As stated in the summary, this holds no spoilers for "True Colors". This is just an idea I had as to what could possibly play off in that episode.
Heavy rain falls upon Amphibia as a wagon being pulled by a giant snail pushes forward through slippery mud and thick fog. Behind the snail sits a human covered in a large cloak with part of her face hardly made visible by the dimming light of the lantern caused by the rain with the fog just making things more difficult. But the woman driving wasn't worried for she knew the destination was close.
She then pulled the leather straps tied around the snail's harness hard to the right which caused it to let out a loud squeal before squirming in the driver's direction into a dark passageway leading into the woods.
Upon entering, the amount of rainfall decreased almost immediately thanks to the trees looming over blocking the raging weather above.
The woman looked up ahead, squinting her eyes and trying to peer past the fog to find what she's looking for. She eventually notices a dim light up ahead which lets her know that she's close.
When the wagon got close enough; the woman pulled the straps toward her chest to slow the snail down until it stopped in place. She then knocked on the roof of the cart before jumping down onto the mud which caused it to splash around.
Suddenly, the door to the cart opened up to reveal an adult humanoid pink frog who was also wearing a cloak to shield away the rain.
"Is this the place?" the frog asked in a deep male voice.
The woman held a lantern out in front of her which revealed an old cabin with a very weak illumination of light shining from inside.
"Yes." she replied gruffly as her legs started to walk towards the small cabin with the frog following along.
"So this is where he's been hiding all of these years? Coward. I can't wait to make him pay for everything he has done!" The frog threatened, but the woman stayed silent.
It wasn't long before the two made it to the front door. The frog cracked his neck and grit his teeth. "Let's put his head on a pike." he grumbled as he attempted to open the door only to be stopped by the woman's arm over his chest.
"No." The woman said in a hushed voice.
The frog looked up at her in shock. "What do you mean 'No'?"
"Sprig," the woman began. "You've played your part in all of this. You helped me find him after all these years."
Sprig pulled off the hood of his cloak to reveal how much he has grown. His orange hair is longer than what it was at the age of ten and is baring a noticeable scar going down his left cheek. "And I should be here to end it. Grime needs to suffer!" he growled.
The woman got down on one knee and placed a gentle hand on Sprig's shoulder. Despite being an adult, Sprig still lacked height like all other frogs.
"Sprig... Grime is my responsibility. My burden, so I'm the one who should finish this. You've gone through too much and deserve to live happily, unlike me."
Sprig shook his head. "No, don't say that. You've changed a lot! You're a good person."
The woman chuckled. "If I was a good person long ago then both of my friends would still be alive right now."
Sprig held the woman's hand tightly. "I'm not gonna leave you now. You need someone with you..."
The woman smiled. "It's best if you go back to Wartwood. You have a wife and a tadpole at home who misses you dearly. This'll be the last you see of me after all."
Sprig looked at the door. "Are you sure that the calamity box is in there too?" he asked.
"I'm sure of it," the woman replied. "After the tragedy in Newtopia, I haven't seen it since. So I suspected Grime must've took it before disappearing."
Sprig looked down sadly. "So this really is goodbye then?"
The woman gave an equally sad nod. "I'm sorry we never got along at first. We probably would've been good friends!"
Sprig gave a small laugh. "Yeah. We might've."
"...If Anne was here right now; she would be proud to see what you've become."
Hearing that seemed to trigger Sprig's breaking point as fat tears form in his eyes. The woman pulled Sprig in her arms a he cried in her shoulder. She held him close and gently rubbed the back of his head while listening to Sprig's muffled sobs.
After a minute or two, Sprig released himself from the hug.
"Thank you... I'll never forget you Sasha."
Sasha grinned as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
"I'll never forget you either, Sprig. And tell Ivy I said Hi, ok?"
The two hugged once more before Sprig got on the carriage and made the snail go back down the path. Sasha waited until Sprig and the carriage was out of sight.
...
Sighing, Sasha prepared herself for the inevitable as she slowly pushed the door open. Upon entering the cabin, Sasha was met with hot, humid air and the scent of smoke and old soup.
She carefully closed the door and snuck down the narrow hallway leading to a room with a light inside.
