Leo finds himself in all new foreign parts of Amphibia, soon crossing paths with an all too familiar face, having to face a horrifying general from Newtopia.
...
"See yah later girls! Make sure you actually call me next time and don't spend all your time playing that dumb game you love!"
Anne and Marcy waved her off, adamant to reply to the comment. They knew it was just Sasha being herself, she could be harsh but most of the time she wasn't all too serious.
The blonde promptly whipped her ponytail back, slinging her backpack over her shoulder without a care in the world. Of course, she'd got both Anne and Marcy to walk her back home, so she was only a step from her front door.
She opened it somewhat timidly, no one awaiting her return or even acknowledging it. The door swung open with a thud, hoping that someone would be alerted by the noise.
But the shouting and yelling drowned it out almost completely. Sasha herself couldn't even hear the door shut behind her, sighing as she dropped her bag at the bottom of the stairs – where they would be waiting for her the next morning.
There was no lunch box to remove or homework to finish. She'd bought something with the money left on the counter and had gotten Marcy to finish whatever work she had left, not like many of the teachers tried or could get mad at her for not doing it.
Sasha removed her blazar and carried it up the second floor with her. Trying to get as far away from the voices, to drone them out, she couldn't listen to her parents any longer.
She was somewhat envious whenever she went around Anne or Marcy's house, their parents were always couped up together, either on the phone, in the kitchen, or simply just together.
The only time that happened was when they got home, whether it was early in the day or late at night, they'd argue, pass along sarcastic remarks and try to see, like everything was fine whenever she was there, act like a family and spoiling her with whatever she wanted.
That just wasn't true, they knew it, she knew it. Why were they still pretending? Acting like everything was fine for so long when they were clearly unhappy.
"Um, Sasha. Could you come down here for a minute?" It was her mum, who she seemed to take much after, both in resemblance and attitude.
There wasn't much she wanted to hear from either of them, so what could they possibly want?
After that night the fighting stopped, no one was arguing with each other, and Sasha would come home to a silent, empty house. Whether that was better or not she didn't know, but she hated the quiet.
She hated everything about this situation, and how she was powerless to do anything with it. Her parents were getting divorced, and now she had to live with that.
One foot bounced off a mushroom, the other landing on one more, bounding her up to the slight ajar cliffside, landing with a strong thud. She took off not a moment later, swinging her entire body with a singular tree branch, rolling onto the floor to catch herself.
Soon enough, a windmill came into view, rustic and presumably abandoned. She swerved at five scarecrows now in front of her. She kicked away the watermelon, crushing it in two, tore it into the orange pumpkin, and flattened the purple plant underneath her foot.
Now there only stood two, one adorned in white feathers on their head and small red pits as eyes. Just by seeing it, she felt enraged, swinging the old and battered shortsword towards it, cleaving it in two.
All that was left was the bushy-haired scarecrow, who was quickly kicked down and left to lie on the ground beneath her.
"So. How was that, Grime?" Sasha questioned, with a cold sweat, breathing heavily. Only to find no one there, the toad she had asked to judge her training was gone, most likely inside...with her phone.
Sasha stabbed the worn-out sword into the grass, she didn't care much if stayed there or was taken, she wanted her Herren blade back, but that had been smashed to pieces by Anne.
How could she forget that night? She'd lost not only her fight with Leo but her friendship with Anne and everything she'd built up in Toad Tower.
Who could blame her? The last thing she'd expect is for Anne to all of a sudden start glowing blue and have the ability to crumble an entire tower just by stomping her foot. Then again, she'd managed to throw back someone who was clearly overpowering her and smack him into the side of a wall.
Admittedly, that had left a lasting impact on her. Not only with what she did, but how she even managed to muster that much strength, to begin with.
Leo irritated her, from the moment he spoke to her with a weird robotic drone to his voice, the dead, horrifying look in his eyes, and the general off-putting nature he had.
Something urged her to win against him, she couldn't let herself lose to him, no matter how strong he was. He'd gotten in the way of her friendship with Anne, he'd helped change her along with the weird frog kid.
He was the one that kept getting in the way.
Clenching her gloved fists, Sasha angrily kicked the door open, finding Grime sitting there, beard and all, opening another can of whatever weird drink in Amphibia, Sasha preferred water, it was the only drink she was sure wouldn't kill her.
