The Wrecker Chapter 6: What's Past Is Past, an amphibia fanfic

Past.

Past the dimly lit orange mushrooms that acted as arrows pointing him to his destination.

Past the moss and trees that decorated this are of the Wartwood forest.

Past the green vines and leaves that acted as a barrier.

And there it was: The Bizarre Bazzar.

A cacophony of sights and sounds. A collection of store vendors and shady dealers offering comfort, pleasure, and riches with a dash of danger thrown into the mix. A place where anyone could find anything… For the right price, and with the right wits.

Those whose tired feet arrive at the Bizarre Bazzar are in for quite an evening of enjoyment.

But The Wrecker was purely business. There was work to be done, and if there was ONE thing his father had taught him that was right, it was that hard work was the path to success. A little elbow grease, and anything could be done.

"And with a little luck, that includes you…", he whispered to the Calamity box, patting it in his backpack. The box hummed eerily as he paced down the bazzar's entrance, eyes peeled for the salamander he needed.

"Skins and pelts! Skins and pelts!", a tiny, sickly green frog with eyes that were almost shut yelled out, the skin of a dead frog shimmering in his hand. Wrecker averted his glance, uneasy with the already crooked feeling the whole place gave him.

A tattoo artist gave a toad gladiator a commemoration of a former battle against a great beast with his snake tool, and Wrecker once more averted his eyes, with the hopes of not being spotted. The toad didn't seem to notice, though, so Wrecker sighed in relief and kept on walking.

A stand offering fresh meat on a stick enticed him for a moment, but his rumbling stomach would have to endure. There were more pressing matters at hand.

Like where the frog was her stand?!

"She's an eccentric one, you'd think her stand would… Stand out!", he said, half amused at his own pun. He wondered if Annie would like those kind of jokes, or if she would react to them like most children did to their father's jokes…

Father…

Wrecker tried to hide his smile. He loved the idea. He wanted nothing more than to run back now to Toad Tower and embrace the girl he loved with his all his heart.

His little angel…

But he had to get this done first. He had to find the stand.

"I'll say, old boy…", a clearly aristocratic toad with a thick bushy beard and a monocle started, before getting whacked on the head by his equally rich newt friend who wore a powdered wig. "Ow! I mean… Quite right. Excuse me, mister…", he put on an accent, and Wrecker raised his eyebrow, very suspicious of the whole matter.

"What seems to be the trouble, gentlemen?", Wrecker asked, doubt laced in his words. The gentleman chuckled agreeably and tried again.

"Well, we was just thinkin' you seem ta be lost, and we thought that maybe you could use some directions!", the toad slurred, and the rich frog that completed the trio, wearing an old automobile driver's costume, added "Yeah, yeah! Lost!"

Wrecker rolled his eyes. He almost missed Tritonio and Pepper.

Still, he could use this for his advantage…

"Why, gentlemen, that's most kind of you, most kind! Perhaps you could lead me towards the restrooms…", Wrecker lied, fluttering his eyelashes.

The toad, frog, and newt all laughed out loud. Perfect! "Why, certainly, it's right down that a way!", the pointed towards leftwards from the luncheon area.

Wrecker shook their hands heartily. "A mighty big thank you, gentlemen, MIGHTY big!", he then skipped along towards the restrooms, looking out for their inevitable tracking down of him.

Hiding behind one of the big outhouses, Wrecker waited perfectly still, and lo and behold there they were, the 3 rich gentlemen, snickering like little children.

"We really fooled him, friends! Today is our day! Let's march towards victory!", the toad stated, and the three all shoved into the toilet. Wrecker than quickly locked the outhouse from outside.

"That should keep them in for long enough. I should be out before they even crack the door.", Wrecker thought, and he whistled easily as the three rich gentlemen began to shout from inside the toilet.

Back in the luncheon, Wrecker could now see a stand that caught his eye, but not for the grand treasures it contained, the untold riches it sold.

The sign said it all, as did the salamander operating the store: Red eyes that sat underneath red eyebrows, contrasting with white locks of hair. Her neck had golden rings around it, and alongside a hood her tail had a glove on it, a third arm always needed in her occupation.

It was her.

It was his past.

Wrecker almost hesitated for a moment, the idea of visiting yet another shameful chapter of his past was not on his iteniary, but the weight of responsibility was not one he just forgot or dropped off.

The box had to be dealt with. And who better than Amphibia's leading archeologist/treasure hunter?

He walked up to the stand, and she didn't need to look to know someone was there. "I am about to break for lunch, so unless you drive a hard bargain, or have some good incense for me, then scram!"

"Long time no see.", was all he had to state.

She looked up, and a small gasp escaped her lips, which then parted into a wide grin. "So, you finally visit me after all these years!"

"…It's only been a week and a half."

"Well it's felt like years!"

Wrecker sighed. "I'm not much for nostalgic reunions."

The salamander laughed. Opening her stores doorway, she gave him a choking embrace and then bowed. "Well, if that's the case, allow me to introduce myself…"

Her eyes glowed. "Valeriana, at your service…"

The Wrecker

Chapter 6:

What's Past Is Past

Grime seemed to always be trying to convince himself that he wasn't what he thought he was.

He wasn't a killer. He wasn't beyond redemption. He wasn't a bad toad.

And for the most part, he had managed to succeed in convincing himself. He was feeling better than he had in a long time, thanks to her.

And thanks to her, he was now also failing to convince himself for the first time.

But he definitely gonna try.

"I don't have a crush, I don't have a crush, I don't have a crush…", he said over and over again, wondering if smashing his head on the wall monotonously would help with the feelings.

He had paced around his quarters so much he had almost burned a hole in the carpet. The swords and daggers that coated every wall, the paintings of battles past, they were all ignored for the small sketch that Grime had drawn of Annie that morning.

Her smile was brighter than all the gold in Toad Tower.

How he longed to be the cause of it.

But he couldn't. He… He couldn't.

Grime sighed and sat down. He wasn't blaming himself for anything, he had gotten past that. Just…

Friends was one thing. Being friends with him, that was possible. That was not too close.

But to love her? To be vowed to her like that? To be bound by fate to her forever?

Grime could have friends. But he couldn't hurt someone he loved. Not again.

That and he was super shy about it.

It was almost funny: He was a prince, he was the heir, the right and true future king of Amphibia. At one point he would need a queen.

But he could barely talk to her NOW. What would a date be like?

Grime shuddered at the thought, but half chuckled at himself. He was probably being silly, and if it weren't for his perpetual fear of hurting her, he would have maybe asked.

But that question would have to remain lodged in his heart, always present but never bubbling to the surface.

"Lieutenant Grime, Sir!", a young soldier came in, a light green toad with small green spots across his body. His golden armor with leather arm bands didn't seem to fit too well. In fact, he seemed completely out of place.

But then again he was 10 years old.

Grime sighed. He was also 10 when he started, but at least you could reason that being the son of the captain meant training would come at a younger age. But this… This was a child in every way.

Whisked off of him home to fight a war he wasn't even aware of.

"What is it, Private…", Grime started, hoping to fish out the boy's name.

"Percy, sir! Private Percy!", he said, laughing at the alliteration for a moment. Grime cracked a small smile. At least the little one was enjoying himself.

"Well, Private Percy, what brings you to my quarters?", Grime asked, before realizing that his picture of Annie was visible, and he hurridly removed it from the wall and stuffed it into his pocket. He smiled sheepishly and leaned on the wall, before falling down.

Dusting himself off, Grime listened to Percy talk. "Well, Ms. Lilipad was apparently wondering if you'd like to see her in a nice part of the forest, just out of Toad Tower."

Grime nearly doubled over. "Annie? She wants what? To see me? ME? SHE WANTS TO SEE ME? HA HA, ME? ARE YOU SURE?!"

Percy blinked twice at this odd behavior. He had heard much awe of the Lieutenant, but this was a little… Different, than what he expected.

"Um, yeah? That's what she said! Specifically, she said "Uh, dude, could you ask if Grime could come over and go out with I MEAN see me in this part of the forest?"

Grime went as red as a ladybug. Another day with Annie and him alone? That would be wonderful, but…

No, no, there was no reason to panic. He wasn't going to ask her out anyway, and she DEFINITELY wasn't going to! This was simply a hang out with a friend! He could do that! He could do that!

"I'll be right there!", Grime said, making an excited motion with his elbow that then hit the wall and dropped all of his weapons and paintings on the floor.

Grime sighed. He was a total mess.

He then smelt his breath. "…Well at least I smell ok!"

After making doubly sure that he was completely presentable and after debating internally for the entire way as to whether he could really give her a boquet of flowers "as a friend", Grime settled for his least terrifying smile ("Curse my weirdly scary teeth! Those braces did NOT help"), and with his heart skipping a beat, he stepped in to the forest, arriving at the clearing where Annie was sitting, her hair gently moved by the breeze.

She turned around and smiled shyly, blushing. She too seemed to have tried to make herself look presentable. Her dirty overalls had apparently been washed, though there were already a few smudges from the grass she was laying on, and there seemed to be a flower in her hair.

"Grime! Hey! Uh, how ya doin'?", she asked, before slipping into the grass. Her hair was now a little messy, and she had a goofy and embarrassed grin as she spat out some leaves.

"…She's perfect.", he thought, hardly believing the angel in front of him.

Realizing he was staring, Grime coughed nervously and, turning pink, sat down next to her.

"I'm… Ok. Better, actually.", he said, reminiscing of their talk the day before. He really did feel a little lighter.

"Great!", Annie beamed, closing her eyes, toothy smile and wrinkling nose.

Grime's heart beat like a marching drum. He had to distract himself. "Um… This is a nice spot."

It was. The wind didn't howl here, the trees didn't reach out for your soul, even the predators kept out of sight.

Annie stared at Grime for a moment as he closed his eyes and appreciated the quiet. He was at peace, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah… It's beautiful…", she thought, admiring him.

Grime then opened his eyes and looked right at her, causing Annie to scream, fall on her back and look like a tomato beast. She coughed awkwardly and resumed her position.

"So… Why did you call me here?", Grime asked, before tracking back, realizing he sounded ungrateful. "I mean, I'm happy you did, I was just wondering why, you know, It's not like I didn't want to come, I'm so happy I did because I love yo… THIS SPOT! THIS SPOT! I LOVE IT!".

Grime fell onto his side, wishing the ground would swallow him. Annie, embarrassed but knowing that it would make him feel better, side hugged Grime, which made him blush somehow harder. "I just… Well… I mean, I wanted you to come and all, but also…"

Sure, she had only known him for a day, but Grime was more than just someone who had saved her like Wrecker. Grime had been her first real friend since Marsh Pond had been destroyed (excepting Peter). Grime had been supportive and open to who she was. Those were all things she shared with other friends, true, but…

Grime also understood her pain.

More than even Wrecker, Grime shared that… That fear. That fear of being lost, of not being good enough. He got it. He got her pain.

And he still loved her. Despite being… Well…

Nothing.

Perhaps that was the main reason. Wrecker would have always loved her, it was in his nature to love. But Grime? He had no real obligation to, yet here he was, hanging out with her, despite how different they were, despite his father's wishes (at least, she thought).

Grime was her friend, even though she was just… Annie.

But despite all that she couldn't choke out the question she wanted to ask. "Oh, um, it's nothing."

"Oh. Ok.", Grime responded, confused, and he turned back to her side to see her looking away, seemingly saddened.

They sat there for a moment, silent, words that begged to be uttered left in the halls of their minds.

Grime wished he could make her feel better. Every time he saw her feeling down it hurt more than every gladiator battle he had undertaken. "I must think of something… But what?"

Grime thought back to when he was a child, and was having a hard day. His mother would cook him something special. She'd smile and tell him things would get better. And when he ate her cooking he felt…

Loved.

Well, if it made someone like Grime happy, it surely would make Annie happy!, he thought. And while he couldn't cook to save his life, he did know a nice place in Toad Town…

"Say, Annie…", he started carefully, not wanting to insinuate anything. He knew that would only hurt his plan.

Annie Looked up, curious. Why was he nervous?

"I know this really nice place near the edge of town, they make the best Beetle Burgers (at least, so I was told, I order their salads) and well, I thought maybe you would like that, so…"

Oh. Oh my Frog. Annie couldn't believe her luck! She didn't need to ask anything! He… He actually wanted to? To go? With her?

No, no, she couldn't jump to conclusions. Despite how hard her heart was beating she would have to bite her tongue and pretend it was just a hang out, and survey the landscape.

