Hey everyone!

This next chapter's been a long time coming, hasn't it? Sorry it's been forever since my last chapter; I've been really busy with schoolwork this semester, including my senior thesis. This chapter, which I was planning on making a full-chapter, is split in half so I could get y'all a chapter sooner than later. Plus, so it'll give me more time to work on this chapter and other chapters for my other stories.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Enjoy!

The Third Temple - Part One

At first, Ethan had no idea why he woke up this particular morning in a particularly crappy mood, but a few seconds later, he remembered why. Today was the day that he and Grime would leave the North Tower and start their plan to invade Newtopia... starting with finding Anne and Marcy, pretending to be remorseful of his earlier actions, and joining them so they could get into the capital city without getting arrested. They had given themselves a few weeks to pull off the mission successfully, which by the end of it, the toads would be in charge of all of Amphibia.

As for what would happen to him and the girls...

Maybe they'd go home after that; reports from spies said that Marcy figured out a way to use the music box to get them back to their own world (the toads didn't know the girls' names, but it was an easy guess that Marcy was the one who figured it out), so what had once been a distant hope was now a possible reality. Besides, all of them had families to get back to, and the young teenager had no desire to run a country. Well... maybe it would be kind of cool, but if he had to choose between seeing his family again and ruling a country of anthropomorphic amphibians, he'd go with the former.

However, as he was getting ready and putting on his armor, Ethan started to think about what would happen when he got home. He had no idea if the time they had spent in Amphibia would be the same amount of time they had been gone from their world. He had read books and seen movies about this kind of stuff; what if they went back and found that two hundred years had passed since they had left? Or what if they ended up sometime in the past? What if no time had passed? All of these possibilities flashed in his mind, and that was assuming they were even able to get home; for all he knew, they could be stuck in Amphibia forever, or sent to some other world instead. And supposing they got back home, what then? What would he tell his mom about the faint scars that now covered most of his body? And what about...

He swallowed a lump in his throat, his hands shaking a little while he pulled on his boots. What were he and the girls supposed to say about Sasha and why she wasn't with the rest of them?

A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts, and he straightened up.

"Come in," he called.

A toad soldier strode in, saluting him before speaking.

"Lieutenant Day," he said. "Captain Grime sent me to check if you were ready."

The boy nodded. "Yeah. Let him know I'll be down at the stables in five minutes."

"He's already there."

"Okay. I'll be down in a bit."

The soldier nodded. "I'll inform him, Sir." The toad nodded and left the room, leaving the human alone once more. With the thoughts of home and Sasha on his mind, Ethan quickly finished dressing and made his way to the stables a few minutes later.

According to the intel the spies had gathered, the group of hummuses (the toads still didn't know how to pronounce the word 'human' and kept mixing up how many there were supposed to be) and a few frogs were going to this unknown location with the music box, and would then head to Newtopia to give it to the king. One of the spies had overheard the general area they were planning on going to, so the ideawas for Ethan and Grime to travel there with a third soldier via spider, find the girls, and then send the soldier back with the spiders; they wouldn't need them, since they were supposed to pretend to still be fugitives. Ethan himself was supposed to lie and say that he'd seen the error of his ways, and was intending on turning over a new leaf to gain the girls' trust. After doing so, they would have a guaranteed way of getting into the capital by going with the girls.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet," Grime said as several hours later, they rode across a mostly flat Rockland with a few volcanoes in the distance, heading southwest towards the supposed location of the girls

"What," Ethan replied, quickly exiting his thoughts and turning to face the toad. "I'm not... What do you mean, cold feet?"

"You're too quiet and brooding to be looking forward to deceiving your friends," the captain commented. "You've been acting like this for the past week, I've noticed. Need I remind you about the importance-"

"... the importance of this mission, I know," the boy repeated wearily. "Say that again and I'll kick you off Webbigail."

"Oh," the one-eyed toad said, "so you CAN still be bratty!"

"I'm not bratty!"

"Are too."

"I'm not!" There was a snicker from the spider in front of them. "Wanna try laughing a little louder, soldier?!" The third toad quickly shut his mouth, staring fixatedly at the path ahead.

Captain Grime smirked a little. "Looks like someone's a little touchy today," he said.