"What are you doing? I thought we were supposed to be training, not watching..." Sasha paused, tilting her head to her phone, leaning over on a log, "...Seriously, Suspicion Island? That show is so generic."
"Don't get all fussy just because I'm further ahead than you. Don't worry I won't give any spoilers.."
Sasha huffed, both at the fact that he was right and the state he was in. Losing most of his army and Toad Tower hadn't done him all too well either, spiraling into his own kind of depression, barely even leaving whatever spot they were hiding out in.
"I don't care about spoilers! What I care about is you getting back into shape! I mean what'll you do if someone comes to collect that huge bounty on your head?"
As if appearing due to her worries, two cloaked figures burst through the boarded-up windows. Sasha was quick on her feet, grabbing Grime's sword, and swiping confidently at the intruders.
"Oof! Grime, I don't think I can handle them alone, I need a hand here!" Acting as if she was having a struggle, Sasha leaned back against the floor.
Making little to no effort to get up, Grime leaned back, opening another bag of dusted beetles, "Nah. You took my sword, what I'm supposed to fight with," he said, his voice muffled due to the food being shoveled into his mouth.
'This isn't getting us anywhere...' Sasha sighed, dropping the sword in defeat.
One of the figures got back up, charging her, "That's enough, he's not buying it guys."
Slipping on a loose floorboard, the figures flew into the other, scattering their hoods and revealing it to be Percy and Braddock, now piled up on top of each other, "It was you two?" Grime queried, not seeming to be all that bothered.
"Hah! It's just like Suspicion Island! You two should join me, the season's really starting to kick off!" Just as they were about to be coerced into watching the show, Sasha yanked them back towards the door.
"Nope! You two aren't going to end up like that slob over there. Go into town and get food or something...trust me you don't want to hear the words I have for ol' captain Grime!" Sasha growled, shoving them outside.
"Pfff, what are you possibly going to do to me?" Grime scoffed, not buying her intentions one bit.
Sasha, on the other hand, re-equipped the sword now lodged in the wood, pointing it directly at him, smiling from ear to ear, "Training. And lots of it!"
Even though he'd spent the better part of his time wandering throughout a forest, Leo thought it was a given that he'd have already adapted to the harsh environment of Amphibia.
Yeah, what a lie that was.
He'd only been separated from Anne and the Plantars for two days and he was severely missing the warm and cozy bedding of the f'wagon. Anything would be better than the hard and cold surface of caves at this point.
Given his memory loss, Leo wasn't all too sure how long he'd been traversing through the forest, but it had been much easier of a trek than forests that quite literally try to kill you.
Luckily, he'd managed to crawl through the worst of it and was now wandering through the dense, yet surprisingly empty woods, foraging for whatever he could, which wasn't much apart from sticks and whatever fruit hung from the branches.
He wore a raggedy, torn cloak, mainly to obscure his face. The frogs of Wartwood already didn't react well to Anne, and especially him, so it was no telling how the rest of Amphibia would respond to how he looked.
Even with what he'd thought and been told, there was no hiding the fact that he was different, even compared to a human.
Leo couldn't help but wonder if that was what made him so different from who he had been previously, was he self-conscious about how he looked? Was he worried that he was different from Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, the only three other humans in this world?
Or even that he just didn't fit, like he was the irregular puzzle on a board. Maybe that was why he sometimes felt distant from everyone else and sometimes he didn't.
It was why he needed and had to remember who he was...because maybe then he'd see how he fit.
Having walked for what felt like an eternity, the sound of bickering sprung him up from the rut he'd placed himself in, carefully moving through the brambles to not alert any attention to himself.
Now crouched in the treeline, Leo peered at his rough and dirt-covered face, trying to make sure he wasn't spotted by whatever frog seemed to be there.
"I don't see what the big deal is!? It's not like anyone cares about my bounty, I can guarantee you that no one's even looking for me!" A groggy voice argued.
"It doesn't matter!" Another much higher voice spoke back, "You can't just let yourself become a slob. Sitting down all day doing nothing but eating, drinking, and watching trash tv, you used to be the top toad general!"
Hold on. Who exactly was he hearing right now?
Leo felt his ears perk up; he recognized those voices. One that was dark and grimy, with the other much more judging and harsher. They were for some reason out here, was it because they were running? From what, and who. Based on what he'd eavesdropped on it didn't seem like anyone in particular.
