You wouldn't happen to know if she's seeing anyone, would you?"
"Not that I'm aware of," answered Lilly. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason," said Bella quickly.
Vincent moved another chunk of Earth out of the way, creating another path. He made another spell circle and formed some of the dirt into a pillar, placing it near the wall of the main room.
"Got to make sure we reinforce these tunnels so they don't collapse," he said.
"I found another room," said Alyssa, as she returned from another tunnel.
"I think we have enough space in the main room," said Vincent. "Now we just need to work on making a network of tunnels under the town."
"I can't thank you enough for doing this," said Emmanuel. "I wish I could give you something more than just the promise of returning home."
"Well, you are trying to overthrow Andrias," said Alyssa. "Perhaps you can let us have the first crack at him. Give us a chance to pay him back for all he's done to us."
"I'd be fine with that," said Vincent as he moved more dirt around, "but honestly, getting home is good enough. I hope our children aren't too worried about us."
"I'm sure your kids will be happy to see you again," said Emmanuel. "How old are they?"
"They're both fourteen," said Alyssa. "They just started at Hexside. We left them with my dad before we set off on our little journey, though we had no idea we'd be gone so long. My father must also be worried about me."
"Your dad is a good man," said Vincent. "I'm sure he'll look after them until we return. We'll owe him big time, for sure. I suppose I could do some work on the farm for him."
"Oh? You have a farm?" said Emmanuel, intrigued.
"Well, it's my dad's," replied Alyssa. "I lived there growing up. It was very nice and peaceful, and getting up to watch the sunrise was always a treat. We grew all manner of fruits and vegetables and even raised a few griffons for their eggs."
"Most frogs in the valley are farmers," said Emmanuel. "I know quite a few of them. Farming is such a big part of the valley's way of life, though it's also hard work."
Vincent was about to reply before he looked up. After a beat, he ran over to a lower part of the tunnel and made a spell circle, putting his hand up to the ceiling. He began to get nervous as the seconds ticked by. Alyssa and Emmanuel looked at each other, concerned.
"Dear, is something wrong?" asked Alyssa.
"Something is coming," said Vincent nervously. "I can feel it in the ground. A large group is marching toward the town."
"What sort of large group could be coming?" asked Alyssa.
"Oh, no…" said Emmanuel breathlessly as he realized what it likely was. "We have to assemble the troops!"
"Alright, troops, you know the drill," proclaimed Bog to the toads, who were assembled just outside of Wartwood. "Kill the frogs and take what we want. Andrias has assured me that Luz isn't here anymore, so we won't have to worry about her."
The toads let out a cheer at that.
"Cloak-bot has gone ahead to find those specimens the King wants. Once he's given word that he has them, we can march in without worrying about accidentally killing them," said Bog.
He was about to continue when his troops suddenly cowered in fear, all of them looking up at the sky.
"What's going on?" asked Bog.
"Sorry, I thought I saw a large bird in the sky," said one toad.
"I thought it was the Red Heron," said another. "It sure looked like her."
Bog turned around and did indeed see something flying in the sky. He didn't get a good look at it before it flew away back toward the town.
"That was no heron," said Bog dismissively. "It was much too small. Probably a sparrow or hummingbird."
"But it was red!" said another toad fearfully.
"Then maybe it was a cardinal," growled Bog. "Enough lollygagging. We attack as soon as Cloak-bot gets back with the prisoners."
Vincent, Alyssa, and Emmanuel raced out of the Plantars' house. Emmanuel went to find the frog army, while Vincent and Alyssa ran towards the town. Wartwood had just come into view when Vincent felt something grab him, though he couldn't see what it was. Vincent made a spell circle and lifted some mud from the ground. He quickly threw it at where he thought his foe was covering, revealing the same Cloak-bot that had captured them the first time. Alyssa let out a scream as she saw that horrible figure again. Vincent made another spell circle and threw a boulder at the robot, striking it and making it drop him. He stumbled over to his wife, the Cloak-bot following.
The Cloak-bot raised its arm and slashed at the two, only for Alyssa to bring up a magic shield just in time. It slashed again, but couldn't break through the magical barrier. It was about to try a third time before a slash of air hit it, causing it to stumble and turn around. Raine and Maddie had appeared, and the former launched another air slash at the robot, hitting it again. Maddie rushed forward and launched a fire curse at it, but the fire didn't affect it much. The Cloak-bot came forward and focused on Raine and Maddie instead.
Maddie launched another curse at the Cloak-bot, but it dodged and launched its arm at her, knocking her down. Raine played on their violin, causing clouds to appear above the group. The clouds began generating lighting that stuck all over the area, though Cloak-bot managed to dodge most of the strikes. One did hit him, though it barely seemed to do any damage. Cloak-bot lunged forward at Raine, forcing them to drop their violin. Raine rolled to pick it up, but Cloak-bot managed to grab them and wrap its arm around them, preventing them from moving. Raine struggled against the Cloak-bot, trying to break free.