"I'm not-" Ethan let out a annoyed huff, turning to look up the path as well. "You know what? Let's just ride in silence."

"Lieutenant."

The boy sighed, noting the particular tone of the toad's voice.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Lieutenant."

"... Is that a-"

"That's an order."

The teenager turned back towards the captain, who had a serious, yet not angry, expression on his face.

"Soldier," Grime called out without looking away. "We should be close to the location; go ahead and scout for any sign of the humans."

"Yes, Captain," the soldier replied, urging his spider steed faster and going farther ahead.

"Ethan, you know that the success of this mission, of the INVASION, rests on you being able to convince your fellow humans that you're no longer a bad guy," Captain Grime said once he was sure the other toad was out of earshot. "If you fail, then we're stuck with an army and no way into Newtopia!"

"I know that," the teenager replied somewhat testily.

"Then would you care to explain why you're acting like you're about to go to war?"

"Isn't that what we're doing," Ethan asked. "Lying and sneaking into the capital so we can take over the country? Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean that this mission isn't gonna affect that!"

"But you've trained to be calm and cool in tough situations," the toad captain reminded him. "And it's becoming awfully clear to me that you're starting to crumple under the pressure!"

"I..." But the boy didn't finish his statement; there was nothing for him to say. He turned away from Grime, staring fixedly at the road once more.

His conversation with Captain Aldo a week ago had rattled him, and in a major way. Just when he was starting to feel like a part of something, and started to feel respected and powerful in his roll as Lieutenant, Percy and Braddock had to leave and Aldo had to call him out on his selfishness. Since then, he had started to feel guiltier about how he acted and treated the toad soldiers, and with what he was planning to do. Sure, he was still upset with Anne, but not enough to lie to her face and betray her in a major way. Not to mention Marcy; back in their world, they had still been good acquaintances even when he wasn't speaking to Anne, so how could he also betray her trust? And, now that there was a possible way of them getting home, why should he bother helping Grime and the toads take over the country? He could go back home, start over with the girls, and pretend that this adventure never happened.

"Yes," he finally said out loud. "I'm not so sure about this."

Grime's face seemed to harden, his brow furrowing.

"What are you not so sure about," the toad asked. "If you're starting to have second-thoughts about seeing your friends-"

"So what if I am," Ethan snapped, not wanting to think about all this betrayal and selfish stuff. "I'm still going with you, and I'm still gonna talk to the girls!"

"But are you going to stick to the plan," the captain asked. There was a brief moment of silence. "Well?"

Your friends were counting on you and trusting you to do the right thing, Aldo's voice said in the young teenager's mind. It's what all soldiers expect their captains and lieutenants to do, since their job is to keep them all alive to see another day.

Grime's counting on me, the boy thought, turning back to face the captain. If he fails his mission, he's either gonna get killed by Kind Andrias' soldiers or his own army. And the girls... They never came looking for me after Toad Tower, or made an effort to apologize, and- He frowned a little as he remembered. They found a way home and never thought to try and come find me so we could go home together! All his earlier worries and fears were starting to become distant thoughts. Aldo's right; I need to stay loyal to my friends so they don't die, and right now, I only have one friend...

"I'll stick with the plan," Ethan said out loud. "I give you my word as your second-in-command, and as your friend."

Captain Grime looked at him for a few moments, not saying anything as his expression betrayed none of his thoughts. Finally, he nodded.

"I'll hold you to that," he replied, turning back towards the road. The boy did the same, looking up in time to see the soldier quickly approaching them, signaling to them with one of his hands.

Immediately, the three of them pulled off the road and behind a clump of large boulders. They disembarked, and the teenager felt a old rush of excitement rush through him. The last mission he had been on was to get the Warhammer, and he was anxious to get the blood pumping again.

"They've landed outside of that volcano, Sirs," the soldier said, pointing towards the nearest mound of rock, which had bits of lava running down the sides of it, and steam hissing out the top. "There's an entrance in its eastern side, and the whole group's gone in, save for their bird and a metal machine that seems to be keeping watch."

"A metal machine," Grime asked.

"It's a... I don't know how to describe it," the soldier admitted. "It has arms and legs, but it's skin is metal and it's eyes glow!"

"A robot," Ethan wondered. "How the heck is there a robot here of all places?"