His cover was blown the second his legs buckled in on themselves, throwing him forward and out in the open.
"Who's there!" Sasha questioned, immediately in action snatching Grime's sword up. Neither one of them had a pleasant look on their face as they met eyes with one another, "You."
"Me..." Leo said dryly, covering the slight fear he felt. Radiating off of the blonde was nothing but pure intense anger, her eyes seeming redder than his own.
"Why...why are you out here? After everything that happened, you should be with Anne and the froggy family. What did she you abandon you or something?"
Leo didn't have any kind of opportunity to stand up or even respond, feeling as if the sword at his temple would be pushed forward, "..I got separated from them, that's all."
He didn't want to say much, if Sasha knew there were all heading to Newtopia then she either wouldn't let him go or would follow after them, as much as she and Anne should reconcile, he worried that the blonde still might've been harboring some lingering resentment towards him.
That or it was just what her normal resting face was like.
"Wait! Sasha doesn't kill him. I know your upset...with what happened, but you do remember what happened back at Toad Tower," For once, Grime sounded sympathetic, placing a scaly hand on her shoulder.
Both Leo and Sasha flashed back to the night, one with blood splattered across his body, and the other with blood along her sword, staring at a lifeless body.
"Look. I don't want to fight, we know how that turned out anyway," Leo remarked, in his typical emotionless voice, getting Sasha's eye to twitch ever so slightly, "I'm just trying to get back to Anne. We both don't like each other, you much more than me. So, let's just agree to go on our separate ways-"
"Wait. Just because I don't want to kill you doesn't mean, I can't get something out of you," Sasha said, now much more resolved, "Where are Anne and those frogs headed?"
Leo froze for just a moment, not long enough to pick up on, but weary enough for him to stumble on his own words, "...O-One of the Plantars relatives lives far out from Wartwood, we we're just paying them a visit."
Predictably, she didn't buy it, inching closer towards him, "For someone with your voice, you should be better at lying."
None of them made a move, stopping at the sound of whistling throughout the forest like some chilling echo, rustling the trees and scaring away any wildlife, birds fluttering up into the sky. Neither of them wanted to know what was on the receiving end of that, backing up from one another, as they waited for whatever was strutting towards them.
Eventually, appearing from the open path of trees, was a pink newt adorned with armor and badges, walking with brisk nonchalance, stopping a few meters before them.
"Is this who you were worried about following you?" Leo questioned in their usual tone, turning an eye to Sasha who reluctantly answered.
"No. Not them in particular, Grime's wanted for treason. Guess someone's finally here for his bounty!" Sasha spoke, much louder than him raising the battered sword towards her.
All the newts could do was laugh, it was a small chuckle but enough to be unnerving, "Bounty? You must be mistaken, I'm here for his head!" She announced, brandishing two claws from each hand, protruding them just above her knuckles.
"Little overkill.." Leo murmured to himself, wincing at the side glance he was getting from Sasha, "Who are you anyway?"
The newt turned to Leo, a little struck by his appearance but moving on nonetheless, "Alright, third time today. I...am General Yunan! Scourge of the Sandwards, defeater of Ragnar the- wait, your Captain Grime?"
She had expected a little bit more, especially considering she'd been sent out to bring in the mightiest toad of the colosseum, who had bested three roaring mammoth beetles with his bare hands.
Now there was just a burping oaf, lazily scratching his raggedy beard.
Yunan didn't care all too much, if there was a target to cut up then there was no problem, "It is strange though. I was warned that Grime might've been grouped with a creature unknown to this land. I didn't think there'd be two, not one with eyes like that.."
Leo blinked, souring a little. Was everyone he met always going to point out his appearance before anything else?
"Wait...no, I'm not with them. I know it might look that way, but I've just been separated from my-"
"Spare the lies. You could at least put in some emotion, to try and convince me, not that it was going to work," Yunan brushed his words aside, not listening to him for a second.
"Seriously, I'm not with them," Leo argued, trying his best to get riled up.
He couldn't get another word out before a wooden log came flying at his face at a dangerously alarming speed, if it weren't for his arm being tugged away it would've smacked right into him, "Sasha.." Leo said plainly, a tad confused.
