Chapter 6: The Third Temple
It had been several minutes since the Master's TARDIS had taken off toward the location of the so-called "Third Temple." After nearly a month of preparing, planning, and deceiving, he was nearly on the verge of acting out his dark designs. If he was successful, not only could he put an end to the ongoing conflict that was the Time War but also has the bonus of gaining the power to reshape the multiverse itself. The thought of controlling such power excited the mad Gallifreyan, having the whole of reality be dominion to him, with no Doctor, Dalek, Chronovore, or Eternal alike that could stop him. However, there was a pain in his side he would still have to deal with and her name was Marcy Wu.
While the girl had been useful so far, helping him blend into Amphibia for the past few weeks under the guise of the Doctor, being gullible enough to trust him, and giving him access to a functioning robot to serve his bidding, she had also been a big annoyance to the insane Time Lord. Her delusional view of being in a fictional world full of adventure with her friends at her side sickened him to his core. The bumbling fool reminded him too much of the Doctor and his companions who would often seek adventure across the universe while ignoring its true state. Oh, how he wanted to choke the life out of that girl and her idiotic friends where they stood but he still need them to recharge the final gem for the Soul of Omega (or Calamity Box as termed by Marcy). He would just have to be patient for just a little longer no matter how much that girl annoyed him.
Just a little bit longer. Thought the Master as he listened to the TARDIS engines humming as it flew through the time vortex, ignoring the sounds of Marcy and Anne listening to K-Pop (much to his annoyance) while the Plantar's looked around the control room.
All will fall into place once this is all over.
Suddenly a faint beeping sound reached the Time Lords ears. He then looked to the screen to see that they were near their destination and he then pulled a lever on the console. The Column in the center then stopped its rhythmic movement as the TARDIS engines stopped humming becoming quiet with an ambient sound replacing it.
"Eh hem!" coughed out the Master, making everyone stop mid-conversation. "It seems that we have arrived at our desired location."
"You sure this is the right place?" asked Hop Pop curiously as he and the others started to walk to the doors.
"Well judging the directions that the music box gave me and using the maps provided to calculate our destitution, I am hundred percent sure," responded the Master as the group exited the TARDIS.
When they when through the TARDIS doors to the outside, they were greeted by the sight of an active volcano as lava leaked from it. The Master saw that Anne and her amphibious friends had looks of amazement on their faces due to how far they had traveled in such little time. If it was one thing he knew it was that primitive beings could be impressed very easily. He then saw the frog boy Sprig walk up to him.
"So wait, did you ship like fly us here?" asked Sprig
"Not quite my dear child," replied the Master. "You see, my TARDIS does not fly in the atmosphere when traveling rather it flies through the time and space itself."
Sprig then gasped, "You can travel through time?!"
"Correct," responded the Master. "Unfortunately due to my predicament, I can only travel through Amphibia's timeline, so there is not much my ship can do to help your friends return home."
The Time Lord then noticed the Plantar boy back to Anne, Polly, Hop Pop, and Marcy who were trying to pull out Joe Sparrow from the TARDIS. The bird was squawking loudly as Frobo pushed from the back with the group at the front pulling. After a few more pulls, Joe and Frobo tumbled out of the ship, landing on top of the group (minus the Master and Sprig who were some distance away) leaving them in a daze.
As the Time Lord watched the aftermath play out in amusement, Sprig then asked him a question, one that he heard commonly, "So Doctor, you said your ship travels in time right?"
The Master then raised a brow and played along with him. "Yes, that is correct. Where are you going with this?"
The frog boy then touched his fingers together nervously. "It's just that years ago, Polly and I lost our parents to some herons and I was wondering after we recharge the final gem, you know make it that they never died?"
"You want me to transgress the laws of time and space to save your parents?" said the Master as he gave a false yet convincing shocked gasp.
"Please?" begged Sprig as they both watched the Marcy, Polly, Joe Sparrow, Frobo, and Hop Pop get up and recover from their pile on. "It's just that they died when we were young and never got to know them."
Sprig then looked at the Time Lord with a sad face. "Imagine if you never knew your family."