"Whoever's out there. Could you approach a little quicker already?" A gruff voice shouted from the room.
Not responding with words or emotion, Sasha walked normally to where her footsteps made audible thumps on the wooden floor until she made it to the doorway. Peering in, Sasha saw him. Captain Grime. Or what was once him, at least.
In the room, Sasha saw Grime, now far older than what he was the last time they saw each other, laying back on a bed with his head propped up by a large pillow.
He looked sickly with his skin is far more gray, wrinkly, warty, and covered in moisture that Sasha assumed was from the heat.
"Well, well. My old friend!" Grime said with hoarse laughter. His 'good' eye which now looks just as bad as his scarred eye widens ever so slightly. Grime's chapped lips morphs into a wide grin which revealed his pointy teeth; some now missing and noticeably dirty.
Anyone would've gagged at the disturbing sight, but not Sasha who took off her hood which revealed her long blonde hair and her face which showed her looking more older than she actually is.
Grime's only good eye squinted at Sasha. Even with his already damaged vision beginning to fail him even more, the old toad can still notice a major difference in his old comrade.
"Sasha, you look horrendous! How much sleep have you gotten lately" he asked in a calm voice as if things between them were still the same as years before. But despite that, Sasha still answered.
"Not a lot. Finding you took many hours that I could've used as rest. The most sleep I've gotten this last week was a little over two hours." She replied in a tired yet calm voice.
Grime shook his gross-looking head in disappointment. "You have to take better care of yourself. You're probably in your early-twenty's now but look forty."
"I still aged better than you!" Sasha snapped.
Grime's moisture drenched mouth stretched wide open with lines of spit connected to the top and bottom lip like a spider web as he let out a laugh that sounded more like choking. "Eh, you got me there." he agreed.
"So what are you here for then? The box? If so then I'll happily tell you it's location! It's under the very bed I'm slumped over right now." said Grime, his left hand motioning under the bed.
Sasha scowled. "You're just going to flat out tell me where the box is? No riddle? No lying about it being buried deep into the most dangerous forest in all of Amphibia?"
"Well, I didn't want to put more stuff on your plate. You've done me a great service, and your reward, your way home, is literally under me right now." The old toad cackled.
Immediately, Sasha sneered at Grime as she pulled out her sword from under her cloak and pointed the sharp tip at him.
"How do you know that's not the only thing I'm here for?!" she barked, menacingly, her eyes in dangerous slits.
But instead of showing fear at the blade facing him, Grime looked at it in astonishment.
"My old sword!" he rejoiced like a kid on Christmas. "I haven't seen this baby since my semi-victory over Newtopia! I see you've kept it sharp and polished."
Sasha's grim expression changed to confusion. "You're not worried of what I could do to you with this?"
Grime relaxed against the pillow, his good eye half-lidded as he slapped his gut which made a disturbing wet splashing sound. "Nah. It won't matter at all if you slice me open or not. Not for much longer."
Sasha lowered the blade.
"What do you mean?" her tired eyes no longer narrowed.
Grime grinned at her.
"You're a smart gal. You've probably correctly guessed it by now."
Sasha took a few seconds to think about what Grime said before her expression softened.
"You're already dying..." she concluded.
Grime nodded without hesitation.
"Correct! Unfortunately, I haven't been taking the best care of myself either, and being old is making things worse."
Sasha glanced down at her blade.. She turned it to the flat side where she could see her reflection looking back. Groaning, she seethed the sword.
"How long do you have left?" Sasha whispered.
Grime's good eye raised up at the question. "So you're not gonna slice me into little pieces and feed my remains to some savage beast?"
CRACK!
Sasha angrily punched the wall next to her.
"Answer. My. Question. Now." she boomed.
Seeing that Sasha was in no mood for jokes, Grime decided that it's best to start speaking instead of being granted a swift demise.
"My current condition has gotten worse as time passed. My muscles have grown numb and it has become harder to move my limbs. And recently I've lost all feeling in my legs to the point to where I can't move them, the once simple task of breathing has become a challenge, and my heartbeat... it's disturbingly uneven to the point where I fear it may stop at any moment. So basically, I don't have much time left. Maybe a few days or a day; hours or an hour. Heck, I might only have minutes of life left in me."