At that moment, Alyssa and Vincent crashed into it. Alyssa had encased herself and her husband in a barrier and charged straight at it. The Cloak-bot transformed its hand into an axe and slammed it against the barrier, trying to break it. On the third attempt, the barrier fell, knocking the two witches to the ground. Cloak-bot wrapped its other arm around them, bringing them close to its body to join Raine.
"Targets acquired," it said in its synthesized voice as it looked at all three witches.
In the next moment, two swords slashed at its arms, and they instantly fell, causing the Cloak-bot to let out a synthesized screech of pain. Again, the two swords slashed, and the witches were freed. They looked up and saw Sasha and Lilly standing nearby with a determined expression on their faces. The two glanced at each other, nodding their heads before attacking Cloak-bot again. Cloak-bot tried to defend itself but without arms. There was little it could do. The two slashed at its chest, causing it to stagger backward. Cloak-bot tried firing lasers from its eyes at the two, but they rolled out of the way. Lilly brought up her hand and sent out a stream of water, pushing the Cloak-bot back. Vincent made a spell circle and lifted a rock from the ground, hurling it straight at the Cloak-bot, smashing it against its chest. The robot fired another laser at Alyssa, but she made a spell circle and formed a reflecting barrier. The laser hit the barrier and bounced straight back at the robot, damaging it. Finally, Raine came forward, giving the damaged Cloak-bot a fierce look. They made another slicing motion on their violin and launched a magic slash that hit the Cloak bot's head, separating it from its body and finally destroying it for good!
"That robot's been taking forever," growled Bog to himself. He was getting nervous. He looked over at the town, and even from far away, he could see that it was strangely empty. However, he saw a figure approaching out of the town towards where his army was gathered. As the figure came closer, he finally recognized it.
"Grime!" yelled Bog. "What are you doing here?! This is my mission! I'm here on order from the King."
"I'm not here as part of your mission," said Grime. "In fact, I'm here to tell you to call this off!"
Bog stared at Grime before letting out a laugh. "Call it off? And here I thought you couldn't tell a joke. Why, in Frog's name, should I call it off?"
"Because if you don't, I'll beat your ass and make you leave!" said Grime with conviction.
Bog was utterly stunned by that comment. He took a beat before responding, "You're siding with the frogs? You've spent the better part of your reign as Lord, doing everything you can to make those frogs pay their taxes, and now you're defending them?"
"Yes, I am," said Grime, raising his hammer to show how serious he was.
Bog and the toads let out a long laugh at this. Finally, Bog replied, "You may have Barrel's Hammer, but that won't be enough to stop all of us."
"Yeah, you're right," replied Grime, pausing before adding, "Good thing I'm not alone."
As he said that, more figures appeared beside him: Sasha, Emmanuel, Lilly, Raine, Vincent, Alyssa, and Uodeela. Behind them, the citizens of Wartwood and many more frogs appeared, all of them holding weapons. They glared at Bog and his army of toads.
"Ha! I ain't scared of you!" said Bog. "My toads are stronger than your pathetic frogs, and honestly, it's not even the frogs I'm here for. Andrias just wants those witch creatures, so tell ya what. Why don't you hand 'em over, and I'll leave you alone? Besides, you may not know, but Andrias has a fierce-looking robot looking for them. Best hand 'em over to me before that robot hunts them down."
"Do you mean this robot?" asked Sasha, stepping forward and throwing something at Bog. Bog looked down and saw that Sasha had thrown the head of the Cloak-bot at him. He looked back up at Grime, trying not to show his surprise.
"If you want the witches, come and take them!" said Lilly, drawing her sword and lighting up her eyes.
Bog tried not to show any fear in his face as he raised his hammer and signaled for his army to charge forward. The toads let out a yell and rushed to engage the frogs. Lilly repeated the gesture, signaling the frogs to attack. The two armies moved closer to each other, and the battle began!
The toads charged into battle, convinced they had the upper hand against the weaker frogs, but as the battle progressed, it soon became clear that the toads were outnumbered. The frogs might have been small, but they ganged up against the toads, overwhelming them. Five frogs overpowered one toad, and there was nothing it could do to stop them. The Frog Army had kept up its training since leaving Newtopia, and they were more experienced than they were before at fighting toads. The toads had a brief advantage at first due to their strength, but it soon vanished as Lilly, Sasha, and the witches helped to turn the tide even more against the toads. Uodeela joined in the fighting too, letting out a screech in her heron form and swooping down to claw at the toads and send them scurrying.
