A.N.: I didn't plan to have every fourth chapter be a Wartwood chapter, it's just sorta working out that way.

Chapter 8

Meanwhile, Back at the Swamp

"Well… I knew this day was comin', Toady," Mayor Froderick Toadstool dejectedly noted. "Eventually, Cap'n Bog was gonna notice that we ain't paid our taxes."

Tritonio's network of informants had their eyes and ears (well technically they didn't have ears, at least visible ones, but you know what I mean) on all the comings and goings of the Toad Towers. Now, one would think the Toad Army had burned its bridges with the kingdom – launching a coup would do that – but its swift quashing, and the vaporization of the Northern Toad Tower (and Captain Aldo with it) had put an end to that. Puppet Captains had been installed at Toad Tower West and East. Bufo was now a fugitive, rumored to have retreated to his remote home village on the distant island of Hikigaeru, and as for Beatrix, no one was sure if she was even alive. As for the partially rebuilt Southern Tower, while Captain Bog was nominally in charge, it was well-known that it was really Emissary Jacinda who was pulling the strings there; she was known to be fiercely loyal to the King.

In any case, there were still taxes, and there were still plenty of toads willing to collect them for the government. Now, the purpose of a rebellion is to oppose the government, and it made very little sense to continue to pay to support a government you wanted to bring down.

Thus, the citizens of Wartwood had unanimously decided to stop paying their taxes. Mayor Toadstool had initially opposed the idea; after all, without taxes, what would he skim money from? And yet, in recent weeks, he'd realized that there was something he liked more than money (shocking, but true): the townspeople's respect. And so, he'd signed off on it, knowing the day would come when he'd actually be forced to stand up for the town.

So when Tritonio's information network had reported a Toad battlewagon departing from the Tower in the direction of Wartwood, he was already starting to regret his decision. "I knew this was a bad idea, Toady, I jus' knew it. They gonna string me up from rafters. Well, maybe they'll spare us if we give ourselves up… you know, throw ourselves at their feet, beg for mercy… really lick boot…"

"There's no shame in bootlicking, Sir!" Toady agreed enthusiastically.

"UGGGHH…" groaned the blonde-haired human leaning against the wall. "Yes! Yes there's shame in bootlicking! It's like the most shame there can possibly be in something! Besides, three days ago, when he agreed to the tax rebellion, you called it courageous!"

"The most courageous action anyone ever took!" Toady agreed enthusiastically.

"…Toads, I love ya but you really have no backbone at all, do you," she commented, rolling her eyes.

"Not unless Mayor Toadstool wants me to!" replied Toady earnestly.

"Ain't he a pip?" Toadstool commented. "Look, Miss… I wanna say Sandra…"

"Sasha," she corrected. "And no, we are not backing down." Her hand unconsciously strayed to the grip of her heron blade. "We can't just knuckle under the second things get a little dicey."

"Oh, I dunno about that," Toadstool replied ingratiatingly. "I am mighty good at knucklin' under now."

"We're not doing that." Sasha repeated. "End of di-" She stopped herself mid-word. Why was it so easy to fall into old habits? "Look, I know, deep down, you want the town's respect more than anything, right? Well, do you think they're going to respect you if you give up now?"

"…well now, I reckon you got me there," Toadstool admitted. "But how exactly are we going to handle this?"

"By standing up to them," Sasha replied. "Listen. I trained with the toads. I know how they fight. And these last weeks, I've been getting to know the town, learning what they can do. We've got a witch, an engineer, basically a ninja, some pretty badass fighters… working together, we just might be able to take on the toads."

The sixteen hours before the toads' arrival was fraught with fevered preparation, as every citizen of Wartwood rushed to arm and fortify the town. Through it all, Sasha strolled, making note of each one's efforts.

"Wally, how are we set for ordinance?" she asked.

The jaunty vagrant produced a bushel of explosive fungi from beneath his signature hat. "Fifty dozen boom-shrooms, fresh from the Ribbitvale boom-shroom fields!"