"Don't try and thank me. I just don't want to see you dead on the ground, besides she thinks you are with us now!" Sasha informed briefly, already running ahead of him.
"Eh I'll give you a chance to run, makes it more of a thrill for me," Yunan removed her cape, chopping away at some of the nearby trees to give herself an easier look at their general direction.
Grime was lagging behind, burping his way towards them.
"Just my luck, the first person they send after me is some psychotic glory hound! She'll kill us all before she even thinks about leaving us be!" Grime growled, struggling to keep up with them.
Grumbling, Leo was still running with them, "Why am I getting caught in this...you two are the fugitives."
"Whose fault do you think that is? You didn't need to fight me back then, if you didn't then maybe Anne wouldn't have wigged with whatever she turned into, then the tower would still be standing, and we wouldn't be wanted!" Sasha complained back, starting to question why she'd even saved him.
Leo didn't want to engage in an argument right now, not while there were running from a near insane newt that was more or likely going to kill all three of them.
But he couldn't let it go, she was yet again making it out as if she wasn't in the wrong like he'd gotten in the way of what she wanted. Even if that meant glossing over trying to kill Hop Pop and him.
"I was trying to stop you from killing Hop Pop, the frog who gave me a home when I didn't have a memory of where mine was. Did you just want all of us to stand there and watch?" Leo questioned, having a little more bite than Sasha would've expected.
To her, he just seemed like the kind of quiet kid who oozed sarcasm.
"We were doing what was right for the valley, all those frogs needed to be put back in line!" Grime put in, feeling his old fire returning.
"According to you, they did, trying to kill Hop Pop only got them to hate you more. Don't blame me for that, and don't blame me for ruining your friendship with Anne...you did that yourself."
Just like that, a twig whipped back into Leo's face, a much more hurt-looking Sasha in front of him. She was still seething with rage, her nose crinkling right up to her brow, "You have no idea what you're talking about. Someone who can barely even act like a human can't understand how Anne and I were friends!"
"I knew everything about her, and she did with me! She and Marcy were the closest people I know, and you took that away!"
Leo stared at her with nothing but a blank stare, "...I took that away? You hurt Anne for your entire friendship, and because of Sprig, Hop Pop, Polly, and me; she finally stood up to you. Don't blame that on me, you were the one who did that, not me. You're a horrible person.."
Usually, this would be the point where Leo would raise his voice. He rarely did, although recently he felt as if it had been slipping out. Instead, he was calm and composed, his voice filled with nothing but spite.
Sasha flipped. Lunging at him without warning, her sword held back ready to strike, "Sasha stop!" Grime yelled, holding her back, Leo staring back at her grunting expression.
"Get off me Grime, he's not with us either way. But him than us, right?" She relayed coldly shoving his arm aside.
"But...you won't do it. I've seen how strong-willed you can be the grit and determination you have is fierce. Doing this though, it isn't something you want...we both know that."
Staring at the ground, the blonde didn't respond, "...He's right though. I'm a terrible person, that's why she stood up to me," Sasha said in a mumble, with only Grime being able to hear her.
"You're not a terrible person. Yes you've done some questionable things, but so have I, what I did in my years at Toad Tower alone should really get me sent to the highest security Newtopian prison there is."
"Anne stood up to you, and now things might never be the same again. But right now we're being chased by a bloodthirsty newt, and I've got something worth fighting for.."
Sasha smiled, understanding the sentiment, "I do too."
Leo was about to speak up, not to apologize, he'd said all that he needed to, but he was slightly concerned that they'd not only ran themselves to the edge of a cliff, but Yunan couldn't be too far behind them.
He didn't want to fight her to begin with, he'd rather run away and leave Sasha and Grime to deal with it, with what she'd done, this wasn't his problem.
Yet now, there was no way out, and he still felt the need to fight. Whether it was with Sasha or not.
Suddenly, leaping down below them, Yunan stood confidently before the three of them, "Ah, I see you've decided to submit to the great general Yunan! Scourge of the sandwards, defeater of Ragnar the wretched, the youngest newt eve-"
"Do you seriously have to do this every time!" Sasha cut her off, groaning.
"Yeah, it's way too long..." Leo added.
"Really? I figured something wordy would stick in the minds of all who fear me," Yunan replied, thinking it over, "Should I then change it to something shorter."