Percy and Braddock joined in as well, Percy holding a large pair of cymbals that he crashed together near a toad. The noise stunned him and allowed Braddock to move in and finish him off. He repeated the action with another toad again, stunning him with a cymbal crash. Priscilla joined the fray, letting out a loud and boastful laugh. She plowed through several toads as if they were nothing and used her tail to swipe at several more. From atop her shoulder, her daughter cheered her on! Bella joined the fight as well. She didn't consider herself much of a fighter, but she had grabbed a spear from the weapons room underground and briefly practiced with it. She proved to be quite adept, as she used its shaft to block incoming attacks and its tip to keep the toads away from her.
The citizens of Wartwood also joined in. Felicia and Ivy used their kung fu skills against the toads, while Maddie used curses and glyphs to fight against them. Mrs. Croaker and Sal teamed up and fought together using canes. Mayor Toadstool used his strength to bash the toads, though as he was fighting, he got stabbed in the leg by a toad. Toadstool shook off the blow and bashed the offending toad. Toadie came up to him to check that he was alright.
"Sire, are you alright?" asked Toadie, concerned.
"Ha! That ain't nothing but a flesh wound, Toadie. I'm fine," declared the mayor as he stood up to attack another toad. He was again not paying attention and got stabbed in his other leg, though again he shook it off and kept fighting. Toadie came to his side and helped him. At one point, Mayor Toadstool picked up Toadie and hurled him at another toad, knocking that toad out.
Lilly fought one toad, quickly dispatching him before moving on to another. This toad was more formidable, but Lilly again was able to find an opening and strike her. More toads approached her, surrounding her, and Lilly's eyes lit up as she summoned a windstorm around her. She let the windstorm grow in intensity before she expelled the wind in all directions, blowing the toads around her away. The spell left her tired, and she didn't notice the one toad who snuck up behind her and was about to bring a club down on her, but before that could happen, Grime appeared and knocked the toad away with his hammer. Lilly heard the noise and turned around, seeing Grime behind her but also seeing the other toad he had defended her from, knowing instantly what had happened. Grime gave an awkward smile to Lilly, who didn't respond, though eventually she did say.
"Thank you, Grime."
Grime accepted the thanks and leaped back into the fray. He began fighting Mire, the armored toad brandishing an axe.
"Ha! You never were much of a talkative type, were you, Mire?" taunted Grime as he dodged the toad's swings. Mire didn't respond and kept trying to hit Grime.
"That's alright. I can hold a conversation all by myself," continued Grime. "Do you know how powerful this hammer is?"
Mire didn't respond but kept wildly swinging at Grime.
"Legend says that Barrel designed his hammer to have so much power that it could smash through any kind of armor," continued Grime.
For a second, Mire stopped attacking as he heard what Grime had said.
"I suppose it's time I try the highest setting on here," snicked Grime. With that, he powered up the hammer and rushed forward toward Mire. The toad brought up his axe and swung it at Grime, missing him by an inch. Grime took the opportunity and swung his hammer straight down at Mire's head, smashing through his helm and straight into his head, causing Mire to let out a scream as he fell to the force of Grime's strike.
Bog and Emmanuel fought as he tried to turn the tide back in the toads' favor, but all around him, the frogs were defeating the toads with ease. Emmanuel slashed at Bog, but Bog backed out of the way. He brought out his hammer and tried to squash the frog leader, but Emmanuel leaped out of the way. He jumped into the air and tried to strike Bog from above, but Bog saw him and dodged the attack. Emmanuel stuck at Bog again, but the toad brought up his hammer and blocked the attack. He pushed the frog down and brought up his hammer, and in two quick moves, he slammed it down on the frog's legs, shattering the bones in them and causing Emmanuel to let out a loud scream. Bog prepared to strike the frog again, but before he could, Sasha came up to him and blocked his strike.
"Sasha!" growled Bog. "Since when did you care what happened to these slimy frogs?"
"They're not slimy frogs," said Sasha. "They're my friends."
"Bah! You and Grime have gone soft!" shouted Bog as he swung at Sasha again. "I never liked you, anyway. Always thought Grime made a mistake by appointing you as his second. That is a nice scar you have on your face. Where did you get that?"
Bog's question rattled Sasha, but she kept up her attack, trying to force him away from Emmanuel. As she did, Lilly noticed what was happening and came over to help. She used her magic to conjure a gust of wind in her hand and directed it at Bog, blowing him away. Lilly came up to her father. Alyssa saw what was happening and ran after them, though she didn't get far before Uodeela came up to her and grabbed her in her talons, lifting her up and flying her to where Lilly and her father were. Lilly landed far away from the battle and looked down at her injured father.
"Dad, are you alright?" asked Lilly, concerned.
"Ahhh! My legs are broken!" said Emmanuel.