As the Plantar boy finished his little speech about family, it got the Master thinking. Humans were always dull creatures to him but these amphibians seemed to be no different with their single-minded concepts. He never understood why such primitive creatures had these kinds of pointless attachments but still, I would entertain him to see the frog boy beg him.
"Sprig, while I am deeply sorry about your loss but my hands are tied," said the Master. "Even if I wanted to change the outcome of your parent's fate, tampering with the timeline of Amphibia could be catastrophic to present and future!"
"I'm willing to take that," responded Sprig not backing down. "Please if not for then for Polly?"
This gave the renegade Time Lord an evil idea and he then gave a sign of defeat. "Very well, I'll do it."
"Really?!" said Sprig excitedly. "You would do that?"
"Yes but not right now, we still need to get your friends back to Earth," responded the Master. "Also if I am to bring back your parents after Anne and her friends leave, expect a visit from the Celestial Intervention Agency, they don't take too lightly with beings messing with time."
"The Celestial what?" said Sprig confused at the name.
"What you would term Time Police," replied the Master as Marcy and the rest of the group made their way to them.
"Hey Sprig, what you and the Doctor standing around for we got a temple to complete!" said Anne.
"Sprig and I were just having a talk have a discussion," said the Master as he look at her. "Anne, if you may?"
The young frog boy then smiled. "So guys it turns out the Doctor's blue box can actually travel through time!"
The group (minus Marcy) gasped in awe at the news of this information and then began to process it. Then a slow realization came to Anne, Polly, and Hop Pop.
"Wait a minute!" said Anne. "If you can travel through time, does that mean…"
"Make it that Sprig and Polly's parents never died?" responded the Master. "Yes, I can."
Polly's eyes glimmered at what the Time Lord had just said. "Are you really going to bring back mom and dad?"
"Yes," said the Master as Polly began crying tears of joy. "but not right now as we have a temple to complete so-"
The Master was cut off by Polly who had bounced over to him and hugged the Time Lord, tears staining his jacket. The other two Plantars then joined in the hug both of who were tearing up as well. As he hugged the family of frogs, Marcy was about to speak up regarding the situation regarding his TARDIS but then he gave a slight small gesture to her to not say anything about it to them. The Newtopia ranger silently then complied with a little remorse on her face as the Plantars stopped hugging the Master.
"You would do this for us why?" asked Hop Pop.
"Sprig told me that he and young Polly never knew their parents," replied the Master. "And I could not bear to see children suffer like that."
"You really are the hero they described in the legends," said Hop Pop. "I always thought that you were a legend but here you are, right in front of my own eyes."
The Master gave a hand wave to the comment. "You are too kind Hopediah but anyways we have a temple to complete, Ms. Boonchuy if you may?"
Anne then took the music box out of a satchel and the blue gem then shot out a beam of light. The light then pointed to a large rock that started to glow pink archway with ancient writing on the top of it.
"The entrance to the third temple," said Anne. "What's it say, Mar-Mar?"
Marcy then pulled out her journal to translate the words. After figuring out what it said, she then had a confused look on her face. The Master then went up to her and asked "Are you alright my child?"
"Yeah I'm fine," responded Marcy. "It says 'Lift to enter, bruh'.
"Huh, that's weird," replied Anne as Frobo walked towards the entrance and lifts the rock revealing the entrance.
"Excellent work," congratulated the Master. "Now could you and our avian friend look after my TARDIS while looking out for intruders?"
In response, Frobo gave a thumbs up to the Time Lord. Then it and Joe Sparrow went over to the blue box to guard it. The group then made their way into the temple.
"Alright now let's go crush this temple!" shouted Anne as she ran into the temple.
The Plantars followed in behind her with the Master and Marcy at the back. As the Master was about to enter the temple, Marcy then nudged him. He then turned to face her with a concerned and worried look on her face.
"Um, Doctor," said Marcy. "You do remember that your TARDIS can only dematerialize forwards through time right?"