"What's a robot," the toad captain asked.

"You'll see, the boy replied, lifting the hood of his cloak over his head. "Let's go now; if we sneak around this way, we should avoid running into it and can enter without being seen."

"And if it spots us," Captain Grime asked.

"Then we hope it's not a Terminator or something."

"A what," the soldier asked.

"We're good from here," the teenager stated. "You can head back with the spiders; if we don't send word by sunset tomorrow, then you know what to do."

The soldier and Grime both looked surprised, but the soldier finally nodded, saluted the two of them, and then walked back towards the spiders.

"Looks like someone's got some courage back in them," the toad captain said, grinning at the young human as he lifted his own hood. "Ready to proceed with the mission?"

Ethan smiled back, now feeling more confident than he ever had before. "Of course!"

Sneaking over to the volcano took very little time, and sure enough, they found a giant sparrow and a robot sitting outside the entrance. The robot was impressive; it had long arms and legs, and had it been standing up, would've easily towered over Ethan. They were no visible weapons on it, and it seemed to be preoccupied with petting the bird's head, not even looking towards the entrance. So, moving quickly, the human and the toad quickly ran out into the open, vanishing into the entrance of the cave.

The first thing that Ethan noticed was the heat; it was like a sauna in the tunnel, and was only getting hotter as he and Captain Grime traveled further into the volcano. Eventually, they entered a large open cavern with high ceilings that was lit by a giant pool of magma. A stone path cut across it, and on the other side was a large pair of stone doors. Large statues of flexing Amphibians adorned each side of said door, looking strong and determined as the two crossed the path.

Strong and determined, Ethan thought. Just like me!

"Okay," he said aloud, "they're probably not too far ahead." He turned back towards the toad captain. "Just let me do the talking and AAAUGH!"

The one-eyed toad's skin was shriveled and wrinkly, and his limbs seemed to have shrunk, making his armor look too big for him. However, his head remained relatively the same size, and the captain's face was as dry and crinkled as the rest of him.

"What the heck-" the young teenager started to say, repulsed by the sight.

"I'm fine," Grime croaked, his voice sounding raspy and dry. "It's just a touch hotter than most Amphibians are used to in here."

"That's an understatement," the boy said. "You look like a grape!"

"I do not," the toad captain snapped, reaching for his sword as his spindly arm shook and somehow became more shriveled.

"Restrain yourself, dude," Ethan replied as he tried not to laugh. "We've go to-"

A loud scream came from behind the door, and the boy instantly froze as he recognized the high-pitched voice of-

"MARCY!" He instantly ran towards the doors, forgetting the misshapen toad as he heard loud thuds and another scream. Bursting through the doors, he drew up short, staring out at the scene.

Another cavern with a pool of magma stretched out in front of him, also with a path. This one, however, was longer, and zig-zagged back and forth. Also, this one had giant, centipede-looking monsters that leaped through the lava like a fish in water. He spotted one of these heading towards a section of the pathway not too far from him. He spotted two familiar looking frogs, and standing over them, struggling to lift a heavy metal hammer, was Marcy. The shock of seeing a human again after so many months, especially someone like Marcy, nearly made him forget what was happening. Then, he saw her scream again as one of the magma creatures reared its ugly head.

Drawing his sword, Ethan ran forward, quickly making his way towards where Marcy and the frogs were. The monster was rearing its head back, preparing to strike. However, he jumped up and cut the creature in half before it could move, landing on the pathway next to the trio.

"E-ETHAN," Marcy gasped, eyes as wide as saucers as she gaped at him. "What are you-"

"There's no time," he snapped, grabbing her discarded hammer and running towards the other side. "We've gotta go! Stay behind me; I'll keep these things back!"

Luckily, Marcy kept her head and charged after him, closely followed by the old frog and pollywog. He had no idea where Anne was, but since he hadn't seen her back where he first entered the chamber, he assumed that she must've already crossed. However, he didn't focus too much on her as he fought to keep himself and Marcy alive. Anytime one of those creatures tried to attack, a quick swing of the hammer or a jab with his sword stopped the beasts from killing them. Though it was difficult work; the room felt like it was going to boil them alive if they stayed too long, and there were so many of these lava creatures. However, Ethan managed to cut them down, and successfully led them across the path and through the next set of doors.