"Nice," Sasha remarked. "How'd you manage to afford that many, and get them here so fast?"

"Never you mind that," he said evasively, his good eye darting back and forth. "Not like I'm secretly rich or anything."

"Yeesh, sorry I asked," Sasha replied, rolling her eyes. "Loggle! You have those booby traps set up?"

"I haaaaaave! …no idea if they'll work." The axolotl's verbal tic had gotten old fast, but he was the closest thing to an engineer they had.

"Well, they're mostly just backup in case the toads get past the advance guard and the town wall… speaking of, good work on that, Chuck! You really got that baby up fast!"

"Heh heh… I grow tulips," Chuck said proudly, tipping his hat.

Sasha smiled. The fortifications were going well. But they were mostly a failsafe. The town's first line of defense would be the advance squad that she herself would be at the head of. It would consist of herself, Felicia Sundew, Stumpy, Soggy Joe, Dave, Maddie, Mrs. Croaker, Jim (a massive brute of a bullfrog who was in the jam business, of all things), and a rather jovial-looking frog that Sasha didn't recognize.

"What's the deal with Willy Wonka here?" she asked.

"Barry owns the candy shop," explained Maddie. "He's also kind of a creep and normally I'd prefer not to have anything to do with him, but he's the only other one in town who knows anything about curses, and I needed his help to prepare enough curse bundles for us."

"Hey, it's my town too, and Ol' Barry's always keen to help!" he said cheerfully.

"And he knows that if he steps out of line, I'll turn him into a turnip with a huge butt," Maddie added with a wicked grin.

"Cool. So, what do these do?" Sasha asked, eyeing the various bundles the two had collected.

"These are a blindness curse. These cause giant itchy boils. And this one's an explosive diarrhea curse." She snickered. "That one's my favorite."

Sasha grinned viciously. "You're fun. So, we're all ready to-"

"AMBUSH!" a high-pitched voice shouted. A small yellow frog in a blue stocking cap jumped, seemingly from nowhere, onto Sasha's head. "Heeeey girlfriend..." Ivy greeted.

"Ivy Hibiscus Matcha Sundew!" scolded Felicia. "What are you doing here?"

"What, I'm joining the advance team, what did you think?" She huffed. "You said you were gonna let me fight and go on adventures and stuff."

Felicia scowled. "I know, but this is different. We're fighting toad warriors. This is far too dangerous for someone your age."

"Maddie's the same age as me and she's here," pointed out Ivy. "And Sasha's only a few years older and she's the leader!"

"Kid's got a point," Sasha said. "Look, I'll take full responsibility for her, Mrs. Sundew."

"You'd better," insisted the tea shop owner.

"Okay," Sasha continued, "now that we're all here, it's time to-"

"WAIT!" a voice reminiscent of a cartoon rooster yelled. "I'm comin' too!"

Sasha whirled. "Toadstool?" she asked, confused. "I thought you'd be hanging back. Far, far back. As far back as possible."

The mayor straightened his collar in as dignified a manner as he could, given he was out of breath after running all the way here. "Now, simmer down now. I do admit that fisticuffs aren't my strong suit… but I figured perhaps that, instead of immediately comin' to blows, I could instead negotiate on the town's behalf. Turn on a li'l of the ol' Toadstool charm, as it were, Maybe resolve this without violence."

"I dunno," Sasha remarked. "Like I said, I trained with these guys. They're not known for backing down without a fight."

"That's as may be, but I reckon they ain't too keen on bein' under the thumb of Jacinda," he pointed out. "Perhaps I can impress upon 'em the advantages of a change of allegiance…"

Sasha shrugged. "That… makes sense actually," she conceded. "I guess it's worth a try. But if things go south, I want you to get out of here. If we fail, the town's gonna need you more than we will."

"Fair 'nough," agreed Toadstool.

Sasha turned to face her team. "Okay," she said. "I guess… this is the part where I say something inspiring. But… I really don't think I have to. I know what you can do. I know what you're capable of. You've got this. We've got this." She nodded. "Now let's go. Let's make Wartwood proud."