"Hang on, I can help get that patched up," said Lilly, looking through her bag for the proper bandages.
"Don't worry, I can help," said Alyssa, as Uodeela gently dropped her near them. She came over to Emmanuel and made a spell circle, running it over his legs. Emmanuel felt the pain in his legs fade. They weren't completely healed, but it did seem to subside.
"Thank you," said Emmanuel to Alyssa.
"Your bones are still broken," said Alyssa to the frog. "Healing magic is powerful, but it might take time for your leg to fully heal."
"That's fine. Whatever you're doing is working," said the frog.
"Dad, are you sure you're okay?" asked Lilly.
"I'll be fine," said Emmanuel to his daughter.
"I'll look after him," said Alyssa to Lilly
Uodeela let out a screech and nodded her head to assure her as well.
"Thank you," said Lilly. With that, she gave a nod to the three of them and jumped into the air, back to the battle. Lilly landed next to Sasha, and the two gave each other a nod before they resumed the battle, fighting together.
As Bog recovered from the air blast, he looked over at the battle and quickly realized it wasn't going well. His troops were being overpowered by the frogs and their allies; his toads were quickly losing ground and had so far been unable to capture the creatures that Andrias had desired. He was still trying to think of what to do when a frobot came up to him and focused its eyes, bringing up the screen with Andrias on it.
"What's new, Captain Bog?" he asked in a jovial voice. "How's the subjugation of Wartwood going?"
"Uh, great!" lied Bog. "Yeah, everything is under control over here!"
No sooner had he said this than the frobot turned around, allowing Andrias to see for himself the battle that was taking place. He watched as the frogs seemed to easily overpower the toads and send them running. He saw Lilly using her magic to turn the tables on them, saw Sasha fighting with her swords, having used a light glyph to enhance her sword, and even saw Uodeela in her small heron form chasing toads away. Priscilla was fighting a group of toads all by herself, and although one managed to stab her in her leg, she wasn't slowed down by the wound in the least and kept fighting. Another stabbed her in her other leg, but again she shook it off as though it were nothing. The frobot turned back towards Bog, with Andrias no longer smiling.
"Okay, so we've had a bit of trouble, but I assure you, it's nothing I can't handle," pleaded Bog.
"I make you a Toad Lord, and you can't even handle one simple town?!" yelled Andrias in outrage. "What happened to Cloak-bot? Why hasn't it captured the witches?"
"The frogs destroyed it," said Bog, "but we're working on bringing the witches to you."
"Doesn't look like you're trying very hard!" yelled Andrias. Bog simply made a sheepish noise and shrugged his shoulders, trying not to appear too guilty. Andrias slapped his face in frustration. He looked once more at the losing battle and decided that he needed to take drastic action to clean up this mess.
"Call back your troops!" commanded Andrias, his voice dripping with rage. "I'll take care of this myself and will deal with your failure later!"
Bog gulped at that statement. Andrias continued, "You have five minutes to retreat. I wouldn't waste any time."
With that, Andrias ended the transmission and turned to manage the controls of his castle. He slowly began to move the castle into position so he could fire on the town.
"Olms have mercy," growled Andrias. "Between Cloak-bot and Bog's failure, I can't seem to find any good help! I really didn't want to kill those witches, but if I can't secure them, then they'll just be a liability."
Back on the ground at the battle, Bog blew a loud horn and made a motion with his hand to the toads, signalling the toads to retreat. The toads saw the signal and fell back. The frogs pursued them for a bit, but once they left the town, they stopped chasing them and watched as the toads fled. The frogs let out a cheer of victory at seeing the toads flee. Lilly raised up her sword in triumph, as did Sasha, both of them letting out a victorious shout, but Grime felt uneasy about how quickly the toads had left. Something about that didn't feel right.
"Something's wrong," said Grime to the others.
"What do you mean?" asked Lilly.
"We were winning!" exclaimed Sasha. "The toads got scared and ran away."
"Toads don't generally retreat like that unless there's a specific reason," said Grime. "I know Bog; he's the kind of toad who would fight to the last man rather than retreat."
The frogs looked at each other, hearing Grime's words and wondering if they were true. As they thought about why Bog had fled, a familiar object in the sky seemed to get closer. Grime looked up at the castle, realization dawning on him.
"EVERYONE, RETREAT NOW!" commanded Grime nervously. "The King is going to fire on us!"
The frogs let out a gasp and quickly began scattering in all directions. Some were confused as to what was going on and simply stood there. Grime, Sasha, Lilly, Uodeela, and Vincent came together and tried to flee in the same direction. The frog army was massive, and there was no way that all of them could get away. Some leaped as far as they could to try to increase the distance. Mayor Toadstool saw that some weren't able to move fast enough and grabbed them, throwing them onto his back as he tried to carry them away from the blast, though at that point his injuries from the battle had caught up to him and he stumbled to his knees under the weight. Toadstool glanced back one more time and saw the castle fully in view of Wartwood. He closed his eyes and made a decision.