Whilst she was distracted, Leo turned to both the toad and other human, "Look. I really don't like you, Sasha, you hurt Anne and you don't seem to care, not to mention you have no empathy for anyone but yourself, and-"
"I get it!" Sasha snapped.
"But...I'm clearly not going to be able to run and neither can you. So, no matter how much we don't like it, we're all gonna have to fight. Besides, that's something I from a few months ago would do...I doubt Anne would forgive me either.."
Sasha glazed her eyes back over to Leo, seeing him standing confidently with his sword in hand. Just looking at him reminded her of that night, and everything he, Anne, and she had done.
She still didn't like him; in fact, she could confidently say she hated him. A total nobody who had ruined everything she had.
But she couldn't turn his request down, not in the situation.
"Fine. You with me Captain?"
Staying silent, the toad shot out his tongue to the nearby tree brandishing a large branch, "Always Lieutenant!"
"Oh, very well. I haven't caught three heads at once. It is important to widen your horizons I suppose," Yunan drifted off, once again drawing out her blades.
Not waiting for an order, Leo charged Yunan, who waited for him with eager glee. She met his swords with her own, swiping them to the hard steel edge, grinding them across the metal. He spotted the other set of claws ascending towards him, jerking back whirling his katana as he did, clashing with them, stopping her knives right then and there.
Grunting in annoyance, Yunan attacked again, more precise and aggressive than before, Leo countered but only managed enough to not sustain any cuts. Yunan recovered quickly slapping her tail into his stomach, throwing him right into the nearest tree.
Taking what little opportunity they had, Sasha intervened scraping the old shortsword into Yunan's arm, leaving an indentation along it.
"Crud..." She yelped outwardly.
Grime sprung out, doming her in the back with his tongue, acting more like a fist, punching her to the ground. Sasha slammed her fist into the newt's chin, a trail of blood kicking out of her chin as she slumped a few ways back.
"Hah! Some general you are! You're losing to a couple of teenagers and a toad who's spent the last three weeks sat down!" Sasha openly mocked, smiling at how easy they'd succeeded.
Leo didn't say all too much, rubbing his probably bruised ribs, "You know, I was aiming for your heads. I guess I'll just have to kill you the old-fashioned way."
Springing up from the ground, suddenly reinvigorated Yunan lunged straight for Sasha, at a speed she wasn't able to dodge. Grime leaped forward with his whole body, catching the blood-lusted newt off guard.
It wasn't much to stall her though, only falling back a few feet, drawing her claws once again, "With a body like that. You are gonna look fantastic, stuffed!"
This time aiming for the toad, Yunan cut into the stick he was using to defend himself, only having to get a few slices in before it fell apart into lumps of woods. The amphibian was left defenseless, receiving a harsh kick to the foot, worsening his already scarred eye.
"Gah!" He whimpered, hitting the floor with a thud.
Not letting that stand, Sasha came in screaming, thwacking the sword straight onto Yunan's claws, worriedly hearing the metal starting to creak, 'Doesn't matter, I'll fight bare-handed if I have to!'
Right at her chest came an incoming claw, close to reaching its mark. She grunted with all her willpower, bending her wrist and fingers without warning, twisting the sword so it could meet with handheld blades, pushing them off target.
She was really starting to see why Yunan dubbed herself as such an elite, her swift recovery, speed, and skill were all top-notch, definitely better than hers and Leo's even if she was still managing to hold her own.
Just barely though.
"Don't forget about me," Leo quipped as dry as a bone, given the long silence that had started with the fight. He thought it'd be funny for him to break it.
The dull responses quickly retracted that thought from ever happening again.
Yunan was fending off the two of them, throwing her claws at Leo with one hand and pushing Sasha down with the other.
But both of them were pushing her back.
Leo kicked out a side, squirming her back against the dirt, catching her breath and coming back as if were nothing more than a shove.
Sasha made up for that, swinging the sword from all the way at the bottom of her feet to Yunan, meeting her with a mighty collision, breaking not only the general's claws but the own sword she was wielding.
"Hah! Better you didn't think you'd meet your match out here did you!" Yet again grinning cockily, Sasha dug the shattered blade into her shoulder, once again drawing blood.
Despite not even glancing at one another, and not uttering even a single word of direction. They weren't fighting together; they were just two people engaged with the same opponent.