Or… She could hint at it?

Annie grinned super hard, still dumbfounded that this toad of all toads might be interested in silly old her, and she scoped him up into a huge embrace, making Grime panic a little. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"

"Um… You're welcome?", Grime said, a little flustered, as Annie dropped him and began to jump up and down.

"Oh frog, I need to get changed, and get a shower, I mean, um, as I always do, heh heh.", Annie lied, and she began to hop out of the forest before looking back, heart in her chest, and flirtatiously wink. "See ya tonight. It's a date."

Grime's heart wasn't in his chest because it stopped. When he came to, he realized that he had asked Annie out.

On a date.

"Oh fuck."

"Tea or Coffee? Or would you rather something a little… Stronger?", Valeriana asked, a saucy grin on her face as she laid down two saucers in the secret room in her stand. It looked less like her tent and more like a mini kitchen-dining room, surprisingly bigger than the tent itself, though you would never have been able to tell from the size of the miniscule door.

Wrecker stared at her blankly, his business face most definitely on. "Water will do fine." His gloves were clenched, his costume that still displayed tears and holes looking worn down from the last week or so.

Valeriana let out her customary loud and hearty laugh, and Wrecker instinctively looked back to see if anyone heard them. He scowled at the salamander, who wiped away a tear. "Some things never change, huh?"

Wrecker was at least grateful that he could hear that without feeling too much guilt. He knew he had changed, but there was no time to rest on his laurels. "Valeriana, I need you to take this seriously."

Valeriana nodded her head, still smiling, and said "Ok, ok. I'll spare you my fond memories. What's so important?"

Wrecker settled himself into his seat, preparing his explanation. He couldn't suppress a small smile though as he thought of Annie. "Well, see, there's this little girl, my daughter, if you will…"

"And here I thought you'd fool around with me.", Valeriana joked and Wrecker nearly died. "I DIDN'T FOOL AROUND I ADOPTED HER!"

"Yeah, you would do that.", Valeriana smirked and Wrecker frowned. "If you're done pretending you know everything about me?"

"Proceed."

Wrecker took a deep breath and continued, as he unlatched his backpack and placed it on the table. "Well, when I found the little girl, I also found something a lot less adorable."

"And I assume those are not pictures of Captain Muck's crown jewels.", Valeriana commented, and Wrecker shook his head in annoyance and, carefully removed the Calamity Box.

"No… It's something way worse."

In less than a second, Valerian's eyes widened, her smirk disappeared, and she shoved the box back in to the backpack, whisking Wrecker away to the front of her store.

Wrecker, disoriented, said "So it's as bad as I thought?"

"Worse than you can imagine.", Valeriana shot back, seeing if the coast was clear.

"I can imagine a lot."

"Not like this."

Valeriana left her tent with Wrecker and the two began to rush towards the exit, Valeriana's face fully focused on the task ahead. "I wish you had told me sooner. If we're lucky, no one has followed you because if so…"

"Well, well, well…"

Valeriana sighed wearily and Wrecker too groaned when he saw who the unwanted visitors were.

"I thought I got rid of you idiots!", Wrecker complained, but the rich toad, frog and newt were unfortunately there, curling their moustaches as if that weren't a cliché back then.

"Bet you didn't expect us!", The frog pronounced, and the toad and newt tittered while the newt butler sighed at this behavior. "Just a little more until retirement, Matt."

Wrecker and Valeriana exchanged odd glances. "You know, I expected you to have cooler archenemies, old friend.", she teased.

"I just told you I thought I got rid of you! Who are you bozos anyway?", Wrecker asked, hoping that whatever they were looking for wasn't…

"Why, we're the thieves who will steal your box!", The rich salamander bragged, while the rich Toad shoved him aside to take center stage. "Yes, now be good little sports and hand it over!"

"What box?", Wrecker feigned ignorance, and Valeriana too put on a quizzical look, but it was of no use.

"You think we're stupid?", the thieves started, and Valeriana said "Do you really want that answered?"

The toad brushed past that. "We were in Wartwood when we heard tale of a frog named Wrecker and his all powerful box. And if the toad army wants it, it must sell well in the bazzar!"

"So a bunch of rich assholes want it now? I guess that's new.", Wrecker said, Valeriana in the meanwhile planning a possible escape route. She knew better than Wrecker how truly dangerous the box was. These guys were a non threat, really, but time was still of essence. If she could waste a little more of it…

"Pray tell, what gave you the novel idea of being even richer?", Valeriana asked, batting her eyelashes. Wrecker nearly smirked; she was adept at acting.

"Our tale is truly an inspiring one, m'lady!", the toad said, and the salamander broke in. "We were going to a costume party when we heard of the box!"

"So we took on the identity of the world's greatest thief!", the Frog chimed in, and Wrecker's eyes widened. The costumes? The haughty attitude?

"No… Don't tell me you're…"

"TRITONIO THE TERRIBLE TRAIN THIEF!", Each one stated proudly, and Wrecker felt like smashing his head on any available surface. The toad was fat enough, maybe that would work.

"Wait, isn't that a play about a gentleman thief? He surely wouldn't appreciate copy cats!", Valeriana asked, confused. Tritonio was a good friend, too, he surely carried enough respect and fear to stop anyone from taking his name.

"Oh no, see, the original was murdered by his partner who replaced him around about 17 years ago, and then that guy died yesterday from a friend of mine.", Wrecker filled her in.

"…What?", Valeriana asked, mind boggled.

Wrecker shrugged, not knowing how to deal with this sort of shit anymore.

"Well, now having blown your mind with our amazing story, do give us the box. Clock is ticking, you know?", the toad said, and the three thieves presented their open palms. The butler rolled his eyes and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Over my dead body!", Wrecker shouted, and Valeriana nudged him. "No need for dramatics, just follow me!"

"Then I really will be a dead body.", Wrecker sassed, but Valeriana pulled him away anyway, and the two began to run, the three tritonios realizing there was a chase on.

"Quickly! Carry us, Mark!", the toad shouted, and Mark the Butler, refusing to accept this was his reality, carried all 3 heavy men on his back and began to pursue Wrecker and Valeriana.

Entering the cafeteria, Wrecker and Valeriana hopped one each one, plates of food and expensive drinks flying everywhere. They had to dodge some sharp utensils too.

"THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SHORT VISIT!", Wrecker whined, annoyed, backflipping onto a stand's top and running from one to the next, wood nearly collapsing from each step, Valeriana laughing her ass off at the chaos.

"It's never that easy! It's just like old times!", she grinned.

Wrecker frowned, a stab of pain in his heart. "Clearly, you and I remember those times very differently…"

25 Years Ago…

"Why have you called me up here, Captain?"

Wrecker, now in his 5th year as a toad soldier, before he had learned of all the horrors, of all the evil, stood in obedience to his king, saluting as hard as he could. The Captain's room was larger than life, like the captain himself. Wrecker almost wondered if the collection of weapons would fall and end him at any moment. The room was also compressed, giving off a claustrophobic feeling.

Captain Muck enjoyed watching the soldier squirm. He had to feel like one wrong move, and he would surely die. It was the truth, after all.

Putting on a fatherly tone, Muck let out a fake laugh that boomed across the room, nearly defeaning Wrecker. "At ease, Wrecker! At ease!"

Wrecker sighed in relief and sat down on the lonely chair, as Muck turned around to gaze at his kingdom once more. "Do you know why I called you here?"

"All they said was that it was top secret.", Wrecker said, almost proud but also surprised that he had been chosen.

"I bet you want to know what your mission is.", Muck said, turning wistful and distant as he stared outside.

"Almost as much as I want to know why you chose me.", Wrecker exclaimed, and Muck let out a quiet laugh. Of course he had chosen him! A loyal, blind youngster! Who else?

Who else to ensure Amphibia would be saved from the muck of the world?

He turned back and presented Wrecker with an old and dusty map, one that presented the insides of what seemed to be…

"A temple. In this ancient cavern there should lie the key to saving this land."

"And you trust me with that?", Wrecker asked, shocked.

Muck grinned in anticipation. "I trust you with this land's very safety. Success will ensure that you go down as the greatest hero in Amphibia history! Imagine it."

"I could… I could justify myself…", Wrecker thought, and he nodded heartily. "I'll do it!"

"Great!", Muck cheered, and he sent him on his way. "You will meet a salamander there. She will help you cross the temple."

Wrecker's eyes lit up. A partner would surely counteract his horrible luck! This was only getting better and better!

"What's her name?", Wrecker asked.

"VALERIANA!

The now younger salamander woman swiveled her head towards the exit, the bright orange lights bathing her skin. "Just a minute! I've got something VERY important to do!"

She then turned back to her mission and scowled. "Come on, just one more…"

Her outreached hand grabbed her target…

And she downed the entire bottle, threw it on the ground, and wiped her mouth.

Her rival, a now very drunk male salamander, made a "no more" sign with his hands before fainting onto the floor, causing a small tremor. The tremor rose when the entire bar erupted in wild, intoxicated cheers.

"Valeriana! Valeriana! Valeriana!", they crowed while she bowed on the bartable, flexing her body.

"Yeah! All right! I'm here every Thursday!", she announced, clicking her tongue flirtatiously at one of the female patrons, before backflipping off the table and lifting the nearly unconscious drunk.

She lightly kissed his forehead. "For being a good sport. And for having a GREAT ass!"

Laughing, she swayed her hips and left the bar, before coming face to face with…

"We're on an important mission from Captain Muck himself, lady! We're not here to… Lolygag!", Wrecker complained, disapproving of the salmander's behavior. This quest was vital to the safety of the whole land! He couldn't fail like always! Just this once, he had to give something back.

Valeriana laughed mockingly and nudged Wrecer in the chest. "Damn, how old are you, grandpa?"

"35."

"…"

Valeriana shook her head in disbelief at the wet blanket they sent her, and they set off to the temple at the end of the road, the barside attraction now a way off behind them.

Outside of those two buildings, however, there was nothing else coasting the landscape. There wasn't even sand. Just a barren path of ash and dust. Whatever civilization there had once been there had gone up in smoke.

Wrecker coughed to clear his lungs, while Valeriana looked inside one of her journals, flipping through page after messy page. As they reached the temple, the page flipping turned more erratic.

"Where's the door?", Wrecker asked, knocking on the temple's barren front with curiosity. Perhaps it required some sort of sensory input?

"Hidden from unwanted guests like us. That's why I was hired. Didn't you know?", she asked, as if he were a forgetful idiot.

"I was only told I had to succeed in this mission if I wanted to keep this world safe, so less insultin' and more flippin'.", Wrecker bit back, a little annoyed. What was this woman's problem?

"I want to see you find the exact dead language with the exact description of the exact temple when there are hundreds of them.". Valeriana stuck out her tongue, while Wrecker couldn't help but peek.

"You know, we'd figure out the way in faster if you would slow down. There's no way you can read that fast.", Wrecker advised, not out of insult, but Valeriana didn't see it like that.

"No offence, short, orange and whiney, but I think that I know exactly what I'm…", Valeriana started, before noticing she had gone through the entire book. Muttering under her breath about "Upstart toad soldiers", she scanned more carefully while Wrecker sat down on the ground and waited.

"You know, drinking too much can be dangerous.", Wrecker suddenly informed, startling Valeriana for a moment, who laughed in disbelief.

"Of all the toad soldiers in the world they send me the dorky dad. What's next? Don't slouch, you'll hurt your back?"

Wrecker bit his tongue and ignored her posture.

"Look, I just think that temples have crazy traps, if you're disoriented you could get hurt. Maybe it's better I do it."

Valeriana rolled her eyes, though she didn't hate the gesture. "That's sweet, lover boy, but I'll be fine. I think the real question is will you be fine? You seem to be afraid of your own shadow, you're so nervous! Why do they even call you "The Wrecker"?"

Wrecker's breath hitched, and he looked down on the ground. "I… Well, there's no real reason…", he muttered, avoiding her eyes.

Valeriana stood up suddenly and walked up to the front of the temple. "Well, then, there better be some reason, because we're entering the belly of the beast."

She tapped certain patterns on the front, and suddenly the temple's tiles began to disassemble, revealing an entrance shrouded in darkness.

"Well, what do you know? You're leading.", Valeriana said, pointing at her journal.

Wrecker scoffed, not knowing what to think of this woman. "We're not keeping score."

"Then at least you won't be shattered when I kick your ass!", Valeriana bragged, and she raced down the temple, Wrecker nearly having a heart attack when she did.