"Oh of course I do," responded the Master. "As soon as I return to earth, I'll signal the Time Lords for help in which they will repair my TARDIS and then go back to Amphibia to undo the Plantar parent's death, how does that sound?"
The girl then gave a sigh of relief, "Oh good, I thought you forgot about that problem for a second."
"Not at all my dear," said the Master as they entered the temple. "I do try to think ahead of things."
"That's pretty efficient of you," replied Marcy. "Wouldn't your people be against changing events in the past?"
The Master gave a lazy handwave, "Well, they are but I wasn't much for rules and behinds who would want a child to grow up not knowing their parents?"
This made the Taiwanese-American girl think about what the Time Lord had just said. "I guess not."
"Precisely," said the Master, beginning to pick up his pace. "Now we better get a move on if we want to help Anne and her friends complete this temple."
Marcy then followed suit as they both ran into the temple leaving Joe Sparrow and Frobo outside. While they watched over the TARDIS, the robot began to pet the large bird. However, by doing this action, the two let their guard down for a second as two figures ran past them and into the temple.
When entering the chamber of the third temple, the Master and Marcy were greeted by a river of lava with a pathway. At the end was the door to the supposed first trial with two statues of muscular amphibians on each side. As the two caught up to Anne and the Plantar's, they noticed that the family of three had shriven up from the heat. The heat began to get to the Time Lord as he then took off his coat, wrapping it around his waist.
"Man it is hot in here," said Anne as she wiped some sweat from her forehead before noticing the Plantar's current state, shocking here. "Wow are you guy's ok?"
"Just a little heat," rasped Hop Pop. "We'll be alright."
"You sure about that?" asked Anne, concerned about the Plantar's dehydrated forms.
"Yep never felt better," responded Sprig weakly as he almost collapsed onto Polly who looked like a shriveled-up grape.
The Master gave a small chuckle at the frog family's current state. Misery and pain were always entertainment to him, especially to those he considered annoying and stupid. However, this slight slip of the mask did not go unnoticed as Anne looked at him.
"Something funny?" asked Anne.
"Oh no," said the Master. "I was merely thinking of a joke that reminded me of here."
"Must have been a sick joke," said Anne frowning.
"Anne, remember he is here to help us?" spoke up Marcy.
Anne then sighed, "Sorry about that Doctor."
"All is fine my dear," said the Master. "I understand completely and apologize on my end."
"Not to interrupt but we better get a move on," said a dehydrated Hop Pop as the group then enter the door to the first trial.
On the other side of the door was another long pathway across a river of molten lava. Suddenly, pink crystals began to glow revealing ancient writing. Along with the crystals was also a stone trunk. Marcy then translated the ancient words for the group.
"Whoa there, boss!' translated Marcy, confused by the writing. "Think you're strong enough to get across?"
The Master then raised a brow, "So I gather that the first test is of strength?"
As he finished, the crystals then faded as the trunk opened to reveal several hammers.
"Hun I wonder what are those for," said Sprig.
Suddenly a giant worm centipede-like creature came out of the molten river with a loud screech. Seeing her friend in danger, Anne quickly grabbed a hammer then swings it, and hits the creature making it fall back into the river. The Thai girl then gave a sigh of both relief and exhaustion.
"Man these things are heavy," puffed Anne more lava centipedes began to jump from the molten river over the pathway.
"We better get a move on before we become centipede food," said the Master as he passed a hammer to Marcy and Polly.
"Ugh!" said Marcy as she tried to lift the hammer while failing to do so. "Curse these noodle arms!"
"Yeah, this ain't happening," rasped Polly as she dropped her hammer weakly.
"Not worry everyone," said the Master as he pulled his laser screwdriver while passing Marcy a sonic lance. "Anne, Marcy, and I will protect you."
"Wow! My very own sonic?" squealed Marcy in excitement looking at the alien device. "How do I use it?"
"Press the top silver button and slash my dear," said the Master. "Now come along we have a temple to complete."
