Episode Six: The Fall of Captain Grime
"Grimesy," said Sasha, "You need to get out of this shack and stop watching trash TV." "But Suspicion Island is just getting good!" complained Grime. "No buts," said Sasha, "You're Captain Grime! Do you really wanna just be known for sitting around and brushing cheetos out of your beard?" Grime grabbed a few cheetos out of his beard and ate them. Sasha facepalmed and stormed out. She then looked up, seeing something dropping from the sky. She squinted at it… and found that it was a newt decked out in serious armor. The newt slashed at her, just missing her as she jumped out of the way. Sasha drew her sword, preparing to fight. "Just come with me peacefully," said the newt, "No one needs to be hurt." "I'm not going back to living in a cell!" defended Sasha. "You won't," said the newt, "I'm here to reunite you with your friends!" "Why did you attack me!?" questioned Sasha. "Because it's the only way I know how to capture people!" "Capturing doesn't sound welcoming," said Sasha. "Well, I have to get you in somehow!" said the newt. "Why not just ask me to come peacefully?" asked Sash. "Because that's not your way," replied the newt. "Darn straight," said Sasha, slashing at the newt with her sword. The newt blocked with her armor claws, slashing at her with her other hand. Sasha gasped and jumped out of the way. Just as she landed, the newt slashed at her face, cutting over her right eye. Sasha screamed in pain, which alerted Grime to the danger. He ran out of the shack with a sword in hand. He ran up behind the newt, slashing at her, but this newt foresaw the attack, turning around to block it. She then grabbed Sasha's sword with her tail, moving it to her hand. "Your time is up, Captain Grime," said the newt, plunging the sword into Grime's chest. Grime gasped, looking down to see the sword that he had given to his lieutenant being the one to bring him down. "You've done well…" gasped Grime, "Goodbye Sasha…" "Grime!" screamed Sasha. Sasha felt a surge of power flow through her body. Her eye glowed magenta and her hair turned the same color. She then erupted with magenta flames, charging at the newt that had just killed her only friend. "GIVE HIM BACK!" she screamed, "GIVE HIM BACK!" She charged at her, blasting her with all she had. The newt fell down, feeling all the pain from the blast. Sasha then started to stumble and fall. "Give… Him… Back…" she gasped, finally passing out on the ground. "This is a development," said the newt, putting a sack over her head and carrying her away.
"So she did kill him out of cold blood!" gasped Anne. "You have crazy powers!?" exclaimed Marcy, "I thought Ash was the only one!" "What?" asked Sasha, fighting tears, not wanting to look weak in front of the people she had led for years… and some stranger. "Look," said Anne, picking up on her negative energy, "It's okay to not be okay. I get that you're trying to look strong, but one of your best friends was killed right in front of you… It's okay to cry." "I don't know what you're talking about," defended Sasha. "She's obviously lying," said Ash, "I can pick up on things like this." Ash actually had no idea how she knew she was lying. She was always terrible with people. "Look," said Anne, "I don't think this is a coincidence." "What is?" asked Marcy. "Two out of the four humans here have seen very… strange supernatural occurrences in the past week," said Anne, "Ash stopped time and saved Marcy's life, and Sash went ballistic on Yunnan with some kind of magenta fire blast thing." "We're not the only ones," said Ash, "I saw something very briefly one night. I saw you, Anne, with blue hair and glowing blue eyes, blasting the beard off of Andrias." "One," said Marcy, "That's awesome, two, do I have crazy cool powers!?" "Probably," said Ash, "But your… fate probably happens before you unlock them." "I told you once, and I'll tell you again," said Marcy, "That's not gonna happen." "Context?" asked Sasha, wiping away a few tears. "Nah," said Anne, "I'll tell you when Ash and Marcy are asleep outside." "I need some fresh air," said Ash, "I'm- uhm- Sentirse un poco claustrofóbica en este momento." She then climbed up the ladder and out into the fresh farm air, closing the hatch behind her. "I should go talk to her," said Marcy, "I have a feeling that she wasn't feeling claustrophobic." "You know what she said?" asked Anne. "Remember?" asked Sasha, "She took Spanish classes all last year." Marcy rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me," groaned Marcy, climbing up the ladder after Ash.
"Oye," said Marcy, sitting beside her friend on the bank of the river. "Oh," said Ash, "Hey…" "Are you okay?" asked Marcy. "Yeah," said Ash, "It's just… ever since I saw that, I've been on edge… and constantly talking about it doesn't help." "I know," said Marcy, "But I mean… It's my fate. How do you think I feel about it?" "You haven't really shown much concern about it," said Ash. "Well I haven't been honest," said Marcy, "So from now on, we're both gonna be completely honest with each other, okay?" "Y-Yeah…" sighed Ash, "Honest." "Ashla?" asked Marcy, "Is there something you're not telling me?" "No," replied Ash, "I just… I don't want anything bad to happen because of what you're keeping from Anne and Sasha." Or what I'm keeping from you, thought Ash. "Are you sure you're okay?" asked Marcy, "It looks like you're feeling… conflicted? I don't know. I stink at reading people." "I'm fine," said Ash, trying desperately to find a way to change the subject. She then saw a horde of fireflies above their heads. "Look!" said Ash, "Fireflies!" "They're so pretty," commented Marcy. "Hey," said Ash, "There's some purple ones!" "Those are the babies," said Marcy, "They're purple so the mothers can find them if they get lost in a crowd." "That's so cute," sighed Ash. Marcy looked over at Ash, seeing the light from the fireflies make her flawless skin shine. Marcy felt her face heat up while she looked at her, quickly pulling her hood over her head and looking away. "Do you want me to go in and get us some snacks?" asked Marcy. "Sure," replied Ash, cocking her head and smiling at her friend. Marcy blushed and went inside.