He bolted after her, his eyes darting around for any trap or obstacle that could skewer them both. The dusty tiles and cobweb filled walls weren't properly illuminated, however, which made Wrecker even more worried.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!", Wrecker echoed as Valeriana reached the first real challenge, a missing part of the temple floor that led all the way down, with the only escape being a lonely vine.

"No, I'm winning!", Valeriana joked, grabbing onto the vine and swinging perfectly over to the other corner, before going down on one knee. "Oh, ow, my knee…", she uttered, closing her eyes.

"See, what did I say?!", Wrecker scolded, and carefully calculating the distance between the two edges, swung slowly and surely onto the other side, pebbles rolling off into the pit and not making a sound.

Wrecker gulped as he knelt down next to Valeriana, taking out some medical aid from his backpack. "Here, let me take care of that."

"You do that, I'll take care of WINNING!", she crowed, getting right back up and running as if nothing had happened. Wrecker stomped his foot. "COME ON!"

The chase was on again, and past hall after hall of hidden secrets and runes they ran, the echoing footsteps making Wrecker think someone was after them. He prayed that whatever the key to winning was, it would be at the end of the temple, and definitely not something that would try to kill them.

"If you're going to get yourself killed, could you at least slow down? I'm not so fit!", Wrecker said, despite showing no signs of slowing down.

"I'd say you fit second place really well, actually!", Valeriana joked again, as they reached the second obstacle, a maze of pressure point tiles. Stepping on the wrong one could set you on fire, cover you with ravenous bugs, or impale you with spikes.

Wrecker had no idea what to step on first. Valeriana however just started to leap from one to the next, eyes closed, moving precisely and slowly, but still dangerously.

"HOW HAVE YOU LIVED THIS LONG?!", Wrecker asked in shock and disbelief as he tried to follow her pattern, narrowly avoiding a burst of flame and a fleet of shurikans.

"How have you ever lived with that attitude?", Valeriana shot back, and Wrecker wished he could say it was for no good reason.

But he knew that unless he succeeded in this mission, he'd always have no good reason for living.

Valeriana then stopped for air, and Wrecker stopped next to her. He offered her from the water bottle in his backpack, the liquid flowing down from the tip.

"I'm not just saying it, you are so high strung!"

"Better safe than sorry. I've made enough mistakes."

"And clearly not enough pleasant memores.", Valeriana retorted, before pointing behind her.

"Look. Monster. Aaaaa."

Wrecker couldn't help but look, and of course there was nothing behind him, and now to the right of him, because Valeriana was off once more.

Wrecker sighed wearily and set off after her.

Making two rights and a left, they finally reached the final obstacle: A golden, jewel encrusted door that was near blinding was blocked by swinging roof axes, whirring saw wheels, and falling anvils. Valeriana looked back and chuckled. "I bet I'll get there first!"

"No, stop! You are gonna get yourself killed!", Wrecker shouted, tired of this madness. Why was she like this? Didn't she realize how important this was? This was no time for games!

"All right then, Mr. Smarty pants: Show me how you do it.", Valeriana said, leaning on the wall and whistling a tune.

Wrecker straightened his hood and cleared his throat. "Don't mind if I do!"

Then, moving as methodically as possible, Wrecker passed the entire room without even a scratch on his person. He glided through with complete precision, almost like he was walking through any old room. As he turned around, he tapped his foot. "See? Was that so hard?"

Valeriana smirking, then scaled the walls and passed the obstacles without even getting near them. She landed on her two feet with a thud in front of a flabbergasted Wrecker, who sputtered out his confusion.

"I-Wha-I-Um-Wha-Wha-What?!", Wrecker stuttered incredulously, and Valeriana showed him her journal.

"I may never have been here but I know the temple inside and out. But seeing as you passed the obstacle first, you won our little game."

Wrecker at first was totally lost. What was the point of it all? Then, as he thought to her previous statements, he realized:

She had just wanted him to enjoy himself.

A shadow of a smile rose on his lips. "Well played."

"Right back at ya.", Valeriana winked, and the two stared at the door that separated them from the key to victory. The door seemed to hum almost, its presence awe inspiring. Behind it, what could possibly lay?

"Could it be that after this, I could begin to live?", Wrecker thought, and with visible excitement, he pushed the doors open…

And therein laid nothing.

Really, truly nothing. Not even an empty stand for where an artifact could be. In fact, outside of the tiles and the walls and the roof, it didn't seem like anything had ever occupied the empty space.

Wrecker's heart sank while Valeriana shrugged and turned around. Wrecker stared at her in disbelief. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Well, it's clearly not here."

"So we failed! What are we gonna do now?!", Wrecker asked, feeling hopeless once more.

"Wrecker, did Muck…"

"Captain Muck."

Valeriana rolled her eyes. "Did "Captain" Muck not tell you? There are many possible locations for our secret treasure! This is just the first! In about 6 months they'll probably send us to some tribe in the mountains or something."

Wrecker was surprised by this crucial omission, but at least he felt a little better. Sure, he failed, but he had a few more chances. That was… Rare, for him.

"Well, then, guess this is goodbye! See ya in like half a year or whatever!", Valeriana bid him farewell, and she began to scale the walls.

"Uh, wait!", Wrecker suddenly said before he could think. As Valeriana turned, Wrecker realized that he had done something he had not done in years.

He had had fun.

"…Technically I didn't win this since you let me. That means I'm only leading by one point. You could still catch up… If you want to, of course, I don't mean to…", Wrecker backtracked, feeling like a total idiot, but Valeriana simply chuckled and, landing in front of him, nodded.

"You any good at darts?"

"…Wouldn't know."

"Then let's find out.", she winked, and for the first time in years, Wrecker spent an evening happy he was still alive…

"How much hair gel is too much hair gel?", Grime asked, covering his head with a fourth bottle.

"…Sir, you're bald.", Percy replied, confused by what seemed to be erratic behavior by his commanding officer. He had been told that Grime was the toughest warrior around but now he seemed all too… Normal. Like him.

He didn't hate it, though.

"Oh, right.", Grime laughed sheepishly, now wondering if the gel would give off a bad scent. He didn't want to ruin the date…

Dear toad, the date.

How did this happen? How had he gotten himself here? He hadn't intended too, honest, yet here he was, dating the frog of his dreams.

Perhaps it was too soon to say that. They really had only just met. But… She made him feel something no one else could make him feel.

Safe.

He had to make this right, even if he hadn't meant to ask her out. She deserved it. "Private Percy… Percy", he rerouted, deciding to disregard the military rank someone Percy's age should never have had. "Can I ask you a question, man to man?"

"Um, sure thing, sir!", Percy saluted obediently, and Grime lowered his hand with a warm glance.

"At ease, Percy. It's Grime."

Percy had never even considered the notion of calling his commander by his first name, but his commander had told him to do so. That could be an order.

"Sure thing, G…Grime!", Percy responded, and Grime sat down on one of his two chairs, and invited Percy to sit on the other one.

"They didn't teach this in the academy.", Percy thought, as he stepped closer to the war room and sat on the other wooden stool. It was hard and uncomfortable, but Percy didn't mind too much.

Grime opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, trying to find the bravery in himself to phrase his question.

"How would you… How would you make a girl happy? On a date?"

Percy scratched his chin in thought, unsure. He had never been on a date. He DID have his eyes on a certain toad he had been drafted alongside with however. If he were to try and win her over, what would he do?

Percy snapped his fingers in realization and leapt out of his seat. "You're in luck, Grime! The surefire way to a girl's heart is with jokes!"

"Jokes?", Grime asked, confused. He didn't know too many of those.

"Yeah, jokes! Making a girl laugh is the best way to make her like you! You should have seen me with the angel in my division!", Percy explained, his eyes sparkling at the thought of her…

"Hey, um…", Percy started, and the girl who was next to him in sword fighting practice turned and smiled.

"Braddock!"

"Yes, uh, Braddock! Guess what?"

"What?"

"Maggot Butt!"

"So classy…", Percy sighed, and Grime scratched his chin.

"It's worth a try! I like her laugh…", Grime admitted, blushing and smiling at the sound of her laughter ringing in his ears.

"Great!", Percy said, slamming his fist in his palm. "Hit me with one!"

Grime wracked his brain for a joke, any joke. His fists clenched and then he lit up.

"Ah, yes! One of the corporals told me this one a week ago, it's supposed to be brand new!", Grime enthused, and he cleared his throat. "Why did the snail cross the road? To get to the other side!"

Grime started laughing, and Percy was as silent as the infinite space. Finally, when Grime stopped, Percy put his hand on Grime's shoulder, and in his gentlest voice, said "Grime… That joke fucking sucks balls."

"Wow, the intensive cursing course is effective on you young ones."

"But don't worry, Grime!", Percy encouraged, leaping off the chair and showing his joke book from a pocket in his armor. "I will teach you!"

Grime nodded enthusiastically. He had to make Annie happy, he had too!

"I bet she's having an easy time preparing. All she has to do is exist to be perfect.", he thought, sighing.

"Oh my frog I've never been on a date before! What do I say? What do I wear? What is the square root of 2134?", Annie shouted out in a panic.

"I wouldn't know, I wouldn't know, and 46.1952378498.", Braddock, another 10 year old toad soldier, replied, as Annie paced around in her guest room/Wrecker's barracks.

Braddock scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "To be honest, not sure why you asked me for advice."

"You were the first person I saw!", Annie shouted, before she sunk into the floor. "I… I wasn't even gonna ask! I mean, me and him? Yeah, that's funny!"

"You only met two days ago…", Braddock pointed out, and Annie nodded.

"I mean, I KNOW I like him a lot already! He's sweet, and he's caring, and he's kind of swole, ya know?", Annie admitted, her cheeks heating up, before she shook her head in denial. "But I mean, he's LIEUTENANT GRIME! I'm just…"

She slumped to the tiles. "…Me…"

Braddock went to Annie and shook her face from side to side. "Ms. Lilypad, take control of yourself! You can't think like that! Lieutenant Grime asked you out! You have to make a good impression!"

"You're right! For whatever reason, he likes me! I gotta make sure that's earned!", Annie resolved, before giving Braddock a blank stare. "…How?"

"Well, let's see...", Braddock thought hard. She was always told that boys wanted to find the perfect girl…

"Mom always tells me that boys like a girl who's nice, smiles a lot, laughs at all their jokes and doesn't talk too much!", Braddock informed, and Annie tapped her chin in thought.

"That DOES sound like stuff I heard moms around my town say! If I do that, Grime is sure to like me!", Annie stated, excited. She wasn't too excited about what she HAD to do, but if it meant Grime would find her worthy, she was willing to make sacrifices.

"All right, then, Braddock! Teach me!", Annie ordered, pointing up in the air, and Braddock squeed. "You're gonna have the best date ever!"

"I am not having a good time!", Wrecker called out as he ducked, a shuffleboard puck nearly hitting him square in the teeth. Valeriana grabbed it in mid air and swung it towards the three Tritonios. "Well, I'm definitely improving my pitching arm!", Valeriana joked.

"Actually, you don't throw the puck in Shuffleboard.", The referee explained, marking her throw as a foul.

"Spoilsport.", Valeriana complained.

The Puck knocked out the Toad Tritonio, while the Newt Tritonio effortlessly skipped it. He twiddled his fake moustache. "Am I not clever?"

"You're not.", Wrecker shot back, as he leapt over each shuffleboard stick in the way while walking backwards.

"Two can play that game!", The Frog Tritonio called, and he attempted to follow, but got hit in the balls over and over again.

Valeriana, attempting the move too but succeeding easily, grabbed the backpack from Wrecker and dashed past the shuffleboard course, searching for a hiding spot.

Wrecker was surprised by the intensity in her eyes. As he tried to catch his breath, he tried to remember if he had ever seen her this serious, but he could only recall one time.

And he preferred to not remember that time.

"So what are you not telling me about this box?", Wrecker asked. "If you try to pawn this off, I'm going to have to call this partnership off."

"Surely you know me better than that. All I can say is that this box needs to be taken to my hiding place this instant. But we have to get rid of these bozo's first."

"Got it! At least one of them is down so far!", Wrecker pointed out, and the two stared back at the Frog Tritonio, who was surrounded by the Toad Tritonio, the Newt Tritonio, and the servant.

"Are you going to be ok?", they asked, a little worry flashing on their faces.

"Sure, guys! It's not like getting hit in the balls this hard could…", he started, before suddenly choking and dying.