The group then made their way on the pathway with Anne at the front with the Master, Marcy, and the Plantar's following suite. Anne hit a centipede with her hammer while the Master shot one with his screwdriver. Another centipede came up but Marcy then slashed it with her sonic lance making the creature fall back in, splashing lava between her and the Plantar's separating them temporarily. Suddenly, behind the Plantar's a centipede burst out of the lava causing the family to scream in terror.
"Guys, no!" screamed Anne.
The Master however pretended to be in shock, secretly wanting the creature to devour the frog family so it would rid him of the three annoyances. Before the creature got that chance, a slash was heard, and the centipede split in two. A girl with blonde hair wielding a pink sword jumped from behind the dead creature and landed in front of the Plantar family as Marcy, Anne and the Master came up to see who it was.
"It can't be," said Anne as the Plantar's gasped in shock.
It seems that there is a new player on the field, thought the Master.
Now things just got interesting,
"Sash!" exclaimed Marcy. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe-"
"There's no time!" cried Sasha, interrupting the thirteen-year-old as she grabbed Anne's hammer. "Follow me!"
The group did not hesitate even for a second, following the blonde girl while she slashed another centipede and then crushed another with her hammer. One appeared in front of the Master and Marcy, blocking them off from the others. The two looked at each other and nodded knowing what to do. Marcy then slashed the creature's chest while the Master finished it off with a blast from his laser screwdriver, leaving a gaping hole as it fell over dead.
The two then caught up with the others at the end and slammed the door shut. The group then stopped to catch their breath from the near-death experience. Sasha then slammed the hammer into the ground, attracting the attention of the group. Anne then pulled out her tennis racquet, ready to defend her family.
"Sasha?" growled Anne with every watching what would happen next.
Sasha then turned to the group but to Anne and the Plantar's surprise, there was a cheerful look on her face. "Hey, girlfriend, good to see you!"
"Good to see you too?" said Anne confused at the way Sasha was considering their last encounter.
"Sasha!'" squealed Marcy as she ran up and hugged her BFF.
"Hey, Mar-Mar!" said Sasha returning the hug to her friend and then checking out her new uniform. "Wow check out your new threads."
"Speak for yourself!" replied Marcy excitedly as he examined her friend's new clothes. "Look at that amour! Is that pure toad steel?"
"Sure is," responded Sasha as then noticed the Master. "Mind explaining to me who the old man is?"
"For your information young lady, I look consider myself quite in my prime considering I am over 900 years old!" said the Master, who look offended at Sasha's comment.
Marcy then quickly ran next to the Time Lord to introduce him to her long-lost friend with a big smile on her face. "Sasha, this is the Doctor, Doctor this is Sasha!"
"Charmed to finally have your acquaintance, Ms. Waybright," spoke the Master, holding out his hand for her to shake. "Marcy has told me so much about you!"
For a minute, Sasha was very hesitant to shake the man's hand. While she had expected Anne, her family of frogs and Marcy but she did not expect another person to be among them since the music box seemed to be the only way to get to Amphibia. Also judging by his age, there was no way he was human, or was he lying?
"Yeah, glad to meet you too Doc?" said Sasha as she shook the man's hand. "So how did you get to Amphibia?"
Before the elder could say a word, a familiar voice behind the door echoed out, "Did someone say, Doctor?"
The door then opened to reveal her companion and superior, Captain Grime. He then entered with a dead centipede behind him that he had sliced in half. Like the Plantar's he too was dehydrated and shriveled but it seem not to faze him at all.
"I knew it!" rasped out Grime. "I knew that blue box was yours! The rumors are true about the Doctor being in Amphibia!"
The Master then grinned. "Oh, I see that news has spread of my arrival?"
"Wait?" said Anne, stepping forward. "How did you know we were coming here?"
"Well, actually we followed you here," responded Sasha nonchalantly.
"Impossible," said the Master. "My TARDIS does not travel through the sky, so it would be impossible to track us."
Sasha's smile then faded as she then sighed in defeat. "Fine, Grime and I were traveling near the volcano when we saw your porta potty and Marcy go into the cave."
"That seems more plausible," replied the Master, choosing to ignore the last part. "So I presume you here to take revenge on Anne and her friends from your last encounter?"