"'e's close," Soggy Joe warned. "One 'undred 'ops, from the north. It's a big 'un."

"Brace yourselves, everyone," Sasha advised as the toad wagon rumbled closer. From her time at the Tower, Sasha was familiar with this particular model. It could hold a dozen or so toads, was armed with a siege crossbow, and was drawn by a fierce breed of tortoise beetle that could breathe fire. Not exactly the small guns.

These toads hadn't just come to talk. They were here to sack the town.

"They ain't slowin' down," Toadstool noted fearfully.

"Stand firm," advised Sasha. "Toads respect strength above everything." She unsheathed her sword and stood herself in the wagon's path. Sure enough, the wagon began to slow down, coming to a stop in front of them.

Three figures disembarked from the wagon. The first was a brown male with a horned crest. the second a green female with dark green hair and a feathered headband. The third was armored from neck to toe and wore an iron mask that concealed their identity completely.

The brown horned toad, the leader of the crew, Captain Bog, broke into a sinister smirk upon seeing the motley welcoming committee. "Well, well… if it isn't Grime's pet hummus. Where's your keeper?"

"He's busy. And it's human," Sasha insisted. "We're called 'humans'. Humans are the dominant species of an entire world. We can access information from anywhere on Earth in seconds, split atoms, and we've gone to the moon. Hummus is the worst thing on the dip table. Know the difference."

Dave shrugged. "I like hummus."

"Not important, Dave!" Sasha spat back.

"Fine… hyoomin," Bog said derisively. "I'm not here to talk to you, anyway. I'm here to have *figer quotes* "words" with Mayor Toadstool. Seems this town's been neglecting to pay its taxes;."

"Well… 'bout that," Toadstool replied nervously, "seems there's been a bit of a misunderstandin'…"

Sasha groaned inwardly. Toadstool was on the verge of chickening out, and she had to put a stop to it. "Yes there has. See, you seem to be under the impression that Wartwood still considers itself part of the Kingdom. That's no longer true. As of this moment, the town of Wartwood declares itself the capital of the Free State of Frog Valley."

His courage beginning to build bac up again, Toadstool stood more firmly, clutching his jacket lapels in a stately manner. "Ah-yes… and, as Governor of said state, perhaps we can…"

"In other words," Bog interrupted, "this is insurrection against the crown." He grinned maliciously. "And you know what the penalty for that is."

"A sternly-worded letter of warnin'?" Toadstool asked, nervously tugging on his collar.

"…not so much, no," replied Bog sardonically, hefting his hammer.

Well, this was going south fast… not that Sasha hadn't expected it to. She turned her blade on Bog. "I wouldn't do that. It's a good way to lose an arm."

"FREIN'S!" Toadstool interrupted. "It doesn't have to be this way! Now, Bog – can I call you Bog – have y'all considered that maybe it's time to rethink your options?"

"Options? I'm the captain of the Southern Toad Tower!"

"Bog – now hear me out, son – you an' I both know that Toad Tower captain ain't the prestigious title it used to be. Ever since the Toad Rebellion, the King's cracked down. The Toads ain't as independent as they once was. From what I und'stand, they got observers from Newtopia watchin' they every move now. Can't so much as scratch yo' butt without the Crown knowin'. Seems a bit stiflin', I reckon,"

"Nonsense," Bog protested. "My word is law in the Valley."

"Now, y'all know that ain't true," continued Toadstool. "Why, I bet y'all are actin' under very strict orders from Jacinda herself. Ain't that right now. She's dictatin' exactly what you can an' can't do. Now that ain't no life for a toad."

Bog's inability to meet Toadstool's gaze said it all really. "So what if it is? You've seen what Andrias's weapon can do. Toad Tower North is ash. Nothing remains. Dozens were killed in the attack. Toad Lord Aldo, the oldest and strongest of us all, reduced to vapor. This is no longer about honor, it's about survival. At least by remaining loyal to the crown, I can preserve my own place and my own people. And maybe have a little fun while doing it. So…" he hefted the hammer again, "I'm afraid that's gonna be a no."