"Everyone brace yourselves," called Toadstool to the frogs on his back, "I'm gonna throw you as far as I can."
Toadstool took a deep breath, summoning as much strength as he could, before heaving the group of frogs on his back as far as he could. After which he fell down in the dirt. Toadie had seen what happened and rushed up to the mayor.
"Sire!" he called desperately, "get up, we have to get out of here before it's too late."
"Toad knows I've been a corrupt mayor, but at least I was able to save a few lives," said the mayor in a tired breathless voice, "hurry save yourself."
Toadie looked up at the sky and could see a brief glint on the king's castle.
"No, you can't quit now!" begged Toadie as he pulled at the Mayor's arm trying in vain to pull him along.
"Toadie, leave me, this is what I deserve, save yourself," pleaded the mayor.
"No," said Toadie firmly, "if you chose to stay then I will to."
"Toadie," said Toadstool. Toadie put his arms around the mayor in a show of support causing the mayor to smile. He looked up at the castle and saw a blue light rapidly heading towards them. He and Toadie both closed their eyes and held onto each other.
While this was going on Vincent called the others over to him and made a spell circle. He slammed it into the ground and made a path into the ground that Sasha, Grime, Uodeela, and Lilly joined him on. Right as he did, there was a terrible sound and a flash of light. Above them, the cannon blasted the area the frogs had been standing in. While some had managed to escape, many didn't and were instantly vaporized.
Down on the ground, the group held onto each other as the cannon fired. They were all shaken up by the tremendous force of the blast and unsure of what to do. After regaining his composure, Vincent made another spell circle and began clearing more dirt away.
"There's a tunnel not far from here," he said to the others, putting his hand up against a wall. "I think it connects to that series of tunnels I found under that house. Let's make our way there." The others nodded, and Vincent began clearing a path for them. As he did Sasha looked again at the spell circles he was creating, she was convinced there was some sort of symbol inside them and was puzzled as to why no one else seemed to notice it, but she decided not to bother him about it now and wait until things had calmed down.
Several hours later, they had regrouped in the tunnels under the Plantars' house and tried to take stock of what had happened. The mood was grim, as they weren't sure how they were going to recover from this. Lilly and Uodeela returned underground, having gone up to survey the damage and check the casualties. Lilly was sad to report that a great number from the frog army had been lost in the blast, she estimated at least half. Uodeela confirmed this assessment and also reported that of the Wartwood citizens, Mayor Toadstool and Toadie had not survived. Lilly confirmed that Priscilla had also been lost, though they had at least found her daughter. Pearl told them about how her mother had tried to run away to escape the blast but her injuries to her legs had slowed her down. When it became obvious that they wouldn't both escape Pricilla had hurled her daughter as far as she could. Uodeela and Lilly had thankfully found her, they also confirmed that the town had been destroyed in the blast and was now in ruins. Raine and many other Wartwood citizens had managed to escape the blast on their own and were thankfully okay. Once she was done giving her report, she went to check on her dad.
Alyssa was still with him and put him in a bed, trying to make him comfortable. She had done a few healing sessions with him, but had not been able to fully mend his broken bones.
"I think with enough time, I can heal him," said Alyssa as Lilly approached.
"Lilly," said her father, "what happened? I saw a flash in the sky and heard an explosion. Was that the king's weapon?"
"Yes, it was," replied Lilly. "Andrias fired on us. We're still taking stock of what happened, but I think we've lost at least half of the resistance army." She hung her head as she said that. Emmanuel absorbed what she told him.
Lilly continued, "The remains of the army are still with us, and we've relocated to the underground tunnels for the time being. Wartwood was completely destroyed in the blast."
"I see…" said her father wearily. "Andrias is much more powerful than we could have predicted."
"Don't worry, you'll think of something. I'm sure you will," said Lilly. Emmanuel took a long pause before looking into his daughter's eyes and speaking.
"No, not me. You."
Lilly was stunned and was not sure what to say. Her father continued.
"I helped form the resistance with Uodeela and have been leading it for a good chunk of my life, but now I've been injured and will need time to recover. I can't lead the resistance effectively like this. Besides, I never could have planned to fight against the technology Andrias has access to. I should have realized he would use that cannon against us. I saw him blast the North Tower, but I didn't account for that cannon in our battle today. If not for Grime warning us, I imagine we all would have been killed. I think it's time for someone younger to lead the resistance."
"But, Dad, I failed," said Lilly, hanging her head. "I wasn't able to free Amity or Marcy from Andrias. I'm no leader."