"What? No, we are not here for that," Sasha said nonchalantly, putting her arms in defense. "The reason we followed you guys was…."
Anne raised her racquet, getting ready to use force if necessary. Sprig and Polly got into fighting positions (or at least tried to due to their current state) while Hop Pop was too weak to fight. Marcy was worried about the outcome between her friends while the Master was curious to see what would happen.
"So I could tell Anne that everything that happened at Toad Tower was my fault," said Sasha sincerely.
"Really?" said Anne, who was confused by Sasha's sudden change.
"Yup," responded Sasha remorsefully. "It was wrong for me to put your frog friends in danger and undoubtfully wrong for me to push you around."
"Huh wasn't expecting that at all," said Anne lowering her racquet.
"While that is all well and good, why the sudden change?" asked the Master, brow raised. "From what I heard you and Grime tried to kill poor Hopediah."
Grime then spoke up. "After Toad Tower, Sasha and I lost everything."
"We had to go into hiding and have been on the run ever since," replied Sasha. "I had a lot of time to think about things but what are you guys doing here in a volcano?
Before anyone could say anything, Marcy then pulled out the music to show the duo. "The King of Amphibia told us that the music box can transport us back home but the stones need to be charged at three temples first and this is the third temple!"
"No way!" exclaimed Sasha. "So we can go home?"
"Yup," responded Anne nonchalantly.
"Wait a minute!" wheezed out Grime, looking at the Master. "If you are the Doctor, why don't you take everyone home using your blue box?"
"Unfortunately, due to circumstances of how I arrived in Amphibia my TARDIS is far damaged to leave his dimension," responded the Master. "So the music box is my only way back to N-Space."
"N-Space?" questioned Anne.
"Normal Space," replied Marcy instantly. "It's what the Time Lords term our universe, the Doctor told me that."
"And right you are Ms. Wu," said the Master. "Well we better get a move on, there are still two more tests that await us."
"What are these tests anyway?" asked Sasha curiously.
"To see if you are worthy of the stones," said Marcy pointing at each of the gems. "The previous two were Wit, heart, and this one is strength."
"It's a good thing I showed up," said Sasha condescendingly.
"What's that suppose to mean?" rasped Sprig as he glared at the blond girl.
"It means that you four are dead weight," spoke Sasha pointing at the other two Plantar's and the Doctor. "You'll just slow us down."
"I beg your pardon?!" said the Master, clearly not happy about this. "I- I mean we are certainly not dead weight!"
"Yeah, Sasha!" responded Anne. 'You can't just tell them what to do!"
Knowing Anne would not budge on it, Sasha then nonchalantly agrees and walks to the next test. "Ok fine, it was just a suggestion. Now, let's move."
Grime, Marcy, and the Master then followed behind the blond-haired girl. However, the Plantar's and Anne were hesitant being unsure if the toad army lieutenant had really changed but decided to follow along. The Plantar's and Anne kept a close eye on Sasha and Grime just in case they did anything, giving looks every so often.
While Marcy was pretty much convinced that her friend has changed, the Master however was not convinced at all. From what Marcy and Anne had told the Time Lord about Sasha, he was doubtful that the girl meant every word that she said. He had seen people like Sasha who controlled others, fail, and then try to weasel their way back into their hearts claiming that they had changed for the better while in reality that was false. However, he would say nothing, for now, still wanting to keep Marcy on his side so he could see the look on her face when his true intentions were revealed.
The group then entered the next room for the second test with a message that Marcy translated to "Sup Broseph? Do you even lift?".
This made the Master's eyes roll due to poor usage of words reminding him of the teenage humans that lived on earth who would use slang like that. It was things like that which made the renegade Time Lord despite humans, especially in their youth.
Typical primates
The test itself seemed to be pretty simple with a barbell and a bench present. Sasha then lifted with ease, trigging the door to open to the final test. The room appeared to have molten lava flowing everywhere with a stone lily pad floor covered in ancient writing on the outside.
"All right gang!" said Marcy as the group entered. "This should be the final room!"