"…Oh well.", they said, and they ran off to catch up to Wrecker.

"…I regret coming here.", Wrecker dryly commented, and Valeriana took his hand and dragged him towards the house of mirrors. "You really know how to make a gal feel appreciated. I know it's only been a week and a half, but it's like you haven't missed me at all!"

"I've been facing my past a lot recently, forgive my reluctance.", Wrecker shot back, as they crouched behind one of the mirrors, hoping the Tritonio's were dumb enough to miss that they had entered. So far, so good.

"It wasn't all bad.", Valeriana commented, and Wrecker stared back. "There were good times. We weren't just partners, you know?"

Wrecker sighed and bit his lip. "Don't you think I know that? But every time we worked together, shit went down."

Valeriana sighed as well and shook her head. "You know, sometimes shit has to go down for it to stop going down. Like in Coral Center."

Wrecker's heart skipped a beat, and try as he might, he couldn't help but think of that adventure, and how it had brought him and Valeriana closer…

"So this room doesn't have the treasure as well?", Valeriana asked the toad guards she was standing next to as they left a room, no, a mini-palace almost of magical artifacts, a tremendous trove of treasures. The shining glint remained in Valeriana's eyes just for a moment as she turned to the guards in puzzlement.

"You know, 10 years of looking for something when I don't even know what it is can get tiring. Maybe you can just give me a hint? What does it smell like? Taste like? Bet it tastes like beetles. Everything fucking does."

The guards kept their blank stares. Valeriana grumbled. "Anyone there?"

Suddenly the door to the hall of treasures opened and Wrecker walked in, trying to remove his hand from someone else's, looking quite uncomfortable. "Oh, would you look at the time, Princess! I REALLY must be goin'!"

"All right, handsome! But don't keep me waiting too long!", the sultry sea lady purred, and she sensually winked before leaving, her tail shaking behind her. Wrecker, breathing a sigh of relief, shut the door slowly, and turned to find Valeriana smirking right in front of him, her eyebrows wiggling.

"My, my, all that water around us and she's still thirsty?"

Wrecker blushed heavily and shook his head fast. "Valeriana, shush! The Princess and I are not like that!". He brushed past her to stare into the last treasure room, awe struck by the size of the golden door, so tall it cast a looming shadow on his small self.

"Wrecker, we've been in this underwater city for only 3 days and she's slobbering all over you like me when I see a salmon! At the very least she is interested! Why are you not? You swing the other way?", she asked, making conversation while leaning on a suit of armor that collapsed, releasing a barrage of bubbles to the surface.

"Oh, no, I find her quite attractive.", Wrecker replied, but he was already ducking into the other room, and Valeriana followed, confused.

"Wait, so how come aren't you going for her? I'll tell ya, I'd be all over that if I didn't respect you."

Wrecker allowed himself a little smile, muttering "I wish you were all over her."

Valeriana didn't hear what he had said, however, and the two couldn't think about the princess anymore either; the room was more mesmerizing than the last few combined! Fountains spouting golden coins, lavish watercolor paintings that stirred the soul, and the most amazing collection of tridents in all of Amphibia, and that was just the first floor!

"Oh my frog…", Wrecker breathed out, and Valeriana joined in with a whistle of approval. "Man, even if we still can't find what Muck wants, at least we get to see this!"

"Captain."

"Whatever."

She smirked at Wrecker while grabbing one of the tridents and twirling it around. "I'd say this beats the Dread Pirate Mog's ship."

"I wouldn't go so far. But at least we're not being cooked by cannibals. They should stop being so obvious!", Wrecker remarked, and Valeriana nodded. "Maybe they should start an inn? I would fall for that.", she asked.

"Perhaps!", Wrecker chuckled, and the two continued their search, the toad guards shaking their heads at everything Wrecker and Valeriana pointed out. As they got through each weapon and artifact, Valeriana kept making small talk about the Princess' interest in Wrecker.

"She was really embarrassing at dinner! I mean, really? Asking to feed you? How sad can you get?"

Wrecker nervously laughed, shrugging. "I guess I'm irresistible!"

"In your dreams!", Valeriana nudged him, and Wrecker had to agree.

Picking up the world's smallest telescope and looking at the ceiling through it, she asked "So I'm guessing you're shy?"

"What?", Wrecker asked, confounded, as he lifted a giant seaweed axe.

Valeriana nodded as she looked at him through the telescope. "I can see it: The uncertainty, the hormones. It's adorable, but also pathetic. What you need is a wingwoman! Let me smooth talk a little bit, and I could land you a date in 5 seconds flat!"

Wrecker would have appreciated the gesture another time, but he had to reject. "Valeriana, look, that's really nice of you…"

"No, it's really COOL of me. Don't mistake my brand for nice. I'm a bad girl, not some loser."

Wrecker groaned and turned around, annoyed. "Look, I am not telling you why I am not interested and that's final!"

Valeriana was surprised by the sudden snap, and raised her eyebrow suspiciously. "Ok, look, I'm sorry, but like, we're friends, you know? You can tell me."

Wrecker said nothing, but he felt a fire inside him again. He just had to go and do it, didn't he?

"…Oh I see. Ok. I mean, I only saved your life a million times. I see you don't want to contribute anything, though."

Valeriana knew she was being harsh, but it still hurt. She turned her back on Wrecker, scowling. "Ten years mean nothing to you? You too good for me?"

Wrecker cursed inwardly. Frog, he couldn't do anything right! He couldn't just leave it like that. She deserved at least an explanation as to why he was such an asshole.

Turning around, he found the floor very interesting. "Valeriana…"

BOOM!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the floor shook and both Valeriana and Wrecker fell to the floor, precious jewels shattering besides them. Wrecker stared at his reflection from one of the shards. He sighed.

"We need to get out, now!", the guards ordered, and with precision and speed, they dragged Wrecker and Valeriana out of the room and into the inner palace. Sounds of crashing indicated the treasure room was not gonna last much longer.

"What is going on?", Valriana asked, showing an amount of seriousness Wrecker was not used to from her. He nodded, though, wondering what was attacking them.

They burst into the throne room, where the king's guard were already swimming outside to meet the enemy forces. The King, a tall frog-newt hybrid with a white beard that tickled his toes and a Hawaiian shirt that made his biceps look even tighter gave them a very serious stare. "My friends, you better find a safe spot to hide in! The sharks have attacked, and they will not be negotiated with!"

Wrecker and Valeriana looked at each other and then at the king. They weren't like that. At least, they hoped they weren't.

"No one is dying today, your highness.", Valeriana promised, and Wrecker, praying he wouldn't let these good people down, added "I will make sure no one… No one important gets hurt. I promise."

The King smiled kindly at them, eyes shining. "I am touched. Please be careful, though. Those sharks take no prisoners."

Wrecker and Valeriana nodded, and they swam out with fresh new tridents in a matter of moments, ready for battle. While they had only been in the kingdom 3 days, Wrecker and Valeriana would have risked their lives for people they had met 5 seconds ago.

It was how they rolled.

Fragments of wall, chunks of rock, and golden chandeliers were falling every which way as the duo kept on swimming to their targets, two great white sharks that were colliding into the palace over and over again. Members of the Royal Guard were already fighting them, but it seemed to have little to no effect, as the sharks were already tearing off limbs.

Wrecker gritted his teeth. "Let's kick their ass."

"Right behind ya."

Swooshing in, two tridents sliced the first great white's right fin, and bleeding heavily, it already began to swim around wildly. Valeriana followed that one while Wrecker tangled with the first one.

Over and over the sharks opened their gigantic mouths to swallow the two, but they were quicker and sharper, using their tridents to block the incisors and stab the gums of the sharks. Blood was everywhere, and Wrecker and Valeriana were struggling to reach their real target: the nose.

They still had time to banter, however, as Wrecker and Valeriana switched places to confuse the sharks, and Wrecker charged in with no fear into the shark's mouth to stab its tongue.

"Such confidence! If you could only channel such commitment to the princess. Or to your partner."

"Trust me, I don't need help with guilt tripping."

"An extra helping never killed nobody."

"You are killing me with this conversation."

"Is this what we are? Just banter? You know, I was dumb enough to grow to care for you, for some bloody reason, you could at least prove to me you do too!", Valeriana shouted, getting a little red in the face. Wrecker began to open his mouth to respond when WHAM! A shark tail knocked him onto the ground, his head reeling with pain.

"Wrecker!", Valeriana called out in concern, and she began to barrage the sharks with her trident. Strike after strike of cold metal pierced the predator's skins, Valeriana's rage impossible to contain at first. One of the sharks swam away after the trident hit an eye, but the other shark was relentless as well, and kept on trying to eat Valeriana, while also smashing into the castle like he was before.

Wrecker shook himself from his stupor to see Valeriana struggle with the shark, and, mind racing from what she had just told him, he swam up to it in full speed, trident aimed directly at the shark's nose.

Valeriana was getting tired for once, and her vision was blurry. She wasn't sure how long she could keep this up. Slowly, she began to lower her guard, and the great white unhurled it's mighty jaw…

And BAM! With a strike so loud you could hear it from the surface, Wrecker destroyed the shark's nose, sending blood and shark tissue everywhere. The shark swam off screaming, and Wrecker, breathing heavily, went over to the still tired Valeriana and carried her back down to the palace.

The treasure room was destroyed. Not every room, but the last one Wrecker and Valeriana were supposed to investigate. "Now we'll never know if the key was there!", Wrecker moaned, but the toad guards shook their heads. "Trust us, if the key was there, we'd know."

Wrecker and Valeriana exchanged a confused look, before reverting into awkwardness. Valeriana felt ashamed for her childish behavior from before, and slowly she offered a weird pat on the shoulder.

Wrecker looked up at her with confusion.

"…I'm sorry.", she said, clearly embarrassed, like a child talking to a scolding parent. "I… I said some awful things about you, and tried to get you to tell me about something that was private to you. You saved my life. I shouldn't have been so…"

"It's ok. You would have saved me, too. You have before.", he reminded warmly.

She smiled. "Still… I shouldn't have made you feel bad for not sharing."

"I was wrong too, you know? After all these years, you deserved to know more than I let on. I just… Well…"

"Well what?", Valeriana asked, puzzled, when suddenly the Princess burst in, tears of joy.

"WRECKER!", she shouted, dashing down the hall and scooping him up into a bear hug that squeezed the air out of his lungs.

"CAN'T… BREATH…", he choked out, and the Princess released him, sheepish, her tail wagging excitedly behind her. "Sorry, but I just wanted to thank you and your friend! You saved our kingdom!"

"A pleasure, your highness. But it was Wrecker here who did the heavy work.", Valeriana praised, winking. She was permitted a little wingmaning… As a treat.

Wrecker, however, looked uncomfortable and ashamed. Forlorn even. He was frowning as if he were about to cry. Valeriana couldn't help but wonder what that was all about.

"Oh, after this, father would surely let us wed! Would you like the honeymoon above ground? It'll be a little hard for me but I can manage…"

Wrecker sighed and held her hand softly, gently caressing as a pre-apology of sorts. "Princess, I'm flattered, no, honored that you would consider me a suitable suitor. Really, you are beautiful, but…"

He gulped, as he prepared to break another heart. Just what he had been hoping to avoid. "…I have a lover back home. A wife. That's why I haven't been… As responsive to your courting as one would be."

Valeriana and the Princess were surprised by this, but they both reacted the way one should to such honesty and frankness.

"Well… I can't say I'm not disappointed. But I admire your honesty, Wrecker. Go back to your love and enjoy her, please. You deserve too.", The Princess said oh so sweetly. Wrecker smiled weakly.

"I… I know you'll find someone who will… Deserve your beauty.", Wrecker stated, and he turned away, feeling his heart crack once more.

As The Princess left, bowing, Valeriana turned to Wrecker, who moved towards a piece of debris lying on the floor. "Well, Wrecker, I gotta say, that's one lucky woman you've got back home! She's lucky to have someone that loyal!", her impressed tone and appreciative glance were noted, but not impacting.

She stared in surprise as Wrecker sat down and sighed morosely. Valeriana, not sure what to do, walked to where he was and slowly sat down. She was confused. What was going on?

Suddenly, she noticed a single tear on Wrecker's cheeks. He looked at her, and she looked at him. A sort of silent communication, a reminder of their trust rose up, and Valeriana nodded slowly, as if to tell Wrecker she was listening, and she would never tell a soul what he was about to tell her. Wrecker was afraid, but in his heart of hearts he knew: She could be trusted with this.