As soon as the doors shut behind him, he, Marcy and the Amphibians hunched over, gasping for breath. Ethan's heart was beating faster than he had ever known before; he felt like he just did five straight vault runs, and his arms were like jelly. He had no idea why they had decided to go here of all places, but he knew that it had to be for a very good reason.

"Marcy," he gasped, looking at the girl. She, like him, had clearly embraced the Amphibia lifestyle; she wore a faded gray cape with a hood, a metal chest plate, a stitched skirt, and grey boots. She wore fingerless gloves, and had something akin to a crossbow attached to one of her forearms. She had just managed to get her breathing under control, and looked up at him. She gasped, shocked for a few seconds, and then a wide smile came onto her face as she ran forward and hugged him.

"Oh my GOSH, ETHAN," she squealed in his ear, hugging him tightly enough to nearly crack his armor. "Ethan! Ethan! Ethan! You're here! With us! Oh my gosh!" She finally let him go, taking a step back and looking at his outfit. "Your clothes are AMAZING! Where did you get that armor?! And that sword! Wow!"

"It's good to see you too," the boy replied, giving her a genuine smile. The adrenaline of the fighting was still wearing off, but he felt elated; he had found Marcy and Anne! And after not seeing them in months (especially Marcy; he hadn't seen her since he opened the music box), it was comforting to see another human again. Looking around, he spotted Anne standing nearby, a tennis racket in hand and a distrusting look on her face. And next to her was-

His smile instantly faded, and his heart, which had been beating rapidly for the past few minutes, suddenly seemed to freeze. He vaguely felt his sword slip from his hand, clattering to the floor. Opening his mouth, no words came out, and the room seemed to spin. His chest was also starting to feel heavy, as if a great weight had been pressed onto it.

And why shouldn't he feel that way? Standing next to Anne... was Sasha.

[][][]

Sasha now wore armor very similar to his, with a chest plate, cape, and boots to match. She had a sword buckled at her side, and despite the shocked and angry expression on her face, she looked unharmed. Not like someone-

Not like someone who I pushed off a tower, Ethan thought. What is... Is this a hallucination? Am I so tired and overheated that I'm somehow imagining seeing... Or maybe it's a mirage, or perhaps a-

The young teenager never got to finish his thought because the 'mirage' strode forward, grabbed his shoulders, and swung her foot up to hit him where the sun didn't shine.

"YOW!" Ethan fell to his knees, and both the old frog and his grandson winced sympathetically. A small squeak escaped the boy's mouth, and besides the pain, all he could think was:

Definitely NOT a mirage!

"Ethan," Marcy gasped, rushing over to his side to help him up. "That was uncalled for, Sash!"

"And kinda brutal," the pink frog added. "Remind me to never get on your bad side!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Marcy," Sasha said, sounding just as sarcastic and bossy as she had been the last time he'd seen her. "Did you forget the whole part where he pushed me off a tower?!"

"I... didn't mean..." The boy accepted Marcy's hand and shakily got to his feet, wary of another attack. He looked up at Sasha, still too stunned and in pain to be angry. "How... How are you..."

"What, surprised to see that I'm alive," the blonde girl asked, crossing her arms and frowning at him. "Guess you thought you saw the last of me after you pushed me off a tower, huh? Must be interesting, seeing the person you thought you murdered alive and well!"

That comment hit Ethan like a slap in the face, and all of his shock was replaced with anger. He frowned right back at her.

"I did NOT try to kill you," he protested, quickly picking up his sword in case she tried to attack him again. "It was an accident!"

"Really," Sasha asked. "You 'accidentally-'" She did finger quotes as she said that last word. "-pushed me off a giant tower!"

"I was just trying to get you off of me," the boy protested. "I didn't even know that the ledge was right there!"

"Ha! A likely story," the girl argued.

"Calm down, both of you," Marcy said, stepping between the two teens. "Arguing's not gonna make anything better! And right now, we're supposed to be completing the temple's challenges so we can recharge the stone!"

"Marcy's right." This was the first time Anne had spoken up, and she slowly walked over to the other humans, her racket still in hand. She didn't look as angry as Sasha, but she looked at him with a suspicious expression. "But what are you doing here, Ethan? How did you find us?"