With that, the old toad sighed and slumped back into the pillow. He looked off to the side away from Sasha and just stared at a corner of the room where his battle armor, now covered in dust and cobwebs, sits in an uneven pile.
"This is the end of my story," Grime began. "I was once the greatest general in the land. I lead a siege on Newtopia; the capitol of Amphibia where I killed King Andrias in battle only to have my greatest glory taken from me. Now here I am... Old... Broken... Troopless... and-and... whatever happened to my sister?"
"After you escaped, she and the remaining toad soldiers who didn't fall in battle were imprisoned and executed for their crimes." Sasha answered, bluntly.
Grime's mouth hung open, surprised by the fate of what was his only remaining family member. Sasha noted his shocked expression and honestly was expecting him to give up on life at that exact moment until a proud smile formed on his face.
"My sister went out in honor of the toads! Tell me: did she put up a fight before being captured? And what was her final word before she took her last breath?"
Sasha was left slightly aghast by Grime grinning like a madman after hearing that his sibling was killed. Nevertheless, she truly wasn't surprised deep down by his reaction.
"Well you'll be overjoyed to know that it took over a dozen of Newtopia's guards to even get your sister onto the ground and a dozen more to actually apprehend her. Her final words were... very vulgar, to say the least." she said, monotoned.
"Ah, my dear Beatrix. Even when faced with death she still has an unbreakable spirit. And though the battle for Newtopia began to look sour for us toads, she never turned her back on me and aided my escape." Grime said blissfully. "Though this does bring a question to mind. Despite our oncoming failure, my sister didn't betray me... so why did you, Sasha?"
Grime's question took Sasha by surprised. Not because he asked it, but because he seems so ignorant towards the answer.
Burning rage boiled inside Sasha. She wanted to pull the sword back out and chop him into bits and then mince those bits into even smaller bits. No, she would just strangle him! Watch as his life slowly slips away as her hands squeeze tightly around his fat neck. But Sasha reminded herself that she isn't that person anymore.
"You really don't remember?" Sasha asked as calmly as she could manage.
Grime struggled but he managed to slap his right hand on his chest where his heart is and raise his left hand in the air like someone does when they are swearing to something.
"Toad Army Honor," he promised. "Most of the events that took place are a bit fuzzy now. I just remember you trying to stop me, so I tried to put you out of your misery thinking that you've gone crazy from war. My blade almost met your flesh until... something or someone got in the way."
A bulge formed in Sasha's throat as she closed her eyes tightly for about a minute before opening them again to reveal her reddened eyes.
"It happened after you killed King Andrias-"
"Ah, I remember that moment! I used Barrel's Warhammer and smashed his skull in! I can still recall that wet cracking sound his head made even now." Grime boasted.
Sasha didn't argue, she instead continued.
"After you killed him, we were swarmed by the newt army. We got separated with me out of the castle, fighting guards and General Yunan while you were still in the throne room."
"Hmm. Yes, I remember some of that. That Plantar family also stepped in to stop me, but they were no problem. Not that I had to hurt them; it was just they were so weak and tired out easily." Grime added.
"I eventually managed to evade the guards and the general and found Marcy Wu, one of my good friends. Despite being devastated over Andrias' death, she still took it upon herself to help the newts fight back against the toads while helping civilians escape. They eventually got overwhelmed and... I was too late to save her."
Sasha stopped talking. She felt like her eyes would gush out tears any second now, but she fought against it. It was too late for tears anyways...
"She was already gone before I made it to her. Seeing Marcy's lifeless body laying on the ground just opened my eyes, y'know? I realized that because of me helping you with your plan, it led to Marcy dying for those she cared about. That's when I knew that things have gone too far. So I went back for you to get you to call it all off. But when I found you, you were just mad with power. I managed to get the hammer out of your hands and tried to take you down myself, but I underestimated how strong you can be when you're pumped full of adrenaline. I found myself on my back looking up at the disturbing look on your face. You might've saw me as insane, but what I saw was just pure evil. You raised your sword up and thrusted the blade down to my chest. I thought I was done for until..."
"Until what?" Grime questioned, anticipating the answer.