"You ever have a recurring dream?", he asked. "One that creeps in the night when your pillow is warm. One that hides out in the corners of lazy afternoons and the shadows of your eyes?"

He clasps his hands together to remember the warmth. "I go back home, and it actually feels right, you know? The door is freshly painted, and it leaves a brown mark on my hand. The smell of freshly chopped veggies from the garden wafts in, and my beautiful wife greets me. Her hair was blonde once, she has these ridiculous glasses that make me laugh, and my heart still skips a beat when she kisses me."

He's smiling now, a song in his soul from the dream he described. "I join her in the kitchen, and we dance to an old song that never stops playing while I make us some beetle jerky sandwiches. It's Sunday, so my daughter is coming. Her strong husband is there, he's already cracked a joke about my weight. My daughter beams, and it's like looking into the sun without getting blind. And of course, her grandchildren are there. I'm not sure what they look like completely, but I know one's a boy, one's a girl, and they're both rowdy little gremlins. The kind that get into trouble, and make you want to get into it with them. They hop onto my lap, and I drop my walking stick. And with their little faces, they ask "Grandpop, can you tell us a story?". And every time, every time, just before I begin the story, I wonder if maybe, just maybe… If I keep my eyes closed, It'll come true."

He then opens his eyes and feels the crushing weight once more. He fights tears, and allows himself only the shaking of sadness to affect his bones. "But I know better. When I open my eyes I'm all alone again. And of course it's only a dream. After all…"

He looked straight into Valeriana's eyes, broken. "Who could ever love me?"

Valeriana took a minute to digest all this. She had heard bits and pieces about Wrecker's pain and anguish, but a picture was finally forming. She usually joked in moments like these, but this was serious and required tact. But what could she say, what truth could she impart…

She looked at the blood on Wrecker's shoulder, mostly washed away by the water. Suddenly she knew.

Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, her warmth emanating into him, she said "…Well… At least you have a friend."

Wrecker looked up to her almost with the eyes of a child, and for a golden moment he felt a light in his heart as he leaned on her for a while…

Wrecker sighed. She had a point, but…

"You don't know what I've been through recently. It's not just me being moody, things have happened…"

"If you're talking about the frog you killed, I know there's more to it.", Valeriana cut him off, but Wrecker shook his head. "Not just that! I also…"

"Ah ha! We found you!", The Toad and Newt Tritonio's announced, slipping a wad of cash onto a tour guide who was pointing at Wrecker and Valeriana.

Wrecker groaned and Valeriana shook her head. "Are you guys not tired of being the worst?"

"No.", they flatly replied, and they withdrew two pointy swords with a flourish.

Valeriana chuckled as she withdrew her sword, Wrecker following after. "Cute.", she remarked, and the battle began.

Sword tips struck over and over, sending sparks onto the mirrors. The room was darkly lit, so what would normally have been a dominant display by Valeriana and Wrecker was instead full of pratfalls and bumps.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!"

"Oh, pardon me, I stepped on your foot!"

"Oof, the mirrors are hard in here!"

This meant that the normally horrible Toad and Newt Tritonios were actually gaining the advantage, leaving wounds on the more experienced fighters. Another tear in Wrecker's costume revealed some of his coat.

"…You are wearing a coat underneath all that? How are you still alive?"

"I tend to get light headed in the summer, is that bad?", Wrecker asked, and Toad Tritonio body slammed into him, his overweight stomach rippling.

"Ha ha! My overweight body proved once more to be totally valid, as all overweigh bodies are.", he said, staring at the fourth wall.

"…Who are you talking to?", Wrecker asked, confused, and Toad Tritonio snapped out of it.

Drawing closer, his sword at Wrecker's throat, Toad Tritonio laughed menacingly. "Well well well… Looks like the end of the line!"

"Oh, yeah?", Wrecker asked, and he drew his sword, which glinted in the darkness.

Toad Tritonio picked it up and swallowed it. "Could have used salt."

"NOW it's the end of the line!", Toad Tritonio bragged again.

"Oh YEAH?", Wrecker retorted once more, and he withdrew a dagger he never really used.

Toad Tritonio grabbed it and swallowed it too. "Wartwood?"

"Actually Toad Town, they use more steel WAIT HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?!", Wrecker asked, super confused.

"Simple! Stomach of steel! I can take anything! I once ate my debts! It didn't erase them, mind you, but the paper had quite the nice crunch!", Toad Tritonio informed.

"NOW IT'S THE END OF THE…", Toad Tritonio shouted before Wrecker removed a third item.

"Oh what is it now?!", Toad Tritonio asked, and Wrecker shrugged. "Sorry, I thought I had an actual weapon here, it's just Mrs. Croaker packed me one of her fruit cakes! She's so thoughtful…", Wrecker said, happily, but before he could eat the cake, Toad Tritonio took it and ate it.

"Ha! Now you have no cake! That makes me cool that I did that, right? All the after school plays I saw said that!"

Toad Tritonio wiped his mouth and advanced closer on Wrecker. "And NOW I FINALLY have you right where I want you…", he stated, only for him to look in the mirror suddenly and gasp. "Oh no!"

"What? What is it?", Wrecker asked, looking around for danger.

"I'm… I'm… I'm just a minor character! I have no relevance in this story!"

"…I don't get it."

"I do!", Toad Tritonio said in a panic. "Any minute now I'm gonna…"

And then a large fruit cake fell on Toad Tritonio, killing him.

Wrecker, digesting this, looked towards Valeriana, who shrugged. "I feel like this death was all over the place."

"Whatever, we need to get out of here!", Wrecker shouted, and he and Valeriana ran off, chased by the Newt Tritonio and his Newt Butler all across the Bazzar, hoping this unnecessary distraction would end soon.

"I can't do this."

Grime was pacing around outside "Chez Crapaud" in a frenzy, a groove forming on the sidewalk he was one. It was going deeper and deeper, and Grime was getting his suit dirty thanks to it.

He had gotten it from Percy's dad, so he was hoping that wouldn't upset him too much.

"Oh, who am I kidding? First I'll let down Annie, then Percy's dad will kill me, then my dad will kill me, then Wrecker will be disappointed I died twice while trying to take care of his daughter, and then I'll feel bad cause I let him down, and if you add dying twice to that, it all adds up to a pretty crappy day!", Grime lamented, before shaking his head. "No, no, focus Grime! Annie is waiting for you, you don't want to stand her up!"

Grime got out of the groove and tried to will his feet to move but they just wouldn't. It was like they were frozen in place.

Grime looked down at his feet and sighed. "Rudolf, Gemma, I feel you, really, but we HAVE to go in! Please? I'll buy you new boots! I'm sure dad won't notice!"

His feet still stuck there, Grime sighed again and sat down on the road, looking into the restaurant. The place was brightly lit in dark oranges, like a firefly lit beach in the dog days of summer. The light clatter of forks and knives and small time chatter hummed on like an appropriate soundtrack, adding to the atmosphere rather than detracting. One figure stuck out, of course: That of Annie, sitting at a table in a beautiful yellow dress, her sunhat still on her head, making her look a little odd. She seemed entranced by the napkins on the table, and she built a little fort out of them. She then pretended to destroy the fort, and giggled.

"…I don't belong here.", Grime admitted, and he stood up, wiped himself off, and walked in with his eyes looking down at the floor.

As the doors opened, Grime's eyes were blinded by the bright lights of the establishment. It was also a lot noisier inside than outside, though Grime figured it was only natural. Looking around, he saw a golden chandelier, waiters who were nearly more well dressed than the patrons, and an old woman playing a golden harp when she wasn't sleeping on the job. Grime was quite transfixed. The place was beautiful, and he feared how out of place he would be, as he had never been to a restaurant before.

"I guess asking that man in the suit first would make the most sense. Maybe he knows what's being made.", Grime thought, and he made his way to the maître d's desk, accidentally bumping into a waiter or two. "Sorry! Sorry! Never been here before!"

Grime finally reached the desk, his shoes accidentally squeaking on the floor. Was that bad? Army regulations were way easier to follow than this. He never really joined in post battle celebrations, so after his mother died, cans of baked beans and tomato paste were his main nourishment.

"I guess the cans will be golden in a place like this.", Grime thought, and he waved at the Maitre D. "Hello, sir! I wanted to ask you about the food!"

"I need to present you with a table first, sir.", The Maitre D said, not looking away from his magazine for a moment. "Since they are all reserved, however, you will have to wait."

"Oh, right, I had reserved a table! I must have forgotten.", Grime thought, and he waved again. "Hello again! Um, sorry, but I already reserved a table! I forgot, see, I'm kind of nervous and it's my first time here and…"

"Don't give me your life story, I'll read about it in the "Who cares?" monthly. Name?"

"Grime Toad, Lieutenant in the Toad army…"

The Maitre D, realizing who he was talking to, gasped and fell off his chair, turning bright red. Shaking his fist, the purple toad shouted "WHY WAS I NOT NOTIFIED OF THIS? GARY, YOU'RE FIRED!" and, taking a deep breath, he greeted with a bow. "My prince, a thousand apologies. Your reserved table is Table 9, by the golden harp."

"No need to apologize, I just forgot.", Grime expressed, saddened once more by the treatment he received for being "important". If he had been a different toad…

"I must admit, I was surp… That is, CHARMED by your guest! How… Exotic of a companion!", the Maitre D said, Grime not noticing the meaning of the words.

"I guess she is exotic, I've never seen someone quite like her…", Grime stated, his face adopting a dream like expression for a moment. He then resumed his conversation. "Anyway, I just wanted to ask you something, Mr…", he offered his hand.

The Maitre D stared at the hand in repressed shock, before shaking it. "Larry."

"Grime!"

"I know."

"…Oh, right!", Grime said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sir, will you be taking your seat, or…", Larry the Maitre D started, but Grime interrupted him again.

"Yes, sorry, I just wanted to know what was being made! I'm not picky, just curious."

"…This is a restaurant. You can order from the menu."

"Well, I would guess there are really only two options, unless you brought gruel back! Kind of miss that stuff!", Grime replied cheerfully, and Larry face palmed.

"Sir, with all due respect, this is a fine establishment. We serve many MANY choices and they are all more refined than Gruel."

Grime was surprised. He just had to order something, and all those choices? He didn't understand. He could barely remember his mother's cooking, so to his knowledge there were only a few real options for food to eat.

"Wow, how fancy! I didn't know there were so many types of food! What is this "soup"?", he asked, pointing at the menu.

Larry, losing his patience, beckoned him to leave. "Go to your table and your waiter will inform you!"

Grime sensed his anger and looked down on the floor in shame. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll go."

"What? Don't apologize, just go!"

"Oh, all right, sorry."

Grime began to leave but Larry held onto him. "I just said don't apologize! Why did you apologize?"

"Oh, I'm not supposed to apologize?", Grime asked, confused. "So many differences in this place! Fascinating!"

"Yes, yes, quite. Now go and DON'T apologize!"

"Ok, sorry!", Grime said, leaving, and Larry smashed his head on the desk. "I don't get nearly paid enough to brown nose royalty."

"Larry, your waiting Table 9.", a waiter passed by and informed.

"Oh, right, who's there?", he wondered aloud, before seeing it was Grime. He sighed. "Yay me."

Grime, meanwhile, nervously approached Annie's table, feeling his heart in his chest, and, metaphorically, a frog in his throat. She was enchanting, how could he possibly live up…

"No, no! Calm down! Remember Percy's advice!", Grime motivated himself, and with a deep breath, he sat down next to Annie, who was sweating like crazy from anxiety. Grime had taken a while to get there, and she was worried he had changed his mind.

But now he was here and there was a different problem:

"Oh no he's HOT!", she panicked, as she stared at him intently while he sat down. "What a nice suit! He picked that for lil ol me? And he seems so confident too? How am I gonna do this? Wait, I need to smile, right!"

"Get confident, stupid!", Grime cursed himself, and he shimmied uncomfortably in the chair. That dress looked even more stunning from up close! "And she's smiling so nicely! I gotta do something!"

The two sat there bursting with fear for about 5 minutes, in what would later be recorded the most awkward silence in Amphibia history. Finally, Annie thought that perhaps a greeting would be the right course of action.

"Hey, dude!", she started, before face palming. "Oh crap, I'm supposed to listen to him!"

"Oh, right, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO TALK! Ok, I can do this!", Grime's brain spoke to him. "Remember, just be calm, cool, collected! A confident greeting and then we'll knock her down with humor! Figuratively, not literally. She's tough, but I would never want to hurt her angelic face OK JUST FOCUS."