"Nonsense," said Emmanuel, "you are the chosen wielder of the Masamune. You led the charge at the battle of Newtopia, you saved us from Uodeela, and you saved those witches not once but twice. Sir Glenn himself told you that you have great strength within you. Lilly, you've grown so much since you began training. You're ready for this."
As he was speaking, Emmanuel reached behind him, pulled out a dented bronze helmet, and handed it to Lilly.
"Toadstool told me about this. It's Wartwood's battle helmet," said the frog. "He said that during times of war, the town appoints a leader and gives them this helm, signifying them as the leader. He was going to give it to me, but now I'm giving it to you." Emmanuel passed the helmet to Lilly.
"Dad…" said Lilly as she accepted the helmet, still unsure of what to say. She turned it over in her hands several times, trying to decide what to do.
Back in the main tunnel, Raine, Gustav, Sasha, and Bella were tending to the wounded, trying to help patch them up as best they could. Raine played a song on their violin, trying to calm those who were suffering. Their melody did have a soothing effect and made it easier to treat the wounded soldiers. Sasha, Gustav, and Bella helped as best they could, wrapping bandages and treating wounds.
"We sure were lucky Vincent got us underground," said Sasha. "I should have known Andrias wouldn't hesitate to use that laser against us."
"That weapon is so terrifying," said Raine. "Has the king always used that to keep order in this land?"
"No, he hasn't," said Bella. "In fact, none of us even knew he had something like that until recently."
"I don't think he wanted to use it on us," said Gustav, "at least not at first. Otherwise, why would he have bothered sending in Bog?"
"I bet he wanted to recapture us," said Raine. "That's why he sent that Cloak-bot after us again."
"I'm glad we destroyed it then," said Sasha.
"Yes, thank you for that," said Raine to Sasha. As they said that, they looked into her face. "Oh, what happened to your face?" Sasha turned away, causing Raine to feel bad for asking.
"Ah, I'm sorry," said Raine. "If it's personal, I didn't mean to offend you."
"It's fine," said Sasha. "It's a little complicated. I got possessed by something, I'm not even sure what, then I attacked my friends, then I…" She hesitated, not wanting to say the next part.
"Then, uh, I gave Sasha a special elixir that cured her of the possession," said Gustav quickly. "She was back to her old self, but for some reason, she had that scar across her eye. We've tried a few healing potions to get rid of it, but they didn't work."
"Hmm…" said Raine, looking intently at the scar. "I've heard of a few curses involving possession in my world, though I haven't heard of any that leave a scar like that."
"I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually," began Sasha, "Grime says I should wear my scar proudly as a mark of battle, not sure if I'm at that stage yet, but maybe one day I will be."
"You're a human right?" asked Raine.
"Yeah," answered Sasha she stared for a bit at Raine, "I know you said you're a different species but you look so much like a human. It's a bit comforting actually. Even if you aren't human it's nice to have someone that…. feels a little familiar."
"We know a bit about humans in the Demon Realm," said Raine, "but we haven't seen a human in ages. Not all witches look like me, some have a more demonish appearance. I think I might have even seen one or two frog demons in the past."
"That world of yours sounds interesting," said Sasha, "I honestly wouldn't mind visiting it at some point."
"Well our world is not for the faint of heart," said Raine, "but I wouldn't mind showing you around, I have…. an old friend…. who has a certain fascination with humans. I'm sure she'd be interested in meeting you."
"Cool," said Sasha, she took a pause before asking, "Hey uh Raine, can I ask you something?"
"Sure," answered Raine.
Again Sasha paused before asking, "Can I hug you?"
Raine was a bit taken aback by the question but replied, "Of course." Sasha came up to Raine and threw her arms around her, Raine hugged Sasha back gently stroking the young girl's hair. Sasha let herself enjoy the moment, the hug reminding her of her mother. Raine let Sasha hug her as long as she wanted hoping the action would help comfort the girl. The two did eventually separate and looked into each other's eyes, both smiling.
While this was going on Lilly walked into the hall, wearing the bronze helmet of authority. She drew the attention of many of the frogs, some from Wartwood knew what the helm was and what it signified, while others from different towns still guessed as to why the young frog was wearing the helm The crowd became silent as they watched her enter. Lilly walked up to address the group.
"My father was injured in the battle," she began. "He told me that he was going to accept this helm, which is used to signify a leader during times of war. I would have liked for my father to accept it, as he has spent years leading the frog rebellion and has the wisdom and expertise to lead us in this time of crisis."
She took a pause before continuing, "But my father felt that in his current state, he wasn't in a position to assume leadership and instead asked me if I would."
She paused again before lifting her face and looking into the eyes of the frog army, the people of Wartwood, and the others who had joined them.