"Hey Mister Plantar," said Marcy, "Do you have anything to snack on? Ash is getting a little hungry." "Of course," replied Hop Pop, "Here's some beetle jerky." He grabbed the beetle jerky off of a shelf and handed it to the human. "Thank you Mister Plantar," said Marcy. "You're quite welcome, Marcy," he replied, "And please, call me Hop Pop." "Thank you, Hop Pop," Marcy said. Hop Pop nodded at the human and smiled. Marcy then walked outside and joined her friend by the river, handing her a piece of beetle jerky. "Thanks," said Ash, eating the piece, "This is a lot better than it sounds." "Great," said Marcy, "I'm glad we could get out here and lighten the mood." "Me too," said Ash, "It feels like you and I never get any alone time." "Sorry about that," said Marcy, "No offense, but Anne is my best friend." "No, no," Ash assured, "I totally get it. Back home, me and my best friend were separated for eight years! When we finally reunited, we spent so much time together!" "Wow," said Marcy, "Eight years… that's a lot. I could hardly take it for three months without Sasha and Anne. Heck, if it wasn't for you, I would've never found them!" "I'm sure you would have," said Ash, "I'm not that important here… things would've been just fine without me." "Ash," said Marcy, "If it wasn't for you, it might've been too late before we found that tapestry." "Yeah," said Ash, "You're right… thanks." "Anytime," said Marcy with a smile. "Do you think we should head back inside with Anne and Sasha?" asked Ash. "Why don't we stay out here a little longer," replied Marcy, putting her arm around her friend. Ash smiled slightly, staring up at the beautiful Amphibia night sky. "Tomorrow," said Marcy, "We head out for the first temple." "I'm ready," said Ash. "Great," Marcy responded, "'Cause we're going anyway!"
"We have to get back to Newtopia!" exclaimed Sasha, "We gotta avenge Grime!" "Going and killing a Newtopian general won't do you anything good," said Anne, "Also, don't forget, she took your eye!" "She took more than just my eye, Anne," said Sasha, "She… took… GRIME!" "I get that you're upset," said Anne, "But please just calm down… we'll avenge Grime, but our top priority is to get home first. Then, we'll work on Andrias and Yunnan." "Promise?" asked Sasha, looking at her friend. "Promise," said Anne with a smile, holding her friend's hand, "I promise…"
"Hop Pop," said Sprig, "Why's Sasha all of a sudden all… sappy and depressed?" "Well Sprig," said Hop Pop, "Sasha lost someone very special to her… she lost her best friend." "Yunnan murdered Grime right in front of her!" exclaimed Polly, "It was so twisted, I LOVE IT!" "Now Polly," said Hop Pop, "We have to be supportive, and most of all, sensitive about the topic." "Why?" asked Sprig, "She tried to kill you. She tried to kill all of us!" "But we have to learn to forgive her," said Hop Pop, "For Anne's sake." "Okay," sighed Sprig. "I'll try," groaned Polly, "But I won't like it."
"Hey HP," said Anne, popping out of the basement, "Sasha just wants you to know that she's… really sorry for- you know- trying to kill you and all." "It's all okay," said Hop Pop, "Just not with Sprig and Polly." "I get that," said Anne, "And I'm sure Sasha will too." "Well that's great," said Hop Pop, "Now I have to go put Polly to bed, go make sure Ash and Marcy get in the fwagon before it gets too dark." "Alright," said Anne. She then walked out the door and around the house to find the pair sitting by the river, Ash's head resting on Marcy's shoulder, and Marcy's arm around Ash's waist. She saw that Ash was asleep and Marcy was still looking up at the fireflies. Anne smiled. Not wanting to disturb them, she then went back into the basement from the hatch. "Did they-" "Hop Pop's okay," answered Anne, "Sprig and Polly won't forgive so easily." "I'll do whatever it takes," said Sasha. "For Polly, it'll take candy," said Anne, "And you're just gonna have to gain Sprig's trust through good deeds and kindness." Sasha nodded. "You know, I still can't figure out why you wanna change, now." "I saw the consequences, Anne," said Sasha, "And they're scary… I not only lost my eye, but I lost the only one who would ever support me in this world… on the same day." "Well I'm glad you wanna change," said Anne, "And just know that I will always support you… in this world and any other." Anne then heard snoring coming from outside. "Marcy just fell asleep," said Anne, "You wanna help me get her and Ash in the fwagon?" Sasha rolled her eyes and laughed. The two friends then loaded Ash and Marcy into their makeshift home inside the Plantar family wagon. Anne walked back into the house, leaving Sasha alone under the stars.
"Don't worry Grime," she said, looking up to the sky, "I'll avenge you."
"General," said Andrias, "The Moltono girl is going to interfere with all of our plans." "What do you suggest we do?" asked Yunnan. "Once they've charged all the stones, we move on Moltono." "And what should we do with the toad?" asked Yunnan. "Oh don't worry about him," said Andrias, "I have big plans for Captain Grime."