Clearing his throat, Grime tried to lean on his elbow and look suave. He roused up all his courage, winked, and said with his deepest tone "…Hi."

"…Hi.", Annie parroted, and then laughed. "Hi 2: The sequel. What a conversation!", she joked, giggling infectiously.

Grime couldn't help but laugh too. "Yeah, I… I'm not much of a talker in normal life. I'm really only good at motivational speeches.", Grime admitted with a sheepish smile. He felt fine with laughing at himself however.

They finished up laughing and smiled at each other, before realizing they were doing it wrong. "Oh no, I mean, um… You talk a bit. I'll… I'll chew on this… Air, while you do that.", Annie said, silencing herself up.

"Oh, right! Um… Jokes, jokes…", Grime said to himself, trying to think. "A toad… Oh, wait, I think it was a tomato, actually! Yes, a tomato walks into a bar, and…"

"Woah, they can do that?", Annie asked.

"I wouldn't know, actually! I mostly ate them as paste, so I haven't seen one in the wild. I also don't go to bars, so yeah."

"Wait, how could they go into a bar? They don't have legs, or any sort of way to drink!"

"Hmm, maybe it's a mutated tomato! One that's turned amphibian!"

"Ah, that makes more sense!"

"Ok, so mutated tomato walks into a bar and… Oh no, I forgot the punchline.", Grime said outloud, and Annie comforted him. "That's ok, it was still kinda funny to imagine OH WAIT I CAN'T TALK YOU KEEP GOING!"

But Grime didn't know what to talk about. What did adults talk about? He couldn't leave Annie hanging!

He thought and thought and finally…

"…Nice weather we're having."

"…Yeah."

The two sighed, despaired. They were both failing hard. "Why can't I be good enough for her?"

"Why can't I be good enough for him?"

Wrecker was REALLY getting tired of being chased around the bazzar by bootleg tritonios. The last one was even more frustrating for how incompetent he was.

"I'm rich so don't tell me the consequences!", Newt Tritonio yelled back at the long row of stands he'd just crashed through, totally ignoring the cafeteria tables he had toppled over. Small fires had started everywhere, and a bottomless spit seemed to have formed near the outhouses.

"Security here is really lax. They should beef it up.", Wrecker side commented to a frog in a black hood, who nodded thoughtfully and took down notes.

"No time for commentary, we have to get rid of that last tritonio!", Valeriana said, and Wrecker raised an eyebrow. "You? Of all people? You wanna get serious now?"

"You know better than anyone I'm not just fun and games."

Wrecker sighed, full of regret as ever. "Uncalled for, I know."

Valeriana dragged him to the back of her stand to plan a new strategy, leaving the third Tritonio to search through expired fruit. "Wrecker, this isn't just any artifact, you were right to bring it to me. We need to remove it now, or…"

Valeriana struggled to find the words, and Wrecker gulped, eyes widening. The last time she had been this scared… The last time she had been this terrified…

"Wrecker, this could… This could be used to wipe everyone out, but the toads. Theoretically this could collapse other universes into ours. Whatever Muck wants with it, it must be out of his reach! It must!", Valriana explained, her whole body nearly shaking, her voice grave and commanding.

Wrecker's suspicions had finally been confirmed, but all it did was make him even more scared than usual. He could feel the walls closing in. "How… How do we get rid of it?"

"That's the thing, destroying it could take a year! And even then the results could be catastrophic! We have to get out of here now!"

Wrecker nodded intensely and the two began to run out, careening towards the exit of the bazzar. Sand kicked out from their legs and pebbles cut into their feet, but they paid it no attention, they had only one sight ahead of them.

The third Tritonio, however, could not let this happen. "I'll stop you!", he cried, and Wrecker and Valeriana almost had to laugh. What could he possibly do? They were stronger, faster, and no way near as dumb! And the exit was so close now…

Wrecker, just to make sure, threw another dagger from his backpack, aimed right at the third Tritonio's foot, causing him to stay in place. "See ya around!", he called.

"Oh you will!", Tritonio 3 said, and suddenly…

BANG!

Wrecker went down to the ground with a thud, a bullet wedged into his shoulder. The blood seeped from the wound, and Wrecker hazily observed it. He felt dizzy already, and he felt heavy as well.

He couldn't really hear anything. His ears had been reeling from the gun shot. So he missed out on the part where Valeriana was shot in both legs, making her scream out in agony, leaves flying up in the air.

As the dust and the sand settled however, Wrecker did notice he felt lighter in the worst way possible.

Looking up, he could make a sparkle in the air. It shone and shimmered, it glimmered and glowed, and it made Wrecker's heart shatter into a million pieces.

The ever present hum grew louder as Tritonio 3 held aloft the Calamity Box.

"No! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!", Wrecker screamed, trying to lunge at Tritonio but instead sending a sharp pain through his shoulder. He collapsed onto the ground, and Tritonio 3 turned around to take his pistol back from the servant, who just stood there and stared off into the distance. "Actually, I can! I stole it fair and square! Oh the price this could fetch me on the black market! Which, I guess, is here."

Wrecker wanted to protest, but he wasn't sure if he could. His shoulder really was badly hurt, and the blood loss was making him see strange shapes. He had never felt such a pain before. His legs felt like jelly, his brain like mush.

And perhaps he would never have gotten up, if it weren't for Valeriana still being able to put words together.

"Wrecker! Wrecker, you have to get up!"

He couldn't. This had to be the end. It was so fitting, wasn't it? That the universe would end because of him.

"Wrecker! WRECKER!"

He didn't want to give up, but…

His eyes began to droop, his heart slowing down.

The ground felt so familiar. The feeling was so true. The inevitable failure. He was nothing more, nothing less.

This had been coming a long time now. Every mistake, every decision he had ever made led to this moment. Once more, he had become a pawn in the evil plans of Captain Muck. No matter how hard he tried he always ended up hurting others.

"You were right, father. I really am… A wrecker…", Wrecker breathed out, when suddenly…

"REMEMBER YOUR DAUGHTER!"

And with that shout from Valeriana, Wrecker's soul violently woke up.

In the past he would have just given up, he would have relented and allowed himself to suffer no matter what.

But this time, lives were in the balance.

Lives of innocents.

Lives of the elderly.

Lives of children.

So many could be hurt if he chose to buy that he is a Wrecker.

He could see her. He could see Annie's lifeless, limp body… He could see all of Amphibia dead…

All because of him.

If he was truly not who he once was, he couldn't just forgive or be forgiven…

He had to…

"Tritonio…", Wrecker called, placing his hands on the ground. His shoulder shot up with pain, flames of agony crawling up to his brain. His head felt like it was drowning.

Tritonio 3 was startled by this, and he raised his eyebrow in surprise as Wrecker slowly but surely pushed himself up.

"Tritonio…", Wrecker said again, fighting every impulse he had to let the pain take over. It burned and burned, and he was panting, his lungs screaming. He… He…

His eyes started to get hazy, but he shook his head. He bit his lip, and his eyes flamed up.

Wartwood…

Amphibia…

Annie…

"Tritonio!", he shouted out, every nerve firing as he picked himself up, barely standing up, barely keeping together.

He wanted to die…

But he chose to live.

"…I want to make a deal.", he stated, ignoring the blood that pooled down.

"I'm listening…", Tritonio 3 said, the servant looking dumbfounded at this.

"Sir, surely just taking the box makes more sense…", the servant stated, but Tritonio 3 ignored him. "Quiet, I want to hear his bargain."

Wrecker, breathing heavily, leaning on a tree to keep balance, pressed on, fighting the pain. "…You know the bug race?"

"I know of it."

"Well, I know someone like you doesn't care what he wins, as long as he wins something. So why have a box when you can have a slave?", Wrecker stated, presenting himself with his hands.

Valeriana said nothing, but she was already formulating what she had to say.

"…Why, I'd say that is a most interesting proposition! I assume the tradeoff would depend on the outcome of the race?", Tritonio 3 asked, hungry from desire. The stakes were too fun to ignore.

"Obviously. You and me. You win, you get the box. I win, she gets the box, you get me. It's a win-win."

"Wrecker, are you sure that's the best…", Valeriana started, but Wrecker shook his head. "I can barely move, racing is perhaps the only thing I'll be able to do. I can't fight him for it."

"He's right. It IS the only way he could put up a fair fight. And you are in even worse condition.", The servant stated, and Tritonio 3 nodded. "Indeed. We shall meet there in 10 minutes! Don't be late!"

Wrecker breathed heavily, clutching his heart. It wouldn't slow down. Had he… Had he made the right call?

Could he ever save the future of his world?

Or was this a repeat of the past?

Grime and Annie's date had not improved in any way since they had stopped talking to each other. It was hard for them to communicate what they were going through. Grime had never really… Felt this way before. He didn't know if he could feel this way. He had only known Annie for two days, but he felt like he would lasso the moon to her if she wanted him to.

Despite this, he stayed as stiff as a board. He could barely follow Percy's advice. Every joke that had been suggested to him by Percy seemed so dumb and annoying, and he didn't want to annoy Annie. After all, if he did, surely she would leave him and hate him forever, right?

Wait that didn't make sense… Annie said she wasn't like that…

But what if he was so bad she would change her mind?

Likewise, Annie felt mortified and fear stricken as she chewed on her napkin and tried not to spontaneously combust. Every instinct in her told her she should just leave now before she made things worse. She looked around in panic, but there were no decent hiding places.

She gulped as she stared at Grime again, and she blushed a crimson red. He was… Well, he was so good looking. So refined. So… Defined.

Annie still wasn't sure what she was. A farmer? An artist? A warrior? A friend? A daughter?

Every time she thought she figured herself out another massive change came out of nowhere and slapped her in the face. How could she be a good enough date for Grime if she herself didn't know what was date-worthy about her?

After all, what was she?

…She was just Annie.

Who could love that? Parental love, sure. But romantic?

Annie wished the ground would swallow her up. Then maybe she wouldn't feel so scared.

Grime and Annie then met with their eyes again. Grime tried to smile, and Annie tried to wave, but they felt so anxious they just…

Closed their eyes and faced away.

Finally, the maître d came. "I profusely apologize for taking so long, there was a small disaster in the kitchen, someone kept asking about "tulips". Now, how may I serve you… "Fine" couple?", he asked, a hint of disgust in his voice.

"Oh, um, I thought the grilled dragonfly looked…", Annie started, excitedly pointing at the menu, which made Grime smile fondly, but the maître D was less amused.

"Madam, it is customary for the t… for the man to order.", He shut her down, and Annie, remembering she was supposed to follow those instructions, quieted down. Grime frowned. He didn't like what was being said here, but he also didn't want to potentially get them thrown out. Annie really wanted this date to happen, he couldn't ruin it!

…Maybe he should ask, once the maître D leaves.

"W… We will have the grilled salmon. I hear it's wanted by only the finest diners.", Grime ordered, giving Annie a warm smile. Annie blushed and giggled for a moment. Sure, it was just an order, but…

It was nice that someone thought she had good taste.

As the maître d left, Grime immediately apologized to Annie. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize he would just shut you down…"

"Whaaaat? It's ok, dude, I'm supposed to be quiet anyway!", Annie reassured him, waving his concerns off.

"…Why?", Grime asked, dumbfounded, failing to find the logic in the scenario.

Annie opened her mouth to respond, but then realized she had no idea why. "…I don't know."

The two proceeded to sigh, and stare at each other apologetically. It was time to call it what it was.

"This is a disaster, I'm sorry, Annie, I just got…

"I totally screwed this up, Grime, please forgive me…"

Realizing they were both talking at the same time, they laughed, which eased the nervousness a little.

But only a little.

"Annie, really, I'm sorry. I… I just got a little nervous…"

"So did I, dude! I've… I've never been on a date before.", she admitted, shyly, blushing a beet red now. Frog, he looked so handsome in the light, she must have looked so plain. "I was happily surprised you asked me out."

"…I actually didn't mean to ask you out.", Grime admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Annie felt so bad she wished she could just disappear so no one could see how foolish she felt. "Oh… I guess I should have realized that.", she weakly stated, a tear beginning to drop from her eye lid. Of course, of course it was by mistake. Who would ever…

"But I'm glad I did!", Grime suddenly corrected, and Annie looked up in surprise. "I… I wouldn't have had the courage to do so, so I'm happy we did it anyway. Even if it's been a bust."