More ancient writing appeared on a wall, glowing pink like the others before it. The group then went over to investigate which Marcy then translated "You've definitely got skill, no doubt but it's time you learn what is strength all about."
Suddenly, the room began to shake, almost putting everyone off their feet, Then, a giant magma stone toad-like golem leaped down from the roof and in front of the group. It then flexed its arms to show dominance and then gave a hand gesture to "bring it". The Master fired a bolt of energy from his laser screwdriver at the creature but when the beam hit, it left a small burn mark on the golem, not fazing it at all. This surprising the Time Lord who went to adjust the power settings on the screwdriver but Sasha then pushed him out of the way.
"Out of the way old man!" said Sasha as she drew her sword. "I've got this!"
The golem then let out a mighty roar as the floor lit up with a pink color like the crystals and text on the walls. Then all of a sudden, an invisible force pushed the group onto the floor, like a set of weights were added to them. The Plantar's went face first with grime trying to get up but failing while the Master and three girls were barely able to keep themselves up from the floor.
"Great grasshopper guts!" wheezed Grime. "It's like an elephant tick is standing on my back!"
"That creature seems to be generating a gravitational field!" cried the Master, helping Marcy to stand (or try to). "We need to destroy it!"
"Meaning?" groaned Hop Pop, still face flat on the floor.
"Everyone's mass has been increased!" cried out Marcy, struggling to get up.
Sprig then flailed in a weak attempt to get back up but due to the force of the room and his dehydrated state, this was impossible for the young frog as he wheezed and groaned. "I can't get up."
"Just sit tight Sprig!" reassured Anne. "Let us humans and um.. Time Lord handle this!"
The Master and the girls then slowly made their way towards the creature, struggling every inch. The stone golem laughed at the group, mocking their predicament. While the three humans ignored this, the Master didn't as he was enraged by the mindless creature insulting him, and wanted to kill it on the spot. He then pointed his screwdriver at the creature again and fired but this time with more force (as he adjusted the setting) which hit the golem in its left eye, taking it out completely. It then screeched in agony holding the left side of its head as smoke came out of its eye socket, making the Master smile at its pain.
Enraged by the loss of its eye, the golem then picked up two boulders and threw them at the group. The Master blasted the first one, reducing it to bits but failed to hit the second one as it came right for him. He then closed his eyes and braced for the impact when a sudden force pushed him out of harm's way. He then opened his eyes to see Marcy on top of him and then realized that the girl had pushed him out of harm's way.
"Thank you for the assistance, Ms. Wu," said the Master.
This made Marcy smile. "No sweat, Doctor. After all, that's what friends do for each other?"
"Yes indeed," replied the Master. "Now would you kindly get off of me?"
"Oops, sorry!" said Marcy, embarrassed by still being on top of the Time Lords back.
Unfortunately when the Flipwart champion tried to get back up but gravity pushed her down. The Master tried to then get up as well but the same thing happened, leaving them both stuck. Annoyed by this, he went to use his laser screwdriver but realized it was not on him but at the edge of the room (probably when Marcy knocked him out of the way) where neither Sasha, Anne, nor the Plantar's could retrieve it. Marcy still did have the sonic lance but that was more for close range
I knew I should have brought a spare Tissue Compression Eliminator or even a Staser! Thought the Master as he lay with Marcy, helpless on the ground.
The golem then recovered from its wound and looked at the Master and Marcy on the ground. It then made its way to them when Anne and Sasha stood in front of them, blocking the creature from its revenge. The creature then squinted its remaining eye in anger.
"Don't worry leave this to us!" said Sasha as Anne nodded in agreement.
"Well it's not like we are going anywhere!" shouted the Master, still pinned under Marcy.
The two girls then made their way toward the golem, struggling every step of the way. It was like doing a marathon with weights on for them with a giant rock monster trying to kill them. The two were pretty much sweating like volcanoes (no pun intended) at this point.
"Who would have thought that us working together despite everything that has happened," rasped Anne as she marched forward.