"Anne took the blow for me." Sasha replied.
Again, she took a moment of silence before continuing.
"Either you snapped out of your rage or you noticed the guards closing in. Seeing that you were exhausted from constant fighting and our fight, you made a tactical retreat while leaving your chance to become king and your sword through Anne's back."
"Oh, I remember now." Grime said grimly.
"I didn't run though. I remember holding onto Anne, trying to stop the bleeding while profusely begging her to stay awake. But her wound was far to fatal. Not even the best medic in Newtopia could help her even if they were in close proximity. With her final few breaths, Anne brought her hands to my cheeks, wiping my tears away with her thumbs. She didn't look at me with disappointment or hatred, but a sad smile. And her last words to me... she said... said-"
"I forgive you."
Sasha shut her eyes tightly and grit her teeth to the point where they might shatter as she balled her fists. Grime saw this but didn't say anything. Not an insult, not even encouragement.
"Anne... Marcy... I'm so sorry." Sasha whimpered as a teardrop she tried so hard to keep back slipped through her eyelids.
Grime was patient. Despite his sinful ways, he knew moments like these couldn't be tampered with.
It wasn't long before Sasha relaxed her fists and brought a hand up to wipe the tears from her face, no longer caring that anyone was around.
"After that," she croaked. "I was forced away from Anne and thrown into a cell. I knew that I was to be executed and accepted it already, but that was until Hopediah Plantar had me released from my cell. He took pity on me and was aware of my pain along with Anne's last words, so he took me under his custody and I was spared from death even if I truly deserved it."
"Well, that was rather nice of him." Grime noted to which Sasha chuckled.
"Oh, I wasn't out of the woods yet. I still had to face punishment for my crimes. So instead of having my head chopped off, I was forced into hard labor to make up for my misdeeds. I was given a room in Hop Pop's house and had to help with farm work, repairing buildings, cleaning and even having to go back to Newtopia to help repair any structure or window damaged during the toad attacks. Everywhere I went, everyone either gave me hate-filled glares or just completely ignored me. Hop Pop's own children even despised me because I had a hand in the deaths of Anne & Marcy. But despite having to wake up every day before the sunrise and going to bed when the sky was dark, receiving insults but the townsfolk from all around, and breaking my back just to show how sorry I am; I managed to live through it all with the same motivation I held onto since day one of my punishment. Making you pay!" Sasha boomed, but Grime didn't flinch.
"Every day I imagined the most horrible, wicked torture methods I would use on you if I ever fund you. If I thought of something good enough, I would the try and find a way to make my revenge better! Even as the people of Amphibia managed to finally forgive me, even after I was released from my sentence, and even after the Plantars started to see me as family; I still imagined what I would do to you. So I set up a meeting with General Yunan, who is now the Queen of Newtopia, and told her my ideas of how we would make you suffer for everything you've done. She loved my ideas so much that she invited me to a royal dinner. Soon, the hunt for your head began. My younger self would take most of the credit for going back to your old bases to find clues as to where you could be hiding, but I had some help from Percy and Braddock."
"Percy and Braddock? I haven't seen or heard from those two since they left after we got the hammer! How have they been?" Grime asked, curious.
"They got married at one point and started a family of their own. They... took a lot longer to forgive me after I disregarded their feelings and put them in danger just for that hammer. But they eventually came around and welcomed be back with open arms." Sasha explained as a small smile creeped up, feeling warm thinking of her friends.
"Married? Well good for them. Except for when they willingly snitched on my safehouses." The old toad grumbled.
"To be fair; everyone was out for toad blood and those two were still considered accomplices despite not invading Newtopia, Given how everyone hated me, no one believed me when I told everyone that they were innocent. Percy and Braddock proved that they were good and were given a full pardon by Queen Yunan." Sasha replied.
"Eh, well at least they weren't accused for a crime they didn't commit, I guess." Grime shrugged.
"Back to how I got here; I wanted your head mounted on a wall. Even while attending Sprig's wedding, watching Polly grow into a frog, and the monuments dedicated to Anne and Marcy built in Wartwood & Newtopia; I still thought about you. It haunted my mind for years on end! But that was until one day when I remembered that despite what happened in Newtopia being your plan, I still helped you succeed. Even if I didn't directly kill Anne and Marcy, I still had a hand in their demise. That's when I accepted that I'm just as much of a bad guy as you are because I allowed you to continue and you're not the only one who deserves what's coming to them." said Sasha with a sullen expression.