"What do you mean you don't have the courage? You're super courageous, man! Don't you remember when you saved me and Wrecker on the train? Or me in the amusement park?", Annie reminded, still a little awestruck, and now definitely feeling better now that Grime admitted he was glad he was on a date.

"That's nothing. That's just customary."

"No, no it's not!", Annie said, nearly slamming her hands on the table. "You're brave, and… And smart, and you're super gentle despite everything that has happened to you, and you're really polite too, and you treat me like I'm actually special or something! Not to mention you're… Handsome…", Annie added, not looking up. Grime felt a heat rise to his cheeks. Annie then looked away. "I mean, I should know you're not customary, since I totally am customary."

"Objection!... If that's ok.", Grime apologized once more, before getting a hold of himself. "You're way better than me! You're fast, strong, you don't just punch your way out of trouble, you're fun and you actually think that me of all people could be better! And… And you're really pretty.", Grime added quickly before hiding his face.

Annie didn't know what to say… So she just grinned.

"…So…", she finally mustered. "Does this mean… We like each other?"

"…I guess so."

"…Neat.", Annie added.

And while their eyes couldn't meet…

Their hands did.

It was slow, careful. An uncertainty was definitely about it. Two hands slowly slowly crawled forwards until the sensation of finger tips touching could be comprehended. Ignoring the burning and embracing the feeling, they then edged just a little closer. Their fingers curled around each other, less like a simple hand hold, and more like…

More like…

"Sir, I would like to ask you to keep that frog quiet. The other patrons are uncomfortable.", The maître d requested, appearing next to them.

Grime looked at Annie. Annie's eyes widened, and Grime realized that like how Annie had been there for him at a low moment, he had to be there for her, show her that she's better than she thinks.

Grime squeezed her hand and tightened his hold.

And he made a promise with his touch.

Standing up, still not letting go of her hand, Grime picked up the glass of water and calmly, refusing to get too angry, wanting to be the man Annie needs…

He dunked the water on the maître d.

"We will be leaving, if the lady of course agrees to it.", Grime stated firmly, before searching Annie for an answer. He wasn't gonna decide for her.

Annie, enchanted, nodded in a ladylike way. "Indeed I do! Let us leave this place at once!"

And, hand in hand, they left.

1 and a half weeks ago…

"The jungle SUUUCKS.", Valeriana quipped, as she cut down tree branches left and right, ducking from a giant mosquito. The jungle humidity was almost too much to bare, so she leaned on a tree for a moment while Wrecker caught up.

Normally on an adventure with Valeriana Wrecker would have traded his usual sour and saddened mood with a cheery and upbeat one. Valeriana was, in a way, his only friend. He would have been able to joke around a bit, catch up with her, maybe even eat something nutritious for once.

But today was no such day for that. His face was a constant reminder of his inner agony, his movements slow and stumbling.

Like in any minute he would fall, and wish to never stand up.

Valeriana had definitely noticed this, but she wanted to make sure she wasn't prying into anything needlessly first by asking a typical question. "So… How are things at your side of the swamp? Anything about that kid Grime? Sorry, Leiutenent, nepotism much?", she joked, but then noticed Wrecker was very much not laughing.

Standing in front of the hot, nearly blinding sun, seemingly melting in the horizon, Wrecker tried not to collapse. He just stood there, shaking ever so slightly, seeing the knife cross the threshold.

Valeriana slowly approached him, placing a carefully calculated hand on his shoulder. "…You ok?"

Wrecker couldn't respond. He just shook off her hand and moved on.

Valeriana knew better than to interject into something this personal for Wrecker, but she couldn't help but worry. What could be bothering him so much?

Catching up to him, she sliced them a path through the forest. "Look, if it cheers you up, this HAS to be where the key to protecting Amphibia is! We've searched nearly every nook and cranie of this frogforsaken place! If it's not here, Muck will probably just give up!"

Wrecker looked up to her and sighed. "And how is that supposed to cheer me up?"

"Well… You are getting old for this. Maybe you could request retirement?"

Wrecker's eyes lit up, just a little bit. After everything that had happened, retirement… Well, it sounded wonderful!

But then he hesitated. How could he deserve that after what he had done?

"I don't know, Valeriana…", he started, stepping over the dirt and onto a clearing laying out a stone path. "I'm not sure I can rest just yet…"

"You've been at this for decades! Wouldn't it be nice to get away from it all, and move on?"

Wrecker stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes in pain. "…What if I can't?"

Valeriana bit her lip, as she saw him slump his shoulders. She approached him and tried again. "…And what if you weren't alone? What if you had a friend?"

Wrecker now felt even worse. He moved away from her again, each step heavier than the last. "Valeriana, I can't, ok? I just can't!"

Valeriana shook her head in annoyance. "You could just tell me, you know? You're always so hard on yourself, I mean, what could it possibly be this time?"

Wrecker almost snapped at her, despite his anger truly aimed at himself. "Maybe I have a good reason? Maybe I'm not just sulking?!"

"How can I know that if you don't tell me?", Valeriana replied, frustrated.

And their fight would have continued if it weren't for the fact that they had arrived.

But they had not expected this.

Small fires raged everywhere. Dead bodies of toads and frogs alike covered the ground, bloodied and severed hands sticking out grotesquely from the piles. Ash and smoke rose up into the air, blocking out the previously scorching sun, and the pungent scent of death permeated all.

Wrecker and Valeriana were shocked speechless by what they were seeing. The toad army didn't do this, did they?

Wrecker's expression only got darker and darker as he kept advancing into the abandoned town. Bloodied swords were scattered all over the place, and he walked over a detatched limb or two until he crossed a doll. Picking it up, he could see it was missing an eye.

"He doesn't have an owner.", the voice came out of nowhere, but Wrecker didn't flinch. Valeriana, who had quietly followed him, observed the stranger with surprise, as did Wrecker. Standing before them was a little frog boy, who seemed no older than six years old.

An unspoken question was answered. "You must be the ones here to collect me to the toads. There is no one left to defend me, so I guess I'll come.", the boy said, coldly, as if he wasn't phased at all.

After a few agonizing moments of silence, Wrecker looked down at the ground and Valeriana tried to choke out "We… You… You can't be the key."

The boy sat down and, taking his doll, caressed it as he spoke. "Some frogs take years to grow. It took me ten years to sprout legs, and twenty more to get like this. I'm not sure what I do. They said this box did something to me and that I could be a great fighter. But I said I didn't want to do that. Every time I get moved somewhere else though all my fathers and mothers get killed. I guess I've run out of them."

Valeriana gasped, and she quietly cried as she realized what she had done. Immediately she turned to Wrecker and stated "We have to get him somewhere safe, now! I know a place, I guess, I didn't really trust them until now but…"

But Wrecker had already turned around, sitting on the ground and shaking more and more.

Valeriana, trying to be gentle, sat down next to him. "We both failed."

"Thirty years… Thirty years of this… Twenty Five years of looking for him… All this time…", Wrecker could barely comprehend it, his mind was tearing itself apart. He fought back tears, but they flowed down and down.

"Wrecker, listen… We didn't know. We didn't know that we were fighting the wrong fight…"

"I should have known."

Valeriana clicked her tongue. "Oh, you are always like this! How is this your fault?"

"I should have known, I always end up doing this. I get tricked and end up helping the wrong people. How many people are dead because of me?", Wrecker retorted, but Valeriana disagreed.

"Wrecker, you didn't send those men, you didn't order anyone to die! You just searched for him! Your battles didn't even have any casualties!"

"That's not true!", Wrecker shouted, standing up. Valeriana began to shout too. "Will you stop pitying yourself?! You didn't do anything, how many times?!"

"I KILLED SOMEONE TODAY!", Wrecker screamed, staring into Valeriana's eyes.

Valeriana stopped dead in her tracks and said nothing as Wrecker's face turned red and his tears burst through the dam of his heart. "Grime was gonna die… And I had to… I had to save him… And I killed a frog. I. Killed. A. Frog.", he punctuated for emphasis.

Valeriana took this all in, and responded immediately. "So you defended someone. In a war setting. I think you might be exaggerating this."

"Big surprise coming from the woman who takes nothing seriously!", Wrecker bit back, wounded and lashing, his life breaking down in front of him.

"I'm sorry? I don't take anything seriously? I am planning to save this kid and betray the toads! What are you going to do, mope? Whine? Because your entire life is such a tragedy?!", Valeriana shouted, spitting venom from her words.

Wrecker stepped up to her and nearly growled. "My entire life I have tried to make a difference, now I see that for sixty long years I've done nothing but fail. I have given NOTHING to this world! I don't deserve to rest! This kid deserves someone better than me!"

"So you're not going to save him?"

"Oh, I am! I am going to save everyone!"

"And how are you going to do that?", Valeriana asked, and Wrecker darkly replied, putting up his hood.

"I'm going to return to base, get sent on a mission, and die."

That silenced Valeriana. "…This isn't the way."

"Then what is?", Wrecker asked, not that he wanted to listen, and Valeriana sighed and responded "…The way is to forgive yourself. Move on. And prove you can do what's right."

Wrecker looked at her, at his old friend, his only friend…

He looked at the small boy…

At the destruction…

And ignoring his tears, he closed his heart.

"Valeriana, I'm a Wrecker. That's all I'll ever be. All I can do… Is die."

And with that, Wrecker turned his back on her and left, crunching leaves under his feet.

He was a Wrecker…

…And now he was standing above her, not knowing what to say.

Valeriana sighed wearily, almost chuckling. "Always sacrificing yourself, huh?"

"Seems like the only thing I can do.", Wrecker said, staring at the race ground that was so far away yet so close too.

"And yet you are alive. I must say, I was surprised. I… I thought I wouldn't see you again.", a sob nearly broke into her tone, but she steadied herself and stood up on her aching legs, barely able to move.

"Here, let me help.", Wrecker said, allowing her to lean on him.

"Thank you.", she smiled gratefully, and Wrecker smiled back. As they walked, he frowned once more.

"I couldn't kill myself. I wanted to… I wanted to so bad, but…"

"But she showed. That daughter of yours."

"It's not just that.", Wrecker explained, his eyes growing softer. "Ever since I met her, I… I've somehow managed to help people. To… To give. I was even forgiven by so many people from my town."

"Of course you were. You were never as bad as you said you were.", Valeriana softly reminded, but Wrecker shook his head.

"Then why can't I move on? Why do I still feel so… So wrong?"

"Because you expect perfection.", Valeriana stopped him in his tracks and held his shoulders, staring him in the face. "Wrecker… I can see that you have changed, though there wasn't much to change anyway."

Wrecker didn't know what to say. He just… Looked down.

"How can I be good enough? Tell me… How do I move on?"

"…By forgiving yourself. The people around you have… Now it's time for you. Not everyone gets a chance to start afresh. All your life you have been forced to be someone you're not."

She held him lovingly, caressing his face. "Look DEEP inside yourself and tell me… Who do YOU want to be?"

Wrecker gulped and closed his eyes. He searched his feelings, he searched his heart. He asked himself the question.

Who does he want to be? What does he want to do? Now that he can choose… What is his true nature?

And as he let his real nature flow through him, Wrecker realized what he wanted more than anything.

"…I wanna find that box and stop it from hurting anyone else. I wanna stop those toads… And protect my daughter."

Valeriana smiled and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "…Then do that."

And with that monumental step taken, Wrecker nodded and looked towards the racing track. It was time.

"So… That was a disaster."

Grime chuckled, and Annie grinned goofily at the response to her quip, but they both felt just a little down, and for good reason.

Grime squeezed her hand warmly. "I'm so sorry, I should have known…"

"You couldn't have known! We shouldn't assume every toad hates frogs! At least, that's what my dad says.", Annie stated, and Grime nodded. "I guess you're right… I'm just also sorry that… Well…"

Annie brushed it off. "So it kind of totally failed, so what? It's not like it was… Your fault…", Annie trailed off, clutching her hand defensively, guiltily staring down at the road.

The two had been walking for a while, not really knowing where to go. For a lot of the time, they were just feeling each other's existence as they walked down the paved road to frog knows where.

The red moon lit up the sky dimly, and mostly it was pitch black. It made it hard to see, but Grime didn't need to see to know that Annie was beautiful. And she deserved to know it was not her fault.

"No, it's my fault.", he said, cupping her face in his hand, and caressing her. She smiled at that. "I… I should have just been more confident, or something. I don't know, but… I really, really like you, and… And I don't know how to show it to you. I know it's fast, but… But I do."