As he brought the hammer down, Sasha pushed Toadstool out of the way and caught the hammer. "Toadstool! Get out of here! Warn the town!"

"Don't gotta tell me twice, Sasha!" the mayor shouted as he hightailed it as fast as his bulky body could move. "O, lorda'mercy, biscuits an' beetle-sausage gravy was not a good choice for breakfast…."

"Well… he always was a coward," Bog remarked derisively. "Not you though, hyoomin. You've got spirit, I look forward to breaking it."

"Save some for me, Bog," the female toad, Fens, added. "I never did get to see what these things taste like."

"Why not," Bog said magnanimously. "In fact… Everyone! I think it's time we had us a little… sport. No survivors," he emphasized.

At his command, about a dozen toad fighters piled out of the wagon. They must've been really packed in there, Sasha reasoned. She recognized a few from he days with Grime's army… Marsh, Sludge, Peat, Glenn, a couple of others she knew by face, not name. One, a female with a short green buzz cut, was rushing at Felicia wielding a nasty looking mace. Sasha was fearful of what the toad, three times the slim yellow frog's bulk, could do to her, but the tea shop owner nimbly danced around the larger toad, poking her at key places. The warrior suddenly stiffened and keeled over like a rock.

"That was amazing, Mom!" Ivy marveled.

"Ancient pressure point technique," explained Felicia. "A little sum'n sum'n I picked up training with the monks of Hikigaeru Island. Remind me to teach it to you sometime. Watch your flank, dear."

Ivy easily ducked under sludge's swinging axe. "Thanks mom. Hey, Sasha! Let's try that move we worked out!"

"I'm a little busy, Ivy," Sasha replied before managing to shove Bog off herself and put some distance between the two of them. She gave herself a moment to take stock of the battlefield. Stumpy, who had equipped himself for the occasion with a two-pronged fork and his patented tenderizer hand, was fighting a toad who likewise was missing both hands and had replaced them with stump-mounted weapons. Maddie and the Willy Wonka frog had taken up positions at the side of the battlefield and were launching curses with their slingshots. Some missed, but a few had found their marks, judging by a couple of toads stumbling around blindly, one furiously rubbing his back against a tree, muttering "Oh, yeah, that's the stuff," and another making a desperate dash for the bushes.

She turned her attention elsewhere as that creepy one with the iron mask was advancing on Soggy Joe wielding a dagger. The survivalist frog simply chuckled. "That's not a knife," he said, drawing out a massive machete. "That's a knife." The masked toad began to back away, whimpering.

It looked like the others didn't need her help at the moment… which was a good thing, because Bog had managed to find her in the chaos again, at the same time that Fens had turned her focus to her and was coming in hard. "Ivy!" she shouted. "Now!"

"Heck yeah!" the enthusiastic yellow frog girl shouted, bouncing through the battlefield and whipping her tongue out to wrap around Sasha's hand. With a twist of the wrist, Sasha whipped the girl around, allowing her to deliver high-speed kicks to both Bog and Fens' faces. The second was hit so hard that she was knocked flat on her back, losing her grip on her spiked club, which hung in the air for what subjectively seemed like several minutes but was actually a mere second, before falling again and landing with a sickening crunch on Fens' upper arm. Sasha didn't know why, but she had the strangest sense that somehow, karma had been satisfied.

"Looks like the 'Fro-yo' maneuver's a success," Ivy remarked.

Sasha giggled in spit of herself. "The what?"

"Fro-yo… you know, 'cause I'm a frog, and you used me like a yo-yo…"

"*snicker* It's just that where I come from, 'fro-yo' means something else, and… no, it's fine, let's use that."

By now, it had become clear to Bog that the fight was not going their way. Several of their number had been outright incapacitated and the others, while still holding on, had sustained injuries that meant they would not continue holding on. "Everyone! Withdraw to the wagon. It's time we cut our losses." At his command, those toads that were still in the fight fell back, dragging their injured comrades with them. Fens, nursing her crushed arm, shot Sasha a look of pure murder. Watch out for that one, she told herself.