"Yeah," replied Sasha. "Unbelievable, especially since you still don't trust me even after I apologized!"
"What?!" exclaimed Anne.
Seeing there were two opponents left, the humungous creature then jumped. This caused several stalactites to fall from the ceiling to the ground where the two girls were standing. Anne and Sasha then quickly dodged them as they landed, piercing the ground.
"What do you mean I trust you!" responded Anne while dodging several stalactites.
"Oh please," argued Sasha. "I have been watching you this whole time!"
Sash then dodged an incoming stalactite. "You don't trust me at all!"
Frustrated by the blonde's answer, Anne then fired back. "Well do you blame me! Why would I trust you? It wasn't just Toad Tower!"
This burst of frustration from her best friend stunned the toad army lieutenant as Anne continued on. "You have been pushing me around my whole life."
"I know," said Sasha remorsefully, looking away from Anne's eyes.
Suddenly, the golem then gave a mighty roar that echoed across the room. Sasha and Anne's mass were then increased even further, forcing the two onto the group. Both girls tried to get up but all they could muster was a few inches of the ground at best.
"It feels like my lungs are going to explode," rasped Anne, weakly as she tried in vain to get up.
"It's over," said Sasha defeated. "We can't do this."
The creature then went over and grabbed a large stalactite. It then ripped the piece of rock and crystals, planning on using it as a makeshift club. It then raised it over the girl's intent on killing them and then their friends starting with the Master who gave a death glare to the creature. As all hope was lost, Anne then got an idea.
"You're right we can't," said Anne. "But you can because I believe in you!"
Sasha then gave a look of shock at what Anne had just said. "What?! How can you believe in me after being such a jerk to you?!"
"Because you weren't just a jerk," replied Anne. "You also inspired us, your fierce, your brave, and most of never give up!"
While the two girls were going back and forth at each other, the Master watched on. Listening to the girls bickering about trust and friendship was getting on his nerves. He had never needed friends as his only friend, the Doctor had betrayed him and had held him back from achieving his goals.
Ugh, when will this utter nonsense end?
The Master came out of his thoughts and focused on the task at hand. Thanks to Anne's words of encouragement, Sasha then mustered the strength to stand up and face the golem much to its surprise. She then faced the beast with determination burning in her eyes.
"I'll never give up!" shouted Sasha. "Not today, not ever!"
The girl then removed her cloak and pauldron which fell leaving a large crater. She then removed her armored boots which she then threw to the side almost hitting Sprig in the process. Like her pauldron and cloak, it too made a large crater making the Master question if her attire was really that heavy or was it a side effect of the gravity field. Sasha then unsheathed her sword and then took a step forward that left a large crater similar to her discarded clothing. The toad army lieutenant then made a dash toward the mighty creature. The beast then swung its club down with all of its might while Sasha jumped over it with ease and then landed on the end of it. Angered by this, the golem then swung the club upwards which sent her flying into the air. The girl then fell back down with her sword raised high above her head, ready to strike her opponent down.
"Get Croacked!" yelled Sasha as she swung her sword down to cut down her foe.
With one mighty swipe from her sword, the creature was sliced in half. It exploded, not before giving the girl a sign of respect for its defeat before looking at the Master giving one final glare. As soon as perished, the gravity of the room returned to normal as the pink glow faded, allowing everyone to get up. Marcy then got off the Master's back as she along with Anne (who had the box in hand) to the center of the room where Sasha was. When they reached there a stone column with a pink glow at the bottom appeared from the ground.
"You did it Sash!" exclaimed Marcy.
Anne then removed the final gem from the box and then presented it to Sasha. "Here, go ahead"
The Master (who had retrieved his laser screwdriver and was busy seeing if it was broken), Marcy, Anne, Grime, and the Plantar's watched as Sasha then put the gem in the center of the column. As she did a pink beam shot out from the gem as more writing appeared on the floor. The beam then faded leaving the gem fully charged as writing appeared on the ceiling which Marcy then translated. "Congrats brah! You finally know what it takes to go the distance. For what is true strength without persistence."