"Ditto.", Annie replied a little too briefly, which made them laugh again.

They sighed and sat down on a stonewall that protected a small, rundown shack. Grime felt as if the smells and sounds were different, yet familiar. He couldn't QUITE place his finger on it, but something felt off. He shrugged it off, however, too focused on what Annie had to say to investigate the mystery location.

Annie, fingers twiddling, nervously replied, a strand of her hair covering her eyes. She blushed. She felt like she could throw up. It didn't make sense. It…

"Grime…", she started. "I… Well, I know you like me now, and I know I like you, but… But I'll just cause you trouble. And even ignoring that, I… I don't know if I'm really worth the hassle. I know you think I'm this and that but…"

"But nothing!", Grime interrupted, hell bent on showing Annie how great she was. "You told me when I was at rock bottom that I could still get back up! You've done nothing wrong!"

"But that's the thing, I've done nothing! I'm not a warrior, I think, or a farmer, I think, or even an artist!... I think."

Annie sighed, hugging herself. "I'm… I'm just a nobody."

Grime swallowed his spit and gazed at her angelic form. Everything about her was amazing to him. He couldn't quite understand her feelings. But remembering how she had been with him, Grime realized there was one thing he could do.

Turning her to him, Grime's stubby and blunt fingers tried to be as gentle as possible. He held her face and felt her glow. He closed his eyes and let his heart talk in love instead of in fear.

"…Well… You're not a nobody to me. Maybe… Maybe we can find out who we are… Together."

Annie's eyes sparkled. Her mouth curled up. She could feel it, that feeling she had tried to imagine, she had read in many stories, but now came to life.

Is this what it was like?

To be vunerable and strong?

To be afraid and brave?

To love…

And be loved?

Grime didn't feel shame. He didn't feel guilt. This moment, this instant, it wasn't wrong. It wasn't unearned.

He wasn't hurting anyone anymore. She wasn't letting anyone down anymore.

They were just two souls joined in harmony. They were protecting each other from a cruel, cruel world.

It was quiet. There were no fireworks, no explosions, no thundering music score.

But it was gentle, and kind, and giving. It was warm in the cold night.

It was a kiss. Just a kiss.

But it was also a promise.

Leaning their heads on each other, they struggled to look the other in the eye, but they managed to.

"…Goodnight.", she whispered, and she dared to kiss him on the cheek.

"…Sleep tight.", he whispered back, feeling her strength protecting him from any danger.

They soon closed their eyes and drifted to sleep, peacefully for once.

Their hands never parted.

"That's right, folks! Thrills, chills, spills! The best cutthroat racing this bazzar has to offer!", the small, round green frog host announced to a roaring crowd of crazed lunatic racing fans.

The racing pit was nothing too special, just a small circle in a grassy clearing surrounded by a small, shabby rock barrier that barely kept the fans out. But the fervor and fanaticism the fans had made it feel larger than life.

"Daunting.", Valeriana commented, using a crutch she had purchased while Wrecker readied himself. His red cockroach revved up, and looked at him with curiosity. Wrecker petted the bug, and it hummed in glee.

"You can say that again. I don't know how I'm going to win this, I've never done this before.", Wrecker said, frightened and wary. The backpack and the box rested uneasily on Tritonio 3's back, the criminal laughing haughtily as he waved at his opponent from his blue cockroach. "Cheerio, Wrecker!"

"…What does that mean?", Wrecker asked, and Valeriana shrugged. Tritonio 3's butler stepped forwards and shook Wrecker's hand. "I've been tasked with committing a handshake. May the best… man, win.", he dryly commented, but Wrecker wondered why he had paused like that.

But there was no such time for wondering, the race was about to begin. Wrecker gulped but he knew what he had to do. Losing was not an option. All of Amphibia rested on the result of this race.

He tightened his hold on the cockroach's antenna, and looked at Valeriana for guidance. "…You know, if my parents were here they would tell me I had no chance."

She smirked and punched his shoulder. "Then give yourself one."

Wrecker smiled gratefully back. "…Thank you, old friend."

"…Always. Now go out there and show them who you are!", she cried, and as Wrecker began his roach, he realized…

This was his chance.

He closed his ears and drowned out the noises. He closed his eyes and drowned out the doubt. He could feel her in his heart. He could see the world he loved so much rooting for him.

"My past is not my future. My past is not today."

For today…

Today he would do good.

"On your marks…", the announcer cried out, his voice nearly deafened by the fans.

"Are you scared?", Tritonio 3 jeered, leaning to the side for a moment, while the host readied his racing flag.

"Get set…"

Wrecker looked back, and for once, smiled out of pure self belief.

"No… I'm a hero."

"GO!"

And finally believing he can be, Wrecker charged off with the wave of the flag, leaving Tritonio 3 in the dust, desperately trying to catch up.

Wrecker was going way faster than he expected, his roach seemed to understand him and comply. Wrecker continued to stroke it gently while Tritonio 3 kept shouting at his roach, threatening it to move faster.

"Go Wrecker!", Valeriana cried, and the other contestants were curious about the new competitor.

"Why do you think he's called that?", a lanky newt asked, scratching his chin.

"I bet that it's a threat! Like, if we step out of line and not check ourselves, we'll wreck ourselves, ya feel?", An overweight blonde frog suggested.

A small toad jumped up and down. "I've got 20 on The Wrecker!

"I've got 25!", a muscular salamander cried out.

"I've got a rash!", One-Eyed Wally shouted out excitedly.

Wrecker and Tritonio 3 cruised past the first lap in no time, but by then Tritonio 3 had managed to catch up a little bit.

Wrecker smirked back as he kept just ahead. "How are you handling?"

"I'm fine. You're the one who's not too hot!", Tritonio 3 cried, and he smashed his roach into Wrecker's, sending Wrecker to the side next to the barrier while Tritonio 3 sped towards a second lap, cackling maniacally.

Wrecker was disoriented, and as he checked on his roach to make sure he was ok, Valeriana quickly went to inform him. "Wrecker, everything goes at the Bizarre Bazzar! I know it's not your style, but you're going to have to cheat to win! I'm sure this is going to be a real moral dilemma for you…"

"Oh, ok."

"…Wait, for real?"

"Valeriana, the fate of all Amphibia is at stake, I think I'll sleep fine knowing I cheated in a game where it's ok to cheat."

"…Ok."

Wrecker loaded up back on his roach and, searching the crowd, he grabbed a glowing blue beetle that seemed to be some sort of bomb. "Perfect.", he thought, and revving up the engine, he caught up to Tritonio 3.

"You've been a lot harder than your friends to beat. Why is that?", Wrecker asked, readying his bomb.

"I guess I was just the best of the rest!", Tritonio 3 stated, as they were neck to neck for the homestretch.

Wrecker gulped. Would this work? Would this actually get the box? Or would he fuck up like always?

"You can do it, Wrecker!", Valeriana cried, and Wrecker looked at her and realized: She'd stuck with him all the way.

As had Annie, as had Grime. Even the Wartwood citizens have.

The only one left was him.

…

"…Ok."

And with that, the beetle exploded and Tritonio 3 couldn't catch up as Wrecker crossed the finish line.

"Winner, winner, cricket dinner!", the announcer crowed out, and the crowd went wild.

"WRECKER! WRECKER! WRECKER!", they cheered wildly, and Wrecker allowed himself a small smile. It felt nice.

"Our new champion takes the prize! Newt, hand it over!", the announcer demanded from Tritonio 3, who growled as he handed over the bag.

"Wrecker, you did it!", Valeriana cried, and she embraced, Wrecker, who smiled. "Yeah… I did, didn't I?"

But Tritonio 3 laughed evilly, interrupting the merriment. "Ah, well, I may have lost the box, but I still have you! You'll make a fine slave, don't you think?"

"Wrecker, you can easily beat this man, just punch him and get out!", Valeriana said, strapping the backpack onto her with paranoia.

Wrecker, however, shook his head. "No. A deal is a deal. I did my part. I know you can handle the rest."

As he began to walk towards Tritonio 3, Wrecker smiled back at Valeriana. "…Val? Can you… Can you tell my daughter…"

"Yes. I will.", Valeriana said, nodding, and Wrecker smiled appreciatively at the gesture.

"All right, enough sentimentality! Let's go! Ha! I really am a good Tritonio after all! Take that, other dumb Tritonio's! I didn't die! I didn't…", Tritonio 3 screamed out, before suddenly getting stabbed in the heart, and falling down onto the ground.

Wrecker gasped and looked up to see…

"My, he was annoying, wasn't he?", The Butler commented, pulling out a fake goatee and attaching it to his chin. "Oh, yeah, I'm Tritonio now."

"…Ok?", Wrecker said, just unsure of how to deal with all this.

"You can go, by the way. I think these previous Tritonio's didn't get the gentleman part of the gentleman thief. I think it's time the rogue went back to stealing trains and all that. I don't need slaves, so you can go."

Wrecker looked side to side, Valeriana also confused. "…Is… Is that it?"

"Yeah. Bye now. See you in 10 years or something, I don't know. Who knows what I'll be doing in 10 years? Maybe I'll run a scam school for children when their grandparents want them to stay somewhere or whatever."

No one spoke for a while, and then Wrecker and Valeriana just left with the box in the backpack, relieved that at least this part of the quest was over.

Wrecker looked down and saw a puddle. From the reflection he saw himself.

He saw the scars of the past.

But he felt at peace with those scars.

From now on, he was looking forwards.

And so…

He did just that.

"So you really did it. You finally gave yourself a chance.", Valeriana said proudly.

Wrecker smiled shyly and nodded. "Yeah… It felt nice."

"Good. You deserve it."

Wrecker sighed and held her hand suddenly, making her look up. "…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you. I know it was only a week and a half, but… Well…"

Wrecker grinned at her, eyes shining. "I'm happy I'm alive to see you."

Valeriana laughed and hugged him. "Right back at ya, old friend."

Parting from the embrace, Wrecker looked around the room they were in now. It was high, way high up in the mountains. It had taken about two days to reach, what with the hills and cliffs and cold. Cold was dangerous for frogs, but Wrecker's costume had managed to keep him warn enough. He couldn't help but wonder what this all was.

"This is definitely far off from the Toads, but I must ask you, how is this place going to help us get figure out the box?", Wrecker asked, and Valeriana sighed.

"Well, you see, before the kid we saved, I was caught here hunting for treasures. I thought they wouldn't take too kindly to it, but instead their leader saw my potential, whatever that is.", Valeriana joked, and Wrecker chuckled lightly, invested in the story.

"Anyway, they told me about… Well, about stuff that sounded hokey and insane. But once we saved the boy, it seemed to hold up. So I went back here, put the boy in their care, and asked to join them."

"Oh, wow! So you're no longer a treasure hunter?", Wrecker asked, surprised.

Valeriana looked afraid. "Wrecker, what you've gotten yourself into… It's far deeper than you think. This isn't just about hiding the box, or figuring it out. This box is dangerous, like I told you, but there's more to it. The toads… Muck… He's planning something. Something big. Something dangerous. If we don't stop him… We are all in danger."

Wrecker breathed deeply. He knew this was serious, but the way Valeriana was talking…

"I'll do what I must. But what is this place? Who did you meet?"

Before Valeriana could answer, however, the doors were opened and out came a procession of people, all humming in low, quiet voices. Wrecker nearly jumped from fright as smoke filled the room and individuals in purple, blue and green hoods surrounded them.

"Uh, what the fuck is going on?", Wrecker asked, and Valeriana calmed him down. "Don't worry, it's ok. They're… They're our army."

"Our what?!"

Suddenly, the humming stopped, and a circle of people closed them in, with one person in particular in the middle of it all.

Hoods were suddenly dropped, and Wrecker was surprised to see frogs, newts, toads and salamanders from all over Amphibia. There was a small frog from Bittyburg wearing a green cloak, a toad gladiator from Toad town wearing a purple cloak, a newt and a salamander from Ribbiton wearing a green cloak too, and a plethora of blue cloaks being worn by frogs from areas around Wartwood.

But most strikingly was the frog in the middle wearing a blue cloak, for she was someone Wrecker knew very, very well.

"You're… You're kidding me!", Wrecker thought, stunned.

"I'm afraid it's true, son.", the frog said, revealing herself from the dark to be…

"Mrs. Croaker?", Wrecker mouthed.

"Welcome to the revolution.", Mrs. Croaker replied, and the group of resistance fighters all bowed down in respect.

"You have the box. Let's talk."