For a few seconds, staring at Anne's uncharacteristically serious expression, Ethan forgot why he was here and what he was supposed to do. Thankfully, the doors behind them burst open, and they all whirled around to find Grime standing there, a piece of lava critter skewered on his sword and a grin on his dried-out face.

"Even in this state, those things were no match for me," the toad captain proclaimed, grinning widely.

"I guess we know why he's here now," Sasha said, drawing her sword and pointing it at Ethan. "They're probably here to kill you guys; finish the job they started at Toad Tower!"

"No, it's not like that," Ethan insisted, quickly jumping back and standing next to Grime; he still held his sword, ready to defend himself in case Sasha tried anything. "We're not here to fight."

"Oh, really," the small pollywog asked, glaring up at him from her diminutive height.

"Really," he insisted, focusing on the three girls. "The whole reason we tracked you down and came here is because..." He actually hesitated, feeling a real rush of guilt and other emotions; the script he and Grime had come up with were now forgotten. So, instead of speaking to deceive, he spoke from the heart.

He looked at Anne. "... It's so I could tell you that everything that happened at Toad Tower was my fault, and that I'm very sorry for what had happened."

Anne, Sasha and Marcy blinked with surprise, though Sasha's face quickly knit itself back into a scowl. The three frogs that were with the girls also looked surprised, though they stood almost protectively in front of the girls. This both angered and upset Ethan, but he understood their caution.

"Really," Anne asked unbelievingly.

The boy nodded. "Yeah. It was wrong of me to put you and your frog friends in danger. And doubly wrong of me to push you and Sasha around." He paused. "And for ruining your party, and locking you in a dungeon."

"Thanks for that, by the way," Sasha muttered.

"And..." Ethan turned to Sasha. "I also came to apologize for..." His hands shook a little, and he was surprised to realize that there were a few tears, real tears, brimming in his eyes. "I... I didn't... d-didn't mean to..." He wiped his eyes with his elbow. "I wanted to apologize to Anne and Marcy, for what I did, but since you're here... I'm... I'm so sorry, Sasha. For our argument at Toad Tower, and even... even before that on the playground. I... I just..." He sniffled a little, trying to get himself together and get back on-script.

"Oh. Huh," Marcy said, a compassionate look on her face as she watched the boy blink away more tears. "I wasn't expecting that."

The oldest of the three frogs (the grandparent of the two younger frogs, Ethan believed) cleared his throat.

"Forgive me for being skeptical," he asked, speaking with a distinctive drawl, "but why the change of heart?"

"After Toad Tower," Grime spoke up, launching into his rehearsed lines, "Ethan and I lost everything."

"We... We had to go into hiding," Ethan added, finally getting back on-script; he quickly wiped away his tears, torn between feeling guilty and chastising himself for crying in front of the girls, Sasha especially. "And... I've had a lot of time to think about things." He straightened up a little, trying to look and sound sincere. "I want to put the past, including what happened back home, behind us. We're the only humans here in this world; we need to stick together, and... I'd like to be friends again."

A moment of silence fell over the group, save for the low rumbling of the volcano around them. The girls, Sasha included, no longer looked at him with complete suspicion, though they didn't exactly look ready to let him back into their inner circle. But it was apparent to him that his fate, and those of Grime and the toad armies, were in their hands. Even the three frogs looked up at the girls, waiting for them to say something.

"Uh... give us a minute," Anne said, grabbing Marcy and Sasha each by the arm and leading them a few yards away, and the three started to whisper in one another. The frogs, after some hesitation, went over to join them.

"Fake tears," Captain Grime whispered to the young teenager. "Nice touch, though you shouldn't have gone off-script."

"Stop that," the boy hissed, watching the girls and frogs with a nervous expression, especially when they occasionally turned to look at them. "You're gonna make us look suspicious."

"They're smart, I'll give them that," the one-eyed toad noted. "Talking it over before making a decision. And that blonde girl..."

"Sasha."

"She's pretty ruthless; she would've made a good soldier." He paused, a confused frown on his face. "... Though how is she-"

"I dunno," Ethan replied. "We both saw her go over the side, and her body..." He felt his breath momentarily hitch in his chest. "Who did I bury if she survived? That body... it looked just like her!"