"Do you want to do the honors?" asked Anne, holding out the box to Sasha.
The St. James cheerleader then put the final gem into the box and completed it. Anne and Sasha then looked at the now fully charged music box with awe in their eyes. A few months ago, they had been transported here by the said music box, stranding them in Amphibia but now they could finally go home. Even the Master was impressed by the look of the fully charged box however for different reasons.
"So I guess that's that," said Anne. "So should we open it?"
"Oh, no, no, no, no!" said Marcy, nervously. "We have no idea where will end up, we should-"
"Bring it to King Andrias," interrupted the Master, "After all, he knows about the box better than anyone here don't you agree Marcy?"
Marcy then looked at the Time Lord, trying to hide a shocked look on her face then quickly put on her normal happy-go-lucky face. "Um, yeah of course! Great idea Doctor!"
Sasha then handed the music box to Anne who then put it into her backpack. Marcy then wrapped her arms around the two girls who then smiled at their fellow BFF. After several months of being separated, they were finally back together again.
"Sorry to interrupt the moment," said the Master looking impatient. "But I think it's time we got back to Wartwood after all our amphibious comrades are really starting to look dry and I wouldn't mind a nice cup of tea after all this adventuring."
The trio then looked back at Grime, Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly who they remembered were still dehydrated thanks to the volcano's heat. The girls then gave sheepish looks at the Master, realising that amphibious friends would not last much longer in the heat. They then made their way back to the entrance with the Master in front and the amphibians following behind.
As they were walking back, Marcy ran up to the Master when they were out of range from the others to talk about the situation regarding the music box.
"Um, Doctor you sure it's a good idea for Andrias to look at the music box?" asked Marcy nervously. "You said yourself that he can't be trusted."
The Time Lord then looked at the Newtopian ranger and then gave a little chuckle as he put his coat back on. "Oh, of course not! I just said that to buy me some time so we can finally bring an end to all of this."
"I know I've said this like a thousand times but will this work Doctor?" questioned Marcy. "Will this solve everything?"
"Of course my dear!" exclaimed the Master. "You won't have to worry about a thing, everything will fall into place just trust me."
As Marcy was going to open her mouth again they then heard a faint voice near the entrance. "Who goes there?! Identify yourself!"
The Master then raised his laser screwdriver as Marcy raised her crossbow and sonic lance in hand to back the Time Lord up. The two then slowly exited the entrance with weapons at the ready when they were greeted by a surprising sight. Outside another sparrow (who was Joe was pulling some questionable moves on as Frobo watched) was a female pink newt with white-blonde hair, wearing silver armor with several medals pinned to her chest. She also had two twin-bladed gauntlets and was standing in a battle pose when she saw the two exit.
"General Yunan?!" exclaimed Marc lowering her weapons. "What are you doing here?"
"Greetings, Master Marcy," greeted Yunan and she retracted her blades. "I see that Wartwood has been treating you well."
She then looked at the Master and held out her hand. "You are the Doctor correct?"
"Yes indeed I am," replied the Master as he shook it. "You must be the infamous General Yunan?"
"Correct," said Yunan as began to strike several dramatic poses. "For I am General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of General in the great Newtopian Army!"
"Well that is a lot of achievements you have there, General," responded the Master. "But may I ask how did you find us and why you are here?"
After finishing her introduction, Yunan then straightened herself out. "Oh, I was on my way to Wartwood when I spotted your blue box, so I landed here and waited for you."
Note to self: Need to pick a better disguise for my TARDIS once this is over. Thought the Master.
"So wait why did you come here?" asked Marcy curiously.
"I am here for the Doctor," responded Yunan as she looked at the Time Lord. "King Andrias urgently requests to speak with you."
The Master then raised a brow. "Well does he now?"
Authors note: Hey, it's me again. Sorry for the long wait again. Can't believe Amphibia is over already and the finale episodes were a banger. Also been making small edits to chapters to make them fit the narrative I am trying to tell and to help it fit in with what Matt Braly has shown us now. Stay tuned in because things are going to get dark in the future. Please drop a review and I will see you next time.