"I wouldn't say you're as bad as me. You had different intentions when following my plans." Grime interjected.
"Still," Sasha began. "If I has stopped you, then things might've turned out better than they are now. My two best friends would still be alive."
Grime was silent.
"So after years of searching for you, I realized we were thinking too big as to where you were hiding. You're smart enough to find a place where no one would find you, so something obvious like being in a dangerous forest was out the window. You chose the most closed-off part of the forest with the thickest vegetation to hide behind which I correctly assumed." Sasha said proudly.
"Impressive." Grime complimented.
"So I found you here tonight. I managed to convince Sprig to return home 'cause he wanted to kill you for what happened to Anne, but I reminded him of his family which was enough to convince him to stand down. And given how we all guessed you nabbed the calamity box when you escaped Newtopia, I told everyone that I could kill two birds with one stone."
"Well, there's not much killing going on." Grime complained.
"Because there's been enough killings already." Sasha stated tiredly.
Grime cocked his head to the side, interested by her statement.
"I can't take much more bloodshed. I've seen enough of it to last me a lifetime. Everyone believes that war can only end with the enemy bleeding out on the ground, but the only way that this war; our war can truly finish." explained Sasha softly.
"And what way is that?" Grime inquired, the sound of is breathing beginning to sound difficult to manage.
Sasha looked into his eyes with a face full of sorrow. "By being together." she answered.
Grime looked down at his left hand to see Sasha holding it carefully in her grasp.
"I already paid my price for the battle, but the war still rages on inside me knowing that you live. So we're ending this war the same way we started it: Together." she proclaimed.
Grime was quiet when he finally looked up at Sasha with a look that said he understood.
"So you're staying with me until my time comes?" Grime asked to which Sasha nodded.
"You really don't have much longer. You're breathing pattern sounds rough and your chest keeps rising and falling at a quicker pace. I'd say a few more minutes." she replied sadly.
For the first time in his life, Grime didn't disagree with or ignore the knowledge that something is wrong with him. For once, he accepted fate.
"You know? I honestly though I was gonna die alone." he cracked.
Sasha gripped his hand a little tighter.
"You won't. Even with all the atrocities you've committed in life; you still gave me respect. So I'm gonna allow you to leave this life knowing that an ally is by your side." Sasha replied, her eyes moist.
Grime's breathing became more erratic as he tried to form more words.
"You were more than my ally. You were, as you called it, my best friend. And despite my previous goals, having you as a friend was the greatest accomplishment in my life!" Grime spoke as a rare drop of water dripped from his good eye and trailed down his face.
"And... if things would've gone differently... I'd make sure that your friends... lived." The old toad croaked with his breath growing short and his chest lowering.
Sasha laid her head down on Grime's chest and buried her face in the blanket.
"I love you, Grimesy." Sasha spoke quickly.
Grime chuckled at this as he managed to left his left arm and rest it on the back of Sasha's head and awkwardly stroked her hair given his failing nerves.
"My First Lieutenant... it's b-been an h-h-honor... s-serving with y-you." Grime spoke, his speech slurred.
"The honor was all mine." Sasha sobbed.
Satisfied, Grime relaxed as his eyes began to close. He tried to keep them open as much as he could to see Sasha, but he just felt so tired. Finally, his eyelids dropped and his fingers in Sasha's blonde hair stopped moving.
Sasha kept her head on Grime's chest as she felt it move and heard his heartbeat weaken. Maybe it was a few seconds or maybe a minute later until Grime laid motionless without a sound signifying any remaining life in him.
She soon sat up which revealed her red, puffy eyes and quivering lip. Sasha looked at the body of Grime. He looked so peaceful almost a if he was sleeping, but she knew it wasn't the case.
Sasha continued to sit in her chair staring at Grime without making a move. She didn't bother looking for the chest right yet. Instead, her mind was going over memories of her old friends; Anne, Marcy, Percy & Braddock, the Plantars, and General Grime. All who'll forever be in Sasha's heart.