"Magic?"

"That... might be an explanation," Ethan admitted, though his sci-fi mind wasn't completely satisfied with that unscientific answer. But he had to wonder if it had some credibility; he had watched Sasha fall over the edge of the Tower, saw her dead body in the courtyard, yet here she was in this volcano. Alive, healthy, and still as bossy as ever. If it had just been Anne and Marcy, it probably would've been easier to regain their trust. But with Sasha, who hated him and still held a grudge for Toad Tower, and who was now reminding him of bad memories... it was difficult to tell if their plan would succeed or fail.

Finally, after a couple minutes of debating, the girls and frogs came to a decision and walked back over to Ethan and Grime.

"Well, we were split 50/50 at first," Marcy said. "But after some talking, we've decided to believe you two and let you join our group."

The boy and the toad couldn't help but let out relieved breaths, but Sasha quickly added in:

"Though if you think we're gonna trust you with our lives," she started angrily.

"Enough, Sash," Anne said, and to Ethan's surprise, the blonde girl listened, though she now wore a sulky expression on her face.

"But don't try anything," Anne added, turning back to Ethan. "We don't have time to deal with any surprises; each temple hasn't been easy to get through, so we need to focus all our attention on getting out alive."

The boy was surprised again, seeing a more focused and determined Anne. Before, she had been somewhat flighty, irresponsible, and when there was hard work to be done, she was sure to be anywhere else. Looking at her expression, he couldn't tell if she had any trust for him or not. He wondered if she had been against him joining the group, but he knew that he had to bury any feelings of hurt and annoyance in order to make it through this temple like she said they had to. He nodded.

"Of course," he replied. "So, what is this place?" He looked at the nearby walls, which seemed to be glowing from the lava that probably flowed behind it. "You said it was a temple? Whoever built it in a volcano must've either been crazy or really smart."

"So, the king of Amphibia told us the music box can transport us back home," Marcy explained, smiling a little as she took the music box out of her satchel and held it up for him to see. "But the stones need to be charged at three temples first! This is the third temple!"

He now recognized decorations of various Amphibians covering the box, and he saw the three stones. One blue, one green, and the last one was supposed to be red, but it was now a dull grey, and still had a crack from where he had dropped it.

"No way," he said. "You mean we can almost go home?" He looked up at the girls. "All of us?"

"Yup," Anne replied, staring at the box as a smile came onto her face. This was the Anne that he knew, and for a second, he could've sworn that they were friends once more.

"Each temple has a theme," Marcy continued. "And this one appears to be strength!"

"Then it's a good thing I showed up," Ethan quipped.

"What's that supposed to mean," Sasha demanded, eyes narrowing at him. "Because you're a guy, and therefore stronger than girls?"

"I never said that," Ethan replied shortly, doing his best to not fire back an insult at the girl. "I just happen to be in a sport that relies mostly on strength and flexibility, and I've been trained by Grime here to be a pretty good fighter." He shrugged. "Besides, my skills came in handy when I saved Marcy and those two frogs." He turned to the frog trio. "Oldie and Short Stuff."

"Hop Pop and Polly," the old one snapped, his angry expression not as scary with his body still shriveled like a prune.

"He does have a point," Marcy pointed out, turning to Anne and Sasha. "I know I told you two and Sprig to go ahead, but if Ethan hadn't showed up, we would've been goners!"

"Whatever," Sasha huffed, turning to look up the tunnel. "Let's just get going. "Marcy, you take the lead, and Plantars behind her. Anne next, then Ethan and Mr. Ugly Face-"

"That's Captain Grime," the toad snapped.

"-and I'll take up the rear," the blonde girl finished.

"Okay, then," Anne said, she and the frogs nodding in agreeance. Ethan, after some hesitation, did so as well, and once they were in the right configuration, they were off, heading further into the depths of the temple.

I hope y'all liked this chapter! Know that I'll be getting the next part published at the soonest I can manage! My thesis is nearly finished, and due in less than a week, so after that's turned in and I defend it, I hope to have more time to write for this story and my others.

Also, I haven't really been watching Season Three, so please no spoilers.

Have a great day everyone!

-aggiefrogger