"Yeah, you better run!" Mrs. Croaker shouted, waving her cane. Sasha had had her doubts about including the old woman, but she'd proven there was a reason she'd lived so long… she was simply too badass to die.

Bog chuckled malevolently. "You misunderstand. You see, our orders were to make an example of your town. Either by sacking it, or… well… Load the ballista!"

The toads began to load a warhead into the battle wagon's siege crossbow. By itself, it wouldn't do much… wreck a section of Chuck's wall, perhaps, but that was it. It was the reddish-orange coating on the end of the bolt that caught Sasha's attention. Phlogiston moss. The stuff burned strong, even in the dampest of conditions. Used as a fuel source by the toads, a little bit of it could heat a toad barracks for a week during the cold winters. An amount this large would turn Wartwood into an inferno.

"On my command, fire," Bog instructed, grinning bloodthirstily.

She'd done everything right. They all had. And yet they were still going to lose everything.

No, Sasha thought, eyed closed and fist clenched in anger. She'd almost given up once, when Toad Tower fell. Never again.

When her eye snapped open again… it was glowing pinkish-red.

Floating above the city of Newtopia, King Andrias's castle suddenly wobbled. It began to slowly lose altitude.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" the King demanded angrily.

"It's the box," a newt scientist weakly explained. "It, ah… it's power output has dropped."

The king's gaze fell on the box. Normally, the pink and green gems shone brightly, while the blue one flickered, its power still linked to that damnable human girl, temporarily beyond his grasp. But now, to his horror, the pink gem had begun to flicker as well. "No!" he said, bringing his fist down on a statue of a newt cherub. It had been hundreds of years old and was likely worth thousands of gold crowns, but was now worthless rubble. "She's dead! How can she still be connected to the gem's power?"

"Uh… perhaps… she somehow survived the fall from the castle?" the scientist suggested fearfully, immediately cringing in fear of Andrias doing to her what he did to the statue.

Andrias seemed to immediately calm down. "Oh. That makes sense, actually," he reasoned. Noting that the scientist was still cowering, he remarked. "What's wrong? Oh… you thought I was going to kill you for giving me bad news, didn't you!" He laughed loudly and heartily. "Oh, that is priceless! That's the dumbest thing a ruler could possibly do! Imagine… killing someone who could potentially be useful simply for a silly reason like that! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Uh…. Heh… yeah, I suppose that would be silly."

"Yes," Andrias replied, his suddenly deadly serious again, "so I suggest you remain so by getting the castle stabilized. Now, if you need me, I'll be busy… with my project."

Slowly, Andrias descended the stairs to the castle cellar, where, in a hidden chamber, the third of the human interlopers remained, still suspended in the ancient regeneration tank. Behind her, lurked it. A creature older than this world, perhaps older than all worlds.

She hung there silently, unmoving. Ever since she'd briefly woken up weeks back, she'd shut back down again, pulling back within herself, unresponsive, as if dedicating all her strength to keeping out its whispers. Andrias would find her will impressive if it wasn't so damned inconvenient.

"Well, Marcy, you'll probably be happy to know that your friend Sasha is alive after all. Of course, I plan to remedy that, but hey, you take your good news where you can, am I right?"

Was that an involuntary twitch? "Got your attention, did I? Well, unfortunately for you… this means that I'm going to have to speed up the timetable on your recovery." He turned a knob on the regeneration tank. "I've made a few tweaks to the regeneration formula to compensate for your human body's rather… lackluster healing capabilities. Now, I'm not sure just how safe this is. There may be unforeseen side effects to introducing newt stem cells into the human metabolism. *shrug* Oh well, price of progress, I suppose."

In the darkness, thirteen hideous orange eyes opened. "Patience, my lord," the king whispered, bowing. "Your vessel will be ready soon."

Back in Wartwood; BGM: instrumental reprise of "Heartstomper"

She felt as if every cell of her body was burning. No; not burning… she had become the fire.