It wasn't until early sunrise when Sasha moved Grime's body outside and proceeded to bury him deep in the ground. It's not a classical or honor-filled funeral that anyone in the army or not would receive, but Sasha believed that Grime deserved a proper burial at least. She even fitted his armor on him so he could be in something familiar while under the dirt.
About half an hour passed before Sasha shoveled the last pile of dirt onto the grave. As a finishing touch to mark Grime's final resting place, Sasha unsheathed his sword and rested the tip on top of the pale and carefully sank the blade down halfway to where the handle is still sticking out for all to see. Though it's not like anyone will come around here anyways. Sasha told everyone the other night that she was gonna give Grime what he deserved; and if the calamity box was with Grime, then she would go home.
Finishing the grave and done paying her respects, Sasha returned to the house in search for what she's been after.
Sasha sat on what was once Grime's bed as she held the calamity box in her hands. All three gems on the top glowed three colors: Pink, Blue, and Green. The three colors that represented Sasha and her friends with Pink representing the strength of yours truly, Green for Wit which belonged to Marcy, and Blue for Anne's heart.
Though it felt like hours and it probably was, Sasha has yet to open the box. Not because she's afraid, but because she doesn't know what will happen.
Will the box even work? It brought Sasha, Anne and Marcy to Amphibia years ago, but can it still transport one person home with the other two absent? And even if it does work, what will home be like?
On the day when the trio were headed for Newtopia just hours before everything went wrong, Marcy was throwing out her speculations that maybe no time has passed at home. So what was at the time 3-4 months in Amphibia is only one second on earth. Sasha didn't really care for Marcy's theories at the time, but she's now wishing that the possibility is true.
But that leads to a new problem: What will Sasha say to her parents, the Boonchuys, and the Wu family about what their children have been through and that two are dead? How would her mom and dad react to seeing their one fourteen-year-old daughter now an adult?
The other possibility is that time on earth and in Amphibia is all the same, but that would mean that she, Marcy and Anne are considered legally dead now. Her parents would have a heart attack after seeing their daughter who supposedly died is now back. And Anne's mom... Sasha doesn't think her old heart can bare the bad news.
Sasha sat the box down next to her and took a deep, calming breath as she weighed her options. That's when she remembered something in her pocket that she has carried with her since Newtopia. She pulled out Anne's old cellphone which she managed to keep charged for years. Knowing Anne's predictable password; Sasha gained access and pulled up a photo that she's far too familiar with.
It was the picture that was taken the day before the battle of Newtopia where there was a music contest in Wartwood. There was every citizen of the small town including a younger Grime. And in the middle was Anne, Sasha and Marcy wearing those dumb suits they wore. But they were all smiling, completely unaware how everything will change in a matter of hours.
Everyday when Sasha was forced to work while under Hop Pop's care, she looked at this photo as her true motivation to do better. To be better.
And every time Sasha looked at the picture, she wished she could've enjoyed that moment while it lasted.
"I miss you guys." Sasha whispered as she glossed her thumb over Anne & Marcy.
She then put the phone away and looked back down at the box, one more picking it up.
No one knows what became of Sasha after Sprig returned to Wartwood and revealed that she wanted to take care of Grime alone.
Though they all knew that Sasha would stay true to her promise and exact justice on the ex-general, no one waned to go see what the outcome. There were talks and gossip over the possible fates that Sasha was met with.
The first is that the Calamity Box was with Grime and Sasha returned home after Grime passed away, and now she must sort out everything at home. Another is that the box wasn't found, so Sasha decided to live out the rest of her days in Grime's cabin alone believing that her business to the people of Amphibia is done. Lastly has Sasha meeting a dark fate as a number of frogs believed that Sasha, still wracked with guilt over Newtopia, took her own life and is now reunited with Anne and Marcy in whatever comes after death.
Everyone wants to believe that the last theory is false and Sasha is okay, but with her not returning and no one desiring to go back to the cabin, only their imagination can fill in the blanks.
Still, regardless of what has become of Sasha Waybright, everyone hopes in their hearts that she has finally found the peace she has long searched for.
The End.