"I was hesitant to do so at first, as I felt I wasn't worthy of such a responsibility, and to be perfectly honest, I'm still not sure if I am. But my father thinks I can do it, and so I will at least try. I know we've all lost a lot today, and our lives have been changed in unbelievable ways, but I promise to do the best I can to lead you to victory over Andrias's tyranny."
"He can blast us from anywhere!" exclaimed a frog in the crowd. "How can we possibly defend against that?"
"There's no way we can attack his castle," said another. "What hope do we have against him?"
"We lost half of the frog army!" declared a resistance soldier.
"Listen, everyone!" said Lilly, trying to get their attention. "I understand your concerns. They are valid, and we will need to address them moving forward, but I would like to say this! Andrias thought he would only need Bog and his toads to defeat us, and we won the battle against him! The only reason Andrias used that laser cannon was because we had all but beaten Bog. That means we are a lot stronger than he thinks we are!"
The frogs in the hall looked at each other as they considered what she had said.
"The fact that Andrias even saw us as a threat at all means that he was afraid of us," said Lilly with conviction, "and you know what he should be. Because we are going to take him down! We have lost a lot today, but what we haven't lost is our resolve! We will use that resolve to form a new resistance against Andrias, one that will eventually succeed in bringing an end to his reign!"
The frogs looked a little more hopeful at hearing Lilly say this. Lilly could feel their excitement in the air. It gave her the confidence to speak more boldly.
"For years, we've suffered under the toads' oppression, and we didn't break," continued Lilly. "Many of us have lost friends and family to their cruelty, cruelty that may have been committed at their hands but was ultimately authorized by Andrias. For all these years, we paid our taxes to him and never got anything in return, but even that was not enough for Andrias. Despite the frogs coming together and playing a huge part in stopping the toads' rebellion against him, Andrias showed no appreciation or gratitude to us for that. Instead, he sent Bog to attack us for no reason, and when that failed, he attempted to destroy us with his laser cannon. He may have wiped out half our army, but he didn't get all of us."
The frogs looked even more intrigued, and they all focused their gaze on Lilly as they listened to her words. Sasha and Gustav looked at each other before smiling and looking back at Lilly, trying their best to give her an encouraging look.
"And those of us who remain are going to turn the tide against Andrias," said Lilly with conviction. "We're going to do whatever it takes to stop him. During the battle, my life was saved by Grime, someone that I know you all despise. We all know of Grime's brutality against frogs, but today he proved to be a valuable ally. Before the battle, I spoke with Bella, a newt from Newtopia, and what she told me opened my eyes to how frogs aren't the only species suffering under this oppressive system created by the elite newts. This system harms all of us, from the frogs who bear the brunt of it, to the toads who act as enforcers and see no other way of life, to the newts who are told lies from their own kind."
Lilly took one more pause, getting herself ready for what would be her final rallying cry! When she was ready, she continued.
"So when we defeat Andrias, we will strive to make a better future, not just for the frogs, but for all species in Amphibia!"
As Lilly finished speaking, she raised her sword above her head, and all the frogs in the hall let out a cheer, giving her their support. Gustav, Bella, and Sasha all cheered loudly, waving their hands and showing that they were ready to accept Lilly as their new leader.
After her speech, Lilly called Sasha, Grime, Uodeela, and the witches aside to have a meeting.
"Thank you all for coming," said Lilly in a worn-out tone, "and thank you to both Grime and Sasha for helping me on the battlefield. I appreciate what you both did."
Grime and Sasha looked at each other before saying, at the same time, "You're welcome."
"There is a lot that needs to be done, and I'm not sure quite where to start," began Lilly. "That's why I'd like to hear what you all have to say."
Grime spoke first, "Well, I think for now you should focus on building up this hideout. Andrias thinks he's eliminated us as a threat, and it's probably for the best that he thinks that. Now that we have some time, we can convert these underground tunnels into a proper base so that we can house and train an army."
"I agree," said Sasha. "We can take steps to start growing food here so that we can better support what remains of the rebellion. Once that's taken care of, maybe we can start reaching out to other towns around Amphibia and see if we can get some more recruits."
Uodeela let out a screech to grab everyone's attention before turning to reveal what she had written. Hiding and biding our time is the right call now. Andrias can rain death on us whenever he pleases, so letting him think we've been defeated is wise. We should try to keep our movements limited and travel only at night if possible.
Lilly nodded in agreement with those statements. "As much as I'd love to try to break into his castle and free Marcy and Amity, I know that now is not the time for that. I think you all have the right idea about lying low for now, so let's focus on that, and when the time comes, we can talk more in the future. Actually, there's one more thing I'd like to address." She turned to Sasha.
"I've heard all about how you served as Grime's second. My father told me about how you got the Southern Tower up and running again."