Her body was surrounded with a blazing pink aura; her hair looked as if it was composed of magenta flame, her ponytail forming a skyward pyre.

She sprinted toward the battlewagon with the speed of a rocket, bringing up her sword in a slashing arc. As she hurtled the confused tortoise beetle, she brought it back down again, its blade glowing with the same energy that coursed through her, cleaving cleanly through the wagon and slicing off its forward prow. She sliced through it again and again, carving it apart one chunk at a time, until it lay in pieces on the ground, a puzzle that would never be reassembled. In its midst, he held her blade at the throat of Captain Bog.

"Leave this place. Never return. You have no power here," she said, her voice echoing. The toads took that as their cue to scatter into the woods. Bog took one glance back, meeting Sasha's unflinching gaze, before he, too, retreated.

"And don't… come… ba…." She felt the power drain away as quickly as it had come on, leaving her to collapse into the grassy marsh, unable to hold herself up any longer.

"Sasha!" Felicia shouted worriedly, hopping to her side. "Hang on, I got a ginseng-green-tea extract that'll put the pepper back in your step."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine," Sasha replied, attempting to get back on her feet, but failing. "On second thought, yeah, maybe I could use a sip."

"That… was… AWESOME!" Ivy marveled. "I didn't know humans could do that!"

"They can't," Sasha corrected, "not normally, anyway. I saw Anne do it once… and I guess I can, too. I only wish I knew how I did it."

"Well, this was a hoot an' a half," Mrs. Croaker opined. "Ol' Grimsey gonna be kickin' himself for missin' it. Where's that big drink o'bogwater been, anyway?"

"He said he had a few things to take care of, and then he was going to see if he could find his sister," Sasha answered. "Not that it mattered. We did fine without him. Still… I wonder how he's doing…"

"You know, I'm quite glad I ran into you, Miss Jacinda," Grime spoke as he trudged through the reedy terrain to Poven's Mire. It would be some time before he reached the swampy marsh, so he figured he would pass the time in conversation. "Well… I say that like it was a coincidence, but really, I've been meaning to seek you out ever since I arrived in the valley. See, we need to have a conversation about the future of Amphibia. And, I regret to say, I don't see a place for you in it.

"See, it has come to my attention that things can not go on as they have been. Sure, the current order has been in effect for some time, but you can see how it's simply unsustainable. Both the frogs and toads have had a taste of change, and it turns out they liked it. Sure, my rebellion failed, and the alliance of the Toad Lords is in shambles at the moment, but you'll find that we are persistent, and we have long memories. Even those toads that have re-submitted to the king's rule are inwardly seething… and they won't stay submissive forever.

"And the frogs… oh, how you've underestimated the frogs. We've been looking down at them for centuries, but they're clever, industrious, adaptive… and they're stronger than you think. I daresay we wouldn't be all that bad off if the frogs were running the place.

"So, you see, this stratified society we live in… it's inherently damaged. And it needs to change.

"You know, you are a very good listener. I admire that. Oh, here we are. I'm afraid this is as far as you go."

They had reached the edge of Poven's Mire. "She can never find out about this, you know. She wants to this all above board. Something about trying to be the person her friends wish she was. And I respect that. But… well, I've said it before; every dream has a price. And it seems I'm the one that has to pay this one."

He smiled. "Of course, it's not like you're going to tell her, is it?"

And with that last remark, Grime hurled the burlap sack containing the body of Emissary Jacinda deep into the mire, where it would sink, never to be found.

A.N.: Alternate title: "Seeing Red". But that would have given it away.

Well, that ending took a dark turn! Grime maybe be one of the "good" guys now, but "good" isn't necessarily "nice", is it. Sasha may bring out his soft side, but in the end, let's not forget this guy was a brutal tyrant for years before meeting her.

Jose: It may not have been entirely coincidence that she was there. Due to her connection to the box, she may have served as a dimensional anchor for the robot to be drawn to her location.

Next: Back to Earth!