Right now, it was working pretty well for them. Leo stepped in to take control, Sasha might've still been able to fight, but without a sword, she'd need a good opening – he wasn't offering that to her, he just wanted to make sure she wasn't getting in the way.
Yunan was starting to break a sweat, gritting her fanged teeth and forcing the one set of claws she had left back onto him.
Whilst he was, he saw Grime in the corner of his eye, steadily approaching them both. It was then that he actually realized they were at the edge of a cliff, which he was narrowly reaching the end of it.
"...A three-on-one fight? Must be difficult, I think we're holding out pretty well though," Leo taunted, noting the look of frustration wiped across Yunan's face, itching him closer to the cliff a smile finally showing on her face.
"I...the great general Yunan won't lose to some criminals! You're the last one!"
"Nope!" Sasha involved herself again, this time from the ground swiping at Yunan's feet, taking her down to her level.
Leo attacked again, stopping Yunan from getting back up. Grime stepped in, this time with much more ferocity to himself, not lazily swinging his stick around but shoving the newt off the cliff, roaring as he did.
With a look of fear on his face, Leo flipped around and peered over to see a lake below, with Yunan drifting away, yelling out something incoherent to the three of them. Even if she'd been trying to kill them, he was sure Anne and Hop Pop had rubbed off on him.
"Hah! That felt amazing, forget retaking the valley. I haven't felt this alive in months!" Grime bellowed, howling out over the cliffside.
Leo stood by idly, not liking the sound of those words, he'd seen first-hand what a driven and accomplished Grime could actually do.
Like, take control over an entire valley.
"Well..." He started, trying to wrap up the conversation, "I need to get going, we're done here."
He spoke curtly and quickly, starting to walk back into the forest. There had to be a town nearby, maybe then he could find the fastest way to at least get somewhat closer to Newtopia.
"Where do you think you're going? Who says we're done," Sasha barked, snippily raising an eyebrow.
"I do. We won, the only reason I stayed is to fight. No offense Sasha but I need to get to Anne unless you know the quickest way to the next town over..."
Before they could answer two other toads came running at them, heaving for air, "Grime! The town it's crawling with newts, saying they were sent to back up the best general of the Newtopian guard! By the king himself!" They explained nervously.
"What!?" They'll be after us any second, we've gotta go!" Grime exclaimed, immediately rushing away. Leo going to do the same, stopping when Sasha stepped in front of him.
"What's your problem?" Leo spat out, a bit bored at this point, "I thought you hated me? Don't you want me to leave?"
"You do realize if you head into town they'll be after you two, your only way is out of the forest like us. I don't want you to come, don't get me wrong. But do you really think you'll get back to Anne with an army of newts down your back?"
Leo grumbled, dropping his head in annoyance at the fact that she was right, not only with how he looked but Yunan had already confirmed that they'd been informed that Grime was with a creature of some sort.
"Fine. Even if I'm coming with you, that still doesn't answer how we can get away especially if they'll be chasing after you four," Leo pointed out, not involving himself with them.
One of the toads, green in color held up a hand as if asking for permission to speak, "If we go through this town night market, I heard some people around town talking about a mine that has been abandoned for years. Apparently, looters use it all the time."
Sasha grinned, "Percy you genius! Those stupid newts will never even know we were here!" She raised her fist much more confidently than before.
Leo ran behind a little, growing more and more concerned about what he was actually getting himself involved with. He didn't trust Sasha, nor was he sure that he could even tolerate her, but now he didn't really have a choice, even Leo was sure he couldn't take on a whole swarm of armed newts.
So, keeping a steady watch on his own racing feet, one hand gripping his katana. Leo ran ahead, along with the enemy.
...
...
Damn. This chapter turned out longer than I thought, so I hoped you enjoyed it anyway. I do just want to preface in case it isn't already abundantly clear with this chapter, Sasha and Leo aren't going to become friends or trust each other, not at this point in the story anyway. Putting these two together in this situation is just for their development.
One more note, I always felt like Yunan was never enough of a threat, especially with how she was shown to be able to demolish half a forest and didn't need an army. Whilst she was a bit like that in this chapter, she'll be much more of a threat in the next one which is again going to be focused on Leo and Sasha, so until then see ya!