"She was the best lieutenant I've ever had," bragged Grime, causing Sasha to blush.
"Well, if that's true, then I'd like to ask if you would be my lieutenant," said Lilly.
Sasha turned to look at Lilly in surprise. "Are you sure you want me?"
"Yes, I'm sure," said Lilly. "I need someone to help me organize and best utilize the resources we have, and from what I hear, you're really good at that. Not only that, but I saw you today. You are an excellent fighter. I heard how you helped cure Uodeela and sacrificed yourself when you got possessed. Heck, if I wasn't here, I bet you could lead the resistance yourself."
"Well, I don't know about that. I'm not sure I should be trusted with any sort of power, even being your second," said Sasha glumly.
Lilly thought for a bit before saying, "Well, at least let me take this opportunity to say I'm sorry."
Everyone else, including Sasha, was surprised to hear her say that.
"What are you sorry for?" asked Sasha.
"I'm sorry for misjudging you," said Lilly. "I'm sorry for threatening you earlier. It was wrong of me to treat you like Grime."
"Hey, hey, hey, no, it wasn't," said Sasha. She paused before adding, "Your father told me about what happened to your mother, and I… I was going to do the same thing to Hop Pop. If I had, then I'm sure Anne, Sprig, and Polly would hate me, and I'm not sure if there would be any way to fix that."
"But you didn't do it," said Lilly, "so I shouldn't have been so cruel to you, especially when you haven't wronged me personally."
Lilly came up to Sasha and offered her a hand. "Whatever happened in the past with you doesn't matter. What matters now is that we try to make a better future, and I'd like your help in doing that."
Sasha thought for a long time as she looked at Lilly's offered hand. She was hesitant to take it, as she wasn't sure about being in a position of power, even if it was only as a lieutenant again. Still, she realized that this new resistance was going to need help, and if she could help it in any way, she owed it to Anne and Luz to help them for the time being. Finally, Sasha made her decision and reached out to shake Lilly's hand. The frog smiled at her as she did.
"Thank you, Sasha," said Lilly.
"Oooh, this is so exciting!" said Raine. "Forming a secret underground resistance against the tyrannical ruler." They came up to Vincent and Alyssa and put their arms around them both.
"Maybe we should take notes on how this goes, so we have some ideas for when we get home," said Raine, giving both of them a smirk. Vincent and Alyssa returned the smile.
"I never did have much love for the Emperor," said Alyssa, "but let's focus on winning this war first."
"I'm on board to help for however long it takes until we're ready to fight that lizard for real," said Vincent.
"I think he's a newt, not a lizard," said Alyssa.
"Who cares?" said Vincent, a little roughly. "Considering what he's done to us and now to these frogs who took us in, I hardly care what I call him. Though if he is a newt, seeing as he's so big, I wonder if any of his parts would be worth some money in the Night Market back home." He grinned at his wife as he said that, causing her to smile as well.
"I suppose whatever your plans are for defeating the king, we're involved, whether we want to be or not," said Alyssa. She saw Lilly's face fall at that statement and quickly added, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it that way, and we are grateful to all of you for taking in, and to you." Alyssa turned to Sasha.
"You helped save us from that awful robot," said Alyssa to Sasha. She looked up at the scar on her face. "If you like, I can take a look at that scar and see if there's anything I can do to help."
"Sure, that'd be great," said Sasha. "But actually, I was wondering if I could see something else." As she said that, Sasha brought out her phone, and Vincent and Alyssa stared at it.
"Something has actually been bugging me," said Sasha as she got out her phone and switched it to its camera feature. "When your husband was making those, uh, spell circles earlier, I swear I saw something in them. I was wondering if he could make another, and I'll record it this time."
"Record it?" asked Alyssa, looking at Sasha's phone. "Is that device like a scroll?"
"Uh, yes…" said Sasha, not sure what a "scroll" was. "But yeah, Vince, can you make one of those circles again, please?"
Vincent was a little caught off guard, but he obliged Sasha's request and made an orange spell circle. Sasha recorded him doing that and stopped the video. She brought it over so that the others could see it and played the video again. As Vincent completed the spell circle, an image flashed inside it. Sasha paused the video, and this time all the occupants of the room could see the image she was talking about.
"What is that?" asked Vincent, intrigued. "I've never seen that before."
"That looks so mysterious," said Raine, "yet I think it might be related to our magic."
Uodeela let out a screech before jotting something down. That looks like one of those glyphs you told me about, the ones Lilly and Gustav discovered.
The room went silent as they all considered this.
Sasha drew out her sword and used it to draw the symbol in the dirt on the floor. When she was done, she tapped it. The symbol glowed for a second before raising a rocky pillar right out of the ground. All the occupants of the room looked at it in awe.